She smiled at the waitress, handing over the menu as the man slid in to sit across from her in the booth. Her smile turned to him, "How've you been?"

"I've been, that's all that matters in the end."

"You could try and pretend to enjoy it up in the land of the living, Os." She waved a hand toward the woman at the door in the sari. "We're all old friends."

"We're the anthropomorphic representations of abstract concepts for which humanity still has no words, only fear. Ah," Os scooted to the side to allow the other woman into the booth. "You're not alerting anyone by wearing that in the desolate bush of this godsforsaken country."

"And you're being a prude… and more than a little rude to our host." She turned to the first woman. "How've you been Aph?"

"Better now that you're here." They kissed cheeks over the booth, "Thought maybe you might opt out of this invitation."

"No one says no to Aphrodite… apparently. Especially when there's a wager on the line I thought I should give myself the offered advantage." She adjusted her sari over her shoulder. "I desperately wanted to say no, if that clears it up for you."

"Because of the location?" Aph waved a hand at the scene outside their diner window. "It's a rather dismal area."

"No," The other woman lowered her voice, "Because of who you're proposing we fight."

"It's just Tohil and it's not technically a proposal to fight." Os snorted and Aph glared at him, "It's not. It's a wager. And even if it were a fight, we've been fighting him for years so what would it matter?"

"Because he always wins?" Os asked it like a question but the tone in his voice layered the sarcasm.

Aph ignored it while the other woman shifted to face Os, "He always wins because he always cheats. That's not really winning."

"All's fair in love and war, as they say, Kali."

"We're not giving up on our rules. It's what makes we better than him."

"And why we always lose so maybe we should consider we're not playing this right." Os frowned at the menu, "Is there nothing on here not deep fried or slathered in gravy?"

"It's West Virginia, it covers the reality that they served us squirrel instead of real meat." Aph took her plate from the waitress and pointed to the two others in the booth, "She'll have the vegetarian meal and he'll take the pita bread with hummus."

"We don't carry those options."

"Oh," Aph turned to the other two but Os just took his and Kali's menus, handing them to the waitress.

"We'll abstain then, thank you." The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away as Os scowled, "This place is the worst."

Aph took the salt, applying it to her food before rolling some of the hash browns around the plate. "It could be worse. We could be meeting in the black hole of Calcutta."

"It's better than that now you know." Kali swirled the water in her glass before setting it back down. "How can you eat that?"

"Because life is for living, despite what Os may say." Os only snorted. "And this food's not that bad."

"It's a heart attack waiting to happen."

"Then good thing we're immortal." Aph pointed over the diner, "Mostly I asked you here to talk about him."

Kali and Os turned over their shoulders and Os raised one of his black eyebrows before stroking a hand down his impeccably kempt black beard. "He looks middle-aged."

"Weary."

"And I say lonely." Aph pushed her plate to the side. "Amazing how we all identified something about him that's significant to what we are."

"We don't see the world as it is but as we are, as they say." Kali shuffled in her seat, nodding at Os. "How's your wife?"

"She's well. As is our son, thank you for asking. How's your husband?"

"Dealing with his brother's wife at the moment. Goddesses of love, what can you do?" Kali turned to Aph, "Present company excluded of course."

"No offense taken." Aph wiped her hands on a napkin, "I ruined my marriage by sleeping around so at least your sister-in-law is loyal to her husband."

"It's true. Though the kidnapping didn't really help."

"Ravana still at it?"

"He's determined."

"There's always something to be said about that." Aph sucked something from her teeth, "I always get distracted by people with persistent attitudes."

"I thought you and Hephaestus were all set to work things out." Kali frowned, "You had that vacation in Taiwan... forty years ago?"

"We were and we did but then we got distracted by the second world war and he's been so busy with the boom here in the last decade that we got a little… off." Aph rolled her shoulders back, refusing to look at the other two, "Let's just say that I'm not as good at keeping to my commitments as I should be. I didn't go all the way but there've been times I was close."

"Monogamy wasn't a thing when you were created and it's not exactly in the DNA of your particular cultural forbearers."

"That's not an excuse Os."

"No, but it is an explanation for why it's so hard for you to be true to your husband." Os took a deep breath, jerking his head back toward the man at the counter. "What's so important about him?"

"You're the one who suggested we should bend the rules a bit," Aph took a sip of her drink, relishing in the surprise on the faces of the other two. "Tell me what you think I brought you here to see."

"Is he another one of your projects? Your lost souls?" Kali snuck another look, "Another one of your artists?"

"Could be."

"Tohil'll see right through him." Os tapped the table, "We'll be dead in the water before you get that man ten feet toward Downton."

"Tohil doesn't know he's involved."

Os and Kail's eyebrows shot up almost in unison. "Excuse me?"

"We're not playing by the rules here anymore." Aph took a deep breath, "He's our ace in the hole because I refuse to lose Downton the way we've lost every other time. We're three against one, how is that he keeps wiping the floor with us?"

"He's War, Aph." Kali shook her head, "It incorporates elements of us all and that means we're basically fighting ourselves."

"But that man," Aph pointed a finger at him, "He's different. We can make him different."

"Different enough to beat the stranglehold Tohil has over that town?" Os shook his head. "One man's not going to make a difference."

"You weigh men's hearts against a feather, Os," Aph clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Don't tell me you don't think one grain of rice could tip the scale."

"You'll bet everything on him?" Kali winced, "He's hit the wall, Aph. He's practically done for. I can feel his fight with Time from here and it's worn him through. That's like asking us to accept a retired player as our first string."

"But he's not defeated, not yet." Aph smiled to herself, "What can't he do if he's given the time or the love he needs?"

"That doesn't count me," Os raised a finger, "What's my role in it?"

"To remind him he's not dead yet." Aph raised her glass, "Are you in?"

Kali and Os nodded, raising their own glasses… though they grimaced at the idea of touching them.

"To our victory."

"Don't count those chickens before they hatch." Kali warned, "Time can't always work for you."

"It will with him." Aph clinked her glass to theirs. "I intend for it to. It's all working in our favor this time."

"We can only hope so." Os took a drink and gagged, "We need to leave this diner before I actually die."

"We're immortal." Aph rolled her eyes, pulling money from her wallet to leave on the table.

"I'd rather not risk the chance we're not anymore."

"Such a drama queen."

"I was once put back together after my brother scattered me all over the desert."

"You're wife found the pieces and you're fine. Stop whining." Aph worked into her coat, shivering a bit in the wind outside. "I was born from sea foam so we're all more than our experiences."

"I thought we were the collection of our experiences?" Kali stopped, plucking at one of Aph's black hairs. "Are you going a bit gray?"

"I'm trying to turn mortal."

"Why?" Os coughed, "What's so bad about being immortal?"

"I'm tired and I'm old, Os." Aph turned to the sky, taking a deep breath, "It's time for me to move on."

"So he's it?" Kali pointed inside, to the man on the bench. "He's your last?"

Aph nodded, "He is."

"That's why you picked him?"

"Partly." Aph looked into the diner, smiling to herself. "He reminds me of someone I helped awhile back. Another lost soul in need of some love."

"You've helped too many of those to really remember them all."

"He was special," Aph turned back to the others, "John Bates'll be just as special. I'm sure of it."

"If you say so." Os pointed to a car, "That's my ride if you're all up for it."

"I think I am." Kali and Aph followed him to the car but he stopped them before entering.

"If we're doing this then we need to seal it."

"Oh yes, make our not-so-friendly wager official." Aph put her hand forward and Kali joined with her as Os put his on top. "To breaking the rules and putting Tohil back in his box for good."

"To a new era." Kali agreed, both women turning to Os.

"To the end of his era."

Their hands separated and Aph opened the door, "We'd best hurry. Clock's already ticking and we're behind."