Lisa was taking a walk around Basalith, killing time and distracting herself with people-watching. Thousands of people and quasies bustled through the streets, all seemingly busy. Lisa wasn’t sure what she expected to happen when COTD eliminated the need for people to work a job, but she liked the result: The people in Basalith seemed happy, excited; like they were actually happy to face the day, rather than just slogging through.

Is this really possible because of me? she wondered, brushing a hand through her hair. Her eyes traced the figure of a large wooden statue that wasn’t present two months ago; she stopped when she was a foot away from it, then placed a hand on its smooth surface.

A year ago, I never would have thought someone would ever make a statue in my likeness, she thought. Well, Asil’s perfect likeness, not the face of Lisa. But still. Did I earn this? She looked down at her hand, her outstretched arm. The only thing that set her apart from other kursi was her ability, Regis: the one that let her easily influence the masses.

Everything else that set her apart was a gift from Bath. But she couldn’t help but wonder at the question of whether she was worthy of anything he gave her.

“Lisa,” a voice called out, interrupting her thoughts. Startled, Lisa’s head whipped around.

“Lauretta,” she replied, straightening up and stepping away from the statue. “How are you?”

Lauretta smiled. “I’m fine, but you seem a bit...” Lauretta cocked her head. “Troubled.”

Lisa didn’t know how to respond, so she didn’t, letting awkward silence prevail. Lauretta walked forward until she was within a foot of the statue, then reached out her hand and felt its ashen-yellow surface.

“You’re letting your emotions leak out, you know,” Lauretta pointed out. Lisa flinched and tended to her shell.

Damn, Lisa thought to herself. I could’ve sworn my shell was fine, yet she was able to pinpoint and read its smallest inconsistency...just another marker of her inexperience.

“There, that’s better,” Lauretta said. “I really do care for you, Lisa.”

“I know.”

“I cared for you enough to watch over you and your family, to spend years playing pretend. The last time Bern and I did such a thing was...a long time ago.” Lauretta’s hand stilled, and she tilted her head toward the cloudless sky. “Just trust me when I say I want the best for you.”

Lisa kept her face emotionless, but inside she felt her stomach tense uncomfortably. She wanted to believe her aunt, but the woman had brainwashed her family. Lauretta didn’t play pretend out of the goodness of her heart, but because she had something to gain: Lisa as an ally.

Being Lauretta and Bern’s ally wasn’t a bad thing, considering that the two were practically ancient and had decided to join COTD. But just trust Lauretta blindly, like a naive little girl? Nope.

“Lauretta...” Lisa began, meeting her former-aunt’s clear gaze. “I’m not willing to forget what happened, but I am willing to have a fresh start. I know you have a lot you can teach me, and I’m willing to learn.”

“You do have a lot to learn,” Lauretta acceded. “I’m glad we’re going to the Ukraine together. Nothing like having the real world as a classroom.”

“Yep.”

Lauretta’s shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “I know that things have been hard on you, holding your own amongst the other kursi and a titan like Bath.”

Lisa looked away.

“But you should remember why he’s your friend in the first place.” Lauretta paused, then turned away. “Come on, let’s go; if we take one of the falcon quasies, we can be there in a few hours.”

Lisa almost wanted to retort that Bath was only her friend because she was a kursi, but realized saying so was untrue. It was actually more accurate to say that Lisa became Bath’s friend because he was unreadable, the mysterious boy with the emotionless black shell. To him, Lisa would’ve been just like any other little human. So why did he become her friend? Because she was smart and tried hard? Because she loved adventure, loud music, and basketball?

Lisa followed after Lauretta as she mulled over her relationship with Bath. Their relationship...it just was. It came into being like most relationships, because they simply enjoyed each other’s company. Is that why Bath was so insistent that she was important? Because she was his friend?

But if she really thought about it...that was probably what mattered most to someone like him. Because Bath could turn anyone into an overpowered existence, technically anyone was disposable. But Bath didn’t want anyone else to rule with him–he wanted his friend.

It made sense, even though it didn’t make her feel better. Being Bath’s friend seemed like poor justification to give her so much authority. It felt irresponsible, if she had to be honest, like high-grade nepotism. She wanted to earn it.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she and Lauretta arrived at the falcon roost, an apartment building converted into a giant nesting complex, complete with numerous dragonleaf nests hanging from the ceiling and nestled into corners. They took the elevator up to the top, then got out and met their assigned falcon escort, a quasie named Didgie.

Lisa boarded first, resting her legs in the dragonleaf harness spanning the bird’s torso. She’d never been on a falcon before, but figured it had to be intuitive enough since nobody had yet died riding one. Well, at least that was the case two months ago...

Lauretta followed suit, climbing into place just behind Lisa.

Are you both all set? Didgie asked, his voice chirping merrily as he communicated by way of dragonleaf.

“Yeah, think so,” Lisa replied.

Since this is your first flight, I’m going to go over a few rules! Didgie warbled. First, don’t try to talk! You’ll just get nasty stuff in your mouth! Second, don’t try to move! We’ll be going too fast for motion to be safe!

What next, don’t breathe? Lisa wondered.

Finally, Didgie said, make sure you keep your flight goggles on at all times! On cue, two dragonleaf fronds rose up from the side, each carrying a pair of simple black goggles.

Lisa took her pair, surprised that they were passing out safety equipment. That was definitely a new development. Shrugging internally, she put hers on, slipping the band around her head. Lauretta did the same, and the two shared a brief moment of mutual laughter at the goggles’ bug-like appearance.

Okay, we’re off! Didgie mentally announced, his voice chirping with excited vigor. First he braced his legs, then fluttered his wings briefly while remaining grounded. He then walked over to the edge of the apartment building, peered down, and cooed. Finally, he braced his legs again; this time, he flapped his wings and propelled himself off the roof, swooping down before pumping his wings vigorously to gain altitude.

This doesn’t seem so bad, Lisa communicated through the harness’ dragonleaf. She was met with Didgie’s mental expression of laughter.

We haven’t even gained altitude yet, the quasie chortled. That’s when you humans start to scream.

—

Kayt sat across the table from Edgewood, toying at a few remaining pieces of carrot with her fork. Edgewood, meanwhile, looked on with a calm smile, looking like the picture of relaxation.

“What do you think about the news?” Kayt asked. “About the vanguard, and what they found. The fact that they’re back.”

“It seems...crazy, but all of this is crazy,” Edgewood replied before taking a sip of beer. “Makes me wish I had followed Anne offworld. That crazy kid...I bet she’s finding no end of adventure up there.”

Kayt snorted. “Probably beating something half to death with her club. Maybe she’s on Equinox.”

Edgewood frowned. “Which one is that again?”

“The one with lots of wildlife,” Kayt reminded him with a chuckle. “It has lots of aggressive stuff to smash.”

Edgewood chuckled heartily. “Yeah, sounds like a match. I bet the whole pack would have fun there as well,” he added, referring to his veritable army of trained raptors. “You know what I heard the other day, in other news?”

Kayt smiled. “What?”

“Andrew Nolenberg has taken over California.”

Kayt snorted. “The guy behind the new wave of self-driving cars? You’re full of shit.”

“Honest,” Edgewood said, raising his hands. “Well, at least he’s taken over San Francisco.”

Kayt fished her phone–if you could still call it that, since it was essentially a screen that interfaced with a watch wearable–from her pocket and did a quick search. “Huh. Seems like he really did take over San Francisco.” She looked back up. “Wait, the city-seed is still called San Francisco? That’s a little boring.”

Edgewood chuckled. “Not quite as exciting as Basalith or Kray City.”

“Anyways...how did he do it? Did he keep some of his employees even after COTD took over?”

Edgewood shrugged. “He probably hired a bunch of people to go over to Basalith when COTD first began. When COTD finally spread across the country to California, Nolenberg must’ve had his people give him some special instruction. I bet a lot of other elites did something similar.”

Kayt sighed. “I wonder what other rich people are doing. I haven’t really heard too much about other tech giants, or elected officials, for that matter. I just kind of assumed that they’d all gone into their rich-people hidey-holes until this whole transition blows over.”

“Eh, some of them, maybe,” Edgewood replied. “But not all. And like you said, just until the transition blows over. Which, in my opinion, it already has.”

He gave Kayt a searching look, then gestured with his hand. “Follow me for a sec.” Kayt weaved her arm in his, stepping lightly out into the cool, moonlit night. Edgewood leaned against Kray City’s Spire balcony, his arms draping casually over the edge.

“You see this city?” he said as she joined him. “It’s ours, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you honestly think we have more influence than Andrew Nolenberg?” Edgewood asked.

Kayt chewed her lip. “The man has a virtual monopoly on self-driving car tech, especially now that people are using it in car alternatives. So I’d have to say clearly not.”

“And yet,” Edgewood continued. “The end game on Earth for him, or any of us, is holding a city-seed.”

“Probably holds even off-world,” Kayt added.

Edgewood’s face grew uncharacteristically severe. “Yeah. And there aren’t very many city-seeds, but think of all the people who want them. If someone like me, a fucking Captain, has control of a city-seed, I’m sure every one of my commanding officers is also going to want one.” He wrapped his arm around Kayt. “We might’ve gotten here first, but there’s going to be steep competition from here on out. Get me?”

Kayt gave him a questioning look. “Think I’m slacking off?”

Edgewood snorted. “That’s not what I said. Just...we should be careful.”

—

11 minutes after announcing the tournament, Bath was still hovering over the stadium, surprised that almost nobody had come to fight for the chance to rule the city-seed. There were just eight people standing around at the stadium’s center.

I suppose I should just get on with it, Bath thought. The eight seemed pretty powerful, based on a cursory assessment; he could give them a fun little challenge. Not a tournament, but a...competition.

“All competitors have been identified,” Bath stated coolly, his voice resounding through the space. The sizable crowd of people and quasies suddenly grew quiet. “Each of you, state your name, loudly.” If they still didn’t know by now how to raise their voices using educator boons, he’d be shocked.

Thankfully, they all got the hint, and introduced themselves in short order. While they made short introductions and riled up the stadium–throwing the quasi-squirrels especially into a frenzy–Bath worked on setting up his challenge.

—

Enrique Tsai almost felt like his chest was going to burst when the Dragon’s words crashed over the stadium. Though the Dragon’s human form spoke in a normal voice, the way his words rumbled through Enrique’s chest suggested that the Dragon also spoke with an inaudible, heavy bass.

I'm doing this for Maya, he muttered to himself under his breath. Shit. Enrique looked around at the other competitors and felt beyond out-classed. They were all people who had worked with Maya's second-in-command, Miguel, a man who liked to run things from behind the scenes.

Enrique didn't understand entirely why Miguel didn't want to rule the city-seed himself, but he had a suspicion the man was trying to evade notice. Perhaps he was trying to wait out the whole Maya debacle? He was in charge of the city's security and combat-ready quasies, and Maya disappeared under his watch. Moreover, what had he been doing the past month-or-so, when it became unsafe to venture outdoors after dark? What happened to the quasies under his control?

These were all unsolved questions, but they left Enrique with an ominous feeling. I can't let him, or his people, take control of Tollan. That feeling was what stirred Enrique to enter the stadium after noting that all 7 contestants were in Miguel's pocket...even after recognizing the people were high-ranking, buffed-out combat experts.

Enrique was last to give his introduction; hands shaking with nerves, he smoothed down his hair and cleared his throat in preparation to speak.

“Hello, everyone,” he began, struggling not to stammer. “You might know who I am, might not. I’m Enrique Tsai, and I’ve worked extensively on the city remodeling project.” Specifically, as an architect by trade, he’d been working with Maya and her council to create stylized buildings and emblems. “I worked closely with Maya, and if deemed leader of this city-seed, I’d work tirelessly to make Tollan a place she can feel proud to return to.” After greeting his previous words with disinterested chatter, the audience finally responded to this last line with hoots and hollers. “Thanks.” He gave a small bow with his head.

Heart beating wildly in his chest, Enrique took a deep breath. Now that he'd finished the unofficial challenge, public speaking, he just needed to get through whatever the Dragon had in store. It couldn't be too bad, right?

—

“Now that all have introduced themselves, I will announce the rules of the competition. I have created a labyrinth under this stadium, one filled with numerous aggressive entities and traps. If you are incapacitated for any reason, you will be disqualified. The person who reaches the end of the labyrinth first, or the last person standing, will win.”

Bath smiled. “Any questions?”

—

Enrique swallowed. A labyrinth? He knew for a fact that there was no labyrinth under the stadium, meaning that the Dragon must be making one on the spot. Jesus. Just focus, focus.

The Dragon raised his arm, and his cape began to ripple out majestically behind him. Then, as he closed his fist, a hole opened up at the center of the stadium in the middle of the competitors.

Jesu~s, Enrique thought, gripping the small cross he kept in his front-right trouser pocket. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Lord help me. He had a feeling he’d be needing all the help he could get, what with the hole in the ground looking like a toothy, gaping maw. When he thought his anxiety couldn't get any worse, a moment after the ground opened up, all present could hear a bestial scream and a far-off wet-tearing sound, like something tearing off a piece of meat.

Enrique closed his eyes. His mind felt like a mush of fear and adrenaline, and he could hear the rhythm of blood pulsing through his chest and making a circuit around his body. He tried to focus on that, the rapid, but steady, rhythm. In, and out, like the tide. He took deep breaths, one for every six beats of his chest: in two three, out five six.

When Enrique finally opened his eyes a 15 seconds later, they shone with determined resolve. Let’s do this, he told himself. Just do it. Do it. He clenched his fist, knowing that there was no backing out.

He was so focused, he didn't even register that, of all the competitors, he was first to jump down the hole.