Mythra spent much of the rest of the day mulling over what she should do in regards to the offer she was given… it sounded ideal to be sure but… she was still so new to even thinking of taking steps like this. What decision was there to be made? She would pace around the house every so often and stare at the business card Rocko offered her, lost deep in thought. Frankie and Pyra would watch her and discuss amongst themselves the behaviors they were seeing Mythra exhibit.

"I've never seen her so… mesmerized…" Frankie said.

"I hate to say it, but it's a first for me too, Frankie…" Pyra admitted with a frown before quickly shifting to a proud smile. "And if you ask me, it's a step in the right direction!"

"I could've told you that…"

"Perhaps… but…" Pyra glanced over to Mythra fondly, as the latter had entered the kitchen and grabbed a cookie to munch on as she continued to look at the card. "Look at her eyes, Frankie… are those eyes familiar to you?"

Frankie narrowed in as best he could from so far away. Pyra was right, her brow was raised farther than he had ever seen it before, her eyes were practically sparkling in intrigue, and every so often, both would furrow in deep consideration. It was a new side of Mythra.

"You don't need me to tell you again just how…" Pyra took a deep breath and sigh as she tightly closed her eyes. "Limited… our lives were back then…"

"Any details you can shed the light on…?" Frankie asked hopefully. Pyra shook her head sadly in response.

"They come and go until something telling comes about, you know that… I wouldn't be surprised if Mythra had her own little blurry memory flash while she was on her own… in fact…" She placed her hand on her core crystal through her shirt. "That's exactly what happened…"

"Mythra…" Frankie sadly said.

"However significant it may have been or how positive or negative it was, I don't think it matters right now… it kicked Mythra into a good state of mind and I'm happy for her! And I know for a fact you are too, Frankie!"

"W-well… yeah… maybe…"

Pyra giggled.

"This is all new for her, Frankie… let's give her time to think some more about things… we don't want to put her under any more pressure, right…?"

"Mmm… yeah… I can see that… alright Pyra… but I'm gonna be around all the same."

Pyra smiled sweetly.

"And I'm sure that's all she'll ask for…"

It was 8 o' clock now and Pyra had already gone to bed. Frankie had migrated over to the den and hooked up his console to try and climb the online ladder on Scarlet and Violet- of which he and Mythra were trying to see who would reach the top first… and she was faster than expected after the blunders of last month. He wouldn't stand for it and decides to get a couple rounds in before bed, but breaking past Ultra Ball Tier this month proved harder than expected. Tailwind had very much fallen out of favor this season with the release of the new DLC, of which he was discovering all too quickly.

"Damn it!" He cursed as he watched his Great Tusk fall to a Bloodmoon Ursaluna's Moonblast attack. He pulled out his phone and jotted on his notes: 'Complete that Pokedex' before getting back to the game. It was at that point did Mythra pop into the room.

"I'm only one match away you know~" She mocked lightly as she smugly smiled at him through the kitchen, leaning up against the wall.

"I'm not using the Treasures of Ruin, I am NOT." He shot back.

"And look where it's getting you~"

Frankie groaned and turned away from Mythra. She then sat in the seat next to him and leaned on his shoulder, her mood shifting from mocking to sweet and concerned.

"Pyra's been telling me about how you've been feeling after today…" She said.

"I would've told you sooner but… I didn't know how…" He admitted, looking away from her. Mythra chuckled and pinched his cheek, as per usual.

"Just come up to me and say so, Dummy~" She teased before getting up.

"I wish it could be that simple…"

"Tell me about it…"

Mythra stretched and turned away from Frankie. Looking out the still open blinds, as if she were waiting for him to say something more.

"Are you feeling okay, at least…?"

Mythra sighed and shrugged.

"I've had lots to think about all day." She said. Then she furrowed her brow in anger and looked directly at Frankie. "And one of those things is that I'm mad at you for giving Pyra so much attention at home!"

"Mythra, it was one time and you chose to stay overtime…" Frankie pointed out flatly.

"One time too many! So I'm making a decision and you're going to follow through with it!" Mythra blushed and scrunched her face up as she turned away again. "I-I wanna go on a walk with you… do some catching up about things… and we're going now whether you like it or not… and if you don't, I'm gonna be very sad, so you better say yes…" She turned away from him briefly again before glancing his way one more time to get a last word in. "Dummy…"

Frankie smiled, shut off the TV, and got up to face Mythra, who was still turned away from him.

"If that's what the lady wants~" He replied with a courteous bow.

Mythra, upon hearing his odd and sudden curtsy, turned to face him with an even deeper blush as if to confirm that was what he really said. Frankie saw nothing wrong with what he just did… at least not for another three seconds before blushing himself and dusting himself off nervously as he tried to correct himself.

"I-I-I mean duh-um… y-yeah… l-let's go…"

"I said it once and I'll say it again… DUMMY!"

The quiet and tranquil soon-to-be Autumn night of the barrio was broken by an unintelligible electronic babble that seemed all too close. Mythra covered her ears and cringed in distaste while Frankie simply kept walking.

"Ack! That's something I don't EVER need to hear again!" She complained.

"When you live here as long as I have, you get used to it." Frankie said as he kept walking with her.

"And it's cold! How do you STAND this weather dressed like… THAT?!"

Mythra covered herself with her arms, shivering in her long sleeve dress, wine colored and fluffy at the cuffs and the bottom that extended to her calf. She also wore black stockings, even with all her clothing, she was still freezing. Frankie meanwhile, wore a simple black shirt with an N64 logo on it, and long black basketball shorts and he seemed perfectly fine.

"Well it IS only the first day of fall… that Summer heat is still hangin' around. Besides, the cold never bothered me, anyway! …least not until November…"

"Well turn yourself around and walk behind me… just looking at you is pissing me off…"

Frankie laughed as he slowed down his pace, allowing Mythra to overtake him. She continued to walk straight ahead confidently before suddenly feeling a twinge in her chest. She growled uncomfortably to herself as she looked around nervously, then suddenly slowed her pace down to allow Frankie to catch up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I got lonely…" She admitted sheepishly. Frankie chuckled again.

"Oh Mythra… never change…" He said as he placed a hand on her head. Initially, she sunk into the affectionate gesture adoringly, but very quickly drew herself away and recomposed herself.

"N-no… I HAVE to change… I have to… you and Pyra are changing, why shouldn't I…?" She asked.

"That's why we're out on our own right now, isn't it…? To talk about this?" Frankie guessed.

"M-maybe…"

Frankie shot Mythra a well meaning and peaceful grin, the sight of it sent Mythra blushing, and turned away in embarrassment.

After all the prodding and pushing and complaining Mythra had done, she had just now realized she was alone with Frankie… not even Pyra was here with them… it was on odd feeling that she never recalled feeling before. Not the kind of alone where she was lost and didn't know what to do, of course not. That was a feeling she was all too familiar with, but this was…different. She was alone with someone she felt would… understand… not be burdened… when she let that be known to Frankie, he tilted his head in confusion and pressed further.

"You didn't wanna bring it up to Pyra?" He asked.

"I put her through so much crap just by bringing her into existence… she's had enough…" she sighed.

"So then what are you thinking now?"

"That's the thing… I've had all damn day to mull this shit over but… here I am… with nothing surefire…"

"But you have something?"

"You could say that."

"So why not do it?"

There was an awkward silence as Mythra looked to Frankie and then the opposite way. The furrowing of her brow as she glanced at him and looked away just as awkwardly told him all he needed to know.

"…you think you need my permission, don't you…?"

Mythra chuckled awkwardly as she stayed turned away.

"Mythra…"

"W-w-well! Pyra's always been a bit of a looney, even before she met you. She just… never really felt like she could express herself like that so freely… like she can with you around…"

Frankie blushed now and turned away as Mythra kept talking.

"It's just… ugh… when you spend so much of your life hopping from place to place without any real say in the matter and just kind of hoping things turn out okay and clinging so hard to what did so you can TRY and repeat it over again, you… get a bit lost…"

Mythra shook her head in disgust as she turned to Frankie again.

"Can you tell I'm no good at this…?"

Frankie rolled his eyes over to her sadly and sighed just as somberly, looking down at his feet as the two continued to walk.

"Mythra, I… I really wish I had something to say to that right now… I don't… really know what that feels like…"

"You don't have to say anything, Frankie… I just… needed to let someone other than Pyra know how I'm feeling… and… w-well I trust you… alright…? Why wouldn't I trust the big fat Dummy who forgave me for pinning him up to the wall like a madwoman about to slice him in two in her own stupid little fit so quickly, huh?!"

"…"

Frankie breathed in and out as he mulled over Mythra's words… the incident seemed like such a long time ago now, but…

"Sorry… I… things just… come out… you know…?"

"Yeah… I do…" Frankie sighed again as he hung his head low. Mythra noticed this and faced him softly.

"Got something to share…?" She asked.

"I share a lot of things… all you've got is my word to go off of… it'd take a year and a half to get you to see it all…"

"I got time…"

Frankie stopped walking and turned to face Mythra directly, who was now breathing gently as she waited for Frankie to make a move. He chuckled and turned away.

"Mythra, come on now… this night is about you… I'm not about to take that away from you-"

"Cut the crap."

Frankie turned back around, where Mythra now wore a serious and forward expression.

"I don't know if you need a reminder drilled into that thick head of yours, but as your Blade, you and I share emotions. I can feel something's eating you and I'm not standing for it. So you better wise up and talk to me if you know what's good for you."

Frankie looked away sadly while Mythra continued glaring at him.

"Mythra, really… you and Pyra have been through so much already I-"

"And you're not making it any easier right now!" Mythra interrupted. "I'm worried about you, so you better let me help or else I'm going to be very VERY sad…!" Frankie perked his head up in surprise as he stared back at Mythra.

"S-sad…?"

Mythra sighed again.

"I said what I said… look… let me just… try something…"

Before Frankie could respond, Mythra took both his hands by the wrist and placed them just over her core crystal. Mythra was a bit too focused to really care how close they were to… other places, while Frankie was trying DESPERATELY not to let his grip slip as he sweated heavily.

His nervousness vanished as quickly as it had appeared however, as he and Mythra were suddenly in a swirling void of dark blue and green lights and streaks shooting above them.

"Mythra…?"

"I'll see you in a bit Dummy… this won't take long at all…"

Time froze.

Space froze.

Mythra… awakened.

She found herself in Frankie's room, which she quickly noticed was much more…cluttered than usual. She looked around curiously before being alerted to the sound of rustling bedsheets. Frankie woke from his slumber. Looking up wistfully at the sky, he looked… lost, dazed, his breathing was slow.

It didn't take long for Mythra to notice she was looking at a younger Frankie. He was a bit more rotund than he was now, albeit more or less the same height, and he had a scraggly mustache on his upper lip. After a while of sitting up in bed, he removed the bedsheets from him and walked out the door towards the hallway. Mythra followed suit slowly- not that she'd need to be wary, but she was still just… processing what she was seeing.

It wasn't long until she and him arrived in Pyra's room…well, it was currently Pyra's room, but in this vision… it belonged to a portly middle aged woman with thick curly hair and greenish-brown eyes. She laid on her side with her back facing the door as Frankie and Mythra entered the room.

"Mama…?" Young Frankie asked.

'Mama…?' Mythra parroted as she watched the lady slowly turn around to face Frankie. Her eyes were bloodshot, tear stains adorned her cheeks.

"He's gone, mijo…" She said somberly.

Frankie frowned and joined his mother in bed, holding her close to him as she lay still with a thousand yard stare.

Mythra's mouth swung open in shock as she stepped closer to the scene, watching as Frankie silently but carefully comforted his mother, letting her unload every last one of her thoughts and emotions through her uncontrollable sobbing.

"He didn't even say goodbye! I woke up and turned around and he was gone! He-he-he…" Her ranting very quickly turned into stilted cries. Her body shivered with each breath as she buried herself deeper into her son's embrace.

"I-I thought he would be okay… J-Jesus told me…" Frankie lamented solemnly. Even now, Mythra could feel his emotions flowing into her more as she took it all in… of course, he was upset, losing his father so suddenly, during his formative years as Frankie himself put it no less.

Mythra didn't realize it then and there, but this concern for a solemn teenager was very, VERY familiar… perhaps now even more so, having gotten to know the adult version of this boy standing before her for so long. Getting a real peek into the stories he had to tell was more than just that… a story… she even felt the conflict burning inside of him… upset and feeling empty but… not sad… why? It wasn't like she could just up and ask him… at least not here…

"No… no… he was right…" Frankie's mother said, slowing down her crying just for a little bit, sniffling and turning to face her son, gripping his shoulders tightly. "He IS okay, mijo, he's… done suffering… he's with HIS mama… finally…"

Done suffering.

Frankie would every so often bring up the concept of "Heaven" to Pyra and Mythra, likening it to their own "Elysium", thanks in part to Kaito. A paradise where the good and faithful venture to after a lifetime of work, trial, and dedication, where the loved ones they lost long ago would meet with them again.

She was correct to guess this was the place Frankie's mother was talking about. Her mind was immediately brought back to those smallish apparitions she encountered in her mind earlier that day… if Pyra was aligning with them, they had to have been good people too, right? They had to have gone to this place, right? If Mythra were to become fully human as she wanted, would she go there as well, she wondered? Her past was still muddied in mystery at this time, but… one thing was for sure… one thing she hadn't come to accept yet despite her mulling, but one birthed from seeing… all of this, began to unfold before her.

She felt another body suddenly pass through her. She jumped a bit as she saw an older brown woman creep in to the room with Frankie and his mother, looking just as solemn as both of them, quickly making her way over to Frankie's mother's side just beside the bed, her wrinkly face decorated in concern as she glanced both to Frankie and then his mother.

"Mijo… you know how Daddy always said… when he and I would go out that you were man of the house…?" His mother asked.

"Yeah…?" Frankie asked back.

"Well…" Frankie's mother swallowed lightly before continuing. "That's what you're gonna have to be now…" Frankie's mouth gaped lightly as he backed away just a touch, still in his mother's grasp. "We don't know how long grandma's gonna live and you're all we have left… promise me, mijo… PROMISE ME you'll grow up to be the man we need you to be…"

There was a moment of silence as Frankie, his mother, and his grandmother all looked at each other in breathless anticipation… albeit very brief breathless anticipation.

"I will, Mama, I promise…" He said.

Frankie's mother smiled sadly before wrapping her son into another hug. Frankie hugged tightly back while his grandmother placed a comforting hand on her daughter's back, caressing it lovingly.

Just as Mythra was really letting everything she was seeing finally settle down inside of her, the scene shifted into a hazy mist.

It was cleared out by a brand new scene of Frankie walking at school while other people were following him with mischievous grins on their faces. Some stifling in their laughter as they approached him. Boys and girls of various heights flocked him as Frankie could just barely hear the various comments thrown around them.

"Dude- trust me, Irma's got firsthand experience-"

"Need a good run? Give him a little poke-"

"Look at him when he gets going- you're gonna love it!"

Mythra watched on in angry disbelief as these obnoxious punks ran straight through her and right towards Frankie. Judging by their talk, she could make out right away whatever it was they wanted to do with him was certainly something that had gone on for a while… and Irma? What did she have to do with this? …It wasn't-

"Ey yo- man, you doin' good?" A tall Caucasian boy asked mockingly. There wasn't a shred of concern in his voice. Mythra knew that and Frankie knew that. The way he cheerfully loomed over him didn't make things any better for him. "Still playin' your little Pokey Mans or whatever it's called?"

Mythra couldn't believe it. He was STILL getting ragged on for this almost a decade later since the last time she saw him like this? Clearly, as frightened as she might have been that day, Irma, though nowhere to be seen, had something to do with this… even if she wasn't the sole contributor, word had to have gotten around somehow, not to mention Frankie didn't look older in the least from the last scene she saw him in… this had to be only days after that.

She could feel it- the pressure placed on to him not too long ago, dealing with his father's unexpected absence still fresh in his mind, possibly even feeling alienated as to why he wasn't experiencing the same emotions as the rest of his family… these kids were playing with fire…

Frankie huffed and puffed silently, trying his best to ignore these stupid kids. Too much was on his mind already and he certainly didn't have the time to deal with this- no, of course he did- he had been dealing with this crap since Elementary School- who was he to not pay heed now? Deflating his already fragile ego, blowing off his escapist fantasies so callously, it going on so long at all? He was boiling…

"Oh- here it comes!" A kid in the following crowd said.

"You're wasting your time with all this stupid shit, bro, just let it go already-"

"…….."

"Ey, bro, I'm talking to you!" The kid who followed Frankie closely pushed him to get his attention… and he got it, all right…

Frankie, pushed to his limit, gritted his teeth and let out a ferocious growl as he whipped his whole body around, reeling back a great big punch and squarely hitting the taller boy right on his nose. Mythra gasped and stumbled back a bit… she saw this coming, but to see it actually happen before her own eyes and from FRANKIE, no less… it was horrifying.

The crowd of kids roared in applause as the fight was on. Like a pair of hormone-charged kangaroos, Frankie and the taller kid traded blows to the face, keeping their hand on their shoulders and trying to kick at their lower regions blindly, jumping around and grunting ferociously at each other, it was an entertaining match for the crowd that was following suit, which only grew bigger and bigger as the fight escalated. Sandwiches being used as boxing gloves, chips as a distraction, and vegetables as blunt instruments, it was a ridiculous and childish fight to be certain, but Mythra could only look on in surprise and disbelief… both at Frankie and the other kids… her breathing grew heavy as the fight continued on and on and on… until it was at last broken up by the sound of a whistle, at which the scene also faded away in a hazy fade away like the last one…

Now Mythra stood just in front of Frankie, though she didn't know that until she turned around directly behind her to find him curled up against the door of his room that led to the kitchen, of which the lights were on. Badly bruised, crying, and breathing heavily, Frankie was suffering from a rather large disappointment of an aftermath from that day. Mythra crouched down to his level and instinctively reached out a hand to place on his cheek… but it only faded into the apparition… much to her own disappointment…

She hated seeing him upset as it was… being unable to do anything about it… that terrified her… even if he was still young and stupid… he needed that comfort from someone who… FELT all those emotions he was hiding…

Again, Mythra felt a sharp pain rush through her head as though she had remembered something important… a much more dire situation from the somber and quiet positioning of the grayish silhouettes that surrounded her vision, of which the chatter amongst was indiscernible.

One thing she COULD make out, however, was a very similar feeling… concern and anger… concern of the party in question… and anger at her lack of… anything at that point in time that prevented her from doing anything about it…

Mythra was still struggling to grasp the motivation of these emotions, but…she couldn't help but imagine Frankie felt the same way here…

She thought to herself…what she would want to hear in this situation…

"Frankie… listen to me… I know you're going through a lot right now… people are stupid… and mean… and disgusting but… you don't have to stoop down to their level… I know that's a hypocritical-ass thing for ME of all people to say but… I KNOW who you turn into later! Just… know that you won't be alone forever…! You're gonna have Kaito! He's gonna appreciate your help so much you have no idea! You're gonna have Miko! You're gonna have Pyra! You're gonna have Pneuma! You're gonna have… you're gonna have…"

Mythra couldn't finish her thought before Frankie got up and wiped the tears from his face… his expression changing from an angry and exhausted grimace to just… a blank and uncaring frown. His eyes drooped at their sides in a bored and cold manner and his breathing, while slowed, became much more harsh. Mythra gasped as she stepped back a little bit… she was familiar with that expression… too familiar…

"Mijo…? Are you awake…?" The voice of Frankie's mother suddenly called. Frankie didn't answer… from his miffed and annoyed body language, Mythra picked up on the fact he and his mom had gotten into something of an argument themselves…

"Answer her, you stupid idiot… answer!" She called out in vein. But he didn't. She could hear Frankie's mother sigh from outside.

"I love you, mijo… tomorrow is a new day… don't forget…"

The sound of disappearing footsteps put Mythra on edge as Frankie walked right on past her and didn't bother with a response of his own. The silences echoed horrifically through her ears as the scene faded away, leaving only him and her in the same black space. Frankie's quiet walk of shame grew longer and longer as a terrified Mythra trembled in worry as she scrambled to come to a solution.

"H-hey! Get back here! You can't go! STOP WALKING AND COME BACK! COME BACK!"

Mythra's screams fell on deaf ears, and her attempts to run after him were fruitless as his sorry trudging was drew the distance further and further from them compared to her hopeless chase.

"Don't go! DON'T GO!!!"

"MYTHRA!"

Mythra's tear-filled eyes shot open suddenly. She was back in the present day. It was still the same chilly night it was when she and Frankie left the house. She had realized her face was as close to Frankie's chest as it could be, getting a flustered blush from both parties.

"M-M-Mythra…?" Frankie asked nervously as both their hearts and breaths increased in speed. Mythra's became deeper and much more intense as her expression hardened. Growling in frustration, she swung her hands right over to Frankie's face and picked his cheeks harder than she ever had before. The sudden action was so quick Frankie could only react with surprise as Mythra morphed his face into dozens of different ridiculous expressions in the span of two seconds.

"YOU BIG DUMMY!!!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU?! DON'T YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU GOT THAT?!?!?!?!!!!!"

"MERAH! MERAH!" Frankie mumbled through Mythra's tyraid.

"Don't Mythra Mythra me! You better explain yourself right away before I make you regret it!" Mythra shouted back at him.

"It's be eeshier 'f you wer'nt smooshen muh fashe…" Frankie muttered.

"R-right… sorry…" Mythra quickly removed her hands from Frankie's face and tucked them behind herself, embarrassed beyond belief.

"That was different… I could actually feel and hear you in there…" Frankie said.

"Mmm… you can thank Pneuma for that… something like this requires two Blades and… well, I guess she wanted both of us to see something…" Mythra answered.

"Like now you have proof I'm not talking out my ass and you have more to go off it than just my word?"

"No, Frankie… it isn't that, I believed you after our last little… conversation but… holy hell… no wonder you ended up where you were before you met even Kaito…"

"Mmm… I still don't really like people… if that wasn't obvious enough already…" Frankie admitted as he dusted himself off.

"I don't blame you… they can be real asshats sometimes…"

"Tough to be super energetic on cloud nine when every one else is so loud…"

"It's not our fault we like a steady pace and a fully formed game plan…"

"And then you get treated like the asshole because you're a bit too shy for your own good…"

"…Dummy… stop doing that…" Mythra mumbled.

"¿Qué?" Frankie asked.

"Stop…! Being so much like me, you idiot!" Mythra shouted before taking a deep breath and looking away wistfully.

"It's hard making new friends, Frankie… I've messed up so many times in so many places it should be criminal… why even bother trying to put up with new people at that point, huh? …not like I blame them for being so sour with me… everyone knows I'm an asshole… takes 'em a whole season worth of character development just to let me be in the same room as them…"

Frankie chuckled.

"Pyra's rubbing off on you, I see?"

"She's always been one for all this dramatic crap. Of course she's as drawn to your fancy schmancy televised streams and rivers and lakes or whatever the heck you call them nowadays." Mythra shook her head in frustration. "You're getting me off track! The point is, I… I get it… alright? If those little medicine bottles of yours were the tip of the iceberg, all of… THAT was the final answer!"

Mythra sniffed harshly as she looked down quickly before looking back up to Frankie with an angry yet saddened expression on her face.

"So besides getting the things you needed to help you along how did you… you know? End up like this?!"

Frankie sighed and joined Mythra's side.

"Mythra… I hated the person I was toward the tail end of high school… all the way up to before I met Kaito… sometimes it felt like I was making a concentrated effort to be sad cuz… I got so used to it at that point, yknow…?"

"Yeah… I know… I know…" Mythra glanced at the ground solemnly as Frankie continued.

"Kaito can go on and on about how I 'saved him' or whatever but… he saved me too, in a way." Mythra shot her eyes over to Frankie this time. "It's not like he was the solution to all my problems or anything but… getting to know him… talking and playing games with him… giving him the support he needed before Miko came into the picture… heh… and took my job… it just felt… nice… to be wanted as much as needed, yeah?"

Mythra nodded silently.

"It felt good to be good and nice to be nice… bizzare-ass concept, am I right?" Mythra chuckled as Frankie kept going. "And if there's one thing Mama always said that I agree with… it's to treat others the way you like to be treated… I mean, you saw the way I acted around you when we first met, right?"

"Oh… don't go blaming yourself too much… it's on me more than anything… I just told you it's hard to make new friends…"

"No, yeah, I get that but…" Frankie let out a deep sigh. "Being all quiet and sappy and nervous and stuff… that's how I am at work… it's a wonder Yuri's always so buddy buddy with me… even when we still had our court case going on. Don't like talking too much cuz I might bore or lose people, don't like talking too much cuz I don't wanna offend people… I'm a wimp at heart, Mythra… I'd rather be nice and quiet than mean and loud… at least then people'll know I'm not up to no good…"

"…Bullshit…" Mythra muttered. Frankie whipped his head toward her in shock. Her brow was furrowed as she came closer to him. "You're one of the toughest people I've met, you Dummy! I may not remember what it felt like waking up to someone all brand spanking new after getting all buddy buddy with my first Driver for so long and having to accept that he's dead and shit like that- but at least Pyra and I didn't have to SEE that! You had to live with yourself after watching your dad, your mom, and your grandma pass on while YOU were still trying to figure your own shit out! But you're alive and well, right?!"

"R-right…" Frankie whimpered.

"LOUDER! I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM! YOU'RE ALIVE AND WELL, RIGHT?!"

"R-right…!"

"I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Right…!"

"WHAT?!"

"Right!"

"ONE MORE TIME!"

"RIGHT! I'M ALIVE AND WELL!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

For whatever reason, Frankie and Mythra then erupted into a shouting match, each trying to one up their own screaming and not giving in until they started to run out of breath. When they did, they looked deep into each other's eyes with an intense flare… before getting into a laughing fit, immediately realizing how ridiculous they were being and wondering how on earth they even got there in the first place. When they finally stopped to really breathe, they continued walking side by side.

"…Don't sell yourself so short, Dummy… I know better than anyone that we've all got our weaknesses… sometimes they even outnumber our strengths…" Mythra advised.

"I guess…" Frankie responded.

"…You know what? I'm gonna tell you something and you better listen good cuz I'm not gonna repeat it. I've let it slip to other people at work before but…" Mythra sighed. "Damn it all, you're my best friend… alright?"

Frankie's heart skipped a beat as he turned to Mythra in surprise.

"You… what…?" He asked.

"I-I said you're my best friend… your ears stop working or something…?"

"No- I heard that part but… why…?"

Mythra blushed angrily as she turned away.

"If I tell you, you better not tell anyone else or I'm gonna squish your face in so hard you'll be feeling it well into your 80s, pal."

"Uh… alright-"

"Just… it's like I said… from all of that I just saw to what you've been telling me yourself to where we both are now… that's just… me… it's so much of me that it almost pisses me off…" Mythra's somber attitude shifted to a jovial one as she let out a light giggle, looking up at Frankie fondly. "But you don't piss me off… you know that?"

"W-wha- y-you've said I have a few times already-" Frankie muttered nervously.

"It's called hyperbole, Dummy… you don't think you actually make me mad that easy, do you…?" There was a bit of silence as Frankie stared at Mythra in worry. She shook her head fondly with a smile as she sighed before continuing, "Well, one things for sure…" She shut her eyes happily as she pointed to the wide and content smile on her face. "This comes out a lot easier whenever you're around."

"I-I…" Frankie turned away in a fluster and muttered nonsense under his breath.

"Mmm… yeah… that too… Kaito and Miko told me about that, you know…"

"Did they now…?"

"Heh… yup…" Mythra took a deep breath and smiled up at the stars. "I don't think it's a big huge secret I was so pushy with you at the start cuz I'm a big huge baby about things… but I could see and hear just as fine as I can now when I was still hiding inside Pyra so… doing all that to you… kinda hurt… I know if I met me I'd just wanna… help them the only ways I know how… cuz who else would know just how to help me out then me, huh…?" Mythra scoffed and turned her head. "Cripes, why do I tell you anything, huh…?"

"I dunno… but you don't have to stop…"

Mythra looked toward Frankie in light awe once again… she felt her heart race as she watched that stupid warm smile spread across his face like it usually did whenever he was trying to help out… and those big silly brown eyes of his settling down so sweetly on him like a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies nearly made her melt… but he didn't have to know that.

"Dummy…"

Before either could speak up again, the electronic babble from before was accompanied by an equally loud air horn broke through the silence of the night, disturbing Mythra to an even worse degree than before.

"AAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH! YES! WE CAN HEAR YOU! ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELVES?!"

"Aye… these kids and their sports… and my dad always wondered why I was so fidgety three hours in…"

"Hmm? Sports?" Mythra's face lit up suddenly as her smile reappeared. "Why didn't you say so! Come on, let's go check it out!"

"Mm… never been too big on sports honestly…" Frankie admitted before looking further beyond the distance towards the college campus where the event was being held. "But… I guess a little trip down memory lane won't hurt… let's go see what's up, alright, Mythra?"

"Yay! Okay, Dummy! Lead the way!"

With their minds on something else entirely, Frankie and Mythra marched off forward towards the loud cheers and bright lights illuminating the night sky not too far off into the distance.

Frankie and Mythra soon found themselves at the campus, walking past the packed parking lot, they would soon come to a stop upon reaching the source of all the noise. An outdoor football stadium where large sets of bleachers encircled the entire area, making any of the action going on the inside nearly impossible to see from the outside… nearly.

"ARGH! That's gotta hurt! Did you see him, Frankie! That guy dove right in front of that other guy and swept him right off his feet!" Mythra screeched excitedly, peering in through a small opening of the fencing.

"Well… glad to see you're having a good time, Mythra…" Frankie admitted nervously before looking around the place some more. "This was my old community college before transferring. Didn't get involved with too many things but, oralé… if this place doesn't make me feel old…"

"Heh, don't worry- Pneuma's got you plenty beat on that front!" Mythra exclaimed just before she was hit with a splitting headache. Frankie dropped his wistful look around and turned worriedly to her. Mythra responded by holding a hand up to him and erecting herself once the pain went away. "Okay! I'm sorry! Geez… never knew she was so snappy…"

"You really think that was Pneuma?" Frankie asked.

"Course it is. She's mine and Pyra's true self, remember? Hah… she's getting on my nerves right now but… it's kinda nice knowing big sis is here… you know…?"

"Mmm… I think I do…"

"And who do we got to thank for that?" Mythra raised a teasing eyebrow at a blushing Frankie.

"W-well- she's not completely here yet but…" He cleared his throat and looked back at what he could of the game.

"Well whatever it is you're doing, you better keep it up. She deserves to come on out here and get a look at all this…" Mythra said wistfully.

"Yeah… I guess so… not so much any of this caca, though… if it was Basketball, maybe but… bleh…" Frankie stuck his tongue out in boredom as he stood just beside an elated Mythra.

"Well don't you worry your fuzzy little head!" Mythra proudly patted Frankie on the head as she spoke, "I'm a big girl, I make decent money. Next time Pyra and I can pay for our own tickets and you can look after Turters!"

"He-ey! At least let me come so I can eat or something! I don't wanna be alone with the turtle…" Frankie complained lowly.

"Oh Big Guy… you know I'd never leave you high and dry for any reason, I'm sure we'll think of something come next time…" Mythra once again pinched Frankie's cheek affectionately, this time to his dismay.

"You really like doing that, don't you…?" He asked with a glare.

"Well it's your fault for being such a Dummy with such a pinchable face! Every time I look at you, I think, 'When are you gonna stop being such a freaking Dummy and just do what I say?'!" Mythra shot back as she took her other hand and pinched his other cheek, continuously pulling them apart.

"O-oh yeah?! W-well…!" Frankie looked around frantically as he tried to think of a response, and he very quickly found one… poke Mythra's cheeks with his own fingers.

Mythra stopped her 'attack', eyes widened in surprise at the sudden movement. They then narrowed in annoyance as she stared daggers into Frankie.

"What… was that…?" She asked.

"Revenge…" Frankie answered darkly.

"Well you wanna know what I think of your revenge…?"

"¿Què Quieres?"

Mythra responded by stretching Frankie's cheeks out even further. Frankie responded back by driving his fingers deeper into her cheeks. The two shot death glares at each other before diving into an onslaught of face touching- Mythra twisting and pulling Frankie's cheeks every which way, Frankie poking and prodding Mythra's cheeks one after the other. This went on for a minute or two, and in between grunts of frustration, Frankie glanced to this side by pure chance and dropped his angry facade to one of more embarrassed worry. He lightly tapped Mythra's cheek and rolled his eyes over to his gaze, to which she followed and eventually shared the same embarrassed grimace. Two girls walking by with bags in hand looked on in bewilderment, never taking their gaze off Frankie and Mythra, even as their dorms drew closer in sight. Quickly, the two stopped their attack on each other and stood by their sides, blushing intensely.

"Dummy…" Mythra angrily muttered.

"BWAAAAAAARRRRRRRPPPPPPP!!!!"

"Oooh! And that's a fumble! Spent a little too much time on those happy feet and not enough time on those brutes closing in!"

"Aw- what?!" Mythra plastered herself up against the fence frantically, foregoing her flustered mood instantly. "There was a big ol' slice of action and I missed it?! Do it again, I wasn't looking!"

Frankie laughed at Mythra's childish antics… not like he was any stranger to some himself, as if his reaction to climbing the online ladder wasn't any indication…

"…Hey Mythra?"

"Not now, Dummy! I'm trying to look past all these dangling legs and feet to get in on all the hubbub!" Mythra hollered back.

"W-well… I just wanted to say that… andpleasedontrepeatthistokaitobut… you're my best friend too!"

Mythra's eyes widened suddenly and her attention shifted to Frankie totally.

"You…you what???" She asked, backing up to the fence.

"I-im not excluding Pyra when I say this but just… thank you two.. for showing up when you did… and… putting some noise back into the house… I… I really needed that… especially with Kaito putting Miko in his life, I… didn't wanna bug him anymore than I did already just after all of this… someone else on that exact same wavelength… thanks especially to you, Mythra…" Frankie smiled sweetly as he finished, leaving Mythra a stuttering, blushing mess. She gritted her teeth and turned away ferociously

"D-dummy! Why do you keep pulling all these sweeping tirades out of your butt like that?! I-it isn't fair…….. but thanks… you just better let Pyra know too or else I'll never forgive you…"

"Mmm… somehow I think she already knows…" Frankie admitted with an even more intense blush.

"Oh yeah… urgh… you and her really are the biggest dummies I know…" Mythra looked down sheepishly and smiled lightly, "Right next to me, I guess…"

"Heh… you got that right, Mimi…"

Mythra's heart skipped a beat as she faced Frankie again.

"…What?"

"…Mythra. I said Mythra…"

"No you didn't~" Pneuma suddenly teased from inside Frankie's head. She was still remaining patient throughout all this… but it certainly didn't hurt to try and move things along a little bit.

"Pneuma…" Frankie groaned internally as his blush deepened even further.

Mythra, on the other hand, took a little bit to think about what Frankie had just called her… a small, silly, yet somehow too comfortable verbal gesture… he was a dummy through and through, all right… and she liked that. With a new feeling of elation, she looked back to what she could of the game.

However, as she was watching, Mythra's mind now drifted beyond the game itself. Despite how brutish and intense it was, she couldn't help but be engrossed in the exuberant and excited attitudes of the players and the other people watching. The comradery of the team, the cheers…it reminded her of just how…nice this world was. How good it felt to see people enjoying their passions, enjoying being with their friends, enjoying…life itself, really.

Mythra chuckled to herself silently. She didn't have much frame of reference, but she figured the idea of deriving so much meaning from a game like this "football" or whatever it was called would come across as ridiculous should she say it out loud. But…these feelings weren't just towards the game but…these people.

Seeing the smiles on their faces…she couldn't help but find them to be…precious. Perhaps it had something to do with her battle-worn memories which she still seemed to be pushing to her subconscious, but…she knew smiles like these weren't something she was used to seeing so often. So yes…"precious" was indeed an accurate term for her.

Then as she looked over at Frankie again, who, despite his joking comments towards it, was now getting into the mood of the crowd as well. A small, honest smile adorned on his face. Not too wide, not too loud. His genuine, calming smile.

She knew with even more certainty how precious this smile was…because…it was a smile she was familiar with. One she wore herself, not uncommonly.

…those memories…

Mythra now understood just how much effort that smile took to achieve for Frankie. And she considered just how much she…didn't want to see it go away. How much she…wanted to protect it. For if she could protect Frankie's smile, then…perhaps her own…

'...heh…doing it for myself…if it helps put smiles on people's faces…put a smile on his face…so we can live our lives together…' Mythra thought to herself, before finishing the phrase out loud with confidence.

"...that's my role in this world."

"Hm? Mythra? Did you say something?" Frankie asked, having not fully heard Mythra's statement over the sounds of the game.

"Mmm…" Mythra simply wrapped her arms around one of his. He flushed red in response, only briefly this time.

"Oh, I was just thinking to myself…"

Finally, Mythra herself smiled as she watched on with him.

"...I think being a police officer…someone who protects the smiles of this world…you know…instead of fighting for them…making sure they're safe…that's what I wanna be a part of… not trying to make a big huge catastrophic difference… a personal one where I can feel accomplished and not just… 'ready', you know…?" She explained.

"Oh… Mythra… heh… you're just a big ol' softie, aren't you…?"

"Hey, lay off me- Mythra wants to be nice to good people too you know…" Mythra responded as she squeezed Frankie's arm a bit.

"Oh… alright… but I'm on your side… okay, Mythra…? After all you've done for me… I really ought to be… heh… I didn't spend a whole evening making a fool out of myself with Pyra for no reason…"

"I know, you Dummy, and… don't forget you've done a lot for us too, okay…?" Mythra rested her head on Frankie's shoulder as she looked up at him in reassurance.

Frankie sighed and shifted his eyes away from her, still too meek to really accept what Pyra and Mythra kept telling him. Mythra could feel every last one of his mixed emotions but chose to do nothing. Instead, she simply stayed there with him… watching what they could of the game… existing together… and letting those emotions be felt… what she never could before…

"Hey, you two!" A stern but friendly male voice called out. It was a security officer patrolling by on a golf cart. "You doing okay? You having a good time?" Frankie and Mythra exchanged nervous looks and nodded their heads. "Alright- hate to break up the moonlit stroll here, but you gotta have tickets to watch the game. Just move it along and we'll be good, alright?"

"Y-yes… officer…" Frankie mumbled.

"Don't sweat it, Big Guy… I think I've got enough fresh air already… besides, I can't wait to tell Pyra the news!" Mythra exclaimed.

"Ooooh yeah… she'd be elated!" Frankie agreed.

"We'll be on our way now, sir! Sorry for the hold up!" Mythra hollered back. The security officer smiled and tipped his hat goodbye to the couple as he watched them walk arm in arm away from the stadium and out of the campus.

"Hah… crazy kids…" He muttered to himself before driving away.

"I think we should celebrate before we really start getting cracking down on all this work." Frankie suggested.

"Yeah? How's that?" Mythra asked back.

"Oak Glen ring a bell to you, Mythra?"

"Of course not, Dummy. What is it?"

Frankie smirked.

"10:00 tomorrow and you and Pyra will find out…"