The boys were escorted to a large elevator, just outside the festivities of the convention.

Eary glanced towards the eagle head of the angel, whose radiance washed over and enveloped him in a serene splendor that filled him with the vigor of a hundred cups of coffee, and the calm of a cozy night's rest in bed.

"Excuse me." He meekly breathed as he stared in awe.

"Yes, Earhart." Gabriel replied in a soothing tone that transcended the reaches of his soul.

"I-I was just wondering if we're in any kind of serious trouble?" He said, as the words came tumbling from his lips.

Mote chuckled. "Don't 'cha worry ya little toe head about it, squirt!" Mote exclaimed in an upbeat tone that calmed the growing anxiety in Eary.

Mote continued, "The boss and I go way back. We's used to be bowling buddies. That's when they talked me into this whole gig. Said it would help help with my alcoholism." The tiny blue moteling shook the haloed silhouette of his head. "Good times."

Eary raised his brow in suprise. Mote
had never discussed these things with him before. He sighed. The sheer age of his little pal began to boggle his mind when the sound of the elevator reorientated him to reality.

"This way, if you will." Gabriel directed his hand into the strangely ordinary looking glass elevator.

The group entered the windowed and woodpanneled space. The ten youths huddled the small enclosure, as Mote commanded, "Push the top button."

Hannah, who had been wedged into the corner, near the control panel, leaned over and began to search the numbers.

"Which one?" She inquired as she searched the top row of the buttons.

Mote replied, "Look up a bit."

Hannah slid her fingertips up until she found a button that made her brow furl. "The sideways eight?" She inquired in a confused tone.

Mote nodded, "Yeah, that's the one." He said with somber echo in the voice of the normally sassy moteling.

Hannah pushed the button. The sound of gears cranking held the group in a state of suspension. "What floor is that?" She asked apprehensively as her breaths began to increase to match the group's.

"Forever." Mote stated nonchalantly.

The group was quickly pressed down by the weight of gravity as the elevator shot through the fabric of reality.

The swirling colors washed past the windows like rainbow river rapids. The deafening hum of their transport as it pierced the fathoms of eternity, blocked out any attempt to speak.

The team held themselves up against the railings where they could.

Eary grasped onto Decan and Luke as the force pushed him to the floor. As his hands began to lose their grip, he felt a strong arm wrap around his abdomen, bracing him up.

He knew it was Denby's arm. A swirl of unease and intrigue filled the teen as he nervously glanced at Decan.

He was preoccupied by holding himself up while holding his arm firm for Eary.

A guilty swath filled him as he clung harder to Decan's arm.

The moment was interrupted by a quick ding. The group practically jumped as gravity returned to normal.

"We's here!" Mote announced as the doors opened, and he calmly floated out.

Eary's eyes grew large as he exited the elevator. A grand palace, made of a strange shimmering stone, pearl and ivory, gave birth to grand towers of gold and silver.

Mote snarked, "Ugh, I remember havin' to haul Claris sofa up here."

Eary raised a brow in suprise.

Mote continued, "Well, we's here. Thanks, Elevatorel."

Eary turned his head in disbelief as the elevator soared away with six shining wings.

"The elevator was an angel?" He asked, his voice filled with awe.

Mote nodded, "Yeah, pretty much everything up this high is an angel." He said as he directed the youths forward. "Anu actually made that one at Build-an-Angel for Claris for a house warming gift." He stated matter of fact.

Alice inquired, "What you get'em?"

Mote replied, "I signed the card."

The team arrived at a pair of large golden doors. Standing at the entrance was a four headed being with grand wings.

Eary smiled, "Hey, Gabriel. You sure got up here fast." He said cheerfully.

"Silence!" The being exclaimed in a great booming voice.

Mote patted Eary on the face as he whispered, "Wrong bird, kid. Let your ol' pal Mote do the talkin' from here."

"Eh, Mikey!" Mote exclaimed bewildered as he continued. "Ya look great. Is that a new flammin' sword?"

"Enough, creature. You have been summoned." Michael stated dismissively.

Mote nodded, "Yep! We's right on our way now." He said nervously. "Say, how's the boss today? They had their coffee, right?"

The grand doors opened. Eary found himself sitting in an office chair. Sitting across from him was Scott Thompson, the Phoenix friend from Mote's office.

"Name." Scott said as he exhaled a large puff of smoke.

He nervously replied. "Um, Eary Olson. We've met. I was here with.."

"Date of birth?" Scott interrupted, paying Eary little attention.

"July 5th" He replied somberly.

"Hmm, that's odd. Not in the system. Here, let me get the scanner." Scott stated as he removed a large pad from his desk and placed it in front of Eary.

"Place your hand here, please." Scott stated blandly once again.

Eary complied, and in a flash, the pad lit up under Eary's hand.

"Okay, I see the problem. Says here you're adopted." Scott stated bluntly.

Eary quickly corrected him. "No, that's not right either. I have a twin. I can't be adopted." He said dismissively.

Scott nodded. "Yes, a Josh Olson. Also adopted."

Eary stared blankly at Scott. He began to breathe heavily as his heart began to race. "My brother Luke?" He asked, his voice shaking under the revelation.

"Biological child of Mitchell and Cordelia Olson. Looks like it's just you two." Scott replied, scanning through his files.

"When you were four, it says." Scott replied.

Eary felt a tingle cover his body. My nightmares, he thought. As tears began to swell in his eyes. "Who am I then?"

Scott clicked his feathers on the keyboard while taking another drag of his smoke. "Says your name is Orshin Elxam. You were born in the Aedish capitol of Aeden. Whoa, what's this?"

"What!" Eary exclaimed in earnest.

"You're over 13,000 years old? That can't be right." Scott stated as he clicked on his keyboard. "You're a mortal boy from Earth, correct?" He asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes. I live there with my family, my friends, Mote." Eary stated bluntly as he leaned over, trying to steal a glance at Scott's monitor.

Scott quickly readjusted his screen to avert Eary's eyes. "Clearly you live there with Mote. But it does say you were born 13,000 years ago. What's this?"

"What's what?" Eary groaned and slumped in his chair as Scott's revelation's mercilessly shred into him.

"That's the problem. You're not supposed to be here." Scott replied cheerfully.

Eary sighed. "Thank goodness. It just a clerical error." He said as he began to ease up.

Scott nodded his long firey beak as he replied. "Yes! You're not human. This is human heaven. It also states that aedish, like yourself, don't have immortal souls. That would explain your mortalness despite the fact you're in human heaven."

Eary's jaw dropped. A cold shook his body. Years of church, the miracle, his family, his friends. They all flashed by his eyes as he slammed his fist hard down on Scott's desk. "There is some kind of mistake, Sir!" He raged the words out in a clump of madness and fear.

"Look, buddy, this isn't my department. The ones handling your case have more than likely been relocated to different departments sometime ago." Scott stated indifferently.

Eary began to cry. He slumped into his chair. Scott's continued clicking began to fade away as a ringing took Eary's hearing.

"Orshin!" Scott said repeatedly as Eary stared at him. The word was nonsense. This was all nonsense.

A moment later, Eary was transported to an enormous waiting room. His mind was blank as a feeling of sour rot echoed in his heart.

Luke chuckled amongst the others as Eary overheard his brother, "Who else got checked in as a human from Earth?"

Alice and Mei waived their hand in the air while Denby and Hannah recounted their experience jovially.

"Hey." An arm reached around Eary's shoulder. It pulled him close into the tall figure. The voice was familiar to him as it said, "You okay? Eary? Eary?"

The figure pulled back to reveal Decan's concerned face as he began calling for Luke.

Eary felt his vision fade away as he fell forward into darkness.

He woke. His eyes slowly peeled open to a mass of figures. As his vision cleared, he was lying in Decan's lap with his friends looking on in concern.

"Hey, you okay, bud?" Luke asked as he examined his brother.

Eary nodded as tears filled his eyes. "Luke, they said some really bad stuff to me."

"Who did?" Luke replied angrily.

"Scott Thompson. He said I was adopted and had no soul." Eary said as he began to weep uncontrollably.

Luke replied, "I don't know who that is. But that's crap. You're going to heaven. You're there now."

Eary shook his head. "He said this was human heaven, and I'm an Aedish, like from the Nocopo." He said between sobs.

Luke laughed. "Eary, that's dumb. Think about that. You're sixteen. They died out like a really long time ago."

"13,000 years." Alice stated.

"Thank you. Yeah, you're not 13,000 years old." Luke said with a reassuring smile.

Luke helped him to his feet while Decan comforted him from behind.

Alice walked up. "You feelin' okay?" She asked softly.

Eary recounted the events in his head. He nodded.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. You're missing all the good drama. Motes a dad." She playfully stated.

She grabbed his arm and brought him over to the spectical. The large demon lord, Flumenel, was arguing with Mote.

"It's Leviathan now, Dad! God! You never pay attention to me!" Flumenel said in a deep hissing voice. "Oh! And here comes your real son, Fairy. Ha, ha, queer."

"Excuse me? Son? Mote?" Eary replied in protest.

Flumenel got directly in Eary's face. His scales were marked with strange red sores all over his face. "Who the fuck do you think you are, mother fucker?" The demon hissed.

"Is that acne?" Eary questioned exuberantly.

Flumenel immediately recoiled its long serpent body. "What? Dad? Do something." Flumenel sobbed.

Mote cleared his throat. Slowly hovering over to Eary, he waived his finger at him aggressively. "Now don't 'cha go pickin' on my boy, Eary. He's the sensitive type." Mote looked back and grinned towards Flumenel. "How's that?" He asked coyly.

"Whatever! You don't even care!" Flumenel protested in a angsty huff.

Mote rolled his eyes. "Well sure I do. I just saw your ma at the office the other day and she told me all 'bout 'cha. How your a big demon lord now. Cool stuff." Mote awkwardly stated.

Flumenel groaned. He slithered away while grumbling "Just forget it." He got a few meters before he broke down in a fit of tears. "I'm only 14, did he tell you that?" He hissed as he ran off to the other side of the waiting area.

Mote raised his hands in defeat before rejoining the others. "Ugh, let's go sit on the other side of the room." He stated bluntly.

Mei approached the little moteling hovering away. "What do you think you're doing?" She said angrily.

Mote shook his head. Dismissively he said, "What? He ain't 14. He's 20,000 years old, the lyin' demon."

"Uh-uh. Get over there, now!" Mei protested, her arms folded firmly.

"Eh? Hey now, why don't 'cha mind your own....." Mote began to defend himself when he was interrupted by the sound of the girl yelling at him aggressively in Mandarin.

"Sheesh! Fine, I'm goin', I'm goin'." Mote grumbled as he flew off in the direction of his son. The team followed in morbid curiosity.

"Now, ya don't have to be cryin'." Mote said consolingly.

Flumenel huffed. "Why do you always have to have some other kid. Look at his costume. It's great! No one helped me. I had to go as a sexy kitty today." He sobbed and hissed.

Mote nodded as he flew up closer to his son. "I know. I sees it. And no one was sexier."

Flumenel gruffed. As he wiped his big sepantine head back towards Mote, he said. "You don't do anything for me! You got him a nice costume."

Eary looked at his outfit awkwardly as Mote stated, "That? I stole that."

Flumenel protested, "When was the last time you stole something for me? I used to be a beautiful angel. Now I'm a nasty demon." Flumenel burst into tears.

Mote consoled his son. "C'mon now. You're just rebelling. It's totally normal at your age."

Flumenel sobbed quietly, "I guess."

Mote nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, you'll figure it out someday. Just like your ol' man."

Flumenel looked up with a hopeful gaze. "You promise?"

Mote smiled softly. "Do I seem like the type that would lie to ya?"

Flumenel's mouth curved into what appeared to be a smile as the two embraced.

"Ding-dong. Attention: would Mote and his guests please proceed to the audience chamber. Claris is ready to see you now." An overhead voice announced.

"Well, looks like that's me. You take care there, pal. And remember, I'm proud of ya." Mote whispered as he flew off towards their destination.

The group followed in astonishment as Flumenel called out, "Love you, dad!"

Mote raised his thumb as the youths approached another door.

Luke inquired "Whose his mother anyways?"

Mote continued, "Ah, Tina. And lemme tell you, Anu was not pleased. Not pleased at all."

Luke chuckled, "Well no shit."

Mote was about to respond when the great doors opened yet again.

Eary glanced around in disbelief. He and his friends now stood in the clearing of a large forest. Ethereal starlight, from a sea of infinite stars, illuminated their gaze as a blanket of red roses climbed a circular platform rising to the seat of a gnarly root entwined throne. Sat upon the throne was a large, muscular, dark skinned man. The roses ascended his torso, resting on the bottom of a red corset.

"Claris! How ya been?" Mote exclaimed.

"Greetings, Mote. I had heard of your arrival. You weren't going to visit?" Claris asked, their voice stirring the wind deep in the thicket.

Mote shook his head. "Na, it ain't like that. Just here on a little business trip. Protectin' the Earth and all that." He stated nervously.

Claris rose their eyebrows. "Oh? I haven't had a report from you in a while." They stated calmly.

Mote nodded. "Yeah, it's been about 13,000 years or so. Hasn't it?" He replied coyly.

Claris smiled and nodded. "It has, indeed."

Mote scratched his long ear as the two stared at each other.

Eary tapped Alice, "What's going on?" He whispered.

"Mote's 13,000 years late to work." She whispered back.

"Please, step forward." Claris commanded, looking directly at Eary.

Eary's eyes grew wide. He tried to helplessly command his legs to move, but to no avail.

Claris smiled. "It's okay, come."

Eary felt himself walk, but he was not controlling it. Or was he? He could hardly tell which end was up when he arrived beside the moteling.

"Earhart, why are you here today?" Claris asked serenely.

"We are looking for an item to help us purify the shard of, well, you." Eary said his words, shaking with every syllable.

"Really? A corrupted shard of me?" Claris asked.

Eary nodded. The tension of before washed away as he said. " Yes. But you know that. You know everything."

Claris smiled. "Yes. But I want Mote to tell me." They said as they fixed their gaze upon the little moteling.

Mote hovered quietly. He nervously picked at his paws as he glanced around.

Eary winced. He flailed his hands "Just say it, Mote! They already know."

Mote stood sentinel staring at the large man in the rose dress. After a moment, Claris rose from their seat. A great swath of butterflies transformed from the roses. As the spectical subsided, the team was surprised to see they were standing in the offices of Interdimensional Karmic Debt.

Claris was no longer a tall black man in a dress of roses. They were now a person of indeterminate gender. In a suit of pastels of every color, with short combed hair, they announced, "Come. There is something we must discuss."

Claris made their way to the elevator as the team followed shortly behind. "What kind of shenanigans did Mote get into this time?" Eary thought as they boarded the elevator.