Hello everyone, enjoy the next instalment.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show, written many times before.

I followed his heavy footsteps as he stomped away from me. The clumsy clatter of my boots echoed as I tried to catch up to him.

"Dex!" I shouted, trying not to trip over in the narrow corridor. "Dex, let me explain-"

"There's nothing to say Jenny, you disobeyed an order," he shouted back, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. I shivered at how loud his voice came, amplified by the metal and the darkness surrounding us. I had really done it now.

"Dex please," I tried once again, stumbling out of the corridor and racing to his side so I could talk to him. "Come on, I got the shipment."

"Struth Jenny, I'd tell you to go to your room, but I know I'm not your dad," the smallest of smirks graced the corner of his lips, something I was thankful to see. "Do a…a system reboot or something. Or better yet, clean the bathroom. That's a punishment that'll keep you busy. I'm sorry, but when you directly ignore an order, especially one so life-threatening, I've got to do something about it. What on Earth made you think that you could fly my ship?"

"Listen," I grabbed his shoulders, forcing Dex to look at me. "He's a good pilot."

"Who? The bug guy?" he asked, resulting in my head to nod rapidly.

"I was flying the ship at first because I knew it would, and it did," I gave him a small glare. "But when he took the controls, it was the safest we could possibly be. He even re-stabilized the engines when they cut out, with a minor side effect being the engines blew before we landed."

"So, not only did you take my ship without permission and let a stranger fly it, but you also managed to blow the engines," he put a finger to his chin, and immediately I knew something awful was coming my way. "How does 2 weeks on bathroom duty sound?"

"Dex, don't you get it?" I stared at him with wide eyes, only to receive his vacant and confused look. "He's like me. He was made to be a pilot. How else could he have remembered that trick? And get this, when I asked him where he learnt that, he said "he didn't know", like it had been erased from his memory."

"Jenny, don't you think you're overthinking things?" my leader spoke in a condescending tone, to which I sighed. "I'm glad you're back safely, I'm glad the order is in, but like it or not, I care about your wellbeing."

"But you don't care about Zap's wellbeing?" I ask in retort. Dex shrugged casually.

"I don't know, Jenny, I just met the guy a few hours ago," the leader stood tall, his head moving side to side in search for their guest. "Where is he anyway?"

I copy his actions, before taking a step down the hall. Dex splayed his hand out in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

"I don't think so. Ship is that way," he jutted his thumb over his shoulder. "You can fix that before you start cleaning the bathroom."

Zap kept his hands in his pockets as he passed the habitats, noticing the glass reflecting his own face. It didn't take long for him to realise that very few insects were residing within these walls, leaving the eerie silence to echo for longer than intended.

'Man, this place is huge,' he mused, stopping himself and facing a nearby pavilion. Inside, a large black insect hovered low near the ground, its round wings beating profusely to keep its large body afloat.

'I wonder why there aren't that many insects in here,' the boy was distracted from his thoughts as something scraped across the tiled flooring. His head cocked in the direction of Tung, trying to move a heavy barrel of food towards the Arthur beetle pavilion. His groans of effort forced themselves through clenched teeth, releasing the occasional squeal with every tiny budge. Zap couldn't help but smirk at the sight in front of him. The barrel was at least twice Tung's size, not hard for such a little guy, but it couldn't possibly be as heavy as him. Taking a small breath to calm himself, he approached the frog boy and cleared his throat.

"Need a hand?" he asked, voice growing in confidence as Tung looked up. The tracker blushed at the thought, embarrassed that a stranger offered their assistance to help him do his job. What would Dex think?

"It's cool, I got it," the frog replied breezily, attempting to throw his shoulder into the side of the barrel. It didn't budge, though he could've sworn a bone in his shoulder might have.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, noticing Tung rubbing his now throbbing shoulder. "Because…it kind of looks like you need it."

The tracker flicked his head sharply in Zap's direction, noticing a tiny smirk on the corner of the guy's mouth. Where did that remark come from? It sounded like how people used to speak to him back on his home planet. In all honesty, Tung was happy to get away from his family, or really the other way around, but the act reminded the frog boy of just how much he missed his home, and how grateful he was to hear it.

Tung smiled back. "What are you saying, dude? You think you're stronger than me?"

The stranger rolled his eyes in pretend thought, a smile becoming more evident.

"I know I'm stronger than you."

The tracker scoffed loudly at his response, before stepping away from the barrel. He gestured to it with open arms. "Be my guest."

Zap's blue eyes traced to the object, carefully sizing up its dimensions. He stepped forward, placed both hands on either side of the barrel, and making sure to bend his knees, hoisted the container up in one swift motion and onto his shoulder comfortably. He turned to look at Tung, who had his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Wow," he whispered. "How did you do that?"

Zap shrugged with his free shoulder. "I don't know, I just do it."

The frog boy nodded rapidly, trying to keep his cool after realizing the strength the person standing in front of him had. He looked down an adjacent corridor between pavilions.

"The Arthur Beetle is this way," he began walking, as the stranger followed beside him.

"Can I ask you something?" Zap questioned, his voice returning to quiet and timid. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Tung's head moving up and down in a nod. "How come there is so much space here, but not a lot of insects?"

"Oh, that's because the habitat has only recently started up," he explained matter-of-factly, catching Zap's attention. "Yeah, this was Dex's father's habitat, but he left when Dex was around ten years old, maybe a little older, I forget. Jenny was the first to come here. Once Dex reached seventeen he was able to secure an alien insect retrieval licence and start earning some money to hire more staff. He hired Jenny a year ago after he found her tinkering with electronics and asked her to install a new habitat ventilation system. He was surprised when she took a liking to the insects, she wasn't afraid like everyone else. I came here about six months ago; my uncle Leech kicked me onto the first ship to Earth one day, Dex found me hunting for crickets to eat. He said I had a good nose for finding them."

Zap said nothing the entire time, carefully processing everything he was hearing about this new place. It seemed like everyone had started off a little differently.

"So wait, Dex has been here alone since he was ten?" he asked suddenly, causing Tung to jump slightly at his volume. "Didn't he have a mother?"

"Well, around ten," he began, stopping in front of a pavilion that held an orange, crab-like critter. "But he's never mentioned a mother. He told us about his dad so we knew to take good care of the place, it means a lot to him. But family, that's a touchy subject. No one here talks about theirs. I'm starting to wonder if Jenny has any family at all."

The boys entered the room, Zap placing the barrel at his feet gently. He looked up at the bug, noticing its large red eyes following the two strangers in front of it. It growled in a low register when Tung stepped towards its food area.

"We usually spread its food around here," he directed, helping Zap to uncap the container. "But we have to be quiet and careful, this bug is hostile when it's by itself."

"So where's the other one?"

"We only have one," Tung explained, keeping his voice at whispering level. "They're really hard to find. We're lucky to even have this one."

Zap pulled his hand out of the barrel, finding himself holding a fistful of leaves. "This thing was full of leaves?" he questioned, smirking towards Tung. "Wow Tung, you're weaker than I thought."

The tracker turned sharply towards him, pulling a mock angry face. "Oh really?" he challenged, grabbing his own handful of the foliage. "This stuff is heavier than you think."

Before Zap knew it, a shower of green leaves filled his vision. They wafted gracefully around him before falling to the ground. He scoffed slightly, looking down at his own collection.

"They sure don't seem like it," he replied, throwing his leaves towards Tung. The frog used his large bullwhip tongue to catch a few choice leaves, Zap staring wide-eyed at the act.

"Whoa, I didn't know you could do that?" he mumbled in surprise, Tung merely shrugging in response.

"I'm a frog," he replied casually, before turning his head towards a low growl. The Arthur Beetle, noticing green leaves floating in his pen, became agitated by the loud noises of the boys. It shook its head violently, growling low again as enraged red eyes focused onto their new target. Dex, who had been coming to check on Tung's work, noticed the Arthur beetle's change in behaviour towards his employee. He broke into a sudden sprint towards the habitat, sharp eyes catching the moment Zap stuck his hand out in front of Tung.

The door opened in a swish. "Over here!" Dex yelled to the boys, who followed the order without hesitation. They tumbled out of the exit, giving enough time for Dex to slam the door shut just as the beetle smacked his face against the glass. It steadied itself, shook its head in reflex, then scurried off while releasing another growl.

The leader turned to the panting boys. "What was that about?"

Zap looked over at Tung, sharing a shrug together before facing Dex. The stranger glanced away, knowing full well he would be blamed for anything that went awry around here as long as he was still around.

"It was nothing," he mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and beginning to walk away. "Sorry."

Zap approached an adjacent habitat, keeping his eyes fixed on the single bug inside. Dex exchanged a look with Tung.

"Are you ok?" he asked, bending down to Tung's level. "It looked like you guys were throwing leaves. Did he hurt you?"

"Are you kidding?" the tracker looked bewildered, yet had a huge grin on his face. "It was like having a brother."

He bounced away spiritedly, landing next to Zap at the habitat. Dex watched as Zap pointed to the bug in the enclosure, seeing Tung begin to explain about the mission in capturing it. There was something strange, something about the way it looked like Zap was protecting Tung from the bug's attack.

A small smile began to creep on the leader's lips. "Dammit Jenny."

Hope you liked it as much as myself. My sister yayaluva liked it. Check out her stuff! R&R!