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"Clair de lune est beau, non? Mais, je ne sais pas ce que je ferais sans Debussy!" Genevieve hummed along to the music she was provided for the ride. Of course, the turbulence was getting to her a little bit, but it wasn't the worst thing she had ever had to deal with. Far from it, honestly. And the beautiful music cleared her mind, letting her unwind a bit. All of this was so sudden, she was whisked from Broadway for some apparent talent she had, then brought out being told it was magic. Which, of course she knew she had, but was she not alone? Was there some big magic underworld she had never heard of? It seemed strange, but... perhaps? Either way, she wished she could simply stay on the stage, but maybe there was something worth learning about. And then, the music came to a halt, the blindfold lifted. "This monocle looks very ordinary, but believe me when I say it's anything but," An agent across from her explained as they carefully handed said monocle to Genny, "It took a lot for us to get our hands on this. As it turns out, stealing form a family of thieves isn't easy," With a chuckle they looked out the window. "Oh... we're here," "Quoi? Is zis some kind of prank?" Genny laughed and crossed her legs opposite of before, eyeing the monocle a bit. "What could be so special about zis, zat a family of thieves were guarding it? It looks completely plain to me." The helicopter landed before she could get an answer, and she was quickly ushered out. What odd people. What, was this like the holy grail? Or the Shroud of Turin? Some mythical artifact that held massive power? The thought seemed completely absurd, yet they acted like it. "Welcome everyone, to Chaldea! Today marks the day where we take our first steps to protect the Human Order. Are you ready to take that journey with us?" Ah, this was some elaborate play. Of course no one realized her power. Magic wasn't real. Someone just wanted to make her confess to something absurd, so they could take her to the tabloids. Like that Gwenneth woman. The man, called Wodime, continued on until another man spoke up, claimign to be Albert Einstein... Sure, he sounded German, but he looked nothing like the photos. How on earth did they not expect her to see through all of this? Genny held her smile, but rolled her eyes internally as they revealed an empty room with the supposed Round Table, claiming it could summon the ancient dead. This explained the Einstein cosplayer, at least. ... But then that first boy, Aozaki, entered. He started a sequence of insane special effects... Perhaps too insane... And then a man claiming to be John Watson appeared. The next girl, Aino, did the same, summoning Masamune. And again, Adonis repeated the effect with Moses appearing. Either this was a really, really elaborate hoax, or it was real... And, of course, this meant it was most likely a hoax. Genny's lips twisted a bit at the corners as she stepped forward to take her 'turn', faving the group. "Bonjour~ I am Geneveive Mireille, l'etoile montante de Broadway. I hope you have heard of me by now." With that, she headed towards the table. They would probably make her fail, if she was to guess... Embarrass her for playing along. But it would take more than that to make her buckle. Brandishing the monocle, she placed it on the table, then held her hand to it. With a deep breath, her words began to flow with a soft melody. Tu representes la marée Destinée à chercher la vie, hors de portée Mais l'océan est changeant, comme coule le temps, Saisis donc ton destin. As Genny finished her song, nothing seemed to happen. Nobody stood before her, nor was there any indication that her ritual worked, as the light that shined brightly for everyone else only glowed dimly for her before dying out. As she thought, they sought to make a fool of her. This really was a hoax. And she would not stand idly by! However, before she could protest, a voice called out from behind her. Turning around, she would see a young man in a red suit with a tall collar, with a black undershirt and black hair to contrast it. On his face, we wore a black mask across his eyes, the thing doing nothing to cover his playful grin. “Greetings, my dear Master,” He spoke, his voice as smooth as butter. “I am Assassin, Raoul d’Argery. If you wished it, I would steal the moon for you. I do hope we get along,” Without a thought, Genny took a step back, bumping into the table, only for the thief himself to catch her. This... this couldn't be real. But she felt it. Something had changed when the ritual had completed... It absolutely was real, after all. "Mon dieu..."

...But Know Not What We May Be "That's all fine and dandy. For now, I will visit Lord Dia. I wish to make final amends with her. I won't be long behind you." Kitt honestly figured that Olivander would be going to do his own thing, rather than following a set path. After all, to each Watchdog their own...he wasn't going to question it nor Hinder's will for him. Nevertheless, Kitt found himself heading directly to Lar's temple. That was his start...he needed to check in with things there before he continued. With a slow exhale, the Forge Maker's Watchdog made his direction known and entered Lar's temple. The inside of Lar's temple, while he had seen it countless times before (or in his case, roughly two times), Kitt noticed fewer water containers in the corner that there were prior. Perhaps there was something going on that he wasn't aware of prior. Nevertheless, he saw the central fire burning brightly enough and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emily currently sitting in one of the pews, still covered in a blanket. I suppose me speaking to her is one thing I should do before I leave... Kitt thought, before making his way towards the pew, approaching Emily with a clearing of his throat. "Good morning...how are you feeling?" "Well, I am still alive, at least," she said. "Good morning. How are the preparations for my parents' funeral?" "They're going well. I gave those in Taros' temple direct instructions to contact me once they're complete." Kitt nodded. "Once it's all taken care of, that should be one thing you won't have to worry about." "That is good, at least." She shivered. "How are you otherwise?" A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he sat in the pew, shrugging slightly. "All things considered? I'm more confused and puzzled about things than I've ever been. A curse that turns those to stone if you utter a single word...a cult about a void...a religious council that seems to not do much. It's...baffling." Kitt explained. "And while I've been preparing to be the Watchdog of Taros since my birth...I've...never seen or dealt with anything on this level before. The events of yesterday still weighs heavily on my mind." He paused, before shaking his head, chuckling lightly. "...and I know I shouldn't be saying this to a young lady like yourself. Otherwise you might think of the Watchdogs as less." Emily managed a smile. "I would not have sought you out if I thought less of you," she said. "And I still feel like I would. There is some faith in the gods there, at least. Though I suppose the watchdogs are as mortal as the rest of us." She paused. Then, "This curse... is that what happened to my parents? Are you saying that is what is happening to me?" "That...I cannot be sure of." Kitt sighed. "I truly wish it isn't the case and that this may just be a passing sickness. That's why I brought you to the temple of your patron. To allow you to be in their embrace, possibly to help with the healing process. Whether it's the case of this or not, I figured any chance to fix this is worth it." "I suppose I would not know either way," Emily said. She looked into the fire. "There is comfort in this, focusing all my energy on this divine flame, but there also is this intrusive thought: if I do become well again, do I just continue the family business? Bake bread for the rest of my life until Nuumu comes to claim me? The thought repulses me and it did not before yesterday. The thoughts continue in ways that I dare not describe, and I resist, of course, but I am still left with the question, what else is there?" Another paused. "This flame is going to go out eventually," she added, before turning back to look at Kitt "I realize I should be asking Myria these things, not you, but I heard Myria's dog left the island and, well..." she gestured to her blanket. Kitt looked at the flame that Emily stared at, before looking back at the young girl. "I may not be Myria or Myria's Watchdog...but I'll try to give some insight." he said, clearing his throat. "With the crossroads you've come to, I suppose it would...what is it in your heart and soul you wish for. If you feel like the bread baking portion of your life you've known for so long is at it's end, then only you can make that decision. Listen to the voice of your patron for guidance. They alone can give you the answers you seek. Me? I can only give advice...I'll remind you that Taros is...not exactly a philosophical deity...he's more of a rough, rigid one..." he let out a small chuckle. "That is the fear," Emily said flatly, continuing her stare. "I am not sure my heart or soul wish for anything anymore. But I will keep an ear out for Lar's voice -- or anyone's voice -- all the same." "Heh...honestly it's just me, but with you and the fiery display you've shown...I think you could honestly pass for a Watchdog yourself. You and Aiden both." Kitt gave a small smile, shaking his head. "Regardless, I'm sure you'll get your answer in due time." "From your lips to the gods' ears, I suppose," Emily said. Once he finished, Kitt gave Emily a small smile...one of compassion as he left the young girl to her own devices. He then proceeded to speak to a few of Lar's acolytes to find out where Aiden was. Of course, he didn't see him when he walked in...but luckily he got his answer: "If you're looking for Aiden, he should still be in his room". Kitt nodded, thanking them as he moved towards the temple's chambers, knocking on the doors to it. "You can come in." Once he was granted entrance, Kitt walked into the chambers. Upon first glance, the acolyte was at his desk, writing in his logbook. At the glance, however, it did seem that he was having issues getting words out. "Good morning, Aiden." he said. "Was checking in on things on my rounds for today..." He glanced Kitt's way. "Oh, good morning. You saw Miss Briar in the sanctuary, I assume?" "I did..." Kitt nodded. "Had a nice little talk with her...she honestly gave me encouragement, surprisingly enough." "We are doing our best," Aiden said. "Do not mind me too much, this is just something I was meant to do last night. But even after a night of sleep I find it difficult to properly recount the events of yesterday. Even just the ones that pertain to this temple, for who was it but my poor acolytes and I who had to clean up Simon's blood?" These words did cut him, which made him wince a bit, but he shook off the feeling for a moment. He nodded solemnly, sighing a bit. "I understand. I apologize immensely for what occurred yesterday. Even now I feel that my attempt to quell Hinder's anger was the cause of someone losing their life." Aiden waved his hand. "I am not blaming you, nor would I think you should apologize even if I had," he said. "Is it not the point of the gods' watchdogs to do the things they deem necessary when others cannot or will not? I am not even sure I would have done differently. I might even have gone after what remains of his following, too, though I suppose we will have to see about that. If Nuumu has judged them worthy of sharing his temple I dare not disagree, or disagree publicly, at least." "I suppose you have a point." Kitt nodded, another sigh escaping his lips. "In any case, I simply came to see how everything was...on my last rounds. Taros is calling me onward...so this will be the last day you'll see me here, unless the Great Forge Maker has me to return." Upon hearing this Aiden stood up and turned to face Kitt directly, giving the dog a slight bow. "Well, it has been an honor having you, in any case. Lar's domain is practically the opposite of travels, but I wish you the safest all the same." Kitt nodded and gave Aiden a bow in return. "Thank you, Aiden. I will continue to remember the sights and people I've had the honor of coming in contact with here on Galatea. I wish nothing but the best wishes upon you, the other acolytes of Lar as well as those here on this island." With that, the Watchdog of Taros left Lar's chambers and the temple all together, making his way back. He prayed silently, hoping that above all else: Emily would be fine and find her calling in all of this.

“Apprentice to Balthazar, huh? Nope, I got nothing. Sounds like a really important guy though,” "Not expecting others to know him, but you would be correct." Trevor nodded, now bringing his attention to the apparent brawl that was going between the man in purple and the guy with the eye-patch. Everyone else seemed to be perfectly fine with these two fighting like this, but it was definitely something that was interesting to say the least. ...this is quite the start of things, if I do say so...then again, Olli almost attacked me specifically when those Undecided went and barged into Fairlight Town... he thought, now watching the fish individual dove into the fight and separated the two. ...dove...fish individual...oh the hilarity of Trevor and noticing things. "Anyway, you're both really cool so I hope you don't go through with the whole killing each other thing. Been nice knowing you if you do! I'm heading into town." The fish did seem to do the trick, and Masaru was already attempting to speak to the two. However, Trevor adjusted his tie slightly and began to make his way towards Masaru and the two fighting individuals. “Hiya! My name's Masaru. Guessing that neither of you guys know where we’re at either?” Trevor cleared his throat, his Cabanomicon already opening as he had the pages flipped straight to one section. "There was a bit of damage done to both parties here...so here..." he began. "Curaga..." Once he said this, above both Cyan and Roy's heads seemed to be something that looked like plant like bells appeared and rang a few times, before fading away. Once they left, Cyan and Roy could feel...they seemed to feel revitalized and healed up. "There you go..." he said, closing his grimoire as the chains on it closed around it and had it return to hanging on the side of his hip once more. "Now, perhaps we can all talk with some decency and possibly all get along."

Chimera couldn't believe what he was seeing. It didn't seem to be some sort of clever ruse that the robots were doing to make people think they were gone, it was really ruins. He clenched his fists, thinking about the ways he would murder Sonic and the others, and watch their organic blood drip from his fingers as he stood over their bodies, however, before he could get too lost in that fantasy, some motion caught his attention. The robot flipped the rubble over to reveal an Egg Pawn buried beneath. "-11...MS-1...Chime-...-era..." It weakly stated. "Good Mor-...MS-11..." If Chimera could cry, he probably would right at this moment. For now, he only helped the Egg Pawn up, looking over it. The amount of wear and tear on it didn't make sense, it seemed like it had been exposed to the elements for far too long to be a mere two years... a nonexistent pit became to form in the robot's stomach. Something had gone really wrong. Instead of dwelling on it, he followed the small Pawn as it led him to another pile, where they soon freed another Egg Pawn. "We shall go on patrol now...Eggland needs to be defended, at all costs... In the meantime... please reboot the main generators and EggNet...MS-02 will be happy to see you." The first Egg Pawn said, as the two headed off in search of more badnicks to uncover. MS-02? So Metal Sonic was still here. That was good to know, even if the robot felt a sense of dread fill him. "Be careful," Chimera said as he watched them go. He didn't like this, he would rather repair the two before doing anything else, but he didn't have the tools on him. Besides, he would need power to really fix them up, so his hands were tied. With a robotic sigh, the robot headed towards the last place he remembered where the generators were. For all the foolish mistakes Eggman had made in the past, he knew well not to leave those generators in the open, instead opting to keep them underground, deep in Eggmanland itself so that Sonic would have a hard time reaching it. Even if he did know the lay of the land, it still took Chimera around ten minutes to reach the generators themselves due to having to clear debris and avoid holes in the floor. The twin generators stood tall, filling nearly the entire room, monuments to the power man could make. However, the entire room was covered in a thick layer of dust, obviously, no one had been here for years. The machine walked over, clearing off debris and dust while scanning the generators for any damages. Seeing nothing too wrong with them, he walked over to their control panel and started them up. A low hum was heard throughout all of Eggmanland as the generators began to power up for the first time in years. He knew it would take awhile for everything to power up once more, so he wasn't worried when activity didn't pick up right away. Chimera then headed to the command room, more time taken to clear even more debris. He wasn't sure if it had been so long that the place naturally fell into this state of disrepair, or if it was due to some sort of attack. Frankly, he didn't want to think about it, but his systems were not satisfied with such a gap in his knowledge, which forced him to think about it. He did his best to keep his mind off of it by focusing on getting the Eggnet back online. By the time he reached the Command Room, the place had only started to boot up. Knowing this might take a bit, the robot opted to stand in the corner, waiting for all the systems to come back online.

I was bored, so here, have some Hades fanart.