"Go long! Go long!"

Miguel and the other children did as they were told, all laughing as Eugene took several steps back, rushing forwards and kicking the ball as hard and as high as he could. He watched as his Dad backed up to try and knock it back with his head, only for Miguel to run right into Tulio… who then failed to duck as the ball hit him right in the middle of the forehead.

Impressively, his Papa never flinched at the hit, glaring down at Miguel, "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

"Lying low?"

Tulio growled, sending Eugene a glare as well, before visibly taking a deep breath, "Look, change of plans." He began, "We have to grab what we can carry and get out of here now!"

"What?" Miguel frowned, "Why?"

"Because the high priest is nuts! He wants- "

"- This is unacceptable!" Tzekel-kan's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"Yeah!" Tulio's tone changed, "Yeah! Like he said!"

"The gods should not be playing ball like this!"

"Well, exactly!"

"This is how the gods should play ball!"

It was then that the group noticed the crowd that had gathered all around the small stadium, their cheers drowning out everything else.

"Don't blame me!"

"I blame you!"

The cheering continued as Chel sidled over.

"So um…" Tulio looked nervously over at her, glancing between her and Miguel, "… what is the object of this game, pray tell?"

"You've gotta knock the ball through the hoop."

"What hoop?"

"That hoop."

She pointed up, all of them looking in that direction to see a small golden hoop that was almost two metres off the ground.

"That's impossible!" Tulio hissed, "We're gonna lose!"

"Gods don't lose."

Before Tulio could snap at her, Tzekel-khan snapped his fingers, a team of large, buff men moving to stand in front of them.

"HEEP-HA!" They chanted.

"My lords…" Tzekel-khan bowed, "… Chief Tannabok's warriors are the finest ballplayers in the city."

The men grunted, rolling their heads around their shoulders, cracking their knuckles.

"Fifteen more mortals against two gods."

Miguel and Tulio both gulped.

"I realise it's a bit uneven… but I do hope they'll challenge you enough to make the game, interesting. PLAY BALL!"

The crowd cheered as the ball was placed on the ground and the game started.

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!"

The ground rumbled as the other team charged towards the ball, one man skidding forwards and kicking the ball straight at Tulio who only just managed to duck, the ball rebounding off the wall behind him.

Eugene decided that this game wasn't for him, rushing to sit on the outskirts of the match with the armadillo, and Chel… keeping some distance between him and Chel.

The crowd murmured, as they watched the brown ball go bouncing across the ground.

"My lords…" Tzekel-khan spoked up, "… Were you not supposed to put the ball into play?"

"Oohh!" Tulio forced himself to chuckle, "Well, no, no, no, no. We were merely demonstrating the, um, traditional, uh, first avoidance manoeuvre."

"Ah… I've never heard of such a thing."

"Excuse me!" Miguel piped up, "Who invented this game?!"

"Why the gods… of course."

"Oh… Yeah."

As Miguel bent over to grab the ball, Tulio leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"I'm warning you…" He watched as Miguel rolled the ball down his arm, "… don't push your luck with this guy!"

"But Tulio… we're the gods."

The game started and it quickly became obvious they were out of their depth.

"Tulio! The hip! The hip!" Chel cried out, using the armadillo like it was the ball, only to wince when Tulio tried that, crying out slightly in pain.

Eugene gently took the stunned armadillo off of her, not wanting to watch his parent's utter embarrassment.

They got close, but not close enough.

"This is impossible!" Tulio panted, only for someone on the opposite team to kick the ball through the hoop, making them all cheer.

On the side-lines, a gold bar was placed on a step.

For half an hour, this went on.

Tulio and Miguel were run ragged as the other team ran back and forth, scoring point after point, after point.

Nine gold bars were on the steps, for the opposing team.

Eugene narrowly dodged as a ball was kicked towards them, landing in the bucket of balls.

"Foul! That was a foul!"

"NEW BALL!"

As it was the 'God's turn', Tulio and Miguel moved over to the side-lines to get the new ball.

"How long does this go on anyway?" Tulio panted.

"The game is over when the shadow touches this line."

It was getting closer.

"We need a miracle!" Miguel gasped.

"No, we need to cheat." Tulio's eyes wandered over to his son, who had the armadillo in his arms, the creature all curled up… looking like one of the balls.

"Hey!" Eugene pouted when the armadillo was pulled from his arms and the game started again, "Hey!"

The armadillo, still rolled up in a ball still, moved all up Tulio's body to his hips before going up the wall and through the hoop.

There was a moment of silence, before everyone cheered.

"YES!"

From then on, the other team couldn't keep up.

The 'ball' seemed to move around on its own accord, going through the hoop again and again and again. The gold bars on the gods side of the scoreboard started to rise, until they matched the opposing team's score, as Chel whooped and cheered.

"Who's the god!"

"You de god!"

The armadillo was kicked back over to the ball bucket, landing in it perfectly as Chel reached in to grab it and throw it back to Miguel and Tulio, who were now on Altivo, knowing that with one more point, they'd won the game.

And then the armadillo's head popped up out of the bucket, limping towards Eugene.

Chel let out a vicious curse, turning to catch Tulio's attention, trying to sneakily gesture at the armadillo.

"It's right here!" She yelled through gritted teeth, "It's here!"

Eugene could see the moment his parents noticed the bruised armadillo in his arms, their eyes widening, before they frantically tried to kick the normal ball through the hoop, limbs flying everywhere.

Tulio elbowed Miguel in the face as he fell back, legs flailing before he managed to kick the kick, watching as it arched through the air, heading straight for the hoop.

It entered the hoop but stopped in the middle as the shadow get closer and closer to the line.

The crowd held its' breath in anticipation.

And then Altivo kicked the wall, the ball falling out the other side of the hoop, indicating another point for the Gods just as the shadow reached the line.

A horn was blown, and the game came to an end.

"Yes!" The pair high-fived each other as Tzekel-khan clapped from the side-lines. Eugene and Chel raced over, Eugen keeping the armadillo in one arm and reaching up for Tulio with the other.

Tulio pulled Chel into a hug instead though.

"Well done partner!"

Eugene frowned at the fond words, only to quickly remember what had happened earlier that day. He turned to Miguel, opening his mouth to tell him, only for Tzekel-Khan to interrupt.

"My lords, congratulations on your victory. And now, you will, of course, wish to have the losing team sacrificed to your glory."

The crowd gasped as the other team got down onto one knee.

"Not again." Miguel groaned, "Look, Tzekel-khan…"

"Uh, Miguel?"

"… forget the sacrifices!"

"Miguel!"

"We don't want any sacrifices!"

Tzekel-khan looked taken aback by the words, "But… all of the sacred writings say that you will devour the wicked and unrighteous!"

"Well, I don't see anyone here who fits that description!"

Eugene did, glancing over at Chel, who noticed his look and glared at him.

Tzekel-khan didn't notice it though, scoffing loudly, "Well, as a speaker for the gods, it would be my privilege to point them out."

Eugene could bet that the Chief was one of them.

"The gods are speaking for themselves now!" Miguel's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "This city and these people have no need for you anymore." He moved to encourage the players to their feet as the crowd started to nod in agreement with him, "There will be no sacrifices! Not now, not ever!"

The crowd burst into cheers.

"Now, get out!"

Tzekel-Khan gasped, taking a step back, looking around to see if he had any support.

Nothing.

The crowd was cheering, and the Chief was smirking, waving his fingers teasingly in a mocking goodbye.

He then turned his attention back to Miguel, who was staring at him, blood running past his eyes from the cut on his forehead.

… Blood?

"Mmm… " He bowed and started to back away, hoping to hide the smirk on his face, "… as the gods command."

Gods.

Don't

Bleed.

As the priest left the area, the crowd lifted the four of them into the air, all cheering and whooping.

"Hey, not bad for my first commandment, huh?" Miguel cackled in delight, ignoring the concerned look on Tulio's face.

"Miguel, the little voice, y-y-y-you... fine."

…...

Do you know why the gods demand blood?

"... I don't know."

Pulling out a knife, Tzekel-Khan sliced his palm, smearing the blood all over the image of the Gods on the wall. "Because gods don't bleed." He then watched as the blood was drawn back into his hand, "It's time to take the future into my own hands, and this city will be cleansed. Even if I have to do it myself!"

"Uh, how?"

Grabbing a book from the shelf, Tzekel-Khan flicked through the pages, "There are dark magics here, and power and... Oooh." His gaze lingered onto a page with a jaguar attacking its victims, "My, my, my, my, my!" He threw the book over to the Acolyte, "It's not called the Age of the Jaguar for nothing." He watched people chopping wood down below, "This'll be a delightful way to bid the false gods… goodbye.