[closed] I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be back in the ballroom swingin'

[mutedbackbeat]

Characters: Alex, Blossom, Derrick, Foxx, Jack, Sanji, Tanaka
Location: Present Day Xavier Institute & 1800's Someplace, North America
Time: February 19 (before Tony Stark's stuff) and 1800's
Content: A ragtag bunch of misfits rescue two students in the past
Format: Action. There's seven people doing time travel chaos here; let's make this a

Comments

[love_hurricane]

"WhoaAUNGH-!"

Not perhaps the most inspiring or enterprising speech to make when you've just successfully time-travelled back about two hundred years, but really, if the portal was going to situate itself on a rocky incline right in front of a tree, you could perhaps forgive the chef for falling face-first into it.

"Damnit..." Nursing the scratches on the side of his face, Sanji retrieved his hat and stood up whilst surveying the landscape he'd been deposited in. He appeared to be near the back of a small copse of trees at the top of a sort of ridge, the midsummer sun beating down relentlessly from the azure sky and soaking the country below in shades of brilliant green and pearl white light. The heat didn't affect him, but without his sunglasses he was grateful for the shade of the brim allowing him to see, as he pulled it firmly over his eyes as he set off half-running half-sliding down the slope towards the sound that had caught his attention the moment he'd arrived.

Hooves and wheels.

The sound of creaking tarpaulin and timber growing as he skimmed over rocks and shrubs buoyed up the hope that this mad adventure had planted in his chest; it couldn't be anyone else, surely? The natives could have been given one or stolen one, perhaps, but not a whole parade like he could hear ahead of him. This was the closest match in time and space that they had been able to pin down for both students, it just had to be them... he didn't have time for it not to be.

Skidding down the last few metres of the ridge, that seemed to have become more vertical and cliff-like as he'd proceeded, he landed with much more grace than his arrival into the tree. The front riders of the caravan couldn't help but gape as they pulled the horses to a halt, as a pale-skinned man entirely clad in black, face shadowed from sight, seemed to appear out of a cloud of dust ahead of them, hailing them in a decidedly laconic way.

"Hey."

He nodded up amiably at one of the most famous men in history; "Hate to trouble you, but I believe two of your company need to depart with me here."

[inspirethefire]

Hajime shared a small smile with Blossom--it had gotten easier to do that, after months in her company. Having real familiarity in all this mess did a wonder on keeping him grounded now and again. The trek had been long and hard in many different ways, but at least neither of them had gone it alone.

"Does that mean the expedition is nearing its end?" He really had no clue what they were supposed to do whenever the traveling was finished, but that wasn't what he was interested in: he still wasn't planning for being here. They'd find a way out, first. He kept on telling himself that whenever this topic arose. "It's good we've managed this much." There had been some dangerous scrapes, but careful use of their powers had seen them through this far.

Hajime found himself moving to push up his glasses, despite the fact that the lenses had cracked to near uselessness during an incident crossing the river a couple months back. "The weather is finally starting to let up, so traveling will be easier, supposedly. Our biggest worry at this point, I think, would be hostile natives, but who knows what other surprises may come our way." Though, the more problems they had, he figured, the more likely their efforts would be written down for the future. It was to their advantage.

The thought was brought to a sudden halt as the wagon did about the same; Hajime had gotten used to the jerking of their transport, but it was far too early in the day to come to a stop. He heard voices from outside, and he furrowed his brow, before standing up. "That's odd..." He moved to the opening in the back of the wagon, assuming that Blossom would follow suit.

Poking out to get a look at the scene, Hajime blinked through the dust and sun to see a stranger approaching them. Without his glasses in working order, it might have taken him a moment to recognize the impeccable suit, or the curtain of hair over one eye, or the distinct eyebrow. But it didn't take anything extra for the boy to recognize that voice.

"S...Sanji!"

[knowledgeblooms]

"Well, sort of. They still have to head BACK to the east after they reach the west coast. After all, Lewis and Clark have to share their notes and reports with the rest of civilization," Blossom explained, recalling to the best of her ability what she could remember about Lewis and Clark. Usually in school they focused on the journey to the west and didn't really deal much with what happened on the journey back east. Still, it couldn't be too much trouble to going back if they stuck to roughly the same route.

She shrugged, "Hostile natives, mishaps in the journey, sickness. I don't think I have to point out to you the hundreds of things that could befall a pioneer out here." Probably not the best topic, but Blossom felt that they'd made it this far. Surely they could make it back East in one piece. Or better yet, the present day. Blossom liked to think about that possibility more than any other.

The wagon lurched to a halt and Blossom set her journal aside, looking just as confused as Hajime. Blossom always paid close attention when Lewis or Clark talked about their schedule and they weren't supposed to stop for another few hours. Blossom scrambled over to peak out with Hajime and her eyes widened more at the fact that Hajime recognized him than anything. She didn't frequent the kitchens enough to recognize the cook by face, but Blossom was on top of things. She recognized the name, "From the Institute?!" Could this be it?

[love_hurricane]

It was unusual to hear the usually confident and obnoxiously loud voice stutter like that, but there was no mistake; that was Hajime. Leaning around Sanji had to catch himself before he looked too surprised (or relieved) at the sight; sure enough, there was Tanaka, hanging out of the side of a wagon with the most broken lenses he'd ever seen and a pretty girl who for all the world might as well have not been dressed up as a boy at all (the cook had a certain knack for noticing the presence of a lady, after all). Still, his joy was also considerably tinged with guilt and sadness; he looked older, thinner, more worn down, and no doubt she was the same- just how long had they had to survive out here? Sanji couldn't imagine what would have happened if they hadn't been picked up by the travellers.

Turning back to the gentlemen at the front he nodded his admittance quickly before setting to trot towards the two students.

"Do excuse me; I'm afraid it's a matter of urgency..."

The other members of the expedition, similarly looking out to see what the cause of this unprecedented pause was, seemed to react in various ways to this dark-clothed stranger, but astonishment seemed to be a recurring theme, and goodness, but what a curious eyebrow the fellow had! Not that Sanji was paying any attention to any of them, as he pulled up in front of the pair's transport with a brief, radiant grin, which was followed by a very apologetic and very sincere bow.

"I'm so sorry I'm late."

[inspirethefire]

It was--Sanji was here. How had he--? Hajime couldn't get much of a good look at the man, but he could see the way the chef carried himself, the flame of confidence as he neared. That wasn't the confused or uncertain of someone who'd gotten randomly thrown back in time. Sanji was here on purpose. He had come for them. "Yes. Yes, he's from the Institute."

Hajime managed to swallow around the colossal lump in his throat as Sanji came to a stop in front of them. He set his jaw, and gave Sanji a nod in return. "I'm... glad you got our message."

The startled reaction of the other travelers was starting to evolve into confusion. It was odd enough that a strange man would appear before them in unsettled land, and then to approach the young men traveling with them was simply suspicious. They'd traveled together for months now; it was unlikely that they'd be so willing to let the teens go off on their own.

[knowledgeblooms]

Despite Sanji's politeness Blossom knew that the other explorers weren't going to stay quiet about this for long. They were like a small family after a year of travel and a stranger popping up like this in unexplored territory was just unheard of. The fact that he apparently wanted to take the two teens off somewhere. Well, Blossom could only imagine what they were thinking.

She blinked at Sanji's bow. He really was sincere about being late. Blossom shook her head, "I figured there might be trouble pin pointing the exact coordinates in time. It's why I tried to leave as many hints as possible to our location in both space and time." Clearly it had helped since Sanji was here.

Blossom glanced at the line of wagons, each with explorers growing antsier by the second. They could tell Brick and Hajime knew this bloke and were wondering when the boys would offer an explanation. Blossom sighed, "I'm going to regret this." Suddenly the cloth of the wagon blew outward as Blossom flew out of the wagon and zipped through the wagon train. In the wake of her pink trail of speed there were thuds and cries of 'oof' as Blossom, in less than a second, had knocked out everyone in the party.

She hovered at the front once the deed was done, quickly scrawling out a letter and tucking it into the breast pocket of Lewis. She'd miss the man as they had often discussed various matters of science and nature. Sacajawea was also someone she would miss because the woman had taught her a lot about tracking and navigating, but there was no time to explain everything. Hopefully the letter would help and convey the thanks that Blossom and Hajime couldn't express.

Blossom flew back to Hajime and Sanji, "They should wake up in a little bit so whatever contraption you used to get here we better get to it." She hadn't hurt them too much and they likely wouldn't even be bruised when they woke up. She just hope they forgave her. Blossom took a deep breath, trying not to think too much about it. She would never see this group of men again but not only that...she was finally going home.

[love_hurricane]

Somehow Hajime's reply only made him wince mentally, but that made no sense, so he chose to ignore that it ever happened. He was about to extravagantly compliment Miss Blossom in response to her kindness (he had to recover some of his usual self, and she had been so wonderfully intelligent about the whole affair~!), but suddenly where she was... wasn't where she was. In fact it was very difficult to see where she was at all, until about three seconds later as she swooped back to them, the cook observing the alarmingly efficient job with awe and appraisal.

"... well that helps matters somewhat."

No doubt the kids' disappearance would be blamed on the mysterious gentleman that had just appeared out of the wilderness, but Sanji would just have to hope the explorers didn't worry themselves too much or search for them for too long, as there were other things to think about.

He nodded back up at the ridge, which would be considerably more difficult to go up than it had been to go down, but hardly impossible (for those that couldn't fly, anyway, and he would hardly have his pride suffer asking Miss Blossom for help).

"The portal is at the top of those trees, we'd better hurry, it's not exactly Stark material."

He was already running as he continued to explain; "Jack Spicer managed to cobble it together with Miss Foxx, it worked but we have no way of telling how long it'll stay running. Your friend Derrick is powering it, Miss Blossom." He smiled up at her with a very clear mark of respect behind his eyes; "You have a very loyal companion there."

[inspirethefire]

As he saw the blazes of the other explorers flickering with distrust and uncertainty, Hajime's mind raced to put together some way out of the potential confrontation. Even if all their time had been spent together to build up trust, asking them to trust in this departure wouldn't go over well.

Before he could act on the worry, though, Blossom had taken charge, and in a blur, the others had suddenly slumped where they sat. The boy gawked a moment, before pulling himself together and biting his lip. It would be a frustrating point for them to wake up and find the pair vanished, but it was something that had to be done.

Though Sanji was already moving back towards wherever he'd parked his time rift, Hajime paused before the unconscious group, giving them a sharp bow. "Thank you for watching over us! Your kindness shall not go forgotten!" He spread his arms wide. "Good luck on the rest! OSU!"

That taken care of, he turned back after the others. He didn't know any of the people who Sanji mentioned to be helping the process, but That didn't change the feeling of gratitude welling inside him; for them to go through so much effort, to get them back, it was astounding. "We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer than we already have, then."

[knowledgeblooms]

Blossom glanced towards the trees but she really couldn't see anything from here. She nodded though, keeping her speed in check because she didn't want to leave the boys behind, even if deep down she wanted to fly at top speeds towards that rift and finally be HOME. Pausing with Tanaka, Blossom smiled slightly, "I left the a little letter. Hopefully it will help them understand and express our gratitude."

The girl dressed as a boy followed after Sanji, hovering over the grass since she hadn't had many opportunities to use her powers over the past year. It felt good to be able to freely use them again, plus it made the journey ahead easier. She stopped and hovered in the air for a moment when Sanji mentioned Derrick. While Blossom had been trying to guess who could have powered a time machine she never would have pegged Derrick for it. Her eyes widened and she quickly flew forward again to keep level with Sanji, "Derrick is?! B-but how?"

It occurred to her even as she asked. It had been a year (or over a century, depending how you looked at it) since she'd sat with Derrick in that tree and he'd shown her the blue lights of energy. They had planned to practice with them and figure out how they worked. Had Derrick learned the secret or was he just experimenting himself. Blossom resisted the urge to smack her palm to her forehead, "If that's the case we really better hurry. I don't know how long Derrick can keep those energy orbs going." Clenching her hands into fists, Blossom pushed onwards. Now, not only were THEY in trouble of getting left behind if the time rift cut out, but Derrick was probably in risk of passing out...or worse.

She shook such thoughts aside. Her only focus now should be getting herself and the two men with her to the portal. They had to make it because so many people were helping them to do it. Like Tanaka said, they'd left them waiting long enough.

[love_hurricane]

Sanji smiled at how she responded to the mention of Derrick, but nodded curtly at Hajime and Blossom's observation; they needed to get back, and fast.

"Me neither, but he'll be doing his best, I'm sure. Although..." he paused to help pull Hajime up the first step of the cliff, "There's something else you should know. I'm not sure how long you two have been here, but I'm guessing it's a lot longer than it's been for us in the present."

It was easier push himself up the incline at a run than it was to look at the pair, but he managed to do so, if with a slightly odd expression; "You disappeared about two days ago."

He couldn't say anything more on it, but there was so much more to say- they would have aged more than their classmates, seen and gone through so much more, over come trials and hardships and won friendships and talents... he couldn't think how to express his guilt, but then, he didn't know how they would react.

He kept running.

[inspirethefire]

Blossom's staggered flicker of surprise and worry gave Hajime another boost of determination. Whoever these people were working to get them back home, if they were in any sort of trouble due to the effort, then they couldn't waste any time, as ironic as the statement was in this particular circumstance.

As the three made the clamber of the cliff--or rather, the two did while the third hovered along, Hajime felt a mounting notion of foreboding as Sanji spoke, but only gave the chef another glance as he revealed how long they had been gone.

It made sense that there would be a dissonance between the present and past. It couldn't have been all that easy to narrow down a time closer to when they had entered, and he should be glad enough that they had gotten to him this quickly. And after all... it meant that they hadn't spent months without helping them. Two days was good. He didn't have to catch up on anything, this way.

"I see." And he kept pace alongside Sanji.

fyi, based on post below, blossom goes through timey wimey portal first

[knowledgeblooms]

When the boys allowed her, Blossom would help get them up cliffs. She wasn't sure what it was about boys and their pride about being helped by girls, but apparently even after centuries that hadn't changed. It's part of the reason she'd cross-dressed in the first place.

She paused, she'd also been looking ahead for any sign of the rift in time. However, at Sanji's acknowledgment that there was something they should know she looked back. Her eyes widened considerably, "We what? Two days?" How was that---well, no, she knew HOW it was possible. She supposed she should be glad that the Professor and her sisters hadn't had time to fret too much about her...that they haven't despaired and given up on her. But...two days...after being stuck in this time for a year. It was mind boggling to say the least. Blossom bit her lip and pressed forward along with Sanji. She could think about the ramifications later.

"Right, let's keep moving."

Duly noted! o7

[love_hurricane]

Making the ascent as swiftly as he could, Sanji was grateful for Blossom's assistance when she offered it, but it was true, he was outrageously stubborn about these sorts of things, and would sooner die than lay an extra burden on a lady. Even in the literal way.

"Had to... pin-point a time that we could be sure of exactly where you were... and when you were both together." Jumping up a few extra plateaus he waited for Hajime to catch up before putting on an extra burst of speed for the last stretch, he had a horrible foreboding sensation in his chest that he couldn't shake off...

"By the time we had a fixed date and set of co-ordinates, I guess history had written itself. Ah, here..." Clearing the last few trees they came out of the copse to see the large, ungainly metal construction that looked about as home on the ridge of the past as an elephant did in a lift. Sanji gave the tree directly in front of the gateway a resenting glance before nodding at them both.

"Ladies first."

Time limits be damned, he had principles.