The following couple of days were mercifully quiet for the Rangers, allowing them some time at least to decompress. They knew that Metal Alice was badly damaged in their last battle, and could only presume it was taking her some time to repair herself.
By the time they came to the day before Thanksgiving, they were able to be a little more upbeat and even start to enjoy the excitement. The lessons were pretty much a formality in the morning, most of the kids being more interested in the Stone Canyon game, and the pep rally that went with it. In the stands, Emma, Gia, Cat, Noah, Quinn, Allison and Troy had exceptional seats right on the front row. Between Emma being the Senior Vice President, and Allison needing a seat with easy access, they had managed to swing what would probably be the best seats in the house.
"Wow, everyone's really into this game!" Troy said with a smile, seeing the raucous crowd, cheering and waving banners in support of their respective teams. The Stone Canyon games were kind of infamous, largely down to the team's reputation for playing very rough, and leaving most teams significantly weakened through injuries for their following matches. In previous years, Harwood had suffered more than a few setbacks as a result of the Stone Canyon games, and many still insisted that they only missed out on the previous year's championship as a result of playing Stone Canyon directly before their nearest rivals, Reefside in the crucial game of the season.
However, Jordan's tenure as captain had lifted a lot of spirits after their near miss the previous year. He had shown himself to be a very adaptable and strategically minded player, able to come up with plays that exploited the weaknesses of their opposition. People were also well aware of the fact that he had done a lot of work with the team, teaching them tricks he had learned playing soccer growing up on military bases to counter their more suspect tactics meant that many of them were looking forward to seeing them get a taste of their own medicine.
"It's a great opportunity for them." Noah told them. "They held Reefside to a no score draw a couple of weeks back, and Harwood still has a game in hand. If they pull off the win today, and get three points, they make back a two point deficit to end up tied with Reefside."
Although it was relatively early in the league, most teams still on their first game against each other, it was still considered important to get close to the top early. Reefside were a powerful team, who had run away with an early lead. Harwood were playing catch-up, and the curse of playing Stone Canyon had cost Reefside the opportunity to stay ahead by holding them to only one point for the draw. Allison leaned forward as she heard the band striking up.
"Hey, here comes the float!" She called out. As it started to roll through, accompanied by the Harwood cheerleaders and the marching band, the roar from the crowd was deafening. Gia noticed that Emma was a little quiet as she saw it roll in.
"You're thinking about him aren't you?" She asked. Emma just nodded.
"It's hard not to." She admitted. RICO had made the float for them, thinking that he was doing what they had asked him to do. It served as a reminder of him. Gia just held her. "It's alright. It's a good thing; it's good that people get to enjoy something he made."
"Your design's great." Noah complimented Cat as she beamed proudly, seeing the way everyone reacted to the float. "I have to admit, I was sceptical."
"Yeah, I kind of got that." Cat replied, nudging him gently. Just then, as the float rolled off the pitch, and it was cleared, there was a huge pounding of drums, before the Stone Canyon cheerleaders came charging onto the pitch, carrying burning torches for their routine. Their nickname "the cavemen" very much influenced everything, from the fur-trimmed outfits, to the torches being swung around as they danced.
"Well...that's quite a show." Troy stated.
"They always do something like that." Gia told him, realising that Troy hadn't been to one of these games before. "It's all part of the head games. They try to intimidate the opposition from the start."
"The Stone Canyon Cavemen play head games?" Troy asked. Noah just sniggered.
"Believe me; they just play up to the image." He assured Troy. "They don't just play games on the pitch."
As the Stone Canyon team ran out onto the pitch, whipping up their supporters into frenzy, Gia furrowed her brows. All of them seemed a little confused.
"They're wearing black." Cat commented. "I thought Harwood were wearing black."
"Harwood's home strip is black." Noah confirmed to Troy as they started doing exercises. "Stone Canyon are meant to be wearing away strips. They're meant to change for the home team. They're risking serious disciplinary action if they don't change."
As the coach left the bench to discuss something with the referee, Emma just sighed.
"I guess the games are just starting." She commented.
Meanwhile, in the changing rooms, Jordan was drawing up some formations on the white board, while the rest of the team got ready, performing all their pre-game rituals. Jake checked his shin pads one more time. Being one of the leading strikers in the league, he was well aware that he was going to be wearing a bullseye for the entire match. Last year, he had ended up being stretchered off the park in one of the Stone Canyon games after one of the defenders "missed" the ball on a tackle.
"Alright guys, we all know how important this game is!" Jordan stated as he looked to the team. "We all know that they're going to try and get into our heads."
"They'll be trying to break our necks." Reece, the goalie piped up. "Did you see...?"
"Like I said, it's all head games." Jordan interrupted him. "If we all just keep our heads on straight and play our game, we'll let the score board do the talking."
"Did you even watch the Reefside game?" Reece asked him.
"They let them get in their heads. They lost their strategy in the first ten minutes." Jordan put down flatly. "Anyway, we have a huge opportunity today guys, just remember what I taught you. Don't play their game; remember how to get yourselves out of trouble..."
"What about Carmichael?" The goalie asked. "His suspension's up. That guy's huge!"
"I'm marking him, let me worry about Carmichael." Jordan stated. "Alright guys, any more questions? No? Right, then let's get..."
Just then, the coach arrived. He was pushing a cart with a number of uniforms on it. They all looked a little puzzled, seeing the green away strips.
"Coach, we're playing at home." Jordan reminded him, gesturing to his black shirt.
"I know, but the Stone Canyon coach just told the officials there was a mix-up with their laundry." The coach explained. "They turned up, and all they have is their home strip."
"But...their home strip is black." Jake chipped in. The coach rolled his eyes.
"Congratulations Holling, you figured out the problem!" He stated sarcastically. "They don't have anything else to wear, so we're going to have to change into our away colours."
As the team started to groan in displeasure, realising they were being forced to change after being ready to go, Jordan just held up his hands.
"Alright guys, we all know what this is." He told them. "It's just another head game. Just try and get changed quickly."
"Trust Stone Canyon to change their home colours last year." Jake grumbled as he pulled off his shirt, stuffing it back in his bag. He picked up his away shirt and looked to it. "I hate green."
Back in the underwater base, the repair chamber opened, and Metal Alice stepped out, finally returned to full function. The base was still damaged from her temper tantrum following RICO's betrayal. She had created a weapon that she had hoped would bring about an end to the war, and more importantly, to bring her own quest for vengeance to an end. She had programmed him to be a perfect sleeper agent, to be unaware of his true purpose until she activated his control programme. Unfortunately, that level of autonomy had been enough to let him form a sense of...Humanity? She still felt disgusted to even think of it.
She straightened out the base just as the communications link burst into life. As Vrak appeared on the screen, she could see that he was becoming impatient.
"How DARE you ignore me like this?" He roared as he glared at her. "It's bad enough your spy failed, but then to disappear and ignore me for two days?"
"It was essential that I enacted repairs." She explained.
"Repairs." He sneered at her. "I don't know why I bother allowing you to repair your systems! You were programmed to clear the way for my incursion onto the Earth, but right now I'm wondering if all that tactical knowledge I've programmed into you was for nothing!"
"My Lord..."
"We both know what you would be without me!" Vrak interrupted her. "Without my technology, you are less than nothing."
"My lord, I will not fail you again." She told him. "I have another..."
"We have no more time for your schemes, Malkor is about to hatch any day now!" Vrak told her. "Work on the programme I asked you for. We don't have time to rid ourselves of the Rangers before Malkor returns. We'll need to focus our attention on ridding ourselves of him first."
"As you wish my lord." She replied, cutting off the communications link. She felt rage building up inside her, his threats still echoing in her mind. "It is indeed time for new leadership. No one will stop me."
Back at the school, the game was well underway, and there were only minutes left. Jordan's strategies had proven effective, giving them a 2-0 lead. Jake had scored both the goals, but had earned himself a lot of focus from the defenders as a result. He helped Jake up off the ground after another harsh tackle.
"I thought they didn't play nice before." Jake grumbled. "When they're losing, they're just plain petulant."
"I'd kind of noticed." Jordan answered. He checked the game clock, seeing that there was only seven minutes left, before signalling to the coach.
"What is it?" Jake asked him.
"I'm saving your legs." Jordan told him. "We're two goals up, and you'll be much more helpful against Reefside if your feet are still attached."
"Jordan..."
"Trust me, you've done great." Jordan told him. "You've already got my vote for man of the match. Just go and rest up. Let us hold them for the win."
"The coach..."
"The coach should trust my judgement by now. This is the biggest margin we've had against Stone Canyon." Jordan reminded him. He looked to the coach. "Number six out!"
The coach didn't look hugely impressed, it was meant to be his decision to make who played and who didn't, but Jordan's success in the role of captain had earned him the benefit of the doubt. He gestured to a player to start warming up as they set up the free kick. Making sure Jake's replacement was in position, he ran up, taking the kick, sending the ball sailing up the park.
Jake made his way into the changing room and headed for the shower. Before he got there though, he heard his morpher bleeping. He went to his locker, and pulled it out.
"What is it Gosei?" He asked, figuring that one of the others would have made an excuse to slip away to answer as well.
"There's been a power signature in the city." Tensou informed him. "Metal Alice is back!"
"She is?" Jake asked, looking around frantically, trying to think what to do. He was sure that Allison would be disappointed that he would skip out on her after the game. They had all arranged to head for the Brainfreeze afterwards, and since it looked like they were about to pull off the victory, he was sure the night would be even better. Unfortunately, it seemed Metal Alice had other ideas. "Where?"
"That's just it; we don't know what she's up to. She's appeared and disappeared in locations all around the city." Tensou told him. "We need you to track her down."
"Jordan's still playing." Jake informed him. "I'll...I'll try to signal him somehow!"
As he ran through the door, back to the side of the park, he found his team on a breakaway. The forwards were moving into position as Jordan was bringing the ball back up the park. He was just making his way into position, making his way past his marker, Carmichael, in preparation for the cross. Carmichael lost his temper when Jordan managed to shift his weight, forcing him off balance and dumping him to the turf. Getting up quickly, he stopped Jordan quickly by grabbing his shirt, pulling him to the ground.
Jordan got up off the ground as the whistle blew to mark the foul, and members of both teams started to crowd around, throwing insults. The crowd was also very vocal in their disapproval. The referee struggled to get the players back under control, before showing a yellow card to Carmichael. He indicated the spot for the free-kick, while the Stone Canyon team tried to argue the call, but he wouldn't budge.
As Jordan picked up the ball, he caught sight of Jake, signalling to his morpher, letting him know that they had Ranger business. Looking to the stands, he saw the others leaving, indicating that it was obviously something urgent. He knew he didn't have more than a couple of minutes to play. Being on the park, there wasn't much he could do without rousing suspicion, and he knew he'd just have to catch the others up.
"Well, I suppose I should consider myself lucky." Carmichael shouted over. "I should be glad you aren't armed! I mean, we know you're a big man with a knife!"
Jordan knew he was just trying to get a rise out of him, and kept his temper in check, but looking quickly to the clock, he saw that they now only had two minutes left, with only about a minute or so of injury time to add on. He looked to one of the other players.
"I'm surprised you're even allowed to play!" Carmichael continued. "I mean, a murdering..."
"That's enough Carmichael!" One of Jordan's team mates interrupted him. "You're out of line!"
Jordan was ignoring him, prepared to let it go, but seeing Jake and the others leaving, he had a thought. Carmichael had given him a way out. With three minutes to play, it was unlikely that Stone Canyon would score three goals, and given all the mouthing off Carmichael was doing, it wasn't like anyone would blame him for lashing out. In recent weeks, it wasn't as if he had been the most rational, and here was another student directly accusing him of the murder. He took off his captain's armband.
"Jennings, you'll need this." Jordan told one of his team, before running at Carmichael, tackling him to the ground. The referee and his assistants immediately blew up, separating the two and sending both of them off. Jordan headed for the changing room, knowing he'd have to face the coach's wrath for this later, but right now, he didn't care. He wasn't going to leave his team in the lurch if he could help it.