Eniola rubbed her forehead and blinked to make sure they were in the same reality before her muscles tensed. Eniola wanted to ask what happened, but it was clear. Paradox roped them into a simulation. Only it wasn’t with their SCOPElenses on. This was real.

“Lucia—” Eniola caught her arm, but she turned away and looked at the ground.

“You messed up,” Lucia said seriously. “You bought an illegal power-up. If they found it, we’d be done for.” The weight sunk into Eniola. It was one thing if her parents found out she played SCOPE, but doing something illegal wouldn’t help her case. Eniola almost threw away her SCOPE career before it even began.

How could she be so stupid?

“I know, I know,” Eniola fretted. “But we can fix this.”

“It’s going to take some grand, cosmic, one-in-a-million, divinely inspired miracle to fix this,” Lucia said. “If we get the game makers on board, we go down, but if we don’t get this fixed, Paradox is going to do some reality transfer.”

“How did he just do that to us?” Theo said, thinking.

“It’s part of the new device he’s making,” Jay explained. “Those synthetic atoms that carry the fabric of a new reality or something. That’s what I got, at least. Like I said, my grades were questionable.”

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Iris said. “He just broke all the laws of physics and got away with it. Maybe he just wants to make SCOPE real, but if something like this gets into the hands of bad people, think of what it could do.”

“How are we going to fix this?” Eniola said. “The power-up might not even shield us. And we don’t even know who Paradox is?” Eniola stopped, then continued. “But what if they aren’t real?”

“What do you mean?” Jay asked.

“It’s likely that they could just be some AI. I mean, have we even seen them touch anyone or anything?” Eniola speculated. “I don’t know, I’m just saying stuff.”

“Maybe?” Theo said. “They can easily just be computer-generated. But AI doesn’t just spring up from nowhere. Someone has to be behind this even if Paradox isn’t real.”

“So they’re like some figurehead?” Jay speculated.

“Perhaps,” Eniola said. “Just someone to look good for the actual people behind them. Paradox represents anonymity. No strings attached. Just the type of person to do something like this.”

“How are we going to do this?” Iris exclaimed. “We don’t know what this device is or what it can do. And we can’t probe deeper, because we’re in hot water too.” Iris gave an icy stare at Eniola that almost was a glare.

“I’m sorry,” Eniola apologized again. “I didn’t know it would be this bad.”

“You had the best interests of the team in mind,” Jay said. “You did it because Paradox was targeting us.”

“Yeah,” Lucia agreed. “I mean, it set us back, but you did it for the team. So that we could succeed.” Lucia suddenly drew her into a hug, and the rest of the tall teammates piled around her. “We have 4 days until the finals. We need a plan.”

“Let’s take these guys down!” Theo exclaimed, and they did their signature Rogue team cheer amid the busy arena. “Side challenges here we come!”

And they were unstoppable.

They ended up battling different teams in a mixture of numbers and members. Eniola knew she and Theo were the best pair for SCOPE because they were so opposite, yet it came together at the right time. He was more of a fighter who went for the attack right away, and she was a strategist who analyzed the gameplay. Together, they ended up winning most of the 2 by 2’s.

They went hard on the side challenges, winning more than they lost. The thrill of the victory washed over them again and again. Their name on the scoreboard flipped sporadically, either up or down. Early in the game, Eniola saw the finals as this faraway dream, but now she was heading down the path to actually winning. It felt unreal. And she was doing it with her friends.

And when Theo was down in the pit, on the hover beside Howie representing Rogue, waiting for the top 5 to be called, they were racing with more nerves than ever. This was the make-or-break of this competition. Last year, this was the moment everything came crashing down. When Theo and Keone had that fight, minutes later, they were disqualified.

Eniola was sitting next to Jay, who grabbed her hand tight in his own, watching the build-up with a mix of nervousness and excitement. She found herself squeezing hard onto his hand like he was going to get up and run away into oblivion. They made brief eye contact for a second before Eniola swiftly turned away, and felt heat spread into her cheeks.

Focus on the top five, not his eyes, she repeated over and over in her head until it became automatic.

“Those in the top five will compete against each other and become the Top 3,” Howie explained. “To everyone who has made it this far, thank you for playing.” The dramatic mood kicked in once again and the lights went low.

“Teams who will stay,” she announced, and the hovers began lighting up. The team captain she recognized from the Black Infinity was chosen. The arena cheered, and other teams were selected. ULTRA, the Omega Riders, and Team Inferno.

Eniola’s heartbeat was so loud and fast she thought it could shatter her ribs. There was one spot left and Rogue still wasn’t chosen. They had to have made it this far.

Jay laced his fingers through hers and squeezed it even tighter that his knuckles went white. He didn’t do the same for Iris who was on the other side of him. But she didn’t want to overthink it.

“Come on,” he whispered in anticipation.

“Rogue!” she announced. This time it didn’t take Eniola time to register. They all burst up from their seats and ran into a group hug. Theo came back and hugged them over top of them.

“We’re in the top five, baby!” Theo shouted excitedly. They had made it this far! It felt exhilarating! Eniola looked over at the scoreboard.

Rogue 5th place///154000 pts

Unbelievable. Eniola stared marvellously, which the euphoria clouded through her. They had moved to five places in one afternoon. One long afternoon of playing the game they were all so passionate about. Eniola was surprised that they hadn’t outplayed themselves to the point of unconsciousness.

“Can I get all the teams to the stage, please?” Howie asked, because they practically ran off of their seats and onto the group hover, with excitement. ULTRA was next to them, shooting them looks of contempt. Why were they mad? Weren’t ULTRA in the same place as Rogue?

“One of these five teams here,” Howie began. “You can send one of these teams straight to the Top 3, by voting and adding to their existing scores. 50 fan votes equal 20 points, and whoever ends up with the most votes will automatically get to the finals.” Eniola knew this process would happen, but then it didn’t because with Rogue gone, they had 4 teams for the battle round.

“Here are each group’s points,” Howie said, and the graphic scoreboard behind her morphed into the scores of the five teams represented by bars. Team Inferno was first, and Rogue was last. Bright speckles burst out in the audience, showing fans were taking out their phones to vote. Eniola prayed they would get voted for, as heat once again spread through her body.

“Get ready… now!” Howie announced, and immediately the bars started filling with points and the audience with exciting conversation. Other teams’ points were moving at rapid speed, while Rogue was going moderately. Eniola frowned.

“Everybody vote!” Jay yelled to the audience and winked, and feminine cheers became more apparent. She even heard a couple of whistles. Eniola remembered how Iris said he would be an advantage. Suddenly, their vote surged, but not enough to put them in the first place. Eniola frowned soon.

After what seemed like 20 minutes of standing and waiting for votes, it was finally closed. Of course Rogue didn’t win. Black Infinity, the new team, got the most votes and was automatically added to the Top 3. The 4 remaining teams would go to the battle round.

Although disappointed, Eniola held her head high. If all went well tomorrow, they’d be added to the Top 3 and she could pursue her dreams.