"Nah."
The room went silent.
Vela blinked. Her one good eye twitched slightly. "What?"
"I said nah." Juli waved his bandaged hand dismissively. "Don't care about any of that mumbo jumbo stuff."
Kade's jaw dropped so hard it could've cracked the floor tiles. His tail went completely rigid. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T CARE?!"
Pam pinched the bridge of her nose. "Here we go again."
Tessa's eyes sparkled. "So cool," she whispered, genuinely impressed.
Vela stared at Juli like he'd just grown a second head. "You... don't want to know about the Four Great Titans? About the man who saved your life?"
"Nope!" Juli grinned despite the pain. "I'll find him myself. Gonna get so strong that I'll track him down and fight right beside him one day. As equals."
Kade grabbed Juli by the shoulders, tears streaming down his feline face. "Please, PLEASE just let her tell us! Do you have any idea how rare this information is?! These are literally the most powerful people in the known universe!"
Juli's bandaged hand shot up and covered Kade's entire mouth. "Nuh uh."
"MMMPH!" Kade's muffled protests were useless.
"If I just get the answers handed to me, what's the point?" Juli's red eyes burned with that same intensity from the Ragnar fight. "I'm gonna become strong enough to stand in front of him without being embarrassed. Strong enough that when I finally meet him again, he'll remember me not as some scared kid he saved, but as someone worth fighting alongside."
Tessa gave a quiet thumbs up, her shy smile genuine.
Pam's stern expression cracked. A real smile, small but there, touched her lips. "Idiot."
Kade finally yanked Juli's hand away. "RED HAIR FRAUD!" he shouted, doing an exaggerated kissing bicep taunt. "I'LL SURPASS THAT OVERHYPED GEEZER FIRST! CRIMSON CLAW STRIKE FORCE ALPHA WILL REIGN SUPREME!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL HIM?!" Juli tried to lunge out of bed.
Two nurses rushed in immediately, pushing him back down. "Patient needs rest!"
"LET ME AT HIM!"
"You're gonna rip your stitches, you moron!"
Tessa and Pam burst out laughing. Even with all the bandages and medical equipment, the scene was too ridiculous not to.
Vela sighed deeply, though the corner of her mouth twitched upward. The annoyed instructor look was back in full force. "Are you four finished?"
The room settled, though Kade was still flexing at Juli from across the bed.
"Since you've all decided to be insufferable," Vela continued, adjusting the sling on her broken arm, "I'll move on to the actual important information. Unit Head Ruskovitz has arranged something special for Team 9."
That got their attention.
"Given that the main tournament is only two months away, and considering what you've already faced," Vela glanced at Juli, "he's endorsed a special teacher to prepare you."
"A teacher?" Pam asked, her silver eyes focused despite not seeing.
"A retired ARMADA Squad vice-captain." Vela's tone carried weight. "Someone with decades of combat experience across multiple sectors. He's... unconventional, but effective."
"How strong?" Kade's competitive fire was already burning.
"Strong enough that Ruskovitz personally flew out to convince him to take you on." Vela's yellow eyes narrowed. "This isn't a request. This is an opportunity. Don't waste it."
Juli's grin widened despite his injuries. "When do we start?"
"As soon as you're cleared for discharge. Two days, maybe three." Vela moved toward the door, her cracked shell visible under the medical patches. "I'll be tied up with the regular cadets and my own recovery. This teacher will have you full time."
"Wait, you're not training us?" Tessa's voice wavered slightly.
"I'm injured, Cadet Merlin. And I have hundred other students who still need instruction." Vela's tone softened just slightly. "But you four have earned something beyond standard academy training. Don't disappoint me."
She left before anyone could respond, the door sliding shut with a soft hiss.
Kade immediately turned to Juli. "A vice-captain level teacher. Do you understand how insane that is?"
"Means we're gonna get way stronger, right?" Juli's eyes gleamed.
"Means we're probably going to die in training," Pam said flatly.
"Exciting," Tessa whispered, though she looked terrified.
...
The sun beat down mercilessly on the desolate landscape. Red dust stretched endlessly in every direction, broken only by scattered rock formations that cast long shadows across the cracked earth. The air shimmered with heat.
A small wooden house sat alone on the horizon, weathered by time and elements. It looked like something out of an ancient Western film, completely out of place in a galaxy of advanced technology and starships.
On the porch, a rocking chair creaked rhythmically.
The figure sitting there was small, maybe four feet tall at most. Chameleon-like features, with scales that shifted colors subtly in the light. Green predominantly, but flickers of brown and orange danced across his skin. He wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat that seemed too big for his head, a duster jacket despite the heat, and boots with worn spurs.
A bottle of soda sat on the wooden armrest. He lifted it slowly, took a long drink, and set it back down with a satisfied sigh.
His eyes, one slightly clouded with age, stared out at the endless horizon. A smile played across his reptilian features. Not a friendly smile. Not a cruel one either.
Just the smile of someone who knew exactly what was coming.
The wind picked up, carrying dust devils across the barren land. In the distance, something howled. The chameleon's eyes tracked the sound without moving his head, his pupils independently rotating.
He took another drink.
The rocking chair creaked.
"Well now," he drawled, voice gravelly like rocks grinding together with a thick Western twang. "Been too quiet 'round these parts."
His hand rested on something beside the chair. A weapon of some kind, wrapped in old cloth. His fingers drummed against it once, twice.
The smile widened just a fraction.
"Let's see what ol' Ruskovitz is sendin' my way this time."
The sun continued its descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and red. The chameleon sat perfectly still except for the gentle rocking of his chair, a statue in the desert, waiting.
Somewhere far away, four cadets had no idea what they were about to walk into.
The wind howled again.
The whiskey bottle caught the dying light.
And the old teacher waited.