The train reached the town outside the Goldiron facilities long after the sun had dipped below the horizon. It was apparently much further away from the portal facility than the Emerald Bay facility had been; the car that Goldiron had sent only picked them up and left them at a nearby hotel, where a room had been booked in their names. Alex and the others gratefully filed away into the bland, impersonal rooms, and slept for a while, happy enough to have a place to lie down after being on the train for so long.

Alex slept well and rose on the following morning. She had just finished putting on her Royal Purple uniform, to prepare for their meeting with Goldiron, when she heard a startled yelp outside in the hallway, followed by a muffled crash. Frowning, she finished with the last handful of buttons and jogged over to the door.

She opened it and found a small scene of chaos.

Audrey, in all her grinning glory, had tackled Joanna, who was futilely trying to wrestle the Squire off of her. Clara had poked her head out of her own room, and was grinning along with Alessa at the scene. Sam was standing further down the hallway, alternating between making calming gestures to other curious residents of the hallways and trying to restrain his own laughter.

Alessa looked over at Alex and snorted. "Morning. How are things going for you?"

Alex grinned and shrugged. "Good enough. I thought we'd be meeting you up at the facility?"

The Porter rolled her eyes. "Apparently, they wanted you to be in a room with a bunch of suits first. You have a lot of paperwork waiting for you, unfortunately." Alex remembered the process they'd gone through at Emerald Bay and groaned in pain before Alessa continued. "We figured it would be better for you to see a few friendly faces before the lawyers got to you today."

"Yeah! Besides, we want to hear all about the good stuff." Audrey grinned at Alex from the floor, even as Joanna continued to protest. "You guys were absolutely holding out on us the last time you were here."

Sam leaned against a nearby wall, his arms folded. "Holding out on you? Why, whatever do you mean?"

The Squire finally let Joanna free in order to jump to her feet, pointing an accusatory finger at Sam. "I'm talking about whatever happened back at Royal Purple! They even gave it another nickname. What was it, Lessa?"

Alessa grimaced at her apparent nickname. "The Royal Scandal."

"Yeah, what really happened? Cause I'm not buying the idea that you just happened to run across another one of those crystals, Al. I know you better than that."

Audrey's eyes were locked on Alex now, and she had to take a step back. As strong as Alex was, she wasn't going to stand up to a full Squire whose blood was up. "I, uh, don't know what you mean."

This time, even Alessa gave her a skeptical look, and Alex grimaced. Before she could try to rescue her lie, Sam sighed. "Even if there was more to it, the middle of a hotel hallway isn't the best place to discuss things. Wouldn't you say?"

Alessa turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. "I… guess I can understand that. As long as we get the full story, eventually."

Alex nodded as she watched Joanna slowly lever herself back up from the floor. She glanced at Clara and Sam, both of whom gave her uncertain nods as well. "That's fine. So, you're here to bring us to the meeting?"

The Porter nodded. "Yeah. They just want to go over the contract and get a few of the details hammered out." She paused. "Then all you have to worry about is the media specialists, and then we'll be good to give you guys an introduction to the portal."

She blinked and exchanged a look with Joanna. "Wait, the what?"

"No, no, no, this won't do at all." The man walked around her and shook his head, his sharp eyes roving over the Royal Purple uniform that Alex wore. She felt her hand twitch and tried to keep herself from summoning her axe into her grip.

The contract negotiation had been bad enough. It had been another hours-long session with lawyers and negotiations and riders, all of which she'd been itching to get out of the way so that she and the others could go do some real work. Fortunately, this time Joanna had taken the lead, and Alex had managed to convince herself to just wait quietly for the entire torturous experience to be over.

It helped a little that the resulting contract had been much less… fraught with compromises compared to the one they'd signed with Emerald Bay. Goldiron had readily agreed to pay them the exact same rate that Royal Purple had been offering, and had absolutely guaranteed that her team would have two salvage-based Surveys, with a day of rest and training between them. Their train tickets had been paid for, as well as the stay at the hotel and a car service to bring them back and forth between the town and the facility. If anything, the lack of penny-pinching by the Goldiron negotiators had been refreshing.

Unfortunately, there was one catch to the entire thing which Goldiron had been absolutely unwilling to budge on—which was why Alex and the others were now being scrutinized by the company's Public Relations team.

It was going to be a long day.

The man stepped a little closer to Alex than she was comfortable with. He plucked at the sleeve of her uniform and tutted loudly. "No, not at all. We'll need to replace this immediately." With an officious snap of his fingers, he motioned one of his assistants to come forward. "Get her measurements. We can do so much better than this."

Alex blinked and took a step back. "Wait, what?"

He turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. "You don't seriously believe I can allow you to wear that during the Rush."

She winced. Apparently, every year Goldiron sponsored a contest between Surveyors. The Gold Rush was an opportunity for the company to show off the effectiveness of their personnel, with occasional guests invited to participate.

This year, the official guests of honor were going to be Alex and her friends. A press conference afterwards was… not optional.

Yet at the same time, subjecting herself to that torture had limits. She gave the assistant a glare that backed her up a few paces, before turning her attention back to the man. "What's wrong with my uniform?"

"Everything!" He threw his hands up in clear frustration. "I mean, look at it!"

Alex glanced down at her uniform and shrugged. Clara cleared her throat. "He might not like the, ah, repairs, Alex."

The man snorted. "To say the least. It seems like there's more stitching on the repairs than in the seams." He shook his head in clear disdain. "It should have been replaced weeks ago. To say nothing of the other issue."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Which is?"

"It's from Royal Purple." When Alex gave him a blank look, the man sighed in disappointment. "Have you paid no attention to the news? You might as well be wearing a sign that says 'I enjoy causing Escalation Events.' Anything with that color scheme and that logo needs to go. Immediately."

Alex looked back down at the uniform, this time with new eyes. There were more than a few stitched repairs to the cloth, parts where Grue weapons had punched through or griefers had struck her. The wounds beneath had long since healed, in no small part thanks to Clara, but Lifespring didn't have any effect on the uniform. Those repairs had required some salvaged thread and a few hours of needlework from Sam.

While the uniform seemed a little shabby, it was still usable. The grey and purple patterns were still clear enough to make out; she couldn't see it from this angle, but she knew that the purple crown icon was visible on the back. It wasn't something she'd thought about, any more than she'd thought about the wings from Golden Swallow or the sword from Red Blade Securities.

Yet she knew the man was right. Just because the icon and colors didn't mean anything to her, didn't mean others would see them the same way. To the people who'd lost friends, the people who had been given magic poisoning, or who had nearly been harmed or killed by Greylight's schemes, it wouldn't just be a meaningless crown. It was a badge of shame, marking her as one of the enemy.

She grimaced. "All right. We need to change it. What are the options?"

The man nodded with clear satisfaction. "We can replace the uniforms for you, at no cost."

Joanna looked surprised. "At no cost?"

"A part of your contract with us. All media related costs will be covered, remember?" The man's smile was almost smug. "We will have something prepared for you before the Rush. Do you have any requests?"

Alex shook her head. "Only that it works, Mr…"

"Clifton Smith, Ms. Morrison." The man bowed slightly and then looked at the others. "Any objections from the rest of you?"

Joanna shook her head and Clara shrugged, but Sam raised his hand. "A new symbol would be nice, I guess. On the back."

Clifton looked at Sam and nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble. What did you have in mind?"

Sam smiled. "Red sword, pointed down. Gold wings. Purple crown, broken at the bottom. Something like that?"

The man's eyebrow twitched upward, as if he looked intrigued. "Hmm. That does sound… unique." He looked at Alex. "Does that match your expectations, Ms. Morrison?"

She resisted the urge to glare at Sam. "No, that's fine." It sounded like Sam was trying to tick off at least two companies by wearing their logos like trophies, but at least Golden Swallow wasn't around to protest. If worse came to worst, they'd just go back to the Royal Purple clothes. "You're really going to have them done in a day or so?"

Clifton looked as if he was offended. "Of course. We'll have them delivered to your rooms by the end of the day tomorrow. Please let us know if any alterations are necessary, but it shouldn't be a problem." He paused. "As long as you would permit us a few small measurements?"

Alex gritted her teeth and nodded. The assistant regarded her warily before she stepped forward with the measuring tape. This job was getting worse by the minute.

"A change of style might do you some good, Alex. You never know."

Alex would have given her mother a frustrated glare if she could, but the call wasn't set up for video. She had to settle for an annoyed huff. "Easy for you to say. Did Regulation ever change the uniform, or were you just wearing the same thing the whole time?"

Muriel laughed, a slightly unsettling sound. "I'll have you know that there was an entire department of people dedicated to making sure that our uniforms were adjusted and modified correctly. So much effort went into such small details…" Alex could almost picture her shaking her head, her lone eye filled with amusement. "I wouldn't think this would bother you so much, though. It isn't like you've been wearing the same thing this whole time."

"True, but…" Alex continued to pace around her hotel room, where she'd retreated after the last of the formalities had been taken care of. She grimaced. "Those were always something the corps had given me. Something I had to wear."

"Ohh, where this would be something you choose to wear." Muriel's voice was filled with sudden realization. "I see."

The sheer motherly understanding in her voice was somehow grating. "You do, do you?"

Muriel snorted. "I think, my dear daughter, that I am uniquely suited to advise you in this matter." She snorted again. "You're worried about what people will think when they see the new uniform. About what they'll think it means."

Alex nodded without thinking about it. "Yeah. Especially the insignia."

Her mother chuckled a little before she responded. "Not excited about carrying on the family name?"

"I'm supposed to be avoiding any comparisons, Mom." Alex stopped pacing and sat down on the bed, putting a hand to her temple. "If people start to put two and two together…"

Muriel grunted. "That would be inconvenient, but I don't think we'll have to worry." Alex opened her mouth, but her mother just continued without leaving space for an interruption. "Your history at Red Blade will give you a fine cover for things, and even if they start calling you the next Crimson Blade, they wouldn't exactly be inaccurate, would they?"

Alex felt her cheeks heat. "Mom…"

"I know, I know, you're going to be your own Surveyor. Or Pioneer, I suppose." Amusement had returned to her mother's tone, though it faded as she went on. "Still, you're doing fine work, and it's not such a bad thing to have people see you as more than just a momentary headline. You've earned it."

She shook her head. "I'm not you, Mom. I just… want to do what I can. For you. For them."

"And you will." Muriel's voice bore the confidence of a true believer. "I know you will. And honestly, you don't have to worry so much about what people will think. Symbols are a funny thing. If you last long enough, you'll show people exactly what they should expect from you, and anyone wearing your uniform. Just make sure they don't cut your career short, and you'll be fine."

Alex sighed. She leaned back on one hand, staring up at the ceiling. "Thanks Mom. I'll do my best."

Muriel laughed again. "As if I would ever expect anything less. Just make sure that you win this Gold Rush thing. I don't want any daughter of mine getting shown up by amateurs after all."

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"I will, Mom. Love you." Alex hung up and flopped back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling a few moments longer before pushing herself up. She was meeting the others for dinner at a nearby restaurant, and she didn't want to be late.

"…and then the Brute nearly knocked him through the floor!" Audrey laughed, her voice rising above the chorus of chuckles. Alex shook her head, her mouth already full of french fries, and the Squire grinned at her across the table. Clara had been caught mid-drink, and the Acolyte was desperately trying not to spray soda in Alessa's face.

They had met at a burger place a block away from the hotel; it had been an easy enough walk, despite the gathering evening chill. Alex had actually enjoyed wearing normal clothes for once. It seemed like it had been a while since she'd been able to throw on a hoodie and jeans and just pretend to be someone who didn't have enough strength to kick through a door.

Audrey and Alessa had met her there; Clara and Joanna had arrived a bit later, dressed in their own casual clothing. All five of them had gathered at a table and started exchanging stories about what they'd been up to, though Alex and her friends had to either edit their stories or avoid certain portions of their latest adventures. Based on the way their former teammates exchanged the occasional look, Alex would have wagered that their evasiveness had been noticed, but at least the Goldiron Surveyors hadn't directly commented on it.

Alessa waited until the laughter had died down and Clara had recovered before she spoke up. "I'm sure you all have gone through stuff that's just as bad, of course. Besides that whole Royal Scandal thing, I mean." She paused to take a sip of her own soda. "How strong are you guys now? Getting close to C rank?"

Joanna nodded easily. "Alex is the closest of us, still, but we're getting up there. Almost to Ascension 9, actually, despite everything."

Audrey nodded. "That's about where we both are, too! Goldiron's pretty good about keeping us going." She nudged Alessa with something that probably would have been gentle for anyone with less Strength. "We've been getting our Skills up to snuff, too. We might even give you a run for your money, Alex!"

Alex arched an eyebrow and swallowed the latest bite of her meal. "We'll just see about that, Audrey. I've learned a few tricks of my own, in the meantime."

"Well, I can't wait to see a few of them. That's why we've volunteered to show you around the portal tomorrow, don't you know." Alessa grinned as she picked up another chicken nugget. "Though I notice you're missing one of your merry band. Where is Sam, anyway?"

Clara made a dismissive gesture. "Sneak is probably lurking around somewhere. He likes to get the lay of the land whenever we go someplace new. Even I can't catch him sometimes."

Audrey's eyebrows crunched together abruptly. "Wait. Sneak? He has a nickname, too?" She glared at Alessa. "I told you we should have made up our own nicknames! What's yours, Jo? I bet it's a pretty good one."

Joanna rolled her eyes. "They called me Thinker, actually. Not the best, but I guess it could be worse."

"I thought you said Screwball liked it, Joanna." Clara's voice took on a distinctly malicious tone, and Alex had to cough to avoid a laugh. The Acolyte's grin widened as Joanna's cheeks darkened in a blush.

"Oh? Who's Screwball? Another Surveyor?" Alessa's words had the same mischievous bent, and Joanna gave her a helpless glare.

Clara answered before the aggravated Adept could defend herself. "Nope! He's a pilot. A helicopter pilot."

Alessa grinned. "Ooo. That's interesting. A bad boy, maybe?"

Joanna broke in at last, her face practically glowing from her blush. "He's a tiltrotor pilot, actually, and he's very nice." She paused, and then groaned, covering her face with her hands. Clara and Alessa exchanged a look and then started to cackle in a way that made Alex want to avoid their attention for a bit.

Audrey, on the other hand, seemed determined not to be sidetracked. "We already know yours, Alex. I'm guessing Valkyrie still fits." She looked at Clara. "What about you? Maybe Treesprite, or Nightengale, or…"

Clara made a face. "Mine is Seer. You know, on account of…" She gestured to her eyes, which glowed green for a moment. A passing customer jerked in surprise, nearly spilling his tray of food. Alex glanced in his direction as he swerved to avoid their table and eat in a different corner of the restaurant. "Better than all of the other plant-themed ones, believe me."

Audrey shrugged. "Well, I guess that fits. Now I just need one for Lessa and I. What do you think about Oni? Or Giantslayer?"

Alessa muttered something under her breath, and Joanna lifted her head enough to raise an eyebrow. "What happened to Hardrock? You were going on about that last time we mentioned it at Red Blade."

The Squire shrugged with obvious discontent. "Lessa's way tougher than me, at least when it comes to taking a hit. I still smash things better, but I need a nickname that reflects that."

Alex snorted softly. "What about Thud?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Alessa started laughing, and Audrey spun on her. "No. You can't call me—"

"Too late, Thud. Too late."

Audrey pointed an accusatory finger at Alex. "Betrayer!"

With a wide grin on her face, Alex just held up her hands defensively. Before she could say anything, though, she saw Sam come in the door. He looked around as if searching for them. She waved at him, and he smiled and walked over.

Clara was the first to greet him, even as Audrey continued to complain to Alessa. "Well, look who the cat dragged in. Finally got hungry enough to stop sneaking around?"

Sam shrugged. "I have to keep up my shady reputation, you know?" He eyed the table. "Any room for one more?"

"Sure!" Clara got up and scooted around to the opposite side, nudging Alessa and Audrey to make room.

Alex had enough time to catch a devious expression on her friend's face before Sam plopped down next to her. He glanced at her tray. "What's good here?"

She shot Clara a brief glare. "Hamburgers are pretty good. Fries are just okay."

Audrey piped up across the table. "Nuggets are awesome, as always."

Alessa rolled her eyes. "You always say that. Try the fish sticks, Sneak."

He blinked. Then he sighed. "That's already getting around, is it?"

"Too good to keep it quiet, Sam." Clara smiled. "Sorry."

Sam gave her a stern look before he softened it with a smile. "I'm sure." He glanced at Alex and snagged one of her fries before she could react. "Have you been telling any other stories about me, Valkyrie?"

Alex smacked his hand as he grabbed for a second fry. "No, and get your own."

"Sure, sure, will do." He pushed himself back from the table a bit, his hand sliding next to the tray. Then he glanced at Alex, his eyes making contact with hers for just a moment before he stood up and ambled over towards the counter, where a tired-looking teenager was taking a woman's order.

Alex watched him for another moment, even as her hand moved to slip the index card he'd just left her off the table and into her lap. She glanced at Clara, who was frowning at her, before she glanced down.

The card was one in the old, classroom style, a lined anachronism she'd never used herself. There were two different sets of handwriting on it, both of which she recognized. First were Sam's neat letters, crowded into the upper left-hand corner. Forwarded to the hotel. No return address.

Her eyes were drawn to the second set of words, ones that had been scrawled in another hand. She recognized them, now, as Warner's writing—at least, the version of his handwriting that he used when he was trying to be anonymous. Alex didn't quite know how he changed from a flowing, refined script to these clumsy, blocky letters, but at the very least it didn't look like anything an executive working for Greylight would write.

In any case, it was Warner's writing that held her attention and stopped her breath for a moment. Not long, but enough to freeze her in place.

New Project. At Blackmist. No target. Still hidden. Careful.

There was a drawing of a fire below the words, something that clearly told her what Warner wanted her to do with the message when it was done. Her eyes narrowed as she reread it, committing it to memory.

Then she tucked it away in the pocket of her jeans, folding the stiff piece of paper twice so that it would fit. She looked up, and caught Clara looking at her, worry in her eyes. A glance told her that Joanna was watching her with a shadow of concern as well.

They weren't the only ones. Alessa was also watching her, and the flicker of suspicion in her eyes was clear enough. Despite that, the Porter simply nodded to Alex and then turned to roll her eyes at Audrey's latest complaint. Alex felt a flicker of gratitude to her, for at least putting off the questions for a later time.

Yet her mind quickly turned to the index card. Greylight was moving again. They didn't know about her mother, not yet, but they had some other plan in the works. It didn't seem like Warner knew enough to tell her what it was, but he had heard enough to warn her. She grimaced for a moment before she grabbed her burger again.

They needed to get stronger, and fast. Time might already be running short.

[D Rank Pioneer Alex]

[Ascension Level: 9]

[Role: Porter (Role Skills: None)]

[Role Level: 4]

[Experience: 2540/5500]

[Attributes: Strength -> 9, Speed -> 10, Life -> 8, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

[Current Skills: Combat Balance(45), Motion Trance(8), Combined Arms–Axe/Shield(45),

Holy–Storm(45)]

[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers***(16)]

[Current Titles: Empress of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by five.),

Aggression (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, Combined Arms, and Combat Balance Skills by five.),

Fated Hero (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by five),

Eternal Motion (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, Marathoning, and Motion Trance by five.),

Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.),

True Sentinel (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by five.),

Still Flow (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, Sense, and Motion Trance by five.),

Elite (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Battle Maneuvers, Battle Mastery, and Battle Dance by five.),

Lethality (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by five.),

Consecrated (Increases Skill grade of Holy by five.),

War Prowess (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Rush Assault, and Heavy Assault by five.),

War Momentum (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Riposte, and Battle Dance by five.),

Blitz Master (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms, Lunge, and Charge by five),

Deliberate (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Anticipate, and Combined Arms by five.),

Swift (Increases Skill grade of Motion Trance, Evasion, and Charge Assault by four.)]

Alex shook her head as she looked at the Screen.

It was the day after her arrival at the Goldiron facility. She and Sam had already shared the message from Warner with Clara and Joanna, but none of them had been able to turn up the actual meaning of the words beyond a vague warning. There hadn't been nearly enough sleep afterwards.

[Current Portal Status: Stable, Magic Level Stagnant]

[Current Portal Level: D3]

[Anomalous Readings Registered!]

[Salvage Oriented Objectives Recommended]

[Local Area Population: 18 D ranks]

Alessa and Audrey had mentioned that there were other Surveyors running around in the other world, and their own team of six was already there waiting for her and her friends, so it wasn't a surprise that the area wasn't empty this time. She might have been suspicious about an ambush, but she doubted that Blackmist, whatever they were up to, would come after her with D ranks at this point—and she doubted that Goldiron would risk anything interfering with their special day.

She grimaced at the thought of the media circus she'd be facing the next day and focused on the other part of the text that worried her. She'd learned from previous experience that the 'anomalous readings' warning seemed to line up with Liliana's appearances. Alex hadn't seen the Shade since their last few missions in the Royal Purple portal, and she'd only been there because Alex and her team had been running back-to-back Surveys. What could have possibly…

Her thoughts trailed off, and Alex closed her eyes. Liliana didn't just follow her, of course. If Audrey and Alessa were running repeated Surveys, probably trying to clean up after the near-Escalation Event, they might have attracted the Shade's attention. If that was the case, it was going to make a lot of things a lot more complicated.

She was still pondering over that fact when the words changed.

[Current Objective Budget: 500]

[Select Priority Objective]

Alex grimaced. Obviously, she doubted that Goldiron wanted her to destroy anything inside today. It would suck some of the 'fun' out of the Gold Rush. They probably wouldn't want her to run around looting Outposts, either; given how Emerald Bay had reacted, she guessed that a lot of corps were probably pretty territorial about the materials that came out of the portals.

At the same time, she didn't want to try to fight around a hundred Grue patrols in order to get the full clear. Ostensibly, they were only supposed to take a quick look at the area they'd be using for the Rush, to give them a 'fair' chance compared to the Goldiron folks. There had to be something she could focus on, even if it was just some scouting.

[Priority Objective: Scout at least eight locations within the local area. Possible rewards: 160 Experience. Accept?]

She grimaced, but it seemed like a reasonable thing she could convince the others to go along with. With a reluctant nod, she accepted.

[Select Additional Objectives]

Alex sighed. There were still so many points left. It was too bad she couldn't just 'rescue' the Surveyors inside the portal. It would certainly cut down on the number of things she needed to deal with.

[Additional Objective: Save seventeen Surveyors. Possible rewards: 340 Experience. Accept?]

Her breath caught. Was that really a possibility? Before, she'd been literally sent in to extract Surveyors that were in trouble. Did the Screen not make a difference between that situation and a normal Survey? Would the Surveyors even count towards her total if they returned on their own and not while she was waiting for them?

It was incredibly tempting to try it, but she shook her head. At most, she could probably count on the six from Audrey and Alessa's team, and the ones from her own. Everything else was too risky.

[Additional Objective: Save nine Surveyors. Possible rewards: 180 Experience. Accept?]

She reluctantly agreed, unhappily aware of exactly how many points there were left in her budget. One hundred sixty points would be thirty-two patrols, which seemed like an extreme amount. Then again, with Liliana present…

[Additional Objective: Destroy at least thirty-two patrols. Possible rewards: 160 Experience. Accept?]

She agreed with grim resignation and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she took a step forward to pass through the light…

Alex exited the portal and found herself in the factory she remembered from her first time in Goldiron's portal.

Unlike the last time, there was no howling horde of Grue waiting for her. Instead, there were half a dozen of Goldiron's Surveyors, including Alessa and Audrey, all waiting for them with their weapons and armor. Most of them looked bored; a few were leaning up against the wrecked machinery or idly wandering around the room. At least one was actually lying down on a motionless conveyer belt, toying with a sword.

When Alex stepped out of the portal, Alessa looked over and grinned. She waved, and Alex returned the gesture before glancing back. The others had been right behind her, and sure enough, Clara and Joanna both stepped through the vortex a moment later. Alex nodded to them, and they stepped forward, their eyes already searching for problems. Both of them relaxed when they found none.

Alex looked back at the vortex and frowned. Sam should have been right behind them. A delay seemed unusual, so why would he…

He appeared a moment later, his dark eyes wide and his mouth already opening in a smile. Sam pumped a fist in the air and danced in a short circle. "It worked! It worked!"

She blinked and glanced back at Clara and Joanna. They were looking back at her with wide eyes, and Alex barely had the chance to turn back before Sam grabbed her in a hug and spun her around in the air. It took an effort of will not to headbutt him, but at least she was back on the ground after a single spin. He didn't even seem to notice as he capered a little farther forward, still shouting. "It worked!"

"Uh, of course it did?" Audrey exchanged a look with Alessa. "Were you expecting something different?"

Sam abruptly seemed to realize where he was. He dropped his arms and tried to compose himself. "Ah, yeah. Sorry. I just get excited about Surveys sometimes."

Alessa's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Right. That's what I remember from our time together."

"People change, Alessa. You should be happier about it." Sam grinned at her, happy as a loon.

Alex grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside, giving the Goldiron team an apologetic look. "Sorry, just… give us a minute."

Sam seemed happy enough to allow himself to be pulled away, with Joanna and Clara trailing after him. She pulled him behind a bit of machinery and grabbed him by the arms. "Sam. Look at me. Sam. Are you all right?"

He chuckled. "Oh yeah, I am." With a conspiratorial glance to check against eavesdroppers, he lowered his voice. "Gyreburner. That's the label next to my name. Have any of you seen something like that?"

Alex blinked. She saw Joanna's jaw fall open. Clara darted a look at her before she responded. "No. The only ones we knew about were Gatekeeper, Realmwalker, and Dreamseer."

"Then we can add one more to the list." His smile grew. "More importantly, it's one we can reproduce without an Anchor Point on Earth. Which means…"

"We can all become Pioneers." Joanna's voice carried a hint of awe. She looked at Clara. "All we need now are two portals that are close enough together to reach, and the chance to use them without getting caught."

Clara smirked. "Well, that and a few convenient concussions for you two."

Joanna winced, but Sam nodded with far too much enthusiasm. "Which means we could be one or two Surveys away from having all of us be Pioneers." He looked back at Alex, who was now feeling a mixture of irritation and relief. "Careful, Valkyrie, we might be able to catch up to you sooner than you think."

She gave him an exasperated look. "You'll need more than that to catch up, Sneak." All the same, she felt a flash of something close to jealousy that she had to shove away. Instead, she tried to focus. "All right, we'll talk about this later, after the Survey maybe. Just… try not to do anything weird for the rest of this one, okay? Liliana seems to be active here, so we're going to be buried in Grue soon."

"Fat chance." Sam smirked. He raised his voice. "Hey Audrey, can you choke me unconscious later? It's for a science experiment."

The Squire answered without any real hesitation. "Kinda weird, but okay!"

Sam grinned at Alex and wormed his way out of her grip. Alex stared at the spot where he'd been for a few moments more, and then she closed her eyes and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

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