Luna, Lincoln, Jesse, Sam, and Mason were walking down a few corridors in the Pantheon and saw walls of many dead named incrypted. The GIGN special task men were slightly surrounding the group and Doctor Sebastien Dumas to keep them all safe. The Pantheon was a sacred place, and it was almost like the Parisian Catacombs in the southern part of Paris, but it looked very welcoming and not very dark and dreary, along with no skulls mounted into walls to honor the dead. While the Catacombs were a big attraction in the city, the kids didn't know if they could set foot within a few feet in there, probably not without staying close to this squad Macron had given them during their visit. Sure, it would be a paradise for Lucy if she was ever there, but Lincoln or Luna would have to hold her hand so that they would feel less scared or creeped out by the skulls. At least in the Pantheon, there were no skulls to be shown for the tourists and it was far less creepy.
While both places were meant to mourn the dead and poor souls that passed, they were built for different reasons. The catacombs were built to keep the dead populace in balance and keep from overcrowding the cemeteries. The Pantheon on the other hand, was meant to to honor many great people who have done many great things that were born in France. Although there were a few other honorable people buried here that were not originally from France such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A man who was a philosopher, writer, and composer from Geneva Switzerland.
Everyone was impressed by how some of these graves turned out. "Whoa dude." said Luna. "Look at this baby." They came across a large pedestal with dozens of French flags circled on top of it, and flowers on the ground. There was an encryption: "Le Marechal Lannes" on it. Whoever this man was, it looked really important. He lived about from 1769 to 1809, and if he had all these Flags of France around his crypt, then he must really be loved and respected by the people of the country. "All those flags on it. Kinda love the decor on this bad boy."
"That's a way to make an impression for a fallen hero or whoever this guy was." Sam remarked
"Oh oui." said Sabre. "Zis is the resting place of General Jean Lannes himself."
"One of the greatest military generals to ever lived in Paris." Chevalier added.
"He was one of Napoleon's finest generals and closest friends on the battlefield." Paton remarked.
"Lannes and Napoleon had one many great battles together. Including the battle of Arcole, and the battle of Montebello." Adewale sounded proud to say those words.
"Although he did lose a few battles too." Leclerc said. "But it's like that in all kinds of wars in histoire. Even major sides had to lose a few battles."
"Yeah, that's true." said Lincoln. I remember reading about the battle of Kasserine Pass in World War 2. Boy oh boy, that was a humiliating loss for America, Britain, France, and other allies."
The GIGN squad laughed with him. "It was. It really was." said Sabre. "All things have their time, Lincoln. The afterglows of victoire have to fade some time. Just take a look at George Washington and General Lafayette and how they lost a few battles so your homeland can gain independence."
"That is so true. There had to be sacrifices along the way" said Jesse.
"So how did he die?" asked Mason.
"In 1809, son," Sebastien began explaining. "The Battle of Aspern-Essling in Austria. Sixty-thousand French against ninety-thousand men in the Austrian empire. Lannes was siting on a ditch, and he noticed one of his comrades get killed by a cannonball, and then Lannes got hit by a second cannonball on his legs. He died eight days later after trying to be nursed back to help."
"Jeez," said Luna. "That's gotta be painful. I guess wheelchairs weren't invented in those days."
"There were." said Sebastien, "But they were not really technologically advanced Luna. If it would have happened today, he probably would have lived and his legs would have been replaced by robotic arms."
"Heh. That would be cool." Jesse admitted. "Having robot arms and legs."
"You could probably move faster with those legs as well." said Leclerc.
"Well I don't wanna be like an outcast or an outsider to everyone else because of having robot legs and arms, brah." Luna admitted.
"No, we agree with you." said Adewale. "It would probably not be as fun as you would thought."
"I'm kinda impressed with how there are some of Napoleon's generals and commanders are remembered and not just him."
"And his siblings, Lincoln." said Adewale
"Napoleon had a bunch of siblings." said Leclerc
"Seven to be exact." Paton added.
"Wow, I didn't know he had a big family." said Luna. "That's crazy."
"The house of Bonaparte is a big family with a gigantic family line." said Sebastien. "It even continues to exist to this day."
The kids sounded more impressed. "Really? I actually thought it was Napoleon and those two ones at Les Invalides." said Sam.
"Well, We do not want to bore you, but we can discuss the rest later." said Sebastien. "I'm sure you all want to see the rest of the Pantheon."
"Cool." said Jesse. "Don't wanna keep them people waiting either." everyone went to other graves and they all stumbled upon a small chamber with three graves instead of one within the crypt of the Pantheon. There was one on the left, and another on the right, and one at the end of the chamber with two small windows connected to one on top of the center crypt. On the left was entitled "Victor Hugo" on it, the right: "Emile Zola", and finally: "Alexandre Dumas" at the center of it.
"Here we are." said Sebastien. "These are three of the most famous burials in zis sacred site."
The kids looked at these tombs and the encryptions of the names branded on these sarcophaguses. "Victor Hugo." said Luna. "Dude, why do I feel like I have heard of that name before?"
"He's the author who created ze Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables, along with other novels and projects." said the doctor. "He even created a dramatic play called Ruy Blas."
"Whoa, that was him?" said Mason. "I did not know that."
"I love that movie!" Jessie exclaimed.
"What about Emile Zola?" Sam asked
"He was a playwright, journalist, and author." said the professor. "He is the creature of naturalism in the arts." Lincoln and Luna themselves were looking at the grave of Alexandre Dumas himself. "Oh ho, Zis man is another special kind of person. Alexandre Dumas is one of France' most recognizable and famous authors, along with one of the greatest. Alexandre Dumas was an author with a great mind. He is the man who created the Three Musketeers, the Count of Monte Cristo, and Twenty Years Later, which is the sequel of the Three Musketeers."
"Nice." said Lincoln. "I would like to have met him."
"Yeah, I love the Three Musketeers." Mason added.
"And I am sure he would have loved to meet you all too. He and his father were very amazing kind of people." said Sebastien.
"Who's his dad?" asked Luna
"Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. He was one of the highest ranking French generals of African descent."
"Wow. I didn't know he was from Africa." Jesse said
"Close." Sebastien pointed. "He was born in Haiti, a former French colony in the Caribbean. Although he did have Afrian blood in him. His father was white while his mother was black."
"Is he here?" asked Sam
"Unfortunately, no. He is buried in the House Dumas Museum at a city called Villers-Cotterets, a city little north of Paris."
"Dumas was very awesome." said Sabre. "He was a great war hero that he managed to take out enemies in a one-man war in a few battles."
"Dude. That is totally rad." Luna said
"Yeah, sounds really cool." Mason added. "Oh, and I did a little interesting research. The very first person that got buried here had to move somewhere else in a cemetery."
"Who was it?" asked Jesse
"His name was Mirabeau." Mason explained as everyone went out of the room to look around at the place. "He was the fallen leader of the early stages of the French Revolution. A very controversial man. He had many things on his plate in trying to keep everything in line. He was considered a national hero of France and the republic for the things he did. Little did everyone know that: he tried to get a talk with King Louis himself about wanting a peaceful France. His health deteriorated and died one day. In those days, having an alliance with King Louis was a capital offense during the Revolution. One wrong word, and you would have off to the guillotine."
"So why was he moved?" asked Sam
"He was originally placed in the Pantheon with a grand burial. One day, however, someone just exposed his collusion with the king."
"For that," said Sebastien, "He has been publicly disgraced and turned into a traitre to the French people. Everyone wanted him gone, and they moved his remains to a cemetery."
"Which one?" Lincoln raised his right eyebrow."
"No one still knows where it is. It is yet to be discovered, Lincoln."
"Well that's crazy." said Sam
"Yeah, sounds like Mirabeau wasn't careful."
"Oui, and he still remains a controversial person to this day." said Mason. "They ask if he is a hero, or a conniving traitor."
"I would call him a traitor." said Paton
"Moi aussi." the other GIGN troops agreed with him. This tour of the Pantheon continued for at least thirty minutes, and everyone was feeling impressed by how things were shown in the Pantheon. So beautiful, so amazing. At last, when they were all done, they all decided to take a little breather and sat in a cafe three blocks from where the Pantheon was.
"Where do you guys wanna go next?" asked Lincoln
"I was kinda thinking we can go on those boat rides, dude." Luna said. "I wanna find a place I can sit down more."
"Me too, Lil Loud." Jesse added. "My legs are killing me. This is fun, but maybe a little break will do me good from all that walkin' in one of the greatest cities on the planet, dog."
"My feet are kinda achy too." Sam admitted.
"Very well, the boat ride it is." Sebastien smiled. "The boat rides on the Seine river are quite relaxing for ze mind and soul." Sitting and having a little bit more of a breather, everyone walked over to an opening where the Seine river was that divided Paris, and the all took a nice seat. Lincoln crossed his arms and relaxed with a sigh. This is definitely something they all needed to take a breather. Just sit back, and relax as they are given a tour of Paris by boat."
As the boat moved, the kids were so amazed by how close they were to where the Eiffel Tower was from where they were right now. "On ze right is the Notre Dame Cathedral." said the tour guide. "One of Paris' great landmarks. Take a good look at it as we pass by."
This tour went on for about an hour and a half, and when it was over, the crew got off to see Arno just waiting for them all in his little van. "Did you all have fun, mes amis?" he asked with a smile
"We did, mon frere." Sebastien hugged him again.
"Come on, I will take you back to the guestroom so that you can all unwind."
"Merci beaucoup." the kids said to him kindly. It was nice to be driven back to their rooms and unwind a little bit. Moreover, Lincoln was happy to have a room just with the boys while Sam and Luna had a room to themselves.
In the Night
Claire De Lune plays
The full moon was out in Paris, and Luna was looking out the window with Sam, seeing at how bright the Eiffel Tower was in the night with the yellow lights shining like beacons. "Just look at it, Sam. We can be queens of the world if we go high on that tower."
"Totally. It would be a perfect place to... you know, kiss."
She and Luna blushed before having the idea. They went out the hotel room but were stopped by the GIGN troops. "Wait, where are you two going?" asked Leclerc.
"We're gonna go see the Eiffel Tower." Sam replied
"I don't recommend you both going out there this time of day."
"Don't worry about us, dudes. "We'll be fine. And we'll be back before ya know it."
"Very well. Just be careful out there." Adewale said. Both Luna and Sam were happy to have been granted access like this and flew to the Eiffel Tower together as a couple. On top of the tower, they both looked at how beautiful and bright it was in Paris at night, and the full moon was glowing behind them.
"We're the queens of the world, Sam." said Luna, eyeing her girlfriend.
"I couldn't agree more. Just you and me with no one else to be with us." Sam eyed her back. Slightly turning away, they didn't really know what else to say next.
Ultimately, Luna said: "Wanna visit the Notre Dame temple?"
"I will if everyone else does."
"Ah, I'm sure they would love to." They slowly walked toward another on the very top, and the held hands while blushing some more. Slowly and passionately, Luna and Sam shared their kiss in a very tender way.