"Why are you always making decisions without me?" Grim was standing on one of the tables in one of the outside dining-area, paws crossed in front of his chest and tapping his foot. The sun had set just a few minutes ago and the inn was quieter than before. Considering Wassailia was two days from now, people would prefer spending dinner with out-town relatives who stay in their house for the holiday. Which kinda surprised Jonah when Killigrew said that the four of them used to spend at least one week before Wassailia having a sleepover at Jonah's house. They didn't do it last year, so this year they could make it until New Year.

"You can't keep doing this, Jonah," the cat grumbled.

Jonah, who sat behind the chair in front of Grim, chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Technically, you're not tied to it this time," he muttered, "you can walk this out, you know."

Grim gasped, looking offended. "Heck no. I can't let you get captured again."

In the background, Columbus looked up from the other table he was cleaning. "Did you just say-"

"It's fine. It's fine." Grim waved his paws at the dual-haired boy.

Jonah sighed at him. "Listen. This might be my only chance to recover my memories."

"You never seem to get bothered with your amnesia before," Grim said tilting his head to the side.

"Can I really think about my amnesia when we have overblot every week?" Jonah shrugged, oblivious of how Columbus just stopped his track like a broken record.

"Over-what?!"

Grim hummed, tapping his chin. "You got a point."

"Excuse me!" Columbus stomped his way toward the two and spun Jonah's chair so that he was facing him, both of his arms trapped Jonah's head. "Did you just mention something about overblot?!"

Jonah raised both hands, sweating nervously. "I didn't go overblot."

"Then who-"

"Oi, oi, oi!" Ace, who was previously helping Deuce in preparing for their all-night trip, ran toward the two boys. "Back off!" He pushed Columbus and took position behind the chair, both hands on Jonah's shoulder rather protectively. "Look. You may be the captain's supposed childhood friends, but we are brothers in arms."

Columbus raised an eyebrow at him. "Jonah is an only child."

Ace spitted out a 'pfft!' "Yeah, so?" He rolled his eyes. "We've been sticking with him since the beginning of the semester! We went through dangers together!"

"We've been with him since we were eight! We have more experience than you!"

"Heh! You call your childish adventure 'experience'!"

"Oi! We fought raccoons with rabies!"

"Well, we destroyed a mafia empire!"

"Mafia?! You're delusional!"

"Tell that to yourself, you child!"

"I am not a child!"

"That's it you two!" Jonah finally stood up. His hands stretched out, pushing both of the boys' chests to separate them. "Technically, I'm the captain for both of you, so shut both of your yappings."

There was silence between them before Ace hummed, "Fighting a child wouldn't be worth it."

"That's it!" Columbus screamed. He lunged at Ace, pushing Jonah out of the way and bringing both of them to the ground. Columbus straddled Ace's hips with his hands around the collar of his hoodie, attempting to slam Ace's head to the ground if not for the gingerhead to hold himself up, gripping tight of Columbus' wrist and turned the tide. They tumbled around, slapping, pulling hair, and screaming at each other like feral raccoons.

"Guys!" Even Jonah's yelling couldn't stop them. He turned to the oldest one there. Killigrew was sitting on one of the tables, elbow on the wooden surface and chin on her palm, watching the fight with an amused look. "Are you going to stop them?!" he pleaded, but the older girl just raised an eyebrow at him.

"No," she said, lips tugged into a smirk, "it's been a long time since I've seen Jacob tried to pull someone's hair out."

Newton, who sat across Killigrew, giggled. "They're so energetic," she said and Jonah genuinely believed she was being honest. "Must've been a fun brawl."

Fortunately, Deuce had a brain cell for once. "Ace, stop it!" he shouted, pulling Ace away with arms around the ginger's waist, leaving Columbus sitting on the floor, still growling like a dog. If they weren't in a middle of a catfight, they would be blushing from the manhandle. "You're embarrassing us!"

"I'll have this rainbow boy's head on a silver platter!" Ace screamed, arms and legs still flying around.

"Are you color blind?!" Columbus screamed back, looking ready to pounce again. "My hair has only two colors!"

"Children! Please, behave!" The booming voice of an adult finally managed to gain everyone's attention and stopping the fight. Crowley walked toward them, cane tapping on the ground from each step, with Mister Argentum – his father – walking behind him. Crowley didn't seem so mad, at least unlike back when he was facing an overblot Senior Viper. He still sounded like a scolding father, but not entirely disappointed. Crowley stopped next to him and started tapping a foot at him, looks of disapproval still aimed toward him but no anger behind it. "Mister Argentum, I expect better from you to keep them in line."

Jonah ducked his head, rubbing his unitchy hair as he laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."

Crowley sighed, shaking his head in amusement. He then bent his knees so he was in equal eyesight with the small boy. "Now. Are you sure you want to stay here?" he asked, a hand on Jonah's shoulder. "Nobody is forcing you if you want to leave."

Jonah hummed and nodded. "I'll be fine, but thank you for everything, headmaster."

"Alright." Crowley nodded back. "I'll come to pick you up personally on January 2nd." He gave his shoulder a couple of pats before standing up again and stepping back toward Mister Argentum. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mister Argentum." He offered a handshake at him which the other man reached for happily, one hand shaking Crowley's while the others on top of their joined hands.

"I should be the one thanking you," he said, almost tearfully, "I'm forever grateful."

Crowley smiled. "He's a good kid. I have no doubt you've raised him wonderfully." He turned toward the resident children and tipped his hat. "We'll be off now."

Most of them reply with a nod (Jonah noticed Newton gave a cute little curtsey). Crowley walked toward the road, with Deuce and Ace following behind him. The blunette climbed onto the magical wheel first before the ginger sat behind him. Once their helmets were clicked, Deuce turned on the vehicle, letting his magic flow inside it.

Jonah waved his hand toward them. "Be careful on the way!"

Grim leaped onto the top of his head. "Don't crash anything!"

Deuce gave them a thumb-up. "We will!"

"Don't worry about us, Captain!" Ace gave them a two-finger salute. "See you next semester!"

Crowley tipped his hat toward them again. "Farewell." And he leaped into the air. Deuce steered the magical wheel to follow the headmaster until Jonah and Grim couldn't see them at the end of the road.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, he saw Mister Argentum smiling at him. "Let's go inside for dinner. I made bonzabeast stew."

Jonah couldn't help but smile. "I would love that."

-----

"Is it really okay for all of us to sleep together in one room?" Jonah asked as Newton sat on his left, a pillow on her lap. She now wore an adorable baby yellow onesie with rabbit ears on top. Jonah himself was in a peach-colored pajama with rolled-up ends. His (supposed) room's floor now had three mattresses and more pillows. A simplified version of the sleepover in Valley of Thorn's castle with fewer people.

"We always have a sleepover at least once a month," Killigrew said, already in her lavender nightgown, and sat across him while still combing her hair. "This is a usual occasion. We're no longer feel strange with this."

"We were that close, huh?" he muttered, glancing to his left where Columbus who had his legs and arms crossed, almost pouting. He was the only one who wasn't in his pajamas, but his white shorts and black t-shirt were equally comfortable. Grim, who sat on a pillow on his right, claiming as a barrier so Columbus wouldn't do anything stupid, didn't get anything, but he did take off his gem and collar.

The two-color-haired boy sighed as he leaned back against his dresser. "So, how are we going to do this?" he asked. "Don't you remember anything?"

Jonah bit his inside cheeks, fingers fiddling to his pajama top's end. "Not a vision or anything, but more like a feeling." They curled into a fist, trembling a bit. "Like, when I arrive here, my heart feels aching. Like, there's something I need to remember."

"This might be hard," Killigrew hummed. "How about like this: Since you don't have a clue, let's start from the beginning." The three younger teens looked up to her in curiosity. "We're gonna take a turn telling one fact of each of us or ask one question to any of us, start from our names. Can we do that?"

The others turned at each other. Newton was nodding while Columbus shrugged. Jonah looked down at Grim. The cat also shrugged and added, "We can try." Jonah hummed in agreement and looked up to Killigrew. The girl nodded back. "I'll start first." She cleared her throat before placing a hand on her chest. "My name is Magdalena Killigrew."

Newton raised her hand. "I'm Bridgette Eduarda Newton."

Jonah nodded slightly. "I'm Jonah Argentum."

Grim puffed up his chest. "I'm the Great Grim!"

Columbus shifted in his seat, now his hands folded behind his head. "Jacob Orion Columbus."

Killigrew smiled. "Right. Now, one fact about ourselves. I'm the oldest among all of you."

"Really?" Jonah asked.

She nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes. I'm eighteen this year and a third year in college."

Newton raised her hand again. "My favorite color is red because it doesn't really hurt my eyes."

Jonah turned to her. "How come?"

"I'm sensitive." She rubbed her eyes. "I don't really like bright color. Your turn!"

"Oh. Umm...I like cooking."

Columbus raised an eyebrow at him. "You remember how to cook?"

"Muscle memory, maybe?" Jonah shrugged. "Did I used to cook?"

There was a nostalgic glint in Columbus' eyes. "Yeah. You're pretty talented at that," he said, voice softer than before.

"Well, one fact about me is that I'm aiming to be the greatest magician in the whole world!" Grim stood on his two feet and raised a paw to the air. "And all of you will bow to me!"

"Wow, you must be really strong!" Newton exclaimed.

"The strongest!" Grim laughed. "Jonah can't do shit without me!"

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Hey! I'm magicless." He paused for some seconds. Then, looked up to Columbus. "I am magicless, right?"

Columbus and Killigrew exchanged a glance. "Yeah," he said, "as far as we know."

"But you said you're a late bloomer," Killigrew added. "You always want to do magic like all of us. Nobody really knows whether or not they have magic or not except if they do a check-up. But there are things like a sudden miracle."

Jonah hummed. "So, all of you are magicians as well."

"Yeah!" Newton nodded. "'All of us have gotten our unique magic."

"Really? What are those?"

"Hey, it's my turn." Columbus interrupted. "But, if you want to know, my unique magic is called 'Portkey Gate'. Basically, it's teleportation magic. I can teleport anywhere where I've been."

"So, technically, you can teleport to NRC, right?"

He clicked his tongue. "Not exactly. Don't your school has a magic barrier around it? RSA has that too so no intruder can use teleportation magic to sneak in." He then grumbled under his breath, mostly for himself. "I don't know how the fuck that pussycat could sneak in."

Killigrew chuckled. "My unique magic is called 'Feline Morphism'. I turn into a catgirl dan becomes stronger than an ordinary human."

Newton leaned closer to Jonah with a hand to hide her lips. Jonah leaned in as she whispered, "Artoo doesn't like her when she turns."

"Who's Artoo?" Jonah whispered back.

"Jake's dog."

Jonah raked his brain until he remembered something from the earlier afternoon. "Is that the dog that sleeps in front of the inn earlier?"

"Yep. She doesn't really like cats. So, you better be careful around here."

Jonah nodded again. Newton leaned back and spoke louder. "I called my unique magic 'Explosive Surprise'. I can explode stuff! But, I don't really like it."

"Why?" Grim asked. "It sounds cool."

"I don't like bomb noises. It hurts my ear. And I always get thrown back after exploding."

Grim's lips formed an 'oh'. "But either way. I still think that's cool."

Newton giggled. "Thank you."

Jonah patted Grim's head as the cat leaned in the touch. "Well, you already know I'm magicless. But I can make people listen to the captain's order."

Columbus snorted, but there wasn't a mocking tone there. Killigrew smiled softly, shaking her head slightly. Newton giggled and said, "But we always listen to you, Captain."

Jonah chuckled. "Well, I guess that's my unique magic."

"Unlike, Jonah here, I have magic!" Grim said proudly. "I can spit flames. But, that's too generic for a unique magic."

"Did you just admit a flaw?" Jonah smirked. "Are you finally becoming more humble?"

"It's not a flaw!" Grim shouted at him. "I just think I can do something cooler than that!"

Jonah laughed, patting Grim's head. "It's okay to admit a weakness, Grim."

"Hmmp!" Grim sat back, crossed his paws in front of him. "At least I have magic."

Newton smiled widely. "So, you're magic is similar to mine!"

Grim turned to her. "Wait. It does!"

Newton clapped her hands excitedly. "Can I see your flame tomorrow?"

"Yes! I'll make the biggest flame for you!"

"Yay!"

Columbus rolled his eyes in a fond gesture. "Now that we talk about unique magic, what now?" He glanced at Killigrew who shrugged at him.

"Well, we can ask questions too," she said.

"Hmm..." He clicked his tongue. "Alright. A question for Jonah."

Jonah held his breath as Columbus continued, "So, you said that you don't remember anything, right?"

Jonah gave him a delayed nod. "Yeah..."

Killigrew rolled her eyes. "Straight to the point, as usual?"

Columbus gave her a sideways glare. "This is important, Magda."

"Yes. But we already know the answer, don't we?"

"I'm sorry," Jonah spoke up, gaining both of their attention again. "I can't give you a good answer. But, I seriously don't remember."

Columbus huffed through his nose, almost in an annoyed manner. "Can you name one incident that you remember from your past? Just to make sure."

At this point, Jonah was at the point of wanting to pull his hair off. "I don't remember anything!" he screamed. The other four were surprised of the sudden raised voice which he didn't mean, but he was so tired of this circling conversation. "I'm being honest." He ran a hand down his face with a groan. "Okay. Okay. This morning, I talked to Senior Draconia whether or not we've met before, and he said yes. I apparently sneaked into the forest, met him accidentally, and we watched the meteor shower together."

Instead of being satisfied, Columbus started screaming. "Wait! I've never heard about this!"

"And 'Draconia'?" Killigrew raised a curious, but disbelieve, eyebrow at him. "As in 'Malleus Draconia', right?"

"Isn't that the Prince of the Valley of Thorn?" Newton perked up.

Jonah nodded at her. "Yeah."

Killigrew massaged her temple while Columbus was still frozen with his jaw dropped. "Miss Auroria mentioned something about the fae prince attending NRC once," she muttered.

"Oh, you're school has royalty as well?" Newton asked again.

"Yeah. And many weirdoes," Grim added with a mutter.

Jonah chuckled. "They're not weirdos. Don't be mean Grim."

"No, no, no!" Columbus screamed again, finally unfrozen. "Don't you change the subject!" He leaped to Jonah, accidentally kicking Grim. "Did you say your name to him?"

Jonah shook his head. "I- I don't remember! When we met the first time before the magishift, he called me 'little star'."

"If he has a nickname for you, then you probably tell him your real name right?" Newton added again, looking confusedly at Columbus and Jonah.

"To be fair, I've been calling him 'Horned Dude' before I know he's Malleus Draconia," Jonah muttered.

Killigrew sighed. "Oh, you poor, fearless child."

"Mother of stars!" Columbus threw his hands to the air. "You don't just make contact with a fae and went on unharmed!"

"Well, I'm okay so far!" Jonah shouted back at him.

"You mentioned earlier that you had overblot!"

"Back off!" Grim flew between the two boys and pushed Columbus until his back fell to the mattress. The cat stood in front of Jonah, arms stretched protectively. "We were fine without you being there! As far as we know, you're just a stranger!"

Instead of backing down, Columbus looked like he was about to rip Grim into pieces. Offended was an understatement. "We are not just a stranger to him!"

"Then prove it!" He pointed at the three others kids. "One by one!"

"I'm gonna-"

"Jacob." Killigrew put a hand on Columbus' shoulder, successfully stopping him from punching Grim out of the way. Glancing to the side, she noticed Newton was trembling, hands on her ears and head ducked. "Calm down."

"You know, I can't Magda-"

"I know, I know." Slowly and gently, Killigrew pulled him back until he sat securely on her side. "But anger won't lead anywhere. For now, we should answer that cat's question."

Columbus breathed, calming himself. Slowly, he lowered his fist. His bangs covered his eyes and his teeth still gritting. But there wasn't anymore indication he would do anything. Killigrew scooted to the side where Jonah finally realized Newton's condition. Guilt coiled up in his stomach. Even Grim's ears dropped. Killigrew gentle pulled the blond into a hug, whispering something so low that he couldn't even hear. It reminded him of his panic attack back in Scarabia with Kalim. Killigrew was probably doing the same thing. If Newton's unique magic actually scares her, he couldn't imagine how people screaming would mess her up. And he felt terrible being the one who caused it and didn't do anything to help.

Eventually, the hushed conversation paused as Newton lifted her head and lowered her hands. She was still trembling, hands tugged close to her chest. Killigrew smiled at her. "Bridgette, can you speak?"

The blond girl gulped tearfully, but she nodded. Killigrew didn't stop rubbing her head. "Can you tell Jonah how you two met?"

Newton nodded again and sniffed. "Jonah bought me serabi," she whispered. "I was staring at the cart and you gave me your cheese one."

Killigrew nodded and then turned to Jonah and Grim. "Meanwhile, you snuck up to my garden because your kite fell there." She let out a nostalgic chuckle, "You are the strangest kid I've ever met. So, I invited you for an afternoon snack."

"I was there too," Newton added.

"Yes, you did," Killigrew patted her. She turned to Columbus. "And what about you, Jacob?"

The two-color-haired boy visibly flinched. He pulled his knees closed to his chest, making himself small for the first time since Jonah had met him. "Jonah helped me with some bullies in our first meeting and won't leave me alone since then. Artoo trusted you right off the bat, so you can't be a bad guy."

Jonah was staring at him, almost confusedly. "I...I really did that?"

Columbus hummed. "Yeah." A small smile grazed his lips. "You're our leader after all." He glanced up at Grim, brow furrowed. "Does that answer your question, cat?"

Before Grim could answer, Jonah pressed a hand on top of his head. "Can I ask a question?"

Columbus looked up to him in an almost surprising way, but he nodded. Jonah took a deep breath and let it out. "You mentioned that I appeared unannounced. Did I also disappeared unannounced?"

Columbus gasped. "I..." He hugged his knees tighter.

"You don't have to answer if you're not-"

"Shut up." He cut Jonah off and for once he didn't mind. "I want to." His fingers drummed on top of his leg before he sighed. "Your last letter was on 5th November last year. After that, there were no more letters," he stated. Obviously, Jonah wouldn't remember that thus more info about his past life.

"That should be the first warning because you sent your letter every day without missing it. I thought you suddenly forgot or got too busy since you mentioned that you were closing to finals. But a week later, you didn't send a single letter." Jonah noticed that Columbus' blue eyes started to tear up, even his voice stuttered a bit. "That was when I contacted Bree and Magda, they said they hadn't received any letter too. I contacted your dad and he said he didn't get any letter. So, Uncle Ben called RSA. And they said..."

"What did they say?" Jonah whispered.

Jacob let out a tearful shaky breath. "They said that they've never accepted any student by the name Jonah Argentum."

Jonah eyes widened. Deep in his head, Jonah did a mental checkpoint of Che'nya's claim during the Revenge Unbirthday Party. 'Royal Sword Academy is not as cat-tastrophic without you there' he once said and Columbus gave him that confirmation. But this didn't make any sense. If two people claimed that he went to RSA before, how could the actual school doesn't have his data? Was RSA like NRC where all the news suddenly disappeared after a couple of days. But he had been missing for almost a year! The school can't just forget about him that easily, right?!

"I just..." Columbus wiped the stubborn tears that fell down his cheeks. "Uncle Ben threatened to sue RSA but the school managed to convince him not to. The police didn't find anything. It was like you disappear out of existence." He looked up at Jonah, pleading. "Why would you do that?"

Jonah wanted to tear away from his gaze, but he couldn't. He had seen those eyes. Those desperate eyes. He saw it in Senior Riddle, Leona, Azul, and Kalim. Desperation and despair, pleading for the universe to give them the best answer. But, Jonah couldn't do it. Columbus has a tight connection with him.

Columbus wasn't the problem here.

Jonah was.

And for once, he couldn't give a satisfying answer.

"I can't remember," he whispered. Columbus sniffled which made Jonah moved. The boys melted when Jonah hugged him. Tears stained his pajamas but Jonah didn't care. Columbus – Jacob, Jake, call him by his name – was clutching onto him tightly as if he was worried that Jonah would disappear again, and honestly, Jonah was terrified as well.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"But you're here now right?" Jacob sobbed. "You won't leave again, would you?"

Jonah ran his hand down Jacob's hair, he glanced at Killigrew and Newton – Magdalene and Bridgette, Magda and Bree – who watched his with the same pleading look. He did this. He had driven these poor kids into despair.

He knew, they knew, this wouldn't last forever. Once the new year rolls in, they would go on their separate ways once again. So, every second in this short holiday matters.

"I'll try."

He won't disappear. He swore to that. Even death would have to try their damn hardest to take him away from them.

-----

It was nearing midnight when Benjamin finally finished counting today's income. Dire Crowley had left a pounce of gold coins despite Benjamin said that his stay was free. It was an eventful day. Too eventful but he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

His son was back. His Jonah, his baby boy, was back.

He couldn't believe it when he first saw him. He was just like the time he had last seen him, when the white carriage pulled by a pair of pegasuses with blue mane came to pick him up to his new school. The boy was excited, more excited than when Royal Sword Academy announced him as the honorary lucky student to enter the school despite being magicless. He remembered him sticking out the carriage window to wave goodbye before disappearing among the clouds.

His boy wrote nearly every day and Benjamin loved every stroke on the paper. He still keeps those letters, rereading them nearly every day after his disappearance. Oh, the pain and anguish he felt when the academy and police force couldn't find him. He didn't want to lose hope, but it was getting harder days by days. The pain from losing his wife seventeen years ago still hurt, it was a miracle that he was still standing after the search for his son stopped.

But now he's here. Jonah is alive and well. He could ask about his arm and eye later, but he was still breathing. He was sleeping in his room with the rest of the kids.

Right?

Was this paranoia that he wanted to check on his son he hadn't seen for nearly a year? Maybe so, but he couldn't help it. He needed to make sure that everything that happened today was real and not just a hallucination.

He climbed to the second floor and twisted the handle of the door to the child's room. He let out a coo.

Jonah was still there, sleeping peacefully, with one arm hugging Jacob who was curled up against him. The grey cat curled beside his head, sitting on Jonah's non-mechanical arm. Bridgette hugged Jonah from behind. Magdalene slept with one arm behind her head on her side beside the other girl.

They're all safe. All of them were sleeping. Jonah was still breathing.

Benjamin pulled the door, but not completely close it. He climbed down the stairs and went to his own room to clean himself and prepare for bed.

Finally, after months, he could sleep in peace.