The excitement in the academy was palpable when Calista returned from her break. It truly felt like a mini-tournament for Fistborn. The students in all the other schools, including the Tech Wing, were invited to watch the fights in the arena throughout the last two weeks of the semester. Red, white, and blue digital confetti rained down, banners were hung everywhere, and stat boards were set up in every courtyard.

  The Guilds had gone all out in showing their pride. The members used their custom-colored uniforms, some of the girls even inspired by Calista’s fashion sense. Banners sporting their Guild letter or their Student Coach were hung on the walls, especially at the dorms. When Calista got back on Sunday evening, Cam and Belinda came over to her room to help her design a few banners for Kappa, proudly showing the orange-and-white K, Harrison, Calista herself, and Lílitha.

  Exams started immediately on Monday. Calista went through her Weaponry exam with anxiety and stress tensing up her shoulders. She’d studied hard over the break, but once she finished, she felt like she’d answered fifty questions wrong. The next day, she would take her Armory and Versus History exams; Versus History being the most difficult of all her Theory classes.

  As for her Practicums, they all evaluated students through the finals week tournament. Combat, Weapon Use, and Disciplines would all be factors in a one-on-one battle. The only Practicum class having its own exam was Teamwork, which Calista would have on Wednesday.

  Every day, there were series of battles scheduled in the Arena. Since the coaches were also watching so they could grade the fighters, classes from 11:00 and on were canceled, allowing them to spectate. Calista was especially excited to properly watch a live fight for the first time in years.

  The Student Coaches were going first. The only ones that could challenge them besides each other were their Favorites. After them, the Favorites would go against each other, or against other Guild members. Then, the remaining Guild members and non-Guild members would go up, and finally, the last few that weren’t part of a Guild.

  The first fight was between Delaine and Li Mei. The competition was fierce between the Gamma and Delta Guilds. When Calista entered the Arena with Harrison and Lílitha, she was awed to see the silver and bronze colors littering the seats. It looked like a glittering sea of ancient coins.

  Being Favorites, Calista and Lílitha got one of the best views in the Arena. They joined the other badge-wearing members in one of two Favorites’ capsules, floating high above the other Guilds and the stadium seats below. Despite most of the Favorites not being Calista’s friends, except for Camelithia, it wasn’t so bad being in a capsule with them. Rosalina and Bark hardly looked at her when she arrived.

  Unlike the other color-coded capsules and the nearly-divided crowd of students, the Favorites’ capsule was full of different colors from different Guilds. There was a lot more cohesion; Alphas sat with Deltas, Iotas sat with Epsilons. Calista and Lílitha took seats near Camelithia, who wore a cute green uniform with a skirt similar to Calista’s originally-designed one. Calista smiled; Cam really did like her style.

  “HELLLOOOOOOO EVERYBODYYYY!”

  The crowd roared. Chills wracked Calista’s spine. Even when she was a child, she didn’t have the luxury of watching a Versus fight in the actual arena, much less in a special viewing capsule. For a moment, she was 9 years old again, cheering for Lisa White, watching the epic battles from the HARP.

  “Welcome to the first day of Fistborn’s Finals Week Fights!” the announcer said. He sounded like one of the coaches, but Calista couldn’t tell who. “We have 48 exciting battles to watch today! Having won the raffle to kick off the school-wide competition, let’s welcome the Gamma Student Coach, Delaine ‘Minx’ Evistroma; going up against the Delta Student Coach, Li Mei ‘Knifehand’ Hoss!”

  The crowd roared once again. The capsule kept the thundering noise from damaging the Favorites’ ears, but they could hear it clearly enough so they could join in, too. Epic freeze shots of the fighters floated on the main projector, with a bold ‘VS.’ between them. Calista leaned forward, watching the two women approach each other from opposite sides of the Arena. Both proudly wore their Guild-colored battle suits. Calista tapped the glass in front of her so she could zoom in on their faces.

  “Let me hear the beat!” the announcer shouted, followed by quick stomping from the crowd. The Favorites joined in, prompting Calista to also stomp with them, her adrenaline rising. It was almost as if she were the one down in the arena.

  “Five… four… three… two… one… FIGHT!”

  The two girls moved so fast that Calista nearly missed it, quickly zooming her screen out. She saw a blur of bronze and silver, the girls flexibly kicking their legs at each other. She could hardly keep up with their movements.

  “What is she using, Tialet?” one of the Zeta Favorites inquired.

  “No… looks like Damantri,” a Beta said.

  Camelithia shook her head. “No, it’s not. It’s similar, though. It’s a Seeyastian discipline; Kinnar. It’s like Damantri, but more graceful in its movements.”

  “I was talking about Minx,” said the Beta.

  “Yeah, that’s who I’m talking about, too.”

  “Why would she use a Seeyastian discipline against Knifehand? Isn’t she part Seeyastian?”

  “She is, but she’s partial to other styles,” said one of Li Mei’s Favorites. “It looks like… maybe a Hajjian or Mercurian style. It suits her knifehand moves.”

  Calista hoped she’d be able to tell between different disciplines like that soon. With how fast the two were moving, she really couldn’t tell the difference.

  The crowd groaned when Li Mei kicked Delaine square in the face, sending her flying across the arena. Calista glanced up at the capsule that held the faculty, floating high above them. The thought of them watching her like this made her queasy, even more than her entrance exam had.

  Delaine retaliated with a spinning kick, which initially missed, but her follow-up uppercut hit Li Mei’s chin, snapping her head back. Calista cringed, knowing that while the armor kept her bones safe, she’d feel all the pain.

  The stomping from the crowd below seemed to move from side to side, depending on which fighter was dominating the battle. The silver side would rise and make their noise, but then the bronze side would counter with an equally loud force. It was as if the girls were controlling the crowd with their fighting.

  “What happens if Knifehand beats Minx?” Calista asked Lílitha. “Does she get her position?”

  Lílitha shook her head, munching on some candy she’d ordered. “Student Coach positions are determined through their performance in the competition. They’re especially pressured during the interplanetaries.”

  “What if they don’t make the team?”

  “Oh, Student Coaches get a guaranteed spot on the country team. It’s the planet team they need to worry about.”

  “I didn’t know that. So… Harrison…”

  “He’s going to the prelims. But there’s no guarantee he’ll be on Earth’s team.”

  Calista nodded in understanding, now feeling a little giddy. It comforted her to know that Harrison would be at the prelims with her if she got on the team. She didn’t doubt he would, but with the controversies against him, she had worried they’d rig it and exclude him.

  “So these fights don’t affect the positions at all?” Calista asked.

  “It affects the student body’s opinion of them,” Lílitha explained. “Ranks don’t fully determine how popular the Guilds will be. Delta actually has a few more members than Gamma.”

  “Really?”

  “If Li Mei wins against Delaine, it could affect how people see Delaine as a Coach. If they’re both still SCs when the Games are over, and suppose Delaine is still a rank higher than Li Mei, she could still get less students than Knifehand just because of how she fared in this fight.”

  “That’s so… confusing,” Calista said.

  “Opinion is confusing,” Lílitha shrugged.

  “What if Harrison wins his fight?”

  “That’s a whole other issue. Rumors and all that.” Lílitha then smirked. “You’re right. Fighters really aren’t that different from Socializers.” She threw another piece of candy into her mouth, then offered Calista the bag. “Want some?”

  “What is it?”

  “Cee Beans. They’re from my planet. They’re really tasty.”

  Calista picked up a couple of the greenish-orange beans. The colors were unappetizing, but she tried them anyway, confronted with a tangy, sweet taste spreading across her tongue. It was like sour candy, only… better, to say the least. “That’s amazing,” she said.

  “Order a bag for you. I don’t want to share too many of these.”

  “Thanks.” Calista ordered her own pack of Cee Beans. She was glad Lílitha was talking to her a lot more now. They’d never been enemies like Rosalina or Hillary, but Lílitha had acted very indifferent towards Calista until now. It seemed that being in the same Guild— and maybe the fact that Harrison was also her friend— opened Lílitha to a new friendship.

  Calista glanced at the timer. It had been eight minutes. They had a ten-minute limit for each fight. Ties didn’t matter in this case; the fights were purely for examination.

  The crowd was thrown back into excitement when Li Mei finally used her iconic knifehand when Delaine least expected it. Delaine dodged the follow-up attack quickly, but lost her balance, still trying to regain her breathing. Li Mei jumped high, raising her fists to hammer down on Delaine’s stomach.

  Delaine was quicker. She rolled out of the way and jumped on Li Mei’s back, snaking her arms and legs around her in a complicated wrestling hold. As Li Mei tried to break out, the seconds counted down—

  5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

  “GAME OVER!”

  The silver end of the crowd burst into celebration, the Gamma members in the capsule also screaming with joy. Delaine let Li Mei go, letting her breathe, then helped her up and gave her a high-five. Seeing this display of sportsmanship, the Delta-supporting half followed suit, applauding and cheering.

  “The match goes to Delaine ‘Minx’ Evistroma!” the announcer said, the live projection of Delaine rotating in the air as she pumped her fists. “What a great start to finals week! Now, up next, a rather unexpected pairing of two great Student Coaches… the best of Fistborn Academy-” The announcer was cut off by deafening cheers. Calista watched in awe as a wave passed over the crowd, turning the silver and bronze colors to platinum and blue. The Zeta members in the capsule gasped in surprise and also cheered. There were only five Zeta Favorites, but they made quite the ruckus.

  “Our Alpha Student Coach, Reilly ‘Clocker’ Campbell, versus our Zeta Student Coach, Melsen ‘Spider-Man’ Steffensen!”

  Reilly exited in a platinum suit that practically matched his white marble skin. He looked monstruous compared to Melsen in his blue suit. Calista momentarily mistook him for a human, then remembered he was a fourth Paeseoan. Next to Reilly, his height was greatly diminished, even though he was nearly six feet tall.

  This was an odd pairing. Did they get to choose their opponents? Maybe they didn’t want to be predictable. It was only exams, anyway, not the real competition.

  Reilly, unsurprisingly, won the fight, but the pair had entertained the masses well, lasting the entire ten minutes. It was slightly obvious Reilly was holding back, putting on a show, much like a performer.

  The fights went on; Kalis Siip vs. Elisa Fiosda— Camelithia was especially vocal during this fight—, Catherine vs. Disaris, and finally, St?sten vs. Harrison.

  Calista had decided to go all out, whipping up a projection to show off during the fight. She put it in the capsule projector, showing a huge hologram of Harrison over the Favorites’ capsule. She didn’t care if they thought it was ridiculous.

  It seemed that many seemed to like it, though. Calista was both surprised and pleased to see over a quarter of the arena showing orange colors for Kappa. Harrison had won over a lot of students. He lost the fight in the end, St?sten being an older, stronger, and more experienced fighter, but it was by no means dishonorable. Harrison had impressed the crowd greatly with the Paeseoan fighting style he chose and he lasted up to the end of the ten minutes, until St?sten had delivered a final kick that forced him to stay down. Calista had never been prouder; even Lílitha screamed her support.

  After the SCs went many of the Favorites. Rosalina was one of the first to go up against a Beta Favorite, followed by Bark, and the ‘Choker’ guy Calista remembered from her ‘surprise attack’; he was a tall, bulky human— which surprised her— from the Epsilon Guild under Kalis Siip.

  Camelithia got to go up against an overconfident Mearthian from the Beta Guild, a non-Favorite. Calista imagined Disaris was very embarrassed after Camelithia slammed the guy into the ground. An Eta winning against a Beta was pretty humiliating.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “What happens to the Betas now that Cam won?” she asked Lílitha.

  “Nothing, but it looks bad. Says a lot about Disaris’s coaching, and Elisa’s, too. Eta gets a rep boost.”

  Calista shook her head. The reputation system in this school was so confusing.

  “Do you know who you’re fighting yet?” Lílitha asked.

  “Oh… not yet.”

  Lílitha looked at her. “You’re fighting tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “If you don’t assign yourself an opponent, they’ll do it for you.”

  “I don’t know anyone.”

  “What about Adenifi?”

  “Belinda?” Calista said. “She’s already fighting someone else.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to decide,” Lílitha sighed. “With your reputation, it can go either way. People will either want to challenge you and humiliate you, or not bother fighting you.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “Who are you fighting?” Calista then asked.

  “Some girl from the Theta Guild. I fight her tomorrow, too.”

  Calista’s anxiety rose to new heights, distracting her from the exciting fights in the arena and the swelling noise of the crowd. She really didn’t know who to challenge. She couldn’t challenge Harrison or Lílitha since they were both Kappas, and Cam and Belinda had been challenged since before Thanksgiving. The only option was to wait and see who wound up matched with her. Who could she trust enough to issue a challenge to?

  She needed to play it safe. It was her exam, and her chance to get on the team. She couldn’t challenge anyone better than her, which would guarantee her failure.

  She thought about challenging someone that wasn’t in a Guild, maybe a first-year like her, but no one liked her or even bothered to interact with her. They would probably laugh in her face.

  It would be better if people thought she wasn’t worth challenging; it would mean no one powerful would go against her. Her luck was running out.

  ===

  The second day of exams came. Calista powered through her Armory and Versus History tests, trying hard to concentrate on the questions instead of her impending Practicum exam in the Arena. She worked up the nerve to ask a few first-years for a challenge during Lunch, but they either said they already had an opponent or flat out refused.

  On the other hand, it seemed like she wasn’t much of a worthy challenge, so she didn’t have to worry about a big, scary fighter confronting her in the arena. Maybe it would end up being some nobody.

  When the fights started, Calista was listed as the sixth fight of the day, after Lílitha. The girl she was fighting was Geija Herifa, a raspberry red-skinned Paeseoan with medium-cut green hair and yellow eyes. Calista had offered her a friendly smile, but the girl merely glared at her and turned away. Another Paeseoan who was definitely not the sweet and friendly stereotype.

  Calista paced in the arena dugout as Lílitha and Geija’s fight played out. She stole a few glances, pleased to see Lílitha doing very well. She made sure to retract her limbs quickly enough so Geija wouldn’t snap them and weaken them, as many fighters knew how to incapacitate an Ilamikoan. Surprisingly, she hadn’t attempted to bite her.

  For a moment, she was brought back to when she took her pressure exam, hearing applicants’ names and grades being called out, and watching them leave in tears or even unconscious after facing the fearsome Piranha. Who would’ve thought she and Lílitha would end up being cordial Guild-mates?

  Five minutes into the fight, Calista stepped into the Changing Station and got her orange armor on. As much as she hated the color, it still looked pretty good. It made her look more muscular than she was, it was light and easy to move in, and her name was printed in white on the back of her helmet and back plate, changing intermittently to Kappa Guild Favorite. The large number underneath was ‘1’, since she was the first Kappa member to be admitted.

  “GAME OVER!”

  Calista’s heart leaped. Her turn was approaching. Looking outside, it seemed that Lílitha had won her match; Geija was rolling on the ground in pain, her hands covering her eyes, while Lílitha pumped her fists. The smaller half of the crowd in Kappa orange was cheering madly while the yellow Theta-supporting half was mellow and grumbly.

  The next student going after her teleported into the dugout. It was a male Martian student from the Iota Guild— Catherine ‘Lasso’ Graham’s Guild, which was just a rank above Kappa—, wearing an all-white uniform.

  “Hey, uh… good luck out there,” the Martian boy said with a small smile.

  Calista was momentarily stunned by the overture, so it took her a minute to respond. “Thanks. Uh… y-you too.”

  “Who are you up against?”

  “I don’t know yet. I decided to let someone random go up.” Calista gulped, trying to moisten her dry throat.

  “Nice. That’s gutsy.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Facing the unknown is big,” he said.

  “What about you?”

  “Oh, just a friend from Theta.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be watching.”

  “Calista Medley to the arena. Repeat, Calista Medley to the arena.”

  Calista adjusted her helmet, which was already fitted perfectly on her head. It was only ten minutes. It would be over before she knew it.

  Lílitha entered the dugout, giving Calista a reassuring high-five. “Good luck,” she said, heading to the Changing Station to get out of her armor and teleport back up to the capsule.

  “Calling the underdog of the freshman class… the first Kappa member in years, and the last Favorite left to fight… Calista Medley!”

  Calista felt a bit of encouragement from the cheers in the arena as she exited. She did her best to mimic her usual, confident model walk, waving gracefully at the stands. She glanced up at her freeze shot, which looked positively fashionable. Even her mother would love it.

  She then looked at the Favorites’ capsule. It was too high for her to see, but she knew that Cam would be cheering her on, and maybe even Lílitha. The Gamma Guild capsule was also too far for her to see Belinda.

  “And the challenger… a great surprise! Calista Medley will be testing her mettle against…”

  Calista held her breath.

  “Delta member Hillary ‘Gravity’ Kaye!”

  Her stomach dropped.

  The Paeseoan woman walked out in her bronze-colored combat suit, waving smilingly at the crowds. Cheers swept across the arena for her, nearly everyone changing their colors to bronze. She smiled cockily and turned her grass-green eyes onto Calista.

  Now was the formal exchange of ‘good sportsmanship’ before the fight. Hillary approached Calista, holding out her fist. Trying to get past the shock, Calista accepted the fist bump. Hillary leaned over and said, “You didn’t expect it, huh? You look like a scared rabbit.”

  She couldn’t deny it. She should’ve seen it coming after she broke Hillary’s nose that day. It was obvious she would want a rematch.

  “I figured. You should have learned plenty by now, right?” Hillary said. “Especially with your Student Coach and your feisty new Guild-mate. You’ve been studying so hard.” She pouted her lips with pity. “What a determined kid.”

  Calista’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. I’ve learned plenty.”

  “I’d like to see it.” Hillary smiled sweetly.

  “Get ready! 10, 9, 8…”

  The women backed away and got into position. The crowd got louder. “GRA-VI-TY! GRA-VI-TY! GRA-VI-TY!”

  Everything Calista had studied was starting to blank out of her brain. She couldn’t remember what discipline she’d planned to use. Without knowing who she was fighting, she couldn’t know her opponent’s weaknesses. Why didn’t she try to challenge someone? She should’ve asked more people, or even tried to intimidate someone, reminded them of how she broke Paeseoan bones with her bare hands.

  Hillary wouldn’t let her repeat that. She would be going all out for this match.

  “FIGHT!”

  Hillary didn’t give Calista room to start. She instantly attacked, starting with a jab at her face, then a punch in her stomach. Calista gasped and tried to regain her bearings, getting some distance between her and the other fighter. The armor took most of the force, thankfully.

  Her arms moved, working to block the rest of her strikes. The pain receptors were on, so she felt every sting and graze on her sleeves. Hillary’s attacks never ceased. Calista worked on focusing her brain, seeing past the thunder of adrenaline. She needed to concentrate.

  She turned her attention to how Hillary was striking, taking in the way her feet stepped and her arms moved. She knew this style. It was called… a weird Mercurian style. Dape-something. Dapeda?

  She ducked under a swiping blow. This style consisted of various fast strikes. It was a reckless way of fighting, but it worked great as an opener, depending on the fighter. They would have to catch their opponent off-guard in order to get the upper hand, which came easy to Gravity.

  The disadvantage was that soon, she would get tired. Most likely, she planned to change to a more civilized style once she locked the fight in her favor. Calista needed to find an opening and turn it around so she could exhaust her.

  She stayed on defense for a few more moments before backflipping. “Whoa!” The suit was a bit more powerful than she thought. She landed on her feet, but wobbled unsteadily.

  Hillary laughed arrogantly and walked casually towards her. Her overconfidence was getting on the human girl’s last nerves. It was as if she viewed her as a cute puppy trying to bare its teeth.

  Now she knew how Lílitha felt all the time.

  “Alright, Linds. Play ‘Natural’. The cover,” she said quietly. The song started playing in her helmet.

  She ran forward and jumped high, aiming her foot at Hillary’s face. The woman caught Calista’s foot and heaved her away. Calista caught herself, flipping back onto her feet, and struck again. She didn’t hit Hillary, but at least she wasn’t humiliated yet.

  “You’re going to have to show a lot more than that, sweetie.” Hillary’s suit suddenly projected a holo-sword from her wristband.

  “What the-” Calista yelped, dodging a swipe. Since she hadn’t expected the sudden weapon, Hillary was able to use Dapeda again. Her holo-sword grazed her armor, not injuring her, but the pain came through.

  Calista should’ve paid more attention in Weapon Use. She should’ve trained more with weapons. She should’ve listened to Harrison.

  She did pay attention in Armory, though.

  Harrison had said that during finals, her Guild armor would be equipped with features that matched her style. Armor could provide a lot, from shields to projectiles. Maybe if she could weaken Hillary somehow?

  “Um, armor?”

  “I’m controlling your armor,” Lindsay said, speaking through her headset. “What do you need?”

  “I need to… push her off!” She grunted as she blocked another strike.

  A pulse emerged from her chestplate, sending Hillary flying to the other end of the arena.

  “You have to use weapons! That’s part of your grade, you know!” Lindsay reminded her.

  Calista chose a heavy mallet and ran to Hillary, lifting it to hammer down. As Hillary rolled over and dodged it, flashing a confident smile, Calista changed the course of her swing.

  “‘Cause you’re a natural, a beating heart of stone…”

  Hillary’s smirk disappeared before the mallet slammed into her like a wrecking ball. She flew into the arena wall and landed on the sand in a limp pile. The crowd groaned, completely taken aback. Calista momentarily hoped she was unconscious, but was dismayed when Hillary stood again, her skin contorted in rage.

  “Take the offense before she does!” Lindsay shouted.

  Calista ran forward as fast as she could, but the weight of the mallet slowed her down, giving Hillary enough time to leap into the air, using her boots as a boost. Calista heaved her weapon with all her might and threw it at Hillary. Her throw wasn’t nearly strong enough, and Hillary caught the mallet on the way down.

  “Oh, glitch.” Calista moved to dodge her.

  Her breath was completely taken away when Hillary and the mallet slammed into her stomach. Her armor kept her body from taking any real, serious damage. Without it, she probably would’ve been cut in half.

  “And that’s why they call her ‘Gravity’…” Lindsay commented.

  “Yeah, I got that,” Calista wheezed, barely able to speak. Trying to remind her brain that she wasn’t really injured, she took a deep breath to deactivate the pain sensors and recover. She stood up with a struggle.

  Hillary threw the mallet away, causing it to disappear in a flash. “I’ll give you points, human. I didn’t want an easy fight. That would’ve been pathetic as cache.”

  Clearly, heavy weapons weren’t fit for Calista. She opted for a baton instead. Hillary laughed at the sight, looking at the crowd to ridicule her opponent. “What, you’re going to do a little fighting jig? Is this a dance battle now?”

  Calista didn’t have a plan with the baton, but Hillary had given her an idea. She twirled the baton in her fingers, spinning around. As Hillary bent over in laughter, Calista smacked her across the face with the baton.

  “Don’t stop!” Lindsay quickly advised her.

  She followed with a high kick, stretching her leg up as if she were dancing ballet. Her body turned and pirouetted so she could kick Hillary in the stomach, using her boots’ jump function to shoot her away.

  “Yeah, you’re a na-tu-ral!”

  The Paeseoan girl screamed as she hurtled into the sand far away. She coughed and gasped from the sudden, powerful barrage the human had unleashed. As Calista approached her, the crowd got louder, and both fighters had to pause when they realized what they were saying.

  “CA-LIS-TA! CA-LIS-TA!”

  The women’s eyes met. The song in Calista’s helmet changed to a fast electro-pop song. Calista felt a confidence she had never felt before, not in a long time.

  Hillary screamed out a Paeseoan swear and bolted towards Calista. Calista also ran to her and slid low to trip her. While Hillary dodged her foot, she didn’t notice the human’s hand wrapping around her ankle. Calista yanked hard, sending her to the floor.

  She prayed her muscle memory would serve her as she twisted Hillary’s arms behind her and wrapped her limbs around her to keep her from moving. The woman struggled, visibly enraged, as she tried to shake the Earthian girl off her back.

  “You just need to hold her for 20 seconds,” said Lindsay. “Just keep her from-”

  Hillary activated her boots, forcing them both into the air. She turned so Calista’s back was facing the ground, and she let gravity do its job, slamming her onto the sand. The baton flew far away from her.

  “… doing that,” Lindsay finished.

  Calista was once again unable to breathe, but she tried her best to keep herself focused. She forcibly sucked in a breath of air as she held her arms up in an ‘X’. Hillary reused her previous style, overwhelming the teenage girl with fast, incessant strikes.

  “You want to use me now?”

  “Go!”

  Lindsay beeped before detaching from her belt, shining a light into Hillary’s eyes. The woman cried out, shielding her face. Lindsay then rammed into her nose and took out her helicopter blades, spinning around Hillary’s head like a bee.

  Calista breathed in and stood, punching Hillary while she was disoriented. Lindsay assisted by smacking her repeatedly with her helicopter rotors. She then pushed Hillary forward so Calista could spin around and smack her.

  Hillary fell on her back, breathing heavily. Her face was bruised and her nose was broken once again, Calista having hit her through the open part of her helmet. Hillary had been overconfident enough to deactivate the invisible nose and jaw protectors. She sniffled, wiping some of the green blood off. Calista felt a bit queasy, but stood her ground.

  Hillary chuckled. “Okay… I’ll give you points for that.” She reactivated her facial protectors.

  “Put your points in the cachebin.” The song in her ears grew faster, rising in pitch. Lindsay returned to her belt.

  Calista kept to the fast beat, her arms reacting faster than she thought she could ever move, blocking Hillary’s impulsive, angry attacks. Having her nose broken for a second time clearly triggered her. Calista had a feeling that she didn’t usually do well in her Self-Control class.

  Feeling a bit more confident, Calista allowed herself a couple pirouettes, dizzying Hillary as she spun and flipped flexibly in a circle around her. Hillary growled in frustration and brought out a pair of nunchaku, spinning them in her fingers and smacking Calista across the face. The invisible protector saved her jaw, but it still hurt terribly.

  She glanced up at the timer. Fifteen seconds left. She gasped and bent over backwards to dodge Hillary’s fist, momentarily distracted.

  “Finish off strong!” Lindsay said.

  Calista flipped backwards a few times, twisting in the air like a gymnast, and landed, but wobbled a little bit. She really needed to improve her balance. Having distanced herself enough, she ran full-speed ahead at Hillary, the Paeseoan also bolting like a bullet. Just before they would ram into each other, Calista slid below, passing Hillary by.

  Just as Hillary turned around, Calista raised her elbow and caught Hillary’s cheekbone. Hillary fell harshly from the force.

  “GAME OVER!”

  Calista stared at Hillary, panting. Hillary remained on the ground, also as exhausted, lifting herself to her hands and knees, then finally standing up. Looking up, they saw Calista’s freeze shot projected, announcing the winner.

  “Victory goes to Kappa Favorite Calista Medley!”

  Calista could hardly believe her eyes. She blinked a few times, wondering if she’d wake up in her dorm on the morning of her exam. When she didn’t, she looked at the stunned Hillary Kaye and offered her hand for a handshake.

  Hillary stared at it, her nose now covered in crusted green blood. Her grass green eyes hardened and she brushed past Calista, heading to her dugout. Calista looked at the cheering crowd. The Hillary-supporting half was clearly upset, clapping begrudgingly. Some of the crowd had changed loyalties and now sported orange, covering half of the spectators, and they cheered fiercely. Calista could see a few of the Guilds applauding, the Favorites capsule especially active, probably with Camelithia’s celebration.

  “Don’t just stand there, take a bow or something!” Lindsay said. “Ooh, do a helmet throw!”

  “A what?”

  “You just won your first fight! Take off your helmet and throw it in the air! It’ll be better if you catch it, too.”

  “Okay…” Calista took off her orange helmet with a smile and hurled it up in the air. The crowd cheered again, watching it soar up, then fall down. Calista reached forward, clumsily catching it. She blushed, embarrassed at the goof, but the shame didn’t outweigh her happiness at all.

  Victory was an amazing feeling.