"I think that's it for today." Niko said, as we glanced up at the clock to see it was already 8 pm. We had been holed up in our training room all day, working out the small details of the mission so we could concentrate on running through our plan and various backup plans in action. The room was cluttered with paper and various plates that had previously held food brought to us by the cafeteria workers of the Legion.

Sandy was responsible dealing with any and all mechanical aspects of the mission. He would navigate the submarine all the way to Ni'ihau, open the escape chamber a mile off shore, and wait in the submarine during our mission.  He would tell us our coordinates and any incoming targets from his position in the submarine, and re-open the chamber in time for our escape. 

We decided to split up in two groups of Julianna and Trevor as one group and Lei, Niko, and me in the other. The mission was simple enough, but I knew covering ground in the real thing was going to be challenging, with so many guards on post. We only had a week left before we left for our mission, and the tension and excitement of our group was rising 

We quickly packed up our things, and I hated how I had another two hours of studying my own materials when I got back. But Aunt Helen had told me that I couldn't let anything get in the way of my own personal growth.

I heaved what personal belongings I had brought and picked up my phone at the door of the classified section, as phones and personal electronics weren't allowed in that area. I took the elevator back up to my room, and collapsed onto my bed to take a quick 20 minute power nap. I woke up and chugged a Red Bull just as my tutor walked in. 

I was on the brink of falling asleep every ten minutes, but my tutor took pity on me and gave me problems that were more review of the previous night's work, as I had been equally exhausted then as well. By the time the two hours were over, I felt spent and only slightly more intelligent.

I took a quick shower and changed into shorts and a sweatshirt, and tried falling asleep. But my mind was swarming with the mission and calculus that I felt more solace with my eyes open than closed. Just as I was about to give up and read, my phone started ringing.

I picked it up, my voice alert. "Hello?"

"Good, I knew you were up. Want to blow off steam?" It was Niko, and he didn't have to ask twice. I changed into shorts and a tank top before heading downstairs to meet up with him by the trainee residential area.

"Insomnia haunting you too?" I asked Niko, leaning against the wall with his hand on his neck.

"I want to sleep so badly, but I can't stop thinking. I felt like we needed to do something fun."

I laughed. "Yes. I agree."

"I have an idea." He said, and he took my hand and started running up the stairs. Panting, we reached the seventh floor, and he led me to a terrace that I didn't even know existed. From there, there was a jumping board that led into the natural outdoor pools. I'd never actually swam in there, much less jumped in from 60 feet in the air.

"No way we're doing this." I said.

"Yes way."

"But—holy fuck it's so high."

"Hey, you've done shit so much scarier than this, this should be a piece of cake. Just make sure to fall straight down or else you will have the worst belly flop of your life." 

It wasn't like I had a fear of heights, but being so high up and thinking of falling from it would scare most anyone. Except Niko, clearly. He was already stripping off his shirt and sweatpants, and showing off his abs in all his boxer-brief glory. 

"Stop checking me out and strip, Scarlett." 

I raised my eyebrows and shot him down, "no way, Jose."

He pouted. "Did you say that because I'm Latino?"

And just as I laughed, he ran and leaped into the air, did multiple flips, and fell straight down with his arms stretched tight. His fingertips connected with the water, and he had melted into the water. He resurfaced, a radiant smile on his face.

"Alright, princess, your turn!"

I took a deep breath, and stared at the water way below me. I took a deep breath, trying not think about how a slightly wrong angle could end in me severely injuring my spine or my head. I couldn't have Niko think I was a wuss, and I also couldn't let myself back down from this challenge. Without overthinking, I leaped.

And I was falling. And speeding up. 

I made myself rigid to not flail around. Time slowed down, even though my surroundings were blurring. My toes made contact with the water, and time sped up again.

The cold water wrapped around me, and I swam up, victorious.

"Damn, I thought you would take at least ten minutes to jump, not bad for your first jump!" Niko said, and I couldn't help but laugh like a maniac. I just felt so free.

We waded in the water for a while, enjoying how the cool water and calm night refreshed our minds. We both raised ourselves up to sit on a protruding rock, and breathed in the tranquil night. We could hear nocturnal creatures communicating in the forest around us. Niko started to tilt his face in my direction, but I pretended I didn't notice and jumped back in the water. I couldn't handle another awkward situation of letting him down when I knew we were in such a crucial time to maintain our group morale.

We got back inside the building, but realized one crucial mistake. 

"We don't have any god damn towels."

Shivering and drenched, us two idiots raced down to Niko's room to grab towels, so we at least wouldn't get half the building wet. When we neared his room, though, we slowed down because we heard some noises.

Moans and grunts, to be specific. We peered into the trainee common room to see some people... well, you get the point.

But among closer inspection, I realized I was well acquainted with these people. It was Julianna and Trevor. She was sitting on his lap, facing him, both of them with extreme looks of pleasure on their faces. I had always thought Julianna and Trevor had a strange relationship, because Trevor was such an easy-going jokester, and Julianna was such a sexy badass. Whenever Trevor would say anything inappropriate, she would shoot him down with a look, only gaining a cheesy grin from him. Now that I think about it, there could be affection among those interactions.

They were certainly affectionate now.

I looked at Niko with wide eyes, and he looked equally surprised, but he was donning a large grin. "Go Trevor, holy shit." He whispered, his eyes laughing.

"Oh my god, don't look." I whacked him lightly to look away.

"Hey, good for them they're using protection."

I stifled myself from gasping and pulled Niko back to hide against the wall. We had to wait this out, because we had to pass them to get to Niko's room. But it was extremely weird to be listening to my friends have sex only a few feet away from me.

"Seems like they needed to blow off some steam as well." Niko wasn't quitting with the commentary.

"Shut. Up." I hissed.

"Come on, you have to admit it's kinda hot."

My jaw hit the ground as I turned to him with a look of shock. "No, the idea of my friends having sloppy sex and hiding from it is not hot."

Niko guffawed, and I clamped his mouth shut with my hand. He then licked my palm, causing me to yelp and jump back. Trevor and Julianna had stood up, but it wasn't because of my outcry.

We heard commotion coming from the trainee rooms. 

"Random checks! Please get off of your beds and stand against the walls!"

I turned to Niko. "Does this happen all the time?"

He shrugged. "Maybe twice a month." 

I gaped at him. "What are they looking for?"

"Personal belongings, concealed weapons, hints of rebellion. The like."

"Have you had anything taken away?"

Niko looked grim, and at first I thought he wouldn't tell me. Then he said, "I had pictures of my parents taken away at the beginning of my training."

My heart throbbed. "Why the fuck would they do that?"

"Could leak personal information. They could use it against me if I ever were to get caught and tortured."

"Who's they? Who are your enemies?"

Niko looked confused for a second. He couldn't respond. 

"The Shadow Legion?" I asked him quietly.

A flash of fear and understanding came across his face. I could feel both our hearts beating fast. But we were pulled back to our surroundings because of a severe cry. 

We rushed in, and saw Julianna and Trevor, sweaty and sloppily-dressed, who looked at us with confusion. We waved them off and sprinted to see what was happening.

There was a boy, maybe 12 years old, and I recognized him as one of the newbies. He was skilled and quick, in team F, but still soft-hearted. He had a box of personal belongings: photos, journals, mementos, evidence he was missing home. A tangible expression of what he had given up to serve here. And the agents were threatening to take it all away.

"Please! No! That's all I had of my family!" He sobbed, as everyone in the room watched with grim sympathy. 

"Is no one going to do anything?" I asked into the crowd.

"It sucks, but it happens to all of us. We all have to go through it. Almost like a clear break from our family." Julianna told me, bringing tears to my eyes.

All of my fellow trainees had been treated like this, like prisoners, like criminals, like robots. As if it was a privilege for the trainees to serve the Legion, not the other way around.

As the boy pulled at the box, one of the agents brought a taser and zapped him quickly. It wasn't enough to paralyze him, but enough to make him jump back and curl into a ball, sobbing harder.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Stop! Stop it, all of you! This is fucking cruel! His personal belongings aren't going to harm anyone!" I felt Niko grab my hand to restrain me, but I shook him off aggressively.

The agents looked angry that some trainee had spoken up against them, but visibly backed down when they noticed my notorious green eyes.

"Scarlett, we understand this might be surprising, but your aunt and our leader would let you know this is procedure—"

I cut the man off, who was trying to sound authoritative and commanding at the same time. "Procedure my ass. This isn't done to protect trainees from harm. This is to cut off their emotional attachment to their families. This is inhumane."

A heavier-set man came up, riled up with my anger. "Oi, Scarlett, you might think you have authority here, but the truth is, ya don't. You're still a trainee, and as of right now we are of higher status. And we only take orders from our bosses, including Roselle."

I let out a laugh that sounded almost malicious. "Oh yeah? Well, once Roselle retires, you know who's going to be your leader? Mother. Fucking. ME. And guess who'll be the first to go the moment that happens." I took a pause, enjoying the growing look of fear in their eyes. "I know what you two look like."

The first man who had spoken came back up, laughing anxiously. "Sorry for my colleague, he's really a bit of a grump. Catch him on a good day and he's wonderful, really. But you have to understand, we're just following direct orders. We don't want to harm this boy, it's just this is our job and if we don't—"

"I can talk to Roselle about this if I need to. But you need to start figuring out who you show loyalty to." I spoke to them in a low, slow tone, to emphasize my words.

The two agents nodded their heads, saluted, and quickly marched away before I started threatening anything else. When they were out of earshot, the trainees that had gathered around started clapping. But I ignored their claps and sat next to the boy to prop him up.

"Hey, they're gone now. You're alright." He nodded and shook in my arms, and I held him for a few seconds. 

"I know I promised the Legion everything, b-b-but I can't give up my family." He said shakily, "I'm so sorry miss Scarlett."

I shushed and held him tighter. "Please. Call me Cass. What's your name?"

"Dylan." He answered. I gently let him go and helped him up, picking up his box of belongings and placing it by his bed. 

"Don't worry, you have me on your side. Now try to get some sleep, okay? And you can always come to my room if you need to talk."

Dylan hugged me. "You remind me of my sister." He laughed lightly, "she's also mean to the people who deserve it and nice to people she likes."

I chuckled. "Well I hope I have equally good judgement as her."

I said my goodnights to everyone as I left, and they all looked at me with a newfound admiration. I was pleased that they liked my actions, when all I did was stand up for what I thought was right.

As I was leaving, Niko ran up to me. He had put on a tank top and sweatpants, and a towel hung around his neck to catch water droplets that fell from his hair.

"Hey, what you did back there, that was, you know, impressive. It was a good thing you did."

I smiled tiredly. "Thanks, but if you ever try to hold me back again, I won't forgive you. I am the future leader of this Legion, and I trust my own judgement. You should start trusting it too."

He gave me a grim nod. I smiled and hugged him to let him know I wasn't angry at him.

"Good night, Niko."

"Good night, princess."

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Wow I am on such a roll! Thanks for reading, please vote and comment <3 much love