Time slowed down for Elsie, her vision blurring as he watched the tiny object make its way towards Max with the speed of a bullet. There was no way she could leap in front of it, by the time she did, it would already be too late. In a flair of instinct and panic, Elsie threw out her hands, screaming for the small object to stop, hoping that by some miracle, it would. 

Closing his eyes, Max braced himself for the harsh impact and darkness as the projectile attempted to complete its course, but it never came. Seconds passed by with only silence. It was Elsie’s words that broke it. 

“Oh my god.” Elsie’s eyes went wide as her surroundings came back into focus. Arm still outstretched, a thin blue strand had extended from her fingers and around the small silver disk, stopping it inches from Max’s face. The disk continued to struggle for a few more seconds before Henrick snapped his fingers, breaking Elsie's grip and bringing the projectile back into his hand.

Elsie paled as Henrick walked forward a confident smirk on his face. “Well, it looks like I win.” Elsie stayed silent, too disoriented to take care of what Henrick was saying.

Max quickly walked over to Elsie. He had read enough about shock in his textbooks to notice that his sister was experiencing a lot. He gently rested a hand on her shoulder, causing Elsie to look up. “El,” Max said, the fear and confusion in his sister's eyes apparent as he tried to console her; “You ok?”

Elsie blinked a couple of times before realizing she had been asked a question. The fear and confusion started to dissipate in her eyes, replaced by a blank stare. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine Max.” Elsie said, her feet dragging her towards the door, in slow mechanical movements. 

“I'm umm… I'm just gonna go and pack a few things.”

Max listened as he heard the slow methodical thump of shoes going up the staircase, before turning to find Henrick observing him.

“You have to hand it to her, she’s taking it better than I expected.”

“Are you kidding me? You just forced… god knows what out of her, by trying to kill me! She's in shock!”

“She’ll recover.” Max glared at the young prince for a few moments longer before looking down at the boy Henrick called Aron. He hadn't moved for the entirety of the ordeal, his face reflecting the bliss of ignorance. Max groaned. As much as he wanted to see the intruders out of an already too unfamiliar setting, his conscience forced him otherwise.   

“Your friend doesn't look too good.”

Henrick looked down, unnerved. “He’s seen worse.”

“Really?” 

Henricks face darkened. “We both have.” The room was silent for a few minutes, as the weight of Henricks words hit both boys. 

“I’ll go get you a towel for… Aron, was it?”

“Yeah, ok,” Henrick mumbled, staring down at the floor. Max made his way to the kitchen where he quickly made a cold compress out of a dish rag and cold water. Making his way back to the living room, he tossed it to the waiting Hnerick before making his way upstairs. 

Elsie's room was eerily quiet as he creaked open the door. Elsie was sitting on the edge of her bed, a suitcase open next to her. Max took a tentative step forward, a creak in the floorboards giving him away.

Elsie whipped her around fear causing her fingers to once again ignite with the new and terrifying power, making her fall off the bed in panic.

Max grimaced as he made his way to his sister. Elsie had curled herself in a ball, tears streaming down her face.

“Max, what’s going on? W-what is this?”

It took everything Max had not to cry with her. Elsie was a strong girl, but she was still young, and right now she needed her big brother.

“I’m sorry El, I wish I could tell you,” He said sitting down next to her. “But I can’t. I’ve never seen anything like this before. What Henrick was able to do with that... That thing, what you can do... I can’t explain it.” This earned a bigger sob from Elsie.

“S-so what d-do you think I s-should do?” she whimpered, burying herself in the flannel pajamas Max had failed to change out of. Max pondered the question for a moment before an idea came to him.

“I think we should both go.”

Elsie looked up with puffy eyes, Max’s determined gaze looking back at her. “What do you m-mean?”

“I mean we both go. They say that they need you, well, you need me. So I'm going with you.”

“Max. I can’t ask you to do that. We have no idea where they are going to take me. I cant put you in danger like that.”

“But you're willing to put yourself in danger?” Elsie stood up. Brushing the tears from her eyes, she stared down at her brother. 

“I made a bet Max. I lost. Plain and s-simple. Might as well settle my debt.” Elsie put on a brave face as she turned away from her brother. Taking a deep breath, Elsie began to make her way to the door.

“El, wait. Aren't you going to pack anything?”

Elsie looked back towards her brother. “It’s ok Maxie,” she said, using her nickname for him in a vain attempt to loosen the tension. “It’ll be fine.”

*

The living room had a calm air around it as all four teenagers, (now all conscious) gathered around each other. Henrick once again pulled out the stack of yellowed paper from his bag setting one in the center of the room. With a small tap, a large line of purple snaked out of the paper, extending until it had formed a sphere around a portion of the room. 

“Now it's very simple,” Henrik explained, stepping into the space the sphere occupied. “When I activate the rune, everyone inside the sphere will come with me. Easy.”

Henrick turned to Elsie watching as she gave a quick hug to her brother. When she faced him he gave a sad smile. “For what it's worth, you're doing the right thing, princess.” 

Elsie fixed him with a hard stare as she made her way into the boundaries of the sphere. “I really hope so.” She held out her hand, offering the symbol of solidarity to the young prince. Taking it, he grimaced, feeling the angry electricity crackle from Elsie's hand to his own. 

Aron stumbled towards the sphere behind the two teens, the cold compress still pressed firmly on the back of his head. He turned to face Max, who stood at the edge of the room, arms crossed, and an apprehensive look on his face. Aron gave a wink. “Don’t worry cutie I'll take care of her. After all, how could I not when she's such a knockout? He chuckled at his little joke as he crossed the boundaries of the sphere, leaving Max flustered behind him.

Elsie locked eyes with her brother as Aron and Henrick made final preparations. “Don’t worry Maxie… I’ll… It’s gonna be alright.” Max’s worry lines deepened as Henrick called for him to stand back. 

“Alright folks, time to move! Hang on it gets bumpy! In 3! 2! 1!”

Henrick's foot came down onto the rune, causing the purple line to widen, transforming into a bubble. Suddenly a larger mass landed on top of the group, earning a shout of panic and confusion as the sphere shrank, carrying its passengers out and away from the apartment.

*

Albert yawned from his place in the kitchen, as he finally became aware of the sunlight that had warmed his body beyond the point of it being comfortable. The St. Bernard gave a small shake before making his way to the living room, where he had discovered, that if he were to wake this late in the day, one of his masters would surely be there to feed him.

 Padding into the new location Albert did not find any master, just an empty room. The fluffy giant licked his nose in contemplation before giving up on the mystery of his masters and settling down on the nearest piece of furniture. Little did he know that his reaction to a missing master would be far different from others.