Author's Note: So, we get to see quite a lot of Egypt's true character in this chapter! I'm not really sure if that's a good thing though… ;) Also, I think the style of this chapter is slightly different to the others. I'm not sure if this is because of this particular chapter or my whole writing style has changed. Some of the rules that Egypt chants to herself are actual regulations required by the marines. If you have any questions, just message me.

This chapter is dedicated to the amazing Bastetian, they write Scarecrow fanfiction as well! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and continue to support me! GoddessOfOlympia

The next two weeks were every bit the hell Egypt had never been expecting them to be. She might have thought she was fit, but Schofield's words had never been truer when he had said that she had only thought she was ready. Their small but elite group stood out in the sun, sweat dripping off their faces. They were wearing the USMC green camouflage suits and no matter how much ventilation it claimed to deliver, it couldn't stop the heat from capturing their bodies.

In front of them laid the course, the final one for the day. Schofield liked to end most days with just a little more torture than the last. What Egypt learnt that was different from any other officer she had served under was that he did it himself. She glanced sideways and smirked at Alice. Alice was a small man of Mexican descent. His name was Jose Antonio Cesar Juan-Carlo Rodriguez, he swore just as much as she did and he had the worst sense of direction. When he had first entered the corps and done his first training exercise, he had gotten so lost that he had "been to Wonderland and back," or so he told everyone. Unfortunately for him, the name Alice had stuck on as his callsign. He was also the most competitive in the group apart from Egypt.

In front of them lay an intricate course. The Marines had to complete it as fast as they could, incurring as little penalties. The first time Egypt had done it, she had instantly realised that Schofield had designed it for fitness and agility, two of the things she specialised in in. Currently, he walked behind the line of marines, studying each of them.

"This is the last time you will ever cross this specific course," Schofield announced and a current of relief ran through the group. Egypt glanced at her captain to see his face morph into an enigmatic smile beneath the silver lenses. "But what you will cross in the future will be much worse. I expect you all to set personal bests. You'll be beginning two minutes after the previous person, so you're staggered." Schofield had a way of speaking that made you not want to disappoint him. He wasn't like other Captain's Egypt had served under, who yelled at her and told her she was nothing but a girl, and because she was a girl, she would fail.

"Mother, you're up first." The hefty marine Egypt had grown to respect stepped up to the line, cracking her knuckles with a grin. Egypt had discovered that her real name was Gena Newman and she had a husband who was a trucker. It seemed surreal that people would have lives outside of the Marines but maybe she only thought that because she didn't. She had also learnt exactly why Mother was called Mother. It wasn't because of her maternal attitude, even though she did seem to look out for the rest of the group.

"I'm going to take this motherfucker by the horns!" she announced and chuckles filled the air. Schofield's smirk widened as he lifted a stopwatch.

"And go!" Mother took off, moving her body with surprising speed for a woman of her size. She was a pure machine of muscle and ten times as dangerous as some of the men Egypt knew.

"Reacher, you're up," Alice told her, nudging her forward slightly. His words always sounded comical with his heavy Mexican accent that refused to budge after ten years of living in the United State.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" she replied, smiling sweetly as she stepped forward. Before Alice could retort anything, Schofield spoke.

"And go!" he ordered, hitting the button on the stopwatch for the second time. Egypt barely had time to turn and focus on the track that Mother had entered only two minutes before. The first obstacle was simple: a pull up bar. The objective was to do thirty pull ups as quickly as possible and move on. The bar had to be grasped with both palms facing either forward or to the year. As Egypt gripped the bar in her hands, she began to recall everything she had learnt. For some reason, she wanted this to be her personal best of the course. One repetition consists of raising the body with the arms until the chin is above the bar, and then lowering the body until the arms are fully extended. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Egypt's hands moved on the bar as she lifted her body weight over and over. Her lungs and arms began to burn slightly. The marine's legs may be positioned in a straight or bent position but may not be raised above the waist. Twenty-five. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. The amount of inherent body movement will occur as the pull up is executed. "What does inherent even mean?" Egypt thought as she dropped off the bar, her arms burning as she transitioned smoothly into a run. She chose not to pace herself, despite knowing it went on for a two miles. Mother was a small form in the distance and somewhere from Egypt's deeply competitive mind, the idea of catching up to Mother formed. She doubled her speed, ignoring her body's protests. Even at peak fitness, working hard took its toll.

A mile out from their starting points, there was a flag. The marines had to round it and return to the main course. The pull up bar was situated at the beginning. Egypt entered the circular course at a run, immediately scaling a large wooden wall. She paused at the top for a second before rolling off the top, landing lightly on her feet and moving back into a run. She didn't lose any momentum as she jumped forward and grabbed a series of bars that hung over a pit. The movement of swinging across was similar to the pull-up exercise and the already fatigued muscles strained slightly. When Egypt dropped off, she was slightly short of breath, the heat getting to her. She moved quickly up a set of wooden stairs, glancing across as where Schofield was standing, watching them. The marines were now all on the course, spread out at different stages. Mother was nearing the end as Egypt moved onto ropes that led from the top of the stairs, three metres above the ground, to a sloped wall. She slipped slightly, losing her grip on the rope and almost falling completely off it. She swore and spat blood from where she'd bitten the inside of her mouth as she hauled herself back onto the top of the rope again. She kept going when she reached the wall, ignoring the lactic acid burning in her legs. The course was designed to push you, no matter how many times you did it, no matter how fit her.

In the heat of the day, in their heavy uniforms, it was twice as hard. Every time the team completed the course, Schofield added two new obstacles. Egypt approached the last obstacle, a series of hurdles that ended with a tired wall. She forced her legs to lift over the wooden structures as she continued to run before pulling herself up the tires. They were hot from the sun but she ignored that as she lightly dropped straight from the top, before doubling her speed to sprint over to the finish. She took a deep breath in, trying to calm her breathing before giving Mother a smirk.

"Not bad for an old timer," she quipped with a smirk as Mother wiped sweat off her brow.

"Maybe I should expect quicker from a young thing like you," Mother returned dryly, glancing down at her as Alice ran over the finish.

"Saw you slip out there on the ropes," he informed Egypt with an easy grin, winking at her. Egypt rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

"And?" she asked, challenging him to say anything more. Alice's grin grew as he replied.

"And nothing. Must be all that ancient Egyptian native blood that helped you to survive." Egypt rolled her eyes again but she couldn't stop herself from smiling slightly as she turned to see Schofield watching them finish, calculating if they were ready. It wasn't the first time Alice or any of the team had made reference to her foreign origin. She had been called native, barbarian, savage, a whole legion of nicknames. She shrugged, knowing she'd done the best she could before walking over and grabbing her water bottle.

The next marine to jog in was Astro. He was the same age as Egypt but so very different. He asked many questions but gave very little answers. Egypt had heard whispers that he'd been involved with Jack West Jr before but Egypt didn't know how many of their group knew about their mission, so she hadn't asked him. Their group gathered around until the last Marine, Bigfoot, ran in. He was about gentle giant of their small squad and legend had it, he truly had been named for his big feet. Schofield walked over and the group fell silent. The sun glinted off his silver glasses.

"Anyone want to place any bets before I tell you the times?" he asked and most of them laughed. That was the thing about Scarecrow—he put you at ease. He made you want to serve for him. Despite this, over the past two weeks, Egypt had kept her distance. She respected him as her captain, and a fellow marine, but that was it. Egypt knew she wasn't what they called a people person but she liked to remain that way. She was an only child and an orphan from the age of fifteen. She justified that she didn't need friends. One of the reasons she had joined the army was because once everyone put on a uniform, they were all part of the same, nameless group.

"So, Bigfoot came in with a time of 15.24 minutes," Schofield announced and Bigfoot grinned, clearly happy with the time even though it placed him with the slowest. "Alice's time was 13.53 minutes," he added and Egypt smirked at the 30-year-old Mexican, who simply glared back at her. "Rebound's was 13.27 minutes and Mother's was 12.12 minutes." That left either Egypt or Astro with the fastest time. It was both surprising and not at the same time. Astro did come across as the silent but deadly type, yet Egypt was confident she had beaten him.

"With a time of 11.36 minutes," Schofield continued, "is Reacher. And Astro taking the lead with 11.05 minutes." Egypt couldn't stop her mouth from dropping open as Alice laughed. Even Mother grinned at Astro, clapping her hand on his shoulder.

"Well done, kid. You managed to beat the Barbarian," she said, winking at Egypt. Egypt glared at Alice, annoyed that she had been beaten.

"Shut the fuck up, Rodriguez," she snapped, using his last name and not his callsign. Considering how tightly-knit the group was, this signified extreme displeasure. However, it didn't seem to have that effect on Alice. He smirked at her.

"Ooh, the Barbarian is a bit touchy. Musta been the slip on the ropes, huh? Guess I was wrong about your blood," he said teasingly. Egypt's entire body tensed, unhappy with this comment. Blood was a touchy subject around her and she lashed out and shoved him. Hostile contact between the marines was a serious offense and it wasn't the first time Egypt would have been caught out for it.

"Hey, hey!" Alice said, stumbling before righting himself and holding his hands up. "I was just kidding." Egypt shook her head, storming ahead of the group back to their barracks.

"Lieutenant Reacher!" Schofield's voice rang out, devoid of any teasing that it had held earlier. It was completely authoritative and Egypt turned around.

"What?" she snapped again. She could tell by Schofield's entire posture that he wasn't at all happy with her, even if she couldn't see his eyes.

"I want a written apology to Alice and you should be glad he's not laying a complaint. If you ever lay a finger on one of my soldiers again, I will have you expelled from our team and suspended." Egypt knew he wasn't joking. "Do you understand, Lieutenant Reacher?"

"Yes," she replied, her voice low. Schofield nodded and walked straight past her, as did the rest of the group. She watched them leave, realising once again that she didn't belong in any group.