After Barodius returned to Gundalia he was quick to change his appearance back to normal. He sighed in relief as the charade he had been putting up with for the day was somewhat exhausting. While he was disappointed he did not come back with the human and her bakugan, Barodius did feel that he had made some progress. Especially given that the girl had been very accepting of his approach and was comfortable with speaking to him from the start. It was promising, and Barodius knew he had to go back. He was not sure if he would return tomorrow, but given Saphira said she was free on the weekend, he knew that going there everyday might not be a good idea.

But I cannot just delay this plan for too long. Even if we begin the attack on Neathia, we will need additional power against them in order to get through the shields. I know once we begin the assault, all three will be raised, and that will be our biggest blockade to get through.

Walking through the hallways Barodius made his way to the training field to witness how his warriors and bakugan were progressing. They had some younger recruits who needed more training due to their age and lack of experience. And it was imperative that they perfect their strategies before they are given their tasks. Especially when it came to ensuring that there would be no errors. He would be very disappointed should mistakes occur.

He approached a balcony overlooking the training field and he spotted Nurzak standing at the balcony overlooking the training. Barodius was unsurprised. Nurzak has many more years of battle experience than the rest of his warriors, even Barodius himself has had less experience. But all Gundalians knew how to battle intensely to ensure they would be victorious at the end of any battle. Which is why he had confidence they would win.

Nurzak heard Barodius approaching and turned before he bowed respectfully. "Sire, you will be pleased to know that the training has gone well. It would seem our younger recruits are showing more promise than we first thought. Especially that young Ren and his partner Linehalt."

"Excellent. That is precisely what I want to hear." Barodius stepped onto the balcony and looked over the railing. He smirked as he watched his other warriors practice battling, along with Dharak who was putting little effort into his training, which was no surprise to Barodius. "I assume that very little breaks have occurred during my absence."

"Correct, sire. It is only now several have finished their training for the day. They will resume early tomorrow." That was good. Just a few more weeks. "If you do not mind my curiosity, sire, but I noticed that you returned alone. Were you unable to locate the guardian of the Doom Dimension today?"

Barodius pressed his lips together firmly as he disliked the assumption that he had failed. "If you are implying that I have failed, you would be incorrect. While we do not possess the guardian, nor do we have the partner here, I have made progress. And I do believe that it will be easy to get that human here."

Nurzak seemed surprised at Barodius's response, as he expected Barodius to drag the human partner back to Gundalia. "I suppose that must mean that the bakugan left Earth sometime after your arrival. It would be uncertain if the bakugan knew your presence, as I have no doubt that the guardian may very well know what is happening here." Barodius did have that concern as there was rumors about the Doom Dimension guardian and its abilities. "But I am curious about what you mean by this being easy. Did you find the human partner?"

Barodius nodded. "I did. Surprisingly, it was not too difficult. The scanner you provided to locate the brawler was effective. Now I know where the human lives. But when I had arrived, the bakugan had returned to the Doom Dimension. I was so close to getting them both today, but that does not matter. The very first interaction I had with that human, it went surprisingly smooth. She warmed up to me almost immediately."

"She?"

Barodius narrowed his eyes and glanced at Nurzak's surprised tone and he was immediately annoyed by the curious expression on Nurzak's face. "Why is that a matter for you, Nurzak? So what if the human is female, it makes no difference to me. I know her name and she has even given me the number to her communication device."

Nurzak hummed and turned his head to look at the training. "I apologize for my surprise, sire, I guess I was curious about something." Barodius's eyes narrowed more as he glared at the man. "However, why is it that the girl would have given you her name and a code to communicate with her? Did you do anything that might have made her want to do that?"

"I am not entirely sure. Though I was amused that she almost ran right into me as she was leaving her home to head to her job. We both were not looking where we were going when that occurred." Barodius smirked slightly as he thought back to the incident while looking at the training field as he watched Kazarina defeat Jesse as she was assisting with the training of the younger warriors at this time. "I think that one interaction somehow made her interested. I am not sure of the reason, but I had to wait until she returned from her job to approach her. And she even stopped talking to her friends on the communication device she had to speak with me directly. She thought I had originally wanted an apology."

Nurzak listened intently out of curiosity while Barodius spoke on what had happened. "And what happened when you both talked?"

"As I said, she was comfortable almost immediately. She was asking questions about me, and I was able to respond with an alibi that she believed. Strangely enough, after telling me her name, she spoke lightly about the success she has had on that planet. Nothing about her partner…though I never asked her about it." Barodius did not know if he should have asked yet or not but doing that would have given away his intentions. "Also, for whatever reason, she liked my name."

Nurzak hummed a little as he listened to Barodius. "In what way did she like your name?" Barodius was immediately confused at the man's question and looked at him with a frown. "I mean no disrespect, but was it just that she simply respected your name, or did she seem to like it in another way?"

Barodius had no idea what Nurzak was even trying to say and Barodius really did not know how to answer that. "That seems like a ridiculous question to ask me, Nurzak. All she said that she has never heard the name Barodius before and that she liked it. She did seem intrigued by it, but I think that was general surprise over anything else."

Nurzak did understand that his question was strange, but he was curious to understand why it was easy for Barodius to talk to the human. "Hmm, very well. I guess I was just curious about something." Barodius frowned at him and Nurzak moved on quickly to the next question. "What name does she have?"

"Saphira is the girl's name." Barodius looked away from Nurzak and had a small smile as she began to speak about Saphira. "I thought that name was rather pretty for the girl. Never heard of that one before. And apparently, she has had instances of people mispronouncing her name, which is something I have never had. Though I did probe out of curiosity, in case her name was unusual, which it seems not very common among humans."

Nurzak said nothing as he kept his eyes on the training field. "You have to remember that we would not know any Earth names, sire. Though there are some names that are shared between worlds, Saphira is not one of them. I do agree that the name seems to be pleasant."

Barodius just hummed in agreement. "Indeed. After that introduction, she did tell me a bit more about the job she has. She's an architect, and, apparently, has had that talent for years. I was able to make up a job title on the spot when she asked me about mine and the reason why I was even there. She believes I just moved to the city for work and she even offered to show me around. I was not expecting that. And she even said she does not normally offer that to anyone."

"You must have made quite the impression if that is true." Nurzak had a slight smirk on his face as he listened. "Did you take her up on that offer?"

"Sure, but only to ensure that things are smooth. I do not care about the location of the parks and the beaches around the area. So I only accepted it to get closer and make her believe we have a friendship." Nurzak did not know if that was just the only thing that the girl would believe, but he kept quiet. "After that, she actually asked me if I knew how to roller skate."

Nurzak could not help but frown and look at Barodius in surprise. "Roller skate?" Barodius nodded. "That is not something we have here on Gundalia. Do you know what that is?"

"Not yet. She did not seem concerned that I did not know how to roller skate, so it seems to be some kind of skill that not every human has on that world. I don't think she ever knew I was just playing along to her questions to learn more about her. But…" Barodius grimaced a little and looked at Nurzak again. "She wants to show me how to roller skate. Which means I need a pair for my own feet."

"Why would you want to learn such a skill?"

"That is an easy answer, Nurzak. Obviously, I want her to trust me enough so I can ask her to come to Gundalia. If I have to learn some new skill I will never use again, then so be it." Nurzak had nothing more to say other than he was just listening curiously. "If I cannot get the skates, I hope to communicate with her later. I will need assistance in calibrating one of our own communication devices to connect with Earth's soundwaves to communicate with the girl."

Nurzak bowed his head respectfully. "I will see to that getting done quickly. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"I hope not. I do not wish to waste this opportunity when we could have a powerful ally among us as soon as we start the assault against Neathia. And with our troops battle ready, we shall have the upper hand from the start." Barodius was also hoping that there would be no setbacks with the building of their ships as well. Since they were near completion, and setback would be unacceptable. "I will say that it was very strange after she had asked me about roller skating. She actually offered to show me a place where there are a set of shops, and she even told me about her seafood allergy. I never prodded about that at all."

"Interesting. It sounds like the girl was very comfortable telling you that."

"She definitely was. On top of that, she actually wanted to pay for an ice cream, gelato or frozen yogurt from one of those shops. She asked me what my favorite flavor was." He could not help but shake his head. "I could not believe she actually did that. She even took my hand to take me to the shop, but I stopped her. I told her that I thought she was being quite forward in wanting to do that with me. And I think she realized that." Thinking back to it, Barodius noticed it seemed to bother him a little, as though he actually wanted to go with the girl. "Then she gave me her phone number before she left. She seemed to be embarrassed."

"I wouldn't be surprised. If she was that comfortable with you from the start, the fact you said something must have put some sense into her." Barodius nodded as that is what it seemed to him. Nurzak smirked slightly in amusement. "And maybe she was grateful you said something, sire. Not many would have done that."

"To be honest, I only said that because I did not know what to respond to her question about what my favorite flavors were. It was not because I was genuinely uncomfortable by her questions." Nurzak wasn't sure if that was true, but he did not question Barodius about it. "I would have been fine if she showed me this place, but she chose not to. It seemed that after realizing her mistake, she gave me her number and apologized for making me uncomfortable before leaving. She is hoping I send her a message a little later."

"And do you intend on obliging with her request?" Nurzak asked, curious to know Barodius's thoughts on the matter.

Barodius nodded. "I do. It is how I know that I am going to win her trust. That is why I want to ensure that we have direct communication. And as I will return to Earth in a couple days from today so that it will be the weekend when she has more free time, I intend on ensuring that meeting up with the girl will be easier rather than showing up randomly. And it will also mean she might have her bakugan with her during those times."

Nurzak agreed that organizing meeting the girl would be better than random appearances, though he was definitely curious to see how this would go. "And what will happen after telling her about Gundalia and she happens to refuse coming here with you? Will you bring her by force?"

"Most likely, Nurzak. It will be interesting if Kazarina can get the girl under her spell. She has been working on her brainwashing technique for some time, and we are going to likely need it. I know the method has been working on the volunteers we have had, but we do not know how it will work on this human yet. I want to ensure trust between us is strong enough that she would come to our aid." But Barodius did not believe that would be necessary, given how easy it has been to speak and connect with the girl. And he would continue that work to ensure he gets what he wants. "I know I will do such a thing should her bakugan partner remain hiding in the Doom Dimension like a coward."

"And how long will you allow this to go one before you grow impatient?"

Barodius had not really thought of it. But he did want to bring the girl to Gundalia before they attack Neathia. "Hmm…I think before I extend a meeting invitation with Queen Serena. Unless a good enough reason occurs for me not to bring Saphira here at the time, that is when I hope to bring her to Gundalia."

"And do you have any idea what kind of reason there would be to make you not bring the girl to Gundalia?"

Barodius frowned as he noticed the strange curiosity in Nurzak's voice when he asked the question. It irritated him a little. "I would not yet know, Nurzak. At this time, there does not appear to be any reason to not bring her. The only thing I could think of at the top of my head would be if she were to get severely sick or injured, but that is all I can think of right now. I am unsure of what else you might be thinking of, Nurzak. The way you have asked some questions seem to make me think you are insinuating something, and I am not sure I like it."

"I am not trying to insinuate anything, sire. I apologize if it came across that way. I am just curious about you are going to proceed with this task, that is all. It is good that you went to Earth for this task. Gill and Stoica likely would have dragged that girl back to our world without even trying to gain her trust." Barodius nodded in agreement. Nurzak breaths in heavily and turned to face Barodius. "Do you have the number for the human? I will ensure I will calibrate one of our devices for the purpose of communicating with the girl. I might even try to shape it like their phones since you could take it with you and we can contact you if something arises."

"That would be perfect, Nurzak." Barodius watched Dharak turn back into a sphere and he smirked. "I better go and see what Dharak says about today's training while you go and do that, Nurzak. If you can have that phone ready by the time the evening meal is served, you shall be rewarded."

Nurzak widened his eyes a little as he realized that he was given very little time to do this. "Very well, sire. I shall get onto this right away." He turned and began to walk away. "I do hope there will be a lot of success in your decisions regarding this human and her bakugan partner, sire. As the way I see it, this seems to be a win, win situation."

Barodius watched his advisor walk away with curious eyes. He did not know why Nurzak was saying things like that as they were not really making much sense. He knew Nurzak was probing for something, as he does sometimes, but he did not know why. It was irritating him a little as Barodius knew that Nurzak may not ever say anything to him about his thoughts. For now, Barodius had to wait until Nurzak had finished the modifications so he could text Saphira. While he waited, Dharak joined Barodius on the balcony to speak to him about how the day went and ask questions regarding the Doom Dimension guardian.

Meanwhile…

"No way! You actually offered the guy ice cream?!" Saphira nodded as she was sitting at her desk speaking to both Runo and Julie through the webcam. Both girls had asked a lot of questions about the man they heard and Saphira told them. Runo was staring at her in shock and chuckled softly. "He must have been some catch for you to do that, Saphira."

"I suppose he was. I will admit, he was very attractive. You should have seen his biceps." Saphira could not help but blush as she thought about Barodius, making both Julie and Runo chuckle in amusement. "It is strange though, because I never actually felt comfortable with a stranger before. As soon as we started talking, it felt like we clicked immediately. Not sure if that is even meant to be real."

Julie giggled as she clasped her hands together. "So does this mean this is a love at first sight? Oh, that is so romantic!"

Runo growled a little and rolled her eyes. "Grow up, Julie! You know that never actually happens, so that it is ridiculous that you even think that. Just because this Barodius guy happens to click with Saphira, just as we did several years ago, does not mean it was love at first sight." Julie did not seem to agree as she was clearly still thinking about how romantic it was, while Runo was getting more annoyed at the girl. "Sheesh…this is totally unbelievable!"

"I agree with Runo, Julie." Julie gasped in shock when Saphira said that and stared at her in surprise. "I think I have a crush on Barodius, not any actual romantic feelings about him. I hardly know him. I only know that he is new to Bayview because he got a job in tech. He only just moved into the neighbourhood and he is likely still busy unpacking and getting settled in. That is as far as I know."

"Exactly, Julie. Maybe if they continue contact over the coming days or weeks, and things progress, then maybe your argument for love at first sight might be valid. But it is not right now. You only ever see that in movies and I tend to dislike seeing that." Runo looked back at Saphira and smiled at her. "But I cannot help but think you are hoping for that, Saphira."

"Kind of…even though I do feel stupid for feeling this way. But Barodius has a good head on his shoulders. He did tell me that it was strange for me to even want to share a sweet treat with him. And I cannot help but thank him in my mind for that. I didn't want to come across foolish or rash, but it seems that I have." Saphira played with a strand of her hair as she thought about the man. "I haven't really met any courteous men like that before."

"Except for Shun."

Saphira chuckled softly. "Runo, you know Shun is a lot younger than me. I agree he has always been more mature and thoughtful for his age, and that is well and good. But Shun is still sixteen and I'm going to be hitting twenty soon. Besides, I think of him as a friend. Never did it occur to me, even when we first met, that I felt any attraction to him. But I can certainly respect and understand why others do."

Runo was smiling as she listened to her. "I hope Shun does not hear you say that. Apparently, he has a crush on you." Saphira widened her eyes in surprise, as that was the last thing she expected. Runo chuckled at her. "I am surprised you never noticed, Saphira."

"No…I never noticed." Saphira did not know how to feel about that, but she simply smiled. "I guess he must have noticed I didn't feel the same way."

Julie nodded. "You are right. Shun has told us a few times that he doesn't wish to hurt your feelings at all. He knows you don't feel the same about him and he respects it. He did admit he will feel sad if you find someone, but he will also be happy and supportive of you." The girl sighed with a blush. "Sometimes I wonder why I even crush on Dan when I should be crushing on Shun."

Runo was irritated at Julie, as it was no secret that Julie had a crush on Dan. And Julie was not afraid to hide it, even though she was supportive of Runo and Dan being together. Saphira often thought that it was childish, but Julie never once got in the way. "You really should do that, then I wouldn't have to hear you yap about Dan so much."

"Oh, come on, Runo. I know you enjoy hearing about him a lot more than you claim." Runo just folded her arms as Julie gently elbowed her friend playfully. "You might be complaining about how left us behind and went to New Vestroia without us right now, but I know you miss him and wish he was here right now…"

"Shut up, Julie!" Runo snapped, making the girl chuckle and Runo just rolled her eyes at her. "Ugh…this is so stupid…we are here talking about the man Saphira was speaking to earlier. Not about Dan or Shun! So just keep your mouth shut, Julie." Julie just giggled and Runo rolled her eyes in irritation again and looked at Saphira. "By the way, what did Barodius look like? Aside from his biceps."

Saphira glanced away from the monitor for a moment as she thought about him. "Well…the one thing I noticed straight away was his purple hair and green eyes. A little strange to me, but somehow it fit him quite nicely. He has…" Saphira's smile softened as she thought about him. "Broad shoulders, the shirt he had on might have been a bit tight since I could see some of his abs and he was a distinctive face shape I have not seen before. His voice was soft, but somehow there was a roughness to his voice. It was strange, but soothing."

"Wow…he sounds like someone I would find in a fitness magazine," Julie commented as she was thinking about what he would look like in her own mind. "I honestly would have to meet him to understand what you are telling us, but he sounds like a real catch."

Runo nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and I can totally see in your eyes that he is one too." Saphira blushed and nodded with a chuckle. "By the way, did he say how old he was?"

"Uh, no…" Saphira brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and looked away. "He probably is a lot older…he seems to be in his thirties…maybe…"

"Oohhh…" Runo stared at Saphira in surprise before she shrugged. "Well, it may or may not work out. You aren't a kid anymore, and you are almost twenty with your life pretty much together, so it might not be bad. A large age gap isn't always bad."

"And it seems, based on what you have said, the man was responsible given he told you not to be so forward. So maybe he is a bigger catch than you think, Saphira." Julie winked at Saphira as she was still happy for her. "If he contacts you tonight, you should totally ask him to join you for roller skating this weekend."

"I do intend on asking him to spend some time outside this weekend, but he said he does not know how to roller skate. I will be happy to show him my skills, but I don't expect him to get any pair of roller skates just for me to teach him on the first weekend. That would be ridiculous." Saphira glanced at her phone and there was no message yet from Barodius. "I am more than happy to just show him around casually and see where that goes. I am not sure if I will see him tomorrow or Friday, but I do not think so. He is busy like I am, so I don't expect a lot at this time."

"And I hope you tell us all about it on Saturday, Saphira. I really would love to hear all about it." Julie clasped her hands again with a big smile. "It is so nice to see my friends falling in love. I so enjoy getting cards from Billie myself, and it always makes me feel so happy. And one more thing…" She winked at Saphira again and Saphira raised an eyebrow. "You should totally let me help suggest things if you do start dating this man. Like what to pack for a picnic, what type of café you should visit..."

"Saphira has the money to spend at those five star restaurants, Julie," Runo interrupts the girl bluntly. "She does not need to go to some small café for a date."

"That might be true, Runo, but I am not the one to spend at those restaurants. There are plenty of regular cafés and restaurants that are completely fine. I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on food." Runo did know that Saphira never really had an interest in such an extravagant lifestyle, even though Runo liked to poke fun at her. But Saphira was happy with the home and lifestyle that she has. "And I do appreciate your thoughts, Julie, but I do think that I will need to do the thinking."

Julie was surprised that Saphira would turn her help down. "Really? Why?"

"Because it will be me who will be getting to know Barodius. I can't just pick a café or fill a picnic basket with things that I like. It would all have to be picked with him in mind. And he would do the same for me, if he is thinking along those lines…" Saphira jumped as she heard a ping from her phone and she picked it up. Saphira gasped as she read the text message she received and smiled. "Wow."

"What is it?" Runo leaned forward, closer to her monitor as she could see Saphira's expression. "Who was that? Was that Barodius sending you a message finally?" Saphira nodded with a smile. "Very polite of him to wait until it was evening to send a message."

"I think he would have been thinking about whether he should or not," Saphira said as she read the message. "Well, the message he sent just now was just him letting me know it was him and his number is on the screen." Saphira quickly saved the number in her phone with Barodius's name listed and she began to text back. "I wonder if he will enjoy texting each other each day. Not all day, but at least in the evening."

"There is only one way to find out. You just have to text him." Runo chuckled as she watched Saphira type her text before Saphira sent it to Barodius. "If only we could text Dan and Marucho…it would make life easier. Too bad Desteen isn't here to give us updates, because I bet she has been watching everything unfold in New Vestroia."

Saphira pressed her lips together as she still has yet to tell Runo and Julie that Desteen has never stopped visiting her. She knew they would be jealous. "I would say that she has been. But Destiny has a very important job, as you girls know she has to be there to ensure things go fine for the Bakugan. She only left the Doom Dimension to battle against Naga because if Vestroia fell, it would disrupt the Doom Dimension."

"I know. But I still talk to my mirror hoping she will respond." Saphira giggled as she did that herself. So if Runo spoke to her mirror to try and get a response from Destiny, that was fine. After all, Saphira does it herself. "She has not responded, but I still hope she will one day."

"That's so funny, Runo. I am sure if Destiny knew, she would appreciate the effort. But I do think that she would only respond to Saphira, given they are partners. So I wouldn't keep doing that, hon."

Runo sighed deeply as she knew that it sounded crazy. "I guess you are right…" She chuckled lightly and glanced at Saphira's phone when it pinged again. "Uh oh, looks like you are having two conversations now."

Saphira picked up her phone and smiled as she read the text. "Barodius is asking if it would be okay to meet up on Saturday morning."

"You have to say yes!" Julie exclaimed excitedly as Saphira began to respond to the man. "Well? Are you?" Saphira nodded and was about to speak as Julie squealed happily. "Hooray! I guess this means it is your first date!"

"You are way too silly sometimes, Julie." Runo shook her head with a frown before gasping as they could hear her mother's voice calling out to them. "Looks like we got to go. But thanks for getting back to us, Saphira."

"No worries, Runo. You guys probably are exhausted from being busy again today." Both girls nod as they were looking forward to sleep. Saphira smiled at them both. "I am sure you both will have a good day tomorrow. Make sure you both get plenty of sleep. And I will be sure to sit here and tell you all about my day with Barodius on Saturday, and Sunday too, hopefully."

Julie giggled excitedly. "I cannot wait! Now make sure you keep up with your nightly, skin routine so you feel fresh and excellent tomorrow. And make sure that your beauty sleep makes you feel nice and refreshed as well, my friend."

"Don't worry, Julie, I will be okay. You girls better go and see what Mrs Misaki wants from you girl." They both nod as Runo stood up from her chair. "Have a good night." And with that, they cut off communication, and Saphira sighed with a chuckle.

She looked at her phone with a smile to see Barodius had responded to her, confirming he was grateful that they would get to meet up Saturday. Saphira told him to meet out front of her house, since he was new to the area and wouldn't know any other place, and she would be there. Saphira didn't know why she was feeling excited to meet this man, but that didn't matter to her. And if Destiny shows up as well, it will be even better.