~Snowcrystal of Thunderclan~

The next chapter is finally finished! After how many months?! XD My issue is that as I'm writing this I'm also rewriting this into the version I'm gonna publish at some point, so it take really long :P

I'm actually writing a different version of this story that will be published (hopefully) at some point, the characters are a tad different, I don't have to be put under any rules, and I can be more descriptive fighting wise, which is what I'm doing :P

~iDragonSpyro~

Oh no! Don't fall out of your seat! :D

~Sylverhearte~

Thanks! I'm still working on it, it hasn't died yet! :D

~Ravenfrost of RiverClan~

I actually have a really hard time writing OC characters that aren't mine XD and this story already takes forever to write XD and I actually can't accept your OC, because if I do then I'll have inconsistencies and it'll make it harder to write the book that spins off from this, sorry :(

ha ha ha, it'll be even more intense later since that's gonna be the end of the book :P

~Jayfeathers Friend~

Mwahahaha! Actually, Cynthia wasn't shot, she kinda dived onto a bomb :P

~Latin (Guest)~

It's okay, I wasn't really too bothered by your comment about the mess up in Latin, I was more annoyed by the other reviewer's comment about how quote on quote "suggestive and vulgar" my story is -_- I'm glad you like it though! It's exciting to write even though it takes what feels like a million years :P

I have finally settled on a timeline! I now know where I'm ending the story (I will probably make a sequel) and we're coming up to it! The ending of this book is going to be the second part of the division games at the point where *spoiler alert* where Salem is shot and Cynthia is captured under the guise of the explosion *close spoiler* because it's the best spot to end the book and it means I don't have to come up with even more chapters for the spin off thingy ma bob

Clang!

The metal of Ivory's black steel blade screeched in protest as it clashed repeatedly against Atol and Braxton's similar blades. Occasionally sparks emerged from the blades' contacts, giving the incredibly fast and dangerous dance of a spar, an even more dangerous appearance. Blood gleamed on the blades, whether it was from their enemies or the spar itself was unknown by anyone but the owners of the deadly blades. Cheering echoed through one of the Slashing Blades' training room as the deadly spar went on. Today Ivory, Atol, and Braxton were fighting each other, the first to imitate a kill wins. The trio was surrounded by many lower ranked agents of the Slashing Blades- who were all standing a safe distance of course- who were cheering and studying some of their best fighters and higher ranked combatants. Well, Ivory and Atol were, Braxton was just a very skilled fighter who had grown up with the two of them for the most part.

Ivory fell back into her defensive stance, her leaf green eyes emotionally deadened and flashing with a dangerous glint that sent most people running. "Destroyed any good cities lately?" She drawled to Atol, a confident and slightly cocky smirk on her face. This was her persona in the Slashing Blades, a calm, mysterious, yet arrogant, and deadly fourth in command -for now- of the group itself with fighting skills only beaten by cage fighters and possibly Trakton, the famed leader of the Slashing Blades, and Ivory's surrogate grandfather.

Atol rolled his eyes as he continued to prowl in circles around her and Braxton who was watching his every move. "Why take down cities when I can simply go crush some of the imbeciles in that ridiculous defense group?"

"Besides the fact that they're super pathetic and boring?" Braxton added in, his voice dripping with an impassiveness only touched by a love to for the kill. All of that was feigned too, both he and Ivory hated killing in cold blood, they just pretended to like it. "Cities are bigger, and it shows more power when we destroy cities instead of pathetic agents of that dumb group."

Ivory seemed to weigh her options before she shrugged, "I agree with Braxton on this one," she smirked, "it's much more impressive if we destroy the cities around us." She relaxed from her fighting stance, a sign that the spar between them was over in her opinion. Atol and Braxton both relaxed as well. Ivory glanced at her watch, it was time for her and Braxton to leave. "Atol, I believe you have other responsibilities, as do Braxton and I." She drawled coolly, "otherwise we're never going to get anywhere in our struggle for power due to the idiots in the Light and Darkness group."

Atol nodded and flicked his switchblade closed, "agreed." He raised his voice, "everyone return to what you were doing previously! The show is over!" He barked, his voice echoing slightly in the sparring room.

There was little moaning and groaning as those not involved in the spar scampered off to their previous activities, worried for their own safety if they didn't. After all, they were in a place that killed as a sport. Getting on Ivory, Braxton, or Atol's nerves weren't advised unless you had a literal death wish.

Once everyone else had dispersed and the room was beginning to fill with the sounds of other people fighting, the often cry of someone in pain, did Ivory Braxton and Atol turn to leave and speak as they wished.
"Braxton and I have to go," Ivory told Atol as they left the now noisy sparring room, "my sister's probably being dramatic with her worry and I don't want Cynthia to deck her in the face again."

Braxton winced, "that wasn't particularly pleasant."
Ivory nodded, "take my advice and don't piss Cynthia off, she's a raging tiger when angered."
Atol barked a laugh, "she was a cage fighter, so of course, her anger is deadly."

"I know, I'm not stupid," Braxton retorted to both of them, "I'm well aware that she was a fighter, I'm just saying that seeing Diana running around screaming her head off while blood trickled down her face wasn't a pleasant sight."

Ivory snorted, "I totally agree with you, my sister's dramatics is utterly terrifying and horrifying."

Then their conversation stopped abruptly as they heard a semi-familiar voice yelling, fear evident in his tone.

"Get off me you stupid jerk! Get off!" Tyler was pinned to the floor near them, blood slicked the floor around him and the larger man pinning him to the dull gray tile. A knife was threatening to dig into the soft flesh of his throat.

With a movement so fast that if you blinked you would've missed it, Ivory drew her pistol, clicked off the safety, and pulled the trigger, which resulted in the instant kill of the man pinning Tyler down. "Tyler, get up." She said, her tone now flat and emotionless.

Tyler kicked the man off and scrambled to his feet, amber eyes round with fear and surprise at Ivory's appearance. "Yes ma'am," he stuttered, his voice trembling due to his fear.

"What was going on?" Ivory asked as she slowly holstered her deadly weapon, her expression flat and completely impassive.

"I ran barely brushed against him and he jumped on me," Tyler responded, "he went wacko!" Ivory's silence made Tyler quickly amended his statement, "ma'am."

Ivory inwardly made a face at the title. It was needed though, it showed her status in the group and the respect she 'demanded.' "Get to the sparring room," she told him briskly, "if you don't hurry I'll find something for you to do to make you miss your date with Diana." She tilted her head slightly, "I don't understand why she likes you so much anyway."

Tyler tensed up at the sound of his girlfriend's name, who was also Ivory's twin sister, and what Ivory would gladly do. "Yes, ma'am." He said quickly before he shot off at a dignified sprint.

Braxton's lips quirked into a slight grin, "you enjoy scaring him don't you?"
Ivory gave an impassive shrug, "yes. I love scaring him, but sadly my sister would be heartbroken if I let him die."

Braxton nudged her slightly, "and?"

"And it's fun playing the overprotective sibling card." Ivory cracked a small smirk as well, even as they left the base, finally able to feel the warm sun on their faces after being in the dark, gloomy, and dull base of the dark blades.

:) :) :)

"You know, being lazy isn't productive," Holly teased Leon as she walked into their dorm room.

"Whatever, I don't have to be productive today," Leon casually brushed off her comment. He was sprawled on his bed with his Holowatch playing a movie he had been trying to get time to watch all week. He had an earbud in his right ear, he was dressed in blue jeans, a light gray t-shirt, white ankle socks, and a light gray hoodie, and his partner was snuggled into his right side, curled under her light blue blanket. The partnership had been missionless for the day and judging by what the pair was doing it was clear they were enjoying it. Even if Cynthia was asleep. Which in of itself was a rare occurrence unless it was late at night, which it wasn't.

Holly rolled her eyes and playfully smacked her brother on the top of the head using a small brochure style pamphlet she had in one hand. "Lazy butt," she stated before she set her Holowatch down on her bedside table and flopped backward on her bed with a yawn.

"Hey, I'm allowed to be lazy," Leon shot back, his tone slightly playful, "today has been my free day, and I fully intended to make good use of it."

Holly rolled her eyes but didn't bother to sit up and actually look at him. "So you're watching a movie while Cynthia's taking a nap at six in the evening?"

"Pretty much," Leon smirked and rolled over onto his side so he could see his sister, "why, what've you been doing?" Cynthia gave a noise of complaint at his movements that had woken her up.

"I've been working with Bree to prevent any more false alarms," Holly replied with a slightly smug tone, "and I've been organizing the division games."

Leon shot up at the mention of the group's triennial competition, his amber eyes widening in shock. "What?!"

Cynthia jolted awake at her partner's exclamation and she floundered, struggling in her blankets before she fell off the bed with a decently loud thump. "Wha's going on?!" She floundered from her position on the floor, the warriors' blue eyes half closed and highly drowsy. Something that only made an appearance on the days where she had been relaxing and letting her guard down almost completely.

Leon's amber eyes turned guilty and he leaned over the side of the bed to offer Cynthia his hand, "Holly was just talking about something related to the division games."

Cynthia rolled over so she was lying on her side on the floor with her eyes closed. "Whatever… I'm sleeping now…" Her voice trailed off as she fell asleep once more.

Leon got off the bed and scooped up his partner to deposit her on the bed once more, knowing that she would sleep better if she was with him. "So what is in the division games?" He asked, hoping she'll give him a small preview of what was going to happen.

"I'm not telling you," Holly replied as she covered her eyes with one arm, "sorry Leon, but you're gonna have to find out on your own."

"At least tell me if Jay will be able to compete." Leon pleaded as he put Cynthia down on the bed and tucked the blankets around her before he flopped down next to her.

"Yes, Jay will be competing this year." Holly told him, "now shush, I'm trying to sleep."

Leon rolled his eyes and put his wireless earbud back in, "okay, okay, sheesh." He grumbled, unpausing his movie as Cynthia snuggled closer to him in her current mostly asleep state, "bossy girls." He then yelped as Cynthia's arm shot out from under the blankets and she slapped him hard in the chest. "You're not bossy," he wheezed slightly, having just had the wind knocked out of him, "you're not bossy Cyn!"

Cynthia snuggled back into his side and fell still, falling asleep tucked against her partner's body.

Even as the door slid open to reveal a very grumpy and muddy looking Hannah. The blonde's face was streaked with mud, and her hair was dripping with muddy water, as were her clothes, which meant that muddy water was dripping onto the carpet. Holly would have a fit once she woke up, especially as Hannah took one look at Cynthia and Leon, looked annoyed, and trudged deeper into the room trailing more mud everywhere before she lurched forward to pass out on her bed, splattering her bedding with the cold material.

:) :) :)

"You need to sleep Bree," Jay announced his arrival into the large workshop/garage that was connected to his and Bree's dorm room. "Otherwise you're going to be grumpy when you give your announcement tomorrow morning."
Bree lifted her head from where she was hunched over a work desk that had circuits, wires, tools, and metal scraps scattered all over its dark stained surface. Her neck gave an audible pop as she uncurled her body from the hunched position, and moments later her back followed suit as she sat upright and stretched her arms above her head in a long stretch. "I will at some point," she said, her tone a little hoarse from not speaking to anybody for over three hours while Jay was in the medical bay and she had been working on some technology.

Jay rolled his eyes, caught a swivel chair near Bree, brought it to her desk, and sat in it backward so he could lean against the comfortable backing of the chair. "I totally believe you." He snorted as he picked up a carved wooden piece from a small section of the desk that was clean and neat. "If I didn't interrupt you, you would stay awake all night and pass out at noon," he said with an affectionate roll of his eyes as he took off his visor and set it down before he rubbed his eyes with one hand while the other smoothed over the wooden piece, judging it.

Bree leaned back in her wheelchair, her body language was relaxed and comfortable instead of the tense and overly concentrated like she had been before Jay's arrival. "I don't doubt that," she smiled, her voice was more on the softer side than loud and energetic. Cheer remained oozing from her tone, but her volume was lower and more like a normal girl's would be. "I get pretty caught up in the stuff I'm working on."

Jay nodded as he brushed his fingertips over some small knives designed for intricate carving that were neatly organized on the part of the table that he was working on. "Either way, it's nearing eleven 'oclock, and we're both going to bed then."

Bree shrugged her shoulders, "That's okay with me," she then addressed her AI L.I.O.N, "Lion, what time is it currently?"
"It's ten-thirty Bree," L.I.O.N responded, his voice bright and alert.
Bree nodded slowly, her amber eyes were on Jay as he delicately did more detail work on the wooden piece that was in his hands. After a few moments of silence the brunette spoke again, this time addressing the other AI, "Blisse, what's everyone else in the flat up to?"
"Everyone is sleeping Bree," The AI spoke softly, "you two are the only ones not asleep or relaxing in their beds."

Bree's amber eyes remained on her companion's movements but she tilted her head slightly as if confused, "that's odd."

"Indeed," L.I.O.N added, "my readings signal that even Ivory, Braxton, and Brittany are here in the flat."
"And my readings show that they all are in their separate rooms completely asleep," Blissie added.

Bree's gaze strayed to the parts in front of her and she absentmindedly picked up some of the stuff on the table, assembling it into something as she mulled an idea over in her mind. "I guess they're all here so the announcement tomorrow," She said slowly, still thinking.

Jay nodded and kept carving the piece in his hand.

"Affirmative," L.I.O.N confirmed

"It's a highly plausible theory," Blissie told her maker softly, "after all, everyone will need to hear it."

Bree nodded slowly, her amber eyes spacing out slightly as she thought.
For a little, while it was quiet, the only sounds were the sounds of L.I.O.N's softly humming motor, gentle tickling from Jay's arrangement of knives for different sized ones, and the sound of Bree absently soldering wires together for a circuit board.

Oddly enough Jay was the one to break the silence. "What're you thinking about doing?" Jay asked Bree after the prolonged silence, it was strange for the brunette to not fill in the silence when she had company.

"Lion, charging sequence activated, autopilot disengaged along with metamorphosis shifting and AI capabilities," Bree abruptly gave her AIs some commands, "Blissie, night owl mode activated, please see to the safety of the flat," she finished as she reached over and grabbed her Holowatch and strapped it around her wrist.

"Affirmative," L.I.O.N and Blissie both said and the blue bar oscillating on the front of L.I.O.N's body dimmed before winking out.

"What're you doing Bree?" Jay sighed as he put down the tiny sanding tool and the wooden piece.

"Just trust me," Bree gave him a secretive smile and put down the random motherboard she had absentmindedly created before she perched her VR sunglasses on the top of her head and swiped L.I.O.N's electrical jump drive style keys from the rack above the desk. "Come on, I'm in the mood for a drive in Lion."

Jay rolled his eyes, "why should I?" He asked even as he organized his stuff into the way it had been before he had worked on the wooden piece that had turned out to be an almost completed and special looking knight for a chess board.

Bree leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek, a cheeky smirk quirking the corners of her lips. "Because I say so," she said cheekily before she began to roll toward L.I.O.N, her movements swift but relaxed.

Jay rolled his eyes, put on his visor, and got up following his partner who seemed to be feeling in the mood for being more personal than the normal run of the mill subdivision flat partners. A little after he had kissed her to escape Willow's kiss under the mistletoe last Christmas, he and Bree had had a few toes beyond normal partnership boundaries for quite some time. "Alright then," he said as he slid into the passenger side and the driver's seat was replaced with a special platform that locked Bree's wheels into the floor and a ramp that led into the car itself, "where are we going Firefly?"

Bree smiled widely at him as she situated herself and plugged in the jumpdrive key before she put her hands on the steering wheel with her fingertips resting on the small 'pedals' on the back that allowed her to drive with her paralysis. "Somewhere out of the base, I have something you're gonna want to know before everyone else." She said with a smile and reached up to press the button that retracted the garage style door that had been built for L.I.O.N before she started up the car which purred softly as it turned on the roof collapsed into a convertible. "Ready?" She asked Jay with a smile.

Jay rolled his eyes behind his visor, "Let's get this over with shall we?"

Bree affectionately rolled her eyes before she gently urged the car into motion.

:) :) :)

Bree slowed to a stop and cut the engine as she parked the car where they had a perfect view of the Waterfall Mountains, where the shimmering water that constantly traveled down the mountain glinted like wet glass. "So you know about the Division game being this year right?" Bree asked as she settled more comfortably in her chair and released the steering wheel, her amber gaze focused on Jay.

Jay nodded, "I heard about it last week. What about it?"

"Well…" Bree said slowly, her amber eyes excited but slightly nervous. "First, do you want the big news or the little one first?"

"Small."

"Well this year there are almost completely new events, and," Bree smiled at him, "the medics get to participate in their own tasks and events. So you get to participate this year!"

Jay blinked, "that's the small news?" He asked incredulously before he seemed to shake the shock off and his lips twitched into the ghost of a smile, "what's the big new?"

Bree's amber eyes shone brightly in the moonlight, "I convinced the leaders to allow the Tribe of Crashing Waterfall to compete this year!"

Jay gawked, his mouth dropping open. "What?"

Bree's smile widened and she shifted her position slightly, "yep! I persuaded the leaders to allow Crashing Waterfall agents to compete as well by pointing out that their skills differ from ours and that they should be allowed to participate being one of our closest allies."

"You are amazing," Jay said, his normal grumpiness absent from his tone. "Nobody's ever done that before."

Bree smiled, her smile a little pained, "I know you haven't seen Hadara in a while, and she and Finli are the two competitors for their group, so Finli will temporarily share flat room with Ben, and Hadara will stay in our flat room till the division games start in two weeks." She finished, gazing out at the mountains, her amber eyes giving nothing away to what she was feeling at the current moment.

To anyone else but Jay maybe, cause he could see her hesitation and reservation a mile away. He shifted his position as well so he was facing her and could see her face better. "Our flat room? How come she's staying in ours?"
"Because she knows us and this way you guys can catch up!" Bree responded, her smile unwavering as she looked at him. "Plus it'll be easier for both of you, and ours is one of the only ones available." She said, her voice dropping in volume a decent amount.

"Easier for Hadara and I how?" Jay asked, confusion lacing his tone.

Bree looked away from him and rested one hand on the steering wheel while she turned her gaze toward the shimmering lake in the distance. "To talk, or do whatever you two want to do." She said with a light shrug of her shoulders and her infinite good mood seemed to wilt and wither at the topic at hand.

"You don't sound thrilled," Jay pointed out quietly.

"What do you mean?" Bree asked, still avoiding looking at him,

Jay studied her for a moment before he reached over and took her chin, gently pulling her head toward him so he could see her expression. "Firefly," he said, his tone calm with a hint of concern, "tell me what's wrong."

Bree's amber eyes softened slightly at the nickname and she looked at him for a few moments before she responded, "I'm not excited to share a dorm room with a girl who has a crush on you." She replied quietly, "I'm sorry."

Jay gave a small snort of laughter and his lips quirked into a tiny smile, "you're nervous about Hadara becoming my girlfriend?"

Bree frowned and gave him a soft shove and turned away from him, "good grief, your ego doesn't need any inflating." She snapped, obviously stung at his response.

"Bree," Jay quickly said as she started up L.I.O.N, "I didn't mean it like that," he turned the car off and took the key.

"Right…" Bree huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, her face turned stubbornly away from him.

"Look," Jay said and shifted closer to her as an attempt to get her to look at him, "there's no reason to be nervous about Hadara sharing our flat room with us-"

Bree gawked at him, "are you serious?!"

"Let me finish," Jay snapped before he softens his tone at her flinch, "sorry," he apologized for his earlier tone and finished his sentence. "There's no reason to be nervous about Hadara sharing our flat room with us because she's just a friend and fellow medic, like Willow."

Bree seemed to mull it over, her amber eyes conflicted as she thought about it.

Jay let her for a few moments, his visor covered eyes watching the usually hyper inventor.

"Okay," Bree said finally, "I understand," she smiled a little, still conflicted but able to push past her doubts.

"Good," Jay smiled a little at her and he took off his visor and continued speaking. "Besides," he said as he placed both of his hands on either side of her face, "I have a very beautiful inventor right here," he finished, his voice had gotten softer throughout the sentence.

Bree's amber eyes shone, glittering happily in the moonlight that spilled through L.I.O.N's untinted windows and roof skylight.

Jay's lips quirked into an actual smile and Bree could barely blink in surprise at the full smile before Jay leaned farther in and kissed her.

:)

The following morning Bree was still feeling like she was on a sugar high from the kiss. And everyone she, Jay, and Holly passed in the hallways on their way to the front entrance told her so.

"Who gave Bree sugar pills?" Someone whispered to another agent.

"More like who gave her the happy juice?" Another laughed.

"Hey Bree," Paige smiled as she passed them, "how much sugar did you get this morning?" she laughed playfully.

Bree just grinned a bright grin and continued pushing herself throughout the hallway, "none!"

Jay looked amused, he had had an amused expression on his face almost all morning. His baby blue eyes hidden behind his visor were highly amused and contained traces of a similar feeling. The first two times he had kissed her, which had around Christmas last year, Bree had been very dazed and giggly afterward, so he wasn't surprised that she was like this. Plus he hadn't kissed her since then, he had kissed her on the cheek, nose, forehead, and even once blew a raspberry against her neck since then, but never actually kissed her.

Holly had a slightly confused and slightly amused look on her face, she had no idea why the inventor was so hyper at six in the morning today when usually she was more grumpy than a bear at this time in the morning. "What did you do to her?" She whispered to her twin brother as Bree continued to chatter with everyone else, her amber eyes gleamed with excitement and a bright happiness. "She's way too happy."

Jay shrugged, "I haven't done anything today, she just woke up that hyper."

Holly gave him a funny look, "then what happened to make her that…" she trailed off, not sure how to put it.

"Exuberant?" Jay supplied gruffly as they left the hallway and stepped outside where a vehicle was waiting for them, "I may have kissed once her last night," he shrugged, "but besides that, I haven't done a thing."

Holly blinked in surprise at her brother's blunt comment before she affectionately rolled her eyes, "You better keep your hands to yourself Jay," she said teasingly as she slid into the vehicle's backseat while Bree and Jay both got into the front seats, Jay driver side, Bree passenger.

"That sounds bad." Jay deadpanned even as he started up the vehicle and began driving toward where the competitors from the Rushing water group would be meeting them. "I'm not a pervert Holly."

That caused Bree to burst out laughing and even Holly to chuckle.

:) :) :)

Holly and Bree's long hair billowed slightly in the rather swift breeze as they waited patiently for the competitors to arrive. It wasn't surprising that they hadn't arrived yet, the commute to Thunder Division base from Crashing Waterfall's base was ridiculously long. But still, it was kinda annoying to the three agents. "They should be here any minute," Holly said, squinting out into the distance as if that would help her see them arrive.

"They are in Lion," Bree pointed out, "and Cynthia and Leon left over twelve hours ago, so they should be back at any moment."

"Figures that Leon would be late," Jay mumbled as he leaned back against the car that they had arrived in.

"I am not always late!" Leon snapped over the coms, "now shut up and let me drive!"

"Sorry guys," Cynthia apologized, sounding sleep ridden and exhausted, "he's been driving for the past five hours so he's pretty grumpy."

"Do you have Finli and Hadara?" Holly asked briskly, excitement buried deep in her brisk tone.

"Yeah," Cynthia yawned, "Hadara's got a bad case of 'jet lag,' but Finli's perfectly normal."

"Hotwire them through the coms please." Holly directed and a moment later with a click, Holly, Jay, and Bree, could hear all four of the agents. Music was playing softly throughout the car's cabin, but other than that it was pretty quiet. "Head Commander of the Rushing Water Group Finli Forrestor, Head Medic Hadara Mason, report please."

"Good morning Subdivision leader Holly Bramble," Finli stated in a formal manner, matching her formal greeting. "We are approximately five minutes from your current position. The commute was long and uneventful, my medic may require something to settle her stomach, the trek through the mountains were a little bumpy and she's not feeling particularly well at the current moment."

"Understood, I have a medic with me. Jay, do you have anything to settle someone's stomach?"

"Yes," Jay grunted, "I have a medication that'll settle her stomach."

"Perfect. My medic will provide medication to your nauseous medic Commander Forestor, we welcome you two to Thunder Division's grounds inside the Light In Darkness defense group." Holly finished up and Bree disconnected the coms as a black medium sized car slowed to a stop near them.

One of the back doors opened and Finli stepped out, blue-tinted sunglasses covering his bright green eyes. The commander was dressed in a white short sleeve button down shirt with black slacks and a shimmering blue tie, with a laptop bag slung over one shoulder and a normal watch on one wrist. "It's an honor to be here ma'am," he smiled, "your group is the reason that my group is still around."

Holly smiled as well and stuck out her hand for him to shake. They were keeping the greetings painfully formal, and it was bothering all seven of them, even Holly. Holly wanted to wrap her arms around Finli's neck and give him a big hug, after all, it had been a few years since she had been around him in person and not through virtual meetings. "It's our pleasure," she smiled politely, her lips were threatening to quirk into a broad smile even as she spoke. "I trust your ride went well?"

Finli nodded, "as well as can be ma'am."

Holly motioned for Finli to follow as she gave the signal to begin moving toward the car Jay had been driving. "On behalf of the five leaders of my defense group," she said as she pulled open the back door for Finli and Hadara, "I officially welcome you to Light In the Darkness Defense group and congratulate you for being chosen to participate in our Division games."

Finli smiled, nodded, and got into the vehicle, sliding into the middle seat and buckling in before Hadara climbed in after him. "Salem sends his regards."

The tense atmosphere evaporated as Hadara, Bree, and Jay got into the vehicle while Leon and Cynthia switched positions so that Cynthia was driving, and they all dropped the formalities as the two cars began to pull away from the edge of the road and into the proper lane. Shoulders relaxed, postures slackened, and the polite smiles turned warm and excited.

"Are you two excited about the division games?" Bree asked with a smile as Jay started gaining speed to match the far spaced cars that were also on the highway.

Finli nodded, a smile on his face. "Of course, Holly's told me about the ones in the past years and they sound highly intriguing."

"I'm excited," Hadara said softly, "it's going to be a lot of fun, that's for sure."

"It's more than fun," Holly chuckled, "it's terrific."

"And we can completely new events this year!" Bree inputted, "so it'll be different and even more exciting and amazing than the last ones!"

"Hopefully there won't be as much sabotage," Cynthia's voice crackled over the coms and speaker system in the car, "because Thunder gets targeted way too much during the events."

Holly nodded, "I agree with that, our division has a tendency to be targeted by the other divisions in regards to sabotage, which is extremely frustrating."

"What do you mean?" Hadara asked quietly in confusion as Bree handed her a small chewable tablet and water bottle.

"Six years ago half of the competitors were unavailable for the events or they were incapacitated halfway through." Leon sighed over the coms, "Ashton got poisoned, Hazel was locked in a closet for three days, Fin was shot in the knee during a match, Bridget was exposed to something she was allergic to and it knocked her out for two days, and Bree had a severe concussion that made her delirious and throwing up for a few days once a Shadow Division agent broke a big tree branch off a tree and whipped it at Bree's head like a baseball bat."

Bree cringed in memory, "that hurt soo bad!"

"Don't forget about Isa," Cynthia added, her voice going dark, "she betrayed us all and nearly wiped out the leaders in the process."

The four Light In Darkness agents shivered slightly as if remembering a bad memory.

"But the division games are always a lot of fun, inside the events and outside," Holly changed topics as Finli and Hadara exchanged half worried glances, "the base it's held at is beautiful, and there are many opportunities to go outside the base and into Yukiazo, which is the city that the Star Divisions' base is located in."

"They've done an amazing job at rebuilding it so far," Bree said excitedly and waved her arms for emphasis, "all of the lakes have been purified, the cities have all been mostly rebuilt, and the forests are beginning to look like forests once again!"

"It has been twenty years since Trakton bombed and destroyed those cities," Cynthia pointed out, "so they're bound to have nearly finished the rebuilding of the cities themselves."

"Still," Bree responded as the car pulled into the tunnel that led to Thunder Division's grounds, "rebuilding cities and countries takes a long time." Then she chuckled, "to think that the new Yukiazo and most of the other cities Trakton destroyed are practically my age!"
"Except Vandala," Cynthia said, a bit of longing in her voice, "that city hasn't even been touched in regards to rebuilding it. It was so beautiful too."

"It'll be rebuilt one day," Holly reassured her friend gently, "maybe even by one of us."

"What was Vandala like?" Hadara asked curiously, her tone quiet as she sensed it was a somewhat touchy topic.

"Vandala was one of the prettiest cities in Middren," Holly explained as Bree brought up pictures using holo-watch, "the city has many manmade and natural waterways that spanned throughout it and the country surrounding it that made it always smell like it just rained, the roads were this gray and white speckled asphalt, the sidewalks were marble as well, the plant life was naturally this icy blue hue. The trees are made from this clear flexible material that looks just like glass, the leaves are a clear icy blue glass that sounded like faint music when they rustle together, and the buildings are made from white marble, and the windows are all naturally stained a similar icy blue hue to the plant life." Holly finished as Bree brought up a holographic 3D model of Vandala.

Finli and Hadara both stared at the diagram as it gently turned, allowing them to see what the magnificent city once looked like. "The strange thing is that Ruxburg is one of the only cities untouched by Trakton's group, and we believe it's because my grandpa's here," Holly said as the car pulled into the underground parking garage elevator that held all of the division's vehicles besides L.I.O.N.

"It would make sense," Finli said, weighing the options, "I wouldn't be surprised if Firen is the only person alive that Trakton is even semi afraid of even if he hates him with a passion."

"It would follow the pattern of 'blow up every city but Ruxburg,'" Jay said with a little sarcasm, "with that said," the car rolled to a stop, "we're here."

Finli and Hadara blinked before their eyes widened. They were underground, but it didn't look underground. They were parked in front of a large glass-roofed training area where there were groups of cadets either talking as they waited their turn, or sparing, practicing their aim with a gun, or sprinting around a track. Around the half-mile track was thick and luscious green grass artificially grown beneath the large and beautiful base.

"It's beautiful," Hadara breathed after she and Finli got out of the car, the nature-loving girl gazed around her in wonder, fascinated by the underground track, sparring area, and white marble parking garage. "Is the rest of the base this beautiful?"

Holly laughed, "this is only part of it," Cynthia jogged over and pulled open Holly's door while Leon pulled open Finli's, "welcome to Thunder base, home to the thunderstorms that protect the city."

Finli and Hadara simply looked around, their jaws hanging open slightly in shock and surprise.

Holly however quickly adopted a more brisk appearance, "Finli, you will be in the Alpha dorm temporarily sharing with team commander Brendon Michaels. Hadara, you will be stationed with my subdivision's head medic Jay Bramble and Tech Specialist Breanna Grayas."

Bree's amber eyes didn't change from excited, but Jay saw the twinkle that had been in her eyes since last night flicker and vanish. Clearly, the brunette wasn't excited to have the medic in her and Jay's dorm room.
Jay discreetly rested his hand on the area between her shoulder blades, don't worry Bree, it'll be okay. Hopefully.

Blegh, this chapter's long and it didn't even touch any of the stuff from the old chapter! So I'm gonna have to write the next chapter and hopefully, it'll actually follow the older chapter, since I'm behind now -_-