With no clear plan and an uncertain destination, Hank walked down the sidewalk towards where he had last parked the Bentley. He took Rio's advice to heart and didn't intend to drive it, but he did look through the windows to make sure things were okay. He thought about moving it to a new spot to keep from getting a ticket, then figured that with a riot ensuing, citing people for parking violations wouldn't be a priority.

He headed for the subway station where Aika had died, which was about two kilometers away. It wasn't out of his way to walk past Asok's first and, much to his surprise, when he got there the place was locked up and empty. He went around back and entered through a service door with a key still in his possession.

The deli appeared to be abandoned, almost as if it had closed soon after he had quit. With Milton's estate burned to the ground, and nearly everything he owned left behind at his old flat weeks ago, Hank got the eerie feeling that his former life had been erased. It would certainly be the case for anyone who knew him before he became a Dot.

"With the exception of Anna," he said to himself. "But then, she's a Dot too."

He poked around to see if he could figure out why Asok's was closed. Finding no clue, he stood in the spot where he often spent time watching people walk by out the window. He half-heartedly hoped to see Anna breezing her way down the boulevard in her angora sweater and white tennis shoes, but the world outside was as empty as the deli itself.

He did notice something while staring out the window. About half a kilometer away, smoke poured from a five-story brownstone building. After locking up Asok's again, he sprinted towards the scene. Once there, he found a soot-covered man sitting slumped on the curb, being tended to by a neighbor for injuries to his face and arm.

A woman standing nearby looked panic-stricken. "Please, Sir," she begged to Hank. "Can you help?"

"What's wrong?" he asked, showing concern for the injured man.

"It's our daughter!" the woman said. "She's trapped in our apartment!"

Together, they looked at the building. A second story window was broken, with glass laying shattered on the ground and smoke billowing out from a fire, the strength of which foretold that anyone inside would soon be overcome.

"A group of men busted in," the woman explained. "They terrorized everyone! When they got to our place on the fourth floor, they ushered us down the stairs. But they threw me and my husband out and took our daughter back in. She's only eleven!"

The man on the curb spoke next. "I'm going back in to get her as soon as my arm is set."

"My husband went after them," the woman said. "But they threw him out the window and the fall broke his arm. Then they set the place on fire! They'll kill him if he goes in again!"

Hank looked into the woman's eyes. "I'd like to try something, if you don't mind."

He placed his hands on her temples. A drubbing grew in his brain, becoming a pit in his stomach. The stench of black smoke filled the air. When he felt his head being banged against a wall of blinding white, he released the woman.

"I'm sorry," Hank said. "I thought you were a Dot."

The injured man stood up to intervene. "I'm a Dot," he said, sounding perturbed. "What are you trying to do?"

Hank approached. "I think we can save your daughter," he said.

"How?"

Let me in.

Hank placed his hands on the man's temples. A vision appeared between them. They stood inside the building, the fire burning bright before their mutual eyes.

Show me where.

Creeping like a serpent, they slithered through the smoke. Floors and ceilings gave way, and they hovered above the man's apartment, where madmen marauded while searching for a girl who hid in a small closet. She had placed clothes in the crack along the floor to keep the smoke from getting in, and sat with her feet against the door to keep the men out. But it was only a matter of time before one or the other found her, and she would succumb.

Help me!

The serpent opened its mouth and spat boulders, striking the men below who sought to harm the girl. They were driven through the floor as if it were made of gossamer, then through the earth below, all the way to Hell. The smoke sucked in after them, offering a brief respite.

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Hank appeared before the girl like an angel, wings growing to envelop her.

Come with me.

The girl acquiesced and allowed herself to be chosen. Soaring, they roared down the stairs toward the front door to freedom. Upon their final approach, the smoke returned, belching up from the chasm. Now a living horror, it swallowed the angel and the girl, intent on snuffing their life.

The girl opened her mouth to scream, but the angel forbade it. Instead, thousands of white moths appeared, bursting into flame while circling all around. They burned tiny holes through the horror and, as light eminated from the angel, everything exploded like a silent bomb.

Hank stood before the injured man on the sidewalk, cradling the girl in his arms. "How…" the man began, but Hank interrupted.

"She's hurt," he said simply. "So are you. Let's go to the hospital."

"But the riot!" the woman said. "The subway is between here and there."

Hank walked towards Marina Hospital carrying the little girl, while the injured man and wife and neighbor followed. Behind them, the fire in the building died, its black smoke dissipating. Before them, as Hank approached, chaos and carnage washed away, like wet poster paint in the rain. As a ship seeks safety in port to find refuge from a temptuous sea, men and women flocked behind Hank, bringing with them their family and kin, seeking peace in his halcyon wake.

"We'll be okay," he said to those who drew near. "I promise."

When Rio and Leanne turned their spare bedroom into a gym and a Japanese bath, a false wall was placed near the door between the two newly made rooms. Meant at first to house only plumbing and wiring, Rio had the space expanded to include storage and a small divan. Its purpose was to serve as a safe room for the doomsday Rio foresaw.

After accessing it through a hidden door in a mirrored wall of the gym, she and Leanne, along with the cat and dog, triple-locked themselves inside. The power went out soon after they entered, but a battery back-up provided dim light and meager ventilation.

"They're out there, aren't they?" Leanne whispered, sitting close to Rio on the divan.

Rio nodded. "They won't find us," she promised, throwing up walls meant to hold back a flood.

Leanne snuggled close. "I'm scared," she confessed.

"Me too," Rio said, snuggling closer.

Bumbles found a throw rug to lay on, and Carolus snuggled up to the dog. Together, along with Leanne, they looked toward Rio for protection.

"Why does Hank think he can save us?" Leanne asked. "And why did Anna call you a Dot?"

Rio sighed, pondering how to confess. "I meant to tell you someday."

"Well, love. Today is that day."

"I'm such a kokko chicken," Rio said. She sat facing Leanne with her feet on the divan and her head between her knees, staring down in shame at the patterns on the cushion.

"Ha!" Leanne spat. "You are far from that!"

"Hank is so much better than me."

"Bullshit."

"So are you."

Rio lifted her head to look at Leanne, who placed an understanding hand on her knee. Sparks flew while Leanne comforted her.

"And because of me, Aika's dead," Rio said, soft as a whisper.

Leanne struggled to speak. "I just can't believe that's true."

"I know."

Leanne looked at Bumbles curled up in a ball, with Carolus happily dozing. "I feel like she's still with us," Leanne said. "You know?"

Reflexively, almost unknowingly, Rio kissed Leanne's hand. "Hank will do something," Leanne said. "He'll find the truth and let us know."

"How many times can he save us?" Rio asked, almost shouting.

Rio again stared down, brushing her cheek against Leanne's fingers. She turned to mimic Rio's posture, entwining their legs so she could sit close. She breathed hard while searching for words of further comfort, the closeness of her mouth in the damp room causing Rio's glasses to fog.

"Don't be afraid," Leanne begged.

"I'm sorry I brought this upon you," Rio said. "I need you to please forgive me."

Leanne held Rio's face in her hands and, like so many times before, admired the beauty of her girlfriend. Strong and soft and warm, Leanne pulled her face in. With both of them wide-eyed and staring, Leanne kissed Rio over and over, until her fear abated. Leanne then kindly tucked stray strands of hair behind Rio's big red glasses, smiling beatifically.

Rio grabbed two fistsful of Leanne's thick wavy hair and gave a more passionate kiss. She spoke to her with firmness. "I so love you, Leanne. Ever since I first met you, you've been good to me. I don't know how I deserve you."

"Shut up before I bite your tongue," Leanne scolded into her mouth.

"Thank you so much for loving me. Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu."

Leanne hefted her chunky butt up close to Rio's feet. She laid her head on Rio's chest, forcing her to scrunch up more on her side of the divan.

"I love you too, Peeps," Leanne cooed. "I mean I really do! I like loving you, a whole lot."

Rio kissed the top of Leanne's head through her massive curls. With all the power she could summon, Rio built an extra wall of protection around her kawaii nushi.

"I'll keep you safe, my queen," Rio whispered into Leanne's curls. "They will never get you."

Leanne looked up into her roommate's eyes. "But what about Hank? He loves you too, you know."

"He has to get used to me in love with you."

Leanne snuggled back into Rio's chest. "Mmm. Can I please love him, too?"

"You can love who you want," Rio said, kissing Leanne's head again. "Just save some sugar for me. Hai?"

"Okay, Peeps. Um, maybe if we can, could we love Anna a little bit, too? I mean, is she going to be all right? Maybe we should call, you know, to warn her or make sure she's okay."

Ages ago, it seemed. Eons. Eternity. Forever. Was Milton really gone? Aika was now gone too, and Hank may have left to never return. And where was Anna during all this? Was she gone? Was she the cause?

Everyone had abandoned her, it felt to Rio. The weight of the world was crushing, starless and empty and black.

"Don't worry your pretty head over Anna, or me or anyone," Rio said, gaining bravery. "Hank and I will take care of everything."

The women sat in silence, with Hell set loose on the world. Bad guys pounded ferociously, like gorillas with chainsaws and axes, on the bubble of Reality Rio kept around the safe room where she and Leanne hid. There was no way, it seemed, that Hank could survive the chaos thriving out there. No matter how strong he'd become, no matter how brave, how good, how ignorant…

…Rio was sure he was dead.