#chapter 1x07

Jo had never slept well. For as long as she could remember, she had a tendency to have nightmares. In them, she would feel cold, the kind of cold that comes from being in a dark place untouched by the sun, but the cold would be inside of her, and she would feel like it was also somehow creeping up on her, trying to catch her and drag her away. It was one of the many reasons why she enjoyed fighting so much. After a good fight, she would be so tired that, nightmares or not, she would almost always get a good night’s sleep. The night after the match at the Megadojo was one of her better nights. She had the sense upon waking that she had had the nightmare, but she didn’t remember it.

Her entire body still ached. That wasn’t surprising. Jo was used to being sore after a hard fight. Still, this time was a little different. She’d never had to push herself so hard. Every aspect of that fight had been taxing. Even using her Shadow Step so much at once had been exhausting. She considered just lying there in bed for the rest of the day, but she knew from experience that sore muscles need to be used. Reluctantly, she pushed herself up, dressed in a simple t-shirt and black shorts, ran her fingers haphazardly through her hair, and then made her way slowly down the stairs.

There were many reasons for Jo to wish that she had a more common and conventional natural Sol. As Christopher had said, people with unnatural Sols like hers had more trouble controlling their Sol energy. That meant more trouble creating auras, and making attacks out of Sol. People with unnatural Sols tended to have more Sol energy to work with, but many of them couldn’t amplify their Sol energy without losing control of it and burning themselves out. Jo had, with a lot of hard work and dedication, managed to overcome that handicap, but it wasn’t easy, ever, and that wasn’t the only downside that came about as a result of her Sol’s nature.

Jo reached the bottom of the stairs. She could hear her mom talking to someone. Based on the direction of the sound, it was likely coming from the backyard, carried inside through the open glass back door on a warm spring breeze. It was a Sunday, which meant that Shannon was teaching again. This time, rather than a class of young amateurs, it would be her apprentice, Kimi. Jo leaned around the corner, and confirmed that she was right. Shannon stood across from a cute, slight, Japanese-American girl with shoulder-length straight black hair. The two of them took turns reaching down and touching the ground beneath them. They were practicing Shannon’s signature technique, Life from the Earth, which allowed the user to connect with the life energy of the planet itself and borrow some, using it to supplement their own life energy. They could mix it with their Sol energy, amplifying their Sol more than they ever could using their own life energy alone, or even…

The right kind of Sol, Jo remembered, and her relatively neutral early morning mood turned sour.

Jo thought back to her mother’s Sol lesson only a few days ago, at the part of that lesson that she’d overheard. “More life energy makes a person quicker to heal when they’re hurt,” Shannon had said. That was true. All Sol fighters could use life energy to make their bodies heal faster. Most Sol fighters could also borrow life energy from other sources, helping themselves to heal after a fight, but fighters with unnatural Sols didn’t have that luxury. Jo’s Sol would reject any life energy that wasn’t her own. She could still mix her Sol energy with her life energy, amplifying them both, but that only boosted her ability to heal for a second or so at a time, it was tiring, and, ultimately, it didn’t help much.

Jo turned away from the training session, and made her way around another corner, and down a short hallway to the kitchen. A good breakfast would help push her pain aside and bring her mood back up again. She was pleasantly surprised to see Sara sitting at the kitchen table, gnawing absentmindedly at an unwrapped banana while she read something on her phone. She looked as sore and groggy as Jo felt. Jo knew that, at some point soon, her sister would use their mom’s techniques to get the healing process going, but that didn’t alleviate the sympathy that Jo felt for her in that moment. She tapped Sara’s shin with her toe to get her attention.

“Owww,” Sara moaned, and looked up at her assailant.

“Yo,” Jo asked, “want some eggs. I’m making eggs.”

Sara nodded, and Jo pulled the refrigerator open, gathered up four eggs, butter, and milk. She set the butter to melt in a pan, cracked the eggs into a bowl, splashed them with some milk, and whisked them together with a fork.

She poured the eggs into the hot pan and scrambled them, taking care not to cook the fluff out of them. Once they were done, she separated them between two plates, placed one in front of her sister, and one in front of herself as she sat down at the table as well. She took the banana from Sara’s hand, peeled it, and broke it in half. The two of them ate their breakfast in silence, but Jo, at least, was happy for the company.

As she shovelled the last of her eggs into her mouth, Jo chose to break the silence. “So,” she asked, “any plans for today?”

“No,” Sara replied simply, still reading from her phone. Then, as if she’d suddenly remembered that conversations are supposed to be two ways, she asked, “What about you?”

“I figured that I’d head down to Wilson’s,” Jo replied, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs casually, “and try to work some of the ach out of my muscles. You’re welcome to come.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “Pass.”

“Fine,” Jo told her cheekily, “go ahead and sit around all day, and let yourself get all stiff. It’s your choice.”

She hopped up and sauntered dramatically toward the doorway separating the kitchen from the rest of the house, but after a moment it became clear that her sister wasn’t going to take the bait, so she shrugged and picked up her pace. Sara didn’t usually like to go with her to Wilson’s to train, but for some reason that she couldn’t pin down, Jo had really wanted her to this time. Maybe the thought of training without a sparring partner after having Keith around for a while was actually getting to her. Either way, she put her odd feeling out of mind and took the few blocks to the dojo at a jog.

Wilson didn’t open the dojo on Sundays, or Mondays, but that didn’t stop Jo from using it. She’d always gotten on well with the old man, and as his one and only permanent student, Jo was allowed full run of the place, whether its doors were open to the public or not. She even had access to her own key, which Wilson kept hidden in a false rock behind the building. Worried, though, that, as early as it was, the old man would still be asleep in his apartment in the building’s back office, Jo decided that she would start her training out on the back lot. It was padded with the same rubbery material that they put under jungle gyms, and was more than large enough even for her to practice her Shadow Step if she wanted to.

Mom and Kimi have the right idea, training outside, Jo thought as she stretched her muscles. It was a gorgeous day. Not too warm, but still sunny enough to get the blood flowing. She moved into basic combinations, darting around the back lot, kicking and flipping at ridiculous speeds. It was no surprise that she failed to notice the same brown-haired girl from earlier that week, at the park, standing in the shadow of a building further down the street, watching her with interest.

********

Sara purposefully ignored Jo as she left. She knew that it irked her sister when she acted so detached, but, as usual, she shrugged it off. She waited a few minutes, and then, once she was sure that Jo would be a good distance from the house, she stood up, and walked down the hall until she could see Shannon and Kimi through the back door in the family room. They were engrossed in their training. Kimi touched her palm to the ground again, with a look of concentration on her face, and suddenly her body radiated golden light. She’d drawn a portion of the Earth’s life energy into herself. Sara frowned. Then, rather than use one of Shannon’s techniques to alleviate the pain of the previous day, as Jo had expected her to do, she turned toward the front door, and she left as well.

Sara followed the same route that Jo had earlier that week, when going to meet with Tucker, and soon, she made it to the park. She walked the path for something like ten minutes, and soon, she found herself in the Old Park. She walked for another ten minutes, until she was at the deepest part of the Old Park, which was a little swampy, and surrounded by dying trees. It was the only part of the Old Park that no one except for her ever used, and that’s exactly why she used it.

After taking a few minutes to stretch, Sara moved to the center of the secluded area. It was only about twenty feet by twenty-five feet, but it was enough for what she needed it for. She adopted a stance identical to the one that Shannon and Kimi had been in for their training: her feet squared with each other, and her hands held together in front of her chest, as if praying. She closed her eyes, and took a calming breath that didn’t quite succeed in erasing the look of anxiety from her face. She reached down and touched the ground. A bead of sweat rolled down her face. For just a moment, the air around her stirred, and a golden glow flickered around her for less than a second. Then it faded, and the air stopped moving.

Sara took a breath. She checked her stance, and tried again. This time, nothing happened at all. Sara scowled, and kicked the mud at her feet, sending it splattering out in front of her. She kicked again, and again, almost losing her footing and toppling over. A near-fall was enough to calm her down, if only a little. She centered herself again, and closed her eyes, this time concentrating on moving the Sol energy in her body. She tried to draw out the life energy in her body and mix the two, but it didn’t work. She could feel the life energy at the core of her being, but she couldn’t make it do what she wanted.

She stomped the ground, and then dropped into a sit. She didn’t even care that she’s half buried herself in stagnant water. She tried, and almost failed, to hold back tears. Sara was the younger child of a practiced Sol fighter. She’d been born with a lot of Sol. Even more than Jo. She’d also trained her Sol to make it even stronger, and make her Sol energy even greater, and just like any practiced Sol fighter, she could bear down on her Sol and make it do what she wanted. She could use raw Sol to make herself stronger or faster, or use her water Sol, the Sol specific to her, to control the water around her, but she couldn’t access her life energy. She’d never been able to, and no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she trained, that never changed.

Sara wasn’t one to give up, though. She let herself vent for a few more minutes, and then she stood back up, and she kept trying. She worked late into the day, but she didn’t make any more progress than she ever had. Today was different, though, in that her private, secret training wasn’t quite so private this time. Today she was being watched closely, from the shadows, by a well kempt young man in a silk vest.

********

Jen stood outside of the Megadojo, looking up at the grand opening banner still hanging from its facade. She eyed the place with restrained contempt. She wasn’t as overt with her anger as her cousins, but she felt it just as strongly. She had heard the words of the stout man the day before, and even though she didn’t have an unnatural Sol herself, she was just as disgusted by what that man had said to Jo as Jo herself had been. Jo was a good person, just like most people with unnatural Sols, and it wasn’t like there weren’t people with natural Sols who had horrible secrets. The difference between natural and unnatural Sols was just another way for people to categorize others and gives them a target to hate.

Jen was the type, though, to compartmentalize her feelings when logic was needed. When there was a puzzle to solve, or something of interest to reason through. The interesting thing today was why she was here. Despite the stout man’s words, particularly the ones that indicated that ProCorp and the Megadojo shared his views, Jen had awoken to find that she’d received an email from the Megadojo’s management asking to speak with any members of the Dueling Hearts who would listen. Jo, Sara, and Tucker were all copied on that email, and yet Jen was seemingly the only one who had seen it, as she was the only one here. Or so she thought.

“So you saw it too?” inquired a masculine voice, one that Jen recognized, though its fierce tone was something of a surprise. She turned to see Tucker walking up behind her. She was surprised all over again to see a flash of literal fire in his green eyes. He crossed his arms. He was breathing heavily, and Jen could feel heat radiating from him.

Jen didn’t blame him. She didn’t see this side of Tucker often. Usually he was a lovable dork who liked physical competition, but when it came to standing up for one of his friends, he became almost an entirely different person. All of the Dueling Hearts could handle themselves, and yet Tucker would throw down for any of them anyway, but none more so than Jo. The connection between them was something special. It wasn’t anything overt, but anyone who knew them well could tell that they trusted each other completely, and cared for each other as family. Thinking back, it had probably been nothing more than surprise that had kept Tucker from exploding on the stout man yesterday. Jen couldn’t help but smile. A bond that strong was really something to admire.

“You have any idea why they asked us here?” Tucker asked.

“No,” Jen answered, turning back toward the building again. “That dude yesterday said that ProCorp wanted us not to come back. I’m tempted to honor that, and go home.”

She looked over her shoulder at Tucker, “Then again, I’m curious. You think you can resist hitting anyone until we get an answer?”

Tucker shrugged. Jen smirked, and started toward the door, Tucker following just behind her.

Inside the Megadojo, to the right, was a desk where new prospective members could find literature, and talk with staff about joining. Almost as soon as the two Dueling Hearts were through the front doors, a woman approached them from that desk. She was in her mid twenties, pretty, with light brown hair and strong cheek bones. She had a nice, eye-catching smile, accentuated by her perfectly applied lipstick. She looked like a salesperson, and it only took Jen a second to realize that it would be people like her who would eventually be in charge of convincing people to spend their money on the promise of this place. Jen already didn’t like her on principle.

The pretty young woman told Jen and Tucker that management was awaiting their arrival. She looked behind them, as if expecting all four of them. Jen didn’t bother telling her that Jo and Sara weren’t the type to think of checking email, ever, unless they were expecting a message. Instead, she let the woman go and get her boss. Jen had expected the stout man. Instead, a middle aged Latino man emerged from an office behind the counter. There was a ruggedness to him, and, unlike the woman, this man looked like he would actually know his way around a Heart to Heart arena. Despite his hardness, when the man saw them, his expression cycled through surprise and relief, before settling on sympathy. When he told Jen and Tucker how truly sorry he was about the way that the stout man had treated them, Jen believed him.

The man introduced himself only as Eric, and promised that the stout man did not speak for ProCorp, or the Megadojo and its staff. He explained that the stout man was not originally supposed to be the only manager at the opening, and that, if he hadn’t been, he never would have been allowed to say the things that he said. He told them that the stout man had been let go, that he had been asked not to return, and that the facility, and that Eric personally, were offering the Dueling Hearts a sincere apology.

“It’s not enough to apologize to us,” Tucker said. “You’ll need to apologize to Jo, too,”

Jen agreed with him, and Eric insisted that he would, at the very next opportunity. Jen believed him this time, too. It seemed like Tucker did, too. He didn’t let it show, but his mood had improved dramatically. Jen could feel that he wasn’t radiating heat anymore, which was always a good sign.

Jen thanked Eric for everything that he’d said. When he offered all of the Dueling Hearts free memberships, even past the end of the Megadojo’s free period, and asked them if they would be willing to stay and use the facility for the day, and give it a second chance, Jen and Tucker both, tentatively, agreed.

The two of them found a mat, and they spent a few hours doing some basic forms, and a little bit of sparring. They eventually left after it became a little too annoying seeing people watching them, recognizing them from the exhibition match. If only they had paid attention to the people watching them, rather than trying to avoid them, they might have noticed the tall, hard-faced young man with the hazel eyes who watched them with more intensity than the rest.

********

That night, after everyone had gone home, the three secret observers met up in the Old Park, on the square of asphalt where they had watched Tucker fight. They showed a familiarity with each other that was reminiscent of family, and yet they didn’t make small talk of any kind. As soon as they were close enough to hear each other without raising their voices, the tall one, with the hazel eyes, spoke.

“I’m sure,” he said, “there’s nothing special about these four.”

“As hard as it may be to believe,” said the one in the silk vest, “I actually agree. The one I was shadowing, Sara, she can’t even draw on her life energy. At all. I mean, she has talent, but there’s no way she’s a candidate.”

They looked to their leader. The dark-haired girl considered it for a moment. She twisted her hair in her fingers, and thought about Jo. She thought about how unlikely Jo’s victory over Christopher Johnson had been, and about how she had managed to keep fighting even after she probably shouldn’t have been able to. About how she had managed to create a technique that was as impressive as any of theirs, on her own, at her age. Even if the others weren’t, and the girl was still not convinced of that, Jo was impressive. She deserved another look.

“I disagree,” the girl said to her male companions. “They were impressive enough that, considering Our Leader’s interest, it’s worth testing them.”

The well-dressed young man nodded his assent. The young man with the hazel eyes frowned, “Fine. At least I’ll get to fight someone. If I dial it back, it could be fun.”

“Fight them however you want,” the dark-haired girl told him with a cheeky smile, “but despite what we’ve seen, I still think that these four might surprise us. Let’s give them a few days to recover from their last fight, and then find out.”