“A toast, my S Class students, to your new ranks!”

Mr. Stone raised his cup, and Carmen clinked her soda can against everyone else’s, filling the room with glass applause before they went bottoms up. The tangy fizziness of her cherry limeade soda burned down her throat. Everyone else was fine with orange, but he bought her favorite flavor to reward her for having the highest rank in the group.

Meanwhile, Cedric grabbed pizza from his favorite place in Paris. Sitting atop her counter, every steaming slice shined with generations of dignity and care. Rafiq went over it again with the pizza cutter before they all grabbed their slices.

“So, we’re playing my fight first, right? I mean, come on — you guys won’t believe how I won,” Daniel said, plopping onto the end of his bed. Since he and Rafiq had the biggest hotel room, they hosted the celebration, instead of her own room or Mr. Stone’s.

Carmen threw scissors, and Rafiq did the same, but Daniel chose rock. He searched the Fighter Network on TV for his own replay, and commented on his own thoughts as it played.

It was hard to follow their blurry attacks, each moving within their counters. Rafiq’s replay was easier to follow, but it nearly made Carmen sick to watch La Vague’s brutal level three. Rafiq laughed her attempt at drowning him and slicing him into pieces. Apparently, it was all worth it for the win.

Her clip was next. And yet, she didn’t feel nervous letting them watch. She felt pride, and sure enough, Cedric and Mr. Stone sat silent in astonishment after the halfway mark of the first round, when she had taken the Memory Mint.

That was her last dose.

Shoot.

Just as the second round started, though, her phone rang with a call from her parents. Carmen wiped her hands and made her way outside, while the others were still awestruck by her replay. A chill wind escaped from the river. Water splashed in the distance, and warm light hugged the roads and alleys between buildings.

“Hello?”

“Congratulations, Carmen!” her mother answered on the other end of the line, nearly screaming. “Your father and I were watching the entire time!”

“We played your fight for the whole store! I wanted everyone to see my mija kick some ass! Here, mi lagarto, let me see the phone. Hello?”

Carmen laughed, twisting her hair around her finger. “Thanks, papa.”

“You’re welcome! It’s all I could do. You had me a little worried in that first half, mija.”

“I did?”

“Yes! Even before you went to the snowy mountain, which I knew had to be cold. You kept walking right into his traps. Especially the one with the clone — I mean, how could you let a guy who fought with paper give you such a hard time?”

Carmen stopped twirling her hair.

“How many times did he need to throw a bomb into your face for you to realize you could’ve punched them away?”

Her heart sank, though she nervously laughed along. “I…didn’t think of that, papa.”

“I could tell. Hell, you were so bloodthirsty, I was wondering if you were thinking at all.”

She couldn’t keep up the fake laugh any longer.

“But, watching you dodge that avalanche left me speechless, it honestly did. From that point on, all I could think was ‘wow…that’s my daughter’.”

“Oh, me too,” her mother chimed in. “You made us proud, mija. I was worried, letting you go, but it looks like it’s paying off.”

“Thanks,” she said, though she felt her tone colder than she meant for it to be.

“Now, I know you all must be celebrating, so we won’t hold you up for too much longer. Talk tomorrow, okay?”

After a thousand okays and assurances and ‘I Love you’’s, she was finally able to hang up. Carmen sighed, sinking into a lean against the railing. Despite their encouragement, her father had nothing but negative things to point out, until after she used the Memory Mint.

She didn’t need their approval. She didn’t need their opinions. And yet…they weren’t proud until she was perfect. Is that what it would take? Is that why she set her own target on perfection?

The door slid open. Daniel stepped onto the balcony, plate folded in half, dispelling the dark clouds over her head.

Carmen ran a finger through a hanging curl of hair. “Too much party for you?”

“There’s never too much party for me. I just thought, maybe we shouldn’t keep watching clips without the world’s biggest fighting nerd in the room,” he said, strolling up beside her. “Was that your parents? What did they think?”

“They…” Carmen pursed her lips and shook her head. “The usual. Really happy and proud of the fight and all that.”

“Really? Are you sure they weren’t, like, nitpicking or anything?” he said, his tone lower and softer. He placed a hand on the railing. Carmen glanced towards it, wishing she could place her hand over his.

But, they were in view of the others. She put her hand on the railing, too, the closest thing she could get. “I’m sure. No more than parents normally do.”

“Oh I know that’s the truth. Mine were…like that, too.” Like melting ice cream, Daniel’s cheery expression faded and he stared off into space.

Carmen pursed her lips. “Did something happen during the fight?”

“What? No,” he laughed, trying to hide it. “Why would you think—”

“Because the last time you spaced out like that, it was when playing basketball gave you flashbacks,” she snapped. “You’re not that unreadable, you know.”

Daniel’s shoulders sank, and he struggled for words. Carmen cursed herself. Did she lay it on too thick? But, luckily, he smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I saw something when Eternite stabbed me with his ultimate. Remember when I told you I was starting to be afraid of swords?”

“As if your body remembered being stabbed?”

“It’s because I was. There isn’t a gap in my memory anymore. I saw the aftermath of the crash. We were beside the highway, the bus was flipped over…and I was in the grass. A metal fence was impaled in my chest.”

The horrific image painted itself in Carmen’s brain, and she clutched her mouth in a silent gasp.

Daniel held his left shoulder, his tone less than a whisper — barely even mouthing the words. “I died.”

“And you…still got back up? How—”

“Because I thought of you.”

Those words came out silent, too, quiet enough for her to doubt if he really said it.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I thought about how everyone I saw in my dreams were mourning me, like my parents, my friends…and you. Or, the version of you back home. But thinking of the version of you back home made me think of you you, and how I didn’t let being afraid stop me from asking you out. And then I snapped out of it for a bit,” he finished, his breath shaky.

“A bit?”

He bit his quivering lip, forcing it into a smile. “You’re helping me snap me out of it a bit longer.”

“I wish they weren’t here so i could give you a hug.”

“Me too. All I can do is just get back home fast.” He nodded, though his gaze drifted past the railing once again. “Seeing that made me wonder if this was all just some elaborate hallucination in death. But…” He shrugged. “You make it feel real enough to believe.”

Carmen followed his gaze, smiling at the river. “Thank you. I’ll let you know if I start to feel like I’m a Matrix NPC.”

“Can’t wait for the confirmation. If there’s one thing I got out of this, though, it was a fun idea. Wanna fight together?”

“As a team?”

“Yeah! Remember how it went against Bullet Fandango? We could be like two sides of the same coin — a really sharp penny that someone throws at someone else’s head.”

Though Carmen laughed, a dark feeling in her stomach fought against her strong urge to say yes. She couldn’t hide the Memory Mint from him if they fought side by side. Her heart screamed to agree, but…

She sighed. “I wish.”

“Not a yes? Was it the metaphor? I could come up with a different one.”

“No, it’s just…I don’t think I’m at the point where I can focus on working with someone else’s skill on top of my own, too.”

Daniel’s happiness deflated, as if she’d shot down his entire dream.

“I’m sorry, Daniel. Do you think this was a mistake?”

“What?”

“Us.”

He straightened his stance immediately, eyebrows drawn. “Why would I ever — no, what? Of course not. I wasn’t kidding when I said I liked you ever since I got here.”

“That’s my point: when you got here. You know, before you have to go from here. Isn’t it a bad idea for us to date if your ultimate goal is leaving?”

Daniel’s lips twitched for a comeback that never came. The dark clouds over her head returned, raining regret. It wasn’t wrong. That was his goal, but she still wished she could’ve taken it back.

By the look on his face, she never could.

The screen door slid open once again, causing them both to jump as Mr. Stone stepped onto the balcony. “Do you two plan on coming back inside anytime soon? We’ve gone through all the replays.”

“Oh, yeah, totally! I just won a bet, so we had to take care of that,” Daniel said. He casually leaned against the railing, but Carmen didn't miss the crack in his voice.

Mr. Stone closed the door behind himself. “You don’t need to lie to me, Daniel. After all — young love cannot prosper without alone time.”

Carmen gasped. “How did you know?”

“How could I not? I’ve heard the way you both talk about each other,” Mr. Stone said, before pointing over to Carmen’s balcony to their right. “When I came to get you two before we went out on our Fights, seeing Daniel on your balcony only confirmed it. Personally, I feel a little hurt that you both felt the need to hide it from me, compared to Rafiq or Cedric.”

Carmen’s eyes fell. “Sorry. You knew us first, but a certain someone said he’d take care of telling everyone.”

“I did! I mean, it was more like I told Rafiq, but didn’t want to tell you or Cedric ‘cause I thought you’d give some proverb about how ‘love blinds us in the ring’ or something,” Daniel said. “But then Cedric kinda…found us.”

“And I remained last to know.” He shrugged. “Oh well. Dwelling over the past only brings resentment. You’ll both be glad to know, then, that I believe the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

His round classes reflected the silver moon as he watched the stars. “Love can motivate one better than any other force. I would know.”

“Were you married before?” Carmen asked.

Mr“Fate had other plans for us. But, you’ll learn about her another day.” He smiled at Carmen. “Where is our next destination, Carmen? These are our last days here, after all.”

“Me? I get to pick?”

“Of course. It’s your birthday next week, after all.”

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

Cedric took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled, watching distant bright explosions flare in the night sky. “How long do you think they’re gonna go on?”

“This battle may not end for days,” Jonathan said, though he was more of a stickler against smoking. “Defeating him means a floor in the Ultimate Tower, and all the prestige in the world. I’ll give it a week before a winner barely manages to escape.”

Cedric nodded. “What’s the current ranking?”

Jonathan swiped his menu open and navigated to his FIghter menu. “Carole’s still the fiftieth, but only because he won a rematch”

“So he lost and hopped back into the fray and won his rank back.” Cedric chuckled. “I’ll give it a week and a half.”

“That’s an optimistic guess.” Jonathan leaned on his cane, rising from his seat. “Unfortunately, my friend, I won’t be able to hear anymore of your ‘optimistic’ takes. I’ll have an early start tomorrow with our flight to Japan.”

“That’s where she picked?”

“Tokyo. She wants to see the Eternal Blossom Garden for her birthday.”

“A little overrated, in my opinion.”

“Indeed, but who are we to rain on someone’s parade? It’s not our 17th birthdays.” Jonathan’s lips quirked up into a smile. “Will you be coming with?”

“I used all my holiday off days from these past few days with your group. I wish, but…it’s not in the cards.”

“Then, thank you for what you have done. It still pains me to not be capable of protecting them myself, but you helped with that pain, even if only temporary.”

“Are you thanking me, or giving a speech? Come on. This isn’t graduation.” Cedric returned his firm handshake. “But, I will match your verbosity. Goodbye, my old friend.”

Jonathan scoffed. “As always, you help with one pain and cause another. Until we meet again.”

Even as explosions rumbled on in the distance, Cedric heard Jonathan’s audible grunt of effort as he opened the roof door. Once one of the Fifty, now an old man struggling with a door.

And soon, something worse. It would be his fault. He was the one choosing to play a part in this. Once Jonathan left, Cedric threw a final regretful glare before dialing her number.

“Tokyo. That’s their next destination.”

“Do you know when they leave?” the woman on the other end said.

“Tomorrow. Their program requires them to only spend a week in each location.”

“Has she told anyone about using the Memory Shot-infused mint to win against Stylus? Anything at all?”

“Nothing too obvious. She’s started to become romantically involved with the boy, Daniel. Knowing her, though…” Cedric took another drag on his cigar. “She’s probably keeping it from him, too.”

“As expected. Have they contacted anyone from the SRB?”

“Not since South City.”

“Good. You’ve done well in extracting information and keeping their trust, Cedric. This is all I need from you, for now.”

“Is she safe?” Cedric snapped.

Silence.

“If I’ve done my job, I need to know if I’m getting my payment,” he continued. “Is she safe?” he repeated again, slowly.

“Coraline is fast asleep, right now, and she’ll be waking up to a delivery of an amazing breakfast. She’s okay. Keep your phone on you, and that can continue to be true.”

The line went dead — she was always brisk with her communications. Cedric took another drag of his cigarette, watching the fireworks in the heart of Paris. He’d done his part. She knew where they were every step of the way, and now she knew where they were going. Jonathan. would hate him if he knew. He would never forgive him.

But Cedric had to protect his own.

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

“How did it look in person? On TV, that last area he pulled you into looked insane!” Mei gestured widely in excitement, her voice echoing throughout the cafe bathroom.

“Yeah, it’s definitely gonna give me some weird dreams!” Carmen said. “Did you guys get the readings you needed?”

“We got that and so much more! Our sensors immediately picked up when you used the Memory Mint halfway through that first round. You were off the charts, Carmen. We got enough data to improve our formula, so the effect’s gonna be stronger. We might even be able to make a raw sample!”

“Wow! How long is that gonna take? Do you have any more with you?”

Mei dug into her pockets, pulling out one more Memory Mint, just like Carmen hoped. “I have another dose of the last one you used.”

“That’s it? Do you guys have any more, like, in storage?”

“Why?”

Carmen shrugged. “I just…wanna help out more.”

“Aw. I wish, but…” Mei sighed. “It’s gonna take us a bit to make more doses for you to test, and this is my last day in Paris. We might not see each other again.”

“What?! Where are you going?”

“Tokyo. We use the Eternal Blossom petals to enhance the effect and get that pink glow.”

“Wait, me too! I’m only here on a Fighting Abroad program, anyway. We might run into each other again!”

Mei’s expression brightened. “Really?! Yes!” She pumped her fists, but her glasses fell off her face, and she crouched to pick them back up. “Then, I guess this is only a temporary goodbye. You can keep this one,” she said, handing Carmen the Memory Mint. “Do you want my number? You can text me once you get there, and we can set something up for you to test once we make another dosage!”