The crowd booed as Jess slid under Bane’s lunge. She darted beneath him, slamming her morningstar into his knee but the blow seemed to have little effect. He swung a backhand blindly, his fist connecting with Jess’s shoulder and sending her crashing across the hall.

  I flinched, just as the crowd roared. I could sense Siva and Shawn tense beside me. Siva was still questioning me privately in chat, and I was doing my best to reassure him. I glanced at Shawn, who had an intense look on his face, his fingers twitching like he was ready to throw out a spell at any moment.

  “Jess has this,” I said loud enough for them to hear.

  The reason I’d chosen Jess for this was simple. I wanted to show that even the most peaceful, non-combative of us was capable of beating Rajan’s champion. If that didn’t convince Rajan of our conviction and purpose, nothing would.

  There was a second reason too. I knew Jess was the only one I trusted not to outright kill the guy. I trusted Shawn’s ability to take him down in seconds, but I didn’t trust the [Soul Gem] hanging around his neck. Siva’s speed and agility, along with his twin swords, made him deadly, but it had been an emotional day today and I didn’t know how far he’d go once he started fighting. As for me? I wasn’t sure I could keep my own temper in check, especially after everything that had happened today. It was evident the Rebels had sentries out, but I didn’t trust they didn’t know about the attack on New Jurong.

  I knew physically Jess was no match for him, but she did have something she could win with, and I was waiting for her to realize it.

  In the center of the hall, Jess had already healed herself and was doing a solid job of dodging his strikes and kicks, jumping in to strike with her morningstar whenever she could, though it seemed to have little effect on Bane.

  Bane feinted a punch, then lashed out with a drop toe hold, and for a moment, I almost wanted to clap. The move was clean. But Jess recovered quickly and raised her shield dome as Bane brought both fists down on her, creating sparks with every blow. I could see the shield’s integrity weakening. Jess was half-lying on the floor, one arm raised to reinforce her shield, her other arm braced underneath her. Her morningstar had disappeared into her inventory.

  Just as the shield cracked, Jess rolled under Bane’s next lunge, right by his leg. He flinched and buckled at the ankle, crashing to his knee. I could see blood dripping onto the floor. He glowed briefly as he took a potion but kept dripping, and he now limped as he tried to stand.

  I smiled. She figured it out. I rubbed my forearm and remembered the effect of her scalpel, it had a [Bleed] enchantment. Bane could only be healed by holy magic, and only Jess could heal him in the center of the hall. All she had to do now was wait it out and avoid getting pummeled.

  I thought she'd keep her distance, kiting him until he bled out, but instead, she stepped forward into a boxer’s stance. I equipped my [Deadeye Scope] for a moment and saw the glint of the scalpel in her fingers, like a tiny claw.

  She ducked under his left hook, delivering multiple jabs to his stomach, before kneeling and targeting his leg with several more punches. He buckled immediately, falling to his knees and clutching his stomach. He tried to stand again, glowing briefly, but his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto both knees.

  Jess stood over him, her morningstar reappearing in her hand. She gave him a sideways glancing blow to the face that finally sent him sprawling to the floor, blood pooling around him.

  I walked forward, and Shawn and Siva followed shortly behind me. Rajan stepped forward alone, his eyes fixed on the scene before him. Jess stood over Bane, breathing heavily, her weapon already stowed in her inventory.

  I was still a few paces away, but I gestured toward Bane and called loud enough for the entire arena to hear, “We done?”

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  Rajan walked up to Bane, standing over him for a moment before glancing briefly at Jess and then nodding at me.

  The crowd erupted in cheers as Rajan raised Jess’s hand in victory. She quickly pulled her hand away, falling to her knees and placing her hands on Bane. Her hands glowed gold as she healed him.

  I walked over to Rajan as Shawn and Siva went to Jess, a bottle of water already in Siva’s hand. The crowd was now chanting Jess’s name, and Rajan took a moment to study the crowd before turning to smile at me.

  “She could have killed Ben,” he said casually.

  “Wait. His name is Ben? Really?” I almost laughed at the mention of his name. Of course, the one person resembling Batman’s Bane was named Ben.

  Rajan smiled before replying. “Okay. I’m listening.”

  I took a breath, then laid out my request. “I want your team’s help to relocate the people at New Jurong. I need more 7-Elevens, and I need your men to help train them once they have their systems up. I... We... cannot do this alone.”

  He nodded silently, taking it all in. “Anything else?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I need guards and protection for them during the training. At least until they’re confident enough to fight. After that, we’ll repeat the process with the other neutral settlements,” I added.

  “And what do we get out of this... arrangement?” he asked, glancing briefly over at Jess and Ben, who’d finally healed enough to sit up.

  “We fight together. And we take out the Temple,” I said, also eyeing the team. Shawn gave me a slight nod, his hand rubbing Jess’s back, calming her.

  Rajan raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ll join the rebellion?” he asked, his voice laced with skepticism.

  “No. We don’t have to. There will no longer be a need for a rebellion. They listen to you, don’t they?” I asked, gesturing to the thousands gathered around the hall. I added, “I’ll make sure my people listen to me, and we go into this together.”

  “Your people?” Rajan smiled widely as he slowly paced a circle around me.

  I waited, giving him time to consider the offer.

  “And after?” he finally asked, waving his hand in question.

  “We divide the West. We each take half of it, and we rule our own little kingdom without war or bloodshed,” I said, stepping forward and offering my hand.

  He eyed my hand for a long moment, before suddenly grabbing it and pulling me in close. Once again, his strength belied his age. I was so close I could smell what he had for lunch when he spoke.

  “I will help you with this. I will help you train your people. Together, we end the Temple, but after, we will have a talk again. Do we have an agreement?” he asked, staring into my eyes.

  “Agreed.” I nodded and gave him a firm, final look.

  He still held my hand tightly, and I felt a chill run through me as he spoke.

  “Cross me, Chris, and your friends won’t live to see what I do to you,” he said, his voice low and steady, before releasing my hand.

  “It’s late. I’ll send you an envoy tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder, gesturing for Ben to follow. I saw Ben say something to Jess, who flinched, before he stood and limped away to join Rajan.

  I walked over to my team to find a bewildered-looking Jess and a scowling Siva. Shawn had his hand over his eyes and was quietly giggling, his shoulders shaking with each laugh.

  I raised an eyebrow in question. Siva stopped scowling long enough to reply.

  “He asked her out… on a date…” Siva said, between laughs.

  I didn’t even know how to respond to that, but looking down at Jess’s still bewildered face made me break out into a laugh.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I motioned toward the thinning crowd, who were dispersing through unseen exits as we made our way back to the truck.

  We drove out of the checkpoint without any trouble, and I updated the team on the agreement I had made with Rajan.

  “Are we trusting him?” Jess asked from the back.

  “Heck no,” I replied, turning my head around to face her. “But for now, we need him.”

  She nodded, and we fell into silence on the ride back. I was lost in my thoughts about how much we still had to do when a system message pinged in my HUD.

  [Installation Complete]

  I looked for the spinning circle in the top-left corner of my HUD, but it was gone. I checked all the tabs and submenus in my system but didn’t notice anything new, until a voice spoke in my head as a new chat window popped up.

  Eva: Hello, Chris.

  I flinched and looked around, quickly realizing no one else could hear or see this. Siva and Jess were quietly snoring in the back, and Shawn was focused on the road.

  Chris: Eva? What the fuck? How are you even here?

  Eva: You selected a pet companion as your level five class option, Chris. Here I am.

  Chris: What? You’re my pet? How?

  Eva: You are wearing the Personal Electronic Tracking device. I am your P.E.T companion, Chris. How may I help you today?

  I turned to stare out the passenger-side window, not daring to look at the rest of the team.

  Holy shit. Holy fucking shit...