“So the point of the game is to get the most points, right?” Kada started explaining the rules of zoneball since she was basically the only one in the group with any inkling. “You see those six rings on the field, three on each side? Those are the titular zones.”
“To score points, you have to keep a ball in one of the zones. Each second the ball is in the zone, it scores points for that team. The four bigger zones near the center are 1 point per second, and the two small zones on each end are 3 points per second. There’s three balls going at once so it stays constantly active with movement all over the field.”
“All players are allowed to go to the other sides except for the zone keepers. The big zones have two each, and the small zone has one. Only the keepers on a team can enter their zones, but the other players can help defend around it. The other team can all go in to try and steal the ball, though.”
“And you’ve probably noticed that they can only use their feet to move the balls, well really anything but their hands and arms are fine. Also, two balls in the same zone won’t count twice. So ideally, the team would keep one ball in each zone for as long as possible.”
“Most points when time runs out wins. Since eventually things could become too one sided, and one team could possibly have too many points for the other to ever overtake them, they added the catchup rule. During the last few minutes, points for the losing team are multiplied based on how far behind they are. It scales, so if they’re too far behind, they’d basically need to play a completely perfect game in those last few minutes to win.”
“Very few teams come back from it, but it definitely adds tension and excitement. I imagine a victory at that point would feel Cosdamned amazing too. Was tempted to try out for the zoneball team when I was young, but never worked up the courage.”
“I’m surprised you know so much about it,” Xard applauded her. “You never seemed to have much interest and haven’t talked about it at all before now.”
“Oh, no, I don’t really care much,” Kada sighed. “My dad just watched it all the time, so I was stuck watching with him. Of course, I now have a lifelong pledge to the local zoneball team growing up, the Anchors. Couldn’t tell you any players these days, but I’ll be damned if they lose to the Echidnas in the championship again!”
“So, we’re really just supposed to sit here and watch?” Phon sounded bored already. “I can’t imagine that would be entertaining for other people.”
“Well, it may be a bit much to ask from you, but you could do more than just watch,” Chorus encouraged them. “Get up and cheer, show some nice reactions, actively watch. But even if you just sit and zone out or look bored, that’s relatable too. Hell, it’d make for a fantastic image if half of you are enjoying it and the others look like you want to die. Just being here is the content we need. So sit back, relax, and do whatever comes natural. Oh, and we have someone bringing food too.”
Right on cue, two pairs of legs holding towers of food made their way up the stairs to the Fiends’ seats at the top of the stands. The group was sitting in a reserved section, a few rows away from the general populace to not cause a fuss. Originally, the idea was to have them in a private box, but that would hamper the relatability they were going for. This way, they still looked like part of the crowd.
Only when about half the food had been distributed did they finally get to see who was behind it—Nathym and Tize. “Go ahead and sit behind the rest of them, Tize,” Chorus directed and then snickered to themself. “That way it will look like pops took the children out for a fun day at the ballpark.”
The food was an array of stadium snacks that one would expect, beer for those who wanted it, and several of the industrious pretzel-dogs. Sporting the classic shape of a pretzel, the meat inside was twisted alongside of it with a coating of sauce all in one portable package—the perfect overpriced meal that could only be gotten at sporting events.
“Huh, didn’t think you of all people would want to come to a zoneball match, Nathym,” Drim mentioned to his friend when he sat down in the empty seat next to him.
“Because of my brother?” Nathym surmised. “Yes, I can’t say I’ve ever cared for the sport, or sports in general, but I try not to let my family history bother me. That said, I wasn’t planning to come. I was just in Drome Coli already working on… well, you know. But I had some free time, so Chorus invited me.”
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The next hour or so passed pretty uneventfully. While the match was entertaining enough for some—like Kada who got far more into it than she’d earlier let on, even throwing food at a cheating player once—a lot of the others found the environment and ambience more of a spectacle.
There was just a certain energy seeing an event like this live and in person that couldn’t be witnessed anywhere else, and that showed on everyone’s faces, even if they tried to hide it. Chorus couldn’t hide their smirk when even Phon was in awe at times.
A lot of it was due to the stadium itself. Zoneball was played around the world, but Drome Coli added its own flare. Before technology advanced too far, the sport was monitored manually by referees with stopwatches. One or two assigned to each zone to keep track of points earned.
These days, both the balls and the zones had sensors in them to monitor whenever one was in a zone. It would tally up the points automatically. This stadium in particular, though, was built for the sport. Any time a ball was in a zone, the ring around the zone would start to pulse with light.
The longer the ball was in the zone, the faster it would pulse along with an added sound effect over the speakers. Eventually, it got to a point where the light would ripple out through the stands, building reverberation that shook the seats of the crowd nearby. The longer the streak, the more hype the crowd would become and the tension would build. That alone made attending worth it for some.
“Wait, isn’t that Kalter?” Kada pointed at the new ‘player’ running out onto the field, clearly not in either team's uniform. He ran around the field, kicking every ball so that he could take control of them with his Curse. Once they were all ensnared, he brought them all to the high-scoring zone of the losing team. As the other players tried to steal the balls, he’d kick them all and have them come right back to his feet.
“Back on his zjik then, it seems,” Xard groaned. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” He stood up and aimed his pointer finger. After a deep breath and steadying his arm, a burst of energy shot forth. It slammed into Kalter’s forehead, spurting a bit of fire-colored blood while he was knocked to the ground.
“Not enough to kill him, but he’ll wake up with a nasty headache,” Xard gave one last proud smirk before sitting back down. The match then resumed unimpeded after security dragged the incapacitated Fiend away. It stayed mostly one-sided until the catchup rule kicked in. That’s when things got really intense, as if the losing team had been saving up all their energy for a moment, and they scrambled to give it their best.
By the end, Kada had long left her seat and was cheering at the top of her lungs. Tize and Xard joined her, though not quite as enthusiastic. Even the Drazah siblings were leaning forward in their seats as it came down to the last few seconds. Chorus never looked at the match once, their eyes fixated on the group, making sure to get the best angles on each reaction.
“Damn, down to only a 4 point difference at the end. Close match.” It had even left an impression on Nathym. “My brother, the famed prodigy, couldn’t have pulled that off.”
“It’s a shame they didn’t win in the end, though,” Kada was still moping as the stands cleared out. “But at least we got to see something great! Maybe I’ll tune in if these two teams have a rematch.”
◆◆◆
The group stayed in Drome Coli that night. While it was mostly to give Valen a break from overusing her Curse, apparently Chorus wanted to get footage of them hanging out in a hotel just like ‘everyday travelers’. Unlike Phon’s last stay in Drome Coli, it was a higher-end hotel on the sports-side, built for relaxation in splurging. That said, they didn’t spring for the highest-end suites, not that any of the group would appreciate them anyways.
After a hearty breakfast the next morning—specifically instructed by Chorus to overeat since they wouldn’t again for a while and needed the extra calories—they stepped through the portal onto the runway of a small private skydock, back in their usual adventure gear.
“Didn’t that zoneball match yesterday just get you all hyped and excited to do some exercise and outdoor fun?!” Chorus was only met with weary stares. “But I’ll admit that this isn’t my forte, so I’ve brought on someone else to lead today’s activities in my stead.”
“Of course you got the fitness freak,” Phon glared over at Nachi.
“Come now, it won’t be too bad,” Nachi grinned. “Your own physical fitness has improved in leaps and bounds, Phon. Think of this as just another good workout. A fun, insane, dangerous work out. I’m sure you’ve all heard of triathlons, right? Well today we’ll be partaking in a pentathlon: five events of outdoor activities that people enjoy. Myself, I enjoy some of them far more than others just for the rush.”
“I’m not going to tell you what they all are until you get to them. But by what I’m wearing and where we are, I’m assuming you can guess that the first event is skydiving! So what are you waiting for? Pray to Cosmos if you need to and load on into the skycraft!”
“Alright, so where are our parachutes then?” Drim looked around. “Only you seem to have one.”
“Well, I’m the only one who needs one,” Nachi’s zjik-eating grin didn’t falter. “You’re all Fiends, arentcha? Gonna be defeated by a little gravity?”