Training with Cole

Theos looked about the room worriedly. Cole sure didn't hold back his imagination. The course looked rather deadly if nothing else. He looked to the others their concerns just as apparent as his. This should be interesting...

"Ah welcome to my boot camp." Cole said, "This is your not so quick training session to strengthen your bodies in a short span of time. By the end of this, you will be stronger physically and ready for battle mentally. Today you are not Princes." 



"You are not a Lord....and you are not my son." Cole said rounding them off, "Today for the foreseeable future, you are trainees and I am your master. You will refer to me as such and nothing more. I am not your friend, or father. I am a going to be your very worst enemy. Your bodies will sweat. You will bleed. You will cry. But you will certainly not give up. If you're broken, move anyway. If you're tired, bite your tongue. If you think I can't, just do." Yep his father was in full on mentor mode. Ike smiled a bit that was his father for ya.



"I asked Magi here today to take us to a special place to give me twice as much time with you. In what will be one hour here, will be eight hours there. Not a second of that time will go by that you won't be training, after we come back. You'll continue training. Welcome to war ladies."



Kemba looked at Theos, "This seems a bit excessive." Theos had to agree...but getting an entire day of training in only an hour was really good. It would make them even more prepared. "My survival match was excessive, but you saw it through to the end didn't you?" Theos tail began wagging at the sound of that voice. He stood up and ran over to him to walk with him.



"Blake? What the heck are you doing here?" Kaa asked, "Training with all of you of course! My father didn't want to let me fight because of my whole missing a one arm thing but there was no way I was going to let my best friends fight in this war without me. I managed to talk him out of keeping me sidelined. A guard said I'd find you here training with Master Cole, so I thought how perfect." Theos understood his worry. His battle abilities were probably cut back some but he was a strong individual. Theos had no doubts he would be able to manage and probably do better than them with all their limbs.



"Is that alright?" Cole nodded, "As a man, I understand your sense of duty and pride but you won't receive any special treatment. If you can't keep up, tough." Blake laughed, "I wouldn't have it any other way."



"I'm sure you've trained with your father before, is it always like this? He's entirely different."



"That is because he is all business," Ike said like that explained everything. 

"I will now invoke the spell, this is not unlike the Mirror World spell I performed so long ago. Instead of going into a mirror though, it's a bubble that slows time. Many millennia ago, the Digital World was out of sync with the human world. We moved a lot faster then they did. This spell mimics that flow in time, but I can only hold it for an hour with just my power alone. It takes considerable amount of magic to do, so make the best of your time." Theos nodded.



"Alright....the spell is in motion so let me start by asking this. Are you all sure about doing this? There is still time to stay in the palace and let Cora and I handle the Scomparsians."



"This course isn't going to run itself," Theos said smiling. "I'm not going to run."

Ike nodded as well. He was sure of his training. It was his fathers training after all so in the end they were all going to be a lot tougher. He had no reservations and if they were too badly hurt he knew his...mentor would not let them die.

Cole smiled, "Very well then...allow to explain the sections. They can either be your best friend, or your worst nightmare but they will definitely hurt you." Cole walked over to the trenches. "This is one of my personal favorites. When you enter the trench, you're going to crawl on you stomach from one end to the other while a live electrical current is running above your head, and down the foundation poles. Each trench has been designed to the individual leaving no room for mistakes." Cole plucked a few hairs from his head.

He dropped the cleft onto the live wire and the current of electricity whirred and flashed as the hair was consumed in bright flame. "You'll receive a ten thousand volts of electricity delivered to your body every time. You mess up, you start over from the beginning." Cole waved them over.

Kemba imagined himself touching the wire and frying his fur from his body. He'd be a pink, hairless lion and audibly cleared his throat. Kaa, Don and Ban all looked over their trenches, the wire was higher to account for their spines. It didn't leave them much room though, the slightest jerk up and their spines would act like a powerful conductor. Ban was worried and Don was confident.

Kaa looked at his brothers, "This looks like it may hurt more then when dad punched us." Ban nodded, Don chuckled "That may be so, but the pain is entirely in our claws, as long as we don't screw up we can get out of this unharmed."

Blake looked at his trench and it seemed pretty narrow for a digimon his size. He was nearly Cole's height after all, "Hey uh Cole, isn't this a bit low for me?" Cole shrugged, "I didn't know you would be here...so you'll have to share the triplets trench." Blake looked at theirs and it would have to do. "Heh...I don't mind the challenge."

Kemba wondered if Theos would be okay, dragging themselves on their belly wasn't something they normally had to do. "Will you be okay?"

Cole cleared his throat to get their attention, "Now these trenches will work on a few things, Balance....endurance....speed. That's right ladies, you will be timed. You will have thirty seconds to make it two meters across, when time expires the wire will be dropped on you. Cruel? Maybe, but it will implement the mindset of urgency. Something heavily required in war. Now if you're all ready, take your marks."



Cole raised his arm, "Begin!"

Kemba immediately began crawling at a fast pace with the fear of having his fur burned off, he intended to make it on his first try. Kemba's rolls: b1iOgWGc

Kaa decided a slow and steady pace would be best, he didn't want to make a mistake. He was not a fan of electricity, "Seriously.....Cole this is to much." He thought to himself. Kaa's rolls:

Don took a moment to calculate his approach and was the last to enter his trench, "If I have the perfect form, I'll make it through easily!" He looked over to Ike, "Good luck!" He said before going. Don's rolls:

Ban was focused but frightened, he could hear the buzzing of electricity surrounding him and it caused him to sweat a bit. He did not want to feel the sting of messing up. Ban's rolls:

Blake went in after Kaa, as he had to share his trench. Luckily, it wasn't that cramped so he had a decent chance of making it. He just hoped if Kaa got fried, he wouldn't jump as a result and ruin it. "Call me weird, but this is kind of fun!" He called out. Blake's rolls:

Cole watched with anticipation to see how they did.
··············

Cole smiled, "Very well then...allow to explain the sections. They can either be your best friend, or your worst nightmare but they will definitely hurt you." Cole walked over to the trenches. "This is one of my personal favorites. When you enter the trench, you're going to crawl on you stomach from one end to the other while a live electrical current is running above your head, and down the foundation poles. Each trench has been designed to the individual leaving no room for mistakes." Cole plucked a few hairs from his head.

"You'll receive a ten thousand volts of electricity delivered to your body every time. You mess up, you start over from the beginning." A thousand volts? Theos eyed the wire with a wary gaze. 

"This looks like it may hurt more then when dad punched us." Ban nodded, Don chuckled "That may be so, but the pain is entirely in our claws, as long as we don't screw up we can get out of this unharmed."

"Hey uh Cole, isn't this a bit low for me?" Cole shrugged, "I didn't know you would be here...so you'll have to share the triplets trench." Blake looked at theirs and it would have to do. "Heh...I don't mind the challenge."

"Will you be okay?"

"Don't worry about me," Theos said smiling.

"Now these trenches will work on a few things, Balance....endurance....speed. That's right ladies, you will be timed. You will have thirty seconds to make it two meters across, when time expires the wire will be dropped on you. Cruel? Maybe, but it will implement the mindset of urgency. Something heavily required in war. Now if you're all ready, take your marks."

Theos frowned. The time limit was a bit much....though they had to make split second decisions in battle. As he shouted begin Theos train of thought broke and he raced forward.
9H8_tCZk

Ike thought nothing of it and raced forward getting on his elbows and knees staying. Even if he failed this would be nothing to him.
·····

Kemba was crawling as fast as he could but he had been going to fast and he had gotten a cramp in his side. He winced and held his side, "Ow ow ow ow!" He cried as others passed him by, he remembered the time limit and began to panic trying to pull himself forward.

Kaa's slow and steady pace paid off for him, he focused on the end of the trench and nothing else. He let everything around him not be a distraction and be managed to make it to the other side unharmed. His face lit up and he jumped up and down, "I did it!!" Kaa said. He looked to everyone else to see how they were doing, Cole smiled at the heir thinking it was just like Cora's first born to master the trenches so quickly. It seemed balance, speed and endurance were something he knew well.

Don noticed his brother make it through and he got nervous, realizing he had better move it along. His decision to rush cost him though and he wound up moving to awkwardly and his tail touched the wire and the surge of electricity coursed through his body. He opened his mouth and clenched his eyes closed and let out a pained cry, he laid down and took a moment. His body had gone a bit numb and it tingled, he nearly lost control of his bladder and soiled himself. Don lifted his head and was angry with himself punching the sand. "Damn it..." He said.

Ban saw his brother get electrocuted and he covered his head, terrified of his pained cries. "I don't wanna do this anymore!" He said shaking in the sand with his tail coiled around him.

The sudden electrical shock of Don also broke Blakes concentration after he watched Kaa finish and he involuntarily jumped touching the wire with his back foot, "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He hollered as the ten thousand currents raced through his being. He began to laugh afterwards, "Well I'll be! That hurt pretty bad but was almost as exhilarating as that Renamon I met the other night! Guess I best head back to the start." He said crawling backwards to the beginning.

Ban cowered even more and didn't move and Kemba was still very slow trying to fight through the pain. Kaa looked at Ban, "Ban you gotta move buddy! You're gonna get fried!" He said frowning at his brothers dilemma.

Kaa looked to see Ike had made it through the maze unharmed and gave him a smile, "Guess you've done this before huh?" He asked. Don stood at the beginning and sighed disappointed he wasn't on the other side, he was happy for Ike though.

Kemba's heart nearly stopped when he saw Theos get electrocuted and stopped. Theos was out too. "Theos!!!" He called out. As soon as he saw Theos was okay he took a deep breath but by then it was to late.

Cole shook his head, and waited for the last few seconds to run out before lowering the wires onto anyone left behind. Kemba and Ban's eye's widened as it came down on top of them, Kemba yelled and Ban did as well immediately crying afterwards.

Kemba looked like a massive cotton ball with his fur standing on end everywhere. "C-Cole.......this....hurts really...bad..." Kemba said twitching. Ban shook from the pain and numbness his body was feeling and backed out of the trenches once the wire was lifted.

Kemba stood at the beginning looking at Theos, still puffed out. "Is it bad?" He asked. Don walked over to Ban, "How you doing?" He asked, Ban sniffled and looked at him "It hurts..." Don wrapped an arm around him. "It will hurt...but it's needed. You wanna be strong so you can make people smile right?" Ban nodded.

"So concentrate next time we do it okay?" Ban gave a soft smile. Don returned it and hugged his brother walking back over. "Geez...how did I wind up here? I got careless! Ha ha ha ha!" Blake said laughing.

"Guess you've done this before huh?" Ike nodded in response

Theos looked to Blake laughing and smiled his tail thumping the ground even as he continued to move forward. His tail went too high however and he yelped as the electricity went through his body. His clay like fur standing on end. He lay there a moment then crawled out and went back to the start. The tip of his tail was fried. 

"You look like you do when Cora dries you with a puff of hot air," Theos said chuckling.

"No pain no gain right," Theos said smiling even as Blake laughed. They were all hurting but Theos wasn't going to stop til he was through. Theos waited for Cole to say go again before bolting forward once more.

0HJbjygg··

"You look like you do when Cora dries you with a puff of hot air," Kemba took a moment to ease out his fur

"No pain no gain right," Blake laughed, "I'm not sure! I've gained plenty without receiving pain so how true is that phrase?" Don shook his head, not wanting to know the meaning behind his words. "Can we just concentrate on the next time through?" Ban chuckled which caused him to flinch from the pain he was in.

Cole finished resetting the wire, "Alright...attempt two! Get set, and begin!" Cole called and immediately, Theos was in and the others followed.

Kemba decided to try Kaa's approach of slow and steady to avoid cramping and getting that awful shock again. Kemba's Rolls 9kUo8iSH

Blake decided to move now free of Kaa in front of him, not allowing his missing limb to prevent him from doing his best. Blake's Rolls

Don tried his perfect approach again but was keeping an eye on Ban. He was hoping Ban would be okay. Don's Rolls

Ban was mentally focused but the thought of being electrocuted still stuck on his mind. He was still afraid but he kept his eyes forward and kept moving. Ban's Rolls

Kaa stood next to Ike watching everyone and smiled as Theos made it all the way, "You did it!" He was so happy that he wound up hugging Theos and breaking character, he realized it and backed away turning a slight red. "S-Sorry."

Cole remained on the others, happy that Theos was able to adapt so quickly after just one failed attempt, perhaps the others would follow suit.

···········

Theos kept himself low to the ground his belly dragging and his knees and hooves digging in to propel himself forward. His ears and tail were low along with his head as he crawled along. Eventually he was clear of the wires and he stood with a relieved sigh.

"You did it!" Theos chuckled as he was hugged. Theos waved off his apology as he gazed back at the others.

"Come on you can do it," Theos encouraged them. His ears going back as he watched Don and Ban touch the wire by accident. He quieted silently urging Blake and Kemba to go faster until suddenly the wires lowered. He winced as he watched.

"You can get through next time I know you can," Theos encouraged.

Don and Ban had been doing well. They were moving at a good pace, Don stayed behind Ban to watch him. Ban had nearly done it, he was almost at the end. He could see Kaa and Ike and Theos, Kaa smiled at Ban as he was almost through.

"You're nearly there Ban!" Kaa said. Ban had pulled his entire body through the trenches and began to stand up, he was so happy! Then....his tail wagged and he touched the wire, Kaa closed his eyes as Ban was electrocuted his cries of pain hurting Kaa's heart.

Don had gotten scared by Ban's failure and reached out to him which caused him to break form and touch a wire, and he laid in the sand after the shock. "That....didn't just happen. Why does it hurt more the second time....?" Don said backing up.

Ban walked around to the beginning again after already almost making it out, "Darn it! I almost made it!" He said sniffling.

Kaa sighed and shook his head as they made their way back. "Next time fellas."

Blake found himself smirking as the two had made their way back, "Good going Don! You'll beat it next time!" Don glared at him as he passed him by, Blake then tried to continue but felt a tug on his pants. He was confused and looked back to see his pants had caught the wire. He began to sweat and stared wide eyed at it, what could he do? He decided it was best to pull until they ripped but as he tried, the wire began to pull the foundation which would cause the whole thing to fall.

Blake began to worry, "Oh man....not good..." He thought how he could get out of this and then realized that he'd have to undress himself if he planned on getting out and finishing. The thought turned him red and he pictured what the others might think. It took him too long to decided however and the wire came down after the time limit expired.

Kemba had taken it far to slow, and the wire came down on him. "NOOOO!" He yelled before the surge of electricity puffed him out like a cotton ball. Blake laid in the sand reaching for his pant leg now that he had failed and freed it. He was still flushed at almost stripping to win. He and Kemba made their way back to the start.

"Come on! One more go!" Kaa called. Cole looked at them and waved his hand, "GO!" He said. Kemba, Ban, Don and Blake were off again.

They were hurting and tired and they began slowing down. Kemba wanted so badly to reach Theos, he could see his smiling face at the other side. It was spurring him on.

Don took charge of Ban this time, not wanting to get distracted. He wanted so badly to make it.

Ban kept pace with his brother, reminding himself not to wag his tail until he was safe on the other side.

Blake tied his pant sleeves to keep them from snagging on the poles, he would not be beaten again!

Kemba's rolls: 5zjxcY41

Don's Rolls:

Ban's Rolls:

Blake's Rolls: ···········

Theos watched eagerly cheering them on. He pranced back and forth between them hoping they would all make it. His tail wagged a mile a minute. Especially as Blake made it through. Theos offered him a high paw then turned to watch the others his tail slowing to a stop as he watched them fail once more. He winced and was thankful he had only got one shock. Although one had been more than enough to make him not want it to happen again. 

They were being too careful. Ike had to wonder how much more they would have to struggle before his father told them to just move on. They couldn't spend all day on one obstacle. They had wasted close to an hour already given how long it took to shake off those shocks. Ike had learned quickly not to play with his fathers training. 

Blake had made it across and returned Theos's high five, he turned and gave one to Kaa and Ike as well. "With no distractions I was able to finally make it!" Blake said, he was slightly upset that it took him this long but he didn't doubt he'd be able too.

The wires came down again on top of the last three, weary and hurting they felt the electricity one more time. There yells of agony melding together in unison, the wires rose and they lay in their trenches a moment before moving. "Tsk....how could I be this weak?" Don said disgusted by his performance.

Kemba clenched a paw and beat the ground, "Failed again." Ban was tired and he missed his best chance at passing and he furled his lip as the pain settled in his body. Cole shook his head, "That is enough! You three are finished." Cole said. "We need to move on." Cole moved over to the next course.

Kaa noticed his brothers defeated looks and approached them, "You guys did your best, don't feel bad." He said holding their shoulders. "Easy for you to say, you made it on your first try." Don replied. Ban nodded, Kaa gave a nervous chuckle.

Kemba walked over to Theos and shook his head, "That gets harder and harder the more you fail at it." Blake nodded, "Of course because the electricity directly effects the bodies muscles and tires you out easier. There would come a point you'd be unable to beat it eventually."

"Alright!" Cole sounded, his voice echoing throughout the hall. "I am very disappointed in you lot! This is not a game! You're not winning or losing! This isn't here so you could have fun! Every time you fail at any of these courses, you can consider that your death in the war! As far as you all should be concerned no one except Kaa and Ike made it to even see the second day! That is unacceptable! You want to fight yet you treat this as a game! If you don't focus now how can I expect you to focus on the battlefield? Or perhaps your okay with me coming back to camp after battle and announcing to King Cora that I have to bury one of his children?"

Kemba frowned at Cole's words, perhaps they were treating this to much like a game. Cole was serious and their lives were on the line after today, every loss counted as a death and he died three times in the first day. Blake looked down at the ground and thought on it, he'd have to show Cole he wasn't playing games here.

Don was taking this seriously, which made his losses even bitter to swallow and Ban felt like he was being scolded and ducked his head.

Cole patted the bow gun loaded with arrows. "Now your next task is to take the enemy's rangers. Ranged fighters are skilled at picking off foot soldiers and you should expect heavy rain of something. Rangers are protected at the back of the main forces making it difficult to deal with. This will test how quickly you can get and eliminate the rangers. You will need to pay attention to the flurry of dull arrows flying at you, this will test your resilience as well as reflexes."

"All you have to do is press this button on the gun to stop it. Now these arrows won't pierce your body but they will hurt. Bad. Now, get yourselves ready."

COURSE ONE COMPLETE!

Exp awarded: 950



Kemba looked to Theos, he didn't want to let him down. He'd give it his all this time. Blake felt like this was his specialty, but he didn't want to be to confident. It was a while since he had tested his reflexes.

Don would not allow himself to be beaten so easily in this segment. Kaa looked at Ban who was surprisingly focused he smiled and got ready on his own.

Cole looked at the boys and raised his hand, "Begin!" He said releasing the arrows and the sky filled with them. They were off to stop the arrows.

Kemba's Rolls: djXNNt0j

Kaa's Rolls:

Don's Rolls:

Ban's Rolls:

Blake's Rolls: ··············

Theos watched them his tail sagging. The poor guys they had to in pain. Their failure didn't help their confidence either. This was way harder than any of them thought it would be.

"That gets harder and harder the more you fail at it." Blake nodded, "Of course because the electricity directly effects the bodies muscles and tires you out easier. There would come a point you'd be unable to beat it eventually."

"It's okay," Theos said nuzzling him. It made sense though. Just one shock had worn him out a bit. He could only imagine three in a row would tire him endlessly.

"Alright!" Cole sounded, his voice echoing throughout the hall. "I am very disappointed in you lot! This is not a game! You're not winning or losing! This isn't here so you could have fun! Every time you fail at any of these courses, you can consider that your death in the war! As far as you all should be concerned no one except Kaa and Ike made it to even see the second day! That is unacceptable! You want to fight yet you treat this as a game! If you don't focus now how can I expect you to focus on the battlefield? Or perhaps your okay with me coming back to camp after battle and announcing to King Cora that I have to bury one of his children?"



Theos thought about his encouragement while they were fighting. He had been talking in the middle of a battle and not focusing. His ears went back as he realized to him he was treating it like a game. That was not something he could do on a battlefield.

Ike knew his father too well to treat his training as a game. He was focused and ready to go at a moments notice. There was only one way to win and that was to survive.

"Now your next task is to take the enemy's rangers. Ranged fighters are skilled at picking off foot soldiers and you should expect heavy rain of something. Rangers are protected at the back of the main forces making it difficult to deal with. This will test how quickly you can get and eliminate the rangers. You will need to pay attention to the flurry of dull arrows flying at you, this will test your resilience as well as reflexes."

"All you have to do is press this button on the gun to stop it. Now these arrows won't pierce your body but they will hurt. Bad. Now, get yourselves ready."


Theos prepared himself for the second round. He was ready. He prided himself in his ability to jump and run. He could do this. He could dodge those arrows and live to see another day. He hunched his shoulders ready to bolt on the mark.

Theos:GfD3Uscu

Ike:·····

The arrows flew through the air. There was so many and the boys were doing their best to dodge as they got closer to the bow guns shooting them.

Kaa and Don were keeping pace with one another, dodging as arrow after arrow flew past them. Their sharpened gaze eyeing every one that got near them, but they could not see them all. Kaa felt the sting of one in the shoulder and he cringed but remained focused. He pressed on as Don took one in the stomach, it felt like he had been punched. He wondered what the heads had been carved out of.

They danced through the rain of arrows and each received several more. Chest, head, tail, spine and neck. Each leaving a dull pain, but they had made it through with shortened breath. They pressed the button at nearly the same time and glared at one another. Their stare was intense and then they both smiled at the other and turned to see Ban press his button.

"Ban you did it." Don said surprised, "Good job." Kaa added. Ban nodded, "Those arrows hurt...but I didn't want to let you guys down again. They hit me all over..." He said pointing to the lumps on his arms legs and chest. Don nodded, "Yes...they certainly hurt...I'm going to be icing these lumps all night." Kaa laughed, "Yea will...at least I got to share in the pain this time.

Blake had made it as well, "DAMN! Those arrows hit HARD!" He said, "I nearly got clobbered in the uh...well never mind. Ahem." The triplets chuckled and looked to see who still hadn't made it and noticed the swift and nimble movements of Theos.

His ability to dodge and see every arrow come his way was jaw dropping. The triplets looked to Theos and couldn't keep their eyes from him, their tails were wagging in unison, Blake noticed and smiled. Theos made quite the impression on these three.

As Theos made it across Ban ran to greet him pressing against him and rubbing his head on Theos's neck with a smile. "Way to go Theos!" Kaa cheered resisting the urge to hug him, Don clapped his claws and smiled. "That's our guardian for you, a truly amazing individual."

Blake looked back to see Ike and Kemba struggling. He frowned at them, Kemba weaved through avoiding most of the arrows but his form was disrupted and he was still feeling the effects of the last course. Why was he struggling? He was so upset with himself that his mind became clouded and he lost focus.

He was hit with an arrow in his leg and he cringed at the pain falling into several more arrows, until one hit him in the nose sending him to his back and blood from his nose into the air. He laid there teary eyed, why couldn't he do this? What was wrong with him? He was so confident last night, he wanted to do good by Theos and yet he continually failed him.

"I failed again...." Kemba said as Cole stopped the arrows. He looked at Kemba and Ike who had failed as well. "You're both dead...Kemba this is your fourth death. Pick it up. I have to reload the guns. You have a three minute reprieve." Cole looked at Blake, "Help me reload them." Blake nodded and went to pick up the arrows.

The triplets looked at Theos and then to Kemba, "Poor Kemba....he was so sure of himself." Kaa said his head drooping. Kemba remained there staring up at the ceiling, "How can I be so pathetic after last night?" Kemba wondered if his determination had been misplaced.

"I think Kemba's feeling it now after being the only one of us to fail so much." Don added, he looked and saw Ike and walked over to him. "Hey Ike, can't believe that very last arrow was the one that got you. You were so close. I'm sure you'll do fine this time but are you doing okay?" He asked.

Kaa and Ban would follow Theos should Theos go to Kemba's side.

Theos eased his way through the arrows. His eyes narrowed in on movement not so much the arrows themselves. His gaze was constantly forward even if his movements weren't. He weaved in and out and jumped over some. Ducked under others and at the end his hoof hit that button with not a scratch which surprised even him. Theos got a surprise hug even as he was trying to catch his breath he smiled just the same.

Ike rushed through dodging where he could and protecting himself when he couldn't. He wasn't very nimble and he lacked the ability to really dodge such fast moving blows. They hurt like heck though. The goal was in sight though and he put on an extra burst only to be hit by a surprise arrow to the knee. He collapsed a bit and snarled rubbing it even as he thought about how to avoid it next time.

"Way to go Theos!" Theos grinned sheepishly. "That's our guardian for you, a truly amazing individual."



Theos looked back to Kemba is smile wavered as he went down. He started walking over to him as soon as Cole stopped the volley. He looked at him worriedly then smiled just a bit.

"I failed again...." Theos started to say something but Cole interrupted. "You're both dead...Kemba this is your fourth death. Pick it up. I have to reload the guns. You have a three minute reprieve." Cole looked at Blake, "Help me reload them."

"How can I be so pathetic after last night?" Theos  thought about it as he sat down beside him.


"You aren't pathetic," Theos said assuredly. "So you don't crawl very fast and you aren't the most nimble. However you can take a punch and keep going. And you are really strong. We all know it. Blake knows it for sure. He faced you in the arena and you lasted nearly ten rounds. Your durable and strong and smart. Don't let anyone or anything else tell you differently."

"Hey Ike, can't believe that very last arrow was the one that got you. You were so close. I'm sure you'll do fine this time but are you doing okay?" He asked.



"Yeah," Ike said getting up. "It's just not my strong point....you made it though congratz." Ike said eyeing a few of Don's bruises. Ike's arms were just as bad from where he had been protecting himself.