"Hey, Mot?" Dianite asked, entering the kitchen as the priest and I ate lunch together. There hadn't been much to do all morning, so we worked on growing food to improve our meals. At that moment, we had been eating some blueberry pie. It tasted even better than I remembered.

"Yeah?" I asked with a mouthful of pie, wondering if whatever he had to say could wait until I was done eating. Dessert comes first, even before the ritual that could potentially revive the love of your life.

"I need you and Sparklez to join me, Mianite, and the Deviser for a bit. We have some more things to discuss." His voice sounded like it was urgent, so I (reluctantly) agreed to abandon my dessert.

"Fine," I sighed, pushing my plate back and getting to my feet. Dianite rose into the air, and I spread my wings and followed him to the Deviser's laboratory.

"So how's the mech suit coming?" Sparklez asked the Deviser when he arrived.

Dianite laughed, but Gaines let out a long sigh. "We're still gathering resources. You can't build a mech suit overnight, you know!"

"Just asking," he answered with a shrug. Turning to Mianite, he continued, "So what did you call us here for? Any updates?"

Mianite took off his ridiculous glasses, which he had been using to "chill" atop the volcano. "Well, I'm going to begin collecting items containing Ianite's quintessence. I'll need you to gather the Ianitas, as well as any other item of hers you might own."

His face fell, but he didn't object. Sparklez pulled out his spectre key, and vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

"What are you going to do with the Ianitas?" I asked Mianite. Sparkles seemed to trust him, but I was beginning to feel uneasy. He had been against Ianite for his entire life, so why would he start helping her now?

"Harvest their quintessence," he replied, narrowing his eyes at me. "Why does it matter to you?"

"I was just..." I tried to defend myself, but Dianite interrupted me.

"Don't be rude to my champion," he snapped at his brother. "Mot has every right to know the answer to that question."

I gave Dianite a grateful look, but Mianite looked annoyed. "You're always so quick to defend mortals. Perhaps one day you'll realize the high position you have naturally."

"And perhaps one day you'll realize that mortals shouldn't be treated as any less of a being," Dianite answered with a harsh tone. "Now, come on Mot, let's let this idiot..."

Suddenly, Sparklez reappeared, making everyone jump. "I've got the Ianitas! What do I do with them?"

Mianite thought for a few seconds. "Go tell Jericho to bring his necessary equipment and meet me at my childhood home, would you?"

"What's 'necessary equipment'?" He seemed to be having doubts as well, which pleased me.

"I'll tell you when you're there." Mianite snarled, vanishing into the air. Someone was having a bad day.

Dianite and I arrived at the house at the same time as Jericho. Sparklez hadn't arrived yet, so I figured it was time to look around and see if I could spot Mianite's true intentions underneath his cover.

"Take out your kikoku," I heard him instruct Jericho from inside the house. I got closer and pressed my ear to the window, to hear as much as I could. "I'll need you to kill them in one swing, you got it? That's the only way it'll work."

Panic rushed through me, and I shot Dianite a terrified glance. My god remained silent, even when Sparklez arrived. Making sure that I wasn't going to be overheard by Mianite or Jericho, I rushed over to Sparklez to tell him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. He had been holding some of Ianite's possessions high in the air with pride, but now he lowered them as he observed the concern on my face.

"Look, Sparklez. This is a really, really bad idea. We shouldn't revive Ianite," I told him, knowing he wouldn't understand.

He sighed, frustrated. "Mot, we've been through this. Several times. I have to at least give it a try!"

"And sacrifice all of these Ianitas? The last remains of your goddess?" I cried out in disbelief. Realizing I should keep my voice low, I continued in a quieter tone. "Dianite was meant to be revived. His death was an accident. Ianite's death was caused by some greater force, and she wasn't meant to come back to life, Sparklez."

His fists began to tighten. "I have to revive Ianite. She can't be gone. I can't let her down!"

"You did all you could!" I protested. "She wouldn't have wanted her children dead so she could come back. Think about this! This isn't what Ianite wanted."

He wasn't listening to me anymore. "Move out of my way. I have to help her. Mianite says that this is the best way I can help Ianite at this point!"

"Do you really trust Mianite on this one?" I snapped. "He's got something else in mind. I don't know what his goal is, but it's not for the 'greater good'. I can promise you that."

"You don't know that!" He was completely biased, to the point where logic couldn't get to him. "I'm getting her back. I don't care what you say." He pushed me to the side so he could get by me.

"Then you're a fool," I called after him, my pity for him draining away. "Just like Spark," I added under my breath when he was far enough away.

"Well you're right about that," Dianite piped up, making me jump. "Spark and Sparklez each would do anything for their loved ones, although their faults lie in slightly different places."

I let out a long sigh as I watched Sparklez place the Ianitas on the ground in front of a grinning Jericho. "He would listen if you tried to convince him."

"Boyo, this isn't about what's right and what's wrong anymore. We've sunk so low that it's a matter of survival now. And the way to survive is to ally with Mianite. And this is what Mianite insists on doing," he replied, making me even angrier.

"Can't you see?" I yelled at him as Jericho stabbed the first Ianita. Sparklez was cowering in a corner, unable to watch the death of the little girls. "Mianite is not a trustworthy person. He's got some plan, that we're not seeing. It's all a trap."

"I know, Mot. I understand," Dianite answered gently. His voice calmed me down slightly. "But we need to go with it for now. We have access to all of Mianite's resources through this alliance, and we can always use it against him if he ends up betraying us. We have the upper hand here. Hopefully he will recognize that."

"Yeah," I said quietly as I watched the last Ianita being slaughtered, "Hopefully."

I had my doubts about each and every person in this realm, but at least I could trust my Dia.