Cheerio and tater-tot my good fellow.

To anyone who got the whole slew of refrences in the last chapter, congrats. I felt the need to add some pairings and what not, as well as a Nekotalia refrence. -thumbs up- :D

But this won't be the last time Nekotalia pops up- oh no. I like those ridiculous furballs to have it end like that. :3

Chapter 4

Tina screamed bloody murder. "How... How could you?" She yelled, running at Fae angrily, fists balled. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Fae gulped, blinking slightly. "Well, I knew it was going to be a Trip Monster, but I didn't realize they were going to bring a specific one..." She shuddered. "And I have a feeling I know exactly which one it is too..."

She stood suddenly, snapping her fingers. A panel popped out of the wall, and Fae glared at it. "I'm going to be a moment... Your test is going to start in a few minutes... You'll want to get prepared. If you want some weapons, just in case, they're there. But I would suggest using your normal powers. You know them the best, rather than a series of weapons you've never used."

She disappeared off to her room, a deadly serious look on her face, and Andy followed after her, stopping at her door. "Fae... Is something wrong?" She asked quietly, eyeing the blonde.

Fae nodded. "If it's the beast I think it is, then we might be fucked. It tore up the last group I trained pretty badly..." She said softly, opening her door and disappearing into it.

Andy entered her own room, shuddering slightly as she wondered what exactly had happened the last time Fae had trained a group. She quickly pulled on a new set of clothes, a pair of worn jeans and a grey t-shirt before pulling on a grey hoodie on top and walking back.

Chloe was staring at the weapons, biting her lip as her hand ghosted over them, as if she was unsure which one to take. Andy frowned. "Why do you need a weapon?" She asked, walking over to Chloe. "You can protect yourself easily enough, why the need for a weapon?" She asked, carefully picking up a knife.

Chloe sighed. "I don't want to feel completely useless... If it attacks me, I want to at least fight back, not make easy pickings."

Andy set the knife down again, pursing her lips. Finally, after a long moment, she picked up another knife. The blade was 6 inches long, a decent length, the blade a beautiful silver with a black handle. Andy inspected the handle, eyeing the rose carved into the handle. The rose was complete with a stem and leaves, the stem wrapping around the handle in an interesting pattern. Andy handed it gently to Chloe, nodding. "This one. It won't be much help long-range wise, but if its close combat, its better than nothing."

Chloe took it with a smile, nodding. "Thanks." She turned her head to look around, a frown appearing on her face. "Any idea what happened to Tina?"

Andy glanced around, finally finding the blonde girl in a corner, staring blankly at the wall. Chloe sighed as she walked over. "What's wrong?"

Tina shook her head. "I don't want to kill anything." She muttered, green eyes fixed angrily at the wall.

Chloe sighed. "Fae's been trying to drive it into your head that if you don't kill it, it'll kil you." She frowned. "Would you rather let it live and kill someone precious to you?" She asked softly, sitting next to Tina.

Tina sniffed slightly. "No." She shook her head. "But I don't want anything to feel pain..." She murmured softly, rubbing the back of one of her arms. Andy glanced at it, noticing a long scar that ran down the length.

"Then go for the head shot. Right between the eyes. It will pierce the brain, and kill it before it even knows what happened." Fae's voice said from across the room, and all three girls turned around.

Fae looked like she was going to war, her normal black tank the only part left from her usual attire, a pair of gloves on her hands. A pair of bandoliers stretched across her chest, each holding 6 knives in it, and on the back what appeared to be two twin swords. She hand kicked off her traditional jeans in favor of a pair of tan cargo pants, and Andy couldn't help but wonder how loaded she was when it came to wapondry. The bottoms of the cargo pants were tucked into a pair of combat boots, the top part of 4 more knives peeking through. Her teal eyes were hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses, and a black hat hid her blonde hair as she walked to them. Andy frowned slightly. Maybe it was just the light and the change of clothes, but Fae was looking eerily pale for some reason.

But no matter what, Fae was still Fae, and she walked over to Tina. "I know you don't like blood, but it won't hurt you Tina." She gently set a hand on Tina's shoulder. "I'll be there with you guys, getting judged as well." She smiled. "If you want, I'll tell you a fear of mine." She offered quietly.

Tina glanced at her. "You don't seem like you're afraid of anything."

Fae chuckled slightly. "I fear I won't be able to protect the people around me." She gently took Tina's hand, pulling her to her feet. "But if you want to feel better about killing it, you should know Trip Monster don't bleed." She shivered slightly. "They pus and dissolve within a couple minutes. You have to be careful of it though. I've seen it eat through a man's arm in 5 seconds, it's such a powerful acid." Fae glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'll be leading the team today, but it won't always be like that. You're going to need to depend on one another from now on. I'll give you a minute to gather yourselves together, but you'll need to get out there quick. The beast gets let out at exactly 10:30, which is another 5 minutes or so. I'll-" Fae was cut off by coughing, and she quickly covered her mouth as she turned away, but Andy saw a brief flash of red against Fae's skin before the latter turned completely away. "I'll be down in the arena." She muttered through her hand, jumping into the hole in the ground that had stayed open since that first day.

Andy looked at the other two. "You ready guys?" She asked softly, her eyes worriedly looking at the other two.

Chloe nodded, standing up and taking Tina's hand in her own and holding out for Andy's. When Andy slipped her hand into Chloe's, the albino smiled. "No matter what happens, we stick together, just like Fae said. No man left behind."

Tina smiled slightly. "But we're all girls."

Chloe laughed, and Andy couldn't help but laugh with her. Chloe nodded. "Friends forever." She paused, then amended herself. "Best friends forever. I can't say that all my friends back home could have gone through all the shit we put up with and we would all still be friends."

Andy glanced at the ground. "I only had Kaylin back at home..."

Tina smiled brightly. "Well, now you have two more best friends."

Chloe grinned, squeezing both of their hands. "Let's go." She said, and together they all ran to the hole, jumping into it and onto their adventure.

So... very... short. :( Sorry y'all.

But I felt like this chapter needed to end on a happier, more optimistic note.

Except for the whole Fae coughing up blood thing.

Anyways, I'll type up the next chapter ASAFP, and post it.

NIGHT!