“At first, I found myself forgetting why we were doing all this. I mean by the time that first few hundred years went by I’d already gotten a little too used to things up here. It was like, Monde? What’s that? Sure there were the people we had waiting for us...but….you know. It’s one thing to be told that there’s some time dilation effect to drop everything back to normal when you go back, but by the two hundred or three hundred year mark, you get pretty convinced that everything and everyone that ever mattered down there is already gone.” said Jermaine.

He sat in Ed and Ell’s kitchen. They’d been up since the wee hours of the morning going over the debrief of everyone else’s activities and the general situation for their particular slice of the heavenly plane.

“I know what you mean….A hundred years go by and it’s like...yikes. Then a few hundred more go by and you start falling into the same patterns as the rest of the unaging, undying types up here. Suddenly you wake up one day, and it's like waiting for decade to do something, is like waiting for a few weeks, no big deal. I’ve got co-workers up here who feel that way about the millenia...so I think it’s maybe a perspective thing.” said  Edna.

Elena walked in after exiting the bathroom,  which had served as her bedroom after last night’s drinking. When she was mortal getting drunk stopped being a possibility by the time she broke past the first realm. Alcohol was poison and a high level cultivator’s body could  more or less instantaneously recover from anything that didn’t instantly kill them.

One would think that this would be infinitely so for beings that were immortal in the truest sense, and it was. What was also true was that highly powerful, nigh-omnipotent beings sometimes enjoyed being under some kind of influence. Thus it was almost inevitable that someone would figure out how to make liquor strong enough to make even the gods and devils go cross-eyed.

“Morning, y’all.” said Elena. Busying herself at the kitchen counter.

“Morning.” said Jermaine.

“Morning, Queenie.” said Matthew, who was also there. Sitting at the table, with Cindy, Angelo and Annais.

“Mhm...sweet nectar of the gods.” said Elena, taking a deep draught from the piping hot contents of her mug.

Edna  smirked, a full five hundred years after finding out that their local coffeehouse baristas were all goddesses, daughters of a god of the kitchen and a devil of apothecary and Ell still found that line amusing. Saying the line each time they bought their coffee instead of brewing it at home. Then again, the coffee ‘was’ good enough that she might just have been saying the line because it was true.

“....So fam, what are you guys still talking about, I thought we went over everything yesterday?” said Elena.

“Yes, but we were all quite drunk yesterday and you were too busy playing duck-duck-goose to pay any attention.” said Edna.

“Oh….Right,‘that’....Well...in that case fill me in on the high lights will you?” said Elena. Pulling up a chair for herself, whilst sipping from the mug in her hands. Blowing on the steaming elixir before swallowing in delicious mouthfuls.

“Oh...kay...well, I’m pretty sure you were still sober enough, while we going over the big where Ophelia and the good Primus were now on the front lines of the war for the throne.”

“Right...right..Apparently the little mercenary group they’re working with got hired on by the Eight Million Gods Faction. Tall, busty and dorky is palling around with one of the Heavenly Plane’s most well known Masters of the Culinary Arts. Our favorite creepy pair of the blonde one and the pale one, are watching over a nursery for the children of those supporting the Twelve Thrones Faction. You guys have finally hit it big enough that your doing shows all over our particular section of the heavenly plane and a little beyond, which means your spies...I mean your roadies and connects...are all over the place as  well. There’s the Heavenly plane branch of the Bone Tree Company whose products and contracts, and staunchly neutral standing have reduced the collateral damage by offering products that more or less neuter any of the bigger weapons that either side might have brought out. And um...what else was there?” said Elena. Taking a lightly frosted scone from Edna’s plate  and dipping the end into her coffee.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Well...Jerry and Ed here were just talking about the fact that we all seem to be waiting for….”something” to happen.” said Matthew. Sitting with his arm slung across Cindy’s shoulder.

“Waiting for something?” said Edna

“Yeah...something. I don’t suppose our mutual friend told you what it is we’re waiting for before sending you guys on your way?” said Jermaine.

Elena snorted.

“You guys are over complicating things. There’s no secret cue, no big overarching scheme. Billy’s clever but not that clever. Or at least that’s not the kind of play we’re making this time.” said  Elena.

“Oh? Do tell.” said Jermaine.

Edna turned to the other girl, slightly intrigued. She thought she already had a clear picture of what was happening, but sometimes Elena knew just a little bit more.

“...Well, it’s like this. The war that destroys Monde and the parts of reality that we’ve hidden is kind of like a  fire or maybe more like a bomb. There’s no stopping a bomb once its already gone off, but you can stifle it. You know stop it from making as a big a mess and doing so much damage.”

“And that’s why, he has those shades of his going crazy on the other edge of our portion of heavenly plane. To reduce the total amount of damage?” said Jermaine.

Elena chuckled.

“I know it sounds a bit counter-intuitive but yeah. His shades are like a fire-break. They cause so much chaos that the guys on either side are tied up trying to deal with them. It’s for that same reason that we’ve all been sent out to play these roles without really being given any specific instructions. We don’t really need to do anything special. We just need to be there to change the outcome.”

“What outcome?” said Cindy. Looking sleepy without her glasses.

“Our world being blown up...duh.” said Matthew.

“Couldn’t you guys just move Monde out of the control of the section of the heavenly plane that’s having all this divine unrest? I mean from what I hear this Will guy can pretty much do anything.” said Annais. Cutting in. Her voice light, in a way that made others strain their ears to listen.

“...She has a point.” said Matthew.

Angelo scratched the back of his head. A miniature set of wings emerging from his back and flapping lightly.

“Hm….It’s actually not that easy. Never mind the difficulties of moving from branch of reality to another...Heavenly politics are like plate tectonics. Whatever was going to blow up your world in this section of the heavenly plane will cause trouble in other sections. At the best you expect to have to deal with beings who are expecting trans-dimensional refugees, who’ll want to quarantine you…”

“Huh...who the hell would that be? I mean its not like we’re hurting anything. Which set of busy buddies would try and get in our way for no good reason.”

“Uh….Angels. You know, the non-fallen kind. We’re….they’re kind of anal when it comes to the order of things. Moving a world with its own physics and causality and everything from one reality stream to another goes against the order of things. Especially when its moving a troubled world from a troubled reality stream. There’s a good chance that they might try to destroy you out of hand. Just to be safe. Then there’s the small chance that we pop into a demon run reality...in which case they’ll try and destroy you just for fun...”

“Tch...really!? Whatevs, I’m pretty sure we could take them.” said Matthew. Slurping the last of his coffee down.

“Maybe but that’ll just bring more angels. And whatever gods and immortals are allied with them...At the worst case you might have the whole house of white breathing down your neck.” said Angelo.

“The house of white? As in the House of Antipodes? As in our House of Antipodes?” said Edna.

“Yeah….” said Annais.

“They’re kind of a big deal. They’re sort of like the law keepers or goalies or whatever for all of reality.” said Annais.

Edna nodded, because she already knew this, because she’d already worked as part of a quarantine and elimination team. Just like Elena had. Just like Billy had....Appearently....Somehow.

“Okay...so we can’t just bail.” Matthew.

“Or at least not yet.” said Elena.

“Not yet?” said Jermaine.

“Well...I’m sure Billy has some other trick up his sleeve. He usually does. Or else he’d be out here with us. Plus I think that’s why Ed and I are out here. If we get in good with the House of Antipodes it probably won’t hurt for whatever it is we end up doing.”

They all fell silent then, feeling two parts anxious and one part expectant.

“Hm….That’s true. But that brings us back to the main question. Just what is it that we’re waiting for? What happens when he’s finished doing...whatever it is he’s doing.” said Jermaine.

Elena shrugged.

“Fuck, if I know... All I know is that we’ve got Eight thousand, five hundred and sixty two more years till I get to see my boyfriend again.”