Today seemed typical at the New Domino base. Drake and Aadil were having a practice duel as it seemed neither would get an assignment today. And Drake was rather glad that Taylor had been leaving him alone as of late.

As it so happened, ever since she and Angela beat Cindy and Scarlet in a team duel, the purple-haired woman had been spending ample time with her Asian friend. The two had even gone on a couple of successful missions since then. Angela was unsure of why Taylor admired her so much, but she was happy to have such a strong and cool friend.

"So, we got us a day off," Taylor said with a grin, "I was gonna suggest we take a dip in the pool, but you know what? I've never had a friend to object to my ideas before, so I wanna hear your suggestion."

"Actually, the pool sounds great," Angela uttered in her shy tone, the one she used outside of duels, "And afterwards, maybe we could try a little origami."

Taylor blinked and said, "You know, I've always wanted to know how to fold paper into a dragon," her eyes going wide as she squealed, "Maybe we can make origami sculptures of all of our monsters! That would be amazing!"

Drake and Aadil had just finished their practice duel and happened to pass by when they both heard this. The blue-haired man's eyes widened when he saw just how nice and even girly Taylor was acting.

Aadil blinked and asked, "Dude, what are you looking at?" before turning toward the scene himself and nodding his head, saying, "Oh, I see."

Taylor turned and narrowed her eyelids asking, "What do you want?" Drake shrugging and replying, "Nothing," he and Aadil carrying on as Angela asked, "Um, do you not like that guy?"

Taylor shrugged and replied, "Yeah, but it's nothing for you to worry about," Angela uttering, "But if he upsets you so much, I can't help but worry."

"Look, it's fine," the purple-haired woman stated, "Let's just have fun on our day off, okay? We can think about taking Drake's title away from him later."

Angela blinked and figured just from those very words that she knew what Taylor's deal with Drake was. Even so, if her new friend did not wish to talk about it, she would not prod her for further information. After all, like Taylor, she was not the kind to normally make friends and as such, she did not wish to compromise this.

However, while Drake and Aadil carried on their way, the speaker came on as Glen's voice came out, saying, "I would like to see Drake in my office," the man's eyes going wide as Aadil said, "Wow, he might actually have a job for you."

"Boy, wouldn't that be something?" Drake asked with a shrug, but as he was just about to head out of the general area, he ended up bumping into Katherine, the blue-haired woman still looking a bit down.

Drake blinked and said, "Sorry about that," the woman looking up, her eyes widening as her cheeks flushed bright pink, the woman replying, "Oh, it's no problem. Accidents happen."

With that, she carried on her way and sighed, "I'm such a loser. Not only do I lose to a weakling but I can't even say 'hi' to him without tensing up."

The woman took a deep breath when suddenly, a young woman with short white hair approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, "Hey, Katherine, what's up?"

The blue-haired woman's eyes went wide as she said, "Oh, morning Katie," her friend looking at her and asking, "Is something wrong? You don't look particularly cheerful this morning."

Katherine let out a sigh and replied, "It's my loss yesterday. It's still bugging me," a scowl forming on her face, "Just one more blow to his vitality and he would have been finished! It pisses me off so much!"

"Okay, okay, forget I asked," Katie replied with her eyes wide open, Katherine sighing, "I'm sorry. I'll be honest, there's more to it than that."

Now Katie was interested as the blue-haired woman sighed, "The truth is, I like someone," Katie's eyes widening as she gasped, "Oh my god! Who is it?"

"It's Drake," Katherine replied as Katie stared blankly, her friend adding, "Every time I see him, I get butterflies in my stomach. He just so handsome and smart and powerful and mysterious," the woman letting out a heavenly sigh, "But I'm just not worthy of him. I keep trying to be as strong as he is so I can meet his level, but I lost to an amateur. How much lower can I possibly get?"

Katie took a deep breath and replied, "First of all, most guys tend not to care about that sort of thing. Secondly, Drake lost to an amateur last week. Don't you remember that?"

"Oh right," Katherine replied, "I had forgotten about that. Maybe I do stand a chance," her eyes sparkling as Katie shrugged and stated, "Well, if you want to stand a chance, you should tell him how you feel. Holding these sorts of things in can make things really awkward and difficult."

Katherine nodded with a serious look and replied, "You're right. Once Drake returns, I'll tell him how I feel about him!" a look of concern on her face as she asked, "But what if he rejects me?"

"Better to be rejected than spend your life wondering what could have been," Katie replied as Katherine blinked and asked, "Okay, why don't you have a boyfriend? You are clearly an expert on this sort of thing."

Katie blinked and replied, "I do have a boyfriend. He lives downtown, remember?" Katherine nodding and sighing, "Oh god, I'm forgetting a lot of things today."

During this time, Cindy had been called to Morgan's office as she asked, "What is it?" the general explaining, "Due to your recent improvements, I've decided you might just be ready to try a solo mission again. But before I go into the details, do you feel up to it? I can send Scarlet instead."

Cindy shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I feel like I can handle it," a big smile on her face. Ever since Damien had given her a boost in confidence, Cindy felt like she could take on just about any mission now.

"Good," Morgan replied, "In that case, I'd like you to look around Diamond Valley. When gathering parts of the destroyed mechs from our base, one of our night workers claimed to have seen a bit of core there. I want you to check out the area and see if his claim is true."

Cindy nodded and replied, "Okay, I can handle that," a big smile on her face.

With that, the pink-haired woman exited the office and headed down the hall when she noticed Damien headed in her direction. She smiled wide and waved to him as the man rose his hand to imply a wave and said, "Oh, hey."

However, while walking toward her, he ended up tripping over his own feet and ended up pushing Cindy down with him. The man groaned and slowly pushed himself up only to feel his hands pressed up against something soft and familiar, giving it a light squeeze. He then opened his eyes and noticed his hands were once again pressed up against Cindy's chest.

Cindy closed her eyes and mouth tight while Damien quickly retracted his hands and got off of her, saying, "Sorry."

The woman slowly pushed herself up to her feet and shook her head saying, "No, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to do it," her cheeks bright pink as a sweet smile formed on her face.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Damien asked, "So, what did Morgan want?" Cindy stating, "I'm just going to look for a core today. Nothing too special."

Damien nodded before asking, "Are you okay going by yourself?" the woman nodding and saying, "I'll be fine."

A part of her wanted to tell the man that this was all thanks to him and that she loved him for it. Unfortunately, confessing her feelings was one fear she had not yet overcome, and considering how difficult this was for even the bravest of individuals, one could only imagine how long it would be until that happened.

Either way, Cindy was soon out on patrol with a tracking device installed into her mech. However, she had not picked up on any signals just yet, which was rather worrisome considering how strong core signals normally were. Could this mean that the night workers were wrong?

Whatever the case, it seemed Glen had the same theory as Drake was also passing through this area in search of the same thing. And like Cindy, his tracking device had not picked up on anything just yet.

"This better not be a waste of time," Drake sighed, "It would suck to finally get an assignment only to end up looking for nothing."

And while this went on, Cindy continued her own search when suddenly, she heard a noise. The woman turned and squeaked in panic when a big falcon headed straight for her. The woman took a deep breath as she knew she would need to fend it off herself. After all, Scarlet was not with her.

With that, the woman quickly drew the card at the top of her deck and summoned it without even looking to see which monster she had drawn, or even if it was a monster at all. Luckily, she had managed to draw her Steamroid as the train rushed at the bird.

However, the falcon saw this coming and easily flew over the machine. Cindy panicked and had her mech whip out its baton and send it hard across the bird's chest. Unfortunately, this seemed to have little effect as the bird proceeded to cling to the mech's neck and start pecking away at its face.

"NO, STOP IT!" Cindy shrieked as her vitality went down by three hundred for each peck. And soon enough, it was at zero as it started to sputter, the woman screaming in terror and reaching for her jet pack.

Drake happened to be nearby when he heard this, his eyes widening. He then examined the scene and noticed it was one of Crystal City's mechs, the man shaking his head and knowing it was not his place to help one of them out.

However, what happened next made him rethink this as when Cindy propelled herself out of her mech and activated her pack, the falcon immediately flew over to her and pried the machine off of her back. On the upside, the motor had just started and thus the falcon was forced away from the area seeing as it was still clinging to the jet pack. But the downside to all of this was that Cindy was falling from a great height and would likely die if she hit the ground.

Drake gritted his teeth and thought, 'Forgive me, sir,' before heading toward the pink-haired woman and getting to her just in time to have his mech hold out its hand and stop her from hitting the ground. Cindy had her eyes closed while she trembled in fear, feeling rather ashamed of herself for panicking like she had. It seemed while she felt confident facing soldiers, she was not ready for wildlife just yet.

However, after a few seconds, she realized she was still alive as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around asking, "What happened?" resting her hands on the hand that was holding her and added, "And why's the ground so cold?"

She then got up and turned around to see a familiar black mech right in front of her. Cindy did not exactly remember every opponent she had ever come across, but even she knew full well what Drake's mech looked like and that if she were to ever encounter it, it was bad news.

As such, the woman panicked and backed up only for Drake to have his mech's fingers stop her as he exclaimed, "Wait! Don't panic! You might fall and hurt yourself!"

Cindy blinked and started to tremble, but she knew he was right. She was still quite a ways up from the ground and even if she survived the fall, there was no way she could possibly return to the base on foot. And when Drake offered to let her ride inside his mech while he flew back toward his base, she knew she had no choice but to accept, though needless to say, she was terrified beyond belief.

With that, Drake took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry I'm taking you to my base first. It's just that I sent a report to my general that there was no core here and I'd be returning to the base soon. If I don't return within the next half-hour, he'll think something's gone wrong."

Cindy nodded, not sure if he was telling the truth or just coming up with an excuse in order to fool her into trusting him. Either way, she was in no position to resist, especially since she had no way to contact her friends. Though ultimately, a part of her was a tad relieved that there was no core in the valley. After all, if there had been one, she would have just failed an important mission.

During this time, Damien had just finished a practice duel with Scarlet as the woman blinked and said, "Wow, you beat me rather easily," the man nodding and replying, "Well, you have helped me a lot."

The redhead nodded and thought, 'You know what? I think he might just be right for Cindy. I know I probably shouldn't get involved, but I think I'll try and help her out just a little bit.'

"So," Scarlet asked while doing her best to look natural, "Just out of curiosity, what do you think of Cindy?"

"Well, she's a very nice girl," Damien replied, "She still needs a little help when it comes to socializing, but I think she has the potential to make more friends. She just needs to see it."

Scarlet nodded and stated, "Well, you have certainly helped her out a lot with that. Though is there anything else you can say? I don't think this is really all that important, but what do you think of her appearance?"

Damien would have risen an eyebrow if he remembered how, but he kept his usual look on his face and shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Well, she is kinda cute I guess. Sometimes I wonder if her social anxiety might have been a result of guys constantly asking her out in high school."

Scarlet stared blankly at him for a few seconds, not wanting to dignify that with a response. Whatever the reason was, Damien seemed to lose interest in this topic as he asked, "Say, Scarlet, aside from army work and swimming, what do you like to do for fun?"

The redhead blinked and found this a rather odd question. Every time Damien asked her about something, it was often work-related and yet now just out of the blue, he was asking about her own past times. But there was certainly no harm in this as she shrugged and told him about a few things she enjoyed.

Before joining the army, she used to go on lots of long walks every evening, something Damien was more than familiar with. Though what shocked him the most was when he heard that she also liked to hang out at bars and was kind of disappointed when she first discovered Crystal City's army base did not have one. In fact, like Damien, she had her own personal stash of alcoholic beverages, but each one was just a different flavor of beer.

"Geez, you're missing out," Damien remarked, "Hey, wanna come to my room? I got this cranberry wine that'll blow your mind," and of all things, he had managed to say this with his usual neutral expression.

Scarlet had no idea how the conversation had gone from trying to get him interested in Cindy to this, but the redhead was rather intrigued. As such, she nodded and gave the man a light smile, replying, "Sure. It sounds delicious," the two heading off to Damien's room.

All the while, Drake was at the entrance to the base as Cindy trembled, the man saying, "Don't worry. No one's going to know who you are. If anyone here will recognize anything related to you, it'll be your mech and nothing else. Just stick with me and I'll make sure no one turns you in to the authorities."

Cindy nodded and stayed close by but refused to make physical contact with the man. It was already hard enough for her to trust strangers, but being near Crystal City's biggest threat was quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened to her.

Drake looked through the halls and noticed it was not too crowded, though he had expected this. Normally on calm days like this, soldiers preferred to relax in the pool, game room or whatever else they could think of. But best of all, Taylor was too busy making origami monsters with Angela. Shockingly enough, the two had spent a good chunk of the day making sculptures based off of their cards and doing a masterful job of it.

The only one who was not off having fun was Katherine. In fact, she had spent all of this time preparing her confession to Drake. She just knew that she had to seize this day and the next time she saw the man, she would let him know exactly how she felt.

Though things had gotten rather complicated when Glen noticed Drake had returned and approached him while he and Cindy walked the halls. The middle-aged man gave his top soldier an army salute and said, "Welcome back, Drake. Sorry your mission was a waste of time, eh?" a light grin on his face when he noticed the woman next to him.

"Excuse me, but who is that?" Glen asked, "You know we don't allow visitors, right?" Cindy squeaking in terror while trembling, Drake fibbing, "I found her lost in the valley. If what she's told me is correct, she was taking a plane to meet her folks when it was attacked by a falcon. She was the soul survivor and the plane was taken apart likely to build a nest."

Glen nodded and said, "Good work bringing her here, soldier. Do you know where she's from?" Drake replying, "Not yet. She's rather shaken up from the experience, so it was difficult getting as much info out of her as I did," Cindy staring in disbelief while he added, "but if it's alright with you, sir, I would like to return her home when she finally musters up the courage to tell me."

Glen nodded and replied, "You're a good man, Drake. Strong and kind. Keep up the good work."

And with that, the general headed back toward his office while Drake took a deep breath, looked around and noticed the coast was clear. With that, he proceeded to say, "I think it's safe to talk now, but I'll warn you when to stop, alright?"

Cindy nodded and uttered, "Why are you helping me like this?" the blue-haired man replying, "Look, our job in the army is to prevent you guys from finding the means of which to stop us. Killing soldiers is not part of our description. My only real goal is to win the war for us and bring it to an end, and since it's actually possible to fight in this war without killing anyone, I have no complaints."

"Is that why you saved me?" Cindy asked as Drake stated, "Yes. When I saw that you couldn't escape, I couldn't leave you to fend for yourself. Not even the toughest of people can survive in the wilderness, especially when the animals out there have evolved to such a massive size."

During this time, Katherine was walking down the hallway while she said to herself, "Drake, ever since the day I met you, I knew you were right for me," the woman groaning, "That sounds way too cheesy."

However, it was at that exact moment that she noticed Drake standing before Cindy and having a conversation. She simply shook her head and figured the pink-haired woman must have been a new recruit and Drake was simply giving her directions to help navigate the building. As such, she decided to wait until the two were done talking to get her confession out of the way. However, she also wanted to remain hidden so it would not seem like she was spying on the man of her dreams.

"Anyway," Drake said, "we'd probably better head off sooner than later, especially since Glen knows I'll be taking off with you soon enough."

'Taking off with her?' Katherine thought as Cindy nodded only for her stomach to growl. As it just so happened, the woman had eaten less than usual for breakfast as Morgan had called her to her office halfway through it.

Drake blinked and sighed, "But before we do that, you're coming with me. I have something that can help with that," Katherine's eyes widening.

The blue-haired woman shook her head and figured she was being foolish. After all, he was probably just being courteous. For all Katherine knew, the two were probably going out on a team mission, though it seemed odd for someone as high in status as Drake to be paired up with a new recruit.

However, the woman's suspicions rose when Cindy uttered, "Okay, I guess I can spare a few more minutes, but I'd like to return home soon," Katherine now mortified. The only way a soldier could return home was if he or she quit, but who would sign up for the army just to quit on the first day?

Had Drake snuck a girl into the base? Furthermore, had Glen actually allowed it? Whatever the case, Katherine would not stick around any longer as she had light tears rolling down her cheeks and ran off from the area.

Soon enough, the two headed to Drake's room as Aadil, who was lying in his bed reading a book, looked up and said, "Oh, hey man," his eyes going wide as he asked, "Whoa, who's the cutie over there?" Cindy blushing bright and tensing up as Drake sighed, "She's a lost civilian. I'm returning her home in a few minutes."

"Do you need help with that?" the African man asked as Drake replied, "Unfortunately, Glen only wants me doing it in case something comes up and you'll be needed."

"Oh, okay," Aadil replied before grinning and replying, "You're one lucky woman. Drake here is our top soldier, so you won't find yourself in better hands."

Cindy felt beyond nervous as the Drake explained, "She's not good with strangers," Aadil nodding and saying, "Alright," before getting out of bed and holding out his hand with a gentlemanly composure. Cindy's eyes went wide as he said, "Hello, a pleasure to meet you, madam. I am Aadil."

Cindy strangely found the gentleman act even more intimidating but did not wish to be rude. As such, she weakly held out her hand and shook his, uttering, "I'm Cindy. Nice to meet you too."

Aadil let out a sigh and said, "Well, back to reading," before lying on his bed and opening up his book. While he did that, Drake reached into a drawer and pulled out a small snack bar, saying, "I have these mail ordered to me once a month. They help when I feel I haven't had enough for the day."

Cindy smiled lightly and squeaked, "Thank you!" before opening the wrapper and adding, "It's funny, I have a friend with his own stash, though his is alcoholic drinks."

"Oh, do you drink?" Drake asked as the woman shook her head and replied, "No," the blue-haired man replying, "Me neither. Personally, I find alcohol repulsive."

"Damn straight," Aadil replied, "I'm telling you, you should at least a screwdriver. You won't even notice the alcohol in that. Or heck, try a Pina Colada. Those are tasty."

Drake rolled his eyes and remarked, "I've had virgin Pina Coladas before. That's good enough for me," Cindy squealing, "I like those too. Once you take away the alcohol, they're so good," the woman taking a bite of the snack bar Drake had given her.

"Anyway, I think we should be heading off now," the blue-haired man stated as Aadil waved and said, "Good luck out there, man," Cindy now starting to warm up to Drake. Sure, a small act of kindness were not normally enough for her trust someone, but she truly felt like there was nothing bad about this person. He was just like any other soldier, a human being trying to protect his home.

And soon enough, Drake had Cindy ride next to her in his mech. He suggested dropping her off just outside the city as he knew what would happen if anyone saw his mech and Cindy understood entirely. Drake even offered to give her money for a cab back to the base, though the woman felt confident using her own money for that.

And with that, the two took off while Katherine entered the hanger and watched the mech leave, a look of fury in her eyes. However, she put on a more neutral look when Glen entered the area and said, "Good, that civilian will be returned home soon."

"Civilian?" Katherine asked as she now feared even more than her suspicions were correct, but this was put to ease when Glen added, "Yeah, said she was lost in the valley. A plane she was riding in was struck down, so Drake took her back here for safety."

"Oh," the blue-haired woman said as her eyes sparkled, "He's such a gentleman."

Glen blinked and whispered, "Word to the wise, you might wanna get to know him personally before making any confessions," the man heading back toward his office while the woman blinked and asked, "Was it that obvious?"

While Drake flew his mech toward Crystal City, Cindy turned to him and asked, "I have to ask something. Why is someone as nice as you fighting in the army?" the man replying, "I told you, I joined so I could end the war sooner."

"Yes, but why specifically do you want to end it all?" the woman uttered as Drake took a deep breath and replied, "Well, I've never had a problem telling anyone about this. The reason I fight is for my sister. See, she's been sick in bed for a long time. She can only get up every now and then, but the doctors have said that in a few months, she'll be completely cured and will be able to head outside again. I want the war to be over when that happens, and I want her to know that we were the ones who ended it, or rather, that I was the one who ended it."

Cindy's eyes were wide with shock as he added, "I worked my way to the top because I knew that was the only way my general would allow me to perform such a task. In fact, that bomb I tried to attach to the base not too long ago was supposed to give us the edge we needed, but one of your newcomers ruined that."

"Oh, you mean Damien," Cindy replied before gasping and clasping her hands against her mouth, Drake nodding and saying, "So that's his name. Good to know, I guess."

"Oh no, you're not spiteful towards him, are you!?" Cindy squeaked as Drake sighed, "A little, but I already told you, I have no intention of killing anyone. My only aim is to stop you guys from opposing us."

"Thank goodness," Cindy replied with a sigh as Drake asked, "So, why did you freak out at the thought of me harming him in particular?"

All went silent as her cheeks turned bright pink, Drake nodding in understanding as he asked, "Well, does he know?"

"No," Cindy whimpered, "I'm afraid I may never find the strength to tell him how I feel. I'm just hoping someday he'll fall for me and confess."

"Bad idea," Drake remarked, "First of all, if you don't feel you know enough about him, try to get more information about him while sharing facts about yourself as well. Then when you feel that both of you know each-other well enough, set up a nice atmosphere and tell him your true feelings. Get help from a close friend who won't blab about it if you must, but if you hold this sort of thing off too long, it might be too late."

"Oh, okay," Cindy replied with a sigh, "Do you have experience with that?" Drake shrugging his shoulders and replying, "No, but Aadil does. Back in his home country, Africa, he lost a couple of women he had a deep attraction towards that way. He's cool with it, but it ate away at him for quite some time."

"Wow," Cindy said with a big smile, "All this time, I was afraid of you guys but at least some of you are nice," Drake nodding and asking, "By the way, you said you don't like alcohol. What other kinds of drinks do you like?"

"Fruit punch is my favourite," Cindy replied as the man grinned and said, "Mine too. Anything with a big mix of berries and other fruits makes for a perfect combination, doesn't it?"

And soon enough, Drake arrived outside the city and dropped Cindy off. Once out, she thanked him greatly for his help and called up a cab. But while waiting for one to arrive, she also decided to give Scarlet a call to assure the redhead that she was alright.

During this time, Scarlet had sampled all of Damien's alcoholic beverages, save for his Tequila as the redhead had shattered the bottle not too long ago. In fact, the woman was half-drunk as her cheeks were pink, the woman saying, "I have to admit, I never thought wine could be so good."

"Too bad I'm almost out," Damien replied as the redhead laughed like an insane person and replied, "That's okay. We're allowed to have things mail ordered to us here. How else do you think I keep my beer stash full?"

It was at that moment, her cell rang as she answered it. Needless to say, both she and Damien were glad she was okay. However, Scarlet was having so much fun that for the first time, she actually kept the call short. And Cindy was perfectly okay with that as she did not wish to go into full detail about how she had rescued and where she had been for the last little while.