"Let's see, Adams and Taylor, your up next in the ring," Vidia announced. Cadet Taylor was a small, skinny boy that wasn't very good at fighting, so I had nothing to be nervous about. Cadet Taylor looked extremely nervous and was already sweating before we had even gotten in the ring. His stance was too open and he left his midsection completely unprotected. I gave a pointless punch to get him jumpy and to make his stance wider. I faked a punch to his face to draw his arms away from his midsection and then punched his stomach. He doubled back in pain and I let him regain control. He tried to get me back, but I dodged all his blows. He tried a punch to my back only to see me spin around and kick his legs out from under him. I twisted Cadet Taylor's arm around just far enough for him to say that he had had enough.

"I'm done, I give up!" Cadet Taylor squeaked.

"Ok, let him go," Vidia said. I released Cadet Taylor's arm and swung off the ring. I went to cool off on the bench and watch the other fights.

"She's coming along well," I heard Skye tell Vidia.

"Yes, Cadet Adams is dedicated and determined," Vidia agreed.

"It's her third fight she's won this week. That hardly happens," Skye pointed out.

"I'm sure it is," Vidia said monotonly.

"You used to have so much faith in her; why aren't you showing it now?" Skye asked confused.

"Adams might be good, but there are others who are on her same level, or better. From my perspective, there's nothing to jump up and down about until she starts to beat the others on her skill level," Vidia said. Skye didn't like the fact that Vidia was giving her excuses. I quietly slipped behind them and snuck off. Is this what Commander Howlett didn't want me doing? Making myself somewhat noticeable?

"But I like the fact that I'm improving and people actually notice," I thought, "I can't help it if I'm a natural at fighting." Suddenly, I noticed that I was in a hallway that I had never been in before. I waited a few minutes to see if anyone would come, but nobody did. I checked either end of the hallway to see where it might lead, but I didn't recognize a thing. "Oh no, I'm lost!" I thought, "Even if I try to get out of here, I might find that I'm more lost than I think." I heard footsteps behind me and with nowhere to hide, I braced myself. It was another Commander walking briskly by. He didn't notice me because he was too busy flipping through files. Although I didn't get caught, I had lost what might've been my only way out of here. "Oh, what the heck, I'll find my own way out!" I thought defeatedly. As I started snooping around, I heard someone hurriedly coming towards me.

"Hey, Cadet! You aren't supposed to be here!" they called.

"I could run, but that would mean I'm guilty and where would I go?" I thought.

"It's alright, she's with me," an all too familiar voice said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Cadet Adams was to meet with me about one of her colleagues. He's a bit arrogant, if you know what I mean."

"Good luck with that, those are some of the most stubborn Cadets to deal with," laughed the other Commando as he walked off.

"Thank you for, uh, coming up with a story," I said.

"Oh, you mean saving you?" Commander Howlett asked sarcastically.

"That to," I admitted.

"What are you doing down here anyway?" he asked.

"I needed to think about something, so I took a walk and wasn't paying attention to where I was going and got lost," I explained.

"Are you sure that's the only reason why you came down here?" Howlett asked.

"Yes, why?"

"I thought you came down here to see me since my quarters are right here," Commander Howlett stopped us in front of his door.

"I'm in the Commander's Hallway!?" I exclaimed, "I must've been really deep in thought," I said.

"You do know if you ever need anything, I'm here for you," Howlett reminded me.

"I'd love to stay, but if I don't remember how I got here, then I probably won't remember how to get back," I pointed out.

"Right, let's get you back to training," I reminded him, trying to brush off his unspoken suggestion like it was no big deal even though I had butterflies going crazy in my stomach.

"Where have you been?" Vidia asked angrily.

"I was...I um."

"She was with me, I had a question that I knew only she could answer," Commander Howlett lied.

"Since your late, Cadet Adams, you're next in the ring," Vidia said.

"I don't think that's necessary," Commander Howlett tried to defend me.

"It's alright Commander, I can handle it," I said. Skye and Vidia were trying so hard not to laugh.

"WILLIAMS, YOU'RE UP," Vidia shouted.

"Oh boy," I thought, "he's gonna kill me."

"Are you sure you can handle this or are you going to run scared?" Alex taunted. I punched him square in the face.

"If the shoe fits," I commented and then the fight began. Alex and I were equally matched making it a tiring fight.

"Come on, one of you needs to do something, this is isn't going to do anything," Skye complained.

"Skye wants something unexpected and I'm going to be the one to give it her," Alex sneered. I tried an uppercut, but Alex grabbed my arm, yanked me around so we were back to back, flung me over his head, and landed me hard on my side. "Looks like I win," Alex rubbed it in.

"That's what you think," I said as I knocked his legs out from under him, flipped myself up landing perfectly on my feet, and gave a hard kick to his side. "Guess you're not as good as you think you are." Our squad applauded and I happily swung over the ring.

"That was perfect! You see what I'm talking about? It's people like this that are going to make it!" Skye said excitedly as she gave me a pat on the back.

"You never cease to amaze me Sarah," Vidia said with a smile, "Rest up and be ready for tomorrow."

"I have to do that all over again?" I breathed. Vidia nodded and called the next pair.

"That was quite the fight up there," a man in a nice suit and tie, complete with a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge said.

"Alex is a big bully, I was only trying to teach him a lesson," I said honestly with a shrug.

"You're being too modest, that was more than teaching someone a lesson," he said.

"Coulson, I didn't think I'd be seeing you for another week," Skye interrupted, surprised. 

"Unfortunately, something came up and I thought it was best to get here as soon as possible," he said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Skye apologized.

"Agent Coulson, if you barely got here, how would you know if I'm simply being too modest or not?" I asked cooly with a glare.

"I read your file on the way here and I have to say, it's most impressive."

"I'm only trying to make my up in the military. You see, I want to make it the front lines," I told them.

"What about going overseas?" Skye asked.

"I would only go if I could be reunited with my loved one."

"And who might that be?" Agent Coulson ventured as he pulled a notepad from his suit pocket.

"Peter Zygmont. I got a letter from him a few months ago that said he was going overseas. I haven't heard from him since," I explained.

"I'm sorry, did you say Peter Zygmont?" Skye asked as if she didn't hear me right.

"Yes, why? Has something happened to him?" Coulson and Skye glanced at each other.

"We're not sure yet," Coulson said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"His ship was attacked and taken over by the aliens last night. We've tried to reach out to them several times, but all there is is radio silence. If we don't hear from them by this afternoon, we're going to send a chopper," Coulson explained. I swallowed hard as I tried to process what I had heard.

"Don't worry, we'll find them and I'm sure General Zygmont knows how to handle things in that kind of situation," Skye tried to reassure me.

"General  Zygmont?" I repeated in awe. I was going to ask how that happened when Commander Howlett walked to where I could see him and motioned for me to come over. Agent Coulson picked up on my sudden distraction and followed my gaze.

"I know this must be very hard for you to take in, but is everything else alright Cadet Adams?" Agent Coulson asked concerned.

"I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning," I said with a fake smile and walked past them.

"What do they want?" Commander Howlett asked grumpily when I reached him.

"I'm not sure," I said as I looked back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, "but whatever it is, I'm not sure I like it," I said.

"What did they tell you?" Howlett asked.

"They kind of hinted at sending me overseas," I answered.

"Did you accept?"

"Absolutely not! I like cruises, but not when these aliens are still out there," I joked. Commander Howlett didn't find it very funny.

"Do you understand what just happened?" Howlett asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. noticed that I don't care if I beat the crap out of a bully?" I tried.

"No Sarah, S.H.I.E.L.D. found you, ok? They have found  you and if you keep this reckless behavior up, bad things will happen," he explained.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that Commander," I said sadly. He looked at me confused.

"Is there more going on here than what you're telling me?" Commander Howlett asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet," I said looking down.

"Whatever it is, I can tell it's personal. Why don't you get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow."

I didn't sleep well that night because Commander Howlett's warnings kept crossing my mind. I was also afraid that if I fell asleep, I would have another dream, especially because I was aware of it now. Furthermore, the thought of what was happening to Peter kept me up. What if he was hurt or dead? I refused to fall asleep; instead, I listened to my music and tried to think about how to beat Bella to keep my mind off of things. If I was to win, I needed to be prepared. What could I do that was unexpected to not only her, but everyone else as well? I thought about it as I flipped through my stunt book. I would need something stylish, since it was Bella we're talking about, but still had the element of being bad ass.

As if trying to fall asleep was bad enough, I got a knock around 2am. I lazily rolled out of bed and, rubbing the sleep from my face, answered the door. "Commander, I told you-" I trailed off as I realized that it wasn't Commander Howlett at my door, but Agent Coulson.

"I highly suggest that you take a day or two off of training," he suggested. I was still extremely tired and didn't understand what he was saying.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked confusedly as I wiped my tired eyes.

"I always hate this part of the job, but this is for you," Coulson said as he reached into his suit pocket and handed me a letter. It was addressed to me from Peter. Wait, what!?

"What is this?" I asked suddenly concerned. Agent Coulson gulped. "Are you saying that my Peter is dead-dead?" Agent Coulson stopped and looked back with a grave look.

"General Zygmont was a good man, but he fell with his entire squad," he said sadly as he walked away.