i In front of him, stood a half-naked Lila, in her rather see-through undergarments, trying to find something to cover herself, with the expression of someone who is having a heart-attack. /i

Genie froze for a moment… Ok maybe more than a moment. It wasn't like he hadn't seen naked women before, but this was completely different. For one thing he was staring at the curves of a goddess, he could only imagine what horrible torments were awaiting for him for committing such a crime… Yet, and despite all the wisdom that usually characterized him, he could not take his eyes off her, for the life of him. He couldn't deny it… the sight was not unpleasant, at all. In fact, it was the complete opposite and Genie, for one of the rare times in his immortal life, was actually blushing without being able to conceal it.

"Ge…GENIE!" Lila yelped in terror, although she had indeed frozen herself, for a while there. The garment that she held in her hand, and that anyone would suppose she would use to cover herself, was surprisingly launched towards Genie's general direction, and despite his ethereal form he was too distracted to dodge, so it actually hit him.

"H… Hey...!" Genie protested, in his struggle to take the fabric off his face, completely startled as he was by her move.

"LOOK AWAY!" Lila yelled infuriated, with her look shooting beams straight through Genie's eyes.

"Alright, alright, stop yelling." the ethereal creature eventually pouted and turned the other way, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You don't have to be such a baby about it. I didn't see anything…" That was a lie because in truth everything he saw was carved in his memory. He was no teenager or a young spirit. He had the brain of an adult man and he couldn't really help it. It wasn't like he was a pervert or anything but…

"Lila dear, is everything alright?..." Flare's gentle voice from the other room interrupted Genie's thought, and he immediately reacted by jumping behind the armchair. Lila's blushed faced looked almost ready to explode, as she rushed to the door terrified.

"E… everything is fine Flare… D…don't worry…" her trembling voice was everything but convincing. On the other side of the door, the woman furrowed her brows… She could feel it too, the strange magic. But she didn't want to alarm or scared the girl. Somehow she knew it wasn't something threatening. Maybe it even came from Lila. A young goddess, completely unaware of her powers, she could be emitting all sorts of vibes… Despite the fact that Flare was pretty sure it wasn't that, it was still a possibility.

"Are you sure dear? If you have trouble with the dress I can come in and help…"

"NO!... I mean…" Lila lowered her voice. Her tone was way to panicked and alarming. "It's ok, I can handle it… I just got stung by a pin, that's all… Really nothing to worry about Flare. I'll be there in a minute…"

"Ok… I'll be close." Flare said with a reassuring voice. She was slightly concerned by Lila's tone, but she was way too discrete as a personality to barge in there when the girl clearly didn't want her to. Plus she was sure that Solar had his antennae on alert for anything dangerous. She wouldn't get paranoid.

Most gods were still unaware that Lila had been reclaimed, and Sophia's house was a regular fortress, completely stealth to the Divine World. Even God himself couldn't see what was happening in there, despite the fact that he knew his daughter was somewhere in that house, undergoing training for her entrance into her actual realm. He had completely entrusted the task to him mother and his two most loyal friends, therefore he had agreed to stay out of it, until Sophia decided that it was time for the two to be reunited. Sometimes Flare found his blind trust to his mother a bit troubling, but in truth she knew that no matter how sour Sophia was as a person, she did wish the best for her son and eventually for her granddaughter as well.

"O… OK!" Lila exclaimed a little louder than intended and sighed, still red like a ripe tomato. Her eyes met with those of Genie, who had been peeking from behind the armchair. The young goddess' face was instantly distorted in a furious expression again. She wouldn't make the mistake of yelling, especially so close to the door; Flare would definitely get alarmed this time. However, she did manage to grab another piece of fabric –a rather heavy velvet coat this time- and throw it towards Genie with all her might. The magical creature was ready for it this time, and protected himself with the metallic skeleton of an umbrella, using the fabric to actually coat it, before turning himself into the rather disturbing form of an obese Victorian lady, with an elaborately ornamented baroque dress, the colour of which, matched that of the velvet coat Lila had thrown at him. The imagery was further enhanced by the use of over the top face make up, that made the Genie look so ridiculous that Lila couldn't help but chuckle, temporarily forgetting her half-nudity.

Her chuckle caused a strange reaction in Genie's chest. It wasn't like he had a heart in the biological sense that humans do, but he had the magical equivalent. He was capable of feeling, he already knew that from Ali, and although he couldn't remember much of his experience before he hit the bottom of the ocean in his lamp, he was pretty sure that he had felt romantic interest for female creatures, maybe of his kind… He wasn't exactly ready to admit he was attracted to this girl, but that strange burning in the general area of his chest was bothering him. He knew it wasn't time for that. If anything he should be concerned about finding Ali. Strange as it sounded in his mind, that boy was his only friend. Of course now he was bound by this pretty goddess, but she seemed reasonable enough. Perhaps he could talk to her. Ask her for a favour. It wasn't something usual for genies, but his only recent experience hadn't exactly taught him that Genies and masters are not usually friendly. Although at this point she was probably too furious and from the looks of it she already had a lot on her plate. His internal monologue was interrupted by Lila's cute yelp, as she realised she was still half-naked.

"T… turn around please…." She whispered, as her face went all red again. Her face was looking less mad and more pleading now. She was genuinely embarrassed. Genie looked at her softly, before morphing back into his regular form and giving her a devious yet gentle smile, as he pointed his finger at her. Lila was puzzled for a moment… But that was before she realised that the mannequin next to the armchair was naked… She looked down only to see that she was no longer in her undergarments, but was in fact wearing the dress that Flare had prepared for her. This time the blush on her face wasn't exactly caused by embarrassment. She felt a strange warmth that she really couldn't put her finger on. She could only tell for sure that she has something to do with him. Swiftly, Genie flew all the way right in front of her, and morphed himself into a full body mirror.

"I think it looks perfect…"

Meanwhile, in the darkest corner of the solar system, two men, were enjoying their tea, and talking… business.

"This tea is rather feisty isn't it? You must know, while I do enjoy sparkly things, I don't appreciate them being shoved up my nostrils… But oh well…" the elegantly dressed, pale man noted, as he placed his cup on the table.

"I told you to wait for it to settle." The other man sighed. " You're way too picky Mozenrath. This is the finest quality tea from Venus. Not many get to enjoy it without being poisoned". He was not very tall, but his throne-like chair made him stand ou, higher than Mozenrath. The wizard did NOT appreciate that. If anything bothered him more than his plans being obstructed , that would be being looked down upon… Or bad fashion… Or loud people… Oh let's face it, he was bothered by far too many things… But in this particular case he was willing to not make a big fuss out of it. This was really big, bigger than anything he had plotted before, and this man standing before him, hideous as he was in appearance, was offering him one of the greatest chances he would ever get to reign over, well… the world. This was something Mozenrath could definitely not pass on.

"The best must always demand the best. And must always be given the best. Maybe it's not my taste, but believe it or not I do appreciate it" he said plainly, accompanying his remark with a charming, yet dismissive smile. He wasn't going to drink that hideous tea, but he sure felt good that he was offered the best. He wouldn't accept anything less, especially from a god. "But anyway, I'm not here to talk beverages… Let's focus on our subject shall we?" he said gently petting Xerxes' head. The god chuckled at the wizard's arrogance. In truth, he found it refreshing.

" So… you need my assistance in order to infiltrate the human realm, is that right?" Mozenrath stated as he leaned forward, and shot the other one a devious look. "Why would one of the leaders of the Divine World need the assistant of a magical creature such as myself? You possess magic as well, right?"

"Indeed I do. All gods possess powers, but you see, those powers are distributed in such a way, that it might be a bit… unfair for some of us. I can manipulate time and I can travel dimensions but there's this little problem that prevents me from infiltrating the mortal world… My appearance. That's where you come in Mozenrath… You have the power of illusion and you inhabit the realm of humans, even if you're not one. That means you can exist among them. That, my dear wizard, is I have need for you" the god noted as he drank some of his Venesian tea.

"Ah yes indeed, I must agree with that. No offence intended, but a creature with your appearance would be immediately spotted in the human world… Possibly demonized as well. Humans are vulgar creatures. You could take them out with a snap of your finger, but a ruler much have subjects. Plus, I take it you don't want to mess with their creator."

"No, not just yet at least. But in time… Besides isn't that what you want to? The reason for this collaboration, is your aspiration to take over the mortal world, am I right?"

After a moment of silence, Mozenrath finally answered.

"Yes indeed." That wasn't entirely true though. Mozenrath did indeed want to rule the mortal world. He had been at it for centuries. However, he wasn't a man that would settle for less than everything. As he had recently now stated, he aimed for the best. He knew he deserved it. He had struggled for it after all and he was on top of his game. And he would succeed. But there was also something else. This time, his plans had taken a different turn, or more like… expanded. After coming in contact with the Divine World, Mozenrath could simply not ignore it. He wanted it. It was so much more than the mortal world. Of course he still wanted that too; he wanted it all. But he had to move cautiously, until he figured out how this world worked at least. Being approached by one of the gods of the universe was something unexpected even for him, but now he would take this opportunity but he wasn't foolish. He's do this god's bidding and use all the influence he could get, and when the time came, he'd make his move. He let the other consider this an alliance, but in Mozenrath's mind he was the one pulling the strings.

"So, who's this person you wish me to spy on?" he asked.

"Her name is Lila. She's the daughter of the God of Earth."