To Change Time

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Ronin let Anya answer the questions, merely flashing a smile to Maheem whenever the prince happened to look at him. He had no intention of explaining what he'd just done to the other male. Anya, yes, eventually, but not this stranger even if they were saving him. Ronin couldn't afford word getting out about time-travel right now. It wasn't the right time and he wouldn't change history that way. He wasn't Karen.

As his companion worked to get the ropes off, the traveler moved back to the door, looking out down the hall before he closed the door and locked it, moving to the window next and peeking outside. He saw the flash of the gun before it went off and moved away, the glass shattering where he'd been a moment before. Meeting the startled eyes of his companions, Ronin knew he really, really wasn't going to like what he'd have to do next, but it seemed to be the only way...and perhaps what Karen had wanted in the first place if she failed to capture him completely. She was deviously clever that way. He used to see it as sheer brilliance, but now found that he wished she wasn't as smart as she was.

"We'll need the plane, but not the car." he informed them, approaching rather calmly for the circumstances they were in and Ronin smiled, a charming and wide grin that was only partly genuine, the other parts reluctant and scared. He reached over and took Anya's hand and then grabbed Maheem's with the other without hesitation. "Now, this is going to feel strange, but I need both of you to hold on and not let go, not until we stop and then I need you to release immediately, all right?"

The traveler didn't give much time to protest or consent before his eyes were closing, hiding anything that might go on beneath and suddenly the world was lurching, stilling and rushing by all at once, a dizzying, electrifying event that tossed the stomach and made the head whirl. It only lasted several seconds, though, not even a minute, before it was over. The sound of rushing wind and rolling thunder diminished and the three seemed to land, their feet hitting the ground, only a few inches from it in the first place and Ronin stumbled, quickly releasing the two.

Around them was the old abandoned storehouse that he and Anya had come from just hours before. Through the open door, the jet was visible and the traveler smiled to see it before he was forced to his knees and then to his hands as well, emptying the contents of his stomach as the nausea and dizziness swept over him. Pain exploded in his head due to what he'd just done and Ronin bit back a whimper, shaking his head when Maheem - shocked as anything - made a half-gesture to help him up.

"N-no. Don't touch m-me. Don't...don't want to hurt you." He groaned and forced himself to stand, unsteady and his vision blurring in turns with the pain spiking through his temples, but Ronin started to move, pointing to the plane. "Come on. W-we have t-time, but not a lot."
 
Anya did not understand how they would be able to get there without a car. They would surely chase after them shortly after, and with vehicles that could capture them fast. But she trusted Ronin. He always seemed to come up with good plans. Well, at least until they had been captured. But even then they had been able to get out without much problem. But she would have to ask him about how he could disappear like that. There was no way she could just forget about it.

Maheem was a bit more pessimistic. To him these two seemed completely crazy. No car? They would never get away like that. It would take far too long. Then Ronin grabbed the prince's hand. He almost tried to pull it back, but Ronin's words stopped him. He weren't used to normal folks treating him like this, it seemed so disrespectful. But considering the circumstances, he probably had no right to complain.

The blonde held his hand tighter after he had explained what they needed to do, and she waited. It was weird, she did not understand what he wanted to do. But she trusted him. Suddenly they were on their way. Anya had no idea what had happened before they stopped, and she let go of his hand. Dizzy she stumbled a bit, and her stomach turned slightly, but at the very least she did not puke. What had just happened, she wondered. Looking towards Ronin she realized he was much worse of than her.

The prince did try to help him, but Ronin wouldn't let him. Maheem then stepped back, completely unsure how to handle the situation. Sick people never got to be close to him as he couldn't afford to get sick himself. As he was confused and worried for his savors life, Anya was shocked by the sight in front of her. They were so close to the plane. How? She forced the shock away. Ronin was in pain, and they had to leave fast. Those were the only two important things right now.

"Do you need help?" She asked him, willing to carry him if she had to. She did keep a bit of a distant though until he would tell her it was okay, as he had said something about danger. Considering what an amazing thing he had just done, she was sure he could be quite dangerous too without meaning to be.

Eventually they were able to get onto the jet. No people were on it. "Can you fly this thing?" Anya asked the prince. She could remember that he had said something about a pilot. Sadly, she didn't even know what that was.

"No, that's the pilots job. It takes years to learn how to fly these." He said, kind of wondering how she couldn't know that. She did look like a western girl. Shouldn't those know the basics of airplanes? There were after all few that never sat on an airplane over there. "Maybe there's an instruction book somewhere." He suggested.

"Maybe... Ronin, are you okay? You don't happen to understand this thing?" Anya asked, slightly panicked for more than one reason. Maheem searched after something that could help them. If the girl didn't know how to fly, then the guy probably didn't either he thought.
 
Ronin had shaken his head to Anya's offer, though, he'd given her an appreciative look for it. The truth was that he would have loved help, his vision blurred and the pain in his head excruciating, but he knew that if he touched either of them now that they'd been effected by the Timestream, they'd instantly be taken back to the point where they'd been taken out of Time. He'd have to explain it to Anya later. Right now, though, they had to escape.

Getting on the plane was easy...flying it was another thing altogether and Ronin had taken a seat for just a moment, trying to regulate his breathing, keep his roiling stomach at bay. At the sound of his name, he looked up and smiled a bit, reassuring the blond across from him in a wordless answer to her concern and then his brows furrowed at her question. His pale green eyes looked to the cockpit, dark hair brushing his face as he hung his head a bit and sighed before standing.

"Yeah, I do."

Moving his way to the pilot's seat, feeling his head spin, Ronin knew this was going to hurt. A lot. Karen had always said to practice, to use what they'd been given. She'd argued that they wouldn't have these powers unless there was a purpose. She'd become intoxicated with them, obsessed and then dangerous. He'd watched it all in denial and growing horror. And Ronin had sworn off his own, not unless there was no other way.

Unfortunately, there really wasn't any other way right now. Even more unfortunate was the fact that without practice, without regular exercise, the power inside him was hard to use - just a like a muscle neglected for too long. It couldn't handle a lot of demand placed on it without hurting and threatening collapse.

Ronin knew that, but right now he couldn't afford to let that stop him and his hand trembled as he reached for the console, but he set his palm down upon it anyway and closed his eyes again. The plane's engines started to stir, to rumble and then flare to life, lights coming on in the cockpit, static coming across from the radio and then buttons, switches and the steering wheel started to move, all on their own.

The traveler's eyes opened then as the plane started to move, to turn itself to get ready to roll down the runway and he pulled his hand away from the console, bringing it up instead to catch the blood starting to drip from his nose, his pale green eyes nearly translucent and his entire body shaking. The smile was genuine, though.

"Viola. One plane, ready to take us to safety."
 
The prince stopped his searching for a moment to look at the man with skeptic eyes. For some reason he doubted that Ronin had any flying experience, maybe because he looked a bit too young to have flown bigger planes. Maybe he was wrong though. The man could have trained in simulators and knew the theory of it, and maybe even had tried it out a few times in reality.

All his guesses soon disappeared though when he saw what actually happened. Both Anya and Maheem watched astonished as Ronin did nothing else but touch the console and everything that should start did so. Even though this was the first time Anya saw a plane being started from the cockpit, she guessed that wasn't how it usually was done. There were too many unused buttons, and to much noise with too little motion. How had he done that? It was as if a magic auto pilot had just started to get them into safety.

But it wasn't magic. At least not the beautiful kind people could read about in books. Whatever Ronin was doing was making him suffer. Anya saw how his whole body shook and blood started to drip down from his nose. For a moment she believed that he would die.

"Ronin, are you okay?" She was starting to reach out to him, but suddenly remembered what he told her about not touching him, so she stopped herself. He hadn't told her it was okay yet. "Please, whatever you're doing, just stop. We can find a way to fly it on our own." She begged him, even though she knew that she was useless on that field, and the other two seemed clueless about it too. But he seemed to be in such agony, she couldn't stand it. What if he actually died? He might seem immortal at times, but he was as much human as her.

"No, don't stop no matter what. We don't have to fly far, just to the closest airport, and from there we can get help. Both from police and doctors. But if we stop now, we'll never get away." The prince interrupted. He had no idea what was going on, but for the moment he would not question it. The only one that could answer his questions didn't seem as if he would be able to speak much either way, so his attempts would certainly fail if he tried. All that mattered now was to get away from the kidnappers, get in contact with his country and prevent an international crisis. An individual did come second to the needs of the people as a whole.

"Can't you see he's in pain?" Anya asked as if to blame him for saying something so cold hearted. Which she was. "He might not be able to make it to the closest airport." She added, not knowing how far off it might be. But she could imagine that it must be a great length. "You don't have to do this." She turned back to Ronin.
 
Ronin didn't know where he'd been, but it hadn't been reality as Anya's voice brought him back to that, pulling him from the haze between awake and unconscious, to blink at her. He saw her hand moved and instinct made him move back just a little before she seemed to remember herself and the traveler smiled inwardly. She was smart, just like he'd sensed the first time. There was a reason she was his companion and it wasn't just her sense of adventure, though, that had played a big part in his decision, too.

It might have seemed he'd made it on a whim, but Ronin, in truth, never made any decision so quickly as that. There was ALWAYS thought behind everything he did. He just thought fast.

He wished he could think more quickly right now, though, as when he finally opened his mouth to answer her, his vision swimming and his skull threatening to split in two - making it very hard to concentrate on words anyway - Maheem was already answering the blond. The prince's words made sense, Ronin knew, but he also found great validity in what Anya said, too and when they both turned their eyes back to him, the weight of responsibility settled heavy on Ronin's shoulders again.

But then...it had for a long, long time now, hadn't it?

The plane was picking up speed, careening down the runway, about to take off and the traveler closed his eyes, stopping the world from tilting as he spoke. The last thing he needed was nausea on top of everything else. "Anya, he's right. We have to fly out of here and I've had a lot worse." Translucent pale green eyes opened to meet dark green and he gave her a strained smile. "Pain's never kept me from doing what needs to be done. I'll be all right."

The plane took off and Ronin brought his hand up to his nose again, pretending to wipe the blood away when in truth he was covering up how the blood spurted faster at the actions of the plane. He could taste blood running down his throat and grimaced, but spoke again, calm, a forced steadiness keeping his words even. "If we are in danger of crashing, I will do what I did before and take us off the plane and to the ground. I will make sure I have the energy to do that, I promise. We'll be all right."

He settled himself back into the chair and hung his head, dark hair hiding his face, growing wet near the temples with the sweat beading there. His fingers came up to touch said temples, as if that might help ease the pain from the anvil being driven into his head from both sides - or so it felt like - and gave up keeping his body from trembling. Some battles were just not worth fighting - like his nose that was just going to drip into his shirt from now on until he stopped. Nothing to be done about it.

"J-just don't touch me until I-I tell you t-to. I'll explain l-later."
 
It was extremely hard not to touch him. All her instincts told her to help him in some way. Just holding his hand would feel better than to just stand there and watch him suffer. In a desperate attempt to hold her hands to herself, she intertwined them with each other and refused to let go of the grip.

The blood just kept on dripping down onto his shirt. Never had Anya heard of anyone that had died because of nose bleed, but she feared she might be looking at the first and only case. She just had to trust him. Ronin knew what he was doing. He had probably been doing these kinds of things for ages. He knew what had to be done, it was just to wait until it was over and then she could try to help him out. But what if he fainted before they got that far? He looked so bad she was sure that was a possibility. In that case they would fall towards the earth and most likely die.

No, don't think like that, Anya thought to herself. Such thoughts were screaming for a disaster. She just had to breath in, breath out, relax. Easier said than done.

As the plane started to lift, the girl sat down in the co-pilots seat so that she wouldn't fall down. But she was far from relaxed. If anything she seemed a bit more stiff and worried than before. Sitting down wasn't her thing when she was paranoid, thinking her friend might die.

"Just tell me if you need anything." She told him after a few agonizing moments wondering if she should try to make him stop again. For now it was better to just try and make him feel as comfortable as possible with the little they had. She weren't sure what usually existed on a plane, or if those men had taken stuff from it, but at the very least she could try to see if she could find something he might need. Like blankets. Those should always lie around, right? Maybe not, considering it was warm inside the plane.

"If you're freezing, or are thirsty or hungry. Whatever it might be. Tell me and I'll try to find something." She continued. In worse case scenario she could try to see if it was possible to get into the back of the plane again where she knew that there were things to help. The question was if there was a way in there from the inside.

The prince had left the cockpit as fast as he heard that Ronin would continue. That was all he needed to hear to feel safe. They were on their way, and he could finally relax. In a while they would land somewhere, anywhere, and after that he would be able to get into contact with his people and get an escort home. This whole drama was finally over. Leaning back in one of the seats, he closed his eyes and just waited. Maheem didn't sleep though. He couldn't yet. Not before there were no doubt in his mind that he was safe.
 
Ronin had to smile a bit at her offers. He'd started to forget what true compassion looked like, but Anya had it in abundance. Perhaps that was why he'd chosen her, among other things. Now said kindness made him look up, meeting her eyes and the traveler understood the blond's need to be DOING something quite clearly. The truth was that he wasn't cold and the thought of food made him want to be sick, but he knew he might be able to hold down water and it would give Anya something to search for.

"C-could you find something t-to drink?"

She'd already said she would so Ronin knew he wouldn't have to wait long for her to comply. Knowing that, he let himself curl into the chair, bringing his legs up, folding his tall frame into an almost impossible ball as if that might help with the pain that was radiating through his head, starting to trickle down his spine. It would soon be encompassing more and more of his body the longer this took and Ronin tried not to think about that, forcing himself to stay awake, to concentrate on flying the plane.

He was glad the blood on his face distracted from the slow tears he couldn't withhold, the constant agony hammering through his skull too much to bear without some kind of release.

When Anya returned with the water, he didn't know how long she'd been gone, but he took a swallow or two for her sake before setting the glass down, uncaring about when it spilled, his trembling had not having set it down all that securely. The plane dipped just slightly, alarmingly as Ronin shuddered, his control having slipped. He righted it immediately with a whimper and looked to Anya, trying to smile reassuringly.

"S-sorry. We'll be l-landing soon. I-I'm only t-taking us into the n-next country. Maybe an hour."

He just had to stay awake for an hour...and then correct what he'd done to Maheem and Anya, set them back into their correct timestreams. He'd only taken them five minutes into the future to make a jump from the building to the warehouse, but to take them five minutes back into their own timestream WITHOUT sending them back to the building itself would take a bit more concentration and careful precision.

Just the thought of having to do it was overwhelming, but one step at a time, Ronin knew.
 
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Something to drink. That was good. He couldn't afford to get dehydrated now.

"Okay, I'll get it. I'll be right back." She assured him before rushing off. Finally she were able to release her hands. As she passed Maheem she stopped herself for a second and backed the few steps she had taken past him.

"Excuse me... Do you have any liquids somewhere?" Anya asked the man whom slowly opened an eye. He could already guess whom it was for. At first he sighed as if it was a bother, but then he answered her question anyway.

"Yeah, at the very back there's a slide door. Behind it you'll find both food and drinks. Medicine too if it would be necessary. Take whatever." He told her before shutting his eyes closed and he seemed to once again be asleep even though he wasn't.

"Thank you very much." The blond thanked him before walking back in the plane and opened the door. Usually there were people back there whom prepared those things for the prince and anyone traveling with him, but now it was completely abandoned. Luckily those people hadn't even been allowed aboard, so non of them had been killed. The prince had been slightly annoyed by it at take off, but had been assured that it was for his own safety. Of course that had been a lie.

Anya wasn't sure what half of the stuff was in the big white box. She did recognize some alcohol brands, but the soda things were completely new for her. She took the safe before the unsafe and chose water. That was probably what he needed either way. The bottles were odd, but at least not hard to open. She took a glass and poured the liquid into it before returning to Ronin.

"Here you go." She said and gave him the glass while being extremely careful not to touch him. One hour more. Would she be able to watch him for that long? Not without asking how he was feeling every fifth minute or so. "Be careful not to overdo yourself. If it becomes too hard, just land where ever we are. We are already far away from them." She told him, not wanting him to think he had to go that far to get them away.

For the first time since she set her feet on an airplane, she finally took a look outside. The ground was so small, the people were invisible, if they were even there, and the colors of the ground seemed to shape patterns. "Wow." She let out in a breath. For a brief moment, she forgot what was happening and how much these terrifying heights actually scared her.
 
Ronin thought about explaining the fact that they couldn't just land, that they needed a runway and not every airport would simply let them land either, but he decided against it, too distracted to be able to properly tell her about these sorts of things. Instead, the traveler let himself be distracted by her wonder as she looked out the window and he remained silent, eventually slipping into an almost trance-like state where nothing but getting the plane where it was supposed to go mattered.

The hours passed by slowly, very slowly for Ronin, but eventually it had to end and he sat up just slightly, unable to hold back a moan of pain as the radio crackled to life. A tower was hailing them, requesting their credentials and Ronin sent Anya to go get Maheem. As the prince spoke to the tower, identifying who he was and requesting permission to land - and getting it - Ronin drowned out the noise in order to focus on landing the plane.

It was not as easy as taking off and their first jolt on to the runway was almost violent enough to lift them from their seats, but the second one was smoother and then the plane was on the ground, slowing and Ronin could release the hold he had on it. His entire body spasmed in a convulsion when he did and the traveler coughed up blood before taking in ragged breaths. He knew he couldn't afford to wait to do what he had to next, though, and without warning, he reached out and grabbed Maheem's arm. For the prince there would be a sound of rushing wind, a pulling sensation that would border on uncomfortable before he'd feel a jolt as if a train had suddenly stopped and nearly thrown him to his feet.

It was over as soon as it had begun and Ronin released the prince who was now back in his own timestream.

Anya was next and Ronin only beckoned here, knowing that if he tried to move again, he'd probably fall out of the chair and he wouldn't be getting back up. He knew he looked like death with pale skin and eyes that had lost all color, appearing as glass around a dark circle of a pupil. Only the barest hint of green showed around said pupil and it was sickly in color. Blood stained his chin and mouth, his neck and down into his shirt and his hair was nearly soaked with sweat. Ronin was ready to pass out completely, his body filled with agony he simply wanted to escape, but even so, he took Anya hand in his own and gave her a smile.

"Just relax." was the whispered advice before he gave her the same process that Maheem had gone through. When it was done, Ronin couldn't even speak again as his eyes finally closed and he was lost to the relief of the blackness that consumed him.
 
Anya couldn't enjoy the view for long. Soon she was drawn back to reality and once again became incredibly worried for her companion. But she knew he needed to concentrate, so instead of asking him how he was feeling, she tried to occupy her thoughts by doing other things. Of course she didn't want to leave him for too long in case he'd need something, so every time she left the cockpit, she made sure to check in on him every five minutes or so.

At first she just paced around in the plane, just to get her legs moving. But eventually the jet started to shake and after almost having fallen over, Anya decided to do something while sitting down instead, just in case the air would get more bumps. She didn't understand how the air could be bumpy, but apparently it was.

So in between checking in on Ronin, the blond tried to read the safety paper for the plane, she checked out the first aid kit and find another small manual to read, and she tried to guess what she saw on the ground. That was almost impossible as very little was visible from that height.

When they got closer and closer to descending, Anya spent more and more time in the cockpit with Ronin. She weren't sure what would be needed upon landing, but last time it had been slightly bumpy, so at the very least she should sit down during that time. And right afterwards Ronin might need help. When they got close to it, he told her to get the prince and she obeyed.

Maheem spoke to the people on the ground, while Anya confused had to watch them work on their respective duty. It wasn't hard to guess that what Maheem spoke in must be some kind of phone, even though it didn't look like it. It didn't take the airport workers long to understand the situation and give them permission for an emergency landing.

Soon they were on the ground, though the first impact had been pretty rough. Anya let out a relieved sigh before noticing how her companion seemed to be close to dying. The girl just wanted to drag him to a hospital immediately, but she knew he wouldn't let her touch him before he had given her an okay. The time traveler grabbed the prince's arm without warning, and then fast released him. At first Anya thought it was because of the spasms and he simply grabbed something close by, but the shock on Maheem's face told another tale.

Then Ronin took her hand gently and did the same thing he had done to Maheem. Suddenly she could hear the wind rushing passed her, so to the degree she took up her free hand to at least shut one of her ears. It didn't help. It felt as if she were pulled somewhere, and parts of her wanted to back away from it, but she knew she couldn't let go of his hand. Then it suddenly stopped. It was as if she woke up from having dreamed of falling. Even though she were completely still she was certain she had suddenly been flying forward after a sudden stop. It took her some moments to get used to reality.

Once she could get a hold of herself she noticed Ronin's poor state. "We need to get him help." She told Maheem, whom was just now starting to figure out that they were still.

"Wait here." He told her before running off. There were people waiting for him. Soon there came a few men inside. Maheem had made sure the police would come to the airport to escort him. Now they also had to escort someone else. They helped the young man out of his seat and carried him into the airport with a worried young woman following shortly behind.

"Don't worry, we've called for an ambulance. They're a bit away, but one should be here within the next thirty minutes." One of the officers promised her. She weren't sure what an ambulance was, but she guessed they were going to a hospital. Would Ronin want that? If only he was awake. Ronin was laid down onto four chairs that had been placed in a row to imitate a bed. They even gave him a blanket just in case. For the moment they couldn't do more than that as they didn't know what was wrong with him.
 
Ronin woke to a white ceiling and that alone made him frown. He hated white things. Too pristine, too clean, too.....rulesy. That was a word, right? No, no he didn't think it was. Rulesy. Should be a word, though. White meant places with lots of rules. White was rulesy. The thought made him grimace and pale green eyes moved, seeking out something other than the ceiling. The first thing they found was a door and Ronin felt better about that. Doors meant escapes. Very good.

Now where-

Oh. IV pole. Hospital. Hm. That would explain the white ceilings, and why he felt better. He didn't like hospitals, but they had their uses, like providing places to sleep and get fluids at the same time. Wonderful thing. Speaking of wonderful things...

Ah, there she was.

Ronin focused on the blond by the bed and he gave Anya a smile. It looked decidedly better on him when he wasn't covered in blood, had some color back in his face and his eyes were once again green. Still, she looked worried and that was fair enough. He had passed out on her - hmm, how long ago was that? - and she was in a time she didn't understand with no one she knew besides him. She looked like she'd done well though and he felt a flicker of friendly pride for the blond.

"Hello." His voice was a bit raspy, somewhat quiet, but it was there and the traveler glanced around for a moment before meeting green eyes darker than his own. "You all right?"
 
After the ambulance had come, two men carried Ronin up on a weird bed with wheels to then bring him out to a car. They asked Anya a few questions, and almost considered not letting her come aboard the ambulance as she weren't a relative to him. But eventually they agreed as she were a foreigner without money whom probably wouldn't be able to find their way to the hospital if they left her there. Though they did tell her to sit in the front with the driver instead of the back with Ronin. It made her slightly nervous to leave him on his own in case he woke up, but she obliged.

The driver did ask her a few questions just out of curiosity, and maybe to make her a bit less nervous. It actually made it worse though. How did she know the language so well? She didn't answer. He asked if it was an extra class in school or if she just traveled a lot. She said school. It was good that he gave her options as she didn't know that time period too well. How did they get there without money? They had clearly not gotten the same information as the police had. Anya only answered when she got some good alternatives, otherwise she kept quiet or shrugged her shoulders.

Eventually the way too long trip ended, and she could finally escape the man with too many questions she did not know how to answer. After all, she couldn't just tell him that she had traveled in time.

She and Ronin was brought to a white room where they poked him with needles and connected him to plastic bags. They asked her to wait in another room until he woke up, but after a lot of begging they left the girl with their patient. Anya couldn't sleep no matter how tired she was and no matter how many times they ensured her that he would be fine. Before he woke up she couldn't relax.

Then he came to it. "I'm not the one in a hospital bed." She reminded him because of the stupid question he asked her. "Are you alright? You were bleeding horribly. And.. And you looked as if you were one step into the grave. I thought you might die." Her voice was shaking, though at least her worry had changed into relief now when he was awake. He weren't bleeding anymore. He was awake. He talked. He wouldn't die.
 
Ronin had to smile just a little at her words, but he was sure to keep it mostly hidden and quick. The only reason he did so, however, was not because he was amused but rather because he was happy, tentatively so. It had been a long time since he'd had someone worry about him and especially someone who was there when he finally woke, was still there after he was all right again. It was nice, but Anya probably wouldn't appreciate him smiling like an idiot while she was clearly so uncertain and still somewhat scared, though, he COULD hear relief in her voice. That was good.

"I can assure you that I was no where near being close to death. Passing out and crashing the plane, yes, but not death. Well, not until the plane crashed, but that's different."

The traveler did grin now and he sat up slowly, gingerly, testing his equilibrium and nausea-condition both. Hmm, he had a bit of a headache, but he didn't feel sick anymore. Some slight dizziness, but it would pass. He could likely walk out of here very soon and be fine, which was good because they had to get back to New York and he didn't think that doing another time-jump would be a good idea.

Ronin looked back to his companion and raised a brow. "I'm fine, Anya, but you've yet to answer my question; are YOU all right? I've done things like this before, have seen things like this before, but you have not. How are you coping with it?"

He wasn't going to rush her home if she was a bit overwhelmed, but it would be good to know just how she was processing. He was sure she had a million and one questions at least.
 
Anya smiled a bit at his joke, but had a hard time finding it funny at the moment. If he had seemed more energetic, then maybe she would have been able to relax completely. But before she saw him up on his feet, on his way to new places, then she would keep worrying that something might still be wrong. Obviously he weren't dying, but that did not mean he weren't in pain.

She looked down on her hands at his question. She wasn't hurt, but how were she coping? So far she had felt scared and confused, but those feelings had overpowered her first after Ronin had started using those powers. Before that she had been slightly scared, sure, but who wouldn't when people were pointing guns at them? But most of all, she had been excited, curious, astonished. She had felt alive. It was the aftermath that had shocked her the most.

"I'm fine. I'm slightly confused after certain events, and a bit startled from others. But overall I feel fine. More so than I've felt for most of my life." The girl finally said after having pondered on the question for almost half a minute. "You must think me mad. Saying such things after almost having been killed back there." If he didn't, then she certainly would. How could she accept such a situation so easily, and even enjoy it for most part? It was crazy. But considering she had traveled in time with a stranger, sanity might not be the first word one would associate her with.

"What happened on the plane? No... What happened before that. How did we.. transport to that place and how could you operate that machine while barely touching it?" She had to get the question out, otherwise she was afraid he would try to escape the subject. Maybe it was a stupid fear. He had already promised to explain it to her later. Well, it was later, he said he was fine, and she wanted to know.
 
Ronin said nothing to her assumption of what he must think of her, not yet anyway, and instead he simply listened to all she might have to say. Getting it out now would be better than dwelling on it, that he'd learned from experience, sometimes painfully so. He'd try to guide Anya down a smoother road if he could. What was experience if you couldn't stop someone else from suffering what you had? Ronin didn't see the point in anything otherwise. So he let Anya speak and when she finally veered from her own feelings to asking questions, he didn't react more than to give a small sigh he hoped she missed.

He'd known he was going to have to explain - had known from the moment she'd agreed to travel with him - but he'd been hoping it would come later. Much, much later. Not their first 'mission' together! But then, that was his fault. Usually was.

Nothing for it now but to face the music and hope for good results.

First thing first, though; "I hardly think you mad, Anya. If anything, I think you quite sane." Ronin grinned. "But then, I am comparing you to myself and I am hardly sane, so perhaps you are a little mad, but what harm is there in that? If you hadn't been just a bit mad, you never would have come with me and saved a Prince. People really do place too much importance on sanity."

That said, he brought his fingers to his hair, actually a bit surprised to find it wasn't as tangled and dirty as he'd thought it would be. Ah, yes, but he was in a hospital, wasn't he? They tended to like clean things. Hmm, well, he wasn't going to complain about that. But he did need to focus and Ronin made himself look back into Anya's waiting green eyes, his owner paler shade far more hesitant than she would have ever seen them even in their short time together, but he'd promised he'd not lie to her and the traveler had no intention of doing so.

He was just incredibly unsure as to how she'd take what he was about to tell her. To travel in time was one thing. To accept that you were a bit mad was one thing. But to accept this? Perhaps a bit more difficult.

"Well, first I think I must tell you what we did before I can tell you how. It might make more sense that way. See, when we transported, as you call it, we were jumping just a few minutes into the future. Like we did with the time machine, but without her. It's a bit more...difficult and complicated, and it can't be maintained for long, but it's essentially the same thing the time machine does. Only, if you don't gradually ease yourself back into regular time, you'll be slingshot back to the moment you left your time in the first place. So we would have gone right back to the building and the situation we were in if I'd not eased you back into present time."

He hoped he was making some sense. Any kind of sense.
 
Never had she met a man that valued madness over sanity. Actually, she had never even met a man that valued sanity. Everyone just wanted a brainless worked. If it was a man, then he was made simply to bring home money. If it was a woman, then she existed for the soul purpose of pleasing her husband after a long workday and take care of the home. Nothing more, nothing less. She weren't too sure about the values in Ronin's century, but from what she had seen and how he had acted, it seemed as if it was more relaxed and everyone did as they pleased. But maybe that was just Ronin.

Then she had to concentrate as her companion started to explain his odd transportation method. Anya did understand it somewhat... But it was still confusing. He had jumped in time a few minutes, though it took more than a few to get to the plane. Though the time machine did time jumps and place jumps, kind of.. Maybe. As fast as she thought she understood it, questions started to ruin it and she thought she might be misunderstanding something.

It wasn't Ronin's fault though. He did explain it as well as anyone would be able to do in his situation. If she had known how the time machine worked, then maybe she would have understood better what he was trying to say.

"I'll just pretend I understood what you just said. Otherwise you might confuse me even more." Anya said with a slight laugh. If she stuck with him for long enough, then she would probably understand it more and more.

A knock on the door interrupted them and in came a man. Few would want to make him angry, he was so tall he had to duck when walking through the door, and his muscles were nothing to sneeze about.

"You're awake. That's good." The man said in the deepest voice Anya had ever heard. "Prince Maheem Suul Ishbal has been placed in safe company and is now on his way back to his palace. He wished to thank you personally, but more important matters did not allow that." He started to explain. "So instead he will thank you by giving you access to his private jet for your journey home. The pilot will be waiting for whenever you are ready to leave. Of course if you have other requests, he is willing to consider them. After all, you did save his life which possibly prevented a war."

Anya looked back and forth between Ronin and the tall man, wondering how he would react to the news. At least now they had a ride back to the time machine, that was good. Considering they might not have money for the plane. Actually she didn't know how much Ronin had, but she figured the plane would cost a bit more than a taxi, considering how much longer distances a plane traveled. Even if she came from another time period, she could still understand that much. It was the same in her time period. A carriage ride to London would cost much more than a carriage ride within their small town because of the distance. She doubted such things changed just because the means of traveling did.
 
Ronin had to laugh with Anya if only out of relief and he found himself relaxing just a little, not dreading so much anymore explaining this to her. Any further explanation was put on hold, though, at the entrance of someone to their room and the traveler grinned at the large man's message, very pleased with it indeed. Not only had a war been averted - though, the lack of a specific pain in his head told him that well enough - and a life been saved, but now they had a way back to his time machine AND he didn't have to try and explain something he couldn't possibly explain to Maheem!

Perfect!

Though, he had said he would....hmm....

"Please convey our humble thanks to Prince Maheem and give him our blessing of good health for his future and his people. And please, do assure him that there will come a day I see him again and his questions will be answered."

Watching the man leave, Ronin thought to when that day would be and quickly deduced that the safest way to tell Maheem would be when the Prince was old, very old and nearing the end of his life. Only then would Ronin seek him out again, answer any question he might have; when the monarch could not use the knowledge he was given. Humans weren't quite at time-travel yet. Give it about a thousand years...

Pale green eyes found the blond woman at his bedside again and Ronin started where he'd left off, as if they hadn't been interrupted at all. "I am sorry if I can't explain this better. Time is...a tricky topic." He shrugged a bit sheepishly and then looked down at the blankets on the bed, fingers curling in the top cover as the traveler grew a tad more subdued. "The plane, well, I simply became one with it. I..um...hmm." A frown crossed his face, a look of concentration as he tried to think of the right words, the right way to convey the thoughts he understood with ease, but others might not...especially not in the way he thought them.

"I understood it. How it worked and I simply followed what the plane knew. Not that it really knew anything; it's not alive, but it still told me, in a way, how to fly it. It....oh, this doesn't make sense to you, does it?"
 
Anya did wonder when that day would come. Not in Maheem's time. She figured Ronin would time travel his way just some days after the events and tell him everything. But when would the time traveler do it? Would he travel for a hundred years before remembering his promise? Or would he get it done as fast as got back to the time machine? Oh well, if he did it soon, then she would most likely see it. She weren't going to leave him yet.

The tall man left them alone as Ronin finished speaking. It was quite the seen to see him continue where they left of as if the man hadn't bothered them at all. She would never have been able to get back on topic that easily.

"It doesn't make sense at all." She confirmed with a smile. At least he tried to explain it. "A non-living object spoke to you as you became one with it. I doubt it makes sense to any other person than you. If you had told this to anyone else in my time period, you would have been thrown into the closest asylum for the insane immediately." She told him matter of factly before smirking playfully.

"When do you think you'll be out of the bed?" Anya then asked, a slight worry coming back to her voice. "Do you think those people will come after us all the way here?" She then continued. She knew she shouldn't hide things from him, or lie to him. She wanted him to rest until he was fine, but she was worried because people were chasing after him. Would they go as far as to attack them at a hospital? Were they truly safe before they got back to the time machine?

At the very least, now there weren't any hostage to worry about... Except for a hospital full of helpless people.
 
Her teasing made him smile and Ronin felt the vice around his chest loosen and fall away. A more genuine light entered his eyes then, something far more relaxed in the contours of his body as he released a breath. For all he'd seen and heard and experienced, Anya's simple acceptance rather amazed the traveler and he appreciated, probably far more than she would suspect for a long time, if she ever knew at all. She even moved away from the topic a bit, not requiring that he tell her exactly HOW it was he could do what he did.

Oh, he'd tell her, but not having to do it yet was....relieving.

Ronin had to grimace a bit at her worry, though, not liking it. Not that he didn't like being worried over, no it was the fact that she was worried at all. She should be laughing, not worried. He'd have to change that. "I would think in about an hour or so. I might take another nap, let these wonderful liquids hydrate me further, but we'll be gone before the day is out, I assure you." he promised with a flashing smile before it fell away a bit and Ronin sighed.

"I am sure they will come after us, Anya, but I am even more certain it won't be so soon. Karen is....unnervingly patient and she's smart. We've been playing this game of tag for a long time. We're safe for now, I promise, and once we reach the time machine, we'll be harder to find again."

Not to say they wouldn't be found, but there would be a reprieve.
 
Only one hour? She had wished for him to rest a bit more than that as long as they weren't in any danger. But the plane trip would probably last a while, if he needed he could always rest on their way back. As Ronin had told her, it was much warmer where the passengers usually sat, and the seats seemed comfortable enough to sleep in. She hadn't really noticed when being on the jet, considering she was busy worrying that her friend would die. But at least she remembered that they looked comfortable.

"Game of tag?" Anya looked at him slightly perplexed. She had never heard of such a game. Either it was created after her time period, or it simply hadn't reached her village. But how could a game have anything to do with their cat and mouse chase? Especially a game about tags.

"How does this... note game work?" She asked slightly curious. It was probably good to take their thoughts off of the heavier matters for a little while too. Never stress a sick person with heavy subjects.

Even though she had a ton of questions about Karen and how she and Ronin could have gotten on such bad terms with one another, she just had to let it go for now. Feeding her curiosity would not be worth loosing Ronin's trust and friendship. While that was the worse case scenario, she still didn't want to push him on the topic. Not after he had showed her such an unwillingness of speaking further about her earlier. Everyone had their fair share of bad memories, and for some it was better to just lock the away. He would tell her when he was ready. If he became ready.
 
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