The rest of the weekdays passed in a blur. With the most stressful parts of their days since Pyra and Mythra's awakening long gone now, Frankie, Mythra, Kaito, and Miko had a nice relaxing weekend to look forward to. The one thing that remained constant in Frankie's mind was Kaito's suggestion that Mythra- and by extension, Pyra, might be a special type of Blade known as an Aegis, or, "THE" Aegis as he put it. Lacking much knowledge on what that meant, Frankie certainly took Kaito's word for it, but didn't put much thought into it; he had enough innocence until proven guilty songs and dances for one week. Not like Kaito gave him too much information to begin with, but anything was helpful at this point, even if the hours after work mostly weren't too exciting, that is with the exception of Frankie and Mythra hopping on the Pokémon online ladder to feed her competitive nature, Jimmy by her side all the time, cheering her on even if she lost horribly.
Finally, the weekend came. 7:00 like always, with Frankie's conscience well in a good mood on top of his co-workers hearing of his victory in court, it was time to fully and truly settle in for a relaxing set of days with no work, no trials, no nothing.
While he didn't make it a huge expectation, Frankie did wonder whether the more relaxed atmosphere would make Pyra comfortable enough to come out. Again, he didn't put too much stock in this as he didn't want to come across as pressuring her, and he was having an equally excellent time getting to know Mythra.
On that note, as Frankie slowly became more lucid that early Saturday morning, a firm clearing of the throat came from the side of the bed.
It was Mythra, already up and fully awake, decked out in a simple yellow t-shirt and a fitting pair of baggy sweatpants they had gotten for her to sleep more comfortably in.
"Hey sleepyhead! I thought we were going out today?" She leaned over the bed and gave Frankie a slightly annoyed look.
Frankie flinched somewhat at just how casual Mythra was being, however given the past week of living with her, he had gotten more comfortable and less jumpy concerning her rather forward behaviors.
"Mythra…" He said a small bit groggily. "It's… seven in the morning, nothing is open yet, and I'm most certainly not taking you shopping, this isn't the 50's…" Frankie rolled himself over in bed and shut his eyes again. Only for Mythra to swipe off all the covers, forcing Frankie to get up to retrieve them. Both were now face to face with equally upset glares, waiting for the other to say something.
"You can have these back… AFTER we plan our day at least, the last thing we need is for that little chicken nugget and his brat girlfriend to tag along, I want this to be just you and I." She said, walking away with the sheets.
"As Blade and Driver?" Frankie asked suspiciously. Being woken up so suddenly left him in quite the sour mood.
"Yes! What else do you think?!"
'Lord have mercy, Kaito and Miko will never let us hear the end of it…' Frankie thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes.
"Well if you don't want Kaito and Miko involved, I think I know a way we can make sure of that."
"Yeah? And how's that?"
"Ever heard of a Casino, Mythra?" Frankie asked with a smug grin.
"Huh?"
————-
"Darn that Banana!"
Miko -rather loudly- shouted her frustration before chomping down on her breakfast crepe, the third of which Kaito had bought her, as the two of them sat down and looked around online for more info on the Aegis at a breakfast cafe.
"I get that you're upset Muffin, but at this rate people are gonna get confused." He gestured to the other locals at the cafe. While it wasn't a significant amount, a few heads were turned at Miko's comment and likely making rather uncouth assumptions.
"Mfm-m-mffrmhmhm!"
Kaito took the crepe out of her mouth to allow her to swallow and actually speak.
"This is ridiculous!" She took the crepe out of his hand again.
"How on earth are we supposed to find anything on this edgies stuff when every lead we come up with gives us a dead end!"
"You mean Aegis?"
"I don't even know at this point!" Miko dropped her crepe down and rustled her hair in frustration before placing her head on the table. "This was so much easier when it was just Pyra, now we've got this giant French fry to deal with? Next you'll be telling me when they get all old and crusty they turn into giant fire breathing flying lizards or some crap like that! Or is there another one of them? An evil little prophet with a dumb name like Alejandro or Malo or something edgy like Darkheart Three Zero One? There are no rules anymore!"
Kaito rubbed his girlfriend's confused head and picked up her crepe.
"It's gonna be alright Koko Puff, we're in no rush to figure this stuff out. As long as we keep at it with some pace, we'll eventually find something."
Miko slowly turned her head up and sighed.
"...that dumb Banana is seriously gonna owe me once we crack this." She sprung back into action and typed furiously on her laptop's keyboard, taking a no-look bite from her crepe as Kaito offered it to her.
—
"Ladies and gentlemen… a blast from the past that needs no introduction; pack up, let's fly away and get ready for… THE RAT PAAAAAAACK!!!"
The crowd of people on and off their seats cheered loudly, some with drinks in hand, others sitting down at their seats yelling raucously like a raft of sea lions down at the circus, clapping and roaring for applause. The impersonators didn't even give a proper introduction. All they needed was the sole sound of a soulful electric organ introducing their first song to get the crowd to quiet down and give them their full undivided attention.
"That's Life!"
"That's Liiiiiiiife!"
"That's what all the people say… You're riding high in April… SHOT DOWN in May…"
Frankie and Mythra were looking on intently at the performance from the nearby bar, Frankie with a pleased and nostalgic grin on his face, Mythra with a raised eyebrow of intrigue.
"So what kind of music do you call this in the first place?" She asked him, leaning over the table to listen in better.
"We call that vocal jazz. Straight from Da Bronx, Them rookies up there representin' da Rat Pack!" Frankie hunched himself over and took his hand out dramatically as he began to recite something else in this sudden odd thick accent he put on. "'You don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to do murder for money.'"
"Excuse me?!" Mythra was horrified, backing up a bit. A very flustered and embarrassed Frankie cleared his throat and returned to normal.
"That- um… movie quote… I don't know, I haven't seen it…" He said sheepishly. Mythra just stared at him disapprovingly, not making the situation any less awkward. "U-uh, here, how about this?" Frankie cleared his throat once again and put on a similar voice, albeit much higher pitched, "'I trusted you, Nicky. I welcomed you into my home.We broke bread together. Gram-mama made you a cannoli. And how did you repay my generosity? With a rug made from the butt of a skunk. A skunk-butt rug. You disrespected me… you disrespected my Gram-mama, whom I buried in that skunk-butt rug. I told you never to show your face here again, but here you are…'" As he dramatically finished his little monologue, he snuck a peek towards Mythra to get a look at her reaction. She simply scoffed and rolled her eyes in exasperation.
'This kid just gets weirder and weirder hour by hour…' She thought to herself. It was at this point the barkeep had noticed them and let themselves known with a pen and paper; eager to serve.
"Welcome! Sorry about the wait, what can I get started for you today?" Frankie and Mythra flipped their menus to detail what they wanted, and just as Frankie was about to give his order, Mythra pushed on through.
"I'll take the red brandy, don't skip out on the cinnamon, put it on the rocks, add an extra shot of that apple, rim the glass with some sugar, and if you don't mind upsizing the order, then please do so." She said quickly and confidently, placing the menu down pointedly as the barkeep wrote her order down with a smile. Frankie glanced her way the whole time, mouth agape and left in utter confusion with how well versed she was with her order; said order being alcohol, no less. Mythra returned a blank glance his way as if she was expecting him to say something, but he genuinely had nothing.
"And for you, sir?" The barkeep asked.
"A-a Strawberry/Mango Daiquiri, light alcohol, please…" He requested plainly.
Taking both of their menus, the barkeep was just about to head off before Frankie called out to them
Once more.
"Oh! And two orders of Buffalo Wings, please! Bleu Cheese AND Ranch on both." The barkeep nodded sharply and at last went away. Frankie smiled excitedly and was about to turn to Mythra, only to realize she was leaning in as close as she could to him with an oddly judgemental expression on her face.
"What is a Buffalo and why do you eat its wings?" She asked.
"Mythra… have you ever heard of… personal space…?" Frankie chuckled nervously.
"Of course I have! Why do you ask?"
'On the one hand, those eyes… on the other… lord have mercy; pins and needles…' Frankie thought to himself as he backed up a bit from her.
"I just… figured you might be hungry, I know I am… an hour and a half long drive without good brain food so early in the morning does NOT do a man Justice…" He explained.
"Yeah- well, it's your own fault, Dummy…" Mythra sat back and shifted in her seat a bit more comfortably.
"Oh, Mythra, come on, I thought we were cool, now…" Frankie lamented, causing his Blade to chuckle in amusement.
"We are, Dummy, so I'm letting you know right here, right now that I'll do things that Pyra won't!" Mythra pinched her Driver's cheek teasingly as she spoke, leaving a disgruntled Frankie at her mercy.
"Right, yeah, like choosing to listen to songs from the house of mouse on the road. Pyra would NEVER think to do that." He grumbled as Mythra stopped her 'attack' on him in embarrassment.
"O-oh… come off it you! I just… like the drab little crab, alright? What can I say…?" She asked with a blush.
"…Except, 'You're Welcome'?" Frankie teased with a cheeky grin.
"Shut it…" Mythra growled with a glare. Frankie stuck out his tongue playfully in response.
"Oo-oo! Here comes the best part of this one!" Frankie suddenly cried as he heard the music and singer pick up and stop with a stutter before going off once again with a Bob to their voice and their body language, with Frankie singing along with them. "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king. I've been up and down and over and out, and I know one thing…"
Mythra just looked at him in amusement and shook her head fondly before resting her cheek in her hand.
'Guess I was wrong… he's a pretty massive dork in practice…' Then she closed her eyes gently and thought quietly to herself, 'In fact… I almost prefer that…'
"Oh, is that so?" Pyra asked cheekily from beyond. Mythra caught herself getting dreamy and scrambled to fix herself up before Frankie noticed, blushing profusely.
"Sh-shut up, Pyra…" She said in embarrassment.
—-
"And I mean, it's not like I mind Frankie spending time alone with… the Gigi Gigi Baby Baby or anything but-"
"The Aegis, Miko, and I know you know that by now…" Kaito corrected as the two headed over to the museum for more clues on Pyra and Mythra's peculiar predicament.
"…Whatever! It's just… I can barely stand that Mythra… she reminds me too much of myself before… you know… before I met you, and all…"
"I appreciate that sentiment, Muffin, but… you're getting pretty aggravated, is there something in particular not sitting right with you?"
"Well, she's an absolute disgrace to the culinary world for one…"
"Okay. Now how about a real reason?" There was a long silence between the two of them. Miko breathed deeply as she gazed beyond the window of their car.
"Ohhhh, I get it." Kaito smirked and rustled her hair.
"Get what, you big dork?"
"That you're actually just worried about Mythra and want things to go well for her and big bro?"
Miko rustled her hair back into place spastically as she tried to come up with a response.
"N-n-no! No way! I don't care one bit about that stupid Banana! Why would you-"
"You did just say she reminds you too much of yourself, Muffin. And despite all your complaining, we have been helping her consistently."
Miko puffed her cheeks in denial but then sighed heavily in defeat.
"Fine, I…guess I do care about that tall blonde bimbo…"
She leaned over to Kaito and spoke very softly. Kaito immediately removed the joking snark from his face and tone because he knew this meant Miko was to be taken seriously.
"You…know how difficult it was for me back in college…with most of my friends gone, hardly anyone to turn to until you came along…"
She held onto his shoulder tightly. They were stopped so Kaito reciprocated by holding her hand.
"...just…let's just say I don't want her to go through what I did. She's in a new place, a new world pretty much…she's in an emotional state where she'll do and say stupid things even when she knows it's not healthy."
"Oh Miko…you're a lot kinder and more considerate than you give yourself credit for." Kaito pulled her hand off his shoulder, but kept holding onto it as he gave her a kind look. Miko smiled at this, though she proceeded to look at the dashboard, still clearly concerned.
"It doesn't help that things are going along so fast. I mean, you know I'm supporting them all the way, but still…"
Kaito couldn't help but understand completely. He had reassured Frankie of this earlier, that the speed of this relationship of his wasn't anything to be concerned about. And on one level both he and Miko still believed that fully. These girls made Frankie happy and he clearly made them happy, and there was nothing immediate about their being together that anyone would rightfully object to.
But it was still undeniable that everything surrounding said relationship was incredibly hectic. It really took these past few days of relative calm for the shorter pair to fully grasp just how much had happened the past week. Pyra's appearance, discovering her background, the vision that was still headache inducing just to think about, Mythra's sudden appearance, everything to do with the trial, it was a rollercoaster that seemed like it just wouldn't end for a while.
Despite this, Kaito patted his girlfriend on the shoulder in reassurance.
"That may be so, but that's why they have us, no?"
Miko pondered his statement in some confusion.
"We'll have their backs no matter what, and Frankie himself is one of the most reliable people I know, all things considered. Pyra and Mythra haven't been here long, yeah, but they're…a part of the family now. Ya get me?"
Miko simply laughed. "Oh Kokonut. You're such a doofus. But yeah…you're right. And that family feels a lot more…complete now that they're here."
"Exactly."
The two smiled at each other as the traffic light finally turned green and Kaito drove the car forward. This is simply what they enjoyed doing. Helping people they cared about with their problems, and they both knew they cared about Frankie and Pyra and Mythra.
"...but man, one of these days those dorks really owe us an expensive vacation or something."
"You said it, Muffin."
—-
"HOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!" Mythra hollered as she breathed in and out quickly, holding her chicken wing inches from her face, barely a single bite taken out of it. Frankie beside her just gave her a plain look as he ate his chicken wing without even so much of a flinch.
"You know, dipping sauces exist for a reason, o Blade of mine…" He told her with a bit of edge to his voice. Mythra whipped her head to face him, only getting angrier by the second seeing him so calm about this level of heat she was forced to endure.
"Wipe that smug confidence off your stupid face! I don't think you quite realize how ungodly punchable you look to me right now…" She warned with an icy cold stare.
"I'm Mexican; picoso is a way of life, I don't know what to tell you." Frankie proceeded to place the whole chicken wing in his mouth and dismember it completely, leaving the bone completely clean.
Seeing him do that so casually only made her more upset, she couldn't even look at him at that point, and refocused her mind to the concert and her drink, which she downed in no time at all. Forgetting about the cinnamon was a mistake and that nearly sent her into another screaming rage as she clamped her mouth shut, frantically searching around for something else to cool herself down with; then she focused on Frankie's icy cold drink, the glass itself frozen with condensation; it looked like the perfect lifesaver. Frankie took a drink from his Daiquiri and recoiled in disgust.
"Aye… I asked for light alcohol…" Frankie bemoaned as he put the glass a ways in front of him, only for Mythra to snatch it off its coaster and down it like a wild animal. "Mythra- wait! That's not-!" Frankie made a feeble attempt to keep Mythra from chugging down so much alcohol but it was too late; the only thing that remained in the glass was a few bits of ice and the straw that went inside. Frankie bit his lower lip as he stared at Mythra who… seemed to be okay… she looked refreshed, even.
"Ah… much better…" She said with a smile as she wiped her mouth.
"Why don't we… take your wings home and save them for later so you can take the sauce off of them, huh?" Frankie nervously suggested.
"Tch. Sounds like a plan to me. Hic!"
Uh-oh.
"Whoa… what was that…?" She held onto her head as she fell back into her seat.
"It-I… uh… Mythra, you hang tight, order yourself a water, I'm gonna go get you some hot towels!" Frankie didn't waste a second longer; he immediately made a beeline for the restroom to follow through on his command, leaving Mythra alone. She caught a second hiccup but was able to hold it in this time; just as the barkeep came up to her.
"Enjoying yourself, miss? Can I get you anything else?" They asked. Mythra opened her mouth to speak before darting her eyes back towards Frankie's glass and smirking smugly.
"Yeah… get me another one of these… exactly how you made it last time… urp!"
—
Miko had fallen asleep on the long car ride to the museum. Resting her head on Kaito's shoulder as he drove, she snores lightly and peacefully, maybe even drooled a little onto him.
'She's having that chicken dream again, I know it…' Kaito thought to himself dreamily before redirecting his attention to the road, letting out a happy smile and wide eyed expression as he realized their destination was coming up.
The young man stepped on the gas a little bit harder to pull on up to the parking spot posthaste. His smile stayed wide and pleased as he settled down into his position and turned to Miko eagerly.
"Muffin… Koko Puff, wake up, love, we're here." Kaito cooed quietest as he gently shook his sleeping girlfriend awake. The tiny brown haired woman gently fluttered her eyes open as she sat up in her seat and stretched loudly before shuffling back into position whilst rubbing her eyes.
"Kokonut…? Are we here?" She asked a big woozily.
"Sure are! Open your eyes and take a look!" Kaito said excitedly.
Miko finally got herself up and at 'em and shot her eyes open to find a very strange sight indeed. There wasn't any museum in sight… at least not at first glance. No, what she saw instead were two giant structures shaped like dinosaurs; one of a tan Brontosaurus, and the other of a sickly green Tyrannosaurus Rex. Miko dropped her eyes in bemusement as she turned to face Kaito.
"The Cabazon Dinosaurs…" She said aloud, rather unimpressed.
"Mm Hmm!" Kaito responded with an excited nod.
"Isn't this… like… that creationist museum that Frankie bought a coloring book from once when he was a kid? What are we gonna learn here? Frankie himself agrees that Creationism is an outdated train of thought! Frankie, for crying out loud!"
"I promise, Muffin, it's not as bad as you think…" Kaito began as he unbuckled himself, quickly followed by Miko as both leapt out of Kaito's car. "As a matter of fact, it's precisely BECAUSE this museum is so outdated why we're here at all." The two were walking towards the structure known as 'Dinny the Dinosaur' as they continued talking.
"So Pyra and Mythra lived in a Flintstones universe before they found Frankie… that's reassuring…" Miko groaned.
"Stay with me, Miko, there's a method to my madness." Miko gave Kaito her full attention regardless of her feelings. "It's not so much the concept of what this museum built itself upon that gave me the drive to go here, but rather, the possibility of what such an old way of thought could hold within its chambers; man and dinosaurs living side by side, the complete disregard for evolution in any way shape or form, a 6,000 year old earth, or……." Kaito gestured for Miko to finish. In a flash, her unimpressed glare shifted to a stunned wide eyed expression of realization.
"Information about Blades and the Aegis and Elysium that other museums and textbooks refuse to acknowledge!"
"Yes! It's no coincidence that Pyra and Mythra's core crystals are shaped like crosses, right?" Kaito asked. Miko nodded silently in response. "So I figured… what better way to research such an oddly specific piece of Catholic and Christian themed imagery… than from a museum that bases its ideas from one of the oldest Christian beliefs itself?"
"Heheh… I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you…" Miko said smugly.
"Hahah… well… I just like thinking outside the box…" Kaito sheepishly replied with a small blush.
"And that big brain thinking is exactly what's gonna make us an unstoppable duo on the court field… Mr. and Mrs. Iino… Attorneys at Law…" Kaito's blush deepened as he turned toward his girlfriend.
"You-you mean Miss Iino and Mister-" Miko put a finger to his lip to get him to stop.
"I know what I said…" She batted her eyelashes slowly and drooped her eyes seductively, leaving Kaito as red as an apple as the couple continued walking.
"…Hey, why do I have to take your last name?" He asked suddenly.
"Because I know you'd want to anyway, cuz you love me that much!"
"H-hey! That's… true…"
—————
"Mythra! Don't worry help is on the-" Frankie came sprinting back down the hall to deliver Mythra her hot towels only to find that she had vanished. In her place were the leftover Buffalo wings, and their drinks. Frankie counted three glasses this time around… and not a single water cup in sight.
"Oh… no…" He moaned as he inspected the mysterious third glass closely, taking a bit of colorful ice from it and tasting it to see what she had ordered before immediately spitting it out in disgust. "Strawberry/Mango Daiquiri… ALL the liquor…" He intoned just as he heard an odd sound come from close to the stage where the Rat Pack impersonators were performing.
"Da-da-dadada… Da-da-dadada… Da-da-dadada…" The strings to "New York, New York" audibly performed by a woman somewhere in the crowd.
"Ay dios mio, please, for the love of God, please tell me that isn't…"
"Excuse me, sir? Your bill?" The barkeep asked. Frankie grunted in frustration and pulled a crisp 100 out of his wallet and slammed it on the table.
"Keep the change, put the chicken in a box, please!" He ordered as he ran towards the sound of the voice… sure enough…
"….And if I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere It's up to you, New York, New Yoooooooooork……..!!!!!!! Hic!" Mythra had made her way up to the front of the seats and started to perform alongside the impersonators, who did their very best to ignore her. The crowd, on the other hand, was very amused. Frankie was not.
"Mythra!" He hollered as he met with her.
"Oh heeeeyyyyy, you, you-you're that Frankie fella Pyra keeps tellin' me about, aren't ya…? Hic!" Mythra slurred her speech as she let herself collapse on her Driver.
"You only had three drinks! What happened?!"
"A-shsshshshshsshblblblshssssshhhhhhhhh………." Mythra took a sloppy finger and smooshed Frankie's lips together with it in an effort to get him to stay quiet as she wrapped herself around him. "You know… gulp! When I first saw you I thought to myself… 'Wow! What a loser…! There ain't no way in hell this kid is gonna be my new- hic! Driver…' but then I thought about how I said that the last time and I'm just like… 'Whoa dude… that's craaaaaaaazyyyyyyy…'" Mythra chuckled dopily as she slid down Frankie's body and to the floor.
"Mythra, come on… I'm glad you're having a good time but it's way too early for this… we need to get you some water, like, now!" Frankie tried to pick her up from the floor, only for her to lazily slap his hands away.
"Don't touch me you weirdo… ah-hah-hah… that's the kinda stuff you gotta save for Pyra…"
"I-I'm sorry?" Frankie backed away in embarrassment as the band above him just ignored the two and kept playing.
"Oh-yeah- she tells me alllllll the time, and she's like-"
"Mythra, you stop that right now! I'm coming out and you're not gonna stop me!" Pyra called out to her in a massive fluster.
"Ahhh… quit yer bellyaching… I got it allllllll under controhl…" Mythra responded as she woozily picked herself up.
"But yeah- Pyra goes on and on about how… how… how…." Mythra's head dropped downwards as she suddenly began to snore… she had somehow fallen asleep. Frankie was as confused as ever and timidly poked her to see if she would wake up. No response. And then she heard a faint but prominent clanging noise in the distance.
"Oh hey! Isssat a sound? I lub sounds! Ima go sheckihow!" Mythra bolted forward aimlessly as she feebly tried to follow the noise she had heard. Frankie couldn't even follow her right away, he was too confused as to what all just happened.
"Dude- your girlfriend is a special kinda messed up!" A man in the audience told Frankie, snapping him out of his daze and into a flustered mess.
"Nonononononono! She-she's not my girlfriend, she's- Mythra! Wait up!" He didn't have time to explain, he was in such a mess of emotions, but he did have to make sure she wouldn't get herself hurt.
Frankie scuffled across the casino floor desperately looking for Mythra. He wasn't exactly sure what sound she heard that made her go off in such a hurry, but he did know she couldn't have wandered far, that put his worries… not to rest at all because the fact of the matter was that she was still missing and he didn't need another case to have to solve on his hands. Just as he thought this, he heard a booming and thumping sound over the chords of electric guitars and Mythra blabbering on about something in the distance, clearly trying to sing along to… some song she very obviously hasn't heard in her life.
"O-kay okay- I-I gottit this time, listen! Sniff!" Mythra had found herself company in the midst of a few other patrons under the influence or those that had recently won big, catching their attention with her relatively exotic appearance but keeping it with her ultimate drive to just let loose and have a good time. Frankie had pushed through the crowd to try and reach out to her, but then she just started singing along to the song as best she could.
"Wasn't me she was foolin' 'Cause she knew what she was doin' When she told me how to walk this way She told me to WALK THIS WAY, walk this way WALK RHIS WAY, walk this way WALK THIS WAY, walk this way WALK THIS WAY, talk this way!" With every other utterance of the main chorus, the small crowd she was mingling with joined in with her with great vigor and excitement, she certainly was being quite the party animal. Frankie walked up slowly to her as she flailed around in excitement as she tried her best to sing along.
"H-hey, Mythra- I-I hope you don't mind but… I got you a water, so if you don't mind trying to-" But before he could really continue, Mythra decided to pull Frankie in as close as she could before delivering the last line of the chorus.
"Just give me a kiss! Like this!" She then proceeded to shut her eyes and pucker her lips, just waiting for this hypothetical kiss. As if Frankie wasn't flustered, flabbergasted, and completely red in the face already, the cries of the crowd shouted over them.
"GIMME SOME! GIMME SOME!" They all screamed towards him as the song drew to a steady close. In an act of desperation, Frankie pushed Mythra off his person, causing her to stumble back a bit and just barely maintain her balance.
"Hey!" She cried, lumbering her way closer to him. "Whaddaya think you're doin', party pooper? Me an' my besties o'er here are jus tryin' to have a good time an' you're ruining it for us with your- ulp! Fancy pants mystical fire breathing buffalolo wings and your silly little lake juice, well Lemme tell ya somethin… as your Bl-hic!-D, I order you to butt out already!" Mythra then proceeded to snatch the water bottle out of Frankie's hands and down it without remorse, crushing the water bottle on her head before throwing it to the trash can not very far away at all, giving Frankie a drunken scowl as she swayed back and forth.
"Uh… Mythra… you just-" Frankie was cut off instantly.
"I know what I did!"
Frankie turned to see Mythra's party acquaintances giving him dirty looks; he was far from being in the wrong in wanting to protect and sober up Mythra, but being a man of very little social skills, he evidently had trouble reading the room and was ultimately made out to be the bad guy here in the end; ruining a perfectly good party with his uptight attitude. Frankie sighed and looked directly at Mythra.
"Alright, Mythra… look, I really am glad to see you having the time of your life but, I don't wanna see you having to do this every time you wanna feel good, it's not healthy, and really, I-" Frankie couldn't continue as he heard a very familiar sound come on over the loudspeakers, something… familiar.
"What kind of man desecrates a defenseless textbook?!" Utter nonsense in any other situation. In this one? With the rock and roll playing as loud as it does with the overhead showing video to go alongside it, his heart skipped a beat as he recognized just where the voice line came from; the "I Wanna Rock" Music Video by Twisted Sister. Mythra smiled smugly at him as the other patrons continued judging him, just waiting for him to make a move.
"You… what…? Hic!" She asked as the video continued. Frankie felt his blood run cold and his heart start beating rapidly… he had heard this song every now and then on his mother's playlist and while it was a worthy listen in any sense of the word… but with so many eyes on him and a sense of euphoria in the air; on top of the fumes from Mythra affecting him just the slightest bit, removing just the right amount of inhibition and care for himself; his mind wandered to another place… a primal instinct that overwrote all other senses for that one brief moment. He wondered if he should even do it with so many eyes on him… then Mythra somehow procured a microphone and offered it to him sloppily. "Go on, music man… ya got a whole crowd watchin and waitin for ya… tell us what ya wanna say… hic!" and just as the song above proper was about to play… he took a deep breath, shut his eyes tightly… and…
"I'M A GOOFY GOOBER!" He suddenly blurted out in time with the real song without any shred of thought of his own. The older patrons still continued to stare at him in disgust but the younger ones around his age's eyes lit up, catching on to exactly what he was doing, Mythra's eyes widened just as well in surprise as Frankie began to gyrate in tune with the song, gathering the attention of the aforementioned younger patrons.
"YOU'RE A GOOFY GOOBER!" He pointed to the small crowd he had gathered himself, overpowering the actual lyrics to the song, but getting the people around him fired up all the same.
"ROCK!" They shouted back at him.
"WE'RE ALL GOOFY GOOBERS!"
"ROCK!"
A woman from the crowd took off her boyfriend's sunglasses per his request and immediately put them on Frankie as he continued to whip back and forth the music playing in the background, getting a small smile out of a still woozy Mythra while he and the others kept singing; the crowd clapping in tune with both his and the real beat.
"Put your toys away, well all I gotta say when you tell me not to play, I say No Way!"
"NO!"
"No no, freaking way! I'm a kid you say, and when you say I'm a kid, I say say it again, and then I say thanks!"
"THANKS!"
"Thank you very much!"
As he continued, Frankie proceeded to shimmy his way on up to Mythra, who's smile widened in anticipation as she got a good look at his face. Pyra on the inside had effectively fainted at this point, red as a tomato, and steaming in a massive fluster.
"So if you're thinkin' that you'd like to be like mee-hee, go ahead and try, the kid inside will set you free! I'm a Goofy Goober!"
"ROCK!" Mythra joined in as well before suddenly being pulled in by Frankie, still under a euphoric trance thanks to the song in the background.
"You're a Goofy Goober!"
"ROCK!" Now Mythra was silent as she stared directly at her Driver, the edges of her mouth twitching in intense shock, yet complete understanding.
"We're all Goofy Goobers!"
"Goofy-Goofy Goober-Goober, YEAH!"
The party continued long into the night, and stood as a massive breakthrough for both Driver and Blade. Frankie, thanks to Mythra's intensive forwardness and perhaps from the aforementioned wave of euphoria emanating off of Mythra this time around, for one reason or another, finally found a moment of relief where his own inhibitions fell away, and he could simply be and express himself in whatever way he desired at that moment.
While Mythra and Pyra on the other hand, seeing this new side to Frankie, started feeling an intense emotion before them. This version of Frankie was seemingly so different from his usual self that it initially caught them off guard, it felt like he was an entirely different person. But then they realized just how familiar that sentiment was to their own situation, being the minds of two people in one individual.
This sense of familiarity and connection was something they had never quite felt before, someone who they could fully and completely relate to and, perhaps most importantly, fully be themselves around.
Once it finally became time for the two to leave, they entered the car and made their way home.
However, Frankie was dead silent. The realization of how loud and forward he was being, not to mention, in his own mind as he let it stew up a bit, extremely cringeworthy, filled him with an extreme sense of embarrassment. Mythra was still feeling a bit off due to the intoxication, but she had sobered up enough to eventually realize her Driver's silence at a red light.
She looked at him staring forward intensely, face extremely aflush and generally having the look of 'I regret every decision I've ever made', written on it.
"Frankie?" She asked. "You doin' okay, Big Guy?" She didn't get a response. Her Driver was still visibly flustered. "Something's bothering you, wanna talk about it?" Still nothing. "Frankie, please. I wanna help…" Frankie only took a big deep breath in response as he tapped his fingers rapidly up against the steering wheel. Seeing this, Mythra chuckled quietly to herself and placed her hand on Frankie's arm. Frankie immediately tensed up, but looked over to his Blade.
She smiled so very sweetly, her eyes radiating with wonder but drooped ever so slightly. Her cheeks were still reddened and her hair shone brightly as the beaming lights of the buildings and cars behind her fed their way through the window.
"Y…y…yes…Mythra?" Frankie could hardly get those two words out with how nervous he was feeling.
"You…were really…really…really cool back there, ya know?"
"I…I…I…" Frankie could do nothing but just stare, mouth agape.
Suddenly the light turned green, giving him something else to focus on which he was quite thankful for.
Mythra simply chuckled as she leaned back in her seat. She noticed that Frankie's hands were less tense on the wheel, his posture was less stiff, and she could even catch the faintest glimpse of a relieved smile on his face. Satisfied with this result, she closed her eyes and slept the rest of the way home.
…
"You're kidding me."
Kaito and Miko had been home for hours wondering where Frankie and Mythra were, only to see them stumble their way into the door almost a full two hours past midnight.
"I can uh…explain…" Frankie was carrying Mythra by the shoulder, clearly nervous, but now simply due to the glares of his little brother and his girlfriend.
"Hehehe…so cool…you're so cool Frankie…hehehe-" Mythra was barely staying awake.
"This'll be rich." Miko put her book down, unamused.
"Ain't never letting them live this one down." Kaito observantly placed his chin in his hand with his elbow to his knee.
"Nope."
