Now send me a sign to save my life
'Cause at this moment in time there is nothing certain in
These days of mine
When you're down on the bottom there's nothing else
But to shout to the top

Paul Weller

"It's alright, Joo'n, I've got you, mate," Noel says softly.

Julian opens his eyes to find he is lying on the floor with his head in Noel's lap. Noel is gently stroking his forehead, brushing away the curls that suddenly feel damp. Mary Gideon is kneeling beside him, holding fresh sprigs of rosemary and sage under his nose to revive him.

"Are you feeling better now, Julian?" she asks. "Can you drink this for me?"

He gulps from the little cup she holds to his lips, the cool liquid making his mind feel clearer.

"I didn't try to kill myself," Julian says feverishly, grabbing Mary's wrist. "I remember now, I was going to, but changed my mind once I was in the lake."

"Can you remember how you drowned?" Marcus asks urgently. He is squatting beside Mary. "What happened that night, Julian?"

"All I can remember is that ... something ... pulled me under the water," Julian says. "At first I thought it was a man ... or possibly a woman ... then I wasn't even sure if it was human."

"You blamed yourself, didn't you, Julian?" Marcus asks. "You drowned in the belief that you really had committed suicide?"

"Yes, you see, it was my fault," Julian says. "I went into the lake, I had the idea of drowning myself. It wouldn't have happened otherwise."

"It wasn't your fault, Joo'n, it was never your fault," Noel comforts him, stroking his head. "I told you that you didn't need to feel guilty."

Marcus pats Julian's shoulder. "None of us here could know what happened to you that night – because you weren't dead, and beyond the scope of our understanding. Well done for remembering, now we can set the record straight."

"Yes, your file is going to need a complete rewrite," the judge comments, scribbling notes into it madly.

"But this means Joo'n can go Forward now!" Noel exclaims, looking at the judge. "You'll have to assess him again."

"Except that it seems Mr Pettifer is alive," the judge says. "As a living person, he would never survive Forward. It seems to me an absolute miracle he's lasted this long at the Waystation."

"What's going to happen to me?" Julian asks weakly, struggling to his feet with the help of Noel and Mary. Noel keeps holding his hand tightly.

"You will be returned to your body, Mr Pettifer," the judge says kindly. "My hope is that you will awaken from the coma, and continue living out the rest of your days as intended."

"I want to go with him," Noel says at once. "Send me back – please."

The judge shakes his head. "That is not possible. You have been assessed, you are going Forward. You are, as Healer Gideon mentioned, already in the process of transitioning to a celestial state."

"I only died because my soulmate died," Noel argues. "I should be going back to my life as well. It's not fair, otherwise."

Chief Justice Dharmayama looks at him. "The only flaw in your logic is that your soulmate is alive," he points out. "As Mr Hoffman has gone to great lengths to establish."

Noel stares at the judge in shock. "You mean ... I just died? How?"

"According to your file, you'd been quite poorly," the judge says, taking a glance at it.

"I was getting better," Noel says uncertainly.

"That often happens before death," Mary tells him. "It's almost as if the body needs that extra surge of strength and energy in order to finally let go."

"Well, I'm not going Forward," Noel says stubbornly. "I'm going back to Earth with Joo'n."

"Mr Fielding, you ask for what is impossible," the judge says impatiently. "Before too long you will have transitioned to the point that you would not survive going back to Earth."

"Wait a minute Noelie – if you've died, then shouldn't I die soon as well?" Julian says hopefully. "Then we can be together."

The judge shakes his head. "That only happens in cases where both soulmates are on Earth at the same time," he says. "You will return to an Earth where Mr Fielding has already died and gone Forward. There's nothing stopping you from living for another fifty or sixty years, at least."

"Why didn't I die when Noel did?" Julian asks. "I was in a coma".

"Our system had your status marked down as already dead," Marcus replies. "Besides, I don't know what you've heard, but it doesn't usually happen instantly. It can take ten years after the death of a soulmate for someone to pass away."

"I don't want to be Forward without my soulmate," Noel says piteously. "I'll have to wait so long before I see Joo'n again, and then he won't even remember me."

"Believe me, Mr Fielding, I understand," the judge says feelingly. "I had to wait centuries for my own soulmate to join me. And soon I will be waiting for him again, because of course my soulmate has to be this powerful magical being who goes out to save the world, and I don't know when he will return to me."

"Nasati, please," Dennis sighs. "I'm not magical and I'm not saving the world. I'm just an instrument of the Universe, and must do its work. I've been called to Earth as an avatar, and will do the task I have been given faithfully. And of course being apart from you will be hard for me as well."

"Go to him, luvvie," Pauline says, giving Dennis a little push. "Go to your soulmate. It's a hard job being a judge, and he needs you right now."

Dennis leaves the gallery, and joins Nasati Dharmayama at the podium, putting an arm around him and kissing the top of his head. Nasati gently touches Dennis' hand.

"Dennis, can't you help me get back to Earth?" Noel begs. "Or Jeannie? Please, anyone, help me!"

Pauline stands up. "Jeannie luvvie, you can always appeal to a Higher Authority."

Jeannie looks at her, startled. "You mean - ?"

Pauline nods. "That's it, luvvie. You know what to do."

Jeannie pulls her shoulders back, like a soldier standing to attention. "I call on the Supreme Justice of the Universe!" she shouts skyward. "I appeal on behalf of Mr Noel Fielding!"

"Wow, she's really pulling out the big guns," Marcus says with an impressed whistle. "She's asking for the big J.C. Himself."

Julian stares at him. "What – Him?"

Marcus nods, and then the assessment room is flooded in such blinding light that Julian and Noel shield their faces. A man in a white judge's robe stands before them. His dark eyes burn through the souls of everyone in the room.