STRUGGLES IN TRAINING

Inside the training room, all of the students followed their mentor’s instructions on hand-to-hand combat. Throughout the training section, they learn to fight the drones using quick and precision tactics. Though, the brothers have their own struggles. Hermed fights his drones too quickly, even when he’d beat some of them, the rest of them overwhelm him. For Caider, he fights aggressively, breaking the drones even when he gets hurt.

Suddenly, the drones stop attacking the brothers due to the commands from their mentor, Hestia. She walks up to them with her eyebrows down a little.

“Boys, you mustn’t fight alone,” Hestia says. “If an enemy sees this, they can easily overwhelm you both.”

“Puff… S-Sorry,” Hermed says, catching his breath. “J-Just…pant, trying to… k-keep up with them, Master.”

Hestia turns towards Caider, holding the head of a drone. Sparks of electricity spill out from below it. She asks him, “And you, Caider. What seems to be bothering you?”

Caider looks down at the broken drone, then at his brother. Some sweat forms on his skin. Hestia lowers her eyebrows.

“I see. Fighting with anger isn’t going to help,” Hestia says to Caider. Her eyebrows furrow as she lowers her mouth. “It could lead into losing trust in others, putting others in danger, and may get them killed.”

Caider’s hands shake. As he drops the drone’s head with quivering lips he says to her, “I-I didn’t know. I-I just c-can’t let them hurt him.”

“You can still protect your brother, if you learn to trust him. Just as I did with my partner.”

“I’m not like you, I-I just,” Caider says, sobbing.

Hestia approaches him, kneels down to his level, and hugs him. Caider’s eyes widen.

“You don’t have to be like me,” Hestia says, softly with a smile. “Just be the best being you can be.”

Caider stops sobbing, before hugging her back. That voice…the way she talks. I-It’s just like…

Hermed wipes the sweat off him, ready to continue training. He sees his brother standing there frozen from Hestia hugging him. He chuckles a bit, before walking over. Hermed stands by Caider and after he’s finished hugging her, he asks him, “So, ready to give it another go?”

He reaches his hand out to his brother. Caider pauses for a moment, turning around seeing Hestia smiling with a nod. He turns back to his brother and says, “Y-Yea, I… think I am.”

The brothers walk over to the drone, both looking at each other and nod, standing together in unison. As Hestia commands the drones to attack, they circle around the brothers, trapping them in place before attacking. Hermed punches the charging drone directly on its metal head before sending it away from him. He attacks another, and with several punches he destroys its circuits, causing it to malfunction. One drone attempts to attack Hermed while he isn’t looking, but Caider pulls it away and rips its arms off, before knocking it over to the other drones.

“Nice one,” Hermed says, cheering.

“T-Thanks,” Caider stutteringly replies.

Together, the brothers break and crush some of them, one by one. Hestia watches them in awe. The other students cheer them on after they beaten their drones. The last remaining drones use all their power in an attempt to stop them. The brothers do the same, using their remaining energy to charge straight through all of them.

Parts of the drones scatter in the air at different directions, with some of them still attached. Their parts fall to the ground with a loud clang, leaving the brothers panting. As they fall on their backs, the students cheer.

“You did it!” one student shouts.

“That fight was amazing!” another student says.

“You show them what’s what!” a third student yells.

The brothers catch their breaths. They turn to look at each other and laugh. Hermed says to his brother, “You did great, Caider.”

“I know, thank you,” Caider says, smiling. He turns his head to the ceiling. “Our parents will be proud, right?”

“Yea,” Hermed says, laughing and looking up as well with his brother. “I bet they are.”

As they lie down, Hestia looks on, smiling at the two of them, proudly. You did very well. My fateful students…

Franklyn Coss Vargas stays in the neighborhoods of Clermont. He is determined to make stories for future show. He plays games and watches cartoons with his sister when he is not writing.