"We are what!" Jett said in disbelief.
"We're going to take part in a wrestling match." Ash said with a surprising calmness.
The four had finished changing now, each clad in their respective colour of red, blue, purple and black. Jett's sensory block had adjusted to the noise level, letting him hear some choice words. With a full grasp of the situation, he was admonishing Ash for his less than stellar decision making. And also desperately trying to distract from his uninspired tribal tattoos that were now on full display. He'd already seen Tidus and Ash stifle their laughter too many times.
"I mean, how the fuck are we going to compete in a pro wrestling match? We would barely survive in amateur leagues." Jett threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Oh come on Jett, look on the bright side. We always dreamed of doing this," Ash said.
"I'm honestly surprised you didn't see this coming. We go to a wrestling venue and put on wrestling attire. I don't know what else you expected." Tidus said as he adjusted his mask. It was supposed to be a dragon, but it looked more like an angry iguana.
"I don know, I thought… but I don't know." At last, Jett sat down with the rest. Now accepting the situation he was stuck in.
"You thought this was some weird BDSM club, didn't you?" Tidus laughed when Jett straightened up and didn't respond. He would be guilty regardless of his answer, and if it wasn't for the wolf mask, Jett's blush would have been clear to see. But when Scorpion Queen came back, Jett might have been closer to the truth than he thought. She was in the same clothes as before, with added flair. The most prominent being striking red makeup and a riding crop.
She made the riding crop snap like a whip before speaking in a theatrical tone. "Now my soldiers kneel before your Scorpion Queen." Another snap of the riding crop brought AMBT quickly to heel. "Tonight, you will act as my men at arms, my sword and shield. When you win tonight's match, I will finally get my shot at the Queen of the underworld title. Now arise my Knights." The four men all stood so that she could give them a once over. She stopped in front of Jett. "You! Why are you moping?"
Jett sneered at her. Moping? He didn't mope. "I'm not moping. This is just stupid."
"So you've already accepted your defeat?" She asked.
Jett stammered before he finally got his words out. "No, I-"
The snap of the riding crop cut him short. All four of them brought right back to attention. "Silence! You have given up, Wolf. Bear your fangs, show me your rage." Jett opened his mouth to retort, but her intense gaze silenced him. Once again, he was being offered no respect, and it was pissing him off. She smiled when anger spread across his face.
She moved onto Tidus who wouldn't hold eye contact. "Dragon! Stop avoiding my gaze. Show some pride!" Tidus' neck was like a granite pillar with the way it slowly turned. But she could tell his stare was still not on her. His height would usually have made it easier for him to hide the fact he wasn't holding eye contact, but he had no such luck with her. The crack of the riding crop brought his eyes up a little. "Better."
Next was Ash. "Tiger! Wipe that stupid grin off your face. This is serious!" He tried his best at a serious face. She didn't seem impressed, so he gave it another shot. She gave him an even sterner look. "What do you find so funny?"
"Well, this has always been my dream, so I'm just-"
"Silence! Give me a game face or you won't wrestle at all." Ash squared his features then and gave her his best game face. She wrinkled her nose. It would have to do. Unfortunately, he had too much of an innocent face to pull off a proper game face.
Last was Kai. She hesitated when they were face to face. He was calm, composed, and his game face had potential. But this was his first match so no getting of easy. "And Falcon… Just be better! Now follow me!"
The Scorpion Queen left AMBT waiting in the wings while she went to get the crowd built up. She had walked them down to the runway and given them their instructions.
Win the match.
Well, there were a few more steps to it, but that was the most important take away for Ash. It was more or less a regular fight with a few banned moves like elbows and knees. But it was just too exciting for him to focus. The roars from the crowd caused adrenaline to flow through him uncontrollably. He was going to go out there and leave his mark. The cherry on top would have been if his mother and father could see what he was about to do. Although on second thought, they probably wouldn't be too pleased about this whole thing. They would say something like…
"This was such a fucking awful idea, Ash. I can't believe I actually trusted you." Yeah, exactly like that. Except that was Jett. He supposed he worked as a stand in most days.
"Maybe, but what's important is that we do it together." Ash's words did little to convince his team. "Come on guys, a bit of courage." He gestured them all to stack up on him. Kai obediently put his hand in the middle. Tidus followed soon after, hoping this would somehow boost his confidence. Jett vehemently denied putting his hand in. "Come on Jett. You said you were in it to make this work."
"That was before I realised we were doing something so stupid." He said through gritted teeth.
"Stupid? I remember we used to dream of doing this when we were kids." Jett only seemed slightly swayed. "Come on, bro. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a superstar." Jett thought it over a little longer before letting out a sigh. In a few steps, he was over in the huddle.
"I'm not putting my hand in the middle."
"Fine by me. Ok, let's do this. The fires of our ambition will never die!"
From the arena Scorpion Queens voice cried out, "I give to you my Apex Predators." The crowd roared even louder as the lights in the entrance shot on. With a new resolve, the team stepped into the spotlight. The lights were blinding, but the mass of people was still clear. They all followed their instructions to the letter. Ash and Jett handing out high fives to the crowd, the two acting as a high energy duo who heralded their way to the arena. Behind them, Tidus and Kai played a slower stone faced tough guy act. Well, Tidus half did. He caved in halfway and gave a few nervous waves to the crowd. Once they reached the arena, Ash and Jett were feeling themselves more and more. Jett flexed at some girls he spotted, feeding off the adoration from the crowd and the fact people actually thought his tattoos were fitting. One guy even shouted out how much he loved them. Even if his skull tattoo was more of a circle shape than a skull.
They cut the moment short when the lights in the arena dimmed and refocused on the entrance for their opponents.
"And their opponents, The Demolition Company!" The announcer's voice roared out
The four felt their nerves return when their opponents revealed themselves. Four gruff men with barrel chest each standing over six feet. It was hard to say if they were even human with the amount of bushy hair that covered them. They looked like they were one evolutionary step from reverting to cavemen. Their monstrous opponents climbed into the ring with unnerving agility. Standing across from them, beating their chests and howling.
Scorpion Queen sucked in a breath through her teeth and gave them one last word of advice before exiting the arena. "Hope you're wearing your cups, boys."
Tidus was quick to turn around. "Wait, there were cups?" He never got a response as she left through a side exit and the bell rang, signalling the start of the match.
It started off in a calamitous fashion. The men were much quicker than their size suggested, leading to Tidus immediately being flattened by a charge. On the side, Ash was quick to learn how hard it was to suplex someone who was double your weight when his attempt at one only got the feet a centimetre of the ground. His reward? Being on the receiving end of a real suplex. Jett was going strong after ducking a clothesline and countered with a standing dropkick. The man was stunned and Jett used the opening to throw punch after punch at his mid-section, with the crowd giving a shout of delight when each blow connected. He kept at it until he realised that the man was completely unfazed by his blows. The man looked down past his thick beard and gave Jett one of the most rage filled expressions he had ever seen. An audible gulp was all Jett managed before the man grabbed him into a bone crushing bear hug.
Kai was hoping for better luck with his opponent. He slipped under a swing and caught a kick, forcing the bigger man off balance. An armlock swiftly followed. He strained to keep the hold as his opponent circled to get a better angle. All for nought when the man laughed and pried himself free with ease. Now Kai's arm was the one being held. The man made it look easy when he threw him over his head. Meanwhile, Tidus still hadn't got a hit in. Being held by his hair as a man unleashed blow after blow to his face.
"Pathetic, is this all you have?" The man pulled back for another punch and laughed. This time Tidus head butted forward, causing the man to recoil his hand in pain.
"Oh yeah? Let's see-" A clad iron grip around Tidus' throat cut the rebuttal short. "Wait, wait, wait we can-" The following slam caused his words to leave in a rush of air.
"Oh man, things are not looking good for the Apex Predators." The commentator's voice boomed over AMBT's beat down.
"Yup, this may be a wash, Frank." One man threw Jett across the ring, colliding with Kai in mid-air. "The demolition crew is just too much for them." At that moment, the Demolition Company took to stacking the men into a pile.
"Uh oh, and here comes the wrecking ball!" The arena rumbled when the move was complete. The crowd went wild and AMBT cried out in pain. "Ooh, that's got to sting."
The attack left AMBT scattered across one side of the arena. While their opponents took to gloating at the crowd, the four lay on the floor writhing in pain and gathering their breath.
"What are you guys doing?! Win this for me!" The Scorpion Queen's voice cut through the crowd, forcing them to their feet.
Tidus shot a glance at Scorpion Queen and the scoreboard and said. "Damn it, we're getting our clocks cleaned."
"Yeah no shit. Zugg, Ugg and the rest of the caveman crew are something else." Jett rolled his shoulder to alleviate some of his pain. "This might be a bad time to ask, but how do we win this match?"
"It's pin fall. But… maybe you were right. We're in way over our heads." Ash was the only one who still took in ragged breaths from the floor. The match had taken a lot more out of him than he expected. Mentally and physically. He had gone into this thinking they would have a chance. Maybe they wouldn't win, but he thought the odds were favourable. The sheer beatdown they were being given really woke him up to the reality. Their opponents were faster and stronger in every way. It didn't help that somebody was actually relying on them to win now. He couldn't help but feel guilty for making the promise they would win.
"Listen, I know that face. Stop overthinking things." Jett was standing over him now. "We just need to run it back." Jett offered Ash a hand to get up. Ash took in a deep breath and smiled before taking his hand. He was right. This wasn't over and he was already thinking about defeat. There was no room for doubt. Just like Jett said, they would run it back until they won. And then an idea came into his head.
This time, when the demolition company charged, AMBT was ready. Like in their practice, Tidus launched Jett over the top of their heads. Their opponents came to a stop, stuck between continuing their charge and dealing with the lone member. Kai had predicted as much, and the rest of AMBT made a head on assault in the confusion. One of the demolition company broke away to follow Jett while the other three distracted the remaining members. This was going even better than expected. Now they just needed to buy time for Tidus.
"Oh man, and look at that! The Dragon's got lightning." The commentator said as Tidus lifted one man for a power bomb. There was a palpable change in the air as he did it, and Ash knew the time was now. Lightning rippled across his entire form as he brought the man down. The power bomb created the equivalent of a thunderclap when it landed, drawing the attention of the other two. With Ash and Kai freed up, they slipped past to help Jett. Before the other men could realise their mistake, Tidus was tackling them.
The finish was simple. Pin the lone guy before their opponents pinned Tidus. Formation D3ATH may have been a failure last time, but now they had made a few adjustments on the fly.
Ash crouched at the man's back in the fetal position. Jett pushed, so he fell over Ash. And Kai finished with the pin.
Flawless.
"WOOO! I'm going to be Queen Of The Underworld." The Scorpion Queen cried out into the night. Now they were out of the venue, she was a lot more laid back. Dressed in a hoodie and some sweats. It got rather cold in the desert at night, after all. AMBT followed, back in their normal clothes and nursing a new set of bumps and bruises from the match. "You guys really had me going there for a second."
Ash tried to laugh, but the immense pain he was in wouldn't let him. "Of course, uh Scorpion Queen, you needed us to do something, and we promised to do it. Team AMBT always keeps their word." Ash gave a weak fist bump into the sky.
She laughed at Ash's faltering energy. The effort he was putting in to remain chipper was rather adorable. "In that case, I'll keep an eye out for AMBT in the future."
"And we'll keep an eye out for news of the Scorpion Queen becoming Queen of the underworld. Also, Scorpion Queen isn't your real name, right?"
"Hmm," she tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "guess you'll never know. In fact, if you keep calling me that, I'll treat you to some barbecue."
Within a second, Tidus was on his knees grovelling. "Oh, awesome Scorpion Queen, I bow down to you so that I may taste but a slither of barbecued meat."
She laughed harder at Tidus' antics before letting him stand. "Ok, ok you can get up. But seriously, thank you." She handed Ash a plastic bag. "Keep the outfits you earned them." Then she pulled the four in for a bear hug. Eliciting groans of pain from the still tender team. She gave a smile before spinning on her heel, leading them to food. After a few steps, she turned around. "Wolf!" Jett flinched. "Stop staring at my ass!"
"Step three: Improvise, adapt, overcome. Not everything will go according to plan. In fact, not everything will go your way. You can only be prepared for so much. To counter act this, you must be flexible. Willing to bend but not break."
One day till rematch
After the rigorous activities of the night before, AMBT slept through their morning training. Ash had been hoping to still get it done, but even Kai was out for the count until the last minute. Tidus would have slept longer if it wasn't for the lingering threat that was Rumpole. So Ash decided the only solution was to double down the evening training. After all, this was the last day before the rematch, and that's exactly what Ash had them do. They worked themselves to the bone that evening, hoping to master the formations and strategies. But even after their stroke of inspiration the night before, their dynamic seemed to have gone back to normal.
"I swear you are fucking useless, Tidus." Jett said as he fell to a sitting position in the sandpit.
"I'm useless? You said less power, so I gave it less power. You're not making full jumps any more." Tidus flopped down next to him. The two at least were back to being unbothered by the others insults. Ash and Kai followed, sitting across from them, equally exhausted.
From an overlooking window, Mirage and Sunnybrook watched the boy's training.
Sunnybrook gave a sigh as she watched the scene. "I really thought they would have improved by now."
Mirage frowned next to her and nodded. "They have made progress but, yes, they are still only a few steps ahead of where they were before."
"I guess we should go down and give them some scholarly advice?"
Mirage stopped her before she could go. Sunnybrook looked at her in confusion and went back to watching. The sight left her just as enraptured as Mirage. Rumpole's appearance in the Sandpit would certainly make this interesting. The four boys stood to attention when Rumpole entered.
"Relax, you're not in the military."
They eased up a bit but remained wary. Kai stayed as he was considering it was his usual stance and said, "How can we help you today, professor?"
"I was just watching your practice, decided you could do with some pointers." The four blinked in surprise at the statement. They had all thought that Rumpole hadn't liked them all that much. "I know you think I dislike you. And I detest people who use my lesson as an extended nap time." Tidus cast his eyes down to avoid the pointed stare. "But I have seen you work hard this week, so I will provide you with some words of wisdom. Your strategies are blueprints and you are the craftsmen. Each of you brings a unique set of skills to complete the blueprint. But as craftsmen, you are flexible. You, as the craftsmen, decide what to make and how to make it. The blueprint is only an idea." Rumpole couldn't help the smug look and mischievous glint as perplexed looks spread across AMBT's faces.
"What?" Jett's response even elicited a small chortle from her.
"Enjoy the rest of your training and please go to the infirmary. It doesn't serve us well for our students to look like we bludgeon them every day." She turned for a second. "Also, keep excursions to the more unsavoury parts of the city to a minimum."
Ash's face paled. "Wait, you know about-"
"We keep much closer watch than you think. Have a pleasant evening 'Apex Predators'." Ash felt himself go pale at the last comment.
When Rumpole entered back into the building, Sunnybrook and Mirage were waiting for her. For a moment, her smug look fell into a frown before she put on a neutral face.
Sunnybrook giggled at the uncomfortable look Rumpole had. "This is so unlike you, Rumpole. I hope you aren't picking favourites now." Rumpole scowled as she tried to walk away. Unfortunately, she already knew the other two women would keep up their childish pestering.
Back in the Sandpit, Ash was still trying to decipher what exactly Rumpole had been getting at. Why did she have to give it to them in such cryptic language? Kai had a much clearer idea.
"The strategies will not work." Ash looked at him in confusion. "We need to adapt, think not like Oscuro but like ourselves. How do we work as a team?"
A lightbulb finally went off in Ash's brain. "Wrestling!"
Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Wrestling?"
"Yes Wrestling! Last night, we were in complete sync. We just need to return to that mindset. Create our own method of strategy."
"We going to write a whole new playbook while we're at it?" Tidus said as he handed Ash the now defunct book of strategies.
Jett rolled his eyes as Ash started to reimagine all the strategies they had been practising. "I'll go get the crayons, then?" He meant it as an insult, but Ash just gave an eager nod and went back to mapping out their new strategies. It would take a miracle to adapt and learn all of them in one night.
Kai just wiped a tear from his eye and sniffled as he watched Ash defaced his hard work.
"Step four: Bring it all together. You are finally ready. That big team project is coming up, and it needs to go smoothly. But in the heat of the moment, it feels like it might fall apart. You will need every tip from starting from step one. So let's run it back. Know your team. Lead your way. Adapt to challenge. If you remember these tips, you can guarantee victory."
Day of the rematch
AMBT stood in a huddle with NDGO opposite them in the Sandpit. The time of reckoning was finally here. All or nothing. Balls to the wall. Turn to diamond or crumble to dust. Go big or go home. Beat up four women or get beaten up by four women.
Their respect was at stake and respect meant everything in Vacuo.
"Alright guys, it's time. NDGO doesn't respect us. BRNZ doesn't respect us. Today we silence the doubters and show them the efforts of our hard work and training." For once, Ash sounded effortlessly serious. No goofy over the top seriousness. Just a level voice that carried authority.
"I'll admit, Ash, you sound like a leader for once. Rather than some army general from a cartoon." Jett said. Of course, he had to mix his compliment with an insult.
Ash grinned anyway at Jett's rare praise. "I told you. I'm all in. And I've been revising my game face." He thought of Scorpion Queen before turning back to the rest of the team. Back to being serious. "The last thing we need is a plan." The other three nodded, waiting expectantly for Ash to give it them. After Ash's silence held for a minute, they looked at each other, confused. Ash also took to looking around, confused. "Anybody going to tell me what the plan is?"
Strangled sighs left Tidus and Jett. Well, there was always room for improvement. "Ash, you're the team captain. You tell us the plan." Tidus said while pinching the bridge of his nose.
Ash's face lit up in realisation before he turned to Kai. "In that case, Kai, tell us the plan."
Kai gave a knowing nod and pulled out his notebook. "Of course. Luckily, I prepared for this."
"Of course you did," Jett mumbled under his breath.
"NDGO will most likely stick to the same strategy as last time, considering they got an easy win. They have a range advantage, so we will have to go to them. I advise a classic blitz strategy. When Dew and Octavia move to engage, we cloud hop them. They will pull back to protect their teammates. That is when we rotate with the chain switch." The rest of AMBT couldn't hide their grins. "Ash, as team leader, we will wait for your call to initiate the moves."
Ash gave a confident nod. He then presented his hand in the middle. "On me." The rest of the team stacked on him. Even Jett reluctantly put his hand in.
"The fires of our ambition will never die," the team shouted out in unison, throwing their hands up and dispersing. On the opposite end, NDGO were feeling apprehensive. As cheesy as the chant was, there was definitely something different about their opponents this time around. But they weren't about to back down. Nebula offered some words of encouragement to her team before the start of the match.
Sunnybrook began the countdown. "Three, two, one… begin!"
As Kai predicted NDGO didn't move. Nebula and Gwen were already starting their torrent of projectiles from the back. After only making it a meter, Ash made a change of plans. It was obvious if this kept up, Tidus wouldn't even make it to the fight, and he was integral to the plan.
"Alright quick change, we go slow till the Tiger and Dragon can pounce. Jett and Kai wind wall us forward." Jett and Kai were quick to act. Taking over the lead from Ash and Tidus to create an advancing wall of wind to block the projectiles. Jett infusing himself with Kai's wind so the two could alternate barriers. They slowed down their advance, but they were now protected. With their ranged weapons nullified, NDGO once again did as Kai predicted. Dew and Octavia advanced quickly to engage them and interrupt the wind wall.
"Now! Cloud hop us!" At Ash's command, the wind wall dropped. Tidus and Ash rushed forward to Kai, who used a burst of wind to launch them forward. The charging girls came to a halt as the two boys soared over them. Upon landing behind them, they wasted no time in charging for the exposed ranged fighters. The two women hesitated before they turned to follow. Ash let them follow for a bit before issuing his next command.
"Alright! Now chain switch!" They had triggered the last trap in their plan. Jett launched Reaper at the girls, who dodged it with ease. Dew, even having the audacity to laugh at him before she realised she was never the intended target. Behind them, Tidus held the end and gave it a powerful pull. Jett let himself get thrown by it, flying between the two dumbstruck girls and landing where Tidus had once been. When Octavia noticed Jett was going for Nebula and Gwen, she tried to follow, only to be met by a halberd.
"I don't know where you're going, but I'm your opponent this time." She stood up from Tidus' attack, looking to Dew for help. Only to find that Kai was already pressuring her from the side.
She smiled, "I'll admit not bad. Not bad at all."
At the back, Ash and Jett had already descended on their opponents like vultures. Gwen and Nebula were quick to split, with Jett chasing Gwen and Ash following Nebula. Jett launched his chain to slow Gwen's retreat. The girl was slippery, however, and stayed nimble on her feet to avoid the attack. Cartwheeling back and forth and leaping continuously to dodge the winding chain. One flick caught her leg, slowing her movement and forcing her to use two knives to fend off his attacks. But Jett continued. With skillful control, he continued his whipping from a safe distance, the knives once again not offering the girl enough defence. She finally bit the bullet, allowing the chain to slam into her side so she could grab it. She threw it away to offer herself more distance and to kill its momentum before she spun. Pirouetting like a ballerina, she gathered more and more speed. Her aura glowed as she soon became a blur and throwing knives shot out to where Jett was standing. He moved like a contortionist to avoid them, twisting and spinning between the thinnest gaps in the barrage. At one point, leaning so far back that he cartwheeled over. The weakness became clear fast. As he moved to the side, her knives never followed, instead continuing to rain down on the spot where he once stood.
When Gwen came out of her spin, she admired her handy work. A pile of knives that had impaled nothing but sand. Her eyes widened in shock. She was worried she might have gone overboard. So much so that missing completely hadn't crossed her mind. A tap on her shoulder turned her around.
"Sorry babe." Jett's punch came fast. Knocking her over and leaving her aura broken.
Nebula was stuck in the same situation. Ash caught up fast and from that point, she had no opportunities to reload her crossbow. A shotgun shot was enough to stall her so Ash could finally catch up.
"You've got no backup this time." Ash's aura glowed as he lifted both his burning hands. Nebula looked around desperately for her teammates. No one would interrupt him this time. "Calamity Crash!" His burning fists smashed together, creating an explosion of fire that rapidly advanced on Nebula. The single attack annihilating her aura.
Back in the centre, the fight was much closer. Kai and Dew continued their rematch from the first fight. Neither giving an inch of ground to the other. Tidus spent more time blocking Octavia's retreat than fighting her. He was too slow to actually catch her. But if he ignored her, a knife in the back was more than guaranteed.
"Tidus, Kai!" The two men tuned in to Ash's commands while keeping their eyes on the fight. "Hit her with the assisted Thunder Drop." A grin spread on Tidus' face. Out of all of their new moves, this was definitely his favourite.
Kai took an unexpected turn in his fight with Dew. Using a wasted move from Dew to turn and lift Octavia with a gust of wind. Tidus was ready underneath to catch the redhead on his shoulders. It was all perfectly timed. At that second, the lightning cloak enveloped Tidus as the Rising storm activated. He slammed her to the ground much like he had to the wrestler, invoking an echoing thunder clap. The move left Octavia stunned on the ground with her aura broken.
"Nice! Next time remember what we talked about."
With his additional speed, Tidus could easily fall into step with Ash. "I am not announcing the name of my attack when I use it."
Ash gave a pout. "I still think saying Thunder Drop would be cool."
The two reached Kai and Dew's battle. But the woman was intent on not going down easily. She created an explosion of air to force them back before mustering a large force of wind. It twisted in front of them until it took form as a tornado. The force from the wind lifted Ash into the air while forcing Tidus to remain stationary, so he also didn't get lifted skyward.
"Kai, help them out! She's mine." Jett cut a path clear of the tornado to reach Dew. While Kai tried to undo the tornado, Jett took to reclaiming his pride. This time, he was cool and under control. A flurry of Jabs. No problem. He was already in close, creating problems for Dew's spear. A burst of wind to force him back. Reaper was back in chain mode, letting him continue his assault from afar. He tangled the spear, giving a powerful pull to break her stance. The opening was there. He just needed to get closer. She launched one last blast of wind to slow him. He let his fist meet it, his aura collecting on his hand as he absorbed the wind's energy.
The wind infused uppercut he hit Dew with exploded with power. Sending the woman flying and breaking her aura.
"Damn! I am good!"
"Of course, he's a sore loser and a bad winner." Tidus couldn't help but chuckle as Jett continued to regale them with the story of their victory. The guy really didn't care that every person he was talking to was there for it.
"But seriously, you need to stop. We came here to bury the hatchet with NDGO," Ash said. Across the table, the members of NDGO looked less than pleased that they had to spend their dinner with the team that just beat them.
"Fine. Nebula, Dew, Gwen, Octavia. I am sorry about certain events that occurred at the initiation."
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. See, that wasn't so hard.
"But-" Before Jett could throw it all away, a slap on the back of the head from Kai shut him up.
"Fuck, man!" Jett rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "Is this going to be a recurring thing?"
"As long as your less than satisfactory behaviour persists, yes." The scolding at the very least put smiles on NDGO's faces.
"Nice to know that dog boy has a keeper." Dew said.
"Pfft, doesn't matter what you say. Nothing's bringing me down from this victory. Anyway, I'll admit having the hottest team not hate me feels pretty good."
"I'm going to hate you again soon if you keep trying to be slick." Gwen said.
"You sure? I think Nebula disagrees." Across the table, Nebula's face went a deep crimson. Jett leaned back with a satisfied sigh as NDGO imploded over the fact that Nebula actually like Jett's flirting.
"Was that really necessary?" Tidus couldn't hide the smile on his face.
"Well, the first week is in the books." Ash said as he stretched in his seat.
Tidus felt his shoulders sag. "That was only the first week? I already feel years of my life slipping away."
"Indeed, and I cannot wait for more." Obviously Ash felt differently. "Oh yeah! We also need to teach you our secret handshake." He shot a look across the table. "Away from prying eyes."
And so their most important training session of the week started. The secret handshake.