The person in charge

"Ok so here we are at the cabins that you will be staying in as long as you can manage to keep your top five ranking. Ranks two through five will be here in these four houses surrounding this garden" said Tyler as he handed the corresponding keys to the appropriate cadet.

" I thought I was supposed to be staying here too" said Landon

"Ah I'm glad you brought that up. They're doing a new thing this year just with your semester class. They weren't going to, but things happened and plans changed. Instead of the first rank staying here, Whoever holds the rank of 1 will be staying in the royal residence but theirs a bit of a catch more of a snag really." Said Tyler. He was trying to play off what he was about to say as not being a big deal.

" Isn't that where the angelics and their creepy friend are staying" said hawk. A chill ran up a spine.

"that's the snag I was telling you about. As you know Princes Mack and Vorick as well as their friend Alex, are not human. The headmaster and the king have agreed on a set of rules that the boys must follow if they want to continue their education here. A list of those rules will be provided to you once you attain the number one rank. It will be your duty to make sure those rules are followed. As an incentive for obtaining the rank of one The Royal residence will be your home while you have that rank. You will have your own private suite, Study, cultivation room and Garden as well as your own private training grounds. It is up to you, whether you allow the boys into those areas. It is your house after all, consider them your children while you are there. You're not responsible for them if they do something wrong. But you do have the authority of a Parent or guardian and you can dish out punishments as a parent or guardian if they break one of the rules that you set for them"

" wait, so we can set our own rules outside of the rules that were set by the headmaster and the king" asked Jax

"as long as the rule does not violate one of those rules or the rules of the Academy yes within reason of course. You have to remember, they are cadets the same as you. And you are to escort them to and from events and classes they are never to be alone in public without you being there. A small child would not be allowed to run around by themselves in public and neither should they"

"so I could make them my personal servants if I really wanted to" asked Jax with a sly smile

"hypothetically speaking, yes" said Tyler with a frown

"You talk a big game Jax. Do you really wanna make them your enemy that badly? I know you're eager to prove yourself but damn" Said Landon " they may be on a short leash here, but they aren't going to be forever let me be the first one to tell you guys, they aren't weak. They may look babyishly cute and cuddly, Minus the shadowlock he's just frightening, But the angelics could easily squash us in a fight. There's a reason why they're not ranked. It wouldn't be fair to us humans."

"How do you know their so strong little cutie" said yavonka

Obviously, this caused Landon to blush "Shawna a girl in our class has a skill that allows her to appraise individuals up to two levels above herself. The shadowlock is the weakest among the three at about a nine in overall strength and agility which is prodigy level so if he were to be allowed to compete, he would be ranked in the top five most likely. The angelics however are stronger and more agile than anyone here at about 20 The strongest genius is only at a 14. Those two are at the intermediate novice level. But have the power of someone between the adapt basic and intermediate levels.

I've seen the shadowlocks power first hand. He can take Your worst fear and magnify it so he can feed off of it. Plus, he controls the shadows. He controls the things that go bump in the night. The angelics Feed off your life essence. The more they take the younger you get till you just don't exist anymore. Do they sound like folks you wanna piss off?" Said Landon

"why didn't I stop the boy? Gonna make it to where nobody wants the number one slot. They're gonna be too afraid. Why can't we just leave the boys alone. These kids aren't gonna wanna be number one if it comes with baggage." Tyler thought to himself " what 10 to 12-year-old wants to play mommy or daddy to kids their own age. I suppose if they want to be on a power trip like Jax then it would be the perfect opportunity. I just don't wanna see him get himself hurt."

Numbers three through five had a horrified look on their face after Landon explained what he knew about the boys. Even Paxton, who is ranked number two, and the biggest of the five of them had a not so sure look on his face. " why do you seem OK with all of this?" Asked Paxton. He wanted to address the elephant in the room? " are you going to get some weird satisfaction out of being in control?"

"so you think I'm a sadist" Landon said "man, I haven't even started puberty yet. I just figure if I become friends with them I won't be a victim when they decide enough is enough."

" I don't even know what that means." Said Paxton as he scratched his head

"Hhhhhhh a sadist is someone who get sexual gratification from the suffering of others" said yavonka

Paxton gasped then looked down at Landon "ewww….weirdo. That's not what I was trying to say at all. I was just worried that you were a control freak."

"Ok ok, that's enough. Is this something that you guys would want to do? Is the incentive enough To strive for the number one spot." Said Tyler

" if I have to be a pseudo daddy to three non-humans who are a lot more powerful than I am. Then I don't want it. I don't think I feel comfortable even being in the same building as them. Not to mention that's not why I came to the Academy in the first place. I came here to become a warrior, not a babysitter." Said hawk "i'll go as high as number two, but that's that's it"

" I kind of have to agree with Hawk" said yavonka " but also the headmaster stated that nobody is allowed in the royal residence without his authorization. That means that no friends would be able to come over. I would have to go to them And I would not want to take the kids with me to hang out with the girls. At least if I stay here, I can have friends over and not have to worry about non-humans cramping my style and ruining things"

"what about you, Jax? Do you feel the same way?" Asked Tyler. He started to get a bit worried that one person would be stuck with the responsibility of babysitting. This would also mean that nobody would want to challenge him during ranking battles, which would ultimately hurt him in the long run.

"those two have a really good points" he said " but if my parents found out that I was given any Type of control over others, they would be very upset. When I'm given control, I always go overboard. It's a medical condition that I have, but I'm not exactly sure of the name offhand. Makes me seem mean and nasty and I immediately rubbed people the wrong way. I would do really well as a follower instead of a leader. And Landon is right I would end up making enemies out of those three and end up younger then I am. I kinda like being a big boy. I'll go for the number two spot, but I don't think it's a good idea that I have the number one spot. I honestly don't think you'll have many others that'll want it either."

" that's a very mature decision Jax. Not many adults with control issues let alone a child would be able to pass up this type of opportunity ." Said Tyler " what about you big guy?

Paxton was deep in thought. On one hand, he wanted to meet the guys who were supposedly stronger than him. But he didn't think he could bear to live with them. Not because he was scared of them it's because He would want to challenge them and he couldn't do that. The boy only cared for two thing and that was his strength and his body. He didn't have time for friends so not being able to have friends over wouldn't really bother him at all. He considered having friends a distraction. He was the quintessential meathead. His body was a temple. If the boys had a temper tantrum, he could lose everything he's worked so hard for that to him just wasn't worth it. " I think I'll pass, sir" he said in A deeper voice than a 12 year-old should have. The others looked at him funny when he said this. " it's not that I am scared of them" he felt he needed to kind of save face " i've just worked way too hard to have this kind of body and strength to risk having it all taken away from me"

"thank you guys for your opinions. It may help us make decisions in the future regarding this issue. You guys can go explore your new homes. Remember that dinner is served in the dining hall at 6:30 PM." He said as Paxton, Jax, yavonka, and hawk split up and started down the pathways towards their homes. He motioned for Landon to follow him "how do you feel about this since it's you in the hot seat right now"

" if I were going in blind, I probably would have refused just like the others. But thanks to Shawna That's not the case. We'll just have to see how it plays out. How's Kyle doing by the way? I know it was him that was supposed to be doing this." Said Landon as they walked side-by-side down the path out of the top five area.

" yes, he was originally supposed to do this. And was perhaps a little too excited about it. We tried to tell him that with him being so weak being a healer and all Their were definitely going to be monstrous people involved. He thought that with the rules that were in place that he would be safe. But that was obviously not the case. Now he can't even think about them without shaking like a leaf. He was hopelessly naïve, and paid the price for it. But to answer your question, he'll be OK. Yeah, he's not the same confident boy he was before. But that's kind of a good thing. What he had before wasn't really confidence it was arrogance. Now he can focus on becoming a healer"

" so I guess in a way, the shadowlock did you a favor" said Landon

"in a way I suppose. The headmaster still isn't happy about what happened though. However, I've been able to talk him down a little bit. He even eased up on some of the rules from their original version. However, some of them he just will not budge on."

"speaking of rules what are they?" Asked Landon. He was then given a small piece of parchment which he enrolled and read.

"so they're not allowed to use their powers. they can't spar with anybody else but themselves which is the reason why they're not ranked. They can go anywhere on the campus as long as I am with them and I keep an eye on them. And they have to wear clothes when they leave the residence. Oh, and the no visitors thing. Plus the rules that I make for them. Why exactly are they being treated like small children? And why are they wearing diapers? Aren't they 10-year-olds?"

"you'll have to ask them about the whole diapers thing. I'm not really privy to that information. They're being treated like this because my father, the headmaster, had a traumatizing experience with their predecessors and he's blaming them for what The other is did. He believes that they are on the same path as the other two. And is hoping to stop that from happening."

" i'm familiar with some of the stories of what they did to people for committing crimes against children. The headmaster Didn't commit any crimes against children?" Asked Landon

" he didn't but his best friend did and he got regressed for defending his friend. For the longest time he was salty for having to grow up all over again. But I was able to really put it into perspective for him."

"that's good, I guess. How far is this place?" Asked Landon " if it's gonna be any further, you're gonna have to carry me. You walk really fast and I am exhausted"

Tyler chuckled "no need to be carried little man we're here" with that said they came to a stop outside the front gates to the royal residence.

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

Dillon had just got Mack freshly diapered when they heard a blood curdling scream that sounded like it came from Alex's room. Both twins got a message at the exact same time.

[your shadowlock Alex is evolving.]

They looked at each other "why would he choose now to evolve" Mack said out loud

"What's he evolving into" asked Dillon

"a darker more sinister version of us. You need to go downstairs." Said Mack

"I can't leave you guys unsupervised"

"Look, now's not the time for rules. You may be 17 years old on paper, but in reality you're just a little boy with a unawakened mana core. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but You won't be able to handle the aura that he is about to unleash. And we don't want you to get hurt. We are going to try an contain it As much as we can. Go down to the foyer that seems to be the furthest point away from here at least in the house. If you start to feel it or even see it go outside."

" how do I know what it looks like?" He asked with a bit of fright

"trust me, you'll know" said Vorick as they ran from the room.

Dillon did as instructed and ran down to the foyer and sat on a bench. He was trembling slightly but that was more from his own anxiety. Just then the front doors opened and in walked Tyler and Landon.

Mack opened the door and saw Alex on his knees in nothing but a pull up. With his hand on his head. He noticed nubs on his back where his wings were starting to grow in. A pitch black mist was pouring from his eyes, his nose and his mouth. They could feel something building. From this mist two beings emerged. Both had horns on top of their heads and huge black bird like wings on their backs. Their eyes were hollow, And black as the darkest abyss. When one of them spoke, it sounded raspy and whispering. "We didn't think you were going to make it in time." Said the being on the left "I guess babies will have to do"

" who and what are you?" Asked Mack

" I think introductions can wait. There is a more pressing issue at the moment. If we don't contain his aura soon, a lot of children will be pissing their pants. And I don't think they're wearing diapers" The One on the right said

They surrounded Alex. Mack At his head, Vorick at his rear and the two beings on either side. Alex began to scream but it didn't sound like it was just him screaming. It sounded like it was multiple entities screaming in unison. As if drivin by instinct all four spread their wings creating a box. they spread their arms out wide. Mack and Voricks eyes began to glow golden while the dark entities hollow sockets began to rotate and spin. A golden bubble surrounded them. This bubble could only contain the aura. It was unable to contain the mist. The mist was heavy and stayed close to the floor, but once the room was full, it started to seep out into the hallway, traveling down both directions. It flowed down the back stairwell like water down a hill, pouring over the sides like a makeshift waterfall.

Dillon had just finished filling in Tyler on the current situation. "Can his evolution really be that bad" asked Landon

"I hope not" said Dillon "they said I wouldn't be able to handle it"

"And their right. I can feel it building like water behind a dam" said Tyler as he had his eyes closed in concentration.

"What's that coming down the hallway" asked Dillon as he stood up and hid behind Tyler

"Looks like shadows" said Landon he looked up and noticed the mist flowing over the edge of the balcony that overlooked the foyer.

Tyler opened his eyes when he heard this and saw the magnitude of the shadows " you two need to go outside now" he said

" You're not gonna go up there are you, Mr. Tyler" asked Dillon

"I have to go help them contain this" he said when all of a sudden a massive roar shook the house "go now" the boys opened the door and ran out of the house. They ran down The main path and out under the main street where a crowd was starting together.

"Is that a dragons roar" asked one kid

"that's impossible" said one adult "dragons haven't been seen in these parts in centuries"

"isn't this where the angelics are supposed to be staying" asked another

"you guys came from in there what's happening?" Said instructor washum

"Oh, hello instructor. It's the shadowlock named Alex. He's evolving and It's going to be a doozy." Said landon

"Where are the angelics" he asked

"Their up their trying to contain it. Instructor Tyler is up there as well" said Dillon. The instructor extended his aura to encompass the royal residence and sensed two presences that concerned him greatly.

"I sence God energy" he said out loud

"God energy. What does that mean?" Asked Dillon

"It means that their are gods inside that house. At least their energy is. Energies that haven't been in this realm in centuries." Said instructor washum " if there are any instructors within the sound of my voice, we must led our assistance. Follow me if you dare" he yelled as 6 others followed him into the house. When they made it inside they quickly saw the pool of misty shadows and went in the direction that the mist was coming from and ended up at the last bedroom. When they entered the room they saw instructor Tyler in full concentration trying to help contain the power within the room. They also saw a golden bubble with five figures inside. Two of which were the princes the one in the center was their friend Alex who looked to be in immense pain. The other two were the ones responsible for the god energy. " we must give extra protection, fan out and use any type of barrier spell or a skill that you have."

Once their barriers were active all they can do was watch in horror as the boy in the center grew wings they watch baby feathers Cover the upper part of his back and slowly cover the wings. They then watched as tiny horns sprouted from his head they were only about an inch long but still horns none the less. The boy stopped screaming and stood up.

"Do you think he's in control" one instructor asked

"He is running completely on instinct" one of the god like being rasped out. "Brace yourselves, for this is the final part"

They watched Alex take a deep breath and let out a massive roar even bigger then the last and the explosion of aura followed. The aura hit the golden barrier and stopped, but the shockwave continued. It shattered the barriers the instructors erected and shattered every window in the house before expanding outward.

Outside the gate both Landon and Dillon were watching the house waiting for something to happen. They heard the roar again only bigger this time. The boys watched as every window in the house shattered. Landon saw what looked like a ripple, heading right towards them. "that must've been what shattered the windows" he turned and yelled as loud as he could "everybody hit the deck" he dove toward the ground. This caused everyone to drop where they were. However, there were a few that either did not hear or just did not care. They were unfortunately knocked over by the shockwave. They heard the windows of the buildings across the street also shatter. Eventually, the shockwave dissipated.

"I guess the instructors weren't able to help as much as they thought they were gonna be able to" said Dillon

"that shockwave would've been a heck of a lot worse had they not been up here? If you noticed, there was no aura in that shockwave just force"

"is everybody OK?" Asked an adult "check the individuals that weren't able to get down on the ground in time. Also, I need a group to check those buildings. Do we have any healers present?" To which a few raised their hands.

"Alex really isn't having a very good day is he?" Said Landon