Between the world of dreams and reality, Mercuria rested with part of her conscience active and aware but held back due to the woman refusing to abandon the comfort of her sleep and the soft embrace of the couch and blankets.

“Wake up sweetcheeks,” An incorporeal voice said in the middle of the calm darkness that covered the guitarist eyes, whose owner answered with a grumble in protest.

“You’ll miss breakfast,” The female voice insisted against Mercuria’s wishes, prompting her to use comprehensible words to complain.

“I don’t wanna,” The guitarist spoke as she covered her head under the blankets, like if that created an impenetrable wall that would protect her.

A hand grabbed the blankets and pulled them aside with a swift movement, defeating Mercuria and welcoming her into the waking world. The young girl protested once more until she surrendered and got up, watching the room she was in with eyes that were still adapting to the new day. The first thing that caught her attention was the colourful walls, painted in pink and with the owner’s face elegantly represented in one of them, followed by the table beside her and noises that revealed activity on the kitchen. The guitarist turned her head towards this last direction and tried to figure out as much as she could without leaving the couch.

“Do you want some juice?” The voice asked, obtaining an affirmative answer from Mercuria.

Shortly after, the body behind the voice came back to the living room the young woman had slept in, revealing its real appearance behind the makeup and the clothes. Glam walked towards Mercuria holding a tray with all the components of their breakfast, wearing an old pajama and slippers and displaying a messy hair, as well as a bunch of small freckles on her cheeks. Only two things remained from the magical aura that her body expelled last night, her pale blue eyes and an otherworldly charm that refused to abandon her. The singer left the tray on the table and sat in a chair in front of Mercuria, taking a jug with one of her hands and pouring orange juice in two mugs, taking one of them to her lips to drink.

“We have toast, jam, butter, crème caramel, and some fruit,” Glam said, exposing the food on the table before taking a slice of the sweet into a small plate. “Take whatever you want”

The singer took the jug and poured its content into her mug, which had the phrase “Life is a disease. The only cure is rock n’ roll”, and selected an apple as she drank the delicious liquid and smiled internally due to the message.

“How did you sleep?” Glam asked her guest at the same time she spread butter over one half of a toast and strawberry jam on the other.

“Very well,” Mercuria answered while the other woman ate the bread as she listened to her, until she noticed that she hadn’t thanked the singer for her hospitality and quickly corrected her error. “Thanks for your hospitality!”

The singer was startled by the sudden answer and choked on the juice she was drinking, repeatedly coughing as her reflexes acted and her throat was being cleared.

“Oh crap, I’m sorry!” The guitarist said alarmed while her partner raised her hand to her as she was slowly recovering.

“Don’t worry, but…” Said Glam as one last cough interrupted her words and small tears ran from her eyes. “…don't give me another scare like that. Oh, and you’re welcome”

Both resumed their breakfast and the guitarist took a slice of the crème caramel with a fork, delighted when the threat contacted her taste buds and flourished under its sweet flavour.

“Wow, it’s very good,” Mercuria commented, bringing a smile to Glam’s face with her words.

“Thanks, I made it myself following my father’s recipe,” The singer said, visibly happy at the results and the positive answer. “I like making desserts from time to time, it’s a hobby of mine”

“You have to let me try them sometime,” The child inside the guitarist said excitedly.

“It would be my pleasure, but I warn you, they not always come well”

“I’ll give it a shot anyway”

Both continued to chat with each other as the table’s content was being reduced, getting to know each other and sharing stories from their lives as well as things they disliked and loved, like those annoying rapper wannabes that acted all tough and wanted to join the growing urban techno-metal movement.

“There’s just no soul in that thing,” Glam said. “I could best any of those guys without effort”

As the conversation grew longer, Mercuria felt more comfortable and confident, which made her words clearer and with fewer interruptions between them. Eventually, the conversation they had delayed finally came up from the guitarist's mouth.

“So… about what we were talking yesterday. My…proposition”

“Why do you want me to go with you?” Glam asked the other woman after taking another sip from her mug, eager to listen to her answer.

“On his letter, my grandfather told me to find help, and I trust his advice,” Mercuria said as the words came into her head. “When I saw you yesterday I thought that you were great… but above that, I felt something that made me think you were what I was looking for, something you made me feel.

Glam remained a few seconds in silent after hearing the guitarist, looking inside her mug as if it contained the advice and answers she needed to make the right choice. Part of her was attracted to the offer, but she wasn’t sure about following around the world someone she had just met. Although she liked the idea of travelling with Mercuria.

“Thanks for that, but you have to understand that you’re asking a lot,” the singer began to say. “You want me to leave everything I know and venture into the unknown just by the good in my heart. But besides that, I’m scared, I’m afraid of what might happen if I try to find the Remains with you, about the people that will come to get that pick you have. I’ve seen it, and that thing will attract them like moths to the light, and then we might burn if they get it.

“I’m scared too,” Mercuria said. “But as I told you yesterday, this is an opportunity I’ve been waiting for a long time, and I… I fear that if I just let it pass then I will remain with my doubts and that I’ll regret it forever. We only have one life, and I want to make sure that I’ve enjoyed mine”

“Yeah,” Glam said softly, until after moments of meditation, her voice repeated the same word with newfound strength. “Yeah. You know what? Screw this! I’m tired of this city, I want to travel and let the whole world know my light! Imagine it, Glam, Saviour of the World, that will sell a lot of tickets and put me in sight!”

“Really?” The guitarist spoke before she got around the table and hugged the singer without containing her excitement. “Thank you, thank you so much!”

Caught by surprise by the sudden display of affection, Glam remained stiff as Mercuria’s grasp tighten and she felt the warmth emanating from her body, taking a few instants to react and return the gesture, enveloping the guitarist with her arms. The guitarist separated from the other woman and took some steps before talking again.

“I think… I think we still need more people with us,” Mercuria said as she evaluated the situation and her grandfather’s advice, deeming that their numbers had to grow before standing a chance against the impending menace. The problem lied in the fact that she didn’t knew where to go next. With the help of the Crazy Train, finding Glam had been an easy task, but now she didn’t have any help that would enlighten her path. Unless…

“Glam, do you know someone that could help us?” The guitarist asked her newfound partner for a lead on their travel, finding hope when she smirked at the question.

“I think I might know just the guy”