The City Ground in Nottingham was a dungeon. The stands were close to the pitch and the fans screamed so loud that the grass seemed to vibrate.

It was a Tuesday night. It was cold. It was raining. It was the perfect night for a war.

Michael Sterling stood in the technical area. He wore a long black coat that reached his knees. He looked calm but inside his chest his heart was beating like a drum.

Ninth place.

The table did not lie. Barnsley had slipped. The magic of the start of the season had faded. Now they had to fight in the mud.

Arthur Milton stood next to him. The old scout looked worried.

"Look at their team sheet Boss," Arthur shouted over the noise. "Nottingham Forest have made a change. A big change."

Michael looked at the screen.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST GK: LUCAS SILVA (DEBUT)

"Who is Lucas Silva?" Michael asked.

"He is eighteen," Arthur said. "He is Brazilian. We scouted him two years ago but he went to Portugal. He is making his Premier League debut tonight. They say he has springs in his legs."

Michael looked at the Forest goal.

The goalkeeper was there. He was tall. He was thin. He wore a bright green kit that made him look like a radioactive spider. He was jumping up and down and touching the crossbar with his head.

"He looks bouncy," Michael noted. "But he is a kid. Isaiah will test him."

KICKOFF

The game began with a thud.

Nottingham Forest did not want to play football. They wanted to play wrestling. They were fighting against relegation and they fought for every inch of grass.

Minute 5.

Kenji Sato received the ball in the midfield. The Japanese Engine was ready to run.

But before he could turn a Forest midfielder smashed into him.

CRASH.

Kenji flew into the air. He landed hard in the mud.

The referee waved play on.

"Welcome to Nottingham!" the Forest fans roared.

Kenji stood up immediately. He wiped the mud from his face. He did not complain. He just bowed to the referee and ran back into position.

"He is tough," Arthur said. "He is made of steel wire."

Minute 12.

Barnsley tried the new tactic. The Overload.

Isaiah King had the ball on the right wing. Two Forest defenders rushed to double team him. They thought they had him trapped.

But then they saw a blur of motion.

It was Benjamin Pavard.

The World Cup winner was not staying back. He was sprinting. He overlapped Isaiah like a winger.

"Go Benji!" Isaiah shouted.

Isaiah slipped the pass through.

Pavard collected it. He was in space. He looked up. He crossed the ball.

It was a perfect cross.

Danny Fletcher rose at the back post. The Captain. He headed it down.

It was a certain goal.

But then the green spider moved.

Lucas Silva dived. He did not just dive. He flew.

SLAP.

He clawed the ball off the line.

The crowd gasped.

"How?!" Danny Fletcher screamed holding his head. "How did he reach that?!"

"He is fast Boss," Arthur whispered. "He is very fast."

Minute 20.

The game became a battle of wills.

Shaun Higgins was the leader of the defense without Diego Nunez. The Butcher was working overtime.

The Forest striker was Chris Wood. He was huge. He was strong.

Wood tried to hold up the ball. Higgins ran through him.

THUD.

Wood fell over. Higgins stood over him.

"This is my grass," Higgins grunted. "Get off my grass."

But Forest kept coming. They used the long ball. They bypassed the midfield.

Minute 30.

Forest won a corner.

The ball came in high and swirling in the wind.

Sam Jones came out to punch it. But he was blocked by three Forest players.

The ball fell loose in the box.

Chaos.

A Forest player shot.

BLOCK!

Pavard threw his body in the way.

The rebound fell to Wood. He shot again.

BLOCK!

Kenji Sato slid in. The ball hit his ribs.

It fell to another Forest player. He smashed it.

BLOCK!

This time it was Higgins. He blocked it with his face.

The ball bounced out.

Higgins stood up. His nose was red. He roared.

"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE?!" Higgins screamed. "WE ARE IRON!"

The Barnsley fans in the away end went crazy. They loved the fight. They loved the passion.

But Michael was worried.

"We are surviving Arthur," Michael said. "We are not playing. We need control."

He looked at Kai Sora.

The Architect was quiet. The mud was slowing down the ball. The physical game was not his style.

"Kai!" Michael shouted. "Wake up! Find the space!"

Kai adjusted his shirt. He looked annoyed.

"It is messy Boss," Kai shouted back. "They are very rude. They do not let me pass."

"Make them let you!" Michael yelled.

Minute 40.

Kai Sora decided to wake up.

He dropped deep. He took the ball from Sam Jones.

A Forest midfielder ran at him like a bull.

Kai waited. He waited until he could smell the sweat of the opponent.

Then he did a Cryuff turn.

The midfielder slid past him into the advertising boards.

Kai looked up. He saw the Overload again.

Pavard was running. Isaiah was running.

Kai hit a long pass.

WHOOSH.

It landed on the chest of Pavard.

The defender turned winger controlled it. He cut inside. He was in the box.

Pavard shot with his left foot.

It was a rocket. It was heading for the top corner.

Lucas Silva flew again.

FINGERTIPS.

He touched it onto the bar.

CLANG.

The ball bounced away.

Michael kicked the air. "This keeper! Is he Superman?!"

"He is having the game of his life," Arthur groaned. "Debut adrenaline. It is a powerful drug."

HALFTIME.

0 to 0.

The locker room was cold. The players were shivering. They were covered in mud.

Higgins was bleeding from his nose. Kenji had a bruise on his cheek.

"They are fighting hard," Higgins said wiping blood with a towel. "They are animals."

"We are animals too," Michael said standing in the center of the room. "We are Misfits."

He looked at the stats on his tablet.

SHOTS: Barnsley 8 Forest 2

SAVES: Silva 6 Jones 1

"Their keeper is keeping them alive," Michael said. "He is young. He is confident. We have to break him."

"How?" Isaiah King asked. "He has arms like an octopus."

"We overload him," Michael said. "We create chaos. He can save one shot. Can he save two? Can he save three?"

He looked at Kai Sora.

"Kai. You are sitting too deep. Push up. Get closer to the box. I want you to shoot."

"Shoot?" Kai asked. "But passing is more elegant."

"I do not want elegance today," Michael said slamming his hand on the table. "I want goals. Muddy ugly goals. Shoot the ball Kai."

Kai nodded. "Okay Boss. I will shoot."

SECOND HALF.

The teams walked back out. The rain was heavier now. The pitch was a swamp.

Minute 46.

Forest started fast. They wanted to catch Barnsley sleeping.

They played a long ball. Higgins slipped in the mud.

Chris Wood was through.

The giant striker ran towards the goal.

"NO!" Michael screamed.

Sam Jones came out. He made himself big.

Wood shot low.

Sam saved it with his foot. The ball spun away.

"WAKE UP!" Sam roared at his defense.

Minute 48.

Barnsley countered immediately.

Kenji Sato picked up the loose ball. The Engine revved up.

He ran. He ran past one tackle. He jumped over another.

He passed to Arda Guler.

Arda saw the movement.

The Overload was on.

Pavard was sprinting down the right. Isaiah was cutting inside.

But Arda did not pass to them.

He saw Kai Sora arriving late at the edge of the box.

Arda laid the ball off.

Kai was there. He had space.

"SHOOT!" the fans screamed.

Kai remembered the halftime talk. Muddy ugly goals.

He did not try to curl it. He did not try to place it.

He put his laces through the ball.

BOOM.

The ball flew through the rain. It did not spin. It just traveled like a cannonball.

It was heading for the bottom corner.

Lucas Silva saw it late. The Wonderkid reacted.

He dived.

He got a hand to it.

SAVE!

But the power was too much. He could not hold it.

The ball spilled loose in the six yard box.

It was sitting there in the mud. A golden egg waiting to be cracked.

Danny Fletcher reacted first. The predator.

But the Forest defender Murillo was there too.

They slid together.

CRASH.

It was a collision of legs and desire.

The ball squirted out sideways.

It rolled to Isaiah King.

The goal was gaping. Silva was on the floor. The defenders were tangled.

Isaiah looked at the empty net.

He pulled his leg back.

But suddenly a green hand appeared from the mud.

Lucas Silva scrambled. He threw himself across the goal mouth like a desperate salmon.

Isaiah shot.

THWACK.

The ball hit the hand of Silva.

It deflected up.

It hit the crossbar.

CLANG.

It bounced down.

On the line? Over the line?

The referee waved his watch.

NO GOAL.

The ball spun away and was hacked clear by a Forest defender.

Michael Sterling fell to his knees in the mud. He could not believe it.

"HOW?!" Michael screamed at the sky. "HOW IS THAT NOT A GOAL?!"

Arthur Milton held his head. "He is a witch Boss. That keeper is a witch."

Minute 50.

The game did not stop.

The clearance from Forest was long. It went high into the night sky.

It landed near the halfway line.

Higgins went to head it. But he was tired. He misjudged the flight of the ball in the wind.

The ball bounced over his head.

And running onto it was Elanga. The Forest winger. The fastest man on the pitch.

He was through.

He was alone.

Fifty yards of empty green grass between him and Sam Jones.

The stadium held its breath.

Michael stood up. He felt the cold rain running down his neck.

This was the Premier League. You miss a chance at one end and you die at the other.

Elanga sprinted. Sam Jones backed up.

It was a duel.

One on one.

Elanga reached the box. He did a feint. Sam bought it. Sam went left.

Elanga went right.

The goal was empty.

Elanga rolled the ball.

It rolled slow. It rolled true.

Towards the net.

But then...

A shadow appeared.

It was not a bird. It was not a plane.

It was Kenji Sato.

The Engine.

He had sprinted from the other box. He had run the length of the pitch in ten seconds.

He slid.

He threw his body at the ball just before it crossed the line.

SLIDE.

He hooked it away.

He crashed into the net. He got tangled in the mesh.

But the ball...

The ball was rolling away towards the corner flag.

CLEARANCE!

The Barnsley fans erupted. It was louder than a goal.

Kenji lay in the net panting. He gave a thumbs up.

"I am okay!" Kenji shouted. "I just need oxygen!"

Michael looked at Arthur. They were both shaking.

"This game," Arthur whispered. "This game is going to kill me."

"It is not over yet Arthur," Michael said wiping the rain from his eyes. "It is only minute fifty."

"We have forty minutes left of this madness?" Arthur asked horrified.

"Yes," Michael smiled a grim determined smile. "And now we know something important."

"What?"

"Their keeper is a god," Michael said. "But our Engine is a machine. And machines do not break."

Michael turned to the pitch.

"KENJI!" Michael roared. "GET UP! WE GO AGAIN!"

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