Blindly Faithful

Master's Experiment

Before I could check myself, I felt my lips curl back, bearing my teeth in pure defiance. The growl that tore through my throat wasn't as impressive as others could be, but I knew my face more than made up for it. There was just something about a sudden shift from cool disinterest to animalistic fury that sent shivers of fear through people, and the Rep was no exception. She took a half step back before regaining her composure, but before I could read the look on her face, I lowered my gaze, yanking my emotions back under my control and muttered a quick apology. I should have never lost my cool like that.

Bianca had taken five full steps backwards, and although, I would have enjoyed that reaction, I was too busy worrying about what would become of me. The Rep could have my head on a platter for what I just did, and I just hoped she accepted my apology, "You have become something truly fierce haven't you?" the rep asked, her tone filled with pride and interest rather than the anger I expected, "I'm impressed." I looked up at her, slightly confused, and she gave me one of her fierce grins, "You are no longer a child to teach, Leilani," she explained, "and I am glad you are coming into your own strength. We Rangers are not meant to blindly follow our masters after all."

Understanding allowed my heart to stop racing. Any other rep would've had me hanged, but this was the Ranger's head representative, and she respected power, strength. That is why I was not dead at the moment. I nodded, keeping my mouth tightly shut as to not push my luck as she turned back to the room. After she disappeared into the room, I turned to Bianca. I offered no apology for her fear. In fact, I quite enjoyed the wide-eyed, cautious way she was looking at me now. Bianca had never really seen any reason to fear me, aside from my impeccable skill at not engaging with her. I gestured for her to go to the side of the hall where my team was questioning the Warriors, and patiently waited for her to get herself together enough to appear less like she'd just pissed herself.

Axel was the first successful subject, three years prior to me and two years before Kim and Jasper. He was the oldest of us all, part of the two member first generation: him and Bianca. Essentially, that meant that he was alone. Alone in training. Alone with the Masters. Alone, with occasional mingling with Bianca. That also meant that for a full year, it was just him on any mission that required actual combat or strategic training. He was plain and simply the best. I had watched him for years, admiring his skills and comparing it to my own. He was the closest thing to a Ranger without having the title. He could and had beat both Jasper and Kim in a single match, and I was greatly looking forward to pitting my skills against his.

We were all part of this experiment, all successes of varying degrees. We were not children, held no sense of lineage or loyalty to those that share in our genetic code. We were created in a lab, all of us, and our genetic code had been unraveled, pulled apart, stitched together, and rewound again, all before we were even "born." At "birth" even more modifications and manipulations were supplied. Our growth and development were extremely hastened and guided in specific ways. Officially, I was only seven years old, but I had been what the Scientists consider an "adult" for two full years.

Axel was surprisingly private in his life. The people he worked with pretty regularly, his Warriors knew nothing more than what we all knew, except that he seemed to have a more personal relationship with Bianca. The Warriors explained their mission, a censored one, and where they last saw their leader. Apparently, he'd been acting rather flighty a few days before he just up and disappeared, right under their noses. They claimed to have searched the city, scoured it, but I doubted they were the best at finding people. It seemed like to me that he had no desire to be found either, and if that was the case... our job just got harder.

I knew time was not on our side, so I sent my team and Bianca to pack and be ready to go bright and early in the morning. I, however, went to the training room. Flashes of memories filled the space around, shadows of sneaking around this hallway, training when I was not supposed to be training, following Axel whenever he was here. I took a staff after shedding my shirt, leaving me in a skin-tight tank. I let my hair out of its bun and the familiar swish of the braid across my back grounded me as I took a relaxed stance. My heart beat sped up as my head filled with the memory of watching Axel train. Pure power in every limb, graceful and silent in his movements. I mirrored his slow movements as my eyes fell shut and I began training in a way that I hadn't done in a while. I allowed myself to envision the man who I would be hunting down. I saw his movements, understood his steps as well as I would memorize any dance. My breath came faster as his movements, and therefore mine, quickened. Me heart sped at the exercise, at the beautiful and deadly dance I was mirroring, at the strength that was evident by every movement of his body.

I doubted he ever knew that I had followed him, spied on him, and used his trainings to better my own. I doubted he even knew my name. I'm sure he knew I existed. There were, after all, only three Rangers, but he'd never even looked at me before, completely and entirely unaffected by my existence. I remember the day I was named Ranger. It was the second time that his eyes met mine. I remember that stupid feeling in my chest, that fluttery, excited feeling about being seen by the person I'd admired for so very long, and I remember the disappointment when that moment was over. I remember the anger and frustration when he didn't even bother to speak with me that day, not even a congratulations or a nod of respect for a fellow leader. I remember going to training that day, finally not having to sneak as it was open to me whenever I wanted to go, and letting myself imagine meeting him in the ring, matching him step for step in his dance and beating him.

I was a fool, comparing myself with him, admiring someone who would never feel the need to acknowledge me. I was stupid for thinking that I could earn his respect. He was a Warrior, and I was a Ranger. We, as a rule, did not get along.

I finished the set, my breath loud in the silence of the training room, and I set the butt of the staff on the ground before opening my eyes. I found myself staring at the far side of the training room, the first place I had laid eyes on Axel. He was with a few Warriors, laughing and sparring with them. I remember how they couldn't touch him and wanting to be as good as he was, better even. He was graceful and powerful and knew exactly what he was doing. Axel was the best. I had been told that since he finished his first mission, but this was where I believed it, where I saw it for myself. It was also the first time that he actually met my eyes. I remember the way he smiled, curious and encouraging, and more than that, kind. That was something that I hadn't seen in the Masters or the rest of Rangers, Beauties, or Warriors that were already on missions: kindness.

It surprised me that the best of us had that, and when I didn't see that the day I became the Ranger's Leader, it hurt. I would never admit it out loud, but that, more than the lack of respect or acknowledgement, was what made me the most frustrated. It made me question myself and what I wanted to be as a leader. It made me wonder if I had gone simply insane, and it made me wonder why it had affected me so much when it was clear that he was entirely unaffected.