LotS/The Story/Talia's Team/Gut-Phager
Gut-Phager
So there I was, with the ball in my hand and two psychos coming to break me in half. I know you've been in situations like that, Willy -- times when you have to think fast and act fast to survive.
"She's thrown the ball, Bob!"
"It's a bad throw, Jesse! Look how high it's going! She's not getting enough distance! It won't reach any of the other Dragons!"
"It doesn't have to, Bob! Look!"
Stupid Megas... I threw the ball, and they looked up at it instead of at me.
"Unbelievable, Jesse! Ryx is running like a madwoman, and she's... Yes! She's caught up with the ball! It's dropping right to her!"
"She threw the ball to herself! I've never seen anything like it! Some of the Megas are trying to break away and stop her, but the Dragons are on them!"
"Guan just planted two of them into the pitch at the same time! Jackson's taken down Gressa! They aren't letting anyone through!"
"Talia's speeding down the pitch. But wait! Gut-Phager's knocked Kai Wung spinning! Wung's down! And there's no one else there to tackle him! He's between Talia and the end zone!"
"Look at Gut-Phager taunting! He's going to make damn sure Ryx has to go through him if she wants to score!"
"Time's running out, Bob! She has to make her move!"
"She's tossed the ball right up in the air!"
"But Gut-Phager isn't as dumb as he looks, Jesse! He isn't looking up. He's going for Talia instead!"
"She went to the well once too often with that trick, and she might pay for it now!"
"Nice dodge! Ryx can move! That punch went right by her. And... Yes! She just tore Gut-Phager's mask off!"
"That's bad news for Gut-Phager, Bob! Most of his skull's metal-plated, but his jaw isn't!"
"This is what he gets for being too cocky to wear a helmet! Oh! Flying knee! Ryx just put her knee through his unprotected jaw!"
"Maybe she was listening to me, Bob!"
"Maybe! But that means Gut-Phager's going to be pissed off at you after the match, Jesse! I might need a new broadcast colleague when he's finished with you!"
"Oh, hell..."
"Ryx didn't even land after that knee! She just jumped off his shoulder! She's in the air! Gut-Phager's falling, and... Yes! She has it! She caught the ball!"
"She's hit the ground, she's rolling, and..."
"Touchdown!"
"Touchdown!"
"Touchdown! She's done it! The Sian Dragons have won the match! The crowd's going wild!"
"But look over at the away fans section, Jesse! They aren't happy!"
"Uh oh... The Blood Alley Gang are storming the pitch! Looks like they're going to take care of the Dragons themselves!"
"Wait a minute, Jesse! They're not going for the Dragons! They're after the Megas! If the grapevine's telling the truth, the Megas just cost them a fortune -- and they're taking it out of their hides! Look at them stomping on Gut-Phager!"
"This something you just hate to see, Bob. The Drekchester Megas did their best!"
"Yeah? Try telling that to the Blood Alley Gang!"
"No thank you, Bob. I don't know what 'rumpled' means, but I'm sure I don't want it to happen to me!"
"Look! Talia Ryx just pulled one of them off Gut-Phager, and headbutted him! A thugby helmet against an unprotected face? That's going to leave a mark!"
"And here come the rest of the Dragons! They're helping the Megas, and beating the hell out of the Blood Alley Gang! What a great show of sportsmanship!"
Yeah... Security was taking way too long to get there, and I wasn't going to let the Bloody Alley Gang get away with that. So I stepped in, and started kicking butt. Guess those losers hadn't counted on that. Or they were too stupid to care. But they cared by the time we were done. Pretty sure every player, on both teams, ended up stomping our boot-prints into them.
So, all's well that ends well. Wu Tenchu was happy, and so were the fans. Even the Drekchester Megas were cool about it, after we saved their butts. They came out drinking with us that night. Gut-Phager actually apologized to Jacob Chang for practically powerbombing him through the pitch. But Chang wouldn't hear it -- said it was just part of the game. And no one complained when Screaming Barracuda decided to play at the victory party.
After that, it all became kind of a blur. Maybe it was the liquor. But I like to think it was the Music Montage Theory...