“Wake up!”

Jonas rose to consciousness to the pounding on the door. It sounded like Luther.

“They’re going to try to restart the Gate. This morning!”

Jonas shot up. Despite not having a puppet to use, he was clothed in moments, as the rest of the team realized the meaning of the words coming and scrambled as well. They ran down the stairs, following the company Professional.

After nine days, the team was bored. They’d found themselves in an odd place. The pressure to level gone, and the last step of their journey back home impossible. The borough of Gatepost, the oddest borough of London was a place of wonders, initially, but once the unfamiliar was stripped away, and getting used to almost everyone still wearing Professional garb, its oddity was simply its location in the middle of a wilderness.

The people at Artefact Hunting were nice, notably the Fullmores, but Jonas wasn’t fooled. The people on top would like nothing more than add fast-growing Professionals to their roster, and their hospitality was an investment.

All of which made the day special.

As they were nearing the Gate clearing, they started to see more and more Professionals streaming in from all over the city. As the team entered, they saw already nearly a hundred people gathered around the clearing, watching the Great Gate area expectantly. Her Highness was there, watching over a few Professionals making preparations.

What drew Jonas gaze were the Power Crystals being brought in the clearing. There were two of them, and they were almost man-sized, easily over five feet in height and nearly four in width. The Professionals were dragging them toward both sides of the Gate.

“Where do they find such things?”

A monk-robed Professional next to him replied, “There’s a low tier four lair. It’s got that monstrosity growing in the centre of the final guardian area. Minkton’s teams get one of them every two weeks after defeating the guardian. Biggest source ever found.”

Charlotte Wales’ voice rose above the hubbub, causing everyone to go silent.

“We got reports, and the Gate on the London side is now at 100%, like here.”

Transit: Grailburg - Earth 113

Integrity: 100%

Locked

Stability: 100%

“The devices used to destabilize the Gate were partially destroyed by the saboteurs after they used them, but they clearly used Power Crystals connected to a strange contraption. So our best hope is that we can use the same energies to restart the Gate to a normal function since it says ‘shutdown’ on the other side. They tried to restart it already and failed. This time, we have made plans for a simultaneous attempt, on both ends of the Gate.”

There was a huge wave of murmurs upon that announcement. The Princess opened a watch, checking it.

“So, in seventeen minutes, on London, they are going to affix the two largest crystals they have, in symmetrical positions at the gate.”

Jonas realized suddenly what the two platforms on both sides of the Gate were for.

“At the same time, we are going to connect the same category of crystals here, in the same position. We know by experience that the crystals are quickly depleted when you connect them that way. They last a few minutes at most, which means the Gate does drain the energy to use somehow. This doesn’t happen on other Gates, so it means the Great Gate currently needs aether.”

“Will it be enough?” commented the anonymous Professional.

“The Gate is now at 100% stability and integrity on the other side. We’re hoping it will be just enough to push it to normal function. If it’s not… the next attempt will be rotating crystals.”

A forlorn hope, maybe, though Jonas, but it might just work.

Over the next minutes, as more Professionals came into the clearing, the crowd tightened slowly around the Gate proper.

“Try not to overcrowd. The Gate shutdown was very violent, and its activation might be as well. If the Gate fluctuates… you might be caught in it.”

Jonas noted the side look of the Princess toward his team. She obviously took their experiences into account.

The minutes crawled, and the murmurs of the crowd dropped as the Princess raised her hand, still looking closely at her watch. Then she made a chopping motion, and the two pairs of Professionals hoisted and pressed the crystals on the sides of the Gate. Jonas noted that it was obvious that something happened, as the crystals’ glow didn’t change yet, but they remained glued in their respective places.

The crystals remained stuck to the gate, the glow slowly dimming, indicating that a drain on their aether was occurring. But aside from that, nothing happened. The Gate’s surface remained flat and unmoving; the descriptor unchanged. The hubbub of the crowd slowly increased as people started to realize it was looking to be a failure. Despite the warnings, the crowd slowly approached, as if their presence could lend more energies to the unchanged Gate.

Then the two crystals went simultaneously dark, before dropping back on their respective platforms, caught by the attentive Professionals there.

“Blazes. It’s failed. It can’t be done,” Jonathan said from just behind Jonas.

Jonas found himself starting to cry. A few tears were welling. He had hoped. Like all of them, he’d hoped that the Gate would open. A sniffle to the side told him he wasn’t the only one feeling the weight of failure.

“We should hear from England in a dozen days,” the voice of her Highness rose, trying to raise the spirits of the crowd. “We’ll know how close we were. And we will be better the next time.”

Jonas felt anger. Behind that Gate was London, and… the threat of the French. He crossed the few yards separating the crossing and kicked the Gate’s circle in anger.

Lightning coalesced around the side, enveloping him, and threw him aside like a rag doll.

“Blazes?” “Bollocks?” “The crystals have infused it with energy?”

Ira ran to his friend.

Jonas Mark Sims

Deceased, 1 hour, 55 seconds

Health required: 376

Yes

No

“Whew, thank the Lord, he can be resurrected…” “LOOK!”

At the shout, Ira raised his gaze and saw the Gate descriptor flickering.

Transit: Grailburg - Earth 113

Integrity: 100%

Forced Restart

Stability: 99%

The central descriptor flickered again. “Forced Restart” gave way to “Unstable link” to “Attempting pairing” back to “Forced Restart”, and kept on flickering between the status designations as the stability number started to go down, then back up while the Gate itself stood unperturbed.

Brigadier Tobe Duffey made a face. At the appointed time, the two squads of soldiers had moved the crystals on their platforms, and watched as the glow of their energy slowly drained away.

For all of their efforts, the Gate stood unperturbed. Nothing changed on its visible descriptor – and how that sight perturbed him, even after those months. Descriptors were the dominion of Professionals… and the fact that they could see one reminded him that it was a privilege that was denied to mundane people like him.

“Either they couldn’t do it at the same time, or it will possibly require every single crystal we have,” the Chancellor watching the proceedings said.

“I am afraid you are correct, my Lord. I hope the French leave us time to reconnect. If that’s possible.”

“Don’t be a defeatist, Brigadier. No war is lost until the last battle is fought.”

The Brigadier was readying his reply when a rumble was heard over the expanse of the Gate area. Both men turned their heads back toward the Gate. The sound reached a bass pitch and then the unexpected happened.

A loud detonation sounded, like a cannonade. One of the crystals affixed to the Gate was thrown away. Both men ducked instinctively, but the crystal passed nowhere near them, landing with a massive crash at the border of the Gardens.

“Look.”

There was… flickering inside the metal hoop of the Gate. Lights streaking, coming from its centre, smashing and dissipating silently against the circle.

Transit: Earth 113 - Grailburg

Integrity: 100%

Forced Restart

Stability: 97%

As they watched, the status flickered quickly between “Shutdown” and “Restart”, the stability alternating between 100 and 99 per cent.

A few moments later, the flickering ended, and the light stopped coming from the Gate’s depths, the descriptor remained fixed at “Shutdown”.

“What happened?” asked John Scott.

“I have no idea Chancellor, but it looks like we did get something new this time. It appears to be stable at least. Maybe we won’t need that many crystals the next time.”

Everyone had made room around the Gate, but outside of the descriptor flickering, it remained undisturbed. But suddenly, the status went back to “Locked”, and the Gate’s descriptor ceased to flicker, leaving the stability at 96%… and as they all watched, the number immediately inched back to 97… then 98.

One professional gingerly reached to the Great Gate and touched it. But nothing happened.

“Sounds like the Gate is stable again,” he said, obviously relieved.

The Princess had reached the scene and was looking at Jonas’ deceased descriptor when another figure pushed through. Jonathan rushed across the dozen yards separating himself from the Gate. He slapped his hand on the metal, gripping it with all his will.

Lightning coursed again across the Gate, throwing him to the ground.

Transit: Grailburg - Earth 113

Integrity: 100%

Forced Restart

Stability: 97%

“What the…” Charlotte muttered.

Next to her, Ira caught the gaze of Laura and then Guss. Then, he rose, and they joined him toward the Gate, followed a fraction of a second later by Alton.

Next to the Gate, Ira hesitated a second. Then, as one, the four slammed their fists on the Gate. The sound of thunder slammed across the whole clearing as they fell, lightning arcs lingering on the bodies.

Transit: Grailburg - Earth

Integrity: 100%

Full Reset

Stability: 92%

The descriptor started to flicker even more wildly, variable numbers appearing next to Earth, others status listings beyond “Reset” barely visible except for those with higher Focus.

The two men were starting to make their way back to the Garden’s exit when the whining sound started. Startled, Brigadier Duffey turned back to see the Gate flickering again, light starting to flow out from the circle’s centre in a swirl.

“What? We don’t have crystals powering it? Why?…”

Transit: Earth 113 - ?

Integrity: 100%

Link lost

Stability: 80%

The stability was plummeting. Then, the pitch of the Gate sound started to rise further, and blinding flashes began, making a pulsating surface. Duffey started to sweat, remembering that sound and sight from months ago.

“Evacuate! Evacuate!” one sergeant yelled as he started to run. The soldiers at the side platforms ran down, half falling in their hurry to leave the vicinity of the gate.

Both Duffey and Scott wasted no time and jumped behind a pile of crates. They might be flimsy protection when one remembered the devastation left by the Gate’s catastrophic closure, but anything was better than standing in the open.

The whine reached new heights, and Duffey squeezed his eyes shut as more flashes came, visible even through the closed eyelids. Then the sound cut abruptly and flashes stopped.

He opened his eyes and cautiously rose, looking over the crate stack toward the Gate.

The Great Gilded Gate stood intact in the middle of the gate area, its disc filled with the same stable and unchanging light that he had been used to see for years. There was no descriptor visible anymore.

As the troops started to slowly move, someone came out of the Gate. Upon seeing the reception area, he raised his arms to the skies and whooped, the sound of his voice thundering across the Gardens.

A second Professional came out of the Gate and fell into the first’s arms, slapping and laughing. Then a mail-wearing woman came out, stopping in wonder, as the first man rushed back into the Gate to bring the news.

“So… they did it. Everyone, try not to crowd the Gate. I know you’re anxious to see London again, but the Gate is obviously now stable and open. It’s not going away, despite what you may fear.”

Princess Charlotte looked at the corpse in front of her.

“I need someone else… at least one. We need to Sacrifice and resurrect them now.”

“No problem. They’re tier-two, that’s easy. I can do any three of them until I’m locked out,” said a plate-clad Professional, who bent over Jonas’ corpse and accepted the health trade.

The Aetherseer remained flat on his back, then started to convulse. A scream rose as he struggled against the hands of the defender that had just resurrected him.

“Bollocks? What’s happening?”

Another scream came. Another robed Professional was holding Ira on the ground as the Layman was buckling in agony.

“That’s not normal. You might get sick from the resurrection, but not that way,” the healer said.

Charlotte reached and seized Jonas’ arm, automatically seeking the descriptor, anticipating what she was going to see.

Adjustment IV

+10 all Potentials, 20% faster levelling

“You can resurrect the rest of them. It’s… safe. It doesn’t look that way, but they’ll be fine. After a while,” she added.

Hoarse screams filled the clearing as, one by one, the last members of the team were brought back to life.