Hope you guys are excited as I am to finally be starting the second book in the GOC series! Happy holidays everyone :D 

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3 years after Games of Chance...

"What's that?" 

"Hey! Give that back!" A flustered high school freshman reached out in vain as an older student grabbed the paper he was drawing on, holding it up to the light. Luckily, their local Starbucks was so busy this time of day that no one paid much attention to what was going on at the corner table. 

"I asked you a question. What is it?"

"It's just... it's my cover letter. I'm applying for that internship in the Queen's lab, and I thought drawing a geometric representation of the Fibonacci sequence on the back would be an appropriate addition." 

"Wow," the older student nodded, wrinkling up his nose as he set the paper back down on the table as if it disgusted him. Looking over at his friends, he added, "would you look at that? Mr. Public School wants to work in the Queen's lab. He thinks he can beat us Royal Academy students whose entire education is preparing us to be members of the Order of Chance. Nerd."

A young man sitting a few tables away bristled at this exchange, and it took all his willpower not to intervene. Consciously calming himself, he adjusted his glasses and continued to pretend to read the newspaper he held out in front of his face. He watched out of the corner of his eye as an older man walked through the door, making his way straight to a table and sitting down instead of ordering coffee. Switching the setting on his glasses to x-ray vision, Chase took note of the gun in his deep coat pocket and the rows of vials lining the inside of his vest. 

"General, I've got visual on the target. He's armed and equipped with the goods. Orders?" he said discreetly into his earpiece. 

"Go mess him up," Luna Chu replied. 

"But... I'm at Starbucks. I can't deface a Starbucks- that's a crime against humanity." 

"Irrelevant. Go mess him up. Police are on their way." 

Chase sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes with his fists, before he lowered the newspaper and rushed over to the older man, grabbing him from behind and pulling him to the floor. 

"Project PROB, you're under arrest!" he yelled as he tossed away his long, black trench coat to reveal his Numbers suit. Shocked customers all around him grabbed their coffee cups and laptops and backed away as the man writhed vigorously, reaching for his gun which Chase promptly kicked out of his hand. 

"This is abuse of power! Bad superhero!" the man scowled. "I'm innocent." 

"Oh, I know exactly who you are," Chase stood up, holding up his hand. Two chairs flew over to him, pinning his victim's wrists down so he couldn't get up. "Aaron Oakfield. Wanted in four countries for smuggling illegal toxins. You probably would've been fine, but you made the mistake of trying to extend your business to Arcana. Still don't understand how criminals think they'll survive in a country that's literally ruled by a superhero." 

Chase looked to the door to see two police officers rush through to collect Oakfield, who gave Chase a death glare all the way until he was safely inside their car. 

Now that his job was complete, Chase gingerly collected his coat and looked around at the mess he'd made. Two broken chairs and several tables out of place. 

"Don't worry, I'll uh... pay for that," he smiled sheepishly at the starstruck barista at the counter. She nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. 

Satisfied, Chase made his way over to the corner table where the determined high schooler, ruler and protractor in hand, was still drawing his Fibonacci sequence. 

"Hey kid. What's your name?" he asked, sitting down across from him. 

It took the boy a few moments to realize that he was being spoken to, and then who was speaking to him. "Oh! Uh... I'm Sam," he reached out to shake Chase's hand. "Lord Hewkin, it's an honor." 

"Nah, Lord Hewkin's my dad. I'm just Chase," Chase smiled. "I just wanted to say- that's incredibly accurate for something you did by hand. Can I see?" 

"Sure!" Sam pushed the paper over to Chase, who inspected it for a few moments. 

"You said you were applying for the Queen's internship?" 

"Oh, yeah," Sam's dropped his gaze to the table, looking a little embarrassed. "I know I'm just a freshman. I'm mainly applying for the experience." 

"I think you have a pretty good shot, actually. Don't sell yourself short," Chase winked as he stood up from the table. "I know it seems hard right now. I was in your shoes just a few years ago. But nerds grow up to rule the world. Just remember that, okay." 

"Yeah, I'll try. Thanks, Chase," Sam beamed as Chase made his way toward the door before he could be stopped by any more people. After three years at MIT, he was finally living in the same city as Juliana again, and he wasn't about to waste that opportunity. Considering her responsibilities as Queen and High General, she'd understandably chosen to continue her education at the Royal Academy, but only seeing her during school breaks and mandatory Order meetings had still been insufferable. They had so much to catch up on. 

Putting on his helmet, Chase activated his frictionless skates. "Call Juliana," he instructed as he jumped onto the street and began to skate through the traffic. Surprisingly, he received much fewer honks than usual. It looked like people were finally getting used to him. 

"Chase?" a shaky voice came through from the other end of the line. 

"Jules? Is this a bad time? You sound weird." 

"Oh, no, I just might be nearly out of range. Our suits can't communicate super well when we're more than a few miles apart, remember?" 

"Out of range? Are you not in the palace?" 

"No! I'm at the new Order museum. Why don't you come meet me here? I'd love for you to see it. Here, I'll send the coordinates to your helmet." 

A GPS location appeared in Chase's augmented visual field, followed by a series of arrows pointing him in the right direction. He followed them to a building that was right across from where the old Nader V. Hesche firm had been. Over the past couple of years, the Order had bought out pretty much the entire street, and Chase had to admit that they'd done a good job with it. A huge, rotating bronze statue of a pair of dice- the Order of Chance logo- stood in the middle of a well-maintained lawn. Behind it was a building proudly engraved with the words "Order of Chance: International Headquarters". Right in front of the building was Chase's personal favorite new addition: the letters "P", "R", "O", and "B," each autographed by one of the four core members of Project PROB. He still remembered arguing with Hayley and Adrian over who would get the "P," and Juliana watching them like a disappointed mother. Oh, he couldn't wait to see his team again. 

Right across the street from the revamped headquarters was a cube-shaped building with its darkened, circular windows placed to look like the dots on a die. The entrance was busy with college students hoping to take advantage of the free WiFi and bustling groups of younger children barely kept in line by their tired teachers. The Order of Chance museum. 

Chase took his spot in line behind two teenagers too engrossed in the anime they were watching on their phones to take much notice of him. When the security guard at the entrance spotted him- which took a while, considering his long, unassuming coat and his natural low profile- he widened his eyes and waved excitedly. "Mr. Hewkin! Welcome! You don't need to wait in line at your own museum- please, come right through!" 

Everyone in line turned in line and Chase smiled sheepishly as teachers began to point him out to their students. "Actually, it's alright. They got here before me," Chase gestured to the crowd in front of him. Ever since the Eagle's accusations of carelessness and unrestrained luxury, the members of Project PROB and their families had made every possible effort not to seem presumptuous in any way. After all, you can't protect people if you think you're above them. That was why Chase was standing in line to enter a museum that was partially dedicated to him, and why he was about to recommend a motivated but shy boy named Sam for a coveted Order of Chance internship. Project PROB had learned the importance of having the right people on their team the hard way. 

When Chase finally reached the door, he held his arms up for a quick pat down before hurrying inside, excited to see the finished museum for the first time. He walked past statues of important Order figures including King Darian, the founder of the VanderSchee dynasty, and Queen Anne, the first female Order field agent. The statues were interspersed with interactive displays- like a virtual reality simulation of what the world looked like through Chase's Numbers helmet and replicas of various PW's along with descriptions of their owners. Finally, Chase reached the end of the long hallway of statues, stopping in front of the final one. Queen Juliana, current ruler of Arcana. 

"They did my nose all wrong. It is not that fat." 

"Jules!" Chase turned around to see the young Queen in an off-white cashmere sweater and loose red slacks. The corners of her lips turned upward into a wide smile as she wrapped his arms around his neck. 

"I missed you, Numbers," she whispered into his neck. 

"Missed you too, Angel. Hey, isn't this against royal protocol?"

"Yes," Juliana nodded matter-of-factly, stepping away from him. She'd really gone from following every rule to following no rules in the span of three years, hadn't she? "So, how do you like the museum?" 

"I haven't seen much of it yet, but it seems really nice." 

"Yeah," Juliana looked back down the hallway. "I love coming here whenever I have a free moment. There's just... there's something incredible about watching the next generation of Arcanese learn about the real history of our country. A history that's been a secret for too long." 

"Hm." 

"If I wasn't Queen, or a superhero, I'd be a teacher," Juliana smiled at the groups of kids huddling around the pedestals of the statues and looking up at them with awed eyes. 

"I can definitely see that," Chase nodded. "Hey, what's back there?" he pointed to a second hallway that branched away from the central point where they stood. 

"Oh," Juliana's expression darkened. "Back there are exhibits on 'Threats to the Order'. Roy and Ravenna's is to the left, but that one is on the Nebuliks. Drosi, the High General, and Imogen, the witch." 

"Witch?" Chase frowned. Considering his position, if witches were real, he thought he'd know by now. 

"Back then, men who used the Power were warriors and leaders, but women who did so were 'witches,'" Juliana shuddered. "The Order wasn't always as progressive as it is today." 

"Ah," Chase nodded, curiously filling him. He made his way toward the Nebulik exhibit, closely followed by Juliana. The first item in the exhibit was a life-sized model of a thirteenth century Arcanese knight in a glass case. A solitary little boy stood with his hands pressed to the glass, staring up at the knight's flowing red cloak and plated maroon armor in awe. 

"This is so cool," the boy looked from the exhibit to Juliana. 

"It is, isn't it?" Juliana smiled, crossing her arms. "That uniform was worn by the Red Knights of Nebulik. They were our country's fiercest protectors - saved Arcana from Mongols, internal coups, and imperialistic Britain and France alike. They had an extremely rare genetic mutation that made them heat-resistant and gave them the ability to shoot fire from their hands."

"Awesome!" The boy held out his hands and made a pshhh sound with his lips, probably pretending to create flames. "Wait..." his expression grew somber. "What happened to them?"

"They were all executed along with their master, Drosi Nebulik, after the Nebuliks tried to take the throne. It was a tragedy, really. Arcana almost lost more than it gained from putting down that rebellion." 

"Oh," the boy looked down at his hands with disappointment, letting them fall to his sides as he walked away. "That's okay, I guess."

"I don't think he realized who you are," Chase commented. 

"Sometimes it's better that way. I get to walk through a museum in peace. Have some of those 'normal' experiences you always remind me I missed," Juliana laughed. "Let's get back to headquarters, shall we, Mr. MIT Graduate? I believe a reunion is in order."