Epilogue I
The apartment block was mostly deserted, except for one unit near the southern end. The windows were covered, blocking the light of the single lantern. There were three figures in the apartment. One was occupied in the kitchen. The second was seated at a small table. The third lay unconscious on the ground. Or rather, he had been unconscious. An eye flickered open, and he raised up his head. The one seated at the table walked over to him.
"Well, you're awake now. How about that? Welcome back to the world of the living."
Where am I? How did- Where is my son?
"Your son is safe, and so are you - snatched right out from under Visser Three's nose, no less!"
A weary eye tried to focus on the face across from it, but it remained blurry.
And who are you?
"I'm the one who arranged for your salvation. In exchange, there's something I want you to do for me..."
ATBASH: RG DZH Z SLOLTIZN, MLG Z WIZXLM YVZN.
Epilogue II
Somewhere else - somewhere beyond time and space - an argument was under way.
((You are intruding.))
The intruder spun the dials on an antique pocket watch before answering. "You two have been playing your game for seventy million years, and you'll still be playing long after this planet's sun has died. So how badly can it hurt to indulge me for a few months?"
The others considered this and concluded that no matter what kind of havoc the intruder was about to wreak, they had eternity itself in which to repair the damage.
(We will indulge. You may select your champions. Within the limits of The Game, of course?)
"My first hapless pawn is already in play." A character sheet appeared on the table, accompanied by a picture of a short teenager with messy black hair. "And depending on what YOUR champions do next, my second pawn will also be in play very soon..."