The Academy

"Will they lose their memories" asked Mary as she laid Zach in his crib

"Yes" said Mack " i'm still learning all of this, but it seems to me that the mental regression depends on if the person fights it or not. Let's take Tony for example. He should have completely regressed mentally a lot sooner than he actually did, but because he fought it, it dragged out, but the moment he relaxed his mind The old him faded completely.

Both Jacob and Zach have weak wills and weak minds so I don't foresee much fighting. The mental regression may speed up if they decide to fully embrace their new life. Jacob will for sure but Zach won't at first. So I estimate that they'll be neck and neck when it comes to losing their memories. I'd say it'll take about a month maybe a month and a half."

"Their diapers were a bit bigger than they were supposed to be. Did you make them younger then three?" She asked

"They are two years and three months old. Oh, and they won't start aging again until their minds fully regress. I accidentally took too much from Jake so I decided to make Zach match. But what they Forget can't bother them." He smiled nervously

"good thing I'm a wet nurse" said the nanny as she too had placed Jake in his crib

"I don't think Jake will fight you when it comes to snacktime so to speak. Zack on the other hand you may have to trick while he's asleep until his mind regresses enough that he doesn't care" said Mary

"me and Vorick i'm going to go cultivate for a while is that OK?" Mack asked his dad

Thomas was busy looking at his former brother, now son. He brushed his cheek with his first two fingers and then held the baby boy's little hand. The boy wrapped his fingers around the man's finger. He looked up and noticed that his two oldest were staring at him "oh were you talking to me" he asked

"Yeah, is it ok if Vorick and I go cultivate for a bit before dinner" he asked again

"Of course boys" he responded as he tussled their hair "you don't have to ask to go anywhere as long as it's on the Castle grounds. Now get out of here" the boys quickly left the the nursery and headed out to the cultivation garden.

"I will leave the two of you alone with your boys" said the nanny as she went about her day

"You ok dear" Mary asked her husband "you haven't stopped looking at Jake since the nanny put him in the crib"

"I'm fine sweetheart. Just reminiscing about our childhood. He was a good big brother when we were kids. He may have strayed down The wrong path, but he was still my brother. I'm beginning to understand what Max felt yesterday as his father slipped away in his arms. I'm also starting to understand why people view Mack and Vorick as monsters. Some people may view what Xander,Caden and Zhao did as heroic work but to the people that were close to the victims, i'm not talking about their wives and children I'm talking about the other people in their lives The people who thought they were innocent, they get to sit back and watch as the friend they've grown up with or their son fades away and is replaced by A younger version that no longer remembers them. That's kind of what's happening here. But at the same time nine times out of 10 they knew what their friends were doing and did nothing to stop them so there's that. But it's those people who were on the outside, looking in on the situation that can give the real perspective of the situation. And because of that, the world no longer trusts the angelics" he explained to his wife as he reached into the crib and brought out the little guy and cradled him in his arms. He sat in the rocking chair and watched him sleep peacefully.

" I personally don't blame those three. I feel like they did good deeds. It's was the best friend, the mother and father of the victim and their other relatives that Felt as though they were punished by beings that had no Authority to dish out punishments. they also believed that their relative or friend was punished without evidence to prove the crime. And it was those people that turned those three into the monsters that they are perceived today. they do, however, still have a very large following still."

"I want to have headstones made and put in the family cemetery. I think that will help Bring closure to myself. It'll help me say goodbye to my Older brother and nephew." He said as he continued to rock the boy back and forth.

"I think that's a great idea dear" said Mary as she checked on Zach

*************

Out in the cultivation garden the boys sat on a bench and were looking off in nothing. They had not only come here to cultivate but to choose another skill.

[please choose from the following skills:

Age manipulation level 1: host will be able to temporarily control his own age two years in either direction. Skill caps at hosts true age. Advanced levels will allow host to control the ages of those around you.

Beam of ablivion level 1: send a beam of golden energy towards an enemy that will regress them into a puddle of fluid. (System recommended)

Unbirthday level 1: send a bad boy or girl to his/her womb. Female is required and must be willing to take victim into their bodies for skill to work. Advanced levels will allow hosts to manipulate the victims DNA

Mental regression level 1: make a victim younger mentally.

divine lightning blast level 1: use the element of lightning to send a bolt that can stun your victim. The higher the level is the stronger the skill. ]

"What do you think" asked Mack. Unsure of what to pick

"I think age manipulation is a lot like essence devour. We can already make somebody younger. And increase our own age by using life essence.the only two things that we can't do already is make ourselves younger and others older. Which really isn't gonna be a problem because if we're regressing somebody it's because they either asked for it or they deserve it. so I'm going to pass on that one for now." Said Vorick

"they are a lot alike" Mack agreed "what about beam of ablivion"

"Again we can achieve the same result with essence Devore by leveling it up" he said. "However it would make a great offensive skill again, once it's leveled up a bit"

"What about unbirthday" asked Mack

"That one is really weird and kind of creeps me out a little bit. I don't mind regressing people but that in my opinion is going a bit too far quite literally. A normal birth is already high risk for both mother and child. What female in her right mind would want to do it in reverse." he cringed at the thought.

"I can see where it would have its benefits. It's a great punishment for abusers. Plus, we could use it for people who can't conceive normally. Instead of sentencing a prisoner to death we just turn him/her into another couples baby." Said Mack thoughtfully " definitely not an offensive skill. Not even really a defensive skill it's more of a passive skill. Kinda like healing.

We need something offensive. Unbirthday seems like it could take awhile to complete so that's out. age manipulation could be an offensive skill at higher levels but at level 1 it's pretty useless. Mental regression is like age manipulation it's useless as an offensive skill at low levels. Beam of ablivion would be a decent offensive skill but their would be a mess to clean up afterwards. Devine lightning blast is fantastic sounding but acording to the system we need to gain knowledge of the element. Lightning is the most dangerous affinity one could possibly have. You have to be extremely careful. Otherwise you could cripple yourself. I'm not even sure how we got that option."

[When hosts regress a Human back to one second old, you are able to absorb their affinity. If you regress another person with the same affinity, it will upgrade the affinity that you already have.]

"The only person we regressed back that far is Maverick" said Vorick "so it makes sense that the affinity would have come from him"

"he did have a lightning infinity. I watched him use it." Said Mack

With much discussion they decided to choose beam of oblivion. They figured that it had the most potential to be a decent offensive skill.

[are hosts positive they want this skill

Yes or no ]

after choosing yes, they received another notification congratulating them on their second skill being activated. The system went on to explain that the skill should only be used if hosts intend to end the targets life. It also explained that in order to use the skill 10 points of Mana will be consumed each time the skills used and that the older the target is the longer it's going to take for them to disappear.

"I really wish that all that information was in the description" said Mack "oh well, it was a free skill. Let's take a look at that shop tab"

With that thought the shop tab opened, revealing 5 different categories, including:

Weapons, Armor, Potions, Clothing and miscellaneous. Each category was then broken down even further into subcategories.

Mack looked at the weapons and was astonished at just how many there were available. There were long daggers, short daggers, long swords, short swords, katana blades, throwing knives, throwing stars, there were also different kinds of bows, as well as different kinds of arrows, there were blunt weapons, like hammers, there were One handed axes and two handed axes.

"I'm not really too concerned about weapons right now" said Vorick " we still need to master the daggers we have before moving onto another weapon. Plus the Academy has their own special weapons they use for training."

"we can't use just a dagger when we go on missions" Mack argued

" come on Mack do you honestly think the headmaster will allow us to leave the campus until he can trust us enough?" He questioned "not to mention first years aren't eligible for missions"

"I guess" Mack pouted as he crossed his arms

"What we need is clothing. We can't be showing up to the entrance exam with no shirt. It just wouldn't be proper." He said as he browsed the clothing items. The items were fairly standard from T-shirts and trousers to three piece suits. All of the tops had one thing in common however. They were made for folks with wings. And the trousers and shorts were designed to accompany diapers "The items in the shop are actually fairly inexpensive and they don't look babyish"

"That's a relief. I don't mind wearing diapers. But I'd rather not wear clothing designed for toddlers. Unfortunately, with our age being that of boys That just turned five, it's practically impossible to find clothing that isn't toddler ish. So the normal clothing will be a refreshing change. Well, as normal as they can get when you have to wear a diaper underneath them." Said Mack.

Out of the clothing section, they picked some basic shirts of various colors, A host of trousers and shorts, as well as socks and shoes. They each spent about 500 LE points on the clothing they felt they would need for their time in the Academy. This would also include a formal outfit and a semi formal outfit as well as a business casual outfit. They then moved onto the armor section. Here they found different kinds of armor. Light and heavy duty leather armor. Armor made from rare metals. As well as armor that can boost your stats when worn. They could purchase a full set of armor or individual pieces. The most expensive items were the full sets with stat boosting abilities at 1,500 LE points. "Maybe we should hold off on armor until we find out if we can wear our own during our training."

"Could possibly be a waist of LE points right now but at the same time I don't really trust the armor or clothing that the academy will be providing us." Said Vorick

"Me neither, but we may not have a choice. Hey system do you have a way to detect if things have been tampered with?" Asked Mack

[yes but low and mid level supression type runes or spells will not effect the hosts due to the blessing from your patron, however, high level or divine supression runes may effect you due to you being at the novice rank. The higher level you are the less effective they will be]

"The headmaster may be old but he isn't stupid enough to use a low level spell or rune on us. He may try to use a mid level spell or rune thinking that we're weak but he most likely has access to high level ones. we also can't trust Tyler to go against his orders." Said Vorick

"Then what do we do" asked Mack. Apparently the system decided to throw the boys a bone.

[if the hosts would open the shop tab and then go to the miscellaneous items, their is a replicate option. This allows hosts to replicate any item for a fee. Their are limits to the replication feature like being unable to replicate the stat boosting ability of armor or the affinity of weapons]

"That's oddly convenient" said Vorick

"This means we'll be able to replicate the uniforms and training armor" said Mack as he glanced over to Alex who was cultivating in the middle of the garden. He noticed that Alexander's aura had grown substantially since becoming a shadowlock. "Do you think Alex has a system like us" he asked his brother who shrugged but the system confirmed his suspicions.

[alexander nightshade does have a system but it is a sub system of sorts it can't do everything that yours can do because the hosts system is the main system. I cannot show you his stats but I can tell you that he is growing quickly and will evolve soon if he keeps up this insane cultivation.]

"Does he also have a shop function" asked Mack

[ he does but like the hosts he will need to reach level 10 in order to have access]

"That's good" said Vorick

The boys decided that they better get some cultivation in so they joined Alex in the center of the garden. Once they were done they headed into the castle and joined their mom and dad at the dinner table. When they walked in they noticed two high chairs sitting close to their mom and dad but they were currently empty. Their little brothers will most likely sleep through the night. The process of draining someone's life essence is very Exhausting for the one being drained and can cause them to sleep for longer than normal. So the fact that they were not present was not a surprise to either of the twins. The boys hugged their parents and sat down.

The dinner that was prepared consisted of a piece of chicken that was stuffed with a cheesey rice topped with a garlic and herb cream sauce with a side of various vegetables and fruit.

"Maybe I should cut your chicken for you guys. I don't want you to cut yourselves." Said Mary as she watch the little boys use the knives that were obviously designed for an adults hand.

"I promise we'll be ok mom" said Vorick " we are 10 years old"

"Only in mind" she reminded them "your body is that of a five year old. If I were to put you next to a normal five-year-old there really wouldn't be much of a difference physically. Yeah, your strength, agility, and intelligence are on par with teenagers more than twice your age but that's where the differences end. The bones in your hands are not fully developed. Look at the way you're holding your knife with a full fist. The two of you won't even be able to use a sword properly. I don't know why your patron wants you to go to the Academy so bad. It's almost as though he wants you to get hurt."

" your mother is correct" said their dad "your strength and agility mean nothing if you can't properly control your weapons. Just promise us that you guys will be OK. If it becomes too much for you guys, we can come and get you."

"we will if it comes to that" said Mack as he stuffed his face.

"I don't like the whole situation. You'd have more freedom staying here." Said Mary

"Not really" said Vorick " honestly we're more restricted here than we Will be there surprisingly enough"

"How do you figure" asked their dad

"We can't have friends visiting the castle" that's really the only difference "we won't be able to leave the grounds of the royal residence without an escort just like here. All of our meals will be prepared and served at the Royal residence just like here. There we will have friends that we can see on a daily basis." Said Mack as he put the final piece of chicken in his mouth.

" I wouldn't Get your hopes up about the whole friends thing" said Thomas " they're going to see that you're not human. That alone is going to Prevent a lot of folks from wanting to be friends with you. I'm sure they've also heard of your deeds. A lot of them aren't gonna wanna be associated with you. You will most likely have more enemies than you will friends and that's unfortunate." Said Thomas

"thanks for the vote of confidence dad" said Mack

"Hey, I'm just being realistic here" he responded

"Alright you three I think it's time we head upstairs and get ready for bed. You two haven't stopped yawning since you sat down" said Mary as she ushered the boys out of the room.

Once upstairs she got busy changing the twins diapers and watched as they made their wing cocoon. She then ushered Alex to his room and closed the door behind her.,

"Ok dear, Roy told me that you have accidents at night and during the day sometimes so I'm going…." She said but was cut off by Alex.

"You're going to make me wear diapers aren't you" he asked her

"Yes but only at night" she said as she pulled one out of a drawer "during the day you'll be wearing a pull up version of the ones the twins wear that way you can still use the potty if you can make it" she said as she stripped him down and made him get onto the bed.

"I don't want diapers, I'm a big boy I promise" he said as she expertly diapered the boy for bed.

"I know your a big boy sweetheart but sometimes even big boys need help" she said as she finished and she aloud him to get under his covers and kissed him on the forehead.

"Thank you for caring" he said

"Of course dear, now you have a good nights sleep" she said as she exited the room. She turned down the lamps in the twins room and left.

************

Mack was woken up again by Vorick sucking on his thumb so he popped it out of his mouth and untangled himself from his brother who was also woken up by the savage removal of the object in his mouth. Mack decided that it was time to go wake up Alex but when he went in the door he was surprised to see Roy changing Alex out of a very wet diaper and into a pull up that looked just like the diaper he wore only no tabs. When he noticed Mack he blushed red and tryed to hide his face. "Why are you embarrassed. Do I look like the type to care about who wears a diaper" he chuckled

"I'm a big boy" he said "I'm not supposed to be wearing diapers"

"But your not wearing a diaper right now your wearing a pull up" said Mack in an attempt to make the older boy feel better.

"Same thing with a different name" he pouted as he got dressed. Roy gave him a hug and so did Mack

"It's you and your brothers turn now" he said as Mack ran and got into position.

*******

Down in the nursery Zach had woken up in the arms of the nanny. He blinked his eyes and rubbed them with his free hand. "Are you going to change my diaper" he said in his new baby voice

"I already did dear heart" she said "you slept right through it. Are you hungry baby" he nodded his head. She laid him down and removed her top revealing her breasts. Zach was appalled as she picked him up again and cradled him. "Their you go dear"

"Wait….are you going to breast feed me" asked "I don't know how"

"you're at an age where you really need the nutrients. Just pretend it's a pacifier or a bottle. If it helps, you can close your eyes." She said as she watched him take it into his mouth and began to nurse. He closed his eyes and was asleep again in notime while subconsciously nursing. Once she felt he had enough she broke the seal, wiped his mouth and laid him back in his crib. She then did the same thing with Jacob.

After everybody had breakfast the day went on pretty much the same as the day before with the boys cultivating for most of the day. Zack and Jake played in their nursery while the king queen arranged things for the next day. They had to be at the Academy by 8 AM for registration.

That night at bedtime all three boys were forced to get a bath. Mack and Vorick went separately so as no accidents happened in the tub do to taking to long. Once they were cleaned and freshly diapered they were put in bed and quickly went to sleep. Roy then turned to Alex.

"Your turn young man" he said. Alex stripped down to his pull up and stopped

"I'm sorry" he said with tears in his eyes

"Sorry for what" he asked

"I..I..was cultivating a..and didnt get out of m..my trance in T..time and had an accident. I'm sorry" he stuttered

"Your not in trouble bubba. That's why your wearing a pull up" he said as he wiped away the tears and ripped the sides of the pull up and threw it away. He then stepped out of the room so the boy could bath himself. He went to alexs room and prepared the diaper and bed. 15 minutes later he came into the room and got up onto the bed. And Roy put the diaper on him and tucked him into bed.

*************

The next morning after diapers and everything were changed Mack and Vorick had dressed themselves in an outfit from the system. The outfits were a standard white tunic trimmed in gold with a golden sash while the trousers were pure white that matched their wings. Alex was dress in an all black outfit similar to theirs but no accents. After eating a quick breakfast they all piled into the carriage. The only two that weren't with them was Jake and Zach as the king and queen felt they were too young for an event like this so they stayed with the nanny.

Thirty minutes later the Academy came into view and the king gave the boys a hug. "you guys will do great today" he said "and don't be nervous"

"Dad, do you think people will stare at our wings" asked Vorick

"Most definitely. It's unavoidable. The best advice I can give you is to just ignore the stairs. And whatever other people say, because I can guarantee you that they will say some not so pleasant things." Said Thomas

"I'll try" he said as they entered the gates to the academy. The grounds to the academy were full of new cadets and their parents as they all walked towards the registration building. The streets were lined with cadets in different colored uniforms. That stood to watch the new potential cadets. When they saw the royal carriage they all saluted out of respect. " hey dad, what do all the colored uniforms mean?"

" in normal situations, you would be issued a rank today and depending on what that rank is, you would be issued a color. The higher, your rank, the lighter, your color, the lower, your rank, the darker your color. Top five wear white. 6 to 10 wear yellow. 11-49 wear Orange. 50-100 wear red. 101-149 wear grey and 150-200 wear brown. However, in your class, there will only be 198 ranked individuals. I'm not sure what color uniform they will have you guys wearing it will not be the ones I stated. It may even be a completely different style altogether."

"sounds like they're gonna try an alienate us from everybody else." Said Mack

"the wings and eyes alone will do that." Said Alex " we're not gonna need the headmaster to help alienate us"

The carriage came to a stop right outside the registration building. The boys looked out the window of the carriage, and noticed that older boys were outside the registration building welcoming the potential cadets with handshakes and other pleasantries. "all right boys are you ready?" Asked the king

"Not really, we would just be delaying the inevitable if we stayed here" said Vorick

The king felt shaking next to him and glanced over to see Alex checking his pants and hyperventilating. Mack went over and tried to comfort the boy "breath Alex in and out slowly you got this" eventually he got his breath back "you ok now"

"I think so" he said "I'm so nervous I'm almost sick and I wet myself. I'm a mess"

"Your wearing a pull up diaper silly knowbody is going to know unless you tell them your wet. I'm so nervous I haven't stopped peeing." Said Mack as the door opened and they were ushered out before the king and queen.

"So it's true. The princes really arnt human anymore." One kid said

"They are so adorable" said one girl

"Aww they arnt even potty trained" said another girl

"That's how an angelic lures you in" said another boy "my dad warned me about them"

"My dad did too" said a boy of about 11 " he said that they may be baby angelics but they are very powerful"

"my dad Saw their power firsthand." Said another. The comments continued even when they entered the building. That is until they noticed the king and queen right behind the boys.

"Your majesty it is an honor to have you with us today" said a small portly man with a beard "the princes can bypass the line and go straight to the front" the man took them to a special table that said reserved for high ranking nobles and royals. At the table sat a board looking young man that looked to be about 15 years old and was wearing a red uniform. When he saw who was coming he stood and saluted.

"As you were young man" said the king "we are here to enroll Mack and Vorick

"Wow" he whispered "so the rumors are true"

"I guess that would depend on the rumors you're hearing. For the most part, they are correct." Said Mack

"is he like you as well?" Asked the young man as he gave Alex an uneasy look

"if you're asking if he's human, the answer would be no. He is also not an angelic. He is a shadowlock." Said Mack

"What's a shadowlock?" He asked

"an entity that feeds on fear" said Vorick "and controls shadows"

"His eyes are very unsettling. Any I'm going to need your full names, ages, affinities, and race. The rest of your information will be filled in as you complete the exams"

They completed the process and was instructed to proceed to the arena and they would be directed on wear to go upon arrival.