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Peter and Siduri kept walking, towards those that were coming towards them. There was a nod from the man that once was and was here again towards Gilbert. "Yes, well all good things are only temporary," he said before his eyes went to James and he chuckled a bit. "The same could be said for most any here," he added. It was true. Sure Peter had been dead, but so had everyone else here that wasn't either with the Carnivale or an Emendator. Paradoxes were all dead at one point or another. Peter just seemed to have an extended sentence.

Siduri looked towards Gilbert and hen behind him as others were coming into view. "Time grows short, I will take the chosen one personally." Her voice was calm as she spoke and she didn't stop walking. Leaving Peter as her arm pulled away and making her way towards Faith. "I believe that you have a destination in mind."

Time was indeed growing short. The loop would close soon and Gio could feel this. There was procedure for this. The first thing was to get everyone off the grounds. It was the safest route. To open a portal now to another location or time could be dangerous, especially with so many unknowns. It would make more sense to get everyone outside of the gates and therefor outside of the time loop. From there, then they could decide what to do next.

Jonesy came jogging over from where the Carnivale was set up and stopped in front of Siduri. "We are ready to pull out, where too?" he asked. Siduri looked over towards Faith and then back to Jonesy.

"Outside of this and then, let me see. 1943. Yes, New York. I believe that Miss Masters has an appointment to make," she said in a clam voice. "That is if she is willing to join us," she added before she continued on her way towards where the Carnivale Caravan was located. One could hear the vehicles starting up as Jonesy nodded and ran off to inform Sam.

Peter watched for a moment before looking at Gilbert. "I was told you could use reinforcements, perhaps we can catch up later," he said as he declined the offer of a drink. "A mans personal tequila is sacred." Rubbing the back of his neck he yanked it to one side and popped the crick that was there.

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Going into a situation like this blind was less than ideal, obviously, but having the leadership of The Hat and the experience of the other Emendators gave him comfort that they might not be totally screwed. He politely nodded back at James, keeping his full attention of the situation at hand. Assuming the worst that they could deal with seemed to be a good strategy to him, it'd mean they'd be prepared for their worst case scenario. To him, that was that the loop was crumbling, which probably meant staying near The Hat was still the best course of action. He didn't really know what that would mean for him, though he'd assume it would leave them on November 1st, 1943, that wasn't the sort of thing he'd be willing to bet on by any means.

As they reached Siduri, he initially couldn't place her new compatriot, having only seen Peter once, as a corpse. Once the Hat spoke to him though, a look of understanding and surprise cross his face. A small amount of pride also crossed into him as well at this, having anticipated that these people might've been able to restore the dead, even if he had thought it unlikely at the time. Putting that aside for now, it was certainly good that they now had a new ally to face whatever they may be about to face, especially considering that Alicia, and Alexandra were now gone. Taking a moment, he turned and faced Faith, "Looks like it's time for us to part ways, for now at least." He said as Siduri seemed to be ready to leave, and take Faith with her. "Don't go falling apart without me, okay?" He said, forcing a smile at her. Truth be told he was worried about whatever she might have to undergo to get Eve back to them, but if any of them could do it, he really did think that Faith could.

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If Faith had any power that would help she would have strangled Gil right then and there. The man seemed content with putting off the inevitable. Hadn’t Siduri stated as much? They had no time to sit around collecting information. They knew their goal and they knew what they all had to do. It was now or never, and she wanted now. Before she could speak and chew Gilbert a new one, Siduri appeared, almost as if she was summoned. Did the woman know of her plight? Perhaps so, in which case Faith was thankful that someone here understood the importance of the mission placed on her shoulders.

”Yes, I am ready. I’ve been ready since it was told that I would be the one to do this. New York.” She didn’t much care for goodbyes and Gilbert had been dragging his feet on this matter. The others were either not here or she didn’t feel a strong bond to them yet. Bart, however, was another matter. The boy was more or less her only friend here. She nodded her understanding, knowing he truly meant what he said. His words echoed in her mind as she realized that she would miss him while she was alone. ”Yeah well, gotta do what you gotta do right? Don’t screw anything up or I will track you down myself. See ya, dork.” She knew he would understand the comfort and tenderness in her words, even if they sounded harsh. She turned and followed Siduri to the Carnivale, eager to get started.

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Sophia looked over her shoulder at Gio as he started to explain a little bit and nodded slightly towards him, though she had no clue really so long as they remained calm it should all be fine. "Sounds like a walk in the park then." Sophia said as she started to catch up to everyone else, then she stopped and looked over seeing that it was Peter there as well. She wasn't sure how he was alive at all or how exactly he came back either. "Welcome back to the land of the living? It's good to see you are alive now." Sophia said as she looked over towards Gilbert for a moment and then over at Faith as well as Bart to, overhearing their conversation.

"Good luck I hope you do find Eve." Sophia said over towards Faith and gave the woman a smile as she watched her starting to follow Siduri over towards the carnival caravan. "Gio says that he's losing the loop now and that we should leave the grounds now." Sophia said, as she looked over at Gio, she just figured that they all just leave the grounds and everything should be fine. "So we, just walk off the grounds and everything will be alright?" Sophia asked him.

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Andromeda nodded slightly, her stomach twisting slightly at the thought of the carnies. Her mind was in a battle against itself, trying not to focus too much on the circumstances of her death but it was proving difficult. Arguably, dying was one of the more traumatic experiences in a person's life and everything that was happening in her afterlife seemed to be almost a more diabolical and twisted copy of her life. "Thanks," she told Sophia. She had put aside the earlier annoyance she had with the ginger. The world was ending and it wasn't the time to form a grudge over something so minor. At Giouse's explanation that the loop was essentially a crashing plane, Andromeda tried not to feel too panicked.

She left the sitting room with Giouse and Sophia, heading out onto the grounds and she blinked slightly seeing Peter. Her earlier thoughts about necromancy being behind the quake might have been right then. But hadn't the Emendators said that when a Paradox died... that was that? How was Peter back here? Of course, after this evening, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Emendators didn't know everything. She glanced at Giouse as Sophia started asking about what they had to do and she fought the urge to run in a panic off of the grounds. She didn't want to get killed because of time going crazy a second time. "Once we're safe.... How is Peter alive?" she asked.

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Gilbert could have facepalmed at the sheer, blanket idiocy that he had been displaying for all of this time. Of course they had a procedure for this. He wondered exactly how it got in his head in the first place that this was a wholly unprecedented event. If procedure existed, then this must have happened before, and the circumstances that led up to the last few times were rapidly gathering right then. It stood to reason that this might have been something they should have drilled over the course of the past year and a half with the new Paradoxes, and as such they might have a decent grasp on what was necessary as well. Gilbert would just have to trust that they knew what to do from their individual standpoints.

Gathering his wits about him, Gil merely turned and spoke to all still present who were not acting according to procedure, "It is time. I understand that much has happened to account for piqued interest, but it is of the utmost of importance for us all to exit the grounds in an orderly fashion. The clearest signpost that designates this is the gate at the main entrance. If the date clicks over to the first without other mishap, perhaps we might be able to salvage what we may from the grounds afterward. If not, I am The Hat. I can provide. Please, let us move." Gilbert looked back to Peter, "I apologize that your welcome back is so understated. We all have questions. But please, we should ask them of each other after this is handled."

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James looked at everyone around him blankly, as if he had no idea what was going on nor what might happen next. He gave a sort of half-hearted smile to Peter, the Paradox that he never got to meet personally while he was alive. British fella. Cultured accent. And he didn't wish to delve into a man's personal tequila. He seemed like a stand-up sort of man, for someone who just came back from the dead for the second time. "Aight, suit y'self," he said, lowering the bottle. "Offer's still there in case you change that mind though, 'k?" he added before turning around, heeding the words of the taller Emendator. It seemed that no one knew anything that was going on right then except for the pale Siduri, and now she was the one calling all the shots. Overtly, as the Emendators all deferred to her, it seemed like the thing to do, but deep in James's head something about all this still seemed off. He couldn't quite place why, though.

On his way toward the Gates, he came across Andromeda, Sophia, and Giosue. The Watch seemed to be concentrating on something potentially important (James could only assume it had to do with the Loop, though it might be a decent enough guess considering the present emergency) so he instead spoke to the women present. Starting with Sophia, "Dunno if'n everythang's gonna be alright once we get off the grounds, but that's what we gotta do now. Hell, it'll probably be both hunky and dory. These folks know what they're doin'." At least, James really hoped that they did.

Addressing Andromeda's question, "That really white lady did somethin'. Says it's only temporary, so I don't know what happens after or when after is... it's all voodoo to me, girl." He extended a hand to the alabaster haired Paradox, saying in notes he hoped were comforting, "C'mon, they got this. Let's get gone." He pointed in the general direction of the main Gate. "Figure it out when we out there."

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Siduri nodded to Fatih and motioned for her to follow her, making her way back to the carnivale where they were loaded up and ready to go. To exit the grounds to ensure they were out of the loop they would need to take the exit where the carnivale had first entered.Away from the front gate of the house. Normally when a loop closed they could go back in and check for their things if they needed but with the way things where going that was a toss up at this point. There was no time to go back personal things and they did have the Hat. Then again, since the loop was closing, it meant a shift in an Emendators power it seemed, would The Hat still be able to pull a bunny out of his hat by the end of the day? Only time would tell and time wasn't exactly on their side.

Peter looked over towards Gilbert. "I was never one for such things, let us move," he said as the others came into view. Looking around he started walking towards the back of the grounds so he could exit them. He was looking around, studying the place as he went but he was moving well enough. He still had his limp so whatever had happened to bring him back hadn't cured that. Was that something Ben could tend to once they were out? Again, only time would tell. "I could use a spot of tea," he said idly as he walked, the Carnivale about to start pulling out.

"If you would, please join Ben in the cab," Siduri said to Faith. The cab of the truck had Ben alone in it and it was driving Siduri's trailer. Siduri moved up the steps and into her trailer, shutting the door behind her. Ben flung open the passenger door and then righted himself.

"Ready for ya," he said as he started up the truck and waited for her. They would be pulling out once Faith was in and situated. Samson and Jonesy were in the truck behind them, followed by the rest of the Carnivale. Things were happening, not only here but elsewhere. Unbeknownst to the rest, Paradoxes outside of the loop were having issues of their own and well, where they were now? Well that is a story for later.

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"Oh, hello there Peter. Didn't expect to see you here." One minute Gio was busy keeping everything together, the next he looks up and sees Peter's face not dead. He wasn't sure why he was up and walking instead of being a corpse in the ground, having missed James' explanation of Siduri shenanigans. The Watch chalked it up to something about the dissolution of the time loop perhaps fucking with the chronology of events potentially negating Peter's death. Or something. Making sure that the loop didn't snap like a rubber band was way more important than apparently Peter being alive(?)

They were all quite aways from the gate grounds and he wasn't entirely comfortable that everything would hold together long enough for them to all get off the grounds in time, but he was even less confident that attempting to open up a time portal would be the right thing to do at this moment. Not only would attention be split, potentially ruining everything right then and there simply due to not being able to properly focus, but there was also the fact that the temporal situation being so questionable at this point that even if he did successfully open a time portal, it would break time for an entirely different set of reasons. He wasn't quite comfortable with the risks involved with trying to take a shortcut so to speak.

"As we all make our way to the main gate that we must do so with the utmost haste, but do remain calm. Somebody accidentally getting run over because they panicked and ran out into the road because they weren't paying attention would be quite an embarrassing way to go."

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Bart gave a melancholic smile as Faith said goodbye and left. He stifled a laugh at her version of a goodbye, and turned back to the forming group. Peter was alive, which was something to be addressed, but certainly was better for later. They had to leave the camp grounds, He didn't like the idea of losing the small number of possessions he'd acquired, but they did have The Hat, and he wasn't much for sentimental value. He gave a funny look to Gio, essentially having been told to leave quickly, but calmly, away from the collapse of time itself. The order might be good advice, but it took a level of self control he wasn't sure he had.

"Right, The gate. I'll be on my way then." Bart said in response to Gio. He started off towards the gate, taking one last look around at the place he'd learned to call home. The Plantation was a good place, all things considered, but moving on would be something new too. Who knows, maybe they'd choose somewhere farther in the future for their next base of operations? That would be of interest to Bart, especially if they ended up going past the early 2000's. He was very curious to see what would happen to humans in the future, and living there would certainly be a way of finding out.

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"Alright walking off to the grounds seems pretty easy enough then." Sophia said as she started to follow everyone else over towards the exit of the grounds. She looked over towards James as he started to address her, she wasn't really sure if they knew what was going on exactly either as well. But she simply gave James a slight nod and smile as she continued to make her way across the grounds, though she did want to know where they would end up when they left the grounds. Or if they would just simply be just outside of it once they had gone through the main gate itself. She hadn't left the grounds aside from their training sessions over the last year from Gio using his time portals once they did their training sessions.

"So once we exit the grounds, we just remain there outside of the time loop or do we end up somewhere else?" Sophia asked since she didn't know, as she continued to make her way over towards the gate. She looked over towards Andromeda and gave her a friendly smile and nodded towards her. "Also sorry for my comments earlier, I didn't take that into account so i'm sorry." She said towards Andromeda, as she noticed Peter limping while he walked at least she wasn't the only one who still had an injury that would never recover since their own deaths from their previous lives.

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Faith followed Siduri closely as they wandered around the carnival. Who would have known this traveling circus would be the change they needed in order to set things right? She certainly didn’t expect much from them, but now she was going off on her own to train her ability to bring Eve back and help the others correct whatever time fluctuation was happening. She thought back on her beginning here, unsure if she was better than she had been. She thought she grew some. The Faith of the past certainly wouldn’t have cared about anyone, least of all Eve or Bart, but now she was determined to help the others.

She wouldn’t say it, but she was going to miss the others, even the two bumbling Emendators left to hold the reigns. She knew the other Paradoxes were competent enough to be able to handle anything that came, but there was also the dire need of fixing it all in a short amount of time. Either way, she climbed into the vehicle that would transport her to New York. She wasn’t exactly thrilled, but given all that happened, she was sure she could muster up something that would get the woman to help her.

”Ready when you are.” She gave one last look at what had been her home before she readied herself for the journey.

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The ripples of time sure changed things from moment to moment, possibly even things which Gilbert had held as solid since the beginning. It was kind of funny, being absolutely certain about how things worked, only to have the building blocks of reality jumbled about in a paint shaker. It occurred to him that the Paradoxes had as good a handle on these things as he had at this point. Hell, they might have decent solo careers, in comparison, at this point. But hey, life was change. Change was inevitable. These things happened. The mention of a spot of tea did strike home with Gilbert; among the chaos of the ever-swirling kaleidoscope of how things were from moment to moment, tea sounded right. Solid. Grounded. Throughout the ages and timelines, it was something of a constant, as if it was as intrinsic to humanity as war, alcohol, or compassion. The more he thought of it as he tromped toward the Gate, the more he could go for a cup. Gil gave a casual, agreeing nod in the direction of Peter. "Yes. Let us see what we can do about that." Tea. Good stuff.

Stepping outside of the grounds proper for the first tie in a very long while, Gilbert took the occasion to look back upon the grounds with fresh eyes. He had seen this exact sight almost innumerable times, but like all things in the ordinary progression of time, the circumstances of that moment would never happen again. He gave a heavy sigh. Having spent more years outside of a temporal loop than within one, this was not going to be an amazingly huge adjustment for him. But it would be an adjustment. He did rather like this loop. It had character. Plus, there were others to take care of than just himself. They would manage, one way or another. They always did. Even with the tenuous grasp on what was that he had picked up from their circumstances.

As he set up just outside of the Gate, Gilbert took the occasion to answer Sophia's broadcast question about the nature of the closing Loop, "You know, Sophia," he began with a casual laugh, "I have absolutely idea whatsoever? Isn't it marvelous?" He stuck his hands into his pockets and leaned back a little, curious to find out for himself.

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James had little in the way of personal belongings that he didn't carry on him, including now some of the ascended and slightly elder Paradox, Alicia's. She had been his friend. And now he wore a religious icon that he didn't really subscribe to and carried a bottle of something that he really only drank with any gusto because of her. Funny how thing worked out that way, sometimes. We are who we associate with, at least on some level. Days long, long past wouldn't have had those two anywhere near each other. Fate and an undead apocalypse brought them together as friends and allies. It was a lesson that could be applied to the people around him now, as well, even though they didn't quite have the same level of camaraderie. Yet. Looking around at the people most immediately near him, James figured that, given that they were about to leap headlong into the unknown together again, they very well might. James looked over to Andromeda, telling her in soft, deep notes, "Gonna be aight, girl. You wait an' see." He gave a slow nod, tipping the brim of his hat back with his first two fingers in the process.

Looking back at the Destrehan Plantation from the outside, several thoughts went through his head at that time. Though they seemed random, he decided to share them in no particular order. "Y'know, if this place gets eat up by some 'time hole' or anotha, least I can be thankful fo' is that the godawful, goddamned outfit with th' broke-ass rope belt that I showed up here in is goin' away with it. That's a truth I can live with, yessir."

"Ok, ok, hows about this: If'n somethin' bad goes down and th' rest of us Paradoxes're left fendin' for ourselves, I say we go underground, okay? Start us up a... a... yeah, a superhero team! Miss Andromeda, Miss Sophia, what you ladies think on that? Oh, but we gotta get names. Secret identities too, 'cause none of us's born yet. Or jus' identities, period. Hmm, I'm gonna think on that more. Get back to ya."

That thought gave birth to another scenario, "...fuck off, evildoers! Y'all's facin' Mandingo... nah. Nah, hmm... The Tusk! Aight, that sucks a fat'n... Hogwild? Eh. Hog Wilde? Maaaaybe... El Blackneck-o! Naw, that's just racist. I'll get it after a while." He probably wouldn't without help, no matter how many comic books he had been exposed to in his years.

But not everything was entirely self-centric, despite the variable opinion he had of himself. "Hey there, Miss Andy, if we stuck out here when it starts gettin' light again, you wanna borrow my stetson? Keep that sun offa y'face." He shifted it off anyway and offered it over, his head still covered by a tied bandanna.

Maybe he was just talking out of nervousness. It was a first for James, watching a temporal loop collapse right in front of him.

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The Carnivale train as it were and those that had called the Plantation home for some time were moving off the grounds. Ben looked over towards Faith and nodded as he started to drive forward once she was situated. Peter cast a glance in Gio direction and smiled slightly. "Nor I myself but yet here I am, truly a remarkable turn of events but I do wish they were under much more serene circumstances than this bloody mess that we seem to be in at this point in time." Turning his head forward he kept walking, doing his best to move with his limp and without a cane in hand but he managed. At least they were not having to sprint right then. And it wasn't that he was ungrateful to be brought back to the land of the semi living but he did so wish his leg worked better. He was a fighter, a proper leg would have been useful.

"This entire thing does make me question so much more, at least in my mind. Though questions are at least left until a time where we are not on the run, or semi move. As it were," he added. If he was back, who else was back? Or gone? Where were the other Paradoxes? Where they safe? Had something happened to them for him to be brought back? If one could be brought back, why him? Was it just because his body was on the ground, or was there something more in play? And what was happening in Egypt right then? Something had been up. Something beyond what he had seen before. Was George still with Vera? Was she safe? He dared not think of trying to go back again, he shouldn't have the first time. He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Once everyone was off the grounds, the loop gave way. Normally when a loop closed, it was nothing really. It was just that time kept marching on as if it was simply turning from one minute to the other instead of restarting. And that was nearly how it went this time. Almost. As one second turned over to another and the new day turned over there was a shimmer. Not just to the grounds that had been within the loop but the entire world now. It was enough for Ben to hit the breaks easily and stop the caravan of Carnivale and stick his head forward as he looked through the front windshield. "Da hell?" he remarked. "Why does everything look like I just got dun rubbing my eyes?" he asked. Not really to Faith but just in general. His head turned and he looked over to her. "Or am I seeing stuff and thangs?" he asked her. Oh he was seeing things alright, thing was, it was the same thing everyone else was seeing.

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At James' comment that the Emendators knew what they were doing, Andromeda kept her opinion to herself - she wasn't so sure that they did. They seemed flustered and out of their element ever since Siduri had arrived. It probably didn't help that they were shorthanded, with Evelina and Nancy gone. They even were short a few Paradoxes - well, one really, since Faith was going off with Siduri and the others to go find Eve. However, she did chuckle slightly as James made a comment about Siduri's skin color. "It's called being albino," she told him, figuring that he already knew that, though she did accept his hand.

Her eyes darted over towards Peter and she noticed that he was limping - she wasn't sure if he had limped before his death or not, well before his second death. Giouse and Gilbert seemed to be preoccupied with issuing the standard evacuation instructions that would be found at a movie theater in the event of a fire. "Thanks for the apology, but it's fine," Andromeda told Sophia, a bit surprised that she had brought it up.

She did raise an eyebrow, looking over at James as he mentioned superhero teams. "We actually had those in my timeline," she informed him. She giggled slightly and then smiled slightly as he offered her his hat. It was awfully kind of him. "Sure, if it gets too sunny, I'd like that. Otherwise you guys might have to call me the Roasted Albino for my codename." Once they were off the grounds though, and the weird shimmer happened, Andromeda raised her hand to her eyes, as if she could block out the source of the light somehow.

"...I hope that was something to expect..."

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"Calling the situation we find ourselves in at present a 'bloody mess' is quite an understatement, Peter." How much of an understatement it was had yet to be seen, however. A time loop forcibly snapping shut wasn't a particular event he had the pleasure of experiencing before now, so he couldn't be sure what was to happen. It worried him quite a bit as he walked, but he couldn't let him distract him from holding everything together at least getting out of the worst of the "blast zone." He felt like a sailor alone aboard a sinking ship, trying to plug up the continuously multiplying holes appearing in the hull with his fingers, whilst the passengers remained blissfully unaware of the specifics of the debacle.

"What normally occurs, Ms. Harris," Gio explained as they stepped foot outside the grounds, "is that you simply leave the grounds and time acts as it normally does. The same applies when I decide to close a time loop. One moment passes and then time continues to march forward. Although in the literature space and time are intertwined as to be considered the same thing in some models, my abilities primarily affect the latter. You needn't worry about translocation as a side effect of The Watch unless you step through a time portal. But the issue is that I haven't decided to close the loop, so who knows what might happen." The world begins to shimmer. "Such as that. I suggest we keep moving." Gio stops his explanation to continue walking down the road away from the Camp. It was somewhat of a relief when the loop finally closed. At a bare minimum it was one less thing to concentrate on at one time. But it brought with it its own issues.

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Bart gave a befuddled smile at James, as he started considering alternatives for them if the camp was lost. Though he wasn't immediately opposed to taking up a life of superhero-dom, now didn't seem like the right time to be going off on that. He just kind of looked on at him, opening him mouth once in a while, as if he was about to say something, but couldn't find the words. Maybe he and James just had different opinions on the seriousness of the collapse of local space-time, but he had trouble thinking of anything besides that. He looked back towards the Plantation, just in time to see the world go from looking normal, to almost as if he'd had a little too much to drink.

"I take it this isn't normal then." Bart noted, and followed after Gio. He looked around at the world, and tried to rack his brains for what could possibly explain the situation in front of him. Based off what he knew, which wasn't much, his options for explaining what was happening before him was limited. The only possible explanation he could start to come up with was that somehow, the world had fallen out of sync with itself. As if the shimmer was caused by two instants, right next to the other, happening in parallel. He doubted his ability to even vocalize this hunch, as he hadn't even fully formed it in his head, but this was his coping mechanism when he had no power; trying desperately to come up with explanations instead of focusing on his helplessness.

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Sophia looked over towards the Hat for a moment when he answered her question which was probably more of a scary thought that he didn't even know the answer to her question, and he was way older than she was as well by a couple thousand years. "Oh yeah that is really marvelous." Sophia said, as she made it off of the grounds, as she looked over back at the home that they had been calling for the last year or so now. She was glad to know that Andromeda had forgiven her, for what she had said earlier as she ran a hand through her hair and sighed a bit as she then started to notice the shimmering as well.

"That doesn't look good." Sophia said, as she looked over towards James, about making secret identities, she really wasn't sure about making one right now. "I'll get back to you on the whole naming thing." Sophia said as she shifted a little bit as she followed Gio a little bit as he told them to keep moving and answered her question, though it was a little bit over her head as he explained it. She wasn't sure how far he wanted to move from the main gate itself. "So, what is our next move anyway?" She finally asked.

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Faith felt the butterflies in her stomach performing daring acts. She had never felt nervous before. Or she managed to bullshit her way through it. But now she was nervous and more so because she knew just how important this was. She kept herself occupied to the best of her ability, but she found herself distracted often. She looked as they drove on. She as eager to get there and get all of this done, though she knew the journey would not be easy. She practiced her speech. How she would hopefully get Babylon to help her after her last meeting. Surely the end of all time was a good motivator.

As they rode, they stopped. Faith was about to ask why when she saw it. Sparkly lights dazzled all around them. ”I take it this is not a normal occurrence?” She had never seen it before, but maybe Ben had in his journey, though judging by his own wonder, she supposed not. ”I hope this is a good thing. A pretty light show to watch as we continue, but I have a feeling that it is not good.” She assumed, like most of what she saw in her time as a Paradox, that this did not bode well for them. At least it was pretty this time around and not likely to kill them. She hoped.

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The shimmering in the air, all of the air, was enough to give Gilbert a surprised raise of his eyebrows. He had seen many, many things before that were fantastic in nature, possibly more reaching and grandiose than even this in his long years, but it was a different matter when it was completely unexpected. Like someone went to open a can of peanuts and instead was treated to a container full of orange marmalade. He blindly reached in, expecting salty, roasted peanuts, only to draw back a handful of sweet and tangy orange gloop. Oh, there was nothing wrong with the citrusy biscuit-topper, but when you expect nuts instead you cut a surprised, disgusted face and find someplace to wash your hands. Maybe find a biscuit, too.

Everyone seemed to have the same question in mind: Was this normal? They phrased it in different ways, but the intent behind it was all the same. Likewise, the answer for all of them was a broad, sweeping, "No. No, this is not normal." Gilbert's voice was distant, as if he was pondering some vast mathematical quandary that had fallen onto is lap. In a clearer voice, he continued, "As with so many things that has happened since the arrival of our guests, I am without knowledge nor precedent for this. It is a very curious happening." He turned around to face the remaining Emendators and Paradoxes present. "Sophia, I believe that our plan hasn't changed much. We still need as much help as we can get. We must locate the other Paradoxes. If possible, we must reestablish a Loop, or otherwise create a haven. For right this moment, I believe that we should determine if the Plantation is safe to enter, and if so, scavenge for any equipment and supplies we may need. I do not know if we should remain for very long." There were other considerations in play. Dangerous ones.

Continuing, "What I know of this is minimal. I encourage the opinions of others, but I encourage them as we move."

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The plantation still stood, meaning that the horrible set of clothes and the rope belt were probably still perfectly okay, back in his room. That was a downside. On the upside, there wasn't a whole lot of things that he overly needed on those grounds, despite the advice of The Hat to return and scavenge, but a few additional items to help them not die would have been great. "Look here, I ain't needin' needin' nothing, big, really. And if'n Mr. Hat can pull stuff out his Hat, then I says we get gone from this place til we can get us a couple trucks we can throw shit into, 'fore we return. IF we can, y'dig? Them carnival folk might have the right idea, travellin' in caravan and keepin' they asses movin'." He shook his head, "Imma miss me that General Fuzzy, though."

James looked over to Andromeda, a soft quality coloring his voice. "Hey, I ain't meanin' nothing by it, Miss Andy. Tryin' to put some funny in a fucked-up situation's all." He replaced his cowboy hat on his close-cropped head and reminded, "Aight. It gets sunny, this all you... But hey, you had Superhero teams in your timelime? Like actual superhero teams, or was it like the comics an' movies in mine? I mean sho', we had us the Livin' Dead, but wasn't nobody who could fly or, or... um, blast muthas with no eyeball freak-beams." Sure, it seemed like a stupid question. But in his world, it used to be a stupid question to ask if you put a knife through a dead person's skull so they wouldn't try to eat anybody. Sometimes, stuff just happened to change the game. Like now.

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Ben looked over at Faith and shook his head. "Naw, it ain't. At least from what I've seen," he said before looking back out the window. Granted, he didn't have anything to base it off of but in general everything looking like he had spent way too much time rubbing his eyes couldn't be normal and probably wasn't a good thing. He hoped it was but all things considered, different usually meant bad when it came to shit. Peter was just as stumped as what was going on but thankfully the Hat was able to pull a cane out of his hat. It wasn't a rabbit but a cane wasn't a hard object to do. No working parts, not living, it would work.

"Yes, thank you, that will do quite nicely," Peter said as he took the cane. Sadly that was about all that the Hat could do because he wasn't getting anything about shimmering like this. Not that stuck out anyways. The Watch on the other hand was. Not so much as something from the past, or even with time itself, but with memory. There used to be another Emendator. One called The Glasses. He never spoke about what he saw but he did mention in passing one time that when he was looking the world seemed to shimmer. Maybe whatever was causing a close in the loop was a good thing after all. It might mean things are collapsing but a side effect could be being able to see what they couldn't before. This would at least put them on a level playing field with certain creatures. Thing was, they would have to find one to test this. Last known whereabouts for a Destruere? Egypt.