Barnsley versus Aston Villa. Fourth place versus Third place. It was a battle for the Champions League spots.

The Golden Whistle training session had worked wonders. The players looked sharp. They moved with a speed that made the Aston Villa players look like they were running in treacle.

MINUTE 15

The tactical surprise was deployed.

Isaiah King was on the left wing. Erik Olsen was on the right.

The Aston Villa right back Matty Cash was confused. He expected Isaiah to run down the line and cross. He positioned his body to block the run.

But Isaiah did not run down the line.

He received the ball from Kai Sora.

Isaiah looked at the defender. He smirked.

"Wrong side," Isaiah whispered.

He cut inside onto his right foot. It was his strong foot. The angle was perfect.

Matty Cash tried to turn but he was too late. Isaiah had opened up the whole pitch.

Isaiah curled the ball.

It was not a power shot. It was a finesse shot. It arced over the defense. It dipped over the goalkeeper Martinez.

GOAL.

1 to 0.

The Fortress erupted.

Isaiah ran to the corner. He pointed at Michael on the bench. Then he pointed to his head.

"Genius!" Isaiah mouthed.

Michael smiled. The Inverted Twist was working.

MINUTE 35

But Aston Villa were a good team. They had Ollie Watkins.

The English striker was fast and strong. He made a run between Pavard and Higgins.

A through ball came from Douglas Luiz. It was perfect.

Watkins was through on goal.

But he forgot about the Bull.

Diego Nunez appeared. He was not there a second ago. He just materialized like a vengeful spirit.

Watkins tried to shoot.

Diego slid.

It was a tackle that shook the ground. He took the ball. He took a bit of the grass. He took the wind out of the stadium.

CRUNCH.

Watkins fell over. He looked at the referee for a penalty.

Diego stood up. He offered a hand to Watkins.

"No penalty," Diego said with a wide smile. "Just gravity. You fell down."

The referee waved play on.

"Fear Aura," Michael whispered to Arthur Milton. "It is real."

MINUTE 60

The game was intense. Villa pushed for an equalizer. Barnsley pushed for a second goal.

Kai Sora was controlling the midfield. The Silent Dominator. Every time he touched the ball the game slowed down.

He passed to Erik Olsen on the right.

The Viking was having a quiet game. He was watching. He was learning.

Now he acted.

He drove at the Villa defense. He cut inside onto his left foot.

The defenders backed off terrified of his power.

Erik smashed a shot.

Martinez saved it.

But the rebound fell to Danny Fletcher.

The Captain tapped it in.

GOAL.

2 to 0.

Game over.

FULL TIME

Barnsley 2. Aston Villa 0.

The final whistle blew. The players hugged. The fans sang Hi Ho Silver Lining but changed the words to Hi Ho Sterling Rising.

It was a massive victory. They had leapfrogged Villa. They were now third in the Premier League.

Third.

Michael walked onto the pitch. He hugged Diego. He hugged Kai. He felt invincible.

They walked down the tunnel. The adrenaline was pumping.

"We are going to Europe!" Isaiah King shouted in the dressing room. "Pack your bags! We are going to see the Eiffel Tower!"

"That is in Paris," Erik Olsen noted. "We might play in Germany."

"Germany has sausages," Diego Nunez shouted. "I like Germany!"

The mood was pure joy. Pizza arrived. Music played.

Then the door opened.

Arthur Milton walked in.

He was not smiling.

He looked like he had seen a ghost. His face was grey. His hands were shaking holding a piece of paper.

The music stopped. The players sensed the change in atmosphere immediately.

"Arthur?" Michael asked stepping forward. "What is wrong? Is it an injury?"

Arthur shook his head. He could not speak. He just handed the paper to Michael.

It was a fax. A formal letter from the Premier League FA.

Michael read it.

His blood turned cold.

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF IMMEDIATE SANCTION

CLUB: BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

REASON: BREACH OF PROFIT AND SUSTAINABILITY RULES (SECTION 4.2)

DETAIL: UNDECLARED ASSET INFLATION (THE ACADEMY AND CATERING FACILITIES)

Michael read the bottom line.

PENALTY: IMMEDIATE DEDUCTION OF 8 POINTS.

Eight points.

Michael felt dizzy. The room spun.

"What is it Boss?" Danny Fletcher asked standing up.

Michael looked at his team. They were happy. They were sweating from their victory. They deserved to celebrate.

But he had to tell them.

"Turn the music off," Michael said quietly.

Kai Sora turned off the speaker. The silence was heavy.

"We just won three points," Michael said holding up the letter. "We moved to third place. We had forty eight points."

"Had?" Isaiah asked. His voice trembled.

"The League has investigated our finances," Michael said. "The new Academy. The restaurant. The upgrades. They say we spent too much too fast. They say we broke the rules."

"So?" Diego asked. "We pay a fine. I have money. I will pay."

"It is not a fine Diego," Michael said. "It is points."

He looked them in the eye.

"They have deducted eight points from us. Effective immediately."

The room gasped.

"Eight?!" Danny Fletcher shouted. "That is almost three wins! That is impossible!"

"It is done," Michael said dropping the paper on the table. "Forty eight minus eight is forty."

He walked to the whiteboard where the league table was drawn.

He erased the number 48. He wrote 40.

Then he erased the position 3rd.

He looked at the updated table on his phone. With 40 points they dropped below Tottenham. Below Villa. Below Manchester United. Below Newcastle.

He wrote the new number.

8th.

From 3rd to 8th in one second.

From Champions League to nothing.

Isaiah King sat down on the bench. He put his head in his hands.

"This is not fair," Isaiah whispered. "We won those points. We bled for them."

"They are stealing from us!" Diego Nunez roared. He kicked a metal bin. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall. "I will go to London! I will tackle the FA! Who is the FA? Give me a name!"

"Calm down Diego," Michael said sharply.

"Calm down?!" Diego screamed. "They took our points! They took our hard work! It is theft!"

The players were broken. The joy of the Villa win was gone instantly replaced by anger and despair.

Kai Sora adjusted his sunglasses. He looked at the whiteboard.

"Mathematically," Kai said his voice devoid of emotion. "We are now five points off the top four. It is not impossible."

"It feels impossible," Tom the young defender whispered. "Eight points is huge."

Michael felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

The System.

He pulled it out. He expected a message of failure. He expected a Game Over screen.

But the screen was not red.

It was a deep pulsing purple.

[CRISIS EVENT TRIGGERED]

[THE INJUSTICE]

[THE WORLD WANTS YOU TO FAIL]

[NEW OBJECTIVE: THE REVENGE TOUR]

[DIFFICULTY: EXTREME]

[REWARD: THE HEART OF THE CITY]

[MESSAGE: A DYNASTY IS NOT BUILT ON EASY WINS. A DYNASTY IS BUILT ON DEFIANCE.]

Michael stared at the screen.

Defiance.

He looked at his broken team. They looked like victims.

He could not let them be victims.

Michael grabbed the piece of paper. The official letter from the league.

He held it up.

"Diego," Michael said. "Do you have a lighter?"

Diego blinked. "No Boss. I am an athlete. I do not smoke."

"Arthur," Michael said.

Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He used it to light candles for his wife usually.

Michael flicked the flame.

He set fire to the letter.

The players watched as the paper curled and turned to ash. The words "8 POINTS DEDUCTION" disappeared into smoke.

"They can take the points from the table," Michael said his voice low and dangerous. "But they cannot take the wins from your memory. They cannot take the fear from Aston Villa eyes. They cannot take the three goals against Leeds."

He dropped the burning paper on the floor and stamped on it.

"We are eighth," Michael said. "Okay. We are eighth. The world thinks we are dead. The newspapers will laugh tomorrow. They will say the Barnsley bubble has burst."

He walked into the center of the room.

"But they forgot one thing."

He looked at Diego.

"What happens when you corner a Bull?"

Diego smiled. It was not a happy smile. It was a terrifying smile.

" The Bull kills," Diego growled.

"Exactly," Michael said. "They made a mistake. They made us angry. They took our points so we are going to take their souls."

He pointed at the fixture list on the wall.

"We have twelve games left. I do not want to win them. I want to destroy them. I want to win by four goals. Five goals. I want to make the FA regret the day they learned the name Barnsley."

Isaiah King stood up. He wiped his eyes. He looked at the ash on the floor.

"Us against the world," Isaiah said.

"Us against the world," Danny Fletcher repeated standing up.

"I like these odds," Erik Olsen said calmly. "In Norway when the bear attacks we do not run. We fight."

"We fight," Michael agreed.

"Arthur," Michael shouted.

"Yes Boss?" Arthur sniffed.

"Cancel the day off tomorrow. We train at 6 AM."

"6 AM?" Arthur asked horrified. "It is pitch black."

"We are the darkness now Arthur," Michael said. "We train in the dark. We work while they sleep. And when we come back..."

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