As the game resumed without Emily, Heaven Dune High easily gained possession of the orb, and Leng was holding onto it tightly. He then looked over his shoulder for a second to see where his brother was, yet in that brief moment, the orb was snatched from his hands, by none other than Daniel.
He quickly flew past all the others, proving why he was the team captain and team ace. Sren, who was further back, went in for the tackle, but with a jump, Daniel narrowly avoided it and went on to score. Everyone from Elysium Nexus Academy unanimously started to cheer the star player's name. The girls' screams were especially deafening.
Leng smiled and started making hand gestures, all the Heaven Dune players started dashing forward as Skirmisher, they moved in a strange pattern forming a makeshift trident.
When Mrs. Ava saw this she gasped. " Those gestures is he the coach, it can't be right he's a player."
Daniel was unable to counter and the Heaven Dune players kept darting around the Elysium Nexus players. He went in to tackle Leng put he passed the orb and went the other way. Daniel couldn't comprehend what just happen he turned around and saw the orb carrier a female player with a strange suit she added a lot of black silicon to her jetpack making it resemble a set of dark wings.
" Mark player Sren and Leng. "
it took some time for the other players to take formation and started tackling only Leng and Sren leaving the orb carrier opened she flew straight and whipped the orb into the ring.
" Arrgghh "
Mrs. Ava started making hand gestures and the Elysium Nexus players started falling back and playing as bulwarks when Sren saw this he approached Leng.
"What do you want us to do?"
" It's simple really just bash into them." Leng smiled.
"It looks like Team Elysium Nexus is going to switch things up and start playing some serious defense," noted one commentator. "They know they can't outscore Team Heaven Dune, so they'll have to rely on their defensive skills to shut them down."
Sure enough, when play resumed, Team Elysium Nexus adopted a more defensive posture, deploying a series of complex tactics designed to thwart Team Heaven Dune's attack.
Heaven Dune easily stole possession since most of the Elysium Nexus player were playing as bulwarks as they approached the defense formation all the Heaven Dune players suddenly changed to bulwarks and slammed into the defense the defense immediately crumbled because while the Elysium Nexus players were playing defense they were too close to each other. Sren easily scored another point.
"Amateurs" Mrs. Ava face palmed herself and started making hand gestures this time the players fell back and distance themselves then Mrs. Ava made another hand gestures though not easy to pick but Leng knew what it meant.
"They are going to start using feint attack" Leng smiled
He made another hand gesture and this time Mrs. Ava was certain he was the coach after searching for the coach in the stand.
Heaven Dune players moved forward again passing the orb while playing in a strange wavelength. One of heaven Dune players caught the orb and approach the Elysium Nexus bulwark, the bulwark moved forward to tackle but at the last moment he moved disorientingly and another bulwark approached from the side but the Heaven Dune player suddenly swung his hands forward to throw the orb, the bulwark shifted back but it was a feint the player moved and threw the orb towards another player but at the last moment the player didn't catch the ball on purpose the orb fell into Leng's hand and he scored a point.
Did you see that, folks?" exclaimed one commentator. "That was pure magic! Team Heaven Dune's star player has just put them back in the game, and it looks like they might be unstoppable now."
Unbelievable!" cried another commentator. "Did you see that? Team Heaven Dune's star player just pulled off an incredible move! He left Team Elysium Nexus's defense in the dust and scored a beautiful goal!"
In a desperate bid to turn the tide of the match Mrs. Ava made some hand gestures, the Elysium Nexus players moved, they employed an ancient defensive technique known as "the wall." This involved creating a human barricade around the ring, using their bodies to block any incoming shots.
The commentators were amazed by this unexpected move. "Look at this, folks!" said one. "Team Elysium Nexus is pulling out all the stops now. They're using 'the wall' to try and keep Team Heaven Dune from scoring"
The commentators watched in awe as Team Elysium Nexus's makeshift wall held firm, repelling Team Heaven Dune's repeated attacks. "This is incredible!" exclaimed one. "Team Elysium Nexus is resorting to the oldest trick in the book – the wall! It's a risky move, but it's all they have left. Can they pull it off?"
For what felt like an eternity, the two teams battled fiercely, each trying to outmaneuver the other. But ultimately, Team Heaven Dunes superior skill and teamwork proved too much for Team Elysium Nexus's valiant effort. Team Heaven Dune made a total of 13 attempts but weren't able to score.
Fortunately, they had managed to get a good lead in the first half. The game came to an end with a score of 8:8, making it a draw.
"We drew! We freaking did it!" Mrs. Ava cheered. "I get to keep my job and I don't even need to treat anyone to dinner!"
Elysium Nexus 8.0. Heaven Dune. 8.0.
Full Time 200 minutes
Daniel Taylor '36'. Leng Madonna. '9'
Emily Harrington '44' Leng Madonna. '11'
Emily Harrington '49'. Sren Madonna. '32'
Gil Thompson. '60'. Leng Madonna. '65'
Daniel Taylor '71'. Sren Madonna. '94'
Emily Harrington. '83'. Raven Azrael. '166'
Emily Harrington. '88'. Sren Madonna. '173'
Daniel Taylor. '123'. Leng Madonna. '180'
It was all thanks to Daniel and Emily, the team started to lift him into the air, throwing him celebrating their draw as if they had won. Although Emily had done a lot for the team, it had been limited to the first half.
It was strange, because the way Sren and Leng were acting, it was as if they had lost.
"What is wrong with you all?!" Sren shouted in anger, punching one of his own teammates directly in the back, causing them to lose balance and reboot the anti grav. The spectators could see this, but now that the game was over they could do nothing about it. Neither Heaven Dune High's teachers nor the other did anything about it, seemingly used to this sort of behaviour.
"We knew that Daniel was a good player. We knew if we played against them with him it would be risky." Leng argued the outcome. "What we didn't expect was for her to be good as well."
As for who Leng was referring to, it was naturally Emily. The outlier looked to be staring into space with her head full of her own thoughts. Her headache was becoming worse, and there was a slight dull ring that had appeared as well.
The high schooler felt as if all the noises were drowned out from the outside.
"That stupid git cost us a sh*tton of money!" Sren cursed. He picked up the nearby Aerion orb and threw it directly towards Emily who was currently sitting on the sub platform. Those in the crowd watching gasped but could do nothing as it hit its designated target.
It was a clean hit, connecting to her head from the side, making Emily fall onto the platform.
"Arghh my head!" Emily yelled.
Is she seriously hurt or something, Aerion orbs aren't that hard as long as you put on Unity suit?" Red Sunn asked with worry, looking at his gang leader. He was furious and was ready to give the twin a taste of his own medicine, but he knew it was impossible to get to him. Not with his entire team behind him.
"Arghh!" Emily shouted almost, but managed to hold it in so it sounded like a few grunts. The parents couldn't hear because the students were still celebrating their draw, and Willy didn't want to get close, afraid that the smell of blood would just worsen the situation even further.
"No, she's acting really strange. I don't think the Aerion orb caused that. She looks to be in incredible pain and… it looks like she's sweating." Chloe pointed out. It was hard to see from her position.
The two of them weren't the only ones that had noticed this. Daniel and Amy had both been keeping an eye on Emily as well. The action of the sore loser was way out of line, but Emily's reaction was also unnatural.
"Emily, get out of here!" Willy shouted from what he deemed to be a safe distance. "You have to go home early, don't you? Your mum and sister are waiting for you."
This was a lie. As far as her family knew, she would be staying at Willy's tonight after the match. So they wouldn't get suspicious when they returned, but he was just hoping his words would get through.
When they turned around to look back on the field though, Emily was no longer there.