*November 7th, 2030*

(POV: Third)

Liam had given Alvis one last chance. It was too late now, for Alvis had surrendered the opportunity to abandon his dark past. Liam had been surveying the shadows using the buddy skill between Demios and himself. He would hide from them, avoiding the sunlight so that they were not able to be seen. They witnessed Alvis entering and leaving a specific door in a specific alleyway near the lowest part of Tokyo. After going back to Ms. Fridrik multiple times, it was finally agreed upon that now was the time to go in. Liam, although reluctant to bust Alvis, agreed with Demios by his side. Liam remembered being in this situation before; he had to evacuate another building due to how he was losing control of the Disaster Force. However, he hoped that he didn't need to rely on it like last time. Demios was by his side, and his Buddy Skill was proof of the connection the two of them shared. With an anxious gulp, Liam led Demios into the shadows.

Their presence could not be felt; they were now one with the very shadows themselves. It was a bit past midnight, and most of the lights in the building had gone out. If this was an average mission, Liam would attempt to take some kills. However, that was not the goal; he needed to go prove that Alvis was colluding with The Will of Kyoya. The only thing stopping him beforehand was Ms. Fridriks warning, for she began to ponder the possibility of this location being one of the main hubs of operation. Liam couldn't afford to be careless, and Demios certainly would not allow any missteps. Even as their combined essence climbed along the shadows of the wall, they moved slowly. One could only expect to be so unlucky that an opposing buddy monster had some sort of essence-sensing skill. Demios was especially worried about the possibility, for he remembered how well Arkaid could detect certain auras.

As they traversed along the walls, they occasionally entered different rooms. With each apartment room was an assembly of multiple criminals; individuals working with The Will of Kyoya. Liam didn't need to see much; he was able to pinpoint them all as criminals due to their possession of the Dark Core Deck Cases. What astonished him though was the sheer number of people in each room. People were crowded yet just comfortable enough. He felt like he was in the barracks of the coast guard. This was not some sort of unprofessional street gang; this was turning into an army.

Demios had to put pressure on Liam's very being; he could feel Liam's murderous intent. If he would be able to kill at least a few, then it would mean fewer difficulties later down the line. However, Demios continued to warn Liam with each little outburst; they needed to leave as little impact as possible. If these individuals suspected anything at all, then they would move out and leave. The transfer would be hidden and discreet, and it wouldn't be picked up by anyone. Already, Liam had seen enough to know that these crooks were going to serve some time. Still, he needed to accomplish his main task before going away; he needed to see Alvis.

Neither Liam nor Demios could believe the number of members and monsters that they were seeing. As they climbed along the shadowed walls next to the stairs, they marveled at the number of people on each floor. It appeared that, with each flight, more and more people were sleeping within their equivalent to a barracks. Even within the shadow, Demios wished to speak with the volume of a silent whisper. "Anyone who is brought into this place may never expect to return," he began to murmur. "I would be surprised if they ever saw the light again."

Liam exhaled quietly. "Are you sure we can't take them?"

"Once they know we're a part of the Purgatory Knights, our fate would be sealed," Demios returned. "It would only be a matter of time until they learn our skill's weakness. They may not even consider just imprisoning us, but torturing us as well." Demios sighed solemnly. "I've been in such horrid scenarios, but I cannot even bring myself to think of what would happen if I made you suffer such a fate. You already suffered enough."

"Demios, I'm your partner," he protested. "Don't put me over you, like. I'd never leave you behind."

"It wouldn't be a choice," Demios returned somberly. The layer of his low voice almost echoed in the hallway. He was almost rattled by Liam's response. They stopped their presence, observing the hallway for anyone that could have heard them. At that point, they made sure not to speak anymore. Once they knew that the hallways were clear, their presence motioned along the shadowed walls once again.

It took several attempts, but the pair soon overheard a series of mutters. It was one of the last doors on the floor, positioned on the northern side of an intersecting series of halls. Such noises prompted them to investigate. As they got closer to the edge of the door, they recognized one of the voices as Alvis's. Liam knew what to do. He ceased the Buddy Skill, reforming both himself and Demios just outside of the wall. To ensure that no unnecessary noises were made, Demios emerged in his SD form and hastily flew onto Liam's shoulders. Liam took out his phone and placed it close to the door. The best bet at getting the evidence he needed was to record Alvis talking. If Liam had reformed in Alvis's room, it would alert everyone and blow his cover. Using the device, he began recording the following conversation:

Alvis: "I'm telling you, it's a bad idea."

?: "Al, you shouldn't worry about it. I just want to get the morale up."

Alvis: "Why care about morale? Eirik, you shouldn't worry about them."

Liam and Demios looked at each other, astounded by their sudden find.

Eirik: "They may be criminals, but they are our only assets. Without them, it would just be the three of us, and I know how much you despise Gale."

Alvis: "You're not even that good of a public speaker."

Eirik: "I don't care; I'm sure I'll get through it."

Alvis: "Unbelievable."

Eirik: "Just give the word that there's going to be a speech tomorrow. Bottom floor auditorium, 10:00 AM sharp. Say to be there on time, though I expect many will be late."

Alvis: "Are you sure you should do this?"

Eirik: "Yes! We need to remind them of our main plan. The purpose of all this struggle and trying to amass as much of the Disaster Force as we can. We will tell them how we'll use CJ to-"

Liam ended the recording, for he heard footsteps coming from the edge of the other hallway. His heart started racing when he noticed some of the lights turn on in the hallway from afar. He was in such a panic that he didn't even listen to the remaining bits of the conversation. Because of the ways the hallway intersected, the lights from one portion of it only slightly illuminated his end. Using his buddy skill, he led Demios into the shadows along the wall. However, some of the light from the other hallway peeked in, making parts of the wall illuminated. Liam and Demios could feel their very presence weaken within the darkness on the wall. The light was weakening their abilities. Fortunately, they were able to maintain their presence along the shadow long enough to see a familiar figure walk through the hallway. It was Gale. Liam's presence shook from the contempt he felt for that man. He peered over the hallway, observing the outside of Eirik's door. He continued to hear what he could about the discussion. Liam and Demios couldn't make sense of it, and it appeared like Gale didn't care. With a shrug of his shoulders, he returned to his room, soon shutting the lights off in the hall.

Demios left the shadows of the wall. He quickly went over to Eirik's door in order to hear more. Unfortunately, the voices had ceased. The conversation must have ended. When Liam emerged from the shadows, Demios turned to him with a grim look on his face. That was enough to tell Liam that Demios also didn't pick up that last part. Demios growled to himself. "I can't believe this; they even mentioned CJ by name!"

"… Gale…" Demios heard Liam speak the name in a horrid, demonic tone. When his eyes met the ones of his human companion, he saw the man stare down the hallway where Gale once emerged. Liam's breathing began to pick up as he slowly started for the intersection. Demios quickly flew after him, calling his name is a lowered voice. Liam didn't listen; he peeked his head around the wall of the intersection and stared down where Gale had entered. "One of those doors…. How did we not check them?"

"Liam, don't do this," Demios warned. "We did our duty. Now is the time to leave and regroup."

"But we got the information so easily," Liam returned in a cold, low voice. "We can afford to do more, I'm sure of it."

"Don't be such a fool! This was far from easy!" Demios scowled back. "We've been breaking into these residences long before we allied with Fridrik, and each time led us to nothing! We started searching ever since we killed those three people! We've been searching for the base of operations for so long!" Liam finally turned to face his ally. Demios curled his hands into unforgiving fists. "Liam, you know what I wish to do. To go against me in this state… after getting so far, and after every setback, I will not have you risk it!"

"But we need the evidence!"

"We have it!"

"No! The evidence for CJ!" Liam whispered strongly! Demios gasped, soon lowering his eyes. He nodded, understanding the truth. "I can't just let this chance pass by. We need to catch him and question him. That way, we can finally get back at that gobshite for ruining everything!"

"And if we fail, then we both lose that chance as well as the evidence for Fridrik," Demios retorted. He looked into Liam's eyes, watching as the man shook with anger. The dragon could feel Liam's calls for revenge within his very being. "Liam… you know what we need to do."

(POV: First)

It was definitely an oddity to receive a call from my old boss, especially so early in the morning. Hearing her voice again was definitely disheartening to me, for I didn't want to be involved with her anymore. However, the urgency of the call was enough for me to put my negative thoughts on her behind me. Because of my duties as a member of the Fifth Omni Cavalry, it was essential to put the needs of others before mine. We were told to meet at the closest area within each of the individuals responding to the call. I assume that Fridrik thought we were all going to meet at the Buddyfight HQ. However, it had turned out that my own allies were closer to the DMW, so it was decided that we would meet over there.

The other members of the Fifth Omni Cavalry were being called; That was enough to worry me to a lengthy degree. For all of us to be called meant that this particular issue meant that all hands needed to be on deck. It was for that specific reason that the three of us rushed over as quickly as we could. By the time we had gotten there, we discovered just how fortified the place became in my short absence. It may have been recent, but the three of us were greeted with men armed with something close to a style of military weaponry. These individuals were clothed in cybernetic garb, which confused me at first. Earth had not reached that level of futuristic technology. It was then that I put two and two together. These people, who looked like people who came from Earth, were actually members of Hero World.

A world similar to ours, yet their word is one riddled and filled with crime. It is because of such levels of crime that the world accelerated technological advances in every field. The world existed on a different scale and development. While worlds like Legend World, Dragon World, and Ancient World were developed as if they were still within the Middle Ages, worlds like Star Dragon World, Hero World, and Danger World lived in a more futuristic level of development. It placed Earth directly in the middle of it all.

To have so many Hero World monsters called meant that this issue was a serious one. We were immediately let inside once the guards at the front recognized my buddies and I. We were led to a large discussion room with one giant, rectangular table in the center of it. My other comrades had already arrived, sitting around the table in their little groups. Rikka was sitting on the opposite sit between Doble and Meglax while Melanie, Mizaru, and Merak sat closer to where I stood. Both heads of the table remained empty, most definitely reserved for Ms. Fridrik and whomever else had to do so.

My eyes immediately went to Doble, for he appeared to be finding the situation awkward for him. His eyes darted around the room as he continued to avoid eye contact with me. Rikka elbowed him in the chest, making the red dragon pull his arms back in to avoid another one. I must have missed some sort of talk, for everyone else in the room was glaring at Doble in hopes that he'd make some sort of move. My guess was that he was second-guessing himself, but I wasn't really taking much notice of him. He wasn't on my mind at the moment; Fridrik was. We were all called here early in the morning and we had to end up waiting for her. My last confrontation with Ms. Fridrik was a horrible one, so I already didn't want to see her. When my eyes looked at the empty heads of the table, I couldn't help but feel angry by Fridrik's absence. "Anyone know where she is?" I asked, soon taking the closest seats to us. Arkaid placed herself on my right and Alliot was to my left. "She said it was important, and now she's holding us up."

Rikka grumbled back to me. "No, we don't know, and yes, we're also annoyed with her B.S."

Meglax sighed. "From what I heard, she's prepping someone to help give us some information."

Arkaid leaned forward. "What kind of information?"

The pink-haired girl replied back. "The sort that gets all these monsters from Hero World to come help us out," she replied. "Apparently, there have been some issues with the Disaster Force up in their world too."

"Damn," Arkaid swore to herself.

Mizaru spoke, encouraging Arkaid. "There's no time to take this as a defeat. With what we know now, we know their main base of operations."

Alliot slammed his right hand on the table as a confident grin shot up on his face. "We got some?!" He exclaimed, referencing the information received. When Mizaru nodded back to him, Alliot slammed his hand against the table again. "Time's up, ya bastards!"

Merak shook his head. "Act like you've been there," he began. "There's also no time to celebrate. We ourselves do not know the information."

Doble managed to bring himself to speak. He sat forward in his chair once he saw his rival expressing so much energy. It was like his opposite was indirectly reviving him. "Still, it's a start. Also, I can't wait to show off my form some more. Alliot, I bet you're jealous of it."

"Why should I be?" The orange dragon snorted.

"Because, when I'm in that form, you seem to become even shorter."

"Say that again, ya bastard!"

Almost like a call from heaven, emerges from the door. It's not just her, however; Halia flew into the room with illuminating excitement. She eagerly took flight as her eagle eyes locked onto me. She flew into my chest with such speed that she nearly knocked me out of my chair. "CJ! How are you doing?! It's been ages since we last saw each other!" She cried out happily. I couldn't help but tear a little bit as I saw my friend so excited to see me. It was a nice way to lighten the tension in the room. Instinctively, I embraced the small bird, and she nudged herself against my chest and refused to move. When I saw Ms. Fridrik take a seat at the head, I noticed that she was smiling a little bit. Not with the cocky smile; she genuinely appeared just as happy as I saw her when we first settled in Japan.

Ms. Fridrik opened the conversation up by placing a suitcase on the table. She spoke out to all of us as she started taking out some files and notebooks. "Let's get this started, shall we?"

Rikka scoffed. "It's about time. We were waiting for you for a while."

"I had to get some information cleared."

Melanie tilted her head. "Cleared? Was something not clear already?"

"I meant that I needed to have my evidence accepted, processed, etcetera," she began. She pulled out a laptop, turning it towards us. It wasn't displaying anything but a large window. When she motioned away from it and looked over her files, I assumed that the information on the laptop was something we would get to later. "The important details are this; we know where the main base of operations is and we know that they are staying there, according to my sources. However, we don't know how long they may stay there." Everyone else in the room, including myself, started discussing the matter amongst ourselves. We all expressed multiple concerns about this issue, mostly bringing up the source of the matter. However, we all were talking over each other so much to the point that I couldn't even hear myself talking. Ms. Fridrik had to bang her fist against the table in order to get everyone's attention onto her. "… Now then. There are several things we need to inform you lot about. First things first, we need to ask for your permission to join us in this endeavor."

Merak spoke up. "How do you mean, Ms. Fridrik?"

"To clarify, we need the power that the Fifth Omni Cavalry can bring us," she began. "I had another group of individuals in mind, but they were denied the ability to fight on Earthly soil on such a grand scale."

Arkaid interjected. "Would it be too much to ask who this group is?"

"You wouldn't like them," Ms. Fridrik returned. "Due to the curse they have."

Mizaru lowered his head. "So, the Purgatory Knights were your first option…. How dreadful."

I felt that it was a poor choice, but I also understood where her line of reasoning led her. "Even so, an undying force would be nice. It would save us from having to lose lives."

"I would die before letting those monsters lead the way."

"Do you even know what you're talking about, Mizaru?" I argued back. "The Purgatory Knights aren't evil; the only bad thing about them is the curse they're under."

"They used one of the Forbidden Black Arts," Mizaru adamantly replied.

"To keep themselves alive in order to block the gate between Dragon World and Darkness Dragon World," I returned with an angry scoff. "No matter how you put it, it makes sense to ask them first. They don't die forever, and they are an entire army. We, on the other hand, are a force of about nine people."

Ms. Fridrik interjected. "Unfortunately, ties between the inhabitants of Darkness Dragon World and Dragon World are still a bit fragile, so I've been forbidden to have a group of the Purgatory Knights conduct official matters. Because of that, I have no choice but to rely on you and your Cavalry's Super Forms."

Meglax appeared intrigued. "So you know of our forms?"

"Surveillance footage of the fight between your group and Sinblade was enough for me," Ms. Fridrik began. "Before you transformed, the dragon tossed you around like a bunch of useless ragdolls. After you and Doble transformed, however, the mere 'aura' that you two gave off was enough to scare away that dragon. Your powers warrant further investigation but, for right now, we need your help."

We all turned to each other. Without much of an argument, we nodded. Mizaru spoke for us. "It is our duty to protect, so we shall."

Melanie smiled happily. "We'll beat 'em up!"

Mizaru nodded back in excitement. "So, what do we need to know?"

Ms. Fridrik sighed depressingly. "This." She pressed the spacebar on her laptop. It began to play a sound clip, with the soundwaves appearing on the computer screen in the form of blue, jagged lines. I wasn't prepared for what I began to hear.

Alvis: "I'm telling you, it's a bad idea."

?: "Al, you shouldn't worry about it. I just want to get the morale up."

Alvis: "Why care about morale? Eirik, you shouldn't worry about them."

Eirik: "They may be criminals, but they are our only assets. Without them, it would just be the three of us, and I know how much you despise Gale."

Alvis: "You're not even that good of a public speaker."

Eirik: "I don't care; I'm sure I'll get through it."

Alvis: "Unbelievable."

Eirik: "Just give the word that there's going to be a speech tomorrow. Bottom floor auditorium, 10:00 AM sharp. Say to be there on time, though I expect many will be late."

Alvis: "Are you sure you should do this?"

Eirik: "Yes! We need to remind them of our main plan. The purpose of all this struggle and trying to amass as much of the Disaster Force as we can. We will tell them how we'll use CJ to-"

CLICK

Ms. Fridrik closed the laptop, somberly placing it back in the suitcase. She sighed before sitting down in her chair once again. Her eyes gazed at each member of the audience, noticing that each member of the Fifth Omni Cavalry had their faces turned to me. Even Arkaid and Alliot were looking at me, speechless as they waited for me to register what I just heard. My mind went blank. Nothing was being registered. My mouth opened and closed as voiceless air left my lips. Fridrik, understanding my behavior, nodded sympathetically. "As you all just heard, this is a conversation confirmed to be recorded at the main base of operations. My sources managed to record this. Unfortunately, they weren't able to get that last line, but I believe I know what they were talking about." Ms. Fridrik walked over to me. As she drew closer, a saddened Halia looked up to my blank eyes. I continued to stare at nothing, oblivious to the woman two inches from my face. "Alvis is working for The Will, CJ. They wish to amass a great amount of power. From what others have said about that thing you turned into, my bet is that they want whatever you have." My head started tilting towards the floor. Ms. Fridrik grasped my head. She firmly held me up by tightening her grip on my chin. "CJ, you-"

Arkaid snapped at her. She shoved Ms. Fridrik away from my face. That sudden movement brought me back to reality. "Don't touch him!" She roared angrily. Ms. Fridrik grasped her own hand, feeling a bit of a sting from Arkaid's aggressive push. "He's not some doll for you to move around. He's hurt!"

"Fine, whatever," Ms. Fridrik admitted.

As she walked back to her seat, Arkaid breathed a sigh of relief upon noticing that I came back. "Are you okay, CJ?"

"Um… yeah."

Ms. Fridrik snorted. "You're babying someone who's supposed to be a member of your cavalry," she added on. Arkaid gave the woman a cold glare. I found myself uncomfortable with how things were developing. I didn't expect Arkaid to snap like that. "The rest of you, if CJ is feeling too sorry for himself to listen in, should pay attention. According to this recording, there is going to be a floor meeting on the bottom floor. The person that Alvis identifies as Eirik says that this is going to take place 'tomorrow.' Now, this recording was recorded a few hours ago, about some time near one in the morning. My source is out surveying to see if any meeting is occurring, just in case the speaker meant for tomorrow as in 'today' tomorrow. You can never be too careful due to the lack of clarity."

Merak nodded. "Understandably so. Just from that recording alone, we don't know what the speaker is thinking."

"Exactly."

"If I may, Ms. Fridrik," Merak began. "I suggest you not touching one of us, ever again, in the same manner as you just did with our comrade." Ms. Fridrik froze for a moment. "We may now be your servants, but you have no grounds to treat us as if we're the dirt you may so casually walk on. I hope that this is clear enough for you."

"… Yeah, it is," Ms. Fridrik sighed. "But, back on another point, do any of you know about the power that CJ apparently holds?"

The majority of the Fifth Omni Cavalry members shook their heads or spoke about how they had never seen me actually access the form. Arkaid mentioned that I told the others about it, while Mizaru brought up how I was rather reluctant to talk about it due to the nature of the form. Because of the variety of answers, I felt the need to speak up. However, my mind was too cloudy… Alvis was working with The Will, and I couldn't accept that. "I… I entered that form because Arkaid left. I felt so helpless…."

"So, you can't transform into it naturally, huh?" Ms. Fridrik asked. After I weakly shook my head, Ms. Fridrik got up from her chair again. Almost instinctively, Arkaid glared back at her, probably expecting our new overseer to mistreat me in some way. Ms. Fridrik stopped walking for a moment and waited. Nonverbally, she waited until Arkaid felt that the situation was alright for me. Ms. Fridrik walked over to me once again, soon standing right before me. Alliot inched forward as well, preparing for any possible misstep. "You two are really overprotective of him."

"Shut it," Alliot scowled. "You and I aren't exactly on good terms either."

"Right," Ms. Fridrik said as she rolled her eyes. "I just want to know if he is actually willing to fight."

"What do ya mean?" Alliot growled back. "Of course he's ready."

"Is he?" Ms. Fridrik asked curiously. She raised her right eyebrow, emphasizing her frown. "I don't want to have any individual that would sabotage this operation fight alongside you guys. If he is going to be too afraid to fight, then-"

I couldn't take it anymore. "Jesus Christ!" I yelled back to her. "Can't ya give a guy two seconds to breathe?! Ever?!" Ms. Fridrik merely crossed her arms from my outburst. Arkaid and Alliot quickly shot up from their chairs. I didn't want them to help me here. With a slight hand gesture, the two of them knew that I could handle this. "You just told me that my friend is working for the enemy. How can you already act like he's some kind of scum? You know the kind of people these criminals are! What if they have something on him and he's been forced to work with them?!"

Meglax nodded. "That is certainly a possibility," he concurred. "Though, as unfortunate as it sounds, we won't know until we go in."

"Then we'll go in together!" I exclaimed. "But, Ms. Fridrik… give me a goddamn breather!"

She ignored my plea. "There's barely any time to organize this plan, yet you want to ask for a breather?" Ms. Fridrik argued. "CJ, welcome to the real world. You're in a situation where you need to think and organize quickly and prepare for the worst. A former employee that I sincerely trusted has gone rogue. I too am having a difficult time dealing with it, but you don't see me crying like some pansy! I want to find the truth just as much as you!"

Silence filled the room. She stormed back to her chair, glaring back at me. "If you get in the way of this operation, I'll see to it that you get a severe punishment."

Halia squawked back. "Hey! Stop being so rude!"

"I don't get any of you," Ms. Fridrik murmured. "Bottom floor auditorium, 10:00 AM sharp. Say to be there on time, though I expect many will be late," she stated, going over some of the last lines of the recording. She looked up and observed each individual closely. "Already, I know how we're going to do this. When the next group comes in, I hope I'll be able to brief them faster than you lot; you're too sentimental, I swear."

Throughout the course of the meeting, we allowed Ms. Fridrik to speak without interruption. She was going to have multiple groups of DMW agents, Buddy Police Officers, and allied monsters assist in this endeavor. However, it was important for each group to go over what their plans were, for this was going to be an effective assault. Because of this auditorium meeting, most, if not all, of the members of The Will of Kyoya were going to be placed in a condensed room with little to no maneuverability on the floor. Because everyone was in one giant room, each member was going to be in plain sight; there was no chance that we would be ambushed from behind since everyone would be in that room.

At the moment, my mind wasn't thinking too much about the plans. Even after the meeting, when we were all released and allowed to roam the DMW center for the night, I found myself thinking about Alvis. I remembered just talking to him so recently. It was horrible. Something within me forced me to sit down on the floor with my back leaning against the wall. I covered my face with my right hand, soon somberly sighing as the dreadful recording kept playing over and over in my head. When I finally opened my eyes I noticed Arkaid sitting right next to me. Her hands rested nicely in her lap. The way she looked at me made me feel like I was the only thing on her mind. It felt calming, really; she didn't even need to say anything to me. "Alliot and I split up to look for you…. How are you feeling?"

"… A bit better, I think?" I drearily replied. "It's just… weird. I've been so emotional the past few days, too. I can't help but agree with-"

"Don't say that," Arkaid hastily replied. "Too many things have been happening to you at once. It is only reasonable to feel that way."

"… I won't get in the way tomorrow," I returned back to her. I managed to smirk back at her, feeling invigorated by her kind smile. "Besides, you and the rest of them have been training me. I won't let you down."

"Never expected you to," Arkaid replied. "Oh?" She appeared to sense something. She turned around, soon noticing a red, humanoid dragon approaching. The warrior armor he wore alerted me to his presence immediately. Under normal circumstances, I would've ignored Doble and his horrible attitude towards me. However, he had been acting strangely throughout most of the meeting. He had been nervous around me and, as I watched him approached me, still was. He froze when our eyes met. "Well?" Arkaid asked pleasantly. Doble nervously turned away. "Have anything to say?"

"I… have nothing to say!" Doble exclaimed. He quickly took off, leaving Arkaid to chuckle to herself.

"You aren't the only emotional one. He's been trying to apologize to you after what happened."

Astonished, I tilted my head. "Seriously? I thought he was anxious because the others were giving him a hard time."

"He has a good heart, trust me," Arkaid mused. "The only problem is that his pride is getting in the way. He has too much of it that he can't swallow it all at once."

"Sounds like it gets in the way."

"It does, actually…." Arkaid softly sighed. I nudged closer to her, finding her saddened tone to be worrisome. She turned to me with a genuine smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just that I often think of the other Cavalry Dragons. They handle their feelings in a similar manner, though Doble's is an extreme case."

"I can only imagine," I returned.

"That's why I feel like you're easier to be around," Arkaid replied. She shuffled her position so that she was completely facing me. Befuddled, I gasped back to her. "Pride leads to dishonesty; the dragons, at times, are so prideful that they often lie about how they feel. You aren't like them, and that is something I've appreciated since I met you."

"… I… Arkaid," I stammered.

"What I'm saying is, don't listen to Fridrik," she began. "We're all afraid, but that's why we're warriors; we fight to protect others when the frightened are too cowardly to do so. We put our lives on the line so that others don't have to. I know that you're frightened of seeing Alvis on the other side of the battlefield, but…." She smiled. "The fact that you're willing to admit your fears and face them, that's something I really treasure."