"I personally don't get how in the hell you're literally stepping on top of their attacks, sir. I just don't."

"I mean, if you don't want to get your head sliced off by these things, you might as well. And no, I thought about it last night, but no. I'm not going anywhere near a deathstick if we make it back to the C.I.S. I still remember myself puking in the restroom after the first one I had."

The words echoed through the slightly open window of the training room whose ceiling was on each side of the overhead hallway. Elizabeth recognized the second voice, and her heart just starting going faster. No way. Cameron.. he's here?! She felt like being like a fan-girl, but decided against it.

"These things are pathetic, sir. Like, do they honestly believe that literally just freezing and slashing at everything will work every time?" the first voice complained.

"Abyss.." said Cameron. "Lighten up, man. These things are unpredictable. For now, just get used to these attacks. It'll help keep you alive so you can deal with any new tricks these things pull out of their sleeves."

Cameron and Abyss had started off with the lowest ranked Nova in the training area and now were slowly progressing up difficulty level. It was already their second session of the day, given that an hour earlier, they successfully made it to a single Level 5 Nova and it had wiped the floor with both of them pretty quick. Even the instructors, who were walking to the meeting room they had been assigned to see which recruits they had been assigned, had been amazed at how quickly the two had been, in the words of the adult operating the simulator, "smashed into the wall and bruised like a jumbo jet had hit them both." Even so, the two weren't giving up just yet and now here they were adjusting to the attacks of the Nova after some experimentation and now were trying to crack open and expose the Nova's Core. Truth be told, it wasn't really that easy.

"Fuck! This thing is so goddamn annoying with its twitchy turnings. Let me hit you with my damn blaster, you piece of shit!" Abyss hissed, seemingly more and more frustrated by the Nova's twists and turns. Then he was sent by one of its attacks straight into the wall, the third time this session. "..good thing I don't have the same reception to pain as humans."

Abyss' thud against the wall sounded more like a crackle of thunder to the recruits when they all heard it. It disoriented them, surely, even left some wondering what the hell had just happened. But they stood there, all facing the Chevalier official. "The mental and physical training you will face during the next six weeks is a necessary step in order to have the stigmata implanted in your bodies at Genetics. The training here is the same at Genetics, and you will need to face all of it as if it were live combat. I hope that each of you, with your will to become Pandora, will be able to overcome the training curriculum you are about to face."

KRRRIIKKKK!

Another loud crashing sound was heard and every recruit in the room was shocked to see the wall behind the instructor bent in the shape of Cameron's body, face perfectly molded into the wall. A loud thud could be heard after that, and then Cameron's voice. "Okay.. that hurt.. Abyss is right.. the twists and turns are really annoying.." he muttered, eyes dazed, as both he and Abyss just lay there, both sore with pain. The sound of clapping could be heard in the air. "Impressive. I've never seen a potential recruit, never mind a male already born with stigmata or a walking combat machine, progress from Level One Nova to Level Five Nova in about ten minutes flat. That is a record" said one of the female instructors, a short, black haired woman wearing a cap. Cameron slowly got himself up off the floor and nodded. "I'm guessing you're the 'Cloaked Bulldozer', Cameron Spears right?" she asked. "Yep. Seems like everyone knows my name these days" Cameron replied, shaking off the pain he had just experienced. "I mean, after that stunt you pulled in California, you've grown famous, kid" she said, rubbing her hand on his head. "I'm Yu-mi Kim, one of the instructors here for the recruits. And honestly.." her voice turned serious.. "..I'm hoping my recruits are as equally impressive as you are." Then she left, leaving Cameron somewhat shivering from her words. "The hell she mean by that, sir?" Abyss asked. "Abyss.. guess the human recruits here can't compare with the two of us.." he replied, right before he could hear Kim yelling down the hallway.

"Damn she's harsh. Reminds me of my dad."

"Yeah, she and General Grievous would have gotten along just fine."

As it turned out, when the two finally walked into their assigned training platoon after getting their asses handed to them in a third session again by a Level 5 Nova, it turned out that a very familiar face was in the room, one that beamed out a very big smile. "Wait.. no way.. Arnett?" Cameron asked, shock fully present in those violet eyes of his. "Hey Mr. Fearsome!" she replied, mentioning her little nickname for him, that almost unironically, many of the fellow recruits in their platoon felt to be true about him. They had all heard the story of how he ruthlessly and mercilessly killed those three. It was the kind of story that seemed both like a horror story and a fairy tale at the same time. It absolutely tormented them in different ways to no one.

"Seems like you already know one of your fellow recruits, Cameron" the instructor said to him, to which Cameron nodded and smiled. "Are you kidding? I'm the reason she's even here in the first place."

What he said was true. Keith had told him the day before he got out of the hospital about Arnett enlisting and that she wanted to become as strong as him. But Keith had also left after making Cameron swear a promise that he was to do for the rest of his life so that Keith wouldn't come and beat his ass into being one with the force in the afterlife. "Just make sure she doesn't get killed.. or else."

The memory of that line actually made Cameron tremble for a second and gulp before he recovered. Nevertheless, he took the spot next to Arnett while Abyss just headed back to the mansion to run operations in Cameron's absence. He then remembered something and fumbled around in his pockets before pulling out a ziplock bag with a cheeseburger. It has been mushed a bit due to Cameron having his ass beaten three times, but it still was a cheeseburger nonetheless. "Like an idiot, I forgot to take it out of my pocket before hitting the simulator.." he said, sighing. "..but it's yours.." As soon as the last words left his mouth, Arnett had swiped it out of his hands, opened the bag, and quickly ate the burger like the happy, cheerful girl she was. He smiled while lost in thought about his dad. Dad, if you could see me now, just know that there is an explanation to all of this.

Dolly Parnell couldn't sleep that night. Nightmares of all the bullying she had received after her elder sister had deserted during the 8th Nova Clash had caused her to awaken, just in time to see a streak of yellow, blue, and pink lightning travel down and back up the sleeping form of Cameron Spears, who was sleeping right next to Arnett Mcmillan. Dolly staggered back.. what the hell was that? she thought. She knew from the news that Cameron had the ability to use the force, but this.. she had no idea that he could do this, and unconsciously at that. She shook her head. Perhaps she was seeing things, she figured, and went back to sleep.

Kim's voice was so loud the next morning that it woke Cameron up, who was sleeping about half a mile down from where her recruit platoon was, ahead of the rest of his platoon. Abyss had only just walked in when Kim started screaming, and he was impressed. "Woman knows how to yell.." he whispers to Cameron. The boy chuckled quietly in response. "Make sure you tell her that, when you can" he whispers. "Will do, sir" Abyss whispers, just as some of the other cadets begin to stir a little.

Kim is shouting at her recruits outside of the building by the track, when Abyss comes out to her. She's quick to notice. "Keep at attention. I'll return to you maggots in a bit. Anyways.. hello Abyss.. what brings you here?" she says, turning away from the recruits to Abyss. "Just wanted to say, you sure know how to yell. I walked in to the commander's platoon to get him up and no sooner had I gotten in than you started yelling and it actually woke him up" Abyss says, and Kim's eyes go a slight bit wide after hearing that. "I woke him up? Hahaha.. I knew I could shout, never realized that I had that much shouting power. Guessing you guys went in for a third try and got flattened?" she asks. "What gave it away? The massive crunch at the end of it or the fact that Cameron's face was molded into the wall again?" Abyss asked. "A combination of the two.. to be honest.. to see his face molded into the wall was a little amusing, to say the least.." Kim says, just as Abyss notices one of the recruits stagger and collapse. "Hey..uh.. one of them just fell.." Abyss says, and in the instant the words leave his mouth, he immediately regrets it, as Kim unleashes a barrage of insults and profanity on the poor recruit, a blonde teenager by the code GM 160. She can't see it, but Abyss feels sadness and pity for this poor recruit. It's that point he remembers that he's a master hacker and that there was still some room left over in Cameron's training platoon, and he gets a very crazy idea. One that he hopes Kim doesn't chew him out over.

On a nearby track, Cameron is just running like he's not even human. All of that time running his butt off out of dangerous situations so far in the Clone Wars is really paying off as it has given Cameron a lot of extra endurance, stamina, and energy to sustain himself for one hundred laps around the track. Even Arnett can't keep up with the fast sprinting boy. Merith, the instructor, is just astounded. "And that makes.. 100 hundred laps! First Place, Cameron Spears!" she says, and not a moment too soon, Arnett comes in behind him. "Mr. Fearsome, how in the world are you so fast?" Arnett asks him, and Cameron immediately has flashbacks to all of the times he's had to run for his life thus far in the Clone Wars, mostly due to Republic forces. "When one has to deal with being chased by three Jedi Starfighters all gunning for your ass, let's just say to survive, I had to run like hell and not slow down at all" he mutters in reply, and Arnett is shocked. Then again, Abyss did mention he and Cameron were fighting in a galactic conflict, so it did make sense.

Around this time, Dolly Parnell strides towards the finish line. "Third Place, Dolly Parnell" Merith says once Dolly crosses the finish line. "Not as good as Spears or Mcmillan, but still a nice time."

The girl sits down, and just catches her breath, while Arnett talks about how she hopes that Cameron doesn't come in first at everything, so she can get the food and drinks she wants. Cameron goes on about how it also requires her instructor to be with her and something about Abyss, but Dolly isn't listening. She thinks back to last night, just wondering about what she saw. Just what are you, Cameron Spears?

"Parnell? Where have I heard that name before..?" Merith says, and Dolly's eyes go wide. Cameron doesn't notice Dolly's eyes going wide, but he's just peeking over Merith's shoulder to see what she's going on, while Arnett looks on, a little concerned. "Was it the twenty fifth generation? I swear that there was a Pandora with the same last name.."

Merith sees something on the tablet and then makes a sound. Arnett doesn't see it, but Cameron does. One single name.

Cecil Parnell.

He repeats that name in his head until it's locked in his memory. Guess I'll need to get Abyss to hack some files once I get back to the mansion after today, he thinks. "Here comes the next batch" Merith states, breaking him out of his train of thought.

A cluster of recruits, even more exhausted than Parnell and Mcmillan, finish a few seconds later. "Let's see.. fourth place in that mess was.. Arield Robinson." The aforementioned girl is shocked by where she finished. "I'm.. fourth? But I trained so much before coming here.." she mutters.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. First Place and Second Place's times were just nuts. Pretty sure Spears broke the record time for one hundred laps.." Merith says, causing all eyes to go squarely on Cameron. The boy sighs.

"Who was third place?" Arield asks.

"Third Place.. that was Dolly Parnell."

The look of contempt on Arield's face is all the confirmation Cameron needs to know that something deeper is going on here, and if that wasn't enough, the whispers from other recruits only confirm it.

"Eh? Dolly Parnell?"

"Her? Now I get it.."

"Figures she'd run like her life depends on it.."

Arnett is confused at best, but Cameron notices something else after Merith barks that rest time is over for the platoon, something that Arnett also does. The fact that every other recruit avoids Dolly like the plague. Something isn't right here, Cameron thinks to himself. I can feel it.