After thinking about it, Ortho says, "Okay. In that case..... I want to be a REAL little brother to you."

"What...?" Idia replies, surprised.

Then Ortho says, "I don't have Shroud blood running through my body, just oil. And my hair isn't a manifestation of some curse. It's just artificially generated. But the memories and feelings Ortho left me all reside within my core. I am Ortho, and Ortho is me. So this is my choice, Idia. Besides, if I wasn't there to stop you, you'd just throw yourself into binge gaming and dev work and never eat or sleep."

This has Idia stunned, "Grk. Look..."

But Ortho continues, "You don't have any close friends who can keep you in line yet, and I don't know if you ever will. Not to put too fine a point on it, but leaving you to your own devices is a terrible idea. So...I want to stay with you. Is that asking too much?"

"How could that ever be asking too much?" Idia questions.

And then, Idia says, "You've been my real brother for a long time now, Ortho."

Ortho is surprised, but then hugs Idia, "Thanks, Idia. You know, after everything we did, your situation hasn't changed one bit. The Island of Woe's still the same, and so is your curse. But something has shifted. After all, we got to play video games with friends! We took something that we thought was impossible and made it happen. And that memory remains with me, as it does with everyone else. So maybe things only moved from 0 to 0.001. But still... It's a major step."

"Ortho..." Idia replies.

"Let's go back to Night Raven College together. You've got people waiting for you there," Ortho happily says.

"...Yeah, I do, huh," Idia says.

But then, Idia says, "Actually, Idia - I was hoping to try something once we get back."

"Yeah?" Idia replies.

"Well, you see..." Ortho says, and whispers in Idia's ear.

And asks, "...Do you think it's too much?"

India chuckles, "Whee hee hee... Just leave it to your big bro!"

A few weeks later...

The Ramshackle Dorm has been prepared, and looks like it's brand new. Now that it's rebuilt as good as new, Briar and her friends are able to return. They see the dorm that is good as new.

Grim cheers, "Mya-HAH! Ramshackle Dorm is BACK, BABY!"

"Wow, it looks brand spankin' new!" Jasper says.

"Yeah. It looks so beautiful," Briar says.

And then Grim says, "Whew! It was suffocatinhstaying at Pomefiore during the renovations. Vil yelled at me whenever I had a midnight snack... People expected me to do some stupid 'treatment' whenever I got outta the bath... And they kept naggin' me to brush every single bit of my body! Then again, your hair and my fur are like gloss city, so I guess it wasn't all bad! Myahahah!"

"I suppose you're right. I've never felt this cleaned before," Sereia says.

"I agree. It was difficult to follow their rules, but it really felt nice," Tanzanite says.

"Me neither, although Vil was being a little extra strict with me. Then again, Malleus was able to help me gain back my strength, after being healed," Briar says.

"Vil is just doing it because he thinks you should act more like a princess because you were one," Jasper says.

"Maybe, but Vil was also taking his time with those training with me, I guess he also wanted to be sure I went easy because I also had my body drained from the events," Briar says.

"Then how come your eyes are still yellow?" Grim asks.

"Grim, remember last week you asked that. Briar and Malleus explained that her eyes were naturally yellow, but we figure the spell Briar's older sister used had a side effect or something. It's that or Aura wanted to be sure she's not recognized as part of the royal family," Sereia says.

"Oh yeah. Malleus also mentions that you got your eyes from your grandmother on your father's side," Grim says.

"That's right," Briar says. "Some parts of my memories are fuzzy, but I'm sure I'll remember everything someday, maybe even sooner."

"Well, I hope you do," Grim says.

Soon, Kalim and the others arrive.

Kalim calls out, "Oh, they're here! Hey, guys!"

"The guests of honor have finally arrived," Vil says.

"It's real fancy inside, too! Come on in," Epel says.

"Okay," Briar says.

Soon, everyone walks inside the dorm and it looks very beautiful inside, it's like the dorm was never a wreck.

Suddenly, the Ghosts appear, "Grimmy! Briar! Everyone!"

Everyone yelps in reply.

Even Grim yelps, "Eeep!" But soon calms down, "Oh, it's you guys."

And then says, "Don't just pop up like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Hey guys, we're back," Briar says.

"It's great to see you all again," Serai says.

Patrick chuckles, "Hee hee hee! Welcome back, you all!"

"We're so glad you're safe and sound!" Albert says.

And John says, "Don't scare your elders like that. We didn't feel alive when you all were gone."

"Whaddaya mean, alive?" Jasper questions.

"Yeah! You're already ghosts!" Grim adds.

"Oh yeah, so we are!" Patrick says.

And then the three ghosts start laughing, "WAH HAH HAH!"

Then Albert says, "Come in, come in. Wait 'til you see what they've done with the place."

Everyone soon arrives in the lounge, and everything is rebuilt and looks as good as new. There's new clean furniture, new cleaned curtains, tables, and even cleaned photos hanging on the wall.

Grim cheers, "Hot diggity dog! Everything's all shiny and sparkly!"

"And everything looks so clean!" Sereia adds, amazed.

Then Vil says, "I was worried because the roof and flooring got destroyed when we fought the Charons... But Styx kept their word and covered all the expenses needed to restore the place."

"That meant we still had the money we'd set aside for flooring renovations," Jamil says, "So we fixed up all the rooms that have plumbing like the showers and kitchen, and replaced your water heater and some other appliances. Now you should be able to shower without the hot water randomly running out."

Jasper grins, "I guess we can't call it the Ramshackle Dorm anymore."

"I suppose so," Briar says.

Kalim laughs, "Haha! I'm glad you like it! Personally, I wish we could ve put in a fancier chandelier."

"That chandelier would've eaten up our entire budget. Let it go," Jamil points out.

Then Rook says, "Oh, yes — Briar, we have a surprise for you in your rooms. Why don't you go take a look?"

Soon, everyone walks into the girls room, and are amazed to see how cleaned, new, and sparkly it looks. The same with the boys room.

Grim yelps, "Whoa! What in the world? It looks like Pomefiore up in here!"

"No kidding, it's like the sun is sparkling in the rooms," Jasper says.

"Bet it must be expensive too," Tanzantnie says.

Vil turns to Briar, "Well? Do you like it?"

"It's so nice, I'm afraid to ask what it cost," Briar replies in her thoughts, can't seem to find the words.

"Your jaw would hit the floor if you saw the price tag..." Vil says.

"Huh?" Briar questions, worried.

But then Vil says, "Heh, I kid. Actually, the plumbing repairs and lounge renovations took more of our budget than we planned. So we couldn't do much for your room. Hence... This." and presses a button.

Soon, the room reverts to its normal state, but it's at least cleaned up and looks better than before, but less sparkly. Briar and the others are surprised.

Grim yelps, "Mrah?! Now it's back to bein' the same ol' room?"

"What's the trick?" Tanzanite asks, surprised.

Vil then presents what seems to be a sphere globe as he says, "What you just saw was an illusion made with this magical projector. You can use this to inject a little fancy flair into your modest accommodations." He presses the button and the room changes to the glamor version, "Back in the day when CG effects and projection mapping were less advanced... Magical projectors like this were indispensable in showbiz. This is a used one I got on the cheap from an acquaintance of mine. It's more a toy than anything, but it'll lift your spirits, right?"

"It's amazing. Thank you so much!" Briar says.

"Thank you," Everyone replies.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of the doorbell buzzing.

"Hm? Sounds like someone's at the door," Grim says.