by Jan Stryvant
Sean 'hmm'ed a moment. "You know, I read something that said the real reason they kept opening the gates was there was no natural mana occurring there. So they kept opening gates to different realities so they could keep their machines powered. That's why all those blockhouses were huge magical batteries.
"Which, of course, goes against what Mahk told me, but then his whole discipline was based on studying the gateways and the worlds they opened on to. It makes we wonder if he even knew the reason they were created."
"Or even cared," Estrella said with a snort.
"Didn't you get anything about that when he died?" Kalif asked.
Sean shook his head. "All I got were tens of thousands of years of observations of places beyond the gates and how the djevels ate the people in them. He was a very uncaring little prick. I think he might have even known that with his death it would all end, but he didn't care."
"Is there mana here?" the First asked Sean.
"Yup, and it's all coming from the gateway that's opened to our bunker. Before that, I never really noticed it before. But now I'm starting to think there wasn't any here before then."
"Which brings me to the last point of this meeting," Kalif said. "We need you to close that gateway, Sean."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because if any demons get in here, we could see the same thing that happened to the Onderwereld happen to us. They can't change the laws of physics on Earth; those are set in stone. But if they got in here, that could cause all of us problems."
"Besides, Sean," the First added, "it's not like the rest of us can't open a gateway, considering how many lycans now live in the world and the current strength of our powers. And after you've opened your first one, the power requirements diminish significantly for each one you open afterwards."
"Plus," Keairra added, "we made a rule that gateways can only be opened from inside going out. Not outside going in."
"And as only F1s and F2s can open gates from the outside, that's not going to be a rule that's hard to enforce."
"Are you sure about that?" Sean asked.
All the members of the first pride nodded.
"We did some experimenting," Rowan told him. "It also uses less of our power to open one going out than one coming in."
Sean thought about that and then nodded slowly. "It makes sense, I guess. Does this mean we're going to have someone managing when and where all the gates are opened?"
"Yes," the First said. "You and I are going to be the only people allowed to open gateways, and we're only going to do it once a week."
Sean rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for volunteering me, Dad."
The First grinned. "I told you'd I'd get even with you for making me leave this place! Besides, you are the one who discovered it, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in," Sean said with a laugh of his own. "But all of this does lead to a question: Do we have to worry about the demons forming one of these places like we did? Do we have to worry about them becoming immortal as well?"
Kalif shook his head. "As none of them ate someone who made the preparations Omush did, I think the answer to that question is no. However, even if they did, I think our ability to eat their 'souls' would trump that affect. But as to if they're still immortal or not?" Kalif shrugged. "I don't know. I think we've seen enough already to know that if anyone kills one now, they stay dead."
"Yeah, but will they die of old age now that the Onderwereld is gone?" Sean asked. "If so, as long as we can limit their breeding, this problem may solve itself. Well, eventually at least."
Kalif shrugged again. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Let's get back to that first point," Estrella said. "You said their mistake was destroying their planet, right?"
Kalif nodded.
"So they weren't immortal after that? Then how come they didn't die?"
"Because nothing in these pocket realities ages, so you can't die of old age. But you can be killed if your homeworld no longer exists. The Inangar really didn't like going through that whole rebirth/reincarnation cycle. Plus I don't think they were all that thrilled about living in a material world anymore. So they decided on mass suicide. However, by then they'd fallen to complete hubris and declared 'If we don't exist, nothing of ours can exist'. They destroyed everything. Everything they'd built, everything they'd created. They killed all their uplifted pets, they killed all life on their planet, right down to the smallest virus, and by doing so they destroyed themselves. Though I suspect Omush was the only one who figured that out. The rest were just too arrogant to care about such things."
Sasha sat up. "If we were to bring something or someone here and killed them, would we absorb their essence?"
Kalif shook his head. "No. We could do it with Omush and Mahk because of what their people had done to themselves. We can do it with the demons because of that part of them we inherited from Omush's sacrifice and eating that prince he lured there with him. But that's all. I suspect Omush was very much concerned about creating another demonic race, so he made sure to constrain us to just the djevels."
"Well, we might want to make sure the F2s and F3s understand that."
"Only F1s are allowed to bring anyone here," the First said. "I'll make sure everyone understands."
"Anybody got anything else?" Keairra asked, looking around.
Everyone shook their heads no.
"Good. Sean, if you could keep that gate open for a while longer, we've got everyone who died during last Saturday's fight coming back. In fact a certain someone is due right about now, and I don't want to miss this one for the world!"
"Who?" Sean asked as Keairra trotted off.
"Adam," Estrella said, coming up next to him. "Come on, might as well join the celebration."
"Why do I get the feeling Adam is famous?"
"Infamous is more like it." The First sighed. "I think I'll wake up and see about some breakfast." And with that he disappeared.
Sean followed Estrella and several of the others down to where Renee was.
Adam swore as he sat up and looked around. Jenna was gasping next to him, and a dozen other lions quickly popped into view.
"Aw, shit, I'm sorry I got you killed, Jenna! You shouldn't have followed me in like that!"
Jenna gave him a light cuff with a paw. "Where my husband goes, I go! I'm not about to let you face death alone!"
Adam pulled back and blinked. "What? I thought you hated me for everything I just put you through!"
Jenna snorted. "Your father will be proud when I tell him about tonight. Hell, I expect your mother will be prancing around for hours! You led us, you drove us on, you made us victorious!"
"Let's not count our victories before they happen," Adam said, but he had to admit he suddenly felt really good about himself, and Jenna was hot! And she was now pressing up against him.
"You got him, Adam," Renee said with a smile.
"How can you know already?"
"Already? You've been dead for days! Or have you forgotten how long it takes to respawn?"
Adam 'ohh'ed and then noticed there were a lot of other lions standing around.
"Ummm…"
"I'm so proud of you!" Keairra said and came over to give him a hug.
"Mom?" Adam blinked.
"She's been on a cloud all week!" Sampson laughed, coming around from behind her.
"Really, Dad?"
"I want you to tell me all about it!" Keairra said, purring.
"But I didn't do anything!" Adam sighed. "Well, not anything special! I just did what the rest of you always do! What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that no, the rest of us don't always do it, Adam. You went above and beyond on this one, and you did it all on your own!"
Adam sighed and then shrugged. "I just didn't want to let Maitland or Chad down. How did we do? Did we win?"
"A lot's happened since you tangled with that prince, Adam. We lost Reno, but we gained a whole lot more. Now sit down and tell your parents wh
at happened, and we'll tell you what went on while you were gone."
"What about Ryla? My wife?" Adam looked over at Jenna. "Make that my first wife."
"Oh, I'm sure she won't mind a little wait."
"Maybe not, but I will!" Adam grumbled. "So how about I go see my wife, let her and Jenna work things out, and then we can swap stories. Okay?"
"Of course!" Keairra said, surprising him by acquiescing to his request; she never did what he asked! "We'll be waiting with Ryla for your arrival!"
Adam blinked as his parents disappeared, along with quite a few others who were watching, leaving him with all of the recently respawned, who were all looking at him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry I got you all killed." Adam sighed.
"I'm not complaining, looks like you did good!" Marcus replied.
"Sure does!" Shamus agreed.
Adam noticed Estrella and Sean at that point.
"So, Esti, how happy is Mom?"
"She was dancing!" Estrella laughed. "I think she's got a party planned!"
Adam sighed. "If it wasn't for Ryla, I think I'd just stay here."
"Well, she's waiting for you," Sean said, "so let's get everyone through the gate so I can drop it and go get some breakfast myself," and he motioned towards the gate that led back to Nevada.
"Sure thing, Boss."
§
Sean walked into his workshop; it was getting late in the day, and the party for Adam and the others who had taken out the prince was still going on. He needed a break, however, so he thought he'd come over here and maybe get some work done. Looking around, he had a sudden thought. This was what, his third workshop? Fourth? Fifth? How many had he built? How many had he lost? Whatever, it didn't really matter. It was nice just to be able to sit here and hopefully get a little work done.
And with everyone else back at the party, Sean figured maybe he'd get some peace and quiet for a change. Apparently there were two reasons it was a big deal. The first was that he was the youngest of the lions. Well, not including Sean, but then he hadn't been born a lion.
The other was that up until now, Adam's predilections for avoiding responsibility and taking the easy way out had become a source of wounded pride for everyone. So they were all up for celebrating his 'finally becoming a real lion'.
Which of course was probably the reason he had avoided behaving like one for so long.
Putting that out of his head, Sean looked down at his workbench and considered what to make. He probably should build another set of machines, but he'd have to get Daelyn to make the hardware first so he could enchant them. Then again, supplies would hopefully start building up again, and then he could send more to Sawyer so they could get back to earning money. Which was really the only reason he was considering making another set.
Because money.
That was the real problem. They needed money. The casino would hopefully help, but it would be months before the money really started rolling in, and even that was dependent on how many people decided to settle here around Carson City, right on the edge of this new frontier, instead of going somewhere else, somewhere safe.
"Sean, got a minute?"
Sean looked up and saw Stewart at the door with someone familiar looking standing behind him.
"Sure, Stew, come on in. Who's that with you?"
"Sean, you remember Professor Cruz don't you?"
Sean stood up and blinked in surprise. It was Cruz alright, and Sean could tell he was now a lycan. A werefox to be precise.
"Professor Cruz, I must admit to being surprised to see you here."
"Stewart here really didn't give me much of a choice. Not that I'm complaining anymore, mind you."
Sean looked at Stewart. "What did you do?"
Stewart shrugged. "Shanghaied him, basically. They closed the Uni, and I still need a teacher, and for that matter your kids are going to need one as well. So I grabbed Rob before they could ship him out and brought him here."
"Are you the one who infected him?" Sean asked with a scowl.
"I asked to be a fox," Cruz said.
"Yes, I was a bad boy, Sean," Stewart admitted. "I told him he was getting bitten, and he needed to decide what he wanted to be."
"Why?"
"Because I needed Adam to order him not to tell anyone about how to do magic, and for that to work, he had to be a lycan."
"Adam approved it?"
Stewart gave Sean a sheepish look. "I don't know if I'd go that far; I didn't exactly ask him in advance. But it all worked out."
Sean looked at Cruz. "Did it? Work out that is?"
Cruz smiled. "I've got Steff, Julia, and Kate living with me, and they're all foxes now too, and they all seem intent on staying with me, and even having my children. So yeah, I think it worked out."
Stewart shrugged. "He looks like me as a fox, and they can't have me, so they decided he would do? I don't know. Everyone's happy, so I'm not gonna question it."
"What about the other one? That's only three?"
"Elliana? I think she's still playing the field."
"I go away for a couple of weeks and everything changes on me," Sean said, shaking his head.
"Hey, you did a fair bit of that changing yourself," Stewart said with a smile.
"True. Well, welcome, Rob. It's good to have you here," Sean said and shook hands with him. "Just to reinforce it, you're not allowed to teach anyone else magic without my, or another lion's, say so. You're also not allowed to let anyone else know about how magic is actually a programming language, or even help them reach that conclusion, unless a lion tells you it's okay. You can teach Stewart and Rachel. If there's someone else you need to teach, just come and ask permission."
Cruz shuddered as he felt the compulsion settle in. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that. Then again, the idea that I can teach people magic is something I'm still coming to terms with."
"But three hot wives is something you're fine with?" Sean teased.
"Up until I had to take my younger sister and her kids in, I was quite the playboy," Cruz said with a guilty smirk. "I didn't become a professor for the money. Reno had quite the party scene, and I know how to keep a young woman happy."
Sean held up a hand. "TMI. Then again, I don't think I can claim innocence anymore myself."
"Is there anyone else you want him to teach?" Stewart asked.
"If Peg is interested, he can teach her. Actually, I'll see if Peg's interested."
"Okay! Well, I guess we need to find a new place to have our classes."
"Why's that?"
"Because we were doing them in here," Stewart admitted. "This place is both private and secure. I don't want anyone listening in or guessing what we're up to."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Tell you what, you can do class in here today, and I guess tomorrow as well. I'll go talk to Oak about some sort of secure classroom."
"We won't disturb you?"
Sean shook his head. "I need some time to think about my next project, and I can do that anywhere."
Going over to the doorway, Sean could see that Rachel was waiting outside.
"Come on in, Rachel." Sean turned back to Stewart. "I'll catch up with you once I've found you a new place."
Stepping aside so Rachel could go in, Sean closed the door behind him as he left. He stood there a moment, and then headed off to where they kept their cars parked. His mother's wasn't there, but Jolene's was, so climbing in, he started it up. Rolling down the window, he looked over at the wolf who had been following him around.
"Burt, right?"
The wolf nodded. Sean remembered now, he was one of Travis' team. His bodyguards.
"I'm going for a ride. You might as well hop in, it'll make it easier for the others to follow us."
"Thanks, Sean," he said and quickly got in the back seat.
Shifting into his human form so he wouldn't stand out, Sean pulled out and noticed Burt had done the same. Ignoring him, Sean tried to think of what he should enchant, a
nd with what spells, to make money. He'd barely left the base when it came to him who to ask.
"Heya, Marx, is the boss in?" Sean asked as he stepped inside.
"He sure is. Been waiting for you, too." Marx said. "Boss! Look who's here!" Marx then called out.
"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour and our hero!" Sawyer called out from behind the counter at the far end of the room. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten your old pal Sawyer!"
Sean smiled and headed towards the back. "Like that could ever happen! I owe you too much to forget about you, Sawyer. After all, who else is gonna be stupid enough to take a chance on a young kid like me?"
Sawyer laughed and shook hands with Sean.
"So it's true then? It's done, and they're never coming back?"
Sean nodded. "Yup. We fixed that problem permanently."
"Oh! I like the sound of that!"
"But we still have to deal with the ones we got here. So we ain't got time for any parties just yet," Sean admitted.
"Still, it's a big step, and things ain't as bad as they could have been. I saw that bill you got them to push through Congress. Nice to see you're not giving up the fight, even after the hard part is done."
"I'm just happy I got them on the line for building all those forts Chad wants. Those things aren't going to be cheap."
"I hear you, Kid. So what brings you by today?"
"What, you don't think I just want to see your smiling face again?" Sean said with a grin.
"You would have brought the family if this was purely a social call. Besides, I can tell, you always come to your pal Sawyer when you've got a problem no one else can help ya' with."
Sean nodded. "Guilty as charged. It's the same problem I've always had. I need money, and lots of it, I'm sure."
"What about the lycan necklaces and the tags? Those are still selling good. When I can get them, of course."
"I'm sorry you've been getting shorted lately. We had some unexpected issues, but you've told me before that the more of those we sell, the lower the prices will go. So I need to make something, something new, something we can charge a lot for. But what? What can I make that'll sell and make us both a lot of money, Sawyer?"