“So you really want us to take a space vacation?” Andy asked the next day. He and Bill had felt well enough to join them in the lab to discuss the matter.


    “Not so much a vacation as a critical mission to help free the ogres from the control of the Agency,” Cal explained, knowing that, yes, it was likely partially going to be a space vacation.


    “No matter what Andy decides, I want to go,” Bill said excitedly.


    “Hey, I never said I wasn’t going. I’d like to meet a few more aliens that aren’t so hostile,” Andy replied.


    Twonger laughed loudly before speaking. “Who the hell said anything about them not being hostile? Yeah probably won’t be Under Library level of insanity, but I don’t really think anything is. Then again, with both of you two around, I’m probably screwed,” Twonger said, his eyes darting from Andy to Cal and back.


    “You certainly are after that comment. Try to bring me back anything that seems interesting please. I’d really like any of the engine components Twonger’s ship uses,” Andrew said, sounding thrilled at the idea of more alien technology.


    “With what money exactly? I ain’t exactly flush with cash, and none of you have anything worth trading. Though, if we are thinking a heist, that could be fun,” Twonger said, smiling.


    “No heist unless it becomes absolutely necessary to get what we need for Sean’s collar,” Cal said, doing his best to dash Twonger’s impulse. Not that he was totally against it, but right now, they needed to stay alive for the rest of the loop, and adding some angry alien merchants to the list of people trying to kill them didn’t seem like the best way to continue that plan.


    “Got it, no heist,” Twonger replied with a wink, which looked incredibly odd for a man with one eye. Cal would have thought he was having trouble blinking if it weren’t for the strange lean-in he did alongside it.


    “You’re all going to die; I hope you know that,” Andrew said with one of his own rare laughs.


    “Alright, let’s plan to head out in the next few days if Andy and Bill are feeling ready to go. I’ll let Harold know the plan,” Cal said, about to add more, but was cut off by a strange intrusion in his core. Something had just forced its way into Grannus’ rocky realm, and he didn’t know what it was. “Sorry, gotta go, there’s a weird presence in Grannus’ area.”This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    “Never a boring day here,” Twonger said as Cal realized the man was chasing from the room.


    “I take it you’re coming along,” Cal called back as he raced toward the entrance to the rocky realm.


    “Someone has to keep you alive,” Twonger replied, both of them dodging around several kids and animals as they ran. It took them a handful of minutes before they found themselves surrounded by rocky walls.


    “Grannus, can you hear me? What’s wrong?” Cal called out to his mana spirit. He hoped the spirit finished aligning this realm soon, he didn’t like the lack of mental connection he had gotten used to with them all.


    “Nothing is wrong; someone just did something they thought would be hilarious. I’m not sure I agree,” the deep voice rumbled across the tunnels as the mana spirit appeared in front of him.


    “What? Who did what?” Cal asked, confused. Who the hell had enough power around here to break into one of his realms? Was it one of the kids? He had no idea, and joke or not wasn’t overly big on the idea.


    “Follow me; it will be easiest to explain on you see it,” Grannus replied, floating down the tunnel, leading them deeper into the realm.


    “Ya know, this place reminds me of home. I like the rocks. Ma would love it,” Twonger said as they walked, giving Cal the first real glimpse he had into the alien’s homeworld and life before all of this. Had either of them ever mentioned their parents before? He wasn’t sure.


    “Just what kind of home did you grow up on?” Cal asked as they chased after Grannus.


    “Don’t worry about it,” Twonger answered. Cal was about to give his own snarky reply when Grannus stopped ahead of them, the intrusion now very obvious. There was a giant root growing through several large cracks in the stone wall, cracks that were increasingly crumbling away as Cal looked at them.


    “Uh, is this what I think it is?” He asked, having an idea of just who was playing the joke.


    “Yes, it is,” a perpetually crabby voice yelled from the other side of the cracks. “Now, get some of these rocks moved so I can have this passage properly opened up. Several of the animals are looking forward to the idea of caverns.”


    “Oh, I can have visitors? Cal, please help her, I would very much enjoy some of the animals coming to live here. It gets very lonely here sometimes,” Grannus said, their voice now full of an enthusiasm Cal had rarely heard in the spirit.


    “Alright, alright,” Cal said before reaching his hand out to the stone and pushing some of his mana into it, shaping it away from the cracks. It went much easier here in his own realm than it would have on Earth, and within minutes, there was light shining in from the other side. Standing there were Ethel, Gus, and Mr. Oakbert. He was reasonably sure he had never seen this area of the Gardens before. Had it expanded?


    “There we go; the first path of the Mother Tree has been completed without a hitch. What she we do for the next experiment?” Ethel asked, looking at Cal as she spoke.


    “Where are we exactly?” Cal asked, still unsure of the location.


    “This is the new cliffside expansion of my realm. Soon, that area over there will be a nice lake,” Ethel said, pointing to a largely empty divet in a field a sizeable distance away. Cal was amazed at just how much she seemed to have been able to expand the Gardens this quickly.