When Gerrit knocked on a high wooden door with fancy golden ornaments Davis was nervous. The prospect of returning home made him almost jittery inside but there was this feeling of dread above it all. It felt even worse than having to do a presentation of your book review in front of the whole class.

For the first time after his arrival Davis set foot into the Professor's office. He found it to be cozy despite some books still lying around where the bicycle made contact with solid wood. Somehow the front wheel only had a small dent. Nothing that a blacksmith couldn't fix. Good old hardened bike coat.

Leaning on the desk was a man that Gerrit had never seen before. He was wearing a purple colored long coat buttoned up to the neck. There was something regal about him that dwarfed even the Professor.

"Gerrit, how nice of you to immediately come when I called for you.” The Professor was clearly annoyed by the delay.

“I am sorry sir, Davis wanted to get his bag from the ward.”

Embarrassed Davis began scratching his head. “Yeah…this castle is just really interesting.”

The Professor smiled for a second. “Don't get too used to it, I am hoping to send you back by tomorrow. All of the ingredients should arrive tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this made Gerrit and Davis cheer. “See! I told you we would find a solution!” Gerrit threw his arm over Davis's shoulder, pulling the other into a half hug.

While the two boys were still smiling and cheering the visitor cleared his throat for the first time. “Excuse me Roland but no such thing will happen. After bringing this incident to the senate we decided to halt all of your practical research on those portals. We will fund further theoretical research and give you a small team Capitol. As soon as we decide further practical application is safe and no more such accidents happen you can try and send this boy to where he belongs. Until then he will either stay under your supervision or will be taken into one of our orphanages.”

Immediately the mood shifted. For Gerrit it was like someone dampened all the sound with a spell.

“Altair, you can't be serious. For the first time we had some tangible results.”

"You indeed got results but look what it brought upon us. There is a boy talking about a city as big as Capitol and not one of us has ever heard about it! Imagine how dangerous that can be. What are you going to pull next? A hydra that goes rampant?”

By now Davis was a shivering mess. Nobody knew for how long he'd be stuck now. Living in an orphanage was the most unappealing part of it all.

Roland knew that there was no use arguing the senate's decision especially in front of the two boys. “I will take care of the boy. It is my fault that he is with us now.”

“Keep an eye on him. We don't know a thing about him. Now if you'll excuse me, I got to head back to Capitol.” For the first time Altair turned to Davis to talk to him, not about him. “I am deeply sorry that you are stuck in this situation. I hope that you get used to it soon.” With that said, the man made his way out of the office.

Gerrit felt how weak Davis's legs became. Supporting him the boy sat Davis down on one of the chairs in front of the Professor's desk.

Thoughts of his little brother and his parents flashed through his mind and Davis began crying. Fear started to settle in that he'd never see them again, that he'd never see Maron again.

The only sounds were Gerrit rubbing his hand over David’s back and Davis who was weeping quietly.

“Davis, do you mind if I tell the Professor all the stuff you told me?”

“No…I don't care…” There was a lot of other stuff on his mind.

While Davis sat deep in his thoughts Gerrit retold all the things that Davis had told him. This confirmed the worst suspicions Roland had. Somehow he had managed to open a portal to an alternate reality. Even after retracing all the steps earlier he had no idea how this happened. All of the ingredients they had used were exact measurements. Gerrit was experienced enough not to cause such catastrophic blunders.

Davis was beginning to calm down again. He looked up into the Professor's thoughtful face. “Gerrit will you please assist me once more? Grab the ivory box over there.”

Quietly the red head went to one of the many bookshelves where he took the box his mentor wanted. After setting it down on the desk he stood next to Davis again.

“Davis, after the things Gerrit just told me I want to give you a special opportunity. If you accept we will begin the aptitude exams right now.”

A/N: I'm sorry for this shorter chapter but drawing it out would've taken away from the impact of the revelation.

Please don't forget to like and subscribe, maybe leave a nice comment. Your words are the only thing that keeps me going.