Metal was playing on the arcade machine when Kayr came over to him. "Hey Met'. How's it going?" Metal lost his concentration and immediately got a "game over." "What is it...?" Replied Metal in wonder. Kayr looked around before replying. What could he want...? "Yeah. Uh...you have anything better to do right now?" Metal looked at the arcade machine's screen. "...Not anymore." "Well, me and the others were going to the training sector for some sparring. Wanna come?" Metal nodded. But first he set the high score for the game with his initials. "S96." Quint was already there. He looked bored, but his expression changed when Metal and Kayr walked in. "Okay. This little execise is to get used to facing people with other weapons." Kayr continued: "I have a Shield with a Saber, Quint has a Bustershot with a Shield, and Metal has a Saber with a Bustershot. We're going to spar with eachother. Think of this as real combat." Metal cut in: "W-wait. What if someone gets hurt?" "Pff...nobody's gonna get hurt." said Quint. "We're perfect creations. Not one of us SDs has taken a slither of damage in any of our missions!" "I don't know..." said Metal, unsure. "Look, we aren't going to get hurt. There's nothing to worry about!" said Kayr. Metal was still uneasy, but took his stance and activated his Saber. His Bustershot was in his other hand, charging. Metal then dashed toward Quint, while releasing his Bustershot charge at Kayr in the middle of his maneuver. Kayr blocked the charge with his Shield, and Quint blocked Metal's Saber slash with his own Shield. Because Quint's Shield was only a sub-weapon, the energy it produced deteriorated slightly against the slash from Metal's Saber. Kayr used the blocked attack energy to his advantage, and threw his Shield with both Quint and Metal targeted. Quint ducked and Metal jumped onto the Shield, which was on it's return flight to Kayr. Metal jumped into the air and pointed his Saber down at Kayr, right over him. Kayr, however, had obtained his Shield at the last moment, and blocked the attack. Metal jumped off to fire a burst of Bustershot fire at Kayr. Quint took aim at Kayr too, knowing that he couldn't block two targets... ...Kayr produced a force shield around him, and both attacks were blocked. The bubble-like protection was weaker than the Shield itself--it deteriorated after taking both attacks. Quint then took aim at Metal, who could not move much because he was airborn. Quint fired his Bustershot...but it was strange...his shots were as powerful as a half-power charge, and he was firing automatically. Metal had to act fast on this one. He raised his Saber and actually managed to block each shot. His Saber weakened for a moment, because they were meant to cut through metal alloy...not pure energy. Looks like he would have to rely on his Bustershot for now. To power his Bustershot up, Metal equiped the Flame chip he had recieved earlier. He charged his Bustershot to it's maximum level, and took a fire-infused shot at Quint. Quint raised his Shield to block the attack. As the attack hit, his Shield deteriorated completely. Sub-weapons have limited potential, unlike main weapons, meaning that Sub weapon counterparts were much weaker than main variants. Kayr went to slash Metal with his Saber. Metal dodged and fired a full flame charge at Kayr's Saber. Like Quint's Shield, it too deteriorated completely. Metal noticed that his Saber had restored itself. Metal dashed toward Kayr. Kayr raised his Shield, and prepared to block the attack. Metal was about to swing his Saber when... ...Metal felt heightened. His awareness, movements, and reflexes seemed to be faster than before. When he slashed at Kayr's Shield, the sheer power of it made a loud bang at impact. The Shield was knocked out of Kayr's grip, and flew across the room. Kayr was out of the fight. Quint stood in his place, frozen in shock. He raised his Bustershot and fired bursts at Metal. Metal saw the shots coming, and ran back to grab Kayr's Shield. Metal picked it up and blocked Quint's bursts, while advancing toward Quint. Metal strengthened the Shield to refract Quint's fire. A shot refracted from the Shield's surface, and hit Quint's Bustershot. Metal ran over to him, and held his Saber to Quint's neck. Then he pointed his Bustershot at Kayr with a charge ready. Kayr looked down at the ground and smiled. "You did well Metal. You did pretty damn well." * * * If you guys actually bothered to read this, this is just a little action that doesn't have much to do with the story. Metal's tough, he's great at combat, nothing new. You could call it "filler."