Yep, number 12 is right here. I'd like to apologise for the abruptness of the last chapter and I hope the change of POV didn't put anyone off!
This chapter is back in Sinedd's POV and as etiquette dictates, I'm going to warn you about a little implied slash that will occur further down in the story. Yeah, so there's slash...that's the warning! ^^
Thanks again for all the reviews! I'm sorry for the lateness! Reeeally sorry! :-( I've been really busy lately and I promise that will never be this late putting up a chapter again!
Here we go....
And the theme song for this chapter? "Headstrong" by Trapt.
Sinedd was the first to rip the ball away, the smog carrying him higher than the Cyclops clumsy basket toss.
He had to fight to keep control once he plummeted to the ground, though. Fresh ferocity-laced adrenaline burned in the young player's throat; it was time to give in to his desire to win.
Sinedd's feet met the ground with a wave of blackness rippling out like a dark smoky sea all around him.
He looked from left to right for an open player, indigo eyes refusing to meet the huge orange orbs that were locked on him on all sides.
The dark haired striker battled his way out of the group but the Cyclops' players were still doing their best to wall him in- turning the pitch into an inescapable maze of solid red and green.
"Into the air, Sinedd!" Artegor bellowed into the mike. "Either use the smog or get above their heads! They may be strong but they can't attack you in the air!"
"Right."
Sinedd nodded and in the bare blink of an eye, he was gone leaving only a slither of smog behind him. His flux took him upwards and from there he could easily pass to Fulmugus.
The Shadows' captain took the ball with flourish, cutting through the players around him like a blade.
However the Cyclops captain was a little quicker on the uptake than her looked and seconds later, Fulmugus and Akamook were caught in a mid-field duel.
Before Sinedd or Nilhis could sprint over to assist, the Cyclops had stolen control of the ball and were ploughing across the field in a bunch and knocking away the Shadows' defence as easily as if they were dead leaves.
In front of the Arcadia Sports cameras, Callie was beside herself with excitement.
"The Cyclops are heading down the field, stampeding past the Shadows...lining up for a shot...the play is intense on both sides!"
The Cyclops spread themselves in a line across the pitch. Their forms were unruly, their legs shuffling and their long arms dangling but their group choreography was exceptional.
Within seconds, they had dominated the Shadows' half of the pitch and were fast closing in on the goal.
Akamook's leg drew back mid-run and came forward in a kick that sent the ball shooting like a missile, on a clear path to the back of the net...
Not quite.
Kai got their first, catching the spinning ball against his abdomen with a grunt and a flurry of the smog.
"And a nice save by Kai of the Shadows!"
Sinedd let out a strangled sigh of relief, weathering his coach's outcries that reverberated from the ear-piece across his cheek bone.
"That was a close one!" Artegor shouted. "Too close!"
The man's aggression and desperation flared again as he glared at his players on the coach's monitor. His drive to win was a powerful as his own protégé's .
"Show them what you can really do! Play to win! Come on!" he shouted, slamming his fist down on the dashboard. "Pick up the pace! They're nothing...show me that you still deserve this!"
Sinedd narrowed his gaze in his coach's direction. Those words were like poison to him- the most headstrong player on the team. His mentor knew exactly what to say...exactly what would rouse his infamous drive for victory...exactly what would aggravate him like a wild animal...
It was a cruel kindness though. Artegor had learned a long time ago that if making stabs at a player's ego drove him or her to push themselves to play at their best, than it was worth a small sacrifice of dignity.
A bout of "tough love", to be frank- strictly reserved for the coaches who weren't afraid to allow their players to develop in every way possible.
Sinedd was sprinting up the pitch, feet pounding down on to the red glass and smog streaming out his eyes and mouth like smouldering black silk. The ball was tight in his possession, not budging he tore past the hulking Cyclops players with a kind of aggressive grace that only a pro could perform with.
He rocketed past two Cyclopian mid-fielders, the goal nearing on the horizon line and the crowd shrieking with excitement.
"With a simply incredible use of the smog to boost his speed, Sinedd, the Shadows' star striker is tearing up the field! He passes one level of the defence, now two...he's going to shoot!"
He certainly was.
Sinedd was at the touch line in seconds, Ebony and Fulmugus in his peripherals- guarding his back as they had planned in training.
The Shadow's prince's lips curled into a smile; in a single flash of the smog, he was shooting towards the roof of the stadium, breasting the hot air that clung to his body.
His mouth opened in a silent scream of adrenaline and the line of his kick was firmly targeted upon the white glint of the goal-posts and white mesh below.
Then, in a single ferocious swing of Sinedd's leg sent the ball pounding into the back of the net.
"Goal Shadows!"
Sinedd raised a triumphant fist above his head. "Yeah!"
The Cyclops' goal-keeper stumbled looked over his own shoulder, slack-jawed and bug-eyed- in total disbelief of the sheer skill he had just witnessed.
The striker, whose name the crowd was chanting, smirked at his expression. Oh, he would believe in his skill very soon.
In the VIP booth, the esteemed Shadow's diplomat gazed down at the pitch, following the players beneath.
He didn't have much of an interest in football but one of the players down there, viciously locked in a midfield battle for the ball, happened to be his daughter.
"Look Papa! Look, Ebony has the ball!"
"Viola, sit down and stop making a show of yourself! I see her!"
The Shadows diplomat, Mr Appex, peered down at the blonde haired girl with a glaciated stare. The ball was zig-zagging between the players, fluxes exploding in waves around them. The pitch had become a battle-field and the players were the warriors, the promise of a victory being the ultimate prize that they fought for.
True, the watchers in the VIP box and stands could only guess at the feelings of the players beneath them. Just watching, they could barely comprehend the pressure and ferocity that the footballers experienced every day...as spectators, they just relied on their carefully mastered performances for recreation.
For the fans, it was entertainment.
For the players, it was life.
Violet sat beside her father, sitting down slowly, red-faced from his glares and the excitement of watching her sister play a real-life tournament match. The diplomat rolled his red eyes and stared back at the game, shooting a few lazily placed comments over his shoulder at the man sitting there.
"Enjoying the match, Harris?"
"Yes, greatly, sir," smirked the Technoid representative, squaring his shoulders beneath his purple suit. "It's getting exciting, wouldn't you say?"
Fulmugus slipped from the group, juggling the ball away from two stumbling attackers and sent a skilful pass straight to Sinedd.
The eleventh player on the Shadows' team wove between his opponents with a dark grace, his impeccable yet aggressive skill easily brushing off any attacker who challenged him.
The diplomat's eyes followed his daughter as she shakily accepted a pass from Sinedd.
His brow creased as the players wove between each other once more, disappearing and reappearing in a hissing gauze of black and monotonous waves of neon orange.
"This game confuses me," he muttered, leaning back. "But if the public are willing to keep paying to watch, I fully endorse it..."
Appex smirked, eyeing the rabid fans in the stadium.
Ebony sent the ball back to Sinedd, the Shadow's star striker effortlessly flying above the bumbling Cyclops defence beneath and seconds later the crowd was going wild with the celebration of the Shadow's second goal.
"Your daughter is doing quite well, sir."
"Mhmm...finally doing something worthwhile I suppose..."
The players fanned out again, Fulmugus nodding them into their next positions. Artegor had always taught them to be independent. He wanted a team of strong players, not mere puppets waiting to be told what to do.
Harris crossed his legs, leaning forward as they lined up for the next throw-out.
"Has your daughter always been athletic? "
The ball shot back into the crowd, the Cyclops gaining immediate control and pelting up the pitch.
"The Cyclops are back in possession and fast closing in on the goal, how will the Shadow's defence cope with this sudden pressure?"
Appex leaned back, taking another sip from his glass of champagne.
"She used to play when she was younger...my ex-wife taught her quite a bit...and she danced for a while. Funny little thing isn't she? Doesn't resemble Viola and I in the slightest..."
"A very healthy child," Harris murmured under his breath, his flashing eyes not falling upon Ebony but upon the player wrestling for the ball ahead of her. "A very healthy, very skilled, very beautiful child..."
His eyes traced Sinedd's rugged form, remembering the first time he had met the little ruffian in Genesis upon Bleylock's orders.
His vanity, his abrasive attitude, his sharp tongue...so lost, so alone, pretending to be tough- like he had it all figured out- but so vulnerable.
He and the boy had so much in common in his mind.
Harris watched, guiltily enticed as the striker battled between two Cyclops players, his violet eyes gleaming with ferocity, a soft gleam of sweat on his shining pale skin and his smooth hair, a blackened veil upon his brow.
"Oh yes, Sinedd my old friend...we will be together soon..."
Appex looked up. "Did you say something, Harris?"
"No sir, nothing..."
A cry from the crowd.
"Goal Cyclops! And that concludes our exciting first half!"
Half-time seemed to roll on forever for the fans in the stadium; the Shadows were leading 2-1 and the crowd were on the edges of their seats, thirsty for more of the breath-taking action.
However for the exhausted players, it was never long enough.
Sinedd grimaced. The Cyclops were a joke of a team, he shouldn't have been feeling so tired. Then again, he was thankful that the smog hadn't been at him that much during the first half. He slung a towel around his shoulders, swiping a bottle of water from his locker and gulping it down with a relish for the cool liquid.
He was half-tempted to empty the whole thing over his head to quell the burning heat beneath his skin but he resisted the urge, not particularly wanting to soil his beloved jersey.
Fulmugus was rattling on with a speech fuelled by Artegor's presence behind him; Sinedd was in no mood to pay attention to the usual banter however. He sank down to the bench next to an edgy looking Ebony, her eyes unfocused and darting and the hair that wasn't slicked to her sweaty face hanging limply back over her shoulders.
"Nervous because daddy's out there?"
Ebony looked at Sinedd coldly, rolling her eyes at his remark and winding the silver chain of her necklace around her finger.
"No," she murmured. "Why should I care? I'm too good a player to need to be self-conscious..."
She gave a vain, confident performance but her panicked eyes instantly betrayed her, refusing to meet his own properly.
"Yeah, uh-huh. You just keep telling yourself that," Sinedd teased mockingly, giving her a hard nudge in the side and smirking. Ebony glared at him out of the corner of her eyes, lips firm and frowning at him icily.
He rolled his eyes and gave her a poke. "Don't scrunch your face up like that, it makes you look uglier than usual...we don't want to break the cameras on the pitch now." He wagged his finger at her, impersonating Artegor's sharp tongued voice and glare. "Do we, Ebony?"
Her frosty glare seemed to melt, giving way to a lightened smirk. "No...so you'd best not look at them then..."
Sinedd chuckled sardonically pinching her in the side. "Think you're smart, do you?"
Ebony couldn't help but let a squeal escape her lips as she swatted him away.
Nilhis tugged the towel from Ebony's shoulders, pulling them back to reality. "Come on, second-half..."
Sinedd took a breath, rolling his neck as he stood and psyching himself out to solidify their next victory.
"I expect you to give 100% Sinedd," Artegor told him sharply as he passed. "It would be dreadfully embarrassing to lose our first match on home ground."
"I always give it my all," Sinedd snapped gruffly back as he passed. "And we won't..."
"There are only a few minutes of play left, football fans, and both teams are rearing to emerge the victor!"
Callie's commentary pressed on, documenting every detail but still barely touching on the kind of adrenaline and excitement that set the stadium on fire.
Fulmugus tore the ball away from a pair of Cyclops mid-fielders and shot up the pitch in a silken flash of the smog.
"Take it in, Sinedd!" he growled, passing it with a single, powerful kick.
Sinedd took it with a flourish, spotting Ebony sprinting up at his side and open to receive a pass from him. He allowed her to follow him, her presence somehow fuelling him to run but he was feeling a little too selfish at that moment to cough up the ball.
"Sinedd is fast moving up the field but here come the indestructible Cyclops defence!"
The eleventh player on the Shadows gave Ebony a nod and the two of them ran in tandem up the pitch.
"Sinedd! Ebony!" came Artegor's commands. "Don't let up and don't dare try and turn back. We need to score...just keep up the pace...and for god's sake don't look into their eyes!"
Sinedd managed to breeze past the defence in a wave of smog, taking out half the line by sending them all into fits of coughing as the toxic flux took its effect.
Ebony, however managed to run straight into a huddle of Cyclops players, their headache inducing flux- the brainwave- immediately taking its toll on her.
Her team-mate looked back when he lost sight of her, just in time to watch her sink to her knees, clutching her curly head in her hands in a wave of orange light.
Ebony gritted her teeth; the image of those squiggly black irises and goggling orange eyes felt permanently burned into her mind and her temples were throbbing painfully. Her pride was damaged the most though- trust her to make the stupid mistake of walking straight into another team's flux at the match her father had decided to come and see.
But the headache suddenly seemed to dissolve, giving way to surprise when she suddenly felt someone grab her by the jersey and tug her to her feet. Their movements were rough but reassuring.
"Come on, blondie...don't make stupid moves like that. You almost cost us a goal."
She looked up to see violet eyes, still burning with aggression and bearing into her gaze from the pale young man's face.
Sinedd?
He pinched her arm quickly, clapping a hand to her shoulders and saying in a low voice. "Just shake it off and fucking come on..."
For some reason, seeing her in pain infuriated him.
Perhaps because he wasn't the one causing it...
Maybe because he felt that she was holding the team back...
The weird part was that he felt angry at himself when he saw her recoiling in pain, a strange aching in his chest and a shortness of breath.
Why though?
The headstrong player had no time to reflect, allowing the ball to ricochet between him and the other Shadows on the pitch, closing in fast on the Cyclops goal.
Only seconds left now...
Nilhis passed to Ebony who disappeared in a single breath of smog and took to the air opposite the goal. The hot air rushing into her face and the sudden defiance of gravity was enough to snap her head clear and rid her of the previous nausea. Her shot was firm and sent the ball rocketing forward...headed straight over the cross-bar.
"Oh no...it looks like it's all over for the Shadows....or is it?"
"No it's not!"
Sinedd appeared in the air above the goal, his heart racing ferociously and his body on fire. His skin felt as if it were ablaze with the blackened flames of his flux, numb to the rushing air and roaring crowd and only feeling the soft round underside of the ball as it bounced off his foot.
The ball plummeted off its course and back to earth, Ebony running forward immediately, ducking between to Cyclops defenders and stealing it into her possession.
All it took was a light kick exactly three seconds before the final buzzer went to secure a Shadow's victory.
"Yes! Teamwork! That's it!" shouted Artegor at his players who were already punching the air and mocking the shamed Cyclops players with a merciless zeal.
The Shadows were never ones to get affectionate on the pitch but Sinedd gratefully accepted the punches and play-tackles of his taller, alien team-mates.
They were in now. They had won their first match of the Blitz.
"The first of many," Sinedd told himself, ego already swelling at the promise of his victories to come. He would lead the team to the finals of this tournament. "After all," he concluded. "I basically am the reason why we won this match..."
Even if he hadn't exactly scored the final goal.
Fulmugus gave Sinedd another high five, the players crowding around him and shouting to rouse their fans in the stands.
A familiar voice in his ear sounded very, very happy with her final goal. "We won! We won! Ha-ha!"
"I know! Yeah! We wo-"
She had run straight into his chest, her arms shooting around his neck in a kind of drunken excitement and in that same drunken excitement, his arms had found their way around her waist.
Nilhis bit back a giggle.
Sinedd and Ebony had just hugged.
Sinedd coughed, suddenly feeling his face heat up as he stepped back, pushing her away. "Yeah, uh...don't make mistakes like that again...and watch your aim..."
Ebony folded her arms, face going a little pink as she recoiled. "Y-yeah...I...send me more passes like that in the future and...I will..."
Later, Sinedd found himself standing in the dressing-rooms next to Ebony.
Blue eyes met violet for a brief second, the two trying to stare the other down in a silent stand-off.
Despite the commotion all around them, all the two could hear was the other's heavy breathing.
Then Ebony spoke, her voice a little less acidic than usual and her hands fidgeting beneath the cloth of her jersey, trying to find her necklace to pull at.
"Yeah...so...we won. You and I should go celebrate...like into the city..."
"You and I? Like you and me?"
"No , like you and Brim Simbra," she sneered. "Yes, I mean you and I as in the two of us." She paused, swallowing and seeming a little edgy for once. "Could be fun..."
Sinedd shrugged. "Well I have nothing better to do, I guess...no windows to break either," he added with a smirk.