Mason smiled as he watched his players all fight and win. Then he flicked to Blake’s team and stared, vaguely confused. All he could see was a big metal box.

Then he realized Blake and Seul-ki were inside. Blake must have created it with True Making, which was pretty undeniably clever. There were dozens of arrows and javelins lying on the ground all around it.

As the ‘camera’ panned out Mason saw a bloody Annie and several constructs chasing, and eventually killing, two archers. The third must have been dead already, because the screen faded to black immediately after.

Mason let out the breath he’d probably been holding awhile. Round one was a rousing success. Every player in the ‘west’ had won their match pretty handily. Now the only question was how many more matches did they actually have?

Considering it was only day two of seven, he supposed the answer was ‘quite a lot’. Especially since they also had to deal with their one on ones. The cold reality of the math started to hit him, and he realized every player was likely to have to fight a few, maybe several times a day.

The rules weren’t entirely clear, but thus far it seemed much more ‘round robin’ with points than elimination. How many teams were there? How many actual players? Presumably they’d get those answers soon, but likely not until the tournament was over.

Mason looked up and saw Haley waiting patiently outside the entrance room of their enormous suite. When Mason met her eyes she gave him a smile and a little wave. She’d been waiting for him to be ready, to come down after the rush of violence and blood. But it was definitely going to take more than a few seconds.

Mason’s pulse was still thrumming like a bass drum. He never felt more alive than in the heat of battle. Never wanted anything or had as much focus as he did when there was something trying to kill him—something that deserved his full and undivided attention.

His eyes moved up and down Haley’s simple dark dress, sliding over her curves. For a second he saw a flash of panic in her eyes.

“You’re supposed to go on a date with Lexi,” she whispered, stepping back around the corner so he couldn’t see her body. “And you need to take your armor off. You still look scary.”

Mason swiped away the armor and walked towards her stark naked. He grabbed her and pulled her in, kissing her and running his hands up and down her back. She moaned against his mouth, melting into him as she instantly gave up any kind of resistance. But she was right. He’d agreed to be alone with Lexi.

“OK,” he said, letting his wife go. “I’ll need clothes. Green spandex isn’t exactly date friendly.”

Haley stood there with her eyes closed another moment, then opened them with a sigh.

“You’re very cruel,” she said, then materialized a black suit from her storage. “This should do, I think? But I think I’ll have to give Lexi something to wear. Most of the girls don’t really have much.”

“Be quick,” Mason said, sliding a finger down Haley’s cheek. “I’m not sure how long I’ll last.”

His blonde beauty swallowed and hurried off to find Lexi as the other players started to materialize. Mason pulled on his clothes before he scandalized anyone, then went in and congratulated them all.

“Are we celebrating?” Carl smiled and looked Mason up and down. “Oh come on. You know I like you in the Conan outfit. This is our special night.”

“I’m celebrating,” Mason said with a pretend glare. “Y’all can go do whatever you feel like.” He lost a bit of the good humor. “But be ready. And no alcohol. I don’t trust this thing and it’s going to put us back in there sooner than we want. So if I were you I’d get some sleep.”

The players all nodded, except Rebecca, who looked him up and down like she’d smelled her favorite barbecue. Mason took her hand and walked her out of the room with a wave at the others.

“OK,” he said, as she started running her hands up his chest. “I know you feel the same as me after a fight. But…”

“Mmhmm.” She was getting handsier by the second, her mouth moving to his still mostly unbuttoned collar.

“I have a date with Lexi,” he said, which managed to freeze Becky in her tracks. Her face went through a range of emotions. Until finally she just shrugged, maybe a bit disappointed.

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"I guess I got a waterfall."

Mason grinned, remembering his first and maybe only real 'date' with Becky. They'd walked through the forest and swam in a beautiful grove with a waterfall, doing quite a lot of fooling around before having to fight off some kind of giant cave bats...

"I miss that waterfall," he said with a sigh.

"Well." Becky grinned and went back to groping him. "If y'all get finished early, why don't you swing by. I don't mind if Lexi don't. She's pretty cute."

Mason fought the growing urgency of his lust. A tiny, helpless piece of him wondered what life might be like alone in the woods somewhere—if having no beautiful women around would make him more or less horny. Would it be easier to focus? Easier to survive?

On the other hand, what would be the point.

"We'll see," he said, hoping very much that's how his evening ended. Though he knew he should really give Lexi a night with him alone. And he also knew Rosa and Haley would want in if he started adding girls. But all things considered, it was a pretty good problem to have.

He gave a pouting Becky a kiss and a wink, then finishing getting his suit on properly, deciding in the end to toss the jacket and tie. He'd gone barefoot so much in the last couple months the shoes felt like straight jackets. Still, they did look better than feet now practically carved from rock.

After getting instruction from Haley, and sending her to actually figure out where he should go, he knocked on the bedroom taken by Rosa and Lexi. Rosa pulled it open wearing pajamas, her hair in a loose bun. She looked Mason over from head to toe and nodded.

"Good. I thought you'd show up covered in blood. And Lexi deserves a nice date. So Be nice and actually talk to her."

Mason raised a brow, hearing Lexi whisper angrily at Rosa from somewhere behind the door. He also heard her creep towards the bathroom and pretend to open and close it, then walk back to greet him.

"Oh hi. I'm all ready. You look very handsome."

Mason gave Lexi a quick scan, pretty amazed at the transformation. She was obviously a very pretty girl, with a smaller body and less curves than Rosa or Haley, more fit like Becky. But wearing a low cut red dress, dangling earrings and even high heels, he was reminded she came from some upper crust British family. She looked...regal.

"Is it too much? I told Haley it was too much." Lexi picked up her dress and turned for the bathroom before Mason caught her arm.

"It's perfect. Now let's go, I'm hungry."

"Me too." Lexi grinned. "I'm small but I can eat like a pig. Or an American."

Mason couldn't help but grin back.

"Should I have her back by a certain time?" he asked Rosa, and the Mexican rolled her dark eyes.

"Just don't bug me. I bought a new set of tools and I'm going to be busy playing."

"Is that like...a euphemism?" Mason asked. Lexi shook her head.

"She's a tremendous nerd, actually, if she didn't look like this..." here Lexi gestured for effect, "she'd be stuck in some lab talking about Dr. Who with a bunch of fat engineers."

"No one in America watches Dr. Who." Rosa's voice dripped with disdain. "And even if they did Mason wouldn't have heard of it. Now get out. Out. Vamonos!"

After Lexi hurried outside, Rosa stuck out her tongue and closed the door in Mason's face. He exchanged a look with Lexi, and after a mutual grin of affection for the fiery girl, he took her hand and went for the elevator.

Haley popped out of a nearby hall and handed him a note, which just read 'The Rose. Public. Reserved under Mason.'

For a moment Mason winced at the word 'public', but he trusted Haley's opinion. So he led Lexi to the elevator, guiding her in with a hand on her mostly exposed back. He followed and stood close, unable for a moment to keep his eyes off her.

She noticed. And smiled shyly, taking his hand again.

"I don't actually know where we're going," she said. "Though...I don't really care."

Mason met her eyes and sort of wanted to just pick her up and take her back to the room. But he reminded himself that good things came to those who waited. Or so some patient person must have said.

"I could pretend I know," he said, pushing the button. "In Haley we trust."

The doors opened with a ding, and Mason and Lexi stepped out into moonlit darkness onto a cobblestone path. It lead through a kind of hedge garden, sculpted bushes and trees mixed with fountains and thousands of flowers all lit by floating, colored lights.

"Incredible," Lexi said, squeezing Mason's hand. He agreed, then hated roboGod for making anything beautiful in its 'game', then squashed the outrage because Lexi didn't deserve it.

"Yes it is," he said, taking her forward. Their path soon merged with a few others, and they heard voices as several other people came into sight walking towards a well-lit series of structures.

"Oh there's other people, too!" Lexi smiled wide and practically bounced. "I love to people watch. Do you do that? I'm such a creeper."

Mason matched her smile and shrugged, thinking another win in the Haley column. But he was supposed to talk. Women liked that, right?

"This time it's useful," he said. "You can be my spy. Creep without shame. Take notes."

Lexi practically jumped up onto Mason's arm and straddled it when she bounced and grinned.

"Ohh I've always wanted to be a spy. I don't care if I’m a walking stereotype. I love James Bond. I love Sherlock Holmes. And Harry Potter. If Britain had a cheer team, I'd be its captain."

Mason was starting to realize why Rosa liked this girl so much. Her enthusiasm was impossible to deny, and even Mason the grouch was having a little fun with his clothes on.

Maybe because he couldn't help it, maybe because he just wanted to, he stopped and turned her to face him, then bent down and kissed her.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back, obviously a bit flustered.

"OK," he said, "let's go, Captain. We’ll eat until we explode. I want a steak. And possibly a few beers. And that's just to start."

Lexi did another little hop, then made a very futile, but very cute attempt to pull him forward.