Woops double post

Los Paraísos: The Water Park

“Geez, Dylan,” Estelle’s cheeks flushed as red as her hair, and she grinned back to the Matter Artist. “Are you a writer too, or something? You have quite a way with words, y’know!”

He laughed at that. “Come on, Estelle, you don’t have to be writer to appreciate the beauty all around you.”

“Move it along,” the ride assistant drawled, leaning back against the railing as she gestured to them to head in the slide. It appeared that sometime during their little talk the line had finally moved along and now they were the ones holding it up.

“C’mon then, Dylan!!” Estelle screamed, gripping Dylan’s wrist again and charging for the water slide’s entrance. “Let’s gooooooooo!”

“Right behind you!” He grinned as she jumped in, gliding in right behind her. At first he was a little suffocated by the thick plastic that surrounded him, but he heard Estelle’s screams of joy as she slide. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off and shrieked as he flew through the tube, twisting and turning so fast that he completely lost his bearing before he was launched out of the slide and cannonballed into the pool. His splash was so large that it nearly re-submerged Estelle.

Swimming to the edge, he let out a whoop of excitement as he waved down Trixie. “No, don’t think that was the dangerous one.” Eyeing her critically, he frowned. “You’re still dry. Why haven’t you been investigating?” He hauled himself out of the pool and shoved her towards one of the slides. “I’m going to help Big Bro with the drinks and you had better be on a ride by the time I get back.”

Los Paraísos: Water Park

"I wanna go too!" Lisette called after Don and Dylan, and pulled herself and Kapi out of the pool. She gave her pigtails a quick rub with the towel and wrapped it around herself before jogging after them.

"They have smoothies! Ooh, they have ones with wheat grass, I want to try it..." she said, but a look of disappointment quickly spread across her face. "Wait, I didn't bring my wallet with me..." she sighed, sagging her shoulders. It was tucked into her luggage back at the hotel.

---

Los Paraísos: Beach



At the height of her buzz, Selan obviously wasn't thinking things through the way she usually did -- she seemed to have forgotten that she wasn't nearly as athletically inclined as her other teammates. But being a dancer, she did have flexibility and hand-eye coordination on her side, and being barefoot on the sand made movement a lot easier compared to the heels she wore outside of missions.

She watched the men prepare to serve the ball, and was nearly caught off guard by the force used to sent it flying past the net in a straight line, rather than an arc. It was headed directly for her right side...

... And she lunged, with one leg bent and the other dramatically stretched out behind her. She clasped her fists together, bop! sending the ball bouncing high up into the air, arcing back over the net.

As the boys circled around the shadow where the ball would eventually land, Selan winced and shook her hands, which were stinging in pain. Still, she had a vibrant, confident smile on her face, and she was having a legitimately good time now.

After some arguing of, "I got it!", "No, I got it!" they sorted it out, and the ball was bounced back up again, heading straight for the back, where Aria, Lucien, and Amy were...

Los Paraisos: Beach

"Gods damn it, Moira!"

Dust kicked up as the berserker yanked Amy from her seat. The shock was enough for the latter to drop her finished glass, which safely landed in a blanket of sand behind them. The minute she stepped into the ring - accompanied with more howls and whistles from the obnoxious pigs on the other side of the net - Amy knew it was far too late to back down. Ugh. She could only hope they knew what they were getting themselves into by dragging the cleric into a game with strangers like this.

Sand drifted along the breezy air as both teams began to warm up. Amy however took this time to casually step out of her dress; she would not have minded keeping it on if it weren't for the risk of sand destroying it. She then chucked her dress back by the seat she had been sitting on earlier, keeping it out of harm's way. Hopefully.

As the game began, Amy remained in her comfortable corner, arms crossed as she spectated the show with dull eyes. She cracked a wry smile as Moira pummeled the ball into one of the doofus' heads. Without a break in flow the ball soared back over to the guilders before being flawlessly pumped back by Selan. The pigs bickered over who got to bump the ball next - and once again the ball charged back their way.

Amy's slight grin wore away into her usual scowl as the ball dove in straight towards her. Aria and Lucien, as well as the other three guilders turned as it whirred over their heads towards the back corner. Yet Amy remained unmoved, her narrowed eyes and crossed arms not budging an inch. Just as the ball dropped down on her... she merely stepped aside, eying the ball with disgust as it buried itself in the sand. Just barely within the boundary lines.

She looked back to the other guilders looking her way, her expression unchanging. "What the fuck did you guys expect?"

But then - oh great. Here come the guilt-tripping party-pooper looks. While initially she cared not at all about the outcome of this stupid game on this stupid beach... she thought it over. Bar-hopping would not be fun later if everyone else frowned upon and ragged at her poor sportsmanship. If she had been pinned to this situation in the past, she still wouldn't care either way; something about hanging out with this group...

The longer she stood around leaving the ball untouched, the more tense she could feel her body becoming with everyone totally judging her. Totally. Stop - please - don't - "Ugh. Whatever."

Amy knelt down and plucked the ball out from its sandy nest. "This is still theirs, right?" With someone's confirmation, she mimicked the hand movements the opposite side's server made when he started the game - bouncing the ball just a tad higher than her with one hand, then smacking the ball overhead with the palm of her other. It wasn't meant to be a strong serve, just enough to lob the ball back over the net so the opposing team could serve again.

Her shot, however, crashed right into the net and rebounded back into the team's side, landing by Moira's feet.

Amy's face glowed a brilliant red. So so red. She brought a hand to cover half her face as she turned away, preferring to face the seawater than any looks of ridicule or disappointment that would come her way from the slip up.

"Gods. Strike me where I stand. Please."

---

Los Paraisos: Water Park

Completely ignoring Don's shrills, Trixie watched with sparkling eyes as Estelle valiantly escaped the slide's perils and re-emerged from her pool with all due enthusiasm and valor. She was victorious as always. Though the prankster quickly popped her hands over her smile, suppressing a gasp, as Dylan emerged like a giant ball and created a splash large enough to re-submerge Estelle again. Oh man, what if he's the one behind all this? Man oh man he really is Doctor Evil...

No wait, no he's innocent. True evil villains don't wave like that to their enemies. After reporting to her his lack of findings, he ever so roodly called her out on skipping the investigation process herself, pushed her towards an obviously evil slide, then commanded that she be on a ride before his return from the drink shop. He, Superbro, and Lisette all took off for refreshments immediately after the order was given.

Hmph! She doesn't even remember becoming his sidekick... wasn't it the other way around before...? Blah whatever. Orders are or-derhz, and a sidekick must always follow what the main superhero commands of him or her! It's in the book. Stupid book. Trixie never even read it but she knows it's in there somewhere. But - she really, really did not want to go down a slide. That's why she as supreme high upper super sidekick told the lower minions to do it! But the Doctor saw through her plot like it was nothing. Maybe that's why he wasn't the sidekick.

"Aw, man!" Trixie said with a snap.

Then it came to her. Right then and there, her eyes widened with a sudden realization, a brain blast. She had found a way to abide by the Doctor's request and still not drown in evil stinky pools in the process! But she wasn't going to do it alone, of course not. Standing there idly, watching the trio take off, stood a sweet girl in a sweet dress...

Xandra. Trixie rubbed her palms together before stepping into the metallurgist's vision. "Hey. Hey I forget your name, but do you and - hey, Supersis! You too! Hey!!" she waved emphatically at her redhaired idol before looking back to Xandra. The girl spoke loudly enough for both of them to hear. "Do you guys wanna... do you wanna..."

Having both of their attention now, Trixie smiled, wide, widely enough to form deep lines. With her chin pushed back and digging a bit into her throat, she spoke through her incredibly big toothy smile.

This was not a question.



"Do you guys wanna get floatie doughnuts with me"

Los Paraisos - The Beach

"Looks like we have a team," Lucien declared with a silly looking grin and two thumbs up.

Amy didn't exactly look excited and neither did Syed, but the majority of them were and eventually the two agreed. Well, the latter was dragged by Moira but hey, she wasn't really resisting, so that meant yes, right? The cleric still looked pretty pissed at the idea of playing volleyball. "C'mon," he gave both Syed and Amy another one of his huge grins. "It'll be fun and," he leaned in closes to the cleric, his silly smile turning devious. "This'll be your chance to hit them in the face without security getting mad, yeah?" He nodded eagerly. Lucien chuckled then stood his ground...he didn't know the rules of volleyball so he imitated the men on the other side of the field and began to do ridiculous stretches as well. That had to be a part of game, right? They were doing it often so he figured he'd follow the experts. He continued imitating them for a bit longer as everyone got into place then straightened up when 68% arm muscle guy called to ask if they were ready.

"Mhm, hit us with your best shot!" He yelled as he once again followed what the others were doing. All he had to do was make sure the ball went over the net, right? That sounded easy enough. The guys tossed the ball at Moira and she punched it hard. It went over the net then, wham, it hit a guy in the forehead. It left a mark...and Lucien snickered before laughing along with the other guys. Boss was just as cool as ever! Hey, maybe their team would actually rock, he thought as Selan dove and sent the ball over the net. The guys argued over who was going to hit it then sent the ball their way. It soared towards Amy and he whooped only to see the cleric sidestep out of its way. "Eh?"

All eyes were on Amy and eventually she did pick the ball up. She hit it and he bounced off the net and fell by Moira's feet. The cleric turned away and Lucien rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "Hey, hey, you can't die yet. We still need to finish this." He grinned at Amy who was still facing the sea. "You can still redeem yourself." He teased, he didn't know the cleric as well as the others, but the way she went from neutral to upset at the snap of a finger was interesting.



"Oh, I understand. That's a good decision, cramps can lead to accidental drowning." She stated, confused by his sudden sputtering. He looked a lot less confident than he did back at the lobby. It was almost like looking at a different person. Don asked her for her own reasons and she stared at the pool with sour expression. "No, just not a water person...if that makes any sense, though don't get me wrong. This place is amazing." She waved at him as he went off to get a drink.

Not long after Lisette, Dylan and Estelle arrived by the pool side. The polite young man left to help Don and Lisette went off to get a drink as well.

"Hey. Hey I forget your name, but do you and - hey, Supersis! You too! Hey! Do you guys wanna... do you wanna..."

"Xan reporting for duty, ma'am." She played along, giving the girl another salute. These people were so full of energy, it was just so relaxing. "What mission are you sending us on next--" She arched an eyebrow and waited for the girl's response, but stopped when Trixie mentioned floaty donuts. It wasn't that she couldn't swim...it was just water was bad for her prosthetic. If she got it wet, she'd have to make sure she dried it out, or there was a possibility it'd rust. "Hmh," she decided to just tell them why she wasn't joining in. She didn't want them to get the wrong idea and think that she didn't like them or anything. Xan pulled up the sleeve of her dress, revealing a metallic arm from the elbow down. "Water is my arch nemesis," she joked. "It'll make me rust." She scrunched her nose at the pool. "Sorry, I would have loved to join you though."

Los Paraisos: Water Park

“Get me a lemonaaaaaaaade!” Estelle shrieked, on a new high after the adrenaline pumping ride she had just gone on. Seeing the resort, and experiencing the Water Park was unlike anything she had experienced before. Gone was the eighteen year old girl closing in on nineteen, replaced with Estelle’s inner child verging more on twelve. She could hardly contain herself, and if she wasn’t careful she’d probably give herself a heart attack.

"Do you guys wanna get floatie doughnuts with me"

“Floatie doughnuts?” Estelle repeated, not sure what Trixie was referring to at first, but then understanding. They weren’t as exhilarating as the giant slides, but they also didn’t contain any waiting time. “Yes! Yes we can grab some floatie doughnuts and go on the lazy river and then we can go on that and that and, oh my gods that!!!”

But Estelle’s excitement was short lived as Xandra revealed she couldn’t go in the water. Estelle and Trixie turned to their new friend, their hearts fully crest-fallen, with small tears forming in the Pride leader’s eyes.

Tears that were then replaced with stars once Xandra lifted her dress’s sleeve up.

Any normal person might have shown more tact, and empathic sorrow to Xandra’s condition… at how a beautiful, young woman such as her might have lost an arm.

But Estelle wasn’t normal.

“OH MY GODS YOU HAVE A ROBOT ARM!!!” Estelle screamed as loudly as she could. Xandra’s reaction was immediate. Embarrassment? Shame? At the sudden loud attention being shot her way. But then- “THAT IS SO FRIGGING COOL!!!”

...What.

“OH MY GODS I’M SO JEALOUS THAT LOOKS SO AWESOME!!!” Estelle bounced up and down on the spot, encouraging Trixie to do the same. “You must be super strong with it, right? Could, could… could you lift me up? Wait. Wait. WaitwaitwaitwaitWAIT. CAN IT… CAN IT TRANSFORM? INTO AN ARM CANNON? CAN YOU SHOOT LASERS?!?!”

Trixie’s own eyes sparkled from the idea. Both the two sisters were upon Xandra in no time, pressing her with more and more uncomfortable questions as they probed the possibilities Xandra’s arm might have. Could it transform? Did it have secret compartments to hide sweets in?? Could it be fired like a rocket and rocket punch someone?!

However, Estelle’s loudness was quickly forming a scene and disturbing even the jovial loud peace that existed at the water park. The trio were near a row of deckchairs filled with people sunbathing, and the three girls were most closest to, and loudest, to a young woman in an incredibly skimpy bikini and shades trying to work on attaining a tan. In her hands she held a mirror, in order to best get the sun’s rays all over.

A woman who was taking some much needed time off from her job on the resort to earn some RnR, only for these three… inscrutable… annoying… fucking loudmouthed… brats… to keep shouting…!

Her brow twitched until finally enough was enough.

It was like a volcano erupting.

“Rrrrrggghghh would you fucking bitches shut the fuck up!!” The woman screamed, jumping to her feet. “Some of us are trying to fucking relax here and you’re fucking screaming like a goddamn fucking chi… ld… …!”

Everything seemed to fall in slow motion. Estelle and Trixie turned towards the loud, expletive filled woman, as she slowly lifted her shades up. All three women’s jaws dropped, with the quiet Xandra watching the scene unfold in confusion.

“YOU!!” Estelle and the woman pointed to each other. Trixie looked baffled at first, before deciding to point at both.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” The woman screamed.

“Me? That’s my question! What the hell are YOU doing here?” Estelle’s excitement quickly rose to anger.

“Rrrrghhhh… not on my day off! Not on my fucking day off do I have to put up with you and your shit!” The woman’s scorn was held in gritted teeth.

“My… are you serious? Look you little tramp, I still owe you a butt kicking from back in the castle!” Estelle’s foot stamped on the ground.

“Oh boy.” Trixie’s face sharply turned left and right, searching for the rest to help. And then there they were! Superbro, Doctor and Lissa returning with drinks in each hand and worried expressions once they heard Estelle’s screaming.

“What’s going on?” Dylan asked with concern, Lisette bringing a finger up to her lips in curiosity as Kapi waddled besides her feet.

“Is… is everything okay?”

“Okay? No, not okay!” The blue haired woman in the skimpy red, strapless bikini spat back. “This red haired bitch won’t shut the fuck up! Who the hell are you anyway… !!!!!!!!!!!!”

Pure unadulterated shock and horror filled the tanner’s face, as the sun was swept away from her eyes. A giant, voluminous shadow overwhelmed her, the giant body lunging forwards in a tackle. The man’s face, however…

His face was streaming with tears.



“LITTLE SISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

What followed was a shrill shriek, a spinning blur, the sound of a loud explosion followed by another that resulted in a powerful splash that coated the entire group. In the aftermath of the soaking poolwater that fell upon them like rain, was Don suddenly missing and the tanning blue haired woman standing up with her foot raised at head height. She suddenly blinked, as if coming into realisation of what she had just instinctively done.

Josette Capuello had kicked her older brother in the face and sent him flying into the nearest pool.



“…oops.”

“Woah, Superbro went flying…” Trixie blinked. “Wait, he can’t swim!!”

“I, er… didn’t mean to do that…” Josette’s voice trailed off in embarrassment. And then, she suddenly noticed him, and any thoughts of her brother and his splashing predicament was drained from her mind. She had just noticed Dylan, and oh my god what a hottie he was! Her prince had finally arrived!!!

“Don? Don!” Estelle turned, starting to run to the pool, when all of a sudden… out of nowhere… a commanding voice rung out.

“Wait! Stay there! I will save him!!!”

Flicking her head up, she saw silhouetted against the overhanging sun a man brilliantly posing atop a lifeguard chair, his arms holding his sides, the overhanging light reflecting in his sunglasses. He lowered his head, focusing on the pool, and then dived – performing two magnificent twirls and spins as he did before splashing into the pool. Within seconds, he swam with all the grace of a dolphin and caught the sputtering Don, dragging him to the pool’s edge and lifting him up onto the side, into safety.

Don’s body landed on the wet floor, and the lifeguard followed by pulling himself effortlessly out of the pool, greeting the Pride with the man’s bronzed, shining skin and impeccable musculature. He immediately turned towards Don, towering over him.

“Don’t worry, everyone! I’m about to perform CPR!!”

“*cough*… *cough*… what’s… going on…?” Don blinked, the left hand side of his face glowing red from where Josette had kicked him. “Jerry…?”

“BIG BRO!!!!!” Jerry screamed.



"I'm going to save you!!"

Los Paraisos: Beach
Syed sighed. Sure, Amy didn't want to join in, he didn't either. But here they both were, even if it was against their will, so why did she have to be so awkward about it? His expression was probably one of the more dissaproving of the group.

But then her expression shifted, just slightly. And with that, she gave in and tried to throw the ball back over. And failed pretty spectacularly, which seemed to humiliate her. Oh, no wonder she was so reluctant to play then. Well that and the men comment earlier, although he couldn't help but feel a little resentful about that one.

"We'll try and cover you," he offered with a shrug regardless, his expression straight-faced. At least she was making an effort now, so there was that.

Moira seemed to be getting a little irate. Sure, suprisingly enough Selan had the right skills to at least be semi-compitent at the game, but Amy had just lost them a point. She couldn't have that. She really couldn't. She bent over to the grab the ball.

It's time to get serious.

She ran forwards, before leaping up and smacking the ball so hard it created a mini-shockwave, throwing sand in all directions. The hunks seemed slightly suprised by this - just how strong was this woman? - although they took it in their stride. They buckled down immediately, and seamlessly sent the ball back. Well, it seemed that they were pretty decent when they were actually trying.

Syed on the other hand had no time to react as he was caught mid-stride after being pulled by Moira, before he was sent crumpling to the floor. Well, he was the last person who should be covering anyone else it turned out.

"OOOOOOOH!" the guys all cried out in sympathy, quite visibly feeling some empathy pains in the downstairs compartment themselves. "Ow dude! Ow! Sorry about that dude!"

"It's okay..." Syed squeaked out in a tiny voice. He really wasn't having a good day. "...Would have... adopted anyway..."

Meanwhile, Moira raged. Now they were two points down damnit! They hadn't even came close to scoring! They had to win! They needed a strategy!

"NEW PLAN!" she bellowed, holding a pointed finger above her head dramatically, she then swept it down, pointing to Amy then the still grounded Syed in turn. "STOP BEING SHIT! Everyone else, let's kick their arses! You lot with me?!" She stared at the others with an expression much like an overly-enthusiastic sports coach. All she was missing was the whistle, but she was probably louder than a whistle anyway.

Moira Dennis, master strategist.

Imbrued with a newfound zeal from her anger, she buckled herself down as the hunks prepared to serve once more. Whether it be hitting the ball herself or assisting one of the others, she was ready. Syed pulled himself up, looking quite annoyed with her.

Meanwhile the guys laughed between themselves. This group really was rubbish. Still, at least half of them were good to look at. A couple of them resumed their flexing for a moment. "Here, Johnny, your serve!"

68% Arm Muscle Guy threw the ball up in the air, before hitting it hard back over the net.

Los Paraísos: The Beach

Aria blinked as Amy’s serve fell short and the woman turned scarlet in embarrassment. “Good try,” she offered with a smile. It seemed everyone was willing to make some effort now so perhaps they had a fighting chance at last? Moira made a leap for the ball as it soared over the net, smashing it over with tremendous strength enough to create a shockwave at impact. Even more surprisingly the men managed to send the ball back, which immediately made impact with Syed’s… Lower regions. The illusionist gave a small wince of sympathy as he went down squeaking.

Moira had no time for the fallen it seemed, and instead launched into a very brief and enthusiastic pep talk as the men on the other side of the net starting stretching and flexing in strange poses once more while laughing.

Aria cracked her knuckles, a determined glint in her eyes as the other team got ready to serve Briefly she pondered the idea of distracting them with some illusion.An angry seagull perhaps? Perhaps a busty blonde would be better fitted for that group- Ooh, what about a nice sea serpent rising out of the beach? Oh wait, she had promised Xan not to do any more man-eating monsters in public areas.

Too bad, that had been a fun day.

Oh well, those could come later, she decided, taking a few steps back with a shout of "I've got it!" in the hot sand and bouncing the ball in the air with a thwackas the game started again with a few whoops from the audience that had gathered round the court. It was no fun taking the easy route to victory right off the bat after all.

Los Paraísos: Water Park

"Eeeek!" Lisette shrieked as Don went careening into the pool. She snapped her attention to the blue-haired bikini-clad lady and winced at her unexpected strength.

Pandemonium spread around their group, and several tourists had begun to stare at the goings-on, slurping their drinks noisily and expecting a show in the form of attractive woman in swimsuits brawling.

Lisette and Kapi simply stared, unsure of what to do.

"I'm... I'm so confused!" she said, looking around for an explanation. "Bro" and "Sis" had become a term of endearment in the Pride, but she didn't know this lady or the lifeguard at all! "Are we fighting now? Who are you?" she asked the woman.

---

Los Paraísos: Beach



Things weren't looking too good, but it was still early in the match, and there was still plenty of time to catch up. And it seemed like Syed's unfortunate injury would be the turning point they needed.

Hopefully.

Johnny the 68% Arm Muscle Guy served, and Aria hit the ball back. Selan stood at the ready, anticipating that they might try and send it to their weaker side, where she and Amy stood.

"Eat it!" one of the guys yelled obnoxiously, launching himself off the sand in a powerful jump and punching the ball downward.

Selan wasn't fast enough to get her arms in the right position, but her fists collided with the ball and sent it bouncing upwards and slightly backwards. The shadow of the ball grew bigger and bigger in the middle of their side -- a perfect opportunity to spike it into the guys' blind spot.

Los Paraisos: Water Park

"Wait... rust? Is that...?" Trixie looked to Xandra's eyes, reaching out to touch it. What... what happened? To her arm? Why did she have this? How'd she get it like that? Was she...?

Mouth ajar, Trixie looked up to the metallurgist, just about ready to ask questions Xandra was surely already prepared to hear - that was, before Estelle started jumping up and down like nuts and asked her own set of probing questions. As the older even encouraged Trixie to react with enthusiasm alongside her, the prankster found herself merely gaping at Xandra's arm, still lost in wonder. Though the more Estelle screamed about all the fantastical probabilities of what Xandra's arm could do, the more Trixie imagined Xandra zapping bad guys with laser cannons and stuff.

She cocked her head, now lost in her own thoughts. That sounded so dangerous. Dangerously cool. And superhero-like.

But before she could ask Xandra to become a superhero with her, some random lady screamed and cursed at them from her tanning chair. Trixie jumped in surprise and immediately cowered behind the metallurgist, peeking out from just below her shoulder level to watch Estelle and this blue-haired angry chick square off.

Wait a second. Here come back the slew of slurs, enough to make Amy blush. Oh that's right, this girl is that one bad girl from that castle in that one place. Trixie took a deep breath. "Oh boy." She glanced around, pondering who she could pull along to intervene on the fight that was about to explode and get everyone kicked out from the park - but then Superbro and his crew came back! Yay!

Wait. Not yay! That chick just kicked Superbro into the pool!

And he just told Trixie like five minutes ago he couldn't swim!

"Wait, he can't swim!" she exclaimed, expecting her announcement to make the situation better.

And lo and behold, it actually had! As if summoned by Trixie's and Estelle's calls, a lifeguard dove in to save Don. Trixie watched with sparkles tinging in her eyes. Oh if only she had some popcorn!

In the meantime, Lisette glanced around confusedly. "Are we fighting now? Who are you?"

Hearing this, Trixie snapped out of her gaze and looked towards the archer. "She's a bad guy! Erp - well - was a bad guy. We totally pwned her n00b-butt back at the snowy castle place. Hey, Miss Bad Words, you're not still a bad guy, right?"

Like Lisette, Trixie initially too didn't think much of Don calling her "Little Sis." That term means he must like her, despite the way she abuses him - just like the prankster herself and Amy! But then she had another brain blast just then, recalling just what Mister Largo had debriefed the Pride on before they took on the castle. During the few seconds she actually paid attention to mission details, anyway. "Ohhhh, wait a second, now I remember. She's actually Superbro's little sister. Like actually sister-sister. Except littler. ... So you're not gonna try to kill us again, huh?"

Though Trixie wasn't sure if she was listening. The blue-haired girl was too busy being all gaga over Doctor Evil. Trixie snickered. She knew the Doctor could use the power of his good lucks to subdue any would-be enemies!

---

Los Paraisos: Beach

"Stop being shit? You're the one who forced me into this game!" Amy reeled back, somewhat offended by Moira's remark. She had acknowledged Aria's and Lucien's comments with a neutral half-smile, her face still burning red, but once again her lips quickly reverted into a scowl the second Syed crumpled to the floor and Moira followed up with her pep-talk.

Now crowds began to surround the game. Shit. Couldn't she just pull someone else into her spot and sneak off back to their umbrella?

Selan knocked the ball into the air, but instead of flying back over the net, it began to descend back into their own field. Hurtling down right towards Amy.

"Gods, not again. Why must you curse me!? I don't know how to do this...!"

The ball caved in on her. She could step aside, she could step aside and let someone else rush in to make the spike. But this time, instead of dodging the ball in its entirety a second time and probably earning another lecture from Moira the coach, Amy reached forward and... slapped the ball with all the force she could muster in a single movement. A loud smack! echoed from the force her palm exerted on the little ball, and... it soared back over the net.

Though her palm pulsed with red, her face glowed even redder. She continued staring at her hand, eyes completely off the ball and whatever the outcome of her "bump" was. Wait, that wasn't supposed to happen, was it? "...did I just...?"

Los Paraisos - The Beach

They were actually losing. He didn't expect the opposite team to actually be any good, but they were. It turned out they weren't all bark and no bite after all.

Moira looked irritated and soon enough she sent the ball flying to the other side. The guys managed to send it back towards their side, and the ball caught Syed in mid-stride. It sent the electric mage to the ground and Lucien winced sympathetically as he feared what was to come. Moira, however, would not take their sucky team any longer and soon she was yelling loudly like someone who had a passion for the sport would. Well, she looked like she knew what she was doing, so Lucien straightened up and listened. He expected her to start spouting out inspirational cheers or smart logical patterns for hitting the ball and defending, but there was none of that. Instead, she told them plain and simple, to stop sucking.

When it was all over he raised both hands and whooped. "Yeah! Let's do this." Moira's enthusiasm was contagious and he grinned from ear to ear, feeling a bit more determined. Lucien stood in place and watched as 68% arm muscle guy sent the ball soaring. Aria managed to send the ball back at the guys, but as usual they sent it back towards the pride. Selan hit the ball up high and sent it towards Amy who slapped it and sent the ball over the net. "You did it!" Lucien cheered as he shot the cleric a grin.



Los Paraisos - The Waterpark

Xan gave them an uncertain smile as they stared in silence. She simply wanted them to understand why she couldn't join in on their fun...she didn't want to weird them out of anything. Before the girl could lighten the atmosphere with an offer to get them iced tea or something, Estelle began jumping in place and screaming about how cool her arm was. Well, that hadn't been the reaction she had been expecting. This wasn't an 18-year-old, this was a child! The girl found herself staring at Estelle and going red in the face, so much for lying low. Now, there were several eyes on them.

The metallurgist didn't know how to react and just froze. A part of her wanted to jump into the pool and hide from all the stares that had been thrown their way. Perhaps, she had made a mistake. Trixie continued staring while Estelle's questions got stranger and stranger. "W-What?" Xan stammered as she backed away from the duo. Estelle, however, was determined and continued probing her with questions that went in one ear then out the next. How did one answer those kinds of questions?

Suddenly out of nowhere, a woman began yelling at them and this time it wasn't questions but profanity. In all the chaos and confusion, it took her a while to realize what was going on, but then Estelle started screaming at the woman too and it became clear that the two had some sort of history together. Xan wanted to pull the redhead back and just apologize to the woman, anything as long as it didn't jeopardize the mission and get them kicked out of the resort. "Wait..." she mumbled as she prepared to pull Estelle away. However, before she could the others started rushing towards the scene and she let out a relieved sigh. What on earth was going on here?

Then Don ran towards the woman and she kicked him right into the pool. Trixie began yelling about how Don couldn't swim then out nowhere another guy arrived, diving into the pool to save Don. Then Trixie called the woman a bad guy and Xan just stared in utter confusion. It was going to be a crazy and long day.

"Castle? Fighting? What...what exactly is going on here?" She muttered, as her eyes flitted from the blue haired woman to the members of the pride.

Los Paraísos: The Water Park

What in the name of Aislin?

Estelle and some blue-haired woman were going at it, shouting and screaming at each other. Based on the looks that they were giving each other there was obviously some history between the two of them. “What’s going on?” he asked with concern, which only caused the blue-haired woman to explode and her her attention to their group.

LITTLE SISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Okay what?” The girl moved like lightning, leaping at Don and kicking him - in the face! - back into the pool. Doing the only sensible thing in such a situation, Dylan turned and curled over to protect the drinks in his hands. Yes the pool-water rained over his back and hair but the drinks were safe!



And he had a feeling that he’d really be needing his.

Turning back, balancing the drinks in one arm, he used his other to brush back his sodden hair and stand straight up to let the rest of the water slide off of him. And the girl was staring at him. Suddenly realizing that he was, well, posing, he offered the girl a smile. Was Don starting to rub off on him without him noticing?

“Hi!” he said cheerily, hoping that he wouldn’t piss her off the same way that Don had. That kick had looked vicious. Not knowing what else to do, he held out one of the drinks. A nice, chilled strawberry daiquiri. “Umm, thirsty?”

In the background he was able to hear Trixie go on, finally giving them an explanation. "Ohhhh, wait a second, now I remember. She's actually Superbro's little sister. Like actually sister-sister. Except littler. ... So you're not gonna try to kill us again, huh?"

“Kill us again?!?!” Still holding the daiquiri out towards Josette, he lifted his drink to his lips and took a sip. Thank Aislin for Pina Coladas.

Los Paraisos: Beach
The hunks were a little suprised, really. After a very shakey start, accompanied by the worst prep-talk ever by the bear, this odd group of misfits were starting to pull together. It was clear as day that most of them were completely new to volleyball after all - even those who were doing better such as the beautiful pale woman's technique was fairly clearly made up on the spot - but here they were. Keeping up.

And then the blonde pretty much slapped the ball, sending it flying over the net and crashing into the freckled guy's cheekbone, leaving a steadily growing red mark in it's wake. A slap by proxy! Still, they didn't let up either. The laughter grew, although it wasn't directed at anyone. Neither were they staring so much at some of the Pride team. They were focusing on the game and they were having fun. This was great!

The ball was saved just before it hit the sand, and was bounced back to one of the others. It was then hit back over to the Pride side.

Syed's eyes widened. Now was his chance to redeem himself too! He could do it! He had taken on firons and bearons and electures and... whatever the hell Frank was and Lucifer. He could do this! He had seen how the other team held their hands. Fingers linked together, tucking the thumbs in to form a sort of flat surface to bounce the ball off. He reached out...

...And missed, the ball sailing inches past his hands and hitting the floor. Oh. He flushed spectacularly. Right in front of this growing crowd too, many of whom started laughing at him. Moira looked livid. "Just... stay the fuck away from the ball!" she shreiked.

3 points down. They really sucked at this.

"One more shot, yeah?" One of the guys laughed. He grabbed a hold of the ball as it was rolled to him, before throwing it up for one more serve.

Los Paraisos: Water Park

"I'm... I'm so confused! Are we fighting now? Who are you?"

"Castle? Fighting? What...what exactly is going on here?"

"Ohhhh, wait a second, now I remember. She's actually Superbro's little sister. Like actually sister-sister. Except littler. ... So you're not gonna try to kill us again, huh?"

“Kill us again?!?!” Dylan quickly lifted his drink up to take a swig after hearing Trixie’s explanation on who Josette was. The thought that she was a danger was not at all comforting, especially after witnessing her full throttle argument with Estelle and the incredible power she displayed in booting Don into the pool. But after taking his sip, and opening his eyes to look towards Josette again… the image before him looked anything but the menace Trixie hinted at.

Her cheeks aflush, head dipped into her palm, her eyes barely able to look at Dylan before fluttering and looking elsewhere, she grabbed the glass, and got as close to the artist as she could.

“Aw, you’re so kind to get me a drink! My name’s Josette Capuello! You’re… um… really, really pretty… what’s your name?”

The vulgar mouthed, violent demoness had suddenly transformed into the most bashful, unassuming and innocent love struck girl ever before met.

“Yeah, we actually met back in Tabul,” Estelle folded her arms and rolled her eyes. The memory of that mission… wasn’t exactly a peaceful one. “Miss Innocent here was actually a bandit and she and her friends did some pretty bad stuff. Her dad in particular was a nasty piece of work… we went in to stop them. We got in a fight, and I was kicking her ass before she decided to run and-”

“ExCUSE me?” Josette suddenly interrupted, turning away from Dylan to Estelle again, her temper ignited again. “Kicking my ass, were you?”



“S-sises…” Don meekly interjected. “D-don’t fight… we’re all… family, right…?”

Josette focused on her brother, sneering as she contemplated his words. Sis, as a plural? Did he mean her? If Don wasn't a complete and utter idiot liable to say any stupid thing when hit she might have pressed the issue more, but he was injured enough as is. “Hmph!” Josette turned away, downing her drink in one. “Don… what the hell’s going on? What are you doing here? And with these people?”

She took another glareful look over the people in front of her. That annoying bitch with the red hair and her annoying little sidekick… a pigtailed teen girl holding a cute animal in her arms and another young woman with a metal arm… not to mention Prince Charming here. What was the story?

And then it dawned on her. How, even though they were all wearing casual swimwear, they stood out like a sore thumb. A girl with a metal arm, another carrying a creature about with her, Prince Charming himself… Estelle and Trixie. Damn it! He… he couldn’t have been serious?!

“Don’t tell me you’re… all guilders?

“Don, what did you do?!”

The bro’s hand weakly turned into a thumbs up, before flopping back on the ground. Jerry’s head recoiled in fright, before he then turned to pucker his lips and begin administering CPR, even though it was unneeded.

Josette had a million questions to ask her brother, but for the time being they’d have to wait. And even though she didn’t want to spend another minute anywhere near these people, near that annoying, ugly bitch, she didn’t have much of a choice. Curiosity compelled her to find out what the heck was going on.

“What are you people doing in Los Paraisos?”

And then without batting an eyelash, turned her gaze to Dylan.

"And are you single?♥♥"

Los Paraísos: The Water Park

The girl grabbed the offered drink and downed it before getting awfully close to him. “Aw, you’re so kind to get me a drink! My name’s Josette Capuello! You’re… um… really, really pretty… what’s your name?”

Aww shit.

He paled as she sidled close, scrambling to think of how to diffuse the situation. “Duh-duh-Dylan,” he stammered, quickly taking another sip of his drink. Despite everything she looked nice enough, and he really hated it when this happened. Yet her attention was drawn away and turned on Estelle again.

Dear gods, this woman was a maniac! Bouncing back and forth between incredible ranges of emotion, not to mention the fact that she seemed to to have a violent streak. It was hard to believe that Don was related to this ball of whirling emotions. Yes, he was crazy, but that’s the fun bro-tastic kind of crazy.

Finally piecing things together, Josette whirled on her brother. “Don’t tell me you’re… all guilders? Don, what did you do?!”

“Yes,” Dylan said weakly. “We’re all Guilders.”

“What are you people doing in Los Paraisos?” And then without batting an eyelash, turned her gaze to Dylan. "And are you single?♥♥"

“Actually we’re on a pretty important mission but we’re here to take a quick vacation. A nice relaxing vacation.” He stopped to take a deep breath. Easier to just get this out of the way. She only met him moments ago, there’s no chance she’d be offended. No way that he’d feel the brunt of her foot like Don had.



Right? 



“And yes I’m single, but no, I’m not interested.” Flushing, he quickly continued. “It’s not that you aren’t attractive, I’m just gay.” 


Los Paraísos: Water Park

"So... They're actually siblings?" Lisette murmured, looking back and forth from the soggy man on the ground to the blue-haired lady with the really tiny swimsuit. The resemblance was a bit hard to see considering just how different their personalities appeared to be. Plus, she swears so much!

Dylan went on to answer Josette's questions, explaining that they were on vacation, and the reason why he wasn't quite able to respond to her flirtatious advances.

Lisette blinked. "So what are you doing here, Josette?" she asked, fidgeting with the fur on Kapi's head. She was afraid to ask questions of someone who might kick her into the next week, but she wanted to try and be nice.

---

Los Paraísos: Beach



They decided that they would go for one more set before calling the match. With three points behind, they would probably be here all day if they wanted to try and win, and Selan's fading buzz and sore hands were currently competing for her attention.

Bop!

The man smacked the ball into the air and over the net, and Lucien managed to scramble and slide to the side to slap it back.

This was it; at this point, usually one of the guys would spike the ball, and they would get their point, and they could leave. 68% arm muscle dude bopped it over to another one of his teammates, who readied his fist...

... And sent the ball careening over Syed's head and into Aria's waiting hands, sending it back to the other side.

Selan was surprised -- they were doing well!

Back and forth this continued, with everyone managing to hit the ball once or twice, until finally...

"I'm done with this fuckin' game!" Moira roared, jumping higher than Selan had ever seen the woman jump before, and punching the ball hard enough to tear it. It flopped over the net in front of the mens' feet and collapsed uselessly.

"Shit, shit, shit!" one yelped, staring at the ball with a mix of incredulity and anger. "How strong are you, lady!?"

"That's... awesome!" another blurted out, and all of them nodded in agreement.

Los Paraisos: Beach
"Shit, shit, shit! How strong are you, lady!?"

Moira felt a bit dizzy as the rage drained from her. What? She... she popped the ball?! She didn't mean to hit it that hard, just hard enough to ground it before they could hit it back. Damn, damn, did she lose control? She needed to reign in her strength a bit more. Of course they'd be pissed off at her.

"That's... awesome!"

They were... complimenting her on it?!

Well HELL YEAH they should compliment her on it! She is awesome all around! "Yeah, I'm strong as balls, me," she said somewhat smugly, curling her arm up to show off her muscles. The gesture was a little lost on these men with their huge, bulging muscles, but she didn't care. She could probably beat them all at an arm wrestling match. At once. Yeeeeeaaaah.

Syed face palmed. No, no, don't encourage her! That is seriously the last thing they needed, what with them having to keep a low profile and all. Plus she had just committed property damage, which was unfortunately pretty much typical of her. Thank Vayu these guys seemed too dense to care. With a deep sigh, he turned to Aria instead.

"Urgh, sorry about that," he groaned apologetically. "I wish I could say she's not normally like that, but..." he trailed off. Still, he quickly brightened up again. "You're really good though! You played it before, or is it just one of those having the right kind of skills sort of things?"

Meanwhile, one of the dudes edged his way around the group. Disregarding the burst ball, or the slightly terrifying bear woman, he instead came to a stop by the curious, cheerful blue haired man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Dude..." he muttered not all that quietly. "How do you do it, dude? How are you surrounded by all these hot chicks? I gotta know!"

Los Paraisos: Beach

Amy couldn't help but chuckle loudly once Moira popped the ball. She was so close to walking out of this gods-forsaken game, but at least she wouldn't be blamed for ruining it. Which meant her drinking night out had not yet been ruined. Perfect.

Satisfied, she whirled around and moved back to her seat, ready to put back on her dress and shield herself from any oglers.

But that plan was cut short. "Dude, how do you do it, dude? How are you surrounded by all these hot chicks? I gotta know!"

In a flash, Amy whirled back around, her movements as sharp as ever. Just then the man addressing Lucien looked to Aria, to Selan - and to Amy herself. A smug grin crossed his bloated face as he awaited a response from the summoner.

How was he surrounded by 'all these hot chicks'? No. No. Lucien was the de facto king of jokes in the Pride - and Amy wouldn't stand for a joke that came even close to objectifying his female teammates. Or maybe he knew better than that. Maybe he was different from all those other 'comedian' pigs out there. But the fact that someone opened the opportunity for Lucien to crack such a joke had already pissed off Amy. She was always quick to judge.

Before she could strut over to the summoner to stop him however, she found herself deterred. Pinned down. A loud gasp escaped her lips as she jerked her face to her right. One of those flatulent pigs had wrapped his arm around the back of Amy's shoulders, and began to casually flex his free arm off to the side. Not even looking the woman in her emerald eyes of death.

"So that was a fun game," he said coolly, his voice oozing with masculinity. "Of course this team would be nothing without me. Impressive, huh dude? I mean look at these pecs - NNF!" Still eyeing his beefy arm, he paused to allow Amy to ooh and ahh at his muscularity. But there was no such praise. Oh well. She was probably so impressed she was dumbstruck.

Oh yeah. Now was his chance! "Hey, you know what I think? I think we got a pretty good opportunity to develop our friendship a little further, don't you? We should toootally go out for a drink, dude. What's yo' name? You're not doin' anything tonight, are ya' ba--"

SLAP!

"Don't fucking touch me!"

In a flash the meatbag was sent careening to the ground. Amy's body heaved with every deep, audible breath. Standing tall, she had her arm jutted up close to her face, hand flattened like a sword. Her palm, the flatside of her sword, pulsed with an angry crimson. And she was not yet ready to sheath her weapon of mass destruction. As loud as the impact was, Amy remained without pain, without mercy. Callous. Daunting.

Death in her scowl, her flaring eyes locked with Lucien's. He was courteous (albeit a bit curious in his mannerisms), Amy would admit - he encouraged her during the game with nice enough comments that weren't at all laced with perversion. But that wasn't enough to save his sorry hide from ruining his impression on her if he took the wrong shot. If that summoner joked - no, if he even made a peep about "all these hot chicks" being his harem or his groupie or his whatever...

"Don't you fuckin' dare."

---

Los Paraisos: Water Park

While the others tended to Josette, Trixie had scampered back to Don's side and was screaming at Jerry the lifeguard. "OH MY POTATO SALAD, YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT. HE'S GONNA DIE AND IT'S GONNA BE ALL YOUR FAULT. YOU'RE A LIFE-GUARD RIGHT? HURRY UP AND GUARD HIS LIFE THEN, O-M-G. SAVE HIS LIFE FASTER. SAVE HIMMMMM!" She began to rattle the man by his buff shoulders. "Save'im save'im save'im save'im save'im!"

Los Paraísos: The Beach

Aria watched in amazement as the ball flopped uselessly to the ground, a hole having been punched into it by Moira. By the Gods above exactly how strong was this woman to have been able to break a ball that was pretty much made to be whacked around?

She made a mental note to never get on the stocky woman’s bad side.

A deep sigh from beside her made her turn away from Moira and towards an apologetic Syed.

"Urgh, sorry about that, I wish I could say she's not normally like that, but..." he trailed off. before continuing more brightly this time. "You're really good though! You played it before, or is it just one of those having the right kind of skills sort of things?"

The illusionist laughed in response to his praise, shaking her head. “I’ve only seen other people play it before. It was probably just beginner’s luck that I managed to hit the ball at all, especially since I can’t move as I normally could because of the sand.” She wriggled her toes, feeling the warm sand sift beneath her feet. “It’s probably why it was so hard to reach the ball, if we were on firmer land I’m sure we could’ve trounced them!” Aria grinned and gave Syed a pat on the back just as a loud smack rang out followed closely by a thud.

It seemed that Amy had slapped down one of the men who had gotten just a bit too friendly with enough force to send him to the ground. Aria winced at the bright red handprint on the man’s face, wondering if every woman in the group possessed some form of superhuman strength and hoping that Lucien had enough common sense to say something that wouldn’t anger the blonde woman further.

She eyed the cold glare Amy was giving the poor man and shifted over closer to Syed. “I’m going to assume interfering right now would be a bad idea?” She certainly hoped she wouldn’t need to explain to Xan later in the day why members of her group were sporting hand marks on their cheeks.

Los Paraisos - The Beach

Bam! As soon as the boss' fist connected with the ball, it tore open and deflated. Moira was amazing! The summoner's eyes flitted from Moira to the ball then back to her. Could her punches pierce through stomachs and chests? He wondered if she had ever killed a monster with her bare hands and the thought made him grin from ear to ear. If he asked her, would she teach him how to punch like that? Oh joy, he couldn't wait to ask her.

However, one of the guys snapped him out of his thoughts. He slapped Lucien playfully on the back then began asking him about his teammates. "Huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the guy blankly. He hadn't really been paying attention. The guy grinned like an excited and devious kid, then repeated the question. WHOA! Had he actually made a good impression on these guys? Wait, wait, wait, he had! This was his chance to quit being the guy with the girly name. This was his chance to impress and be cool. A silly smile spread across his face and he wrapped an arm around the guy's shoulder. "Mhm, oh my superiors assigned me to their team. I guess I'm just really lucky." He blurted out without so much as a second thought. Well, that was the truth, now, it was time to add some spice to his tales.

"If you want a girl though! I can totally help you with that." He pulled the guy closer, his grin growing wider by the second. "You gotta charm them with your words. Pull out all the stops." He leaned in and began whispering his cheesiest of pick up lines. "You see that girl in the distance, you gotta walk up to her then get all poetic and go all 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' or 'How do I love thee?' they'll love it." He bobbed his head up and down. Lucien sounded pretty confident though to be honest he didn't have a lot of experience with the ladies, at most they simply thought his pickup lines were cute and they'd walk away with a wave or a wink.

SLAP! Not long after that Amy began yelling and he backed up to stare at her. One of the guys had a bright red hand mark on his face.

Then Amy locked eyes with him and the summoner felt his blood freeze. She was seething with rage and he shrunk back, stepping behind the guy from the opposite team. What? W-why was she looking at him like that? Then she scowled and his eyes went straight to her hand. The guy she had slapped looked like he was in pain. "Umm, uh," his brain failed him and he found himself stammering through a joke in hopes to appease her. "W-What do you, uh, get when you cross a martial artist and a pig. Uh, a pork chop." He laughed nervously then raised both hands in surrender.



Los Paraisos - The Water Park

So the woman who had yelled at them was Don's sister? And she had tried to kill them before?

The day only grew crazier by the minute and she would definitely have a lot to tell Aria when they regrouped. Then the girl began getting up close and personal with Dylan and Xan winced out of sympathy. Judging by the girl's temper, if he so much as said the wrong thing there was a chance he'd wind up getting clobbered on the spot. The girl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, there was just so much she didn't understand. However, one thing was certain, these people were definitely an interesting and colorful bunch.

Then Trixe began screaming and she turned to look at Don and the lifeguard who had saved him.

The girl continued screaming at the lifeguard and Xan couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle. She felt sorry for Don though. "Hey," she called out to Trixie before giving the girl a reassuring smile. "He's alive. See the rise and fall of his chest? So don't worry about it." Despite all the chaos she couldn't help but hold back another chuckle. For guilders they were eccentric and unorthodox, but just watching everything unfold was in a way refreshing. Though a part of her worried greatly about the mission and wondered about just how competent everyone was. Surely, they were good at what they did, but seeing everyone yelling wasn't exactly reassuring.