“Nathan Foster, you have five hours before your final fight.” the referee said before Nate barely had the chance to open his eyes. But instead of being annoyed, he was excited.

  “Final fight.” He repeated in his head.

  Nate rolled off the bed and stepped into the locker room, where he was quickly greeted by his team who had run down after his win. The older group filed in shortly after, excited to see and congratulate Nate, but took their time nonetheless.

  As with the fights before, everyone was overjoyed that Nate had once again overcome a powerful enemy and come out on top. After all the hugs, congratulations, and well wishes, he found himself wondering what to do next.

  Before anyone had the chance to offer ideas, Mistress Helena knocked and walked into the locker room. Jarris slinked behind Kalazan and Dalma when he saw her stroll in.

  “Nathan! Incredible show. Speaking for myself and the faculty, we are so proud of you and look forward to your final fight. You’re probably wondering why your next fight is five hours away, right? Well, to put it simply, dear, money. But in addition to that, we have a few interviews lined up for you and your opponent, Mr. Ripton. We don’t have a strict schedule to keep, but we would like to get them done in the next hour so there is ample time for processing and packaging the footage for ads and intro purposes to be used at the final event later this evening.”

  “So if you would please do your interview now, I and your sponsors will accompany you there, and then you’ll be free to do whatever for the next four hours or so until your scheduled fight time.” Mistress Helena finished her long-winded congratulations and information download.

  “Now, speaking of your sponsor… where is that old cat?” she continued.

  “Sorry, Mistress, did you say my opponent would be Mr. Ripton, as in Biff?”

  “Yes, of course. You two have been looking forward to getting into the ring with each other all year have you not? Word around the school is that there is an itch to watch you two rip each other apart with how you can’t seem to help but get into a scuffle whenever you are within eyesight of one another.”

  “Yeah, my team has been looking forward to it as well.” Nate added.

  “Yes, well we may or may not have been leaking some school grounds footage of you two fighting on the socials today... We’ve seen an increase in ad buys by 15%. But we were already doing exceptionally well because of your affinity.” Mistress Helena said, still looking around for Jarris.

  “I’m so glad you’re getting your hard-earned money, Mistress.” Nate quipped sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

  “Now, now, no need for sass. Have your sponsors not explained your cut if you make it to the final?”

  Nate’s eyes grew wide.

  “I’ll take that as a no…” Mistress Helena turned to Kalazan and Dalma with a disappointed look.

  The two dark-skinned humans looked nervous as they stood very close together, their robes creating an almost perfect curtain for Jarris to hide behind, almost. Mistress Helena’s mouth opened to scold Kalazan, but no words came out when she saw Jarris’ dark-furred tail poke out from behind Dalma’s robe. She walked forward to Kalazan with a menacing smile.

  “Now, now, K, I wouldn’t have thought you would be one to keep information from someone like dear Nathan here, from finding out about the payday he is about to get for his excellent work in the arena, or perhaps where his other sponsor and mentor would be.”

  Kalazan’s voice was quivering, but he was working hard to stay strong for his friend sitting on the bench behind him. “No, Mistress, certainly not. You walked in before we had the chance to discuss it!”

  “And you wouldn’t keep from me the location of said sponsor and mentor to dear Nathan, would you?” Mistress Helena said in an eluding and leading tone.

  “No, Mistress. Jarris had some draft meetings for Nathan and the team to attend to.” Kalazan threw a “Hail Mary." trying to get the attention off of him.

  Helena peered into Kalazan’s eyes waiting for him to crack, but he stood strong. “Dalma, dear.”

  “Yes, Mistress?”

  “Oh, please old friend, cut the Mistress, would you?”

  “Yes, Helly.”

  “Would you be so kind as to make sure your dear husband and his miscreant friend find themselves in my private booth after I’m done interviewing Mr. Foster here?”

  “It would be my pleasure, Helly.”

  “Now, Nathan, if you and K would follow me, we can go knock out this interview right now if you’d like?”

  Nate looked to Kalazan, who gave a single nod of approval.

  “Sure, might as well.” Nate said, giving an affirmative to Mistress Helena.

  “Lindy, would you-”

  “I’ll take care of them." Lindy interrupted Nate, knowing what he was going to ask. She felt honored knowing he felt like he could trust her with his parents’ well-being while he was away again. Yoli was there, of course, and could just as easily help, but he didn’t ask her, he asked Lindy.

  ***

  “So glad you could join me, Nathan, for your first and final interview for the ACC finals tournament. For those watching at home, we are joined in the studio by Nathan’s sponsors, the legendary Kalazan Tomlin and Jarris Kel Thane.”

  “So Nathan, your presence in school this year has generated some significant buzz. People are wondering two things: first, how does a man from Earth, a brand new planet introduced to The Union, acquire a Void attuning gem, and second, how did you convince these two storied contractors to be your sponsors?”

  “Well, Mistress Helena, first off, thanks for having us. This is my first time being interviewed for something, so I’ll do my best.”

  Helena let out a playful laugh, shooting a look to the camera before turning back to listen to Nate finish.

  “Long story short, my sister and I first met Hal, also a member of The Arcane Operators, and he introduced us to Kalazan. Kalazan gifted me the Void Gem, and called Jarris to come and train me.” Nate said.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Kalazan, that is quite the gift! Why not part with that gem in exchange for enough money to buy a quarter of a planet?” Mistress Helena said astounded, turning to Kalazan.

  Kalazan brightened before speaking, “We don’t always have to do things for money. The work that Nathan will do with his abilities will benefit the galaxy far greater than a more fortunate aristocrat’s child buying it at an auction.”

  “We will see, won’t we?” Helena added. “And mighty Jarris, a new pupil? The world doesn’t see much of you these days, why now?”

  “I always answer when my friends call.” Jarris said with a smile, sounding more warm and charismatic than Nate had ever heard before. Like some code word activated a sleeper agent within him, but the agent was a fully confident, camera-ready personality.

  Jarris’ comment knocked Mistress Helena off her game though, as Nate noticed her face physically glitched at the idea of Jarris “always." answering a phone call.

  “Well, Nathan is one lucky guy, that is for certain.” Her voice lingered, signaling that she did not miss the slight from Jarris. “Now Nathan, the people at home want to know so many more things: what gear you use, implant or not, what are the extent of your current abilities? Care to share any interesting tidbits for your fans?”

  “Now, I can’t share everything, as that wouldn’t be a very good strategy, but I will say that I have an incredible team behind me, as evident with these two. The rest of my team, Team Arcane, who I fought with yesterday, their support and the brilliant work from our quartermaster has helped me out of more jams than I can count.”

  “Ah yes, how could I forget Team Arcane!” Helena exclaimed. “Tough loss in the semifinals yesterday.”

  “Yeah, tough loss, but we still made it so far and we are really proud of that.”

  “Now, last question before we wrap up here. Your last opponent is Biff Ripton, son of media tycoon Kip Ripton from the controversial Rip Tide and his import-export businesses. You two have had several run-ins on campus this year as evident from some found footage making the rounds on social media. How hot is this rivalry between you two, and are you looking to close it out today?”

  “Well, you would know that because of our spats during the year we haven’t been able to fight each other as part of the normal season. So we’ve had to compete on the leaderboard with grades and our fighting records. Today is going to answer which of the two of us is superior.” Nate finished with a cold determination in his eyes and voice.

  “Well, I’m looking forward to it. I hope the best man wins. Good luck to you, and to those of you at home, thanks for watching!” Helena finished with an exuberant tone.

  “Cut!” someone from behind the bright lights called out.

  “Wow guys, one take, I’m impressed. Nathan, you are free to do whatever. I think that you’re due back in about four hours or something; consult with your referee if you have questions.” Mistress Helena said with a kind tone as she got up out of her chair and was swarmed by her assistants.

  Jarris attempted to stand up and walk out of the interview room at the same time as Nate and Kalazan.

  “Not you!” Helena called from a corner of the room Nate couldn’t see. Jarris sat back down as fluidly as he attempted to get up.

  “Nathan, we are going to want to get out of here. We don’t want to catch any crossfire.” Kalazan whispered.

  Nate nodded as he followed Kalazan out of the room where Dalma was waiting for them.

  Back at Yoli’s apartment at Slop; Yoli, Caroline, Dee, and Lindy were changing into formal attire for the big final fight. Before they parted ways in the locker room, Dalma had instructed that the family and friends of the fighters would be treated with great fanfare when returning to the arena for the final fight. Knowing that they would be on camera and subject to public scrutiny, they wanted to look their best selves. They collectively were worried about what people would think, but more so they wanted to look nice for Nate’s big moment.

  As a princess, Lindy was used to this type of affair and had packed clothes for such an occasion despite going to the academy to escape public life. Lindy was coaching the ladies on waving, smiling, and to not answer questions. If they got stuck, they were instructed to fall back to; “We are so proud of Nate and are excited to see him compete.” Lindy and Nate weren’t in any kind of official relationship yet, so there wasn’t any worry she would be interrogated regarding their private life, though the thought did cross her mind. When it did, she felt a happy turning of her stomach and a warmth in her chest.

  After the women changed into their outfits and some put on makeup, they made their way to the restaurant section of Slop to meet up with the rest of the entourage.

  Jax and Gax had cleaned up a little bit by putting on nice polo shirts and slacks. That was Gax’s version of formal attire, and when you were worth trillions of credits, you kind of transcended societal norms. Lindy’s uncle Harry had reappeared for the final fight as he couldn’t pass up a chance to party in the limelight.

  Though Kalazan and Dalma’s normal attire were usually semi-formal at the least, they had gone the extra mile tonight by wearing traditional rainbow-colored robes from their home planet and culture.

  “Where’s Nate and Jarris?” Lindy asked as Peggy and Hal joined the group in simple business attire.

  “Jarris is indisposed and Nathan should be along shortly. He was unaware of how this event is viewed, so I sent him to my tailor to be fitted.” Kalazan replied.

  Nate finally showed after a short while looking like a proper fighter in a fight night glamorous outfit. At first glance, it was just a black suit, but upon closer inspection, the lapels of his jacket were expertly covered in microscopic black gems that sparkled brilliantly at the faintest ray of light. It looked as though someone took a video of a concert in a large stadium seeing all the phones taking pictures of the event. The rest of his coat and pants also had the same gems sewn in, but in a spaced-out and calculated manner unlike the lapels.

  Nate looked at Lindy, who had done her makeup and wore a loose silk jumper that resembled the one she lent to Dee, but as Lindy had more curves than Dee, the one piece filled out instead of being allowed to flow. The bottoms had a small boot cut that ended a little higher on her leg to show off her designer heels. The top was held up by a thin line of fabric around her neck with the back wide open showing her perfectly tanned smooth skin. She wore a thin sparkling diamond choker and small diamond studs in her ears. Her vibrant pink hair was up in an elaborately constructed bun to allow her fit to do most of the talking. Nate was speechless when he approached her, so he only kissed her cheek and smiled.

  “Should we go?”

  Lindy nodded, and Nate took her by the hand down to the lobby.

  Kalazan stopped the group as they began walking down the street to the nearest portal, pointing at the small row of vehicles that were lined along the block like carriages awaiting to take their passengers to their destination. Each vehicle looked like an SUV and was its own unique color. The drivers were dressed in the same color as their vehicle and were each holding signs with the names of their passengers.

  The original Arcane Operators were at the front with their spouses, followed by friends of the fighter, then Yoli and Nate’s parents, and lastly Nate and Lindy.

  In the back of her mind, Lindy knew the message this would send if journalists recognized her when she got out of the car at the arena, but she didn’t care. It was a message she was willing to deliver. Nate and Lindy stepped into their SUV, and they all took off for the entertainment district.

  When the vehicles arrived, their passengers disembarked in the order they were positioned in front of Slop. Kalazan and Dalma, followed by friends and family, but before Nate and Lindy a smaller sportier blue vehicle stylized after the Arcane Operators trademark was allowed to slip in.

  Jarris was first to exit the vehicle, clad in an olive tailored trench coat that only just went past his waist with rigid lapels, a plain white shirt, and pants similarly colored to the jacket. Jarris helped Mistress Helena step out of the small vehicle in a gown the same color as Jarris’s coat.

  Nate, looking out of the vehicle, could imagine what Jarris was put through to get to this point, but his smile seemed genuine, so he didn’t dwell. He was having a magical night of his own and didn’t care.

  Nate looked to Lindy as the car pulled up to the red carpet and the driver opened the door. Nate stepped out to a cheering crowd and an overwhelming number of blinding flashes as his picture was being taken. Nate turned and helped Lindy out of the car, who immediately jumped into smiling model mode, showing that she was well seasoned in handling the red carpet. From the brief training she gave him in the car, Nate tightly gripped Lindy’s hand and interlocked his index finger with her pinky, raising his other hand to wave while he smiled and nodded.

  Questions were flying, but there were so many of them he didn’t hear a single one. He tightly held on to Lindy as she somehow equally led him down the walkway and stayed perfectly by his side. She was a true pro, and Nate was admiring this side of her he’d never seen. He also found himself incredibly turned on by her beauty and confidence.

  The couple walked all the way down the carpet, stopping to take pictures at designated spots and logo walls along the way. Nate couldn’t help but make comparisons to back home when he would watch the red carpet events with his Mother during award season. Nate was now the celebrity, though, about to take on one of the biggest challenges of his life.