The Academy's debriefing room at two in the morning was exactly as uncomfortable as Leo-Raelian had expected. Hard wooden chairs, dim magical lighting, and the kind of atmosphere that suggested serious conversations about poor life choices were about to happen.
Dean Alderton sat across from them with a stack of reports, looking like a man who'd been woken up to deal with student-related explosions for the second time in two days. Professor Blackthorne stood near the window, her expression unreadable.
"Let me make sure I understand the sequence of events," Dean Alderton began, consulting his notes. "Miss Thornfield detected magical signatures indicating the infiltrators had moved their operation. Rather than alerting Academy security through proper channels, you decided to investigate personally."
"The timeline was too compressed for formal reporting," Helena replied diplomatically. "By the time we could have located appropriate authorities, the extraction could have been completed."
"So you approached professional criminals with improvised equipment and no backup plan."
"We had a backup plan," Garrett protested. "Run in different directions and scream for help."
Dean Alderton stared at him. "That's not a backup plan, Mr. Windham."
"It worked, though," Elena pointed out. "The magical disruption alerted Academy security immediately, and the infiltrators were forced to abandon their target."
"The magical disruption," Professor Blackthorne said dryly, "created a localized reality distortion that could have been detected from the capital. Subtlety is not Miss Thornfield's strongest skill."
Elena beamed as if this were a compliment. "Thank you! I've been working on increasing the output efficiency of crystal overload reactions."
"That wasn't praise," Professor Blackthorne clarified.
"I'm choosing to interpret it as constructive feedback."
Leo-Raelian couldn't help but smile at Elena's unshakeable optimism about her explosive magical engineering, even under official scrutiny.
Dean Alderton rubbed his temples. "The results were successful. The infiltrators' operation was disrupted, their target was rescued unharmed, and Academy security was able to gather significant intelligence from their abandoned equipment."
"That sounds like we should be getting commendations," Marcus said hopefully.
"It also," Dean Alderton continued, "demonstrates a concerning pattern of first-year students engaging in unauthorized security operations despite explicit instructions to avoid dangerous situations."
"But successful unauthorized security operations," Garrett added. "That has to count for something."
Professor Blackthorne stepped forward. "Actually, it does. Which is why, despite the protocol violations, the Academy administration has decided to accelerate your Junior Security Assistant training program."
"Accelerate how?" Helena asked.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be training six hours daily instead of three. Advanced combat techniques, investigation procedures, magical countermeasures, and emergency response protocols." Professor Blackthorne smiled slightly. "If you're going to keep getting involved in dangerous situations, we'd prefer you be properly prepared for them."
"Six hours daily?" Leo-Raelian calculated quickly. "On top of regular classes?"
"Academy policy allows Junior Security Assistants modified academic schedules to accommodate training requirements," Dean Alderton explained. "Your professors will provide condensed instruction and independent study materials to maintain academic progress."
"What about sleep?" Garrett asked weakly.
"Sleep is overrated," Professor Blackthorne replied cheerfully. "Professional security work requires adaptability to irregular schedules."
Elena was practically vibrating with excitement. "Does this mean access to advanced magical research equipment? Because I have several ideas for improving detection and disruption capabilities."
"It means," Professor Blackthorne said firmly, "supervised access to appropriate equipment under strict safety protocols. No more improvised explosive devices without proper oversight."
"That takes all the fun out of it."
"That's the point."
Dean Alderton gathered his reports. "You're dismissed for tonight. Report to the advanced training facility at six AM sharp. And gentlemen, ladies - try to avoid any more unauthorized adventures between now and then."
As they filed out of the debriefing room, Leo-Raelian reflected on how quickly their Academy experience was evolving. Three weeks ago, his biggest concern had been whether his magical awakening would attract unwanted attention. Now he was apparently a semi-official Academy security operative with accelerated training and a track record of preventing kidnappings.
*At least I'm not bored.*
"Six hours of training daily," Marcus said as they walked back toward the dormitories. "That's... intense."
"It's also an incredible opportunity," Helena pointed out. "Most students don't get access to advanced security training until their final year, if at all."
"Assuming we survive the training," Garrett muttered. "Sergeant Torres was terrifying enough with three hours. Six hours might actually kill us."
"Only if we're lucky," Elena said cheerfully. "I bet they have much more creative ways to challenge us now that they know we can handle real combat situations."
"That's not reassuring."
They reached the point where their paths diverged toward different dormitory wings, and Helena paused.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "tonight proved something important about our capabilities as a team."
"That we're dangerously reckless?" Leo-Raelian suggested.
"That we can adapt to changing situations and execute complex operations under pressure. Most students would have panicked or frozen when faced with professional infiltrators."
"Most students have better survival instincts than we do," Garrett pointed out.
"Maybe. But survival instincts without the willingness to act don't help anyone." Helena smiled. "I'm proud of what we accomplished tonight."
"Even the explosive parts?" Marcus asked.
"Especially the explosive parts. Elena's improvised solution was brilliant."
Elena beamed. "Wait until you see what I can do with proper equipment and safety oversight!"
As they separated for the night, Leo-Raelian felt a sense of satisfaction despite his exhaustion. They'd successfully prevented a kidnapping, earned official recognition for their efforts, and gained access to advanced training that would make them much more effective in future situations.
*Plus nobody died, which is always a positive outcome.*
Walking back to his room, he found himself actually looking forward to tomorrow's training session. Sergeant Torres might be terrifying, but he was also competent and professional. Learning real skills from experienced instructors was infinitely preferable to improvising their way through dangerous situations.
*Though knowing our luck, we'll probably end up improvising anyway. At least now we'll have better training to improvise with.*
Garrett was already asleep when Leo-Raelian reached their room, curled up in his bed with the expression of someone who'd survived another day of Academy-related adventures and was determined to enjoy every moment of unconsciousness.
Leo-Raelian settled into his own bed, thinking about the day's events and what tomorrow might bring. Advanced training, accelerated schedules, and whatever new complications would inevitably arise from their growing involvement in Academy security.
*Growth through effort,* he reminded himself. *And apparently through spectacular magical explosions and creative interpretations of orders.*
It was turning out to be an interesting educational experience.