Location - Pioneer
"Well, today was such a packed lesson," Lark commented as the door to the classroom closed behind us. "Yeah. A lot of things were said…my head's starting to hurt." Monnae joked as she pressed her head, which made Lark chuckle as she tapped on her head.
"But seriously, am I the only one who felt like the lessons felt…I don't know, like rushed? Like they had to meet a deadline?" Monnae interjected more seriously this time as she shared her opinion. "Really?" Kael questioned. Unlike Monnae or Lark, who had more lessons with Sanctuary through the recruit days, he only joined around the last two years, and he also didn't go to an educational institution, so there wasn't much he could make a comparison with.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. In the first lesson, talking about classified information, how to fight and kill Xions, and Detel's awakening? They felt like things which should have been gradually revealed as we progressed through the year," Lark indicated, at which Monnae nodded along, her agreement with Lark's speech.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the problem on the frontline?" Kael questioned, remembering the conversation he had with Lark and Monnae about the increased difficulty of the Practicals and Theory.
"That is what I'm not sure about, but with the information that Dr Vin shared with us, it could be the fact that Sanctuary is thinning its forces as it's trying to fight on multiple fronts. The Constellation Aesis is in charge of the frontlines with some others, while the second rank has been tasked with investigating and making connections with the other Sanctuary clones, and has to take care of the Sectors affiliated with it. These endeavours have certainly thinned Sanctuary forces," Lark mentioned, down the intelligence he obtained from putting the clues he had together.
"That would explain why they would rush our batch so we can be sent out to the field to serve as backup for the dwindling forces we have. Hmm…and we can't just cut any of the operations now, as even not tackling them will have disastrous consequences for Sanctuary," Monnae pitched in as she walked with Kael and Lark.
"Yeah, that'll be one of the worst moves to make at this time, so I guess the Commanders decided to move Pioneers instead. It is a plan that trades the future and potential of what could be to strengthen what is now and give a breathing space, and it would also create an environment that'll force the best of us to evolve to match the pace if we don't want to be swallowed by the coming tide," Lark interlude as they kept on walking.
"They'll probably remove students from class A and reshuffle it to have one of the best fighting forces against the storm that's approaching. I think that by next lesson, at the very least, our class numbers would have been cut by a lot, by those who left voluntarily, knowing the limits of what they can achieve, those who have been scared away, and those who have been overwhelmed. I guess that is what most of today's lesson was also for. It is cruel in some way, but I guess this is the best choice that Pioneers have gone with to reduce senseless deaths, while still having a group that can be trained to their best potential, albeit slower than the rest of us," Kael added as he kept on walking with his companions.
"Yeah, I guess that's what will happen in the end," Monnae commented as she silently clenched her fists. "I boasted about taking back humanity with their strength and now, most of them probably won't survive the trial mission, just because of the unfair conditions, and there'll be nothing I can do is to watch it all unfold…" Monnae stated, her tone vulnerable as she crossed her hands tightly against each other and continued to speak.
"It annoys me, Kael, Lark. They'll go to give humanity a fighting chance, but they'll die for that cause that feels so far away and fictional, while the person who gave them that hope gets to live another day. I hate myself, I feel like a hypocrite...And, I feel saddened for them. What should I do?" Monnae said as her more vulnerable side showed.
Who could affect her? Monnae is the heir of House Silver, a great family, so she has all the wealth and status to live comfortably, but she's here stepping into frontlines wrought with dangers and death. No matter how much a human tries to make walls to keep themselves grounded, they'll crack when it gets too hard to contain.
"Yeah..I understand, Mon. But you know what? I feel that those who die, their deaths will never be meaningless because each effort they place and each momentum they display, helps us to make a breakthrough, so I don't think of the burden of the death, and if it's my fault. I use those deaths and ensure that they mean something. This is the least that someone alive should do for those who have left. So I'll keep fighting and struggling even when the world says no, and when we finally make an impact, I'm sure that those who have gone ahead will be proud," Lark said as he placed his palm over his face.
"Nothing is wrong with being a bit hypocritical, because after all, we are only human," Kael added as he hugged both Lark and Monnae. "So we'll get stronger and we'll show them that we're not ones to be messed with!" Monnae said as she gained herself back.
Walking out of Pioneer, they were bathed by the cool reflection of sunlight that hung above the graying sky. Kael looked up to the sun and, with his hand as a shield over his eyes to reduce the intensity of the sun rays.
"Let's go, Kael!" Monnae said as she locked her hands with Kael and was about to lead him away. "I can't, Mon. Master asked me to report to her after my lessons today," Kael explained, releasing his hands from Monnae's lock, which infuriated her.
After bidding his farewell to his friends, he began to walk in the direction of his master's training room. It had been quite a while since he visited her after so there's a chance she may be furious. So, Kael had already prepared himself, and he had a boost due to his Detel Infusion giving him a better physique to be able to endure her gruesome training.
As he walked a few distances from both Lark and Monnae, his eyes wandered through the streets filled with Pioneers and students still in training, creating a busy yet heartfelt moment. Glancing around, his eyes locked in on one of his classmates, the one he had dubbed "the silent girl," being led into what seemed like an alleyway.
With no hesitation, Kael quickly began to follow the group, keeping a few distances away to prevent being found.
NIEVE'S POV
She knew about this group that had been following her, and although there was not much that annoyed her, they definitely did, so she wanted to take them down today, which was why she accepted the invitation they gave and followed them to this secluded corner.
"I heard that you're the Rank 5 for this year's batch. Has Pioneer lowered their standards this low to accept scums like you?" the man in the front of the group said as he provoked Nieve, who didn't answer, her gaze lingering on his face, but no emotion behind the dark eyes of hers, which were below her deep sunken eyes.
"I bet we could also be accepted now, right, boys?!" he commented, to which the three other boys in his envoy echoed out, placing more intimidation on Nieve. "You're just as dumb as animals, but I believe this is too much of a compliment considering the actions you're taking right now," Naive commented, her voice monotone and slow, a voice that could always rile someone up.
"What did you say, you scum?! Do you think that because you're part of the top 5, you become protected? Well, don't worry. Both me and my friend will teach you the proper manner to speak to adults," the man said as he raised his hand aiming for a slap and seeing the escalating situation, Kael knew he had to step in but before he could, a blunt boom is what could be heard and as the dust cleared, what could be found was the male's head planted deep into the ground, with Nieve's face twisting into a crazy smile.
Silent and mysterious, she appeared right next to the other boy, a slap to his face which planted him deep into the wall of the alleyway, with minimal wasted movements. After making her way through the group, she turned her head in the direction where Kael hid and questioned him.
"Why are you here?" her tone bland and monotone, hard to discern if she was truly curious or not. Deciding to come clean, Kael said, "I saw you accompanying this shady group into the alley, so I followed just in case something happened."
"I'm fine. Thanks for your concern," she answered, her response short and brief as she walked out of the alleyway, not before pausing a bit, turning to Kael, her eyes and heavy dark spots which lay under her eyes, and she spoke. "You should leave if you don't want to get in trouble for what I did," and then, without turning back, vanished into the crowd.
"What's wrong with her?" Kael mused, but he quickly snapped back as the dread of coming late to another appointment his master had set. With no time to dawdle around, Kael picked up his pace, briskly walking in his intended direction.
Location - Sanctuary Base ( Kina's Team Base )
Some minutes later, he arrived at the location, and he saw Min, one of the twins, who was walking out of the training room. Walking up to him, Kael greeted, respect prevalent in his speech.
"Hello, Vice Leader Min, how was today's workout session?" Kael began the conversation as Min wrapped his hands over Kael's shoulders, bringing him close. "Haha! The one and only Kael. I thought you had died since you haven't visited for some time now," Min answered, his voice lacking the seriousness you'd expect from saying such heavy words.
"If you thought so, why didn't you check for me, Vice Leader?" Kael grimaced, arguing back against Min. 'I can't believe you thought I was dead but didn't even bother to ask about me!'
"Well, I would've checked up on you, but we've been a bit busy these past few days. Our team's leave is about to be terminated soon, so we have to begin getting ready for where we'll be posted to. I guess that's one of the reasons that Team Leader has called for you," Min answered, ruffling Kael's curly hair, giving him a slight push in the direction of Kina's training room.
Location - Kina's Training Room
Stepping into the room, Kael's ears were assaulted by the impact of the blunt punch of his master against the training robots. All around the room, robot parts were scattered, with sword marks and fist impacts riddling the various metallic components of the bots. Neither the walls nor the ground were safe from the destruction.
Kina glanced her eyes towards the direction of Kael, and with her mischievous smile, Kael immediately knew she was up to no good again. Her hands gripped one of the limbs of the robot she was originally sparring with, and with a wide sweep of her hands, she flung it at Kael with a sonic boom trailing behind it.
Seeing the bot, which was heading for him at such a ridiculous speed that humans shouldn't be able to achieve, Kael made split-second decisions as he ducked under, allowing the bot to fly overhead and get stuck into the wall like a dart thrown onto the dartboard, but with part of the reinforced wall caved in on itself.
Turning back at his master's handwork, he was astonished at how dangerous she truly was, and sometimes, he wondered if his master really wished to kill him.
'Because, seriously, why couldn't she have a normal greeting like anyone else? But no, she had to welcome him with actions that could end his life!' Kael reminisced, and before he could get back into the situation at hand, he heard a voice, low and fearful beside him.
"Rookie mistake, my disciple. You shouldn't turn your back when you're in battle, especially with someone stronger than you," and the next thing Kael felt was a huge force impacting his ribs, forcing out all the air present in his lungs.
He was recoiled by the punch that he flew a distance away from the impact point, and then his acceleration only stopped by his body's brutal collision with the walls. Kael fell on his knees as blood erupted from his mouth and nose uncontrollably; a ringing sound and the ache from his ribs were what still allowed him to stay awake.
"I held back, and you've also undergone your infusion, so that punch shouldn't end you," Kina added as she squatted down to the position of the coughing Kael. With a hand on his face, which had been twisted in agony, Kina whispered, her voice low yet threatening.
"Do you know the joy I felt after I got the news of your Detel infusion result and how eager I was to meet you? Now I can finally let go a little during our spars, my disciple," Kina admitted, but to Kael's ears, it felt more like his death sentence.
Raising his head, he found a crazed smile adorning his master's face as she looked at him. 'Why did I have to get this crazy woman as my master?!' Kael questioned, to which no answer came, like how he was about to suffer with no help or aid.