It was a trap.

Even though they basically expected it, they didn't know where the threat would come from, they only hoped to escape.  Phuwin and First grabbed Gemini's hands.  He seemed to be the one to be protected the most because he couldn't react early enough due to his hearing loss.  Getting through the portal proved easy, but there was someone waiting for them on the other side.

They came out not in the Hall of Passages at the Institute of the Knights of Light, but in some old mansion that definitely didn't belong to either of them.  Phuwin looked around quickly.  The walls were rough and in various shades of red, in the light of the setting sun reflecting off the broken glass placed in the furniture behind them, it created a rather eerie impression.  Phu heard the creaking of the floorboards in the next room, which indicated that they were definitely not alone.  The building, though long abandoned, was devoid of the usual marks of such places: no dust on the floor or furniture, no cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and the paint was not flaking or flaking off the walls.

First wanted to move forward, but Phu stopped him, grabbing a piece of clothing on his back.

Going through the portal washed away the spells placed on them, and now not only was Off being Off again, but Fourth remembered his first kiss with Gemini, the one that had happened during the memorable game of Truth or Dare.  Gemini also regained this memory.  It turned out that First was too inexperienced  warlock to perform the full process of erasing memories.  Fourth secretly hoped it would help his boyfriend recover his hearing as well, but when he looked at him, his hopes vanished in an instant.

Gemini continued to use gestures to communicate with him.

Damn!

Damn it!  Fourth swore mentally.  He still can't hear!

Because of how worried he was about Gemini's condition, he didn't notice the coming threat in the form of a woman who in his life was a symbol of suffering, betrayal and hatred.  Fourth didn't know anything about her, didn't know who she was before she went astray, didn't know that she'd been one of them before, that she'd been fully trained and that she knew how to surprise them, knew their methods.  And for her own nefarious practices, she used the Imperius Charm she knew.  It was with this help that she guided the real NuNew so that Chawarin hugged Fourth from behind, while covering his mouth with his hand so that he couldn't get away.

NuNew wasn't completely defenseless, however.  With what little willpower he had trained over the years, he kicked a large and ugly brown vase standing nearby, which toppled with a loud bang and rolled across the floor.  This caught everyone's attention.  Off was the first to understand the situation and tried to rush to help, but before he could, the woman yanked NuNew's arm, snapped her fingers, and the three of them disappeared in a puff of gray-blue smoke.

“Bloody hell!”  Off cursed loudly, slapping his hand against his own knee.

“And what now?”  Phuwin asked.

“I don't know!  I don't fucking know, this is what you wanted to hear?!” Off shouted.  “How could you let yourself be approached like that?!  P'Zee will kill us!”

Phuwin didn't understand why Off had only one grudge against him, he wasn't alone here!  He came so close to him that he could perfectly feel the anger bubbling in the veins of the older of them.

“And you?  Why didn't you do anything?”  He bit back, crushing his older colleague with a hostile look.

“Because I was farthest away!”

“It's just an excuse!”

“Stop it right now!”  First stood between the Knights of Light preparing to fight.  He was disappointed with their attitude and behavior.  This was not what he expected from experienced Shadowhunters, and he was most disappointed in Off, whose help he counted on the most.  They had brought him with them for the sake of his rich experience in fighting the forces of evil, and now he stood there as helpless as they were.

“Huh?”

“Get a grip.  Both of you.  We have no time for pointless arguments, we must return to the Institute.  Dr. Jimmy needs to deal with Gemini immediately, and we need to report to P'Zee.”

“But we don't even know where we are!” Phuwin protested.

“It doesn't matter, I'll take us back to the entrance to the Institute.” First took the stele out of his pocket.

Off understood what First intended to do.  He grabbed the hand of Gemini staring at them with painful terror in his eyes, whose fear was intensified by the fact that he hadn't heard anything.  Gemini wanted to know what had happened and why, but although he could read lips and guessed the general meaning of it all, the whole thing was hidden from him by a veil of silence.  Silence has never been so loud and terrifying.

First asked Phuwin, Off and Gem to hold out their hands, and he drew the same symbol on each of them with a stele on the back of them.  He uttered a short formula aloud.  At his command, they joined hands.  Gemini saw that an ordinary brown wooden door, with the varnish worn off in several places, had formed right in front of them.  First, leading the way, led them ahead, and a moment later Gemini saw such a familiar environment that his chest tightened with a mysterious pain.  Emotion for a moment took away his ability to make any move.

He was home.

He got here, he came back to where it all began.  He looked dreamily at the graffiti-painted walls of the never-finished luxury hotel building, which housed the Institute of the Knights of the Light hidden from the sight of the Non-Magical, and in it also the Academy of the Knights of the Light, which trained the next generations of Shadowhunters in their country.

Those familiar walls gave him a sense of security he had lacked on Gaia II.

I'm home. I'm finally home. I can't wait to meet my mom and Dunk again but first we need to bring back Fourth here. Fourth must be our priority. Let's find him! I hope we have enough time. I don't care if I'm home if Fifi is not there with me, without him it's not a home anymore. He is my home and I have to bring him back.

“Let's go,” First said to them, though Gem couldn't hear it.  He felt someone grab his waist and push him forward, snapping him out of his thoughts.

As they crossed the threshold, the environment changed.

The graffiti was gone, the floor was dark blue, and a long corridor with doors on either side led straight to the main hall, where someone was waiting for them at first.  Gemini recognized Dr. Jimmy in this man.  Dr. Jimmy had a few words with Off, then turned to Gemini.

“Come on, let's fix your ears.” He smiled at him and led him to his office.  Off wasn't about to face an angry P'Zee.  He decided it would be better to disappear from his boss's sight for a while.  Phuwin didn't even have time to stop him.

“What a coward”  Phu snorted under his breath.

“Maybe he's not a coward, he just doesn't want to talk to the boss right now.  I'm not surprised at all by him.  Eh, it doesn't matter now.  I'm going to P'Zee, I'll report myself.  If you want, you can go to your brother, he's probably still in shock, take care of him.”

Phuwin hesitated.

Go to Gemini or accompany First?  He decided that Gemini was in good hands and decided to go with First after all.

“I won't leave you alone.  Dr. Jimmy knows what he's doing, he can handle it, and I can be of more use to P'Zee.”

First wasn't going to argue.  Together they went in a well-known direction, First a little soul on his shoulder, Phu deep in thought.  Other Knights of the Light passed by, but they paid no attention.  All that mattered now was to find out where that lunatic had taken Fourth, and whether NuNew had been following her orders willingly or had forced him to do so.  First, being very close to the truth, he suspected that she had used a spell or a potion, or possibly blackmail, to force Chawarin's obedience.  He knew NuNew through Fourth and knew that the singer would not willingly do anything to hurt Fourth in any way.  A good example was when NuNew broke up with Fourth to allow him to get on with his life with someone else, someone who loved him more than anything, who searched for him long and hard, and who couldn't live without Fourth.

First knew what it cost NuNew and respected him for it.  He wasn't in the least bit surprised when it turned out that for some time there had been a monster roaming the Institute that was only NuNew in appearance. The difference was too big.

First stopped in front of P'Zee's office door, exchanged a worried look with Phuwin, and with a heavy heart slowly raised his hand to knock.  His concern increased when he heard a faint cry for help in response.  Without thinking, he lunged forward and kicked the door open.  The sight he found inside forced him to act immediately.

“Go get Dr. Jimmy,” he ordered Phuwin, seeing what was happening.  Phuwin obeyed without any objection.

Zee staggered and fell.  First immediately crouched next to him and, patting his cheeks, tried to wake him up.  He immediately noticed unnaturally prominent veins, pale, almost white skin, and dark circles under his eyes.  He remembered what Mr. Mixxiw had said about poisons.  Lately, almost all members of their Institute have been under attack.  First didn't have time to think about it.  What was most important was to transport the boss to the infirmary as soon as possible, where he could be helped.  Unfortunately, there was not a soul to be seen in the corridor, only Cloud, their gray-blue cat with very soft, fluffy fur, was curled up on the windowsill opposite them.

Zee delegated each of his subordinates to perform some task.  Since Fourth and Gem had moved to Gaia II, training was in full swing, and now no one could afford even the slightest mistake or a day off.  Behind the nearest door was the gymnasium, where the ring had been set up where Fourth and Pond had fought before anything happened, and the other students were sitting on the floor (some like Cooheart and Cooper had brought cushions, and Nat,  Turbo, Kaownah, and Ciize sat together on the exercise mat around them and watched it while listening to their teacher, Tay Tawan.  First only briefly considered whether he should ask them for help, but decided not to.  He didn't want to spread panic, or rather none of them could help them.

“You're a sorcerer, First, figure something out,” he said to himself, and got the idea to check their poison database, which he would surely have access to in the infirmary.  It would also be necessary to talk to Dr. Jimmy, who he expected to appear at any moment. Although Jimmy didn't appear anytime soon. First began to worry even more. He couldn't wait any longer.

Zee was almost as tall as him, but much more muscular, and yet First lifted him off the floor as easily as if he weighed nothing.  Carrying him in his arms, he covered the several dozen meters that separated them from the infirmary.

In the room, he saw one of the nurses dressing the wounded forehead of one of the Knights of the Light, whose name and nickname First could not remember.  The woman turned as she heard the creaking of the door opening and footsteps.  When she saw First carrying her boss, she stopped helping the boy, who could not be more than 20 years old, and hurried over to them.

„What happened?”  she asked in a cool, professional tone as she studied the new patient.

„I don't know, I suspect poison, but I can't tell what it is.  I think I've heard of her, but I'm not sure it's the one.  Can you fetch Dr. Jimmy?”

“Sure, I'm going to get him.  Put him on this bed and wait.  I'll be right back,”  she said, pointing to an empty couch by the window.  First placed Zee there, checked the pulse on his neck with his hand (it was weak but still palpable), feeling that his body was unnaturally cold.  He left his boss, knowing there was nothing more he could do for him anyway, and walked over to a locker that contained a spare laptop, spare phone and tablet, as well as several books on Magical, Non-Magical, and hybrid medicine.  After some thought, he rejected the possibility of finding the cause of Zee's condition in books, he decided that there was not enough time for it.  He took a tablet from the locker, saw that it was on and logged into the database using a code known only to him and the Human Resources and Records Department, then found the "Poisons" section and began a cursory search, remembering a few important details from Mr. Mixxiw's story.

One sentence caught his eye and made him stand there like a statue for a long moment, staring at it and not believing he was seeing it.

"This substance is highly poisonous and can lead to paralysis or death."

Finally, he shook himself off, patted his cheek, telling himself to focus, and began to read the column titled Antidote. As he read through the subsections of the complicated formula, someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Dr. Jimmy.

“Mrs. Virachit told me what happened.  You found something?”

“Yeah, looks like we're having another attack inside the institute, as far as I know Zee hasn't been out today.  See, the description of the effects of taking this fits perfectly with Zee's symptoms, I'm afraid it's not too late.  Where am I going to get chamomile and black swan tears now?”

“Don't worry, we happen to have that antidote in our warehouse, I'll give it to him right now and he should be fine,” Jimmy consoled him, then left to fetch a small dark brown bottle with a slightly yellowed label and a faintly blurred Latin inscription  The first couldn't read yet.  He took white disposable gloves and a disposable syringe from the cupboard, uncapped the bottle, filled the syringe, checking that he had measured the amount of solution he needed, and then inserted the needle into the visibly swollen vein on Zee's forearm.

First watched the action with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

Dr. Jimmy covered the needle hole with colored plaster, drew a circle around it with his stele.  He looked at Zee, and seeing that his condition improved almost instantly, his skin returning to a healthy, slightly pink hue and the veins becoming less visible, he smiled to himself and walked away from the patient to throw away the used gloves and syringe.

“You didn't examine him,” said First, surprised.

“It wasn't necessary.  Before I came, the bed you put him on did all the necessary research on its own.”

“Ah!  So it's like this!”

“What's 'like this'?” Jimmy asked, sitting down in the chair next to Zee and watching him closely with laptop on his laps.

“That's how you examined Gemini so quickly and brought him back to health.”

“Well, yes, our state-of-the-art medical equipment helped us a lot.”

They could talk no more, because Zee opened his eyes and tried to get up on his own, though he was still weak and had great difficulty.  First bent over him and grabbed him under the armpits to lift him up and help him lean against the pillows.

“What...?”  He tried to ask Zee, but his voice was hoarse and his throat burned unpleasantly. “Water... I need water”  He asked, and First left the room.  Meanwhile, Jimmy managed to inform the boss that it was First, the one he didn't trust so much, who saved him.

“If it wasn't for him and his quick, reasonable response, you might be dead, or at least not able to walk.”

“Don't scare me.”

“I'm not scaring you, I'm telling it like it is.  He brought you here, he found the poison you were given so I didn't have to do it and I was able to give you the antidote right away.  You didn't believe in him, and look, he helped you.  Now can you finally forget that he was raised among the Non-Magical?”

Zee shrugged, and then the door opened and First returned, serving a drink to the obviously thirsty boss, who drank it all at once, and when he did he was almost fully recovered and immediately ordered their most trusted people assembled in the main hall.  He already knew about Fourth's kidnapping.  He couldn't fathom it with his own mind, how could it be that despite their best intentions and best efforts, this cunning woman kept eluding them?  Why was she still able to outsmart them?

It was frustrating.

Zee had made it a point of honor to find his NuNew, and now he had to find Fourth as well.  It seemed to him that this boy was constantly getting into some new problems.

“Call our disciples too.  We need to discuss this.” He instructed First, and the young man left to do the job.

Jimmy jotted down some notes on his laptop, looking at Zee, who had already jumped off the couch quite efficiently and was getting ready to leave.

“Thanks for taking care of Gemini so efficiently.”

“It's okay, that's what I'm for.”

“Does he know about Iris?”

“Not yet.”

“That's good.  Try not to let her out for now.  You're a medic, I'm sure you'll find a reason.”

“Okay, boss, but you know I can't keep her here forever?”

“I know, but at least wait until Fourth comes back too. And NuNu od course. They should find out at the same time.

Jimmy smiled understandingly.

It was the first time he had seen someone so extremely ordinary in Zee.  Anyone who knew Zee Pruk knew that this handsome man was incapable of showing affection and never worried about anyone.  But Dr. Jimmy was the first to notice the subtle changes.  As Zee left, he stroked a plant with large, broad, dark blue leaves in a large pot of the same color on his desk.

“Am I the only one seeing this?” He chuckled softly to himself.

He was impressed.  Zee, their P'Zee, that stern, distinguished, aristocratic head of their unit, was changing, and though his change was slow, it was clearly noticeable.  Jimmy knew why.  Zee again had the opportunity to show extraordinary courage and amazing cunning to save one person important to him once again: NuNew Chawarin, a boy who, like Fourth and First before him, did not know who he really was and who, unlike  he would never find out.

Jimmy also thought about how Phuwin had run into his office while Jimmy was tending to Gemini and hastened to say something bad had happened.  Phu was talking so much and so fast that Jimmy could hardly understand him.  At the same time, First had already brought their boss and laid him on the couch.

Jimmy clung to the faith that all this fuss would soon be over.

🥰😜❤️👋🥺😭👀😉👑✨🪄🎉😍🤢🥴🙏🤩💛💖💙🎂🤗😈😅❗😬🤣☺️😆🧑‍🎨👼🤯💜🖕🤍

From the author!

Do you guys know that we are slowly approaching the end?

I can only promise you that you will like the ending.  I also want to thank you with all my heart for not giving up, for sticking with our heroes until now.  It's near to the end.

I also apologize for this emotional rollercoaster.  I hope you don't hate me for this.  I kind of wanted my story to be a bit different from everyone else's, to entertain you, to be a safe haven for you, and at the same time to perhaps give some advice or life lessons (some of the characters' experiences are based on my own, but that's just  some).

As I write this, Gem and Fourth are gearing up for their big show, and all I can do is ask you with all my heart to keep watching their videos on YouTube, listening to them on Spotify, and promoting them wherever you can.  Not only Fourth and Gemini, but all the actors included in this fanfiction.  Perhaps I trust people too easily, but I want to believe that those whom I have chosen for my story are good people and fit the roles I assigned them.

Thanks for the comments too, you guys are great!

And please, if you like this story, please pass it on.

As always, you can find me on Instagram:

magical_in_love

and

heystranger_by_callmeannie

Good luck and see you soon,

Your Annie

I promise that soon you'll get very cute, lovely, adorable chapters! Soon! So please, don't leave me just yet, okieeeeee?!