Rafael & the magic DarKNight

The weekend started with a quick visit to Ms. Pepper. Her concern for his wellbeing seemed genuine.

“May I ask you something?”

“Sure. Hold still for a few moments, I need to take a reading,” she said, holding one of the strange stones in front of Rafael’s face.

“How do we get here? I mean, how does it work?”

She brightened at his interest in her work. Putting the stone aside, she sat down next to him. “First, Centisom gives us a warning when new arrivals are incoming. You can’t miss it, because the mansion grows a new wing.”

She turned to look at him. “The astral bodies start emerging in a dedicated area called the Incoming Room. Some may be weak or disoriented. In those cases, I like to be right there to greet them personally. Once everybody is here, Centisom opens a pocket dimension and shifts out of time and space.”

“Oh, I see. So, there’s not, I don’t know, a big red button you push to bring all the astral bodies here?”

Her eyes danced in mirth. “Unfortunately, no. We don’t get to choose who or when. That’s Centisom’s prerogative.”

Of course. That would have been too easy. The idea of serving a semi-sentient being’s bizarre purpose reeked. Rafael wanted to go home, period. Pushing down the rebellious dragon in his guts, he tried another avenue.

“Will it hurt?”

“I beg your pardon. Will what hurt?” Horror crossed her face.

“Going back to the Earth plane, Reality. And what will happen to this body, my astral self?”

“Oh! It’s not a painful process. When you’re ready to return, you’ll receive a Transcry. That’s a special crystal that makes astral bodies less dense so they can transit back smoothly.”

A crystal! Progress. He gave himself a mental high five.

“How does it look, this Transcry?”

Before she could answer, they heard an urgent knock. She patted Rafael’s leg and rose. “Don’t hesitate to come back for another talk, or if you’re not feeling right.”

“Thanks, Ms. Pepper,” he said, following her to the door, his mind mulling the crystal angle over. On the way out, he brushed past Bobby, ignoring the guy’s bleeding nose.

Not feeling like going to breakfast alone, he decided to swing by Maddox’s room first.

Blurry gray eyes greeted him. Maddox gestured for him to come in, plucked his glasses from the nightstand, and collected his discarded clothes from the floor.

Rafael was familiar with sleep hangovers – after all, Lennart was as sociable as a hibernating bear in the morning. He examined his buddy’s room, waiting for Maddox to shake off the fog.

His brows rose when he noticed countless pictures of puppies on every available surface. The most adorable puppy-eyes were looking back at him from every possible direction. It was borderline creepy.

“What’s up with all the puppies?”

Maddox perked up at last. “They’re mine. Or used to be.”

“What? You can’t possibly have this many dogs!”

“I’m not joking, Rafael,” he answered with a hand on his heart. “My mum owns a breeding farm. They stay for about fifteen weeks with us until we find them new homes. During that time, they’re all mine. And my tw–,” he paused, cleared his throat, then continued, “my sister’s too, of course.”

“Sounds entertaining.”

“It’s only fun until I have to say goodbye to them.” Maddox grimaced.

“I see. I never thought of it like that,” Rafael said. “I miss my cats too.” His voice cracked. “And my family.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Maddox said. He sat down on his bed and caught Rafael’s eyes; all traces of sleep gone. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the game simulation last night. Becoming a Guardian Of Dreamland seems cool, but what if the game showed us the ugly truth? It looked so real that I doubt it was fantasy.”

Rafael’s thoughts had gone down a similar path, but he didn’t plan to stick around anyway. For that reason – and also because the whole thing had scared him silly – he had kicked it out of his mind. “I don’t know. If it’s true, then it’s dangerous.”

Maddox shrugged. “On the other hand, it could be a glitch. After all, somebody engraved the tablet with T.P.O.D. Maybe it was meant as a warning.”

Maddox’s words echoed in his mind, and it hit him. “Wait, the acronym for Guardians Of Dreamland... wouldn’t it be G.O.D.? Does that mean we’re going to be like, you know...?”

Maddox’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “That’s ludicrous!”

They were quiet for a microsecond, contemplating their potential god-to-be status. Then, minds synced, they struck dignified poses, snorting burst of air between bouts of laughter.

Rafael sobered. “Do you think they’re concealing stuff from us?”

“Well, we’re only trainees, so they’re probably only telling us things on a need-to-know basis. Maybe not even that,” Maddox said, scratching his head. “Still, I wonder about T.P.O.D. Whoever programmed the game has mad skills.”

“Hey, O.D. could mean Of Dreamland.”

“Could be, but good luck finding out what T.P. stands for.”

They sighed in unison.

Rafael was tempted to tell Maddox about his escape plans, but experience cautioned otherwise. After all, Leon once pretended to be a friend also, before he turned envious and pounced on him like a madman. Determined not to make the same error of judgment twice, he decided to give it some time.

“Let’s do something more productive today,” he suggested instead, stretching. “We’re free all day, and I’m not in a mystery-solving mood. How about those stellar soccer moves you bragged about?”

It was time to find a nice patch of grass.

“Hey, Rafael!” Poppina’s feet pounded a happy rhythm on the floor.

They slowed to let her catch up.

“What’s up?” Maddox greeted her with a half-wave. “We missed you at breakfast.”

“I might have been, um, detained,” she said. Her chin was up in defiance, but her face was turning red.

Rafael’s eyes widened. “Wait! What happened?”

“Some idiot expected me to hold the door open for him. The door taught his nose a lesson.”

Recalling his earlier brush with the guy in question, Rafael bowed to her in awe. “Bobby? Wow, Poppina, you work fast.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “If you ask me, it’s karma at work.”

“But why detention?”

“Ah,” Maddox said. “I bet that’s why he was banging on my door. He probably wanted me to fix his nose.” At Rafael’s inquisitive glance, he added, “I come from a family of Healers.”

“Anyway, he went to Ms. Pepper and told on me. I had to listen to a lecture about social etiquette.” Poppina pointed to herself. “Me! Of all people!”

Rafael winced in sympathy, but he couldn’t help a smile at the thought of Bobby’s fans finding out that little Poppina had bloodied his nose.

“Well, it sounds like a hassle, but... was it worth it?”

They shared a look and grinned.

He’d do good to remember Poppina’s insidiousness.

“Anyway,” Maddox said, jerking his thumb toward the door leading to the park, “we’re on our way to the soccer field. Fancy to join us?”

She blushed again. “Maddox, I need to talk to Rafael, you know, alone.”

Maddox arched a brow. Rafael answered with a shrug and said, “I’ll join you in a bit.”

“Well?” Rafael asked as they followed Maddox at a slower pace, unnerved by her silence.

“Well, what?”

“You wanted to talk to me?” Rafael eyed the exit, eager to join Maddox and play soccer.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and the red on her face deepened. “Uh... your training with Mr. Dowotski yesterday... how...?”

“Oh. That!” Rafael’s voice rose in enthusiasm. “I had a grand time. It was awesome! I can make things appear and disappear.”

“Wow,” she said in a disinterested tone.

He paused when he noticed she didn’t share his enthusiasm.

“What I wanted to know is... How is he?”

“He?”

She muttered under her breath.

Rafael looked at her in astonishment, wondering what she wanted from him. “Hum, he’s a great teacher.”

“Great? That’s it? Great!” Her voice rose in disgust. “Great is generic. That doesn’t describe a person. I want details.”

“Whoa,” he said, taking a careful step back. Girl moods were strange on the best days – and scary the rest of the time. “I’ll try to pay more attention next time,” he added, hoping to mollify her so he could join Maddox soon.

“Yeah, you do that,” she ordered, spun on her heels and stomped away.

His jaw dropped. Who replaced Poppina with this bossy lady?

She paused a few paces later and sucked in a breath. Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I guess I just made a fool of myself.”

He walked over to her, as it seemed like the right thing to do, and said a silent prayer for the right words. “No problem, I get it,” he lied to placate her. “Hey, why don’t you just try to make yourself a picture of him?”

Her ponytail whipped through the air as she spun to face him. “You’d let me come to your training?”

A sunbeam on a rainy day had nothing on her smile.

“N-yes, I guess.”

Bursting with new energy, she hooked her arm through his and bounce-dragged him toward the exit.

What had he done?

Centisom exterior wasn’t a mere patch of grass. The beautiful landscape was living up to Dreamland’s name and Rafael couldn’t help a shudder upon seeing such perfection. His eyes roamed over the manicured lawns, opulent shrubbery, and epic trees, zeroing in on each patch of shadow. Everybody knows the original versions of fairy tales have gruesome endings.

They walked along winding paths that cut through a riot of colorful vegetation and Poppina insisted on crossing over a ridiculous number of quaint bridges arching over gurgling blue streams. She twirled like a fairy on a sugar high.

“This place is so romantic!” Poppina squealed in his ear.

He tried to put some distance between them, but she circled around him in a merry dance.

“Come on, Rafael. Isn’t this just grand?”

No way he was going to flutter around like a butterfly. Granted, he could execute some elegant, smart moves with a soccer ball, but that didn’t count as dancing. Period. Dancing was for–

His thoughts stilled. Just beyond the last bend of the trail sat a majestic sports park. And smack in the middle was a perfect soccer place, green and white and oh so beautiful. His body soared in tandem with his spirit, and he leaped into the air, howling in delight – in a boyish way, of course.

He joined Maddox, who was now leaning on a goalpost, already finished with his warm-up.

“Chilling out already, grandpa?” Rafael teased him.

Maddox narrowed his eyes and went nose to nose with him. “You. Me. Now.”

The fun was on! They passed, dribbled, dueled, and worked the ball until even the leather was drenched in sweat.

When they paused for a break – a water fountain sprouted up from the ground like a steel mushroom – Maddox hailed the onlookers over.

“Come on, join us! Who’s game?”

After a beat, Kiano led six other boys onto the field. Bobby stayed put, nursing his swollen nose.

“We’re one player short,” Rafael observed. “Poppina?”

“I won’t chase a ball around. It’s just silly.” She jumped in place, raised her arms over her head and said, “But I’ll defend your goal until my last breath.”

A few snickers greeted her grand declaration, but Rafael was happy to have her. She was agile, determined, and walked with a little hop in her steps. In his opinion, those were good qualifications for a goalie. Combined with his own defensive abilities, he estimated their chances of winning were good.

He smiled and bowed in appreciation. “It’s a privilege to win the best goalkeeper for my team.”

Bobby’s nasal voice squawked from the sideline. “I’ll be the referee.”

Well, so much for their chances.

“Choose your teammates,” Bobby said, taking a quick step to the side to avoid being knocked over by soccer gears that were magically rising from the ground under his feet.

Rafael chuckled in appreciation of Centisom’s humor.

After a bit of negotiation, the teams were set, and it was game time.

Poppina took the reins. She rushed her squad through short introductions, a warm-up, and a sloppy strategy meeting resumed in one sentence: “Whatever you do, do it to win.”

Rafael could get behind that.

At Bobby’s direction, they took their positions. Rafael and an impish kid named Kylann were on defense, while the lanky Tamke and the shorter Haku stood front and center, faced off with Maddox.

Behind Maddox, Kiano and a Latin looking kid spread out in a wedge-like formation. Cunning. But would the single defender be enough to support their East Indian goalkeeper?

Bobby sounded the whistle and yelled, “Game on!”

At first, Maddox’s blitz strategy paid off. Rafael’s team fumbled around the penalty area, unable to contain the onslaught. Poppina stopped two scoring attempts, but a well-placed corner ball snuck in behind her. Her lapse seemed to fire up her spirit, and she reorganized the team with shouted instructions. When Rafael tackled the ball away from Maddox, she reversed the tide by sending all but Kylann to forward positions. Tamke and Haku took over and bolted with the ball, outrunning Maddox and his wingmen. Rafael trailed them, ready to assist, then pushed ahead to shadow the sole defender.

“Hi, I’m Devart,” the wide-shouldered kid said with a cheeky smile. “I was getting bored. Ready for a bit of fun?”

Rafael eyed him. “Hi, I’m Rafael. Bring it.”

At that instant, Devart made a sudden cut around Rafael, intercepted Haku, and passed to Kiano. Realizing too late that Devart had distracted him on purpose, Rafael streaked down the field to fall back into defense, while Kylann moved into position to block the advancing Maddox. Reading the game, Rafael burst forward with every bit of energy he had and stole the ball away when Maddox tried to pass to his teammate.

Rafael was thankful when Bobby blew the halftime whistle. He returned to Poppina and his team in a slow jog.

“They’re strong,” she resumed with thunder in her voice, “but we’re stronger, and we can do better. Here’s the new plan.”

She was, without doubt, a crafty strategist.

“No risk, no reward,” Tamke grinned, on board with Poppina’s game plan.

The second half was more balanced, but Team Poppina had to work hard for every ball possession. Rafael stuck to Maddox like glue, which took him out of the game and left his teammates scrambling to compensate for his absence.

Team Poppina pressed forward while Rafael and Haku stopped the counter-offensives. The opponent’s keeper, now under pressure, failed to hold a fast shot from Tamke, and the score evened out.

Rafael’s feet glided over the green, his blood pumped through his veins. He was in heaven.

When the final whistle sounded, the score was still tied. The players came together and congratulated one another, bonded by comradery only sport can offer.

To Rafael’s surprise, Bobby had proven to be a fair referee. Rafael turned to him and offered his hand. “Good job, man. Thanks.”

Bobby ignored the peace offering, his hard gaze aimed at Poppina’s back. “Whatever. Have fun in Centisom while you can, loser. Soccer will probably be the only thing you get out of it.”

This time, Rafael agreed.

A few quick showers later, the group met for lunch. While Poppina relayed the game from her manager’s perspective, Maddox shoveled food into his mouth.

Now that the adrenalin-powered glow of competition had faded, Rafael felt intimidated by his classmates’ friendly curiosity. He deflected their questions about his arrival, and when Poppina scolded them for their discourtesy, they backed off.

Soon his classmates’ easy banter and laid-back personalities lightened the mood, and a warm sense of comradery put him at ease. He wondered if that was how genuine friendship felt.

Driven by their shared passion for soccer, the Guardians-in-training agreed to start holding regular soccer practices.

“Hey Bobby, would you like to join us?” Devart asked, pitching his voice to carry across the room.

To their surprise, Bobby rose and made his way toward them. Every set of eyes in the room followed.

“How about Saturday morning. Does that work for everyone?” Poppina asked, taking the lead. “If we can get enough players, we could have regular matches.” Her eyes lit up. “A tournament, even!”

She was getting ahead of herself. Did she know how much planning all the events would require? Reluctant to voice his concern in front of Bobby, Rafael decided to observe first how the others reacted.

Bobby snorted at her. “You’ll need a real trainer. Besides, I don’t play with girls.”

“Is that so, Bobby?” Her smile turned to one of challenge. “Then how about you coach your own team, and we’ll see who gets the cup?”

She ignored the murmur of the crowd and stared at Bobby, her smile getting wider with every passing second.

Rafael was impressed by her spunk.

“You’ll regret this day when I mop the floor with your team of misfits,” Bobby said with a sneer.

“Sure thing. Just keep your nose clear from moving objects,” she countered with a sparkle of glee in her eyes.

For a second, it looked like Bobby might snap. But when he noticed the attentive crowd, he turned away and bumped fists with Haku, Devart, and a few others who had joined his side. As he departed with them, he shot Rafael one last, hateful glare.

The tension ebbed, and it didn’t take long for Feliz and Mehmed to form their teams as well. Even Jennifer joined in.

“Count on me,” she said, winking at Poppina. “I want to make sure Bobby faces at least one girl. At. Every. Single. Game.”

“Bobby is in for a nasty surprise,” Rafael said. He bumped his shoulder with Poppina’s. “You are delightfully devious.”

She batted her eyelashes. “Why, thank you, it’s my pleasure.”

“Well,” Maddox concluded, sweeping his eyes around the now almost empty kitchen, “now that we’ve got the ball rolling, what’s next?”

Rafael settled back on his chair to listen to Poppina’s plan.

Soccer has never been more beautiful.