It's dawn and the sun dimly lights the DFH when Gao enters searching for his teammates. Yuma and Tori are practicing and talking about various things.
"Good morning, guys." Gao gathers the strength to salute. They respond to him and continue their chat. But Yuma realizes something's missing: "Is Masato Rikuo still sleeping?"
"I'll go wake him up," responds the recently awoken car. The other guys return to their business.
"The Sharks have been very quiet, Tori. I don't like this."
"I know, Yuma. I think they are up to something. And something not good, I guess. They always brag about how they are going to beat their rivals and things like that. But now? Nothing."
"I guess we'll have to wait. I hope we're wrong."
Far away, a grumpy Masato Rikuo shows up with Gao and they salute them. In a few minutes they have to go to Neo Tokyo.
When they are ready, they leave to the stadium. In the road, they transit important and crowded places. They need the town's support this time. With Titans in the head of the convoy and Fireworks in the back, the crowd of spectators go crazy when the cameras show them entering the stadium.
"Big match today, Kazane Fujimiya. Who would have thought that we were going to see these two teams facing each other? I never did."
"As you say, Buzz. There are great expectations in the crowd to see the game that reunites two fantastical teams. What is going to happen in the end? Stay here, because in just a few minutes, the first encounter will begin."
Aftershock says a few inspiring words and the team is about to go out.
"I'm so nervous!" Leo and Luna confesses.
"Yeah, but what a beautiful feeling. I've missed this, guys," says Tsurugi Takihara. "Let's have fun, shall we?"
"Let's do it." Esper says the final words and the four guys leave the garage to enter the field.
The Neo Tokyo overflows with guys and noise. When True Brothers enter, the noise duplicates. Now it's deafening. Titans, already on the middle of the field, see them approach and cheer up because of their rivals' comeback. Backfire goes to their side.
"It's an honor having you again with us, True Brothers. You are great players and the future of this sport. You knew that, right? Thanks for being courageous and returning to competitive tournaments."
"Thank you, Fireback. We had rough years, but here we are. And nothing could have been possible without your return, too. You… you are the essence of Rocket League," concedes Max, proudly.
In the tribunes, Fireworks can see the anxious and happy crowd awaiting for the game.
Amaterasu looks at Rouga Aragami, confused: "Hey V. Is it me or Takumi is almost identical to Leo and Luna?" Rouga Aragami laughs and explains to him. "You are right, Zip. Mune was made after Masato Rikuo and based on his model. Let's say it's an improved version of Masato Rikuo. Leo and Luna was made with the same sporty and elegant design but with a few light changes and a different front chassis."
"Oh, Masato Rikuo is not going to like this."
"Silence! It's about to start!" Dev interrupts them, impatiently, and then apologizes for being so abrupt. The five Fireworks guys join to the countdown and the game begins.
Aftershock and Gao go for the kickoff and the ball is shot to one of the sides. The field has the shape of a bathtub (the sides are in a higher level than the center) so nobody can know exactly where will the ball go after hitting the ramps that unite the sides with the center of the field. After hitting the ramp, Masato Rikuo loses the trajectory of the ball and misses it. Behind him, Yuma shows up to hit the ball and sends it to the goal. Tsurugi Takihara blocks it, near to the goal, and it goes to the center again but not with much strength. Esper goes for it and dominates the ball. He turns on his boost to accelerate violently. Fireback tries to block him but misses, surprisingly. Esper passes it to his left and Mune suddenly appears there like a locomotive to insert the ball in the top right corner. Goal. True Brothers rapidly take the lead and the fans celebrate it.
"As you can see, it is very difficult to adapt to this court. That dammed field depression should be banned from important competitions," says a frustrated Torirean. "But don't worry. They will get used to it."
"It's ok, boys. Come on, come on!" Yuma cheers up his partners.
The next three minutes pass by with True Brothers' dominance, but the Titans appear to be more and more comfortable with the field as the time goes by. Until the moment they manage to tie the game. Fireback takes the ball in one of the higher sides and centers it. Gao barely touches it and Esper passes by. Yuma hits the ball and the shot is so powerful that Aftershock can't contain it when he tries to save it. The ball remains floating in the goal line after Shock touches it and Fireback quickly pushes it in. Fireworks scream "goal!" with the rest of the Titans' fans. 30 seconds remaining. Yuma and Max fight for the kickoff. The ball rolls to a side and Masato Rikuo touches it to lift it in the air. Shock can't reach him. Esper and Mune, that had gone to pick up some boost from the sides, return desperately to their goal. Esper goes directly to the ball but Masato Rikuo, intelligently, touches it another time to fool his rival. He is crashed by Esper and he returns to the ground. Mune can't react so fast and rolls to his side in a desperate try to save it. The ball hits the post and slowly crosses the line. Shock makes one last attempt to save it but it's too late. Goal. True Brothers' teammates look at each other trying to understand what just happened. Titans celebrate it in a surprised way. The last 25 seconds pass by and the score remains the same. Titans win the first match of the series. True Brothers' guys salute their rivals in silence, irritated by their mistake and bad luck. Only Max says "good game" and leaves.
"Yes! They did it!" celebrates Amaterasu.
"I told you they were going to get used to it! These guys are great. What a comeback… Okay, come on! We are getting late to our match. Let's go!" Tori rushes his team to go to the Sharks' stadium. In a few hours they have to play their own Semifinal. Fireback, from the field, sees them leaving in a rush and he remembers that his team has to go too.