The bus ride to the south coast was long. Brighton was far away from Barnsley.

It felt like they were driving to a different country.

Arthur Milton looked out of the window at the ocean. The grey waves were crashing against the beach.

"I hate seagulls," Arthur grumbled. "They steal chips. They scream. They are rude birds."

Michael Sterling sat next to him. He was watching a tactical video of Roberto De Zerbi on his tablet. The Brighton manager was a genius. He liked to bait the opponent. He wanted you to press him so he could pass around you.

"We cannot just run at them," Michael whispered. "If we run like wolves they will trap us."

"Wolves eat birds," Arthur argued. "It is nature."

"Not these birds," Michael said. "These birds play possession football."

The bus pulled into the Amex Stadium. It was a modern beautiful stadium but the wind was howling. The flags on the roof were snapping violently.

Inside the locker room the mood was intense. The Little Brother Boost from the morning session was still active.

Diego Nunez was taping his wrists. He looked like a boxer preparing for a title fight.

"I promised Lucas," Diego muttered to himself. "I promised a wink. I cannot wink if we are losing."

"We will not lose," Isaiah King said putting on his pink boots. "We are on the Revenge Tour. We are going to smash them."

Michael stood in the center of the room.

"Listen," Michael said. "Brighton want you to get angry. They want you to rush out of position. Do not take the bait. Stay disciplined."

"We are disciplined Boss," Kai Sora said adjusting his socks. "We are ice."

"Good," Michael said. "Let us go."

KICKOFF

The game did not start well.

In fact it started like a horror movie.

The referee blew the whistle and Brighton passed the ball back to their goalkeeper Steele.

Danny Fletcher and Isaiah King sprinted forward. They were full of energy. They wanted to win the ball immediately.

But this was the trap.

Steele waited. He waited until Danny was one meter away. Then he chipped a pass to the defender Dunk.

Dunk waited. Isaiah sprinted at him.

Dunk passed to Gilmour in the midfield.

Suddenly the Barnsley press was broken. Six Barnsley players were in the wrong position.

Gilmour turned. He saw the open space.

He passed to Mitoma on the left wing.

Kaoru Mitoma was fast. He was technical. He had written a university thesis on dribbling.

Tom the young academy defender was marking him. Tom was brave but he was inexperienced.

Mitoma ran at Tom. He stopped. He looked at Tom. He started again.

Tom hesitated.

Mitoma breezed past him.

He drove into the box. Pavard came across to cover.

Mitoma cut the ball back.

Evan Ferguson the Irish striker was waiting.

He smashed it.

GOAL.

Minute 2.

Brighton 1. Barnsley 0.

The home fans erupted. The Seagulls were flying.

Michael stood on the touchline. He felt a drop of rain hit his face.

"It is okay," Michael clapped his hands. "It is just one goal! Reset! Keep the shape!"

But the shape was gone. The anger from the points deduction had made the players reckless. They wanted to score so badly that they forgot how to defend.

MINUTE 8

Barnsley tried to attack immediately.

Erik Olsen the Viking received the ball on the wing. He tried to force a pass to Kai Sora.

Gross intercepted it.

Brighton countered. It was surgical. It was precise.

Pass. Pass. Pass.

They moved the ball like a pinball machine. Barnsley players were chasing shadows.

Diego Nunez ran out of position to tackle Pedro. He missed.

The ball was played into the space Diego had left behind.

Mitoma was there again.

He curled a shot from the edge of the box.

Sam Jones dived. But he was unsighted by his own defender.

The ball nestled in the bottom corner.

GOAL.

Minute 10.

Brighton 2. Barnsley 0.

Ten minutes played. Two goals down.

Michael felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

Arthur Milton dropped his clipboard. The papers scattered in the wind.

"Oh no," Arthur whispered. "The Revenge Tour has a flat tire."

On the pitch the players were arguing.

"Where were you?!" Shaun Higgins shouted at Diego. "You left a hole!"

"I tried to kill the attack!" Diego roared back. "Why did nobody cover me?!"

"Stop shouting!" Kai Sora yelled. "You are giving me a headache!"

It was chaos. The unity from the morning was cracking under the pressure of the scoreboard.

Michael looked at the System interface.

[MATCH STATUS: DISASTER]

[TEAM MENTALITY: PANIC]

[TACTICAL DISCIPLINE: 0 PERCENT]

[WARNING: RELEGATION FORM DETECTED]

Relegation form.

Those words chilled Michael more than the wind.

Brighton were enjoying themselves. They were passing the ball around the back enjoying the cheers of "Olé" from their fans.

MINUTE 20

It almost got worse.

Tom slipped on the wet grass. Mitoma was through again.

"Not again," Michael closed his eyes.

But this time Sam Jones came out. He made himself huge. He blocked the shot with his face.

The ball bounced out.

"CLEAR IT!" Sam screamed.

Pavard hook kicked the ball away.

The game paused for a throw in.

Michael signaled to his captain.

"Danny!" Michael shouted. "Get them together! Calm them down!"

Danny Fletcher ran around grabbing shirts.

"Stop running!" Danny shouted. "Stop chasing! Stand still! Breathe!"

The players stopped. They looked at each other. They were panting. They looked wild and disorganized.

"We are playing like idiots," Danny said bluntly. "Michael told us not to take the bait. We took the bait. We ate the bait. We swallowed the hook."

"They are annoying," Diego grunted. "They pass pass pass. I want to tackle."

"If you tackle air we lose 5 to 0," Danny said. "Hold your position Diego. Trust the plan."

MINUTE 30

The game settled down slightly. Barnsley stopped sprinting like madmen. They started to sit deeper.

But Brighton still had 80 percent possession. It was humiliating.

Michael looked at his bench. He needed a change. He needed a spark.

But it was only thirty minutes in. Making a sub now would destroy the confidence of the player coming off.

"We have to wait until halftime," Michael said to Arthur.

"If we get to halftime," Arthur said hiding his eyes behind his woolly hat. "I cannot watch Boss. Tell me when it is safe."

On the pitch Kai Sora had the ball.

He was surrounded by three Brighton players.

Usually Kai would pass. But there were no options. Everyone was hiding.

Kai adjusted his invisible sunglasses.

"Fine," Kai muttered. "I will do it myself."

Kai did a roulette turn. He spun away from Gilmour.

He looked up. He saw Erik Olsen making a run.

Kai hit a long ball.

It was a beautiful pass. It cut through the wind.

Erik Olsen chased it. The Viking was fast. He beat the defender to the ball.

He was at a tight angle.

He smashed a shot.

It hit the side netting.

The Barnsley fans in the away end cheered for a second thinking it was a goal but then groaned.

"Better!" Michael shouted. "Much better!"

MINUTE 40

But the danger was always there.

Brighton attacked again. A cross came in.

Diego Nunez jumped. He was angry. He jumped higher than he had ever jumped before.

He headed the ball clear. He landed with a thud that shook the ground.

He looked at the camera on the sideline.

He remembered Lucas. The little boy with the glasses.

Diego did not wink. He looked too scary to wink. But he pointed at the camera and tapped the badge on his chest.

"I AM STILL HERE!" Diego roared.

It was a small moment. But it was a sign of life.

HALFTIME

Brighton 2. Barnsley 0.

The players walked down the tunnel with their heads down. They were wet. They were losing. They were being humiliated.

Michael walked into the dressing room.

He did not shout. He did not throw a tea cup.

He stood by the door and waited for everyone to sit down.

The silence was heavy. The only sound was the squeak of wet boots on the floor.

"Well," Michael said calmly. "That was interesting."

Isaiah King looked up. "Interesting Boss? It was a nightmare. They are playing FIFA with us."

"They are playing football," Michael corrected. "You are playing dodgeball. You are running away from the ball."

He walked to the tactical board.

"You are angry about the points deduction. Good. Be angry. But you are playing like angry children. You are throwing a tantrum."

He looked at Diego.

"Diego. You want to win for Lucas?"

"Yes," Diego said quietly.

"Then stop running around like a headless chicken. Be a wall. A wall does not run. A wall stands."

He looked at Tom.

"Tom. Mitoma is fast. Stop trying to race him. Show him the outside. Make him use his left foot."

"Yes Boss," Tom whispered.

Michael looked at the whole team.

"We are 2 to 0 down. The world is laughing at us. They say the 8 points deduction broke us. They say the fairytale is over."

He paused.

"Are they right?"

Kai Sora stood up. He took a sip of his energy drink.

"No," Kai said. "They are wrong. They are mathematically incorrect."

"Why?" Michael asked.

"Because the game is ninety minutes," Kai said. "And we have not started playing yet."

"Exactly," Michael said. "The first half was a warm up. A very bad warm up."

He clapped his hands loud.

"Now we play. We press but we press together. We attack but we attack with brains."

He looked at Erik Olsen.

"Erik. You hit the side netting. Next time hit the goal."

"I will aim three centimeters to the left," Erik stated like a robot.

"Good adjustment," Michael smiled.

"Arthur," Michael shouted.

"Yes Boss?" Arthur piped up from the corner where he was eating a biscuit for comfort.

"Get the tablets. Show them the spaces. Brighton leave gaps behind the fullbacks. We exploit them."

The mood in the room shifted. The panic was gone. The embarrassment was fading.

They were still in a hole. A deep dark hole.

But Misfits were good at climbing.

"One goal," Michael said holding up a finger. "We get one goal and the panic switches to them. They are winning. They have something to lose. We have nothing to lose."

"Let us burn it down," Diego Nunez growled standing up.

"Burn it down," the team repeated.

Michael opened the door.

"Go out there," Michael said. "And remind them why we are the Dynasty."

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