Baron gave Wade a bit of a tour around the manor on the way to his room. It was huge with an endless amount of hallways covered in stones and bricks. The many different rooms in the manor, at least the ones Wade saw, included an armory, a library, a kitchen, cafeteria, and those were just some of the rooms Baron showed him on their way to Wade's new room. Baron also instructed Wade of how, why, and when he could use those facilities in his time here. Of course, Wade also saw where the other minions were staying as he passed by their rooms, but all had their doors closed. They finally reached his new room and Baron unlocked the door before they entered. The two men who were carrying his bags also followed and just set his luggage on the bed before leaving them. It was a nice room too. It was small of course, but it had pretty much whatever he needed: a nice bed with clean sheets, a closet, his own bathroom and shower, a desk he could use for whatever purposes, it even had a t.v. hooked up in the corner, which Wade didn't expect at all.

"What? You sought we lived by eighteenz century standards?" Baron asked. "Which reminds me, wi-fi password" he took out the little paper with the password on it and gave it to Wade. "You can stay in touch wiz loved ones, but no talk of what happens here"

"Of course, you won't have any problems with me" Wade assured and Baron just nodded.

"Cloz are in ze closet, dey should fit you, and bazroom has all ze basics. You can go to any of ze places I showed you, but don't wander elsewhere wizout permission or escort. Dinner time will be soon. Doors lock and lights go out at ten. Someone will be here for you at ze crack of dawn, be ready"

Wade nodded along as he spoke.

"Thankyou"

Baron just gave him a small nod before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Wade wasn't sure if it was just how that guy was, or if he legitimately didn't like him. He didn't worry about it for now. He placed his hands on his hips and blew out a sigh as he glanced around his new room.

"So, this is my life for the next year" he said to himself and then blew out another sigh.

He then proceeded to unpack and go through everything in his room. The clothes in his closet were similar to the ones the others wore. All of them were red too, just like the minions from outside wore. Must've been the customary suit for a minion. They all seemed to be his size too. Before he continued searching his room, he was able to get in touch with his family and let them know he made it safely to his destination. He couldn't disclose the details of course, just that he made it and was doing fine. He then searched his bathroom, seeing the bar of soap, a bottle of conditioner and shampoo in the shower, and a medicine cabinet behind the mirror. It had a few basic meds for pain and minor sicknesses, stuff for bruises and some other usual stuff, but not a lot and nothing major. It was late in the afternoon, but not real late, so Wade still had time to kill. Wade thought about wandering around and checking out some of the stuff Baron had showed him, but thought best to stay in and get used to his new surroundings. He flicked on the t.v. and searched through channels. They actually had some really good channels too.

Dinner time came and Wade could hear someone calling it from down the hall outside. Wade could also hear the others opening their doors and shuffling around, so he knew he should too. Wade switched off the t.v. and exited the room. He followed the small line of fellow minions as they headed to the cafeteria. They served food like it was a buffet. If there was something you saw that you liked, you got it and ate it, and could have as much as you wanted too. Considering Wade had nothing but a few snacks today, along with his big journey, it's safe to say he had quite the decent amount of food. But strangely, he didn't have the biggest amount of food. In fact, his tray was nothing compared to the others. Minions must've also had a huge metabolism because boy these guys could eat some food. Wade wasn't sure if he should try to eat with and interact with the other minions. He only knew a couple of people here and barely even knew them. Not to mention, he didn't see The Grandmaster anywhere and Baron didn't seem like the social type. Wade saw him at a table with what must've been some other minion lieutenants, but he mostly kept to himself and ate while they chatted around him. Wade kind of felt bad for him. He also couldn't help but wonder about Baron, what made him the way he was, and why he was here.

Once Wade was done eating, he got to head back to his room. Anybody could head back whenever they wanted to, they didn't even have to show up to dinner if they didn't want to. As long as they were back in their rooms before lights out, it was no problem. Wade headed straight back after eating, took a shower, got into some of the sleepy clothes he packed and flicked the t.v. back on. He felt nice and relaxed. He didn't know if it was something about the room or the candles, but he felt more at ease that he was earlier. He even decided to go ahead and hit the sack early after a while. He wasn't sure what the crack of dawn would be here, maybe 5 or 6 o' clock. He set his alarm for 5 just in case. He then switched everything off and crashed. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day for him and he knew it, so he needed all the sleep he needed. Luckily, despite everything he had on his mind, it wasn't hard to fall asleep at all. He had already been out for an hour by the time they called lights out and locked up the rooms.

X

The next morning, The Grandmaster himself, along with two guards by his side, went to pickup and escort Wade to his first training session. They went to his door and The Grandmaster had one of the guards knock on the door.

"Uh... come in!" they heard through the door.

The guard looked to Grandmaster, who nodded, before opening the door. He opened the door and they could see Wade trying to adjust his minion uniform, swearing as he did.

"Sorry, this outfit is new to me" he said and The Grandmaster almost laughed.

"You get used to it" he promised.

A second later and Wade looked at himself in the closet mirror and blew out a sigh. The tension he felt was more then obvious.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"You look ready" Grandmaster nodded. "You feel ready?"

"To a point" he shrugged with a nervous laugh. The Grandmaster giggled under his breath.

"You will do fine" he smiled promisingly.

Wade smiled back with a nod before breathing in through the nose and stepping out his room. Once he was out, the guard shut the door and locked it behind him. Wade and The Grandmaster traded smiles before walking down the hallway.

"It's ok to be nervous" Grandmaster assured as they walked.

"I'm sure I'm not the first" Wade nodded with a sigh.

"Oh no, one student even cried AND threw up before he began"

"Oh well, I don't feel like crying and I haven't thrown up yet, so I guess I'm doing alright"

"Indeed"

They both giggled.

The Grandmaster escorted Wade to an indoor training dojo. It had a matted floor, all sorts of fighting and training equipment, a loft above, a few fancy chairs at the head of the room, and other trainees with the same minion uniforms as Wade. The Grandmaster brought Wade to his assigned spot, which was front row and third person on the left side. He wished him luck before going up to his seat at the front, which was the big chair in the middle. Wade could see that everyone was standing up straight with their hands behind their backs, so he did so as well. Once Grandmaster was seated and everyone was silent and ready, a man in his 50s to 60s wearing a black and yellow martial arts outfit stepped in front of the group.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am called Master General, and that is what you will address me as" he looked, sounded, and even carried himself like a typical General. It was almost unbelievable for Wade.

"You are all here because you were chosen, because one of our respective leaders sitting behind me deemed you worthy enough to be our next warriors. Well, let me get something straight: I don't care who you are, which of them chose you, or why. If you think you're worthy enough, you need to prove your worth. Starting today, you will be with us for at least one full year. You will spend every last day of that year learning what we have to offer and show us what you can do with them. By the end of the year, if you have succeeded in doing those things, you will receive your official ranks as all of us have, which will be the rank that best suits your status as a minion, and what you choose to do from that point on is solely up to you"

Wade had wondered how the ranks worked here, glad to finally know. He listened intently to the Master General as he went on.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what it is exactly we'll be teaching you here. Well, first and foremost, there are approximately two hundred and ten different types of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat in the world, give or take a few styles and how they're done, and you folks you learn to master every last one of em"

Many of the students sighed, moaned, grunted, and even said, "What?!"

Wade himself was shocked from the fact that they had to learn all of that inside a year. But somehow, he knew he would have to be up for it and give it his all if he was to become a minion.

"That's right folks, and that's just for starters" Master General continued. "The next thing you will all learn is the power of strength, agility, and willpower; pushing yourselves beyond your limits; defying the laws of gravity and physics; becoming faster, stronger, smarter and more advanced then the average person. Most of all, you will learn to keep yourselves going... even when you feel like it is hopeless, even when you feel pain and fatigue beyond your worst imagination"

Wade could feel the tension rising again, breathing in to release it. Somehow, he had expected this too, and felt more then ready for it.

"As for some of the other things we'll be teaching you here, we'll get to that later. For now, it's time to get to work" he smirked mischievously. "Master Minions, if you will"

Master General stepped to the side and allowed for three other people to step in. The first person to step up was a large African gentlemen with a combination of fat and muscle, pure intimidation on his face. The second of the Master Minions was a Chinese lady with tattoos and a silver streak at the front of her hair. Wade thought she looked more badass then half the people here. The third and final master was a Scottish man with red flat hair and a goatee, appeared in his 40s but looked tough as nails. All together, they looked like one hell of a trio of masters.

"Alright boys and girls, listen up!" the first master called out. "I am Masta Elba, this fine but dangerous woman is Masta Wan, and that gentleman down there is Masta Edwards" he introduced as they all observed the new recruits. Wade kept his posture firm but felt as if his legs could give at any moment.

"I advise you to remember our names and ALWAYS address us in the manor that I just introduced. As for some of the rules, all of you must remain respectful of us, our leaders, and those around you. We will not tolerate egos, rude behavior or any tough guy-wannabe crap. Also, there is no need for competitiveness. You are not here to accomplish some great victory, you are here to make the world a better place, so don't let anything else get in the way of that. We've had enough people come here for the wrong reasons and we don't need to waste anymore of our time. Now, of course there's also the matter of doing as you're told, not causing problems and no wandering off, whether that be a place you're not permitted or trying to leave the manor without permission. You will get to leave in a year when you're finished unless you've been kicked out, which will happen if you violate any of our rules, among the other things that will happen"

Wade raised his eyebrows, practically feeling the seriousness shooting at him like fire. He let out another sigh as the masters continued.

"Now, who here has any experience with any form of fighting?"

Wade and a handful of the others raised their hands. Since he was the closest, Master Elba walked up to him first, while the other two went to others who raised their hands. Wade did his best to keep his cool.

"What's your name newbie?" he asked.

"Wade Barnes"

"Ok Barnes, you've had training before?"

"A little, yes" he nodded.

"What sort of training?"

"Some boxing and basic self-defense"

"Let me see your fighting stance"

Wade got into the right stance and put up his fists in a fighting posture. Master Elba examined his form from head to toe.

"Not bad, but keep your chin down and eyes forward" he instructed and Wade did as commanded. "That's it, now hit me" he said as he stepped back and brought up his palm.

Wade took in a deep breath to ready himself, and then gave a straight right punch to the palm of Elba's hand, though it made little effect.

"Come on, harder" Master Elba ordered and Wade attempted a better punch. "Even harder, remember to breathe and keep tension in your ribcage" he added and Wade continued to follow his instructions.

His eyes were narrow, his teeth gritted and his gut tight. He landed another hit, a harder and more affective one, as he let out a sharp breath. He looked like a man on a hunt as he connected the punch.

"That's it, harder" Master Elba went on and Wade hit his hand harder. "Again, again" Wade actually took in a breath and let out a grunt as he landed one final punch. The sound of the impact echoed through the room, almost sounding like a hammer hitting a rock.

Master Elba stopped and looked at Wade for a minute, violently shaking his hand with a look of impression. Wade settled down a little as he waited for whatever was next.

"Not bad" Master Elba nodded with impression. He then moved on to the next guy who raised his hand, someone a couple of rows behind Wade. Wade himself could only stand there, feeling mighty proud of himself.

The next couple of hours were all about learning basic martial art techniques. They were all from different forms and different styles of not only fighting, but exercising and breathing and things that could help a fighter in many ways. After that, came the weapons training. What they had to learn was the many different types of weapons like swords, staffs, spears, many different kinds of weapons; and how to properly use them all. Wade felt the most excited about learning how to use those. Next up, came the gymnastics and agility training. So far, that was the toughest one too. From what the masters told, after about half a year, this course would evolve into parkour and stealth training, being able to jump around buildings and move like a ninja. Today was mostly just strength training for beginners, but it was still quite a learning process. Wade could already feel the muscles in his body as they ached and slightly grew.

After their morning of workouts, Wade and the others got to go to lunch. He ate with a few of the other new recruits named Jason, Ashley and Keith. They were nice people, made Wade feel some sense of being back home, like everything was still normal. Jason liked to make a lot of goofy, and sometimes stupid, jokes while Ashley was this cool and nerdy, yet really badass, type chick. Keith was more of a civil type person like an investment broker. They traded stories about where they were from, why they chose to come here, who was it that brought them here. They also complimented Wade from his work in training, they thought he was quite a natural in fact. Wade didn't think so of course, but they honestly thought he was killing it. During lunch, Wade also caught sight of Baron again. It was the same scenario as dinner last night; he sat with the same people but didn't really talk to them. In fact, he mostly sat next to those people rather than with them. Wade continued to wonder about him, if he was lonely or of he preferred it that way. If so, then why?

Once lunch was over, Wade and the others returned to the training quarters. Once there, everybody was led to the outdoor training area. Out there, they saw a bunch of boards with targets drawn on them. They also saw these rows of stones, each carrying a smaller rock on them. There was enough of them for each one of the trainees too. The masters instructed the students to each sit behind the stones in the same orderly fashion as back inside. Once everyone was seated, Master Wan began.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, as Master General explained earlier, there are other things we will be teaching you here besides what we have already, and now is the time" she began, catching everyone's interest.

"I'm sure many of you have been wondering what that is, if there is something even deeper to what us Minions are capable of; wondering how else we could possibly battle the many wonders we do with just what we have taught you; how we can accomplish the many wonders we do. Some of you have even witnessed some of the these wonders, *looks at Wade* and I'm sure you're wondering if we possess any secret gifts or powers" Wade shifted in his spot, more then eager for what was next.

"Well, here is your answer to all of it: to become Minions, you must train your bodies to master all of it's capabilities, including the mind and the spirit. That means, uncovering all of it's mysteries. Including, telekinesis" everyone seemed slightly thrown off by that last part. "That's right, telekinesis: the ability to move matter with your mind. Not only that, but also learning how to channel the energy that flows through your bodies and make it a weapon" that didn't help with any of the confusion.

"For instance," Master Wan closed her eyes and suddenly, all of the rocks sitting in front of the pupils started rise from their spots on the stones. Many of the disciples jumped back and even got a little freaked out. Wade, on the other hand, merely just flinched. Of course, his eyes also widened and his breath hitched as he watched the rock rise up all by itself. It was freaky, but more importantly it was amazing. Wade now understood how The Grandmaster was able to make that guy stab himself in the leg. It was incredible, what he was seeing, the possibilities he could have from learning this, just the ability itself. It was mind blowing to Wade, and the most amazing thing he's seen so far.

However, it would soon be replaced as the rocks lowered back down and everyone turned their attention back towards Master Wan, just as she opened her eyes.

"Don't get excited just yet, cos we're not done" she noted and everyone was silent again. "Now, the next thing I'm about to show you is a perfect example of using your body's energy as a weapon. It is the myth that has captivated and inspired many of what you see in your civilian culture, and it's fictions"

Wade furrowed his eyebrows and watched closely as Master Wan brought her hands in front of her. They were only a few feet apart, but they started shaking as she got this hard concentrative look on her. Before long, energy sparks started shooting from her hands. Then, they started connecting, and then started forming something. The energy from her hands rapidly shot and traded until it began to form a bright blue ball of light. Everybody, including Wade, was stunned silent. Once it was completely formed, Master Wan threw it at one of the targets, exploding on impact. Everybody woah-ed and clapped once the show was over. Now that was the coolest thing Wade had ever seen.

"That, according to legend, is known as the P.S.I. ball. But since we've adapted it, we thought it easier to just simply call it the Minion Bomb" she stated and Wade grinned.

"There are many great ways you can use this technique; from forging weapons to channeling it through physical weapons, or even channeling energy to your fist in order to make a deadly power punch"

Everybody was tripping out over this incredible information and extraordinary power. But none more then Wade himself. It was almost hard to believe. If they hadn't just witnessed it, they definitely wouldn't have believed it. Everyone, especially Wade, was becoming more and more eager to learn this.

"But this technique requires a lot of energy and a lot of concentration. It can take it's toll on the body and mind. So, for those of you who successfully manage to obtain these abilities, use them wisely" she stated in a warning tone.

Wade nodded understandably. He could already see how this would come back to bite. Nonetheless, he could also see the potential this had for him, what he could accomplish with it. This whole minion deal just got crazier and crazier for him. By the time today's training was over, Wade felt tired and whiped in more ways then he ever knew possible. He could not believe this was his life for the next year. However, he knew one thing was for damn sure; the way they train people here, by this time next year, Wade was going to be one major crime-fighting, monster hunting, ass-kicking machine.