NOTE: PLEASE READ/DO THE INTERACTIVE PARTS AT THE END!

Rhiannon slumped against a tree in the Training Grounds.
Her eyes were red, and she clutched her head in pain, because of how much she had been crying.

"Rhiannon?
What's wrong?", asked Astra.

Rhiannon closed her eyes and shook her head, before quickly wiping her tears away.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm just going through some stuff.
I'll be fine in a minute."

Astra cocked her head to the side, a curious expression appearing on her face as she watched Rhiannon.

She checked her watch, her lips forming a pout.
She sighed and sat down next to Rhiannon.

"Is training getting to you?"

Rhiannon exhaled sharply.
"It's not that.
I mean, yeah, it's stressful, but..."

"Is the mission getting to you?"

Rhiannon nodded, her bottom lip trembling as she fought to keep her tears at bay.

"I just feel so... hopeless!
Every time I think we have a chance of winning, another curveball gets thrown our way!"

Astra's face softened.

"I want to help the people of Agoraville. But what if this is so much bigger than us?"

"Rhiannon... you're right.
It is much bigger than us.
But that's why we should help."

"What do you mean?"

"An entire town will cease to exist if we don't atleast try.
History is made when people fight for things that are 'bigger than them.'
Your actions can inspire others.
But Rhiannon, they people of Agoraville need to know they're worth fighting for."

Rhiannon let Astra's words sink in.

"What if it's too late?
What if they feel so betrayed that they don't want our help?"

"Then we stay.
We stay with them to prove that we care."

"I just don't think I can do this.
I'm not strong like the others."

Astra furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but when Rhiannon's expression didn't change, she realised she really didn't see her strength.

Astra turned away and rummaged through her bag, pulling out an opaque, white rock.

She held it out to Rhiannon.
"This is an Energy Rock.
You hold it and close your eyes.
You listen to your heartbeat, and when you open your eyes, the rock should change colour.
The brighter the rock, the more strength you have."

Rhiannon took the rock, the warm feeling comforting her.
She hesitated, unsure if she wanted to see how much strength she had.

Astra gave her an encouraging smile, and Rhiannon nodded.
She squeezed the rock in her hand and closed her eyes.

A smile started to appear on her face when she listened to her heartbeat.
She could hear the rustling of the trees in the wind, but her she tried to remain focused on her heartbeat.

"Now open your eyes."

Rhiannon opened her eyes, and a gasp escaped her lips when she saw the rock. It was still an opaque white, but flecks of deep purple and glowing
orange—which resembled embers, were dotted around it.

The orange flecks glowed brighter as they jumped in the air and danced around Rhiannon and Astra.

The pair looked up as the colours melted into one, before travelling further and further into the sky.

Astra watched Rhiannon, her smile growing brighter when Rhiannon's face lit up.

Rhiannon looked at Astra, the remaining flecks illuminating her face.

"That was... wow."

Astra chuckled.

"What does that mean?
There was more than one colour."

"That's your strength, Rhiannon.
And you've got a lot of it."

Astra checked her watch again, a frown appearing on her face.
"Oh no!
I missed it!"

She quickly stood up, and Rhiannon finally took in her full appearance.
She was wearing a green crop top that was covered in deep green rhinestones.
Her hair was crimped, and she had orange eyeliner on.

"You look nice", smiled Rhiannon.

Astra looked down at her clothes, before looking at Rhiannon with a grin.

"Thanks!
I was supposed to be going on a date with Sophia right now but... I think I'll have to reschedule."

"Astra, I'm so sorry, I—"

"Don't be!
I stayed with you because I wanted to."

★★★

The next day, Makoto and Raphael set up HoloBot in time for their combat session.
Raphael punched a pillow that was taped to the wall, whispering numbers to himself as he did so.

"Are you ok?", asked Makoto.

"Oh, yeah.
Just practicing something Ashryn taught me."

Makoto's eyes widened.
"Ashryn taught you?"

Raphael nodded.
"Did you know she paralysed a man with her bare hands?"

"That... seems like a bit of an exaggeration."

"I would've said the same.
But trust me, after spending some time with her... I don't dispute it."

"Wow.
Well, it's good to know we have her on our side then, hey?"

Raphael's smile faltered.
"Yeah... but for how long?"

"Huh?
What do you mean?"

Raphael frowned, his brows furrowing as he contemplated telling Makoto.

"She... she's been getting really passionate in our sessions.
You must've noticed.
It's like she hates this place.
And we broke into Aoife's
office—"

"You did what?", questioned Makoto, their eyes widening.

"Shh!
Yes, we broke in", replied Raphael, lowering his voice.
"Each time she approached me to ask for help.
She's desperate for something, and it's not my incredibly toned body."

Makoto had to hold back a chuckle when he imagined what Rhiannon would say in response to Raphael's last comment.

Something like
'if your body's toned then I'm a Queen'. She'd start with an eyeroll first though, of course.

"Oh!
It's starting, quick, put the patch on!", exclaimed Raphael, handing Makoto a transmission patch.

★★★

Imelda faced a mannequin and placed her hands on its shoulders.
She pressed down on them, before bringing her knee up and connecting it with the area where his 'crown jewels' were supposed to be.

Rhiannon grimaced, before crossing her legs together.
"Oof, I've got phantom d*ck."

"Phantom what?", questioned Ashryn.

"Well, I don't have... what males have down there, but whenever someone gets kicked there it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"You're weird", said Ashryn.

Rhiannon pushed her head back, furrowing her eyebrows and sticking her bottom lip out.
"Uh, you're weird."

"Can we focus please?", asked Imelda.

"So, that's a pretty good area to aim for when you're attacking a male."

Imelda approached Finian.
She started listing the other areas, mock-punching Finian as she did so. "The ears, throat, eyes, jaw and knees are good places too."

"Today, you're going to practise doing that", said Finian.
"We've switched it up, so you have different mannequins now."

"Aww, I felt like I really bonded with Mr. Punched-A-Lot", frowned Rhiannon.

Ashryn shook her head.
"Your existence is just so... baffling to me."

Imelda clapped her hands so loudly that it startled Ashryn and Rhiannon. "Focus!
I want you to practise punching the mannequins in the weak areas, ok?"

The trainees did as they were told, with Ashryn aiming for the groin, Makoto aiming for the ears, and Rhiannon and Raphael aiming for the jaw.

"This is what you get for replacing Mr. Punched-A-Lot!", yelled Rhiannon.

Ashryn turned to see Hologram Raphael punching his mannequin's jaw with a lot of force.

"Nice one, Robo Boy.
You have a good teacher, don't you?", she whispered.

Raphael grinned, before playfully rolling his eyes.

A small insect, that was a burnt orange colour, landed on Raphael's chest.
It opened its mouth to reveal hundreds of razor sharp teeth.

Makoto gasped.
"Oh my gosh, Raphael!"

Makoto grabbed a nearby pillow and whacked it against Raphael's chest repeatedly.

"Wha–get off me, Mizuno!"

"It's a poisonous—"

Makoto was cut off by Raphael hitting them with a pillow.

Meanwhile, back at the Training Grounds, the trainers and remaining trainees watched in shock as the holograms before them were starting to mould together and appear distorted.

"What. The. F*ck", said Ashryn.

---

ruesbennett told me about an app that could help me add the gif, so I used it! I had to alter it slightly to make it fit, but the design and overall BEAUTY of this sign off gif is because of kamalaskhan and I still recommend checking it out in their book.

I honestly can't recommend their work enough. They get a lot of requests though, so be patient with them, and all other graphic creators please.

-

This is a two parter, because it'd be too long otherwise! If I don't get the second part done by today, it'll be up tomorrow or the day after hopefully.

Rhiannon's really struggling! Astra was on hand to help her though, but did it come at a cost for her relationship with Sophia?

I'd really love some feedback on my description skills for the Energy Rock scene please!

Raphael and Makoto have been rumbled! What's going to happen to them now?

Very important question: I've asked this before I think, but are you actually interested in reading more about the trainers? The chapter dedicated to the trainers talking about their initial thoughts had the lowest amount of comments, I think.

You don't have to comment all the time, of course, but if you're mainly interested in the trainees, then that'd be really helpful for me to know! Thank you!

Any theories?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

ruesbennett

SoniczurcX

bardsarethebest