Mexico? Now that really was an idea, Mythra thought. The world really had changed since the last time she was awakened. She did reflect on all that brought her and what would even cause such a drastic shift to society and… it was indeed a bit confusing, yet… refreshing. All the efforts in her and Pyra's pasts were being paid forward in ways they never expected, and yet… people seemed to be functioning well enough despite all that, and even with the short amount of time they've been with Frankie, they could tell things in this new world of theirs were changing constantly. This was certainly no exception.

"Heheh… so todays the day, huh, Mythra? We're going to Frankie's home country?" Pyra asked as Mythra was hard at work reorganizing the shelves of the library.

"I'm pretty sure he was born here, Pyra, but… yeah, that's where his blood comes from, I guess." Mythra responded back.

"I get wanting to go back to your birth place and everything- er… metaphorically speaking, of course. But why did he choose Mexico, again? Specifically, I mean."

"Supposedly they've got a lot of these Mission things up there. From how he described them, they're almost like… if churches were museums… at least that's what I took from it. Kaito and Miko's research lines up pretty well with the area from what they said too."

"Don't tell him I said this, but… oooohhhh I'm so excited! We're gonna get to see a brand new culture and get insight on where his heart and mannerisms come from, maybe learn a few new recipes on the way there, revel in all the exotic sights and sounds and smells and and and and and and and and-" Mythra chuckled to herself as she responded to her little sister.

"Pyra, relax. We're on a discovery expedition, not a vacation, I don't think we'd exactly have enough time for sightseeing."

"Ow… but… but Frankie…" She pathetically reasoned.

"You miss him, huh?"

"…maybe a little bit…"

"Alright, Py. Tell ya what, I have been a bit of a hog this past week and a half, so, after all this is done, I'll let you come out, okay?"

"Really, Mythra?!"

"Really, Pyra." Pyra giggled giddily to herself as she danced around inside the core crystal.

"…"

"Hey, Mythra…?"

"What's up, Py?"

"You don't think it's… too soon to… maybe… you know… try and… expand a little…?"

Now Mythra was silent. She knew just how much this bond with Frankie meant to Pyra from her dreams to even how they interacted with each other and how different and cozy it felt right off the bat for her to actually be herself for once instead of the rock for everyone around her. At the same time though, it wasn't like they knew absolutely everything about him, either. Mythra wasn't sure how to answer, and that left Pyra rather embarrassed.

"Y-you're right… I'm leaping a little to far ahead here… I'm sorry…" She said as she sunk into herself a bit.

"Oh, Pyra, don't be… you're just in love and not sure how to handle it all, matter of fact, I don't think either of us have felt this feeling before."

"Either of us, huh? So you admit it, Hmm?"

"W-wait! T-that's not…!"

"Hah…! Gotcha! Oh, Kaito and Miko are gonna love this…"

"It-it's still too early, to say, alright? He's a good kid and he knows how to have a good time, that's all. Now quit turning into Miko, will you?!"

"But don't you just love the way his eyes twinkle when he gets into his cooking? How his hefty stature just makes him look that much more protective and comforting… that warm smile of his… how big of a dork he is… how big a heart he has… how accepting he is and just…"

Pyra had meant to string Mythra along with her own feelings, but instead, she flustered herself into a mess of emotions and fainted promptly on the spot, leaving Mythra alone again.

"Pyra…? Pyra?" She called out.

No response, just a few lovestruck sighs.

Mythra sighed in amusement as she got back to work. She did have to admit, even though she knew that this trip wouldn't exactly be a 'fun' one, she was looking forward to it all the same… and nobody had to know that Pyra was right on more than one occasion this time around.

8:00. Quitting time. And the last for this week. Mythra cricked her neck from side to side in relief as she filled out her time card and headed out the door.

"Have a good night, Mythra!" Kari called out to her.

"I will, thanks, boss!" She hollered back as she stepped out of the library, waiting to be picked up as usual. This time around, however, it wouldn't be Frankie doing any of that. No, instead, she'd be greeted none other than…

"Hey, Goldilocks! Over here!" The shrill and squeaky voice of Miko shouted over to her. She had gotten somewhat used to her attitude, but if it were up to her, a nice relaxing car ride with Frankie would have been ideal… too bad he worked in the city they had to be driving to.

"Hello, you two." She said in faux exasperation, walking over to the car.

"Alright, sis, you ready to go?" Kaito asked. Mythra flinched and blushed ever so slightly, still unsure of what to make of those kinds of comments.

"Y-yeah… I'm ready…" She said.

"Great! Miko and I stopped by yours and Frankie's house to throw your bags in the car, so you don't need to worry."

"Sounds good to me." Mythra was already making her way to the backseat, only for Kaito to step out of the driver's seat and Miko out of the passenger's one.

"Feel good to take over, Muffin?" He asked his girlfriend sweetly.

"Sure am, Kokonut." They both gave each other quick pecks on the lips as Miko headed to the driving position while Kaito made his way to the backseat.

"W-wait a minute, what's going on?" Mythra asked in a fluster.

"Bonding time! Get to it, sis!" Kaito patted Mythra on her back as he led her to the passenger's seat.

"But-but-but!" Mythra tried to argue to Kaito, only for him to slam the door in her face suddenly as he happily marched on over to the backseat. Mythra scowled at him as she turned to see Miko's overly happy grin, complete with tightly shut eyes. She blushed nervously and turned away.

"Alright! Seat belts everyone!" Miko called out.

"We got a long drive ahead of us, and I'm sure Frankie's gonna be waiting." Kaito remarked.

"Awwww, he sure will… he doesn't have his girlfriend with him to keep him company…" Miko pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes rapidly at Mythra, who just scowled at her and twisted her head back towards the road.

"It's alright, Mythra. You'll see him soon enough, don't you worry." Kaito lightly bumped her on the shoulder.

"You idiots… that isn't my main concern…! I-I mean… Pyra and I are excited and all to check this place out, but… I guess now it's really starting to sink in of what we might find out there…"

Kaito smiled, understanding Mythra's plight.

"I getcha, but think of it this way," He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We may be going there to figure some stuff out, but that won't make up all of our trip. We'll be doing other stuff too. So for now, just keep your attention on the fun new experiences you'll have there and worry about the other stuff later, alright sis?"

Mythra stayed in silence for a bit as she stared out the window solemnly. It was like a mixture of emotions consisting of worry, concern for herself, concern for Frankie, and just plain uncertainty flooded her mind completely from out of nowhere.

"I've seen that look before." Miko suddenly said, catching Mythra's attention, though she didn't look away from the window.

"If this is another one of your 'Hook us up' attempts, I don't wanna hear it…" She replied.

"Just listen for a moment, Mythra, please." Miko said as she turned to jump onto the freeway. "Yeah, of course, that is indeed a very 'Frankie' thing to do, especially before he met the lot of us." Mythra scoffed and stayed turned away. Pyra, in the meanwhile, recalled the looks she had seen him give to his fellow co-workers and even to Kaito when he was feeling particularly down. Though unseen, she looked intently at the smaller woman and awaited her answer. "But, look, the point is that… he gets it, yeah? He gets it so much more than you think… heck, just look at what happened leading up to the trial and where we are now? Little-Big worrywart he is." Miko chuckled to herself before allowing Kaito to jump on in.

"All that to really say… you aren't alone on this, Mythra, if you need to talk to Frankie about it, do it. He'll understand, I promise."

Mythra's angered expression softened up to a more guilty one as she let her head lean up against the glass.

"You're sure…?" She asked

"Hey, Pyra didn't fall for him so hard for no reason, you know…" Miko snidely commented.

That brought Mythra back to what Pyra brought up before and all the feelings she expressed when she was around Frankie. It had been so long since she had seen her so happy and energetic in her life. Even before the stagnant nature of their so-called happy ending… and now that she thought about it, this level of energy and emotions from her wasn't something she ever really got to see, if at all.

"Mythra…?" Pyra suddenly called out to her.

"Remember what I said about priorities, Pyra…? Just keep that in mind… for all our sake…"

Miko and Kaito could see Mythra's upset face and eyes welling with tears up in her reflection and both immediately reached out to her once again.

"Aww, Mythra. You really are just like my big bro, you and Pyra." Kaito patted her shoulder again to reassure her.

"And don't forget, you have the both of us to check in with too if you ever feel the need." Miko chimed in. "Though…I wouldn't want to cut into your precious one-on-one time with Frankie…" She cheekily grinned in the reflection so Mythra could see her.

"If… if it's not too much to ask… I wouldn't mind that, really…" She answered.

"Of course, Mythra!"

"Whatever you need, just say the word!"

"I… I kinda need him… to-to see him, that's all! I need to see… him right now…".

Kaito and Miko smiled at each other knowingly, deciding to lay off the teasing just this once.

"And you'll be with him soon, don't you worry." Kaito gently tapped her forehead with his knuckle.

"Hmph, no 'big sis' shtick after all that?" Mythra rubbed her head in the place Kaito tapped.

"Please, you two lovebirds will give us plenty more opportunities for that sort of thing." Kaito smirked.

"And there it is… I hate you both…" Mythra pouted.

"Get used to it, blondie. You're gonna be stuck on the plane like this for a while." Miko raised her fist to Kaito who returned it with a fistbump.

"Hey, Pyra, wanna get out here, or what?" She asked.

"Heeeheheheehee… they called us lovebirds…"

"That's a no…"

They later arrived at the airport where Kaito met up with Frankie as the two proceeded to get their luggage and tickets in order.

"So…you sure this'll work?" Kaito glanced over at Mythra, who was chatting with Miko by the cafe as they were in line getting the group some drinks. "You did say her core crystal would set off the metal detectors."

"I know, baby bro, but after getting to know more about how this whole 'Blade' stuff operates, I'm pretty sure this'll work out. We've done it before and it helped us, so just trust me on this, alright?"

"I'll…do my best big bro."

The three non-Blade travelers were accustomed to how long and dreary the security procedures at the airport could be, but with the looming pressure of getting Mythra across the metal detection area, the moment of truth felt like it came much too soon.

This felt doubly so for Mythra, who had never been to an airport before and certainly had never been on a plane. The thought of flying on a giant metal titan that didn't even flap its wings was frightening enough, even with Frankie's explanation of how it worked. She really did not need the added stress of a security protocol she didn't yet understand in the slightest.

The group placed their belongings in the trays and started making their way through, with Miko going first with no issues.

Mythra was next, and thus the plan was set into motion.

It wasn't a particularly complex plan, however it had the potential to complicate itself incredibly quickly.

Similarly to the trial, Mythra was to force the security systems and staff to not notice her core crystal with an illusion. A comparatively much simpler and less strenuous task, for certain, as all she needed to do was conceal its signals, which was fairly easy thanks to the smaller size of the crystal and how familiar she was with its nature.

However, any slight mistake would be infinitely harder to paper over than with the cam footage during the trial. There, technical mistakes could be blamed on the faults of the equipment, but as this was an airport, security was taken much more seriously and their devices were much less prone to failure.

And if they noticed Mythra's core crystal in any capacity, that would become a nightmare to try and explain in a way that would fly with trained professionals.

So the heat was on, so to speak, as Mythra started walking through the major hurdle: the metal detection gate. She waited patiently for the personnel to wave her through, just like Frankie said.

She took a deep breath in and…

…no alarm went off as she walked on through.

All four of them breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. Even Pyra inside of Mythra's mind could feel herself exhale.

It was over, now they were through and could finally-

"Please hold still, ma'am."

The female security worker held up a metal detection rod, nonchalantly prepared to scan Mythra further.

The entire group suddenly tensed up once again. They knew this was a possibility as these checks were random, but they had all greatly hoped Mythra wouldn't have to be subjected to a further search.

Mythra quickly calmed herself down however. This was no issue. All she had to do was hold the illusion for as long as the woman scanned her. It was simple. Child's play, even.

The woman slowly ran the detection rod across her body, starting at her legs going up past her wrists and up one of her arms.

'This is fine.' Mythra thought to herself.

'No need to worry, I got this. I'm the strongest Blade ever after all, a simple challenge such as this could never-'

"BEEEEEP-"

'Pendejo…' Frankie put a hand to his mouth in fear as he felt his heart drop to the bottom of his heels as he heard the magical jingle he only heard in so many nightmares before.

Kaito and Miko both gripped their bags on either side of the line as their hearts similarly sank.

Mythra on the other hand had completely tuned out.

'This is where it ends, huh? What a way to go out… three chances and each one of them a complete bust… way to go, Mythra, way. To. Go…'

"Your earrings, ma'am."

"Ma'am?"

"H-uh?"

"I said you should take off your earrings, please place them with your belongings on the tray."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Ma'am, this is not a request."

'Mythra… you absolute buffoon… you simpleton moron idiot dumb dummy dumb dumdum overgrown French fry banana milkshake golden harvest sunshine lollipop… if Frankie didn't find you so damn alluring, I would actually, LITERALLY kill you.' Miko thought to herself as her breathing intensified, glaring directly at Mythra as the Blade sheepishly did what she was told.

The woman proceeded to scan her once more, finding no issues whatsoever and allowing Mythra to get her bag and other items, carefully avoiding eye contact with Miko as she did so.

"You'll be boarding Flight C, it's leaving in a few minutes, best be on your way."

Frankie bowed silently as he came up to Mythra, who stared straight ahead as her walking became stiff.

"So… that worked out pretty nicely." He said.

"Surprisingly-" Miko stated under her breath before Kaito cut her off.

"…"

"Mythra, I love you with all my heart, but if you ever put us in a situation like that ever again, I'm gonna have to have more than just a LITTLE talk with you." Pyra hissed from inside her mind. Mythra knew she was in trouble now if PYRA of all people was sending threats her way.

"Ahhhh…I wanna fly… wheeeeee…" She absentmindedly said in mental exhaustion.

"Was it just me, or was that last group of kids extremely nervous?" One of the other security workers asked the woman who had just sent the group off.

"Eh, most people are their first time through, don't mind 'em too much."

Now that they were out of the woods, the rest of the boarding process was a breezy blur, despite how rushed it was. They got to their gate, showed their passports, and just like that the group was seated and settling in.

They were spread across two window seat rows, with Frankie and Mythra seated directly across from Kaito and Miko. As people were still boarding, Kaito whispered something to Frankie just before both men retreated to their respective seats.

"What'd he say?" Mythra asked.

"He asked us to save any extra snacks for Miko."

Mythra pouted grumpily and was about to protest until she saw Miko glaring right back at her, clearly still relatively peeved at the situation with security, leading her to simply sigh and turn back to the window.

"Well… he also mentioned that you… had a bit of a moment on the drive up here." He added. Mythra's eyes widened a bit as she quickly thought of a coverup.

"It… it was nothing, really. Just… thinking about stuff." Mythra admitted. Frankie grimaced widely as he got himself comfortable in the seat, staring out the window himself.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand that at all…"

"Heh… figured as much, I've seen it with my own two eyes, those two reaffirmed it for me… Sure is nice to hear something like that come from someone else's mouth for once…"

"Hm?"

"I-I mean! It's nothing like you think! It's just…" Mythra sighed heavily and swung her head back on her seat. "Pyra's been talking to me a lot lately…" Frankie shifted his eyes her way a bit nervously.

"O-oh…" He said somberly.

"It's just been… so long since I've seen her so… well, how she is with you."

"That meaning?"

"Happy. Relaxed. Enjoying herself! You know, she clued me in on a tidbit that you saw her dreams once before. The one where she dreamed she was being chased from an inescapable future to be locked up as nothing else but a pretty little present leaving behind a legacy of just that; a typical fairy tale girly girl who found a quote-unquote happy ending. Never mind how sudden it was or how uncomfortably it was forced on to us, that's clearly what we wanted, right, RIGHT?!" Mythra's sudden aggressive tone and her coming close to Frankie made him jump back a bit and guard himself, staring at Mythra with wide eyes of both fear and concern. When Mythra noticed this, she backed off and continued to lament.

"Well… obviously we don't remember a ton of the details… and thankfully that wasn't a life we had to live, but… it's not like the one we were given was any better." Mythra flinched harshly as she swallowed, turning away from Frankie in the process. "I'm… I'm bugging you, aren't I…?"

"No, Mythra, you aren't… I just… I wish I could help you a whole lot more than just say 'there there' I wish I could've been there with you at that time so I could have… and forgive me for saying this but… it didn't look like your Driver was a part of the picture, either…"

"No. He wasn't. Not from what little I can remember anyway. Everything just got meshed together after a while and everything just slowly deteriorated more and more as the years passed… and Pyra and I had to suffer through it all… our Driver was so young so we had the fortune of being the last to go and just…" Mythra winced and fell back in her seat as she held on to her head suddenly.

"Mythra!" Frankie called as he reached out to steady her.

"I'm fine, Frank… really, I am, just… got a bit of… the first-day jitters." The way she spoke made it seem like she was hiding something, which Frankie picked up on and tilted his head at her in concerned suspicion. Mythra sighed and began to explain herself. "I don't know, Frank, I don't feel like I'm being fair to him by saying that… you've probably been picking up on how inconsistent these memories of mine and Pyra have been…"

"You could say that…" Frankie shifted guiltily in his seat before taking a deep breath and looking back towards his Blade. "From what I… remember from Pyra's dream you really missed your… your last Driver when he wasn't around… can you not remember anything about him at all?"

"Our last Driver? I can remember things. I remembered that Gormotti girl I was telling Kaito about, right? Cuz I can tell you all you need to know about him… well, maybe not all, but… you get the idea…"

"Yeah… I do…" There was a brief moment of silence between the two just before Mythra took a deep breath herself and tried her very best to remember what she could about her Driver prior.

"I remember for a fact he was a young boy…" Frankie discreetly breathed a sigh of relief. "Heh, maybe younger than Kaito, but sure as heck not any taller…" Frankie and Mythra chuckled lightly before she continued on. "He was one of those optimistic 'we can do anything with the power of friendship' types'"

"Psh. Sounds about right." Frankie muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he definitely was a bit much sometimes, but at the same time, you know… we really grew to appreciate that after a while, a push in the right direction you could say. Heck, we probably wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him…" Mythra slunk back to her seat quietly as Frankie pressed on gently.

"But…?"

Mythra sighed yet again.

"He was a busy man when he finally grew up… a little bit too busy, and like, I get it, considering what position we were in- it takes a lot to maintain a perfect world, you know…" Mythra turned away, not looking at anything in particular. "But it was because of how 'just so' everything was that… really started to eat away at us…" Mythra tightly shut her eyes, fighting back tears. "It wasn't his fault… none of it was his fault, it's just that… how do a couple of sadass bimbos like us relate to the living essence of optimism, huh? I don't think it was even THAT now that I'm saying it out loud, just… we-we needed someone to, like, talk to about these heavy, lingering feelings, and his schedule wouldn't allow for anything to do with it, we had so much to be thankful for…but we still had our emotional issues and we didn't know how to go about dealing with them, so what do we do? Turn to the guy who thinks a bunch of smiles and inspirational speeches will magically fix everything? Bring everyone enjoying themselves down because of our stupid emotions? Ruin everything all of us worked so hard to build because we were being spoiled brats about the whole thing? Keep it all bottled up until…"

"Until you just can't take it anymore because what you can and can't remember seems to flip-flop day in and day out…?" Frankie intergected, surprising Mythra slightly with how readily he understood.

"…yeah… plus a few other things that would've been relevant at the time…"

Mythra wiped a tear away as she strained and curled herself up into her seat.

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore… I'm letting my own dumb emotions get the best of me again, speaking for me again without thinking… I just want to forget everything happened… like I should, being born into a new world all the time…"

"Mythra…" Frankie placed a hand on her head and gently stroked her hair. His Blade lifted her head up from her knees and stared at him somberly. "I'll tell you what I told Pyra… but if you do need somebody to talk to, I'm here… and I'll try what I can to follow along, cuz… well… I'm sure you remember what Kaito told you... This Driver and Blade nonsense I still don't understand completely, but I'm really trying what I can because... I care about the both of you and I just want to make you both comfortable, okay? I want… I want to be a positive influence on your life…" Now Frankie started tearing up himself before wiping them away indignantly.

"Frankie?" Mythra asked in concern as her Driver stared out the window for a few seconds before chuckling lightly.

"Did I ever tell you I have a fear of heights?" He asked.

"W-well… what are we doing here? We need to get you off, now!" Mythra nearly jumped out of her seat with how worried she was about how Frankie might feel over the course of 3 hours of up-in-the-air shenanigans. But Frankie just laughed and tried to calm her down.

"Mythra, this was my idea, remember? I'll be fine. Being in a protected vessel like this, I'm okay with that. Getting on a roller coaster or walking on an elevated platform where the tiniest slip could lead to catastrophe on the other hand… no, no. I like to live, believe it or not."

"But… isn't a part of living getting a rush of excitement every time you try something new?"

"A part of living? Where did this come from?"

"Oh… I dunno, just… answer the stupid question… dummy…" Frankie chuckled before turning away thoughtfully to respond to his Blade.

"Maybe it is. But I don't really need to get all dressed up with somewhere to go every weekend. Do I love travel? Sure! I'll take a week off every once in a while to kick back! But that's what I mean, Mythra. Travel is perfectly fine, so is getting to do all the fun stuff that comes with it… but it has to be on my own terms… and I know it isn't exactly considerate to wish that others could follow those terms but… it's nice when it can be done, with or without company…"

"Yeah… I get that… I really do…"

At that moment, the two noticed the lights of the plane go out and the ground beneath them rumble. It was about time for take off.

"I'm not sure if you wanna sleep just yet. It is only a rough 4-hour flight. We can check into a hotel as soon as we get there and crash out like that." Mythra chuckled in response, sitting back in her seat once again.

"Yeah, this is sure bringing back some memories." She said with a nostalgic smile on her face.

"There, you see? Why would you want so much to forget when you can feel like this if you do remember? That's worth a lot more than just a brain wipe every few millennia, isn't it?"

Mythra's smile turned to a somber frown as she looked down at her feet.

"We can… talk about that later…" She said. Frankie moaned sorrowfully as he looked out the plane, feeling and watching its increase in speed as it finally took to the sky.

"Hey, Mythra, wanna play a game?" He asked a bit childishly.

"What game? I don't see how-"

"It's called Stargazing. Just look at the sky and its constellations and see if you can make out any shapes."

"O-oh, okay. Sounds interesting…" Mythra looked out the window curiously and noticed a pattern that jutted out a fair bit before diving down and coming back around in a scooping motion. "Hey… that formation almost looks like a little pot."

"That's the Big Dipper." Frankie explained as Mythra inspected it closer. "I'm no astrologist, but they're apparently referenced in the Book of Amos and that when this country was still young, it guided the oppressed to move further north in their escape."

"No fooling? That's… pretty deep for just a couple of dots in the sky."

"Mythra! I'm surprised at you! I figured that you and Pyra of all people would find value in the stars!"

"Oh, nonono, don't get me wrong, Frankie, we do, but it's just that… we never really had a chance to think about it before…"

Frankie smiled widely and cleared his throat before putting on a super deep voice that shocked Mythra at first.

"Let me tell you something that my father told me… look at the stars… the great kings of the past look down on us from those stars…"

"So whenever you feel alone… just remember… that those kings will always be there to guide you… and so will I…" Pyra finished for him from inside Mythra's mind, quite vividly remembering that 'movie' thing he had shown her quite some time ago, laughing giddily to herself as they both finished. "What an absolute dork…"

"You pulled that from something, didn't you…?" Mythra asked suspiciously.

"W-well… yeah… I did…" Frankie admitted in his normal voice. Mythra chuckled in a bit of a stifled manner before pinching his cheek affectionately.

"You're such a Dummy sometimes, you know that?"

"If I see a chance, I take it, what can I say?" Frankie asked back as he rubbed the spot Mythra had pinched.

"Heh, man, those two really can't help themselves huh? Barely a day apart and they're already all over each other." Miko stuffed what had to have been her 20th bag of pretzels into the seat bag in front of her.

"Not like we're much better, Muffin." Kaito brushed his girlfriend's hair and gave her a kiss on the forehead, which almost made her melt on the spot.

"Hehehe-that's fair. But wow…those two really feel like they were destined for each other, huh?" She smiled sweetly at the Driver and Blade pair.

"Heh, yep."

Pyra chuckled to herself at how smoothly things had been progressing. Just like Mythra, she was able to remember those moments with her last Driver as was laid out, but if she thought about them too much, she knew she'd start crying. She didn't need that right now. Instead, she took a deep breath, listened in on Frankie and Mythra's star banter until finally… she shut her eyes to go to sleep herself.

It was 4:30 in the morning when they landed in Tepoztlán, although it would be 2:30 in California. The whole group was tired from jet lag and couldn't wait to get to the hotel. Frankie had to basically carry Mythra on his back with how much she was slogging. Their luggage was dragging behind them, they could barely lift their feet, and a common feeling of both relieved and cramped flooded through each of them as they only had one goal in mind: get to the room. They couldn't stop and appreciate the sights or the sounds or the smells like Pyra wanted; just hurry up, get to the hotel, and pass out.

When they finally did get to the hotel, Kaito was forced to do all the talking as the rest of the group were quite literally falling over themselves. It lasted much, much longer than it needed to because of the language barrier, and Frankie being only half Mexican wouldn't have been much help anyways. Slang certainly wouldn't have gotten them out of this one, as such he said the absolute bare minimum that the receptionist needed to understand. When they finally did get their keys, it felt like they were all kissed by an angel, being enveloped by cool white sheets, greeted by the cool nighttime desert air of this magical Mexican city, drifting away into dreamland where fairies and sugar plums dance in their heads when they discovered… there were only two beds. Frankie and Mythra's mouths swung open in flustered disbelief as they turned to look at Kaito and Miko, who had woken up a fair bit just to see the looks on their faces.

"Kokonut, what IS all this? I thought you said you got us two bedrooms two beds each…" Miko sarcastically wondered.

"Oh-ho, did I say that?" Kaito asked in a similar manner. "Gosh darn it all, I meant to say 1 bedroom 2 beds! Silly me…"

"You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting…" Mythra growled, shooting an icy glare at the both of them, joined in by Frankie.

"They ARE Queens. It's perfect for two people at once." Kaito smirked.

"Yeah, sorry, Mythi…" Miko hugged Kaito tightly from his side while he cuddled her back. "Looks like you're just gonna have to snuggle up to poor Frankie here… there's nothing else that can be done…" Frankie and Mythra shot each other embarrassed looks before turning away from each other, getting redder and redder by the second.

"Hey, come on now, you two, you can't act like that idea doesn't sound wonderful to you." Kaito smirked.

"You're playing with fire, darling brother…" Frankie lowed in a manner similar to Mythra.

"Well it's either that or camping out in the cold with the coyotes and the roadrunners and the jaguars, and I don't think you want that, do you?" Miko asked in vague innocence.

"Roadrunners aren't dangerous… this isn't a cartoon, Miko…" Frankie absentmindedly, presumably from his fatigue and flustering, shot back as Kaito turned to his girlfriend slyly.

"Of course not, I do wanna make sure I get a niece or nephew some day…" He whispered to Miko, who giggled and winked cheekily.

"Calienté…" She teased back in a hush, poking fun at Frankie especially with that particular remark.

"What was that…?" Mythra asked threateningly.

"Oh, don't you worry about it." Kaito picked himself up and crossed his arms in confidence as he stared directly at both of them. "Besides, Miko's right. There's nothing that can be done, and you wouldn't dare do anything THAT cruel to us, would you?"

Frankie and Mythra exchanged unamused and tired looks at each other briefly… before shifting their sights to Kaito and Miko, this time with devious confident smirks, which made the two smaller individuals' smugness wash away completely.

"We uh… we deserve this, huh?"

"Call it a bit of back and forth karma, I guess…"

Frankie and Mythra had wrapped Kaito and Miko up tightly in a pair of extra blankets from the closet and threw them on to the couch while they each took a bed for themselves. The smaller couple were practically mummified they were so tightly wrapped, meaning only Frankie and Mythra could undo the knots.

"Well… it's not so bad, I guess…" Miko nuzzled up to Kaito's chest as she settled down. "I almost prefer this, honestly…"

"Ha ha… Miko, come on now…" Kaito blushed heavily as Miko lovingly rubbed herself up against him and gave his person a few smooches to reinstate her point.

"Can't be helped at this point, Kokonut…" Miko replied with a dreamy look on her face before smirking smugly at him. "We'll just have to tease them even harder when we get out of here…"

"Ooooh, I like the sound of that!" Kaito replied back as he and his girlfriend chuckled sneakily to each other as Kaito ended it off by kissing the top of her head, and Miko responding with a kiss to his fuzzy chin.

"Good night, Kokonut…" Miko cooed as she drifted off to sleep in her boyfriend's arms.

"Night, Koko Puff…" Kaito replied soothingly as he watched her snore lightly in his embrace before turning to Frankie and Mythra in their beds. "Night, guys!" He hollered.

"Night…"

"Buenas Noches…"

They responded despondently but earnestly. With a satisfied smile, Kaito rested his head back and shut his eyes, waiting to enter dreamland and greet the new day with much excitement.

"…Hey Kaito…?" Miko suddenly asked.

"Yes, Muffin?"

"…I have to go to the bathroom…"

"………."