"Okay, let's just calm down." Ted said as he held his hands out.

This was just what Ted needed. His mind was still swimming with self-inflicted torment, but he couldn't show them that. It felt wrong to burden others with his struggles. Especially when they were so selfish. And maybe, just maybe, a part of him buried deep believed he deserved to suffer.

"Our jailer never left." Sid explained. "We were allowed to go down there. This adds a lot of complications to all of the data we obtained."

"Uh, I'm not sure what exactly he meant, but I agree that her ex...him still being around is a real serious problem." Og'drimun warned. "The guy makes demons look nice."

"Really?" Azrail asked. "You see this one man as such a big problem? No matter the power someone wields, in the end they are just flesh and blood."

Og'drimun snorted. "You have no idea the kind of destructive power we pumped into him. Not to mention how he held his own against me while I was at full power."

"Guys, can we just not..." Ted asked before he stumbled over his words for a moment then exclaimed. "WHATEVER! It's done with. We have to move on. So he's back, or was never gone whatever. Did he say what he wanted?"

"Karaoke," Abraham said succinctly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ted scoffed as he wiped his hands off with a small towel.

"He said that he was here for karaoke," Sid repeated.

Ted shook his head. "But he didn't say anything about more tribute, or something like that?"

"Just something about a visit from a golden goddess," Abraham added.

Sid immediately looked away as the golden goddess was mentioned.

"You know," Azrail thought out loud. "I'm surprised our little mechanical man isn't more excited about that part. What with how riled up it seemed to make him when it was first mentioned."

"He was?" Ted asked.

Ted's mind shifted trajectory, and he couldn't help but wonder what had worried Sid so much. He did have a lot of time to himself down there. Did he see something? Did something happen to him?

"Yeah, I don't know why," Og'drimun said as he rolled his eyes. "People claiming to be a goddess are a dime a dozen."

Okay, two things, Death chimed in. One, if he called her a goddess that is more than just someone claiming it themselves. We at least know he's a real pain in the coccyx so someone he calls goddess is probably also going to be a whole ordeal.

"What's the second thing?" Ted asked.

Oh! Right! Death cleared his throat, which sounded more like a bag of chiseled marble being shaken. More importantly, two, HE FIXED THE KARAOKE MACHINE!

Death flung his head back and let out a howl like a wolf. Aroo! It's time to party bros!

And with that, Death disappeared. No doubt to inspect the karaoke setup, and maybe get in a few songs before everyone else got there.

Ted sighed. "Do any of you know where the karaoke is?"

Azrail smiled. "Of course, it saw almost constant use during the party."

"Okay good," Ted said as he tried to ignore the implications of the party. "Which direction is it?"

Azrail pointed off to their right. "A decent walk over this way," he said.

"Good," Ted nodded. "Then that's where we'll be staying away from."

Azrail was taken aback and looked just as surprised. "I'm sorry, did you say to avoid it?"

Ted nodded. "Yep. No point messing with that crazy guy. At least not right now."

Then, Ted turned to Sid and asked, "Bakade is still recovering, so do you think you could go check on Death? You know, make sure he isn't getting led into a trap?"

Sid nodded. "And if he is in a trap?"

Ted rubbed the back of his neck. "I...I guess spring it with him and try to get him out of there? I'll see about getting everyone ready back here as a fallback area. We'll try and prepare for an attack as best as we can."

This wasn't good. He was mostly sure Death would be fine, but there was always a chance. After all, that mysterious guy was unpredictable at best. But, he definitely loved causing trouble and pain. That much was clear.

Sid nodded. "Reasonable plan. I shall attract as little attention as possible."

And with that, Sid dashed away at speeds far beyond anything a human would be capable of.

"Uh, maybe I should try and find Narissa?" Og'drimun suggested.

"Good idea," Ted agreed as he could feel a knot of worry start to form in his stomach.

Ted turned to Azrail and Abraham and asked, "Do you guys know anything about boarding windows, or barricading things?"

Azrail smiled. "Why my friend, of course I do. I actually remember a time I was trapped in this cave with hardly any supplies. This terrorist organization wanted me to translate for some big scientist they captured. Well, while they thought we were working, we..."

"It was a simple yes or no," Abraham moaned. "Least you could do was just answer it and move on. Not everything needs some elaborate, loosely related story about your life."

"Okay, now calm down guys," Ted offered as he stepped in between the two Ken.

Azrail's eyes immediately fell down to Ted's exposed neck, while Abraham just rolled his eyes.

"Let's head back inside and see what's around we can use, okay? Ted suggested.