by Troy Dukart
“HO HUM!!!” we all chanted.
Before we could blink we had been shot across the field. This was my chance to find Yessa and to make things right. I would play with every ounce of my strength until they had to scrape me off the floor if need be.
We collided with Castel Bell Royal and met them with a rather harsh thud. People from both teams got smashed and knocked to the ground. I grabbed my back in pain because of how hard they were hitting. The armor was fake but didn’t still hurt to be hit by them. I looked up and saw they had recovered the ball and passed it back to their Masterback. The Castle Bell Royal Guards were already streaking down the field and our guards had to catch up to them. Roya had her assignment well covered but the other Wings were being quickly out-paced. Our people ran with full strength but with a quick flick of the Masterback’s wrist, the ball sailed smoothly into one of the Wing’s hands, right in the Goal Zone.
“Damn it!” I scolded myself as I slapped my leg. I was pissed.
“Don’t worry Strafe-Sah, we have begun just only!” Roya pointed out comfortably as she ran by.
“I know. I know,” I was winded from running.
We lined up to receive the ball after they made the extra point. The ball came down and our Dodger caught it, which she then passed it back to Charity. Our Forwards led the charge but were bulldozed by Castle Bell’s, pushing them on their asses. Thinking fast, Charity tossed the ball into the air at the 35 yard mark. Our Dodger saw what Charity was trying to do and jumped up to take a kick at it. The opposing Masterback and Dodger had also closed in on the ball but our Dodger did a bicycle kick and smashed it toward the floating goal. Even though Castle Bell’s Masterback got a hand on it, we got the three points. The game was 3-7.
“WOO HOO!!!” our Dodger shouted.
The score stayed the same for the first quarter and half way into the second. It was truly taking everything we had to keep up with these guys. Every time we got hit it looked and sounded like a hit from a sledgehammer. We were constantly fighting over the possession and with each big hit, the crowd cheered and stood on the edge of their seats. Most of the crowd supported Castel Bell Royal, but we had a few people we won over earlier in the tournament representing us too.
It wasn’t until the middle of the second that the tables turned. Castle Bell Royal had the ball in their territory and they were leading it down the field. Their Forwards were running all over ours and the Masterback simply had to run behind them to move the ball down. Seeing this unfold, our Dodger and Charity decided to make a desperate run at the opposing Masterback and strip the ball. They came at the Masterback from the left and right side of the Forward’s line and were going to make it. Knowing this, the Masterback motioned the Guards to run their formations and get ready for a pass. The Wings came at me with full speed but our Forwards stepped to the side and slowed them down. With the other two Wings covered, the opposing Masterback had no choice but to toss it up and hope I would get burned by my Wing.
As the Masterback threw it up toward the Wing I was covering, Charity managed to get a hand on the ball, which caused it to wobble through the air. This caused it to lose some distance. It came down short. Roya made a quick pivot and jumped in the air to catch it; it fell right into her hands and the crowd went wild. She was by far the crowd favorite. The entire right side of the field was open and Roya started sprinting toward the Goal Zone. The noise from the crowd was intense and they were jumping up and down in their seats! The opposing Dodger tried to catch up to her, but it was too late; she somersaulted into the Goal Zone and scored her first defensive Brave-Down.
Roya held her arms high with the ball in her hand and looked into the crowd. We could hear them chanting, “PIRATES!!! PIRATES!!! PIRATES!!!”
“YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!! THAT’S HOW WE DO THIS!!!” I shouted as we ran up to Roya.
My smile was from ear to ear but it quickly faded when I looked back and saw a few players standing above Charity and one of our Wings; she was still on the ground. I ran over to check on her, Captain Cali had already made it over.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Charity was clutching her right arm, writhing in pain. I could see tears streaking down her face, but when I saw the extent of the damage, I understood why. Her bone was poking out from underneath her skin.
“Blimey! Where’s the damn medical people!?!” Captain Cali shouted.
A few people from the medical team came out to help her get off the field. They placed two gray bars on the sides of her and flipped a switch, and when they did a blue screen formed between them. The blue board that formed now floated up and held Charity at waist height and they carried her off the field.
“You’ll be okay Charity!” I said to her before she left.
“Strafe, I think they cheap-shotted me, he pushed Ronaldo down hard with his arm,” she said while wincing in pain.
“Why wasn’t it flagged?! They must have seen what happened?!” I argued.
“Arg, I don’t think they be playin’ by the rules ‘ere Strafe me boy,” Captain Cali said in a saddened voice as he looked at Charity, “I’ve been seein’ some rough play and no flags be gettin’ thrown.”
“This shit really is rigged isn’t it!?” I commented.
“Nah, just heavily skewed in their favor me boy. I don’t know what we’re to do. Charity was our only Masterback,” Captain Cali lamented, he looked at the ground as he rubbed his face.
“Cap’n, I think it’s time to show the world our hearts,” a voice said behind the wall of people.
Captain Cali turned around, “Ye think ye can handle it?”
“This is more than a game. People’s lives are at stake. Let me help pave the way to the Championship!” the voice demanded. Moving up into the huddle, was the first mate Penty.
“Alright me girl. Don’t let me down!” Captain Cali shouted.
After Charity was carted off the field, we made the adjustments and for the first time ever in the tournament, Penty stepped on the field. After we scored the extra point we were up 10-7. Castle Bell Royal got the ball back afterwards and began to march up the field. I could tell they were getting more chippy and physical by the way they were pushing us around. Their coach must’ve told them to try to intimidate us.
The half ended with them scoring on a kick to even up the score at 10-10. We headed back to the locker room and took our break. We shortly returned to the field to begin the third quarter and noticed the crowd chanting, “Royal! Royal! Royal!”
I couldn’t help but to think how quickly they forget that before the half they were chanting our name. The game resumed after the break with the Blitz and Castle Bell Royal recovered the ball again. They tossed it up to their Dodger and they began to run it up the field on us. Roya broke off of her assignment and tried to tackle the Dodger but he jumped over her and kept on moving. I was too far away and our Masterback was too slow. Their Dodger ran untouched into the Goal Zone for a quick score. All of our jaws were on the floor. They performed an incredible kick to make the extra point and like that the game was 17-10.
Throughout the third quarter we battled back and forth. Penty’s impact wasn’t felt as immediately as I thought, she was rusty and not making the throws she should’ve. For the most part of the quarter we played heavy defense. Finally, after all the battling, their Center pushed our Center down and caught a pass right up the middle and fell into the Goal Zone on top of our Masterback and Dodger. The score was now 23-10. Things were getting out of hand and to top it off, they decided to go for the Two-point conversion to begin pulling away from us.
We lined up in our Goal Zone and their Masterback took the ball back to their 30 yard mark. In these instances, we were told to stay near our assignment and not let them get out of an arm’s reach. Before we had time to truly adjust the ball was in the air and began to travel toward us. It was so high up in the sky and just our luck came down with the sun in our eyes. I had to squint to see the small outline of the ball as it got closer to the Go
al Zone. Everyone was running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off and the Wing I was covering was super quick for having on all that armor. I saw a bunch of people on the left side of the Goal Zone waiting for the ball to make it down. The crowd jumped up toward the ball and all I saw was a bunch of hands and then they pulled it down. My heart sank. We entered the fourth quarter with the score in their favor of 25-10. We were getting stomped. We walked over to the sideline and needed to devise a strategy.
“Our fortune may’ve only been enough for us to get this far, but we still have a chance Captain Cali-Sah,” Roya said.
“Arg me girl, I appreciate your high spirits,” Captain Cali responded with a smile.
From the body language and spots of blood on our uniforms, I could tell the team knew we couldn’t hang with these guys. Seeing what situation we were in, Rousseau approached us, “Listen, you guys aren’t exposing their soft underbelly!”
“Well, we can barely keep their line back, let alone give Penty time to throw the ball!” our Center said.
“We aren’t gonna be able to win if we can’t get into their territory. If we can’t pass, we’re dead,” our Dodger complained.
“I’m sorry guys,” Penty sobbed.
Rousseau walked over and patted her on the shoulder and then looked us in the eye, “Penty, take a seat. I want a shot at these mugs!”
“Rousseau-Sah!? What about the safety of your life?” Roya asked.
“Don’t worry love, this ain’t just about me anymore. This is the greatest return I could ever make!” he put on his jersey and gloves.
“You better not be rusty because these boys came out to play!” I warned.
“You think they’ll be able to catch me Strafe?” Rousseau boasted as he winked at me; I smiled back. Rousseau looked across the field and saw the whole team of Castle Bell staring him down, which made him gulp.
We took out Penty and put Rousseau in charge of Masterbacking. Castle Bell Royal lined up at their 30 yard mark and kicked us the ball. It traveled far and right into Rousseau’s hands. I turned around to see if he caught it but he was already ahead of the entire team. I could see the green in his hair and he was rushing straight at the Forward line of the opposing team. They came at him but he easily outmaneuvered them and cut straight through the middle. Even with the Dodger and Masterback in the backfield, he made them look like snails as he ran past all of them straight into the Goal Zone.
“Holy molly! Sonic-speed!” I cried as my jaw hit the floor.
After we made the extra point, the score was 17-25.
“That bastard must be cheating!” one of the Castle Bell players commented. Rousseau heard this and replied with,
“Maybe if you took off your armor you could run faster! But, wait, I don’t wanna see your ugly face!”
The Castle Bell player tried to make Rousseau flinch by coming at him but I stepped in to stop him, which caused a small scuffle to ensue. There was pushing and shoving back and forth but it got shortly resolved. I remember pushing the Center straight on his ass. The referees saw me do this and forced me to sit on the bench for a three minute penalty. There was only four minutes left. As I sat down after the scuffle was settled, Captain Cali came over to scold me, “Damnit boy! Whatcha be thinkin’ knockin’ that arse down? Ye needed to keep that for the game! Arg!”
“Shit! Ahhh!!!” I ran my hands through my hair and slammed the bench with my hand.
“Well, it ain’t be over yet. Get ready for that last minute!” the Captain told me.
From the bench the game looked completely different. We kicked to Castle Bell and they made it to the 50 yard mark before they passed it back to their Masterback. Without knowing his defensive capabilities, the Masterback threw a sideline pass to the Dodger but it was intercepted by Rousseau! The crowd went wild as again we saw him begin to rush down the field, but unfortunately the Masterback, Safety, and two Wings were waiting for him. With nowhere to go for himself, he saw Roya on the opposite side of the field rushing down. He probably knew she couldn’t get far enough for a Brave-Down because of all the coverage, so he tossed it up into the air. Roya made a jump completely over the Wing that was covering her and performed a sideways kick which sent it rocketing into the Rose Goal. The score was now 20-25 with 1:30 left on the clock.
“Damnit! They could just run out the clock!” a player on our bench insisted.
“This ain’t lookin’ good Cap’n,” another player sighed.
Captain Cali crossed his arms and closed his eyes; he looked to be in deep thought. He strolled back and forth, with his long drapery following him. Then, with a finger snap, he opened his eyes and stormed up to the referee, “BRAVERY RULE!”
“What’s that Captain?” I asked.
“Ye didn’t look at the rule book I gave ye? Hahaha, we still be in luck me boys!” the Captain said to us, “I wish to use our Bravery Rule on this play sir.”
“Bravery rule? I’ll give you some credit Captain for putting the game on the line!” the referee exclaimed as he motioned the other referee’s to come over.
They discussed the decision and told the Castle Bell coach about it, to which he just threw his arms up in the air. Captain Cali motioned for Roya to come over and he talked to her privately. She would nod ever so often and looked very serious while she listened.
The Bravery or Hero rule, is an extremely dangerous play. It involves the last person who scored to command the field by themselves against the entire opposing team. If the player makes it into the Goal Zone, it is a Brave-Down, but it can be recovered by the opposing team. Only if the person makes it past their 30 yard mark can the rest of the team come onto the field. If the ball is lost before, then the recovering team can run it back for a Brave-Down. It can only be used once by each team per game and is extremely high risk-high reward.
The rule was created in honor of the memory of an old King, in which he himself alone drove against an army, while holding only a torch and sword, in order to light a fire underneath an enemy’s castle on his horse. According to Captain Cali, the entire game of Brave-Ball was based on this King’s actions.
“Jeez, that seems like suicide,” I cringed.
“What choice we be left with Strafe? Surrender? Defeat? Arg! Those words not be in a pirate dictionary!” Captain Cali shouted.
“Roya, you don’t have to do this,” Rousseau told her, to which she nodded with a smile and said,
“Worry not my friend, I have faith, and that is all I need. We did not come this far to lose.”
Before she got into position, I felt a small tremor in the ground. I looked around and everything seemed normal, so I shrugged my shoulders and we continued to play. The rest of the team stood behind the Goal Zone with Roya in the middle. I unfortunately was still banned to play for 30 seconds, so I had to sit back and watch. I felt completely helpless. Our team patted Roya on the back as she got ready. She stood with her arms down and eyes closed; she was also muttering something to herself. Maybe she’s praying?
She stepped forward and got into a running stance but kept her eyes closed. My heart was beating like a drum, so hard I felt it was going to pop out. Castle Bell Royal all lined up on their side and looked pumped up; they knew they could win the game if they got the ball turned over. Ever since I met her, I knew she was special. She was born for moments like this. I’d never seen a woman who commanded her destiny like Roya. She would make it.
With the referees lined up, they blew their whistles and Roya was off. She ran toward the ball at the 25 yard mark and scooped it up. Castle Bell Royal began to get into their diamond-dots formation, with the middle field covered with players like a diamond and two Wings on the sides. Roya started to run toward the right sideline but then at mid-field turned across the other way. The entire team of Castle Bell was baited into following her and they converged on the left side of the field.
Roya ran around and cut back up and to the right, which left only a Left-Tackle and Wing to beat in coverage.
She jumped over the Left-Tackle as they tried to tackle her and did something I’d never seen her do in play. Her hair went pure yellow and she pointed her fingers and then, the Wing just fell over. It was as if the Wing had been constricted. What the hell?
With the rest of the team chasing her, she continued to run up the sideline. Roya had almost made it into the Goal Zone before she was pushed out at the 5 yard mark. The crowd was going wild, as Roya had just set a new record for a Bravery Rule return. Nobody in recorded history had gotten as far as she did. Now, we had to decide what to do with 58 seconds left on the clock. Regardless, Castle Bell Royal would get a chance with the ball again, even if the clock went to zero. The opposing team always got to touch the ball no matter what happened after the Bravery Rule was called by the other team.
“Captain, I can come back in!” I told Captain Cali.
“Of course me boy, that was the plan,” he responded, he walked over to Roya and patted her on the shoulders.
“WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!,” Rousseau shouted as he bounced up and down.
“Now lads and lassies, we got to punch it in here now, but take ye time,” Captain Cali advised.
“But Cap’n, what if they recover the ball? We toast then!” our Center said.
“Don’t worry ‘bout that, all we need to do is score and the game be ours! I’m looking at ye to make this catch this time me boy,” the Captain commanded as he looked at me.
We took our positions on the field, with the Wings in the Goal Zone, Forwards at the Goal Line and Guards near the mid-field. Rousseau had the ball out of bounds where Roya was bumped out and nodded to us to begin the play. Castle Bell’s Masterback tried to block his view by jumping up and down and waving their arms, but Rousseau tricked them by looking toward the Goal Zone but throwing toward the Dodger at mid-field. Lancey caught it and ran around until Rousseau was able to regain possession of the ball. We were moving around constantly, trying to confuse Castle Bell but they stayed close to us in coverage.