Chapter 11: The Mentor

Finn woke up in the morning feeling a lot better from the beating he had received the day before. He looked over to the clock on the small table and saw it read 7:28 am. He slowly began to get up from bed and stretched his limbs, causing a few bones to crack. He went over to grab his clothing and put them on. While he did it, he started to question Phoebe's strange behavior when she came into his room the night before, but he figured he'd ask her later. Once he was done dressing, he went out the door and went over to knock on her door.

There was silence for several minutes before the door opened, revealing a Phoebe with messed up hair and eyes that were practically still closed. Her bruises were less noticeable than before, but still there nonetheless. She smacked her lips together a few times and rubbed one of her eyes.

"Yeah?" her voice was very weak. Finn could tell she was definitely still tired.

"Uh, are you ready to begin training?"

Her eyes suddenly sprung open and she looked downwards at herself before she let out a shocked gasp and shut the door again. The action was so sudden that Finn barely had time to comprehend it before he knocked on the door again.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a mess right now."

"Well, let me know when you're ready."

Finn remained standing right outside her room for seven minutes, which felt like an eternity to him with absolutely nothing to do. He just leaned against the wall and stared into the ceiling until he heard one of the other doors open. Finn looked to see that it was Erik, looking like he had just woken up as well and had put on his armor. He walked towards Finn and leaned on the wall next to him as he rubbed his left eye.

"What are you doing?" Erik asked.

"Waiting for Phoebe to be ready." he replied while still looking at the ceiling.

"Ha, get used to it."

Finn looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"It tends to get like that when you're with someone. Always having to wait until they're ready."

Finn's cheeks slightly blushed.

"What? She and I aren't together."

"Oh, come on. Going on a dangerous mission and risking your own life just to save her; eyeing her as she fought valiantly on the training grounds; picking a fight with Mike to defend her; offering to train her so that you get to spend time with her. Need I say more? It's clear the two of you aren't related so there's something else going on there. And I think you're just too afraid to admit it."

Finn help up a finger and pointed it straight at Erik's face.

"Listen, she and I aren't dating. I just want to help out a good friend. Is that so wrong?"

Erik held up both his hands in the air and his smirk grew even more.

"I'm just saying, man. I don't judge; but if you really have feelings for her, I suggest you come clean before you regret it later. Plus she also has those red eyes going for her."

"Says the guy who can't open up to Sasha."

Erik's smirk suddenly disappeared and he lowered his hands.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, isn't that obvious?"

"You know what? No. I'm not doing this. You're hopeless." he began to walk away and looked back just as he was turning the corner. "See you at breakfast."

Once he was gone, Finn remained leaning against the wall as he waited for Phoebe to come out. It took only a few more minutes before she did, wearing a red long-sleeved sweater with a pair of black jeans and red shoes. Finn also noticed that her hair was shorter. Rather than reaching her lower back, it now reached just below her neck.

"You look… good." he said trying as hard as he could to hide his blush. He didn't want to sound weird by saying she was beautiful, which she was.

"Thanks." she said as she smiled at him.

"Did you cut your hair?"

She ran her hand across it.

"Yeah. I figured it would be less inconvenient for when I use the armor. Though I might have gone a bit overboard on the clothes."

"I think it's actually great. There's enough room in the armor for it."

Phoebe smiled and the two of them made their way to the mess hall, where all of the other Sentinels were eating. Finn and Phoebe sat with Erik and Sasha, Finn paid no mind to anything they spoke about as he kept his gaze focused on Mike, who was also looking at him from the other table. Phoebe nudged him in the shoulder and he refocused on Erik.

"… Remain straight and then plant your feet down just a few seconds before you hit surface. That's how you get the most momentum." he said, though Finn failed to listen to the entire conversation.

"That sounds pretty advanced." Sasha replied.

"Duh. Not everyone is cut out for it. Honestly, I find it hard to believe this grappling hook even works. By all accounts, it mostly defies physics."

The three of them continued their conversations as they ate. It was mostly stuff about Olympia which was pretty basic to Erik and Sasha but intriguing to Finn and Phoebe. The two of them found the topic very interesting, especially Finn since it was the home of his race. They talked about the numerous stuff that could be found around the city: cars, computers, different books, and movies. Most of them didn't surprise Finn but it was still nice to hear about them. Honestly, some of the topics made Finn realize that the Sentinels were just like any other person, each with their own hobbies, favorite topics, and conversations.

"Was that the part where the captain crashes the sub into the ice and nearly died?" Sasha asked.

"No, that was in Heat Signature 3: Cold Signature." Erik replied.

Before their conversation could continue, the door opened and Victor walked in. Everyone else got up and saluted him, which Finn and Phoebe both imitated.

"At ease." everyone lowered their arms, "It's time to start a new day. Everyone get your gear ready. Finn and Phoebe, Angie will have your equipment ready. Go get them and then report to the training grounds."

The two of them nodded and everyone began going out the door. Just as they were going through the doorway, Mike shoved Finn then continued walking as he shot him a quick glance. Finn began walking after him before Phoebe held him by the shoulder and shook her head in a disapproval. Finn looked at Mike one more time before he turned the corner and was out of sight.

Finn and Phoebe wasted no time getting to the training grounds after getting their equipment back. Angie really does a great job of fixing stuff in such a short amount of time, but she made Finn wonder if she ever even slept. Everyone else was doing their own training on different parts of the field, but Finn and Phoebe just stuck to sparring in one of the corners.

Just like before, Phoebe showed exceptional skill with the sword, though Finn did notice a few things off with her footwork. She also kept twisting her sword in the wrong directions when she needed to block a low blow, which is what messed her up during her fight with Mike. But even behind all the mistakes, he still couldn't help but admire her; something that caused him to even get distracted on multiple occasions and allowing her to nearly hit him. After several minutes, the two stopped and Finn studied her.

"You fight well. But there are a few things we can improve on."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, you move your body forward a bit too much when you attack. You gotta keep some distance away otherwise you won't have much time to dodge the next blow if you end up missing and you're giving them an opening to use their feet. Also, you might wanna try to-"

Finn noticed she wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. She was instead looking at her sword as she twisted it sound with her hands. Even though her face was hidden by the helmet, Finn could tell something was wrong with her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Finn, I really appreciate you helping me but we're not gonna get much progress done in just a few days. Maybe Victor and Seph were right; I'm not as cut out to swordplay as I thought. I think I should just stick to normal training and see where my training goes from there. It also doesn't help that it becomes harder to breathe with this freaking helmet on."

"Don't say that. You can improve. You just need-"

He suddenly stopped talking and stared at the ground. Phoebe was confused and waved one of her hands in front of him to get his attention, but all she got from him was the removal of his helmet to show a wide smile on his face. She removed her helmet to show her confused expression.

"What?"


"No."

Finn and Phoebe were both sitting in front of the desk in Victor's office. The room was significantly larger than most rooms, but it still had its limits due to the amount of objects placed around it. It wasn't as messy as Angie's lab, but it was filled with different cupboards that held documents. The desk itself was also a mess, filled to the brim with all kinds of papers. There was a window in the back where the sunlight came in and overlooked the training grounds. Finn was surprised Victor had any spare time from the amount of work he seemed to do.

The room also had a few decorations like paintings and small souvenirs. But the one that caught Finn's attention the most was the fish tank sitting on a separate table which had a small clown fish with a fin that was smaller than the other, a sea star stuck to the glass, a Moorish idol with one of its sides torn up, a pufferfish, a banded cleaner shrimp, a royal gamma, a black and white humbug, and a yellow tang. The tank had a tall volcano in the center that shot up bubbles.

"Sir, please-" Finn tried to argue.

"No means no, Finn." Victor replied.

"But this will help her in combat. Trust me, if you want capable warriors to fight against the Syndicate, this is it."

"She is more than capable of training here. I will not have the safety of the Sentinels, even all of Olympia threatened because of 'shortcuts'."

"There's no one else in all of Ooo who's better at keeping secrets. And we won't even reveal any information having to do with the city or the Sentinels."

Victor looked like he wanted to argue further but instead grunted and leaned on his arms against the desk. He remained looking at it for several seconds before he looked up at them.

"Not even one day of training and you're already making out of place suggestions." he said.

"You brought me here because I know to do what's best. If you want better fighters, this is it." Finn replied.

"Very well. You have clearance to do as you please. But don't draw too much attention outside of Olympia. Everyone still thinks the two of you are missing and we'd like to keep it that way for the time being."

The two of them agreed and were able to obtain permission from Victor to use one of the VTOLs. Neither of them knew how to pilot it, of course, but someone else would fly them to their destination. Once they were both inside along with the pilot, the aircraft flew out of Olympia as the massive jets of flames roared all around them, making Phoebe stare in shock just as Finn had the first time he saw them.

The rest of the flight was spent in silence between the two, even though they both wanted to talk to each other, especially Finn. Phoebe was able to distract herself more easily by staring out the window to the lands below, something she was used to when used to fly on her own but still found fascinating. She turned around and noticed that Finn had quickly turned his head away from her, as if avoiding her gaze.

"Finn, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied without looking at her. She wasn't entirely convinced, however.

"You seem nervous."

"Just… a bit airsick. I'll be fine once we land."

She nodded and continued to look out the window, but Finn felt bad for lying to her. He knew it was best to put their past behind them but it would only make it that much harder if he continued hiding secrets from her. Especially the fact that he still has feelings for her, even though part of him kept telling himself she already knew that. But he knew the right choice was to-

"You know you shouldn't lie to me." she said, which caused him to nearly choke from trying to hold in the gasp that nearly escaped his mouth.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked.

"I highly doubt you're the kind of guy to get airsick."

"You don't know that. There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me."

"That's the problem." Finn wanted to continue arguing but she raised her hand to silence him. "It's ok, Finn. I'll respect your privacy. We've got bigger issues to deal with than secrets and lies. And to be honest, I've kept stuff from you too. So we're even."

Finn was relieved. After another few minutes of nothing but silence, save for the VTOL's engines, they began to descend from the sky until they were only a few feet from the ground. Finn was able to land on the ground without a problem, but Phoebe nearly toppled over from the impact on the ground. The pilot told them to contact him whenever they were ready to be picked up and flew away, leaving Finn and Phoebe alone at the edge of the Grasslands.

The two of them ran at speeds that would've seemed impossible to anyone who caught a glimpse of them, but luckily there was no one around to notice them. Both of them nearly tipped over when they lost their balance on account of still not being used to the high speeds but they regained their balance quickly. To his surprise, and somewhat annoyance, Phoebe was doing better than him. He got distracted from looking back at her and nearly tipped over again.

"You're gonna get your face planted against the ground if you're not careful." she said as they ran.

"Worry about yourself. At least I'm faster."

"Oh, really? Wanna race, then?"

Finn looked back as he ran. He couldn't see her face on account of the helmet, but he could tell she was smirking at him right now.

"Oh, you're on. But just so we're clear-"

"Readysetgo!"

The second later Phoebe was already ahead of him as she picked up speed. Finn grunted in annoyance and started running faster as well. It didn't take too long for him to catch up to her but wasn't getting any farther ahead. Phoebe then suddenly turned left and nearly caused Finn to fall when she passed in front of him. Finn quickly slid towards the left and planted his fingers against the ground to control his slide and pursued after her. She laughed as she had managed to gain some ground ahead of him.

They were both neck at neck as they ran across the barren wastelands that surrounded them. The farther they went, the more junk could be seen lying around in piles and the bones of dead animals which served as nests for the crows. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep up the pace when they had to repeatedly dodge them. Once they reached open ground, Finn ran right next to Phoebe and looked towards her.

"You might wanna stay focused." she said and pointed forward.

Finn looked forward and yelped when he saw another pile ahead of him. Rather than trying to go around he jumped up and landed on top of it then jumped off and continued running. Not shortly after was another smaller pile with a tube sticking out it. Not having enough time to go around it, Finn fell onto his knees and slid underneath it as he just scrapped his chin on the tube's end. He quickly got up and regained his posture and focused on catching up on Phoebe, who had gained some ground ahead pf him and was nearing the end.

He gave it all he had as he attempted to catch up to her. Once he was several feet behind her he tried to think of a way to distract her. He looked around the ground as they ran and found a small pipe lying on the ground. He extended his arm and grabbed it as he ran, raising it up and throwing it over Phoebe so it landed several feet in front of her. She let out a yelp as she was forced to jump over it so as to not trip and fall, giving Finn the opportunity to overtake her.

"Hey, no fair!" she yelled as he ran off laughing.

The end was coming into view. A long wall made with metal panels and entrance with a sign saying "Ooo Junkyard". Finn laughed and looked back at Phoebe with his fist raised in the air.

"Haha! I am the ultimate-"

His cheering was cut short when he tripped over a small log and was sent hurling through the air. He landed against the ground and began spinning around, grunting as he kept banging himself against the armor, though he was at least thankful he wasn't feeling the full assault of the hit. After several more spins, he stopped merely just a few inches from the gate as he face planted onto the ground with his legs raised before they fell back onto the ground, leaving him groaning as he tried to reach the finish line with his hand but was still too far.

Phoebe ran right past him shortly after, laughing and cheering as she threw her arms in the air. Despite his defeat, Finn was still smiling behind the pain as he saw her being her happy self, a side of her he hadn't seen for a long time.

Once she finished cheering she walked back to him with her helmet off and offered him a hand up, which he accepted. Finn also took off his helmet and smiled back at her, enjoying the sight of her smile after all she had been through for the past few days.

"Cheaters never prosper." she said.

"Heh, yeah-OW!" he yelled as she pulled on his ear.

"Don't you ever do that again."

"Okay, okay, I won't!" she let go of his ear and he rubbed it until the pain went away. Finn knew she was strong, but the power armor only made her even more so. "It's not like you didn't cheat. You didn't let me prepare before you ran off."

"I said 'Go', didn't I?"

The argument went on for a while longer until Finn went inside the junkyard, leaving Phoebe frustrated behind as she was still in the middle of her argument. She followed behind as he walked along the set path in between the large piles of junk, looking around in every direction. They reached a more open area around the center, where Finn put both his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"Rattleballs!"

The call echoed across the entire junkyard but no answer came from anywhere. Finn was about to shout again after several seconds of waiting before they heard the sound of a blade drawing behind them. They both instantly turned around to face the hooded figure that was now facing them from several feet while pointing a rapier at them.

"It's about time you showed yourself again." the figure said. He removed his hood to show the face of Finn's former mentor, Rattleballs.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked the three of them lowered their blades.

"Corpses don't just disappear. Especially those whose blood was left behind. A lot of it, I might add. So I ask you this: How is it that you still live?"

"It's a long story. And one that I would prefer to leave untold for the time being." Finn replied.

"Based on your equipment, I would imagine it's an interesting one. But I will respect your decision."

Finn nodded and Rattleballs sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. Finn did the same and Phoebe followed suit. The robot examined the two of them for some time, but it was clear what he had in mind.

"Is this the flame princess?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." she replied. "Finn said you might be able to help me train. I haven't been able to fight as well as is used to without my powers."

"And what became of these?"

"They were… taken from me. I don't really know how to explain it."

Rattleballs continued to study her then looked sat Finn.

"Finn, just what exactly have you gotten yourself into?"

"I said I-"

"Because it seems to me that you are dealing with forces that can change the very fabric of nature. They turned a person who was once a fire elemental into a human. A person like that is not to be taken lightly."

"She's not technically a human."

"Can she still use fire?"

Finn looked at Phoebe and the girl raised her hand to attempt to summon a fireball but nothing happened.

"No." she said disappointed.

"Well, whatever you are now, you can bet whatever they were planning on using you for cannot be good. If so, who knows what they also plan to do with anyone else they get their hands on."

"They took Jake as well." Finn said.

It seemed like Rattleballs what somewhat surprised at the statement but was barely noticeable. Since he didn't say anything, Finn continued.

"Phoebe may not have use of her powers anymore but she can still be a capable fighter. And with your training, I know we can win the battles ahead. I have complete faith in that."

Rattleballs stared at them both with much attention that clearly showed he was studying both of them.

"Very well. I will train her. Both of you. And when you're done, you'll be able to rescue those you hold dear and bring justice to those who have wronged you. Let's begin."


Finn and Phoebe spent the better part of three days training with Rattleballs in the junkyard. They would fly from Olympia in the earliest they could in the morning to the most late they were allowed to in the night. Every single day was spent doing training as Rattleballs instructed and they followed his lead to the latter.

On the first day they practiced simple swordsmanship in which Rattleballs was able to determine what exactly they needed help with. Then they went on to practice advanced sword techniques that took them both some time to master, but master them they did. Once the night arrived, they went back to Olympia and went straight to bed, resting from how exhausted they were.

On the second day they made several different tests. The first was standing in just one leg on the ground while balancing a few objects on their heads. They did the exact thing again but it was instead on top of the large piles of junk. They failed multiple times as the objects on their heads fell, or worse, they themselves fell. They also practiced meditating, something that Rattleballs and also Phoebe were good at but Finn still found to be tedious.

On the third day they practiced sparring once more. They interchanged between wearing and not wearing their power armor during the sessions. Of course, the ones without the armor were a bit slower than with but they were still able to fight correctly. The ones with armor were a lot more quick and agile, which was to be expected but they continued training both ways nonetheless.

Now came the fourth day. Finn and Phoebe were both standing still as Rattleballs stood looking in the opposite direction, saying nothing. The two of them grew uneasy as they waited for any hint of movement but there was none. Finn decided to step up and speak first.

"Uh, Rattleballs? Are you gonna train us?"

"I've already trained you in everything I can, and in record time, I might add. There is, however, one thing left to teach, if you would have the skill and patience to master."

"What?" Finn asked, though he already had some idea.

"The Shadowless Thrust."

"Are you sure we're ready?" Finn asked.

"I believe you are. The question is, do you believe you are?"

Finn looked back at Phoebe with a questioning glare, and she nodded in return. Finn turned back to face Rattleballs.

"We are." he said.

"Very well. Swords out."

The next few hours were spent with both of them repeatedly attempting the Shadowless Thrust without wearing their armor. Rattleballs had placed two separate dummies for each one as they stood a few feet away and they were to continue attempting it until they could slash right through them. They kept repeating the same stance over and over, sometimes seeming like they got a good boost but still not fast enough to perform the move.

They continued to fail again and again, each time seeming to make little to no progress at all. Finn began to get increasingly frustrated as his attempts kept failing every single time. Phoebe seemed to be keeping her cool more than him but she was also starting to look a bit annoyed.

"You must remain calm. Don't be frustrated that you can't do it. Believe that you can." Rattleballs said.

They continued to try again and again without success. However, as Finn was about to make another attempt, he heard the sound of metal falling against the ground. He turned and saw that Phoebe was now behind the dummy and its head was on the ground, completely detached from the main body with a clean slice. She had achieved the Shadowless Thrust.

"I… I did it!" she said.

"Well done." Rattleballs said.

Their eyes were now turned to Finn, who was still having trouble on his end. As more and more he tried, the more frustrated he got to the point where he nearly threw his sword against the ground before his wrist was grabbed by Rattleballs.

"Concentrate, Finn. If you give up because you think you can't achieve it, you never will. Breathe and focus."

Finn took one glance at Phoebe, who gave him a smile a nod. He was able to calm himself by taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He pointed the tip of his sword towards the dummy while placing his left leg forward and his right leg far back. He knelt a few inches and reopened his eyes. He pressed his feet firm against the ground and pushed himself forward again.

He was able to get farther than previous attempts, but the dummy was still not within reach.

"Again." Rattleballs said.

Finn tried doing it again but got the exact same results. He kept repeating the process over, and over, and over without any sort of improvement, and each time just made him even more frustrated. Once he had enough, he raised his sword in the air and was about to throw it towards the dummy.

"Enough!" Rattleballs shouted, causing Finn to lose his balance and fall on the ground.

"Why did you shout?!" Finn asked.

Rattleballs knelt down and pinched Finn in the neck. The human flinched and rubbed the area as he began talking, but Rattleballs simply pinched him again. Finn continued to get to get pinched over and over every time he tried to speak, making more and more furious every time.

"WILL YOU STOP-OW!" Finn said before getting pinched again.

"Until you speak calmly, I'll just keep doing it. Your temper is gonna be the end of you, Finn, unless you learn to control it."

"My temper is fine." Finn replied.

"Clearly not." Rattleballs replied. "Perhaps your friend can teach you a thing or two."

Finn turned to Phoebe as she opened her mouth to speak before Rattleballs held up his hand to silence her.

"I meant your other friend." Rattleballs said.

Finn and Phoebe both looked confused at one another before a strange shadow appeared over them. They looked behind them to find Seph was standing on top of one of the junk piles wearing all of his power armor. He jumped down from the pile and landed on his feet against the ground without losing his balance.

"I must say, Finn, your friend here is very astute person." Seph said.

"And might I ask who you are?" Rattleballs asked.

"I'd rather keep my name hidden, thank you very much." Seph replied/

"What are you doing here?" Finn asked as he got up from the ground.

"Making sure training is going well and that you're not running off on your own." Seph replied. "From what I've seen it seems to be going accordingly… except for you failing miserably just now."

Finn growled and began walking towards Seph but was held back by Phoebe.

"Finn, wait." she said.

"I can do it." Finn told Seph.

"Maybe… but now is clearly not the time." Seph replied.

"You know how to fight yourself?" Rattleballs asked.

"Better than anyone." Seph said as he looked towards the robot.

Rattleballs grew a light smile and pulled out his rapier.

"Well then, how about a fight between the two of us. It would be interesting if you are worthy of sparring with one such as me." Rattleballs said with a tone that made Seph tilt his head and narrow his eyes.

Finn and Phoebe's eyes widened at the challenge. They turned to Seph as they waited his response.

"Fine by me. But how about I go easy on ya?"

Finn and Phoebe were even more surprised when Seph then removed his power armor, showing he was wearing a black skin tight one-piece suit. The one thing that stood out the most to Finn's and Phoebe's amazement is that he was missing his right arm and left leg, which were both replaced by robotic parts.

Rattleballs didn't make any comments about Seph's clearly human appearance and took a battle stance. Seph did the same as well and the two of them looked at each, waiting for the other to pounce.

"Do you really have to do this?" Phoebe asked.

"Don't get involved." Seph replied.

They stood motionless for a few seconds before Rattleballs instantly used the Shadowless Thrust to charge forward. To Finn and Phoebe's amazement, Seph was able to dodge the attack right on time to kick Rattleballs away when he reappeared.

"That move won't work so well on me." Seph said.

Seph swung his blade forward to hit Rattleballs but the robot blocked it before it made contact. Unfortunately, Seph's blade broke right through his rapier and it snapped in half, leaving Rattleballs without a weapon.

"Rookie," Seph said. "give him your sword."

Finn complied and threw his high frequency blade at Rattleballs, who grabbed it and lost no time regaining a battle stance. He attempted the Shadowless Thrust again but Seph was able to block it with his own sword, sending large amounts of sparks flying all around them from the impact. Once Rattleballs stopped, he instantly turned around and swung away at Seph, who blocked the attack and swung back.

Rattleballs was able to push Seph back until he was pinned against one of the trash piles. He was able to move out of the way in time just before Rattleballs thrusted his sword towards him, causing it to get impaled one a piece of metal. Seph Kicked Rattleballs away and sent him flying a few feet back, causing him to lose his grip on the sword and leaving it impaled. Seph swung at Rattleballs and barely scraped past his head when he ducked underneath the blade and ran back to retrieve his own. Once he did, he took as a stance as Seph did the same.

Rattleballs jumped over to one of the junk piles and kicked one of the metal pipes towards Seph. The human was able to slice right through it but Rattleballs was given an opening before he could raise his sword to defend. He was forced to jump back and another pipe came his way as soon as he stopped. He lifted his metal hand and grabbed the pipe with it while planting his metal leg on the ground to stop his movement. Rattleballs dodged the pipe as Seph threw it back and their swords clashed once again.

The two of them continued their fight for several minutes, both of them moving so fast that Finn and Phoebe could hardly keep track of what was happening. The fast movement suddenly came to a halt when the two of them stood at the very center of the area, where Seph was holding his word up to Rattleballs' neck. Finn especially was shocked at the sight.

"I win." Seph said.

"Look again." Rattleballs replied as smile appeared on his face.

Seph looked down and saw that Rattleballs had his sword pressed against Seph's abdomen. Seph looked back up to find Rattleballs giving him a light smile.

"Alright… I guess you are worthy opponent." Seph said.

The two of them drew back their swords and remained looking at each other. Finn and Phoebe were still too stunned to say anything as they walked towards them.

"You have… an interesting friend here, Finn. I'm sure he'll make a fine ally in the days to come."

Finn nodded and accepted his sword again.

"Alright, we're going back to Olympia early today. Let's go." Seph said as he put his armor back on. Finn and Phoebe did the same and they spoke with Rattleballs on last time.

"Sorry that he broke your sword." Phoebe said.

"It's alright. I can keep myself busy repairing it. I might even make a new one, who knows? But despite what just happened, remember to keep practicing your Shadowless Thrust. It never hurts to be prepared."

Finn and Phoebe both bowed and thanked Rattleballs before they left with Seph back to the VTOL's pickup point.


Fiery Crusader: There's your training, though Finn is unfortunately still on the downside.

Ooobserver: We'll have to wait and see how that develops. Thanks for the review.