“Hi,” said Umbo.

“I think everything’s worked out pretty well,” said Rigg.

“I told Ramex to tell Vadeshex to tell Noxon that I saved Kyokay’s life. He’ll want to know, right?”

“Too bad you won’t tell him yourself,” said Rigg. “It’s a pretty amazing story. You’re the only real hero among us now.”

“Except Square. And when I watch you fighting the Destroyer—”

“Wasn’t me,” said Rigg.

“Was too,” said Umbo. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I just—seeing Noxon with the girl. With Deborah.”

“It would have to be a blind girl to fall in love with that ugly face of his,” said Rigg.

“I’ve got Param, and you know that I’ve been in love with her all along. And Noxon looks really happy with her—she really seems to care about him.”

“Looks like,” said Rigg. “But look, Umbo, if you’re worried about me, don’t. I’ve seen a lot of wallfolds. I’m thinking of going back to one of them, maybe. I met some people. Some places where I might want to live.”

“Really?” said Umbo. “Because I was kind of hoping you’d find some nice girl and hang around with me and Param. We’ve made a pretty good team, when you think about it.”

“Had our ups and downs.”

“I don’t want to get sickening about this, but I was hoping you’d stay. You’re my best friend, Rigg, even though I was a real pain in the butt for a while.”

“But I’ll still be here even if I go,” said Rigg. “I mean, Noxon’s me, right?”

Umbo shook his head. “Yes. I know. You’ve seen most of Garden, he’s been to Earth, and I’m just—”

“You’re just King-in-the-Tent, and married to my sister,” said Rigg. “You know that wherever I go to live, I’ll come back and visit whenever I want. I’ll be married and have kids and I’ll get up from dinner and say, ‘I’m going to take a walk,’ and then I’ll get in the flyer, come visit you for a week, and then get back home a few minutes after I left.”

“Sounds like a decent plan,” said Umbo. “I hope that’s all we ever have to do with our timeshaping, once the war is over. No more saving the world. No more changes to make.”

“That’s the best plan,” said Rigg. “It worries me, that these powers are loose in the world. We were clumsy enough, and dumb enough, but it all worked out pretty well. What if some of our descendants are, I don’t know, kind of awful. What if there’s somebody like Haddamander. Or Hagia. Or—or Tegay. You know what I mean.”