After spending a while at the arcade, Owen and the rest of the gang eventually left, wandering the city streets with no real destination. They killed an hour like that, just walking, talking, and enjoying the flow of the evening.

  They eventually stumbled upon a bustling marketplace that stretched down a long road, food vendors lined along both sides. The smell of fried dough, sizzling meat, and sweet glazes filled the air, drawing the group in deeper.

  Will pointed to a food vendor, "Can we get food? I’m starving."

  Everyone seemed to agree. They were all hungry.

  They headed to the nearest vendor and began scanning the options, already debating what to get. Just as they were ordering, a series of loud whooshes echoed overhead. Several sleek police hover cars zipped between buildings above them, their flashing lights casting sharp colours on the street below.

  People looked up. Owen did too, then looked down at Jason, who stood next to him.

  Jason shrugged. "Something serious must’ve happened."

  They didn’t dwell on it and went back to ordering food. With them the devouring down their meals, they continued wandering until they came into a large open plaza where a crowd had gathered in the centre.

  At the heart of the gathering was a square wall with a circular padded area in the centre. A digital scoreboard hovered above it. Beside the setup stood a woman with a microphone, dressed in bright red and black. She called out enthusiastically to the crowd.

  "No one else willing to beat the high score?" she asked, spinning around with a flourish.

  The crowd murmured, but no one stepped forward, until a massive man with bulging arms pushed his way through. He cracked his knuckles and stood tall before the pad.

  The announcer grinned wide. "Looks like we’ve got a challenger! Remember, folks, go over one thousand and you win the prize!"

  The man stepped closer, yellow essence flickering to life around him. He raised his fist, let out a loud roar, and slammed it into the pad.

  The pad shook and the score ticked rapidly upward. The man stared at it with hope in his eyes.

  It stopped at 950.

  A groan rippled through the crowd.

  The man sighed, disappointed, but still gave a small nod of satisfaction.

  "Just short of the prize," the announcer said. "No plushie for you, I’m afraid."

  She motioned to a table beside her where three large plushies sat on display, vividly coloured and adorable.

  Lucas’s eyes lit up. "Dude, I want a plushie."

  He took a step, but Jason placed a hand on his shoulder.

  "We shouldn’t be showing off in public like this." Jason warned, scanning the crowd.

  Owen glanced over and shrugged. "It’s alright. They’re just novice essence users. They won’t stand out that much."

  Jason hesitated, then relented and let his hand drop. "Alright."

  Lucas grinned and walked up to the platform. He rolled his shoulder as he approached.

  The announcer raised her mic again. "Looks like we’ve got a young teen stepping up this time!"

  Lucas exhaled and summoned his essence. A soft green aura flowed around him.

  He pulled back his fist and threw all his strength into the pad.

  A deep thud echoed as the wall trembled slightly. The crowd murmured in surprise.

  The scoreboard began to rise, fast. It blew past 900, then 1000, 1200, 1600… and finally stopped at 1900.

  The announcer stood frozen, mouth slightly open.

  Lucas pointed casually. "I’ll take the red one."

  He turned and walked back through the crowd, plushie in hand and grin on his face.

  Next, Lissie stepped forward with clenched fists and blazing eyes. Her orange essence burst to life as she moved. The crowd instinctively stepped back.

  The announcer looked up at her, and quickly regained her composure. "Ah, are you challenging the wall as well?"

  Lissie nodded. "I want a plushie too."

  The score reset to zero. She stepped forward and threw an awkward, off-balance punch, but even that was enough to make the wall tremble slightly.

  Her score shot up, finally settling at 1600.

  "Yes!" Lissie cheered, hopping towards the table. She hugged a blue plushie tightly against her chest.

  The announcer could hardly believe her eyes. But when she turned back towards the wall, another figure was already there, blond-haired and calm.

  Will didn’t even flare his essence. He simply pulled back his fist and struck.

  The wall shook, and the score climbed, passing 1000, then 1400, and finally stopping at 1800.

  Will gave a casual smile, strolled over, and claimed the last plushie: a silver one shaped like a small dragon.

  As murmurs passed through the crowd, Grace turned to the others, a curious look in her eyes.

  She stuffed the wrapper from her food into her pocket. "Now I’m curious how I’d compare."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Jason raised an eyebrow and looked at Grace. "You can’t be serious."

  Grace smirked. "I’ll try it without essence."

  She turned to the others. "Who’s in?"

  Owen immediately raised his hand. "I’m in."

  He glanced over at Kath, who narrowed her eyes, arms crossed. After a moment’s pause, she gave a slow nod. "I’m in too."

  All eyes turned to Jason, who looked like he wanted to protest, but instead let out a defeated sigh. "I can’t stop you guys, so... I might as well join."

  The four of them moved toward the front of the crowd.

  "I’m going first." Grace said as she stepped up to the platform, pushing up her sunglasses with two fingers.

  The announcer, seeing her approach, shook her head. "Alright, let’s see what you’ve got. Don’t worry about the prize if you succeed, we can bring more."

  Grace stood before the pad, rolled her shoulder back, and casually threw her fist forward.

  The sound of impact was thunderous. The wall trembled and so did the ground beneath it. The announcer’s jaw dropped, and the crowd fell into stunned silence.

  Everyone turned to the scoreboard.

  The number was already surging past 2000… then 3000… and it finally stopped at 3440.

  Grace looked calmly at the empty table, then turned her eyes to the announcer. She reached out her hand.

  "So… where’s my plushie?"

  The announcer blinked rapidly. "U-uh—hey! You, go buy something!" she shouted at her helper, who took off in a sprint.

  "Please wait just a moment." the announcer said, flustered.

  Grace nodded and strolled back to the group.

  As she returned, Kath immediately piped up, "I’ll go last."

  Owen turned to her with a scowl. "You can’t just decide that. I’m going last."

  As they started bickering, Jason rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

  "I’ll just go now." he muttered.

  As he approached the pad, the announcer lifted her mic again, clearly still rattled. "A-Alright, folks! Due to recent... unexpected results, you now have to score above 4000 to win a prize."

  Jason shrugged. "Alright."

  He didn’t even face the pad fully. He just flicked his arm out and backhanded it.

  The pad shuddered. The score rocketed past 2000. Then 3000. And, to the announcer’s horror, it kept climbing, finally settling at 4070.

  Jason blinked in surprise. "Huh. Wasn’t even trying."

  The announcer’s helper came sprinting back, panting, with a plushie in hand.

  Jason smiled bashfully. "Sorry to bother, but I’d like one too. If your assistant doesn’t mind going again."

  The helper stared at him, then at the announcer.

  She sighed. "Go. Again."

  As the poor assistant groaned and ran off once more, Jason rejoined the group.

  He found Owen and Kath crouched in front of each other, hands outstretched.

  Jason raised a brow. "What are they doing?"

  Grace said flatly, "Rock paper scissors. To decide who goes last."

  Owen shouted, "Rock, paper, scissors!"

  They both threw their hands forward.

  Owen held out rock. Kath had scissors.

  Owen grinned. "You lose. You go first."

  Kath clicked her tongue. "Fine."

  She walked forward slowly, arms crossed, looking more annoyed than anything else. She wanted to go last so she could adjust her punch depending on everyone else’s scores. Now she’d have to guess.

  She looked at the announcer. "What’s the max score?"

  The announcer blinked. "I—I think it’s ten thousand. The machine used to be for weighing heavy objects. We just, uh... repurposed it."

  Kath exhaled slowly and took a stance.

  She breathed in. And as she breathed out, her fist rocketed forward into the pad.

  A deafening boom sounded. The earth shook. Cracks spiderwebbed across the pad, down the wall, and into the concrete floor.

  The announcer screamed and fell backward, landing hard.

  The scoreboard shot upward to 8000... 9000... then hit the cap at 10,000.

  Kath let out a short laugh and turned to look at the announcer. "You better get me something big."

  She casually walked away, grinning.

  The assistant returned, panting and red-faced, only for the announcer to immediately yell, "Go again!"

  When Kath returned to the group, she looked smugly at Owen.

  "Oops. I just couldn’t control myself," she said. "And, well… if you punch it like I did, you might break it."

  She narrowed her eyes, smirking. "So if you break it, you lose."

  Owen grinned and rolled his shoulders. "Alright then."

  As Owen stepped forward, the announcer, now visibly wary and still sitting on the ground, shook her head and held up a hand.

  "Wait, are you part of that group?" she asked, pointing vaguely toward the rest of his friends.

  Owen glanced back at the others, who were watching with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. He turned back with an easygoing smile and said, "Nope."

  A clear and obvious lie.

  "Don’t worry about it." he added as he rolled his neck and got into a stance.

  To match Kath, he needed to hit the full 10,000. It would be tricky—he wanted to go all-out, but not so hard that he literally shattered the machine.

  'Just trust your instincts.' he thought.

  He took a step forward, pulled back, and launched a heavy punch.

  The instant it connected, a sharp boom echoed through the square.

  Just like with Kath, spiderwebbed cracks spread across the wall and splintered into the ground. But then a deep fracture split open along the bottom of the wall.

  The structure groaned ominously.

  And then, like a slow-motion catastrophe, the entire thing tipped backwards, crumbling like a stack of oversized playing cards. With a thunderous crash, it slammed flat onto the ground behind it.

  The crowd went dead silent again.

  Owen stood in place, frozen, staring at the ruined wall. He slowly turned to the announcer, who was still seated on the ground, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, stunned into silence.

  Owen raised a hand and pointed behind him.

  "Uh… I hope I don’t have to pay for that."

  ***

  Owen walked dejectedly down the street with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Grace, Jason, and Kath trailed beside him while Lucas, Lissie, and Will wandered ahead, occasionally stopping to peer at different stalls.

  Jason nudged him with an elbow. "Cheer up, man. At least you don’t have to pay for that wall."

  Owen sighed, eyes downcast. "Yeah, but I still lost to Kath."

  Kath hugged her oversized plushie to her chest like a trophy and said smugly, "And you didn’t even win a plushie. So it’s kind of a double loss."

  Owen grimaced. "Thanks for the reminder."

  As they continued walking, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He glanced over to see Grace pulling him back a little from the others. They strolled at a slower pace, giving the others space.

  Grace brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear, then held something out to him—a plushie shaped like a teddy bear, half pink and half black.

  She looked up at him, her voice quiet. "Do you… want it?"

  Owen’s eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah." he said, without hesitation.

  She handed it to him, and he took it carefully, almost reverently. Holding it close, he smiled and said softly, "I’ll treasure it."

  Grace blushed and looked away. The two of them walked in silence, side by side, a calm energy between them.

  The other two noticed them hanging back and slowed their pace to match them.

  Jason, seeing the pleased look on Kath’s face, raised an eyebrow. "You look like you’re having the time of your life."

  Kath looked at him, then at Grace and Owen, then ahead. Her voice was lighter but tinged with something real. "I think this might be the best day of my life."

  All three of them looked at her with raised brows.

  "Seriously?" Jason asked. "We’ve just been goofing around all day."

  Kath nodded. "Yeah. But compared to life back at the facility…" Her voice lowered. "This is bliss."

  They didn’t interrupt as she continued.

  "In the facility, I had to do things that were…unspeakable. Just for the hope that one day I might get a taste of freedom."

  She looked up at the sky. It was clear, bright. Open.

  "But now… I can go wherever I want. Do whatever I want." Her eyes drifted back to the group. "And I’m spending my time with people I don’t hate."

  Silence fell over the group for a few moments. They walked without speaking.

  Then Kath squinted at Owen and said, "Well, maybe except for him."

  Owen frowned. "Wow. You just completely ruined that moment."

  Jason and Grace both smirked, trying not to laugh.

  They continued walking down the street for a minute until Owen’s OmniBand suddenly beeped.

  He raised his arm as the familiar voice of Ann came through, tense and sharp.

  "Owen. This is urgent. I need to speak to you."

  The group halted. Owen nodded. "Go ahead."

  "I tracked where those police cars were headed earlier," she said. "But then I found something you need to know."

  The others leaned in slightly, watching his face.

  "Your sister," Ann said. "She escaped from prison. And now, she’s being chased by an army of police officers and droids."

  Owen’s eyes widened. The air felt like it had been sucked out of the street.

  He stared ahead, voice barely a whisper.

  "Olivia."