Project Trouble X Three

Dedicated to Jo Joo Sprout, oddball, PenumbraMINE, and N.Y.O.B. I can't believe y'all have stuck with me through everything I have written and commented. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Recap

“Sophia, you know we don’t like to kill people but we have to kill them to protect all of us.” My dad sighed again. “But, you are going to train with your sister and the Shadow Cats for a few days.” I tried to speak. “You are doing this with no questions, crying, griping or fits. You will not blame Cat for your own actions. Cruz will be training with you. He wants to better himself in case of an emergency,” My dad told me.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. I wasn’t happy about training with Cat, not at all. She was arrogant and a pain in my ass. She made me feel stupid and I knew she loved to show me up.

“As I said, you are not going to blame Cat for your shortcomings. If you would have just trained with everyone instead of acting as if you were a princess and we were all your peasants you would at least known how to quietly sneak up on her,” my mom told me, her arms crossed.

Cat strikes again

“What does your jaguar think of your actions, Sophia?” My dad asked me as I shook my head.

Sophias POV

“What I think?” She asked sarcastically. “You know what I think. I told you we needed to train. We needed to learn all the techniques to take down others who wanted to hurt us, so don’t blame me for this. You know I’m right,” my jaguar, Skill, said.

“Uh, she’s mad at me for not reaching my potential. But, I don’t want to kill anyone. I’m not like Cat, she likes the killing,” I stated as I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed.

“Do you know for a fact that she likes to kill others and not just to protect herself?” My mom asked me.

I rolled my eyes. “She didn’t mind killing the pee-ons in the tunnels. She even watched them as they died.”

“Well, they were trying to take you and your sister and rape you two. And, they wanted to kill us too,” my mom sarcastically said as she started pacing.

There was a knock on the door and my mom walked over, opening it for Cat and Cruz, of course. I turned my head away from Cat. I didn’t want to look at her and her smug face. I didn’t want to train with her either. She was going to order me around the whole time.

“You ready, Sophia?” Cruz asked as he walked over to me, a look on his face I couldn’t quite comprehend. He seemed as if he was going to take training with Cat seriously. Great! We couldn’t get by with not listening.

“Might as well get this over-”

“No! You are going to try your hardest or you will be punished, do you hear me, Sophia?” My mom asked through gritted teeth. I knew they would be watching me with the cameras Cat had installed. And, I knew I would have to work hard and not play around. I nodded and followed Cruz and Cat out of the room.

We took several turns in the corridors as I followed them. I was confused as to why we didn’t just go back to the main corridor. We finally came to a wall and Cat stood before it as I looked around. I heard a click and turned back around quickly. The wall slid to the side, showing a huge training area.

“Uh, wow,” Cruz said, a wistful look on his face. I knew he was going to take training seriously. He had got caught by the twins and Cat had reamed him. I knew he felt bad about not training properly, but I blame Cat for making him feel bad. All she did was train.

Three of the Shadow Cat’s and uncle Madrid walked over to us. “Time to train, kids,” uncle Madrid told Cruz and I.

Well, shit!

Uncle Madrid, the badass.

Was training me

“First we will be working with blades. You will need to hit your target within three seconds. You will need to hit the next target in two seconds. And, hit the next target in one second,” uncle Madrid told us as Cat was setting up the targets. The targets were set up several feet away from each other. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Not

“Cruz, why don’t you go first,” our uncle told him. Cruz stepped up and snapped the sheath around his leg and pulled the first blade.

“Go!”

I watched as Cruz threw his first blade, sinking it in the first target. He grabbed the next blade and it hit the second target as well as his next blade. I was shocked and stood there with my mouth open. I didn’t think he could throw a blade. Had he been working with someone?

“Your turn, Sophia,” uncle Madrid stated as Cat pulled the blades out of the dummies.

“I’m sure I can hit the targets as long as Cat is the target,” I commented before I thought.

“Sophia!” I had to think about what I said before I understood why he was mad. I didn’t disagree with my thoughts and I wasn’t going to apologize for them either. I noticed Cat didn’t say a word to my words. It was as if she had not heard me.

Damn it!

I grabbed the sheath and strapped in on, never saying a word. I made sure I could reach them quickly. I knew I had to be fast but my hands were shaking and my breaths were coming out in pants. I was nervous. I didn’t want to look as if I were an idiot. I had never trained with blades, hell, I really never trained.

“Go!” My uncle yelled, causing me to jump and miss a second. I threw my first blade but it fell in front of the target. I threw my next blade and hit the target but fell out. I threw the last blade and it landed close to the second target. I wanted to cry and throw a fit but I knew uncle Madrid would never let me get by with it.

“Did you rely on your jaguar for strength or even ask her if she would help?” Cat asked as she eyed the targets.

“No, the bitch didn’t. I would have helped you, Sophia, but you always thwart my efforts, so if you want my help you need to ask nicely.” My jaguar was mad at me and I wanted to cry. I couldn’t keep treating as if she were the enemy.

I shook my head no. “I will ask her. Can I please try again?”

Madrid shook his head yes as Cat gathered the blades and put them in my sheath. “Can you please help me, Skill? I’m sorry for ignoring your wise decisions. I will listen to everything you say from now on I promise.”

“I’ll help, but the first time you go against what you say I will ignore you and you will be on your own.”

Okay, I could do this. I won’t throw fits and I will listen to every word she says. I don’t want to be separate from my jaguar. And, I have been a baby for too long. I know my dad, and my mom will be glad to see all the tantrums go.

I took a huge breath and let it out. When my uncle said go I threw the first blade, sinking into the target. I quickly grabbed the next blade and it sunk into the next target. Quickly grabbing the last blade, I threw it, hitting it in the base. I did it, but I knew I needed more training.

“Good job, Sophia,” Cat said, a smile on her face, one I never thought to see in my direction.

“Alright, we need to do strength training. It will help with your throwing and breathing. You too, Cruz, you did good too, but we all need strength training,” Cat told us as she walked over to a weight machine. What the hell did I get myself into? I knew I was going to give one-hundred-percent to training, so it didn’t matter if I hated the weight bench.

We got to work, using the small weights first. I was going good with the thirty-pound weights but my arms were getting sore. I dropped the weight and stretched my arms, popping my back in the process. I had already lifted the weights for over two hours, so a little break wouldn’t hurt. I took a drink of water and wiped my sweaty brow, focusing on Cat as she looked over at me.

I threw my towel down and picked the weights back up and started curling them into my body. I was standing with my feet apart, my shoulders back, and my arms out to my sides. I would curl the weights towards my body and let them down to my sides. I did this for another hour.

“Time to go eat and get some sleep. We will be here at six in the morning, so sleep fast,” uncle Madrid informed us as we followed Cat out of the training area. I knew I hated to wake up early but I was going to do it. I didn’t care if I was tired and cranky.

I sat down with everyone else and ate my dinner, taking my plate to the kitchen and cleaning it. I nodded at my mom and dad, walking to my bedroom. I took a quick bath in epsom salt and got into bed. I made sure to put my suit back on before I laid down in case there was an emergency and we had to bug out.

I was having a great sleep, the sleep of the dead tired, when my alarm clock woke me up at five. I wanted to be able to eat something and braid my hair before training. It was hot with it being down yesterday and I didn’t want a repeat of the sweaty mess it was yesterday, but I first needed a shower. The epsom salt was in places it should have never been in.

I jumped in the shower and basked in the hot water. I quickly got out and wrapped a towel around me. I brushed my hair and towel dried it, braiding my hair into a fishtail. I wound the tail into a low bun and secured it with a scrunchy. I shook my suit out and put it on, making sure to add lightweight shorts and a top. I wiped my face of all the makeup I had caked on yesterday and left my room.

I walked into the kitchen, noticing all the Shadow Cat’s, my mom, and my dad up. I could tell they were pleasantly surprised at my entrance, but I didn’t do this for them I did it for me. I grabbed some cereal and fixed my bowl, grabbing an energy bar too. I ate my cereal in silence and waited for Cruz to make an appearance. I was surprised he wasn’t here already.

“Has anyone spoken to Cruz yet?” My uncle Madrid asked. I shook my head no and watched him get up and go towards our bedrooms. It didn’t take but a minute later when we heard a scream from Cruz and Madrid was walking back over to the table.

“Uh, guys, are those people the cartel?” I asked as I looked at the camera in front of me. My hand was shaking and my breathing hitched when I looked at the boy who I thought was normal.

“Well, shit!” I heard my mom say as I passed out cold.

A/N: A little of Sophia's point of view. Thought it would be nice for you to hear what she thought for a couple of chapters. Was it what you thought she would say?