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Sunday February 18, 2024 Late afternoon After over a day and a half of fun in the water and sun at the Harrow estate on Wakaya Island, Fiji (in addition to some more serious topics), it was unfortunately time for the Claremont Academy students to return back to Freedom City for the start of the next school week. After about an hour or so of chaos, everyone was eventually gathered back on the large deck at the back of the main house for Lawrence Harrow to teleport them all back to campus. As the group of teens stepped into the temporal portal Lawrence created once again, they initially felt a similar sensation to what they had the day before when transported to the South Pacific. But suddenly, rather than stepping out the other side of the portal back at the Main Quad at Claremont, the teens felt as if something tugged on them, causing each to stumble forward and as the world reformed around them and they were not at Claremont Academy. Bernadette O'Connell, Neko Musume, Owain Celliwig, Rosalinda Sommaripa, Jonah Janse, Carmen Alvarez Arrache and Iris and Daniel Evans found themselves along the waterfront of the Boardwalk, just near the Paradise casino. Around them were several people, all of whom acted very surprised at the sudden appearance of the teens, some screaming in panic and running, while others just began moving away quickly. The teens were still in the clothes they had been wearing, but all the rest of their bags and other things were nowhere to be seen. The sun was just coming into view off to the east, but the weather was far warmer than it should have been for an early morning in February for Freedom City. "What ta bloody hell." Bernadette stated as she reoriented herself to the unexpected location the group found themselves in. Glancing around, she scowled. "Where are the others?" The Irish redhead was wearing a pair of torn black jeans and a grey hoodie, in anticipation of ending up back up in the winter weather back in Freedom City. But her scowl was quickly replaced by a look of surprise as she looked out at the skyline of downtown Freedom City. It was clearly Freedom City, only the skyline was very different than the teens were used to. Several prominent more modern buildings were not there. And glancing down the east, the massive Sentry Statute was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, bugger us." Bernadette muttered as she looked out at the very different city skyline.

2024 March 15, 9:00am Halfway to Medford, New Jersey (about 20 miles NNW of Freedom City) ~60o, gentle breezes (~10 mph), cloudy Field trips! Hands-on learning, a vital part to any well-rounded education! And this was the most classic form of that time-honored tradition: a trip to a working farm! With beef and dairy cows, hogs and chickens, and numerous orchards covering its 250+ acres, Medford Farms had been serving the lower half of the state for over two centuries, and was always eager to welcome curious students. And these students were curious indeed, coming from a most curious school. As the Claremont Academy van pulled off Highway 40 and started down a side road (to avoid a construction crew), the four students within -- Owain "Copper Knight" Celliwig, Jonah "Jotunn" Janse, Ryan "Sever" Jacobs, and Michael "Golden Star" Adon -- were busy with their own thoughts.

Claremont Academy Freedom City, New Jersey December 1, 2023, 3:05 PM The last class of the day came to an end for this Friday, welcoming in the weekend. Of course, the students at Claremont Academy had finals looming in the coming weeks, so for many the weekend would hardly be a break. As if that were not enough, the headmistress of the school had suddenly sent word the night before for students to wear the school uniforms for the day, a directive that most of the students had followed at least. Rosalind Sommaripa, Jonah Janse, Bernadette O'Connell, Neko Musume and Owain Jones, where among a throng of other students making their way through the halls of one of the main buildings off the quad. Around them was the typical excited chatter of students, happy to be done with classes for the day. As the group of students exited the building, there was a flash of white light, and the five teens found themselves standing in a wooded area with a light dusting of snow on the ground. They were still dressed in the clothes they had been wearing that day (which in Bernadette's case was a grey and black plaid skirt, and a white dress shirt over which she had a navy blue sweater with the Claremont crest on the left breast), but their bookbags were gone. Up ahead was a stone wall, which at first glance appeared to part of the walls that surrounded the Claremont campus, only, it was much taller. In addition, at a corner of the wall was a tall thin wooden tower that rose up above a stone base. The design of the tower was a clearly Japanese style, with multiple peaks and roofs, likely of the Edo period. As the five teens were taking in their surroundings, a male figure appeared off to one side. "Greetings great warriors, you have a most important mission before you!" The man appeared to be in his early thirties, and was dressed in a traditional men’s kimono of black and white materials, again looking as if it was from centuries ago. However, the man was Caucasian, with blond hair and an impish, childlike grin on his face. "Before you is the fortress of the evil Lord Yamamori, who has kidnaped the Shogun's daughter." The man continued, and as he did, the five teens seemed to leave their bodies as they experienced a bird's-eye-view of what was beyond the wall in front of them. At first glance, it resembled the Claremont grounds, only things were vastly changed. Just on the other side of the wall in front of them, was the area that would have been the athletic fields, only, it had been replaced by what appeared to be a military parade field, with several outlying buildings that appeared to be barracks. Beyond that was another wall, with a gatehouse, which lead to what should have been the faculty residence and the two dorm buildings, but had been replaced by more Japanses fortifications and buildings. The low wall that sounded the gardens at Claremont was still there, only the gardens were vastly expanded, and exclusively of a Japanses style. And beyond that, where the main quad should have been, sat a massive Japanese style castle, rising several stories into the air. Along the various walled fortifications, the teens could see several armored figures slowly walking about. And then suddenly they were back in the forest before the strange man. "Stealth and cunning will be your greatest weapon as you make your way into Yamamori's fortress, confronting his forces only when necessary." The man said, giving a bow before vanishing from sight with a faint *POP*. Bernadette looked at the others, a confused look on her face. "What is going on?"