The World of Roses

This is set on Alexis' home world. If you have any questions, please let me know, and I shall do my best to answer you.

A link to some sketches I've done so far of people and places that may show up in the rp.... otherwise use your imagination, or ask me and I'll help out. The linked images may change as more content is drawn.

http://kosumosu.deviantart.com/art/iscribble-dump-world-of-roses-184519391

“@#$#%$#!!!!!” Alexis cursed as she spun around, pacing around the small group in circles, staring off into the distance. Trying to spot the missing member of the troop. This wouldn’t seem too odd, except she was walking on seemingly thin air… Or nothing at all. In the void, one only imagine there is ground below you, or in front of you, or above. Everything was real here, and nothing at the same time. The emptiness in-between universes and dimensions, yet encompassed everything that ever or will be.

“I said to wait for two minutes….” Alexis muttered to herself. She had been taking two members of the Resistance off of Fragment back to their home worlds, and taken a side stop to pick up…. A certain someone. After the tournament was over, people wanted to go back to their normal lives, and Alexis had been happy enough to oblige when she managed to break away from the Moipai again. But the process was slow, having to individually track down each person’s world through what she had learned back with the Moipai…. She was so happy to be free of them… But…. She had to admit what she learned there was useful.

She had been taking Angelique and Pala back to their worlds, with an escort of Aru. He insisted, and after a few incidents on previous trips, she didn’t think it would be a very successful argument. There had been a few others before this today, and after this trip, she was going to take a little break. With the way time worked on different universes, running at different courses and speeds, they’d never know…. And…. She had missed a certain fiancé…

She had originally planned on picking up Coden from his homeworld after dropping the others off, but she realized that they were a lot closer than she had thought, and decided to pick him up first. She was about halfway to Angelique’s world, and after Pala’s, they could be quadrants away, she didn’t want to backtrack. So after assuring the others she’d be right back, she opened up a portal and set her feet down onto warm, dry sand.

Closing up the portal behind her, she walked up to a large compound of elaborate tents, familiar with the layout as she had been there a few times before... Walking up to the largest of the tents, she was greeted by several unsavory looking guards, but they soon stepped away, having recognized the unusual looking elf girl. She sighed, she always looked out of place it seemed.

Going through the structures, passing servants and dancing girls and members of the main family, looking around for a familiar face. Eventually finding it on his way out of a meeting, his serious and imposing stance ruined by her running up on him from behind, wrapping him in a large hug.

“Sorry I’m a little early… Are you about ready to go?” Alexis said sweetly, pulling away from the hug, pulling him eagerly towards the familiar tent in a prominent position in the compound, with marks of status that Alexis hadn’t bothered with learning about yet. All she knew was that it was Codens, and that was all that mattered. She noticed several bags and a case, packed for what could be a long trip. She smirked and opened up a smaller portal than before, opening up to a realm of white, and lifted the baggage inside. Less they had to carry, the better. With a happy grin she grabbed his hand, and sooner than she had expected, they were back in the Void.

“I have to take a few more people home, but from there we……. Wait….. Where did Angelique go?” Alexis asked, noticing Pala and Aru….. But the phoenix woman was missing…. “……….$@#@#.....”

Alexis cursed several more times, before whispering a few words under her breath, activating the tracking spells she had been using. She had been using Angelique’s ties to her home world to find the pathway there, she otherwise had no idea where it would have been. That spell also tied her momentarily to her…. Due to her using the magic on her to intensify the pull home. A golden light appeared in the air, contrasting against the other hues to her in the void. Frowning to herself, she motioned the others to follow her, keeping them in a tight knit group as she followed the otherwise invisible trail of light. There were a lot of dangers traversing the void alone….

Eventually, the trail ended, at a small cluster of balls of light. Each one representing a universe. If one looked closely enough, they could be drawn in by the shifting colors and images that flashed at an intense speed. As these were not stars or miniature galaxies as they looked on the surface, but a collection of the entirety of the history of their universes, looping infinitesimally, down to the smallest form of life any of the planets inside.

Alexis could tell where the trail ended, and was about to enter the world to pluck the woman out when she realized that this area looked familiar. She paused, glancing around, noticing a familiar band of colorful light in the distance, washing the sky around them in prismatic colors. She bit her lip. How in all of the universes…. Billions of universes in the void…. Did she end up on this one? She had promised never to return to this place…. Never to return home. Out of fear of what would happen. One of the other things she hated about the Moipai…. When you were told something about your future….. It was rather hard to deviate from that path…. It wasn’t like a simple fortune being told…. There was a lot of depth and care put into it…. And with how they were unwilling to do anything brash… Telling her about her role in her worlds….. It was important enough to listen….

But…. She couldn’t leave Angelique there alone…. This wasn’t something she could just ask Coden to do…. Synchronize this kind of stuff without the programmed coordinates was almost impossible. Tracing her down on the planet took too many factors to try to explain. She wouldn’t leave Angelique on a foreign planet with no way of getting home… And she wanted to give her an earful for wandering off.

“………………………….shit……. Fine…… I’m not leaving you guys alone while I go get her…. You’re coming with…. I don’t want to repeat this…. But this is very important. Under no circumstances are we staying here long. We are getting Angelique and LEAVING. No questions asked. Ok?” Alexis said, rather unhappy about this, and nervous, a sickly feeling growing in her stomach. And, partially unable to admit to even to herself, rather excited to see this place again, try as hard as she may to ignore this…. Mumbling some spells as her fingers weaved into the air, manipulating the fabrics of light and space that made up the representation of the universe that laid beyond, pinpointing where Angelique had entered, and opening up a portal leading after her. Taking a rather uneasy glance into the portal before taking a step inside.

Angelique crossed her arms as she waited out in the void. With little to no explanation, Alexis had vanished, leaving her with Pala and...a samurai? Some other member of the former resistance. Not that it mattered much either way. She was still stuck there waiting for Alexis to return so that she could get back to her own world. She had things to do, dammit! Rather sour and ready to get away from all of this inter-reality insanity, she had pretty much ignored the other two.

As she had waited, a brief...something out of the corner of her eye had caught her attention, making her focus in on it. There was nothing there...sort of. Intrigued, she had turned to focus in on it better, studying whatever it was. This place was indeed strange. Bored of waiting and curious about the strange substance, she had begun to move toward it with an absent: "I'll be over here" to the other two. There had been protests, but in a few short steps she was far enough away not to hear them. It had been further away than she had thought, but since the other two were still in sight, she really didn't worry about it. She ran her hand through the strange glittering unsubstance before turning and wandering over toward another patch of...something.

Caught up in her own exploration, she continued to wander away from the group, something at the back of her mind nagging her to keep going. They would probably be there when she got back. As she continued on, curiously examining the various swirls of light and color, she kept thinking she saw something out of the corner of her eye, only to focus on it and have it disappear. It began to irk her. Still she continued on, eventually finding what almost felt like a well-worn path, a road downhill. Easy enough to follow that she had to wonder if it wasn't a road of sorts (or as close to it as that place might get).

The path was rather barren of anything else for a while, at least immediately around her. She had moved to go examine other areas, but found that changing direction toward them was rather difficult. So she had continued on the path, eventually coming to several spheres of light, sitting several yards apart from each other in all directions, but still closer than anything else. Proceeding with caution, she came to the first sphere and examined it. It was rather pretty...

So she reached out to touch it. It didn't feel like anything, and it didn't seem to be doing anything. Slightly disappointed, she furrowed her brow and continued to prod at it, something telling her that something would happen if she did. Poking deeper into the sphere, she paused, tugging on her finger. It wouldn't budge, but rather seemed to be pulled further in. Eyes widening, Angelique tugged harder on her hand, but soon realized the pull was growing stronger, tugging her into the impossibly small sphere.

In a moment of confused panic, she was sucked in, tumbling dizzyingly head over heels down through the glowing sphere and into the familiar, and none-too-welcome, feel of gravity. With blinding, uncontrolled speed, she shot down toward the ground which appeared to be miles away and approaching quickly. In a matter of seconds, she had landed in a ball of flames, her impact leaving a deep crater in the ground, and mere seconds after the initial landing, a rush of flames shot up and out, as she resurrected.

With a groan, Angelique opened her eyes, staring at the sky blankly for a moment before wondering where she was and how she'd gotten there (aside from the obvious). With a reluctant effort, she pushed herself into a sitting position and staggered out of the hole and into the now visible city street.

The buildings nearby were fairly low and uniform, reminiscent of ancient lower class housing, or at least what pictures she had seen of them. There were dozens of people in the area, most of whom were being ushered out of the area, though they didn't appear to be making any objections. The ones in uniform, guards she assumed, approaching cautiously. Angelique glanced them over, noting the lack of visible weaponry. As well as the fact that every single person was apparently at least a foot taller than her.

One guard approached a bit ahead of the others, hands held out, and in a gentle tone began to speak. "Hey there...don't worry, we're not going to hurt you...just come with us, okay?" Several other guards had slowly begun to approach as well, all adopting the same tone, like what you would use when trying to talk to a spooked animal. She twitched. Two could play at this game.

Straightening herself up to her full height, and adopting her typical stance when dealing with her inferiors in the company, she glared around at them, internally smirking at the rather confused and uneasy expressions that were beginning to develop.

"Very reassuring that you don't intend on eating me or anything," she said, curtly, " But I believe that it would be more beneficial for you to tell me where it is that I currently am."

She could've laughed at the dumbfounded looks she was receiving as well as some of the mutterings she heard from behind her.

"Did it just speak?"

Angelique ignored them, however, and continued to glare directly at the leader of the pack.

"Well?" She snapped eventually after a moment without response. "Are you going to tell me where I am or not? Because if you aren't, then you're of no use to me and I shall be left to ask around."

How quickly the mood could change. Soldiers had begun to shift uncomfortably, looks of surprise turning to suspicion.

"What is your name?" He nodded toward another soldier off to the side and behind her. Angelique glanced back and noticed him muttering something. She looked back at the guard.

"How about I trade you my name for my location?" She crossed her arms.

***

"What was the result? Is it real?" the leader asked in low tones, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice. You never knew what you could be dealing with...

"Real? Yes...a human? No," the soldier responded, both glancing over at the strange girl who had fallen from the sky. "There is some sort of magic around her...it seems that her appearance is the result of magic."

The leader looked thoughtful for a moment. "We will bring her in...there's no way we can deal with this sort of thing out here."

"Is that wise? What if she's a spirit?"

"We have no way of finding that out. We will bring her in."

The soldier nodded and turned to make his way back to his post. All eyes turned toward him and he shook his head. Not a trap.

***

Angelique was getting quite aggravated as everyone looked this way and that, the leader apparently giving some sort of silent command as all eyes returned to her. She was half tempted to make a break for it and attempt to find a random citizen and ask them. Of course they had all been ushered out of the area, apparently...and she didn't really blend in.

"We would like you to come with us," the leader said, still in that soothing tone, though no longer sounding quite as much like he was talking down to her.

"And I'd rather not."

"Please do not make things difficult..."

Angelique paused. "I always make things difficult."

Without much warning, a bolt of lightning came at her from the side, forcing Angelique to dodge, falling to the ground.

"That was your warning...now please, as you seem intelligent...don't make us resort to violence."

Angelique grit her teeth, but instead of responding, turned and ran, straight through a gap between two of the soldiers left when the one had moved while hurling the lightning.

"She's getting away!"

She kept going, not looking back as various attacks were hurled in her general direction. She hadn't gotten more than a few yards before something wrapped around her leg, tripping her. Looking back, she saw vines creeping out of the ground and spiraling up her leg. The first of the guards were feet away. With a small spark, she set the vines on fire, pulling away and stumbling back to her feet.

The first soldier had caught up, however, grabbing onto her shoulder. Whirling around toward him, she tried to jerk her arm away.

They had all caught up.

Without truly thinking, she summoned several fires, also conveniently forcing the soldier that was holding onto her to let go.

"Stay away from me..." she backed up, flaring the fires whenever someone got too close. Turning, she ran again.

That was when all hell broke loose...

***

The squadron's leader rubbed his temples as he surveyed the damage. A cleanup crew had been summoned and his squad was already beginning to help with the cleanup. Glancing down at the unconscious figure, he twitched and sighed, motioning over a couple of soldiers.

"Help me get her up to the Imperial Palace."

A portal opened up in the shade of an alley, a flash of purple appeared and disappeared, as the owner of the mane of hair briefly checked to see if there was anyone around. Thankfully, the area was deserted enough that she felt like it was safe enough, and soon the whole group was ushered out. She glanced out at the street, which still sported a gaping crater and obvious signs of a battle. The scorch marks told a rather distinct story to her, having known the phoenix for a while.

She noticed the trail of gold traced through the square, and around in dizzying circles and loops and patterns as she had run around, then a long streak that lead off into the distance. She glanced up at the higher districts, with much fancier and elaborate structures that reached up towards the sky. She knew her family lived up there somewhere…. A strange feeling of anticipation grew in her, which she tried to suppress, along with the fear that clung to her. That’s where Angelique was, and if they were to retrieve her, where they had to go….

Rather reluctantly, she pulled out a few cloaks, wrapping one around herself after handing the others them…. It was better to blend in at this point…. Then she walked out into the street, giving those behind her a look that was far too serious for her…

“Don’t wander off. We’re not going to be here long, and we’re just getting her, and leaving. No sightseeing at all… K?” Alexis asked quietly as she swiftly turned around and followed the path, seeming far too familiar with it than someone who had never been to this planet before….

Pala, amidst all the confusion, found herself excited. She had only seen such civilisation once,when she was too young to remember much, but this time she was going to take in as much as she could.
Alexis needed her help now though, and she would keep an eye on her.
"Do you know where we are, Alexis?"

Alexis glanced around quickly, still looking rather nervous, before turning back towards Pala and the others behind her. “………Yes….I’ve been here before…. But I’ve been to a lot of places before…. This is…. This is no different.” The girl said with an uneasy tone, before continuing on their way, passing by groups of people on the street, the crowds thinning as they went to the nicer areas of the city. Pulling her hood further down over her head, casting her face in shadow as she continued tracking Angelique down.

*************

A young man paced back and forth in front of an ornately decorated door. Two guards were posted at the entrance, preventing unwanted entering or exiting. He composed himself, taking a deep breath, before stepping towards the structure, the men stationed there opening the door for him. The tall boy was dwarfed by the even taller doors, a cocky grin standing out vibrantly against his spiky blond hair. He pulled his red cloak away from his shoulders before stepping inside, sitting on a spare chair in the guest suite that the strange woman had been sent to. He pondered if she had truly come from the stars like the soldiers reported, but he supposed he’d have to ask her that himself. He looked up at the pink haired woman, who did not seem very pleased to see him in the least.

“Hello, miss… You can call me Bahadur, and you seem to have found yourself in our country. May I inquire what your name is?” He asked with a warm smile on his face.

“…I really don’t care who you are, and no, you may not inquire my name,” she said, glaring. “Just tell me where I am so I can get out of your hair.”

“I am terribly sorry that no one had told you this earlier Angelique”, the teen said, looking rather displeased that she had experienced any sort of troubles. “You must excuse us, for we are not used to seeing people arrive in such a manner. You my lady, are in Tǔdì de Méiguī, the Land of Roses.”

Angelique stopped, eyes flashing.

"How do you know my name?"

Bahadur twiddled his thumbs, looking slightly apologetic. "I was sorta...reading your mind."

She went rigid. "You...what?" Her voice was low as she took a step forward. "You had no right! Stay out of my head!" The candles around the room flared to life.

Bahadur remained calm and unconcerned. His eyes shifted to the candles as they sprung to life, noting them, before shifting back to her. "I am sorry that this causes you alarm, I only meant it to help us communicate better. We were unsure how much of our language you understood, this was only meant to help us understand each other clearly."

Angelique crossed her arms. "Do me a favor and don't. I don't need your help with communication, I'm perfectly well adept on my own." She could understand any human language after all...and apparently elves were included in that as well.

Noticing the flames for the first time, she scowled and snuffed them out.

Bahadur sighed softly, "It was for our sakes as much as for you, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I shall stop. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Argh! Will you stop that?" she snapped, putting her hands to her temples.

"Stop what? Am I doing something else that is distressing as well?" Bahadur asked, furrowing his brow in worry and confusion.

"Yes! That!" She gestured to him, eyes narrowing in suspicion "Your attitude...stop acting so...friendly. Nobody is actually that nice."

He looked confused and slightly hurt, "....This is how I always am.... It bothers people?"

With another aggravated noise, Angelique turned and began pacing, letting loose a string of her thoughts about the situation in various languages.

"...Aggravating...idiots who need some reality slapped into them!" She finally threw her hands up into the air and turned back to face him. "Look...I don't know and I don't care what other people think about your behavior, but I don't like it...and I don't like you. So why don't you just make all of this easier and just tell me the way out of here."

"Well.... There is always the door...." He said, pointing at the large door behind him. "But.... That is not what you meant.... Now is it... You want to go back to wherever you came from before this... From the skies above? Where exactly did you come from? Do your people populate the clouds?"

"I thought I already told you...to stay OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"But... I didn't.... Everyone told me you fell from the sky is all.... You really do come from the clouds then?"

Angelique froze, face dropping to a neutral expression. "No."

"Then where? If you want to be returned to your home... It would be helpful for those that want to assist you to know exactly where this is."

Angelique groaned, putting a head to her hands. "It's rather difficult to explain..." She glanced up, taking in his appearance and especially the ears. "Do your people have magic? Such as...the ability to travel between worlds?"

Bahadur paused, thinking for a moment, before looking rather glum. "I suppose that we have what you could call magic.... But there are none that I know of that can travel away from this planet..... Are you from the stars then? How did you manage to get here? What powers do you have that let you travel to other worlds?"

"I don't...someone I know does. She looks a bit like you people actually; the ears, at least. I was separated from her." Arms crossed, she glared at the wall. She really shouldn't have wandered off, but natural curiosity had gotten the better of her...

She truly hoped she wouldn't be stuck there, having to wait, yet again, for technology to advance.

"I'd...figured you'd been here before, but i haven't. It'd be nice to know a little about where we are. There's nothing....dangerous here, is there?" Pala looked around nervously.
"I mean, if we're going like this, you should at least let us know what to look out for, right?"

Of all the things he'd hoped to do today or rather what he'd hoped to do in the next series of days, getting looped into yet another crazy adventure across the multi-verse was not upon that checklist. Granted seeing Alexis a couple days early had been the better of events that transpired over the course of months he'd been away. Though even now as he followed the young woman through foreign lands, He quite ached to be back in the hot desert he now called home.
Sweet perfumes from the Harem still lingered in his golden, cream colored Bisht. Sounds of his new desert life still rang clearly in his mind. Pieces of fond knowledge and bits of paranoid reminders. Zahi's eager requests to please him as he attempted to remember: Did he tell the cook to prepared the lamb 'just like this' for his guests he left behind? Did he warn the harem not to give Al-Habjibakh too much to drink when they entertained him? He didn't forget his favorite black Keffiyeh, did he? And what about the gathering of his neighboring Sheik? Wasn't that tomorrow? Or didn't he tell Rhajikh to Reschedule for him?

It was too much; he was dizzy just thinking about it. He didn't honestly think he ought to be here right now, but how could he have said no when the young moipai came running into his tent to usher him out? After all the new responsibilities abruptly thrust upon him, an early vacation was too tempting to turn down. As selfishly fulfilling it could be, was it the right thing to let happen?

Massaging his temples, Coden tried not to think about what unfinished business he left behind. In just a matter of days he'd return. What could happen in the mass of, say...a week? Unfortunately, he could see a lot going wrong in his absence. 'I'm just going to have to trust in the family I never knew and clean up what ever mess I come home to....In the mean time--'

Black eyes glanced ahead to Alexis. He hadn't looked once at his surroundings, let alone spoken a word to his familiar company. His only concern being to 'follow orders' and 'stick close' so they could sooner find Angelique and get people home. Once they were taken care of, He and Alexis could resume their plans....

Aru followed Alexis, knowing she could do more on this world than he could. Taking the cloak, he wrapped it about himself and took a step.

But he suddenly found himself in Drakonius's realm, the man grinning at him.

"What the hell, Drakonius!?" He yelled, angry.

The man shrugged. "I need your help elsewhere!" And Aru was portaled off to a different dimension.

((Lame-o dropping out))

Alexis turned back towards Pala to answer her, when a horde of shadows raced along the stonework below towards Aru. Lifting up off the ground, enveloping him in darkness, before sliding back to where they had come from. A random hand lifted away from the shadows, waving at them before disappearing. Alexis’ hand rose up to massage her temples…. #@$%@#%’ing Drak again….. She was so happy he didn’t try that kind of stunt with her.

She sighed as she glanced around, wondering if anyone had seen that. None that she could tell, but it was always worth it to be careful. “….Aside from random chibi lord of darkness interruptions….. this world is rather….. I dunno…. Tranquil I suppose is the best word for it… No major wars that I know of….. The people possess magic’s… Not much to say…” Alexis said, hoping that they would be sated with that…. Because she didn’t want to explain how she had known this world….

This entire time, they had been walking uphill, through larger and larger buildings, till they reached the higher district. The houses were spaced apart, everything was ornately decorated, and there was an abundance of plantlife that didn’t seem possibly in the chilly weather. Flowers bloomed even though the trees spaced around shone in autumn colors.

Alexis paused on the street, looking up at a giant, walled in section of the city. She cursed mentally, why did she have to be brought here? She knew that somewhere beyond that gate was where her family was…. She was afraid to see them….. For the same reason she had been afraid to ever confront them…. Not simply because of the prophesy…. But…. She was afraid that they wouldn’t want her…. They had given her to the Moipai all those years ago… They didn’t want her back….

“…..Angelique is in there somewhere….. There’s probably wards on the walls to prevent people from sneaking over easily…. What should we do?”

"If you want to..sneak in, we could go further down, and i could open a hole in the wall, and close it behind us..it'd be like making our own door. I don't know if there is any magic or anything to stop me, though. And moving the stone might get us noticed. It's your call."

Abruptly showing his livelihood, Coden placed a gentle hand on Pala's shoulder. "That will work...as a last resort. We should see if we can't get in like normal citizens first. Conning our way through can't be so hard. And it's less likely to get us into un-needed trouble...."
His eyes looked up to the top of the wall, watching surveying guards positioned high above them. Seeking gaps or patterns. As he watched them, he wrapped a section of his cloak around his shoulder and covered his face. A lot of the people, he noticed, were not only very tall but also very pale in complexion. "Let's bargain with the watch men. If they deny us, then Pala will make us our own door........"

Alexis nodded, it was probably better if they went in through the gate. There were too many guards, who from what she could tell by their auras were actually competent fighters to some degree. It would be rather tough getting past them in the middle of the day like this.

She followed after Coden at this point, still looking rather nervous. She knew that on the other side of the gate somewhere was her family… and that worried her. She knew that she probably wouldn’t see them during the entire time that she was there, but why on this whole planet did Angelique have to end up here?!? She sighed, damned law of plot screwing with them again….

As they approached the gates, Alexis’ mind raced, trying to come up with a legit sounding story. When they arrived though, she looked up at the tall, armored soldiers, that looked far too familiar to her, and her mind blanked, words lost somewhere in the back of her throat.

The guards looked down at the hooded children that approached them. Slightly suspicious as to what they were doing trying to get in at this time of day. “……What are you kids doing here? Go run off”

When they reached the gate and the towering guards, Coden did not wait for the others. Casually stepping to the front of the group, he kept his shoulders straight and head held high. Though never let his face be seen.
"I beg your pardon, but my Mistress and Master were expected to have an audience with family beyond the wall. A terrible, unforeseen predicament has left them unable to attend. It is urgent that we inform the Lord and Ladies of this unfortunate event. It would be of great consequence if message did not reach the lord and ladies of the house. I plead you understand and grant us passage, sirs. It would be unfortunate to be cause of the Lord and Ladies displeasure....."

The guards looked down at the group, it seemed reasonable enough to them. One of them motioned inside and another guard came out, looking down at the group.

“Escort these three inside to the central palace to inform those inside that their masters will not be making their appointment.” The man said curtly to the other, who ushered the three inside the gates and into the Imperial palace courtyard.

Alexis kept staring, her eyes darting back and forth, inspecting each person they walked past worriedly, pulling her hood down even further. She was too nervous to enjoy the scenery, which changed dramatically once they were inside these walls. While the upper tiers of the city were decorated with elegant architecture and greenery, this took everything a step further. Ruby and golden roofs topped the buildings they passed, surrounded by trees that shone with a myriad of oranges, yellows and reds. Life seamlessly flowed within everything, creating a balance between architecture and nature.

The guard stayed with them, leading them towards the center of the palace compound, a majestic building taller than anything else around, towering into the sky. Alexis glanced behind her, the golden trail she had been following led to a side building to the palace, but with the guard leading them in a specific destination, she didn’t know how to break away without a fight… And judging by the guards stationed all over the place, it didn’t seem that a fight would end well….

Alexis pointed out the direction they needed to go to the others, careful to not get the guards attention. All the while plotting the best course of action.

Pala grew anxious, and prodded Alexis softly.
"How are we going to get alone? Perhaps a diversion?" She shrank back into her cape as the guard looked back at them. "Time's running out..."

Alexis glanced around, if they didn’t do something now, they’d end up inside the palace, with no plan and completely surrounded. She could possibly try to cause some chaos with a timestop, but she didn’t want to risk being low on magic when they got Angelique and wanted to escape to the Void…. Best keep that on reserves for now.

She gave Pala a quick side glance and nodded, knowing that she’d probably be the best for this kind of thing. If they thought someone was attacking with elemental forces, how much would they care about a couple of kids?

Looking around for a way to cause a distraction, without being noticed too much, she eye the large amount of greenery, and wooden objects, such as crates and various boxes.
Making a small motion with her hands beneath her cloak, a few plants caught fire...which spread to other plants, and other boxes. Quickly it had spread, and smoke was filling the streets.

Seeing Alexis' worried look, Pala grimaced.
"I'll blow it all out when we're out of notice, ok?" The guard had told them to find somewhere safe, while he helped deal with the fire.
"Lucky us." She grinned.

Alexis froze, staring at the fire that began to consume the trees, filling the street with a reddened glow. It honestly wasn’t a huge blaze, but the girl stood there, transfixed. When she had asked Pala for a distraction, she didn’t realize that she’d set the place on fire. This was all too familiar, flashes of memories overlapping the scene in front of her, the fires consuming all. Yells of the soldiers to douse the flames and find whoever attacked turned into phantom screams as faceless people died in front of her. The prophesy twisted in her nightmares transposed into real life. Did…. Did this mean it was happening… Now?

She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe…. She KNEW she shouldn’t have come here! She knew what would happen, her coming here would only bring about disaster to this world!

She was pulled out of the daze by Pala, who tugged her along after her. It only lasted a second, but it chilled her down to her core. With a new sense of purpose, Alexis broke away from the two, racing ahead. She had to get Angelique, then get herself and everyone else off this planet as soon as possible…. She was not going to live that prophesy through.

Bounding up a small flight of stairs, Alexis took the two guards there by surprise, using her enhanced speed to quickly knock them out. She didn’t want to drag this out any longer than she had to. She swung two large doors wide open, to see Angelique sitting at a table. Looking annoyed, but relatively unharmed. She had a few choice words for her, but now wasn’t the time. Next to her was a taller boy, who was momentarily surprised by her entrance, but after seeing the guards and the fire outside he glared at her, staring as if he were looking right through her. She saw a quick flash of power jolt away from him as she took a step forward, when suddenly she stopped, collapsing to the ground, incapacitated by an invisible psychic blow.

Bahadur stared fiercely at the remaining hooded invaders, standing between them and Angelique protectively, “…Please stay here miss Angelique, I need to take care of these assailants.” He said, about to attack the two, one hovering over their fallen comrade while the other looked ready to attack, when Angelique stood up herself, glaring up at the boy.

“Wait…. Hey! They’re with me!” She shouted angrily, startling the elven boy, “…And you just knocked out my way out of here….. Great.” She said, rather annoyed.

Bahadur glanced between Angelique, the intruders, and the chaos outside, looking slightly confused on what he should do. He sent out a mental call for aid to a nearby squadron of soldiers as he looked back at the pink haired woman, slightly suspicious. “…You’re friends…. Are the ones attacking?”

“I wouldn’t say friends exactly….” Angelique scoffed, “And about their actions….” She recognized Bahadur’s distrust, trying to act civil to prevent anymore rash attacks, “They’re rather…. Conspicuous…. They were only trying to rescue me… Look… We’re causing problems by being here, so why don’t you just wake up Alexis and we can go and be out of your hair.”

Bahadur paused at Angelique’s words, before skimming the three’s thoughts, the unconscious girl impossible to read after that attack. He suddenly looked rather flustered as he began apologizing, still looking unsure if he could just let them go after attacking… He went over towards the hooded figures, wearily looking between the two that still gave him death glares and the sleeping girl, her hood knocked back by her fall. With a slight tap of his fingers to her forehead, Alexis began to stir, just as a group of soldiers began to file into the room, responding to the inaudible earlier call.

Following them was an older looking man, in long flowing robes, his long blue hair tied back in a long braid that wound down his back. He inspected the scene that lay in front of him with a calculating air, as the soldiers parted to let him through.

“Bahadur, what is going on here?” He asked the boy, who looked rather uneasy at the older man. “First there are rumors about people falling from the sky, now this! This is not how a future captain of the guard is supposed to handle………” He paused, glancing down at the four strangers, more specifically, the one with the vibrant purple and black hair. He took a few steps forward, inspecting the girl as she mumbled about migraines, kneeling down silently. It couldn’t be…. After so long….

The girl looked up at him, vibrant amethyst eyes, only once did he remember such markings on eyes, over ninety years ago… “……Astera..... Is that really you?” He asked, voice hesitant and soft. Her eyes widened, her face betraying her recollection of that name. The mans features shifted slightly, as if remembering something from long ago himself, before wrapping her up in an embrace, lifting her clear off the floor, “I can’t believe that you’ve returned, Princess Astera”

Angelique stared at the scene with a mixture of annoyance an resignation. Of course they wound up on some planet where Alexis turned out to be a long lost princess of some sort. It was almost disturbing just how much this didn't surprise her. After a few moments, she spoke, though to no one in particular.

"We're stuck here, aren't we?"

She was getting the impression that she should just resign herself to life without technology.

"........"
Pala found herself immensely agitated. Giving a look of despair at Angelique, she desperately tried to find a solution. Yet...it all depended on these people - if they didn't let go of alexis, they might be required to take her forcefully.
"Please, we need her to take us home! We're not meant to be here! It's been too long to get stuck now!"

Coden did not appreciate Alexis being swept out from under his nose. Were it not for the curious set of words their company spoke, he would have reacted rather poorly....and violently.
"Wait...", he held his hand up towards the people. "Astera....?" He carefully looked between Alexis and the giant of a man holding her. Coden did not like the way that man was holding her. He looked...... It just made him feel uneasy.

"Her name is Alexis. It would be appreciated, sir, if you returned her to us. So we may leave." He leered at the blue haired boy from beneath his hood. Tendrils twitching at his back, aching to tear and break something.

Alexis; eyes grew wide at the old man, no way in hell….. No way was the Law of Plot going to be that cliché….. Damn it, it is isn’t it…. It could be true, there was no reason for him to lie…. His aura didn’t look like he was lying to her…. DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!!! She didn’t want this to happen! She needed to go! This would only keep them here longer, and the longer they stay, the more likely something bad would happen! She wanted to leave, and by how her companions were acting, they wanted to leave as well. Well… That settled it. They dumped her before, she was dumping them now… A retribution of sorts. That’s it…. Retribution.

She didn’t give a @#$@#$ if she was the grand magical empress of all of fairyland, she didn’t want to stay here any longer than she had to… She especially wanted to leave since he knew her name…. which meant he knew her folks…. Who apparently were important… She grumbled internallally, how did she not figure that out? She knew they lived here…. She just thought they were part of the court or something…. @#$@#’ing law of plot…

Alexis broke away from the hug, glaring up at the man defiantly, “I need to take my friends back home, I’m sorry, but… I have to go.” She said quickly beginning to make a portal. The man stared at her for half a second in confusion, before glancing quickly over at Bahandur. The boy turned away, his eyes seeming to glitter with an unnatural radiance, staring at the floor.

The man set his hand on the girls shoulder, who had soon found that making a portal was more difficult than she had expected. She had purposely not used her magic for this reason… Right? But as she tried tearing a hole in spacetime, her hands shook, a cold trembling feeling fell over her as her magic slipped away. Maybe… Maybe it had something to do with the magical barriers around here…. Or something….

“I understand that you and you’re companions are trying to return home, but it is late. Please allow us to accommodate you for this night, and send you off first thing in the morning. We wish to make up for the difficulties we’ve already caused, with the misunderstandings earlier. I’m sure you are all tired and hungry, and we shall do our best to fix that.” The man said, gently guiding Alexis away from the center of the room, the guards mostly cleared out, the few that were left helping guide the rest after them.

She hadn’t realized it before he started talking, but he was right, she had a long day, running different groups of the Resistance through the Void… And all of this mess, she was surprised she was still awake after all that. The thought of something warm in her, along with a comfy bed was beginning to sound like a good idea. Nothing bad could happen in only one night… She’d be gone before the sun rose, it’d be fine…. Perfectly fine…

“And if you are up to it, you could see your family again, I remember when you were kidnapped so long ago…. You’re mother was devastated…. I’m sure that she would love to see you again…. If only for tonight…” He continued, his fingers still gently on Alexis’ shoulder, who seemed to have stopped trying to make a portal at this point. Her eyes were dulled slightly, as the two’s powers slowly seeped in, ensnaring her along with the group in a well intentioned trap, “You probably don’t remember me, but I remember you, with your bright eyes, your grandmothers hair, and your perchance for getting into trouble…. You have been sorely missed, please stay just for the night.”

“……One night…. Couldn’t hurt…” Alexis said, wondering if what he said was true… She had always thought that she was abandoned, given away to the Moipai by her family…. Did…. Did they really miss her? Did they not want to give her away? A small well of hope grew inside her, quenching her earlier inclination to bolt. “….Is that ok with you guys?” She asked the others, “…..I promise we’ll leave in the morning to take you guys back to your worlds…. Ok?”

Coden was watching very closely. Listening carefully. And he didn't like what he was picking up from the situation at hand. It was not late; it couldn't be, it was still light out. And he himself was not so tired. He'd just woken on his own world. Looking around his companions, they looked suddenly tired an dreary, when only moments ago they were lively and eager to go. He suspected foul play....

Ignoring the tinge of sleepiness ticking in the back of his mind, Coden pushed away from the remaining guards around he and his companions. Thy were just in the way....
Crossing the room quickly, he apprehended the wrist of the blue haired man, glaring as he twisted and yanked the taller mans limb from Alexis' shoulder. Then pulled the young woman into his shoulder firmly. There were many things he wanted to say. Many threatening and warring things.... He didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit. though for all that he wanted to say to the man, he held his tongue still.

"If you were tired...you should have said something 'Alexis'...." He murmured, quietly, something of Alexis and her quarry being welcome in his home and among his people. Albeit now it was too late for that. "...It seems our company is incapacitated.... If the others agree...fine." He kept her firmly in his grip, drawing Alexis away from their would be hosts.