World Cup 77 - Roleplay Thread

[Prusy Krolewskie]

Prusy Krolewskie wins against Collatis!

On matchday 3, Prusy Krolewskie recieved Collatis at home at Stadion Wojciech Zajaczkowski in Miedzyzdroje, Wojewodztwo Miedzyzdrojskie. The Reprezentacja Pruski played their best game of the tournament so far and won 4-1. Prusy Krolewskie attacked at the 8th minute when Sascha Welzmüller dribbled with the ball and passed to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who made a cross to Jean-François Kleineheismann who shoots but Goalkeeper #1 makes the save. At the 18th minute, Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed the ball to Sascha Welzmüller who passed back to Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz. Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz dribbled with the ball and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who passed to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski. Zbigniew Zajaczkowski kicks the ball and it's in, it's a goal! 1-0 Prusy Krolewskie. At the 19th minute, at the face off circle, Player #10 kicks the ball to Player #11. Player #11 passes it back to Player #9 who tries to pass to Player #10 but Zbigniew Zajaczkowski blocks the pass and takes the ball himself, he's on a breakaway, he dribbles and dribbles and shoots and he scores! And the score is now 2-0 Prusy Krolewskie! The Reprezentacja Pruski attacked again at the 27th minute when Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed the ball to Sarah Schroffenegger who dribbles and dribbles and makes a cross to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who kicks the ball and it's a goal it's a hat trick for Zbigniew Zajaczkowski, he scored 3 goals in 9 minutes and the Zielony i bialy is leading 3-0! The score remains the same until the halftime.

Now that Prusy Krolewskie is ahead by 3 goals, Jean-François Kleineheismann subs out and Sabrina Hartmann subs in. The Reprezentacja Pruski attacked at the 59th minute when Sascha Welzmüller made a long frorward pass to Amelia Zalwowska who dribbles and shoots but Goalkeeper #1 makes the save. At the 66th minute, Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz dribbles with the ball and passed to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who makes a header pass to Amelia Zalwowska who heads the ball right into Goalkeeper #1's hands. Collatis attacked at the 74th minute when Player #8 passed to Player #10 who dribbles but he's tackled by Krzysztof Januszkiewicz in the penalty area. It's a great defensive play! Bartosz Strzyzowski takes the loose ball and dribbles and passes to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbles and passes to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who shoots but he hits the post. Sarah Schroffenegger takes the loose ball and kicks it, it's a goal! Prusy Krolewskie is now leading 4-0. Collatis attacked again at the 88th minute when Player #7 passed to player #9 who passed to Player #11 who dribbles but he's tackled by Sabrina Hartmann. She gets a yellow card and it's a penalty kick for Collatis. Player #10 kicks the ball and it's in. The score is now 4-1 for Prusy Krolewskie and it's the final score. While Collatis was scoring their only goal of the game, Jean-François Kleineheismann was seen on the bench eating a prusy sandwich. It consists of meat from the rump of a horse mixed with what comes out of the rump, on two slices of pumpernickel bread. So Gregoryisgodistan's alternative facts aren't really alternative because we really eat shit sandwiches in Prusy Krolewskie.

Prusy Krolewskie is now sitting in 5th place in group 12 with 2 wins and 1 losses in 3 games. The Reprezentacja Pruski will play on the road against Kernovi on matchday 4 and then they will recieve Kitsunia-Déesse at Stadion Narodowy w Ozorkowie in Ozorkow on matchday 5. Those who expect to see pokemons in person will be disappointed cuz their rosters features only Kitsunes and Basswulves.

BOXSCORE
18th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski assisted by Amelia Zalwowska
19th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski unassisted
27th minute: Zbigniew Zajaczkowski assisted by Sarah Schroffenegger
74th minute: Sarah Schroffenegger unassisted
88th minute: Player #10 unassisted

Yellow Cards
Sabrina Hartmann
Player #3, Player #5

Red cards
None
None

[Kalumba]

The Herald
Sport Today

Roberts Stars In 10 Goal Thriller
Report by Bruce Mtwetwe

At one point his place in the team as a nineteen year old starlet was questioned as he underperformed in the early games of the Baptism of Fire, he then was almost forced out of the side because of his homosexuality. But every time Ollie Roberts bounced back with a stiring performance to silence his critics. And before the last World Cup his place was in serious doubt because of declining form and scandals in his personal life, but the man who has almost come to epitomise Kalumban football was the stand out performer and is doing it again.

In a disastrous start to the game for The Kudus, Mkure was sent off for a terrible tackle in the box and we fell a goal behind and our ten men showed tiredness after both a weekend and midweek game and quickly found themselves trailing by three goals and the boos were ringing around the stadium, even after Roberts had scuffed home a consolation to leave the score at three one going into the half time interval.

The second period started equally poorly for the home side as they conceded a soft penalty to fall to a three goal deficeit before Mtanda, who had been unable to prevent any of the goals tot his point, conceived to drop the ball at the feet of the opposition striker who gleefully put his side into a five one lead with jsut twenty minutes remaining. And it was now that Roberts produced what may very well be the finest performnace by a player wearing the Kalumban shirt ever.

First he produced a mazy dribble of the like not seen since the 43rd Baptism of Fire when he and Eggenmeyer of Bleak Rock had battled each other for the title of twinkliest toes, dancing through the defence as if they were statues before selflessly squaring the ball to Watusi to stroke home and lessen the humiliation. He then slid through a deliciously weighted pass to give Slutei an opportunity to beat the keeper a minute later. With the defeceit reduced to just two goals the referee deemed it neccessary to award yet another penalty to our opponents and to produce a yellow card for captain Edward when he vehmently protested his innocence and that the referee was perhaps in fact spawned of a common farmyard animal.

But Mtanda partially redeemed himself and the crowd felt tat it could be Kalumba's day and roared the team on, and when Terrence Ottbourne rose from the bench and extolled them and his boys to greater efforts it was the ver talismanic Roberts who rose to the occasion ocne again. His volleyed goal in the 88th minute was a sight to behold, and when he curled a free kick into the top corner in the final minute of added time the entire stadium semed to break onto the pitch.

The referee blew his whistle and the team were carried shoulder high from the field, while the wretched official fled under heavy police escort. In spite of his teams heroics Ottbourne was in a realistic mood when interviewed and pointed out while the comeback was unbelievable and to even have a point was a boon to the side, it really was a game which should have been won and the two dropped points, while unlikely to decide if Kalumba qualify or not, are another little blow to his side.

[Ethane]

Last Gasp - Part 6
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

He pulled up into the Aberson family's drive, before cutting out the engine. He heard the door open, and footsteps walk to him across the stoney drive, so he assumed they had heard him when he pulled up, or at least saw the headlights as he pulled in. He locked the car and gave Mr. Aberson a confident handshake. Mr. Aberson was someone that Mr. Holmes felt he could trust, someone who he had been confiding in ever since he became leader, bringing his problems to that fruit and vegetable stall every day (without exposing any confidential information).

Mr. Aberson welcomed him into his home, holding open the door for him and beckoning him in as if he were Mr. Holmes chaperone. He stepped inside. The front door opened up into a long, but narrow passageway along the bottom floor, which seemed to cover the whole width of the house. There were multiple doors through to rooms in the house, with a glass back door at the end of the hall, which opened up into the small garden and beyond that the farmlands which the Abersons tended to every day. The walls were painted a rustic browny-orange colour, in fitting with the wooden design of the farmhouse. It looked like an authentic mid-20th century farmhouse.

'That smells delicious Mr. Aberson.' Mr. Holmes exclaimed, catching a whiff of the dinner than was being cooked in the kitchen just a few metres away from where they were standing in the hall. Mr. Aberson smiled in reply, but the smile was a little off. It held sadness in it, like he was holding the weight of something big on his shoulders.

'Please, call me Jacob.', Mr. Aberson said, patting Mr. Holmes on the back. 'Enough with the formal names.' He received a nod from Mr. Holmes, who then proceeded to ask where the toilet was. Jacob directed him to the toilet - the second door on the right in the downstairs hallway - before turning and locking the front door. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and disloyal, but he felt scared for his life; they had threatened to kill him if he didn't help them. He had flashbacks to the room that night, in the dark, the cold, chained to that wall. Before being dragged out into that room, where they proceeded to beat him until he accepted to help them. And here he was today, helping them. The terrorist scum. Ripping this country to shreds. Destroying every element of democracy and peace and freedom that this country cherishes through their actions. Peace seemed a beautiful thing, but peace between the factions that had developed in Ethane seemed all too fragile. He was pretty sure the only thing holding this country together was the slightly more moderate line of Mr. Holmes as leader. Without him, no one really wants to know what would happen, with the two extreme parties so polarised, so willing to destroy the other one.

Jacob Aberson walked into the kitchen to check up on the food. His wife was there, cooking the dinner, as if it were just a normal day. However, he knew what she was feeling inside. She knew exactly what was happening - he had told her everything once he had returned home - and she was with him on the issue. She didn't want to do this, but she was scared for her life, and he could see it in her eyes when he looked at her.

'It'll be okay.', he whispered in her ear, embracing her in a giant hug. 'We'll be okay.'

. . . . . .

The dinner was ready a little over 30 minutes after Mr. Holmes had arrived. When Jacob had called Mr. Holmes, he had expected dinner to be a little quicker, but he knew nothing about cooking, which is why he often left his wife to do the cooking for him. While Mrs. Aberson had been cooking dinner in the kitchen, both Jacob and Mr. Holmes had been sat in the living room, chatting away about their lives. They chatted about their favourite sports and which team they supported - Mr. Holmes supported South Saints while Mr. Aberson was a supporter of Loconstead United - and then their general lives and relationships, including work. It felt like they had learnt so much more about each other in that single thirty minute conversation than they had in every meeting at the farmer's stall they ever had, and a real bond had started to develop between them. That made it so much harder for Jacob Aberson to do what he was doing. But he carried on the pretence. His life depended on it, after all.

Mrs. Amberson called them into the dining room, where the dinner was neatly served out on plates on a beautiful, rustic dining table, a white tablecloth draped over the top like a veil on a bride at a wedding. There were three candles in the middle of the table, glowing brightly and providing a beautiful glow to the room. They took their seats at the table, one on each side of the table at one end, leaving one seat empty. Their two kids weren't joining them for dinner; they had already been sent to bed so that this could be an 'adult time' as Mr. Aberson referred to it as, but there was still an empty place at the dinner table, with a dinner laid out as if someone should be there. Jacob Aberson caught Mr. Holmes looking at the empty seat suspiciously, unsure as to why there was an empty place with a dinner, and pre-empting a question, answered it before it could be asked.

'We have another friend coming, but she's running late.' Mr. Aberson said nervously, as if he were trying to cover some other story up that he didn't want Mr. Holmes to know. His eyes shifted from side to side, avoiding eye contact with the leader of Ethane, who was sat opposite him in his dining room. Mr. Holmes nodded, before bowing his head, all three of them saying grace together before they tucked into their wonderful food, provided as a gift from God to this earth.

About five minutes into the meal, there was a knock at the door. Jacob excused himself from the dinner table, sharing a nervous look with Mrs. Aberson as he walked out the room to answer the knock.

'Who's that?', Mr. Holmes asked Mrs. Holmes, as if she would know who it was that had come in the middle of their meal. 'Is that the friend?' He gestured to the empty seat with the plate of food in front of it, which he expected would be starting to get cold by now.

'Probably.' she murmured in response, keeping her eyes focused on her plate and her food, not wanting to look up at Mr. Holmes, oh so innocent, and spill the beans, potentially ending her life because of it.

Out in the hallway, Mr. Aberson took a deep breath. This was it. The start of it. He didn't want to go through with this, but he knew he had to, for the sake of his family. His family was important to him, and he didn't want to lose them. He was willing to go to extremes to save his family, and even though he would live with guilt about this event for the rest of his life, he would be sound in the knowledge that by doing this, by doing it, he had saved his family. He reached for the handle, hesitating. What if she went back on her decision? What if she killed him? What if this was some plan to cause a war? This was why Mr. Aberson hated politics, and had wanted to try to avoid getting tangled up in politics. Quite difficult when you find yourself forming a friendship with the most powerful man in Ethane, who is a massive target by the opposite extreme party - the GreenerEthane! party, whom seemed to have resorted to terrorist measures because of some of the actions of the government. He decided to commit. This was his family that he was saving after all. That was what this was about. Not himself. Not the country. But the family. And he was scared. He pulled the handle down fully and pulled on the door, opening it to reveal Jenny standing there, an evil smile painted onto her face like a piece of artwork, present forever.

'Hello Jacob.' she smirked, pushing him against the wall and pinning him there as quietly as possible, muffling his mouth so he couldn't scream for help from the two others in the dining room, of whom she knew their identity. That was after all why she was here. That one man in the dining room. The most important man in Ethane. Within her grasp. Soon to be under her control, forced to submit to any of her demands on threat of death. A gift from heaven. 'Go sit down. I'll be with you in a minute. I have some business to do first.', she said, climbing the stairs. Mr. Aberson did as she told her to, scared for his own life. But still wondering why she was going up the stairs.

---

Match Review

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Keeping to their winning ways

The Red Kites have outshone all expectations so far this cycle, insofar as that there are people who are already thinking this could be the cycle for Ethane to qualify; their fourth World Cup attempt. The first two games were almost a given from the defensively strong team from Ethane, but it was always in doubt how well the team would fare against the top group side away. However, they seemed to just continue as normal as if they were a low-ranked team, with the same scoreline at the end of the game as every game played so far, the only difference being that the defence had to work slightly harder against Electrum.

However, everything has to come to an end at some point, and many questioned whether the team would have got over-confident from their first three wins that they would lose against thr 258th ranked Cetheque. However, this danger never materialised, and the Red Kites were able to walk away with the same goal margin of 1 goal as in the first 3 games of the World Cup so far.

The game against Cetheque proved to be a little more on edge than the rest of the games however, with the Ethanese defence struggling slightly more against the low-ranked side, signalling a potential feeling of overconfidence in their ability and the results so far, and therefore suggesting they are putting in slightly less effort as they already think that the victory is a given. However, the most likely explanation for the Red Kites conceding their first goal of the season is most likely the large defensive changes that Curtis Steeling put in place for this match, to rest the other players for the more important games in the qualifying campaign.

There were certainly many differences between the back-line in the game against Electrum, which Steeling referred to as his 'strongest starting team', and the team which faced Cetheque at home in the fourth match of the qualifying campaign for the Red Kites. In Left-back, Thresa Desantis played instead of Cliff Driscoll, and in the centre, Daniel Moore replaced Darien Fear. The differences in the teams and the lesser experience of the players who played against Cetheque could go some way to explain the first goal conceded in the qualifiers, but also the actions of the goalkeeper in trying to save the shot were a lot poorer, explained by the fact that Joe Henderson was goalkeeper for the match, rather than Brody Church who had been so for the qualifying campaign so far.

However, despite the fact that the Red Kites did concede a goal, the performance should not be frowned upon for a few reasons.

One. The strikers finally had a good day. One of the main criticisms of the Ethanian team so far this qualifying campaign has been the lack of goals scored by the strikers, despite the fact that the team has one of the strongest lineups of strikers they have ever had. The team had been scoring 1 goal per game, picking up one-nil draws in their first three games, two of which should have been larger victories because of the relative low rank of the teams the Red Kites were facing. However, in this match against Cetheque, the team were able to score double the amount of goals (Thomas Peone in the 14th minute and Julian Harrington in the 48th minute). While this means the team has only scored 5 goals in 4 matches, the 2 goals scored in this latest match provide hope that the strikers will soon return to their goalscoring ways.

Two. The defence is still keeping up well. Despite the fact that the team conceded 1 goal against Cetheque, this is a miniscule number if you put it in context. If you take it in the context of the tournament so far excluding friendlies, the Red Kites have managed to achieve a goal concession rate of 0.25 goals per game, a pretty impressive figure considering the calibre of some of the teams - like Electrum - that the team has faced. The 1 goal conceded against Cetheque must also be put into context, as Steeling had decided to rest many of his better starting players in defence, meaning that he called up the other, less experienced, team members who had less time previous to the match playing on the international scene. Therefore, taking into context that the goal concession rate is still holding up well, and the fact that the 1 conceded goal came after a number of changes in the starting team to rest players suggests that there is no need to be worried about the state of the defence, as it is still holding up.

Three. The team worked well as a unit. There is a common belief within Ethanian football that to win, the players on the pitch need to be part of a strong team unit. The strong team unity is what was lacking last cycle, when the Red Kites disappointed in the qualifiers, almost leading to the firing of Steeling. However, with a number of changes in the player lineup, and a new mindset in the camp, the team seems to be more united than ever before, and that shows on the pitch with their smooth, slick style of play with a real awareness of where each other is. The assists in the match by Cetheque (Branden Veresoto to the first goal and Wilmer Jaurequi to the second goal) were a magnificent example of teamwork, and team unity.

Four. The performance is comparable with other teams leading their groups and better than many. The Red Kites are one of ten teams that have won every one of their games so far. This shows the Red Kites to be achieving the same results as those teams who are top and near the top in the world, which is something that should be celebrated, considering the Red Kites are just inside the top 50 in the world. Furthermore, Ethane is one of only three group leaders who have conceded only 1 goal so far these qualifiers, and one of only ten teams out of 150 competing teams that have achieved this feat, suggests that the Red Kites are playing far above their rank in terms of skill and results. While the Red Kites do have the worst goals for record of any of the leading teams in their groups, the fact that the team from Ethane is being consistent in their results and is winning every game suggests that they are comparable with other teams leading their groups, despite the lower rank.

Based on the judgements made on the Red Kites after the match against Cetheque, the team does appear to be playing some of the strongest football they have every played, possibly only currently overshadowed by the victory against The Holy Empire which sent Ethane into the playoffs to face Banguela in World Cup 75. However, if the Red Kites keep up the momentum and the pressure on fellow group members, then the team could find themselves in the World Cup this cycle.

'65: Kyle Cooper
'72: Christian Ali
'79: Hayden Watts

---

Lineup @ The Andromeda Archipelago

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GK: Louis Cook
LB: Bruce Washington
CB: Kyle Cooper
CB: John Campbell
RB: Joshua Cook
CDM: Gerald Coleman
LM: Grady Stevens
RM: Andrew Biley
ST: Hayden Watts
LF: Wilmer Jaurequi
RF: Thomas Peone

---

Schedule and Stats

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Note: statistics do include friendlies.

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Pre-WCQ Friendly: Qasden 1-0 Ethane @ Royal T.V. Stadium, T.V. City
MD1: Korizland 0-1 Ethane @ Korizland
MD2: Ethane 1-0 Rebuild the Wall @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD3: Electrum 0-1 Ethane @ Centralis Arena
MD4: Ethane 2-1 Cetheque @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD5: The Andromeda Archipelago vs Ethane @ The Andromeda Archipelago
MD6: Ethane vs Tinhampton @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD7: Boring Paradise vs Ethane @ Boring Paradise
MD8: New Gazi vs Ethane @ New Gazi
MD9: Ethane vs Damukuni @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
Mid-WCQ Friendly TBC
MD10: Ethane vs Korizland @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD11: Rebuild the Wall vs Ethane @ Wooden Palisade
MD12: Ethane vs Electrum @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD13: Cetheque vs Ethane @ Cetheque
MD14: Ethane vs The Andromeda Archipelago @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD15: Tinhampton vs Ethane @ Tinhampton
MD16: Ethane vs Boring Paradise @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD17: Ethane vs New Gazi @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD18: Damukuni vs Ethane @ TBC
Post-WCQ Friendly: TBC

Stats
Goals
Samuel Mitchell - 2
Julian Harrington - 2
Thomas Peone - 1
Assists
Branden Veresoto - 2
Kevyn Stidolph - 1
Dewayne Boivin - 1
Wilmer Jaurequi - 1
Sub Appearances
Samuel Mitchell - 2
Jonathan Harris - 2
Kyle Cooper - 2
Hayden Watts - 2
Christian Ali - 2
Caleb Powell - 1
Branden Veresoto - 1
Cliff Driscoll - 1
Gerald Coleman - 1
Andrew Biley - 1

[Eura]

OOC: This is set a few years back, continuing on the Euran-Sameban conflict storyline. There will be some present day RPs this cycle but I've got catching up to do!

After nearly a month of intense fighting, flawed media blackouts and terror for the Euran people, they were finally being given answers. The government had partially lifted a ban on reporting of the state of the war. The people learned that after a month, things were looking grim. Eura had suffered a series of early naval defeats, losing two aircraft carriers while another had been crippled and numerous other ships damaged or sunk. The megacity of Oakstone in northern Eura had been bombed by the numerically inferior Sameban AIr Forces, despite the defensive posture of the EAF. The smaller cities of Askerland and Pinholt had been subjected to similar ordeals, while Pooltree remained a no go area. Nearly eight million people had been displaced officially in Eura, but the real number was likely to be much more after a Sameban airstrike successfully hit the Temgo B nuclear power station; the damage had been temporarily contained but the authorities were not sure if there was a danger of a meltdown, and were considering evacuating an area occupied by thirteen million civilians near Eura's northernmost nuclear facility. The military death toll was almost certainly nearing six figures after thirty days of bloodthirsty fighting in the north, where the Euran Army had withdrawn from its central positions on the border despite inflicting huge casualties on their Sameban attackers. With the west flank stuck in a mountain war deadlock as Sameba backed down from invading Szavoda, and the eastern flank being held relatively comfortably by Euran forces, everything now seemed to depend on the centre where the Euran's had retreated many miles. Though savage fighting continued to take place in the forests and valleys, it now seemed inevitable that the Euran Army Corps that had defended the centre of the border would fall back to Oakstone, rejoin the full strength of the armed forces, and make their stand. Sameba's initial gamble had worked in that they had forced a retreat with a breakthrough, but with time not on their side they would now be truly tested in their attempt to obtain a decisive victory.

Nevertheless, this month of misery for the federation had not been entirely a disaster. The Euran economy had taken a substantial hit, but it ultimately remained functioning, and the government had transitioned to wartime arrangements with a haste that few expected. Their allies had remained firm and loyal, condemning Sameba and offering support - Nephara had even initiated an undeclared war against Sameba after the rapid seizure of Iskandervale. Eura could now count on at least one ally, albeit of marginal strength in the grand scheme of things, to free up their own resources from an expensive campaign to defend the Euran Oceania Territories (though ships had been sent that way to assist). Some decisive strikes had been made against Sameban military installations in their Endemian dominion of Isolaverde, although their successful attempt to take over the Ferguson Islands was a serious setback, with both sides seemingly licking their wounds and preparing for the next round in their ancestral homelands to the east. There had also been cruise missile strikes deep into Sameba itself against strategic targets, albeit sporadically so far. Most importantly, Sameba's arteries of supply by sea were already being squeezed. Eura's early naval disorganisation was slowly giving way to a comprehensive plan as they assembled their full might in the Endemian Ocean, while more isolated carrier groups and sub packs had somewhat stalled Sameba's attempt to target Euran commercial shipping and oil rigs. Crucially for the international element of the war, Sameba was now well and truly isolated. It had no real allies other than so called Gregoryisgodistan, which had failed to respond much at all after the Euran Navy's Eleventh Fleet devastated their "Comradely Armada" to Sameba's ports. Their flagship the Holy Gregory had made it into port somewhat unscathed, but most of the hundred combat ships that came with it were sunk or crippled out at sea, as were most of the supply ships heading for their ally's coastline.

Despite these positives, it remained the case that Eura fundamentally looked uneasy and unstable. A central pillar of security in Rushmore and its neighbouring regions had been badly shaken, and arguably so far had been "losing" the conflict. Now the Euran people's initial panic was replaced by anxiety. The pound hadn't recovered. The Sameban's were not stopping their advance south. The rate of casualties wasn't slowing down. And to make it all worse, a serious crisis seemed inevitable on the southern border, with whispers circling in the Euran government (thanks to their excellent intelligence apparatus) that Electrum's hardliners were seriously considering major border obstacles and getting in PMC's to do the dirty work. There would be nothing that could cure this entirely, of course, but what did help was a TV address by Prime Minister Judge. He laid this all out in fairly skin crawling detail, albeit without going into specifics about Eura's strategy beyond telling the country how effective and rapid mobilisation had been. He had made it clear that Eura would very soon be marshaling its entire military strength. To a degree he simply echoed what had been said at the Rushmori Union talks. Yet there was a moment of particular clarity that caught the attention of the nation, and perhaps the wider world. 'Many have discussed the possibility, both within this nation and abroad, that we have lost the stomach to fight. That this sudden and deadly blow has somehow paralysed us, like a rabbit in the headlights, so to speak. Some have even targeted me for my liberal sensibilities in peacetime!' A hearty chuckle likely swept through the nation at this line.

Although Judge couldn't make a full commitment yet to what Eura's end objectives were, or what it expected to achieve militarily in the coming weeks or months, he could certainly outline one hell of a vision as he returned to the topic of domestic and foreign criticism. 'Those doubters? They could not be more wrong, as I have explained and as we have shown through our response to this crisis, but especially because even in these dark days, Euran's of every background and creed have served their country with pride and the utmost devotion. We have been fighting for our survival, and many of our finest citizens have forfeited their own physical survival in the defence of our cause. Not just the cause of preserving ourselves, but of our system. Of social democracy. Freedom. The rule of law. Our enemy, sadly, sees these values as the antithesis of their very being. So to those who think we might accept a settlement, or simply try to patch over the damage, or put Sameba back in its place and then call it a day, let me be clear - it is too late for that. We have been broken, but we are coming back stronger than the most unstoppable of tides. There will be no further retreat before long. There will be no negotiations. No target in Sameba is beyond our reach, not after the great agony they have inflicted on us. We will abide by the rules of war in a way they shall not, but we shall also use our full might to strike them when opportunities arise, and will not hold back in what weapons we use and when we use them if the situation calls for it. Any countries that aid the menace that has launched such a vile attack upon us shall be treated as if they have killed our sons and daughters too, as some have already been taught by force. In the end, the tide will turn as the inevitability of our material, political, economic and cultural might comes to the fore. We will not waver or flinch. We will not back down from our responsibilities, or leave our Endemian brethren in the cold. There is no question; though this may be a painful hour, Eura's triumph is inevitable. I assure you, Euran's, that this will be the last invasion of Eura. When victory comes, it will be permanent. Good luck and God bless you all.' It was a hell of a statement for sure. In reality though, everyone behind the camera knew this conflict was far from a done deal, and that the bloodiest battles were likely to come as the conflict lines drew closer to Oakstone.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

Gregoryisgodistan 1–0 Hicanans in Exile


"Hello, and welcome to Lord Almighty Gregory National Stadium for today's World Cup Qualifier between the wicked Hicanans in Exile and the Most Glorious and Holy Nation of Gregoryisgodistan! The players are entering the pitch, and they're walking side by side so it would be hard for the Gregoryisgodistanis to throw anything at them, lest they be hit. And now they're taking their places, and it will be time for the national anthems. But first, Public Address Announcer L299ASFBASBF has an announcement."

"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and slaves. As you know, the nation of Hicana was destroyed in a nuclear attack by Lord Almighty Gregory in his infinite beneficence. On the field right now are those heathens who were outside Hicana at the time or managed to escape. Please join us in a standing ovation for Lord Almighty Gregory and the destruction of Hicana!"

All at once, every single fan in the stadium, all 175,617 of them, rise up and start giving a standing ovation while chanting "L-A-G! L-A-G! L-A-G!" Lord Almighty Gregory appears on the screen, and they all bow to him before he salutes them and they rise up again.

"Thank you, please remain standing for the national anthems, starting with Hicana."

"Let's see what kind of reaction the Hicanan anthem gets. Wow, quite predictable, loud, incredibly loud boos, among the loudest I ever heard. And fans are burning Hicanan flags in the stands. Are they even playing the anthem? I can't tell since the booing is so loud. And now they're chanting "DEATH TO HICANA! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP* DEATH TO HICANA! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*" and so on. Finally, it seems like the anthem has ended and they've stopped booing but Hicanan flags are still being burned.

"Now, please remain standing for the national anthem of Gregoryisgodistan!"

You are our God, you are our Lord
Lord Almighty Gregory
You kill the heathens by the sword
Lord Almighty Gregory
We worship you unto the core
We will love you forevermore
You kill the fools in holy war
Lord Almighty Gregory

Hark to the Lord and his appeal
Lord Almighty Gregory
We worship you with all our zeal
Lord Almighty Gregory
You are our God, you do reveal
Before you, we pray and kneel
You stab the heathens in the heel
Lord Almighty Gregory

You are our God, in you we trust
Lord Almighty Gregory
Your holy sword shall never rust
Lord Almighty Gregory
You turn Hicanans all to dust
You are kind and always just
Worship you, we must! We must!
Lord Almighty Gregory

You give us prune juice and free gruel
Lord Almighty Gregory
Those who don’t love you are all fools
Lord Almighty Gregory
You’re always generous, not cruel
You kill Queen Margaret in a duel
You are our God and you do rule
Lord Almighty Gregory

You lead our country brave and strong
Lord Almighty Gregory
We bow and praise you all day long
Lord Almighty Gregory
You’re always right, you’re never wrong
And so we sing our favorite song
And if you love him, sing along
Lord Almighty Gregory

You shoot the heathens in the head
Lord Almighty Gregory
And pretty soon they’ll all be dead
Lord Almighty Gregory
We worship you from dawn till bed
And raise our flag, gold, black and red
With gruel and prune juice we are fed
Lord Almighty Gregory

We praise you and we worship you
Lord Almighty Gregory
To you we all remain so true
Lord Almighty Gregory
The Free Republics have no clue
That to you, all praise is due
And you never take a poo
Lord Almighty Gregory

You will not yield to heathen clowns
Lord Almighty Gregory
You will destroy Queen Margaret's crown
Lord Almighty Gregory
All our enemies go down
From Apox to San Pedro town
And Llamaland will wear a frown
Lord Almighty Gregory

Sound the trumpet, play the drum
Lord Almighty Gregory
Those who don’t praise you are so dumb
Lord Almighty Gregory
The guns we’ll blast, the harps we’ll strum
Hurrah! We’ll kill the heathen scum!
They’ll die! They’ll burn! We’ll come! We’ll come!
Lord Almighty Gregory

As the music gets to the line about killing the heathen scum, someone carrying a Hicanan flag runs onto the field and screams "HICANA RULES! GREGORYISGODISTAN DROOLS!" The whole crowd thinks he is a wicked Hicanan, but in fact he is a slave dressed as a Hicanan and this whole incident is staged. Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy runs from the lineup and tackles the slave, then begins crushing him to death as the fans go wild.

"FATTY FOOTY *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP* FATTY FOOTY! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*"

"And now that wicked Hicanan fan, who is most certainly not a slave actor, is dead, and the crowd is going nuts. The Secret Police will carry him off the field. The opposing captains deliberately avoid shaking hands with each other and exchanging the customary gifts, and it's time to get this one started. Hicana didn't submit a roster, so as is usual in situations like this, we will be using highly insulting names. And this game already got off to a violent start with the crushing, and is sure to be even more physical as it wears on. Let's go, folks!

...

"Sixth minute, and it's a corner kick for Gregoryisgodistan, their first of the match. Guy Who Cleans Up Behind The Elephant at the Circus P0120AZNNAU sends it into the box, but Goalie Nopantsy comes up with it for Hicana. He's the goalkeeper. Oh, and Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy deliberately plows into him! That was clearly deliberate, the ball had been stopped for several seconds and Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy just charged him like a bull! And the crowd will go wild and chant his name, but that will be a yellow card for the brave, noble Enemy Crusher. Already our first booking of the day, and I expect to see several more on both sides before this one is done.

....

"15th minute, and the ball is whistled dead for a foul on Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal, not a reckless foul, but just a foul as he bumped into Hicanan midfielder Dumbo Elefante and they both fell to the ground. And now Elefante is going to shove Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal to the ground as they both get up, and Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal is going to hold on to his ankle and try to pull him down. The refs get in to separate them, but it will be yellow cards for both of them. Still a free kick to Hicana.

...

"28th minute, the boos are ringing down loud and strong every time Hicana touches the ball, there are Hicanan flags burning all around the stands, and chants of "DEATH TO HICANA!" and even the overlooked profanity or two directed at the Hicanans. And now it's Ugly Pantalones streaking up the side for Hicana, oh, and Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy tackles him football style! Would be an amazing tackle if this were the World Bowl, he just charged at him super fast and hit him really hard. But this isn't football, and it will be a card for Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy, he's already been booked, so his day is done, the only question is will it be a direct red? It is! And more boos are ringing down from the crowd as they throw rocks and human solid waste at the refs, and burn some referees in effigy in the crowd while burning more Hicanan flags and burning the Hicanan players in effigy. So Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy has been sent off and it will be 11-on-10 for now, with Hicana having the one man advantage.

...

"36th minute, and a hard tackle there by Baby Baby Gagaga of Hicana on History Teacher CZDE9745. And now History Teacher CZDE9745 says something to Gagaga, perhaps giving him a history lesson, Gagaga says something back, History Teacher CZDE9745 starts getting all up in his face, and Gagaga shoves him to the ground! Emotions really boiling over and they'll both be booked!

...

"And there's the halftime whistle, this half mercifully comes to an end. That means it's time for the Slaves R Us Leaders Race! Let's send it back up to the PA booth."

"All right folks, it's time for the Slaves R Us Leaders Race, featuring Lord Almighty Gregory, King Petrus, Shop Owner, Dumpy O'Rumpy and Reino Kulseth! It's halftime, and your leaders are READY TO RACE!

"Lord Almighty Gregory is out first, the others are just frozen, watching him in awe as he rides his nuke all around the stadium. He's not even following course, he's just riding it. And now he's riding it all the way to Hicana!"

In reality, the costumed version of Lord Almighty Gregory was riding a cart shaped like a nuclear bomb around the field, and then rode over to a Hicanan flag planted on the ground on a mat that said "Hicana".

"And now Lord Almighty Gregory is dropping the nuke on Hicana and running away to safety!"

"Lord Almighty Gregory" leaves the nuke on the mat and runs away.

"THE NUKE HAS GONE OFF! THE NUKE HAS GONE OFF! HICANA IS GONE! HICANA IS GONE! AND LORD ALMIGHTY GREGORY RACES TO THE FINISH LINE, HE'S WON THE RACE AND THE WAR!"

In reality, the cart exploded in a display of pyrotechnics, but there was not actually a nuclear attack in the stadium. Normally, they'd wait until the teams left the field to have the Slaves R Us Leaders race, but in this case, they did it while the Hicanan team was still on the sideline, being held there by security supposedly for their own protection until they could be safely escorted. So they saw everything, and were clearly not amused. Finally, security escorted them to the locker room for halftime. A bit of gamesmanship there.

"Back with the second half after this.

...

"58th minute, and Elefante is going to be called for a hard foul on Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Xylocrap Notatypo. The ref reaches into his pocket, it's yellow! He's been booked! It's red! Dumbo Elefante has been sent off for Hicana, and we'll play 10 on 10 until someone else gets sent off! So Elefante walks away in shame, time for him to sit in the naughty corner with Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy. And who knows who will join them?

...

"66th minute, and a hard foul on Police Agent Jorge Warlord by Evil Evil Nukeytime of Hicana. And Nukeytime will get a yellow. And now Police Agent Jorge Warlord takes that as his cue to just kick Nukeytime in the back, and that's going to be a red card for Police Agent Jorge Warlord, no doubt about it. He's off! He goes to the naughty corner! And now Gagaga says something to Police Agent Jorge Warlord on his way to the Naughty Corner, and the ref heard it and isn't amused. He shows Gagaga the yellow, he's been booked already too, HE'S OFF! JOIN ELEFANTE IN THE NAUGHTY CORNER, YOU FOOL! AND THE CROWD GOES NUTS! MORE "DEATH TO HICANA" CHANTS! AND EVEN SOME "F*** HICANA" CHANTS! WOW! But we're still scoreless somehow, and the crowd wants a win.

"81st minute, Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Xylocrap Notatypo coming up, he's running forward all alone, OH AND NUKEYTIME TAKES HIM DOWN FROM BEHIND IN THE BOX! PENALTY KICK AND THE REF HAS GIVEN IT! AND TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, IT'S A SECOND YELLOW FOR NUKEYTIME, THE FIFTH RED CARD OF THIS GAME!

...

"And now it will be Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal to take the penalty. GOOOAAAAL!!!! GREGORYISGODISTAN HAS THE GOAL THEY NEEDED, HERE IN THE 83RD MINUTE!

"And the players are celebrating by burning Hicanan flags on the field and unfortunately Enemy Crusher Fatty Footy can't crush anybody because he's already in the Naughty Corner, but still, we're winning! And we're going to win, it looks like, as Hicana is down to eight men. So what if we only have nine? Nine is more than eight. But wait, now the refs are coming over to Loyal Friend of Lord Almighty Gregory Death to San Jose Guayabal and showing him a yellow, perhaps for excessive celebration. And he's been booked, so he's done. 8-on-8 the rest of the way, an amazing SIX red cards, this is looking similar to a classic Border Battle rivalry clash against San Jose Guayabal. Or a Diablo Duel, or a Holy War, or whatever you want to call that rivalry. But we're perhaps starting a new one here today. Perhaps call it the Red Red Rivalry or something, given this is the most combined red cards ever in a Gregoryisgodistani national team match ever at this point, breaking the record of five in a Diablo Duel, and we're not done yet. Plus, you know there's bad blood between these countries, blood is red, and I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw someone draw actual blood before this one's done.

...

"First minute of stoppage, as the ref signals for three, and there are whistles behind the play as it looks like Soldier 0EDCK13DHI shoved Ugly Ugly Ukeleleboy to the turf for no reason, and Ukeleleboy got up and shoved Soldier 0EDCK13DHI to the ground. Now they're pushing and shoving and the refs are holding the other players back to avoid a brawl. They've had enough, both of them are given straight reds, now down to 7-on-7 until the end of stoppage. Any more reds for either team means they forfeit. So presumably this ties the record for most red cards in a non-forfeit in World Cup Qualifying history, at the very least, unless one was given to a bench player or something.

...

"And mercifully, there's the final whistle, and surprisingly we avoided an all-out brawl, but eight red cards, several of them straight reds, a ton of violence, and in the end, a 1-0 victory for the Foot Slaves on their home turf. And they'll join in with the crowd and sing "Go, Slaves, Go" as the Hicanans get away from the stadium as fast as humanly possible, lest they be killed. Let's listen in as they sing along."

World Cup time is underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day
Hey Cap District, what do you say?
Slaves are gonna win today

We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today

They got the crushing, they got the scoop
To be the best in the World Cup group
Well this is the year and the Slaves are real
So come on down to the soccer field


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today

Slaves are best in Esportiva
You can watch it all on Sports TV-uh
So stamp your feet and clap your hands
Because the Foot Slaves have the greatest fans


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today


We’re singing
Go Slaves, Go
Go Slaves, Go
Hey Cap District what do you say?
The Slaves are gonna win today

"Well, that's all we have time for today. Coming up next, we'll send it back to the studio for the Foot Slaves Postgame Show Presented by The Gregoryisgodistani Society of Eura-Haters, and we'll see you later!"

[Chromatika]

Lineup against EEC: Elise; Cameron ('89 Ilya) - Shipp - Lia - Lorenzo; Minke - Buric; Baumgartner - Harbin ('56 Berit) - Chesser; Victoriane ('68 Mehdizade).

Three Takeaways from EEC 0-4 Chromatika:

1. Silian Parker is a Genius.

It was a gamble for Parker to pull out all of the starters and the backups and play all of the reserves, but it paid off. The eleven players out there, plus two subs (Aysu has played in plenty of matches already) took the most of their opportunity and showed their worth. Their play was not as crisp or as flashy as the usual Chromatik play, but it was spirited. For most of the deep reserves, their careers are well past the halfway point; they know that national appearances will be hard to come by, and that this is probably their best chance to wear the Black and White. It was a feel-good moment for them, and an opportunity for Parker to see what they could do. Could be an effective strategy for future matches against the bottom-tier teams.

2. Kaytlyne Victoriane is the Next Big Thing.

The Tide striker, who also played next to Keira in the U-21 tournament, took advantage of a moment to shine. She added a brace and an assist on the game, and outstripped the EEC defense with ease. She was pivotal in the goal scored by Baumgartner with a neat cross. There are too many promising strikers, but at a young age of nineteen, it is very possible that Parker will keep an eye on Victoriane for the years to come.

3. The Regulars Had a Blast Cheering.

One of the best moments in the game was when the camera panned to the regular Chromatik starters in the sideline, going nuts over the performance of the reserves. The likes of Monica Cameron, Halide Elise, and Pascal Baumgartner are players who have the respect of the Starting XI - veterans who have paid their dues to the game and the development of the game in Chromatika. Rachel seemed to lose it when Terisa Harbin converted on the penalty late in the game and scored her first goal, and it was very apparent that the Starting XI didn't begrudge the reserves getting a cap in.

All in all, a solid performance by the team, with four goals added to the goal difference to boot. Which is important, because Krytenia awaits. The same Krytenia that beat the Chromatiks 1-5 in the finals of the previous AOCAF, coming into the Capitalizt Dome. Only two points behind (by courtesy to Taeshan), this match will set the tone for the time being of who will be top dogs in Group 1.

Three Keys to Chromatia vs. Krytenia

1. Jillian Nier between the Posts.

Instead of the rumored approach of Nikolai getting the first half of qualifiers for the matches that warranted top players and Jillian getting the second half of qualifiers for the same kind of matches, Parker has decided that he'll space out their starts instead. This is probably better because it'll keep both keepers fresh. This means that Jillian will start in the away game against Red Blackiland and Nikolai the away game at Krytenia; he will have to wait to have his revenge until much later. That being said, this will be Jillian's first game of the qualifiers, with Mia, Nikolai, and now Halide having started the previous four games. How raw is she? Is she up to the task? With the new strategy applied by Parker, it is even more imperative than ever that the goalkeeper be able to hold his/her own during breakaways. Nier will be instrumental in this match.

2. Can Alyss Montague Really Replace Meagan Kelly?

In a high-stakes match, it's important to have speed up the right side - and that was what Meagan represented. Now that she has been replaced by Alyss, at least for this cycle, it remains to be seen if Alyss can keep up the level of performance that she has. She played solid against Lymantatia, and even better against Red Blackiland, so those are encouraging signs. The experienced roster that is Krytenia, especially Moony and Ortega, will challenge her like she's never been challenged before. There are naysayers who think that she's starting only because she's Keira's girlfriend. This is definitely a chance for her to prove otherwise, once and for all.

3. Will Silian's Rise Continue?

Not many were impressed by the CFF's choice when they appointed Silian Parker as the Manager of the Chromatik National Team after the departure of Lisa Amos to San José Guayabal. Many said that Michael St. Laurent or several other more experienced Managers in the previous League Chromatiks 1 deserved the nod, or that a foreign presence should've been brought in. Parker has so far shown the utmost class and ability in leading the team, complete with winning over the locker room with Didier Jacques's help. His understanding that the team is now a formidable force that needs to be taken care of intently, as well as his strategic decisions to start/bench certain players in key areas, has earned him at least another thorough look before jumping to conclusions. If he takes care of Krytenia - who with Unified Sunrise Islands hold a place of contempt in the hearts of many Chromatik football fans - he will be considered a national hero, and the memory of Lisa Amos will begin to fade a little more.

Lineup vs. Krytenia: Nier; Morningstar - Stef - Aart - Ellen; Montague - Liam; Rien - Hellion - Antonio (C); Andisori.

---

Disclaimer: I am writing this with Northern Sunrise Islands's blessing. All credits of the PokéCards and whatnot go to him.

"Qasden? Qasden? Where are you?" Chrom yelled, looking fervently. One minute, they'd been together, and Qasden had pointed out a Fearow. The next, Qasden had just... vanished, and he'd lost track of her. He couldn't remember how that'd happen. Perhaps it was because he had been walking too fast?

"Dammit, Sunrise is gonna kill me, and Kitsunia is going to look at me like she expected this to happen," Chrom muttered to himself, and bid his Chandelure and Sneasel to come out. They looked at him quizzically.

"I'm looking for Qasden. The little girl that lives with Kitsunia and Sunrise, remember? I need to find her, I've kind of lost her," Chrom said. Chendelure went up to him and brushed against him to provide support, while Sneasel smiled mischievously, but gave a curt nod.

The three of them started to look fervently, and because Chrom was so intent on finding Qasden, he didn't see three shadows approach him from behind.

One minute, Chrom was looking around to make sure his Chandelure was within sight. The next, he was on the ground, being knocked up by an uppercut.

"When the shadow of the moon hits the earth, the blood of the One will be renewed, and the Chosen will rise to face it, once more," came an ominous voice behind a hooded figure. The other two joined him. They were all clad in grey hooded robes that brushed the forest floor. The only thing that was distinguishable between the three were sashes around their waste - the one who had knocked Chrom to the ground had a golden one, the others silver.

Chrom's Sneasel tried to sneak up behind them and attack, but the one to the left of the golden sash neatly stepped to the side and plunged a syringe into Sneasel with a deft stroke. Sneasel instantly crumpled to the ground and fell into a deep snore.

"Leave him alone! What do you want with me? Chrom demanded, trying to figure them out. In all the books he had read, there was nothing about men in grey robes with sashes.

"You are the Chosen. The Prophecy is about you. We must make sure that Our Master, the One, is not delayed," stated the one who had attacked Chrom, pulling out a huge broadsword.

Chandelure appeared before Chrom, getting in front of him. Chrom pulled him back to him, and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about! Maybe you're talking about the previous me, but I've been cleansed! I'm sane now! I'm of no threat to you, just leave me alone!

The one to the right of the one with the golden sash remarked, "He speaks the truth, but it is inconsequential. His lifeforce is an affront to Our Master. The One must rise, and he can still stop the One. We must get him before the Eevolved One returns and protects him."

"And with our power to put the little demons to sleep, he will not be able to stop us, not as long as we are able to keep his demons in mind," said the one to the left.

The one with the golden sash started to step closer to Chrom. Chrom desperately sent out the rest of his Pokémon.

"You cannot defeat us. We have been preparing for this for too long. Any demons that belong to you are subservient to us," stated the one in the golden sash.

In a few moments, all of Chrom's Pokémon lay on the ground, snoring, being put to sleep.

Chrom returned them all to their Pokéballs.

It must be my past catching up to me. Sorry, everyone I ever hurt. Sorry I couldn't make you proud, Sunrise, Chrom thought, and closed his eyes as the one with the golden sash got really close to him and ceremonially raised up the broadsword.

Then, Chrom heard a rather peculiar sound.

"Gothorita!" The sound was followed by what sounded like a lightning clap. When Chrom opened his eyes, he saw that the two beside the one with the golden sash failed to dodge and were hit, but the one with the golden sash had neatly jumped aside. His blow never hit Chrom, and Chrom was able to see that a Gothorita had appeared and psyshocked his foes.

Before he could process what was going on, he saw a huge flying form appear. He couldn't believe his eyes - it was a Yveltal! The towering Pokémon dwarfed the three, and there were actually audible gasps of fear from the silver sashes. Even the golden sash looked a bit shocked. And who could blame him - it was a Yveltal, one of the rarest Pokémon of all!

"Leave this one alone, or you will face the wrath of me," came a high-pitched voice from the shadows of the trees. Both Chrom and the three looked around to try to find the source, but couldn't.

"Nothing must stop us!" exclaimed golden sash, trying to get at Chrom once again. Yveltal unleashed an oblivion wing attack, and golden sash had to dodge again instead of reaching Chrom.

That was when a Gliscor appeared right by golden sash and night slashed it right across the face. before it could do anything, a Glaceon came from the other side and ice fanged it from the other side.

Reeling, golden sash and its followers turned around and started to run. The Yveltal chased them for a good while, but didn't commit any attacks after it became apparent that they were running.

Chrom's knees buckled as the enormity of what he had faced occurred to him, and he became very dizzy. That was when a hand came to steady him, and a bit of chocolate was given to him.

"Rest easy, friend. They've gone, they can't threaten you. Eat this, you'll feel better," said the same high-pitched, singsong voice.

Chrom took the chocolate and put it in his mouth. The sweetness and warmth did make him feel better.

"But how? Who were they? Who are you? Why did you help me? Chrom said, trying to get a good look at the figure beside him.

It was a girl, tall, slender, with silvery white hair, clad in yellow robes. He eyes were beet red, and there was an aura of something strange about her. She took a moment to acknowledge her Pokémon - Yveltal, Gogorita, Gliscor, and Glaceon - before replying.

"They are zealots of a forgotten god, trying to bring him back. Whether the god exists or not, I've no clue; it doesn't seem to matter, as they're hell bent on doing what they will anyway. I am a friend. I hunt them, as well as a few rare Pokémon. I would kill to get a glimpse of Necorzma and Lunala or Solgaleo," she replied, "My Pokémon and I also try to show the world that Dark doesn't equate to Evil. That was the primary reason Yveltal joined me."

"Thanks for coming when you did," said Chrom, "I might not have made it otherwise. Why do they want me, do you know? I'm Chrom, by the way."

"I know not," she answered, "But if you have a friend that has Eevolutions, I'd stick with him. They seemed afraid of him, after all... He is the one that has won the last two Championships?"

"Yeah," Chrom replied, "His name is Sunrise. I should probably go back to him. Do you want to come with me and meet him? I would like to introduce him to owner of such rare Pokémon as you."

"I'm afraid I must decline," she answered, "I don't do well in company, and I need to figure out where those three went off to. Thank you for the invitation, though. Hm... I sense that you're undergoing personal change in your life. Perhaps a change in purpose. I believe I have something that can be of help."

She reached into a bag that hung loosely off her back under the robe and pulled out an egg.

"This is an egg of a Pokémon that no evil person could get a hold of. Take care of it well. It should help you in the future. And don't forget, stay with the Eevolutions. You will see me again," she handed Chrom the egg.

He took it, incredulous.

"Wait, But... I don't even know your name!" he exclaimed, "What am I to tell people?

"Tell them the truth, if you wish. Tell Kitsunia to stop being judgmental of you, tell Sunrise to stand up to her for you. Tell Qasden that you are nothing to be feared. As for my identity, there should be a few who remember me still - Valanora for certain, Nephara perhaps, Audio definitely..."

Before Chrom could retort and ask any questions about how she knew everything about him, before he could thank her for the egg, she vanished into thin air.

The last thing he saw of her was her toothy smile.

Her teeth had fangs.

And then he was left alone in the forest, holding an egg...

After a little while to gather himself, he decided that he would need Sunrise's help to find Qasden, and turned around to go back.

"Nobody is going to believe this."

[95X]

Fishy Situation

"Morrison!" Randy Larch alerted his twenty-year-old reserve during a team meal. "You have eaten approximately ten breaded fish fillets!"

"There's just something about how the gritty but smooth breading compliments the flaky fish pieces," Morrison responds, stuffing an eleventh into his mouth.

---

Meanwhile, in the Capital of Culture Dungeon…

"The Dungeon" was the underground prison where the Capital of Culture Corporation held its political prisoners. Xi Foureleven found herself there after her meeting with Capital of Culture CEO Joe Naccho. She'd been knocked unconscious and taken there. She looks up into another cell and sees former 95X President (and previous Mayor of Cascadia, 95X) Jason Clinton.

"I was touring their facilities," Clinton said, "when armed guards that looked more like riot police arrested me and took me here! I've been here ever since! Granted the Political President of 95X was far less powerful than I thought, but the country needs me!"

"They have replaced you with a potted ficus tree," Foureleven replied. "If you call the phone number for the national government, you get a message recorded in such a way you believe you are speaking to a human."

"Is that so?!" Clinton asked in disbelief. "I've got to get out of here somehow."

Foureleven is no ordinary 95Xer though, and pulls a tablet out of somewhere (or maybe thin air), and begins writing:

Xi Foureleven frees herself and Jason Clinton.

Just like that, the locks on the cells open and the two are free.

That's when Foureleven notices someone very familiar.

"JORDYN!"

The distraught woman looks up, she was in bad shape and barely recognizable. Foureleven frees her, too, and uncharacteristically ran over to hug the other prisoner, a former national team teammate.

"They framed me!" Jordyn Third claimed as she stood up. "My now ex-husband is also gone for good, I'm all alone and in this place."

"What a company will do to try to sell more products," Foureleven disapproved. "Now, let's get out of here."

Xi Foureleven summons a winged conjoined cocopony, and all three escape the subterranean prison by air.

[Flardania]

Opening Theme

---

Bonjour et Ohayōgozaimasu Kirishima. Welcome ladies and gentleman, back to the World Cup 77 Qualifiers edition of the Kitsune Report, brought to you by the Nagatomo Sports Network (NSN), sponsored by Air Pacifica, and Pocari Surge. Here at the Kitsune Report, it's all about Kirishinan sports but right now, world cup football is the primary focus. With matchday 4 completed, did the Kitsunes improve over their stumble against Mriin? Did they beat Brigantii? It's time to get grooving to some world cup football yet again and find out!

Brigantii 1-1 Kirishima Review:

Following back to back dominating performances with a 5-0 win against 69th ranked Dainer and a 6-1 win against unranked Turkmenbasyn, the Kitsunes failed to continue that against Mriin as they were only able to pull out a draw. The Kitsunes then returned to the road to face the stags of Brigantii at Warbury Stadium in Eborum. Seong Mi-Soo tried to rally the troops after the disappointing draw against Mriin with a win against Brigantii.

The Kitsunes were seemingly still out of sorts after their draw in the previous match. The opposition got passed the defense quite easily and took a shot at goal in the first minute which was saved by Hojo. The opposition kept the Kitsunes on the ropes with another shot attempt, this time off topic during the 7th minute. A deflected shot by the defense and another save from Hojo off of a corner in the 23rd and 24th minute respectfully had the Kitsunes realing and the first half ended with 4 shots for the stags and none for the Kitsunes.

The second half would be much more exciting from a Kirishinan point of view with Yabuta and Izumi both taking shots on goal in the 49th and 51st minute respectfully. The breakthrough came in the 60th minute after a missed shot on goal by the stags. Hojo rolled the ball to Miyamoto who rushed down the feel getting passed an opposition midfielder before crossing it into the box for Yabuta to volley into the left side of the goal. Unfortunately, it felt like another bad moment for the Kitsunes and once again the excitement of the Kitsunes would not last long. In the 80th minute, Darrel Fry got past Iwamoto and the stags finally beat Hojo for a goal of their own to tie the game. Home fans went reeling in excitement while Kitsunes fans had a face that read not again. For the second match in a row, the Kitsunes draw dropping them to third in the standings and planting seeds of doubt in the fans once more. The thought that maybe this time around luck will screw with us again.

Following the match, a disappointed Seong Mi-Soo had this to say. "......Here we are once again. An interview after the team who is suppose to be a top team, dropping points like snow in the northern prefectures. I know it hurts and no one wants to here that I don't mind a draw and frankly, I don't want it. When we draw like this, it's a loss for a team like us. A draw against Valanora is different than a draw against Mriin. We need to go back to winning and try to remain confident. We can't keep taking hits to our morale like this."

It is a difficult time to be a fan of the Kitsunes. For whatever odd reason the Kitsunes struggle to remain in form and keep dropping crucial points when they shouldn't be. Hopefully, the team can escape the bad stretch that it is and return to putting up wins before slipping further down the table.

Brigantii 1-1 Kirishima 
Fry(80')  Yabuta(60')

Kirishima v The Mercenary Islands Preview:

With a 2-0-2 record, Kirishima returns home to Imgeum at the Dayangseong Stadium to face The Mercenary Islands. It does not need to be said but this next match is a must win for the Kitsunes. The opposition is not in form and the Kitsunes need a win to regain momentum. They can not afford potentially slipping further down the standings. It will be once again a test of the discipline Seong Mi-Soo preaches, will the Kitsunes prevail or will they subconsciously give up due to lack or morale. Until then Lets Go Kitsunes!

Post by: Keita Woo

[Farfadillis]

It's not so easy, being the one who doesn't get the spotlight. The one who flies under the radar. It doesn't make you any less important than some others who do get noticed, it's just maybe you're not as flashy. I don't and can't dribble past the defenders with just half a meter of space like Wínrôuge, or fly like Monrazón in his sliding tackles, or outrun anyone like Siorrha'Asione. I am the one who quietly dictates the tempo. Most plays go through me, because they have to. Wínrôuge may be the star, but the ball gets to me more often than it gets to him.

You know what the most underrated stat in football is? The pre-assist. I've racked up God-knows-how-many throughout my international career. The key pass that splits a defense in two is not necessarily the assist, and it often is more important than it. I never hear the pundits go all "But did you see Jevdjevic-Hadsic's pre-assist? Boy, was that a defense-splitting pre-assist!" I'm not bitter, though. All players serve a role in their tactical scheme; I just serve mine.

Still, finding motivation is harder without the positive reinforcement. Back at Prostran I Forzuda, when I was their precious wonderkid who did just about everything, I thrived off my sheer arrogance. Much like Wínrôuge, funnily enough. Having to take a more withdrawn role when you get to the upper echelons of football sure is a hurtful hit to take. You come out of a game feeling God's gift to the Multiverse and you just get an unenthusiastic "Well done, kid" from the gaffer. But the guy you set up three times in that game? He'll suck up to him, big time. You really just want to throw the towel sometimes.

Eventually, you just redraw objectives. My objective as a footballer's now a tad different. I no longer want to set the Multiverse ablaze, scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final and basking in the glory of being the best player in its long history. Now I just want to steal some of my teammates' glory. "Oh, yeah, Wínrôuge really was something special, but I'll tell you something: he wouldn't have achieved even half as much without Jevdjevic-Hadsic by his side." would be music to my ears. "Yeah, Siorrha'Asione scored more goals than one could count. But who was setting up the plays? Jevdjevic-Hadsic. Take him away and he wouldn't have been as great." What goes around comes around. I just wanna take my due credit, is all.

One thing I cannot complain about, though, is the respect I've gotten from the ones I benefit. Fôrté is known for being disrespectful. However, he's never been anything other than kind to me. Compare that to how he treats, say, Monrazón or Tôr, tremendous players by their own right. He even disrespects the captain and gets away scot-free. But does he disrespect his gentle helper over here? No, sir, he does not.

You know what's most entertaining? When you steal the spotlight. When Jevdjevic-Hadsic goes and dribbles two in injury time, then chips the keeper for the equalizer, people don't speak about Monrazón's amazing tackles, Metz's brilliant saves or Wínrôuge's elegant dribbling. They only speak about how Ror Jevdjevic-Hadsic was the one who saved the day. That's, I believe, the one great advantage. You're so starved for attention that, when you do get it, you really relish it.

Now picture this. We're playing at home. Picture us having lost to Azrea there just two months before. Picture us trying, to no avail, to score against fucking Ibixa. One hundred fucking thousand Farves watching us, expecting us to do something. Their precious star Fôrté Wínrôuge has not gotten one shot on target. Their beloved wonderkid Stiin Siorrha'Asione's been shooting at the keeper's hands all game long. Their oh-so-treasured captain Ruy Monrazón has been sent off for terrible timing on his world class tackles. Now picture that nobody, Ror Jevdjevic-Hadsic, grabbing the game by the balls on the last minute of injury time. Picture him tackling their centre midfielder. Then, picture him dribbling their other centre midfielder. Now picture him looking down, towards the ball, and unleashing a missile thirty-five meters away from goal. Picture that missile hitting the crossbar, bouncing in, and violently hitting the net. The pundits are gonna talk about him, tomorrow no doubt. They'll forget come next game, but for now, he'll be all they talk about.

[Valanora]

An excerpt from a poetic journal from a RL states member

Defiance

I'm still breathing
Is that the problem
Would you prefer to sacrifice me upon the altar?
Stoke the fires and let me burn,
Snuff out the light of life?

No, I won't let you see this through
You and your viscous, unscrupulous designs
This life is mine
I wont be part of your malevolence
Refuse to be bled to your deity.

[Vilita]

So the Vilita Jungle Cats won their opening game of World Cup Qualifying.

And now they're doomed.



Right?



Well, lets see what happens. Of course, dropping points on the opening matchday of World Cup Qualifying is in the blood of all Vilitans. Its just what you do if you are Vilitan. Winning the opening match of World Cup Qualifying is considered by some fans to be a traitorous act.

There are others, of course, who are just happy the team has claimed all 3 points. It is, after all, about math and points and stuff like that.

So, the 4-3 win over Collatis on Matchday 1 was confusing. Fans and reporters who claimed that the Jungle Cats had "All but been eliminated" after their rare campaign-opening victory were quickly debunked and put back in their place by a three year old with an abacus, proving that if you move 3 beads to the right hand side, you now have more beads than if you move only 1, or 0.

Then came Matchday 2. A Draw to Kernovi. This is a Kernovi side that were supposed to finish last - or at least close to last in Group 12.


Math no longer mattered.

Doomsday had arrived.

Yes, Vilitan fans everywhere were now well and truly convinced. They were resigned to their fate. Qualification was now out of their reach.

Articles and blogospheres focused on whether the National Team needed a "Reboot". I myself chimed in, because I know the solution to all the problems that the Vilitan National Team are currently afflicted.

Robo-Things.

Yes. The Robo-Things are the solution.

Every once in a while they fire one of those things up for a commercial or a public appearance. Originally created in Arcticala, the Robo-Things were programmed to take the best attributes of Vilitan Stars of the Past and even represented the Tropics in the Under-21 World Cup for many seasons.

They're probably all sitting in a warehouse or maybe as a play thing on some rich dudes farm. But now is the time to round up the Robo-Things and put them back into action. Its clear that there is no way that the Jungle Cats can succeed. Just two matchdays into World Cup Qualifying, they had already both locked their place into the finals and been eliminated all together. The fans think they have the pulse of the team down so well - even in contradiction, that it hardly matters if they play the game.

So why not bring the Robo-Things back? Then, instead of letting the Jungle Cats just go out and, you know, play the game - we can just program the Robo-Things to play the exact match the fans expect them to play. Most notably, lose or draw on Matchday 1, thereby putting the fans at ease for the rest of the campaign that 'everything is right in the world' and 'Vilita will advance'.

Anyone have a Robo-Thing lying around in their shed? Make it happen, F.A.V! Next time, maybe we'll get to the list of 95 reasons we hate 95X.

[Cosumar]

The Republic Of Zambanana
The Day of Matchday Four

Romikk Valgard shook his head in frustration, his black locks bouncing side-to-side. Really, how hard could it be to find a banana in a nation called Zambanana?

As he turned around to go back down the same aisle of the small local grocer for the fourth time, Ragnar Targaryen grabbed him by the elbow.

"There aren't any bananas here, Rom. Walking the aisle again is not going to make any magically appear. If we don't get going, we're going to be late for the team meeting before we load the buses."

Romikk yanked his arm away with a scowl.

"I refuse to accept that this godforsaken country doesn't have any of the fruit it's supposedly named after," Romikk quipped back. "This is the third market we've tried! Piles of dragonfruit, grapefruit and fucking Mount Nyangani raspberries... but not a single banana? Unbelievable!"

Ragnar smirked at his fellow young striker's comical outburst. Despite Romikk's rugged appearance, he was really just a big pouting child.

"I still don't understand why in Thor's name you need bananas so badly. We'll be back in Kaldukosic tomorrow."

Romikk sighed and glanced around to see if any other teammates were in the store before replying.

"Since the beginning of last season in West Gundar, I've been on this new banana-based sport diet. I've been averaging about four per day," Romikk said in a low voice. "I can't stand the taste anymore, but I'm... kinda afraid to stop. I've had so much success since I started eating them, you know? When I scored two goals in my international debut a few months ago, I had five bananas just before."

Ragnar scanned Romikk's face for a sign of jest and, finding none, erupted in over-the-top fake laughter.

"So, let me get this straight, that's your secret to scoring 16 goals last season? And knocking Belarmin Worsaw off the World Cup team?" Ragnar panted between bouts of laughter. "BANANAS?!?!? I had no idea you were so superstitious!"

"Technically, you're the one who replaced Wors- "

"Who are you, Donkey Kong?"

"Yeah. Ok. Ha. Ha. Get your laughs in."

Ragnar thumped his chest a few times and grinned at his new friend, who was already back to scanning the length of the fruit aisle.

"Now help me find some fucking bananas before we're due back," Romikk called over his shoulder. "There's a good chance Ramsey will give me my first World Cup appearance tonight against Zambanana. I need to be ready. That means bananas."

"That also means not getting one of Ramsey's hairdryer treatments for being late," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

...

After turning two more nearby markets in the Zambanese capital inside out to no avail, Ragnar teasing him for his superstitious diet all the while, Romikk finally convinced the owner of some rickety streetside smoothie truck to fork over his only three bananas, all unripe and sad-looking, for an outrageous bounty of 45 Chrons.

Romikk gingerly placed the bananas in a burlap sack, handling them with the care of a supervillain who just discovered the key to defeating his nemesis, ignoring Ragnar's incredulous eyebrows.

"At last! That's a goal for each banana tonight, my friend," Romikk proclaimed, giving each one a dramatic kiss.

"Assuming Ramsey even uses you... and I don't get all the goals first," Ragnar chirped. "Now come on, we have a team meeting before we bus to the stadium, remember?"

So the chiseled, blond Ragnar and his taller but lankier dark-haired counterpart Romikk used the local Zambanana rideshare service and, within five minutes, were climbing into an old-fashioned yellow minivan that rather looked like a banana.

"Azouca Street Hotel please," Romikk informed the driver as he carefully slid his precious bananas under the seat.

After a couple minutes of window-watching, Ragnar broke the silence. "So, Rom. What do you think of the rumors about Ramsey in the Courier?"

"Which ones? That tabloid garbage about his supposed affair with Marlena Scamander?"

"No no no, idiot, you know which ones I mean. About him planning to retire at the end of this World Cup."

"People have been saying that for the last three cycles."

"I know, but it feels much more substantiated this time."

"Maybe, but a man like Gethin Ramsey? He lives for this shit. I can't see him giving anything less than 110% until the minute he keels over dead."

"That's just it, though. With his cough, he might feel that that day isn't far away. And he has been acting a little differently since the AOCAF."

"Come on, don't bullshit me, Ragnar! You're a year older, but this is your first time in his team too."

"The veterans have noticed it! Even Anders believes the rumors are true."

"Well, if Captain Andy says it's true...," Romikk started sarcastically, until something out the window caught his eye. "YO! RAGNAR! Check this out."

The minivan was slowly passing a quaint urban park, but what really caught Romikk's eye was the giant statue in the center of it, a stately man made of bronze with a fist in the air. Clusters of tourists were craning their necks to take pictures of it.

"Driver, stop here for a moment please," Romikk said quickly. "We want to go have a look."

"No fucking way, Rom!" Ragnar exclaimed with a panicked glance at his watch. "We're already cutting it close!"

"There's no traffic and we're only a few blocks from the hotel. We have time," Romikk opined as he hopped out of the slowing car and motioned for Ragnar to follow.

The statue turned out to be Joseph Mbukane, the President and Military General of Zambanana. Erected 12 December 1990 in honor of our independence from Tumbra.

"This guy must be a badass," Romikk said as he looked up at the bronze man's resolute gaze.

"I admire your interest in local history, Rom, I really do. But we need to get back to the car. Ramsey's meeting is in ten minutes," Ragnar pleaded.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's just snap a quick selfie for Instagram."

The strikers put their muscular arms around each other's shoulders and Ragnar gave a thumbs up with his free hand as Romikk snapped the picture, Mr. Mbukane looming behind them.

Good times in Zambanana with my new pal @ragnar_tar. Love this dude. #Bros #OnwardVanquishers #Matchday

As Romikk typed the post, he meant every word. Even though Ragnar loved to ridicule his diet and nag about the time, he was gladl to have another striker his age going through the same blooding process in World Cup Qualifying.

"ROMIKK, YOU FUCKTARD!!!!!!!!!" Ragnar yelled, evaporating every ounce of gratefulness Romikk had just felt for him.

"What?"

"THE CAR IS GONE!!!"

Sure enough, where the yellow minivan had been waiting just moments before, there was now...not a yellow minivan. The driver had lost patience and departed to service a new customer. A lump formed in Romikk's throat. This was his fault.

"The team meeting is in six minutes. Hailing another car will take too long," Ragnar moaned. "We have to run for it! On foot!"

...

By the time Romikk and Ragnar slipped into the back of the hotel's meeting room, sweaty and trying to conceal their heavy breaths, Gethin Ramsey was already almost done addressing the team. He was reviewing tactical ideas one final time, drawing lines on a large touchscreen. The buses to take the team to the stadium were already waiting outside.

Anders Engström flashed Ragnar a disappointed look and fellow youngster Tug Cooper quietly sniggered at Romikk from across the room. Plan to enter unnoticed: failed. Olaf Womack happened to be the one closest to the door.

"Where the hell were you two? You're lucky Ramsey has mellowed a bit with age lately...," Olaf whispered beside them.

"Targaryen. Valgard. Hang back," Gethin Ramsey suddenly declared as he finished his talk. "Everyone else, to the buses. Let's go get those three points."

"...But I still don't envy you," Womack warned as he packed up and left Ragnar and Romikk to their fate.

...

Romikk could smell the cigar smoke in Ramsey's breath as the manager's piercing eyes bored into his from an inch away. He looked at the floor.

"Look at me," Ramsey said.

Romikk hesitantly obliged. After a few seconds, Ramsey moved on to Ragnar, assessing his face for any signs of weakness, contempt, anger, remorse... who knows? Ragnar squirmed but held the gaze.

"You missed a critical team meeting hours before a World Cup Qualifying match," Ramsey stated at last, taking a step away and turning his back to his two young strikers. "This is clearly not acceptable. Fortunately for you, however, I do not believe it was borne out of any blatant disrespect for me, the Dragonshirt, or our opponent."

Ragnar hurried to pipe up. "That's right sir, we are very serious about - "

"Yes, I suppose you have some explanation for yourselves," Ramsey interrupted. He looked up and down at the players' sweaty clothes. "This should be good."

"It's my fault sir," Romikk offered, combing a hand through his thin black hair. "You see, I really wanted some bananas before the match, but apparently this country has some sort of banana shortage, so we had to try like a gazillion different stores around town before we finally scalped some off a street vendor. We lost track of time in our pursuit of the elusive fruits and then encountered some, err...difficulties getting back to the hotel."

Silence.

"You skipped my tactical review and very nearly missed our departure to the stadium over......bananas," Ramsey summarized.

"Well... yes."

"So, where are they?"

A confused look came over Romikk's face.

"Where are what?"

"These bananas that you went through hell and high water and risked suspension from the team to get your MITTS ON," Ramsey insisted, slowly escalating his voice as he spoke.

Romikk and Ragnar glanced each other.

"You didn't get the bananas?" they simultaneously asked each other, humiliation and horror creeping into their voices as they realized the bananas were in fact still sitting in the back of that yellow minivan.

Gethin Ramsey shook his head, a hint of a smile creeping onto the corner of his lips as he observed his foolish young proteges. He quickly wiped it away, and ordered the 22 and 23-year-olds to go get on the bus.

"Each generation. They get stupider and stupider," Ramsey mused wistfully to himself as he watched them scramble out of the room like they saw a ghost.

...

It was the 81st minute. Cosumar leading Zambanana 2-1 in a surprisingly close affair, the home crowd invigorated by the narrow scoreline. But Gethin Ramsey sensed that the Zambanese defense was just barely hanging on and that a smart switch could lead to a knockout punch.

"Valgard! Get ready to come on soon!" he called to the bench.

As the game stopped for a goal kick, Ramsey looked over and noticed something was wrong with Romikk. He was clambering slowly to his feet, devoid of his usual confidence and certainly not looking excited for his first competitive cap.

Ramsey coughed and went to retrieve something from his bag that he suspected might help the young striker.

Romikk stretched on the sideline, anticipating one of the defining moments of his career. His first World Cup action. As he was waging mental warfare with himself, trying to convince himself of his natural ability with or without sweet high-potassium fruits and mostly failing, he felt someone behind him discreetly slip something into his hand.

It was a perfectly ripe banana, already peeled.

As the stadium announced his impending substitution and he waited for his friend Ragnar Targaryen to jog off the pitch, Romikk hurriedly scarfed down that entire banana.

When Ragnar arrived and reached out to hi-five Romikk into his first World Cup game, Romikk swallowed the final bite and gave his friend a confident wink. He was THAT striker again.

Two minutes later, Romikk Valgard scored his first World Cup goal. Guided by some banana-inspired instict, he was in the right place at the right time to collect the rebound of Alora Heher's saved shot and slam it back into the corner of the goal. 3-1 Cosumar. Of course, his celebration was peeling an imaginary banana

Back on the bench, Ragnar cheered enthusiastically for his friend's milestone moment. And out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Gethin Ramsey beam ear-to-ear for the briefest of moments, something that looked suspiciously like a banana peel poking out of his back pocket.

---

San José Guayabal 3–4 Cosumar
Pre-Qualifying Friendly | @ Bank of Guayabal Stadium, Rodríguez
Targaryen 4', Lucassen 80', Valgard 85' + 90'

Cosumar 0-2 Unified Sunrise Islands
Pre-Qualifying Friendly | @ Orangi Stadium, Crawford

...

Cosumar 1-1 Gregoryisgodistan₁₉
Matchday 1 | @ Fire River Arena, Ramusok
Targaryen 47'
Subs: Simmons III, Cooper, Elam

Arcantova₁₂₄ 2-3 Cosumar
Matchday 2 | @ Arcantova
Sigler 41', Lilley 44', Kvanderwyk 58'
Subs: Senterekoesima, Womack, Branch

Cosumar 2-1 The Republic of Arkan₆₀
Matchday 3 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic
Svensson 15', Lilley 19'
Subs: Womack, Cooper, Lucassen

Zambanana₂₄₀ 1-3 Cosumar
Matchday 4 | @ Zambanana
Lilley 13', De Marisco 51', Valgard 83'
Subs: Heher, Jorgensen, Valgard

Cosumar vs. Ndaku₂₀₂
Matchday 5 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic
Söderquist 43'

Cosumar vs. Fluvique₄₀
Matchday 6 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

Olastor_UR vs. Cosumar
Matchday 7 | @ Olastor

Cosumar vs. Hicanans in Exile_UR
Matchday 8 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

95X₉₅ vs. Cosumar
Matchday 9 | @ The Lucky Businessperson Stadium, Pacific City

...

Mid-Qualifying Friendlies TBD

...

Gregoryisgodistan vs. Cosumar
Matchday 10 | @ Lord Almighty Gregory National Stadium, Capital District

Cosumar vs. Arcantova
Matchday 11 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

The Republic of Arkan vs. Cosumar
Matchday 12 | @ Arkan

Cosumar vs. Zambanana
Matchday 13 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

Ndaku vs. Cosumar
Matchday 14 | @ Lumumbaville Stadium, Madesu

Fluvique vs. Cosumar
Matchday 15 | @ King George Stadium, Greencastle

Cosumar vs. Olastor
Matchday 16 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

Hicanans in Exile vs. Cosumar
Matchday 17 | @ Hicanans In Exile

Cosumar vs. 95X
Matchday 18 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

...

Post-Qualifying Friendlies TBD

Goal-Scorers Tally (13 GF)
Tevin Lilley (3)
Romikk Valgard (2)
Ragnar Targaryen (2)
Linden Lucassen (1)
Mauricio Sigler (1)
Kit Kvanderwyk (1)
Peter Svensson (1)
Stig Söderquist (1)
Jo de Marisco (1)

Assists Tally
Mauricio Sigler (2)
Stig Söderquist (2)
Peter Svensson (1)
Corey Simmons III (1)
Deirdre McNessa (1)
Mortimer Chisenhall (1)
Bacary Na'Kale (1)

Reserves Appearances Tally
Linden Lucassen (3)
Corey Simmons III (2)
Tiffany Elam (2)
Senter Senterekoesima (2)
Olaf Womack (2)
Tug Cooper (2)
Alora Heher (2)
Romikk Valgard (2)
Esteban Hernandez (1)
Aziz Senturk (1)
Taddeo Loredan (1)
Matt Branch (1)
Torbjörn Jorgensen (1)

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

It snows like hell outside and you know what that means. That I need my girl.

Matchday Five Cutoff

[Taeshan]

The Docktown Memorial Stadium was hosting a national team game for the first time in the young season as the visitors from Lanzon arrived to take on the side from Taeshan. The Purple Knights came into the game with a wave of good feeling after all but the first result of the season had been a good one for them. With earlier matches seeing Krytenia fall to Chromatika the Knights saw an opportunity to win this game against a smaller team and take the second spot in the group ahead of the Krytenian side, and others fighting for the second position in the 77th World Cup. The days events didn't go just like the fans of the home side wished they would, nor like anyone would have expected the match to go.

Games aren't played on paper, and if they were the true underdog story wouldn't exist. As it were people wish to see the mighty fall to those below them, it is not as especially fun for the middle level teams to lose to the lower teams, but underdog stories are still fun to watch. When you're not exactly a big bad you don't expect the underdog narrative to afflict you, whereas the Air Force Aeros losing a TCAA tournament game is always a big shock, when the Fadron University falls to Dake it isn't as big a deal.

The Knights did not lose the game. But they definitely did not win it. From the start you could see the Knights were not up to it. Miles Snavely looked like he wasn't sure what sport he was playing. Everett Eskandarian thought the point of the game it seemed was to kick the ball out of bounds whenever it reached his foot, and Enrique Fuegahita seemed to run away every time his teammates seemed to push the ball his way. Maxwell McMichael was as dubious as the fans to what was going around, whether some airborne illness or food poisoning was afflicting the Knights it was shortly before halftime before all four defenders seemed to forget to defend as Lanzo took an incredible lead as the Taeshan fans quickly saw the fears they had before the season once again arise.

The game wasn't over though. At the half Lysander Ying Uing brought in a full contingent of subs with Janson Jewsbury, Alexander Kaiba, and Torsten Abigail coming on to the field. It is perhaps the riskiest move of all to make three changes at a time, but it seemed to ignite a fire in the brains of the Taeshani's. But as is often the case a lowly side, or a visiting side that manages an early surprise goal Lanzo was parked behind a bus that even the Taeshani fans could all but be proud of. It was alarming that the Knights had no real shot on goal for the next 15 minutes but by the hour mark it seemed all but inevitable that the Knights would find a way to break the defense and tie it, up and hopefully go on to take back the lead.

The Knights were able to eventually equalize, but unable to get the full points they honestly didn't deserve on the night. It was Janson Jewsbury who eventually would make the play to get the goal for the home side. The midfielder in his third cap with the national team had been receiving more and more acclaim from both Lysander Ying Uing and the Taeshani press. The 21 year old Bayern-Algaer midfielder made his attacking move on a swift turn and was free of his own defender and played a brilliant through ball to Miles Snavely who eventually himself laid off the ball to Anton Vader who punched the ball into the net for the tying goal.

The Knights now find themselves slightly better off then before the game, now 2 points behind 2nd rather than 3, but they definitely misses a great opportunity to put themselves in a good position with the matchup against group leaders Chromatika who have opened a 5 point lead on 2nd place. The Knights next visit the Serbian Empire which is once again a good chance of an away win, but we should definitely warn everyone not to count their chickens before they hatch. Then they face Lymantatia and Coldfield, before there final match against Chromatika before the midway point. If they can manage a full 9 points that will put them in a strong position before they visit perhaps the best in form team so far throughout qualifying.

[Sulsuland]

Today, we will be going over the marvelous migration rituals of the illustrious Sulsu; such strange and glorious creatures.
On normal conditions, the average Sulsu is very stationary, and hardly ever leaves the ten foot radius of it's living space, whether that be a cave or small tent, exceptions for this being to go catch fish, of course.
So how did an entire team of Sulsu manage to be sent to an entirely different country? By luring them of course. If a Sulsu is to be moved from one country to another, one simply has to fill a large storage crate with fish. It's imperative however, that the Sulsu's I wish to escort, are aware of the fish inside the crate. Once the Sulsu are aware, all you need to do is simply slingshot the crate from Sulsuland to the desired country. The Sulsu will simply follow the crate across the ocean, and possibly through spacetime depending on the country receiving the Sulsu.

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SulSu wAs iN stRaaNge neW plAce. BIiIg fiElD. LoTs of PeoplE yeLLing. GroUp oF pEoplE triEd tO kiCk bAlL at FiSh nET, buT sulSu goT friEnDs to plAy iN graSS wiTh sulSu inSteAd. BIIIig crOwd oF peOple arOunD suLsU stArt to gEt angRy anD yeLl. SulSu nO knOw whY friEnDs sO AnGRY.

OH yeaH, peOplE teLl SulSU thAT if SulSu nO wiN gAmE, hE nO gET wOrlD cuP. SulSu nO knOw whaT gaME mAn tAlk aBouT bUt cUp sounD vErY biG iF cAN hOlD worLd

[Juvencus]

Juvencus falls to Turori after a hard battle!


Battle for the ball in the middle of the stadium

Juvencus XI:
GK:Naldo Zappa
CB:Dudu Madeiros
CB:Artur Bernat
CB:Nicolò Bassi
CDM:Elio Provenzano
CDM:Nino Russo
RM:Hugo Grec
LM:Angelino Alberighi
LF:Joaquim Martell
RF:Oriol Vives
CF:Jaumet Albert

Turori XI:
GK:G.Q Disterfred II
CB:Majid Jedidi
CB:Yitizo Mpala'a
RB:Geafi Laina-Sola
LB:Tarek Edgeli
CM:Etamara Kulkkiia
CM:Inlite Makakio
RM:Aiden Varess
LM:Nubara Moafalia
CF:Inamari Altariiz
CF:Enluta Makakio

After a hard fought match, Juvencus wasn't able to beat Turori, who got an early lead to the game from a penalty scored by Inamari Altariiz. Juvencus pressured forwards for the rest of the game but the superior Turori defence was able to stop all of the chances taken by Juvencus.

No possessive play during the first half for Juvencus, as they pressured forwards to suprise the Turori defence but Martell wasn't able to capitalise with his shot hitting the crossbar and then heading wide. Turori on the counter sided the Juven players, Makakio crossed it to Altariiz but the latter didn't capitalise since Zappa kept it out for a corner. Sadly for Juvencus, a strong push by Bassi on Varess earnt Turori a penalty and himself a yellow card. Altariiz was able to score the penalty giving Turori the advantadge. However, the lower morale didn't affect Juven players from pressuring forwards. Oriol Vives was all alone on the right side, he low crossed it to Albert but Albert failed to score with the ball going on Disterfred's hands. A while later, Vives' strong shot was amazingly saved by Disterfred who leaped really high to just to make the save, he however hit his arm on the bar but he was alright after a while. At the end of the half, Turori was close to making it 0-2 after Enluta Makakio shot the ball on Zappa's legs but Madeiros was there to kick it away.

During the second half, Alberighi went on to dribble through Kulkkiia and Laina-Sola but his pass to the box saw nobody grabbing the chance while it was available with a late Vives being too sideways shooting it wide. Juvencus pressured once more with Martell getting the through ball to Vives, Vives was able to score but he was offside and the goal didn't count. This was the last major Juven chance before Turori tried to increase the difference to their favour. Altariiz found himself twice on one on one situations with Zappa but both were saved by the keeper keeping his side in tact for the rest of the game. However, a Makakio shot saw Zappa off guard but he luckily saved it to keep the score 0-1. The match ended in a 0-1 loss for Juvencus to a Turori side that was much better and also much luckier. Next matchday is against Mattijana away. Juvencus will try not dropping any points to the Mattijanans to keep their chances of qualifying to the world cup alive.

Match mistakes:
Juvencus&Turori:Both teams shared the same mistakes. They weren't able to grab the chance while they could. However Turori stood lucky taking the penalty on the first half and then Juvencus' pressuring followed which didn't see Juvencus capitalising, Turori on the other couldn't extend the difference with both sides missing both hard and easy chances.

Top goalscorers this cycle's WCQ:
Joaquim Martell: 4 goals
Angelino Alberighi: 1 goal
Rodolfo Gallo: 1 goal
Oriol Vives: 1 goal

Top assistmakers this cycle's WCQ:
Angelino Alberighi: 1 assist
Joaquim Martell: 1 assist
Oriol Vives: 1 assist
Aleix Costa: 1 assist

Ticket sales:
Mattijana is able to give the chance to around a thousand Juven fans to get to their stadium, all costs paid. The tickets can be found on juventickets.jue for the price of 75 pesos since it's an away match. Food and drinks will be delivered there with the prices estimated to be 2-5 pesos.

[Tobiasia]

TOBIASIA 2-2 MATTIJANA
A nervous draw against key rivals

Possession: 51 - 49
Shots on target: 5 - 7
Free kicks: 2 - 3
Corners: 12 - 14

MATTIJANA XI
GK-Matej Handanović
LB-Helena Neumann
CB-Edvard Crajasović
CB-Katija Burnisevič (Y)
RB-Dominik Illisević
LM-Sophia Velezia
CM-Marko Hojbjerg (Y)
CM-Jago Adrianov
RM-Jessika Struna
FW-Mathilde Lekarisa (Goal '67)
FW-Andreas Weiss (Goal '48)

TOBIASIA XI
GK-Percy Matthews
LCB-Abraham Peters
RCB-Paul Goldsmith (Y)
DM-Arthur Slim
LM-Harry Lithgow (Goal '23)
RM-Alexander West (Y)
SW-Frank Woods (Y)
CM-Flint Eastgate
ST-Fraser Philips (Goal '78)
LW-Lee Ryans
RW-Matthew Card

Tobiasia nabbed its first point of the campaign with a draw against long time rivals Mattijana. The result came after dissapointing losses which had demoralised the team, but today Tobiasia stormed back. The key Tobiasian player was of course Fraser Philips, who scored an exceptional header to equalise in the 78th minute. Also a good match for Harry Lithgow who pounded the ball into the net early in the match after a defensive error from Edvard Crajasović left the path to the goal open.

Mattijana have been rivals ever since the Baptism of Fire, where Tobiasia beat them 3-0. Since then Mattijana have caught up in the rankings to occupy place 98 while Tobiasia occupies 94.

The head of security at the stadium in Mattijana said: "This was always going to be a tense match, with the crowds very edgy. We were lucky for it not to end in violence, very lucky, in fact a draw was probably best".

Manager Liz Sheffield said: "this was a good match, there was fabulous play from both sides, especially in our defence which i was very pleased with. With such an attacking formation its hard to defend well but our centre backs are inspirational. Ill be working with the team hard this World Cup to improve out midfield play but i think one to watch is defiantly Harry Lithgow".

Tomorrow the Tobiasian team plays Kaisaru at The Ark of Tobiasia. A very skilled team, Fraser Paton and the squad are hoping to capitalise on Kaisarus weaker defence.

[Brenecia]

Excerpt from a straight-to-broadcast documentary about Brenecia's Cycle 77 campaign.

Narrator: After a chastening first half, the Patriots find themselves losing a crucial fixture against Eastfield Lodge in front of their own fans. Furthermore, on the stroke of half-time, Rostyn Bradden has been sent off for a seemingly pointless but undeniably vicious elbow to the face of Ali Asif. Determined to get them to turn their frowns upside down, manager Raven Cullen has memorised a speech, and hopes it will inspire her team to turn around a 2-1 deficit.

Rankin: "Fuck this."

Cullen: "What's she that wishes so?
My best forward, Rankin? No, my fair striker;
If we are mark'd to lose, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer lads, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one lad more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my caps do wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, Ursula, wish not a man Brenecian.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Ursula, through my host,
That they which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let them depart; their passport shall be made,
And pounds for convoy put into their purse;
We would not lose in that man's company
That fears their fellowship to lose with us.
This day is call'd the fifth qualifier.
They that outlive this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of qualifying.
They that shall win this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast their neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is the World Cup Cycle 77 Qualifying, Matchday 5, Eastfield Lodge at home."
Then will they strip their 'pads and show their scars,
And say "These wounds I had on World Cup Cycle 77 Qualifying, Matchday 5, Eastfield Lodge at home."
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But they'll remember, with advantages,
What feats they did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words—
Cullen the Gaffer, Rankin and Lovelock,
Szuki and Gryphon, Scrivener and Trevelyan—
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And World Cup Cycle 77 Qualifying, Matchday 5, Eastfield Lodge at home shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For they to-day that sheds their blood with me
Shall be my sibling; be they ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle their condition;
And gentlemen of Rozelle now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon this scrappy home fixture."

Brenecia lose 3-1.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Elsa and a pretty teenager

Elsa: I'm Princess Elsa for Naked News Jeruselem. You ask where's Chloe? She's not well due to being allergic to something around here. So, guess who takes over her duties. I'm with one of the new members of the team, Alice Arce. She's the youngest member of the team, one of our strike force. We're in Drawkland! Not Hawkland or Gawkland. Drawkland.
Alice: Good day everyone
Elsa: Time to just round up the other games. Barunia hosted some Witty Penguins and scraped out a 1-0 win
Alice: I don't think we've played the penguins yet
Elsa: True, we met Barunia in the first match though. Willinois hosted Quakmybush and shared the points. OK it was 0-0 draw but it's better than losing as Quak are the better team on form.
Alice: I've heard about Quakmybush but never been there

Elsa: They've been around in the cup, but sadly they are not at their best at the moment. Not at their prime Quak of recent years. Bonesea continued their winning ways beat Garifunya away, who were a dangerous team on the day. Bonesea still have a perfect record.
Alice: Scary bit is we have face Bonesea, it's not going be an easy game.
Elsa: Yes, they are the benchmark in this group. Darmen went to Whovian Tardisia and well, thrashed them 7-3. Not good times for them Whovians in the cup.
Alice: Whovians did score 3 goals, but their defense is something else entirely. Letting in 7 isn't great.

Elsa: It was Jeruselem visiting the interesting Drawkland who are causing some concern with the top teams here. Jeruselem could be overcome the hosts, only getting 2-2 draw.
Alice: This is an interesting stadium, nowhere near as big as Dazza Dallas Stadium.
Elsa: We are struggling away a bit, for some reason in the last campaigns we did better away than at home.
Alice: We've had great results at home
Elsa: We have kinda replaced half the team so I guess half the team aren't used to the travel as yet
Alice: Just not used to this lifestyle, I rarely leave home let alone the country.

Elsa: I think it's going get harder as we face two of top teams in the remaining games of round 1, Darmen and Bonesea
Alice: I hear Darmen aren't quite the team they used to be
Elsa: In the past, Darmen could have been the top seed in their group but it's Bonesea now.
Alice: I guess we find out when we play them
Elsa: You're no stranger to the cameras
Alice: I get a few gigs modelling here and there. Not a lot of them, I don't have the time.

Elsa: So any football talent in the family other than yourself?
Alice: No, most of my family are pretty boring lives. Regular jobs, regular pay. No real excitement there.
Elsa: So how did you get into football?
Alice: I tried it as a form of exercise. I have a lot of relatives who just don't get enough of that, and hence they are on the heavier side. Part generics too.
Elsa: What about the modelling?
Alice: That was a bit of an accident, some magazine people thought I had something and asked me to try it out ya know

Elsa: Off the field, you're pretty just chilled out but when playing it's a different.
Alice: Yeah, you don't want things getting in the way when trying to score a goal.
Elsa: Killer instinct, we call it
Alice: I guess so, you only have 90 minutes so there's no excuse for not doing your best
Elsa: Let's have summary of Group 2. Bonesea leader with 15 points. Jeruselem 11, Darmen 10. Barunia 9 are the top 4. Drawkland 5th on 6 points, Quakmybush and Garifunya have 5 points. Penguins 4, Whovians 3 - second last and well Willinois last with 1 point. Yes they got a point.
Alice: It's not much difference between 2nd and 4th.

Elsa: Yes, and 5th isn't far away either. Given we have like another 15 games, anything can happen.
Alice: It's too early to make predictions
Elsa: It's pretty important we get points against those other top 2, we can't afford to drop the ball as they say
Alice: I'll be doing my best
Elsa: That's in from us in Drawkland, we'll be back home for the next game
Alice: Don't overfeed the dog Mum!

OOC

Group 2
Barunia 1–0 Witty Penguins
Willinois 0–0 Quakmybush
Garifunya 1–3 Bonesea
Whovian Tardisia 3–7 Darmen
Drawkland 2–2 Jeruselem

[Ethane]

Last Gasp - Part 7
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

A few minutes later, Jenny came back down the stairs and entered the dining room, hiding a look of disbelief that she had the leader of Ethane under her fingertip, right in front of her, just an arms length away. Her plan was working out perfectly. Mr. and Mrs. Aberson were sat eating dinner, avoiding looking at anyone because of the guilt they felt after agreeing to do this. It was all to save their family, to save their kids, they kept thinking to themselves. All to save themselves. Repeating over and over again in their heads. Trying to cover over the guilt they felt, put a reason to why they had done this. To invite Mr. Holmes round, fully knowing what was going to happen to him here.

Mr. Holmes looked up at Jenny as she entered the room, a look of shock and horror quickly forming on his features. He recognised exactly who she was. She often popped up on the news and in governmental reports for her 'terrorist' activities, which included trying to kill the Principal Secretary (which was himself) and blowing up MoralEthane! party offices. She was the ultimate definition of a terrorist, and the fact she was right in front of him struck fear in his heart. Fear for his life. Fear for his country. He had heard how brutal they were, how brutal they could be. And he didn't want to be forced to go with her.

'Hello Mr. Holmes.' she cackled, an evil witch trying to rip the nation apart from the inside out. 'I've been waiting a long time to get you.' She nodded towards Mr. and Mrs. Aberson. Mr. Holmes knew right away from then. This wasn't a nice meal with his friends. This was a trap. He looked over at the Abersons, wondering why they would do such a thing. These people, who were so lovely, kind and friendly towards him, stabbed him in the back, traitors to their own kind. They were both looking down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone, including each other. Mr. Holmes felt enraged, brimming with anger. He charged at Jenny, but she pulled a gun out of her pocket as he did so, meaning that instead of finding himself tackling her to the floor, he was pressed up against a wall with a gun barrel resting on his forehead, safety off, bullets loaded and ready to shoot.

'Now you're going to come with me.' she said sternly, in a tone by which she was asserting her authority over the situation. Mr. Holmes tried to protest, but to no avail. She shoved a black bag on his head, masking him, and put his hands behind his back in handcuffs, so it would be difficult for him to fight back. She then dragged him out to the car, Mr. Holmes still protesting, and shoved him into the boot, locking it behind her.

She looked back at the house and sighed. The family seemed nice, but she knew that she had to do this. There could be no witnesses, no people to talk to the police about her being involved in this manner. This would be nothing to do with her, she would make sure, otherwise that would bring significant trouble for her before she had completed her plan. Holding the gun in her right hand, she swung back towards the house. She had already dispatched of the children earlier - that is what she had gone upstairs for - but there was still Mr. and Mrs. Aberson to deal with. They just had to be eliminated.

Jenny walked into the dining room and found both the Abersons sat there, trying to eat their dinner while shaking out of fear and guilt. They seemed so peaceful before she had swept in and destroyed their lives, typical farmers, but nothing was more important than her cause for the greater good, and if a few innocent families had to be dispatched of along the process, then so be it. She raised the gun to them from the door. They still hadn't seen her yet, and she wanted it to remain that way. Not that it mattered, they knew who she was, but she didn't want her face to be the last face they saw before they died; she had a little humanity in her still. She shot once, twice, two bodies slumping to the floor, blood pouring out of them.

'Thank you for the dinner', she said sarcastically, picking up the plate which had the dinner they had cooked for her on, and took it out to the car with her. She would take the beautifully cooked food with her to eat later, while travelling.

Four dead. One captured. No guilt or remorse. It was business.

[Brigantii]

An exceptionally quick catch up..

Now then, we've had five games of the gruelling World Cup qualification schedule and have come off on the wrong side on only one occasion so far, and, that was to Valanora, so there's not really much to be overly deflated about.

The opening game of qualifying saw us travel to the home of the Elves for the first time in Brigantii's short international history and fall to a 3-2 defeat. A respectable outing for The Stags, who could be forgiven for showing trepidation in a match against such storied opponents. That fear however was soon abated with an early Michael Irwin goal, giving the away side the lead. The diminutive attacker has recently agreed a big money move to join Cusco based, Champions League winners Real Minanda and will be joined by his Albertpool team mate Stephen McNamara.

The lead for The Stags was short lived however and a battling display from the home side saw Brigantii trail 3-1 going into the 75th minute when McNamara found Darrel Fry who headed home for 3-2, scoring on his international debut.

The Stags second game was a 3-2 win over Tomikosan with goals from Stevenson, Wilbraham and Winter.

The Stags then struggled to a 3-3 draw away to Dainer before a second draw on the bounce, tying 1-1 with Flardania. After surprisingly dominating the opening half with 4 shots to Flardania's 0, it would appear Flardania goalkeeper Hojo was going to be man of the match and stop the home side capitalizing on their attacking display. On the hour a well taken volley from Yabuta broke the deadlock and the away team were ahead. The lead lasted 20 minutes, until Fry added to his earlier goal against Valanora to take his qualifying tally to two.

Match day 5 of qualifying saw Brigantii put together their biggest victory of qualifying thus far, with a 4-1 demolition of Mriin, moving the Stags into fourth place. Mriin is a country unlike many others and for the travelling fans was a huge eye opener as they came face to face with the unusual “goat people” who make their home here. The peculiar circumstances in which they found themselves however didn't prevent Atkins team from getting the job done with goals from Irwin, Wilbraham and a brace from Ramsbottom, whose name on his shirt just read Aaron as not to offend the hosts.

So, five games into the 18 match schedule and Brigantii have picked up 8 points and sit 4th and will be hoping to capitalize on this fine performance over Mriin and kick on.

[Abanhfleft]

Now we prepare to wrap up the Pridnestrovian invasion of Nordskania, which didn't go the way the invaders had thought.

The Pridnestrovian Invasion of Nordskania, Part Twenty

Puloko City Hall
Puloko, Nordskania
Pridnestrovian-occupied territory

There was still some cleaning up to do before Pridnestrovia could finally do what it wanted to do in Puloko, and it was a lot of cleaning up. The bodies of the fallen Nordskanian People’s Army defenders and Pridnestrovian attackers littered the whole of the Puloko City Hall, where the last remnants of the so-called “Soviet Republic of Nordskania” had held out against the might of the Democratic People’s Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia. Those who didn’t fall had decided that surrender was a better option for at least the Pridnestrovians were fellow Communists or rather believers in the communist ideology and therefore they could at least expect some humane treatment from them, unlike the northern anarchists, the fascists, or their Anglatian masters.

There was no sign of the so-called Soviet Republic’s leaders, either Marshal Pavel Andriychuk or General Niketas Boyko, among the dead or the surrendered. There were of course rumors that either Andriychuk or Boyko or both of them had actually assumed disguises to blend in with the demoralized prisoners of war or refugees and escape the clutches of the conquering Pridnestrovians, but nothing substantial just yet. However, on this day that the Pridnestrovians were preparing to make a grave announcement, the proof to confirm or deny these rumors would finally come.

The 50th Motor Rifle Division had been part of the final attack on the Puloko City Hall. They had sustained a lot of casualties in the attack, and right now they had been the ones tasked with cleaning up the remainder of the dead still lingering in the grounds surrounding the hall. Trucks had been brought into the gardens in the back of the city hall to bring out the bodies, some of which had already begun to putrefy after two weeks of exposure under the Nordskanian sun. The rotten liquids and essences dripping from the bodies as they were picked up and moved for eventual burial were more than enough to turn the stomachs of even the most hardened combat veterans but since they hadn’t had anything to eat since their dinner last night (something which they may have planned knowing that they had pulled this kind of assignment) there was nothing more for them to regurgitate.

“Oh, the good thing about this is that we’ll get used to the smell so much that we won’t even smell it anymore,” Captain Lev Vladimirovich Arigov said as he picked up the feet of a fallen Nordskanian People’s Army private. The feet of his boots had been torn off by whatever force had claimed his life; probably a mortar or artillery blast, Arigov decided. The exposed feet were cold as stone, and some of the nails were already falling off. On any other day, Arigov would have spewed out his latest meal almost immediately, but today he was almost immune to the effects that decomposition had on the human body.

“But the bad thing is that I’m sure the smell has clung to our bodies that we’re sure to bring it back home and make a right stink,” Senior Lieutenant Maria Dmitriyevna Atolova, Arigov’s deputy, retorted as she picked up the arms of the conscript whose feet were now in Arigov’s hands. Together, they lifted up the body and then carried it the short distance from its former resting place to the truck which would take it to the mass grave along with all the other dead Nordskanian soldiers. There were other trucks in the gardens as well, all filled to varying degrees with Nordskanian corpses. Some offal dripped from the back of these trucks, leaving behind a putrid trail leading from the city hall to the mass graves just outside the city limits of Puloko.

“How many more do we have to get rid of before we’re finally over?” Atolova asked as she and Arigov dumped the conscript’s body into the truck. “There won’t even be any cameras here at the back. Why would anyone care if there are still bodies out here?”

“Well, we do want to set up the new government as quickly as possible,” Arigov replied matter-of-factly. “And we can’t set them up in a place that’s surrounded by rotting bodies, can we?”

“Still, why are we the ones stuck doing this? Why can’t the OMON or some other unit clean up these bodies?”

“Don’t ask me questions to which I don’t know the answer, Maria,” Arigov replied, and the two of them looked at each other and shared a laugh. “Come on, one more body and this shell hole’s ready to be filled in.” They walked over to the crater where they had been clearing away bodies for the last half an hour, where the number of corpses had mercifully dwindled from a dozen to just one. “You know the drill,” Arigov said as they stood over the body. “I took the feet last time so now it’s your turn.”

“Thank God this one’s still got his boots on,” Atolova muttered. “I saw the last one we got. Dripping toenails all over the place… eurgh!”

“All right, let’s get this over with so we can finally move on.” To pick up this body meant that Arigov had to bend close almost right next to the dead man’s face, and as he did so, he saw that the face looked somewhat familiar although he couldn’t immediately place where he had seen it before. He shrugged and was about to pick up the body when it finally struck him. “Yob tvoyu mat!” he shouted.

“What? What is it?” Atolova asked at Arigov’s outburst.

“This man!” Arigov shouted. “This man’s Pavel Andriychuk!”

“What?” This time Atolova was unable to hide her incredulity.

“I’m telling you, this man is Andriychuk! He’s got the hair, the moustache, everything! It’s him, I’m telling you!” Arigov reached into his pockets and took out a pack of cards. On the king of clubs card was printed a full-face picture of Pavel Andriychuk. At first glance, the body before them did indeed resemble Andriychuk at first glance, but then upon closer inspection, some details began to conflict with each other. Andriychuk had a narrow rectangular face, while the corpse at their feet had more of a square jaw and fat cheeks. Andriychuk had a neatly clipped moustache but this man’s moustache was ragged and looked like it hadn’t been trimmed for a long time. And the most important distinguishing feature of Andriychuk’s, a small, almost unnoticeable mole on his left temple, was missing on the dead man.

“Ah, well, that’s my mistake,” Arigov muttered once they had gone over every inch of the dead body. “I really could have sworn that this was Andriychuk, though. The man’s a dead ringer for him. Oh, well, let’s get this guy on the truck and under the ground.”

The fact that someone had discovered a man who almost looked like Pavel Andriychuk had got people thinking once again about the rumors that he and his deputy, Niketas Boyko, may have used disguises or body doubles to escape the Pridnestrovians. And then, over in the detention camps in the park in front of the city hall, there was another sudden commotion as the soldiers inspecting the prisoners of war raised an alarm. “We have Boyko!” the soldiers shouted. “We have Boyko!”

This time it was indeed Niketas Boyko who had been discovered among the Nordskanian prisoners. As the Military Intelligence Directorate had been told, Boyko had hoped to pass unnoticed by the Pridnestrovians by wearing the uniform of Nordskanian People’s Army reservist, but an eagle-eyed sergeant made the connection between the ragged prisoner standing in front of him and the man whose face was printed on the jack of diamonds card in his pack.

With the capture of Niketas Boyko, Pridnestrovian moods were high, and it was decided that the time was right to make their announcement. The front of the city hall had been cleared of any unsightly objects, and the flag of Pridnestrovia had been draped over the façade to serve as a backdrop for a simple wooden podium erected in front of the steps leading to the city hall. The cameras were then set up, and then Colonel General Vsevolod Leonidovich Pankavuranov, the overall commander of the Pridnestrovian invasion force, stepped up to the podium to make this most important of announcements.

“Comrades!” Pankavuranov began. “Citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Pridnestrovia and the city of Puloko! I bring you good news! I have just been informed that the second-in-command of the Nordskanian People’s Army and the so-called Soviet Republic of Nordskania, General Niketas Boyko, has been captured by the Pridnestrovian Army while attempting to escape our notice by impersonating a mere People’s Army reservist. I have also been informed that the body of Marshal Pavel Andriychuk, the leader of the People’s Army and the so-called Soviet Republic, has been discovered in the gardens in the back of Puloko’s city hall. Andriychuk, like Boyko, was also dressed in the uniform of a People’s Army conscript and had apparently tried to sneak out of the city before he was killed in the final attack on the city. Such a cowardly way to leave this world!”

“Comrades!” Pankavuranov continued. “This leads me to the announcement which I have been brought here to make to you. It is with great honor that I announce to you the founding and establishment of the Republic of Nordskania, with its capital right here in Puloko, and its territory encompassing all lands currently under the control of the Pridnestrovian Armed Forces!”

There was a smattering of obligatory applause from the tiny audience which had been hastily assembled in front of Pankavuranov’s podium to give the impression of a large gathered crowd while the majority of the Pridnestrovian soldiers were still busy conducting mopping-up operations in Puloko’s suburbs and surroundings to clear out the remaining diehards of the Soviet Republic and the People’s Army. Once what little applause there was died down, Pankavuranov opened his mouth to continue speaking.

“Why are we establishing the Republic of Nordskania? I’m sure a lot of you comrades watching me out there are asking that question right now. Well, I happen to have the answer: the imperialists of Anglatia had established their own puppet regimes on the island of Nordskania, the anarchists and fascist states just among them. Why should Pridnestrovia not be afforded the opportunity to do the same? Why must only the imperialists be the ones who can establish puppet regimes on this island? The communist ideology is all about sharing, so it is only right and fair that we set up our own regime on this island and carve it up equally between ourselves and the imperialists.

“There are already a number of Nordskanian officials who have sworn allegiance to the Pridnestrovian ideals, and they are standing by to take their respective oaths of office so they can finally take up their positions in the new government of the new state. Together, Pridnestrovia and Nordskania will step forward into the radiant light of the communist future!” There was a little more applause for this part of the speech, although it was still forced and not at all enthusiastic. The flag of the Republic of Nordskania was also unfurled behind Pankavuranov at this point. It took its design cues from both the Pridnestrovian and northern Nordskanian flags: it was the classic red flag with hammer and sickle on the fly (the basic Soviet flag and the inspiration of the Pridnestrovian flag) but defaced with two equilateral bands of yellow and black (based on the yellow and black triangles which made up the flag of Revolutionary Nordskania). It was a deliberately calculated insult to the anarchists in the north: the fact that communists would use their flag to give a banner to their own communist puppet.

“And this brings me to the next part of the announcement,” Pankavuranov said. He looked down at the pages of his canned speech and saw that a large sheet of paper had been taped over what had originally been the intended speech. The edit appeared to be hastily made, and in his surprise Pankavuranov’s pause took longer than usual and became noticeable. Eventually Pankavuranov was able to recover and he plowed on with the edited speech.

“It has come to my attention that the Vestanian Protection Forces have reneged on the agreement which we have struck with them in the early days of the invasion,” Pankavuranov said. “Rather than stay by our side during this invasion, they have decided that their interests would be better served by siding with the perfidious Mountain Pact, whose purpose is to unite Anglatia’s numerous puppet regimes under a single convenient banner. Luckily, our tireless comrades in the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Committee for State Security have uncovered evidence of the Vestanians’ duplicity before it could truly harm the Democratic People’s Republic, and we have taken measures and steps to let the Vestanians deal with the consequences of their actions. It was at this point in my announcement that I was supposed to have announced the creation of the Republic of Vestania with its capital in Fiergrad and its territory encompassing the aforementioned city and its neighboring town of Duradino, but we have decided to delay upon the establishment of this nation upon the tactical withdrawal of Pridnestrovian forces from the Sopova Front and to let the Vestanians gain their short-lived independence under the Mountain Pact’s forces.

“And finally, before I return to the business of running this war, I am here to announce that the Anglatian statements that we have been pushed back from both Sopova and Ryakova are false, nothing but enemy propaganda. The Pridnestrovian Army is still very well in control of the area around Ryakova and have kept the new and Anglatian-backed Nordskanian Democratic People’s Republic confined within the city. All advances made by Mountain Pact forces in the Sopova front have been willingly given up by the Pridnestrovian Army to give the imperialists the illusion that we are in full retreat, and to let the traitorous Vestanians finally be united with the imperialists with which they would rather be. That is all. We now return to the war, for there is a war still going on. Thank you, comrades, and goodbye.” Pankavuranov then left the podium, and all the cameras turned off their feeds. One would feel that the general need only take the microphone and then drop it to the ground to complete the feel of a near-farcical spectacle.

---

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

WORLD CUP 77 QUALIFIERS: HAZARD NATION VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's players with their heads down after their draw against Hazard Nation. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

HAZARD NATION - A very early mistake from Maksim Varamoninov saw Abanhfleft drop their first points in the current World Cup qualifying campaign.

There was nothing in the air to suggest the fate that would befall both teams, and there was nothing to suggest the approaching calamity when the first free kick of the game went the way of the hosts.

This free kick sailed right into the near post and then bounced off right into Varamoninov's rib cage before sailing painfully in all senses of the term into the back of the net.

Finding themselves at such a disadvantage so early in the game must have thrown the game plan out of the Revolutionaries' minds as they were barely able to string a single pass, let alone the intricate passing plays with which they had achieved so many dangerous moments.

The most dangerous Fleftic attack in the first half was more the result of an accident rather than good play, but Kareem Dagen really should have done more than scuff his shot wide when a Hazard Nation defender offered him the ball on a plate.

Abanhfleft had to rely on set pieces to increase their chances, and it was from a free kick by Valery Zolnerov which gave the Revolutionaries a way back into the game, but they were not able to take advantage of the little opportunities they made.

Substitute Omar El Salah had a goal incorrectly called offside when he bundled the ball into the goal following Zakarya Bergkamp's cross, compounding the misery of the visitors, and there were no more clear chances to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after that.


Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: There's never a good time to drop points in World Cup qualifiers

Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: "It's a shame that we couldn't get more out of this game, but we weren't playing had enough like we used to in previous games. Maybe the fact that we've got four straight wins got into our heads. But we won't win games if we don't put in the effort, and that's what happened today."

"There's never a good time for any good team to drop points, especially in a World Cup qualifying campaign. Every point counts in this sport and if you can't get them all, you won't get what you want. We dropped points while other teams keep on winning. You always think that it's unsustainable but some teams have been able to just keep on winning. If we want to keep up, we have to do the same thing."

Abanhfleft will head for the Republic of Kaboomlandia for the next qualifying match, their second consecutive away game in the campaign.

      HAZARD NATION 1 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
VARAMONINOV (6' og)       ZOLNEROV (53')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Varamoninov
RB: 2 Afolayan
RCB: 4 L. Edwards
LCB: 5 Owobowale
LB: 3 Ogigayatsu (Bergkamp - 64')
RM: 8 Vincelot
CM: 7 Zolnerov (Behrendt - 85')
LM: 6 Marilungo
CAM: 10 R. Edwards (El Salah - 80')
RS: 9 Kelvin
LS: 11 Dagen

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Hazard Nation: 42%
Abanhfleft: 58%
Shots
Hazard Nation: 6 (4 on target)
Abanhfleft: 18 (9 on target)
Corners
Hazard Nation: 4
Abanhfleft: 5
Fouls
Hazard Nation: 13
Abanhfleft: 14

[Spaam]

Part 5

Interlude

”We’ve only got a couple of minutes left in this injury time and it’s not looking good for the visitors here. Eura has played a dominating game and it shows much credit to the Spaamanians that they are only down one-nil. Fenzana passes outside to Ralora but he’s being marked so its back to Reyen who runs the ball to the right and forward to the other Ralora. They are not looking like they will penetrate this defense but they are running themselves raggard to find any hole in this wall. The penalty from Euran striker Campbell is still the only goal in this game, which has been a great show in defensive pressure from both teams. Spaam still holds the ball as Holamora pushes up to Ralora but he is being marked and the ball goes out on an Euran foot. Ralora rushes to pass the ball back in and it goes straight to Nap, Nap passes it forward to Farnala who has some space, but no. Offside and that’s the whistle. Spaam has suffered its first defeat of the…”

The broadcast ended as the aide turned the radio off at the signal from the queen. The professor was seated opposite the royal desk in an ornately decorated office, that was beyond any other he had ever been in. Seated in front of him was Her Royal Highness, Queen Oruzaadov, supreme ruler of the Disunited Kingdom of Spaam, with a royal aide standing silently to the side. Professor Torbanise tried to keep his nervousness from showing, but he could tell the most powerful person for a thousand miles was not happy to see him.

“You gave us assurances that this would work, Professor Torbanise.” The queen spoke in a tone that suggested she always had her way.

“It has been, your majesty! Eura is a multiple world champion, and we are still unranked. And not even the greatest Spaamanian team went unbeaten!” The professor tried to put on his most conciliatory tone.

Queen Oruzaadov did not look placated. “We do not want to hear your excuses, Professor. The future of our nation depends on our strength on the field. We survived complete obliteration at the hands of our enemies. Therefore it cannot be unreasonable to expect us to survive in a game.”

“Of course not, your majesty. We are doing all we can!” The older man was getting fidgety under the wither gaze of the supreme ruler.

The expression on the middle-aged woman did not change. “Are you sure this machine is even working?”

“Well, we have had some issues where the translations have been unclear and of course this is not an exact science when we are dealing with things we don’t understand, but…” he faltered as the queen rose her hand for silence.

“Then we suggest you understand and ensure that this machine works as we expect. Otherwise it will be your head, as they say.” The regent stood up and left the room with her aide opening and closing the door behind them.

Sitting alone in the ornate office, the professor breathed out as if he had been holding his breath the whole time.

Part 7

[Averyickan City]

TEAM AVERYICKAN CITY

Goalie: Avery Mombamosada (15)
- Avery Darienus (6)
- Avery Kink (4)
- Avery Leonus (8)
- Avery Telford (23)
- Avery Tesla (13)
- Avery Lanoba (Captain) (10)
- Avery Schmankis (3)
- Avery McSchulz (30)
- Avery Namalucky (7)
- Richard Peters (11)



Bench:

- Avery Shelslak (40)
- Avery Burat (18)
- Avery Nthal (2)
- Avery Taguganalia (17)
- Avery Sicsnoube (5)


RP Permissions:
Choose my Scorers: Yes.
RP Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: No
Yellow Card my Players: No
Red Card my players: No
Godmod Yellow/Red Cards: No
Injure my Players: No
Godmod Injury Events: No
Godmod Other Events: No

Our Football Experience
-Semi-Finals (UKN Confederations Cup)
-Co-Hosted with Eastern Balkan Republic the UKN Confederations Cup.
-Independents Cup 1
-Participating in Baptism of Fire 64

[Anglatia]

Hustlers United

Chapter Six: Love and War

It was around two or three in the morning. Ake Gustafsson and Blaze Chrzanowska were still with Allie Vacek in her hotel room, swapping stories from their respective clubs and cheering each other up despite not being in the best circumstances. And after those hours of talking and laughing, Allie’s guard was finally down enough that she was willing to open up about some things. Even if it was indirectly. It was when Ake was half asleep in the room’s recliner and when Blaze was wrapping up in a few blankets and getting ready to fall asleep on the couch when Allie finally opened up, sitting down on the table in front of the couch and facing Blaze. “Guys, can I tell you a story? About what I mentioned earlier?”

“Sure,” Blaze shrugged. “About love, or something else?”

“Love.”

“Yeah, fine. Is this story about you, or is it hypothetical?”

“Purely hypothetical,” Allie said with a grin. “Well, you see… Once upon a time, there was a viking princess who was living in a foreign land, where she would be stuck for a few years before she could go home. This princess was very popular among the people. The girls wanted to be like her, the guys wanted to marry her, and the other royals liked her too because she was more fun to be around than you would expect a princess to be. But you see, she was far from home and so the popularity felt empty to her. She never cared that much about being popular, but she acted like she did because the Empress back home wanted her to boost her worth while she was overseas. After a few years abroad, the popularity became emptier and emptier to her. Everyone liked her, but she was truly close to no one and she loved no one.”

“Are you sure this is hypothetical?”

“Yeah. Anyway, this princess was missing love. It wasn’t that she couldn’t get someone to like her, because that part came extremely easily, but she didn’t love anyone in return. That is, until she met someone that she really wasn’t supposed to fall in love with, or even be friends with at all. They met at a party in the neighboring kingdom to the west, and they hit it off instantly even though the princess was from a blue blooded background and the other person was a lowly commoner who believed in all the opposite things that the princess did. But somehow they got through their differences and became fast friends, and friendship turned into flirting which turned into a few dates, which turned into something real between them,” Allie continued. “Because of one of them being royal and one of them being a commoner, they could never be seen together by the masses and they had to keep their relationship a secret, but they truly loved each other despite their differences. Or so the princess thought.”

“Is this the part where you break up?” chuckled Blaze, still not quite believing that the story wasn’t based on Allie’s life.

“Just listen. The two of them kept their love a secret and they hid it from their families, too. Neither of them had families that would approve, and so they decided that they would get married in secret. It would just be a very small ceremony with only their most trusted friends involved. They exchanged a pair of engagement rings, and it looked more and more like the wedding would happen,” Allie said, before her tone grew quieter and darker. “And then, a few weeks before the wedding was supposed to take place, the commoner was gone. Gone without a trace, into the night. The kingdom’s knights searched far and wide, and never found the one that the princess was supposed to marry. The princess would get a letter one week later saying that the commoner had gotten second thoughts and decided that they’d rather fight abroad in a brutal war that was going on overseas. That war had been the main obstacle in their relationship, because it was at the root of their vastly different views on the world, and in the end, it was what broke it. The commoner wanted to fight for the side that was against the one that the princess was on, and so they left everything behind and took up arms with a new crowd, that was far more fitting for them than the one in the last kingdom.”

“I’m so sorry, Allie,” Blaze said, realizing by Allie’s tone that this was indeed a real story about her life. The viking princess was obviously meant to be her, the commoner was probably someone from a poor background, and the war either had to be the Nordskania War or the insurgency in Patierre. She got up from the couch and moved to wrap Allie up in a hug, feeling sympathy for the other girl because of her own experience with bad relationships. Ake was fully awake also by now, and he nodded.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine what that had to feel like,” Ake stated. “I’ve had breakups, sure, but I’ve never seriously been with someone for long enough to think about marrying them, and I’ve never had someone just leave in the middle of the night without saying anything. I’m glad you’re over it now-”

“You guys didn’t let me finish the story,” Allie said, interrupting him. “There’s one more part. A couple of years after the princess left her original kingdom and went to another one, she received a letter. This letter was from the commoner, who offered her a chance to get their relationship back if she helped with something that could be interpreted as high treason if the princess got caught doing it. The letter also said that the princess would only have forty eight hours to decide.”

“High treason? What the hell, Allie? What kind of people are you dating if you have exes asking you to commit treason with them?” asked Ake. “Is this about the Nordskania War?”

Allie shook her head, took a deep breath, and looked down as her cheeks began to redden when she spoke again. “Look, if you want to know the truth, I dated this Muslim girl when I was playing in Lane even though we were doomed to fail from the start when it came to having a relationship. You all know I support the Emperor, but this girl was an anarchist who wasn’t from here originally. One of her parents came from some Arab country and she was raised in Lane as a Muslim. I trusted her more than I had ever trusted anyone, and she stabbed me in the back by running to fight in Patierre when the Anglatian invasion happened. She never contacted me except for one time when she explained where she was, and now she’s calling me again and saying that she misses me and that we can see each other again if I start running with her crowd and if I help her and her friends do something in Mjasa. I don’t know what, yet…”

“Didn’t you say you would never date a girl? I thought you were one of those Valerians that are straight and bi at the same time,” said Blaze, sounding a bit confused. “You did tell some of us in no uncertain terms that you would never do anything longer than a fling with a girl-”

“Why the hell do you think I made that rule? Because the one time I was with a girl long term, look what happened!” Allie snapped. “I wouldn’t date Katie because she reminded me too much of the other girl, and besides that, I’d rather be with someone that can give me a real family. I don’t want to adopt kids, or have my kids grow up with no father, like I did… I might not be as religious as some people in this Empire are, but I have my reasons for sticking to dating guys. But this girl, there was something about her that made me drop all of those reasons. She had me wrapped around her finger, I’m not going to lie. And she still does, and I don’t know what I should do. She wants me to meet her and her friends tomorrow night at Mjasa Stadium. She warned me that what they’re doing is treason, but… I don’t think I can turn them down.”

“We can’t make your choice for you. I don’t know this girl, but like I said, I don’t believe in love,” shrugged Blaze. “I think that if she’s crawling back to you, it’s because she needs something and you’re the only one she knows that can get it for her. Why else would she come back after years of being gone? I also don’t know what to say about treason. Obviously, I’m against that, but if it’s going to make you happy, I can convince myself to look the other way. At least one of us deserves to be happy, right?”

There was a long silence, and then Allie took out her phone and started texting a number. “I’m going to tell her that I’m coming to the stadium tomorrow. I know it’s stupid, I know it might be dangerous, and I know it goes against everything that I would usually do, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get another chance at this. Wish me luck, guys, because I’m going to need it.”

=====

The next night, a group of five black clad figures approached Mjasa Stadium, once the place had closed for the night and the staff had headed home. Three of them were men who wore black jeans in addition to black hoodies, with scarves wrapped around their faces to prevent themselves from being identified if they were sighted. They looked like they were from Patierre, with their accents matching up with that region. The other two members of the group were women, one of them wearing a hijab that covered most of her face and the other one wearing a black hoodie like the one that the men wore. “You look great as one of us,” said the woman in the hijab, Eshe Al-Hatem. “Remind me again why you decided to side with the right instead of us, back in Lane?”

“Maybe if your leftist friends hadn’t turned my home neighborhood into an irredeemable hellhole, I’d be more favorable to your ideas,” shrugged Allie, the one who was wearing the hood. “The lawmakers in the Valerian Democratic Socialist Party were the ones that pushed to flood East Underfell with mass immigration after the Empire invaded East Kisote in response to their wars with Jugoskania. The city went from Nordic to Arab over the years, and that would have been fine if the new immigrants didn’t force their ways on us as soon as they outnumbered us. How would you feel if you grew up in a place where you had to risk getting the shit beat out of you by gangs for speaking your own language, practicing your own religion, and dressing like someone from your own culture? Because that’s what the Logeri District was like, and the police didn’t do a damn thing because they were just as afraid of the newcomers as we were.”

“I was a Muslim in Ross, and then Lane. How do you think I felt? It was the same way,” said Eshe, keeping her head down as the group entered the stadium through one of the many back doors. Allie had a set of keys with her, that she had nabbed from the team equipment manager, and she was the one to unlock the door for them.

“No it fucking wasn’t. You can’t compare Lane to Logeri, you just can’t. They’re completely different, class wise. One is a middle to upper class area with a ton of cops keeping everyone in line and the other is a ghetto that’s in bad enough condition that they literally walled it off from the rest of the city with a barbed wire fence and military checkpoints,” sighed Allie. “The worst that a Muslim in Lane would have to experience is dirty looks from Christians, and maybe a few rude remarks. You know what happens to the few Valerians who are unlucky enough to be born behind the fence in Logeri? You either get out, or you get murdered. If you’re lucky, you get a chance to convert, and then you live the rest of your life pretending to be from someone else’s culture. You can’t tell me that you’ve ever had to fear for your life while living in Lane.”

Allie’s words cut deep, and Eshe was silent for a few moments after that. This was possibly the reason why their relationship had worked before. Eshe believed in the opposite views that Allie believed in, but she knew that Allie had good reason to believe the things she did. The popular insult among Valerian leftists was that the Valerian nationalists, many of whom were from West Underfell, hated minorities. And that could be true at times. But the truth was, many of those nationalists only had those views because they had given the immigrants a chance and had suffered because of it. Allie had suffered more than most, and she still bore the scars of growing up in Logeri.

“Look, you asked why I joined the right, and that’s why. I’ve had to see things and experience things that no child should ever see or experience, and the left wing supports the people that did those things,” she continued. The entire group stopped as she spoke, and she stood ahead of them and kept her back turned to them. “I’ve seen more than one friend get martyred for not converting, and I’ve seen Valerian girls get harassed and preyed on by the local gangs. You guys in Patierre say you want anarchy? Well, the place I come from is anarchy, and I’ve lived it, and it’s not as glamorous as you think it is. It’s terrible. Anarchy is watching gangsters run off with your thirteen year old best friend and never seeing her again. Anarchy is getting harassed by those same people and not having any police around to protect you. And once a place falls into anarchy, there’s no way out. When Logeri turned into an anarchy, they built the fence around it because the rest of the city realized how bad it was and they didn’t want it to spread. All of the terrible things, all of the brutality, it stayed inside those walls and it built up there in the same way that pressure builds up in a bottle. Anyone smart enough to improve things is also smart enough to leave, so once you get set up as an anarchist state in Patierre, you’re going to experience a brain drain of the likes of which you’ve never seen before.”

The anarchists were exchanging glances, but Allie kept talking. “The intelligent people will move to safer areas, which means you’re left with only one type of people: the strong. The gangs, crooked cops, corrupt politicians, and yes, there are still politicians in an anarchy. Whoever is in power won’t be the person that’s the most fit to lead you, it’s going to be the person who’s in the best position to seize it. And in a true anarchy, like what you want, that’s going to be the person who owns the guns. It doesn’t matter how many rules you set out, if there’s no state, there’s nobody to step in when someone has more guns than everyone else and decides that they want to take over. You think that your little anarchist dream is going to stop someone with better weapons and training and manpower from turning on you and taking it all for themselves? In Logeri, the strongest people were the ones who set the rules for everyone else, and anyone who thinks that any other stateless area is going to be any better is a fucking idiot. Even Revolutionary Nordskania, a self proclaimed anarcho-capitalist country, has some semblance of a state to keep everything from going to hell. They might not admit it, but even they know that you can’t survive as a nation without a state.”

“Where did you learn to argue like this? Back when we were in Lane, you just got angry and shouted at me when politics came up,” said Eshe, as the group began walking further and further into the stadium, heaving towards one of the elevators. “I have to admit, that was a nice argument, for one from a monarchist. Still, I think the type of people that are fighting by us are the types who won’t try to take everything for themselves. We’ve vetted them carefully and made sure of that. Your anarchy wasn’t a true one, it was formed by isolation and the lack of police. Ours will have more structure. The lack of a state doesn’t mean there’s lack of law.”

They stepped inside the elevator and one of the men pushed a button to go to the upper levels of the stadium. When Allie looked around at their faces, she could tell that she had generated some doubt among Eshe’s men. Eshe herself, though, was resolute. “I seriously doubt that you’re going to enforce those laws effectively without a police force. Wouldn’t having a police force mean that you also have a state? Which you’re trying not to have?”

“Oh, Allie. You think too much,” laughed Eshe, trying to shut her up before any more doubt spread amongst her men. Allie could tell that she was uneasy about the way that she’d cast doubts to what was supposed to be part of her inner circle so easily, and she could tell that by the way Eshe’s laugh was closer to a short giggle than a full laugh. Even after years of being apart, she could still pick up on subtle things like that. “We’ll cross those bridges once we reach them.”

The elevator doors opened, and the group exited and started down a long hallway, before turning to the door that was labeled ‘PRESS BOX’. Eshe opened the door, gesturing the others inside. “This is the place. The package is going in the janitor’s closet, over there. Put it all the way in the back behind the second door, but make sure that it’s easily accessible.”

One of the men nodded and opened the closet inside the press box, and he also opened up his backpack and set it to the ground. Inside it was a long wooden box, which he removed and lifted up and carried inside the closet. “What’s that?” asked Allie, and the other men and Eshe just looked at her like she had just asked a forbidden question. “Just curious…”

The man finished setting up in the closet and closed it again, stepping to the side and waving the others over. Well, the others except for Allie. The anarchists gathered in a tight circle, discussing their next plans. “Now that everything is done, what are we doing with the girl?” asked the main man, James Vodenicharov. “You said you’d tell us after we set up. She’s a monarchist, meaning she’s a threat to us if she walks free.”

Eshe shrugged. “If it doesn’t bother you guys, I’d like to keep her around for… Sentimental value. I think I might even get her to come around to our side, and if I do, she’s going to be a valuable ally because of the people that she can get in contact with. If we ever want to go after Valeria, she has the connections to help us with that. Besides, she really is a nice girl if you look past the right winger thing.”

“I say we stab the bitch and drop her off in the bad part of town. Let everyone think that some petty criminals did it,” said James, but he sighed when Eshe gave him a pleading look and cocked her head to the side like a puppy. “You really want to keep her around, don’t you? You were probably planning this all along. What’s this about? Why are you suddenly trying to protect a monarchist and racist?”

“I enjoy her company, let’s keep it at that,” said Eshe, giving James a look that told him to read between the lines. She wasn’t about to bring up their relationship in front of two others, but James knew enough about her to infer what she meant by that statement. “Look, I’m going to invite her to celebrate with us at a bar tomorrow, and then we’re going to go back to Patierre and none of you are going to have to see her again unless she’s helping us. She’s not going to talk, I’ll make sure of that.”

“And if she has a change of heart after she sees what we did?”

Eshe grinned, and slapped James on the shoulder in a reassuring manner. “Than I’ll be the one to take her on a ride out to the countryside,” she said. And there was no reading between the lines needed. Everyone in the circle knew what that meant, after all.