Vile Attraction (Floyd Leech/Yuu, Jade Leech/Yuu)

20 ~ Hiding Spot

Ace took a deep breath, holding the camera Idia had given them in one hand and two potions in the other: one for invisibility and the other for water breathing. He had volunteered to be the one to sneak in since all of this was because of his worry for Yuu, but now that he was standing in front of the mirror to Octavinelle, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

"Ace, what are you doing?"

He turned to see Deuce standing near the mirror to Heartslabyul. "Uh... Nothing?"

"You didn't... make another contract with Ashengrotto, did you?" Deuce asked hesitantly, clearly confused as to what his friend was doing standing outside of the mirror leading to Octavinelle.

"Please, I'm not dumb enough to do that twice," Ace responded. "I'll be back in a minute, I just have something I gotta do real quick."

Deuce's eyes flitted down to the objects in Ace's hands. "What exactly are you doing..?"

"Nothing, just go back to the dorm! I'll—"

Ace stopped talking when he noticed a familiar tall Octavinelle student enter the Hall of Mirrors. In a panic, Ace chugged the potions and leaped into the mirror before anyone could react.

Octavinelle's atmosphere was starkly different from Heartslabyul's. It gave Ace a chill, though that could also be from being suddenly submerged in water. Either way, he was in, and he could now focus on his mission.

This brought up the next big issue: Ace didn't know where the potion lab in Octavinelle was. He knew that it was somewhere, but the only other time he had been in Octavinelle was when he was forced to work there by Azul, not giving him much time to explore and take in his surroundings.

From behind him, someone else came through the mirror. Jade. He seemed to be staring at Ace and he froze, certain that he wasn't visible yet unsure of what to do with the eel's gaze on him. But Jade eventually turned away and began walking.

"My, I have so much to do today," Jade mused somewhat loudly. "I believe I have something to pick up in the potion lab... I should head there now to grab that before tending to my other responsibilities."

Ace's eyes widened. It almost seemed too perfect, too convenient, but he had no other leads. He quickly began following Jade's direction, trying his best to stay inconspicuous.

After taking a few odd twists and turns, they arrived at Octavinelle's potion lab, which probably would have taken Ace much longer to find had he chosen to not follow Jade. He watched as Jade lingered in the lab, moving to a shelf near the corner and shuffling through it as though he was searching for something.

"This would be the perfect place to hide something," Jade spoke again, just loud enough for Ace to hear. When Jade moved away from the spot, Ace quickly replaced him, scanning the spot he had made the comment about. It was a good spot, but he wasn't sure how well the camera would hide there. It was also incredibly odd how Jade made that comment. Ace was still invisible, right?

Jade moved to a cauldron and picked up a tiny vial. "Good, the antidote is done." He scooped up a bit of the liquid and pocketed the vial. "Yuu desperately needs this... Wouldn't you agree, Ace?"

Ace froze where he stood, staring at Jade and remaining silent. Jade didn't seem to know exactly where he was, but he was aware of his presence. "Don't worry, I'm not here to stop you. I'll pretend you were never here."

"W-Wait," Ace whispered quietly, and Jade's head turned to the direction of the sound. "How do you know I'm here?"

A quiet chuckle escaped Jade. "I can sense your magic. You should've sent Cater instead."