Force

"I knew I didn't trust you," Silas said, looking up at Ace as Leon and Fira held him down in the classroom.

"This is not going to hurt at all." Ace said, walking to him with a potion in hand and a little terrifying look on his face.

"You expect me to listen to you?" he asked, struggling against the two. "How did you two get here so fast?"

"When the president calls us, we have to come," Fira said, shrugging. "But I have no idea of what is happening."

"Neither do I," Leon said, looking at Ace. "Do I want to know?"

"We are going to change Silas's appearance and send him to Mr Denvor." He said plainly. "Then we are going to catch him red-handed."

"Won't he be suspicious?" Silas asked, "We came today and suddenly there is this new student that wants to get tutoring from this man?"

"I'll do something about that, don't worry," Fira said nonchalantly. "You only need to pretend."

"What is that potion for?" He asked, looking at the one in Ace's hand.

"Oh, this? I just happened to have it." He said, pretending as if he hadn't just called Cleo and asked it for a potion like this, froze time, plucked the plant this can be made out of and made this potion.

"I don't trust it."

"It will help in your disguise." He said, walking closer to him. "Come on. Didn't you say that wanted to land the first blow on the man?"

"This will help me to do that?" he asked, sceptical.

"Yes. And hey, I promise that nothing will happen to you." Ace smiled pleasantly at him. "You said that you saw the future right? Trust me here."

"Fine." He said after a long pause. "I am only doing this for my sister's sake, not yours."

The two let go of his hands and Ace handed him the potion, nodding at Fira as she closed her eyes started to form little webs of threads at her fingertips.

Silas looked at the golden liquid with disgust before drowning the entire potion in one gulp.

"That was fast." Ace chuckled, looking at Silas as he slowly began to change in both appearance and size.

"Shut it," Silas said, looking at himself in the glass windows. "This is how I look like?"

"You are cute." Ace said, standing beside him. "Now, if only your personality matched your face."

Silas's hair grew slightly as he continued to stare at himself in the mirror in a boy's uniform that was a little too big for him.

"Here you go." He heard a girl say and turned to look at the girl from earlier, handing him a spare uniform.

"There's no need for that," Fira said, snapping her fingers and the clothes Silas wore turned into the middle school girl's uniform. "There."

"What was that?" Silas asked, voice slightly hoarse.

"My magic," Fira said as something almost yellow twirled in her fingers. "Illusion."

"Why couldn't we put that on me then? Why did I have to turn?" Silas asked, scowling at them.

"He needs to be convinced." Ace shrugged. "Now go on. I will be following you to make sure you are safe. Fira."

"Just leave everything else to me." She said, releasing a wave of magic all around the school.

"I will go and see if Grecia needs any help," Leon said, pausing. "You will be alight, right?"

"Of course." Ace said dismissively. "Go ahead."

"If we extended this for the next couple of d-"

"I don't have that kind of time." Ace said, raising an eyebrow at him. "You know that."

Wait. Was it tonight? Isn't it tomorrow? Why am I talking as if it is tonight??

"Tonight is a special night for you." He said, nodding his head.

"What is tonight?" Silas asked, looking around the room.

Before Leon could tell him, Ace quickly turned to the girl and asked, "Could you help him?"

"Of course." The girl said, holding her hand out to Silas, "Come on. I heard that you all were in a hurry."

"I will be right behind." Ace said as she pulled the boy ... out of the room and he quickly turned to Leon. "Do not say a word about me to him."

"But your majesty." He began. "How could he not know who you are or anything about you?"

"Not everyone in the school knows who the student council president is. I hardly even come to class."

"Yet you secure top marks." He said, rolling his eyes. "You are truly brilliant, your majesty."

"Ahem."

"I mean president." He corrected himself. "I should get going."

"Hey, Leon." Ace suddenly stopped him. "About tonight. What is happening again?"

"You are going to be given the portion of the army," he said, looking around the room. "Have you forgotten?"

"I thought that was tomorrow night." He whispered.

"No." Leon frowned, dropping to a whisper as well. "It's tonight. Why are we whispering?"

"How many people know?" He asked, still whispering.

"About the portion of the army?" he asked, thinking. "I know because my father is your brother. I don't know about the others though."

"Then why are you recklessly trying to tell everyone about this?" he hissed.

"Sorry, president," he said, smiling. "I didn't think you cared so much about this."

"I don't. But I like how he is treating me right now. If he knew who I was, he would not treat me the same way." He said, frowning slightly. "Ok?"

"Yes, president," Leon said, a twinkle in his eyes. "Your first friend. How does that feel like, your majesty?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Ace asked as Leon chuckled and looked at his tablet, typing something in it, he disappeared. "Annoying."

"I am ready, president," Fira said, turning to him with her eyes all white out.

"Thank you, Fira," he said, smiling at her. "How many minutes do we have?"

"At the most? Ten."

"Ok. I better hurry there then." he snapped his fingers and made himself invisible again as he ran out of the door to the same direction he went to before.

____________

"Cleo," he said, almost reaching the door as he passed students walking around the place mindlessly.

"Hello." The red fox appeared in front of him with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Before that." Ace said, slowing down. "Magic is just making almost everything so convenient isn't it?"

"It is." It said happily. "What is this about now?"

"Do you think I can summon some guards?" He asked, pausing when he reached the door.

"From the palace?" it asked as he continued to stare at the door.

"Anywhere. Something like a police force."

"Yes. See the crest of the school on your blazer?" it asked, pointing to his left pocket.

"Yeah?"

"Use that to record whatever you want and send to the Council Room." It said pressing its little paws on the crest as it began to glow softly.

"President?" he heard a voice in his head. It's Leon.

"Hey. I didn't think you could do this. When did you learn telepathy?"

"I didn't." He could hear the sigh in his voice. "You connected with the Council Office, I thought that something might be wrong."

"I was told this could record things." He said still staring at the door. "We do need proof don't we?"

"Right. How could I forget about that?" He heard some shuffling that made his brain feel like something is crawling in it. "Done."

"Thank you." Ace said, opening the door and stepping in.

The office was completely empty and he couldn't help feel uneasy the instant he entered the room.

There is this heavy air of something that does not entirely feel human from this room that he did not feel before and it is making his skin crawl.

"Cleo."

"Still here." It said, sitting on his shoulders. "This is the teacher's office? Why does it feel like this?"

"I don't know." Ace said, frowning. "But I don't like this. I hope the girl left after introducing Silas to the teacher."

Cleo didn't say anything as they continued to walk through the office, stopping in front of a wall.

He pressed his hands against the wall and closed his eyes.

Just then, hundreds of eyes appeared in his vision, filled with empty darkness and then a mouth opened to swallow him whole.

"What the hell?" he quickly retracted his hands, gripping them as he felt a slight throbbing on his hands. "What was that?"

"I don't trust this place," Chloe said, looking at Ace. "Don't you dare die here. There is still a lot you have to do tonight."

"Hey, you are here right?" he asked, a lopsided smile on his face as he pressed the wall but it would not budge. "Speaking of tonight."

"Yeah? Why not use a hammer?"

"I don't have a hammer yet." He sighed, pressing his hand over the wall. "Maybe I can break this."

"Go ahead. Concentrate all your mana on your fists."

"Ok." Ace took in a deep breath and flexed his fingers before balling them into fists and, with one quick motion, punched a hole into the wall. "Whoa."