“There you are! See anything interestin’?”

“Hey, Selind,” Luke replied, turning to pass the Tresédian a nod as she approached him. He then looked out over the desert wastes outside of Tresnon from his position atop the walls as he said, “nothing to see today, it seems.”

“It really has been quiet this past week, huh,” Selind remarked, leaning on the stone protective barrier on the outer part of the ramparts as she watched Luke pack up his sniper rifle. “No sign of the Bleeders, at all…”

“That’s a good thing, right? We don’t want them to attack again. …Do we?”

“Ha! No, of course not. I’m just… confused. The Bleeders have never behaved like this, before. An open raid on Compound Tresnon, only to retreat with no trace… and then they send someone to go mess with Rokres. I’ve never before heard of the Bleeders tryin’ to mess with Rokres.”

“Hmm…” Luke quietly mused as he shouldered his rifle. “…I take it we haven’t learned much about their whereabouts or plans, then?”

“I’ve had the Defense Force step up their patrols over the region, but they ain’t found anythin’,” Selind replied. “No signs of that poor girl they kidnapped, either… I don’t like this one bit.”

“It’s definitely concerning… well, if you ever do get a lead, I’m more than happy to help.”

“Glad to hear it, but why’re you so willin’ to help out? You’re already volunteerin’ your time to join the watch shifts. You sure there ain’t anythin’ better you could be doin’ with your time?”

“Uh… well, to be perfectly honest, there isn’t much to do around here. Might as well help keep watch, and keep up practice with my rifle while I’m at it.”

“Fair enough, I guess. And that really is a nice rifle! Finally got it from Earth, huh?”

“Yeah. I thought it could be useful, given everything going on around here.”

“Can’t deny that. You’ve gotta let me shoot it sometime, though! After all, I let you use my sniper!”

“Heh… true, true,” Luke remarked with a smile as he eyed the gun strapped to Selind’s back, as always. He then took a deep breath. “Well, you’re here to take over my watch, right? I’ll be on my way, then.”

“I hear you’re meetin’ with Gavon!” Selind replied with a cheeky smirk as Luke started off towards the rampart ladders. “Be sure to have fun!”

“I—!” Luke responded, initially passing Selind an annoyed glance — only for unease to then cross his features. “Did you hear about that?”

“’Bout what?” Selind questioned. “…Wait, are you and Gavon actually together?! I was just playin’!”

“No! No, we aren’t. Well…” Luke pursed his lips in thought, his gaze straying over the vast sandy flatlands that stretched on to the horizon. Eventually, he turned back to face Selind. “You mind if I ask you something?”

“If it’s about whether I care about the two of y’all bein’ together, the answer is: I’m happy for ya!” Selind remarked.

“No, that’s not…”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll stop fuckin’ around, now.” Selind took a deep breath and adopted a warm smile, with none of her prior cheekiness. “Ask away, Luke. Dunno if I’ll have an answer, but I’ll try my best.”

“Right. Well…” Luke took a breath himself, stepping up to Selind again to close the distance he had created earlier. “I don’t know if you’re the best person to ask, honestly… but, what do you think about relationships between members of potentially opposing forces?”

“Hmm… well that’s a heavy question…” Selind replied. “I don’t really know much about what’s goin’ on between Earth and the Black Suns, so I can’t say anythin’ on that—“

“I didn’t ask specifically about the Suns…”

“No, but it’s obvious that’s what you meant. In general, I think formin’ any kind of relationship with someone from an enemy organization is risky, at best.” She then turned to look out over the wastes, as if reminiscing. “But let me tell you what I know from my own experience, as a Compound Guardian who’s spent well over 20, maybe even 30 years doin’ this. You know that the Bleeders are a gang that’ve bothered the Compounds of Treséd for generations, but somethin’ you might not realize is that… at the end of the day, a lot of the Bleeders ain’t really there by choice. Some of ‘em are there ‘cause they really are convinced it’s the only way they can survive in these wastelands; others are there only ‘cause the Bleeders would kill ‘em or their family if they left. And that means that… sometimes, a Bleeder can get the sympathy of someone from the Compounds.

“I’ve seen a handful of non-Bleeders attempt to befriend a Bleeder, or even somethin’ more. And I’ll be honest, most of the time, that kinda relationship ends up fuckin’ over the non-Bleeder. Either their Bleeder ‘friend’ was just takin’ advantage of ‘em all along, or someone outside of the relationship discovers it and both members end up becomin’ outsiders to both the Compounds and the Bleeders. But sometimes… rarely, but sometimes, it works out. Sometimes, the non-Bleeder gets the Bleeder to turn. I even heard once that an entire Bleeder cell got turned, that way. Didn’t really believe it at the time, but once Davídrius and I started up the Bleeder Reformation Program, and it actually worked? Stories like that got a lot more believable.

“Now… I don’t think the relationship between the Bleeders and the Compounds can be compared to what’s goin’ on between Earth and the Black Suns, but there’s one similarity that matters, I think. It’s the one thing that seems universal in this galaxy: the burden of responsibility that non-Chaotics put on Chaotics.” Selind turned to look Luke in the eye. “Treséd doesn’t have a central government, but most of the Compounds, and even the Bleeders, are the same — if you’re a Chaotic, then you’re really valuable, and either side will do whatever it takes to keep you in line. End result is that Chaotics rarely get a choice in what they do… Compound Chaotics either protect their Compound, or die. Bleeder Chaotics either help the Bleeders, or die. And Gavon… like any other Chaotic in this galaxy, he joined the military. ‘Cause he has to. He didn’t have a choice. But you, Luke… you ain’t a Chaotic, just like me. That means that you ain’t forced to be here. At the end of the day, you chose this life. …Uh, unless Earth does widespread conscription, or somethin’.”

“No, no… you’re right. I voluntarily joined SERRCom,” Luke replied. “But… hmm. I think I get what you’re saying. You’re saying that my original question came from a place of privilege, right?”

“Uh… I guess that’s one way to put it,” Selind responded. “My bigger point is — since Chaotics like Gavon always get forced into a military somehow, their idea of datin’ or bein’ friends with someone in an ‘opposing’ organization is probably way different from yours. That’s how most Bleeder-Compound relationships are formed: a Chaotic who’s stuck on one side chooses not to care about the greater conflict, because in their mind, they didn’t get to choose a side in the first place. And I can’t really blame ‘em. I’d bet at least somethin’ about that applies to the rest of the galaxy, too.”

“Yeah… I think you have a point.” Luke then released a wary exhale, as if he were mulling over Selind’s words. “…I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’m still not sure what my feelings are on the matter, overall, but… you’ve given me some good insight, Selind. Thanks.”

“Really? Uh, good!” Selind remarked, pleased surprise writ across her face. “I didn’t think anythin’ I said would actually make any sense to an outsider!”

“I’m sure I don’t have the full context for all the Bleeder stuff, but I can see the parallels well enough.”

“Well, good. I’ll be rootin’ for ya, then, Luke. For you and Gavon, both — regardless of if y’all stay just friends, or go for a little more! Few outsiders are as friendly and helpful as the two of y’all, after all — and no others have gone shootin’ with me! Ha!”

“Heh, thanks,” Luke replied with a slight smile. Few outsiders have been as friendly and helpful, huh. It’s true… Gavon’s been both. And Selind is right, that his proposition probably comes from a different context than my own. But will that really be fine? And more importantly, can I really trust someone in the Black Suns…?

“Anyways, I’ve held you up long enough,” Selind remarked, and then made a shooing motion with her hands. “Your shift’s over, get outta here!”

“Right, right… thanks again, Selind. I’m off.” Luke passed her a quick nod before turning around and beginning again towards the rampart ladders, leaving Selind to take over watching the wastes outside the walls.

---

*

Deafening electrical static echoed across the practice fields of WCU, accompanied by the bright golden visual of flaring energy shields as Karísah weathered an intense and blindingly-fast assault of kicks and punches from a Velocitechnic student. Despite the high speed of the blows — and therefore, the incredible force behind them — Karísah stood strong, braced in place against each blow as she attempted to track her opponent’s movements. Then, there was a brief lull; merely half a second, but it was all the signal Karísah needed. Swiftly, she swept her right arm down across the gap between her legs, just in time to catch the Velocitechnic’s own leg as he attempted to bicycle-kick her into the sky.

Caught off-guard, there was little the Velocitechnic could do to stop Karísah from grabbing firm hold of his leg, whirling him around once, and then hurling him across the practice fields and into the wall surrounding the campus. Immediately, Karísah stomped the ground; the incredible force behind her stomp sent rocks and debris flying, rocks that she readily grabbed out of the air and began chucking at the stunned Velocitechnic in rapid succession, all in an attempt to keep him down.

“One…! Two…!” Ralak shouted from the sidelines, slowly counting up as Karísah continued pelting the Velocitechnic with rocks. Before Ralak could reach “Four”, however, the Velocitechnic managed to recover and dive out of the way of the next boulder, at which point he dashed back onto the practice field and lunged straight at Karísah — who easily predicted the lunge and met it with her fist. The Velocitechnic was once again launched across the fields, only this time, Karísah followed with a powerful bound to land on top of him and pin him to the ground.

“…Four! …Five! Ring out!” Ralak shouted, at which point the Velocitechnic stopped struggling against Karísah’s pin — and she readily released him. “Round 4, and the entire match, goes to Tresnon’s Elite!”

“WOO! Yeah! Go, Karísah!!” Spike whooped from the sidelines.

“That was certainly an impressive show,” Mark commented, watching as Karísah helped the Velocitechnic up and the two parted ways to reconvene with their teams. “She was able to keep up with a Velocitechnic… that’s impressive.”

“Just shows that the Velocitechnic didn’t know what they were doin’, I’d say,” Austin remarked.

“Karísah lives with Davídrius, right?” Spike pointed out as he turned to look at Mark and Austin. “Maybe she’s just practiced against him a lot.”

Mark nodded in agreement. “That’s probably it. Still, her abilities are impressive. These matches today might only be for bracket placements in the ACT, but I bet Karísah and her team will go far.”

“More like just Karísah,” Austin retorted. “Her team didn’t even fight at all, she took on the entire other team herself! What’s the point of having teams, anyways, if each round in a match is just a 1-v-1?”

“Imagine tryin’ to watch a 4-on-4 fight,” Spike pointed out. “It’d be chaos!”

“That’s one way to put it…”

“Ah, Karísah!” Mark turned to give the Tresédian a smile as she approached the trio. “Good job on that match!”

“Oh, it wasn’t anythin’ special…” Karísah replied bashfully. “I’m just lucky I get to train with Davídrius. I’d never have known how to fight a Velocitechnic, otherwise.” She then looked over the three men, and then briefly glanced to the side, where a handful of other students had gathered to watch the ongoing placement matches between the WCU ACT teams. “…So y’all came to watch, huh?”

“How couldn’t we?!” Spike responded, “we’ve got officially sanctioned matches here between the strongest members of the student body! There’s no way I’m missin’ that!”

“It’s a good chance to see how things work, and just how strong people are — you know, to better prepare for next year!” Austin added.

“It’s certainly interesting to watch, I have to say,” Mark commented. “Is the format used in these matches today the same as the format used in the ACT itself?”

Karísah nodded. “Yep. A series of 1-on-1 rounds until every member of one team has been beaten, with a round ending on a ring out, time out, or shield out.”

“Well that just goes back to my question from a minute ago,” Austin pointed out. “If the ACT is just gonna be a bunch of 1-v-1s, then why have teams at all?”

“There’s a lot of students at the Schools of Chaos. Making the ACT team-based instead of a bunch of single fights lets more people join… in theory, at least,” Karísah replied. “But, like Spike said, a 4-on-4 fight would be chaos. Not just to watch, but to be a part of, too.”

“…Oh, right,” Austin muttered as he and Spike exchanged sheepish glances. “I think we know what that’s like…”

“That said, the original ACTs actually were 4-on-4s,” Karísah stated. “The Deans only changed it to the current format a few years ago, where once someone enters the ring, they have to stay in until they win the whole round or lose a match. Your current team member in the ring can keep fightin’ rounds back-to-back until they lose, and then you send in your next team member. It means you have to be careful who you send in and when, which is an interestin’ twist.”

“Yeah, it’s like a whole meta-game,” Spike replied. “Gotta think about whether to save your strongest member for last, or to put ‘em first and hope they sweep — which depends on whether or not you think the enemy team will try the same!”

“Ability counters play into it, too,” Mark said. “Some Chaotic abilities more easily counter others, so I imagine part of the challenge of deciding an order would be to try and match your own teammates against Chaotics on the enemy team that they could easily beat, without having to fight too many extra rounds, or getting eliminated early.”

“I guess when you put it that way, it does sound kinda interesting… if a little heady,” Austin mused. “Sounds like the perfect grounds for lots of betting, though.”

“Uh… the Deans don’t allow gamblin’ on the ACT…” Karísah pointed out. “I don’t really like it, either. We’re still students, I don’t want whether I win or lose to lose people money. And knowin’ that odds are against you can be pretty demoralizin’, too…”

“Oh… right…”

“But these matches today… everyone here already qualified for the ACT, right?” Mark questioned. “I understand that today is ‘bracket placements’, but what’s the significance of that?”

“It isn’t just today, it’s actually all of this week and the next,” Karísah replied. “Since each school only sends four teams, there’s only 24 teams overall, which means that eight teams get a bye in the first round of the tournament. These bracket placements determine which teams get the bye.”

“That means at least two schools will have more than one team with a bye. How can you determine who gets the byes based only on internal matches?”

Karísah shrugged. “Not really sure. I think the Deans draw lots…”

“They draw lots?” Austin echoed incredulously. “For a tournament like this?”

“Remember, the ACT is still pretty new… the first one was in 8047, only seven years ago. Its location didn’t even start cyclin’ through the schools until two years later, in 8049, when we held it here, in Tresnon… and back then, it didn’t have much public attention. It’s basically a whole different thing, now.”

“So the ACT isn’t in Tresnon this year?” Mark questioned.

“No… it’ll be held in Tresnon next year, but this year it’s in Anika — in Riverana,” Karísah replied. “Which is… pretty bad timin’, really…”

“Ah… I see,” Mark mused. “With everything that’s been happening around here… I can certainly understand why you’d be reluctant to leave.”

“I guess stuff is gettin’ kinda serious…” Spike muttered, and then passed Karísah a glance. “When do you leave?”

“The ACT starts on the 19th, so to be fully ready, I’d have to leave for Riverana in a little over a week…” Karísah replied, and then released a wary sigh. “If I decide to stay in, at least…”

“What? You’re not thinkin’ of dropping out, are you?!” Austin responded incredulously. “But you’d do so well!”

“It’d be a damn shame, but I’d understand you decidin’ to stay back…” Spike said. “That’s kinda fucked up, though, that Tresnon would be in a position where you’d have to consider that…”

“If it helps, I promise that I’ll help keep Compound Tresnon safe in your absence,” Mark declared.

“Thanks…” Karísah replied with a sheepish smile. “I’ll probably still stay in the ACT… it wouldn’t be very fair to my teammates to back out now. Davídrius said I shouldn’t worry about Tresnon, too, but…”

“I understand your worry,” Spike replied, “and unlike Mark, I dunno if I can promise to actually help, given how, uh… not-very-helpful I was last time.” He then pounded his chest with his fist. “But! If it’ll make you feel better, then maybe we can get some trainin’ in, with the four of us! If me an’ Austin get up to speed with our abilities, then the two of us together might be able to cover for you, in a pinch!”

“Wait, training?! Uh, no thanks, I’ll pass,” Austin quickly interjected. “We’re already supposed to do some trainin’ in class the next two days! …And I have homework to do, too, yeah! So, uh, I’m busy!”

“If you don’t want to go, you can just say ‘no’,” Mark responded.

“Either way, your loss, Austin,” Spike remarked before turning toward Karísah. “Well? What about it?”

Karísah glanced between Mark and Spike in bemusement. “…I guess trainin’ does have a way of takin’ my mind off stuff. Alright, I’ll take you up on that.”

“Great! Let’s go behind the school buildin’, then, since the practice fields are bein’ used for matches!”

“…Y’all have fun!” Austin shouted after the three as they left to find somewhere to train. With an incredulous sigh, Austin returned his attention to the practice fields, where the other two WCU teams were preparing to have a match. As he settled in to watch, he noticed a familiar face just a few paces away. “Oh, hey! Conrad!”

“Hmm?” Conrad stepped to the side and half-turned around to spot Austin — revealing Obra beside him. With a casual nod, Conrad remarked, “hey, Austin. Done talking with the meatheads?”

“I don’t think I’d call Karísah or Mark ‘meatheads’…” Austin responded as he stepped up to the duo.

“Didn’t deny it for Spike though, huh?”

“Ha!” Austin snorted in amusement before turning towards Obra. “Uh… I think we met, once?”

“The night of the attack, yeah,” Obra responded flatly.

“O-oh… right…”

“Man, you’re a really prickly person, huh?” Conrad commented as he passed Obra a glance.

Obra looked at Conrad in annoyance before shaking his head and turning away.

“…So… are you two friends?” Austin questioned.

Conrad shrugged. “More like acquaintances, I’d say.”

“At least you’re reasonable, unlike your asshole of a friend…” Obra muttered.

“I hear that a lot,” Conrad remarked, and then casually gestured between Austin and Obra. “Well, Austin, this is Obra. Obra, Austin. There, my job is done.”

“Hell of an introduction,” Austin retorted.

“And more outsiders…” Obra grumbled.

“…If you don’t like us so much, then why are you here with Conrad?”

“I was just here to watch the matches. He’s the one who approached me.”

“I just had a few questions about how things work with the ACT,” Conrad replied. “Figured it’d be best to ask a local.”

“You’ve already asked your questions,” Obra responded impatiently. “Why’re you still here?”

“Oh, cut him some slack, Obra.”

Austin, Conrad, and Obra all turned to face Liask, who was approaching the trio — alongside Pierce. Upon seeing Pierce’s presence, Austin’s expression took a turn for the foul, while Conrad made to address him… until both noticed that Pierce and Liask’s hands were linked.

“…Didn’t expect that,” Conrad remarked.

“You don’t expect a lot of things,” Pierce shot back as he and Liask stopped next to the other three. “Can’t you just be happy for me, once?”

“Let’s see if this lasts, first.”

“I-it will,” Liask insisted. “I think we’ve had a good thing goin’, so far!”

“Uh… what?” Obra stared at Liask in confusion, and then looked down to where she was holding Pierce’s hand. “I don’t get it. What’s goin’ on? And why’re you so… weirdly close to Pierce?”

“Holding hands is, uh… it’s a thing on Earth,” Austin explained. “A, like, romantic thing…”

“Romantic…?” Obra echoed cluelessly, only for recognition to soon dawn on his features — followed swiftly by incredulous fury. Whipping back to face Liask, he exclaimed, “you? With him?! What the fuck, Liask?!”

“Hey, this is my choice!” Liask retorted. “C’mon, Obra! Pierce helped us, remember?”

“I remember him bein’ the reason we got in trouble for fuckin’ shit up at Rokres!”

“I’m not solely to blame for that,” Pierce countered irately. “Going there was a dumb idea in retrospect, yeah, but you still agreed to come along. I didn’t even try to coerce you! You’re just as much at fault as me!”

“Tch…” Obra scowled and snapped his attention back to Liask. “…With outsiders, really? The same one who your brother—!”

“Stop. Now,” Liask commanded, releasing Pierce’s hand to shove her finger in Obra’s face. “Don’t you dare try to use Trenon against me.”

Obra stepped back, startled; he remained there for a moment as he stared back at Liask, only to then whip around and storm off in a huff. “You’re makin’ a mistake, you just watch!” he shouted over his shoulder, “ain’t nothin’ good can come from gettin’ close to that outsider bastard!”

The remaining four watched Obra leave — as did some of the other bystanders at the practice fields — with Austin and Conrad standing awkwardly to the side. They both glanced at each other, and then back at Pierce as he placed a hand on Liask’s shoulder.

“…You alright?” he questioned softly.

Liask took several deep breaths before nodding slowly. “…Yeah. Sorry ‘bout that…”

“Sounds like… y’all are having a great time,” Austin commented awkwardly as he began inching away. “But I think I, uh… have, uh…”

“What, dweeb, you jealous?” Pierce remarked as he passed Austin a glance.

“What, of your ability to run relationships into the ground? Not really,” Austin retorted. “I’d sooner be single than run through ten women in a month!”

“Ha! You keep telling yourself that, dweeb.”

“Maybe I will,” Austin shot back. “Anyways— I have shit to do, and I’m not about to spend my afternoon with someone like you. I’m out.”

Liask watched Austin head off toward the dorms for a few moments before passing Pierce a disapproving frown. “Was that really necessary?”

“I think you’ll be asking that question a lot with this guy,” Conrad remarked.

“It’s just a little teasing, that’s all,” Pierce replied airily. “All Liask and I did was show up holding hands, anyways. We didn’t even actually say if we were a couple! If just that is enough to scare off Obra and Austin, then fuck ‘em, I say.”

“’Just that’, suuuure.”

“Maybe… this will be harder than I thought,” Liask muttered.

“Hey, everything’s fine,” Pierce insisted. “The first step is to just not care about the useless opinions of others. You do you, and all that stuff. And while you’re dating me — well, I can show you a great time!”

“Ugh. Save it for the bedroom,” Conrad retorted.

“I didn’t mean sexually, asshole.”

“W-well, anyways…” Liask interjected, drawing both Pierce and Conrad’s attention before gesturing toward the practice fields, where another two teams of four were huddling. “Looks like the next match is about to start.”

“Oh, finally,” Conrad remarked. “I could’ve taken a whole nap in between Karísah’s match and this one.”

“You and your fucking naps…” Pierce responded in a combination of amusement and exasperation. “I guess at least if you’re sleeping, you can’t be a snarky smartass.”

“Me? Snarky? Noooo. Say it ain’t so.”

“Guys, quiet, it’s starting!” Liask stated.

Pierce and Conrad exchanged a quick glance before turning to face the practice fields, falling quiet to watch the second — and last — placement match to be held that day.