Welcome to Gaia! ::

The last of them had returned, and though Thackery spoke of a celebration, The Voice clearly had other intentions.

He'd been squinting curiously at two figures in the distance that sure looked a lot like his Henry and his Remi, the slightest hint of envy curling on a frown usually reserved only for pity, when the chime filled the air. The words of the announcement seemed dull, unimportant; he knew what it wanted. He had spoken with it and he knew, and the rest were frills meant to make this seem like something it wasn't.

He flexed his fingers, clenching a fist, releasing it, over and over again, and opened his mouth to say something--until someone else spoke up instead.

The soured expression softened to something as warm and mushy as a freshly-baked cookie as he turned to look towards the one who'd spoken to him: one of the Silver refugees.

"Aw, yes! Of course! Anything for you!"

She was his comfort in this, and right now, Erebus hardly cared if it looked inappropriate. Seeing her tails reappear again made a small smile flicker on his lips, for a brief moment. But it did not last, not when his eyes were fixated on the one that looked so much like his brother.

His resemblance with the Gatekeeper; he was not calling that thing Thackery, was more so evident now with his change back into who he once looked like. He rubbed at his eyes, forcing the angry tears back. This was no time to weep. Erebus stood on shaky feet, helping Tomoko up as he did so. His hand had unconsciously found hers once again, their clasped palms now a reminder of their purpose here.

"Do you... know anyone else who remembers? I... vaguely remember the blue kitsune." The one who had boldly asked to be the Gatekeeper's Queen.

Of course Erebus would remember the kitsune. Then again, the man he once could recognize as Henry; whom the Gatekeeper had dubbed as a Knight, had changed significantly in physical appearance.

"None of that!" Thackery laughed, waving for him to stand again. It still seemed to be stuck in his own subjects' minds that bowing was the proper way to address him, so he couldn't fault a Lost one for thinking just the same. He leaned forward to touch his shoulder, earnest and proud.

"I would be honored to have you, and I'm sure everyone else would be, too! Those are great skills to have, and skills we really need! So...we're in luck that you'd like to find your place among us here." He had barely finished speaking when he motioned for someone to come forward - just one of the figures who had been in place to so kindly 'help' them before.

"He can show you the way," he explained, and he smiled, polite and innocent as ever. "Or we can talk some more, if you want, and you can go when you're ready. Either way! I will ask that you excuse me for juuust a minute, though..."

Rising slowly to his feet, Crispin didn't move much farther until Thackery had finished addressing the populace. The Gate of Elysian? That seemed to him a special area, especially if the king was offering it like a precious gift. Of what other secrets Violet Kingdom housed, Crispin was naturally curious, but not enough to investigate why. He had to accept that his silver ambassador days were over.

"Very kind indeed," he muttered to himself, looking around at all the lamed and exhausted citizens -- a rag tag bunch, full of odds and ends. But mostly just odd. Downtime was much needed.

Impulsively he glanced in the direction of Harland, Vaska, and Alastair. Crispin felt he should wave farewell -- but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he immediately dismissed it. No, he thought to himself. If I get this conversion business over with quickly, I can come straight back and keep them from worrying too much. Besides, then I'll be able to cheer their spirits with some good news!

That thought bolstered him, and he forced himself to glance at the towering, abyssal figure that stood near the king. Looking at it sent chills down Crispin's spine, but he tried to give Thackery the benefit of the doubt against his own instincts. He was going to be fine! Serving a generous king at last, with a purpose, and able to cheer his friends up with something like a new upgrade.

Little did Crispin know what happened to those who joined the Violet Kingdom for good.

"I'm ready," he said, and nodded. "Thank you, your majesty."
Another little nod, and then Crispin turned, trying to walk as tall as possible, with his chin up, towards the terrifying dark figure beside them.

Sayid pursed his lips at the command from The Voice, weary but not so weary as to not notice the appetite for destruction that was begining to be the pattern. Silver Kingdom. Black Kingdom. Now Sacrifice and Battle. Death upon death upon death.

He glanced over at the girl with the cherry red eyes when she stopped singing, his expression a bit more strained at her thin, strained request.

Let me die for you. Except it wasn't really the Violet King she was asking to die for was it. It was the Voice, perhaps more appropriately called The Appetite. Devouring kingdoms one by one.

"Your ambitions are noble, but I think I won't be the only one who would be sad if we didn't hear you sing again."

'The blue kitsune'. "Remi." Tomoko recalled him with great clarity in her true memories and she quickly started to scour the crowd of those who had returned to the kingdom for that flash of blue that should have instilled hatred in her (clearly her father had done a horrible job in making her a hater).

"I remember Ash was there too." she added as she got up, holding onto Erebus' hand tightly as she began to move through the crowd towards the flash of blue - and the colossal man she assumed was Ash. It looked like Ash. 'Big' 'Kind of Scary' ---> Ash. Right?

That was what she was hoping, anyways. She passed a glance towards Thackery as he spoke, and she could hear people volunteering for sacrifice. Had she been one of them still, she likely would have tried. Possibly denied for being a Bishop instead of a Pawn, though.

However, there was something about the look on Ash's face, when she saw it, that actually made her want to sink back, a sickness that instilled fear in her - but she swallowed and continued to where the Pyramidkind and the other Kitsune were talking. She could be brave, even if Ash was likely the last of her concerns now. Erebus got another hand-squeeze for that brief moment of terror, however.

"Did you see it?" she asked, not being specific about what 'it' was, but she did look quite pointedly towards the Gatekeeper, her ears flicking backwards before she looked back to Remi and Ash.

"My question to you, Ash, is what if they are not just illusions. " After all they were here, they remembered everything that traspired. Their true selves were once slumbering inside the lie, yes? "What id they were like us. Their minds pasted onto another and warped in to the other memories. In order to wake them as we were intrusted to, we need to dispose of them. So i ask you this, why else would we need to rid the mirror selves if there was nothing of the true ones inside? Where did they go if not in to these false forms?" Maybe remi was looking to far in to things, maybe he was seeing something that wasn't there.

"It changes nothing, they still need to fall. Im only assuming the worst so i can deal later with the consequences if it comes to pass."

The words from their king were heard loud and clear, as well as the voice. Did the voice know there was a wrench tossed in to its plan?

His name being voiced was the only thing that drew his attention away from the reaper, turning around to see a pair approaching. Tomo looked different than before, her once single tail now eight. Wait when did she get eight? More curiously though, why wasn't he envious? "Do you hold the marking." He asked back at tomo, wondering if she would know which he meant. That would answer the question of loyalties.

Erebus also recieved a look up and down. Remi had never met this one befoee, but he heard tales of the trio of cerberus brothers were known back home. It was almost as if he was looking at a taller reflection of thackery. He seemed to be following tomo around, had he too remembered? Even though he was pretty certain they had also been in the vision, he stayed near ash for now. They did not need a traitor in their plans right now.