“You think you’re ready for this?”

“I don’t know…” Carmen leaned back against her balcony railing. “I already have my Fighting Uniform on, but let me stand here for another thirty minutes and decide.”

Daniel shook his head, smiling. “I don’t know why I expected anything but a sarcastic answer. What if you don’t find the real Stylus, though?”

“Then I’ll stay until I do.” Carmen extended her finger, letting Chip perch there. “I know it's a tall bar to set, but that’s why I set it. I won’t deserve the rank unless I win it perfectly.”

“Perfectly?”

“Without losing a single round.”

Daniel shrugged. “Trying to do it perfectly on someone that famous isn’t gonna be easy.”

“Of course. You sound like my Mom. That’s what she said when I called her, too.”

“I just don’t want you beating yourself up again if you can’t.”

“See? Then I definitely won’t lose. If you don’t want me to beat myself up if I lose, then I just won’t lose, and I won’t disappoint you.” Carmen raised her eyebrows. “Sound good?”

He nodded, but after a glance at Carmen’s door to make sure no one else was there, Daniel reached over and took her hand in his, heart pounding. “Even if it does come true, though…promise me you won’t?”

She glanced down at their locked hands at first — then back at him, as if in disbelief that it was real. Then, as a smile spread across her face, she squeezed his hand. “I promise, Daniel. Are you ready? You’re the one that doesn’t have any clips to study.”

Daniel winced. Unlike her opponent, Eternite didn’t have any clips on his profile to study. He was so old, he was a Fighter before clips were even integrated into the Fighter Network by a previous One’s wish.

“Don’t remind me,” he said. “I think I am, but I still don’t have a clue what I’m up against!”

“Well, if he uses a sword, he’s probably not a Grappler, so you can still use your Counter on whatever he throws at you. So…totally a fifty-fifty chance.”

Despite the sarcastic tone at the end, Carmen softly squeezed his fingers. Her sweet and warm hand sent butterflies through his stomach.

“Or I could still get stabbed,” Daniel chuckled. But, at the mention of the word, a sick feeling overpowered the butterflies, like his muscles tensed in dread. “Honestly? I think I might be afraid of swords, though.”

“What?” Carmen did a double-take.

He nodded, relishing in the negative sensation. “You know how, when someone raises their fist, you might flinch ‘cause they’re about to punch you? Ever since that last dream, my body’s done that whenever I see a sword, or think about it.”

“Did you ever get stabbed back home?”

“No! I’d remember something like that! My neighborhood was rough, but it wasn’t that rough.”

“Oh, okay, okay,” she snickered. “Do you think that’s gonna get in the way of fighting Eternite?”

“I got something pretty nice the last time I got over my fears,” Daniel said, running a thumb over the back of Carmen’s hand. “This time won’t be different.”

A knock at the door made them immediately release each other’s hands and back away an entire foot. Daniel waited at the balcony while Carmen rushed back inside and opened the door, and Mr. Stone peeked his head in.

It was time to go.

Daniel, Carmen, and Raph descended the hotel stairs clad in their matching black and gold uniforms, with Mr. Stone and Cedric in tow. Stylus’s gala started in thirty minutes, at some art gallery across town. Just as they recapped the plan and prepared to leave the hotel, though, Daniel’s phone went off with a call from John.

Daniel put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Good evening, Daniel.”

“Aye, he ain’t the only one that can hear you!” Raph said loudly. “How’s it goin’, Bubbles?”

“I rescind my previous greeting. Good evening, students of the School of Flow. Is Jonathan Stone with you, as well?”

“I am,” Mr. Stone said. “You called just as we were preparing to engage our targets.”

“Then, this will be a quick meeting. We are aware that you three plan on targeting Stylus, Eternite, and La Vague,” John said. Raph had settled on a target yesterday, and Mr. Stone had relayed the info to John. “While I do wish you luck on your battles, I must remind you of our sponsorship terms as a representative of Jazz Hands Insurance. Are you each wearing your sponsored uniforms?”

“Yes sir,” Carmen said. “We’re ahead of you on that one.”

“Good. However, there is a second required term that I did not mention during our initial meetings.” He cleared his throat. “While you have already been allotted four flights as part of the program, your continued eligibility still relies on your performance during your streamed battles. I previously extended grace for Rafiq’s loss against Tony Nine, and Carmen’s fight against Montana, but I cannot do the same for figures as prominent as Stylus and Eternite.

Mr. Stone shot Carmen a look. “Montana?”

“To ensure a positive representation of our choices for sponsorship,” John continued. “Anyone who loses their Fight will no longer be eligible for the program. If all three of you lose, then this will mark the official end of the program.”

A weight settled itself inside of Daniel’s stomach, and the same sense of worry weighed down everyone else’s faces.

“I hope that my sudden revelation does not negate your focus on the task at hand, however. Good luck to you all, and—”

“One moment, John,” Mr. Stone cut in. “I apologize for the interruption, but I would’ve appreciated being informed of such a drastic requirement during our initial meeting.”

John was silent for a moment before speaking. A faint pen scratched against paper in the background. “Unfortunately, as much as I would love the chance to verbally spar with an ex-member of the Fifty, this was not my decision. I can forward you the paperwork, if you’d like. The head of our PR department signed onto this addendum, as well.”

Mr. Stone pursed his lips. “I understand. I’ll take your word for it, then.”

“Good. As I was saying, a committee including myself will be personally watching all three of your battles to review your performance, and we will reach out to you afterwards regarding the results. Chase, Rex, Electrica, I wish you all good luck.”

The line went dead with a click, and Daniel hung up, glancing around at the stunned faces. Cedric held a hand over his mouth, silently gasping, while Carmen clenched her fists.

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Daniel nervously chuckled. “I guess we have even more reason not to lose, then?”

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

Carmen left her phone upstairs on purpose.

Once Daniel tried to dispel the tension with a casual joke — it was a cute attempt — she feigned surprise at not having her phone with her. Mr. Stone agreed to wait, as she rushed up the stairs to grab it.

But she didn’t leave her phone, and she didn’t stop at their floor. She continued higher and higher onto the roof terrace, where, just like they planned, Mei Akiyama waited for her. Her white lab coat flapped in the light breeze as she stared out into the Paris skyline. Underneath the thermal blaze of a sunset, a spiderweb of city lights converged at the Eiffel tower and a faraway building where spotlights shot into the sky.

It wasn’t a fighting center; that was Stylus’s gala.

Mei turned and waved, smiling so enthusiastically that she had to adjust her glasses. “There you are! So, I guess you changed your mind?”

“Do you have the tickets?”

Mei raised her hand. Between her pinched fingers, the two golde tickets to Stylus’s gala shined in the dying sunlight. “I do, but you have to hold up your end, you know. So…?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll use the Memory Mint during my fight.”

“You promise? I mean, me and the rest of the guys at the Memory Project are gonna watch your fight to make sure, anyway, but we’ll be sad if you don’t.”

“Why do you even want me to use it so badly?”

“Because you're the only one that fits our criteria,” Mei said. “The Memory Mint isn’t just a mental stimulant; it unlocks the mental potential of whoever uses it. Our analyst, Gary, he ran tests on all kinds of different people, but you were the only one with a gap between your current skill level and your potential skill level greater than 70%.”

“Greater?”

Mei nodded. “Your potential is greater than anyone else we’ve observed, Carmen. If you quit, we’d have to start from square one on finding a new test subject!” She stepped closer to Carmen, grasping her hand with both of hers. “It’s taken a lot to make these samples. Please don’t make us start over.”

The others are still waiting on me. Any more of this, and someone might come up to check on her. Daniel would likely offer first.

“I promise. I’ll use it,” Carmen said.

Mei shot to her feet, her expression bright and happy. “Thank you! That means these are yours,” she said, handing Carmen the tickets and another gleaming pink mint. “Our sensors will pick up the signature when you use it. We just need the data.”

With the tickets in hand, Carmen buried the Memory Mint in her pocket and made her way for the rooftop exit.

“Oh, and Carmen?”

She stopped. “Yeah?”

Mei raised a thumb. “Good luck. Stylus has literally made himself richer by being undefeatable, but I know you can do it.”

Carmen returned her smile, and closed the rooftop entrance, descending the stairs. She touched on the Memory Mint in her pockets as she descended the stairs. It was the only genuine praise she’d gotten on her skill from a stranger in a long while, and Mei was right — now that she promised, she didn't want to break Mei’s heart, or all the work they’d done to pick someone as special as her.

Your potential is greater than anyone else.

But, Izan’s scorn from the first time she used it still hung in her mind. Using this was no different than any other enhancer, and there was nothing more dishonorable. It couldn’t really be her win if she used the Memory Mint, and now that she had the tickets, she wasn’t really obligated to do anything more.

She wouldn’t use it. She wouldn’t cheat. And yet, her tongue still craved the sharp minty taste, and her mind yearned to experience the electric mental sensation once more.

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

Rafiq had never tracked down an opponent by stalking their social media before.

While Daniel left with Cedric for the church Eternite would be at, and Mr. Stone rode with Carmen to Stylus’s art gallery, he set off on his own. Yesterday, with Carmen’s help, he had found the social media of his target — La Vague, a Golden Class Zoner who’s name translated to “the wave”.

They didn’t have to know any French to know that, every Friday, around this time, she took pics with her boyfriend at the same bench at the same park. The park was a short subway ride from the hotel away, and he jogged there, examining every empty bench sitting underneath the streetlights.

He could do this. Bubbles would be watching, and thanks to their practice matches at the Fighting Center earlier in the way, he was one win away from reaching S Class. And he wouldn’t let his anger get in his way — not this time.

Before long, he found La Vague sitting on a bench next to the man from her photos. La Vage looked just like she did online, with red hair, brown skin, and nothing but a jacket over a clamshell bikini and fish scales over her legs.

The man next to her murmured as he approached.

“But you know, there was something I wanted to tell you.”

“Is it the reason you brought me out here on our fifth anniversary?” La Vague smiled at the man. She then looked past him and made eye contact with Rafiq. As her eyes scanned him up and down and noticed the logos on his tracksuit, alarm shot through her face. The man turned towards Rafiq, too, holding a velvet black box in his hands.

A ring.

La Vague shook her head. “No. Don’t tell me you’re—”

“You’re really gon’ hate me for this, man, and I hate to interrupt. But…” Rafiq pointed a finger at La Vague. “I challenge you to a ranked Fight, La Vague!”

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

Daniel and Cedric reached the Church of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs right before closing. Above the arched entrance, angels sat engraved in the stained, aged concrete. Cedric told him about the building’s history and multiple revisions as they entered, making their way to the nave — the central area of the church. Rows and rows of chairs faced the altar underneath a myriad of columns and lights.

The painting behind the altar is what drew Daniel’s attention. A nearby staff member exploded into rage as Daniel casually stepped onto the altar. As he shouted in another language and paced towards him, Cedric body-blocked the staff member and responded in French.

Daniel continued and stood below the towering painting. Sure enough, in the corner, the emblem for the Order of the Easel stared up at him: an eye in the middle of a blank canvas, drawn using darker colors from its surroundings.

He pushed.

The staff member screamed at him before the painting began to turn. Daniel gave it a harder shove and ducked as the entire painting spun, revealing Eternite’s glorious painting on the other side.

Daniel glanced back at the stunned staff member, smiling. “You haven’t seen anything yet, sir. Can you help me up, Cedric?”

Cedric let the stunned staff member go and gave Daniel a boosted on his shoulders. Daniel uncapped a marker. As soon as it touched the raw paper, the staff shouted once again, but Cedric helped keep Daniel steady as he drew a massive eye from one corner to the other.

“He’s calling the police, Daniel,” Cedric said, translating his heated French. Every foreign, angered word sounded like harsh spitting. “You do understand we’re defacing the original painting, correct?”

“Yeah, but if this works, they won’t need a painting of him anymore!”

Daniel finished the eye, but the staff member tackled Cedric, and he tumbled to the ground, too. Though he shouted at them in more harsh French, Daniel rolled to his feet, stomach dropping — nothing happened. He thought the answer would be drawing the eye. Were they wrong?

No.

The black lines he’d drawn glowed white before bursting in a blue so bright he had to shield his eyes. Light swallowed the face of the entire painting, and Cedric pulled the staff member back as the portal let out a high-pitched whine.

A figure of light emerged from the painting. Arms and legs clad in beautiful silver armor formed first, then the tip of a long rapier. Eternite himself landed in the center of the alter, gracefully poised like a fallen sliver of the sky.

The staff member’s jaw dropped. Cedric got to his feet and pulled him past the columns, to safety — and to stay out of the way.

Eternite’s armor hypnotized Daniel’s eyes. He cleared his throat, dispelling the tension in his stomach. “So, you’re Eternite. Does this all look pretty different from the time you’re used to?”

Eternite glanced around, but the words that came out of his mouth were completely unintelligible.

“It’s a little hard to translate his French,” Cedric said. “He can tell you’re not with the Order, and is wondering how a boy like you deciphered their codes.”

“Well, we’ve got a little thing called the internet! It makes everything easy, nowadays!”

Eternite took a slow step forward, clutching his rapier. Daniel backed away, until they faced each other in the nave’s center aisle, standing between the chairs.

After Cedric relayed Daniel’s message, Eternite scoffed and spoke more, pausing for Cedric to translate. Concern spread across Cedric’s face. “He says he tires of the translator games, and regardless of the time period, he knows why you brought him out, and says he’ll understand you enough by your blade.”

Once Cedric finished, Eternite entered a stark battle pose, pointing the tip of his rapier towards Daniel.

Daniel grinned, popping his neck. “Then let’s go. I challenge you to a ranked fight, Eternite!”