A bit of a disclaimer, I'm not entirely sure how long this will be or how often I'll be able to upload new parts. School and other life stuff, ya know? But this will definitely come to an end at some point! Alright, let's get on with the fanfic!
"What's wrong, Martin?" the redheaded gamer asked.
"Chris just called. He's sick and won't be able to make it on our trip to the Amazon."
"Bummer," Jimmy said. "We could wait until he gets better."
"I had the same thought, but Chris insisted that we leave without him since we were so ready to go and all. It didn't seem like an appropriate time to argue."
Martin paused and stared at his lap for a moment. He didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous. Fortunately for the Wild Kratts team, all of them had strong immune systems and therefore, rarely got sick. This would be the first time they'd take off on a creature adventure without a member of the team. Chris was great company and an amazing person to work with, but without Chris, Martin also felt very vulnerable. Though he still had some hope they'd make it work in the end, he learned quickly that every member of the Wild Kratts Team was important. Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy were amazing, but none of them could provide the security and creature adventure knowledge that Chris could in the wild because that wasn't their expertise. Jimmy, meanwhile, cocked his head to the side a little in concern.
"Are you sure?" he asked, sensing the tension Martin was feeling.
"Yeah," Martin said with as much assurance as he could muster. "Maybe it'll be good for me and Chris both."
The two then heard the Tortuga doors open.
"Alright, we're all set for the Amazon!" Aviva said as she entered with Koki. "Where's Chris? It's not like him to be late."
"He called a bit ago. He's sick and won't be able to make it, but he said we could leave without him. He didn't want to be a cause of delay. I guess you two will have half the trouble to deal with today," Martin chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness again.
"Alright one half of trouble," Koki responded in her classic sassy tone, "tell Chris to get well soon. Jimmy, ready for takeoff?"
"On it!" Jimmy said obediently.
Aviva and Koki went about their day at their Tortuga stations tracking their location and making sure the Tortuga was doing okay. Martin on the other hand, didn't have much to do without his partner in crime, so he decided to go to the cockpit and see what Jimmy was up to.
"Hey, Martin. Glad you could join me. It can get kinda quiet in here when I need to fly for a long time," Jimmy greeted.
"Glad I could join in, too. The view is marvelous from here, isn't it? We should keep our favorite pilot company while we're flying more often. Speaking of, what got you interested in being a pilot? I don't think I've ever asked you that."
"Well, ever since I was little, I've always wanted to know what it was like to fly. I'm scared of many things, as you know, but for some reason, heights never bothered me. I also have nimble and quick hands along with keen eyes. That led to my interest in videogames, too."
Martin sat in the passenger leaning back with his feet in front of him and turned his head towards Jimmy.
"You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, huh?" he asked his pilot friend.
"Well, it takes one to know one, right?" Jimmy asked.
"Touché, JZ," Martin responded laughing back. "Touché."