Three hours later, Charles called a break period which Thane was more than grateful for. His entire body was burning, and every one of his muscles felt loose and stretched almost to breaking.
"Alright, Thane, good job keeping your head on straight. And Naomie, you've been an excellent help today. Thank you for that. We're almost done for the day. The last section will be sparring, which you will always have during a training day." Charles explained in a practiced manner.
"How that sparring looks will change. However, for today I think it would be good to have the both of you face off and go over the basics of the do's and don'ts in a fight." Naomie was already moving when Charles stopped, and Thane was quick on her heels as she moved to the closest ring not occupied by one of the sparring robots.
"Alright, here's how this is going to work," Charles started as he looked between the two teenagers, "You're going to have three rounds in a match. A round ends after one side cannot go on, is dealt a crippling blow, steps outside the ring, or submits. The rules are relatively simple as well, no gouging or maiming attacks. Other than that, anything and everything is on the table. Understood." When Charles got nods from both Thane and Naomie, he smiled, "Good, now on the count of three, one, two, three!"
Thane's first mistake was apparent instantly. He was too focused on Charles as he almost lost sight of Naomie when she immediately charged him. Before he could comprehend what was going on, Thane was laid on his back with Naomie straddling his waist.
In almost slow motion, Thane watched as Naomie pulled back her fist, ready to unleash a punch. Finally, the reality that he was in a fight caught up to Thane as his arms snapped up to guard his face just in time to catch Naomie's first punch.
The second came quickly after the first, along with the third and fourth. Before long, Naomie was wailing away at Thane, each punch landing on the same spot.
Putting aside the thought for later, Thane focused, 'I can't do anything right now, but that's fine. I just need to wait for the right moment.'
Naomie continued to punch away at Thane for what seemed like hours, not letting up in the slightest, determined to break his guard and land a finishing blow. Even though the strange padded feeling Thane was experiencing, the force of the impacts started to break through along with the pain.
Thane was beginning to consider giving up when what he was waiting for happened. The time between each blow started to lengthen from a split second to a steady staccato beat.
Choosing the exact moment when Naomie's fist hit his arm Thane bucked his hips, sending Naomie sliding forward and up. Contracting his already thoroughly worn-out abdominals, Thane raised himself and grabbed Naomie's shoulders, bunching up her uniform.
Gritting his teeth at the pain to come, Thane tilted his head down as the top of his forehead crashed into Naomie's. Stars exploded across Thane's vision, and he nearly blacked out before the world came rushing back to him in a wave of sound.
Taking stock of his situation, Thane scrambled to his feet to see that Naomie was sprawled out on the floor with Charles looking over her, "Is she okay?" Thane asked while gingerly touching the knot on his forehead.
"She's been through worse, though that was some fight. I was sure you would tap out any second, and then BAM! Very nice buck, by the way, well executed. I would have recommended you'd try a throw, but I doubt you know how to do one." At that moment, a groan came from Naomie as she started to sit up, "What the fuck."
The words came out in a hiss of pain as she reached up and touched the bruise on her head before whimpering as a fresh wave of agony passed through her, "What the hell happened."
"I kind of headbutted you. I didn't expect it to hurt so much. I thought it would just stun you a bit, not knock you out completely. I am sorry, though." Thane tried to apologize, but Naomie only shook her head, "You shouldn't apologize. We were fighting, and you won. No lasting damage exists, and a quick visit to the NHU should eliminate the bruising and any brain swelling."
Nodding slowly, Thane didn't hear any anger or spite in Naomie's voice, meaning she was telling the truth, "If you say so, also, what's an NHU?"
"Nanomachine Healing Unit, used in hospitals to treat any normal injury doctors can't treat directly. Like broken bones, brain injuries, internal bleeding, and cancer as rare as it is." Charles chimed in as he helped Naomie to her feet, "Naomie can show you where it is after we finish sparing."
Thane didn't complain despite the fact his head was pounding in protest. The next few matches and rounds were much more educational and one-sided. Naomie would repeatedly put Thane on his ass before Charles would step in and demonstrate how to counter or stop the move.
One point he illustrated many times was how to fall correctly, so Thane would minimize the impact and be able to recover quickly. By the end of the tenth match, Thane felt much more confident in his fighting ability, meager as it was.
"And that's it, great work today. The both of you get washed up and walk each other to the infirmary. Naomie, take Thane to an NHU and get a session for yourself. And yes, I am aware of the protocols, I have already asked your mother, and she agreed." Charles' last sentence caused Naomie's jaw to snap shut, clearly an answer to the question she was about to ask.
Too tired to ask what was wrong with Naomie, Thane was already halfway to the locker rooms as soon as Charles was finished talking.
Hopping into one of the showers, the UV rays cleaned Thane and his clothes. Stepping out refreshed and somewhat recharged, Thane changed before leaving. Outside Naomie was already waiting next to the door for the women's locker room, "Are you ready to go?"
Responding only with a nod, Thane fell into step behind Naomie as she led him through the almost identical hallways of the giant facility. After a while, they arrived in front of a pristine white metal door with an engraving of a staff with a snake coiled around the shaft.
"An Asklepian? Never thought I would see one of those in real life." Thane came up short as he stared at the engraving, "You know about mythology?" Naomie asked, looking back over her shoulder at Thane in question.
Thane shrugged, "Yeah when I was undergoing treatment as a kid, they were doing some surgery on my lungs or something. I got really bored, and I had just finished reading up on the importance of size in relation to diffusion. So I did some light reading on the Theory of Forms, which led me to Plato, Greece, Homer, and of course, the Iliad and Odyssey, which kind of opened everything up."
"How old were you again?" Naomie asked
Thane ignored her question as they entered the room. Much to Thane's surprise, there wasn't a single cabinet for medicine or supplies. Instead, the infirmary was occupied by two columns of glass tubes with metal caps going from ceiling to floor and spanning the room's length.
"Oh yeah, this is totally normal. I don't feel creeped out and have the urge to run the opposite way." Thane commented dryly, earning a sharp glare from Naomie.
"These are the NHUs. When you step inside, the pod will fill up with a breathable aerogel, rendering you unconscious for a time. That's when a series of nanomachines are injected into your bloodstream, which will go through your body fixing any damage they can find." Naomie explained with a level of passion that Thane had not heard from her before.
Touching the cold glass of the nearest tank, a sudden thought took hold of his mind, "Wait. I had to go through surgery to repair my spine. If this NHU is as great as you make it out to be, why wasn't I given the option to use one of these or even heard of them?"
Naomie looked away from Thane and bit her lip as if deciding whether to say something or not, "Does it have something to do with the protocols Charles mentioned?"
Letting out a sigh, Naomie nodded, "Yeah, it's kind of like the power armor though a little less known. Use of an NHUs is supposed to be restricted to Arbiters only, but some loopholes allow a few people with the connections to get their hands on a unit."
Thane pursed his lips. Needless to say, he wasn't happy to hear about another disparity between the one percent and the rest of the population, "So now my question is, why is it only supposed to be used for Arbiters, and if so, why are there so many here. I'm already in enough legal trouble already."
"Well, the second one is easy to answer. AetherTechnolgies invented and produced them, so we get to have a few for ourselves. The first one, however, is a much more tightly guarded secret. Let's just say…there are side effects to using an NHU."
The hesitation on Naomie's face and her admittance to side effects set off alarm bells in Thane's head, "What type of side effects?" He asked trepidatiously
"Nothing bad or anything, actually quite the opposite," Naomie corrected, seeing the caution in Thane's eyes, "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but the nanomachines are very thorough when doing their job. They repair your entire body by using hormones and proteins to stimulate growth at the cellular level. In essence, they almost make you a new body. By the end, you'll feel like a new person if given enough time. The effects are especially noticeable when the body itself is going through changes. It's why people with access to them often have their children go through the process during puberty. But the effect is also noticeable between training periods, though to a much lesser degree." Naomie breathed heavily as she finished explaining everything in one breath, leaving Thane blinking in her wake.
"Is that why you're so damn tall, I mean, I'm used to looking up at people, but others must get bored of it, right?" Thane was joking partially, but Naomie was tall, six foot easy, and a head taller than him.
Naomie didn't smile, but Thane could see the humor in her eyes, "It is, yes, it's also why I can still lift more than you even though I have this figure." Naomie responded, gesturing at her lovely body.
There was a moment of tense silence before Thane broke out into an uncontrolled bout of laughter, "Sorry, but your mother probably won't take too kindly to me doing anything with her daughter. Besides, looks aren't everything you know?" Thane breathed heavily, trying to control himself though a few chuckles found their way out.
Pouting, Naomie crossed her arms beneath her chest, "Really, you already admitted how beautiful I am. What else could there be."
Thane grinned, "What was that old saying? That's for me to know and you to find out." Before Naomie could respond, Thane stripped down to his underwear and stepped into a nearby NHU, the glass door sliding aside before shutting behind him.
Turning around to face the stunned Naomie, Thane winked, "Sorry didn't feel like waiting any longer. See you on the other side." Just as Thane finished talking, there was a hiss, and he looked down as a bone-chilling numbness quickly worked its way up his leg.
The numbness was caused by a slight blue opaque liquid quickly filling up the tube, already up to Thane's waist after a few seconds. Trying to keep his heart from racing as the instinctual panic of drowning tried to activate his flight or fight response Thane inhaled just before the liquid surged upwards to cover his entire face.