When Xeno arrived at her team’s hallway she headed straight for her own room, assuming that her teammates had either already noticed the change in the gauger or been given a more obvious way of finding out. She’d been right.

It briefly occurred to her that the gauger’s change being so subtle must have had some ulterior motive behind it, though quickly pushed the thought into the back of her mind for later consideration. She had more important things to worry about.

One of those things was Unity. The artificial stared at her as she entered, his arms folded almost exaggeratedly as he arched his eyebrows upwards.

“And where have you been, young lady?”

There was a deliberate note of pomp in his voice, though even if there hadn’t been Xeno would have known he was pulling her leg. Astra spoke before he could continue with whatever game he’d planned.

“Xeno, perfect. We were all waiting for you. Have you seen your gauger?”

Nodding, Xeno found her eyes drifting across the room to Gem. She took a few steps closer to the girl, examining the state she was in while Astra continued.

“Excellent, then we’re all on the same page. My proposal for the three of us who take part in the next task is myself, Crow and Unity.”

That caught Xeno by surprise. She turned back to Astra, sure she’d misheard.

“Did you say Unity?”

The blonde girl nodded, seeming almost apologetic.

“Yes, I think he’ll shine in a fight with more than two people. His magic works best when it isn’t used in a straight fight, and a three on three will give plenty of opportunities for him.”

It made sense, Xeno had to admit. And yet it was a lie. Astra hesitated far too much while she said it, taking half a step backwards as if to distance herself from her own words. She was lying because she didn’t want Xeno to feel useless, but also didn’t want to count on her after her display in the second stage.

Xeno wished she could be angry about it.

“I agree,” Crow said. He didn’t give any reasoning, perhaps simply content to follow his sister’s lead. Astra turned to Xeno, and she realised that her own input was being silently requested. The wavering of her gaze made it clear the girl was worried she might take issue with being excluded.

“That seems logical to me,” Xeno replied. She was sure to keep her disappointment and reluctance hidden, even so Astra seemed surprised.

Xeno had spent the last few days experimenting with her magic, trying to draw it out to its usual levels only to fail miserably. She had no doubt her potency was far below any of her teammates, and she could imagine no method through which it might be restored.

Diminished as she was, she was a poor choice. That didn’t make it any less painful to admit.

“Aww, look at her!” Unity laughed, hands in his pockets as he leaned against a wall. “Look at how pissed off it makes her to realise that she’s about as helpful as a toddler! I almost feel bad.”

“UNITY!”

Jumping at the sudden volume, Xeno turned to the source of the voice. Crow stood a step closer to Unity than he had been, face slightly reddened and body slightly trembling. His gaze was steady and locked dead-centre on the artificial’s eyes.

She found herself frowning in confusion. Why did he care to defend her so much? She liked Crow, and he’d certainly been affable, but surely he didn’t care enough about her to raise his voice over this of all things.

A few seconds passed, and the blonde boy’s eyes flickered slightly. His head twitched, as though he’d aborted the motion of glancing over his shoulder only a fifth of the way into doing so. Just stopping himself from looking at the room’s left corner.

Xeno sent her own stare to the area he’d kept his away from, and she saw Gem lying slightly propped up as she had been. Her head was turned in a failed attempt to obscure her expression from the rest of her team, pale skin turned closer to crimson and the glistening of moisture evident on her cheek.

The shame struck her like a fist. Xeno felt frustrated at not being able to fight while her friend was lying broken and bloody in a bed mere days after being the strongest of them. Reluctantly, she looked back to the others so as to not let Gem catch her staring. The worst thing she could do to the girl, Xeno knew, would be to let her see herself being pitied.

Astra cleared her throat awkwardly, apparently eager to move on in the face of what had just happened. Crow looked similarly uncomfortable, while Unity was staring pointedly at his feet. It was perhaps the only time Xeno had seen him look genuinely chastised since first meeting the boy.

“Well, are we all in agreement for the team composition?” As Astra asked, she turned to peer at the face of each of her teammates. Scrutinising them for dissent, maybe in suspicion that there was too little.

She received no argument.