As Eddie made his way back to the pitch, he saw the SEALS, William, the SAS officer and the admiral cheering and the mushrooms gone. He saw Gaege and Gabby nowhere so he went to William. "Hey, Mully. Where's Gabby and Gaege?" This time, William was unbothered by the nickname.
"Oh, they're on the ambulance. No, they're not injured at all. They are just exhausted. Wanna see them?" Mully asked and Eddie immediately nodded.
Mully led him to the ambulance and all two of them together in one. Gabby resting on a bed while Gaege just sat by the ambulance's opening. "Gaege!"
Gaege looked up as Eddie approached the ambulance, offering a tired but grateful smile. "Hey, Eddie," he said, his voice slightly hoarse from the shouting and excitement of the night. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece."
Eddie chuckled and gave Gaege a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Same to you, my friend. It looked like you two were having a good time out there."
"Yeah, we were," Gaege replied, glancing over his shoulder at Gabby, who was resting peacefully on one of the beds inside the ambulance. "She went all out, though. Had to let her get some rest. It's been a long night for all of us."
On the same night, the SAS officer and the SEALS are in the packed Irish pub with a ton of Irish men. The mood is celebratory for winning the game. Gaege stands on top of a table and raises his glass...
"Drinks are on the U.S. government tonight!" Gaege's voice boomed over the cheerful chatter of the pub, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. The packed bar cheered and raised their glasses in response, eager to join in the celebration. Eddie then raises his glass as he sits by the bar.
"To Sergeant Duff and others who have given their life for our freedom," Eddie said and everyone cheered solemnly in honour of the fallen soldiers. The mood in the pub shifted from exuberant celebration to a moment of sombre reflection as the patrons paid their respects to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the battle against the alien invaders.
As they all drank and started chatting, Mully went to sit beside Eddie. "You got balls out there, Eddie. You really deserved your citizenship." Mully whispered the last sentence, nearly making Eddie spit out his drink to laugh. Gabby beside him also starts to laugh. Gaege then came out of nowhere and put his arms over Eddie's and Mully 's shoulders.
"I c-can't believe a lot of things c-checked off in my bucket list today." Gaege slightly stumbling on his words as he was drunk. Mully looks at him slightly both terrified and worried meanwhile Eddie looks completely unbothered.
"What was checked off?" Mully asked. Gaege looks around and leans uncomfortably close to Mully's ear.
"Killing living things in the open without getting arrested by the government." Gaege then proceeds to giggle hysterically right at Mully's ears. Mully's eyes widened in shock at Gaege's confession, unsure if he should laugh or be concerned. Eddie couldn't help but chuckle at Gaege's drunken honesty, shaking his head in amusement.
"Easy there, Gaege," Eddie said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the laughter bubbling up inside him. "Let's keep that between us, okay?"
Gaege nodded enthusiastically, his laughter subsiding as he straightened up slightly. "Yeah, yeah, of course," he replied, trying to compose himself. Without Eddie's noticing, Gaege turned to Gabby who was just drinking a glass of water. Gaege winked and thumbs up at Gabby before walking away.
The doors to the bar fly open and the Secret Service come in followed by the President. The patrons all cheer him. "Where are my gamers at?" Grant exclaimed as he walked towards Eddie and Gabby. Grant kneels between Eddie and Gabby and puts his arms around them.
"Looks like all that time you wasted when we were kids is finally paying off."
Eddie and Gabby exchanged amused glances as Grant joined them, his jovial demeanour putting everyone at ease. "Yeah, man," Eddie replied with a grin and put his arm over Grant.
The now-more-drunken Gaege drops himself on Grant's shoulder and holds up a pitcher. "Heyyy, Grant. May I pour you a frosty?"
"Hey; I am the President of the United States, and a President can't be seen drinking during a time of crisis... So nobody look!!!" Grant yells and grabs the entire pitcher and everyone cheers. As Grant raises it to his lips, every TV in the pub crackles to life. Some bits of some old 80's, 90's shows also can be seen on the screen as its statics. After a few more statics, Bruce Springsteen comes on the screen.
"Congratulations. You h-ave won this battle. Please accept one of our warriors as a trophy of your victory."
The student earlier is sitting by a statue called Sphere Within Sphere, writing something in his notebook until some pixels form in front of him and solidify into two little dragons. One is blue while the other is green.
The student's eyes widened in surprise as the pixels formed into two small dragons right before him. He blinked several times, wondering if he was dreaming or if the events of the night had finally caught up with him. But as the dragons chirped and nuzzled against him, he knew that this was real.
He reached out tentatively, running his fingers over their smooth scales. The dragons chirped happily, their eyes gleaming with intelligence and curiosity. It was unlike anything the student had ever experienced before, but he found himself filled with wonder and awe at the sight before him.
Everyone stares silently at Springsteen on the TVs.
"The next challenge will not b-be as easy. The details will be sent via t-this signal shortly. Remember, we are still leading two battles to one. O-One more loss for you will mean t-he annihilation of your world.
Springsteen goes into a windmill and moves on his guitar, then the TV screens fade back to black. The celebratory mood has instantly turned funeral. Grant already put the pitcher down and seemed to think something before he turned to Eddie, Gabby and Gaege.
"Okay. You heard it. Let's get back to work. We gotta get you guys ready for the next battle." Grant said and Gaege immediately seems instantly sober from what Grant just said.
"Hold on. Us? Next battle?"
"No, we're not the guys, Grant. We just stepped in to stop it from going wrong. Today was a fluke." Eddie said.
"A fluke? Guys, you just single-handedly repelled an alien attack! The world needs you right now." Grant said, looking at Eddie very seriously. Eddie exchanged a glance with Gabby and Gaege, his mind racing with the weight of Grant's words. They had never expected to be thrust into the spotlight like this, let alone be considered warriors in a battle against alien invaders. But as he looked around at the serious faces of his friends and the patrons in the pub, he knew that they couldn't just walk away from this responsibility.
"We're just regular people, Grant," Eddie said, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "We're not soldiers or heroes. We just did what we had to do to survive."
Grant nodded, understanding evident in his expression. "I get that, Eddie. But sometimes, ordinary people are called upon to do extraordinary things. And you three have already proven that you have what it takes to face this threat head-on."
"He's right, Eddie. I hate to admit it but you're the best." Mully said.
"Not every game..." Gaege said as he loudly sipped on his cocktail. It took a while for Eddie to realise what Gaege just said.
"Nope! Nope. Nuh-uh, I don't wanna work with OR see that prick, son of a bitch." Eddie said. Grant's expression turned serious as he listened to Eddie's refusal. He knew that Eddie's emotions were running high, but he also understood the gravity of the situation they were facing.
"Eddie, I know this is a lot to take in," Grant began, his tone firm but compassionate. "But we're running out of time. The world needs every able-bodied person to stand up and fight against this threat. And right now, we need his help too."
Eddie groaned angrily. "Where are we gonna find him anyway? We don't know where he is."
