"You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm doing a comedy routine?"

"Then you've lost it, totally. It's crazy."

"Is it?"

"You don't even like me, and the feeling's mutual."

"It's not about who likes who. It's about who can work together."

"Then that's us out isn't it?"

Codi let out a sigh of exasperation and let her head fall forward against the table with a muffled thump. Her attempts at reaching out an olive branch weren't going very well. She'd been well aware from the outset that she was facing an uphill battle, but 'uphill' had very quickly become vertical. The biggest problem was that she wasn't even sure he was wrong.

Gareth looked at her from across the table and shook his head. "I don't know what you think has changed over the last couple of weeks, but I'm still far from your biggest fan. I can put my head down and ignore you – I don't want to attach myself to you with a damned lasso."

"It wasn't exactly the first thing that popped into my head either," she admitted. "But we've got to look beyond likes and dislikes. Remember what Bronagh said?"

"I was there."

"Well?"

"Well what? Why do you think we're so compatible?"

Codi swallowed a calming breath, struggling to keep her composure in the face of Gareth's obstinacy. How could she explain it in a way he would understand? It wasn't something she could quantify or put down in a text book. It was a more indefinable, instinctive sense of how he fought. She didn't do a lot of things well, but when it came to Gauntlet combat, she was a natural. When sparring she could see the little wild streak in Gareth's style that reminded her of herself.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this," she said carefully. "But we fight the same way."

He let out a derisive snort but she kept talking.

"That's what the pairings are all about! Compatibility of style, not personality." She leaned back in the chair and folder her arms. "Who else are you planning to match with, huh?"

"I..." He hesitated. "I hadn't given it that much thought."

"Oh, really? Well time isn't exactly a luxury that we have. The sooner we get paired up the sooner we can practice and the better we'll be by the time we get to the Gauntlet."

"I still don't think this is a good idea."

She seethed for a moment, and then a thought occurred to her. "You want to do the best that you can, right?"

"Obviously."

"I hate to break it to you," Codi continued. "But all the top fighters are already locked in pairs and they're not going to change. Ripple is with Chris. Cardle's paired with Joshua. Cassandra matched up with Prissa. Out of all the top fighters here, that leaves you and me."

Gareth shifted uncomfortably in his seat and she new she'd struck a nerve. His cantankerous nature meant that others had been reluctant to pair up with him, and she was acutely aware that she had the same problem. Realising his desire to win was probably the only way she would get through to him, she continued on that tack.

"Like it or not, I'm the best fighter left, and I'm offering to work with you," she said. "I know we don't see eye to eye. I know you don't like me, but I'm good at this, Gareth. You can't deny that I deserve to be here. And-" she turned her eyes skywards before forcing the words out. "You deserve to be here too."

He looked at her sharply, confusion stamped on his features.

She clutched at the strand of hope. "We are the best fighters in group Cyan by a long way – think about it, Gareth. As long as we both knuckle down and keep working there's no way we won't both be going to the Gauntlet. The question is: what do you want to do when you get there? Together we might actually have a shot at this thing. Or we can pair off with someone who isn't as good, and accomplish nothing."

Codi let the last two words hang in the air and was gratified to see Gareth's brow furrow as he started to think. They sat there for what felt like minutes while the boy stared at the table, his mouth twitching as the cogs in his brain turned over the proposition. Have spoken her piece, she sat there and let him come to terms with it.

She'd meant every word. Both of them were naturally independent and unpredictable, which had left them out in the cold as the other more experienced and more consistent fighters made their own partnerships. While they weren't likely to become friends any time soon, when it came down to the mechanics of fighting there really was no one else to work with in her mind.

At last he let out a heavy sigh of resignation. He shook his head, as though he still hadn't convinced himself.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, and Codi felt her heart leap. Gareth finally looked at her. "Fine. I'll give it a try, but no promises, alright?"

"That's all I'm asking." She felt her whole body relax and she stood up. "Then I'll see you tomorrow."

*

Things didn't start very well.

The training for the paired bouts didn't begin with the full exoskeletons. That was something the instructors would build up to. For the time-being, Codi and Gareth made do with the practice suits and elastic cords that filled in for the gravity tethers. The first set of manoeuvres didn't involve any fighting – first they needed to learn how to move together as a pair, to get in tune with one and other's movements.

Frankly, Codi wasn't sure it would have made much difference who she'd paired up with initially, but the when it came to getting in sync with each other she and Gareth were failing miserably.

It was all about getting into a rhythm and getting used to the weight of the other person being attached to you. Movements had to flow together, and from what she'd picked up in the preparatory lectures Codi understood that much of the conflict in a paired bout involved breaking the enemy team's synchronicity. But first she and Gareth needed to find theirs.

They trained in a series of holographic projectors built into the enormous Battlecast gymnasium, or on elaborate obstacle courses designed to train them in moving around as a pair. On the holograms a cubic lattice of blue surrounded them and circular targets flashed up all around them at chaotic intervals, colour coded to whichever member of the team was supposed to strike them. Communication and timing were paramount, and right now they didn't have it.

She would leap to strike a high target, only to be yanked back like a dog on a leash when Gareth went for one on the other side of the arena without realising. He would spot a target on the far side and go for it before she'd noticed, whereupon they would lurch and stumble over.

The obstacle courses were no better. As soon as they tried to build up any speed they would lose the feel of distance, causing the tether to snap taut and sending them both tumbling to the ground. More than once they tripped each other up with the thick elastic chord, and it wasn't long before both their tempers were flaring.

At the end of their first day of boundless frustration Gareth had been prepared to bin the entire tortuous business, and Codi couldn't blame him. Compared to everyone else in their group – never mind the academy at large – they were the laughing stock. Maybe it would have been better to pair with a less capable but more easily predicted fighters to spare some embarrassment.

But something about that approach felt like an admission of defeat in Codi's mind. She couldn't shake the feeling that if she and Gareth could just get over this initial stumbling block they could be truly formidable. In her first year many had remarked on how her unpredictability was such asset. If she could double that factor then maybe she could replicate her single results in the paired bouts.

She'd been dreading seeing him again the next day, unsure what to expect, but a night's sleep seemed to have mellowed them both out somewhat. Gareth met her the following morning with a fatalistic smile, fastening the elastic tether to his wrist.

"Well, I'm ready to give this another go if you are," he said.

Codi nodded. "I've been thinking, we just need to slow down – just step back a bit. We're trying to do what everyone else is doing and we're not there yet."

"Codi, that stuff is basic. If we can't do that-,"

"I know, I know," she said quickly. "I just mean, let's try and find a system that works for us. Everyone else, they're playing by Thradd's rule book. He has a set of ideas about how the pairs should operate. Maybe we don't fit into that and that's why we're struggling."

"So what's your plan?"

"Well, everyone else is so dead set on rhythm. I don't think we have a rhythm."

"I'll agree with that."

"I don't think we need one either."

He gave her a questioning look. "I go to the lectures too, Codi. Without a rhythm – without a system – how are we meant to work as a team?"

"They're all obsessed with becoming 'one' unit," she explained. "Let's face it, you and I just don't work that way. But that's why I think we'll be better. Everyone else is trying to divide up – one person has one task and together they form one unit. We need to stay as two units, doing our own thing, but working together."

Gareth didn't look convinced, but he shrugged, tossing her the other end of the tether. "Alright, so how does this genius plan of yours actually work in practice?"

"I'm working on that." She slipped the elastic around her right wrist, wracking her brains for an answer. She had the idea, the end product, but didn't have the dots to connect her path to it. "This isn't going to work on instinct. We both need to just take a little more time. Look, listen – wait for each other. We might miss some of the hits, but let's just concentrate on the movement for now."

They stepped into one of the unoccupied holographic cubes amidst the general chaos of the Battlecast gymnasium, and the machine powered up automatically. Thradd Winters spotted them and he came prowling around the edge of the area, his face grim.

"I hope you two will accomplish more today," he grunted. "God knows on paper you should be the best pairing I've got in this group."

"You don't use paper," Codi muttered, not looking at him. "You've got a dat-pad."

"Very funny." Thradd keyed in the pair bout operating program and stalked off. "I'm going to give you two one more chance to get yourselves sorted out before I decide to find you new partners."

As he stalked off, Gareth looked at her. "Well?"

"Just...start it." Codi took a deep breath as the lattice of blue hummed into life. "You take the first one."

The first target, a red circle fifty centimetres across, flashed up near Gareth and he instantly leapt up with the assistance of the practice exoskeleton and slashed his fist through it. The target vanished, but Codi was already hunting for the next one. Before Gareth hit the ground she saw it flash up and gave the tiniest tug on the tether and then went for it.

She felt no resistance as she flew across the training area and scored another hit. Instantly, she looked back over her shoulder to see Gareth coiled to spring. His target was already waiting but this time he held back for just an instant, waiting for Codi's feet to hit the ground. She immediately anticipated his move and kicked off the back of her heels as soon as she landed. Gareth surged for the next target at the same moment. Going limp, she let his momentum tug her across the area until he'd struck his target.

So far so good.

Her next target showed up seconds later and she flew toward it, but just before her fist passed through the holographic ring she heard Gareth shout.

"Switch!"

Codi braced, gripped the tether in both hands, and felt the elastic go taut. In the middle of the arena Gareth had planted his feet and he spun her with a growl of exertion, sending her flying in a long arc round the edge of the arena until she met a second target on the far side of the area. She just managed to catch it with a swipe from her free arm and then concentrated on landing on her feet. Gareth let the swing carry just a little further, easing off until his partner could hit the ground running.

Codi skidded to a halt, breathing lightly, and gave him a thumbs-up. Already they were making a better job of things than yesterday. The run through the holographic trainer continued, pinging them back and forth, but today they were finding just a little more common movement.

They still missed a handful of cross arena targets, but the general their work was better; less chaotic. Neither took a single role, taking turns to swing each other around as necessary to catch the targets, barking orders as and when they needed to. It wasn't as organic as the other teams that seemed to work in an eerie harmony, but it was functional.

At the end of the program they both trudged out of the holographic cage, knocking back water from clear bottles as they went. Codi flashed a breathless smile at her companion.

"Well, it's not perfect," she said. "But it's getting there."

Gareth nodded, taking another gulp of water before gesturing towards the obstacle courses with a flick of his head. "I'll take that for now. We can be perfect later."