"They...what? Why would they do that?" The guardian shoved two cookies into his mouth, cheeks bulging outward.

"Chew. Nobody is going to steal your food. You look like a blue haired squirrel," Zaria sighed and took a sip of her own tea. "I have no idea, but probably because of money. It's always either money or religion, and I don't see Buddha or the church telling everyone to bring back the dinos. Anyway, stuff happened, dino died in water, water got contaminated, Tokyo fell. So these might be the only people left in the entire city."

"Hmm..." The silver of his irises grew out to fill his entire eyes. Someone choked back a gasp. "It's not just the city."

"Not... did all of Japan fall?" A thin reedy voice spoke up from the other end of the table. Sensei was leaning forward, speaking up for the first time that Zaria could remember ever hearing.

"No." A relieved sigh came from all. "The world did. You said the virus got into the water?"

Zaria nodded, then cleared her throat to talk. "Yes, it got into the water that most of Tokyo's drinking water comes from. That's how the city fell so quickly."

The silver retreated, leaving just the small circles once more. "The river led to the ocean. It likely took a few weeks, but everything needs water to live. There are other life signs still out there, but they are like you, small groups,stranded. They don't have dinosaurs, though."

He shoved another two cookies in and took a drink of his tea, emptying half of the cup. "Thank you for the snacks. I don't get to sit down and eat with people much."

Out of habit, Saito-san answered, "You are welcome."

"What...what do we do?" The normally proud Ito-kun spoke up, his eyes staring at the opened palms on his lap.

"Guardian," Zaria tried to be polite. With who she was speaking to, it was hard, but the despair around the table melted the angry words before she could say them. "Can the pendant be altered to go off of Gu Cheng's universe?"

"Yes, no problem." He raised his finger and pointed it at Gu Cheng, sending out a spark that disappeared into his shirt. "You can still go with him, but he will be the guide. There are fewer motes surrounding him, a couple you have in common. Going to his universe will be quicker." The guardian stood up and brushed crumbs off his robes. "Thank you for the snack. I will just go get the stone from the beast out there and be off."

Zaria quickly followed him into the hall, whispering loudly to stop him. "Please, wait a moment. I won't touch you, I promise."

He turned back to face her, one blue eyebrow quirked up inquisitively.

"Can you...can you boost the pendant so we can take them with us? I can't just leave them in a world that is dying around them. They just saw four of their friends die not too long ago. That is the future they are looking forward to."

"You can't drag them around to interfere with other worlds. What if they brought the virus with them?"

"If any of them were exposed or carrying it on something, they would be dead already. It works almost instantly. Please."

He stared at her, then looked away, then looked back. Skeletal fingers pulled his face downward, then smooshed it back up. "I will go and talk with them. If I think that they will be a danger to any other world, then I will leave and not look back. If -" He raised his voice when a smile broke out on her face. "IF I were to do it, it would use a lot of magic. It takes a lot to push your ravenous body through. You were lucky your boyfriend was able to go with you to this world. Five more bodies will take a lot out of me. You will be responsible for feeding me until I get enough strength back to take myself away."

"Of course. If we are able to leave soon, we won't need the food we have left in the freezer. We can have a feast every day!" Zaria gave him a double thumbs up, eyebrows raised, and teeth bared in a cartoonish smile.

He scowled at her enthusiasm and walked back into the dining room. Rapping on the table with his knuckles, he didn't bother waiting to see if everyone was looking before he began to talk. "I have been asked for another favor. I need to talk to you others. Girl and her boyfriend, leave us alone."

"Yes, all mighty cotton candy head," Zaria said with an eye roll. Gu Cheng was already at the door, having followed her as she left the room, so she took his arm and guided him to the front entry way and sat him down on the stairs to the second floor.

"Do you think he will do it?" He asked, looking back toward the dining room.

"I don't know. He might glyph himself out while I'm out of the room. I think he is arrogant, but I don't think he is bad. It would probably cost him a couple of days here, but he gets a bed and warm food, so maybe he will do it."

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"Hmm."

With nothing else to do, the two talked about what they could do in both situations, if he agreed, and if he zoomed out instead. It was quite some time before the lanky figure stepped out of the dining room again. The normal arrogant look was gone, and when he stopped directly in front of them at the bottom of the stairs, he looked both old and tired.

"I will do it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I will not give them their own means. They will have to go with you. And the pendant will no longer work for anyone else but the frost man here. They know that their hope all rests on the two of you and your good graces. Give me the pendant and show me to where I will stay. I will have it done before the end of the night, but it will take several days before I can leave. During that time, I will work with this one on controlling his abilities. I can't let him jump around between universes without being able to control his magic."

Zaria glanced at Gu Cheng, letting him answer. It was not a surprise when he agreed quickly. Despite looking cold and unfeeling to others, he would never let those he cared about suffer. And she knew that it bothered him that he couldn't control himself at times. It was a solution that would help everyone.

With the pendant in hand, they showed him both the front room that Zaria had started in and the small room that Adashi-chan lived in. Her things were still inside, but she had not owned much. Nobody could bring their self to touch any of it, yet. Silver eyes wandered the room, a furrow between his brows before he backed out and walked to the front room again. "There is too much emotion left behind in that room. This one will be fine." A blanket and sheet were brought in, and the door was closed to give him some privacy.

Downstairs, Zaria and Gu Cheng found the rest of the group still sitting around the dining room table, waiting for them. "What is happening?" Saito-san asked after they sat down once more. "He asked us a lot of questions and then told us we can't remove Mr. Gu's necklace and then left."

A nearly silent groan escaped Zaria's lips. Gu Cheng whispered in her ear, "Perhaps he wanted you to be able to give them the good news." She shook her head with an eye roll.

"No, he just didn't feel like explaining it twice, so he left it for us."

"Okay. The way that we pass between universes is a pendant that Gu Cheng wears around his neck. It can't be removed, and it will only work for him. BUT, the guardian has agreed to boost the power on it so that when it is charged up again, we can use it and take all of you with us."

There was no answer, confusion evident on their faces. Zaria chewed on her lip for a moment before thinking of how else to say it.

"You heard the guardian. Your world is dead. There are very few humans left alive on the entire planet. If you stay here, the best you can hope for is somehow being able to survive long enough to die from old age. All while hiding from things that want to eat you. I don't know what the next universe will be like . The last one I was in would have been very pleasant if not for certain circumstances. The first one I entered, I wish I hadn't left."

She shot an apologetic look to Gu Cheng. "I was so caught up in returning to my own world that I wasn't paying attention to the fact that it had nothing for me anymore. So you will have to decide if you think this world is worth staying in, or if you want to escape with us. There will be a few rules. Nothing that could possibly harbor the virus can go with us. Anything with old or dried blood has to be left behind. That might mean we each only have one set of clothes if that is all we own unstained. No food or drink, beyond what I still have left in my bag. We can't contaminate the world we go to. Belongings that can be thoroughly bathed in bleach right beforehand are okay, but you will have to carry your own things. It is not an easy decision. This is your home. It is horrible and dying right now, and there is nobody left to rescue anyone else,but you will step into a completely unknown situation."

"You need to all think about it, individually. There is no group consensus on something like this. I can't stand the idea of leaving you all behind, but I won't make anyone go. The guardian will be using a lot of his magic to do this for you, so he will have to stay here for a few days."

Zaria sat back and let them talk quietly amongst themselves. She turned to face Gu Cheng, who was watching her closely.

"What?"

Soft lips covered hers for two long seconds.

"Why did you do that," she whispered, looking around to see the others blushing or smiling at her flustered expression.

"Do I need a reason to kiss you, Mrs. Gu?" His breath tickled against her ear as he whispered low enough that others couldn't hear.

"But...you...I..."

He chuckled as she stuttered, the confidence from her speech just moments ago gone. "Doesn't your culture frown on public displays of affection?" She hissed after her heart stopped racing.

"Mmm. I don't plan on letting anyone else determine how I can show my affection toward my future wife. Do you think they can stop me from doing as I wish?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as he leaned back into his chair, long legs sticking out under the table.

"I know I can't," she muttered, her ears still burning. He said something so quietly that she could not hear, but she did not want to ask him to repeat it in case it was something else embarrassing.

When voices began to grow loud as the discussion at the other end of the table continued, Zaria looked at the time on her phone, doing the math automatically to determine the time in her current universe. "I'm going to make dinner," she announced, standing up abruptly. When Saito-san rose to help, she was waved down again. "You don't have to stay here and talk to people, but you have a lot to think about, and I can manage a meal for everyone without burning too much. In fact, nobody has to stay in here if they don't want to. Just leave the guardian alone. He is in the front room I was staying in before."

As had become the usual, a tall, silent shadow followed her to the next room. "You don't have to follow me. You can go and rest somewhere. Plot, devise, use that big icy brain of yours to decide what all we need to do while we wait for the pendant. He's not going to boost it to full. He would need too much to compensate for me, but it won't add time to our stay either. Like tacking on five fully charged keys to what is already there. We still have to wait for our part to get done charging. Until then we are going nowhere."