The ball just hung in the air, frozen under those crazy bright lights, like someone had pressed pause on the whole world. The whole crowd wasn’t even breathing, like, at all. You could feel it in the air, this weird pressure, like when you’re waiting for the rollercoaster to drop.

Then Nash exploded up. His muscles looked like those tight springs in a garage door, all coiled and ready to snap. Right next to him, Jax jumped too, big, heavy, his veins popping out like thick ropes under all those tattoos. Their hands smacked together with this gross, meaty sound, like when you slap raw chicken on the counter too hard. The ball wobbled toward the Raptors’ side.

"Raptors ball!" the ref yelled.

Then the arena just detonated.

"BLACKLIST! BLACKLIST!"

"RAPTORS! RIP THEIR FUCKING HEADS OFF!"

Over in Section 112, Lina shot up so fast her pink twintails whipped around like helicopter blades.

"NASH! LET’S GOOOOOO!" she screamed, her voice cracking from how loud she was going.

Sarra didn’t stand up. She stayed glued to her seat, her glasses kinda crooked, her face burning red-hot like she’d been slapped. She was clutching Nash’s oversized jersey so tight against her. Behind those lenses, her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open just a little, like she couldn’t believe how loud it was, how fast everything was moving.

A few rows away, Amara was already waving her glittery Nash fan like she’d done this a million times before, flashing this perfect smile like she was born for the cameras.

The Raptors didn’t waste a second.

Their point guard, this guy with a gnarly scar cutting through his eyebrow, just blew past Mac like he wasn’t even there. One second Mac was guarding him, the next, bam!, this insane between-the-legs crossover that left Mac stumbling like a drunk guy on ice. Mac lunged too late, his fingers brushing empty air.

And then, the Raptors’ guard whipped a no-look, behind-the-back pass right to Jax in the post.

Jaz planted herself like a brick wall. She looked solid, shoulders squared, feet dug in like tree roots. But Jax? He just dropped his shoulder and bulldozed through her like she was made of paper. Jaz stumbled back three whole steps, her breath punching out of her in this rough grunt as she tried to stay upright.

Jax leaped up and smashed the ball through the hoop so hard that the entire backboard shook.

Raptors 2 – Blacklist 0

Jaz landed hard, her breath coming in these ragged gasps. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. There was blood. Just a tiny smear, but yeah, she’d bitten her lip when he’d plowed into her. Her face did this weird flicker, real shock. Because she’d thrown everything into that stand. Everything.

Nash was right there, sliding an arm under hers to steady her.

"You good, Jaz?"

She forced a nod, even though her ribs were throbbing like hell.

"I’m fine. Just... didn’t expect that."

As Nash turned away, Jaz stared at Jax jogging back. Her brain was short-circuiting.

I gave everything. Everything. How the fuck did he just walk through me like I was nothing?

Up in the booth, the commentator lost his mind.

"Jax just introduced himself the hard way! That’s Breakball power, folks! Blacklist is already tasting the difference!"

Next possession, the Raptors ran a dizzying play. Their shooting guard faked left, spun a full 360 behind his back, then whipped the ball through his own legs to the forward cutting baseline. The forward caught it mid-stride, spun into this wild reverse layup while Nia tried to block him,

BAM.

His hip rammed into hers like a damn wrecking ball.

"Outta the way, shorty. This ain’t ballet class," he sneered as the ball kissed the glass and dropped in.

No whistle. Of course not.

Raptors 4 – Blacklist 0

Nia hit the floor hard with this ugly thud. She winced, her face twisting as she rubbed her hip, yeah, that was gonna bruise.

Nash jogged over right away, offering her a hand.

"You good, Nia?"

She took it, forcing a nod even though she was clearly in pain.

"Yeah... just stung. I’ll be fine."

But the Raptors just wouldn’t stop coming at them, like sharks smelling blood.

Their huge center, a mountain at six-eleven, stepped sideways and smashed right into Mac. Not just a little bump, nah. Full-on flattened him onto the court with this gross thud. While Mac was still trying to remember how to breathe, the ball had already swung to the corner. Three-pointer. Clean. Swish.

Raptors 7 – Blacklist 0

One of their forwards jogged past their bench, grinning like an asshole.

"These dumbasses really thought they could hang?" He laughed, shaking his head. "That’s adorable."

Blacklist inbounded the ball. Nash brought it up, eyes flicking everywhere, left, right, checking angles like he was doing math in his head. Two Raptors cornered him against the sideline fast, bodies pressing in so close he could probably smell their sweat. One of them leaned in, lips curled.

"What’s the matter, princess? Scared to dribble?" His buddy snorted.

"Keep dancing, golden boy. We’ll put you in the fucking ground."

Nash didn’t even blink. Just...looked left like he was gonna drive, tricking them for half a second, then bam! A pass so sharp it cut between them before they could react, slapping right into Alicia’s waiting hands. Perfect timing, perfect spot. She caught it clean, went up for the shot,

And then this monster of a help defender came flying out of nowhere and smacked the ball into the stands like he was swatting a fly.

Alicia stumbled back, staring at her empty hands like they betrayed her. Nash’s calm cracked for just a heartbeat, his eyes narrowed.

They’re too fast. Faster than we prepared for.

Turnover. Fast break the other way.

Their point guard did this stupid flashy dribble, hesitation, spin, the whole circus, and left Alicia stumbling like she’d stepped on ice. Then he dished it off to their big man, who bulldozed straight through Nia like she was made of paper and dunked hard enough to shake the rim.

Raptors 9 – Blacklist 0

The crowd lost their shit. On the Blacklist bench, the assistants were sweating, glancing at each other like they’d just realized they boarded the wrong ship. Victoria stood stiff as a statue, arms crossed so tight her fingers were digging into her own elbows.

This was bad. Real bad.

Mac looked like a deer in headlights, completely lost, stuck between doing something and doing nothing. The Raptors’ big man had him alone, toyed with him by faking one way, then just jumped right over him and dunked so hard Mac got knocked back onto his ass, landing with a painful thud on his tailbone. The Raptors’ bench went wild, howling with laughter like hyenas.

"Clown shoes, little man!" one of them barked, doubling over like it was the funniest thing ever.

Mac scrambled up, face red with embarrassment, feeling like the biggest joke on the court. When Nash reached out to pull him up again, Mac smacked his hand away so hard you could hear the slap echo.

"Don’t touch me," he hissed. "This is your team. Fix it yourself." He stormed off before Nash could say anything else.

Inside, Nash’s brain was going a mile a minute. The Raptors weren’t just good, they were too good. Too fast, too strong, too in sync. Jaz was the only one keeping up, and even she was getting shoved around like a ragdoll.

He glanced at Nia limping slightly, Alicia still shaky after getting her shot swatted into next week, Mac’s stiff back with fury. This lineup was falling apart.

Maybe I could drag them into the Zone with me... he thought.

But Mac wouldn’t even look at him right now. Could he even pull it off with only three people actually on his side? His eyes flicked to the bench. No... too soon. If they burned out now, the Raptors would chew them up in the next quarter. He needed more time.

But time was working against him.

Raptors 15 – Blacklist 2

Next play, Jaz fought like a wildcat in the paint, muscles straining, refusing to back down. For a second, it looked like she might actually steal the ball, then the Raptors’ forward spun past her, drove an elbow straight into her ribs, and dunked anyway while she was still gasping.

Raptors 17 – Blacklist 2

Still no whistle.

Nash whipped toward the nearest ref, arms thrown up.

"Are you serious?! That was an elbow! Call the damn foul!"

The ref just waved him off like he was some annoying kid.

"Play on."

Jaz got up slower this time, rubbing her side, breathing hard. She was tough, always had been, but for the first time, she looked small. Still fierce, still angry, but staring down guys who were just... bigger, stronger.

And she hated it.

Nash jogged over.

"Jaz. You good?"

She clenched her jaw so tight he could see the muscle twitch.

"They’re strong," she admitted bitterly. "Stronger than anyone I’ve played. But I’m not backing down."

Alicia missed two wide-open shots after that, both times getting her shot disrupted at the last second by some rotating defender. She jogged back, muttering curses, face twisted with frustration.

"Can’t even hit the easy ones..."

Nash caught up to her, grabbing her wrist lightly to get her attention.

"Hey. Look at me." He waited until she did. "Your shots will fall. Trust the spacing. I’ll keep finding you."

She nodded, lips pressed tight, but the doubt didn’t leave her eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It was so hard to keep them grounded,but he needed it in preparation for the zone state.

The game kept rolling. And the Raptors kept rolling over them.

Raptors 24 – Blacklist 6

And the worst, the Raptors were being loud, really loud.

Jax, grinned like he’d just won the lottery.

"Yo, golden boy!" he barked, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Your girls look better on their knees than on the court!"

Another one, a huge guy with arms thicker than tree trunks, chuckled.

"Keep passing, pretty boy," he said. "We’ll keep knocking ’em down."

Nash didn’t react. At least, not on the outside. But if looks could kill, the Raptors would’ve been ashes by now. His jaw was tight, his fingers twitching like he was imagining wrapping them around someone’s throat.

Yes, Nash needed to rely on his team, both for the zone state and for the whole plan with Victoria.

This wasn’t supposed to be the Nash Blaze show anymore, but the rise of a team.

But the Raptors were stronger than anticipated, and while his assists were deadly, his teammates weren’t tough enough.

But the wind wasn’t blowing one way only.

The inbound pass was bad, like, really bad. It almost flew out of bounds, but Nash jumped, twisted in midair like some kind of acrobat, and caught it behind his back like it was nothing. Spun around, whipped the ball straight to Nia before anyone even saw it coming. And boom, she scored.

Raptors 24 – Blacklist 8

The crowd cheered, but honestly? It wasn’t enough. The Raptors were like a crushing machine, and the Blacklist was barely keeping up.

Then, shit got worse.

Next defensive play, Nia took a forearm straight to the chest. Not a little bump, no, this was full-force. She crumpled, gasping.

This time however, the ref blew the whistle... but way too late.

Lina exploded from her seat like a firework.

"HOLLY... SO THIS BASTARD WAS ALIVE?!" she screamed, hands gripping the railing. "REF, WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

Sarra grabbed her arm, fingers shaking.

"C-Calm down..." she whispered, voice cracking. "Don’t drag their fans’ attention..."

On her seat, Amara wasn’t smiling anymore. Not even a little bit. Her usual confidence was gone. She clutched her fan like it was the only thing keeping her from running onto the court herself.

He’ll be okay, she thought, swallowing hard. He has to be. Nash always figures things out...

Meanwhile, in their apartment, Zayela was practically glued to the screen, fists clenched on her knees. She didn’t blink, didn’t breathe, just stared. This was the first time that she saw Nash’s team being dominated like this.

And then there was Roam, standing in the stands like a damn hype beast, pumping his fist so hard he might’ve pulled a muscle.

"THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!" he roared. "CRUSH THOSE ROOKIES!"

Saya didn’t cheer. She just leaned forward, lips pressed together so tight they turned pale. But her eyes? Oh, they were burning. Satisfaction, maybe relief. After being rejected by the bastard, it was good seeing him getting wrecked.

Even though it was by the predators who wrecked her.

And Drex... Drex was still alone, hood pulled low, but that smirk? Bitter, sharp, like he’d been waiting for this moment forever.

Finally, he thought, fingers tapping impatiently against his knee. Let’s see how your little empire falls, idiot.

Victoria finally called a timeout when the score difference became embarrassingly huge.

Raptors 31 – Blacklist 11

On the bench, the players who weren’t in the game right now exchanged quick looks, relieved they weren’t the ones getting their asses handed to them on the court. But nobody said anything out loud, what was there to say?

Victoria pulled Nash aside where the others couldn’t hear.

"You see any way out of this mess?"

Nash wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead with the back of his hand. His breathing was calm, showing he barely tried, but his eyes kept darting to the other team like he was solving a puzzle in his head.

"I’m still figuring them out. Their moves are obvious, but I need more time to crack their timing."

Victoria’s eyes narrowed behind those expensive-looking sunglasses of hers.

"If we don’t turn this around, our whole plan goes down the drain. Don’t forget that."

Nash just nodded once.

"I know."