Safire's POV:

"So, is there any way I can reach my father?" Alyssa asked. "I need to make sure he's okay."

I sighed, tapping my fingers rhythmically against the machine. "I'd need to be able to know how his mind works to be able to connect to him that way. The only way I can know how his mind works is if I've either scanned him or one of his alternates. What's his name?"

"Mot Screziato," she answered fearfully, and I quickly began to type. "In the Realm of Mianite, Mot's alternate was good friends with my alternate, so maybe they'll be friends here as well." She sounded as if she didn't believe her own words.

A page loaded up, saying that he was connected to people who were scanned before, but nothing about his mind. "Sorry, Alyssa," I answered. "His alternate is probably living in Galena, or I haven't met him yet. What god do he and his alternate follow?"

"They follow Dianite... Dioptase," Alyssa admitted. "I guess his alternate probably is in Galena."

"Yeah." I tried to think of any other way I could communicate with him. "Do you know of anyone else very close to your father? That would be able to reach him?"

She shook her head, her face falling. "The only person besides me is Dianite, and Galena took him away."

"Oh, one of the gods? I heard they were released!" I recalled a newsletter I had received just before traveling to receive Gaines's memories.

"Really?" Andor and Alyssa gasped at the same time, suddenly extremely eager.

"I'll look him up." I typed Ruxomar's Dianite into the machine, and all of the information on his mind loaded. "Yep, it says that his status is free, in Galena. But without powers. Oh well, I can still contact him. What would you like me to say?"

Mot's POV:

When I woke up, I realized that Dianite and I had fallen asleep on the long couch that was in the living room of my room. He was peacefully resting on the back of the couch, and, when I had woken up, I was partially on top of him, with my head laying on his chest. His arm was limply draped across me, and I remembered suddenly how we had fallen asleep last night. I was leaning into the side of the couch, with Dianite's arms around me, drifting off to the sound of his heartbeat. 

"Mot?" he muttered sleepily, opening an eye as I began to slip away from him. 

"You can go back to sleep if you want," I whispered. 

He shook his head slowly, yawning and sitting upright. "What time do you have to leave?"

I stood up and stretched. "In a couple of hours. I can eat breakfast here, then go back to work with Ambrosia. If we have work today. I still don't know what happened to Cypress's group."

Dianite blinked a few times, staring off into space. "Oh. Well, you can prepare breakfast for yourself, I guess. I'll be there in a minute." 

I got up and walked over to the kitchen. It was pretty, with a nice tile floor, marble counters, and wooden cabinets. I opened a few cabinets until I found some cereal, a few boxes wedged into one section. I pulled out the one that looked the best, and poured it into a bowl. As I was putting milk into it, Dianite made his way into the kitchen, and grabbed a bowl for himself. 

"I wonder whether I should go find Ambrosia early," I wondered aloud. "I should find out whether or not I have to work today."

"Yeah," Dianite said, his voice slightly hoarse. "You should make sure before making any plans." He set his bowl down and straightened up. "Do you want me to go ask?"

"No, there's plenty of time for me to do it," I answered, tapping the seat next to me. "Come sit and eat."

"Well, I don't technically need to eat," he grumbled, getting himself a bowl and sitting beside me. 

"Yes, I know," I laughed. "You reminded me yesterday. But don't you enjoy eating? Food's more of a comfort thing to me at this point."

Dianite shrugged. "I guess." He finished his breakfast much faster than me, and went into the bedroom to get dressed. 

I washed both bowls, then went to change as well. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I was almost shocked at my appearance. My eyes were still slightly red, and there were bags under my eyes. I looked much older, and my hair was a mess. I quickly tried to fix my appearance, not wanting any of the others to worry about me when I went to work. 

"Hey... umm..." Dianite croaked behind me, sounding strained. I whirled around, and saw that he was hunched over. "My... my head hurts all of a sudden."

"Your head?" I gasped, frozen with shock. 

"Something's... ow!" He gripped his head tightly, and sank onto his knees. 

"Should I go get help?" I cried. When he didn't reply, I began to run toward the door, wondering who I could possibly go to. Would the leaders care enough to help? Was it a leader causing the headache?

"Mot, wait! MOT!" Dianite screamed, just as I was approaching the door. My trembling hand hovered right over the doorknob, and I ached to seek assistance for him. But, by his request, I turned and rushed back. 

"What's going on?" I yelled. 

"There's... something speaking to me." He squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. 

"Speaking to..." I began, confused and panicked. 

"SHH!" he snapped, then went back to focusing. "It's... oh my god..."

I bit down on my tongue, desperate to know what was being said to him. Eventually, I could tell that the voice had faded away, because Dianite opened his eyes, and slowly got to his feet again. Dizzy, he put a hand on my shoulder and leaned into me. 

"Who was speaking to you?" I asked in a hushed tone. "What did they say?"

"It was Safire," he answered quietly, looking fearfully into my eyes. "She told me that Alyssa and Andor were safe, that they went with her. She's... rescuing us. She's against Galena, but not against us. It was a message for you, because she said that Alyssa wanted to make sure you were okay. She said that she's going to come and get the rest of you, and that you need to trust her. She said that if you don't trust her, then... then, maybe, you trust Gaines."

I closed my eyes, covering my face with my hands, letting everything sink in. I was kind of surprised that Alyssa's first thought was to make sure I was okay, but I guess it was necessary. She knew I didn't react well, but I guess she just realized that I had Dianite again. 

"She's with Safire, and she wants us to join her," I repeated what I had heard, letting out a long sigh.

"Do you think we should trust her?" Dianite asked. 

"Well, I definitely don't trust Galena," I muttered in response. "But I don't know whether or not I can trust this random lady. I'm not sure if I completely trust Andor and Alyssa's judgement, and well, how can I trust Gaines if I never really knew him?"

Dianite opened his mouth to reply, found he couldn't, and looked away.