Chapter 5: Daydream

"You can do this, Ryu…"

The door opened slowly, revealing a robot with curious eyes and metal skin. Behind the robot were four people; Lorianne, Rior, Misty, and another girl with glasses and a mechanical arm. Her hair was dark, near black, and green eyes like an emerald in a cave.

The robot greeted him, to which Rain danced around his head. The little cloud loved meeting new people. Xino, however, hated it. He preferred standing to the side and admiring the beauty that conveyed itself through each human and animal. Talking was the hard part, he wasn't always fond of forming words just to slowly stutter them out and give up. He sighed, entering the house and standing in the center, eyes glancing around. The colors were nice, everything was neat and clean. But he was having trouble keeping focus, everything seemed so slow and surreal. Even his imagination was starting to drift away.

"Xino! I am so glad you came, we need to talk." Lori stood and rushed over to the boy, searching his face before giving him a small hug.

"Um..about w-what."

"Well, this woman came by and asked me to find a bunch of names on this list." Lori pulled out a small note and handed it to him. Xino folded through and his eyes landed on his name. But something else caught his eye.

"Pictures…" He mumbled, they all resembled something familiar. He couldn't quite remember though, his mind felt fuzzy.

"Pictures? There is only writing, Xino." Rior spoke up, Lori going back to her seat. Misty stood and inspected the note with him.

"Rose…pendant…guitar….mask…Rain!" The artist turned his head, frantically looking for the cloud. Rain hummed next to him.

He instructed her carefully, he needed his notebook. Why hadn't he brung it? He always did, the dream book was important. He felt sleepier with each word, each thought. Like a poison slowly enveloping his mind. They all watched as the cloud dissipated, only to reappear moments later. She dropped the dream book in her maker's hands, going back to the robot.

"What is it?" The girl with glasses asked. Xino looked at her curiously for a moment. "Right, hi, Xino. My name is Cassidy."

"Hi…look."

He set his book on the center of the table, placing the note beside it. His vision blurred, a girl with pastel hair making herself noticeable. He couldn't catch a glimpse of her face, everything was moving so slowly. He felt mushy, tired, barely able to move. And then, just as fast as she had appeared, she left. His mind came back to him, thoughts coming in all at once. His head hurt, but besides that, he felt fine.

Focusing back on the group, they were all looking at the drawings in his notebook. Lorianne told him that there were no drawings on the note. But he could see them clearly. Just like the drawings in the dream book. It wasn't fake, he wasn't crazy. Why couldn't they see them?

"Where did you get these drawings?" Cassidy asked, inspecting the guitar very carefully.

"I drew them from my dreams."

"Dreams…" Xino would have said more, but as he found the courage, Cassidy stood and walked away. The robot followed after her as Rain thundered in protest, but she didn't bother to look.

Misty shrugged it off and mumbled something about her roommate before leaving the room as well. That left the three of them alone to think. Lorianne explained that she asked every teacher she could find about those names. Nobody came up. They were starting to think they didn't even attend this school. Lux…Xino peered at the note more before turning back to his drawing. On the pendant was a name written neatly in cursive, Lux Rose. But he didn't know anyone who wore a pendant, not like this one.

"What if…no, nevermind." Rior glanced out the window, as if he was afraid of something.

"What is it?" Lori placed her hand on his shoulder and gave a concerned look to Xino, who was starting to zone out from the quietness the room contained.

"That name…right there. Reality." Rior pointed at the last name, and then he pointed to the final drawing. A mixture of swirling colors all put together, almost creating a distorted city. "That is a scene from a newspaper article. Someone described the city becoming colorful and distorted, I think it was the villain who did it."

"Villain..?" Lori glanced at the note and then Xino's drawing. "We have to track down a villain? Who can distort reality?"

"It shouldn't be that bad…reality is so distant from me, maybe I can make it work?" Xino chimed in. It was true, from what he knew, nothing was normal in his eyes. Leaf had made him and Alon watch Alice in Wonderland, and lately Xino was wondering if he came off a little crazy to others like she did.

He had weird thoughts, he blurted out what he thought he saw, and was told it was his imagination. As far as Xino knew, he was insane. Rior and Lori exchanged looks before giving a questioning one to Xino. He had forgotten that Rior and Lori still didn't know much about him. Besides his powers, he was foreign.

"Right…My powers make me see the world…more colorful than most? I could turn anything into a picture, something unrealistic." Xino laughed nervously at the last bit.

"What are your powers?" Rior then asked. He seemed to be inspecting the small paint splatter Xino had barely noticed was on his arm.

"My powers? I can turn whatever I draw real, and apparently, whatever I think…"

"Whoa…okay."

Lorianne laughed and reached over to grab Xino's hand, as if to say they were in this together. It was nice knowing someone was there for you. The world being so out of place from his mind, people were the only things he knew were real. He could touch them, talk to them, and listen to them. Even with his imagination, a simple touch could bring him back to reality. Reality, the name of someone who could distort it. It was ironic, in a sense. And a villain? What if the other two were villains as well, maybe hiding out in a secret school for villains just as the heroes.

But that was silly. So many young teenagers with amazing abilities meeting up in a school for the cruel and dastardly? How would you make it through a semester without losing a bunch of kids to each other, let alone a year. The thought lingered in his mind, the heroes were trained together. Villains, they worked alone as far as Xino could tell. An Academy for children who all wanted to rule the world? That didn't seem like it could work out.

"Except, not every villain wants to rule the world." They all turned their heads to see a cloaked figure standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean?" Lori asked, as if this was a normal visit.

"Well…let's see, some villains do what they do because of loss. Of bullying, relentless stress and torture. Trauma, disability, insanity. And others do it because they want power." Xino recognized the voice immediately. Inia smiled underneath the dark shading of her cloak as her head examined the room.

"But they are all evil, either way." Rior commented, gritting his teeth.

"No, that isn't true. Some are, lots really. But all of them? Tell me, Rior, if you were abandoned as a child and told you would do nothing as an adult even with your super speed, would you want to be a hero?"

"Well..that wouldn't happen. Not to me. I couldn't answer that question because I have never felt anything less than loved by my mother." The two stared at each other, neither one daring to blink. Inia's challenging smirk seemed to tick him off.

"And because of that, you have no idea how good it feels to be a villain. No rules, nobody can hurt you, you have control over your own life." She stepped closer to them, eyes landing on Xino.

Inia's eyes were visible now, as she looked at the artist he could see a sense of empathy and compassion. She looked kind and gentle, but when she looked at Rior her eyes changed. She looked smug and ready to fight him. He looked irritated. Lori seemed like she knew what was going on, which would make sense.

"How do you know all this, Inia?" Lori finally asked after a small staring contest. Inia snapped her cape, allowing Xino to feel a draft of wind.

"I was an orphan. I was raised with other children like us, born with powers. I was a troublemaker, I had bad friends. My best friend was thrown around from house to house, nobody wanted a snake as their daughter. She told me she would never become evil, but her snakes..they read minds. They battled me for her, every day when she wasn't looking. I heard her thoughts, her hatred for others. She wanted to be loved." Inia choked on her next words, Xino wasn't sure she should be talking about this.

Inia then fell to her knees, looking intently at the drawings in Xino's book. Lorianne quickly grabbed Rior's arm as he looked like he might run away. Inia was scary, intimidating. Her cloak covered her features, her eyes were distant, she looked angry yet kind. Xino noticed how she sat alone in class, and in support she was usually the only one to stand up to their teacher. But now, she looked scared herself. Sad.

"She ran away, to a new home. A home for kids that didnt believe the world was good. She left me before I could love her." She was crying now, and Xino wished he knew more about humans. Then he looked up at Lori, tears were making their way to her as well. She must have felt the story just the same as Inia did.

"And what happened after that?" Xino asked lightly.

"I left too. I found out about the academys. Potestas and Teufel. Heroes and Villains. She went to Teufel, I came here."

"An academy for villains? Now you're just saying things." Rior mumbled, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I speak the truth!"

"Sure, what next, the world ends in three days?"

"Rior, don't be rude. I think she's right." Xino picked up his dream book and pulled out a pen, drawing something quickly.

He didn't think his idea was true, but one of his dreams showed a school uniform with the words "Teufel" on the collar. He wasn't sure what Teufel meant until later on when he was reading an article about villain families way back then. Teufel meant "Devil" and the academy must have been for villains. He drew out the school uniform, just like theirs.

Everyone watched him as he drew out what he remembered, the black and red uniform with a pendant around the neck. A rose pendant with the name "Lux Rose" written in pretty letters. Purple hair flowed down the sides of her outfit, along with the back. He never got to see her face, but her voice was enticing and she sounded so sweet.

"Lux Rose. Teufel Academy. You don't think..the last three are all villains?" Lorianne took the notebook and scanned the drawings over and over.

"That guitar looks familiar." Inia spoke quieter now, she seemed to have regained composure.

Xino looked away as his friends deciphered his dream book, he was getting worried now. Villains? How were they supposed to work with villains when they hadn't even learned to work with each other? They were also tasked with finding these so-called villain students, who went to another school made especially for villains. If Potestas Academy was hidden from the mortal eye, how were they supposed to find Teufel? All these things began to pile up in Xino's head. Every little thing slowly grows bigger and bigger.

This Daydream person they kept mentioning, she seemed familiar. Xino had seen her before, somewhere around the school. Whoever she was, this was crazy. She expected three teenagers to find three others, most likely powerful villains who could make it on their own. Just thinking about it gave him a sense of dread. Lori could alter people's moods, Rior could run faster than the speed of light, and Xino could paint a pretty picture. All in all, none of them were fighters. If the villains they were meant to find even tried to attack them, Xino doubted they would be able to do much in combat.

Rain floated over, changing shapes from dogs to spoons. He loved the way clouds could look however they wanted as long as you had the imagination for it. Thus why Rain was his favorite form of entertainment. She shot a small bolt of lightning at her maker, expressing how she would like to get home before dark. After the first time, Rain hadn't spoken again. Besides the small screeches of yelling she somehow managed to form.

"Ow! Okay, sorry, I know." Xino stood and reached over for the book. This visit was over, he had to go draw out his costume design. He had the coat, now he just needed everything else.

"Leaving already?" Lori tilted her head as she stood to give him a hug.

"Yeah, Rain can't be out too late." He then smiled and drew one last thing into his notebook, handing it to her. "You don't have to use it, I just thought it might be cute."

"Wow…I love it! I will definitely give it a try, thanks Xi! See you…in class, actually."

"In class?"

"Yeah, we are meeting up dummy. Nymphalid and Flamboyant have to work together."

"Oh, okay! See you then. Bye Inia, by Rior." Xino turned around and headed back to his dorm.

Even though the situation wasn't perfect, he enjoyed talking to Rior and Lori. She was calm and level headed, Rior seemed nervous but excited, and Xino felt happy. Put together, Rior and Lori reminded him of Alon. He was stoic but emotional at the same time. He never spoke too loudly, he never made any loud movements, and he did his best to accommodate his roommates.

Oddly enough, Xino wished his roommates were louder. He wished they ran around the dorm like they do when they are having "Family time". He loves the noisemakers and how it fills his mind with something other than thoughts. When he first left his house, he figured the noise would bother him and his ears. But he immediately wanted to hear more. Music, talking, laughing. Sound was beautiful, just like his art.

Xino went the rest of the week planning. He figured that the teachers couldn't hear about this little quest, and that the school was probably out of their knowledge. If they did know, nobody was doing anything to stop it. He tried his best to look for any signs or articles on the topic, but villains were spread out everywhere. Just like heroes. It was impossible to get an exact location, and assuming they also had invisible buses, it was going to be ten times harder to locate.

Now it was Friday, their costumes were due and they had to meet with Mr. Flamboyant's class for training day. They wouldn't actually get to do anything, this was just an introduction to what would happen eventually. Xino only knew a few people from the other freshman class, but he figured they should be okay. Hopefully none of them were jerks, or at least, nobody that he got paired up with. They had to do a buddy system as well, Xino being paired with Fonzo and Jig.

Nymphalid explained that they all had to get along and not cause any trouble, Mr. Flamboyant was offering his help and they had to be grateful. The artist had only met Mr. Flamboyant once, and in his opinion, he was pretty cool. Flashy, shiny, extra, and very dramatic. All things Xino could appreciate as an artist.

"So, Xino, anything interesting for me to practice my shapeshifting on?" Fonzo asked as they walked through the campus and towards the dome.

"Interesting? What about an alien with a dog head, but like in that one thing..sailor moon?"

"Uh…I mean, I can?" Fonzo laughed and patted the artist on the back, it was probably an odd thing to ask someone to turn into.

"I'm kidding! I can draw something up for you." As Xino was about to bring out his sketchbook, a kid fell out of the sky and landed right in front of Leaf. He jumped back about ten paces and screamed, vines popping out around him.

"Oh goodness! Are you okay?" Nymphalid ran towards the kid, helping him dust off.

Upon closer inspection, Xino noticed that he was the same guy from their support class. Jay? He was grinning stupidly as he dusted the dirt out of his hair, little wings on his shoes making him float an inch off the ground. Nymphalid took a deep breath and smiled, everyone's attention turning to the other class that was now making their way over. Lorianne was standing towards the front, along with Rior. She waved lightly to the artist, who was getting more excited by the minute. She had that effect on people, he supposed.

Everyone gathered around the dome, Nymphalid and Flamboyant standing in the center. Everyone quieted down, but as Xino looked over at Rior he could tell the runner wanted to do something. His eyes were flicking around everywhere, and he was bouncing on his heels. Xino wanted to say something, but in the blink of an eye, Rior was hugging Nymphalid so tightly the baby might've been crushed.

"Oh, my little caterpillar! Would you like to stay with me and your teacher?" Nymphalid spoke so caringly towards her son, Xino's heart started to ache. He could hear a few whispers, some not so friendly.

"Let us start classes! Today, Nymphalid and I will be explaining the rest of the year to you. Once we get your costumes, everyone will be tasked with a new group each week. Once a week we will visit the dome to practice our skills and maintain our abilities." Mr. Flamboyant started, his voice was so much louder compared to Nymphalid.

"Yes, and we will reward you all with treats!" Nymphalid added, her wings fluttering. The students all cheered, except for Xino who was becoming distracted.

He turned his head away for a second, seeing something run into the bushes. So many bright colors, how had nobody else noticed? He slowly backed away, slipping through the crowd in hopes of finding the source of those colors. He finally made it to the bushes, crawling into a small opening. It was odd, the closer he got the more hazy he became. It felt like a dream, but this was very much real.

"Xino Ryu, I am so glad to see you." Xino turned his head, the voice was everywhere but nowhere at all. Soft, kind of how Rain sounded when she spoke the first time. Speaking of Rain, where was she?

"Right here, Xino. Your cloud is having the time of her life. As for you, I hope that we can soon meet." Xino finally landed his gaze on a small woman, she looked dreamy yet intimidating.

"Me?"

"Yes, you, silly. We will become friends, I hope. Now, go back to your class and keep this whistle close to you."

"What whistle-" Xino looked down at his hands, a whistle firmly set in his palm.

"Goodbye now, artist." And just like that, everything felt real again.

Xino looked around, he could still hear Mr. Flamboyant voice from the dome. He figured they would start wondering where he went if he stayed behind any longer. It took him a moment to realize the situation. He was holding the whistle, it was painted with clouds. Rain was sitting beside him, dancing with the slow breeze that came through.

The artist stood, exiting the bushes and clearing himself of the leaves. Some had gotten stuck in his hair and he had a few scrapes on his arm, but besides that, he felt as though nothing had happened. Quietly, he made his way back through the crowd of students, claiming his original spot. Nymphalid eyed him curiously, but didn't say anything as she was listening to Flamboyant talk.

"Now, let's decide on groups?" Nymphalid said sweetly, patting Rior's head. She pointed towards Fonzo and Xino, as well as two from the other class.

They all gathered together while Nymphalid continued to pair people up. The first guy they paired up with, Kaeton, had blonde hair and brown eyes. He looked happy and lighthearted, ready for anything. A confident feeling that Xino rarely had. The other person had blonde hair and kind, sad eyes. She was tall and fidgety. She also stood farther away from them, as if she was afraid to touch anyone. That was fair, Xino had learned about germaphobes and introverts, or people who were just flat out uncomfortable with physical confrontation from Alon. Not everyone liked hugs, apparently.

Soon enough all the groups were sorted out. Xino noticed that Inia and Lucifer were in the same group, a realization starting to hit. The first day of school, Inia mentioned she had telekinesis. But she had read his mind? Whatever happened between those two, it did something to their powers. Focusing back on his group. Nymphalid asked them to get to know each other, it was important. This was their only class today so they had to make it count.

"So! My name is Kaeton, you can call me Kae! I'm an incredible archer, I never miss my target." Kae held up his hands, receiving a high five from Fonzo.

"I'm Fonzo, shapeshifter."

"I'm Xino..I do art." Xino whispered, he was trying his best not to stutter. Kae tilted his head, like a puppy learning a new trick.

"You do art?"

"Mhm."

"Your power is to do…art?"

"Yep." Xino sighed and pulled out his sketchbook, flipping through and then flicking his hand. A bow and arrow appeared on the ground, a lion's head being the arrow head.

"Whoa."

"I'm Leina. I can absorb people's powers, so please be careful not to touch me." Leina spoke quickly, she had a deep voice but still light.

"Nice to meet you!" Fonzo clapped his hands. Xino could tell this group would be fun.

It only took five minutes before they were all laughing, Fonzo turning into random things he found in Xino's notebook and Kae playing with his arrows. Leina and Xino talked lightly, he even offered to make her gloves. She had tried that, of course, but Xino had another idea in mind. If he could make whatever he wanted, all he needed to do was draw some gloves that blocked powers. She approved the request and he went to work.

He had to make them pretty, of course. She was beautiful; her hair, her eyes, her clothes. Everything about her was pretty. Come to think of it, Xino had never met anyone who wasn't pretty. Leina had broad shoulders, she was tall and had strong looking arms. She didn't seem like the fidgety type, but her hands and eyes could barely keep themselves together as they spoke.

Soon enough Xino had come up with the perfect design for gloves. They were white and black, changing colors depending on the type of power she had. The finger pads came off if she ever wanted to use her power, and he made sure they would allow her to touch anyone she wanted without worry. Leina tried them on gingerly, she seemed scared. The gloves fit perfectly and they looked nice on her skin. She smiled as she reached out and softly touched Xino.

"Do they work?" He asked, not feeling any different.

Leina picked up Xino's sketchbook, slowly drawing out something. She was definitely slower than Xino and much more hesitant. She didn't go back and fix anything as often as Xino did, but that was most likely because she wasn't a perfectionist as he was. Then she turned the book, a beautiful drawing. But it wasn't like his. She then flicked her hand, the same way he did. But nothing happened.

"It worked!" Xino exclaimed, reaching out to give her a high five. The two laughed in accomplishment.

"Thank you!" Leina looked so much happier, her eyes bright and amazed.

Ten minutes later Nymphalid called everyone to gather around again. Leaf ran up to Xino to tell him all about his group. He seemed pretty okay except for the part where he was paired with Natalie. Xino and Alon were still having trouble keeping their cool around her. Especially Alon, ironically. The artist hadn't even noticed until now, but Leaf seemed pretty upset over this.

"Xino Ryu." Nymphalid called, everyone silently turning to him. He shifted uncomfortably, the stares feeling like lasers. "Where did you run off to?"

"W-when?"

"Just a bit ago, before we paired the groups. You missed quite a bit of instructions."

"I-I was…looking for something..I l-lost." He cursed his stutter, it was probably obvious he wasn't being truthful.

"Really? And what was it you lost?" She eyed him suspiciously, whispers popping up around him.

Then, just as he was about to admit the truth, Rain floated over. She dropped the whistle into Xino's hands, shaping herself into a checkmark. Xino grinned, he had never been so happy to have a pet cloud before. Then again, how many people actually have pet clouds?

"M-my whistle!" He held it up, reaching out his hand to pet Rain.

"Oh, I see, a family heirloom?"

"Mhm!"

"Okay, just let me know next time? I don't want anything to happen to you." She smiled before gaining the class's attention again.

Xino sighed, pulling Rain closer to him to silently thank her. He wasn't a good liar, and he wasn't sure they would be fond of him running into the bushes to talk to a stranger. The last five minutes of class were the teachers talking about schedules. Xino, as usual, didn't focus too much on that little bit of information. Instead he studied the whistle, wondering what it would do. He had never owned anything like this before, he barely even knew what a whistle was. All he knew was that it looked like an instrument of some sort.

Leaf and Alon traveled back home with the boy, talking about lunch and plans. They had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted. Leaf suggested a movie night, which sounded fun, but Xino had already made plans. He wanted to go home for the day, his original home. Hopefully his parents could answer some questions that had been lingering in his mind.

He packed up a bag, gathered Rain, a bottle of water that she could soak up on the way, and left. First things first, he needed to board the bus. Xino had a few cents on him, about a dollar, and his art. He would also need a chaperone if he was planning to leave the city. His parents lived an hour away from the school, or what seemed like an hour. Luckily, as the thought crossed his mind, he noticed a certain teacher walking around in a daze.

"Dormir!" Xino called, running up to the teacher. Rain floated around their heads as the hero watched in amusement.

"Yes, child?"

"I would like to take a trip and visit my parents." Xino sucked up all his courage to speak. Hopefully he was a convincing kind of a person.

"A trip? How long?"

"An hour, I think."

"Name?"

"Xino Ryu."

"Lovely, the artist I have heard so much about! You must paint me a picture sometime, maybe arts and crafts. Paper mache sheep!" Dormir waved his hand around, a cup of coffee appearing out of thin air.

Xino watched as the hero took a long sip, sighing in relief. He looked around the campus as though someone may be watching them. After a moment, Dormir started to walk to the bus stop. Xino hurriedly ran after him, slightly confused and slightly excited. Dormir seemed less tired than he was on day one. Together they enter the bus, Xino and Dormir getting to know each other now. He hadn't spoken to this specific teacher yet, apparently he taught hero training for the older grades.

The bus ride felt long, Dormir falling asleep halfway through the drive. Xino had more time to himself, time to draw and think. He was mostly excited about his costume, the designs and fabrics he found were perfect. Everything was going well until his vision once more grew hazy. His mind slowed down and all his thoughts collected into one thought.

"Hello again, Xino." The artist turned his head to face the woman from before. Her hair was up in space buns and her expression was softer.

"Daydream?"

"You finally figured it out, I see." She seemed to be writing something down, her hand working swiftly. Xino wondered what it said.

"What does the whistle do?"

"It helps you call me. I need a favor from you, there is this boy. He needs to be taken from school, the villain academy. He will be roaming around nearby cities, playing music for all to hear. Just be careful, a daydream can easily turn into a nightmare."

"What? Who-"

"You know who. Your dreams are almost as powerful as mine. That imagination, your thoughts. We are connected, let's figure out how."

Xino would have said more, he had so many questions, but before he could even open his mouth the bus stopped and Daydream was gone. Dormir woke up and looked around, in his usual daze. Xino silently followed the sleepy hero out of the bus and into town. He immediately recognized the bus stop, a few people stopping to stare. All Xino had to do was wave and they would be on their way, Dormir also giving off a death glare that may have given people the idea they weren't here for anything good.

Xino started walking towards his home, the silence thickening as they walked. Dormir stumbled and dozed off every once in a while, being the hero of sleep was probably the most difficult thing to do. He was always tired, but Xino had heard rumors it wasn't because of his own powers. His nemesis was said to be Dormir's brother, the villain of sleep. The two would fight long into the night, using their powers against each other until both were too tired to do anything but sleep. They would go their separate ways and meet again to prove who the superior sibling was.

The artist couldn't imagine an endless cycle of being put to sleep, just to do the same to your sibling. Then again, Xino never had siblings. Jig talked about her little brother often, how he was constantly getting on her nerves. It sounded terrible to have a sibling. But sometimes she would talk about how much she missed him and how cute he could be. It sounded like so much fun. A forever friend that you can't get rid of no matter how much you want to. Xino spent so much of his life alone, having a sibling would have made his life so much better.

Xino and Dormir soon approached the unusually white house that Xino grew up in. White walls, white roof, white door. But now, the windows were open to reveal a teal blue dining area. A wooden table and cushioned chairs, paintings and a photo of little Xino hung up on the wall. Through there he could see a tall woman with dark hair that curled around her chin. Her back was turned but he could see that she was wearing a pink dress and dancing along to some music. She looked so different, it scared the artist.

Dormir calmly gestured towards the door, seeming ready to sit down and take a nice nap. Taking a deep breath, Xino walked up to the front door.