After the panic of the music hall had settled down, Krockman took the girls to a VIP room in the back. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you girls again," Krockman said as he poured himself a shot of whiskey. "So Emily, seeing that Chelsea and Lana are here, I assume you told them about our 'agreement'. How'd that happen?" "Your insane secretary tried to kill us. I had to tell them everything," Emily explained as she pulled out the deed from her pocket. "You left this at our place by the way. This is what Lolita tried to kill us over." Looking at the paper as he sipped his whiskey, a look of shock crossed Krockman's face as he said, "Oh god, how did I lose that?" Taking the deed back, Krockman looked the girls over, saying, "You girls must've been through a lot since you got to Limbo. Why don't you join me and a few friends of mine for dinner? You probably need it."

"Uh, that's nice and all, but I'm not sure if we want to hang out with your friends," Emily said nervously. "I mean, most of them tried to grope us to death back there." "Those freaks back there aren't my friends," Krockman retorted, an offended look spreading across his face. "Those are customers. Guests who come here to distract themselves from the monotony of existence. Parasites, fucking bottom feeders the whole pack of them. Trust me, they aren't gonna hurt any of you." Having said this, Krockman pushed a button on his desk, activating an intercom which he spoke into, saying, "Oh Roquella, Emily and her roommates are here. Is it okay if I invited them to dinner with us?" "Sure, just make sure they're dressed for dinner," Roquella answered over the intercom. "We're meeting Adelaide and Z-Wrap at that Italian restaurant down the road. Also, would it kill you to shave? You've had that scruff for over a month now." Looking slightly embarrassed, Krockman replied, "Okay, first off, don't pretend you don't love the scruff. Second of all... uh... the girls came in from the woods. They're gonna need a wardrobe change." Roquella only sighed, saying, "Fine, just send them through the elevator to my place and I'll take care of it." When she had said this, an elevator manifested in the middle of the room, catching the girls off guard. Krockman only smiled at this, saying, "Well girls, you heard her. Get in the elevator." Seeing no other option, Emily and the others got onto the elevator, the doors closing behind them as it descended down the shaft. 

When the doors reopened, the girls found themselves in a beautiful, palatial resort. Standing in the hall, waiting to greet them with a smile on her face, was Roquella. "Hey girls! Welcome to Fortuna's Palace! How's everything going?" she asked cheerfully. "I heard Krockman invited you along for our double date." "Yeah, sorry about crashing your date night," Emily replied sheepishly. "We came in looking for Krockman and we just..." "Oh don't worry about that," Roquella interrupted. "For now, let's just get you three cleaned up for dinner. I'm sure you're all starving by now." Pointing towards the hall, Roquella added, "Follow me. I'll take you all to my clothes closet." As Emily and the others followed after Roquella down the hall, they noticed something odd about her. Like Krockman, Roquella's appearance seemed different, less human. The tips of her fingers seemed thinner and more claw-like. Her bangs seemed to jut up like a pair of horns and were dyed blue, matching the soft blue glow of her eyes. Even her teeth seemed a little fang-like, though nowhere near as bad as Krockman's (even seeming rather cute). "Uh, Em, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Chelsea whispered to Emily as they walked on. "You mean how she... looks?" Emily whispered back. "Yeah, I noticed it with Krockman too. Is this how they've always looked?" Lana only shook her head, saying, "I don't know, but if Krockman and Roquella look like this, what do you suppose the others look like deep down?" 

As the girls were discussing this, Roquella stopped at a pair of doors, saying, "Alright girls, have a gander at my wardrobe." Opening the doors, Emily and the others were confronted by a vast wardrobe, containing everything from dresses, gowns, shoes, lingerie, and everything in between. "Now this is just a small part of my closet, but I'm pretty sure we can find something for you all to wear for dinner," Roquella said as she looked through the clothes racks. Emily only stared on in shock at the sheer size of the closet, saying, "Oh, uh, that's real nice of you Roquella. We really appreciate it." Noticing the drok's reaction to the closet, Roquella simply smiled, saying, "You don't need to feel intimidated by a closet. I was shocked the first time I saw it too." Grabbing a green dress and a blue dress from the rack, Roquella walked up to Chelsea and Emily, saying, "Now Chelsea, I think this green dress would look great on you. I think it'll bring out your eyes. Plus, we pretty much have the same body shape, so it won't have to be adjusted as much. As for you Emily, this blue dress is the smallest thing I have on hand. It's still a little big for you, but we can take it in a bit." As she hand the dresses over to the girls, she heard Lana speak up, "What about me? You got any dresses my size?" Looking down at the fairy, Roquella realized her usual wardrobe was not going to do the job. Pulling a phone out from her pocket, Roquella dialed in a number, waited for the line to pick up, and said into the phone, "Foxy K, Gummy, it's Roquella. Meet me in my closet. I have a job for you two." 

As she hung up the phone, Roquella smiled, saying, "Girls, you're going to be in the best hands in the fashion industry." "Well I've already met Foxy, and he seemed pretty nice," Emily said as she examined her new dress. "But who's this Gummy person?" As Emily asked this, the closet doors opened up revealing Foxy K standing in the threshold, his frosted tips blowing in the wind. "Hello again darlings!" Foxy shouted excitedly. "How are things back in Seattle?" "Hey Foxy! How's it going?" Chelsea shouted back cheerfully. "Oh it's going swimmingly honey," Foxy answered with a sly grin as he swished his tail about. "I had a little run in with a cute delivery man on the way here. Poor thing looked like he was struggling with a big package (he was also having a hard time carrying all those boxes as well)." As Foxy said this, a woman from the hall shouted, "Oh for god sakes Foxy, will you give it a rest with the gay on gay action already! Seriously, we've got work to do." Looking towards the door, the girls saw a woman standing in threshold. She had a steely look in her green eyes, her face and shoulders framed by silky, black hair. She was dressed in a rather fashionable business suit, and while she was quite attractive, her most striking features were her long ears sticking up from the top of her head, and her bushy, black fox tail. Casting a side glance towards the fox woman, Emily turned to Roquella and said, "I take it this is Gummy." Roquella only nodded in agreement, a pitying look crossing her face.

Turning to the two fox folk, Roquella ordered, "Alright then you two, here's the drill. I need you to make a few adjustments to the dresses I gave to the girls. Emily and Chelsea's dresses won't need much adjusting, just take them in a bit, cut a hole for the tails. Lana on the other hand is going to need something made from scratch; perhaps sacrifice one of my old dresses to get the job done." "Can do honey," Foxy replied with a smile as he took up a needle and thread. "Of course madam," Gummy added as she made her way to Emily. As the two fox folk worked, Roquella looked towards Chelsea and Lana, smiling as she asked, "So, how did your dates with Chunko and Lamar go?" "It went pretty good," Chelsea answered. "Chunko was so polite, and to be honest, it was the best date I've had in a while." "So was mine," Lana added as she waited for the foxes to make her dress. "Lamar was so nice, though I was a little shocked when he turned the bar into a vampire bar or whatever it was. I was not expecting that." Looking up from his work, Foxy only said, "Well that's fantastic. Wish she had set me up back then instead of Krockman setting me up with bitchzilla over there." "Oh right, Tanooka Joe told me about that," Emily said. "Look, I know the date probably didn't end well, but I don't see why you guys can't be friends. I mean you're practically the same species." At that moment, Foxy and Gummy looked up and stared at the drok in disgust. "Bitch, you serious right now?" Foxy asked, clearly pissed. "I'm a kitsune from Japan. She's a gumiho from Korea. We're both foxes, but we couldn't be anymore different." "Is it really that big of a difference?" Emily asked, somewhat confused. Gummy only glared as she retorted, "About as different as an Idian and a Native American." Hearing this, Emily stopped talking, hoping not to cause anymore offense. 

As the fox folk continued, Gummy rummaged through the racks, looking for something to convert into a dress for Lana. Eyeing a teddy, Gummy pulled it out, asking, "How about this? I could just cut off the bra and the panties and use what's left to make a dress." "Oh but that's a gift from Krockman," Roquella said, feeling the fabric in her hands. "He got it for me on our first date. He knew I always liked teddies." As Emily was listening to this, a thought occurred to her. "Teddy... Oh my god! Where's Teddi!?!" Emily shouted, realizing that the scrap was missing. "Don't worry about her, she's fine," Roquella reassured. "She's with Jimmy and the others." "Who the hell is Jimmy!?" Emily shouted, her sense of decency overridden by motherly instincts. "He's the guitarist you saw earlier in the music hall," Roquella explained, unphased by the drok's shouting. "What you saw on stage was his rage burst form. He takes it whenever he and the rest of Urban Gods performs." Hearing this, Lana asked, "Wait? You mean that band we saw performing was the actual Urban Gods?" Roquella only nodded in response. "Oh my god! I loved those guys! I have all their albums," Lana squealed with fangirl delight. "I just wish I went to one of their concerts before..." At that moment, Lana grew quiet as she remembered something. "What's wrong Lana?" Emily asked. "The Urban Gods were gunned down three months ago," Lana explained solemnly. "I guess that's how they became scraps in the first place, but how?" "Well, Krockman was taking his cousins to see the band when an angel of death caused several hitmen to meet up at the concert and open fire on everyone there," Roquella answered, seeming a little uncomfortable. "When the bullets stopped, Krockman felt so bad that he transformed Jimmy and the others into scraps and... well, let's just say that was the day Willam and Sophie came home to Limbo with us." Realizing what she meant, everyone in the room simply stopped talking, drenching the room in an awkward silence as the fox folk continued their work. 

A few hours later, having finally procured their dresses, the girls were on their way to the restaurant. Walking out in her black dress, Roquella examined the girls in their new dresses. Chelsea filled her's out nicely, the only major modification being a hole for her tail. Lana's dress was pretty good looking, even for a converted teddy. Emily's dress, however, was the biggest challenge, having been taken in to the point of being folded in half. Overall, they all looked good in their new dresses. "Thanks again for lending us your clothes," Emily said as they walked of the palace. "Think nothing of it," Roquella said in reply. "I'm just happy to help." As they were talking, Roquella noticed a car pulling up along the sidewalk. "Okay, here's Krockman now," Roquella said as the car parked next to them. "Just a heads up, don't bring up anything about the concert. He mostly blames himself for what happened and bringing it back up will just send him over the edge." "Understood," Emily said as the car doors opened up. Sitting in the front seats were Krockman and Tom, waiting for the girls to come in. "Hey there girls, need a lift?" Krockman asked playfully. With that the girls got into the car and drove off. 

As they drove off, Emily noticed that Tom was at the wheel. "Hey Tom, how's it going?" she said, trying to make small talk. "Oh, uh, hey Emily, how's everything?" Tom said, seeming a little awkward. "It's going good, almost died a couple of times since I've gotten here, but still pretty good," Emily explained. "Well, everything's going fine with me. I'm just getting ready for our date tomorrow," Tom replied. "Hopefully it'll be better than that one date Krockman set me up on." "Oh please," Krockman scoffed. "First off, who do you think set you and Emily up in the first place? Second of all, it's not my fault your first date walked out on you. You pretty much have the charisma of a tree stump. You completely blew it man. How is that even possible?" Only giving a side glance to his boss, Tom replied, "Y'know, since I am the one driving, I'm entitled to make a few detours. Maybe I'll make a quick stop at Gary's house, throw you out, and leave you there for the rest of the day." "You wouldn't dare," Krockman retorted, a look of shock crossing his face. Tom only looked over towards the lost soul, looked him square in the eye and answered flatly, "Just try me." Not wanting to go any further with the argument, Krockman simply sat back down and shut up. Noticing Krockman's submission, Emily asked, "Since when do you back down from arguments?" "Yeah, I really don't want to get involved with Gary," Krockman replied with a sigh. "He's the worst person imaginable: my suburbanite neighbor. Have you ever lived in the suburbs. It sucks. Thank god I left my old home in the suburbs when I got that job writing for HBO." Hearing this, the whole car looked at Krockman in surprise. Noticing this, Krockman only replied, "What did you guys think I did back when I was alive?" 

As the group stared on in surprise, the car stopped, with Tom turning around saying, "Okay folks, we're here at your destination. Enjoy your dinner. Oh and Emily, I'll see you on our date tomorrow." "That'll do Tom," Krockman said in reply as he patted the cait sith on the shoulder. "That'll do." With the last of the passengers out of the car, Tom drove off, leaving Krockman, Emily and the others at the restaurant. As they were walking into the restaurant, Krockman turned to Emily and the others and said, "Just a heads up, our friend Z-Wrap was sort of a YouTube star back when he was alive. He really doesn't like to talk about it, so don't bring it up okay." "Fine, who was he?" Emily asked as they reached the host's podium. "He was that comatose guy whose idiot brother used as a crash test dummy," Krockman answered. "Honestly, what kind of sick person would actually watch that?" "No clue," Emily said nervously, hoping that Krockman wouldn't ever sneak onto her watched list. 

Having checked in, the group made their way to their table. Sitting at the table were two figures, one a short woman with silky, black hair, a hooked nose, and was wearing a witch's hat, while the other was an emaciated man with an eyepatch and messy, brown hair. "Girls, meet Adelaide and Z-Wrap," Krockman said. "The last two members of the Seven New Gods." "Oh, you must be the new girls Krockman's been talking about," Adelaide said. "Nice to meet you all." "Yeah, real nice," Z-Wrap added with a leering eye. "Well it's nice to meet you too," Emily said, her eye wandering off towards Z-Wrap's eyepatch. Noticing this, Z-Wrap asked, "And what exactly are you staring at?" "Oh, sorry about that. It's just... kind of hard to ignore," Emily replied sheepishly. "Um... how exactly did that happen anyway?" Z-Wrap only sighed, leaning his head on his hand and began.

"Well, it all started back when I was living in Queens," Z-Wrap explained. "I was 18 at the time and working at Bob 'the Blob' McQueen's Music Emporium." "I'm sorry, Bob 'the Blob'?" Emily asked curiously. "Yes, that was his nickname," Z-Wrap replied. "He practically owned every business on the block, the music shop, the candy store, the comic book store, the movie shop, the deli, the jewelry store, and several brothels. You could say he was the epicenter of business in Queens (though that was mostly because he was so fat, he had his own gravitational field). Now as I was saying, I was working at Bob's shop at the time when my brother decided to ram raid the store. Crashed right through the window and sent me flying into a CD stand, putting me into a coma. Bob had it worse, the shock of the car crashing in caused him to have a heart attack and drop dead. The aftershock that he caused when he fell out of his rascal and hit the ground could be felt as far down as Baton Rouge." "That's how you lost your eye?" Lana interjected. "No, but it did put me in a coma," Z-Wrap replied. "Afterwards, my brother was sentenced to four thousand hours of community service, half of which were devoted to caring for me in my vegetative state. Unfortunately, what the judge didn't realize was that my brother was an asshole, spending every waking moment of his allotted time punching, catapulting, kicking, slingshotting, whipping, and generally beating me within an inch of my catatonic life and posting it on YouTube under the name 'Crash Test Dude'. One day, he was doing some stunt driving in front of a Denny's when he somehow managed to crash right through the diner's window, sending me flying through the windshield and face first into the counter. The crash killed him instantly, but it somehow revived me, though it knocked one of my eyeballs clean out, so... yeah, that's how it happened." As the girls stared on in shock, Krockman chimed, "Yeah, it was cool. There was a video of it on YouTube, last video on the Crash Test Dude. When I saw it, just... wow, what an image, lean, scraggly, scruffy brown hair..." "One eyeball," Z-Wrap added. Nodding in agreement, Krockman said, "Yeah, one eyeball. I tell ya, it was something else." 

As they were talking, a waiter came up to the table with a cart full of salad, asking, "Good evening everyone. Would anyone care to try the house wine and salad?" Sighing a bit, Krockman answered, "Sure, why not Barrem." Hearing this, the waiter, Barrem, began pouring wine and serving salads to the group. When he had finished, Barrem asked, "Would any of you care for any dressing with your salads?" "No thanks Barrem," Krockman replied, uncaring as he pulled out a pepper mill from his coat. "I brought my own seasonings." Looking at Krockman in disgust, Barrem simply walked off with the cart and left. "Did you really have to say that to him?" Roquella asked judgingly. "Yeah Krockman, that was rude," Emily added. Krockman only smirked, retorting, "Oh please, if Barrem was concerned with manners, he wouldn't have been shot by his girlfriend's husband. Anyway, I think you'll enjoy this a little more than any dressing they have to offer." As if on cue, the peppermill sprung to life, transforming into a scrap. From the bottom, popped out a pair of black feet, the shaft transforming into smock, long, boneless arms ending in pepper shaker lids sprouted from his arms, and a pig-like face formed at the top, wearing the crank handle like a hat. "Everyone, meet Milbert," Krockman said proudly. "Milbert, would you kindly pepper our salads." "Oki-doke sir," Milbert replied with snort as he waddled from salad to salad, shaking pepper from his little noodle arms onto the food (causing Emily, Chelsea, and Lana to cringe slightly). 

As the strange little pig, pepper mill scrap was busy with his work, Emily turned to Adelaide and asked, "So Adelaide, what do you do around here?" "I'm the alchemist of the group," Adelaide explained. "I am capable of concocting a myriad of potions, tonics, salves, and brews, all with a different purpose and effect." As Emily was hearing this, a thought occurred to her. "Hey Adelaide, quick question," Emily asked.  "What if, hypothetically, someone wanted a potion that makes them able to have children, would you be able to make it?" When the table had heard this, all the lost souls at the table simply sat in stunned silence, the quiet only broken by the sound of Milbert grinding pepper within himself. Suddenly, Krockman and the others burst into laughter, leaving all the mortals at the table confused. "That's a good one Emily!" Krockman shouted. "Like anyone in Limbo needs a fertility potion. I mean seriously, we're all dead anyway. What would be the point?" Looking worried, Emily asked, "Well, um, what about mortals? I'm pretty certain you would give a fertility potion to a living woman if she asked, right?" Hearing this, a concerned look crossed Krockman's face as he answered, "Oh, well the thing is, we aren't allowed to make new humans. It's part of the compromise we came up with the other gods just to get our positions. We don't create any new life on earth and God, Death and all the other weirdos overlook the whole 'hostile takeover' thing. Bottom line: anyone who wants us to make them fertile is just out of luck." This stunned Emily, leaving her completely speechless. After a few minutes of stunned silence, Emily got up, placed her napkin on the table, and retorted, "Well then... I suppose that's just how the world works isn't it. Hundreds of women just want to start a family, but they simply don't get that chance, do they?" But hey, you know what? You can all keep doing what you always do... just sit around and drink!!!" With that, Emily stormed off to the restroom, leaving the entire restraurant in silence. Looking nervously around at the others, Krockman only sighed as he got up, saying, "I'll go talk to her." "I think that's for the best," Chelsea replied as the lost soul made his way to the restroom. "She could really use it. 

In the women's restroom, Krockman saw Emily crying at a sink. "Hey Emily," Krockman asked nervously. "Um, is everything alright? That was a pretty big scene you made out there." Glaring at the lost soul, Emily retorted, "How are you guys not able make others fertile? Aren't you the reality warper? Isn't making people fertile part of the whole shtick, especially considering you and everyone else in Limbo is clearly capable of having sex!" Looking shocked, Krockman could only squeak out, "Okay, this clearly isn't about my powers, so what is it?" Sighing, Emily shook her head and answered, "Fine, you want to know the truth? Well here it is: I. Can't. Have. Kids. There, are you happy?" "Not really," Krockman said, feeling sorry for the poor girl. "Why couldn't you just tell me in the first place?" "And would you have done then, hmm?" Emily scoffed. "You just admitted to being incapable of making people fertile. Honestly, it's just not fair. Why does it seem like the world is conspiring against me?" 

When Krockman heard this, a look of absolute disgust crossed his face. "Not fair. Not fair!" Krockman protested. "Who told you life was fair?!" "W-what?" Emily asked meekly. "You heard me! Why the hell do you think life was ever fair?!" Krockman continued, golden spittle flying from his lips. "Let me tell you something lady, life isn't fair. It sucks! It's an unrelenting, unforgivable gauntlet of insufficiencies and pitfalls filled with every nitwit, nimrod, nincompoop, and numbnut imaginable. It's practically a miracle that anything smart enough to realize that is still alive!" Completely shocked by this, Emily could only say in reply, "You can't be serious." As if something had snapped in his mind, Krockman took off his trench coat, revealing his hunched posture. Before Emily could say anything, Krockman tossed the coat at the confused drok, covering her head. When she pulled the coat off, Emily saw that Krockman had taken off his polo shirt as well, exposing his pale, hairy torso. However, the most shocking thing she noticed was a bullet hole in his chest, spatters of what appeared to be golden blood having long since coagulated around the entry wound. Pivoting on his heels, Krockman showed of his back, permanently stained gold from laying in a pool of his own blood. "Look at it!" Krockman ordered. "Look at all of it." Staring at the splattered mess, Emily could only ask, "W-what is this? What am I looking at?" "They're my scars," Krockman explained. "They're a sick reminder that I killed myself." "You what?" Emily asked, completely horrified. "That's right, that's how I died. That's actually how a fair amount of us die," Krockman said with a sigh. "It was when I was working at HBO and one of the producers took a storyline for a series I was working on, turned it into the usual gorey, oversexed schlock fest that's usually shown on the channel, blamed me for it when it flop and convinced the executives to fire me. I was ruined. I didn't see any other way." 

Feeling sorry for Krockman, Emily walked towards the lost soul, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Oh Cooper, I didn't know." Hearing this, Krockman hastily smacked Emily's hand away, stating, "Don't call me that. Only Roquella and my cousins get to call me that. Anybody else saying it just rubs salt into the wound." "Well, you're doing pretty well now, right?" Emily said, trying to cheer Krockman up. "I mean, you own the universe for Christ sakes." "Oh yeah, some accomplishment," Krockman snarked. "Near infinite power over the planet, and I can't even create new life, make people fertile, or even save my cousins from being killed. Like I said before, life sucks. You can believe me when I say that no one is born for a reason, we do whatever we can give meaning to our empty lives, and we're destined to die. And yet, despite all of that, I still make the best of my existence, doing whatever I can to make the world just a little bit better for me and everyone around me. Sure, life's meaningless, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it." "Wow... that's actually kind of deep," Emily said, some how impressed and disturbed at the same time. "It's really twisted, but it's still deep." "Well, I have my moments," Krockman said feeling rather proud of himself as he put his clothes back on. "So, you feeling better?" "Not really, but it helps," Emily said in reply, a small smile forming on her face. With that, the two left the restroom and returned to their table. 

As Emily sat back down, Chelsea asked, "So, how are you feeling?" "I'm feeling better," Emily answered with a sigh. "Krockman put things in a new light... a really weird light that's some how uplifting and nihilistic at the same time." Hearing this, Z-Wrap asked Krockman, "Let me guess, you told her about the asshole at HBO?" "Oh yeah, I spilled my heart out to her," Krockman answered as he grabbed his fork. "Now that that's been settled, I can finally start enjoying my dinner." As he was about to enjoy his salad, he noticed something odd about it. "Hey, why hasn't Milbert peppered my salad?" Krockman asked. "Oh yeah, he left before he got to your bowl," Z-Wrap answered. "He asked me what his purpose in life was, I told him his purpose was to pepper food, and he ran off screaming 'oh my god'. I think he's having an existential crisis or something." "Well that's just great," Krockman huffed. "Just sat down after helping my friend and the condiment begins to question his existence. What else could go wrong?" As Krockman said this, his phone started to ring. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, Krockman answered it, saying, "Hello?" As he listened to the phone, Krockman nodded as he said yes, only for the silence to be broken by him shouting, "He what!?!" Glaring a bit, Krockman said, "I see. Well, just hang on. I'll be right there." As he hung up, Roquella asked, "Who was it babe?" "That was Lolita," Krockman groaned. "Apparently there's been an incident back at Fort Hancock. I'm sorry but I've got to take care of this." As he got up, Krockman turned to Emily and asked, "Hey Emily, quick question. How close are you to Chad, emotionally I mean?" "Um, we're pretty close. I mean, I wouldn't date him again, but I think we could still be friends," Emily answered, feeling a bit of nervous. Krockman only smirked, saying, "Well that's unfortunate." With that, Krockman left the restaurant and made his way back to Fort Hancock.
------------------------------------

Back at Fort Hancock, in Krockman's office, Chad sat nervously in the plush, leather chair. The office was pretty quaint in its own right, bay windows, mahogany desk, the usual sort of things in an office. There was one, insanely disturbing detail in the office: an enormous pair of yellowed wings ending in bloody stumps nailed to the wall. Seeing those only made Chad even more terrified. 

As Chad sat there in terror, he heard the office door open up. Turning around, he saw Krockman walking in, sporting his usual, fang-filled smile. "Hey buddy, how's it going?" Krockman asked in a friendly tone. "Uh, hey Krockman," Chad said nervously in reply. "It's going pretty good." Krockman smiled, saying, "Fantastic! Listen, I heard you've been poking around in places you shouldn't have." Looking nervous, Chad could only meekly asked, "You're not going to kill me are you?" "What? No, no, don't be ridiculous," Krockman reassured cheerfully. "I just wanted to talk. That's all." Heading towards the bay windows, Krockman said, "You know, the sun must be getting into your eyes. Why don't you let me close the blinds for you." Noting that it was still at twilight, Chad replied, "Oh, um, that's alright. The sun's really not that bad..." "Nonsense," Krockman interrupted as he reached the window. "I insist." With that, Krockman pushed a button on the window frame, causing the blinds to come down, shrouding the room in darkness (save for the soft glow of the wings and Krockman's eyes). 

Glaring at Chad from across the room, the green glow of his eyes making them appear sunken in, Krockman asked in a calm voice, "Do you know what you've done, Chad?" Intimidated by the sudden change in tone, Chad could only say, "N-no?" "You've meddled Chad," Krockman explained. "I invited you into my home in your time of need, treated you like a king, and how do you repay me? By breaking into my private room... and meddled." Looking shocked, Chad replied, "Well, okay sure, but to be honest, I wouldn't call how I was treated being treated like a..." "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Chad Jefferson, and I! Won't! Have it! Is that clear!?" Krockman snarled suddenly, leaving Chad in stunned silence. "You think you've fixed anything by flipping that map over? Do you think you've changed anyone back to normal? That is not the case. All you've done is send the magical focal points somewhere else. I don't know if there still in Seattle. I don't know they're still in the U.S. I don't know if they're still on the damn continent! You are a stupid and ignorant fool who still believes in the concept of good and evil! Well let me tell you something: there is no good, there is no evil, no reward, no punishment, no God, no devil, and there is no karmic balance! There is only one, single unifying factor amongst the whole of humanity, and that is man's desire for fulfillment." "Man's desire for fulfillment?" Chad asked, finally finding his voice. "Yes, it is the lengths that mankind is willing to go to fulfill there desires that shapes the totality of life on Earth. That is nature of the world today," Krockman explained coldly. "That is the atomic, subatomic, galactic, and cosmic nature of things today; and you have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and you... will... pay!" 

Noticing the fear in Chad's eyes, Krockman decided to take a different approach, saying, "Okay, let's look at it another way. You've ever been to church?" "Uh, not recently, but something tells me I should start again," Chad answered meekly. "Yeah, well I'd advise against that," Krockman said in reply. "I mean, you get up every Sunday morning, you go sit in the pews and listen to some guy rant on and on about the importance of praising God and avoiding Hell, but here's the thing: neither are important. What do you think they're doing in Heaven and Hell right now, hm? Singing choir songs in the clouds, or shoving red hot pokers up some guy's ass? No, they're busy doing cost benefit analysis on all the shreds of life they get from the souls that come to them." "Shreds of life?" Chad asked, slightly confused. "That's the currency of the afterlife. That's pretty much the main reason why either side focuses their attention on souls in the first place," Krockman explained. "Don't you see. They're both businesses. The whole universe is a business. It's been that way since man first saw fit to crawl out of the primordial sludge, and it'll be that way till the last remnants of humanity crumbles into dust." 

At that moment, Krockman's face grew peaceful as he continued, "And soon, there will come a day when all four sides of existence will be united under the same banner, working together for the same goal. One vast, unending empire where there are no wars or hatred. All hungers, satiated. All anxieties, tranquillized. All boredom, amused. All suffering, alleviated. All violence, pacified." Walking over to Chad and placing his hand on the young man's shoulder, Krockman added, "And that's why I want you as a part of my entourage, so that you can see that beautiful day too." Looking up at Krockman, Chad only asked, "But why me?" "Because you've seen things, stupid," Krockman answered sharply. "You know how the world works now. You really think you can go back to your old life and look at it the same way again? Of course, I've been talking your ear off this whole time. Do you have anything to say on your part?" "Just one thing," Chad said, maintaining eye contact with the lost soul. "I have finally seen the face of God." Krockman only smiled and chuckled a bit as he said in reply, "Well Chad, you may very well be right about that." 
---------------

Meanwhile, in a park just in the Town of Babel, Teddi was sleeping restlessly on a park bench. In her dreams, she could still see that kite scrap that snatched her up, only this time, she saw something scarier. The kite scrap was slowly floating towards an abandoned theater, with three shadowy figures looming overhead. On the left was a shaggy dog man, on the right was a cat man in a petticoat. The worst, however, was what was standing between them: a large, fat man dressed in finery but shrouded in shadow, his only visible features were two glowing eyes and a crooked smile. Just before she reached the imposing trio, Teddi awoke, sitting bolt upright in fear, screaming, "Momma!" 

As she was catching her breath, she heard someone asking, "Bad dream huh?" Looking towards the source of the voice, Teddi saw a guitar scrap staring at her. He was easily a head taller than her, his entire body formed from a guitar, with sweeping, brown hair, black pants, three fingered hands (with one finger on each hand longer and more pick-like), and tuning pegs for ears. The scrap smiled at her, saying, "Hey there squirt. How's it shaking?" "W-what?" Teddi asked worriedly. "Where am I? Where's Uncle Krockman? Where's mama?" "Okay, calm down kid," the guitar scrap replied. "Krockman told me to watch over you while your mom's away. The name's Jimmy by the way." Looking at the scrap in a confused manner, Teddi asked, "Jimmy?" "Well, you may know me better as Jimmy Fields," Jimmy continued proudly, striking a pose with flair. "Guitarist and frontman for the most righteous alternative band this side of California: the Urban Gods!!!" Teddi only looked at Jimmy awkwardly, saying, "I've never heard of you guys before." Feeling his ego deflated, Jimmy only glanced incredulously back at the teddy bear scrap, simply saying, "Well... this is awkward." 

As the two scraps stared at each other in awkward silence, they heard a nasally voice screaming out, "What does it all even mean!?" Turning towards the source of the voice, they saw that a pig-faced peppermill scrap weeping and wailing, flailing his noodly arms and spreading a thick cloud of pepper from the shakers at the ends. "Oh crap," Jimmy muttered. "What's gotten into him now?" "Who is that?" Teddi asked, feeling confused by the presence of the new scrap. "Yeah, that's Milbert," Jimmy explained. "He came here around the same time as you did, and to be honest, he's kind of a mess." Watching the weeping peppermill, Teddi felt sorry for him. "Shouldn't we help him or something?" she asked. "Yeah, I think we should," Jimmy answered as he tightened his tuning pegs. "I think I know how to handle this." Helping Teddi off the park bench, Jimmy lead the young scrap to Milbert, fighting their way through the cloud of pepper. When they finally arrived, Jimmy tapped the scrap on his shoulder, asking, "Yo Milbert, what's up?" "Oh Jimmy! It's horrible!" Milbert shouted. "One of the Seven New Gods told me my only purpose in life was to grind pepper." Looking confused, Jimmy asked in reply, "But you are a peppermill. Why does that bother you?" "You don't understand. I have so much to live for. I can't be restricted now," Milbert whined. "I mean seriously. I've only been alive for like two days and I already hate my life. Good God." Sighing as he tightened his pegs, Jimmy said in reply, "Look, Milbert, I get it. We all have moments of questioning our own existence. I mean look at me. I used to be a full human being before I had my soul placed into my guitar and so did the rest of Urban Gods, but we aren't complaining. In fact, my friend, Calibur, can vouch for me on this one." Hearing this, Milbert looked up and asked, "Calibur? You mean the toy sword scrap, red hair, blue shirt, walks around barefoot?" "Yeah, why?" Jimmy asked, feeling a bit nervous. "I saw him hanging around that big, red gateway at the other end of the park (y'know, the big one that kind of looks like a face)," Milbert explained. "It looked like he was waiting for something." "Hmm, that's weird. Why would he be hanging out near the Torii Gateway?" Jimmy said as he rubbed his chin. "We better go check this out. See if everything's alright." With that, the three scraps made their way to the Torii Gateway. 

As they were walking, Teddi asked, "So what's so special about this gateway anyway?" "The Torii Gateway is sort of a link between the western and eastern parts of Limbo," Jimmy explained. "Apparently, there's a lost soul in the east that Krockman's close friends with (I think his name is Kuma or something). They're real into making scraps, and they like to send the scraps they've made to show off to each other (hence the gateway)." "Oh," Teddi said, placing a paw to her face as she thought of another question. "So you used to be a human like momma and daddy?" Hearing this, Jimmy paused a bit, a look of shock crossing his face. After a short pause, he finally answered, "Um, well, I think Krockman put them through something called 'Project: Fantasy Seattle', so I'm not sure how human they are at this point. But yeah, I used to be human, I just don't like to talk about it." "Hey guys!" Milbert shouted excitedly. "We made it! We're here!" 

Looking up ahead, Jimmy and the others saw a series of torii gates forming a pathway that stretched out into the distance. Hiding behind a large rock was Calibur, holding a large camera in his hands. "Hi Calibur!" Teddi shouted excitedly, startling the sword scrap in the process. "What's up Calibur?" Jimmy added. "What are you doing?" Noticing the small group, Calibur shushed them, saying, "Please be quiet. They'll hear you. Although, I'm glad to see you again Jimmy, Teddi, and... uh." "I'm Milbert," Milbert introduced himself, realizing that he and Calibur haven't met before. "And... uh, who exactly is going to hear us?" Without saying a word, Calibur pointed a finger towards the front of the Torii Gateway, making note of a glowing portal in the front gate. Looking towards the gate, the group saw another group of scraps emerging from the portal. At the lead was a grey, weasel-like scrap with sickle claws, torn orange pants and a red sash, followed by a sad, blue umbrella scrap dressed in a blue boys kimono and a the upper half of an enormous umbrella over his body, then by a nervous looking scrap formed from a noh mask consisting of a large middle aged man mask with large golden eyes, blue triangles under his eyes, a wispy mustache, rounded teeth and brown limbs with white wrappings around his wrists and ankles, then by a scrap resembling a large, orange cicada nymph covered in mushrooms (with one growing straight from his eyes), and finally a simple ragdoll scrap. The strangest thing of it all was that other than the ragdoll scrap, these new scraps quite large (about the size of thirteen year old children).

The sickle scrap that was leading the strange parade looked around before looking back at his group and asked, "Are we all here?" The umbrella scrap moaned miserably as he sighed, "Yes Kama, everyone's here." "Excellent Kasa!" the sickle scrap, Kami, said ecstatically. "Now then, if nobody has anything to say, let's get down to business." As Kama said this, the mask scrap raised a scraggly hand, wanting to ask a question. "Yes Kamen?" Kama asked, slightly annoyed. "Uh, I-I-I was wondering if w-we should wait for like Krockman or Kuma to come along?" Kamen, asked nervously in a screeching, nasally voice. "Y-you know, so they can be like witnesses or something?" "Yeah, I'm with Kamen on this one. Maybe we should wait for them," Kasa whined. "What? No! We're not waiting for them. We don't even need to wait for them," Kama protested. "They told us that we've reached the point where we can go through the enlightenment process on our own now." Noticing that the other two scraps weren't budging, Kama leaned towards the fungus scrap and whispered, "Hey Shinkin, back me up here." Shinkin only slowly shook his head, saying, "Shinkin's not getting involved in this. Shinkin knows what's going to happen when it hits the fan." As the four were arguing, the ragdoll scrap interrupted, asking, "Um, excuse me! Are we still going through with this rite of passage thing, because I've been preparing for this moment since I first came to life." Looking at the scrap and feeling slightly embarrassed, Kama answered, "Of course we are. Don't you worry about a thing. Everyone get in position! No more discussion." With that, the strange group began their mysterious ritual, leaving Calibur and the others more confused than ever. 

The four giant scraps circled around the ragdoll scrap, never breaking eye contact with her. When the scraps stopped circling, Kama began, "Ningyo! Are you prepared to receive clarity?" "I am," the ragdoll scrap answered solemnly. "Are you prepared to receive enlightenment?" Kama continued. "I am," Ningyo answered again. "Are you prepared to enter the ranks of lost souls?!" Kama asked, sounding more aggressive. "I am," Ningyo answered, unfazed by the sudden intensity. Nodding solemnly, Kama said, "Then by the power invested in me by the Seven New Gods and the Council of Enma, I bestow upon you the gift of enlightenment." As he said this, a circle of light formed around Ningyo as the other four stepped back. As Ningyo stood in her circle, a giant presence loomed over her. Looking behind her, she saw a tall, lanky creature formed from rags, buttons and needles. Watching from the distance, Calibur whispered, "That must be her rage burst form." Suddenly, the rag giantess leaned down towards Ningyo and entered her body in a great flash of light. When the light faded away, a new scrap stood in Ningyo's place. She was as tall as the other enlightened scraps, wearing yellow dress with white polka dots and patches, blue curly toed shoes, pink, yellow, and white striped stockings  and an orange witch's hat with a face formed from buttons, patches, and stitches and a bell at the tip. Her orange yarn hair was bound in blue bands, while there were several patches and stitches all over her body. Looking on proudly, Kama announced, "Gentlemen, I present to you, Cheerful Spy Ningyo." 

As Calibur and the others looked on from their hiding spot, amazed by what they saw, a voice from behind asked, "Hello tiny, unenlightened scraps. What are you doing here?" Turning around, the group saw Shinkin staring down at them, his good eye clouded over. Staring back up at the fungus scrap, Jimmy noticed the other giant scraps heading their way. "Oh crap, they're coming," he muttered, noticing that Kama was leading them, tiny white lights shining in his empty eye sockets. Noticing Jimmy's nervousness, Shinkin said, "Don't worry tiny scraps. Shinkin and the other enlightened scraps are a pacifistic bunch. We won't hurt you." When the enlightened scraps finally arrived, Kama looked down towards Calibur and the others, saying, "Well, well Calibur. Didn't expect you to be here." "You invited me to watch," Calibur explained, still trying process what he saw. "Well I wasn't expecting you to bring along an entourage with you," Kama said smugly as he tussled Calibur's hair with his sickle claw. "Now then, if you'd be so kind as to follow me. I'll let you in our craft." "W-wait Kama, what about the others?" Kamen asked nervously. "Oh right, I forgot about them. Shinkin, take these other scraps back to where they came from," Kama ordered. "Except for the pig-peppermill thing. I sense that he has potential." With that, Shinkin took Teddy and Jimmy away, leaving Calibur and Milbert with the others. 

As they were walking, Jimmy looked up towards Shinkin, feeling unnerved by his appearance. Noticing this, Shinkin asked, "Shinkin sees that you're staring at him. Why are you staring at Shinkin? Shinkin is feeling violated." "Sorry, it's just that... well, I'm trying to figure out what you are," Jimmy explained. "At least, what you were formed from." "Shinkin was formed from a piece of tochukaso," Shinkin explained. ""It is a variety of fungus that grows from insects that have been infested with its spores, and is often used as a medicine in Asian countries." Staring on in shock, Jimmy replied, "Oookay, that's kind of messed up." Shinkin only shrugged, saying, "Yes. Yes it is." Tapping on Shinkin's leg, Teddi asked, "So what are Calibur and the others talking about?" "Shinkin doesn't know. Perhaps about something enlightened like stock bonds or geopolitics," Shinkin answered. "They never talk to Shinkin about geopolitics, or play video games with him... or hang out with him afterwards." Having said this, Shinkin's head drooped a bit as he added, "Shinkin knows no love." 

Feeling sorry for the poor scrap, Teddi hugged Shinkin's leg, saying, "We'll be your friends, right Jimmy?" "Um, sure, why not," Jimmy said reluctantly. Looking down at the two smaller scraps, Shinkin asked, "What have you to offer Shinkin?" Looking up at the fungus scrap in a confused manner, Teddi answered, "Um, love and friendship." "Hm, perhaps that is all Shinkin truly needs," Shinkin said upon hearing this. "Perhaps Shinkin will finally have someone to share his secrets with." "I'm sorry, secrets?" Jimmy asked. "Yes, Shinkin and the other enlightened scraps have seen many things; weird, wild things involving a lot of nudity and blood combat," Shinkin said with a shudder. "We have had to keep many of it a secret from prying eyes, but Shinkin has grown tired of bearing such a burden. Shinkin wishes to share these secrets with his new friends... if they prove themselves worthy of learning it." Looking confused, Jimmy asked, "And how exactly do we 'prove our worth'?" Without hesitation, Shinkin plucked off one of the mushrooms from his belly and gave it to the two scraps, saying, "Take this Toadstool of Trust. It represents our new friendship." "Oh, um, thank you," Teddi said nervously as she took the mushroom. "There are five more just like it scattered around Babel," Shinkin continued. "Find the other five by the end of tomorrow and Shinkin will reveal all to his new friends." Feeling that the whole situation had taken a weird turn, Jimmy asked, "And if we don't find all of them?" "Shinkin will still be your friend. Shinkin's not the kind of scrap that gives up on friends who don't meet his lofty demands," Shinkin answered. "Now then, the next toadstool can be found in Mr. Kokuban's classroom. Find it, and Shinkin will come give you the next clue. Now then, no more talking. Shoo." With that, Shinkin walked off, leaving the other scraps more confused than ever.