A/N: Just a heads up for the weekly readers, forgot that in a previous break chapter Karia's friend Jess' name was actually Jessie- so that's what she'll be called from now on. I blame the Globe Tracers series for this mix-up lol-

Last chapter, Karia's past continued to be shown with her finding Sariel and seeing that he was now at least stable in the ICU. She then became partners with Officer Aora for an assignment, and after an awkward conversation went to go visit Sariel once more. However, he revealed that he will never be able to walk again due to his injuries. Regardless of the fact, Karia reluctantly agrees to accept his offer to be her boyfriend, and to carry on his goal to make the world a better place through herself...

Karia's P.O.V.

"...Huh? You'll... listen, Karia. I'm not trying to be mean here but... aren't you already just passing your academic and physical training as a soldier...?" Sariel asks me with a shocked look on his face, and he looks way more happy now which only makes me more dead set on my choice of course.

"Well, yeah- but that's 'cause I had no motivation. See how I was talking in, past tense there, I'm already getting smarter- that means I'll change now!" I exclaim as I slam my fist into my palm.

"Ow!" I quietly curse to myself.

"...Haha, well just... try your best Karia, I'll be rooting for you..." Sariel says back to me in a unconfident tone as he's about to put his palms on his face again- but thankfully stops when he sees me looking at him with a pout.

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"Oh, so you already knew huh... yeah, I went to see him earlier and was gonna tell you. Sorry, you must be feeling really crappy then... take it easy today." Jessie says to me as we're both standing and waiting on the massive red oval shaped indoor track of hell in our gray gym shorts and t-shirts.

"Yeah, I feel terrible, mainly for him though... but no, I can't take it easy. I promised him that I'd become a... actually before that, guess what- the guy finally confessed to me!" I quickly change the subject as I can't help but have a small smile on my face.

"Wait for real?! Hah took him a few years to see how hot you really are but I'm glad he did! Now that's some good news today, congrats girl!" Jessie says with a immature whistle as she steps towards me and gives me a big hug.

"Thanks... but still, though, with him being... well not being able to move his lower body and walk and all, I'm just wondering how this is REALLY going to play out, and for how long. I love him- but, I can't help but think that way... scummy right?" I say the reason for why I'm not feeling super happy about it right now...

"We-"

"Alright class, your preparation time for the run is up. Three..." Officer Aora- who serves as our phys-ed instructor from hell says from out of nowhere like always as she stands in front of all of the boy and girl soldiers in our gym class on the track of hell.

Me and Jessie quickly bend down and get in our running positions- with me actually trying to do it properly this time due to my promise.

"Two..." Aora calls out.

Jessie nudges my shoulder, "As I was saying Karia- if he just can't move his lower body, for the romantic parts of your relationship you could always get on top yourself and do it cowgirl style~" She whispers to me with a wink which makes me blush a bit- how can she think about that when we're about to go through with this? But- sh-she has a point though... hmmmm...

"One... zero." Officer Aora says abrubtly as she clicks the wireless starting button to begin our "training" simulation that she's holding. Right after that she and the rest of the class starts to run ahead, but I start a second later due to being distracted by Jessie who's now laughing at me as I'm eating her dust...

"Come back here bitch!" I shout out with determination to her as I start to run ahead myself until I start to reach the slower kids.

*CLICK- PSSSSSSSSSSHHHH!*

The first challenge of our run goes off- with it being the worst one probably. It's SLIGHTLY watered down tear gas that gets sprayed all over us and the track from hoses that somehow pop out of the ground. Even worse the gas basically makes it impossible to see anything around you...

"Ahhhh damn it!" I swear to myself as I charge ahead anyways- but instantly regret it as my eyes start to burn like a bitch right off the bat.

I start to hear coughing from the people ahead of me though I can't even see them- and I start to as well but stop for a second as I hear a girl squeal ahead of me, and a second later a thump on the floor.

"Shit this is torture! But no, try to care for once- isn't there one more challenge that happens at the same time as this one... not flames, not rain, wait rocks!" I quickly think to myself as I remember all the times I've gone through this, and even though it hurts I start to slow down so I don't trip on the jagged rocks that also get scattered onto the track like that other girl just did I bet.

And of course a second later, my foot hits a rock, but besides some pain I stumble a bit and keep on jogging ahead while I hear more people falling behind me.

"Ow ow ow- keep it slow, do it for Sariel!" I think to myself as I'm desperate to just bolt ahead due to my burning lungs and tear covered eyes.

*GASP!*

I take a huge breath in as I FINALLY get out of the horrible gas, and after wiping my eyes see that I'm now right next to the middle-tier kids of the class- and I don't even see Jessie up here! Ha!

"Well done for those of you who made it- however the challenges are not over yet." Officer Aora calls out from way ahead of me- AKA in front of all the runners as a huge wall of energy spikes up from the ground right behind me to block off the people who haven't left the tear gas left.

"Left shooter." Aora calls out suddenly which surprises me but it's nothing new, me and most of class jog to the right edge of the red track as a barrage of paintballs come from a turret that just popped out of the ground by the track ahead of us.

"Right." She calls out and it takes me a second to move so a few shots hit my shoulder and arm before I start to move left.

"Ow, ow!! Shit!" I swear, but keep on running.

"Left. No, middle." She calls out as I'm running in the middle now- but stop with that second call!

*SPLAT!*

I sidestep to the left with some nice speed, with only one shot hitting my leg but that obviously slows down my speed as I'm now panting like hell with a sore throat and eyes still from that gas.

"Middle." She calls out, "Left." She THEN calls out differently which makes me sloppily turn right and get hit a few times again with my uniform and legs looking like a rainbow at this point.

"Second challenge is complete- prepare yourselves for the next." I hear Officer Aora command.

"Hah- hah- hah-" I pant WAY more than a girl like me should be as I keep on running ahead while hunching over a bit, it looks like we're halfway through... I can't tell... shit I'm not used to this, but for Sari...el...

"Karia. Normally you end up giving up on the first challenge- keep it going." I hear Officer Aora's voice say calmly from right next to me which perks me back up- and looking to my left she really is running right next to me.

"She slowed down, huh... she really is a monster, I don't think ANYONE else would offer to be a teacher for this shit except her... but- I can be too!" I think to myself, but only nod to Aora who isn't wearing any sort of protection with my mouth hung open like a dog as she starts to bolt ahead to the front of the class...

Then the next challenge starts, with a few robots running onto the field and... no, are they... robots... ugh...

*THUMP!*

I start to slow down- until I get too tired and flop down to the rough ass floor...

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The top kids as well as Aora finally finished the "run" (for your life I realize!), so we're all sitting on the artificial grass next to the track being exhausted- well except for me who's lying down of course... I feel like I could throw up...

"Attention, soldiers." I hear a voice call out from the entrance to the giant gym we're in, and after a second all of the students in our class sloppily jump up and bow their heads...

"The hell- are they bowing to Aora? No, that was a guys voice... WAIT A MINUTE-" I think to myself as I my eyes swing open, and looking to the side Head Commander Prósopsi is here?! What the hell is he doing here- I can't even move!....

"Thank you- and for working hard as well it seems, like you purple hair... anyways I'll make this quick. Commander Erucid wanted me to apologize for his "failure" during the training expedition on his behalf, as well as to those who were injured due to the attack. Also- I'm sure you're all worried about encountering this foe who took down a Commander. Keep the attack in mind in regards to always having some Telo-Sphere's ready with your squad- however. Don't worry, Commander Erucid stated that he only lost due to his Blessing considering the opponent "good" for whatever reason- meaning that there ARE ways to defeat this criminal still VIA Commanders or myself... Thanks for your time, I'll be going home to watch some Magical G- back to my office." Head Commander Prósopsi finishes after he FREAKING CALLED ME OUT as I don't even bother trying to stand up at this point, but instead just lie my head down in shame and hope he won't get pissed at me...

A few hours later...

"Hey Karia, wanna hang out at my dorm for a bit?" Jessie says from out from nowhere as I'm walking down the school halls like a sloth.

"Oh, uh... no I got a test to study for, sorry...... but I AM super tired after that training..." I mumble as Jessie gives me expecting puppy dog eyes...

"...Ugh fine." I say which makes Jessie smile us she wraps her arm around my shoulder.

One day later...

"Fucking Jessie- you screwed me!" I think to myself as I use my shaky hand to hold my stupid stylus above my assigned tablet that I'm writing a test on... damn- if only these things could connect to the internet, I've got no idea what to do here!

A few hours later...

"Hey Sariel." I say as I swing the door open to his room, not being as enthusiastic as normal obviously due to that test... and gym today too, I couldn't even make it past the first challenge this time...

"Oh!- Hey Karia." Sariel says in a panicked tone as he's lying in his bed and wiping his eyes...

"Wait- were you... crying again just now?" I ask as I stop slouching and stand up straight.

"What? No no why would I, just a bit tired is all really. Anyways, didn't you say you had a test today? Did it go alright?" Sariel asks me in a monotone tone but with slightly more hopeful eyes...

"Ahhhh, haha, well you know it... it went great obviously! Pretty sure I nailed it!" I lie as I start to see Sariel's face get even sadder- but even then he still looks sad.

"...Pfft, I've known you for years Karia, I can tell when you're lying. Just try to be honest with me, please, after all I can't really see the truth- or much at all for myself in state..." Sariel laughs in a sad tone as he looks to be trying not to cry again as he looks down at the sheets he's lying under... shit it backfired!

"...Oh come on you can see a whole bunch of stuff still... like TV, anything good on lately or nah?" I ask with a small laugh as I ignore his question and speed walk toward his light blue bed to get the remote to it that's next to him- wonder why he's not watching it.

"Hah- you really think the HopIran Government would actually let something MILDLY entertaining go on the air? Of course nothing good is on, we can't even pirate stuff online at this point either..." Sariel says with a sarcastic laugh that's DEFINITELY not like him.

"Sariel... come on, don't be like this. Here." I say in a uncomfortable tone as I lean towards him and give him a hug.

"...Sorry. I'm just... tired, is all. Would you mind if you could just let me sleep for a while?" Sariel asks in a serious tone.

"Hah... yeah, sure. See you later." I say back to him in a unhappy tone as well as I start to head back towards the navy blue door I came in from...

"If he's gonna be like this the entire time, are we really gonna be able to make this work?" I think to myself being a bit pissed off as I walk out the door and gently close it as I stare at the ground.

"No, the hell am I saying! Sariel's just in a tough place right now because he's getting used to this stuff and... my lie too, I guess. Damn it I've gotta try harder-"

"FOR REAL THIS TIME!" I end up yelling out loud in the hall which makes the people walking by stare at me... well at least Sariel's probably not asleep yet...

A few days later...

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I'm on the second challenge of our run of hell as I start to pant which of course has to be the Robo-attackers who charge onto the track to attack us with plastic batons.

*SWISH!*

One of them tries to swing their's at my head at a quick speed- but I'm quicker as I do a cool roll on the ground to avoid it!

*SWISH- POW!*

Another one swings at me from the left which makes me have to do a small sidestep to the right- but that takes up all my energy and I still get my side whacked!

"Next challenge incoming- keep it up." Officer Aora says from way ahead of me and the kids at the back of the class, at least they had to deal with the tear gas for their third challenge ahead though, hopefully we'll get something easier when we get there...

"Haaaaah haaaah- damn it..." I say to myself as my eyes start to blur and my chest starts to ache like hell- but... shit I have to keep going, for Sariel!

Finally up ahead of us I can see the third challenge has finally come up from the ground, which looks like it's the "reverse treadmill"- I can... I can make it!

I run onto the thing without thinking, but almost lose my balance right off the bat- but I'm able to save myself as another person falls right next to me.

"Shit- I'm- I'm barely even moving! Need speed, come on remember Sariel- I've gotta see his hot-ass smile again, his hair, everything... so I have to get better at this!" I think to myself as I'm only running at the same speed as the treadmill which means I'm stuck in place- but even then im still exhausted!

"HAAAAAH HAAAAAAH!!!" I pant like hell as I grit my teeth and try to move even faster- and I actually go forward!

"Keep going, Soldier." I can hear Aora call out to me- can't tell from where- but it keeps me moving forward even though my chest is crying in pain.

"End... the end!!!" I think to myself as I can see what I think is the end of the treadmill through my shitty vision so I stop and fall to the hard floor where I pass out.

A few hours later...

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"Hmmmm... hey Officer Ao- I mean Aora, do you think the evolution of territory wide wi-fi would count for a "technological advancement" or whatever?" I ask as both me and her are sitting at a "school filtered" computer in the library- with me doing the searching of course... and the writing... and the reading... yeah, choosing her for my partner was definitely not a good idea.

"Wi-fi involves technology, if it has advanced in the past decade it will do." She only replies in a scary tone as she's cutting out the pieces of construction paper we're going to use for our Bristol board. Yep, we're going old fashioned, my call of course.

"Mm." I only say back as I scroll with the mouse next to me.

"Ugh, being an ACTUAL good student sucks... I just wanna sleep after doing that run..." I think to myself with a small groan as I open up yet another blue link for our research...

A few days later...

*FWOOOOOSH!*

I'm panting like hell as I'm on the third trial in our daily run, but get blown away by the wind challenge just before I can make it to the end and pass ou-

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*THUMP!*

I almost get past the ice challenge- which happens to be the third AGAIN until my legs and arms give out and I fall to the cold hard floor...

A few weeks of grueling training later...

"Alright- I think we're ready now! Pretty nice work on reading your lines by the way- still shitty but- I MEAN you're making good progress!" I panic and shout as me and Aora finish reading out the lines for the project we've been working on for the past while. Turns out being an actual good student pays off, I GUESS- but mainly due to me being able to be proud when I talk to Sariel now.

"Likewise. Though, I have something else I want to discuss with you before you leave. Every day you fail to complete the run of challenges in my gym class- though, you've never stopped running until you have passed out on the third challenge for weeks now. While the run of challenges is merely the first kind of training you can handle- for the reasons I stated I've chosen to recommend you to the Hopian Army's "Cyber-Improvement" program." Aora says which is VERY off topic...

"...Um, sorry I'm kinda lost, and what is that exactly?" I ask as I scrunch my eyebrows.

"Just recently, the Hopian Army's Science division announced to Officers and above that they would start a program in which they take in a few students to perform an extensive surgery of inserting implants on. The implants will consist of many mechanical parts that will drastically improve ones physical strength and endurance. However, the cybernetics installed will reportedly be excruciatingly painful to get used to for quite a while after the surgery is performed. So that's why I'm giving you this choice. I personally would not recommend it to anyone, but you seem to have the greatest ambition out of anyone in the class, so I thought I would give you this option out of all of them." Aora explains, though of course I only hear the "strength and endurance" part!

A/N: Alrighty then- this chapter turned out to be longer than I thought lol, hope you guys enjoyed it!

I hope you guys consider voting or commenting if you enjoyed, and see you next week!