As Adrianna and Frank were "expressing their gratitude" for information about the activities of Riff Raff and Magenta, the perpetrators themselves were engaged in a considerably less enjoyable activity – namely, trying to decide between two singularly unpleasant alternatives for the course the remainder of their lives would take.

Riff Raff had spent much of the past three hours railing against the unfairness of the alternatives they had been given.  Anyone wanting to sum up the main theme of those hours of anguish and anger would need only listen to his most recent statement on the matter:  "How dare they present us with such a ghastly choice, then congratulate themselves on their 'merciful' actions."

Magenta sighed.  "We were playing a high stakes game, and we lost.  Exactly how 'merciful' would you expect them to be, under the circumstances?"  She paused, straining to see Riff Raff though the thick, closely spaced bars separating them.  "You've had more than ample opportunity to vent your frustration.  Have you finally calmed down enough to discuss this dilemma rationally?"

Riff Raff looked back at her through exhausted, haunted eyes.  "Discussion will not do any good.  No matter what we do, we're doomed.  I cannot bear the thought of going back to Transylvania and dying like a common criminal…but I also cannot bear the humiliation of trying to eke out a miserable existence here on Earth."

Magenta said softly, "You speak of 'humiliation.'  Is your pride really worth forfeiting the many years we could conceivably share here on Earth?"

"Am I to assume you want to stay here on Earth?"

Magenta sighed.  "I want no such thing.  However, I want to avoid death more than I want to leave this planet.  More to the point, I want more time to spend with you.  Whether you want to accept it or not, you should realize Adrianna and Frank have offered us a chance at a new life.  It may not be the life either of us would choose, but that life vanished as soon as we were taken prisoner.  No matter what you think of Adrianna's ability to rule, she is much loved by the people…as is Frank.  Once the press runs the story of our involvement in the coup attempt, and your attempt to murder a man who happens to be the idol of millions, it would be impossible for us to live anywhere in Transylvania - even if, by some miracle, we were acquitted."

Riff Raff saw the logic in her argument.  However, he was still having difficulty accepting the notion of living out their lives on Earth.  "But how are we to survive here?  We have no citizenship, no identification, no documentation at all that we even exist."

"I don't know, exactly, but I do know that people far less educated than we have entered this country illegally and somehow managed to support themselves.  We could probably get jobs as domestic help for someone who just wants to pay their employees 'under the table,' as it were."

Riff Raff was appalled.  "Domestic help??  Was it not degrading enough to simply pretend to be domestic help?  The only reason I was able to do it was knowing the scenario enabled us to emerge triumphant in the end."

Magenta closed her eyes and tried to maintain her increasingly tenuous grip on her patience.  "I'm not saying we would have to do that kind of work forever.  It would, however, buy us some time until we are able to figure out a way to get false identification, and whatever else we will require to construct new identities for ourselves."  Deciding a bit of flattery couldn't hurt, she added, "Do you seriously doubt your ability to outwit Earthlings?  There isn't a human on the planet who can approach your intellectual gifts."

Despite his agitation, Riff Raff couldn't help but preen a bit at that statement.  "Yes, you may have a point."

Magenta said fiercely, "I know I have a point.  And there's one more thing to consider…"

Riff Raff squinted at her curiously through the bars.  "What would that be?"

For a moment, Magenta was silent.  When at last she answered, her voice was subdued, tinged with melancholy and an almost unbearable sense of loss.  "If we decide to return to Transylvania, it is a virtual certainty we will never again have the opportunity to make love to each other.  We will never again be together.  We will only be forced further and further apart.  We are separated in here, and will be detained in entirely different prisons once we are back home.  We will be tried separately, and, undoubtedly, executed separately.  I find that a reality too painful to accept."

For the first time since Adrianna and Frank left the basement, Riff Raff was rendered speechless.  That one simple observation affected him more powerfully than any argument based on logic ever could.  He asked himself if he could voluntarily give up the opportunity for additional years spent with his sister, his lover, his soul mate.  He asked himself if he could cope with the very idea that he had joined with her, body and soul, for the final time.  Suddenly, what had seemed to be an impossible choice was no longer a matter of choice at all.  There was no other alternative.

Finally, he spoke.  "My most beautiful sister…"  His voice faltered, and he took a deep breath to keep from breaking down.  "Of course you're right.  If the only way we can be together is to live on Earth, then live on Earth we shall."

Magenta smiled through the tears running silently down her face.  Somehow – she knew not how -   everything would be all right.