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William could hear the other's asking for an explanation, but they were little more than white noise now. To William, the air seemed to be roaring. His shortswords were whispering to themselves, refusing to sit still and silent when the air still burned of danger. But it was the violin, still strung across William's back, that was making the greatest noise. To William's ear, the instrument was singing. Even before anything happened, the instrument seemed to know that it was going to, like it was yearning to be played, to echo the ebbs and flows of what was to come. William could hardly remember the first time he had heard the violin singing, to him, it had been singing since the day his father handed it to him. A part of him knew that the violin lay silent, that it only played when he played it, and for a while, he thought himself mad. It took years for him to recognise the singing for what it was. William's life had revolved around music for so long, that the lack of it left him cold and on edge, so in those moments of silence, or chaotic noise, William's mind filled those moments with music, even when there was none.

'The Great Bazhooli' joined the pale woman in saying an impromptu farewell as he approached the Duchess. Whatever the three of them were about to do, whatever this 'Gologramma' was, none of them were expecting to be coming back. William could only stand and watch, because there was nothing else he could think to do. The things that were happening were beyond his grasp, and far beyond his control, the music seeming to stream from his violin building to a frantic crescendo. The haze still clung to everything, so it took William a moment to realise that his surroundings were beginning to fade away. He turned towards Millicent, opening his mouth to say something, but she was already gone. He was no longer standing in the church, and he could only watch in disbelief as the world around him fell away. He saw a desolate landscape, nothing but dust in every direction as far as he could see, then rivers of darkness snaked across the ground like veins, and finally, a building, seeming to rise from the dust as he hurtled towards it, and then suddenly, he was still again.

William's head was spinning, his stomach felt like it had turned inside out, and he was desperately fighting the urge to throw up. Whatever had just happened, he certainly hadn't enjoyed it. Looking around, William noticed two things almost simultaneously. Firstly, he wasn't alone, several other's from the church were also standing around him, and secondly, it wasn't everyone from the church. He glanced from one figure to the next, making a mental check in his head as he did. The pale woman, the Duchess and 'The Great Bazhooli' were still holding hands, and the other Russian man was standing over them still. But of Millicent, the Irish woman, the blonde and the bearded scholar, there was no sign. It took William a moment to find his voice, his mind still struggling to keep up with everything that had happened. A hundred questions tried to pour out of his mouth at once, but he managed to restrain himself to the most burning one.

"What the hell just happened?"

Almost on instinct, William found himself looking upwards. The building they were standing in might have been grand once, but it was half-ruined now, and a clouded sky opened up above them. During his training, he had spent countless nights looking up at the stars, and he had grown so familiar with them that he could see their lights even when they hidden to others. But something was wrong. They weren't there. He strained his eyes, trying to find the pinpricks of light that he had seen a hundred times before, but still nothing. There was a chance that whatever ritual had just been performed could have thrown him off, but it was the other possibility that sent a chill down William's spine. The possibility that he couldn't see the stars because they weren't there. Tearing his eyes away from the eerily empty sky, William looked back at the others.

"And where are we?"

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"Have faith," Virginia had reassured her dear friend Millicent, before they performed the trick. She was not certain what sort of sensation they should have had from Vlad's skill, yet it was uncanny and remarkable all the same. Everything around them had started to fade away, with this other place... this Elsewhere... becoming all the more prominent. It took her breath away and while no doubt any ordinary person would have been terrified, Virginia was delighted. This outcome had been more than she could have hoped for. The beautiful melancholy desolation of this place sang to her very soul, with the essence seeming to whisper secrets to Virginia that she had never known about herself.

She had never felt more alive and complete before. The broken and empty structure she now stood in was horrific and terrifying - she had no doubt that when the arches caught the light in just the right manner, their shadows would look like specters. She smiled, wiping a slight tear away from her eyes as she tried her best to take in this awe inspiring place. "We're Elsewhere..." she said, answering William's question. It seemed as fitting a name as any. It was, after all, where her father had instructed her to go. "Have you ever been somewhere so beautiful?" she asked her companions. She dried her eyes by blinking rapidly to dispel the moisture.

Oh, if only she could share this wondrous place with Millicent and James and many more! She had no understanding of how they had come to be here, but everything about it just felt right to her.

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So as they passed along, Caesar kept his attention to the ground around them. Not one to expect more of his abilities than his actual training allowed, he was content to simply observe the ground as it was and attempt to draw conclusions from it, regarding the area. What he found, apparently, was nothing. No tracks of any kind, no evidence of insects, nothing which could have been used as a game trail. Nothing that looked like precipitation had occurred recently, or heavy winds that might have obscured anything. No holes, small or large in the ground, no broken vegetation or any vegetation for that matter including plant litter, likewise no rough or overturned, depressed or disturbed soil, but again definitely, assuredly, no tracks. There was nothing to base any assumptions on, such as he had the ability to tell, anywhere in the basic direction that they were going. A little creepy, but important to know. Okay, a lot creepy. It demonstrated a pressing and basic difference to the environment they had involuntarily left.

Caesar shrugged as the flask was passed back to him. Fair enough. It was an offer for someone doing them a favor and if it wasn't wanted for the reason stated, he wasn't going to take it as insult or find issue with it. "Yeah, staying sharp," he said, echoing their guide's sentiment for any who requested a swig from his personal stash of booze without invite. He slid it back into his vest without further comment about it. He did give a good listen to what Robert had to say about the books and research being done around it. Nothing that too heavily weighed toward what he and his associate were into, though there were curiosities about Adelaide's situation. Missing book from a vault in a secure building, if he read that statement right. Even if he didn't, it looked like things were tough all over, what with the bullshit being slung across everyone and everything even slightly connected with this case. Or series of cases. Looking at everyone who was around him now, it was obvious that all of their individual ventures were connected. Then Robert brought up the topic that they had come to the bookstore to look into in the first place, or one of them, anyway, referring to their mention by his "British Man". Not a great superhero name, if Caesar had any say in the matter. "Mr. Keystone and I were put on the path for the Lunillud Aleae by parties unknown," he said, answering Robert but looking to the others to see if any had a glimmer or recognition. "Celestial Dice."

Partially to answer Mali's question, he continued, "Then our story is like hers. No clown. Yes, shadow creature. My dead daughter came back to life, she killed it with explosives. Now I'm here." Caesar shook his head. Overly simple, but amazingly to the point. He looked to the rocks and noted Kyra's comment about them. It wasn't much, but if it was the only landmark it would have to do as a focal point for now. He might venture settling in and building a fire, but the lack of combustible materials was apparent. But should they even stop? Was there a point to it? "Do we have a goal here? Beside getting back, I mean." he finally said aloud. How would they even start about that little task, anyway? Mysteries abound.

The path has been chosen. Whether or not that is a wise choice has yet to be seen but the lady known as Judgement is now gone as it appears is half the path. You only have one direction to move now. The other direction now is nothing but a void. It is like seeing the end of the universe and truly knowing now what one would mean if they were to say there was nothing there. Impossible to describe but knowing it as soon as you laid eyes on it. The choice was Punishment, Purgatory. Though she way she spoke it could end up being something else depending on how one looked at it. Again, only time would tell.

As the group begins to walk, the road is simple enough and it seems that you are moving towards the tree and birds but the closer you come, the less these things are truly there. They seem to fade away. The fields on either side gave way to something else: to mountains on one side and water in the distance on the other. Greens and blues gave away to darker oranges and reds and blacks. Until they were standing between both, some distance between either, no telling which direction was which anymore. The smell of sulfur was strong in the air and the shadows seemed to move. The nothing void was no longer there as they stood now on red dusty ground. (Gilbert and Gio: Refer to Emendator Chat for more information.)



Unfortunately for Nancy she really isn't able to glean anything about the man, though she is feeling something. Something will click in her mind to try. (Refer to Emendator Chat for more information.) A sinister smile comes to the mans lips as he chuckled towards Nancy and her words in a language few understood these days. "Oh Mon Cher you do have a fire in you, I like that in a woman," he laughed as he cast his eyes towards Richard. Turning his attention back towards Nancy he rubbed his chin slightly, a waft of smoke coming from his cigar. "Tis difficult to strike fear in the hearts of the folly I have found." There was a knowing look from the man as he popped his cigar between his teeth and puffed on it. "I am not sure Bebe', there may not be enough payment to travel with some of these." He seemed to be eying a few in the group as he pulled the cigar from his lips and let the smoke huff from his nostrils.

There was a pop of his brow as she mentioned wanting to know his name. "Where are my manners," he began as he took his hat off and gave a flourished brow. "A name, yes, so many to chose from for those like us. I believe Nancy will do fine for you. I would hate to out a fellow trickster." He winked to Nancy as he righted himself, spinning his hat before plopping it back on his head. "Baron? Papa? Ioa Guédé? Do take your pick."

Turning his attention to the starlet he breathed slowly. "Oh you so remind me of a young woman I once knew. Misjudged and misunderstood. You could do nicely," he said towards Josephine. He seemed to at least be somewhat interested in the actress and she was handling herself well when it came to the etiquette department. She at least was not ruffling the feather in his cap as it were.

As far as where they are, Faye isn't having a lot of luck determining that but once she starts hearing the names the man is giving, combined with his look, at the knowledge she has of the occult in her own homelands she is starting to put things together. Haitian Voodoo is one of the stronger occults in the Americas. He is carrying himself as one of their spirits known as an Ioa yet it is hard to put her finger on which one. Baron and Papa usually are two different titles, like a king versus count. Is he one or the other is hard to say. Or perhaps he is both and it is the practitioners that have divided a single entity up into two?

Mosi isn't having any luck though. As far as she can tell there is nothing save a soul that would be acceptable. Figuring he is after one thing and one thing alone. From what Richard can gather, all he knows right now is that the man doesn't seem like he is going to attack them and the snake is happy to slither over the mans shoulders. The snake looks rather heavy but doesn't seem to be hindering the man. Mahendra is lucky enough to watch the others and be able to mimic their body movements right now so he doesn't at least appear to be scared shitless right now.

The mention of drinkable spirits did get the mans attention though and he looked over towards Lauren. "Oh child, now that is something we can deal in. Such things can be scarce in these parts and it has been a long time since I had a good stiff one," he seemed to purr. There was a grin on his face as he pulled his staff up and nodded. "If she can brew a proper spirit, we have a short term deal." Looking over towards Nancy he looked back at her pendant. "That we can talk about more later."

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"How about to trust me? That I wouldn't leave unless I had to? That if I say don't follow me don't? To think on what I tried to teach you? That you aren't special, none of us are. That I owe you nothing, that no one does," Evelina said as she started packing up. Stopping she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Talking to you is like talking to a wall. Yes, I am stupid. I thought I could get through to you and trust you to have learned something. That now knowing that I left to save another, not to help you, would have sunk in. But as you seem to believe that myself and the rest of the Emendators are stupid I see that was a fools hope." Picking up her pack she kicked dirt over the fire to put it out. Faith was speaking just as she did back when she was taken with Bart to Club Afterdark. Even worse now from Evelina could recall. It sickened her. Especially the way she spoke about the other Emendators.

"As far as who is saving who, you figure it out. I am either too inept to know the answer or you won't listen to the one I give you," Evelina added. Opening her pack she reached in and pulled out her dice. Rolling them over in her hand a few times before placing them softly back in the pack. Tightening it down she slid her pack onto her shoulder and stepped to the edge of the cave.

There was a pause in Evelina's movements, closing her eyes and feeling as well as she could which direction other Emendators were, other Paradoxes. Her head turned one way and then another, as if she was feeling in the directions instead of actually looking. As her eyes opened, something cemented in her mind but as she stepped out of the cave she didn't move in either direction her head had turned. She seemed to be walking back towards the water where Faith had come through. Not directly, like she was aiming to get there but further up the river. "I am going this way," she said as she motioned in the general direction.

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Taking a breath, Kyra leaned her head back against the wall face and her eyes darted around the area for a moment before she stopped. The wolf seemed content to just lay there next to Kyra, yawning every so often before resting his head down in Kyra's lap, taking up most of it. Looking down Kyra rested her hand on his fur and ran her fingers through it idly. Her eyes still looked out beyond where they were sitting, like she was watching something or for something. She didn't seem to be listening but as Mali spoke she uttered a few words. "Blights," she said in reference to the creatures that Mali was speaking about. Tilting her head to the side she took note of the womans hands. Glowing, that was different to her but she made no mention of it.

Yet as Robert started talking, her brow quirked a bit. She though. Still listening to what the others were saying. When Caesar mentioned the name Keystone the woman's head seemed like it could have snapped the way she turned it so quickly in Caesar's direction. Keystone, that was a name she had not heard since the tower. That was not a good day. "Keystone? Large Pugilist?" she asked before looking away. "Speak with Proserpine." It seemed the woman was able to weave together more than two words but what she lacked in length of sentence was probably made up with meaning behind it. At least with one of those words, some in the group might know the name, for different reasons, none of them good. Lifting her hand she pointed up the wall of rock and back some what. "Chthonic Groves. Four days that direction."

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The feeling when her hands joined with Virginia and Vlad was something Elizaveta had no experienced before. It was hard to put it to words. Flying? Light Headed? The world around her seemed to fall away to another. What was happening? She wasn't sure. She had only hoped that by following the threes that were making themselves evident and joining the three families that maybe the source of their families abilities would be able to be tapped and they would see what Vlad had seen. It was a shot in the dark but considering everything they had recently seen everything seemed to be up in the air. What happened however was nothing she could have ever imagined. It was something out of left field and completely unexpected. Perhaps though, that was how things were now. One could only expect the unexpected and pray they had it in themselves to deal with it.

As they seemed to land in this new place Elizaveta let go of Vlad and Virginia's hand, only to place her own to her brow and take a few long and deep breaths. This was not the first time she had been transported elsewhere. That thing which took her seemed to do the same but much more violently. Yet, it still was not an easy feeling. After a moment she lowered her hands and took a look around. "Ve transport?" she answered towards Williams question of what happened. She was not sure herself. All she knew was they were in a church. This looked like it could have once been a church but not the one they had been in. This was far too different. Taking a deep breath she shook her head. "Do not knov," she said truthfully.

Slowly she stood, finding her legs a tad wobbly but she soon found more stable footing beneath herself as she continued to look around and take in where they were, wherever that was. "Da, beautiful in unique vay," Elizaveta said in a calm voice. Perhaps a bit too calm, like she hadn't fully let herself grasp what had just happened. Though as far as she knew they were just elsewhere, like Virginia said. Could have been somewhere in Scotland for all she knew. Stepping slowly she walked towards one of the ruins walls and looked at it but it wasn't telling her anything. She couldn't pick out any markings that made any sense to her. Turning her head she noted not all of them where there. "Do you think others are safe?" she asked, just in general and to no one in particular.


_{(As William does not have a perception skill - he cannot call for a skill roll using that. Use skills listed of N/A for a roll without a skill. Skills listed must be skills in CS. Rolled this time but no results. William is not picking up on anything.)}

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DttS In-Between: Faye could understand Richard’s point of view. She did not know much about his daughter and what had occurred, but she knew it was a sensitive subject. However, grouping all people into one category led to trouble down the road. ”Really Richard, I figured a detective would learn not to group people into one category. Don’t people paint police and the like negatively? Insisting that she is like the other high-class people you’ve had to deal with is not fair to her or to you. At least give her, and the others, a chance to prove themselves. We are, after all, in this together whether you like that or not.”

Faye then turned her attention to the man. She couldn’t grasp it earlier, but the names he gave triggered her memory. Haitian Voodoo is very popular back home and a spirit, the Ioa, had the same names. But normally, Baron and Papa were used for two different spirits, not the same. She doubted the man in front of them was wrong, so perhaps scholars were wrong. She was eager to get back home to prove them wrong.

”If you do not mind me asking Baron, but in my research back in the States, Haitian voodoo referred to Ioa with those names, but usually not all of them at once. I am sure the intellectuals back home are wrong, but I would be curious to learn more. Provided you wish to, of course. I realize we are asking a lot out of you.”



DttS In-Between: Josephine was confident she had not ruffled the man’s feathers, though she was not eager to hear that she would “do nicely”. For others, that usually meant a night of fun, but she doubted the Baron meant that. She didn’t want to step over Gene, or Nancy, since the man was clearly taken with her. And given her lack of knowledge on…pretty much everything involved with what was going on here she didn’t want to make things worse for everyone.

”I take that as a compliment then. Someone such as yourself probably has met quite the assortment of people, so the fact you remember one and that I bear a resemblance to her must be a good thing. I apologize if we are causing you any grievance though. We did not intend to come here and very much would enjoy whatever aid you can provide. We will, of course, be happy to trade, whether it is Nancy’s pendant, Lauren’s moonshine, or perhaps something I can offer? I have some skills you may be interested in, but we can save that discussion for another time, I am sure.”

Jo was quite literally flirting with danger, but if it got them help and a way out of here, she would take one for the team, as it were. She had been in worse situations before, and that was saying something.



Evenlina's Cave -> Plains Between River and Cave: Faith listened, because despite what Eve may have felt, Faith took the lessons to heart. Once she was done, Faith followed. ”So let me see if I got all of this. You left us, told us not to follow, expecting the remaining Emendators to do their thing and ensure we are looked after and provided for. Only what did end up happening was the two Emendators there, because I don’t know where Nancy went, bumbled their way through it, even so much as telling us they needed you and worrying us with the end of time. The circus came through and Siduri told me, literally spoke to me, that I have the power to save you and that I needed to do so if I wanted to help. And me, having listened to all of the lessons and the feedback you and the other Emendators gave me because I DID listen and knew the others were relying on me, being the only one who could do it with my ability, needed to come and save you. So I decide that if this impressive woman and powerful being, not to mention Parliament, telling me I had to go meant that it was of great importance. So here I come, only to be told off like a child because she was worried about her. Fuck that! I’m sorry to come into your lovely summer home and disrupt whatever plans you had, but I was told otherwise. I was told you needed help and that I was the only one to provide it. So pardon me for learning from you all and giving a fuck about someone I love!”

Faith calmed herself down a bit, but she was tired of the back and forth between them. ”Either you need help or not. If not, then kindly point me in the direction of the exit and I will take my leave of you as soon as possible. I didn’t come here because I missed you, though I did. I came here to help. I am offering my help. Whether you want it or not, is up to you.”

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Gilbert gave the most quizzical of looks to his fellow not-really-dead-but-not-truly-mortal companions. He understood that swift and complete changes in environment coupled with a total lack of applicable knowledge could have devastating effects on the human psyche, even to the point of speaking with the same level of randomness that one might attribute to a lack of fitful sleep. Perhaps that was why, despite the seriousness of their situation, he looked at Evelina's latest crop of Paradoxes with an eyebrow so raised that it looked like it was trying to escape his face and make a break for the afterlife. Not so much from Bartholomew's question, as it was valid if a little vague, but in Sophia's attempt at explanation. Especially considering that he was standing right there.

Raising his hand to his noble head, Gilbert tried to manually and forcibly lower the intensity of the eyebrow from Kill to Stun. He was only marginally successful. He kept his voice level and even nonetheless. "When I was born, I was swaddled in rough wool and laid upon a bassinet of ox hide, a common baby of a common family in Sumer. The Hat came later. Long after I waged war on my enemies and drove what few of them were alive shrieking before me, crushed even my kinsmen, and established myself as a ruler of humanity's first great civilization. I was not 'born with a hat', Sophia." There was a distance to his words, as he was beginning to note certain changes in the world around them, aside from the gaping void of absolute nothingness they were walking away from.

"Bartholomew, when I became aware of what I was, I simply knew. The title included, like an archetype of humanity. Maybe one of the first. 'The Hat' is a living metaphor. Considering my arrival with the origins of civilization, I had always assumed I was the first." He sighed, stopped, and actually took a serious look at the running Hellscape around them. Yet, he completed his thought. "...but humanity has existed for far, far longer than civilization, hasn't it? There is much that Emendators do not know."

From the look of what was happening around them all, Gilbert was beginning to believe that the Winchester rifle on his back was going to become either extremely useful, or particularly useless, in short order.

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'Sure enough.' Mosi thought when the man started giving out names to Nancy. The American had suspected he should be tied to those names, but hearing him say it was quite a whole different kind of feeling she had to be honest. Admittedly they only had his own words to it, but with the thing she had witnessed in the last little while, she was actually believing him. So that guy was Baron Samedi... or Papa Legba. He didn't appear to be in a rush to explain himself, she was leaning towards Baron Samedi though. At least one mystery solved sort of, powerful and dangerous loa tied to death. Dangerous combination he was.

The worst thing was that no matter how much she tried to think of anything, she couldn't come up with a solution to what to propose to him aside her soul that could be useful for negotiation with this entity. As far as she could figure it out, the only thing he'd be really interested of hers would be the soul.

Somehow tables turned with Lauren of all people suggested brewing moonshine. Mosi looked at the woman with surprise and realization especially as the man agreed to it should she actually manage to do it. Well... more likes to the Baron it was. She glanced at the cigar he had and that brought her attention that she herself could really go for a puff herself. She reached into ther pocket and pulled her smoking pipe along with the small bag where she kept the tabacco. Her gaze locked on the tabacco for a good long moment. Pondering an idea... if Lauren could deal with moonshine, could tabacco do the same? Somehow she was doubting if the quality of the tabacco would be to the standard of his cigar. Still it was a possibility and she had personally selected this tabacco for it's quality.

“Excuse me, Baron.” Mosi started with calm voice.” I noticed you appear to have a fine taste for tabacco. While unsure of how mine would compare to yours, was wondering if you'd be interested in it? It's some of the best I've collected in my travels.”



It all went to hell. God damned it went to hell. One moment Constantin was preparing mentally to do whatever was needed and stand vigil to the end no matter what Veta's actions accomplished. The next moment there something strange happening, with a vision of another place almost like. As the world around them started to vanish away, the church where they fought the creature was gone. Then it was replaced with what appeared to be ruins!

It was sudden, weird, unnatural, dangerous and weirdly dangerous! He looked about in haste, alerted. People were missing! What had happened to those who weren't with them!? One of the men, the guy who had handed Veta water earlier was present though and appeared just as alarmed as Constantin was.

Virginia seemed rather fond of the area they were in. Constantin himself wasn't as keen on the surrounding waters though. As someone who had a certain great distaste of deep waters and the dangers lurking in those, seeing the surroundings with so much water, much of which he couldn't judge the depth of from the current position, wasn't a welcoming sight. To each his own, he supposed. It was pretty in a way yes, be he'd personally prefer it with a lot more fire, ash and embers rather than cold chilling water." It's indeed pretty.." He agreed as well in the end, didn't mean he liked the water any better.

“Don't knov.” Constantin replied to Veta who asked about the fate of the rest.” Ve appeared here, they aren't. They could have been left behind or maybe they appeared at another place?” He proposed. He was honestly out of his depths here. Weird world traveling was not his thing. It was Ludwig's. On the topic of Ludwig, Constantin realized that Dieter, the ferret not the brother, was with him when this happened.

“Deiter, you here?” He asked and started looking about. He was still a little bit rattled by what transpired so he looked at the location the ferret last stood on him.

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Soulless Fade Between:

Virginia thought for a moment about Elizaveta's question. "I cannot say - but I am confident that they are more than equipped to protect themselves," she then answered. She didn't know enough of what was going on to predict what could have happened to the others, yet she had faith that Millicent would be able to keep the forces of darkness at bay and cling to life no matter the challenge. She had to imagine that the others present there were made of some similar resolve, given how far they had come and their success in vanquishing that poor, poor creature. At any rate, fretting too much about them would accomplish very little and would squander away their chances to learn and explore this wondrous place.

This Elsewhere was essentially paradise in her opinion. She considered Constantin's point that perhaps the others had just popped up somewhere else here and she couldn't argue against it. However, her notion still stood - whatever was happening with the others, she didn't doubt that they were more than capable of defending themselves if needed. "My father, he instructed me to seek life Elsewhere... I believe this is the place he referred to. I had been led to believe by Ny that he was in India, but perhaps he made his way here," she mused.

"Of course, my family's lore also suggests that this place may be connected to Belladonna and her extraordinary life." That had been what she had pieced together, although potentially misconstrued, that her father (and hopefully mother as well) had found the mythical place where Belladonna had gone. They had gone elsewhere, just as Belladonna had in the stories. And now, here she was as well. There was a chance she could see her parents again after what had felt like an eternity.

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PE Fade Between:

"But how can you know for certain that wasn't Evelina? If time and space have broken down, then it stands to reason that there could be multiple versions of Evelina here from different points in their timeline," she argued. She didn't want to compare it to the television program Doctor Who but the idea was the same - people could exist in one timeline at two different stages in their life. They could meet friends out of order, even having confusing relationships like the Doctor and River Song where his first encounter was her last one.

She wasn't really asking him if he thought that he would be deified - her point was more that it was possible for the Emendators, mythical figures in their own right, to be transformed into some other entity. Caterpillars became butterflies - why couldn't an Emendator become the personification of a concept as abstract as Justice? And even if Justice was called the Dice long before she took that name, and assuming Justice lived through a linear progression of time, what if Evelina had been stranded at the beginning of history when the timelines imploded and changed over the eons? Would that explain why Gilbert was so certain the Dice was far away and not so very near, despite Justice claiming that she was the Dice?

Sophia and Bart started discussing just where the Emendators had gotten their titles from, a point that Andromeda very much wanted to know the answer to as well. They were going on about all of this as they walked, with the landscaping changing in front of her eyes - as if she was watching a scene transition in a film. The colors around them reminded her of Mars (the planet, not the Roman god). Sulfur filled her nostrils and she bit her lip slightly. Sulfur never seemed to be a good sign.

Gilbert's explanation of how he came to be, gaining the title of the Hat, only left her with more questions. "Alright, but did something trigger your awareness as the Hat? For example - why does Nancy look like a teenage girl, Gio like an old man, and you look like you're in your late thirties? There has to be something more than you just becoming the Hat one day... It can't be that random."

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DTTS Fade Between:

Josephine, the movie star, seemed to have a sensible head on her shoulders. Rather than blatantly ignoring Nancy's expertise in these matters, she appeared to defer to it. This brought a slight smile to the young Emendator's face. The extra annoying members of their little party also had quieted down, no doubt alleviating a later tension headache that Nancy was certain they would have caused. One of them though, Lauren, offered to give the man moonshine. Nancy had to grin a little bit more at that suggestion - normal people were rather entertaining sometimes.

As she tried to get a read on him, something then clicked - there was something rather obvious that she could attempt to try. She could have smacked herself for not doing so sooner. Maybe these people were slowly killing her brain cells - that had to be it. The man's initial words caused a sense of unease to grow within her though - specifically that he liked her qualities in a woman. She wasn't about to let onto to that however. She had told very few people about her traumatic entrance into this life. "Oh I understand - which is why I'm not going to ask for travel with all of them," she answered bluntly.

He certainly was charming and finally, Nancy had a name. Baron seemed to suit him the most, especially with his hat and mannerisms. And wondrously, he seemed to be content with Lauren's promise of spirits for the moment. Nancy put her pendant back around her neck. It was an old and simple thing, but the rune always gave her comfort. It reminded her of her favorite time and place, the Viking era in Scandinavia. She had spent a good deal of time cross dressing back then.

"Perfect," she told him with a grin, though the way he said stiff only added to her slight feeling of unease. Hopefully Lauren would be able to pull this off.

"I'm not sure what this business is with a book," Mali commented on Robert's remarks about some book that had apparently been stolen, "but if it had something to do with Greek Mythology, I don't doubt that it's intricately linked to Juno, or that Juno has something to do with our current state of affairs. Although before we ended up here I was on and off following a lead that whatever was going on actually went back deeper. Like back to the times of Ancient Egypt." Although now that she had a different set of circumstances around her, she wouldn't be surprised if it went back even further than that. Mythologies had a way of building on top of the corpses of others after all.

"Bertha?" Mali asked Riley with a quirked brow. She didn't know or know of any Berthas. Not even in the form of disgruntled middle school cafeteria workers. She didn't connect the name with the at most vaguely female abomination she had killed a couple of hours ago at most(?). Perhaps that was partially her own desire to forget that entirely even happened; she was no pacifist buddhist monk, if put in a similar situation she'd still shoot at whatever was in front of her, but she wasn't a hardened warrior like Caesar either. The thought that she had taken human(?) life wasn't something that she'd had too much time to come to terms with.

"Celestial Dice? Is that what they were?" Mali perked up, things falling into place once she heard the term. "Bone carved with 20 sides, right? I'd been dealing with them for weeks, but never actually heard a name. And then right before we ended up here, the thing starts glowing along with my hands. I chucked it at the blight and then it acted like this homing missile piercing through again and again. If it's still around, I have no clue."

"As far as a goal goes, none of our stories seem to have any obvious indication on some mission to do here. And there's not much here in the first place to extract some kind of end goal. If something comes up that seems worthwhile I'm all for it, but getting out of here seems like a big enough of an ordeal as-is." For as conspicuous as the details were behind each party member's backstory was, when they got down to it, essentially everyone had been more or less dealing with their own problems before getting dumped here unceremoniously. The only tangible tying point for them being together right now was that they were actually all in Grimm when the apocalypse button got pressed.

"Proserpine?" Mali asked the question, but it was more a declaration of recognition than anything else. She didn't want to believe that this Proserpine was the same one she had heard about. As glaringly obvious as it was that Juno-shit was involved with the current situation, she desperately wished that they had just been wiped out with the rest of the world and that she'd have a break from that business. Part of her believed it wasn't, because then Kyra would have been a bit more familiar with everyone's manner of dress and speaking, but that kind of a coincidence would be too nice to be real, and coincidences didn't exist.

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"Even if at one point that figure was The Dice, or if she was at some point she was Evelina, that was not Eve we had just spoken with. Surely you must be familiar with meeting someone you once knew long ago, but although they claim the same name, they are an entirely different person than when you saw them last, and you cannot treat them as such. The how of that woman being what she is does not matter as much as the what she came to do." Surely there was much to discuss about just about everything that was going on, but planning and collaboration were activities to do when one found themselves on flat land, secure in their current environment, even if just for the next few moments. As it were they were still in a storming ocean with nary a piece of driftwood in sight. There would be more time to converse on this later.

"It is not random that he is The Hat and I The Watch, but why we have the specific roles we do isn't something we truly know ourselves. I don't know why I look the way I do, but almost nobody gets to choose their looks and nobody can pick what they're talented at. Perhaps it is an unsatisfying answer, but when it comes down to it, we're almost as clueless as you are when it comes to the philosophical 'true nature' of things."

"Put that thought on hold." With the sudden change in environment came immediate warning signs. Maybe the Destruere had more important things to do than attack them, but he was not fool enough to proceed with merely that hope as his shield. One thing did come to mind, if the world could change that easily around them, who was to say that directions remained absolute. If they kept going the way they were, perhaps now it would actually lead them astray. Right now while he had the time, Gio tried to quickly confirm that he still felt the presence of another in the same direction as before

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Not a man lost for words often, or at all, really, Vladimir's initial silence in the face of the sudden slide between realities was birthed of introspection. His Gologramma was never intended for anything like this. At all. Ever. The development, as passed down from generation to generation, refined from one practitioner to another, was purely for the purpose of combating a specific type of Soulless native to the Russian Empire on even(ish) footing. The fact that it made for a fine tool in his arsenal as an entertainer just meant that he got to practice it more. And he was decent enough at it. This shift wasn't just unexpected. It should have been impossible. Drawing upon astral energies to made a copy that exists in the physical and astral simultaneously should have nothing to do with actually going anywhere. It was impossible. Yet, here they were.

"Elsevhere..." mused Vladimir, "Elsevhere is good a name as any." He tapped the flat of his exposed blade on the brim of his hat, then twirled it between his fingers with practiced nonchalance. He took the opportunity to look around him, seeing who all came along on this joyride into oblivion. More importantly, their physical status after the fight and the sudden ...travel. They seemed intact, luckily no extremities were left behind. Wait, was that a possibility? An imperfect transport that left an arm or a foot behind, if they were just barely too far away from some undetermined radius? Was that why Elizaveta insisted on them holding hands? And if there was a radius for this newfound application of his Gologramma, did that make Constantin and the guy with the violin case very lucky, or determined by fate to accompany them? Such might be very lucky indeed. Or merely a setup for their eventual evisceration by hands unknown to them all.

His assessment of the people around him (because after all, that's what matters most) complete, Vladimir turned his attention back to his own sense of dramatic purpose. "Ve are alive. And ve are Elsevhere. It is for maybes that ve are vones being seek-ed." That was a sobering thought. "Or perhaps, as ve are all here, ve vere supposed to find ...each other..." His face darkened beneath the brim of his tall hat. He smiled, and continued, "For ve are vith the coming together; Great Bazhooli, Grand Duchess, Lady Crypt, Constantin Firevalker, and," Vladimir looked over to the fifth of their number, forgetting whether or not the man had introduced himself nor whether Vlad himself had the presence of manners to ask. Still, he was hip-deep in his speech and couldn't just stop midspeech. "...and eh, Violin Guy! Da, force to be reckoned vith, all ov us, together. NOW," He paused, flicking out a second blade to twirl with the first, a bright smile forming, "Here for purpose, da? Ve stay here for vaiting, ve go looking, or... does Great Bazhooli attempt vorld jumping Gologramma vonce more? Maybe this time, ve try the same trick ...ON FIRE?" Clearly, he was having too much fun with this.

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DTB Fade Between

Robert was glad that Caesar was onboard with what he had asked about, meaning that at least portions of his all messed-up rational thinking still worked. The name of the book that Robert asked about, Lunillud Aleae, rang a bell when he thought back to it, remembering Adelaide uttering it way back when they still were in the sane world. Robert nodded to Caesar's mention of the dice as well, though him talking about his dead daughter…it didn't make sense, but really, nothing here made any sort of sense anymore.

"I have no idea idea, Mr. Gonzalez…Caesar, none whatsoever. Trekking through the unknown hellscapes of an unreal world is as far from insurance scams as I can possibly think." Robert quiped back to the massive Mexican man, half-listening to what the rest were saying as an idea struck him. Robert pulled out the slab of electronic gizmos that were his cellphone and tried to open it. It was a far shot, as far as he probably could have taken, but if there was a slim hope that his phone could work, or at least give him an obscure clue, he would take it.

Of course it didn't work. The phone was as dead as Robert's chances of getting a better job or getting together with the woman of his dreams, and only a restrained effort saved the phone from being thrown to the ground. His attention was quickly pulled up from his phone when he caught Mali's mention of that accursed word from earlier that day; "Juno…Why do I keep hearing about those fuckers I don't know about?" Robert said sarcastically, though something clicked once again in his mind; A piece of evidence, one of the folders from the vault. "Wait…Juno. Adelaide had a bunch of files in her vault, given to her by a friend of hers…The guy you and Zoie came to tell her died in that barn, Malo. Anyway, some of the files included people allegedly tied to Juno…But Jesus Christ, this doesn't help us anyway…"

DttS Fade Between

This was just getting better and better for Richard the "Fish out of water" Barker, just fantastic. The top hat snake-fella wasn't making it difficult for him, or anyone for that matter really, to understand which ones of the group that he liked. It was practically stamped on his forehead, or on his sleeves. While Richard was only given a brief look from their resident snake-tamer and cigar-smoker, the others got a more inclusive treatment. Richard clearly hadn't given a good first impression, but then again that had never been his intention. Richard had wanted answers, not this fascade of theatrical lines thrown out from all sides.

Richard didn't want to be liked by him, and he certainly didn't need the approval of anyone in the group, but still the reprimand he garnered from Faye somehow got to him. It must have been because of the respect he held for his 'partner'. Clearly she fitted in a whole lot better in that bizzare world that a New York detective did. "Faye…Faye, doll; if and when we get out of this little piece of Hell in one or several pieces, I'll explain to you why that's excatly what I do. Clearly you and the rest of us have bigger fish to fry right now." Richard commented to Faye in a restrained tone, clearly the words of a parent that didn't have time to explain something irrelevant to his child something right then and there. Clearly their bargaining with Mr. Voodoo was best reserved for the women of the group, not the knuckle-throwing detective or the scared-shitless Indian in the back.

Speaking of scared Indian, Mahendra slowly began to regain his composure in the back of the Fellowship Pluss Two. The snake continued to frighten Mahendra, its eyes and slithering tongue sender shivers upon shivers down his usually upright spine, the shivers themselves sending out daggers that struck somewhere nearly as deep; His pride. In the company of a mostly female-group, the only one to show fear was Mahendra. Shameful, oh it was shameful indeed! Was it only he who found the snake as disturbing as he did, or had his proper and good character weakened such after their descent into the underground and the darkness now surrounding them?

Mahendra took a deep breath, perhaps the deepest one he could remember having ever taken, trying to fill the fear-ridden vacume of his pride with air as he began to stand up again. He had to fight his fears, or in the least not project his fears to his outward appearance. Looking at the others in front of him, he tried to mimic their postures to the best of his abilities, immitating their confidence and lack of visible fears. He was good at that, taking onto himself the behaviours of others around him to better fit in. Mahendra was still very much afraid in the presence of the slithering, slick, seriously savage snake before them, but standing up straight and not visible shaking in fear, at least could begin to listen to what the others were actually offering the strange man.

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Had everyone gone mad? William was still fighting back the urge to be sick, trying to ignore the implications of a starless sky, but the pale woman seemed more interested in the beauty of their surroundings. Even her saying that they were 'elsewhere' did nothing to help William's understanding of what had just happened. She even seemed to be crying as she took in the ruins that surrounded them. As the Duchess seemed to recover from their surreal journey, William hoped that she would be able to shed some light, or at least share his disbelief at the pale woman's apparent delight at their surroundings, but he couldn't have been more wrong. She seemed as unsure about what had just happened as William was, and agreed that their new surroundings were beautiful, albeit in a unique way.

It was all William could do to stop his mouth from falling open in disbelief. He knew next to nothing about his current companions, in fact the only member of their group that he had had any sort of real interaction with had just faded away with the rest of the church. He didn't know any of their names, and yet he had been flung to this starless 'Elsewhere' with no-one but them for company. For all he knew, they all were used to these spiritual transportation, but for William, this was diving into the unknown and finding there was no bottom. His head was spinning and it took all of his effort just to listen to what his strange companions were saying. The pale woman spoke again, mentioning her father, and suggesting that wherever they were had some connection to him, and to the name she had said just before their journey, 'Belladonna'. None of it meant anything to William, but as he braced himself, he started to feel a little bit more in control.

By the time 'The Great Bazhooli' addressed him, although not by name, William had managed to stop the world from swimming. The urge to be sick had faded, and in the back of his mind, a low tune had sprung into life, giving William a sense of order even amongst the chaos of the last few moments. If nothing else, the sheer cheerfulness of the flamboyant Russian was contagious, and William managed a slight smile as he straightened up. 'The Great Bazhooli' had done something to help William know his new companions a little more, and if he was to be stranded here, then he may as well introduce himself, as he subconsciously put faces to the names that the Russian had just said. The man that had saved William earlier was 'Constantin Firewalker', which meant the pale woman must be 'Lady Crypt'. He had heard of the family name in England, but only enough to know that they were Peers. When he spoke, he didn't address anyone in particular, instead looking from one face to the next.

"Forgive me. I think in all the excitement, I never introduced myself, and if we are indeed all here for a reason, then I should remedy that. William Fraser, at your service."

He resisted the urge to bow, deciding to leave the theatrics to 'The Great Bazhooli'. Speaking of the Russian, William glanced around at their surroundings as he pondered the other man's suggestions. As tempting as any fire trick sounded, William was only just getting over his first mystical leap, and he wasn't keen on repeating the experience so soon. He continued to look around as he spoke again, offering his own humble opinion on what they should do.

"If someone, or something, brought us here, then they have hardly laid out a welcoming party. So if we are here for a purpose, then it seems as if it is up to us to go and find what that purpose is."

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Bart though it a tiny bit odd that Sophia would attempt to answer his question about the Emendator's etymology surrounding their titles, when the two of them were right there in front of them. Listening to a bit about Gil's origin, he looked on to the world opening up in front of them, the landscape being quite unlike anything he'd seen before, and to him, was almost beautiful in a way. Awesome, in the biblical sense would probably be a better descriptor, but either way, the smell of sulfur in his nose told him to exhibit caution, especially since this is exactly what Cairo smelled like right before collapsing. A part of him was worried, thus, that whatever was there, had followed them here.

At the direction of Gio, he agreed internally that the prospective threat in front of them was a much more immediate and important concern. In a sequence of thought new to Bartholomew, he rested his hand on the knife at his side, ready to grab at it in case of the advancement of these monsters upon them. Being prepared to defend himself in any way he could, he kept his eyes trained on the shadows roaming the landscape in front of them, prepared to warn the group if he noticed their advancement towards them.

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Hello my darlings. Now that you are fully here, welcome to my world. In these lands you are not alone. Or perhaps you are. Perhaps you are more alone now than you ever have been. Strip away everything someone knows, everyone they know, everything they thought they knew and what is left? The very core of you. Will you actually embrace it? Let yourself feel it? Or will you just fall back and refuse to acknowledge it? Only time will tell. Eventually we all become the monster we swore we never would embrace.

Now that you are here, you need to be made aware of the instability of this world. World? Worlds? Hrm, hard to define. Well, no. I know what this place is. I have dwelled here since long before perhaps you even drew breath. It is my home. Defining it for you though? Oh, no Spoilers. First things first, Instability. Everyone is aware I like to shake things up. And now that all the starting guests have arrived, time to meet each other. Oh don't worry you won't meet everyone at once. Perhaps some of you will never meet. But for now...


*Quick Note: From this post - all characters snap at once. So if someone is vanishing from your area, they will just flash out in the blink of an eye. New ones will appear in the blink of an eye. Check your locations, correct your headers. Go back through the previous posts if you are unsure what your location looks like.

When you bip - your character is only aware of the character listed for their zone. They won't know who just bipped out.

Also! Your characters will not know this is coming. They cannot sense it. Don't waste the rolls trying to get them to try to figure it out. Even a perfect roll they wouldn't know. Don't metagame saying they can sense something. They just haven't been there long enough to be able to feel it or sense it.

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Now, Andromeda is thinking back on the things she has learned before everything happened and since they arrived. There is a lot of contradicting things and even those that aren't she is having a hard time putting together. Chalk it up to the scenery suddenly changing again, or a bad roll. You can blame me, my dice are rather fickle from time to time.

As the scenery changes and Gio checks to make sure they are going in the same direction he swears they are. Where he felt the pull for Nancy and Evelina seems steady even though their surroundings changed. Perhaps they just were in an in-between. Like the core of a portal when they landed and now that they have chosen a direction it has shown what that direction truly looks like. Masking the two areas with one that mirrors itself? Does take out the visual aspect of a choice or a destination.

Bart is keeping an eye and an ear out for things. Granted alertness isn't near as keen as the ability that Sophia has but it isn't bad for general things. He is pretty sure that nothing is coming at them right then. The area looks nasty enough but it doesn't look like or sound like anything is headed towards them.

Thing is, doesn't matter what any of them thought. Suddenly as they are walking Andromeda, Gilbert and Sophia vanish from sight. Where they were standing Mahendra and Constantin appear there standing. Kyra appears as well, sitting on the ground with an overly large wolf resting his head in her lap.


Looking over towards Faye as she spoke, the Baron grinned at her as he popped his cigar back into his mouth and rolled it around between his lips. It wet the dried leaf holding the tobacco in place and he chuckled darkly. "Oh Bebe' what humanity messes up fills this grand universe," he said as he pulled the cigar from his lips and the smoke trailed up thickly around him. "Do you have eternity to share with me? Give me eternity and I will share more than you've dreamt," he added coyly. Faye thinking on these questions and what she has seen so far and what she has read she knows there is a lot of conflicting reading. Some say booze and tobacco could sate him, if he is one. If he is another the only thing he cares about are souls. Even others could just mean he is a general trickster. Others still could mean he is simply a welcoming guide to those that have died.

Oh Josephine was flirting with death as it were and it got the mans attention. Quickly turning his head as he walked. An arm slipped out and slithered over Josephines shoulder, pulling her close to him. his serpent gliding over his arm to his wrist. Its tongue flicking out, tasting the skin on the back of her hand. "Oh I am sure you could Mon Cher. Nothing delights me more than hearing a woman scream." His eyes darted over to Nancy and his grin grew wicked as his eyes flickered with a fire and the smell of something burning wafted to her nostrils alone. Nancy would sense that he is very much like her but there is something vastly different from him than her. It stings when she uses her skill on him, like salt on a wound.

Blinking his eyes went to Mosi as he kept walking, pulling Josephine closer to him in the process. "I would say yes but alas, you will not be with us long little one." His eyes went up and he inhaled deeply before looking back to Nancy and then to Mosi and his grin grew even more, and a grunting chuckle left his lips. "Perhaps I will see you again. Good luck." With that Nancy, Mosi, Richard, Lauren, and Mahendra vanished. Veta and William appearing where they had been standing. "New guests, how wonderful. Our party is getting much more intimate."

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Many things went through Evelina's mind as Faith spoke. She kept all her thoughts to herself. Right then, she felt it was the best thing to do. Sometimes silence was golden. It gave a person time to reflect. On what they had been told and more than that just what they were saying. Her feet hitting the ground with each step she took and the sound of gravel grinding under foot being muffled out by the talking of the Paradox. A blank expression on the Emendators features as she walked, back ridged and arms loose at her sides. Her dark hair, longer now than it had been, hung down her back and whipped slightly in the wind. Time did that. While for Faith it had been less than a week since Evelina had left, less time than a short vacation, a time so short she wouldn't have even have had to pluck her brows. Time in the end for anyone was relative. A thousand years could feel like a few minutes. A few minutes could feel like a thousand years. It all depended on how you spent the time and who was around you. Right then, a few minutes felt like a thousand years. Chances were nothing would change that.

Stopping for a moment, Evelina looked up and away as Faith finished talking. Turning her head to the left and then to the right. Glancing around with the same blank expression she had had when the Paradox was talking. There was no evidence how what Faith said affected Evelina. Had she listened? Had she heard her? Had it hurt? Angered? Calmed her? One couldn't tell. She just stood there, looking in one direction and then another. Keeping what went through her mind to herself before looking back in the direction she had come from.

"How close to death do you really want to get?" A sideways glance was cast towards Faith as she spoke. "Take it from someone who contemplates the terror of nothingness every extricable moment of their existence." Evelina's voice was calm as she spoke. "You don't understand what that is." Even and emotionless. "I hope you never do." Before, while reserved most of the time Evelina had held emotion. "I am so sorry I am such a disappointment to you." The last time Evelina has spoken to a Paradox before today she had erupted towards them. "It doesn't make any difference." Today, at most, she had shown only a hint of emotion. "What do you do when you realize you might not be the good guy?" The longer time went by though the less there was. "I did what I had to do." Until there was nothing left but a hollow echo. "If I had to do it again, I would." Evelina was not the same. "There is no way out."

Taking a deep breath she turned her head. "At least not for me." Placing one foot in front of the other. "The void within me is bottomless and it is black and it is eternal." In the same direction she had been going. "You can't save me." The direction she had said she was going to walk. "No one can." Towards the river. "I'm already gone." Sharp rocks were starting to line the area as she walked, taller and taller the closer she got to the river itself. "That's just the roll of the dice." It was still someways off when Evelina had to step around one of the larger rocks and behind it out of sight. "And even I cannot change that." She never emerged from the other side.

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Kyra looked up towards the sky and away as the others talked. Turning her head to the left and to the right as the others kept speaking. Was what they saying having any effect on her? It was unclear as her eyes moved and swept across the landscape slowly, as if she was scanning for something. "A shift is coming." Her words were blank as she spoke, as if she was telling someone that two plus two equaled four or letting them know what the weather would be tomorrow. It wasn't even clear if she was actually speaking to them or just to the air as the words left her lips. Ash lifted his head slightly, sniffing the air for a moment before resting himself back down in Kyra's lap.

Whatever it was, it didn't seem to concern either of them. Though, things didn't really seem to faze Kyra. Emotionless, even, there was not much there to define her. People appearing in the middle of this place and she seemed no more surprised than if when she laid her head down at night she fell asleep. Was it expected? Or just common occurrence? Perhaps she had a numbness to the world. Perhaps that is what happened to people when they came here. While she did not say much though, she listened. A simple nod coming from her at the question Mali gave her. Proserpine? "Yes."


Taking a deep breath, she would have said more but there was nothing more to say to those that were not there. Looking around from where she sat she didn't recognize any of the people standing up around her. Kyra did not bother to shrug or even look perplexed. She merely patting the large wolf resting its head in her lap. It sat up, sitting it was nearly as tall as those standing around. A slow breath left her nose as she stood up and looked around. Taking in her surroundings.

"Shiftings..." she said to herself as she kept looking around. The wolf stood up and padded around Kyra protectively. Sniffing slightly as he did, his large tongue lapping out to lick his own nose. Kyra looked down at the wolf for a minute before looking finally at the people standing there. "You smell of fear." Her voice was direct as she looked towards Mahendra. She looked each of them over. "More strange clothing." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to those actually standing there.

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Turning her head Elizaveta looked towards Constantin, her fingers resting on the walls of the ruins. Gently running over the worn stone. There was a nod from her. "Da, perhaps. Elsevhere as vell. Vould be good? Safe but elsevhere? Ve can hope," she said softly as her fingers left the wall and she walked over towards Constantin, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. Another nod, as if to reassure herself along with him. "They are strong, they survive. Ve survive." She didn't know that for certain but as she had said, hope. It was what they had. Perhaps they were still in the church, wondering the same. Thinking the same. Hoping the same.

At Constantin's question, Elizaveta looked around. Dieter? It took her a minute to remember the small animal that was with the German. Pursing her lips together she let go of Constantin's hand and started looking around but it was no good. Dieter, the ferret not the brother, was no where to be found. He was not with them. Perhaps like others, like Millicent and Colette and Ny, he was elsewhere as well. She could hope. Hope was all they had now. They were elsewhere. A place they didn't know, coming by a way they had not expected.

While during her looking around, Elizaveta hadn't found anything of note, someone else would. Virginia, in her speaking and looking seemed to have clued in on something. On one of the other walls, etched in the stone but faded and worn was the same symbol that Elizaveta had drawn in the dust on the floor of the church, the Belladonna. It seemed there was a connection. If that connection meant anything or not was yet to be seen but there it was. Perhaps not as clear as day but clear as a foggy night: which for Virginia might have been preferable.

Turning her head, Elizaveta looked towards Vlad and sighed. "Let us take a moment. reserve fire for grand finale, da?" she said in a calm voice towards Vlad. There was a slight glance towards William as he introduced himself. "Much of the time even the purpose ve find is not the one meant." Or perhaps there was none? During Williams searching he would find nothing he could link to England or Scotland. Nothing other than the symbol that Virginia had already discovered.


Elizaveta was about to say something else to Vlad when she suddenly appeared elsewhere. She spun around quickly, her hand falling to the hilt of her blade. Only she didn't know those standing around her. She knew William but only barely. Seeing the other two women standing with this strange looking man with a snake her eyes narrowed. "Vhat vitchery is this?" she asked. The two women were dressed in away she didn't understand and the man looked like something that had just docked from the West Indies. "You look of the Del'ataunt Graveolase..." She did not sound happy about that as her grip on the hilt of her blade tightened.

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DTB Fade-Between:

Sophia looked over at the others for a moment and shrugged slightly, she was just assuming and making an assumption as well, on what exactly how the Emendators got their names from anyway. "Hey, just making an assumption since you guys never really spoke about it in the first place."] Sophia said, as she continued to walk along with the others, she watched as the scenery started to change a bit, seeing the land changing, she wasn't sure what they would all be expecting in the first place either as well. "Well the land seems to be changing up quiet a bit." Sophia said, as she looked at the others and shrugged slightly, she really didn't know what else to really say about the whole Evelina thing either.



The next moment Sophia was with the other Paradoxes and the Emendators, when she was in front of some kind of cliff face, she looked around the area, she didn't recognize anyone else there. Except for Nancy, which she was really glad that she saw a familiar face as well, she stared at the others who were there, Sophia had no clue who any of these were. "Okay.. now this is really weird." Sophia said mostly to herself, as she wasn't expecting to suddenly being transported elsewhere. She looked at the others who were there wondering if they were friendly or hostile.

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Souless Fade-Between:

"Alright then I can easily brew you up something good.." Lauren said softly as she looked towards the Baron guy as he started to give two names to the others. She wasn't really sure which one she would call him, but decided with Baron instead of Papa which made her cringe slightly at the thought of it as well. She stared at Baron, as the others started to speak up and offer something, though she didn't really like the way that he looked at Jo, as he seemed to be interested with her offer as well. Cringing slightly as Lauren was about to say something else before something else weird happened.



Lauren was suddenly transported somewhere else along with both Mosi and Richard, to somewhere else, looking around the area Lauren didn't recognize the area at all either or the two faces that were there as well. Lauren didn't like the idea of leaving Jo alone with Baron at all, and she just cringed at the way he held onto her before suddenly being moved. She wasn't sure if the other two men would be friendly or not, the Hispanic guy didn't look friendly at all as she looked at the other man there, she wasn't sure what to think of him really either right now. "What the hell is really going on?" Lauren said mostly to herself, and she just mainly wanted to see if Jo was okay or not, and she certainly wasn't going to make him any booze either if she bumped into him again.

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DTB-Fade Between:

Riley stared at Caesar for a moment, and shook her head slightly muttering something to herself, she needed something to calm down after what had been going on, as she took a seat looking up a Mali for a moment when she asked about Bertha. "Yeah, real creepy mentally disturbed person back in Grimm." Riley said softly shuddering to herself, she wasn't sure what was worse being here or spending time in Grimm again. She actually would rather be here right now then setting foot in her hometown again, as Riley leaned back, at the mentioning of the dice she remembered the guy who got his eye gouged out by Cynthia mentioning them before the whole hitman thing trying to kill her.

She really did hope that Roy and Cecily as well as Pyria were all doing alright as well, Riley ran a hand through her hair as they mentioned Juno as well. "They tried to send a hitman on me after leaving the hospital, and I think they had something to do with my sister's death.." Riley said softly, as Mali talked about the dice a little bit which sounded pretty interesting as well and useful to, when both Kyra and Ceasar both disappeared so suddenly and being replaced with two women Riley didn't even know or recognize either. Riley quickly got up to her feet she didn't know these people at all, and she wasn't sure if they were here to actually attack her or the others really.

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So, that was what she meant earlier when she said that he smelled like a Pugilist. Or when she spoke for the wolf. Whatever. It had nothing to do with him, exactly, but the company he kept. Yes, it could be said that the large man with whom he had set off on his leg of their little adventure was a Pugilist, though he wouldn't go so far as to purely describe him like that. A few years ago, sure... But then the thought leapt rather unbidden to Caesar; how many strange women did Keystone have trailing him in his history up until he unknowingly impregnated Alicia? Even so far as to know one one in Purgatory? He didn't think the guy was that much of a charmer in the first place.

Given circumstances, that was a beating for another day. Today, he was given a name, a place, and a general direction to travel. It might not sound like much, but it was more than he had five minutes prior. Four days walk? Okay, he had better get started. Keystone's name seemed to open a door with the woman. He might as well take advantage of it. "Proserpine. Chthonic Groves. Four days that way," he repeated, just to make sure he got it down properly. He even pointed. "Thank you."

Caesar hefted his shotgun, letting the strap dangle underneath as he walked, the first of what promised to be many steps into the world they found themselves thrust into. That name bothered him. That and many questions would be answered. Four days.


Disorienting didn't begin to describe it. At least with the initial push to this place, whatever it was, there was a transition. Had Kyra tried to say something before this? Did she know something? Did it matter? Not really, because now, the change of scenery came with a full change of cast, that change including their reluctant guide - Kyra was nowhere to be seen.

What he did see was the inside of a ruined church, a handful of people in older styled clothing, and one asshole covered with knives who looked like he belonged in a cartoon. Wary, confused, Caesar gripped his primary shotgun at ready and began slowly sliding one of the machetes on his back out of its sheath. In a calm, low growl, he posed a very simple query: "Which one of you has answers?"

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Being put into this place, with new and interesting concepts knocking around his skull, did pique Gilbert's more intellectual and philosophical interests. Comparatively few people had referred to him as a philosopher (though he was), and even fewer had ever accused him of being an intellectual (it was understandable). These facets of his personality were real, however, and did make up the complicated fellow that was Gilbert Summers. Or whatever he called himself these days. Mostly though, in this moment, Gil's dominant traits centered around one of the oldest of humanity's professions, the one to which he had dedicated countless lifetimes.

Soldier, not prostitute. Minds out of the gutter, people.

(ahem) Anyway, with their very surroundings altering from the pastoral to the hellish, Gilbert's concerns moved away from the existential implications of an afterlife, final judgement, punishment vs peace, and centered more on the extreme here and now. There were Paradoxes with them that, while talented enough, had not received the full measure of training that he would have preferred them to have had before sending them into something completely unknown like this. Hence, Gilbert was already shifting his thoughts to defensive measures they might take, ideas on maximizing effectiveness their marching order, such as the had one, and the fluid nature of anything that resembled planning, when the very lands around them was subject to alteration.

The question that came from Andromeda didn't exactly give him pause. It was something that he had contemplated himself, many times over. Of course, the circumstances of his coming into consciousness as an Emendator was a little different than the others, though that could have just been a matter of timing lining up coincidentally. He would probably never know. And so much was he agreed with Gio's assessment that more important things were afoot, he did believe that some light conversation that might lead to an educational experience wasn't such a bad idea. If nothing else, it gave something to occupy the more logical portions of their thought, lest it turn to panic. Nobody needed that.

One more scan of the horizon before he turned to Andromeda, intent on giving her the short, short version of his coming to consciousness as an Emendator.


Gilbert saw Andromeda there still, and yet she was the only thing that was immediately familiar about what used to be around him vs. what actually was. Silently, instantly, Gil was in another place, as if someone had neatly incised away a portion of cellulose film and seamlessly rejoined it, else he was simply removed to this new spot without so much as a ruffle of wind to indicate that a change was taking place.

His arrival was heralded by a very random seeming man stating the obviousness of his and Andromeda's height disparity. He eyes the man curiously for a moment, almost (almost) cracking a smile at the "piggy back" comment. The recent memory of James shapeshifting into his Boar Form to give Andromeda a ride in hopes of giving her a breather and something else to focus on was touching. It seemed like a James thing to do. But the uncertainty of his situation - living, dead, or other - kept Gil from fully accepting the speech from the strange man and taking any levity from it.

All in all, it was very confusing at first. But the strange man and Andromeda aside, there was a young lady in garb of an era and location that Gilbert had lived. London, 19th century. He couldn't tell offhand if it was during the Georgian period, the Regency, or the Victorian; but he did recall the basic cut and styles, and remembered that he had stopped killing lots and lots of people for a little while to become a teacher, and a well respected one, adopting the name Gray Hawkins. His professorial lectures and private tutelage about world history always took on a stirring narrative form and his descriptions of battles both ancient and contemporary were regarded as brutal, emotional, and highly detailed; as if he had, impossibly, been physically present for them.

There was another that he personally knew here. And a huge, white tiger that seemed to be responding to the odd fellow's ramblings; he was going to come back to this in a bit. No one seemed hostile, so he took a second to focus his concentration onto the location of the other Emendators. Quietly, he smiled and whispered, "_...Nancy..." casually looking in the direction he felt the pull (and letting Andromeda see him do it). While Gilbert took cautious note of the others, it was Faith that he addressed in an inquisitive, wearied tone: "How were things in New York, Faith?" as if he already had an idea of what might have happened.

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Thinking on the optimistic side of things, Mosi noticed that Mahendra seemed to be picking up his courage and standing up to the horrors of the snake! She was inwardly cheering for him to overcome that fear of the Naga as he called it. That was it people had to strive to overcome their fears! Granted fear was a horrifying thing and overcoming it was near impossible , but it was beautiful goal non the less. She was willing to buy him a beer once they found the first habitable pub of some kind! If there wasn't beer there was surely going to be something else! She was feeling adventurous to try new things!

As the Baron started to speak to her, Mosi's focused her attention on his skull painted face. She was smiling casually, but as she heard what he had to say, her eyebrows narrowed a little in confusion.” What do you ...”

***** Snapping *****

She was about to ask, but as she blinked it all changed. Gone was the underworld-scape location and hello was a grand watery location within a ruin.” Well... I see.” She mumbled, having realized what the Baron had in mind. She nodded to herself.” Hope to meet again indeed.”

“Anyways I'm starting to get used to this.” She mused as she looked about to see the people who were with her this time around. Having went through some weird stuff today, she was getting a little numb to it more so than usual. All that mattered was that she was god damn alive and this was a chance to see and experience new things. On the topic of new things she found out that Richard and Luaren were actually with her. So were a very fancy looking guy in red with knives and a guy that held what may have been a gun of some kind. He also started to pull out a machete, asking for answers.” Sorry, but I would love some answers myself.” She replied calmly.” This is the second time I get moved to an unknown location without nary a warning, let alone an answer.” She replied to the machete man. He wore weird clothing and the guy in the red also had weird but olden looking clothing.” Nice blades.” She suddenly commented, having looked at the knives man and the machete man.” And since you are asking, I'm guessing you have no answers either, huh?” She sighed. Then suddenly had a thought and pulled up her shirt to check on the condition on the brand.



„Ve all vill survive.” Constantin nodded to Veta who took his hand into hers. He was just glad she was alright. It was a small brief moment of reassurance that relieved a lot of his inner worries about her and the Bazhooli and all of them really. He was worried about their well-being here. As the brief moment ended and the search for Dieter, the ferret not the brother began, they separated. Sadly the ferret was nowhere to be seen. Constantin felt sad, he was hoping the little thing ended up with the other group at least and wasn't alone somewhere.

He looked at Virginia who spoke of the location and why she needed to come here and some other relevant information she was aware of. Supposedly her father wanted her to seek the life elsewhere. Well this sure was elsewhere compared to before. He couldn't argue with that. On the side note, apparently the woman had more information or at least clues about their location. Seemed like even she wasn't aware of everything though. Sadly he supposed they'd have to hope to find more information now that they were here. What he was most interested about was WHY they were here.

Then Vlad went full Great Bazhooli on them. Constantin was in agreement about the force to be reckoned with part. Between all of them, they should be ready to fight most things within reason. Some may be too dangerous, but still it wasn't too bad a compliment of people. They had skills to be used after all.” Bazhooli, not sure ve can make proper fire in this wet place!” The firewalker commented, partly joking partly serious about it.” Besides maybe I should be the one to try it. If it's poses some danger, it should be me vho test it first! Same vith the fire! ” He proclaimed with pride. Because Bazhooli getting injured would be shame on him for letting it happen. Constantin took great pride in his service to the circus.

He looked out to the man who introduced himself. Yeah that was a basic rule of courtesy was it not?” Nice to meet you. I'm Constantin Kolev.” He introduced himself in a flashy courtesy half bow as befitting of an entertainer.



As he looked up from his bow, he saw he was... elsewhere!?” КАКВО ПО ДЯВОЛИТЕ?!“ He was startled and cursed loudly. He was somewhere different alright, with four other unknown people. Three men and a woman with white hair. His surprise lasted only a few brief moments before he regained some calm and looked about, confirming that he was indeed elsewhere again.

The woman spoke out and he turned her attention to her. She said something about shiftings. Was this what happened? They...shifted? Well it did seem fitting if she was referring to them reappearing suddenly at completely different locations.” Great... it happened again...” He sighed, this was the second reappearance at an unknown location within a very short span. He then eyed the wolf. It looked like a majestic animal... if not too big... Way too big! It was the size of a horse. He used to think the ones in Russia were the biggest. Then he returned his attention to the woman who said they wore strange clothing.” Hmm... I suppose so.” He agreed with her as he studied her clothing. With the circus he had traveled a fair bit and some of those clothing were very strange indeed.” I guess ve all are from different places... though I've not seen those despite traveling fairly much...” He was really confused now. This seemed to be a little too different for it to be simply different locations." Ve are from more than simple different places?" He asked, hoping someone would have an answer. That wolf was clearly not something not regular among the animals he knew unless it was a kind of soulless, but it wasn't killing people. So with the astral world being a thing he was certain of, with a wolf this unnatural for where he came from, he wondered if it was from another world...