At first, honoring Natali’s wish to keep her Blessing secret seemed like a genuine detriment to my goals. It took no more than a few seconds for me to realize that it was our greatest advantage.

  -Roger Hill’s Notes

  Ashley watched Jeremiah slump against the fountain. There were a lot of things she had to revise about her partner’s character. One: His surprising bravery she took note of was most likely insanity. Two: He probably just died.

  No, She put one trembling hand over the other. Not dead, just a simulation. The aching pain, the smell of oil, blood, and smoke, and even the sound of Jeremiah smashing into the fountain was all fake.

  But the adrenaline coursing through her was very real.

  The machine that took out Jeremiah wasn’t looking too good either. That desperately genius move Jeremiah pulled had nearly exposed its inner circuitry from the front. Its right arm dangled from bundled metal cords as thick as mooring lines. Bright blue coolant spewed from its wounds made by the blast. Its glowing core spun endlessly like a red-hot gyroscope as it cast a bloody shadow on its immediate surroundings. The lights from the mall suddenly flickered off, leaving them with only sunlight from the windowed ceiling dome above.

  It’s got some kind of power-saving mode?

  That meant that it was on its last legs, right?

  Ashley’s hopeful thoughts were dashed as it began trudging towards Jeremiah’s body. She sprung into action, raising a hand towards a dining table from afar. What would have normally taken a moment of concentration had occurred effortlessly. With the nanomachine-enhanced training, Ashley didn’t feel a hint of exhaustion as she telekinetically tossed the dining table from behind to slam against the head of the machine.

  The impact shattered the wooden table, sending fragments in all directions. The machine stomped in place, sparks flying as it slowly turned around.

  “Not done yet!” Ashley raised her hands up. Her human hands synced with her invisible hands—her real hands—as they cradled the wooden shrapnel mid-flight. When the machine finished its turn, countless pieces of wood smashed against the exposed core of the machine. The damage was lacking, nearly unnoticeable. The attack had slowed the core minutely before it began spinning once more. However, the machine stood still as steam billowed from both the vents and its new opening.

  “Good enough!” Ashley ran past the robot, making a beeline for Jeremiah. If she was going to finish this, she had to be sure Jeremiah wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. She climbed up, using a hand to press against his neck for a pulse. Her blood ran cold when she couldn’t feel a heartbeat.

  “Oh, wait.”

  She placed two fingers on his wrist instead. Ashley sighed in relief. With Jeremiah’s physique, maybe the neck just isn’t possible?

  “Don’t be offended, Froggy~” She pulled him down, putting as much leverage on her shoulders as possible. “A lot of girls like this kind of body type, you know?” Ashley grunted under the extra weight as she trudged for cover. The clomping footsteps of the machine continued. She leaned herself and Jeremiah against an oily bloodstained pillar, pondering her scarce options.

  Ashley strained her eyes once more, feeling out the mall with her vision, looking for anything she could get her telekinetic hands on.

  Dirt, wooden chairs, rugs, signs, bottles. . .

  Ashley stared at the restaurant at the other end of the floor, on the other side of the fountain. Alcohol. She recognized the bottles from so far away. After all, a few of those were her father’s favorites. Jeremiah exposed a lot of the robot’s body parts. What if Ashley lit its interior on fire?

  She just had to make it over there.

  The robot was on the other side of their cover, and making a straight dash to the restaurant would leave her open to another attack. Now what happens to little ol’ me if I get hit by one of those rockets?

  Buh-bye Ashley.

  Jeremiah coughed softly, rousing Ashley from her stupor.

  “Froggy. . .” Ashley thought about his risky move from earlier. Was that something to emulate, or was she right to think he was insane? Either way, he’d done the most.

  “Can’t let you leave me in the dust, can I?”

  She sprung out from her cover, running without care for how she looked. From her side, the machine blared its trumpeting roar as it got its sights on Ashley. Following that, Ashley’s face dropped as she heard steam escape its vents. That meant only one thing.

  “How many more of those things do you even have, jerk?!”

  She contemplated diving for cover, then threw that out of her mind. Heat seeking missiles wouldn’t fall for that. She’d have to divert its trajectory like Jeremiah said. Ashley sent her telekinetic hands out to grab more chairs. The problem with the previous strategy was how much closer it was to Ashley than before. The missiles weren’t sent up in the air like before, but instead it became a straight shot, screaming towards the girl. The girl screamed back, flinging the chairs at the projectile as quickly as she could.

  She managed to knock both off its intended course, sending it into the poor-abused fountain statue. The one that Ashley happened to be sprinting by at the time.

  It sunk into the base of the fountain, the splash quickly overshadowed by the double explosion. Ashley's side was caught by the force of the blow, and for the third time, she experienced the sensation of being sent flying. It was as if she became a burnt, bruised projectile.

  The agony multiplied when she crashed through the wide-paned window of the restaurant. But that wasn’t all. Ashley’s plan shattered as she crashed into the shelves of alcohol at the bar. Blood and alcohol streamed down her forehead and she yelped at the drinks entering her countless wounds. One of her ears were temporarily deafened, and the other was ringing to the point she could barely hear her own pained moans.

  “Oh Myriad, oh Myriad this hurts.” Ashley muttered. She could barely think through anything, see through anything, and getting up was an impossible thought. The pain wiped everything away for a moment. She laid there, whimpering and cursing herself for thinking she could do what Jeremiah did.

  Why didn’t I just. . . Sis would have just. . .

  She brought up a weak hand to wipe at her face, restoring her vision as best as she could. Her body laid in an ocean of liquor and broken glass. The brown drink stained her skirt, her skin, her. . .

  Ashley’s eyes widened.

  The glass. . . in the brown liquor.

  And so, an insane plan began.

  She jolted up from the muck, wincing. Ashley fished out the biggest shard of glass she could see from the puddle. A demented giggle that she couldn’t stop wracked her body. Is this what went through Jeremiah’s head? She couldn’t blame him for it. There was a rush when a desperate person finds that sacred, redeeming thread to form a strategy with.

  “Okay…” Ashley reached up to the bar’s counter, slowly pulling herself up. She peeked over, watching as the machine zeroed in on her position. The red eyes of the automaton flashed as Ashley showed herself. It stood still, staring her down. Steam erupted from its vents once more, the telltale sign of an imminent missile launch. Ashley held up the glass, dripping with brown liquor.

  “This better work.” She muttered.

  The missiles let out a whistling screech as they shot forward, wasting no time in an attempt to finish Ashley off.

  Jeremiah said that one hero reflected the missiles back to the machine in the real incident. Then, he did the same thing with his Blessing.

  Don’t think you’ll leave me behind that easily, Froggy.

  Ashley shut one eye, and looked through the glass.

  Right now, the only object Ashley’s Color-kinesis could control was the color brown.

  At the current moment, through the stained glass, everything in Ashley’s vision was brown.

  Including the two missiles.

  With one hand for each missile, Ashley’s color-kinetic hands snatched the missiles from their trajectory, holding them still as if they were toys. The hands rotated on themselves and the missiles followed suit, pointed towards the unmoving machine. She held them still for a moment, remembering Jeremiah’s timing. Not that it was easy. Even with the month-long training, holding both missiles up was tearing through her remaining stamina.

  Come on. Just a little bit longer and. . .

  “Return to sender~?”

  The color-kinetic hands let go, and the missiles point-detonated on the automaton. Ashley didn’t waste any time observing the spectacle. She circled from behind the counter as the automaton was consumed by the dual-explosion. Ashley escaped the rubble of the restaurant, wheezing through the dusty air and what was likely a damaged lung. The pain came in at full force as her adrenaline eased. She choked back a sob.

  As if she’d risk letting anyone see her cry.

  One long, agonizing walk across the center of the mall later and she came back to Jeremiah’s body.

  “You’re back.” Jeremiah croaked.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “You’re awake.” Ashley replied.

  He chuckled weakly.

  “Can you get up?” Ashley found herself slumped against the pillar.

  “I’ve been trying to for a while.”

  “Good, because I totally need a break.” Ashley finished sliding down to sit next to the boy.

  “Did you get him?

  “Totally. Ripped a page right out of your playbook.”

  “I knew you could do it. I wish I saw it, though.”

  “I’ll tell you about it when we’re done.”

  Ashley frowned. Now that she thought about it, how will the simulation end? Do they just wake up randomly? Maybe the credits will start rolling in her vision? I hope there wasn’t a glitch in the matrix. Being stuck here would be the worst.

  Then the sound of steam erupted from behind. Ashley and Jeremiah shared a look of pure exhaustion. She mustered some effort to peek out from behind the pillar. The machine was teetering, coolant leaking out of fried and shattered plating. The dangling arm from its prior injury was nonexistent. It looked skeletal, working at less than its most basic function. After three missiles to its core, the thing was still active.

  “Ha, this so lame!” Ashley couldn’t help but let out a pained laugh at the absurdity of their situation. What more could they do? If they were experiencing this much difficulty, was there even a class to be had here? The most prestigious Principality in the Empire might have been too much for you, girl. Ashley thought.

  Jeremiah grunted as he tried using the pillar as a crutch to stand up. His bloodied face tightened in pain as he pushed his body past his limits.

  “Come on, come on.” Jeremiah kept muttering to no one.

  “Are you serious?” Ashley whined.

  Didn’t he understand how screwed they were?

  Ashley found herself straining to get up as well. Her body screamed at her prolonged abuse of it. Ashley being conscious was enough for pain to be sent throughout her body. She wasn’t sure why she hated the thought of him getting up while she stayed down. Was it a competition for her? Pity? Or maybe. . .

  She looped an arm underneath and around his shoulder. Without thinking, Jeremiah reciprocated as they both steadied each other. They managed to stand each other up, as impossible as it had seemed to be. Despite that, Jeremiah looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “You just had your turn with the robot. Shouldn’t you be resting?”

  “Chances are, we’re totally done for. Might as well try to help.”

  The wet, metallic clomping grew closer and closer. The machine may or may not know where they are. Nonetheless, it’s coming their way.

  “You got a plan, Froggy?” Ashley asked.

  “Same as last time, just keep me steady.” Jeremiah smiled.

  “But there’ll be two missiles this time.”

  “Who says I can’t get both of them?”

  Ashley laughed until she remembered how much it hurt to do that. They both leaned to the side of the pillar, preparing to lunge out from hiding. She strained her neck to look at Jeremiah. He looked forward, paying no mind to anything but his flimsy strategy.

  “When we graduate, start a League with me.” Ashley said.

  Jeremiah tilted his head. “This is a weird time for a business proposal, Ashley.”

  “I’m serious. You’ve got what it takes to be the real deal. I’d be totes dumb to let someone like you slip away.”

  Jeremiah’s face betrayed not a hint of emotion. Maybe he couldn’t believe what he heard, or that he didn’t want to let himself believe it. Whatever, Ashley thought. I’ll convince you, even if it takes all three years. Suddenly, despite how it took both of them to even stand, the thought of them failing was no longer a possibility in Ashley’s mind. Ashley and Jeremiah nodded to each other as the footsteps were nearly upon them. When the crimson glow of the machine core reached their feet, they sprang forward for their final confrontation. End of Chapter

  And struck a wall that hadn’t been there before.

  “OW!” They both screamed in unison.

  Ashley couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There was a somewhat transparent bluish wall in front of them. It was connected to nothing, and certainly wasn’t there a couple seconds ago. It appeared right as they made their move.

  “What is this?” Jeremiah covered his broken nose.

  “A glitch in the matrix?” Ashley wondered.

  Then, a voice she hadn’t heard since the beginning of the simulation answered.

  “Not at all.” Natali announced. “That wall is mine.”

  She stepped into view from the other side of the wall. Natali ran her hands through her auburn hair as she sized the two of them up. She then gave a look to the machine, though Ashley could not see the thing. What caught Ashley’s eye lay in the center of Natali’s forehead. It was like a diamond shaped eye, glowing with the same bluish brightness the transparent wall had. In fact, It shone outward like a projection. Was that what this was?

  “You’ve done well. I was not expecting this much damage to be dealt by the time I reached satisfactory parameters.” Natali noted.

  Ashley was too worn down to be pissed at the girl.

  “Where were you?” Ashley sighed.

  “Waiting.”

  Ashley didn’t bother asking why. She wouldn’t get an answer from this cold fish anyways.

  “Conditions for your Blessing, right?” Jeremiah offered. “You have to wait to be able to use it?”

  Ashley hated how relieved he looked. Natali regarded him with little emotion, but even looking at him spoke for much.

  “Perhaps. I prefer to use it as little as possible, but it would be shameful to ignore a useful tool.”

  She paused for a moment, blinking rapidly.

  “And. . . since you have all given me the fuel I needed. . .’

  Natali was interrupted as the machine roared. She launched into a dash, clearing dozens of meters in seconds. The speed surprised Ashley. This spoiled rich girl knows how to run at least, She thought.

  Natali gained some space between her and the machine. Natali was fast, but the missiles wouldn’t be beaten in speed. The machine quickly released two missiles to hound after the girl. From afar, Natali held a finger to the eye on her forehead. The wall in front of Ashley and Jeremiah disappeared. Then, Natali used her free hand to point an index finger towards one of the whistling projectiles. A bright beam of light fired out from the tip of her finger. It met the missile and punched through it, detonating the projectile in midair. With another well-aimed beam, the second missile exploded too, far before reaching its glowing target.

  “Amazing!” Jeremiah’s mouth was agape. “I still don’t understand what her Blessing is, but thank the Myriad!”

  Ashley let herself sink to the ground. Of course, this took Jeremiah with her. He croaked as he made a useless attempt to pull both of them up.

  “Ashley, come on! We need to help her, this is no time to get jealous!”

  Ashley ignored him and relaxed. They did their part, and it was up to Natali to finish it off. She didn’t think it was possible to hate her even more, but now she might owe her? Ashley couldn’t wait for this to be over. The battered fashionista inhaled as deeply as her damaged lungs would allow.

  “Go ahead and finish this, Natali! We don’t have all day!” She shouted.

  Natali regarded Ashley with a sneer.

  “Very well.”

  The two watched as Natali circled the cooling machine while it remained idle. With each step, Natali’s third eye glowed brighter and brighter. If she didn’t know any better, Ashley would have thought the power in the mall was restored. She noticed that dust and small debris began to float into the air. Natali’s clothes billowed in wind that didn’t exist a moment ago. Her hair reached towards the ceiling as if gravity had reversed.

  “An electromagnetic reaction. . .” Jeremiah muttered.

  Is that a good thing? Ashley wondered.

  “For those watching, understand that this is merely a hypothetical simulation.” Natali said. “Know that I would never use this Blessing at maximum output in a populated area.”

  “Oh jeez, this girl’s got a disclaimer. What the heck is she gonna do?”

  Natali stretched her hand towards the machine. All the veins in her body glowed a bright blue. Her eyes had taken on the same brightness as well. A glowing orb began to form in her outstretched hand. It began to rapidly spin in a similar manner to the core of the machine. The machine’s idle phase ended, and it decided to charge the heiress rather than using its missiles. All of the light Natali’s Blessing had generated suddenly began to turn inward, retreating into the growing bluish-white orb in her hand. It was as if all manner of light was instantly devoured by the palm of her hand.

  Natali’s sneer was visible in the dimness.

  “It is a shame I couldn’t have done this in the real world.”

  She closed her palm into an index finger, and fired a beam of light the size of a subway train. The ground began to shake, and the building itself lost foundation. Ashley’s eyes burned to the point she was sure she’d gone blind, but before that, she watched as the charging machine was consumed by the beam and eviscerated.

  “Ahhhh I hate this skaaaaaaaaaaank!” Ashley shouted, though she couldn’t even hear her own voice beneath the high-pitched sound of the energy blast. Jeremiah had shouted something too, but nothing could be heard. They held onto each other for dear life as the mall seemed to collapse in on itself.

  But before Natali’s attack could take them out as well, Ashley’s vision began to show a different light, yellowish like a lamp. The tiredness that crept over her felt separate from her current exhaustion. It was an unnatural overlap that she couldn’t fight. Quickly, the energy beam faded away, along with Ashley’s consciousness.

  END OF EARLY ASSESSMENT C

  The countless screens from the testing room displayed static, with nothing but blinking green words “END OF SIMULATION: ‘EARLY ASSESSMENT.’” Roger didn’t realize he had stood up in the middle of the assessment. He held a hand up to his chest and slowed his breathing.

  “Congratulations on your second class, Instructor Hill.”

  Roger continued staring at the screen. He blinked back tears of joy, of pride.

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “I must say, the Blessings of your students are strange, but you certainly have a good eye.” Dr. Hardt joined him at his side, eyeing him curiously.

  “It was all up to them, I haven’t even started yet, really.” Roger said. As if shock had finally subsided, the events of each assessment began to flood his mind. Enthusiasm washed over his softer emotions.

  “But I have learned so much! They have such a unique grasp on their Blessings! Did you see Alex’s use of angles with his Blessing? Or Robin taking the weight of an entire truck? And Jeremiah’s daring strategy was something truly—”

  He faltered as he noticed the change in Dr. Hardt’s expression. The professor looked concerned, even disappointed.

  “That’s what you seemed fixated on? Out of everything that happened?” He asked.

  Roger tilted his head, a childlike habit he should probably put a stop to.

  “What else would the purpose of the Early Assessment be?”

  Dr. Hardt shook his head. “Please ignore my previous statement. Once again, congratulations on your second class. I will see you at the orientation ceremony. Your students will need a medical examination for any side effects before leaving. Have a good day.”

  Roger watched Dr. Merwin Hardt leave, and a dozen armed guards and researchers followed. Roger frowned. Did he upset Dr. Hardt somehow? He wondered for a moment, before letting himself turn to the tinted windows, watching as the Paradiso machine came to a stop. The visors and needles and pumps retracted from the students while researchers and nurses came to release them from their seats. Most were able to be guided on foot, while some had to be placed on stretchers.

  This was a momentous step in the project. Roger was finally getting his foot in the door. He wasn’t sure how much time he had left, but a rush job doesn’t have to be a bad job.

  “Class is in session. No more waiting for us.” Roger announced to the one standing in the corner of the room. “What do you think about them?”

  “What do I think?” The child said. “I think that if these guys belong to this school, the crooks back home have nothing to worry about.”

  Roger shook his head, smiling at the rough attitude of the kid. He was used to it at this point. A true product of his environment, this one.

  “That’s a very insensitive thing to say. You should be more supportive of them.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because they are your fellow classmates, why else?”