Alright, I did some small revisions in this chapter, nothing major just small errors and some aesthetic changes. I'm not going to promise any new updates because the one fic that I actually wanted to make a multi-chapter story is now dead in a ditch somewhere after more than a year of no updates. Still, have fun reading and if you have any tips/tricks/questions don't hesitate to contact me through pm or the comments.

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He has no idea how it happens, all he knows is that it started on Solaria.

He's tired. So, so tired "...and once I have Radius under control, I can get rid of princess Stella and reinforce my control over the royal court. Then I can..." Cassandra. Dear Dragon, he wonders if she suffers from plain regular stupidity as well as brain damage. Who in their right mind talks about overthrowing a planet not just out in the open but in the royal castle itself? no-one, at least not anyone he'd normally be acquainted with. Honestly, if the woman continues to talk about her plans out here he might just go back on his word and refuse her his help after all. "Yeah! And I'll be the new crown princess! It's going to be great!" Oh god. He's working with a child! Cassandra is obviously not the only problem here, that dimwitted girl is even worse! She's going to get caught. He's almost certain of it. She's going to get caught and she'll tell everyone of his involvement. Damnnit! He does not want his name known yet. He's worked way too hard to stay unknown, he's not about to let all the trouble he went through on Andros be for nought. It's probably best to keep an eye on them tonight. He almost groans out loud, he does not want to go to a Solarian party. Honestly, he has better things to do! Like taking over the Magix dimension, taking revenge on the company of light or just about anything else, really.

He is brought up out of his thoughts by a female voice that doesn't belong to Cassandra or her little whelp. "Stella your directions suck! Honestly, where did you learn how to write? Now, where is—" They slow down before stopping completely when she becomes visible on the top of the stairs. A fleeting look is all he gives her, his eyes linger on her hair for but a moment. It had been a long time since he had seen hair in that particular shade of red. Then he continues to think about the temporary distraction Cassandra just forced on him and how to make it at least a bit bearable "Oh! Hello Countess, my apologies I thought I heard Stella" The voice forces itself through his mind again, and once again he focuses his eyes on the current situation. "Well I'm not, and as you can see I'm very busy, excuse me." Cassandra's tone is a biting one, her arrogance evident in the way she looks down her nose at the girl who straightens up out of what he thinks might have been a curtsy. A quick study shows him that she doesn't look anything like the girls one normally sees in a palace, no gown to show status and no uniform to show that she might work here. They start moving again, leaving no space for the girl to pass them. He sees the girl doesn't move, standing her ground and studying them. Not paying any particular notice to his person. He moves to the side slightly which catches her attention. Leaving just enough room for her to pass he sees the grateful look she sends him, not meeting his eyes. Strange, what is a commoner doing in the palace? Just as she passes him, barely enough room between their body's to even move, he feels a sudden shock to his system and slows down. She too slows down for a fraction of a second apparently having felt the same thing, cyan blue orbs meeting his eyes for the first time and then she's gone. He narrows his eyes and they follow the red ribbon of hair chasing behind her as she runs lightly down the stairs and across the room to turn the corner, where she leaves his sight. He continues walking, squashing the tiny spark of intrigue and forcing the strange encounter out of his mind. He doesn't have the time for any more distractions, not with the disaster that is Cassandra's current plan.

Cassandra leads him to the planetarium and shows him the true power of Solaria. the room holds all the suns of Solaria, just ready for the taking. He moves to the second sun, he couldn't go after the first one, not if he wants to remain unknown for a little while longer. He reaches for the orb of light, absorbing its power until it's bled dry. The power coursing through his veins wakes him up a bit more after Omega, makes him more alert and to be honest it feels good to be back in action. He turns to Cassandra and the little pet she calls a daughter - honestly, there's no original thought in that girl's mind - and gives them a tiny spark of power, seems he is a man of his word after all. They are lifted into the air, floating in the bright light of what was once the second sun of Solaria. Of course, there was no reason to tell them about the mark that flashed on their necks for a moment before sinking into their skin. No reason at all.

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He leaves them to their preparations and walks about the castle, looking around. Maybe he could try to find the king's library, extra spell books are always useful after all. It has been a while since he was last on Solaria, the seventeen years in omega and the few months before the attack on Sparx seem to have changed the planet. But not just the planet and its people have changed, he realises while searching for spellbooks, the castle has changed as well. Not surprising really, the last time he was on Solaria the castle was destroyed beyond repair. He'd always been impressed by the damage the Ancestral Witches were able to cause. In the end, he doesn't find the library, the castle has changed beyond recognition which makes it impossible to find his way around without a guide or a lot of free time. And it just so happens that his time is up, the guests are starting to arrive. He creates an illusion around himself, grounded in Dragon Fire just in case they check for disguises, he has made enemies on Solaria in the past and doesn't know if they might remember him, best to be safe. Walking inside the ballroom is a challenge, it is already starting to fill up with stuck-up lords and lady's and it takes considerable effort not to start throwing fireballs around. He moves to the side of the hall, to the edge of the dance floor and fades into the background. He keeps himself entertained, trying to find familiar faces in the crowd. He's studying the faces of a group of elderly men that he swears were part of the War-Council of Light during the war when he sees their collective eyes move to the left. He follows their gazes to find a fighting couple. He doesn't recognise the boy but the girl's red hair catches his attention. The same shade of red he'd seen this morning. The boy grabs her arm and he instinctively knows the kid just made a bad move. The girl rips her arm free from the boys grasp and give him a push. He expects the boy to take a step back, maybe even stumble a bit before righting himself. What he doesn't expect is for the boy to go flying and land on his back. Apparently, she has a good grasp of passive magicks, interesting. A blond girl in the most skimpy dress he has ever seen rushes to the boy while a blue-haired girl moves over to the redhead. They speak for a bit, the blue-haired one obviously trying to calm her fiery friend before they split up. The blue-haired girl moves to the now standing boy, a furious look on her face while the redhead moves in the opposite direction. His eyes follow the redheaded girl as she walks through the crowd, slowly moving towards him. The girl doesn't bump into anyone, seemingly moving around people without even noticing, always at least 2 inches of distance between her and everybody else. At first, he doesn't even notice that he's moving and when he does he stops in his tracks. He's now in her line of sight as she moves closer, she doesn't see him though. He's quite glad that she doesn't. What is wrong with him? Why in the Great Dragon's name is he so intrigued by her presence? He knows he really shouldn't move any closer, and he tries to move away now that he realises what he's done. His body refuses to cooperate, and it's incredibly frustrating. What is going on!? She is but a few feet away from him when he gives up on his struggle and decides to follow his instincts. At the very last possible moment, he takes a sudden step to his right.

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He can see the shock on her face when she collides with him. He moves quickly, one hand grabbing her upper arm while the other moves to her waist, keeping her safe from contact with the ballroom floor. She's tensed, expecting to collide with the floor. When she doesn't she relaxes for a moment before tensing all over again when she finally notices his hands on her body. Her eyes shoot up to meet his and he is surprised to see a spark of recognition in her eyes. "Careful, wouldn't want to dirty that dress." He's spoken before he even thinks about it. He slowly uprights both himself and the girl, and only when they upright do they break eye contact. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. My apologies." She curtsies once he has let go of her. Only now he notices her attire and he doesn't know how he could've mistaken her for a commoner this morning, the way she moved and spoke, curtsy and all, speaks of royal blood. For a split second, he doesn't know what to say. He shouldn't say anything anyway. He should leave. This, whatever this is, is dangerous. He can't afford to get distracted, not now, not ever. She might just blow his cover "It's quite alright, it seems I too was lost in thought." He. Is. An. Idiot. What is he doing!? "Thank you, for catching me." She smiles at him before continuing. "Is there anything I could do to thank my rescuer?" He has no clue why he does it, the only reason for it could be temporary insanity. "Dance with me?" She looks surprised before letting out a small smile and taking his now waiting hand. They are moving around the dance floor in a waltz when she speaks again: "Countess Cassandra isn't here yet. She'll come in with the king and his court." He almost steps on her toes in his shock, only barely managing to catch himself. In the name of the Great Dragon, how did she make that connection? How could she possibly know that he was looking for Cassandra? He is just about to ask her how she knows when the sound of trumpets breaks the peace. Everyone falls silent as the king and princess walk through the just-opened doors. The king is the first to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the belle of the ball tonight: my beautiful daughter Stella!" As the people applaud the princess he looks at the girl next to him, she had used that name this morning, did she actually know the princess? And was she so familiar with the princess that she could call out and berate her on her writing? As the royal announcer introduces the rest of the king's entourage he turns to the girl to study her. She's wearing a blue dress, the dark blue bodice contrasts nicely with her hair and the fit of the cors- Hell No! He's not going there. Yes, he's a man and he can admire a female figure as much as he likes but not when he's already endangered this whole operation just because he followed his instincts. He has to do something! Focus... Cassandra, how did she know? When he notices that her attention to the introductions is diminishing he decides to ask."How did you know I was looking for the Countess?" She looks at him curiously, as if she had trouble understanding his question. "Well... I suppose I just guessed, you were walking with her this morning after all." This time he isn't sure if he manages to hide his shock. Quickly he checks his illusion again, had it failed? No, he finds out his illusion is fine. What in the Great Dragon's name was going on here, how could this girl see through his disguise? It was settled with Dragon Fire, it should've been impossible to see through! Maybe he has lost his edge? Maybe she's just immune to disguise spells?He has no clue how he can get his answers, he can't just tell her that he is wearing a disguise. Especially not now that he knows that she has connections in the castle. "It's alright, I won't tell anyone. I'll be the only one to know that the Countess has an overprotective guard." He's startled, and she lets out a tinkling laugh. "A-ah, No that's not..." He trails off. She made him stutter. Stutter. Him, the big bad of this dimension. He was feared across the whole dimension and She. Made. Him. Stutter. Stutter! Honestly what has become of him. He used to be able to break grown men down with his words alone and here he is, stuttering because of a girl. How far the mighty had fallen. "Hey, I'm sorry if I overstepped. Forget I ever said anything." She isn't panicked, but she is apologetic. He sighs and turns back to her fully. "It's alright, you surprised me." He lets out a smirk. "It is not often that someone manages to catch me off guard, well done." She smiles at him and holds out her hand. "Well then, may I have this dance? It wouldn't do to be the only ones not dancing after all." Taking a quick look around he sees that she is right, everyone is dancing, following the king and his daughter in their first dance. He takes her hand in his and they join in. Their dancing comes to a stop as the king moves back up the dais. They turn towards it as one, one of his hands still on her waist. It's almost like he is embracing her, and he can't quite seem to make himself let go. Then the king gives his announcement and the fact that Cassandra actually managed to get the job done settles in his mind. "Oh no, poor Stella. " He turns to look at the Solarian princess and he sees the look of shock on her face. He looks at the girl that he is still lightly holding and asks her why the blonde seems so surprised. "Well, she had hoped that maybe her parents would get back together. Even if that was highly unlikely, I think it's still bad form that she wasn't informed before tonight. He just jeopardized her image as a princess." The disapproval and maybe even disgust almost radiated from her body. She was right of course, the princess's shock was clearly visible and it showed weakness. One couldn't show any weakness in a political setting, it was social suicide. "I'm sorry, I need to go find Stella. Thank you, I had a great time." She's turned back to face him, dislodging his arm from her middle, the smile that had been on her face when they danced now gone, replaced with a neutral look that showed nothing of her feelings. She curtsies once again before she turns and is swallowed by the crowd. He doesn't stay for long after that. He sees the blonde princess turning into a monster and he's surprised that Cassandra managed to actually get that part of her plan worked out. The king calls for the guards to destroy the creature that used to be his daughter and panic breaks out. He disappears in the confusion, teleporting out before the fairies can transform and the fighting really starts. Only when he's back on Andros scanning the ocean-planet for any remaining power sources does he realize that he never asked for the girl's name.