The Suite Life X

10 - Training Day, Part 1

The following day, the Suite Life Trio would find themselves at Troia Base for some personal training with their more experienced opposites, mainly so the latter would be able to view and refine their skills in a more controlled environment.

X's command was swift and sure. "Now, fire!"

As Cody fired upon the targets the course in front of him provided, the legendary Hunter noted his high speed and somewhat more questionable accuracy throughout.

And yet, he sensed something else, as well. Small bits of hesitation in his movements. Was he holding back, he thought, or perhaps just not fighting to his full potential?

The thoughts were interrupted as the taller twin finished.

"So, how'd I do?"

"Let's see... Two minutes and thirteen seconds."

Said twin managed a grin in spite of himself. Part of him even wondered if X could top that. It seemed that even here, in this wildly different situation, the overachiever in him still ran strong.

"I guess I'll take my turn, then," the lighter blue reploid said as they switched off.

What followed was what could only be described as a masterclass in speed, accuracy and precision that would put to shame an Olympian as X utterly ripped apart the given objective with extreme prejudice.

Neither hesitation, or even thought went into it. This Hunter did not play with his prey.

"Time?" X asked.

Cody was still trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just seen. "Uh... 56 seconds."

New personal best, the Azure Hunter thought, smiling to himself. "We'll break for now."

---

On the other side of the base, another duo had arrived at a massive shooting range.

"Here we are," Axl announced.

Beyond the entrance was a glass box with a door that led out into a large series of corridors, each containing several metal "cutouts" at various locations. To any Hunter or even casual observer, this would look like a military-grade gallery. Unfortunately, London Tipton was no casual observer.

Frankly, she was still trying to make sense of her surroundings.

Catching onto this, Axl supplied, "You're probably wondering what all of this is."

"Uh, yeah," the girl answered, confusion written on her face.

Axl smirked, clearly enjoying this rare feeling of superiority. This would be fun. "Just watch and learn, then."

What followed was a blur of motion so erratic that the heiress could barely keep up with it despite her mechanically-enhanced senses. When it was over, a good part of the range was charred, but only about half of the targets were actually destroyed. Still, the display was more than enough to impress London.

"Wow," she managed to gasp.

"Your turn," the navy blue reploid said while passing by, blowing smoke off his pistols.

"My turn doing what, exactly?"

He rolled his eyes, wondering how someone could operate while being this dense. "Just shoot all the targets as fast as you can."

Before she could say anything more, the whole area would change to become completely spotless, as if the previous few minutes had never happened.

"Seriously, does everything surprise you?" He asked at the sight of her gaping mouth. "Ugh, never mind. Look, all you need to do is focus and let your instincts do the rest."

"What do you...?"

"You already did it before when you saved me from that bucket of bolts back at the Crash Site. I know you can do it."

Had she been human, she might have blushed at the unexpected reassurance. Instead, she shrugged and tried to focus. Before even she herself realized it, she was buzzing around the arena, blasting down targets at a breakneck pace. Within about five minutes, it was over. Not only was every target destroyed, but it was done with perfect accuracy.

Now it was his turn to be beyond words. "What the... B-But how...?"

London's hand waved over his face as Axl just stood there in stunned silence. "Uh, Axl?"

She ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly. "Geez, and you say I'm easily surprised..."

---

In yet another part of the base was a large, wide-open space, situated behind glass of its own. Zero simply walked to the other side of the room, stopping his student with a hand when he tried to follow him.

"Okay then, what're we doing here?"

More silence, and then Zero took a modest fighting stance without unsheathing his blade. "Come on."

"C-Come again...?"

"We're sparring. Let's go."

Eh, figures, the twin thought as he got ready and charged. Here goes!

The first few hooks Zack threw were easily dodged, the third being rewarded by Zero simply throwing him aside.

The swordsman dropped his stance for a second, apparently leaving himself open. His opponent would take the bait, lashing out at him with a kick, which missed before headbutting him and sending him back to the floor.

Wordlessly, he walked up to Zack, presumably to help him up...

Only to nearly get caught by an attempt at a slash from extended claws.

Real cute, kid.

The other hand did manage to catch him, sending Zero sprawling for once.

Zack smirked, clearly satisfied with getting some sort of victory in this fight.

The Hunter simply shook his head. He often wondered why rookies got so cocky this quickly whenever he left obvious openings like this...

---

Unbeknownst to either party, they had an audience. The blue reploids, done with their training, had come over to watch. Cody was surprised to actually see his brother get a hit on Zero, only for the adversary to turn it back with ease.

X knew his comrade's true strength, though. Staring intently at this scene, he knew one thing for sure: this was practically play-fighting to him, and despite Zack's rather opportunistic fighting style, Zero was clearly far from serious.

He'd credit the twin for being stubborn, though. Perhaps like his twin, he showed some promise, too...