I was awake. Barely.

When I awoke, it was in a nice, soft, comfy bed. An arm was draped over me and I could feel someone else pressed close. Cassandra.

A smile formed on my lips as I remembered last night when the two of us had slept together for the first time. Well, we’d done a lot more than merely sleep, and the memory of that made my smile grow. There were definitely some good things about being a chick.

But as comfortable as it was to lay in bed next to Cassandra, my bladder was demanding attention. I climbed out of bed, being careful not to wake Cassandra, though her eyes opened anyway. With her high awareness, slipping past her was always difficult, even when she was asleep.

“Morning,” I said.

“Fuck you,” Cassandra grumbled before closing her eyes and turning over.

I glanced around the bedroom, which was visible thanks to the morning light coming in through the window. There was a French maid costume that had been tossed on the floor, and which had actually looked really nice on Cassandra. We’d flipped a coin over who would wear it, and fortunately, I’d won the toss, though next time, I might not.

I grabbed my robe from the back of the door, then went to the bathroom to do my business. A couple minutes later, I was in the kitchen, making myself some tea while brewing a pot of coffee for Lauren and Cassandra. I was just finishing up with this when Lauren made her appearance.

“Morning,” I greeted her, in a much better mood than I normally was in the morning. Getting laid could do that for a guy…girl.

“Morning,” Lauren responded in the same tone.

“So,” I asked as I poured her a cup of coffee. “How was your date last night?” From her smile, I could already guess.

“It was good,” she told me with another smile. “Matt took me to a pretty nice restaurant, then we went to the movies, and finally found a nice park where we just sat and talked…”

I was pretty sure that they’d done more than just ‘talked’, even if that part may have come after the park. However, I was polite enough not to say anything, mostly because I didn’t want her teasing Cassandra and I about the new evolution of our relationship.

I took a sip of my tea, then rotated my arm a bit to ease the faint ache in my shoulder. This was a remnant from when Kr’aethar had pinned me to the wall with my own spear. It had been three days, and I’d healed my injury multiple times, but the ache kept coming back. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d been impaled with a magic weapon, or because it was a god who’d done it, though I suspected it was actually just psychosomatic. In time that would probably fade away.

With a deep sigh, I marveled at the fact that it had only been three days. Three days since I’d fought a pair of gods…and won. Sure, they’d both been in human bodies at the time, but it was still an amazing achievement. In fact, it was such an achievement, that I figured that I’d earned more than just the one attribute point and handful of resource attribute points I’d been given. Hell, I hadn’t even gotten any credit at all for my part in taking down Kr’aethar.

I’d slotted the attribute point from Arakthiel into stamina, mostly because I remembered promising myself that while I’d been running up the stairs. Stamina was always a good thing. I’d split the resource attribute points between health and regeneration, trying to catch them up to my mana a bit more.

While I’d been slotting my points, I’d noticed something odd. I hadn’t slotted a single point into divine power, but for some reason, it had actually gone up several dozen points on its own anyway. I suspected that this might have something to do with those threads of loyalty that I’d seen during the fight, or the small surges of power that I felt when protecting people. Unfortunately, Maelyne wasn’t there to answer my questions, so I’d have to figure it out on my own, probably with a bit of trial and error.

“So, it’s really over?” Lauren asked me with a nervous look. She’d asked the same question a couple times over the last few days, and obviously had a hard time letting herself believe it was.

“As far as I know,” I responded, giving her the same answer I had before. “Arakthiel, Kr’aethar, and Pfath are all gone, and they were the ones causing all the trouble.”

“But they aren’t dead,” Lauren pointed out with a scowl. “All we did was send them back where they came from. For all we know, they can just make new champions and possess them…or even find a way to come here in their own bodies.”

I shuddered at the thought, knowing that Lauren was right. Even though we’d defeated our enemies, they were still alive and out there. It was indeed possible that they might come back someday, and maybe even more powerful than before. However, those were also possibilities that I didn’t want to think about, at least not at the moment. For now, I just wanted to celebrate our victory.

“Maybe,” I reluctantly admitted to Lauren. “And maybe we’ll find out more this afternoon.”

I reached over and picked up the envelope that we’d found on the front door yesterday. My name was on the front, along with Cassandra’s and Lauren’s. Inside, there was a fancy looking invitation.

‘You have been invited to a celebration lunch at 12 PM tomorrow. Casual attire is requested. Transportation will be provided.

Sincerely, Mehdi Hassan, formerly known as the Cleaner.’

“Even if we don’t,” I added with a smile, “I’m not turning down a free lunch.”

Lauren gave me an amused look. “You know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Did someone say free lunch?” Cassandra asked as she came in, still looking more than half asleep.

Without a word, I handed her a mug of coffee. She took a long sip, seeming to ignore how hot it was, then let out a contented sigh.

“You make me coffee,” Cassandra finally said, giving me a smile. “I think I’ll keep you.”

I smirked at that. “After last night, I certainly hope so.”

Lauren looked back and forth between us before saying, “That’s more than I needed to know.”

This time, it was Cassandra who smirked. “Then you really don’t need to know that after breakfast, we’re going back upstairs for a repeat…”

“No, I really don’t need to know that,” Lauren said with a look of amusement.

I gave Cassandra a wry look. “Do I get any say in that?”

Cassandra looked like she was considering it for a moment before she flashed me a grin, shook her head, and replied, “Nope.”

--------------------

It was nearly noon, and we were all gathered together in the living room, waiting on our transportation. Matt and Teri had come because they’d received an invitation as well, so it only made sense for us to travel together.

I sat on the couch with Cassandra leaning up against me. Matt was sitting in a recliner with Lauren on his lap, and he seemed a little uncertain of what to do about that, much to her amusement. Teri was sitting in the other recliner, a little annoyed at being the only one there who didn’t have a significant other.

I think it was starting to dawn on Teri that with her new size and physique, it might be a little more difficult to find a boyfriend than it had been before. Sure, she looked great, but most guys weren’t thrilled with the idea of having a girlfriend who was stronger than they were.

All of us were dressed in normal clothes, with no visible armor or weapons. The invitation said that casual attire was requested, which we took to mean that we weren’t supposed to show up in our armor. That was actually quite a relief, because it meant that the Cleaner wasn’t expecting any trouble.

As soon as the clock struck twelve, a portal opened up in the air. I smiled faintly and said, “Prompt as always.” There was no sign of the Cleaner himself, but he was obviously responsible for the portal. A few seconds later, we all stepped through.

I found myself inside of a small but nice looking restaurant, which only had eight tables. Several of the tables already had occupants, ones I recognized. There was Marissa and Axe Guy at one, with Becky, Alejandra, and Randal sitting at the one beside them. And then I saw the Cleaner.

“I’m glad you could all join us,” the Cleaner announced, gesturing towards two tables that were beside the occupied ones. “Order anything you like off the menu. This is my treat.”

“Thank you,” Lauren said while the rest of us echoed the sentiment.

We took our seats and I ended up sitting with Cassandra and Teri, while Matt and Lauren were at the table beside us. All four tables were close enough together that we could easily talk to each other, and we did. It was a little strange though, since this was the first time that all of the champions had been together in a social situation without the threat of combat or death hanging over our heads.

“Last night, I finally had to tell Mom and Dad about all this,” Teri said, gesturing down at herself with an annoyed look. “I mean, it’s not like I could keep hiding this.”

“I’m surprised you got away with it as long as you did,” Lauren told her.

“Dad isn’t very observant,” Matt said with a chuckle. “And Mom thought she was imagining things and losing her mind…”

“Wow,” I said, imagining how weird that conversation must have been. “Did you tell them…everything?”

I frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable about the idea of them learning about me. Sure, I’d liked Gail and Michael, but I didn’t really want them knowing about my being turned into a chick. Hell, I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of most people finding out about that. It was kind of personal…and embarrassing.

“I kind of skipped over the whole death match thing,” Teri said, apparently not realizing that my concerns were a little more personal.

Matt nodded at that. “They don’t need to know about the whole Hunger Games thing.” He gave a wry look. “We had a nice long conversation about it all this morning. Well, about a lot of it…”

Teri smirked. “They kind of think that we were doing video games…”

“And larping,” Matt added with a chuckle. “Just with real magic.”

“Anyway,” Teri told me, “Mom feels guilty that she didn’t notice anything sooner, and kinda pissed that we didn’t tell her about any of this, while Dad is totally jealous…”

She held up her arm and flexed it, showing a nice solid bicep and looking smug as she did so. Matt gave her a look of annoyance, which contained a bit of envy as well. I could sympathize.

“That must have been an interesting conversation,” Cassandra said with a chuckle.

Matt rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “You have no idea…”

A minute later, I noticed Randal and his arm. The last time I’d seen him, his arm had been cut off above the elbow, but now he had an elbow, and the stump was right above his wrist. I was confused by that, until I heard him explaining it to Axe guy.

“My patron is the goddess of blood and bone,” Randal said, “so growing a new arm for me isn’t that hard for her.”

A short time later, after everyone had ordered but before the food arrived, the Cleaner stood up and called for everyone’s attention. “I have spoken with Emnyle, my patron, and she has told me much of what is occurring among the gods.” He paused at that and looked around. “Some of you may already have been told this by your own patrons, but not everyone has…” His eyes quickly darted to me.

“Armestia told me a bit,” Cassandra commented.

Randal and Marissa both nodded at that while Becky stared at the Cleaner in anticipation. It seemed that me and my companions weren’t the only ones to be left out.

“While you were attacking Kr’aethar and Arakthiel,” the Cleaner explained, “the allied gods used the opportunity you all provided to attack them and the other anarchists…directly. You left Kr’aethar and Arakthiel injured and severely weakened, so the allies were able to defeat them and win the battle…and most likely…the war.”

“The war?” Matt asked with a look of surprise.

“So, it’s really over?” Teri added a moment later.

“Armestia told me that she killed Arakthiel herself,” Cassandra offered. “She said that she shot him right between the fucking eyes…”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, feeling a little hurt. I had a personal interest in what happened to Arakthiel after that bastard had murdered Maelyne.

“I was going to,” Cassandra responded, looking a bit embarrassed. “But I got a little distracted…”

“What about the other two?” Alejandra asked with a scowl.

The Cleaner smiled at that. “According to Emnyle, Kr’aethar was severely injured during the fight and was captured, though Pfath escaped and went into hiding. From what I’ve been told, the anarchist’s leadership have been almost entirely killed or captured, and their forces are broken. There may be a minor skirmish or two left for them to deal with, but the war itself is over. This is why I invited you all here to celebrate.”

“We did it,” Becky exclaimed triumphantly. “We won…”

“We couldn’t have done it without Sievers,” Marissa pointed out, nodding towards me. “She’s the one with the ability that actually put them down…”

There were a couple cheers at that, which made me blush self-consciously. “It was a team effort,” I reminded everyone.

We’d defeated Arakthiel and Kr’aethar, but I certainly hadn’t done it alone. Whether it was keeping our enemies distracted and unable to focus, breaking open Kr’aethar’s armor, or throwing the two of them at each other, everyone had played a part. If the Cleaner hadn’t provided transportation, or brought the other champions, then there was no way we could have won.

“Every person here played an important role in that,” I said. “I’m just the person who delivered the final blow.”

That seemed to please everyone even more, and the conversation quickly went back to the fight and the parts that everyone played. Becky bragged about throwing zombies up into the air so that they couldn’t fight us, and about flinging Arakthiel into Kr’aethar, at Matt’s suggestion, while Alejandra recounted how she’d broken through Kr’aethar’s armor.

I listened to everyone and smiled, enjoying the celebratory atmosphere. There was a reason that I’d always preferred team sports to one on one competition, and why I preferred working in a group or party rather than solo playing in my various video games.

It didn’t take long though before someone asked, “So, what happens now?” I looked over and saw that it was Randal. “Are the competitions going to start up again?”

“No,” the Cleaner answered with a thoughtful look. “At least, not anytime soon. The gods have to finish cleaning up their mess first, and reestablish the game. From what I’ve been told, they’ll need to select new Arbiters since some of the old ones were killed, and Emnyle may or may not be among the new ones.” He hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Though I wasn’t explicitly told this, I expect that sooner or later, the contests will begin again…probably with new champions and in a new location, so that they can start fresh. However, this could be years…or even decades away.”

There was a long silence at that as we all absorbed what he’d said. Becky raised her hand, but didn’t wait to be called on before asking, “If we’re not gonna be doing contests anymore, then are we still gonna be champions? Are they gonna take away our powers?”

“That would be good to know,” Axe Guy agreed.

“I…don’t know,” the Cleaner admitted with a grimace. “But I expect it to be up to each individual patron on whether or not they want to revoke their patronage.”

“Well, that kind of sucks,” Marissa grumbled.

Teri leaned over to me and said, “At least you don’t have to worry about that.”

I scowled at that, not happy about the reminder. Maelyne made sure that I wouldn’t lose my abilities, and I was thankful for that, especially since it meant that I’d had the power to protect my friends. However, there were still a few raw emotions about that subject, especially when I thought about Maelyne’s death.

“I don’t think that any of you really have anything to worry about though,” the Cleaner said. “Emnyle told me that even though the game was disrupted, the allied gods were still continuing to play it in some fashion, and were collecting points based off your actions…and their own.”

There was another burst of mutterings and whispers, though I realized, we shouldn’t have been surprised. These gods had been playing their game for thousands of years, and their entire political system seemed to have been based around this game and the leverage they gained while playing it. It shouldn’t have surprised anyone that some of the gods would cling to their familiar system in one form or another, even in the middle of war.

“Among the gods, there is a certain prestige in having a champion,” the Cleaner said, waiting until everyone had quieted down a little. “Especially in having a successful champion. All of you have not only survived against three gods. You’ve triumphed. I imagine that this would provide a great deal of prestige and status for your patrons, and I cannot imagine that any god would want to lose that by revoking your patronage just because you are no longer actively competing.”

“That makes sense,” Randal commented, staring at his bandaged stump as he did so. He was probably thinking about how it would have been easier for his patron to abandon him than to heal him after his injury.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Cassandra said, “but I’m pretty sure my patron isn’t going to fuck me over.”

“Mine either,” Marissa added.

I held my drink up and announced, “To loyalty, whether it’s with patrons, allies, or friends.”

“To loyalty,” everyone echoed. I felt a pleasant warmth at that, and for a brief second, I thought I saw the glowing threads again.

“And to Maelyne,” Matt added with a serious expression. “With her last breath, she not only saved Jeri, but she gave us all the chance to survive…and to win.”

I felt a stirring in my heart and for a moment, it almost felt like she was still there, or at least, a part of her was. A moment later, we all raised our classes and echoed, “To Maelyne.”