Rachel and the Water Nexus arrived nearly three hours later, by which point the Fire Nexus was getting antsy with the city of New Toledo. The artificial feeling, combined with the uncertain weather that seemed to keep the temperature at a steady sixty degrees, and the lack of any visible humans all combined to lend the city a slightly sinister air. Will in particular felt as though he’d spent his entire life preparing to find this place, and that it would ultimately end here. It was a ridiculous notion, but he couldn’t manage to shake it.

He was all too glad to see Felix and Olivia when the Water Nexus stepped out of the train station. They seemed wholly unbothered by the city, but of course, they’d been there before. Will wondered how much of the town they helped rebuild. They were responsible for renewing the river and making the lands around New Toledo more fertile. He assumed there were more hidden aspects to the city that they’d had a hand in.

“This place feels weird,” Felix said after he and Will had greeted each other. He rubbed one of his forearms, looking thoughtful. “I can’t help but feel like something bad is going to happen here.”

In Will’s mind, he saw the wasteland from his dream vision. He hoped that was just a coincidence. He didn’t see how this new city could be reduced to rubble that quickly, even if there were five Nexuses present. He shook his head to clear the fear away and patted Felix on the shoulder. “Well, if something does break out, you’ll have my help.”

“Thanks,” Felix said, taking a deep breath. His usual eager grin broke out then. “Man, I’ve been looking forward to this all year. I’m gonna crush it.”

Will snorted loudly. “Yeah, right. You don’t stand a chance.”

“What a wonderful sense of rivalry!”

They both spun around to see Hitori coming over. He had the Soul Nexus with them and smiled widely at them. Behind him was a crow of people in ornate green and gold robes. Bai Xiao and the Earth Nexus. They looked the most at east among the gathered Nexians, which struck Will as odd. He’d expected the Earth Nexus Alpha to be more on edge, at least while he was so close to the man that had killed his elder brother. But his face was calm and reserved, and he looked politely interested in what Hitori was saying.

“Well,” The Soul Nexus Alpha said, making a quick gesture to his Nexus, who all turned and ran off in different directions. “I hope you don’t mind, but I think we’ll start right away. Edward, Rachel, and Bai Xiao, I’ll give each of you a location. Go there, and wait for the start signal.”

“Where’s the Air Nexus?” Someone asked. Will couldn’t pinpoint who’d spoken. Then another person asked, “Where are your people going?”

“Master Williams received his location early,” Hitori explained. “He can hear across great distances, so I thought it would be fairer to send him on early and keep your locations private.”

An expectant silence followed these words, and Hitori made a small gesture of understanding. “My fellow Soul Nexians are scattered throughout the city to act as both referees and to provide help should someone become critically injured.”

“And what’s the purpose of this?” Edward asked. “Is this part of the tournament?”

“It is the entire tournament, Edward-san,” Hitori explained. “For now, take these, and I will explain.”

Kenta, Will’s old tournament friend, passed a parcel to each of the Alphas. Will watched Edward open him to reveal a collection of necklaces. On closer inspection, Will realized they were dog tags.

“Each of you will wear one of these tags,” Hitori said, raising his voice to be heard over the outbreak of muttering as each Nexus discussed this new event. “Protect it as if it were a prized possession. If you lose ownership of it for more than an hour, you will be out of the running.”

“Hunt and Retrieve,” Will muttered. Charlisa frowned, not understanding, so he elaborated. “I assume we’ll get points based on how many tags we recover.”

“If you’re out, you’ll be directed to the train station behind me,” Hitori continued, “Where you’ll remain until the end of the tournament. The last members standing, if alone, will be crowned the victor and be given an appropriate reward.”

“What if there are multiple people from the same Nexus still left standing?” Will asked. “Are we expected to fight each other?”

“I’ll leave that to you,” Hitori replied. “You’ll decide which one of you gets the prize. Simple enough, yes?”

Several of them nodded, though nobody spoke. Hitori didn’t seem to expect otherwise. He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically, looking eager to begin. “Well then! Head to the location your Alpha has been given, and wait for the signal to start! And remember, Alphas and Lieutenants can help with the planning, but they are not allowed to fight!”

Will glanced at the paper Edward was shoving at him. It contained detailed instructions on how to get to their starting location from the train station. “I thought this would be a more traditional tournament. Did you know it was going to end up like this?”

Edward shook his head. “I only knew what Hitori shared. Let’s get a move one. We can discuss it on the way.”

————————————————————————————————————————————

“Okay, everyone. Listen up.”

They’d gone over basic plans, and Will, Charlisa, and James were fully aware of what they were expected to do. Each of them would lead a smaller group, and move in said groups around the city, working together to capture enemy tags. James’ group would stay near the base location to act as information control, passing messages along. Also, as Edward had said quite clearly, he didn’t want to risk someone making a move and sneak-attacking while they were split up.

Charlisa would remain in the area, patrolling with her group and catching any passing Nexians by surprise. She was perfectly suited for that role, Will thought since she had the best control over her powers. She could hit a target with her fire from up to three hundred feet away, and that was on a bad day, as she said. But for Will, Edward had left the decision of what he wanted to do up to him. His group was comprised of the strongest mix of Nexus and hand-to-hand fighters.

“Make sure you get as many tags as you can,” Noratuk reminded him. “You’ve got good stamina, so you can afford to go gung-ho from the start. If we strike first, we can take out a lot of the competition.”

Will nodded to show he understood. His throat was a little too tight just then for speech. He wondered if this was what it had felt like for them during the Nexus war when they expected enemies to show up at any given time. Were they this tense? Did they too feel like there was a cold ball of ice slipping slowly into their stomach, threatening to weigh them down so they could never leave that spot? Noratuk punched him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his grim mood.

“Oh, relax,” she said dryly. “We know you’re nervous. But we also know how strong you’ve gotten. So prove us right.”

It took a little effort, but Will returned her smile. “You’re right, sorry. I’ll get my head in the game.”

Noratuk laughed. “I never get tired of hearing that. Alright, as soon as the signal comes, you’re taking off. Talk to your group.”

Will spared half a glance for Charlisa before moving off to his group. She looked a little queasy, he thought. Her face was paler than usual, and she was holding her stomach in a way that suggested she was nauseous. She notices him watching her and smiles reassuringly. Don’t waste your time worrying about me, she thought. He knew she was right, even if he didn’t like it. He couldn’t think of anyone that could take care of themselves better than the Ambrose family.

“Fine, then,” he said under his breath. “I’ll just go talk to my group.”

He studied them as he drew closer. Michael the explosive expert, Emmet and Joseph Coffee, Angel, Tamara Kupik, and Richard. The previously arrogant young man who had attacked Will months and months ago didn’t look too pleased with the situation, but he nodded respectfully all the same. Will returned the nod, wondering if Richard was going to be a problem in the upcoming fights. He didn’t have time to argue.

“You ready?” He asked. He phrased it as a general question to all of them, but he looked specifically at Richard. They all nodded. “Alright. We’re going to keep on the move, so make sure to keep your Condition in mind. Save the brunt of the fighting for the long-range at first. We don’t want to get in too close until we’re more sure of our ground.”

They all nodded their understanding. Again, Will reflected how odd it was to give orders, not to mention see them received well. He looked at Michael, who had to be at least twenty years older than him. “How far can you make an explosion Michael?”

The man frowned thoughtfully as he considered his reply. “Truth be told, not that far. Charlisa puts me to shame. I can reach maybe fifty to eighty feet. After that, it’s wild guesswork.”

“That’s more than enough for now,” Will put in. He turned to Emmet and Joseph, who, he knew, were good with the long-range as well. “You two will strike first if we find anyone. You’ll be faster than Michael, and you can probably disguise what he’s doing.”

“Oh, that’s good thinking,” Michael replied. “If they don’t know it’s me, I can keep it up before they catch on.”

“That’s what I was thinking. The longer it takes them to understand that you’re the one bombarding them, the better it is for us. We may even be able to take out entire groups before they get wise.”

“I suppose it helps that the Nexus is still such a new thing,” Angel said. “We’ve experimented so much with our flames that they won't’ be able to predict what we’ll do.”

“True,” Michael agreed, but with an amendment. “But the same will be said about anyone we face. So we should make sure to be ready to react.”

“Exactly,” Will agreed. “That's why you and I will be the vanguard, Angel. We’ll cover any surprise tactics, and take care of anyone that gets too close.”

“What about us?” Emmet asked, gesturing to himself, Emmet, and Richard. “What’s our role?”

“You’re our backup defense,” Will said. “If they’re about to get past Angel or me, you step in. And when we need to take a chance to recharge, you can swap out.”

He flicked his gaze over each of them in turn, making sure they understood. They all gave affirmative nods. Even Richard looked completely fine with the idea. Maybe their brief history of conflict was behind them, he thought. The idea wasn’t a huge boon, but it was nevertheless nice to notice. He turned back to where Charlisa was standing, just finishing with her group. She caught his eye and jerked her head to the side. He told the others to relax and get ready to move, then walked briskly over to her.

“What’s up?” He asked, his brows raised. “I noticed you looked a little pale. You feeling alright?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Just nauseous all of a sudden. And I’m feeling heavier than normal.”

He looked her up and down at that, noticing again that she did seem a little bloated. The first time he’d noticed it, he’d just put it down to the huge meal they’d eaten. But that had been several hours ago now. It was small, but there was a definite bulge to her stomach, just the smallest bump. She caught him staring, and nudged him in the ribs, not being too gentle. “Hey, my eyes are up here!”

He quickly made a placating gesture, a frightening yet wonderful idea just then occurring to him. “Charlisa. I know this is a personal question, but do you think you might be…”

She moved quickly, stepping forward and clamping one hand over his jaw to silence him. Her eyes were suddenly inches from his own, wide with panic. “Damnit Will, don’t mention it now! I know what it is too, alright? I got a test from one of the staff on the train. Just be quiet for now. We’ll screw everyone else up if they know!”

Just then, a long, rising note rang out through the city of New Toledo. It was the start signal!