Gilbert looked left and right. He was safe. He took in a deep breath. He should have never asked anyone if they knew where Ada was. At the time it seemed like a good idea, stop a student and ask, so he did. He had stopped a female student about Ada's age; that was not his best idea.

"Oh, are you new here, sweetie~?"

Another student, perhaps that student's friend, came over. "Who's this?"

"A friend of Ada's, isn't he adorable? Almost like a doll."

Gilbert never quite understood why women would act like this around him. He started to back up, "Well I don't want to hold you back." The two girls stopped cooing over him for a second, "Aw, don't go yet, sweetie." The two grabbed each of his arms. "No, I-I should really get going," Gilbert broke away from them and ran off.

"Never again," he mumbled. He looked down the hall again and checked before he left to look again. Seeing the halls empty he left his hiding spot. He had checked the library and the cafeteria and hadn't found Ada. As he reached the end of the hall he heard voices. Gilbert hid around the corner and peeked around. It was Alexis, Elliot and Leo. He whipped his head back hoping they hadn't seen him. Did he want to see Elliot like this? He sighed and walked around the corner.

"Gilbert?" It was Elliot, "Is that really you?" Elliot might have been told that his adopted brother had somehow been turned back into his fourteen year old self, but seeing it was something else. Elliot walked over and looked down at him; that was weird. "Uh, Elliot?" said Gilbert feeling weird under his gaze.

Alexis frowned. "You're really enjoying this aren't you, Elliot?"

"My guess is that he's amused at the fact that the role of big brother seems to have reversed for the moment," Leo offered as an explanation with a smile tugging at his lips. Alexis sighed, frustrated, and walked over to the two brothers. "Did you find Ada, Gilbert?" She grabbed Elliot's arm and pulled him back a bit. He didn't know why, but Gilbert felt a spark of jealously when he saw Alexis grab Elliot's arm. It reminded him of when they were in the secret passage and she had grabbed onto Oz when the light had gone out. "No," he answered bluntly.

They could hear Leo hum in thought before he spoke, "If you want to find Ada and finish quickly we should split up to cover more ground."

"Probably the best idea," agreed Alexis.

Ruby eyes scanned the quiet villa grounds as the owner of those eyes tried not to rustle the leaves of the hedges. Break wasn't very pleased at being at the bird headed Duke's villa, but if he wanted to find out what was going on...

"Why don't we go in through the front entrance, or at least through the back?!" Reim exclaimed in a panicked voice. The reason as to why Break was currently scanning the area and also why the two were in the hedges that lined the inside of the outer wall, was because he wanted to break into the villa. Not go in through the door, not go in the way only he knows how; no, he wanted to break in.

The white-haired head turned to face the panicking man. "Where's the fun in that, Reim?" he asked as a mischievous smile planted itself on his face. Looking back, he saw an opportunity. As Reim wallowed in his worst scenario ideas, he felt himself being tugged up and dragged across the grass. "Xerxes?!"

"Shh!"

"But-…"

"What part of 'shh!' don't you understand?"

Break stopped in front of a first floor window. Reim was slightly interested in what his friend was about to do since Barma always ordered closed windows to be locked. However… "Turn around, Reim," Break stated bluntly. "What?!" Reim was confused as to why Break didn't want him to see what he was about to do. "Just do it." Reim turned around slowly. "I don't see the point of me having to-…" The tall man stopped short at hearing a click and spun back around.

"All set!"

"How did you-…?"

Break stopped him. "I would never put up a bad example in front of young person. They're so impressionable!" he covered his laughing mouth with his long white sleeve. Reim deadpanned, "Having fun playing grandpa?"

The giggles were abruptly cut off and Break turned to the now open window. He hoisted himself up and through the window, and then proceeded to slam the window shut before his younger companion even realized what his was doing. "Break!" Reim ran over and tried to open it with no avail. He looked in and saw Break staring back at him with an evil little smirk. "I wonder where Barma's office is~?" he enunciated the words carefully to make sure Reim got the whole message through the window. And judging by the fear in the taller man's eyes, he did.

Reim was panicking. Only Break would threaten to mess up an office because of being called old by someone other than himself. He dashed to the back of the villa to get in through the servants' entrance and made his way to his master's office. Even running as fast as he was, Reim took a few minutes to finally get to the door.

"Would you mind to explain?"

Too late. The sharp tone of an irritated Break drifted through the cracked doorway. "Well, I am sure you are not the only one who is interested in this matter," Reim heard Barma say, "Enter, Reim." He jumped surprised but opened the door to enter the room. Reim was met with the sight of Break standing in front of the couch by the bookshelves that his master currently occupied.

"To believe you actually fell for the Hatter's ruse," stated Barma as his servant approached. Ruse? Reim was confused. Barma tilted his head in amusement. "Did you actually believe he would get so offended by you calling him old?" Reim shot his head around to Break.

"Well he wouldn't have let me confront you unless he wasn't around," admitted Break, "Now, would you mind explaining your doings concerning a spell book?" Barma kept the amused look on his face. "So you have come to tell me the outcome of my experiment, and judging by how serious you are, Hatter, they are just as I predicted." The Duke stood and walked to his desk, picking up a book just bigger than his palm. "As I am sure Reim has informed you, this is the book containing over four generations of my family's work. I came upon it as I was searching for my grandfather's secret location in which he hid all of his work."

Break wanted to scoff. Even the family itself didn't trust each other. "I was intrigued by a certain spell," continued Barma, "it can reverse the age of a body. Unfortunately it did not say how to accomplish reversing age to a specific amount of years."

"So you were basically casting the spell blind?" asked Break, "And why would you pick Alexis and Gilbert as your test subjects?" Reim seemed to flinch at hearing the two called that. Barma frowned, "I most certainly was not, as you said, 'casting the spell blind.' I combined what I found in the book and my own work," he returned to the couch, "And as for selecting those two in particular, I found the fewest plausible problems resulting in the two of them returning to a younger age."

"So, in other words, they were the most convenient for you?" Break was now glaring at the Duke. Barma, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying angering the man.

"What age have they returned to?" asked Barma wanting to hear his results. Reim thought it best to answer his questions. "Both of them have returned to being fourteen years old."

"Ten years," murmured Barma. "Are they acting unlike themselves?" Both Break and Reim were thrown off by the question. "I'm sorry, Rufus-sama, but, why would they be acting differently?" Reim voiced out their confusion. Instead of answering his servant directly, Barma looked through the small spell book and began to read an excerpt.

After various experiments, it has been concluded that although the body is reversed in age from a later age, experience is not factored in and as a result is lost in the process. This includes experience in handling emotions, situations, and even with the body itself.

He closed it after finishing. "If they have returned to their pubescent years, it has been much too long for them to recall how to control and handle a body that is in the midst of its pubertal years. And I conclude this will result in the two of them acting much unlike themselves." Break and Reim felt a sudden amount of pity for their friends. It was hell enough going through it once, but going through it a second time and with no control of your emotions or body-… well even less control.

"Is there any possibility of changing them back?" asked Reim. "That would take me some time to find," started Barma, "I have only deciphered so much of this book and have found nothing of the likes to reverse it." Break took a few menacing steps towards him. "You went through with this spell without knowing if there was a way to reverse it?"

Barma frowned at the man. "Calm yourself, Hatter. I was seemingly close to something of value to this before you barged in. I would never put myself in such a situation. I suggest you return to my two test subjects and inform them of what I have told you. Return tomorrow with them and I shall have a way to reverse the spell."

Break nodded, "Very well." Although he didn't completely believe the man, he turned on his heel and walked out with Reim following him.

The halls were empty and the only sound was from the pair's footsteps echoing off of the walls. There was about a good half hour until that period's class time ended, and the previous group of four had split up and taken parts of the school to search for Ada.

"Leo," started Alexis, "was it really such a good idea to have Elliot and Gilbert go off and look as a pair?" The boy turned to her with a soft smile, "I'm sure they will be alright. Besides it's a good way for them to bond." Alexis couldn't help feeling that Leo was a little too optimistic about Elliot and Gilbert at the moment considering Gilbert's current state and Elliot's feelings about his adopted brother; the shock would wear off eventually. The duo continued in peaceful silence.

Alexis started to hum without her noticing, she was thinking of the song she had heard earlier. Leo stared at her for a few seconds. "Miss Alexis, where did you hear that?" The girl had a blank look until she realized that she was humming. "Oh! I heard it earlier today before I saw you and Elliot. It was a really beautiful tune."

"Well I, and I'm sure Elliot, am glad that the tune is good," said Leo, "we kept changing things around." Alexis laughed, "I should have figured that you and Elliot were the ones playing so marvelously. What is it called-…" she gasped as her foot suddenly slipped through air. A strong grip reached for the girl's arm and held her steady from falling. "Miss Alexis, are you alright?!" Leo asked concerned. They had reached a staircase and Alexis, still not used to her drastic height change, misjudged the height of the steps. "I'm fine, thank you, Leo."

When he pulled her up straight again he was more than positive that he heard her growl. "After finally reaching a decent height, I'm back to being short again," she angrily mumbled. At this Leo didn't know what to say and merely followed the girl down the stairs.

"Elliot, please stop staring at me."

Gilbert was starting to get annoyed by the stares his adoptive brother would give him. The two were walking down a window lined hallway on their way to the library. Elliot frowned, "Well sorry, but come on, do you even realize how weird this is too me?"

"You?! Don't you think this is even weirder for me?!"

"Of course I realize that! But you're supposed to be my older brother, and now here I am looking after you!"

Gilbert stopped in his tracks. "Looking after me? You offered your help!"

"Yeah, well-…!" Elliot was at a loss for words, it was strange for Gilbert to match his anger in an argument, but he was right. And as quickly as the argument had started it had died down. The two continued walking in an awkward silence. As soon as they reached the library a few minutes later, Elliot tried talking again.

"I'm sorry, Gilbert," he forced out. His, now smaller, older brother looked up at him. "I know this is even worse for you, but it's just as bad for me too! I mean you're…" he couldn't look directly at Gilbert as he continued, "you're some of the only family I have left." The Nightray son looked around the library. "Come on, maybe she's in one of the study rooms." He started to walk off, and turned around when he noticed that Gilbert wasn't following. "Are you coming?"

The raven-haired boy was still partially stunned by what the sandy blonde had said. "Yeah, I'm coming," he answered as he headed towards him. Had Gilbert known that Elliot saw him as a brother? He was aware, yes, but he didn't realize that he saw him as part of the family that Elliot held near and dear like his sister and deceased brothers.

The two turned a corner of a book case and found the red headed Aster twin sitting at a table down the center aisle reading a book. "Hey, Aaron," called out Elliot, the red head turned, "you need to keep that twin of yours in check." The twin sighed as he closed his book, "What did he do now?" He noticed a glaring Gilbert standing next to Elliot. "Oh, it's you again." The Nightray son glanced at Gilbert but didn't comment. "Yeah, that brother of yours was harassing a girl, again," Elliot returned the focus to the absent twin.

"Come on," Aaron mumbled, "I'll talk to him, but you know it doesn't really do much. It's like it's in his nature." Gilbert was confused at the conversation Aaron and Elliot were having. They were speaking on good terms; were they friends?

"Well, if you were involved the girl didn't end up too scarred I hope?" asked Aaron half-sarcastically. "She's fine; just try to keep your brother under control." Elliot said goodbye and headed to the back of the library towards the study rooms with Gilbert following him.

"What's wrong, Gilbert?" asked Elliot giving him a side glance. The fourteen year old still had a sour expression on his face from seeing the Aster twin. "Alexis and I ran into the two of them when we started looking for Ada and they were giving us a hard time about being younger," he answered, "Are you friends with him?" Elliot mulled over the question for a second before answering, "I suppose you could look at it that way. I let him know what his brother does when he's not around and he keeps Ash under control so we don't end up arguing as much.

"Don't worry about him," Elliot reassured him, "Aaron is mostly calm and a good person. It's just his brother that gets him acting like jerk, but not as much as him."

"Like harassing girls?"

"Right, that's something that is all Ash's doing."

The two brothers seemed to be in a content mood after Elliot having had diffused Gilbert's contempt for one of the Aster twins. At reaching the study rooms they recognized a long haired blonde head behind an open door of one of the rooms.

"Ada Vessalius?" called out Elliot. The head of blonde turned and smiled. She said a few words to an unseen companion and went over to the boy. "Hello, Elliot! How are you?" Elliot kept a relatively blank look, "I'm fine. I came looking for you because your uncle is looking for you."

"Oh, he is? Thank you for finding me to tell me. Where is he?" asked the girl. Elliot started to turn towards Gilbert, "Hey, where are-…?" The fourteen-year-old was not next to him, not anywhere around in fact. "Where did you go?!" shouted Elliot as he looked around. Ada tilted her head confused, "Who are you talking to, Elliot?"

"Gilbert, he was just here with me!" The Nightray son paused as an idea come to mind, "Quit being embarrassed and get out here!" He heard a rustle behind a bookshelf that was a little ways off. Stalking over, Elliot looked behind it and saw his adopted brother. He roughly grabbed his collar and dragged him over ignoring his protests. As Gilbert was pushed in front of his master's younger sister he couldn't look her in the eye. Ada on the other hand was staring at him, recognizing the boy from the various pictures of their childhood together.

"What happened to you, Gilbert?!" The boy was fidgeting. "We're not exactly sure, but all we know is that it might be a spell cast by Duke Barma. And Oscar-sama took advantage of this to come and find you." The girl giggled. "That does sound like him~ Where is he?" Gilbert finally looked up at the girl as he answered, "He and Oz are hiding out in a storage closet on the other side of the school."

"Hiding out?" asked Elliot. "Well, with what happened last time Oscar-sama thought it would be best to have just Alexis and I do the search," answered Gilbert. "Well then let's go! I haven't seen my uncle or big brother in a while," said Ada.

With Gilbert leading the way, the three headed off to see the, most likely bored, Vessalius Duke and heir.