Nate woke up in the connection chamber and swung his legs over the side, sitting there for a few seconds before realizing he did it, he won.

  “Nathan Foster…” the stern referee began. “Congratulations.”

  A beaming smile crossed Nate’s face as he made eye contact with the ref before jumping off the bed and walking into the locker room. He stood there waiting, anticipating his family and friends to barge through the door any minute, but minutes passed and he was left wondering what was going on.

  That’s when Nate noticed a building noise outside the locker room door. Nate walked to the door, but as he placed his hand on the handle, the ref cleared his throat before speaking.

  “I wouldn’t.”

  Nate tilted his head before stepping back from the door.

  A knock sounded, and three huge Gorillan security guards walked in. Behind them, a throng of people and flashing lights were held back behind a barricaded path that led off to the right.

  “Sir, we are to escort you to your friends and family in their private viewing booth before we meet up with the rest of our squad to escort you all to the winner’s circle for the trophy presentation.” one of the large Gorillans said.

  “Oh, that would explain why they haven’t shown up yet. Lead on, I guess, and thank you.” Nate said.

  “Our pleasure, sir.”

  One of the Gorillans exited the locker room first while the other gestured for Nate to follow him. The remaining guard would follow behind them both.

  As Nate walked out the door, the commotion he heard before intensified. People were climbing over each other with microphones held out, trying to get a quote from him about how he was feeling, whether he was dating Lindy, what it was like being trained by Jarris, and more that he couldn’t hear over the throng of people.

  Nate walked down the long, now narrow hallway, narrow because of the people behind the barricades, to a lift that would take him to the private viewing booths. Once up there, they rounded the hall past the bar and kitchen area and arrived at the door to the booth that had a plaque reading “The Arcane Operators.”

  One of the guards opened the door for Nate and as he walked through he was greeted with intense cheers, yelling, and screaming from everyone who had come to support him.

  Lindy charged him and planted a long kiss on his lips while hugging him tightly. Nate lifted her up in the air and twirled her around before letting her down.

  Nate’s Mom, Dad, and Yoli moved in to give their hugs, followed by all the other guests who had come along to see the fight.

  “Well done, kid.” Jarris said with a big smile, Mistress Helena on his arm.

  “Incredible fight, Nathan. I’m looking forward to seeing you in the winner’s circle.” Mistress Helena said.

  “Thank you, thank you.” Nate replied.

  Nate turned to Peggy and Hal and ran to embrace them in a tight hug. “This wouldn’t have been possible without you two. Thank you.”

  Peggy was tearing up and speechless.

  “Congratulations, kid. Incredible achievement.” Hal said like a proud father.

  Kalazan and Dalma came up and bowed before Nathan before pulling him in for a hug.

  “I knew when I gifted you that gem that great things would come from you. I’m anxiously awaiting the next chapter in your journey, Nathan.” Kalazan said proudly.

  “Thank you, I’ll put your gift to good use.”

  Kalazan bowed his head in response before Nate turned to regard the rest of the small crowd.

  “Thank you, everyone. Each one of you has supported me in some large or small way that contributed to this win. I love and appreciate all of you.”

  “To Nate!” Hal shouted out, causing everyone to whoop, holler, cheer, and clap for their hero of the day.

  After everyone had died down and started collecting their things to leave, Mistress Helena walked over to Nate.

  “Nathan, it’s time we get ready for the winner’s circle and trophy presentation. It’s customary for you to bring a guest or two in addition to your sponsors. I’ll be right outside the door with J and K when you’re ready.” Mistress Helena said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “It’ll be me and my team; we will see you out there in a second.” Nate said.

  “Excellent.” Helena replied.

  Nate walked to his team, who had gathered with Lindy’s uncle and Jax’s Father.

  “You guys are coming with me to the winner’s circle and the press conference after.” Nate said to his team.

  “Oh, I’d rather not be on stage, thanks.” Dee quickly responded.

  Lindy jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow, causing her to recant.

  “It could be nice, though.” She grunted through the pain.

  Nate held out his hand to Lindy who gladly took it as the four of them walked to the door and on to the award ceremony.

  ***

  Nate, Lindy, Dee, and Jax were lined up behind a series of curtains waiting for the ceremony to start.

  “You nervous?” Jax said to Nate.

  “No, you guys?”

  Dee and Jax nodded. Nate noticed Dee was sweating a little across her forehead.

  “It’s going to be alright, you won’t even see anyone out there because of the lights. Just don’t pee your pants or something.” Lindy said.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Well, I wasn’t thinking about doing that, ever, but now it’s the only thing rattling around in my head, thanks.” Dee said.

  The team laughed.

  Mistress Helena and Jarris, arm in arm, walked up to the stage before they separated and Helena walked to the podium. As she walked up an eruption of cheering came from the crowd.

  “Thank you, thank you everyone for coming to support the winner of the ACC’s Solos Tournament. I will bring out Nathan in a moment. Before I do, I'd like to again thank our sponsors for their numerous contributions that help with the school’s operations, as well as putting on this amazing event. Thank you to the fans who come out and support the students in their first most important moments of their career. What an incredible fight tonight, am I right?!” She said, shouting into the mic.

  “She really knows how to work a crowd.” Kalazan said, Nate turned and not realizing he was standing there.

  “She always was the politician.” Jarris muttered.

  “Without further ado, I present to you the winner of class 201’s Solos Finals Tournament, Nathan Foster!”

  Nate sprung forward holding Lindy’s hand tightly, followed by Dee, Jax, Kalazan, and Jarris.

  Nate waved to the crowd that stretched back some 50 yards, flashing lights and cheering blinded and deafened him as he and his crew walked up to Helena at the podium.

  Nate shook Helena’s hand as Assistant Head Master Corlan walked from the other end of the stage with a large golden trophy that had a center rectangular column with a small humanoid figure on top holding their hands up in triumph. The trophy was adorned with other golden geometric shapes to make it stand out as a serious centerpiece.

  Nate took the trophy and held it up to the crowd. Everyone cheered and chanted his name, making Nate feel a swell of pride in his chest. Nate placed the trophy on the podium before grabbing its sides to steady himself to give his first ever public speech.

  “Thank you, Mistress Helena, thank you everyone for coming out. I, uh, don’t really do this, so forgive me for not being as well spoken as the Head Mistress. But, uh, thank you, truly, for your love and support. Thank you to my team.” Nate said, gesturing to Lindy, Dee, and Jax.

  “Thank you to my incredible sponsors and trainer.” He said, gesturing to Kalazan and Jarris.

  “Thanks to Biff Ripton for the frustrating rivalry we had this year and for not holding back tonight. This has been an awesome experience and I’m looking forward to the draft tomorrow to finally get out there and start doing some good, thank you!”

  Confetti popped from the front of the stage into the crowd as Nate waved and backed away from the podium with his trophy. The crowd roared in approval, chanting his name once again.

  Mistress Helena gestured for everyone to exit stage left where they had walked out from. “Great job, Nathan. Now it’s time to celebrate! I imagine you’ll be going to Peg’s place?” She said over the sound of the crowd.

  “Absolutely, everyone will probably beat us there.” Nate agreed.

  “Excellent, you don’t mind if I tag along, do you J?” Helena asked.

  “Of course not.” Jarris replied, holding out an arm. Kalazan raised his eyebrows at the gesture but didn’t say anything as the couple walked off.

  Nate held out and looked at the large trophy that was starting to weigh him down.

  “So do I just carry this all the way there then?”

  “No sir." one of the Gorillan guards said, emerging from the shadows. “I’ll take that and we will escort you to your private vehicle that will take you wherever you wish tonight.”

  Nate handed the trophy to the guard and grabbed Lindy’s hand before following them out of the arena.

  The team arrived to the usual crowd back at Slop with the additions of friends and family. Hal’s band was already in full swing in the middle of a song, so the attention was on them for the moment.

  Peggy had been waiting by the elevator door for Nate and the others to arrive, and when she saw them exit the elevator she waved her hands to get Hal’s attention. He nodded as he kept singing and playing the song they were on.

  Peggy gave Nate a quick hug before leading him to a large table that had everyone that had shown up for the fight and a few new faces. The two Cattans that had been present at some of the fights, a dark green Lizzan, and a very small older human male. They were the first to greet Nate and the rest of the team at the table as they were the closest.

  “Hi Nathan, my name’s Dane, this is Donna, Gemini, and Iggy. We haven’t been really allowed to talk to you until the tournament ended, but we are looking forward to talking more tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow, like during the draft?” Nate asked.

  “Yea, we put in a bid for you and the team, but we can’t discuss that till tomorrow. Laws and stuff.” Dane shrugged.

  “Oh, okay, well cool. Talk tomorrow then.” Nate said.

  “Hey Uncle J, Uncle K.” He said, turning to acknowledge Jarris and Kalazan.

  “Ah Dane, I know we saw you recently, but I’m so happy to see you again and looking healthy.” Kalazan said.

  “Thanks Uncle K.”

  “Uncle?” Jax asked, confused as to why a Cattan was calling a human uncle.

  “Dane is my actual nephew, but we all kind of trained him since he was a small boy till he went to contractor school.” Jarris interjected.

  “Ah, gotcha. Well, talk tomorrow then, right?” Nate said.

  “Count on it.” Dane nodded.

  “Wait a second...” Jax spoke up. “You’re…” Jax said slowly pointing a finger at the small human man.

  Iggy looked around and pointed to himself in confusion.

  “You’re Iggy Stone!” Jax exclaimed.

  Iggy nodded like that was an obvious fact.

  “Who’s Iggy Stone?” Lindy asked.

  “The quartermaster for the Arcane Operators. And one of my oldest friends.” Kalazan knelt down, opening his arms.

  Iggy sprang forward from standing still and rocketed into Kalazan’s arms.

  The song Hal was playing had finished and he stepped up to the mic. As Nate saw this happen he knew what was coming next.

  “Now folks, we have a very special event here tonight, two special events I should say. First, and most important, we are celebrating Nathan Foster and him winning the Solos Tournament tonight, let’s hear it for Nate!”

  The crowd cheered and chanted his name.

  As the crowd died down, Hal started again. “This magnificent win by Nate has triggered something else to happen, something that hasn’t happened in a long time, too long.”

  The crowd got quiet before Hal continued.

  “For the first time in, I think, a decade, all four of the original Arcane Operators are in the same room tonight!”

  The crowd went ballistic at that pronouncement. Nate knew they were celebrities, but he never understood the scale. Each time he went to a new place with even one of them, it was becoming more and more apparent how beloved they were.

  “Next round is on the house.” Hal declared before strumming his guitar and jumping into another song.

  The rest of the night was a blur. Drinks were flowing, food was filling bellies, and the laughter was memorable. As the night dragged on, people started filtering away from the table. They each gave their love and praise to Nate before they left, and Nate returned his love in kind.

  It was late and only Team Arcane was left. Dee was passed out from the drinking game she and Lindy’s Uncle Harry were playing, and Jax was barely cognizant as well. Lindy and Nate were relatively sober, just enjoying the time with everyone.

  “Do you think we should carry them home or something?” Lindy asked Nate.

  “Hey Gemma, do you have a room we could throw these two in for tonight?” Nate asked Peggy’s daughter, who was cleaning glasses behind the bar.

  “Yeah, of course. You guys want one too?” She asked, not knowing the implication that had and the potential impact it would have on their relationship.

  Nate turned to Lindy, who nodded back to him, putting a hand on his thigh.

  Gemma got on the microphone behind the bar calling for her brother Jack. Nate and Lindy kept staring at each other.

  “You sure?” Nate asked.

  Lindy stood up and threw Dee’s arm around her shoulder while Nate grabbed the other one.

  “Absolutely.” She said softly.

  Nate backhanded Jax’s chest causing him to wake up from his deep, snore-inducing sleep.

  After Nate and Lindy deposited their teammates in their room, they walked across the hall to the one Jack opened for themselves. Nate had butterflies in his stomach as he opened the door and let Lindy walk in first.

  She slowly walked in, her heels making a deep thump as she walked along the hard floor. She turned to face Nate as he closed the door behind him.

  Nate walked up to Lindy and wrapped his arms around her hips as she wrapped hers around his neck. They kissed slowly at first, with the intensity quickly building. Lindy then separated from him, took his hand, and led him to the bedroom.