Before Charles fell on the floor, JD caught him and immediately carried him to the couch.

"Drew!"

Andrew, starstruck, ran close. "Y-yes!"

"Heal him," He yelled, voice shaky as he moved out of the way. "Now!"

With one quick nod and hum, Andrew pulled Charles' scarf away, and his hands moved to the top of his jawline. Tiny sparks of light rained down from his palms to Charles' skin, the little diamond-shaped sparks sticking close to the bruised skin and staying there.

Andrew stole a glance behind him, where JD's face looked bitter and regretful.

"His life is not in danger, is it?"

Andrew shook his head. "He's merely unconscious."

"Oh, Garnet." JD caught his head in one hand. "I knocked him out. I really just knocked Charles out."

"Well," Andrew's hands dropped, the distance between his fingers and Charles' jaw and neck growing small. "Why did you hit him?"

"It was on impulse!" JD reasoned but then violently shook his head. "No, I kicked him on purpose. I... I was afraid that Zalden's CEO still had control over his mind."

His speech fastened, and his hands kept shaking as he paced back and forth.

"Heck, Charles shouldn't be here! He only comes here when he's on vacay from work, but he only goes on vacays on special occasions concerning his relatives or friends outside of Abarly."

JD's palms and fingers stuck against each other, his eyes burning straight into the pictureless frame on the wall above Andrew and Charles.

"But he recently just did that last month, and he only does that once every several months!"

The light from Andrew's palms slowly faded along with the white marks on Charles' jaw. He tapped the area where his brother hit Charles and nodded in satisfaction with his improved condition.

"He should wake up in just a few minutes," Andrew said.

"And his outfit! Autumn clothes that aren't his color, and-"JD's gaze jumped on the door and everywhere. "Wait, he doesn't have any luggage with him? Why was he here, then?"

"Brother." Andrew turned around after carefully wrapping the scarf around Charles' neck again. "Is he your companion?"

"Well, he's... I wouldn't call him a companion since I travel alone, but we're friends." JD stopped pacing around the room. "I met him outside of Abarly, and he's the one who told me about this town."

"I see." Andrew sat on the arm of the sofa where Charles lay.

"More importantly," JD walked over to Charles and checked his pockets. "He doesn't have anything but the card key and his phone?"

"...Phone?"

JD muttered a silent apology as he fished through Charles' coat's inside pockets, then froze. His hand took hold of something, and as he pulled it out, he raised the object to get a clearer view. A vial with a transparent liquid inside.

"Is that...?"

"...An elixir." JD's voice was quiet, his grip tightened, and his eyes glinted. "Shit. Did Zalden figure us out?"

"Us?" Andrew mumbled, one of his eyebrows rising.

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JD rolled his eyes at him and slapped his cheeks softly. Andrew responded with a little giggle.

Suddenly, an urgent yet soft knocking echoed from the door, freezing the two. JD took immediate, silent steps towards the door and looked at Andrew, whose blue eyes shone briefly. After the quick glow, he pulled out two fingers, indicating the number of people behind the door.

JD placed the vial on the table and gripped on the door knob while Andrew slid over to the edge of the door frame to be invisible to the people once JD opened it. They nodded at one another, then JD pulled the door open as fast as possible.

He jumped to his stance as soon as he let go of the knob and was ready to kick whoever entered.

"Wait!"

JD's leg stopped midair, his foot sending an air of impact at a close distance against an unfamiliar girl's face.

The girl opened her eyes quickly. Her pupils and hands shook, but she pushed her voice out despite the sudden throbbing in her chest at what would've arrived had she not yelled immediately.

"We're not being mind controlled!" She hissed, voice soft and light like a feather.

JD squinted but dropped his foot to the ground. His stance remained ready for any unexpected act.

Questions raced in his mind, but he was sure about some things, like what the girl had said. JD had faced the senseless dolls Zalden's CEO controlled, and if there was anything he took note of that, none of their faces expressed such genuine worry for any possible danger to themselves. Unlike what lies in the eyes of this girl right now.

Right then, another person came in and pushed himself in.

"Whew!" His white-gloved hand brushed his black locks away from his red eyes. "You need to chill down, St. Michael."

As they've expected from a man an entire company sought after, and Charles explained as well-trained in physical combat, JD was prepared to take them down.

Just as the door clicked and the two people welcomed relief from the reason reflecting in JD's eyes, a sense of danger dawned on them from behind. Like the eyes of a waiting predator, hiding in a blind spot, ready to jump on them without holding back.

They would've been too late as they froze on the spot, but JD had raised one hand faster than Andrew could grab their necks with his magic-infused hands.

They turned around and met Andrew's palms, with colorful flares fading out and magic dissipating off them. He lowered his arms, showing them his full features. Complete with the same on-guard stance and deadlock gaze.

"Whoa!" The blood-eyed man pulled the girl with him on the shoulders as he sidestepped away from Andrew, eyes jumping from him to JD and back again. "There's two of them!"

The girl did the same thing, with her hands clasped together in her chest in hopes of relieving her running breath and pacing heartbeat.

"I'm sure you're ready for an introduction." JD's stance relaxed. "Who are you?"

"My name is Fareeha. Fareeha Jaser." The girl with light blue eyes and brown braided pigtails replied. "And this is Nicoli, my aid."

The one behind her saluted slightly. "Good day, Geminines!"

JD's brow rose, prompting Fareeha to wave her arms before her.

"Please hear us out! We're not from The Great Gemini; that's why he said that." Fareeha shot Nicoli a side glare. She looked back at JD after Nicoli's light giggle. "We're guests of Sir Freyda."

Nicoli peered behind Fareeha, eyes glancing over to Charles' previously unconscious body on the couch. His eyebrows had met, and now his eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Rise and shine, Charles!" Nicoli chirped, towering over Fareeha more as he raised himself by pressing on her shoulders.

"Nicoli," Fareeha grunted. "You're heavy."

Nicoli stepped back on the floor and wrapped his arms around Fareeha's neck, humming happily while his mistress' eyebrows furrowed, and she was clearly displeased.

"Nicoli. Behave."

"Yes, ma'am." He took his arms back to his side, but his smile didn't leave.

Charles' eyes widened as his foggy mind cleared up, and he sat up quickly, one hand cupping the area where he swore it was hurting before he lost consciousness.

He looked over to JD and glared. "Dang it, JD! You didn't have to hit me that hard!"

"I had you healed right after. Look, you woke up in just a few minutes."

"Thanks... But that's not the point!" Then his eyes shifted to everyone, lingered in Andrew's direction for a second with an extra squint, then back at JD. "Anyway, I didn't fully expect you to be here."

"Fully?"

"I expected you to be here by at least a fifty percent chance. But after checking the logs, I knew you had to be here." Charles raised a hand when JD opened his mouth. "Don't worry about that."

"But-"

"We've established the three of us as my guests." He referred to himself and Fareeha and Nicoli with an arm. Charles deadpanned, "Or your guest, rather, since you really had to use my name like that."

JD rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Suddenly, his friend was here where he wouldn't be during this time, and then he brought in other souls. Everything, especially how Charles expected him to be there, needed to be questioned. And answered.

But before he could reply with a retort or ask a question, Charles spoke again.

"You're lost, I know. Me too." He glanced in Andrew's direction again, showing JD one of the main objects of his confusion. "But I have something I need to tell you."

Charles' gaze averted to the vial on the table and snatched it, holding its top and bottom with his fingers.

"About Zalden."