The Breaking Point

Chapter 22

Mark took a deep breath as he watched his team disperse into position. They had to get it right this time. No more unpredictable mistakes. No more screw-ups. And he of all people had to stay on guard.

The ref blew the whistle and Mac Ronejo passed the ball to the forward beside him. He and his entire team took off like lightning, zooming past their opponents and passing the ball between themselves. That left only the goalie on their opponent's side of the field. This was their chance. If just one of Mark's teammates could steal the ball, they'd have a perfect shot at scoring.

His three defenders were the nearest players so he told them about the loophole. The three jogged forward to attack but their attempts were useless-even with their Hissatsu tactics. Fortunately, a couple feet before their opponents reached the defense line, Darren managed a surprisingly incredible slide tackle that conquered the ball. He lost it the next moment however, when he decided to smirk slyly at Kevin. Mark face palmed mentally.

His team was running back to try and re-steal the ball but they weren't fast enough. They were already tired from taking the ball from one another; they didn't have enough energy to take it from someone else. That left Mark and Mark alone.

He'd have to stop whatever ball they'd shoot and throw it back to his team. There was no chance that even the fastest member of the Brazilian team would make it back to their side of the field fast enough for a counter attack. But for that to happen, he needed his team to stay, not come to help him.

"Stay! Stay where you are, "Mark yelled, but for some reason his teammates exchanged looks of confusion, muttered something quite inaudible to each other, and charged towards him like a pack of wolves.

Mac Ronejo tried using Amazon Rush again but with a tactical header, Shawn threw the ball right out of the field. Mark nearly screamed. This had been the team's  best chance to score and they blew it.

What was up with his team today? No one was listening to him. No one was paying attention to him. And worst of all, he didn't have a single clue why. He couldn't deal with this right now. He had his friends to save, before Garshield did anything else to them.

Shawn's header declared a corner kick for the opposing team. Mark took his position carefully, well aware of the danger the shot imposed on the goal. He had to be quite jumpy since corner kicks rarely hit right in the middle. So any move except for Fireball Knuckle perhaps, would be totally useless. But that move was so old; Mark knew it wouldn't work.

On the bright side Mac Ronejo wasn't the one shooting, leaving it to one of his midfielders. He did look like he wanted to though, standing a few feet away from Mark, and looking angrier than ever.

The Brazilian midfielder gave the ball a fiery hit to Mark's right, and the goalkeeper jumped in the direction of the ball. Right when it looked like the ball was going to land in Mark's hands, it suddenly switched direction. Mark gasped as he watched the ball zoom towards Mac Ronejo.

It was a trick!

The Brazilian striker jumped into the air, spun once and kicked the ball powerfully. A whole boost of orange followed the black and white ball.

"I'm not giving up," Mark muttered. "Gold Hand!"

An immediate surge of power envelope his hand and a larger, golden, form appeared. The larger hand managed to hit the goal and deflect Mark, so that his chest collided sharply with the ball. The ball pushed Mark back towards the net, and to avoid hitting it; he thrust his golden hand forward to stop the ball.

Mac Ronejo smirked at the brunet's struggle. "Like the taste of my Brazilian Burn? It's a keepsake from the land of the winners."

Mark grit his teeth and pushed his other hand forward. The moment his left hand made contact with the ball, a huge gust of wind blasted in his face. The ball popped and the Japanese goalkeeper landed flat on the grass. The pain seeped in like poison. Everything hurt. He felt so weak, he couldn't even stand up. But he had to.