Previously on Onward...
Sadalia, Althea, and Kagar find a weak and beaten Ian on the floor of their wrecked history classroom and help him back up on his feet. The young wizard then informs his friends about Gedeon and the S.S. Medallion, while also voicing regret over turning them away. But despite his friends forgiving him for his actions, Ian isn't so sure he can forgive himself.
◊◊◊
◊ Breakdown ◊
The young wizard stared down at his feet as he sluggishly walked himself home from school. He felt like an absolute mess. He'd never been more humiliated in all his life.
After being treated with bandages and ice packs by the nurse, Ian was escorted to the main office for a short conference with Principal Pipplemell—where she downright chewed him out for destroying her school. Again. She was overreacting, of course. But even still, she sure could yell loudly and harshly for such a tiny gnome!
Thankfully, the elf wizard didn't have to suffer through her tireless reprimanding alone. He was joined by his friends and Ms. Traven—who all stood around Ian as he sat opposite the principal at her desk.
Their overall meeting didn't take very long. However, it did end with the teenage elf getting suspended from school for the rest of the week. The last thing the principal wanted at any cost was for the young wizard to be anywhere near her school while what she called "a major ruckus" got investigated. The still-damaged security room, a staff member held captive in a closet, the now equally-wrecked history classroom—all of which the head gnome accused the younger Lightfoot of being responsible.
While Ms. Traven, Kagar, Sadalia, and Althea all tried to vouch for Ian—by explaining that all he really set out to do was stop a criminal from escaping with a talisman—the elf wizard denied their insistence and accepted the principal's penalty.
As unfair of a punishment as a suspension seemed, Ian believed in his own misery that he very well deserved it. He simply couldn't bear the idea of walking back into school again, only to be called a failure by his peers.
He needed a break from it all, and a suspension—though drastic—was how he felt he was going to get it. The only thing that really made him dread it, though, was his family. If there was anything the youngest Lightfoot couldn't predict on top of everything else, it was how his mother and brother were going to feel about that.
After thinking over his discipline for a bit, the teenage elf had eventually made it to his street of Pennybun Lane. There, he ran into Gedeon's wanted poster for what had to be the third or fourth time tops. Taking a glance at it each time, Ian could see that it was indeed the rogue wizard who had deceived and attacked him today. But that didn't make him feel any less aggravated.
Stopping himself in front of the latest poster he saw attached to a telephone pole, the frowning young wizard looked to his left and right. He wanted to make sure no one in the area was watching him. Then letting out a frustrated "grrr!", he tore off the wanted poster, and aggressively crumpled it up into a ball. After throwing it hard on the ground in anger, Ian began panting heavily in and out through gritted teeth. But then his breathing slowed as he soon thought of a much better idea.
The teenage elf kneeled down and picked up the poster. Keeping it crumpled into a ball, he stuck it inside his backpack, then continued to make his way home.
In a matter of seconds, Ian made it to 313. While he didn't see his mother's car parked in the driveway, he stopped when he noticed that Guinevere the Second was—which, to the young wizard, meant that Barley was home.

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If You Trust Me - An Onward Fan-Novel
FanfictionWhen Ian Lightfoot unexpectedly comes upon an unknown talisman, it leads him and his older brother, Barley, on a path to try and figure out its purpose. But when they are unable to follow the traditional quest right away, the brothers come into conf...