by B L Barkey
In normal life, they were the two who would say things that everyone else was thinking. Sometimes they even acted on it. One example was when Jaqlin had punched Maison in the face. He had something rude about a friend, and Jaq had retaliated the only way she knew how. Problem was, he only stared back at her, never blinking. Ammon asked her about it afterwards. “The emptiness in his eyes was… creepy. Like he would love to strangle me to death, yet he was awaiting permission to do so.”
Jaqlin and Jackson also brought their lightning fast retaliations to the games. In these instances, the seconds of distraction were all Ammon needed to get his remaining trio to the objective.
EQ was a very aggressive game, encouraging hand to hand combat and striking other players. Luckily, their suits kept any of the blows from hurting too much, and a material in the fabric softened blunt trauma from the force of impact. This reduced the number of bruises and wounds to near none. The muscle fatigue after each game was another story, though, sometimes leaving players incapacitated the entire following weekend. Few punches were pulled in this game. It was all out, every time. A representation of the ‘war’ spoken of in stories of the old world.
Ammon was team captain, the Chief Panda. The other four would look to him for the overall strategy of each round. There were three things Ammon had to consider for each match.
First was gravity. The captain was the only one given a game watch, which gave them warning when gravity would switch. He would have to make his best guess at which wall would be the next home-base, and then communicate this to his team. If he could do this without also alerting the other team, he was doing a great job.
Second was defending. They only had five people. If five shapes were created from the tiles, which would mean splitting them up into groups of one. This was far from ideal, causing Ammon to often leave smaller shapes of 100 or less tiles unprotected. Paying attention to the objects in the center that could move was great strategy, dragging them back to help protect the tiles. However, the opposing team could then shift the micromagnets, dragging these objects from place.
Third was scoring. Once tiles were sufficiently guarded, which changed every ten minutes, then Ammon would focus on adding to their 1,000 tiles. Sending the Twins as a pair almost always proved effective. They were such an effective duo that, even though other teams knew the twin strategy, they still could not prevent it from happening. It was like trying to catch a waterfall in a bucket.
Equilibria brought a lot of excitement to Cephas. It was always held on Fivesday, once a month, starting off the weekend with a thrill. The west and east walls could be changed from opaque to clear, and would do just that for matches. Each wall of the cube was opaque during practices, becoming clear only for matches. This allowed the audience to view it from all sides, including from the ceiling and the ground.
There was a clearing on the second floor just above the EQ Cube to allow for this. Krystal was on this wall now, cheering for her best friends. Ammon continuously tried to get her to join the Pandas, though he knew the truth. She hated team sports. She preferred to depend on her own strength.
Jonah had taken an extreme fascination to the game at a young age, before even being allowed to study in the Leviticum. He knew the intricacies of the technology, and was given control of the gravity and magnets two years ago by the last EQ technician. He now watched from behind one of the control panels, ready to act if any complications arose.
Any malfunctions were treated as another anomaly in the game, and play would typically proceed as normal. There were zero timeouts. The only break was half-time. EQ was brightly-colored, non-fatal warfare.
The Red Pandas lined up in the dim hall, preparing to enter into the cube.
“What’re we lookin’ at today, Chief?” Jaqlin asked, her aggression visibly building behind her eyes. Ammon loved this part. “Alright, listen up pandas. These guys are not to be taken lightly. The Vipers are a vicious team, holding the most aggressive record in the league. We are now tied with them for wins, 9 to 9. Of all sixteen teams in the league, I don’t expect we will face another team that will be so well balanced in both aggression and strategy.”
Ammon paused for a few seconds, looking into their eyes.
“Here comes the ‘but’,” said Bastion.
“But,” started Ammon, smirking at him, “we are better. I know this to be true. We all train hard throughout the weeks as part of our normal lifestyles. We have a great bond between us. We are the Red Pandas. We are a force of nature.”
He could feel elation starting to build within him. It was a similar feeling of being nervous, his heart racing and his breath uncatchable. However, he had learned to harness this feeling, and channel it into energy for the match. This feeling was then less identified as nervousness, and re-established as excitement. He was ready. And the whole Leviticum would see it happen.
“As usual, we should expect four or less islands of tiles to be created on our base. Twins, do your best to identify rocks and bring them to us. Plan on bringing them to the bottom left corner, unless there are no tiles there at all. Shout out boulders for us as well. Bastion, when the Twins point out a boulder, do your best to get to it. Preferably on the right side if possible.”
Bastion nodded in approval. He liked to be on the front lines, being one for taking action.
“Mikael, stick with me. We will set up guard for the islands. I hear the Vipers are quick to attack this year, but surprisingly good at defending as well. Mikael and I will defend any initial attacks, but the Twins will try to intercept the threats if possible. Is this clear?”
“Aye, Chief,” they all responded in unison. “Okay Pandas, this will be tough. But it will make our victory all the sweeter.” He didn’t know where this brave talk came from. He was just as nervous as the rest of them. No, not nervous, thought Ammon, correcting himself. Excited. Thrilled. We will win.
II
They hollered their battle cry, then lined up near the entrance. There was a blue light just above the door. The loud hum from the light fixture echoed in the hallway. But if they stood very still, they could begin to hear the buildup of the audience. A low rumble beginning to vibrate the walls…
The light turned green. Ammon swung open the door, and his four teammates hopped into the cube, Mikael giving him a quick smirk. Game time baby.
The walls were still opaque, a dark reflective back. They could hear the cheers even louder now. The watchers stopped and slammed on the walls of the cube, producing a muffled percussion on joy. The referee was somewhere outside the cube, beginning the introductions.
“…and they just look great today! Each of them taking in the sights as they enter the cube. A record of nine-and-oh, these Pandas are quite formidable. With this as the final game of their season, the winner today will take the year, and the championship trophy.
“And on the opposite wall, a team with a similar record, the Vipers!”
The crowd grew even louder, thrilled to see both teams in the cube at once. Each team lined up on their wall, the captains dead in the center and each player joining hands.
And despite his carefully prepared mindset, Ammon was stunned. Here was Chalice, ready to play the game, as if nothing had happened only hours before. His friend Maison could be a murderer, and here he is, still wearing a smug expression. How could he? How dare he.
Ammon clenched his fists. He was beginning to tremble. That’s when a sudden realization dawned upon him. He remembered something he had learned long ago. Games are outside of our normal lives. They allow us to escape reality. To be different people, even if just for a time. A game… it’s a world of its own.
Surprised yet again, Ammon found himself grateful to Chalice for the reminder.
Chalice was just trying to escape. He is aware of rising darkness after all. Unlike Maison, who seems to be embracing it, Chalice is fleeing. Well then. There may be hope for him yet.
A spark of respect shot up between them as they nodded to one another. The
nod was not from Ammon to Chalice, nor the other way around. It was captain to captain.
“Cephasonians, are we ready?” The referee, called Lund, announced. “Let’s play some Equilibria!” The walls were instantly clear, showing hundreds of faces staring back at them. The walls behind each team then turned white, and team colors appeared; red for Pandas, blue for Vipers.
In the half-second before all would explode into action, time would slow. Ammon could feel cool liquid dump into his bloodstream as thousands of eyes fell upon them. Recognized them. Cheered for them. The feeling was invigorating, so much so that remembering it was nigh impossible. The only way to remember it was to experience it yet again. And then the memories would come flooding back, along with the adrenaline, and the alternate personality. The return of the man within him who lived in this world of Equilibria. Who breathed it, and knew it.
The clock started ticking. It was game time.
The Twins propelled themselves forward, seeming to have already located a free-floating rock to bring back. Bastion leaped to the right, heading towards a mostly rectangular island of about 300 tiles in size. Almost one-third of the total. Ammon and Mikael both shifted the magnets beneath them, levitating towards their islands at the top of the room. Suddenly, Ammon felt a great discomfort in his chest as he flew backwards with great force, slamming into homebase wall.
“Oooh, and it’s a captain vee captain battle as Chalice, Chief Viper, shoves Chief Panda into the wall. And what’s this? His momentum is bringing the captains into direct contact!”
Chalice was hurtling straight for him. This was a unique tactic. One he hadn’t prepared for. Luckily, Mikael had stayed nearby. Ammon sat still and feigned weakness. Half a second later, Mikael jumped up three feet in front of Ammon, and as Chalice closed in, Mikael activated the magnets on the left wall. The force launched Mikael into Chalice’s trajectory. They collided with great force, sending Mikael and Viper hurtling away. Before the impact though, Chalice had kicked an object; a rock.
“Jay!” Ammon called out, pointing towards the rock for Jaqlin to collect. Chalice maneuvered back to his base before calling out new orders to his team. His strategy to strike quick had been an interesting one, though Ammon guessed it didn’t have the desired effect. It would take more than that to throw of the Pandas.
The Twins were moving a large barricade in the way of their island, protecting them from projectiles kicked by Vipers. They did this without command, for they had practiced such maneuvers many times before, allowing Ammon to trust their choices while reading the field.
The Vipers also had three islands of tiles, leaving two of them unprotected. Two opponents came flying towards Ammon, in an attempt to reap reward from their surprise attack.
Ammon took care of them himself while giving Mikael a look. Go score some tiles, the look said.
The player on Ammon’s left arrived first. He used the magnets behind him, focusing on his right arm and shifting the pressure towards Viper base. This gave his arm incredible velocity as he focused on keeping it perfectly straight. Too much force behind a crooked arm would break bones.
His fist landed true. It connected with the helmet of the player, sending him spiraling away. Ammon was now turning about his core in a spiral, slightly away from the other player. He lifted his left leg and made it stiff. Perfect. It connected with the forearms of the other player who was blocking his neck, doing little damage to his armor, yet spinning him out of control.
Ammon heard the crowd roaring. They loved the close-quarters combat. So did Ammon. It was nothing personal against the other players. He would never want them to receive permanent harm. But it felt good to kick some tail.
He had learned something many years ago. Violence was within them all, growing with each and every breath. It was not only exciting to let it out; it was essential. Lest it build up and release itself. Channeling the violence gave it purpose. Ignoring it would lead only to untimely consequences. Equilibria was one such channel, for those watching and those playing.
The crowd exploded once more. That’s when Ammon saw a path of red stretching across the Viper base. Mikael delivered several blows to the Vipers, then came toppling back to Panda homebase with a blow from Chalice.
“And, time!” called out the ref. Gravity shifted, and the ‘new gravity ground’, or new-G, in between their bases switched to the wall that was previously the Viper base. The two new homebases were on the walls that were the left and right walls before. This caused Ammon to begin falling straight down. Mikael had just made it past the halfway line when gravity shifted, so his momentum held him in zero-G for a second, giving him enough time to see the arm sticking out from around the boulder he just passed. He fell once more towards the new-G wall. As he fell, Ammon could see him accelerate drastically, shifting the magnets on the new-G to pull him down with greater force. As he passed the boulder, he grabbed the arm, which Ammon saw belonged to Jack. Jack grabbed onto Mikael, then swung him around, releasing him directly towards the new Viper homebase.
The Vipers hardly had time to orient themselves, when Mikael checked one of their players in the chest. The collision made a loud cracking sound, sending the Viper flying out of control, then smacking into two adjacent walls. This Viper had been guarding an island of 400 tiles, all of which were soon claimed by Mikael.
“Great work Pandas!” Ammon cheered.
In the game’s eye, once the enemy tiles were taken, they were thought of as a village that had been destroyed. Once claimed, they belonged permanently to the other team for that round. Therefore, the Vipers would have to take Panda tiles to make up for their loss.
This round is already won, Ammon thought, and he called the Pandas in with a screech that meant to cover their own islands. The Twins met on the 400-tile island, while Ammon and Bastion defended a 300-tile island, and Mikael stood by the final 300-tile island. The Vipers attacked, though none of their efforts proved fruitful enough. They claimed just over 100 tiles from the Pandas, before gravity shifted once more, ending the round and awarding the Pandas their second point.
It was then that the edge of a new game started to fade. The Pandas grew tired. The Vipers continued their relentless attacks while providing truly remarkable defense with the moveable rocks. The Twins didn’t have much luck finding the rocks themselves, and the next three rounds went to the Vipers. The Vipers also landed multiple blows on the Pandas, leaving them bruised.
One in particular had knocked the air out of Ammon, igniting bright lights everywhere he looked. Bastion had reacted by kicking a Viper in the head. The blow had been so strong that the Viper was now kept back at homebase, used instead as an obstacle in front of an island.
Chalice also delivered an incredible blow to Jay, which had sent her sprawling backwards onto a boulder. Though partially recovered, she still seemed dazed. She didn’t move for the rest of the round, at Ammon’s command. This was right after the half time break, so she had yet to receive treatment for the blow. Still, she was tough. She knew to exaggerate the injury to flare her brother’s temper. Jack was strongest when avenging.
The score was now three to two, Vipers. Round 6 began, gravity pulling them to the final wall of the cube that had yet to be the new-G. Each team had one weak player, and Ammon himself still struggled to breathe, making it difficult to think. He called Bastion over. “I need you to take command,” he yelled over the roar of the crowd.
The students were beating on the cube walls, louder than Ammon had ever heard before. That, or his current state just made everything seem louder. But no, that wasn’t it. They were ecstatic. The Red Pandas were expected to win, yet here they were, down in points.
“You know what to do. Let’s go for the three.” Bastion accepted control, the watch display appearing on his arm as they high fived each other. Control could be switched twice per game from the Chief to the second in command.
Bastion called out orders, but the Pandas reacted out of instinct. They had practiced this maneuver ma
ny times. Three islands of tiles. Ten more minutes. The Vipers attacked relentlessly, and the Pandas held their ground. In the end, they only lost 20 tiles, though it was enough to give the Vipers another win.
“I’m not sure what the Pandas are planning to do, but they did NOT look good in round 6! Do they have it in them to win this game?”
Perfect, thought Ammon. They were now the underdogs. This gave them momentum.
His head was cleared. Jay had partially recovered from the blow, but the plan wasn’t for her to fully recover. Jackson was enraged ever since Round 5, but had been holding it in for this final round. His twin sister was injured. Blind rage filled Jack in times like these, tripling both his power and reckless behavior. However, given a few moments of boundless rage, he was usually able to channel his rage, keeping the increase in power while simultaneously thinking clearly.
It was time to release their strategy.
Gravity shut off. They all floated in zero-G drifting in whichever direction they were last moving. Ammon had been laying on the floor, directly in the center. The Twins were below him, Bastion was to his left and up, and Mikael was to his right and up. As zero-G activated, the Pandas gently pushed from their homebase. The losing team always received the last ground wall as their homebase. Ammon caught eyes with the Chalice. He had no idea what was coming to him. He looked as if he’d already won.