Training Arena

"Where the hell are they?" Statson was angry, and it was all because of a message they had received earlier…

The students will arrive at 16:30.

Please arrive at 16:15 with your young partner.

Miss Andres will escort you both to the Training Arena.

Everything will be apparent upon your arrival.

Headmistress Weatherly

Statson grumbled, but maybe curiosity improved because he followed without fuss when Miss Andres returned to retrieve them.

At the time, he stated. "Might as well see what I get to work with before making a decision."

They stood in the massive Training Arena hidden underground. They were standing in the central area, but Rachel could see an enclosed section in the back that looked like a shooting range. The doors led to the storage area, bathrooms, changing room, kitchen, and a Control Room overlooking everything.

Statson whistled, checking out the equipment. He seemed impressed. "Damn, how much did this all cost?"

Rachel looked around and estimated. "Double? No, maybe even triple the budget that WMP Headquarters has."

"That Boss Lady sure doesn't shrimp on the cost, doesn't she?" Statson was grinning, cracking his knuckles. "This might be more fun than I thought."

But then 16:30 rolled by, and no one showed up. Well, no one except for Stella.

Statson was pissed.

Now in the Control Room, Statson glared down at Stella, twelve years old. "So, are you going to tell me or what?"

Stella was taken aback, scared, and fidgeting with her glasses. "I, um, don't know," she said, not making eye contact. "Um, I need to get everything set up." Stella escaped behind her computer.

"Statson, you've gone too far!"

Statson whipped around, spitting mad, but Rachel just glared back.

Rachel turned to Stella, who was quivering, then returned to Statson with a meaningful look.

"What, oh, yeah, sorry, kid." He seemed a little ashamed. He usually didn't make it a habit to yell at kids, but he was so angry that he wasn't thinking straight.

Stella popped her head up, "Um, that's okay. I know how Lilie gets," Then she hid behind her computer again.

"So, this happens often. I'm so going to kick those kids' asses," Statson's chest rumbled. He hated it when a person was late, especially if he was the one who was waiting. To him, it was insubordination, and that behaviour wouldn't be tolerated.

Rachel didn't want to deal with Statson, so she went to see what Stella was doing. "Ha, what are you doing?"

"I set up the Training Arena but also do data analysis." Stella paused, looked up at Rachel excitedly, and began typing rapidly, "See, I catalogue my sister's and the others' abilities, weaknesses, and mediums. Everything." She then proceeded to show bios, charts, and graphs of each Lumeye.

"That's very impressive." Rachel was only a little shocked. Stella's mother was a genius, and Stella had shown high intelligence even when she was eight years old.

Genetics is a beautiful thing, Rachel thought bitterly, thinking about her corrupt genetic tree and something about herself that she didn't care to admit.

She stopped at Heather's bio. "I even have fighting styles. See? Look how Heather's a long-range shooter, but her defence is weak?" Then, she clicked on Terran's. On the other hand, Terran has much stronger defences than even Lilia, but he has a hard time attacking. So, they tend to work together…." Stella stopped talking, looking away, embarrassed. Maybe I shouldn't show you this. Sorry, I tend to ramble."

Rachel shook her head. "No, that's just…."

A puff of smoke and flame appeared in the middle of the Training Arena. A familiar redheaded beauty, Druid, popped in.

Rachel couldn't help but wince when she remembered her experiences with Druid's teleportation abilities. Even if Druid had saved her life, she hoped never to undergo that again—at least not anytime soon.

And the hair! Rachel thought with regret. She could deal with the burns, but she'd loved how straight and black her hair was. Now, to get rid of the singe, it was cut unevenly. Even a shower couldn't get the smoke swell out of it.

Druid waved. Her eyes glowed like she knew something that everything else didn't and loved, dangling it over everyone's head. "Oh, am I the only one here? Where could they be?" Druid didn't seem surprised at all.

Statson left the control room and got seething in her face. "Where… Are… They?"

Druid didn't even flinch and tapped her index finger against her chin. "I wonder...?"

Then, Statson gave the girl a look. A look that Rachel knew all too well. The 'I will stomp you into the ground before chasing you around with a sharp object' look.

And he wasn't bluffing. That look always ended… painfully.

The Druid girl didn't look concerned, even giving her a wink like she knew what she was thinking. "Reading minds?" she whispered.

Druid laughed, "No, not one of my abilities, but did anyone tell you how expressive you are? You should work on that." Her blatant snub of Statson didn't go unnoticed. Still, she continued, "If you wanted to know so badly, Stella probably knows. In that database system of hers, she recorded our habits." Druid shouted, "Stella?"

Stella popped out behind her computer and gave Druid a dirty look.

Druid put her hands up in surrender, but she didn't lose her secretive smile. "What?"

Statson momentarily stopped glaring at Druid and stepped toward Stella. "Well." When the girl flinched, Statson sighed, and his eyes went significantly softer. "I'm not going to yell, so tell me."

Stella looked nervous but complied, taking only a minute to look up the information. "There was an incident last night where Team Tango returned with injuries and needed to be treated. So, Terran is most likely replenishing his supplies at the herbal garden on the roof. He would have been here otherwise." There was a pause. Then, finally, she continued, "Since Terran is busy, he didn't get a chance to retrieve Heather from the garage like he usually does. She is highly… um… excitable, especially when she has a new vehicle to work on. Bryson, well...." she hesitated, glancing at Druid.

Druid stepped up. "Bryson's sulking, so he is most likely in the library. That is where he usually goes after his ego receives a blow." She rolled her eyes a little, but there was something in them that she let leak out something tender.

Stella continued talking with a big sigh. "Lilia had gone to her classes in the morning but missed her afternoon ones. So, most likely, she is sleeping under that snarly-looking tree near the courtyard entrance." Then, under her breath, she added, "I am so going to kill her after this."

Rachel smiled, glad Lilia and Stella still had the same sisterly relationship. That, at least, was still the same.

"And that gloomy guy?" Statson probed, and Druid and Stella glanced at each other with worry etched in their features.

Stella spoke up first. "Gloomy guy? Oh, you mean Shadow."

"Wait! His name is Shadow. Really?" Rachel piped up, incredulous.

"No, his real name is Sean Shadowhawk. He likes Shadow better, and it stuck for, um.... reasons. He is, well… wherever Lilia is, Shadow should be."

Druid nodded her head in agreement.

"Shadow, hmm," Statson mumbled, thoughtful.

Rachel asked, "Wait, do they see each other?"

They glanced at each other, and Druid spoke up this time. "It's more complicated than that. Their relationship is more stalker-like."

Statson threw his hands in the air. "Why'd it has to curse me with damn teenage drama?"

"Fate, I suppose," Druid said offhandedly. Her eyes looked far away.

A loud stomp broke up the silence, making Rachel jump, startled.

"It is time to get moving," Statson ordered. "Little Einstein, I don't know where everything is, so you will show me. Let's get those kids."

"Little Einstein? He means me, right?" whispered Stella, looking at Rachel.

When Rachel nodded, Stella got up to follow.

"Now, Girly, can you oversee Fire Princess's training? We need to keep an eye on her before she disappears like the others," he stated, not even checking if Rachel agreed.

Rachel could only sigh, already used to his quirks.

"And Fire Princess?"

Druid stood up straight. "After warming up, start with fifty push-ups, sit-ups, then planks, then run around the training room until I am too tired to move," she said with that sparkle in her eye.

"Well, close enough," he mumbled, a little startled that she knew what he was about to say. "Cheeky kid."

Before he left, he turned and looked pointedly at Druid. "Fire Princess, use the door next time. Or I will see you hanging upside down, underneath 100 gallons of water."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Sergeant, not Sir!" Statson bellowed.