There were two mountains in the middle of nowhere.

The first rose high before them, more cubic than triangular, its sheer cliffs a rocky rectangle taller than any skyscraper. To see it was to believe that some toddler had acquired the powers of a god, had grabbed a block of clay, and had molded their impression of what a mountain should look like based exclusively on what they'd seen in a cartoon.

But stranger than the mountain's shape were the holes that riddled its surface like swiss cheese. All of them dark, all in varying shapes and sizes, they covered almost every spot so that it seemed a wonder how the construct retained any kind of structural integrity. The most prominent cave sat at the mountain's base, a giant cavern flanked by ancient and chipped pillars of heavy stone.

This was Labyrinth Peak. By itself out in a midwestern plain, it had once been a lost place that had seen hundreds of years without a single visitor, mostly because its many entrances were considered as dangerous as they were mysterious. Now however, those very entrances were surrounded by people as much as any tourist spot.

Jason and the others saw them from the van as they drove into the makeshift parking lot, a clearing of cut grass that all the other cars had been left in. Groups of people milled about, most congregating in chaotic lines by what seemed like some booths. No uniformity could be found within them, no singular color or posture or even species. A few tall, robed Magicians were loomed over by even taller and naked tree-like beings. Some seemed to have come right out of the city, others out of some Disney fairytale. Most carried some weapon or other, swords and axes and bows and guns, though Jason knew from experience this didn't say much in itself. Even one of the unarmed people in this crowd could probably do their fair share of damage.

This was, without a doubt, the largest single concentration of Magicians Jason had ever seen in such a contained space. And yet, when he looked around at the others he saw them gaping not down at the sight of their peers, but instead up at the sky.

It was no surprise, as up there hung the second mountain. From the sheet of clouds blanketing the sky broke another peak, rock and stone coming down like a frozen meteor, so large and wide it made Labyrinth Peak look tiny by comparison.

Well, what else could be expected from the underside of an entire island? Jason saw the sparkle in Red's eyes and smirked, curious what the boy's face would look like once he got more than this measly peek at what waited for him up above.

"Alright, people," Jason said, turning off the ignition, "We're here. Make sure you don't forget anything, because I'm not sure we're coming back for a while."

They dismounted and went around back to get their things, always looking up as they did. Even Malcolm, Clover, and Stretch seemed somewhat awestruck by how fully the sky overhead was consumed by earth, staring at it as if it were another planet just out of reach even though all three had been to Soratan before.

The only ones entirely unmoved by the sight were Zelda and Baba. The former stood off to the side, sizing up the competition, while the latter looked around at the lines with grim resignation.

"It's worse than the DMV," Baba groused.

"It's not too bad," Jason said. From the van he grabbed his bag and the sheathed blade that lay beside it, its gold crossguard shining even in the dull light of a cloudy day. "Look, the line's moving pretty quick."

Baba grumbled something to herself, already reaching for the cigarettes. "Let's just get it over with."

What a terrible habit, Jason thought, especially at her age. Spirit or no, he'd have to figure out some way to kick her out of it. Wouldn't do to have her around for anything less than a long time yet.

As the others got their bags, Zelda sent him that look again. Eyes narrowed, lips pursed, a sort of I'm still waiting that Jason had been doing his best to ignore for the past two days. Worst part was she'd noticed and had steadily been putting more force into her stare, so much so that now Jason could barely wake up that morning without dreading the inevitable moment that it would be turned on him. Which was now, apparently.

Sighing, Jason nodded. He supposed enough was enough. "You guys go save our spot. Mal and I need to talk about... er, something."

Zelda grazed his arm with her hand as she passed, squeezing softly. Kitty was the only other one to turn to him with a questioning look, the others too caught up with the sights or already walking to the lines. Jason gave her as reassuring a smile as he could manage, waiting until she joined the others before letting it slip.

Malcolm stood beside him, watching them go, hands in the pockets of his coat. Staring at Rebecca, as pulled in by her as by the mountain above. Though he hid it, Jason could see the restlessness, the doubt, the excitement. Had he been the same at that age, filled with as much hope as trepidation, as much to prove?

Still a kid, Jason thought, and that made him smile more truly. Malcolm was usually so dour, so adult, that he sometimes feared his little brother had lost that youthful energy at some point during their troubled years. It was nice to see him like this, just a normal teenager pining after some girl.

Which was why he'd held back so long on his news. Up until the very last moment, Jason wanted Malcolm to keep being a kid. As the older sibling, it was his job to worry about all the other stuff.

But Douglas was here somewhere, and it wouldn't be fair to keep that to himself. Worse than the death of whatever good cheer Malcolm still had was the death of his trust in the little family he had left.

"What's up?" Malcolm asked. He frowned up at Jason now, a worried crinkle on the bridge of his nose. "Is it that bad?"

So he'd noticed. Jason supposed it was only to be expected; he'd never been the best at hiding his feelings. "It's... complicated." Hesitating, finding no proper words, he decided it wouldn't hurt to butter the boy up a bit first. "Actually, hold on. I have a little gift for you."

Malcolm kept frowning, though even he couldn't hold back the shine in his eyes at the word gift. Hell, could anyone? Grinning, Jason opened his back and reached in, rummaging a bit before pulling out a thin box and holding it out.

Grabbing it, Malcolm sent him one last trepidatious look before opening it and looking inside. His frown remained, tinged now with a kind of disbelief. "These are..." Shaking his head, the boy took out the thing inside. "Goggles?"

Wide, sleek lenses and a black, adjustable strap. Nothing fancy about them, just clear and simple, some might've even called them boring. But Jason knew Malcolm wasn't the kind to like frills and bombast. Anything he wore had to be functional, practical, and unintrusive.

"You've been going through one pair of glasses after another." Jason said, leaning against their van with a hand on the pommel of his sheathed sword. "I'm not sure what the competition's gonna be, but the last thing we want is you ending up blind halfway through. The obvious solution was to get you some contacts, but you hate that idea for whatever reason—"

"I'm not putting plastic dipped in chemicals into my eyes."

"—so I figured this was the next best thing. Try 'em out."

Malcolm took his glasses off and, after a moment, pulled the goggles over his eyes. The strap smacked against his skull, and he had to reach back to loosen it a bit before it squished all the blood out of his head, but when he was done he sent an almost embarrassed look to Jason.

"... How do I look?"

"Great. Like a million bucks."

Malcolm looked now at the van's window, staring at himself in its reflection. Five seconds passed in silence before he grimaced, hand coming up to his face. "I'm... a total dork."

Jason laughed, and Malcolm glared up at him. "You're realizing this now?"

"Shut up! This..." Malcolm waved furiously at himself. "This sucks! I'm such a freaking dork! No one likes a dork!"

Arching a brow, Jason noted the blush that consumed his brother's face. So it was that, was it? He smiled and dragged Malcolm into a one-armed embrace, almost a headlock.

"I dunno what you've been hearing, Mal, but let me tell you right now, girls don't care about that sorta thing." Jason frowned, considering. "Actually, I guess some do, but whatever. Truth is, a guy only has to do three things to be attractive. Aside from being good-looking, which admittedly helps. Wanna hear 'em?"

Malcolm, who'd been struggling against his hold, now paused. When Jason looked down at him, the boy glanced away and offered one hurried nod.

Jason held up a finger. "One is, make sure you have good hygiene and dress nice. No one likes a person who can't take care of themselves." He held up a second finger. "Two is, find something you wanna do and learn how to be good at it. Doesn't really matter what it is. No one likes a person who doesn't have dreams, or goals, or even hobbies."

"I already do all that stuff," Malcolm grumbled.

"Ah, but then there's the third thing, and it's definitely the most important one. You ready?"

Malcolm scowled at him, but nodded once more.

Jason held up a third finger. "The third and most important thing to being attractive is... wait for it... be yourself."

Malcolm shoved himself out of Jason's grasp. "Fuck you!"

"I'm serious!"

"That is such a cop-out..."

"You're just expecting it to be more complicated than it is," Jason said, chuckling. "No one likes a person who's always pretending to be someone else, Mal. If you're being yourself, you'll find someone who likes you for you. Everyone else can stick it."

"Easy for you to say," Malcolm said, voice low. "Not even I like me for me."

Jason's smile softened. "Then it sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, lil' bro." He put a hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "Steps one, two, and three are all the same, really. The point is, you gotta like yourself first. If you don't, how do you expect anyone else to?"

Malcolm glared up at him again, found Jason's unmovably confident smile, and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm asking you of all people for advice on girls."

"Why not? I have credentials."

"That's what you're calling Zelda these days? Should I tell her that?"

"... Let's keep that one between us."

Malcolm shook his head. "Just forget it. What did you actually wanna talk about, then?"

That finally got a frown out of Jason. It was impressive, in a way, how good he was at distracting himself when he really wanted to. "Right. That." He combed his black hair back, still without any real words for it. "I guess... It's better if I just—"

"Jason Column."

Interrupted, he turned with Malcolm to see a man around his own height staring daggers right at him. Jason saw in the man a lean strength not unlike his own, upright and muscular torso hidden only by a thin sleeveless shirt despite the cold. The man's blond hair stretched back into a short ponytail, and his eyebrows flicked up like flames over orbs of pure blue contempt.

Prideful he stood there, prideful and with a terse restraint. Distracted as Jason was by his own anxious thoughts, it took him a second longer than Malcolm to recognize what exactly was being restrained: violent, seething anger.

It flowed out of the man in waves upon waves of Spirit, so forceful and sudden that Jason was shocked less by its intensity than by just how well it wasn't acted on. Only the tightness of the man's jaw gave away his rage, and even then it was a minute thing. Still, Jason couldn't help looking down at the sword strapped to the man's waist. Nothing about its steel pommel and leather handle stood out as particularly remarkable, but still danger seemed to emanate off it with the same intensity as its wielder.

"Oh, this?" the man asked, accent distinctly British. "Nothing special, at least not compared to yours. But I suppose that's to be expected. Not many blades compare to the one in your possession, correct?"

Steadily, Jason felt himself slipping into his Ranger's mind, hand slipping down from his sword's pommel and wrapping lightly around the handle. "Can't say it's let me down yet."

"Of course." The man looked down at the golden crossguard, rage briefly parting to make way for hunger. "No more dependable a weapon exists on this planet. Only an unfit wielder could mar its excellence." He glanced up at Jason and smiled, though there was no joy or friendliness on his lips. It was a smile of certainty, of some unknown truth that need not be said, a dark inside joke. "I hear you are quite fit for it, Jason Column. A prodigy."

Softly, Jason pulled Malcolm to stand behind him. He saw there were only a few Magicians around, most of them lined up by the booths, but those close enough to sense the silent clash of Spirits seemed more inclined to veer out of the way than to get involved.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

That was fair. Jason's Spirit Flow was working overtime to meet with that of the man before him. It was no surefire way to gauge things, but as far as he was concerned anyone who could make him do that wasn't the kind you wanted anything to do with. Jason could even feel Malcolm shivering a bit despite being saved from the brunt of it.

The man's smile widened, a thin-lipped thing that didn't reach his eyes. "But despite what I hear, I know you cannot be fit, Jason Column. That blade does not belong to you. It is soiled by your hands."

Jason tried for his own smile, crooked as it was. "Well, good news for you. I might end up losing it sometime these next few days. That's what we're here for, right?"

"Yes. Precisely so." The man stared at him before, as abruptly as it had come, his Flow snapped shut and he turned to leave. "I will find you. Prepare yourself."

So abrupt was his exit that Jason and Malcolm both gaped as he went. Shaking his head, and pushing through the trembling of his voice, Malcolm shouted over at the man before he went out of sight. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

The man stopped, turned his head, and this time no Spirit was required to send Malcolm's tongue rolling back into his throat. His eyes alone were enough, the promise within them. "I am that sword's rightful owner, you ingrate. And I will claim what is mine."

They let him go quietly this time, too perturbed to do anything else. Malcolm glanced up at Jason and saw recognition in his brother's face, a look of wonder and dread. "What... What was that?"

"That," Jason said, voice grim, "was trouble."

Malcolm waited for more, but Jason didn't notice, or maybe he refused to notice. Acting like a Captain, holding it all inside, thinking through all the worst possibilities. Malcolm had seen it before, and he knew there'd be no breaking through it, so instead he grabbed Jason's arm and pulled him toward the stands.

"Come on, let's catch up to everyone before they do something stupid," he said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work, but then again he wasn't exactly good at that sort of thing.

Whatever they had been meant to talk about lay between them, forgotten.

- - - — MKII — - - -

Red saw that Malcolm was bothered by something—the other boy seemed to always be bothered by something—but at the moment he was a little more worried about everyone else surrounding them. He didn't quite know why at first, but the feeling nibbled at his brain the whole time they waited in line, growing and growing until eventually he realized what exactly it was.

"They're all like us," he said, breathing the words out.

Kitty turned to him, one brow raised. "Who's like us?"

"Them." Red swiveled his head around at the crowd that flanked them at every side. "Everyone. All these people are... like us."

"You mean they're Magicians?" Red nodded, and Kit sent him a deadpan look. "Well... Obviously. What else would they be?"

When she put it that way it did seem obvious, but that wasn't the point as far as Red was concerned. The thing was, sure, he'd met plenty of other Magicians by now, but that had always been under threat of his life, and even then it had never been on this scale. There were hundreds of them here, all just... standing around. Some stood in line, and others simply stood in wait, tense, or tired, or excited, or unbothered.

All of them popped with color, and all of them held some weird object or some weird look in their eye. Red wondered how he and his friends looked to them; just as strange, or practically mundane by comparison?

It was the first time he felt like he wasn't all that special. The first time he felt like just one piece of the puzzle, and not a particularly large one at that. Sure, he was strong enough, but who knew what any of these people were capable of?

"You're doing it again."

Red glanced at Malcolm. "Doing what?"

"Smiling at everything like a creep."

His hand came up and felt the grin on his face. "I'm just wondering how many of these guys could actually kill me. This is gonna be so fun."

Luke and Rebecca, standing right beside him, both seemed to choke on something.

Malcolm sighed. "Now you're also saying creepy things."

"There you guys are," Stretch said, shoving his way past some other Magicians. He was joined by the rest of the gang, Clover and Zelda and Baba right behind him. The last to come was Jason, who'd been the one to send Malcolm to wait with the other kids while the supposed grownups dealt with the line and the booths that waited at its end. "Man, that took forever."

"What was it even for?" Rebecca asked.

Stretch glanced at Jason, who shrugged and produced something from his pocket. They all leaned in to look, finding four blue coins sitting in his palm. Each four times as big as a quarter, the RC's winged cage emblem was imprinted on both sides, and whatever metal they were made of seemed dull and unable to reflect light.

"Tourney Tokens, they called 'em," Jason said. With another shrug, he patted the sheath of his sword. "A Peerless Talisman like mine gets you four. Same for Modified Talismans. Dupes only give one. And Kitty, your Recurrent Talisman would net us two more, apparently. "

Kitty perked up at that. "Should I go give it to them?"

"I don't even know what these are for. And you're not really giving them anything. I still have my sword."

Luke frowned. "So they just gave these coins to you for free?"

Just then, a sharp metallic echo rang out from the base of Labyrinth Peak. The group turned along with all the other Magicians in attendance, and to the surprise of half a particular Enforcer climbed up on a boulder and addressed the crowd with a megaphone.

"One, two... Can everyone hear me?!"

Everyone held their hands up against their ears, some barking an angry yes, others a slightly more helpful turn it the hell down.

"Hey, I know that guy," Red said.

"Agent Linker," Clover said, still holding her head. "I guess he's in charge here?"

"I thought he was supposed to be new," Malcolm muttered.

Baba grunted. "Hard work will get you everywhere."

"I am Agent Linker!" the man said, practically shouting into the megaphone. This produced another round of angry yells, and this time he pulled back with a start and fiddled with the device in his hands before talking into it again. "Is that better? Yes? Good! I am Agent Linker, and I welcome you brave Magicians to... the Summit Tournament!"

Linker paused, waiting for applause. Some smattering claps were heard, but most just fidgeted in place or coughed into the silence. Clearing his throat, the Enforcer adjusted his sunglasses and went on.

"Right, well, it's very exciting. I will now explain the tournament rules, so please listen carefully. Right now you should all have some amount of Tourney Tokens, yes?" Some nods. At least he spoke clearly. "Now, some of you might be confused, so let me clarify this: the Talismans you all showed us to get those Tokens will, for the duration of the Tournament, still be in your possession. The Ranger Corps wants to ensure that the proceedings are as fair as possible, and so it's only fair that you all retain the full scope of your abilities."

Linker cleared his throat again. "But let me repeat, this is only for the duration of the Tournament. As far as the Ranger Corps is concerned, you have already sold your Talismans to us for those Tokens. What you're doing now is, for all intents and purposes just, borrowing them. Should you lose the Tournament, your borrowed Talismans will be taken. And let me make this perfectly clear." Here Linker paused, leaning forward. "We in the Bureau of Enforcement will ensure that these borrowed Talismans are returned to us, their rightful owners. So I would not advise that you try to run off with them in the event of your loss. It would not end well."

The silence that followed was deafening, not because anyone was intimidated by Linker himself, but because in that instant the Magicians in attendance realized something all but a few had missed. All around them, spanning the whole perimeter of their gathering, stood what seemed at first to be nondescript men and women. Nothing about them seemed much out of the ordinary, and some Magicians even remembered a few milling about with them while waiting for the Tournament to start, but now they all sported a distinct badge on their chest.

Enforcers, every one. Not as many as the group they'd surrounded, but enough to make a statement, one made pointed by a rather forceful use of Spirit Flow.

Still, Red noticed some of the Magicians around him growing indignant. He'd faced off against an Enforcer himself, and while it had been hard it hadn't been impossible. Surely a crowd like this couldn't be cowed by a force like that, no matter how specialized.

"But I don't mean to threaten you," Linker spoke up. "You all knew this going in, of course. This is the price you were all willing to pay for a chance at the ultimate prize. Don't forget that the Treasure Trove awaits you!" Every eye in the crowd snapped to him at those words, and Linker beamed a sure smile. "Yes! Win the Tournament, and that will be your reward, as well as the retainment of the very talisman you risked to get it! Not a bad deal, is it?!"

At this, some applause did come. If Linker had stood proud before, even this modicum of positive attention made him straighten like a parakeet.

"But enough about that!" Linker called. "The rules! This is how things will work: every one of you will be given the opportunity to form teams. These teams are in name only. That is to say, there are no limits to who can be a member, or how many members there can be! The only thing that matters to the makeup of a team is your Tourney Tokens!"

Red frowned, already feeling like he'd been lost. Of course they'd make this way too complicated. Nothing could ever just be simple.

"Think of your Tokens like a one-use currency," Linker continued. "To participate in the Tournament every Magician must join a team, and to join a team every Magician must spend one Token. Tokens can be spent at any point in the Tournament, meaning teams can grow in size whenever you wish assuming your team has enough Tokens. This also means that, even should individual Magicians be disqualified, their team is allowed to proceed as long as even one member remains in the running!"

Glancing at Kitty, Red caught her shrug. He then looked at Malcolm, who was nodding along like it was no big deal. Well, at least one of them was getting any of this.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering, what would teams proceed through?" Linker raised a finger. "By our count, three hundred fifty-seven Tokens have already been handed out! Naturally, it would be impossible to hold a standard tournament with so many participants, but the RC saw this coming. That's why this Tournament will be structured as a series of three challenges. To win, your team must survive them all and be the last one standing! And that is why we've all met here today, at the base of Labyrinth Peak, rather than up above at the Ranger Corps Headquarters."

With one dramatic swoop, Linker pointed over at the large main entrance of the mountain. "Your first challenge will take place inside! Our staff will be waiting there at the entrance to accept your team names and receive your Tourney Tokens, so I would advise you all to choose now what your team will be and who will be in it! Oh, and no electronics allowed! Please give that to the staff as well." His other hand came up to gesture toward the booths. "Those who will not be participating at this time, please join the staff at the booths along with everyone's luggage. Not to worry; you'll all see each other again once the challenge ends! When you're all ready, please proceed! I am Agent Linker, and I thank you all for your attention!"

More applause, this time a consistent and enthused few seconds of it. Smiling broadly, Linker held the megaphone up one last time, shouted "I am Agent Linker! Thank you!" and was subsequently pulled off the boulder he'd used as a soapbox by what looked like one of his fellow Enforcers.

Red and the others huddled up then, the whole lot of Magicians around them clumping up to do the same thing. Some of the other groups were smaller, others far larger—one in particular seemed positively gargantuan, with several dozen members lined up in a circular row.

"So," Zelda started, drawing back his attention. "Obviously Jay and the brat have to be on the team."

Everyone, even Luke and Rebecca, nodded at that. Red was the only one who frowned in thought. "Who's the brat?" he asked, and when everyone proceeded to stare blankly back at him he stared back. "What?"

"We have four Tokens," Jason said. "I guess we don't need to use 'em all now, but I think it'd be best if we did. Don't know what the challenge will actually be, so better safe than sorry."

They all glanced at each other before, to the surprise of everyone, Stretch raised a slow, hesitant hand. "I want... I mean, sign me up, man." He offered an uncertain smile to their curious looks. "I figure Jason and Red have us covered when it comes to power. My Trick could come in handy for other... stuff. If that makes sense."

Jason quickly nodded, thumping Stretch's arm. "Makes sense to me. We could use some variety."

Clover sighed. "I'd offer, but I dunno... These're the big leagues, right? Fighting and all that stuff, it's not exactly my forte."

Kitty set steady eyes on her. "For all we know, the challenge doesn't involve any fighting."

"Well, like Jay said, better safe than sorry."

Jason looked at Zelda, somewhat hopeful, but the girl just shook her head back at him. "Nope."

"But what if—"

"Jay, I'm not spending my day skulking around in some dank, disgusting cave."

"Speaking of which, it might get dark in there," Baba offered. "You might need a light. And since phone's aren't allowed..."

That got the others to look at Malcolm, who held up a hand. "Yeah, yeah, literal human torch, I get it. Fine, I'll go too."

"That's all four, then."

"Unless we get more Tokens," Kitty said, digging into her coat pocket. "I still have my ring—"

Jason reached over to lay his hand over hers. "Kit, no. Save it." He smiled at her, and Red didn't miss the tinge of red on her cheeks. "I don't want you risking your Talisman if you don't need to."

"It's not that important."

"Then consider it a backup. You heard that guy, we can always trade it in for more Tokens later." He looked up at Clover and Zelda then. "You ladies can be our reserves, alright? If one of us gets disqualified, I'm counting on you to pick up the slack."

Rebecca sighed. "I wish I was good enough to help too..."

Jason turned his smile to her, chuckling. "You, Luke, and Baba can be our reserve-reserves."

Baba crossed her arms. "Good enough for me."

"Hey, everyone else is going," Red said.

And so they were. Magicians streamed into the cave, trading in their Tokens to the staff who stood flanking its dark opening. They disappeared mere moments after stepping inside, the shadows consuming them wholly in a way that couldn't be natural.

"Yeah, looks like this is it," Jason said, glancing over at the booths where the nonparticipants were congregating. "Well... Guess we'll see you guys later."

"Wait!" Rebecca said suddenly, surging forward. "A name! Your team needs one, doesn't it?"

That drew them back in. Red rubbed at his chin, copying Stretch who stood beside him and did the same thing. "How about... Team Badass Battalion?"

Zelda gagged at that, and even Clover shook her head.

"Team Can't Stop," Stretch tried.

"Team Kill Me Now," Zelda muttered.

"Guys, it's not that hard," Jason said, smiling. "We already have a name. The Roxbury Rangers."

"Can't beat alliteration," Baba said.

Nodding, Jason held a hand out. The first to recognize and then follow his example was Red, who held his hand out with as wide a grin as ever and placed it over the Captain's. Stretch went next, then Clover, then Kitty and Baba ans Rebecca and Luke and even Zelda. Finally, Malcolm joined in with a brief roll of his eyes.

"So cheesy," Luke chuckled, then groaned when Rebecca elbowed him in the gut.

"Roxbury Rangers on three," Jason said, looking back at all of them. His friends, his team. "One, two—"

"Roxbury Rangers!"