"You want to make everyone viewing the footage think the person who appeared before Frankie is you and not Pyra?" Miko asked Mythra, who had her arms crossed confidently.

"Like I said, I AM Pyra, and she's me, believe me, it's not something I'm particularly crazy about myself, but what would be better? Having Pyra come out in the state she's in and just blabber things out in an emotional fury, or even worse… be too jaded to speak and get us into even deeper trouble, or go forward with an idea that makes it so we're still telling the truth but with something that's a little more up to date?"

Miko and Kaito still looked somewhat unconvinced.

"But…even if you're not pressuring Frankie in the process…" Miko started.

"...you're still gonna have to manipulate the visions of a whole group of people. It was hard enough on you with just the two of us, you know."

"This was a bad idea, wasn't it…? I'm sorry…" Frankie shrunk into himself.

"Frank, I'm gonna need you to stop beating yourself up for a second and listen. If I say it's okay, then it's okay, okay?"

"But Mythra-"

"Frank. Cut it out, seriously. I appreciate your concern, really, I do. But I've spent too much time just waiting in the wings until I'm needed. I want to make a decision on my own for once. And this is over Pyra, remember? I know how you feel about her, so, I guess you could consider it an act of good will. I need her just as much as you want her." Frankie blushed a deep red and stood up talk to defend himself.

"WH-WHAT?! THAT ISN'T-!" Mythra laughed profusely at her Driver's behavior and returned to her original position.

"You're a riot, you know that? If hanging out with you means getting these kind of reactions out of you, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine…"

"Th-this is serious… enough of the jokes…" Frankie pointed out with his own arms crossed.

"I've been called a stick in the mud plenty of times before, I wanna show my new Driver I'm at least a little better than Pyra, you know~"

"And you care about that, becaaaaausssse?" Kaito asked, mostly fed up, but partially teasing, seeing through her cool attitude fairly easily. Mythra flinched suddenly and sunk a bit herself in embarrassment.

"N-nobody asked you, Fuzzball…" She responded.

"Can we… PLEASE get back on track?" Miko asked impatiently.

"R-right, so…you're correct in that trying to manipulate the visions of more people puts me under more stress. BUT- the intensity of the vision is also a factor!"

"Hmm…so you're saying if you're only forcing people to see a small change in their vision, its easier on you?" Kaito put his hand to his chin in thought.

"Exactly! That fuzzy head of yours is pretty good at this comprehension stuff!"

"Darn straight it is, Goldilocks! And I'm not gonna let you forget it!" Miko stated proudly and indignantly.

"Relax, I'm not gonna take your boyfriend from you or anything like that."

"Oh, no no no. I didn't consider that at all. I mean, why would I? Yours is standing right there next to you after all…" Miko flashed a smug grin at her while Frankie and Mythra both deepened their blushes, Frankie turned away, and Mythra stared right at her with a glare and a growl.

"A-n-y-w-a-y-s, if we're done playing hot potato with the peanut gallery, all I want to know is… how confident are you in all this, Mythra?" Kaito asked. Mythra picked herself up again and took a deep breath to clear her mind before flashing the whole room with a grin.

"…Extremely."

"W-what is the meaning of this? This…this isn't…"

The prosecutor Max Payne was at a loss for words, as he had viewed this footage before and could have sworn the lady in it was sporting short red hair. But here, plain as day, it could be seen on the recording that she was very clearly sporting a head of long, blonde hair, matching the exact appearance of the woman sitting by Frankie.

He took a quick look over to said woman, who was sitting there, plainly watching the footage alongside everyone else.

"Th-that overgrown strand of wheat! She's mocking me, isn't she? I'll show her to be so condescending!"

Unbeknownst to Payne, the real reason Mythra was looking so blase was actually a front for how much pressure she was under.

She was not only putting in a lot of effort to keep the illusion going, she was also making sure she kept an attentive expression so as to not look like she was up to something. It put a tremendous amount of strain on her to keep this up, but it was working. Payne didn't suspect a thing (or at least he didn't suspect anything serious) and instead simply walked over to complain to the employee running the projector.

"I want you to review this footage for any sign of tampering! If I don't find something I'm having a word with your boss!" He whisper-yelled at the simply confused employee, who could have sworn himself that the footage looked different mere moments ago.

"Aww jeez, I figured this would happen…" Kaito murmured to himself.

This plan of theirs was clever indeed, but very flawed, for the longer the prosecution spent reviewing the video the greater the strain on Mythra to keep the illusion up. And since it was still being played on the big projector, it was a greater burden on her than they had anticipated.

Kaito had predicted the issue of time and brought it up to Mythra earlier, and his words echoed in each of the groups' brains.

"You may have to hold that vision for a long time. And it has to be perfect and consistent at any given moment, these guys can be super picky with reviewing material, if they spot a hair out of place, we're done for."

His words echoed in Mythra's mind especially, and she clenched her fist around her arm as she was already feeling like she was starting to slip soon. She suddenly felt a twinge of sharp pain in her forehead which caused her to lose concentration for less than a second, causing her projected self in the video to flicker slightly.

This barely caught the attention of Payne and the employee, but it caused the entire group to panic as it seemed only inevitable that Mythra would lose control soon.

"Should we do something?" Miko whispered to Kaito.

"I…I don't know, if we try to stop them now without a good reason, it could get suspicious." They both looked at each other worriedly before they started racking their brains for any solution.

Frankie had noticed Mythra losing her composure as his mind also raced for some way to help alleviate the pressure on her, if even in a small way. In a bout of desperation, he scooted as close as he could to her and placed a reassuring hand on her leg. She was barely able to move her eyes to face his sympathetic expression… it was awkward and quite sudden… but it felt nice… where this boy suddenly got all this confidence from, she had no idea, and she certainly didn't see any of this level with Pyra, but she took it in stride and relaxed herself once more.

The flickering stopped as Kaito breathed a sigh of relief, meanwhile Miko was getting ready to enact a plan she hatched to get the case back on track.

"Mr. Payne!" She slammed her hands on the desk. "Just how long are you expecting to waste this court's time with this nonsense?"

Payne, shocked by her sudden action (much like the rest of the court) scrambled before coming across an answer.

"Th-this footage has very clearly been tampered with! There's no way that-"

"And do you have any evidence of this tampering?" Miko leaned further over the desk.

"Ah-well…" Payne gestured to the employee, who looked just as confused as he did and paused the video, thankfully on a part where Pyra wasn't present, allowing Mythra to take the breather she desperately needed.

"Hey, I'm just a bailiff, I don't work at the company!"

"W-well is there anyone in this court who works at this company who can answer the damn question?" Payne shouted across the courtroom.

"Jeez, I thought you were a well-regarded lawyer, what's with the attitude?" Kaito prodded at Payne and gave him a side-eye.

"Shut it you!"

Just then, Frankie raised his hand slowly but confidently.

"What are you DOING, you Dummy?!" Mythra whispered sharply, giving Frankie a vicious glare.

"You and Pyra are my Blades, you said it yourself, it's my duty to look after you as well, and I'm not leaving this case open with a dirty conscience." He explained confidently. Mythra tried to argue back, but she really couldn't, she just let him do what he needed to do.

"Hm?" Payne's attention was drawn to Frankie's raised hand. He was still in a very agitated mood thanks to Miko's interruption and Kaito's comment.

"Aren't you the primary witness?" He asked, pointedly.

"Well… yes, but I work there all the same, that is what you wanted, right, Mr. Payne?"

"-in the ass" Mythra quietly whispered to herself. Whether or not she meant it humorously, it did make him crack the tiniest of smiles, further lowering Payne's drive and morale.

Going from practically fuming to a more defeated tone, Payne sighed and asked, "Then…would you happen to know how likely it was that the footage could have been tampered with?"

"I do, as a matter of fact. And the simple fact is that… it isn't. Not one bit."

"You… you what?! Are you some kind of loon?! What kind of a statement is that?!" Payne shot back, sweat beading down his profile.

"Maybe I think I am from time to time, but that's largely irrelevant." Frankie was now in full business mode, Mythra could only watch in stunned silence with how well he was able to allocate himself despite how tense she knew he was. He had to have practiced this at some point, there was no other way, but that was just usual protocol for Frankie, courtesy of his mama.

"Our facility isn't only one building, of course, there's the business location itself where I work, and then a second building further off where all the sensitive data is stored, a physical barricade if you will. That includes security camera footage as well. You need a special key to get in, and another special key to get out, not very different from the databases we create in the slightest; even out there, there's a security camera watching, people watching. As such, there's no way the footage could be tampered with so easily, there's already enough safeguards as it is; in the halls, on the outside, and the room itself. Someone who wanted to mess up the footage would have needed to enter the separate building to do so. Dumpster diving isn't that easy in our business, and you'd be a fool to think tailgating would be a solid option."

Frankie was putting those flashcards he had created to good use. It was evident in his annunciation alone that he had spent quite a bit of time after work and after hanging out with Pyra looking over them to practice for this particular moment.

"Now with all that being said, in what way could Pyra have tampered with the footage? She would have been noticed. Look at her outfit! It's essentially a full body safety vest! Look at her person! Whites and golds? You're telling me that those are colors that are completely blind to even the most trained eyes in the middle of the night? I don't think so! And for that matter, why even try to correlate all these things at once to begin with? Pyra wouldn't have been able to enter the second building regardless, she would have undoubtedly been caught or stopped somehow! Yet she remains undetected up until she appears in the camera footage? Not to mention the fact she appears so suddenly? None of that adds up in the least."

The prosecutor, jury, and most everyone else in the room just looked at Frankie in a bit of astonishment. Mythra in particular was stunned into an extreme bout of blushing.

"W-when did he go and get so c-cool? With all that confidence and the fancy words…"

She was suddenly under pressure to contain her emotions again, this time to prevent herself from fangirling too hard over her Driver. Said Driver was now sheepishly sinking back into himself with all the eyes on him.

'God, help the outcasts…' He thought to himself as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Miko and Kaito simply snickered at each other quietly.

"You think we're rubbing off on him?" She asked.

"Could be, though he says his mom used to guide him a lot on this type of stuff too."

"Dawww, that's adorable."

Payne finally adjusted his glasses to respond.

"I…I see, well that…that still doesn't disprove the fact that she was clearly trespassing on that property!"

He walked back over and picked up the thumb drive with the security footage.

"This has all been a blatant example of the defense running this case in circles over baseless nitpicking of minor details! So what if this woman's hair is red or blonde, it could be turquoise for all the difference it makes!"

He shook the drive in the air in Miko and Kaito's direction.

"She's still guilty of trespassing and the proof is right here!"

"OBJECTION!!!"

Miko yelled at the top of her lungs, causing everyone within earshot and then some to hear.

"Hehe…sorry, always wanted to do that." She chuckled before continuing with her point.

"That security footage isn't proof of anything!" She exclaimed with gusto.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Payne responded as if he'd been struck.

"You just wasted a solid 3 minutes of our collective time proving the footage is pointless to the rest of the case!"

"But…how?"

"What does it matter if Pyra was simply in the room with the key witness? He could have simply invited her in! The idea that she was trespassing without permission only persists if you can prove no one allowed her into the room!"

"B-but…the security cameras-"

"Are virtually pointless now, since we now know they couldn't have been tampered with! What we should do now is call on an eye witness, particularly the witness who was barely 2 feet away from the defendant at the time!"

"We…there's more footage of-"

"Hold it!"

This time Kaito chimed in.

"Don't even try and claim you have more footage of the defendant trespassing! We all know that's a bold-faced lie, otherwise you wouldn't have been so desperate to review this single camera's footage so heavily!"

"W-w-why should we listen to that witness? He's clearly in favor of the defendant!" Payne was stumbling from this intense combo barrage.

Miko slammed her hands on her desk again.

"And why should that matter? If the defendant is innocent, we should hope the witness is on their side! That only proves the point further!"

Kaito moved over to Miko's side as they both continued.

"All in all, it's clear this tangent of yours is a farce!" Kaito slammed his fist on the desk this time.

"We will be calling our eye witness to the stand, and if he has the jury lean to the side of the defendant, so be it!"

They both started to move simultaneously.

"And that's what's called proper justice!!!"

They both pointed at Payne dramatically as if to will him back with the gesture.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!" Payne stumbled backwards, tripping partially on his desk before barely catching himself on the chair next to hit. His toupe was in tatters.

"...you…do realize this is a simple trespassing case, right?" The judge asked.

"Ooh, heh…sorry about that, we might have gotten a smidge carried away." Miko chuckled in a bit of embarrassment.

"Heh…yeah…" Kaito cradled his wrist as he punched the desk a lot harder than he initially realized.

"Ahem, indeed. It was an invigorating performance, you two, you've earned my respect." Payne said as he got up and adjusted his tie and toupe. He flashed his lawyer badge at them which was clearly not official as it was from a certain gaming franchise.

Miko and Kaito gasped at the discovery of a kindred spirit.

"...Ace Attorney fans…" Frankie sighed.

Mythra was just hopelessly confused.

As the situation finally settled, the lights of the courtroom came back on and the proceedings continued at a much more relaxed pace, especially for the defending side. Now that they had not only convinced the jury that Mythra is who appeared before Frankie, but also that the security footage itself was dismissable evidence, all they needed to do was call on the one and only witness there was, Frankie.

"I assume you are calling for your witness, Miss Iino?"

"Indeed I am, I call Frank Guosmán to the stand!"

Frankie stood and walked over to the cross-examination bench, but not before Mythra suddenly grabbed on to his arm, pulling him down slightly.

"Frank, wait!" She exclaimed, both Blade and Driver giving each other their full attention. With a new perspective of her Driver, Mythra finally got a good, honest look at him, 'Were his eyes… always such a… deep, rich chocolate…?' She asked herself. Now she knew why Pyra was having such trouble with this boy. "Be… be careful out there…" She said aloud. Frankie looked up and took a deep breath, placing a hand to his chest.

"I will…" He said, fronting a bit of confidence for her sake until he finally left the benches and towards the stand.

As he walked by Kaito and Miko's desk, the two gave him a teasing smile.

"I know it's not that important to the case, but he could be a bit subtler about whose side he's on." Miko whispered.

"Heh, cut him some slack, she needs some time to swoon every so often."

Their giggling caused Frankie to blush even harder as he finally reached the stand. After he was seated, the judge asked him the usual questions about his name and occupation that were more a formality at this point. Then Payne walked over, with a much more chilled demeanor than before.

Frankie still tightened his expression. Even if Payne didn't seem like that bad of a guy, he was still the prosecutor and he needed to be mindful of his answers.

"So then, Mr. Guosmán, let me first apologize for us starting off on the wrong foot."

Frankie nodded sharply in polite, understanding response, simultaneously hinting for him to continue.

"I'm glad you understand. Now then, will you first tell me what your relation to the defendant is?"

"A friend. A very good friend." He replied

"Hm, what a surprise. Regardless, could you tell me her current occupation?" He asked. For some reason, there was an air to his tone that made it seem as though he already knew the answer.

"That would be, Library Assistant."

"Good, good…" Payne rubbed his chin and paced somewhat.

"And it is to my understanding that you allowed the defendant into the room of your own volition, giving her access to your work environment?"

"Indeed." Frankie maintained a plain but serious expression on his face as he spoke.

"Mm, and as you work in a public building, there's nothing in the law saying you can't invite someone in. And seeing as it was around quitting time, it would be natural for you to have people come over around the time shown in the footage, so the logic checks out as well."

He sharply turned to face Frankie one last time.

"And just so I'm crystal clear, you are certain the woman with you was this one?" He pointed to Mythra. "With long blonde hair and not short red hair? You're absolutely certain?"

Miko squinted.

"Why is he asking that so pointedly? I thought we already proved that part."

She shook the thought out of his mind as it seemed hardly relevant, at least at this current point in time.

"I am."

"And it's this same woman that works as a library assistant as you stated earlier?"

"Yes."

"Right then." Payne adjusted his tie and then his glasses towards Frankie. "You may go sit back down, that's all of my questions for you."

Not appreciating his tone, Frankie kept eye contact with him as he got up, only breaking when he finally turned to leave to rejoin Mythra on their seat.

"Well that was quite a smooth cross-examination." The judge fiddled with his gavel. "We'll adjourn for a short recess and be back in about 15 minutes, after which I assume we'll properly conclude the case. Dismissed."

He tapped the gavel, signaling his aim.

Everyone who was seated made their way out of the courtroom, with many murmurings about the rather odd nature of the trial thus far, which put Mythra and Frankie on edge somewhat.

"I've been in situations like this plenty of times in the past… but now it's really starting to feel like a life or death sort of thing…" Mythra told him.

"I'm sorry, Mythra… really I am… by this time we could've been planning our next outing with Kaito and Miko, there's so much more I want you and Pyra to see… and this certainly wasn't on the list." Frankie apologized.

"Frank, people are the worst part of any nation, you're giving yourself way too much credit if you think all of this is solely on you." Mythra turned away slightly to mumble to herself a bit. 'Believe me… I've been there, and I'm still telling myself this crap every single day…'

"I just… I just want this all to go away already…"

"That's easier said than done… way too easier said than done…" The two sat in silence for a while just as Kaito and Miko approached them.

"Don't worry you two, we're pretty much in the clear now!" Miko excitedly hopped over to them.

"Yep! All that's really left is for Mythra to go up, say what she needs to say, and we're good to go home! I'm thinking we order in?" Kaito followed closely behind her.

"Or… you know… get them that social security now that we finally have a day to do so…?" Frankie pointed out..

"Right! Sorry, social security first, then we all order some takeout and spend the evening recovering from all this stress, sound like a plan? I'm paying!" Kaito raised his arms.

"W-well…" Mythra began, shuffling in her seat a little.

"Mythra?" Frankie asked.

"I-I know Pyra cooked for you on your first day with her, and you cooked for her, but… well… I wouldn't mind trying something out myself…" She was blushing profusely at this point, her shuffling becoming much, much more noticeable.

"You don't sound very confident…" Frankie said.

"Well…! I! Just… wanna thank you all someway, you know… Pyra doesn't have to do EVERYTHING around here…" She pouted a little as she sunk into her seat.

"Well… we're all fans of chicken, I always have a pack of legs or thighs in the freezer; do you wanna smoke or grill?" Frankie asked

"…grillsoundsnice." Mythra said quickly, trying to hide her ignorance to what Frankie was suggesting.

"Well… if you're half as good as 7/11's, I guess I wouldn't mind that too much…" Miko admitted.

"For sure! Frankie can't be the only one getting home cooked meals from the Ae- I-I mean… the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecentric sister of Pyra whenever he wants, after all!" Kaito exclaimed. Getting funny looks from the three who surrounded him.

"I think I need some water…" Frankie said as he got up out of his seat.

"I'll… go with you." Mythra added as she followed him, not really wanting to be alone with Miko, still unsure how to really act around her.

"You know something. Don't you, Kaito?" Miko asked as soon as the Blade and Driver duo were out of earshot.

"It isn't Heart Snacker's fault this time, I promise. I used to think this was all a fairy tale once upon a time… but the moment I saw her, Mythra, I mean… we aren't exactly done once this case is over…"

"We're gonna do it for the both of them… right…?" Miko asked, grabbing on to Kaito's hand gently.

"Right…" Kaito said, locking his fingers around hers.

He could tell something else was on her mind as well, which there was. Miko couldn't shake Payne's last few questions out of her head. There must have been some reason he was so adamant about confirming Pyra's identity and job position after they had already thoroughly addressed that point.

"Wait…" suddenly it hit her.

"Miko? What is it?"

"Job position…uh oh…"

Miko looked around at the crowd of people, trying to spot someone she knew she had no way of identifying at a glance.

"Did you figure something out?" Kaito tried to meet her gaze.

She looked back towards him with a new dose of concern on her face.

"We might be in trouble."

--

The courtroom had filled in once again as the group met up and prepared for the final stretch of the case.

Frankie and Mythra were feeling much better than earlier, which made Miko and Kaito's positions slightly more complicated, as they were unsure of whether they should relay Miko's potential realization to them.

"You two seem tense." Mythra said.

"Too tense… what's going on…?" Frankie asked, cringing slightly in suspicion.

"I…uh…well you see we…uh…" Miko was clearly uncertain of how to respond, so Kaito stepped in.

"Let's…just say that…me and Miko figured we shouldn't be too comfortable quite yet, we don't know what could happen, so it's best to be vigilant." He made direct eye contact with Frankie to try and give the message across.

Frankie's eyes widened a small bit as he picked up on what Kaito was trying to tell him as he glanced over at Mythra, who was just looking at him in confusion.

"Pyra really has had an effect on me, hasn't she…?" He bemoaned.

"Well… it's nice to see you admit it for once, hahah… Miko tried to alleviate the tension but to hardly any avail. In fact, judging by Mythra's furrowed brow and disapproving look, she just made it worse.

"You two just hang tight… okay…?" Kaito asked.

"Okay…" Frankie and Mythra said simultaneously as they all returned to their positions.

After some set up, the judge promptly resumed the proceedings.

"Now, Mr. Payne," He turned to the prosecutor. "I don't suppose you have another witness to testify, elsewise I'd say there's not much more to go over other than the-"

"Actually your honor, I do have one more witness." Payne raised his hand to quickly interject.

Mythra sat up in her seat and raised her eyebrows in surprise at Frankie, who hung his head low and but his finger in concern.

'Cripes… is this why he's been so pushy…?" He thought to himself.

Miko looked at her desk, bitter that she couldn't see this sooner, as Kaito rested his hand on her back to comfort her, although he was quite worried himself.

"I'd like to call Kari Yama to the stand."

"Wait, that name…" Mythra stood even more stiff as it just occurred to her who was being called up.

A somewhat older woman stood up from one of the backmost seats in the benches before walking towards the examination stand, crossing Mythra's and Frankie's eyelines as she did.

"Mythra… isn't that…" Frankie started in shock.

"It's Pyra's boss…" She finished, neither of their gazes leaving this short haired kindly faced woman, her serious expression was a shock to Mythra especially.

It was in fact the librarian that Pyra had come to work under, Pyra specifically, as Mythra had yet to properly introduce herself to her. This was what had Miko wrapped in concern, as this woman was possibly the only one to have had prolonged interactions with Pyra minus the 3 of them and perhaps some children at the library reading sessions. This meant she would absolutely know what Pyra looked like and have no reason to assume her and Mythra were the same person.

"And that's why Payne was asking those questions, he knew the answers already, but he wanted to make sure Frankie said them so it was on the record, and so that we couldn't deny it without contradicting him. Crap…" Kaito darted his eyes around, looking for a solution that wasn't there.

They'd been had. All this woman had to do now was point out that Mythra looked nothing like the lady she had hired, and immediately they were all the way back to square one, worse even, they'd have to find a way to explain all of the discrepancies they had so confidently laid.

Frankie could feel his heart drop to his stomach and his blood run a frigid cold, sweat already forming on his person as he finally caught up with what Payne's motives were, the only person he could look to blame was himself. Mythra looked over at him and then back to Kari, she too was at a total loss and didn't know what to do, she was effectively stunned in silence.

All any of them could do at the moment was watch on in dismay as the librarian Kari took her spot at the stand to prepare for questioning.

She stated her name and occupation.

"Kari Yama. I'm the managing librarian of the local library, have been for over 15 years."

Payne made his way over to her, making sure his tie and toupe were well kept.

"So Miss Yama, to start us off I would like you to tell me what your connection to the defendant in this case is?"

"Put simply, she works for me as an assistant at the library, managing books, reading to the kids, she's a lovely helper."

"I see, and given that, you likely already have a good recollection of her general appearance, correct?"

"Oh, well you can never tell how people can so quickly change the way they look, I've always found that rather fascinating about some people." She gave a sweet smile.

Mythra couldn't say for certain, and her stress certainly wasn't making it easier to process, but it…almost seemed like she was gesturing towards her. Was she simply mistaken? Either way, whether intended or not, the gesture gave the Blade a comforting feeling, which she was in desperate need of at the moment.

"-But yes, I should be able to recognize her on sight, I have a fairly good memory."

Kaito looked at the woman with a raised eyebrow.

"That's…odd. Why'd she phrase it like that?"

He didn't have much time to marinate, because now came the moment of truth. This next question would determine the fate of this case, and ultimately that of Pyra and Mythra as well.

Miko hugged a clipboard to her chest tightly and squeezed Kaito's hand, who was otherwise mostly just frozen in place. They were breathing practically in sync to help calm each other down.

Mythra felt herself on the edge of her seat, breathing heavily alongside Frankie, the sounds of which caught each other's attention, the two of them scooted closer again and each took deep breaths. Both swallowing hard as their breathing, though still tense, slowed gradually as they watched Kari speak intently.

"Frank… if we get out of this okay…" Mythra began, appearing like she was about to have a quick heart to heart with her Driver before narrowing a glare at him. "You owe me big time…" She warned.

"That's fair…" Frankie replied with the slightest of chuckles. Mythra had been throwing so much shade his, Kaito, and Miko's way in such a short amount of time that he was already getting used to it. It was comforting in its own sort of weird way.

"So then, miss, could you be so kind as to point to that defendant in the room at this very moment…" He lowered his glasses towards the group. "...if she's in this room at all?"

Frankie and Mythra's hearts skipped a few beats as now was the defining moment, and Kaito and Miko kept a sharp steady eye on both Payne and Kari while the judge overlooked everything patiently. The faintest of murmurs could be heard from the crowd, some looking directly Frankie and Mythra's way. Blade and Driver closed their eyes tightly and prayed silently and desperately, for both help and forgiveness.

"Please…"

"Please…"

"Well, that's a rather silly question, isn't it? She's sitting right there."

Kari pointed directly at Mythra.

"Pale as a sheet she is, but she's there."

Mythra's eyes shrunk as she fell back into her seat, staring directly at Kari while Frankie did the same.

"I-I'm sorry…?" Payne stuttered a bit as he stepped back in surprise.

"Oh dear, Mr. Payne. I don't believe I misspoke. It's without a doubt in my mind that the woman sitting before us all is just the same as the one we've put on trial, and the same one I hired to read to those kids."

Miko and Kaito simply stood mouth agape before shaking out of their daze and getting back into focus mode.

They were back in business. If anything, they had basically won.

"I…see…" Payne checked his toupe one more time. "And…I assume you also take the side of the defendant in this case?"

"Indeed I do, prosecutor."

Payne simply shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"That's all of my questions."

While the trial still went on to reach its proper conclusion as normal, confetti was already exploding in the groups' minds.

They'd done it. They'd passed the last hurdle.

Everything was brightening up so much that by the time it was finally Mythra's turn to walk up to the stand, almost all of her stress and anxiety were gone, whisked away. She felt relief to an extent that she hadn't felt in… ever. She very gingerly turned toward Frankie, who watched her go up with a very small but noticeable recovering smile on his face. She couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as she turned back around.

"What a dork… you made a good choice, Pyra…" She thought to herself with a cheeky grin as she took one last deep breath and sat down on the stand herself.

"Name?"

"...Pyra Goodman."

"Occupation?"

"Library assistant at the local library."

"And where are you currently staying?"

"With…"

She paused for a moment.

"With my boyfriend, Frankie."

"As of now, the defendant Pyra Goodman is…INNOCENT!"

The judge banged his gavel.

"And dismissed!"

Everyone filed out of the courtroom, with Miko, Kaito, and Mythra all practically carrying Frankie out as he'd nearly fainted from Mythra's statement.

Mythra was stammering out apologies and explanations for her words to a nearly unconscious Frankie.

"OhmygoshFrankieI'msosorryIdunnowhatcameovermeIwasn'tthinkingthewordsjustcameoutpleasebeokaypleasebeokaypleasebeokay-"

"He'll be fine, sis-"

"AHHHHHH!"

"Expression. It's an expression."

"The dork just had his heart squeezed a bit too much-" Miko had some difficulty supporting the much taller individual. "Just give 'im a minute and he'll be just…fine!"

She took a deep breath out as they directed Frankie into the closest chair and backed away.

Mythra slowly walked up to get a better look at his face.

"F-Frankie?" The young man's face had turned completely red and his mouth was open a small bit, still breathing, still conscious, but in no position to do much of anything as his head raced through so many thoughts and questions, chest contorting up and down very noticeably.

"Don't worry, it wasn't just you. I think you can blame the stress of the entire case for this."

"Wha-what happened to Frank…?" Frankie woozily said as he steadied his breathing.

"You Dummy! That isn't important! I just wanna know if you're okay or not!" Mythra hollered, shaking him awake.

"Yeah, that's Pyra, alright…" Miko teased silently alongside Kaito, who chuckled mischievously.

"Frankie, snap out of it, for Christ's sake! I didn't want those losers thinking bad of you! We don't need to convince them we're winning or anything! So get up already!"

"M-m-mythra…?" Frankie asked, still woozy from before, getting a big huge smile from his Blade.

"He's okay!" She hollered, just before scowling angrily and grabbing his cheeks, pulling them apart from each other harshly, causing Frankie to exclaim in discomfort. "IF YOU DO THAT EVER AGAIN I'M GONNA MAKE SURE YOU REGRET IT, YOU HEAR?! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU?!"

"Ih-ra! Ih-ra!" Frankie tried to call out to her.

"WHAT?!"

"'Ere are ee-el wah-ing" He pointed out. 'There are people watching.' Mythra stopped her current action and looked around to the large crowd just watching her in absolute confusion and a little bit of horror, flustering the Blade even further.

"I-I…" She then let go and pushed him away a fair bit before recollecting herself, blushing in embarrassment. "S-so I care about my Driver, set me on fire, why don't you, Dummy…?"

"Driver? I thought he was your boyfriend…" Miko smugly replied.

"Miko, Miko… we can… we can talk about all that later… right now I just need to… to relax… and just… go home already…" Frankie said, trying to catch his breath.

"Why don't you two stay here? Miko and I will find the car." Kaito suggested.

"S-sure… I don't mind…" Mythra answered as the short couple left.

"Frankie… I didn't mean to cause such a scene, I-I really am sorry…" Mythra said, now less flustered and more guilty.

"I know, Mythra, it's okay… that… that was some pretty quick thinking on your part, I have to say." Frankie complimented her as he sat up straight.

"Y-yeah?" Mythra asked with a very slight blush on her face before turning away and playing with her hair. "Well… you… you weren't half bad out there yourself…"

"I rehearse things like this a lot more than I'd like to admit… I just… didn't want to lose Pyra… or you."

Now Mythra's blush deepened further as she glanced his way a bit, desperately trying to make an effort not to turn around and embarrass herself even more.

"I've been… such an asshole to you and your friends though, you can't mean that…"

"Maybe it's just the euphoria talking, if that's what you want to hear, then there you go, but, I mean what I said, Mythra. You're… actually pretty cool, all things considered, when you aren't grabbing my face, that is." Frankie and Mythra chuckled nervously as Mythra was hung up on the word 'cool'. All of this felt nice.

Too nice.

Pyra's thoughts echoed in her mind just before she came in and took over. Pyra was just a silly young Blade who wanted to live, love, and laugh, and her impetuous attitude would've lead her down a fast track through all these emotions. But Mythra knew similar emotions far longer than Pyra had. Whatever she told herself was true or imaginary, right now, it didn't matter, it was all much too fast… and it really messed with her to think about. Then again… an absolute dork of a Driver by her side was just enough to keep her mind off things… even for a little bit.

'We have a goal to reach, let's focus on that for the time being, and whatever happens… happens.' Mythra thought to herself when she heard a familiar voice.

"Mythra… thank you…" it was Pyra, a voice only she could hear. "I… still don't want to show myself to Frankie right now, but… just thank you for looking out for him, and me…"

"He's my Driver, you're my sister, Pyra. It's all in a days' work." Mythra responded telepathically when she heard yet another familiar voice, albeit, very, very faintly.

"ʳᵉᵃᵈʸ ʷʰᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ…"

Mythra's heart jumped, as did Pyra's. That… that wasn't…

"Mythra? You okay?" Frankie asked suddenly.

"O-oh, y-yeah, I'm okay, Frankie… I'm… I'm okay…" Mythra flicked her hair confidently and stood up straight as she walked over to Frankie.

"If I remember right, I told you that you were going to make this all up to me. So get to it." She ordered.

"Let's… wait until the weekend, Mythra, I promise I'll get to it. Besides, neither you or Pyra have the slightest clue what world you're in still." Frankie pointed out, breaking his Blade's confidence slightly.

"Y-yeah… okay… that's fair…" she admitted.

"Hello, dear, having a little chat, are we?" Kari asked as she came up to the two of them.

"O-oh, you're…" Frankie began, only to be cut off by Kari.

"I'm Pyra's boss, yes indeed. She told me she wanted you in the audience during storytime not too long ago but you never came… I assumed it had something to do with all this, then?" She asked.

"That, and work just being a general nuisance…" He admitted.

"Of course, and Pyra is such a sweetheart, I'm sure she'll forgive you. Won't she, dear?" Kari turned to Mythra as she finished. The Blade stuttered over her words a bit as she spoke.

"I-I mean sure, but… how do you know I AM Pyra, huh?" She asked. Kari chuckled and inched closer to the two of them.

"It's your eyes, sweetie. The moment I looked into them, I couldn't see anyone else but the same sweet young lady, all lost in the world I met just this past week. Silly, I know, but I'm not one to forget faces so easily."

"O-oh… huh…" Mythra pondered to herself as Kari made her way over to Frankie.

"And as for you, I see the two of you leave to and for work every day, you're awfully sweet yourself, Pyra's lucky to have such a safe and punctual driver like you in her life."

"I-o-of course, I'm more than happy to help her out…" Frankie admitted.

"Then don't you stop, you hear me?" Kari was about to leave them just before calling out to Mythra again, her back turned away from the two of them. "And, dearie? I'll see you the same time as usual tomorrow. We'll get someone else to read to the kids for the time being, you can just stick to your other duties until you're comfortable enough to return."

"W-well, I… o-okay, Kari, I'll… I'll do my best…" Mythra awkwardly responded.

"It's my pleasure Pyra… or should I say…" Kari turned around to face the two of them once again. "Mythra?" She asked with a wink. Leaving Frankie and Mythra in a quiet state.

Eavesdroppers…

"You heard her say 'Driver' too, right?" Frankie asked.

"Maybe she just meant cuz you drive Pyra home from work every day?" Mythra asked back.

"She scares me a little bit…" Frankien added as Mythra tried to awkwardly change the subject.

"S-so… n-now what?" Mythra asked as Frankie took a look at her person… only now realizing she didn't have her own set of change of clothes like Pyra did. Smiling warmly, he took a bit of fabric in his fingers and pinched it playfully before looking back up at her.

"Wanna go shopping?"

Mythra shook her head in amusement as she looked fondly at her Driver.

"I'd love that…" She said. "Just make sure that Koo Koo Clock doesn't come anywhere near me."

"I don't think we're allowed to choose right now, Mythra…" Frankie said as he saw Kaito and Miko pull up to the front with their car.

"…I think I would've preferred a guilty verdict…" Mythra dryly remarked, getting a hearty laugh out of Frankie as he and his Blade rushed out to meet with those two little trusty people of theirs.

'Boyfriend, Mythra…? That's…' Pyra couldn't even finish her thought. She looked at Frankie through the obscurities and smiled fondly at him. 'A concept for sure…'

How long until she could see that concept through, she couldn't say, as there was still quite a bit to get through for this young trio…