“I don’t get it.” One of the Mentors in the Skybox commented as they looked down at the sitting Zac.

  “What don’t you get?” Devin asked

  “Zac said he had 6 minutes left in the Nano-Armor. I get it draws its power from the user just to work. So why not just deactivate it? Even if he’s just sitting there, having that thing active is draining, right? Also, why make Nano-Armor like that anyway?” The Mentor rambled. Devin chuckled and responded.

  “I know what you’re thinking. That Nano-Armor will never work for other Chasers. The Nano-Machinces in your body will take the foreign Nano-Machine of the Armor as a threat. The two will clash, more than likely destroying your body in the process.”

  “Surely there’s a way to program the Nano-machines of the Armor to mask their presence to prevent such a thing, and why have it fueled by the Bioenergy of the body? Burning blood seems extreme.” Another Mentor asked.

  “Zac’s body is odd, even when you compare it to Kenji, a fellow Taboo Child. He heals and recovers about 15% less effectively than Program Chasers. Which is substantially higher than a normal human.” Dr. Varma interjected.

  “But still, there must have been a more effective power source.” Someone blurted out.

  “Of course, but Zac is as paranoid as he is special. It runs on his Bioenergy and only his Bioenergy. So even if he dies, no one can activate it to study and possibly duplicate it. In fact, from what he told me. If he dies while wearing that Armor, each individual nano-machine will explode, disintegrating his body along with the Armor.” Devin stared at the Mentors who kept trying to pry into the creation of that Nano-Armor.

  He saw the greed in their eyes. Chasers always craved more power; it was like a drug. That Nano-Armor of Zac’s was like a juicy steak laid bare before hungry beasts. However, Devin’s words and demeanor dumped cold water on their thoughts. Only Zac and The Twins knew the ins and outs of that Armor. They‘d be lucky if Zac shared a greeting with them; there was no way he would share his secrets. As for The Twins, they had an odd codependent relationship with Zac, and the possibility of them sharing the secrets of the Armor the three of them made together was even less likely.

  “Ok, that’s all well and good, but that still didn’t answer my first question. Why keep it activated instead of recovering?” The first Mentor asked again.

  “Zac is a lot softer than you guys think. He doesn’t open up to people often, but it’s a profound thing when he does. I’d been interested in him since we first met 4 years ago. Still, I always hesitated because I wasn’t sure I was ready for something so… intense.” Dr. Varma smiled.

  “Oh god…” Helena groaned as she looked at Dr. Varma’s smiling face. Dr. Varma cleared her throat and continued,

  “Anyway, Zac had taken quite a liking to this batch of recruits. Even took a mentee for the first time. Imagine if he ended up killing them? He’d be devastated. So he’s giving them every advantage that he can.”

  Devin nodded in agreement, and everyone turned their attention toward Zac sitting on the ground. They could see the exhaustion on his face, and his breathing became hurried as the seconds passed. However, the hollow look in his eyes sent shivers down their spines. It was like they could see him killing off his own emotions.

  “He's ready,” Devin muttered to himself.

  Back on the training grounds, Zac wordlessly stood up. Watabe opened his eyes as the electro beads hovering around the area rushed towards him.

  “Everyone ready up!!” Watabe shouted.

  Ume stopped pounding Genkei’s chest, and the two jumped to Watabe’s side. Akiko stood up as the plasma blade hummed with renewed power. The heat it emitted scorched the ground as it grazed over it. Kenji, who had been in deep thought this entire time, looked over his shoulder as he stared at Zac. He flinched as their eyes met. When they had locked eyes before , Kenji felt an instinctive competitiveness spring forth. This time there was a primal fear that gripped him.

  “Be careful; he will kill us this time.” Kenji blurted out to the rest of the group.

  Watabe and Ume nodded their heads, they didn’t have the same deep feeling as Kenji, but the look in Zac’s eyes was too unnerving for them not to pick up on the change. Without warning, Zac performed an underhanded throw with his dagger toward the group. They all jumped out of the way in different directions. Still, as the dagger passed by, Watabe felt something and noticed a subtle glimmer trailing the dagger.

  “Everyone, protect your vitals!!” Watabe shouted as he sent out a shock towards the glimmer. This shock disabled the cloaking around the black Nano-armor wire attached to the dagger. Just as Watabe shouted and revealed the wire. Thousands of thin spike pillars extending from the wire, threatening to riddle the 5 of them with holes. Watabe’s electro beads formed a tight barrier around him held together through magnetism. The spiked pillars could not break their way through. Kenji extended his free hand to try and stop the spikes from extending, but he could only stop the ones approaching him; the best he could do for the others was slow them down slightly.

  However, that slight decrease in speed gave the group the time needed to respond. Ume erected roots in front of herself to avoid damage. Akiko sliced the incoming pillars with elegant precision. Genkei couldn’t pinpoint and absorb the impact of all those tiny individual spikes; he wasn’t that skilled yet. So he would just have to take the hit, crossing his large arms over his torso to protect his most vital areas.

  “Is everyone ok?” Watabe called out.

  “Never better,” Ume responded.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Kenji confirmed.

  “Of course.” Akiko chirped.

  “I could be bett-” Before Genkei could give his sarcastic response, he was cut off by the hole that just exploded through his chest.

  “Genkei!!!” Ume shouted as a black-clawed hand appeared.

  Zac had cloaked himself and stabbed Genkei through the back. Before they had a chance to process what was happening. Zac brought his gun up to the side of Genkei’s head.

  “No!” Kenji shouted as he jerked his free hand upward. Zac's hand followed Kenji’s motion as he pulled the trigger. Zac’s shot was fired off into the ceiling rather than Genkei’s head.

  Ume didn’t waste this chance. A root sprouted out of the ground behind Zac, grabbing his hand that held the gun. The root then flicked Zac across the training ground, prying his arm out of Genkei’s chest and sending Zac tumbling across the ground. The others quickly ran towards Genkei, who had fallen to his knees. Gripping the hole in his chest.

  “I’ll be fine; I need a few seconds to regenerate,” Genkei said as he coughed up blood.

  Kenji and the others looked over at Zac, slowly getting up and dusting himself off. That entire opening was to take out Genkei as fast as possible. He was the shield and their healer, essentially the linchpin in their formation. So Zac should be pushing his advantage while Genkei is recovering.

  “Why isn’t he attacking?” Ume muttered. Then her eyes widened.

  “Watabe check Genkei now!” She shouted.

  Watabe wasted no time and immediately placed his hands on Genkei’s shoulder.

  “Somethings wrong. I’m not regenerating.” Genkei mumbled as he coughed up more blood.

  They all looked over at Zac, who was smiling darkly at them. The Nano-armor mask then covered his face.

  “Kenji and Akiko, stall him. I’ll protect Watabe while he tries to help Genkei.” Ume blurted out. Kenji and Akiko glanced at each other and charged forward.

  Zac’s head tilted to the side as his cloak bent light around him, and he vanished from sight. Kenji’s head then jerked in Ume’s direction. Kenji and Akiko halted in their tracks and raised their guard.

  “Look out, Ume!!” Kenji shouted.

  “Dammit.” Ume immediately formed a barrier of roots around her Watabe and Genkei. A burst of Bioenergy clashed against the roots at that moment. Zac had ignored Kenji and Akiko and gone straight for Genkei again.

  “He’s earnest. He’s trying to kill us….” Akiko stuttered as everything finally sank in.

  She was sure under normal circumstances, Zac would have played around with her and Kenji, leaving Watabe and Genkei to their own devices.

  “Watabe, I don’t know how long they can hold him back. He’s very determined to kill Genkei.” Ume reported.

  “I’m doing the best I can. I can only do so much off feeling. It’s like the Nano-machines are at war with themselves.” Watabe said as he tried to determine what he was sensing inside Genkei’s body.

  “Get him off us!” Ume shouted.

  “We’re on it,” Kenji shouted as he extended his hand.

  He couldn’t see Zac, but he could feel the charged particles of Zac’s cloak. Kenji waved his hand to the left and tossed Zac off to the side. There was a thudding sound as the dirt kicked up. Zac rolled onto his feet as he came back into view. Akiko wasted no time. With a burst of speed, she was on Zac’s right sending a slash at his side. Zac tried to jump away but was held in place by Kenji, halting his momentum. An annoyed grunt escaped from behind Zac's mask. As he brought up his dagger to block Akiko’s plasma blade.

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  The dagger was layered with dense Bioenergy and successfully blocked Akiko’s initial attack. However, Akiko didn’t stop; she threw a flurry at Zac. She was a Chaser, and she was positive that she had the advantage in speed.

  “How?!” Akiko shouted in surprise.

  None of the strikes managed to break Zac’s defense. And she couldn’t even tell if she was pressing him, as his face was covered by that damn mask.

  “Dammit.” She cursed as she disengaged.

  As she jumped away, Kenji rattled off 3 shots from his gun, and Zac felt the pressure holding him in place disappear. He leaped away from the shots but noticed the energy trailing him. Not only that, but there was something hidden within the energy. Zac leaped behind cover only for the three shots to curve around the debris to give chase. Zac came to a stop and slashing the energy in two

  When Zac slashed the energy, he aimed at the Electro Ball that he saw was hidden within. He was confident that Kenji knew he couldn’t take him out with those shots. But the electro beads could cause complications with the Nano-Armor. The smartest thing to do would be to dispose of them. However, Kenji knew Zac would never fall for such a simple ploy.

  “Got you!” Kenji said with a smile on his face.

  The electro beads were sliced apart, but as they were, six smaller electro beads fell out. Under Kenji’s influence, the 18 miniature electro beads latched onto the shocked Zac. They then emitted an electric current before each exploded in kinetic energy.

  “Ergh!” Zac let out a grunt as he flew into the air.

  Not missing this chance, Akiko appeared before him once again. She slashed down at him, sending out a flying plasma blade. Zac knew he could not avoid this in his position. Akiko could also control the flight path of the blade. He opted to receive the blow. The plasma blade managed to cut through the Nano-Armor, and leave a shallow cauterized wound on Zac's forearm. He crashed to the ground, and Kenji increased the momentum of his descent. There was a small crater at the location where Zac hit, and before Zac could gather himself, roots wrapped themselves around his limbs.

  “Create a false shell to hide smaller electro beads inside. I didn’t know Franky’s Program could alter the size of weapons he had absorbed.” Zac spoke.

  “It can’t do anything drastic. A few centimeters at best. So in most cases, there’s no point. But for the electro beads, well...” Kenji explained with a smile.

  “And you used Genkei’s Program combined with Franky’s to alter the properties of the electro beads, allowing Kinetic energy to be stored in them. Then you reabsorbed them to save its new state as a different weapon, so they could be used freely, without the need to re-incorporate Genkei’s Program?” Zac asked.

  “Damn, you figured that all out from seeing it once?” Kenji said with a shocked expression.

  “Truly a great and undervalued Program. Very impressive execution. You created something unique. The first of many, I’m sure.” Zac muttered.

  “Do you yield, sensei?” Ume asked nervously. Zac’s voice was too calm for her liking. Akiko and Kenji had done a fantastic job of stalling, but Watabe hadn’t made any headway on helping Genkei, and there were still,

  “Two Minutes remaining.” Zac’s unconcerned voice rattled off.

  Ume, Akiko, and Kenji all tense up, as Zac has no intention of stopping until the time is up. The Nano-Armor split apart, exposing Zac’s body as it shredded the roots. At that exact moment, black spikes exploded from the ground beneath Kenji and Akiko. They were forced to retreat but not before suffering some superficial wounds of their own.

  Those spikes returned to the ground, and Zac rose to his feet as the black Nano-Armor began to cover his body again. When Ume saw this, she was struck with a sudden realization. She then turned her head towards Genkei,

  “It’s the Nano-Armor!! It’s invading his body, and the Nano Machines are fighting it off!” Ume relayed the information to Watabe.

  Watabe immediately understood what was going on. When Zac pierced Genkei at the start, he left a piece of the Nano-Armor inside Genkei. The Nano-Machines would immediately see the foreign Nano-Machines as a threat, wreaking havoc on Genkei’s body. Destroying it faster than even he may have been able to regenerate. Watabe immediately began to seek out the area in Genkei’s body that was the most chaotic. It didn’t take him long. He couldn’t sort out everything specifically, so he just needed to shut down those areas and let the nano-machines do the rest.

  There were a series of shocks that sparkled over Genkei's body. But soon, 4 thin black bars were pushed out of Genkei's open wound, and the hole in his chest began to heal. Those black bars wiggled to life and then shot into the ground.

  “Dammit,” Watabe said as he was just about to reach for them before they escaped.

  “So you’re telling me if we get injured but anything produced by that armor, we run the risk of our own nano-Machines tearing us apart?” Genkei spoke as he fully healed and gathered himself.

  “Seems like it. Oh no, shit!” Ume said as Kenji and Akiko were just injured not moments ago.

  Just as she said this, she heard Akiko shout in pain as she doubled over. Ume quickly lowered the root barrier, and Watabe and Genkei wasted no time. While Akiko was doubled over in pain, she looked at Kenji and saw him paralyzed in place, was he fighting off the invading Nano-armor? She didn’t have time to think about what was going on with him; Zac was already heading straight towards the sitting duck that was Akiko.

  Wordlessly, Zac pointed his gun at Akiko, rattling off several shots. Akiko had the presence of mind to block her vital areas, but the shot pierced her arms, shoulders, and legs. Before she recovered, she let out another blood-curdling scream. Those shots were not just Bioenergy; Zac had added pieces of the Nano-Armor into those shots. The pain had become unbearable, and she fell to her knees. Akiko’s head exposed, Zac took aim.

  “No!” Kenji shouted as he finally came out of his stupor. And held out his hand, the Bioenergy stopped, and so did the shrapnel of Nano-Armor.

  Kenji made a jerking motion and absorbed the piece of Nano-Armor. At that moment, Watabe arrived in front of Akiko, and Genkei was next to Zac, sending a punch to the side of his face. Zac dodged out of the way, only for Genkei’s punch to explode with kinetic energy that knocked Zac off his feet. Zac landed on his knee, sliding to a stop, and sprang towards Genkei. A large root sprouted in Zac’s way, and he looked over at Ume in the distance.

  “Dammit, they’re far more coordinated than before.” Zac thought to himself. The two of them worked annoyingly well together. Genkie was a powerhouse, and Ume was a fortress. Any opening he found was sealed tight by Ume, allowing Genkei to attack to his heart's content.

  While Ume and Genkei stalled Zac, Watabe had already forced the pieces of Nano-Armor out of Akiko. As the pieces fell to the ground, Kenji motioned with his hand, and the pieces floated into his hand and were absorbed.

  “That Program can absorb the Nano-armor without complications?” Watabe asked.

  “Yes, it completely breaks them down before analyzing them. So there’s no danger. Although, the first time was a bit difficult.” Kenji responded.

  “Good, then we don’t have to worry. Akiko, you good?” Watabe asked.

  “Yes…” Akiko said sternly. Blood flowed from her wounds, but she was still well enough to move.

  “Good, let’s go.”

  Zac found himself on the defensive. The sturdy and powerful Genkei, along with the malleable and brilliant Ume, proved quite the annoying combination. They were more wary of his Nano-Armor wounding them, so they were far more alert and defensive. It seemed they had put aside their pride and had simply focused on surviving for the next minute. Zac jumped out of the way as Genkei punched out another wave of kinetic force. The wave burst on the side of him, kicking up dust. Out of the dust, several strong roots sprang towards him. Zac dodged out of the way, but he saw several strains of energy curling around the roots as he dodged.

  He stopped himself from instinctively slashing the energy; it was a decision he regretted. There were indeed electro beads hidden within the energy, but they weren’t Kenji’s. The Electro Ball came to life and quickly surrounded Zac. They let out a jolt that momentarily stunned Zac. A multitude of electro beads sprang out of the dust and surrounded Zac. They sparked to life and formed an electric net around Zac. The dust cleared and showed Akiko standing there motionless, her wounds fully healed thanks to Genkei, and her Plasma blade humming with new life.

  Zac chuckled. Out of the group, Akiko had the most destructive power; if given time, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t be able to destroy, but she still needed time. Everyone had gathered together behind Akiko to protect her while she prepped. However, Zac had no intention of giving them that time. Zac’s Nano-Armor began to recede and then enter the ground. As the Electric net Watabe had formed could not cover underground.

  “Kenji, there’s a mass of Nano-Armor, coming from all sides.” Watabe had memorized the signature of the Nano-Armor and shared the sensation with Kenji.

  “Got it,” Kenji confirmed as he stretched out both hands.

  The ground began to rumble, and the black mass was ripped out of the ground by Kenji as he picked it up on its approach. The mass of Nano-Machines raced towards Kenji under his command and was absorbed into himself.

  “Itadakimasu!” Kenji shouted with a smile as he devoured more than half of what was left of Zac’s Nano-Armor.

  “Burn!” Akiko shouted as she thrust her Plasma blade toward Zac in the distance.

  A blast of plasma surged out, enough to envelope Zac’s body whole. Zac saw the plasma heading his way and could already feel the heat. Half of his body had Nano-Armor, and that was all he needed. An eerily laugh escaped Zac’s lips as the Nano-Armor turned Zac’s right hand into a claw. Powerful Bioenergy surged into his palm.

  “Don’t die on me, kids!!!” Zac shouted, much to the shock of everyone present, as he extended his palm. The blast of Bioenergy shredded through the electric barrier Watabe had created and raced towards the plasma blast. Everyone braced themselves for an explosion, but it never came.

  “Times up.” Devin’s voice echoed through the room. Akiko's Plasma blast and Zac’s Bio blast had vanished. In their place stood Devin. His hands were inside his finely pressed suit pants.

  “Well done, kids. You managed to survive. Alright, everyone, you're dismissed for the evening. At the same time tomorrow, we will be giving you all our final evaluation and discussing what comes next.” Devin spoke with authority. An authority that no one wanted or could deny.

  Even if they felt that things ended a bit anti-climatically, and many wanted to take another shot at Zac, none dared question Devin. They all gave their farewells and made their way toward the door. Only Kenji stopped to stare at Zac for a moment.

  Zac looked like he could barely stand, but somehow he felt that even if the entire recruitment class was to challenge him as he was, the recruits might win, but only after most of them died. Kenji chuckled to himself,

  “What a crazy bastard.”

  After the recruits left, the Mentors made their way down to the training room, and everyone surrounded Zac.

  “What the hell was that, Zac!? Even I knew the best target to kill first wasn’t Genkei. With that opening move, you had any one of them dead to rights. A better target would have been Watabe or Ume. What? Are you playing favorites!!!? huh?!” Helena animatedly shouted.

  “She’s right,” Devin said with a smile. Several of the other Mentors nodded their heads in agreement.

  The others looked confused; they knew how brilliant of a tactician Zac was. They all understood that Genkei was the linchpin of their team, but he wasn’t the engine that made that team go. Taking out Watabe or Ume was the best course of action. They were the heart and soul of that team. While they could still function with one of them leading, their effectiveness would be reduced. They are still recruits, and they don’t know how to properly compartmentalize the death of an ally at the moment. Added to the fact that Watabe and Ume were blood relatives, the shock would be even greater. The team would have crumbled after that. If they could come to that conclusion, then indeed, Zac could have.

  “They were the better targets? That depends on how you look at things. I promised to go at them with the intent to kill. I never said I would go at them with the intent to kill effectively. Besides, do you guys want those kids dead?” Zac shrugged his shoulders.

  “You really like them, don’t you?” Devin smiled at Zac.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zac snapped back.

  “Oh, please look at the Nano-Armor; there’s no way you’d let it get like this if you didn’t. The Twins are gonna be pissed.” Dr. Varma chided.

  “Ah, hell… The Twins, right. Well, shit.” Zac mumbled to himself.

  Everyone took pleasure at Zac’s pained and frightened face, as they followed Devin out of the training grounds.