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1. The Bell
A short ways outside Istanbul there was a disused orchard where Axel had arranged to meet their Jäger escort. The three of them camped in a little toolshed, with Axel sleeping across the door so that no one could get in (or out) without him noticing. The last two Heterodynes hadn’t been out of his sight since Barry found him. (Not even to retrieve his gear, nor to purchase supplies; they’d gone together.)
Fetching water from the well was the furthest he could bear to go. He set the buckets down and Agatha bounced up to him, demanding, “Hug!”
“Yes, young mistress.” He scooped her up and held her tight, breathing in; the Heterodyne scent was strong and true, with barely a trace of her mother.
Barry was watching them with a speculative expression. “Axel … can I get a hug too?”
“Of course, Sir.”
“Mister Higgs is really good at hugs!” Agatha added. Axel set her down, put his arms around Barry. Rested his chin on the top of his head, and felt him relax. (He was Jägerkin, he was the Heterodyne’s strength, he was his safety, and soon, Barry would not hesitate to demand what was his. ) Barry sang a heterodyne note that was almost a purr.
Then Axel caught another familiar sound, and perked up. “Trouble?” asked Barry.
“Not for us, Sir, That will be our escort.” After another minute or two, he straightened. “Get out here, you lot.”
Half a dozen Jägers tumbled out of the trees, openly gaping at Barry. Agatha stared right back at them. “Wow, teeth!”
“Impressive, aren’t they.” Barry picked her up. “These are Jorgi, Stosh, Dimo, Ognian, Maxim and Jenka.”
Agatha waved. “And a bear!”
“Red fire, that must be Füst. He was just a tiny cub the last time I saw him. And Jägers, this is Agatha, Bill’s daughter.”
“Hyu is back,” Dimo said with wonder. “And hyu called for the Jägerkin.”
Barry’s smile went crooked. “Yeah. Sorry it took so long.”
Agatha poked his cheek. “You’re being sad again. Mister Higgs told you not to be sad about that.”
“Higgs is a schmott guy,” Oggie agreed. That was Axel’s cue to direct the situation.
“Dimo and Oggie, first watch. Jorgi and Jenka, second, Stosh and Maxim, third.”
***
It was easy to fall back into the rhythm of travelling and fighting alongside their Heterodyne, They moved in a roughly straight line towards Mechanicsburg, avoiding roads and towns, which meant plenty of feral constructs and clanks to encounter. Axel updated Gkika with their location every night. Barry spent evenings grilling him on the current state of Europa (a mess) or tinkering with some gadget while Agatha watched.
It was on one of those evenings that Axel was startled to hear a second skirl of heterodyning join Barry’s. He looked over; Agatha was gazing intently at her uncle’s project, and humming that signature tone. (She was five! ) Barry’s song faltered in surprise, then steadied again. He set down his tools and took Agatha’s hands in his own. The two tones merged, rose in tandem and then quickly faded.
“Aw, Uncle Barry, I was thinking,” Agatha complained.
“I know, honey, and thinking is fun. But you don’t have the skills yet to apply your ideas properly, so only practice when you’re with me, all right?”
“Fine. ”
Barry turned to the watching Jägers. “You will consider this a Family secret.”
“Ja, Master Barry!”
Later, when most of the squad was asleep and Maxim was doing a sweep, Axel said, “Miss Agatha’s young for breakthrough. Seems you have a handle on it, though, Sir.”
“Bill and I used to stabilise each other that way.” Barry was quiet for a moment. “I always wondered if the Old Heterodynes could do the same.”
“Not that I ever heard, Sir.” It explained a great deal of how (relatively) level-headed the Boys had been.
Barry took out a Sparkwork device that resembled a pocket watch. “I built this for myself, it does something similar – resonates with heterodyning and sets up a negative feedback loop. This setting,” he pointed to a lever, “makes it a positive feedback loop instead. And this one cancels out heterodyning entirely, but that gives me a headache. There’s also a timer for up to an hour before it activates. I was caring for a small child, I could not afford an uncontrolled fugue.” So he’d built a safety catch for his Spark. “If, God forbid, anything happens to me – ”
Agatha would need this. “Understood, Sir.”
***
They came into Mechanicsburg through the Sneaky Gate – because Barry wanted to keep his arrival as quiet as possible until he was inside the walls – and right into the lower levels of Mama Gkika’s. A roar went up from the assembled Jägers, and Barry knew that he was finally safe.
He woke quite a while later, bracketed by Generals Zog and Khrizian (whose shoulder he was dozing on), with the escort squad piled around his feet. The rest of the Jägerkin were likewise sprawled around the room, forming a living moat around him. Not all were asleep; here and there he caught the gleam of watchful eyes. (And if his sixteen-year-old self had been told he’d be grateful for a scene like this … well, that was how growing up worked. )
“Agatha?”
“Over here, Uncle Barry!” Agatha called out … from her perch on Goomblast’s head. “Look, Genral Goomblast has the best teeth!” Barry had to chuckle, because he really did.
“Hohoho, hyu vants vun, Miz Agatha?”
Agatha gaped. “Won’t it hurt?”
“Nah, I iz alvays growing new vuns.” Goomblast ran his tongue along his many teeth until he found a loose one, and plucked it out. Agatha accepted her prize with glee. (She liked the Jägers, and they adored her; she wouldn’t repeat his mistakes.)
Gkika bounded down the stairs. “Hoh, hyu iz avake, kiddo! It iz past noon, and I haff dot Carson upstairs for hyu.”
***
The formalities took a bit of time – accessing the Castle’s chapel was an adventure in itself – and now Barry was standing at the Castle gates with the people of Mechanicsburg gathered below him. They wanted a show, and while he wasn’t in a cackling mood, he could do an excellent ominous. He sat down on the parapet, with one foot dangling over the edge and the other braced under him, and let his Spark rise.
“People of Mechanicsburg. This generation has seen great loss. Betrayal by those closest to us. Outsiders who encouraged divisions between us, and praised us to our faces, while waiting like vultures to pick our bones. I say to you now: what has been broken will be rebuilt. The Jägerhorde will ride again. And Europa will remember why they cross the Heterodyne at their peril. ”
DOOOOOỎ̶͇̌Ǫ̸͑Ŏ̵̹Ȏ̴̞͖̈Ǫ̸̤̉̆Ô̸̜̲O̶͆̈́ͅO̷̰̗̾̚ O̸̧͂͒̎̓Ó̵̳̻̟̺̮̀̽͜Ǫ̶̠͎͆O̸͚̻͐͋̈́̂̈́O̸̪̫̱͔͈̔͊̚͝ O̵͈̫̲̻͉̰̠̠̾͒̌̊͋́̑̈̒̉Ơ̶̢̡̡̨̗͇̟̰̟̺̅͋̑̉̊͝Ǫ̴̢̘͖͚̯̜̙̦̀͛́̓͊͑̈́̏͂̕O̸̢̰͎̹͍̓O̵̪̻̪̪̲͕͒̀̏̔̐͜ O̶̥̯͑̽̓̑Õ̶͎͙̤̽̏́͝Ơ̶̩͙̬͐́͂̾̕O̶͔̮͈̘̭͖̥̒̚Ǫ̵̭̙̒̾ O̷͙̊̍O̴̟͍̐̕O̴̧̰͒Ǫ̵̰̿O̴̧̯̍Ó̷͇O̵͕̳͌͝Ǫ̷͂̚Ȯ̵̦̪OOOOOM
***
2. The Hammer
“Herr Baron, we’re picking up some unusual readings on the subsonics.”
“Show me.” Klaus strode across the bridge of Castle Wulfenbach to look over the sensor tech’s shoulder. She pointed out a line on the readings: a pulse of low-frequency sound in a single resonance curve, as of, say, a bell. “Helm, all stop, and hold position.”
Out the forward viewports, Mechanicsburg was just visible on the horizon. “I will continue towards Mechanicsburg on the ground. Signal the fleet to maintain a ten-kilometer distance from the town.”
He strode towards his office, already revising his plans. If the Doom Bell had rung, there was a strong probability that his friends were back. Boris hurried after him. “Sir, aren’t you on friendly terms with the current Heterodynes?”
“Yes, and I would prefer to continue to appear friendly. Which, for the record, looming over their town with a giant airship would not be.” In the end, he took a single autocarriage with himself, Gil, Boris and a handful of infantrymen. Taking Gil was a risk, but if the Boys were back, he’d want to introduce them.
As they approached the gates, Klaus could hear Franz bellowing, “REJOICE!”
“Hoy, Klaus!” The Jäger sentries greeted him.
“What are we rejoicing about?”
“Master Barry iz de Heterodyne now.”
And Bill … wasn’t. “I see. Is there any chance of us getting an audience?”
“Hy asks.”
***
Barry was in an upper chamber of the town hall, studying a table full of paperwork, and surrounded by a whole platoon of grinning Jägers.
“I see you finally saw sense,” was the first thing Klaus said to his friend in seven years.
“Klaus!” Barry looked around at the Jägers. “I suppose I did.” He seized Klaus in an embrace. “Where were you?”
“Marooned in Skifander. You?”
“Tibet, likewise.” They took some time to catch up; Barry described the struggle against the Other, and Klaus explained how he’d stumbled into founding an Empire. “How did you know I was back? The town’s been on lockdown.”
“I didn’t – I was on my way here with a proposal which is now moot.”
“Oh?” Barry made a ‘give’ motion, and Klaus handed him the draft treaty. Barry sat down to read it, and soon the hum of heterodyning filled the air. “Huh, this is surprisingly almost acceptable.” He passed the document to the Jägergeneral next to him – Khrizian? – who also started reading it. “And your officers wouldn’t mind working alongside Jägers?”
“They believe I would be able to moderate their wilder impulses.”
Barry gave him a quizzical look. “Have they seen the shows?”
“Of course not, they are above such lowbrow entertainment.” They shared a laugh. Klaus continued, “I despise politics as much as I ever did, and I’m not used to being the leader.” That had always been Bill and Barry. And now … the last thing he wanted, personally and practically, was to be Barry’s enemy. He’d been there for the adventures that weren’t fun and didn’t make it into the stories, and he knew what Barry was capable of.
Barry was heterodyning, as strong as in the middle of a build, without so much as twitching his fingers. That was new. Klaus resisted the urge to back away.
“Dis treaty. Ve vould not like it, But vithout a Heterodyne, maybe ve vould haff had to take it.”
“Hmmm. And aside from chain of command matters, would the Jägers be willing to fight alongside Wulfenbach troops?”
“Ja – vould be good fighting, hy tink.”
“I broadly agree with the goal of stabilising Europa,” Barry told Klaus. “My own focus has to be repairing the Castle; if we’re going to move the world, we’ll need a solid place to stand.”
“Which leaves me to be the lever, I take it. Huzzah.”
“Mmhmm. The real problem is how to align Mechanicsburg with your Empire without infringing our autonomy.” That, Klaus already knew, was not negotiable.
“You’ve thought of a solution?”
“Yes.” Barry sat forward. “Klaus. Swear fealty to me.”
What? “Oh. Yes, I see.”
“What?” squawked Boris. “Herr Baron, you can’t seriously be considering this.”
“On the contrary, this may be the most reasonable course of action. And I’m not just saying that because I’m surrounded by Jägers.” Jägers who were enthusiastically in favour of their Master taking over Europa by proxy. Klaus was simply relieved that he wouldn’t be alone. “Heterodynes bow to no one. Thus, if the Empire wishes to unify with Mechanicsburg, the Empire must bow to the Hetrodyne.”
“Herr Baron! The nobles of Europa will surely balk at being ruled by a Heterodyne.”
“So ve dun tell them,” Khrizian put in.
“Exactly. Klaus, you would take charge of all territory outside Mechanicsburg proper. If we don’t make public the details of our arrangement, people will assume you hold the superior place simply because you have more land.”
“And they will no doubt be impressed that I can … invite Jägers to battle.”
“Ho, dot is a goot vord, invite, ” said Khrizian.
“And just think – you’ll have one golden opportunity to dismay the nobility by revealing the truth.”
Klaus would be tempted for that alone. The nobles couldn’t even complain about it; by their own rules a Baron could quite properly become the vassal of a ruling Prince such as the Heterodyne. “I am inclined to agree with this plan. How would we do it?”
“Simple enough – you say the words, I say the words, and the Doom Bell rings to make it official.”
That caused Klaus, and every Jäger in the room, to stare at him. “The Doom Bell? You’d do that for me? For Wulfenbach?” For Gil? Robur Heterodyne had rung the Bell to seal his treaty with the Corbetites, and every Heterodyne since had upheld it.
“Klaus, the only reason I’m not suggesting marriage is that I don’t want to bone you.”
That set off a fresh round of spluttering from Boris; Klaus said dryly, “The lack of feeling is mutual.” Barry laughed, and for a moment, it was just like old times.
“The rest is all details. Oh, and we should wait to announce anything until I’ve cleaned up a few loose ends.”
“Are you going to sack the fools who attacked Mechanicsburg in your absence?”
“I’m not reverting to type that far,” said Barry. “I’m going to demand tribute, and if they don’t pay up, then I’ll sack them.”
***
Soon, the tourists returned and word started to spread that Barry was back. Mechanicsburg’s propaganda mill was already painting him as a tragic figure, grief stricken by the loss of his brother (not entirely wrong). Of Agatha, there was not so much as a whisper.
It was easy to keep busy, between repairing the Castle, repairing injured Jägers, helping Agatha regulate her Spark, and writing dozens of letters. He reinstated the Guild of Monsters with a stroke of his pen, sent Jägers out to sweep the Dyne valley, and sent invoices for damages to certain idiots. And nobody brought up how Barry took squads of Jägers everywhere like a child’s soft toy.
“How’s that?” he asked as the Castle’s great waterwheel started to turn.
“Full power is restored, Master. I feel positively refreshed.”
Barry grunted. He might not like the Castle as a person, but he understood how important it was for Mechanicsburg. “It’s still a single point of failure. What are your thoughts on turbines?”
“Oh my, that would certainly be a fashion statement.” The Castle contemplated the idea for a moment. “Now that critical repairs are complete, I suggest you take a break, Master. I have a wide range of entertainments at your disposal.”
“I remember what you consider entertainment.” The Castle wanted him to like it, but its efforts so far had been … inept. “I’ll find my own.”
And he did have a few ideas. He looked around at his escort. “Is it a good sign that I’m comfortable calling on the Jägers for something completely frivolous?”
Jorgi grinned. “Iz ve going to have some fon, Master Barry?”
“Yes, I think you’ll enjoy this one.”
***
“Barry, what is that?” Klaus pointed at the slightly lumpy sandwich at Barry’s elbow.
“It’s an authentic Red Heterodyne bat sandwich,” Barry said. “I’ve always been curious. What do you have there?” A pair of Jägers followed Klaus into the room with a large box and set it down, grinning.
“The weapons of your enemies, and in one case, their secret family pie recipe.”
A slow smile crept across Barry’s face. “Klaus, did you bring me tribute? ”
“The notion was oddly appealing.” The Jägergenerals, of course, loved the idea.
“Let’s have a look, then. Sandwich?”
***
3. The Song
A hush fell over the Jägerhall, which made Barry look up from his drink. He frequently spent evenings here, surrounding himself with the Jägers’ life and energy (and yes, fistfights); anything that made them go quiet meant trouble.
Or anyone.
“Vole.”
A growl built among the Jägers at the sight of their lapsed comrade. Barry held up a hand to stop them from ripping into Vole in the most literal way possible. He stood up and let his Spark rise as he strode forward; the Jägergenerals formed up behind him, and the other Jägers cleared a path.
Vole had come in bristling with aggression, but he stilled under the weight of Barry’s glare. He didn’t move to attack, even when Barry reached out and plucked the hat off his head.
“I am really tired of traitors.”
Vole started to argue, but Barry silenced him with another look. “You called us weak. Yet out of all the Jägerkin, you are the only one who lost faith. The only one who lost patience. When keeping the Jägertroth became difficult, you are the only one who gave up. ” An uncomfortable whine rose from the Jägers, but Barry was through with avoiding uncomfortable truths. “The oath you took was not conditional, Vole.”
“So, vot, hyu gonna hexecute me now?”
“No.” No, Barry would grant him the same grace that he’d been shown. “I’m not giving up on you yet. Bring him! ”
A dozen Jägers jumped Vole and carried him out the door in Barry’s wake.
***
The cell Barry had in mind was one of the Castle’s nicer ones. It even had its own bunk and window. The Jägers tossed Vole inside and Barry waited until he regained his feet.
“This is not a punishment, and it’s not a test. This is an ordeal,” Barry explained. “By order of the Heterodyne, you will remain in this cell until you are ordered otherwise.” And rather than lock the door, he left it standing open, and hung Vole’s hat on the latch.
***
Vole could not have said why he didn’t walk out of that cell the first day. Or the next. Or the next.
On the fifth day, Higgs came to visit him. Vole snarled at him, but didn’t cross the threshold. “Hyu here to taunt me?”
“Nope. The Master’s orders, we’re not to give you any excuses.” That lined up; minions had been bringing food, water and even clean clothing. The only reason he would have for leaving would be the choice to disobey orders. Higgs continued, “I’m heading out on a tour soon, thought I’d check on you first.”
Vole snorted. “Are de brodders betting on vhen hy vill crack?”
“Not so much. You’ve already taken a good first step. Or rather, not taken a step.” Higgs gestured at the cell’s threshold. “That shows you want to be better.”
“Hy dun know how!” Vole grumbled.
“That’s what you’re here to learn.”
***
Not all the Jägers were so charitable with their opinions. “Here is some philosophising for hyu,” Jorgi told him. “Ven de Masters is veak, is our job to help dem, eediot.” He whacked the back of Vole’s head to emphasize his point. “Hyu haff only known two Heterodynes before Masters Bill and Barry, ja?”
“Dot is true.”
“Den hyu haff not learned – the Masters get thwarted. Dey get injured. Dey do schtupid experiments und build tings dot blow up and screw up all ze time. Ve do not follow dem becawse dey vin all de time.”
Vole opened his mouth, and closed it again. “Vhat do ve do, zhen?”
“Like Master Barry said, ve dun giff op on each odder.”
***
Vole watched from his window as the seasons turned. He watched the Corbetite trains bring in loads of tourists eager to be fleeced. He watched divisions of Jägers deploy on Wulfenbach airships. Other Jägers stopped by to chat – suspicious at first but, as the weeks passed, they all began to act like this cell was simply his posting.
***
“Well, well. Look what we have here.” The voice wasn’t a Jägers, and it drew Vole’s attention from the window (there was an air defense drill and fireworks show going on).
“Huy is dot Proffessor Tktoffen, ja?” As far a s Vole knew, the Professor had been expelled from the Castle with the rest of the TPU team, once Master Barry took charge of the repairs. Most of them had fled without a backwards glance.
“Not to worry,” Tiktoffen said. “The Castle doesn’t know I’m here. It can’t even perceive us right now, thanks to this.” He showed off a sparkwork gauntlet.
“Hyu is making a mistake if hyu tink the Heterodyne vill not catch you,” Vole growled.
“I’ve heard of you, Vole. How you turned against your masters once. And now look at you. Too afraid of him to leave an unlocked cell.”
Afraid? Vole had felt a lot of things about this cell; spite, confusion, moments of resentment, lots of boredom. But fear? ‘I’m not giving up on you,’ Master Barry had said. No, it wasn’t fear that kept Vole here.
“Hyu is not as schmott as hyu tinks.” He turned back to the window.
“This could be your opportunity,” Tiktoffen said smugly. “Come with me, and I can guarantee – ” He stepper closer, Which meant he stepped inside the cell. Vole’s hand shot out and crushed the stealth device.
“Hyu haff made two mistakes.”
“Why, it’s Professor Tiktoffen. I wondered who could be behind that blank spot wandering my halls. The Master will certainly want a word with you.”
Right then, Barry appeared in the stairwell, his glasses glinting ominously. Vole, still holding Tiktoffen’s arm, grinned.
“Good work, Vole.”
“Thenk hyu, Sir.” He pushed the professor forwards.
“What – you can’t – you’re a hero! ”
“Sure am,” Barry replied. “Now ask yourself: are you the kind of person I help, or the kind I stop? ”
“ …Mimblewimble …”
Barry slung a faux-friendly arm around Tiktoffen’s shoulders and steered him out the door. “Let me tell you what I did to the last person who tried to steal Castle Heterodyne’s secrets.”
That night, a few of Vole’s old buddies turned up with a keg to celebrate a successful hunt.
***
It was just shy of three years since Vole had received the Heterodyne’s orders. The Castle was fully repaired and the town was thriving. His brothers brought tales of battles all over the growing Empire, how Master Barry had reattached a limb or pulled off some perversion of science.
This time, when Barry came to visit, he brought not only his usual honor guard, but Generals Zog and Gkika.
“Vole, It’s been one thousand days. A thousand times you’ve made the choice to stay true.” Barry picked up Vole’s hat from its place on the door handle. Vole straightened. Was this …?
“Your Heterodyne bids you step forth, and join your brothers once more.”
Two steps forward, through the cell door, to a knee in front of the Master. His hat settled in its place on his head. Then Barry pulled him upright and into a hug. “Thank you.”
There was something backwards about that, but Vole would think about it later.
“Und now,” Gkika said, “Ze party!”
A roar went up from the Jägers, and Vole was right there with them.