The W1RLD

Written by: The Masked Eidolon

Edited by: Leon the Man

Enjoy 🙂

Chapter 19 - Two Sides of the Coin

ONE YEAR AFTER CHAPTER 18:

Complete silence enveloped the dark room in which the man in black confidently stood. He was holding a wooden stick, painted black to suit his attire, and his eyes were closed shut. His duty was to land a strike on a certain sandy-haired soldier using that stick without opening his eyes. It was a tall order, as his opponent was extremely skilled. But the man in black had no doubts he could eventually land a blow on him. And when he did land that blow, it would not be a mere glancing one. No, it would be a mighty attack that would leave his opponent completely defeated.

The man in black sauntered forward, not even bothering to take a form. This would lure his adversary into making the first move and falling right into his trap. But the brown-haired individual was a patient fighter, and he did not respond to his opponent in black's provocation. He merely smiled and said:

"Have you gotten so frustrated with your inability to land an attack on me that you're now purposely throwing the match?"

The man in black responded with a smile of his own, "No, master. I was just trying to bait you into carelessly attacking me. Of course, you're too perceptive, and didn't fall for the trick."

"Remember your lessons, Ethan. Deception is beneath you. When you fight your enemy, always aim for his head." Rico instructed.

"I know that lesson very well." Ethan replied, "But you also taught me that tactics are just as important as strength. 'So what if you can overpower an enemy, when your enemy can outsmart you?'"

"Good answer! You really do take my lessons to heart, huh?"

Ethan smirked, "I'm nothing if not observant."

"Well, Mr. Observant. Let's see what you can do without your eyes." Rico said as he readied his training saber and started walking toward Ethan.

This was it. Rico had taken the bait. Now it was Ethan's job to beat him in a one-on-one struggle for supremacy. However, Ethan was thrown off guard when Rico, without warning, sprinted at him and went for an overhead strike. Ethan reacted with a sluggish block, giving Rico enough time to capitalize on his aggression. He went for a side-swipe to his student's stomach, but it was easily predicted and parried by Ethan, who thrusted at Rico's chest.

In response to this, Rico merely stepped to the side, and as Ethan zoomed past him, struck him in the back. However, Ethan never lost his balance, and instead of falling on the floor, he mitigated the impact of Rico's strike by executing a forward dive roll. While this was a good tactical move, Rico still had the advantage, and he capitalized on it by flawlessly engaging Ethan with a flurry of attacks using unrelenting force. Ethan barely managed to defend this onslaught, finally ending the skirmish with a well-placed counterattack that forced Rico out of his aggressive position.

This attempt at landing an attack on Rico was Ethan's best yet, as he had actually managed to defend himself from Rico's first rush. Although he had suffered a couple of hits, Ethan was in no way discouraged from his goal. Every ounce of brain power he had went into formulating his plan of attack, and since Rico was far too skilled to be bested in normal combat, there needed to be some kind of trick involved in Ethan's winning blow.

But what kind of trick would Rico fall for? He was a veteran of warfare who had fought against all kinds of people, and he knew the ins and outs of sword fighting to a T. What method of attack could possibly fool him? Ethan began to feel a sense of hopelessness in his gut, but right at that moment, he instantly realized that there was only one option if he was going to have a chance at fulfilling his task.

Ethan readied his sword, and before he even had time to evaluate his choices, charged like a bull right at Rico, and swung his stick in a wide arc, aiming for Rico's arm. Rico brought his own stick to his side to block, but the force of Ethan's blow was too strong, and he could not stop Ethan's training saber from connecting with his shoulder. As soon as Ethan heard the sound of wood hitting flesh, he opened his eyes, and saw that he had completed his assignment.

"Yes!" Ethan exclaimed with the joy of a child beating his father in chess for the first time, "I knew that would work!"

"Wow," Rico remarked, "You really just ran in, didn't you?"

"Heh." Ethan laughed. "I can't tell if that's a complement or a criticism."

"It's both." Rico explained, "I was honestly expecting that strike to be a feint of some kind, which is why I didn't put my full effort into the block. But you know how perceptive I am, and you used that against me."

Rico sheathed his training saber, "It was quite a gamble. If I thought of your attack more simply, you would have gotten countered and likely disarmed. It would have been the end of the run for you. But you knew that you had to take such a gamble in order to land a hit on me because of our difference in skill. I'm honestly very impressed with your growth."

Ethan straightened up, "Well, I was trained by the best."

"You know, I think you may be ready."

"Ready for what?" Ethan questioned.

"Ready to formally join the military."

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The soldier stared at the target board, holding a small knife in his hand. He had been practicing for hours, but he had not landed a single bulls-eye. This time, however, he would not miss. He took his stance, eyed the wooden plate, and threw his knife. It sailed through the air and hit the dartboard, but the knife's blade failed to sink into the lumber, and fell to the floor ungracefully.

"Aw, come on, Lucas." his white-haired friend, who was sitting down on a bench beside him, started, "You've gotta put in a little more force than that."

"I know, Chandler." Lucas Cunningham replied as he sat back down on the bench.

Chandler Grant got up from his seat, "Here. Let me give this a try."

Chandler strode over to the training area and picked up 4 knives with his right hand, holding them in the gaps between his fingers. Then, he threw all of them at the board, and every one of them landed in the centermost circle. Chandler smiled with satisfaction at what he had just accomplished.

"Perfect as always." Lucas commented as he took a sip of water from his canteen. "How do you do it?"

"To be fully honest." Chandler said as he sat down himself. "I don't know. I've always been able to do stuff like this with relative ease. Of course, I wasn't always perfect on the first try."

Lucas frowned, "That's not very helpful. Can you give me some tips?"

"Hmm..." Chandler postulated, "Tips..."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah. Like certain tricks you used in order to get stronger faster."

"I know what a tip is, Lucas. Problem is, there's really only one 'tip' I can give you, and it involves a long story."

"I'd like to hear it."

Chandler sighed, "Alright. Listen closely."

Lucas scooted a little closer to Chandler on the bench in which they were seated.

"You see, back before the war, I used to play this game called 'Geometry Dash.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember you ever playing it."

"No, I never did. I was more into things like Rocket League SideSwipe." Lucas confirmed.

"Ew."

"H-Hey! Don't judge me! We all have our guilty pleasures..."

Chandler narrowed his eyes, "Sure thing... Anyway, about Geometry Dash. It wasn't the type of game you'd get good at by memorizing combos or placements or any of that nonsense. The only way to get good was through sheer consistent practice. Any kind of shortcuts you tried to make would only end up biting you in the foot after a while."

Chandler scratched his head, "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Lucas nodded, "Yeah. You're saying that there are no shortcuts in real combat and that any time savers I try to create will inevitably backfire."

"Pretty much." Chandler explained, "Although you might want to work on gaining muscle mass too. Strength will make things easier."

"I see."

Chandler handed Lucas a knife, "Here, have another go. I'm sure you can land a shot this time."

"Alright." Lucas said as he got up and accepted the tool.

This time, Lucas was completely determined to land it on the dartboard. He got into position, lined up his thumb with the center of the blade, and wrapped the rest of his fingers around it. He was completely ready to strike. The adrenaline was running through his veins, and as he threw the dagger at the target, he was sure it would hit home.

Except, it didn't.

It wobbled and bounced off the panel like it always had, and crashed to the floor with a mighty clank.

"Damn it." Lucas groaned.

Chandler spoke up, "It's alright, Lucas. Like I said, improvement is all about practice."

"But I've already practiced so much..."

Chandler didn't have a response to this, and after a few seconds of painfully awkward silence between the two, the door to the training room burst open, revealing Derek Byrd, one of Chandler and Lucas's classmates.

Chandler was the first to respond, "Derek? What are you doing here?"

Derek gulped, "Chandler, you're not going to like this."

Chandler was even more intrigued, "I'm not going to like what?"

"You know how new recruits aren't being let in since the Lieutenant Promotion Tourney is in a couple days? Well, guess what. Apparently, someone named Ethan Clarke got in."

Lucas was completely floored, "Huh!? But that rule's never been broken before!"

"I know, that's what makes this such big news! But that's not all, guys. Guess just who trained this Ethan Clarke character."

"I don't know, Derek. Was it Cadence the boxer or something?" Chandler inquired.

"Nope. He was trained by the Inspector himself."

"The Inspector... hold on, what!?" Chandler exclaimed, "Don't tell me he's still making people participate in that blasphemous test?"

"I told you that you wouldn't like it, Chandler."

"You didn't answer the question."

Derek sighed, "I don't know. Although there's really no reason for him to stop doing it."

Chandler took a couple of seconds to process the newfound information, "Are you completely sure he's the one who trained the new recruit?"

Derek frowned, "Yeah. I heard it all from Major Jones himself."

Chandler grinded his teeth against one another with palpable rage, "So that degenerate has corrupted yet another innocent man..."

Everyone was silent, clearly not wanting to interfere with the white-haired recruit's thoughts.

"I'm going to the auditorium to check things out." Chandler stated as he walked over to the training room's door and forcefully shoved them open.

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Major Norman Jones was standing in front of an extremely boisterous auditorium filled with students who were filled with gossip over the recent admission of the Inspector's trainee. He couldn't really blame them, as this was the first time in history that the applicant freeze rule had been broken, even if it was by a Virgilian official. Naturally, people were extremely curious as to what kind of new recruit they were getting if they warranted this level of special treatment.

Alex Stone, who was now Norman's assistant, asked him a question, "So, do you have any idea why the empire decided to break its own law?"

"Don't ask me, Captain." Norman explained, "Even if I normally preside over applications to the force, I wasn't the one who made the decision."

"If not you, then who made it?"

"King Virgil himself, from what I hear. Although, the higher-ups have been a bit cagey with the details."

"Huh." Alex said, "Since this new guy is getting a clear preference over other students, I assume you'll be grading him extra hard?"

Norman smiled, "Everyone gets graded a little harder during their first few weeks in training. That will never change. Besides, King Virgil will get mad at me if I do anything more than that."

Alex smirked, "That's only if he doesn't know."

"Oh, but he will know. He knows everything."

At that moment, Chandler burst through the auditorium doors and started walking at a brisk pace toward Norman. Based on his expression and his balled fists, it was obvious that Chandler was not happy.

"Oh, shit. Speaking of knowing, guess who just found out about the Inspector's apprentice."

"Hah!" Alex laughed, "I'm not dealing with this, Norman. Peace out!"

"Hey, Alex! Don't just jump ship! It's dishonorable!"

This sentence has no effect on Alex's decision, as she ignored Jones and walked right out the door of the auditorium.

"Jerk..." Norman muttered as he turned back in Chandler's direction.

He watched in horror as Chandler walked up to his desk and firmly planted his grimy shoes on Norman's very recently washed carpet.

"Major, is it true that the Inspector's apprentice was let into the military despite the two-week applicant freeze for the Lieutenant Promotion Tourney?"

"Yeah..."

"Why are his students being given priority? It's not as if he's a particularly good teacher or anything."

Norman slowly facepalmed, visibly annoyed, "I've answered this question so many times, Chandler. The Inspector himself is arriving soon, and he'll give everyone the answers they're looking for."

"What? I wasn't informed of this."

"I didn't realize it was my job to inform you. Just get back to your seat."

Chandler frowned, "But I have some more questions to ask."

"Alright then. Ask away."

"Will this apprentice be participating in the promotion tourney?" Chandler asked.

"I mean, that was kind of the whole point of letting him in before it took place, you know." Norman explained, relieved due to the fact that Chandler wasn't causing a scene, "So that he could participate. But don't worry, I'm sure that after one year of training with the Inspector, he'll be a match for everyone here. Even for you."

"That's good. I'd like to know if I could get an early match with him during the round robin portion of the exam, though."

"Oh? Are you interested in fighting him?"

Chandler smirked, "Yes. Very much. I'd like to get an opportunity to test my skills and assert dominance on the Inspector and his methods."

"Ah. Well then, I'll make sure to give you that opportunity." Norman stated, "Now, if you've no more questions, please return to your seat."

"Thank you, Major." Chandler said as he did just that, finding a table with his two friends, Lucas and Derek. From Norman's experience, those three always sat together, always ate together, and always had mud on their shoes due to constant training out in the fields. And that was quite the inconvenience for Norman.

He picked out his transceiver from his belt and turned the knob to channel 3, "Alex, get back here and clean my carpet. You can't ditch on the entire session."

A crackly voice emanated from the device and into Norman's ear, "What? Didn't you already vacuum that?"

"Yeah, I did. But it got dirty again thanks to you leaving the auditorium."

"Alright." Alex responded, "I'll be over in a bit."

"Okay, then." Norman said as he turned off the transceiver and smiled, knowing that his beloved carpet would be back to new soon.

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"Are you ready to meet your new comrades?" Rico asked Ethan as they walked down the hall that led to the auditorium.

For the occasion, Ethan was wearing his battle-gear, which consisted of clothing that made him seem more intimidating and muscular than he really was. He was clad in a black leather jacket with solid silver buttons that radiated menacing intent in his eyes. The jacket wasn't buttoned up, however, in order to maximize the aerodynamics of his outfit. Complementing the coat was a black t-shirt slightly too big for him and black jeans with a belt of the same color. He systematically covered every part of his body that would seem weak to other soldiers. As for the black? Well, that was just his taste.

"I'm as ready as I've ever been." Ethan replied as they reached the door to the assembly hall.

Whatever challenges lay in store for him, Ethan was sure he was ready to take them on.

As they reached the door to the assembly hall, Rico put one hand on the knob, "Alright. Now that we're here, me and Major Jones will be speaking about the Lieutenant Promotion Tourney and how it works. Try to get acquainted with your fellow soldiers during that time."

"I will, master."

Rico opened the door, and all the chatter that was present in the room died down immediately. Ethan beelined to the seat that was farthest away from everyone else as Rico made his way to the front of the auditorium, where every Virgilian officer was currently gathered to hear his speech. He was also vaguely aware that a certain white-haired student was glaring at him all the while.

When he got up to the Major's podium, Norman had some things to say, "Hello, Inspector. You sure took your time to get here, didn't you."

Rico stared at Alex, who was scrubbing Norman's carpet with a sponge, with overwhelming disappointment in his eyes, "Still the same neat freak, I see."

"Heh." Norman chuckled, "I don't think you should keep your audience waiting."

"I agree." Rico said as he walked over to the microphone stand and tapped it twice to make sure it was working.

Rico cleared his throat before speaking, "Greetings, Virgilian military. I am Rico Jacobson, the Inspector. I know, it's quite unorthodox for me to make an appearance here during initiation, but it simply must be done. My newest apprentice, Ethan Clarke, was recently accepted into Virgilian forces despite the two-week initiation freeze. I would like to inform you all that this is not simply because he is my student. My previous apprentices have been subject to the freeze just as all of you have. Alas, this particular one is... shall we say, gifted. He's only trained under me for a year, yet he possesses expert level combat skills, along with extreme resourcefulness and intelligence."

Rico shifted his tie, "The government has decided to let him in so that new students may be encouraged to train harder in order to best him."

Suddenly, the same white-haired recruit who was glaring at Rico spoke up, "Why are you so confident that he's better than us?"

Rico turned in his direction, "Because I trained him, I know his potential more than anyone else. Possibly even more than he knows it himself."

"But you haven't trained everyone. Who's to say I'm not just as strong?"

"Chandler," Rico said, "There's a reason why I didn't train you. So, I think I would know about your level of power."

"The only way to truly test that is if we ever meet in battle." Chandler challenged.

"Sure." Rico sighed, "Let's leave it at that. Where was I again, Norman?"

"I believe you were talking about your apprentice's role in the tourney."

"Ah, the tourney." Rico started, "Well, there's not going to be any difference in procedure for this year, other than the usual stuff. If no one has any questions for me, then my job here is done."

Nobody raised their hand or their voice, so Rico stepped down from the podium and gave the microphone to Norman.

"Alrighty," Norman remarked as he clicked something on his desk, revealing a carefully planned powerpoint slideshow.

"This is the first year that I'm in charge of the promotion tourney, so I'm going to be putting my own spin on things." Norman stated, "The first round, instead of the usual round robin fights, will be a social deduction test."

Norman took a sip of water, "The reason for this is due to the silent presence of the Dark Knights, who, as we know, still have a spy in our army called the Sun God. Each and every Virgilian soldier will need to become a master detective in order to root out the enemy, whether they like it or not."

Norman pressed a button, and flipped to the second slide, "The second round of the promotion tourney will, of course, be the round robin. This portion of the LPT is quite a staple, and the tourney just wouldn't be the same without it. Of course, the format is a bit old and stale, but there's nothing anyone can really do about that. The round robin remains the best and most efficient way to test a warrior's skill in comparison to those around him. Although, something tells me that this year's round robin will be a little more exciting than the last."

Norman flashed a conspiratorial smirk at Chandler as he pressed a button and switched the slide once more, "Finally, and last but not least, every Lieutenant must be a good leader. And a good leader is a good speaker. The final round of the promotion tourney will be to write an elegant speech about your strengths and your weaknesses. You must be confident, but not cocky. You must be humble, but not self-deprecating. It's a tricky thing to balance. However, your traits are not the only thing you must record in your speech. Oh no. You should also include your plans for how you will command your soldiers so that the government may see the extent of your ambition. This will give us a good idea of whether you are fit to become a Lieutenant."

Norman pushed another button, and the slideshow disappeared, "Remember, everyone, that only only one candidate may be promoted! The honor of gaining a leadership position in the military is not to be understated."

No one raised their hands or spoke.

"Now, if you all understand what's to come, please disperse. I have no need to keep you here when you could be training." Norman said as he walked down the podium and left the auditorium.

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As soon as the meeting ended and Chandler walked out of the auditorium, he began to study Rico Jacobson's new apprentice. His clothing, his gait, his height, everything that could be used against him. After all, this guy was Chandler's ticket to getting revenge on Rico and showing him just how little his method of teaching mattered. So far, though, he couldn't find much on the dude. His attire completely masked how much muscle he had, which made accurately gauging his strength impossible. He walked in a hunch, likely to cause extra intimidation when he did decide to stand upright, and he never really spoke. From these facts, Chandler could tell the man was a battle machine, forged to be a soldier and nothing else. He was extremely excited to take on such a foe in battle.

However, just as Chandler was lost in thought, his friend Lucas approached him, "Don't you think we should go over and talk to him?"

"Huh? You mean opt for a more direct form of info-gathering?"

"No... I just thought we should get to know each other. You know, since he's new and all. Having someone strong like that as a friend would be pretty advantageous, don't you think?"

"We don't know that he's strong." Chandler countered, "And befriending him is unthinkable. He's been brainwashed by the Inspector, remember."

"Even if he's been brainwashed, don't you think he deserves a chance?"

Chandler wasn't impressed, "I'll happily give him one... after I put him in his place. He needs to know just how pathetic his master is. And by extension, how pathetic he is."

"But, that's cruel. He hasn't done anything." Lucas replied.

"It's a cruel world, Lucas. Survival of the fittest. If you can't make it, you can't make it."

Lucas frowned, "Well, I'm going over there whether you like it or not. I don't take orders from you."

"I mean, if you really want to be like that, then fine. Go over there and get some info for me." Chandler advised.

"It's not about info, Chandler, and you know it."

Chandler sighed, visibly exasperated, "You making friends with him isn't going to change the fact that I'm going to beat him to a pulp once the round robin starts. Besides, talking with him in any form will get me more intel no matter the topic of the convo. So, in effect, you'll just be throwing him under the bus."

Lucas firmly stood his ground, "No, I won't be throwing him under the bus. You take this whole 'revenge' thing way too seriously, you know that?"

"Whatever."

Lucas slowly ambled over to the bench in which Ethan was sitting and tried to initiate a conversation.

"Hey, you're the Inspector's apprentice, right? I'm Lucas Cunningham, a student here. I just wanted to tell you that-"

"Go away."

"What?" Lucas blurted.

"I told you to go away, right?" Ethan demanded, "I have no desire for human interaction beyond what is necessary. Especially from a weakling like you."

"A weakling? What do you mean?" Lucas queried.

Ethan got up from the bench and started to walk toward the building's exit, "I meant exactly what I said. You're weak. I can just tell. Now, if you would please stop bothering me, I will be taking my leave."

As Ethan sauntered off into the distance, he didn't realize that Chandler heard the whole encounter. And naturally, Chandler was not happy about it. Lucas had a much purer and kinder soul than Chandler, but when Lucas approached Ethan, instead of deciding to hear Lucas out, Ethan just rudely interrupted him and insulted him before walking off.

There was a primal, instinctual rage in Chandler's heart, and he felt as though he needed to defend his friend. Get even, per se. So, he started to get up and follow Ethan to confront him in order to make it known that disrespecting Chandler's friends would not be allowed.

"Chandler? What are you doing?" Lucas questioned when he saw that Chandler was pursuing Ethan.

"Stay right there, Lucas. I'll handle things from here."

In the wake of Lucas's failed conversation attempt, Chandler's was shorter, easier said, and had a much higher chance of success,

"Hey, dumbass!" he shouted, "It must be tough to trade pride for skill."

Ethan turned around and identified the man who had accosted him. A tall, muscular soldier wearing the tan Virgilian uniform who had white hair. He seemed to be Lucas Cunningham's friend, which explained the insult, but such a specific choice of words intrigued him. He acknowledged the fact that Ethan was skilled, instead choosing to slander where he had learned his skill from. It's almost as if this man wasn't trying to insult him, but his master.

As soon as Ethan was finished sauntering over to Chandler, he spoke, "What did you just say to me?"

When Ethan was standing right up in front of you, with his gaunt black apparel, and glaring, it was tough to not be a little intimidated. After all, that's why he wore all black, right? But Chandler would not be fooled by this stunt, because he knew that the man inside the cherry leather jacket was nothing more than a hollow shell, riddled with holes and insecurities for Chandler to exploit one by one. Ethan was a coward and a fool, which is why he had to wear expensive clothes to hide it.

"You heard me. I told you. It must be tough. To trade pride. For skill."

The two men stared each other down, each one wondering what the other had in store. Since neither one of them wanted to break the silence, tension between the two of them grew and grew. Lucas stood a few feet from them, having no idea what was running through their brains. Of course, that was probably better for Lucas, because the rivalry he was currently witnessing would be one of the most infamous in Virgilian history.

Ethan decided that he would be the one to take the initiative and spoke up, "Why do you think that of me?"

"You trained under Rico Jacobson, didn't you? I think you already know why."

"You've got a problem with my master, huh. Then take it to him, not me. In fact, I think the only reason you're doing this is because you know he's stronger than you." Ethan retorted.

Chandler was indifferent, "Yeah, he may be physically stronger. But he's dumb as a brick. Say, does he still make potential trainees kill a dog before he accepts them?"

"Yeah, he does. But I can't see how that's any business of yours. Or why that makes him dumb."

"Hah! I knew it! Oh boy, are you naive. You're degenerate scum for actually doing that, you know." Chandler prodded.

"That test was designed to prove one's worth on the battlefield. You're in the military, aren't you? If you can't even kill a dog, it's up for debate as to whether you should even be here." Ethan argued.

"And since when do we need to learn to kill to be in the military? There haven't been any direct attacks on the Virgilian empire in the history of its existence."

"That doesn't mean it can't happen." Ethan countered, "We need to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst."

"And I agree with that. But when the time comes to fight, we can easily settle things diplomatically. No killing necessary. So, in the end, taking that poor puppy's life was quite meaningless." Chandler defended.

"Hah!" Ethan started to say as he burst out laughing, unable to contain himself.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. You just remind me of myself, back when I was a complete and total idiot." Ethan declared. "Peace this, peace that. Diplomacy this, diplomacy that. Pacifism this, pacifism that. But it's all pointless. You're fucking stupid if you think the enemy can be reasoned with."

Chandler wasn't convinced, "What? Why am I stupid for wanting to solve things a different way? The Dark Knights are humans too, you know. They have friends, family, and realistic motivations. You can't just throw all of that under the table because you're too edgy to think like a man instead of a kill machine."

"I know that we're fighting against other humans, dude. Don't treat me like I'm some sort of grade schooler."

"Then why don't you actually acknowledge that the enemy is human!? All you do is say we need to kill, but you provide no evidence for why we need to, other than stating that the enemy is cruel or whatnot!" Chandler attested.

"Because the Dark Knights have no mercy! " Ethan challenged. "Just last year, my master went to the eastern slums in order to talk with his friend, Joseph Yossi, the first Senior Adviser. Remember him? The one that was murdered by the assassin, Mox Withers!"

Chandler was unfazed, "Yeah, I do. But I also remember the report that came in after Rico went to the western slums and tried to chop off Withers's head before even attempting diplomatic procedures. Add to that the fact that Rico killed the prisoner of war named Fred Wilkins and mister assassin had every reason to be angry with Rico."

"What!?"

"Don't say what. You heard me correctly."

"How can you even say such a thing!?" Ethan shouted.

"I can say such a thing because I'm not blind. I don't think of Rico Jacobson as some sort of superman coming down from heaven to save us all. I can acknowledge his flaws. And that's why you are a fool. So are you going to admit that your master isn't god, or are we going to have to do things the hard way?" Chandler threatened.

"This isn't about whether my master is perfect or not. This is about you condoning the Dark Knights for killing a man while condemning me for killing a dog!"

"That dog died needlessly!" Chandler rebuked.

"So did Joseph Yossi! You can't talk smack about my master not showing mercy and then start defending the Dark Knights! I could literally turn you in for that, you know!"

"I'm not defending the Dark Knights! I merely said that Rico's misdeeds have finally come back to haunt him! The people he scorned have come back to scorn him!"

Ethan tried to come up with another coherent argument, but found that he simply couldn't, "We're never going to agree on this."

"You're right." Chandler stated, "So there's only one way to settle this, then."

Chandler put up his fists, challenging Ethan to an old-school fight. In the muscle department, Ethan knew he was far outmatched by this man, but his pride wouldn't let him back down. Ethan raised his fists in response, and as soon as they were ready to throw blows at one another, a familiar voice came in.

"STOP!" Lucas yelled while running in between the two combatants, "I don't quite know what happened right there, but I know one thing for sure. That argument just went WAY too far. Both of you need to cut it out and relax for a second!"

The two men obliged, and put a bit of distance between one another. There was still palpable tension in the air, and both men felt as though they wanted to beat each other to a pulp. It was unrelenting, and Lucas was unsure if he could even get his friend, Chandler, to calm down, but they stayed put and opted to not listen to their violent instincts. It took 10 grueling minutes of uninterrupted waiting for the two men to finally come to their senses, and Ethan was the first one to fully calm down.

"What's your name, asshole."

Chandler smirked, "It's Chandler. Chandler Grant. Remember that. When our names get called in the round robin, your ass is grass."

"I don't think so, buddy. You seem like the type who overestimates themselves." Ethan responded as he got up and began to walk towards the exit.

"You'll find out just how wrong you are in the arena." Chandler insisted, "Bitch."

Ethan made no attempt to have the final words as he exited the room , which only infuriated Chandler more than he already was. As he started to get up from his bench and make his way to the dorms, Lucas started to comfort him.

"You really didn't need to do that." Lucas said.

"It wasn't all that bad." Chandler replied, "Now I have something to work for."

"I'm not so sure about this, Chandler. Now we've made ourselves an enemy."

Chandler was unconvinced, "Nonsense. Ethan was always the enemy."

Lucas looked down at the floor, clearly very conflicted about the whole scenario.

"Lucas, let's just go back to the dorms. There, we can talk things out."

"All right." Lucas agreed as they started their journey across the campus.

However, even as they exited the area, there was still one more person at large. Alex Stone slipped out from the shadows she was hiding in and took out her transceiver. She had witnessed the entire confrontation between Ethan and Chandler.

"Interesting." she said as she turned the knob on the device to channel 5, "Rico?"

The Inspector responded swiftly, "Yes, Alex?"

"I'm going to be working overtime tonight. I've found a potential new recruit for the military, and I'm taking the hands-on approach to enlisting them."

"Oh?" Rico started, "Who might this new recruit be?"

Alex smiled and let her fangs escape her mouth for a moment, "It's a surprise."

"Ah. Well, be sure to tell me about them when they're all signed up."

"I will." Alex confirmed as she turned off her transceiver and headed towards the Dark Knights' base.

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"It's been over a month since your last visit." Mox explained, "Why did you call us here, Alex?"

"Ah, Mox. It's good to see you after all this time. But I'm afraid my visit won't last long. I'm already risking a lot just by coming here, and I need to be back at the Inspector's place by 9 o'clock. So, naturally, we will have to skip the formalities."

"I understand." Neon said, "Please tell us your information."

"Thank you, Neon." Alex replied, "I'll get straight to the point. I'm switching targets. Ethan Clarke is no longer a viable soldier to try and turn to our side. He completely believes in Rico's ideals and he respects Rico too much to ever stray from them. However, there is one student I believe I have overlooked. His name is Chandler Grant. I recently overheard an argument between him and Ethan, and well, it seems as though Chandler is very sympathetic to our ideals. He realizes that we're human and that we have our own goals."

Alex sighed, "It's nice to be thought of that way, once in a while."

"I see. Is that all the information you've collected?" Mox asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Wait, hold on, is Jared back yet with the energy crystals?"

Mox scratched his head, "He sure is. Although, he only brought back five of them for some reason. Told us they were extremely rare."

"That's fine. We only need one to construct an energy saber. Tell him to make us another one. We're going to need two for a plan that I had in mind."

"A plan?" Neon queried, "What are you up to, Alex?"

"Let's just say... I've figured out how to kill Rico."

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Chandler was laying in bed, thinking about the events of the day. The tourney announcement, Rico's speech, his argument with Ethan. Ethan... Chandler had to admit that he went a little too far in their little debacle, especially in the part where he dismissed Yossi's death. But that didn't change the fact that Ethan was a bozo. A respectable one, to be sure, but a bozo nonetheless. However, Chandler did have to wonder if Ethan's ideals had any kind of merit. The no mercy mindset did get the job done on some occasions, even if it was overly cruel. Chandler pondered this line of thinking, but found it to be quite meaningless to think about it now. He was tired and half-asleep. Better to think about these things in the morning, when he would be able to logically reason with himself. Chandler closed his eyes and waited for dreams to overtake him.

But just as Chandler was about to doze off, he was rudely awakened by the buzz of his doorbell. Chandler was just as annoyed as he was confused. Who would be knocking at his door at this time of night?

He slowly got out of bed and opened the door, revealing the face of Captain Alex Stone.

"Specialist Chandler Grant. We need to talk."