"What was she honestly wearing this time." Jesse came to a standstill after making sure all the creatures were, in fact, dead on the field. In the beginning, they learned to double-tap any creature; they got lucky that one particular time and it was something they now practised.

Dying wasn't an option at this point with rookie mistakes.

Pulling some of the internal spleens from one of the monsters off her chest, disgusted, she flicked it away from her and onto the barren ground before looking up to the men in front of her.

"That was definitely new," Toni offered curiously, placing the weapon into the holster across his back, "there would only be certain places that sold that attire and headgear."

"Track down what you can find," Matthew said, looking at Richie. He was smarter with that type of field than they were, and something he thrived in imports and exports regarding weapons and cargo, amongst other random objects.

Winking, Richie leered a bit more sneakily, "you really need to follow her one day, smack her or fuck her whatever that head tells you to do."

He knew that she got under his skin far more than anyone.

"I'll smack her head in to get a grip of herself," he hissed.

"Well, at least we cleared this area." Jesse returned to the conversation before them, continuing to find more spleen and guts, peeling them from her chest and stomach.

The dealings with Snow were nothing new; even if it always grated on a nerve somewhere within the man before her, it wasn't something they couldn't handle.

She, of all people, wasn't something they couldn't handle.

"You know, with all of this again," Toni offered casually in his thought process. "I'm thinking we really kick off the trials with the crystals and finding warriors to fight alongside us."

"You thinking this will get worse before it gets better?" Richie knew the answer before it came, "it's like murp-"

"-Don't, for the love of god, say it!"

"-why the fuck are you talking!"

"-Richie, not tonight, don't jinx it!"

"-y's law. This bad feeling, I'm telling ya that I'm getting-"

"-Richie, shut up!" Jesse's voice dominated the air, "I will throw more than my show at you next!"

Laughing at the riled-up woman, raising his hands in surrender, he offered one more piece of thought, "Ezra is almost inevitable."

It caught Matthew's attention, "for the annoying fucken dick that you are sometimes. You're right." Placing his sword to his back holster, he nodded to both Toni and Jesse now of Richie's statement.

"You've been thinking the same thing?" Jesse found it curious looking at Matthew, the same that kept control of them, the same that planned out many of the moves they made against Ezra.

"After the attacks on the moon and the constant pushback, we've been getting. I'm worried that we're underestimating her influence and alliances. It's coming to a real point where we look at the next phase of this war, even if I despise that thought."

"I agree with you. I do" Jesse nodded.

"But?" Toni cocked his head, knowing the tone she took.

"We should really discuss this with Cid," she offered, "it's something that we need to be on the same page with for all of this, us and the academies and all the soldiers. It won't be just us going to war; everyone will. It is bigger than all of us, regardless of what Cid thinks."

Agreeing, Matthew nodded, "we'll chat tomorrow; right now, you need to shower, and I want to eat."

"I know. Can you smell that as well?" Jesse took a short whiff of herself. Disgusted even more than she was moments before, she realised how much of the green bile from one of the critters she beheaded was smeared across her outfit.

In agreement with the group, the warriors tapped the devices on their wrists that allowed the transformation of their bodies to disappear, revealing their civilian sides. They disappeared back home to the academy's docks and the night's silence.

Matthew and Toni broke off from Jesse and Richie, who had headed towards the showers first. The men, not being covered in either monster or Critter blood and guts, made their way to the cafeteria to eat before heading to bed and dealing with their everyday lives in the morning again.

—- —-

"About the crystals and who we find," both retreating back to their dormitories from dinner. Toni cocked his head with the statement to Matthew as they stepped into the elevators.

"If we look at anyone from here, I think it'll be safer in all aspects. Think about it; we'll do the trials again. We'll be able to assess their abilities through Jesse's programs much more clearly than how we tried it a few years ago."

"Hmm," Matthew nodded, lost in his thoughts. "I suppose it would be far easier now to ramp up the programs, test their abilities, different intensities since we had that aspect modified and implemented. Say it falls under the war games we do; additional programs for the elite is something we could spin."

"I know you're dead set against it some days, but at least we would know soldiers that we had chosen this way instead of strangers. There are advantages. Sawyer, Luke, I mean Jasmine would be able to handle it. We can get Teddy involved from his studies if they are mentally equipped for this type of thing."

Exiting from the elevator that pinged at their dormitory level, Matthew was lost more on their next moves, and Toni knew his best friend, for he watched as he slowed down before coming to a standstill outside his dormitory.

"I know what you're saying," addressing Toni. "I'm just trying to limit the things that could go wrong here."

"As your control freak nature does," he smirked, watching as Matthew swiped his identification over the control panel.

"Hey," Matthew quipped. "That nature comes in handle in this life, mate. How many times have I saved your ass being handed to you," laughing, they both step inside the dimly lit room.

Toni forgot to speak when they abruptly came to a standstill upon the intruder in Matthew's room. Shock sieged both of their bodies.

"Anndddddd.... what is going on here?!" Toni managed first. He, like Matthew, had been greeted by a freshly showered woman, her hair in damp pigtails, laying belly flat across the bed, her clothes forgotten; and to Matthew's delight, only sporting her cotton white undies.

Eko popped the lollipop she had been seductively sucking out from her mouth with a wide smile. "Oh hey, Toni!" Her voice was confident nonetheless in this situation.

She was propped up on her elbows, laughing at Toni's ashen features and Matthew's utter delight.

"Woah. Woah. Woah...." Toni's mouth dropped open to the pair of them, heading bouncing between them both for some clarification.

"Found your toys as well," Eko offered, holding up handcuffs and nudging the spacer beside her.

Matthew quickly noticed that one of his built-in storage doors was open, which meant she had been rummaging around in there; his mind went wild with what else their night would be like.

"You guys are sleeping together already!" Toni howled at the sexual tension rising in the air. He couldn't help watching the mischievous smirk that played on both of their faces.

Toni didn't expect the sudden jerking movements of his body, and Matthew instantly pushed his best friend out of his room.

"Out, out, out!" Matthew's voice was demanding of him, and rough hands kept shoving at Toni's body which slowly resisted being moved.

"No, no, no- you didn't tell me!"

Eko's serene laughter filled the room, watching the scene before her, forcing Matthew to press harder at Toni to leave.

"I need you to get the fuck out now."

He hadn't quite heard Matthew as frenzied as he sounded now; with one final push Toni nearly stumbled and fell over as his body reached past the threshold of Matthew's dormitory and out into the hallways.

"You know, you smile like an idiot when you're with her."

The comment was enough for Matthew to make the final push at Toni, all but nearly losing his footing; he saved himself from stumbling to the floor.

"Say anything to anyone, and I'll give you hell for Andromeda!" that was the last threat Toni heard when he was greeted by doors sliding shut behind him and the man turning around in time to listen to the system locking the room.

Steadying himself on his feet, a grin was plastered on his face, faintly hearing the sounds of certain laughter of his best mate before all goes quiet again.

If anyone asked him at this moment, he would have told them while standing there bewildered that it didn't surprise him that this had happened one little bit.

Never, ever, ever in their history has he been shoved out of the room like that.

Staring at the door for a moment longer, he internally laughed to himself, and instead of lingering any further, he began to make his way back along the hallways to his dormitory.

It didn't matter right now; instant gratification was something they learned to take advantage of when it came their way.

Their planning could wait till tomorrow, along with the funeral and all the other shit they needed to deal with in their lives.

Tomorrow was a big enough day for the burial of the Queen and Princess, and right now, it was also the last thing anyone wanted to deal with.

BUSTTEDDDDDDD!!!!! Vote if you need more scenes like this!