Chapter 17: Resolution

We kept running, for what seemed to be ages. At last, the cellar was within our sight as we noticed. "That must be the cellar guys!" I alerted. "Time to arrest this bitch!" Jace yelled. "I couldn't agree with you more, Jace." Ex said. "Wait a minute guys, there's a lock wrapped tightly around the door." Ringo informed us. "What?!" He exclaimed. "Aw man..." Draco muttered. "Damn, what are we going to do now?" I asked. "Hold on, I think I have a lock pick on me, specifically for situations like this... It happens more often than you would think…" He realized. We waited as Jace undid the lock as fast as he could make it go. "Got it." He sighed. "Alright then, let's get in there already and put this case to rest." I said. The door opened with a slight creaking noise, while the cellar below looked to be filled with darkness as we stared. "I'll go in, you guys stay here... I have this pair of night vision glasses to see better in the dark." Jace advised us. We nod, and he leaves us outside like guards on post.

Jace's POV

I entered in the cellar, fully intent on cuffing Spy Gal-atea. I held my stun gun close by me as a means of precautionary defense. This place was massive, it would take forever for me to search alone. However, I knew Dave and the others were staying right next to that door. Even if the spy had left this place at the moment, while in the shadows, she would be unexpectedly met with them and most likely pinned down. And, there was no way that she would have been able to leave just before we got here, the door WAS locked after all. "Ugh, even with these glasses, I can still hardly see a thing…" I turned my head ninety degrees to the right and left. "Tch, nothing…" Thus, I continued to walk forward, before hearing a noise that made me stop. "Hello? Is anybody in here?" Before long, I saw a something heading toward me. "!" I attempted to dodge it, but it was like a speeding bullet. "Argh, damnit!" The blade that pierced me, it was slender and small. It punctured the skin on my arm, the same arm that held the stun gun. I see blood beginning to gush out slightly. "My, my… we seem to have someone snooping in things that they should not be…" "Grr… Where are you?! Show yourself!" I saw a figure slowly light up and contrast with the darkness, it was her. "You… Spy Gal-atea…!" "! How do you know who I am, Jace?" "Oh trust me, bitch... there's a lot that you don't know at the moment. I will tell you this though, you are... under arrest for acting as an accomplice of murder! If you make any attempt to resist and/or escape, you WILL suffer the consequences!" "Really now? I see that you have discovered the truth… Anyway, I find that hard to believe, you're the only one that I see, and… injured as well. Do you think that you are in ANY position to tell me what to do?" "YES, I am!" "My, we have quite the edgy guy here… *giggle*" "Save your foolish babbling…! Your only means of escape has been blocked off, I have acquaintances there at watch. Even if you eliminate me... you'll still be unable to escape from the island!" "Are you sure about that? There's a clear reason why I relegated myself here of all places, as risky as it may be..." I saw everything brighten up, she turned the lights on. "Behold, my getaway tool…" "Son of a…!" "Yes, Jace... this is a state-of-the-art hovercraft, I'll use it to speed past your companions… And, when I'm done with that, I'll be crossing the water at incredible speeds. You'll never catch me at that point! I would like to stay around and chat, but it's as they say, "You don't get paid as a spy if you get caught". *vroom!* "NO, SHIT!" I tried to latch on to her, but I ended up stumbling and falling down instead. This caused my wound to open up more, making me feel more pain. "Gh- D-damn..." I decided to pull out the blade and bring out my emergency first aid kit, tending to it.

Dave's POV

"Hm? You guys hear something?" I asked. "It sounds like… an engine...?" Ringo trailed off, unsure. A few seconds came and gone then the sound approached quickly. "! Holy shit! Dave, Ringo, Draco, jump out of the way and duck down, NOW!" Ex exclaimed "Huh?!" We panicked. "Ringo, Ex and I successfully got away from the cellar door, but Draco wasn't so lucky. *thud* "ACK!" "*gasp* DRACO!" I exclaimed. "! Oh no!" Ringo worried. "D-Draco, are you okay?!" I took one good look at her badly injured body. She was slammed by that floating vehicle, breaking bones and causing her to bleed. "Dear God, she's passed out… I can't believe this…!" Ex angrily gritted his teeth. "Grr… DAMN IT ALL! That must be the spy trying to get away… like hell I'll give her the chance to! Hiiiiiiii...RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed from Hell and back it seemed, having my anger get the better of me. I heard the deep voice, in my mind, that I heard roughly a month ago, when I first became the Demonic Dragon Warrior. "You want to stop her, correct?" "! It's you… Yes I do, give me the power to do just that!" I transformed into my dragon armor, which began to evolve into a stronger form. A full body suit of armor… From the outside, one would no longer see my body.

Thanks to this new armor... not only did I feel bulkier, faster, and physically stronger, but I also had a curved blade to wield, as well as wings to fly with. "Oh my God!" Ex spat out, surprised. "! Whoa, what the hell? I feel so tall and… powerful." I also noticed that my own voice was modulated a bit and sounded echoey. "! Dave… Anyway, get her before she can't be seen anymore!" He implored me. "Right!" I replied. I didn't know how to fly though, so it took me a little to get my wings flapping correctly. "Alright, I got the hang of this… sort of. Ringo and Ex, stay here and call for medical help, I'll get this bitch, and she'll REGRET hurting Draco like this!" "Hold on Dave, I'm coming with you. I can make myself float in the air." Ex pleaded. "You might get yourself hurt… are you sure about this?" I asked him. He nodded, signaling that he was ready to go. "Who do you think I am? I was formerly the keeper of dimensions." "Alright then Ex, let's take this spy into custody!" We flew off, going for a high-speed chase, and homing in on Spy Gal-atea. I raised up my voice so that she could hear me coming. "Spy Gal-atea! You won't get away from us, not what after you've done to Draco!" "Oh, you mean that girl that I slammed into? Well sorry, stranger, she was… In. My. Way! ... Oh yeah, Jace has also succumbed to my assault, he's currently injured in that cellar, all alone." She said to me. "You bitch!" I yelled. "By the way, what is that you're wearing? And more importantly, who are you, and how are you flying?"

That question made me sigh in my mind. "Hmph. It's seems that you don't know… I thought your group was interested in me. I am the young man known simply as Dave! I'm no ordinary human you see, I possess supernatural strength. This armor is quite tough, it was newly formed thanks to you bashing Draco. I became angry from that action, and I decided to let that feeling flow throughout my body, channeling it as energy. Also, you're not the first criminal that I've pursued…" "...! Y-you had Dioge arrested!" "Ah, so you know then, maybe that's why your superiors were so fixated on me for some time. Whoever they are, they won't stay unknown for long. As soon as the national authorities know what transpired here, they'll persistently search around until this main base is found. However, the time for talk is over, you're coming with us whether you like it or not! I'd also advise not resisting, I could kill you one hundred times over if I wanted to... but killing is not on my agenda, unlike Spy Queen's." I stated my words clearly. "Bastard… DIIIIIIIIIE!" She screamed. "Watch out, Dave! She wants you dead!" Ex reminded me, while falling behind in distance. She grabbed two machine guns from a bag and began shooting an entire round from each at me. The fired shots merely bounced off of my armor, unable to even dent it. "... Was that supposed to kill me, or to tickle?" I sarcastically wondered with a serious voice. "W-what the hell is this? Y-you're… A FUCKING MONSTER!" She fired more bullets at my helmet.

None of those bullets made so much as a scratch on me. "Don't you get it yet? You are just a normal human with no sort of magic, or anything really. No… the only trait that separates you from a normal human is a sinful nature. You are but a petty individual that relies on tricks, deception, and wicked intentions to get what you want." I lectured. "And that goes double for your partner as well, she's cuffed up as we speak!" Ex added. "Come, make this easier for everyone and come with us quietly." I told her. "NO! Me and my partner have came too far to give up now!" She yelled at me. "Fine! You give me no choice, I'll knock you out before you even realize it!" "N-No… STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Ex grabbed on to the spy from behind. "Do it now, Dave!" He signaled. "What?! LET GO OF ME!" "Claw of Shadows!" "GYAAH!" I slashed the spy's chest and she passed out. I grabbed her body as the hovercraft flew off without its driver. It crashed on a nearby island, causing it to explode, and fire had spread itself to plants and trees. "Dave, you did it, you have caught two more criminals and saved Draco on top of that." "Yes Ex… but it came at the cost of a couple of casualties. It's okay though, everybody that we care about is still alive. Let's go back to the resort, I'm sure that Ringo needs my company." "Yes… let us return."

We flew back to Ringo, who is now accompanied with all our friends. "Wait, is that Dave?" Schezo wondered, squinting his eyes to look at me. "That must be him, Schezo... he's with Ex." Arle assumed. I deactivated my dragon armor, and my friends smiled. I also saw Jace leaning by the cellar door, just as awestruck by my armor as my friends were. "*pant* *pant* That new armor took a lot out of me…" I said breathily before placing Spy Gal-atea's body down and then laid down on the grass. "Dude, what was that?" Lemres asked me. "You mean my armor? It powered up from my anger, all after Draco was hit…" I explained. "Dave, I'm proud of you…" Feil said. "Me too." Ringo followed. "Heh… I think everyone here is proud of my contribution. However, I do have to thank Ex for helping me get this spy… from the bottom of my heart." I said. "It's only natural, since you helped me... I wanted to return the favor in some way." He smiled, holding out his hand to help me up. "You're a true friend, Ex... kind and whatnot." I smiled back. I stood back up, stretching my muscles. "Ough… I need some rest after that… So, is Draco going to be fine?" I wondered. "Don't worry, Dave... the infirmary is care-taking your friend as we speak." A familiar voice said. "Ms. Accord?" "As chaperone of this trip, there was no way that I would leave somebody else injured. I found out thanks to Ms. Ando, she had a bit of trouble carrying her to medical help." Accord said.

Huh... "I see, then I am grateful to you as one doing her job." I thanked her. "As I am as well… you know, it's been a while since we've had a talk. I want to know how you've been doing." Ex joined in. "*giggle* Oh Mr. Ex, I would love to sit down and have a chat." "Um… it's not Mr. Ex, just Ex…" He said, feeling awkward. "That's just how she is a lot of the time, Ex... ... pay it no mind." I told him. "I heard that Dave, is there a problem with my habits?" Accord asked me with malice in her voice. "Uuuuuum, NOPE. No problems here whatsoever! Zip, zero, nada!" I spoke quickly in fear. "Anyway, I'll have that discussion with you then." Ex moved along with her. "Phew, I thought I was dead for sure…" I trailed. "D-Dave…" "Hm? Huh, Lidelle? What is it?" I asked her. "I-I hope that she is… alright…" She stuttered. "Lidelle, I'm sure she'll pull through her injuries. We just need to have some faith in her determination to live." I assured her. "O-okay…" She said. "Dave." A voice said. "Huh? Satan, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I watched the trial from the gallery, which by the way, you did wonderful. You as a boy, you possess strength, intelligence, and extraordinary emotions. However, I did hear of the unfortunate news. So Draco got slammed hard… damn." Satan spoke. "Yeah… even still though, we got both criminals who were responsible." I said. I saw Klug as he dashed over, worried. "Dave?!" "Oh Klug, I'm fine... we managed to get that spy, not without injuries though…" I frowned. "I know, I just went to see Draco, she's not doing well at all, her condition is getting worse." My eyes widen from his words.

I did not know what to think of this. "What?! I need to get over there, show me the way." Klug nods and I follow. "W-wait for me!" Feli pleaded. Klug leads me to the infirmary, where Draco laid unconscious and bloodied. Ringo sat down beside her, depressed. "Never have I seen a worse sight… Doctor, how's the patient doing?" "Well, she's in a state of comatose, who knows when she'll wake up, if even at all…" My worst fear was settling in, a person that I cared about… on the verge of being lost forever. My eyes began to water, I couldn't hold the tears back. "... I have to do something about this. Doctor, I request that I stay by her for some time." I told them. They weren't sure why I would bother, but soon nodded to my wish. "What are you going to do Dave?" Klug asked. "Heh, even I'm not entirely sure, Klug… but I know that it's the only way." I replied. "Don't perform anything stupid in that case." Feli told me. Yeah, don't… Please…" Ringo pleaded. "Don't worry you two, I'll try not to, I just need some concentration…" I brushed Draco's hair away from her forehead and rested my hand. Closed my eyes to focus deeply on my wish. Suddenly after a minute or two, my mind became half conscious. Think of it like how a dolphin sleeps... One half of its brain is off doing something else, while the other is fully awake. It was a weird feeling to me, especially since this was my first time doing it. My half mind created a metaphysical version of me to roam around this black-colored place. I discovered new thoughts currently swirling around, some said stuff like "Help me, someone… please." and "I need you.". Within those thoughts, I heard Draco's voice speaking them. "Draco? Where are you?" I didn't get a proper response.

All that I received was more thoughts, most likely from Draco. "I need to find her subconscious, where could it be?" I walked in a random direction until the thoughts sounded out louder. "!" Once I noticed, I ran in said direction for a while. "How big is this place?" I wondered. "She must have a lot of space in her mind…" After a bit more running, I saw her metaphysical form as well, but chained up and dangling from above. "! Draco…" I touched one of the chains in sadness, but then saw that it faded away as I did so. I realized from that moment what I had to do. I reached up to the other two chains and touched them. Draco's metaphysical form started to fall, so I caught her with my hands. Back onto the ground, I decided to shake her a little to see if she wakes up. "Damn, no good." It didn't work, but I wasn't about to give up, not after everything that I did for her. A single thought then came to me. "Hm… It worked in fictional stories, I might as well try at this point…" I kissed Draco's lips for as long as I could. As a miracle took place, she woke up. "Hm?!" "Huh? Draco! You're awake, oh thank God! You don't know how happy I am right now!" I smiled, hugging her tightly. "Dave! But uh… where are we?" "This is your mind, I managed to get inside with a new power of mine. I heard your thoughts as you were chained up unconsciously, pleading for help. You might not get all this stuff that I'm telling you, but the important thing is that your alive…" I said to her. We then saw a piercing light shine nearby. "This must be how we wake up from this, come on Draco, let's get back to living." "Okay!"

Entering in the light as we held hands, I became fully conscious again and I saw my friends and the infirmary. "Dave? Are you okay?" Ringo asked. "I'm more than okay, I'm ecstatic Ringo… She's back, look." I pointed. "*groan* D-Dave…" Draco said, with a lack of energy. "Welcome back Draco, I've saved you yet again. How does that make you feel?" "G-great…" She weakly smiled. "Get rest, you'll certainly need it." After I said that, she took my word and slept soundly. My friends seemed to be left speechless in the aftermath of it all. "Let's leave her be guys, we needn't be here now. All we have to do is wait things out…" I told Ringo and Klug. We began walking back to the others when Klug started up a conversation. "Uh… Dave, what did you do? She was in a coma, but yet, you managed to bring her back to consciousness." I took a few seconds to come up with an answer. "To be honest, I don't quite fully understand it myself Klug… It was like… half of my mind entered into her's." I summed up. "I don't get that at all…" Klug sighed. "Me neither, but Draco's back with us, so I guess that's a good thing." Ringo said. "After all the shit that Draco has been through recently, she deserved relief from the pain. That will finally be a reality, thanks to me. Of course... Ringo… you helped me a great deal. Be as it may, I can't take all the credit. And, if it weren't for Jace... the truth would have been lost." I thought back. "So what did you see, hear, and feel in her mind, Dave?" Klug asked me.

So he's asking me that... "... It was mostly a black void. I heard Draco's thoughts more as I delved deeper, specifically where I saw her. She was unresponsive at first, and was all chained up. When I went up and touched one of those chains, it dissipated into nothing. I freed her and she remained limp, so I kissed her. That seemed to her done the trick, because it woke her up from the coma." I explained. "Huh… so you two were metaphysical-like in her mind… I get it…" He realized. "Kind of, yeah…" I agreed. "I don't even know what the term "metaphysical" even means…" Ringo pointed out. "Uh… how should I explain this? It kind of complex, and no, it has nothing to do with mathematics, Ringo." Klug tell her. He continues to whisper to her regarding that. "Ugh… I think my brain is going to explode…" She cringed. "He DID tell you that it was hard to understand in a nutshell…" I said. "Ah shut up…" She playfully worded. "Dave!" A voice hollered, it was Feli. "! Feli…!" I looked over to her. "I got lost when I tried following you to the infirmary." She said. "Oh, my apologies." I responded. "Anyway, is she okay?" She asked me, worried. "She'll be just fine, just needs rest. Knowing how big these injuries are, it'll take up almost the rest of the time that we have on the resort…" I figured. "Well that's good to hear." Feli smiled. We continued to walk back, occasionally saying funny things that lightened up our moods.

"Yo!" I looked up ahead to see that Lemres was standing around and waving to us. Schezo was with him, his face showing irritation and he left. "So, what about that girl?" The warlock asked me. "Draco's going to be okay, I got her out a coma." "I see, well I'm glad for that bein' the case, Dave." Lemres smiled as he looked over to Feli. "Feli? What's up?" "O-oh, nothing Lemres…" I noticed that she became uneasy, having her hands close to her chest. "Feli, if there's something wrong, you can talk about it with us… you don't have to hold it in." I gently patted her head to ease that uneasiness. "Well, remember when we went to that strip club, Dave?… I felt, and still feel bad about the time that me and Draco almost fought. The only reason why that didn't happen was because you stopped us. Frankly, it was pretty childish of me, plus I leapt at her… meaning to attack. This has shown me that it's not right to attack another person for such stupid reasons, being naive. I have learned that pain, no matter which form it comes in, can have lasting and damaging effects… whether it be physical or emotional. I want to apologize to Draco when she's better. I didn't realize how unfortunate she is to have constant issues circling around her. Before, she was one that I loathed… but now, I want her to be my friend. Someone that I can count on to help me with my problems, and of course, the other way around too. Also, having sex with you Dave, I now believe that in retrospect… it was too premature. I want say sorry to you too, for all of this… *sniff* can you forgive me? *sob*" Feli wrapped her arms around my body as she cried.

I did the same to her. "Feli… I… understand… it's okay. I've known you for a while now… I may not know what goes inside your head, but… I get what you want. I forgive you, you're more than just a friend to me. You're somebody I can trust to change for the better. And… I agree, I find it to be a good idea for you and Draco to start over at square one. I would love to see you two get along as companions. As for yourself, you have grown up… I think there's no more childish nature inside you. I'll be the happiest guy after you apologize to Draco. Now, do me a favor and smile, dammit… Seeing you happy is all that I can ever ask of you. There's a saying that I was taught… "Even in the toughest and most brutal of sad times, you force the biggest smile that you can make, then push onward.". I used that to pull through some of my most painful times…" I assured her.

I knew that this struck a chord in her... in a good way. "...! You… might be right… Thank you for everything, Dave." Never before had I seen her in such relief, it was heartwarming. "Feli, I'm shocked that you have that kinda side to ya, it does bring tears to my eyes." Lemres admitted. "*sniff* Ohohoho… Lemres, hold me. Dave is too kind to everyone that he considers a friend." Klug told him with teary eyes. "This is proof that you are just the sweetest guy Dave… that's why I love you." Ringo told me. I blushed at those very words as I stared at Feli, we realized that we looked ridiculous and laughed with positive energy. "Come one guys, let's go and have some fun again… And when Draco is all fixed up, she can start having fun with us too!" I jumped in excitement. "Well that's surely being optimistic…" Ringo pointed out. "Ringo, remember that I got this overwhelming optimism from Amitie… besides, it's a good thing." Me, Ringo, Feli, Lemres, and Klug went back to join with our friends.

The rest of the trip went by quickly… Since then, those two spies were transported to not just a prison, but a maximum security facility. I figured that is was a good thing since the first half of our stay was slow. We continued to be happy, eat all the delicious food, and made discussions throughout the remaining days. On the last day that we stayed before we would leave, Draco was completely healed. "Ooooooh Dave, thank you for everything! I dunno how I could ever repay you!" She squeezed me tight in her arms. "Don't mention it, Draco... just be someone that I can turn to for help whenever." I said. "Alright, I can do that!" She replied, letting me go. "Hey, how about we go to the beach? We haven't gone there yet, shocking as it is." Ringo came into my view. "Oh, Ringo! Yeah, we can definitely do that, we leave tomorrow, so why not... It'll make a great memory for all of us, especially compared to what happened a few days ago…" I agreed. I asked around to see if anyone else was willing to go with us. With all the respect that I was given by basically everyone, they joined as a token of appreciation.

Author's Notes: Things come full circle as Dave and all the people he has ever cared for, enjoy the time that they have left in the Puyo Isles. They do so by having the time of their lives at the beach. Next chapter, Chapter 18: A Fond Beach Memory.