An old relic of his time, enters a place with literally old relics of their times. Translation: Erron visits the Museum on Christmas Eve, and learns all the the most mysterious Museum in the world.
Recommend listening to the first part of the chapter: "Meeting Dexter" Official Night of the Museum OST.
Battle of Bentonville March 20th, 1865
Nathaniel Black joined with the rest of his regiment as infantry with a division of William B. Taliaferro the army of Tennessee. At some point during the fighting, he lost his weapon and ran across the battlefield trying to scavenge around a corpse of his fallen brothers in arms. He saw his fellow soldiers get slaughtered as he desperately avoided their gruesome fate.
He hides behind a tree to avoid the fire of Union soldiers. The bullets tearing that tree bark, exploding everywhere.
Just when a confederate solid was turned around to shot him, a horse ran him over. Nathaniel without hesitation ran over the mangled man stealing the Henry rifle, just like that he was back in action.
He fought like hell, shooting down any Union soldier that dared approached him. It meant little however as his left arm was badly injured and need an amputation. He passed out due to blood loss but by the time he woke up on the back of a stagecoach. Finding his clothes soiled and the Henry rifle he got from the battle, still in his right arm while his left arm... just gone.
"What happened?" Nathaniel asked?
"We're going home Sir," One of his soldier friends replied.
"You gave the order," Another soldiers chimed in.
Nathaniel now recalled giving the order saying
"The war is over."
New York City December 24th, 2009
Erron woke up the next moring, in Juan's penthouse. It was Christmas Eve, and there was nothing like waking up in the morning, with the smell of bacon and eggs served by a cute maid.
Erron took the time to take a hot shower(something hasn't experienced in a good while), shaving his face (he was developing little patches on his sides), and finally trying this new "civilian" disguise.
Erron liked the way it looked, with the white shirt, and brown pants, and brim hat. Looked like some weird Indiana Jones cosplay but it will have to do.
When Erron finally arrived at the Museum in the mourning(with the non-suspicious bag filled with questionable things), it was crammed packed with people(probably because the Museum will be closed on Christmas Day).
A giant T. Rex skeleton, facing directly into anyone who enters the Museum was the first thing they were introduced to. Erron walked past the oversized bones, to the front desk and grabbed a brochure viewing everything the Museum had to offer.
Unfortunately, it didn't have a map, and they ran out. So Erron was gonna have to look everywhere to find the Tablet. This was fine by him, he needed to study everything anyway to be prepared for tonight. His first sight was Theodore Roosevelt the 26th President of the United States if Erron recalled correctly. Wasn't much to the wax statue aside from the sword that on display and his horse Little Texas. The namesake is obvious, but as to why Erron never found out.
That was the same warhorse he had during the Spanish American War. The First US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment with the moniker "Rough Riders" was born from volunteers who wanted to serve the country after Spain declared war on the U.S. It consisted of eastern intellects, cowboys, ranch hands, Indians, Hispanics, writers, and athletes. Erron wished he was apart of that regiment but he was off in Asia by that point in history. When the volunteers marched towards the hills of San Juan, where they charged victoriously up Kettle Hill. Astride, Little Texas was Theodore Roosevelt leading the charge of the Rough Riders. The regiment was victorious in the battle which would be known as the Battle of San Juan Hill.
The first thing that peaked Erron's curiosity was the Ice Age wing. Upon entering the room he found a perosn tour guiding a group of pre-schoolers towards a woolly mammoth. Erron had seen bigger and furrier in Outworld but that neither here nor there.
"Okay, children has anyone seen Jurassic Park?" Their tour guild asked, most of the kids raised their hands as high up as they could. "Okay has anyone seen the first Ice Age film?" they asked again. Some kids lowered their hands, but still at least half keep their hands up.
"Well, children it is estimated that Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years during the Mesozoic Era. These Ice age animals are MUCH younger in comparison, most went extinct 1 million to 10,000 years ago. For a point of reference Mammoths still roamed the Earth when the Pyramids were still being built in Egypt." "Wow!" All kids exclaimed like they were just told some big secret. The glow upon their faces was adorable Erron had to admit.
Focus Erron. Focus. He reminded himself, remember the mission and the whole reason you're even here in the first place.
Erron walked up the stairs and entered the Hall of African Mammals. At the center of the room were a Lion and two lionesses. Off to the side were other animals: Elephants, Zebras, Ostriches, Leopards, Cheetahs, Rhinoceros, Gemsbok, and in the side jungle area were some monkeys and snakes from what Erron could tell. He found the Monkey most interesting examining a closer look. It looked sad, almost as if it's forced in this position yet also clearly a stuffed animal.
As Erron walked the halls seeing people take photos on their smartphones, Erron oddly didn't feel out of place. A relic of the past feels safe in a place full of relics to the past. Who would ha thunk it?
He visited the other halls, the medieval knights, Vikings, and old Native American and African artifacts. None of them tickled Erron's fancy.
Erron moved along to find himself in the Hall of civilizations, specifically the Diorama room. There were only three civilizations to show: the Mayans, the Old West, and Ancient Roam.
The Old West is what got Erron's brow raised. At first glance, he thought this was a post-America construction after the Civil war. Upon reading the summary he found this depicts the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad of the 1860s (or is at least meant to reference it) because the figures in the diorama are laying train tracks, as well as that a large number of the workers appear to be Chinese.
Jedediah Smith is also a dead giveaway. Erron found the discrepancies very apparent: Jedediah Smith wasn't even a cowboy. He did work on a railroad for a time, but that was a short gig. Erron actually knows him better for being a mountain man- a hunter, trapper, and explorer. He led an exploration expedition into the west to search out easier routes for trade. He rediscovered the South Pass, put the salt lakes on the map, and followed the same path along the Missouri that Lewis and Clark had. Also, the story goes he got mauled by a bear and fought it off himself, and even has a park named after him- Jedediah Smith National Park. He was also a brunette and had a beard for a time...which is hard to imagine but he sure did.
That aside Erron was honestly impressed by the craftsmanship of the figures. So much detail packed into these little guys. The authenticity made him smile, knowing their people that poured their heart and soul into these miniatures.
Erron made a quick detour into the Egypt Wing, which only really comprised of The Temple of Ahkmenrah. There at the end of the hall was the source of all this commotion. The Tablet hung on the wall, with no security measure to prevent anyone from stealing it. Pretty odd since it was 24 karat gold, although a fully grown man could only realistically walk with it since it weighted so much but still.
Erron just took a moment to get a got look at it. There it was along with the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh tomb's underneath it. Erron wondered what purpose does it serve? Bringing things to life at night, wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of power similar to the dark magic used by the brotherhood of shadow. Although that was a hypothesis on Erron's part, he didn't even know this was a thing until a few days ago. All this was so sudden for Erron.
As Erron walked out he bumped into a Kid, no older than 17. "Sorry sir," the kid said serenely. "If you don't mind, could you take this picture while I pose near the Tomb?" He asked politely. "No." Erron bluntly said walking past him. He didn't know what it was but he sensed something was off with that kid, Erron knew to out of here as fast a possible.
Erron only had one last stop: The Hall of American History. Upon entering he saw a glass case showing Lewis and Clark looking at a map, pointing in opposite directions, in a scene convening them being lost. Off to the side was Sacagawea, just staring back at any that passed by. Her dark obsidian eyes staring right into Erron's soul. It was sort of unsettling like she's judging him.
That was suddenly broken off when he heard the same women from before guiding the pre-schoolers to the American Civil War room.
Erron shortly followed after them with the room mostly comprised of Mannquens of Confederate and Union soldiers. Once again Erron was impressed by the authenticity and craftsmanship of the costumes.
Among them however was wax statues of Confederate and Union generals: Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Robert E. Lee. All men Erron respected on a personal level. If the Museum brought these men to life, Erron would take the time and congratulate them for serving their country in such devastating circumstances. Brother against brother, fighting and slaughtering each other. Robert surrendered when it was clear he lost humbling taking it as well, Grant in Erron's opinion was under-appreciated even to this day sure his battles had high casualties rates but he got results, and Sherman perhaps most controversial of the bunch Erron's thought on him boiled down to this: If he were in his shoes he would have done the same. All great men in their right, doing was they thought was best not what's right.
Of course, there was one more statue among them: His father Nathaniel Black. A founding member of the Terry Texas Rangers, and participated in nearly every battle the company fought in. Include the Battle of Bentonville where they never formally surrendered.
Erron Black's relationship with his father... is a rather tricky subject for him. At first, he resented his father, telling anyone even any God or Goddess or whoever else asked that son of a bitch of a gun had it coming.
Over time, however... Erron grew up and deeply regrets killing his pa. He eventually understood what war did to people, he was a hell of a lot more sympathetic to his father's silent suffering. Then again.. maybe he was just an asshole and the war made him an even bigger asshole after the fact.
"This here children is Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and Nathaniel Black. All generals in the American Civil, the conflict that ended slavery, and brougth equality to blacks. So who wants to know a fun fact?" Their tour guide asked enthusiastically. Erron letting the gross oversimplification comment go since he rather not want to say nasty thing in front of children.
"I DO!" The children yelped as loud as they could, eager about all this history.
"Remember to use your inside voices." The Tour guide reminded them setting an example in her soft voice "Anyway so where were we? Oh right! So of all the deaths of these men, the most unusual by far was the case of Nathaniel Black. Still unsolved to this very day." That last, part sounding extra ominous for the kids.
"Why?" One of the pre-schoolers asked innocently enough.
"Well you see," the tour guide replied excitedly, "He was found dead in his house along with his wife, it is commonly believed his son shot him with his own revolver he used during the Civil War."
"Actually it was an original Henry rifle." Erron corrected interrupting the tour.
"Excuse me?" The tour guide asked astonished even bitter in their tone of voice. Like a teacher being corrected by a student.
"Well you see," Erron reasoned back taking his hat off and putting it in his chest. "The Henry rifle was made popularized during the Civil War. It was also the predecessor to the Winchester rifle often associated with the Wild West. Of course, that raises the question of how did a confederate gets his hand son such a weapon? Especially one associated with Sherman's troops and the Union in general? Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the story goes during the battle of Bentonville, Nathaniel lost his weapon and ran out rushing to find a new one. He ran across the battlefield dodging enemy and friendly fire alike until he it found off the mangled body of a Union soldier. Eventually lose his arm but in return, he kept the rifle. He was the last high ranking individuals within the Terry Texas Rangers. Rather than surrender with the rest of Johnston's army at Durham Station, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865, 158 of the reported 248 survivors of the regiment slipped through Union lines to join other Confederates yet in the field. With the total collapse of the Southern cause, however, the Terry Rangers drifted home as individuals and in small groups, having never officially surrendered Nathaniel among them." Erron finished with a smug aura around him.
"Impressive good sir, you know your history but that still didn't answer my question it was a revolver that killed Nathaniel. I have credible sources saying it was so." The tour guide insisted, desperate to prove Erron wrong. "Well your sources are wrong my friend," Erron retorted mockingly "Consider me a Wild West enthusiast," Erron said coldly.
"I can I use the bathroom?" One of the preschoolers asked. Breaking the tension between the two. They had both completely forgotten there were children here.
"Well let's agree to disagree," the tour guide replied in a passive-aggressive tone. "Unless you were actually THERE 150 years ago we will never know the truth. Much like the purpose of the Easter Island heads? Correct?" At this point this the tour guide was flustered wanting this conversation to end.
"ATTENTION ALL GUESTS! THE MUSEUM WILL BE CLOSING IN 5 MINUTES." a voice over the intercom explained. Just like that Erron Black immediately ran out of the Hall and into the main lobby. He knew to stay in the Bathroom until the museum is closed.
Whatever happened next...
Only the Elder Gods knew.
Okay so now were getting the to halfway point in our story. Hoped you enjoyed everything so far. Please let me know what you think of my spin the relationship between Erron and his father. I sprinkled in some things for you to chew on.
Stay safe everyone and continue to have a happy holiday.