A/N: Yep, it's Purpose! Back from the dead, or so it would seem. How overdue is this chapter? A year at least haha. But I'm back. I dunno when the next chapter will be released but I hope it won't be a year lol. School and all that, urgh. I haven't watched Galactik Football for a long, long time so there might be a few errors but I don't know. I see that in the number of GF stories have vastly increased in a year, wow. I've improved since I started this series about a year or so ago and this story might go differently to how I thought when I wrote chapter 6. Enjoy!
The Angel And The Shadow
Chapter 7: Our Destiny
Sinedd took a deep breath and let the roar of the crowd fuel his adrenaline before stepping back. He ran forward and crossed the ball from the corner flag, hitting and hoping for the best. Everyone rose up as Garrick was seemed most likely to head the ball into the net until the Lightnings goalkeeper got a touch to it and punched it out of play. Warren suddenly left Kylus in his dust as he charged towards the ball. "The Lightnings are on the counter-attack!" Nork shouted as Warren went on the offensive. "Someone stop him!" Artegor commanded, showing that old habits die hard. Andriy, seeing Warren's plan, charged behind him a microsecond after Warren's dash. Soon, the two men were trying to muscle each other off the ball. "The two titans are battling it out for the ball!" The commentators were barely able to stay in their seats as the match was living up to the hype. At the half-way line, Warren only just got the better of Andriy as he muscled him off the ball and charged forward once more. "Andriy! Do something!" Artegor again showed his old self. Powered by the Charge, Warren took a shot from at least 25 yards out but the ball was travelling in unpredictable directions at great speed. The Shadows goalkeeper barely moved when the ball smacked the post and went into the net. "What an absolute beauty! Warren scores a magnificent goal to give the Lightnings the lead at the cusp of half-time! Genesis Stadium is going absolutely mad!" Nork shouted into his microphone as Genesis Stadium shook the whole station with their rapturous cheering. "Wow! Did you see that?!" Micro-Ice was jumping on his bed and trying to imitate Warren while D'Jok watched in amazement. The Lightnings players surrounded Warren and cheered with him as the Shadows shook their heads. "That was an outstanding goal from Warren but he was no doubt aided by the Shadows defensive error." Callie said as the replay started showing on TV. "Yes, while Andriy should maybe have done better, he was the only one to track back and help defend."
The half-time whistle blew and both teams went back to their changing rooms, each contrasting differently in mood. "What the hell was that about?" Artegor started barking at his team. "What happened to our defence? Complete and utter shit! Why didn't all of you get back to stop Warren? Andriy, why didn't you attempt a tackle?" Andriy just shook his head. "I would've conceded a foul or missed considering the speed we were going at." Artegor started his rambling again. "I better see a rapid improvement in our playing." After 15 minutes, both teams started making their way back to the field. "Sinedd, you better start pulling the team together like a captain or else." Sinedd smirked as his coach threatened him. They got into position and the ball shot up once more at the centre for the captains to fight for. Their fluxes fused together and an aftershock of sorts hit again. "Wow! I am still revelling from the last one." Joked Nork. Warren had won the ball once more but Andriy slide-tackled him cleanly before passing the ball wide for Garrick. "To Garrick, he's running up the left wing and is keeping the ball in possession while the Shadows players run into the box." While Sinedd and a few other Shadows players littered the penalty box, Andriy stood outside to give Garrick more options. "Garrick passes back to Andriy and the defenders are trying to dispossess him." Andriy side-stepped a Lightnings player and took a shot with the outside of his foot, only for the ball to be caught by the keeper. "Callie, this is attacking football at its best!" The goalkeeper booted the ball out to the half-way line where Kylus took the ball and started another Shadows attack. Andriy ran up the right wing, where Kylus passed a long ball. Taking a second to see inside the box, he could see Sinedd running back in, completely unmarked. Before Warren could get a crunching tackle in, Andriy cross the ball high over everyone else but Sinedd teleported high with the Smog and bicycle-kicked the ball into the net. "And Sinedd answers Warren's goal with a wonderful bicycle-kick! Nork, this isn't just living up to the hype! This is going beyond what we hoped for!" The entire Shadows team celebrated in gloating fashion, as Sinedd took a bow while Andriy 'shined' his shoes. "Some people never change." D'Jok glared, thinking that Sinedd was still the same. The Shadows captain walked past Warren with a smirk while Artegor was still barking orders. "Don't get complacent! We still have to score another goal thanks to our defending earlier!"
"That was sensational." Tia was smiling for Sinedd while Mei just rolled her eyes. "Did you see the way he celebrated that goal? He thinks he's the king. And don't get me started on Andriy…" The white-haired beauty couldn't help but laugh.
Once more, the ball shot from the centre and this time, Sinedd won the ball. He fiercely charged past several Lightnings players before a static flash appeared in front of him and disappeared, along with the ball. The Lightnings player passed to another at the half-way line. "Since the last goal, the atmosphere has gone absolutely crazy. It was a great cross by the new boy but it was all about the finish. The Lightnings are keeping and passing the ball around, riling the Shadows." A Lightnings midfielder passed forward to Warren, whom shook off Yuma and Garrick by chipping the ball over them before passing. The player was about to pass the ball back to Warren, whom charged forward once more, only for Sinedd to intercept the pass. The Smog surrounded the captain and flowed through him as he made his darting run. His eyes were flaming with determination and his teeth were gritting. "Here's Sinedd, sprinting so fast, I can't keep up! Wait, what's this? Warren is charging up beside him and cleanly dispossesses the striker, before clearing the ball!" Sinedd hit the ground in anger and immediately stood up to Warren. "Don't you ever do that again!" Sinedd growled, showing the same anger that Warren witnessed in the Netherball arena. "Sinedd, the Smog is poisoning you. You need to stop before it's too late!" But the Shadows striker merely smirked at his advice and charged back to aid the defence.
"Sinedd…It's happening to him again…." Fear was in Tia's eyes as she just wanted to hug him to cast away this side of Sinedd's personality. She couldn't bear it when Sinedd was like this with the Smog. It's like Sinedd was a different person. Mei was about to make a remark about Sinedd until she saw the worry in her emerald green eyes. The brunette then just sighed and let it go.
The battle was at midfield, where it was seemingly a stalemate. Sinedd stood still as the smog took over him once again. The striker was gathering the Smog and the bright lights of Genesis Stadium were crumbling all around Sinedd. His eyes became a window to his bloodlust and his mind started to go.
"Mei, it's happening again!" Tia cried, witnessing her lover lose control. She felt helpless as she could only sit by and watch his pain. In the other room, D'Jok was speechless as his rival was gathering power.
"Shut up! I can do it! I'll become the best there ever was! I'll make mom and dad proud!" In Sinedd's mind, a child version of him was shouting the words he shouted back then. "I'm not a loser! I'll show all of you! I'm the best! The best!" Sinedd let out a battle cry as the Smog flowed violently around him. Sinedd ran forward and took the ball from the stalemate. He barged past the entire Lightnings defence before his shot had blunted the crossbar and went out of play. A Lightnings defender had came in with a late tackle just after Sinedd had taken the shot. A foul was about to be given in the Shadows favour when Sinedd, still 'blinded' by anger and Smog, had petulantly stomped on the defender. "Oh! What just happened? The Lightnings player had come in with a late tackle which didn't have any malice in the tackle but had felled Sinedd. The Shadows captain then retaliated with a stomp! That is not captain behaviour." Without hesitation, the machine swooped to send off Sinedd and keep him away from the game for some time. "This Lightnings player is able to play on despite the stomp on his leg. This is the side of football that we hate to see." Artegor merely smirked at Sinedd's action before turning back to the matter of the even score line. "Andriy. It's up to you now. You need to kill off the game right now…with the Smog." The striker nodded without a moments thought and got into position as the goalkeeper was about to take the free-kick deep into Lightnings territory. "The clock is counting down Nork and both teams will have to do something special to seal a ticket to the esteemed Galactik Football Cup final. One way or another, one of these magnificent teams will win that place but I must say, the attacking football both teams are playing at the moment makes this match seem like the cup final." The goalkeeper took a run-up before blasting the ball back into the Shadows half. A Lightnings player got the best of a Shadows player and headed the ball to his teammate, whom then ran up field before passing to Warren. The influential Lightnings captain then took a shot, only for it to be blocked and cleared out of play by a defender. Andriy asked to stop play and brought his entire team around for a gathering. "What the? Andriy has stopped play and is now trying to rally his team." The Shadows team huddled up and the young war veteran started speaking. "Listen to me. We are gonna score and we are gonna go to the finals to win the cup! We need to rally ourselves together and fight as a team. This is our destiny! Are you with me?!" The Shadows team grunted and nodded, which Andriy took as an agreement. "Let's do it!" Andriy broke up the huddle and was barking orders at his team, while they still seemed indifferent as they would.
"Sinedd deserved to be sent off." D'Jok remarked while Micro-Ice scoffed the rest of the popcorn. As Sinedd leaned against the red glass wall, Tia couldn't help but think of the destructive path Sinedd was going down.
As the clocked ticked down to the final few minutes, Andriy stood still with Sinedd's red prison suspended high above him. He breathed deeply to try and summon the smog. Although he had called on it before, Andriy has still at a premature level of Smog. The ex-soldier looked up at the Genesis Stadium lights burning as bright as the Canderon suns. "C'mon...." Andriy could feel the Smog in his fingertips; he could feel the Flux surging through him. The Smog around him grew bigger and bigger as he called louder and louder for it. "Summon it. Embrace it." Artegor said sinisterly. Andriy suddenly let out a roar as the Smog erupted around him and up high, as far as Sinedd's 'prison'. "There's Andriy, showing us the power of the famed Smog. Could that be the impact the Shadows need to grind out this win?"
The Shadows regained possession of the ball and it fell to Artegor's secret weapon. In a burst of Smog, Andriy sprinted with the ball and started doing all kinds of step-overs and tricks to dodge and disorient the Lightnings defence. "This kid is showing us the Canderon flair that the Skulls were famed for. This could well be a match-winning moment!" Nork shouted down the microphone. Andriy penetrated the penalty box and nutmegged the Lightnings goalkeeper. He had seemingly done everything to score the match-winning goal until Warren appeared between him and the goal, powered by the Charge. The two players and their fluxes collided, setting off a blinding flash of flux. "Is that the match-winning goal?!"
"Argh, damnit!" Micro-Ice said, as the flash temporarily blinded the cameras at the stadium, which meant he too couldn't see what happened.
Both Andriy and Warren were on their knees and they both turned to the net. "GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL!" Nork and Callie shouted in unison. Andriy and the entire Shadows team ran around the field and cheered as though they won the cup. "They have done it! Andriy has fired the Shadows team into the GFC finals! Absolutely amazing! Just when we were preparing for extra time, the Shadows showed that extra bit of skill to book a ticket to the finals!" The Shadows team were jumping everywhere as they celebrated emphatically. Sinedd was released from the glass tube and joined in the celebrations while Warren was understandably disheartened. The full-time whistle blew and Genesis Stadium erupted into cheers and applause once more. Andriy walked up to Warren while the Lightnings were shaking hands with the Shadows for good sportsmanship. Both of them stared at each other before shaking each other's hand firmly. "That was a good match, Warren. A good match." Warren nodded but was too disheartened to say much. Sinedd and the Lightnings captain soon walked past each other without so much as extending their hand for a handshake.
"I can't believe they won! God, that was a fluke!" D'Jok left the room in anger and went to Mei's room. "C'mon Mei, let's go." Mei was still watching the TV screen. "I'll catch up in a second." The spiky-haired redhead left, unaware that Mei was watching Andriy and Sinedd getting interviewed by a reporter outside the changing room.
In the Shadows changing room, the atmosphere was lively as they brought the celebrations there. "We did it Sinedd, we did it." Andriy and Sinedd laughed together as they downed their sports drinks. Artegor walked into the celebrations and only said a few words. "That was a good win. We are one step closer to exacting revenge on those Snow Kids. Andriy and Sinedd, keep it up. Training starts tomorrow." The Shadows coach then walked out, without even berating Sinedd's sending-off. "Sorry for stealing the limelight from you." Andriy joked to Sinedd before leaving for a shower. The striker laughed at his joke but then just sat with his head down. Although they win, Sinedd was regretting his on-field actions and felt he let down his angel, Tia. "Sorry Tia....."
"Mei...." Tia's voiced sounded raspy. "What's up?" Mei replied as she got changed into one of her expensive outfits. "Seeing Sinedd on the pitch like that just made me think...I don't want to lose Sinedd the way I lost Rocket..." Mei immediately ditched her wardrobe to comfort her white-haired friend. "It's okay Tia, I'm here. You talk and I'll listen all you want." Tia started pouring her heart out to her friend and she listened. Even talking when appropriate.
Awhile later....
Artegor walked to a private hospital that was situated quite a distance away from the stadium. He clad a black trench coat and hat to hide his identity. He went inside the towering hospital and took the elevator up to one of the floors. The Shadows coach approached a certain room where a certain person was recovering from an injury. "How's the leg? Have the doctors been treating you as well as I have been paying them?" Artegor took off his coat and hat before sitting down. "Yeah, it's healing up, no thanks to him. The doctors say nothing is broken and that I can leave soon." The person on the bed readjusted him and leaned forward. "Good...Because it's time to let you in on my plan...Rocket." A sinister smirk appeared on his face.
What does Artegor intend to do with Rocket? Can the Snow Kids overcome the mighty Xenons to meet the Shadows in the final? What next for Sinedd and Tia? What next for Andriy, Mei and D'Jok? Find out in Chapter 8, coming soon!