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distant-velleity · 9 months

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Daring Escape

Summary: Santiago and Yu escape Scarabia during the winter break training camp.

Word count: 3.9k

Warnings: none, I think

A/N: Basically, it’s Book 4 chapters 19-22 but my version. Lots of dialogue taken from the game. Alsoooo it’s been a hot second since I wrote this and I barely revised it so. Yeah :)

Tagging: @thehollowwriter since I believe you may be interested :))

“Man,” Santiago whines, arms behind his head, “I’m beat. And to think we still gotta go on patrol now? I was born to fly, not this!”

His roommate sighs. “It can’t be helped. Housewarden’s orders.” He fiddles with the whistle around his neck. “There’s probably gonna be another escape tonight, so keep your eyes peeled… We don’t wanna get chewed out for missing someone.”

“Uh-huh.”

Just then, Santiago’s eyes catch on the door of a normally-vacant room—the one currently home to the alchemy TA. One hand falls to the keyring around his belt almost subconsciously.

Tonight’s the perfect night to hopefully get him on board and get the hell out of here.

“Hey,” Santiago says suddenly, smiling innocently. “I just had this idea—we should probably split up for now, since our patrol extends down this entire wing of the dorm. How about you go ahead to the other side while I keep an eye out here so we can catch any escapees more quickly?”

“But if it turns into a fight, we won’t have each other to fight with. We’ll just be on our own,” points out his roommate.

Santiago scoffs. “I mean, that’s what all the magic training has been for, right? I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“But…” His roommate hesitates, then finally acquiesces with a reluctant “If you say so” before walking away.

Once he’s out of sight, Santiago smirks to himself.

That was way too easy. Santiago 1, dormmates 0.

Yu is lying in bed, staring vacantly up at the ceiling, when he hears it. The synchronized mental ping of a system notification and something being inserted into the keyhole of his door.

[ NEW OBJECTIVE: SANTIAGO wants to talk. Hear him out and make your choice. ]

What?

But before Yu can question it, the door is already silently hinging open and he has to quickly swipe away the notification pop-up.

Santiago slips in and quickly closes the door behind him. “Hey,” he says quietly, with a sheepish grin; for some reason, much more bearable than his usual one.

“What do you want?” asks Yu coldly, arms crossed.

“Whoa!” Santiago holds up his hands. “No need to get hostile with me. Listen, I heard about your escape attempt from the other day. I can help you actually get out of here.”

Yu stares at him in disbelief. “...Are you kidding me? Aren’t you the one who’s been sucking up to Jamil and Kalim the whole time?” A pause. “Unless this whole time you were doing it to make your life more bearable…”

“See, you get me,” whisper-exclaims Santiago, aiming finger guns at the TA. “Between that and the desire for freedom, I can already tell we’re birds of a feather.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m being serious!” Santiago insists. His arms fall back to his sides, one hand playing with the keyring attached to his belt. “If that’s not enough to convince you… well, uh… I’m a Scarabia student. I know the layout of this place way better than you do, and I have a vague plan in mind, so escaping will be a walk in the park. Plus, all the guys I room with have been strugglin’, and…” He trails off, looking more and more uncomfortable.

“So you’ve got a guilty side,” Yu says bluntly.

“Nothing like that! I just don’t wanna live like this anymore.” Santiago detaches the keyring and dangles it at Yu. “Listen, we don’t have much time, so what’ll it be? Freedom or more pain until the end of winter break?”

Yu hesitates.

On one hand, this could go super wrong… and we’ll receive an even worse punishment if we’re caught. On the other…

A certain bespectacled sophomore in Yu’s debt comes to mind. Slowly, the corners of his mouth tug upwards in a small smirk.

“On second thought, I’ll take your offer,” replies Yu, standing up and straightening his clothes. “So long as you let me choose our destination. After all, if you need help, I know just the person to go to.”

Santiago shrugs. “Sounds fair enough. Anywhere’s better than here right now, so let’s go.”

They step out into the hallway as quietly as they can, abandoned and desolate as it is at this time of night. Santiago locks the door behind him and turns to Yu.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” he whispers. “We’re gonna head to one of the storerooms, and from there—”

“Santiago?”

At the end of the hallway stands someone Yu recognizes as one of Santiago’s friends, staring at them and looking thoroughly betrayed. Santiago and Yu flinch in unison.

“Are you trying to help him escape?” asks the roommate. “You kidding me?! You just said you’d keep an eye out for escape attempts!”

“Listen,” Santiago attempts, “there’s a perfectly rational explanation for thi—”

FWEEEET!

His roommate takes the whistle around his neck and blows like his life depends on it, creating an ear-piercingly high-pitched noise that has footsteps approaching in seconds.

Santiago curses under his breath. “Yu, you’d better be clear for running now, ‘cause we’re gonna need to do a lot of it. And make a whole lotta detours.”

“I’ll try my best,” Yu mutters nervously.

“Great. So let’s SCRAM!” Santiago grabs Yu and dashes in the direction opposite of his roommate and the approaching stampede.

They wind around corners and decorations, stumbling on carpets and whatnot. There’s a lot of scrambling to lose the mob. Occasionally, Santiago has to pull Yu into a duck or vice versa to avoid a stray shot of magic trying to paralyze them.

“Almost there!” Santiago whisper-shouts as they make a sharp turn into a less well-lit hallway. “They haven’t made the corner yet; let’s hide and let ‘em pass us by!”

Right after saying that, he quickly pulls Yu past the grand doors of what seems to be a storeroom. They work together to quickly push the doors shut just in time. From outside comes the roar of rapid footsteps and shouts—

“Where’d they go? Split up and find them!”

“Show yourselves, street rats!”

After a few moments of being pressed up against the door, Yu hears the footsteps fade away.

“Phew,” he breathes, slumping against the ornate doorframe. “I think they’re gone.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty much golden from here on out,” Santiago agrees, panting heavily. “Coulda been struck by magic at any point back there… I thought you’d be meeker, but thanks for having my back.”

“Yeah, well… you’re not as bad as I thought you were,” Yu admits. “Anyway, let’s focus on that once we get outta here. They could always come back. What’s the plan from this point on?”

“Right.” Santiago flicks his magic pen and a soft, auburn light emits from the magestone at its end. “We’re in Kalim’s treasury—he’s taken me here a few times, hehe. What I’m looking for should be somewhere around here—ah!” He points at the carpet hopping over to them on its tassels. “There. Our ticket out of here.”

“Is that a… flying carpet?” Yu wonders. “Kalim really is rich…”

“Which is why this dorm is one of the best,” boasts Santiago. “I get to see stuff like this almost every day.”

“Mhm. I don’t think I could cope with it, to be honest, but that’s not what we’re here for.”

“Yeah.” Santiago kneels and pats the carpet. “Hey, buddy. You must be going stir-crazy too, huh? Why don’t we get outta here together?”

The carpet hops eagerly. It adjusts so it’s flat, hovering and ready to be boarded. Yu and Santiago share a grin in the dim light.

“Let’s blow this joint,” Santiago exclaims, sitting on the carpet and extending a hand to help Yu on. The TA settles down, holding onto the edge securely. He leans over to whisper something to the carpet, and they’re zipping off within seconds.

Maybe it’s the adrenaline of fleeing that keeps him from fearing this height.

“I see our pursuers down there,” Yu points out as they leave the main Scarabia building, hearing the shouts of indignant students on patrol.

“Heh.” Santiago leans over the edge of the carpet to shout, “Maybe you all oughta learn how to fly first if you wanna catch us!”

Yu huffs out a laugh before turning away and keeping his eyes trained forward. The carpet is headed straight for the entrance/exit mirror, perfectly according to his request.

“Soooo… I forgot to ask, but where are we headed?” Santiago asks, turning back around. “I saw you whisper something to the carpet just now...”

They pass through the mirror and into the Hall

Yu smiles cryptically. “I hope you’re okay with a change of scenery. I’d argue it’s the most drastic from what Scarabia has to offer.”

Santiago stares at him for a few moments, then sputters. “Wait, don’t tell me—”

The magic carpet crosses the hall and passes straight through into the Octavinelle mirror.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Santiago squawks as they zoom through the underwater hallways. “When you said to let you choose the destination, I didn’t think it’d be, y’know, Octavinelle!”

“Who else would that person who could help us be?” Yu questions him, snickering. “It’s fine. Anyway, calm down. You gotta look your best when seeking an audience at the Lounge.”

They burst through the double doors of the Mostro Lounge then. It comes as quite a surprise to the eel twins standing at the bar, both dressed to the nines in their dorm uniforms.

“Well, well, well.” Jade recovers remarkably quickly, smiling and clasping his hands together as Yu and Santiago hop off the magic carpet. “What have we here? Patrons in need of a midnight snack?”

“Aww. I was hoping I’d get to squeeze a burglar or two, but it’s just Koi and Parrotfish,” whines Floyd. “Now I can’t squeeze anyone.”

“Hello to you, too,” grumbles Yu before elbowing Santiago, who has just been staring fearfully at the twins.

“What are you doing here?” is all the bird beastman manages. “Also, where’s Chrysos?”

“You’d think he’d be in the loop by now,” Floyd mutters. “We can’t go home right now. Coral Sea’s frozen over.”

“Chrysos has been… unable to return home either, so he’s here with us,” adds Jade.

Santiago’s shoulders relax. “Oh, thank the Seven! I thought I was gonna go straight from one prison to the next, but at least there’s some kind of familiarity still here…”

I’m pretty sure Chrysos would not say the same about you were he in your shoes right now, Yu thinks.

Jade’s eyes widen with unabashed interest. “Prison? Would you care to elaborate, perhaps?”

“Also…” Floyd circles around the partner-in-crime duo to poke at the magic carpet. “What’s this rectangular flounder-lookin’ thingy?”

“Ah. Come to think of it, it looks a lot like Kalim’s magic carpet,” Jade remarks. “Could it be…”

Their conversation is rudely halted in its tracks with the sound of imminent footfalls. The doors to the Mostro Lounge burst open once more, passed through by none other than two Scarabia students.

“There’s no escape for you now, thieves!” shouts one.

“Surrender quietly!” exclaims the other, pointing his magic pen at Santiago and Yu.

“Ghk—” Yu steps back and accidentally bumps into Floyd (he somehow half-circled around him again??), who puts a hand on his shoulder to stop both of them from tripping. “They followed us all the way here?!”

“How stubborn can you get?” groans Santiago.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Everyone falls silent when polished shoes clack against the ground, an undeniable and recognizable noise. Azul himself emerges from the employee doors, adjusting his gloves with a disdainfully neutral expression. Chrysos follows not far behind him.

“What’s all the commotion at this late hour?” Azul implores.

The second Scarabia student gapes. “You’re—you’re the housewarden of Octavinelle…!”

“That, I am.” Azul glances down at them with his chin held high. “Since you have your pens drawn, would you care to explain just what’s going on here?”

“It’s none of Octavinelle’s business,” states the other Scarabia student. “Just quietly hand over those two”—he jerks his head at Santiago and Yu—“and we’ll leave as quickly as we came.”

Azul’s calculating gaze shifts to the escapees, who are looking back at him with varying levels of nervousness and determination.

Come on, Azul, Yu mentally pleads. Don’t fail me now.

The housewarden hums to himself thoughtfully.

“If you refuse to hand them over, you’ll be an accessory to their wrongdoing as well,” continues the more confident Scarabia student.

“Is that so?” Azul challenges.

Floyd huffs. “Seriously, are you small fry tryin’ to yank our tails here? Who do you even think you’re talking to?”

The Scarabia students bristle. “You—”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Elegantly, with an air of refined confidence, Azul holds up a hand. “There will be no fighting in the Mostro Lounge. This is a place for gentlemen.”

His eyes flit towards the intruders.

“That being said… I believe there is plenty of room for ‘delivering.’ Jade, Floyd. Show these ill-mannered patrons the door. Chrysos, lend them a hand.”

“As you wish,” Jade replies, all too happily, at the same time that Floyd delightfully says, “On it.”

The twins advance on the two Scarabia students, pulling out their magical pens while smiling all the while. Chrysos, rolling up his sleeves, is quick to follow.

“I’ll help them out. It’ll be good stress relief,” decides Santiago, marching straight into the fray.

“In that case…” Azul adjusts his glasses and turns to Yu. “Why don’t we find a quieter spot to discuss what’s brought you here, Yu?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Yu answers dryly, gesturing Azul on with a flourish. “Lead the way.”

“So, there’s been Scarabian infighting recently, you say? On top of a ridiculous training regimen set by their housewarden?” When Yu nods, Azul brings a hand to his own chin in thought. “Interesting. I didn’t think Kalim had it in him…”

“Well, neither did I, and I literally see him every single day,” Santiago says. “I mean, people don’t just change that abruptly, right? There’s gotta be some kind of gradual shift first!”

Jade sets down a tray of tea for Azul. “I find myself compelled to agree. In the past year, Kalim has never once failed to be his authentic, happy self—such a drastic change is concerning.”

“S’hard to imagine Sea Otter being all tyrant-like,” Floyd agrees with a lazy smile.

“And Vice Housewarden Jamil has his hands full trying to deal with it all,” adds Yu. He shakes his head. “I can’t believe we can’t even reach out to Crowley right now, so people like him have to do this all on their own…”

“Right?!” Santiago sighs, leaning back on the couch. “Jamil’s cool and competent, I meant it when I said that, but leaving all this on him is a bit much… Especially when it’s hard to find guys like him here.”

That’s when they notice the sophomores have fallen silent and are sharing a certain, unreadable look. Yu glances over at Chrysos, who shrugs—clearly not in the loop either.

That’s odd…

“By chance, is there something we don’t know about Jamil?” Yu asks cautiously, uncertainly.

Azul frowns, propping his elbows up on his desk and lacing his fingers together. “What we know is little more than what you have just provided us. Not only am I in his class, but I share a number of electives with Jamil, so our paths cross frequently.” His eyes narrow, upper lip pressed to his tented hands in thought. “Santiago’s right, in that Jamil… well, Yu, I’m sure you’ve noticed this whenever our class has alchemy. He’s demure and poised, never ventures any opinions of his own.”

“Yeah… Yeah. You’re right. He never raises his hand or anything,” recalls Yu. “I mean, not that that’s uncommon, but it feels weird for someone competent enough to be a vice housewarden to never reveal their hand in intellect.”

Floyd nods slowly. “And he plays like a goody-goody in the Basketball Club, too. I had no clue he was Scarabia’s vice, though, ‘cause I don’t pay much attention to other dorms.”

“And now he’s struggling within his own dorm?” Azul relaxes his hands and leans back in his chair, crossing his legs. “This looks like the perfect chance for me to offer him my aid.”

“Wait, what?” Santiago leaps from his seat. “What about us? Y’know, Yu and me? Are you gonna help us?”

Chrysos kicks him in the shin, drawing out a pained yelp.

“Don’t get your feathers in a twist, jeez,” says Floyd.

“Yeah. We came here for his help, and Azul wouldn’t go back on his word,” Yu claims. He looks over at the housewarden. “Right, Azul?”

Their eyes meet for a moment, neutral yellow on deep-sea blue, and a sense of understanding passes between them.

“Of course. I’ll have you know that the last few incidents have left me a changed man,” declares Azul. “I sincerely want to help as many as I can, so does it not stand to reason that I’d also want to assist Jamil and Scarabia as a whole as well?”

“…Okay,” Santiago replies, relenting. “Fine.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. Now—” Azul beckons Jade and Floyd closer with a hand. “Floyd, see our Scarabian guest to his temporary room for the night. Jade, prepare some gifts for tomorrow. As for Chrysos and Yu…”

He smiles as the other three exit the VIP lounge, glasses glinting in the low light.

“Why don’t we briefly discuss what we’ll bring to the proverbial table tomorrow?”

“Are you seriously trusting them?” whispers Santiago as they head to the Hall of Mirrors the next morning. His eyes dart from Jade, to Floyd, to Azul, and then to Chrysos. “I mean…”

“It’s fine,” Yu assures him. “Azul owes me. Besides, don’t you want to help those guys out? This is basically our only shot.”

“Ugh…” Santiago crosses his arms. “It’s more about my own freedom, but…”

Yu just smiles at him. “Sure, that’s what it is.”

Suddenly, hands come to clamp down on both of their shoulders—Jade’s on Santiago’s and Floyd’s on Yu’s. Although it’s just for show, it really gives off the impression that they’re prisoners being herded to their executions.

“Look sharp, boys,” Azul commands, stepping in front to lead while Chrysos picks up the rear. “We have a whole dorm in need of our benevolence.”

He twirls his scepter and walks through the Scarabia mirror with long, confident strides.

“Well, Li’l Koi?” Floyd cheerfully taps his fingers against Yu’s shoulders.

“Let’s do this,” Yu says firmly with a nod, letting Floyd take and guide him through to the other side.

“I still can’t believe Santiago took Crewel’s TA and fled to Octavinelle,” mutters one of the Scarabia students from the previous night, standing in the shade of the entrance pillars.

“And they stole the magic carpet,” points out the other. “If the housewarden finds out about this…” He groans and buries his face in his hands. “What are we gonna do?”

“I think we should take it to Vice Housewarden Jamil, for starters—”

“Hello, gentlemen.” Azul, with a pleasant smile, steps in between the two students. “Mind if we pop by?”

“Sheesh, it’s hot here,” Floyd drawls, he and Jade herding Yu and Santiago in. “Feels like the middle of summer.”

“It’s a rather pleasant place to be during winter break,” Jade remarks. Chrysos nods in agreement.

“Y-You…!” The Scarabia students stammer. “You’re the Octavinelle guys who gave us a thrashing last night!”

“What do you want from Scarabia?” demands the more confident one.

“Allow me to apologize,” Azul begins, tipping his hat and adding a level of dramatic remorse to his tone. “At first glance, it appeared that you were bullying these defenseless young men. I stood up for them on the spot out of the kindness of my heart…” He side-eyes Yu. “…but upon hearing their story from the TA, it became more apparent to me that these two were thieves who had made off with Scarabia’s treasured magic carpet. Thus, I’ve decided to take personal responsibility for my mistake by apprehending the two criminals and returning your precious magical artifact to its rightful owner.”

He’s still really good at twisting situations to his advantage.

On cue, the carpet flies past Azul and loops around to hop eagerly by the Scarabia students.

“Rgh…” Santiago shifts uncomfortably until Jade’s hold, looking every bit the part of a guilty thief caught red-handed.

The first student looks to be at a loss for words. “W-Well, uh…”

“Thank you for the… help…” continues the second one awkwardly.

That’s when Jamil, crossing the long path to the entrance mirror area, shows up. “Guys, it’s about time for morning training. If you’re late, the housewarden will…” He notices the whole Octavinelle party, then, and his eyes widen considerably. “Gh—?!”

“Why, Jamil!” Azul walks forward to positively beam at the vice housewarden. “Hello, there. How have you been?”

“Azul Ashengrotto… as well as the Leech twins and Chrysos Pendentif,” Jamil notes, squinting a bit. “What are you doing here?”

Jade nods respectfully to him. “Our home is hardly hospitable during the wintertime—”

“—so we spend our holidays in the dorm!” Floyd finishes, sharing a smile with his twin.

“Wh…” Jamil tries to keep his composure, despite his obvious floundering. “What?”

Azul chuckles before tapping his scepter against the ground. “By the way, where might Kalim be? I’m here to return his magic carpet to him.”

“Er, ah… If you need to deliver something, I’ll take it,” Jamil replies, answering and dodging the question in one move.

“I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that,” insists Azul. “This magic carpet is on par with national treasures. If it were discovered to be damaged later, Octavinelle would be held liable—and we can’t have that, can we? I would prefer to hand it to Kalim in person as a show of goodwill and have him assess its condition first-hand.”

“Kalim wouldn’t care even if it was damaged,” mutters Jamil under his breath, before trying his best to put on a casual smile. “Let me take it off your hands, okay?”

“Worry not!” Azul places a hand over his heart, looking as sincere as he possibly could. “I won’t even ask for my standard twenty-percent finder’s fee.”

“Please,” adds Jade. “Consider it our way of apologizing for our uncouth treatment towards Scarabia last night.”

Floyd continues to add insult to injury—“We even brought seafood pizza as a present. It’d be such a shame if it went cold, right?”

“And the more there to help watch the escapees the better,” argues Chrysos as well.

“The point is,” Azul says, “I would much prefer to deliver it in person. Kalim’s awake by now, I trust?”

Jamil shakes his head furiously. “No, really, he’s not up for any—”

Azul walks right by him and descends the steps to Scarabia’s long, carpeted walkway.

“—hey! You can’t just barge in, Azul!”

As Jamil chases after the Octavinelle housewarden, the eel twins turn to their quarry.

“Shall we?” Jade ventures, ever-polite.

“You’d better keep up,” sing-songs Floyd.

Yu nods with forced confidence. “I’ll do my best.”

As they’re herded to follow Jamil and Azul in, Santiago mumbles, “These Octavinelle guys are so pushy when they wanna be…”