After a close call of pushing Candy too far with jokes, Scott ran to the field, brimming with confidence as he looked back to see if Candy was still mad, but she was now fully self-absorbed in her Frost admiration. He ran past the acrobatics section and soon reached Panda and Frost, who were taking a short break to drink water and stretch. But as they appeared to be chatting, Scott approached cautiously and waited until they noticed him instead of stepping in unannounced.

–Thank goodness the market kept me active. I would have certainly lost these babies…– Panda said with a sigh of relief as he casually fondled his biceps while Frost picked up a towel to wipe off the sweat on his face and torso. He ignored Panda, but did let out a chuckle as he noticed Candy staring at him in the distance. It only took one glance to scare her away, and while Frost didn’t pay much attention to her, he began smirking as his eyes lingered on her for a second.

–And I’ve been actually working out, so you better keep up if you don’t want to lose those babies in a fight…– Frost replied smugly, both lighthearted but sneering enough to catch Panda by surprise.

–Wait, really? When? How-...?– Panda asked in confusion, but before he could get an answer, Saint joined the conversation in a slightly sheepish manner as he sneaked behind the two and tried to grab a dumbbell that Panda had tossed on the ground.

–Hey, uhh…– Saint announced his arrival with an awkward smile, trying to stick closer to Panda as he anxiously looked at Frost to assess his reaction. He clearly heard him but didn’t bother to turn around since he was chugging a bottle of water. But just when Saint relaxed upon seeing Frost’s indifference, Panda turned to him with mild discontent on his face.

–You are late. The enemy won’t wait for you…– Panda reproached him in a firm but slightly humorous tone, adopting an assertive stance to uphold his authority and force Saint to explain himself.

–I know, I’m sorry…– Saint responded politely but halfheartedly as he remained passive while keeping an eye on Frost. He stopped paying attention to Panda, who seemed skeptical of his apology, but even he turned his attention to Frost once he turned around and immediately stared at Saint.

–Were you fooling around with that girl again?– Frost asked in a judgmental manner, although he was still somewhat indifferent since he was preoccupied with the bench press next to him, which he was preparing for his next exercise. In response, Saint stammered for a moment and glanced at Panda, who just pressured him to answer as he was just as anxious about making Frost wait too much. But when he noticed that half of his chief’s attention was targeted somewhere else, Saint found room to come up with a different kind of answer.

–Umm, no… I was actually fooling with your g-... No, chief, I just fell asleep– Saint mumbled before retracting his initial response and just giving a compliant but insecure answer. Panda did a double take as he leaned closer to hear Saint, turning speechless when he couldn’t figure out if he heard what he was thinking. But thankfully, Frost seemed to hear the end of Saint’s sentence, and without putting much thought into it, he brushed it off with a scoff and a disapproving head shake.

–Typical… You better train hard, we might have a few days before our actual mission…– Frost replied in a lackadaisical tone, now keeping a straight face as he turned around and ignored both Panda and Saint to continue exercising on the bench press. But despite him working out only a couple of feet next to the two, Saint was relieved to receive a moderate scolding from Frost, and with Panda stepping aside to take off his heavy vest, they began chatting like he wasn’t there.

–I can’t wait for it, but I don’t think I’ll reach your level. I mean, look at you, Panda. You are like if an actual bear became a weightlifter…– Saint said enthusiastically but more sincerely with his compliment than his earlier apology, which flattered and provided an ego boost for Panda that prompted him to appreciate his muscles yet again.

–I know, it’s hard to build up muscle like this…– Panda replied pompously, flexing his arms while admiring them with doting eyes. But he dropped the cockiness soon after Saint began taunting him, though he didn’t take offense as they shared a brief laugh before the latter tried to find some proper weights that he could actually lift.

–But don’t worry, not everything is about strength. You said it yourself, you are younger than us, so try building up your speed. That fast thinking of yours could save us in a life-or-death situation…– Panda added more encouragingly and thoughtfully, inspiring some courage in Saint to pick one of the heavier dumbbells, but he instantly found it was too heavy for him and dropped it to pick a lighter one nearby.

–Really? Do you think I can be quicker than Frost?– Saint asked uncertainly, but some hope was displayed in his small smile after Panda gave him a reassuring nod. He seemed convinced by his expression, and it was enough to cheer Saint up for him to begin working out with some medium dumbbells. He didn’t warm up and went straight for a couple of repetitions, driven by his excitement to improve to Frost’s levels, who, unlike him, didn’t show much faith in the idea as he scoffed and took a moment to give his opinion.

–Of course not, you will only be faster in bed. You can’t even see yourself coming…– Frost replied mockingly, but he wasn’t as condescending as usual since he found more joy in taking the piss out of Saint. He shared a laugh with Panda, and after benching for about a minute, he was done with his exercise and stood up. He was about to leave, and despite his playful bickering, Saint was still offended and instantly took his chance to respond out of annoyance.

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–And how would you know?– Saint asked indignantly, but he was completely ignored after a dismissive glance as Frost moved on to other exercises in another section of the field. But even Panda didn’t back Saint up, as he kept laughing well past Frost leaving. After being left alone with him, Panda turned to Saint, and to ease his bitterness, he adopted a friendlier demeanor.

–Sorry, Saint, but he is right… He might not be the strongest, but Frost is a slippery dude. He can dodge anything you throw at him and kill you with your own weapon before you even blink, so there is no competition…– Panda explained lightheartedly, but his words had a caring nature that intrigued Saint upon hearing him sound so convinced when regarding Frost’s skills.

–Is he really that good?– Saint asked curiously, with a bit of skepticism but listening closely as Panda picked up a huge barbell weight to lift up with relative ease after taking a breath. Saint waited for an answer eagerly, but as he watched Panda hold weights the size of his head over his own for well over ten seconds, he began trusting his word more. Even when Panda began struggling, with his arms straining to the point his face turned red, and his breathing becoming significantly heavier, he was able to complete his set, and right after gasping for air, he continued speaking.

–Strength doesn’t really matter when it comes to him. As long as he is on the move, he will have the advantage…– Panda replied casually after gasping for air and dropping his weights, which landed on the grass with such force that Saint could feel the ground below him tremble for a second. But as Panda seemed to still be focused and putting thought into his words without any issues after such a demanding exercise, he sparked more curiosity in Saint.

–And what about you? It might be a close fight, but you definitely have a shot against him… – Saint suggested with a goading stare, as he found it hard to believe Panda. But even when provoking him, all he got was an underwhelming sigh from Panda that didn’t inspire much hope.

–Oh no. Trust me, not even I could beat him or even hold him for more than a second. The only way to keep him in place would be to use something like a mechanical arm or something out of this world. I don’t see any other way, really…– Panda admitted with a worrisome, earnest expression that convinced Saint. He stared at Panda in disbelief, trying to picture Frost as he was describing him. But shortly after pondering about his power, he cracked a giggle at his thoughts.

–Or just convince Candy to do it…– Saint quipped with a short laugh, which he tried to hold but ultimately prompted Panda to burst into laughter along with him.

–Right… Just wait ‘til they go to sleep and kill him in the act. That's strategy right there…– Panda joked back, keeping a jaunty smile that he tried to cover but couldn’t contain. He took a moment to drink some water to calm down, and Saint took that moment to check if Candy was still watching them. She was long gone after Frost left, so Saint showed no remorse when he continued making fun of her to get more laughs out of Panda.

–No, no, no!… Candy will definitely see it coming… more than once …– Saint exclaimed with a mocking grin, struggling to speak between laughs. He tried to hold himself together, but as Panda found his retorts hilarious and almost began choking on his water, Saint broke into laughter again, which was only fueled when Panda had to spit all over the grass and tried containing his cackles.

–Aww man, that's too much, stop…– Panda begged as he was running out of breath, having to lean on Saint’s shoulder to compose himself. On the other hand, Saint had to hold the weight of his arm but smiled gratefully as he squeezed more chuckles out of Panda, as well as cracking a couple of his own as well, until the joke died out.

–Yea, I already teased her enough before… I hope she doesn’t find out about this– Saint chortled, but without much remorse, as he enjoyed the moment instead of worrying about the potential danger it could put him in. But with Panda also keeping it breezy and continuing to smile without a care, they both composed themselves after a while, although they couldn’t think much about exercise after getting so distracted.

–I’m glad we have you on our team. We are all tired of Nitro’s lame ass jokes. He always just acts like a creep and plays it off as a prank or something… So, with you here, things feel fresher, you know?– Panda added in a slightly contemptuous manner but turned optimistic and sympathetic towards Saint, who was pleasantly surprised but was still trying to contain a laugh.

–Well, I’m glad I’m here to replace him– Saint replied with a flattered but confident grin as he not only gloated over his compliment but also maintained a playful attitude, which was short-lived due to Panda’s sudden change of expression.

–Yea, but you better start training now if you want to keep up. He might be the weakest of the guys, but even he is ripped…– Panda suggested in a commanding manner, prompting Saint to laugh it off at first, but once he noticed Panda was serious, he then turned to see Nitro working out next to Frost. He was confused at first as he tried to make out Nitro’s physique. Even though he didn’t compare much to the chief, let alone Panda, Saint still noticed Nitro was much leaner than him, and despite his scrawny body, he packed a bit of muscle that stood out even from afar.

–Oh man…– Saint sighed at the appalling realization that he was the least fit out of all the men in the team, and including Indie, Kiwy, and the Heartaches, he was lacking by a lot. Even his own friends at his level were somewhat more capable in terms of strength, with Shade being probably the standard all of the rookies wanted to achieve.

With Panda returning to his workout routine, he inspired him to join, and with a bit of help to improve his exercises, he encouraged Saint to train harder and achieve a physique that matched the rest of his peers. It was an arduous task at first, and while he had to start lightly with the weights, Saint’s stamina allowed him to train as long as his male teammates, so he got more comfortable pushing his limits. The only thing he needed was the strength, will, and patience to go beyond them, though it would certainly take him more than one day of exercise if he wanted to achieve that goal.

| OBVIOUSLY YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S AHEAD

BUT THAT’S THE REASON YOU CAN WORK ‘TIL YOU DEAD |