Wow, you guys are really liking this story! Luckily, with all the plot bunnies and free time, I won't keep you waiting. It's….. THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER! …Oh, crud, it's the unlucky chapter! Good thing I don't believe in luck!

(Anvil falls and lands on head)

Oy… (rubs bump on head) Uh, does anyone, by chance, have a lucky rabbits foot?

Disclaimer: I only own Tesoro, Tyson, Jonesy, Natalie, Gene, Louigi, and the rest of the OC. The original TP characters belong to Disney.

The morning went by quick as the sailors continued to load cargo onto the SLR DESTINY, with Eric shouting orders to the crew (no doubt he was Elizabeth's first mate). The entire crew, Jonesy and Tyson included, were able to handle everything with ease…

Tesoro, on the other hand, had a bit more trouble. The rest of the sailors- who were experienced with such work- made it look so easy, making her feel ashamed of her small strength. "Note to self: work out more," Tesoro grunted to herself as she tried to haul a barrel down the stairs to the storage deck. A Lizardian-alien walked by, carrying a whole stack of crates above his head with one hand. He looked at Tesoro and smiled as he passed. "Show off,"

Tesoro turned back to the stairway, missing a step and falling forward. Her face slammed against the barrel and her hands slipped off the bottom, but the barrel hadn't fallen to the floor. Tesoro leaned back and saw Jonesy standing in front of her, holding the barrel.

"Whoa, careful, Tess." the cabin boy said, grinning. "Need some help?"

Tesoro was about to reply, but Jonesy had voluntarily turned away and carried the barrel below deck for her already. "Hey, move it!" A gruff voice snarled behind her. She turned, seeing she was standing in the way of two sailors, who carried a crate. The one who addressed her was a female Manticore, with dark-blue skin, bright green eyes and long, black lashes. Her hair was yellow and covered with a black ski-cap. The other was the tall, muscular, gray alien she saw earlier that morning.

Tesoro moved out of their way, rushing down the stairs and stepping off to the side. "S-Sorry, about that." she said, meekly. The Spiderdid rolled her eyes and continued walking, followed by the gray alien, who just glared at her.

"Don't mind those lunkheads," Tyson said, stepping out from behind two crates that stood taller than him. He was wearing a gray triangular hat with a black trim. "Lucinda and Greygor always love tah give deh new guys a hard time."

"Greygor?"

"Actually, his name is Gregory." Jonesy clarified, brushing his hands against each other in a clap manner from lifting the barrel. "But we like to call him Greygor, since he's grey… like his attitude!"

"He has… a grey attitude?"

"'Dat's Jonesy-talk fer 'moody'." Tyson explained. "Jonesy explains everyone's emotions in colors, ain't dat right?"

"Sure is." Jonesy said proudly. "I came up with it myself. Every emotion needs a color- like how sadness is defined as 'blue', or fear is defined as 'yellow', or anger and embarrassment are both 'red'."

Tesoro couldn't help but recall the number of times she blushed this morning (which was a lot). I must've been every shade of red, according to Jonesy. she thought.

"Well, c'mon, guys." Tyson said. "We'd better get tah work in deh kitchen. There's a lot o' supplies tah organize."

"I'll say," Jonesy scoffed. "It's like someone doubled the order of spatatoes just to-"

Tyson stopped, holding his hand behind him in front of Jonesy and Tesoro. "Hold it," he walked over to a dimly lit corner, where a scuffling sound came from behind one of the barrels. He turned to Tesoro and Jonesy, his finger pressed to his lips, telling them to remain silent. He snuck over, ever so quietly.

Tesoro gasped when she saw a pair of laser-lights appear in the shadows, aimed at Tyson's head. They moved back and forth, each way his head turned. It didn't occur to her- until Tyson turned his head more to the side- that the lights were coming right out of his eyes.

She gaped and turned to Jonesy, who shook his head and raised his finger to his lips, sending her the message: "Don't say anything," She nodded and looked back at Tyson, who turned back to them. She stifled a gasp when she saw that both of his eyes were red.

"Must-a been another Lizardian rat." Tyson muttered. He looked up, noticing Tesoro was staring at him. He realized his eyes were still red… and he was shining their light on her and Jonesy. "Oh, these? Just a pair o' artificial eyes." He blinked a couple times, having his eyes return back to their original copper color. "Now, let's get to deh kitchen!"

"All hands to stations! Prepare for launch!" They heard Eric call from above deck.

"Let's say we take a break and watch the launch." Jonesy half-suggested, half-pleaded to Tyson.

Tyson shrugged earnestly. "Ah, what deh heck. It is Tessy's first time on a ship. I guess we could spare work for such an occasion."

Tesoro was about to explain that it wasn't exactly her first time on a ship, but Jonesy's "WOO!" prevented her from doing so. With Jonesy running in the lead, they walked back above deck to observe the launch.

…Just in time for the gravity to give way, causing everyone to float in the air. Tesoro wasn't surprised. This has happened to her before… yet the feeling of being lightweight (well, more lightweight in her case) was still extravagant! She looked off to her right, watching the sails light up with color as they absorbed solar energy. That's when she noticed that she- once again- was floating higher than everyone else.

Until Tyson grabbed her by the hand (this time she didn't blush). "Hang in there, Tessy," he chuckled, adding his weight to hers. The artificial gravity kicked in and they fell back on deck- Tyson landed first, catching Tesoro in his arms. "Heh, quite a thrill, ain't it?"

This time, Tesoro blushed. "Yeah… thank you." she said, hoping the boy wouldn't notice how- in Jonesy's case- 'red with embarrassment' she was. She stood up straight, then grabbed onto the railing, knowing what was coming next. Tyson stood next to her.

With a whoosh, the ship blasted off into the Etherium. A shrill, high-pitched cry- followed by a crash- sounded. Tyson and Tesoro turned around, only to see Jonesy upside-down, back up against the wall, tangled in rope with a bucket on his head.

"Oy, brother, Jonesy!" Tyson sighed in discouragement. "I t'ought you had it down this time!"

"Apparently, I wasn't prepared!" Jonesy sarcastically snapped, his voice echoing inside the bucket. "I was about to tie myself down-" Tyson yanked the bucket off his head, and his voice was normal. "-but didn't get the chance to even tie a single knot!"

"Why would you need to tie yourself down?" Tesoro asked. "All you have to do is stand firm and grab hold of something."

Jonesy shook his head. "It's not about standing still, but soaring. Don't you know how cool it is to just hold onto a rope and glide in the air, feeling the rush of the launch race through you for a brief moment?"

Tyson rolled his eyes. "It happened tah him on one o' our launches, once." he told Tesoro. "We blasted off, an' he flew back, grabbed a rope at deh last minute, an' hovered in deh air for a short second before crashing back on deh deck."

Jonesy huffed. "You're just jealous because it didn't happen to you,"

"Yeah, well- hey, where'd Tessy go?" Tyson looked around, noticing Tesoro was no longer with them.

"There she is, and- whoa!" Jonesy pointed to the starboard side, where he saw- not only Tesoro- but a school of space whales. "Awesome! Hey, Ty, you think-"

"I wouldn't plan on it, Jonesy," Tyson chuckled a bit. "Especially since we've just started a launch. Maybe we'll come across some more, later."

Jonesy sighed in disappointment. "I really want to pet one…"

"You'll get your chance." Tyson patted his friend on the back, then looked back over at Tesoro, who gazed at a small space whale with awe.

The small whale just happened to float next to her, smiling (at least, it looked like it was smiling). Reaching over, Tesoro carefully stroked its rubbery blue skin. It squealed, and Tesoro didn't know whether it was delighted or startled. She got her answer when it rolled over on its back, belly-up- a sign that it wanted her to rub its tummy. Giggling, Tesoro granted its wish.

A low, melodious groan sounded from one of the other space whales, calling the youngling back. It squealed in reply, flipping back over and gliding back to its mother. Darn, Tesoro thought in disappointment, though she still smiled. I was hoping it would give me a ride.

She turned around and walked back over to Tyson and Jonesy, who were grinning. "What?" she asked them, curiously.

"I take it you enjoyed playing with your pet?" Jonesy asked, his grin spreading.

Tesoro shrugged. "Couldn't help myself."

Tyson chuckled. "Well, let's hope it doesn't get attached to ya." he said. "Young space whales tend tah take a likin' to whoever rubs their bellies."

"Oh, I doubt that. …Besides, its mother wouldn't allow it."

"Whatever ya say… but if we see a giant, blue, squealing pound of blubber following deh ship, I'm holding you responsible." He let out another chuckle, and Jonesy and Tesoro joined in.

"Hey, guys!" Valerie called from the top masts. She leaped down, performing an aerial flip on the way, and landed on her feet in front of the threesome. "Don't you guys have work to do?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're getting to it."

"Watch it, Revlis. You may be hired as a cook and be in charge of these two," she pointed at Jonesy and Tesoro. "But I still have authority over you."

"Whatever, Doppler."

Valerie began walking away, passing Tesoro and mouthing the words "Watch him" (while pointing to Tyson) as she did.

"What did she call you?" Tesoro asked, trying to keep back a laugh.

" 'Revlis'. It's me last name. …By tah way, what's your last name? I don't believe I heard tah other- let alone nice- Doppler lass mention it."

"Hawkins." The moan of a space-whale flying over the ship drained out her voice, though Jonesy was able to catch it, and his eyes widened with concern.

"I didn't catch dat," Tyson said, innocently digging his finger in his ear, in hopes that he misunderstood Tesoro. "What was it?"

"Hoppins!" Jonesy said quickly, giving Tesoro that "Don't say a word" look again, only it was more urgent. "I believe she said 'Hoppins'. Isn't that right, Tess?"

Tesoro didn't understand why Jonesy pretended to mishear her name, but the panic in his eyes was enough to convince her to play along, especially with the suspicious look she got from Tyson, with his eyes glowing orange. "Er, right." She stared Tyson in the eyes, hoping he would buy it. She kept herself from sighing with relief when his eyes returned to copper.

"Well, dat's a relief!" Tyson said, heartedly. "For a moment there, I t'ought my hearing had gone bad! 'Can't afford artificial ears, y'know." He laughed at his joke, joined nervously by Jonesy and Tesoro.

"So, Jonesy? What's your last name?" As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. Jonesy stood there, silent with his head low.

"I… don't have one." The cabin boy said quietly.

"Well, look at deh time!" Tyson jumped in, ending the awkward moment by looking at his imaginary watch. "It's time tah mop up deh deck! Now, which one of ya lucky dogs wants tah do it?" Before either could say a word, Tyson threw the bucket (which used to be on Jonesy's head) into Tesoro's hands. "Thanks fer volunteering, Tessy. Jonesy, ya can help me in deh galley."

"Aye, aye, sir." Jonesy muttered, giving Tyson a fake salute.

Tesoro grabbed a mop and got to work, all the while wondering… why had Jonesy kept her from telling Tyson her real last name?

A/N: Hmm… That is a good question. (And I know the answer, but I'm not telling! Nyah nyah! XD Don't worry. You'll find out in the next chapters. Maybe. ;D)

Please R/R. Already got flames in my fireplace, so I don't need any more