A/N: Chapter 15 of REKT. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, those belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE and DAZE.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.


Chapter 15: A minor hiccup

The next morning...

Aaaannnndddd...one more...minute left...Weiss mused as she stared at a holographic clock hanging on the wall with a bored expression. While tapping the rubber end of her pencil absentmindedly against the desk, she vaguely tuned out another one of Professor Port's childhood stories and especially tuned out whatever the hell Jaune was saying. The blond took the opportunity to sit next to the white-haired princess in the beginning of class and continued to ramble on about doing various activities with her. It ranged from eating to seeing a movie to studying but it all fell on deaf ears. The moment the alarm sounded, the girl's mouth curled up into a smile.

"And then I-oh, uh, timed that one wrong I guess." Professor Port cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Well the stunning conclusion to the story will have to wait. Until next time so farewell students."

"Weiss? Didn't you hear me?" Jaune asked as the girl rose from her seat, agitated from the lack of response.

"No, no, no, yes." She replied without looking at him.

"Ohhhh..." He sighed loudly in resignation and put his head down on his desk, upset that his plan didn't go as well as he had hoped.

"One day." Yang chuckled, tousling his hair as the rest of Team RWBY filed out of the classroom behind the others. They returned to their room and made preparations to get the rest of the day started. Each member had a change of outfit and did a final weapon check.

Ruby wore a long-sleeve, light gray shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves. Over top of the gray shirt is a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching that resemble the lacing on a corset. For bottoms she had on a red skirt with a large black-colored print of her rose emblem on the side. She still had the same black stockings but a different pair of black-and-red boots. A few pieces of metal arranged in an abstract shape are attached to her sleeve on her left shoulder, likely as a form of armor such as a spaulder. As usual, she donned a red cape with this outfit however it is short like the one she wears with her uniform with a scarf as part of the hood.

For Weiss, she had on a pure white dress with black edging and two columns of four black buttons on the abdomen. Similar to the bolero of her original attire, her snowflake emblem could be seen on her back in a pale blue color. Thigh-high, white high-heel boots were over her feet with frilly black stockings peeking out from the top.

Blake had on a white v-neck zip-up shirt that sported a black stripe along the bottom and had mid-length sleeves. Her belladonna flower emblem was printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. She also donned a pair of black pants that had a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg, and there was a black belt wrapped around her waist. Attached to the inner side of the belt is a black, somewhat curved, banner-like piece of fabric that hangs from the back and extends forward to her hips. On the underside of this is a thinner, longer, similarly-shaped purple piece of fabric. Her black high-heel boots come halfway up her calves and have a pair of belted straps across them. Her trade-mark black bow could be seen settled over her head, covering her cat ears.

Lastly, Yang was dressed in a collared cream top over a black shirt, and over top of the former is a black article of clothing that consists of a raised collar, a strap across her collar bone, and mid-length sleeves that are gold at the end. Around her neck was a pendant that had a smooth, round, purple gem set in a round piece of metal that has a point coming off the left and right sides and a small oval shape coming from the bottom. A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents could be seen across her hips, and a purple piece of fabric with lilac lace around the edges hung from her left hip. She also sported a dark gray article of clothing coming down from under her cream top that was either a mini-skirt or part of her black shirt. It had vertical belted straps going down into her thigh-high black stockings, which have her burning heart emblem printed in yellow on the outer side of each leg near the top and a row of four gold pyramid studs above each knee. A pair of black boots with a series of belted straps across them were her choice of shoes and on the back of each boot at the top was a large white ribbon tied into a bow.

"I thought that class would never end." The Faunus sighed with relief as she rubbed the ribbons around her wrists. "His stories are something I never look forward to whenever we're in there."

"Alright guys, today's the day." Ruby boisterously declared from where she sat on her bed, her hands placed on her lap. "The investigation, begins!"

"I'm glad to see that we are taking this so seriously." Weiss sarcastically stated, moving out of the way as Ruby jumped down so she wouldn't get hit.

"Hey! We've got a plan." Yang pointed out from where she was with a small smile of hope. "That's...moderately serious."

"Right, everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked, prompting her teammates to huddle around her.

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other robberies, or inconsistencies." Weiss spoke up as she went over her and Ruby's job. "Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members." Blake continued from there, placing her hands behind her back. "If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale." Yang folded her arms over her chest as she finished up the meeting. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"Great, we'll met up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found." Ruby nodded her head with a smile. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Sun spoke up and the girls looked to where the Faunus was hanging upside-down outside their window, holding himself up just by his tail.

"Sun!"

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked him.

"Ah it's easy I do it all the time." Sun replied.

"You do what?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I climb trees all the time!" The monkey Faunus stated, getting an icy glare from the Ice Queen. He quickly hops into their room so that the conversation was kept secret. "So...are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We, are going to investigate the situation." Blake spoke up, putting heavy emphasis on the word 'we' which meant only the members of Team RWBY were allowed to go. "As a team."

"Sorry Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." apologized Ruby.

"Pffffft, that's dumb." Sun chuckled. "You should always get friends involved. The more the merrier I say. I mean, that's the reason why I brought Neptune."

"Eeeh?" The girls looked at him and he gestured with a thumb to look outside the window. Leaning out, the girls of RWBY noticed the said Hunter leaning against the wall.

"Sup?" He said at their perplexed expressions.

"How did you even get up here?" asked Ruby.

"I have my ways." was the cool response and the man looked down in fear. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're like...really high up right now."

"Get your blue butt in here then." Weiss replied and the girls scooted back for the Hunter to squeeze in. He hit the floor and started to kiss it, thankful to be on solid ground and not dangling in the air.

"Oh then, if Sun says it's okay to bring others give me one moment!"

"Wha-Hey!" Weiss snapped as Ruby bolted out of the door in a flurry of rose petals. "Where are you going?!"

"Hey Ruby what's the matter? You seem to be in a hurry..." My voice spoke up from next door, surprised at the sudden intrusion. There was silence and then I ended up being dragged to the meeting. "Hmm? There's a lot of presences here."

"Ruby you dolt! You just said you didn't want any more friends involved!" Weiss said incredulously as she stared at me. "What are you bringing Reina in here for? And don't you think that it'll be really weird if two teams were to go missing?"

"Not just her." Ruby smiled sheepishly as my entire team filtered in with bewildered expressions on their faces . "D-Don't worry, this is all we're bringing. I don't want to interrupt Jaune and his team. Weiss, we're moving out in the cover of darkness so chill for a minute."

"So we're just replacements I guess? Good to know." Kairos commented before following it up with a huge yawn. She was taking a nap since her class was early in the morning when Ruby barged through the room so it's quite obvious that she'd be the cranky one. The boys were in the middle of a card game but it didn't seem to be going anywhere; they were basically in a stalemate at that point.

"Whoo! Looks like a party!" Efram said with a huge grin. "There's no way I'm passin this opportunity."

"Only you would think of it as such." Timber commented, rolling his eyes as he said so.

"Alright, we'll probably need to rearrange ourselves again." Ruby drummed her fingers against her chin in thought. "I think I got it so please, listen up! Reina, you're gonna go with me and Weiss."

"Okay Ruby." I replied, nodding my head with agreement.

"Kairos, you can team up with Blake and Sun."

"What were the odds that this was gonna be the dream team?" Kairos smiled softly, shaking the sleepiness out of her eyes. "I'm ready when you guys are." Little did Ruby know that she created the ultimate Faunus team...

"Efram, you go with Yang and Neptune."

"Now we're talking!" He grinned, giving Yang a high-five. "Glad I'm teaming up with ya again!"

"What about me?" Timber asked, not hearing his name come up.

"Oh shoot...then one team's gonna have to have four people I guess." Ruby frowned for a minute.

"We could have him tag along with us." Efram offered.

"Or he can come with us." Weiss spoke up from where she stood, arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, I think we need an extra pair of eyes to make sure I don't miss a thing. The Schnee records are usually messy..."

"Very well then. Then Timber, you are tagging around with us." Ruby informed him. "Now is everyone good and dandy?"

"Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang?" Weiss asked out of the blue. She noticed the wink Neptune threw at her when he was pushed towards Yang thanks to Ruby so she thought it a little bit. "She is your sister after all and uh...you know, I think she'd do best with people she's...um...more comfortable with, besides Efram."

"But Weiss, who would go with you then?" The leader of RWBY questioned.

"I have Reina and Timber with me...and maybe you could give me Neptune as well." Ruby blinked once, twice and a third time. Then she busted up laughing as if Weiss told a joke. Everybody knows that Weiss can't tell jokes.

"Nah. Okay guys, it's time to move out!"

"But! But!" Giving Ruby a very unamused look, the Ice Queen began to protest as Ruby dragged her out of the room by the back of her shirt.


At the tower...

The CCT, or Cross Continental Transmit system, tower was anything but amazingly huge. Here in Remnant, it was developed and gifted to the world with the goal of connecting the kingdoms together wirelessly. When we arrived, I couldn't help but felt my jaw drop at the relay tower. Relay towers were very vital within the CCT system and there are four towers in all, each one located in the four kingdoms.

"Wow!" Ruby gasped, unable to restrain her amazement. I took it that this was her first time visiting the enormous cylindrical building that was supported by four flying buttresses. In fact, I'm 100% sure that out of the four of us, Weiss was the only one who has visited numerous times. "I forgot how big the transmit tower looks when we're up close and personal!"

"You should see the one in Atlas since it was the first one to be built." commented Weiss as she lead us on a tour, all the while giving us a history lesson to boot. "Atlas developed the Cross-Continental Transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

"Ooooo look at me, my name is Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich!" Ruby chattered, making fun of her knowledgeable teammate. Once she finished, she snickers into her hands. Timber and I turned our heads, suppressing our own giggles. It was actually pretty funny when Ruby imitates someone else and she loves to imitate Weiss of all people.

"Don't be a pest!" Weiss snapped, giving her leader a cold stare. "Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could've just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know but it's so cool!" Ruby told her and her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! I'm going to take a picture!" However, when she pulls out her Scroll to do such a task she fumbles and it bounced across the pavement. "Ah!" The device came to a halt in front a pair of feet and the person bent down to pick it up.

"Oh. You dropped this."

"Penny?!" Ruby did a double-take, utterly delighted to see the orange-haired girl.

"Uhh..." The girl's eyes widened in shock, getting my immediate attention. It was obvious to me that she didn't have any sign of recognizing the leader of RWBY.

"Where have you been?!" Ruby exclaimed. "We haven't seen you since the night at the docks."

"S-S-Sorry." Penny stammered, caught off-guard at Ruby's words. "I think you're confused." She suddenly gave a little hiccup, prompting the Scroll to fly back into Ruby's hands. "Uh, I've got to go."

"What was that about?" Weiss asked, totally confused by the entire conversation.

"I don't know." Ruby replied in all honesty. "But I'm going to find out. You go make your call and I'll meet up with you later!"

"Wait!" Weiss held out an arm but Ruby was already off. Lowering her arm she angrily stomped the ground with a foot. "Ugh! She's so insufferable sometimes!"

"There's something wrong with her though..." I commented after watching the entire thing, gazing after Ruby's retreating form.

"Are you talking about Ruby or Penny?" Weiss asked, still dissatisfied by her leader's behavior.

"The latter."

"I can't help but agree with you." The Ice Queen said before walking behind Timber and I, placing her hands on our backs. "Let's go you two...we got things to do."

"Penny! Please wait!" Ruby had caught up to the orange-haired girl, prompting her to stop. "Where have you been!? It's been weeks!"

"There's seems to be a misunderstanding." Penny replied, giving yet another evasive and vague answer. "Good bye."

"What?!" Ruby gawked as Penny proceeded to walk forward. She had no choice but to keep on pressuring the retreating girl. "Penny...Is everything okay?" When she didn't get an immediate response, she actually grabbed Penny's arm, forcing the orange-haired girl to look at her. "Penny, please, stop! Look, I don't know what's wrong. But you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big. Something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please. As a friend."

"It isn't safe to talk here." Penny finally says, stepping close to Ruby as she did so to keep her voice above a whisper. After hearing the pleading tone in the girl's voice, Penny had released a sigh and looked around at her surroundings carefully. "We need somewhere else...more private."


Meanwhile...

Weiss, Timber and I entered the tower after splitting up with Ruby, the clicking of our shoes reverberated through the colossal space. There were definitely other students crowding around on tours and all but Weiss was there to keep us focus on the task at hand.

"Whatever you do, don't talk to anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. Or unless someone is directly talking to you." She whispered, steering us towards an elevator which was located further back behind the lobby. "You just let me handle all of the negotiating."

"Whatever you say Weiss." I replied and the three of us hopped into the elevator. "You're the boss here."

"Good." She smiled at what I said. "That's how I like it."

"Welcome to the CCT." An automated voice greeted us when the doors closed. "How may I help you?"

"I'd like to go to the communications room please." The white-haired heiress replied.

"Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity." Weiss dug into her pocket and held up her scroll to the terminal so it could be scanned. "Perfect. Thank you Miss Schnee."

"Looks like someone loves being called 'Miss Schnee'." I chortled, noticing the various facial expressions on her face. "Although, in my opinion, you are being a little too...forceful. Looks unnatural."

"Quiet you!" She snapped, glaring daggers at me. "I don't want to hear it."

"Yes Ma'am." I played along and she knew I was laughing at her on the inside. When we arrived at our destination the first thing we noticed were the four holographic symbols hovering above our heads. They obviously represented a different region on the continent but I didn't get to look at them long as Weiss made her way towards what seems to be an information desk.

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit Center." A holographic attendant appeared, giving us a warm smile. "How may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss promptly replied.

"Absolutely." The attendant said as she typed away at the keyboard. "If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you!"

"Holy Dust! She doesn't mean THE Schnee Company World Headquarters?!" Timber whispered to me, trying very VERY hard to keep his voice down as we followed Weiss. "This must be a dream right? Oh my goodness...oh my goodness!"

"This is actually the first time I've seen you act like this." I chuckled, patting him on the back. We passed a lot of students where also using the terminals to get in touch with either parents, siblings or just surfing the web. As Weiss settled down, I motioned for Timber to stand a little further away so that the camera doesn't include us in the picture. After all, this was a very important call and the white-haired princess just stared at the blank screen with a gloomy expression.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas-oh, Miss Schnee." The Schnee Dust Company's communication operator, a girl with brown hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen. Floating behind here was the same snowflake emblem on Weiss' clothing, the proud sign of a Schnee. She was very much surprised to see who the caller was. "Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I believe your sister Winter might be here as well."

"No thank you," Weiss replied cheerfully. "I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've complied a short list."

"Doesn't she look like she's forcing herself to smile?" Timber whispered as we watched from a safe distance.

"Hmmm..." I hummed in response, watching Weiss place her Scroll in one of the holes so that data could be transferred. There were some beeping noises and the operator looked down at the received list.

"I see." She replied, one eyebrows raised in interest. "If you don't mind...Why may I ask is this for?"

"School project." The lie rolled sweetly off Weiss' tongue; she definitely prepared herself well if she were to be asked such a question.

"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list Ma'am."

"Well then, I'll be sure to treat them with care."

"Right..." The operator still looked skeptical but she acquiesces at the girl's request. "Very well. The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

"Wonderful. That will be all then." Weiss smiled, waiting eagerly for the process to be finished.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

She hesitated...I frowned as Weiss' facade was almost blown.

"Well then, have a nice day." with that the operator signed off and the screen return to its monotone gray color.

Something seems off...I thought as Weiss looked at the blank monitor forlornly. Did Weiss get into a family fight with her father? The operator mentioned him a couple of times...What happened in her past?

"Let's get going, I have what we need." Weiss said as she greeted us, keeping her gaze on the ground. "There's nothing for us to do here so we're heading back to the dorm."


Cafe...

Taking Penny's advice to heart, Ruby led her to a cafe so she could buy a small drink or perhaps use the bathroom. The orange-haired girl was nervous as she waited outside, constantly darting her eyes back and forth while rubbing her hands together. She was so nervous that she actually jumped when Ruby touched her shoulder. Seeing the smile on the Huntresses' face brought a smile out on hers and the two began to walk together.

"I wish I could help you Ruby. I really do." She was saying as a couple cars roared past them. "But I don't know anything about those men from that night."

"Well, what happened to you that night?" Ruby questioned her. "We were all together and then you just disappeared. We're you kidnapped?"

"Oh no, nothing like that!" Penny assured her quickly. "It's just that I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far but, oh you have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot."

"Believe me I know the feeling." Ruby said. "But, why not let us know you were okay?"

"I, was asked, not to talk to you." Penny confessed. "Or Weiss...or Blake...or Yang. Anybody from the Academy really."

"Was your dad that upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father." Penny said, getting a questioning look from Ruby.

"Then who-"

"The AK130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years." A voice over the loud speaker interrupted their conversation and the duo came upon a holographic presentation; the one who was giving it was non other than Ironwood. "And they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" He and his soldiers bowed as the audience applauded for them.

"What's that?" Ruby whispered as she and Penny continued to watch.

"But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation." Ironwood continued speaking. "And fine, well that's just not good enough is it?" The doors opened, reveling a couple of heavily armored soldiers. They were nothing like the normal foot soldiers. "Presenting, the Atlesian Knight. Smarter, sleeker and admittedly, a little less scary. These models will become active later this year but they won't be alone. Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require, a human touch."

"Ruby..." Penny whispered urgently, realizing that the girl was becoming enthralled by the presentation. "Ruby..."

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company are proud to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin!" The Ironwood hologram disappeared and was replaced with a hologram of an enormous battle suit. The audience erupted into clapping and whistling, marveling at the intricate design.

"Wow..." Ruby breathed, her breath taking away by the spectacular view.

"Now we couldn't have them here for you today. But these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

"Ruby..." Penny said firmly, feeling terrified where she stood. "Maybe we should go somewhere else..." Her suspicions where correct when she noticed some Atlas Soldiers spotting them.

"Penny?" Ruby exclaimed as the girl bolted off, fleeing the scene as fast as she could. "Wait! Where are you going?" She turned around to see that the soldiers were giving chase.

"Down here, she went this way." One of the soldiers said, watching Ruby and Penny turn the corner. They attempted to run across the street but a vehicle appeared out of nowhere, almost careening into them.

"Keep going!" One of the soldiers urged, prompting his partner to continue after the fleeing Huntresses. Seeing only one of the soldiers in pursuit, Ruby used Crescent Rose to topple some crates that were neatly stacked not too far away. The square objects came crashing down, cutting off the pursuer completely.

"This way!" Using her Semblance to catch up with Penny, Ruby attempts to carry the orange-haired girl off but couldn't do it on the account of the girl's weight. Losing her grip, Ruby tumbled across the ground and ended up on the road. "Ugh." Sitting up, she rubbed her head with a hand before the honking of a truck's horn caught her attention. She stood up and turned around, watching the vehicle approaching her at a fast rate.

"Ruby!" Pushing her out of the way Penny stood defiantly in the middle of the road and stopped the truck...with her bare hands.

"Penny..." Ruby whispered with mild horror at the display of power. She wasn't alone as many onlookers gathered around as witnesses, whispering to one another in hushed voices. After asking the driver if he was okay and getting a shaky head nod in response, the orange-haired girl quickly slipped away into an adjacent alleyway before the soldiers arrived.

"Umm...Uh..." The girl looked back and forth, her eyes wide with fear.

"Penny!" Ruby called out, coming to a stop beside her. "Please! What is going on? Why are you running? How did you do that?!"

"I-I can't." Penny replied shakily. "Everything's fine!" She paused as a hiccup escaped through her lips before continuing. "I-I don't want to talk about it."

"Penny if you can just tell me what's wrong I can help you."

"No, no no, you wouldn't understand."

"Let me try." Ruby urged her, keeping her voice calm and soft. "You can trust me."

"You're my friend, right?" Penny asked, looking at Ruby with intense green eyes. She wanted to know for sure that Ruby was being honest and truly truthful. "You promise you're my friend?"

"I promise." Ruby replied without hesitating.

"Ruby...I'm not a real girl." Holding out her palms, Penny revealed the metal beneath her skin. It happened because she stopped the truck and the contact peeled away the paint. "I'm not a real girl."

"Oh." The leader of RWBY uttered softly as she stared at the shiny metal in blank shock.


On the seas...

"Urrrp...ugh...buargh..." A young man leaned over the side of the boat, face green as he slowly swayed along with the rocking of said transportation vehicle. He had short blonde hair with storm gray eyes. He usually wore a red jogger's jacket with workout pants for bottoms but right now, he was in nothing but swimming trunks. The only accessory that he likes to wear was a black choker around his neck. "I'm...N-Never... taking a boat...a-aga-urrrrghhhh!"

"Sorry but there was no other way we could have made it." A calm voice replied and a young woman with light green hair looked over from where she was getting a tan. The left side of her head was shaved and she had dark green eyes. When she wasn't in her usual attire, which consisted of a knee-length slender dress with gray lining, she can be found wearing a bikini. "Try to make the best of it and...relax."

"That's where you're wrong Eryn." Another voice stated and Eryn watched as a man with spiky maroon colored hair dropped down next to her. He had deep green eyes and currently shirtless, showing off his abs. A pair of goggles rested comfortably over his head. "We could've taking an airship but noooo...you wanted to go by sea just to get a tan."

"Don't you dare bring up this argument again Aero." Eryn growled a warning, throwing daggers at the man. "We've been through this multiple times and I asked you, ASKED you what was the best way to get from point A to point B. And hey, you were on the same side as I when we had a team vote!"

"Did you even consider our leader's weakness?"

"You didn't even bring it up during our meeting!" She stared at him incredulously. "How could you keep such crucial information from me?!"

"You never asked." Aero said in a nonchalant manner, pissing his teammate off even more. "Our leader does really well when he's in the sky."

"Oh so you're saying it's MY fault?!"

"That's exactly what I'm implying!"

"Guys, please." The duo stared at the last member of their team, a tall well-built man with spiky black hair. His regular outfit consisted of a black coat with brownish fur lining that was worn over a white muscle shirt. For pants he opted for ripped black jeans that were cuffed on the ends. He completes his attire with some sneakers. Since he was on a boat and the sun was shining down he opted to strode around in his swim trunks.

"Look who decided to show up." Eryn said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Had enough fun playing in the dark?"

"We're already more than halfway to our destination and besides, the prices to go by sea were a bit cheaper than going by air especially since we're from Vacuo." The man frowned with displeasure at his teammates' bickering, ignoring Eryn's little comment. "There's no point in arguing about it so let's just enjoy the rest of our trip." He then walked over and gently rubbed his leader's back in a circular motion. "How's it going Dalton?"

"I-It...It's going...Urrrrrrgh..." Dalton proclaimed as he leaned over again, feeling the urge to hurl. "Let me...Let me know...when we arrive...Okay Zack?"

"Very well." Zack replied and looked away just in time, not wanting to see his leader throw his guts up. I should probably give him his sea-sick medicine..But I have no idea where he packed it. Our leader tends to be a...a messy guy.

"Awww, is Dalton having the stomach jumps?" The team looked up as a young girl pranced up to greet them. She was dressed in a loli-goth attire and had shoulder-length brown hair. Her honey-colored eyes were twinkling with mirth as she smiled at them. "Those are always the worse! I should know because I had them before. Now I'm all okay~!"

"Akira, what did I tell you about bothering others?" An athletic male with brown eyes and reddish-brown hair rushed up with a worried expression. He wore a gray tank top with light brown shorts and calf-high combat boots. Fingerless gloves were over his hands and he had a small necklace around his neck. He quickly placed his hands on the girl's shoulders to keep her still before bowing his head to the team. "Sorry if we were bothering you."

"Oh no, it's quite alright. We're both teams from the same place after all." Aero chuckled before looking around the two of them out of curiosity. "Is it just the two of you or are there other members of your team?"

"We have four members for a regular team. They're currently over there." The man pointed to where two girls were chatting with one another in deep conversation. "Apparently they're discussing something in private and I was left in charge to keep an eye on this one."

"I'm 16 just so you know." Akira pouted, sticking her tongue out at him. "Don't treat me like a little kid, Charlie."

"I wouldn't have to if you would just stop running around most of the time." The one known as Charlie replied, giving her a disapproving frown. "Every time you run off and cause trouble, Kaeon is always on my ass!"

"As I should be. That's what being a leader is about."

"Eek! Leader!" Charlie yelped and quickly saluted her. "S-Sorry!"

"At ease Charlie, I'm not mad at you." Kaeon replied with a small smile. She usually had a stern expression on her face since her burgundy-colored eyes were always on alert. Her waist-length yellow hair was tied up into a high ponytail while a few bands tumbled down to frame her face. She wore a buttoned-up uniform and short shorts that were held up with a leather white belt. Usually she had on heeled boots but currently she opted for flip-flops. "Elyon and I just finished up our little chat, that's all."

"Nice to meet you, everyone." A young, busty maiden spoke politely as she stood behind her leader. She wore a white shirt that was tucked underneath a pair of dark jeans. Around her shoulders she wore a black and red trench coat that buttoned up in the front. On her feet, she wore a pair of black combat boots. "My name is Elyon."

"Elyon you're too nice sometimes." Akira commented, getting a small smack to the back of the head by Charlie. "Charlie I swear!"

"You should have more respect for anyone older than you!"

"Ha! You're one to talk!"

"It's okay Charlie." Elyon said but the two were bickering too much to pay attention. "Umm...guys...err..."

"Everyone look!" Aero chimed in and pointed to the distance horizon with a finger. "Land ho!"

"Now that's what I like to here!" Kaeon smiled with excitement, leaning over the rails for a better view. "Vale here we come!"