Lisa arrived at the capsule with a troubled expression. Gina noticed her demeanor when she stood next to her, staring off into space. They had just started Korea’s anthem, presenting the fighters.

“What happened?” she asked.

Lisa’s face instantly changed. “Oh, nothing.”

“What was that woman talking about with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Lisa.”

“It was… there were some… concerns. About the game. That was all,” she stuttered out.

“What kind of concerns?” Gina said suspiciously.

“Just general things about the map being a dangerous one today. But I’m overprotective of those kids, you know that. It’s not a big deal.”

Gina’s black eyes narrowed, but she didn’t ask any more questions. Lisa was thankful for that Martian code. Her cousin was known to be very curious.

Gina found ways to bypass her Martian code in her fights. She could establish a mental connection with anyone at any time, as long as she wasn’t reading minds or overhearing private conversations. In battle, she would connect to her opponents’ minds and say something to trick them. A form of gaslighting.

When the fighters figured this out and updated their helmets, she found other ways to cloud their thoughts. She would distract them, dance around them, pretend to be scared. With bigger fighters, she would find ways to counteract their attacks, making them think they were predictable.

She was extremely intelligent. Lisa always took pride in her being her cousin. But her intelligence also scared her. She’d hidden her crime from her long enough. It wouldn’t be long until she would figure it out for herself.

Being her older cousin, she wanted Gina to look up to her. That was how Gina became a fighter in the first place. If she found out she’d lost patience and faith, and gone to a Ruhirian to see if a human would succeed…

Mexico’s anthem began and their fighters walked out. They had a lot more members than Team USA. Lisa tried to remind herself that numbers didn’t matter, but she wished they had more left. If only the students didn’t have so many rivalries.

It wasn’t like the other country teams weren’t the same, but most were smart enough to put their differences aside. On their team, it was like war between them, playing out silently through glares and gossip. Sometimes, it wasn’t even silent. It was as if they wanted everyone to know about the drama within their group.

Fistborn Academy was the world’s best school before. While Japan and Korea’s schools were excellent, making them some of the most formidable institutions, Fistborn used to have a pattern of getting fighters in the top places. They always took over the podiums in the preliminaries.

Lately, that performance had declined. Chrisman cared more about her species bias than improving the academy as a whole. The students themselves would tear each other down so much that their motivation was low. Morale was low. Lisa grieved for how the academy used to be. Even in her year, it wasn’t as great as it was in the older Versuses.

Her generation didn’t usurp the podiums as much in the interplanetaries, but they at least made their mark on Earth’s game. Back then, Earth was proud of their species— the real Earthians. They didn’t need other species to do all the work for them.

Fistborn was still regarded as a top institution, but people scoffed when they heard ‘the best’ in their title. They would start talking about the other academies where ‘people actually worked’.

“Lisa. You seem quite lost in thought.”

Lisa looked at Chrisman, who sat next to Gina. “Is something on your mind other than the fights?” she asked.

“I’m just nervous for them. It’s a very last-minute change.”

“If you and Gina are the capable Deans you are, they should be well prepared for this round.”

Her jaw clenched. “I’m very confident that they’ll make it through. But a bit of nervousness is normal.”

“Lisa’s one of the best coaches I know,” Benson supported. “Everything should work out exactly as it needs to.”

“Hmm.”

At the end of the anthems, they sat down and the wheel appeared and spun. Lisa gazed at her students in the arena. What did that woman mean by danger? What was coming that put their lives at risk? She wished she had more time with her.

What did it have to do with Calista? The girl’s whole situation was peculiar. What was her fate in this competition?

The wheel stopped. ‘CLOCK TOWER’.

“You were right. It’s a dangerous round,” Gina commented.

“They should be able to handle it, though,” Lisa replied. “Most of them played this before.”

Lisa got this game in a couple of her Versuses. It was one of the scariest, but most exciting rounds. The experience of falling into the grinding gears of a clock tower and not dying was… painful.

The countdown finished and Lasso screamed, “FIGHT!” When everyone entered the barrier, the capsule’s screen focused on all the Fistborn students in the round; 36 pairs, one trio. There were 75 left from the previous round. The trio of the team had a pretty good advantage with three.

Lisa was tempted to focus on Calista and Harrison’s screen, but she didn’t want to give Josephine something to criticize her about. As coaches, they needed to evaluate everyone’s performances as a whole. They were the only ones with access to the fighters’ conversations, besides the other Versus authorities.

All the fighter pairs were teleported into the map; a gigantic version of an ancient Big Ben. Inside, each duo stood on a balcony that had a closed metal door with their names on it, a small clock set above. The balcony had an old-fashioned control panel and a hanging chain.

One partner would stay on the balcony and man the control panel while the other would attach themselves to the chain. They needed to turn the gears until the giant clock matched the time the fighters’ clocks had marked. Once matched, their escape door would open.

Simple enough, until they would need to deal with their opponents and copious amounts of hidden traps. Thankfully, this wasn’t a Joint Elimination round; one fighter could still try and make it. It would just be harder without someone controlling the chain.

Lisa looked at Calista and Harrison. Calista was gazing out, observing the map with awe, while Harrison looked at the large assortment of buttons, wires, and levers on the panel.

“Enjoying the view?” he told Calista.

She nodded. “It’s so cool. Hey, Lindsay, can you take a picture?”

“I’m your Pet, not your camera,” the Pet answered.

“Come on, please?”

The Pet groaned, then paused. Calista then said, “Thanks.”

Lisa’s amber eyes drifted to Lílitha and Damaris’s balcony. “Are you okay?” Damaris asked the little woman.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lílitha said.

“You were fighting with Hothead again, so I thought you were angry.”

“I always fight with her. Not a big deal.”

“But she didn’t say anything to you before.”

“She’s just…” Lílitha shook her head. “We just hate each other that much. It’s nothing.”

“Why, though?”

Lílitha sighed. “I’m not about to trauma-dump.”

“I’m just curious. I’ve heard people say you guys used to be friends.”

“Yeah, we did. Now we’re not. It happened years ago, Damaris. We were first-years, like you.”

A pause. “Sorry, I didn’t want to pry,” the human girl said.

“You didn’t. It’s fine. Whatever you heard was basically the main gist.”

“You’re not… sad about not being her friend anymore? You don’t miss it?”

“Bugs, no. I’m glad. Good riddance.” She turned to the controls. “Okay. I don’t know if you want to be on the chain or if you want to do the controls.”

Lisa then focused on Rosalina and Reilly. “It’s literally none of her business,” Rosalina was saying. “She can go to cachebin for all I care.”

“It’s not her business, but she’s making it her business,” Reilly said. “I don’t want her to repeat her actions from before.”

“She has no proof. And she’s biased. It shouldn’t be the same outcome.”

“Just make sure you keep her out of this.”

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“I will.” Rosalina stepped on the balcony’s railing. “Put me on the chain. You control me. I’m lighter, so it’ll be easier.”

Lisa’s brows knitted. She wished she’d listened to them first. What were they talking about?

Her eyes lowered to Belinda Adenifi and her Mercurian partner, Elmer Anzeads. He was a tall, muscular young man with red, rocky skin. His head was topped with black crust. Belinda stood still while Elmer fastened the chain around her waist.

“So you don’t talk to them at all?” he was asking.

“No. I’m done seeking their approval. If they don’t like me, then I shouldn’t give them my attention.”

“So how do your Guild meetings go?”

“I just stick with the ones I generally get along with.”

“Hmm.” He shrugged. “That’s good, though. They’re all still in the games, right?”

“Only Alesha. Neka got cut early and I kicked Liiim’s glitchbutt out for good. It felt amazing.”

“Well, this is the last pair round. You want to do revenge, go ahead. Just don’t get cut. I don’t want to play this game alone.”

Belinda laughed. “I won’t. I’m not stupid.”

Lisa could relate to Belinda. She was rejected and excluded a lot by her fellow Guild members in her academy days. It wasn’t until she started making a better name for herself that many were friendlier towards her, probably out of interest. When she became a Student Coach, many joined her Guild, but she still wasn’t as popular as the other nine.

“All you need to do is generate momentum,” Lisa heard Harrison say. He was fastening Calista to the chain. “Swing to the hands and turn them. Be ready for sudden drops and lifts.”

Calista looked out at the map. Many fighters had started guiding their partners to the clock. “You sure you won’t drop me to oblivion?” she asked nervously.

Harrison raised his brows. “What, you don’t trust me?”

“You’re not the one hanging from a chain.”

“You need to trust me.”

“I do. But it’s so high…” Calista looked down, then closed her eyes hastily.

“Cali, you climbed up the Spire of New York in a tsunami. You should be fine,” Harrison chuckled.

“I wasn’t hanging. I had the gravity things on.”

Above them, the more experienced pairs of fighters were already fighting it out at the clock, some dropping into elimination. Lasso accurately called out each blue streak in the barrier. Piranha was at the controls, guiding Damaris quickly. Hothead was already at the minute hand, pulling it to reach the 6 at the bottom.

On Camelithia’s screen, Lisa could see her expertly maneuvering the controls. Her partner, Taio Martz, was on the chain, swinging wildly. “Could you stop moving?!” she exclaimed.

“You’re the one swinging me!” said Taio.

“You’re all tense! Just relax.”

“I’m a ragdoll.”

“You’re such a baby.” She pushed on a lever, sending Taio practically flying with a scream.

At the clock, it was pure confusion. Fighters swung to and fro, the minute and hour hands moving back and forth. One pair of fighters finally got their time matched, their door opening. The controller yanked his partner to their balcony and detached him from the chain, hurrying into the door so they could escape.

“First escape: Carlos Moreno and José Marion Martínez of Team Guatemala!” A group of fans across from Lisa’s section cheered wildly. The winning fighters would get to spectate behind the wall until the round was over.

Many traps were set off by motion sensors, spitting out water, fire, and laser beams. One of the latter shot out and hit a fighter’s chain, sending her falling into the grinding gears below.

“Ooh, what an elimination for Isabela Justino from Team Brazil! Let’s hope her partner, Leila Thimbe, can save her progress!” In one of the balconies, a Brazilian fighter slammed her hand on the controls in frustration. She summoned another chain and fastened herself, swinging with her own pure strength.

An American fighter had lost his partner, taking it upon himself to reach the clock. Unfortunately, an enemy cut his chain off. “That’s the end for Benjamin Brack and Jarmo Greeen from Team USA!”

A coach sitting behind Lisa scoffed. “I knew it was a bad idea, putting those two together.”

“They lasted pretty long,” another countered.

“Not long enough.”

“It’s a shame. Jarmo is a Beta Favorite.”

The minutes passed. More fighters were cut off their chains, kicked off their balconies, or blasted by traps, cutting off a lot of competitors. Lisa watched her students faithfully, hit with disappointment whenever a pair was eliminated. The trio was eliminated after a pair from Team Japan took down their controller, dropping them into the gears below.

She narrowed her eyes, tracking each pair’s location. Certain duos were approaching the same location. Hothead was swinging towards Damaris. Calista was approaching Gravity. Belinda was just above Alesha from the Gamma Guild.

They really paid attention to Team USA’s drama, didn’t they? Was it that obvious? While the fighters were controlling their partners, the engineers still had a hand in the course of the game.

It didn’t take Hillary long to notice who was next to her. Using her impulse boots, she swung back, then gravitated towards Calista. The human girl sharply turned when alerted by her helmet. Lisa heard her exclaim, “Oh, glitch!”

Hillary’s gravity kick was harsh, sending Calista flying. Harrison hurriedly adjusted her course so she could loop around back to the minute hand of the clock.

“Interesting,” Benson said, his hand going to his chin.

“Stop swinging so much!” Bark yelled at Hillary, pulling on some levers. “Just get to the hands!”

Hillary swung around, matching Calista’s trajectory so she could crash into her again. She had a chilling smile on her face.

“Can’t you swing me somewhere else?” Calista said to Harrison.

“How about you try figuring this out?” he retorted.

“You told me to swing!”

Lisa couldn’t help chuckling at their exchange. On Lílitha’s end, she heard her comment on Rosalina’s approach.

“Well, look who it is.” Her fangs flashed on the screen. “The glitch.”

“Uh, Li?” Damaris looked fearful as the woman of crimson red skin came barreling towards her.

“Eat this, Piranha!” A blade stuck out of Rosalina’s foot, targeting Damaris’s chain.

Lílitha grunted, turning Damaris harshly. The blonde yelped as she rose higher, past the clock, her legs dangling. Below, Rosalina ascended toward her, but Reilly kept her close to the clock, not one bit bothered by her thirst for blood— figurative blood, that was.

Lisa noticed the stark contrast between Reilly and Rosalina and Bark and Hillary. Bark was always so irritated by his girlfriend’s rivalries and antics. Reilly either found Rosalina’s actions humorous, or didn’t let them distract him.

Case in point: as Hillary tried to bring down Calista, the human girl twirled on her chain and kicked at Hillary’s, her boot enforced with extra padding. The chain weakened and she descended a few feet.

“Way to go, Hill,” Bark muttered.

“What did I do?!” she yelled back.

“Stop fighting and get to the hands! You’re wasting time!” He guided her to the clock.

“That girl really isn’t fond of weapons, is she?” Gina commented, also watching Calista’s screen.

“It’s not wrong to fight without weapons,” Lisa said.

“Yeah, but in a Chaos Round, they’re essential.”

“Isn’t that Double Dutch’s Favorite?” another coach pointed.

Lisa looked up at Dropkick’s screen. She was engaged in combat with a fighter from Team Brazil. Taio strategically rotated her chain so she could perform an aerial version of her dropkick. With a blade sticking out of her wristband, she spun and cut off her opponent’s chain before he could react. The opponent’s partner grunted in frustration.

“Looks like Brazil’s Douglas ‘Triturador’ Guedes is alone for the rest of the round!”

“She teaches well,” the coach praised Elisa Fiosda. Camelithia was fortunate to be one of her Favorites.

The round continued. Lisa continuously focused on Calista’s screen, waiting for something to happen. Thanks to that Ruhirian, she was paranoid. She wished she knew what the big danger was.

What could the admins of the competition be planning? Was it them? What was going to happen?

Maybe she was trying to scam her somehow. Maybe that was the real reason why her vision eye was hurting. It could be a trick. It was false.

“Wait… Harrison, get me to Hillary!” Calista was struggling to move the minute hand, pushing it towards the 9, her and Harrison’s escape time being 3:45. Many fighters were combating her, the minute hand pushed back and forth.

“What?” Harrison said.

“Just get me to Hillary, okay?” She started pulling the minute hand the other way, towards the 12, confusing her opponents. “This way!”

Lisa watched the human girl with confusion. Gravity had almost gotten the hour hand to 4— her and Bark’s escape time was 4:15. She was currently struggling against a German fighter.

“Calista, you almost had it!” Harrison yelled. “Why are you pulling it the other way?”

“JUST DO IT!” both Calista and her Pet yelled.

Annoyed, Harrison rescinded and pulled Calista clockwise. The force moved the minute hand faster. A few fighters even helped her, probably taking advantage of her plan to match their clocks.

When the minute hand reached the top, the tower quaked violently with loud bells. The force shook off many fighters from the hands, sending them dangling all over the place, and even causing some to fall from their chains. Some fighters combating on their balconies fell over the railings into the gears at the bottom.

“What a strategic move from the fighters at the minute hand!” Lasso exclaimed. “They’d better hold on tight!”

Lisa narrowed her eyes, watching Calista fall onto the hour hand below. Gravity had activated her gloves so she could stick, taking advantage of the shaking tower and eliminating her German opponent.

“Hey, blue hair!” Calista taunted, yelling over the chiming bells. “You wanted to kick me in the face, didn’t you? Well, go ahead!” Her gloves stuck to the hour hand.

Hillary smirked and answered by doing just that, using her boots once again to maximize the force. Calista took the hit, her head snapping back harshly, but she didn’t let go of the hour hand. The force was enough to move the hand up to the three.

Catching the hint, Harrison followed the force, keeping Calista moving towards the minute hand. She turned on her gravity boots, caught the hand on the way, and let the momentum move it down to 9. Their door opened.

“Are you serious, Hill?!” Bark yelled. He was busy fighting off an Irish competitor. His frustration grew immensely, enough to get him smoking.

“It’s not my fault!” Hillary insisted, hurriedly trying to push the hour hand down before someone else could confront her.

Bark’s frustration showed as he punched the Irish fighter harshly, then savagely slammed him onto the floor, kicking him over the railing into the gears. President Chrisman noticed, her large forehead wrinkling. “Savage must be very frustrated to be showing his anger so openly,” she commented.

Bark had a cool temper compared to most Hajjians, at least on the outside. In battle, he looked calm, but his fighting style showed his rage or annoyance.

Rosalina was, of course, the opposite, acting like a stereotypical Hajjian. And with her sworn enemy right in front of her, she couldn’t help but throw everything she had at the little woman’s ally.

“Hothead should focus less on Damaris and more on opening her door,” Chrisman said.

“The technicians put them together for a reason,” Benson told her. “They want the rivalries to burst out. Makes it more interesting.”

Meanwhile, Harrison pulled Calista back to the balcony at full speed. The momentum sent her crashing into him, both flying into the door just before it closed, the hands having moved. Lisa snickered at the landing.

Gina nudged her, leaning over. “Maybe don’t focus on your favorite student for so long?” she whispered.

“Gina, I don’t play favorites.”

“You’ve hardly looked at the others.”

“Well… you know, those two have gone through a lot. I like to see them succeed. Doesn’t mean they’re my favorites. I love all our students.”

“Okay. I get it, you relate to them.” Gina glanced at Chrisman. “Just don’t make it obvious. You know how she is.”

“She can mind her own business. She has her favorites.”

“But she’s the boss.”

Lisa sighed, irritated. “Of course.”

“Just focus on the whole team. You missed Grill blowtorch one of the French pairs out of existence.”

Lisa chuckled. “Stösten. Always the aggressive one.”

Piranha caught her attention now. Damaris had reached the minute hand, pulling it towards the 11. Lílitha pulled a large lever down, which pulled Damaris enough to move the hand. She then leapt off the balcony and swung with her elastic limbs to the hour hand.

“Is that allowed?” a coach asked.

“Yes, it is. In a Chaos Round, just about everything goes,” someone else answered.

Lílitha helped Gravity move the hand down to four, opening her door. With her limbs, she grabbed Damaris’s chain and threw her towards the balcony, swinging behind her. She narrowly missed a stream of fire from Rosalina, who was trying to move the minute hand back. Reilly wasn’t controlling her, overwhelmed by a couple of other Legend fighters.

Fortunately for Lílitha, she and Damaris made it through the door in time. Rosalina huffed, annoyed, but didn’t stop fighting. She swung herself to her boyfriend and helped him fight off their opponents, allowing him to control her again. They easily matched their time now, most of the fighters having escaped or gotten eliminated. They were the next ones to leave the map.

Lisa’s amber eyes flickered through all of the screens, listening to the fighters shouting instructions and reacting to attacks. Calista and Harrison were now behind the walls, watching the ongoing fight.

Nothing was happening… maybe she didn’t mean this round. She said it was just in the competition itself.

She needed to contact her again. If their lives were at stake, she needed to know what it was that endangered them. She couldn’t simply pull out her team without a good reason.

And if Calista was involved, she needed to keep an eye on her.