One Month Ago
As Mia Ria stepped off the plane at Montréal, Royal Kingdom of Québec, she couldn't help but be astounded at the position that she was in. She, a seventeen-year old, was now the backup keeper of the national team! Of course, they were still in exile, but the girl who hailed from Deprí Sanar that had gone off to Belle Epoquenne after the ninth edition of the U-15 World Cup, and never thought of a call-up to the senior team for at least another couple years. Nikolai Thorben's injury, however, had changed that.
The news from Nikolai was quite good - he was on the mend, and doing well in rehab. They weren't taking any chances with him, though, and had called her up. To be fair, they weren't taking any chances with Mia either with the political situation - they had refused to call her up until the end of qualifying so that they could ensure safe transport. She had actually flown with personal bodyguards, and interesting experience for certain. It was a grind, but she had finally arrived.
After going through customs, which was done very cordially and effectively, she was ushered to the stadium in Stade de Montréal, where she was greeted by the entire team. She became wide-eyed as she noted the stars of the team - Kéirâ Andìsorì the beauty, Gabriella Antonio, Meagan Kelly the Captain, Luuk Aart the original exile, Trenn Rien the playmaker... And her eyes settled on Jillian Nier, the current keeper. Jillian was giving her a look-down, registering the features that a keeper needed. Finally, she noticed a nod of approval from Jillian, and felt a bit relieved.
"Welcome, Mia," said Manager Amos, "To the team. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring you up to speed quickly. Jillian is as healthy as a horse, so hopefully we won't need your services much, but it's never a bad idea to be prepared. We've actually been asking her to be a bit more conservative in her goalkeeping approach in order to spare her body, but with you here now, she can play the way that she usually does - on pure instinct that has been predetermined by knowledge. "
The players came one by one to shake hands with her and welcome her to the team, and she found herself shaking hands with people that she had looked up to. It was actually becoming a reality - she was on the national team.
Match 1
Chromatika vs. Pasarga
Watching a match from the sidelines wasn't something that you learned how to do easily, especially when you were the starter all of the time. Mia hadn't been on the bench for a match in all of her life, as she had started ever since she was a little girl. It was thrilling and at the same time a bit annoying. Twenty-three minutes had passed since the start of the match, and it seemed like Pasarga was going to run away with the match. The Wanderers had struck quickly in the seventh minute when Domink Mauer, the Brighman striker, put the moves on Ellen and made Nier guessed wrong. Jillian seemed a bit flustered and a bit angry at Zlastica, and the two spent a few seconds jawing at each other until Luuk came to break them apart. The downfall continued just three minutes later when Sviatoslav Pokrovski came streaking down, and beat Ellen once again to get the ball into the net with Jillian being a bit off position. The momentum was completely in Pasarga's favor, and the duo of Jillian and Zlastica seemed like they were going to fight.
That was when Meagan came to them, and as far as from what Mia could see, just plain took control, forcing the two apart. Jillain tactically purposefully booted the ball deep into the Pasargan third, and the Chromatiks started to play the game a bit more tactically. The greatest difference from the Di Bradini level and the Senior Team, as far as Mia could tell, was the freaking speed. The crispness with which the back four passed the ball back and forth and up the field was insane, as well as the amount of punishment that could be administered just because of one mistake was enormous. That was being shown to her just now, in the twenty-third minute. A Pasargan midfielder - Lebrun, she noted - tried to pass the ball to Ruel, but the pass was intercepted by Rachel Hellion. Hellion spun on her left foot around Ruel, and noted a Trenn Rien that was in between Grabowski and Moravec. Her one-touch pass was on point, and Rien rifled the pass into the back of the net past Lukacs for the first goal of Chromatika.
That turned to be the momentum-changer. A forty-second minute free kick from Hellion tied the match going into halftime, and it was obvious that the momentum had completely shifted over to the Anomalies. In the locker room in halftime, Amos was rather abrupt.
"You two figure things out, Jillian? Zlastica? I hope so. We can't falter. The momentum is in our favor. We need to keep it going. Never let a team like Pasarga back into the game once you've taken control of it. Let's get out there and leave everything on the field!"
Jillian and Zlastica looked at each other, and each nodded.
The second half was a glowing testament to the new brand of Chromatik football. Crisp passes, deep runs, as the arrowhead broke the 4-4-2 of the Wanderers time and time again. Andìsorì scored two, and Antonio one as the Anomalies ended up running away with the game.
Unfortunately, the next game would be a hard one. Nephara had come to play as well, disposing of Fluvique with a score of 2-0. The winner of the next match will be in pole position to win the group. Fortunately, Fluvique will be the last opponent, meaning that the chance for the Anomalies to make it to their second Knockout Stage of a World Cup in a row.
It was an odd afternoon, but an afternoon that showed what her career would be like for the next few years.
Interestingly, Jillian found her after the match, and asked her of her opinion, saying that she remembered her first match in the sidelines.
What an interesting time, to be sure.
Where am I?
As she came to her senses, the young woman could only feel a massive headache pressing into her cranium. The intensity of it took her breath away. When she tried to think back to what she had been doing previously or whatnot, there was just a humongous blank. All she could remember was her name, and then everything was being washed away by the sea of pain. She lay there on the bed, trying to come to her senses. There had to be a reason that she was there, right? She had to be someone, right?
After what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes to look around the room. It was rather well furnished, but what she noted first was the lack of decor. The walls were plain and white, and there wasn't much in terms of furniture - just a desk, a computer, a closet, and a clock that read that it was three twelve in the morning. She scooted herself off of the bed onto the floor, and noticed just how cold the room was. Wasn't she clothed? In just a simple white nightgown.
The headache was starting to lift. She breathed a sigh of relief yet frustration as her memory wasn't quite returning. She turned to the closet in the room, and opened it. In it was an array of what looked like some sort of uniforms, pressed cleanly and neat.
Who am I?
She went to the computer in the room. Instead of a login screen, it simply stated, "USE THE FINGERPRINT MACHINE". She noticed the said machine not far from the computer, and placed her thumb on the reader. The machined whirred for a few seconds, and then the screen said, "WELCOME, DG".
DG? What the hell was that?
She spent the next three hours reading files on the computer. Past emails, projects, schemes... And the more she read, the more she started to remember the last few years. And then...
She hit that same wall again. She couldn't remember any further back!
She fell to the floor, and started to sob uncontrollably.
Who was I before that? How did I end up with the Party?
Unbeknownst to her, a camera was recording everything in the room.
It was a shame, noted Venom. It would be much easier on the subject if she didn't have to be reset every year. But if her brain wasn't so damned insistent on trying to remember, she wouldn't have lasted as long as the supreme puppet in this notino called the Chromatik Party.
He knew that the noose was tightening on the Chromatik Party from outside sources. The pesky Rainbow Revolution was taking its toll. Perhaps it was high time that he turned his attentions elsewhere and made it out of there before it got traced to him.
There was no comfort for Heidi Kruzieg. And if he was going to step away from Chromatika, she would be the one to take the fall.
He was damned sure of it.
