D.O. and his overly-hyper partner, Aiden, had somehow fallen behind of their team. How you ask? Aiden, being her hyper and easily distracted self, had seen a butterfly.

 

Yes. A butterfly. Not just a butterfly, but a pretty butterfly. If you happened to not detect the sarcasm in that previous sentence, then I think you're going to have to retake English lessons. Anyhow, Aiden was amazed and completely in awe of the pretty butterfly and, of course, wandered off to follow it. D.O. had to follow her and drag her back several times in order to keep her from getting lost. 

 

Unfortunately, they got lost anyway. You'd expect them to be freaking out. If you did expect that, then you're only half correct. D.O. was beyond worried. He was unfamiliar with the area and not only that, but he was stuck with the most distracted person on Therlym. What was the most distracted person on Therlym doing? Sitting on a tree branch, swinging her legs back and forth without a care in the world, and singing her own rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly" off-key and at the top of her lungs. 

 

"I BELIIEEEVE I CAAAAN FLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!"

 

"Aiden!"

 

"I BELIIIIEEEVVVVVE I CAAAAAAAN TOUUUCCCHHHH DAAAA SKKKYYYY!!!!!!!"

 

"Aiden!!!!"

 

"I THHHHIIIINNNKKK ABBOOOUUUUTTT IITT EVVEERRRYY NIIIGHT AND DAYYYYYY!!!!!"

 

"AIDEN!"

 

"GRRROOOWWW MAAAA WIIINNNGS AAAANNND—"

 

"AIDEN!!!! PLEASE GET OFF THE TREE BRANCH AND SIT YOUR FAT ARSE DOWN HERE ON THE GROUND!!!!"

 

"—FLYYYYYYYYY AAAAWWWWAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!"

 

....Kill me now.

 

+++

 

"Um Baise-sshi?"

 

"What is it, Kris?"

 

"I don't know if you noticed, but D.O. and Aiden are missing."

 

"WHAT?!"

 

Sure enough, the pair was nowhere to be seen leaving only she and Kris, Thrimmle and Baekhyun, and Xena and Tao in Team 3. 

 

Baise mentally smacked herself for not noticing the pair's absence. "Aish, that Aiden...probably got mesmerized by the beauty of a pebble or something..."

 

Baise had muttered that under her breath, but Kris caught it. He mentally smiled. Baise reminded him of his nanny when he was still a child. Kris grew up not knowing who his mother was, so to fill in the role of "mother," his father hired a female slave to babysit and look after Kris just as a mother would. 

 

Maybe that was why he felt so comfortable around Baise. Now that he thought about it, they had a lot in common. The strongest similarity was probably the fact that they both held authority and looked after their dongsaengs. 

 

Baise....we might be more alike than I thought.

 

+++

 

Behind the leader pair walked Thrimmle and Baekhyun, who were engaged in a heated debate on the topic of technology. 

 

"You know, the Syncsys we have is kind of behind in the times, if you know what I mean..."

 

"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Baekhyun if the Syncsys we gave you does not meet your expectations."

 

"Can't you do something about it? Like modify it and add some cooler features like lasers or something?"

 

"Baekhyun-sshi, the Syncsys is used for certain purposes and has many efficient features that are meant to help protect and aid you. It is not something to show off to others, so there is no need to add or modify anything."

 

"Look. What I'm saying is, maybe if you add some extra features that could also help aid us that would be cool. Otherwise the Syncsys is just like an oversized piece of junk."

 

Thrimmle stopped walking to stop and glare at Baekhyun. He did NOT just say that. "I'll have you know, I designed what you call an "oversized piece of junk"

 

Baekhyun gulped. The thought that the Syncsys could have been one of Thrimmle's creations never even crossed his mind, and he ended up feeling a tiny bit sorry. 

 

However, before he could open his mouth to apologize, Baekhyun stopped himself. What was he feeling sorry to a woman for? From birth till now, he had never had any respect or consideration towards the female race due to his upbringing, so why should he now?

 

So he ended up saying something totally different than an apology: "Figures. Only a woman would be able to create a worthless piece of crap like that." 

 

Thrimmle's eyes widened. Did the guy in front of her just insult one of her creations? She had spent two years perfecting it and here this guy was, dissing and completely disregarding all her hard work. HELL NAW. Thrimmle wasn't going to just stand there and take it all in. No, she was repay him tenfold.

 

But she kept quiet for now. She was never the type to throw it all out in the open. No, she was much more meticulous with her revenge. She was like a silent killer– waiting until the right time to strike. Hence, Thrimmle would wait a little to exact her revenge on Baekhyun.

 

Byun Baekhyun....watch your back.

 

+++

 

Ever feel so awkward that you think you're going to suffocate from the awkwardness?

 

That was the case with Tao and Xena. Both seemed like relatively quiet people, so you'd think they'd be used to silence. But for some reason, the atmosphere was just....uncomfortable. 

 

They both looked intimidating at first glance, with Tao and the piercing look in his eyes and Xena with her long white hair and purple X tattoo on her forehead, so it was only natural for them to be slightly intimidated by each other. 

 

Long white hair...that's a first. And that X tattoo...I think I've seen it somewhere before, but I don't remember. She seems kind of cold and mysterious, I wonder if she ever even smiles. 

 

Why the hell is he staring at me with those eyes? I feel like a hole is burning through the back of my head!

 

The two kept on sneaking glances and making judgements without saying a single word, until Tao just couldn't take it any more.

 

"Xena-sshi."

 

".......what"

 

Tao took a few moments to gather up all his thoughts and took a deep breath.

 

"Xena,Iwaswonderingifyourhairwaswhitebecauseyoudyeditorisitnaturalcuz

ifitsnaturalholysmokesbutifitsdyedcanyoutellmewhatsalonyougotoohand

canyoutellmewhereyougotthetattoobecauseitlooksreallycoolanddoesithave

somesortofhiddenmeaningomgijustcant—"

 

"SHTAP."

 

"—Yes Mam."

 

Xena sighed and rubbed her temples. "One question at a time please."

 

"Welliwaswonderingifyourhairwasawhiteolorbecauseyoudyeditor—"

 

"SLOWLY."

 

"Okay...um...is your hair dyed or natural?"

 

"Why does it matter?"

 

"...I need to know because I want to get that color...?"

 

Xena looked at Tao suspiciously. Why would someone like him want to dye his hair white for? Anyhow, Xena decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "It's natural."

 

"Really?!"

 

Xena had seen this reaction all too often. At Shade Troupe Headquarters, the recruits and trainees would always ask if her hair was dyed or not and when she replied the latter...you can pretty much imagine the shock on their faces. Some of the other ST leaders, like Falni with her forest green hair, went through the same thing on a daily basis.

 

"Yes, really. Any other questions?"

 

Tao continued to ask his questions, wager to know more about the mysterious lady. "About your X tattoo–"

 

Xena interrupted before he could ask anymore. "DON'T."

 

Tao immediately shut his mouth, not expecting the woman to snap at him. He was a little startled and frightened by the sudden outburst.

 

Seeing the fright on his face, Xena felt a little apologetic. She really didn't mean to snap at Tao so menacingly, but the purple tattoo on her forehead wasn't exactly something that she could just tell someone about. She would tell him when she justified that she could trust him, and knew he didn't mean any harm to her.

 

That was a story for another time. Meanwhile, Tao was freaking out. BIG TIME. 

 

Oh my god she just yelled at me! Does she hate me? Stupid! Why'd you have to ask about her tattoo! What if she tries to kill me because I asked something that she didn't want to answer?! Oh SHIAT. I'm so screwed!!! Good lord, please don't let me die so soon!!! I will join Chen hyung when he goes to offer goods to the church!!!

 

And so, Tao and Xena were back at square one: No one talked to the other, and the awkward silence was back.

 

This was going to be a long walk. 

___________________________________________________

 

There you go! Another chapter is up! Hopefully you guys got to know a little more about Team 3! Next chapters are going to be the if her two teams!

 

As you guys probably already know, school is taking over my life. But whenever I get some free time, I sign in to AFF and check on the fanfics I'm writing and are reading. If I'm not checking up on things, I'm busy writing another chapter for you all! 

 

Previously, I also mentioned the fact that I wanted to create another fic, this time centered around dance and not fantasy. I've decided not to for right now seeing as I don't really have the time. I mean I can barely even keep up with the stories I have now, why add another one? 

 

So that fic will have to wait until later. Anyways, thanks to all of you who actually read my super long author notes! 

 

ME LOVES ALL 'YALL. PEACE.