Iker already stood on top of Corporal Woo's backrest.

He held up both of Corporal Woo's wrists, pointing her palms away from him. "Can't have you teleporting me off to my house."

The Kaya mastery Iker demonstrated struck Joaquim with terror. He would have needed the precision of a surgical nanobot to perform an instant leap off the mountain while at the same time performing an advanced Kaya technique in mid-air to land softly on the metal chair.

It was a feat only a supersoldier who was told he would never reach Anagami form could achieve. Joaquim wondered if the technique Iker used to slow his mid-air momentum had a name.

"If only I could send your ass there," Corporal Woo grunted. "I won't have to hear you try to beat Fornia's record for corny references."

The soldiers cheered at her quip while Don't Stop Me Now played to commence the third round of the test.

Iker smirked as well. "See? I knew Woo wasn't shy. She probably just found us annoying."

"I still do," Corporal Woo yelled. She was still struggling under Iker's casual hold of her.

"Okay Corporal, you're pushing it," Iker said. "Sergeant Uzi, keep everyone afloat and send each chair back to the mountaintop. Including the one I am standing on."

"Wait Colonel," Sergeant Uzi said. "I do not have to follow your orders during this game right?"

Iker shrugged. "It was worth a try."

One of his drones arrived. Joaquim deduced Iker was sending thought commands through the earthplexus for a while now.

Iker, as if he was just playing on monkey bars, grabbed onto the drone and flew past everyone within a few seconds. Joaquim's strong grip on the sides of his seat did nothing.

All the chairs were now stacked up in Iker's hand. He was holding onto the chair at the bottom.

Luckily for everyone, or unluckily if one were to take into account that Earth's gravity would have helped them keep their chairs, they were still floating in mid-air.

Iker sang along while he was flying off to the loud morning sun as if he was imagining the credits rolling behind him.

"I'm floating around in ecstasy," Iker sang, readjusting his grip on the drone.

"Wait. We can use robots or AI in this fight?" Joaquim asked.

"I have to use InfluxGPT with my own ability," Corporal Woo said. "That's if I don't want to become a flesh tart."

"Noah, let me know if I can prompt you," Joaquim said.

Overridden. For now. 😘

"Motherfucker," Joaquim said.

"You mean fatherfucker right?" Gabe said.

"How does he think of everything?" Corporal Woo asked.

"How about we think about... I don't know," Sergeant Uzi said. "Passing the fucking test? Do you earthlings believe it is easy to just keep you all floating?"

"Oh my God," Corporal Woo said. "That's the first time you swore Sergeant."

"I'm fucking mad," Sergeant Uzi wheezed. "I have never felt so humiliated. How did I oversee that there would be no clouds this high up in the atmosphere? I should be demoted."

"I'll take your spot," Gabe announced.

He made a dramatic pose, finishing off with a punch in the sky. "I'll be the strongest Sergeant of all time - Sergeant Gabriel Wami!"

"No," Joaquim and Lucia said in unison.

Sergeant Uzi threw the rest of the soldiers onto the mountaintop.

"Hey!" Joaquim yelled as he landed on his rear.

"What?" Sergeant Uzi asked. "I grow weary from hearing about his foolish ambitions."

Joaquim and Gabe were already sliding down the mountain in Kaya form.

"What are you humans doing!?" Sergeant Uzi screamed.

"Trying to achieve our foolish ambitions!" Joaquim yelled, doing several flips in the air after sliding up a slope.

He's learned it so fast... those flips in the air... do you think he's like Iker? Is he doomed to only be able to do Kaya form? Sergeant Uzi asked.

Eh, I think you mind-linked Gabe and Joaquim earlier, Lucia said. They can hear you.

Joaquim's heart sank. He glanced over to Gabe who was already staring at him.

"I'm sorry," Gabe said, skating beside his brother.

"Why apologize for that? You have many other more important things to apologize for," Joaquim said. He hopped over a giant rock and landed right beside Gabe while still skating. "If it were to be true, one day I'll be even better than Iker so I can explore the galaxies out there!"

Gabe scoffed, sliding away from Joaquim to dodge a handful of incoming pine trees. "Before he was promoted to be the commander of two platoon, no one took Kaya form seriously when Anagami form was discovered."

"During the second round, I asked Corporal Woo where the chairs they were holding onto would be," Joaquim said. "She said she had to be careful as it seemed Lieutenant Tagore was guarding them, but she pointed out the location to me from the mountain."

"Nice bro," Gabe said. "If anyone can think a step ahead of the Colonel, it would be you."

"I'm surprised you're picking up calling people by their rank so quickly," Joaquim said with a smile.

"I am not as dumb as you think I am," Gabe said.

"Wait," Joaquim said. "Is he doing pull-ups?"

Iker indeed was doing pull-ups on the drone's bars, holding up the five chairs with his feet.

Without hesitation, Gabe and Joaquim leaped to grab them, but Iker did a handstand on one bar while raising the chairs.

The brothers flew right past the chairs.

"You would have broken the chairs with that!" Iker chastised. "Shameful. My sons should not embarrass me like that."

"You're not my dad!" Gabe yelled, falling on an oak tree branch.

"I can show you the paperwork!" Iker shouted, now a gray speck heading towards the taiga horizon.

Joaquim fell underneath Gabe. He heard Gabe fail to climb down as tens of branches cracked in sequence.

Joaquim jumped to barely catch his tall brother. Thankfully, it still did soften the fall for his brother, and Joaquim's Kaya form prevented any injuries he would have received.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Corporal Woo, Sergeant Uzi, and Lucia teleported beside the brothers.

"Fools," Sergeant Uzi said.

"What is it with new cadets always forgetting I can teleport them?" Corporal Woo asked.

"What is it with new cadets always forgetting I can teleport them?" Corporal Woo asked [https://img.wattpad.com/a82ab39951b56c6cfeb8e49e4bb28d864edf768c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f2d356a665974736e4635366134413d3d2d313337303537353836312e313737393437326561376138333739323337303432363233343630392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

You two are the ones trying to pass this test right? Sergeant Uzi said telepathically.

Joaquim stared at ver. The five soldiers were hidden inside a large bush, a stone toss away from the 2 platoon commanders and all the chairs that were still in the game. The speaker drones already played the song 3 times, meaning Joaquim and Gabe will soon only have 5 minutes left to sit on a chair.

If staring at me is your way of saying yes, Sergeant Uzi said. Then we should let you come up with a plan.

Why though? Joaquim asked. Yea, I guess you have good reasons to think I can do it, but I have been making many mistakes as of late. Shouldn't I try a plan from you Sergeant?

Sergeant Uzi and Lucia locked eyes again. Joaquim had all the information needed to know they were speaking telepathically for a long time. Most likely even before the test started.

I am just glad I was able to switch my bet. Sergeant Hunter has banned any further changes and regrets it now, Sergeant Uzi said.

Sergeant Uzi's aversion to giving a plan confirmed Joaquim's theory about the musical chair test.

We are close to figuring it out ar- Gabe said.

You know what? Corporal Woo interrupted with her own thought. Let's just go and face our commanders, let's improvise.

It was obvious Corporal Woo's imperative was to prevent Gabe from giving the answer to his brother, but Joaquim figured it out too. The five soldiers marched in a straight line toward Iker and Lieutenant Tagore.

"Man," Sergeant Hunter said as she joined the line. "I really really wanted to go to New Korea."

"Do you want the vacation, Sergeant?" Gabe asked.

Joaquim was so proud of his brother. Gabe figured out the true purpose of the test on his own with no help from him. Back in No Man's Land, it was always Joaquim that had to explain things to him, think of long-term plans, understand complicated things, pay attention to things, keep track of things, and think outside of the box when necessary. However, it seemed Gabe had a chance to resemble an adult by the time his 18th birthday came around. Now that Joaquim thought about it, maybe it was the lack of sleep, nourishment, and clean air in No Man's Land that prevented his brother from reaching his potential.

While Joaquim reflected on his brother, he missed most of the conversation between the sergeants of 2 platoon, but he was able to piece together that Sergeant Hunter and Sergeant Uzi wanted the vacation the most from context clues. They were having an empathetic conversation as to who should get the vacation.

"You two should stop assuming anything," Iker said, sitting on a chair with some of his weight to not push down on the plate. "No one has yet to beat either me or Tagore, and to prevent poisoning any of you she has to stick to only using Kaya form."

"Wait," Corporal Woo said. "Where did all the other chairs go?"

The commanders were in an open section of the forest with only two chairs instead of all of them.

"I told Tagore about the cloud thing and -"

Iker and Lieutenant Tagore snorted and burst out laughing.

"It was quite inspiring," Lieutenant Tagore said. "It inspired me to also hide the chairs we did not need."

"Don't assume you won't need them either," Sergeant Uzi said. Ve volleyed Iker's words back to him, and that was the first time the Sergeant sounded cool to Joaquim.

"Oh fuck," a voice said. "His sense of humor is rubbing off on the Lieutenant."

There was the last soldier of 2 platoon the brothers had yet to meet. Private Borrys, who was running to catch up to the line that was marching ahead, held on to his gray boonie hat so it would not fly off into the forest that surrounded the platoon. The brim was almost over his cerulean eyes and above his freckled cheeks.

"White boy!" Sergeant Hunter yelled. "I must have really fucked you up for you to be with the medic that long."

"Shut up!" Private Borrys shouted back.

An Ember Tree Soldier hopped on a snowy stump behind Private Borrys and then took a seat. They wore a white vest with a red cross over their uniform.

"Oh common, seven versus two?" Iker said. "That's not fair."

"Yea, let's pretend the mention of Trickster and Mercury coming into battle wouldn't make a field army flee," Private Borrys said.

The seven soldiers stopped two meters away from the commanders, then five of them glanced over to either Joaquim or Gabe.

"I cannot believe the day would come, but Gabe, you do the honors," Joaquim said proudly.

The brothers locked eyes for a moment and gave each other an upnod.

"I get to be the smart one this time," Gabe said, walking up further. "Soon I'll be the smartest supersoldier in the universe."

2 platoon scoffed, whispered, and snorted.

"Yea right buddy," Lucia said.

Gabe already communicated his plan over Sergeant Uzi's mindlink. It was too brilliant to cause controversy, meaning the consensus among the 2 platoon non-commanders was immediate.

"The biggest hint for us were all the people and talking animals that failed already," Gabe said. "I did not think of it as first as the biggest hint, it was actually my brother so the credit goes to him."

Joaquim had to often step in how his brother's usual habit was to take credit for his ideas, but he was glad he did not have to do it this time.

"What do all the humans and talking animals from No Man's Land have in common? Well, we gotta think about survival every second we're up. Hell, we probably even dream about it every time we can nap," Gabe said. "Dreaming about better days or a different reality was a waste of time when you could have a nightmare that could prepare you for tomorrow."

Iker, Joaquim, and Lieutenant Tagore, the three other soldiers who grew up in No Man's Land, their smiles inverted and their gazes fell. Those words hit them differently compared to the rest of 2 platoon.

"So, naturally, you learn to just watch out for yourself," Gabe said. "Chances are, most of the new cadets that tried this test thought they had to be the last one to sit on the last chair, but the rules were clear. Private Felix, I don't even think you grew up below us, but you thought the same thing didn't you?"

Lucia and Gabe locked eyes for a moment. It was obvious he rubbed her the wrong way the first time they met, but she smiled at him for the first time.

"Yea I did," Lucia said. "The other candidates came from No Man's Land, and they were so sure they had to be the last one sitting. Even though I did pay attention to the rules, I doubted myself and decided to fight for the final seat too."

"Then after you failed to get the chair, that's when the Colonel and Lieutenant told you how you and the other cadets would have passed the test," Gabe said, locking eyes with Iker and Lieutenant Tagore respectively.

The amount of growth Gabe was demonstrating was invigorating plenty of emotions in Joaquim. His exterior had yet to show any signs at all, but with all that has happened with his journey thus far, Joaquim was adjacent to his breaking point.

"The song stopped randomly!" Iker yelled. Iker and Lieutenant Tagore put their full weights on the chairs and pushed down the plates.

However, other than Sergeant Uzi who was lost in focus, the rest of 2 platoon could hear that Freddie Mercury was still singing. Sergeant Uzi, instructed by Cadet Gabriel Wami, carefully cast an auditory illusion on the commanders that was subtle rather than something that would be too obvious. While Gabe was giving his speech, Sergeant Uzi methodically quickened the notes and pauses in the song, and omitted the actual sound from the speaker drones to reach the consciousness of the commanders' minds. As they sat when the song ended randomly in their heads, the commanders eliminated themselves.

While the realization dawned on the commanders, Sergeant Uzi swept the chairs from underneath them. The two sergeants who wanted the vacation took their seats as the song actually stopped when the 15 minute round ended. Sergeant Hunter had the widest grin as if she was the reason it all happened.

"Even though my brother and I already made it into two platoon," Gabe said, his posture and stance as perfect as ever. The sun cast his shadow over the commanders. "It was never about us actually sitting on the final seat. The rules were clear: we would get no benefit from sitting on them if we were eliminated, and we only had to make sure our commanders did not make it. You wanted your new cadets to see that the best way to make it into two platoon was to help the more suited soldiers to get on the seats, and not let their habits get in the way. They needed to see past themselves. 2 platoon has had a legacy of having soldiers who said they would not amount to anything. It was creativity, teamwork, and humility that got 2 platoon to be right under 0 and 1 platoon, right Colonel?"

If anyone was more proud than Joaquim, it was Iker and Lieutenant Tagore that had grins that could cast their own shadows.

Iker let out a grand laughter, one a proud father or proud brother could give.

"Welcome to two platoon Cadet Gabriel Wami and Cadet Joaquim Wami," Iker murmured with closed eyes and a smile.

"Told you all," Corporal Woo said. "If it's Iker picking new candidates, his gut feeling is usually right."

"Yea yea yea, whatever," Sergeant Hunter said. "Now, can one of you help me find a jaunter for my jaunt to New Korea tomorrow morning?"

"Actually," Sergeant Uzi said on vis own seat. "I change my mind. Sergeant Hunter talking about New Korea was so inspiring. Inspiration is all around us."

"What the fuck? Really?" Sergeant Hunter said. "No, I am going. Period."

"Humans love to talk about being open-minded and changing your mind and yada yada yada," Sergeant Uzi said. "So you know what? I can change my mind. All this Ember Tree City and No Man's Land chatter can be so depressing. It'll be nice to see New Korea. It'll be nice to see another nation other than Iceland that has relative peace."

"Oh hell no," Sergeant Hunter said. "Go back to being stubborn. I beg you."

"See?" Iker said. "Sergeant Hunter just can't stop leaving her mouth open. If only she did not say anything about New Korea."

That caused the hardest round of laughter yet from 2 platoon.

While the game still had to determine which sergeant will get the vacation, Joaquim and Gabe made it 2 platoon.

For the first time in his life, Joaquim knew what it felt like to belong somewhere.

In the corner of his eye, he noticed two silhouettes.

He shifted his eyes back to find Farouq with Visard, and a shapeshifted Camilo staring at him with bloodlust.