xt1me

So back in about 2013 I read through the web comic Girl Genius. It's a really good read but even though they were good a regularly updating I couldn't stick with reading it one page at a time. So much stuff is always happening that I felt it was better to wait a while and then read it a chunk at a time.

Then I completely forgot about it.

Recently I went back and read it from the start up to where it is now.

I had forgotten how much fun it was.

And then I wrote this.
Set in the nebulous future where everything works out it can be seen as current or pre Agatha/Gil, Agatha/Tarvek or Agatha/Gil/Tarvek
(I can't believe this has ended up being the longest thing I've ever written)

Prologue:

Agatha walked down the streets of Mechanicsburg, arm in arm with Gil and Tarvek, enjoying the day. The two had ‘just stopped by for a visit’. The fact that is was St. Valentine’s Day had not been mention but neither of them were exactly denying it either. She was really glad they were both here, even if she did have to put up with annoying remarks from the Castle.

As they headed to the Sausage Factory Coffee Shop to see Vanamonde she idly looked around at all the decorations in the town. She was a bit surprised at all the hearts. For some reason it didn’t seem like something the people of Mechanicsburg would go for. Of course, being Mechanicsburg, some of them were more anatomically correct then others. She decided to ask her seneschal about it.

After ordering some drinks (with Agatha staying well away from any caffeine) Van explained.
“The tourists love it. Holidays are always a big draw. The locals don’t celebrate most of them though. Mechanicsburg has some festivals that don’t tend to match up with the regular calendar much.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. One of your earlier ancestors was very interested in rituals and mystic significance. Tihomir Heterodyne was convinced that the solstices and equinoxes were biothurmicaly significant and could be harnessed somehow. Of course no one knows what for. He was obsessed with discovering the correct rituals and declared that feast days would be held at these times. In the interests of scientific discovery he tried as many different rituals and traditions as he could find or make up. I believe he died while hopping backwards on one foot wearing pink and green spotted robes and fell off the platform he was on.”

“How high was the platform?” asked Gil.

“Not that high, it was the fact that the platform was suspended over a vat of acid that was the problem. None the less,” Van continued, “as a town, we did end up with a bunch of celebrations that don’t quite match up with those of our neighbors. The Heterodyne Boys put an end to a lot of our more interesting ones but the main four are still celebrated.”

“How are they celebrated?” asked Tarvek in a way that suggested he wasn’t sure he wanted an answer.

“Oh, different ways at different times. To be honest they all end up as an excuse for a lot of food and drink and dancing around a bonfire. Or a number of bonfires depending on peoples enthusiasm.”

“Is there anything I have to do?” asked Agatha.

“Well, The Heterodyne tends not to get involved in much other than the party to the best of my knowledge but I must admit that may not have always been the case. I think all you need to do is some basics as a master of ceremony. I’ll have to check with my grandfather, he might remember. I’ll write something up to explain everything, shall I?”

“Oh please do.” Agatha said, relived, “There’s so much I still don’t know since I wasn’t raised here. I’d hate to do something wrong just because everyone already assumed I knew something and I didn’t.”

“Agatha your people love you,” Tarvek reassured, “you’re doing wonderfully. No one’s going to be disappointed for you not knowing everything straight away.”

“I don’t say this often but he’s right,” Gil agreed, “You’ve already fought off multiple invasions and freed the town from a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. No one cares if you mess up a few minor things.”

“Quite right.” Said Van, “Besides, anything a Heterodyne wants to do is the correct thing to do. You don’t have to worry.” Van gave a small bow, “And as your seneschal I will always help you with any questions you might have.”

“Thank you.” She said gratefully to all three men.

After some more small talk they left the Café to continue their walk.

“I’m looking forward to seeing these festivals now.” Agatha mused. “We traveled a lot when I was younger so I know things can be different from village to village but I never really thought about how they could be divided up in to spring, summer, autumn and winter festivals.”

“Did you have a favorite?” Asked Tarvek.

“Probably Christmas. Isn’t that everyone’s favorite.” She smiled remembering, “Although now that I think about it Adam and Lilith would always light a candle on the 21st and allow me to open one gift in advance. It was usually a book.”

She smiled nostalgically before drawing herself out of fond remembering, “What about you two?”

“Christmas wasn’t never the best for me.” Said Tarvek, “There was always a meal with the immediate family and terribly awkward small talk. No one wanted to be there but we had an obligation. You can imagine how much I didn’t look forward to that.” He sighed, “When I was younger at least we had presents from Santa. We’d put our shoes outside our rooms and if he was impressed with the traps on our door he’d leave us sweets.” He looked over to Gil, “it was celebrated differently on Castle Wulfenbach if I recall.”

“Yeah, we used socks instead of shoes and I don’t know where your family got booby traps from but if we were good we’d get sweets. If we were bad we were told that Santa would steal us away and use us for parts to repair his worker constructs.” He saw Agatha’s look of shock. “We were never really worried, after all we knew Von Pinn would never let us be taken away.”

Agatha took a moment to reflect that she might have been the one with the town full of monsters and enthusiastic minions but she also the only one who had anything remotely resembling a normal childhood. Everyone know it was the Krampus that would come if you were naughty. And the worst he would was beat you with a stick. But that was all childish nonsense of course.

“Was that your favorite holiday then?” she asked.

“Oh, no. I always loved All Hallow’s Eve. Thinking about it now Castle Wulfenbach collected so many people from all over Europa we ended up mashing a bunch of similar celebrations up. I think the old Celtic festive, Martinisingen and St. Andrew’s Day got rolled together at the end of October. Either way it was an excuse for a kid to dress up and runaround annoying everyone stuffing their face with sweets. What more could you want as a child? I dressed as a Jägermonster one year when I was about ten or so and decided for some reason that my costume wasn’t complete until I had a real Jäger hat. I ended up falling onto one of the Generals when they were in meeting and tried to escape with an experimental clank I built as a distraction. It almost worked.” He shook his head, “I got in real trouble for that.”

Agatha giggled at the mental image as Tarvek rolled his eyes muttering something about fishing for hats. She turned to him, “What was your favorite? You haven’t said.”

“Humm,” he thought, “Probably the midsummer ball. It’s the end of the debutante season so all the dreary coming out parties would be done. It’s seen as one of the biggest chances for people to show off to rest of high society.”

“Sounds boring” needled Gill.

“Philistine.” Tarvek scoffed, “You have no idea the amount of prestige that could be won or lost at a midsummer ball. People have been made or broken just by hosting one.”

“Not literally I hope,” asked Agatha.

“Well not usually.” Tarvek replied. “Have you through of hosting one yourself?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start.” She said a bit disappointed, she had never really been at a ball just to enjoy one before. She was pretty sure it was different then if you crashed one. “I did promise Violetta fancy dresses though. Will you be holding one?”

“I don’t think Sturmhalten is up for hosting a proper midsummer ball yet. And I wouldn’t dream of hosting one if you were also doing so.”

“Could you help me host one?”

“I would be honored my Lady.”

It was Gil’s turn to roll his eyes. That hadn’t been remotely subtle for one of Sturmvoraus’ schemes. Why couldn’t he just ask?

“Would you both be able to come for all the festivals in Mechanicsburg?” Agatha asked them both, “I’m not even sure what they are yet but I’d love for you to be there.”

“Absolutely.”
“I’d be delighted.” The two answered simultaneously.

“Thank you.” Agatha smiled.

It was at this point Zeetha bounded up, “What are you guys doing?”

“Oh we’re just talking about different festivals, did you know Mechanicsburg has four main ones? The next one is the spring equinox.” Agatha replied.

“Oooh, a spring festival? Is it a fertility celebration? Cha-cha-cha” Zeetha did a little dance as Agatha blushed.

“No.” she said, “or at least I don‘t think so. I hope not.”

Tarvek decided to be a gentleman and rescue Agatha from the conversation.

“We were discussing our own traditions. Do you have any you’d like to share?”

“Well I’m not sure I could describe Skifander fertility rituals before my poor zumil catches fire,”

“Zeetha!”

“But the spring equinox? We do have something.” She looked over at Gil.

They were both still a bit awkward about the discovery that they were related. Happy, since at least they liked each other well enough, but still, awkward.

“There is a ritual done on the end of the first quarter of the year.” She said a bit more thoughtfully, “It’s usually performed by sisters but it for families so any blood relation can do it. I’ve only ever preformed it with my mother.”

“Do you want to do it with me?” Gil asked hopefully. He could still remember the years when he thought he had no family at all. The fact that the one he found out he had was a mess didn’t deter him.

“Can you Dance?” Zeetha asked.

“Yes,” Gil replied in a way that was bit more of a question then an answer.

“Good.” She grabbed Gil’s hand and started dragging him off.

“Wha-“

“We have less than a month for me to teach you something that can take years. We’ve got to get started now. I hope you’re a fast learner.”

“Well this is going to be interesting.” Tarvek mused as Agatha looked on and smiled.

Spring equinox 20th March:

It was far too early in the morning.

Agatha was getting better about being working up by Zeetha but she defiantly hadn’t learned whatever technique that left her Kolee wide awake no matter what.

Tarvek was looking a bit more together then she was, sipping on a cup of coffee that she was pretty sure she saw him adding something to. Damn smoke knight secret formulas and stimulants.

Gil looked fine as well, curse the world. His sleep schedule still wasn’t fantastic but he tended to lie in when he had the chance, now that he wasn’t fighting a war on multiple fronts while ruling an empire. That didn’t stop him from looking far too awake then he needed to right now.

It was before dawn on the day of the spring equinox. All Agatha knew was going to happen was that Zeetha and Gill would do some traditional Skifander dance around a fire to greet the sun. It had been decided to do this in the town were the evening’s festivities would happen on the understanding that since there was going to be a bonfire there anyway so no one would mind.

She was looking forward to this. While she had watched Zeetha practice for her act in the circus she had never been able to watch her show properly. She had always been too nervous about going on stage herself to pay attention.

It also turned out that traditional Skifander garb was on the skimpy side which meant that Gil was mostly only wearing a pair of shorts and some straps. Not that she was paying close attention to that. At all.

She was looking forward to the rest of the day as well, provided she could stay awake. The spring celebration in Mechanicsburg had apparently started one year when a partially energetic steel sheep had escaped the sheep shearing pen and had to be chased all around town. Legend had it that it took the full day and everyone had so much fun that the next year a sheep was ‘accidentally’ let out again. After that it became a tradition. It ended with the steel wool from captured sheep being presented by the Heterodyne to the person or people who managed drag the seep into the town square for shearing. Apparently the sheep had only managed to escape twice in all the years that the Steel Sheep Steeplechase had ran.

They settled down around the small fire Zeetha and Gil had got going. They weren’t that many people invited and even less that were able to show up this early. Krosp was already napping again. Violetta had stolen Tarvek’s cup much to his annoyance. Dimo, Maxim and Oggie where fighting over the best spot to sit, identical to pretty much every other spot. Higgs was his normal unflappable self.
They had invited Klaus, more to be polite than anything else. His children were a bit torn between relived and disappointed that he declined.

The faint sent of the first baking bread drifted from one of the nearby shops reminding Agatha that they weren’t the only people up despite the hour. She had made sure to check that they weren’t too close to the residential area for this but she forgot about the people who would be up and about already working. Hopefully they would enjoy the show.

“Here,” Zeetha passed out hand drums to everyone gathered.

“I didn’t know there was to be audience participation.” Said Tarvek.

“It’s easy, just stay on beat. They’ll be a bit of singing in Skif. When we get to the end Gil will translate the last bit as best we could manage and then you can stop.” Said Zeetha.

“You know,” said Gil, “if you had just let me build a simple drumming clank-“

“We had barely enough time to practice this as it was. I wasn’t about to let you get districted by any sparky nonsense.” Zeetha said.

“Fine, fine.” Gil waved her off with an air that they had gone through this before.

They both took positions on either side of the fire and started to clap. It took a bit for Agatha to get on beat but she considered the fact that she was barely awake to be all the excuse she needed. Tarvek and Violetta got it straight away. Higgs had a strong steady beat that looked like it took no effort at all. There was a bit if a scuffle with the boys as Oggie broke his drum by being too enthusiastic and that tried to use Maxim’s. Dimo quickly stepped in and Oggie used his hat instead, which wasn’t the best drum but at least he wasn’t going to break that. Once they settled they were marvelously in sync.

Agatha was so busy concentrating on the rhythm that she almost didn’t notice the sun finally starting to peek over the horizon. The two dancers did though as they launched into their routine.

It looked deceptively simple. Gil must have practiced a lot because he and Zeetha kept perfect time to the rhythm. It did reminder her a bit of Zeetha performances from the circus but without the swords. Agatha was mentally compering the steps to her own (admittedly not that vast) knowledge of European dances when they both launched themselves into the air. They had been circling the fire so had been on opposite sides before they summersaulted towards each other. Agatha almost dropped her drum in shock, already calculating how quickly she could rescue them when the collided with each other and landed in the flames. She shouldn’t have worried however. The two simply turned enough so that their feet hit each other and pushed off to propel themselves safely to the edge of the fire. She managed to get herself back on beat as they swirled around, over and occasionally into the fire. They were in bare feet! She swiftly realized that the speed they were moving not only parted the flames but made sure that little to no heat was transferred to vulnerable skin. That fact made the action no less impressive however.

Agatha knew the whole thing was to only take about fifteen minutes but the dancing and beat of the drums gave everything a timeless quality (the good kind). The sun was fully risen when the two started singing. They stopped their dancing together on the side of the fire closed to the rising sun. She didn’t understand a word of the strange singing chant but it was amazing how clear they both were when she was breathless just watching them. Zeetha sang a short piece in strong, high voice raising up her hands to the sky. Gil sang next, coping her movements, the words finally understandable.

“The sun has risen high. It shines upon this day. It shines upon all. Blessing this family”

They both dropped their hands and Agatha remembered to stop hitting her drum. The Jägers where a bit behind but no one really noticed as it was lost in the applause.

She hadn’t paid attention but it seemed like the action had attracted a small crowd. Gill scratched his neck, looking a little embarrassed, but he was smiling. Zeetha was taking her bows like a professional, fangs showing in her wide grin.

This certainly looked like a good start to the day’s festivities.

Summer solstice 21st June:

The summer fête had been a lot of fun.

As Heterodyne Agatha was one of the judges so she got to taste a bit of every sweet, jam and cake that were entered into the various competitions. Thankfully they were spread throughout the day otherwise she’d didn’t think she’d be able to move right now. She refused to feel guilty about how much she ate. She was going to be dancing most of the night, she needed the energy.

She didn’t enjoy the garden competitions as much since plants weren’t really her strong point but they were still enjoyable. Of course some of the categories had the expected Mechanicsburg twist. Alongside the biggest (non-spark), tastiest and most humorous vegetable categories there were also things like most unique abomination and most dangerous, with sub-categories for carnivorous, venomous and other, as well as a category for furthest range. In the latter, competitors could enter one of any number of fire-breathing, venom-spitting or thorn-throwing plants to see both how far could reach and how accurately they hit. It had been quite a sight.

She did discover that first place traditionally gave seeds or cuttings of the wining plant to the Heterodyne. Which explained rather a lot about her castle’s conservatories.

She had a lovely day with her boys but they had split off earlier. Tarvek had a lot to organize for the Ball and there was no point in Gil hanging around when Agatha was stuck at the judges table. But it was it was near the end of the day and while she knew Tarvek would be near the ballroom she couldn’t find Gil.

“Castle, Where’s Gill?” she asked aloud.

“On the roof.” The ominous voice seemed to come from the very bricks and stones around her.

“What? Your roof? Why?” Agatha yelped, “Castle, if you done something-“

“My lady, please. You’ve already ordered me to leave you consorts unharmed. I am perfectly blameless in what they decide to do on their own.” It was hard for an ominous voice heavy with centuries of dark knowledge to sound innocent but the Castle gave it a go.

“I don’t believe you,” said Agatha. “And they’re not my consorts.”

“Hee, hee, you’ve learned.” Said the Castle unrepentantly, “and what should I call them then? Love-slaves?”

“No! Th-they’re not-” She sputtered.

“Nevertheless, I’ve done nothing today. Go ask yourself if you want.”

“I will.” Agatha harrumphed heading off.

After arriving at the Castle she refused to give it the satisfaction of asking for better directions then ‘on the roof’. Spotting a figure on one of the lower battlements she went inside and made her way to the nearest window. Looking out she realized it was a Jäger.

“Hello” She called out.

The Jäger, one of the ones she hadn’t learned the name of yet, gave a lazy wave back but otherwise didn’t move from ware he was lying.

“Um, what are you doing,” She asked.

“Jusht nappink.” Came the reply, “Iz too hot und dere's no vun to fight.”

She supposed that made sense, a number of Jägers had fur so she could imagine that it could make hot summer days uncomfortable but-

“Why on the roof?” she asked.

“Idz gots de besht view,” replied the Jäger, in defiance to fact that he had not only kept his eyes closed during the entire conversation but also hadn’t removed his hat from where it rested on top of his face.

Looking out from the window to the parts of the roof she could see she noticed a number of Jägers sunbathing the same way. Lying preciously balanced high above the ground didn’t seem very comfortable to her but it looked like they were fine.

“Er, you haven’t seen Gill around by any chance?” she asked.

“Op dere hy tink.” Came the reply with a vague wave of a hand. This was shortly followed by low snoring. Agatha decided to leave him to it.

Climbing up the stairs and poking her head out various windows to question a few more napping Jägers finally got her some better directions. She found Gil on one of the higher roofs lying in the shade, one leg dangling over the side. At least he had sense enough to avoid sunburn if not enough to stay further away from the edge. Agatha had never been afraid of heights but she guessed that was nothing compared with being raised on an airship.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Gill opened his eyes but otherwise didn’t move.

“It’s too hot-“

“And there’s no one to fight?” Agatha interrupted exasperated.

“Huh,”

“Nothing, sorry.” She sighed, “I’ve been talking to the Jägers too much.”

“Heh, well I was going to say that I didn’t have any project going right now that was worth staying in a stuffy lab.” Gill stretched in a wide yawn and started to get up.

“Why didn’t you just build a new cooling system?” she asked, stepping back so that Gil could climb through the window.

“Ugh,” he shook his head, “The first part of making any cooling system always ends up making everything even hotter. It wasn’t worth it. Then I spotted the Jägers and thought they had the right idea.”

They started heading down the stairs.

“You’re lucky I found you,” said Agatha, “You’ve not even changed yet. Can you imagine what Tarvek would say if you had fallen asleep and missed his big day? He’s been busy organizing this for weeks.”

“We have plenty of time,” Gil reassured her, “Trust me, I have no doubt that not only has Sturmvoraus got outfits already made and measured for the both of us, he also has spares in case we end up clashing horribly with the curtains or something.”

They found Tarvek as expected in front of the ballroom. The Castle had been happy to show them were it was when the plan was announced but had been very disappointed when it found out they weren’t going to enslave or murder everyone by the end if the night. Tarvek had at least managed to persuade it to let it be cleaned and decorated without terrifying anyone by telling it that they were showing of the superiority of the Heterodynes to all of Europa. After all, no one could spread the word of how cowed and awed they were if they were dead. It did mean that there wasn’t any way to get rid of any of the skulls and things. Tarvek was hoping people would simply find it a quant piece of novel history. It worked for the tourists.

Agatha took a moment to admire how incredibly handsome he looked in his new suit. He was busy giving some last minute orders to the minions- er, wait-staff when he spotted her and Gil.

“Ah, there you are.” He waved at them to follow him. “Agatha, I wasn’t sure what you would want to wear so I have a selection.”

He brought them into a room that had a few dress maker dummies waring some spectacular dresses.

“I reasonably sure I have you correct measurements but if not I can adjust it pretty easily. Also if you want any minor changes done we have about an hour before the first guests arrive so I’ll be happy to do any alterations if needed. I hope you like the colours I’ve picked out. I didn’t think you wanted us to be so gauche as to match but you’ll notice that our outfits should harmonize nicely.”

“When you said you were going to provide the dresses I thought you were just going to buy one,” said Agatha as she walked towards the outfits, “Did you make these from scratch?”

“Oh, I had plenty of time,” Tarvek waved it off as if it was nothing, “Please, let me know which one you’d like to wear tonight.”

“Humm,” she walked around the dresses on display. She was a little trilled about all this, she’d never had such fancy clothes growing up.

“Well, I think the bat wings are a bit much,” she said, passing over the black one with gold accessories. Tarvek just sighed but didn’t protest about how good she would look in it. Gil just watched at the door rolling his eyes but not interrupting as Agatha looked over the other dresses.

“This one.” She decided finally. “It’s absolutely gorgeous Tarvek. They all are but I’ll wear this one. I really like all the hidden tool pockets”

“Even the best dress merely accentuates the beauty of the one wearing it.” Tarvek proclaimed gallantly.

Gill couldn’t help a snort. Tarvek glared at him.

“Here.” He shoved a pile of clothes at Gil. “You’re wearing this. Try not to ruin it too early in the evening. None of the replacements I have match the colour scheme so well.”

Gil had enough time to mouth an ‘I told you so’ at Agatha before he was unceremoniously pushed out the door.

“Sorry we left it so late to arrive.” Said Agatha as she moved behind a changing screen. “Were you terribly busy?”

“Oh, you know how it is,” Tarvek said dismissively, “Lord Novák needs to be kept way from more than half the guests after his terrible faux pas last week. Lady Hayhurst heard that Mrs Rasmussen was invited and is insisting on being seated on the opposite end of the hall. Mrs Rasmussen, being as deaf as a post, wants to be sat next to the band. Lord Habersham can‘t be put anywhere near either due to some unfortunate incident involving a silver tea-set but Miss Josephine, Lady Hayhurst’s niece, wants to make a good impression in order to secure trade rights for glowspun silk but also needs to keep Lord Rasmussen happy in order to secure good prices for dyes so needs to be near both. Mr Steiner and Mr Orujov are owners of competing iron mines and completely oblivious to their children’s growing affection. Bobby Steiner thinks he’s being surreptitious in his plans to ask for Ivana Orujov’s hand tonight. I know of three plots from factions of my family to cause trouble for each other which means I must be missing at least two. And the Right Honorable Lady Duchess DeWinter is slightly allergic to geraniums of which there are a large number of in the hall.”

“You’ve got them all eating out the palm of your hand don’t you” Gil said arriving back into the room.

“Oh yes,” Tarvek said darkly amused, “before tonight ends I expect to the Novák monopoly on mega-quail eggs to be broken, a major silk trade line to be directed though Sturmhalten, iron prices to drop, my family to be sufficiently distracted and that horrible DeWinter woman to spend the entire evening feeling itchy.”

Agatha laughed “I’m glad you’re having fun. Personally I’m looking forward to the solarium crystal. Did you really get it working?”

“It was just a matter of cleaning everything up really,” Said Tarvek failing to look modest in any way. “The math used to calculate the angle of the sun so it would only hit the stain glass at sunset on this day was incredibly elegant. The display should be quite dazzling.”

“Of course,” he continued, looking put out, “It would be more impressive it the Castle didn’t just cheat and moved the crystals around whenever it wanted to.”

“It’s not cheating if it works” the Castle said haughtily. “You’re just mad I only told you after you had finished. If you didn’t notice that there was no way for the sun come through that battlement it’s not my fault.”

“I’d love to see it before the main event,” said Agatha smiling. “Do you think there’s time?”

“For you milady,” Tarvek took her arm, “always.”

“Excellent.” Agatha took the opportunity to snag Gil with her other arm as they left the room. She was confident no matter what happened she would have an enjoyable time.

Autumn equinox 23rd September:

Agatha sighed as she made her way to the Red Cathedral.

She shouldn’t be feeling lonely. She still had so many of her friends with her to enjoy the harvest festival. Just because Gill had some stupid trade agreement to deal with while his farther who was busy dealing with the Polar Lords. Just because Tarvek had obligations in Sturmhalten that he couldn’t get away from. None of that meant she was unhappy.

It had been a lovely day. Many stalls were selling food and knick-knacks. Lots of pies and meats and beer flowing freely. She had announced the beginning of the giant snail race earlier today to officially start the harvest festival. Then the trophy, the Golden Snail, went missing and she hired a private Jäger of all things. That was going to be interesting. The Golden Snail turned up again about an hour ago so it must have worked. She was sure she’d find out what that was all about from Van later.

The bonfire was still lit and some people were still there, not so much dancing as drunkenly stumbling around it. In Beetleburg there was a clank that was set on fire that walked into the pile of wood to light it in their autumn festival. The thing had always stunk of lamp oil and the mechanisms sometimes stuck so the walk it took was shorter some years in case it fell over. It was nothing compared to the Torchmen dancing though the sky through fireworks she saw earlier this evening.

The music was still going on but many people were heading away in the same direction as Agatha was. It was a tradition she’d never seen before. Apparently the Red Cathedral held a Back Mass at midnight and sacrificed a boot.

She had been a little confused at the when it was explained to her. Van had told her the Igneous Heterodyne couldn’t spell, so a Sole was as good as a Soul to him. General Zog had mumbled something about that being true but he’d also had a weird thing about shoes.

Agatha was quite sure she better off not knowing.

“That flying death trap of yours is a menace.” A familiar, if unexpected, voice came from down the street.

“What are you complaining about?” Came an equally familiar voice, “We got here perfectly fine.”

“We almost crashed!”

“I was just a bit of turbulence. We lost some altitude for a while that’s all.”

“That’s all?! That’s enough. What if we had been flying lower? I refuse to believe that wing design is suitable for flight.”

“We were nowhere near the ground. And that wing design-“

The bickering was cut off as Agatha launched herself at the two.

“Gil! Tarvek!” She said as she hugged them both, “I thought you couldn’t make it.”

“We can’t,” Gill smiled at her.

“What the oaf means is we can’t stay long.” Tarvek explained, “Fortunately some of my officials came down with a mild case of food poisoning so my tomorrow morning meeting has been postponed.”

“’Fortunately’ hu?” said Gil disbelieving.

“I don’t know what you could possibly be insinuating,” said Tarvek not trying too hard to sound innocent.

“My evening meeting left out early” said Gil to Agatha, “Since neither Lord Habersham nor Dr. Pfeiffer ever wake up until noon there was no point in hanging around. Sturmhalten was on the way or I wouldn’t have bothered picking this guy up.”

“You won’t be tired when you get back tomorrow?” asked Agatha.

“I slept last night, I’m fine.” Gill reassured her. He honestly would be. After a few years of almost no sleep these days he sometimes felt he had too much energy.

“As I will be traveling back the way we came I’m sure the residual terror will keep me wide awake throughout tomorrow.” Tarvek added.

“Nothing’s going to happen, I don’t know why you keep complaining.”

“Has he compensated for the blowby stabilizers yet?” Agatha happily joined in with the bickering, no longer lonely in the slightest.

Winter solstice 21st December:

Agatha finally stepped away from her device and stopped humming. To be honest she had really only been fiddling with it. She was just a little nervous. She knew she shouldn’t be but she wanted this to be special.

She was told that the last few years, in order to light the midnight bonfire the town would just pile a load of fireworks and light a five minute fuse. But previous Heterodynes would occasionally use this as an excuse to test a death ray and the result was supposed to be spectacular.

She really hoped her device lived up to that.

She checked the clock on the timer one last time and stepped back to stand beside Tarvek and Gil. Both of them had remembered how she used to celebrate the day with Adam and Lilith and had each given her a book. She was glad she had decided to get them each one as well.

Gil had given her a copy of one the first ever (and somewhat more accurate) Heterodyne Boys Novels, signed by the author, while she had given him ‘Flights of Fancy – a comprehensive guide to experimental aircraft’. Tuvak gave her ‘Meticulous Miniatures – the definitive work on delicate clockworking’ and she gave him ‘Ye comprehensive Poysons & Antydotes - annotated version’ since Violetta told her his old one was practically worn out. Gil gave Tuvak ‘The restoration of a Legacy’ the latest book about the Muses. It was the one that had a lengthy section about Tuvak’s efforts in it. In turn Tuvak gave Gil the latest Trelawney Thorpe book, the one that hadn’t even been published yet. Gil grumbled about Tuvak corrupting Wooster for it but almost immediately started reading.

It had been a wonderfully peacefully day.

But now it was nearly midnight and most of the town was gathered around a massive unlit bonfire. There had been dancing & songs and food & drink earlier but now everyone was waiting.

At five minutes to midnight a dark cloud started coming from the castle. It was barely visible, Agatha only spotted it because she was waiting for it. She had been told that one of the previous Heterodynes thought that there was no point in celebrating a festival of lights if it wasn’t properly dark first. She was also told that since the Castle hadn’t had the power to do this since it had been almost destroyed this would be many residents first time celebrating properly. Another reason why she was nervous for this to go well.

About one minute before midnight it finally started.

All the lights in the town turned off.

With the moon and stars no longer visible the world was nothing but darkness. I was like being deep underground save for the gradually strengthening smell of ozone.

It was a great primal darkness.

She couldn’t see anything not even her hand in front of her face (something she couldn’t help but check). There was a silence as a feeling of anticipation built all around.

Then it was midnight.

The Doombell rang the hour.

There was a few soft thumps as some people who were still not used to it fainted but not many. She didn’t have to see to know that Gil was grinning wildly and Tuvak had the polite vague expression he used to hide any number of emotions.

She had asked them once what they heard when the Doombell rang.

Gil had just shrugged and said to him it would always reminded him of when Agatha had been announced as Heterodyne. That she was not only safe but that she had won. One perfect moment in the middle of all the chaos. If there were negative effects he never really noticed.

Tuvak had deflected at first saying he’s asked others and some said it was a gaping maw of dread. Others said it reminded them of dying. He eventually admitted that reminded him of the Si Vles Valeo. She had him what part as a lot had happened during that. He had just shrugged and said all of it.

It supposed that was as good an answer she was going to get. To her it wasn’t like that. For her it both did and didn’t remind her of the Si Vles Valeo, of drinking from the Dyne, of fixing the castle. The sense of exhilaration. The feeling of being correct. Of showing them, showing them all. But mostly it felt like home. There was really no way for her to properly explain how, not even to herself. But it was home in the way she never felt before. It was right.

The last echo of the bell faded in the distance and there was complete silence as the town held its breath. After a few moments a soft click could be heard. Agatha grabbed the two next to her excited, this was it.

CRACKABOOM!!!

The massive bolt of lightning shot up from the bonfire. The wood burned white, blinding everyone around for one brilliant moment. Blinking away spots (maybe she had been a bit too enthusiastic) she glanced up at the sky. The lightning bolt had shot up and blown a hole in the cloud above showing stars. The edge of the hole was flickering with yellow and orange. It spread, slowly at first but then speeding up until the whole sky was on fire. It worked!

There was a roar of cheering.

The cloud wasn’t dense enough for the spectacle to last long but while it did it was an amazing sight. She laughed out loud. Of course her ancestors had decided to the best way to entice the sun back was to basically threaten where it lived.

She hugged the two beside her. This had been a wonderful year.

She couldn’t wait for the next one.