This Role for Dominic is going to be canon IMC from now on. :) -EDG -- Marc stood, hands in his pockets, facing the Pacific as he listened to Lilith rant. It had been scant hours since the disaster that rocked the world, and Lilith had yet to recover from an adrenaline rush. "I had contacts there! Thousands upon thousands of people played out their lives at my whims - and he sent it all crashing away!" "Now, Lilith," began Marc, as he had twenty-three times in the last four hours. "Don't you start," she snapped back, as she had twenty-three times before. "I don't care what reason he had - it wasn't good enough to justify slaughtering thousands of my people. I mean, Jesus, Marc, I had seventy of my own demons there, not to mention my daughters serving other Princes!" She paused for a minute as Marc's face - almost imperceptibly - twitched. "I'm sorry. I forgot. Today's been a little stressful." And like that, she was calm and collected. "Lil," Marc said softly, "he didn't do it to get at you. We all got hurt when it happened. Every single Archangel. Every single Prince. Hell, he didn't even pull his own people out." He laughed. "Maybe it was Milton Berle - who managed to pull most of America together in the Forties - that sent him over the edge. Maybe he liked Billy Wilder's films. Or maybe he just thought it was time. But he wasn't trying to get at you." He reached over and took the Princess's hand without looking over, squeezed gently. "Lilith... go home. Tend to your beloved Daughters, who need you now more than ever." Lilith squeezed back. "You're right. You always are, damn you." "Not yet," he said as she vanished. Marc remained in the same spot, standing on a remote peak in the Sierra Madre overlooking the ocean, as a wet, bedraggled form in a suit climbed up the shallow slope ahead of him. "Take your time," he said loudly. The figure laughed. "Be with ya in a New York minute," he said, and coughed. "Sea water's no good for the voice, you know." "I know," said Marc. "But then, I'm not an actor." Nybbas grinned despite his obvious discomfort as he climbed up onto Marc's ledge. His shock of red hair was mussed, his suit was soaked to the core, one of his shoes was missing, and he was shivering - but most disorienting was that his glasses, which some had presumed glued to his head, were gone entirely. "Hell of an exit," he said. Behind the two of them, a hiker - who looked like he was taking time off from being a beach bum - came over a ridge and stood, admiring the ocean. Safely out of earshot, Marc thought, but still, he kept his voice down. "Don't you ever stop grinning?" "Naw. It was a hell of an exit, and, you know, he got me fair and square. I was lucky to be near the edge of it." There was something in the Prince's voice that Marc didn't like. "I've been thinking. Maybe Dave was right. I've been in this gig for a hundred years, and every day Eli gets a little farther ahead of me. I've lost three studios in the last month to his meddling, and every year more indy films get out that are better than anything my guys can produce. Maybe it's time for me to retire gracefully. I've already shattered my Heart; this is the only body I have left. I just... you know... wanted to say goodbye." Marc was torn. On the one hand, fewer Demon Princes meant fewer enemies, and any Archangel worth his salt should be trying to get rid of them as fast as possible. On the other hand, Nybbas was a soul, however detestable, and deserved to be saved. "Why don't you come work for us? We could use someone with your skills." "Bullshit, Marco. Between you and Eli, there's nothing I do that Heaven can't do better. You and I both know that. Besides, I can't imagine not working in the Industry, and there's no way on God's green earth that the Hyena would let me anywhere near my old stomping grounds." "You'd be surprised," said the hiker, who was suddenly right behind them. "Maybe this disaster happened so that we could know the joy of your presence with us in Heaven. Not exactly on a par with the original, but hey - you've only had a century to work on it." Nybbas smiled. "You sure you want me?" The hiker winked. "Would I lie to you?" Nybbas laughed. "I guess not. Hell, I can't pass up a deal like that - not one signed and sealed by the Most Just himself. When do I start?" Marc smiled broadly. "There's a Tether of mine a couple hundred miles away, eastward. I think you know the place. I'll be waiting there." Nybbas nodded. He kicked off his remaining shoe, letting it tumble down toward the water below, and padded off in sock feet toward Las Vegas. "How did you know?" asked Marc once the reformed Prince had gone. "I didn't, dude," Dominic replied, slipping back into his Role. "I just happen to like hiking in the Sierra Madre, y'know? Lotta trees, lotta rocks, get-back-to-nature sort of thing. My girlfriend says I need to spend more time with the animals, y'know?" Marc winced. "Still, it's pretty convenient that you-" Dominic held up his hands. "Hey, dude, if you wanna make a Federal case out of it, how about you start by tellin' me what the Hell you think you were doing consorting with two Demon Princes within the course of twenty minutes?" Marc paused. "...Right. I won't ask."