Chaos land

Buggy now had regained his life and his breath then Chaos had begun to speak to them and he wanted to listen to everything.

"As I already mentioned, all magic originates in this realm, and flows to the many different universes out there, some of which you have come from. And you should know that whatever happens here directly affects your own worlds as well..."


 "If all of this power is released upon this place by hands other than hers, the balance will be distorted and her power will take control of this world. And it's not just that..."



"Like I said before, all of your universes will be directly affected by this change in power. So, what does this actually mean for you? At best, the forces of justice in your worlds will easily overpower you and you will simply die. At worst, free will itself will be lost and you will join your rivals, practically brainwashed."


When Chaos finished speaking Buggy spoke up, "So boss what you saying is that when these crystals get into those good guys hand were automatically Toast?? NO WAY!! I am not going to stand around and let that happen.." He looked to Sunset and the others, "I sure as heck know that you guys wont stand for this either, right? We need to do whatever it takes to protect our worlds and most of our own selves!"

Angela - Waterfall

The radiant light of the crystals felt as if it were going on forever. Angela briefly attempted to glimpse through the whole ordeal but it was no use, the light was just too bright. She shut her eyes closed again and just waited for it to be all over. One way or the other...

And eventually, it was. Angela opened her eyes again. She glanced at the two crystals that she had instinctively dropped back to the ground and picked them up again. They had stopped glowing altogether now, resembling regular rocks. Had their power gone dry?

"I-- is everyone okay?" she hesitantly asked. However... she was. Her wounds were gone, she had no problem standing back up again... She could even say that she felt even better than before this whole thing began. Did the crystals do this?

However, a sudden realization dropped her to her knees again. "Wait a second... Was I... Was I supposed to do this all along? If I had done it sooner then maybe... Just maybe... Those two...?" she shook her head as if to try to push that thought away but it was too late. She had failed them, hadn't she?

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again.

She had failed them.

Chaos Land

Her histrionic pleas for attention—those soft whimpers meant to magically summon her brother across space-time—only encouraged Sunset Shimmer to lose her temper and bolt toward her. Rocbouquet brought herself into a fighting stance, ready to kick the animal in the face if it dared charge into her. But Sunset Shimmer stopped in place when Buggy started talking.

That's what I thought. Rocbouquet sneered as she relaxed her posture and looked toward the Star Clown and the Space Emperor. They had both recovered and were now asking a bunch of questions. How annoying. She sighed.

Not long after, the God of Discord began talking again and so she listened. (What else could she do? Her attempt to kill him had failed.) But as Chaos explained the delicate balance of the universe, a look of heavy scorn replaced the innocent pout on her lips. Another deity?

“Are you kidding me?” she uttered below her breath. A goddess by the name of Cosmos? Rocbouquet was already aware of the existence of multiple dimensions, but she had never heard of Chaos and Cosmos, or the whole balancing act between them. Thus, the jungle queen continued to give the God of Discord her undivided attention.

"Like I said before, all of your universes will be directly affected by this change in power. So, what does this actually mean for you? At best, the forces of justice in your worlds will easily overpower you and you will simply die. At worst, free will itself will be lost and you will join your rivals, practically brainwashed."

The thought of becoming an Amazon made her scoff. Yeah right. Those idiots were long gone, thanks to the Emperor's fatal mistake; and the Emperor himself was probably back in Avalon mending his broken heart! Sure he may have recovered somewhat since their last encounter, but maybe Temptation still had an effect on him. That at least explained why he had not returned to the village after helping her remove the Stone Guardian from the shrine, and after she had told him that he was no longer needed by her.

Even if the Emperor did come back to avenge the Amazons and the Stone Guardian, he would need an absolute miracle to overpower her and her army of men! Rocbouquet thought arrogantly to herself, dismissing Chaos' warning as if it were some kind of absurd joke. Although the God of Discord's words sounded plausible, and conveniently explained why the Ancients who sealed her away may have taken up an interest in interdimensional magic (and why demons may have ravaged the land in the past), Rocbouquet was not about to let on to Chaos that his knowledge of the universe had piqued her interest: She continued to look upon the deity with an unmoved expression.  

"So what do I want? To protect free will of course... Ha, of course not. I don't care what happens to that. I just want to protect my interests. I have no intention of losing to her dirty tricks. But I guess I'm just saying why this whole thing matters to you as well..."

“And what if it doesn't?” Rocbouquet challenged, stepping in front of Chaos with her fists pressed confidently against her hips. She cocked her head to the side and spoke out in a sharp tone: “If you are really a god then you should have already known that I have little patience for drivelers.” Then the enchantress suddenly let out a thoughtful sigh. Although her voice sunk into another of its mellifluous lulls, it was clear that she was still mocking him. “A baby unicorn, this weirdo,” she paused and pointed dramatically at Buggy, ignoring whatever he was shouting about, before continuing, “a swordsman who is nowhere to be seen, and an emperor of all people. Is this really the best you could come up with to 'protect' your interests?”

She quirked her brow and lowered the tone of her voice. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. “I don't care what you want; stop wasting my time with your aimless lectures and tell me why I am needed here with these vermin.”

Chaos Land

As Chaos began talking, the rest of Frieza's unwanted Allies all went quiet for once and started listening. The galactic Tyrant took a sigh of relief, as this was the first time since he was sent to this Realm that he didn't have to put up with Roc's shrill voice and constant whining. All that was left of it, was a faint ringing in his ears, which faded into the echo of Chaos' deep voice.

But sadly this moment was short-lived, as not a moment after Chaos had finished talking, both the Buggy and Rocbouquet started talking. While the Clown immediately followed Chaos' orders, even going as far as calling him 'Boss', the blue-haired girl still wasn't in on the God's demands.

The Emperor laughed into the back of his hand. "As much as I hate to say this I have to agree with her." With that said, he shifted his attention to Buggy. "Hearing you makes me want to throw up, Clown. Protect our worlds? Let me guess, after that we all shall share a glass of orange juice and cuddle? I should have made sure you were dead earlier."

After his outburst there was another brief moment of silence. "Anyway, the woman is right. I don't really care what happens to any world in my Universe. The only thing I care about is myself, and I doubt that any 'force of justice' could come close to my level of power." The Tyrant paused for a moment, thinking everything through. "Although I have to admit that it would be rather unpleasant to be brainwashed. After all I have witnessed what this woman can do with her Abilities. So if you would be so kind as to tell us what to do?"

chaos land

Buggy stood there and waited for anyone to do anything and then Lord Frieza spoke to him and said some pretty rude things. Buggy knew that if he fought Frieza that he truly would die. He went right up to him and said confidently, "Then throw up already you fool..think about this for a second if that brain of yours can. If each of our worlds get taken over by the good guys and each of us gets brainwashed...lets just say that somehow you are able to either stop it or prevent it..how in the heck are you going to defeat every single good natured being in your world? Assuming that they are as powerful or more then you to begin with do you think that being the one can defeat an entire army? Now I know absolutely nothing of your world..Sunset's or Roc's but I'm betting all my treasure i have ever gained that our enemy's in each of our worlds after brainwashing us..would most likely kill us before we have the chance to do anything. Now with that being said..we all..including you..need to listen to the only one who has the most knowledge of what we are dealing with..that is chaos here.."

Sunset found Chaos's story, though easily dismiss-able as the whole thing could just be a crack of horse manure, rather engaging.  Despite not wanting to immediately believe him, the thought of this Cosmos being making the goodies in her world, worlds actually, able to over power so much as to brainwash her into a friendly pony made her sick to her stomach. She mused over his story as the rest of the peanut gallery spoke up.

That lame pirate. Of course he'd grovel to the nearest powerful being. Tch. How disgusting. He may as well join Princess Celestia in making friends and spreading harmony and blech. Her stomach lurched again at the though of her former teacher.

The only reaction to Roc's rambling was a twitch of her ear when the hussy once again called her a baby. She's lucky I don't turn her into a baby, permanently. But the woman had a point, Chaos was wasting their time unless he had something that could satiate her lust for more powerful magic.

Sunset was mildly surprised with the idiot pirate seemed to suddenly grow a pair and talk back to Frieza, rambling about how they had no chance to fight against an army of their enemies.

"Heh, as if that fool Celestia could kill," she muttered under her breath then replied to Buggy's assumption that Chaos actually had knowledge, "How you believe his story so easily? We have no reason to believe he is telling the truth."

She paused, walking slowly closer to the group as she looked upon Buggy and Frieza with contempt.

"You make me sick," she said with a disgusted curl of her lip, "You pathetic lot deserve to be used by Chaos. All he's shown us so far is that he is weak against this Cosmos and her power."

She wouldn't admit that meant they were all weak against Cosmos's power since they barely even survived a fight against Chaos. Sunset turned her attention towards Chaos before continuing.

"Besides IF I were to believe, what's in it for me? I have my own interests, too."

Chaos Land

“......”

As Rocbouquet eyed Chaos impatiently, she couldn't help but overhear the ruckus between Frieza and Buggy going on behind her. What made her finally whip her head over her shoulder and acknowledge them though was Buggy's sudden boost in confidence. What a nuisance! The blue-haired girl let out an exasperated sigh. Despite the unimpressed look on her face, Buggy continued to babble incoherently at Frieza.

“If each of our worlds get taken over by the good guys—”

“—The world expelled its heroes long ago,” Rocbouquet cut in bitterly. “How can a society bear an inherently good nature after it betrayed those who protected it?” The very thought made her blood boil as faded memories of her fierce battles with countless hordes of monsters resurfaced. ...Big brother and Wagnas fought so hard for what we believed in... Rocbouquet shook her head in disappointment. The rest of the world could join her here in Hell for all she cared!

“Now...that being said. We all..need to listen to the only one who has the most knowledge of what we are dealing with..[And] that is Chaos here...”

“......” Her attention was brought back to the conversation as Buggy wrapped up his thoughts by addressing the entire group. She clenched her fists. What? Now he was telling her and the others that they should readily accept the words of a self-proclaimed god? Rocbouquet rolled her eyes. He was almost as bad as Kzinssie! Before she could object to the Star Clown's suggestion, the unicorn spoke up.

"How [do] you believe his story so easily? We have no reason to believe he is telling the truth."

Rocbouquet nodded in agreement with Sunset Shimmer and added with a laugh:

“You sound like the little boys who abandoned their mothers to serve me.” Pausing, she looked Buggy dead in the eye and tutted at him as if she were scolding a child. “Don't you know? The universe is full of deceit: Natural laws are broken, history is forgotten, and gods prey on naiveté. So who's to say that we aren't from the same world, punished by the same fate?” She eyed Chaos expectingly again as she turned away from the group muttering under her breath, “Though I'd be pretty disgusted if you actually came from mine.”

Sunset Shimmer seemed to express a similar contempt toward the others for wasting her time:

"You make me sick. You pathetic lot deserve to be used by Chaos. All he's shown us so far is that he is weak against this Cosmos and her power."

“That's right, isn't it?” Rocbouquet pointed out emphatically, quirking her brow suggestively at Chaos in hopes of provoking a response from him as the unicorn chided Frieza and Buggy before deciding to address him as well.

"Besides IF I were to believe [you], what's in it for me? I have my own interests, you know."

When Sunset finished talking, Rocbouquet looked once more at the God of Discord with a slight pout on her lips that demanded his acknowledgement.

“Now then, I think you have some explaining to do!” she declared.

~Narrative - Chaos Land~

It only took a few seconds after he stopped talking and the clown of the party was already on board. How naive, Chaos thought to himself. Sure, it was convenient to receive minimum opposition, but this just proved that they really could not be trusted. They would mess everything up if they knew the truth, and he has already worked too hard for this to let them ruin it.

He was about to respond to Rocbouquet but the party began bickering among themselves. How unusual. Gathering his much-tested patience, he allowed the woman to finish her usual whining before addressing the group yet again.

"So avoiding death is not good enough for you, I take it? ...Good. I do admire ambition. Perhaps there is something else that might be of interest to you then." He paused for a moment, to grab their attention again.

"Like I said, the actions of Cosmos threaten to disturb the delicate existing balance. If she is successful, her power will prevail in all of the universes out there... So why am I not the one doing this?"

"...The answer is simple. What she is doing is too dangerous. Having infused those crystals with her own power, she has left herself extremely vulnerable. Not only that, but she has also broken the taboo of summoning other warriors into this forbidden realm, which has taken a significant toll on her strength as well."

"If you attempt to thwart her plans, she will certainly show. And right now, she is so weakened that even you might be able to take her on. So, if you happen to be interested in obtaining the powers of a goddess... You could consider this an extra perk."

Waterfall

"I am no longer exhausted," Garland replied in a somewhat terse manner. He was physically rejuvenated, and passing glances towards Angela and Papyrus suggested that they also had been restored by the overflowing radiance of the crystals. If his own case was an example, every injury of theirs had been healed save for their emotions.

After a moment of consideration, the winged mage spoke again with a bit of gentle warmth, like that of a fireplace on a cold winter's night. He didn't want to compound Angela's emotional state with silence, and made the effort to reach out to her with words. For now, it was probably too early for Garland to offer anything resembling a hug or other comforting physical contact.

"Angela, I don't think any of us could have expected to know how those crystals would function. All of us were drawn away from our own worlds, and I believe Samus and Lightning are still with us in spirit."

Chaos Land

Chaos began restating himself, which provoked a grumble from Rocbouquet. Buzz, buzz, buzz. What a gnat! Couldn't he just get to the point already?! She tutted at him impatiently as he continued to drone on and on about Cosmos' actions.

"...And right now, she is so weakened that even you might be able to take her on. So, if you happen to be interested in obtaining the powers of a goddess... You could consider this an extra perk."

A sheen of piqued interest emerged from her dull stare. The jungle queen quickly looked away from the fiendish being to conceal it.

...With the powers of a goddess, I could finally become a full grown woman to impress Wagnas! Rocbouquet reminded herself with a hint of hope in her eyes. Her expression then grew solemn. ...But I want him to pay more attention to me like Noel does, not just because of some powers, she pointed out to herself while sighing. And even if I sacrificed myself to pass on this assimilated divinity to him, there's no saying that he wouldn't suffer a conscience plagued with guilt after experiencing the full extent of my affection for him through my memories....
 
After thinking everything through, the temptress shook her head. “No. I'm not really interested in power,” she declared out loud, glaring at Chaos. He would need to try harder than that if he wanted to convince her!

Papyrus-Waterfall
The sudden flash of light had dissipated, and the party found that their wounds were healed. Papyrus looked at his now healed hands-the gloves had become torn during some point in the most recent battle-and there were no injuries to be seen. Any pain he'd felt within the duration of this journey-this horrible, horrible quest-was gone. It was as if there'd never been any pain in the first place.
And it wasn't fair. Angela began to openly weep and Garland attempted to console her. Hearing him say that the two were present in spirit only made Papyrus feel even worse. Why his injuries gone, when the two had succumb to theirs?

Papyrus gulped back tears as he approached his remaining companions. "My-my house isn't far from here" His voice came out dry and numb. "We need to get there to figure out what to do next."

Papyrus gripped his scarf tightly. "-Before anything else happens." He added softly.

Not interested in power, huh? Well that was just fine by her. More power for the taking! However, she found little room to find trust in Chaos's story. Chaos could just be sending them on a wild goose chase while he goes find the crystals or take her power while they have her distracted. Sunset looked towards the other three, a question forming in her mind.

"If, and if, I decided to give in to your fancy little tale, would I be able to get away from these idiots? She sneered, thinking how she especially wanted to get as far away from Rocbouquet as she possibly good.

"And I'd be lying if I said, I wasn't interested in more powerful magic," she said as she pretended to nonchalantly examine her hoof.

~ Narrative - Chaos Land ~

Chaos pressed his fingers against his forehead at Rocbouquet's dismissal. He took a deep breath - losing his patience right now would do no good. Probably.

"I see. So let's go by your apparent assumption that I cannot convince you by *other* means..." He emphasized on the word as he summoned a fireball, tossing it back and forth between his upper hands for a few seconds, before it went out. "After all, it is true that I would rather not waste more time like this... So, let me get this straight. You are not interested in avoiding death. You are not interested in power. What is it that you *do* want?"

He then turned his attention to Sunset Shimmer, who still seemed skeptical - as any rational being should, that he did not mind - but appeared to consider his words.

"Once you defeat Cosmos, you will most certainly obtain enough power to leave this place even without my aid. You will be practically unstoppable in your home worlds. You should probably use that power wisely... But that doesn't really matter to me."

He briefly glanced among the party of four, before he continued. "However, for now... You have to work together. There is no other option if you want to have a chance."

"You see, this neutral realm is almost sentient in a sense. It strives to remain in perfect balance. For one thing, once Cosmos broke the taboo of summoning foreign warriors into this forbidden place, this taboo was also lifted from summoning an equal number of the opposite allegiance. Which is where you came in."

"Not only that, but... Have you noticed anything off about your powers yet? Perhaps some of you feel that they are significantly weaker. Or they could have become stronger. Fact is, they have been neutralized. Your base power in this realm is exactly the same as for everyone else - resident deities excluded."

He paused for a second, allowing the concept to sink in. "But, no, this does not leave all things to pure luck. While you might be unable to flat out overpower your enemies, there are things that cannot be neutralized. Reflexes. Strategy. Teamwork. *How* you use your powers can make a huge difference to the outcome of your battles here."

Angela - Waterfall

She'd be lying if she said that Garland's words made her feel any better. Almost quite the opposite - saying that their allies would be with them in spirit nearly made her choke again. But she understood that was not his intention. And in any case, their... fall would be in vain if she just gave up like that. That was wrong. So completely wrong.

She stood back up, the two drained crystals in her hand - it seemed like they had exhausted all of their power, but it's true they didn't know how they work. Perhaps they still have surprises in store for them. "Okay... Please lead the way then," she said to Papyrus.

chaos land

Buggy stood there listening to Chaos, Roc, and Sunset...then spoke up, "First thing...SUNSET!! I am not an idiot... I am a great Pirate and if I really wanted to I would take your mane off and shove it somewhere BUT Chaos here says that our powers have been neutralized...and also since No matter what we want at the end other to get back to our homes and lives we should be worried that we might not even get there..now I am not the smartest one here but no matter what we individually want and desire...we have to be LIVING to get it right?? What I'm saying is..no matter how much we hate Freiza... and everyone else...we need to work together..this part might sound weird..but Sunset...Roc...dont you have family back home? Friends... boyfriends...?? don't you wanna go back to them...IN ONE PIECE!!!"

Chaos Land

Rocbouquet was about to mouth off at Chaos again when suddenly, he wanted to know what she desired? Her eyes widened in shock and a weak gasp escaped her lips. She had not expected him to care enough to ask. The enchantress wasted no time providing the God of Discord with a blunt yet confident statement:

“To be loved by all men, but...” Her words trailed off with her gaze, which drifted shyly to the pebbles at her feet. When she spoke up again, she did so in a much softer voice. “One stands out from the rest,” she explained, twirling a long strand of light-blue hair around her fingers, a tactic to distract his attention from her blushing face. “You see, there's this man—Wagnas is his name if it matters at all to you—and well, for centuries now I've wished he would court me. Just thinking of him fills my heart with longing,” Rocbouquet brought the palm of her hand to her cheek and sighed dreamily, “because all I've ever wanted is to be his bride....” Her statement was quickly followed by a violent puff of air from a frustrated outburst of spirits, and an accusatory finger directed at Chaos' face.

“So I will not let some Beelzebub keep me here away from him or my brother!” With those last words, the enchantress fell silent and remained silent for the duration of Chaos' lecture, though her spirits continued to ooze from her hair and let out faint hisses of disapproval whenever Chaos lingered too long on a topic. Each word added to the disorder in her mind, but it was Buggy's question that finally caused her to let out an audible sigh and wonder, Why me? Why not Kzinssie instead? Rocbouquet rolled her eyes. Yes, why did she have to be here, subjected to such idiocy and humiliation without Wagnas or Noel to keep her company? It just wasn't fair!

When Chaos finished speaking, Rocbouquet shot a glare in Buggy's direction and commented, “Out of all the men you could have paired me with, you chose an invisible swordsman, and a seaman named after an insect. So tell me again, why am I needed here? And what makes you think that I, one of the Seven Heroes, should help you? I am not some god's plaything, you know!” she frowned.

...Without my enchantment magic at its full potential, I can't properly protect myself in this realm, yet this god chose me over the others...Why?

OOC:

Garland - Waterfall

An inconspicuous survey suggested to Garland that his words were unsuccessful at offering solace to either of his companions. He sighed inwardly, electing to avoid bringing up the sore subject of their lost allies; it was his own failing to have assumed that either Papyrus or Angela had experienced the kind of repeated personal losses that had instilled the young man with such purpose. Those kind of life events shaped Garland into a rather productive person, albeit at the cost of him potentially losing what few attachments he still held within his homeworld.

Garland took up a rear-facing position behind Angela, as if to intercept incoming threats from that direction while Papyrus led the trio through the strange land. "I'll watch our backs while you guide us there."

A power so powerful she would be...unstoppable? That insufferable Princess Celestia wouldn't know what hit her! It was tempting, oh so tempting. She wanted, no, she NEEDED that power. Yes, yes she would do it. The lust for the power as Chaos continued built up within Sunset. Work together...? Yes yes alright, as long as she got that sweet, delicious power. The more she thought about it the more her desire for having even a small taste of Cosmos's power grew within her. Her desire for it was greater than her dislike of the others. Yes, she would do it. If anything, she could easily outwit the others once they've served their purpose and take all that power for herself. She'd show them. She'd show everyone.

Sunset only half listened as Chaos droned on. Finally, Rocbouquet revealed her desires and of course, it involved a man. Sick. How could anyone want the companionship of another being so much? She visibly gagged at the though, rolling her tongue out with an audible "bleh".

It was when Buggy spoke up that Sunset fully paid attention again. Rocbouquet wasn't the only one shooting a nasty glare his way. Sunset, however, did ignore her whiny pouts as she replied to the insufferable pirate.

"Friends? Family?" she replied, her face darkening as she turned away to face towards Chaos, "I have no need for that. Maybe this doesn't apply to your world but for me, you only have your self to rely on to get what you want."

She paused, finalizing her decision in her mind. It might be a trap but...it was worth it. She'd get that power, kill these gods and make way for her revenge on Equestria's precious Princess. After that, she could move on beyond that pathetic pony world. She could quite possibly rule the universe. She'd be a goddess. It was a beautiful image that she could not resist.

"I'll do it. I'll play your little game, Chaos. Tell me who I need to destroy first."

Papyrus-Waterfall
Even though his wounds had been healed, he could still feel pain. He lost track if it was emotional or not-this entire quest-if that term was applicable anymore-was by far one of the worst experiences Papyrus had ever been through. He was past the point of grief, and wasn't so sure if he was feeling anything at this point. He'd only felt this numb once before-and it was taking him back to a place his memories would rather not revisit. 

Papyrus could only force a nod of acknowledgement toward Garland's offer as he offered his hand to Angela. "Waterfall only has one entrance and one exit-my house is near the entrance." He pointed in the direction opposite of where they had been walking; near an area full of tall, pale-blue flowers.
"We just need to pass the batch of Echo-Flowers growing near the waters-edge, and we'll be out."

echo flower wrote:

It was unsettling-no, disgusting-as to how quickly he wanted to leave waterfall. How strange it was to have such instances turn a beautiful place once full of nostalgia and hope, into a place of darkness and fear. Suddenly, the dark corners of the caverns seemed darker-the glowing lights more ominous then calming; As if beckoning even more disasters to come. 

OOC=please read!:

Chaos Land

The things Chaos said were quite interesting. So this other Goddess named Cosmos has spent a great deal of her power infusing Crystals, as well as summoning her own group of Champions to the Battlefield. Frieza really didn't like the thought of being a soldier in someone else's little war, but as for now there was nothing he could really do about the situation. What really worried him though was Chaos' promise of power if they fought for him. If he really was the God of Discord, he would kill all of them as soon as they defeated Cosmos - at least that is what Frieza would do in his situation.

Another thing that sparked the Alien's interest was the fact that their power has been equalized in this strange dimension. That meant that everyone around him wasn't incredibly strong, but that the Emperor was much weaker than usual. Of course he would. Frieza's self-assured smile slowly came back. It didn't take much effort to figure out why Chaos would take away much of his power: The so-called God feared it. But maybe he could use that to his advantage later and wipe out not only Cosmos and her Soldiers, but also his own Team Members.

"I'll follow you as well, Chaos. It will be a pleasure to kill Cosmos and her precious soldiers of justice."

~ Narrative - Chaos Land ~

'What is it that you *do* want -- in 10 words or less?' Perhaps he should have known better and phrase his question somewhat like that, but it was too late now. Unsurprisingly, the woman simply began sharing the story of her life - or at least that's what it felt like to Chaos.

But it was rather surprising in a way... He tilted his head, looking at Rocbouquet curiously. "Huh. I had not pegged you to be the hopeless romantic type," he stated matter-of-factly. "Well, you already have your enchanting magic," he added on. "With the power of Cosmos, you should be able to achieve a more permanent effect - or at least, a far better hold over his mind. That man should be practically yours with no trouble at all then, but..." He raised an eyebrow. "That's not what you truly want, is it?"

He paused for a few seconds, as if considering her possible choices. He shrugged; "If it's true love you're looking for, can't really help you there... I mean, if you truly choose love over power, you could simply pass on the power of Cosmos to him - if such a gift does not bring him to your side, you might as well give up, honestly..."

He scoffed. "Which would be quite a naive thing to do, I would say. But hey, I don't care enough to judge."

At least it seemed like he was getting through to the other three... And... Wait, didn't she say something about an 'invisible swordsman'? What did she mean by-- oh.

"Oh, the swordsman... Yeah, he sort of died", he nonchalantly informed them. "That blast from before, remember? Which will probably happen to the rest of you if we just keep arguing here and the team of Cosmos gathers the remaining crystals." He closed his eyes, concentrating for a second. "But they've had their losses too..."

Angela - Waterfall

"Echo flowers..." she repeated as they began heading towards the opposite direction. "They look beautiful... Curious name, though." She bent to her knees to smell them - it really was not the time or place, but she needed something to distract her at this point. Forget this hell they were thrown into.

Echo Flower wrote:

'Well??? Is that all you can do? Glow? DO SOMETHING!!!'

"Oh... I get it now." So much for the distraction. She stood back up and resumed her pace.

"So you did not recognize those creatures at all, huh?" she asked Papyrus as they were walking. "So far the enemies were familiar, both to me and to Samus... Maybe there was something different about them," she considered out loud. Not that it made much of a difference. But perhaps if they figured things out, they could know what to anticipate next.

Papyrus-Waterfall
Papyrus, too, had attempted to listen into one of the echo flowers. Monsters of all ages would whisper their secrets and dreams into them-and it was always heartwarming to listen to. From confessions of love to childrens' wishes for birthday presents, Echo flowers were beloved among monster-kind. If he could hear just one of these dreams, just one of these voices echoing back the precious dwindling hope that was within him-it would be worth it. 

Echo Flower wrote:

"LEAVE US ALONE!"
"NO MORE GAMES!"
"WE'RE NOT HERE TO PLAY...TO TALK!...TO DIE! SO GET LOST!"

Papyrus jerked away from the flower abruptly, his heart racing. Was that his voice? It couldn't be! He sounded like a beast, barking a deep-seeded hatred born from the deepest bowels of the underworld! How could  Papyrus even think of speaking in such a way!? How could he have such darkness within him? He gulped heavily and clutched at his scarf. 

What's happening to him?

Light wrote:

"Maybe there was something different about them..."

Papyrus blinked back into reality, just catching the tail-end of Angela's sentence. Papyrus continued to fiddle with his scarf and attempted to talk, hoping, praying that his friends couldn't tell he was losing his courage. 

He gave a wavering smile. "Y-yeah. I guess so..."

Chaos Land

A hopeless romantic? Is that all I am to him?

“...Well, that's so sad,” Rocbouquet began in a shaky voice, clearly offended by Chaos' response. “If a god can't even help me, then I guess I couldn't care less what becomes of anybody or any world. Merely existing like this isn't enough—I want attention. You're right though that I don't want Wagnas' affection to be the result of my enchantment magic. It would be wrong of me to manipulate him like that because Wagnas means more than anything to me: I would even sacrifice myself for him if it became necessary for his plans.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But you—I don't trust you. You act like you understand me, but you only say what you think will pique my interest because you expect me to risk my life for nothing in return. If anything, you should have summoned Orieve or one of those other traitors in my place.”

“They're the ones who wanted to flee to another dimension like a bunch of cowards when the demons appeared; but Subier, Bokhohn, Kzinssie, Wagnas, Dantarg, big brother, and I...We stayed behind to fight! We saved the world from the monsters when the rest of our tribe wanted to abandon it. And what did they do to express their gratitude? Double-crossed us and then banished us because our assimilation magic was deemed unorthodox by the council! Is this the treatment a hero deserves? To be banished to another dimension and left to rot?!”

“I didn't want any of this. I just wanted to be with my brother and Wagnas wherever they went. Now I'm stuck somewhere else, with a bunch of worthless vermin; and although my work for Wagnas is safe with me, he will never have access to it as long as I am trapped here!”

What made matters worse for Rocbouquet though was that there didn't seem to be anything she could do about Chaos or her predicament. Realizing this, she brought her hands to her face and collapsed to her knees in defeat. Her spirits wavered faintly above her head. Their moaning sounded like a heart breaking.

“...I've failed Wagnas,” she lamented melodramatically. “Just kill me already so that I can go back to my body.........................” There was a long pause. “Wait a minute!” she suddenly gasped, lifting her head away from her hands in an epiphany. “My body!” Right. This wasn't her original body! And although Wagnas wanted to rule over the land from the sky like a god, the main point of the task he had assigned her was to help Noel research the towers so that he and the others could break the seal preventing their real bodies from returning! Duh. The temptress' cheeks reddened. She felt foolish for letting her affections get the best of her.

Rocbouquet quickly retreated to her thoughts to reflect on some of Chaos' previous points. She briefly recalled the unicorn asking about leaving this dimension, which Chaos confirmed would be possible without his assistance as long as the group obtained Cosmos' powers. He had also stated that they would be "practically unstoppable in their home worlds," suggesting that their newly obtained abilities would maintain the same intensity across all dimensions. A goddess like Cosmos would likely have enough power and proficiency in divine magic to form a galactic rift! And that was one spell Rocbouquet knew she would never be able to learn in her current state. Cosmos. Cosmology. Of course! It all made sense now.

We wouldn't need the artifacts or the inscriptions if I could create a dimensional rift for us instead. Further research on the towers wouldn't be necessary either....

Unable to contain herself, she pumped a clenched fist into the air and shouted a triumphant but short-lived Eureka! having realized that the others were still standing around her, probably clueless as to what she was on about now. That was their problem though, not hers. Rocbouquet took in a deep breath. She looked long and hard at the God of Discord from her position on the ground until her pale face turned a beet red. She let out a sigh. With her exhale returned her innocent young smile. Not that it would help her avoid the wrath of a god at this point.  

“I think I understand now,” Rocbouquet stated.

This is exactly what Wagnas wants!

~ Narrative - Chaos Land ~

Apparently, the woman did not share the story of her life before. It was merely an introduction. And of course, she had no intention on sparing them any details now. He closed his eyes, pressing the fingers of his upper left hand against his forehead. Did Cosmos ever deal with people like that too? Does he really have to? He could sense that the opposing team had already lost two of its party members. Which wasn't supposed to happen either -- how did they even manage to get themselves defeated before they even got any serious opposition? That was not the purpose of those lesser monsters.

He sighed; at this rate his plan would go downhill. And as if that were not bad enough on its own, he also had to deal with this circus of a team. He looked back at Rocbouquet -- who had apparently stopped talking for some time now. Oops. Should he pretend that he listened to any of her ramble?

"Okay," he replied to her, not even sure what he was agreeing with. Her acceptance? Refusal? A request? He could probably work with it either way. The other three were on board - it should no longer matter what she does.

"You should probably get going, then -- time is of the essence. Defeat the warriors of Cosmos before they release the power of the remaining crystals. Before it's too late..." he addressed the group - he still was not certain if she were planning to join them, but left it ambiguous enough. He extended an arm forward, a black crystal materializing on his hand. He tossed it to Frieza, figuring he looked somewhat more dependable than the others. Maybe Sunset would do too, but he was not sure if she could actually catch it - hooves were probably a bit inconvenient for that task.

"This crystal resonates with the opposing power of Cosmos," he explained. "Simply hold on to it, while maintaining contact with each other, and it will teleport you close to the next crystal -- the one closest to the warriors of Cosmos."

"However, I cannot tell exactly how close you get to the crystal, and after you teleport, it will be hard to pinpoint *which* way to head," he warned. "Or you could choose to simply start walking towards the source of the forcefield that those two saw - and felt - before," referring to Sunset and Rocbouquet. "We know that's where they were before - but it's still uncertain if they were heading towards or away from this place..."

He shrugged. "Whatever you think is best..."

Angela - Waterfall

Papyrus still seemed visibly shaken from that awful battle they had to go through. Angela made no further comment, and continue to follow him, walking through the linear path ahead of them.

She glanced over to Garland. "Um... Thanks about before." She wasn't sure if she had to explain further. The man did try his best to comfort her, and she had not acknowledged it in the slightest. Sure, it had not been all that effective as his choice of words had struck a sensitive chord instead, but it's the thought that counts after all.

"I appreciate it," she added. "I suppose you were right anyway, but... it's not easy." She sighed. "We'll just have to do our best from now on. For them... And for our worlds..." she trailed off. They had to do this. To protect the important people they had back there.

Chaos Land

Finally they were making some progress. The Galactic Tyrant caught the Crystal Chaos tossed at him with one hand. It really wasn't at heavy as it looked, and Frieza was sure that even Rocbouquet would be able to lift it with ease. He stretched out his tail with a sigh. "If you could please all hold on to me, so we can get this over with? I still have an empire to rule." Frieza was actually kind of curious about these so called 'Heroes'. Were they just as worthless as all the other Heroes he has killed, or would they be at least a little bit better?

Garland - Waterfall

From the corner of his hearing, Garland could almost swear that he heard himself call out for Samus. That must have been the echo flower which Papyrus warned about, yet such knowledge was of little comfort to the magician's disposition.

When Angela turned to address him, Garland paused and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes in deep reflection. Maybe that would draw attention away from his watering eyes..

"It never is easy, Angela; I should be apologizing to you. As a guildleader and public speaker, I could have thought of a better way to express that feeling. I'm no stranger to personal losses, and I should have been more considerate of you and Papyrus."

Sunset half listened to Chaos words as she watched the crystal fly from his hand to Frieza's. Her horn glowed briefly as she thought to intercept it but Frieza caught it instead. Frustrated, she ground her teeth. He essentially chose that fool to be the leader!

"You should have given that to me! I'm clearly the one best at magic here," she stomped her hoof in frustration and continued muttering under her breath about studying for hours and the intelligence of the others. When Frieza offered out his tail, she sighed, rolling her eyes.

Begrudgingly, she walk to him and just lightly touching Frieza with the tip of her hoof, as if he was a diseased creature. How disgusting and beneath her. No matter. The gears in her head turned as she began formulating a plan on getting the crystal into her possession. This demonic monkey had no claim to it, no matter what strength he boasted.

"Let's just get this over with as fast as possible."

Chaos Land

An eye twitch was inevitable with a noncommittal response like okay. And so was a fake smile. Rocbouquet forced her lips to remain in an upright position despite an upwelling urge to lash out again at the self-proclaimed God of Discord. In contrast, faint traces of phantoms rose from her hair without restraint and loomed ominously over her head. She let out a soft groan and then jumped up from the ground. Her self-calming sigh was enough to dissipate the moaning wisps.

That bastard didn't even listen to a single word I said, did he?

Whatever. His ignorance would do him in once Wagnas achieved full divinity. In the mean time, he could busy his mind with every last misconception of the world for all she cared. What mattered now was that she had an idea of how the Seven Heroes might be able to use the goddess' divine magic to break themselves free from imprisonment, and that alone put the her at ease with herself and the current situation. No need to reopen a portal to Avalon or sacrifice her current vessel for Wagnas if Cosmos' powers would enable her to skip right to their end-goal, she figured.

Rocbouquet's head perked up at the sound of Chaos' voice responding to her at last. She was not disappointed by what he had to say: You better get going was probably the best phrase to leave his mouth yet.

“Finally getting to the point, I see,” Rocbouquet couldn't help but comment while watching Chaos toss the doubly-terminated black crystal to Frieza. The unicorn's attempt to "intercept" the throw was pretty pathetic. The temptress sneered at the creature's response. “Best at magic? Clearly not,” she observed with a snicker as the animal proceeded to mutter under its breath about its academic accomplishments while Chaos droned on about the crystal's powers.

Looking back at Chaos, Rocbouquet feigned a lack of interest, frowning as if the simple task of maintaining physical contact was an absolute burden to her very existence. Internally however, she was already fantasizing about the romantic things Wagnas might whisper into her ears after learning how she outwitted a self-proclaimed god just for his hand in marriage. She let out a flattered sigh. Yeah that's right. Wagnas would be so impressed, Rocbouquet reassured herself. He'd compliment her diligence and then finally accept her into his arms as his bride. She wouldn't have to give up on him like that stupid Beelzebub suggested.

When Chaos finished speaking, Rocbouquet heaved her shoulders forward and let out an intentionally ornery-sounding whine. “Fine. I'll go, but don't you dare think anything of it,” she warned Chaos, crossing her arms like a stubborn child. “I'm not fighting for you or your cause; I'm simply following an order from Wagnas to learn more about interdimensional magic. You better know the difference.”

She turned her head away from him. It was then she realized the others were just about ready to leave. “...H-hey! Don't leave without me!” she wailed, dashing over to them. Rocbouquet stopped abruptly behind the unicorn and grabbed onto its red and yellow tail. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the energy radiating from the crystal in Frieza's hands.