The buzzer went off again, and the game began. Breckenridge's dealer flicked the ball into the air and slammed it with his racquet. The distinctive crack had Jackals and Foxes breaking formation and rushing forward to find their marks and places on the court. The nerves Neil felt earlier evaporated under the wild weight of the crowd's enthusiasm. Their screams jarred against his skin and the stamping of a hundred thousand feet beat in time to his pulse. Two bodies crashed on the court as the game started rough from the get-go. There was a roar of approval from the rafters.

The ball hit the wall in front of the subs and went careening away. Dan caught it before it went far and threw it to Seth. Her momentum sent her into the wall further up and the Jackal dealer slammed into her a second later. The wall shuddered under their weight. Dan practically threw him aside to get back into the game, and the subs pounded on the wall in support.

Neil raked his gaze along the court, past the Jackal striker that was struggling with Aaron. Aaron and Matt were pushing the Jackal strikers up the court away from goal, but they didn't want to leave too much empty space between them and Andrew. Andrew stood alone on the white line marking the goalkeeper's territory, watching the game unfold in front of him. He spun his racquet in a circle, mocking the Jackals' efforts with that carefree stance.

The ball hit the wall further down the court, and Neil turned his attention back to it. Dan was the first to it again, and she sent it high over Seth's head. Seth and Gorilla raced each other up the court to catch the ball on the rebound. Seth caught it but couldn't hold it for long. He carried it only half a step before Gorilla took a swipe at his racquet. It didn't look like much of a strike, but it sent Seth's racquet flying. Gorilla caught the ball as it bounced off the ground and turned to heave it all the way down the court. It hit the wall a few inches to the right of the home court goal. Andrew watched it bounce away.

One of the Jackal strikers got around Matt and ran for it. Andrew stopped spinning his stick and shifted, readying himself just in time. The striker took a fast shot on goal and Andrew beat it forcefully away, sending it right back down the middle of the court. The Jackal dealer tried to catch it, but it was going faster than he anticipated and it bounced out of the net of his racquet. Dan stole it from him. He bowled her over in response, and the ball went rolling away. Dan beat her stick against the ground in anger as she scrambled back to her feet to chase him. The Jackal dealer already had the ball and was running toward home court.