The party had turned into an all-out rave, with blasting loud music and flashing lights. No one had noticed what was taking place upstairs.

Barley keeps fighting with the elven host until he is finally able to tie him up with the rope. He runs down the stairs into the crowds and starts running to the back door, only to see Ian still standing there, getting off the phone.

"Ian, what are you doing? Why are you still here- agh, come on!"

The older elf grabs the younger elf's arm and runs out the back door.

"Ian, why were you still standing there?" Barley asks as they run towards the back fence. "W-why are we going this way?" the wizard stammers out, knowing his brother will be angry with him. "Answer me, Ian, were you calling the cops?" "...YES, okay, yes, I called the cops. I HAD to." "And THAT's why we're going out this way. I had a feeling you'd do that."

Barley climbs over the fence, followed by Ian. They're now in a wooded area, and Barley continues to run. "Do you even know where we're going, Barley? We don't even know what neighborhood that was!" Ian says, clutching his staff and trying to keep up with his brother's speed. "Colt could be anywhere out in these streets if he finds out we had any involvement in that party, he'd kill us, no matter what Frewin did." "Well you know what, he's probably still in that house, where you probably rightfully knocked him out, with his knife where they can see it."

The burly elf stops running, leans against a tree, and turns to look back at the wizard.

"...I told you it was too early to try out that spell." "But you ALSO still let me go through with it. Is it now MY fault this psychotic popular kid from school wants me dead? Is it my fault they made you stay out while they made me levitate a plastic cup?" "If you really cared, you would've not gone in, Ian. But no, you wanted to get some clout from those macho freaks, and nearly got yourself killed. You did this to yourself."

Ian's ears perk down, and he looks down at the ground of soil, dead leaves, and pine needles. He feels a lump in his throat and tears well up in his eyes.

"...You had the idea of practicing magic in the first place," Ian croaks. "If you never did that, I'd probably be finished with my homework by now. And that was LOTS of homework, Barley."

No comment.

A tear streams down Ian's cheek.

"Come on...let's forget about this and go home...it's already too late, Mom's gonna kill us regardless..."

The wizard sees a clearing in the distance and starts walking towards there, while his brother slowly follows behind him.

They eventually see a street light, and they end up at a road, where they see a familiar lime green car driving by...

"Oh, no no no..." the two brothers mumble under their breath.

The female elf in the driver's seat gasps then pulls over and steps out of the car, hands on her hips.

"Now what in Zadar is this?" Laurel scolds as her sons stand dumbfounded in the distance.

Barley starts: "Mom, we promise, there's a logical explanation for all of this-" "You two, get in the car now. You can explain in there."

The Lightfoots get into the car, and Laurel starts to quickly drive back home.

Ian wipes another tear and utters "Mom, I-" "Iandore and Barleston Lightfoot, I cannot BELIEVE you two! A month after you run away and battle with that dragon, you suddenly disappear again without warning! I looked all over for you two and you just happened to be messing around in the woods, right near where Colt has been called to take care of a psycho threatening to kill people at a high school party! Do you two understand how late it is? Do you two understand how worried we both were? I get that you are now invested in your magic and quests and all that, but could you at least tell us when you run off to Gods know where?"

"Well, we- ow!" Ian started to talk when Barley stepped on his foot. "We were practicing Ian's magic when we tried a flying spell and ended up here." the older elf explained quickly.

"That seemed an awful lot of time for just that. You were gone for almost two hours!"

The brothers look at each other. Was it really that long?

"You two are grounded, you hear me? Neither of you will leave that house for any funny business until you learn to be responsible about it!"

"Alright, Mom..." Ian sighs. Barley, who usually would try to resist, sighs and stares out the window. The wizard awkwardly stares out the other window, as they leave the wooded area and back into the neighborhoods, the double crescent moons in view in the purple night sky.

This night was a disaster... Ian thinks to himself.

And it was all my fault.