I was able to move around more easily the next morning, though my wounds were still a major hindrance. Dart hadn't held anything back, but neither had I. Nibbles refused to leave my side, as did Kowloon, once he was allowed into my room. Olga stayed with us for a little while, having followed Kowloon, before leaving to meet her comrades for breakfast. The rest of the Asian Wardens wanted to visit, too, but the doctors insisted that I be allowed to rest for a while longer, though none of them had the guts to try to remove Kowloon. He just sat on the floor next to my bed, only speaking when spoken to, but he grabbed my hand when I held it down for him. Nibbles lay his head on my lap, he and Kowloon watching over me while I rested. They also served as a warning system, alerting me to the appearance of my next visitor.

"Good morning, Tria, Nibbles." Becky greeted me and Nibbles, before a feral snarl drew her attention to the floor, "Kowloon."

"Good morning, Becky." I greeted the American Warden, "What brings you here?"

The woman flinched, her blue eyes widening. "What do you mean, Tria?"

"The doctors haven't allowed me many visitors." I explained, glancing down at Kowloon, "They couldn't make Kowloon leave, and Olga was only allowed to visit when she followed him, but other than them and Nibbles, no one has been allowed in here. Since they let you in, you must have a reason for your visit, one beyond merely checking on me."

"…That doesn't mean I'm not also here to see how you're doing, ya know." Becky mumbled, her voice quiet with guilt. When I just continued to watch her, she sighed, "But you're right. I did come here for another reason."

"All right." I said, sitting up more, "What is it?"

Becky looked at the floor, gulping as her eyes clouded. She then sighed before looking at me again.

"I just…wanted to apologize. For what I said back at the Stadium." she said sincerely, "I didn't mean to insult you. I was just…surprised, I guess." She looked around, as if groping for what to say next, then flinched more visibly when she saw the vivosaur and human-vivosaur looking at her, the vivosaur curious and the human-vivosaur just short of angry.

"I understand, Becky." I said gently to the nervous woman, "Humans are known for their pride, and your laws reflect that pride. When someone breaks your rules, you view it as a personal insult, a wound to your pride. I shouldn't have snapped at you for defending the rules you're duty-bound to protect."

Kowloon snarled, his experience with human laws a testimony to my words. I held my hand down to him so he could grip it, the reminder of my presence comforting him. Becky looked at me thoughtfully, and Nibbles tilted his head as he also pondered my words.

"Our laws reflect our pride?" the American woman repeated to herself, "I never thought of it like that." She then looked at me curiously. "Would a dinaurian not have had a problem with you helping Daisy cheat?"

"A dinaurian wouldn't have viewed it as cheating." I replied, "The word doesn't exist in dinaurian language. We didn't have a concept for it until our culture mixed with the humans'. The thought of 'cheating' in sparring sessions doesn't occur, since a mismatched set of opponents is no fun, not to mention useless, and the underhanded tricks most humans consider 'cheating' would've just been considered by dinaurians as using our wits to overcome a stronger opponent. They're survival strategies, and are therefore favored by the dinaurian half of my species. We don't have the 'do-it-right-or-die' mentality that humans call 'honor'. Helping a young one succeed, especially a young one with valuable skills, is seen as a wise course of action, especially when the thing keeping the young one from succeeding is not a valid judgement of his or her worthiness for the place he or she is trying to attain."

Becky pondered my words, her expression thoughtful, while Kowloon nodded in approval. The American Warden then looked at me again with a quirked eyebrow.

"You said you're a cheater too, Tria. What did you mean by that?" she asked me, "I've never seen you cheat."

"Yes you have." I replied, narrowing my eyes at the Warden, "I commanded all of the Warden vivosaurs to gang up on Giganto during the Angel's Cup, remember? And even before then…" I chuckled tiredly and shook my head. "Dahlia had trouble believing me when I told her this, but my body is lightly-built, and, thus, is vulnerable to damage from hard hits. I don't have the same size defense of many vivosaurs. Nibbles was shocked when I explained this to him, but before I was strong enough to begin my mission here, I had to use techniques most humans consider 'dishonorable' to survive. When I fight head-on, this happens." I gestured to myself with the hand Kowloon wasn't holding, spreading my healing wings slightly to show the pads covering the stitches. "I cheat to survive, I'm not ashamed of it, and I have no desire to change my ways. I will follow your laws most of the time, but if the consequences of doing so are not desirable to me, I will not hesitate to break them. As you have seen." I held up Kowloon's hand for emphasis, and his grip tightened. "Please remember this, Becky."

"I don't know how I could ever forget it." Becky muttered, her eyes deep in thought. She was then jolted from her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Commander." one of the doctors addressed me as he stood in the doorway, "There's another woman here who won't leave until she speaks with you. Claims it's urgent."

"Ah, yes. I've been expecting her." I replied, recognizing the scent of expensive perfume immediately. Nibbles snorted and Kowloon wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Becky, is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Becky shook her head, still somewhat-distracted. "N-No. Nothing else. Just wanted to see how you were doing." she stuttered, smiling at me, "Please get better soon, Tria. Leon's moodiness is unbearable."

"I'll try." I laughed, finally getting a grin out of the other woman, "We wouldn't want Leon's moodiness to rub off on Lucky."

"Definitely not!" Becky laughed to, walking out of the hospital room. I then heard her smile fall as she muttered to herself, "But first, I have to talk to Sean."

"You do that." I replied just as quietly as my other visitor hesitantly entered the room. The blue-haired woman flinched visibly and cowered against the wall when Kowloon suddenly stood up and took an aggressive stance, Nibbles mimicking him as they both snarled at her.

"Settle down. Both of you." I snapped at them, placing my hands on Nibbles' back and Kowloon's arm before looking at the terrified woman, "Good morning, Sapphire. How was your stay in Warden HQ?"

"G-Good morning to you, Tria." Sapphire stuttered, staring at the hostile males fearfully even as she composed herself, "It was nice, thank you…" She then tore her eyes from them to stare at me in shock. "Wait! How did you know I'd stayed here last night?!"

"I could smell your perfume when I was brought into the hospital." I explained as Nibbles and Kowloon relaxed more, though Kowloon remained standing, "You have a stubborn pride about you, so I didn't think you'd leave without at least trying to speak with me." I leaned back on my bed, my visitations tiring me. "Now, then. What did you wish to discuss with me?"

Sapphire looked at me sadly, her blue eyes tired and, dare I say, humble.

"I came to apologize for the…incident two days ago. With that gem tournament." she said, looking at the floor guiltily, "My sister and I truly have not been treating you with the respect you deserve, respect for your title or your personality. Not just at the tournament, but ever since we met you. You have been treated badly by both of us."

"That's putting it mildly." Kowloon snarled viciously, Nibbles adding his voice in agreement.

Sapphire backed away, the combined intimidation of the human-like vivosaur and the vivosaur-like human overwhelming the poor woman.

"Easy, Nibbles, Kowloon." I said soothingly to the two males.

"I know you said you wouldn't forgive us." Sapphire mumbled, her voice sorrowful, "And, after everything that's happened, I don't expect you to. I just-"

"When did I say I wouldn't forgive you?" I asked, my sharp tone stopping the woman's sentence in its tracks.

Now it was Sapphire's turn to be surprised. "Y-You said…I mean…" she stuttered, her composure lost, "That red-haired Warden…she said you said no, when I'd asked for your forgiveness."

I sighed, long and heavy, and fell back against my pillow with my eyes closed.

"Tria?" Nibbles asked me worriedly as he turned around to face me.

"What's wrong, Alpha?" Kowloon asked in concern as he gripped my arm.

I didn't respond to them verbally, simply stroking Nibbles' head and grabbing Kowloon's arm in return, before I finally responded to Sapphire.

"I wasn't talking to you." I told her, not even opening my eyes when I heard her gasp, "I barely even heard you when you said that. I was talking to something else."

"Something else?" Sapphire asked, curiosity mixing with her concern, "Like what?"

I sighed again and opened my eyes to look at the woman. I then looked at the ceiling and addressed my two guards.

"What do you two think?" I asked them, glancing at both of them briefly, "Think she's trustworthy?"

"She's a spoiled brat." Kowloon growled back, "She's clearly been sheltered, and she isn't used to the darker side of the world."

"But she's also open and level-headed." Nibbles put forward, "She seems used to mending the bridges burned by her sister. Wasn't that sister the one who set you off?"

"That's right." I answered, "Sapphire immediately apologized for her sister's behavior, but I was too far gone to accept." I looked at both of them again. "However, she is not without her own spoiled arrogance. She may be more in touch with the rest of the world, but she still, deep down, sees herself as above everyone else. Think there could be some benefit in her hearing this information?"

"It might broaden her view." Kowloon admitted, Nibbles nodding in agreement, "But if she leaks your struggles to the ignorant civilians, the backlash will be immense."

"Fair points." I growled, hugging Nibbles to my side and gripping Kowloon's hand, "Thanks, guys."

"Of course, Alpha."

"We're always here for you, Tria."

"Something else." I said, catching Sapphire's attention again, "It's a rather…touchy subject, generally kept among the Wardens and their allies." I focused on her, my weak gaze still holding a sharp intensity that made the woman flinch, "Are you an ally of the Wardens?"

"Of course I am!" Sapphire insisted, her gaze just as sharp and slightly indignant, "I've always respected and supported the Wardens!"

"That isn't what I asked." I told her, my eyes never leaving the other woman, "Allies don't merely respect and support from the background. You've seen firsthand how the Wardens react to this situation. The Wardens, and their allies. They don't stand in the background; they act. They help me with this problem, they keep others from harm during crisis, they act and react directly to the situations that arise." My eyes and voice hardened as I asked, "Are you capable of and willing to do that, as an ally of the Wardens and an ally to me?"

At the mention of taking direct action, Sapphire became nervous. She looked between me, Nibbles, Kowloon, and the floor, before looking down at her jeweled hands and clenching them in determination, determination reflected in her blue eyes as she looked at me.

"I will." she promised, "I will do whatever I can to help you, Tria." She became sorrowful for a moment. "Of all the people we've ever met, you are the only one who has put up with me and my sister without monetary payment. No one helps us more than once, my sister's attitude and my own snobbery driving them away. But you did. You gave us a chance, and we completely took advantage of it. And now, even after everything we've done, the insults we've subjected you to, you're offering us another chance." Tears escaped her eyes, and she wiped them away before smiling, "You are the kind of friend we've been needing, and I will do everything I can to help you, just like you've helped us."

"Let me make myself clear." I said, sitting up more with Kowloon's help, "I'm not offering both you and Ruby this chance. This is for you, and you alone. No one, not your sister, not your servants, not your rich father, this information is not theirs. This is only yours, and it must be kept yours."

Sapphire jolted, the knowledge that she couldn't share this information with her sister shocking her. She then looked at me and nodded resolutely to show that she understood. I nodded in return and gestured toward the chair, watching her sit down before I spoke again.

"You know me as the dinosaur girl who saved the world, the Commander of the Vivosaurs." I said to the woman, "What, exactly, do you know about how I saved the world in the first place?"

Sapphire thought for a few moments. "Didn't you absorb this 'dark energy' stuff and kill a madman?"

"And that dark energy was why I was killed." I supplied, watching Sapphire nod, "And you know that I was revived about four months later, my reappearance at the Angel's Cup signaling my return." At her continuing nods, I sighed. "That was the story given to the public, and it's the truth, but it's not the whole truth. That truth was kept close to the Wardens and their allies, and that truth is where my current problem lies."

"Current problem?" Sapphire repeated, confused, "Do you mean the temper you're having trouble controlling?"

"Yes…" I muttered, shaking my head, "If only it were that simple." I noticed my vision fading again, and I focused on Sapphire to resist exhaustion's pull. "You know that I ingested the dark energy, and was killed because of it, but what you may not know is that I was killed because of the dark energy."

Sapphire tilted her head. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't follow."

"I bet you think I was killed because the dark energy made me too violent, right?" I asked knowingly, and, at Sapphire's hesitant nod, I shook my head again, "That wasn't the reason. The Wardens let the public believe that because the truth was far more painful."

"Painful?" Sapphire asked warily, "What truth?"

"My death was a requirement, one I had accepted the moment I came here from my home time." I explained, "I came here specifically to ingest the dark energy and die with it inside me. That's the only way to destroy dark energy. It must be contained in a 'pure' body, and then that body must be destroyed. THAT'S why I was killed."

Sapphire gaped at me, trying to imagine being in that positing and choking on the feelings that rose within her. She then covered her mouth and sobbed as tears left her eyes.

"Y-You…You came here to die?! And you went through with it, to save a world you don't even come from?!"

"That's right." I replied simply, "However, plans changed. I received an anonymous order to go into suspended animation and, about 3 ½ months later, I was revived. As I gathered my strength over the couple of weeks before the Angel's Cup, I noticed something else, something that was confirmed about a month after the Cup. And THAT'S where my repeated loss of control is actually coming from."

"What did you notice?" Sapphire asked, the pain from the information I was giving her continuing to choke her. Nibbles whimpered and Kowloon's grip tightened.

"The requirement for destroying the dark energy was my death. My death did not occur, so the dark energy was not destroyed." I explained, looking into the woman's terrified eyes evenly, "THAT'S why I keep losing control. THAT'S what this device detects. And THAT'S what I was talking to when you'd tried to apologize to me."

"Th-The dark energy…is still there…?" Sapphire squeaked fearfully as she pointed at me, "Still…inside you?"

I nodded. "When I finally snapped at Ruby, I became angry. Anger is a trigger, and when she insulted the vivosaurs that follow me, the dark energy started to influence my actions. Recently, the side of me that uses the dark energy, my dark side, has been making me say things, and I have to respond verbally in order to keep those words from getting out. That's what I was yelling at; I wasn't responding to you."

Sapphire gulped as she tried to stop her tears. Kowloon sat back down on the floor and held my hand tightly as he leaned against my arm. Nibbles whined and crawled onto my lap, curling up and licking the arm that was holding him.

"If I may ask…" Sapphire said hesitantly after she began to calm down, "What was the dark energy saying that you responded so violently to?"

"She was trying to get me to tear your sister apart." I replied, too easily for Sapphire's reaction, "She insisted that Ruby deserved to die by her claws, and she wanted to kill you as well when you stuck around. It's a common suggestion on her part."

"So when you were screaming the word 'no'…?" Sapphire asked before trailing off.

"I was negating my dark side's desire to slaughter you and your sister." I answered, nodding, "Or, more precisely, I was trying to hide the threats coming from her. I had already threatened Ruby once, in a language you could understand, no less. I didn't need to do it again."

"It took a while to convince my sister not to have our father's lawyers lock you up." Sapphire muttered, looking away in guilty embarrassment. At the warning growl from Nibbles and the vicious snarl from Kowloon, the woman jumped in her seat. "Sh-She's not going to! I promise you that!"

"I know." I replied, stretching my wings just enough to place my wing-claws on Nibbles' head and Kowloon's shoulder. I grimaced slightly as the stitches strained, and Sapphire hesitantly placed a hand on my leg.

"Thank you, Tria, for your understanding." she said, smiling, "I do still ask for your forgiveness, but I won't rush it."

"I don't give forgiveness to those without reason or remorse." I replied seriously, "You two have been spoiled rotten, but if you know how to properly behave in human society, one should assume that your sister does as well, correct? Ruby's behavior in inexcusable for a person, and she has shown no sign of admitting mistake or wrongdoing, so she has not earned my forgiveness."

"Yeah, I know…" Sapphire mumbled, sighing and shaking her head, "Ruby and I were taught manners, yes, but we were also taught that we were better than everyone else. We were raised by the head of a large jewelry-manufacturing company, so everyone treated us like royalty. We got used to it. I had a little more perspective, since I was in Ruby's shadow, but I still treated everyone around me as inferior. Ruby's self-righteous attitude, and my inability, or unwillingness, to stop her kept us from making any friends, so our only experience with people outside of our class has been with servants or hired help. That's all we've ever known. I can't ask for your forgiveness, but I must ask for your patience. We need someone like you to help us see beyond our bank account."

"I have always been a patient person." I responded, watching Sapphire with exasperated eyes, "But the fact of the matter is that my patience is running out. As the dark energy's hold on me continues to increase, my patience continues to decrease, and there's another problem posed by your sister's attitude." When I saw I had Sapphire's full attention, I continued, "Dark energy feeds on negative emotions, mine and others, and Ruby's good at provoking negative emotions in people, including me. Interacting with her will accelerate my loss of control, and as much as I would love to help you, the Wardens won't allow it, not while I'm still unstable."

"I understand." Sapphire sighed, patting my leg before getting up, "Please, if I can be of any help, don't hesitate to call me. I want to actually do something worthwhile with my life, rather than just follow my sister around everywhere."

"Will do." I replied, smiling at her. Sapphire nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at me curiously.

"By the way, Tria." she said, tilting her head, "The Wardens never said. How did you get those injuries?"

"I was injured in a fight." I replied vaguely, smirking at the woman as she glared at me in annoyance. Before she could ask me to elaborate, I added, "With the very thing I've been fighting since my revival."

Sapphire gasped and covered her mouth again, watching me with wide eyes. Nibbles whimpered again, and Kowloon interlaced his fingers with the wing-claws still resting on his shoulder.

"…You have my upmost respect, Tria." Sapphire told me seriously, "And I promise to show you that respect from now on."

"Thank you, Sapphire." I replied, smiling again, "And remember, keep this information to yourself. You are a Warden ally, but your sister, father, and servants are not."

"I will." Sapphire promised me before walking out of the hospital room. I lay back down on the bed, Nibbles purring as he snuggled closer to me, and stroked my other hand through Kowloon's shoulder-length black hair.

"Felt you tense earlier." I told him, "Care to tell me what's wrong?"

Kowloon looked up at me, his scarred right eye still holding the irritation brought forth by the conversation.

"That behavior wouldn't be accepted among vivosaurs, either." he growled, glaring at the door. At the look I was giving him, he sighed and looked up at me again, his eye now containing pain, fear, and sorrow. "You said you don't give forgiveness to those who don't admit when they do something wrong. I never admitted to any wrongdoing, so does that mean you haven't forgiven me for hurting you and your friends?"

"Kowloon." I purred to him gently, still stroking my clawed fingers through his hair, "If you'll recall, I said that I show no forgiveness to those who don't admit wrongdoing or mistake. You admitted that you made the mistake of leaving your pack."

"But not the mistake of following Dr. Blackraven." Kowloon growled.

"I also said that I don't forgive those 'without reason or remorse'." I added, lifting his chin so that he had to look back at me, "Even without remorse, you had clear reasons behind your actions. You were following the one who accepted you, the one who gave you a place to belong. There's nothing wrong with following an alpha; I can't fault you for it."

"No!" Kowloon yelled suddenly, startling me. He scrambled to his knees so that he could reach my eye level, keeping a tight hold on my hand when I froze. "I followed Dr. Blackraven, but he was no alpha! He didn't take care of me, he hurt my packmates, he was no alpha! I followed him because I had no choice, but you are my only alpha! Never compare yourself to him!"

"Thank you, Kowloon." I said, smiling as he rested his head against my side and I continued stroking my fingers through his hair, "But you understand my point? I don't blame you for your actions, because I can see your reasons. So, to answer your question, I have forgiven you for the trouble you've caused. I wouldn't have accepted you into my pack if I hadn't."

Kowloon sighed as he remained where he was, my words soothing his mind. I could see him falling asleep, the stress of the past two days catching up to him. I looked at Nibbles, still pressed against my other side, to find him smiling at his former enemy, the little vivosaur's ability to relate to the man allowing him to warm up to his fellow packmate. Nibbles then looked away and blushed redder when he saw me looking at him, and I chuckled before holding him closer as I also drifted into sleep, letting myself heal and regain my strength in preparation for the war that I knew was far from over.