"Good luck, guys. I know you will give us some thrills," says Leo to Fireworks minutes before leaving to their respective home stadiums: Fireworks to the Coliseum, Titans to the DFH.
"Who will you be playing against?" asks Gao.
"They have just told us. Against the cops," responds Yuga.
"Ion Blue, right?"
"Yeah, those ones. It seems they are good, but we can do it."
"You'll be fine, boys. This jalopy (looks at Tori) has trained you really well," Tetsuya comments.
"What about you?" asks Yuma.
"I think we'll be playing against one of the Scarabs team. Round Hope or New Era. We don't know."
"Well… At the end of the journey we will be celebrating, won't we?" cheers Tori.
"Yeah! Titanworks!" yells the Kiri.
"What?" Everyone asks.
"Titanworks. Titans… Fireworks…"
Everyone stares at him silently for a few seconds before exploding in laughter after the awful joke that TK released. Some of them crash him softly to punish him while he demands to be left alone, although without getting angry.
"Let's go before TK comes out with another one," says Dev, happily.
The cars split up. Five to one side, leaded by Tori. Four to the other side. They begin the trip to their stadiums. While they are travelling, Yuga explains to his friend Yuma some of the World Cup's details.
"Quarter Finals. In some minutes we are going to play a three-matches series against Ion Blue. It's simple. The team who wins two games advances to the Semifinal."
"Is every match going to take place in our stadium?"
"No, no. For the first one, yes, in our Coliseum. But the second one is in their stadium: Urban Central. The last one, if necessary, again in our place. One more thing… Here in the World Cup the matches last five minutes, no matter the goals. Scoring three goals doesn't imply winning. There were matches with more than ten goals! Record is 12-10, in the human era. The two teams that played that match are no longer around, lamentably."
"And how do the duels work, V?"
"If after the first two matches there is not a winning team, the third one can be defined by duel. Both teams have to agree. It only can happen in instances which are not the Final."
"Oh, ok…. I'm a little nervous, V".
"Don't worry. You will be ok, Zip. You have proved to be ready for the occasion, pal. I couldn't have a better teammate."
"Thanks, my friend. For everything. Let's do it, then. Let's show them what we're made of."
"Zip? Time to destroy."
Far from there, the Titans almost arrive to their stadium. The DFH has collapsed with spectators in the last minutes. When the Scarabs found out about the epic Titans comeback, they ran as soon as possible to the stadium to see them. The Mannfield was emptied in a matter of seconds."
"Hey, guys? How is it possible that our stadium is enabled? And existing…?" asks Gao, confused. Tetsuya answers him.
"Tori told me that all the stadiums from the human era were rebuilt. No matter if the local teams were still here or not. It was also made as a tribute. As the World Cup organizers knew about our presence, they put our stadium in conditions at galactic speeds and with a lot of discretion. Look how beautiful it is." The DFH looks imposing. Full of spectators, lights and music, the Titans feel at home again. They enter the building and go to the workshop, where various Scarabs assist them with maintenance issues. Minutes pass by and the stadium's speaker announces the teams' arrival. Round Hope and Titans.
"Ready, guys?" asks the deteriorated Tetsuya. "It will probably be my last World Cup… I think you have already noticed. I can't keep this pace for much longer." Leo approaches him slowly.
"What you have done for us, dear Tetsuya… can't be ever be compensated. Thank you for creating this team, for being patient with us, for choosing us."
"You are welcome, Leo. It's my honor to be part of this family. And I'm sure you will honor the name of the Titans for many, many years."
"That's right, coach," says TK.
"Oh, don't say that yet." Tetsuya replies.
"You better start getting used to that title… coach." Gao laughs and spreads his joy to the rest. The team is in a great mood and prepares to dispute their first World Cup match in Psyonix.
On the other side of the town, the fancy Coliseum is chock full of faithful fans of Fireworks. Tori finishes his motivational speech and the team enters the field. In front of them, Ion Blue awaits formally. They present the teams' lineups and prepare to begin. Seconds before starting, in their initial positions, Yuga looks at Yuma with an approval gesture. They can do it. Luna seconds that look and Dev moves his wheels to cheer their partners. With perfect synchronization, the Coliseum and the DFH begin the countdown. Three. Two. One. And the World Cup begins.