Apparently, the Conscious Competition healers didn’t allow visitors into their rooms—at least, not freely. A floating sign above the Healing Center’s entrance read:

“IMPORTANT: Healing is a very arduous and delicate process. To ensure the full recovery of all injured fighters, please wait outside the room until your associate or loved one is ready for pickup or visitation.”

Due to this, Deon had been sitting in the waiting room for a while now. Phillip sat across from him on a padded bench, while Pang had wandered off somewhere out of boredom. The room was white and well lit under the shine of several glowing orbs, just like the ones in their hotel rooms.

Weirdly enough, Deon wished Pang would come back. She would keep a conversation going, as opposed to the silent, glum Phillip.

A floating flat screen was against one of the walls, but since the next fight hadn’t yet begun, it showed countless commercials—more than half of which featured Kotono Inoue, Hiroko Hamasaki, or both. Everything about them was alluring, no matter how trivial the advertised product was. The young women were flawlessly beautiful and strong.

Pang finally made her way back over to the waiting room, carrying three bags of some sort of sweet snack. She tossed one to Deon, and then sat close to Phillip and handed him another.

“They have stuff down the hall,” she said.

“Thanks,” Deon replied uncomfortably. Hanging around with these two only felt stranger without Skrili.

Pang shrugged. “Gosh, can Skrili hurry up and heal? She’s gonna miss the next fight,” she said, eyeing the door with little expectation.

“It’s gonna take a long time,” Deon explained. “After Concussion, she needs at least half a day to feel back to normal. That’s with the TeamTrack healing thing, at least.”

Pang shook her head with a laugh. “That Skrili…she didn’t even bother to tell me she could do Concussion now.”

“I guess you underestimated her,” Deon suggested. After all, both times they crossed paths in No Man’s Land, Pang wouldn’t stop talking down to her. As far as Deon was concerned, she only changed her attitude once she needed Skrili for this tournament.

It bothered him.

“Oh, and you must understand Skrili so much better than me, huh?” Pang challenged. Now her golden eyes were on him, and he couldn’t tell if she was entertained or aggravated by his statement.

“Maybe,” shrugged Deon.

“Oh, okay. Tell me about her, then,” insisted Pang. “Why do you think she teamed up with you?”

Deon hesitated. If he was honest, he wasn’t entirely sure.

“I know her, because she’s just like me,” Pang told him. “You need to make sure you really know what you’re getting yourself into with her, or you’re gonna end up in a bad spot. I tried warning you before.”

She’s nothing like you…Deon wanted to say. He felt his face grow warm with anger, so he tried to suppress it.

Pang must have noticed his eyes glowing, because she leaned forward with an excited smile. “You’re too much fun to pick on, Deon,” she said with a laugh. “How’s that cool power-up, by the way? Need help?”

Thankfully, energetic music coming from the floating screen interrupted their conversation. They all looked to find a broadcast of the next fight was about to begin.

Deon watched eagerly. At last, he’d get to see Alex and Ving compete.

“Welllllcome back!!” Soot’s voice greeted. He sounded much more up-front, as opposed to the usual echoed projection inside the arena.

Deon could feel the rumble of applause and shouts, even from the waiting room deep in the halls of Gloat Stadium.

“We have quite the matchup next, between two true powerhouse teams. It could go either way,” Talonvorp chimed in.

“Right. First, please welcome the ever-elegant, ever electric: Lozu and Richvon Gorgasti!!”

Two very light, stuck-up looking fighters emerged from the west gate and floated on a platform into the arena. They dressed in fashionable button-up clothes that seemed designed just as much for a formal gathering as they were for exercise. The duo didn’t acknowledge the screaming audience as they focused ahead with confidence.

“Hailing from the beautiful Archdove Kingdom here in Fantasy Country, this cousin duo has been quickly ascending the Consciousness League ranks,” Talonvorp shared. “Lozu’s Mismatch abilities can confuse even her most experienced competition, while Richvon can use another teams’ chemistry to their own detriment. On top of that, they’re great fighters: their kingdom’s Consciousness Academy taught them well.”

Lozu flipped her mint-green hair flauntingly as she and her cousin stepped onto the fighting platform.

“And now for their opponents, whose background is pretty much the opposite—but that doesn’t hold back their potential,” Soot began. “From two tiny habitations in Fiction Country, you know ‘em, you love ‘em: it’s your most recent Fiction Country Conscious Competition champions: Alex Malachi and Ving Paw Nee!!”

“I don’t think these two need any introduction,” added Talonvorp with a laugh. “It’s always a pleasure to see this team give it their all.”

Alex and Ving emerged from their gate and floated in. The audience went even wilder for them. While Ving bowed peacefully to each corner of the stadium, Alex gave a big, excited smile.

In a moment, the two teams faced each other on the fighting platform.

Pang ripped open her snack and tossed a piece into her mouth. “They’re announcing this like it’s evenly matched,” she criticized. “Alex and Ving have this, easily.”

“Really?” questioned Deon.

“Just watch.”

After the audience’s ritualistic countdown, the teams sprung into action.

“We got this, Ving,” Alex declared. “Feel good?”

“Certainly,” came Ving’s reply.

Richvon let out a single laugh. “Simpletons. Your bond will only lead to your defeat,” he warned. “Ah, I can feel it already…so potent…” he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. When he reopened them, though, they had gone from sharp and focused to hazy and reddish. “The good stuff…” he said slowly.

“How is it?” Lozu inquired.

“Great vibes, man….” Richvon slurred, leaning lazily. “I feel the love…”

What the heck am I watching? Deon wondered.

“As expected, Richvon used his Vibefeeder powers to increase his fighting ability!” Soot narrated.

“Facing a team like Alex and Ving, he must be getting all sorts of positive vibes from their great chemistry,” Talonvorp added. “His fighting reflexes could be at an all-time high now.”

“I see what you did there.”

“Onto the plan, Richvon,” Lozu instructed intensely.

“Sure…” he mumbled back.

The duo charged at Alex and Ving, who waited in patient defensive positions. Ving grabbed hold of her long feathered robe and spread it wide like wings.

A mischievous smile appeared on Lozu’s face. “Champions or not, you can’t fight if you can’t control your body properly,” she said as they closed in.

Ving’s arm moved backwards awkwardly. She looked at her leg, seemingly wanting it to shift, but her arm had moved instead. “She’s done it,” Ving noted calmly.

Alex seemed to be facing the same issue.

“It looks like Lozu has already activated her Mismatch abilities! Now Alex and Ving won’t be able to control their limbs properly!” Soot announced.

“She affected both of them at once—that’s extremely difficult even among certified Mismatches. Lozu is quite the contender,” Talonvorp noted.

With only seconds before their enemies would be upon them, and unable to command their bodies correctly, Alex and Ving looked on.

Alex smirked. “Don’t move, Ving.”

“Right.”

Deon’s eyes widened as he watched the screen. “Alex wants to just let them close in? They’re not even gonna defend themselves?” he worried.

“Just keep watching,” said Pang.

Lozu and Richvon were upon them now, about to strike.

But then, a gust of air erupted up from underneath Ving. Her outstretched cloak took to the wind, and she soared into the air. The gust also shoved Lozu and Richvon, causing them to stumble backwards.

“NO!” Lozu steamed. “Richvon, hit her out of the sky! She’s still mismatched: she can’t defend herself!”

“Fair enough, man…” Richvon said lazily. “I’m lovin’ these vibes…”

Once more, Lozu began charging at Alex. He waited unmoving.

Meanwhile, Ving waited suspended in the air, wind still shooting all around her. Richvon targeted her, and then with a great and confident leap, darted up after her. His precision was perfect—he was about to punch her right out of the sky.

But Ving’s tiny smile remained. As he drew close, the wind pushed her body out of harm’s way. Then as Richvon passed by her, the air positioned Ving sideways and launched her feet-first into Richvon’s back. He plummeted out of the air, and then crashed outside the platform.

Lozu paused her advance to see her teammate lying out of bounds, still smiling to himself blissfully. She gritted her teeth.

“This is ridiculous. I’m ending this!” Lozu growled, pouncing at Alex.

He still stood undefended. “Sorry, you’re great with your Mismatch ability and all, but we don’t need to move our bodies to win,” he said.

Lozu swung a fist—but despite standing directly in front of Alex, she missed. In fact, she punched so slow, it looked like she had merely tried to tap him with her fist.

Then the wind rapidly swooped Ving down out of the sky, right towards Lozu. Once again positioned legs-first, Ving kicked her directly. The impact sent her sliding across the platform until she fell right off the edge.

Just like that, it was over.

“With one hit each, Lozu and Richvon are already defeated by ring-out!! Alex and Ving have done it!!” Soot exclaimed as the audience roared.

“Incredible…they’ve simply waltzed right into the semi-finals,” said Talonvorp. “We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the young Pang and Skrili have what it takes to face them. I can’t wait!”

“Oh, we have what it takes,” Pang said cockily.

“Okay—I’m totally lost,” Deon admitted. “So…Ving’s powers let her fly…and Lozu’s just terrible at punching for some reason?”

“Fair guesses, but no,” Pang told him. “Ving and Alex fight as one unit—even down to using their powers. That’s why they’re such a strong team. Alex is an Imaginer who specializes in air and wind. He was carrying Ving through the air that whole time, and she trusted him to protect her and use her as a weapon.”

“Oh, so that’s why they didn’t have to actually move,” Deon noted. “But—why wasn’t Lozu able to punch Alex?”

“That’s where Ving’s type came in,” Pang explained. “She’s a Perceiver. She can change the speed people perceive things at. So she used that to totally throw off Lozu’s timing, and then BOOM! She was too late.”

“Whoa…that’s some crafty fighting,” uttered Deon. It was no wonder Alex and Ving were champions.

“Lozu and Richvon have decent types if you ask me, but they’re no match for Alex and Ving’s chemistry,” added Pang. “Good teams depends on each other; that’s why you gotta do some soul-searching if you really think you can be Skrili’s teammate. If you don’t even know each other, you can’t trust each other. And if you can’t trust each other, you can’t depend on each other. Simple as that.”

Deon glared at her, again at a loss for a witty retort. She had a point.

“What are you even after, anyway?” Pang pressed. “Why Skrili? What, just trying to get stronger? To be the strongest? Most famous? Huh?”

Deon was silent. His face felt warm.

“That’s not gonna cut it,” said Pang bitingly.

“Why?” Deon finally shot.

“I already told you. Because I know Skrili. She’s like me.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean, though?!”

“It means I know what she wants!” Pang exclaimed. “She—”

The Healing Center’s door vanished, and Skrili entered quietly followed by a white-cloaked doctor.

Pang regained her composure. “Hey girl,” she greeted. “You crushed it today.”

She’s acting all nice again like nothing even happened back in No Man’s Land, Deon thought begrudgingly. But he tried to let it go for now—it wasn’t the time. After all, this was the first time he’d seen Skrili in a couple days, aside from watching her compete.

“Skrili, that was awesome fighting!” he decided to say. “All that training paid off.”

Skrili nodded, seeming slightly confused and out of it.

“She recovered perfectly,” the doctor shared to Pang. “The healing magic’s effect will take a while to wear off, so she might seem a little groggy. No more fighting or training for her today. Just make sure you let her rest, and she’ll be safe to fight again tomorrow.”

“Thanks doc!” called Pang as he reentered the healing center, the door reappearing behind him.

Skrili stood before them in silence, looking around like the room was spinning.

“You gonna help her back to the hotel, or what?”

Deon realized Pang was talking to him.

“I thought she was your teammate now,” she added.

“…Right,” Deon uttered, trying again to swallow his frustration with her. He began to stand.

But suddenly, Phillip stirred. He stood up first.

“Let’s all help her back together,” he insisted simply. He walked over to Skrili as Deon and Pang fell silent at his words. Phillip looked at Skrili earnestly. “Thank you…for fighting for my life,” he said.

“Okay,” replied Skrili, looking slightly beyond him.

“I’ll…I’ll thank you again when your wits are back,” he decided.

Pang chuckled. “Okay, Phyllis. You’re right. Deon was just being petty, anyways.”

“I was?!” Deon spat.

Pang’s laughter increased. The two of them joined Phillip and Skrili as they began their way through the white halls.

Deon kept an eye on Skrili as they walked. She seemed like she was in her own world, like his Uncle Adon when he drank too much. While he was glad the healing worked, he wished he could at least have a conversation with her. Once again, this Conscious Competition had kept them distant.

Phillip stepped aside to check a map floating along the wall to make sure they were headed the right way. Once he did, Pang subtly drew close to Deon.

“My offer still stands, by the way,” she murmured.

Deon knew exactly what she meant, but he pretended he’d forgotten. “Hm?”

“Your power-up, silly. I wanna see it again. I’ll let you practice it on me.”

Deon hesitated. He knew Pang was exactly who he needed to awaken it again. But then he looked at Skrili. She had specifically told him not to listen to Pang the other day.

Why?

By now, Phillip was returning to them.

“I’ll…let you know,” Deon muttered back.

~~~

Lammy stood humming to himself at the front counter of the Phoenix’s Gloat Stadium setup. Pete had offered to give him a break from grilling in the back, so they agreed to switch places for a bit.

At first he was nervous about helping customers directly, but these Conscious Competition attendees were much more polite than Food Town’s clientele.

Usually there was more of a rush in between fights, but business was slow. He overheard that some famous musical group was performing before the next faceoff, so he figured that was why.

Just when he was about to go check on things in the back, a slender figure in a hooded black cloak slipped up to the counter. Her face was hidden, but Lammy noticed some strawberry blonde curls flowing out of her hood.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” Lammy asked.

“One Phoenix Float, please,” she requested very softly. She seemed uneasy about speaking with him.

“Sure,” he said. After glancing at the cloaked girl with concern, he stepped over to the drink station and began acquiring the proper ingredients.

But as he put the drink together, he couldn’t help glancing back over to this mysterious girl. She repeatedly looked behind her, keeping her head down.

Soon, the beverage was complete. Lammy hoped he’d made it right, and that maybe it would ease this girl’s apprehension.

“Hi again, Lammy!” came Zayza’s voice. She emerged from the crowd, carrying the Phoenix food box with a big smile as she approached the restaurant.

“Still having fun?” he asked.

“It’s certainly keeping me busy!”

She passed by the cloaked girl, making her way towards the kitchen to restock.

But oddly, the cloaked girl gave a double-take when she noticed Zayza. Lammy watched as the girl’s gaze followed Zayza with surprise. It was like…

…She recognized her.

“Hey!” someone exclaimed from the crowd.

Abruptly, several extremely tall and muscular men in matching dark attire forced their way through the foot traffic and hurriedly approached the restaurant counter. They stood close behind the cloaked girl in a semicircle, their arms spread out seemingly to guard her.

The girl jumped, startled.

“Ms. Inoue, what are you doing over here?” one of the men asked urgently.

“You can’t keep trying to wander off. Stay with us,” another commanded. “We were worried sick.”

“I’m…s—sorry,” she stammered.

“No you’re not. Come on, come with us.”

The young woman turned towards Lammy, looking to the newly prepared Phoenix Float with longing. Finally, he could see her face: it really was Kotono Inoue, the famous consciousness fighter plastered all over this stadium in their decorations and advertisements. Rob and Pete were obsessed—they said she and her teammate Hiroko were the best in the business.

However, she seemed very different from all her professional appearances on the walls and screens. Instead of giving off a confident, flashy aura, she was extremely timid. There was an intense blush on her nose and cheeks. This girl didn’t look like a champion at all.

Kotono’s round red eyes switched quickly between the float and Lammy, as if begging him to bring it to her while she still had the chance. Lammy thought it best to help her out—it was clear she wasn’t having a great day.

But one of the guards abruptly lowered her hood over her eyes and stepped in front of Lammy’s view to hide her.

“Oh no you don’t, Ms. Inoue,” he said. “You know you can’t put something like that in your body. You’re fighting today; you should know better.”

The guards guided her away from the Phoenix. Kotono tried to look back one more time, but they blocked her view and pushed her along gently. Soon, they were all out of sight.

Lammy stared on, wishing he could have intervened.

But…what was the Kotono Inoue, from the most famous team in Fantasy Country, doing at their humble little burger joint?

Then Lammy’s heart skipped as he pondered a much more alarming question:

The way she looked at Zayza…Lammy thought. Kotono Inoue…knows her?

Wait…she knows Zayza…even with the magical earrings?!