After what was thought of as a dismal performance, Xi Foureleven dished it out on her teammates following the 95X loss in the Third Place Match. Ten days later, Bo gets a friendly phone call from Una Solo, whom he rarely talked to yet knew she and Xi were as close as Xi would allow a national and club teammate.
"Well," Bo begins, "she says it isn't about me personally but I've been sleeping on the couch ever since. Sarah? Well, we like to keep Sarah as private as possible, which is probably why she doesn't talk about her much."
Bo is aware of two things, but not a third.
The night Sarah was brought home from the hospital, Xi placed her in a cradle and went to bed. Bo was away, due to the requirements of the Sunrise League. When Xi woke up the next morning, she stretched and went into the other room to check on Sarah. She is stopped in her tracks, stunned when a voice monotonously says:
"Hello, mother."
Here is a child with Sarah's features but with a ten-year-old appearance, covering herself with a piece of cloth.
Xi emptied herself on the floor.
"How, embarrassing, mother," the child responded, in her flat and emotionless voice.
Xi blinked with her jaw hanging open, fighting to find words.
"Where is Sarah?" she asked.
"I am Sarah," the child stated, "please get something appropriate for yourself and I, mother."
Xi quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes, actually an old practice kit. She grabbed an extra t-shirt that was snatched by Sarah, who knew how to dress herself.
"Bottoms, please." Sarah demanded.
"I am sorry," Xi started, when Sarah held her right hand up to her face level and could silence Xi without touching her. Xi tried to speak, but found she couldn't. Her semiautonomous attack reflex kicked into gear, even though she wanted to somehow believe this was truly her child.
"I do not think so," Sarah stated, realizing the defensive energy directed at her. Reading that Xi would tell her she didn't have anything in the house that would fit someone her size. Xi realized Sarah was reading her mind, shut her out, found a pair of pants, and threw them at Sarah from several meters away. Sarah caught the garment with excellent hand-eye coordination, and as she put it on it fits her.
"Did you really believe I wished to be coddled, cradled, and helplessly cared for," Sarah asked in her emotionless voice.
Xi wasn't sure how to answer. The two of them stood, looking at each other from about two meters away. Sarah was deceptively straight-faced for a full-grown woman much less a child, Xi's caution grew and it showed as she spoke.
"You can call me 'Eleven'," the usually dominant Xi guardedly replied, not expecting Sarah to have an ability to speak for several years.
"Mother," Sarah corrected.
This exchange continued in an infinite loop. Minutes later, Jason Ninetyfivex arrived and pulled out a tablet.
"Sarah!" Xi corrected her daughter in disgust. "He might be an unrelated male, however he is allowed here. Sometimes."
Xi pulls Ninetyfivex into a corner as if to interrogate him.
"What is going on here?" she asks.
"I was about to ask you that," Ninetyfivex replied.
Sarah growled when she noticed the tablet. It wasn't the first time she'd seen it. She tries to snatch it out of Ninetyfivex's hands, only for her to fail. He realized the time for quick and desperate measures, only to notice his tablet had a lock screen, hacked there by Sarah.
"Xi, I need to borrow yours!" he panicked.
"Never!" Xi responded as she rushed to the other room. Sarah appeared ready to overpower Ninetyfivex. That's when Xi reached her tablet.
"What was that for?" Ninetyfivex asked Xi.
"Just do what you need to do," Xi dodged the question.
"Xi!" Ninetyfivex called out. "Pick an alphanumeric code, any code!"
Xi typed a code into her tablet, pressed enter, when the cube changed color to light blue, locking anyone's ability to change it except Xi herself. She picks up the cube and places it in an otherwise empty room of her home.
"As I understand, she's in a boarding daycare of some sort. I didn't know such a place existed," Bo's phone call with Una Solo continued, as the subject changed to Xi herself.
Days after AOCAF 50 ended, Ninetyfivex met with both Bo and Xi at Foureleven's home.
"I have come to a decision," Xi stated, although the two men didn't realize tears were forming below her eyes. "After the next Oceanside season and following club tournaments, I wish to completely retire from playing."
The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds, until Ninetyfivex hugged Xi, which felt like hugging a rock. Xi actually accepted it for a few seconds as tears begin to stream. Bo then peeled Ninetyfivex off of her, held him against the wall with one fist, and lifted Ninetyfivex off the ground.
"Bo!" Xi disapproved. "This is unnecessary!"
"Alright, nice and easy," Bo commanded while ignoring Xi, "do you find my wife attractive?"
"That's why you agreed to marry her," Ninetyfivex replied.
Bo was very surprised with that answer and put Ninetyfivex down.
"Bo, do not do that to him!" Xi repeated wiping her face.
"Then you need to tell me what's going on here!" Bo insists.
Ninetyfivex tried to speak, when Bo interrupted with "Hey, this is a private conver—"
Bo is silenced by Xi, who wrote something on her tablet rendering Bo unable to speak. Xi and Ninetyfivex, now a few lengths apart, looked at each other as they knew it was time to let Bo "in" on a closely guarded secret. Xi walked over to a door, opened it, and they made their way into a room that looked strange, and Bo didn't recognize.
"Bo," Ninetyfivex said, "you probably heard of 'RL theory,' which says there is a planet outside the accessible multiverse."
Bo nodded as he's still unable to speak, and Ninetyfivex continued.
"Well, it's not a theory. It's a fact. Welcome to 'RL,' a world you don't exist in."
Bo regained his speech, but was speechless. He looked outside the window to see a sparsely populated landscape, intoxicated people yelling and fighting over aluminum cans collected to return for deposit, people zinging by one at a time at freeway speeds in motor vehicles designed to hold several on a narrow surface street, and clueless bicyclists yakking away on cell phones.
"How do you manage this?" Bo asked.
Ninetyfivex turned on a computer monitor, where he reveals what Xi had long since known.
Bo looks at Xi, and is no longer devastated. The two return to NS, and Bo never spoke of nor thought about RL again.
"She's thinking of some big-picture things, I'm sure she'll tell you soon enough."
This ended the phone conversation in only a few minutes, as Bo didn't want to go into detail on either. That wasn't the true reason Xi had locked herself in a private room, struggling to be herself.
After Bo learned the truth, Xi paid a visit to SC Oceanside's business offices, located in an office building in Downtown Oceanside, 95X. It was after hours, the lights were dimmed, and she heard laughter come from the owner's office. Xi cautiously and quietly approached, where she realized a secret meeting was taking place.
"Payday is coming, boys!" SC Oceanside Owner Arthur Peters is heard.
"And when those cute goal-scoring legs finally give out," a familiar-sounding assistant coach says, "it really doesn't matter what happens! We'll have our cut, and it'll be someone else's problem!"
Xi was furious! She remained quiet as she continued to eavesdrop.
"So we have one more year," Mr. Peters concludes. "Let's destroy any records of Plan Sandcastle while we can, I don't want to give a new owner any ideas. They get the team and maybe her to whistle over but not how to continue."
Xi mentally strengthened herself after that insult, then ran as far away as possible, as fast as possible.
"What was that?" one of the meeting participants asked, thinking a door was slammed, but there was no one else in the building. "Must be hearing things."
The next day, Xi again met with Ninetyfivex.
"I need your agency to open an office in Oceanside," she bluntly stated.
Ninetyfivex blinked a few times, unsure of why it would be needed. He did not know what happened the night before.
"I shall need special assistance during my final season," she added.
"I'll, uh," Ninetyfivex paused to collect his thoughts, "get some people on it."
"Well," Bo begins, "she says it isn't about me personally but I've been sleeping on the couch ever since. Sarah? Well, we like to keep Sarah as private as possible, which is probably why she doesn't talk about her much."
Bo is aware of two things, but not a third.
The night Sarah was brought home from the hospital, Xi placed her in a cradle and went to bed. Bo was away, due to the requirements of the Sunrise League. When Xi woke up the next morning, she stretched and went into the other room to check on Sarah. She is stopped in her tracks, stunned when a voice monotonously says:
"Hello, mother."
Here is a child with Sarah's features but with a ten-year-old appearance, covering herself with a piece of cloth.
Xi emptied herself on the floor.
"How, embarrassing, mother," the child responded, in her flat and emotionless voice.
Xi blinked with her jaw hanging open, fighting to find words.
"Where is Sarah?" she asked.
"I am Sarah," the child stated, "please get something appropriate for yourself and I, mother."
Xi quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes, actually an old practice kit. She grabbed an extra t-shirt that was snatched by Sarah, who knew how to dress herself.
"Bottoms, please." Sarah demanded.
"I am sorry," Xi started, when Sarah held her right hand up to her face level and could silence Xi without touching her. Xi tried to speak, but found she couldn't. Her semiautonomous attack reflex kicked into gear, even though she wanted to somehow believe this was truly her child.
"I do not think so," Sarah stated, realizing the defensive energy directed at her. Reading that Xi would tell her she didn't have anything in the house that would fit someone her size. Xi realized Sarah was reading her mind, shut her out, found a pair of pants, and threw them at Sarah from several meters away. Sarah caught the garment with excellent hand-eye coordination, and as she put it on it fits her.
"Did you really believe I wished to be coddled, cradled, and helplessly cared for," Sarah asked in her emotionless voice.
Xi wasn't sure how to answer. The two of them stood, looking at each other from about two meters away. Sarah was deceptively straight-faced for a full-grown woman much less a child, Xi's caution grew and it showed as she spoke.
"You can call me 'Eleven'," the usually dominant Xi guardedly replied, not expecting Sarah to have an ability to speak for several years.
"Mother," Sarah corrected.
This exchange continued in an infinite loop. Minutes later, Jason Ninetyfivex arrived and pulled out a tablet.
Both Xi and Sarah Foureleven are satisfied with their answer and drop the subject.At that moment, Sarah held her hand up as she'd done before, and attempts to analyze Ninetyfivex himself.
"Sarah!" Xi corrected her daughter in disgust. "He might be an unrelated male, however he is allowed here. Sometimes."
Xi pulls Ninetyfivex into a corner as if to interrogate him.
"What is going on here?" she asks.
"I was about to ask you that," Ninetyfivex replied.
Sarah growled when she noticed the tablet. It wasn't the first time she'd seen it. She tries to snatch it out of Ninetyfivex's hands, only for her to fail. He realized the time for quick and desperate measures, only to notice his tablet had a lock screen, hacked there by Sarah.
"Xi, I need to borrow yours!" he panicked.
"Never!" Xi responded as she rushed to the other room. Sarah appeared ready to overpower Ninetyfivex. That's when Xi reached her tablet.
Jason Ninetyfivex's tablet is unlocked, after he gets a smack for needing my help. Sarah falls asleep as soon as her fingertips reach his face, causing no harm or damage.As promised, The lock screen drops, Ninetyfivex gets what's coming to him, and Sarah dropped to the ground fast asleep, like the day-old she actually was.
"What was that for?" Ninetyfivex asked Xi.
"Just do what you need to do," Xi dodged the question.
When Sarah wakes up, she finds herself inside in an electromagnetic forcefield outside the accessible multiverse, where she is maintained in a totally protected and needless state until ten years have passed in 95X.As soon as Ninetyfivex wrote that, Sarah transformed into a taupe 2.5-centimeter cube.
"Xi!" Ninetyfivex called out. "Pick an alphanumeric code, any code!"
Xi typed a code into her tablet, pressed enter, when the cube changed color to light blue, locking anyone's ability to change it except Xi herself. She picks up the cube and places it in an otherwise empty room of her home.
"As I understand, she's in a boarding daycare of some sort. I didn't know such a place existed," Bo's phone call with Una Solo continued, as the subject changed to Xi herself.
Days after AOCAF 50 ended, Ninetyfivex met with both Bo and Xi at Foureleven's home.
"I have come to a decision," Xi stated, although the two men didn't realize tears were forming below her eyes. "After the next Oceanside season and following club tournaments, I wish to completely retire from playing."
The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds, until Ninetyfivex hugged Xi, which felt like hugging a rock. Xi actually accepted it for a few seconds as tears begin to stream. Bo then peeled Ninetyfivex off of her, held him against the wall with one fist, and lifted Ninetyfivex off the ground.
"Bo!" Xi disapproved. "This is unnecessary!"
"Alright, nice and easy," Bo commanded while ignoring Xi, "do you find my wife attractive?"
"That's why you agreed to marry her," Ninetyfivex replied.
Bo was very surprised with that answer and put Ninetyfivex down.
"Bo, do not do that to him!" Xi repeated wiping her face.
"Then you need to tell me what's going on here!" Bo insists.
Ninetyfivex tried to speak, when Bo interrupted with "Hey, this is a private conver—"
Bo is silenced by Xi, who wrote something on her tablet rendering Bo unable to speak. Xi and Ninetyfivex, now a few lengths apart, looked at each other as they knew it was time to let Bo "in" on a closely guarded secret. Xi walked over to a door, opened it, and they made their way into a room that looked strange, and Bo didn't recognize.
"Bo," Ninetyfivex said, "you probably heard of 'RL theory,' which says there is a planet outside the accessible multiverse."
Bo nodded as he's still unable to speak, and Ninetyfivex continued.
"Well, it's not a theory. It's a fact. Welcome to 'RL,' a world you don't exist in."
Bo regained his speech, but was speechless. He looked outside the window to see a sparsely populated landscape, intoxicated people yelling and fighting over aluminum cans collected to return for deposit, people zinging by one at a time at freeway speeds in motor vehicles designed to hold several on a narrow surface street, and clueless bicyclists yakking away on cell phones.
"How do you manage this?" Bo asked.
Ninetyfivex turned on a computer monitor, where he reveals what Xi had long since known.
Bo looks at Xi, and is no longer devastated. The two return to NS, and Bo never spoke of nor thought about RL again.
"She's thinking of some big-picture things, I'm sure she'll tell you soon enough."
This ended the phone conversation in only a few minutes, as Bo didn't want to go into detail on either. That wasn't the true reason Xi had locked herself in a private room, struggling to be herself.
After Bo learned the truth, Xi paid a visit to SC Oceanside's business offices, located in an office building in Downtown Oceanside, 95X. It was after hours, the lights were dimmed, and she heard laughter come from the owner's office. Xi cautiously and quietly approached, where she realized a secret meeting was taking place.
"Payday is coming, boys!" SC Oceanside Owner Arthur Peters is heard.
"And when those cute goal-scoring legs finally give out," a familiar-sounding assistant coach says, "it really doesn't matter what happens! We'll have our cut, and it'll be someone else's problem!"
Xi was furious! She remained quiet as she continued to eavesdrop.
"So we have one more year," Mr. Peters concludes. "Let's destroy any records of Plan Sandcastle while we can, I don't want to give a new owner any ideas. They get the team and maybe her to whistle over but not how to continue."
Xi mentally strengthened herself after that insult, then ran as far away as possible, as fast as possible.
"What was that?" one of the meeting participants asked, thinking a door was slammed, but there was no one else in the building. "Must be hearing things."
The next day, Xi again met with Ninetyfivex.
"I need your agency to open an office in Oceanside," she bluntly stated.
Ninetyfivex blinked a few times, unsure of why it would be needed. He did not know what happened the night before.
"I shall need special assistance during my final season," she added.
"I'll, uh," Ninetyfivex paused to collect his thoughts, "get some people on it."