Precisely five minutes to eight, Teacher Drakos arrived at the room where the Twins were waiting.
"Good morning, you two. I'm glad to see you've recovered from yesterday's training, just in time for today's session. I think your Mammy should have explained that the plan has been thrown out the window since you're progressing faster than expected."
The Twins greeted Teacher Drakos and nodded.
"Good. It's best to come into class expecting nothing but the worst; that way, whatever we throw at you might seem less torturous! Now then, ready to start?"
The Twins nodded again.
"Good, now get in there. Once you're inside, I'll explain today's torture."
The Twins entered the Grav Chamber, trepidation filling them. Once the door was closed, Teacher Drakos settled into his chair and began his explanation. "We'll be continuing from where we left off. The Grav Chamber will be set up as it was yesterday, with a magnifier of one hundred. The drills today will be advanced combat drills, and you'll be doing them all day. The Grav Chamber settings will adjust based on the data I'm recording. Got it?"
The Twins nodded.
"Good! Now, get ready! Gravity field activated, START!" Teacher Drakos counted them in.
With music blaring, the Twins launched into their advanced combat drills, making sure their forms were perfect so each rep would be counted. Before long, sweat ran off them in rivulets as they repeated rep after rep.
Like the day before, a crowd started forming outside their room, with teachers remarking on their technique and the magnitude of the magnifier as they watched the Twins push through the training.
"So, it looks like they survived yesterday! And you're celebrating by upping the ante?"
"Hah, survived?! Thrived, more like! These two are monsters. Makes me grateful they're on our side, not against us!" Drakos responded, keeping a watchful eye on the data.
"That bad?"
"Heh, if they're bad, we're no better than newborns! Get my drift?" Drakos growled proudly.
"...!"
"Let me record this data in peace. A lot of people are waiting for it!" Drakos remarked, falling silent as the data showed the Twins had already adapted to the new training.
"Monsters, I tell you, monsters!" he muttered, taking in the speed of their adaptation.
He pressed a button on the window and spoke to the Twins, "Okay, you've not yet passed the hour mark, and you're already adapting. Brace yourselves, I'm activating the interference waves with the same settings as yesterday afternoon. START!"
The Twins prepared themselves, not stopping their drills until the first wave hit. This time, they minimally reacted before continuing, the rep still being counted.
Drakos sat outside with the other teachers, gaping at how quickly they adapted. "Okay, there goes the plan. After the two-hour break, I'll have to adjust the Grav Chamber settings so they're forced to start a new round of adaptation," he muttered, as the other teachers gasped at the Twins' resilience.
"Lucky bastard!" one of them remarked.
"Lucky? I have to review all the data at the end of their session and devise a whole new torture regimen for tomorrow, then pray they don't adapt instantaneously, forcing me to make new plans on the fly!" Drakos spat back.
"..."
"...!"
"It's not that bad, is it?"
"The setting they're using now was supposed to be turned on after lunch!" Drakos roared.
"..."
"...!"
"Fuck."
Drakos nodded vigorously, then turned back to the window, checking the data and feeling a fresh wave of exasperation. Ha, he was getting too old for this!
At the two-hour mark, as the Twins stopped for their break, Drakos began inputting new settings and devised a fresh training plan he hoped would last to the end of the day. Once the settings were ready, he explained to the Twins, "Alright, boys, change of plans. You're adapting too fast, so we're ramping it up. After the break, you'll start with basic drills, and the Grav settings have been doubled—including the interference waves. Hope you get a good workout!"
The Twins nodded and, when time was up, headed back for the next round, hoping it would finally be more exciting as they were growing bored.
"Get ready, gravity field activated, START!" They were counted in and nearly faceplanted onto the floor.
They fought to complete each drill as perfectly as possible, hoping the rep counter would increase, unable to spare any energy to check as they fought against gravity and their own bodies with every repetition.
Drakos grinned as he watched them struggle. This should keep them occupied till day's end, right? He checked the data and frowned as he saw their adaptation values soaring. Within half an hour, they had already adapted again!
"Tomorrow we'll have to do physical sparring. That's the only way now. I'd better ask my brother for help." He muttered as he fired off messages to his brother, Head Nocturne, the Head Masters, Nursery Elders, and finally Mammy.
His terminal rang with holo calls from everyone he'd messaged. He answered so they could see what he was seeing through the Grav Chamber window.
The holo-images flickered as everyone gaped at the scene. "How long have they been in there?" Morgranna demanded, her voice promising endless violence if she didn't receive a satisfactory answer.
"Thirty-five minutes. I ramped up the training again; they'd completely adapted to the previous settings, even with advanced drills!" Drakos replied.
Everyone gasped and immediately asked for the data to be shared, which Drakos did. After reviewing it, they all agreed Drakos had no choice—the Twins were adapting far too quickly.
Then, seeing the current settings, their heads snapped up to look at the Twins happily doing basic combat drills under a gravity magnifier of two hundred and corresponding random interference waves—and their forms were perfect!
"Fuck!" was all that anyone could say. It summed up everything—yet nothing—all at once.
"What's your plan?" Soleil sighed.
"This afternoon, it's advanced combat drills under the same conditions. At the end, I'll have them do free-form drills. Tomorrow, if he's willing, my brother and I will do one-on-one sparring with them first at the previous settings, then again at the current ones. We'll switch partners to keep them from adapting too quickly," Drakos explained, looking at his brother, giving the closest thing to puppy-dog eyes an Infernal could manage.
His brother gave him a scathing look. "If the Head Masters allow it, I have no objections."
Soleil nodded and turned to the Head Masters. After a quick conference, they nodded and logged off. Morgranna scanned the Twins head to toe, then nodded and logged off as well. With the Head Masters' and Morgranna's approval, Soleil looked to Nocturne, who also nodded and then logged off.
"Very well, you have permission to proceed as stated," Soleil said solemnly.
Drakos nodded as the Elders logged off, leaving only his brother, Bub. "I understand why you did what you did, but next time, get Head Master approval before contacting me. I'll be there tomorrow at eight. See you then." He logged off, leaving Drakos alone outside the Twins' training room.
He sighed, feeling both old and like a naughty Child after his brother's reprimand. He stood there, watching the Twins complete their basic drills until lunch, sighing now and then.
At lunchtime, the Grav Chamber turned off, and the Twins emerged, sweating but looking refreshed and happy. Drakos led them to the cafeteria, amazed again at the sheer amount and speed of food disappearing into their stomachs.
When their meal was over, Drakos explained the afternoon's plan. "You'll start with advanced combat drills until you've adapted. Once I see that, you'll have a break, then we switch it up."
"After your break, you'll do free-form drills, starting with a one-hundred-magnifier—intensifying it each time you adapt. Don't worry about getting the free-form drills right; the sensors will count each successful rep."
"The only thing you need to focus on for free-form drills is this: Instead of perfect forms, move in slow motion, letting your body flow through the forms. This is how you create your unique free-form style. They reflect you personally. That's why no two forms are identical in combat: we follow our instincts, not our brains. That's your goal."
"Now, get in there and complete the advanced combat drills!"
The Twins nodded and entered the Grav Chamber.
"Ready?"
They nodded.
"Good, counting down. Gravity field activating, START!" Drakos counted them in.
Music started blaring as gravity flared; the Twins began the advanced combat drills. They struggled slightly under a magnifier of three hundred with corresponding interference waves, but slowly adapted. After ninety minutes, the Grav Chamber shut off, and they came out for their final break.
"Okay, you've completely adapted. After this, free-form drills. Remember what I told you—I hope to see you create your own styles!" Drakos instructed.
They nodded, drinking C-level Nutri-sports drinks to rehydrate. When the break was over, they went back in, starting their journey to find their own free-form fighting styles.
Drakos watched in anticipation as they began their free-form drills. Yi closed his eyes, moving slowly through the drills. Er followed, and to Drakos' amazement, each Twin developed a distinct and unique fighting style.
Yi's was fast, precise, meant for incapacitation and inflicting maximum pain.
Er's was wild, instinctive, and designed for unpredictable demolition of any obstacle.
They kept at it, repeating the drills until the Grav Chamber shut off and day two of training ended. They thanked Drakos for his time and guidance before heading back to their Dorm—their home.
As they left, Drakos entered his office, reviewed the data and video of their free-form drills, and decided to call another meeting so the others could see the Twins' progress.
He dialled the now-familiar numbers and everyone answered, holo-images flickering into being. "I called the meeting so you can review this afternoon's data, including their free-form drills. I've sent it for your review."
The others checked the data and nodded—they expected this after this morning's surprises.
"Their data looks great. I see it ended at half past one in the afternoon, though—any reason?" Nocturne asked first.
"Yes, I separated the free-form data and video to show you something amazing!" Drakos exclaimed, sending them over.
The others first checked the data (raising eyebrows) and then watched the video. Nocturne tilted her head while watching Yi's footage. "Wait, pause and rewind to the start. Replay it with simulated enemies and responses to each move Yi makes!"
The footage rewound and replayed as instructed, and everyone gasped at the results.
Nocturne nodded, "As I thought: Yi's style targets meridian destabilisation and joint dislocation, maximising damage and pain, incapacitating the enemy while keeping them alive for interrogation."
"Look at that—his last strike hits the vocal cords, rendering the enemy unable to give commands or call for help. This is a clinical, rational style—very much a commander's approach."
The others nodded, shivering as they watched clean carnage appear on screen. Next, they watched Er's footage and facepalmed—his style, opposite of his Twin's, was wild, raw, instinctual, and aimed for maximum damage.
"Okay, Er's a classic Berserker, opposite of Yi. That was to be expected," Soleil remarked.
"Sorry to correct you, but this could be a nightmare for their enemies. Imagine them combining both forms like all Twin Demons do," Drakos interjected.
Everyone gasped in horror as realisation dawned—a rational berserker was the stuff of nightmares, even for someone like Morgranna!
"FUCK!" was the only word uttered at this chilling revelation.
Once they managed to regain their composure, they began to discuss how to proceed with sparring, as, at present, the Twins would NOT be able to spar with a living being. The reason was simple: even a single landed hit would result in an overnight trip to the Med Bay for anyone on the receiving end.
"I think it's best to send out a notice to all teachers and students that they cannot spar with the Twins for their own safety. Sparring can only be done with sparring bots, both simulated and real," Drakos suggested.
Nocturne agreed with a nod; she did not wish to increase the workload of any Healers at the Academies.
The others also agreed, recognising it would be best to avoid sending people to the Med Bay for overnight stays every time the Twins needed to spar.
The Elders sent out the notification and uploaded the footage of their free-form fighting styles so everyone would understand the reason.
They all ended the call after greeting each other.