"And the balls have been released!" lead commentator Junok Sa shouted, almost too loud. Sa's voice boomed around the dome and competed with the roar of the audience. Below, six coloured balls fell into the six teams' sectors. The balls were a little larger than a human head and each was patterned in a very recognisable way. There was one ball per team, and a team could only score points with their own ball. More specifically, a team scored when their ball entered any other team's goal, regardless of who put it there.
"Every team has activated their ball by kicking or throwing it into their own goal. As you can see, the balls have all lit up, and their status is shown in the scoreboard," Chain She said for the benefit of any audience members who were less familiar with the game.
"And thall are already making serious moves!" Junok said, not as loud but with as much energy. "The Shadow Runners are in their standard umbra formation with Vines Jur taking point and Dmeer Dro running interference. Dalan She has put Baking Time into a poppy roll and it looks like Oscar Ra has control of the ball. Utter Chaos are defying expectations as expected and... Glorious Feint are shooting for Baking Time's goal! No, false alarm but now it looks like Loafr Sa is out of position. Peeps Jur and Meeps Ra are out on the wings of the Mighty Honks' formation and Fling Dro looks to be ready to pass to one or the other. Hornn, what are Cheesy Goodness up to?"
"Looks like Skids Sa is lining up for a powerful aetherrailer shot with the ball. Broth Ra is staying close to the goal while Punnt Dro and Swipe She have positioned themselves close to the adjoining teams' goals," Hornn Ra reported.
"Giving up control of the ball early is always a bold move, known to rarely pay off," Chain put in. "Ruins Sa just ceiling kicked to Vines Jur! Vines volleyed to the goal! No, Utter Chaos made the block and I've lost track of the ball!"
"That happens a lot," Junok said as soon as Chain left an opening. In Baking Time's sector, there's a scuffle between Leefi and a Chaos player. Meeps has the Baking ball and is passing across to Peeps. No, where did it go? Did anyone see that?"
"A Chaos player is down! Skids is running! Oh, sa fired at Baking time's ball in mid flight!" Hornn exclaimed rapidfire. "Remarkable accuracy, but what of the Chaos player?"
Junok had an answer ready. "That's no player, that's the mascot! How did Skids know? Did Skids know?"
"Sa better have, given the level of force," Chain answered. "And Glorious Feint have scored on Baking Time! Uturn Dro caught Oscar Ra off guard and kicked a goal rebounding right into Shove Dro's hands! Shove is sprinting back to dro's own goal now and it looks like three teams are moving to intercept! Capturing a dead ball is always a strong strategic move."
"Punnt Dro just spiked the Cheesy ball over to Skids who kicked it to Scaff Jur by the Shadow goal. But now jur has to contend with the quill-pug! Crimp Dro had decked Meeps and got the Baking ball back, but Chaos have some players moving in. The Honks are gaining ground on the Cheesy goal... Ttttt shoots! Broth Ra saved it with an elbow! Ibolt Jur of the Feints grabbed it and kicked it back to the centre!
"There's still some confusion around the downed Chaos mascot," Hornn put in. "A Chaos player is trying to retrieve it but a Honk and a Feint are trying to harvest parts from it. Quite the macarbe sight."
"Shadow are making a run at Chaos!" Junok yelled with a new level of excitement. "Ruins shoots and someone blocks! Ruins lunges! Sa punched it wildly and it's gone over everyone's heads! Point! Dmeer just came out of nowhere and bounced it past Broth into the Cheesy goal! But Broth's caught the rebound, so the Shadow Runners should expect a tough time getting their ball back."
"And we have a signal from Neato She! Utter Chaos are using their timeout," Chain said, bringing the energy back down as the players started to relax.
"That's a very early call but Chaos are down a mascot, so it has to be worth it," Hornn said. "And it gives us some time to share our thoughts about the game so far."
"That's right," Junok said. "After these messages from our sponsors."
"Hey, what's cooking?" Skids sauntered into the house wearing a big grid.
Nothing was actually cooking, but I didn't want to get into that just yet. "You look happy. Good day of guarding?" I asked, puzzled by my friend's good mood.
"Nah, boring as ever, but tomorrow's my night off and that mean's a full day's practice! You in?"
I opened my mouth to give a standard objection, but remembered I'd changed my mind. "Yes."
Skids stared at me. I was in comfy clothes and sitting on the good side of our four-person couch. "For real?"
I nodded. "For real, if you'll have me."
"Of course, Charity! You know I've been tryna talk you into this from the start. Why would I change my mind? Why did you change your mind?"
I knew this would be tough, but the conversation was in motion now so that would make it easier to continue. "I realised no one will take my project seriously. It doesn't matter how good a student I am. I need to prove my project and myself on the field. I need to be a chroma star."
"You need to be a chroma star, for your project," Skids repeated, as if sa wasn't sure sa had heard me correctly. "I'm flattered that you believe my team will be good enough for that. But with you on the team, I'm sure it will be. After a lot of practice, of course. How is that project of yours coming along, anyhow?"
"Um..." We were getting sidetracked from what I needed to talk about, but I welcomed the opportunity to talk about my work to someone who believed in me, even though sa didn't understand any of it. "It's been a tough slog. But I found something in the relic data you gave me! Hexes! Prehistoric hexes, I think!"
"How does that help you? Can you use these hexes? What do they do?"
I shook my head. "I don't know, and it would be a risk to find out by trying one. Figuring that out just by examining one would be a monumentally big task and it's the sort of thing I'm trying to avoid."
"Then is this even a useful discovery?"
"Er, I'm not sure yet. But the way I see it, the relic was better than our scryers." It was still odd to think of a magical device as ours. "So it follows that someone else may have encountered and solved the same problems as I'm facing. If I can find any information about that in the relic data, it would be a massive help."
"If you say so. Do you know what you're looking for?"
"Not really. Partly because I don't understand much of the weird ancient language, and partly because I'd be looking for technical terms that neither of us have words for."
"That does make it difficult," Skids agreed.
"It certainly does. And while this hand is nice enough I'm sure I could be faster with two hands and two eyes."
Skids shook sa's head decisively. "You learn faster than anyone I know. You're a scary fast learner and nothing can slow you down."
"But I know I could be faster."
"Perhaps you could have been, but you're doing more than admirably with the ability that's available to you now, and you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"I'm not ashamed! I gave my arm saving thousands of lives, and my eye trying to... Well..."
"You were doing the right thing and you don't deserve what happened to you. We've gone over this."
"I know, I know. I'm not trying to argue about that. What's important now is that I need to be able to give my best without any physical limitations. I'm not saying I'm less, but I am limited. My mind is always racing ahead of my fingers. And then there's all the head-turning."
"Charity, magic can't replace your eye or let you manipulate a scryer at full speed with both hands."
"I know mages can't help me. But I saw a sign for Winterfest."
"Winterfest? Winter's ages away! The only Winterfest signs up are the ones for the Titan open day and..." Skids' face fell. "No, Charity, you don't want that."
"I just finished telling you I do. I've seen enough of magic not to be afraid of it anymore."
"This isn't just magic in a box. It'll be part of you, connected to you. Connected to your brain."
That concept really ought to have scared me. It didn't. "Maybe I already have magic connected to my brain. I've heard things, remember?" I'd hardly thought about that since reaching Wonambi. I'd been so preoccupied, intentionally.
"Has that happened again? The voices? Or the beeping? You've been living with magic all around you for months, so surely it would have happened again." Skids didn't say 'if it was real' but I knew that was implied.
"I don't think it has. I've been extremely busy, and tried not to think about it. But it did happen! Perhaps the Titans can tell me why." The possibility of an answer had let me consider the topic again.
"You were under a lot of stress, Charity," Skids said with careful kindness. Too careful and too kind, I felt. "You were sick and taken from your home and then you were hurt badly, twice."
"I wasn't imagining things, Skids! What I heard was real. And we know there's something weird in my brain, from the scan in Yiwarra. No one here has any idea what that means. So I have to look elsewhere for answers."
"No, Charity. Not from the Titans. People who go there come back... changed. If you go there, you'll see and learn things you wish you hadn't."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, and I'm glad for that."
That attitude disappointed me. "All my life, for as long as I can remember, I've wanted to learn more. You can't frighten me away from an opportunity to learn more about myself."
"You can't afford their help or their products," Skids said gravely.
"What do they charge?" I would do whatever work was necessary to save up for it.
Skids' face scrunched up in thought as sa searched for an answer sa didn't have. "I don't exactly know, but nothing material."
I shrugged. "Then I'll have to go and find out, won't I?"
"You're on your own for that. And you know the search for my past comes first. This Titan... idea of yours will have to wait."
Now the moment of truth was at hand. "About that..."
"What a play from the Mighty Honks! Oseen She not only blocked a goal shot by Punnt Dro, but also captured Cheesy's ball and launched it right into the Chaos goal! That gives Cheesy Goodness a point but also puts Utter Chaos utterly out of the game! This is not a good day for Chaos," Junok said, simultaneously excited for the game development and mournful at the loss.
"But despite the elimination, the game is not over yet!" Junok continued. "The Shadow Runners and Glorious Feint have a tied lead of nine points apiece. The Honks are at seven and the Cheesy score brings them in line with Baking Time at six. The Honks have called a timeout, after which play will continue until at least the next elimination, so it could be anyone's game."
"That it could," said Chain. "But victory is closer for some than others, as is defeat. Teams are eliminated when every other team in play has scored against them, so it no longer matters that Cheesy Goodness and the Shadow Runners kept Utter Chaos's ball out of thall's goals. But conversely, Baking Time are now inelligible for the five point 'around the field' bonus due to Chaos's knockout."
"That's right!" Junok agreed with overplayed heartiness. "That might seem like a paradox at first glance, but I assure you it isn't! If you scrymail the correct explanation to the official commentary competition account before the end of the timeout, you will go into the draw to receive a fabulous chroma prize pack! And now, a word from our sponsors."