Chapter 39: Downtime Galore

There didn't seem to be much for us to do, so Ringo and I decided to cuddle at our hearts' content in the living room. Once I again, I was able to feel her skin for a prolonged period of time. "You like the feeling of my skin, don't you?" "Yes… yes, I do, Ringo." "How about my hair?" "It's… smooth, and I've always admired the shade of red it carries." "*giggle* Thank you, Dave." Our time spent together wasn't anything too important to go into detail. We exchanged a few kisses and hugs, but that's about it... besides one topic we talked about. "Ringo?" "Yeah? What is it?" "What do you want to do after you graduate from school?" "Me? I wanna… be an idol…" "A... pop idol? Ringo, do you… like to sing?" " I do. You didn't know that?" "No, I was never told by you or anyone else." Ms. Ando came into our conversation, hearing that bit. "Oh Dave, remember when I said that Ringo used to act out as the heroine from those shows?" "Uh, yeah… what of it?" "Well, she also had this thing with trying to sing like a star. At first... it was cute, but not good, I'll admit it. As time went on though, her singing voice became much better. Now she sounds like the very idols she used to observe closely. Ringo was a very expressive little girl when she discovered idols. She wanted to be just like them, as she had told me and my husband for years. A dream of hers to fulfill by herself... *chuckle*" Ringo looked at her mother with slight embarrassment. "Mom…" She hid her face.

I decided to say this to Ringo, when I saw her hide her face: "Ringo, I think it's great that you were able to find a dream to pursue at such a young age." I admired her commitment. "Wait… what?" "You heard me, Ringo. I think it's legitimately wonderful for you to try and reach it. I never had a dream that I wanted to fulfill when growing up. I just wasn't the type of person that looked for a career path. My early years of school were brutal, and I lacked the will to carry on. I hated the work, always saying that it was just... unnecessary fluff in the grand scheme of things. Unless if it actually taught me something that I knew I would use later on in life… I considered the rest of it pointless busy work. Therefore, all throughout… I remained as a cynical boy, living the life of a meaningless shadow. A shadow of the people who actually succeeded in things. I was left in the dust, destined to rot like an apple's core. It also didn't help that up until I enrolled in a high school from my world, I was… quite autistic." "You… were?" "*sigh* Yeah... I was as dumb as a bag of bricks for my entire childhood, as well as the start of my teen years. In fact, I still am... to a degree that is." "What do you mean, Dave?" "Ringo… I may seem to be pretty smart on the surface, but really… most of my real intelligence comes from common sense. Think back to all the times I had trouble with our calculus class. Do you honestly believe that I struggled in it only because it was a form of math that I wasn't exposed to? No, I would have fared better if that was the case. I hated math for so long because I found it to be needlessly complex and hard. I don't know if I ever told you the reason before, but that's why I resent the subject to this day. All because of my own brain... It fails to comprehend specific things, and yeah, it makes me think of myself as an idiot. *sigh* Why was I developed like this…?" "..."

Ringo wasn't sure what to say after I was finished. She just looked at me straight and drew my body closer to her chest. "...?" I noticed. "It looks like Ringo doesn't want you feeling down, Dave. But, she doesn't know what advice to give you." Ms. Ando interpreted for me. "Well, do you have something then, Ms. Ando?" "Yes. There's still time for you to find a dream worth chasing for. There might not be a lot of it, but it could be worse. And maybe, it can be something that'll make you truly happy." She told me before Ringo brainstormed an idea. "That's it! Dave, there are things out there that you don't need to be ridiculously smart or highly skilled at. Ones that promote having fun above all else, for example. I brought up the idol thing from earlier, how about that?" "! Why didn't I think of that…? Ringo, that's an excellent idea! I say that because I sing too!" "You do?!" "Yeah! I told Feli about my passion for it quite some time ago. I mean, I personally don't think that my singing voice is anything to write home about, but…" "I wanna hear it!" "*chuckle* Alright, alright… Give me lyrics with a rhythm, and I'll be mostly fine." "Sure, I've got lyric sheets around here…" Ringo began looking for some. Ms. Ando seemed to be content with the atmosphere, so she left the room. "Found them." She handed them over to me. "... These are… Japanese lyrics." "Dave, right under the Japanese symbols are romaji." She pointed to show me. "Romaji?" "Yeah. Romaji is basically Japanese spelled out in English letters." "Ah, so that's what it is… I was wondering about that…" "Now, what do you need from me to start singing?" "Well… I guess I could have you go first to see how fast or slow I need to go. I don't understand time signatures or whatever so much. I'll choose... this sheet first." "I see... Okay, repeat after me, this part's pretty simple." These lyrics had me stumbling in quite a few places. I COULD sing alone, but I usually felt better singing with at least one other person.

After a bit of time, I got a comment that I wasn't expecting. "You have a stupendous singing voice…" "Y-you think so, Ringo? I guess Feli's not alone with her opinion… Uh, can we do these lyrics together?" "Sure, from the top." I began listening to our vocals in sync. I couldn't believe my ears, they carried perfect chemistry. By that, I mean they sounded unreal in unison. "... Wow…" I said after we sang. "Wow is right... you're a natural, Dave!" "Well I have been a part of choirs in the past…" "Heh. So that explains it." We both laughed and I thanked her. She did something for me and I figured that I could also do a thing for her. "Hey, Ringo." "Hm?" "Remember when I talked to Ex on the phone, getting him to join us in Japan?" "Yeah... why are you bringing that up?" "Well… during that moment, Ex mentioned that Tee apologized for everything he has done to us, thanks to Yui." "Really?! How come she didn't tell me the good news?" "I… don't know actually. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe I can have you and Tee talk on the phone. It could get you two to make up and become friends again. Wanna go through with it?" "S-sure, Dave!" She nodded to me and I punched in Ex's number. "Hello." "Ex, are you back in the Tetra?" "I am, Dave. Why?" "I figured that Tee would want to talk to Ringo over the phone and make things up with her, now that this is a good chance to." "... Well, he DID apologized… Why not? It might make him feel happy and motivated. So, you want me to hand my phone to Tee for the time being?" "Yes." "Alrighty. I'll hang up for now, then call back when I'm about to give it to him." "Good." Ex hung up and we waited.

Tee's POV

My days in the cell were slow, but I was patient in trying to wait for a month. For some reason, Ex came into my view. "Hey, Tee." "E-Ex? What are you here for?" "Someone called, they wanted to talk to you." "Me? But… who though?" "Why don't you find out? Here." He handed me his phone and I got curious. "H-hello?" I spoke. "Tee, it's me, Ringo." "R-Ringo?! This is perfect! I wanted to say how sorry I am to you for what I have done. Can you... accept my apology?" "Apology accepted." "W-wait, what…? But, Ringo… how can you be so forgiving now? I killed your dad without hesitation… for completely selfish reasons too. Why the hell are you not angry with me still...? Please…! I need a logical explanation for this. Why...?" "Because, I heard that you absolutely pleaded for forgiveness from Yui." "F-from who?!" "From Dave, who originally had heard it from Ex." "... Hahaha… I see, that makes sense…" It was at this point, I started to hear Dave's voice. "Tee, in case if you still feel like you can't be forgiven, drop that feeling." "H-huh? Dave?" "It is of my firm belief that if you truly are sorry for wrong doings of yours from the past… you should be given a second chance." "A second chance… You mean it?" "As long as we consider each other friends, and you protect Ringo whenever I can't... absolutely. I can tell that you love it when you are a part of the crew. Your entire way of life is in balance while being a part of it. I'm glad that your time in the cell has been lightened. It's proof that you are human, and that's good. Here's something valuable to learn, Tee… When a person commits a sin that other people deem as forgivable, it's part of moral code for them to forgive and forget. People can't stay mad at each other forever, even if hatred runs deep. It's just how it goes in the human nature of things. Isn't that right?"

I was at a loss for words from what Dave said., on both sides of the emotional spectrum." U-um… I honestly don't know what to say. Dave, can you guys still trust me?" "Yes, of course. If you're sincere, then definitely, Tee." "*sob*" "T-Tee? Is… everything okay?" "N-no… it's not! It feels like you are forcing yourselves to like me again. I don't deserve this kindness so soon… not for what I have done! I want to end things for myself, so no one else has to suffer because of me." "W-wait, what are you doing, Tee?!" "I have made my decision…" "No, don't do this to yourself!" "Goodbye, Dave…" "TEE!" I didn't listen to the pleas from Dave. I wanted to kill myself and end the cycle of sin and hatred involving me. I planned on bashing my skull into the wall as hard as I could. "Hold on, Tee! ... Please, listen to me... don't go and commit suicide. Yes, you have done plenty of wrong things… and we hated you for them. However, you still have a long life ahead of you. There's still plenty of time to right the wrongs you have made and forge a path of good. Besides, how are we going to be able to understand O in full without you? You are the only one here that knows for certain what he says. And… what would Yui think of you committing suicide?" Ex pleaded to me. "Y-Yui…?" I thought back to when I last saw her.

That's when I apologized to her… *sigh* What am I thinking? I can't kill myself… That would just be me running away from the people who are trying to forgive me. "... He stopped…?" I heard Ex quietly mumble to himself. "Dave…" I spoke into the phone again. "T-Tee? Did… you stop?" "Yes… I did. I still need to show Yui that I can be a good guy. I'm… not going to look down on myself anymore." "Yes, that's right. Forget what you have done and make amends." "Thank you, Dave. You may have been the reason how you got me to be bad, but you got me out of that. I respect you once more and I can assure you that I won't turn on any of you... ever again. And, I'm sorry about when I told you to go to Hell. You're not a monster, you're a hero. Can I… talk to Ringo please?" "Sure, and thanks for telling me that, man. Ringo, Tee's calmed down and he wants to talk to you again." I heard him calling for her name as I waited. She must have been worried that I WOULD commit suicide… "Tee…" "I know, I'm sorry about considering suicide a moment ago, Ringo. I promise you this: As a wish of Dave's, if he's not around to protect you, I will. I'll be the best friend that I can be to you, alright? And... I won't butt in your relationship with him anymore, or be creepy. I realize that you have your own feelings and such. I also acknowledge that I shouldn't attempt to perform sexual-heavy actions without a proper girlfriend. I was being selfish and unjust… I'll wait for the right time and find romantic love, not sexual desire for the sake of sexual desire… That's all I wanted to say to you, Ringo." "Looks like you've finally learned to be yourself again. I'm proud of you and I hope you can get that assistant captain position back, Tee." "Me too. Goodbye, Ringo. Tell Dave that I'm hanging up now." "Of course, bye!" I hung up.

After I ended the call, I gave Ex his phone back. "It seems like you are now satisfied with everything, Tee." "Yes, indeed." "I can give you your position back on the crew when the sentence is done." Ex started to walk away from me. "W-wait, Ex." "Hm?" "What's Yui going to do when I'm back?" "That's… a good question, Tee. I like her as my adopted daughter, but… I would want her to be able to do something for the team. The issue is though, every role is taken already." "... Hold on, not EVERY role has been taken…" "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "What did Zed do before he was destroyed, Ex?" "...! Zed was a caretaker! He protected us from danger many times in the past. Of course! Why didn't I think of this? Brilliant idea, Tee! I'm sure Yui will love it. This won't ask so much of her and it'll be vital to the crew. With her psychokinesis, it'll be a natural job for her. Heh. I'll be going now to tell her." "Bye, Ex." I waved to him and I sat back down in the cell.

Yui's POV

I saw my father come to mine and Ess' room. "F-Father! You're back already?" "Yeah… things didn't turn up too well, Dave got sick as soon as he ate this stuff called sushi. He passed out in mere seconds after swallowing it." "What's sushi?" "It's apparently a form of raw fish. As it turned out, Dave's body really hated that… all because of foreign bacteria and viruses. For three days and two nights, he was hospitalized. He recovered surprisingly quickly when he woke up on the third day. I don't think that's natural though…" Before Father was able to say anything else, we heard a familiar voice. "That's because it wasn't, Ex." And there, I saw him behind my father. "Satan?!" He jumped. "Sheesh, calm down… I didn't mean to scare you. Anywho, Dave's recovery was not natural because an unexpected visitor came by in that hospital during the second night of him being there." Satan told him. I began to listen to the conversation in silence. "What in the-?! Who?!" "Witch." "Wait, her? First of all, why? And secondly, how the hell did she even find him, Satan?" "Initially, she wanted to deliver "punishment" to Dave for telling one of his friends about something involving just him and her." "What was this thing?" "Ex, Witch tried to seduce him after she fixed up his dragon form." "Huh?! Y-you're kidding me!" "I'm not. If you're wondering how she knew about Dave ratting her out... she keeps tabs on him." "Like a stalker?!" "Essentially." "How big is the age difference between them then?" "They're three years apart from each other. Dave is seventeen, and Witch is twenty." "That's not too bad… but still, a bit of a discrepancy if you ask me… … I need to have a talk with her, where does she live?" "H-hold on, don't be rash, Ex!" "I have to do this now, Satan. I don't care if she helped Dave recover faster... I just want her to leave him alone with this whole thing. If I don't do it now... she WILL find the time to whisk Dave off somewhere, and do God knows what to him. I can't leave a friend like him behind, I want Dave to be safe… ... I'm sorry, Yui. I have to go and resolve this issue like an adult before it can get out of hand, okay?" Father turned to face me. I hugged him tightly to wish him luck. "Just do whatever you need to do, Father." I said to him. "I will." He promised.

Ex's POV

I waved goodbye to Yui and urged Satan to take me to wherever Witch was. He reluctantly took me there after a sigh was made. "Here we are, Ex… her house." "She lives here…?" "Well, she IS one of those kinds of people... so it should come as no surprise." "Alright… I'm mentally preparing myself. Like you basically said, this could get a little ugly." "No shit! We don't know what she'll try to do if she finds out that we are aware of this." "It shouldn't be too bad, I'm very strong as the Dimensional Dragon Warrior. She won't get far from us if she tries to book it for Dave." "Actually… she may be on par with you…" "What? No way, Satan. What can she possibly do to me?" "Ex, this is serious! She can summon meteor showers at WILL." "Wh-what…? Uh, can you say that again for me?" "*sigh* A good chunk of Witch's magic allows her to manifest objects and forces from outer space, like meteors. I'm pretty sure you know that those aren't just rocks and stuff, since you are the captain of a starship and all. I'm worried about this going horribly wrong... because when I encountered Count Vyle for the first time since he kidnapped Rulue, he said that I had grown soft. Basically, he was aware of me losing power over time. My strength is still fine, just not god-like now. In fact, your power exceeds mine considerably with that golden armor of yours." "That's not a good sign then…" "This is why I am suggesting that we should be careful." "Alright, I get you… Should we come up with a plan first?" "No."

I was like "what?" when he said no to my question. "Why not?! You're saying that we should be careful, so wouldn't an idea be better than being rash?" "It's marginally better, but not exactly optimal. We can't afford to spend time when we don't know at what point she'll strike at Dave. Let's just come up at the door and talk to her inside, as though we don't have any knowledge of the thing. We might be able to catch her off guard more easily with this when the time is right." "So we have to improvise a topic to discuss with her..." "Whatever it takes… we have to bluff our way through. I'll have something prepped as we do so. Hopefully, she doesn't notice it right away." "I suppose so, Satan." We came up at the door and I knocked. Witch came to open it and see us. She seemed surprised that I was here, probably because I was no longer in Japan. Of course, I knew that she wouldn't say anything about that because it would be revealed to me. At this point, Witch thought I was unaware of what happened. "O-oh, Satan and Ex! What brings you two here today?" She asked us. I could tell that she was worried about being found out, just from the way she looked about. "Uh, we came to talk to you about how your break has been, Witch." Satan bluffed. "Oh, is that so? Well, come in." She gestured. I realized that she appeared more composed. Good, it looks like she's becoming ensnared in our trap. I need to keep her occupied with something… "C'mon, sit and relax." She suggested. We sat down and began our "talk" with her.

"My break so far has been decent. I mean, I had to grade leftover stuff… but not bad at all. So, Ex… I've heard that you had been training Dave, one-on-one. How has that gone as of late?" She wondered. "Oh, um… it's been fun. The boy's power is incredible… although a bit on the limited potential side. He still has a good way to go before he masters his power. I've heard that you're the one who fixed up his dragon form. How was the experience on his side?" I passed a question back to her. "His experience? … Well... he was screaming a bunch, since the method was pretty painful. Dave passed out from the shock of it." She said. "Dave passed out, huh? Well, at least he didn't die." I manufactured a chuckle. I looked at Satan for a split second to see that he had this ball of energy forming behind him. I need to buy him more time for whatever that is. "What happened after that?" I continued. "A-after that? Wh-why are you asking about that? Nothing really happened after he passed out, I just brought him back to the classroom when he woke up." She lied.

Of course she would be lying about that… "Really? Why are you stuttering with your words then?" I pointed out. "Th-that's just because you surprised me by asking that question, Ex." Witch attempted to dodge my question. "Ex, I believe that there is more to this than she lets on." Satan came into the chat. I could tell that he was now ready since he jumped in. "Yes, I think she's hiding something from us…" I went along. "Wh-what do you mean?" She became uneasy. "The truth is, Witch… we know what happened during the time that Dave was passed out. You took the opportunity to play with his body, then went in to seduce him when he woke up. We also know that you came to Japan to "punish" the boy when he ratted you out. But, when you saw that he was sick.. you gave Dave some kind of pill to make him recover faster." Satan revealed that we knew. "H-how?! How do you know this?!" She tensed up. "Just like how you monitor Dave, so do I. I'm like a guardian angel to him since he is a demon. So today, I told this all to Ex when he said how unnaturally fast Dave recovered. And now, we'll not allow you to go around and do as you please! Dark Imprisonment!" He threw the dark energy at Witch, successfully trapping her inside. "Awesome, we got her!" I became glad. "Ex…! This won't last! We... need to get Witch inside of a better containment area, but I don't know of anything that'll do the trick! Do you know of something that WILL work?" He demanded. I panicked and began to think on the clock.

Okay, not a whole lot of time. What can we use to help us keep Witch contained?! … … Wait… it's not an object that we need, it's another person! "Satan, I think I might know. We need to get into the thick of Primp Town!" "What?! Why Primp, Ex?!" "Just trust me, I know who to come by and ask for help!" We dashed out of the house and I engaged my gold armor, allowing me to fly. We flew around for a while and I saw Amitie. Witch had been squirming in that darkness for that time before that, trying to break herself free. "Excellent! I need Amitie to tell me where Accord is." I insisted on Satan to stay where he was while I went to ask. "Amitie! Over here!" I called as I came down. "E-Ex?! Uh… do you need something?" "Yes, this is urgent. Where does Ms. Accord live? … If you know that is..." I requested her to show me. "Oh! Just go down a couple of blocks from here, then make a right. Here, I'll show you!" She began to run. "A-Amitie! Wait for me!" I went after her and gestured for Satan to follow me. "There." She pointed. "Thank you, Amitie." I bowed. She then left to go somewhere else. My armor faded on command from me and I knocked on the door. Accord opened the door to see me standing on the porch. "Ex? Whatever could you be doing here today?" "Ms. Accord… I think you need to know what I'm about to tell you." I told her about the antics that Witch had been doing. "My, she has been rather naughty, hasn't she? I'll have to scold her extensively. So, where is she?" "Satan is holding her in with his uh… "Dark Imprisonment". Hey, Satan! You can come down here now." I waved. "Ugh… this is really straining on me. I used to be able to do this for at least a day, but now it can't even last for fifteen minutes." He panted. "Don't worry, I can take it from here." Accord assured him. "M-M-Ms. Accord?!" Witch trembled.

I saw how intimidated Witch was in the current moment in time... shaking uncontrollably. "You have been disobedient, Ms. Witch. You should not go around and seduce my students… certainly not Dave. He is my strongest student, after all. I do acknowledge that you helped him control his dragon form, but that still does not excuse you from the attempted seduction. Therefore, you shall be scolded and whatnot accordingly. Do you understand? As an instructor: It is your job to help students with things they struggle with in school and not get involved with their personal lives. Only care for the student's success and make sure that they can achieve it. That's what teaching is all about, and don't say anything to the contrary. Correct?" She told her. All that Witch could do was whimper and shake in fear. Honestly, I would be scared too if I was in a similar position. Ms. Accord really knows how and when to be intimidating... Accord's cat came by to hold Witch by the paw after he grew in size."Anyway, thank you for helping us." I shook her hand. "Oh no, thank you. Ex, you and Satan did the right thing by coming to me. How did you find me though?" "Amitie led us here. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have had enough time to keep imprisoning Witch." "I see. *giggle* Amitie has been a good girl for as long as I have known her. Well, it looks like I now have some business to take care of." Accord entered her house once more and closed the door. "Phew… I'll be heading back to the Puyo Underworld, Ex. I need some rest after doing that. Damn… I feel like I'm getting weaker with each passing day and I don't know why." Satan told me. "Alright then, do so." I nodded. He left and so did I, going back to the Tetra.

Author's Notes: Dave and Ringo enjoyed their day back home... talking, cuddling, and singing. Dave thinks of the idea for Ringo to talk with Tee over the phone. He called Ex to be granted permission to do so. Tee believed that what he had done couldn't be forgiven, then Ringo snapped him out of it. He was satisfied with the outcome, then hung up to give Ex his phone back. Ex alerted the news to Yui, but that was cut short with Satan appearing. He said to him that Witch popped a pill into Dave's mouth when he was hospitalized, as well as what she did to him after his dragon form was fixed up. The two go to have her contained, then Ex brilliantly had Satan hand Witch over to Accord. All came in to be good... however, the break was far from over. What else would Dave, Ringo, and the rest of the cast do during this period of time? Next chapter, Chapter 40: Hearing Secrets.