The crowd watched as the three mechs stomped to the start of the obstacle course. At Instructor Lawson's signal, they took off running, kicking up a cloud of snow as they exploded from their starting position. The mech engines roared as they charged up a steep incline.

Will watched in awe as the three mechs made short work of the course. Walls, hurdles, pits—it didn't matter. They breezed past every obstacle as if they were nothing. The only time they faltered was when they came upon a set of giant metal poles nailed to the earth. They had to hop from one pole to the next if they wanted to get across, but that was easier said than done. It was a long way down, and falling from that height would be dangerous.

While the other two mechs hesitated, Valerie flew past them and zipped across the poles in a blur. Her feet were barely visible as she made contact with each pillar, and she made it across in record time.

"Holy shit!" Remy exclaimed. The Shield Horns cheered, and Will couldn't help but join in.

"I think we just got schooled," said Will.

"Damn, she's fast," said Remy as he continued clapping.

"That's my sis!" yelled Victor.

Remy turned to Victor and asked. "Who's the older one?"

"She is," he shrugged, "by about ten seconds."

"You're twins?" asked Will.

"Fraternal."

"Both of you are so ahead of the class," said Remy

"Like I said, we had been sneaking into our parents' mechs since we were kids. When Dad found out, he was elated. Trained us to the ground."

"Shouldn't you be up there too, then?" Remy grinned.

"He is lazy, that's why," said Becca, who had her eyes fixed on the mechs on the obstacle course.

Victor blew a raspberry at her. "You know what the reward for good work in the military is?"

"What?"

"More work," he gave a quirk of a smile.

Remy snorted.

The three mechs were nearly done with the course. The ending of the course was a lot tamer compared to the middle. A small series of waist-high earthen walls blocked their path.

The mechs easily leaped over and reached the course's final section. A large trench was dug in front of them. Valerie took off running and sailed the ten-meter gap, catching the far wall with the tips of her fingers.

The crowd cheered as she climbed up the wall. She walked the last few feet and stood underneath the waving red flag, which marked the end of the course.

The Shield Horns erupted in cheers, and shortly afterward, the other two mechs joined Valerie under the flag.

The cheering continued as the trio slowly made their way out of the field.

Remy turned towards the Shield Horns. "I know that was impressive, but they could learn to shut up a little."

"Nothing wrong with a little school spirit," said Becca.

On their way back, the three mechs trudged through the snow, cutting across the path of Will and the others.

Valerie turned towards their group and blared a loud honk from the mech's external speakers.

"What?" said Remy. "That sounded like a duck? Goose?"

The two behind Valerie honked at them too, and angry mutterings filled their squad.

Will grimaced beneath his helmet. "Duck, duck, goose."

"Those assholes," Becca said angrily. "The school mascot incident? They are trying to provoke us!"

Angry yells came from their squad, and some shook their fists at the three.

Will blinked when a notification popped up on his HUD.

"Private chat opened with Remy Soto."

> Remy Soto: If only they knew. They would be tearing us apart instead of those three.

Will looked around, paranoid.

> William Dunn: Shut up! You trying to get us killed?

Remy snickered as he shut the chat log. Becca whirled on him, furious, misunderstanding the source of his amusement. "This is not funny, Remy."

"No, it isn't," he continued to laugh.

"I'm going to go talk with the rest of the class," Becca declared. "This insult cannot go unpunished."

"Becca, they are nearly at the pro level. What can you do?"

"Doesn't matter; this is about principle. We should at least not allow them to be so arrogant," she said and walked towards the gathering crowd of Stanton High students.

"Call if you need any help," said Will.

Becca turned back. "No, you have that... thing to worry about. I can handle this myself."

Will and Remy watched Becca walk off.

"Just us now, I guess," said Victor.

"Just the boys," said Remy. "Whoop! Whoop!"

Victor pumped his fist and high-fived Remy.

Will grinned. "Keep it down. She can still hear yo— Ow!"

He felt a sharp stab in his right knee and cursed out loud.

"You okay?" asked Victor.

"Yeah, just bit my tongue," he said quietly, but over the private message, he typed out something different.

> William Dunn: You-know-what is acting up.

Remy froze for a moment but quickly responded.

> Remy Soto: Are you going to have a seizure?

>

> William Dunn: Doesn't look like it, but it is itching like mad.

Will wanted to take off his armor and have a look at it but resisted the urge.

> Remy Soto: Should we cancel the test?

>

> William Dunn: No! Let's get this over with!

>

> Remy Soto: Alright, if you say so.

Remy signed off the chat.

Will folded his arms and took in a deep breath. He tried to ignore his itching knee as he watched the Shield Horn trio join back with their class.

"An excellent showing, cadets. Your movements were fast and smooth," said Instructor Lawson. She turned to the rest of the class. "This is the stage I want to see you all at the end of this training course. Strive hard, and it won't be long before you do. Now we are going to split you into groups and run you through the grinder. Step forward if your names are called out."

She rattled off a list of names, and Will perked up when he was called.

"Damn, I'm not on the list," said Remy. "Guess we wait, Victor."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I'm going on ahead," said Will. Remy nodded, and Victor gave him a thumbs-up.

Will joined the group of students, and they trudged their way up to the start of the course.

"Alright, you will start when I give the go-ahead," said Instructor Lawson. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, ma'am!" they yelled in unison.

"On the count of three then. One... Two... Three!"

Will took off with the nine other students beside him. His HUD mapped out the terrain, and up ahead was a steep incline. He, along with the others, rushed up it.

"Alright, I'm in," said Remy over the comms. "Can you hear me, Will?"

"Loud and clear," said Will as he rushed up the slope.

"Use it when you are ready," said Remy. "I'll go through the data."

"Roger that," Will puffed out as he triggered the crystal. The world around him vibrated, and Will waited for the inevitable sensations, but nothing happened. He snapped back to reality and felt no changes in his body.

"Will?" Remy asked, and Will shook his head.

"Nothing. The prediction was a dud."

"Try again," said Remy.

Will ran past the ramp and spotted a three-meter-long gap ahead. Will triggered the crystal again. The world shifted, but he got no feedback from the shard. Puzzled, he jumped across the gap with ease and relayed what happened to Remy.

"I think it's because it was too easy," asked Remy.

"What do you mean?" said Will.

"You were always going to make that jump," said Remy. "You weren't likely to suffer any injuries, so there was nothing for it to report."

"I suppose," said Will, "Damn, this is a lot more complicated than I thought. What is the point of a skill that predicts danger when you have to know in advance when danger is coming?"

"Yes, there are a lot more limitations to it than we thought," said Remy. "You need to know when to use it."

Will strode past the gap and stepped towards a wall in front of him. It was about two meters, and he could easily reach it in his armor. A small jump, and he caught the top of the wall.

"You should try using your eyes like last time," said Remy.

Will considered it but ultimately rejected the idea. "It drains too much energy. We can try that in a more controlled environment."

He dragged himself up the wall and perched on top of it. He looked down; it was a long drop. The other cadets leapt off the wall and crashed down on the snow below.

Will let out a breath and jumped. Snow exploded from under him as he landed, and he followed the other cadets.

"Alright," said Remy. "Ready to try again?"

"Yes," said Will. Up ahead was another wall, but a lot taller than the last one. There were small depressions in the wall that could serve as handholds.

Will triggered the shard, and the world vibrated. Time froze as ethereal sensations poured in. Will felt pressure underneath his fingertips, followed by a sharp blow to his side. The pressure underneath his fingers vanished, and there was a feeling of weightlessness that lasted about a second before he felt being slammed into the ground.

Time unfroze. Will snapped back to the real world, and the flood of sensations left him.

"Ouch," grimaced Will, cricking his neck. The message was received loud and clear. Will strode to the bottom of the wall and began to climb. The handholds were barely enough to hold him up. He climbed the wall with the edge of his fingertips, all the while keeping a close eye on the other cadets that were climbing. When he was halfway up the wall, it happened. A climber slipped and lost his footing, crashing down and nearly taking Will with him.

Will, who had been expecting this, merely shifted to the side and allowed the mech to pass him by.

"And that's how it's done," Will smiled as he resumed his climb.

"Yes!" Remy cheered. "We are cooking now! Readings are here. I'm mapping out its subspace pathways."

"Good," Will nodded. The crystal could only be probed while it was active. The problem with mapping out a shard was that its subspace pathways were constantly shifting. Due to its dynamic nature, figuring out their topology proved nearly impossible.

But such probes weren't without their uses. There were other pieces of information that could be gleaned from such analysis.

"Hot damn," said Remy. "The subspace layers go deep in this one. I can't even see the bottom."

Will grunted as he continued to climb.

"Okay, while that is going on," said Remy, "I have preliminary calculations about the psion requirement for each activation. My guess is that you have enough reserves to use the skill twelve times before you are out of energy."

Will reached the top of the wall and dragged himself up. "So I have like nine more tries?"

"Thereabouts," said Remy, "and you are going to need it in the next section."

Will looked ahead and saw the metal poles sticking out of the ground.

"This is going to suck," Will grumbled as he readied himself. His right knee began to itch, and he longed to reach down and scratch it.

"Embrace the suck," said Remy, and a chorus of laughter came from the speakers.

Will froze. The laugh was gone like a whisper in the wind and muted down so fast that Will wasn't sure if he had imagined it.

"Did you just laugh?" asked Will.

"No," said Remy, puzzled. "Why?"

"I thought I heard..." began Will. "Never mind."

"Oh shoot! My name has been called," said Remy. "Got to go now."

"Good luck," said Will. "I've got everything handled here."

Remy cut the call, and Will let out a breath. He triggered the shard, and the world around him vibrated. Sensations flooded into him: a sharp pain in the soles of his feet, a sharp blow on his chest, and then a feeling of something striking his back.

The world snapped back to reality, and Will cursed. He knew he had fallen in the premonition, but he had no idea how or why he failed.

He stared at the poles, afraid to cross them. Other cadets passed him by, leaping off and then missing, smashing their heads against the poles and falling to the ground.

The crowd oohed and groaned, shouts of encouragement coming from them.

"I guess there is nothing for it," muttered Will as he psyched himself up and prepared to jump.

His right leg began to itch again, and Will grimaced. He tried to focus, but another tinkling laughter echoed in the back of his head.

Will frowned as he strained his ears. It was the laugh of a child; he was sure of it. Despite his efforts to listen, the laughter disappeared just as quickly as it came. Spooked, Will looked around. The only people near him were the grunting and panting cadets. A few of them had joined him up the wall, but not for long. They rushed for the poles and failed.

Will shook his head, let out a breath. He would solve this mystery while both his feet were back on the ground. He powered up his mech and leapt off the ledge towards the first pillar.

The shard in his leg trembled, and the tremor traveled up his leg to the rest of his body. Will felt the world vibrate.

"What the hell! I didn't even trigger it," said Will in alarm as he was pulled in. Time froze, and a rush of visions assaulted him.

A subway tunnel flashed before him, and he was flying down the dark tunnel. A train horn pierced his eardrum, and Will saw a pair of headlights rush towards him.

Time unfroze. The world snapped back violently, and Will found himself in mid-air rushing towards the first pillar.

"Shit!" he cursed as he made the first landing and threw himself to the second one.

The shard shook again, and the world around him vibrated.

"Not again!" yelled Will. Time froze, and another vision filled his eyes. Belgrave... people running away screaming, multiple giant skyscrapers coming crashing down as—

Will fought against the vision. For a moment, he saw double, flashes of half-formed memory and visions of him missing his step on the next pillar.

Reality snapped back, and he found himself flying to the second pillar. Will adjusted his foot to the correct position and pushed off the pillar.

The shard shook again, but this time Will was ready. He shifted the mech to manual control and flared his field to the maximum. His channels burned under the load, but it brushed aside the shard's influence. The chaotic channeling rebuffed the foreign signature invading his body, and Will powered through the jump.

With his aura flaring, he completed the next three jumps. He cleared the pillars and leapt onto a platform. Will ran across it and found several smaller platforms lined up ahead. Will leapt off each one until he reached the ground. Snow sprayed everywhere as he came crashing down.

The shard shook in his leg again, and Will gritted his teeth. His channeling couldn't keep pace with his expenditure, and his field faltered. A tendril of energy invaded his channels, and Will felt the shadows shift around the earthen walls surrounding him. Will felt goosebumps at the back of his neck. A strange sort of clicking noise followed him as he ran. It was like he was inside the belly of a large beast, and he was being hunted.

Will sprinted at full speed and spotted the series of waist-high earthen walls ahead. He was near the end of the course, and only the hurdles and a trench jump were left. Will gritted his teeth and sped up. He needed to get out of the view of the crowd and stabilize himself as quickly as possible.

A fog descended over him, and it was getting harder to think. Will moved his body almost on autopilot and crossed the earthen hurdles in the blink of an eye. Ahead was the ten-meter-long trench. He was already running at full speed; he didn't stop. His feet left the ground as soon as he reached the trench, and he sailed across the ten-meter gap. He caught the ledge with his fingertips and clung on.

The moment he hit the trench wall, his control over his field slipped, and the shard attacked him in full. The world vibrated, and the visions came back in flashes. He was back in Belgrave and people ran away screaming. Will tried to tear himself out of the vision, but it held fast; he could see his hands slipping off the wall edge before he was pulled in again. The skyscrapers toppled over, a gigantic spindly leg the size of a building rose up high into the air above even the largest building. Smoke and dust billowed from it, tearing through the buildings as it heaved itself from beneath the earth. Eight more legs followed the first one as it descended on the world.

Reality snapped back into place, and Will gasped as he returned. His hands were inches away from losing their grip on the ledge. Gritting his teeth, he clawed his way upward and heaved himself up onto the platform.

The crowd broke into a roar as he stood underneath the red flag marking the end of the course, but Will wasn't paying attention. He rushed off the platform and made his way back to his squad. People thumped his back, and congratulations poured in. The old cliques in the school fell to the wayside now that they were united in their anger towards the Shield Horns. Will accepted their praise but made excuses, saying that he needed to take a breather.

The crowd let him go and went on to cheer the rest of the cadets. Will, now freed and not caring about decorum, lay on the snow and focused on stabilizing his channels. He sent a stream of psions into the channels connecting the crystal and tried severing the connection. The shard stuck to him like plastcrete and held on.

An immense sucking force came from the crystal, and Will felt himself being pulled in. The shard wanted to swallow him whole, and Will sent stream after stream of psions, bombarding against the shard. The connection snapped like glass. The shard's force abated, and it sputtered as it ran out of gas, gradually slumbering down.

Will gasped as he felt the foreign force leave him, and he lay spent on the snow. A few minutes later, he noticed Becca and Remy approaching.

"Damn them," said Becca angrily. "More Shield Horns made it through than us."

"I tried to warn you," Remy laughed and then turned to Will. "Why are you on the floor?"

Will shivered as he caught the fading laughter of children in the recesses of his mind. This time, he wasn't sure where it had come from. Was it him or was it the shard? Was any of this even real?

"Will, you okay?" asked Becca, seeing him not respond.

Will groaned as he got to his feet. He told Remy and Becca everything.

Remy checked his suit readings and had grim news. "Will, the corrupted area in your leg has increased."

Will cursed. "I think we have spent enough time playing soldier."

"What do you have in mind?" said Becca.

"We need to start investigating," said Will. "We need to find that airstrip."