About a month later, Deacon had heard Serenity talking about the plan she'd crafted to defeat Abrianna. She said the plan needed everyone's help. This caused him to worry. Eventually, he started having nightmares. He'd been having them for a while at this point. Each one had one thing in common: something bad happened, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. The latest one involved Adira and Zephyr being dragged away, while he was pulled back by an unseen force. A black substance then engulfed him, and it started to become increasingly difficult for him to breath. Just as his panic reached its peak, he jolted awake, panting heavily. This caused Adira to wake up as well. "Freckles, it's okay! It's okay! Calm down! Everything is okay!" She says, putting her hands on his cheeks. His panting slows to a halt. "Sorry. I... I had a nightmare again." He says. "Again? Freckles, you know I will keep you safe no matter what, right?" She says, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "Yeah, I know you will... but, for some reason, that doesn't stop these nightmares." He says. He is silent for a moment. "I... I'm gonna go for a walk, okay?" He says. She sighs. "Okay, Freckles. I love you." She says, rubbing his cheek one more time before letting him go. "I love you too, Adira." He says, smiling at her. He then gets up and walks out of the room.
As he walked through the streets, he thought about his nightmares. Eventually, he reached a conclusion: they were likely happening because he felt like he would be useless if something happened to the people he cared about. If he was going to stop these nightmares, he needed to gain some assurance. He needed to learn how to fight, and he knew just the person to teach him.
He eventually finds Serenity sitting down on a bench. He runs up to her. "Need something, kid?" She asks. "Yeah... I... I want you to teach me how to fight!" He blurts out. Serenity raises an eyebrow. "Really? You sure, kid? You know... that isn't really what I meant when I said I needed everyone's help. You don't have to fight." She says. "I know, but... I've been having nightmares, and they've made me realize... When the time comes... I don't want to be a burden! I want to be able to help! Not just with something small. I wanna be able to fight with Adira! I wanna be able to help her!" Deacon says. She looks at him for a moment. She then sighs. "Alright. Go ahead and try to hit me." She says as she stands up and turns to him. "What?" Deacon asks, confused. "Gotta start somewhere. Now try and hit me, kid." She says, folding her arms. "I... Um... Okay!" He says before attempting to hit her. She easily dodges him. This causes him to tumble onto the ground. "First lesson: Your target isn't gonna stand still for you, Deacon. You gotta be quick." Serenity says, pulling him up. "Now try again." She says. He attempts to punch her again. He was quicker this time and managed to hit her shoulder. "Good, but your force needs work, and so does your technique, but we'll work on those later. In the meantime, let's build your upper-body strength." She says. "Okay. Um... How would I do that?" He asks. "Push-ups." She says. "Oh... Umm... Okay..." He starts to get on the ground. She then stops him. "Wait. Not yet. Gotta stretch first." She says. "Oh... Sorry. Um... What kind of stretches do I need to do?" He says. "We'll do some simple ones for now. Arm stretches and shoulder rolls." She says. She shows him how to do each one, respectively. After he stretches, he manages to do a couple push-ups before sitting up. "That all you can manage?" She asks. "Yeah..." He says, looking down, disappointed in himself. "Hey, it's okay, kid. We got time." She says, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her with a hopeful smile. "Thank you for being patient with me, Ms. Serenity." He says. "No problem, kid. But if you want me to keep training you, I got one rule. Just call me Serenity. Got it?" She says. "Yes, Serenity," He replies. There was a slight stutter in his voice. It felt weird to disregard the manners that he was taught at a young age. "Alright. Now, let's do some jogging. Your arms may be sore, but that doesn't mean you can't use your legs." She says. "Okay, Serenity." He says. She then starts to jog, and he follows her lead. After a while, his legs get tired, and he sits down on the ground. He was panting heavily. "Good job, kid. You got farther than I expected you to." She says. "I was always on my feet back home, so my legs are probably stronger than my arms." He says, out of breath. "Need some water?" She asks. He was still panting. "Yes, please." He says. "Alright. Sit tight. I'll go get some." She says, patting his shoulder. "Okay." He says. She then walks away, and he falls to the ground on his back with an exhausted sigh. After a while, Serenity comes back with a tumbler. "Here, kid," she says, handing him the tumbler. He sits up and takes it from her. "Thanks, Serenity," he says, taking a drink. He sighs. "Serenity... do you really think I'll be able to do this?" He asks. "If you're willing to go through all the hard work, then yeah, I do," she replies. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I wanna help." He says, standing up. "Alright. Good to know. Because you've got a long day ahead of you." She says, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Throughout the day, Deacon had done several training exercises with Serenity. Once he was done, he went back to the house that Lucas had assigned them and saw that Adira was sitting on the bed. "Hey, Freckles. Where you been?" She says. He collapses onto the bed with a groan. "I was training with Serenity. I'm exhausted." He says. "Training? Why?" She asks. "I... I don't wanna be a burden. I don't wanna be useless anymore. I wanna be able to help you if something bad happens." He says, looking up at her. "Oh, Freckles..." She says, brushing his hair with her hand as she pulls him into her lap. "You're not useless..." She says. She then sighs as she continues to run her fingers through his hair. "Are you sure this is something you want to do?" She asks. "I'm positive. I don't wanna just stand there if you get hurt." He says, shaking his head slightly. Adira lets out a sigh and gives him a loving look. "Then I guess we'll both protect each other." She says with a smile, as she continues to brush her fingers through his hair. "Yeah." He says, smiling back at her. That was all he wanted. Eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he fell asleep. The next morning, he woke up without any nightmares. He sighs in relief. Finally, he'd had a good night sleep. He turns to Adira, and notices that she's still asleep. He didn't want to wake her up, so he just slid out of bed and got ready for his next day of training.