That's what I picture Hannah to look like except with pale golden eyes. But not golden like the vampires.

________________________

Chandler makes his way inside, where Officer Stevens salutes him and the other officials that are behind Chandler. He looks around the lobby that was cleared out earlier as they were searching for any sign of the injured woman. 

"Sir, it looks like the woman got away. She had help from some nurses. We are having the security go over footage right now to find the nurses that helped out our fugitive. We will apprehend them as soon as we can." Officer Stevens assures Chandler. His blue eyes roam around the area.

Chandler walks past Officer Stevens and feels around the area, sensing for any magic use that goes beyond what normally happens in the hospital or clinic. "Sir?"

"Where is your partner? I want to hear from her if she caught anything with her own shifter abilities. Maybe she can catch on to something us ordinary humans can't." Chandler looks back at the officer. He points to the entrance as Officer Pancheri enters. She spots them, straightening out, and then saluting Chandler with respect. She is startled by a similar scent that wafts off of Chandler that Dean also shared. She realizes that the young man must be a close relative of his.

"Ah, so it's you, Pancheri. Tell me, did anything stand out from the ones that assisted in the fugitive's escape?" He questions her, checking her for anything out of the ordinary.

"The two humans I encountered were dressed as a nurse and nursing aid. I had no idea that they were planning to help that woman escape. They worked well in separating us and distracting us. I am so sorry, Sir Acacia." Officer Pancheri continues to meet his eyes as he looks at her. Chandler sighs a bit.

"Any distinguishing features?" He asks her. Officer Pancheri can't help but think of Lori's bright red hair and Diana's bright gray eyes. She figures they could blend in, but the red head may be easier to find than the girl with gray eyes.

"No, I'm so sorry, sir. They blend in like any other human. They were wearing face masks, so only their eyes were visible. They were a typical green color and gray color, respectively. They were young, if that helps with anything. Much younger than I expected for someone who is at a working age." Officer Pancheri mentions in a curious tone.

"Very well, thank you. Let's go check on the security footage, and then I'll see what else we can do. We will have to put out the order to be on the lookout for the goblin bride." Chandler turns back to the other officers to either scour the area or start putting in the description of the goblin bride.

"Sir, can I speak with you for a moment?" A nurse walks up to Chandler as he has a moment where he is not being updated by the officials that are searching for clues on the people that broke out the goblin bride. Chandler looks to the nurse and smiles a bit. 

"Go ahead, how can I help you?" He questions the man that is looking at him concerned. 

"We had also found one of our technicians that was missing way past his break. He was knocked out by some sleeping powder. He just woke up, and it happened very fast, but he noticed that it was a young man with mismatching eyes. That's all." Chandler immediately knows that Dean was involved and now knows who are the possible suspects that helped the bride escape. 

"I see, I will take that into consideration. Thank you very much for your assistance. I would like to speak with this technician." The nurse nods his head respectfully before leading Chandler to the room where they have the technician recovering.

There, he discusses with the man what happened before he was knocked out and what he saw. He didn't really need to speak to the technician to know that his own son gathered his close allies to help him out. He plans to discuss this with him once he gets back home. He plans to make it before he does.

"Alright, everyone, we got all that we could in this investigation. It seems these people were adept at hiding away and preventing their identities from being seen. All we can do now is put out the word of the fugitive and make sure that she confesses to her serious crimes." Chandler announces to the officers who had all come back together to report all they could or could not find.

"Yes, sir!" They all put their hands over their hearts and bow their heads in respect. 

"Until then, you can all head out now. Thank you for your hard work." Chandler smiles at the officers to put them at ease. They relax and exchange farewells as they all start to head out towards their destination. Chandler sees them off before he uses his magic to teleport back towards his home from the hospital.

                                                             ~0~

"You guys made it out safely!" Diana says happily as she lets them into her dorm as quietly as possible so they don't disturb Hannah.

"Yeah, Officer Pancheri, let us go." Dean says, and the girls smile happily.

"I see. But what do we do now? She's a wanted fugitive, and we'd be accomplices if we're caught." Diana worriedly looks at her friends. Dean and Lori look at each other and nod their heads.

"I suppose we have to find a safe place for her to stay in. Our homes are no good since our families are pretty influential and law-abiding citizens." Lori says and puts a hand to her chin.

"And I don't have a permanent home myself. Since I've been staying at the academy since I started, I out grew the age limit of the orphanage. We also don't start doing jobs until we're in Acacia Pycnantha, which is until next school year." Diana says to herself.

"You're an orphan?!" Lori says, surprised. Diana jumps a bit and rubs the back of her neck.

"I guess I didn't tell you guys. How silly of me. Yes, I come from Green Orphanage. Hence, it was my last name since I was never adopted." Diana says with a shrug. Dean stares at her, wanting to tell her what little he has discovered. Sadly, he doesn't want to tell her yet until he himself knows the whole story.

"Guys, I think the only high-ranking person that can help us is Professor Crowley. He just has to." Diana tells her friends who look at her in shock.

"Eh?! Are you getting along with Professor Crowley?!" Lori isn't sure how to feel about that. Diana shrugs, trying to silently assure her she's not a fan girl.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Diana. I mean, he doesn't belong to any of the factions of the army, so he doesn't have much power over them." Dean says, still feeling suspicious of Crowley's intentions and what he truly thinks of Diana.

"You're probably right." Diana says, knowing that Dean would have been against her decision. She sighs and walks over to Hannah, who had woken up abruptly and is staring at the trio in the room. "It's alright. You're safe with us."

"I just want to know if Roard is doing okay. I miss him so much." Hannah says as she puts a hand over her heart. The trio stares at the young woman who starts to cry. Lori goes over to her and hugs her.

"We're definitely going to reunite your husband and yourself. We'll also find a safe place for you guys." Lori says to Hannah as she sobs into her hands. Diana clenches her hands and feels awful for not being able to do anything for Hannah. She hates that she has to rely on someone else to do the work.

"For now, she should stay here. We'll definitely get something done to assure you two are reunited." Dean says after being silent for a while. Diana looks over at him, as does Hannah. "For now, you ladies need to sleep. It's still early in the morning. I'd better head home and hope I went unnoticed."

"Okay, careful getting back." Lori says with worry in her voice. Diana nods in agreement. Dean smiles at the girls before heading out of Diana's dorm.

"Well, I'd better head to my room then. I'll see you ladies later." Lori smiles at the two women and smiles. Hannah and Diana wave at her and now remain by themselves.

"Now that they're gone. . . I'm going to go talk to Crowley. Please stay here and don't open the door for anyone." Diana tells Hannah, who nods her head. Diana puts on a sweatshirt and heads out of her dorm, and walks towards the school buildings.

"I wonder if he's staying in the teacher's dormitory since he's an orphan just like me." Diana thinks to herself as she stops by the water fountain. "But then again, he's a military man, so I'm sure he does have his own place." Diana sighs and looks at her phone. She frowns in confusion as she sees a message from an unfamiliar cellphone number.

Diana, this is Crowley. I'm sorry for looking up your number but I feel we should keep in touch. I truly want you to see me as an ally. Message me back if you believe in me.

~Crowley

"What perfect timing." Diana thinks to herself. She takes a deep breath and messages Crowley to ask for his location and if she is able to meet him at that time of night. She waits for a few minutes before she feels her phone vibrate with a text notification. She takes a deep breath and looks at her phone to see where they should meet.

"Outside of the Acacia Academy gates?" Diana questions quietly to herself before nodding her head and taking the way back from where she came. She goes past the dormitories and then heads out to the front entrance of the Academy and sees Crowley there.

He is looking towards The Wall, and Diana carefully makes her way to stand beside Crowley. He turns his head to look at the shorter blackette and smiles a bit.

"Follow me. I have a place we can go to where we won't be watched by the careful eye of the people in this place." He tells her. Diana nods her head and jumps as Crowley puts the hood of her sweater over her head. "It's alright, this is just a precaution." He tells her once more before he heads straight down across the sidewalk and into the empty park.

They walk all the way through the tree filled park and stop right at the edge. Crowley reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a magnet and points it up to the sky, and Diana gasps as the lamp posts go out.

"This specially designed magnet powers off all electrically powered materials for a few minutes. This'll give us enough of a chance to make it to my house." Crowley grabs Diana's hand and rushes out of the park and towards an abandoned building. Diana tilts her head to the side as Crowley pulls her up the stairs of the abandoned building. She gasps as they reach the broken door.

"What is this?! A-a glamour?!" Diana questions stunned as she sees that the broken down building is actually in perfect living conditions.

"Yes, this is advanced magic taught in Acacia Mearnsii. It's far more advanced than the small glamours they teach you to make in the lower classes. This place was going to be torn down, but I quickly got to buy it in a private auction and then work to disguise this place as a torn down building. But since it was condemned, everything is now powered by lightning magic formed into electricity." Crowley tells Diana, who stares at everything with wide eyes.

Crowley stares at her and chuckles a bit at the intrigued young woman. He looks to the kitchen entrance and sees Sean Carson coming out with a tray that has two cups of tea. He sees Diana gasp as she sees the young professor.

"It's alright, Diana. Sean is an ally as well." Crowley tells her but doesn't mention that his allegiance was only a recent development.

"Sean Carson, have you come to yell at me again for being so disloyal to your wonderful country of Artemia and your beloved comrades of Acacia Academy?" Crowley questions as he stays leaned back on his office chair as he goes over the science research projects of his students going into the Koa Acacia faction. He frowns a bit as Sean doesn't respond to his taunting and looks up at the blue haired young man who is looking at him with a conflicted expression on his young face.

"No, I'm not here for that. I did some research in the hidden archives of Artemia and found information on your arrival to Artemia as a newborn. Looks like you were telling the truth. I still have questions, though." Sean says as he clenches his hands to his sides. Crowley stares at him and puts down the papers.

"What will you do with that information?" Crowley questions Sean, who looks up at him with a now more relaxed expression.

"I want to know what else the elite are hiding from us. If that means that I must be your ally, then I will be one. Will you accept my friendship?" Sean questions, sounding for once like an ignorant teenager. Crowley sits up straight in his seat and looks at him, watching for any sign of trickery. He sees none in the eyes of the distressed teen.

"Alright, I will accept your offer, but don't expect me to trust you right off the bat." He tells Sean, who nods his head and puts his fist over his heart before he goes to sit across from him. Crowley looks at a folder in his grasp. "That is?"

"The person on this file... this is your sister, isn't it?" Sean pushes the file towards him. "You don't have access to this, do you?" Crowley grabs the file and opens it. Sean watches his empty expression warm just a bit at the information he looks at.

"I don't... I don't know a lot about her past, only all I've observed since we both entered Acacia Delbata. It became a lot easier to watch over her once I became a member of the Five Elite and tested out of all sections, just like you. Once I was fifteen, it was so much easier." Crowley closes the file and puts it away into a hidden compartment in his drawer.

"Why haven't you approached her? I'm sure she too would like to know that she has a brother." Sean cautiously brings up. Crowley clenches his hand on the desk.

"Not yet, it's safer for her that she doesn't know about me... for now, I'll just help her and be of use to her in whatever way I can. Also, I don't want you to tell her about it either. For now, it's best she remains ignorant of our connection." 

"Sean, this is Diana Green, a student in Vachellia Nilotica." Crowley says to Sean as he sets the cups down on the coffee table in the center of the living room. Diana gulps nervously and puts her hand over her heart.

"Hello, Professor Carson." Diana says a bit awkwardly, especially since she's five years older than Sean. Sean straightens out and looks at her closely.

"Hello, Miss Green. Have some tea if you'd like." Sean says to Diana, who looks at Crowley for permission. He nods his head and has a small smile on his face. Diana nods her head and goes to sit down. She takes one of the tea cups and puts four sugar cubes in it, and Sean stares a bit surprised at the amount she used.

"Now then, what would you like to discuss with me, Diana?" Crowley questions as Diana takes a sip of the warm tea that helps her relax. Diana stares at the cup and isn't sure if she should talk anymore, but she remembers the tears she saw in Hannah and nods her head.

"Um, over an hour ago, I committed a grave crime. I helped a detainee of the law escape the clinic where she was being guarded. She's a human, but she's married to a goblin who was captured and taken in by Flat-Topped Acacia." Diana says, refusing to meet the eyes of Crowley or Sean. "I don't know the details of why he was captured, but his wife is worried sick about him and had made the grave mistake of dealing with a vampire who told her they could assist her. Her husband is innocent of whatever he was accused of... I believe her word."

"Roard." Diana finally looks up and stares at Sean, who had spoken. She remembers that Sean is a member of Flat-topped Acacia, so he should have the information that she needs on Roard for Hannah.

"Yes, that's his name. Hannah said there was no crime he committed. . . Tell me, did he get taken away just because he is a goblin?" Diana questions Sean, who bites his lower lip and then looks at Diana.

"I'm not sure. Captain Brown was the one who approved his arrest, and his officers wrote up a report of very aggressive acts he performed. Which put out the warrant for his arrest. Although, considering the nature of the man. . . I assume he was forced to admit to those accusations just to get a lighter sentence." Sean tells the duo who looks at him. Diana clenches her hands and stands up.

"You rank above Captain Brown, don't you?! Maybe you can overturn his decision and-"

"I can't do anything about it. I'm too young to be captain, which is why Captain Brown is the leader. Even if I was old enough, I couldn't overturn the decision of the judge. I'm not a lawyer to fight this." Sean tells Diana, who feels dismayed. She looks at him a moment longer before sitting back down and feeling useless. She feels like she may have given Hannah false hope of seeing her husband.

"But since Sean knows the layout of the prison, the guard shift times, and is allowed access to the prisoners. . . He can be taken out discreetly." Crowley says as he receives surprised glances from Sean and Diana.

"Are you crazy?! I could be put to death for that!" Sean yells at Crowley, who takes a sip of tea after also putting in four sugar cubes. "There's no way I can help with something like that!" He continues to yell, and Diana looks at him.

"Why not? Are you really okay with seeing an innocent man behind bars? He has a wife who is worried sick about him! Do you really think that what the higher-ups are doing to the innocent monsters is okay?!" She questions him as she clenches her hands at her sides. Sean looks at the duo and then looks down, a distressed expression on his young face.

"N-no, of course I don't think that's okay. I can't do a thing, though! I have no power just because of my age." Sean tells her, and Diana kneels down and bows until her forehead touches the floor. Crowley's eyes widen in surprise as he sees Diana do this.

"Please, I'm begging you! Help the innocent man escape and run away with his wife!" Diana pleads with Sean, who is also taken aback by her actions. He looks at Crowley, who nods his head at him.

"Alright, alright, I'll help him escape. The problem is that I have no safe place for them to escape to." Sean tells the duo. Crowley now steps up and helps Diana up off the ground as she smiles gratefully at Sean. 

"Just leave that part to me." Crowley tells them. Diana looks at him confused.

"There are quite a few lower ranked officials who do not agree with the way the Artemia government is handling the road of survival. The way things are being handled. . . Humanity will surely cease to exist. So I've rounded them up and have them continue their work in the military factions while also helping the falsely accused monsters. So even I have monster allies who think their own brethren are in the wrong." Crowley explains to them. Diana's gray eyes widen.

"So this war isn't just humans versus monsters. There is the third type as well. . . Allies between monsters and humans who still wish to coexist and are willing to fight for that belief." Crowley nods his head at Diana and smiles softly. Diana looks out of the window and walks towards it.

"It seems I can't run away from this impending war. Although, now I'm glad I don't have to choose a side. In a way, I think I was looking forward to continued coexistence because. . . I neither hate humans nor monsters." Diana says with a smile as she looks at the slowly brightening sky. Crowley walks over to her and stands beside her.

"There is a reason for that feeling, but I will explain everything to you in due time. I need you to trust me and yourself. Now, let's head on back to the academy." Diana nods her head and steps away from the window with Crowley. "Sean, you can stay here so we can talk about the plan. I'll be taking Diana back to her dorm." Sean nods, his head picks up the empty teacups, and heads towards the kitchen. Diana and Crowley carefully head out.

Diana looks back as they reach the bottom of the steps and sees only a run down and nearly broken down building. She stares at it impressed and then follows after Crowley.

"I was wondering... why are you so open to helping me? We'd never interacted before. Since we're the same age, we must have gone into Acacia Delbata at the same time when we were thirteen. You became well known to me during my final year as an Acacia Delbata when you became a member of the Five Elite at age fifteen." Diana ends up rambling a bit after asking her pressing question. Crowley looks over his shoulder as Diana slows down to walk behind his right shoulder.

"Oh, because I can tell that you and I have similar thoughts about Artemia, monsters, and humans. Like I said, I'm searching for allies that can help fix this messed-up system. I can tell that you are an ally that I need by my side." He turns around to face Diana, stopping to smile gently at her. Diana looks up at his kind smile, feeling at ease. She returns the smile, putting her hands behind her back to play with the hem of her sweater.

"Then, does that mean you're the leader of a resistance?" Diana asks.

"Ugh, I hope not. That's too much work and responsibility." Crowley admits, the reaction seems out of character to the man she thought he was. It kind of makes her laugh. She covers her mouth to stop it from coming out. Crowley was also surprised by this reaction. He lets out a soft chuckle once the surprise passes.

"Are you surprised by my behavior?" He questions her. Diana takes a breath to settle down.

"Um, yeah, a little bit. We are always taught to put the Five Elite on a pedestal as the grand saviors of Artemia. It's easy to forget that you're all people as well. I mean, we're the same age after all... you also must act and do things that a twenty year old does. Like go out with friends or hang out with a girlfriend... boyfriend? Partner?" Diana blushes as she realizes she's probably probing into things that are not her business. She clears her throat and looks to the side. "Sorry..." 

"It's okay, I don't mind that you're curious about me. I also want to know about you. What you do for fun, who you hang out with, any partners," The mention of partners causes Diana to turn brighter red as she thinks about Dean. "Or your past too..." He says a bit cautiously, which makes Diana calm down. But the mention of her past makes her brow furrow a bit.

"Our pasts must be similar since we were never adopted out of our orphanages. Which one were you in?" Diana directs the conversation back to him. Crowley looks to the side for a bit before looking back at Diana's curious gaze.

"Cypress Orphanage. I decided not to take the last name. If I was allowed to, I wouldn't have any last name at all. So, out of spite, I just put a big X when I changed my name." Crowley admits to her. She looks at him with even more curiosity and interest.

"Why did you change your name? I just kept the name the orphanage gave me: Diana Green." Diana watches as his expression darkens a bit. She feels like she probably touched upon a subject that he doesn't like to talk about. She is about to retract her question, but he ends up speaking first.

"The name they gave me just didn't feel like mine after a certain point. So, I decided to register with my own name of my choosing. It's fine if you kept yours. Diana is a beautiful name. After the goddess of the moon, according to ancient legends of a country, long disappeared. When humans were the ones writing the history."  She feels embarrassed by the compliment, unsure of how to respond to that. Crowley is enjoying talking to her, but he knows he has to send her back now. They need to separate before people start to wake up and go about their day.

"Diana, it's time to keep on going back to the academy. Let's go." Diana jumps as she remembers she has to get back to Hannah. She was caught up in their conversation as well and is a bit disappointed for it to end. She nods, and they keep on walking as close to the academy as they can get before she takes the rest of the way to the dorms on her own after exchanging farewells.

                                                                         ~0~

"So that's the gist of what happened last night. Your husband and you will probably have to leave Artemia to a safer place. I'm going to trust Professor Crowley and hope he keeps his word." Diana says to Hannah as she finishes up making breakfast for herself and Hannah.

"Crowley, he's one of the Five Elite of Artemia. He's also the only one who is in no military faction, right?" Hannah questions Diana, who nods her head and sits down at the chair across from Hannah as she puts down the pan with scrambled eggs.

"Yeah, he is. Nobody knows why, though. I'm only assuming it's because he doesn't agree with the way the Artemia government is handling things, and he doesn't want to be a part of it." Diana pretends not to know that what she said is exactly his way of thinking as she takes the other half of the scrambled eggs and eats them slowly, not having much of an appetite. Hannah stares at the blackette and then puts her hand to where her mark is under her borrowed shirt.

"I had almost given up on humans until I met your friends and you. So I just hope someone can bring down the Acacia, Dragul, and Matthews families in order to restore the peace." Hannah says, and Diana tenses up. She doesn't want to tell her that Dean is also an Acacia or that Lori is a Dragul. Chelsea just has the bad luck of having the Matthews name in spite of no relation to Vincent. Diana also hopes that her friends are also different from their families.

"I didn't mean to snoop around, but I noticed that you are taking the Branching exams." Hannah says as she too takes small portions of foods. Diana blinks in surprise and looks up into her pale golden eyes.

"Yes, I am. I need to be a member of the Salix section of Vachellia Nilotica in order to gain better education to help the discriminated monsters and stand with our fellow humans who still believe in coexistence." Diana says to Hannah as she reaches back to grab her study guide. She looks to the door as a knock startles both women. Diana points Hannah into her closet and quietly goes to her dorm door to look through the peep hole.

"Oh, it's only Lori." Diana says, relieved and unlocks her door to let in the red head who quickly steps in and locks her door again. Diana frowns in confusion, and Lori finally looks at her.

"Please tell me Dean has contacted you in some way." Diana becomes tense at Lori's words and reluctantly shakes her head. The red head clenches her hands, and her lips form a thin line as she presses them together. "I'm definitely worried now. When I woke up this morning , I received a text from Dean that was a couple of hours old. He wrote it out using our safe words for help and some other person. I assume he was talking about the lady we brought here. I tried to message him back, but he won't answer. He's usually the kind of person who answers right away." Lori explains to Diana, who is also becoming nervous. She bites her lower lip and goes to her phone, but she finds no new messages or calls.

"I really hope nothing bad happened to Dean. I really hope he contacts one of us." Diana says softly as she texts Dean as well, but even she doesn't receive a response.

"I think there is only one thing to do." Lori says after they both wait impatiently for a response from Dean. Diana stares at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm going to Dean's house to see what is going on. I'm sure his parents will know." Lori tells Diana, who nods her head in understanding.

"I'll stay here to make sure Hannah is okay and just in case Dean ends up coming here." She tells Lori, who nods her head and salutes her before she opens the door. She yelps as she nearly bumps into Chelsea.

"Chelsea?!" Both Diana and Lori say surprised to see their tall friend. Chelsea looks at them confused. 

"What's with that reaction? Diana was the one who wanted us to come and quiz her on the first chapter of her study guide." Chelsea reminds her friends as she also tries to figure out why they are behaving so nervously. Diana smacks her forehead, having had forgotten about that, and then looks back at her closet, where Hannah hadn't moved from.

"Um, listen, I think we should try it later. I'm a bit tired since I studied until late hours of the night. Almost morning." Diana tells Chelsea as she looks suspiciously at her two friends. She crosses her arms over her chest and frowns at them. They gulp, and then Diana nods her head.

"I'll tell you what is going on, but right now Lori has to go see Dean. We haven't heard from him since last night and we're afraid it's tied to what I'm about to tell you." Diana tells Chelsea, who nods her head. Lori waves at her two friends and runs off towards the Acacia family manor.

Diana invites Chelsea inside and goes to her closet. "Come on out, Hannah. We can trust Chelsea." Diana says, and she frowns in confusion. Her hazel eyes widen as she sees the woman she and Dean took to the hospital the previous night. She looks to Diana in complete shock.

"Chelsea, this is Hannah. Dean wanted us to help her escape the hospital because he didn't want her tortured by officials to get information she most likely doesn't have since she and her husband are citizens of Artemia. Sadly, her husband was falsely accused of crimes he didn't commit and was unjustly arrested." Diana tells Chelsea, who had been staring on in stunned silence. Hannah stares worriedly at Diana.

"My husband is a goblin. That is why I'm suffering such discrimination." Hannah meekly says as she dares cast a glance at Chelsea. Chelsea removes her glasses and wipes them nervously with a rag. Diana becomes worried and steps a bit closer.

"You're not going to turn her in, are you? Do you think her situation is okay?" Diana questions Chelsea. She puts her glasses back on and shakes her head.

"No, no, this isn't okay. None of this is okay. What was Dean thinking?! I know this was his idea! He may be an Acacia, but even his influence has a limit!" Chelsea says as she starts to pace around. She starts to scratch her head out of nervousness. "And now he's made you and Lori accomplices, so we'd be in trouble too!" Diana follows Chelsea and grabs her shoulders, giving her a small shake.

"Chelsea, please calm down. We are not going to get caught. I also have a plan to get us out of this and get Hannah away with her husband to a safe place. Just trust me, relax, and please keep this secret." Diana pleads with her panicked friend. Chelsea looks at Diana and then over at Hannah, who is looking at her in concern. She sits back on Diana's bed and lowers her head as she starts to scratch her head again. 

"I'm definitely going to regret this. Alright, I won't tell a soul about this." Diana and Hannah relax at Chelsea's response and then look to Diana's phone that vibrates, and the screen flashes to show she received a text.

"Is that Lori already?" Chelsea questions her. Diana grabs her phone, unlocks it, and then presses the messenger icon. She sees the text is from Crowley and her eyes widen a bit as she reads the message.

The plan is set. We will have Roard out of prison by ten o' clock at night tonight. If you have an extra school uniform, give it to the goblin bride. We will reunite the two after the Branching Exams of the Vachellia Nilotica section. She will stay in my place during that time but I need to disguise her as a student because there is a trip to the Dragul Museum that will happen two days after the exams. I will be an escort on the trip, and that is when I will take her to the escape route near the museum.

~Crowley

"Oh no, it's not Lori. It was just a message of advice for the exams sent out to the students taking the Branching Exams." Diana lies to Chelsea, who nods her head and then looks at Diana with concern. Diana responds to the text.

"So what happened to Dean?" Chelsea questions her. Diana also becomes concerned and shakes her head.

"I really have no idea, Chelsea."

                                                                    ~0~

Hours Earlier

"I'm back, Sean." Crowley enters his home, ready to hear a heated lecture from Sean about his abrupt suggestion to commit a breakout of a criminal. It took him a couple minutes to even pass through his front door at the idea of losing the pleasant moment he had shared with Diana to then go to this.

Sean glares at Crowley and smacks some pages onto his chest. Crowley grunts and puts his hands over the papers. "There's the layout of the prison, the wing the prisoner is at, the guard schedules and routes, and the schedule of the prisoner himself." 

"Wow, thanks." Crowley is amazed that Sean worked on this so quickly as he was dropping off Diana. He looks at the pages, very well written and planned out perfectly. This truly shows the incredible genius Sean is at his generation. 

"Whatever! I'm not happy about doing this, but... I'm starting to disagree with the way things are going. You're right, I was just following along with the respected leaders of Artemia. Honestly, I've never really had a bad experience with a monster that wasn't instigated by a human. Captain Brown is really allowing way too much of his troops when it comes to provoking monsters." Sean tells him. Crowley nods in agreement, recalling how the bony man treated Diana when he captured her before. He knows that the man now has it out for the young woman. 

"Yeah, he's a piece of shit. So, pissing him off is going to bring me great joy. Well, then let's use this to get the goblin Roard out of prison." Crowley goes over to his living room and sits down on the couch. Sean follows after him and sits across from him.

"Okay, so... where do you want him? And how will you get him out?" Sean questions him, intrigued by the genius of another generation. 

"I suppose I will have the easy part once you get him out. I'm going to teleport him to a goblin and ghoul safe house. I will be bringing the human woman here. Just to make sure she's not detected by members of Koa Acacia or Swollen-Thorn Acacia." Crowley says nonchalant. Sean stares at him in amazement.

"You... can do that with another person?" Sean is comprehending the amount of magic contained in Crowley. Most people he knows - even the most talented - can only move themselves around to certain distances. He can't imagine how much magic it takes out of someone to teleport at a distance, let alone taking someone else. It is practically unheard of.

Crowley nods, not as impressed by his own skills. "But... as I am now, it takes out a lot of me. It depletes a lot of my magic, so I'm going to be exhausted. This is another reason why I need to keep the couple separate until my magic is restored again. I also need to give a heads up to the ships outside that will transport secret stowaways." He explains to Sean. 

"What... just what all have you been up to? I can't believe you have all these connections that the higher-ups don't know about." Sean almost looks like an excited child as he is learning all this information from Crowley. He, too, was unaware of the help that was available to the monsters in this everchanging society. 

"I've had time to build up these connections. I'm pretty good at looking like I'm not doing anything, huh?" Sean can only nod as he takes this information all in. Crowley continues to observe Sean, gauging his trustworthiness. He truly is just a child who can be easily swayed by powerful people.

The two of them go over how Sean will find Roard and work on getting him out. The planning ends just as Sean starts to show he's sleepy with yawning and half closed eyes. 

"Okay, we've got a solid plan. Let's get some sleep before we have to head to the academy. Let your parents know you're spending the night at the academy as a coverup, and you can just crash on the couch. I'll get you a blanket and some pillows." Crowley gets up, stretching his tired back. Sean only nods, his exhaustion settling in. 

Crowley gets the blanket and pillow, handing it over to Sean. He mumbles in gratitude before he haphazardly sets up the blanket and pillows. He falls asleep once he lies down. Crowley sighs, knowing he didn't do what he asked. He fixes the blanket for the teen and then uses his phone to send a text to Sean's parents pretending to be him. They buy it immediately without any question. 

"Alright, time for bed." Crowley yawns and heads to his bedroom, getting ready to sleep for a couple of hours before work. He, too, falls asleep as soon as his head hits his pillow.

                                                       ~0~

Crowley makes his way towards the academy as he texts Diana that they are ready with their plan to release Roard. He also lets her know that he plans to take Hannah to his place for safety until he can reunite the pair.

"Okay! Thanks a lot for all your help... I'll bring Hannah over to you as soon as I can. Let me know what works for you." 

Crowley smiles at he sees her polite and considerate response. "I hope someday we can chat more casually again." Crowley thinks to himself before he tucks his phone away and is greeted by the unpleasant sight of Vincent Matthews. It completely ruins his mood.

"Good morning, partner. Looks like you were having an interesting conversation that brightened you up. I bet she's a real lovely lady, eh?" Vincent speaks out to the young man. Crowley's jaw clenches as he continues to walk forward.

"Crowley, you hurt my feelings. Here I'm trying to be your friend, after all... you are the one that succeeded my dear brother. I figured we could get along since he was your mentor for a while." Vincent follows next to Crowley. He just wants to lose him and go about his day as usual.

"I don't want to be your friend. You and Charon are nothing alike." Crowley says, annoyed. Vincent only chuckles as he continues to figuratively poke at the young man.

"That's too bad. Well, I just wanted to let you know that we'll be having a meeting of the Five Elite and the Artemia leaders once again to decide the fate of the monsters. It was a request of immediate attendance upon the end of the school day from our lovely Imogen Dragul." Vincent informs Crowley. He grabs his phone to look at his emails. He goes to the spam folder, where he finds the message from Imogen Dragul to all the members.

"Great, see you then. If you don't mind, I don't want to see you much longer than I have to. Have... have the day that you deserve, Vincent." Crowley snaps a little as he goes over towards the Serpent building. Vincent slows down before stopping and smiles at Crowley's distancing figure. 

"Always the rude child, aren't you? I can clearly see why Charon decided to promote this child as quickly as he could. Things are about to get interesting, and I can't wait to see it." Vincent goes in the opposite direction to the Acacia Delbata section at the European Aspen building.