The day of final exams came and went, and despite having had trouble focusing during the study session Lindy put on, Nate actually thought he did pretty well as he didn’t feel particularly stumped by any of the questions. The ethics essay wasn’t particularly difficult either as all it asked for was how Nate would proceed to complete various objectives. Nate was slightly hoping it was a Kobayashi Maru scenario that he could find a way to hack into and create a winning solution to an unwinnable scenario. But he wasn’t Captain James T. Kirk, and this wasn’t Star Trek.

  Even though Nate managed to lock in his focus for the tests, he couldn’t help but take chances to check out Lindy every now and then. Every once in a while, their eyes would meet and they would smile, then go back to completing their tests.

  The team walked out of the lecture building and into the artificial sunset of the Hub. Dee took a deep breath through her nose before she screamed out, “It’s done! We’re done! No more school, no more studying, no more tests.” She was holding her hands out to the side with her eyes closed in dramatic fashion.

  Lindy ran up to Dee and the two embraced in a deep hug.

  “Does anyone know when we get our results back?” Nate asked.

  “Actually, they should already be posted. The essays get graded first thing; that’s why we take those in the morning. The multiple choice is graded almost instantly.” Jax said while pulling out his link.

  “Yeah, see? Look.” Jax held up his link for everyone to see that he got a notification saying he passed the ethics portion of the test.

  “Nice, dude!” Nate shouted, giving him a strong high five.

  Everyone, including Nate, pulled out their links to see if they passed or not, and while everyone did and hugs and high fives abounded, Dee had a small frown and showed a bit of deflation.

  “I just barely passed.” She said.

  “But you passed!” Lindy shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

  “But does that mean I’m a bad person or something? What if I’m doing something wrong in the field and people get hurt or die?”

  “I think as long as your intentions are good, and you aim for the least amount of harm, you’ll do just fine, Dee.” Nate added, slapping her on the back.

  Jax was tapping at his link furiously before he got to a landing page that said the remaining scores would be posted soon.

  “Looks like the rest aren’t done yet, but it’s all multiple choice so it can’t be that long of a wait. I mean, we just came out of our last one.” He said.

  Nate looked around at the crowd of students starting to disperse, smiling but also a little sad that school was coming to an end.

  As Nate looked around the park that made up the central area amongst the four main campus buildings, memories started to flash through his mind, the morning runs around the park and then to the gym, the endless ice cream cones at the cafeteria, the fights at the arena, the wealth of knowledge from their various classes in the building behind him.

  “I could wait a little longer.” Nate said to his friends.

  “I can’t.” replied a sinister-sounding voice from behind him.

  Nate slowly turned to see Biff. “Biff.” His name leaving Nate’s mouth like a cuss.

  “Nathan." Biff replied with the same tone. “You know, you might be done taking a beating from me in the classroom, but we still have the tournament, and I only need the one fight to show you how weak you really are.”

  “Kick rocks, Biff." Dee quipped as she flung a small rock at his feet.

  Biff looked down and picked up the rock, showing the small stone to the rest of his followers that had finally come out of the lecture hall. He laughed, amused at how small it was.

  “You think something like this is gonna stop me?”

  Dee rushed forward. “I’ll show you how big my balls really are.” as she started to summon a small boulder between her hands.

  Nate held up a hand. “It’s all right, Dee. His time is coming, I’ll see you in the arena soon enough Biff.”

  Biff’s veins started to bulge red as he started powering up his ability.

  Jax, noticing that Team Arcane was outnumbered by a small gathering of his followers, stepped in between them.

  “Look, you two got a lot of pent-up aggression and they haven’t let you fight all season, leaving the two of you undefeated all year. You really want to throw away a good draft deal just before the tournament by getting kicked out on assault charges?”

  Nate eased up first, letting Jax’s words calm him down.

  “Just like the pussy I always knew you were. Sure, we can settle this in the arena, but as soon as I beat you in the tournament, we are gonna find a nice private place and do this for real.”

  Nate nodded. “I’ll be there, Biff. Don’t you worry.”

  The team watched Biff and his sycophants leave campus and then they too worked their way through a series of portals to arrive at their second home, Slop. While working their way through the portal system, the team stopped to refresh their links to see if they had been notified of passing or failing their exams. Lindy and Jax passed with near-perfect scores across the board. Dee had low to middling scores, and Nate barely made it through. Nate had a decent excuse though as he wasn’t native to the galactic community like the other three were.

  When the team arrived at Slop, they were surprised by the entire cast of people who had helped Nate so graciously when he had first arrived, along with his sister Yoli and her team from the Disaster Outreach Division. Peggy couldn’t help herself and greeted the team at the door with a group hug.

  The small crowd of supporters waited in anticipation while Peggy whispered to Nate that they were expecting him to say if they passed or not.

  “We passed!” Nate shouted with joy, raising both fists in the air. The small crowd roared with cheers and claps congratulating the team and came up to give hugs and handshakes one at a time.

  Yoli walked up to Nate and gave him a big sisterly hug. “You did it, good job turd. Now what?”

  Lindy silently walked up and grabbed Nate by the hand and upper arm, clinging onto him lightly. Yoli noticed the public display of affection from Lindy before gesturing with her hands to ask what was going on instead of using words.

  “This is Lindy, she’s my…” Nate started to say before hesitating.

  “Girlfriend.” Dee interjected.

  The couple blushed, looking at each other with loving smiles.

  “Oh right! You’re Lindy, I’ve heard about you. Good god, you really are gorgeous.”

  “You got that right.” Dee said, speaking for the couple again, this time placing her arms around them and putting her head in the middle.

  “Guys, this is Yoli, my big sister.”

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  “Oh ho ho." Dee said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

  “Lindy, we should probably take her to the place, don’t you think?”

  Lindy made a facial expression that both showed fear and agreement.

  Solvei and Kiki both came up behind Yoli.

  “Hey, you must be Nate. Congrats! Looking forward to the tourney this weekend and seeing you in action.” said Kiki.

  “Oh my hell, I forgot about that." Nate spoke up. “Before you say anything, no one will be dying. It’s all virtual, magic, tech, whatever. I’m not actually killing people.”

  “I know, I know. I’ve learned about things since we went to that one fight. God, that was a year ago now, can you believe that?”

  “Yeah, crazy, huh?”

  “Well, hey, I think you have some other people that are waiting to say hi. Great job, and we will be there, wouldn’t miss seeing your face get caved in for anything.” Yoli slapped her brother on the arm before walking with her crew to a booth to relax.

  Jarris, Kalazan, and Dalma walked up to Nate, Lindy, Dee, and Jax to congratulate them on successfully passing their final exams. Before they could do so, however, the lights in the dining hall dimmed and Hal stepped out on stage.

  “I’ll catch you after this hooligan is done, I’m proud of you.” Jarris said in Nate’s ear over the cheers of the crowd waiting for Hal and his band to get started.

  Looking toward the stage, Nate noticed how the booths and tables were turned toward the stage since it was the first night of the weekend, which meant the dining hall also became a live music venue.

  As the band was doing a simple sound check of their equipment, Hal started playing a simple yet upbeat tune on his guitar.

  “Tonight’s performance is dedicated to our four guests of honor who passed their Contractor exams today. Everyone give it up for Team Arcane!”

  The crowd cheered and whistled as the regular patrons and everyone that had showed up to support Nate and his friends gave their howls of congratulations for Team Arcane. Presumably also to just cheer for Hal to get his set started.

  “Their team made the bracket for the finals tournament, as did Nate Foster for solos. Be sure to head to the arena this weekend to check ’em out!”

  The crowd continued their cheers, whoops, and whistles as Hal and his band counted off and started singing and playing a slower ballad about facing a storm and fighting through the odds. When the song came to an end, Hal stepped to the mic again.

  “As many of you may know, Peg and I lost our boy, and…” Hal choked up as he struggled to get the words out.

  Peggy was in the back with her hand raised to him, giving him support from afar; her eyes were pools filled with tears.

  “We lost our boy and we’ve been different since then. We’ve struggled. But all of our other babies have been holding us up, keeping this place working the way y’all deserve it to be.”

  Jarris and Kalazan, Hal’s former teammates and best friends, walked to the stage and held onto his hands from the crowd, giving him unheard words of encouragement. Hal got up to the mic again after letting go of his friends.

  “If a nobody could show up from a gem-locked planet, get trained by a living legend for three months, pass his exams, and make it to the champions tournament of the ACC, then I can have hope in the next generation of contractors again. To Nate Foster and Team Arcane, everyone!”

  The crowd cheered and chanted Nate’s name. Lindy, who was holding his hand, raised it up as she stood within their booth, the other hand pointed at Nate. Nate stood, blushing, bowing appreciatively to Hal and the crowd's affirmations.

  The band picked up again and played on for an hour and a half. The team all sat in their booth together, sipping on drinks and picking at their favorite appetizers. Although Nate was enjoying being there with his team, his friends, his sister, and his love interest; in the back of his mind he felt a sensation, a pull, not in the figurative sense, but a literal feeling of his mind being pulled like taffy in a candy factory.

  Hal and his band waved goodnight to the crowd and exited the stage, leaving behind the cheers of a loving audience. A number of the patrons departed as the band did, leaving behind those who were staying the night, some groups of people playing cards, and those who had come to support Team Arcane and their accomplishment.

  Hal came up to the team’s table and hugged them all one by one, congratulating them before getting to Nate, whom he hugged much tighter and longer than the rest.

  “Thank you for helping me find my hope again.” He said.

  Nate said nothing as they separated except for a smiling nod.

  Yoli and her team bid Nate and the rest farewell as they had orders to report in the next morning. Hal went to the back to tend to Peggy and the operations of Slop. Jarris and Kalazan made their way to the table and pulled up some chairs to chat with the team.

  “Well, well, it appears our sponsorship was well placed in you, Nathan." Kalazan began. “You have generated some serious chatter amongst those in the market for draftees. We have been sent pages and pages of offers for you.”

  “Yeah, see Nate, I told you people were going to be drooling over you.” Jax spoke up.

  “Your quartermaster is right. You have gotten some seriously attractive offers. You might make the record books depending on what you choose.” Kalazan added.

  “Anything stick out to you guys? One that I should consider over the others?” Nate said.

  Kalazan smirked and looked at Jarris.

  “Just one." Jarris replied. “It’s the only one you are going to want.”

  Nate raised his eyebrows.

  “What about the rest of my team? Can you see any offers they’ve gotten?”

  “Unfortunately, no. But I imagine they will be well sought after as well.”

  Nate deflated a bit, sinking back into the cushioned booth, Lindy wrapping her hand around his bicep.

  “Are you guys ready for the tournament tomorrow?” Jarris asked.

  “We are so ready.” Lindy said with her upbeat attitude.

  “What about you, Jax? Have you done all your homework on the teams in the bracket? Threat assessment, probability matrix, battle plans?”

  “Yes sir!” Jax practically yelled.

  Jax realized his outburst and sank back in his seat.

  “Good.” Jarris said with a resolute acceptance.

  “Have any of you felt it yet?” Kalazan squinted his eyes a bit, scanning each of the four budding contractors to be.

  “Felt what?” Dee asked, genuinely puzzled.

  Team Arcane looked at each other inquisitively, except for Nate. Nate leaned forward, knowing Kalazan was going to give him the answer to the question he hadn’t asked yet.

  “The call. The cosmic force you’ve attuned to calls you, beckons you to come closer, to become one.”

  “I’ve felt… something.” Nate said.

  “I could see it on your face." Kalazan smirked. “It feels like a pull, like your body is being turned against its will toward something. Like your feet are anchored to the ground but something far away has grabbed on with the lightest grasp and is pulling you towards it, stretching you endlessly. The whisper of wind rustling trees in a far away forest in your mind. The call to resonate.”

  The team was captivated by Kalazan’s soft, descriptive demeanor.

  “You will know it when you feel it. It will come after this weekend, I’m sure.”

  “I felt it.” Nate said softly.

  Everyone at the table turned to him.

  “Did you answer it?” Kalazan asked.

  “No, I… don’t know how. It felt like someone, something, pulling at the back of my mind. Like the back of my head was open and my consciousness was pouring out.”

  “Ah, you are close. Very close." Kalazan added. “Soon the feeling will be more intense. If you do not answer, it will go away over time, but the faintest of whispers will always be there.”

  “Don’t worry about it now, kid. In fact, it’s better if you don’t resonate just before the tournament. It’ll mess with your flow.”

  “But he would be so much more powerful, J.” Kalazan pleaded.

  “He would, but he’s gotta do the thing first, let alone get over whatever he faces in that head of his.”

  “I want to be stronger. I want to win.” Nate said, almost sounding desperate.

  “You will, boy. You will.” Kalazan opened his mouth to speak but Jarris held up his hand to stop him after his words of encouragement. “You know how to win with what you got. Don’t overextend yourself. You don’t know what new abilities will be there on the other side of your event. If you even manage to get through it.”

  Nate nodded silently.

  “Hey, I don’t want to steal your guys’ happy night. Eat, drink, have fun and tomorrow, you fight like your future depends on it. Because it kind of does.” Jarris finished.

  Kalazan rolled his eyes. “You’re going to do amazing. Get some rest, we will see you tomorrow.”

  With that, Kalazan nudged Jarris and the two legendary contractors left the table.

  Dalma, who had been sitting nearby and hadn’t said anything, leaned over her tall figure and gestured with her hand for the team to come closer so she could pass along a secret. “I believe in you.” She said with a warm, genuine grin before leaving Slop with Kalazan.

  Nate looked at his link and saw that it was nearing 11 p.m.

  “Should we get some rest? Tournament tomorrow and all that.” He asked.

  The team agreed and bid their farewells to Peggy, Hal, and their family as they headed back to the dorms. Once they got there, the team huddled together, heads close, except for Jax who wasn’t tall enough.

  “I love you guys. No matter what happens tomorrow, no matter the deals we do or don’t get in the draft. Friends forever.” Lindy said.

  “No one gets left behind.” Nate added.

  Dee let out an almost expectant sounding sigh. “You rich kids will have to pay for us poor people if we don’t make it, ok? We will clean your house or whatever. Well, maybe not yours, Jax, I’ve seen your workshop.”