Yumeí: Oh. So this is what you meant.

Dream: Yep. Bonus chapter. Specially written for cjr09.

Volt: You two enjoy this torment, don't you?

Yumeí: Maybe. In any case, this is a Mylene/Volt moment before they parted ways.

Volt tried to relax as Mylene circled him, taking everything in with a critical eye. Slum kid as she was, Volt felt that Mylene was as dangerous as any of his adult relatives in terms of deadliness.

"You have good balance," she observed, finally stopping her inspection. "But you're tense. Your stiff posture will limit what you can do once a fight starts. You were trained with fighting forms in drill sequence?"

"That is the family way," Volt explained. "Drilling in basic skills that could save your life in a fight."

Mylene considered this, sitting down on the wooden floor to think. Volt joined her, but if she noticed, she gave no sign.

"That would be effective," she muttered, "but only when fighting opponents who's battle style is similarly rigid, or against groups. Against a more flexible style, one on one..."

She abruptly stood. Ordering Volt to follow her, she darted outside and then into the training center. Volt arrived inside just in time to see Mylene climb up onto the fighting mat. He joined her after a moment, and then she walked to one of the corners.

"Attack me," she commanded. Volt hesitated, unwilling to hurt her. Mylene scowled and crossed her arms.

"This won't work unless you cooperate."

Volt lowered himself into a stance, then struck, restraining the amount of force he was suing. Much to his surprise, she was no there. Whirling around, he saw Mylene waiting in a crouch. She then sprang after him, her fist connecting with Volt's jawline. The force of the blow made his head snap back.

Dizzy and unbalanced, Volt stumbled away. Mylene did not attack again, instead waiting for him to recover. Once the fuzzy black dots vanished from his sight and the world stopped spinning, Volt straightened and charged again. As before, Mylene disappeared, which was followed by another blow, this one to the back of his head. Instead of offering mercy, Mylene brutally pushed him to the floor while he was still dazed, holding him there with one foot.

"That's what I was talking about," Mylene sighed. "You expect me to stand up to you, as most opponents would. But when I start using blind spots and my speed against you, the only defense you have is your size and stability, which isn't much considering that I know exactly how to neutralize those advantages."

Helping him stand, Mylene then ordered him to do it again. Scowling, Volt waited for her to attack first this time. The standoff lasted for nearly a minute before Mylene's slum-bred temper snapped. She charged him, then danced out of reach when he tried to grab her. Volt chased her, keeping her from getting behind him and trying to stop her from moving. He managed to trap her in a corner, where he seized her wrists and held them tight. He then tossed her across the sparring mat, where she landed hard.

The next moment, Volt was on the ground again, a well-aimed shoe having found it's mark.

"You relaxed too soon," Mylene informed him pulling her shoe back on. "Never assume a fight is over. Always expect some form of retaliation."

"That was better, though," she admitted. "Once you started fighting without keeping those tense forms, you were allowed more movement, and you were better able to anticipate my movements."

"That makes me feel so much better," Volt groaned, sitting up. Rising to his feet, Volt swung around and tackled Mylene as hard as possible. This time, she stayed down, gasping for the air that had been forced from her lungs.

"Better?" Volt asked sarcastically. Mylene nodded soundlessly.

"Don't ever do that again," she insisted, her voice weak. "One of us will end up dead next time."

For that, Volt had no argument.

Volt: The END. At long last.

Yumeí: Your backstory, at least. We will continue to torture you in the months-maybe even years-to come.

Dream: I'm not that cruel.

Mylene: Tell that to the characters you brutally murdered this weekend in Final Fantasy.

Dream: That's totally different. I only slay things in video games. And maybe the occasional fanfic OC.

Yumeí: It never ends! Wheee!