Meanwhile, on Earth, in the seat of the Institute, Dantesque scenes were taking place.  People ran in panic all over the building, Zee yelled at five of his subordinates in turn, and Lady Puitrakul ended up in the infirmary right after being told that Fourth and Gemini, previously hidden safely on Gaia II under the renamed Gun and Tinn, experienced a terrible accident as a result of which Gun, i.e. Fourth, completely lost his memory, and Tinn, i.e. Gemini, went deaf.  Now Gaia II has become their prison.  First demanded that someone be sent there immediately. Him and Khaotung returned from Khao's F1 world as soon as possible.

On his way to his boss's office, Phuwin tripped over a rainbow-haired cat curled up on the mat outside the door.  He swore silently under his breath.

“I will go.  I'm Gemini's brother, so I have to bring them home.” Phuwin offered.  Lady Puitrakul agreed without hesitation, but Zee had a different opinion.  He believed that both Phuwin and his colleagues Joong, Cooper, Cooheart and Kaownah were too inexperienced for such missions.  It seemed that a dangerous woman could set a trap for them there, knowing that the brothers would rush to help their loved ones.  Kaownah showed his displeasure openly by snorting and crossing his arms over his chest.

“You shouldn't go there,” Zee said in a stern tone that Phu didn't care at all.  Gone were the days when he was afraid of his boss, now he treated Zee more like a friend.  He had no hesitation in opposing him.

“Why not?  Now we know that psycho has been confusing my family with Fourth and First's all along, so I'll be the best bait.  I'm going, there's no time to lose, Gem is my brother, I won't leave him like this”. He informed and ran towards his bedroom, from which he took a previously prepared backpack.

Zee told them before that miss Kittiphobsiri probably heard the legend of royal family member, who was said to have magical powers that no one else would knew. She probably wanted to use these powers for her own goals. But she mistook Fourth's family with Gem's family. She didn't know that Fourth's mom after getting married to an archangel Michael, didn't wanted to be treated as a queen and give up her royal rooths, giving the tittle to another very important family in magical world and it was Titicharoenrak family.

Resigned, Zee summoned Max, who appeared with a tablet in his hand two minutes later.  Zee didn't even let him make himself comfortable, immediately starting to ask questions.

“Do we already know who the spy is at our institute?”

“Yes, Zee, we've already arrested him.  It turned out that he was passing information to the Red Haired Widow Mafia.  They're a very dangerous gang headquartered in New York, Magnus has already taken care of them.”

“Red Haired Widow Mafia? I've never heard of it.”

“Nothing unusual.  You may have known her as Eve Montgomery.”

Zee had to stop and lean against a bookshelf where he stood.  He felt out of breath.  Eve Montgomery, his eternal rival, a woman not only crazy, but also clever and intelligent.  She was hard to defeat, so Zee, for peace of mind and to protect his subordinates from her, made a deal with her known as the Montgomery-Panich Union.  Eve was one of the very strong witches whose roots reached the famous town of Salem.  The pact was intended to ensure that all members of the Institute of the Knights of the Light were immune from Eve's associates.

“Zee?  Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine,” he replied in an unnaturally squeaky voice that was completely unlike his own.  Max gave him an incredulous look, but Zee replied so coldly that even his friend, who had known him for years, did not want to annoy him even more.  “Don't worry about me now, we have more important things to worry about.  Won't you tell me you've taken Miss Montgomery prisoner?”

“Yes, but she was no longer Montgomery.  She married a certain Justin Schumacher, a non-magical member of the Schumacher family.”

“The ones from Formula 1?”

“The same.  Justin died two years ago, and Eve, after losing her beloved husband, returned to her black magic practices, intimidating people in the area, and often summoned the souls of the dead from the afterlife.  We had to take care of her before she got too dangerous.  Did you know she came to Thailand a year ago?”

“She's back?”

As he asked the question, distant thunder rumbled outside, heralding the arrival of a storm.  Zee stared at the view outside the window.  From his office, he could observe the building of the school that Gemini had attended for many years.  He saw students running away from the rain that was falling more and more.  Some managed to get wet, others used backpacks and bags to protect their heads from the rain, and the most cautious took umbrellas with them.  None of the students showed the slightest sign of concern.  These Non-Magils did not know that just a few dozen meters from them, in a building that looked like an abandoned hotel, there was the headquarters of the Knights of Light, magical beings and hybrids that watched over their safety.  The students did not see the handsome man staring at them, his body covered with tattoos that were not just ordinary tattoos, but runes assigned to him.

The storm intensified.  Drops of heavy rain fell with a loud rustle on the leaves of a large and old tree, which Zee and Max heard through the half-open window.  Just an hour ago, the air had been heavy, still, making everyone sweat even when he stood still.  The sky was hidden behind gray, heavy, leaden clouds.  The day turned gloomy.  It wasn't a good sign.

“Yes, but only briefly.  She took three children from the orphanage with her.”

“Three children from the orphanage?”  P'Zee echoed.  He began to pinch his own lips thoughtfully.  Three children from an orphanage?  It sounded surprisingly familiar, he must have heard it somewhere before, but where?

He couldn't remember it.  Max came to his aid.  He handed him a tablet that displayed information the Khaotung had once given them after one of his urbex escapades.

“Remember when we demoted Khaotung and sent him scouting the abandoned ruins on the outskirts of the city? That's where Eve lured the kids and kidnapped them from there.  Getting Eve is good news.  The bad news is we haven't found the kids and we don't know where they are.  Eve refuses to cooperate.”

“Not good, very bad.  Do you think Eve might have known Mrs. Jiro... I mean, Mrs. Kittiphobsiri?”

Zee had almost named the woman by the name she had been hiding under for almost twenty years.  Jirochtikul was a name this woman had stolen from someone, making her harder to track.  Until NuNew brought Fourth and Khaotung First to the Institute, neither of them knew under what name they should look for the boys.  Max clapped his hands and the blank white wall suddenly lit up with every available information about the two women.

“They knew each other, went to the same school when Eve moved here from America.”

“Can you tell me again who our spy was?”

“Have you noticed the absence of any of the teachers?”

Zee thought about it.  He tried to remember all the teachers who worked here, who trained new candidates.  There weren't many.  Sometimes Dr. Jimmy Potiwihok made guest appearances in lectures, but he was easy to exclude: he had too much on his plate to play espionage, studied medicine in the Non-Magical world, and occasionally starred in TV series to get money for rather expensive college.  .  Gun Atthaphan and Off Jumpol didn't count either, he'd known them for a long time and they'd never pulled a trick on him.  In the world of Non-Magic Off, he ran a small restaurant with Gun that specialized in Thai desserts.  Mix Sahaphab didn't look suspicious either, he loved animals and was always trying to help them.  He often traveled between universes to visit his very close friend Earth Pirapata.  Zee, on the other hand, never trusted a single person.

“Build Jakapan, right?”

“Unfortunately.  He had a motive, didn't he?  What Gasly caught him doing was just the tip of the iceberg.  Jakapan secretly dealt in the sale of illegal potions, including the Draft of Living Death.  We know about his five victims, but I don't think that's all.”

“Does he know where NuNew is?”

“I think not.  We pressed him.  He revealed how to communicate with Mrs. Kittiphobsiri.  We also learned that when our suspect knew about the transfer of the boys to planet Gaya II, she used the passageway at the Institute to get there.  Gemini and Fourth are still in mortal danger.  Zee, we can't stand by and watch.  If Phuwin or anyone else wants to go there to bring the boys back, we have to trust him.  I believe the boy will be fine.  We will assign Joong and two of our best knights, Off Jumpol and Mixxiw, to help him.  Mix knows Gaya II very well, he will know where to go, he knows safe places there.”

Information about the two knights mentioned by Max appeared on the wall in front of them.

Zee would have preferred to send Gun with Off, but he understood why Max hadn't suggested it.  The gun might be needed here once the boys are home safely.

“And one more thing.”

“What?”

“That fucking madwoman, Mrs. Kittiphobsiri, has enchanted Nat.  We managed to lift the curse, but the boy will spend some time in the infirmary.  I will take care of him myself.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Max had gathered his most trusted people into his office, which was not much different from P'Zee's office, except perhaps a bit brighter and with more little colorful accents like the abstract painting on the wall next to the window, colorful cushions  stripes on a black sofa or a dark pink pot with a tall dracaena on the desk next to a photo of Max and Zee from the time when Zee was just a simple Knight of the Light and not the head of the entire Institute in Bangkok.

Kaownah also invited himself, noticing that Max was leading First and Khaotung somewhere.

Kaownah was one of the students at the Academy of the Knights of the Light, and while he wasn't the most gifted, he made up for it with confidence and diligence.  Many times he practiced late at what he was not good at, most often in the company of Turbo, Santa, Fluke, and sometimes Cooper, Cooheart and Ciize.  He loved it.  Kaownah came from a completely non-magical family and was completely shocked to learn of the existence of the Institute of the Knights of the Light in Bangkok, which was hidden in a building that resembled a haunted hotel.

Kaownah had taken an interest in the building much earlier, but had never been able to get inside.  Only when he became a member of this elite group himself could he understand why.

On that day, everyone was wearing their assigned uniforms, so it was easy to recognize who was at what stage of learning.  The training was not easy.  More than once Jimmy had had to put together broken bones, heal cuts too deep, administer antidotes to badly prepared potions.  Kaownah, despite his excessive curiosity and sticking his nose into other matters, was liked among the other Knights of the Light.  There were times when Kaownah was sent on missions when the Khaotung could not.

Also now he wanted to be part of the mission to bring Fourth and Gemini home.  Following First and Khaotung, he carried a colorful thermal mug in one hand, in which he prepared his favorite coffee.  Passing a mirror set for some unknown reason between the doors to rooms 219 and 220, he stopped for a moment, looked at his reflection, adjusted some unruly strands and smiled to himself.  He looked really good, and the runes that appeared on his skin seemed to match his feisty character perfectly.  A dark purple sweatshirt with white cuffs and large yellow letters KL (Knights of the Light) on the back and a small yellow Knights of the Light embroidered on the left chest, dressed over a plain white T-shirt was his favourite.  He paired it with plain wide-leg jeans.

Zee gave him an unfriendly look, but said nothing at all, which Kaownah took as consent to his participation in the operation.  He walked over to the bookshelf and leaned back against it, sipping his coffee.

Zee and Max explained what they had learned.

Pond, like Zee before, tried to stop Phuwin from going on a mission.

“You can't stop me.  You're not going to lock me in a room and not let me go on missions, are you?”

“What if I do?”

“Then I'll run away and you'll lose me forever.  I will break up with you.”

“No, please, don't do that Phu.”

“Then don't stop me, it's my job. Besides, I don't think it's that dangerous.  I think this crazy woman might be a little afraid of us now, she won't do anything risky that might get her trapped.  I know you're worried, but I'll be fine, I'm a big boy now.”

Phuwin grabbed Pond's cheek and pinched it caressingly.

“I'm not worried about you, I know you'll be fine.  I just wish you'd stay here.”

“I see.  So my own boyfriend doesn't care about me at all.  That's sad.” Phuwin pouted.

“Lewis has a press conference and many commercials to make this weekend, he can't suddenly disappear to come to us, so you have to get to him yourself.  He will create a portal for you to get to Gaia, but you must remember that time flows a little differently there, while it has only been five months with us, they have just finished the school year, the last one in high school for Gun and Tinn.”

“Bring them back safely, please,” Lady Puitrakul pleaded.

“I'm going with you, you'll need someone to help just in case” Interjected First, already with a backpack on his back, appearing next to them out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

“Yes, I'm going with you, he's my brother, I'll help bring him home.  Besides, I think Gemini needs to be taken home too.  And while we're here, maybe we can do something about his hearing problems.”

“It's not just a hearing problem, he can't hear at all.”

“It's okay, I'm sure we'll be able to do something.”

❤️😂❗🥰🥰🥺😇🤪😜🤴✨😈🧑‍🎨👼🤯👀👑🪄🎶😍🤩💛💙💖😭😅💜🖕👋😬🤗😉🖤🤍💝🤣🧡

From Annie:

❗❗❗❗❗Fourth's MV PLEASE BE MINE has already 1M views!!! Let's go for more! Stream Please Be Mine by Fourth!!! ❗❗❗❗❗

Also new single by Gemini tomorrow will be out!!! Don't forget to watch!

And as for the story... Do you like it?

I know i may add too many characters and I'm sorry for that! I hope you like this story!

Please give me any comments, please? 🥺💝💖

~Annie