Saint For Rent - To Time Out

By Xu Ru

It opens up with Saint calming Armand over his fake passport, and Patrick's use of Saint's name in the time stream, reminding Armand of Patrick's dishonesty, and this being the reason why the Consultant had been called. Saint then urges he allow the Consultant to fix this obviously major issue, she stating Patrick had smudged it to the point of her being unable to read it, and when Saint again bids Patrick help, when he attempts to leave, the Consultant grabs him. As Saint attempts to stop this, Armand holds him back, which reminds Saint of Armand having already lived through this and why he'd return with Patrick, if he knew this would happen. Armand tries to reassure Saint everything would be fine, and only advises Saint be careful as he approaches the Consultant still holding Patrick.

As Saint watches as the Consultant forces Patrick's travelers path open, she bans him from time stream, Saint climbing up her rungs (Hopefully you're reading the actual comic) and pleading for the Consultant to stop and how Patrick had been punished enough. When she doesn't release him, Saint makes a jump for Patrick, he almost falling, but Patrick making a grab for him, as he apologizes for how he'd screwed up, his hair looking like static snow. The Consultant drops them and they disappear, the 2 Armands are starting to get time lag, and so try to not bump into each other again, but this doesn't help, and the 2 start phasing out. Young Armand next gets pulled out by young Mei, she asking Kitty Cat why he was so time-lagged, the Consultant then offers a replacement innkeeper, regardless of the place not currently being an inn, but if they planned on staying, could arrange it, Mei inquiring about Saint.

The Consultant says he isn't anywhere, but next is shown Saint with Patrick unconscious in an unknown room, Saint talking to him, but not really, mentioning how he got he'd grown up, but whether he still enjoyed pancakes. Saint then wonders why Patrick couldn't trust him, the mess would have been fixed, and they could have continued with breakies. Saint then realizes perhaps this is why people didn't trust him, his priorities were focused differently, but he thought this would strengthen his innkeeping, Patrick then waking. Saint is surprised with the begrudging apology from Patrick for having stayed away so long and not appreciate the home he built.

Saint then tries to stay positive by suggesting perhaps the Consultant would be lenient if they asked nicely for Patrick to regain his passport, again Patrick grudgingly agreeing. Patrick confesses he'd seen their pop, and Saint q's whether Patrick and he'd been good. This leads to the ultimate q of whether Patrick would finally be willing to confide what he'd been doing with his time throughout the years away from Saint. Patrick begins with his 1st visit back with his pop and how he'd been intro-ed to the Consultant when he was 14, and after he'd succeeded in his pop's experiments with time travel, he thought he could become even better than their father, and he'd been following his pop's direction when he'd gotten the other visas.

This is when Patrick realizes none of his visas worked and he was trapped, which had him wondering if their pop would've done the same to Saint if he'd been in his place. Patrick then tells of how his name'd been changed upon entering the city due to a particular policy, and his name had been Saint. Patrick then deduces perhaps their pop'd been planning to do the same to Saint anyways, Saint declaring he wouldn't let their pop take him away. He offers Patrick to stay at the Cloverfield with him and would even fight their pop if he tried to stop him, this amusing Patrick who allows Saint'd definitely gotten more courageous. The 2 then brainstorm a way back, a circular creature staring at them from the "floor", which then complains to the peeping Consultant, who states they'd needed a timeout.

She then explains to the creature how it was supposed to track out of the ordinary beings, and the creature returns with how the inns were creating issues in the time streams, the timelines still being infinite, but too many being made. The Consultant argues it's still able to be led by her, but the creature wonders the truth in this since she required it's help, but she stating it being told to do work a couple times throughout millenia couldn't kill it. The Consultant then shows herself to the boys, and they relate what they'd agreed on, the Consultant introing the Counter, and it keeping track of the many timelines, and the place they were in wouldn't be affected by anything they did. This also due to they having been blipped out of existence, the Consultant and Counter now having to renegotiate the terms of their lives with the universe and see what everyone can agree with.

Patrick knows they don't have a choice, but doesn't like having to do something just because he's stuck, Saint making note their pop would be the only other option and it was lucky he didn't know what'd happened. Saint then decides they'd both agree to the Consultant's terms, since they'd then also have a tantalizing piece of knowledge, this nowhere place, helping their pop's time-lag research, which would then allow them to stay together from here on. The Consultant then has Patrick's power to write visas given to Saint to help with whenever Patrick wanted, since she felt Saint was more trustworthy. Patrick soberly gives his gloves to Saint, since the power would show on his hands, and glowing hands were difficult to sleep with, Patrick then stating they should see if they could hitch a ride back with the Consultant.

As Saint requests for his fallen spoon, he grabs it himself upon realizing the one in q didn't have hands, but is surprised to next see whichever it had been, the Consultant or Counter, had turned into what looked like an older Armand, he stating of Armand having been looking for Saint, who had helped him discover the illegal immortal he'd been tracking, so felt he owed him. Saint then inquires what occurs to Armand if this guy was here, it being revealed of Armand suffering a stroke at 29. Saint is then running after Patrick who confirmed their passage with the Consultant, and Saint vowing to help Armand. Meanwhile, Mei is trying to get a thanks out of Armand for helping them, and he's getting caught up with guilt for not trying to help Saint, when Saint and Patrick arrive with the Consultant.

Mei then asks if breakies was back on, pancakes piled high, and Saint fixing Armand's visa. Older Armand feels guilty for not having been able to divert Saint the 2nd time around, Kitty Cat deducing Saint "knows" something, and after younger Armand sneezes, Saint approaches him and decides to confess something to him. Saint decides to put it off til he feels better though, and then approaches Kitty Cat about knowing he'd been replaced by her. Kitty Cat learns he wasn't holding grudges, only he didn't know she'd wanted it, seeming rather to be more of a traveler, but she reveals she couldn't do this apparently.

She continues about how she had taken forms from this universe, but she couldn't travel because she'd migrated to this area. She also reveals her non-aging body and how she'd been able to negotiate the clause stating everything froze when she slept, Saint not realizing he could do this, but apparently contracts varied per inn, since not all of them had to remain inside the inn forever, either. Kitty Cat then tells of she only being the inn-keeper by title, and she'd be cool if Saint wished to keep working there, she down for a nap, which upon snoozing, turns back into a cat. Saint then considers all the plans he could now implement since he didn't have the time-freezing occuring, musing on even starting to write again, finally feeling the freedom.

The Inn Note shows Saint having Armand read his in-progress novel, and getting feedback on the character Armand being unlikable, which Armand is surprised to learn is based on himself. They'd finally gotten a slow-down of guests, since the Consultant was having Saint help fix all the visas Patrick'd forged. Mei had also finally left after tormenting Armand and Patrick in turn, Kitty Cat meanwhile sticking to Saint's office, he stating how if he put her in his novel she'd be the one full of mysteries. Armand is patting the coffee table as he's on the floor to the kitty, who becomes Kitty, and he confused for a minute, but then is explaining why he didn't want to return to his parents in Buenos Aires, explaining he was trying to lose himself so he didn't feel as guilty.

Kitty then spots a green car out the window he'd been about to smoke out of, it approaching the house. These chapters are so addicting. The story blossoms and it's quite mysterious and full of fun, weird characters. I'll definitely be continuing to enjoy the twisty turning of this odd universe.