The next day:
The rebels were back on the boat, now heading straight for Sydney.
In the captain's quarters, Charlotte fiddled with a small radio on her desk.
Her blonde hair pressed up against the speaker of the device as she tried her best to make a voice out of the static.
"Ugh. We should still be close enough." Charlotte muttered to herself.
"Hello? Hello?" She shouted into the microphone.
She heard the murmuring of a crowd through the static, stopping the dial as she recognized one of the voices.
"Charlotte? Hello?" Jason said, panting between each breath.
"You alright?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah. I heard your voice from upstairs." Jason chuckled. "Everything alright? Did you make it to Sydney yet?"
"Not yet. We had to make a pitstop, but we should be there in under a week." Charlotte explained.
"Alright. Is everyone getting along?" Jason asked.
"Uh." Charlotte hesitated, thinking of a way to put it lightly. "They're just… Adjusting to each other, you know?"
Up on the deck of the ship, the kids lounged around, waiting for something to do.
"I'm kinda getting used to the waves." Chase said, looking over the railing before quickly changing his mind.
He shook his head, sitting down on one of the chairs in the middle of the lounge area before he could make himself more sick.
Amora let out a small chuckle.
"Here, I made you some tea. One of the crew said it helps." Amora handed her boyfriend a bottle filled with tea.
"Thanks, babe. You're the best." Chase took the bottle, guzzling it down without hesitation.
Vida stared off, her eyes gazing at the point where the sea met the sky as she held her knees to her chest, almost curled up onto a ball in her chair.
Hendrix looked over at his friend, examining her for a few silent seconds as he plucked the strings of his guitar.
"You alright?" Hendrix finally asked.
"Yeah." Vida said, letting her legs drop to the ground.
"What are you thinking about?" Hendrix leaned slightly closer, more concerned than before.
Vida hesitated.
"I wanna say it, but I don't wanna sound like I'm picking sides." Vida thought.
"Just thinking about Ratu." Vida sighed, awaiting a response.
"I knew it," Hendrix chuckled, continuing to fingerpick his guitar.
"How did you know?!" Vida turned to her friend, leaning in with intrigued surprise.
"I saw her cry too. I knew you'd be curious." Hendrix said. "I wanna know what her deal is too."
Vida's face lit up with excitement.
"Speak of the devil." Hendrix said, turning towards the stairs.
Ratu made her way up the stairs, Nala stomping closely behind her.
Vida looked over Hendrix's shoulder, locking eyes with the girl.
Taro turned to see what the two were looking at, his expression flipping the second he recognized the girl.
Her face was covered in sweat, just as her grey shirt and camouflage shorts.
She wore a utility belt, the Celurits hanging from both ends of her hips.
"Here comes the friendly-fire." Biggie whispered to Slim.
"Hey." Slim muttered, tapping Biggie on the chest with a light hit.
Ratu walked past the group, making her way to the cooler on the other side of the lounge area.
Every one of the teens tensed up, either locking eyes with the girl or pretending not to.
Taro kept his eyes on the girl as she walked past him and his brother.
Hiss
Nala snapped her jaws at the boy, who flinched backwards before fixing himself.
"Calm." Ratu put a hand towards Nala's snout, prompting the reptile to close her jaws.
The girl opened the cooler, grabbing a water bottle before gulping it down in one go.
"Were you training?" Vida asked, her curiosity finally overpowering the rest of the group's disdain.
The rest of the teens looked to Vida, surprised at the fact she would even consider conversing with her.
"Unlike you." Ratu spoke, crushing the plastic bottle into a crumpled ball.
"Hey, it's useless training in these waves-" Chase stopped, realizing he had turned his head too quickly. "Gimme a second…"
"Then you'd lose a battle at sea." Ratu responded, turning away from the group.
She patted the side of her leg, prompting Nala to run to her side as the two of them walked back down the stairs.
Once she was out of sight, the friends turned to each other.
"I can't stand that girl!" Taro grunted in frustration.
"She thinks she's SO much better than us!" Chase added.
"It wasn't the best idea to close that door." Akilah shrugged as she looked up for her book for the first time since the conversation started. "There's just no way."
"For once, I agree with you guys." Biggie pointed at the rest of the group.
"Hey, guys." Chase turned to Kai and Taro with a grin on his face. "We haven't sparred with anyone in a while."
"On these waves?! You're the one who said it!" Kai chuckled.
"I'll be fine." Chase held up his empty bottle. "Anything Amora makes works wonders."
Kai and Taro turned to each other, nodding with a mischievous grin.
"You in?" Chase pointed his bottle at Hendrix, who shrugged and sighed in response.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Chase said. "We'll make sure she apologizes! Tomorrow night! I won't be seasick by then!"
Chase raised his empty bottle into the air like some beacon of triumph.
"Hendrix!" Vida muttered to her friend. "You JUST said you were curious about her!"
"What can I do? The three of them are so hard-headed." Hendrix pointed to the three boys, who were now chanting something along the lines of "teach 'em a lesson".
"No! We're gonna investigate!" Vida whispered, grabbing Hendrix's arm. "If we find out what her deal is by then, they'll understand."
Vida jumped up, dragging Hendrix along with her as the both of them stumbled down the stairs.
"I don't like her either, but this is a bit much." Slim whispered to Biggie.
"What? This is badass." Biggie whispered back.
"I'll help too." Biggie raised his hand as the three boys turned to him.
Chase, Kai, and Taro looked at each other in a moment of silence before erupting into cheer, starting their chant up again.
"Idiots." Akilah said, shaking her head as she turned the page of her book.
Down in the gymnasium, Ratu sat on one of the bleachers, her head in her hands.
She pulled one of the Celurits from her utility belt, staring at her reflection in the curved blade as her face warped with the bend.
"Mama… Papa…" Ratu muttered to herself.
The girl stared silently into the blade in an almost melancholic trance.
Nala rubbed the side of her head against Ratu's calf, bringing her back into reality.
Ratu rubbed the reptile's head before standing up, taking a deep breath in, and pulling her Celurits out as she neared the center of the court.