"Wow. Can you believe it? Time had actually stopped! And Lucas, of all people, helped restart it..." - Said Rachel.
David nodded.
"Well... It makes sense, if you think about it. These are gods we're talking about, so Lucas would end up coming into contact with weird stuff..."
"True that." - Said Rachel as she and David walked up to a table with a bottle with a silvery liquid - "Huh. I wonder what this is..."
"This, Rach, is fake nectar, the fake drink of the gods! I can't create the real deal, but this tastes just like it!" - Said Lucas, coming from behind her - "I've been mixing this with Dr Pepper, and it is awesome! Blasphemy never tasted so good! Here, have a taste! I'll be back soon, I gotta check something with Neruite."
With that, as Lucas left, a glass with a slightly brownish version of the silvery fluid appeared on Rachel's and David's hands.
"Can you imagine if she had power on Earth?" - Said David.
"Scarier than the End of Time..." - Said Rachel as she took a sip - "This is delicious, though."
"Lucas, not to put too fine a point on it, but I assume your friends are discreet?" - Said Hawkins.
"Yeah, yeah. The angels are, oddly enough, sworn to secrecy, I trust the other people and, besides, the story is too far-fetched anyways. Heck, I don't believe me when I tell myself we did that stuff!" - Said Lucas.
"I see. If I may ask, what is that you are eating?" - Asked Hawkins. Lucas was eating from a bowl with a golden-tinted fruit Hawkins could not recognize. Covering it was a mixture that seemed to be made out of egg yolk, milk and cinnamon.
"That's ambrosia with ambrosia. The egg yolk ambrosia is a recipe from my home state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. And the other one is a copy of the mythical food of the gods. They go very well together. Want some?" - She said, smiling.
"If you wanted to go by themes, there is also a fruit salad in America that's named ambrosia." - Said Hawkins, smirking a bit.
Lucas pointed a table. Hawkins looked. The table had several bowls, among which Hawkins could recognize the strange golden-tinted fruit, the egg yolk mixture and the American fruit salad.
"Oh, also? Do me a favor?" - said Lucas, producing a flash drive - "Give Cecilia this when you meet her. Tell her to put it on while still here and download the info onto her."
"What is this?" - Asked Hawkins.
"I created this for her. This flash drive has files with the tastes of the things I'm serving. It will only work here. It's so she can access the taste..."
"Very thoughtful." - Said Hawkins.
Robert looked at Death. The Grim Reaper was now a pretty Gothic girl, and she had explained herself, mostly, which did help matters. So it was that Robert cradled the baby way less "protectively" than in the first time, when Death appeared to them as a skeleton in a cowl.
"So... I saw the YouTube video. Was that necessary?" - Said Robert.
Death smirked.
"Look, the chess thing was my way to make sure Lucas would live. Plus I had to honor the spirit of her request and get her a joke. And she loved it."
"I suppose..." - Said Robert, a bit more amiably - "I apologize for how I reacted earlier."
"Oh, you mean when I appeared to you as a skeleton? Your reaction was quite normal. It's okay. I think I'll keep the perky goth form for now, though..."
Robert paused. She looked at herself, and sighed. She feared the personification of Death for its appearance, as she herself was feared for hers.
"It's not okay. I, of all people, should know better..."
Neruite and Venus chatted in a room when Lucas entered.
"Oh, hey, Lucas. Do you still think you owe me anything after today?" - Said Neruite, smiling.
Lucas just blushed and stammered. Venus giggled.
"The woman of the hour. The gods owe you favors now, Lucas..."
Lucas blushed harder.
"Er... Uhm, I don't want to impose. Plus it's not my place to force the gods to do my bidding... I mean... Er... Look, when Neruite saved my life, she said there was no debt, right? So, you guys don't owe me anything either."
"Yeah, but you still felt you owed me stuff..." - Said Neruite, giggling - "Besides, it's not like the gods are thinking of following your every whim. We just owe you a favor, is all."
"Uhm, you two don't. You saved my life once, Neruite, and, Venus, I still have to solve the situation with Lilly. Plus the remark to Hermes about calling in a favor was mostly in jest... I mean..." - a flustered Lucas paused.
Venus giggled again.
"You saved time itself, Lucas... But if you feel uncomfortable with the notion of us being in your debt, then I will put it in a way you humans understand: We got your back now."
"Thanks." - Said Lucas, smiling.
"You're welcome." - Said Neruite - "Now, the party will go on for at least some two, three more hours. I think you can spare a few minutes. So, sit on this couch here. I'll solve your sleep thing. You deserve it..."
Lucas blinked and sat on the couch.
Neruite gently pulled Lucas to herself, placing Lucas's head on her lap.
Lucas slept instantly. After a few minutes, Lucas would wake up fully refreshed to keep on the party, as if she had slept all the sixteen hours she really needed, from the best sleep she had ever had.
Lucas opened her eyes, smiling.
"So. Worth it."
"So, Cass, if I hang out with you, I'll be one of those mecha characters?" - Asked Cecilia, smiling. She enjoyed the wide smile the anime rendering gave her.
Cass giggled. "Maybe, but I'd think snarky companion to Hawkins to be more your style?"
"Well, Inkface does have 'straight man' written all over him." - Said Cecilia.
Cass smirked. "You know, I had you guys pegged for way more serious than that..."
"That's because Hawkins got all the seriousness of two agents. So, to counterbalance it, I have all the seriousness of zero agents." - Said Cecilia, smirking - "And you're one to talk. We know your girlfriend, remember?"
"Point!" - Giggled Cass.
