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*WHAM*

Cringing at a slight twinge from her back, Samantha shook it off and bounced back to her initial fighting stance as she watched the punching bag swing wildly. She was clad in her usual exercise attire, sports bra and loose yoga pants, but had a secondary reason for doing so this time. In addition to freedom of movement and keeping cool, the sports bra was as little as she could wear for her burnt back's sake while still keeping covered. After her little incident with Dameon, she wasn't exactly eager to give any of the guards around here any excuse to even THINK about trying anything again.

Though, the thought of burning off a little pent-up anger by neutering one of them again was tempting. She wondered idlly whatever happened to the last one...or whether he was still in the medical wing.

Chuckling darkly to herself, she launched another roundhouse kick at the swinging back, connecting solidly. Her back didn't hurt quite as badly that time. She knew it still looked bad, but considering what had caused the burns, even she knew it was healing much too fast to be normal. No, whatever had been done to her extended farther than just a few strange organs being transplanted. She wasn't stupid. At the same time, she still had no ideas on exactly WHAT had been done to her.

It was...more than disconcerting.

A sudden movement out of the corner of her eye caused Samantha to pause her workout, tensed and glaring...until she caught sight of the other young woman. She'd expected one of the guards, so catching sight of another young woman like herself, she relaxed. Offering a brief nod and a wave out of politeness, she resumed her workout.

It was getting awfully hot out here and her back was starting to bother her again, so maybe she should wrap things up soon. Eyes focusing on the swinging bag, she let herself drift into the mindset reserved for sparring with live opponents and using complicated combos.

Alright...this is it...

Unable to resist mentally picturing a certain doctor's face on the punching bag, Samantha allowed herself a sadistic grin as she launched a rapid jab-cross combo followed by a side kick. She sent her fists and feet flying into the punching bag until they were throbbing in pain...and still she continued. By the time she had finished, her muscles were trembling and her limbs were almost numb. She was ready to collapse...but wasn't that the sign of a good workout? It was for Samantha.

She was about to walk away for a good rest and a drink, when her eyes caught sight of something that made her frown. Tiny granules of sand were trickling from the bag, the rate increasing even as she watched with distaste. A stream of curses flowed freely from her mouth. "Those f*$&ing morons...should never have trusted them to reinforce the stitching. Of course not...that's expecting FAR too much out of them..."

She paid no attention to the fact that she was basically ranting to herself...and loudly. Or that she might look crazy for doing so. All she knew was that she was pissed.

"No s**t," Samantha responded automatically, still glaring at the small pile of sand growing steadily larger beneath her punching bag. She sighed and rolled her shoulders tiredly, earning a satisfying crack. "Ah well, suppose I was done for the day anyway. I certainly am now at least."

She crossed to grab her towel and take a swig of her sports drink before speaking again. "I ask for a punching bag, they end up setting up two for some reason. And yet, they're not smart enough to reinforce the stitching. What'd they think I was going to do? Stare at the frickin' thing?" She rolled her eyes, taking a seat. "Doesn't matter now. It'll be a good lesson for them to get out here and clean this up....grain by grain..." She allowed herself a sadistic grin, already forming a list of people she'd like to assign to the job.

Then she remembered she wasn't alone. As she watched the other young woman with an experienced eye, she nodded slightly to herself. The girl had some moves.

"Not bad," she commented casually out loud. "It's sorta' nice to see someone else around here who looks like she can handle herself." She smirked a bit, leaning back against the tree with an arm resting on her knee.

"Hmm...perhaps so," she answered warily, giving the young woman a curious glance. That wasn't the only answer though. Pain was more of a last resort, when one had no other choice. At least, so Samantha believed. She may have had a reputation of violence, but only because she certainly knew how to end an argument if it came to that. Not because she leapt at the first opportunity to hurt someone.

What sort of person thought that way?

She'd fallen quiet during her musings, sipping idlly at the bottle of sports drink in her hand when the icy statement interrupted her thoughts. Immediately bristling internally, she forced herself to look back calmly.

"Pretty much however long I feel like it. Or until the guards come to threaten me with weapons and angry Pokemon. Depends." She shot a suspicious look at the other girl, then grinned, snarkiness shoving its way to the surface, no matter how much she tried to keep it contained. "Why? You got a date? Meeting someone out here for a secret, sunset trist? That's it, isn't it? Well, you two go right ahead with your meeting. I'm going to sit right here rather than be dragged back to my prison cell for the night, thanks," she finished bitterly, glancing out towards the forest and sunlight beyond. "I could use a little vitamin D anyway. I swear, they don't let us out here nearly enough for my tastes..."

She had no idea how the other young woman would take her irritated rantings, as she hadn't even considered the possibility that this particular individual could possibly be a new arrival. She had it in her head that most of the captives of this crazy place had realized that something strange was going on here, and after her little breakdown in the cafeteria, investigations were on-going as much as possible amongst the captives to gather any new information.

A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Samantha's mouth before she gave in and chuckled darkly. Oh, this was rich...and yet, so intriguing. The odd blue-haired feminist-to-the-extreme just became so much more interesting.

"I mean exactly what anyone means when they use the term 'prison' or 'cell,' actually. Need me to explain further? Alright, then let's discuss some things, dearie... First of all, you think you work here? Then, where's your uniform? Though, I'll have to tell you, if you DO work here...you and I might have a bit of a problem right now..." She was smirking still, though there was something malicious behind the expression. Considering recent events, it was no small wonder that Samantha held a great deal of violence pent-up inside that she'd happily like to direct at a CRONUS staff member.

"Of course, if you DO work here...that means you know what's really going on and why they're keeping us all here against our wills...and I'm sorry to say I've almost reached the point where I'll do anything to gain that information." Her voice was soft now, but dangerously so, as she watched the other young woman for any signs that might betray her true nature. What Samantha was reading, however, was hesitancy...doubt...even a bit of shock.

Sure, her instincts about people were usually good and hardly ever wrong...but they weren't usually this specific either. She didn't have time to question that right now though.

"Then, there's option two," she continued smoothly, arms crossed over her chest with a cocky look. "That you're no better than the rest of us here. They tricked you like they did all of us and now that you're in here, you'll not be getting out again. Not until they've done whatever it is they have planned for us at the very least." She chuckled darkly again, noting in the back of her mind that this wasn't her normal nature. "Face it, sweetheart. You're one of us now. Nothing more than some poor soul trapped by these sick bastards for whatever devious plot they have that's only begun to unfold. You're just new enough you hadn't figured that out yet, that's all."

Well, judging by this reaction, Samantha decided it was probably a safe bet that option two was the correct one. She watched the released fury calmly, recalling that stage of discovery quite well. Of course, she'd had personal experience with a number of different stages as well by now. Hell, all this girl knew was that they were trapped there now for who-knows-what reason. How would she react with more information?

And Samantha had thought her temper was legendary. Perhaps more info wasn't good now; didn't want this one dissolving into complete chaos. She had some questions of her own anyway.

Only when it seemed the other woman might possibly be a bit more rational, Samantha raised an eyebrow curiously. What in the world would the guard have to do with anything? She'd certainly heard his name pop up in some odd places around here. Hell, thanks to that insane party at Halloween, at least she had a face to put to the name.

"Hayden? And what sort of business might you have with him?" She kept her tone calm, not willing to irritate the woman into further rage. She needed answers now, not violence....as hypocritical as some might think that from Samantha. "Not that I have any idea of where you could find him. But, if he's such a coward, what could he have possibly done to you?"

Alright, perhaps this one wasn't as stable as she'd originally seemed. Samantha frowned, aiming to keep her own temper in check at being so easily blown off like that, all while watching this furious display with an analytical eye.

For all the mixed stories she'd heard about this Hayden guy, as well as her own impression, she wasn't sure she could figure out what could warrant a response quite as violent as this. Sure, he'd been a bit obnoxious...and from what she'd heard from the others, the guard uniform wasn't a lie. He was definitely on the other side.

And yet...why did Samantha's instincts not scream in fury when he'd been close to her? Why hadn't she attacked him when she'd thought about it, even in such detail and believed herself justified? No, something else was going on here. Nothing was what it seemed in CRONUS...she knew enough to know that. She was living proof.

"I see. Well, in that case, I won't worry about getting involved. Good luck finding him in this maze. I'll stick to my own business of finding out what's going on around here and getting my a** the hell out of this prison, thanks. Big picture and all that."

She was being irritating again and she knew it, but she really didn't care. Her own temper wasn't liking being squashed down like this and instead, the flames of fury licked at whatever fuel they could reach.

And speaking of flames...

She reached over her shoulder, gently fingering the still-healing burn marks that covered her back. If she did see Hayden again, she'd have to ask for more of that burn cream he'd used on her. It worked miracles, she swore. That, and perhaps the guy deserved a warning about this one...she seemed a bit...'off.'

If flames could freeze...well, that'd be a pretty accurate analogy of what had just happened to Samantha's rising temper. Raising an eyebrow in a mixture of curiosity and amusement, as well as a little surprise perhaps, she eyed Koorie's hand warily. "Nah, thought I'd just lay around and rot while waiting to die in here," she answered with a smirk that practically dripped sarcasm.

She reached out to shake Koorie's hand anyway, realizing that even if she was a bit 'off,' the young woman would definitely be more useful as an ally than not. Now came the hard part though.

"Samantha," she quipped shortly, mind still racing. If there was ever to be a test to the newly-formed alliance, it would be right now before little trust could be formed. Better than waiting though and having one feel betrayed. It wasn't something she could hide anyway...one way or another, Koorie would find out eventually.

"Samantha Hakan," she finished without missing a beat or betraying any of her hesitation on her face. If Shawn could look past her name, then perhaps someone else could too...