Alwin struggled to fall asleep. His mind kept circling back to the mysterious figure that stared him down from the shadows. Even Niwla had spent a good chunk of the night pondering over who exactly that was and what he or she wanted with him. Meanwhile, Winal was busy setting up the factory inside the Core... again.

In the morning, it was time for Alwin to be discharged. A lovely nurse—another plant-based monster—helped to remove the IV drip from his side. Her sunflower-like face was bright, nearly outshining the ceiling crystal. Long, green and viney limbs pulled the needle out of his side and carefully placed a neat plaster over the spot. After disposing of the IV bag, she returned with a wheelchair in tow.

She smiled and said, "Hop on. I'll take you to the exit."

Yippee. Alwin wasn't happy that he was being discharged—okay, he was a little bit. He also wasn't ecstatic about being free from the Coopers, more specifically Mrs. Cooper.

There was still a deep-seated anger within her, which was entirely understandable. As egoistic as he was, even he could admit that her rage wasn't entirely misplaced, only slightly.

Commander Cooper had mellowed out faster than his wife. His attention was mainly on Cooper Trooper, playing peekaboo or cuddling with his child. Mrs. Cooper would occasionally join in, but when she caught sight of Alwin, he could feel the temperature of the room shoot up immediately.

Okay, he was kinda happy that he'd be free from Mrs. Cooper's fiery glares.

But what he was truly excited about was the wheelchair. It meant he didn't have to walk all the way to the exit. He'd be pushed there like the king he was.

Alwin hopped off the bed and onto the wheelchair. He wiggled his behind back and forth to get himself comfy, to really make sure he made the best of this experience.

"All good?" the plant nurse asked.

"Yup!" Alwin chirped.

"Okay then, let's go."

She started to push him out of the room just as Commander Cooper called out from behind them.

"See you, kid. Say hi to Milvus for me."

From the bed, Cooper Trooper waved bye-bye as well, his fingers smacking into one another with tiny, wet, pudgy slaps. Mrs. Cooper merely grunted and begrudgingly waved in his direction.

The moment the wheels rolled over the threshold and the door clicked shut behind them, Alwin heaved a sigh of relief. Instantly, everything felt just a little bit brighter and lighter, like a huge weight was off his shoulders.

He leaned back in his chair, enjoying the ride. The wheels hummed softly against the floor as he got a good look at the hospital.

A closed door leading to a patient's room. Another closed door leading to a patient's room. And another. The hospital was monotony made manifest. There wasn't anything interesting to look at. Other than himself.

Boo.

Fortunately, Alwin didn't have to look at the boring rooms and even more boring walls for much longer. After an uneventful five minutes, they arrived at the main lobby. The air smelled fresher than the rest of the hospital, and sunlight streamed through the large glass doors on either side of the entrance, casting sharp beams across the floor. It was perfect.

And about to become even better.

Pushing open a door was the shape of a monster that Alwin hadn't seen in a while. A triangle with paper-thin tentacles coming out of the base waltzed into the lobby. A single, glossy eye locking onto Alwin.

It was Milvus.

"Glad to see you're in good shape, Alwin," Milvus said.

"Thanks! I'm in the best kind of shape. The round kind." Alwin jiggled his body left and right, causing the wheelchair to wobble.

Behind him, the plant nurse bowed and stuttered out, "I-it's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Please, Miss. The honor is all mine." Milvus brought a tentacle to his chest and bowed. "Thank you for bringing my student here."

"N-no problem, sir. I-it's my job."

"Still, thank you. I hope this little fella didn't give you any trouble."

"N-not at all. He was an angel."

"Glad to hear that." Milvus gave her a warm smile that caused the plant nurse to blush.

"C'mon, Alwin, let's be off. We don't want to be late for class, do we?"

"Is that a trick question?" Alwin asked.

"Nope. Let's go."

Alwin was about to get up from his seat when a stroke of genius hit him. He scrunched his face up and rolled to his side, leaning on the armrest.

"Oh, no," he groaned. "I'm not in the best shape anymore. There's only one way to cure me."

Instantly, the plant nurse jumped into action. She darted to the front of the wheelchair, eyes studying Alwin for any visible signs of injury or trauma.

A tentacle landed on her green shoulder, causing her to squeal.

"Sorry, about that," Milvus said. "I can handle it from here."

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"But, sir. Your student. If there's still something wrong with him, we need to bring him back in to run more tests."

"That won't be necessary. I know how to fix him."

"A-are you sure, sir?"

"Just watch."

Milvus moved to the back of the wheelchair, lifting up two of his tentacles and wrapping them around the rear handles. The moment Milvus took a step forward, Alwin twitched. With every step, Alwin began to rise. By the fifth, he was sitting fully upright, a huge, beaming smile that rivalled the sun spread across his face.

"Feeling better, Alwin?" Milvus asked.

"I will, if you keep this up."

"Only until we reach class, okay?"

"Fine." Alwin pouted. He brought out his Spirit Hands just to fold them over his chest and huffed.

Behind them, the plant nurse simply watched wide-eyed, her gaze ping-ponging between Alwin and Milvus.

"I-I can push him for you, Sir Milvus. You don't have to trouble yourself," she managed to sputter out.

"Not to worry, Miss. It's my duty as a teacher to look after my students, even beyond the classroom."

"But—"

"It's okay. I'll return the wheelchair by the end of the day, if you don't mind."

"C-C-certainly," she stammered, flustered beyond words.

Milvus gave her one last warm smile before rolling Alwin out of the hospital. The whole time, the plant nurse continued to stare at them with wide eyes.

As soon as they were out of view… Well, who knew what she did?

Alwin hadn't left any Ice Spies around to spy on nurses. Maybe she continued to stand there for the next ten minutes or something. Either way, the moment she was out of sight, Alwin completely forgot about her.

What he was more interested in was the free ride by Milvus.

"Hold on tight," Milvus said. "We're going to have to rush a bit."

Alwin didn't get a chance to ask why, much less hold on to anything tightly, before the ride turned from peaceful to torturous. The wheelchair jolted as Milvus picked up speed, and the world around him blurred into a smear of colors. Buildings, people, sky, they all merged together to become a ball of colorful mush.

His body was pressed against the wheelchair, forces tugging harder and harder as they sped further and further ahead, transforming him from ball-like to pancake-like.

After a few minutes of torture, Milvus skidded to a halt right outside of the classroom.

It was disorientating. Alwin groaned and held in his barf. Considering he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, there wasn't much to hold in. There was a pounding sensation in his head, like something was trying to drill its way out. And there was a ringing sound inside his ears. So many distractions prevented him from noticing that everyone was staring at him from the open classroom door.

Milvus walked into class as if he hadn't just sprinted at insane speeds while pushing a slime on a wheelchair. Surely, that should've constituted some form of child abuse, right?

When some of the nausea passed, Alwin found the strength to get off the wheelchair. He rolled off the edge of the seat, falling onto the floor with a splat.

That was a mistake. He shouldn't have rolled.

Alwin puffed his cheeks out as he tried to hold in his vomit again. And when that wave of nausea passed, he found the brain power to make a decision to hop to his seat.

Alwin bounced on the floor like a drunken sailor, unable to move in a straight line. He bumped into chairs and desks, earning him a mixture of scowls and pity from his classmates.

Finally, he made it to his seat.

On his left was Uchronia, concerned yet angry over his disruption of class. On his right was Gus having a muffin party. The whole area around him: desk, floor, and even his fur was filled with crumbs.

When Alwin was finally settled into his seat, Milvus spoke.

"Okay, class. I know it's been a few days since your final exams, and I'm sure you all want to know what comes next, especially after the incident."

The class began to murmur in agreement, discussing what might possibly happen to them. Would they be held back a year? A make-up exam? Maybe even a conditional promotion?

Who cared about all of that? Definitely not Alwin and his squad.

He leaned back into his chair with a smug look of superiority. His squad was the only one to pass the final exam. They didn't have to join in with the speculation. His classmates were beneath them.

Milvus brought a tentacle to his lips, and the class quietened down.

"There will be a makeup exam held at the end of the week. Details will be relayed to you at a later date. But before we carry on, some congratulations are in order. Despite the incident, a single squad was able to complete its objective. Congratulations to Uchronia, Gus, and Alwin, for passing your final exams."

The rest of the class turned to face them. Gus continued to eat muffins without a care in the world. Uchronia blushed at first, before she puffed out her pot with pride. Alwin followed suit, but in his own special way. The chairs were too low, so he hopped onto the desk, lifting his head high into the air, all while ignoring the burn of the ceiling crystals stinging his eyes.

At first, his classmates stared with stunned awe, then they started cheering for them, congratulating them on a job well done. Although there were some mumbles and grumbles hidden within the cheering.

"Alright, class, settle down," Milvus said. "And Alwin, please get down."

Alwin was just about to do that anyway. He wasn't being ordered around. The slime boy landed on his seat with a soft plop and spun around so that he could face the class.

As Milvus continued his talks about what should've been happening right now: a final debrief before they take a break and a brief peek into what's to come during their second year.

Something caught Alwin's eye.

And it wasn't the spots in his vision from staring at the ceiling crystals for too long.

There, sitting on one of the seats, was a figure that haunted what little sleep he was able to get last night.

A dark, bell-shaped form. Tentacles blacker than black slithered out from below the bell. He or she wasn't focused on Milvus. Instead, those two glowing yellow eyes were locked onto Alwin.

Who was he? What did she want?

OR was this all a figment of his imagination? Could the others see that person too?

Alwin looked around the class, hoping that he wasn't going crazy.

Gus was useless, more focused on his love of muffins than anything else. Uchronia was laser-focused on Milvus, as always, even if she did find the methods used by the Human Hunters to be repulsive. Can't blame her. Child soldiers weren't exactly the pinnacle of ethics.

The rest of his classmates, Flintlock, Tess, Galeo, and a bunch of other names that he couldn't bother to retrieve from the depths of his memory, paid no attention to that black bell-like monster.

Maybe he was going crazy.

During the entire class, Alwin just stared. While the person stared back. It was a staring contest for the ages, and Alwin wasn't going to lose. His eyes watered, but he forced his eyelids open. What if he blinked and the person suddenly vanished from his sight? He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Class dismissed."

Those two words were the only thing able to penetrate Alwin's defensive bubble of not paying attention. That split lapse in concentration made him blink.

When he opened his eyes, the person wasn't on the seat anymore.

It was far worse.

As everyone vacated the classroom, Gus having already bolted over to the cafeteria, the black bell creature made its way toward Alwin.

His heart thumped in his chest.

Who was that? And what did he want with him?

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