* * *
Back at Peter's house, the three friends were glued excitedly to the mute television, an intriguing mixture of food and drink spread out on the living room floor. The dips that had been prepared in pirate style were strewn all over the place, accompanied by an assortment of bizarre additions. A large bottle of ketchup was the centrepiece, from which Tank periodically covered a carrot, stick of cucumber or massive stalk of celery, wolfing down the whole thing in one go, much to the revulsion of the other two. Beside the ketchup there were jars of mayonnaise, a bowl of coleslaw, pickled onions, strawberry jam, marmalade, chocolate and marshmallow spread, and a large jug of very cold gravy. Young dragons like to experiment with an array of tastes and these three were no different, especially in the privacy of Peter's home. As well as the vegetables being dipped, there were sponge fingers (Peter's favourite), bread sticks, iced buns, marshmallows and I kid you not... pencils. Oh yes... pencils, a dragon's staple snack when humans aren't looking. Most prefer the 2B or 3B variety because the darkness comes across as tangy when consumed.
You may think the food odd, but only as much as the drinks the three friends were downing. Peter had developed a taste for lime cordial... NEAT, straight from the bottle. Richie was on her third Baileys and lime (something known as a cement mixer), which it had to be said was more like a meal than a drink, while Tank was being the most conventional of the three by drinking a 'Mississippi Mud Pie' or orange juice, lemonade and coke.
In any other situation, Peter would have gone berserk, had any part of his house looked like his living room currently did, but he was far too interested in the match to care about anything else. They all were. Abruptly the split screen views that they were watching changed to one, showing both teams performing their fly pasts for the electrically charged crowd. Both teams were flying around the edge of the subterranean stadium in opposite directions, both at exactly the same height, so when they met, they curved in and out of each other at breakneck speed, almost faster than the watching crowd could comprehend, all to rapturous applause.
Two laps later, the teams broke off and headed towards the roof, directly in the middle of the stadium.
"Come on Warriors!" shouted Tank at the silent television, startling the other two.
"Kick their scaly asses!" joined in Peter.
Tank and Richie looked at each other in mock shock.
"Who rattled your cage?" teased Richie.
"Just getting into the spirit of things," Peter replied.
Tank let out a great big belly laugh, while at the same time tossing a ketchup covered carrot high into the air. Richie and Peter watched the orange vegetable turn end over end, before disappearing into their friend's gaping mouth.
All three returned their attention to the game, with the view having changed from both teams hovering in mid-air, to ten glowing crystals over one of the goal mouths. As the friends watched, one crystal winked out, and all at once the three said,
"Nine." One by one the crystals continued to wink out, with the friends counting down as they did, knowing that the massive crowd in the stadium were no doubt all shouting their hearts out.
"Four... three... two... one..."
As the last crystal winked out, the view on the screen returned to both teams hovering high up in the centre. From out of a concealed hole in the roof shot the metallic laminium ball, almost faster than any of the dragons could see, bouncing off the chest of one of the Gipsy Kings players, winding him momentarily. With the ball in play, mayhem ensued. The three friends all unknowingly inched closer to the television, trying to make out what was going on in the mass of players and see just who had the laminium ball. Camera angles changed at random, making it hard to focus on any one thing. Both teams were still very much in the same area they'd been when the ball had come rocketing out, only now the action was frantic with tackles, raking talons, whipping tails and raging fiery breath. It was a sight to behold and looked very much like something from a prehistoric nightmare.
With both mouth guards having slipped out of the action to take up their normal positions, the melee in the middle became less of a jumble. Out of nowhere one of the Gipsy Kings players broke free, making a headlong dive for the lava, only pulling out at the last possible second, zooming inches above the smouldering surface, heading towards the Warriors’ goal mouth. Players from both sides of the congested pack gave chase, with the Gipsy Kings players holding off the Indigo Warriors, one even dumping Barf unceremoniously into the lava.
The Gipsy Kings players had done a reasonable job in holding off their opponents, much to the dismay of the three friends at home, and had given the player now hurtling towards the goal with the laminium ball nestled on the end of his tail a free run at the Warriors’ mouth. Although a good position for the Gipsy Kings, it was by no means a sure thing, because soaring in the players' way was a certain Silverbonce, the oldest player in the game and, most players and fans alike would agree, the craftiest and one of the most talented to ever grace the sport.
As the player with the ball rose from the surface of the bubbling lava, he slowed his ascent just slightly in an attempt to find the best position for a good shot. As he did so, Silverbonce drifted out of the mouth to narrow the angle. Only it appeared to everyone, including the player with the ball, that the old mouth guard had got his angles all wrong. A huge gap had opened up down Silverbonce's right hand side, leaving an easy shot for the eager Gipsy Kings’ youngster. Grinning at the thought of the easiest goal he'd scored in a long time, the young player with the ball threw all of his momentum downwards and at the same time hurled the ball with his tail into the great big gap left by the Warriors’ mouth guard. Not waiting to see what happened next, the relatively inexperienced dragon turned towards the fans, puffed out his chest, opened up his wings, all as if to say, “How great am I?” waiting for the inevitable applause.
It was a real shame he'd turned away, because if he hadn't, he would have seen a real master at work. As the ball had left the young dragon's tail, bound for one of the teeth in the goal mouth through the gap that Silverbonce had deliberately left, the wily old mouth guard had let out the most amazing jet of blue and orange tinged flame from his giant prehistoric jaw, with such precise timing that it hit the ball almost square on, deflecting it well away from the mouth, off into the side of the cavern. He coolly gathered it up with his tail, before playing a sublime pass out wide right to Flamer, who was just now picking it up with his tail. Meanwhile, the young Gipsy Kings forward, puzzled by the lack of appreciation, was still trying to get his head round the fact that the whole mouth was still intact and his teammates were expressing more than a reasonable amount of displeasure with him right at this very moment.
Flamer, having gathered the ball in, had taken flight heading towards the lower right hand corner of the massive arena. Cheese and Barf were speedily heading in the same direction to help him. Steel, meanwhile, had sneakily lost his marker and was soaring along the upper left cavern wall, trying hard to be inconspicuous. The Gipsy Kings, with the exception of their young forward, were rallying their defence, getting players between the laminium ball and the goal mouth.
Peter, Tank and Richie sat mesmerised on the living room floor, munching on various combinations of food and guzzling down drinks, but not once taking their eyes off the action on the screen in front of them.
One of the Gipsy Kings' defenders thundered out towards Flamer, talons out, clearly hoping to dislodge the ball and inflict injury at the same time. But Flamer was having none of it. At the very last instant, a quick flick of his tail was enough to send the ball flying surely into the path of Cheese, who took it at speed and headed up in the direction of the mouth, partnered by Barf. Two more Gipsy Kings players drifted down into their way, with the mouth guard anxiously moving from side to side behind them. Still nobody had spotted Steel, who was by now only a few metres out from the mouth, but way out on the left hand side. Looking at each other after a telepathic agreement, the two Gip
sy Kings players nodded, and then both drove towards Cheese and Barf as fast as they could. Both Warriors only had an instant in which to react, but that was all they needed. They knew where Steel was, it was just going to be a matter of getting him the ball. Cheese feinted right, bursting left at the last moment, doubling over into a sharp dive. Entering the dive, he gave a flick of his powerful tail, pushing the ball as hard as he could towards Barf.
Barf, meanwhile, wasn't quite as happy as he'd hoped to be. Having given everything he'd got in an effort to lose his Gipsy Kings marker, he'd only managed to gain a few metres on him rather than shed him altogether. Spotting the ball steaming towards him on one side and his challenger on the other, Barf realised there was only one thing to do. Pouring on as much speed as he could find, he surged towards the ball, knowing that he would get to it a fraction of a second before the player got him. On reaching the ball, instead of gathering it in, the expected course of action, he gently brushed it with the back of his right wing, ever so slightly changing its trajectory. Fans from all around the stadium let out a collective gasp, thinking that it was just poor play. As the ball left his wing, Barf closed his eyes and braced himself for the unavoidable. The Gipsy Kings player continued on his path, totally missing the ball but ploughing into Barf, sending him spiralling out of control towards the steaming red lava. All of this happened in a split second, and the only dragon in the stadium to have any idea about what had just happened was Steel, who, as he watched Barf plummet, sent his friend a telepathic 'thank you'.
You see, Steel was gliding in the same unmarked position that he'd been in for the last thirty seconds or so, and as the ball rocketed towards him, he knew that it was all that Barf could have done to deflect the ball in his direction because of the onrushing opponent, deliberately taking one for the team. With one giant flap of his wings, he sailed to meet the ball as it flew straight into his path. Because none of the Gipsy Kings had realised he was there, or that was where the ball was heading, the mouth was totally unguarded on the left hand side, leaving Steel with a clear shot. Not even bothering to collect the ball, even though he had plenty of time, Steel smashed the ball first time with his tail, destroying one of the teeth in the middle of the mouth. A resounding roar went up around the arena from all the Indigo Warriors fans. Flamer, Cheese and the worse for wear Barf all soared across the cavern to congratulate Steel, while Silverbonce remained guarding the mouth, pumping his wings in delight, trying to stir up the crowd even more.
Back at the house, the three friends were going wild. Jumping up, Tank knocked over his drink, Richie roared with delight, while Peter used some very colourful language to sum up his feelings, most unlike him.
"That was the best goal ever!" cried Tank.
"Did you see what Steel did?" bellowed Peter, "because clearly the Gipsy Kings didn't. He was amazing sneaking up like that. Who'd have thought that was even possible. He is a GOD!"
"Well... he's alright I suppose," mused Richie grinning, "but I could take him."
All three burst into a fit of laughter and it was only the sight of the restart taking place some thirty seconds later, that brought them out of it.
"Come on Warriors, make it to the final... pleeeaaasssssseeeee!" hollered Tank at the top of his voice as the action got underway.
Similar to the opening part of the match, punches, kicks, streams of flame were all being thrown in that very confined area, high up in the middle of the arena. Once again the Gipsy Kings took possession and pressed the attack. Unlike their previous offence, this one led to them knocking down a tooth and scoring a goal, and it was the young forward who'd failed so spectacularly last time, who'd got it. He scored from a long way out after a double tailed attack (very illegal) on Silverbonce, which the referee failed to spot, left the Indigo Warrior's mouth wide open. The crowd went ballistic, jeering and spitting flame in the direction of the harangued official. The players were up in wings about it, hovering around the referee, blowing smoke at him, the whole lot. He had no intention of changing his mind, however much his mistake was pointed out, so the match continued. 1-1.
If Peter's language had been colourful before, it was nothing to what Tank's was now. It was all Richie and Peter could do to get him to sit back down and watch the match restart once again. Peter looked over at his friend waving his oversized fist animatedly at the television, threatening the official, wondering how somebody as sensitive and caring as Tank, with not a selfish thought in his body, no matter what his form, could get so worked up about something like this.
'The humans,' he thought. 'We're all becoming more human. Is that even possible?’ It was an odd thing to think, but something about it rang true. He vowed to give it more consideration at a quieter moment.
Gathering again in the centre of the stadium, waiting for that captivating ball to come shooting out, the dragons soared and rolled, drifted and dived. From the concentration on the faces of the Indigo Warriors players, it was clear they were discussing tactics telepathically. The young Gipsy Kings forward, pleased at having just scored the equaliser, was trying desperately to taunt the Warriors, but sensibly, they were ignoring him, or perhaps were just too busy planning their next attack.
As the ball shot out of the ceiling the Indigo Warriors, with the exception of Silverbonce, all grouped together and made for the ball. A Gipsy Kings player reached it first, but a split second after bringing the ball under control, he was hit full on with the concussive force of four dragons travelling at full tilt. The Warriors gained possession of the ball, while the surprised Gipsy Kings player tumbled clumsily towards the roiling surface of the lava, eventually hitting it head first. As the injured dragon floated on the surface, clearly unconscious, a small passageway opened in the middle of one side of the cavern, right above the lava. Out shot two medic dragons, dragging behind them a giant green net. Heading straight for the injured dragon, the two medics continued as the match became more frantic all around them.
The Warriors collective on the ball were lining up for a run at the Gipsy Kings' mouth. Their opposition, a dragon down, had got themselves between the Warriors and their mouth, but were a little unorganised. As the collective swooped towards the mouth, one by one Gipsy Kings players hurled themselves at the cluster. Although seemingly born of desperation, it was quite an effective tactic, taking out at least one of the Warrior players each time it happened.
With all this going on around them, the two medics had scooped up the Gipsy Kings dragon in their net, and were now flying with him in between them towards the opening from which they'd appeared. Now that the injured player had left the arena, the Gipsy Kings were finally able to bring on their substitute, albeit a little too late to help with the current action they were having to defend. All the Gipsy Kings players, with the exception of their mouth guard, had hurled themselves at the collection of Warriors players. Only Barf from the Warriors remained flying with the ball, after having been at the centre of the troop. As he zoomed towards the mouth with only the guard in the way, he looped the ball up and over the isolated mouth guard, while at the same time blasting him with a sustained stream of flame from his giant jaws. Momentarily disorientated, the guard could do nothing as Barf soared around behind him, gathered up the ball and shot at the undefended mouth.
On the edge of their seats, the crowd watched in anticipation at what would likely be just a tap in from a short way out, and one of the easiest shots Barf was ever likely to have, given that he had all the time in the world.
Inexplicably though, Barf had got all his bearings totally mixed up, whether from over confidence or maybe just nerves at the importance of the occasion. Unbelievably his shot sailed well wide of the exposed mouth, only to be picked up by a very surprised Gipsy Kings substitute in the corner of the arena. Roaring in disbelief, the crowd, along with the players and the referee, couldn't believe what they were seeing. Gipsy Kings fans cheered wildly, some hurling abuse at the distraught Barf.
Shock had overtaken the three friends as
they sat unmoving on the living room floor. Tank broke the deafening silence.
"I've seen eggs that haven't hatched that could have put that away," he suggested angrily.
Peter buried his head in his hands, feeling as though the chance had passed for his favourite team to take control of the game.
"Clearly... Barf is not a big game player," quipped Richie solemnly. "I say substitute him and get Zip on."
"Huh... like Zip's gonna do a better job," moaned Tank.
After a few seconds of his head spinning, and feeling more than a little sorry not only for himself, but for his friends and his team as well, Peter picked himself up and with a deep breath, and the belief that tonight was going to go his way, announced,
"Come on guys. We can still win. So Barf made a mistake. We've all done that."
Richie looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
"Most of us have done that," he amended. "The Warriors can still win. We just need to believe. It's not like we're even losing. It's still a draw and there's plenty of time left yet."
"Well... I hope they start pulling their wingtips out, that's all I can say," put in Tank, trying to pick up on Peter's optimism.
"I still say we need to bring on Zip... but I'm pretty sure we can still win," professed Richie, taking a long sip of her drink.
Back in the arena, the Indigo Warriors poured thoughts of confidence, understanding and support into their telepathic collectiveness, letting Barf know that the miss didn't matter, but it didn't seem to do the trick. He was utterly inconsolable as he flapped his wings dejectedly on his way back to defend.
Retaining possession, the Gipsy Kings had started to string two or three great passes together, the Warriors all the time chasing the ball and the players, without a great deal of success it must be said. The movement and co-ordination of the Gipsy Kings in this phase was very much reminiscent of two seasons previously, when they had gone on to become league champions for the second time in a row. Worryingly, the Warriors were barely able to get near the ball, let alone intercept it.
As the Gipsy Kings closed in on the Warriors' mouth, Steel made a last ditch attempt at a tackle, but missed quite spectacularly, tumbling into the side of the cavern, injuring himself badly in the process. The player with the ball wide on the right, about mouth height, had two players in the middle to pass to. Silverbonce, unusually for him, didn't know whether to come out to the player, or stay and defend the mouth. Just as he'd decided to come out, the wide player thrashed the ball across the middle towards his two waiting teammates. With such amazing speed and agility that it seemed almost impossible, Silverbonce changed direction in a flash, and was on top of the closest Gipsy Kings player in an instant. All of which would have been great if it weren't for the fact that this player, in all his wisdom, dummied the ball and let it fly right through the middle of his wings to the player behind him. Again it was the young forward, and as Silverbonce scrabbled about in an attempt to get over to him, the youngster, calmly as you like, gathered in the ball with his tail and hammered it aggressively into the mouth, turning one of the teeth at the end to dust.
Appearing to be in total disarray, the Warriors floated back towards the middle of the cavern to await yet another restart. Barf looked as though he just wanted to be somewhere else. Cheese and Silverbonce were arguing over some aspect of the previous attack that had led to the goal, while Steel just looked on, a cold, reflective expression on his face.
The mood back in Salisbridge wasn't that much better. Whereas only moments before it had been optimistic and full of hope, you could now have heard a pin drop as the friends studied the screen, willing their team to buck up their ideas and give the Gipsy Kings the damn good thrashing they deserved, but in their heart of hearts not truly believing it was possible. Historic game or not, it looked very much like the evening was over and that for this season at least, the Global Cup run had fizzled out like a damp squib. And much as the three friends hoped they would, the Warriors never really recovered from that particular moment. Almost straight from the restart, the Gipsy Kings scored another goal, shattering any small amount of confidence the Warriors retained. Shortly after that, Barf was substituted for Zip, much to the watching Richie's delight, but even though Zip had lots of energy, covering a massive amount of air, it didn't really impact on the match very much.
And so it was that with five minutes to go, a determined Steel had made a conscious decision to retrieve the ball and make a singular run on goal in one last concerted effort to get his team back into the match. However, his opponents though were currently playing the ball around for fun, just like they would in a training match, knowing that a 3-1 lead and such disorganised looking opposition meant all they had to do was keep possession for the match, and a place in the final, to be theirs.
Steel, in much the same way as his demoralised teammates, had spent most of the last half hour chasing the ball around without much success and was quite frankly getting more than a little bit fed up. But unlike the others, who seemed to have all given up on their hopeless situation, he believed implicitly that they could turn the game around and get through to the final. All they had to do was get two goals and they would go through, because in cup matches, whoever scores first will win the game should the match be drawn. As the Warriors scored the opening goal, they would win the match should the score be 3-3 at full time, something Steel thought the Gipsy Kings had realised, and knew they were not quite as safe as they evidently assumed, despite their current showboating.
Steel, while flying around chasing the ball, had hit on an idea about how to get it back from the Gipsy Kings. Their young forward had taken up a position low down, just above the surface of the toxic, bubbling lava, roughly in the centre of the arena. Every sixth or seventh pass would go to him, where he would just keep hold of the ball until one of the Warriors closed him down. If nobody from the Warriors managed that, he would just hover, keeping possession, running down the clock. Knowing he had to work quickly for his plan to work, Steel feigned an injured wing, acting as though he were in a fair amount of pain, and drifted over to the nearest rock ledge, far from the main action. All the time rotating his wing, he sent out a message to his teammates, telling them not to close down the young forward, but to stand off and be ready to attack when the time came.
Cheese and Zip were covering an enormous amount of air, chasing and harrying their opponents who were more than happy to keep hold of the ball in less dangerous parts of the arena, playing out time. While the Gipsy Kings had noticed Steel flying down to the ledge, supposedly injured, they didn't think much of it because the Warriors had already used their only substitute when they'd taken Barf off. Things continued much in the same vein, with Cheese and Zip following the ball around the cavern at top speed, closing down players, never actually getting near enough to intercept a pass. Meanwhile, if anyone had been paying attention, which they hadn't, they would have noticed that Steel was no longer on the ledge or, for that matter, anywhere to be seen.
Back at Peter's house, the friends had all but given up on winning the match and going through to the final. With the screen focusing solely on the ball and the players it was travelling between and with no commentary, the friends had no idea Steel had feigned injury or that he was on his way in a daring attempt to put things right.
Ticking down now, the clock showed that four minutes remained of the match. Dragon supporters of both teams had started exiting the arena, hoping to hop on the monorail and beat the crowds with the result already a foregone conclusion.
As the Gipsy Kings players passed the ball about with ease, the look on their faces said it all. They were already planning what they were going to do in the final. That's how confident they were that this game was already wrapped up. Cheese and Zip continued to chase the ball, that is until... the ball was passed to the young forward, hovering just above the lava.
From the look on HIS face, not only was he planning his moves in the final, but also rehearsing the speech
he was going to give on raising aloft the Global Cup, having won it. With the ball nestling gently against the scales on the tip of his tail, the cocky smile on the young forward's face grew tenfold as both Cheese and Zip drew to a halt in mid-air. Cheese wiped his head in mock exhaustion, Zip just shook his downheartedly, looking as though he'd already given up. With his teammates encouraging him just to keep the ball, the youngster was happy to oblige with his opponents having already chucked in the towel.
Through the shimmering air, Zip and Cheese exchanged worried looks. Something must have gone wrong. Whatever Steel had planned had not come to pass and here they were, seconds slipping away, watching the opposition hold the ball and gloat. Even through their telepathic link, they could not sense him anywhere, which could mean only one thing... he was under the lava. Well under, for them not to be able to sense him. Diving beneath the lava in a laminium ball match is a risky business. Usually the lava is the hottest and most volatile found outside the Earth's core. Even a dragon's highly impervious scales can be susceptible to exceptionally high temperatures after a prolonged period of time. Because of this, dragons in a laminium ball match wouldn't last any longer than ten seconds beneath the surface. Steel had been missing for over thirty.
The extraordinarily large clock built into the ceiling of the arena clicked on to three minutes left, with the entire Gipsy Kings team drifting effortlessly in their own positions. Remaining in possession of the ball, the young forward held his position just above the lava, disgusted with his opposition for just giving up. Beneath the young forward, the orange and red lava hissed and spat, crackled and sizzled, all the time swirling around in mesmerising patterns as great plumes of steam rose into the humid air. Small bubbles broke the surface unnoticed. The rising panic asserting itself across the Indigo Warriors' telepathic collective turned to relief as the players suddenly felt the presence of Steel, heading upwards from well beneath the lava at quite a speed. Those small bubbles underneath the young dragon had turned into much bigger ones that were spluttering and bursting like bladders at an old people's home. A sense of disbelief and quiet anticipation ran through the crowd, who were aware, unlike the young forward, that something was about to happen. Before anyone could warn him... happen it did!
Like a fiery phoenix erupting through the gates of hell, Steel burst through the surface of the lava, huge streams of dazzling orange and red liquid exploding all around him. His naturally shiny scales were dull, some even black, and on fire. Appearing directly beneath the young forward, he flew straight into him, making sure to gather up the ball on the way. Dragon bones cracking and breaking echoed around the vast arena as the inevitable collision took place. Steel, of course, came away with the ball, the young broken forward falling unceremoniously into the steaming mass with a gigantic 'PLOP'. No surprise to anyone that the two medic dragons exited their hole at speed, just catching up with the injured dragon as the last vestiges of his body dipped below the lava.
Having taken everyone by surprise and with the crowd roaring him on, Steel was winging his way towards the Gipsy Kings' mouth, smoke and lava pouring off his ravaged body. Two and a half minutes remained.
With almost every player caught by surprise at Steel's audacious move, only one Gipsy Kings player stood a chance at intercepting him before he reached the mouth and the very nervous mouth guard. In Steel's mind, there was no question about what had to happen. Only about two minutes remained, so he had to score immediately, without any fuss, and hope that some miracle opportunity presented itself to score again instantly after the restart. He cursed the fact that it had taken him so long to find the young forward from underneath the lava. He'd been submerged in different types of lava before, some for longer periods of time, but none had felt quite like this. Once under, he felt as though he were shrouded by a blanket of ice and not heat. Only a metre or so beneath the surface the lava had lost its warm kiss, to be replaced by a needle sharp darkness that had enveloped everything. Nothing was as it seemed, down and up were gone, his enhanced sense of direction nullified by his surroundings. What he knew to be his one shot was hanging by a thread. If he broke the surface at all, the game would be up. It took every ounce of courage and bravery he possessed to fight his body's urge to resurface, and stay under long enough to find the right route up to the surface directly below his young opponent. But he couldn't help wonder now, if having taken so long, it would all be for nothing.
Terror and alarm pulsed through what was left of the Gipsy Kings' telepathic bond at the surprise development of the last few seconds, even though they were still two goals ahead. As Steel closed in on the terrified Gipsy Kings mouth guard, the unthinkable happened. The only Gipsy Kings player close enough to get to Steel in time had done so, but had undoubtedly been consumed by the desperation and alarm through the telepathic bond. Instead of trying fairly to wrestle the ball from Steel, or even just slow him down, he had in fact come in jaws first, grabbing the Warriors captain by the throat. Growling in disbelief, both sides of the animated crowd couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was the worst kind of foul that any dragon could commit during a laminium ball match. Not only that, but it was taboo in the wider sense of the dragon community. It was a violation, an attack, one that was feared by every dragon on the planet, buried deep down in their very DNA. Even his own players were appalled. One dragon did not put its jaws anywhere near another dragon's throat... EVER! The referee stopped the match as the entire team of Warriors gathered around their stricken captain.
Even from their not so great angle on the television, the three friends could still make out the devastating damage to their team's captain, who it had to be said was in pretty bad shape. As well as the half a dozen puncture wounds on his neck oozing blood, about twenty percent of his body's scales were as black as night, most still smouldering. That trip beneath the lava looked as though it had really taken its toll.
"They should ban him for life for that!" screamed Tank at the television. "It's bloody disgraceful!"
"You're right of course," chipped in Richie. "But it was bloody clever on his part."
"WHAAAAAAATTTT!!!" screeched Peter.
"Think about it for a second," said Richie, all cool, calm and calculating. "If you were in his position and you knew that you could take out Steel, run down the clock and win the game for your team, and all that it would cost you would be a ban for the next match - wouldn't you do it? Wouldn't you take one for the team?"
"No I bloody wouldn't. Not like that!" objected Peter, furious. "I can't believe you would say such a thing."
"Calm down Peter. I'm not condoning what happened, only saying that from his perspective he did the right thing to win his team the game."
"Yeah... well, it's not over yet, is it?" spluttered Peter, trying to rein in his temper.
"Oh that's right," replied Richie. "Tell me, just how are the Warriors going to win now?”
He turned away, returning his attention to the screen, knowing that she was right, it was all over. He just... didn't want it to be, that's all. As the three friends watched, the referee banished the Gipsy Kings player that had committed the foul, issuing him with a one match ban at the same time. The crowd roared with approval at the player missing the final.
Steel looked in slightly better shape than he had a few moments earlier, thanks in the main to his teammates. As he recovered from the brutal tackle (more like assault actually), the players around him helped him lick his wounds, quite literally in fact. Flamer, Cheese and Silverbonce all attended to his smouldering scales, dabbing them with their own wings and giving them a good lick once they were fully extinguished. As the others did this, Zip concentrated on the puncture wounds around Steel's neck that had been inflicted by the Gypsy Kings player. Carefully licking Steel's neck, he made sure to leave a thick coating of saliva. Although this sounds kind of gross, dragon saliva contains a whole host of natural antibiotics, acting much quicker than any tablet that a human would take. Even in their human disguises, dragon saliva s
till provides a potent form of healing, able to cure a wide range of ailments.
With Steel now compus mentus, the ref informed both teams that he had awarded a penalty to the Indigo Warriors. Cheers rose from the crowd, but only really from the Gipsy Kings supporters. They knew that with the clock almost run down, this would almost certainly be the last action of the match, meaning the best the Warriors would be able to do, was to lose 3-2. With realisation dawning on Steel and his teammates, the depressing reality of having lost washed over all of them. Except Silverbonce, who looked... like he was up to something. Steel was the team's assigned penalty taker, so it was he who hovered with the ball, ready to strike on the referee's command.
But play hadn't started yet, and so when Silverbonce asked if he could recheck Steel's wounds to make sure he was fit to take the penalty, the ref gave a resounding yes. Flying over to Steel from off to one side, slowly circling him, Silverbonce made it look as if he were verifying his fitness. Steel had absolutely no idea what was going on, but the wily old mouth guard was clearly pitching an idea to his injured captain. This went on for a couple of minutes, until finally the referee lost patience with the two players who were, by now, quite animated. Calling both players over, the ref gave them both a verbal warning for time wasting and made it clear in no uncertain terms that he expected the penalty to be taken as soon as he restarted play.
Nobody had any idea what had gone on between the two players, but because one of them was Silverbonce, the Gipsy Kings players were all looking mighty nervous, even though they knew it was impossible for them to lose the match. The ball could only score one 'pure' hit. Even if it was played in such a way as to hit one tooth and then rebound and hit another, the second hit would not count because rebounds are illegal and don't count towards the goal tally. With the Gipsy Kings players all in the Indigo Warriors’ half, Flamer, Cheese and Zip all drifted between them and the penalty area.
Hovering just outside the area, the referee was almost ready to restart play.
Unusually, Silverbonce remained by Steel's side as he prepared to take the penalty. There was no rule that said he couldn't do that, it was just... unheard of.
All glued to the television, Peter, Tank and Richie thought the last few minutes had been amazing. Even though their heads were telling them that the game was over and that their team had already lost, their hearts had been buoyed by Silverbonce's involvement in whatever was going on.
As everyone looked on, the referee started play. Steel drew back his immensely powerful tail, with the ball nestled on the very end, looking as though he were about to shoot. The Gipsy Kings mouth guard tensed, ready to try and save whatever was thrown at him. Powering his tail forward quickly, just as he was about to release the ball, Steel slowed his tail right down, and flipped the ball up in the air in front of Silverbonce.
You could have heard a pin drop in the stadium, that's how deathly quiet it had become, with almost everyone wondering what the hell was going on. It was the same back in Salisbridge, with the three friends sitting on the floor, gawping on an almost professional level, their mouths hanging open like tunnels awaiting the next train. Now that the ball had been played, the Gipsy Kings players on the half way point of the arena surged forward to try and get back and make a difference. It was a big ask. As the ball reached the apex of its trajectory, it started to fall. As it did so, Silverbonce started his forwards roll, bringing his tail up over the top of him, looking to make contact with the ball. For all intents and purposes, it looked as though he was going to slam the ball straight down into the lava. It was absolutely bizarre!
Just a split second before the flat, scaly, open side of Silverbonce's tail made contact with the ball, the cunning old mouth guard rolled his tail around, bringing the full force of the serrated edge down on to the middle of the laminium ball. Dragon eyes all around the arena nearly popped out as the shining silver ball split neatly into two, revealing the many layers inside that had gone into producing it.
As the two halves of the ball tumbled apart, Silverbonce ducked out of the way of Steel's onrushing tail, which even though he couldn't see, he knew was on its way, rushing towards the broken ball. A resounding 'THWACK' echoed around the stadium as the Warrior's captain made contact with the two halves, sending both spinning towards the Gipsy Kings’ mouth, both on totally different courses. Rooted to the spot, the bemused Gipsy Kings mouth guard watched helplessly as the two laminium ball halves flew past either side of him, each hitting the outer tooth on either side of the goal mouth.
The giant scoreboard signalled two goals for the Indigo Warriors, making the score 3-3 flash up all along the side of the rocky wall below the spectators. The game was a draw. The Warriors had won.
The arena was still deathly silent. Crowd and players alike could not believe what they'd just witnessed. As the seconds passed, Warriors fans started to process exactly what had happened, and that their team had just made it through to the final. A muted round of applause and a little shouting started off in one corner, which slowly gathered momentum, eventually making its way to every other part of the stadium in only a matter of seconds. Unlike anything it had ever experienced, the rocky ceiling of the subterranean cavern started to shake and shed small rocks that plunged into the lava at high speed. Cheese, Flamer and Zip belted over to Steel and Silverbonce to celebrate the unlikeliest of victories. Gypsy Kings players had surrounded the ref, pushing and shoving, complaining that the goals shouldn't stand. Ignoring the furore, the referee, from the look on his face, was clearly having another conversation with the match arbiter, who remained hidden in the depths of the stadium somewhere.
As both sets of fans and players realised that the referee had not signalled to end the game, the noise died down to virtually nothing. Crossing his wings in front of his body, and then sharply opening them out and pointing to the expired clock on the wall was what should have happened. It most certainly hadn't yet, with a telepathic discussion clearly still going on about the legality of the goals and whether or not the result should stand. Both teams drifted in separate huddles, waiting for over forty seconds, which seemed to the players like more than one lifetime. Finally the referee returned his attention to the present, finding the eyes of all the players and most of the seventy thousand strong crowd, fixed firmly in his direction. Steam rose from every part of his body as he realised the massive implications of the decision he was about to give. A massive expansion and constriction around the scales in his neck and throat seemed to indicate a massive 'GULP' on his part. Resigned to the fact that half the crowd was going to love him, with the other half wanting to lynch him, he turned towards both sets of players, crossed his wings in front of his body and pointed towards the clock. The double goal stood.
The boos were easily eclipsed by the roars that resounded around the stadium. Indigo Warriors players went mental. Flamer leapt backwards into the air, performing continuous loop the loops that seemed to go on forever. Cheese and Zip hurled themselves at each other, bouncing off one another’s chests high up in the air. Steel grabbed Silverbonce's wing and raised it aloft for the fans. This got by far the biggest cheer of the night, almost quadruple anything else. Even the Gipsy Kings fans were cheering, knowing that they had all witnessed something that would go down in the history of the game. Gipsy Kings players had grudgingly accepted the referee's decision and had very slowly flown off to the exit tunnel that was now wide open and filled with journalists and photographers from all the telepathic papers. Now joined by the ecstatic Barf, the Indigo Warriors continued to enjoy their moment of glory, circling the stadium in a flying formation, waving their wings and shooting huge cones of fire from their mouths as they did so.
Peter's house was quite literally rocking from the noise the three friends were making. It was a good job the neighbours were away. Tank had been jumping up and down, using the full force of his very sizable bulk. Richie had been screaming in a very high pitched way, that is until Peter and Tank gave her quizzical looks, and w
hen she realised she'd been doing it she stopped abruptly and began blowing intricate smoke rings with her mouth. Peter, when he'd seen the referee’s signal that the Warriors had won, had just pumped his arms in the air, mouthing the word 'yes' over and over again. The three of them were as happy as they'd ever been, with Tank vowing to get them all tickets to the final, no matter what the cost, even if he had to sell his own tail. As they watched their heroes circling the stadium, the television picture suddenly turned to static. Peter and Richie turned to Tank hopefully.
"I think that's it," said Tank, more than a little hoarse. "To be honest, I'm surprised they broadcast that much. I expected it to cut out as soon as the game finished. My best guess, is because of the controversial end of the game, they decided to keep on transmitting, but that's all we're gonna get. Looks like we'll have to wait for the papers in the morning to see anything else."
Peter sighed long and hard.
"That was one of the best nights of my life."
Tank and Richie nodded in agreement. After that, the three friends started going over the game again, re-living all the best bits and in particular THAT PENALTY. They stayed at Peter's house well into the early hours of the next day, celebrating.