The following day, Eary awoke from a terrible night of nightmares. In one, Tiddle was chasing him. He was powerless, and no matter how fast he ran, he kept gaining. The other saw him and Decan waiting for a bus, but when it arrived, Ephraim was there, too. The final one featured himself and his friends fighting an impossibly tall shadowy figure. Then, in a flash, he was alone.

The whole series of dreams left him uneasy in the morning, and after discussing things with Mote, the little moteling had some insights.

"Sounds like it might be nightmares, but maybe more. Tell me, do you see yourself in these dreams? Or are they from your point of view?" Mote asked.

Eary replied." My point of view."

Mote nodded. "It could be your havin' visions of the future. It's not terribly uncommon for a Claris to experience. But don't go takin' 'em too seriously now. Visions are often misleading."

Eary nodded in agreement.

Mote continued." Good! Now that that's all settled, I have a day trip planned!"

As Mote made his announcement, he heard a knock on his door. Alice, Mei, and Calvin were outside the door.

Eary greeted them, and the four teens quickly congregated around Mote.

He proudly announced, "Today, your kids are comin' to work with me!" He smiled with a mischievous grin.

The four teens looked at each other in confusion.

Eary asked, "What do you mean, 'your work'?" Mote smugly replied," I mean my old 9-to-5. I told you I work for Claris, didn't I? Don't you think they could spring for an office?"

Eary's brow raised in surprise as Mote rolled his eyes.

Mote continued, "Guess I'll just have to show you all then."

Mote lifted the long crystalline device he had acquired at the lab. With a mighty flash, a large circular portal floated next to Mote.

He continued, "Alright then, everybody through the portal!"

As Mote zipped through, Eary and his friends hesitated, apprehensive about what lay on the other side. Until Mote, popping his little head back through, commanded,

"Well, what ya waitin' for? Get to moseyin'!"

He once again disappeared into the portal. The four teens summoned their courage and followed him inside.

Passing through the large shimmering blue portal, the group was inside a large white room. Enormous white pillars stretched for eternity, and the busy bustle of the floors above could be seen. A single set of elevators to the left was the only way to reach those levels. That was nothing to say of the large, four-story tall, reptilian humanoid with a mass of tentacles where its mouth should be.

The team followed Mote forward. Nervously, the teens cautiously approached the horrific creature, powers at the ready. Until Mote greeted it.

"Hey, Tina! How's it goin' today?"

The enormous monstrosity gazed down at the four tiny beings, its eyes a glow in a dazzle of yellow light, and replied, "Mishu gungwa ra til'unda, Mote?"

Mote smiled mischievously and replied, "It sure is! How ya doin' toots? Did ya miss me?" The colossal being shook and let out a series of loud bellows that shook the reception hall. It placed its gargantuan, clawed hand over its tentacled mouth. It appears to be giggling as it replied,

"Nubaba Mote. GULAHAHAHAH!"

Alice scolded Mote.

"None of us understand a thing! What the fuck?"

Mote shrugged, turning to the monstrosity; he asked, "Hey, Tina. Could you help me out? Got some whiney Earth kids here. And they don't speak a lick of celestial."

The horror nodded, and a strange screen appeared after a few waves of its hand. After pressing several buttons, the entity looked down in a high-pitched 1920 dialect and announced,

"There ya go cuties! Ya should be able to hear us all now! I'm Tina, the receptionist at The Interdimensional Offices of Karmic Debt. If ya dolls need anything, just give me a holler; I can hear ya anywhere in here!"

Eary and Alice looked at each other, unsure what to make of things. They replied, "Thank you!"

Tina replied, "No problem! Any friend of Mote is a friend of mine, really, haha."

The four teens smiled and thanked Tina, then proceeded to the elevators.

Standing at the door, to what undoubtedly was more surprises, Eary inquired,

"Mote, what kind of place is this again?"

Mote, landing on Eary's shoulder, replied, "This is a place of business, of sorts. This is where I was stationed after we made your universe. I'm a Karmic tax collector. Or at least I used to be."

'DING'

The sound announced the arrival of the elevator. After boarding, the teens could not wonder at the menagerie of floors. Every square inch of the elevator had buttons, save the floors. One Eary read said 534. Mote pushed one that read 237. And in a flash, they were off.

The teens were pressed against the elevator floor, Mote; however, they seemed unaffected. After a moment and another 'DING,' the doors opened again. Mote, looking down, scoffed,

"Sheesh! Take a nap somewhere else! We got work to do!" The teens got to their feet and followed Mote down a long white corridor.

As they passed office after office, Mote stopped in front of one with the name 'Scott Thompson' on it.

Mote announced, "Scott! I wonder if he's in today. You kids should follow me. I wanna introduce you to one of my best friends."

As Mote zipped off, the four kids followed him inside. A large, orange, and red bird was at a desk, wearing a headset, a white button-up, and a red tie. It had a large black beak, like that of an eagle. Large, colorful, crested plumage cascaded down its head.

Sipping coffee and puffing on a cigarette, the large bird did not notice as Mote approached.

"Hey, Scott! How the hell ya been?"

The bird turned its head all the way around and replied,

"Holy shit! Mote? Been a hot minute, motha-fucka."

Mote, smirking, replied, "About 13,000, give or take.
"So what brings the big blue ballar in today," Scott inquired.

"Yeah, I'm here on business today. Got something in my office. My kid, here, needs to save the world I'm stationed on." Mote gestured to Eary.

Scott looked over at Eary. "Hey there, Name's Scott. I'm a Phoenix, in case you were wondering. Mote and I go way back—to the beginning of existence—a long time."

Mote looked back and stated, "Sure do. Hey, can I get one of those from you?" Mote gestured towards Scott's cigarettes.

Eary stepped in. "Oh no, you don't! You were a nightmare to get to quit smoking last time! And you stunk. And my parents thought it was me."

Mote scoffed, "Bitch, Bitch, Bitch! Fine. Sorry, as you can see, I'm off to see the wizard with the scarecrow, who's got a stick up his ass."

As Eary and Mote began to bicker, a great flame ignited Scott. In shock, Eary cried out, "Oh my God!"

As the fire died, a much younger Scott reached for a new cigarette. Lighting it off his burning remains, he looked at the kids and responded,
"Sorry about that; it happens all the time. So, Mote, do you have time later? Was thinkin' about hitting up this dive bar on the edge of the Andromeda galaxy."

Mote sighed. "No, still workin' on my mission from the Boss. I tell ya."

As Mote and his friend parted ways, the team moved forward down the hall. The name 'Mote' could be read on one of the doors.

When the group entered the small office, they were stunned. What appeared to be an ordinary office, with a desk and filling cabinets, was intact, made just for Mote, as all the furniture was tiny. Mote took his seat at his small desk. Through the drawer, which seemed to blaze with glowing blue light, Mote pulled out a large white gem.

Calvin exclaimed, "A super gem!"

Mote nodded, tossing the jewel to Calvin; he announced,

"Here, Cal, why don't you hold onto this for me."

Calvin caught the stone and looked down into his hands. It looked like a large quartz, but it was different. Swirling rainbows radiating inside were visible.

Mote continued, "That can be a tricky stone. And I'm gonna have to show Eary personally. But that'll be once we go back to Bright Hope. Right now, I'm gonna check my messages."

Mote pressed play. "You have 1.6 billion messages; the first is 'Mote, we need your help! We're dyin' ou....' Deleted. Next message: 'Mote, this is Claris; I was wondering why all the call-ins are linked to your....' Deleted. Next message: 'It's Tina. I need you now, Mote! No one has ever touched me the way you do. I'm waiting in the supply closet...saved."

Eary's face grimaced with disgust as Alice scolded, "I'm not sitting through all those messages, Mote! We got shit to do, let's go!"

Mote glanced back. "Hold your horses, miss thang! I got one more thing I gotta grab."

Zipping over to one of the tiny filing cabinets, he quickly pulled out a strange, gun-like device.

Eary asked, "What's that?" Mote smiled. "This is my karma checker. I can get a full read on someone with this puppy."

Mei examined the object in the moteling's hand. It was silver with a floating display screen and a small button trigger.

Mote looked at the karma checker fondly, his blue light flickering with nostalgia.

"Ah, the karma checker, my trusty companion as a karmic tax collector. It reveals the darkest secrets hidden within a person's soul, their karmic balance bare."

Eary and his friends exchanged curious glances, intrigued by the mysterious device. Holding the super gem, Calvin couldn't help but ask,

"So, what will we do with that thing, Mote?"

Mote's tiny shoulders shrugged as he replied,

"Well, you never know when it might come in handy. I've been itching to use it; it might help us find that traitor."

He flashed a mischievous grin.

Alice, amazed, chimed in, "Shit, that'll be helpful. But we should get back. Time is of the essence."

Mote nodded, realizing the urgency of the situation. "You're right, Alice. Let's return to Bright Hope and figure out our next move."

With that, the group left Mote's tiny office and returned to the elevator, their minds buzzing with questions and uncertainties. As they traveled back to their own universe, Eary couldn't shake the feeling of urgency. The whole world's fate rested on his shoulders.