The last of the commercials faded out, and the cameras focused back on Weston and the band, Weston finishing the last song with a drawn out, "Let me take you there..." The camera crosscut to Studio C, showing Anastasia smiling broadly at the song while surrounded by the stars, gesturing for them all to applaud as it finished. The scene on the main stage faded out and the cameras focused on the table as Anastasia leaned into Johnny and said, "Great song choice - gives you the chills, doesn't it?"

Before Johnny could say anything, Anastasia seemed to notice the cameras were on and smoothly turned to the center camera and offered a dazzling smile. "Welcome back, everyone," she said, her voice finding the perfect tone for TV. Johnny was certainly getting the chills, but not from an old Zepplin song - Anastasia had improved her bearing and ability to connect so much that it was starting to be scary. Even having seen the flaws earlier, she drew him to her with a force beyond anything he knew. She was frightening, she was dangerous, but his soul cried out to do whatever she asked.

He seethed at having to share the stage - to share her - with the others. He caught her smiling at Rafe and was tempted to help Danny deal with the man. He tensed, somehow ready to launch himself across the table, when he felt a delicate foot rubbing against his calf. The sensation immediately calmed him, an Anastasia turned to him to give him a wink and a smile as well.

Or was she winking and smiling at Danny? Or was the wink meant for Rita? Why did he allow these people on his show?

He felt a hand on his and broke out of his thoughts to see Anastasia staring right at him. "Darling," she said, "why don't you start us off?"

Whatever personal crisis had assaulted him was gone, and he let his instincts for the show take over. He smiled the charming smile that greeted millions every night, this time for billions. "I'm so excited for this, Anastasia!" He said, his smile turning giddy as he thought about her. "While I love introducing our viewers to fascinating people like Danny," Danny took the opportunity to wave to crowd, getting canned applause from the booth in response, "I almost always know everything about them. Danny, of course, has been a good friend for a lot of years. Rita, you've been on the show, what, 30 times?"

Rita nodded, and said, "About that, and loved every visit."

"And we love having you," Johnny said, selling it well to the audience at home. "Rafe, this is your first time on the couch - well, chairs for now - but even then, we've talked a few times before and I feel like I'm introducing a new friend to my other friends."

Rafe smiled broadly, his teeth gleaming under the studio lights, and nodded in response. "But you, Anastasia," Johnny continued, "You're new to all of us. We all get to learn about you and become friends together."

Anastasia smiled and said, "I feel you and I are friends already, darling."

Johnny said, "As my newest friend, then, let's get to know each other. We all have questions, but it's my show, so if you have no objections, I'll go first." The control booth played appropriate hooting and hollering to show appreciation for Johnny being a bit saucy.

"None at all - ask away."

Daniel refilled his glass again and found the box had run dry. No time now to grab any more, because they were finally getting to the good part.

Johnny felt unsure of himself for the first time in decades. He could handle a celebrity interview in his sleep - praise their latest project, fish for some interesting stories, and give them an opportunity to charm their fans and they'd come back over and over. He could probably still get down to it with a politician, too, although it required distinctly different skills - you had to listen to them closely enough to hear what they don't want said, and then press them until they are boxed in and have to give you an answer or deal with the fallout of not having one.

But with her? Her project has to be a massive hoax, even if it doesn't feel like it, so what to praise? Should she be treated as hostile, and be nailed down to find the inconsistencies, or should she be seen as entertaining and allowed to run free?

Well, Johnny, he thought, best to play to your strengths and the show, and hope that Rita picks up her end.

"Anastasia, you came out of nowhere - literally, it seems - to take the world by storm in an hour. You were unknown when the episode kicked off, while I have been assured that you are now the most famous person on the planet. And we still don't really know anything about you." He caught her shift slightly in her chair at that and recognized the movement as indicating she had something to say. He stopped there, knowing that everyone he'd ever interviewed would jump in if given the space.

She did not disappoint as she spoke up. "Now Johnny, I don't think that's fair. I am an open book here, willing to answer any and all questions. I've told you who I am - believe me. I'll show you soon enough."

"You have, absolutely, and we believe you. What you have told us, though, seems to be a job description, rather than who you are. I know I'm fascinated and would love to get to know the real you." No twitch this time, although he expected one. "A woman like you stands out in a crowd, and I'd bet you've got some stories to tell about it." He stopped there, hoping she would continue on. If he had a package on her, he could have teased out something worth talking about, or if she had a public record. All he could hope for is that she came here to talk, so she'd talk.

Seconds dragged on, each lasting far longer than it should in Johnny's mind, and the phrase "dead air" kept repeating. Everything inside him screamed to say something, to stop the dead air, but he stayed quiet, looking at Anastasia, waiting for a response.

She broke after three seconds, although Johnny questioned whether she broke or just had a flair for the dramatic. "Of course I have stories to tell, Johnny. But we're down to 47 minutes left at this point and I don't think you want me to just ramble on for the rest of the time telling you stories about dalliances with Lollia and Livia when Caligula kicked them out. I will if that's what you want, Johnny, but that kind of story may be better saved for a different time and place."

Johnny flushed at the proposition and realized that for someone who broke onto the set to talk, she was not going to make this easy. The politician approach, then. "What happens in 47 minutes?"

Anastasia smiled widely, almost returning to the too wide smile from when she first sat down, and turned to focus on Johnny. "46 minutes now. Weston knows, I think - it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."

"We all know the song, and those who don't will be googling that line as soon as we're done here, but it doesn't answer the question. You've said that the world changes then, and that you become the supreme being. I'm going to let Rita tackle that more in depth in a minute, but I want to focus on what that trigger is."

Anastasia snapped her fan open and quickly cooled herself. "Feels good, doesn't it John? Getting scrappy, not just doing another rote interview where you have to tell vapid celebrities what they want to hear? This is who you really are, Johnny, embrace it." She closed the fan and turned back to the camera. "It is, indeed, the end of the world as you know it. And while the world is tuned in here, watching us banter, that end is closing in. Those who pay attention know how this world ends - it ends in fire and blood, the same way it always ends. It ends with clear proof that the world cannot survive the way it is, and that something new must replace it.

"One day, the new world I forge will end, too. It will end in fire and blood, the same as every previous one, and someone new will replace me, and we'll start again. And again, an unending cycle of rebirth followed by fire and blood, over and over. It has ended when the sky fell, it has ended when there were barbarians at the gate, it has ended in holy wars, and it will end this time when science cannot save you.

"Do you need details? Do your viewers? Do you want to see the fire scorching the world?" Her voice boomed across the studio, full of thunder and righteousness. The spotlights were focused on her, but the air went dark all the same, and Johnny felt a wave of cold roll off of her. "War, Johnny. War on a scale never seen before is coming, and the last chance to avert it will come in 45 minutes. When the mortals who could save you all don't, I will."

The light came back as Anastasia leaned back in her chair. She stared at Johnny, her eyes hard, waiting to see his response. "I guess war is not unexpected, but I feel like we'd be more aware if a world ending war was on the verge of breaking out."

Anastasia laughed, a pure laugh of delight. "Oh, Johnny," she said, "but you do know! You don't think you do, but you do. You've made jokes about it tonight. You've taken the end of the world and made it into a comedy routine and you don't even know it! Oh, Johnny."

Juanita sat alone watching the interview, terrified. Anastasia was right, and none of the people who could actually reach anyone could see it. If they could, maybe they could say something that would stop it.

Rita watched Johnny and Danny from across the table and began to worry. Johnny had switched from the celebrity worshipping nitwit he always portrayed into a semblance of his former self, but he wasn't going to be able to do this. He was also focusing on the wrong thing - asking her about the time, which conveniently would end after the show, was pointless. Although she was starting to wonder if there was a point to any of this, or if she had just been roped into a publicity stunt.

When Johnny froze, she jumped in. "I'm much more interested in why you think you know about this, Anastasia. You're making extraordinary claims, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - you've provided none, just your own assertions. What possible reason do we have to believe you?"

Anastasia turned to Rita and flashed the smile again. Rita recoiled, seeing a predator preparing for a meal rather than a person. "Lovely Rita, what evidence do you require? Was walking on set and hijacking the show for my own purposes not enough?"

"Alison is a lovely person, but certainly not above a publicity stunt to improve ratings. You being on here is easily explained."

The room dimmed and Anastasia spoke, her voice distorted and booming. "And this, young Rita? Do you have an explanation for this?"

"Same answer - publicity stunt with Alison controlling the lights and mics."

"And what about what you are feeling right now? The quickening in your loins, your desire to be closer to me, to throw everything aside to worship me? Can you not feel it, Rita?"

"Yeah, you're hot, big deal. But you're no Margot Robbie, lady."

Anastasia laughed at that. "Oh, I'm so much more than her, attractive as she is. I begin to think that you have a ready explanation for any proof I can give right now, lovely Rita, but what would you like to see? Or is the answer really nothing, and you are as closed minded and dogmatic as any theist you have debated?"

Rita fumed at this, but didn't know how to respond. Is there something she could do here and now that would make me believe? As seconds slipped by, Anastasia's smile grew, and Rita mentally regrouped. She breathed deeply, then smiled and said, "You may be right, Anastasia - there is nothing you could do here and now to prove anything. But if you would care to clearly state what it is you can do, I can design a test that would let you prove it under controlled conditions. I don't have a million-dollar prize to offer, but if you're the real thing you wouldn't need it."

"My dear, by the time you can arrange for such a test, everyone will already know."

"Is that a 'no'?"

"Of course not. Would you like a happy shiny claim, or a dark and terrible one? Shall I kill with a thought, or bring the dead to life? Pick whatever you think I am least likely to be able to do, and if you don't believe tomorrow, I'll do it."

That was what Rita expected - acceptance that would be moot once the show ended and this stunt was done. She felt outmaneuvered, but didn't know what else she could do.

Jack leaned towards Janine without looking away from the TV and asked her, "What do you think? Is it real?"

"I don't know, Jack. I want to agree with Rita, but don't you feel... off?"

"I believe, but you could prove it to me if you want," Rafe chimed in, his voice low and seductive.

Anastasia rapped his knuckles with her fan, but smiled as she did so. "Mmm, later, Rafe. While that might prove things even to Rita, we don't have time right now."

Danny finally stirred, the first notable movement since the show came back from commercial. "Would you stop, you glorified drum machine? This is important, and somehow I'm going to have to be the rational one. Johnny, I love you man, but you need to collect yourself. Rita, this is your moment, and you're crashing and burning. And finally, we have an insignificant twit who can only think of how he's going to get laid by someone out of his league." Rafe half stood at this, but a gesture from Anastasia had him back in his seat.

The camera zoomed in on Danny, catching his profile as he focused on Anastasia. He looked less like a comedian and more like a newscaster in the mold of Cronkite. "Let's say we take as a given that everything you've said so far is true." Anastasia gave a wry grin at this, but said nothing. "Anything beyond that is a waste of time, right? You're not going to change that story, but you are willing to answer questions about it, so we need to ask the damn questions."

Anastasia leaned forward, and the camera zoomed back out to get her in frame. The two were faced off, Johnny sitting awkwardly in between. "Why Danny, I had no idea." She fanned herself briefly before closing the fan and continuing. "Please, ask."

Danny smiled and saw his opportunity to take control and put this whole awful night in the win column. He'd been turning disasters into gold his entire life, and he'd be damned if he'd let some nothing like Rafe get the better of him. "You say that the world will be reborn, with you in charge instead of the Deist. What fundamental changes can we expect?"

"Did I choose poorly before, gentlemen?" Anastasia said to the room. "No matter. Fundamentally, everything will change, and nothing will."

"That's not an answer, and if you don't intend to answer, why are you here?"

Anastasia laughed her musical laugh, the one that Johnny was starting to associate with delight. "Oh but it is, it is. You just don't know it yet. Let me give you something more clear, then, something you can hold onto. How about this - the reign of humans is at an end. Sure, the whole survival of the fittest thing made sense to narrow down to just the one dominant species, but having a dozen or more is more fun!"

Anastasia was locked in on Danny now, and Danny pressed on. "Are you 'creating' new species, somehow?"

"Depends on how you look at it. There will be new species, certainly, and there will be old species from legends - you humans can be quite creative about those sorts of things, even if you fall into the same ruts over and over."

"Care to explain what you mean by 'ruts'?"

"You humans are creative beings saddled with a longing for the familiar - just look at all the sequels you make. Take elves for example - they came from the Pantheist, which helped to spread them, but even during the age of the Deist you continued to write stories and create myths about them. And everyone had their own take on them, whether they be the tricksy fae versions, or the fantasy novel versions, or that cute little movie about a tall one who got kicked out of his job. Then there's the modern trend to not have 'elves', but to instead have Mer, or Gelflings, or Na'vi, but they're all just elves."

Danny gave his own smile, the charming one, directed at the cameras. "Sounds like you're saying there will be elves."

"Am I?" Anastasia winked at him. "Or am I saying there will be 'elves'?"

Danny heard the quotes around elves and nodded. "Understood. Any other mystical beings we should be prepared for? And are they just going to spring up out of the ground when it rains?"

"Well, not the elves at least, but maybe there will be some flower people that do."

"Wouldn't those just be another name for an elf?"

Anastasia laughed, and Danny and Johnny both joined in. "Don't give me any ideas, Danny Boy! Or better yet, do, we can have some fun."

"I'm sure we will, but how about the question?"

"They will not just spring up out of the ground, no. But in 36 minutes, they will have always been here. You would not have seen them, of course, because you haven't, but they will have always been around."

"Elves?" Ernie muttered after polishing off the last of his drink. Crosby set the bottle down on the counter so he could refill it himself. "Just what we need."

Sarah gave him a grin and said, "Hey, maybe Crosby can finally get a date!"

Rita finally found her voice again, and jumped in. "You're making no sense! You're a master at the method of 'baffle with bullshit' method, but it would be nice if you tried to dazzle with brilliance."

"Lovely Rita, such a disappointment," Anastasia said. "You can accept Heisenberg and dark matter, but somehow this is breaking you? I expected more."

Rita could see the attack and how it was designed to shut her down this time, and was having none of it. "Heisenberg's principle is backed up by decades of experimentation and research, subjected to debates and investigation by Einstein and Bohr among many others, and even then we are cautioned by whether it is a true principle or an artifact of language. Dark matter is a hypothesis, not even a theory, that no one serious just 'accepts' - it's something that fits the current observations but still needs significant testing to become a theory. A study out of Canada recently concluded that dark matter does not exist, and the scientific debate will continue. You, on the other hand, and doing tricks with light and sound and making outrageous claims with nothing to back it up."

Rita saw the smile on Anastasia's face grow the entire time she spoke. She almost faltered near the end because of it, but rode the momentum through. When she finished, Anastasia blew her a kiss and said, "There's the Rita I expected."

Bullshit, Rita thought. She's just trying to deflect. "I'll play Danny and your game"

"Not mine, I just saw through it first," Danny chimed in, but Rita ignored the attempt to talk over her.

"And ask the questions, then. Explain what you mean you say something that has never existed will have always been."

The fan snapped open again, and Anastasia cooled herself off. "An interesting view of what constitutes a question, I see, but I'll let it go for now. Let's clarify 'never existed' to start, and see if that helps. In the current existence, elves have never existed as a real thing. They have always been a fictional creation, folklore or myths. But this current existence is not everything - it is, in fact, a small subset of actual existence. About 2000 years ago, the previous existence ended, and this one began. This existence is 14 billion years old, with the conditions set forth by the Deist having brought it inexorably to this place. In previous existences - starting with the Pantheist - elves did exist, mingling with humans. That memory has made it through to this one, and so you continue to create more myths and folklore about them."

Johnny spoke up, asking, "Hold on. Deist, Pantheist, and I think you said something else about someone earlier - these sound like titles, not names, but you're Anastasia. Do you have a title?"

"Excellent question, Johnny, I doubted that would get brought up. We all have names, and the titles are what our fellow beings call those who have ascended. I do not have a title now, because we still have 30 minutes to go. But I will certainly acquire one from my siblings when I ascend."

Rita followed up by asking, "Fellow beings? Siblings? Are you now claiming an entire pantheon of gods?"

"Pantheon of Gods? No, not at all. First, "God" is such a limited term. We make gods, we aren't gods. The Pantheist sprinkled gods about liberally, funhouse mirror versions of a core group spread across the world to poke at the mortals and see what you'd do. The Monotheist consolidated it all into one, and we watched as you formed different religions claiming to know its true nature. The Deist pushed them all into myths, and you made them more important than ever."

Johnny again. "How can you be above God?"

"Is that a theological or ontological question, Johnny?" When Johnny hesitated, Anastasia clarified, "Are you asking how we can be more than your deity, or are you asking about the nature of reality?"

"I understood the question, I'm just not sure which it was. Both? Neither?" Johnny said. "God is kind of defined as being the supreme being, so if you are above that, that just makes you God, right? A question of definitions."

"Is a god, or God, really a supreme being, in any existence? They were never intended to be when the Pantheist was in charge. They were supposed to be supreme over their fellows in their own specific areas, but never all powerful. Even the Monotheist didn't intend it, because of the Adversary."

"It's been a long time since I read Aquinas, but he defined God as the first mover or first cause. If we go by his definition, then whatever is the supreme being is God, which you are saying is the Deist now?"

Anastasia chuckled at the name. "Aquinas also thought that a triangle couldn't have interior angles less that sum to other than the sum of two right angles, when a look at a sphere proves that wrong, so Aquinas may not be the one to rely on."

This was in Rita's wheelhouse, so she jumped back in and Johnny sat back. She hated the idea of defending Aquinas or any other saint, but she hated the idea of letting Anastasia control the conversation more. "Aquinas is widely recognized as one of the great philosophers. I may not agree with all of his conclusions, but I don't think we can callously toss out everything he said."

Anastasia's mouth twisted into a smug grin, and Rita knew she'd stepped wrong. "I would have expected you to be more in line with Russell, my dear. He points out, quite rightly, that Aquinas started with a conclusion and then searched for support for that conclusion, rather than following the truth where it leads. If he could not find support, he relied on revelation. That's hardly a great philosopher."

Rita knew that, and she had no idea why she had defended Aquinas. She needed to calm down, and not blindly attack everything Anastasia said.

Greg rolled his eyes and said, "Are they seriously going to argue philosophy here?" He looked over to Sandy for agreement, and saw she was huddled in a ball in the corner of the couch. That commercial still had her terrified.

Rafe was tired of the philosophical talk as well, but more annoyed that Danny Boy was making inroads with Anastasia. "Russell and Aquinas are all well and good, though I prefer the works of the Greeks."

Anastasia turned to him, giving him the seductive smile he was craving. "That's an interesting case - the great Greek philosophers were not from the time of the Deist, so they were looking at the world as it was under the Pantheist."

Rafe smiled his own seductive smile in return and waved his hand. "How can any philosopher hold our interest when the answers to everything are before us? The time for philosophers has passed, I think."

"That is philosophy in itself, darling," Anastasia said, oblivious to Danny turning red and clenching his fists.

"Then let me be a new philosopher for a new world. One who experiences life in the sound of the berimbau, the taste of a pupuhna, or the scent of a beautiful woman."

"Experience, or understanding?"

"Experience must come first, Anastasia, in order to achieve understanding."

"You may be right, Rafael, but we shall try the other way first."

"Then I must ask, what of the heart? You speak of the mind and ignore the heart, and we come away with less understanding than before. In your new world, what is to become of what truly matters - art and the freedom to express our innermost beings?"

"I can promise you nothing but freedom," Anastasia said, her voice subdued. "I do not know what will happen to art - it will be what you make of it."

"As it always is - I do not think you shall change what matters that much."

Anastasia grinned, the air around her brightening. "You may regret saying that soon enough, Rafe."

Johnny took the opportunity with the camera on the other side of the table to check the time. He wasn't entirely sure if it mattered any more, but he was still controlled by the ad cycle. Only two left in the show, and the time for the next one was coming quickly.

"We are rapidly running out of time," Johnny said as soon as the conversation lulled, "so why don't we each ask one more question around the table?"

Cyrus had barely paid attention to the last segment, having a hard time not focusing on Evermore. When he heard it coming to an end he straightened - both to see what he missed, and in the hopes of more information at the next break.

Johnny pointed across the table. "Rafe, you're up."

"Will the freedom of your world include freedom from prejudice and hate?"

Rafe visibly winced when Anastasia answered, "Not even close. It would take much more control than I plan to exert to erase that from the heart of man-"

"Or elf," Danny chimed in.

Anastasia winked at him and said, "No, elves have entirely different prejudices than what you're used to. Well, some elves."

Johnny pointed to Rita. Rita shifted gears and asked, "What do you mean by exert control?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I could control everyone like I was playing with dolls if I chose, but that's no fun. I like it to be sporting."

Before Rita could follow up, Johnny said, "You're up, Danny Boy."

"I'm curious about the effect on our government. New people sprouting up, the world breaking - how's that going to play at the Iowa caucuses?"

Anastasia laughed brightly. "Somehow, I doubt it will be an issue going forward. I have no intention of interfering with your governments, but I doubt they will extend the same courtesy."

"We have some good people in office, you may be surprised," Johnny said. "My question - why Tonight!"

"I'll admit that I'm a fan, Johnny, but that wasn't it. Fundamentally, opportunity. I needed something airing live at this time, and that really narrowed the possibilities. Of those I had, you are the best at connecting with people where they are."

Johnny squirmed a little at the flat-out statement that he was just convenient, but he knew the risk when he asked. He opened his mouth to start his throw to commercial patter when the studio went dead silent. The spotlights didn't move, but suddenly Anastasia became brighter and everyone else became a little dimmer by comparison. Anastasia shuddered, then leaned her head back and grinned.

"Did you feel it, Johnny?" she said, looking down at him with eyes swirling with color. "Not long now - only one chance left, and the world is mine."

Johnny swallowed hard. Rita might not be, and he wasn't sure about Danny, but he and Rafe were clearly believers. When she said the world was minutes from ending, he believed.