A/N: Good day everybody! Welcome back to the story and welcome back to Friday morning updates! Indeed, my work schedule has shifted again and that means that now, Friday mornings are up for grabs once again. That said, we return to the patented casual chapter here today as the gang enjoy their day at Niagara Falls! It's time for a bit of tourism, because this is…

Chapter 7: Falls Count Anywhere

…..

Yang had to be sure that this outfit was perfect. She was never one for fashion, and that was still true even to this day. But when she and the others stopped at a nearby mall to buy some casual clothes for everyone for their days at Niagara Falls, she knew what she had to do. She had to wear something that would drive her boyfriend up the wall. Not something that would completely break his mind, though, that was important. 'I just gotta whip something up that can really get his motor running…' Yang smirked to herself as she inspected herself in the mirror. 'And this… might be what I'm looking for.'

The Blonde Brawler was currently in a bright yellow crop top, exposing her toned midriff. She was also wearing a pair of brown sandals on her feet and a pair of yellow-brimmed sunglasses on her head. But the item that she was sure would be the clincher was the jean shorts she was wearing. Not too long, but not ungodly short, these fit her just the way she wanted. She spun around so that her back was facing the mirror and then turned her head, her eyes inspecting her form… and her smirk increased. The shorts accentuated her curves perfectly. "Oooooh yeah." she said out loud. "Ben's definitely gonna get a kick outta this."

Suddenly, from the dressing room next to her, she heard her partner call over; "Yang, you could be wearing rags and Ben would still think you're attractive."

Yang deadpanned at that, grabbing her Huntsman gear as she left the dressing room. "Gee, thanks Blake."

"Hey, I'm just speaking the truth." Blake countered as she and Yang emerged from their respective rooms. The cat girl was in a black V-Neck T-shirt and a pair of white khaki shorts, with a pair of black slip-on shoes. She had her Huntsman gear slung over her shoulder as she quirked a brow toward her partner. "You ARE aware that he's pretty much hooked on you, right?"

Yang simply smiled and shook her head. "Hey, I'm just trying to show him a little something more, ya know?" She glanced off to the side as her cheeks flushed a little. "I mean, we've been getting a lot more intimate lately, so…"

"Oh, I know ALL about that." Blake said with a smirk. "You don't think I didn't notice that you guys were downstairs back at your place pretty much all night the night before we left?" This caused Yang to give an awkward chuckle, her hand going to the back of her head. "…Yeah, I thought so. Gotta say, I'm a both really impressed and a bit jealous that you got to sleep in the same bed with Ben." Her cat ears flattened out a bit, a saddened expression coming to her face. "I… I probably won't be able to do that with Sun for a good while yet."

Yang sent her a sympathetic smile and she placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Oh, Blake, don't worry. I'm sure you and Sun will get to that stage sooner rather than later. I mean, yeah, being in two separate houses IS kinda tricky…" The blonde gave her partner a wink. "But you guys will figure it out. I can promise ya that."

"Hm, thanks." Blake smiled back. "But back to you and Ben, you're sure you want to get his attention like… well, this?" she gestured to her partner's clothing.

Yang rolled her eyes a bit, but grinned all the same. "Well, Blake, here's the thing;" She led her partner back out to the main area of the clothing store they were in as they walked and talked. "Ben and I pretty much poured our feelings out to each other during that night we spent together. Pretty much right after the battle in Vale, we told each other exactly how we felt, and we both feel the exact same way. And now that we've done that… the next logical step is to keep going forward. Keep getting more comfortable with being intimate with each other. And well…" She gestured to herself. "What better way than to wear something that drive him wild?"

Blake raised a brow at that, her smile turning into a smirk of her own. "Okay, I think I can see where you're coming from with that. So… other than the clothes, what else are you planning for more intimacy between you and him?"

"Well… I kinda want to see if Sandra will let me sleep in his bed with him."

The cat girl's eyes widened exponentially. "…Dear god, woman, you have more courage than me, then."

"Pfft, hey, I'm just as nervous as you'd probably be." Yang admitted. "Plus, the fact that I gotta break it to Ruby that I wanna sleep in a different room's gonna be hard, especially with those bunk beds…"

"Oh… yeah, that's gonna be tough." Blake agreed.

Then, all of a sudden… "What's gonna be tough?" Yang and Blake both let out yelps of surprise at the unexpected voice, though they calmed down the moment they saw it was Ruby. The Silver-Eyed girl had ditched her Huntsman gear and instead was in a black T-shirt with red lining around the collar and sleeves, a red yoke skirt that ended just above her knees, and a pair of red and black sneakers. But of course, she still kept her signature red hood and cloak. "Oops! Sorry, girls! Didn't mean to scare you there!"

"Hah… it's fine, Rubes." Yang assured. "Just didn't see ya there."

"Well, we were wondering when you guys were going to come out of there." The trio's eyes were brought up to the second voice… and both Blake and Yang were stunned by what they saw. It was Weiss… in a casual, white sundress and matching white flats. She also wore a white sunhat on her head, a pair of white-brimmed sunglasses, and her hair was down out of its usual ponytail. None of the items she was wearing appeared to be too expensive either, which was what REALLY took Yang and Blake aback. Weiss raised a brow at her staring friends and asked; "Uh… girls? I-Is there something wrong?" A horrified gasp escaped her throat. "AH! D-Do I have something on my face?"

"N-No, it's just… you're not in something that's the cost of a house." Blake explained. "It's… really different."

Weiss deadpanned at that before rolling her eyes beneath her sunglasses. "Oh please, my outfits weren't THAT expensive. …They had to be at least the cost of a luxury apartment's rent." This garnered a slew of raised eyebrows from her teammates, causing Weiss to shake her head. "Well, in any case, I'm fine with wearing casual clothes like this. Yes, I brought over some of my nicer outfits, but other than that, I'm cut off from my family's fortune now." She gave a shrug. "So, might as well start fresh, right?"

"Yeah, good point, Weiss!" Ruby said with a supportive smile before giving her a wink. "Plus, I'm sure you'll get LOTS of compliments from you-know-who."

The former heiress giggled a little bit at that. "Hehe, yes, guilty as charged, I'm trying to get my boyfriend's attention…" But then, her eyes widened and she lowered her sunglasses, finally seeing Yang's outfit. "But, uh… Yang, I think you might be trying to get Ben's attention a bit TOO much."

"Ah, c'mon." Yang said with a shrug of her own. "You gotta admit, I make this look good."

"Ya sure do, Yang!" Another voice popped up, this time scaring all four members of Team RWBY. They all spun around to see none other than Nora, the Pink Dynamo having changed her outfit to a white T-Shirt with an exposed midriff and a pair of skinny pink pants that ended about halfway down her calf. She also had on a pair of pink and white high tops to complete her outfit. She nudged Yang in the shoulder and smirked. "Trust me, Ben won't be able to keep his eyes off of you."

"Ahem." Everyone perked up when they saw Pyrrha making her way over as well. The Invincible Girl was now wearing a red, sleeveless top and a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of red and white Converse. She still had her hair up in a pony tail, but she had put away her signature circlet with the rest of her armor. Pyrrha scanned her eyes over Yang and pointed to her. "While I won't criticize your choice in attire, Yang, I will say that you'd better be careful of any other… prying eyes. You may get more attention than you're anticipating."

Yang crossed her arms and gave another eye roll. "Pfft, Pyrrha, please, you know me enough to know that if any guys try to have their way with me, I'll kick their ass."

"Oh, I know." Pyrrha assured. "I'm just saying, be ready for that kind of attention."

"What kind of attention?" Everyone spun around once again to see Penny coming their way. The redheaded android was in a pale green, short-sleeved blouse and a pleaded black skirt, along with a pair of matching slip-ons. She tilted her head as she raised a confused brow. "Are we attempting to get anyone's attention?"

Ruby chuckled awkwardly and put a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Hehehe… no Penny, we're not. We're just talking clothes, that's all."

Penny gasped in realization. "Oh! I see, so you're talking about how to gain attention through clothing!" Then, a small squee escaped her lips. "EEEEE! I cannot believe it! We're actually having an actual "girl talk"!"

The six other ladies all glanced to one another with amused smiles, before Blake spoke up again. "Hehe, well, as much as I'd like to continue this "girl talk", the others are probably all wondering where we are."

"Hey yeah!" Nora exclaimed. "Let's go see what the guys got!"

With that, the seven girls all walked from the changing rooms and toward the front of the store, where Ilia and Gwen were waiting for them. The chameleon girl had elected not to go on a shopping spree with the others, finding that she was fine with the clothes she had on. Her black jacket, maroon pants and black boots already passed for casual clothing anyway. Ilia greeted the seven with a smile and a nod. "Hey guys. Wow, you ladies are all looking pretty good!"

"Yeah, girls, nice choice in outfits." Gwen echoed, though she did raise a brow at Ruby's cloak. "Uh… Ruby, it's about seventy degrees out there. I think you might want to take off your hood for now."

Ruby eyed her hood hesitantly. "Well… I don't know… I mean, it's practically my signature."

"I think you should go for it, Ruby." The group did an about face to see none other than Jaune come walking up, the blonde knight having ditched his armor and hoodie in place for a simple, short-sleeved, white polo shirt. He kept his jeans, but replaced his boots with a pair of black and white sneakers. He spread his arms out to present himself. "I mean, I switched my hoodie out for this, so you KNOW it's pretty hot out." Almost immediately, though, Jaune's eyebrows shot up at the sight of his redheaded girlfriend in her attire, a soft smile slowly coming to his lips as she made her way over to him. "…Hey."

"Hey yourself, handsome." Pyrrha said as she messed with the collar of his polo. "I have to say, Jaune, you are quite dashing in this shirt."

"Heh, w-well, I was just kinda going with simplicity here." Jaune admitted. "D-Didn't wanna stand out too much."

At that moment, Ren also came up, now donned in a pair of loose, white khaki pants and a green, short-sleeved, button-up shirt, a pair of black shoes on his feet. "Yeah, same here. After all, the less attention we can draw, the better. I'm not exactly ready to be mobbed by fans…" Ren glanced outside of the store to see a whole slew of people clamoring outside… and Ben was the object of their attention. "I can see why Ben was glad to have his secret identity on Remnant, now."

"Sheesh, yeah, I kinda feel bad now that his secret's out on BOTH our worlds." Nora winced as she witnessed the scene go on, the hero struggling to make his way out of the pack as they finally receded. But then, she smirked and gave Ren a nudge with her elbow, along with a wink. "But I gotta say… you look really swanky in that, Renny. A button-up works REALLY well for you."

A slight blush came to Ren's cheeks at her compliment and he let out a nervous laugh. "Uh, heh, thanks, Nora."

Blake crossed her arms and tilted her head. "So, guys where are Sun and Neptune? They still in the changing rooms?"

As if to answer her question, however, a certain voice piped up from behind them. "Nope! Take a gander behind ya, beautiful." Blake initially rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's familiar compliments, but when she moved around… she was met with quite the sight. Sun had kept his jeans and sandals, as she thought he would. But in place of his usual shirt was now a simple red T-shirt. Admittedly, it would seem at first as nothing too special. But considering the fact that Blake could see every detail and definition of Sun's muscles through the shirt… it was somehow hotter than his usual exposed chest, and she couldn't help but stare at it. Sun smirked and placed his hands on his hips. "Wow, nice outfit there, Blake. So, you like the shirt?"

"I-I-I…" Blake shook her head and composed herself, refocusing before the situation could get awkward. "Y-Yes, you look good, Sun." In her mind, she added; 'So much that I want to FEEL those muscles through that shirt. …But not in public.'

"Thanks!" Sun beamed as he stepped closer to Blake and pulled her closer to him, whispering in her ear; "And don't worry, if you want, we can make some… private time later."

Blake's eyes widened at that and her cheeks flushed red. "H-How… how did you—"

"Wandering eyes, my dear." Sun smirked.

"…You're an ass."

"Maybe, but I'm pretty sure I've caught you staring at THAT too."

Blake slapped his arm at that. "SUN!" she whispered harshly.

"Kidding, kidding… mostly." Sun winked at the narrow-eyed Blake before craning his head around toward the men's changing rooms. "Yo, Neptune, we're set to head back!"

From said rooms, Neptune finally emerged. The blue-haired boy had his goggles now hanging freely around his neck and was in a royal blue V-neck T-shirt, a pair of long tan cargo pants, and blue and white sneakers. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Neptune waved as he strode over, his Huntsman gear in his arms. His eyes scanned across his group of friends and he gave them a smile. "Hey, you guys are all lookin' great!"

"Thank you, Neptune." Weiss smiled back at him. "And your new clothes are very nice, too. Wasn't expecting you to go with the different shade of blue, though."

"Ah, well, ya know…" Neptune shrugged. "Didn't want to have my clothes matching my hair EXACTLY, ya get me? It'd just be a bit weird in my opinion."

Ruby nodded at that. "Oh yeah, totally." She glanced back out of the store and saw Ben desperately trying to free himself from the mob of people that were surrounding him, their cheers echoing throughout the rest of the mall. "So… anyone else think we should go help Ben now that we're all done here?"

Gwen sighed and nodded, knowing that what came next would be a hassle. "Agreed. C'mon, let's go pry the fans off him…"

…..

Ben was breathing hard as he and the rest of the group came walking out of the mall, grateful to finally be free from those fans. As much as he appreciated his fanbase, they could also get VERY ravenous, and while he was more than happy to use Humungousaur to chase off reporters and such, he wasn't about to do that with fans. Thankfully, his team held no such qualms and got him out of their pretty quickly thanks to Gwen and Yang.

Gwen had cleared a path by lightly pushing everyone out of the way with her mana fields… and Yang intimidated the hell out of all of the crazed fans by shifting her eyes from violet to red. One single angry glare from her was enough for the group of people, especially the fangirls, to back off from him. Honestly, he didn't deserve someone as great as her… and that thought only accentuated when he saw what she was wearing. He thought his nose was going to bleed out then and there, and it took all his willpower to not stare at her rear as she led him away from the crowd of people. 'Seriously, how the HELL did I end up with such a nice, considerate, and HOT girlfriend?'

"Hah… thanks again for getting me out of there, girls." Ben smiled in gratitude. "Also, nice outfits, everyone!"

"Thanks, Green Boy." Yang smirked back with a wink. "And no prob. I ain't about to let a bunch of crazed fans lay their grubby mits on my man, now am I?"

Ben's hand moved to the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe… I suppose not…"

It was at that moment, though, that Yang leaned in and whispered into his ear; "So, tell me, Green Boy… what do you think of what I'm wearing?"

"…I think you're making it incredibly hard not to kiss you right now." Ben whispered back.

A giggle escaped Yang's throat. "Hehe, that's what I plan to do later on, when we're in a more… private place, of course."

"Wouldn't miss it." Ben grinned before addressing everyone else once more. "So, what do you guys wanna do first?"

Weiss cleared her throat as she pointed to the exit. "Well, FIRST we should go and get the others. Rex and everyone else are still waiting for us outside, remember?"

The hero smacked himself in the forehead. "Gah, jeez, you're right. I was so distracted by that group of fans, I forgot." He waved his hand in front of him toward the exit. "Okay, we'll meet up with the others and THEN we can finally get things started." With that, the group strolled out to the parking lot and immediately saw their vehicles all parked next to each other, with Kevin, Rex, and Alan leaning up against the former's car as they talked.

Rex was the first to take notice and sent everyone a wave. "Hey, there they are! We were wondering where you…" He trailed off when he noticed Weiss in her sundress and hat, his jaw going slack as his eyes moved up and down her figure quite a few times. "Uuuhhh…"

"Take a picture, Robo-dolt." Weiss playfully chastised, pushing Rex's chin back up. "It'll last longer."

"U-Uh, oh!" Rex blushed profusely at what he had just done and he lowered his head to his girlfriend. "S-Sorry, Weiss. I-I just… w-well, I—"

"Oh my gosh, Rex, I'm only kidding." Weiss emphasized as she went over and cupped her hand to his cheek, lifting his head up to meet her eyes. "You think I didn't know this outfit would catch your attention?"

Behind the EVO, Kevin smirked and chortled. "She's got a point, dude."

Rex sighed and hung his head low, though he still smiled at his girlfriend. "Hehe, I swear, it's like mind games with you, Ice Princess."

"Yep, and I do enjoy them." Weiss laughed as she put an arm around her boyfriend's shoulders. "Just relax, Rex. We're all trying to have fun here."

Alan gave a small shrug. "Well, either way, you guys are all looking great in those outfits."

"Hey, thanks Alan!" Nora smiled as she gave a good-natured jab to the half-Pyronite's shoulder, causing him to wince a bit at how hard that hit was. "So, where's Manny, Helen and Rook? I wanna get this day a-movin' and get to some fun stuff!"

The young man nudged his head to the Proto-TRUK, all while nursing his shoulder. "They just had to get a few things from the Proto-TRUK. They should be out in about…" Suddenly, the back doors of the Proto-TRUK opened, signaling the arrival of their three aforementioned friends. "…Yeah, right about now."

"EEEEE, awesome!" Ruby cheered. "Now the fun can FINALLY start! C'mon guys, let's—uh… what?" Ruby and everyone were left flabbergasted by who they saw coming out of the Proto-TRUK. Because they sure as heck knew that this person was NOT either Manny, Helen or Rook. Namely because the young man they were staring at right then and there was definitely VERY human in appearance.

Indeed, he was a tall man in his early twenties with an olive skin tone, a head of black hair in a buzz cut, and a black, triangular-shaped goatee. He had a lean, muscular frame and wore a blue, button-up shirt, a pair of black jeans and a pair of black boots on his feet. His hazel eyes scanned over the group before smiling at them. "Ah, welcome back, everyone." he said in a VERY familiar voice. "I take it that your shopping excursion went well?"

Everyone's mouths fell open at the sight of him. "Wait… ROOK?!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Is that really you?!" Pyrrha shouted as well.

"Indeed." The man who claimed to be Rook reached up to his face… and pulled it off, revealing his true self. And in his hand, he was holding a rather familiar mask. "I always keep a set of DNA Masks in the Proto-TRUK in case we need to go out in public. They are not used as much in Bellwood where aliens are more common, but in other places…" Rook placed the mask back on, bringing his human disguise back. "It is much easier to go places with these on."

From the Proto-TRUK, a scoff was heard. "Pfft, yeah, 'cause we're not freakin' everybody out." Another young man, this one in his late teens, emerged from the Proto-TRUK, and he was actually quite a bit taller than Rook. He was an African-American man with a strong build, a bald head, and he wore a red muscle shirt and a pair of black cargo pants, along with a pair of steel-toed combat boots.

The sound of his voice and the perpetually angry expression made it immediately apparent that this guy HAD to be Manny. He crossed her arms and rolled his eyes. "Let's face it, it's gonna be a life time before humans get used to the idea of aliens just casually walkin' down the street in every town in the world. We're pretty much outcasts if we can't pass for normal people."

Kevin rolled his eyes at the disguised Tetramand's words. "Jeez, dude, good to see YOU haven't changed." He gave Manny a shrug. "Have ya ever tried, I dunno, having a more POSITIVE outlook?"

Manny got right up in Kevin's face and glared at him hard. "Have YOU ever tried not bein' a complete ASS, Levin?"

"Lemme think about that for a minute… nah, not really." Kevin smirked.

"You wanna go right here, right now?!" Manny challenged.

"Not worth my time, Muscle Tower." Kevin retorted.

Off to the side, though, everyone was visibly intimidated by what was going on as a growl escaped Manny's throat, leading Penny to lean over to Gwen. "Does this always happen between them?" she whispered.

With a deadpan expression, Gwen facepalmed at the scene. "Only every time they see each other."

However, before a real fight could break out, a certain blue blur was seen rushing out of the Proto-TRUK, speeding toward Manny and Kevin in record time. It stopped between the duo and Helen pushed the two away from each other, with everyone was taken aback by her human form. Her skin was fair and her blue eyes were an immediate stand out given how vibrant they were. Plus, her choice in attire being a blue tank top, black track pants and blue and white sneakers was also quite eye-catching. But what everyone was focused on, especially Neptune, was her hair. It was swept back, it was spikey, and most surprisingly… it was electric blue. That combined with the fact that she was still downright GORGEOUS in human form… it was enough to make Neptune's jaw drop to the ground.

And THIS was enough to get Gwen's attention. 'Oh, I spy an opportunity…' She reached up and closed Neptune's mouth, whispering to him; "Keep it together, Neptune. Start a conversation about her hair and trust me, everything will work out. Also, come talk to me later."

"Alright, I heard fighting out here, who started it?" Helen asked with an irritated scowl.

Kevin and Manny automatically pointed to each other and said; "HE DID!" at the same time.

Helen grimaced at the two of them before swiftly hitting them on their arms, causing them to cry out in pain. "Wrong answer, try again."

"GAH! Helen!" Manny protested.

"What the hell?!" Kevin added.

"Until you guys stop doing this crap, this is the only way you'll learn your lesson." Helen jerked her thumb over to Gwen. "And before you ask, yes, Gwen approved of this a long time ago."

Both Kevin and Manny gave Gwen an incredulous expression, to which she only shrugged. "She's not wrong, boys. You two gotta learn to get along, and considering you two, pain's a good motivator." The Tetramand and Osmosian both pouted at Gwen indignantly before facing away from each other, their arms crossed. "Oh please, now you're acting like children." The duo merely grumbled, with Gwen and Helen both groaning back.

"I swear, every time with these guys…" Helen shook her head, only to feel a sudden tap on her shoulder. "Hm?" She turned around and immediately came face to face with Neptune, who was standing sheepishly behind her. Helen brightened up immediately and greeted him. "Oh, hey Neptune!"

"Uh, h-hey, Helen." Neptune cleared his throat and pointed to her head. "Ahem, u-uh… heh, that's an… interesting hair style you've got going there."

Helen's eyebrows rose up, realizing very quick that the hair of her usual disguise was the exact same shade of blue that Neptune's hair was. "O-Oh! Ha, you noticed that, huh?" she said with a bit of a blush. "Hehe… yeah, I guess I should've told you that. See, I always thought that if I were human, I'd give myself blue hair, so… yeah, my disguise kind of reflects that."

Neptune smiled back at her and nodded in approval. "Heh, well, I definitely think it suits you, a-and I like how you have it swept back like that."

"Hehe, thanks…"

Off to the side, Gwen couldn't help but smirk again… and a few other ladies were quick to take note as well. 'Ooh, Neptune, you just took a VERY big step…'

At that moment, however, Sun stepped up and clapped his hands together, the monkey boy smiling out to everyone. "So! Now that we're all here, what should we do first? There's plenty of stuff to do around here, I'm sure."

"Ooh! OOH!" Nora bounced up and down and waved her hand around. "Gwen told me that there's this boat called "The Maid of the Mist" that has rides in the waterfall's basin! Who wants to come with?!" Almost immediately, Neptune cried out in terror and hid behind Sun, the monkey boy rolling his eyes. "…Okay, anyone who's NOT Neptune?" Nora added.

Pyrrha gasped excitedly. "Ooh, that sounds lovely!" She grasped Jaune's arm eagerly. "Jaune, what do you say?"

"You kidding? That DOES sound awesome." Jaune nodded.

"Agreed." Ren spoke up. "Getting to see a waterfall like THAT up close is something we definitely should do."

Ben nodded in approval. "Oh, you definitely should. Grandpa Max, Gwen and I all did that when we came here years ago on that summer vacation and it was pretty cool from what I remember."

Gwen couldn't help but smirk at that. "Key word being "remember" since that was ALSO the day you unlocked the Master Control by accident." She nudged her head over to Kevin. "…And also the day that Kevin and Vilgax came back to get revenge on you."

Kevin raised his eyebrows at that. "Oh yeah, I remember that day… man, feels like a lifetime ago…"

"Heh, wow." Yang chuckled as she nudged Ben with her shoulder. "You guys really DO have a ton of stories from back then, eh, Green Boy?"

"Well, when you've been all over the United States over one summer with an alien watch strapped to your wrist, you end up with some crazy stories." Ben said before turning to Team JNPR. "Okay, so you guys are off on the boat ride, right?"

"Yep, sure are." Jaune affirmed. "So… where is it?"

Gwen stepped up and ushered them to follow her. "Here, I'll show you where to go. Heck, I think I'll even come with you guys." After a resounding approval from Team JNPR at her suggestion, Gwen sent a wave to the others and said; "We'll meet up with the rest of you guys later, okay?"

"Sure thing, Gwen!" Blake waved back. "We'll be around!" With that, the first group of five left, leaving Blake to face Sun, pulling a pamphlet out of her back pocket. "Now, I've actually read that there's a pretty awesome aquarium near her that has all sorts of aquatic animals. You wanna check it out, Sun?"

"Hey, sure, that sounds awesome!" Sun approved with no hesitation.

"OOH! I wanna go!" Ruby grinned.

"Me too! Me too!" Penny practically bounced on her heels. "I would LOVE to see the marine animals!"

Ilia also was quick to agree with that. "Yeah, sounds like a lot of fun. I'll come with, too." She peeked behind Sun to see Neptune still cowering slightly, though she still gave him a smile. "Neptune, doesn't that sound fun? You get to see animals AND you wouldn't be in danger of the water. Whaddya say?"

"Uh, hehe, yeah sorry, Ilia." Neptune shook his head vehemently. "No can do. I don't even feel safe with a pane of glass between me and water. Like… what if the glass breaks or something?"

An audible groan was heard from almost everyone, with Weiss commenting; "My god, Neptune, can you BE any more of a worry wart?"

Neptune held his hands up in defense. "Hey, it's a valid concern! I've seen it happen!"

Helen let out a sigh and stepped back over to Neptune, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking." She pointed to the blue-haired boy and locked eyes with him. "Neptune, I think you should come with me, Alan and Manny. We're all going to get lunch because THOSE two haven't eaten in probably close to fifteen hours."

"No kiddin'." Manny said as he placed his hand over his stomach. "Those damn cultists didn't even have the GRUEL that you'd find in prisons."

"We need to eat, BAD." Alan emphasized, his own stomach growling.

Neptune thought about it for only half a second before hastily nodding his head. "Oh! Yes, lunch sound AWESOME right now. Nice, safe, nutritious, and most importantly; as FAR away from any body of water feasibly possible." He gave Helen a thumbs up. "I'm in!"

Helen grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Okay then, we're off!" The four of them began to make their trek toward the road, with the speedster waving to the rest of the group. "We'll see you guys in a little bit, okay?"

"Gotcha, Helen!" Ben waved back to her. "We'll regroup later!"

And with that, only eleven members of the group were left, and Ruby glanced over to her sister and partner. "So Yang, Weiss, you gals up for a trip to the aquarium, too?"

"Well… maybe, but not yet, Rubes." Yang shook her head. "It does sound fun… but…" She and Weiss both leaned in close to their boyfriends. "We were kinda hoping that the boys would take us to the observation tower."

"Exactly." Weiss nodded. "Sure, Gwen and the others might be getting a close up in the basin, but seeing the falls from high up is something I was hoping to experience."

"Oh… I see." Ruby said, slightly disappointed, but understanding all the same. It made sense that the two would want to spend time with their boyfriends, especially on a day trip like this. "Well, okay, I guess we'll just catch up with you guys later, then."

"Yeah, sounds good." Yang smiled. "Besides, I'm sure we'll all be switching places as the day goes on, so we'll all get a chance to do something with each other, right?"

Ruby nodded at that. "Yeah, exactly." She set her sights over to Kevin and raised a brow to him. "Hey Kevin, do you think you could give us a lift to the aquarium?"

Kevin sent her a shrug. "Eh, got nothin' better to do, so sure. Why not? Load up, guys!" With one final goodbye, Ruby, Penny, Ilia, Blake and Sun all squeezed into Kevin's car and the Osmosian drove off, leaving the two couples to themselves… or so they thought.

Rex draped his arm over Weiss with a grin. "Alright, so now that everything's been settled, let's—"

"Ahem." Everyone turned their head at the sound to see Rook, the disguised Revonnahgander having stepped up with a soft smile toward Ben, Yang, Rex and Weiss. "If it is not too much trouble, I would actually like to accompany the four of you to the observation tower." He placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head politely. "I apologize if I am being a "fifth disk", but I can assure you that I will not be in the way."

The quartet blinked in surprise, with Ben quick to correct him. "Uh… I think you mean "fifth wheel", Rook."

Rook thought about that for a moment before realizing what it meant. "Ah, yes, that DOES make much more sense."

"Yeah, and you know what? Don't worry about it." Yang waved off. "We've got no problem with you coming along on the ride."

Weiss gave another nod to that. "Yeah, I mean, it's not like this is an official date or anything. We're just looking to have a good time. You can come along and you wouldn't be ruining anything."

Ben smiled and offered a fist bump. "Exactly right. Feel free to come along, Rook."

Rook eyed the fist inquisitively before getting the idea, gladly bumping his own fist with Ben's. "Thank you, everyone. I am very grateful."

"No problem. Now c'mon, we're burning daylight…" But Ben trailed off when he realized something. "Wait a sec… where's Bobo? I thought he was coming with."

With matching irritated expressions, both Rex and Rook went to the back of the Proto-TRUK and opened its doors, the former gesturing toward the inside. "See for yourself." Ben, Yang and Weiss all peered into the back… and saw Bobo currently napping on one of the chairs, snoring so loud it could be compared to a chainsaw.

Weiss deadpanned at the sight. "Hah, should've figured. Should we wake him up?"

"Trust me, Ice Princess, we probably don't wanna do that." Rex denied. "Bobo would be pretty pissed if we wake him up from one of his naps. …But we should probably still take him with us. He'd be even more pissed if we just leave him behind."

Yang simply gave a shrug. "Well, his loss is our gain. C'mon guys, let's go have some fun!" With that, Ben locked his car before the five loaded up into the Proto-TRUK with Rook in the driver's seat. The disguised Revonnahgander started the vehicle and began to steadily drive down the street toward where the observation tower was, being careful not to wake Bobo up. Their first day as tourists had officially begun.

…..

Neptune was glad to be ANYWHERE but near anything water-related at the moment. On their way to the restaurant, he and Helen had agreed that their group's next destination of interest would be a hike through one of the many nature reserves that the area had to offer, and he was absolutely fine with that. That said, the place that Helen had chosen for them to eat at was… certainly an interesting one. "…The Rainforest Café?" Neptune uttered out loud as he read the sign. The restaurant's exterior was also interestingly decorated, almost resembling some sort of temple or ruin. …And there were statues of an ape and a macaw sitting on a bench outside as well. "Doesn't this feel a bit… out of place?"

"Maybe, but I'm telling you, this is one of the COOLEST restaurants ever." Helen assured as Manny and Alan went inside without hesitation. "Come on, I'll show you." The disguised Kineceleran took his hand, which surprised Neptune, before leading him inside… and what he saw next made his jaw drop.

It was like they had entered a dining area under a jungle canopy, complete with plenty of lush trees and moving animatronics of wild animals. There were apes, tigers, snakes coiled around the trees, and even large elephants all present, and the bars were even situated under gigantic mushrooms! Sure, there was a… small aquarium in the middle of the room, but it wasn't much of a problem for him. …Just as long as he stayed away from it. At that moment, the sound of an elephant's trumpet resounded through the entire place, and just like that, he was immersed. "…Okay, I can see what you meant now. This place is AWESOME!"

"I KNOW, right?!" Helen grinned before a waiter showed the four to their table, leaving them with their menus so they could order. I always wanted to come to this place when I was a little girl… but given how we grew up, that didn't end up happening." But she shrugged her shoulders and shook it off. "But now that I'm older, I can come here whenever I want and it's ALWAYS awesome."

"You got that right." Alan concurred as he scanned his eyes over the menu. "And their menu here is to DIE for." He pointed to the menu as he began slightly salivating at the mouth. "I think I'm gonna do some Lava Nachos and… ah yeah, a Rainforest Burger."

"Ooh, good choices." Manny agreed. "As for me, I'm DEFINITELY goin' on the Appetizer Adventure and gettin' at least TWO of those Beastly Burgers."

Neptune's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw what exactly the Beastly Burger was on the menu. "WOAH! Dude, where are you putting all that?!"

Manny rolled his eyes and placed his menu on the table, tapping it with his finger. "Hey, if ya wanna keep up the kinda muscle I have, you gotta go all in on the meat, my man."

"Heh… well, I think I'll just have the regular Rainforest Burger and some chicken tenders." Neptune waved.

"And as for me, I'll have the Tropical Island Chicken Salad with a side of onion rings." Helen concluded as she set her menu on the table as well, thought she gave Manny an expectant look. "Now, I expect EVERYONE to contribute to the bill on this one. You're not ordering TWO of those things without ponying up on your end."

"Yeah, yeah, relax." Manny said with an eye roll. "I'll put in my dues."

After that, it wasn't long before the waitress came to their table and took their orders. And while she was momentarily surprised at the amount of food that Manny ordered, she took it in stride and a short time later, they had their meals all laid out in front of them. And then… Manny and Alan began stuffing their faces. It was evident by the way they were eating that they hadn't consumed any food for quite a while, so on the one hand, Neptune and Helen couldn't blame them. But on the other hand…

"My god, they're like a couple of wolfs scarfing down a kill." Neptune muttered.

Helen pursed her lips as she lifted a piece of her chicken salad to her lips. "And they wonder why I don't take them to public places."

As she took a bite of her food, though, Neptune couldn't help but raise a brow. "Wait a sec… aren't you technically wearing a mask? How're you eating?"

The disguised Kineceleran swallowed her bite and pointed to her mouth. "The mask as a gap big enough for eating. They really did think of everything when they made this thing." Accepting the answer, Neptune joined her and began eating his own burger, the two enjoying their respective meals in relative silence for a few minutes. But then, a thought occurred to Helen about something the blue-haired boy had said earlier that day. "Hey, Neptune?"

"Hm?" Neptune swallowed his bite of burger and set his eyes toward her. "What's up, Helen?"

"Well… I remember that you and I were starting to talk about something earlier when we were on the mission." Helen recalled. "I brought up how you shouldn't be over-confident and you just kinda seemed a bit out of it. And I remember you wanting to talk about it later, too."

Neptune's eyebrows rose up as he also remembered the conversation… and he felt his nerves begin to take over. "O-Oh, right… w-well, it wasn't really anything important, I don't think…"

"You sure?" Helen tilted her head. "Because if you want an ear, I'm more than happy to lend you one." She jerked her thumb to Manny and Alan across from them, their ravenous eating not stopping for a second. "Besides, with how loud those two are eating, I doubt they'll hear us."

Neptune couldn't help but chuckle at that, and almost instantly, he felt more at ease. 'Man, she knows just what to say…' Shaking that thought away for now, he cleared his throat and nodded to her. "Heh, well… okay." He took a deep breath and he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see… the truth is… I-I kinda feel like I NEED to be over-confident." Helen's eyes widened in surprise as he continued. "Being honest here, I don't really have the highest confidence in the world, and I feel like pumping myself up by being OVER-confident in myself kinda helps with that. I mean, I'm scared of water, my social skills are kinda crap, and my weapon's name is LITERALLY "Tri-Hard". Granted, that last one was technically Sun's fault, but you get my point. My over-confidence is kinda what helps me get along… though I kinda wish that wasn't the case."

Helen nodded in understanding. "I see. So you want to have some genuine confidence… but feel like you have so many challenges in your way that it's hard to do so." Neptune nodded back to Helen, confirming her assessment. The Kineceleran girl smiled and hummed to herself. "Hmm… well, if that's the case, then there's only one thing to do."

"…And what's that?" Neptune asked.

"I am going to help you find your confidence." Helen clarified, pointing a finger to Neptune's chest.

Needless to say, Neptune was very surprised by that. "W-Wait, really? You'd help me out with something like that?" He rubbed his arm sheepishly. "No offence, Helen, but… we've literally only known each other for like, a day."

"Yeah, so?" Helen retorted. "Neptune, you're a good guy, I can tell. And I honestly think that there's a lot of confidence just waiting to come out of you." She gave him a wink and nudged his arm with her own. "All we have to do is get you there."

Slowly but surely, Neptune smiled back at her, feeling a sense of immense gratitude toward the Kineceleran. "Heh… wow, I-I really don't know what to say except… thanks, Helen. That means a lot."

Helen gave him a small wave in return. "Hey, it's the least I can do." She pierced her fork through another piece of her chicken salad and brought it up. "Now c'mon, let's dig in before—"

"DONE!" Helen and Neptune were both taken off guard when Manny and Alan both lifted their plates, their dishes as clean as a whistle. The blue-haired duo felt their jaws dropped as Manny rubbed his hands together. "Now, who's up for dessert?!"

…..

Meanwhile, Ben, Yang, Weiss, Rex and Rook all found themselves standing atop one VERY tall structure, one that the girls were both taken by surprise by. When they had heard Ben and Rex talk about the observation tower, they figured it would be some sort of tall structure that overlooked the falls and had observation rooms inside for everyone to see the falls from a distance. What they WEREN'T expecting was the massive platform that stuck straight out from the tower, allowing the visitors to get a closer look.

"WOO! Now THIS is a view!" Yang shouted as she raised her arms over the side of the guard rail. She peered down to the waters below and gazed in awe at the Falls, smiling as she took pictures with her Scroll. "Oh man, I'm definitely saving this, for sure."

"Same here." Weiss agreed as she also took a couple of pictures. "This place is just so beautiful."

Ben walked up and put his arm around the small of Yang's back, pulling her into a side embrace. "Oh, no doubt about it." the hero said as he gazed out toward the massive natural wonder. "I'm actually kinda glad that I'm back here again. Never really got the chance to take in just how amazing this place is."

Rex also stepped over to Weiss and settled an arm across her shoulders. "Yeah, and I think this is my first time coming here, period." the EVO added. "Not too many EVO attacks happened here in my world, surprisingly."

"Hm, you don't say?" Weiss smiled before leaning her head onto Rex's shoulder. "Well, I guess now you can say that you've had both a mission AND a sightseeing trip here."

"Uh-huh, and the fact that I'm sharing it with you makes me muy contento, Ice Princess." Rex moved his head down and pecked Weiss on the cheek, making the former heiress' smile increase in size.

"Aw, that's so sweet, Rex." Weiss cooed as she returned the gesture. "I only hope our first official date is just as good as this."

Rex winked and pat her shoulder gently. "Oh, trust me, Ice Princess. With what I have planned, I can guarantee you're gonna have a fun time." He glanced back out toward the waterfalls. "I can't say that there'll be views like this… but I think you'll still be in for a few sopresas." Weiss hummed in a happy tone before cuddling herself closer to Rex's chest, the two falling into silence as they stared out to the natural landmark.

As that was happening, Ben and Yang watched their conversation unfold, the two reveling in the sweetness of the moment. "I gotta say, I'm so glad that they actually confessed to each other." the Blonde Brawler whispered.

"Oh yeah, agreed completely." Ben nodded. "I was wondering if they would EVER admit that they like each other."

After a few seconds, Yang broke out into a sly grin. "Actually, that reminds me…" She spun around and faced Ben head on, pressing herself up against the hero's chest with a rather alluring expression. "Tell me, Green Boy… you don't happen to have any plans for OUR first date on Earth, do you? Because just to let you know…" She put herself onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Ben's shoulders, whispering into his ear; "I'm up for anything."

Ben blushed profusely at her words, and the fact that his girlfriend was so intimately close to him definitely didn't help manners. Well… okay, it DID turn him on something fierce, but it did no favors for his speech. "U-U-Uh… w-well, I-I…" He swallowed hard and let out a nervous chuckle. "Hehe, well, I WAS thinking of going a couple places… there's a pretty fun club in Bellwood we could go to, for example."

Yang's eyebrows immediately shot up in excitement. "Ooh! A club?! Why didn't you say so? I'm ALL for clubbing it up." She booped Ben on the nose and sent him a wily smirk. "Consider it a date, my love."

"Hehe, sounds good." Ben smiled back.

"By the way…" A slightly more serious expression came to Yang's face, one that was etched in concern. "How do you want to break the news to your mom about… us wanting to share a bed?" She saw Ben's eyes widen as he remembered that, and Yang was quick to raise a hand. "I mean, I don't expect us to bring this up right away, trust me. Last thing I want to do only two days in is ask your mom about sharing the same bed."

Ben took a deep breath and found one of Yang's hands with his own, giving it a soft squeeze. "Yeah, same here. I mean… I definitely want to share a bed with you, Goldie Locks. There's nothing that I'm more sure about than that." His eyes shifted down toward the ground in thought. "It's just… I really don't have a good way of breaking that to my mom…"

Yang sighed at that. "Yeah, and I don't exactly know how to break it to the team, either." She rubbed the back of her neck and shook her head. "Ruby's just so psyched about bunk beds and the last thing I wanna do is disappoint her by not being with the rest of the team."

"Yeah… we're in one heck of a pickle." Ben noted. "…Well, right now, I guess the best thing we can really do is wait and try to think of something." He smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "We'll figure this out, Yang. I promise you that."

The blonde's smile returned and she pecked Ben's lips as she gave a soft laugh. "Hmhm, thanks, Green Boy." After that, though, the sight of a certain someone in the corner of her eye caught Yang's attention, and she turned her head to see Rook… standing as still as a statue. He was standing along the railing, unmoving as he rested his hands upon it. He kept his eyes closed and his head raised, almost as if he were in some sort of trance. Yang nudged her head toward Rook and quietly asked; "What do you think Rook's up to?"

Ben noticed the disguised Revonnahgander as well and shrugged. "I dunno, he's been standing there like that since we got here. …Let's go find out." The couple moved over and Ben spoke up to the tall Plumber. "Yo, Rook! You good, man? You've been there for a while now."

Rook opened his eyes and set his sights onto Ben and Yang, giving them a soft grin. "Oh, my apologies, Ben. I did not mean to cause concern." He then moved his eyes back out toward the waterfall. "I am simply taking in the splendor of the sight before me. Believe it or not, this is actually my first time seeing a waterfall."

Both Ben and Yang were visibly surprised by that, as were Rex and Weiss, who overheard the conversation. "Woah, seriously?" Yang questioned.

"You're saying you've NEVER seen a waterfall before now?" Rex added.

Rook shook his head. "No, I have not." He extended a hand as he explained. "You see, the world I come from, Revonnah, does not have many waterfalls. Or at least, not many where I grew up. Our planet is more of an arid one, and the terrain is quite rugged. Perfect for growing Amber Ogia, but not for many waterfalls."

That only furthered the group's confusion. "Uh… Amber what-ia?"

"Amber Ogia." Rook clarified, smiling as he remembered more of his home planet. "It a berry plant that is the most important resource on Revonnah. It serves as our food, fuel, we grind it into grain, and we even use it for our clothing."

The quartet were all stunned by that. "Woah… you can make clothing out of a freaking berry?" Yang uttered. "That's… actually kinda neat."

"By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask." Ben piped up again, sending Rook an inquisitive brow. "Why'd you wanna become a Plumber, Rook? And of all places to be stationed, why choose Earth?"

Rook's smile faltered as he let out a frustrated breath. "To be perfectly honest… I wished to become a Plumber so that I could leave my home world. I love Revonnah, do not be mistaken, but I was unhappy with the traditional ways we do things. Thankfully, when the Plumber who was stationed on my planet told me that they were currently recruiting, I leapt at the chance." He shrugged his shoulders and continued. "One year of training later, and here I am." Rook's expression soured for a moment. "Granted we had some… trouble with the final exams, but everything was fine in the end."

"Wow, that's actually really cool, Rook." Rex grinned.

"Yeah, are there any other Revonnahganders who came with you?" Weiss asked further.

"No, I was the only one to sign up." Rook answered. "In fact, I am the only Revonnahgander to leave the planet… at least, so far." A knowing smile came to his face. "If I am correct, I have a feeling my sister would like to join me at some point in the future."

Yang gave a thumbs up. "Hey, now that's cool! Havin' family along for the ride's always a good thing."

"Indeed." Rook concurred. "But for now, I am putting all of my focus into doing what I have been assigned to do. I only hope that I do well in that regard."

Ben set the disguised Revonnahgander a salute. "Well, in my opinion, I think you'll do just fine, Rook. And hey, we've got your back, too."

Rook bowed his head gratefully. "Thank you, that is very kind of—"

"'EY!" All of a sudden, an unmistakable, gruff voice shouted at them, causing them to spin around. There, in plain view of everyone, was Bobo, and his presence was enough to get the other tourists riled up. The EVO chimp placed his hands on his hips, ignoring the crowd's terrified shouts. "What's the big idea leavin' me behind, huh?!" He pointed to the quintet with a stern finger. "I take about half an hour ta get in a bit a' shut-eye an' when I wake up, I'm suddenly "Lonesome Jones" out in the parkin' lot! Mind explainin'?!"

The five all eyed each other warily before Rex facepalmed. "Guess he would've been cranky either way."

…..

As that was happening, Blake's group had just started their tour of the Aquarium of Niagara, the six teens taking their time to wander about the place and take in all of the exhibits. They didn't have any specific destinations or exhibits in mind, they simply went about taking in everything they could… right after the sea lion show.

"WOOO!" Ruby and Penny cheered as they watched the sea lion race around the pool and come lunging back up onto the stage, where a woman in a full body swimsuit was waiting for it. The sea lion went up onto a small pedestal and raised its head up high before then moving over to the woman, who had her leg out slightly toward it. The sea lion reared itself up and placed one of its front flippers onto the woman's thigh, the two posing before waving to the crowd.

"OOOH! That is SO CUTE!" Ilia shouted.

"I KNOW, right?" Blake cooed as well before the sea lion then went back into the water and jumped high into the air, surprising everyone. "OH! Oh that was unexpected!"

Sun clapped as the sea lion performed the trick a few more times before returning to the stage. "Oh ho, man, am I glad that we got here in time for this!"

Kevin, however, simply shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, it's alright. You could probably get a dog to do the same thing." For his comment, the Osmosian was met with a slew of narrow-eyed glances from the group, to which he raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying."

Ruby rolled her eyes and focused back onto the show, with the sea lion now catching rings around its neck that the trainer was throwing at it. "Oh, please. A dog is one thing, but a sea lion HAS to be a lot tougher to train."

"Indeed, I imagine it takes a great amount of time to train them here." Penny agreed as the trainer then did away with the rings before diving into the water with the sea lion, the duo performing twists and spins in the middle of the pool. "And I imagine the choreography is quite a challenge as well."

After a few more minutes, the show finally came to an end, with not one, but two sea lions performing a lap around the pool before performing a mid-air jump across from one another. The crowd applauded at the show's end before the group of six teens went along their way. From there, the teens split off into separate groups to see separate exhibits, with them all agreeing to meet up later.

It was then and there that Sun realized something… that this place was practically a buffet for his girlfriend. How did he know this? Because the moment Blake's eyes landed on a particularly colorful blue and yellow fish… he knew she wanted to eat it. "Blake… Blake…" He repeated her name as he tugged lightly against her sleeve, but her gaze was laser focused on all of the different fish… and a little bit of drool was beginning to trickle out of her mouth. "Yo, babe!"

"H-Huh?!" Blake blinked and shook her head, her eyes darting over to her boyfriend. "S-Sun, what is it?"

"Uh, Blake, don't know if you noticed, but you were kinda salivating over the fish there."

The cat girl blinked and raised her hand up to her chin… only to find that he was speaking the truth. "Oh… I probably should've guessed that'd happen."

Sun deadpanned at that and raised a brow. "Why do I get the feeling you subconsciously wanted to come here JUST to see if you could get a meal ticket?"

Blake blushed and a nervous laugh escaped her throat. "Hahaha… it's a possibility…"

"Um, excuse me…" Blake and Sun were both surprised at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, the two Faunus turning around to see a family of four standing behind them. There was a mother, a father, a daughter and a son, the quartet all gazing at the couple in fascination. "O-Oh! Sorry if we startled you…" the mother apologized nervously.

"Oh, it's no problem at all." Blake assured. "I take it you wanted to see the exhibit?"

"W-Well… yes." the father confirmed. "But… well, we were also wondering—"

"Are those real?!" the son asked all of a sudden, pointing to Blake's ears and Sun's tail.

The mother's eyes widened in panic and she quickly pulled her son toward her. "Sweetie, NO! We don't just ask those types of questions."

"But momma!" the daughter said as she bounced up and down. "We wanna know if the pretty kitty lady's ears are real!"

That made Blake's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates… and almost immediately, she felt something well up in her chest. 'Oh my gosh, she's not afraid of me…' Before the mother could chastise her daughter as well, Blake cleared her throat and answered. "Y-Yes, yes they're real."

The family were all surprised at the answer, and Sun only added to that by swishing his tail. "And so's my monkey's tail, incase you were wondering."

"You see, we're what's called "Faunus"." Blake explained. "We're essentially humanoids with different animal parts."

There was a momentary pause before the father asked; "Oh… so are you like… aliens?"

"Well… kinda, but not really." Sun explained. "We're actually pretty closely related to humans, but again, we've just got animal bits on us."

"That… IS SO COOL!" the son exclaimed as he struggled against his mother's hold to take a closer look at Sun's tail. "So can you like, hang upside down from your tail like a real monkey?"

"And do your kitty ears help you hear better?!" the little girl asked further.

Blake and Sun both giggled at the questions before Blake answered. "Yes and yes. Anymore questions you guys have?"

As the Faunus couple were busy answering questions, Kevin and Ilia were roaming around elsewhere… and the latter was finding herself face to face with a creature that utterly fascinated her. The animal in question was an amphibious creature, one that had a long body and tail with four limbs and a short head. It was a dark grey color, had beady black eyes, and had three frills on each side of its head… and its was staring back at her through the glass of its enclosure. She glanced up to the sign next to the glass and read it. "So… you're an Axolotl, huh?" The creature blinked at her silently, and Ilia couldn't help but smile. "You know… you're oddly cute. Hey Kevin, come over here, I—"

"For the last time, dude, I don't have any pizza." Ilia's eyes snapped open at that and she whipped her head around… to see Kevin having a conversation with a small turtle with orange speckles. The reptile was staring right at the Osmosian, with Kevin raising his hands up to it. "I'm tellin' ya, my hands are tied, dude. Go bug your brothers or something."

Ilia was left utterly confused by the exchange… but decided to ask anyway. "Uh… Kevin? What ARE you doing?"

Kevin blinked and whipped his head to Ilia, clearing his throat as he brushed the encounter off. "O-Oh, uh… nothing. Nothing at all. …Oh, hey, over there! Eels!" Ilia watched as the Osmosian zipped over to the eel exhibit, all while smirking and shaking her head.

"He may not want to admit it… but he's kind of a big dork."

…..

Outside of the aquarium, Ruby and Penny had made their way to a more open enclosure, one that housed some of the most adorable animals that either girl had ever seen. "EEEEE! LOOK AT THE SEALS!" Ruby practically shrieked. Amazingly enough, though, the pudgy, flippered animals didn't react to her for the most part… with one exception. A single harbor seal was so spooked that it rolled onto its back and snapped its head around, searching for the source of the scream. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"ORF ORF!" The seal barked before rolling back onto its stomach and making its way back toward the water.

Penny clasped her hands together at the sight. "Oh, aren't they just adorable? I cannot believe that a lot of these are rescued animals."

Ruby couldn't help but let out another squee as two more seals rubbed up against one another side-to-side, finding the sight too cute for words. "Ooooh, I know! Their such cute little loaves, I just wish I could have one as a pet!" She quickly added; "I mean, I know that's not possible, of course, but still."

"Indeed." Penny said before letting out a saddened sigh. "I only wish we were able to participate in the Animal Encounter."

Ruby winced and lifted up the pamphlet for the aquarium, cringing at the price of said encounter. "Yeah, still not sure how much Earth currency is in relation to Lien, but that price still seems pretty hefty." The silver-eyed girl shrugged before setting her gaze back down to the seals all loafing around. "Still, it's fun to just see them from here, ya know?"

"Oh, definitely." Penny's eyes brightened up and shifting to her friend in excitement. "Ooh, do you want to see the penguins next? I have only seen them in pictures, but I believe them to be just as cute as seals!"

"Ah! You're so right, Penny!" Ruby agreed whole heartedly. "C'mon, let's go!" With that, Ruby spun around on her heel and strode forward a single step… only to walk head-first into something very large, muscley, and oddly enough, velvety. "Gah!" The Hooded Huntress stumbled back, only to be caught by Penny before she could fall.

"Ruby, are you—oh my…" Penny cut herself off when her eyes moved up to what Ruby smacked into… and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Ruby shook her head and moved her eyes up as well… and her mouth opened in disbelief. Standing there on the walkway was a large, silver-colored horse with a stark white mane and tail, the mighty animal staring back at them before rearing its head and letting out a loud whinny. "Uh… I didn't know aquariums had horse exhibits."

Suddenly, a laugh was heard from behind the large animal. "Bah-hahaha!" From around the horse came a tall, bearded man in grey clothing, namely a long, grey leather jacket and a wide-brimmed hat. He also wore a pair of sunglasses and held a walking stick in his hand, giving him the appearance of some sort of traveler. He smiled at the girls as he came forward. "Haha, oh no, trust me, the only horses that would probably be here are sea horses, young lady." He gave the horse a pat on the neck. "Certainly no room for this big 'un right here. On that note, my apologies if he spooked you there."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at this man. He spoke in an unidentifiable accent, though she could still understand him just fine. Still, the fact remained that the bigger deal was how he had a HORSE with him. "O-Oh, it's no problem at all." Ruby said as she stood up straight with Penny's help. "I-I guess I just wasn't ready to see HIM is all. If you don't mind me asking, how DID you get him all the way over here, anyway?"

"I must say, I am wondering that myself." Penny concurred. "Surely the staff would not allow you to have such an animal on the premises, correct?"

The old man chortled a little bit at that. "Hehe, you'd be surprised at what strings I can pull, young lady." He reached up and pet his horse on the muzzle. "Trust me, this old boy can't go anywhere without me, or else he ends up going crazy. And trust me, last thing I want is to have happen is him… "flipping out" as you kids would probably say."

"Uh… right." Ruby said before taking note of the horse itself, and in no time at all, she found herself smiling at the animal. "Well, all the same, he IS a really beautiful horse."

Penny nodded instantly. "Oh yes, without a doubt." She and Ruby hesitantly approached it. "Does he respond well to others?"

"Hehe, of course!" The old man chuckled. "Go ahead, and just to let you know; he enjoys his neck being pet the most."

Ruby and Penny followed the man's instructions and sure enough, the horse responded well to the pets the girls gave him. The equine was nickering and brushing his head against their arms instantly, making the girls laugh. "Hahaha! Oh, he's so sweet!" Ruby beamed before asking the old man; "What's his name, by the way? And while we're at it, what's yours, sir?"

"Hah, well, if you're truly curious…" The old man tool off his hat and placed it over his chest, bowing his head slightly to the girls. "My name is Orson…" he then gestured his walking stick over to his horse. "And this is my trusty steed, Sylvester." In response, Sylvester let out another whinny and Orson tapped his walking stick to the sidewalk. "So, what're your names?"

Ruby placed a hand over her chest. "Oh, my name's Ruby Rose."

And Penny gave her signature salute. "And I am Penny Polendina. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise." Orson nodded.

"So, Orson," Ruby started, "are you from around here or…"

"Ho-ho, no, far from it, Ruby." Orson denied with a wave. "The two of us are travelers, you see. Though to be more accurate, you could say that we're wanderers."

"Oh… so you travel around without a set destination?" Penny guessed.

"Precisely." Orson confirmed. "We make it a point to travel the whole world at least once a year. And let me tell you, we always have a grand old time."

"Wow, the whole WORLD?!" Ruby smiled from ear to ear at that. "That's so cool! How do you guys do that?"

Orson chortled and touched his nose. "Trade secret, young lady. Let's just say that it's easier for us to get around than you think." He brushed his hand along Sylvester's neck. "But all the same, we manage to do it, and in a timely manner, too. We make a whole summer of it and then return to our home in Europe."

"…Europe?" Penny tilted her head. "I am not familiar with that locat—mph!"

She was stopped immediately when Ruby covered her mouth, an awkward laugh escaping her throat. "Ahahaha! Sh-She means that she hasn't BEEN to Europe before. Bit of a jaunt to get there, ya know?"

However, Ruby could see that Orson wasn't buying it for a bit. "…Why do I get the feeling that you two aren't exactly from around these parts either?"

Ruby and Penny glanced toward each other before the former let out a sigh, unclasping her hand from Penny's mouth. "Well… we were waiting to tell the world about this, but… I guess there's no harm in a few people knowing beforehand. You see… we're actually friends of Ben Tennyson, and where we come from is… quite a ways away from this world. Like, not even in this dimension."

As Ruby explained further about Remnant, Orson simply stood silently and listened, taking it all in. "Hm, I see… so this world of yours, "Remnant", it sounds like quite the place, to be sure." He reached up and stroked his beard. "To think that there are worlds beyond our very existence. I suppose some of those scientific theories about alternate dimensions aren't as farfetched as I thought…"

"Indeed." Penny nodded. "We were also quite surprised when we learned about them, but it did not take us very long to accept the truth."

"Hm, well, when you meet someone like Ben Tennyson, it's hard not to see the truth for what it is." Orson set his hand on the railing of the exhibit and tapped his fingers against it. "I will admit, since he came on the scene… things have certainly changed quite a bit." He rested his other hand onto Sylvester and began stroking his mane. "Many of my friends and colleagues were quite surprised by the revelation of beings beyond our world existing… though when it comes to alternate dimensions, many of them believed in those."

Ruby's eyebrows rose at that. "Huh, well, that's surprising."

"You'll find that there are many things about this world that are surprising, Ruby." Orson said as he set his gaze upward. "And that is part of the reason why I travel; to see those surprises and learn about them. I consider myself a man who thrives on gaining knowledge from everywhere, and I am determined to know everything I can about this world…" He craned his head back down to Ruby and Penny with a smile. "After all, what's good about living in this world if you don't know anything about it, hm?"

"Ooh, that's a good point!" Ruby smiled, with Penny doing the same. "It actually makes me even more excited to learn everything I can about Earth, too!"

"Yes, the thought of going around the world is making me even more invigorated!" Penny exclaimed, taking a hold of her friend by the shoulders. "We should ask Ben when out next excursion will be! I want to see what the Earth has to offer even MORE now!"

Orson let out another hearty laugh, his hand covering his belly. "Ahaha! Oh, you ladies definitely sound ready to head out on a grand adventure." He tipped his hat to them and Sylvester whinnied in approval. "And on that front, I wish you both the best of luck. And say, perhaps we will cross paths again on this world tour you plan on going on."

Ruby was all too quick to nod at that. "Ooh, yeah, good point. We wish you luck on your own journey, too, Orson!"

"Thank you kindly, Ruby." Orson grinned. "Happy trails to you."

"Hey, Ruby! Penny!" The two girls spun around and saw Blake, Sun, Kevin and Ilia all coming up to them, the cat girl waving them over. "We were wondering where you girls were." Blake continued, quirking a brow to them. "You two have been out here for quite a while."

"Oh, hey guys!" Ruby greeted. "Sorry for not coming in, but we ran into someone and had a bit of a conversation…" She turned around to face the old man once again. "Hey Orson, would you like to meet our—" But she cut herself off and her and Penny's eyes shot open when they saw something that baffled them. Orson and Sylvester… were no longer there. "W-W-What the… where did he…"

Penny put a hand to her head, trying to process what was going on. "This… this makes no sense! Th-They didn't even make a sound when they left… and Sylvester is a HORSE!"

Immediately, three Faunus and Osmosian were all confused by the girls' words. "Uh… excuse me?" Kevin asked. "I don't see a horse."

"B-But, there was one JUST here!" Ruby whipped her head between the group and where Orson once stood, completely lost on what was going on. "Th-There was this guy named Orson and he had a silver horse names Sylvester, and—"

"Woah, woah, Ruby, slow down." Ilia stepped up and placed a firm hand on Ruby's shoulders. "Now… you're SURE that you saw a man and a horse just here a couple seconds ago?" Ruby nodded vehemently, and Ilia returned the gesture. "Okay, if that's the case, then I believe you."

Simultaneously, both Kevin and Sun said; "Wait, you do?"

"As she should." Blake concurred with her friend. "After all, Ruby rarely lies about anything, at least to us."

Sun was still skeptical about the whole thing, though. "Not to discredit that or anything, babe, but a whole man and horse just up and disappearing like that just doesn't really happen."

Blake sent him a questioning face in return. "Sun, tell me, how often have we seen big things just disappear into thin air?"

"…Well, okay, good point." Sun conceded.

"Hm… well, I guess there COULD be a lotta explanations for this." Kevin also admitted. "The dude could've been an alien…"

However, Ruby and Penny were quick to deny that. "Negative, he said that he was from Europe." the redheaded android explained. "And if he WERE an alien, my scanners would have probably been able to see through any disguise he had on." She shrugged over to Ruby. "Perhaps he was simply a very quiet walker?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain his horse not making a sound…" Ruby put a finger to her chin and stared at the place where the man known as Orson once stood with his horse, pondering on everything that went down. '…Just what in the world happened here?' But at that moment, a thought worked its way into her head and she turned to Kevin. "Hey Kevin… you think you can give Gwen a call for me?"

…..

Back at the falls, said Anodite was currently donned in a blue poncho, standing aboard the Maid of the Mist as the boat made its way through… well, the mists in the basin of Niagara Falls. She was standing near the port of the boat with Team JNPR standing beside her, the four of them all wearing ponchos as well. Nevertheless, they were all smiling as the wind and mist hit their faces. They had already made it past the American falls and the Bridal Veil falls, which was actually where they had gone to get into the Collective's base, and were closing in on the Horseshoe Falls, and the five of them were enjoying every minute of it.

"Hahaha! This is AWESOME!" Nora shouted as she pointed out to all the small, white birds that were flying over the waters. "Look at those seagulls go!"

"Pretty amazing, for sure." Ren agreed, wiping the moisture off of his face to no avail. "Though I guess we should've expected it to be pretty damp."

Gwen simply shrugged. "Eh, it's all worth it, really." She pointed upward and said; "Did you know that a man actually walked a tightrope across the ENTIRETY of Niagara Falls almost a decade ago?"

"Woah, seriously?" Jaune let out a nervous breath. "Hah, well, I definitely know that guys has WAY more courage than I do, then."

Pyrrha, however, was skeptical about that. "Really? Says the man who faced down a Nuckelavee with his team."

Jaune pointed to his girlfriend and retorted. "Hey, to be fair, that's completely different. I don't do heights well, and—" He cut himself off when he saw Pyrrha giving him a wry grin, making him deadpan in a second. "…You're messing with me."

"Uh-huh." Pyrrha leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Hmhm, don't worry, Jaune, I know what you meant. I just couldn't resist having a little fun."

"Hm, right." Jaune smirked back, pulling Pyrrha into a side hug. "Ya know, I'm kinda glad you're letting your funnier side out a lot more, Pyr."

Pyrrha leaned her head on Jaune's shoulder as they approached the Horseshoe Falls. "What can I say? You help bring it out more and more."

"Aw! That's so sweet!" Nora cooed before noticing the approaching falls herself, seeing a brilliant rainbow in the mists. It was then an idea entered her mind and she glanced over to Ren, inching closer to him with a smile on her lips before finally meeting the side of his body with her own. "Hey Reeeen…" Nora sang before nudging her head toward the falls and the rainbow. "Isn't this a pretty amazing view?"

Ren set a surprised gaze down to her, blushing slightly as he cleared his throat. "A-Ahem, y-yes, it definitely is…" He slowly garnered his confidence before setting a hand on her shoulder. "I-I'm… very glad to be sharing this moment with you, Nora."

"…Same here." The Pink Dynamo smiled as she nestled her head against the green ninja's shoulder, which made both of them blush even more.

Gwen saw this out the corner of her eye and chuckled a bit to herself. "Hmhm… baby steps, guys. Baby steps." However, at that moment, a thought occurred to her and she pulled out her Plumber Badge, quirking a brow at it. "Hm… been a while since HQ contacted us. Wonder if everything's all—huh?" Suddenly, Gwen felt a vibration in her pocket, putting her badge away before pulling out her cellphone instead, recognizing the caller ID immediately. "Hello? Kevin?"

"Heh, not exactly, Gwen." came the familiar voice of Ruby on the other end. "It's Ruby. Kevin's letting me use his phone so I can talk to you. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"Oh, not at all, Ruby." Gwen assured. "How's the aquarium visit going?"

"Pretty good… for the most part." Ruby said in an unsure tone. "Listen, Penny and I just had a pretty odd encounter here and I was wondering if you'd have any idea on what we could be dealing with."

The Anodite was both confused and concerned at this statement, but nonetheless, she heard Ruby out. "Yeah, sure thing, Ruby. What happened?"

"Well… do you know anything about mysterious old men that suddenly disappear without a trace?" the Hooded Huntress asked. "Because Penny and I just spoke to one."

Gwen's eyes immediately widened and she almost dropped her phone, her concern now etched across her features. Her eyes slowly shifted around her, almost as if she were expecting said man to pop up right next to her in a split second. Then, with a deep breath, she answered Ruby. "Ruby… that is almost never a good sign."

"…Crap baskets."

…..

A/N: Well, what a way to have the day go, huh? Things seem perfectly normal at the start, suddenly you're in a conversation with an old man who vanishes the moment you take your eyes off him. Aren't Tuesdays weird? Well, I can certainly say that Ruby and Penny probably think so, and Gwen's in full agreement. Just who is this mysterious "Orson" and his horse, Sylvester? Well, we'll probably find THAT out at some point later down the line.

That said, the day itself seemed to be rather enjoyable! Gwen and Team JNPR went on a boat ride, Blake and Kevin's group went to a fun aquarium, Ben, Yang, Rex, Weiss and Rook all took in the view from the observation tower over the Falls, and Neptune, Helen, Manny and Alan all enjoyed a good lunch, with a nature hike in their near future. Also, Helen and Neptune continue to get along rather well… let's see how this goes, eh? Plus, we got a bit more insight on Rook, so there's that. And of course, Yang is continuing to test the boundaries between herself and Ben. Now THAT will be interesting to see, hehehe…

That said, Gwen had a good point; just what ARE the people back home in Bellwood up to? Well, we'll just have to figure that out… NEXT TIME! Because for the next chapter, we're gonna shift the focus away from the main cast for a bit and see just what the others are up to. On the one hand, you have Winter being given a tour of the Plumber HQ by Max and Six… and she ends up literally running into someone during said tour. One the other hand, you've got Cooper and Team CFVY heading to his home so he can introduce them (especially Coco) to his parents. How exactly will THAT go? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. However, there WILL be something that brings these two stories together… and it's FAR from good. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll see you all next time! And as always, stay safe out there!

P.S. If any of you have been to Niagara Falls or been in a Rainforest Café, sound off in the comments! Also, no, I couldn't resist Kevin's conversation with the turtle. It was too easy to pass up, really.