I lean on my bed.

"Layla," Whitney says, "you think Omega-Xis is okay?"

"Of course," I say, "Lyra can't take him down, I'll bet."

"What if…what if Lyra's already got a human?" Whitney says in a hushed voice.

"Then…then I don't know," I admit, "I mean, Omega-Xis mentioned that Lyra's not after him for the Key, and if she was she'd know that we have it."

Whitney shivers and says, "The Key's what I'm really worried about. What if an FM-ian attacks and Omega-Xis isn't here?"

"We run," I say, "Logical answer, and we can most likely hide."

Whitney sits on the floor and sighs.

I am worried about Omega-Xis, but for now I have to keep Whitney company.

"My mom told me that I was born in Japan," Whitney says suddenly, "and that I looked different from the other babies."

Well, yeah, with her bright red hair and blue eyes, she looks non-Goth…unless she puts on her usual clothes.

"I think my mom said that I reminded her of the famous Sonia Skye," Whitney continues, "because of my obsession with singing and my appearance. Whenever I asked, she said that Sonia was a popular singer 200 years ago, with albums still on the charts because of her lovely voice, especially when she was around twenty."

I nod. I myself have songs from Sonia on my TR.

I activate my TR and say, "Track down Omega-Xis."

"He is currently crossing the ocean at 4000 miles per hour," the computer says.

"About time," I say.

"Or else he just got started," Whitney says.

"He's been gone for an hour," I say, "he's pretty fast on the wave roads, let me tell you that."

"Hopefully he has Lyra," Whitney says, "I want to see if I can transform like you can. I feel so nervous!"

"I am too," I say, "but not about Lyra. About the other FM-ians."

"There's one heading to Garden Wake!" Omega-Xis' voice says.