Belinda’s Student Coach had a unique schedule for Guild Training. Every three days, Delaine would be absent so the Gamma members could train together without her guidance. It was her way of getting her students to bond and get used to working together, keeping in mind that were they to participate in the tournament, they would be teammates in the Group and Pair rounds.
Belinda had been sparing extra time in training this year. Her anxiety was at an all-time high. She didn’t get on the team last Versus, but since it was her first year, she tried not to be so hard on herself.
Her father would tell her it wasn’t a big deal. “You were learning,” he’d said. “Just keep working and you’ll get it next time.” She knew he was right, in part, but if she didn’t make the team again, her self-confidence would drop. After all, she had some big shoes to fill.
Her mother, Dapla Adenifi, had attended Vuzun Institute on Mars, in a country called Xofrea. It wasn’t as widely recognized as the Jostif Combat School in Doosto, but it was respected. She’d represented her country’s team and did well enough to get on the planet team for the Versus.
She wasn’t considered a ‘Versus Legend’, like Lisa White, or Unadra Illa from Hajja, or Erina Hasegawa from Utopaea. But she was a heck of a fighter. She was highlighted in the paired rounds and got the 5th-place recognition plaque. Her call sign was ‘Sky’, since her style relied on high jumps.
After she died from Angicrum Debisio, a contagious, degenerative Martian disease, Belinda went to Earth with her father. To honor her, she kept her mother’s surname. Since then, she wanted to enter the Versus and make her mother proud.
She already failed once. She couldn’t fail again. Over four years of training would be enough, surely. It had to be.
Delaine was a fair coach. She did tend to show more preference towards her Favorites— which were only four—, but she was overall very nice to the rest of her students. She never made Belinda feel inferior. The other members, on the other hand…
There were 72 members in Gamma, and most of them saw Belinda as a nuisance. She was just… there. She always felt the hostility and annoyance from everyone else, no matter how many fake smiles and compliments they threw her way. There weren’t many in her Guild she could really call her friend.
Perhaps that was why she was so quick to become friends with Calista when she arrived at the academy. She was already an outcast the minute she was admitted. She wasn’t in any position to refuse a new friend. She wouldn’t know of Belinda’s reputation, and even if she did, they probably would’ve grown close either way.
At first, Belinda’s impression was much like everyone else’s. She was incredulous and a bit suspicious, wondering how she was accepted, even with her history. But once she met the Earthian girl face-to-face, she realized she was a very sweet, genuine girl that just wanted to complete her dream… like everyone else at Fistborn.
She changed at one of the Stations and headed to the Guild Training rooms. She was running a little late, having dozed off at the Studitorium while reviewing disciplines, but Delaine was never strict about punctuality, less when she wasn’t even there.
Up ahead, two girls were speed-walking down the hall, wearing the same Guild patches. She was tempted to catch up with them and start a conversation, but decided against it, feeling a bit awkward. That was how every conversation went with the other Gammas. Awkward.
Weren’t those Seema and Hillena? She’d hardly talked to them directly, but they definitely talked about Belinda more since she brought Calista to the table that day.
“… too nice to her. She needs to give it to her straight.”
“She’s her friend, though.”
“She just feels sorry.”
She slowed, her curiosity piqued by the girls’ distant conversation. Gossip was indeed an attractive specimen, but rotten to the core. Their voices faded as they entered their training room. Belinda reached the doorway, but she didn’t go inside.
She sighed. No. It wasn’t her business. She’d said she’d stop doing this. It was a violation of the Martian Moral Code. She’d promised her father she’d quit the habit…
Her ears twitched as they tuned into the conversation, pinpointing where the two girls were.
“… but that girl? So pathetic. I really feel like she actually likes those types.”
“Maybe she feels like she won’t get famous here, so she’ll try the other side of the code.”
“I don’t blame her. She’s hardly intimidating. Nothing like what Fistborn calls for.”
There was a third female voice. Belinda couldn’t pinpoint whose it was.
“What does Minx say about her?” Seema asked, referring to Delaine by her call sign.
“I dunno. It’s not like I ask her, ‘What do you think about Adenifi?’,” said Hillena.
They were talking about her?
“Delaine probably doesn’t even remember who she is,” the third girl said. “She’s basically invisible. That’s probably why she’s hovering around that human girl all the time. That’s the only way people will know she exists.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Hillena replied. “She wants a connection through that girl. Maybe she thinks her Socializer channel will give her a name.”
“I highly doubt she’ll make the team. She’s not remarkable.”
Belinda remained outside the door, listening to every word, which cut deeper and deeper. She wanted to tune out and be ignorant to whatever else they said, but she couldn’t.
“Do you know if Alesha still talks to her, Neka?”
“Shh! She’s right there.”
Neka. Belinda knew her, but she didn’t consider her a friend or anything. Alesha was the one she was closer to. She had just recently been made a Favorite of Delaine’s, and Belinda was hoping she’d talk her up. Did Alesha think the same?
“I don’t know,” Neka whispered. “I know she’s annoyed by her a lot. Never knew why Alesha talks to her in the first place. Maybe she thought she could fix her.”
Fix her? What did she mean by that?
“Alesha’s a great student, but I don’t think even she can make Belinda a good fighter. If Minx can’t do it, no one can. She’s hopeless.”
Belinda’s face had relaxed into a deadpan, but her heart pounded in her chest, pumped with both human adrenaline and Martian thelp. She deactivated her super-hearing, regretting her decision. She shouldn’t have done this. She should’ve just entered the room and gone to training.
Swallowing hard, she entered her room. The girls were chatting a few feet away from the door, against the wall. All their eyes turned to her and their conversation halted. Alesha was chatting with someone else, oblivious to what had transpired. Belinda tuned in for just a moment.
“I’m going to glitch out if that happens,” Alesha laughed. “Seriously. The timer is ridiculous. Remember last Versus, when some kid still got to the next round because time was up before he fell?”
She tuned out. While relieved, she still wasn’t sure about Alesha’s real opinion of her. Neka said she got ‘annoyed’ by her. What did she mean, exactly? Was it even true?
“Hey, Belinda.” Alesha approached her with a bright smile. She was a Mercearthian of night-black skin and long, silver hair. “You look sleepy.”
“I fell asleep in the Studitorium.”
“Explains why you’re late.”
“You guys haven’t even started,” she pointed out.
“Well, we’ll start now.” Alesha stepped forward assertively and clapped loudly. “Everyone! We’re going to start now! On Minx’s lesson plan, she says to…” She checked her AIDA band. “Practice team rounds of Wipeout Tower, Capuzzle Rush, and Grinding Gears. We have to use the disciplines we’ve been learning throughout the week.”
“How many members each team?” someone asked.
“10, then we’ll move on to 15 tomorrow when she’s here.” Alesha closed her AIDA band. Belinda followed her as she approached the other three Favorites, silently agreeing to team up. The other three looked strangely at Belinda.
“What?” the Mearthian girl asked.
“You’re gonna be on our team?” Alesha asked.
“Yeah… do you not want me to?”
“I was just asking. You can be with us.”
“Actually, we’re full,” one of the Favorites, a full-blooded Martian named Marko, said. “I asked my brothers to be on the team.” He nodded to two other Martian boys talking a couple feet away.
“Yeah, and I invited my friends,” said Jill, a Seeyastian girl of brick red skin. She was the first Favorite of the Gamma Guild. Her friends were three other girls standing near her.
“That’s nine. You need one more,” Belinda told them.
“My cousin,” the third Favorite, a Martian named Theodore, said, motioning another Martian girl over.
“Sorry, Bel. How about you go with Neka’s team over there?” Alesha pointed to the mentioned girls clustered in the corner.
Belinda hid her indignation, nodding happily. “Sure. Great idea.” As she walked to them, she scanned the rest of the crowd for an open team. The awkwardness acted as a wall around her, preventing her from asking.
Neka was a Seeyastearthian of pale pink skin and blond hair. Her eyes were just like Camelithia’s, with rhombus-shaped pupils, but they were an amethyst color. They rose to stare at Belinda, penetrating her mind with judgment.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Hi, Belinda,” Seema said with a sickly-sweet tone. “You don’t have a team?”
“No… I don’t. I guess I’m with you guys,” she said.
“Sorry, but we’re full,” said Hillena. “You should’ve come earlier! We would’ve taken you.”
“Minx always says to just take in whoever gets left out.”
“Yeah, but if we take you in now, it won’t be fair to the other teams.”
“Fine, then I’ll switch out with one of you guys after the first game,” she told them.
The three girls glanced at each other. “We’ve got a really good group here. Also, you’ve been struggling lately,” said Neka.
“I have not,” Belinda said defensively. “Besides, Wipeout Tower’s my favorite game. I’m amazing at it. You know that.”
“Well, you always play it. Don’t you get bored?” said Seema.
“No.”
Awkward silence.
“Just sit this one out. You can work on your own. Or- Charlotte’s there. You can go with her.” Hillena nodded towards one of the few humans in Gamma, a girl of ebony skin and thick black curls sitting by herself.
Belinda nodded, her fists clenching. “You know what? Fine. I will.” She marched over to the human girl and wordlessly took her hand.
“Huh- Belinda? What are you-”
“We’re leaving.”
“Whoa, wait-” The Mearthian girl led her out of the training room, storming down the hall.
They stopped at the end, where the Kappa room was. Belinda turned away from Charlotte to hide her rising tears. She was hurt, enraged, and humiliated.
Her anger was so high that she could still tune into their conversation, despite the distance. She heard Alesha speaking. “… did she just leave?”
“She got mad that we didn’t have room in our team.”
“Oh. Why?”
“I dunno. I guess she wanted to play Wipeout, but she doesn’t have to be so glitchy.”
“Problem solved, at least. She’s like that Photobomb virus. She’s in everything, but she feels so… it’s weird having her, you know?” said Neka.
“Can we play already and forget about her?” said Hillena, annoyed. “She’ll get over her tantrum eventually and go back to begging for us. For now, let’s enjoy the time she’s not here.”
“Sorry she got like that with you guys,” said Alesha. “I dodged a bullet, too. She followed me like a duckling.” She giggled.
Belinda tuned out again, covering her eyes. She refused to cry. She refused to shed one tear for people like them.
“Belinda, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m sorry, I…” She sniffled, wiping her black eyes. “They were… they were leaving us out. I just got mad. I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” After a pause, Charlotte hugged the girl to console her. “It’s okay. It’s what we have to deal with, you know? If it weren’t for you always insisting on adding me, I would never have a team whenever we train. And sometimes I don’t, so I just leave.”
Belinda stared at her. How many times had Charlotte been completely left out, and she didn’t notice? “It’s not like they were my friends… well, Alesha was, sort of. I didn’t think she…” The tears resumed. “How could she…?” Charlotte hugged her again tightly. It was almost as if she expected this. As if she were so used to being excluded that she just accepted it.
Belinda had been excluded a few times, but Alesha would usually vouch for her, or make sure she wasn’t alone in group training. Belinda knew she judged the way she fought, but she would at least help her out. Why did they let her be around, then, if they didn’t like her? Why did they pretend for so long?
Her tears faded as her anger grew. She pulled away and looked fiercely into Charlotte’s dark eyes. “Let’s go to the gym. We’ll train ourselves. We don’t need them.”
“Yeah, I always go train by myself,” Charlotte smiled. “Nice to know I won’t be alone this time.” They started down the hallway.
Belinda would show them. She was going to get on that team. She would beat them. She would humiliate them. If any of them got on the team, they’d be her first targets in the Games.
===
Calista felt like a graceful swan. Her body bent and twirled at her will, never showing a smidge of resistance. She flew through the air and her soles harshly impacted other fighters’ faces and bodies, causing pain to them, but not to her.
She felt so powerful. So strong. So free. Like she could do absolutely anything.
As she fell towards the surface, she lifted her fist, ready to punch the ground and send everyone around her flying. Just as the ground was inches away, something grabbed her by the throat and pulled her back.
She screamed, the noise then strangled by her enemy’s arm, and instead crashed painfully on her back. Her helmet was forcefully pulled off her head. Standing over her was a mysterious figure in black fighting armor, their face concealed.
“Who…?” she coughed out.
The fighter didn’t answer, instead punching her in the face before she could try to block. She screamed as she anticipated the pain, but it never came.
“Good morning, Miss Calista Medley. It is now 6:20 in the morning of November 4th, 2349 in the city of Washington D.C.”
“What the-?” Calista was back in her dorm room at the academy. She breathed out, recovering from the nightmare. She’d had that recurring dream many times, with the same fighter dressed in black armor, but it would come so randomly that she would forget it happened… until it returned.
What was with that dream? Was that purely her fear of the competition? Of failure? She would have that dream long before she was admitted into Fistborn, when she was still part of the SociaLights. Always in a map of volcanic rock and lava, hot as the Sun, and with that fighter.
“AIDA, why did I get a nightmare?” She wobbled out of bed, her legs still shaking. “Is the sleep capsule broken?”
“Your sleep capsule is fully operational. However, last night, you ignored my bedtime reminders and fell asleep without adjusting your sleep settings. You fell asleep at approximately 3:34 AM.”
3:30?! That was hardly three hours of sleep! She must have gotten carried away with studying.
It was a month since she arrived at the academy, and she had until the end of the month to improve in time for finals. Final exams started the 27th, right after Thanksgiving, and the practical exams would be held for two weeks, showcasing different students’ abilities through randomized pair-ups in the arena.
From what Calista understood, Guild members went first, then the rest of the Versus School. Being in Kappa, she would probably be the last one, but no doubt one of her enemies would be eager to humiliate her and guarantee she wouldn’t join the team. She seriously needed to up her game. If she didn’t get on the team this year, she would carry the mockery until 2354.
She hadn’t talked to her family in over a week, increasing her workload and training longer hours in the gym and her dorm. She wore long shirts to hide her figure, worried that any sort of ‘imperfection’ on her waist would distract her. She hardly looked in the mirror anymore, but her guess was that she looked a mess.
She entered the cafeteria and headed to the Kappa table. To her surprise, Belinda was already there. The past three days, she hadn’t showed up to the Mess Hall.
“Hey, what’s on the Hub?” Calista sat across from her. “You’ve been offline the past few days. In class, you hardly talked.”
“I’m sorry… there’s just been a lot on my mind,” she said, picking at her food. “I could say the same about you, though. Have you-” She stopped short, her golden-brown skin turning white.
“You’re doing it again,” Calista told her. “It creeps me out.”
“Calista, have… have you been sleeping okay?”
“I had a nightmare last night… why?”
“You look…”
“Morning, girls!” Camelithia entered happily, showing off a new uniform. “I whipped this up last night. What do you-” She stopped, staring at Calista. “What in the glitch happened to you? Did you get beat up? Who was it?” She rolled up her sleeves.
“Have you looked in the mirror?”
“Not anymore. I thought it would be distracting.”
“Love, we fighters may not mind our appearance as much as Socializers do, but there’s a limit… for most, at least.” Cam sat down next to the human girl. “And it says a lot about your health. What have you been doing?”
“Work, mostly.” She opened her AIDA band and brought up a mirror screen so she could see herself.
An ear-splitting shriek rang through the entire Mess Hall, damaging everyone’s ears. All eyes directed to the Kappa table as Calista’s two friends desperately covered her mouth and tried to calm her down.
Harrison ran over from the Student Coach table, a few people behind him. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s fine! She’s fine, everyone, sorry!” Camelithia kept her hands firmly pressed against Calista’s mouth as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“Calista, what’s the matter?” Harrison leaned over, but Calista turned away and covered her face.
“What the glitch is going on?” Rosalina approached them, steaming slightly. “Human, not everyone is going to give you attention. You’re not the center of the Utopia. Let us eat.”
“It’s our fault,” said Belinda. “We were just worried.”
“Get away! Don’t look at me, please!” Calista shrunk away and buried her head in her arms.
“What is the problem?” A Paeseoan girl approached with a Hajjian man following her. “You’re distracting everyone with your meltdown, Socializer.”
“Hillary, let’s just ignore her,” the Hajjian said. “Why should we care?”
“Yeah, Bark’s right, why should you care?” Harrison retorted. “Get back to your table, Gravity.”
“No one talked to you, Cheater,” Hillary snapped.
“Hillary, I want to eat. Let’s go,” said Bark. “Leave the little girl to her temper tantrum.”
Calista suddenly jumped out of her seat and ran out of the cafeteria. Belinda and Camelithia chased after her while Harrison hesitated. Rosalina rolled her eyes. “Get your student under control, Cheater.” She headed back to the Alpha table. “You coming, Savage?” She looked at Bark.
“Hill, come on. She’s gone.” Bark took the Paeseoan’s hand and led her to the table. She kept her green eyes glaring at Harrison.
“What’s your problem, Kaye?” Harrison told her.
“My problem is your student. I deal with her enough during Teamwork class. If that human wretch can’t get her little act under control, I’ll have to scare her into silence.”
“If you do that, I’ll have to scare you into leaving her alone.” Harrison stood over her dauntingly. “She’s my student. You mess with her, you mess with me.”
“Back up, Cheater.” Bark gave Harrison a light, but firm shove away from his girlfriend. “Come on, kelha. Let’s finish breakfast.” They went back to the Alpha Guild table.
Outside, Calista sat at a bench with the two girls, her head in her hands. Harrison approached and looked at Camelithia, who shrugged a shoulder. He crouched in front of her. “Hey, Cali.”
“I’ve never looked like this before,” she told him. “I know you guys probably think it’s stupid and superficial, but when I saw myself… I thought not looking at mirrors would help. Finals are so close, and I’m…”
“Calista, you’re being too hard on yourself,” Belinda chuckled. “Just because you’re a fighter now doesn’t mean you can’t look in a mirror.”
“I know, but I know myself, and I knew I’d be all stressed about it, and-”
“Cali. Listen. I told you, no matter how close finals are, you need to take time to relax,” Harrison emphasized. “What do you think this building is for? We have a spa, you know.”
“I never see anyone in there.”
“That’s their problem. If they want to overload their system and shut down for finals, then fine. What you’re doing is good, but if you’re not healthy enough for finals, then what’s the point?”
“How long did you sleep last night?” Cam asked her.
The girl shyly paused, then squeaked out, “Three hours?”
“Oh, no.” She stood. “Let’s finish breakfast. When break period happens, we’re going to the spa. And no studying during personal breaks. Take a nap or some other sort. Understand?”
“I agree. I’m reading your vitals, and they’re… meh,” Lindsay cut in.
“We’ll skip training today,” Harrison said.
“What? But-”
“One day isn’t gonna hurt. If you still feel tired after school tomorrow, tell me, alright?”
Calista’s green eyes softened with gratitude. “Thanks, Harrison.”
At their Break period, the girls took Calista to the spa, as promised. To the girl’s delight, there were mud baths available, infused with anti-scarring creams and other treatments for her dry skin.
The three sunk into the brown mixture, the cool sensation making Calista sigh. Her tense, sore muscles relaxed instantly. “Ah… this is nice,” said Camelithia. “We need to do this more often.”
“How do people not use these? They’re amazing,” said Belinda. “I should tell…” She trailed off.
The pink-haired girl looked at her, her braids floating in the mud around her. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Will you tell your Guild mates about this place?”
“I thought about it, but… no. They wouldn’t go for this. Not that they would like to go anywhere with me.”
“You don’t get along with them?”
“Not… really. Most of them don’t like me.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Cam shrugged. “Eh. Their loss. If they don’t like you, don’t waste your time with them. It’s not worth it.” She turned on the bubble massage feature in her tub and sighed. “Ahh…” Her voice trembled with the bubbles.
“How am I gonna work with them if they get on the team? If I even do it. I couldn’t last year.”
“Then do it this year. Just because they got on the team doesn’t mean they’re all that, Bel. If they don’t work with you and they fail, that’s on them. Good fighters set aside their differences to win together. They should know that if they’re ‘better’.”
“Good point…” Belinda said thoughtfully.
“You don’t get along with anyone? You should take that up with your Student Coach. I’ve heard Minx is a nice one.”
“I don’t think she’ll care much. She might say something, but… what will it do? Make me look pathetic. There are a couple of people that are nice to me.”
“Who?”
“Um… there’s a human girl named Charlotte. They also tend to be kinda… mean to her, too. She’s nice to me.”
“Well, there you go, hon!” Camelithia smiled. “You’ve got a teammate right there. Get to know her. Be friends. She can join us for a spa day sometime.” She glanced at Calista, who remained still in her tub. “You should take data out of Calista’s code. Girl was the enemy of nearly the entire academy, but now she’s got you and me, and Harrison Smith. She doesn’t waste her time trying to win Hothead’s approval, or that glitch Hillary Kaye. Isn’t that right, Cali-”
Looking over, the two realized the human girl had fallen fast asleep. They smiled at each other and relaxed in their tubs. Cam set a timer on her AIDA band so they would be ready for their next class.
“Thanks, Cam. You give good advice,” Belinda said.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I am the oldest of us three. Only natural that I should bestow my wisdom upon you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”