The Pauper Princess and the Way of the Trilobite - Part 9!

[maramcc]

Part eight is here.

What: a fanfiction for Girl Genius, featuring my literary stand-in and stunt double Mara
Time: finally, it's five months after that other thing before this thing happened, and after another thing...! I lost my place. Does anybody really know what time it is?

Legal disclaimer stuff:
"This story is not approved by, sponsored by or affiliated with Studio Foglio LLC or Airship Entertainment."

The Pauper Princess Fanfiction Theatre Presents:
The Pauper Princess and the Way of the Trilobite - Part 9!


For the better part of an hour Mara was dogpiled with questions about every detail of her time in Dupree's airship, no matter how insignificant it seemed. It became clear right away that she would need to enter a state of perfect clarity to recall what they needed. She quietly went into her own Madness and used it to mentally return herself to the scene and was able to recall every detail. Now it was all they could do to keep up with the sudden barrage of information.

Agatha forbade them asking questions about the technology that Mara had used - not the Guildern steel, the suit, its weapons, the black sand, the talkboxes, or even the batteries that powered them and her other devices. Mara felt that she had made enough trouble for her cousin and Lady by revealing herself a bit earlier than planned, and followed her lead in the conversation.

The Mousehearts' invitation to the two Emperors to tour Guildern and enjoy its hospitality fell on deaf ears, or in the case of Emperor Tarvek, hard-of-hearing ears. He admitted to, time permitting, a willingness to give consideration to reviewing their invitation. They knew what that meant, but smiled and thanked him.

Agatha and Violetta were discharged from the hospital a day later, with special provisions made for Violetta's transport. All of the Mousehearts saw them off for their departure, meaning that Isabel could finally give Agatha her drawings and a farewell hug. Mara presented her cousin with a going-away gift of a sample of Guildern steel and catalyst, its formula, the specifications for her construction suit, black sand, and battery, and a replacement for her damaged talkbox. The Mousehearts were left with the mandate to shore up defense - something which Mara finally agreed to.

*********************

During the next week or so the co-rulers of New Europa scoured the land for debris and body parts. It was unclear to the Mousehearts if it was a cooperative effort or a competitive one. Their offer for Guildern to assist had been patted on the head, thanked, and then dismissed. Mara wasn't surprised about the Emperors turning them down, and tried not to read too much into Agatha's rebuff, gentle though it was. Mara's work at home might not have been world-saving, but it was her work, and she looked forward to resuming it. Theo and Sleipnir had already been sworn to secrecy, both about her family ties and the new, top secret project for Guildern's defenses. She wasn't certain what to make of Theo's giddiness about the latter, though. Sparks...

With no direction from their liege other than "defense!," the Mousehearts mostly resumed their normal lives, and also began acting on their decision to conceive another child. The Mousehearts mutually desired a large family and saw no reason to stop at three.

Agatha had not contacted them since her stay at Guildern General Hospital, until now, an inopportune late night during which the Mousehearts were engaged in the act of conception. A brief argument ensued whether to ignore the "boop" of the talkbox that Mara had carelessly left on the nightstand rather than in her workshop. Neither Mouseheart had really expected to hear from her again any time soon. The debate ended when Kelvin answered the call thanks to Mara losing her momentum, so there was really nothing else for it.

Also, Agatha was their liege and was, in essence, summoning them.

Or she'd been captured again.

The real purpose was that Agatha suddenly appeared onscreen - wild hair, green-tinted goggles, maniacal grin - demanding to know how soon Mara could get to Mechanicsburg. For family business. As in, family business. Mara wearily took the talkbox from Kelvin and did not greet her cousin with her customary warm smile. Her Ladyship seemed not to notice, and babbled about "important work" ahead for her, and howsooncouldshegetthere. After Mara managed to get in a word, it was revealed that her presence was important, but not "imminent death important." Based on that she managed to negotiate an arrival first thing in the morning, rather than... now. She sensed that it was pointless to ask for say, two weeks hence in order to rearrange her schedule. The call was ended by Agatha herself as soon as arrangements were made, but not before a half-second of her shouting at someone regarding whatever experiment she was running at the time.

Mara debated hurling her talkbox, which she had been so proud of inventing and sharing with her cousin, into the fireplace. She reconsidered and put it aside.

"I wish I knew what she wants," she grumbled. "But I'll do my best to return before the end of the day."

Kelvin bit his lip. "You do whatever it is you're supposed to do there," he said with resignation. "For what it's worth, I don't like being excluded. Even if it's because of super-secret Heterodyne... uh, secrets. You wouldn't happen to have any inkling what they are, would you?"

"You think I know more than you?" she said. "Maybe it's the secret formula for cleaning the Castle. Or how to make Jäger. Or something."

He pondered this. "Actually, making Jäger is a super-secret Heterodyne secret."

"Ah, right," she said tiredly. "Just what I need to learn right now. Well, I promise not to bring any home with me."

"You're so thoughtful," he said, kissing her cheek. He hovered his lips around her face a bit, then moved to her neck. Kisses and caresses on the side of her neck rarely failed to soothe and comfort. Tonight they did fail, but she greatly appreciated his efforts.

*********************

"MY LADY," said the Castle, "IF YOU'LL PARDON THE INTERRUPTION, DO YOU WISH FOR ME TO BLOW THE APPROACHING AERIAL INVADER FROM THE SKY?"

"Invader??" said Agatha, all but throwing aside her chair around the breakfast nook. Zeetha and Higgs were already on their feet and ready for anything. "How large? What kind? Does it have any markings?"

"AHH, IT IS A BIT SMALL," said the Castle. "PERHAPS A MISSILE OR PROBE. I RECOMMEND ONLY TWO TORCHMEN, THEN. LESS MUSS AND FUSS."

"Markings!"

"WE CAN ALWAYS CHECK FOR THOSE AFTER THE DESTRUCTION?"

"Castle!"

"AHHH, VERY WELL. OH, I DO APOLOGIZE, MISTRESS. YOU WERE CORRECT THIS TIME TO HESITATE. I SEE A MOUSEHEART SIGIL. I DID OVERHEAR SOME TALK EARLIER ABOUT THE PRINCESS. COULD THIS BE HER?"

"Yes, Castle, that is the Princess, and that would be her flying here in her suit. So... bring out the red carpet, not the red river of blood!"

"HMMM," said the Castle. "THE ANALOGY NEEDS WORK, BUT IT'S EARLY YET."

Agatha grumbled quietly to herself as she left the breakfast room. Zeetha and Higgs followed, minus their own grumblings.

******

"WELCOME HOME, MY LADY."

"Thank you, Castle," said Mara. "But really, I think of Guildern as-"

"Ahh, right on time!" she heard Agatha shouting from one end of the corridor.

Agatha, Zeetha and Higgs hurried to the foyer just as Mara finished climbing out of and locking up the suit. She wore a black, two-piece, skin-tight flight suit. She shouldered a large satchel that carried comfortable clothing for her visit. She was putting on her best face for this occasion, and smiled and greeted them warmly, taking care with Agatha due to her injuries and surgery. She decided that it was prudent to simply shake Zeetha's and Higgs' hands.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," said Agatha, slipping an arm into Mara's to begin leading her from the foyer into the Castle proper. "I know that you keep a very busy schedule."

Mara smiled mildly. "Nothing that couldn't be moved around, Ma’am," she said. She tried not to think about the two project kickoffs, three requirements reviews, two spec finalizations, and a parent-teacher meeting today that all needed to be postponed, delegated or canceled. And tried not to think about arranging for wet nurses for baby Silas, who had not yet been weaned.

Without looking back Mara could tell that Zeetha and Higgs were poking around her suit. This did not bother her. She was quiet during the walk and only inquired about Violetta, who she was informed was recovering as crankily as expected. Beyond that Mara only answered questions, and as briefly as possible. Agatha wondered aloud about this; Mara dismissed it as being "tired." Smiles or not, she never did have Kelvin's knack for fully hiding a poor mood.

*********************

Mara set down her satchel on a table in Agatha's laboratory. This was a different facility than Agatha had shown her during her last visit. It made sense; Agatha had the run of a gigantic castle filled with the personal labs of her ancestors. She could make use of as many as she liked.

In spite of all the impressive equipment, devices, chemicals, books, and more, the first things that Mara noticed upon arrival were Isabel's crayon drawings depicting different combinations of the family, Agatha, Violetta, and even Agatha's "kitty" Krosp. They were all hung up noticeably on the walls. She studied them quietly, a genuine smile forming on her face as she looked from one to the other.

Agatha interrupted her contemplation via a loud Thump! of a large, very old, handbound tome onto one of the worktables. Mara said nothing, but turned her attention to her Ladyship.

"I know I've been vague about the reason you're here," said Agatha. "You understand that there's only so much I can say on the talkbox?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And you also need to understand that nothing you see or hear today leaves this room. Nothing. Not for anyone. Not even Kelvin."

"I understand," said Mara. "May I ask now why I'm here?"

"You may ask," said Agatha with a wry smile. "It will come out over time." She appeared about to push the book her way, then paused and sat down, her arms folded across it. Mara followed her lead and pulled up a chair.

"First, we need to clear the air," said Agatha. "I think we both realize that a 'mentor/student' relationship was a good idea, but not in execution." She quickly held up a hand to stop Mara's attempt to interrupt before it could start. "The truth is... we need to find something that works for us. We were friends once. I feel like that's on shaky ground now, and I think that - All right, I've been told that a lot of it was my fault."

"Not by me, I assure you."

"I know," said Agatha. "Not by you. But you might have thought it." Mara looked away in discomfort. "That's all right. I learned, from someone who's a better and more experienced teacher than I, that I was too intent on trying to make you just like me. As if my way is the only way to be a Heterodyne. We - the family - share certain traits, certain styles, certain... ways of thinking, and no, they are not all about making war. What was my fault is that that's the side I was trying to force you into. And it's exactly what you detest. So... I can't blame you if you were ashamed of me."

"Agatha, please, no, you misunderstand," said Mara. "It was never shame. It was... was..."

"Fear?"

Mara considered her reply a long time, then eventually showed a small shrug. "For lack of a better term."

"Hm," said Agatha. "Yes, I can come on a bit strong." She waited for Mara to meet her gaze again, and then showed another wry smile. This seemed to relax her cousin a bit. "I miss our friendship. Therefore! I propose that we start fresh. First, I promise not to expect you to drop everything whenever I call, like now. Unless it's an emergency, of course. Captured by pirates. That sort of thing." Mara couldn't help a giggle, then beat it back. "I want 'family' to be our first relationship, not 'Lady and subject.'"

"I'd like that very much," said Mara quietly.

"Then we have an accord," said Agatha in mock seriousness.

"Agatha..." said Mara with some uncertainty, "Have I made things more difficult for you because of confessing to your fellow Emperors? And if I have, is there anything I can do to make it right?"

"Don't worry about them," said Agatha with a wave. "Believe it or not, it's relieved some of my burden. Oh, they were angry with me for 'hiding' you and blustered a lot about it, but that's being managed. They're not a threat to you; in time, they should be as much an ally to you as to me. But that will take trust, and that needs to be built. Meanwhile, they know to leave you alone or have to deal with me. Oh, and before I forget, I told them about King Silas' ailment. They're going to research it, as I am."

"You have no idea how comforting that is," said Mara. "Thank you."

Agatha nodded, then pushed the book slowly towards Mara. "I cannot stress enough how important it is that none of this leaves this room. Understood?" Mara nodded. "And not just the secrecy, but you have to be ready to see this. I think you are. Are you ready?"

"Oh, dear," said Mara, rubbing her neck. "This is not how I expected my week to begin-!"

"Are- you- ready?"

"Yes!" said Mara. "Sorry, I was just trying a little joke, and-"

"Then tell me what this book is about," said Agatha. "But you cannot - cannot - look past the third page. Not yet. Understand?"

"I do," said Mara, staring at the one-word title, which was upside-down and not in a familiar language. "Am I... to learn things man was not meant to know?"

Agatha grinned. "Oh, yes."

"I see," said Mara, putting a hand on her face. "This is how to make Jäger, isn't it?"

Agatha sputtered a bit, then recovered. "Is it?" she said. "You think so? Then prove it. No guesses." She flipped the book open to the first page. Mara peered at the writing. Her eyes widened, and her mouth went slack.

"I, I can't--" She looked up. "What sort of writing is this? Is this even a language?"

"You tell me," said Agatha. "Is it a language? Is it code? And do not go past three pages! Remember that!"

"I remember, but-- I-I'm not a cryptographer, or even a linguist. What am I supposed to do with this? Wait: are you saying that you haven't translated this and want me to try it?"

Agatha recoiled in mock indignation. "You wound me, cousin. I have translated it. Think, Mara: this was written by Heterodynes. And only Heterodynes. The codes and translations have never been passed down. Do you know why? Because they've never needed to be. They're inside all of us. Find them. They're in there."

She moved from her seat and went to Mara's side, and gestured to the writing on the first page. "Look at it," she said. "Really look at it. It's familiar, isn't it? It's on the tip of your tongue and the edge of your eye. You might have seen these patterns, these symbols, these rhythms, somewhere. Maybe... in the encryptions you use for your own notes?"

"What's that? I don't encrypt my notes."

"What??" said Agatha. "Gyah! That's lesson one at University! Always encrypt your personal notes!"

"I'm sorry!" said Mara. "You know I never had formal schooling. And I didn't think I wrote anything worth stealing!"

"You do now," said Agatha, leaning close. “You always have.” It took Mara a moment to realize what she meant. She nodded slowly, then looked again at the page, turning only the first one so as to view pages two and three, and was careful to go no further. She stared at the first page, her eyes darting all around until settling in at the beginning. Agatha moved back to her own seat and watched her cousin. She had come to recognize the gross dilation of her pupils as the first sign of her Madness.

"It's not that we're born with the languages or the codes," Agatha said, standing slowly. "But there are certain ways that we think alike. Like no one else does. You can tap into that, Mara. I know you can!"

As if on cue, Mara squeezed the fingers of her right hand together and started absently scratching the table with them. Agatha realized the significance right away and hurried to a cupboard. She pulled out a pile of blank paper and some writing implements and put them directly under her arm and into her hand, respectively. Mara, never looking away from the page, continued writing.

Agatha began backing out of the room. "Keep going," she said. "I'll return shortly with some refreshing beverages."

"No coffee, please."

Agatha paused at that, then smiled to herself before stepping into the hallway and shutting the door behind her. Violetta and Krosp happened to be outside and were not at all trying to eavesdrop. Violetta sported a most fashionable neck brace and walking cast. Krosp wore his usual Emperor's coat. He kept his paws behind his back and regarded Agatha with suspicion.

"This is a bad idea," he said. "Trusting a woman that I hardly know with the most closely-guarded secrets of your family? What are you thinking?"

"I'm afraid this is out of your jurisdiction, Krosp," said Agatha, resisting the urge to pat him on the head. "It's not my fault you were asleep during most of her last visit. How you managed that with everything that was going on, I'll never know."

Krosp waved it off. "Please," he said. "It felt like the Castle was just rearranging its floor plan again, not-- fighting killer clowns, or whatever happened here. Mark my words: this woman is not your successor!"

"Nor is she meant to be."

"My Lady," said Violetta, "I was wondering; what do you expect her to do in there?" Krosp slapped his face. Why did she always set up her mistress like that? "Is it the book she's looking at? Do you really expect her to translate it? I mean, how long did it take you?"

"A week, more or less," said Agatha in a surprisingly normal tone (and to Krosp’s great relief). "It's not about the success, but the journey. I want her to start thinking like a Heterodyne. I don't expect her to translate much of anything, if at all, but to kick-start that thought process. Then later, she'll be able to come back and finish it."

"Ohhh," said Violetta. "Good thinking, my Lady."

"You two may stay if you wish," said Agatha, "But I'm off to fetch us some drinks!"

***************

Agatha smiled as she brought in two mugs of clear, but shimmering liquid and set them down near Mara. The table was now covered with sheets of paper, most of those just as covered with her notes and scribblings. She did not look up at Agatha's approach, but continued writing, writing, writing. Agatha watched her a moment, then started skimming the notes on some of the pages. There was the block cipher, decoded. The mathematical cipher, decoded. The column patterns, decoded. Agatha had not told her that the book had six levels of encryption. She had unraveled three of those knots already and was well into the fourth.

Agatha set down the notes slowly and watched her cousin flipping the pages back and forth, tracing lines with her finger, writing some more, flipping back, turning the book sideways, writing some more, turning it upside-down, writing more. Agatha had been gone for twenty minutes.

"Mara?" she said.

"Not done yet," said Mara, her eyes still on the book, writing, writing, writing.

"It's all right," said Agatha, tugging on the book. Mara resisted. "You can stop. It's all right. You've done very well. Just stop for a moment. Take a break. Please?"

After a pause, Mara let her win the tug-of-war. She held onto her pen but sat back in her chair and stared at nothing while Agatha shut the book and set it aside.

"I was right," said Mara distantly. "Their creation, their anatomy, their care..." She finally looked to Agatha. "I'm not done yet, but I can tell. The Jäger. That's what this is."

"Correct," said Agatha quietly. "You know, I didn't think you'd-" She stopped, shook her head, cleared her throat and sat up. "Yes. This is the Book of the Jägerkin. They all know - the Jäger - that if they're in trouble - real trouble - they find a Heterodyne. They find us." She opened the book again, this time to the forbidden pages four and five. She pushed the book towards Mara, turning it as she went.

Mara could not help latching on to every detail of every illustration before her. Detailed, anatomical illustrations, progressively showing every layer of a Jäger's body, from the skin and hair to the marrow in the bones. Of course; it was all so simple. Any mad doctor should be able to make his or her own, and yet... no one else could. No one else who was not a Heterodyne. That part was just as simple and just as true.

Agatha watched her cousin quietly as Mara flipped slowly through the pages, scanning every part of every page. Perhaps even committing them to memory. Agatha smiled and closed the book again, then folded her arms across it.

"Yes," said Mara, again more to herself than Agatha, "If I ever wanted to make constructs, it's how I would do it. How I would do it. If I ever wanted to."

"Follow me," said Agatha, and picked up the book before leading Mara to another part of the laboratory. She stopped at a solid wall, which Mara could tell at a glance was not solid, but was a door leading to a secret room. Agatha pushed seemingly-random stone blocks and bric-a-brac in sequence, then led her inside of the secret vault. It was surprisingly bare. Agatha activated yet another secret code to open a smaller door. She placed the book on a shelf, then carefully pulled out a test tube covered with a stopper. Inside was a small amount of a milky liquid.

"I'll let you guess this time," said Agatha.

"Jägerdraught," said Mara.

"You sound pretty certain."

"I'm just trying to be deductive," said Mara. "If you're showing me the 'how-to' book, it makes sense that you'd show me the next part."

"And... you're right," said Agatha. "Jägerdraught. And you won't believe this! After all these years, I found it sitting in a nondescript lab, along with a lot of other junk chemicals. When I examined this, I couldn't identify all components at first, but something seemed familiar. I checked it against the book, and to my near-disbelief, it was there! The compounds, the molecular structure. Can you believe it??"

Mara leaned in to give the liquid a closer look, then she rubbed her chin in thought. "I'm... not so certain anymore."

"Really?" said Agatha. "You were just a moment ago."

"It's..." said Mara. She put her hand on her forehead and furrowed her brow, as if trying to remember something deep in the past. "It's a feeling. It's a... I hope you'll pardon this, but aren't Heterodynes known for being mysterious, and secretive, and... I don't know how else to say it -  devious?"

"Your point being?"

"Not a point," said Mara, "But a question: is the formula that you found, and that matched this liquid, the real one? I only ask because... Judging by what I saw, every word of the book is coded in some way. Is the real formula, given its worth, even more hidden than usual? I mean... even for a book like this?"

Agatha's response was a long, hard stare.

"If you're offended, that was not my intention," said Mara. "It's just something that came to me. You know me; I'm the... face-value sort. I'm just mentioning it as a possibility. I-I assume the same occurred to you, and you've explored it already?"

"I see," said Agatha quietly, putting the tube back in its place and shutting and locking the small vault. She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms, looking down her nose at Mara. Her cousin tried not to fidget.

"You're correct," said Agatha. "It's not the real Jägerdraught. And I was fooled by this, at first." A wicked grin crept onto her face. "Follow me." She led Mara out of the large vault and to none other than a cleaning closet, with cleaning supplies and everything. From the top shelf, where all the other jars, glasses and jugs of cleaning fluids were, she carefully retrieved a glass bottle with a sprayer on top and labeled "Mirakle Kastle Kleaner! So klear and sparkling you'll swear it's marble!" There was very little liquid inside. Agatha swirled it gently, and it briefly gave off a light blue glow before settling back into clear.

"This is the Jägerdraught," she said, and grinned. "And I intend to replenish its supply. Soon." She turned away to put it back on its shelf... and missed the half-smile forming on Mara's face. After shutting the closet door, Agatha went to a large machine with many cables and wires connected to it. She unscrewed a large cable and carried it to the table where lay Mara's notes and the two glasses of shimmering water. She picked up a glass.

"Care for a toast?" she said. "To a new beginning?"

Mara eyed the cable in her hand instead. "That wouldn't happen to be live, would it?" she said. "You know that electricity and liquids... do interesting things when put together?"

"Do you trust me?" said Agatha. She tilted her head and again peered down her nose at Mara.

"...Yes?" Mara gingerly picked up the other glass.

Agatha clinked hers to Mara's, then downed her water in one shot. Mara watched for a few seconds for any signs that told her to run away. When there were none, she emptied her own glass and set it down slowly. The water was cool in her mouth, but tingled her throat as it went down. She felt a surge in her belly that was not at all painful, like gas, but just that: a surge. The water wasn't sweet, so sugar wasn't the cause of that sensation. Nor was it tingly in the same way that a seltzer was, which was merely due to an infusion of carbon dioxide. It was as if she had just drunk liquid energy rather than plain

Oh, my...

With a giant grin and a laugh that started low and deep, then built into a full cackle, Agatha grabbed Mara's hand and stuck the live end of the cable against their linked arms.

***************

"I know how bumblebees fly," said Mara in a daze as she and Agatha stumbled together through the Castle's corridors.

Agatha snickered, then fell into a laugh. "The mysteries of the universe opened before us, and that's the one you take?"

"It's a genuine mystery!" Mara protested. "And..." She gasped. "The square root of negative-one! Oh, my goodness."

"Now you're talking."

"The speed of light can be surpassed," she continued. "I can shrink people and back without causing them harm. I can stop time. I can divide by zero. I know the last digit of pi! It's all so simple!! Terribly complicated, that is, but in a simple way. Simply Complicated!" She giggled and clasped her hands together, babbling gleefully to herself about other impossible ponderables made possible.

Agatha was content to watch her experience the waters of the Dyne for the first time. They had successfully discharged the buildup of power that might have caused their violent combustion. Poor Moloch had had a near miss as he was pushing a cart of equipment down that particular corridor; a big blast of Dyne energy had shot through the open door, followed by the giddy cackling of Agatha and that nervous cousin of hers. Moloch had paused, blown out some air in a tired hiss, then carried on as before. No point in looking inside. Nope.

Agatha patted Mara on the shoulder, breaking her meditation.

“May I take some home??” said a wild-eyed Mara.

“Sorry,” said Agatha. “It’s a local brew only. Only when you’re in town.”

Mara lowered her head and let out a little whimper.

“Excuse me,” said Agatha, foldering her arms. “Heterodynes do not whimper.”

Mara shrugged. “It was worth a try. Never works for my children, either. Oh, you’re going to make a wonderful mum some day!”

Agatha’s reflex was to assume mockery at that, but Mara’s smile was so big and so genuine, she instead just watched her cousin turn away and resume their post-Dyne water walk through the Castle. And it was hardly her style to make fun of people. Mara had gotten a few meters away when she stopped and looked around for Agatha.

“Oh,” she said. “Something wrong, hon?”

Agatha tightened her mouth and shook her head. “Not at all.” She quickly caught up to Mara and put an arm around her. "Time to see the sights of Mechanicsburg. You didn't want coffee earlier. Don't care for it, eh?"

"No," she said. "I might be the only person alive who doesn't like the smell, and that's a big part of the sense of taste. But I tried it once. It made me... very nervous."

"I'm sure it does,” said Agatha with a knowing smile. “But we’ll say ‘hello’ to the coffee house gang, anyway."

Part ten is here.