Percy Pleasure sat at his desk in the Order headquarters, rubbing his forehead. He had plenty to do tonight — a few stacks of papers were pushed to the sides of the desk — but he needed a moment. He had just arrived from his home, where his thirteen-year-old son Patrick was reigning terror on the house. The young teen thought it would be a perfectly sound idea to go camping in the middle of the forest with his friends — and with no adults. This was, in reality, a terrible idea — even in forests without magical creatures waiting to capture Patrick at any moment to gain an advantage over the Order. Percy had joined in the argument for a bit before he had to leave for the Order; then, he left his poor wife to deal with their moody son.

He sincerely hoped Patrick would mature into a good Order leader. Things were looking worrisome right now, but, well — Percy hadn't exactly been a model teenager either.

Percy's trouble with his son wasn't his only problem, far from it. Last night, Lord Cipher had visited his dreams, informing him about the arrival of Stanley Pines and the potential problems he brought with him. Stanley, it turned out, was a Symbol — the fourth Symbol to arrive in Gravity Rises, along with Stanford and Fiddleford and the young Ramirez girl. With only six more people, the prophesied Cipher Wheel could form, thereby ruining Bill's escape from this dimension.

That certainly could not happen.

So, Stanley's arrival was less than ideal. Another Symbol meant another person Gaston couldn't wipe with his amulet. And, of course, the very reason for the man's coming posed a significant problem.

Stanford was on the Order's trail, and he planned to bring Stanley in on it. Soon, they might discover them, and the memory gun wasn't ready yet. Bill forbid Percy from using the gun on the Symbols until it was perfected; at this point, it was a race between Fiddleford's completion of the gun and the brothers' investigation.

Percy wouldn't tell that to Fiddleford, however. Cipher and the Order leader had both agreed that Fiddleford was more efficient in his ignorance of the brothers' suspicions. Informing him would only fluster him, making him effectively useless — and more likely to give something away, besides.

A frantic knock sounded on Percy's office door. His rumination time was over.

"Come in, Fiddleford," he called, for who else could it be?

Sure enough, a red-faced Fiddleford burst through the door, his anxiety written across his face. "Master Pleasure, there's a situation. Stanford has invited—"

"Do you not think Lord Cipher informed me of this?" said Percy, his voice calm. "I am aware of Stanley's arrival. And I received instruction from our lord on what to do about it."

Relief swept through Fiddleford's countenance, though it was quickly overtaken by a frown. "Why didn't Lord Cipher visit me last night as well?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "He and I were consulting. Do not think he is at your whim, to appear to you whenever you're worried."

Fiddleford look crestfallen. Percy winced inwardly at the overt nature of this man's emotions. It was a wonder he was able to keep the Order secret at all, considering how obvious he was.

"I'm. . . I'm sorry, Master Pleasure."

"You have great purpose with our lord, Fiddleford, but don't let it get to your head," said Percy in a mild rebuke. "Now, would you like to hear what he said?"

Fiddleford nodded eagerly.

"This Stanley Pines is a snarl in Cipher's plans, yes, but not a major one. In fact, Lord Cipher believes he can perhaps use Stanley to further his desires. Your instructions, then, are to stay out of his way."

Fiddleford's eyes widened. "Out of Stanley's way? What if he breaks the portal?"

"Well, of course you should protect the portal," Percy said. "The portal is our top priority. Keep Stanley from getting his hands on anything important, and keep Stanford's attention on the portal's construction. But don't be antagonistic, and don't do anything that may put the brothers in danger."

"I w-wasn't planning on hurting them."

"Good. Don't." At least, until you shoot them with your memory gun, he added silently. Aloud, he continued, "In the case of Stanley, wait and watch and work around him. Lord Cipher will give you more instruction as he sees fit."

Fiddleford nodded again, his movements slow.

"There's more."

Fiddleford perked up, looking simultaneously excited and terrified for whatever this new instruction may be. "Y-yes?"

"It's about Stanford. Lord Cipher thinks it's time that he terminate his partnership with him."

This statement was met with the disappointment that Percy had expected. "So we're not. . . we're not inducting him?" Fiddleford had carried the hope of his research partner joining the Order for some time.

"Perhaps we will eventually," Percy replied, "but not until the completion of the portal. Not until you've completed your assignment."

This response wasn't entirely fair, but Fiddleford didn't know that. See, if Stanford did become part of the Order, Fiddleford wouldn't be around to see it. For Fiddleford didn't know it yet, but Bill had plans for him that ran far deeper than simply the portal construction.

Fiddleford was to be Bill's vessel in his bid for freedom.

Why Bill had not yet informed Fiddleford of this, Percy did not know, but he knew it wasn't in his place to ask nor to tell Fiddleford himself. When it came time to reveal this assignment, Bill was confident that his vessel would accept it with pride.

After accepting Percy's deception with an unhappy nod, Fiddleford asked, "What am I to do, then?"

"You are to make it seem like Stanford's idea," Percy replied. "Lord Cipher will have almost nothing to do with it. Tell Stanford you think the two of you can take it from here. That Cipher has been helpful, but you can finish the portal by yourself. Stanford has always preferred independence; he'll want to move away from Cipher."

"If he prefers independence, why did he bring Stanley here?" Fiddleford asked sullenly.

"Because Stanley is his brother," Percy said, "and he wants his company."

"Was I not company enough?" came the pained reply.

He knew Fiddleford was venting his feelings of apprehension and betrayal, but it was still irritating. "Well, you have spent much of your time here at the Order," Percy pointed out.

Fiddleford looked away.

"Lord Cipher says Stanford has already developed some misgivings about his help," Percy added. "Not enough to be worrisome, but enough that he'd likely be happy to phase out contact."

Fiddleford tilted his head. "Maybe that's why he didn't explain Cipher to Stanley."

Percy sat up a little straighter. That was important news. "He hasn't?"

"H-he may have by now, I'm not sure," said Fiddleford, "but when he showed Stanley the portal, he attributed its success to my skill, not Cipher's assistance."

Percy nodded. "Perhaps he didn't want his brother judging him. I suspect this separation will cause relief that he doesn't have to explain Cipher to Stanley."

"May I ask," Fiddleford said tentatively, "why Lord Cipher wants this separation?"

Percy shook his head. "The reason is not at my discretion to share. You, of course, will not be separating. You will still consult with Cipher as usual. However, you will now present his ideas as your own."

After a moment's hesitation, "All right," Fiddleford said. For all the man's faults, at least he was quick to obey.

"Good," Percy said with a pleasant smile. "Lord Cipher will give you more instruction as needed. You are dismissed."

Fiddleford gave a slight bow, went to the door, then paused. He turned. "Wait, I — Forgive me, Master Pleasure, I forgot to tell you. We, um, we met with a nymph today."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Did you?" He didn't quite know why this was significant, though nymphs in general were often troublesome.

"Y-yes, and she. . . she recognized me. I've never seen her before, but she must have known — s-somehow — that I was part of the Order. I saw her talking to Stanford after she saw me, but I couldn't hear, and — I worry what she may have told him."

Percy's mouth flattened into a thin line. "Bother."

"Do. . . do you think she—"

"If she told Stanford about the Order, he likely would've confronted you about it by now. As it is, I will ask Lord Cipher tonight what she said, for he knows. Either way, this makes it all the more important that Stanford stop consulting with Cipher. If he gets suspicious about him, he may want to stop work on the portal."

Fiddleford paled. Good — at least he understood that the portal was of utmost importance.

"So you see the priority of this new assignment," Percy concluded. "Do not forget, Fiddleford, the importance of this portal above all else."

"Of — of course, Master Pleasure."

Percy nodded in dismissal. "You may go. I do believe there is a townsperson in the memory room, and Gaston has been waiting for you to join them with the gun."

Fiddleford paled a shade further — Gaston was not known for his patience — and scurried from the room.

Percy let out a long sigh, as he often did after dealing with Fiddleford. The man was exhausting — but of course, Percy expressed this sentiment only to his wife. Anyone else could not be trusted to know what their leader truly thought about his subordinates.

Rather than tend to the stack of papers that awaited him, Percy leaned back in his chair. He wondered how Stanford would react to Fiddleford's suggestion that they cease consulting with Cipher. Percy's lord seemed to think it would go well. For his part, Percy wished that he could see the conversation. He had never met Stanford himself, but Cipher's descriptions had led to a sort of intellectual fascination with the man. He seemed competent, resourceful, intelligent — all good traits for the Order.

And quite worrying traits when levied against them.

Herein was the true reason Cipher had ordered a separation from Stanford. As Percy had told Fiddleford, their lord didn't want to risk that Stanford stop working on the portal. For if Stanford ever found out about Cipher's true self, he would possibly want to destroy the portal entirely.

That was not an option.

Unfortunately, the chances of Stanford discovering Cipher's cult was ever increasing, with the arrival of his brother and now with the meddling of that nymph. The sooner Stanford thought Cipher was no longer influencing the construction of the portal, the better: That way, if he ever stumbled upon the truth, he wouldn't suspect sabotage.

Or, that was the hope. Percy did not know how Lord Cipher could so confidently predict his enemies' behavior, but it was a good thing he could. For if anything got in the way of this portal, then Cipher's plan for liberation would be crippled. If that happened, what then?

Percy pushed that worry out of his mind and redirected his thoughts. Not for the first time, he imagined his reward when Cipher was free — for this anticipation always brought peace to Percy's mind.

No, he decided, nothing would get in the way of this project. Cipher deserved his freedom.

And Percy deserved his reward.

~~~~~

Just as Percy had predicted, Ford was happy to stop consulting with Bill. It was hard to get Ford alone — Stan was always tagging along, like an obnoxious shadow — but once he finally did, Fidds shared his confidence that they no longer needed Cipher. "I mean, his help has been amazing, but I think we can figure it out from here. Y-y'know, we don't want him taking credit for our accomplishments." He threw in this last part because he knew Ford so jealously guarded his achievements from anyone who might claim them as their own.

It worked. "I've actually had the same thoughts," Ford admitted. "And when Lee came, well. . . I just couldn't think of how to describe Bill to him. Do you really think we can do it alone?"

"Oh, absolutely," Fidds lied.

Ford smiled and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Good. I'm glad you've gotten more confident about your work."

The comment rankled Fidds. Since when was he not confident about his work? Did Ford see their consultation with Bill as a weakness? Well, he was completely wrong. Bill made them stronger. No matter how confident they were, they had done things that would've been impossible without Cipher. And they would do them still — but without Ford's awareness of their helper.

That night, Bill appeared in Fidds' dreams to report that it had worked. Ford had thanked Bill for his help, then said that they'd no longer be needing him. Bill, ever the flatterer, had accepted his thanks, wished him luck on the portal, and bid him a warm farewell.

"Just like that?" asked Fidds. The situation sounded so foreign to him. Not only because Ford had so casually cut ties with the most powerful being around, but because Bill had actually let it happen.

"Just like that," Bill confirmed. "Our progress will slow a bit, since you're the only one I'm consulting with now, but the precautions are worth it."

Precautions for what, Fidds wanted to ask. But he knew Bill wouldn't tell him. Fidds was special, but he was still just an Order underling.

"I'm glad you know your place," Bill said, as if Fidds had voiced his thoughts aloud. "But you're right, Portal-Bound. You are special. You have been chosen to build the portal, and more. I'm putting my faith in you."

Fidds swallowed and, belatedly, dropped into a deep bow. "Th-thank you, my lord. I won't let you down."

"No," Bill agreed. "See that you don't."