“You really did pick a fine team, Daniel,” came Stratos’ voice from directly behind, startling me. Nobody else reacted at all to their unexpected presence, so I assumed this was another time when only I could see and hear them.

“I suppose you are afraid to say anything in case people think you are a crazy person having a one-sided conversation with yourself.”

I nodded.

“After this I am starting to think that maybe the team you built is a bit too strong. What is it you call it? OP, is that not it?”

I nodded again.

“They do seem overpowered compared to the rest,” Stratos said. “Of course that was to be expected given your skill at choosing winners, but I still may have underestimated you.”

I felt them lean forward so close I could feel their breath.

“That won’t do,” Stratos said. “After all, it’s no fun if it’s too easy.”

I gritted my teeth. There was so much I wanted to say.

Screw this. This wasn’t a conversation, this was terrorism.

I stood up. “I gotta go,” I said to the people beside me. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Before anyone could ask where I was going, I shuffled past them and loped down the stairs. I tried the first door I came across. It was a large, wooden door that opened into another corridor, this one lined on both sides with what looked like prison cells. Maybe they were meant to hold gladiators, or perhaps they were cages to contain beasts waiting to be fought in the arena. They were all empty. I entered, closed the door, and waited for Stratos. I didn’t have to wait long.

As soon as they appeared in the room with me I could tell right away that Stratos was in a pissy mood, which was strangely satisfying. After all, they’d made me feel pretty pissy too.

Their face betrayed little about their mood, but their choice of words and tone of voice said it all. “Perhaps things are different on Earth, but where I am from it is considered quite rude to walk out on a conversation.”

“No,” I said, turning my back on them and wandering into one of the cells. “It’s considered quite rude where I’m from too.”

“You know,” they said after a moment’s consideration, “if you are unhappy with the situation here there is a simple way to fix that.”

“Oh?” I said. The heavy door to the cell was made of thick metal bars but closed easily when I pulled on it.

“You could just quit.”

I gripped the bars with both hands and peered between them at Stratos. “I thought that was only an option if I won.”

“We could find a way. Is that what you want?”

I took a few moments to think about it, hanging off the door to the cell and swinging it open and closed. “This is an impressive world you’ve built,” I said after a couple of swings, “the attention to detail is admirable.”

“Anybody can get the broad strokes right,” they said. “It is in the finer details that a true professional comes through.”

“The little things do help create that sense of realism.”

“Quite so,” Stratos said, chin raised. “I am glad you noticed.”

“Shame you missed so many,” I said.

Their chin dropped and they scowled at me. “Explain.”

I kept swinging the cell door open and closed a few times. “Hear that?”

Stratos shook their head. “I hear nothing.”

“Exactly. Something like this ought to have a nice abrasive squeak to indicate the hinges’ struggle to support this door over the years. And this place,” I sniffed the air, “where’s the musty smell of the animals or people who’ve been caged here?”

Stratos stared at me blankly for a few breaths. “Am I to take it that this means the game is not to your liking and you wish to quit?”

I grinned. “Exactly the opposite. What I am saying is that you still need me to get things right.”

“Strange. I do not know if that is a compliment or an insult.”

“It’s neither,” I said, letting go of the door and coming out of the cell. “It’s simply a statement of fact. And as a wise person once told me, you just have to accept facts.”

I could almost see the sneer forming at the corner of their mouth, and the hint of a frown. “You are correct.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I have accepted the fact that I am not on a team, for example.”

“I have a few more facts for you to accept as well,” they said, and I knew right then and there I may have pushed their buttons a bit too hard. “Fact: the team you assembled is stronger than anticipated.”

“I’m going to make them even stronger.”

“They will need it, because of another fact: I have decided to make the game much harder for your team than originally planned. Hard enough that there will be no way they can all survive it, let alone win it.”

“We’ll see about that,” I said.

Stratos gave me a single nod of their head to acknowledge the challenge before vanishing.

“Jerk,” I muttered, then headed off to find my friends.

After the tournament there was much to celebrate, so I went with the team to the Dragon Pub to do just that. After Nina had healed Andy back up to full health, of course. He showed no ill will toward Chika for losing to her, and she was surprisingly gracious in her victory. I felt bad because I’d asked her brother Kenji to discreetly follow that team of five I’d seen in the arena instead of joining us, but I really wanted to know where they were staying and what their habits were so we would know where to find them.

It was an important mission. At the arena was the first time I’d encountered them since it all started, so whatever they were doing with their time it was something we weren’t. I didn’t want to lose them. Kenji’s talents went beyond discretion, he was practically invisible when he wanted to be, so I had total confidence he’d get the job done.

It’s handy having a ninja on the payroll.

I don’t know if it was the opportunity to use his abilities or the excuse to get out of having to socialize, but Kenji seemed more than happy to do it, and Chika didn’t seem to mind that her brother was absent. She probably thought he was still there and just hiding as always.

I couldn’t see it because I wasn’t a team member, but they’d all been given a new quest. A simple one: choose a name for the team. At least, it seemed simple, but getting everyone to agree on something proved more complicated than you’d think. A number of ideas were batted around, including The A Team, Gamers Incorporated, Drunk With Power (that one was a late entry after a few rounds of drinks had been enjoyed), Jane and the Holograms (you can probably guess who suggested that one), and Team Happy. In the end, it was my suggestion that won the vote: Team Maple Leaf.

After we’d all enjoyed a few drinks, Sigrid plunked herself down beside me. I’d been sitting off on the side by myself, as usual.

“What’s all this about working on Affinity Control, then?” She was slurring her words. Maybe it had been more than a few drinks.

“I learned something during the tournament that I think is going to make you a very, very happy girl,” I said, quite normally. I’d been nursing the same beer since we got there and wasn’t the least bit drunk; I had a lot to think about.

“Okay then, show me.”

I didn’t want to do it in the crowded pub, but I was also too excited to wait. I directed her attention under the table, where I did the trick of making sparks fly between my hands.

“What the hell?” she said loudly enough to draw the attention of those around us. Sigrid waved them off with her hand. “How’d you do that?”

“Do you remember the woman who won at the tournament using lightning?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Guess what affinity she had.”

“Uh, lightning, duh,” Sigrid said.

“Nuh uh,” I said. “There is no lightning affinity, remember? Her affinity was Air.”

Sigrid sat silent while her impaired mind processed the information. I could almost see the lightbulb appear over her head when she finally figured it out.

“You mean...”

“That’s right. You can use your affinity to create electricity.”

“Hell yeah!” Sigrid said, her bellow causing even more heads to turn toward us. “Mind your own business,” she told them.

I saw Jane, who was sitting at another table, get up and saunter toward us. She had a strange expression on her face, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. She plunked herself down on the other side of me.

“You two seem to be having fun,” she said. “I want in.”

“Jane! Watch this!” Sigrid said, her eyes darting around. It looked like she was trying to figure out which of the several Janes she was seeing was the real one. “Do the thing,” she told me.

I did the thing.

“What the hell?” Jane said, ignoring the fresh looks that earned us.

“It’s Air,” hissed Sigrid. “Air!”

Jane grinned and patted my knee. “I see. So we really do have a date to work on Affinity Control, don’t we?”

It suddenly occurred to me that I was sitting in between two of the most attractive women I’ve ever met, both of whom were totally engrossed in what I was saying and doing. If it wasn’t for the preparation I’d had for just such an occasion back in high school when those girls had absorbed me into their circle, I probably would have been reduced to a spluttering blob of anxious incoherence. Instead, I quickly excused myself and hurried to the bar to fetch another drink I had no intention of drinking. Not much of a step up, but I take my small victories where I can find them.

When I returned, both Jane and Sigrid had attached themselves to other conversations, so I decided to call it quits. I’d meet up with them all later at the dojo. It had been decided that everyone in Team Maple Leaf would get trained in kung fu so we could all, er, I mean so they could all live together in the dorms. There were plenty of rooms, plus a very convenient training area. Nobody said anything about me staying there too, but nobody said anything about me moving out either.

I didn’t want to be rude and disappear without letting anyone know, so I managed to catch Nina’s eye and mimed that I was taking off. She nodded and flashed me a smile and a thumbs up before I left.

By all normal standards it was a lovely night. The light from the moons gave the street a silvery shimmer that I was totally unable to appreciate. When you’re gloomy and feeling sorry for yourself, perfect nights like that seem like a slap in the face. A nice stroll was out of the question, all I wanted to do was get back to the dorm and hunt for the sweet release of sleep.

The night had other ideas.