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Unpleased was basically the understatement of the year.

Domeykite had taken a few lessons from Labyrinthite before he had essentially fallen off the grid. They had been good for the basics and good for keeping himself from getting killed, but he also hadn't spent long practicing - or cared to stay in the kind of shape that physical battles required.

Now that word had gotten out that he was little better than a turncoat, several Generals seemed to think it their right to drag him out of bed at all hours of the night (although, to be fair, that was more of a figure of speech than reality because he spent most of his free time streaming for cash) and force him to do any manner of things for the cause. He was lucky in some regards that all Laby wanted was to force him to relearn everything he'd forgotten, but in others, he was unlucky to have Laby's ambition and drive fueling the battle. <********," he hissed under his breath as he jumped back, but not quickly enough. The punch to the stomach grazed knuckles over his abs and though it wasn't quite a full blow, a throw from a powered Negaverser never felt pleasant. His eyes shifted up to where Labyrinthite loomed over them and he found himself wondering, for just a moment, what in the ******** had happened to make the guy change from the smiling Captain he'd met.

That was when a punch caught him right in the jaw.

He stumbled back with a growl, aimed at both the guy that had hit him in the face and himself, for being so distracted by his own irritation. He hunched down and brought his fists back up to cover his face, forcing himself to block even when he wanted to rub his jaw where the pain was still blossoming. He stepped forward and swung one fist at the guy's kidney, aiming for a crippling blow out of anger.

Another time, Domeykite might have stopped to ensure his sparring partner could keep going, that he hadn't hurt him too badly. Yet he knew there was no stopping, no sympathy, no feeling under Labyrinthite's watchful eye. Weakness was punished, humanity was punished.

Domey had no time to toss an angry look up at the looming Reaper, though he felt his eyes following him like an arrow to the back of his neck. As Aluminite came toward him, he moved to dodge the punch - and fell for the feign. He had youth and an angry nature to combat the older man, but he had been training harder, longer. The side kick clipped him in the knee and he had no choice but to crumple under the loss of feeling, hissing as his kneecap slammed into the hard-packed earth of the training ring.

All he wanted was to stop and take a breath to ease the burning sensation in his lungs, the way they felt like they were going to split from overuse. Then he saw Aluminite moving in again and he could only dodge out of the way with a well-placed roll. The longer he spent on his knees, the more he knew Laby's words would sound like venom. He pushed himself up with the barest of winces, back turned to his General, and met Aluminite's gaze with ferocity.

His fists rose now that he was forced into defense, partially crippled from the kick. Aluminite had the upper hand - and anyone under Labyrinthite's teachings would have known to recognize it, exploit it. The realization made Domeykite sneer, though he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it was nothing personal.

The crippled stance was no match for someone at their full strength and Domey knew that, he saw his own disaster echoed in Aluminite's apologetic eyes. The older man didn't want to perform, but he did, without hesitation at Labyrinthite's command.

Where he lacked the fiery passion to hurt and maim, he maintained loyalty and obedience.

Domeykite had passion - it was the independence that had need to be squashed out of him.

The heel in his side made him crumple immediately once more and through arms and legs he could see Aluminite advance, until he had been forced flat into the dusty earth of the arena. Aluminite's weight held him down with ease - Domey was fast and wily, but skinny, a relative light weight. There was no way he would dislodge the man from his looming position but the fingers that edged for his starseed..

A fiery gaze was shot up at the General looming above them, before it resettled on his captor. The apology in his eyes was met with anger. At least if he was on his knees, this was more fair. Domey pulled back a hand and shoved the palm of it hard at Aluminite's face, aiming to break his nose or make him shy back from the attempt. In that moment, he felt like a cornered animal.

Every part of Domeykite's being wanted to keep fighting, to push, to refuse to accept this failure. He didn't want to be a soldier in a war but he was a proud fool, too proud to lose without a struggle. Even the brief dip of fingers inside the subspace of his starseed was enough to ignite that raw survival instinct. That, too, made submission all but absurd.

But Aluminite knew the General better than Domey did and as that hissed whisper fell to his ears, it was too appealing. If this was the only way to end it, it was better done now than after more sustained injuries. With his leg injured, there was no winning this, only prolonging the inevitable.

With a growl that was half show and half truth, he felt his wrist slammed down into the ground, but only struggled enough to make a show of it. There was a small victory in deciding when to end something, even if, ultimately, this was his loss.

His bright eyes swung up to meet Aluminite's, angry but accepting.

There was no need to act for Domey. When his brilliant green eyes locked onto the pair of looming gold ones staring down from the twisted, hardened face of his General, it was with all the loathing he could muster.

Part of him was grateful that Aluminite had risked just enough to bring their spar to an end, but the dark anger swelling inside of him was too much for him to even think about a sparing, thankful glance. He would have to find him later, another time, and find out all the older man knew about getting by under Labyrinthite's watchful eye.

"Sorry to be such a disappointment, General."

But those were the only words spoken as he was pulled roughly to his feet, eye-to-eye with his boss. Even the adrenaline in his system wasn't enough to dampen the pain that shot through his ankle upon the weight he was forced to place on it, but at least the pain gave him a reason to sneer openly. With some effort, he managed to follow Laby - not pleased, at all, that the General seemed intent to keep him for company a little longer.