A/N: Looks like I've found my loyal three reviewers. Thanks again to The Violet Rose, andytanjiahou95, and leathman. Also thanks to meerkat4 for subscribing.

We're back to character focus today, but there's more plot coming tomorrow.

Chapter VI: Honor Thy Neighbor

28 October 2998

"We should go back to the Botanic Gardens as soon as NMPD has cleared out of there," said Garth. It was mere moments after they had decided to work together to undertake their own investigation, and all three teens had wordlessly and mutually assumed that they were starting right away. "You know, look for clues and stuff."

"What clues? NMPD isn't that inefficient – they would have bagged anything of note by now," Rokk pointed out patiently, provoking an irritated glance from the redhead.

"There's always something," Imra disagreed. "The Science Police aren't infallible."

"How come you wanted to join them, anyway?" Garth wanted to know.

"Because even though they're flawed, they fight crime and injustice, and that's what I want to do."

"While we're on the subject, what exactly is your problem with the Science Police?" Rokk questioned of Garth.

"I don't have a problem with them."

"You clearly don't have the best opinion of them," Rokk asserted.

"I don't have the best opinion of you either," Garth shot back. "Does that mean I have a problem with you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, it does! What is your issue with me, anyway? What did I ever do to you?"

"My issue is that you're a pompous, insensitive blockhead who thinks he can get away with anything because he's famous."

"How dare you?" Rokk was incensed, on the verge of rising from his chair. "You don't even know me! What have I done to make you think that?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Garth's tone was mocking. "Maybe it's the fact that you so confidently believed that the Knights' security team could keep you safe, because they clearly did a terrific job of it at the Magnoball game? Or that you haven't asked me or Imra a thing about ourselves? Oh, and the fact that you obviously think you're better than me – that couldn't have anything to do with it."

Rokk abruptly stood up; his chair scraped noisily against the floor as he pushed it backwards. "I do not –" he began hotly.

"For Saturn's sake!" exclaimed Imra, thoroughly exasperated. "What is it with the two of you? We're supposed to be a team and here you are, biting each other's heads off for no apparent reason! Can't you at least try to get along?"

"I have a problem with people who jump to conclusions about me just because I'm famous," Rokk declared, glowering at Garth, who had also jumped to his feet.

"Well, you sure haven't done a lot to disprove those conclusions," retorted Garth. Electricity began to sizzle around his body. His eyes flashed. Imra, who had been standing next to him, hastily put some distance between them.

"Garth, calm down!" Imra instructed.

Rokk, however, did not seem concerned; his hands were glowing with purple magnetism. "You haven't made a sparkling impression yourself," he scoffed at Garth. "You're rash, hotheaded, and with powers like yours that you can't control you're a danger to everyone around you."

"You don't think I know that?" Garth exclaimed. His lightning crackled dangerously, but stayed close to him. "I didn't ask for these powers! Why do you think I'm on Earth, huh? It wasn't to save an arrogant jackass like you!"

"If you dislike me so much, why did you volunteer to investigate with us?"

"Oh, you think you have me figured out, don't you?" Garth's response was scathing. "You think that because I don't like you I'd let that get in the way of doing what's right? I have news for you, Magno-boy – my parents raised me better than that."

Rokk bristled. "Are you trying to imply something about my family?" he demanded.

"You said it, not me."

"Why, you little –"

"ENOUGH! Both of you!" Imra bore down on their minds with a mental compulsion for them to stop the argument. The force of it was strong enough to make them sit down, and for a second they both blinked uncomprehendingly.

"That was unfair," Garth complained, looking at her reproachfully as his lightning gradually dissipated.

"You're not supposed to invade our heads without permission," Rokk agreed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are we being polite now?" Imra's tone was distinctly peevish. "Maybe you two ought to extend the same courtesy to each other?" she suggested pointedly.

They had the grace to look slightly ashamed of themselves, even if they were still glaring at each other. Imra sighed.

"The way I see it," she said, "you both have made assumptions about each other that neither appreciates. There's a distinct lack of communication going on here, which needs to be sorted out before we do any investigating. If we're going to be working together, you two need to understand each other."

"How are we going to do that?" Garth demanded.

"Why don't you tell each other a bit about yourselves and your lives?" Imra proposed.

Garth and Rokk stared at each other for a long moment. Rokk was the first to consent.

"All right," he acceded.

"Fine by me," Garth assented.

"Okay," Imra said with some relief. "Rokk, you start."

"Why does he get to start?" Garth questioned. He quailed under Imra's glare, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Braal is an impoverished planet," Rokk started, looking pointedly at Garth. "Our economy relies mostly on mining and Magnoball. Many families face a daily struggle just to make ends meet. My family was one of the poorer ones. Life was tough for us; my father and mother had to work long hours every day, and we still didn't have enough to eat some days, even though they would often give up their food for me and my brother.

"I used to help my father in the mines after school every day, but I practiced Magnoball whenever I had some free time. I was fortunate enough to be noticed by my school coach, and he put me on the school team. I worked hard to hone my skills and my abilities, but when I was 13 my father was killed in a mining accident."

Here Rokk had to pause to regain his composure; his grief, even after four years, was still obvious. Imra silently placed a comforting hand on his arm, while Garth, for once, had nothing to say.

After several seconds, Rokk cleared his throat and continued, "My father's death made things harder for us. I was going to quit Magnoball and find work to help support the family, but my mother convinced me to stay in school." Rokk smiled fondly as he remembered how ardently his mother had argued with him. "The school team coach had said I was good enough to go pro – and I wanted to do that from the day he told me I had a chance. My mother wanted me to follow my dream, so she made me stay on the team. I felt guilty leaving her to work to support us alone, but I trained hard and I was eventually given a spot on the regional team. Once I started my professional career, I was able to bring in enough money so my mother didn't have to work so hard. The Magnetic Knights signed me from the regional team about a year ago, along with a high enough pay raise that my mother doesn't have to work anymore."

"Real-life rags-to-riches story, huh?" Garth commented. There was no sarcasm in his tone; he sounded more impressed than anything.

"If you want to call it that." Rokk shrugged. "Being a Magnoball player helps me make enough money for my mother and my brother to live comfortably, and I enjoy it. That is why I play. I didn't want nor ask for the fame that comes with it, and I hate it when people define me by how famous I am, and lump me in with other famous people who may or may not be complete asses."

Garth snickered at that. Imra frowned at him, but Rokk merely looked wry.

"Garth, it's your turn," said Imra. Garth exhaled.

"My story's not as spectacular as Mr. Magnoball's," he began. "I had a normal childhood. Like all Winathians, I farmed – my parents owned a plot of land and we did okay for ourselves. Last year me and my siblings took a daytrip to the nearby planet Korbal, just for some fun."

"Let me guess," said Rokk. "You didn't ask permission."

Garth flapped a hand. "It was Mekt's idea."

"Who?"

"My elder brother." Garth sounded impatient. "Look, do you want to hear this story or not?"

"Fine, fine, go on."

"We snuck out in our parents' travel shuttle. Our intention was just to have a picnic on Korbal and be back before our parents got home. Unfortunately, the fuel cells died and we were stranded."

"Are you summarizing a story or telling a saga?" Rokk wanted to know.

"Well, if someone would stop interrupting…"

"Rokk, just let him finish. Garth, go on."

"A-hem. So, our fuel cells died," continued Garth, effusively getting into the flow of his story. "Ayla – my twin sister – and I were panicking by this point, but Mekt –"

"Was rational and kept his head?" Rokk asked wryly.

"Was less panicky," Garth stressed. Rokk rolled his eyes. "Now, Korbal is a planet inhabited by lightning beasts, so Mekt came up with the idea to recharge the ship's fuel cells by tricking a lightning beast to fire electricity at it."

Even Imra was looking aghast by now. "You didn't," she exclaimed.

Garth smirked. "Oh, yes, we did." He started gesticulating with his hands to illustrate his storytelling; Imra couldn't help but be amused at how much he was enjoying this. It certainly couldn't have been a tale he'd told often, if at all. "We both agreed that Ayla shouldn't try it, so we made her stay a safe distance away while Mekt and I irritated the lightning beasts."

"Wait," Rokk interjected, "Did this half-baked plan actually work?"

"'Course it did," Garth said proudly. "Mekt and I managed to lead the lightning beasts to the ship, and we got them agitated enough to fire their lightning. However…" Here his voice deepened and became more dramatic. "…we didn't anticipate that we'd be caught in the lightning too."

Rokk snorted. "Typical."

Ignoring him, Garth went on, "According to Ayla, Mekt and I were both electroshocked unconscious, but the fuel cells were charged, so she got us both into the shuttle and piloted us back home."

"That's how you got your powers?" Imra asked. Garth nodded.

"When Mekt and I woke up, we discovered – after a massive scolding from both our parents – that we were now immune to any form of electricity and later we found that we could even control it. Mekt – control freak that he is," Garth muttered the latter part under his breath before continuing as normal, "– was able to master the lightning pretty quickly, but for some reason I couldn't. Ayla suggested that I come to Earth to find someone to help me learn control, which is why I'm here. I know it's dangerous that I can't fully control the lightning," he directed meaningfully at Rokk, "but I'm working on it. I may be rash and reckless and hotheaded, but I am aware of what could happen if I can't get it under control."

Rokk nodded. "So you've had your powers only a year?"

"That does explain why he isn't able to control the lightning," Imra put in. "But for someone who's only had a year with no formal training, his skill is pretty impressive."

"Yeah, I've noticed he usually only electrocutes stuff unintentionally when he's angry," Rokk conceded.

Garth looked pleased.

"I still can't believe you willingly aggravated a Korbal lightning beast," Rokk said then. "Those creatures are deadly – how are you still alive after that stunt?" He sounded both incredulous and admiring of the Ranzz brothers' hazardous feat. Reckless though it might have been, Rokk had to admit that it took a stupendous amount of bravery to attempt it.

"I have no idea," Garth confessed. "But I'm really glad I am." He hesitated, glancing at Imra before turning back to Rokk. "But I do have to respect you for making it to where you are after all the hardship in your life. That is really…I mean, it's pretty incredible. Obviously, you're nothing like – ahem…" He appeared to realize from Rokk's and Imra's curious expressions that he was about to divulge more than he wanted to, and he quickly amended, "What I meant to say is, I was clearly too hasty in my assumptions about you, and for that I apologize."

Rokk nodded obligingly. "Apology accepted. I also apologize for my own assumptions about you. I probably was a bit too wrapped up in myself, earlier."

"Yes, you were," Garth concurred at once, causing Rokk to frown at him. "Hey, water under the bridge now, right?" He clapped a hand on Rokk's shoulder and Rokk flinched, half-expecting to be shocked. Garth huffed in annoyance. "Oh, relax, would you? My control isn't that nonexistent."

"Even so," said Rokk as he carefully picked Garth's hand from his shoulder, "I'd rather not take any chances just yet."

Garth snorted. "Apparently, being pompous is just part of your character."

"Says the boy with 'reckless' as his middle name."

Imra sighed. They were already back to quarrelling, though at least their barbs lacked the genuine hostility of their earlier arguments. This wasn't so much animosity as it was banter – albeit rather acerbic banter. Rokk and Garth were, after all, two very different characters, and each had their own pride. At least it appeared that she would be able to take them out without having to babysit them constantly.

Although, thought Imra as the two boys continued to make increasingly loud slights about each other's personality, if they keep this up I might want to kill them myself.

A/A:

1. So now you know a little bit more about Diamond Earth Rokk and Garth. Imra will be less forthcoming about her history because she is by nature a rather guarded person. There will be hints, though - how you interpret them is up to you.

2. By now you guys should be noticing the medieval theme of the chapter titles. I did this intentionally - sort of to indicate the timeless quality of the subject matter - you know, 'cause this is in the 30th century but the titles use medieval terms.

3. As I said above, tomorrow's chapter will be full of plot, and you should start to see then where this story is going to go.