The beeps sounded like they came from far away. D'Jok slowly opened his eyes, feeling like he had been run over by a train. His body felt bruised and sore, and very heavy to move. Dame Simbai was standing over him with a worried expression on her face. He wasnt even in the wardrobe. He was back at the Snow kids hotel, at her clinic. D'Jok realised from her expression, what had happened was serious. This could not spell good news for him, or his team.
"You are awake, that is good, how are you feeling?" she asked concerned.
D'Jok tried to sit up, but whatever this was, he found himself too weak. He fell back down.
That caused the panic to rise in him.
"Whats happening to me?I feel like I weigh a ton and I can barely even control my body. Its like it wont obey me. I hope I am not permanently hurt" he managed to force out, voice shaking with share fear. This was not the way he wanted to end his football career. Not the same way as Rocket.
"It appears to be the same thing that struck Rocket, Sonny and Clamp called it resonance. Some rest should cure it only, in you, it seems to be stronger than with Rocket. It has your father worried, to say the least. He has been pacing back and forth ever since I brought you here, trying to work this out in his mind" she informed.
D'Jok nodded that. He heard the door slide open, and then, he felt his fathers hand touch his shoulders, in a gentle comforting way. Sonny carefully lifted him into a halfway seated position, being careful not to expose his full level of worry to his son. Rocket had been exposed over time, in netherball, his son never played netherball. This meant that either something had happened when he played for Team Paradisia, or, in worst case, like he started to get a sneaking suspicion about, this resonance was going to spread far, exposing all galactik football teams. If he was right, they were seeing the start of a galactik spread resonance, one that all teams, except the pirates, was exposed to.
"D'Jok..." Sonnys voice was filled with emotion as he spoke his sons name.
D'Jok felt Sonny lift him a little more, so he could hug him.
"Dad..I am scared. What is happening to me? Will I be like this permanently or return to normal."D'Jok whimpered.
He felt Sonny hold him securely, but his heart was racing, a sure sign Sonny did not have a clear answer to give, at least not yet.
"I know Son, I got no clear answer to give just yet, but I am working on it with Clamp. You caused quite a scare for the entire galaxy with that fall"Sonny said.
D'Jok sighed.
"Micro Ice broke the worst of it. I had a softer landing than I prepared for" he tried to joke.
Sonny smiled for a second.
"He is still out there, playing. The entire team seems to be playing for you tonight, whatever caused you to experience this, your team is making up for it. They are in the lead, by 2 to 1, and from the looks of it, Mei is going to score" Sonny informed as he turned his son towards the holo tv.
Mei had a fiercely determined look in her eyes, as she passed to Sinedd, whom set the ball high in the right corner.
D'Jok was having questions.
"Dad, I know you already know, compared to Rockets results, wich of us is worst off right now, Rocket or me? Dont try to sugar coat it, just be honest" he asked.
Sonny nodded as he grabbed a chair and set down.
"D'Jok, the resonance is a complicated scientific problem. There is, as of now, no known cure. Corso, Dame Simbai, Clamp and I will be working to see if we can come up with something to counteract the effect, but it is not looking good, for neither of you. But it seems, Rocket has a weaker resonance compared to yours right now. I suspect this has to do with the fact that Magnus pulled flux from both stadiums on Paradisa. The players on all teams were unaware of this, and it was masked, so you would not feel the effect. But the more aggressive the play..." he stopped for a second.
D'Jok got it.
"The stronger the resonance becomes. So, what happens now, for me Dad?" he asked.
He could tell Sonny was trying to find a way out of responding to this question.
"For now, you will not be playing. It is too dangerous. Until we got this under control, you will be sidelined. Even Rocket agrees with this" Sonny said.
D'Jok nodded, but he did not turn fast enough to avoid Sonny seeing his eyes fill with tears.
It tugged at his heartstrings to see his son like this. Football was his life, his self proclaimed destiny. And if worst came to be, Magnus Blade, a Ghost from his past, had now effectively shattered his sons biggest dream.
And despite the situation looking grim,there was more teams affected. After seeing tonights match, Sonny knew he had no choice. He had to call Duke Maddox, they needed all hands on deck to work on making something to counteract the resonance. It was becoming a threat to the galaxy, and he had to get a better idea of how Magnus was had planned to carry out this plan of his. As soon as D'Jok had calmed down, Sonny left him in Dame Simbais care, as he went to find Corso. It was time old adversaries joined forces to protect the galaxy from falling into war...
The victory and defeat of the Gyros felt very hollow for the Snow Kids. Sure, they won the match and advanced, but all their thoughts were on D'Jok. If it had been a lesser event, he would have stayed at the stadium until the match was over. But Dame Simbai had him taken back to the hotel imidiately. Whatever this was, was clearly serious. As they gathered in the wardrobe to change, there was little that indicated a festive mood among the snow kids players. All they wanted, was to get out of the stadium and go check up on D'Jok. Rocket and Clamp joined them.
"How is D'Jok? Have you heard anything back from Dame Simbai?" Mei stammered as she saw them.
Micro Ice too looked worried. He was not his normal festive mood.
"She is taking care of him now. Sonny is also there. I hope he can find a way to counter act this. It seems, this is not just D'Jok that is at risk of developing this resonance. The more aggressive the play, the higher the risk that you will be the next" Clamp said.
Rocket had also paid close attention to what had been said about the matter.
"I suggest, we make team play our new strategy and leave all the aggressive play out of things. We just had a terrible shock, seeing D'Jok, one of our strongest players, get sidelined. I know how that feels, trust me. I will try to talk to him about it, for now, it is only D'Jok and I on the team that is struck with this. I would prefer that no more players get this as well. This is where our training boot camp with the pirates will serve us. But expect that this is a scenario we may see with other friends as well. It will be hard, but all we can do, is try to warn those we care about and let them make the decision if they want to listen to us or not. Other than that, Sonny has a meter where he can gauge how badly affected we are. We will all have to be checked tonight" Rocket said, looking at his team.
"So, we are all at risk of not being able to play football any more then? This thing is all entirely Lord Phoenix fault" Micro Ice pouted.
Mei sent him a cross look.
"You mean Magnus Blade Micro Ice. Unlike you, I paid attention to what Sonny said after the rescue. Seems he and Corso know this man well. And it was clearly not all good memories" Mei reminded him.
"True, but its still not fair that we get sidelined because of this guy" Micro Ice pointed out.
Clamp shook his head. They had to do the press conferance first,before they could return to the hotel. And this one would surely be a bombardment of questions regarding D'Joks health. Clamp sent a message to Sonny, to get started, he would join as soon as they returned...
Duke Maddox stared at Sonny through the screen.
"I am sorry about what happened to your son Sonny, is he ok? " he asked.
Sonny nodded.
"He will survive and is fine under the circumstances. Duke, we got a serious problem on our hands. This is hardly the time to play enemies in this game we have had going. I believe you know the truth about matters, my hackers informed me of the latest logg on your computers. You are starting to get the picture, that someone actually has misled you and been conducting powerplays within Technoid behind your back. Two of them were dealt with in time,but it seems someone with not only the money, but also the resources and connections to pull it off, has decided to try for a galactik takeover. It must be stopped" Sonny said.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"I agree Blackbones, but first of all, this galactik resonance has to be stopped. Have you got any idea on how to pull it off? If it cant be stopped, we will no longer have a galactik football cup. And that alone has consequenses for the cup that is safely in space" he said, looking concerned.
Sonny gave him a nodd.
"I would not come forth to speak to you now unless I had some idea on how to progress. All the teams need to be notified, aggressive playing will accelerate the resonance, even strengthen it, as I can see from my sons case. The resonance may still come, but with a less aggressive play, we may be able to slow it down enough to finish the final sixteen, without lasting damage to the players. Resonance is a complex issue, with very little research ever done. Clamp and I may be the best bet to take this research on. I will do my part from the shadows for now, I need some more concrete assurance for my own safety before I would show up.I am sure you understand that our past history affects how I see things today. In regards to the resonance,I dont know yet wich team Magnus is using in this cup, Your team of cyborgs is not stored in a place where they can be tampered with. That means that all new teams from the paradisian cup needs be under surveillance. That includes the Xenons, The more data I have on how the teams has acted since the paradisian cup, the better odds I have at coming up with something to neutralize the effects" Sonny said.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"Ill see to it that its agent will provide the needed reports first thing in the morning. Anything else?" he asked.
"Yes, have an extra medical staff ready and all available personell on stand by. This resonance is only at the starting phase. I dont know wich team will be struck next. Tell all to not play hard, but team play. As far as anyone can see, The pirates are the only team not directly effected. It may be advicable to call off the entire tournament, if it effects the players health like it did my son. But untill I have more data to compare, I can not advice bringing the tournament to a halt" Sonny said.
Duke Maddox looked like he wanted to object the very idea, but on second thought,he could see Sonnys point of view.
"Were does this resonance originate from?We had the galactik football for decades, without this phenomenon ever showing before" he finally asked.
"As far as we can tell, the first case happened on Paradisia, during the tournament there, but it is not the start of things. Bleylock syphoned off flux from many players in the GF in an underground club playing Nether ball,I dont suppose you have heard of it? That is the ground zero for resonance. The flux mix made, illegal even by The flux societys standards, that became multiflux, that is what caused for the resonance to appear. The only known bad case so far, is the snow kids Rocket. That is, up till now. It seems my son may also have a bad case. How this will effect the players of each team, is yet unknown. But news footage from Paradisia, including the Sharky show, will show several players from several teams describing varying degree of symptoms" Sonny explained.
Duke Maddox normal eye narrowed.
"It didnt start with Harris then. He just picked it up and continued it. This all started with Bleylock. I am not sure how closely he watched you and Clamp, but he must have learned some of the process from you" Duke Maddox concluded.
Sonny agreed.
"Bleylocks past may hold the key to the matter altogether. I wouldnt put it past him to be experimenting with flux on the side, without me and Clamp knowing. But at the moment, we got more pressing issues to deal with. Magnus Blade set this off this time. We forced him to explain things to us, in order to stop Harris on Paradisia, wich caused the planet to explode, and making it a dead planet. Since then, Lord Phoenix, whom was his new identity, has reverted back to his old self, Magnus Blade. We know him to be a ruthless man, and not one that should have the kind of power he wants to amass. I am still trying to figure out why we, The pirates, now have a flux of our own. The aim may have been to give Technoid a fighting chance to locate us. But giving us a flux, has now strengthened the pirates as a team. It also ties in to the abduction of The galactik kids, my sons team, and two snow Kids. This is an angle we are still working to deal with. We managed to stop the progression of the virus, and Clamp will look more closely into that. What is most important now, is the resonance. If I am right, this will be a galactik resonance. So far, The Xenons, by playing aggressively, are out of the competition. Their tests show high levels of resonance as a result of their playing style. What I need Technoid to do, is send out a warning to all participating teams to change any strategy that involves playing this hard, to a more team play based one. That may slow the resonance down, rather than the oposite" Sonny explained, not letting Duke Maddox have a chance to argue.
He could tell the old man was getting worried.
"I am not going to ask where you obtained tests from the Xenons from. I know you wont tell. Are you certain of your results Sonny? As much as I hate to admit it, I know you would never put yourself in a situation to work with us, unless you had no other way to get the results you need" he said.
Sonny only nodded.
"We will meet, once I am better from the wound. I am still going to be careful around you. I have not forgotten our conversation at the hospital. And I know what facility is prepared. As do my closest men. I wont be captured by Technoid. When we meet, it will be at a time I decide." Sonny informed.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"I wish I didnt have to, but this is not a field of expertise Technoid has the most knowledge. I could force Clamp, but my guess is, you got him watched and protected. I guess I will do better cooperating than trying to locate you" he said.
Sonny nodded with a small smirk.
"Now we are on the same side here Your Excellency. Spread the word on what I found, I will send someone over with the confirmed finds of my research on this. If given proper time to test it, I will be able to deliver a more extensive report in a few days, highlighting the problems and the confirmed finds. If there are any of your scientists available to work it, let them do so in the lab. This channel can be made open to them, as a way to seek help. In due time, we will form a task force. And thank you, for cooperating on this matter, it makes it easier to get things done" Sonny said.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"In the best interest of the galaxy, I am even willing to work with the pirates to ensure that all of us stay safe. We will speak soon. Till then, be careful Sonny, this time, the galaxy needs you" he said.
Sonny nodded.
"And you" he said, before he ended the call.
Corso raised an eyebrow as he looked over at him from the panels he was checking.
"I almost got the impression you two were friends with this talk. Did this free up some crew and time? We still got one heck of a list of things to do" he said.
Sonny chuckled.
"Yes, it freed up time. Did the messenger deliver the last reports on who could be Magnus possible accomplices?" Sonny asked as he focused on some documents in front of him.
Corso nodded. The pirates had trailed all the possible suspects and had extensive video material available now. And he and Sonny would have to split this between themselves and Bennett and Artie, in an attempt to figure where to focus their resources.
He noticed Sonnys hand grab the injured area, scratching it a bit.
"How is the wound? We need you back outside the ship, the sooner the better" he asked.
Sonny smiled as he turned to Corso.
"I might have some good news for you on that one. Feeling ready for the test?" he asked.
Corso grinned.
"I am gonna make you work hard for it. If you are fit for action, we may also start to hone in more on Magnus. It would not be a good thing for the galaxy if he is allowed to become the ruler, I still remember him as a money person leader, guess thats the kind of leader he would make in the galaxy too" he said.
Sonny agreed.
"We wont let it go that far. Lets make this a bit more interesting. I will wear a full armour, and the fight is sword fight" he said.
Corso grinned as they walked towards the training room.
This was gonna be one sweaty workout...
This was so not the news he wanted to hear. D'Jok felt as if he had been handed a death sentence when Sonny explained the resonance. Rockets case was bad, but it could easily turn out, his would be just as bad.
In his mind, he went through it all again. It set in as he started to gain momentum, when he pushed himself beyond the middle point, to go high. D'Jok grabbed a small notepad and a pen on the table next to his bed and started to write down his experience. Maybe it could give his father and Clamp a better understanding of how this resonance worked.
He was interrupted by a light knock on the door. As he looked up, Mei entered with a worried look on her face.
"I wont stay for long, dont want to exhaust you. I just wanted to make sure you are all ok" she said as she sat down next to him.
D'Jok decided to act on his decision of being honest.
"Mei, for me, this could mean the end of my football career. This is all I have, all I am. I never really cared about anything else, well, at least not until you entered my life. And for once, and this is strange, I am not overly concerned about myself. I think more of other teams, some of them we know well, others, we have never faced. But after the paradisian cup, we are all in the same boat. If this could happen to me, it can happen to anyone of us that played. Just look at the Xenons" he said.
Mei nodded. This was a new side to D'Jok, one he rarely showed, even to her. If he could be this honest, then she could do no less.
"You know, I wonder if what happened to The galactik kids, Micro Ice and myself will also put an end to our careers. Sure, Sonny and Clamp did manage to eradicate the virus, hopefully that leaves the galactik kids safe. But, Micro Ice and I both played in the paradisian cup too. Micro Ice, like yourself, only used the breath, hopefully that makes him stay safe. But for myself..." she sighed.
D'Jok took her hand. He recalled the friendly against the shadows, where Mei had the smog. She didnt have to say it. Mei was worried that something she had no idea what was, had forced her into a situation where her use of multiple fluxes, could become an issue for the team, maybe even cause a resonance for her.
"It will be ok Mei, I promise. I may not know how things will work out, but trust me, it will be fine. And if it is all set to end now, at least we will all end it together, as united team. And you and I are united too, as a couple" he reminded her.
That made Mei turn to him with a smile on her face.
"I think I really start to like the romantic D'Jok Blackbones. Dont hide this side of your personality." she said.
Then, she leaned in to kiss him. In a matter of minutes, they forgot all about where they were, just surrendering to the passion that flared up between them...
Magnus checked on the progress. Having his little spies pretty much everywhere gave him a good idea where they were at with the resonance. Clearly, Harris had sucked it at full strength on Paradisa. And the destruction of his planet had led to him teaming up with Sonny and his men, just long enough to get off the planet, and get his revenge on the deceitful villain. The very fact that Sonny had trusted him, that was the one weakness the pirate chief had, being too trusting. Having Corso by his side made up for that weakness, but at the same time, it caused an obstacle for him. If he was going to stand a chance of taking control back, the answer was not the resonance, that was a part of a bigger plan, his plan to successfully restore what one deceitful Technoid employee had taken from him. The planet that was lost, and to have it prosper with flux. Since he knew the seed of shiloh could be used to heal the planet, he needed someone from the pirates that had flux. Someone that would act on emotions alone. He needed to get eyes on the pirates, at all cost. And if he was to find a pirate to extract the pure version of the seed from, he knew he needed bait. Sonny was the obvious one to go after, wwith the strongest flux. But to ask was out of the question. Sonny would never cooperate. Magnus considered using the two weakened snow kids, Mei and Micro Ice to obtain his goals, but that did not sound like a good bet. The snow kids was a team everyone knew, and to have one of them taken in broad daylight would be difficult. Due to Sonnys connections, he had been given safe passage now, to many things. Magnus knew of the rumours, that Sonny had allowed for a direct line of communication with Technoid to be set up. He would have to deal with his young protege all by himself. To the naked eye, it appeared Sonny had a ironclad defence, getting close to him would not be possible. The same went for his son. But there had to be some way...Then, a smile formed on his face. There was once way he could force Sonny to do his bidding. But he had to have a foolproof plan to pull it off. He was too close to victory now, too close to have anyone stop him. Magnus chuckled as he started to write out the details for the next step...
AN this is becoming a cat and mouse game with high odds. And a race against the clock. It is not even sure the resonance can be reversed from the sound of things. It is all in the hands of two scientists, Sonny and Clamp, wheter this truly is going to be a case of galactik resonance, and if so, will finally an ex pirate have pulled of what Bleylock and Harris could not. Or is this all about revenge on the man that took his place, the alleged villain that is more focused on making the galaxy a safe place, rather than his own safety. Will the cup even be finished if this resonance worsens. I am building on some of the foundation laid in season 3, as resonance clearly was becoming a major threat. The story will take some time between chapters, as I try to work through kinks in the ideas I have before I write it out. If any of you have any perspectives on the resonance and the sideeffects it could have in this story, for better or worse, either pm me or review the story. I would love to hear the perspectives of others on the resonance and its impact on the story. Till next chapter, enjoy and happy reading.