Reshar Collifay: A Star in the Making - Part Nine

     The next Yooyu to appear was a fire Yooyu. This time Layton reached it first. Tandrak and Layton ran down field. The defender tried to guard Layton, but Layton passed it to Tandrak, who was right in front of the goal. He shot to the far side of the goal, and scored again! The score was 2-0 with two minutes to go. The next Yooyu was another fire Yooyu. Tandrak reached it again this time, passed it to Layton, and back to Tandrak, and Layton was alone in front of the goal. Reshar passed it to Layton; he shot, and scored another goal for Darigan Citadel! The score was 3-0 with 1:20 on the clock.

     Roo Island was getting very angry and they switched to 2-2 formation. The next Yooyu to appear was a faerie Yooyu. Tandrak once again reached the Yooyu first and ran down the field. He passed to Layton, and he passed it back. Layton was once again wide open by the goal. Tandrak passed it, but a Roo Island defender stole it. The defender passed it to a forward at midfield and he took off running. Tormo Frein barged into the Forward and dropped the Yooyu. Tandrak retrieved it, and just as he turned around, a Forward for Roo Island ran into him. He fell to the ground. He passed Tormo and Kep, shot, and Reshar made an attempt for a diving save, but the Yooyu was just out of his reach and Roo Island scored.

     Darigan Citadel still had the lead 3-1 with ten seconds left. A faerie Yooyu appeared, Layton got it, and time ran out. Darigan Citadel was going to the Semifinals. The crowd was yelling and screaming with joy. An announcer's voice filled the Colosseum again.

     "Congratulations Darigan Citadel! You have advanced to the Semifinals to play against Terror Mountain, who won their game yesterday 5-0. The winner of that game will play the winner of Kiko Lake and Maraqua. Your game will be played later tonight! We wish all of these teams luck throughout the whole tournament! We'll see you then!"

     Adelene ran onto the field and cheered with Darigan Citadel. Roo Island sadly walked off the field with discontent looks on their faces. Adelene calmed the team down and talked to them. "I wish I could give you the day off, but we're playing again tonight against Terror Mountain. This looks like a tough team on offense, but our offense is just as good. You’ll be up for a challenge tonight, Reshar. Take a nap today; it'll do you some good. But now that we're this far, the main goal is to just have fun. Have a blast. Darigan Citadel on 3! 1, 2, 3, Darigan Citadel!" She left the field. Reshar saw his mother in the stands. She was clapping and cheering. Reshar stopped to just stare at all of the fans cheering. He was really an Altador Cup player. He could prove he could be a champion if he took his team to the Championship.

     He walked out of the stadium looking for something to do. He heard shouting behind him. "Reshar!" Reshar turned around, and it was Thilve and Nixx. "Reshar! It's great to see you! How have you been?"

     "Hey guys! Oh, it's amazing. I guess you guys saw my two games already. I'm having a blast!"

     "That's great to hear," Thilve said. "We really miss you, Reshar. Nixx and I tried to play 1 on 1 Yooyuball but it's really hard. But we're glad you're enjoying yourself. It must be a dream come true for you."

     "Thanks, guys," Reshar said, smiling. "I can hang out with you guys for the rest of the day. My next game isn't until nine."

     "That sounds like a great idea," said Nixx. "I'd like to catch up with you, Reshar. Let's go to Hubert's."

     "There's a Hubert's in Altador?" Reshar asked.

     "Of course. It’s in the Colosseum Concession Stands!" Nixx smiled and ran in the direction of the concessions. They found it along the road by the Colosseum. They each ordered a hot dog and began eating at a bench. They finished and continued walking. Reshar suddenly saw Adelene walking down his same path. She saw him and went directly towards him.

     "Reshar! I've been looking for you! There's a team meeting at the Colosseum and then another press conference! Come with me!"

     "All right... I guess I'll see you guys later..." Adelene took his arm and they started running towards the Colosseum. They entered the building and went inside a room that had Darigan Citadel's logo on it. Reshar greeted the team as he took a seat. They seemed friendly, but they looked kind of annoyed for his late arrival. Reshar felt uncomfortable.

     "Okay, let's get started," Adelene said. "We're playing Terror Mountain, one of the most feared teams in the tournament. They beat their opponent 5-0. Kep and Tormo, play the best defense you have played in your life. Layton and Tandrak, we need to score some goals. Reshar, I’m expecting you to play the best game of your life. You’re going to be the deciding factor of this game. I have no clue who's playing for Terror Mountain this year, but they're the team to beat in this tournament. I want you to play as hard as you can.

     “The game starts in a few hours. Get to the press conference and then start warming up. I have to go to my own press conference. I'll see you all at the match!" She left the room and headed towards her press conference. Each player got up and headed towards their press conference. It was in a big room with about twenty writers for the Neopian Times. They each took a seat in a chair and started answering questions. It was much like the first press conference with similar questions.

     When the conference ended, each member of the press applauded. The team smiled for more pictures and headed towards the field. They arrived five minutes later in the center of the field. They put on their equipment and practiced while the stadium was filling up. Terror Mountain arrived about fifteen minutes later. They were dressed in baby blue and white parkas. Reshar wondered why, because it was a very warm day in Altador. They continued to practice until the referee called them in. The announcer's voice appeared out of nowhere.

     "Welcome to the Altador Cup Semifinal match featuring Darigan Citadel and Terror Mountain! Previously we saw Maraqua defeat Kiko Lake, 3-1. Maraqua has secured a spot in this Cup's Championship. We will find out which team will join Maraqua in the Finals once this game wraps up. Good luck to both teams!"

     The referee was talking to each of the teams. The team captains shook hands and the teams went to their positions. Darigan Citadel played a 2-2 offense while Terror Mountain played a 3-1 offense, just like Roo Island did. The referee blew his whistle and the game began. The crowd got on its feet and started cheering. The first Yooyu to appear was a snow Yooyu. The forwards ran after the Yooyu, and Terror Mountain was successful. All three of the forwards ran down the field, past Tandrak and Layton. The Terror Mountain squad kept passing the ball between each other and running at the same time. Kep and Tormo got confused and kept running towards the Yooyu. One of the forwards was wide open in front of the goal and the Yooyu was passed to him. He received it, shot, and scored as Reshar jumped the wrong way.

     Terror Mountain was the first to strike with a 1-0 score with 2:15 to go. The players returned to their positions and waited for the next Yooyu. The next one to appear was a mutant Yooyu. Tandrak and Layton ran after it as quickly as they could, and Tandrak got it. He immediately passed it to Layton, but it was stolen by a Terror Mountain player. He ran down the field with the Yooyu. He made a move to get past Kep and was now open in front of the goal. He shot the Yooyu towards the left of the goal. Reshar ran to try and deflect it, but was too late, and the Yooyu slid past him to score Terror Mountain's second goal in a row.

     The score was 2-0 with 1:25 left. Darigan Citadel desperately needed a goal in their next possession. They returned to their positions and the next Yooyu to appear was a fire Yooyu. Tandrak and Layton ran really hard to get it, but it was once again retrieved by Terror Mountain. They ran downfield and Kep ran to steal the Yooyu and was successful. Kep passed it all the way downfield to Tandrak. He passed to Layton, who passed back to Tandrak in front of the goal, he shot, and scored! The score was 2-1 with thirty seconds left. They returned to their positions and waited for the next Yooyu to appear. Everyone in the crowd was on its feet again. There was a section in the upper part of the stadium chanting "Darigan! Darigan!”

     The next Yooyu to appear was another fire Yooyu. Tandrak and Layton ran to get it, and Tandrak got it this time. He ran downfield past the forwards, and it was now 2 on 1. Tandrak passed to Layton, and then passed back. Layton ran right in front of the goal. Tandrak lobbed it over to Layton. There was ten seconds left. Layton was heavily guarded near the goal, so he passed back to Tandrak. Tandrak had to shoot. He shot, and it swerved left, just making it into the goal as time expired.

     "Folks, we're going into overtime!" the announcer said excitedly.

To be continued...