“Does this seem too easy to anyone else?” Bert asked as he stared across the table at the two small orbs.

“What the hell?” Wendy protested. “We are getting them, aren’t we?”

“Personally, I think the challenge was reasonably high,” Bud added. “That castle was overrun with ghosts.”

“Still,” Bert drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. Besides the orbs, the table itself was empty except for three bits of paper. Each one was covered in flowing script granting ownership of a large piece of land. And all of it was outside the city walls. The three parcels of land were each the size of the landtrain that made up the current incarnation of the Waystation. Plus, a couple of meters on either side. And they all connected.

“What do you think it means?” Bell asked.

“Could the King be trying to court our favor?” Lily asked.

“Let’s hope not,” Bert muttered.

“Why?” Lily looked confused.

“No one ever does that for a good reason,” Bell explained. “If they are trying to persuade you to do something…”

“...Then it is something they would HAVE to persuade you to do,” Bert finished.

“Cannae trust kings, aye,” Gavin nodded. “You don’t become no king by being nice, ya ken?”

“That’s not what worries me,” Bert said with a frown.

“What do you mean?” Scruff asked. She was turning one of the succulent seeds repeatedly in her hands, not really paying attention.

“How did he know about these orbs?” Bert asked the others, “And how does he know we want them?”

Everyone went silent around the table as they considered it.

“Should we just leave?” Lily asked carefully.

“We can’t,” Bell shook her head. “We still have two more orbs to get.”

“Which is the other worry,” Bert admitted. “We need the orbs, and he seems to know that. So he has us trapped until we get them.”

Everyone around the table looked up in shock.

Bert tapped the table again, his fingers beating a rapid tattoo of worry and irritation. The one constant about his time in this world, up until now anyway, was that they had been free to do as they wanted.

Now?

They were trapped. Frozen in place by a King who seemed to know way too much and a bunch of unique items that they simply couldn’t walk away from.

A few miles away, deep inside his castle, a King put his feet up on the table and lit a cigar. The cigar was custom-made, suited to his size and tastes. Regular cigars had looked too small in his enormous hands, but it turned out this world did have a few decent craftsmen in it.

He blew a smoke ring ahead of him and watched the ripples of smoke. He clicked a finger, and they froze in place, a picture forming within. A group of Fae sat around a table, looking anxious and worried.

He grinned, the smile stretching his face way past the limits of a regular mouth.

The King laughed and waved his hand through the image. The ring broke, and the image faded.

“Yes, it was worth coming here after all!” He chortled and got back to the important issue of his cigar. More smoke rings were blown, showing a series of images as he willed them. Each one made him smile or laugh as he watched events unfolding across the world… all of them seemed to amuse him.

The room was heavy with smoke when a knock on the door disturbed his fun.

“Come,” The King didn’t bother to dismiss the images.

“They are coming, my Liege,” A woman came forward, looking very out of place in this world. A suit of fine cloth covered her body, and the glasses perched on her nose were plastic. Her outfit would have been very familiar to Bert, being common in his world, as would the clipboard and pen she carried.

“Have the others begun their preparations?” The King asked as he laced his fingers behind his head.

“They have.” The woman’s eyes scanned the city visible out the window with visible disdain. “I still do not understand the importance of this backwater world.” She frowned. “Would your time not be better spent somewhere more civilized?”

“Like your Earth, Fiona?” The King laughed.

“We at least had indoor plumbing, my Liege.” She sniffed.

“Oh, but this one is so much more fun,” He grinned and beckoned her over. “See that man, there?” He pointed to a picture of Bert.

“Yes?” She squinted. “He looks unremarkable, if somewhat interesting.”

“He is why you are here, Fiona. He is why the Fae returned to your world.” The King watched as the pen was driven through her clipboard.

Fiona’s eyes narrowed as she ground her teeth.

“Now, now,” The King gently patted her on the back. “He never meant for it to happen, so can you really blame him for all that death?”

“YES!” Fiona snapped her clipboard in half.

The King laughed and smoked his cigar.

=============

A long way from the smoking King and his raging assistant, an ancient gateway sat in a carefully manicured garden unlike any other. It had sat there for years, decades, and more, unused until very recently.

Besides that one incident involving a train and the return of the Fae, the gate had been ignored. A fancy and somewhat mysterious lawn ornament for the strangest of gardeners. Perhaps if he had been there, in his place, someone would have been watching the gateway.

Or perhaps his daughter might have if she was there.

But she was a long way away trying to dig her old man out of a strange flowerbed while he argued that the word ‘bed’ was in the name… so why couldn’t he sleep there?

Gardeners, you see, are rather like cats. They have an intense interest in their own desires, cares, and wants but almost no interest in anything they don’t personally care about.

It was a quirk of personality that would have been innocent enough on any other day.

But on THIS day, it would cause a great deal of problems. For everybody.

Unwatched, unguarded, and unattended… the gateway flickered and lit up.

Light spiraled towards the center, gathering and rippling until it connected with a bright flash.

The flash might have warned others, but it was midday, and the flash went unnoticed.

Two figures walked through the gateway: a tall woman and a teenage girl. One was blond, the other with dark hair and a darker expression.

“You see, Rose? I told you it was within your power,” Martha smiled down at the teen with a placid grace. The smile was kind and quite beautiful if you didn’t look too closely.

The eyes were the failure, however. They were bright, glowing with mania. Pair them with the smile, and suddenly, the smile looked more like a shark, showing its teeth before snapping closed on a passing swimmer.

“I don’t like this,” Rose hissed, her eyes darting around. “Are you sure you are strong enough?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Me, dear?” Martha laughed, “Of course not. But together? Together, we are unstoppable!” She waved a hand, and figures began to pour through the gateway behind her.

Several of them looked human, but the vast, vast majority looked mishappen and horrific. Tangled wood, stone, and even metal had replaced limbs, body parts, and even torsos. The creatures that lined up around the gateway were enough to make even the toughest soldier shiver… but there were no soldiers.

“Missionaries! We move!” Martha waved a hand, walking forward.

“The Waystation is that way!” Rose hissed as the group moved away from the gate and, indeed, the college that sat unaware on the other side of a pass. She pointed to the left as Martha marched them away to the right.

“I know, Rose,” Martha smiled again. “But we must spread the good news of the Grove before we are ready to meet them again.”

“Fine,” Rose sneered. “Just remember our deal.”

“Don’t worry, child,” Martha called to her. “When we free the Waystation from the False Ones, your wayward sister will be yours to do with as you wish.”

“Forget my bitch of a sister,” Rose laughed. “I meant the money and the treasure.”

Martha looked over her shoulder at the little half-pixie and shook her head.

“Missionaries, we must hurry,” She called, rising on needle-thin legs that had been hidden beneath her plane skirt. All around her, the missionaries began to move at speed as wood, metal, and stone warped their limbs into long, bounding legs.

Rose sighed and began to fly along after them, casting angry looks towards where she sensed the distant Waystation.

She had an army now, and they would PAY.

And a long way, a half-destroyed town, several traumatized would-be bandits, and one smoking King from Rose, her sister watched enraptured as Bert dropped into the mana tides of the Waystation with an orb in each hand.

She kept a wary eye out this time, making sure Bud wasn’t in here to give her away. This was not technically forbidden, but he always did this bit alone. Sometimes Bell would come in, or once in a very long while Bud would. The original three.

No one else.

She didn’t think Wendy had even been here when he was this vulnerable. Unconscious, mind in another place. She had wondered to herself what he looked like when he was like this or when he slept.

When awake, he was all action, smiles, jokes, and worries. But here, or when asleep? Did he look peaceful then?

She hovered closer, examining this man who had such power over her and the others.

It had taken a long time to work up the nerve for this. She couldn’t see him when he slept, as that was with Bell… and she would not risk THAT. Her intentions could be misinterpreted.

Not with Lady Bell. Lily shivered at the thought.

And so she looked down on Bert and saw…

“He’s just the same?” She whispered. His eyes moved beneath his lids, his face lit into a smile, and his shoulders were still tight. “Do you ever really relax?” She asked quietly.

“Of course he does,” Bell said from above and behind Lily. “Why?”

Lily tried to remember any words other than ‘don’t kill me’ and failed. She spluttered, and a small scream escaped her.

Bell’s laugh was not comforting. It was her tinkling little laugh. The one with knives in it.

“Ummm… he always looks so busy, and….” Lily trailed off.

“Want to help him relax?” Bell whispered in her ear.

“NO!” Lily squeaked.

“Good girl,” Bell said, her voice like ice. “I don’t share.” A hand patted Lily on her head. “So you just came to see him relaxed?”

“I, uh, I guess?” Lily said. She was blushing, sweating, and felt a peculiar mix of panic and embarrassment that was as new to her as it was unpleasant. “He’s, well, you both… I wasn’t in a good place… now I’m….” She floundered. Bell was way way too close.

“Let’s see…” Bell said thoughtfully. “I guess that is okay?” She glanced over at Bert. “Okay, Okay.” She grinned. “You can watch, but only occasionally.” She stopped. “You are old enough, aren’t you?”

“WHAT!” Lily paled and backed away. “I didn’t mean that!” She fled; the last thing she heard as she dashed along the corridor was Bell’s laughter and the faint sound of her voice.

“Just kidding!”

==========

“This is so cool!” Way Way laughed as the rune spun in the air. The rune appeared again and again until it seemed to be everywhere. “It’s just like yours!”

Bert had to admit that it was impressive. The Turn Rune was now available to Way Way without his help. It would make a huge difference when building new carriages, not having to place them himself.

“I have so many ideas for this!” Way Way’s voice was bright and happy.

“You do?” Bert said, shocked.

“Of course,” Way Way hesitated for a moment, “Our current usage is a bit basic. I have theorized many improvements.”

“Why don’t you take some time to get used to this before we do the next one?” Bert suggested.

“No!” Way Way was stern. “I want to see what it does, and it feels like the next one will do something special.”

“You can sense what it does?” Bert looked at the remaining orb, sensing nothing strange about it.

“No, but I feel like… having four of them will mean something?” Way Way said. “I can’t really explain it.”

“Show me instead?” Bert offered.

“Okay!”

Feelings, images, and sensations flooded through his mind. He got the feeling of something almost complete while still being a small part of something larger. No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t just a part of the whole… it was a third.

A third made of four parts… with two other thirds to go, each with…

“It’s a set,” Bert said. “Each group of four parts makes a set.”

“A set? Okay, let’s see what it does!” Way Way plucked the orb from his hand with a tendril of mana and began to unravel it.

Bert waited, feeling himself tensing for the flood of connection that always came with the orbs.

When it hit, he passed out instantly.

Bert came too, lying on the floor of the bridge. Bell was groaning next to him, her wings limp as she slowly came round.

He could feel it immediately. No wonder he had passed out.

The sense he had of the Waystation and the area it controlled was something that he thought he had gotten used to. Now it felt like it had on that first day.

For just a second, Bert thought he would pass out again.

“What did you do?” Bell accused him, rolling over onto her back and glaring at the roof.

“It wasn’t me,” Bert groaned as he tried to remember which bits of him were him.

“Too much!” Bell complained.

“I know,” Bert winced.

He could feel the Waystation; every inch of it was as clear to him as if he WAS the Waystation. More than that, which was overwhelming enough, the sense no longer ended at the train. He could sense every blade of frozen grass, flakes of snow, inches of ground, air, or sky for several meters around the Waystation.

And not just sense it.

It was shifting into the control of the Waystation. More and more as time went by.

Bert took long, deep breaths, keeping his eyes tightly shut for all the good that did.

The Waystation could see, and thanks to the changes, so could he.

Bert half laughed as he realized he could see the back of his own head.

Then he threw up and passed out again.

Bert woke again, and this time, the overload was less. He could almost think. He knew it took time, but he would get used to it.

That, or his mind would snap like a twig.

He laughed, then frowned as he felt himself moving.

It took a long time to figure out which bits of him were him, and then he became aware of the arms carrying him. He focused, opened his eyes, and gaped.

He was being carried by the Grim Reaper.

“Uh?” He tried.

The cowled figure looked down, and Bert saw the smooth, faceless blackness within.

He punched it, and it dropped him.

Struggling to his feet, Bert summoned his armor while he tried to remember how to stand… And which eyes should he be looking out of?

The figure was tall, thin, and cowled. A long black robe with hands that thankfully were NOT holding a scythe.

Then he saw words scroll across the blank face.

“That was rude!”

A jet of water blasted him, and Bert gave up, letting darkness retake him.

“According to Dad’s memories, there is an animal on Earth called a Fainting Goat; I think he might be related to them,” Wendy’s voice roused Bert for his latest bout of unconsciousness.

He took a moment to check himself over and was relieved to find that not only was he all there, but he actually knew where he ended, and the Waystation began.

Opening his eyes Bert saw his daughter smiling down at him with her mother sitting on her shoulder as a pixie.

Behind them, two looming shadows in cowls stood silently, still as the grave.

“Someone explain the Reapers, please.” Bert groaned.

“Hey!” Wendy laughed. “They do have a kind of Grim Reaper vibe going on, don’t they?” She patted the nearest one. “They are Way Way’s.”

“That wasn’t an explanation; try again,” Bert pulled himself into a sitting position with a groan.

“The orb was called the Orb of the First Form,” Bell chimed in. “Way Way can now make these forms to control within the Waystation grounds.”

The robed figures bowed to him, then turned and walked into the wall.

“Okay,” Bert rubbed his face. He felt like he had a massive hangover. His brain caught up with his ears at last, “Hey! I am not part fainting goat!”

Wendy and Bell laughed before Bell shooed their daughter out and shut the door.

Flashing into a human form, Bell settled on the bed next to Bert.

“You okay?” She asked.

“I think so,” Bert tried to smile. “My head is killing me though.” He winced as another wave of pain passed. “What happened?”

“I think…” Bell looked worried. “I think you might be too human.”

“Try again,” Bert asked. “I don’t get what you mean.”

“I’m worried, idiot!” Bell slapped his arm, “I don’t know if your human anatomy can survive all the changes happening to Way Way.”

Bert was quiet for a while, thinking.

“What?” Bell asked, seeing him smile.

“Next time, we have Wendy cast Reclaim Flesh on me while Way Way upgrades,” Bert sighed. “And keep casting it, just in case.”

“It might not be that simple,” Bell warned.

“If that doesn’t work… we’ll try something else,” Bert insisted. “What else can we do?”