Lucas tugged on the corners of the tight fitting jersey as he walked down the dark tunnel. Overhead, a thunderous chorus of screams and cheers reverberated throughout the facility. He knew that just above his head, through a few feet of concrete and steel seating, stood a massive indoor arena filled with a few thousand roaring spectators. It would be filled with hundreds of bright lights, flashing cameras, flowing banners, and enormous speakers. The thought filled Lucas with a deep level of uneasiness. He tried to focus on his immediate surroundings in order to distract himself from the dreaded coming events. The dark concrete tunnel was plastered from end to end with team banners from every franchise that had qualified for this year's championship tournament. The month-long event had seen sixty four teams enter. Each and every one proudly on display with vibrant colors.

As long as the walk was, it was over far too quickly. Lucas could now see a set of stairs at the end of the hallway with two groups of people lining each side. The left group of five had gold and red colored jerseys while the right group of five matched Lucas’ own green and blue. All ten turned as Lucas joined his team. Lucas kept his head down, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze. A series of footsteps sounded on the staircase in front and the two groups turned their attention towards the descending coaches. Alan and the opposing coach walked over to their respective sides and gave out instructions.

“All right, everyone’s here. Looks like we won't be needing that substitute after all.” Alan spoke directly to the boy in front of Lucas.

Trevor blew out a long breath and stepped out of line. Lucas thought the younger boy had more color in his face now than he did a few months ago.

Is he relieved? Or did he want to play in my place? Lucas wondered infernally.

“Right,” Alan glanced at his watch before gesturing over his shoulder, “GrandMasters will be introduced first then us. Just remember what we went over in scrims, keep a level head out there, and follow Lucas’ lead. If we play like we usually do we’ll move on to the finals without issue.”

Alan placed his hand out and beckoned for the team to place a hand on top of his. Lucas waited for the rest of his team to place their hands first before adding his own to the pile.

“Defcon Zero on three. One, two…”

“‘Defcon Zero.’” the six players' cheer echoed through the tunnel.

On the opposite side, a similar cheer for GrandMaster Gaming sounded off right after their own.

Alan nodded, satisfied, and then walked back down the hallway towards the locker rooms. Even in the darkness, Lucas could feel the glares from his teammates as Alan left. Lucas once again tried to distract himself by focusing on the announcer’s booming voice in the distance.

“...third year of professional competition, we are one day away from crowning another champion. But first, the final four teams must battle it out for their chance at the throne. Dallas, are you ready to meet your contenders?”

Thunderous cheers shook the stadium above.

“First up! The underdogs, the Cinderella story, the team that everyone counted out from day one! Grand, Master, Gaming!”

More cheers and applause roared. The five players to Lucas’ left began to walk slowly up the stairs.

“It is my privilege to introduce these five legends. Who fought tooth and nail for their shot at the title. First up to represent the GrandMasters. From Hamburg Germany, it's Lazer!”

The tall nineteen year old at the front of GM’s line ascended the stairs and stepped out on stage.

“From Spokane Washington, let's hear it for Rapid!”

The next member of GM followed Lazer out on stage.

“Next up Dallas, give it up for the hometown hero, GM Toxic!”

Louder cheers rippled through the crowd as Toxic stepped into view.

“From Naples Italy, GM Testudo!”

The last member of GM turned and met Lucas’ gaze as his teammate disappeared up onto the stage. GM’s last player was a bit older than his teammates, around twenty three if Lucas remembered correctly. He gave Lucas a simple nod before turning back to face the stairs ahead.

“And finally, the captain himself. The SMG king, G. M. BLASTY!”

The loudest cheers yet ripped through the stadium as Blasty stepped out of sight. Now that they were alone in the tunnel, Flash turned around.

“Forget to wake up on time, Silence?” He sneered down at Lucas.

Lucas shook his head but didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t feed into Flash’s aggravation. All Lucas could do was stay quiet and hope his teammate would move on.

“Yeah, keep living up to your namesake. None of us want to hear it anyway.” Flash pushed hard on Lucas’ chest.

Lucas stumbled backwards but managed to stay upright. Flash snickered but turned his attention back towards the staircase where the announcer was finishing up GM’s introduction.

“Against all odds, here they stand. Once again Dallas, let's hear it for GrandMaster Gaming!”

The crowd’s energy continued to feed off the announcer. The overall volume inside the stadium rose to match the anticipation of the match to come.

“GM is as close as they’ve ever been to a championship. But one team stands in their way. The two time defending world champions. Who have not only won every competition they have entered, but have absolutely dominated the league. Ladies and gentlemen, you already know who it is, put your hands together for Defcon Zero Gaming!”

Lucas could almost feel the ground shake from the explosive reaction throughout the stadium.

“Up first, from South Africa, give it up for DEF Singularity!”

Lucas watched his first teammate jog up the stairs and out of sight.

“From Ontario Canada, DEF Griggs!”

“From Liverpool England, DEF Plague!”

“From Los Angeles California, DEF Flashpoint!”

Flash’s face broke into an eager, almost sinister, grin of anticipation as he leapt up the stairs and into the spotlight. Lucas swallowed hard and closed his eyes to fight the feeling of nausea that crept up his stomach. He placed his foot on the first step and waited for his name to be called out.

“And finally!”

The crowd’s roar grew in intensity. The announcer’s voice strained to overcome the sheer volume of the excitement that permeated the stadium.

“The two time, all season, MVP. A man that needs no introduction, Ladies and Gentleman, you’ll never hear him coming until it's too late, give it up, for…”

Lucas began to climb the steps.

“D.”

The crowd shouted each letter with the announcer.

“E.”

“F.”

“Silence!”

Lucas stepped out onto a blinding stage. Lights zeroed in on him from above, cameras flashed at every angle, and a wave of sound threatened to drive Lucas to his knees from the sheer weight of the crowds’ expectations. Lucas put every once of his focus into placing one foot in front of the other. The dozen or so feet from the stage entrance to where his team stood seemed to stretch for an eternity. The overwhelming noise hurt Lucas’ ears and he fought the urge to cover them up.

“Pretend no one’s here. It’s just lights. It’s just lights. No one’s here.” Lucas repeated to himself so quietly that he could barely hear himself.

It was all Lucas could do to not pass out. After the fevered screams and cheers settled back down, the teams were directed to their game stations. Lucas turned away from the crowd directly in front of him. Ten large cubes, split into two groups of five, stood to the left and right of center stage. The opaque black cubes served as the gaming area for each player. Lucas entered the closest one on the left and leaned back on the closed door. The soft soundproof walls diluted the overwhelming noise of the surrounding crowd down to a soft hum. It was only then that Lucas realized he was holding his breath. He let out a shaky gasp and bent over as a dizzying wave of guilt and fear washed over him..

“Everything all right sir?” a feminine voice spoke just to Lucas’ left.

A single attendant sat attentively next to the only door the cube contained. She wore simple black jeans and an event shirt that identified her as part of the stage crew. She looked to be around twenty five. Brunette hair and dazzling hazel eyes. She was pretty. Lucas nodded quickly, already aware of how red his face looked.

“Your equipment is just on the wall behind you.” She pointed over Lucas’ shoulder with a friendly smile. “Anything I can do to assist you?”

“Thank no you.”

Lucas realized he had messed up his sentence and turned around before his embarrassment reached his face.

Why did it have to be a girl? Lucas silently moaned. I can’t even talk to the male attendant’s properly so how do they expect me to communicate with a cute girl?

“All right,” the attendant politely ignored the fumbled response from Lucas, “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

Lucas pulled off the gloves and helmet off of the wall to the right of the door and began to put them on. He didn’t look back at the attendant once during the process. She had to be laughing at him. He was too awkward around girls, well, everyone, for her not to be laughing at him. As quickly as he was able to, Lucas flipped the visor down over his eyes and stepped to the center of the enclosed room.

“Initialize,” Lucas spoke aloud.

For the first time today, Lucas’ stress eased as Focal Point danced to life before his eyes.