When Joonmyun agreed to become one of the leaders of EXO, he didn't know what he was getting himself into. There were other mages that obviously fitted the part of the leader better, such as Minseok or Luhan, or perhaps even one of the younger members like Yixing or even Jongin. Yifan? Now he was perfect as a leader; powerful and gentle, wise and unyielding. And Joonmyun? Joonmyun wasn't any of that; he was more of a shy person compared to Yifan, had less impressive powers, and the others often ignored the things he told them to do.

However, there were things that made Joonmyun different from the other leader. While Yifan was from a different planet and had incredible powers only given to the people of his planet, Joonmyun was born a Prince. So in short, he was the noble side of the coin, while Yifan was the fighting side. The only person to know of his true background had been Yun Seung because he didn't know how the others would react had he told them the truth. He, who gave up his throne for the promise that he could become like the rain that wash away the fears of his people.

There was one town in particular on their route to take back the side of the world that impacted him personally. On the map, it looked like any other town and the other mages only shrugged as he and Yifan announced where they were going. Once he saw it in person, however, his entire life flashed before his eyes, and a wave of relief as well as fear washed over him.

"Joonmyun?" He had fallen behind as he gaped at the town, his eyes welling up and his hands clenched at his sides; but he turned as soon as Minseok called for him in worry. "Are you coming?"

Part of him wanted to say no, but the rest of him knew this would be for the best. Even though to him, this town had nothing to do with Yun Seung's ancestors, he knew they had made their mark on it anyway; and anything they touched had to be destroyed.

"Maybe Grandpa's just a little tired." Sehun snickered, and a couple of the mages snickered with him as Joonmyun frowned and walked past the group.

Normally, he would take it with a grin, but being in his own town and remembering what was taken away from him made it that much harder to keep his composure. That's why when the other mages cringed at seeing the expression on his face after their teasing, he tried his best to force a smile.

"Joonmyun? Is everything okay?" Yixing knew him well enough to ask without Joonmyun lying, but the first leader didn't say a thing; he was too busy remembering every detail of his town as he passed by.

"Set up for the rest of today." Yifan ordered, and as the other mages went down one path in order to find a suitable place to stay, Joonmyun went up another path that he knew led to his castle.

He heard someone calling him from behind, but he was far too determined to see what he did to his own former kingdom to pay attention to the other mages. When he stood in front of his castle, he took in a sharp breath. It was exactly as it was all those centuries ago when Joonmyun left, although it looked absolutely abandoned. There was a moat surrounding the castle and the gate was one that turned into a bridge for whoever had access to enter the premises.

"What is this place?" A breathless voice asked, and Joonmyun turned his head slightly to see Chanyeol's awestruck expression. The other mages were there as well, and if they weren't looking at the castle, they were looking at Joonmyun.

"Have you been here before?" Baekhyun asked him, and without answering, Joonmyun walked up to the moat and looked in the water for the lever he knew was hidden.

He found it, and when he pulled the lever, a small grin lit his face as he watched the gate roll down into a bridge.

"I don't know if we should be here." Jongin muttered from the back of the group, where he stayed beside Kyungsoo in case something dangerous were beyond the castle gate.

But when Joonmyun stood and crossed over the bridge confidently, the other mages followed after him without a word of protest. This place, whatever it was, was important to Joonmyun; and that was enough of a reason for them to follow. Much like the rest of the town, the castle remained untouched by them, and Joonmyun had no idea why. When he had arrived at the castle doors, he stood still.

"Why did we stop?" Jongdae asked as he pulled forward, his hands running over the door's handles in order to find a way to open it.

The others turned to Joonmyun as if they had the same question in their minds, but Joonmyun didn't know what to say. Was he still welcome in his own castle after he disappeared? He took a step back, his right hand reaching up to sqeeze his left arm in what was a mix of cowardice and Luhan pulled forward as well to wrap an arm around his shoulder.

"We'll be right here, no matter what is beyond this door."

With that and a few murmurs of agreement, Joonmyun reached forward and pushed the castle doors open, his jaw going slack as he did. Unlike the outside of the castle and the rest of the town, the inside was bustling and full of life. There were servants and workers and music and the wonderful scent of wine filling his nostrils.

The other mages filed in behind him and a few of them muttered how incredible it was to be inside the castle while others remained silent as they watched Joonmyun; namely Yifan, Yixing, and Minseok. Suddenly, everything stopped, leaving the mages utterly confused.

"Zi?" Kyungsoo asked in hesitance, but the mage of time shook his head frantically.

"I didn't do anything."

Some of the workers had turned to the group of mages in curiosity, and at once had ran off in excitement. "The Prince has returned! The Prince has returned! Sound the bell! Prepare the feast! The Prince has returned!"

The eleven mages turned their focuses back to Joonmyun, and Joonmyun almost flinched at the pressure of eleven stares boring into the back of his head.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the group, Joonmyun?" Minseok called from behind, but before Joonmyun could turn to them and explain what was going on, a maid stopped beside the group.

"Your Highness, the Queen awaits your presence in the throne room." 

The Queen? His mother, the Queen? Who should already be dead? With his eyes widened in surprise, Joonmyun barely remembered to take the cloak in her hands and walked towards the throne room with a spring in his step and his brothers behind him.

"Joonmyun! Slow down!" Baekhyun called, and Joonmyun threw a glance over his shoulder to see the great distance between himself and the others. He stopped and waited for them, putting his cloak on as he waited.

"What are you wearing?" Sehun asked with his own eyes widened, as if surprised that Joonmyun was some sort of nobility.

"It's warm." He shrugged, and the mages softened slightly at seeing the tension slowly leave Joonmyun's body. The first leader then walked to the throne room and pushed the doors open, leaving the other mages confused as to whether or not they were to follow. "Come, brothers. There's someone I'd like for you to meet."

There was a beautiful woman on the throne wearing a dark purple dress and a Queen's tiara on her head. The mages didn't know who she was at first, but when they looked closer and then at Joonmyun, the puzzle pieces fit. It took them a moment to figure it out, but the strong aura of a sorceress clouded around the Queen, whose smile was wide yet gentle as she watched them in return.

"My Queen, your humble servant returns to you." Having said that, Joonmyun dropped onto one knee and bowed his head in submission. The other mages looked at each other in confusion as to whether or not they were supposed to do the same, but were answered when the Queen left the throne, dropped the scepter and tiara onto the chair, and flung herself at Joonmyun.

"My boy, you're still alive. You don't know how much I've missed you all these centuries. The magic was so hard to keep up." As she pulled back, she stood and pulled Joonmyun up with her, brushing some hair off of his forehead. "And you have magic now. Oh my boy, what has happened to you?"

"My Queen, I have deserted my post as the Prince of these lands, and for that I must be punished." Joonmyun bowed his head as he told her everything that had happened to him and his brothers, but as he finished, he looked up in surprise to see his mother had moved past him to the other mages.

"You're all so young." She muttered, her hands reaching out delicately to caress both Jongin's and Sehun's cheeks. She eventually got down the entire line of mages and stopped before Yifan, and then her face contorted into a beautiful smile. "I know this won't make up for all the years you've lost, but will you all stay and join us for a feast?"

"We don't wish to intrude, Your Highness." Yixing muttered, but with the way he spoke, Joonmyun wasn't sure if he didn't want to be with them simply because it reminded him of the family he lost.

"Oh." Her face had suddenly downcasted, and the other mages looked at each other guiltily as she stepped away, "W-well, if you must. But at least let me call the servants to clear some space for you to sleep tonight. There's nowhere else to go, for all the magic is here within the castle walls."

"Then we will gratefully accept your offer as long as we aren't a burden to you." Yifan confirmed, his eyes then flickered over to a stoic Joonmyun.

"Joonmyun, they'll be taking the spare rooms in your wing, if you don't mind." When Joonmyun nodded his agreement, the Queen bowed her head and stepped back. "Then you're all dismissed. We'll wait for you in the dining room."

With that, the twelve mages exited the throne room and Joonmyun led them through the palace while figuring out what had happened. After his disappearance, it seemed that his mother enchanted the castle so it wouldn't change until Joonmyun returned home. What happened to the civilians? Whoever didn't die probably decided to live inside the castle and wait with the Queen for the return of Prince Joonmyun.

The mages hadn't said a thing to each other as Joonmyun showed them to the guest rooms, but none had moved as Joonmyun turned and entered his own chambers. His home had changed so much, and yet, nothing had changed at all. Were his brothers really comfortable with staying there when they couldn't even be reunited with their own families?

As he pulled his cloak off, the door opened behind him, and Joonmyun turned his head to see Yifan walk in and shut the door behind him gently. Yifan had an understanding expression on his face as he walked closer, and then he hugged Joonmyun.

"You should be happy to be home." Yet Yifan knew why he wasn't. Yifan knew he felt like he abandoned his kingdom; Yifan knew because he felt the same about leaving his planet.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you all into this." Joonmyun sighed as he pulled himself back, but Yifan shook his head and grinned as he walked back towards the door.

"Where else would we be?"

When he left, Yifan left the door open. Joonmyun was going to go and close the door, but Yixing slipped into the room and shut the door behind him, and the two mages stood there for a few moments.

"Did you tell anyone else?" Yixing asked curiously, though his voice remained gentle and his posture relaxed.

"Yun Seung." When he said her name, Yixing's eyebrows rose for a fraction of a second, and then his hand flew to his chest.

"You told her before you told me? I'm offended." But Yixing was still smiling and his eyes twinkled in amusement. Just before he could respond, however, Yixing's eyes softened and his smile became less bright. "No matter who you are, Joonmyun, you're still EXO's first leader. You're still our brother. Don't forget that, okay?"

"I'd never."

"Are you... are you going to stay here?" When Yixing spoke again, Joonmyun then realized what everyone had become worried about. Worried that he'd stay behind and abandon them while they take on the sorceresses.

"I do plan to come back once we're done with the sorceresses." Joonmyun answered, but his jaw had set and his eyes were a little cold as he continued. "But I will not leave the eleven of you to do it without me. We started this as brothers, and we'll end it as brothers."

Some cheers came from the other side of the door, and Yixing smiled as well, leaving a dumbfounded Joonmyun to shake his head. Joonmyun might not have known what it took to be a good leader, but he knew what it took to be a good brother; it was something each of his brothers had shown him. Whether or not they picked on him or ignored him or supported him fully, they were all the same.

They were brothers; and like brothers, together they'd remain.

Done! I got three chapters done within the span of a week, I think! I'll certainly try updating more frequently since I've slacked off so badly with Part 2, but I make no promises because I get pretty busy with school and stuff.

By the way, which mage do you think should be next?

Thank you all for reading, subscribing, upvoting, and commenting! It means a heck of a lot to me as well as Dal that we have supporters for this story. It still lacks a lot, I know, but I'm trying my best, and so I hope to keep giving you all chapters you enjoy and that you'll continue to read, subscribe, upvote, and comment! Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and have a brilliant day!