"I think we should put this fortune of mine to work for us." Reggie declared as he walked into the living room. He had just returned with Hyacinth from their visit to the lab. The money was mostly just sitting in a bank. Technically it was earning interest but that in itself wasn't going to help them save the world. Reggie had been thinking about how he could use the money to help them and an idea came to him as they walked home. "I have an idea but before I go into the details, let me ask you something. Did you detect any magic while we were there?"

"Umm...no. Why? Did you expect me to?" Hyacinth was curious as to why he wanted to know.

"No, but remember how Tegan felt some strange power the last time she was there? It may be entirely unrelated but I think it should be investigated anyway. That brings me to my idea. I want to hire someone familiar with magic to look into this for us. Is there such a thing as a magic detective or something in your world?"

"Y-Yeah, yes, there is, actually." Hyacinth looked deep in thought. However, Reggie was encouraged by her positive response and took her continued silence as wanting him to elaborate.

"I don't know how, but I would like to use some of my lottery money to hire one. Do you think they will accept money from my world? Maybe we can get some converted to a currency from your world. Is there a magical money exchange or something?" Reggie was pretty sure his money would not work if taken to Azoria but since people seem to travel between worlds it makes sense that some sort of currency exchange may exist.

"I know some wizards that will work for local currency but I don't know about an investigator. What you would call a magic detective is actually a specialized field for wizards. They use spells and skills specifically to investigate magic and magical events and phenomena. They are basically researchers."

"Do you happen to know any that could help us?"

"I might know a guy." Tegan responded from the entryway. Reggie didn't notice her come in and wondered how long she had been watching them.

"And this guy would work for cash or something else?"

"He is pretty flexible when it comes to that kind of thing but we can also get it converted. Up to you, but I really don't think he will mind." Tegan had a wry smile on her face that made Reggie a little nervous. He wasn't sure if it was directed at him or about this guy she knew.

"Ok, then let's skip the currency exchange. How long will it take to get in touch with him?"

"Not long. He is almost always in the same place back in the elven capital."

"Great, then I will leave that to you. Tell him to name his price. Money is no object!" Reggie was smiling like a madman making Hyacinth and Tegan give him weird looks. "Hehe, I have always wanted to say that. Seriously, though, the cost isn't a big deal."

"Whatever you say, Sunshine. I will head out now. Don't have too much fun while I am gone." Tegan flashed a knowing smile at Hyacinth that Reggie didn't notice. He did notice the look of embarrassment on Hyacinth's face, though. He wasn't sure what that was about and decided it wasn't important.

"Later, Tegan. We will start going through all the files I got from the lab." Reggie waved to Tegan as she left and then headed to his laptop that was sitting on the table. It only took a few minutes to unload all the files from the USB drive and start reading. Meanwhile, Hyacinth wandered into the kitchen to make some tea. She poured herself a cup as well as one for Reggie and placed it near him on the table. He mumbled a quick thanks and went back to reading.

Reggie started with the most recent files available and slowly worked backwards as he tried to figure out what was going on in the lab. Most of the files did reference Project Delta but were mainly progress reports with vague information saying they were on schedule or that everything was going as expected. Nothing gave specifics about what they were doing or why. After an hour, Hyacinth was curiously looking over his shoulder at the files as he read them.

"Anything interesting?" Hyacinth hadn't heard a word from Reggie since she gave him the tea, which was still untouched and cold.

"Not particularly. It's all very non-specific. I am going to go find the oldest files and see if they have anything useful." Reggie closed the report he was reading and navigated through the collection of files until he found one with the oldest date on it. "This is from 4 years ago and seems to be when the project was started."

Hyacinth took his word for it. She didn't understand computers or any technology, really. Azoria was a world of magic and had no need for science or technology. She mostly nodded along as Reggie tried to explain things. It didn't seem necessary so she wasn't very interested in learning. Reggie broke her train of thought when he suddenly gasped. "What? What is it? Is it bad?"

"This project is way more interesting than I thought. They are trying to create an unlimited power source by pulling energy from outside our universe." Reggie was talking very excitedly but Hyacinth still didn't know why.

"Ok, what does that mean?"

"It means they are creating an artificial bridge to another dimension to pull energy through to use here." Reggie was getting more excited but Hyacinth needed more information.

"Yeah, ok, but...wait, what?!" Hyacinth realized what he meant, or at least she thought so but wanted to confirm. "Are you saying they are creating a portal to another world?"

"Yes, in a way. But they are using it to produce energy. Based on the other stuff I read, they are getting really close to finishing, too." Reggie's excitement started turning to worry. This was cutting-edge technology mostly only seen in science fiction. Some of that same science fiction ended disastrously for those that attempted this and failed. "This may be a big problem."

"I agree. Does it say anything about where they are pulling the energy from?" Hyacinth also sounded concerned. Reggie hadn't seen any reference to a specific target which probably meant no.

"If they have a target, it's not mentioned. I don't see how they could have someplace specific in mind. Our science has theorized about alternate universes but none have ever been found. In a way, this device would be proof of their existence if it worked."

"That's a relief, in a way. There are countless dimensions, most of which are empty of life, so pulling from one at random will likely not hurt anyone. The chance isn't zero, though." Reggie understood what she meant. There may be a million dimensions and if most are uninhabited then the chances of finding one at random with life is very small. Very small but not impossible. If they connected with someplace inhabited like Azoria, it could have adverse effects.

"So, are we in agreement that this is probably what could end the world?" Reggie looked at Hyacinth hoping she would somehow disagree.

"Yes, I think it is. It could also be a problem for whoever happens to be on the other end when that machine is turned on." Reggie figured that would be her response. "Any mention of a successful test? Maybe that was the power Tegan felt the other day."

"I read all the reports from the last week or two. No mention of that anywhere. Although..." Reggie thought of something. Reports weren't generated immediately at his old job. It sometimes took time to gather information so there would be a delay of a few days. "It may be they just hadn't written the report yet. It has only been two days. It could be they are collating data or something so they can properly analyze their results."

"Is that common for this kind of research?"

"Yeah, when doing research, scientists will generally analyze the results before reporting on it. It could also be that the event was unrelated so there won't be a report." Reggie couldn't say for sure if the two were related. Hyacinth seemed disappointed at this answer but didn't have anything to add. "Hopefully, this guy Tegan knows can help us connect some dots."

Hyacinth nodded but stayed silent. Reggie needed a break from all the reports and decided it was a good time to make dinner. They hadn't eaten since breakfast so it was definitely needed. "Any requests for dinner?" Reggie asked Hyacinth.

"Chips!" Hyacinth's smile returned at the mention of food.

"Chips aren't a meal but something to have with other food. How about I make pizza? Ever had that before?" Hyacinth shook her head. "Ok, pizza it is. I have been wanting to use the pizza oven on the back patio since we moved in!" Reggie was almost skipping around the kitchen as he gathered ingredients, supplies, and other things needed for pizza. Hyacinth was curious and sat at a stool in the kitchen to watch as he prepared everything. A little while later, they were outside with fresh dough and a variety of ingredients in individual bowls laid out on the outdoor table near the pizza oven.

"Ok, I am going to make a pepperoni and bacon pizza for myself. What would you like on your pizza? And no, chips can't go on it, but you can have some on the side." Hyacinth looked around at the various bowls on the table. After thinking for a moment, she pointed to bacon, green peppers, and mushrooms. Reggie grabbed them each in turn and put her pizza together. He checked the oven temperature to make sure it was hot enough, then placed each pizza inside one at a time.

"How do you know how to do this?" Hyacinth watched Reggie as he expertly made the dough in the kitchen and got the pizza oven going. He seemed to be good at it.

"I worked at a pizza place when I was 17. They used a brick oven similar to this one and I learned all about making the pizza and how to set up the oven. It's a little bit of work but I find it fun." Reggie used a long tool similar to a giant spatula to shift the pizzas around in the oven as he spoke. Ten minutes later, both pizzas were done and out of the oven. Hyacinth took a bite and her face lit up with joy.

"This is amazing!" She kept eating without another word until the pizza was gone.

"Want another?" Reggie had purposely made them relatively small. They were for one person so no reason to make a huge pizza. Hyacinth nodded and held out her plate. "Same as before or do you want to try some of the other ingredients?"

Hyacinth chose three new ingredients and Reggie made another pizza. He also made another for himself and slipped them both into the oven. Hyacinth enjoyed her second pizza just as much and likely would have eaten another if they hadn't already used all the dough. Reggie decided to make much more dough next time.