The summer heat that day was hot and miserable, although the heat at the time paled in comparison to the hellish heat experienced in Ravia. It was a critical round in the knockout stage for the Bluerings who were eyeing a potential championship run possessing some of the most entertaining first years and second years imaginable and were led by a wonderful cast of third years determined to leave their mark at the tournament and make a name for their school. Unfortunately it became a match full of regrets as bitter tears remained at the end of the round in a sour loss, the senior players breaking down into tears with realization that their hard fought journey reached an abrupt end, gutted they had to leave behind a brilliant cast of young juniors. A heart crushing defeat that became a painful teacher, a valuable lesson was learned by C.C. and the others that day, it was a gloomy remembrance that brought with it a sense of suffocation once he remembered vividly his feelings from that day. His eyes were wide open with immense concentration as if he'd been activated, the trigger for this new state of focus deriving from his sense of responsibility; the same sense of responsibility he felt that day after the loss last year. When he caught a glimpse of his dejected teammates and the disappointed looks of the team supporters, he felt that sense of duty to them grow stronger.
They looked dispirited, the energy and life they brought to us during the entire tournament withering away like a plant losing its life. I watched our entire student body's hopes and expectations extinguish much like our life in the tournament, gone without a trace once we made our final bow. Hearing the seniors choke on their own tears braving fragile smiles and telling us that we'd do just fine without them, I felt responsible for everything. I know it's arrogant of me to think as such but what else could I think? I was a frustrated starry eyed first year who was naive to the reality of these grueling tournaments. I wanted to admit that it was the skill of our opponents, and they were simply the better team. But I hated that thought! The thought that there was a team better than ours, that worked harder than ours and had a better chance to realize their goals...I was clueless about everything at the time.
Suppressing a laugh full of frustration, C.C. grins wide with a determined smile. A sense of appreciation for what his seniors had to do when they were playing and now understanding that they did so knowing it was their last year while he still had another full year left, C.C. broadened his perspective and calmed down. It wasn't a time to be relaxed considering the circumstances, but the lesson learned from that defeat last year reminded him that they were going up against one of the best teams in the competition, a total equal and counter to them. Pushing himself to the point of strain offered no benefit, especially not when he had a team to look after. The remembrance of that bitter summer day helped deliver his revelation.
Failure won't be manifested!
The air dry and the heat intensifying, the players at the aircraft base already felt dehydrated inhaling the hot air with beads of sweat beginning to roll down their faces, receiving warm welcomes from those at the venue who stopped their aircraft maintenance and test runs to get a view of the round playing in the background. The same setup as before, the players had a vast area to explore all under the watchful eyes of the workers, some who were festive for the day since they were fans of the two teams. Both parties come together for a team huddle with the captains of their respective sides motivating their sides just before the round begins. Carmichael wears a confident look, clapping his hands together and hyping up his team, reminding them that a win here brings them a step closer to the next round and that they're already over the hump by having the lead and the momentum in their favor, believing his side to be by far the tougher side physically and mentally. Preparing them for the war ahead, he alerted them to the likelihood that they'd see the best side of the Bluerings in this round onwards now that their backs are to the wall staring at elimination, so they'll need to be prepared and match that intensity and quell their opponent's fire. In response, the rest of his fellow Ogres fed off his energy and expressed their intent to take the commanding lead in the match and end it in the fifth. Over at the Bluerings' corner, C.C. looked enlightened as he thanked his teammates for their hard work thus far, assuring them they'll continue the journey to a championship. His head emptied of that visit from the past, he calmly delivered a sharp message to his teammates with nothing but peace in his eyes, his resolve found and now in the zone. His squad felt a bit spooked by how uncharacteristic it was to see him so calm without any tension or concerns what comes next or how freely he spoke with them instead of usually isolating himself trying to carry the burden alone. It looked like he'd finally figured everything out when it mattered the most, and they felt relieved to know their captain was about to elevate his game to another level.
Both teams were off to a wild sprint to start the fourth, racing towards the tower at center map with both captains leading the way for their squads. What followed was an epic clash on the tower with splashes of green and blue splattering all over the site, the casualties racking up as the players sacrificed their bodies for the objective. The sense of urgency for grabbing the lead heightened by the implications of what is on the line in this match, C.C. and Carmichael both looked fierce as their sights locked on each other refraining from dueling due to the priority of the tower. Skolar still had the harder punch on the attack, but the Bluerings were just moving far too quicker and C.C. looked as though he'd tapped into another level which was something in and of itself to behold when considering he appeared to already have a limitless ceiling; it was as though he found a way to break through even the limitless ceiling itself and go into uncharted territory.
The Bluerings initially took control of the tower and moved a decent amount before getting interrupted by Skolar on a flank attack, of which possession of the tower exchanged several times afterwards. Starting with the Bluerings jumping to a 83-100 lead thanks to C.C., Ray, and Frazzy leading the charge and piling on their special attacks to take out the bulk of Skolar's numbers. The score then became a 76-94 lead after Skolar managed to momentarily wrestle away possession during a team battle and carry the tower for just a bit until the likes of Ray, Lee, and Evan held on to coordinate a full press on Sigurd and those on the tower. Following that exchange, the Bluerings seemingly ran away with the lead for a bit and jumped to a 58-82 lead, only losing possession momentarily but eventually recovering the tower to march to a 43-70 lead following a slight run by Skolar that lost steam. While the round and match were far from over, Skolar couldn't afford to continually slip behind with the deeper deficits or else they'd risk the Bluerings getting a knockout victory and tying the series. The story of the round so far was how polarizing of a presence the two captains were to their teams: C.C. was the competent leader shining the brightest during the team battles while Carmichael seemed to be unusually quiet, only really having his name get called when they made some counterattacks that led to the tower in their possession.
"It started as a seventeen point deficit, then became eighteen after their first answer, then twenty four, and now they're at a twenty seven point deficit. At this rate, that lead will be too much to overcome when they finally get into a rhythm." Beni said, sucking his teeth afterwards, upset with the development of the match after having expected Skolar to close out the Bluerings and prepare for a gentleman's sweep in the fifth.
"This is due to the attitude adjustment of the Bluerings and their captain. Unlike the previous rounds where they appeared to be going through the motions, they look focused and organized and understand the importance of this round. Whatever the strategy they decided upon, they're doing well in executing the order. It's a do or die situation for them." Akiti adds, enjoying the tenacity shown by the Bluerings so far.
Watching the battle between the two titans, the players of Hugh-Napri were interested to see what their rivals would show now that the pressure had been raised. How would Skolar close the match? Could they close? Can the Bluerings respond to adversity and turn things around? The answers were valuable for helping them on how to approach those teams and similar opponents that they expected to see later down the bracket. Shiore's eyes were glued to the screen, analyzing everything as it occurred; her acquaintance with Carmichael was another reason for her to follow this match closely, regarding him as a rival she needed to keep an eye on if he started to ever live up to the expectations she foresaw.
6 Shiore also had her eye on C.C. and the Bluerings and was interested to see how the team would respond now that they were facing an equal challenger in an elimination match. Although they competed with similar challengers, that was in the group stage and the stakes weren't as high so for Shiore and many others viewing this match, this was a good chance to see if the Bluerings had that championship pedigree that their captain bragged so much about possessing.
Carmichael, Miralem, Jean, Sigurd, Mia and Erik are Skolar's fighting six on the turf of the airbase and C.C., Frazzy, Ray, Manuel, Lee, and Evan are the six players who were called for the Bluerings. With a fire in their eyes and a roar bellowing, the two teams tenaciously continued their feud. At this point, Skolar were now in possession of the tower after persistently overwhelming the Bluerings and exhausting the players to either death or off the tower to claim for themselves and what followed was a steady but sure erasure of the lead the Bluerings spent the whole round building. From 39-66 to 39-50, Skolar cut down the lead tremendously to the thundering cheers from the watchers at the airbase who rooted for the comeback, preferring to see the Ogres go up 3-1 instead of seeing C.C. and the Bluerings tie the series; this mostly stemmed from C.C. becoming a sort of a villain to some and a hero to others, that strong and arrogant personality of his winning some fans and earning spite from others. As the chants grew louder for the comeback from the spectating crowd, the Bluerings stubbornly refused their demands. A team effort by C.C., Frazzy, Evan, and Ray lead a quadruple kill that wipes away the forces of Skolar, leaving only Pierre and Miralem as the survivors from that tower siege. A valiant effort by Miralem to contend with C.C. and Frazzy, the numbers proved too much once Evan and Ray took care of Pierre to help bring him down. The possession switching afterwards, it was a long road for the Bluerings to carry the tower out of their territory and back behind enemy lines. Several times the tower came to a halt, and several times the Bluerings escaped total loss of the tower, all due to the resilience of their captain to hold the fort and keep all his players safe, embracing the enemy instead. But Skolar didn't look pressured at all and instead approached the scenario like a person playing with house money. Lax and carefree while watching the Bluerings toil over the repercussions should they fail to capture this round.
"The tower chugs along and the Bluerings continue to build their lead with the score currently 21-50." the commentator announced shortly before the most important moment in the round transpired.
C.C., Frazzy, and Ray occupy the tower while Evan and Manuel scout ahead protecting the tower perimeter, Lee is missing from the action at the moment due to a brush with Erik of Skolar that led to the two players taking each other out. Skolar's forces were weakened following the latest clash that saw Jean and Sigurd get taken down and the trio of Carmichael, Miralem, and Mia, tactically retreat to reconstruct their counterattack. The tower marching into Skolar territory while the defensive trio performed hit and run tactics to pick off the Bluerings, it all came to a head once the tower neared the goal within sight. Carmichael and his squad became hasty in this moment, moving with greater urgency than prior and almost performing reckless at times; the Bluerings seemingly settled down and foc used more on protecting the tower than engaging with Skolar, their priority to deliver the tower trumping everything else. Attempting to stall by throwing bodies to the tower, it was an inevitable conclusion once Skolar resorted to such desperation. C.C. and the Bluerings wouldn't be denied their knockout victory, evening the series in the process.
Though it wasn't in stunning fashion when considering the team's dominance for most of the round, the change in C.C.'s attitude most certainly was. Instead of getting hot-headed and loud, now he was quiet, preferring to focus only on the match and nothing else. Heading back to their respective sidelines, the tension for Skolar grew as they realized they made a crucial error in letting the Bluerings right back into the fold, and the players had no one to blame other than themselves. On the Bluerings sidelines, the players looked hopeful as they once again had a fighting chance, spurred on by their captain who declared that this would be the start of their comeback. With only a trio of rounds remaining, it became a toss-up of who would earn their spot in the round of 16. Would it be the Twin Terrors and their machine of a team, or the Prodigy and his pool of talent?
