A new power - Chapter Three

Everything is different
When they went down into the main hall again, Koki and Jimmy already waited for them.
"Hey, did you find a solution for our…he-hey!" Jimmy stopped at once, pushed Koki with his elbow and started to giggle. Koki looked at them, instantly making a cute face.
Confused, Martin and Aviva looked at each other. Then they noticed they were holding hands. They quickly let go of each other, blushing.
"I suppose you feel better, Martin." Koki said with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Heheh…yeah. Kinda." he answered, rubbing his neck, looking embarrassed.
"Well, I wondered when you two would finally get together." she stated.
"What? You knew it? Aviva cried out.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you two didn't notice each other's feelings, especially you Aviva. He was almost staring at you for, like, all the time." Koki answered.
"Wait. I definitely wasn't staring at her!" Martin tried to defend himself, but stopped when he saw a 'do-you-really-think-we'll-believe-that'-look on her face.
"OK, perhaps I was looking a bit…Oh, leave me alone! Yes, I WAS staring, are you satisfied now?" he cried, finally admitting it.
Instantly, Koki and Jimmy looked at each other and laughed, high-fiving.
But after some time, they stopped.
"OK. So, did you think of a solution for our problem yet? We have to figure something out fast, who knows for how much longer the villains will be that calm." Jimmy asked them.
"What problem?" Martin wanted to know.
"Oh yeah." Aviva looked at him. "I wanted to tell you up there, but I was, well, distracted." She blushed, thinking about their conversation. "We have to find a way to continue, but, well, Martin, you can't do it all alone." she tried to tell him carefully, but he just nodded.
"I know. I already thought about that. I could manage to go out all alone, but our best strategy was to attack from two sides. And that does only work when I have a partner working with me. "He explained.
"So, we have to work that out. Well, Jimmy can't go, because he is piloting the Tortuga and he's way too scared of animals. No offence, Jimmy.” The young man just nodded. “Koki is working on the database, and I am inventing…Nobody can just leave and go with Martin." Aviva said, desperate about what to do.
"Wait! I have an idea!" Jimmy jumped up. Instantly, everyone gathered around him to hear his idea.
"Let's split up our different tasks! Koki and Aviva, you are both brilliant with technology. Why can't you just fuse the program for the Creature Power Discs with the main computer? Like that, Koki can program the discs and Aviva can tell her about her ideas for new inventions! And if you teach me how to gather information about the creatures and analysing the scans Martin makes, I could do some of the work Koki usually does. OK, we would all have more things to do, but I think that, with a bit of practice and lots of teaching, we could somehow manage to do it!" he finished, excited about his idea.
The others began to think about it.
"Yes. If we put lots of work into it, and are very patient, that could actually work. But we would need lots of time. I don't know if we have that much." Aviva finally said.
"Then we should begin at once! Martin and Aviva, you go outside, so you can teach her how to be a creature adventurer, and I'll teach Jimmy how to use our database. " Koki ordered, eagerly standing up.
"Wait! Maybe we should have a good night's sleep first. It's almost midnight!" Martin pointed a finger at the clock.
"OK. But we'll begin tomorrow morning. And Aviva, we should then start to connect the two computers. Good night! ", Koki walked out and into her room.
"Well, let's hit the hay then. See you tomorrow." Jimmy yawned and went in his.

Martin and Aviva were alone in the control room.
"Yeah. I suppose we should go to sleep now. ", Martin said, looking to the side.
"Mhm. But, if you still can't sleep, perhaps you could put your hammock in my room, so you're not alone. ", Aviva blushed.
"Really? I…I mean, will it be OK? You don't have to, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. But I also know you didn't sleep well these past nights." she grabbed his shoulders and looked him into the eyes. "You really need to sleep tonight, or else you would never be able to teach me how to be a creature adventurer. Our future depends on your health! And I think you would need another person to keep you company."
"Well, thanks then. I'll just look for my hammock." Martin said, going into his room. Aviva stood there and smiled. He was still a bit upset, but he began to come back to his usual, cheerful self.

The next morning:
Martin and Aviva met outside the Tortuga to start her training.
"OK. In our adventure with the flying fish I noticed that you strength is analysing the animals to find good and useful features for the Power Discs, but as a creature adventurer, you'll have to remember these powers and use them in the right situations. And you'll have to know more about all the animals in general, so you can pick the right disc when you need it." he told her, sounding just like a school teacher.
"I know." she giggled. "I think we all experienced these kinds of mistakes when you had that creature contest."
"Hey! That wasn't our fault, Zach sent his disrupt-o-bots and they triggered malfunctions in our suits! We just wanted to…" he replied, obviously offended.
"Yeah, I know! I just wanted to tease you, that's all."
"Oh…OK. Not funny." he said, pouting. "But we should start with the training now. We don't know how much time we have, and I have many things to teach you."
She stopped to giggle, but still smiled. "OK. So, with which lesson should we start, Mr. Kratt? ...All right, I stop making jokes. We have to concentrate now."

They worked hard until sunset, and so did Koki and Jimmy. After the training, the girls went to work on the connection of the main database and the Power Disc programming device.
Martin had nothing to do, so he joined Jimmy in the cockpit to chat a little bit.
"Hey Jimmy, how was your training?" he asked, dragged a seat and sat down.
"It went pretty well. I instantly understood how to work with the database. It's pretty much like my video-games. I just have to sort out the important information, and tell Koki about the features she should program onto the Discs. Tomorrow, we're working on the analysing stuff. I have to learn many things about animal's anatomy, but the more I'm learning, the less I'm afraid of them. I think it was just because I didn't know enough about them." Jimmy answered.
"Yes, I think that is the main cause people are afraid of creatures: Ignorance. But if we teach people everything about them, perhaps they would stop killing them because they're afraid of them. "
"Perhaps. ", Jimmy sighed, "But it won't stop poachers to kill them for their fur or other things. And I have no idea how to deal with that."
Martin nodded. "I know. We can't stop poachers trading skins, but we can prevent them from catching and killing the animals. And that is why we formed our group, that is what Chris wanted us to do. We have to try and save all animals we can. "
Jimmy stood up, full of determination. "We will train as hard as we can to rescue them, and preventing their extinction…oh, I'm sorry, Martin!" he said, trying to catch the fainting brother, "I forgot that that word has such an effect on you!" He patted his cheek. But he wouldn't wake up. "Well anyway, it's time to go to bed." So he dragged the sleeping brother to his room.

When he passed through the control room, he saw Aviva and Koki working on the database.
"Hey Jimmy…oh, no. Did you use the forbidden word again?" Koki sighed, and rushed over to help him.
"Sorry. It just slipped out. I keep forgetting that they…he's reacting like that." he quickly corrected himself, but the others already lowered their heads and their smiles disappeared instantly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just so difficult to realize that Chris is…gone." he apologized.
"It's OK, Jimmy." Aviva said in a sad tone, "Even if it has been a whole month now, we still can't really accept it. But we have to succeed in our mission, and to do that, we can't let ourselves sink in sadness. We have to focus on what we're doing!"
"You're right, Aviva. " Koki answered "I think we're finished here, so let's go to bed and have a good night's sleep! We still have a lot to do."
The others agreed, and decided to continue at sunrise. Jimmy and Aviva carried Martin to his hammock and covered him, then got ready to sleep.

The next morning, when Aviva left the Tortuga, she saw Martin already standing there, with his CPS and all his Power Discs ready.
"Good morning." she said, yawning, "What are we doing today, Martin?"
He handed her her own CPS. "Today, you'll have to work out in which situation which Power Disc would be best to use, and why. First, we'll do it in theory. Are you ready?"
"Yes.", she answered.
"OK. First question. You're in Africa, in the dry grasslands. Suddenly, there is a giant herd of gnus charging towards you, and you can't dodge it fast enough. Which Power do you activate?"
"Easy. Cheetah powers. Then I would be fast enough to escape or dodge the herd."
"Right answer. But that was really easy. Now, imagine you're somewhere in the forest. But suddenly, the earth starts to shake, and trees are falling all around you. You can't fly away because you would be smashed by all the slashing branches. What do you do?"
"Ok, that's a difficult one. Let's see…I need a creature with quick reflexes to dodge the trees, but that also must be able to escape if it's trapped…I take either green frog, or mole, or perhaps hummingbird. They have great reflexes, or the possibility of finding a way to escape."
"You're right, apart from the hummingbird. We already know how difficult it is to touch one so you can activate. The frog is a good idea, because it can change directions so quickly and that would be important to dodge the falling trees, and it could jump over already fallen ones. The mole is also good, for digging escape tunnels, but these could crumble in if a tree falls on top of them. And then you wouldn't just be stuck, you would also be smashed by the weight of the trunk."

For the whole day he asked her questions about the best Creature Powers, and he imposed her different situations she had to think of a way to escape from, and problems she had to solve. She was right almost every time, because she remembered the features she programmed onto the Power Discs. After the training, Martin told her his plans.
"You were able to solve almost every problem, but here you had time and you weren't under pressure. But in reality, you'll have to find solutions in sometimes less than a second. And a wrong choice could make you…lose your life." He finished his sentence with a dead serious look on his face.

When they went back inside, Koki already finished the training with Jimmy. She tried to program a Power Disc, using what Aviva already told her about it. After ten minutes, the Disc came out of the device, ready to use. She handed it over to Martin.
"Could you please try it for me tomorrow? I have to know if it is OK like that, or if I have to improve it."
"Sure." he answered. "Which Power is it?"
"Collared peccary Power. We'll have to travel to the dry grasslands of South America to find one, so you can activate."
"Great!" he cheered. "We have to train how to survive life threatening situations, and there is no better way than doing it 'on the battlefield'."
"Wait! Do I have to train, too? And what is a collared peccary anyway?" Jimmy sounded very worried.
"No. It's only for Aviva. And a collared peccary is a kind of hog, also known as musk hog, or Mexican hog. They don't have many special Powers, but a couple of great defence Powers: With their long tusks, which sharpen themselves when they open their mouth, they can defend themselves, and if threatened, they release a strong musk, that's where their name comes from. I can't wait to try it!" he jumped up and down, just like an overexcited child.
"Stop, Martin! You don't want to break the floor, do you?" Aviva joked. "We still need it, and with a big hole in the middle, it would be difficult to move around."
Instantly, he stopped jumping. "OK, you're right." He cleared his throat. "Now, we should go to bed, we have a long journey ahead to South America. Jimmy, could you fly overnight, or are you too tired?"
While they were talking and discussing over the fastest route, Koki pulled Aviva aside.
"You really have him under control, don't you?" she asked, with her mischievous smile.
"Well, I think it is just normal. We're together after all. "
"Yeah. I really wish you the best, you know? And I'm happy he found someone to love, even without Chris."
"I just hope that, one day, he will really come over his death." Aviva sighed.
"What do you mean? He looks normal to me."
"Perhaps. But at night, he's still crying and waking up from bad dreams. I'm just so sad I'm unable to help him. "
"You're not. You can comfort him. Sometimes, it's enough when he has someone near him, so he doesn't feel so alone."
"Really? Oh, thank you, Koki! I'm so glad that, after all, there IS a way I can help him!" she cried, and hugged her best friend. "But how do I propose that to him?"
"I don't think you'll have to." Koki answered.
That night, Aviva wanted to go to her room to sleep, but her boyfriend stopped her.
"Aviva? Can I perhaps sleep in your room again? It was with you that I had the best sleep in weeks, and we have to be alert tomorrow." He asked timidly, looking at her with his big, blue eyes.
Surprised, but happy, she hugged him and answered: "Of course! You don't have to ask me, I'm happy that I can help you not to be sad again. "
She let him go, and hand in hand they went to her room. When Martin laid in his hammock, she covered him and kissed his forehead.
"Good night, sweetheart. Have a nice dream!" Then she went to sleep herself.