Cup of Harmony 69 - Everything Thread

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
REACTION: Dull Veldgouwen victory carries strong silver lining
Laura Mulholland

If anyone still thought that Bardsley aimed to return to the swashbuckling of the past, this match will surely have disabused them of that notion. One moment of brilliance aside, there was very little for neutrals to like - but plenty for Brenecian fans to take heart from.

Veldgouwen, in spite of an unlucky opening-day defeat to Tinhampton, are a strong side and one that is to be respected, and they lead the line with a formidable strike partnership in the form of Masschelin and Schaepdryver, both extremely physical and strong finishers.

If the side had made better use of Yassin Tarki, their most dangerous player on the day, perhaps the story would have been different - but Tarki often felt as if he was working from a different script to the rest of his team, and it was instead her marker, Ophelia Lovelock, who got credit for assisting Balliol's thunderous strike.

Veldgouwen's strikers were mostly isolated with little supply in a game that lacked much penetration from either midfield - Dan Troch played an underrated role in shutting down Skorupska from doing much contstructive. But in the end Mathis Woodgate only faced two shots, both from outside the box, as Brenecia kept them at arms' length.

It was more than that, too. Scrivener was a pure destroyer but restoring Brandon Duguid to the defensive line has restored the Patriots' ability to pass it out from the back and take it slow should it be needed. Szukala, encouraged to be more cautious, shut down van Baekel very capably, while even Roisin Carroll did the hard yards to stop Derk Breydels getting too comfortable going forward.

At the other end of the pitch, Veldgouwen's defence basically did its part, and Simon Oberink did extremely well in the fourth minute to scramble away a Rankin snap-shot. Rankin, in fact, was somewhat uncharacteristically off her game throughout, a slightly heavy touch and a slightly erratic finish letting her down a couple of times, while Kieran Maes made up for his own goal against Tinhampton by shutting down both Bowditch and his later replacement, Karena Foran (who didn't look entirely comfortable).

But there was nothing Oberink could have done against Sander Balliol. The Tanrisal playmaker was excellent throughout the match but his goal was a thing of beauty. After Lovelock played him neatly in between the dithering Deferme and the stranded Troch, he took his time well to set the ball where he wanted before utterly smashing it into the top corner. Oberink did well just to get a hand within a metre of it - but no goalkeeper in the world would've kept that one out. A fair result on the run of play, secured in spectacular fashion.

From the seventieth minute onwards, Bardsley withdrew Skorupska and Lovelock for Bradden and Hourihane and settled into the same 4-5-1 formation that Les Guerriers had failed to account for, with Duguid yet again excellent in defensive midfield. Veldgouwen didn't implode like Kitsunia but nor did they break through, and the match more or less died. But forget the aesthetics for a moment, take a step back and realise - this Brenecia side is gaining serious momentum, and looks impenetrable at the back. Why shouldn't they win their first WCC trophy this year?

[Natanians and Nosts]

Natanians and Nosts has drawn against Mriin (1x1).Ion Mihai Torje announced that the team will not have any changes compared to the last games,except for the goalkeeper.Ion Cáius Ademélsson scored the goal at the fourtieth minute.
A (not so) surprising new was announced this morning,Johann C. Mureșan-Antonescu announced his retirement,he said he was very happy for playing at the national team and that he will finish the season at his club,The southern Blue Lions.His teammate Mihail Heitor Fostar said all the supporters would miss him.The club posted a note at the well-known "180 characters network" thanking Johann for his 20 years at the club since the basis,but they said it wasn't a "farewell,because the farewell will be when he definitelly leaves football professionally,as a player.".
The Tyrannosauri natanici will face Revolutionary Nordskania and hope to advance to the next round.

[Ethane]

MD3 CUTOFF
for Groups A-C

Group A
Brigantii 1–0 Juvencus
Tomikosan 2–2 Turori

Group A                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Brigantii                     3   2  1  0    6   2  +4    7
2 Turori                        3   1  2  0    6   4  +2    5
3 Tomikosan                     3   1  1  1    4   6  −2    4*
4 Juvencus                      3   0  0  3    1   5  −4    0

*Advance as one of two third-place teams with most points

Group B
Veldgouwen 2–1 Kitsunia-Deesse
Tinhampton 1–2 Brenecia

Group B                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Brenecia                      3   3  0  0    7   1  +6    9
2 Kitsunia-Deesse               3   1  0  2    3   6  −3    3
3 Veldgouwen                    3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3
4 Tinhampton                    3   1  0  2    2   4  −2    3

Group C
Revolutionary Nordskania 0–0 Natanians and Nosts
Mriin 0–1 Barunia

Group C                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Barunia                       3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7
2 Revolutionary Nordskania      3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
3 Natanians and Nosts           3   0  2  1    1   2  −1    2
4 Mriin                         3   0  1  2    1   3  −2    1

[Qasden]

15:20•Tuesday•Southern Hampton, Ethane—

*Sols and Merritt stroll across the red light district of Southern Hampton. It was a rather quiet afternoon, shockingly in a city ridden with latent crime unbeknownst to officials*

Another loss, coach. Not very pleasing to be witnessing in a tournament.
Munson had not arrived until later that game. There's still a good chance of advancing.
We will need a win. 3 points, not 1. A draw may take us through, but I can't assure the chances of Damukuni whacking Darmen just as they did to us.
Kosovakia is our next opponent and, to me at least, they're not showing much strength.
I'd rather you not jinx us, okay?
Fine.

*As the two pass by an alley, three hobos burst out into the streets with blood on their faces and a thick piece of meat between their hands*

Should we—
Just ignore them. We have better things to attend to at the moment.

*The manager and coach enter a restaurant and sit down*

Good afternoon, gentlemen, I'll be your server. Shall I start y'all off with drinks?
Yes, may I get a Diet Coke.
And for you, sir?
Water's dandy.
Alrighty then. I'll be back with your drinks. In the meanwhile, we hope you'll take a gander at our menus.
Very well.

*The waiter walks off*

So, shall we discuss strategy for the Kosovakian match?
Yes. We shall.

[Cosumar]

MD3 CUTOFF
for Groups D-G

Group D
Boring Paradise 3-2 Savojarna
Rzeczpospolita Pruska 2–3 Tumbra

Group D               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tumbra                  3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
2 Boring Paradise         3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
3 Rzeczpospolita Pruska   3   0  2  1    4   5  −1    2
4 Savojarna               3   0  2  1    3   4  −1    2

Group E
Qasden 0–0 Kosovakia
Darmen 2–4 Damukuni

  Group E               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Damukuni                3   3  0  0    8   3  +5    9
2 Qasden                  3   1  1  1    4   5  −1    4
3 Kosovakia               3   0  2  1    2   3  −1    2
4 Darmen                  3   0  1  2    6   9  −3    1

Group F
Amnarei-asud 2–0 Mattijana
Tobiasia 2–2 West Saintland

Group F               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 West Saintland          3   2  1  0    8   5  +3    7
2 Tobiasia                3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
3 Amnarei-asud            3   1  1  1    5   4  +1    4*
4 Mattijana               3   0  0  3    1   6  −5    0

*Advance as one of the two third-placed teams with the most points

Group G
Taeshan 2–2 Abristan
Kalumba 0–1 Nova Anglicana

  Group G               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana          3   3  0  0   10   5  +5    9
2 Abristan                3   1  1  1    6   5  +1    4
3 Kalumba                 3   1  0  2    3   4  −1    3
4 Taeshan                 3   0  1  2    6  11  −5    1

[Cosumar]

---

Optional RP Challenge: Explore the theme of diversity and equality in your RP.

---

Knockout Round Seedings     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenecia                    3    3   0   0     7    1   +6     9
 2 Nova Anglicana              3    3   0   0    10    5   +5     9
 3 Damukuni                    3    3   0   0     8    3   +5     9
 4 Brigantii                   3    2   1   0     6    2   +4     7
 5 West Saintland              3    2   1   0     8    5   +3     7
 6 Tumbra                      3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
 7 Barunia                     3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
 8 Turori                      3    1   2   0     6    4   +2     5
 9 Revolutionary Nordskania    3    1   2   0     4    3   +1     5
10 Tobiasia                    3    1   2   0     4    3   +1     5
11 Abristan                    3    1   1   1     6    5   +1     4
12 Boring Paradise             3    1   1   1     6    6    0     4
13 Qasden                      3    1   1   1     4    5   −1     4
14 Kitsunia-Deesse             3    1   0   2     3    6   −3     3
15 Amnarei-asud                3    1   1   1     5    4   +1     4
16 Tomikosan                   3    1   1   1     4    6   −2     4

Group winners 1-7, runners-up 8-14, third-place wild cards 15-16.
Fixtures sorted 1v16, 8v9, etc. like this.

Round of 16 - Ethanian Half
Scored by Ethane

Brenecia vs. Tomikosan
@ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

Turori vs. Revolutionary Nordskania
@ St. Maries Stadium, Southern Hampton, Ethane

West Saintland vs. Boring Paradise
@ Newton-Smith Arena, Letson, Ethane

Brigantii vs. Qasden
@ Brannigan Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane



Round of 16 - Cosumarite Half
Scored by Cosumar

Damukuni vs. Kitsunia-Deesse
@ Jorn Hagen Memorial Stadium, Hagenheim, Cosumar

Tumbra vs. Abristan
@ Fire River Arena, Ramusok, Cosumar

Barunia vs. Tobiasia
@ The Amphitheatre, Cassandra, Cosumar

Nova Anglicana vs. Amnarei-asud
@ The Xanadu Dome, Pelethas, Cosumar

[Amnarei-asud]

OOC:
This is the RP that was meant to be finished last night. The 'current' RP will follow before scores are posted tomorrow.


******


Continued from here:

Newton-Smith Arena
Letson, Ethane

Grimly, Sato stood watching the final few minutes of the game with a sensation that was halfway between resignation and desperation. It felt like there was only one direction that this match would be going in from here, and it was not a good one if you were associated with the Fennecs. The crowd of thousands was almost all behind West Saintland, and the cacophonous din was drowning out any attempt from Sato to shout and direct his players from the sideline.

Some things just felt inevitable.

Januaria Messalina had opened the scoring for the vastly more experienced and much fancied West Saintland team, before Ghufran El-Amin, the ever reliable Ghufran El-Amin, had swept in an equaliser with his often overlooked left foot. The momentum was with the Fennecs, and with a rushing enthusiasm that the energy levels in their legs were paying for now, they pushed on a pressed for another goal that would ultimately come just before half-time. This time is was Hibiki Yamaguchi that applied the final touch, prompting variations of "it has been coming" in all the languages of the world from the assembled commentators.

West Saintland were shaken. Amnarei-asud were in dreamland. Of course, it wasn't to last.

The opposition came flying out of the box int he second half, determined to be as ruthless as possible in order to not be embarrassed by losing to the relative minnows that, let's face it, the Fennecs were.

Sato had tried valiantly, making clever substitutions and shutting up shop by the seventieth minute, but the waves kept crashing down upon them, and the longer it went on the more he felt like he was trying to swim upstream against the current with a raging waterfall waterfall behind him. There was simply no place in this world for a narrative where West Saintland were happy to lose to a team like Amnarei-asud, and Sato badly wished he had The Hood's presence there to calm the ship when Salonia Sabucius tucked the ball underneath Petrosyan in the ninetieth minute.

For reasons Sato didn't understand though, The Hood wasn't there, and he'd taken Abdul-Rahman Saab with him. The obvious absence of Asud press in Ethane was a blessing, and the nature of the draw against Tobiasia in the first group stage match had deflected attention away from the state of the squad nicely, but there was only so much stalling Sato could do. The international press wanted answers, and the conclusion of this match didn't look like it was going to make things easy for him to talk about anything else.

Through his fingers, Sato watched as a miskick from Abdulrashid sent the ball spinning out for a corner. It was as if the pitch was tilted towards Petrosyan's goal at times in the second half. Now it seemed like even the wind had decided to pick up and spin things further in favour of West Saintland.

He shouted, he called, he waved his arms, but it was no use. With everyone bar the West Saintland keeper in the Fennes' box, Sato was powerless to intervene when Salonia Sabucius stole in at the near post to flick a deft header into the far corner of the goalmouth.

Sato knelt in despair as the stadium erupted in support of West Saintland. Their players wheeled away in celebration as Sato looked up at the clock. Even if he'd had any major attacking threats left on the pitch, there would be no time to use them. Almost immediately as Boulos kicked the ball for the restart, the referee blew the final whistle. That was it. West Saintland had snuck a victory from the jaws of defeat, and it had been utterly predictable the whole way. Some things just felt that way. Inevitable.

Turning back to face his bench as the handshakes and post-match routine kicked into gear, Sato stood with his head looking up to the sky and his hands on his hips, before looking down and starting towards the opposition manager. It had been a great game. It was only fair now to congratulate the victors on a game well won, and then retreat to lick their wounds and plan for the final showdown against Mattijana.

Or it would have been, had two men in huge woollen coats not tapped him on the shoulder before he could do so.

"Hello? What do you want?"

"Aslan Sato?"

"That's me, who are you?"

"We just wanted to say, thanks for everything. I hope it isn't drawn out, in the end."

"Well, what the hell is that supposed to m-..." Sato stood, open mouthed, as the pair walked away down the tunnel towards the back of house area of the stadium. With a sudden dawn of comprehension, he ran after them. "Wait, what?"


******


The Rock
Ain Salah

"Ah, son of a bitch," sighed The Hood, throwing down his grilled cheese toastie in dismay at the last minute goal. He felt a tang of guilt. He could definitely have prevented that had he been there.

"That'll be that, I reckon," said Saab, not disagreeing with the tone of annoyance in The Hood's voice.

High above, thirty-seven thousand people could be felt standing almost in unison to walk out of the stadium in an attempt to beat the traffic. With numbers of that quantity, of course, the smarter money was on those who'd actually stayed behind to slump in a disheartened way for the benefit of the television cameras.

Or, at least it would have been had there actually been anyone filming the stadium of people watching the big screen broadcast. Or if anyone there could afford a car in the first place.

On the stroke of the full time whistle, there was a knock at the door to the storeroom. Saab sprung up in shock.

"Who's that?!" he asked, convinced enough by The Hood's lie about keeping his location secret to feel threatened by this shock, "They've found us!"

"Only me," came a happy voice from beyond the door.

"Oh, shit," exclaimed The Hood, wiping his greasy fingers on his robes as he leapt up to answer the door. "Don't worry, Saab, she's okay."

"I did say 'the next match'," chided Amal, peering into the room as The Hood unlocked and opened the door.

"Yeah, I know, just, I wasn't expecting you be quite so prompt, is all," said The Hood, adjusting his robes to hang better over his face.

"Sorry, who is this?" interrupted Saab from the other side of the room, standing up slowly.

"Oh, sorry. Abdul-Rahman Saab, this is Amal. Amal, this is Adbul-Rahman Saab."

"Pleasure," nodded Amal.

"Does this mean it's time to go and save the team?" asked Saab, ever dutiful.

The Hood squinted, desperately trying to remember what he'd come up with when Saab had asked what the plan was. Then, realising the silence had gone on long enough, he responded uncertainly with a tentative, "...yes?"

"In a way," smiled Amal, "it's time to go and save everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Oh yes, Saab," continued Amal with a knowing smile, "I believe we are now approaching what you would call 'stoppage time'. Before we can send you to the World Cup, we need to fix Amnarei-asud's little problem with memory and, some would say, identity. And I need you two to do that."

"Cup of Harmony," corrected The Hood.

"I know what I meant," said Amal, smugly. "All in good time, Hood."

"Oh good, this again..." sighed The Hood under his breath.

"Sorry, what's going on?" asked Saab, still confused.

"I hope you brought your boots, Saab," smiled Amal, cheerfully ignoring The Hood's mutterings, "because we're going on a little walk..."


******


Newton-Smith Arena
Letson, Ethane

"Hang on, wait there!" shouted Sato after the two men as they headed down the corridor and past the press into the VIP section. "Who are you?"

The two men turned to face Sato, and he tried to look them in the eye. Wearing light coloured parkas, their hoods were drawn up over the heads. Only, rather than the jet black of The Hood's robe that absorbed any light that attempted to betray his facial features and identity, the fur lining on these jackets served rather to give their grizzled, weather-beaten faces with leathery skin something of an absurd woolly halo.

"Who are we?" repeated one of the men, looking at the other.

"The man asks a fine question," noted the second man.

"To be precise, a fine question has been asked," agreed the first man. Or, argued. It wasn't entirely clear which.

"And what do you mean, you hope it won't be too drawn out?" pressed Sato, rather more focused on information than pleasantries.

"Well, we mean what we say, really. That when the end comes, we hope it isn't going to be too drawn out," drawled the first man, noncommittally.

"We've been watching everything, you see. We've thoroughly enjoyed it all, but it's coming to an end, isn't it?" agreed the second man.

"Yes," continued the first, "we're sorry it had to be this way. Really."

"Who are you?" repeated Sato, "Do you work for Al-Tanaka?"

"Al-Tanaka? Oh heavens no," chuckled the first man.

"The very idea!" chimed in the second.

"The President Sheikh, then?" asked Sato, increasingly concerned.

"Getting closer." smiled the second man.

"Am... am I being fired?" asked Sato, worried, "Because, I'm sure I can beat Mattijana! I've not been given the support I was expecting, see, but-"

"Oh, no no, don't worry about that," interrupted the first man, "it's out of your hands, see. Just, have fun with it. Enjoy the last game."

"Or games." pointed out the second man.

"Or games, yes," agreed the first.

"But-" started Sato, but it was to nobody. The two men had turned on their heels before Sato could react, and once again he was left with the sight of the backs of two rapidly retreating parkas disappearing around a corner.

Staring into space, Sato fought back a tear of sadness as he tried to process the information he was drawing from that interaction. His days with the Fennecs were numbered. Fighting back that tear, he left the door open for a sneak attack from a tear of anger from the other eye, which stung out and bristled his cheek as he thought about the way he'd been shafted and left to dangle in mid-air before the whole world to see thanks to The Hood and his ridiculous messiah complex. He knew the man would be trouble. That stupid robe. He knew it, even back when they'd first met in The Rock all those months ago.

Wiping his mouth, he turned with a determined look on his face. If he was going down, he'd go down swinging. Striding resolutely back towards the assembled press, Sato resolved to make a difference in this last group stage match and show the FAAa what they were going to miss out on. He'd show those suits. He straightened his appearance, and, more determined than ever, went to face the music.

...completely unaware that just around the corner, outside the stadium, the two men clicked their fingers and disappeared into thin air.


******


The Gullies Above The Rock
Ain Salah

Approaching the temple entrance that The Hood had been shown before, he was feeling deeply embarrassed by the fact the much older figure of Amal was nimbly hopping between rocks up the climb whilst he lurched out of breath from handhold to handhold, restricted by his robes in the heat of the day. Although, hearteningly, he did also notice that Saab wasn't faring much better than he was.

"Here we are," said Amal from the top of the crest.

Joining her, Saab and The Hood saw the temple entrance.

The Hood noticed that it looked considerably different to the last time he saw it. The runes and markings carved into it seemed to have lost some of their legibility, though lights appeared to be flickering through them from behind, as if fairy lights were being swung around underneath the surface of a frozen pond. And there, down in the bottom corner, a solitary green rectangular light blinked on and off at regular intervals.

"What is this place?" asked Saab.

"Think of it like a password protected vault," explained Amal, "only, you're the password."

"I'm the password?"

"You both are."

"Hood, what's going on here?" asked Saab, clearly wary of Amal.

"It's... complicated," offered Saab, wondering whether that would land and checking Saab's face for confirmation one way or the other. It didn't even come close. "Look, just, I think you're going to have to trust me on this one."

"Trust you?"

"Yes. Have I ever let you down before?"

"Well, no, you then you've never kept me in a store room for a week before this, either."

"There's bigger things at stake here, Saab. Big things that affect the whole country. I don't know what but I'm involved and you are and so is Al-Tanaka somehow and my gut feeling is involved and even as I'm saying this out loud I'm realising how ridiculous it sounds but... just trust me, yeah? Amal can see things we can't. She's some kind of angel or something, I'm not quite sure."

"File manager," corrected Amal.

"Whatever."

Saab looked uneasily at The Hood, unable to discern whether his manager was telling the truth or not. He looked at Amal, who was doing her best to look officious.

"I don't kn-" began Saab.

"Oh for the love of... look:-" interrupted Amal, snapping her fingers and transforming a nearby rock formation into a sacred white palm. Wide-eyed, Saab then watched as she clicked her fingers again and turned it back into rock. "I know how the world is put together, Saab."

Oddly, this seemed to be enough to convinced Saab, and he shrugged and gave a gesture that indicated his submission to the turn of events thrust upon him.

"Excellent," said The Hood. "Now what?"

"Now, you stay here," said Amal. "This is your entrance. There are two more. One is for you, Saab, I'll take you there now, and the other is for Al-Tanaka. I'll go there once I've dropped you off, Saab."

"Al-Tanaka? But, isn't he on a boat?" asked Saab.

"Yes, well, imagine I'm that rock and Al-Tanaka is a sacred white palm," said Amal, leading Saab over the rocks towards the second entrance.

"Wait, what do I do when-" started The Hood.

"Just go in! The paths will converge again in the temple," smiled Amal.

"And Al-Tanaka?"

"He'll just have to remain oblivious until the end game, I'm afraid," shrugged Amal, "which is apt, really."

"Why?" asked The Hood.

"Oh, because of his name!"

"Al-Tanaka?"

"No. Well, yes. But just you wait til you find out what he's really called," laughed Amal over her shoulder as she led Saab away, "you're going to love it..."


******


Newton-Smith Arena
Letson, Ethane

"Where's Abdul-Rahman Saab, Mr Sato?"
"Mr Sato, where's Saab?"
"Aslan, Aslan, any word on the location of your best player? Mr Sato?"

"Please, please, no further questions," pleaded Sato to the assembled members of the press, before turning to leave them to it and return to the dressing rooms.

Thinking he'd avoided the worst of it, though fearing the speculation that would almost certainly still be heading his way, he added it wearily to the pile of things he had to worry about, and then sighed as he spotted another late addition. Somehow, someone had managed to get past the first cordon and was waiting nervously outside the dressing room door. The lanyard around his neck announced his accreditation as being with the Audioslavian press.

"You're with A-a?" asked the man.

"What do you want," sighed Sato, pushing past this latest mysterious stranger to get to the door, "you're not supposed to be here."

"I don't want to take up your time," continued the man, "just, I'm apparently supposed to be looking for a lanky chap with a bad haircut in a giant hooded robe or something?"

"Yeah?" Sato looked him up and down, taking a small amount of solace from the stranger's apparent confusion. "Me too, buddy. You find him, you let me know, yeah?"

Leaving the man even more confused than when he arrived, Sato headed inside the changing room and prepared to give the pep talk to end all pep talks.

[Turori]

Cocoabo Confusion
Turori Survived, Kicked out of Ramusok

For a more complete backstory regarding Cocoabo Forest please visit the Historical Record on the Atlantian Oceania Forum

Fire River Arena, Ramusok, Cosumar :: It didn't take long to for word to spread that a Cocoabo was loose in the Forest of Lamneth. With the Cocoabo having been confined to seclusion at the Cocoabo Ranch throughout the Cup of Harmony thus far, the public saw it as an opportunity to get an up close glimpse - and possibly even a selfie with a Cocoabo.

Apparently, Cocoabo #58 was all too happy to oblige, and the trainers found it more difficult to pursuade Cocoabo #58 back to the ranch without the rest of the Flock nearby for it to socialize with - particularly while it was perfectly content in the relative comfort of the Forest of Lamneth.

Social media was abuzz. Pictures of alleged sightings of Cocoabo #58 kept popping up. Some legitimate, others clearly farsical. The attention was unavoidable.

Ultimately, the trainers decided that the best way to coerce Cocoabo #58 back to the ranch would be to reunite it with its portion of the flock - Cocoabo #57 and Cocoabo #53 with whom it trains most closely on a daily basis. So thats what they did. It took a few hours but finally Cocoabo's 57 and 53 returned from the Cocoabo Ranch and entered the Forest of Lamneth. Then, a rustling in the brush. Ah-ha! There was Cocoabo #58. No tricks, no jokes. Cocoabo #58 nuzzled up with Cocoabo #57 and Cocoabo #57 let out a Cocoabo Coo. After a few moments, the Trainers indicated it was time to go and the trio did just that, exiting the Forest of Lamneth and returning to the Cocoabo Ranch.

Luckily for the Turori National Team and the trainers from the Cocoabo Forest, there would be no impact to their planning for the final match of the group stage against Tomikoson, with the exception of the day of training lost as a result of trying to get Cocoabo #58 out of the forest opposed to being back on the ranch training for the next game.

Despite the unexpected excitement, things were still on track. Being able to return back to 'Cocoabo Ranch' just on the outskirts of Ramusok was an ideal setup for the Turori National Team, not having to work through the logistics of changing locations between matches, setting back up in a new city or trying to re-acclimate the Cocoabo to a new climate.

There was also news on Cocoabo #65 who had left the game against Brigantii early. Cocoao #65 was, in fact, injured. However, the Training Staff had him patched up and were confident that the midfield would make a full recovery - perhaps even in time to re-join the squad later in the competition depending on how far the Cocoabo were able to advance.

The final match of the group stage ended up being much like the second match for Turori. An early goal put the Eels... errr Cocoabo... err Cocoeels? in front. The opposition struck back with a pair of goals, however, with Tomikoson first getting a strange goal off a corner kick deliverd by Raul Constatin. The ball was cleared by a Cocoabo into Tomikoson's Stanley Connors and it went nearly straight up into the air at that point. Constain, who delivered the corner, had the best view and sprinted in from the touchline, never losing sight of the ball, met the free-falling orb with his head and put it in the back of the net. The second goal came off a long rane effort from Tsung Nam-kan.

But the Cocoabo fought back and tied things up with a goal from Cocoabo #99 that would end up be the last piece of scoring action of the game which, like Turori's prevous match, ended 2-2.

While it wasn't the kind of performance that the Turori National Team were hoping for - dropping four points against lower ranked teams, it was still enough for Turori to advance to the Knockout Rounds, finishing second in the Group A table on 5 points, 2 points behind Brigantii who won both of their matches outside of the Matchday 2 draw with Turori.

Knowing that Romusok, being capital city of Cosumar, was also a venue during the knockout rounds, it would have been no secret that the Turori National team was hoping to be drawn into a matchup that saw them staying put and simply extending their stay on the Ranch.

Instead, however, a very different fate awaited the Turori National Team.

Not only were the Cocoabo going to have to leave Ramusok - They were headed to Ethane.

The reaction on social media was swift - and mixed. Some were sad to see the Cocoabo go and shared pictures of the Cocoabo from the three matches they played at the Fire River Arena with positive thoughts. Other messages were... less kind.

"We didn't want you here anyway! Weird brown things!" was one post. "Stupid Cocoabo. I hate you" was another unfortunate post that really didn't even contribute any rationale for the contributors opinion. Then, the conspiracy theories started to arise.

Were the Cocoabo being expelled from Cosumar? Did the "incident" with Cocoabo #58 at the Forest of Lamneth somehow responsible for this? It really wasn't an incident at all, Cocoabo #58 was just doing a little 'extra' sight seeing but when the locals saw it as an opportunity to get a selfie with a creature stepping foot in their nation for the first time, naturally, interest and opinions grew quickly. Were the Cocoabo ever truly accepted in Ramusok? Or were they just blissfully unaware of the fact that they were really just a temporary circus-like infatuation?

In all likelihood, there was no malice involved in the decision to force the Turori National Team to relocate to Ethane. In fact, the entirety of Group A including, in addition to Turori; Brigantii and third-place consolation qualifier Tomikoson were placed into the Ethane side of the bracket having their Knockout Round matches held in New Sarum.

The Turori trainers had to scramble to sort out a logistical nightmare. They were prepared to relocate with the Cocoabo throughout Cosumar. They were not prepared to relocate to another nation... to another region.

Could they do it? Sure. But it would likely eat away the majority of their preparation time for the next match. Representatives from the Football Association of Turori quickly began consulting with what options they had. Could they reconvene with the team of citizens that had competed in the World Cup Qualifying session? Would that be easier than re-locating the entire Flock?

If the Flock were going to be competitive in the future, they were going to have to travel. That much was known. It just wasn't planned for right now. The Trainers packed up what they could, and waited for guidance from the Football Association of Turori as to what the next step would be. Would the Cocoabo be prepared to play against the Revolutionary Nordskania in the Round of 16? Would the Cocoabo even be welcomed in Ethane?

FAT president Mumau Atla-Siioai was not going to get any sleep that night.

Starting Lineup v. Tomikoson:
Pos :: Identification  : Home
GK  :: ( Cocoabo #86 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #58 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #57 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #53 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #61 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #64 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #46 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #62 ) : Cocoabo Forest
AMC :: ( Cocoabo #72 ) : Cocoabo Forest
FOR :: ( Cocoabo #91 ) : Cocoabo Forest
FOR :: ( Cocoabo #99 ) : Cocoabo Forest

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Despite everything, Northern Union gunning to win D-League
Laura Mulholland

"You know, I always dreamed of playing for Union as a kid - always. So in a way, I guess this match-fixing thing's almost a weird kind of opportunity, you know?"

Chris Broadhead is a typical Brenecian lower-league striker, mostly because he is 6'5" and has a heavyweight boxer's physique. At the age of 33, he's enjoyed a decent record in a nomadic career bouncing between the third tier and the top regional leagues, intermittently professional along the way. And he has just succeeded the legacy of Michael Chaucer, Otto Lund and Sheila Maddon in Northern Union's number 9 shirt.

The Kingsgrove Doctrine never made it down here. Half the pitches are swamps at this level - the rest are artificial turf. Teams play the old way - 4-5-1 or 4-4-2, with an emphasis of size and strength over skill or even speed. Some is simply due to the semi-professional level, but some is deeply culturally ingrained.

Union are, understandably for a side ruined by self-inflicted scandal and forced to sell their entire squad to the highest bidder are in a bit of an odd situation. The D-League is forcibly semi-professional and, despite their vast cashflow, Union are restricted to a wage cap.

"And the thing is, too, it's a well-known fact that football at this level sees a lot of brown envelopes," says fan representative Charlotte Conaway candidly. "But Union aren't getting that chance - the auditors will be watching like a hawk."

Fourteen in all have stayed. Mostly these are lower-end academy products declined by other professional sides. But one, remarkably, is the 34-year old captain, Danielle Pendragon.

"All I've wanted to do through my life is represent Brenecia - I've done that - and play for Union, my club," she says, firmly. "That doesn't stop because of some trumped-up scandal, and I'll tell you I still don't believe a word of it."

Even at her age, Pendragon is undoubtedly the best player the D-League has ever seen - and she's been joined by 37-year old Brady Monroe, who retired before the start of last season but has returned to training in a bid to help his hometown club. But she disagrees that Union will have it easy.

"Look, of course people are saying that since we've got 64 Brenecia caps between us this season we're going to walk it, but we're fucking old, okay? Our management's hired a strong squad, mostly on one- or two-year deals, but it is absolutely not going to be easy.

"This is proper football down here, with some decent players, and we've got a target on our backs. The pitches are fucking horrible, so we'll have to adapt to the playing style. We're confident, but the moment we get complacent is the moment we get sunk."

Broadhead only has a one-year deal himself. But he accepts that. "This is an A-League club. It's the biggest side in the country. They're looking for a promotion every year, so all I can do is put my head down and do the best I can, and hope I still get a look-in for the squad next year."

In the meantime, though? Broadhead grins. "I'm just gonna enjoy it while it lasts."

[Barunia]

Adam Johnson has added to his credentials as Barunia's head coach with a finals appearance in the Cup of Harmony. With a close group going into the last game, the Suns had the advantage over their opponents in needing only a draw, while Mriin needed to come up with a win to have any chance. Johnson raised eyebrows by resting all the main eleven, sending in the second string team. When asked why, the coach said that he was resting the usual starting eleven for the finals, which shows a lot of confidence.

The Suns did not disappoint. Daniel Holland showed why he has been constantly named in a team without a centre midfielder for him, as his flexibility enables him to play in almost any position. He held down the defensive midfielder role, providing a support for Matt Vine, also playing out of position. While Johnson has changed the formation, he has not had access to new players, meaning he's had to be creative in how he deploys his troops. He got it absolutely right here, after one small change - moving O'Donnell up to the left flank to replace Marsh, who dropped back to his more comfortable attacking midfield. The change, made after half time, would prove a stroke of genius. O'Donnell crossed in to the box, looking for Bailey at the far post, but the ball was headed safely away by Uhlon Loft. Loft tried to control the ball, but O'Donnel, who had started tearing in the second the cross was fired, was ready to pounce on the ball and send in a rocket that Hawsorn could only watch as it flew past him into the side net. Barunia had their lead, and they never let it go, parking the bus and shutting down every attempt of Mriin to equalise.

The lockdown was led by Taylor Blakefield, the most experienced player on the second-team defence. His wary eye saw many a Mriin attack inbound, and he had the skills to shut it down. In the centre, Monica Andretti won many fans with her quick feet and coverage; she seemed to be everywhere at once. Hutton also performed when called upon, including a few showstopper saves to ensure Barunia held on to their three points. Those three points ensured Barunia would appear in the round of sixteen, and when the final whistle blew on the game between Revolutionary Norskania and Natanians and Nosts without a goal scored, the Suns had topped the group. Their next opponents are Tobiasia, a team that scraped through with a draw against West Saintland. Ranked 87th in the world, Tobiasia are one of the lowest ranked sides to make it this far, with only Abristan and Kitsunia-Deese ranked lower, both sitting just outside the top 100.

Barunia are the second highest ranked side after Brenecia, who were seeded first in the knockout draw. Barunia were seeded last, an unfortunate result of Johnson's defensive strategy, as the organiser's chose goals for as a tiebreaker. The controversial practice has just as many critics as it has supporters, who claim it favours aggressive football and punishes teams built around defenders. Barunia has benefited from this in the past, but if Johnson continues as manager into the future, the issue is likely to be voiced a lot more in this country.

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

nevermind

[Abristan]

Jefferson swung open the door to their new hotel suite, this time in the Ramusok Grand Hotel, in the other host nation of Cosumar. Jefferson had been happy to leave Ethane, having only managed three average at best performances there. They had drawn their last group game 2-2 to higher ranked Taeshan, and so had qualified for the knockouts by coming second in their group with four points, a solid result considering they had been the underdogs going into the tournament.

Behind him trailed his kid sister, Macito, dressed in a flowery dress they had bought at the departure terminal for the flight to Cosumar. She was in good spirits. A couple of days ago she had never seen the inside of a hotel room, and now she was about to see her second. She pushed past him, her bag slung over her shoulder, and gazed amazed at the suite.

It was small, but cosy, a two bedroom thing, with a bathroom, kitchen, and living area, complete with TV. TV was another thing that amazed Macito. She had spent six hours watching programmes in a language she couldn't even speak in their room in Ethane. She rushed over to turn it on, grinning, and Jefferson couldn't help but smile.

"Not now, Maria. We're just here to dump our bags. I need some fresh air. Lets go and grab a coffee or something. We can talk on the way".

Jefferson still had no idea how she had got here. After the Kalumba game she had been asleep, and he hadn't wanted to disturb her. It wasn't often she got to sleep on an actual bed. And then, this morning, before the flight, he had been too busy packing to ask. And, to tell the truth he didn't really want to know. He was sure it would be something morally dubious, if not highly illegal.

20 minutes later...

Jefferson and Maria were walking down a dirty, worn pavement in some of the Ramusok backstreets, hunting for a coffee shot or cafe where they could get a drink without having to worry about a noisy fan barging in on them. He needed time alone with Maria if he was to work out how the hell she was here. He wasn't entirely sure how to broach the question, but he needn't have worried, as Maria, realising what he was thinking nervously cleared her throat before speaking:

"I didn't do anything wrong Jefferson. To get here I mean. I know thats what you are worrying about" -Jefferson made to deny it but she just smiled a quiet smile and spoke over him.

"Please don't pretend Jefferson. You're my older brother. If you didn't worry I would be worried. Nana made us promise to look after each other, remember?".

Jefferson smiled as he remembered the old woman who had looked after them for much of their younger years. Turning to Maria he said:

"I need to know, sis. Its 500 denarii to get here, not mentioning the phone or the clothes. I left you with 50 denarii for food while I'm gone, and to pay for a shelter to sleep in".

"I lost the 50, I'm sorry. Thats why I was on the streets when..."

"When what Maria! Im not sure I even want to know".

They walked on in silence, as Maria gathered her thoughts, and considered how best to explain. They passed a small cafe and seeing an opportunity to escape having to hear what had happened Jefferson made for the door. Maria just shook her head, and tugged his arm, and reluctantly he walked on.

"I got the money from the police".

Jefferson turned to her in shock.

"There was a man, some big shot in a gang I suppose, who ran past me, while he was trying to escape the cops. He dropped something from his pocket, a CD, in a blank case. I had no idea what it was. No idea". Maria didn't want to admit to him she had meant to take the money the guy had offered her and run herself. She knew how disappointed he would be if she admitted she was back on the wrong side of the law.

"The police came down the alley I was in, asking about this CD. I told them I had it, and they took me to some high-up copper in Goldengrove. Tried to get me to hand over the CD. I said I wouldn't. Not unless they put me on the next flight to Ethane. Apparently this CD was important enough that they were prepared to do that. Either that or they were fans of yours and wanted to help your poor little sister". She deliberately didn't mention the 100 denarii she had nicked from the police commissioner, and hoped he would not pick up on the fact she hadn't accounted for the clothes or the phone.

In his desire to think the best of his sister he didn't say anything. If he did realise subconsciously he didn't dare voice his concerns out loud. Right now he just wanted to spend time with his sister, on the rare occasion she hadn't broken the law. They came to another quaint little coffee shop, and this time the two of them walked together towards the inviting smells wafting out the door.

[Amnarei-asud]

Continued from... well, just up there:

Newton-Smith Arena
Letson, Ethane

Ghufran El-Amin had scored twice, and Mattijana had been dispatched. The Fennecs were through, against the odds, even despite Tobiasia's unlikely draw against West Saintland. Sato had never been so thankful for the best third placed teams rule. Amnarei-asud had certainly been the beneficiaries of it this evening.

Even so, they'd played well. He knew they'd played well. It had been efficient, it had been professional, and it had been slick. A textbook win. Against a side they had been expected to beat, yes, but something like that was always pleasing to the eye. They could have scored more maybe, but it was a good football match to watch, and the Fennecs would have won plenty of plaudits with their performance.

Sato left the pitch having applauded the tiny minority of Asud fans up in the crowd, but he didn't feel happy.

Throughout the match, from the very corner of his eye, he'd been able to see the two men who'd challenged him after the West Saintland game.

But, why?

It just didn't seem fair.

Here he was, doing a great job in difficult circumstances, leading the Fennecs to the knockout stages of their second consecutive international tournament, and we he was getting the sack, simply because he wasn't The Hood. Or, hang on, maybe that was it? Maybe this was the work of The Hood?

At one point, he'd caught the men conferring between themselves and gesturing towards Sato. It was personal, clearly. It was just him. The team weren't being punished, just him. They caught his eye soon after the second goal from El-Amin and gave a sort of sorry little shrug. Sorry, lad. Not your fault.

Maybe it wasn't, after all. Maybe it was simply a case that there was someone better for the job? The Fennecs had caught the eye during the past few months. There were international scouts following them and their progress around the world, Sato was sure of that. There were too many familiar faces in the crowd these days for there not to be. Maybe, then, somebody else had approached the FAAa? Somebody with actual international experience. Not someone that merely hinted as such like The Hood. What was it he'd said? He'd been there before? Right. Sato scoffed to himself. He'd believe it when The Hood lowered his robe and revealed the truth at last. Fat chance of that.

Except, they couldn't have approached the FAAa. Nobody could. Al-Tanaka more or less was the FAAa, and he was currently exiled on a battleship at the behest of the President Sheikh.

Shit.

Sato's blood ran cold.

The President Sheikh.

Executions had been ordered for far less...

Sato wiped the cold sweat off his brow and beat a hasty path towards the dressing rooms. He needed to make a phone call to a ship in teh middle of the ocean as soon as he possibly could.


******


Somewhere Above The Rock
Ain Salah

The Hood stood and watched the green blinking light, unsure what he was meant to be looking for. It occurred to him that he had no idea. Amal hadn't said anything. She'd just cheerfully led Saab away. That was over an hour ago now, and nothing had happened. He just stood there, waiting for nothing in particular.

It then occurred to him that he knew very little about Amal. Where had she taken Saab? She said it was to the other two doorways, but... was it? Was this a covert rescue attempt?

Shit, who was she? She could have been working for the President Sheikh all this time and The Hood wouldn't have known.

...and then, the green light started blinking faster. There was a metallic clunk from within the temple entrance, and the grating sound of stone sliding on stone announced that finally, as promised, things were going to happen.

The door slid open slowly, revealing a cut stone staircase, leading down into the darkness. It was colder down there, The Hood could feel it.

He took a deep breath, and stepped into the unknown.

[Qasden]

Qads survive Group E, now face Brigantii

---

After a rough defeat defeat in the World Cup 77 Qualifiers, the Vans were lucky enough to earn a spot to the 69th Cup of Harmony, a tournament that shipped them back to Ethane to take on 3 more opponents. Drawn into Group E against Damukuni, Darmen, and Kosovakia, the group seemingly posed few threats in the mind. That was until the games actually started.

On match day 1, against Darmen, the Blue-Reds delivered 4 goals, including 2 from Darsten (5',26'), 1 from Xandreas (45+2), and 1 from Foster (78'). While the Brickwall performed well, a strong Darmeni offense ended the game 4-3, a 1-point deficit in a high-scoring match.

During the intermission between match days 1 & 2, injured reserve midfielder, Chip Tyson, was arrested and convicted after accidentally destroying an extremely valuable bat from Ethane's powerful WBC38 run. Officials have not yet announced whether he will be deported back to the Qad police or if he is to be tried and/or jailed in Ethane. With the event occurring, coach Jon Merritt highly sought after the recovering Valentijn Munson, captain of the U21 team and midfielder for the Neuville Scythers, to replace Tyson. She quickly accepted the role and arrived just after the second match against Damukuni.

Despite a very strong retaliation, the Qads fell to Damukuni, 2-0, with Foster, Bostun, Xandreas and Darsten combining for 14 shots and 8 shots on target. In the end, all that mattered now was the third match against Kosovakia. A win would confirm advancement, while a draw would endanger advancement and a loss would eliminate them.

The Kosovakian match in Southern Hampton surprised many Qads with a strong adversarial defense. With only 6 shots being made and only 2 on which were on target, the Kosovakians proved to be one of the strongest debutants the Qads have faced outside of Amnarei-asud and Drawkland.

9 minutes were left in the game, Xandreas had the ball and was completely open. He ran the ball crossfield and shoveled it into the net. Fortunately for Kosovakia, a gloved man deflected the ball. That was the last Qad shot of the game, which ended 0-0, a deathly sight. With the help of the great Margaret/Maggie/Elune, Damukuni whooped Darmen 4-2, allowing TQ to advance with 4 points and a -1 goal difference.

"I am truly thankful for the luck we have been getting in this tournament so far. By making it this far, it shows that we are at least consistent with our work and proves we are a force to be reckoned with. Of course, we are definitely going to need some conditioning before we go out for the round of sixteen, but otherwise we are ready. We will be victorious." -Jon Merritt, Head Coach of NT.

"It's a fat chance we will be advancing any further, but it's great we made it again. Whomever we play next should be an interesting one. I'm sorry, I have to go. Merritt! Grab the pancakes!"- Zachary Sols, Manager.

Next for the Vans, Brigantii. The red and black and yellow narrowly fell in the qualifiers after a strong attempt, ultimately sticking them in CoH69. Drawn into group A against the almighty Turori, Brigantii shocked us all by topping the chart at the end of day 3. Finishing off Juvencus in Cosumar before approaching the R16, TB will play home against our Qads at the Brannigan Stadium in Northern New Sarum, Ethane.

"If there's one thing we Qads are decent at, it's sports in Ethane. Almost as if it's our second biggest fan base, except that's Islana and these guys hate our guts. Still, Qad athletes have played in various sports tournaments in Ethane, many of which we finished with an impressive result. Brigantii'a a strong team, and seeing them as a powerful foe from the class of 62 and the group winner against Turori, Tomikosan and Juvencus. However, despite the 6 rank difference, we do have the upper hand. Playing in Ethane is our forte, while Brigantii has to battle in Cosumar. The familiarity-unfamiliarity rates may play to our favor here, and I do believe we can win this." -Job Merritt, Coach

The winner of this match will most likely play the winner of Boring Paradise and West Saintland.

That's all for this edition of QADAN. Can the Qads oust Brigantii from the round of 16? Or will the red answer yellow obliterate the Vans just as the Anglatians did last cycle? Only one river will flow, so stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for our next article, live from the 69th Cup of Harmony in Cosumar and Ethane!


Want more? Follow us on meowster at QADANSOfficial, and be sure to tag us in your photos with #BRIvQAD and/or #BleedBlueRed for your chance to win epic prizes, ranging from cold hard cash to CoH 69 championship tickets!

[Ethane]

Round of 16 CUTOFF
For the Ethanian Half

---

Brenecia 1–0 Tomikosan
@ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

Turori 4–3 Revolutionary Nordskania
@ St. Maries Stadium, Southern Hampton, Ethane

West Saintland 1–3 Boring Paradise
@ Newton-Smith Arena, Letson, Ethane

Brigantii 2–4 Qasden
@ Brannigan Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

Round of 8 - Ethanian Half
Scored by Ethane

Brenecia vs. Turori
@ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

Boring Paradise vs Qasden
@ St. Maries Stadium, Southern Hampton, Ethane

[Kitsunia-Deesse]

Louise Sioux celebrating the lone goal the Kitsunians scored felt weird.

As the players gathered around in a circle, the talented kitsune spun around in circles as they clapped, a traditional Kitsunian dance... one had to realize the Kitsunians had just scored the goal that granted them an opportunity to continue along.
Sioux's goal was pretty good, the current best forward of the Sioux lineage was able to net in a hard shot from out of the box.
Right about as Brenecia saw of Tinhampton.
The two goals of Sioux (and a goal of Traffikant, of course) made Les Guerriers go forward.

The current Neuville Scythers forward was probably enjoying her status as the best player of the Kitsunian line-up.
However, luck was surely running out.
The Kitsunians had to play a fairly strong team, Damukuni, at the Round of 16.
And let's face it.
That 4-0 tells loads about the Kitsunians.

All the while, however, La Déesse was busy with something she found.
A little RPG game released by a Kitsunian company.
Star Winger Kitty.
...
You know, maybe we'll talk more about this next.
...
Yeah, I swear. It'll be fun.
Very fun.
Did I mention it was made by a Kitsunian?
A Kitsunian that attended a Sunrisian University.
Think of that.
Just think of it.

[Cosumar]

Round of 16 CUTOFF
For the Cosumarite Half

---

Damukuni 2-0 Kitsunia-Deesse
@ Jorn Hagen Memorial Stadium, Hagenheim

Tumbra 2-2 (2-2 AET) (2-1 pen.) Abristan
@ Fire River Arena, Ramusok

Barunia 6-3 Tobiasia
@ The Amphitheatre, Cassandra

Nova Anglicana 1-3 Amnarei-asud
@ The Xanadu Dome, Pelethas



Quarterfinals - Cosumarite Half

---

Optional RP Challenge (for all): Find a creative way to fit the phrase "lemon meringue" naturally into your RP!

---

Damukuni vs. Tumbra
@ Varela Road, Na'Ilee

Barunia vs. Amnarei-asud
@ Alesund Stadion, Samotath

[Amnarei-asud]

Continued from... well, just up there:

The Xanadu Dome
Pelethas, Cosumar

It was a famous victory. It was a heroic performance. It was almost unbelievable.

The neutrals and unaligned in the stadium joined in with Aslan Sato as he stood applauding his players' celebrations in the centre circle. All twenty-two of the present squad were in there, dancing their way into the night as the Dome emptied its disgruntled Nova Anglican fans into the night whilst their players trudged from the field.

Truth be told, nobody had given the Fennecs much of a chance. Up-and-comers they may have been, but Amnarei-asud were still learning with every match, and Nova Anglicana were an established side with a ranking that far outstripped that of Sato and his charges. And yet, here they were.

Zubin Abdulrashid had been playing with the strength of two ever since the tournament had started, and he was at it again tonight, dispossessing Henry Santos as he looked to play a through ball and instantly setting up a counter-attack with his long ball forwards to Hibiki Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi then cut inside with a deft touch, and found Ghufran El-Amin lurking at the back post with a clipped cross. Not for the first time that tournament, El-Amin's reliable forehead met the ball and directed it expertly across the face of goal and looping into the top corner of the goal past Jerome Vincent.

Not that El-Amin had the monopoly on headed goals in this Fennecs side, something that Yoshi Takahashi reminded everybody of when he stole in at the front post to nod a second goal for Amnarei-asud from Usama Boulos' outswinging corner.

The Fennecs had gone in at half time in dreamland. They'd only squeaked through the group stage courtesy of the best third placed team rule, after all, whereas their opponents that evening had sailed through theirs. The tricky thing at half time was not allowing the team to lose focus. So much so that, even with everything that was at stake, when his mobile had started to vibrate after he'd finished the team talk, Sato had decided not to answer it. Even though he recognised it as being the international number of the Amnarei-asud Navy headquarters.

Instead, Sato had kept his team's minds in the game and not on what was at stake. They'd continued to play their natural oppressively attacking game in the second half, and had for the most part kept Nova Anglicana at arm's length. True, Rolf Pitre had scored late on to apply some pressure to the situation, but as El-Amin scored his second of the evening and fourth in two games in the ninetieth minutes, he wheeled away to celebrate with the rest of the side and Sato knew the job was done. The Fennecs were in the quarter finals.

This time, as he was watching his team finally start to file off the pitch, clapping their scant supporters, when his phone rang, Sato answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is that Mr Sato?" asked the nasal voice on the other end of the phone.

"Speaking."

"Would you like to accept a ship-to-shore call from the AaNS God's Hammer?"

"Yes, please."

"Connecting." said the voice efficiently, as the phone line started to click. Sato strode nervously along the touchline, oblivious to the world around him.

"Aslan!" called Karim Al-Tanaka on the other end of the phone, "A famous victory! A heroic performance! Almost unbe-..."

"Yeah, we've done that bit already, Karim." interrupted Sato, unimpressed.

"Oh." said Al-Tanaka, equal parts crestfallen and confused.

"Let's get down to it: why didn't you take my call after the last match?"

"We've had some bad weather, Aslan, nothing to do with me. The whole communications were down for a couple of days. I couldn't even watch the last match. None of the men could. They were very disappointed then, but elated now! Aslan, I've just left the canteen, they love you!"

"Very good, I'm sure," continued Sato, "but there's a reason I'm trying to call you."

"...which is?" asked Al-Tanaka, confused.

"Why, in the name of the sacred palms, are you sacking me?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Aslan... I'm not doing anything of the sort," replied Al-Tanaka at last.

"You're not?"

"No, of course not. Why on earth would I do that?"

"Well, I don't know, but someone is!"

"Who is?"

"Those two men you've sent seemed very clear about it."

"Which men?"

"What do you mean, 'which men'? The two men in the big woolly coats!" replied Sato, almost shouting now.

"Aslan, I have no idea what you're talking about! Is this another one of The Hood's cryptic training things?"

"How should I know?"

"Ask him."

"How?"

"What do you mean 'how'?"

"Well he's not bloody here, is he!"

"What?"

"Has nobody told you?"

"Aslan," said Al-Tanaka slowly, "I'm in exile on a fucking warship. I've had to sneak away to use the phone whilst they're celebrating the result. All I know of current affairs is what trickles through here on the televisions. They're secretive enough at the best of times, they're hardly going to be happily advertising the whereabouts of a football coach that doesn't officially exists. Now: if you want me to be of any use to you whatsoever, I suggest you explain from the beginning."

"Right," said Sato, "of course, sorry."

"So, explain."

And so, Sato explained...


******


Somewhere Beyond Time and Space
Amnarei-asud

As Amal had predicted, the three of them had all approached the meeting of the three paths at roughly the same time. Saab from the left, Amal from the right, and The Hood from the centre. Ahead of them, a fourth path stretched out into the gloom, where the steps they'd each been walking down turned into a gradually spiralling slope downwards. Just like the kismet that they'd started from, the walls all around them were inscribed with the constant run of letters and punctuation marks that defined them.

"I suppose that's where we need to go?" asked The Hood.

"I suppose it is," smiled Amal, gesturing politely with her hands, "after you."

"Wait, where are we?" asked Saab, following the pair of them but not understanding a thing. "What was that whole thing up at the top? Amal you only half-explained it."

"We're headed for a temporary file store, Abdul-Rahman." explained Amal. "Because you and The Hood here are passwords to the system."

"The system?"

"The code that builds this nation. It all came from somewhere, and I'm going to fix it."

Saab looked at The Hood in confusion as they passed another LED strip implanted into the stone wall. Cast iron sconces peppered the walls, with scorch marks on the ceiling clearly indicating that they had at least at some point displayed the traditional flaming torches. Presumably someone had decided that they were a little melodramatic, and LED strips were the slightly anachronistic solution presented now.

"What is this, Hood?" asked Saab. "We're not going to help the team, are we?"

"We're not, Abdul-Rahman. Sorry I lied to you." replied The Hood as they walked down into the depths of the strata beneath The Rock.

"Well then how long are we going to be down here?"

"Depends on your interpretation." replied Amal.

"How do you mean?"

"When these temporary stores were designed, they needed to be created in such a way that edits could be made freely, without worrying about ongoing actions in the real world changing the situation first. So, we're in a sort of developer space now, I suppose you'd call it. Things slow right down outside and continue in here so we can - in theory - test things out before deciding to go live with them. If you've ever done a double-take on something you think doesn't make sense the first time, chances are one of these developer consoles were involved. Or, well, one of the proper ones, really, not one of these backups."

"So, we could be down here hours and it'll still be daylight when we go back up?" asked The Hood.

"Correct. It basically means," continued Amal, "that although for us it feels like mere minutes have passed since we got here, en-..."

[Brenecia]

Ursula Rankin was learning patience.
The self-styled 'Vocaloid Army' was having to do the same - kept comfortably at arm's length by the hard-boiled Brenecian defence, Mathis Woodgate easily equal to any long-distance efforts. Back end of the pitch was doing their job.
Just... an hour had passed, or a bit over, and Squire Trevelyan had just been thrown on to try and inject some je nais se quoi down the right wing. And Rankin, well. She just did what she did. She hovered.
The crucial final ball could come from anywhere. Could come from Trevelyan. Could come from the fullbacks and their whipped low crosses. Could come from Carroll, her constant search to find out the Tomikosan defence, or it could come from the instinctive, penetrating Balliol, a Tanrisal teammate who had rediscovered his best form in the dedicated attacking midfield role. And they all knew her - she was a constant. They knew the runs she liked to make. They just had to give her something...
It was now the 75th minute. A bore scoreless draw wouldn't do - even if they won in extra time it was another half-hour of fruitless running around. But they'd beaten everyone so far. Rankin knew she just needed something - anything - to go her way...
It was a simple thing, in the end. Drover (replacing the suspended Skorupska) dispossessed Constantin and looked up to find a lot of space. She played a neat one-two with Balliol, broke clear, and fired. Rankin followed the trajectory, because that's what you do. Can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket, etc.
It wasn't the greatest shot. But there was something to it - spin, perhaps, but in any case as Nakamura went down for it it bobbled and bounced off some combination of ground, gloves and chest...
... and spilled free.
Nakamura clawed desperately at it but Rankin was there first, deftly tapping it away from him before turning in a smooth arc and side-footing it into the net. It rolled over the line half a second before Etsuo Minase slid through it, hooking the ball back over the line... a couple of metres too late. The referee's watch buzzed. Brenecia had their goal.
It was the last touch in the box Rankin would even get all game - and one of just three shots. But it didn't matter. Didn't matter that the game was crap, either. What mattered - what history and the fans would remember - is that Brenecia were now in the quarterfinals. Here, with their newfound confidence and Bardsley's new blueprint? Here was where things got interesting. For what did the best-laid plans in the world do when confronted with birds?
Hitchcock knew.

[Barunia]

Barunia have advanced in the Cup of Harmony after an emphatic win over Tobiasia. In a crazy goal-fest, the Barunians let in three, but sent a resounding six past Percy Matthews to send the Suns through to the quarterfinals.

Coach Adam Johnson appears to have played a trick card, seemingly abandoning the new defensive strategy in a calculated move. Perhaps the Tobiasians should have realised something was up when Martin Bailey lined up alongside Collins-Holzknecht, or the fact that the defensive Cole was on the bench, with Kass Berry lining up in the back of midfield. She didn't stay there long, with the Barunians swamping the Tobiasian half almost from the starting whistle.

The Tobiasian defence offered, in the words of one commentator, "as much resistance as a lemon meringue pie to a steamroller." With only two genuine backs, the defence could not cope with the Barunian onslaught, and it didn't take long for Bailey to open the scoring, a simple goal thanks to the assist of Collins-Holzknecht. The goals kept coming: Miller scored two more before the half, one off a free kick after Collins-Holzknecht was felled by Eastgate, while the other came from a long strike from out of the square. It looked initially like going over, but then dropped on Matthews, who was unable to adjust in time.

The Barunians couldn't take the three-goal lead in to the break though, with Matthew Card scoring for Tobiasia. The breakthrough goal came from a corner, with a well-placed header off a Lee Ryans kick. With the half-time score 3-1, the pundits were still calling it anyone's game, especially when Tobiasia scored again through Frank Woods. However, the Barunians weren't done yet. They continued to wear down the Tobiasian defence, and when Collins-Holzknecht ran rings around Goldsmith before chipping the ball over Matthew's head, their continuance in the tournament looked secure. It was locked down only minutes later, when Collins-Holzknecht once again found herself with space inside the box, and finished it off easily. When Marsh, coming on for Cartwright, headed home a corner from Kass Berry, the Suns celebrations got underway. They weren't even dampened by Liesel McClelland being shown a red for cleaning out Woods, or by Fraser Philips burying the subsequent penalty into the back of the net.

The win means the Suns now move on to the quarterfinals, where their opponents will be Amnarei-asud. They may be new on the scene, but the Fennec Foxes are not to be taken lightly. The reigning Baptism of Fire champions, they are also ranked 76th in the world. They overcame Nova Anglicana, and Adam Johnson has stated that he will be taking no chances. He's vowed that the Suns will bring their best, and there is a sense of self-belief around the dressing room.

One question that Johnson would not be drawn on is the replacement for McClelland, who has picked up a one match ban for that red card. Johnson's only response was, "wait and see." Giving that the coach surprised us all with an attacking style this match, who knows what he has up his sleeve for Sunday. Whatever Johnson and the Suns have in store for their fans, it's sure to be exciting.

[Turori]

Cocoabo Arrive in Ethane
Logistics, Confusion and ultimately: Victory

For a more complete backstory regarding Cocoabo Forest please visit the Historical Record on the Atlantian Oceania Forum

Cocoabo Ranch, Ramusok, Cosumar :: As predicted, FAT president Mumau Atla-Siioai did not get any sleep the night following Turori's disappointing group stage draw with Tomikoson. The result forced the Turori National team down to second place in Group A, though they still qualified comfortably into the knockout stages of Cup of Harmony 69. The more troubling thing was their next match.

Not so much their opponent, but their location. After having been drawn to a group in Cosumar - a nation at the very least inside the region of Atlantian Oceania, the Football Association of Turori president gave the green light for Project Cocoabo to commence. With all of Turori's group stage matches in the Capital City of Cosumar, Ramusok, it made the decision a no-brainer. These Cocoabo had never left the Cocoabo Forest before. At least the change of scenery would be limited to one change, one location.

That all changed at the end of the group stage with the bombshell announcement that Turori's Round of 16 matchup was not only taking place outside of Ramusok - not only outside of Cosumar - but outside of the region altogether, in the other half of the Cup of Harmony 69 field being contested in Ethane.

Atla-Siioai was up and communicating all night long. The easiest solution most likely was going to be to put together the World Cup 77 Qualification squad and get them all traveling to Ethane pronto. Or so Atla-Siioai thought. While a few players immediately picked up and offered to get on the next transport to Ethane such as Cednia Beach AFC goalkeeper G.Q. Disterfred II who was in the middle of baking a lemon meringue pie when Atla-Siioai called; many others seemed to be unavailable - many having scheduled vacations in remote places. Once Project Cocoabo went into effect, the Turori National Team's citizen players were relieved of their requirement to participate in the Cup of Harmony and given the order to 'rest up' before they would be called upon for the AOCAF competition as needed to support the Vilita & Turori Eel-Cat things team.

In the end, Atla-Siioai was only able to confirm 8 players for the immediate trip to Ethane. Not enough to field a full 11. So he went back to talk to Inalali Vumaou. As the 'keeper of the Flock' Vumaou was the one who know the Cocoabo best. He could talk to them, understand what their state of mind was. He also knew fully what they were capable of.

Atla-Siioai asked whether the Cocoabo could play integrated with the Citizens on a mixed team. "Not yet" Vumaou replied. We haven't gotten them accommodated to anything other than playing as a single flock. We have a training process that requires 20 hours of practice tactically and a 15 minute accommodation process for any change in the make up of the Flock. We're still working on it. We weren't expecting to be playing in the Cup of Harmony so its not all 100% ironed out, but its well enough. Originally we thought we were going to bring them out in the AOCAF.

Atla-Siioai saw no way forward with a mixed team. So, how do you think they'll respond to the change in scenery? Can we get them to Ethane in time and will they be able to play like they have been? Vumaou thought on it. "Of course we can get them there, and they will be ready to play. They won't forget their tactics from the last game and if we make no changes to the make up of the flock it will be fine. Probably a little less ideal from a footballing sense - if the other team watches any tape from the last match then they'll know exactly how we play - but other than that, the Flock will be there and they'll play cohesively."

.....

St. Maries Stadium, Southern Hampton, Ethane :: Inlali Vumaou and the Flock of Cocoabo arrived at St. Maries stadium in the early morning ahead of their match against Revolutionary Nordskania. They had some familiarization to do.

One by one, the Cocoabo stepped onto the pitch. Vumaou went over their positionings then the Cocoabo took a nap right on the side of the field. Eat together, sleep together, play together. Vumaous Flock was a unit. They were, however, a unit in unfamiliar territory. They were the first Cocoabo to ever visit Ethane. They were the first Cocoabo to ever visit the region of Esportiva. They were a Flock of Firsts.

They also weren't doing all that well. While they came out and performed as expected in their opening match victory against Juvencus, the Flock has struggled to overcome adversity ever since. First, the injury to Cocoabo #65 in the second match against Brigantii set the Turori National Team back only to recover after some re-familiarization with Cocoabo #46 in the second half of the game.

Then, all the distractions leading up to the third and final Group Stage match including Cocoabo #58 deciding to go on a walkabout in the Forest of Lamneth ate into the tactical preparations for the match against Tomikoson and the Cocoabo stumbled out of the blocks.

Now, there was no room for error. There would be no draws in the Round of 16. The match would continue until there was a winner. It was time for the Cocoabo to prove what they were made of.

Yet once again, they'd enter the match with a distraction - the distraction of leaving the Ranch that had been set up for their comfort in Ramusok; the distraction of traveling across inter-regional boundaries for the first time in their lives. Due to all of this, no changes were made to the Cocoabo's tactical training, despite the differences between their opponent, Revolutionary Nordskania, and Turori's previous opposition Tomikoson.

When the referee blew his whistle to signify the start of the match, however, none of this mattered. It was all in the hands... figuratively... of the Cocoabo.

To the delight of Mumau Atla-Siioai, Restiia Mumamba and the rest of the Football Association of Turori representatives in attendance, the Cocoabo seemed to be firing on all cylinders and opened up a 3-0 lead by the half hour mark. Regular national team goalkeeper G.Q. Disterfred II who had already arrived in Ethane just in case he was needed, was passing out pieces of his personal lemon meringue pie in the Turori Press Box in celebration of how well things were going.

It looked like the score would stay that way going into the half time interval but then Cocoabo #46 - who was only introduced as a replacement to Cocoabo #65 during the Turori National Team's second group stage matchup, showed a moment of flair and pizzazz that none of the precision Cocoabo had shown thus far in the competition. Collecting the ball at its feet, Cocoabo #46 popped the ball into the air over the top of Norskanian midfielder Leandro Besic. The ball landed on Cocoabo #46's back. Two steps later, Cocoabo #46 drove their head toward the ground and quickly flipped using their tail as a directional stabilizer, directing the ball with an intense velocity toward the back of the net and past the outreached arms of Josef Grekov.

It was all going well for the Cocoabo. Then the half time whistle came. Revolutionary Nordskania re-grouped. It must have only been at this point that Assistant coach Julius Shvets put two and two together and realized that the Cocoabo were playing with the exact same tactical plan as they had used against Tomikoson.

When the match resumed, the pace of play had changed significantly. The Black and Gold were in control. Then, fifteen minutes in, the goals started to come. First it was Ces Yoshida off a corner kick, then a long shot from Pyotor Afanasyev that deflected fortuitously inside the area sending Cocoabo #86 off their line.

But time was also running out. With 10 minutes to play, the score was 4-2 in favor of Turori. Then, another clinical clearance by Cocoabo #53 resulted in another Corner Kick for Revolutionary Nordskania. Arkadi Zima sent the ball in and it was met tall by the young substitute defender Antonius Karpenko and blasted past Cocoabo #86. Revolutionary Nordskania were just one goal away.

There were three minutes of stoppage time. The Nordskanian's were attacking. Then it happened. The pacey Theodora Bojovic, another second half substitute with fresh legs, burst past the Cocoabo defense and collected a pass from Damir-Dragovic-Courtial, took a step and placed it neatly into the corner to tie the game. As Bojovic wheeled away in celebration, however, she caught a glance of the linesman with his flag in the air. Bojovic's joy turned into agony. She was offside.

The match resumed with a free kick to be taken by Cocoabo #86. As the ball crossed the halfway line, the referee blew his whistle. Full Time.

The Cocoabo had survived. 4-3 was the final score.

Two matches in to their playing career, Vumaou's Flock had two wins and two draws. But they were on to the Cup of Harmony Quarter Finals. It would undoubtedly be their toughest challenge yet. The Turori National Team would have to relocate again, this time to the King Edward IV Stadium in New Sarum - the same stadium that their opponents, Brenecia, won their Round of 16 matchup at. Luckily, it was still in Ethane and Inalali Vumaou was optimistic of getting some new tactical training in during the days leading up to the fixture.

Starting Lineup v. Revolutionary Nordskania:
Pos :: Identification  : Home
GK  :: ( Cocoabo #86 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #58 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #57 ) : Cocoabo Forest
DEF :: ( Cocoabo #53 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #61 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #64 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #46 ) : Cocoabo Forest
MID :: ( Cocoabo #62 ) : Cocoabo Forest
AMC :: ( Cocoabo #72 ) : Cocoabo Forest
FOR :: ( Cocoabo #91 ) : Cocoabo Forest
FOR :: ( Cocoabo #99 ) : Cocoabo Forest

[Boring Paradise]

How are we still here?

Last time we met it wasn't even the start of the Cup of Harmony yet and there has been no coverage of the matches Boring Paradise played in the tournament, expecting to get knocked out in the group stage. The paradisian fans were expecting a short trip to Ethane to see us get knocked out but now we end up playing in the Quarter Final against Qasden, two matches away from the final stage, a prospect that many fans and players in Boring Paradise fathom.

The first match took place at the King Edward IV Stadium in New Sarum, Ethane, against Rzeczpospolita Pruska a match against the worst 3rd seed team. This match would be crucial because a loss here would already signify our elimination from the start as we also had to win against Tumbra to counter the 3 point deficit, which was very unlikely. Anyways, back to the match, we drew 1-1 and if you are somewhat reading into Rzeczpospolita Pruskian media then you already know what happened but if you haven't enjoy this. We made several attempts on goal but the defence was tight for us to penetrate and the first half ended 0-0. However the stalemate broke and Hishaam Ali Junior scored the goal with Samuel Wong assisting in the 55th minute however shortly afterwards (3 minutes later) Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz equalized and then nothing really happened after that until the end of the match. We got 1 point, a risky game but we still have a chance to qualify.

The second match was one we would like to take points on as we faced Tumbra in the group stage. However we lost 3-2, a very close game. It was 2-1 to Tumbra by half time with Raiyaan Malik Junior scoring the only goal. In the second half there were several attempts on goal by both sides but both goalkeeper stood their ground and had saved most of the shots but some deflections. However in the 80th minute a deflection off a Tumbran defender made the score 2-2 as Simon Ado shot from just inside the 16 yard box. This seemed promising as it seemed that if we kept up the pressure, we would have gained a point from the match, a satisfactory result in the eyes of the fans. This didn't come to being as it got closer to the final whistle the Tumbran team had possession and were attacking very aggressively and eventually the cookie crumbled within the Paradisian defence and Tumbra had scored a goal to seal the three points. At this point we were last in the group with only one point. Fans were already planning their return journey home t avoid any controversy within the airports.

Then came the last match against the highest pot 4 team, Savojarna, a win here would secure us qualification as the other match ended in a win for Tumbra meaning that we had to get 3 points to qualify. At least a draw here would mean that Savojarna would qualify and Boring Paradise would get knocked out. The players went onto the pitch knowing what was at stake and so did Agostinho De Mequites, the manager of the team. The first half didn't bode well as we were down 2-0 by the end of it and drastic changes had to be made, the mentality of the team changed a lot for the positive as soon as the second half began and straight away we were on the offence, knowing that just defending and letting them have the ball wouldn't secure anything and eventually Samuel Wong scored the opening goal for Boring Paradise in the 65th minute. With no time to waste Raiyaan Malik Junior scored another one six minutes later to level the scores. Mequites made a decision to change up the formation to 4-3-3 to try and get that last goal in however it never came until in the 83rd minute a penalty was awarded for Boring Paradise since the defender had played a dangerous game that had caused Ryan Miller to hit the floor. He took the penalty and sent the goalkeeper the other way and took the 3 points away meaning we had qualified for the Round of 16. The round of 16 report will come in the next update alongside the Quarter final.

[Ethane]

Quarter-Finals CUTOFF
For the Ethanian Half

---

Optional RP Challenge (for all): 'A once-in-a-100-years lunar eclipe is occuring today. How do you react to the event?

---

Round of 8 - Ethanian Half
Scored by Ethane

Brenecia 1-3 Turori
@ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

Boring Paradise 1-1 Qasden (1-1 AET) (2-3 pen.)
@ St. Maries Stadium, Southern Hampton, Ethane


Semi-Finals - Ethanian Half
Scored by Ethane

Turori vs Qasden
@ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum, Ethane

[Qasden]

Qads upend Brigantii, proceed to Quarters

---

Huzzah! Intensity!

Last night, the Vans were put up to the test as they took on Brigantii in the round of 16. It seemed a lil one-sided, but...

Boy were we wrong.

The match at New Sarum commenced with a delightful Darsten-strung goal, only 2 minutes into the game. That of which was only the beginning of a grand show. While Manager Sols say there, eating his lemon meringue pie, coach Jon Merritt was all hyped up in strategy.

"What we need to do is evade any skillful defensive vanguard the Brigantiians may pose. Now, if I slap this lemon meringue pie out of Sols hand, perhaps this'll mean luck on our side. Nope, just gave Brigantii the equalizer. Sorry about that, Sols." -Jon Merritt, Coach

As said, a Brigantii forward swerved past the Qad defense and made his way towards a hat trick, equalizing the game at 1 apiece only 23 minutes in the game. 8 minutes later, the same forward proceeded to knock in a penalty kick, earning Brigantii a horseradishing 2-1 lead. After a few more exchanges, the half was over, and millennial Qads had their endocrine systems pushed to the limits of mutation. No, seriously, energy drink consumption has led to 47% of millennial Qads to mutate into some form of beast, who's only quencher is lemon meringue pie.

Back to the game, the Qads came out on the second half as if they were the Sunrise team. 48 minutes in, Jerry Bostun wails in the requalizer, making it 2-2. 7 minutes after that, the draw subsided with a powerful goal kicked from the feet of new-Real Jraxville player, Onyx Foster. Brigantii's team became dazed, confused of the tragedy brought upon them. In the midsts of this shock, one final goal topped the ice cream cone courtesy of Jerry Bostun, ending the game at 4-2.

In the hysteria following the win, the millennial mutants returned to normal, while lemon meringue has became extremely scarce in Qasden. In the end, everything seemed to return to normal, somewhat.

"The events of last night, between the dramatic game and dramatic mini-apocalypse, definitely describe the perfect insanity that is Qasden. Though I do wish the apocalypse were a bit more exciting. Maybe next time, energydrank.inc, don't make lemon meringue pies the mutation's weakness."- Rees Häther, Prime Minister of Qasden and most sarcastic leader of Qailpyme

In the quarterfinals, the Blue-Reds will face Boring Paradise. BP's team came out of group D as the runner-up, falling just short of Tumbra. After a game in Ethane, the Ecstatic Suicidals upset the highly-favored West Saintland team in the round of 16. The two teams will play in Southern Hampton, a familiar venue for Qasden.

Will Qasden be able to stop Boring Paradise's blood run? Will the suicidals enthusiastically demolish the Vans? Will lemon meringue ever return to the streets of T.V. City? Only one pie will bake, so stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for our next report, live from the 69th Cup of Harmony in Ethane and Cosumar!

[Amnarei-asud]

Somewhere Beyond Time and Space
Amnarei-asud

...-tire days have passed back in the outside world."

"That's wrong." said Saab, bluntly.

"What do you mean?"

"One of those is wrong. Either we're in a developer space now and time is going slowly out there so you can test things in here, and that's how double takes are made, and when we spend hours down here it'll be light outside. Or, entire days have passed out there whilst we're in here."

Amal stared at Saab and blinked. "Well, shit. Guess we've been getting it wrong all these millennia. No idea what causes double takes, in that case. It's definitely the latter one. Days are passing out there, even whilst we have this conversation."

"Kind of embarrassing that you'd get that so wrong, really," mused The Hood as they continued to spiral down through the tunnel, "given that this is very much your show."

"It is a little, isn't it." agreed Amal fairly.

"Almost as if you were trying to come up with it on the spot and explain it to us whilst hungover or before bedtime or something."

"Or both." suggested Amal.

"Not that it matters, I suppose," said Saab, "not everything needs to make logical sense these days."

"How do you mean?"

"I've found that ever since we kicked off at the Baptism of Fire things have gone slightly weird. That or I'm just noticing it more." continued Saab. "The other day, a World Cup match was settled through some sort of pokemon battle."

"...how do you know that?" asked Amal, stunned.

"I... I don't know, actually. I just, do?" shrugged Saab.

"That's interesting. You must be responding stronger to your coding the closer we get."

"My coding?" asked Saab. "What do you mean?"

"Oh god..." muttered The Hood. "Make it quick will you, Amal? I feel like I've been over this every other day for the past fortnight or something."

Amal took a deep breath as they continued to walk slowly through the gloom. "Well, basically it comes down to lemon meringue pie."

"Subtle." chided The Hood.

"Shut up."

"Pie?" asked Saab.

"Yes, pie. Lemon meringue pie. Or any pie, really."

"I'm not following."

"Well, everybody is built out of a certain series of building blocks, right?"

"DNA?"

"Well, yes. But that's just the coding language for biological executables. There are also set values for this that or the other, and those are these building blocks. And everybody is a lemon meringue pie. Everybody starts with a base. On top of that, you've got your lemon curdy stuff and everybody has their own preference for the consistency of that bit. Plus how tart it is. There are loads of different variations. Plus you can have it hot or cold. And with ice cream or regular cream. Or on its own. And then there are all the different options for the meringue at the top! Chewy, not chewy, creamy, set, not set, blowtorched, not blowtorched, and so on and so forth. The possibilities are endless. But everybody by and large starts with the same base, see?"

"Sort of." said Saab slowly.

"Well, your base is different." said Amal.

"'Different'?"

"Changed, altered, fiddled with. It meant that when this great cock-up in the cloud to end all cock-ups occurred, you didn't have the same exact base as everything or everyone else did, and you didn't suffer the effects in the same way. Something lingered from before this change to the memory systems."

"My memory wasn't affected in the same way?"

"Nope. Because you'd been modified. You, The Hood, and Al-Tanaka. Some more than others." said Amal, nodding at The Hood.

"Modified?"

"Coded differently, by the ultimate administrators. Literally godmodded. Notoriously so, in some cases." smiled Amal.

"Right, so, and that coding is important now, is it?" asked Saab.

"Oh yes," said Amal, "you're going to help me put things right. Your very uniqueness is the keycode that's going to give me access to the solution. You three are the kismet. The joker, the hacker, and the griffon."

"Oh right." said Saab. "Okay then."

The Hood looked at Saab with curiosity etched into his face as clearly as the letters were etched into the walls down in the tunnel system.

"...you don't seem that shocked." prompted Amal.

"No. No, actually I'm not that shocked, am I?" said Saab, slightly confused by his reaction. "For some reason it feels like it's all information I knew already. Like my reaction to seeing The Hood, here. It feels like I knew him in an earlier life or something. I just, recognised him."

"Very interesting," said Amal, raising an eyebrow.

The conversation was interrupted by the three of them finally reaching the end of the spiral. Ahead of them, beyond the crest in the spiralling walls, lay a stone wall crossing their path and bringing their journey to a cul-de-sac. In the centre of the blatant plot device was a door. Covered in the same strings of letters and punctuation as everything else around them, the flickering light of the naked flames in the torches either side of it gave the viewer the impression that the entire wall was shimmering slightly from side to side.

In front of the door, with no visible explanation, there lay a small cage like something you'd transport a bird home from the pet store. Inside, was an overflowing bowl of seed, a full water bottle clipped to the bars, and a rubber chicken. It's cold lifeless boggle-eyed stare seemed to be focused intently on Saab's face. It was a little unnerving.

"Hm, that's unexpected." said Amal, reading the code in the doorway.

"What is it?"

"Some kind of failsafe, built in to stop people and minor gods like me simply manipulating their appearance to get in. It has to be actually one of you lot, someone who has lived in the above world, to answer the auxiliary password to get us in. It's a simple riddle, but one I couldn't answer in a million years. Might as well be Rumplestiltskin."

"What does it ask?" asked Saab.

"Erm, 'what is the name of this faithful chicken?'" answered Amal.

"Ha!" chuckled The Hood, before leaning in towards the door and saying clearly: "Margaret."

With the same grinding sliding noise as in the temple entrance, the stone door began to retreat into the walls, leaving a clear doorway into what was a large cave. The meek and feeble light from the torches was unable to light the entire space, and the furthest placed of the stalagmites and stalactites that littered the cave as far as the eye could see were retreated into the darkness. Presumably, they continued much further beyond the terminator.

In the centre of the cave, there was a large protrusion. A heavy cliff-face in a different rock to the majority of the cave, it rose several metres out of the ground and seemed to offer no real path up it's near vertical faces.

Amal pointed to a faint blue light that seemed to be visible at the top of the feature - a sort of halo that indicated a light source on top of the stack. "Come on, that's where we're headed."

"All the way up that?" asked Saab, incredulous.

"Yep! Come on, it's not so bad. I know the easiest path up it."

"What's even up there?" asked The Hood.

"The console, obviously!" remarked Amal brightly, as she bounded away down through the doorway and into the cave. "This is it: the temporary file-store! Or, temple!"

"Not bothered about appearances, are you?" said The Hood wryly as he and Saab followed her.

"Why would we be? We've far more important things to worry about if we ever need to use one of these things. Like how to get to the coding information. And what to do with it when we have it."

"And what actually are we going to do?" asked The Hood.

"What? Oh, kismet, I'm surprised you haven't worked it out. I would have thought it was obvious by now." said Amal, the blue light from above them giving her face a slightly alien appearance, "I've brought you here to help me fix things. We're going to put things back to normal..."


******


Alesund Stadion
Samotath, Cosumar


If Nova Anglicana were one thing, then Barunia were another altogether. There was probably a strong argument to be had that said they should have been at the World Cup, in fact. But, you can only play who you're put in front of, and that's just what Sato was preparing his players for now. The Fennecs had been cast as outside chances before, and it had done them no harm whatsoever. One more time shouldn't hurt their seige mentality at all.

Watching as the players went through their final warm-ups before he dragged them into the changing rooms for the team-talks, Sato felt his phone vibrate. The timing wasn't great, but reluctantly he answered it. The previous phone call with Al-Tanaka had ended with him promising to do some research and see if the FAAa were responsible for the threats.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is that Mr Sato?" asked the same nasal voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, put me through."

"Would you like to accept a ship-to-sho- oh right, okay. Connecting."

Click.

"Aslan." said Karim Al-Tanaka from the other end of the phone.

"What is it, Karim?" asked Sato. "I've got a match to focus on, here."

"I wouldn't be calling if it didn't affect things, Aslan."

"Well?"

"It's not us. I've done some digging, asked a few questions, and nobody is owning up to it at any rate." said Al-Tanaka. "So, whoever they are, they aren't coming from the FAAa."

"You're sure there's nobody trying to go behind your back?"

"They wouldn't have the power to do anything like that."

"But, you're on a boat."

"Yeah, and I can't ever forget that, but the fact remains that I am and continue to be the head of the FAAa. They can't just do shit like that without clearing it with me first. I do still have that power."

"It couldn't be the President Sheikh going over your head?"

"I doubt it." mused Al-Tanaka. "I'm pretty sure I put the fear of god into him about the prospect of being banned by the WCC if the government are seen to be interfering with the affairs of the FAAa. Hiring and firing of managers does seem like a definite affair of the FAAa, and there's no way he's going to risk the WCC banning us due to something he did when public opinion of the team is so high and reflecting onto him."

"Only officially." added Sato, with a worried tone to his voice.

"How do you mean?"

"I almost wish you'd said you'd found someone at the FAAa trying to get rid of me, to be honest." said Sato with a tightening knot in his stomach. "At least that way it would definitely have been something above board. This just means I have to consider one of two distinctly unsavoury scenarios."

"Which are?"

"Well," said Sato, watching as El-Amin landed awkwardly from an aerial duel and flexed his knee gingerly, "the first is that the President Sheikh has his eyes on something a little fancier. A foreign model perhaps, with go-faster stripes and an internationally famous. He wouldn't be able to just instate them as manager without drawing the ire of the WCC, but he can have me killed. People have been killed by this government for less, I'm sure. That would mean my days are numbered full stop, let alone just as Fennecs manager. Then, if an alternative manager happens to be conveniently available, then all the more easier for the FAAa and their paperwork, right? He can arrange all sorts of things. If these two men in coats are working for Honda I'm a dead man walking."

"Hm. And the other?"

"The Hood is behind it."

"Really though?"

"Of course. You don't think it sounds feasible? Man with creepy hood approaches men in coats to come and get rid of me so that he can be manager on his own."

"If he wanted to be manager on his own he could have asked me," noted Al-Tanaka, before sensing Sato drawing breath and quickly adding, "not that I'd have acquiesced. Just, we have a good relationship. Or used to, anyway. Still nothing on where he is, I assume? Or Saab?"

"Still nothing," confirmed Sato.

"And besides, "continued Al-Tanaka, "why would they approach you and give you warning before actually just getting rid of you?"

"That's a fair point," agreed Sato, "I hadn't thought of that before."

"Does The Hood even know anybody that dangerous?"

"He doesn't seem to know anybody." scoffed Sato.

"Well, there you are, then." said Al-Tanaka. "Honestly, I'd find it hard to believe that The Hood or anyone he knows is capable of anything dangerous..."


******


Somewhere Beyond Time and Space
Amnarei-asud

The Hood sighed and rolled his eyes, none the wiser. "Yes, you've said. Several times over the past fortnight, in fact. I think everybody is probably well and truly fed up of being reminded by this point. I know the final aim, but what does that actually involve?"

"Why," replied Amal with a slightly evil smile on her face, "the destruction of Amnarei-asud..."