Reshar Collifay: A Star in the Making - Part Five by samschelfhout2
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Reshar was in pain. The fire Yooyu made his face burn up. His fins wouldn't remove themselves from his face. "Guys..." he started, "I can't leave the game, or we'd forfeit." He tried to open his eyes, but his vision was blurry. "My eyes burn really bad. Timeout." The referee blew his whistle and signaled a timeout. "Reshar, if you're really hurt you shouldn't play," Thilve said.
"I have to," Reshar said. "C'mon, throw some shots at me." So he got up and stood in front of the goal. With squinted eyes, he could barely see Nixx shoot a practice shot right into the goal. "We can still win; you just have to trust me..." Reshar muttered weakly.
The referee blew his whistle, and the timeout was over. There was 1:30 left on the clock with the game scoreless. The players took their positions and waited for the next Yooyu to appear. It was a fire Yooyu. Nixx and the Shoyru ran to get the Yooyu, and the Shoyru got it easily. The Shoyru ran past Nixx and ran into Thilve again, dropping the Yooyu. Nixx came and retrieved it and ran down the field. He was running until he slowed down in front of the Kacheek. He looked like he was going to barge into the Kacheek. The Kacheek flinched, and Nixx ran past her. He was now in front of the Uni, shot to the left, and scored!
The score was 1-0 with 25 seconds left. The players returned to their positions, and the next Yooyu to appear was another fire Yooyu. Nixx and the Shoyru ran to get it and the Shoyru was successful, yet again. The Shoyru tried to run to the goal as fast as she could, running past Nixx. She ran past Thilve and was in front of the goal with 10 seconds left. The Shoyru shot to the left, and Reshar blindly deflected the Yooyu with his right fin, and the Yooyu bounced to the left side of the field. The Shoyru tried to run to it quick enough, but time expired as she reached it.
Neopia Central won again. The crowd was on its feet, cheering as loud as they could. The team gathered together and jumped around as they were cheering. The Blue Gelert from the first match came onto the field a few minutes later. "Congratulations, Neopia Central! You are one of four teams in the World Semifinals! The other three teams remaining are Maraqua, Kreludor, and Haunted Woods. You will be playing Haunted Woods in your next game, which will be tomorrow afternoon. Maraqua and Kreludor will have their game shortly after your game finishes. There will be Altador Cup scouts looking at each of your performances. Once again, congratulations Neopia Central, we'll see you tomorrow on Field 1!" He left the field. "Wow, Semifinals!" Nixx shouted with joy. "And scouts! This will be your chance, Reshar! Are you feeling any better?" "I'm feeling great," said Reshar. "I just need rest. I think I'm going back to the hotel right now and going straight to bed. How about you guys?" "Yeah, I'm getting tired, too," Thilve said, yawning. "Let's go talk to Aiden and Shirley and then we'll go." Aiden ran onto the field right when Thilve finished that sentence. "Great game, guys!" he said happily. "I was biting my nails through that one. Are you feeling any better, Reshar? Do you need an ice pack or anything?" "I'm fine, Aiden," he said, "We're just going to go visit Shirley and go to the hotel." Aiden nodded and left the Dome. The three of them made their way up to the concession stands where they found Shirley packing up. "Shirley! We won!" shouted Reshar. "I heard! You guys are amazing!" said Shirley. "I definitely need to see the next game. I'll close down my stand for it!" Shirley smiled. "When do you guys play next?" "We play tomorrow afternoon, against Haunted Woods," Reshar replied. "Well, hopefully they're not as tough as their Altador Cup team! I need to pack all this up, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Shirley continued packing as the three young Neopets walked to their hotel. As they walked back they still had fans of the team waving and cheering for them. When they arrived at the hotel they found Aiden right next to the doors. "Hey kids! I want to tell you about Haunted Woods. They are a tough squad who relies on their defense. They are one of the worst offensive teams you will ever play against, so Thilve and Reshar will try to play hard for a shutout. Nixx, their defender is a Mynci who no one has gotten by yet. Their goalie hasn't seen much action, but I hear he does pretty well. He's a Krawk, and if you get past the Mynci, scoring a goal shouldn't be a problem. Get some sleep. I'll see you on Field 1 about an hour before the match starts for practice, then warm-ups. Bye!" Aiden left the building. The three of them went up to their rooms and went to sleep, dreaming about the semifinals. ***
All of them woke up the next morning bright and early and went to the lobby for breakfast. Once they finished, they decided to explore the town. They found a shop selling treats with each of the four remaining teams' logos. They each bought a Neopia Central-shaped cookie for 500 neopoints each. As they were nibbling on their cookies, they found Aiden walking. They decided not to bother him because he looked busy. A couple hours later they stopped for lunch at a restaurant where they had a nice lunch run by three nice Blumaroos. Still wasting time, they headed for the Merry Go Round Dome. As they were walking, they discussed their game plans and how to get past that Mynci defender. They arrived and headed towards Field 1.
They were the very first Neopets to arrive at the Dome, except for the Neopets running concessions. There was equipment beside the field, and Reshar went to get it. Everyone put their equipment on and they started warming up. The seats began to fill rapidly, and the Haunted Woods team had just arrived on the field. Aiden was shaking hands with a Green Zafara in the stands, which appeared to be the other team's manager. There was also a Techo in a suit and clipboard in the stands, which appeared to be an Altador Cup scout. Reshar began to get very nervous. The referee got onto the field and blew his whistle to signal the two teams to the middle of the field. An announcer from the side of the field began talking.
"Welcome to the first semifinal match between Neopia Central and Haunted Woods. The winner of this game will advance to the World Championships, between either Kreludor or Maraqua, which will be played shortly after this match. Good luck to both teams in this match-up!" The referee began talking to the two teams about the rules and good sportsmanship throughout the game. The two team captains, Reshar and the Mynci, shook hands and the referee ran to the side of the field, blew his whistle, and the game began.
The first Yooyu to appear was a faerie Yooyu. Nixx and a Quiggle Forward ran to get the Yooyu, and Nixx was the first to get it. He ran past the Quiggle and tried to get past the Mynci. Aiden was right; the Mynci was almost impossible to get by. Nixx tried to run around him but the Mynci took the Yooyu and passed it to the Quiggle. The Quiggle ran until he faced Nixx. Nixx tried to slash the Yooyu out of his hands but was unsuccessful. The Quiggle ran right past him and was now in front of the goal. He made a weak shot right in front of Reshar, and it was retrieved for the easy save. Reshar passed to Thilve, and Thilve passed it to Nixx. He was running right beside the sidelines, passing the Quiggle. The Mynci ran towards him. He was very quick and was now right in front of Nixx.
There was only one minute left on the clock now. Nixx tried to pass him but the Mynci blocked his path and stole the Yooyu again. The Mynci passed it to the Quiggle and he took off running. Thilve was running towards him and the Quiggle dropped the Yooyu while running. Nixx retrieved it with 25 seconds left. He was running as fast as he could towards the goal. He tried to run past the Mynci again. The Mynci slipped and fell to the ground as he was trying to chase him.
Nixx was now running towards the goal, he shot, and the Faerie Yooyu swerved past the goalie, and it scored! There were five seconds on the game clock. The players took their positions and waited for the next Yooyu to appear. It was a snow Yooyu, and the Quiggle retrieved it before the Nixx, but time shortly ran out. Neopia Central won the game by a score of 1-0.
The crowd was roaring with applause as red and white confetti came onto the field and Reshar and his friends were hugging and cheering. They were going to the World Championships to play against one of the best teams in the world.
To be continued...
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