Bet On It

"Did I really fall asleep while you were talking to me?"

Jett and Neon were seated on one of the couches in the protocol's common room, biding their time until Sage arrived to delegate the morning's training assignments. Phoenix sat in a chair opposite them, clearly amused at the prospect of Jett passing out mid-conversation, and several other agents occupied the adjacent spaces. By all means, it was a rather slow morning, yet even the team's resident latecomers were up and ready to go- apart from Phoenix, Raze was across the room with Killjoy, and the two of them were excitedly tinkering with some small, robotic contraption. Notably, Sova was absent.

As was Hazal, but that was far more commonplace.

"Yup." Neon flashed a grin in Jett's direction. "Right in the middle of my sentence, actually. You're lucky it wasn't anything important, else I would've zapped you back awake." She wiggled her hands in a dramatic fashion, causing sparks of blue and yellow electricity to crackle at her fingertips. Having decided to let Jett stay as part of their spontaneous sleepover, Neon was luckily able to have drifted off soon afterwards. Thankfully, the disruption to her usual sleep schedule hadn't affected her too much, and she still felt energized as usual. Jett was a bit of a different story, however- the white-haired radiant had a bit of a drowsy air about her, but she was still as vocal as ever. Shuddering at Neon's joking threat, she grinned in response.

"Well, I'm thankful it didn't come to that -" She laughed.

"Personally, I think you should've done it anyway." Phoenix nodded in Neon's direction. "It's always funny when Jett gets woken up out of the blue." Unamused by the comment, Jett playfully smacked him in the arm. Neon chuckled, much to her friend's chagrin, and held up her arms to defend herself when Jett turned to her instead.

"Agh! No! I'm sorry!" She laughed, even as Jett hit her over the head with a nearby pillow. The duelist withdrew after a moment, melodramatically slouching to stretch further across the couch.

"You both are so mean to me." She grumbled, but the smile did not fade from her expression. "I need new friends."

"Aww, c'mon now, Jett!" Phoenix leaned inwards. "You know you love us."

"Yeah!" Neon chimed in, leaning her head in her hand as she shifted towards the arm of the couch. "It's our sworn duty as your friends to make fun of you whenever possible." Phoenix nodded in emphasis, and Jett merely rolled her eyes.

As footsteps sounded from the adjacent hallway, however, Jett sat back up, and all of the other agents seemed to immediately straighten themselves. Neon glanced over at the clock, curious as to how much time had passed since she'd first entered the common room. She'd been careful enough to make her way out at about six-thirty without disturbing her friend, who'd followed about half an hour later. The quick look over provided that it was currently seven-fifty.

Huh, they were a bit early.

As Sage rounded the corner, several of the agents voiced their greetings, and Sage smiled in response. After a moment, Sova appeared behind her, and then… Hazal? Neon frowned, a bit curious as to why the three had entered together- a sentiment which seemed to be shared among her peers, as a noticeable hush fell over the room once the nightmare radiant came into view. If Hazal noticed the shift, she didn't show it, simply standing, arms folded, at Sage's side. After a moment, she did look over at Tala, who flashed a faint smile. She seemed to register it, but quickly looked away.

As Sage reached the center of the room, she came to a confident halt, her expression becoming vaguely coy. "Good morning, everyone. Thank you, as always, for being here- especially so early." With the addendum, she looked directly at Phoenix, who promptly looked away in a sheepish manner. "As of today, our newest agent, Fade, has been cleared for training. And, as such, I would like to take this opportunity to assess her abilities in the field alongside some of you." Sova nodded.

"In addition to myself, Fade will be a secondary recon agent." He explained. "However, the nature of her abilities renders most radiance training with the bots… ineffective. So, if anyone feels compelled to participate in a warm-up exercise, be my guest."

"I'm always down for a chance to show my skills!" Phoenix immediately perked up, leaning forwards in his seat. Fade smirked at his confidence, clearly amused by her coworker's brashness. Sage, however, held up a hand.

"While I appreciate your enthusiasm, Phoenix, we are going to handle things a little differently today." The monk explained, and the fire radiant slumped back in his seat. "Because we are pitting radiant ability against radiant ability, we are limiting this exercise to those with abilities that do not inflict physical damage. I do not wish to see anyone in the infirmary today." At that, Neon raised a hand.

She'd faced Hazal once already, under different circumstances, and she'd been completely overwhelmed. Unknowing that they were going up against a radiant, let alone one who possessed the power to wield literal nightmares , the ground team had been entirely unprepared for Hazal's retaliation. Now that she knew, to some degree, the powers that their curious newcomer possessed, Tala wanted a second shot.

"I'll do it." She grinned. "I'll just stick to my more passive abilities." Sage nodded affirmatively, and Neon rose from her place on the couch. Another glance over at Hazal provided that she was, surprisingly, smiling.

Kung sa gayon… this should be interesting.

"Count me in!" Skye nodded, heading forth to stand beside Neon. A moment passed, and Jett groaned.

"Y'know what, sure, yeah, me too. Might as well see what we'll be up against if this all goes to shit." The duelist stood as well, stretching idly as she started down the hallway to the armory. It was clear that she wanted things to be over rather quickly. "Besides, I'm never one to turn down a challenge." Sage sighed, but remained diplomatic nonetheless.

"Sova will be joining you as well. I will give everyone five minutes to prepare." She smiled, turning to Killjoy so that they could begin to set up the schematics. Neon dashed down the hallway after Jett, and Sova and Skye followed in quick succession. Fade brought up the rear.

As the group dispersed, however, Yoru made his way away from the wall where he'd been standing and over to Phoenix, where he leaned over with a mischievous smile. "I'll bet you twenty creds she clears them." He proposed. Phoenix merely scoffed.

"Nah- no way mate. They've got her beat!" He retorted.

"So, do we have a deal?"

"You're on!"

– – – – –

The armory intended for training purposes was a smaller, rather dimly-lit room located just down the hall from the main training area. While many agents kept their own training weapons and ammo secure in their lockers, no personal weapons were going to be of use for this exercise. Fade had already been briefed on how things were going to go down- the weapons they'd use were modified specifically for combat training among the agents; they fired paint instead of bullets. If you were hit in the chest, you'd be eliminated and removed from the exercise, no headshots were allowed, etc.

In-between formulating how exactly she and Sova wanted the exercise to progress, Sage had also given Fade a rundown of how training usually progressed. It was far more common for the agents to train with bots; that way, they didn't have to worry about being lethal. Occasionally, however, the agents would be set up in teams to compete against one another. Given the nature of their jobs, it was reasonable to need to know how to counter one another's radiant abilities. As such, reflecting what Sage had said in the common room, this exercise would work a little more like that.

Skye and Sova had struck up friendly chatter as they prepared their various equipment, and likewise Jett and Neon were conversing in hushed tones on the opposite side of the room. Fade could hear bits and pieces of conversation from both parties, but found herself intrigued by neither. Still, she was separate from their world. Perhaps that separation was something needed, however… this exercise would require her full focus and attention. Despite the fact that she'd observed everyone's abilities while lurking in the common room during training sessions, the only ones she'd competed against in-person were Neon and Sova. She'd gotten Neon out of the way with relative ease, but Sova was a different story. Even when blinded by Nightmare, he'd still managed to mark her. Even given that incident in the past, the hunter who never missed a shot truly did seem to live up to his name.

Today, she was counting on him to fail .

Across the room, Jett stole an uneasy glance over at their opponent. She leaned against one of the weapon lockers while Neon finished preparing, apparently oblivious to her disgruntled manner. "I don't understand why you volunteered." She murmured. "You told me what happened at the warehouse. Why put yourself through that again?"

"Because." Neon sighed, shutting one of the locker doors. "I don't think it'll be that bad. This time, we know what she can do- it won't be a surprise." In all honesty, she believed that the reason Hazal had been able to evade them the first time was solely because of how unprepared they'd been. They were going up against an unknown adversary, equipped with only the knowledge that their blackmailer had too much information and ill-intent. KAY/O had come to the rescue and suppressed her before she could get away, and in response, the ground team had hastily informed Brimstone of her radiant status. Neon herself was antsy for redemption- she was a force of nature; she wasn't about to go down so easily a second time.

In comparison, Jett still seemed unsure, which admittedly irked Neon. Sure, the claims made in the dossier were false, and sure, Hazal made no effort to rescind them. Sunwoo had every right to hold a grudge, but still, Neon thought she was coming off a bit too harsh. If the comment she made in the hallway was any indication, Neon knew her friend had no intention of even trying to warm up to the newcomer. It was understandable, and yet she found herself swiftly growing weary of the infighting.

"Besides- you volunteered too, Jett." Neon smiled, adjusting the bracers on her arms. Before Jett could respond, however, the duelist strode away from her friend and towards the opposite side of the room, where Hazal was likewise finishing her preparations. "Hey, Fade!" She called, prompting the other woman to glance up. Seeing as she was rather engrossed in the task at hand, she did so with a frown, though it softened once she realized who was approaching her. Neon grinned, coming to a stop just a few feet away with her hands on her hips. "Wanna make a wager?"

Fade looked her up and down suspiciously, though admittedly she was intrigued. "What do you have in mind?" She inquired after a moment, crossing her arms as she leaned against the weapons locker.

"Well-" Neon began. "How about this: if my team wins today, you have to answer some more of my questions." The dream seer smirked, clearly amused.

"And if I win?"

Finally, she seemed to be getting somewhere.

"Name your price."

Hazal seemed to think for a moment. "You buy me coffee."

"That's it?"

"I'm a simple woman." Hazal shrugged, smug as always. Disregarding the duelist's frown of confusion, she held out a hand. Underneath the glove and wrappings, Neon observed faded henna curling around her palm. "Do we have a deal?"

Tala reached out her own hand, shaking Hazal's firmly. "We do." She grinned, and to her surprise, Fade smiled in response, leaning back to shut the locker.

At that moment, the doors to the armory opened, revealing Sage and Killoy at the ready. The latter was holding a datapad in her hand, and she pushed up her glasses, preparing to speak. "I hope you all are prepared." A mischievous grin flitted across her face. "I've designed a whole new arena for this. Consider it a trial run!"

"Yes-" Sage smiled. "Killjoy has been rather excited to test her newest designs. And, frankly, I am excited to see how this progresses."

"Ja." The inventor nodded. "If nothing else, it should be very entertaining- ahem." She ceased speaking following a stern look from Sage, but quickly found herself smiling again.

"Fade, please come with me-" The Sentinel instructed. "The rest of you will accompany Killjoy. You will be starting on opposite sides of the arena." With that, she turned and started down the hallway, and Killjoy did the same. Skye and Sova collected their gadgets and followed suit, and after a moment, so did Hazal. Before she was fully out of the room, however, she spun on her heels and spoke once more.

"Don't worry." The initiator smirked. "I'll go easy on you." Though she spoke to the both of them, her gaze didn't move from Neon, and she winked before disappearing around the corner.

Jett scoffed, crossing her arms in disdain, but even so, she wasn't one to turn down a good competition. "Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "As if she'll even have the chance to."

Neon chuckled, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder as the duo started out of the room. " Come on, kabogera . Let's win this!"