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Chapter 2: Etiquette Lessons

Just a minute before Piper's "grueling torture", or so Finn and Emma called it, everyone was sitting on the bridge, waiting for the specialist to come. Junko and Stork seemed most nervous; Junko feeling that he was going to be the one making the most mistakes and Stork just being his merb-self. Radarr was grooming himself in case there was going to be a score based on first appearances. For the blonde, he just didn't want to do this, and he showed it through pouting and slouching. The only ones who appeared to be calm about the situation were Aerrow and Emma, but she knew she was lying to herself. She didn't want to take these lessons as much as anybody else here.

"Aerrow, I really don't want to do these." whispered the Gaian, as she looked around, "I'm not very good with manners; I still have problems with it. Besides, I don't like that Harrier person that much and I think he doesn't like me either." She still didn't know that if it was her fear talking or not, but she knew that she was going to be the one who probably will kill the party. The red head looked at her with an unflustered face; he was acting like he was okay with this. This was not a good sign.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like Piper is going to totally change you into something you're not," the sky knight said, making the girl feeling even more anxious. Being almost to the age of adulthood, she felt that she couldn't change what she really was and she would always be who she really was; she was just having trouble finding out who she really was. But she did know that she couldn't be a real lady.

After that talk, the doors opened to reveal the tanned girl with a really big smile on her face. Her arms were behind her back to make it look like a general. When she turned to group, everyone felt very sick to their stomach; this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Welcome to Etiquette Lessons for Sophisticated Parties, like the one were going to have tomorrow." Piper said, before looking around the room. She could tell by the appearance of the class that this wasn't going easy; Finn was slouching, Junko was twiddling his thumbs, Stork was twitching nervously, Emma was clasping the front of the seat, Radarr was munching his toenails, and Aerrow was doing nothing about it. This was going to be tougher than she expected.

"Now, for starters, we'll begin with sitting correctly," the specialist said, before taking out a chart of a true gentleman sitting, "I want you to follow this set-up: back straight, shoulders back, lower arms should be on the chair arms, if not, set them on the sides, feet flat, no crossing in the legs, and bend the knees at right angles." She watched as her members started to set up and followed the chart. She smiled as they were correctly in their posture; maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "Now, stay like that for ten minutes while I go get the rest of the lessons ready."

"You mean we're not done yet?!" howled Finn as he went back to slouching. Piper glared at him, which caused the sharpshooter to straightened back up. She sighed while placing her hand on her head.

"Yes, Finn, if you think you're going to pass with just simple seating, then we're in trouble. The Rex Guardians are very serious about their protocol when it comes to dinner…Well, when it comes to everything." she shook her head before saying, "But the point of this matter is to make a good impression on them, to get them as allies and a influence on the Sky Council. So, if we play our cards right, it will be a breeze!"

After a second of silence, it was Stork's turn to speak, "You know, if we stay like this for ten minutes, we might have invisible bio flies infect our spines." The specialist groaned. Why did Stork have to say that?

"Really? Is that what causing my back pain now? I thought it was from sitting like this?" joked Emma, causing the tanned girl to groan more. She snapped her fingers, causing everyone to look back at her.

She sighed before saying, "Look, I'll be getting the supplies, and when I get back, you guys better be sitting properly! Got it?!" Everyone else nodded, as she smiled. Then, she walked out of the room with a little spring in her step; her plan was definitely going to work. Unfortunately, when she returned, her team and their guest were all slouching on the chair.

Okay, it was time for Plan B.

Lesson 1: Conversation

A few minutes and some rope-tying later, Aerrow, Finn, Junko, Stork, Radarr, and Emma were tied to their chairs, sitting in up-right positions. Piper was the only one standing as she smirked in front of her class. Now, it was time to start off the first lesson of etiquette.

"Now, our first lesson is having a nice conversation with your peers. The key items to a proper conversation is vocabulary, listening, and of course, talking." she said, as she sat down in a chair, properly to lead an example. "While I make cards for what to say at the party, you guys start a conversation. Let's start with a question first, Aerrow?"

The leader blinked, realizing that he was supposed to say something. He coughed before saying, "Hey, Emma, can you tell us about the multiple fighting techniques back on Gaia?" The Gaian looked back at him with a neutral face. The boy smiled as he eagerly awaited her answer.

"Actually… Can we forget that I'm from Gaia for one night?" she said innocently, causing all the others to blink in confusion. Usually, she talked about her world when they asked questions about it. But why would did she want to deny that she was from Gaia? Come to think of it, did she tell anyone else that hadn't figured it out that she was from Gaia?

"Why do you want to do that, Emma? What's so bad about being from Gaia?" asked Junko, a little bit confused to why she would want to ask that. He didn't deny that he was a wallop because of his race's brute strength and how they wreck things without thinking; in fact, most people would tell that he was a wallop. So, what wrong with the Gaian telling people that she was well, Gaian?

The brunette slapped her face at the fact that the strongman didn't know. Well, the other Storm Hawks didn't know because she didn't talk about it. In Laymen's terms, she was a myth; a positive myth that even if she told one person that she was from Earth, they'll out her in the nut house. And even if there was a group of people that believe in that material, they probably put up a bogus trial in which she was guilty of all of her world's wrongs against them and burn her at the stake. Unfortunately, she didn't want to tell the guys about it, so she just answered, "Just forget about it, okay?"

"Well, you're going to need to tell them something." said Piper, dropping in on their conversation, "Someone is going to ask you where you are from. And if you say something inconspicuous, our gracious hosts will think you might be a Cyclonian spy."

"So, got any ideas on what terra I should be from?" Emma asked, looking around the room. The sky squadron blinked, realizing that she had no idea what the other terras were like. For who knows how long, why didn't she look up information about this world? It would have made it a lot easier to have chosen a fake birthplace for her.

"How 'bout Terra Tropica, huh? She totally looks like one of those babes." said Finn, trying to jump into the conversation. The others sweatdropped when he suggested that. For those who actually live in Atmos thought that it might have been a little extreme.

"Finn, Terra Tropica is a sunny and resort terra." Piper said, sarcastically, before turning towards the older female human. "I'll think of a place while we'll get back to the lesson. Stork, let's continue by telling a little about yourself like if this was a real party."

Now, Stork looked really fearful before saying, "Fine… But I must warn you, what I'm about to tell isn't meant for mortal ears…" The group all looked fearful, before the merb went into telling about himself. And when he told a little about himself, he went into almost his life stories: his allergies, his life-death experiences, even his gadgets that he'll probably never use against the hidden dangers of Atmos. It was so "interesting", that the guys were trying to stay awake. Unfortunately, they started to sleep and continued until…

BLAAAAAAAGH!!

"WAKE UP!!"

Aerrow, Finn, Junko, Radarr, and Emma instantly woke up, with the brunette yelling, "DIE! YOU EFFEN' BASTARD!!" She blinked in confusion, before looking at the others. They looked back in utter shock, except for Piper, who just gave her the disappointment look.

"Effen'?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The older girl smiled fake, knowing that she did wrong.

"… It is a way to say…" she gulped, figuring out a way to say it without getting struck by lightning for even saying it. She knew she really wasn't going to get struck by lightning, but you can never know what might happen in this place. So, she just continued, "Ya know, the F-word." Everyone else just blinked; they didn't know what she was talking about. The specialist sighed, before glaring at the rest of the crowd.

Then, she started to scold, "I can't believe you slept through Stork's talking! It is important to listen because it says that you respect what the person is saying! If this was an actual party, most people would stay awake during Stork's speech."

"Yea, if they want to be hearing how Strato-Elves do exist." commented Finn, before going in a laugh. It was quickly silenced by the tanned girl's glare. Then, she sighed again before handing out some flash cards out to the guys; for the sharpshooter, it was a really, really, really, really, really long list. The team all blinked as they began to read it.

"These lists are to help you with your tact skills," Piper explained, "It lists what to do and what topics would be appropriate. This will help with the Rex Guardian's party tomorrow night." The others blinked before reading the list, except for Emma. With being the first person to crossover to Atmos in probably years, it was very hard for her to understand the Atmosian Alphabet.

Looking around the room, she snuck over to Junko and asked, "Can you read this for me, please?" The Gaian only asked the wallop for several reasons. One of them was that he wouldn't ask any questions about why; she really didn't want the squadron to worry about her so much. Another reason was that Finn couldn't read small print even if his life depended on it.

Junko looked at her before taking the card. Once reading it, he said, "It says here you have to look people straight at them, stop playing with your split-ends and rubbing your hands together, don't use foul language, and not chew your nails. Wow, that's a lot. Mine says to don't give people a spontaneous hug and cover my mouth when sneezing."

"That's all! This sucks!" shouted Finn, who had overheard their conversation, "Piper gave me a lot of things that I can't do! I can't even flirt with that Rex Guardian chick!" As much as that was a totally useless remark, he did make a good argument; there were just some things that a person couldn't change that makes up a person. For example, the sharpshooter wouldn't be like himself if he stopped flirting, no matter how bad it was. They were the little things that stick to a person even after childhood.

Now, it was Aerrow turn to join the discussion, "Mine only says to be a little firmer when you guys are doing something unsatisfying. But I'm a little disappointed with the topics more so. I really wanted to discuss about our latest adventures and strategies, and the only thing that I'll be saying is the trip we had to Terra Moderob to get a new fridge." The gang shivered, remembering the trip; the long lines and the lifeless employees were a total irk. Telling that story would be the last thing a person could do in the universe. After a second of remembrance, the leader turned to Stork and asked, "What does your card say?"

The merb turned to them with a dark look on his face. Everyone looked freaked-out before hearing the answer, "It says to keep the "We're doomed" ranting short." After that, everybody facefaulted at that statement; well, the good thing about this party was that Stork wouldn't be ranting how it was going to be the end of the world.

Piper placed a hand on her forehead, sighing at how the students were taking her "suggestions" poorly. The cards would be a big help so that the Rex Guardians would see that they weren't just kids. But if Finn, Junko, Radarr, and Stork were going to act like they usually do, then how will the Storm Hawks ever be an official squadron.

Suddenly, the specialist heard a certain ding, which caused her to smile. "Okay, enough with the conversation lesson. Now, it's time for the really important lesson." The guys, and girl, looked at her, shocked. What else did she have to dish?

Lesson 2: Dinner

(… There was no pun intended.)

The Storm Hawks were in the kitchen for their next lesson. While Aerrow, Finn, Junko, Stork, and Emma were sitting at the table, with no ropes, Piper was trying to get Radarr to sit on the floor. According to the rules of fancy dinners, animals were supposed to sit in laps or on the floor; and since sitting in a lap made it a little demeaning to the co-pilot, it made it clear that he was going to sit on the ground. Unfortunately, the cabbit found that more demeaning and fought against the specialist's grip.

Once getting the mini-furry on the floor, the tanned girl looked at everyone with a straight look on her face. "Now, our next lesson has to do with fine dining, which will help with using utensils, eating politely, and not being picky when it comes to food." The students blinked, before looking at their food. While the wallop was pleased with what he was getting, the others weren't. They all got food that they didn't want to eat now or ever, or in Stork's case, was full of germs. Aerrow looked at them and decided to give them some words of comfort.

"Come on, guys, we should learn how to try new things," he said, before turning to Emma, "Besides, Emma, you need to eat more, especially food that is healthy for you." The Gaian looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. Ever since she came back, she had been eating get back some of her muscle back, but she still was picky when it came to eating food she wasn't familiar and veggies. So, when she looked back at her salad, she stuck her tongue out in disgust; she hated eating food that she didn't like.

The brunette looked over at Junko and asked, "Hey, I'll trade you my salad for your… dessert?" The food the wallop had looked like flat, round buns; so it was a best guess that it probably was dessert or maybe some bread. He looked over at her and then at her food. That's when the gears in his head started to turn.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted by Piper coughed, "Actually, here, we don't actually trade the food we are served. We eat whatever we are served and we eat it with no complaints." After seeing her glare, the strongman quickly shook his head and was about to eat the cakes, but then heard, "And we also use a dessert fork when eating our dessert." He yelped, before looking at all the forks laid on the left side; they all looked the same to him. Deciding that he had nothing to lose, he picked up a random fork, only to be whacked on the hand by the specialist, who said, "Wrong fork."

"Piper, you're being stingy. Most of this food can we eat with our hands." said Finn, while taking a bite out of a chicken leg. "Besides, who is going to care if we eat all fancy or not." Now, that made the tanned girl really miffed. The Storm Hawks were invited to the Guardian's anniversary dinner and the guys were treating it like it was just another snack time. This was it; she had it with these antics and now it was time to let out the frustration she had been hiding.

"You guys are such pigs! This party does not only honor the sky knights of today but the sky knights of the past! What would they think if they all saw us acting like this?! I swear that all of you are selfish, unclean pi-!"

"May I please be excuse, Piper?" asked the voice of Emma, which caused the specialist to stopped ranting at the moment. Everyone turned to see that the Gaian had already finished her dish as her bowl was clean. This was strange since that she didn't like greens; even Finn was surprised.

Piper came to and asked, "Did you really…?" She stopped when she heard a burp. Everyone turned to Radarr, who had a big belly with a few green leaves on it. That's when they turned back to the brunette and gave her the baffled look, except for the tanned girl, who frowned and exclaimed, "You fed your salad to Radarr?!"

The older girl just answered, "I think he made a pretty good deal with me. I give him the salad and he gets me some of Junko's secret candy stash… At least that's what I think he said." The Storm Hawks just blinked at that statement; for Junko, he was wondering how so many people found out about his secret candy stash. But if the Gaian could really communicate with Radarr or it was just from her crazy mind, the Storm Hawks will never knew.

Piper just facepalmed herself and said, "Fine… Let's end the second lesson. We'll move on to the last lesson tomorrow." That was great news as the others quickly went out of the room. She sighed; this wasn't going as smoothly as she planned.

Lesson 3: Appearance

The next morning, the Storm Hawks woke up and headed towards the Terra Rex Market. Their mission was to get elegant clothing for the party so they would fit in with the Rex Guardians finely. The group was split into two teams: Aerrow would take the guys to a place he knew sold the best outfits for special occasions, while Piper took Emma to get work on making the brunette a perfect lady. Unfortunately, this caused much distressed as the Gaian tried to hide under a crate and sneak out to somewhere else, probably a pub. Unfortunately, she was caught and the tanned girl started to drag her to a very well-known store on the terra that sold the most spruce gowns for a party.

And thirty minutes later…

"EMMA! That's the costume store! Not the outfit store!"

… The two girls were only one shop away. They would have gotten there sooner, but there were a lot of distractions for the older girl. First, it was the toy shop, and then, the weapons shop; and now, it was a costume store. Piper had almost had it, even though she was younger than the person she was "baby-sitting" with.

Once entering the store, Emma complained, "I don't need clothes, especially a fancy dress. Can we just get something useful…? Like a weapon for me to fight with." The specialist rolled her eyes; the duo have gotten this far and they were going to find a dress that suits this party.

"Emma, first, you seem to be doing fine without a weapon. And two, you should really should appreciate clothes more," Piper said, as she looked through the gowns, "If we didn't wear clothing, then we would have been extinct from dangerous insects."

The Gaian looked over at her and replied, "Well, I rather be naked than wear a dress." Even though she was almost an adult, she still didn't get why people needed to dress themselves; especially when it's for occasions and workplace interviews; it seemed that Earth sociality cared more about perfect fashion than experience or a person's character. She rolled her eyes, knowing that she prefer a few types of clothing; pants, shirts, tanktops, mini-skirts, and anything that has to do with cosplay.

The specialist groaned, "Just help me find a dress for you." As she went in one direction, the brunette went in another. And while the tanned girl looked for something perfect for the party, the other teenager just browsed around looking at all the outfits on display. She noticed how much different Atmosian garments were from Gaian/Earth ones; while Gaia was going for clothing "that can breathe", Atmos used the very tight yet stretchy fabric, but there were a few occasions where she saw some baggy clothing on the locals. She wondered if it was because of the high altitude and high winds.

The teen continued to ponder until she saw a dress. But not just any dress, it looked like something that the servants of middle ages of Earth would wear. The bottom half of the dress was of a dark purple, with a lighter purple coming down the front middle. The top half was black and the collar was a V-neck. The sleeves were long and had a pattern of violet vines on them. In its slimming form, the girl was awed; she had found the dress she wanted.

"Piper! Over here!" she called, as the other girl came over, "I found what I wanted for the party." When the specialist looked at the dress, she frowned. This was a bad sign.

"Emma, that dress wouldn't do for the party. It's more like for… Let's just say it won't do for the party we'll be going to." She said, before holding up a dress, "Now, try this one. It goes with all the regulations of a Guardians' party." The two headed for the dressing room and the older one went into one of the booth. After a few minutes, she slammed open the door with an annoyed look on her face. The dress she was wearing was sprinkling gold silk, with frilly lace around long, bell-shaped skirt; the neck collar and sleeves were almost attached to her skin, causing her to not breathe.

In other words, she didn't like it.

"Piper… I don't like this dress. It's too girly and I think it's choking me," the brunette said as she fiddled with the torso. The specialist frowned while crossing the arms. That dress was totally went with the older girl's physic. She doesn't appreciate the fine art of fashion.

"Well, maybe it would help it you wore this." said Piper, as she held up a skin-colored corset. Emma paled at the sight of it; this wasn't good.

The Gaian girl gulped as she asked, "Piper… Are you sure your world is more advanced than mine?" She always wondered about the level of technology on Atmos. Sure, there were some advance tech, such as the skimmers and airships, and some middle tech like indoor plumbing. But there were devices that would belong to a museum on Earth, like the cameras. But most of their technology was powered by crystals, a major downside to the Earth energy crisis. At least Gaia had invented the internet before Atmos.

The tanned girl rolled her eyes and answered, "I'm still not sure about that… Anyway, we're now going to the hair dresser to wax your eyebrows, your lip, and any unsightly hair." That caused the brunette to pale even more. She didn't like waxing because it hurts… A lot. So when the specialist suggested that, she paralyzed with fear. Seeing that the older teen was a statue, the crystal expert sighed and started to drag her to the salon.

'I wonder how the guys are doing.'

Meanwhile with the male Storm Hawks, they were at a tux shop, getting the clothes they needed for the party. It was pretty easy for them instead of with the girls; they were just grabbing the outfit they liked the most and showed it to Aerrow. He agreed to their styles, not knowing that there was going to be a certain dress code for the party. It was going along smoothly until Finn asked, "Aerrow, why are we doing this again?"

"It's for Piper. This really means a lot to her." the leader answered, holding all the clothes the guys were gathering, "She really likes to be at those fancy parties. Don't know why though… But still, it's the least we could for all our screw-ups she puts up with."

"She's not perfect either," said Stork, as he disinfect all the clothing with his new "Germ-B-Gone" spray, "She babbles on plans that usually fail in the end." That was sort of true; the plans usually didn't go the right way, but it was because the guys messed it up one way or another. They needed to either learn how to follow a plan roughly, or Piper needs to learn how to expect the unexpected.

"I know, but still let's just do this for her. Besides, it might help if we were a little… conceding tonight," said Aerrow as the pilot put the suit he wanted in the pile. As much as he thought the Rex Guardians were uptight, they were allies. It would be respectful to honor the anniversary and maybe the Code… For once.

Junko was putting tuxes against his very big body when he asked, "But what about Emma? Does she know that she has to be nice?" That was a problem; the Gaian was pretty selfish as times, especially when it came to her possessions and wishes. But at times, she bends a little and shares when she knows that the guys would be thinking twice before messing with it.

"She'll probably come up with a crazy scheme to get food that won't be serving at this party, that's for sure." said Finn, as he picked up some fancy buttons for his coat. That would be something the brunette would do, ordering some food and then bringing it to the party to eat. The blonde just hoped she'll leave her some to eat.

The sky knight rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, guys. I'm sure Emma wouldn't do that. Even though she has other ideas than we have at times, she's a good person. She'll do the right thing."

"But what is the right thing? Being something you're not?" asked the strongman, before setting the clothing he wanted onto Aerrow. "… Sorry, she asked me about it last night, and I thought you might have the answer." That seemed a little complicated. What was the right thing in this situation? To be something that wasn't right for people who had high standards, or not honor the traditions passed down by their ancestors? This was making his head hurt.

Suddenly, he felt a tugged on his leg and looked down to see his co-pilot, with a little mini-tux for his little furry body. The leader smiled before grabbing it and placing it on the pile. "Come on, guys, let's check out." And the Storm Hawks guys went over to check out, ready to put on their uniforms.

Piper and Emma started to head back after the waxing, with the brunette walking funny. Almost all her body was waxed; her eyebrows, her arms, almost everything that was unsightly. She was walking funny from all the pain she was experiencing. The other girl rolled her eyes; the treatment wasn't that painful.

"Emma, waxing is harmless if you don't move!" she exclaimed, while huffing. The older girl glared at her when the other turned her head away. She didn't like waxing; she tried it once back on Gaia and that was that. The only reason she was holding back her anger was because it wasn't right to hurt someone on purpose.

She went back to walking funny, and asked, "Why am I doing this again?" Her mind was bugging her about that ever since last night. She didn't like parties that much anymore; she used to when she was a little kid, but now, she would have rather stayed at home. Maybe it was just her growing up.

The tanned girl looked at her and answered, "Because Harrier invited you! It would be rude if you didn't show up. Besides, being friends with him has its advantages, like maybe a recommendation to the Sky Knight academy."

"But I don't want to be a sky knight," retorted the brunette as she returned to walking normal. She wanted to remain neutral in the war between sky knights and Cyclonians; she still haven't decide who was the good guys and who were the bad guys yet, even though Cyclonia gave her the worst time of her life. Is she choose a side now, she might be making a really big mistake and regretting it later. Of course, just because she wasn't on a side yet doesn't mean that she can still get pay back on Cyclonis and her evil minions.

The specialist blinked, asking, "Then what do you want to be?" The other girl hasn't really thought about it. Sure, she had a realistic ideal job that most people would go with back home. But this was Atmos; there were probably thousands, unrealistic jobs she can have that would be way better than back on Earth. She could be anything that she saw on TV, read in fantasy books and comics, or played in video games. She thought about it a lot until she came up with something.

"I think… A Dragon Rider." she said, thinking that being a dragon rider like the main character in the Eragon books would work out for her. It had two things she loved, dragons and magic; and if she had a problem with idiots, her pet dragon would just burn them to a crisp… Maybe. Piper blinked at the older teen, before laughing. The other girl started to (fake) laugh too, not sure what was so funny.

"Anyway, Harrier is a nice guy once you get to know him," commented the specialist as they continued to walk, "Even though he's a little bit rash, he has good motives. I'm sure you will like him and maybe even tell him that you're a Gaian probably." The said-Gaian began to think about it; tell someone else besides the Storm Hawks that she's not from around here?

After some thought, she answered, "Harrier may seem nice to you, but to me, he seems to be one of those self-righteous jerks, who believe that even the whole population of underworld spawn is evil." She looked away when the tanned girl glared; she knew that she shouldn't judge people, but to her, Harrier really was a self-righteous jerk. Maybe it was because of all the gold armor he was wearing. But while pondering this fact, she noticed something that was very familiar and very strange.

She saw a shopping-stand in the near distance. Well, she didn't see it all of a sudden; she felt something and looked in it direction. Emma didn't know what was selling over there, but one detail that made her exclaimed, "Hey, that shopkeeper looks familiar."

Piper stopped and turned to see a very colorful merchant, wearing a hood and looking very recognizable to her as well. "Yea, he does look familiar." The two girls tilted their heads as the man waved at them. Suddenly, a thought crossed the specialist's mind; why didn't she think of it before?! She looked at the older teen and said, "I forgot about the jewelry. Maybe that guy over is selling some. Why don't you go over there and check?"

The Gaian looked at her and said, "Fine, but Piper, making a person into something they're not is just plain wrong." She took some the bag of gold from the specialist and headed toward the vendor, with the specialist glaring back at her. Why was she taking this like it was torture?!

Piper sighed, as she looked up at the sky. Why was everyone being difficult with these lessons? Sure, some of them were a little unfair to the guys since that's how they were. But they were going to the Rex Guardians' Ball! It was the most exclusive party of all time and the squadron was invited to it! They had to show at least some grace, or they will still be treated like kids. But still…

She felt that something else was wrong here.

"Hey! Look what I got!" called a familiar voice, as she turned to Emma, who had a particular smile on her face and was wearing a metal coin with a pentagram engraved. She held up a button with the Rex Guardians' symbol on it. The Gaian then said, "I also got this for you too, since you seem to like them so much." The specialist grabbed the button and stared at it. Then, she looked back at the older girl while frowning; something was definitely wrong here.

"Emma… These are cheap trinkets," she said, while waving the button around, "There both cheap metal." There was fifteen minutes of silence as the other teen pondered this thought. Afterwards, she just stared off.

"Wow, no wonder he gave them for free, score one for us," she said, causing the younger teen to sigh. The point was to show that the Storm Hawks that they were at the same rank as the Rex Guardians; but if they showed up wearing plain, play-toy jewelry, they would still be think of as kids. Seeing the specialist's reaction, the brunette responded, "Relax, it's not like anyone can tell that these would have been in a candy dispenser."

The specialist sighed again; it clearly showed that the Gaian didn't get it at all. In fact, she didn't get a lot of things on Atmos that most people would have in seconds; it must have come from being on a different world for so long. Maybe it was best to forget about it and head back to the Condor. There was still a lot of work ahead for the party,

Lots and lots of work.

It was dusk on Terra Rex, and back on the Condor, the Storm Hawks were getting ready for the party. The guys were getting on their suits, while Emma and Piper were having "special treatment" done. With only a few hours to spare, they were doing well in getting ready, with no hitch… Well it was almost with no hitch.

"Aerrow, I think another button popped." said Junko, who was having a difficult time getting his black tuxedo on. Maybe it was because it was a few sizes smaller than him. The rest of the guys already had clothes on; Stork was wearing green petticoat with dark tan pants, Radarr was wearing a suit on his upper body, Finn was in a black vest and pants, and a white, buttoned shirt, and Aerrow was wearing a white-uniformed suit. They did look civilized, but heaven knew that wasn't true. They were just wolves in sheep's clothing.

"Alright, guys, we're done!" yelled Piper's voice, as all the guys turned to the girls. The specialist was wearing a blue dress just as fancy as Emma's, the Rex Guardians' pin, and a tiara on her head. As for the Gaian, she was wearing the dress the tanned girl picked out with the pendant from the market earlier today; her hair was in a beehive style with a few strains hanging down. While Piper looked cheery in her look, Emma looked irritated for looking like a high-class laughingstock. The guys turned to each other, unexpected of what to say, before laughing their heads off. The younger teen glared, before saying, "You guys are so immature."

As the crystal specialist left to see if there was anything else left, Emma checked to see if she was watching. Then, she removed one bobby pin from her hair, causing it to fall back to its normal state. After that, she walked over to the communicator and started to fiddle with it. All the guys blinked, before turning to one another. They were really confused by the girl's antics.

"Aerrow, you should talk to her, she might be formulating a way to destroy the Condor," said Stork, who twitched nervously. The leader looked at the rest of the guys with a scowl on his face; why was he the one who should talk to her? Everyone else knew that she was harmless, so why should they be scared not to talk to her? Of course, there was the factor that she was still not from here, but that shouldn't count as much. Sighing in defeat, Aerrow walked over to the Gaian and watched her for a moment.

"… Emma, what are you doing?" he asked, as he watched her fiddle with the dial. He knew the girl didn't like dressing up anymore than the guys did; in fact, she didn't want to go to the party at all. But this was for Piper because she needed to have some relaxation once in a while. He just needed the other girl to see it.

Emma turned to him, and answered, "I'm ordering sky pizza because I'm not going to that stupid party." The redhead sighed; he was right. The older teen was trying to wiggle her way out of the party. He didn't know if Harrier did invite her or not, but he did know this, she needed to show that all the legends about Gaians being evil were wrong, even if she didn't tell the hosts at first.

"I know that you're not part of the squadron, but you're important just as the rest of us," he said, before continuing, "You're from a world where we fought against and feel that's still a threat. I think Piper knows that and wants to show them that they're wrong, that Gaians aren't a threat anymore. Maybe you can do the party for her."

Emma blinked, before thinking about it. The reason she didn't want to go to the party was because she had to act all nice and civilized, like some high-class snob. She wasn't like that, or so she thought; she probably was to most people. But then she thought about how disappointed Piper would be if she didn't go after all the lessons they went through. 'Dang guilt trip.'

Realizing she had no choice, the older teen said, "Fine… But I'm still ordering pizza, only it will go to the Rex Guardian's place." She turned back to the radio and began waiting for someone to pick up the transmitter. The sky knight smiled; it wasn't much of a start, but it was still good enough. Besides, it was better that she got something she liked instead of feeding salad to Radarr.

The few seconds of peace was broken when Finn said, "Hey, can you order a pizza with extra meatballs on mine?" The girl rolled her eyes before talking on the transmitter for pizza. It seemed that it would be a long time before the party would begin, so there was some time to burn. At least for a few moments of time, before Piper burst in.

"Guys! We need to go, now! It's almost time for the party!" she yelled, causing all the guys to straighten up and heading out the door. The specialist exclaimed that in order to look presentable when they arrive, the Storm Hawks must leave their rides behind and take a very long way to the party. After completing the call, Emma stood up and started to walk out as well, before getting stopped by the younger girl.

"Okay, I figured your persona for tonight at the party," she said, before explaining, "You are from Terra Atmosia. You are from a wealthy family, and have lived a very sheltered life. You noticed us flying by and decided to come with us on our ship. We discovered you and decided that you can stay with us. Any question?"

"Yes, one," said the Gaian before asking, "Did I bribe you or were you too nice to throw me over board?" The tanned girl rolled her eyes before pushing the other one out. Tonight was going to be the perfect evening and nothing was going to go wrong.

Absolutely nothing will go wrong!

After several miles of hiking, the Storm Hawks were exhausted. Walking wasn't really the best way to go, especially in tight clothes. The next time they had to go to a party without getting dirty, they were calling a sky cab.

"We're almost there," said Piper, while she and the rest were climbing up the huge staircase of the Rex Guardians' base. Well, the base was actually a huge mansion, but that wasn't the point. The point was that they made it and it was going to be a great time… probably.

Aerrow noticed the older teen lagging behind and looking a little bit clammy. He asked, "You okay?" He watched her nod, knowing that she was lying a little bit. He just smiled and said, "Don't worry so much. You'll be fine." She seemed a little bit better, but in her mind, she knew she wasn't going to fit in; she wasn't a sky knight, she was just a teen still in high school and a little bit blue-collared. But… She always imagined herself being at some sort of fancy shindig, and this was it. This was going to be a story hard to tell back home.

Once getting to the entry way, the Storm Hawks stood to get their breath. They had made it; after two days of torturous lessons, they made it to the high-class party. According to most standards, they would be ready for their party. They had to be ready after all their hard work. Breathing out, the sky knight grabbed the door and opening up, hearing someone shout out,

"Introducing… The Storm Hawks."

Author Notes:

Ta daaa… Second chapter uploaded, hope ya guys like it. Sorry if it was late, I was trying to write something else, but it was taking too long, so I went back to writing this instead. So, for making you guys wait so long, not only I'm posting up this, but an oneshot as well.

Here, you can the grueling torture that Piper has put the guys through. I had to look some of it up on the internet. I feel sorry for the guys.

As for the next chapter, it's probably going to take longer. I only got the beginning, end, and probably some of the middle planned, but I don't think it would be enough for a good chapter. So, can you guys please me send some ideas for what's going to happen at the party? Some along the lines of mess-ups and very funny things that you wouldn't normally seen at a ball. I'm going to add either a dateline or a limit to how many ideas I got, depending how many ideas I get at the time. I'll give out free imaginary ice cream for those who do.

On a later note, the new Storm Hawks are out. I've been seeing them on YouTube. And dang, they are awesome! Too bad it's not showing in America.

For thank yous, I thank Cold-Heart-Angel23 and Kitten2003 for reviews and Kitten2003 for faving this story. I definitely agree with the fact of going to fancy parties. As for the Rex Guardians as lizards joke, I looked up the meaning and found out that Rex is Latin for King. Hehe, still wished there was a Raptor sky knight for good.

And for those who notice my poll, please check my oneshot for details.

So, gents, please read and review!