Hey guys, I'm back for the final stage of the Trio Trilogy! Thank you everyone who has stuck with me for the last two years. I'm going to try and make this the best for you!

Disclaimer: I don't own MI High or any of the characters from the show. I do own the Trio!

It was quiet on campus except for the general snoring coming from the low lying bunkers at one end, in which young agents whiled away the hours until the first spark of sunlight gleamed on the horizon and the resounding claxons signalling sunrise woke them up.

It was still over the battle grounds, where agents were toughened by the bitter rains or scorching suns as they ran across the uneven ground during numerous drills. Their senses were honed during the ammunition rounds and their minds sharpened by the various challenges set before them. It was tough on a battle field, so it was tough on this one too.

But the battle field did not promise death, as many others elsewhere in the world did. The agents were taught not to fear death. There was something that they were taught to fear more, the failure that the battle field promised. Every challenge was set out to test every skill, because failure in the real world might be ten times harder than failure on the battle field; therefore the punishments on the battle field were ten times worse than anything you might face in reality.

To a beginner, they might not seem so bad: scrubbing out the campus kitchens, skipping a meal every so often, another four hundred laps of the field (okay, nobody liked that one). But it was what came afterwards than the agents learnt to fear. Because if one person got punished, so did the rest. It was the isolation, the angry looks, the mutterings behind your back that agents learnt to fear because there was nothing in the rules to stop other agents doing something nasty to you in revenge. It couldn't be life threatening, but if there was something agents learnt on the battlefield, it was how to be creative with what little they had. Ice cubes in the beds was a popular one, but another was sinking the helpless victim in waste deep mud and leaving a phone just out of reach. You had to tell the rescue team once you got back to base, but the agent got the message quickly. Fail, and suddenly, all team efforts disappeared. Nobody cared if you lived or died if you were a failure.

It was soundless in the communication tower, nothing moved in the technology blocks. But as you advance around the corner and walk slowly towards the dojo and the fitness training centre, there is a sound just on the edge of hearing: a cry and the sound of something hitting something else. Someone is awake on this still night, the first quiet night in months.

There were two people still up as the moon reaches its highest point in the sky, two women to be more precise, a young teenager girl and a young adult woman to be even more accurate.

And the woman was trying to beat the girl around the head with an iron bar.

The girl rolled and dodged as the woman lunged forwards. The girl tried to gain advantage by knocking the woman off balance, but the woman recovered too quickly and swiped at the girl's head, coming narrowly close to scraping her scalp.

'What's the point?' she jeered, 'you'll never beat me.'

The girl rolled away, trying now to put distance between her and her attacker so she could have room to think, but the woman covered the space too quickly and swung again. In desperation, the girl grabbed the oncoming weapon, but the woman's strength proved too great for her and she fell backwards.

She glanced up and rolled away just as the iron bar smashed into the ground beside her. It smashed the other side and the girl found herself trapped, the woman standing over her.

'Give it up, Lizzie,' the woman said, raising the bar up, 'you're dead.'

The young Lizzie looked up defiantly into the woman's face. 'I'm not dead until I'm dead, Jade,' she said.

'Then you're a fool,' Jade spat. She brought the bar down.

Lizzie rolled her body up and onto her shoulder. One foot hit the falling bar and the other drove into Jade's stomach. Jade doubled back, winded, as Lizzie spun and flipped upright. Her smile was not there for long as Jade's iron bar hooked around her arm and sent her spinning again. Lizzie tried to keep upright, but the iron bar tripped her up. She turned it into a forward roll and then a round house kick that Jade blocked with the bar. She tried going in for a punch, but Jade locked her wrist with one hand and the bar and pulled the young girl into her.

An elbow caught Lizzie in the face. A foot made contact with her shin. Her fist found Jade's eye, her other hand hit her funny bone and her knee collided with her opponent's stomach as Jade dragged her closer.

But Jade had an advantage, she had the iron bar. The thick metal pipe fell heavily on Lizzie's shoulder, dislocating it. Lizzie cried out in pain as Jade dragged the dislocated arm and flung her into the centre of the room. Pain, like sharp nails, drove Lizzie forwards. She found a wall and sank to the floor.

Jade crossed the room and pointed the iron bar in Lizzie's face. 'Do you concede defeat?' she asked the panting young girl.

Lizzie glared up. 'No,' she said.

Jade sighed and the bar swung round.

Lizzie's hand caught it mid-swing. Jade froze. She tugged on the bar, but it would not move. Lizzie, concentrating hard, slowly began to climb up the wall. She had almost managed to stand when Jade let go of the bar. She made a slashing movement and chopped at Lizzie's dislocated arm. The pain shot through Lizzie again and her concentration shattered. The bar began to fall and in one swift movement, Jade caught it and swung it at Lizzie's head.

It was all over.

Lizzie dropped to the floor.

Panting, Jade slowly lowered the bar from where it had stopped. She glanced at her watch and then out at the dark sky. 'It's very late,' she said, 'you should be in bed.'

'I work better when I've had no sleep,' Lizzie muttered, feeling her dislocated arm, 'give me the chance of a lie in and I'll take it and good luck to whomever it is getting me up in the mornings.'

'Usually that's me,' Jade said. She dropped the bar, bent down and slowly reconnected Lizzie's shoulder with her arm. Lizzie hissed with pain and began to move it as Jade moved away.

'That hurt.'

'Good,' Jade said, 'maybe it will teach you not to put yourself in such a stupid position next time.'

Lizzie stuck her tongue out at her mentor. 'Just you wait,' she said, 'just you wait. Someday, I'll beat you.'

Jade laughed. 'I don't doubt that Lizzie,' she said with a smile, 'I don't doubt that at all. Were you using your gifts at the end there?'

'If I have them,' Lizzie said pointedly, 'then why can't I use them?'

'I'm not stopping you,' Jade said with a laugh, 'good luck to whomever tries to stop you. But you can't rely on them to get you out of a situation; you're not strong enough yet. As soon as I broke your concentration, you were an easy target. Your fighting skills need to be strong enough so you can withstand anything thrown at you.'

'Yes, Jade,' Lizzie said gloomily, heading towards the bench on which their water bottles lay.

'And another thing,' Jade said, following her young pupil across the room, 'if they offer you the chance to surrender and live, then take it. I know that they teach you that you should never give it, but if conceding defeat will keep you alive, then take it.'

'That's not what you were telling me a few weeks ago.'

'Well, a few weeks ago, I didn't know any better.'

Lizzie turned. Jade looked on the verge of tears. 'I'm sorry Jade,' she murmured, hurrying back to her tutor.

'Why?' Jade was whispering. 'Why did it have to be him?'

'You mean Edward…'

'Oscar's growing up without a father,' Jade was growling under her breath, 'I'm going to be without a husband and MI9 can't find a decent way of compensating us. I'm still working full hours. They can't understand. "Never surrender" they say, "failure is never an option". Let me amend that statement: "Failure is always an option and if it means you live, you should take it".'

'Jade Dixon Halliday!' Jade blinked. Lizzie was standing before her, hands on her hips, an expression of pure fury on her face. 'How dare you?' she exclaimed, 'how dare you give up so easily! The old Jade wouldn't give up! The old Jade would still be fighting! Who is this crying coward I see before me?'

'Stop right there,' Jade began, but Lizzie cut across her.

'No, you stop! You told me yourself, they have just lost track of Edward. "Missing in Action" as I recall. That doesn't mean he's dead!'

'Edward wouldn't have surrendered,' Jade whispered, 'even if it meant they killed him.'

'Then why are you?' Jade blinked. Lizzie removed her hands from her hips and asked in softer tones, 'why are you giving up already? It's been two weeks, he could still be found. There is still a chance, Jade.'

'It hasn't been two weeks…'

Lizzie frowned. 'Pardon?'

'It hasn't been two weeks. It's been two months. I… I didn't want to worry you…'

'Jade,' Lizzie protested, 'I want to be your friend. I want to help you, like you help me. You've been supporting me since I first arrived in this hell on Earth; let me be the same to you as you go through hell.'

Jade chuckled and ruffled her young pupil's hair. 'Thank you, Lizzie,' she said quietly. 'I just… I just wish that I could do something. I wish I could find out if he is still alive.'

'You'll find a way,' Lizzie said reassuringly, 'I'm sure there's a way. In fact…' Lizzie paused before saying, 'I might have one.'

:D

And we're off!