The next morning, I woke up to find the greenie cuddled, sleeping on the couch of the media room. 

Sweet, sweet revenge.

I entered Dragonfly's bedroom and grabbed a trumpet. A trumpet, for those who do not know, is a brass wind instrument. It has a cup-shaped mouthpiece, in which a person buzzes their lips, the vibration of the person's lips causes a powerful tone to be discharged through the cylindrical tube that loops twice and flares up to a cone-like end (open) to allow for the powerful tone. It also sounds absurd in the beginning especially if the person has never played a brass instrument before, or attempts blowing in the trumpet rather than buzzing. 

Trumpet in hand, I walked back towards the media room/ living room and moved closer, trumpet up to my lips as I pursed them and tried for the lower D note: a note that was always out of tune and pained all trumpet players alike. The fingers of my right pressed against the first and third valves and I buzzed my lips, the sound was disastrous. I don't think I ever played a worse note in my life. A trickle of blood ran down my right ear and Katarina jumped in fright almost taking my head off with a ferocious punch, I ducked and rolled away from her striking range.

"You bastard! What is wrong with you?!" I tsked at her.
"Hey, if you wanna die in two weeks, do as you please. It ain't no sweat off my back if you live or die, and skies know I don't want to deal with your surly attitude, but if I were you, I'd be working my ass off training." 

"Then you could've woke me up like a normal person!" I smirked at her as I quoted Alice's adventures in wonderland. 

"Oh, that can't be helped!" I said, which caused greenie to gawk at me bug-eyed. I ignored her as I continued. "You're mad. I am mad." She cocked her head at me as if in worry.

"Nah. I think you've passed that point and you're one step out of insanity. Not even a full step, rather half."

"You're supposed to ask me "how I know you're mad"." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I think it's pretty obvious." She said as she yawned and stretched on the couch. "I ask you how you know I am mad and you answer that if I wasn't mad I wouldn't have come here. As if I came here by choice! Besides isn't that some ancient children's book? I am impressed you know it." 

"How do you know it?" I asked her, she shrugged. 

"My sister used to read it to me when I was a kid. What was the girl's name? Alice? Was that it?" I didn't answer instead I threw the workout clothes at her.

"Change," I ordered her.

"Where we going?!" I sighed in aggravation. 

"Must you ask so many questions?!" 

"Then how else am I supposed to get answers?"

"Figure them out yourself." I left the room and went back into my barracks. 

"Stay away from her!" The voices screeched. I glared at them. 

"It's none of your damned business if I do or not," I whispered in the dark as I discarded of my own clothes for loose running gear.  I ran through the exact workout for the day. 

I would have to test her stamina and speed, perhaps agility as well. We can forget about brute strength, so she will have to outsmart her opponents. We also have to do something about that temper of hers, it will not do for her to lose her temper, that will definitely get her killed.

She opened the door as I was about to put on my T-shirt and blushed; I saw her through the mirror. 

"I-I'm sorry!" She said hurriedly as she closed the door and left.

"Maybe you should try knocking next time!" I called after her, rolling my eyes at her act. 

I opened the door to find her, still flushed, standing with her back to me. 

"Should we get going?" She nodded, appearing to be sick. She stopped and gulped audibly. I raised an eyebrow at her. 

"W-What happened?" I cocked my head, frowning down at her.

"Whatever do you mean?" She glanced up at me aghast. 

"You're kidding, right?!" She was hysterical. "What I mean is what happened to your back! That's what I mean!" 

"I was lashed." I shrugged as I opened the door and got out. 

"Why?"

"None of your business." She winced. 

"How can you even stand with welts like these?!" I gave her a bored expression as she rushed after me through the forbidding halls. 

"Hello, Commander," a voice purred. 

"Please tell me it isn't her."

"Who?" Asked greenie.

"Queen I-want-to-rip-her-head-off, otherwise known as Queen pain in my ass, or Queen Bitch. Take your pick."

"Aren't you funny?" She came to stand in front of me. Siren, yes that was her codename and not one of the many nicknames I'd given her over the years, was, as usual, gorgeous. They'd given her that name because she was one of the singers that usually sang at the bars, though she was terrible with instruments. They claim she had the voice of an angel, though I just didn't see it. 

"What do you want, Siren?" I groused out and she perked up. 

"Oh, you know what I want." I arched a cynical eyebrow at her and her smile widened. 

If truth was to be told, Siren was one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen and I'd seen plenty. She was ethereal with her voluptuous body, combined with her silken golden hair, her strikingly blue eyes and her angelic features. I cringed at the double entendre and when I glanced at greenie, I found her fuming for some reason.

Skies! Why must I deal with those by-polar creatures?! Why don't they chase after Darling and leave me the hell alone? Hell, he actually enjoys it when they chase him, twisted, deranged, barbarian, lunatic that he is.

I sighed as I took greenie's hand and dragged her after me side-stepping Siren.

"You can't just leave!" I gave her one of the bored, haughty expressions she always gave me.

"I think I can do whatever the fuck I want," I told her, my voice falsely nice, constricted; I was trying to mimic her tone of voice whenever she was pissed at someone. She stomped her foot in anger.

"Fine!" She scanned greenie in a less than complimentary way. "Who's that anyway? Your whore?" I didn't answer as she sidled up towards me, swaying her hips provocatively. I took out my blaster and pointed it at her. 

"Siren you have to the count of ten to get you and your ass outta my face." I clicked off the safety of the blaster and set it to kill mode. "One." She gulped, her face losing all colour. "Two." I clicked the charges into place and the sound of it snapping into position echoed throughout the hallway. 

"Black, you can't be serious!"

"Nine."

"Fine! Fine! I'm leaving! Just think about what your boyfriend will think of all this!" She ran back towards her barracks.

"Ten." I shot a warning shot right next to her head, probably burning some of the silken strands of her hair in the process. She screeched like a mouse as she hurriedly left. A satisfied smirk etched itself on my lips as I turned to face greenie who was trying to hide her giggles. 

"So," She looked up at me her golden eyes alight. "What you think of my social skills now?" I asked.

"I think Bitch was asking for it." She quirked an amused eyebrow. "Next time we meet though, I'mma punch her right in that perfect nose of hers."

"Why am I NOT surprised?" She rolled her eyes as she ran up ahead of me. 

"Are we gonna train or what?! My life's on the line! He-ll-o!"

"You don't even know where you're going!" I ran after her leading her to the training rooms two floors beneath the barracks.