The clouds over Amakna had finally shown signs of lessening. Rays of sunlight shone through the thick blanket of clouds giving the people below some relief from the constant rain that had filled their skyline for the past few days. The rain kept up in part here and there, trying its hardest to stay the star of the show, but it was now the sun's turn.

Emelka still had some choppy patches of rain overhead, but the villagers could see blue sky peering through the cracks in the rain's facade. As much of a help that Mother Nature had been to them and their crops, the people looked forward to the warmth of the sun.

Alibert was in the kitchen with Otomai, both chatting over a warm cup of tea. They discussed their jobs, their kids, anything that came up to help pass the time.

Even though Alibert wasn't related to Yugo, he could see a lot of himself in the small child. They both had a sense of impatience about them; not because of the lack of things to do, but because they want to be helpful. They both wanted to be able to help those who were in need and absolutely hated having to just sit and wait. It was a trait that helped Alibert back when he was an adventurer and, according to the stories, was a driving piece of Yugo's character for his adventures.

On the other side of the table was the thin, blue-haired scientist who'd smile at Alibert's stories, but found himself getting lost in his own reflection staring back up at him from his cup. He had an incredibly successful career and a fun-filled life, but the idea of not being enough for the next generation ate him up in his dreams.

Otomai wanted kids but he knew that thanks to his job, he'd never be able to grow as close to them as Alibert and his four were. He wasn't neglectful of Ogrest by any means. He just never seemed to have the time to do the stereotypical father figure things like camping or teach him to ride a bike. If he couldn't do that with one child, Otomai was sure that he wouldn't have time for if he had a second child. He'd have to start dating again too, and that would be quite a hefty thing to juggle.

The two adults shared their ideas about government, customer turnout, and holiday plans while the hot beverage in their hands grew colder. Alibert would also tell Otomai stories about the kids when they were younger, and the things that Yugo got into and did before he left to meet his dragon brother. Every ten minutes or so they could hear the shifting of furniture in the dining room as the kid played to themselves.

Between their conversation and sips of their room-temperature drinks, a loud fizzle filled the room followed by a crack sound. In a flash of light, centred around a spot near the counter, Adamai appeared in the room holding a small glass. The sudden shock of light blinded the young dragon and the two men for just a moment.

"I've got it," Adamai explained holding up the vial to the two sitting at the table. "It was the dust from inside the chest. Yugo got blasted by it right when he opened it while I was standing safely away from it."

Otomai stood up, grabbed the vial, and held it close to his eyes to get a good look at it. "Sounds plausible. I'll have to run some tests to see just how potent this stuff is."

Alibert took both cups from the tables a put them in the sink. "I'm glad to see you're back in one-piece Adamai. Go upstairs and get washed up, and try not to track any of that around our clean floors. But, you must be quiet. Yugo's sleeping."

The dragon boy nodded and made his way upstairs, skilfully avoiding the creaky steps.

Otomai grabbed a few vials that he filled with different coloured fluids and poured a small amount of the dust into each one. "This step will take the longest while we wait for the spell to settle. Once I know how strong it is, then I can punch this thing right in its magical non-body-having jaw." He made an uppercut motion and smiled at Alibert.

"How long are we looking at?" Alibert asked giving the coloured mixtures a look over.

"For freshly made spells, about five minutes. However, because this thing is as old as civilization… meh. Maybe four hours," Otomai said confidently in his work.

"And I take it that you invented this screening process yourself?"

"Of course. I needed some universal standard to help base all my patients' ailments from. And the furthest that medical science was at the time didn't encompass every other race's magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when a sample of something magical settles in the liquid, the liquid draws it to its base magical 'level' so to speak; turning no matter what type or class of spell it is into numbers. If the level is higher than the liquid, then it'll react. But if the liquid is stronger than the magic level, it won't react. That way we'll know how much of a punch something packs. Additionally, we'll know just what to pack to punch it back."

Alibert thought for a second, following Otomai's logic. "So, we're looking for the vial that doesn't react?"

"Exactly!"

"What do you mean when you say "react"?"

"Oh, it'll burst into flames," Otomai said flat-faced to his friend.

Alibert's face quickly grew a look of distress.

Seeing the inn-keeper's reaction, Otomai laughed. "Just kidding. The liquid will turn black. I told you I wouldn't destroy your kitchen."

Alibert signed, and half laughed at the joke. Otomai did say that, but there was still a sliver of worry whether Alibert believed him.

"Now we sit and wait some more." Otomai took his spot back at the table, pulled out one of his journals, and started writing what Adamai found.

Upstairs the muscular white dragon finished his shower and was drying himself off when he heard soft snoring coming from his father's room. He slowly opened the door and saw a tiny lump in the blanket wearing a blue horned hat. Yugo was also cuddling up against a stuffy gobball that looked to be bigger than the small child.

Adamai smiled over at his brother, hearing the tiny snores coming from the peaceful child. Adamai liked how cute this whole ordeal made Yugo look.

When he was resting or happy, Yugo was very huggable and cuddly. However, when young-Yugo got angry he'd turn into this ball of rage. But due to his size compared to the others, he couldn't do any damage to anything or anyone. In Adamai's mind, upset-Yugo best resembled a small potted cactus; not immediately threatening and entertainingly small.

Adamai smiled to himself before he carefully closed the door and walked quietly back downstairs. Seeing the two older men sitting at the table Adamai pulled out a chair and joined them in their conversation.

Alibert stopped how sentence and turned towards the dragon. "What happened down in the crypt?"

"It was exactly the way Yugo and I left it. I took a long time and made sure that I checked every single possibility. I retraced our steps, and the only outlier between us was he was the one to open the chest. That must be it. I did use the oculus and I understand why Yugo was so hellbent on going back. Those pictures show eliatropes for sure. That place must have been built right around the time that our people first got here. I was busy looking at the lights when the chest's lid found my shin."

The two adults nodded at Adamai. Otomai spoke up first. "Was there anything special about the chest?"

"Nothing from either normal looks nor wakfu vision. Just your average old rusty box."

"Okay. I've put some of the samples under my analysis system. We'll know in a few hours just how potent of an antidote I'll have to make; if this is the real source."

"It sounds like it is," Alibert said. "Adamai used the process of elimination and broke down every part of the scene. The one things left that stand out must be the answer. You did a good job Adamai. I'm proud of you." The inn-keeper rubbed his dragon son's head.

"It was your bedtime stories that taught us that dad." Adamai was smiling, enjoying his father's praise.

Back when Adamai lived with Grougal on Oma Island, the older dragon would almost never acknowledge his achievements. Adamai was always told that he had to do better or be more prepared for when tragedy strikes. Adult-Grougal was a very negative-reinforcement kind of person; most likely because of how badly he viewed the world.

Alibert was almost the opposite of Grougal. He would come to raise Adamai as his own son, no questions asked. He included the dragon as part of the family and treated him with positive reinforcement. Coming to know how Alibert raised him helped Adamai learn what kind of person Yugo was.

There was a wood crashing sound that came from the dining room. The three at the table stared over at the swinging doors, waiting for an entrance. After a few seconds, Chibi's voice called out "Nothing broke" through the doors.

The three laughed at the response and Alibert stood up. "I'll go see what they're up to."

In the dining room, Chibi, Grougal, and Ogrest had set up a system of tents using the upturned chairs and some blankets from the hall closet. Their big-top-like structure covered three tables and hung over the side to cover the children underneath.

Alibert grabbed one corner of a blanket and lifted it. Staring back at him were three boys wearing toy masks. There were toy figures strewn across the floor in whatever system made sense to their game. Alibert couldn't make out exactly what they were doing, but if everyone was getting along, it was okay to him.

"You three seem to be busy little bees when you wanna be. I leave you alone for just a while and you've brought the entire circus to town."

The boys rolled their eyes and Grougal removed his mask to speak. "It's not a circus papa. We're raiders making a camp here in your inn. These figures are our prisoners. We're gonna eat them for trying to run away!"

Surprised at the kids' imagination, Alibert smiled and said "Well I hope you raiders won't eat too many prisoners before dinner. Ogrest, since you're our guests, what would you like us to have for dinner?"

The small green child thought for a moment before saying "Something fish?"

"I think I can do that. How about some mashed potatoes and gravy too?"

All three of the boys' faces lit up with big smiles.

Alibert nodded and said, "Alright. That looks like a resounding yes." Placing the tent wall back down he walked back into the kitchen to start getting dinner ready.

Otomai stood up and offered his hand in helping prepare dinner. He wanted to do something instead of having the other two prepare his food. Otomai didn't like feeling like some monarch being catered to.

The three of them prepared the fish and had the potatoes boiling when Adamai asked how his now-youngest eliatrope brother was doing in his absence.

Alibert spoke without breaking concentration on the carrot he was cutting. "Apparently life on the high seas got a little rougher than expected. Grougal and Yugo got into a scuffle. I knew they were going to be a bit rougher than usual because of how show-off kids get when their friends visit. So, I decided to put him down for a nap. It seemed best to separate him before someone truly got injured."

"Hopefully Ogrest isn't being a bad example for your boys," Otomai said putting the fish in the oven.

"Nah, it's the opposite if anything. Grougal has a record of being a little too rough with Chibi from a while ago. We've had to set boundaries as far as how rough they can get. Having someone who is just a tough as himself, I'm sure that Grougal is more than happy to have Ogrest over. He just needs to learn that not everyone is willing to bruise for fun. It's almost like raising a iop." Alibert scooped up the chopped carrots and put them in a separate boiling pot.

Otomai nodded looking slightly concerned how his son was bringing out the worst of someone else's child. "What exactly happened before with Chibi, if you don't mind me asking…"

Alibert leaned back against the counter and folded his arms as the food cooked. "Chibi came home with some pretty bad bruising, and it was Grougal who caused them. I was lucky enough to have Adamai talk to him. Dragons are still kind of a new concept. You can imagine the amount of 'How to Train your Dragon' books there are at the local library."

Adamai spoke up setting the table with plates. "Dragons can be stubborn. And the younger they are, the worse it gets. Grougal just needs a bigger dragon brother to tell him what is or isn't acceptable. Not big for the sake of overpowering him, but… I guess, threatening enough to be taken seriously? Dragons are weird."

Otomai had his notebook in hand as he already started taking notes. "But you're only nineteen. Aren't dragons supposed to live for hundreds of years? That would make you not that different from a hatchling."

Adamai slammed his fist on the table and took a hard step towards Otomai. "What did you call me?!"

Otomai jumped backwards from the white dragon's reaction and almost dropped his notebook on the stovetop. His eyes were wide and staring at the dragon.

After a second of seeing the scientist's reaction, Adamai loosened up and started laughing. "Ha, you should have seen your face. No, we dragons age up quickly at first, then it almost plateaus."

Otomai was hyperventilating, gripping the front of his shirt. "I can tell…"

Alibert put a hand on Otomai's shoulder. "Adamai, that wasn't very nice."

"No worries Alibert. I'm taking this as a learning process; as I do with nearly everything. I'm writing everything down about Adamai that I can. He's helping me form a figure example of what dragons are like, in the off chance that we are visited by anymore."

"Cool," Adamai said, finishing off the table with utensils. "Let me know if you need me to pose."

Alibert rolled his eyes. As the smell of fish started filling the kitchen, he excused himself to wake up Yugo.

When he opened the door to his room, he was happy to hear how Yugo was still asleep. "Maybe just until after dinner. There's no immediate pressing reason to wake him up," he thought to himself while slowly closing the door.

Finishing up dinner, the three cooks placed the food on the table and called the three boys into the kitchen. The swinging doors swung open to the three costumed raiders. Chibi and Ogrest both slid their masks to the top of their heads and took their seats.

The look and smell of the meal made Ogrest's face light up with a huge grin. "This looks great!"

"It's nothing really," Alibert smiled back. He imagined with the long hours in the lab, Otomai didn't have the time to make complete meals like this very often. It made the inn-keeper feel better knowing he's offering such a comfort.

"Where's Yugo," Chibi asked already chomping down on his food.

"I'm going to let him sleep some more. There's no reason to wake him up right now," Alibert answered, also enjoying his food.

The family enjoyed filling each other in what went on during their day; Adamai with his crypt adventure, Otomai with his magical filter process, and the three kids with the game that they were all completely invested in. This was how dinner normally went for the inn family, but it was a new feeling to the scientist. It was a warm comfort that he rarely had the chance to experience.

Halfway through the boys' story, Alibert noticed Otomai staring into his glass of water. Otomai looked lost in thought, his mind wandering someone far from here.

"A kama for your thoughts, friend?"

Otomai snapped out of his daze and looked over to Alibert. "Oh, sorry. I've just got… I'm mentally wrestling with something."

"Out with it. Don't keep us all in suspense."

Otomai could see that the boys stopped talking and were now staring at him as well. "I was just thinking. This, what you and your kids have right here, is nice. Soon enough, these little ones will be able to make dinner all by themselves; maybe even run the inn just like you. It just feels like time is so fleeting that we barely have time to sit down for long enough to enjoy what we have before it's swept away front right under us."

Otomai took a drink of his water and continued. "I know what happened to Yugo isn't seen as a blessing, but whoever was smart enough to make a trap like that had no idea what they were working with. Someone fabricated the answer to stretching time; and in this case, even turning back the clock's effects. This magic, if expanded upon, could help reverse someone's age. I know how you feel as a father Alibert, but as a scientist, I can only imagine what this potential unlocks. Xelors dedicate their whole lives to find something of this magnitude."

"What are you saying," Alibert asked unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I'm saying, or rather asking, do you really want me to turn Yugo back to his real age? He's just been given a reset key; a second chance to change anything he didn't learn or do. More moments to share together as a family, like this one. And this time around, he'd even have the comfort of knowing that there was a way to reset anything negative that comes up."

The table fell silent as the two parents stared at each other. Alibert opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Otomai.

"It is your decision ultimately, and I completely offer my services as you deem fit. But, just for a moment, think about the opportunity in front of you."

Alibert closed his mouth and rubbed his chin. He put down his utensils, folded his arms, and sighed. "Honestly Otomai, I've given this some thought already; when we were waiting for you to come over. I realize what this means, and how much good something like this can do. But it wasn't just Yugo that grew through those years. I did too; we all grew being around our little adventurer. We've all come a great distance together. Keeping him young would rob every friend he's ever made of him. I don't deny the helpful benefits, but I think I can speak for all of us when I ask that I'd like my son back the way he was."

Otomai nodded. "I understand."

When he finished saying that, the vials on the counter behind him turned colour. All but the last one turned a disgusting cloudy black. The last vial glowed its original colour slightly brighter.

Adamai pointed over to the counter and said, "Hey, that looks slightly important."

The whole table turned to look at the vials which have taken their new colour.

"Yes, that sure does," Otomai said standing up and walking over to the vials. He carefully took the ones that turned black out of their stand and capped them. He then put them in a zipped pocket on the outside of his bag. Otomai also grabbed a few different powders and oils from inside the bag and placed them on the counter.

Alibert noticed the three boys all jump from their seats to go see what the scientist was doing. "No, kids. You should finish your dinner. Plus, this is too advanced for kids your age; you'd just get in the way. Let Otomai work in peace.

Adamai had finished already and walked over to the sink, eyeing what Otomai was working on. "So, it couldn't beat your strongest vial?"

Otomai responded without breaking concentration on the mixtures he was making. "This was just the strongest out of the materials I brought. My entire magical filtering system has about eight levels in total. Those higher levels need large bulky equipment that I have in my lab."

"Does its age have something to do with its strength? This stuff must be far older than your equipment."

"I thought about that. Things that are enchanted generally lose their lustre as time goes on and a curse is just a different kind of enchantment. Because this stuff is so old, it made it past my first three levels of the filter. I can only imagine how powerful this was at the time of its casting."

Adamai was standing next to the scientist watching his hands go from a bottle, to measuring spoons, to vials, both of which were flying with a sort of grace of someone who had done this craft for a very long time. "That also says something about its value."

"Without question. It's very 'Red Herring' to hide all the upfront magic in the curse protecting an object instead of the object itself; giving it the look of almost no magical property. That is unless the right person were to wield it. You hold onto that necklace Adamai."

The dragon teen nodded, stepping back to give Otomai more room to work.

When the kids were done eating, they put their dishes in the sink and stood next to Adamai, watching the scientist at work.

Alibert came over and herded the kids back into the dining room. "You three can play for about an hour more before you have to clean up your mess."

The boys ran back through the swinging doors and out of sight.

Alibert leaned over to Otomai. "About how long will making this antidote take?"

"Well, I'm making two doses; no more than about a shot-glass each should suffice. So… by my estimation, I'd guess thirty minutes?"

"Why two doses," asked the inn-keeper.

"One for Adamai, just in case he's affected by this curse as well. He did spend twice as long as Yugo in the crypt. I want to cover the bases."

"Sounds about right," Adamai spoke up, still watching the scientist at work. "I wouldn't want to turn into a whining, waddling, bed-wetter. Speaking of which, do you want me to wake him up?"

"No thank you Adamai. I'll do it," Alibert said, already halfway to the stairs.

Once he opened his room, Alibert turned on the light and walked over to the bed. The small lump under the covers grew just a fraction smaller. Yugo was still hugging up to the large fluffy beast when Alibert shook him awake.

"Hey there little guy. How was your nap? Are you hungry?"

Yugo slowly sat up, drool stain ran down the side of his face. His hair was matted in place as he slowly blinked at his father. It took him a moment to realized what he was asking Yugo before he nodded.

Alibert grabbed the small child up in his arms and walked back to the kitchen. Yugo was so light that he barely felt like anything in his father's arms. On their way downstairs, Yugo cuddled up to his father while sucking his thumb.

Otomai had filled a small pot with some liquid and turned the fire up as high as it would go. He was stirring some strange powders into the mixture as it was boiling away.

Alibert sat down at the table and started feeding Yugo pieces of fish that he cut up into small mouthfuls. Yugo ate groggily and he tried making sense of what Otomai was doing.

"Now, I am certain how this will help Yugo immediately, but only physically. He'll be back to his normal size instantly, but his psyche will need some time to catch back up. Nothing too much, but perhaps a day of rest. Plus, I'd suggest that he keep up with the bladder regulating assistance-gear for the day."

"You mean… he'll have to keep wearing a diaper," Adamai asked.

Otomai shushed him. "Don't say the 'D' word in front of our patient. We don't want to stress him out anymore."

"Oh, I get it," Adamai nodded, looking over to Yugo who was completely oblivious to their conversation.

Yugo ate his dinner while the potion brewed away.

After a while, Otomai pulled the pot off the flames and poured a white chalky liquid into two small glasses. "Now let them cool before drinking them. I'm going to start cleaning up my set."

Adamai carefully took the two glasses over to the table and set one down for Yugo. The small child stared at the cup unsure of what it was. It kind of looked like greyed milk. The weird liquid made Yugo back away.

"Come on bro, its medicine. And it' totally good for you. Watch, I'll go first." Adamai smiled at Yugo while he grabbed his drink and shot it back with one gulp. The moment the fluid touched his tongue, he immediately regretted it. His entire face contorted as he used every muscle in his throat to force himself to swallow it. A large shudder ran up his spine and he slammed his fist on the table. After a moment of looking like he was truly in pain, Adamai corrected himself and smiled at Yugo. "See? Perfectly fine."

Yugo had a look of complete distrust. He might not have known exactly what the potion was, but he did not like the dramatic epic of expressions that he and Alibert saw on his brother's face.

"Don't worry little guy. I know what to do," Alibert said standing up and placing Yugo back down on the chair. Alibert went over to the fridge and grabbed a pink carton from the freezer. He also grabbed a cup and a metal scoop.

"Oh, come on, I had to brave my way through that and Yugo gets to milkshake-it-up?"

When Yugo saw the ice cream, he started bouncing in his seat and kicking his feet.

Alibert mixed the potion with the scoop of ice cream in the cup and sat back down with Yugo in his lap. He pushed the cup away from Yugo who started grabbing at it. "Not yet, we have to finish our food."

Alibert raised a fork up to Yugo's mouth, but he just turned his head and reached for the ice cream.

"I guess you're right. It is about time you went back to your normal age. Let's go then," Alibert stood up with Yugo in his arms, grabbed the cup, and started walking upstairs. As Alibert made his way to the boys' room, he watched Yugo dig into the ice cream.

In their room, Alibert started undressing Yugo from the toddler outfit and grabbed some of his regular-sized pyjamas. Realizing how puffy Yugo's diaper had grown from his nap, Alibert takes the opportunity to change him into a new diaper; leaving the side patches slightly loose. Yugo finished chomping down on the cup's contents and sat on the rug.

After a few moments of content, Yugo started to shudder and grow. He grew first to his size that morning, then the day before, and finally back to his regular size. The diaper around his waist clung tightly as the elastic stretched.

Alibert could see this all happening within a minute. The potion, whatever was in it, had worked amazingly fast. As soon as Yugo was back to his regular size, sitting on the floor in nothing but a diaper, Alibert swung in for a big hug.

Yugo sat there looking lost and confused about a lot of things as his mind tried righting itself to adjust for the sudden growth. "Uh, papa… what's wrong?"

"Nothing my little gobball. Everything is back to the way it's supposed to be." Alibert was enjoying being able to hug his eldest son again. Having to care for smaller-Yugo made him realized how fragile he had to be. It was nice to have Yugo back.

"Papa, I'm in a diaper and you're crushing me," Yugo squeaked out.

"Oh, sorry." Alibert let him go. "The good news is that you're back to your normal size. But the bad news is that you're going to have to wear these at least for the rest of the night. You had more than one accident since you've returned from your adventure in the crypt. It's just a safety precaution."

"Can I at least have my clothes back?"

Alibert gave Yugo the change of pyjamas and walked over to a basket of clean laundry. "I washed your hat. It should be clean now."

Yugo took off the smaller sewn hat and put his normal one back on, smiling at how good it felt to be normal again.

"Come on, let's go see everyone." Alibert leads him back downstairs where Otomai and Adamai were waiting with bated breath.

When Adamai saw his brother back to normal, he ran in for a big hug. "Bro, you're back! Now you'll only cry once a day. It's a miracle!"

Yugo punched his brother before returning the hug. "I'm glad to be back. Is that fish I smell? I'm starving!" Yugo rushed for the extra plate on the table and dug in ravenously.

Alibert walked over to Otomai, who had packed everything up, and shook his hand. "I cannot thank you enough Otomai. You've helped us more than we can repay you."

"Let me keep the rest of this cursed dust and we can call it even," he asked pulling what was left of the dust in a vial from his pocket.

"Of course, friend. And please come back if ever you wanted to take a break from life in the lab."

Otomai smiled and turned towards the door to the dining room. "Ogrest, time to go!"

The sounds of feet could be heard followed by the small green child poking his head through the swinging door. "Aww, do we have to? I wanna play with them some more."

"Unfortunately, we do. I must get this sample under more testing while it's still good. Thank you again Alibert for such a welcoming visit. You truly do have an amazing family."

Alibert smiled and showed his guest out the front door and into the now clear night sky. Once the two visitors were gone, he locked the door and started picking up the sheets that the boys used for their games.

In the kitchen, Grougal and Chibi were firing questions at Yugo left and right about what he remembers and what he felt. Yugo was starting to remember everything that went on during his curse, and asked about the things that were still fuzzy.

After Alibert finished cleaning up, he ordered the kids upstairs to get ready for bed. While the boys were brushing their teeth, Alibert slipped an extra diaper under Yugo's pillow for if he had an accident during the night. He grabbed a story off the shelf and sat in his reading chair.

Alibert read the boys to sleep, they filled in their favourite parts with their own voiceovers. On cue, as he reached chapter three, the boys were all breathing deeply. Alibert tucked each of them in and kissed their heads. He noticed how Yugo was sucking his thumb and decided not to stop him. It was one of the cutest things Alibert had seen this week. Not just because it was any nineteen-year-old boy, but because it was his boy, and he was going to be just fine.

Author's Note:

This was a story that I was nearly going to trash. I want to sincerely apologize to those who wanted to see more and waited this long for it. My very good friend Mizu decided how this story had too much potential to stay on the back burner for any longer. So, we got a Discord call, talked about what this story was going to be, and how much potential it really had, and she decided to turn it into my first commission story.

I was surprised at how much I ended up writing into this story. There were some parts that I had to look up about, but I'm happy that I could finish it. I want to thank everyone for sticking on for this long, as well as major thanks to Mizu for motivating me to do something like this.

With Season 3 of Wakfu going up as I finish this, I can only hope that something like this stays non-canonical. It was an amazing story that we made together, and I'd hate for someone to think it was a copy of anything.

Not sure when my next story is going to be, or what's going to motivate me to write it. But I'll enjoy all constructive comments that you all can give me. Thanks for sticking with.