"On the road again! It's so good to be on the road again!"

Lappland didn't know how much more she could take. Sora had been singing for two hours straight. Her voice was now permanently stuck in Lappland's head. Her ears were pretty much stuck pressed against her head to tone out as much of the girl's voice as possible.

The gloomy weather had subsided, making way for semi-friendly clouds and a bright blue sky. Aside from several leftover puddles from the recent storm, it looked like it was always happy weather on Rhode Island. Texas almost felt bad to leave right when things started to turn up.

The five of them were heading to the boat dock in hopes of catching a ride off the mainland. Sora held the map Betra had given Texas, her tiny face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?" Croissant came over to walk beside her. Croissant was basically a big sister to Sora. One was never seen without the other. While Sora wasn't much younger then the rest of them, she still clung to her adolescence as if it were a life jacket. Her and Croissant shared much in common, like their love for Sora's cooking and deep joy in just laughing at nothing in particular. The two became inseparable almost the day they met. It was cute watching them bond and grow together.

"Betra said she'd meet us at the docks, right?" Sora asked, tilting the map to the side, as if by turning it, a message would pop up that wasn't there before.

"Yes, as you've asked now for the tenth time." Lappland replied with a heavy, over exaggerated sigh.

Sora was oblivious to Lappland's frustration. "Well, then, why doesn't she come with us? I mean, it's her niece, right?"

"Old people can't go on quests." Exusiai explained with a wave of her hand. "All that danger and peril would give them a heart attack."

"Betra is only meeting us to provide us with more information on her niece." Texas said. "After all, the minuscule information given to us from the bar isn't enough to go off of."

Sora slowly nodded but everyone could see the information flying into one ear and out the other.

They arrived at the docks, Sora skipping down the steps to the small walk that lead to the fishing boats. The smell of fish and salt water was strong and overwhelming. Tough fishermen, with tight shirts and tattoos etched across their large arms, stomped past with anchors slung over their shoulders. The group froze. They were the only girls present on the entire fishing zone.

Lappland looked back and forth, her tail limp. "Um...oh, look, there's a girl....oh, nevermind, that's just a guy with long hair."

Texas examined the docks all lined up next to each other, about twenty feet in between them. Boats of all sizes were stationed at piers that stretched a few feet into the splashing water. Moss covered the pillars supporting the piers, sea snails crawling along the sides at their usual slow pace. Her eyes skimmed along the water, watching the waves bounce off the boats. She'd never payed much attention to the ocean. To her, it was just one large space between her and the rest of the world.

"Ah, there you are!" A raspy voice exclaimed. Sora jumped and bumped into Croissant, causing the bigger girl to stumble into Lappland, who smacked into Texas.

Betra hobbled over, her cane stomping down on the worn wooden planks of the dock. Her gray hair was pulled into a messy bun, loose strands falling beside her wrinkled face.

"She's kinda scary," Sora whispered, slowly moving to hide behind Croissant.

"She probably won't kill the smallest first." Lappland said with a smirk. Sora shivered.

"Glad you could make it," Betra said with a grin of gratitude. "Click won't wait forever, you know."

"The map you gave us doesn't give us much," Exusiai said. "I hope you have more to tell us."

Betra nodded and was about to speak when she noticed that there was two more people instead of three. Her face twisted in confusion. "Who are those two? I thought I told you not to tell anyone!"

Lappland leaned down to Sora's ear. "Now she's gonna kill you." Sora glared at her but moved farther behind Croissant.

"This is Sora and Croissant, more members from Penguin Logistics. Don't worry, they want to help." Texas reassured Betra. "Now. The info."

Betra kept her glance on Croissant and Sora, as if she didn't trust them. "Yes. Uh, Click was with her parents when I received a call from her mother, my daughter, saying that their house was raided and Click was missing."

"Where are the parents now?" Exusiai asked.

Betra sighed. "The father is in the hospital with minor injuries from the kidnappers. He always put up quite a fight. Ema, my daughter, wasn't hurt, which surprised me. Anyway, their house is in California. New York, if I'm not mistaken."

New York. I've never been there, but it seems like it might be pretty far. "Can you give us the address?" Texas turned Exusiai around and reached inside the backpack for the pad and pencil she packed for this very occasion.

"1723 Harderdale street. Big house. Can't miss it." Betra said slowly, watching as Texas scribbled it down. She then gently folded the paper and slid it into her pocket.

"Thank you. I fully intend to bring Click back to you." Texas said with a nod.

"But we can't promise to bring her back alive," Lappland added. Exusiai smacked her arm.

Betra wore a smile so wide it touched her ears. "Thank you. Please rescue my baby."

Texas nodded. With every fiber of her being, she'd bring Click back. No matter the cost.