a land of magic | group one

[Oswin Oswald]

It was only the second time Oswin had woken up somewhere that hadn't been familiar to her at all. The first time, she'd woken in a graveyard in London, and immediately been whisked away by a Time Lord and his police box, never once looking back on where she'd landed. So much time had past, Oswin had begun to think that nothing would ever come between her and her adventures now. She had the Doctor and Em, and she had the universe at her fingertips. There was a permanent place for her on the TARDIS now, a place that would have never been hers, had it not been for whatever had bought her back to life. After a year of being locked away, after finding out what she'd become, finally something good had happened.

So, one can understand why Oswin had been more than a little upset when she'd woken up to find herself in the middle of a forest instead of her bedroom on board the TARDIS. At first, remaining calm had been easy. She'd just flipped open her communicator, and attempted to radio the Doctor. The TARDIS must have malfunctioned, she figured, and dropped her off here. When he hadn't answered, that was when she'd begun to get worried. Maybe the signal wasn't right here, Oswin had thought. After all, it might be better somewhere else. And, that was how she came to be wandering around the Enchanted Forest, clad only in what she'd fallen asleep in. And she was really regretting the decision to sleep in nothing but an over-sized t-shirt.

"Doctor?" Oswin paused to rest against a tree and try again, thankful she'd at least been wearing her communicator when she'd fallen asleep. The device never left her wrist, and though it had yet to link back to the TARDIS' communications, it was Oswin's last hope. She didn't want to think of what would happen, should she not be able to make contact. Would the Doctor keep looking for her? Of course, he would, she had to reassure herself. What was the Doctor without his companion? Surely, he cared enough about her to go looking throughout time and space...but, would he know where this was? Her utility belt had a homing device attached to it, but it was back in her bedroom, not around her waist.

With a sigh, Oswin slide down to sit under the tree, pulling her knees up to her chest and allowing herself a moment of weakness. Just a moment and then it would be back to searching for some way out, some way to contact the Doctor. Wherever this place was, Oswin couldn't stay here, not when she now knew what it was like to have complete freedom of space and time. Already, this place seemed constricting, as if there were invisible walls pressing on all sides. Now, however, she was far too exhausted to go on without a rest. Flipping her communicator open, she sighed. "Doctor? You there?" By this point, she didn't have much hope that he'd answer...but, there was still a chance.

[Mithos]

When Mithos first woke up, for a single moment he almost could believe that he was back in his own realm - the trees and the air, alive with mana, both seemed to hint at it. But then the memories came crashing back, of dying, of all the betrayals he had suffered. The discovery that he was somewhere completely unfamiliar was not really a relief, but it eased his panic a little. He still had to work out a way to revive Martel again with her chosen vessel rebelling, and find a way to reach Derris Kharlan and the Great Seed, but...

He could do it. All he needed was time to think of something. He could earn back the Eternal Sword - surely Lloyd had grown overconfident with him dead - and deal with them all at once. The rest that mattered - Genis and Raine - he could convince to become lifeless beings. They would see how much better it was once Martel was alive again, how the world was better off. No hatred, no suffering.

The reminders of his goals seemed a little heavy now, burdens instead of anything he could actually achieve, but that would change once he got back. For now, though, this place was just another obstacle, and once he knew where he was... well, then he would find a way back. To Storybrooke, if nothing else. Regina seemed to genuinely believe and feel sorry for him, and he didn't want to cut short such a useful connection just yet. Getting to his feet and brushing at his clothes idly, he picked a direction and set off - only to hear someone's voice, not that far off.

Having heightened angelic senses always worked out to his advantage - changing directions, he schooled his expression to a more cautious one. As if he was alone and helpless, just like his initial awakening after his death.

"Er... hello? Is someone there?"

[Regina Mills]

Regina was surprised to find that even now, after all these years, she knew the main roads that wound through this part of the forest by heart - this had been part of her former kingdom, after all. Previously, when she had assumed that the curse breaking meant returning to the Enchanted Forest, she had responded to the very idea with little more than dread and disdain. This was not a place of happy memories for her. This was the place that had denied her her happy ending, where most of the people she'd known had been interested mostly only in using or breaking her - the place where she had become the evil queen. Actually being here now, though, was having a very strange and unpredicted effect on her. It was an odd sense of nostalgia - but more than that, it was the magic that hummed in the air, the warm familiarity that greeted her, that undeniable sense of belonging that hadn't quite been present in Storybrooke. This was her world - and once, it had been her home. If circumstances had been different, she would have felt confident and in her element.

Given that she'd been forcefully dragged through the portal, and that the only other three inhabitants of this world - as far as she knew, anyway - were Mr. Gold, Captain Hook, and Cora, Regina was finding it extremely difficult to feel at ease. But if her mother was trapped here, if she had no way of ever breaking free and terrorizing anyone in Storybrooke ever again, then she had accomplished what she'd wanted to. Perhaps defeating her mother had always meant sacrificing herself in the process. She doubted it was a loss that most of Storybrooke would mourn, and Henry...well, Henry had Emma. And Snow, and Charming, and Oswin, and everyone else who'd grown to care about him. She would miss him terribly; the very thought of never seeing him again made her heart ache, but...he would be alright now.

After briefly discussing what had happened, Regina and Gold had come to the very mutual decision to part ways. This, she was reminded, was why their alliances never lasted for very long. They simply could not go for more than a few minutes without bickering. Regina was more than content to be on her own, but the question remained...what did she do now? Where did she go from here? She could return to her castle, she supposed, but she couldn't imagine she'd survive for very long in an empty world without completely losing her mind. Perhaps she would seek Cora out, eventually, or perhaps Cora would seek her out first. Perhaps they were simply destined to finish each other off - and oddly, the idea didn't frighten Regina as much as it once had. What did she have to live for now? The knowledge that she had nothing more to lose at her mother's hands was oddly...comforting, and she felt a strange sense of momentary peace.

That peace was abruptly shattered when, to her utter surprise, a familiar, inquiring voice sounded from the clearing ahead. Regina immediately went still, not daring to make any sound in case they spoke again - for she almost immediately assumed she'd imagined the voice. Surely there couldn't be more people here. It didn't make sense. Cautiously, she moved forward, bracing herself in case this was some sort of trick - she wouldn't put it past Cora to orchestrate this sort of trap. As she entered the clearing and stopped short, however, she found no trap. What she found was far more startling.

Her gaze shifted between the two familiar faces, her expression bewildered. Slumped underneath a tree, wearing no more than an oversized t-shirt, was Oswin - and across the clearing, looking entirely confused, was Mithos. But how...how was this possible? They couldn't be here. They hadn't even been present when she and Mr. Gold had set their plot into action. Panic almost immediately gripped at her. If spending the rest of her life here was her fate, she could come to accept it - but seeing one of the only real friends she'd had in quite some time and the orphaned child she'd grown to care about trapped here as well was a little more than she could bear. Especially with the ever-present threat of Cora looming over them. "What are you two doing here?" she murmured breathlessly at last, eyes wide.

[Alucard]

There was something about this place that struck him as slightly....odd. It wasn't anywhere he was familiar with, and for some reason he couldn't define....he couldn't simply fade out and go back to where he had been before. It was mildly bothersome...but it was quite curious, as well. There were scarce few things that could have held him before, and with the powers of that little cat, Schrodinger....there was virtually nothing that could hold him.

He had been wandering the forest for some time now, it felt like. No matter how much he thought over where he might be, it did not look at all familiar. Even the phone his Master sometimes insisted he carry was of no use, having lost signal.

He slowly turned his gaze to one side, his heavily tinted sunglasses flashing with an eery golden light as he did so. He had heard...voices. Faint, and not exactly what he would call near, but it was impossible to mistake. A single step and he seemed almost to melt into the shade of a tree, disappearing.

Only moments later, the dull gleam of his glasses could be seen, peering out from the unnaturally thick shadow sprawling across the ground from a large tree. Stepping out from it, he let his gaze sweep across the other three individuals there. Two of them seemed just as lost as he was. The third, however....she seemed to at least know what this place was, and maybe even where.

"My, my...we seem to have quite the predicament." His voice rolled out smoothly, with just the barest trace of his usual mocking, sarcastic, venomous tone. He was at least making an effort to be sociable and cordial, given the situation.

[Steve Rogers]

OOC: posting in this thread, as Henry or Jefferson have not posted past the one post they did.

Walking with Henry, if he comes with him, the two were looking for anyone else and a place for cover as Steve knew that the forest could be dangerous at night, especially if it is an unknown forest. As Steve walked, he listened to Henry as he spoke of this forest and asked questions as to how Henry knew where they were. As they moved and got deeper into the forest, Steve stopped and got out a compass and got his directions and bearings and kept heading East.

As he walked, he slowed and listened as he heard voices and looked at Henry as he stopped them. "I think there is someone here, but I am not sure. So stay close and be quiet, he says to him as he moves and walks towards the noise as he pulls his shield off his back and puts it on his left arm. As they walk, he slows as he gets behind a tree and looks around it. Seeing a few people, dressed in familiar clothing he was aware of worn in the Twenty Century. Blinking, he looks and ponders as he turns back to Henry.

"Looks like we are not the only ones here," he states as he walks on, ready for anything as he looks around with his eyes as he approaches Oswin, Mithos, Regina and Alucard. "Hello," he says to them as he gets closer to them. Looking at those here, Steve blinks as he sees one who he knows. "Mrs. Mills," he states to her as he nods his head. "I believe that someone else is here, that you know," he adds as he gestures towards Henry. "Is everyone ok?" he asks them as he stands there with Henry.