As he and ascended the stairs that would bring him and his friends to their assigned seating, the familiar sensation of shattering washed over his body. While it was only a fleeting feeling, Jack’s suspicion was validated when Alec began dry heaving almost immediately. Apparently, they had passed through a Gate and arrived at the actual location of the match.

At first, he assumed that the entire stadium was nothing but a grandiose – but ultimately useless – gesture. However, the fact that he could still see fans on the other side told him that the first stadium was no different than the viewing room on the Alexander.

Warren cursed as they climbed higher and higher to the seats that the privates just ‘happened’ to be able to afford. He has no doubt that Dave would have paid any price for these tickets, nosebleeds be damned.

“I’m going to kill him.” He said when they found their seats on the very top row. “I swear, we could’ve had a better view in the sim down there, but instead he wanted us to climb Mount Everest to watch a stupid game.”

“Don’t lie.” Nessa said as she got comfortable, “I’ve seen you watching these games at night on your HUD. In fact, I happen to know that you very much enjoy them.”

“Yeah, for the men.” Warren replied flatly, “Other than that, useless.”

“You don’t mean that.” Dave said, climbing up beside them with a massive tray of food and beverage, “You like it because it’s brutal and you secretly enjoy the brutality.”

“Wha…”

“Stop, I know it because that’s why I like it. Except, I’m open about enjoying the level of violence.” Dave smiled, somehow making himself not seem like a sociopathic serial killer.

A bass drum sounded, rattling glasses and teeth alike. Like a ripple, silence fell over the stadium as lights flooded the field.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” The announcer said, “Tonight, you have the honor of watching the most anticipated match of the season! You will cry. You will scream! You may even rage, but most importantly; you will be entertained.”

The crowd roared in response.

“Now, with no further delay, I give you the Pheonix Immortals!”

A gate at the far end of the field opened and thirteen players rocketed out at full speed. As they flew to find their positions, number thirteen hooked a floating rock with what looked like a crimson red scythe, and sent himself on a crash course for the false atmosphere’s barrier. At the last second, a strand of yellow light yanked the Striker down and into a wide arc before letting him go on the rock he started on.

“This team has stood on top for the past five seasons,” The announcer said, not letting the excitement die, “They have clawed and fought their way to the top regardless of the scrutenty from every angle. I give you the reigning champions, The Khepri Golems!”

A gate on the opposite end of the arena opened. Like before, thirteen players shot out like a shell from a cannon. Unlike their competion, the Golems didn’t put on any show. They simply and somberly took their places on their field without any flair.

“As per usual, the Golems come out with as little emotion or flair as their namesake!” The announcer joked, “But, on the field, it is their unrelenting ferocity that continuously rewards them with wins.”

“Alright folks, everyone here knows the rules to Null Ball, but just remember. No permanente damage or you will be removed from the game.” He warned as he floated to center field and placed a ball of multi-colored light in the center before retreating again. “Three… Two… One… GO!”

Both teams cente mid shot forward with the intent to take possession of the ball first. Though he reached his target first, the Immortals Dragoon was blocked no more than a hairs bredth by a blue hexagonal shield that first blocked him, then enveloped him.

“Great, but old opening move by the Golems,” The announcer called, “Trapping the center mid is one of their signature starts. If poor Crio there would’ve done his homework, then maybe he wouldn’t be the one trapped! And whats this? Oh the embarrassment!”

The Golem’s center mid grabbed the ball which still floated a mere inch from the shield before kicking off his impromptu footing and passing the ball to a winger.

Jack tensed when he saw that the ball was going too wide, but it was saved in the last hearbeat by a red lacross-like net that extended from the apparent breaker. Without missing a beat, the winger pushed off of a red disk that had formed under him.

Before he could get any real momentum going, he was intercepted by a spider drone that had been hiding behind a floating piece of rock. While he continued to move forward, his arms and legs were quickly bound by the drone, robbing the Golem of any true mobility.

The wingback responsible for the binding sprang from his hiding place to sieze the ball, immediately passing it on to the now free center mid.

In the center of the field, the dragoon caught the ball in an iron grip before propelling himself forward with the repulsors built into his kit.

“What a counter! First time in a while that I’ve seen a Golem get that soundly ambushed. If they weren’t the Immortals seriously before, they definitely are now.”

The Aegis that had already imprisoned him once came for him a second time. Refusing to be caught again, the Dragoon raised his free arm and fired a web of orange light, intercepting the Aegis and allowing him to pass the ball to an Immortal winger.

“What a move! Looks like Crio doesn’t want to be known as the only one to be tied up in this game. I don’t know how much time he bought himself, but… whats this?”

Karim, the Immortal Winger, caught the pass with his left hand, and extended a line with his right. The line of force anchored itself to a nearby asteroid that he used as a counter-swing. At the peak of his arc, he passed the ball and the line of light the Striker that had gone so far to show off in the beginning of the match.

Ball in hand, the striker – Romelu – formed a cannon of red light around the ball as he circled around the field at a high speed. With perfect timing, he fired the ball directly at the goal with precision that would make Neilson proud.

Not to be outdone, the Golem Goalkeeper, managed to block the shot with a last minute barrier. Unlike his teammate though, he was not able to capture the ball again before the second Immortal Winger scooped up the ball and deposited it in the goal.

“GOAL! Immortals one, Golems zero. Let me tell you folks, what you just saw was a play for the books. Using the striker as flashy cover while getting your second winger behind the goalie… Just genius.”

Both teams reset to the center of the field, ready to begin again.

“You know Dave, seeing this sport after spending a few years using Li-Tech makes me realize that we have little to no real knowledge of our power.” Jack said, taking a long pull off of his drink.

“You’re not wrong on that one buddy,” He replied, “Imagine using that capture in a real fight though, Unless you only had one enemy, loosing your shield in such a way is just about stupid.”

“True,” Nessa cut in, “But your not seeing the big picture, each team is not only using their players in creative ways, but they are using their skills in conjunction with one another.”

As they talked, Jack watched the two teams do exactly what Nessa described. Each player had obviously spent hours and hours drilling with one another. Each learning the in’s and out’s of not only their own abilities, but those of their teammates as well.

It was obvious that the Immortals were well out of their league now that the Golems saw them as a real threat. Jack watched in astonished fascination as the stoic team juggled the ball back and forth between their wingers, attacking mid, and striker.

“The Golems are about to even the match. If the Immortals don’t wake up soon, the match will be over before it can really begin.” The announcer said, “If I know anything of the Golems striker, its that Antoine never misses a shot.”

Antoine’s eyes flashed violet for a heartbeat the moment the ball returned to his hands, indicateing his nature as an Optic. With a fake to his left, the Striker dashed right and shot the ball toward the goal, scoring a point with an almost unnatural ease.

“Did you see that?” Dave shouted, shaking Jack’s shoulder. “Man, that was one hell of a shot.”

“Especiay since their Goalie is also an Optic.” Jack said excitedly. “By only connecting for a second, he was able to stop any counter view.”

“That makes sense,” Alec replied, “Without mirroring the mirror, the goalie couldn’t see the openings that he was leaving.”

“Exactly.” Jack answered.

Below, the two teams started another play, and it was beginning to get interesting. This time, the Immortals had managed to reclaim the ball an instant before the Golems would’ve scored another point. Like a well oiled machine, both wingbacks ran the ball down the field, passing it back and forth any time an opponent grew too close for comfort.

At middle field, the Golems Center mid flew in to intercept a pass that would hand the ball back to the Immortals attacker. Like a mirror of his own trick, an orb of force surrounded the player. Unlike his own play, the Immortal’s Holding Mid grabbed both sphere and player with a line of Light and swung him around like an oversized tetherball.

With accuracy formed from years of training, the Binder swung the center mid into the ball, rocketing it down the field and into the waiting hands of their Striker, Romelu.

Changing his play from the incredibly flashy to the incredibly dangerous, the Striker shot forward toward the goal. Before the Aegis could get into position, a pair of yellow strands shot across his chest and bound him in place.

“If the Immortals keep suprising me like this, I may just have to buy season passes!” The announcer yelled, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Immortals have only been in the big leagues for about a year at this point. Before that, they were a members of our highly skilled and highly trained AHF. If this is what veterans of our army can do with a ball in their hands, I’m surprised we haven’t conqoured the entire universe!”

Between the high tension of the game and the energetic cadence of the announcer, Jack found himself truly having fun. It wasn’t often that he managed to really relax, but this was definitely one of those times. Even in the wake of loosing a friend, seeing the technology that the UHR held being so freely used made him realize that it wasn’t truly the end. His friend would return; changed, but he would live.

“Ortiz would love this.” Jack said to his friends, “He would be up here screaming his damned head off at the just the idea of this game.”

“Yeah, he will love this.” Dave said, “Not sure if he can still drink, but he will be right here with us again. I’ve had a hard enough time with his death on my mind, we don’t need you out of touch with reality. If you start spouting crap about him not coming back, I’mma just beat you over the head with this bottle, got it?”

“Shit Dave, why don’t you come down a little harder on the guy?” Alec said sarcastically.

“’Cause he knows that it wasn’t his fault just as much as I know it wasn’t mine. Sure, I still get the blues over it, but damnit if we cant afford that shit right now.”

“Thanks man.” Jack said quietly. Somehow, the big cowboys words were exactly what he needed to hear in that moment. Right here, in the middle of this stadium, watching a truly awesome sport, was not the time to lament. In fact, there was truly no need for lamentation at all. Further concern would only eat at his mind and cause him to freeze the next time he had to make a potentially life or death decision.

“With only three minutes left on the clock, a guy has to wonder if the Golems can come back and take the win?” The announcer said after the Immortals evened the score to eight and eight. “Once the next three minutes are up, we will enter a sudden death overtime. First point will take the match!”

As the announcer spoke, the teams lined up for one lest push at the ball. The usually stoic Golems wearing looks of worry and outright hostility. If nothing else, the attitude of their opponants was rattleing them more than the state of the scoreboard.

“For the first time in two years, it is looking like the Golems may just get beaten.” He continued as the Immortal’s center mid shot towards the ball. “Any they’ve done it by simply being better. Their strategy is on point with everything you would expect from a diamond level team like this.”

Like a mirror of their first play, the Golem’s center mid rushed in while trying to trap the Dragoon. Unwilling to be caught in the same situation, an orange net shot from his arm, effectively securing the ball for the Immortals.

“It’s like they both flipped a switch, Odsonne is no longer as quick with those shields as he should be. At the same time, Crio is thinking three steps ahead and if very close to securing the game after merely a few seconds of conflict.”

The mystery around the slower midfielder was quickly revealed as an asteroid floated out of the way to reveal Bruno the wingback Possessor. His entire faceshield was glowing with the violet light of his order, and his hands were outstretched toward the Golem trying to form shields.

Crio handed the ball off to another Immortal as he flew in close. Not wasteing any time, the Breaker formed a sling out of red energy and shot the ball to one of the two Wingers. In turn, one Binder grabbed the ball with his thread while the other grabbed Romelu the striker.

“I’ve been commentating on matches for almost twenty years, and I’ve never seen a play like this!” The announcer shouted, the camera feed showing him standing from his chair and face pressed against the glass of his observation booth. “Most teams out there keep their binders in the back, holding them to some sort of defensive position. But, it looks like the Immortals have taken that entire plan and thrown it out the window! They have used these players perfectly in a offensive format. I would be surprised if we don’t see more teams trying manuvers like this soon!”

As both ball and striker were cresting their arc, the Immortals second Possessor managed to get close enough. With an outstretched hand, the wingback seized the goalies armor and froze him in place.

The seizure happened with hardly a split second to spare. As ball and player met in the middle, the Striker grabbed the sphere and was launched toward the goal. At the speed he was traveling the only thing that could stop him was the goalies shield, which was now disabled.

Not taking any chances on missing the shot, both player and ball shot through the goal. A massive eruption of cheering blasted through the arena with many times the level of enthusiasm shown at previous goals.

“And there you have it folks!” The announcer yelled, trying to be heard over the crowd. The final seconds on the clock ticking down even as the teams reset. “The Pheonix Immortals have won the match, breaking a winning streak of nearly two years for the Golems!”