Convincing the others wasn’t really a thing. It was more an order than a discussion, not that any of the roommates had any objections. A chance to get a massive head-start on the rest of the class? Sign them up. Especially since Det wasn’t the only ‘target’ of people jealous of the early advantages the group already seemed to be getting.

  Weiss had asked, just once as they’d boarded the sleek mistship at dock seventeen if they had earned the advantages yet, and it had—surprisingly—been Beauty who’d answered it.

  “You’ve been directly exposed to the Wordless and come out on the other side,” the instructor had said. “That earns you more than you might think.”

  After the rush to get them onboard and disembarked—following a whirlwind of packing a week’s worth of sublimely comfortable underwear and not much else—left Det leaning on the deck railing, with the lights of Mount Avalon fading in the distance.

  Beneath his feet, the slimmer and significantly faster mistship was practically leaving the academy in the dust. Beauty hadn’t taken much time to explain, other than leading them to their cabins for the trip and letting them know everybody on board was “in the know”. The group had permission to speak freely, and they would meet to discuss more over breakfast. At the speed the ship could travel, they would arrive at Ironsalt late afternoon the following day. Less than half the time it took for Det’s original trip.

  “I think they’re sending us back to Ironsalt just so I don’t explode Pessins,” Calisco said, coming up beside Det and leaning on the railing beside him.

  “Careful,” Det said. “People see us like this, they might start thinking something or spreading rumors. That we’re friends.”

  Calisco practically hissed at the word, but she didn’t move. She also didn’t speak immediately, the two of them watching Avalon fade into the darkness of the Mistsea stretching in every direction.

  “Ironsalt,” Calisco finally said. “Didn’t think we’d be going back so soon.”

  “Me neither,” Det admitted. “Makes me wonder how Meliza, Nancine, and Ruffal are doing.”

  “The three you saved?” Calisco said.

  “Yeah,” Det said. “Haven’t checked on them. Hell, didn’t even think to check on them.”

  “We’ve had a lot going on this past week,” Calisco said, being oddly—and suspiciously—empathetic. “Especially with the whole week of attempted murder.”

  “It was a thing,” Det agreed, keeping his questions to himself for the time being. The last week of shared suffering—and sandwiches at Zedic’s—had brought everybody, well, not closer. But, more open to the possibility? He’d started out at odds with Tena, and Calisco had been a thorn in his side as long as he’d been on Elestar.

  Now? Now they could stand next to each other for five minutes without the other wanting to outright strangle the other.

  Progress. Still not friends.

  “Eriba said you had an encounter at lunch,” Calisco said. “Encounter. Her word. A bully?”

  “An attempted one,” Det said. “He wasn’t very good at it.”

  “Did you show him what for?”

  “Not… exactly,” Det said. “Didn’t want to escalate it again. No reason to make enemies so early in our first year.”

  “It’s not about making enemies, Det,” Calisco said. “It’s about putting assholes in their place. If other people think you’re weak, they’re going to think the rest of us are weak.”

  Okay, maybe five minutes of not wanting to strangle her had been a bit optimistic.

  “Is that why you were talking about exploding—What did you say his name was?—Pessimism or something?”

  “Pessins,” Calisco said. “I think. Maybe it was Pissant? I honestly don’t care enough about him other than putting him on the ground in a duel.”

  “You’re dueling him?” Det asked, a little surprised at how quickly that had come about.

  “Yes,” Calisco said. “Shouldn’t get delayed by this little field trip, since it’s in ten days. Wanted to give him some time to be a not-useless-sack-of-shit.”

  “You’re that confident?” Det asked before his brain reminded him who he was talking to. “Never mind, of course you are.”

  “As I should be,” Calisco said, then turned so that only one arm was on the railing, and she looked right at Det. “And I hear you should be too? Something about having popcorn in your channels, and how that was a good thing?”

  “Kernels,” Det corrected. “Not popcorn. That would be… uncomfortable. But, yes, apparently, it’s a very good thing.”

  “Eriba says you’re going to teach the rest of us,” Calisco said.

  “Yes,” Det said hesitantly. “That’s what we were talking about. Let me guess, you don’t need it?”

  “Probably don’t,” Calisco said. “But I’m not an idiot. If you showing me how can make it faster, sure, let’s give it a try. I’m going to be number one, eventually.”

  “We have a day before we get back to Ironsalt,” Det said. “Let’s all talk about it tomorrow after breakfast.”

  “Sure, not what I came out here to talk to you about,” Calisco said.

  “What did you want, then?” Det said.

  “This bully who is bothering you,” Calisco said.

  “You want to duel him too?” Det guessed.

  “Oh, I’d explode his dumb ass all over the arena if he thought he could talk shit to me,” Calisco said.

  “You’re starting to sound like Beast,” Det mumbled.

  “But, I’m guessing he’s too smart for that,” Calisco said. “He thinks he picked the weak link to prove a point.”

  “Thanks,” Det said between gritted teeth. Maybe if he just tossed her over the railing, nobody would notice?

  “He’s wrong,” Calisco said, and it took Det a few seconds to parse out she may not have insulted him with those two words. “Since you don’t seem to get what I’m saying,” Calisco continued at what had to be a dumbfounded expression on Det’s face. “You’re not the weak link. Kind of hurts me to say, but if Gen-gen and Captain Curly can praise you for whatever you did in that dungeon, and you did this carnival thing…”

  “Kernel,” Det corrected quietly.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “… there might just be hope for you yet,” Calisco continued without even acknowledging his ‘help’. “Which means you need to stand up for yourself, or people are going to keep trying to walk all over you.

  “Sure, Tena and I can curb-stomp anybody who throws shade at you when we’re around…”

  Who even says ‘throws shade’?

  “… but that’ll just keep making people go for you when we’re not there. Only way you’re going to get them off your back—and keep them off—is to prove you’re way too big a deal for them to handle. You were a badass—or something—on Ironsalt. You need to be one on Avalon too.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Det said, still royally confused at what sounded like a pep talk from Calisco of all people.

  “Duel him,” Calisco said. “Then shove him face-first into the arena floor so hard there’s a permanent impression. On the floor. Not his face. Or both. Both could work. Do both. You get the idea. Kick his ass. His and anybody else’s who thinks you’re some kind of mark.”

  “Isn’t that just going to make us more enemies if we’re challenging everybody to duels?” Det said, though he wasn’t entirely against the idea.

  “Not everybody,” Calisco said. “Just the ones who think they can start something and get away with it.” She reached up and jabbed a finger into his chest. “Do not let them get away with it.”

  “I…” Det started, only for Calisco to poke him—hard—again.

  “This isn’t a discussion, Det,” Calisco said. “Duel him. Beat him. That’s your option. You have a week fighting Wordless ants, or something, to get stronger. Use it. When we get back, I expect the news to be spreading through our class like wildfire. You challenging him. Followed by you giving him such a whooping in front of the rest of the new ReSouled, they all understand how amazing Tena and I are.”

  “… that’s your real goal here, isn’t it?” Det said flatly.

  “Win-win for both of us,” Calisco said, not even trying to deny what she was going to get out of it.

  If Det could beat baby-face in a duel—decisively—then that had to mean Tena, who’d beaten him on the first day, despite questionable circumstances, had to be strong too. As for Calisco, really, she’d prove to everybody on her own what she was capable of.

  “I’ll think…” Det started, only for a third, bruise-inducing jab of a finger to his chest to stop his words.

  “I told you,” Calisco said. “Not a discussion. This is what you’re going to do. You can even thank me later, if you like. Now, I’m going back to my room to work on some of what Incoming Trauma was teaching us today. Maybe I’ll even have the whole caramel thing figured out by the time you decide to share with the rest of us tomorrow morning.”

  Then, without waiting if Det had anything to say—not that she would listen—Calisco turned and stalked back toward the door leading into the mistship. As she got there, Sage stepped out—then took another step to make sure he was out of her way—and Calisco entered with a nod of greeting to her teammate.

  Sage looked from Det to the hall where Calisco had just…

  “Stop looking at my ass!” Calisco shouted from down the hall, and Sage just slammed the door closed.

  Shaking his head the whole way, Sage come over to fill the place Calisco had just vacated. “Was she out here talking to you?”

  “Something like that,” Det said.

  “Careful,” Sage said. “That’s how rumors start. People might even…” Sage looked around to make sure the deck was clear before he lowered his voice conspiratorially. “… think you’re friends.”

  Det threw up his hands and groaned. “I said the same thing!”

  “And that wasn’t enough to chase her away right there?” Sage said.

  “It wasn’t.”

  “She must’ve wanted something serious then,” Sage said.

  “To give me some… advice,” Det said, trying to find the best word for what had just happened. That was probably what Calisco thought she was doing, so it was what he settled on.

  “In other words,” Sage said with a chuckle. “She just came out here to tell you to do something. Not even giving you a choice in the matter.”

  “That’s exactly what happened,” Det said, leaning forward to put his forehead on his forearms. Other than the celestial bodies above, there wasn’t much to look at. The Mistsea was almost entirely dark.

  “What was it she wanted you to do?”

  “Challenge baby-face to a duel,” Det explained, standing back up to stare out into the darkness. The light from the two moons currently in the sky weren’t what he’d call ‘bright’, but they were something. And, really, considering he’d had nothing but pea-soup-thick fog above his head for most of his years on Elestar, they were kind of beautiful.

  “I was coming out to tell you the same thing,” Sage said, then chuckled again. “Likely with a little more subtlety, and the hope you’d come up with the plan before I had to actually suggest it.”

  “You want me to make the enemy too?” Det asked.

  “He’s already the enemy,” Sage said, hands clenching on the railing. “That’s not going to change. This new life of ours isn’t the kind of story where enemies become friends or lovers…” he paused, then looked back at the door Calisco had only recently vanished through. His head turned back to Det. “Or is it?”

  “Don’t make me throw you over the railing,” Det said, not even kidding.

  Sage just laughed and backed up a step for safety. “Kidding, kidding! But, no, seriously, Aarok isn’t going to be our buddy any time soon. Best to make an example of him.”

  “Make an example?” Det said. “You sound as bloodthirsty as Calisco.”

  “I don’t think she’s wrong, in this case,” Sage said.

  Det sighed, shuffling a foot back so he could lean more fully on the railing. “Me neither,” he admitted. “It’s what I’d come out here to think about before either of you showed up. Beast said I could’ve done a better job not escalating things with Granite, and it had me thinking I should find a way to talk them down. Get them to see our side of things.”

  “You’ve changed your mind?” Sage probed.

  “Basically, yes,” Det said. “Baby-face just proved it today. No matter what we do—or don’t do—they’ve got an opinion of us. I could keep trying to change his mind… I just don’t think it would make a damn bit of difference. He doesn’t have any real reason to think what he does, so it’s not logical. He’s got his opinion, and that’s that. And, I’m sure as hell not going to bend over backwards to make things easier with him.

  “Which leaves us with the option of kicking his teeth in—with a Medic around—so he at least backs off.”

  “Violence is the answer, eh?” Sage said with a smile.

  “Who asked you to play devil’s advocate?” Det accused.

  “Hey, I thought it would be a whole debate to get you to agree,” Sage said. “Let me have my fun some other way.”

  “You and Simmons would get along too well.”

  “Comparing me to the Bladestorm? What was it Zedic said? Flattery will get you everywhere.”

  “Har har,” Det said.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “You didn’t ask one.”

  “Why do you think violence is the way to go?”

  “You just said you came out here to convince me of exactly that point,” Det shot back. “Why do I need to explain it?”

  “C’mon!” Sage said.

  “Fine,” Det said. “Only because you’re not treating this like Calisco did, and just telling me what to do. Without listening to the fact I’d already decided on the same thing, I might add.”

  “Still waiting for your answer,” Sage said.

  “It’s not that violence is the answer,” Det said. “Baby-face’s whole argument is based on the theory we aren’t deserving of special treatment. If I whoop him in a duel, that invalidates the foundation of what he’s saying. Sure, maybe he moves to saying previous favoritism got us there, but, at that point, after I’ve proven we’re strong, who cares? The headmaster said advantages will come to those who earn them.

  “Strength is one of the things they’re measuring. Besides, I do this right, people are going to want to pick us if it comes to choosing sides. Ideological or actual. Especially after Calisco wins her duel as well.”

  “She’s got one too?” Sage said. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “Right?” Det said. “Honestly surprised it took her this long.”

  “Almost dying for a week straight kind of crimped her style, I guess,” Sage theorized.

  “How about you?” Det said. “What was your big reasoning for why I should give baby-face a beatdown he won’t forget.”

  “I just don’t like bullies,” Sage said.

  “That’s it?”

  “The crux of it, at least,” Sage said. “And, maybe a tiny bit of me wanting to see what you were actually capable of.”

  “I guess I’ll have to try and not disappoint you,” Det said.

  “Preferably,” Sage said. “It would be embarrassing if you challenged Aarak and ended up losing.”

  This time it was Det’s turn to clench his hands into fists. “I’m not going to lose. And he’s going to regret being just another stepping stone to me getting stronger.”

  Expecting another sarcastic comment from Sage, Det didn’t get that at all. Instead, when he turned to look at Sage, the man was giving him a serious, appraising look underneath the light of the two moons.

  “Calisco might have competition to her drive closer to home than she thinks,” Sage said quietly. Then his friendly smirk was back. “Assuming she picks up what you teach her tomorrow.”

  “She said she’s going to go figure it out right now,” Det said. “Though, she can’t even get the name of it right, so who knows?”

  “Well, we’ll find out tomorrow morning, won’t we?” Sage said. “In the meantime, did you see the film library on the ship? They even have the extended editions of Get Cored.”

  “There are extended editions?” Det said.

  “There are,” Sage said, eyebrows bouncing above his eyes.

  “We’re not getting any sleep, are we?” Det said, already foreseeing how this was going to go.

  “No, we are not. Eriba and Weiss are already waiting for us.”

  “Then I guess we’d better get going,” Det said, accepting his fate. The movies were a good time, and, really, he could work on more kernelization training while he watched. Moving the energy through his channels had been good practice during classes. There wouldn’t be any more wasted time.

  Duel or not, Det would get stronger. Whooping baby-face was just some extra motivation.

  And some extra fun.