A/N: Another chapter down. I'm planning on creating an OC bio sheet soon, to help keep track of all major OCs. I plan on updating them as the story progresses, to show how each OC develops. R&R

Falling For You

Chapter 5: Mission a Go

Morph zoomed about the hall as Jim walked to a door at the end. This part of the ship looked completely different than the rest of it. Lights littered the ceiling and gave off an orange glow. Red was the main color of the room it seemed. The door that he was walking towards seemed to be made of a similar metal as the floor. Just as he was only a few feet away from the door, it opened to reveal Cloud. Cloud walked out and looked up to notice Jim.

"I was wondering where you were," he said as he walked over. Once again Jim couldn't read Cloud's expression, so it was hard to tell if he was being scolded or not. He decided to think he was being scolded seeing how he figured Cloud was still slightly upset that he had to play tutor.

"Sorry, I got a little lost," he explained. It wasn't a lie, but it also wasn't the full truth either. He had found the floor easily but once he was on it he couldn't remember where to go. Cloud looked at him before turning around and heading back towards the door. Jim followed close behind him. When he passed through the door he was amazed by what he saw. The room they had entered was large. There was no difference between this room and the hallway when it came to color and lighting, but pipes ran the length of the room and vanished into the wall in various places. A catwalk ran the length of the room to allow people to look and check various knobs and gauges that were on the walls. The sound of machines running filled the room, and the faint smell of oil could also be detected within the room. People were walking about the various machines as Jim watched them from the catwalk. Cloud then started to walk down the stairs that were right next to where they were. Jim quickly followed him.

"You'll come down here after breakfast each morning," Cloud explained as they continued down. "You'll either report to me or Boss. For the first few days you'll follow either of us around to learn about each machine down here, but after that you'll be expected to do any task that Boss or I give you. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Jim said trying not to get the older male angrier at him then he possibly was already. Cloud nodded in acceptance before looking around the room.

"Tori!" Cloud called out as he stood looking slightly miffed.

"What!" came a feminine reply.

"Get over here!"

"What the hell Spiky," said a short female as she came into view. Long black hair tied up in a rubber band to form a ponytail fell into her tanned face. Storm gray eyes glared at Cloud as she put her gloved hands on her hips. A denim hat sitting backwards on her head was not doing that great of a job keeping hair from falling into her eyes. She wore dark blue overalls with a white tank top underneath. Dark brown work boots could be seen peeking out underneath her overalls. "Are you trying to get me kicked off of the crew?"

"Would I have to listen to you complain if I said yes?" Cloud asked as his face went back to its neutral expression. Tori's glare at him seemed to increase as she stood there. "Have you seen Boss?"

"He's working on Bertha." She then seemed to notice Jim and her glare was immediately replaced with a look of curiosity. Jim had a feeling that he was going to be seeing that look a lot for the next few days.

Cloud sighed. "Tori this is Jim Hawkins, Jim this is Tori, or as we like to call her, Grease Monkey." At that Tori punched Cloud in the arm. Cloud looked at her and then walked off. Tori rolled her eyes before trotting off to catch up to him with Jim next to her.

"So how has it been for ya so far?" Tori asked as they walked behind Cloud.

"Alright, I have a feeling that I'm going to get lost a few times though."

"Don't worry, even people that have been here awhile get lost every now and then," Tori giggled. They soon came to the largest machine in the room. It took up a large amount of the corner it sat in and went all the way up to the ceiling. The catwalk wrapped around the machine so people could reach higher up on it.

"What's this machine for?" Jim asked.

"Bertha here monitors everything that is going on with the ship," came the reply from somewhere on the other side of the machine. Then a figure appeared in front of them. A light blue Bangaa with milk white spots came into view. He looked old, even to Jim. On his muzzle he had an unusual pair of glasses. They had large lenses and they seemed to increase the size of his eyes. The Bangaa walked over to Jim and looked at him. Jim noticed the Bangaa move a switch on his glasses and watched as the Bangaa's eye size increased even more in the glass. "So you're the new lad that Zoltan said he found me."

"This is Jim Hawkins, Boss," Cloud said as he leaned against Bertha.

"Name's Milo; or Boss if you ask these lads," the Bangaa said as he stuck out his hand for a shake.

"Hey!" Tori said defensively.

"You told him everything Cloud?" Milo asked, as he seemed to ignore the fuming Tori.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Come here lad, might as well get you started on Bertha. Without her, this ship couldn't even run its radar. You two go back to whatever you were doing." And with that, both Cloud and Tori walked away. It seemed to Jim as they left that they probably were going to get into another argument. "It's best not to get involved with them when they argue. Come on, Bertha is starting to act up and I could use another pair of hands with it." Time seemed to fly by to Jim as he helped Milo. The Bangaa might have been old, but it seemed he knew everything about the machine. He was also a fantastic teacher. He had Jim hand him various tools as he explained what each part did or what he was doing. He even gave Jim the chance to try out fixing up various parts. Milo would tell him what to do and watched as he did it, giving advice when needed.

"Heh, don't you look like you're having fun." Jim looked over his shoulder to see Leon standing over him with a smirk on his face.

"Ah, Leon. Haven't seen you in awhile," Milo said as he stood up.

"Hey Milo, I just came to get Jim here for dinner."

"Is it that time already? Bah, I still got work to do. Jim, you go and have dinner, I'll continue on down here."

"You sure sir?" Jim asked as he stood up from where he sat.

"Yeah, go on. Thanks to you I actually got more done then I expected. Oh and don't call me sir, that's meant for Zoltan, not me. Boss or Milo is fine. Get on now, the both of you." Leon jerked his head towards the door and Jim followed, but not without glancing back at the Bangaa. Milo was once again sitting down on the ground, continuing his work.

"Don't worry about him; he won't be kicking the bucket anytime soon, even if Pop wants him to retire soon." They then walked silently towards the elevator and headed up towards the dining quarter. Once they got to the mess hall they were greeted by the loud noise of people talking. Leon hadn't been kidding when he said that the crew was large. Jim hadn't realized it when he was on deck but now that they were all in one single space it was hard not to notice. He could make out the various faces of the mechanic crew he had met as he helped Milo. They were all too focused on eating to notice Jim. Jim followed Leon to the other side of the mess hall. All the while he felt eyes on him. Leon glanced back at him and gave a reassuring smirk as they reached a table.

Sitting at the table were two teens, one Jim recognized as the boy that was talking to Leon when he first got on the ship. Across from the other boy sat a girl that looked to be the same age. Jim was slightly shocked when he realized that the boy and girl looked identical, minus the different genders. The girl had shaggy looking hair that went more than half way down her back. About five inches from the end of it was a rubber band that held it all together. She had the same pale skin and blue eyes as her counterpart. The only thing that Jim could tell that was different between the two was that the girl seemed a little perkier. The boy looked somewhat bored as he leaned on an arm that was on the table. He still had his shirt off and was looking lazily around the room, not seeming to have noticed Jim or Leon. The girl on the other hand seemed a little more excited. She looked up and smiled as the two boys stood there.

Leon opened his mouth to get the attention of the two teens but he was beaten to it. Once again, out of nowhere, Nieve appeared. But this time, interacting with Jim didn't seem to be her goal. She had a nasty look on her face as she glared at the back of the bored looking boy's head. She then punched him in the side of the head as she let out a growl.

"What the hell is your problem Nieve!" the other boy yelled as he turned around to look at her.

Nieve's glare didn't falter as she let out another growl. "How many times have I told to keep your damn clothes on, especially while in the mess hall. Everyone doesn't need to see your damn body you know."

"And everyone doesn't need your bitch of an attitude either," the boy muttered.

Nieve's glare hardened and it seemed like she would have continued the argument if Leon hadn't stepped in to play peacemaker. "Hey, cut it out you two. Nieve, you know he can't help it sometimes. Zarrick try not to undress in public." Both teens grunted and Nieve took a seat next to the other girl. The other girl looked at Leon and gave a sheepish smile. Her smile was then focused on Jim as she seemed to notice him.

"Oh, you must be the new guy. I'm Selphy and this is my twin brother Zarrick," the girl said. Zarrick grunted a hello as he looked around for what Jim guessed was his shirt. Nieve sent another glare at Zarrick, who returned it once he found his shirt. Leon kicked one of the legs of Zarrick's chair, getting the other boys attention.

"This is Jim. He's our new roommate," Leon said evenly.

"Nice to meet ya," Zarrick said after pulling his shirt on. Leon then took a seat next to him and motioned for Jim to sit down. Right after Jim sat down, another person came to the table.

"Don't tell me: Nieve and Zar got into another fight," Ashe said as she placed a basket on the table. Selphy got up immediately and tackle hugged Ashe. Ashe got a look of pain on her face as Selphy's arms went around her waist. She looked like she was going to fall over but Jim, being the closest to her at the time, managed to catch her hand and steady her before she could. She smiled thankfully at him and then put her full attention on the person clinging to her. "Selphy, could you please let me go."

"Oh, sorry, it's just I haven't seen you all day," Selphy said with a pout. Ashe rolled her eyes as her smile grew slightly.

"I've missed you too," she said as she managed to get Selphy's arms off of her. Selphy's smile returned as she went back to her seat. Nieve shook her head but a small smile could be seen on her face as well. Ashe and Jim then turned and watched Leon have a tug-of-war match with Morph over a piece of bread that Leon had tried to take from the basket that Ashe had put down. "Leon you do know that there is more bread in the basket, right?"

"Yeah, but I had this one first," he explained as he gave a little tug on the bread only to have Morph tug it back. Ashe let out a sigh as she then turned once again to Jim.

"He didn't explain how meals worked around here, did he?"

"No, he didn't," Jim replied, causing Ashe to send a scolding look at the spiky haired teen. Said teen beamed in triumph has he got the piece of bread out of Morph's mouth. Leon then looked up at Ashe with a sheepish smile, which caused her to roll her eyes.

"Well, it works the same way as a restaurant, just without any menus. You can order whatever you want but if you want seconds you have to go to the kitchen and get it yourself."

"I'd let Ashe pick your dinner for you," Leon volunteered as he tore apart the bread. "Whatever she makes is always good."

"Suck up," Ashe muttered.

"That's fine by me," Jim said with a shrug. Ashe gave a nod and walked off. It didn't take her long to get back, and when she did, she was pushing a large cart with various dishes of food on it. She passed them out to everyone, Leon getting the largest plate out of any of them, before disappearing again. Jim watched Leon for a moment, as he seemed to attack the food in front of him.

"And you say I have a problem," Zarrick muttered which landed him another kick to his chair. Nieve shook her head at the antics of the two before eating her own meal. Ashe took a seat next to her and across from Jim. Morph, after seeming to have come to the conclusion that he wasn't getting anything from Leon, floated over to Ashe to look at her meal. Ashe smiled at the blob as she then picked up her fork and offered what looked to be some kind of noodles to Morph. Morph immediately ate the food offered to him and let out a small burp acknowledging satisfaction. Ashe then proceeded to eat her meal while every now and then offering some to morph. It was then that Jim took notice to his own meal. As he started to eat, the others seemed to get more comfortable and started to talk.

"So what's our next mission," Zarrick said as has a pushed Leon a little to get his attention.

"It appears as though a town is having a problem with their children going missing," Leon said around a mouth full of food.

"We talking run away missing or the spirited away kind," Ashe asked as she too took interest.

"The townspeople aren't sure," Nieve answered. "All the kids that have gone missing have had no problems at home or within the town. There is also nothing near the town that could be the cause of them being spirited away."

"So it's a town wide kid-napping," Ashe growled as she frowned.

Nieve nodded before going on, "The kids have been disappearing for at least three months now. The townspeople have tried everything to try and keep them safe, but no matter what the kids go missing."

"How many are missing?" Jim asked getting interested on the subject as well. By what he got from Zoltan and Leon it sounded like he was going to be a part of the group for a mission as well.

"Twenty-four, maybe more." All but Leon stared at Nieve wide eyed.

"And they don't know why," Zarrick said sounding disbelieving.

Leon nodded as he finally seemed to slow down on eating. "It's a small town. As the mayor of the town told the Core, the town is just like one huge family. So knowing that so many children have vanished within those three months is really heart breaking to them."

"Is that a surprise?" Jim heard Ashe mutter. He had to agree with her. Twenty-four children vanishing without a trace is a big deal; especially when there seemed to be no cause for it. He also got the impression that the subject was affecting Ashe a lot more then she let on. At the moment she had moved her eyes down to her meal and seemed to stare at it as if it was a portal to her thoughts. Morph had also seemed to notice the change in his new friend and tried to get her attention once again. He nuzzled her cheek, which got her to look at him, and he licked her cheek. Ashe smiled at him as he then morphed into a bunch of lit fireworks. Jim then noticed that Leon had stopped eating altogether and was watching Ashe as well. Leon didn't look very happy either.

The rest of the meal was continued in silence. Every now and then, Jim would watch as Leon glanced up at Ashe, as if expecting her to say something. But Ashe just continued to eat and didn't seem to want to say anything. When she was finally finished, she got up, along with Selphy and Nieve, and left without a single word. Leon let out a growl as he slammed his fist down onto the table, getting worried stares from the people around them. Almost instantly, Leon calmed down, and got up from the table.

"I'm going to bed, I suggest you both do the same-especially you Jim, you've got a long day tomorrow." Leon said, and he walked out of the dining area. Jim started after him, realizing that there was no point in asking Zarrick what Leon's problem was. "See you later," Jim said as he got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen toward his bedroom.

Once there, he saw Leon on his bunk, it appeared as though he had just gotten to sleep, but Jim doubted he was asleep yet. Nevertheless, he crept up to his bunk and lied down, and fell asleep. He didn't even hear Zarrick come in.

"Hey Jim, come on you gotta get up. Cloud is looking for you." Jim groaned as he turned over in his bed, trying to get away from the person trying to wake him. He heard the person sigh before a sharp pain went through his lower back as the person jabbed him there.

"Alright! I'm up," he said as he sat up to glare at Leon. Leon just gave him a smile as he climbed off of his bed and onto the floor.

"Cloud wants you down in the Cave as soon as possible," Leon explained more, "He said to get some breakfast now since you'll most likely be working through it. Ashe should be up to get you something." And with that said, Leon left the room, most likely, Jim guessed, to do his morning work out.

It had been three days since he first came onto the ship. During that time he had learned a lot from both Milo and Cloud on the mechanics of the ship. He had also learned a lot about the crew. He could now tell if Cloud was angry with him, it seemed the man grunted a lot more when he was angry. Thanks to that new information he knew what to do to stay on Cloud's good side. It seemed he only annoyed the second-in-command mechanic when he was stressed; at least that was what Tori told him. She had helped him a lot during those days as well. Besides explaining Cloud's "mood swings", as she called them, she was normally close by in case Jim needed anything while they worked.

Jim had also gotten to know the other five members of his supposed team better. Zoltan hadn't been lying when he said that Leon and he would get along. Leon already made him feel like they had always been friends. It had also come to his attention that even though Nieve had the more bossy personality, Leon was the leader of the group. The others seemed to listen and follow whatever he said, even Nieve. He figured that it was just the way he treated all of them. It didn't seem as though Leon judged a situation on what he saw, but rather on what others saw. He also seemed to be open to other people's views.

Nieve was another thing he had to get used to. She definitely had her moments. He watched numerous times as she either scolded Zarrick or teased Ashe about this or that. But like Leon had said earlier to him, there did seem to be a different meaning to whatever she was saying or doing. At least that was what he figured when it came to Zarrick, he still couldn't figure out what kind of other meaning was behind teasing Ashe. Still, she did seem like she cared deeply for the other girls. He also got the impression that Nieve was the "mother hen" of the two other girls. She would criticize both of their behaviors if she deemed them unfit. Most of the time she would direct these comments at Selphy, but he had seen Ashe get them once or twice. What surprised him the most, mainly from what he had seen of Ashe, was that neither girl argued with Nieve when she did this.

Course, he saw why Selphy would be the main subject of Nieve's criticisms. Selphy was constantly bouncing off the walls. Not once had he seen her without a smile on her face. Her cheerfulness also seemed to be contagious. When Selphy was in the room, no matter what sadness you were feeling at the time vanished. She also seemed to have a fondness for Ashe. Whenever they were apart for a long amount time, when Selphy saw Ashe she would immediately hug her, regardless of what Ashe was doing. Ashe didn't appear to mind but almost every single time Selphy hugged her, it looked like it surprised her. This reminded Jim of a puppy greeting its master after a long day. He also remembered asking Ashe why she even let Selphy do that to her. Ashe's response was a simple "I just don't want to see her sad".

Jim jumped slightly as he got dressed when he heard a rustling sound close by. He looked over and watched as Zarrick moved into a new position, still sleeping. Soon Zarrick's snoring filled the room as Jim went back to get dressed for the day. He had learned that Zarrick was the "comic relief" of the group. He joked around a lot and you were always sure to have a good laugh while you were with him. But it was this sense of humor that also got him in trouble a lot with Nieve.

Jim ran a hand through his hair before exiting the room with Morph. When he finally reached the kitchen, he was greeted with the sound of rock music. Ashe stood at a counter, preparing what appeared to be breakfast. She looked up from her work and smiled at him as he entered.

"Morning," Ashe greeted cheerfully as she continued to cook up breakfast.

"Morning," he said back as he slumped onto a stool at the large island in the middle of the kitchen; still trying to wake up. He watched as Morph floated over to her, chirping "good morning" to her as well, and sat on her shoulder to see what she was cooking. She patted the little blob before getting a cup and pouring some coffee into it. She then handed it to Jim with a smile. He muttered his thanks as he started to drink, liking the way it warmed up his body.

"Oh, I heard Leon found you a material arts teacher," Ashe said as she busied herself with cooking once again. "I believe he said Kasumi is going to do it."

"She works directly with Zoltan, right," he asked as he recalled the person. He had met Kasumi once but he had seen her many times. Kasumi was almost a constant figure down in the Hollows. According to Tori and Ashe, who had decided to spend some time with her, Kasumi was the only person besides Zoltan that Cloud seemed to open up to. From what he could remember, she had short bright white hair that was cut much like a boys, but she had a single bang on the left side of her face that went right to her cheekbone. Her eyes were an amazing shade of teal that went perfectly with her hair, and slightly tanned skin. She had a similar build to Ashe and he also realized that the two women dressed in a similar manner. He also remembered seeing that her right arm was bandaged, but he didn't ask Ashe why.

"Yeah, Kasumi is the person that receives most of the information we get for missions. She is a part of Cloud's team as well. Anyway, she is the third strongest person in the guild, right after Captain." This wasn't the first time he heard this claim. Many times he had listened to members of mechanics crew talk about who the strongest person in the guild was. It was apparently a favorite topic of everyone. Almost everyone said that Zoltan was the second strongest, which surprised him. He had figured that being captain of the guild meant that he was stronger than anyone else. But everyone else said that it was Zoltan's sister-in-law, Kanna, who was the strongest. They all said that Kanna could take on a whole interstellar army by herself and live. At the moment, she was a on a special mission, which was why she wasn't with the crew.

The two of them then fell into silence. The sound of the music Ashe had playing and the clanging of her moving various cooking utensils filled the room in the absence of their voices. He watched her, having nothing better to do, as she went about the kitchen with an energy he hadn't seen in her previously. A smile was on her face as she lightly bobbed her head to the beat of the music, stopping every now and then to taste whatever she was cooking or to feed scraps to Morph. It didn't seem like her injuries were giving her any sorts of problems either. Once she was done cooking, she brought two plates over to where he was sitting and laid one in front of him. She then sat next to him and began eating her breakfast with haste.

She shook her head, trying to get the energy out, as she said, "By Martell I can't wait to get out of here."

"Cabin fever?" he asked with a smirk, finally feeling awake. Ashe lightly shoved his shoulder as she shook her head with her smile growing. The two of them had grown "close" as Leon had put it one night. Leon had said that Ashe normally didn't take to people right away but for whatever reason she appeared to be comfortable around Jim.

Ashe lightly shoved his shoulder, as her smile seemed to grow more. Her energy level seemed to go down a little as she looked at him. "I wouldn't go that far but I was feeling restless these past few days. Most likely because I had to go see Marron and sit in that dreaded room," she said as she started to eat her meal.

"You hate the doctors that much?" he asked as he mimicked her in eating.

"Only the ones I don't know personally. Marron is really the soul-exception since I've known her since I was little. But anything about doctors I hate, especially being examined by one." She straightened a little, as if to say that she was done talking about the subject, as her energy came back full force. Jim chuckled as he watched her almost bounce out of her seat. They finished their meal in silence. Ashe cleaned up their plates as Jim finished off his coffee. "Oh, would you mind helping me bring some stuff down to the Hollows, I need to sort out the emergency food for each team but I can't carry all the boxes alone." He nodded and soon the two of them were heading down a hallway with boxes in hand.

When they reached the Hollows, they heard the sound of people talking. They stopped at the doorway and watched the people who were already within the room. Cloud stood in front of a long boat with his arms folded. He had a frown on his face as he stared at his companion but a slight mischievous glint could be seen in his cold blue eyes. His companion, Kasumi, stood in position that mimicked Clouds. She seemed to be enjoying their conversation.

"Come on," she said with a taunting flick of her head, "all you gotta do is admit it, and then I'll leave you alone."

"No," Cloud said in an even tone.

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Why must you be so stubborn? Fine, how about we make a bet? If I can get you to admit that you actually like the kid within the month, then I get any money you make on the missions we go on this month. But if I can't do that then you get all the money I make within the same time frame." Cloud gave her a small glare as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I shouldn't even make this bet with you, you know. I make more money than any of you guys, but I really think he'll grow on you. Are you in?"

He gave her one more quizzical look before sighing and saying, "Fine, you got a deal." They then shook hands, and Kasumi's smirk grew.

"Pleasure doing business with you Spiky." She then gave him a mock salute, turned around, and walked towards the two teens. Her genuine smile came as she spotted them. "Morning you two."

"Morning Kasumi," Ashe greeted.

"Taking it you two heard all that," Kasumi said as she took the boxes Ashe was carrying.

Ashe pouted slightly as she did so, but didn't voice a complaint. "Yeah, we did," Jim answered for them. Kasumi looked at him for a moment before nodding with an added shrug.

"Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, I guess I'm going to be teaching you how to fight, huh? We'll start when we leave Zealand. Come on Angel, I'll help you sort these out." With that, Kasumi walked off towards a storage room on the other side of the hanger. Ashe sighed as she took the boxes from Jim and gave him a smile before trotting off after Kasumi. Jim looked at Cloud as he heard the other man sigh. Cloud ran a hand over his face and then through his hair as he watched the two girls go. He then looked at Jim, his neutral face back in place.

"Here," he said tossing Jim a clipboard. "That's a checklist we have to go through with every long boat. Find something you aren't sure of, call me over and I'll have a look. You check all the boats down there and I'll take these ones." And with that, Cloud jumped into a boat and started his inspection. Jim glanced at him before following his example.

"Urgh, Jim a little help please?" Jim quickly looked up from the console of the long boat he was examining to see Ashe struggling with a box. He quickly got up and took it from her, which she gave a grateful grunt for. She then leaned against the boat. Her face made him worry. She didn't appear to be feeling well; her face was scrunched up in pain. He set the box down and then leaned over the side to see her. Morph, having chosen to sleep within Jim's pocket while he examined the boats, floated down to her eye level and let out a whimper of concern as he looked at her. He rubbed her cheek as she closed her eyes.

"You alright?" Jim asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

"Just my pain killers wearing off. I'll be fine in a minute," she huffed out as she started to rub her lower back. That wasn't exactly the reply he wanted. He had come to know that Ashe was great at covering up her own emotions, much like Cloud. Only a few times, this moment being one, had he actually seen her display a feeling of pain.

"I told you not to over do it." Jim looked up to see who had spoken. Nieve walked over with two duffle bags slung over one of her shoulders. She dropped one of them down and rummaged through it. Shortly after, she took out a medicine bottle. Opening it and tipping a pill onto her open hand, she forced the pill into Ashe's hand. "Take it, unless you want a lecture from Leon when he comes down."

"Aren't you going to give me one," Ashe questioned after forcing the pill down her throat.

"Not in the mood," was Nieve's reply.

'Zarrick must have done something again,' Jim thought. He looked at Ashe, who looked like she was in less pain. By the look on her face, it appeared as though Ashe had thought of the same thing. Nieve got into the boat after having thrown the duffle bags into it. She sat down on a bench with her eyes closed and arms crossed. Knowing better than to disturb her, Jim gave Ashe one more look before going back to work. When he had looked at her that last time, Ashe appeared to have wanted to say something but resisted it. The sound of a sigh and retreating footsteps were all he heard afterwards.

"You two really are close." He almost jumped when he heard Nieve speak; he had almost forgotten that she was there. He looked over his shoulder at her. Nieve, still in the same position she was in earlier expect now with her eyes open, stared back at him with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"I guess," he answered back, seeing as she wanted a reply from him.

"Leon had told me that she took a liking to you," she said as a thoughtful look came over her face but the curiosity never left. He didn't answer her this time, he was not really sure how to. Her lips formed a smirk, one that had the look of a feral cat, as she settled more into her seat. "I must say I'm a bit surprised. Ashe, as you've probably seen, dislikes being alone with strangers. This is why I'm wondering why you're different."

"Ever thought you're reading into it too much?" The two teens looked over and saw Leon, Zarrick, and Cloud standing by the boat. Jim was grateful for the three of them at the moment. He wasn't sure what Nieve was trying to get out of him but it was certainly making him uncomfortable. Nieve's smirk turned into a scowl as she grunted at Leon, who was the one that had spoken.

Cloud broke the tension between them. "You all done?" he asked stepping towards Jim.

"Yeah," he said and handed the clipboard over to him. Cloud nodded and then took his leave without another word. Zarrick climbed into the boat and sat at the other end, away from Nieve. He didn't look all that happy, which just confirmed Jim's belief that the two had an argument before Nieve had come down to the Hollows.

"Here," Leon said, getting Jim's attention, as he threw Jim his duffle bag. "Thought it might be better to bring it down for you then waiting for you to go and get it yourself."

"Thanks." Jim said. Leon nodded in acceptance as the rest of the crew filed into the room. They all clustered around the long boats, forming the teams that they had been assigned to for their mission. Soon the sound of conversation flooded the room as the long boats were packed with the supplies and people alike. Selphy and Ashe soon arrived at their long boat. Selphy was chatting merrily with Ashe as Morph floated between them, giving his own voice to their conversation by adding in gurgles and chirps. Ashe didn't seem to be in pain anymore, but Jim wasn't sure if she was once again acting or if the painkillers had actually taken affect. She was carrying a box of what he guessed was the rest of their emergency food. He didn't ask her how she was feeling once the two girls reached the boat. Most likely if he did say something Leon would then start asking his own questions and Jim didn't want that.

"Is this the rest of the food?" Leon asked as he took the box from Ashe and then passed it up to Jim, who put it with the other.

"Yeah, Nieve already brought my stuff down so I'm all set to go," Ashe answered.

"Alright," Leon said with a cheerful grin. The two girls then climbed into the boat, Selphy sitting next to Zarrick and Ashe sitting next to the spot Jim had decided to take once they were off. Leon went over to the lever to open the hatch, speaking quickly with Cloud as he paced. Once he opened the hatch, he climbed in and took a seat next to the long boat's controls. Jim, with help from Zarrick, released the boat after Leon gave them the go ahead. Once they were free falling, Leon quickly opened the sail and the ship took off, following the rest of the crew as they descended down towards the planet.

A/N: I am sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I had the worst case of writer's block and this kept me from getting this out sooner. Hopefully I made up for it and I plan on releasing the next chapter soon. Also, please send me reviews. They help me greatly when I'm writing a chapter to know what people think of the last one or the story as a whole.