"Yes. And-"

The Reaper considers.

"The fate of the world does not rest solely on your shoulders," he says finally. "Should you fail, another will succeed. But your success will mean a great deal."

"I guess that's reassuring."

The Reaper nods. "Shall I summon your companions?"

"They can be - here with us in the time-out zone?"

"Yes. It would be more difficult were you less strongly aligned with them."

"I'd like it if they were here, yes."

They appear simultaneously. Deekin makes a startled little yipping noise.

Garrus looks around somewhat wildly. "I'm - okay? I'm okay."

"Hey guys. - where's Jojo -"

Jojo steps out from behind the odd little pedestal that the Reaper stands on, dusting off his robe unnecessarily. "Hello. Is this - um, person - responsible for resurrecting us?"

"I think we are not getting strictly speaking resurrected."

"Oh."

He looks a bit lost for words, then:

"So - is this goodbye? Are we off to our respective afterlives?"

"No. Apparently, for legal reasons, Mephistopheles has been able to assume my metaphysical place in the world and go running amok, and also Maledicted us, so we're going to Cania to see if we can do anything about it from there."

"Oh."

Jojo looks rather more lost for words.

Garrus swears extensively and in several languages, to make up for it.

Deekin - concentrates, and summons his book, and scribbles some notes, and then snaps it shut.

"We get to hang out here and rest and stuff first and we will have our possessions at time of death there and we have kind of a plan - find Knower of Names, ask for help - but it's not going to be fun at all. I hate this planet."

Deekin unsummons his book and looks at Belmarniss contemplatively.

"You want hug?"

"Wouldn't turn you down."

Deekin hugs her.

"Deekin figure - maybe we not ready for big archdevil guy before. Maybe especially not ready for big archdevil guy plus epic drow matriarch. But you have plan, we all together - Malediction suck but at least you not doing this alone?"

"Yeah. Also it's not one of those Hell layers that is constantly on fire, small mercies."

"Yeah - cold instead, right? Deekin got dragon blood thing going for cold, Deekin probably do great."

Garrus breaks off his swearing to say "Great, so I'll get no sympathy from my fellow reptile."

"Just unearth tiny drop of draconic ancestry and nurture arcane spark until cold resistant," Deekin says. "Self-reliance."

"I can prep some Endure Elements."