16.

I wake up, and surprisingly, I am refreshed from the night. At least my new bed is comfy.

It's 6 am. Time to get going.

"Copper?"

"Hey."

"I want to practice my swings with Bellona, and I want to practice that round kick some more too. I think my martial arts needs a lot of work. I want to move like Scarlet. "

I hear his smirk when he says, "Well, let's get started, then."

***

The apartment is a two bedroom, the other room set up for practice and training, including my very own cloth dummy.

I have spent the majority of the morning training, perfecting my fighting techniques.

My body is strong, and after sleeping and putting some food into me, I am formidable, though a little clumsy.

"It'll come. You just have to be diligent."

"I'm sure you'll help with that."

He grunts in reply, busy studying my heart rate or whatever.

I am sweaty and my muscles ache, but I welcome the feeling. It's the feeling of progress. The better trained I am, the better my chances of survival.

I am in the middle of ignoring my jello arms, swinging at the dummy again with my heavy axe, when Copper announces, "You will be meeting your Swatch today-- Swatch 999."

I brace myself, panting, against the dummy. "What?"

"Your Swatch. You all are scheduled to perform a mission tonight."

"So soon? Dammit." I feel my stomach churn.

"This one's an easy one. No chances of death here."

"It's so weird to hear you say something like that as though it's nothing."

"Been at this for a long time."

"Can't you quit?"

"No."

"Because you can't, or won't?" I ask, curious.

"Enough."

"Enough of what?"

"Trying to get to know me. I am your Sync. That's all you need to know."

I frown at this, but shrug. "Fine, I just thought we could make this more bearable by being friends."

"We are not friends, Ebony. We are two cogs functioning together to make S.H.A.D.E work correctly. That's it."

I feel offended. It's like he doesn't see me as a person, a human being. But then again, it seems like he doesn't think of himself that way either.

But he is human. He has Nightmares.  He has fears, a past. He chose his name, and with it, this life of service to an invisible organization. Does he remember who he was before becoming Copper?

The image of that girl, the one with yellow hair, flashes through my mind.

Then the little girl with the yellow rain boots.

What does it mean?

"What are you thinking about?" Copper asks, and I hear an underlying tone of uncertainty in his voice.

I lift my axe, and strike the dummy. It connects perfectly, blade flying into the neck with a thwack. "Don't concern yourself with my thoughts, Copper. I'm only a cog," I say evenly.

"I hate when you act this way."

"What? I'm finally complying."

There's a knock at my door. It must be my Swatch. I go to put my axe down.

"... Ebony... wait."

"What? Isn't that--?"

"No, they won't be here until later."

My skin goosebumps. "It's probably Arnold."

"Arnold isn't here on weekends. Ebony, take your axe and slowly move towards the door. Be ready, okay? I'm gonna enhance your hearing."

"The Necro Proxy?"

"Maybe. Just be as silent as possible."

I nod, then lift my axe, ready to weild it. There is a knock again. I move silently, step after step, towards the door.

My breathing and heart rate are even, and I am greatful for the first time that Copper is in control of my anxiety, because I would be sick with fear otherwise.

I can hear better than before, the high pitched buzzing of my lamp gradually audible, though my vision hazes ever so slightly. Someone is breathing on the other side of the door, their heart just as steady as mine. I hear them shift as I reach for the knob.

Taking a breath, I fly the door open and raise my axe overhead.

The boy carrying a pie squeaks incoherently, swearing as he tumbles back against the hallway wall. The pie drops out of his hands and lands face down on the floor.

I quickly lower my axe, and place it aside, walking out to help him up. "I'm sorry, I didn't -- I wasn't expecting you!"

The boy stared up at me with his green eyes before straightening, adjusting his baseball cap over his brown head of hair. "Who were you expecting, then? The final boss?"

"What?"

"Oh god, that sounded nerdy."

I feel really silly and embarrassed. I almost butchered this poor boy to death based on a whim.

I push some curls out of my face, glancing down at the ruined pie. "Was that for me?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you very much."

A smile comes over him, and I find myself smiling back, a nervous bubble of laughter rising in my throat. Actually, this situation is kind of comical. He laughs too, probably thinking the same.

"I'm Danny," he says, offering me his hand.

I take it, and he seems startled by my strong shake.

"Don't tell him your name."

"Couldn't if I wanted to." 

"My name is," I pause for a millisecond, "Cara."

"Well," he pauses pointedly, "Cara, you missed out on one of my famous strawberry rhubarb pies." He bends down and carefully lifts the crushed pastry.

"I'm so sorry about that."

He chuckles, "Ah, no worries. I just thought I'd do something for a new neighbour, you know -- the old traditional pie. But little did I know, I was unconventionally greeted by an axe-waving... hey, what's with the axe anyway? You into axe throwing or something?"

"Yeah. It's my passion," I lie, relieved he volunteered an excuse for me.

"Oh, really?" he grins, apparently impressed by this.  "I thought so. You look the type."

I cross my arms, grinning back. "And what type is that?"

"Strong."

My smile grows wider and for a little moment, we just stare at each other. 

"Well... thanks for the pie," I say, fussing with my hair again. 

"Really, it's no problem," he says, moving towards his door half-heartedly.

I nod, stepping back into my apartment, reaching for the door.

"Hey, um," he says suddenly, and I open my door wider again. "If you ever need anything, you know, I'm right next door. Sugar, fixing something, a target for your axe -- you name it."

I laugh. "I will keep that in mind. Thanks, Danny."

He gives a nod and returns to his apartment.

I shut my door, smiling.

"Well, wasn't that just adorable?"

My smile drops. "Whatever, Copper."

"He may be a spy, you know, so don't bat your lashes so damn much next time and stay alert."

"He's just a nice guy. I don't expect you to recognize one." 

"Yeah, whatever, Cara."

"Ugh, shut up!"

And he does while I continue my training into the afternoon. Perhaps I imagine it, but I feel his absence from my mind, feel a sense of vacancy. That's okay, I am glad to have my mind all to myself for a bit. As I punch and kick in pattern, I think about Danny and how delicious that pie would have been.

I am getting better little by little, but I am definitely not a black belt in the span of one day. I have a long, long way to go before I am the best.

Eventually, I sit down on my brown sofa, rubbing at my foot which is sore from constantly kicking at the dummy. My knuckles are all but raw as well.

"Tape em up next time."

"Well, look who's back."

"What do you mean?"

My brows pull together, puzzled. "Thought you needed a breather. I know I did."

Silence.

"Copper?"

"I was here the whole time. I don't need to comment on everything. "

I snort. "Could have fooled me!"

I sense an uneasiness in him, and that stops to make me think: was he really here this whole time? Was I not supposed to realize he left?

I cannot pose this question to him, because for the second time today, there is a knock at the door.

"Oh, they're here."