The Myth vs The Wild Card (2)

The first quarter ended and I sat in my seat, resting up. Zachary and Markus both sat out for the first minutes of the second quarter as well. The Ocean City coach decided to take Joker, Jack, and King out for the first minutes of the second quarter as well. I looked at my markings and noticed I was growing increasingly tired.

"Fuck...Ace looks like he's too tired. He's never used his abilities for this long of a period before. His body is taking a huge hit right now." Rhea said then sighed.

"Joker looks like he's barely affected.." Pandora said.

I closed my eyes and my markings disappeared. I leaned forward, placing my arms on my legs then lowered my head. Joker watched me and smirked.

The whistle blew for time out and our coach put me, Zachary, and Markus back in. Joker, King, and Jack were out back in as well. I got the ball from Markus then dribbled it down the court. I awakened my markings.

"He can't keep using his markings. He'll overwork himself and pass out." Rhea said and squeezed her knees.

I looked at Joker then tried to drive the ball past him, but he blocked my paths. I dribbled the ball then passed the ball to Markus then he got the ball and layed it up. I exhaled in relief.

Joker got the ball and chuckled. "Looks like you're running out of steam!"

He crossed me over, causing me to fall. He drove the ball to the basket and dunked it on Markus, pushing him down. He landed on the ground and stood over Markus.

"Looks like your Captain is losing it. Heh...without him, you're nothing." Joker laughed.

I stood up and looked at Joker. Zachary helped Markus up and they looked at me. Zachary passed me the ball and I dribbled it down the court. I tried to cross him, but he stole the ball then drove it down the court then shot a three pointer and drained it.

"Looks like you're in my shadow now, Golden Boy." Joker laughed.

"What's going on? He was on fire the first quarter." Our coach said.

"He's tired." Queen said softly. "Unlike Joker, Ace's abilities takes more energy to use. He has to sit out.."

"Bro are you okay?" Markus asked and held my shoulder.

I looked at him and looked at Joker, Jack, and King. "I'm fine."

I will not be in anyone's shadow.

"If you're tired, just say that." Markus said.

"I'm alright." I said and looked at Markus. "I have a plan."

Markus looked at me then looked at Zachary. Zachary looked at Markus and knew what the plan was. He smirked and nodded. Markus smiled and looked at me then nodded he pat my shoulder then headed down the court. Zachary passed me the ball and we headed down the court.

The plan was called Miracle Maker. It's a play our coach banned from us because of how risky it was, but I was too tired to use any of my abilities. I have to rely on Zachary and Markus until my stamina fully recharges.

"I don't know what you're planning, but looking at your stance...something is telling me you aren't attacking." Joker said.

I smirked and bounced the ball behind me then Zachary rushed behind me then grabbed the ball. Joker looked at Zachary then went to guard him. Zachary faked a shot and passed it back to me. Jack went to steal the ball, but I bounce passed the ball to Markus, who was behind me. Markus caught the ball and shot the three and made it.

"Wow! Look at that teamwork!" The commentator yelled.

"You got one lucky three. That won't happen next time." Joker said.

He got the ball from King then dribbled down the court and passed it to Jack, but Zachary intercepted the pass then dribbled the ball down the court. Joker noticed I was just standing on the other side of the court.

'What is he doing..?' Joker thought to himself.

I exhaled and watched Zachary score. Most of everyone's attention was on me. They also wondered why I was just standing in the paint on the other side of the court. I watched as e everyone jogged down the court. King had the ball and looked at me. He tried to cross me but I stole the ball and my eyes shined.

"He's recovered, but how?" Joker asked himself.

I looked at Markus who was on the other side of the court. 'I'm never in your shadow, Joker.' I thought to myself then stomped my foot down.

I threw the ball to Markus and Joker looked surprised as slight wind blew from the speed of the ball. He looked back and watched Markus lay the ball up. He looked at me then glared.

"That pass was Mr. Goldensy signature Bullet Pass from Full Court! It seems like he's refreshed!" The commentator said and laughed.

I smirked and looked at Joker. "I won't lose to you Joker, and I can promise that to you!"

"Go Ace! Go Zach! Go Markus!" Nicole cheered.

"Looks like I need to take this more seriously huh..? If you can recover stamina like this then there's no reason to hold back!" Joker said.

The whistle blew and the next play started. Joker got the ball from King and he looked at me as he dribbled the ball. He dribbled the ball quickly and managed to get it past me. He crossed over Markus and Zachary then went for a dunk. I managed to get to him on time then smacked the ball out of his hand to Zachary. He dribbled the ball down the count and noticed King was guarding him. He performed crossover moves on King then slipped by him, but Joker stole the ball once again and drove it down the court.

I ran after him and he tried to cross me over, but I kept up with him. He used his Trickster Cross to try to get me to slip, but I kept my footing. He spun around me then went for the layup, but I jumped over him and smacked the ball out of his hand. Joker looked surprised and his eyes shined. I landed on the ground and drove the ball down the court and Joker ran after me. I used his own Trickster Cross against him and he grunted as he slipped a bit. I drove the ball past him and he ran after me. I went for a dunk and he blocked the dunk then the ball landed into King's hand.

"It's getting intense on the court. I've never seen Joker nor Ace play this hard on the court." One guy said.

"It's almost like they know what each other is going to do before they even do it." A woman said.

Joker ran down the court and King passed him the ball then Joker jumped up to catch it. He got the ball and landed then drove the ball down the court. He jumped up to dunk it, but I smacked the ball out of his hand then it went out of bounds. Joker fell to the ground and looked surprised. I landed on the ground and my markings shined brightly. I smirked and heard the whistles blow.

"Out on Number 1, Ocean City's ball!" The referee called out.

'What the hell is his deal? How is he keeping up this well? I need to do something about him. I refuse to be in his shadow any longer..!' Joker glared at me then stood up.

Rhea watched Joker and stood up. "He's planning something bad."

"What?" Pandora asked.

"He's planning to harm Ace." Rhea said.

Joker got the ball and dribbled the ball down the court and looked at me. He rushed down the court and let me steal the ball. I drove the ball down the court and he ran after me then as I went for the layup, Joker purposely rammed into me then caused me to crash on the floor hard, landing wrong and spraining my ankle and hurting other parts of my body such as dislocating my shoulder and slightly tearing my ACL.

The whistles blew then multiple whistles blew after Zachary pushed Joker and yelled at him for a foul that was clearly on purpose. The other players separated Zachary and Joker. I groaned holding my ankle as it hurt too much to stand.

Queen watched and looked surprised. She'd never seen Joker play so dirty before. Some of the medics came and helped me up and helped me off the court. They sat me on the sidelines and checked out my injuries. They came to the conclusion that I was unable to play for the remainder of the game.

"I can't sit out, I have to play!" I said.

"Your injuries is gonna take more than a few minutes to heal, plus you seem to be physically exhausted, and your shoulder is dislocated. That is a career ending injury and from the looks of it, it's your dominant shoulder.." A medic said. "You ran a good course, but this is where you have to hang it up, Ace."

I sighed and looked at Joker who was getting ejected off the court for such a foul. I glared and sat back in my seat. I held my shoulder and closed my eyes.

I sat back in my seat and watched the rest of the second quarter then the buzzer sounded off for half time. I stood up and headed out of the area with the help of Zachary and Markus. We all headed to the locker rooms and they sat me down on a bench.

"Without you on the court, we are going to have a hard time winning. The Miracles aren't the Miracles without you." Markus said.

I smiled and looked down. "This is a career ending injury from what the Medic said. Looks like this is it. My shoulder hurts to move and it's gonna take more than some rest to heal."

"Yeah, he hit you pretty hard." Zachary said. "That piece of shit deserved to get ejected."

I looked at Markus and Zachary. "Win or lose, we played our best game ever. We've earned the crowd's respect. I don't care if you lose, I'm proud of you all either way. You two were always there, so just do your best for me alright?"

Zachary smiled and ruffled my head. "You're talking like you're on a deathbed."

"I might as well be. Basketball was my life since I was in middle school. Now that I'm forced to end my career after eight years of playing hurts." I said.

"I can only imagine how you feel, but trust. We will win. No matter what." Markus said and gently pat my shoulder.

Everyone have their condolences especially the coach and he even let me keep my jersey and the ring as a parting gift since I had to end the career. After half time, I told them I needed some time alone in the locker room and they allowed me to be alone in the locker room.

Rhea and Pandora appeared in the locker room then Rhea snapped her fingers, making us invisible, inaudible, and intangible for everyone else.

Rhea placed her hand on my right shoulder then cast a healing spell on my body and recovered my injuries. "What he did was unacceptable."

"I agree." Pandora said.

"It's fine. I'll let it slide this time, but when I see him again...he's done." I said and looked at Rhea and Pandora.

They smiled at me and I got a text from Desdemona. They looked at the text and looked at me.

"I forgot I promised to meet Desdemona at her house. Since I can't play anymore, I told her that I'll meet her outside so I can go to her house to hang out. Take care of Bernadette for me." I said.

"We will, now go have some fun..~" Rhea smiled and poked my head.

I nodded and got up then Rhea cancelled her spell and I headed out of the locker room and went outside to meet up with Desdemona.