Following Wildfire’s dismissal, Alec, Maddison, Ethan, and Javon retraced their route through the forest, back to the field, and up the path to their Dormitory with the rest of the Hades students. Their squad drew many curious glances as they walked, mainly because all of them were wearing burned clothing, but in Alec’s case, because the Earth Mimicry, as Wildfire had dubbed it, had only just worn off, leaving him in nothing but the shirt he had borrowed from Javon tied around his waist; he sighed with relief as the granite-looking coat faded from his skin, so that it returned to its usual fair colour. On the downside, however, as the stone faded, so the throbbing pain in his temple returned.

They marched on in silence. Maddison had her arms crossed and was scowling, as usual; Ethan was frowning; but Javon looked strangely excited, and it was he who broke the silence that had fallen over them.

“I can't believe it,” he said. “He's supposed to still be recovering, and yet — that was amazing!” This was quite the turnaround from Javon’s commentary about Wildfire the previous night, Alec noted, but then his eyes fell on Ethan and he remembered what he had realized during their session.

“It was you,” he said abruptly. Javon stopped talking at once, and he, Maddison, and Ethan all looked around curiously at the note of accusation. “You made me pick a fight with that boy last night. That's why you were laughing, wasn't it? You used your psychic powers on me, the same way you used them on Wildfire just now!”

“Yeah, so?”

Alec, who had fully expected Ethan to deny that he'd done any such thing, stared, astounded, as Ethan shrugged at him. “You — you did? But — why would you do that?” he yelled, so loudly that several of the groups up ahead stopped walking and looked around.

Ethan stopped walking too. “What do you think, I was bored.”

“That kid is probably itching to start a fight with me now. Because of you!” Alec said furiously.

“Oh, calm down,” Ethan said. “First off, I didn't make you respond that way; you wanted to stand up to him anyway, but you were just going to sit back and let him walk over you instead, so I helped you speak up for yourself. Besides, it wasn't about starting a fight, it was about not taking any more flack from them. You saw how he treated you, just because you're in Hades and he's in Zeus. They think they're all that because the teachers think they're all that. I just thought maybe we should stop making them feel like that too. We don't retaliate, they're just gonna keep spitting on us, because they know we'll let them.”

Alec glared at him. A small part of him, beneath the anger and disbelief, appreciated the sentiment of what Ethan was saying, but he also knew that it would never be that easy. Most bullies didn't back down simply because their charges showed them an inkling of defiance. “And would you've done what you made me do?”

“What? Of course not!” Ethan said, looking incredulous. “I can't go picking fights, with my track record, they'll suspend me, at the very least. And I told you, I'd rather be here than where I come from.”

“It's no use fighting about it now,” Maddison said firmly, as Alec made to retort, outraged. “What's done is done, all we can do is try to avoid future confrontations.” She cast a severe look at Ethan. “Now let's get back to the Dorm.”

It was the first time she had spoken in front of them; she was rather soft-spoken for someone who fought so savagely. Alec sighed, feeling the fight drain out of him.

“Yeah, I guess you're right,” he said. As they set off back up the path, he added, “Anyway, that was a pretty nice bit of fighting back there. How did you do that with the knives?”

“It's one of my powers,” Maddison said. “I can manipulate the calcium levels in my bones to expand them, and use the excess to create weapons.”

“Not bad,” Ethan said. “You neither, bud,” he called to Alec, grinning. “At least this way, if Messus does try to smash your face in, you can just stone up and he won't be able to hurt you.”

“Ha ha,” Alec said, scowling at him.

They proceeded up to the Dormitory, where they bid goodbye to Maddison as she swept across the room to the left staircase and out of sight towards the girls’ rooms. Ethan slipped into a room near the start of the corridor, and Javon and Alec returned to their own. Their schedule for the day having concluded with their meeting with Wildfire, the only thing they had to look forward to now was dinner, so Alec graciously seized a fresh uniform from his section of the dresser and accompanied Javon to the bathrooms to wash up. Afterwards, they parted ways, Javon to return to the common area, and Alec to head to the Medical Wing, to request something for his throbbing headache, which had not yet died down.

As he strode back to his Dorm minutes later, a small packet containing two pills clutched in his hand, his spirits sank as he found himself trapped in the scene he'd been trying to avoid. Near the Zeus Dorm, he ran into three gold-and-white-clad figures, prominent among them Damon Messus, his eyes glinting at the sight of Alec.

“Look, I don't want any trouble,” Alec said at once, automatically casting an eye around for Ethan. “Last night was —”

“It's all good, Hades,” Damon said calmly. “Not here to fight you. Matter of fact, I wasn't myself last night either, still trying to figure out what happened, but no matter. The whole rival thing is so . . . outdated, don't you think?”

“Okay . . . but then, why are you here then?” Alec asked, nonplussed.

“I live here,” he said, gesturing around at the block, which was painted in the Sky God's colours. “But I have been wanting to run into you again. I heard about you last night: you're the guy that beat Shadow Shifter, the one that was there when Wildfire was injured. Pretty interesting. So hear what? I want to see what the hype is all about. Are you signing up for the Tournament, too?”

“The what?” Alec asked blankly.

Damon rolled his eyes, the easiness with which he had been conversing so far vanishing in an instant. “The Interform Tournament,” he said impatiently. “Between the three Dorms, get the details on your own time. Point is, in order to advance to the next year, every student needs a certain number of merits. You can get merits from school work, or other extracurriculars. The Tournament is one of them. Do you plan to enter?”

“I — uh — I don't know. I've never thought about it,” Alec said nervously.

“Well, think about it now. I'll be entering, and I hope to catch you there.”

He clapped Alec on the shoulder, smiled, and wheeled around with his two friends, who had been flanking him silently like menacing statues the whole time, leaving Alec staring after them, utterly bewildered.

-----------------------------------------

"He's trying to bait you, don't listen to him.”

“Really? I didn't get that from it.”

“What? Are you insane? How could you not see what he's doing?”

Alec was seated in the common area, playing cards at a table with Javon, Zachariah, and Jonah, having just finished telling all three about his conversation with Damon Messus twenty minutes prior.

“Come on, baiting him for what?” Jonah scoffed. “He seemed perfectly ready to fight last night, why wait, the Tournament's not going to start any time soon.”

“That's not the point,” Javon pressed angrily. “Why confront Alec at all, if not that he's planning something? If he really wasn't interested in a fight, then he would have just ignored you. I think he's trying to get you to drop your guard, then he'll come back when you're not expecting.”

“What do you think, Zach?” Alec asked Zachariah, who alone had been silent so far, and who was now choosing which card to pass around from his hand.

“I don't know, I think they both have a point,” he said, his eyes still fixed on his cards beneath his furrowed brow. “On one hand, it's pretty weird for him to ask you about the Tournament, though if you're still unsure you don't have to enter either way. On the other, I don't think he'd want to just fight you. His friends probably talked some sense into him last night and he understood that he can't, or he'd get into serious trouble.”

He seized a card and passed it around at last, which turned out to be the Queen of Spades as Alec saw from a quick, furtive glance at Javon’s hand. Javon, who had three Aces and was waiting anxiously for the fourth, now passed the undesired Queen into Alec’s grateful hand. Alec passed the final Ace which Javon had so desperately wanted to win over to Jonah, then flung down his four Queens, earning him a win.

“Eh, I think Jonah’s right,” Alec said, as he bunched up the cards that their disgruntled owners had thrown down too. “Besides, what is this tournament, anyway?”

“It's an event that takes place every other year,” a new voice said. Maddison was stalking across the room towards them, the emerald firelight glancing off her face, which was incredibly still fixed into a scowl. “Helix sometimes alternates between regular sports and the Interform Tournament. Last year was sports, so this year we get the Tournament, which I've been meaning to talk to you about. Where's the other one?”

“If you mean Ethan, he's probably upstairs trying to get his roommates to fight over something stupid,” Alec said bitterly, sharing out the new hands.

“Fine, I'll speak to him when I see him. But I wanted to talk to you two about it as well,” said Maddison.

“Are you planning on entering as well?” Javon asked her.

“Yes, that's why I'm here.”

“Well, good luck,” Alec said, grinning. “We'll be cheering you on.”

“No, you idiot,” she said irritably. “The Tournament isn't a singles entry. You have to enter with your squads.”

“What?” Alec and Javon chorused. “What do you mean?”

“The Tournament is established for first-third year students, the youngest, most inexperienced of the whole school, people who've likely only just discovered their powers and have very limited control over them. It's designed to give them the experience of working in some situations that full-fledged Patrons have to go through, and to help them work better as a team, something most grown heroes have to do . So if anyone wants to enter, all of their squad have to agree to it, on top of being recommended by their squad leader.”

“I don't know, I'm not sure I'd want to enter,” Javon said, looking uncomfortable. “We don't even know what we're going to need to do.”

“That's why I came to tell you now. So you'll have time to make up your minds.”

Alec paused as he accepted a card from Javon and frowned at her. “Did you always want to enter?”

“What?” she said, looking puzzled.

“Well, you said that's why you're here now, to tell us about the Tournament. But you didn't seem to have any inclination to talk to us earlier. What changed?”

She hesitated, her cheeks flushed. “It doesn't matter!” she snapped, finally. “The point I came to make is that I'd like to enter, and I'd like you all to at least consider what it could mean for us before you decide not to go! Just think about it, okay!” And she stormed away, disappearing up the girl's staircase.

“Right piece of work, isn't she?” Jonah said, staring after her.

“You wouldn't believe,” Alec said. “But what about you guys? Are you planning to enter?”

“Dunno,” Zachariah said absently.

“Not sure,” Jonah said, shrugging. “But she’s right, isn't she? We still have time.”

Alec shrugged too, then returned to the game. They whiled away the rest of the evening playing cards, tucked into a delicious and most welcome dinner, and then finally retired to bed. The first day hadn't gone nearly as badly as Alec had believed it would. Perhaps it wouldn't be so awful, staying here, he thought. He closed his eyes and fell into an easy slumber, once or twice finding himself in a vivid image of himself, Javon, Ethan, and Maddison, standing upon a raised platform before the entire school, all holding a large golden trophy, their ears filled with the screams of the adoring crowd below.