Right down to Hell I went, and straight for The Blues and The Banes. It was about one PM, luckily- the place was deserted, save for a group at the back. A vaguely familiar group. They were crowded at and around one booth, with Blake in the very back, writing something on a piece of paper.
I ran up and moved a woman aside so I could talk to him. "Blake! I was hoping you'd be here. Come on, I'm done my debts. It's time we get going." Not to Earth, not until tomorrow's midnight would it be safe for him to go there. But somewhere else in Hell. Maybe I'd take him to Heaven.
"What?" The group fell silent. Blake looked at me stunned. "I'm... busy right now?" He said. He gestured to the papers he had lain out, full of notes and pictures.
"A-Alright," I said, stepping back and letting the group reform.
"Alexander gets back today from his stint on Earth- and with the chaos erupting post... this morning, there is no other time but now. Like, this is our time." A girl with white dreads and a bright red cap was trying to prove a point to an older woman, perhaps the leader, but she kept glancing back towards me cautiously.
"They'll hit us quick. You know what they did to Roy when they found him? You know what they're doing now?" Another one of them- another rebel- said. "We have only eighty members scattered throughout the city, and there's no guarantee how many will be willing to fight. We have so few weapons." She shook her head. "The time is not today."
"The time will never be today if you think of it like that," Blake joined in. "We can't overpower them- this needs to be a social thing. Make a stand, get martyred maybe. Be the voice of the people, and the people will come around to it eventually."
"Dude, we just need to run up there and take control," The first rebel, with the red hat said, "You know that's how Alexander did it? Just ran in during a time of turmoil and declared himself in charge. I guess the government just ran with it."
"That's stupid. No way that works."
"But it did work!"
"Excuse me," I said, "Are you trying to overthrow the government?"
"We're a rebel group. It's what we do," Pepper said. I had noticed her there, with her blinding green hair, but she'd be rather nonchalant the whole conversation. "Of course we're trying to start a rebellion."
"Don't do that."
"What did you think I was doing?" Blake asked me.
"This. But I figured it was a game more than anything. You can't seriously plan to meddle with Hell's hierarchy, right?"
"It's... what I've been doing for the last few days. You're the one who keeps running away and doing God knows what- No offense, but I have responsibilities to attend to. Please let me finish them."
"What? What are you doing, taking notes? Isn't that a bad idea for a group whose existence is illegal?"
"I'm taking notes, but also, you know, ideas. We don't really have a name. I think we need one."
"No, that's a stupid idea." I watched Blake shuffle through his papers, evidently needing textual evidence for his next point.
"So, The Few are... The F.E.W., right? A big, powerful acronym-"
"One of the worst acronyms I've seen in my life-"
"Thank you, so if they're The Few, we could be... The Rest, maybe? It's a work in progress."
"So this is what you leave me for," I said, "What does it stand for then?"
"Excuse me?"
"The Few is an acronym for the three departments of government in Hell. So what does the R E S T stand for?"
Blake looked deep in thought. "Well, R for rebellion. Rebellion, Everyone Stand Together?"
"I don't know if you could have a job in this."
"Lay off him," Pepper said, with a little wave.
One rebel, the most 'I owned a yacht once' of the lot, nodded. "That could be a chant. We'll figure the logistics out later, what's important now is branding."
"Real Eggs Stay True," One of the rebels said, unprompted.
I rolled my eyes at the wave of giggles. Half the people here looked like punks with a padded wallet. The other half probably owned at least two belts. There may have been overlap on that qualifier, however. Belt ownership perhaps wasn't the best descriptor to help point out that some of the rebels were perhaps not a hundred percent serious in their dedication to this cause.
Also, to clear the air, I have nothing against punks.
"Blake, we're good to go. You should already know what the rest of the meeting is going to be like- 'Now is the time, let's rush the square and seize the towers, yada yada...' Let's go do something else."
"I'm glad you seem to certain that now you're going to finally take me to Earth, Mannie, but... why don't you get something to eat? This might last another hour or so." He had a kind face, but something in his tone bothered me.
I considered saying something, but instead I paced away in frustration and sat on purpose as far as I could from the table. From far across the room, the conversation couldn't be heard, and I cradled my head in my hands and tapped my feet.
Revolutionaries were dumb, and I didn't like Blake getting involved in them. But I suppose he could have fell in with a group of acrobatic clowns for all the difference it would have made in my mood.
As relieved as I was to have found Blake, I was still feeling stressed. I could only take eight minutes and fifty-one seconds of waiting before I caved and returned to the table.
"Blake, come on already. Let's go."
"Mannie." He sighed. "I want to talk to you in private, but you're going to have to wait until this meeting is done. Can you handle that?" There was a sympathetic look in his eye like he was apologizing to his friends for my presence.
Like Kell, or like anyone who wasn't Michael eventually came to act.
I was struck by a sweaty and thick wave of anxiety, a hammered in realization that maybe Blake had finally learned he didn't need me anymore. And I'd fallen straight into the endless pit of thinking that I couldn't leave alone. I'd spend enough time half worried for this kid, convinced I'd walk out of here his savior, a lovable friend.
Except Blake wasn't an idiot, and he wasn't a kid, and he had gotten a little bit wiser every time I'd left him on his own.
"No," I told him, and there wasn't a single untrue thing in that answer.
He sighed. "Alright guys, just carry on without me. This'll be five minutes." He shuffled out of the booth and joined me in walking to the stairwell. He closed the door behind him with a careful click. "What's up?"
"Why are you even asking that? We need to leave."
"Then leave. But I-" He paused, looking bashfully at the ground like he hated being the harbinger of bad news. "I can't. I like this place, and I've made up my mind: I'm staying. It's too much work to start over in Earth again. My family will forget about me when the cycle change comes tomorrow anyway."
"It's crazy starting over though." I felt like I was pleading.
"Yeah. But it's a new adventure, and God, probably my first. How can I leave some silly, dramatic reality of angels and demons behind for the rigid drudgery of Earth? My memories aren't all back, and are so mashed about that I don't know or care what to believe. So I'm not even going try. Might as well make some new ones."
"We could make new memories. On Earth. I said I was taking you there, and I want to keep true to that."
"Mannie, you're really... sweet to keep to your word strongly. I know you promised we'd travel together on Earth, and that you'd make sure I found a new home, and in a way you've done just that. Thanks to you I'm here." Blake shrugged. "I'm sorry."
"I never meant to do that." I said weakly. I gestured weakly with my head to the door, "You go back in there. I'm good."
"You're good? Are you sure?" Blake asked. "I'm really sorry about all of this."
"Good," I said, and Blake left me.
Kell had bags under his eyes and series of square bandages covering the new scar on the right side of his face. When I'd gone to the hospital to enquire about him, the attendant told me he'd already been dismissed, and eventually I found him in the cafeteria, staring at a tray of food.
"Oh, good afternoon Mannie."
I kept waiting, hoping he'd say something else.
"Hm? What is it?"
I continued to look at him. It was discontenting to see him in anything other than one of his sleek dark blue suits, and a loose white tank top and sweatpants did not suit him well. Old grey scars crept along his shoulder bones. He was skinnier than I'd pictured.
"I want your honest thoughts on me."
"You want praise."
"Honestly though."
"Honestly? You're fine Mannie. You're fine."
"But what else?"
He closed his eyes. "What is your actual reason for coming here today?"
I hesitated for a second. "I messed things up with Blake and I'm scared and I don't know what to do."
"Oh Mannie. You make me feel like such a primary school teacher."
"So what do you think?"
He sighed. "I think you need to learn to deal with your own problems."
I stood up to address him, "Whatever. I already know what I'm doing."
"Don't get passive-aggressive with me, Mannie. Or, in that case, not even aggressive. Mostly irritating." He was spinning a fork between his fingers, food untouched. "It's remarkably hard to tell which of us is the ageless immortal sometimes."
I sat back down and put my head in my hands. "Sorry."
"Excuse me, what was that?" He said, delighted.
"Sorry, okay! I'm sorry for... being so short with you. I don't mean anything by it. You're one hell of a guy. I mean that in both a positive way and a negative way."
"Hey, I'm not looking for you to praise me here." He said, taking me for joking.
"You are a huge prick though. A real ass. A right bastard. But you're pretty reliable, I guess. Yeah."
"The way you string together your words together is truly music to my ears."
"I hate you, but I guess you're ok. Probably somewhere more than ok. But certainly hovering somewhere above terrible."
"I should add these quotes to my resume. Hire you to write my letter of recommendation and watch the jobs roll in."
"You're not taking this seriously."
"Wait- are you?"
I blushed and tried to think of something to mumble. Kell watched me for a bit, expressionless, and then stood up and left the cafeteria. A little late, I followed him.
"I should hope you're not planning to trail me all day."
"I wanted to know, do you have a house? Or apartment, I guess?"
"Have to live somewhere, yes. Why are you asking?"
"I guess I was just wondering."
"Seems like a strange thing to wonder about, don't you think?" His voice sounded uncommitted to the conversation, deep, rumbling, and far off. Like a storm might, I suppose, but it sounds silly to compare the two.
"No, not really. Is it any stranger than wondering what you do on your days off?"
"They're in the same field of play, I'd say. Very similar, right in the line of 'strangely personal questions'. A field, I must admit, I wouldn't have expected you to look into."
"I'm just curious. That's all."
"Ah, but even that's off for you. Do you feel ill?"
"No, not at all."
There was a good, long pause in our conversation. "I've taken up cross-stitching."
"What?"
"It helps me concentrate, even if my vision's going. I put on a radio show, sit in my arm chair, and work on my cross-stitch. It's very relaxing. I don't really know why this interests you."
"I think I could use a hobby," I said, "that, or new friends."
"You may be right there." Kell laughed sorely. "But first you should ask yourself: how many friends do you have in the first place?"
"I have a lot of old friends." I said, thinking it over. "Blake is my friend. I don't really think of you as my friend, but... what else could we be?"
"A boss and his increasing concerning employee."
"Really?"
"No, Mannie. God. You're my friend if you consider yourself to be. Just- maybe you have better things to do than talk to me right now."
"I like talking to you."
"I've had that impression." Kell stopped in the lobby of the hospital, slowly sitting down in one of the green chairs there.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Kell let out a huff of air as he settled, crossing his legs and picking up a magazine.
"What exactly happened with your friend?" Kell flipped through the pages of his magazine, never pausing to read.
"I don't know. We were going to head to Earth. I'm a terrible idiot though, so we kept... not going anywhere. Now that I'm actually all set he doesn't want to leave. He's holed up in The Blues with a bunch of rebels, having the time of his life."
"Okay. Go without him. Get his phone number, come back a few months later, and get back in touch." Kell said. "The cycle change is tomorrow night, you know, taking him to Earth before it would have been a lot more damaging to your friendship than any squabble."
"Well, I thought we'd wait it out here. At first I didn't really care, and was all set to just let him get reset off with the rest of the humans? But I've grown really really attached, and..."
"Either talk to him or leave him alone. Your choice, not mine."
"Wouldn't be fun if it wasn't though?"
"No."
"Oh. Tomorrow there's going to be another peace meeting on Earth. No convoys, no surprises. Just the archangels and you guys."
"I'm not going to question why you believe this is going to happen, but I will note that it's not. Even if you arranged it yourself, we're dealing with too much right now to bother."
"Ok."
So I got going.
In the western half of the south eastern quarter of Pride, there was a small indoor garden, and it was the worst place in the world. I'd been going there for years to relax.
Fake plants mixed with several real ones in a concrete room with a sloppily painted mural of a forest. There was a steel bench covered in rust and chips.
A bottle of lavender scented air freshener kept the place smelling chemical.
I waited for an hour, and breathed, taking in the greenness of it all.
"Good news," I said as soon as I opened the door to The Blues and The Banes, regardless if anyone heard me. "I have good news," I said again, walking towards the rebel group.
"What's this about?" Someone muttered. "Again?"
"Again, yes, and again this is for just Blake."
"Is it so personal that I have to get up?" He gestured in front of him, as if to point out what a hassle getting in and out of the booth was going to be.
"Yes."
He began to stand up, but then sat back down again. "Really? What is it?"
"There's going to be another peace meeting on Earth, tomorrow, and we need to go."
"Shouldn't we go tomorrow then?" He asked slowly, over emphasizing each word.
"Percy has to head back to Heaven today, and we need to take him there." I hoped the eternal monotone of my voice was enough to hide my lies. "Kell said so. As a sign of goodwill."
"I thought Percy left a while ago?" Pepper said. It was difficult not to be aware of her presence in any given room, but in my anxiety I had somehow managed.
"Not to Heaven."
"Oh. What held him?" Pepper's voice was saccharinely simply sweet, but in her dark eyed gaze I could tell she knew exactly what I was trying to do. And she was fully aware of what she was doing, too.
"Kell?"
"I can't go to Earth alone." I said. With a little bit of tremble and the tiniest of shakes.
"I believe that," Blake said. "But everything else? Mannie, I'm above average in intelligence. At the very least, average."
"It's been over an hour- shouldn't you guys be done conspiring by now?"
"Yeah, we're eating." Blake gestured to the table, covered in bowls of chips and dip. I hadn't even noticed all their little planning documents were now in a neat little pile off to the side. "Do you want any? I don't think I've ever seen you eat, you know."
"I'm good."
"Please eat something."
There wasn't anywhere to sit near the booth, so I took a few chips and settled in the booth next door, feeling right miserable about myself suddenly. Maybe not suddenly. Maybe I always felt a little bit awful, and it was sheer determination that kept me from not mentioning it to anyone.
I could hear Blake laughing at something.
Thirteen long minutes later, the door to The Blues opened, revealing Kelsey and Kell. I peered out at them from my cushioned booth, listening as the rebels were thrown into a rushed and hushed frenzy, shuffling away paper and hiding one of their members under the table.
I got up on my feet. "Hello."
"Thought you'd be here," Kell said, "Your plan, of another peace talk... If the archangels are willing to meet, we need to take advantage of this opportunity to study them up close."
"We could always try poisoning them," Kelsey suggested.
"That too."
"Tomorrow, right?" I said. "Well, I guess I don't need to ask you that. It will be tomorrow. The angels will arrive around dusk."
"I don't quite understand why you're so certain, but yes." Kelsey said. "I've been told to listen to whatever you say."
"Unfortunate, but true." Kell added. Then he gave a small sigh. "Blake. Come with us."
He didn't budge. "Why? Everyone's so desperate to get me out of this place."
"Maybe because nightclubs in the afternoon are no place to hold a resistance meeting," Kelsey said. One of the rebels flinched. "Oh, come on. It's painfully obvious."
Blake's mouth twitched, something I wouldn't have seen if I wasn't staring so intently at him. "Look, I can't do it today-"
"I'll arrest you and your friends for conspiracy and treason if you don't," Kell said flatly.
"How long." Blake said. He got up slowly, and made his way over to us.
"An hour."
"Why."
"That's up to Mannie."
Everyone looked to me. I thought it over for a few moments. I didn't really have a plan besides 'go', I now that I thought of it, did I really need an excuse besides that? "Let's pop by Earth. About time, right?"