Skydeck Vanguard

Chapter 11: Under the Waves

We spend a little while packing for our trip and I bring along three luggage bags full of clothes for the three different days. I meet up with the others at the guild hall and find Valerian and Sampson both already there, the two glaring at each other with their bags on the ground beside them as Skye looks at them worriedly from behind the counter.

"Now, now," Skye attempts to intervene, "no fighting..."

"This doesn't involve you!" Sampson and Valerian snap simultaneously and Skye's expression drops.

I watch as Skye lowers her head, her bangs covering her face as she clenches her fists. Seconds later, she reaches out to the two fighting boys and forcefully smacks their heads together as she smiles. The two boys whine in irritation and rub the sides of their heads before they turn to look at Skye.

"I said, no fighting!" Skye yells before she smiles sweetly and tilts her head to the side, her hands clasped in front of her.

"What on earth is going on here?" I muse out and all three of them turn to look at me.

"He started it!" Sampson and Valerian both shout before they glare at each other once again.

"They were fighting again," Skye rolls her eyes.

"I can't help that he's insufferable," Sampson narrows his eyes at Valerian, who glares back at him.

"And I can't help that he's incompetent," Valerian snorts in return.

"Boys, cut it out," I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

The two boys continue to ignore each other and Skye and I sigh in defeat before Miles and Katiana show up, soon followed by Veddrian and Rem.

"Are we ready?" Veddrian asks, her bags slung over her left shoulder, "I'd like to get going now."

"Yep," Skye smiles and jumps and slides over the guild counter, brushing her outfit down when she lands on the other side, her drawstring bag hanging behind her, "everything's set up and I booked us all for the quest, so we're ready to go. Mind you, there won't be any pay for this one because our payment is a free stay at a beach house for three days. With that said, I've also set up a sky elevator to take us because I don't want us to lose our luggage from jumping."

"Sky elevator?" Valerian raises a brow.

"It's essentially like our handheld comms, but the sky elevator is in a specific set place. The sky elevator teleports just like our comms do, but no jumping is required because it works at a higher altitude," Skye explains, "the comms wouldn't work if you tried using them from this high up, which is why the jump zone exists."

"Alright..." Valerian trails off, "so, where is it?"

"Head to the jump zone and you'll see," Skye grins and we set out for the jump zone.

Upon reaching the platform, Skye pulls out her comm and presses a button on the side of it, making glass doors close us in on the platform. Then, a white sigil begins to glow on the floor of the platform before a white flash goes off and we're teleported to Santa Monica.

"Wow," I breathe out as I look around the beach, a beautiful city in the background and sounds of laughter, talking, and city life roaring all around us.

"This is beautiful," Miles says as he places a hand above his eyes, looking up to the sun filled sky as a beach ball flies by from someone's game.

"Look," Veddrian holds out her arm, pointing in the distance to a middle-aged man with short black hair who's hurrying through the sand to us in a dark grey business suit.