Netherworld: Chapter 4 Title: Netherworld Fandom: Galactik Football Characters: Rocket, Sinedd, Tia, D'Jok, Warren Rating: PG-13 Summary: The Sphere’s changed Rocket, but Sinedd’s the only one around to notice it. Rocket plays Woowamboo in the Sphere and makes Sinedd an offer he can’t refuse, which doesn’t make Harris or Bleylock happy. Slight hints of Sinedd x Rocket pre-slash in this chapter and a bit of violence.
Netherworld: The Descent
“Where were you?” Rocket demanded harshly as soon as Sinedd entered the room.
Startled, Sinedd looked at him, having been deep in his own thoughts and unaware of the still figure sitting on top of the bed closest to the door. Seeing it was Rocket, he recovered quickly. “None of your business.”
He tugged his jacket off, “Why’re you sitting there?”
“That stupid mouse’s still on the loose.” Rocket said, resentment clear in his tone. Seeing that Sinedd was about to change, he jumped off the bed and sped over to the other boy, grabbing his wrist, “Don’t.”
“What? I’m not allowed to change now? In case you’ve forgotten, this is my room. You’re just a guest here.” Sinedd tried to yank his arm away, but Rocket was stronger than him. If he kicked Rocket, Rocket might have to let go, but then it could turn into a real fight. Neither of the boys were in a good mood; Rocket, because he’d been cooped up waiting for Sinedd and Sinedd because of Harris’ proclamation.
“I know that.” The words were growled out lowly, Rocket’s temper rising from having had to watch his former team playing Sinedd’s and then having nothing to do afterwards except dwell on it. “But I want to go to the Sphere. And it won’t let me in without you at the controls.”
Sinedd was the only one who knew how to work the controls. It gave him a certain level of power and ensured that nobody would be playing matches except at midnight against the current captain. Sinedd wasn’t about to give up his power anytime soon by sharing the secrets of how to operate the Sphere with anyone else.
“Fine.” Sinedd gave his arm a shake, indicating that Rocket should let go of it. He wasn’t going to ask Rocket to let go. That’d be an acknowledgment that he couldn’t simply make Rocket do it, and Sinedd refused to look so weak.
For a moment, Rocket’s fingers tightened their grasp on Sinedd’s wrist. The fingerless gloves had left the pads of his wiry fingers roughened, the contrast between them and his palm striking. His eyes were dark, the usually lion-yellow hue of the iris looking more like tarnished gold, and as Rocket squeezed, Sinedd could’ve sworn that Rocket’s pupils dilated as if with pleasure.
The grinding of Sinedd’s bones together was audible as a disquieting rasp; Sinedd gritted his teeth and refused to so much as whine. Tone uneven, he managed to force out the command, “Let. GO.”
Rocket stared into Sinedd’s eyes. Sinedd’s own pupils were dilated, but from pain, not pleasure. The liquid blackness of them reminded Rocket of Kernor, and how she had hung her head in defeat, going spineless, when he’d beaten her in the Sphere and blown his dust in her face. Kernor, kneeling, the proud goalie brought to her knees and broken…
Rocket’s heartbeat thudded to the same rhythm as the crowd’s screams and it wasn’t Sinedd he saw but rather, Kernor.
Then Sinedd spoke and broke the illusion.
“Sure.” Rocket said, and his throat was clogged with something that made his tone thicken. He practically threw Sinedd’s arm away, the motion as rough as the one with which he’d grabbed Sinedd, and turned to the door. Over his shoulder, he tossed, “All you had to do was ask.”
Part of him wondered why it had felt so good to humiliate Kernor (to hurt Sinedd). The larger part of him was occupied with thoughts of the Sphere and how much better that would feel.
No part of him thought of Tia.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sinedd rubbed his wrist gingerly, taking a break from monitoring the Sphere. Where Rocket had grabbed him, the muscles still hurt. The rising redness around the skin, like a bracelet made of finger imprints, would become a bruise, Sinedd knew.
It was hardly the first time that someone had pushed him around. Only way to keep yourself safe in the orphanage was to make everyone else too scared of you to mess with you.
Sinedd had been good at that. Scrawny, but tall, and more importantly, clever in a sly sort of way. He was quick with his hands, and more than once had resorted to planting false evidence to get a bully in trouble. He didn’t have any problem taking what wasn’t his either, if he needed it.
And now, all his talents were being poured into Galactik Football and the Sphere. Galactik Football was where his genuine talent for sports shone; there was a reason he’d been chosen for the All Stars. The Sphere was where he could play as violently as he liked and enjoy, second-hand, the violence of others. If Galactik Football had a problem, in Sinedd’s eyes, it was that nobody ever truly played their best. They all held back and paid lip service to sportsmanship instead.
Idiots.
Sinedd’s lip curled back as his hands flew over the controls, changing the settings for Rocket once again. Rocket might’ve hurt him, but at least Rocket wasn’t weak. At least Rocket went after what he wanted.
Sinedd understood the language of violence far too well. Whereas another boy might’ve reconsidered rooming with Rocket after being hurt by him, Sinedd simply made a note of the fact that Rocket was willing to use violence to get his way, and relied on the fact that he could fight well enough to defend himself if things came to that.
Besides, he was in too deep now. If he kicked Rocket out and Rocket tattled about Netherball and where he’d been staying, Sinedd’d be in more trouble than Rocket as the instigator. And that’d put an end to all his pretty paychecks from Harris.
“Can I go in?” A voice asked in the cant of the Wambasians.
For the second time in an hour, Sinedd was taken back by the unexpected presence of someone else. He twisted around to look over his shoulders, hands not leaving the controls.
Woowamboo. He recognized the other player instantly. “You going to challenge Rocket tonight?”
”Ya.” Woowamboo confirmed with a nod of his grey-hued head.
Sinedd’s smile was colorless as he hit the keys to let Woowamboo enter. “Go ahead.”
Woowamboo caught the ball as soon as he hit the center; Rocket turned slowly and saw his opponent.
A grin, and Woowamboo bragged, “I hope you’re ready for a real match.”
In response, Rocket only smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Midnight.
Match time.
Sinedd tapped the keys quickly, and flashed the thumbs up signal for the robot to start its introduction.
Sinedd paid it no heed, nor Rocket’s showy entrance. Woowamboo’s glare at Rocket, however, made Sinedd smile for just a moment before the two players entered the Sphere.
“So, Rocket, you’re da big man now. Think you can stay da big man?” Woowamboo’s lilted challenge was broadcast to all the spectators, voice clear in the pause before the match began.
“We’ll see,” Rocket said, the neutrality of his voice at odds with the fierce, surging excitement he felt at knowing another match was about to start.
“Yes. We’ll see soon.” The two were almost the same height, Woowamboo barely sorter than Rocket. His webbed feet and greater ability gave him an edge over Rocket’s strength; the first goal went to him soon enough.
At that, Sinedd’s spirits lifted. If Rocket got kicked out of the Sphere, then he could play Rocket on his own without getting into trouble with Harris.
Sinedd’s grin turned vicious as Woowamboo pointed both his index fingers at Rocket, clearly mocking him. Yes. Sinedd leaned forwards, closer to the screen, and his wrist throbbed with eagerness to see Rocket brought down.
As Woowambo strutted away, Rocket took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Time to beat this guy.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sinedd wasn’t the only one watching the match. Harris was too, though he failed to see why it was important, and said as much to Bleylock.
“You’re not watching the right match.” Bleylock said. “Let me assist you.”
A touch to the keys, and suddenly, Rocket was surrounded in a flare of blue and Woowamboo in twists of orange.
Flux. Unmistakable.
Captivated by it, Harris barely listened to Bleylock’s plans – until he saw Rocket’s face twist with a triumph that seemed inhuman. “But the process… must weaken them. We’re extracting their Flux.”
He wasn’t speaking simply of the physical level.
Bleylock didn’t realize that.
More fool him, Harris thought, and gazed with covetous eyes at the Flux that was being harvested. Someone like Bleylock didn’t deserve to have so much power.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“You look a little scared. Are you okay?” The words were mocking, and Rocket might’ve as well have been speaking to Sinedd as Woowambo. Shoving Woowamboo back had been deeply satisfying; Kernor had shoved Rocket in the same way, and Rocket still remembered the slam of pain that had struck his back when he’d fallen against the Sphere’s floor.
All signs of good humor were gone from Woowamboo’s long face. “You will be leaving the Sphere, not me.”
Rocket shook his head from side to side, and smiled again in the same way that he had when Woowamboo had challenged him during practice. “You’re wrong.”
The next goal was Rocket’s, tying their scores. Everyone cheered — except Sinedd, who folded his arms over his chest and watched, waiting for Rocket to win again.
But when Rocket did win, it was because he’d used Sinedd’s trademark trip-kick from behind, a low slide that came in and struck the opponent’s ankle to make them fall.
Sinedd curled his fingers into his own arms, anger a bitter taste at the back of his mouth, like bile. That was his move! That should’ve been his victory.
Everyone screamed for Rocket, but neither Sinedd or Rocket cared. Even looming over Woowamboo and watching him groan brought Rocket no pleasure. It didn’t feel like enough. He’d beaten him but it wasn’t enough.
He wanted it to be Sinedd who was lying there.
The thought flashed across Rocket’s mind, and he knew it for the truth.
“Sinedd!” He called out, looking up to see where the cameras were that would allow him to look directly at the controller. “You and me. Next time.”
No response. The flare of impatient rage within him was by now familiar. “Can you hear me?”
Outside the Sphere, Sinedd smirked and leaned in towards the mike set into the control panel. How convenient. He hadn’t challenged Rocket. Rocket had challenged him. Harris couldn’t object to that, right?
“Yeah.” He was smiling now, anticipation sharpening his eyes, “I hear you.”
Ignoring Woowamboo, Rocket strode out of the Sphere. His attention was already on tomorrow’s match.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Make sure that doesn’t happen, Harris. I don’t want Sinedd in the Sphere. He’s not to play Rocket.” General Bleylock said, displeased with the challenge that Rocket had issued and Sinedd’s acceptance. Sinedd was a good player too, but Rocket was the one who currently had more aggression. The issues with the League must be weighing on him heavily indeed if he was so angry every time he played in the Sphere.
Diplomatically, Harris refrained from pointing out that he’d already told Sinedd not to play Rocket. Instead, he answered, “As you wish, General Bleylock.”
”We must keep Rocket in there as long as possible. He’s a very good source of power.” General Bleylock looked out the window, striking a military pose with his hands behind his back, and Harris barely managed to stifle a sigh. Did Bleylock take him for an idiot who needed everything explained twice?
Still, if Bleylock was underestimating him, it’d all prove to be to Harris’ ultimate benefit…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That night, the room was completely silent as the two boys lay in their beds, not speaking to each other. The All Star Match was tomorrow; so was Sinedd’s match against Rocket.
The latter was what both of them were thinking about.
Sinedd knew the All Star match was what the public would see. It would be a turning point in his career, a public display of his skills measured against the cream of the other teams. It was what he should be focusing on.
But his match against Rocket dominated his thoughts. In the bed right next to him lay his opponent. Sinedd could hear him breathing. Sinedd could hear the sheets rub against each other as Rocket turned over. Rocket was right there, and so Sinedd could only think of him and how sweet it would be to beat Rocket tomorrow.
Rocket’s thoughts ran along similar lines. The jingling tone of the peddler selling rocks from the Shadows Archipelago hadn’t left his mind since he’d encountered the man that afternoon. It was driving him slowly insane, Rocket was sure. But it’d stop when he beat Sinedd (up). He turned restlessly over in his bed, facing Sinedd. There he was. Sinedd was right there.
Rocket would beat him tomorrow and return to this room and Sinedd would be the victory that Rocket took home with him. It wouldn’t be like the other matches, where once he’d left the Sphere, he’d left his opponent behind.
Sinedd would come with him; Sinedd would be a living trophy, a walking symbol of Rocket’s victory.
Rocket smiled to himself, and his teeth were very white against the Smog-like darkness.