“So like, what's the plan for now?” Mike asked as he readjusted himself on Alexei's expensive sofa, “We've been playing video games for like, 5 hours now – not that I mind, you know – but didn't you have to find a way to get to that crazy girl? You know, to prevent the whole universe from collapsing and the end of existence and all that... Two coming down the corridor.”

“I got 'em. And I said that an associate of mine is working on that right now.” I muttered before shooting another annoying 10 year old kid's avatar on the screen. Seriously, what the hell are parents doing letting these annoying little shits ruin my game?

“Shit, watch for the damn helicopter!”

“Too late.” I sighed as a replay of my death played before me. “How are these damn kill-rewards at all fair? It just makes the winners win more.”

“Dunno man,” Mike shrugged, “I thought it was you demons that made this game, so shouldn't you know?”

Which was true enough, although I couldn't take the credit for this particular invention, great as it was for wasting time while simultaneously promoting sloth and violence. And of course the genius who designed this particular game

made it as unfair and addicting as possible. I would applaud him if I wasn't playing the damn thing.

“Fuck, I'm dead as well! And now the little shit is tea-bagging me. Not cool man.” Mike shouted after a few more minutes of gaming; the kid who managed to kill Mike's starting to swear at him now, and it didn't take long for my new found friend to turn off the game system. “I'm getting mocked by a 12 year old. Do you know how uncool that is? Man, I should go and find him and see how tough he is in real life! See how he likes a real hunter!”

“Dude, do you even hear yourself?” I said, shaking my head.

“What?”

“You're literally a god of the hunt, and you want to go out of your way to physically harm a small kid because he insulted you. Over a video game.”

“Huh, that does sound lame when you put it like that.”

“Like you said, the game was developed by demons, so a good dose of rage is expected. I really wish I'd have thought of that myself.”

“Damn, you demons really know your stuff.” Mike got up and grabbed two beer from Alexei's fridge, he tossed me one and said, “Where'd everyone else go, by the way?”

I caught the drink, and answered, “Alexei and Irina got some business they had to attend, something about angry clients they needed to sort out, I've no idea where Hel went, and Lilith's out to town looking for a new play thing.”

“Oh, so I guess no one's doing anything important.”

“Pretty much.” I shrugged, “Although my client did say that he'd call me later tonight about the first batch of results.”

Mike looked around a bit, lowered his voice and said, “Cool, cool... so uh, Mark...”

“Yeah?”

“About Lilith...”

“What about her?” I said, looking suspiciously at my new friend.

“I heard that you two were an item. That uh, true?”

“Not any more.”

“So she's single then.” Mike said, his expression visibly brightening.

Oh boy, I can see where this is going... This wouldn't be the first time a god has tried to get their hands on Lilith. Well, can't really say I blame them, with Lilith being who she is.

“Yes, she is.”

“And you don't mind if I-”

I took a good hard look at Mixcoatyl, and saw that he was actually considering hitting on Lilith. I honestly didn't mind, but given that particular demon's track record of broken hearts, I wasn't sure if I should warn the poor stoner god about how bad of an idea it was. “You realize that Lilith is quite famous for her... rather dramatic break-ups, right?”

“Yeah, so?” Mike replied, puzzled.

“Like, monumentally, Cain and Abel, end of Paradise levels of bad break-ups.”

“I don't see your point, man.”

I sighed, “I mean that she's really bad for your long term survival if you decide to persue this particular path. You don't want to be around her when things go sour.”

“Why are you talking like we're gonna break up though?” Mike replied with that same blank stare, as if I was the moron here. “You should be more optimistic. And you haven't seen me in action!”

“Right...” I muttered. Looks like we have another idiot – I mean optimist – here. Whatever, it's not like like I didn't warn him; the man can see for himself how bad of an idea flirting with Lilith can be.

“Dude, has anyone ever told you that you're a real downer?”

“I call it being a realist. 'Cause I have eyes that actually work.”

Mike shrugged, “I think it's called you need to get laid more.”

Great, I'd love to do that if my would be girlfriend wasn't currently dead. But I didn't take it out on the stoner. Thankfully, my phone rang before I could waste any more time trying to talk logic into the ancient aztec god. The caller ID says it's from Frankenstein.

Remembering to change my voice, I said, “Bishop speaking.”

“It's good to hear from you, Bishop my friend,” Frankenstein answered cheerfully, “I have the first bach of results ready, come to my lab any time and we can discuss the next step.”

“Excellent! I'll be there in an hour.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, I hung up and prepared to go meet with the good doctor. Mike didn't bat an eye when he saw me change my voice, but then again, putting on glamours were a regular occurrence among the gods. I've heard that some of them love deceiving the humans when they don the guise of servant girls.

“So that's the dude that's helping you?” Mike asked.

“Yeah. He's the Frankenstein in this city.”

“Cool, let me tag along then.”

I gave Mike a cold stare, “You're kidding, right? You do know that Frankenstein's kind of insane, and I doubt he'll be all that happy to see you.”

“Nah man,” Mike answered, “If it's gonna help you get to the girl, I want to help out as well. I think I can be, like, helpful.”

“Uh...” I stuttered, I honestly didn't know how to break the news to Mike that he didn't look like the type of person who would mix well with Frankenstein... or that I could really trust him from keeping my identity a secret.

“I know what you're thinking, dude.” Mike said, “I'd totally ruin the image, but you know that I'm a god right?”

“Yeah?” I said, not getting it.

“Like, I don't always have to talk like this, or dress like this. You know, I can put on a show too. Just, it's such a pain in the ass, so when I'm around cool folk like you guys I like to just relax. Y'know?”

“So you're saying that you can stop looking like a stoner out of the 70's?”

“Yeah. Totally.”

“And even if you did go, will you actually be of any help?” I continued, still not sure about this plan.

Mike shrugged, “I probably know more about tracking and locating than both of you, so it can't hurt.”

“Ah fuck it.” I finally said, “Come if you want. Just remember to act like a pompous ass, or else the universe gets destroyed and all.”

“Not a problem! Let me, uh, go change, and I'll meet you downstairs.”

I shrugged, and donned my own disguise. Shifting from one form to another is never pleasant, but it was doubly so when I was changing into a form that I was not too familiar with. Bishop's body, although not overly different than the one I usually wear, was still rather alien to me, so the process took longer than usual, and that meant a whole lot more pain. After a few gruelling minutes, I was a new man.

Sure enough, after a few minutes Mike did come down to meet me, and he certainly looked like a new person. I always thought that he was a good looking man, underneath that shaggy hair and tie-dye shirt, but now I knew it as fact. His long hair was tied in a neat, perfectly styled pony tail, and his usual beard was trimmed to a beautiful stubble. He was wearing a white suit this time, which appeared to be perfectly tailored to suit his body. Instead of being slouched over like he usually is, his posture was one that would befit a prince. I gotta say, the man certainly freshens up nicely.

“Like I said,” Mike said, his voice nice and clear for once, “I can put on a show as well. Although I still don't like it.”

“We best get going then.”

* * *

On the way there I briefed Mike on Frankenstein, and what he should expect. For his part, he just listened in silence, and nodded from time to time. I hope he really knew what he's doing. In about half an hour, we arrived in Frankenstein's place using one of Alexei's rides (no, I didn't ask for permission, but I doubt he'd mind anyway). The front gate opened up automatically for us, and we were guided to his lab by one of his butlers. I'm pretty sure that all of the help in his home are not human – or entirely so in any case, but I didn't bother to point that out.

To Mike's credit, he didn't seem too bothered by Frankenstein's torture dungeon, and he gracefully ignored all of the miserable, pleading hands that were desperately trying to reach out for help. Then again, as a god of the hunt, I don't think bloodshed and suffering are things that he's not used to.

In the deepest part of the study was the man himself, Andrew Frankenstein. He was tinkering with some kind of huge machine that looked sort of like a prototype warp drive you'd see in early 90's sci-fi shows. There were wires and cables protruding out of it at every angle, and in the middle, situated in a air-tight container connected by two huge wire conductors, was the fire that I leant the man.

“Ah, Bishop, it's good to see you again!” Frankenstein said as he noticed us, “And you've brought a friend with you, I see? To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

Mike gave the man a huge smile, and said, “I'm Michael, Mr. Stein. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

They shook hands, and after a brief pause, Mike continued, “I'm a business associate of Mr. Bishop here, specializing in inter-dimensional stabilization and navigation, and the fine tuning that needs to be done. Bishop here thought that we could speed things up with my help.”

Frankenstein nodded, “Of course, of course. The help would be much appreciated. However, forgive me if I'm being rude, but I do value my privacy, and I've had far too many... undesired people come over the years to not be a little weary of who you are.”

“Right, I completely understand.” Mike continued with that same smile, “Bishop told me you had him do a little test to see if he was the type of man you needed. Lets say you do the same to me, and we can hurry this along. We are, after all, busy people.”

Frankenstein obliged, and had one of his servants pull out another unfortunate individual up for the chopping blocks. Mike looked at the prisoner, nodded, and took out a small knife from his pockets. With a practised flick of his wrist, the little knife went straight through the poor sob's throat, and without so much as a second glance at what he did, Mike put his pocket knife away and put his full attention back on Frankenstein.

“Excellent work,” Frankenstein said, “I can see that you know your way around a knife. Shouldn't have doubted a friend of Bishop, but precautions never hurt anyone.”

“Of course,” Mike replied, “Being cautious when around people of power is a wise thing to have. But shall we get back to the matter at hand?”

“Right this way.”