This took MUCH longer than I had hoped to get done. Sorry for the wait. I've been so busy of late, having had barely enough time to even read anything, let alone write my own material. I had expected to finish and post this chapter in March. As you can see, that didn't exactly go to plan.

So basically this chapter (as the title suggests) is the actual characters getting to know their beta forms a little better. Nothing really else to it, just adding a bit of background. Sibling rivalry and Romance is already sparking, as well as many other emotions. Janex supporters should hopefully be happy, seeing as though I added a touch of them in here. Oh and don't you worry, being a hardcore fan of them myself, there will be plenty of Zenny to come.

Alright, enough of that. Back to the story!

Zap walked somewhat nervously next to Jaz as they headed towards the hanger. He tried to think of something to say to her, but was completely lost for words. What could he say? All he could think about was her wings, beating with such fury, yet moving so elegantly at the same time.

He cleared his throat once they reached the hanger.

"We'll bring your ship in here, there should be plenty of room" he said to her. She didn't reply.

"Jaz?" he murmured, putting his hand on her shoulder. She spun around, knocking his hand away, her blue eyes blazing.

"Listen closely. Alex might trust you and your team, but do not make the mistake of thinking I do as well" she hissed. She walked away from him, in the direction of the exit.

Zap glared after her. "You're going to try bringing the ship in on your own?" he questioned her.

"Wouldn't be the first time" she muttered cryptically, slowing her pace.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked. Jaz stopped completely.

"I'm half insect; what do you think it means?" she retorted. Zap smirked and extended his own wings. He flew above her.

"I think it means you need to stop thinking you're alone" he said warmly, landing on the ground in front of her. Her eyes were wide in disbelief.

"You…" she tried to speak, but couldn't.

Zap smiled at her. "So, are we going to bring this ship in or what?" For the first time, she smiled back at him.

"Together" she agreed.

"Wow Tung, your sense of smell is amazing!" Wave complimented him after he finished telling her about himself. Tung admired his gloved hand, nodding egotistically.

"Yeah, it's pretty good. Sometimes more of a burden rather than a gift though. And what about you?" he asked.

"Well, being a lizard, I have naturally good senses. But my smell is nothing compared to yours" she said, trying to be humble.

"You kidding? You said you tracked down that entire swarm of Acacia Bees from across your galaxy. Your sense of smell is awesome!" Wave blushed at his comment, and giggled.

"So what else can you do?" she asked him.

"Being a frog and all," Tung leapt up onto the wall, "I can jump pretty high."

"Impressive" Wave commented, climbing up the wall until she hung upside-down from the ceiling. A fly drifted past, her long tongue stretching out and drawing it into her mouth, at an incredible speed. Tung stared up at her in awe. "Whoa."
"Say, are you hungry?" he asked her.

"I sure am" she exclaimed, jumping down beside him.

"Come on, I know how to make a dish you'll just love."

Jenny pulled her screwdriver from her belt and began to make adjustments to one of her many contraptions. As she did, she noticed her alternate watching her very carefully. She tried to ignore his stare, but finally it became too much for her to handle, and she cracked. She spun around on her chair.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to stare at me all day?" she questioned him, a certain harshness being reflected in her voice. He stared into her eyes, making her inhale a short sharp breath. They were bright green, the exact same as hers.

"I just got to this dimension; I don't exactly belong here, do I" he countered her comment. He turned away.

"But I suppose if Jaz has brought the ship back here, I can go repair it." He began to walk away, making Jenny immediately get to her feet.

"I'll help" she blurted out, shocking herself.

Shade turned back around, smiling at her. "If you insist" he commented slyly.

Dex sat down at his computer, opening his holomail. A smile grew across his face when he saw he had a new message from Jane. He opened it up and began to read it.

Dearest Dex,

You'll be happy to know that all sixty-four crickets are well and I bet you'll be as overjoyed as I was to find out that there are a few dozen more on their way. Sam and one of the other females have mated and their eggs are due in a couple of weeks, towards the beginning of next month. I look forward to raising the next generations of crickets; with your assistance of course. It's been many years since the last eggs were laid.

I hope all is well with you as it is here. It'll be good to see you again, and I dearly look forward to your next visit. I apologise for missing the last time I was meant to visit the habitat. I wanted to come, but I couldn't bear to miss the mating ritual. It was absolutely fantastic! You would have loved it. I've sent you part of the footage I captured on it, but it was hard to get much of the detail recorded. I'll be sending you a detailed report written on the mating ritual as soon as possible.

Until next time my sweet, farewell. And good luck at the Habitat.

Jane Goodchild.

"Ooh, looks like someone has a girlfriend." Dex jumped when he heard his sister's voice right next to his ear. He spun around and stared at her.

"Don't do that! And stop reading over my shoulder. This is private" he snapped at her.

Alex simply smiled. "You're very touchy today. Do you miss her? Jane is it?" Dex glared at his sister.

"For your information, she is a colleague and friend; a fellow entomologist." Alex looked at the holomail.

"Cause I call all my friends 'dearest' and 'my sweet'" she taunted. Dex went red in the face.

"She's a good friend" he murmured, trying to cover up his feelings, though it wasn't much use. "Don't you have teammates to be checking up on?" he questioned her. Rolling her eyes at him, Alex left in search for her team. Dex turned back to his holomail and sighed softly at Jane's letter.

Wave walked after Tung, eager to know what he was going to cook for her. He held an empty jar in his hand.

"I need to get a few ingredients for the recipe" he said as they reached a forest pavilion. Wave nodded and waited outside as he entered. He came out about ten minutes later, the jar now full of dragonflies. Wave couldn't take her eyes of them. The two of them headed to the kitchen. Tung put the jar on the table.

"These dragonflies are really juicy. They're great raw, but in this dish, they're even better" he told her as he got some equipment out. "Want to try one?" he asked her, noticing her still eyeing the dragonflies.

"I haven't had dragonflies in such a long time" Wave explained to Tung.

"Why not?"

"Because of Jaz. She hates me eating them. Tells me off anytime I even lick my lips. She's half one herself you know."

Tung stopped where he was. "Aw that must really suck." Wave nodded. He went back to preparing the dish.

"Pass me three dragonflies will ya?" he called out to her. Wave unscrewed the lid, accidently dropping the jar. It smashed on the ground, releasing all the bugs.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed.

"No worries" Tung said, swinging his long tongue towards a swarm of three. He pulled them close and chucked them into the mixture he was making.

"Ugh" Wave cringed.

"Relax. It adds more flavour. Try it if you don't believe me." Not wanting to look outdone by a frog, she whipped her own tongue towards some of them. The dragonflies were sweet against her tastebuds. She added them to the mixture.

"Yum! I forgot how delicious they were." Tung smiled at her, finishing off the dish. He turned around, holding a huge bowl in his hands.

"Here we are. Crunchy dragonflies in my special hollandaise." Wave dipped her finger into the bowl, before shoving it into her mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

Jaz tried to avoid eye contact with Zap as she flew the damaged ship back to the Habitat. Since he showed her his wings, she couldn't stop thinking about them. Never had she met anyone that was like her before; she always figured she was alone. But now there was someone the exact same as her.

It was a rough flight. The landing gear had been badly damaged, making landing the ship in the already crowded hanger even more difficult. But the two pilots managed it. When they got off the ship, Jaz stroked her hand up against the metal.

"It's going to need a lot of repair work before it gets airborne again" she stated as she observed the damage caused. She followed Zap as they headed back into the habitat, but stopped and clutched her side in pain. Zap realized and ran to her side.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine" she murmured. Her body trembled as pain shot through her body, contradicting what she just said.

"You're hurt" Zap said as he tried to assist her, ending in some unfriendly results.

"Get off me!" she yelled, swinging her arm at him, causing her to collapse. Zap stepped back, shocked at her sudden rage outburst. She pulled herself to her feet. "I said I'm fine" she muttered, limping off.

Zap stood there, frozen. He stared down at the ground. Was that how he would have reacted? He wondered.

"Don't mind her" a voice sounded from behind him, making him spin around. Standing in the doorway was Alex. She walked over to him. "She's been in a bad mood ever since we crashed. I'm sure you of all people understand what that's like."

Zap looked down for a moment, before turning back to Alex. "Is she always this angry?" he asked.

Alex shook her head. "She hardly ever acts like this. She's just feeling confused about all this, same as everyone else. Don't hold it against her Zap; she's been through more than anyone knows." Zap wondered what she meant by that, but didn't ask, at risk of what Jaz might do if she found out. Instead he changed the subject.

"She's hurt isn't she" Alex nodded sadly.

"Why wouldn't she accept my help?" he asked.

"Because she'll never admit to being weaker than she anyone else" Alex explained. Zap nodded in understanding.

"How long has she been injured?" Alex looked deep in thought.

"It was when we crashed," she told him. Taking a breath in, she began to tell him the whole story.

Next chapter will be focused completely on Alex's team and what happened, so don't expect any mention of the actual characters. Enjoy reading! Tell me what you think.