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Back at the Grove…

"So," said Vib.

Patty poked her hotdog with her drink straw. Ban was still fuming, his food untouched, and Grujaja had yet to take off his cone to eat. Vib hadn't started on their own food, either. Were any of them even hungry?

Alexei stuffed his hotdog into his mouth. "Crazy stuff, right?" he said with his mouth full. "I mean, how long has Bauhauzzo been keeping this to himself?"

"Centuries," Ban grumbled. "The Drain's been flooding as long as anyone can remember."

"Not all of it was the Rift flooding," Vib said. "Drain floods by itself all the time, too. I don't think Bauhauzzo caused all of it."

"But if the Grove had a way to dam–"

"And not all the water down there comes from the Grove." Vib sighed. "I know what Bauhauzzo did is upsetting, and it's all sorts of screwed up, but the gods aren't responsible for every bad thing that happens in the Drain. They can't control every bad thing on Earth, either."

"Or even the Grove," Alexei pointed out. "Bad stuff happens here, too."

Ban said nothing. He glared down at his hotdog and lashed his tail.

Alexei kept chattering. "They say the Drain was where the Grove used to be," he said. "Y'know, before Miss Mitternacht ascended. Then she scooped the Grove out of the Earth–" He mimed scooping with an invisible spoon. "–and the Drain is all the caves that were left behind."

"Really?" said Patty. "I never heard that story."

"Well, it's not true," said Ban. "Not literally, anyway. If that was what happened, the Drain would be a big hole in the ground, not caves."

He sounded calmer, at least, even if his tail was twitching. Grujaja cautiously peeked out from under his traffic cone.

"There's a lot of myths about the Drain and the Grove," Vib said, tapping their fingers on the table. "Hard to know which ones have any truth to them."

"It just makes me mad," Ban grumbled, crossing his arms. "The gods should've remembered this stuff! They're supposed to watch over everyone!"

Vib sighed. "The gods were human once," they said, "and they're still fallible, just like any other human. All of us who followed Inspekta ought to know that better than anyone."

Ban glared across the table. "Even Spek didn't screw up this bad!"

"Yeah, he almost did worse."

"But he didn't!" Ban slammed his hand on the table. "Why aren't you angry about this?"

They raised their voice. "Just 'cause I can keep my head on my shoulders doesn't mean I'm not pissed!"

The table fell silent. Vib took a deep breath, their tail lashing.

"It does make me angry," they continued. "I watched Hector put his life on the line over and over to get us out of the Drain. He shouldn't have had to do that. He shouldn't have been the only one to give a damn about us."

Vibiano had been one of the first Bizzyboys, Patty remembered. They had joined Hector and Capochin with the very first group to make it to the Grove, the group that didn't lose anyone. Vib might have known pre-ascension Hector better than all the rest of them–except Capochin, obviously.

Her own tail twitched. It was starting to sink in, what Bauhauzzo had done to the Drain. Pokey had been sent there with no way of getting a message back to the Grove. What were they supposed to do? Send a letter?

Patty chewed on the inside of her cheek. An idea slowly formed in her mind. "What if…"

She trailed off. Everyone stared at her. "What if what?" said Vib.

"Bauhauzzo said the Grove and the Drain used to talk to each other," Patty said. "What if we could help them do that again?"

Alexei scrunched up his nose. "Like, us us? How are we supposed to do something the gods didn't even do?"

"But they did do it!" Patty countered. "It was a long time ago, but before Huzzle Mug ascended, they talked to each other all the time! There's gotta be records somewhere, right?"

"You have a point," said Vib. "Some of the infrastructure's got to still be there, even after all this time. Maybe we can piece something together."

They smiled at Patty. She beamed back. "Let's figure out places to look," she said. "Libraries or something. I know BuzzHuzz has a lot of them."

"I'm not talking to Bauhauzzo again," Ban said.

"Duh," said Alexei. "He's busy getting yelled at, anyway. We passed a library on our way here, we could check that place out?"

Grujaja spoke up. "There's a historian who lives in the Cove," they said. "She might know somethin'."

Vib nodded. "There's some archives in Hobbyhoo that are at least older than Click Clack's ascension. Dunno how much older they are, but we could give that a shot."

"Oh!" Patty jumped to her feet. "Click Clack! I saw a lot of books in his domain, and he's probably worried about Thespius. He'll definitely want to help!"

"Seems like we've all got somewhere to go, huh?" said Vib. "Assuming Al and Ban are going together."

"I'm gonna head to Hobbyhoo, actually," said Ban. "There's some stuff in my apartment I gotta check."

"Let's meet back up tonight at me and Vibiano's place," said Patty. "If that's okay with you, Vibi."

"Fine with me," Vib said. "Just… give me a hug before you go?"

Patty gladly obliged. Vib squeezed her tight and mumbled something, barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry," they said. "You should never have to fix other people's mistakes. I wish you had gotten to have a normal life."

"Vibiano…" Patty pulled back with a small smile. "You don't have to worry so much about me, alright? I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."

Vib nodded and wiped their eyes. Were they crying? "I know," they said, "I just…"

"Hey, we're all in this together, right? This sucks for all of us." Patty glanced at Ban. "You want to walk with me to Hobbyhoo?"

"Sure," said Ban. "See you later, Alexei."

As they left, Patty looked back at the table and saw Vib waving her off. Behind them, Alexei casually grabbed Ban's uneaten hotdog and devoured it.

---

Chapter Five: Crosstalk

His hair was a mess. Hector made a halfhearted attempt to brush it out after the shower to little effect. He put the brush down and got dressed, leaving the bathroom with his damp clothes bundled in his arms.

Kerstin stopped him before he could return to her spare room. "I'll wash those for you," she said, taking the bundle out of his hands. "I'll get your friends' clothes and run a load. Nothing in the pockets, right?"

"Dunno," Hector said.

"Well, I'll check before I throw it in. I know that Pokey was keeping pens in their pockets…" She looked up at him. "Do you need help with your hair?"

"What?"

Kerstin clicked her tongue. "Come with me," she said.

He was too tired to decide if he should object or not. He followed Kerstin up the stairs and through what was presumably her bedroom to another bathroom, where she tossed his clothes in a laundry basket and sat him in a chair.

"I'll do what I can," she said, dragging a stool behind him, "but I might have to cut some of this. Looks to be in bad shape."

"I don't care," Hector said. "I don't…"

Slowly, his mind started to process the absurdity of the situation. Kerstin, a woman he had met less than twelve hours ago, was going to fix his hair for him? He shook his head. "I don't need this," he said, and moved to get up.

Kerstin pressed a hand firmly on his shoulder, stopping him. "Your hair needs someone to care for it, and you're clearly in no shape to do it. Let me help."

He couldn't protest. He didn't get up.

Kerstin took out conditioner and started working it into his hair. "You wanted to know why," she said.

"I dunno," Hector said. "Maybe I won't like the answer."

She kept talking. "When Lina's daddy went missing. I was in a lot of trouble. I could barely feed my babies, and I was on the way to losing the house." She picked up a wide-toothed comb. "I found a group dedicated to helping people down here," she said, pulling the comb through Hector's hair. "They got food for me and the kids, they made sure I could pay for the house… they probably saved my life."

It sounded familiar. Hector and the Bizzyboys had done their best to help people before they were able to leave. Try and get everyone food and shelter. Make their lives worth living. He put his hands on his knees and willed them to stop shaking.

The comb caught on a knot. "I wanted to pay it forward, y'know? So I joined them. I cook for people, I give them a place to sleep… I don't do the real dangerous work, like the rescue you helped with, but it's important all the same." She paused. "Hold on, I'm getting out the scissors."

Hector stayed perfectly still while Kerstin rummaged in a drawer. When she returned, she put a hand under his chin and tilted his head up. "Keep your head like that for me. It was because of you."

He took a sharp breath. His tail twitched and thumped against the stool.

"Forty years ago," Kerstin said, "you and your boys helped a lot of people down here. When you left, some of them wanted to continue the work, and they saved me. That's why. I couldn't let you and your friends go without a place to sleep, after all you've done."

"It's…" His mouth was dry. "It's not all good, what I've done."

The scissors clipped. "I know that," she said. "Even so… you showed up at that flood like a living legend. No one's only ever done good, but you saved lives today."

He could still feel the weight of the woman in his arms, limp and heavy while he tried to keep them both afloat. She might've already been dead. He stayed quiet.

"People have got all sorts of opinions on what happened in the Grove," said Kerstin. "It's probably lucky I was the first to recognize you, instead of someone else." She cut another clump of hair. "But there's lots here who have sympathy. Plenty of people think you shouldn't have been forced back to being mortal."

"Forced? I wasn't–" He barely restrained himself from shaking his head while Kerstin cut. "That's not what happened. They asked me t' stay. I said no."

Kerstin stopped cutting.

He couldn't speak for a moment. "Do people here really think that?" he said quietly. "That it was a punishment?"

"We didn't know what else to think," Kerstin said softly. "We didn't know it was your choice."

"Yew didn't know," Hector said numbly. "Yew don't–yew don't know what happened up there. They–they considered me family, and the whole time, I was–" His voice caught. "I almost killed them. Almost killed everyone. Even when–when I was talked down… the whole world coulda ended, and it woulda been my fault."

"Oh, honey, I'm not asking you to repent."

He pulled his head away, hunching over in the chair and staring at his hands. "I just–I don't know why yew're doing this. Why anyone even–" He took a shuddering breath. "No one should've given me a second chance. I wasn't a good god, and I'm not–I'm not a good person. I dunno if I ever was."

"Of course you were!" Kerstin put a hand on his back. "The people you helped remember that you helped them, and you inspired more people to help others. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for what you did, way back when."

"Yew don't know that," said Hector.

"I've got a strong feeling about it."

He shook his head wordlessly.

Kerstin sighed. "Even if I can't change your mind," she said, "I'd like to at least finish taking care of your hair. Could you sit up again for me?"

Hector closed his eyes for a moment and forced back his tears. He sat up, staring blankly ahead while Kerstin worked.

Finally, she instructed him to lean back so she could rinse his hair in the sink. "I've done all I can," she said. "Get some rest now, dear."

He returned to the spare room in a daze, collapsing on the closest bed. Exhaustion weighed him down, sank into every bone, and it wasn't long before he fell into a heavy sleep.

---

Hector woke up after half-remembered dreams that left him unsettled and on edge. He groaned and pushed himself up.

"Oh, Hector!" Thespius was at his side at once, as if he had been waiting for him to wake up. "Are you alright? Do you feel better?"

Hector grumbled wordlessly and rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up. Dimly, he realized he hadn't taken them off before falling asleep. "I'm fine," he managed to say. "What time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon."

He frowned. "An' how many days has it been?"

"You slept for around ten hours," Thespius said. "I'm glad you got some rest. You looked like you needed it, bud."

"Sure," Hector mumbled. His whole body ached, but he forced himself to get out of bed, Thespius moving out of the way. "Where's Cappy and Pokey? Still here?"

"They're here. Capo went out, but he's back now." Thespius paused. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Hector couldn't meet his eyes. "Sure," he said, looking down at the floor. "What is it?"

"It's about Kerstin," said Thespius. "She's helped us so much already, and while I don't want to ask too much of her… when it comes to what we're doing here, we don't have any leads. And Kerstin…" He glanced at the door. "It looks like she knows a lot of people. Maybe she knows someone who knows someone, right?"

"Maybe," Hector said. "You're saying we should tell her why we're here?"

"I think so. I talked to Pokey about it, and they think it's worth a try."

"What did Cappy think?"

Thespius hissed air through his teeth. "He wasn't in a good mood. All he said was that it wasn't his decision, and that he wasn't interested in talking to anyone. Pokey tried, but he just ignored them."

"That sure sounds like he's in a bad mood," Hector said.

"What do you think?" Thespius asked. "About Kerstin, I mean."

He shrugged. "She already knows who I am. Dunno what else we need to hide from her. If she can help us, what other choice do we have?"

"We always have options," Thespius said. "There must be places we can search on our own."

"No," Hector said. "Drain's too big for that. We should tell her."

"If you and Pokey both agree, and Capo's not giving his opinion…" Thespius furrowed his brow. "Guess that's settled. We'll tell her today."

Hector nodded. He wanted to lie down again and sleep for another ten hours. He stood up instead, his bones protesting.

Thespius stood up with him. "You should eat something," he said with a smile. "Kerstin made something for us."

He should be grateful for her kindness, Hector thought, but all he felt was that it was another debt the universe would demand he repay. "Alright," he said, unwilling to put up a fight.

Kerstin was sitting at the table with her two children. Hector recognized Landen from their first arrival, so the preteen girl would be Lina. Godpoke was with them, writing something on a notepad while Lina watched. Capochin was seated on the opposite end of the table, slumped in the chair with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He shifted slightly when Landen announced Hector's arrival: "That guy's awake, Mom."

Kerstin raised her head. "Oh!" she said. "It's good to see you up. Are you hungry?"

It was hardly a question. No one would believe him if he said no. "Sure," he said. "Styella said yew made something."

"Yes." She stood up and swiftly slipped past him to the kitchen. "It's fish soup. I just got a delivery of rhubarb, too, so–"

"You got rhubarb?" Landen said loudly. "Can I have some?"

"No, Landen. I'm going to make pie with it."

"What if I only have a little?"

Kerstin returned with a filled bowl and placed it at the table, next to Godpoke. "Here," she said, gesturing for him to sit. "Your friend told me you had a crawfish allergy, but didn't know about other shellfish, so I went with blindcat. Is that alright, or…?"

Hector barely registered her words, staring at the floor. Eventually, he realized he had stood in the same place for too long, and dragged himself to the table.

"Blindcats?" Thespius said. "Are those a kind of catfish?"

"Yes," said Kerstin. "Lina can tell you all about them–she did her last science report on them, back when school was running."

Lina shook her head. "My report was on true blindcats," she said. "The farm ones are hybridized with surface catfish."

"You studied those ones too, didn't you?"

Hector picked up his spoon and started to eat. The soup was thick and brown with chunks of vegetables and white fish meat. He hadn't had blindcat in forty years. It tasted different than what he remembered.

Godpoke nudged him and slid a note over. Are you alright?

He couldn't answer. He ignored them.

Capochin didn't speak. Hector figured they were back to giving each other the silent treatment, but something about Capochin felt… off. He was slouched in his seat, eyes closed, but his subtle shifts in position when people spoke betrayed that he wasn't sleeping. Something was wrong, and Hector figured it was probably his fault. He ate another spoonful of soup.

Kerstin sat down across from him. "You've got work to do down here, right?" she said. "No rush, of course. I imagine you could still use time to recover from last night."

Thespius spoke: "About that…"

There was a knock at the door.

Hector went stiff, the spoon halfway to his mouth. Kerstin stood up. "I'll get that," she said. "Stay here. That means you, Landen."

She crossed the room to the front door and peered through the peephole. "Oh no," she hissed. "For Thes'sake… Lina, take Landen and go upstairs."

"What?" Lina stood up. "Why? Who is it?"

"I'll tell you later, honey. I need you to go right now, okay?"

Lina frowned, but grabbed Landen's arm and pulled him upstairs, her younger brother stumbling in his attempts to keep up with her. Once they were out of sight, Landen started to say, "Can we play–" before a door slammed and cut the rest of his sentence off.

Kerstin opened the door and stepped through quickly, leaving it partly open behind her. Through the crack, Hector caught a glimpse of a drainfolk woman with glasses and a professional blouse and jacket, standing stiff with her back straight. She held a radio device in one hand, its coiled cord leading into her jacket.

"Why are you here, Governor?" Kerstin said.

Capochin opened his eyes and straightened his back. "Governor?" he mumbled. "Why's the gov'ner paying a visit?"

Hector frowned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Godpoke put their hand on Megapon.

The woman at the door spoke: "Oh, I don't need formalities," she said with a smile. "You can call me Melodie. I just wanted to talk to one of your guests."

"Well, I'm sorry, Melodie," Kerstin said, "but I'm not letting you in."

Melodie peered behind Kerstin, through the open sliver of the door. "I only wanted to thank him," she said. "We're all very grateful for his help during the flooding last night."

"You're saying the governor of the Drain came all the way here just for that?"

She furrowed her brow. "Is that not reason enough? I mean no harm."

Kerstin shook her head. "If you mean no harm, why'd you bring that?"

She gestured at Melodie's waist. At first, Hector thought she was talking about where the radio was plugged in–but Melodie's hand went to her other side, brushing against what Hector realized with a jolt was a holstered gun.

Melodie pulled her hand away, leaving the gun against her hip. "I'm a prominent official on my own in the Drain," she said. "Of course I need some form of security."

"I'm not letting any weapons in my house."

She chuckled. It sounded forced. "I couldn't leave it outside."

"You're not coming in with it," Kerstin said.

The radio crackled. Melodie turned away and listened. Hector couldn't make out anything intelligible.

"Alright," Melodie said to the radio, and looked back up to Kerstin. "Fine," she said. "Just tell your guests…"

She looked past Kerstin again, through the door, and made eye contact with Hector. He met her gaze.

"Tell your guests that I'm happy to assist with anything the Grove needs down here," Melodie said. "If there's something I can help them with, they can come to me at any time."

"I'll pass on the message," Kerstin said. "Goodbye, Governor."

She stepped back inside and locked the door behind her, watching through the peephole. They all stayed silent until she pulled her head away. "She's gone," she said. "All clear."

"That was the governor?" Thespius said.

"Acting governor, yes," Kerstin said. "Not that it means much. After the Rift floods, the governor we had resigned, and so did his second in command–and the new governor we got was sacked after six weeks. I don't know where they pulled Melodie from, but she's clearly not fit for the job."

"You're not a fan of her, huh?" Capochin said.

Kerstin shook her head. "At least we don't have to deal with her much longer," she said. "Special election's in a few weeks. Maybe we'll get someone halfway competent this time."

She sat down at the table and let out a long sigh. "You need anything else?" she said, glancing at Hector's still mostly full bowl of soup. "I still have to make that pie, but if there's something I can do in the meantime…"

"There might be," Thespius said. "Could we talk to you about something?"

"Of course!" Kerstin said. "What is it?"

Capochin sat up a little straighter, his eyes on Thespius. He didn't speak. Godpoke picked up their pen and waited, holding it poised above the paper. Hector met Thespius' gaze and nodded.

Thespius took a breath. "It's about why we were sent here," he said. "When we met, we said it was because of the signal that jammed your communications. That's not the whole truth."

"Figured as much," Kerstin said. "I can't imagine it's causing much problems for you all the way in the Grove."

Hector remembered something he had heard at the hotel: Grove doesn't care until it effects them. The Drain had experienced the worst flooding in centuries, and the Grove hadn't even known. He hadn't even known.

"We are here because of the disruption," Thespius continued, "but… it's not caused by an ordinary signal. It was sent by a god."

Kerstin's eyes widened. "All the way down here?" she said. "But…"

She trailed off, looking at Hector. He couldn't meet her eyes. "We didn't know," he said. "We knew there were gods outside the Grove, but I thought they were all on Earth."

"But they would've had to ascend at the Rift, right? Wouldn't you know who it was?"

"The Rift has been opening every thirty-three years for millennia," Thespius said. "There are hundreds of openings where we thought no one ascended… but now we're not so sure."

Kerstin stared at him for a long moment. Hector hoped she hadn't picked up on Thespius' use of "we."

"If you know the signal's from a god," she said, "then do you know what they're saying?"

Thespius shook his head. "We don't even know if they're sending it on purpose," he said. "Whoever it is, they're not doing good. They're in a lot of pain."

"And the Grove sent you to help them," Kerstin said slowly. "I get it now. I was wondering why you would come back."

She directed the last sentence at Hector. His breath caught. He turned away. "Not like I coulda let them go by themselves," he said. "Even if…"

He didn't finish the thought. Thespius and Godpoke were both looking at him. He couldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"It must've been a tough choice," said Kerstin.

Was she talking about coming back to the Drain, or…? Hector tensed. His tail twitched.

Thespius cleared his throat. "Now that we've told you why we're here," he said, bringing Kerstin's attention back to him, "I should introduce myself properly."

Hector looked at him in alarm. "Yew're not–"

He ignored him and smiled at Kerstin. "Thespius Green, God of Love and Mirth."

"What?" Kerstin exclaimed.

They heard a door open upstairs. "Mom? You good?"

Kerstin took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Lina!" she called back. "Don't worry! Just keep an eye on Landen for a little longer, alright?"

"Okay!"

The door shut. Kerstin waited a moment before speaking. "You're serious?" she said, lowering her voice. "How is that possible?"

"We can leave our domains by taking a mortal form," Thespius said. "It's difficult, but doable, so long as I'm careful."

"I don't suppose you can prove it?" Kerstin put a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't… I believe you, but…"

"But it's a lot to believe, I know." Thespius nodded. "I can still use some of my abilities, but this far away, it takes a lot out of me. If you need me to…"

"No, no, it's fine!" Kerstin let out a short laugh. "I'm just–oh, goodness, I never really thought I would meet a god! You're all in the Grove, and I…"

She trailed off, staring at the table.

"There's one here," Thespius said. "They're hurting, and they might've been alone for a long, long time, but they're here." He paused. "We don't know where to start looking. If you know anything, or if you know anyone who might know something… we could really use the help."

"Right," Kerstin said quietly. "Alright."

She straightened her back and inhaled slowly. "I've never heard of a god down here," she said, "but, well, I know a lot of people. I'm sure someone could point you in the right direction."

"Thank you, Kerstin," Thespius said. "Is there anything we can do in return?"

"Oh, gods–" Her words caught. "I'm just happy I was there when you needed help," she said. "That's really it."

"You've done so much for us, there has to be something." He smiled. "How 'bout I help clean the dishes?"

Kerstin laughed. "Well, if you insist! Most of it's already done, but I've got the soup out, still…"

She stood up. Thespius stood with her and followed her to the kitchen. Once they were gone, Hector sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"He probably shouldn'a done that," he grumbled.

"Does it matter?" Capochin said. "It's a little too late not to trust her."

"He still didn't need to tell her!" Hector's tail twitched. "This is why I didn't want him an' Pokey going alone. If they put their trust in the wrong person, they'd be stuck miles away from home in a place they don't know, with no one to help them!"

"And you're the right person, huh?"

Hector tensed. He didn't say anything. From the kitchen, he heard Kerstin and Thespius laughing about something.

When he looked up, Capochin had pushed his chair back and was standing up. "Where yew going?" Hector said.

"Bed," he said flatly. "Didn't get great sleep. I'll be up whenever."

He moved around the table and went to the spare room; was Hector imagining it, or was Capochin unsteady on his feet? He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. The door closed.

Godpoke tapped his shoulder again. Hector looked down at the note. He won't tell me where he went last night.

"Do yew think he'll tell me?" Hector shook his head. "Give him his space. He's prob'ly mad at me."

They pulled the paper back and wrote more. He was scared. We all were.

He looked down at his bowl. "What d'yew want me to say? That I'm sorry?" He couldn't look at them. "I'd do it again if I had to."

He could feel Godpoke's eyes on him, even if he couldn't see them. After a long silence, they got up and left for the kitchen.

Hector swirled the spoon in the soup and forced himself to eat another bite. It had gone cold.