And here's the new one =3
Thanks to everyone who reads this and I hope you're enjoying it ^^

As usual, I own the grammar mistakes and the OCs.

Chapter 4

"Aw, come to daddy!" Bishop almost kissed the rifle as he arrived at the firing range, glad to finally be done with hand-to-hand combat.

"Hmm… I'll try these. Rex seems to use them easily enough…" Pion muttered, taking hold of two DL-18 pistols, frowning as the felt strange in his hands.

"I'm taking my girl!" Turm grinned, already having his heavy cannon in hands.

"Why is it only two try new things…?" Ciel sighed as the clones lined up.

"Let's see if you three do better than your two teammates," he called, pressing the buttons as the targets came, same as before.

"Agh!" Jezdec staggered back, a hand on his chest where his brother had kicked him.

"Oh, sorry!" Rex called, getting lost in the adrenalin and attacking with too much force.

"Nah, its fine," the cadet waved a hand to dismiss it, but his voice was strained.

"I don't know if you've gotten so better or if I'm just so bad," the 'knight' admitted, getting his bearings back and giving a small smile.

"I just got lucky is all," the 'king' got into his stance, a grin on his face.

"Hey, Turm, keep that overgrown water gun away from my targets!" Bishop hissed, a frown on his face as two of the dummies he had aimed at were shot.

"First come first serve!" the 'rook' called back, counting down his kill number.

"You're getting too excited about this…" Pion muttered, having a bit of a hard time controlling both blaster pistols as his left hand started to hurt.

"How are we supposed beat the kill counter? I can't even get clear shots…" the sniper growled to himself, looking at the number display above the firing range.

"Why don't you go ask them?" Turm grinned, before his cannon started clicking, indicating he had ran out of ammo. He wasted a bit of time to replace it.

"If they could do it, so can we," the targets kept deflecting the shots as Ciel watched from a far, shaking his head and heading for the other two.

There was a thud, plastoid hitting the ground, a groan of pain mixed with a grunt and pants coming from all around as Termer came to the sparring duo, a slightly amused look on his face.

"I… give…" Jezdec managed, taking in quick, sharp breathes as sweat covered his face.

"I win…" Rex breathed, falling to his knees a second later, face first into the cool metal ground and letting out a weak chuckle, which he regretted as everything hurt.

"I see you two are having fun," the Lannik came closer, examining them and seeing quite a few dents in their armor, their helmets long since throw away.

"Rex… is a monster…" the 'knight' panted, swallowing every now and then, unable to sit up.

"I can't feel my arms… or legs… or anything…" the 'king' muttered into the ground, flopping himself onto his back to be able to breath.

"I see your stamina is not as high as the others. We can work on that," Ciel thought about the other three and how long they were coming at each other.

"Their aggression however… is slightly disappointing," the trainer added, seeing the kill count for the dummies on the data pad and turned the session off.

"Everyone, gather around," he spoke into the pad, his voice echoing in the room.

The cadets, two exhausted so they were half-assing it, two grumpy so they weren't paying much attention and only one seemed fully present, gathered before their trainer.

"It's 09:45 right now, so you're having a break. Get a shower, head to the mess hall for food if you're hungry and meet back here at 10:30. Dismissed!" the clones gave a 'Sir!' and a salute before heading for the refreshers.

"Oh, Rex, a word if you would," Ciel called after them, the said man looking back a bit confused.

"Don't worry, it won't be long," Termer added as the cadets gave him a concerned look but had to move on, while he moved back.

"Sir," Rex gave a nod, looking at the Lannik, who kept his gaze on the data pad in his hands.

"Come, walk with me," with a motion of his hand, Ciel stated walking, the 'king' right behind him.

"I bet you fifty credits he's getting a kriffing promotion," Bishop muttered, rubbing his face as he stood under the shower.

"You sound almost jealous," Turm grinned, stretching his arms to get the stiffness out.

"…" the sniper fell silent, thinking about how he sounded. "Maybe I am a bit…" he muttered.

"Hey, c'mon, you know Rex isn't looking for attention," Pion leaned out of his shower to try and see his brother.

"I know, I know! It's just-!" letting out a frustrating breath, Bishop leaned his head onto the cold wall.

"If he gets any better or any more attention, they might take him for an ARC trooper… and you guys know what happens to them…" his voice trailed off as a sudden chill ran through the fresher.

"Look, let's not jump at assumptions – we'll find out what he was called in for in time," Jezdec was trying to convince his brothers and himself.

"You know, I still feel like we're dragging him down. Keeping him back from being the best… like back in school…" Turm sighed, a grim look on his face as the cadets lowered their gaze.

There was a silence around them, with nothing more than the water from the refreshers, as each clone thought about it, the past and the events which happened in their short lives.

"But that's why we need to get stronger…" Jezdec broke the silence after a minute, his eyes hard with determination and fists clenched. "So we won't hold him back but stand with him."

"I've been reading up on your squad's history," Ciel spoke as the two walked around the training ground, the clone hardly showing any signs of fatigue.

"You stand out amongst them," at that, Rex clenched a fist and locked his jaw.

That action didn't go unnoticed by the small man, as he looked over his shoulder at the cadet, a look of mild confusion in his eyes.

"You have something to say?" Ciel asked and stopped, tuning around to see the trooper.

"…" Rex stayed silent for a bit, looking down at the trainer, trying to figure out why he was here, what was the purpose of this talk, what the Lannik wanted. Finally, he spoke, and asked just that.

"Why did you want to talk to me, sir?" he made sure he still showed respect, but his eyes were burning with silent anger.

"To offer you a choice," Termer's words made him blink and relax, as that was not even close to what he had thought about.

"A… choice sir?" clones weren't ever really given choices about much. At least, nothing important. The biggest choice one could make was how to identify themselves.

"Yes. As you know, I'm usually given the task to train the 'low-grade' cadets. I've taken on many squads in my service and every now and then, there's that one man that stands out," Ciel spoke, his eyes going to the clone before him.

"So, after a lot of arguing with the officials and superiors, I managed to convince them of a certain… ability I can have," he let the words hang in the air and they were almost suffocating the clone.

"I can transfer you to a different squad – one where your skills will be put to good use and your individuality easily identified," Rex's body froze over at the words, his breath stuck in his throat as he didn't know how to respond.

"I know this is quite the offer, so I'll give you a day to think it over. Now, head back with the rest," with a wave of his hand, Ciel dismissed the still stunned clone and left the training ground.

Rex just looked at the ground. He didn't know how to feel – it was a lot for him. For someone who had never had a word in what he wanted or how he wanted it. This kind of freedom was new to him and he wasn't sure what to do.

So, after what felt like hours, the cadet took a deep breath and turned around, heading for the refreshers to try and find a way to clear his head.

As Rex entered the 'fresher, he could feel all four pairs of eyes on him, but he couldn't look at his brothers. Not yet. So he set down his bucket and proceeded to remove his armor, all the while staying silent, hoping they wouldn't ask just yet.

"So," of course, Bishop had to start. "What happened?"

Rex swallowed a lump in his throat and turned to face them, a small smile on his face. He never liked lying to his brothers, but right now, he didn't have a choice

"Nothing much. Just said I'm showing promise," he could feel how his words were forced, and knew that the others would notice. But would they do anything about it?

"Aha…" the sniper's eyes narrowed slightly, but he caught something in the 'king's eyes that made him forget about it and sigh.

"You know you could give a good word in for us right," Turm joked, lightly punching his friend in the arm as he got dressed.

"I'll think about it," Rex chuckled, holding his shoulder.

"So, do we wait for you or…?" Pion, who sat on a bench, asked glancing at the cadets.

"Go on ahead; I'll meet you in the mess," Rex gave a nod as the others shrugged, got dressed and left the refreshers.

As soon as they left the room, Rex's face turned grim and his eyes sad. He stayed like that, standing, half dressed and looking at the door, wondering what he was going to do now.

"How bad is it?" Jezdec asked as the four walked in the hall towards the mess.

"I don't know…" Bishop answered, trying to understand the look he saw. It was almost like… pity and sadness mixed together. It made the sniper's chest tight and sent chills up his spine.

"If he wants to talk about it, he will," Pion pointed out but didn't convince anyone.

"Give him some time. He knows he can trust us," Turm shrugged and opened the door to the mess hall, which was already packed with other cadets.

"I can't just leave," Rex thought as he stood under the shower, eyes closed and letting the water pour on his face.

"But this… it could be the only chance I get…" he shook his head to get rid of that.

"No! I'm no traitor! They're my brothers! They've always been there for me! I can't abandon them just because I think I can get better!" he let out a frustrated sigh and slowly opened his eyes, not being bothered as water dripped into them.

"Does Termer do this to everyone?" the clone asked himself, stepping out of the shower and drying himself, before grabbing his red uniform.

"What did they think?" he was so lost in thought he hadn't even noticed someone else in the training ground, cleaning up the mess left.

"Oh, Rex," at the call of his nickname, the cadet looked and blinked, before giving a small smile.

"99, hi there," he greeted back, seeing the older man washing the sweat on the ground.

"You guys seem to already be doing well," 99 grinned, setting down the bucket and drying his hands in a cloth he had over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you could say that," Rex's tone turned grimmer as the 'defective' clone looked confused.

"What happened?" he asked as the 'king' gave a sigh, biting his lip.

"Ciel said he could transfer me to a different squad…" at that, the older clone looked in shock.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing… he gave me a day to think about it."

"What are you going to say?"

"…I'm not sure…"

"Rex…" the said clone swallowed, feeling ashamed at himself for even considering leaving.

"I…I know I can't force you to do anything, but… I don't think you should take it…" 99's voice was weak and soft, as if he was scared to speak.

"The squad… you're all good together. There are a lot of cadets out there that – that would jump at that opportunity but… it's not right… and I don't think you're the kind of man that would do that…" Rex had to lock his jaw and close his eyes to make sure he couldn't lose it right there and then.

"But… you were given a choice… something hardly anyone gets… It could be your last and only one…" the clone's words trailed off as he looked at the cadet.

"…I know and I realize that. I don't want to leave! I just-" suddenly, something came to his mind.

"That's…" his eyes were wide as 99 looked at him.

"That's why so many squads fail! Because a squad can only be, if it has five members! When one left, the others got an automatic fail!" Rex hit himself in the head for being so stupid.

"Thanks 99! I think you just saved me and my whole team!" Rex hugged the small clone, who, at first was too shocked to react, but gave a small smile and hugged him back.

"I'm just happy to help my brothers."

And end. For now anyway :P
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'Till next time~