There was a huge crowd at the gate to New Toledo as Jenna got out of her cab. Evening opening the rear door of the vehicle proved a challenge, as she had to open it slowly to avoid hitting one of the standing people. If it were up to her, she wouldn’t have cared much about inconveniencing one of the sycophantic fans, but she was under strict orders not to arouse suspicions. Infiltrating the stands was already a difficult goal without getting noticed, and it was just the first step. She had to play it carefully.
“Excuse me, sorry,” she said, tapping a burly man on the shoulder to get his attention. She put on a wide smile for him. “Can I slip past you, sir? I just have to join up with my sister.”
The man looked around and down at her and smiled in return. “Of course! Squeeze right by me.”
She slid around the man’s larger frame, then froze for a moment. Standing on either side of the gate on tall platforms to view the rest of the crowd were five figures. She would have known they were Nexians straight away even if they weren’t wearing their uniforms, because she could feel the power of their auras, and she was standing nearly a hundred feet away from the closest one.
She racked her memory, trying to place their identities. It took her longer than she would have liked because she wasn’t on the combat team, not the intel team. But eventually, she was able to recall three of their names. Then she realized why their auras of power were so potent, and she felt a chill run down her spine. Almost unconsciously, she tried to duck down out of their direct line of sight, before realizing that was the wrong action. If they noticed her behaving suspiciously, she might risk ruining the entire operation.
The five figures at the entrance, three men and two women, weren’t just Nexians. They were Lieutenants of their own Nexuses. She knew Charlisa Ambrose from her time surveying the joint training camp. She’d witnessed Emmet Fenn’s and Huang Jiang’s powers for herself at the last Nexus Games when they’d broken up a rather nasty fight between two Nexuses. Their faces and names had been burned into her memory as huge threats. Even the Lorists agreed that they were particularly dangerous figures, given that they were close to the Alphas in power level.
That memory prompted another thought in her mind, one that didn’t remotely encourage her organization’s attempt. They’d just received the results of this year’s assessment from their mole in the Lorist’s organization. A handful of new names had leaped out of the report as promising talents. Eric Breeden, who had created a lightning blast so powerful he’d staggered his own Alpha. Megan Richards, who’d mastered the ability to create and manipulate ice after just two months and some change of training.
“The Nexians are getting even stronger while we wait,” the Captain in charge of gathering intel had told the officers. “Each year, they get new members, and those members are filling themselves with that alien power and posing an even greater threat.”
Jenna wasn’t sure if she believed the rumors that the Nexus powers came from another world. In the early days of their organization, an early informant had claimed to overhear Will Andrews, the then-new Alpha of a new Thunder Nexus, say to a colleague. Very few people believed that, on top of everything else, the powers had come from an alien source. In recent years, however, the belief was taking hold, and more of the superstitious parts of the group held fast to the belief, and used it as their reason for fighting against the Nexians.
For Jemma, the reason was simple. Good old-fashioned revenge. She’d kill as many of those damned Nexians as she could. If she was able, she’d even take Rachel Smith for herself. The Water Nexus’ weakness was well-known, after all, and she was a weak, gentle soul compared to the days of the First Nexus war when she and her people had created those floods that wiped out Jenna’s cousins, as well as every other attendant of that wedding.
The Nexians had a habit of glossing over the hundreds of thousands of victims they’d created while spouting public policies that protected them in the name of public peace. Sure, the Nexus Council had made a charter that outlined very strict consequences for any Nexian that attacked humans, but Jenna hadn’t heard of one punishment being levied for those that took part in the first Nexus War. The only one that had got what he deserved was the first Alpha of the Fire Nexus, Edward Ambrose. He’d been killed by one of the Soul Nexus members, the only force that could have kept him in check.
As Jenna drew closer to the Nexian Lieutenants, she found herself sweating, and not just from the heat aura of Emmet Fenn, the Fire Nexians. Any second, she expected to hear one of them call out to her, demanding to know why she was there. She even half-expected one of them to launch a surprise attack, wiping her out before she could take action. In spite of the assurances from their intelligence division that the Nexus remained unaware of Libera Terra’s movements, she couldn’t shake off the suspicion that they were going to be discovered before they could strike.
She finally slipped under the large gate of the town and showed one of the clerks her ticket, and let out a sigh of relief. Now, each step carried her further away from the auras of those killers, and further into safety. New Toledo, while not quite as large as the original city, was still a massive, sprawling area. She’d passed the point of highest security, and now she was just another face in the horde, hardly worth the time or notice to investigate.
For the humans, stands had been erected on the edge of New Toledo, facing massive screens. Cameras were littered throughout the city for the Nexus Games, and every bit of action could be watched by the avid fans. Jenna’s only interest in the camera system was that it would ensure Libera Terra also knew where the Nexians would be at all times. They’d have dedicated intel members stay behind in the bleachers and report information to those that were involved in the attacks.
Jenna waited until the human security guard nearest her was looking away, dealing with a small scuffle over seating, then slipped out of the stream of people. Moving quickly but stealthily, she ducked under the rope and made her way around a nearby commerce stall. The workers there paid her little attention, assuming she was either a prospective customer or one of the human staff. There were fewer people here, so she stood out more, but she kept her head down, aiming straight down the path deeper into the city.
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Eric sat down in the only empty seat remaining for the Thunder Nexus, and let out a quiet sigh. He couldn’t deny that the past few hours had been stressful for him, both from waiting for the actual Nexus Games to begin and the short conversation that he’d had with the cohorts of his mission. Not for the first time since returning to Earth, he wondered why Grimr couldn’t have chosen to just hunt down each target one at a time. Why was this farce and long waiting period necessary? The sooner they accomplished their goal, the sooner he could go back home to Emma and Emily.
He cast his memory back to the conversation with Grimr and the others now, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms, already exhausted from the day’s events. Grimr had made sure they got one moment out of the next three days to check in with everyone and make sure they were all on the same page. Eric personally had been relieved to finally reach the true start of their mission, though Jerik and Nick had seemed unfazed. Megan, on the other hand, had looked troubled.
“I’ve made up my mind,” she’d told Eric in a quiet voice before Grimr had approached them. “I’m not going to move against you and Grimr. As much as I hate turning against Rachel, I realize it’s the right thing to do.”
Even as she verbally stated her allegiance, Eric noticed the distress in her voice. It was nearly overwhelming her, he could see. She was the only one out of the group that didn’t have a clear-cut motivation for sabotaging the Nexuses. She’d likely chosen as she had because of how dangerous Grimr could be as an enemy. Eric wouldn’t want to find himself facing the Ancient in any sort of encounter, so he understood her fear. He wished it didn’t have to be her ultimate reason, but he couldn’t argue with the results. Megan would be better off as an ally than an opponent.
“Good, we’re all here,” Grimr had said dully. “I just received word from the Nexus Council. They have decided that, because of my power, I am allowed to compete after all.”
Eric couldn’t tell if he was pleased or annoyed by the change of heart. “Well, at least you’ll be in the thick of it now when we start.”
“That’s certainly true,” Grimr agreed. “I would have been fine with either result. Being near the council would have been riskier but had the greater advantage, of course. But this way, we can move together.”
He spared half a glance in Megan’s direction, then raised an eyebrow at Eric, silently asking him for his opinion on the girls’ motives. He nodded slightly, reassuring him there were no issues. With a slight shrug that seemed to indicate he didn’t care either way, he turned to include Jerik and Nick in the conversation.
“The goal remains the same. We’ll take part in these Nexus Games. Make sure to get warmed up, but don’t spend so much of your energy that you’ll be useless when we make our move.”
They all nodded their understanding, and Nick said, “We’ll have to make sure we avoid the Lieutenants. They’ll be our biggest threat right off the bat.”
Grimr seemed confused by that bit, and Nick was forced to explain further. “They patrol the city during the Nexus Games and keep an eye on the fighting. It’s their job to break up particularly dangerous fights, and stop lethal attacks.”
Now it was Grimr’s turn to nod. “I see. That is a useful piece of information to know ahead of time. We likely won’t clash with most of the lower-ranked members, but we should still be aware of them.”
Eric agreed with the points that had been laid out so far, save for one thing. “I’m not the deceitful kind. I’m going to try my best during the games.”
He didn’t add that his competitive personality wouldn’t let him get away with doing anything half-assed. Jerik grinned as well. “Oh, just because the games aren’t important, doesn’t mean I’m going to let you win so easily.”
Even Grimr seemed intrigued by the prospect. “Of course, you should give it your best effort, if only to avoid arousing suspicion. Naturally, I’ll do my best to secure wins for my Nexus as well.”
“I thought I told you to get as much sleep as you could,” a voice broke into Eric’s thoughts, and he looked to the right. Kenta was watching him critically, his dark eyes crinkled in a slight frown. “You look like you barely got any.”
“I got enough sleep,” Eric said quickly, lifting his head. “Just nerves. I’ll be fine when the games start.”
Kenta pursed his lips for a moment, then said, “If you think you’re ready, I won’t remonstrate you. Just make sure not to hurt yourself.”
Eric opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted as Kevin Williams rose from his seat at the head table. He used a remote in his hand to turn on the big screen to the side. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This will be a short meeting, just to go over what you should expect in the next three days. This is a list of the games we will be taking part in.”
Eric focused on the screen, and saw a list of events, with times and areas listed. He knew that the games had been decided weeks ago by the council, but that the areas were selected randomly, so as to not give any Nexus a pre-determine advantage.
Nexus Games 2026
Capture the Flag
Round Robin Style
Each game will last 30 minutes. Byes earn each Nexus 1 automatic win. Ties award both Nexus a win.
Round 1:
Earth vs. Thunder
(Suburban Arena)
Air vs. Fire
(Riverside - Forest)
Water bye
Round 2:
Fire vs. Thunder
(Sports Arena)
Earth vs. Water
(Parking Garage)
Air bye
Round 3:
Thunder vs. Water
(Suburban Arena)
Air vs. Earth
(Sports Arena)
Fire bye
Round 4:
Earth vs. Fire
(Parking Garage)
Air vs Water
(Forest)
Thunder bye
Round 5:
Air vs. Thunder
(Riverside - Plains)
Fire vs. Water
(Parking Garage)
Earth bye
Protect the King:
Full City
One member of each Nexus carries a headband. Protect them, and steal others’ headbands to score points. The game will last eight hours.
Tournament:
The roster will be determined based on performance in the first two games.
The top three contenders will be guaranteed a place in next year’s tournament. The winner will be rewarded with equipment specially made for their powers.
Murmurs broke out among the Nexians as they studied the screen and muttered quietly to each other. The Water Nexus in particular seemed the most eager, though Eric couldn’t blame them. They had two matches stationed right next to their own element, which gave them a significant advantage. Thunder Nexus had no particular weakness to any of the chosen arenas, so the worst they’d have to face was fighting Earth or Water Nexuses in areas that favored them.
“That’s a good lineup,” James said to his right. “I’m not looking forward to round 5, though. Fighting the Water Nexus next to a river? That’s gonna suck.”
“We’re facing Air Nexus, not Water,” Eric pointed out. “I’m more concerned with the second round. Fire Nexus is good at bombardment, and the sports arena is wide open.”
“Oh,” James said, turning a bit read as the others laughed at his mistake. “Fair point. But we’ve got them beat in speed, and in an open area we’re harder to pin down.”
“I’m sure you all want to spend time strategizing,” Kevin said, interrupting the murmurs. “But save that for later. For now, we have our opening feast to deal with. We’ve invited some special guests, mainly friends and family of our members. That’ll be in the hotel lobby, so let’s get a move on!”