It turned out that John’s worries about their date had been mostly unfounded. Yes, Gwen had been slightly more forward than she usually was, and the tight red dress with slits in it had been much more risque than usual, heavily accenting her curves even if the neckline wasn’t as deep as her everyday dress. However, that had been the extent of her “mischief,” if one could even consider it that. Gwen’s wordplay been more aggressive than usual and more forward physically during the dinner and movie, but that had only extended to more involved kissing and some heavy petting. John appreciated that Gwen wanted to appeal to his tastes and wanted to support her exploration. Still, he had also felt from her thoughts that Gwen wasn’t quite ready for any further steps on the path of physical relations. John wasn’t in any kind of rush, though, and he loved and respected Gwen enough not to want to rush her in any way that would make her feel uncomfortable. John could feel that she was very interested in exploring further, and his waiting would make that destination all the more fulfilling to reach in the future.

Lately, the nights Frank had spent in the rectory had been like being in a glass case of emotions. He felt that his heart had been on his sleeve lately, and fellow clergymen could see that Frank had lost some of his faith in the institution. In Frank’s recent memory, the only restful nights had been the nights after Family Game Night, where his escape to a fantastical realm through gaming had allowed him to forget his conflict of emotions he felt most nights before ministering service to his parishioners. As much as the story of a man who would give up his life to help others and was consistently kind to societies outcasts had inspired Frank in his childhood and continued to guide his morality to this day, his feeling towards the institution he currently belonged to that claimed to represent that man was much more complicated.

If Frank was honest with himself, he did have to admit that part of his joining the Catholic Church had been down to his ability to avoid family friends trying to set them up with their daughters on more dates, hoping to tie their families together. He had found it hard to be honest about his preferences and crushes in small-town Alberta, except to his closest of friends, and even then, some of them had stopped associating with him shortly after he had told them. By going to the seminary, he had also avoided his mom’s question of when he would start dating some of the girls he had been set up more seriously and give her some grandchildren. She hadn’t been delighted with his joining the clergy. Still, Frank’s mother had accepted it as she was devout Catholic herself, and Greg and Stace had welcomed her as an extra Grandmother as much as they had included Frank as an uncle, meaning she felt she hadn’t lost out on the experience in the end. Eventually, he had come clean about his other reasons for joining the clergy. Frank had been pleasantly surprised to find out she accepted him fully, though maybe Frank should have expected that as she had always been a Jesus is love rather than fire and brimstone person.

Frank loved “tending to the flock” by providing advice to those in distress and physical necessities for them in their times of need. Still, he had become increasingly disillusioned with the organization behind his Church. While Frank knew plenty of fellow clergymen who went about their work in good faith because of their inspiration to serve, he had run into enough who had been attracted to prestige and power that came with a priest’s position. Frank felt many of those people were also the ones who put the most effort into gaining more control within the Church, which was part of why the Church was in its current position.

These were the kind of people who would cover up the abuse of children to help keep their prestige also disgusted Frank. He heard some parishioners saying that was because those monsters were supposed homosexuals rather than opportunistic predators, which had been a slap in the face to Frank. Especially when the Church had done nothing to correct those misconceptions, which had been the latest of their long line of transgressions against others like himself. While many of his fellow clergymen only held compassion and warmth for those among his community, Frank had long grown tired of the institution’s attitude towards LGBT people, to the point where he had considered leaving the Church multiple times in the past.

Lately, one of Frank’s most common thoughts, as he fell asleep, was that he wished he could gain power in some way to change things for the better, without having to resort to political machinations. So he was surprised to find himself in a dream that featured one of his biggest crushes, Captain Jack Sparrow leaning over him in his bed. Since Frank realized he was dreaming, this must be a lucid dream, meaning he was free to act as he wanted. Deciding to indulge himself for once, Frank pulled the face down towards the bed he was lying in and gave it a full kiss on the lips. As surprise registered on the Captain’s face, though Frank was happy to see it seemed to be an enjoyable surprise to Jack, the facial hair tickling his chin made him realize he wasn’t dreaming.

What made the surrealness of the situation all the more disconcerting was Frank realized that this Jack Sparrow had what seemed to be a small fire blazing behind his eyes and black horns like a ram coming from his temples that swept back with his hair. However, it was the familiar Jack Sparrow voice that told Frank, “Hold on a minute there, mate, we got a couple of things to discuss before we get up to any fun.”

All Frank could say in reply was, “Uhm…”, his voice trailing off in a combination of embarrassment and bewilderment before suddenly his gaze sharpened, and Frank asked, “Are you some kind of demon?”

Again, it was Jack’s sardonic tone that answered, “Well, technically, yeah. But generally, that term refers to my more Evil minded brethren. The rest of us prefer to go be daemon or hellion, especially daemon for us more virtuous types.”

“So I should call you a daemon?”

“You could call this form a daemon, but I’m an Administrator named Ogbatar.” Following this declaration, Ogbatar explained to Frank precisely who he was, similar to the explanation that John had received from Mahaytar, what the Administrators are, and their general place in the multiverse. After that, Ogbatar began explaining why he looked the way he did and some other forms Ogbatar had considered. “I’d considered Robin Hood since he fits the whole theme of Chaotic Good better, but there isn’t just one iconic version of him. Han Solo was also a strong contender, but I didn’t want you thinking you’d be flying off to the stars and using the Force mate. And though Jack may be a bit of a scoundrel, in the end, he always does what he believes to be right, which is something I can respect. Besides the fact that you find him attractive, that is.” A wink in Frank’s direction followed that statement.

That final statement left Frank a bit flustered, but he considered everything that Ogbatar had said and how he had felt while talking to them. Frank had received no feeling that Ogbatar wasn’t what he claimed to be, a powerful being who ultimately was a force for good. And that left Frank many things to consider about the offer that he had received from Ogbatar, though he supposed it was two offers that he should consider. It had seemed a bit calculating that the proposal had been made to Frank while he was feeling the way he was feeling about the Church. Still, Ogbatar had put his mind at ease that it was only a small factor in why he had come to Frank and that it was his many other qualities that Ogbatar found attractive. It had been a bit hard for him to concentrate when Captain Sparrow had been sure to enunciate attractive in such a way that made Frank sure the double entendre was a deliberate choice.

As Frank gathered his thoughts, he looked to Ogbatar, who was currently sitting on the edge of his bed and asked, “I know you offered for me to become your champion, but you also said you value individual strength. Does that mean I have to do everything by myself? And if I don't, are you going to take the power you gave me away if I do anything that you don’t like?”

“No, of course, you don’t have to be some hermetic warrior, righting wrongs while travelling from town to town. I even do things in cooperation with others like me, as we all share a common enemy. It’s just that my blessings tend to elevate individuals, so I have chosen for my focus to be on them and those closest to them. And once my blessings are given, I cannot take them back. There are rules that I have to follow, and I’m not omnipotent, but if you stray from the path, I won’t continue to give blessings, and I can send other champions after you if you go too far. I don’t see that being a problem with you, though. I tend to pick those I work with pretty carefully, and I was lucky to find you so close to the new source of mana.”

“Those are both fair enough points, and put some of my concerns at rest. In most of our stories and religions, those we consider Gods tend to be both mercurial and instantaneous in their judgment of their followers.”

“Well, it's a good thing I’m not a God then, though I don’t mind a bit of worship. Some of the Gods I have worked with in the past are pretty close to what you describe, though. Those tend to last for shorter periods as after the initial gaining of followers their religions tend to be less persuasive.”

“Hmm… and why are you so interested in me the other way?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Stop being so coy, there’s been an obvious flirtatious vibe to your interactions with me, and you seemed pleased when I first kissed you.”

“Ah. Well, my nature as an Administrator is influenced by my previous nature. I was what you would have considered pansexual, valuing the individual rather than their outside aspects. I also tend to take one lover per each aspect of me that manifests. And when I found you, I liked what I saw, so I wanted to be appealing to you. That side of our relationship would be separate from our relationship with you as my Champion, though.”

“So I would be part of some harem then?”

“No, I am monogamous. Each aspect is its own individual that grows and changes in its home dimension. I am just the newest aspect that was based on the Ur Aspect.”

“Ah. So there are multiple yous, rather than a singular you that exists has multiple consciousnesses.”

“More or less. It’s a bit more complex than that, and the different aspects do affect each other in some ways, but we are unique existences. Are you close to making a decision, mate?”

“I think so, but I wouldn’t mind chatting for a little while first.”

Frank walked towards George’s house wearing a hoodie and sunglasses for the first time in years. It was nowhere near his usual attire for the past couple of decades, but they had been necessary to help hide the new white horns curling in an almost crown-like shape around his head and the white glow that was behind his blue eyes. The smile on his face was because he had decided to go with the fun way of becoming a Champion, which had been a satisfying exchange. When Ogbatar had shown him how to pull up his status, the title of Beloved Of Ogbatar had been a reassurance to his decision. Frank had kept the collar even as he had left most of his other possessions at the rectory, as a reminder of the principles and beliefs he wanted to keep going forward. Wanting to help keep his mood up during the walk, Frank pulled up one of the playlists Stace had made for him, which began with DOOMSDAY by MF DOOM.