Chương 68: Regina Does a Thing

Regina's arms were still wrapped around Seraphina and Celestia as they materialized before Elena's eyes in a corner of the room. She jumped up from her chair and rushed to get Alex.

"Alex!" she called through the doorway of the adjoining room.

"It worked! Come quick!" she said, rushing back to the middle of the room.

"Get off of me!" Seraphina said, pushing Regina off. Regina pulled back quickly, her eyes adjusting to the change in light. The room was unexpectedly spacious, with smooth metallic walls that reflected soft ambient light from recessed panels overhead. A faint hum vibrated beneath the floor, subtle and steady, like the heartbeat of a well-tuned machine. She could not help but make comparisons to what Elios had constructed versus Elena's setup.

She had fully expected to be crammed into a refrigerator reject with the pair of fairies, surrounded by green ominous liquids oozing in canisters, electrical buzzing, and clunky machinery. Instead, this space was clean, organized, and clearly designed with genuine thought for functionality. Sleek consoles lined one wall, each blinking with quiet efficiency. She continued to look around the room disoriented, then catching sight of Elena inhaled sharply.

"Well, I think the first test was successful," she joked, checking herself to make sure she was all there." Seraphina looked around the room.

"What?" she said, blinking her eyes then rushing to Celestia, who appeared dazed.

"What just happened? Where are we? Who are you?" Celestia asked Regina who was still in fairy form. She did a double take as she took in the sight of Elena and Alex standing at the far end of the room.

"What are you?" she asked, taken aback by the stranger's appearance. She took in the orange faces, pointed ears and purple hair, of what she assumed was a female and a male. She looked back toward Regina, shaking her head, "I must still be asleep, that's the only explanation."

"If you're seeing two purple and green haired figures then I must be dreaming too," Seraphina said, looking over Celestia's shoulder. Elena laughed.

"Welcome ladies, please come in. We are friends, not foes," she said as she motioned to two seats.

"I'm sure you have lots of questions, and we will answer them as best we can." Seraphina looked at Celestia, her eyes flashing cautionary signals.

"If you don't mind, for right now we will stay right here while we get better acquainted."

"I understand your hesitation. This must be a lot to process," she said, casually.

"First let me introduce myself, my name is Doctor Elena Rassmussin and this gentleman here is Doctor Alex Palladore, and you have already met Regina," she said, motioning to Regina, "Ah, Regina, you're still a fairy," she said, clearing her throat.

"Oh," Regina said, looking down at herself.

"I didn't want to freak them out any more than necessary by morphing back, but if you insist," she said, suddenly reverting back to her natural state. Seraphina watched in horrified fascination as the transformation was underway, while Celestia appeared to be in total awe.

"That's so cool!" Celestia said, excitedly before turning to Seraphina, "Did you see that?"

"Yes, Celestia, it was kind of hard to miss," she replied.

"I know you are curious why Regina brought you here, so I will let her explain," Elena said, curious to hear the explanation herself.

"Seraphina, you and I met the other day in the ladies' room," she said, taking on the fairy in the power suit form she had taken on during her first encounter with Seraphina. Seraphina's eyes widened, "you?" she stammered. She recognized her immediately. Her heart began to race. She began backing up, shielding Celestia. This was the same woman who wanted the baby and all but threatened her if she did not disclose Thai's location.

Regina morphed back, "I know what you're thinking, but I am not your enemy, Seraphina so please relax," she said, walking over to an empty seat.

"On the day we first met, I was sent to retrieve an infant, our intel said that you had possession of the child so yes, I sought you out in an attempt to fulfil my mission." She sighed.

"I didn't have much more information than that at the time. I whole-heartedly apologize for the intimidation tactics. I didn't know then, what I know now," she said, with sincerity. She paused and looked at Elena who nodded at her to continue.

"I am going to give you an overview of things, we can delve deeper into things, once you are more comfortable. I know you will have even more questions once I finish. I will do my best to answer them for you, but you need to understand why I took you here first." She paused, and took a deep breath.

"Okay where to start… When I failed to retrieve the infant, Blackwood, the leader of this realm, sent another agent to your realm. When he returned with a dead infant and admitted he killed someone… a Farthingsworth… I believe his name was. The death of the infant incensed Blackwood, His plan was to make a spectacle of executing it. With baby being dead, an execution would be redundant to say the least. He sent me and that agent back to your realm, to take you both.

His plan was to publicly execute you for killing the baby. I ditched the other agent and took you here to save your lives. Blackwood will not stop until he gets what he wants, he will hunt you with everything he has. I couldn't let that happen," she explained, hoping that they understood. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Seraphina and Celestia both looked at each other skeptically.

"How do we know any of what your saying is true?" Seraphina asked, unconvinced. Elena looked at Regina, "May I?" she asked.

"Feel free," Regina replied.

"Seraphina, it was our group you saw outside your house. We were going to try to make contact then, but you teleported away and we didn't have the chance." Elena said.

"You burned my house down!" Seraphina hissed.

"How can you sit here and tell me that you are our allies, and we have nothing to fear, when you burned everything I own into a pile of smoldering ash?" she asked, fighting back tears.

"We didn't burn your house down, Seraphina, it was Blackwood's goons. We were powerless to stop them. I am so sorry," she said, sympathetically.

"They went there searching for the child. The fire was for kicks, that's just how ruthless they are," she said, sighing.

"If they had found either of you there, you would have been eliminated on the spot."

"All I have to go on is your word, I need more than that," Seraphina said.

"I understand your skepticism, Seraphina, I really do, and this is not how we wanted to introduce ourselves, but we couldn't risk them hurting you either," Alex said, then turned toward Regina.

"Regina put herself in imminent danger rescuing you." Regina looked at her watch, "Speaking of which, if I don't get back, Blackwood may very well put me on the chopping block instead of them. Especially without some form of explanation, as to why I am alone," she said, feeling around in her pockets for the portal key.

"Shit!" she cursed realizing Charlie had it.

"What?" Elena asked.

"Well, technically I am stuck in the Fairy Realm," she said, leaning back in her chair looking utterly defeated.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, confused.

"That dimwit, Charlie, has the key to the portal out of their realm. I can't just reappear without it, or him, now can I?" she asked, frustrated by her lack of planning. Alex went over to his keyboard and began furiously typing. His eyes widened at what showed up on the monitor.

"Ah, Regina, you might want to take a look at this before you do anything," he said, motioning for her to come have a look.

"We bring you live to High Chancellor Blackwood's office, where we just learned that a standoff between Federal Agents and Fairy operatives has resulted in the tragic deaths of two officers. Details are sketchy at this time. We are hoping to get more information once the press conference begins." The reporter said.

"That's right, Dan, the Proportioned Press Determination Office secretary, Karalyn Glintspire, should be heading to the podium any moment now."

"Yes, Steve, I can see movement from outside, yes, there she is." Karalyn walked across the stage to the podium, looking as though she was carrying the weight of the world upon her shoulders. Her eyes downcast, her expression sullen as she organized her notes.

"It is with great regret that I must announce that two agents, Charles Rumplestump and Regina Greystone were hunted down and killed by two fairy agents."

"That son of a bitch," Regina huffed, pushing her hair back.

"What is it?" Elena asked, getting up from the chair.

"Ladies, you might want to see this too." he called out to Seraphina and Celestia.

"Charles was a very well respected officer and showed exemplary bravery while trying to save his subordinate Regina Greystone. Regina did not follow orders or wait for the requested backup. This resulted in a firefight between DOME officers and the hostile ANTIFA fairy operatives. We recently discovered the ANTIFA movement, or Assemble Nationalist Troops In Falotopia Association, and the increasing threat they pose to all of Falotopia.

Charles, affectionately known as Charlie, was trying to retrieve the prophecy child, who is destined to destroy us all. He was successful in eliminating the evil baby before being struck by thirty-five rounds of fairy exploding ammunition."

"What I am about to show you, may shock you as well as be inappropriate for some viewers." She took two steps to the poster board sitting on the easel and flipped over a rendering.

"What you see before you are an artist's rendition of the fugitives. The creature on the left is the fairy Celestia, the one on the right is the fairy known as Sapina." She sighed dramatically.

"Sapina?" Seraphina asked, under her breath.

"Who the hell, is Sapina?"

"I think, you." Celestia whispered.

"I know it's hard to look at, they are hideous creatures. Vile and violent and will not stop until they take over Falotopia." she paused, watching the faces of the crowd.

"High Chancellor Blackwood is doing all he can to bring these two creatures to justice. Tactical operations are currently underway to infiltrate this hostile realm and eliminate all threats. If anyone sees creatures such as these you are urged to call local authorities immediately or call the tip line at 1-445-BUSTED. These suspects are considered extremely dangerous, do not attempt to make contact or confine. These suspects are officially wanted," she paused for dramatic effect.

"Dead or alive."

"Ms. Glintspire, you said the threat was eliminated regarding the baby, does that mean you have the baby in custody?"

"The baby was killed in the melee."

"Will the public get to view the evil baby?"

"Yes, the child will be on display for the public to view. Mr. Blackwater's top priority, as always, is to make the people of Falotopia feel safe."

"Ms. Glintspire, is it true that the baby had an accomplice?"

"The only accomplices we are aware of at this time are the two fairies."

"Ms. Glintspire…"

"I'm sorry but that is all the time we have. Updates will be made available as new information comes to light. One more thing, Mr. Blackwood is committed to protecting all of Falotopia's citizens from these types of liberal warped individuals. These individuals threaten to destroy us and tear apart the very fabric this nation was built upon. High Chancellor Blackwood is planning a full scale military operation to destroy the fairy kingdom and its inhabitants.

It is the only way to guarantee the great people of Falotopia are able to rest easily. Thank you, Goodnight," she said, turning and walking off stage. Regina backed away from the screen, obviously flustered and upset.

"Is that supposed to be us?" Celestia asked, as she looked at the ridiculous artist rendering, then at Seraphina.

"Congratulations, ladies, you are now on Blackwood's most wanted list. There is a bounty on both your heads, you are wanted dead or alive." Alex said.

"This means that he will be sending bounty hunters to your realm to track you down. They will not stop until they find you and unlike Charlie, they know what they are doing… especially if they assign it to Jimmick." Regina said, solemnly. Panic suddenly filled her eyes.

"My sister, she needs to know that I'm alright," she said, motioning to activate her device. Elena grabbed her arm.

"Regina, you can't use that, they can track it. They will know precisely where you are once you activate it," she said, turning to Alex.

"Alex, we need to get it out and destroy it. We can't risk them finding out she is here. They have to think that she is lost in the fairy realm."

"Regina, quick come with me," he said, leading her into the other room.

"I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt and it's going to hurt bad, but it's nothing compared to the alternative," he said, moving quickly. Elena turned to Seraphina and Celestia.

"Welcome to the resistance, ladies," she said, smiling.