Chapter 9: The Best in the World

Vitri would be running for the yooyu for Meridell, against Bertie for Mystery Island. Very rarely did Vitri lose a face-off, and this game was no different. He reached the ball a second before Bertie and tossed it back through the air to Ilsa Ellits, the strong and speedy Ixi defender.

Meridell quickly moved up field and got into position. Bertie was covering Ilsa, trying to put pressure on before Meridell could set up in their zone. Despite this, the speedy forwards easily got open on the outside, and Ilsa passed the ball to Fiorina, who quickly shoveled it to Windelle near the middle. When he was unable to get around Nix, he passed it to Vitri, who was streaking toward him, trying to have Windelle set a pick. Nix read it and yelled for Sal to cover Windelle while he followed Vitri. The pick unsuccessful, Vitri had to toss the yooyu back outside to Fiorina and return to his side.

Meridell moved the ball with rapid, precise passing. It seemed much faster and more intense to Sal now that she was on the field. Despite their speed and perfect form, Meridell couldn't get inside of the three forwards. Vitri got the ball several more times, but couldn't get by Sal. Even Sal was surprised at how well she blocked Vitri, and Meridell eventually fell back to midfield to regroup. They gave Vitri the ball this time, and rushed up the field to get in position while Vitri waited near midfield for them to set up. To his surprise, he saw Sal closing in on him, actually challenging him at midfield. Vitri had heard about Sal, as most players had, and like most players he was under the impression that she wasn't competitive. But when his first fake attempt failed, then his second, he thought that it would be a mistake to underestimate a foe. He faked left, then spun around right, and started to run forward. He didn't notice that Sal hadn't bitten on the fake, and he ran right into her shoulder. He tumbled over her and landed hard on his side. He quickly stood up and saw the yooyu two feet away. He reached for it, but Sal scooped it up before he could get it.

Ilsa had moved up to set up the play, not expecting Vitri to lose the ball. Now, Vitri was alone in a footrace with Sal headed down the field. To most people's surprise and the extreme discomfort of the Meridell fans, Sal was widening the gap. Now only Sir Freidl, Meridell's all-star goaltender, stood in her way. She knew he was good, and that he was known for stopping players on breakaways. He was one of few players who could stop Volgoth's shots. She also knew that Vitri was right behind her, desperately trying to make amends for losing the ball. She glanced at the mutant yooyu, and decided to take a chance on what she could do with it.

She wound up and shot it to the right. Sir Friedl dove to stop it, but the ball never got to him. The yooyu's spikes dug into the field, and the backspin Sal had put on the shot made the yooyu jump back into her sling, just like she had practiced every night. Just as Vitri slammed into her from behind, she tossed the ball toward the open side of the net. By some miracle, Sir Friedl had managed to get up in time to dive at the ball, but he only got a fingertip on it. Sal hit the ground hard after Vitri collided with her, but she couldn't have cared less. Fifteen minutes and seven seconds into the game, Sal had scored to give Mystery Island a one to nothing lead.

The fans shook the stadium, but with boos instead of cheers. Sal didn't even notice as she stood up and stared at the yooyu dancing around in the back of the goal. She didn't care at all about what the fans thought. She watched Sir Freidl stand up and dust himself off. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vitri skulking away with his head down. For several seconds she stood in awe of what she had just done, but then the rest of the team finally made it all the way down the field and she was caught up in a storm of congratulations. When she finally managed to find herself, she looked toward the bench. Coach Vitornot was ecstatic, jumping up and down and pumping his fists, and Mai was holding onto Ralin to keep him from running onto the field. But in the seats above the bench, Sal saw the old Cybunny, Tibbar, calmly clapping, with a satisfied grin on his face, almost as if he'd expected everything to happen exactly as it did.

"Sal, the game's not over yet!" Nix yelled. The teams were beginning to line up for the next face-off. "We've still got a lot of yooyuball left to play before we win this thing."

"Right," Sal said as she rushed over to her spot.

The last minutes of the first period winded away without much incident. Mystery Island controlled the new fire yooyu, but couldn't work it in close enough to score. The period ended one to zero.

The second period, however, was much more difficult. Meridell launched a relentless attack. Lightning fast passing and perfect screens almost resulted in several goals. Mystery Island got the ball back near the middle of the period, but an equally relentless defense prevented them from getting a single shot. As the period wound down, Mystery Island desperately clung to their one goal lead. But with only two minutes left, Fiorina managed to run a slant inside of Volgoth. Nix couldn't get to her in time, and Windelle fed her a perfect pass, which she easily blasted past Avaan. The stadium once again shook as the fans erupted in cheering. The game was still tied, but they felt like they had the upper hand. For the moment, they did, but they couldn't add another goal in the waning seconds of the period, and it ended one to one.

The third period promised to be a rough one. As Coach Vitornot went over all the plays that he wanted them to run and how he wanted to play a more aggressive defense, the players were focused on one thing; scoring. None of them doubted that the next team to score would win the game.

The period started with a face-off, in which a snow yooyu rose up from the field. Vitri reached it first, but was unable to pass it back to his teammates before Bertie hit him. The ball squirted free, and came to a rest between Sal and Windelle. Sal got there first, but knew Windelle was coming fast. She chucked the ball backwards blindly just as she was hit. Avaan had to run out and grab it, but Mystery Island maintained possession. It was passed to Nix, who carried it up the field. He was challenged by Fiorina, but managed to pass it off to Bertie. Volgoth was double covered by Ilsa and Windelle, so Nix moved up to play almost as a forth forward. Bertie sent it back to Nix, who sent it inside to Sal as she spun past Vitri. Windelle, reading the play, strung off of Volgoth to protect the goal, and Ilsa managed to block the passing lane to Volgoth. Sal had to pass back out to Nix, who bolted right as soon as he had the ball. Fiorina followed, and as Nix turned toward the wall behind Volgoth, his plan became clear. With two defenders already on the right guarding Volgoth, he had lured away a third. A lob pass over everyone to Berite set up a two on one for Bertie and Sal against Vitri. But this time, Ilsa rushed over to lend a hand. Guarded only by Windelle, Volgoth rushed toward the net. Meanwhile, Sal ran around Bertie to the top of the box. She one-timed a pass from Bertie in to Volgoth, careful to keep it away from Windelle. Volgoth had the ball in front of the net, and there wasn't one person in the stadium who didn't know what happens when Volgoth gets the ball in front of the net.

The jeering fans once again created a small earthquake inside the stadium, but that wouldn't change the fact that Mystery Island was once again ahead by one. The team all crowded around the massive Mynci and bounced up and down, congratulating him.

The rest of the period was incredibly intense, with great plays and multiple scoring chances for both sides. It might have been the most amazing display of yooyuball so far that season. Unfortunately, nobody remembers how good either team played, because once the game is over, the score is all that is recorded in the history books.

In the locker room, everyone was upbeat. Ralin couldn't stop hugging Sal and telling her how he couldn't believe what had just happened. This game meant a lot for the entire team. Meridell was one of the league's best teams, and a win against them meant that Mystery Island did have potential this year after all.

"Okay everyone! I'd like some quiet please," Coach Vitornot said, trying to calm his team down. "I'd say we did well today, but I think everyone knows that already. Everyone stepped up when it counted, and I look forward to seeing that for the rest of the season. Now, I think I can be open about this issue. Sal, you played phenomenal, for your first game at least, but you don't have the starting spot yet. You and Rage are going to be competing for that, and you need to continue to show me that you can play at this level. Rage, I know you want that spot, so you now need to prove you deserve it. I normally don't like mid-season position battles, but I'm looking forward to seeing both of you step up your level of play. That said, we will sail home tomorrow morning and have a short practice in the afternoon. Get some sleep," the coach ordered before walking into his office with a huge smile plastered across his face.

As Sal walked out of the locker room, Volgoth walked up behind her.

"Hey kid. You played good out there. If you keep passing like that, I might get that record this season after all," the Mynci grinned.

"I still can't believe I scored. On Sir Freidl! He's the best goaltender ever, and I beat him! It's just so amazing," Sal said.

"It feels good, huh? Hopefully you'll get some more soon. I know you wanted a game-winning goal, but for your first try, an assist is pretty good," the Mynci laughed.

"Yeah, it is. I'm glad we won," Sal said, her hands still shaking from the excitement.

"So what's you new dream, now that you've made it as a player?" Volgoth asked.

Sal thought for a second, than said, "I think I wanna be the best."

"The best what? Scorer? Forward?" Volgoth questioned.

"The best in the world," Sal said with a smile.

Volgoth chuckled. "I'll be cheering for you. Good luck," he said as he walked off.

"Thanks!" Sal yelled after him. "Good luck to you too!"

Ralin was still bouncing up and down and ranting about how incredible the game had been. He said he'd never been so excited to see Meridell lose. They walked out of the stadium and began the walk towards home. Sal looked over at the tree where they all used to sit down, and saw a figure leaning up against it. It was Gordon.

"I heard an awful lot of booing today," he said with a grin. "You must've done something good."

Sal ran up to him and hugged him. He reached down and ruffled the fur on the top of her head. "So you scored on Friedl?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I had an assist," she said with glee.

"Well, do you think you're gonna play next year?" Gordon asked with a laugh.

Sal didn't even bother to answer the question. The three of them walked home, talking about how amazing the game had been, and dreaming about what lay in store for them in the future.