This Is Your Captain Crashing

Flickering Spark

The plane had taken off only a few minutes ago, but it still felt like everyone was in Jamaica. At least mentally. Without even a single member of Team Victory, Team Amazon found it surprisingly lonely in Economy. No competitors to heckle and butt heads with. It was... somewhat haunting. Merida, though, couldn't care any less. She was content, and was just thinking of... A lot.

One, there was Izzy. She was finally talking, and had promised to smuggle some sodas for the two of them later. But Merida was curious what the Psycho Hose Beast had on her mind earlier...

Two, there was the problem with Team E-Scope. The princess could just tell by the feeling inside the plane alone that things with the once very close quad of friends hadn't cleared up. So she hoped she could help play mediator and help the four come to some sort of understanding.

So it was to her infinite surprise when Noah and Izzy walked through the loser's place and made their way towards the Common Area. The Psycho Hose Beast shot the princess a look, and silently Merida stood up and followed the two friends away from prying eyes. They all sat at the table furthest from Economy Class' entrance, and the tense feeling was immediately apparent.

"Okay, you two spill now", the princess said, crossing her arms. "I can tell things are still ugly."

Izzy sighed and pulled out three sodas she smuggled out, giving the three of them one. "Owen and Eva are making this a lot more difficult than I want to admit..."

"The short version to save you headache", Noah elaborated, "is that Eva doesn't know what to think and Owen is shutting Izzy out. E will listen to me, and Owen is as loyal as ever, but even though me and Izzy made up those two are still... It's a hurdle."

The princess nodded grimly. "It always is, when you're working to try and apologise."

"I do feel like E will come around..." The wild child said hopefully. Though that hope quickly drained and the redhead sighed, placing her chin on the table and hiding her face behind her arm. "It's just hard. The four of us were so tightly knit together, and now I'm the reason we're all falling apart."

"Don't say that, Iz" the bookworm said reassuringly. "You... You just lashed out in defence when we pushed too much."

"But this wouldn't have happened if I just talked to you guys..." The Psycho Hose Beast let out a whine at her friend's sombre look, and buried her face into her arm. "I just wish I could go back in time and fix it all..."

"The best you can do right now, Iz", Merida said as she cracked open her soda, "is just keep trying. We have all the time in your lives, and when they see you trying, they'll come around. Just show them you mean it."

The wild child looked up at her friend, then smiled and nodded. She sat up, and stretched. "You're right. You're totally right, Merry. I just need to keep at it." She took a sip of her soda. "I just feel like Big O will be super hard."

"He cares for everyone on this show", Noah told Merida. "But he really hates confrontation. The dude will always go the path of least resistance, usually if it means food or everyone getting along. I love him, but he really needs to build his confidence."

"Him having to be Chris' mole in Action really made him more negative towards that..." Izzy looked out the window, taking in the nighttime sky.

Merida hummed in acknowledgment. "I can see why that's such a mess. He seems sweet, just too gullible for his own good."

"And now he won't even look at me", Izzy cried out, slamming her face on the table top. The other two friends shared a concerned look, but when the wild child suddenly sat up perfectly fine, they jumped.