A name defines an object. Describes the span of it. Gives it purpose. Two years ago, we embarked upon the Creation Program to ensure that our new power stays ours and ours alone. And now, our shadow power truly lives. But it needs a name. Something to define it. To give it true purpose. Our efforts have come to bear fruit, nearly ripe for the plucking. All of our plans are proceeding smoothly - alarmingly so, in fact, though this is no time to be deterred by mere paranoia. The Program will soon approach completion.

Entry #?

Chapter 3:

"How come you didn't fight that meanie back in the alley with a Buddy monster of your own?" Axia questioned him, sounding almost accusing, "For a Buddyfighter, how come don't you have a Buddy at all?"

Roa paused for a moment before responding, his voice now laced with a humorless chuckle, "So, you noticed that, huh? I guess that's to be expected..." he sighed. Today was going to be much longer than he first thought it would be, that's for sure.

To be honest, he probably could have avoided the question if he really wanted to, but for some reason, Roa didn't feel terribly apprehensive talking to Axia, as he had felt when he tried to do so with others. Was it the fact that Axia was a dragon instead of another human? Was it his rather flamboyantly feminine tendencies? Or even the fact that Roa had been bottling this up for so long? He really wasn't sure himself...

Axia's constant presence to his side was certainly something new; Roa was quickly finding a growing interest in the well-being of somebody else, a sensation that he hadn't experienced for years. It was most likely because how much Axia depended on him, and how much he already trusted him. Roa wasn't used to having anybody else in his house; not even for a day. He was used to being completely alone, and the only interactions he regularly had with others were in his occasional trips to the outside world, and he always made a conscious effort to remain neutral and bland, if not a little cold. Roa hated to think of the past, saw no future, and had little sincere care about anything at all.

Overall, Roa himself knew that he was a dreadfully dull, passionless person who cared for only himself. And if his childhood had taught him anything, it was that friendship was unnecessary, and love only leads to pain and more hurt.

And it was for that very reason that he didn't like who he was - some part of Roa was screaming out for someone to notice him as a human being and just care, but at the same time, the though of another being close to himself in such a way terrified Roa in a way that he couldn't explain. It just... hurt.

"...To make a long story very short, I once had a Buddy, but... well, now he's gone; and for good," Roa spoke, his tone once more hardened into that frigid monotone that saddened Axia to listen to, "I won't lie, a part of me thinks that in the long run, it may have been for the better, but... well, now it doesn't matter very much, I suppose." He finished, sounding slightly bitter by the end.

Axia's head dropped down a bit, "I-I had no idea... I'm sorry Roa," Axia apologized, "No one should ever be separated from their Buddy! Honest, I didn't mean to-"

Roa raised a hand, cutting off the dragon's apology, "It's fine Axia; you didn't know... A wise friend once told me something a long time ago. And you know? Over the years, I've come to appreciate his wisdom: 'Regrets are like ocean water. Abundant, but ultimately useless to you.' At the time, I was just a stupid kid, and I didn't really know what he meant, but... now, looking back, it's completely obvious." He shook his head, banishing the thought of said person, "Whatever happened to me in the past is over and done with, and looking back on it won't help me or anyone else."

"I guess so... But still, you never did tell me; why did you help me back there in the first place? Why didn't you just leave me with that nasty boy back there?" Axia asked the human, needing to know his final answer before he made up his own mind, "And why do all this for me? Why would you help me out so much when you didn't even know who I was?"

Roa paused at the question, but nevertheless relented, "It's a bit of both a complicated and simple answer, so just let me explain, alright? I've always hated the type of person that he was. He's the kind of human that deliberately does whatever he can to put down others in a selfish attempt to bolster himself in some idiotic way. I've encountered that type of person plenty of times before myself, and I really don't think I'd be able to sleep well at night if I didn't at least do something to help out someone else in that type of predicament."

As Roa explained a bit, he looked wistfully off to the side, "Also... I think it was you, yourself. Maybe it's that fact that I don't have a Buddy monster of my own anymore. Maybe it was the fact that you were right in front of me, but... well, when I saw that you were being mistreated by somebody who should have been lucky and privileged enough to have a Buddy of his own, I just... hated that. People who act like him shouldn't deserve to be Buddies with anyone, especially not someone like you." Roa finished, a small, though sad smile replacing his previous look of cold detachment at the end, much to Axia's surprise and delight.

"R-really? You mean that?" Axia asked, his big, golden eyes taking on a sparkling kind of look.

He blinked, "Of course I mean that. Why would I say that if I didn't?" Roa asked him, looking a bit perplexed. Really, for as sweet as he could be, sometimes the boy tended to overlook the obvious that was right in front of him, Axia thought, though that may have been to do with his lack of proper social skills due to the way he grew up.

"...Never mind. It's nothing..." Axia trailed off a bit awkwardly. A brief and uncomfortable silence permeated the room, the now long forgotten hot chocolate growing colder by the moment. In an effort to keep the conversation going, and hopefully away from himself at that, Roa cleared his throat, deciding to voice a question that had been on his mind for some time now.

"So Axia, what about you? I mean, other than what you've told me from when you met this Gao and his buddy Drum, what's your story? I know that you hail from Magic World, but other than that, I don't really know much about you... I mean, I don't know even how old you are?" The boy inquired, not really having an in-depth knowledge of other World's customs or even traditions, much less a way to identify the age of a monster.

If he was being honest with himself, Roa was never very good with conversations, though for this monster's sake, he was at least willing to try.

Axia grinned as the mood of the room started to shift. Finally, a topic that he could get into for a while! "Oh Roa, I'm flattered you'd want to know more about little old me~! You see, in our worlds, we measure age differently than you humans, especially due to each world existing on its own unique time-axis, but if you were to try and convert it out, I guess I'd be somewhere within the teenage range or so in Human years. As far as my personal life," at there, Axia himself fidgeted a moment, "Well, there's really not much to tell - as far as monsters go, I'm honestly pretty normal..."

Now it was Roa's turn to look skeptical - the human was a skilled and experienced enough of a liar to recognize the 'beginner' tells - refusal to make eye contact with a prominent lower left directional gaze, absentminded fidgeting, and chewing on his lower lip. All things that any experienced liar learned to control with practice - practice that Axia obviously lacked.

Clearly, Axia wasn't used to being dishonest, Roa knew. He was hiding something of his own, and likely something big. Then again, so was Roa, so he didn't really have much of a right to judge Axia for whatever he wanted to keep to himself for now - if Axia didn't want to talk about it, then Roa decided that he wouldn't bring it up.

"And that's right, I'm from Magic World, which is basically one giant university with its surrounding towns and villages." He explained, now looking much more comfortable and honest, "You see, Magic World is unique amongst all other Worlds because it's completely open to all creatures that want to enroll from any other. Monsters from all sorts of Worlds come to train and study at Magic World because all creatures have the innate potential to cast spells. Demons, humans, mythical creatures, and especially us cuddly~dragons all travel to Magical Academy to learn the philosophy, principles, and fundamentals of spell casting. We call it the Magical Trinity."

"Really?" Roa noticed how passionately Axia spoke of his home World - clearly, while he might not have wanted to talk much about his past, the Dragowizard surely held more than a few positive memories of his home World, if the pronounced sparkle in his eyes were any indication, "You must have really loved it there, I can tell... Speaking of which, were you any good at Magical Academy? It certainly sounds like you know what you're talking about."

"'Was I any good?' Humph! I'll have you know that I was the valedictorian of my class! I even graduated with one of the highest recorded scores in MA's history!" Axia huffed as he crossed his arms and turned his head, apparently insulted by Roa's question.

Roa blinked in shock at the dragon's haughty attitude before drawing back a bit, "I'm sorry Axia, I didn't mean to imply that you weren't any good, I didn't mean to say it like that.." he trailed off, looking down apologetically at his own boots.

In a quick 180 degree turnabout, Axia grinned cheekily at Roa, "Oh pish, don't worry about it Roa! Besides, I was just teasing you," He giggled, "You don't need to look so down over me, I'm not that delicate, you know~!"

Although his face remained deliberately and carefully blank, Roa's right eye began twitching against his volition, his eyelid annoyed all on its own at being duped by the cheeky little dragon. It had been quite a long time since anybody had been able to get under his skin so quickly and efficiently. Roa prided himself on being resolute and hard to shake, and the last person that Roa could remember who touted the same skill was Touya. Although, if Roa was being completely honest with himself, it was actually a welcome change of pace. Not that he enjoyed having a fast one pulled on him or anything - he didn't! Really! But Axia's mannerisms were slowly becoming endearing in their own curious way, to say the least.

Didn't mean that he wouldn't get even with Axia, though.

"...Well, it's certainly nice to see that you can stand up for yourself a little bit. And here I was beginning to think I might have to come to your beck and rescue left and right, from every little accident to all of your major kidnappings," Roa quipped in return, his sense of humor quickly coming back, much to his relief, "Why, I can practically hear you calling out, 'Save me Roa!' already."

Axia flushed at the thought of his 'prince' Roa coming to rescue Axia, the 'damsel in distress', "O-ok then, I'm glad to hear that you would have come to my rescue if that ever happened, then!" The dragon flushed cutely. Well, Roa never specifically said that, but then again, he probably would anyways, so the exact terminology was likely moot, "You know what, I think I've made up my mind! That's right, I've finally decided, Roa!" Axia spontaneously exclaimed, though exactly what he had randomly decided upon was completely lost on the boy.

"Decided? Er... on what, Axia? A little elaboration could go a long way." Roa offered, still not used to how quick Axia's mood could change, and how spontaneous it was. It had been a long time since he had been around someone who wore their emotions of their sleeve quite as Axia did - too long, he grudgingly admitted to himself.

As the revelation hit him, a disturbing thought ran through his mind. Had he really holed himself up in his shell for too long alone that he no longer knew how to properly interact with people? Was he really so out-of-touch with the world since the Disaster that he... No, it didn't matter - even if he was, he could already tell that Axia was in all likelihood a strong influence on him, and maybe, with a little luck, he could finally start to remember how to really feel again.

Axia's mere presence was quickly forcing him to break out of the shell that he had carefully and deliberately built around himself. It might not be immediate, but it was highly possible that the buddy monster would have a positive influence influence on his life.

"O-oh, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Ehe~heh, whoops!," Axia rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "But, I think I've decided on my Buddy! No, I know who I want to be Buddies with now! I wanted to find someone I could share a bond with forever, and now I'm certain who that is!"

"R-really? Wait, already? You decided on someone else being your Buddy? ...Congratulations, I guess... Was it somebody else that you met before me? Who did you pick?" He asked Axia, attempting to keep the bitterness out of his tone, though he wasn't very successful.

Had Axia met somebody else before him that he wanted to go back to? Another person that might have taken him in for a time? Roa knew that some time had passed since Axia had departed on his journey, and Roa had no idea what went on during that time. So, who... No, could it even be back to that boy Gao and his own buddy, Drum? Axia was fond of him, Roa recalled...

At that particular thought, something lurched inside his heart, deep, deep down - a monster buried beneath years of anguish and isolation, and nurtured by a lifetime of fear and hatred. Something smothered by the dull buffer of time. Something dark and primal, possessive and all-encompassing, with infinite emptiness and endless longing - it didn't want Axia to go, it wouldn't let him leave. Roa clenched his fists - the Dragowizard was his, the monster whispered, and no one else deserved him.

Even though he barely knew him, the thought of loosing Axia made Roa feel... he didn't know how to describe it, in all honesty. Sad? Angry? Alone? Even those words did little to accurately describe the turmoil that was waging war inside his heart. He was just starting to get used to the Dragowizard's company, and the thought of him losing him terrified Roa.

Axia giggled at the teenager's antics, completely oblivious as to the human's inner fermentation, "No, silly! I want you to be my Buddy~!"

And Cut! So ends Chapter 3. I've been SWAMPED with work, and have has very little free time to write this, so I'm sorry if it seems to be a bit rushed here and there. I'll probably go back and edit it a few times in the next few days, to be honest. I'm finding it a little easier to write Axia, in my opinion, but as always, you guys are the final judges. Remember, reviews and comments are always appreciated!

If I could get even just one review per chapter, then that would be enough to make me happy for now. I'm finding the chemistry between Axia and Roa's personalities very fun to write, and mainly, I don't want Roa to become to mary~sue ish, though perhaps his talent of reading the future best puts him in that category. Don't worry, It won't become a regular thing, only something used for foreshadowing dreams and the occasional fortune telling.