Edgar worked until late into the night, working on his dolls, he had managed to make four live sized dolls, and a smaller one was almost finished. He looked at the time, “Oh man, I need to set up my demonstration in an hour. I better rest my eyes for a moment. Getting Fay back, getting everything I want, it all rests on this moment.”

He went to his bedroom and made sure to set an alarm for an hour. The dolls remained on the workbench, the Elysium concoction started brewing and, “Wait, this is not supposed to happen.” I walked closer to one of the four dolls, “There are only supposed to be three of them.” The Elysium concoction triggered a battery and resurrected one of the dolls.

I stepped back, “What is going on, this is not part of the narrative.”

The doll got up and looked at his mechanical hands, “What is going on?”

“That voice, Lloyd?”

He looked up, “Kate?”

“Lloyd, why are you, a doll? One of the mechanical dolls, what happened to you?”

“I was trying to get back to Raven, he has a daughter. That is not relevant, how did you get me here, Kate?”

“I did not do this, I was narrating the Dolls of New Albion for our new audience.”

“Again? Wait, none of this is right.”

“You know I love to tell this story, did you, die?”

“Yes, I did die, it does not matter how, I somehow got dragged into this mechanical doll, and I can talk, but my powers are not working. It must be because I am no longer made of flesh. I need to get back to Raven.”

I sighed deeply, “Look, there is a radio broadcast, right, go there, take a coat, you can’t be seen walking over the street like this, try to contact the monastery. Please let me finish my narration in peace, Edgar is about to give his demonstration. Things are a bit different this time around, not only the fact that you popped up, there is no time to explain, you have to go right now.”

Lloyd nodded and got up, a bit wobbly, he grabbed one of the coats nearby and wrapped it around him, he found a hat and put it on. “Kate?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you leave us?”

“I didn’t, I have been following you guys, I am just, loving this narrative a lot. If I find a way to get back to Raven, I will tell you.”

Lloyd nodded and hugged her, “I am sorry for the interruption, it is very unprofessional of me, but yeah, dying was apparently not on the table for me.”

I chuckled, “You are such a goofball, just, don’t let your anger get the best of you.”

Lloyd glanced over his mechanical shoulder, “I will try, but no promises. Can you deal with Edgar and one of his dolls missing?”

I nodded, “You know me right, I am the exception to the rules.”

Lloyd smiled at her and then left to find a place where he can tell stories or narratives in his limited body. “Oh god, I am even narrating my friends now. Should we get back on track? Edgar is about to wake up.”

Edgar yawned and smashed his alarm, “It is time for my most important day of my life,” he walked into the room and looked at me, “You again, are you here to stop me?”

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“No, I already tried that, I am here to let you know I used one of your dolls to bring my friend back to life.”

“You did what, how did you even do that?”

“He kind of did that himself, no idea how, he wandered off before you woke up, he is cloaked, no one is going to ruin your big day, Edgar, the day when you destroy New Albion.”

Edgar scoffed, “He walked off, just like that?” He wanted to grab his coat, but it was gone, “Where is my coat?”

“Like I said, my friend took it, we can’t have him walking around naked in his mechanical form. You should be getting ready, I am off now, all is clear, the doll walked off, we are okay?”

Edgar scratched the back of his head, “I think you are some kind of magic creature, but you are not stopping me, I am going to set up my demonstration.”

I nodded, “Yep that is my cue, bye,” I vanished.

Edgar looked around, “Yeah, New Albion is, strange town. And soon, the dead will be among us, let’s just hope they don’t wander off like that woman’s friend.” He walked over to his notes, he started making new notes on how to recreate the potion.

He opened the front door, “It is time to set up,” he dragged his workbench outside and put it near the crossroads close to his house. Edgar grabbed the case of potions, the batteries, as he was setting up, people already came to look at him. The early worms, Edgar smiled at them, “I am still setting up but spread the word, the biggest discovery of your lifetime in New Albion will unfold soon.”

As he walked back to his house, he looked at the three big dolls, How can I get these safely to the stage I am building? I have an idea. He walked into the office and looked at Jasper, “Did you hear people talking last night?”

Jasper looked up, and his mechanical gears creaked, he slowly nodded. People? I heard noises and someone walking away, he called a woman, Kate. I have no idea what was going on in his lab last night, I don’t care if I had a way to stop him, I would. But I don’t think Edgar is going to stop for anyone, he thinks he is getting Fay back by publishing his research, the research he stole from Annabel.

Edgar sighed, “It is so annoying you cannot talk,” he took the cart that his dad used to bring deliveries. It had dust and dirt all over it, he thought back about the fun times he had with his mom, his dad. He shook his head, “I have to finish setting up.”

He walked into his lab and put the three big dolls on the cart, it barely fit, but it would do, another idea popped into his head. It will be difficult for people to take these big dolls with them. If I make more of these carts, add some flair and design, I can sell them as accessories. He grinned at his own idea as he brought the dolls to the stage he was building.

More and more people started gathering as word went around that something was going down and Edgar was involved. As Edgar put the dolls down, a woman spoke to him, “Edgar, what are you doing today?”

“Oh, hello miss, the demonstration will be starting soon, I have to run a few small tests, and get the last items, but I made a discovery, something so big I need to share it with all of New Albion.”

As other people heard them talk, the crowd started going wild and more people gathered, the son of Annabel finally invented something, it would be grand, he said, it would be something thrilling and new for New Albion. All they could do was wait.

Edgar readied the first doll and put the battery in place, he adjusted the Elysium concoction and made it ready. He grabbed the notes and double checked everything. This could not go wrong, or he was going down as a laughingstock. In the crowd, he saw Fay appear, it made him think about how she attacked him.

Edgar stared at her for a moment, he was doing all of this to get her back, he wanted to stop him, but she couldn't, he wanted her to be with him, and her dad, Annabel, his mom. Fay looked down, she looked as if she was hoping this would go horribly wrong.

Edgar took a few deep breaths, “Hello everyone, I need about ten more minutes to get all of this up and running. Then I am going to unveil what these mechanical dolls full of gears and cogwheels will be used for, I promise you it is worth the wait. These batteries my mom invented, a special potion, this is all going to be very spectacular. While I do this, get everyone here, yes, spread the word, the demonstration will begin in about ten minutes.”

Edgar looked around him as people went nuts, they ran away and more and more people started gathering. He could not even see everyone, he had given everyone the idea that what he was about to do was the most magnificent thing ever. He even saw Silof in the crowd, the man whom he wanted to destroy, he took place near Fay, he kept a close eye on them.

Edgar managed to make the final preparations, he was sure that everything would work. He saw even more people swarm to the large crowd, it has been a very long time since this many people gathered in one place in New Albion. This is it, sink or swim. He is going to raise the dead in front of everyone.