To be younger or not to be younger

Surprise would not be the word to use when describing the survents reactions to seeing the twins. It definitely wasn't the reaction they thought they would get, having the very young auras of a level 1 angelic with wings. To put it simply, they seemed almost scared.

"Roy" asked Vorick as he tugged on the bottom of the man's shirt in an attempt to get his attention.

Roy already knew what the child was going to ask so decided to answer before he asked. "I'm sure the two of you are aware of just how fast news travels between the staff. Everyone in the castle and the upper districts know what you did to maverick and Jacob yesterday and I'd be surprised if it's not currently spreading around the lower districts as we speak. That being said, their scared of you and those that arnt are angry at what you did"

"Why would they be angry" asked Vorick

"Some of them believe you attacked jacob without just cause. I expect that entire situation to spiral out of control very quickly. He had a lot of loyal supporters" Roy explained as they walked

"Zhao used his deepest desire against him." Said Mack

"are you saying he secretly fancied being a young boy again" asked Roy with a chuckle

"Yes, I was able to talk Zhao into doing that instead of regressing him to nonexistence. He got a light punishment for his crimes." Said Mack

"Zhao told you his crimes?" Asked Roy astonished

"Oh yes, Zhao ripped them right out of his mind. He engaged in the slave trade by purchasing Alex here just so he could take his anger and frustration out on someone. Of course that's not what he told people. Zach should also be punished honestly because he engaged in the abuse as well. Jacob would visit the brothel every evening after Zach was in bed for illegal activities. He was also planning to overthrow dad by having him deemed unfit to rule. Had the council working for him and everything. They started by getting rid of me. They didn't have to do anything to Vorick in the end which ment that half of his plan had succeeded. He was also planning to replace Zach if his awakening didn't go well"

"How was he planning to do that?" Asked Roy horrified

"By adopting an orphaned boy of the same size and build then hiring a mage to preform a permanent transformation spell on the kid to make him look like Zach. He still hadn't decided on what to do with the real Zach though. He was either going to sell him to the slave traders or dispose of him" said Mack

"I don't know how people can be so cruel" said Alex

"It's for power. If you awaken an affinity that's weak or your talent is capped at a certain level. Like not being able to advance past the intermediate adept rank. Then you are considered a lost cause. A lot of families will kick those children to the streets or sell them off for coin. Children are replaceable. You can always have more kids. That's the mindset of most people." Said Roy as he halted them at the entrance. "Let me go in and kind of warn them first"

Sitting in their usual seats on the far side of the table was the king and queen. Sitting on the right side was Zach and Jake. "Your majesties, their has been a development with the twins"

"Are they ok" asked Mary looking worried

"Yes, but I wanted to prepare you all for what you are about to see. You see the events yesterday caused the boys to evolve a bit. Let's just say you can definitely tell they aren't human anymore." He said looking nervous

"Evolved how" asked Thomas

"Are they ugly monsters now" asked Zach with a giggle

"You'll see" he said as he brought the boys in. The moment they stepped into the room Everyone gasped. Mary was the first to recover because she ran over to the twins

"Awwww you guys are so adorable" she swooned as she scooped up both boys in her arms and smothered them in kisses. While they giggled playfully. She went back to her seat and sat down still holding both boys.

"That might complicate things a bit" said Thomas "I thought you said they only evolved a bit…this is more then a bit Roy." He turned to the boys "why do guys seem younger but don't look younger"

"It's a bit complicated dad" said Vorick "we are 10 years old in human years, we look like we're five but we are a lot younger in angelic years. That's why we give off the babyish aura" he said with a cringe

"That's going to be a pain to explain every time someone asks" said Thomas as he cradled Vorick in his arms

"Hopefully we won't be like this for very long. We can't even fly yet" said Mack in a disappointed manner

"Why can't you fly? You have wings." Came a small child's voice. Both boys lifted a wing to look behind them and saw Tony and his dad just sitting down at the table

"Hi Tony" said Mack "we can't fly because we still have baby fluff"

"Will the baby fluff go away" he asked as he petted Voricks wings

"Once we get stronger" said Mack

"Please boys sit and eat" said Thomas

"Yes sir" said Max "we can't stay long though. I have a lot to do before the new semester startes"

"I can imaging" said the king

"Oh, what kind of diapers are the boys wearing. That way I know what kind to by Tony"

"Tony is wearing a size four dampers diaper it's part of their disposable line" said Mary taking a sip of coffee "but don't worry about that the diapers will be taken care of. I'm planning on having 2 packs a week sent to the Academy just for him."

"Oh wow, thank you ma'am" said Max as he took a bite of his food.

Breakfast continued on with not much else happening until Thomas decided to break the silence. "So Jake has a request he would like to run by you. He has adapted surprisingly fast and has confessed his desire to us" he finished then looked at Jake

Jake blushed red at being put on the spot but he soldiered on. "Can you make me 3 years old" he asked blushing even more.

"I was wondering when you would ask me" said Mack "are you sure this is what you want? Theirs no going back once the life essence is gone. also being that young I can't promise that your mind will stay the same. Once a human becomes younger then six theirs a really good possibility that their mind will begin to regress on its own without any help from us. are you sure you want that? Now there is a possibility that your mind won't regress at all, but that's pretty slim and we would be able to tell immediately. when were you potty trained.

"I wasn't potty trained till I was almost five. I was stubborn" he said "I know I'll have to wear diapers and I'm ok with it"

"Ok good, because that's one of the first things Tony forgot. Even though he had to wear diapers from the moment he was regressed due to being cursed to always need them, he still remembered how to use the potty he also regressed a lot faster due to the curse" said Mack. Jake's eyes were wide.

"Can't you prevent my mind from regressing like you did with maverick" asked Jake

"According to Zhao your mind would start to regress immediately so if it doesn't then you'll be good but it most likely will. Not regressing mentally is really rare and Maverick as well as Tony were special cases."

"So I could be a real 3 your old? just like Tony became a real 4 year old." He said

"Most likely. And honestly I think you should go for it." Said Vorick

"I think Zach should regress a few years as well. I should have did it yesterday but I didn't" said Mack

"What" said Zach as his eyes got big "w..why"

"Because you willingly participated in the abuse of a slave" said Mack "you could have helped Alex but chose to be an arrogant prick high on the power daddy gave you instead. I think regression to almost 7 will be good enough" Mack asked his mom to let him down.

"No mack please. I'll be a good boy I promise" he said as he fell to his knees begging the angelic "no, please no" he continued as he watched Mack's eyes start to glow. Mack put his hand on the boys cheek and felt the essence being pulled from the boy. He was quickly done. And what he saw was a boy that wasn't much taller then him. A boy that'll be celebrating his 7th birthday next month. "Nooooo ahhhhhahahaha" he bawled "worked s…so h…h..hard for m..my awakening. N..now it's g..gone."

Zach just laid on the floor in his oversized clothes and cried while everyone else finished their breakfast. Jake wanted to comfort his brother but was terrified to move. "Daddy, can I go comfort bubby. He needs a hug right now" asked Jake

"No, just leave him be and let him cry it out. He'll be ok" said Thomas "we need to have a conversation later" he said to both Vorick and Mack

"Yes sir" they said in unison

After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Tony and his dad. Tony ran to Mack and hugged him tight "I gonna miss you" he said in his toddler voice.

"I won't be as far away as you think I am. If you want to see me all you have to do is ask your daddy" Mack said as the little boy finally let him go. Tony hugged the king and queen and Vorick and thanked them for letting him stay and they all watched as the two left the castle.

The king walked back into the dining room and picked up zach who was still crying pretty hard. The little boy wrapped his arms and legs around him and Buried his face in his neck "shhhhhh everything will be ok now" he said as he rubbed the boys back in an attempt to console the kid

"No it won't" he said between sobs

"It will I promise. Three years isn't that big of a deal and your lucky he didn't take more then that, the way you've treated them in the passed." Said Thomas

"It may not be a big deal for you because your a grown up. 3 years to you is a drop in a bucket. But to a kid who wasn't even ten yet 3 years is a lot. It's the difference between being a big boy and being a little boy." He said once he was able to stop crying a little bit

"Your right 3 years is a big deal for someone who was already a youngster to begin with" said the king

"You don't think I'll forget anything do you?" He asked wiping his eyes

"Would that such a bad thing if you did" said Thomas as he continued to rub the boys back "you'd be so much happier if you just forgot about this life."

"I was happy with this life until those two ruined it" he said pointing to Mack and Vorick who was standing a little bit away from the two with Jake standing between them. Thomas didn't want to agree with the kid but he was right, at least from an child's perspective. Mack took his father away from him and now he took the only thing he was really excited about away from him as well.

"I understand that I took everything from you. But sometimes you have to lose everything, even yourself, in order to become a better person. I admit that the punishment I gave you might have been a bit harsh but I personally think both of you could due with a little memory loss." Said Mack

"Do you honestly believe that Zach deserves that level of punishment" his dad asked him as he sat Zach on his own two feet.

"It's not really about deserving it at this point it's about getting rid of the hatefulness, the negativity, the bad thoughts and bad habits and showering them with love, positivity, stability, and happiness"

"But if I forget everything wouldn't that effect me negatively" asked Zach

"Not at all" he responded "would you believe me if I told you that Tony used to be your dads age and Max was his son"

"Really" asked Zach with raised eyebrows "he seemed so carefree and toddler like"

"He doesn't remember ever being a grown up. to him he's only ever been a kid. He's a happy little boy who just turned 4 today" said Mack

"But didn't you say earlier that theirs a chance I won't forget anything" said Zach

"That's a pretty slim chance" said Vorick "you will regress mentally if you go any younger and Jake will experience what Zhao calls transitional amnesia."

"What's that" asked Jake

"When awakened folks go from 10 to 9 year olds their cores go dormant. This effects the mind and causes their memories to Fade in and out. For example, you may know who Zach is today but tomorrow you may not remember him ever being born. But the next day, you'll remember him, but won't remember a martial arts skill. Mack can be a bit vague in his explanations and it causes people to draw their own conclusions" said Vorick

"That's a pretty big piece of information to leave out" said Jake "before, you guys said that you can tell when someone will regress mentally or not. Will I regress mentally?" Asked Jake

"Yes, you will become a true 3 year old. I think that's a good thing though" said Mack

"I agree which is why I still want you to regress me" said Jake as he looked at Zach "Will you join me. We could grow up together like Mack and Vorick. Please"

"You want me to be 3 years old with you" said Zach to which Jake nodded. He looked at Thomas "are you ok with this. You'll be the one to have to care for us"

"I'm caring for you now. Having 4 boys in diapers isn't going to be a dealbreaker. If this is what you want then I will gladly accept it" he said "but we will have to wait till mom gets back with some size 3 diapers. I don't want a couple of naked 3 year olds running around peeing everywhere"

"So what do you think" asked Vorick

"I'm ok with it as long as I'm not alone" said Zach with a tear in his eye.

Mack hugged the boy and wrapped him in his wings "I promise you won't regret it. And me and Vorick will teach you everything that mom and dad doesn't. You'll be ok"

"Why don't the two you head to the nursery and tell the maid how you want it set up. I'm sure she will love the insight of the two individuals that will be in their tonight" he said to both Zach and Jake. They hugged him and left the room. "I have a bone to pick with the two of you. We have to meet the head master and the uniform person in 10 minutes so we will have to walk a talk. You can't keep this up boys, you've already taken the life essence of 3 people and you've somehow managed to talk two of them into giving you more. People are already scared of you as you've probably noticed. Don't give them any more fuel and that goes for shadow boy too. They'll be even more scared of him since he feeds off their fear. I have a new rule, you can only regress someone that asks you to. If you can't defeat someone using brute force then don't fight them. Now their are exceptions to this rule like if your life is in danger or your hunting beasts. But you are not to be judge, jury, and executioner. Let the adults do their jobs. Do I make myself clear. I don't want the people being any more scared of you"

"Yes dad" the boys said as one. They came to their dads office and entered. The two gentlemen inside stood out of respect for the king.

"Good afternoon your majesty…this is Tyler he's the uniform specialist for the academy" said the tall man Mack recognized as the headmaster. The jaws of the two men dropped when they saw Mack and Vorick

"Awww aren't you two as cute as babies" said Tyler as he then started scratching his chin "you never mentioned that they had wings your majesty. This could be a problem"

"Yes they are adorable little tykes which leads me to the things I wish to discuss with you while the boys are being measured for their uniforms" he said as he nodded at Tyler who stood up

"Come on boys let's head out into the garden and let these guys talk a bit" said gesturing for the twins to follow him. Once the garden doors were closed the king spoke.

"So head master, what are these concerns of yours….."