“Are you sure this is safe?” Van asked, very worriedly, standing in front of a fairy gate for the first time. Hands outstretched and pointed towards the gate.

(“trust me, I know what I’m doing. If it was anyone else, you should be worried, but since it’s me… well… at least if worse comes to worst you won’t blow up… if it was anyone else, you probably face a fate much worse than that!”) Ren said in his mind with pride.

(“BLOW UP!!!”) Van thought back, becoming pale, now having second thoughts on the matter.

(“Anyway, we're starting! Let’s see how much horsepower I can get out of you!”) Ren said, starting things up on his end.

(“hold on! Wait a sec! What am I supposed to do!?”) and then Van felt it. A wave of energy flowed out of him and into the fairy gate in front of him. All of it out of his control, he felt like a person in the driver’s seat of his own car with someone driving widely but with expert precision.

“Whoa, gods…” Van’s eyes widened, almost as if he was reaching a little high. He felt himself connect to the gate, and from there, that gate connected to many other gates. The portal opened, and his power kept it that way, allowing at first a few dozen fairies or so to enter, then hundreds, and soon, thousands. Fairy messengers then left this gate to go tell others about the evacuation plan, and refugees leaving their own gates to come to this one.

“Ah!” Van yelp as he felt like a part of him touched a red top poker.

(“Sorry about that, closing that gate right now.”) Ren said, and the feeling quickly dissipated. (“good news is, there's no way for you to get infected this way. The refugees still have to travel through the subspace between gates first. A little dangerous, especially in these times, but beggars can’t be choosers…”) and went back to work, being extra careful now not to accidentally open a gate that might be infected.

If Van had to be honest, he was actually thankful that someone with such expertise was in control. Since the more he realized how much Ren was doing, the more he realized that if it was him, he probably wouldn't last the hour, or with maintaining all these dozens of gates at the same time.

(“don’t worry Van, you don’t need to maintain this the whole day, just a few hours or so, and then we can do it again tomorrow. I know you are probably already feeling some strain, or if not, that just proves how good I am… but either way, just wanted you to know you're in good hands…”) Ren said as he began to focus more on the task at hand.

After that, they started to get their first influx of refugees. Thankfully, everyone had already prepared for them and had created a path from here to the fort that was heavily maintained to create a nice and steady flow between here and back. The refugees will pop out the gate, go to the fort, and pop right into Van’s soul realm. Simple.

The first day would be reserved for all the nearby fairy villages and towns that were in the danger zone and needed immediate rescue. From there, tomorrow they will spread further out. On the third day, they will start opening up portals in wasp-controlled territories, and for the rest of the week, they will focus on saving as many as possible while trying to make sure they got everyone they could.

More importantly, they will open up a portal as close to the capital city of the wasp horde as possible, and send in Lyn, Xenith, and a few others to bring in the news of the evacuation plan.

“Okay, Lyn” Van said, relaying some of what Ren was saying. “You're up. Please make sure to come back safely, okay?” looking a little worried.

“Don’t worry about me. You do your best to hold up okay? And if it’s too much for you, just say so, I'd rather you be okay than anything else…” Lyn said, looking concerned since it had been a few hours now and Van was looking very haggard.

Van gave a small smile. “Don’t worry about me, if it’s for you, I'll make sure you come through safe and sound.”

Lyn gave a small nod and flew up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “See you in a few days, okay?”

Van gave a nod. “See you then…” doing his best to look encouraging.

After that Lyn and her group departed and flew into the portal. Van knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but worry.

---Lyn pov---

Lyn was not liking the look of the subspace that connected all the gates together. It wasn’t very clear at first, but it soon became apparent once you examined it a bit closer that some of the plants that made up the place looked a little withered. Not to mention the strange sense of vertigo that was new and wasn’t a normal condition of the place unless you were new and used the gate for the first time. The slightly red parts also didn’t help make one feel safe when traveling through here.

One of the biggest problems, of course, wasn’t the need to avoid the redder parts of the subspace. But looking for the correct gate to pop out of. Since Xenith actually never used the gates before, she had no idea of which way to travel to, and Lyn only had what Amie and Gloria told her and an old map to go by. This alone, of course, wouldn’t have been a real deterrent for Lyn, but considering that they had to traverse a few infected areas where the guiding bells were silenced made it sometimes difficult to determine if they went the right way.

Thankfully, due to the strange time flow of the space between gates. They were able to make it to their destination in a little under an hour, though it didn’t really feel like it.

“So this is it. Are you all ready?” Lyn asked as they stopped in front of a gate and checked the map to make double sure that they were at the right one. “Did you girls also make sure to bring the guiding bugs?” looking over to the other fairies and insect-kin that came along.

The girls nodded, lifting a few cages to show that everything was going to plan.

Guiding bugs were special insect’s that glowed and moved somewhat slowly but will always find their way back to their nest area no matter how far they traveled. Because of this, they were used by many in case they got lost, the bugs will always be able to backtrack the path they took, or if that was impossible, figure out a method around the obstacle. They were highly valuable for this reason, even if no one knew how they did it.

“And you?” looking towards Xenith.

“I’m ready. Though I have to mention, it might be a bit difficult for us when we first come out of the gate. If there are still guards around, they might try to capture us. Please don’t make any sudden moves while I try to calm the situation down.” Xenith said.

Lyn nodded. “Alright.” then turned towards the gate. “I’m opening the gate, everyone get ready.”

Then the gate opened and they flew through into an empty clearing. At first many of the fairies and insect-kin expected the worst. But then they were suddenly surrounded by dozens if not hundreds of angry wasp-kin.

Immediately Xenith flew into action and began to speak, taking a position between the wasps and the group behind her. She explained who she was, the imperial princess of the wasp horde and first heir. Then explained why she was here and then demanded to see her mother.

At first, the wasps didn’t look entirely convinced, some even looked a little angry, almost as if they wanted to fight first, and asked questions later. But the fact that Xenith was a wasp-kin like themselves, and that she claimed to be the imperial princess made them hesitant. After all, any wasp would know that to claim such a thing would be tantamount to suicide in their culture unless it was true.

Soon, the message was sent to others higher up the chain, leaving behind a tense atmosphere until someone came to verify if what Xenith said was true. A few hours later a wasp-kin finally arrived, one of the many aids of the empress herself, who when she saw Xenith, gasped and flew immediately to check if she was okay. Making the other wasp-kin nervous, thinking that they might be in trouble for pointing their blades at royalty.

But Xenith didn’t care about such things, she quickly explained to the aid that she needed to see her mother immediately and that she needed to bring her group with her. She didn’t want a parade or grand affair and made it clear that this was a grave issue of great national importance.

After a questioning and worried look, at both Xenith and the company she took, the aid agreed and with a ‘small’ entourage, they were guided straight into the imperial capital.

Despite the need and desire to move things along as quickly as possible. Lyn couldn’t help but take notice of the strange building and architecture of the city she found herself in. It was beautiful, in its own way, almost gothic, but somehow more elegant, with clear military applications such as spikes in case of an invasion, and simplicity, not using more resources than absolutely necessary for the desired look.

Lyn also became aware of how large and massive the city was, and how many different species, not just the big three of wasps, hornets, and termites, called this place their home. It was clear that despite the hordes' expansionist ways, that they harbored none of the fairies superior than thou attitude, though they did seem a bit gruff and just a tad terse and arrogant.

What was even more awe-inspiring was the many schools and greenhouses she saw. Something she was trying to do back in her old home of shiny leaf, that never really took off because of the war and the need for resources. But here… here one couldn’t go a block with some sort of garden to help produce food and bring in some beauty to the place. The schools also looked large, but strangely inviting, despite the architectural design, with thousands of students leaving and exiting.

Not only that, but because of all the students, it seemed that the city was starting to play with steam technology. And because of all the homegrown food, restaurants with many unique smells wafted throughout the city, even reaching Lyn from up high and making her hungry.

To say that the city blew her mind, would be an understatement. She had thought the horde as nomadic, so expected yurts or something. But that was clearly not the case at all…

“When we reach my mother, let me do the talking first, then I’ll introduce you and you can do your thing,” Xenith said to Lyn, snapping her away from her own thoughts of the city around her.

It was then that Lyn saw the huge palace before them that was clearly the heart of everything. It was actually very intimidating, looking like a large spike dome, or beehive one the ground that everything spread out from. Black with spikes and dozens of battlements, it had hundreds of large windows to allow the sunlight in but tinted a dark blue to give the strange design a more alien look.

As they flew closer, Xenith would explain the do’s and don’ts of wasp society and how to be respectful to the empress and her entourage. Lyn, doing her best to pay attention with everything going on around her. Finally, they landed and were escorted into the very center of the castle slash palace where the empress resided, straight to the throne room.

Sitting on said throne, was a beautiful woman with largely the same features of Xenith wearing a dark blue gown and looking down on the group with piercing eyes. She carried herself regally, back straight, yet relaxed, waiting patiently. Guards, aids, and even the representative of the hornets as well as the termite king and queen were also in the room, waiting for whatever happens next.

“So… my lost daughter returns… and she brings friends…” Zartashia Zindira, divine empress of the wasp horde said, looking more curious than anything. Her eyes taking in the group behind her daughter, settling on Lyn for a tad longer before moving on and back to her daughter.

“Mother… I have returned.” Xenith said, whatever elation she held about seeing her mother once again, pushed to the back of her mind as played the part of a dutiful daughter, then began explaining herself and why she was here, as well everything that has happened. Everything about the red knives, the coup d'etat and the spread of the infection. But halfway through, Zartashia raised a hand to stop her.

“Enough. I get the gist of it.” Zartashia said, stopping her daughter, then leaning forward a bit. “Wan’t I want to know if we can trust them. ” her eyes turning harder and more discerning, as if trying to weigh the group behind Xenith.

“...yes… I believe we can trust them.” Xenith said after some thought. “In fact, I know we can at least trust Lyn and her husband. They are good people, and I’m willing to put my life and name on the line for them at the very least.” trying to hide her nervousness, under the intense gaze of her mother. “They are good people, who genuinely wish to help.” then began trying to explain how.

When Xenith finished Zartashia began asking pointed questions on the hows and the whys, before turning her attention to Lyn who had been waiting patiently. “And you? Why do you want to help us? Are we not your enemies? I have heard it was you who helped found the alliance against us in the first place. Why are you so interested in saving those who you not so long ago were fighting?” her gaze boring into Lyn’s own.

“I… have nothing against the wasps. The only reason… why I even took up my spear… was to defend myself… but I hold no animosity to any of the people of the wasp. I was only trying to protect what was mine… nothing more. I’ve always tried to do right by others, and help others when possible. And right now… it’s everyone that calls this forest home… that needs help…” Lyn said, a little nervous. Never before had she felt such waves of power emanating from a single person. She did not believe she could take the empress on a one and one fight.

Zartashia stared hard at Lyn for a good long while before nodding. “Very understandable… commendable even.” She then leaned back and gave Lyn her full attention and as if changing the subject started talking in a different tone. “Do you know what my warrior's call you? The war maiden… the lightning warrior… and a few more… you have both earned the respect… and the ire of my soldiers and the people of the wasp. And now it is you and your husband? That is to save us from the actions that the alliance has wrought?” she posed it as a question, but it was clear she also demanded an answer.

Lyn thought hard about what she was going to say next and realized she actually didn’t have anything good to say… so she hoped just speaking from her heart would be enough. “I’m sorry… for all the lives that were lost between our two people. I know I can’t really prove anything to you, especially in the short amount of time that we have. But if you wish it, I'm willing to swear on my name, and my power, that I mean you no harm and just want to save as many innocents as possible.” bowing low, in the hopes it would help convey her sincerity. “I don’t want any more deaths…”

“Hmm…” Zartashia looked at Lyn, gauging her words and actions. “I will send a few of my people to go with you and to ascertain the truth of your words. If you are telling the truth, and your… husband… as well can swear that he means no harm to my people, then I’m willing to work together during these… strange times… however. If I find that you are lying…” she let the words hang in the air for a moment, to make her threat clear.

“Do not worry. I swear on my name and power to do everything that I can to help you and your people in their time of need. Just as I swore to myself to do as much as I can to help the people of the forest, no matter their race or creed. I swear to you now, that I will keep my word.” Lyn said seriously, looking up at the empress with clear eyes.

Zartashia weighed those words and slowly nodded after giving it some time to think about it. “So be it.” Then she dismissed everyone in the throne room except for Xenith.

As Lyn and everyone was being escorted from the room, she gave one last glance back to see Zartashia and Xenith standing in front of each other, staring. As the doors were about to close the two embraced each other in a loving hug. Zindira murmuring something into her daughter's ear before Lyn’s vision was blocked by the door.

Hopefully, that was a good sign, Lyn thought to herself and her own thoughts of her mother and family came to mind for a brief moment before turning back on all her worries and things she needed to do to save as many as she could. A feeling like she had a lot of weight on her shoulders, that would not go away until she finished the task at hand.