Death tells Esteban he has six hours to come up with a plan to help Death distract the Serpents while everyone else drops Jotenheim into Hell. "Did I mention excruciating death?" Death asks. "Yes, my lord," Estaban replies.
Punishment gets a prayer from Haley about a letter that Punishment sent her. Punishment says she didn't send Haley anything. Haley says the note is disturbing and asks Sian if she's been making deals with Excrucians. When Sian says she hasn't, Haley says that it'll be fine and she isn't going to let her imagination run away with her. She tells Punishment that she'll be in Miami, and she really wants to talk to her.
June enters the possessed candy store with a volunteer, an artist. The man eats all of the pastries in the store, one at a time, swallowing the whimsey bane, and waddles into the street. The terracotta soldiers escort him to the circle at the center of the chancel. The artist establishes himself in the carnival, grows a grotesque and pointed mustache, and sells surreal charicatures to the tourists.
One of the servants of Locus Noctis tells Mariska that there's a lighting bolt in the center plaza, and it's been asking for her. It's Donner, who is looking for a quick route to Jotenheim. Mariska directs him to the fairy ring leading out to the tree, from the tree to Jotenheim--Fungus still has to grow the large ring they're going to use to transport people off the world. Mariska whines to Donner about all the things she has to do and shows pictures of her family to him. She thinks someone's trying to nettle her through her daughter, using her daughter's fiance, Noah.
Donner calls June, who meets him at the fairy ring in Locus Noctis. She hasn't seen it yet, but there's a new flower in her garden, a parasitical vine that ends up strengthening the host plant when it dies. June gives her Deceiver ring to Guilt--if worn by a Deceiver, the Excrucian will no longer hear the name of the person it's replicating, but the person who is being copied will hear the Deceiver's deepest desire. Donner remarks that he's afraid that June's "pet" will kill the fairy rings, but Mariska assures him that the Deceivers made it through without damaging them at all.
On the tree, Iaziz appears and speaks to June about the weapon. They make a "deal": June doesn't tell anyone where her "pet" came from, and Iaziz won't try to take it back.
The Imperators arrive: Amacial and Cathetel meet in Locus Noctis. Cathatel tells Mariska that she and Fungus will have to establish a gate for them soon. Meanwhile, Terminus sucks up to Lord Entropy and Donner scouts the world disguised as lightning in the clouds.
Donner finds miles and miles of fields of some kind of purple flower. Surrounding the fields is a barren wasteland of snow. The flowers don't show up on Fungus's "radar," and nobody else knows about them. Donner does a few weird tests with lightning strikes. He makes a ghost miracle by the castle, so the others can see an image of the flower: Dame Violets, symbolizing watchfulness, kind of like an early warning system. Donner takes a sample of the flowers for June. They all discuss the flower and decide that the Excrucians are planning a trap to get our heroes to destroy Jotenheim and symbolically destroy the thing--Vigiliance--symbolized by the flower. After all, as Excrucians, they don't really need the rainbow bridge, as they can travel wherever they like in existence anyway.
Fungus assumes the body of one of her anchors who is with the Power of Ordeal, who has a book of all the flowers that have been wiped out of heaven. She and the other nobles try to come up with a plan to get out of the Excrucian's plot and turn it on them: they will altar the Dame Violets to change Vigilance into a kind of sixth sense where creation is more aware of itself and the things that don't belong there--kind of like an extra immune system or a neural net.
Haley arrives in Locus Noctis. She tells Guilt she needs to speak to Sian. Mariska passes the word to Donner, who tells Sian. Sian is summoned back to Locus Noctis. Haley, who looks terrible, hands a letter Sian. "Do you know what it's about?"
Sian explains: "Some time ago I found myself very uncomfortable with the status quo. Unwilling to continue to live with that unhappiness, I chose to sever it and other aspects of myself from myself so as to better to focus on my vocation. Those inconvenient aspects seem to have taken on a certain measure of independent, uh, identity. And having reached a similar conclusion as I did to the overall desirability of the order in creation remaining as it is, has chosen to be part of the sacrifice of a world tumbled down to hell as a part of a grand scheme . . ." I.e., the essence of Sian's humanity was turned into a separate person. He decided he'd be happier if existence were destroyed, went over to the Excrucians, and has written a letter to say goodbye to Punishment.
Sian's human side is currently trapped in a mushroom puffball rolling down a tunnel below Asgard. She asks Fungus to be careful with him; she'll be back in Jotenheim shortly. Haley comes back with her.
Terminus contacts Iaziz by killing a thousand soldiers by exploding their organs in alphabetical order. He trades the excrucians the extinction of crickets for insight in how to cross the wall of existence into the Excrucians' world--however, hidden in the extinction of the crickets is death itself--the ability to die. Previously the Excrucians were immortal, but no longer. Death intends to present this to Lord Entropy as a gift.
Jackie: I sleep with him and I can't get anything above a five.
De: Hey, you're the one who let me get away with it.
Doyce: That's right. I take full responsibility for that.
Doyce(?): Hemorrhoids. Massive prehensile hemorrhoids. Ugh. Now I have a new Supers concept for you. Hemorrhoid Man! Captain Hemorrhoid!
Randy: Dave! I know what you want to spend your point on. Spend it on a shapeshifting form -- male!
Dave: I don't think so.
Margie: All Punishment's masculinity is tied up her stick.
Stan: Congratulations on the first stick mention.
Doyce: You made up a character who is famale and carries a six foot stick, also, she's uptight and Catholic. You brought this on yourself.
Reality: That sounds like an excuse to me. Electricity doesn't have access to the web. Right.
Donner: What would happen if you stuffed the Bronze Man's head up and Excrucian's butt?
Mariska: I'd pay money to see that.
Meanwhile, Terminus sucks up to Lord Entropy.
Doyce: I'm quoting myself here, so forgive me if I get this wrong, because I wasn't listening.
Reality: Lust? Cosmis awareness? Life is a big orgy.
Death: Question? How many crickets are there in the world?
Doyce: Your Imperators, they're like garage sale junkies for new domains.
Mariska: And that's what we like about them.
Lust: Are you negotiating with the Excrucians?
Death: Define negotiating.
Lust: Lower! Lower!
Lust: All your Sians are belong to me!
Haley hands a letter to Sean. Dave is literally speechless.
Jackie: The paper isn't bad, Dave.
Dave: I'm just folding it sharp enough to cut something.
Doyce (in character): Guilt, can you leave the room?
Mariska: If that'll make you feel better.
Randy: Mariska, Baroness of Kvetching. Oy!