There were way too many monsters for them all to fight. The pegasi were terrified of their evil brethren and were doing their best to steer clear of them. Max was slashing at any pegasi that came to close, holding onto his axes tightly. Alokia and Elsie were shooting them down, but their victims were quickly replaced.

Alvie was trying to help, but his mind was reeling. There were thousands of colours swarming around him, the anger and blood-thirstiness rolling from their attackers was thick and heavy and made him feel sick and disorientated. He had never sensed so much hatred before and it was dampening his own mood and thoughts.

There was a flash of eerie white and suddenly they were all falling, the demons twisting into the sky in a hatred-filled, rotting, dark funnel.

The roar of the wind in his ears partially drowned out the girls screaming, but his main thoughts were how much he hated heights and that it was so unfair he fell twice.

An arm went around him and he sensed Max's presence. The familiar, brotherly warmth pulled Alvie to his senses and he pointed at the girls. Elsie had grabbed Alokia, who had closed her eyes and hid her face in her sister's shoulder. Max understood Alvie's will and dived towards their cousins.

Annoyance flared about Elsie, Alvie noticed, as Max grabbed her arm. He shook the thought off and threw his hands out. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then his giant storm owl ate them.

"Wh- Alvie, what-? I don't- Oh gods…" Alvie opened his eyes. They were sitting inside his storm owl, but it wasn't so stormy on the inside. Warm, fluffy white clouds surrounded them and offered a calming sense. "Did we just get eaten by one of your storm owls?" Elsie demanded, lunging for him. Max caught her and held her back from strangling his brother, but she shoved him away harshly, glowering at him.

"He saved our lives." Max grumbled, returning the glare. "Eaten or not, we're alive." He looked at Alvie and smiled. "Thanks." Alvie managed a weak smile, the storm owl draining his energy.

The clouds around them flickered and they fell a few feet before the owl solidified and caught them again. "But maybe you should set down somewhere." Max said kindly. Alvie nodded and the owl began its descent.

They crash-landed anyway, but luckily they only fell five feet. Alvie didn't get up, exhausted. He could feel himself falling asleep, Max's warm hand on his shoulder. "Hey, bud, you did good." Max smiled at him. Alvie dozed off, feeling pleased with himself.

He had that floating sensation again, but this time he actually noticed himself leaving his body. That was weirder than the attack. He followed the others, Max carrying him easily in his arms. They needed to find a more covered area to let Alvie rest and organise some form of a plan.

"You OK, Kia?" Alokia nodded, still in shock from the fall. She was pale and walking close to her sister, her shoulders hunched and her arms wrapped around herself. Elsie put a sisterly arm about her shoulders and smiled. "I thought you liked pancakes."

"I didn't know Alvie could do a storm owl that big." Alokia mumbled. "That was cool." Elsie just nodded; glancing at Alvie's sleeping form in Max's arms.

Max shifted his hold on his little brother and sighed.

"Any idea where we're going?" He asked.

"Let's just keep walking."

Alvie looked up at the rolling green leaves and endless sky, the fleck of white clouds appearing every now and then. Then it all melded together and he was flying away, straight ahead in his family's path. He melted through trees and foliage, passing them at hundreds of miles an hour without air resistance or G-force.

He slowed down some time later- it could have been seconds or hours, he wasn't sure which- and he had come to a stop in front of a large, brown rock face. There was a massive boulder of grey-brown-ish colour in front of him. Alvie sensed a hollowness behind the boulder and it seemed to stretch way beyond his senses.

Glancing up, he saw something edged into the rock above the boulder. They didn't make sense to him, jumping about and blurring, but there was something about them that was familiar. He couldn't put his thumb on it.

He turned and looked back the way he had come. Somewhere back there, his brother and cousins were walking around aimlessly in search of a continuation of their quest, but they had no idea as where to go. He had to get back to them and explain what he had seen.

But how did he do that?

Alvie studied his hands and tried to think how he had got here in the first place. The pull that made him travel didn't appear to be his doing, but something else.

Could he control it if he wanted to anyway?

He concentrated as best he could and managed to flit a few feet, stopping when he realised he would crash into a tree. He stumbled to a halt mere inches from it and hesitated. Then waved his arm through the tree and relaxed.

So, was he a ghost?

Before he could think more, he was back in his body in a heartbeat, staring up at the trees above him. His head hurt like crazy and his body felt like it was full of liquid cement. He sat up sluggishly and looked round. His brother was a few feet away, sat up against a tree and fast asleep. He had an axe close by, the other one in disguise in his hand. Elsie was cooking something on a fire and Alokia was watching blankly, clearly exhausted.

Elsie glanced up at that point and saw Alvie awake. She gave a warm smile.

"How are you feeling?" She asked kindly.

"OK." Alvie mumbled.

"Hungry?" Alvie nodded and Elsie waved him over. He saw she was cooking a fish, one she must have caught from the small lake nearby.

While eating, Alvie thought about what he had seen and how best to word it. He woke Max up as well to talk to them all. He watered it down, not understanding what the whole floating thing meant, but managed to describe it as a vision or a dream.

Max yawned.

"Well, at least I ain't got to carry you anymore. You're quite heavy for a short guy."

"Um…" Max laughed, reaching out and ruffling Alvie's hair.

"Alright, let's get going." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Um… what about that giant boulder in the way?"

"Oh, we'll think of something." Elsie muttered, waving it off.

They walked for hours. By the time Max called for them to set up for camp, the sun was sinking behind the horizon. Alokia literally collapsed, making Elsie and Max laugh. Alvie sank to his knees next to her and they both curled up and used their packs as pillows.

Elsie gathered wood for a fire while Max scoped the perimeter. Alokia would have fallen asleep if she wasn't so hungry. Alvie didn't seem to have that problem. While they had been walking, there had been a few obstacles in their path and Alvie had used his psychic powers to clear said obstacle, but it left him starving afterwards. Berries, fruits and a few of their rations were provided and Alvie had already dozed off with a full stomach.

"Are you sure you don't control fire?" Elsie looked at Max quizzically. "Well, you're just really good at making fires…" Alokia sat up and caught her sister's eyes.

"I'm going hunting." Elsie muttered, snatching up her bow and stomping off. "Keep an eye on Kia."

"OK." Max muttered. She disappeared into the trees. Max sighed. "She doesn't like me, does she?"

"Um… we're trying to talk her round into being nicer, but…" Alokia shrugged. "Not working so well…"

"Yeah, I can see that." He ran a hand tiresomely through his hair, his eyes flicking to his sleeping brother worriedly. "I don't think that was a normal dream he had earlier. He normally talks a lot more in his sleep, but he was d- real quiet…" Max trailed off, his gaze sinking to the floor.

"Are you OK?" Alokia asked gently, putting a friendly hand on his arm. Max just nodded, moving his arm away and picking up a stick and prodding at the fire. "Max, what-?" His eyes flared, suddenly guarded and he clenched his jaw. It was obvious he wasn't going to talk. Alokia sighed and drew her jacket about her, watching the embers snap into the sky. Her gaze wandered to Alvie. He was peaceful and seemed comfortable with his head on his pack and the leaf-scattered floor. She got up and padded over as quietly as possible, detaching his sleeping bag from his pack and carefully laying it over him. He didn't react, but at least he was warm.

Elsie returned ten minutes later, holding a squirrel and three fishes. Alokia pulled a face at the squirrel, so Elsie quickly discarded it into the nearby bushes. She dropped more sticks onto the fire, casting a wary eye at Max. She looked at Alokia curiously, but Alokia could only shrug. Something was up with Max and he didn't want them to know.

While Elsie cooked the fishes above the fire with her sister at her side, Max moved away and sat next to his brother, his back to the sisters. Alvie slept calmly, but he turned his head slightly in Max's direction, as if sensing him there.

Alvie was back at that boulder, trying to work out how to move it once they got there, but his mind was blank of ideas. Instead, he paced up and down the base of the large rock face, looking up. It was steep and incredibly dangerous to climb. He figured if they tried to climb it, somebody would fall. He wasn't going to risk that and his strongest feeling was to move the boulder and carry on through whatever was behind it.

The scenery around him blurred and he was standing next to his body and looking down at Max, who was kneeling next to him. There was a sad blue aura about Max and he was watching Alvie sleep with that big brother protectiveness that was quickly returning to him.

Alvie tried to figure out what was running through his brother's head, but Max's eyes were downcast and guarded, dull and mostly blank. Alvie sat and studied his brother. A tingle worked its way down his arm and he reached out and put his hand on Max's shoulder.

Something shattered in eyes and Alvie was suddenly seeing himself, but through Max's eyes. The prospect itself freaked him out and he tried to pull out, but he was distracted and weighed down by an onslaught of emotions. Anger, desperation, guilt, regret, isolation, sadness. It took Alvie a few seconds to realise these were Max's emotions and it confused Alvie as to how Max could deal with this much jumble spinning around his mind.

Then there was this internal force that pushed Alvie out and he woke up, back in his own body. He stared at Max, unable to look at Max the same way now he knew what was under the surface.

"You alright, bro?" Max asked, rubbing at his forehead and frowning. Alvie nodded, sitting up on his elbows.

"You OK?"

"Mmm…" Max hummed monotonously. "Just randomly dizzy."

"Uh, have you had… had anything to eat or drink or something?"

"Elsie's cooking." Max managed a small smile. "Beware…" He teased, waggling his fingers and giving a crooked smile. Alvie squirmed away from his tickling fingers and Max laughed.

So, how we move the boulder then?