After a long day of exploring the city Marcus, Felix, and Luna arrived in their hotel room with satisfied expressions and sore legs.
It was around 7:45 pm, fifteen minutes before Lance's mandated curfew.
Felix looked down at his phone as he approached his bed. "15 minutes bro, we probably could've gotten some fish and fries from that local restaurant, would've taken ten minutes," Felix said with a chuckle as he plopped down in his bed.
Marcus shook his head as he stepped forward a few steps before dropping to the floor with an exaggerated motion. "Sleep is calling me, and I must answer her call."
Luna chuckled as she sat on the floor beside Marcus, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap. "I must admit, even I'm slightly tired."
Marcus looked over at Luna with a perplexed expression. "What are you doing?" He asked with a yawn. "I left the bed for you."
"Can I not sit with you?" Luna asked with a challenging smile.
"You can," Marcus replied with a conflicted expression. "It's just surprising."
"Surprising is an understatement," Felix added. "I have never seen her join you on the floor."
Luna frowned as she crossed her arms. "Can I not change?" She asked rhetorically. "I've made the resolve to be better to Marcus, and I intend to honor it."
Marcus grinned as he raised a hand over Luna's head and began to ruffle her cold silky hair, revealing her pointy elf-like ears.
"Awe man, I almost forgot you had pointy ears," Marcus whispered to Luna as he continued to brush his hand across Luna's head.
"You seem to forget a lot of things Marcus." Luna said with a sigh, "But you should rest, you have that date with those girls after all."
Marcus grinned as he thought back on Kinsley, she was a beautiful young woman, with long legs and a well-defined physique with an adorable personality to boot.
But what Marcus liked about her, was the fact that she was cooperative, even when she seemed uncomfortable or uninterested, she still played ball.
"But I guess that comes with playing sports," Marcus mumbled to himself.
"What are you whispering about?" Luna asked Marcus, turning to look at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Marcus asked teasingly with a wink.
"I wouldn't recommend getting too attached," Felix warned. "They're cute girls, but at the end of the day we don't know how they'll react to us leaving."
"I know, I know," Marcus repeated as he stood up from the floor. "Anyway, I call dibs on the shower."
Felix nodded. "Be my guest." He said with a chuckle as he turned his attention back towards his phone.
Marcus then turned his attention towards Luna. "You should get some sleep, recharge your batteries, and whatnot."
Luna shook her head. "I'll wait on the bed for you, so don't be long Marcus," Luna replied as she stood from the floor and began making her way towards the other bed.
Marcus grabbed his bag and headed towards the bathroom, he glanced back at Luna, who was now climbing onto the bed, with a brief smile before entering the bathroom and closing the door behind himself.
Felix, who was now spread out over his bed, sighed heavily as he closed his eyes.
Luna looked over with a curious gaze. "What's wrong with you?" She asked
"I'm just tired," Felix replied with a yawn. "Aren't you?" He asked, turning to look at her.
"I don't feel exhaustion in a typical sense, I do need 'sleep' to regulate my core, but I can't feel exhaustion in an emotional sense, such as annoyance or frustration," Luna replied with a teasing grin to Felix.
Felix chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "Hey you had the option to leave with the lieutenant, should've taken it."
Luna shook her head. "I refuse to leave Marcus, I need to be there for him."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "You know, Marcus never told me why you two separated, I wonder what happened, why did you change so much in such a short time?"
Luna's expression turned sour as she frowned. "That's not your business." She replied in a defensive tone.
"Come on, you and Marcus had a tense relationship when I first saw you two, you made him sleep on the floor, you insulted him, you even seemed disinterested in his questions."
"Felix," Luna said in a frustrated tone.
Felix ignored her and continued. "Then one day he comes back to the dorm without you, and for two weeks I don't see you, then you come back and now you're as thick as thieves, why?"
"I told you." Luna said frustratedly, "It's not your business." She said with a glare.
Felix narrowed his emerald green eyes with a growing frown on his face. "We aren't enemies, but if you've done something to bro, I'll–"
Suddenly the bathroom door opened, revealing Marcus wrapped in a towel with a cloud of steam following behind him.
He turned to look at Felix with a concerned expression. "Did you pack any mouthwash?" He asked
Felix looked over to Marcus and smirked. "Nope, we'll probably have to buy some tomorrow, anyway are you done in the bathroom bro?"
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I just need to change into some clothes."
Felix nodded as he stood up from his bed. "Then hurry up, I need to shower too, you know?"
Marcus chuckled as he stepped back into the bathroom. Felix walked towards his bag and grabbed it from the floor, then navigated towards the bathroom and stood by the door.
Felix then exchanged a long silent look with Luna, his expression unmistakably filled with skepticism.
Luna met his gaze with determination and defiance, the tension between them building rapidly until it became almost palpable.
After what felt like centuries, Felix broke the silence with a sigh. "You better treat him right, he cares about you a lot, so I hope this change in attitude, is you realizing that."
"It is," Luna answered softly.
"Good," Felix replied.
The bathroom door opened, revealing Marcus dressed in a white T-shirt and blue shorts. He stretched his arms out wide in an arc as he yawned.
"Are you done making a scene bro?" Felix asked with a chuckle as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yep," Marcus replied with a grin as he stepped away from the bathroom, allowing Felix to slip inside, and closing the door behind himself.
Marcus walked over to the bed Luna was sitting in with a smile on his face. "So?" He said teasingly as he dropped his bag on the floor beside the bed. "Am I allowed to sleep in the bed tonight?"
Luna looked up to Marcus with a challenging grin. "Is that a risk you're willing to take?" She asked with a chuckle.
Without another word, Marcus crashed atop the bed with a sigh of relief. "Absolutely!" Marcus exclaimed with a smile, "If I had to sleep on the floor again I think my back would've gone out."
Luna laughed softly as moved further up the bed, allowing Marcus to get underneath the covers properly.
It took him a moment before he comfortably found a spot to settle in, but once he found it, he didn't move a muscle.
"Are you done?" Luna asked in slight annoyance as she floated above the bed due to Marcus's constant movements.
Marcus nodded with a large grin spread across his face.
Luna rolled her eyes as a smile crept across her face. She then lowered herself gently onto the bed and slipped underneath the covers with Marcus.
As they were now both settled into their shared bed, a comfortable silence fell between them, with only the sound of the shower running, filling the room.
"Luna," Marcus said softly, finally breaking the silence between the two.
"Yes?" Luna asked as she turned to look at Marcus.
Marcus took a heavy breath before continuing. "Do you remember what I told you, about the night terrors and the sleepless nights?" Marcus asked, turning to look at Luna.
Luna nodded. "Yes I remember, you said the simulations caused them, you would dream about your deaths, and wake up in a cold sweat," Luna said softly, her silver eyes gazing upon Marcus with sympathy.
Marcus nodded his head. "If… if it happens tonight, I'll move to the floor, you don't have to deal with it."
Luna shook her head as she reached a hand for Marcus's cheek. It was soft and cold as usual, yet there was a certain warmth behind it. "No, she said softly, we are partners and more importantly friends, I won't push you away."
A genuine smile spread across Marcus's face, he patted Luna on the head gently as he ran his fingers through her silky smooth hair. "Thank you." He replied softly.
It felt like it would have taken an eternity before Marcus could ever sleep peacefully again, but with Luna by his side, he felt that maybe it was possible.
The comforting atmosphere between them grew with each passing second, the dimly lit room created a soft glow that only added to the moment.
Marcus's breathing steadied as his eyelids grew heavy, Luna's calming presence bringing light to what usually was an intense battle to gain a wink of sleep.
It seemed that Marcus would finally get his peaceful sleep after what seemed like forever, as he grew closer to the edge of sleep his exhausted eyes closed completely.
His last conscious thought was full of gratitude and hope, gratitude for having Luna back in his life, and hope for what tomorrow could bring.
— — —
Back at the complex the administrator, Melvin, was having a meeting with the lieutenant's who guided the first exam, alongside a few other personnel of high status.
They all sat around an oval-shaped table with Melvin at its head.
"So." Melvin began with a disinterested tone, tapping a finger on the table in a rhythmic manner. "Have you decided what cadets should get which implants?"
The five lieutenants who oversaw the exam nodded in unison, their holographic forms flickering slightly.
"Well." Melvin said with a sigh, "Are there any cadets worthy of a rank one implant?"
"None in my group sir." Lieutenant Revia spoke first, her tone authoritative as always.
"Same for me." Lieutenant Satou chimed in.
The other three lieutenants shook their heads no as well.
Melvin groaned as he rolled his eyes. "I guess that's to be expected, not all batches can be winners." He then led back in his chair as he crossed his arms. "Rank-two?" He asked ambiguously.
Lieutenant Revia was the first to speak up, "Cadet Felix Abel." She said with a proud smile. "He has shown great resilience during the physical tests, even opting for additional exercises, during the simulations he remained calm and calculated, only failing when the simulation required it, not to mention he has shown the ability to suppress the traumatic events from said simulations and continue to function as normal."
Melvin's eyes widened slightly as a smile grew on his face. "Good, and what implant would you recommend for him?" He asked as he leaned forward, his interest piqued.
"Second-rank implant Electric Storm Caller, I believe cadet Felix will pair well with such a powerful implant, especially with his electric personality and thunderous strength."
Melvin nodded his head with acknowledgment. "I'll have Felix marked down for his procedure, any others?"
Lieutenant Revia nodded as she listened off two more cadets worthy of second-rank implants.
The other four Lieutenant's also had a few recommendations for rank two.
The conversation then shifted to rank three implants, each Lieutenant listed off several cadets they felt were worthy of such implants until eventually the conversation fell to Lieutenant Lance.
"And you Lieutenant Lance?" Melvin asked with a curious expression. "Any recommendations?"
Lance nodded as he sat up straight in his seat. "Four, first is Cadet Cho Sang-Hee, she's a stern and prideful young woman, she is reliable and has a strong will, yet she isn't so stubborn to resist help when needed."
"Implant recommendation?" Melvin asked.
"Shadow Tamer rank-three implant," Lance said with a nod of his head, "its abilities to hide its user in darkness and to create shadows replicants, will pair well with her aggressive nature."
"Oh." Melvin stated in skepticism, "She seems more suited for an aggressive implant, no?" He asked.
Lance shook his head. "I believe the ability for her to hide will pair well with her aggression, providing ample opportunities for surprising her enemies and anomalies alike."
Melvin nodded his head in agreement. "I see, you've thought this out well, who's the second recommendation?"
"Cadet Marcus Fall is physically resilient to most outside threats and pressures, extremely analytical by nature, and though stress and trauma affect him, he's able to push through it, managing to complete and past tests with little to no rest."
A grin spread across Melvin's face as he glanced at Dr. Fletcher, who looked back at him with an annoyed expression.
Melvin chuckled as he glanced back at Lance. "I see, though I must inform you that Dr. Fletcher here has already chosen an implant for that particular cadet, though I will say that she shares your insight on Marcus being ranked three."
Lance glanced over at Dr. Fletcher with narrowed eyes. His expression remained unchanged, yet it was obvious that the gears in his head were churning with thought.
"Moving on, your third recommendation?" Melvin continued with the tap of his finger on the table.
Lance turned his attention back towards Melvin and nodded. "Yes sir…."
The meeting continued as normal, with the remaining cadets all receiving rank four implants of various abilities.