The Battle Begins

//I'll be posting the first match in the battle of the bands over the course of the day tomorrow. Most posts shouldn't be posted as stories, and will likely just be wall posts. Posts will mainly highlight big plays, or important events in the match. 05/27/24, 7 PM, Timberwolf Arena, Vanhoover The four members of Attack on Mango stand inside a pristine locker room. Each sports gear for playing hockey, and stylized uniforms. The uniforms are black with purple trim, and feature the band's logo on the front with their first names, and a number on the back. The band stands in a circle. Each places a hand in the middle of the circle while the roar of the crowd outside fills their ears. A silence falls over the band. Eyes shift back and forth. The voice of the announcer coming over the arena's speakers cuts through the crowd. After a long silence, Juno is the first to speak up. "Alright guys. Remember your training. Stick to the plan, and we should do fine out there." The band shares looks. Ruby appears unsure. Nar, and Juno nod to each other with determined glares. Asuka stares straight ahead with cold, calculating anger. (https://youtu.be/_9Q6nzlWVpw?si=pvPBsBKh-t2z55uI) A green light cuts on in the tunnel leading to the rink. Nar pushes the groups hands down, followed by a shout. "Let's do this!" The group responds in kind, and all raise their hands with a battlecry. Then, the band turns, and heads down the tunnel. The roar of the crowd slowly shifts from muffled noise, to an earth-shaking cacophony. As they approach the end of the tunnel, the voice of the announcer booms in their ears. "And now, entering the rink, the defending number one band in Vanhoover..." Juno is the first out onto the ice. It's dim, save for a single spotlight, which follows him out onto the ice. "Attack on Mango!" Juno leads the group in a skate around their side of the rink, giving the spotlight an easier time of switching focus. For now, it stays on him. "Number one, the right winger, and the lead guitarist, Juno!" The crowd's cheering erupts once more. The spotlight then switches to follow Ruby. "Number two, the left winger, and the keyboardist, Ruby!" The cheering reaches a fever pitch. The whole arena seems to shake from all the noise. Next, the spotlight moves to follow Asuka. "Number three, the defender, and drummer, Asuka!" Asuka thinks she hears a group of people say "We love you!" or something similar. Finally, the spotlight moves to follow Nar. "And number four, the center, and bassist, Nar!" The spotlight follows the four for a few moments, before it's quickly directed to the other side of the rink. "And now, the challengers, and the number two band in Vanhoover, Dragonautica!" The four friends watch as their opponents skate out onto the ice. Their uniforms are red, with orange flames along their sides, and their logo in the front. In the front is the red dragon, followed by the blue dragon, green dragon, and then...A child? A white dragon, but still, a child. The group's confusion is only broken when the spotlight moves to focus on the red dragon. "Number one, the center, and the lead guitarist, Ryuji!" The cheers flare up once more. The spotlight then glides over to follow the blue dragon. "Number 2, the left winger, and backup guitarist, Sapphire!" This time, there are a variety of whistles, and cat-calls from the crowd. Next, the spotlight shines on the green dragon. His skating is far less involved than the others, as he simply stands upright, and leans to turn. "Number three, the defender, and bassist, Noxian!" Surprisingly, the crowd replaces their cheers with boos. Finally, the spotlight shifts to the white dragon child. "And lastly, Number 4, the left winger, and drummer, Wiggy!" With the introductions out of the way, the two teams line up on their sides of the middle line as a prominent reporter from Vanhoover Tonight comes out to the middle of the ice. The lights cut on, illuminating the whole arena, and revealing the extent of how packed the crowd is. From Asuka's perspective it looks like the whole of Vanhoover is here. "Ladies and gentlemen! Before we begin tonight, allow me to explain the rules for tonight's match! Seeing as how both teams are playing with only 4 players, each team will be provided a goalie, graciously offered by the Timberwolves themselves! The teams will be playing 3, 10 minute quarters, with 5 minute halves! Penalties will be mildly reduced, but all rules of the EHL will be applied by a sanctioned referee!" The reporter pauses for a moment as a referee skates out onto the ice, taking up position between the two teams. The reporter then steps back, and looks to both teams. "Rockers! Are you ready?!" She receives nods in response. "Alright!" The reporter then exits the rink, signaling for the two teams to assume their positions. Asuka can feel a rage welling up inside her. Just looking at that smug grin on Ryuji's face makes her want to flatten him more, and more. She looks to Juno, and Ruby for one last nod of assurance from both, before she's fully ready. Nar and Ryuji slowly approach the center of the ice. The referee produces a puck from his pocket, and holds it aloft. The roar of the crowd is deafening. The puck is dropped. Time slows down as Asuka watches the puck fall to the ice. Sticks flash out, and the puck is batted to the left. The match has begun. Time to focus.