Lars and his friends waited outside of the school limits as he took his leave.
"We know..." 6 said. "But we want to be here Ax"
"You guys don't have to be here.." Lars groaned.
"We know..." 6 said. "But we want to be here Ax"
"Remember the promise Axel, if you screw up and fail the exam, I'm not going to wait two years for you to catch up!" Lance said crossing his arms
"He that's my line Lance" LArssaid resiliently.
"Juuuust try not to get yourself killed…" B said, placing her hand on Lars'sshoulder.
"Yeh every time we take our eyes off of your always getting injured!" 6 said
"You know after everything that's happend" Lars said remembering the attack from the man in black. "I'v come to realize... dying isn't the worst thing…" Axel said reflecting.
"What! What could possibly be worst than dying!" Reggie scoffed.
"Losing my friends..." Lars said
THere was an akwards silence as Lars's words set in.
"I swear" B said grabbing Lars by th shoulder. "If you ever die on me Ax, I swear… Ill beat you the shit out of you!!" She said crossing her arms
After a few nods and smiles of encouragement, Lars headed out.
Axel made his way up the creek and down to the shores of Nautica Valley coming to the memorial he had been so many times before. Surely enough, awaiting him perched on a rock was the Colonel.
"So.. You've finally made it have you prepared yourself?" The Colonel said.
"About as much as I could in one day" Lars joked.
"I know this all seems funny to you but being an agent is life and death, I'm going to force you into facing that kind of situation!" Grant answered
"This kid…" Grant thought "He thinks he's invincible. It makes sense…he's probly never even been in an actually life threatening fight!"
"You haven't even made it into the exams yet. Are you sur you want to take me on?" Grant said
"Yeh bring it on" Axel said raising his fist.
"Hehe good, you've got some spunk kid!" Colonel remarked "I'll… at least give you that." He said with a heavy sigh. "You say these things like there so easy…You have no idea how harsh reality really is."
"Enough small talk! " Axel said shaking his fist anxiously. "I'm going to show you just how strong I've become, you were right, a week ago I could barely control my powers but all that has changed."
"This is your last chance" Grant said grimly. "Are you sure this is what ou want?"
"Stop talking and bring it on alre-"
For a moment Axel's eyes got dark. Everything around him seemed to slowly fade into darkness. He saw the end of Grant's coat dangling behind him as he walked away.
"What the hell just?"
Instinctively he started grabbing his stomach. For some reason it felt like his stomach had been struck, and struck hard. It was like he had just had a head on collision on a hoverbike.
His whole body shook from a disoriented shock that seemed to be penetrating every muscle in his body. Struggling to maintain his footing, he fell to his knees hunched over, stretching his hand out in front of him desperately gasping for air.
"What's wrong kid? Where'd all that spunk go?" The Colonel laughed
"What…. What was that?" Axel thought
Axel struggled to get out a word but he couldn't. All of his energy was focused on replenishing his air supply.
"Every hour I'm going to punch you, and each time I punch you, I'm going to hit a lot harder!" Grant said crossing his arms.
His arms were rugged and tough, filled with battle scars and tattoos as far as the eye could see. They were so large and defined they looked as if he had taken a set of steel pipes and had stretched his skin over them.
"Are you telling me… That was a punch? It was so fast I couldn't even see it… Hell I couldn't even see him approach me!" Lars thought
Lars was still hunched on the ground struggling to stand up.
"Oh yeh and one more thing. You can use any means necessary to land your attacks. Lying deception Aversoin, use whatever tatics you like but you will be unable to land a blow unless you have the intent to kill!" The colonel said crossing his arms
"But once we reach the 24 hour mark, I'm going to stop pulling my punches! So if you want to get out of this alive I suggest you figure it out before then.. Any questions?
"The intent... to kill?" LArs said. "Are you telling me I have to want to kill you?"
"Yes" Grant said. "The Shifters you have fought so far probably didnt have that intent inately within them, or it was so weak you couldn't feel it, that is why I called you here, all of the Shifters in the exam... they have it, Including your friends"
(Lars remembered)
(Reggie) "We may joke from time to time, but each one of us is fighting for something, that's why we are here! We didn't join an agency where agents get killed everyday to have a good time!"
(Back to present)
"Impossible!" Lars said. "I... I don't have that intent! How could I want to kill someone!"
"In many situations" Grant said. "You will not have a choice, it is in a shifters biology to feel this way, you just need to let out that feeling you are repressing"
"Damnit" Lars said. "This is something entirely different! Beating up bad guys is one thing but killing them... I... I would have to kill people! That's... not something I'm ready to do!"
"That is why" Grant said taking a step forward. "I have brough tyou hear."
TREMBLE TREMBLE TREMBLE
All of a sudden it felt as though the ground beneath Lars was trembling at that there was an earthquaked happening below him. As he looked to the ground he saw no movement, only the sound of his rapidly beating heart.
"What.... is this!"
As he drew his hand to his face he saw his hole entire body shaking, and the feeling of pins and needles running up and down his spinal cord.
Instinctively, he grabbed his heart as he felt it about to burst.
"Breathe" Grant commanded. "Don't let the panic attack take you out"
"PAnic???" Lars squeaked out lookin gup at Grant.
Lars gasped in shock as his eyes were drawn to the colonel. The kind and uvuncular Grant he knew was gone, and in his place a barbaric savage yearning fror his blood.
As Lars tried to fight the feeling, he could feel tiny strands of Ether slowly taking over his own, and pinning him in place.
"Your letting your ether strands collapse" Grant said. "And your not breathing, at this rate your going to pass out... I knew it, this is just too much for you, isn't it Ax..."
(Lars remembered)
"Good job" Vincent said clapping his hands. "You have all managed to cross the sand pit, except 6 was it? You are forgoing this training?"
(Lars remembered)
"No, this training has opened my eyes" Lars said. "Every single one of you was able to cross that sandpit but I fell, evry single one of you was able to maintain composure, but I went and attacked Guille, this traiining, no this missoin has shown me how weak I am, and how big a difference is just between me and my friends.
"Lars!!!" Reggie said getting teary eyed.
(Lars remembered)
"A futile attempt" Jonah said. "His ether stream has been completely severed. He is sensless, he is in a state worse the comatose,"
"B..." Lars said tearing up as he touched her hand. "Reggie... 6...."
"It's futil" Jonah said. "They will be dead within minutes"
(Back to present)
"NO!!" Lars screamed.
Breaking the Ether strands that surrounded him he stood tall against Grant.
"Impossible!" Grant said. "He overcame my ether so easily? He's not even phazed by it anymore... no... could this be the cause of him passing out in Lagara? Was it the presence of that foul Ether that knocked him out?"
"I'm tired of being a loser" Lars said drying his eyes. "All my life I was always last place.... but this time I'm going to be first! I'm going to win here and then again at the exams! From here on out! I'm going to win!"