The door closed and locked behind Salem. A clock counting down from thirty minutes appeared above the frame.

Salem stood in a training room with deactivated robots and several cement blocks, each six feet tall and six feet deep.

Turning around, Salem met the gaze of two Draguns, Abiza in a uniform much similar to his own, an oversized poncho accompanied by a short gray skirt. Next to her was a slender man who looked like he hadn't slept in several days. A blanket was hanging over his shoulders, and he brandished the same dragon skull with two crossed rifles.

"Punch the cement block," The tired Dragun said over the intercom.

Salem's face twisted slightly in confusion, "You want me to punch that," Salem asked while pointing at the target painted on it. 

"Yes, sir, I want you to punch the hell out of that cement block."

Salem pulled the collar of his poncho up around his neck. His eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows dipped inward.

"Sir, punch the block. This is just a simple strength test."

"Alright, alright!" Salem said after having his concentration broken. Approaching the block, Salem sized the molded rock up and down. He placed a first on the center of the target, pulling his arm back, preparing to put as much strength and force through the obstacle.

The skinny Dragun leaned forward towards the screen, squinting his eyes. 

He turned toward Abiza, who had been crossing her arms and watching intently. "Hey 'Biza," he called out to her while placing a finger on the monitor. "Is that a limit collar?"

Abiza scrambled to the monitor to take a closer look. And there it was, the collar plain as day. "Shiiiit," she said, stretching the word. She was sure she had taken it off before they had gotten the uniform. She reached for the microphone on the table, but it was already too late.

Salem's punch connected with rock, and shockwaves of pain instantly sent rippling up Salem's arm. There had even been a wet crunch as several bones inside his arm snapped. And for a moment, his body had no idea how to process the pain, and he froze.

The limiting collar was a Dragun-specific tool to capture any rogue Draguns meant for decommissioning. It sent a frequency that would deactivate the nanomachines.

"Fuck," Abiza said through a sigh. But, grabbing the microphone, she announced, "That was my bad. I forgot to remove your collar."

"Damn, 'Biza. New partner, and you're already gonna get him killed."

"Shut up, Raz." She growled out. "The moment we remove the collar, his regeneration will take over."

"Sure, you can try," he said, leaning back in the chair and wrapping the blanket around his body. "But you still have twenty-five more minutes before you can attempt."

Abiza thing her head in disappointment, her hair falling forward over her face. "Damn it."

Salem had fallen to the ground and had been screaming for the past four and a half minutes. 

However, something in the corner had moved extremely fast. And before he knew it, it grabbed him by the throat, forcing Salem to the ground.

He struggled to let out a cry for help as cold mechanical hands continuously put pressure on his throat.

With his only good hand, he tried to force the hands away from his throat. Unfortunately, he couldn't get enough strength. 

The training machine that held his throat burst into shadowy flames. Six red eyes opened two extra arms from the back; one grabbed his good arm and forced it down. 

Salem tried to struggle against it but couldn't; he only had one arm and half the strength, which quickly diminished as he lost consciousness.

In the background, he could hear the two Draguns faintly trying to break down the walls and door. Internally he laughed; he remembered what Abiza had said earlier, 'Smart Draguns can't be killed.' Guess him and Abiza weren't so bright after all. His eyes finally closed.

However, the collar began to spark from the overwhelming power output of the nanomachines. 

" 'Biza!" Raz shouted, gaining her attention to the alarms coming from the monitor. "He's awakening!"

Abiza's wings folded back into the digital void alongside her armor as she ceased her attacks.

The charts were going far above that of an average Dragun. Salem's levels were entering phase two.

Over his face, two metal plates started forming from his head and chin, closing together; they became his new head. Muscle fibers burst from his skin, strengthening and creating new arms that ended in claws.

His new and usable arm clenched its fist and delivered a hook straight to the side of the cell's face, sending it straight to the other side of the room.

The transformation didn't stop; his back hunched as the muscle fibers broke through and changed his posture. The tail even thickened to the point that it was almost rigid. 

A long and provocative tongue slipped past the slit in the head where new teeth started to form. Even his wings had evolved; they were thicker and carried more blades, with the plasma being much hotter. Salem roared, sending visible sound waves bouncing in the room.

Raz sat down in the chair. "He entered phase two," He said, sweating profusely.

Abiza pulled up another chair and sat down to watch. "Wait," she said, tapping one of the bars. "He's still mentally stable."

"For now," Raz replied, the color still hasn't been returned to his face.

Several slots on Salem's back opened up, firing several small missiles, flying towards the Alpha Cell in a random path. 

The Alpha Cell scurried fast along the ground and ceiling, avoiding the grenade-sized explosions.

Gun barrels appeared from the ends of Salem's palms and immediately started shooting. A few of the thirty-millimeter bullets that managed to hit the Cell completely amputated the limb. However, anything that did was immediately replaced by a new flaming shadow.

The alpha cell tackled him again; this time, six limbs held down each arm, and four held down Salem's legs.

A mouth appeared on the Cell, stretching halfway down its body, with hundreds of tendrils and thousands of teeth.

From Salem's chest opened an electromagnetic cannon, already fully charged and ready to fire.

Being completely stationary and using nothing but ranged attacks allowed Salem to focus on charging his rail cannon.

And in a second, the room was blindingly bright and then filled with smoke.

The doors opened shortly after. Abiza and Raz stood back and waited, both in their awakened form. But, out came a completely normal Salem. "I kicked ass, didn't I?" He said.

The two of them dropped their guards and sighed in relief.

"Well, you're absolutely an arsenal Dragun," he said, reaching into a nearby drawer for a lollipop. "But your scales are a bit too uneven to be strictly just an arsenal type."

Abiza grabbed Salem's shoulder opposite of her and pulled him in close. "Just like Raye, ain't he?"

Raz put the lollipop in his mouth. "Strange, he is." He turned away and turned the lights off before sitting back down. "At least you and your partner are compatible."

As soon as he stopped talking, Abiza had already broken out of the room, leading Salem by the wrist into a nearby bathroom.

"...Abiza?" Salem started but noticed she had a crazy look in her eyes. Like she was hungry.

She had already slammed and locked the stall behind them. "So," she started, "you probably don't know it, but when Draguns are completely compatible, they share a bond like none other!"

"Maybe I'm just a bit too human; I don't really feel it?" Salem replied.

"Nonsense!" Abiza shouted, moving her hands up his poncho and dropping his shorts. Flopping out two disproportionately large cocks. Her face changed from 'hungry' to 'shocked.' "That's… strange."

Rapidly, they hardened as they were exposed. Both were just slightly smaller than her forearm.

Salem looked away, pulling his poncho's collar up, and whispered to himself the possibility that nanomachines were changing his body.

She gripped both of them in her hands and gave one an enthusiastic lick. "Here's to a beautiful friendship, kid!"