But there was more to Fluvaria than just fancy buildings. The area also contained suburbs. Many houses made from various materials were sprinkled across the grasslands. One of these houses was home to a middle-aged woman named Natasha. She had received an avalanche of letters in her mailbox, and when she took them in, the mountain of paper lay on her counter. Too bad none of the letters or pamphlets were useful. “Junk, junk, junk,” she muttered to herself when checking her mail.

But when she least expected it, she encountered something interesting. It was just a plain white envelope, but there were three things about it that caught her attention. One, the envelope was sealed with a golden badge, two, the paper felt higher quality than average paper, and three, it had the name ‘Bobby Braw’ on it.

Bobby Braw was the middle-born child of Natasha, preceded by his older brother Loren, and succeeded by his younger sister Patrice. Five months ago, he was out fighting the stone warriors with his friends. In the present, he was just playing a game on his computer. It was not like he had anything important to attend. Until his mother called him into the kitchen. “Bobby, something came in the mail for you,” called Natasha. Being the curious person that he is, Bobby left his room and went to the kitchen. “I don’t know what this is, but it’s for you,” explained Natasha, as she handed the letter to Bobby. “Thanks,” replied Bobby. He peeled the badge off the envelope, opened it, and took out the letter. It was far more special than anything the two of them were expecting.

Bobby had no words. He just stood there, amazed by the letter he had just read. “Do you realise how special this is?” asked Natasha. “Invitations to the Ball of Honour don’t get handed out like lollies.” “Yes,” answered Bobby. “I can’t wait for next week.” “I can tell,” replied Natasha. “Do you know what you’re going to wear?” “Not yet,” replied Bobby. “That’s fine, you’ve got a whole week to decide,” said Natasha. “You’ve already got some nice shirts and we can buy the rest of your suit this week."

Bobby thanked her for the upcoming suit shopping trip then returned to his room, where he took out his phone and wrote a message. It was about his current situation, and he sent it to the other Braw Agents. Ten seconds later, Bobby received a response from each of his friends. While each response was different, all of them had the same interesting detail. It turned out that Narvy, Hannah, Edward, Rita, and Elsa had also received invitations to the Ball of Honour, for the same reason as Bobby. Everyone was ecstatic. Awesome, we should go as a group, replied Bobby in his next message. Don’t wake me up until next week, texted Narvy. I’ll be at the fabric shop if any of you want to see me, wrote Elsa. After a short virtual conversation with his friends, Bobby turned off his phone. The ball was in just a week, but he suspected that the wait would feel like a month.

The following week was busy for the Braw Agents. They were each doing the same thing but going through very different processes. One cloudy afternoon, Bobby and Natasha returned home after buying some clothes. He already owned a white dress-shirt and black shoes, so all that needed to be purchased was a red tie, black pants, and a black jacket. Now he had everything he needed, Bobby tried on the entire outfit. “You look amazing,” commented Natasha. “Thanks, Mum,” replied Bobby.

Later in the week, Edward and Rita went on a trip to the suit shop. They were both eager to attend the ball, but only one of them was eager to purchase their outfit. “Edward, do I have to wear a dress?” asked Rita. “Well, it’s a formal event, and last night Mum and Dad said they’d like you to wear one,” answered Edward. Rita drew her eyes to the aisle in discontent. “Come on, I’m sure you’ll find something you like,” explained Edward, trying to motivate his sister into buying something. “I’ll be in the suit aisle if you need me. Let’s meet back at the counter.” After spending some time investigating the selection, Edward and Rita walked out of the shop with their ball outfits. Edward had bought a white shirt, black tie, black shoes, navy pants, and a navy jacket. Rita had bought a crimson dress with thin straps, and a pair of black shoes.

Coincidentally, Narvy purchased his outfit from the same shop Edward and Rita had just left. He was not one to care about clothing as long as it was functional, but in the end, he chose an outfit that was identical to Edwards, albeit with the jacket replaced by a waistcoat.

Meanwhile, Hannah was searching for a ball dress in her wardrobe. She navigated the fabric forest, hoping to find something suitable. In the middle of it all, her father, Patrick, walked in. “Hannah, what are you doing?” he asked. “Hi, Dad,” responded Hannah. “I’m going to a formal event in a couple days and I’m trying to find an outfit.” Patrick was intrigued. “What kind of formal event?” he asked. “The Ball of Honour,” answered Hannah. “Oh my, that’s really special,” replied Patrick. “Let’s go to town and buy you a nice dress.” “We could do that, but I spent all my pocket money on my new computer last week,” explained Hannah. “I’ll just reuse one of my old dresses.” Just then, Patrick came up with an idea. “In that case, you should wear that dress from your cousin’s wedding,” he suggested. Hannah listened to her father’s advice and went looking for the dress, hoping she still owned it. Five seconds later, she found it, taking it from the wardrobe. It was a white dress with long sleeves and a subtle silver hue. It also had a black floral silhouette pattern on it. “This should still fit me. It’s only been two years since the wedding,” said Hannah, as she held the dress against her body. “I think I’m all sorted,” she added.

All the Braw Agents were excited for the ball, but Elsa was on another level. She spent hours sketching different outfits on paper and trying out new hairstyles. She didn’t step foot into any clothing shop. Instead, she made countless trips to the fabric shop in HighQ LowC and came home with many types of fabrics and thread. Once Elsa decided on the dress she was going to make, it became impossible to separate her from the sewing machine. After a few sleepless nights, Elsa had completed her dress. It was layered and a distinct light shade of blue. It also had a white ribbon for a belt and some white cuffs on the short sleeves.

It seemed like it would never come, but it did. The day of the ball had finally arrived. In the afternoon, the Braw Agents gathered outside Bobby’s house. Everyone was dressed in their formal wear and the aromas of perfume and cologne surrounded the group. Up until this moment, most of the Braw Agents had forgotten to take something into consideration. “Wait a minute. How are we going to get to Bytari?” asked Edward. Narvy quickly had an idea. “I think now would be a good time for me to show you something,” he said. “Follow me.”

Narvy walked across the street, and the rest of the Braw Agents followed him. Within twenty-five minutes, they had arrived at the building of the local Engineering Club. “Okay, Narvy, what do you want to show us?” asked Hannah. “That,” answered Narvy, as he pointed at a double-decker bus. It was dark green and appeared to have some modifications. As the Braw Agents walked towards it, Narvy explained. “This was an old bus I found near the train station. I fixed it, repainted it, and turned it into our new mobile base.” He then opened the door and allowed everyone to go inside. The interior did not feature long rows of seats. Instead, it contained two couches, a desk, a coffee machine, a kitchen space, and a TV. “Oh yeah, there’s also a bathroom and sleeping quarters on the top floor,” explained Narvy. “You can get there using this ladder.” The Braw Agents were awestruck by the vehicle. “This is awesome,” exclaimed Rita. “We just need someone to drive it.” “I was thinking we could get Oliver and Beth to drive us down,” suggested Bobby. “We originally planned on travelling by car, but this would be way cooler.” “Thanks, Bobby,” replied Narvy. “I worked hard on this base.”

Bobby took out his phone. He sent a message to Oliver and Beth asking them to meet them at The Engineering Club building. They agreed to come down and said they would be there in fifteen minutes. True to their word, fifteen minutes later, Oliver and Beth were standing within the premises of The Engineering Club. Oliver was wearing a white shirt with a black tie, black shoes, brown pants, and a brown jacket. Beth was wearing a black, strapless dress with white gloves. They noticed a large green bus parked outside the Engineering Club and spotted Bobby opening the door. “Hi, come on in,” called Bobby.

Oliver and Beth walked to the bus and entered it. “Hello, Bobby. You and your friends are looking very sharp,” commented Beth. “Thank you,” replied Bobby. “What are you doing on this bus?” asked Oliver. “I modified this bus into a mobile base, and I thought we could use it to get to Bytari,” answered Narvy. “Alright, we can do that,” replied Oliver. Oliver went to the driver’s cab and started the bus. Beth sat in the co-driver’s seat and each of the Braw Agents found somewhere to sit on one of the couches. The bus left The Engineering Club’s premises, and the Braw Agents embarked on their journey from Fluvaria to Bytari.