Morning came earlier than anticipated for some people. Jen actually wanted to sleep in a bit more, but Boss woke her up and told her to get ready for when they would leave. As she got up from a pallet that was layered with several sheets, a blanket, and a single pillow. She would rub the sleep from her eyes. Then, she noticed that Don was nowhere to be found. "Where is Don?" Jennifer asked while still searching for Don.
"He took Rose to begin training, remember?" Boss would explain, which caused Jen to sigh softly and lay back on the pallet. "Then I can sleep in a bit more." Jen would close her eyes, but before she could actually return to the land of dreams, Boss took the blanket she wrapped herself in and unrolled her with a swift and sure tug. "Nope. Time to get up and get ready." Boss would remark with a plain as day smile. Jen grumbled and groaned for a moment, "Fiiiine!" She exclaimed before getting up to get ready.
Meanwhile, Don and Rose were jogging side by side. Rose was drenched in sweat from head to toe while attempting to pace her breathing. Don seemed to be breathing perfectly fine and only had a few beads of sweat. They were just returning from their 5-kilometer run. Once they arrived at the fence gating, Rose would begin to catch her breath... or at least try to. "No time for rest. Come on." Don would comment in an authoritative voice. Rose would nod and follow Don inside without complaint.
Once they found an empty spot in the parking lot among other Amazoness that were training, Don would drop down onto his arms and take to a push-up position. "Twenty-five push-ups. After we will do twenty-five sit-ups, then we will twenty-five squats. Once we complete that, we will rotate back to another set of twenty-five pushes. So we will be doing four sets for a total of one hundred. After that, you will get a five-minute break then we will begin combat training. Now begin!" Don would explain and wait until Rose got into a push-up position before beginning the workout.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"Four..."
Don counted aloud, and soon after, Rose would follow suit. Once they finished the first twenty-five pushes, they transitioned towards sit-ups. Next, counted off aloud and then transitioned towards squats. Finally, they would rotate back to push-ups and continue this until they finished all the sets. By the time they finished the work-out, Don was on his feet and rolling his shoulders. Rose was sprawled out on the ground, trying to catch her breath. She looked so exhausted that she didn't know if she could stand.
"On your feet, or you'll die!" Don exclaimed as he stepped forward to try and stomp Rose's face in. Rose's eyes went wide when she heard his voice. She saw the sole of Don's boot and rolled over as quickly as possible. She sprung up to her feet and took a moment to try and stabilize herself. 'Had it already been five minutes!?' Rose exclaimed internally before looking at Don, then another thought flew into her mind.
'Wait, what the hell!? He really tried to kill me!' Rose exclaimed internally. It was then she recalled Don's words from last night. That she could die. She figured he wasn't literal, but.... perhaps she was wrong. Rose brought her arms up to block a blow from Don only to try and step back. Don stepped in and took hold of her shirt to pull her towards him to headbutt her, which caused her to stumble back while wincing in pain.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a fist coming from left her side and could not avoid it, so she was hit directly in the cheek. She stumbled in the direction the force pushed her in but didn't have time to regain her barring since another fist came from her other side, which caused her to stumble in the direction of her once again.
Left Hook.
Right Hook.
Left Hook.
Right Hook.
Straight!
Rose stumbled back with a beaten face and looked at Don with blurry vision. "Is that all!? Is that as far as you can go? Just to be beaten up? If you can't fight against this, how can you survive in this garbage world!? Will you just let someone beat you down because they are stronger than you!? Fight back!" Don called out to Rose with a stern voice.
Rose felt like her entire body was about to just give out. Her muscles were aching. She couldn't catch her breath either. She really wanted to just pass out on the spot. This training wasn't like what she was used to. Sure, she put through a workout and went through the wringer before, but this was like she was fighting for time. At any moment, it felt like the Reaper would come for her.
Her eyes flared green, and the wind suddenly began to kick up around her. Don's lips curved into a grin. "Come." Don would remark, and Rose charged Don after regaining her barring. She would swing left and right. Don would evade both, but the wind around her clipped him, and parts of his flesh were cut through. "Excellent." Don would mutter when he felt the pain flow throughout his body; however, instead of backing out, he stepped forward. He ducked, dodged, and slipped past Rose's fists. They were all sluggish, after all. Only the wind seemed to clip him. Rose was beginning to get agitated that she couldn't hit Don. She increased the output of her Seed Power, and her eyes flared vividly green. The wind became sharper, and her movements became faster as if propelled by the wind. Don's body was beginning to take more cuts than earlier, yet he still remained before Rose.
Rose didn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend it. Don had this vivid grin on his face. Rose was coming at him with the intent to kill, and Don seemed to be enjoying it. "Got you." Don would remark, which drew her attention. She felt a sharp pain from her chin before she was sent into the air and onto her back. The flare in her eyes diminished gradually as she laid there in a daze.
"You seem to understand the principle now. When you fight, you fight to kill. Hold nothing back. You will either kill them, or they will kill you." Don would remark as he approached Rose. His body was littered with cut wounds from the wind, but he was still standing tall and strong. Rose slowly began to come to, and when she saw Don one thought came thought ran through her mind.
'Are you even human?'
"Take five. Once you are rested, we will begin our departure." Don would remark before heading off to wash out and patch up the wounds. They had drawn quite the attention. All of the Amazoness had been watching the beating Rose had taken. At first, they thought it was some kind of punishment or torture, but they realized Don's training was just that as it went on. A form of punishment and torture. Don couldn't help it, though. That was how he was trained. His trainer was just as ruthless on him as he was on Rose. As Don went to patch himself up, he recalled the memories of his days in training.
"That it, kid? That as far as your resolve goes? I thought you were going to purge the evil from this world? I thought said you were going to eliminate everything vile and filthy." Don's trainer called out while playing with a butterfly knife idly. She eyed the Child Don who was trying to catch his breath. Cuts all over his body while he held a combat knife that was probably too heavy for him. In fact, the knife looked bigger than his entire hand. He was in a prone state while looking up at his trainer.
"If that's it, kid, then I should end your suffering here. You won't be able to survive in this cruel world. It will eat you whole..." The woman finished playing with her knife and now charged Don without warning. Don would grit his teeth. The pain was surging throughout his entire body. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Littered with cut wounds, and his muscles were crying out for him to just give in and rest. Yet, he pushed forward and slipped past her initial thrust. He ducked under her slash, then rolled behind her and jumped up to latch his legs around her waist while trying to force her to the ground.
His trainer stomped forward to prevent herself from falling forward. Sure, it was surprising to see how nimble Child Don was, but she wasn't about to kill over. So instead, she brought the knife around towards Child Don's head, but before she could finish her action Child Don had his own knife placed against her throat. A grin curved across her lips. She was proud that he was able to take the upper hand.
"Seven Hundred and Eight-Nine to One. Congratulations, kid." The woman would admit defeat, but in truth, it would be more of a draw since she could have easily pushed her action through. Still, she would let Don have this win. Child Don would release both his trainer and knife and fell back unconscious. Finally, the pain had taken over, and he passed out. His trainer was fast enough to catch him, so he couldn't smash his head against the concrete. After that, the memory ended with a splash of water on Don's face.
A heavy sigh left his lips. "It's no wonder you are so built. If you work out like that." Jennifer's voice came forth. Don had removed his shirt so he could patch himself up. So, she saw everything that was there. His build, his scars, everything. Don turned towards her. "It is necessary to be in shape and fit, especially in our world." Don would remark, and Jen would shake her head. "It's a shame you won't sleep with me, though. I would love to just eat you up." Jen would wink at him playfully, which caused Don to shake his head and ignore her remark. "Are you two ready?" Don asked while putting his shirt back on. Jen just smirked since it seemed Don ignored her comment. If he wasn't with April, she figured he would have played along just like he did before all of his happened. She felt a bit sad that Don wasn't playing along, but she wasn't going to stop trying to seduce him. In fact, the fact that he blew her off only made her want to try and obtain him even more.
"Yeah, but you don't have to put your shirt back on. I was enjoying the view." Jen would reply with a lick of her lips. Don moved past her, "Let's go. It's time to head back to base." Don ignored her once again, which caused her to pout for a moment. "Yeah, yeah." She would remark then gather up her things. "Let's go, Boss." Don would call towards Boss, who had just come out from Lesha's private chamber with her. He was fixing the cuffs of his shirt. "Ahem... alright." Boss would clear his throat before beginning to gather his things and follow up. Lesha followed with them. Jen would tease Boss about his naughty time with Lesha as they left the building.
Don would return to Rose, who was standing up. It seemed some of the Amazoness had brought her water and a towel to clean herself off and patch herself up. Though it was clear that Don pretty much beat her during their training. "Are you good to drive?" Don asked Rose who would nod. "Of course. Who will ride with me?" Rose asked while looking towards Boss and Jen, who were standing behind Don. "I'm riding with Don!" Jen exclaimed. "Then I guess I am with you, Rose." Boss would comment, and Rose would nod. They would gather their bikes and push them out. "We will walk towards the outskirts of Downtown; after that, we'll ride." Don would comment, and everyone nodded in agreement.
They turned around to face Lesha. "Thank you for taking care of us." Boss would remark politely. Lesha's lips curved into a smirk. "You are more than welcome to stay. After all, you have taken care of us just as much as we have for you." She would reply, which caused Boss to shake his head softly. "As much as I would like to say yes, I am going to go with them." Boss would remark, and Lesha would nod. "Very well, just know that you will always be welcomed among my people. The same can be said for the rest of you as well." Lesha would remark towards Jen, Rose, and Don.
"We'll come back someday!" Jen said with a wide grin.
"Thank you." Rose would respond.
"Alright. Take care." Don would reply.
"You as well. Take care of them, Don." Lesha would comment, and Don would nod before they turned away and made their way towards the outskirts of Downtown. Lesha watched them leave before turning to her own tasks. Once Don and his group got to the outskirts, they got on their bikes and drove back to base. Lesha was able to refuel their bikes, so they were fully stocked up on gas. She mentioned if they should ever need refueling to return in the future, and she would be happy to provide.
"I can't wait to see everyone again." Jen would remark over the roars of the wind. "I understand how you feel. It's been far too long since we last saw everyone." Boss would pitch in. "I am sure everyone misses you two as well." Don would add with a smile. Their journey back seemed relatively peaceful... or would have been.
"Don!" Rose shouted at the top of her lungs, which caused him to narrow his eyes. There was a single figure standing in the middle of the road. They were in a sleek black advanced combat suit with dimly-lite crimson lines all over it.
"Target found on my end." Ire spoke as he pressed his finger against an earpiece. "Same here! We are just about to finish up!" Avidity's voice could be heard over the comms device. "Good. I'll meet up afterward." Ire would respond, "Over and out." He finished before raising his hand into the air. The core of his suit started to give off a vivid glow along with his mask. A crimson frame-wire design emerged from thin air. Once it finished, its framework turned out to be some kind of high-tech sci-fi magnum it would drop into his hands after materializing. It had the same coloration as his combat suit.
"Begining mission." Ire would remark as he angled the gun at Don and pulled the trigger. The sound of a cannon going off would echo out while a large bullet fired from the barrel of the gun. "Evade!" Don called out as he swerved the bike. "Hang on!" Don exclaimed while Jen clung as tightly as possible to Don, and Boss clung as tightly as possible to Rose. Both of them swerved from the bullet, so it flew straight past them and hit a stalled vehicle behind them, which exploded upon impact. "What the fuck is that!?" Jen exclaimed after turning her head from the explosion back towards the guy.
"Don't know..." Don narrowed his eyes.
"It's them... Sin. That's Ire, the leader!" Rose exclaimed, which caused Don to kiss his teeth with a 'tch'. "Wonderful..." He muttered with sarcasm in his voice.
"Well... if I didn't believe this was a different world before, I do now..." Boss would remark while pushing up his spectacles. "Another shot is coming, evade!" Don exclaimed as they swerved away from a second shot, then a third and a fourth. Several explosions occurred behind them, but they were more focused on the guy.
They were closing in on him, and soon they would be able to just blow past him... or that was what Don had hoped for, but the guy shot at the ground in front of them, which caused the ground to rupture and an explosion to occur. After the sixth shot, he would reload his gun. Thankfully, Don was able to maneuver through the smoke and emerge on the outside. Rose seemed to manage just fine, and both of them blew straight past the guy who turned around to look in their direction.
Ire placed a finger to his earpiece. "This is Ire. Target is most likely heading in your direction. I will pursue, but should they arrive before I get there, eliminate them. Over and out." Ire would remark after removing his finger from his earpiece. The core of his suit and mask would begin to glow once again as he released his gun, which devolved into the red frame-wiring like some kind of blueprint before fading out. In turn, another red frame-wiring began to appear beside him and began to shape a sleek and sexy sci-fi motorcycle. When it appeared, it was the same coloration as his combat suit. He would straddle the bike and place his hands on the handlebars, which caused the bike to come to life with a loud roar, and just like that, he was off.
"Don! We aren't clear yet. Remember, all agents of my status or higher were given a personal vehicle. Ire most likely has one!" Rose called over the roars of the wind. "I know! I am more worried about the others. We need to hurry!" Don called back, and they kicked up the speed. Thankfully they had made a decent amount of distance between him and Ire, so Ire wouldn't catch up with them anytime soon; however, Don was more concerned about the others. If they were coming after him that meant someone else was probably going after them.