A hand roughly ruffling Tim's hair rouses him awake and he opens his eyes to see a blurry outline of someone’s form in his eyesight. He feels tired and exhausted like his body couldn’t take the adrenaline and excitement of earlier events. He hears a familiar light chuckle and Tim struggles to clear his vision as the hand retracts from his hair.
“Hey, little bird,” The voice says quietly. “Had a nice dream?”
Chris. Tim instantly sits up, everything becoming clearer as he hugged Chris, burrowing his face into his shoulder. “Chris,” Tim feels his voice break.
Chris hugs him back. “So did you?”
Tim shakes his head and he laughs because this scene was replaying. “You okay?”
“Tim, are you okay?” Chris says and he looks into Tim’s face. “You look okay.”
“I’m tired,” Tim says, rubbing his eyes. “But I’m feeling better.”
Chris reaches out and Tim feels his fingers along the back of his ear before resting on the tender scar. “You have it too,” He murmurs and his fingers retract.
“They took it out on both of us,” Tim reminds Chris.
“I know, I know,” Chris says and Tim can hear the scrape of frustration in his voice. “I’m just lost.”
Tim nods and he pulls in his knees. For a brief moment, Tim compares his legs to Chris’s--his legs were outlined by kevlar; they must’ve given him the same clothes Tim had worn when he’d changed to meet the Commander--and noticed how lean they were compared to Tim’s scrawny ones. He pushes the thought away; it wasn’t the proper time for one of Tim’s body acceptance issues.
“I heard you met with the Commander,” Chris says, sliding a hand through his black hair. “How did it go?”
Tim shakes his head. “She let me talk about us living in Genecis. I told her about my family, about meeting you, and then us living together barely getting by. I told her about my job and your job and showed her the star crystal that you gave to me,” Tim pulls out the crystal and Chris stares at it. “Then that was it. She didn’t ask much, didn’t delve too deeply. Oh, but she did ask if we knew how to defend ourselves.”
“And what did you say?” Chris asks.
“I said you did and I didn’t,” Tim answers honestly and Chris shakes his head, a smile on his face.
“Oh, Timmy,” He says. “What are you thinking after meeting her?”
Tim pursues his lips. He’d fallen asleep after dissecting the conversation, making conclusions that he wasn’t sure were probable. “Knowing Resistance 30, I was coming to think maybe they want to diagnose us.”
Chris makes a frown. “Like test us?”
Tim nods. “The Commander seemed awfully interested in our jobs and how well we were in it. I think she wants to test us and then use her results to either scout us as Fighters or throw us back into the pit.”
Chris looks somewhere intently on Tim’s arm, a small contemplative frown on his face. “Guess we’ll see if you’re right or wrong sooner or later,” Chris says.
Tim just smiles. For some reason, Tim can’t help but know for sure that the Resistance would take them in. They couldn’t turn away from Tim--which is why Tim didn’t expose any information he carried; he only said he had ‘information on the Nova technology’ after all--and with Chris’s street smarts, weren't they the ideal thing that the Resistance is searching for? It was a cocky thinking. But Tim can't help it. He feels too sure.
“Where’s our stuff?” Chris asks and Tim shrugs. “They’ve taken them, huh.”
“They don’t have the most important one,” Tim reaches into his mouth, dislodges the small chip from its place near his back teeth. He holds it up, Chris raising an eye at how much it was covered in saliva. "They don't have the info I hid before I left the apartment that night."
Chris just stares at him before chuckling. “You never cease to amaze me.”
Tim puts it back and just proudly grins.
About two hours later, the door opens with a knock and Stryker comes in. Tim’s just finished changing.
He feels light in the outfit, surprised that despite the thin kevlar underneath the shorts and short sleeve shirt, he can move around freely. They’re made of some kind of flexible fabric which shouldn’t interest Tim but it does as he rubs the fabric between his fingers. The boots he was given fit his size perfectly, and they don't make any heavy treading when he walks and doesn't feel clunky.
“You guys feeling good?” Ignyter’s head pops in from the doorway.
Tim gives a slow nod, Chris grunting.
Stryker grins almost wolfishly. “Good. Because you’re about to go through a diagnostic test.”
Tim groans as Chris barks a laugh. It sounds half mocking in Tim's ear. He slaps Tim hard across the shoulders, making the younger boy yelp in pain. “You were right, Timbo!” He says as Tim shakes his head, feeling a sense of dread overcome him.
“Timothy comes with me,” Stryker waves. “Chris with Ig.”
“You guys have real names?” Chris asks in curiosity as they both move from Tim’s bed in the room.
“Sure, we just threw them away for new ones,” Ignyter replies.
Before the two parted, Chris grips Tim’s wrist, his blue eyes searching for Tim’s and Tim sees his message: stay safe. They’ve known each other long enough for them to exchange gazes and convey their thoughts to each other.
“I will,” Tim promises and Chris nods, letting go of his wrist.
They part with a turn and Tim follows Stryker who curiously watches him. Tim notices it as they walk side-by-side. “What?” Tim asks defensively.
“Nothing, it seems like Chris is the type to be really protective of you,” Stryker says with a knowing smile. “The kind that kinda almost restricts you from doing anything.”
Tim couldn’t smile at that. “You’re not wrong,” Tim says slowly. “But it can’t be helped. I’m kind of his soft spot.”
“I’m not supposed to tell you anything, but Ignyter and I are supposed to be making notes on you under surveillance,” Stryker says and Tim hums.
“I figured,” Tim says with a reassuring smile. “I also saw this test coming too.”
Stryker grins, ruffles Tim’s close-cropped hair. “Thieves is going to like you,” He says. “He’s our little scientist, the engineer, and technician in the Elite Corps. He also makes inferences says things like ‘saw it coming’ or ‘I knew it’.”
“And I’m guessing Elite Corps is some kind of advanced rank?” Tim says curiously.
“And you know what?” Stryker says making Tim cock his head a little. “I’m starting to like you too.”
Tim grins, glad to know someone familiar and easygoing as Stryker as the Fighter leads Tim into a hallway that seems eerily quiet and darker than the rest. The hallway relied on the blue neon lights under the black wall for footing and the dim lights overhead. Tim doesn’t have to ask if this was where his initiation test is going to take place.
“I’ll be testing you on your intelligence, endurance, strategy, and ability,” Stryker opens the door to one of the doors, opening it a little before opening it wider, letting Tim inside first. “Don’t feel pressured; just do your best and do what you usually do,” He pep talks Tim who’s starting to feel nervous. “Don’t pull anything that you normally don’t and screw up.”
“Just do the full of my potential?” Tim asks, looking around the dark room. It was small, good for at least three people and had nothing but an examination table, a desk with a monitor and a chair.
“Yup,” Stryker pulls on gloves and turns to face Tim with a syringe. “Lay down for me?”
Tim leans down to unlace his boots, heaving himself on the table and laying down, nervousness buzzing in his chest as he breathes. “What are you doing to me?” He eyes the syringe.
“Right,” Stryker rolls his eyes. “I forgot to tell you,” He puts down the syringe and pulls out a small box from underneath. He latches it open and pulls out a small packet, ripping it open, and eases out a wipe, the smell of alcohol hitting Tim’s nose. “You’re going to take your diagnostic test with a serum Thieves made. It’s a simulation caused by the machine which makes it perfect for a mental diagnostic test,” Stryker explains and Tim flinches when he wipes a part of his neck. “It won’t hurt. You’ll be unconscious but I’m betting only for about ten to twenty minutes.”
Tim nods and relaxes under Stryker’s reassuring touch on his arm before he feels the needle. His vision swarms and Tim’s head feels light before he slips into total darkness.
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