The alcohol proved effective as the amount consumed proved to give a special power of time alteration. A hazy somnolence fell upon him and soon the entirety of the twenty-four hours managed to pass by an acceptably accelerated pace accented by a lack of an memories as he went full autopilot. Finding himself in a new day in a tiny room he managed to get up just fine and walk out of the hotel and into the streets. A conveniently placed clock next to some store provided him reference as to how quickly he'd have to get to the arena. First thing he'd do was get something to eat and then a drink.

Some time later Kahl found himself walking with a loosely clustered group of people up a road. In the distance he spotted some structure that looked like the arena. Entering he paid for the ticket and took a seat at one of the many rows of bleachers all encircling a space in the center which he'd presume would be play area proper.

Saina let out a wistful sigh as she was dragged along behind Eva, but she was relieved to know that the strawberry blonde had taken a liking to her. She knew she could come off as cold... er, probably because she was. Once they were in the area near the VIP section, she took a seat next to Eva and crossed her legs and folded her arms. She looked straight ahead at the ball of water contained in the center. The ebony haired woman blinked at the display.

"How is it doing that?"

She asked Eva, squinting at how the water held itself together.

"Are there mages around us holding up that water? It must be a strenuous task."

As she asked she looked around the coliseum, trying to find the source of how the water was keeping itself up. She didn't really pay any sort of mind to the announcements, though her ear was perked for Gippal and Urick.

Urick followed Eva and Saina to the stadium. He watched as Eva dragged Saina towards the stadium, Eva was always the excited one, and was often dragging him or Gippal to something she had to try. He was glad he wasn't being dragged today. They made it through the throngs of people and Urick managed to get some seats for them. Normally he would have been allowed VIP Seating beacuse he was the body Guard for Gippal, but knowing Nai was in the staff/VIP Room, it would have probably a bad choice. So he requested one just outside of it.

The only issue, is that he was a big man... and the VIP Seating was much better than the normal stadium seating. He grunted as squeezed into a chair next to Saina. She then asked how the sphere was being held up, asking if mages were doing it. Urick got her attention by touching her arm, and when she looked to him he would point at the giant rotating arch that was already running for a while. "Machina..." He simply said before clearing his throat and resting back in his Seat.

He then saw Alex perform a graceful Dive into the sphere. He sighed and watched her get into position. He always enjoyed watching her playing, especially when she would slam the toughest men out of the sphere.

"Machina...?"

Saina looked to where Urick pointed once he had gotten her attention. The giant rotating arches had her raptured in wonder now as she watched the behemoth sized technology make its orbit around the planetary sphere of water. Then wonder slowly drained away into dis-ease. And then even that gave way to a sense of dread. She didn't like it, the Machina. Somehow it made her feel out of place; that is, even more so than usual. Yet people sat around cheering in this coliseum for their favorite Blitzball members, ignoring the spinning arches like they were used to them. It was starting to make her feel... ill. A slight crease on her forehead formed that could easily be mistaken for her scrutinizing this technology, but in truth it was her internal feelings out on display.

Exhaling to relieve herself of the tension the Machina put into her for reasons she didn't quite understand, she looked back to Urick to ask him more about it. Her icy gaze met his relaxed form looking into the ball of water. Following his gaze, she traced what he was looking at to the large red head that had given her a hard time yesterday. Ah... that reminded her.

"I understand you don't speak much, as her ladyship said before,"

She began, looking in the same direction as he but allowing her gaze to fall on the other players as they lined up as well.

"But if it is all the same to you, I would like an answer to my question... when you feel ready to give one."

With the last few words, she turned her head to look at him once again. Her eyes held that same twinkle of understanding as before and a dim smile pressed against her lips. Then, taking a page from his book, she leaned back and crossed her legs to enjoy the show, trying to ignore the spinning arches that made her stomach twist in the same motion.

Gippal took the heated words with out a word. Of course she was mad, she was always protective of Naisha. He couldn't get mad at her for being mad though. She didn't understand why he never contacted. She didn't seem to remember that he also cared deeply for Naisha and her... not that his actions seemed to prove it.

After she told him to just focus on the game and tell her after words he lowered his head. Of course he would need more time than they had now to explain, but he wish she just understood he was trying and hopefully that would help in the future when he did. He sighed as she jumped into the sphere and made his way over, shaking and then twisting his arms slowly, cracking fingers, wrists and elbows. He closed his eyes and breathing slowly. But it wasn't for long as the announcer began to introduce him.

"And Now for those who are watching from your homes, and those who didn't hear the news we have some good and some bad news. Bad news is Vidina is out for the season due to a leg injury. Sorry fans he had a promising year. But the good news, and a very big treat for all of us today. Please welcome back to the Sphere after a five year Hiatus after an amazing few seasons...GGGGGIIPPALLLL!"

He quickly put on a faux smile and raised his right hand as the crowd roared with a surprised enthusiasm. Taking his breath he then ran, jumped and while in the air kicked his feet up in a tuck and did two back flips before extending into a dive into the water. He looked over to Alex for a moment before going to his position to the right forward. He then looked over at the VIP box to see Naisha sitting there, with Urick Saina and Eva sitting just beside the box. Very good thinking Urick. Gippal thought.

As he swam he heard, "This is going to be a fantastic game between two rivals when especially the Abe's best striker has now changed sides! This is sure to be bad news for some die hard Abe's Fans seeing their poster boy now a Traitor to them. Al... What do you think of Gippals return? do you think after five years of not playing in any league he will be just as good as he was? "

"I don't think so Yev. I honestly think this is just a publicity stunt to keep up moral for their fans After Vidina's accident, also to phyc out his former teammates. I don't expect much from this returning faded star."

Gippal closed his eyes in waiting for the ball to be launched. Ignoring the comments above him...little did they know he normally practiced every day when he could.

As soon as the shot off towards the goal, Keeping an eye on Gil who managed to get the ball and pass it to Abo who then turned to see an opening to Gippal, kicking it to him. He looked as three of the Abes rushed towards him. He didn't even catch the ball as he kicked it right back to Abo a very risky move, but he had managed to slip the pass between the three opposing players.Abe who caught the ball then made a clear run to the Goal, with two of the abes turning to chase. But one decided to slam into Gippal anyway, a low blow and missed by the ref which received alot of boos and cheers. Gippal wasn't ready for it and was elbowed in the face. He shook himself and looked towards the former team mate who made the sign he was going to gun for him.

Gippal motioned towards himself as to say "bring it on" to which the crowd cheered even louder.

Abo's shot, But the goalie caught it and passed it forward, to their midfielder. During this Gippal shoved passed his former teammate to midfield, to shorten the distance one the ball was taken back by Alex, which the mid fielder was heading so it was a sure thing.

As the game started, Alex carefully watched at what happened, watching as the Auroch's managed to get the ball and Gippal, Gil and Abo launched into action. Gippal managed to pull off a risky move, passing to Abo with a kick and zipping passed three Abe's. Despite Abo being the one having the ball, Gippal was still promptly tackled and elbowed the white haired man in the face. A low silent growl vibrated in her throat. Sure, she was very much mad at Gippal, but that didn't mean she wasn't about to let someone else kick his ass.

As the Abe's goalkeeper managed to catch the ball and chuck it to the midfielder, who quickly tried passing it to one of the strikers. Alex was ready though, and that little stunt they pulled wasn't going to go unnoticed by her. She saw the move coming as she swam like a sea serpent in charge. Just as the Abe Striker got the ball, he found himself met with a rough tackle, a powerful blow that launched him right out of the sphere and into the safety nets bellow. The crowd roaring in excitement as Alex spun the ball on her index finger.

"Oooooohhhhh looks like Zanka had the unfortunate encounter against Alex's famous tackle! That's got to hurt!" the announced roared. The red head glanced toward the stands to see Naisha in the VIP booth. Alex's blue eyes narrowed as she spotted Urick just beside the booth, with those two women. At the sight, the Blitzball player could feel her blood boil, her temper starting to flare. Great.. Now they had one for each.

Grinding her teeth together, her temper flaring so much the temperature in the water almost felt like it was boiling around her. Two Abe players tried tackling her, one from behind and the other to the front. Clutching the ball to her stomach, she growled irritably, now not in the mood for their bullshit as she hooked the man glomping her from behind with her foot, smashing him against the side and sending him launching through and right out of the sphere while slamming her shoulder against the girl trying to get the ball in the front, sending the Abe spiraling in the water before trying to get her bearings.

"Aaaaand there goes another one folks! Tirk's gonna feel that in the morning! Good think Zanka and Tirk get back in the game quickly! Don't know how long that will last with hits like that!" The announcer shouted.

Alex watched as another Abe tried to reach her but she quickly spun, swimming right over him as her body twisted, her back facing his head before spinning upright again and swam within the sphere, quickly scanning the sphere, ducking away from a grab before kicking the ball straight to Gippal.

Eva Watched as the Redhead, Alex gracefully dived into the sphere. She remembered her quite well... she snarled at her like a wild animal, filled with rage. It's scared her half to death. She moved to a defenders position, which suited her Eva thought, at least from what she knew of her.

She glanced at Saina as she asked how the water sphere was being held up she thought for a second, She didn't even know that her self. She glanced at the sphere and then back to Saina when she noticed Urick getting her attention, pointed at the spinning arch and said simply, "Machina." She sat up in her chair, surprised that Urick offered up the information quickly....or at all. She narrowed her eyes at the two as Saina began to talk. There was something going on... Especially when she caught her smiling at Urick.

She sat back and decided to ignore it for now. She looked back to the sphere then heard the Announcer then went on to introduce Gippal. She saw him walk out onto the diving area with a big smile. Which caused her to smile and cheer when he did a double cordova flip into the sphere. She clapped excitedly as she listened to the announcers talk back and forth, They were in for a surprise, as she also knew he practiced almost every day they were together.

She then waved at Gippal when she saw him look towards them. How did he know they were there?? Was it some mind thing he had with Urick? Shaking her head she watched intently as the game started, and soon the ball was sent to Gippal, only he kicked it back just as he got it, with three defenders rushing him, then one cracking him in the face with a tackle. Eva placed her hands infront of her mouth in surprise, she knew Gippal could take hits, but that looked like it hurt.

Despite her normal self that didn't want to start fights she found herself getting angry at the man who hit Gippal. Was it really necessary? for him to be that mean? He even added that he was going to aim for Gippal, at which Gippal egged him on. She smiled, Totally Gippal.

She then saw that the redhead took out three players, knocking two from the sphere and dodging two more. Her eyes were wide. "Wooow..." She said outloud she definitely was a tough woman. She was glad she wasn't getting hit by her,

As the next day rolled in- the Blitzball stadium was mostly packed, Cassius however slept in a bit. He didn't see Bohdan anywhere in his house, and Rohzar simply handed him a plate of food; which was practically the same breakfast he had the previous day. He enjoyed it none the less. "Bathe as usual. It is only noon." Rohzar said.

"Why would I want to be dirty...? Answer that." He said in a rather mocking manner.
"You wouldn't. Which is why I'm saying get cleaned up before your journey home. You're birth place." Rohzar spoke with reluctance. Three years to him was almost that of a life time for him in terms of bonding with the one he was meant to protect, keep healthy, and train. And he was just going to leave? Rohzar was not happy, but it wasn't his right to deny him either.

"Here is a new set of clothes by the way..." He handed Cassius a package, it was a rather large package, and it felt rather heavy. It was clearly not just clothes... But he wasn't going to open it now, the schedule was still in his interest.

"Thank you for everything. And... you were more of a dad than my real one. Just know I love you. Yeah?" Cassius said while giving a thumbs up. He wasn't a fan of the big teary eyed speeches. So he simply smiled naturally; which felt foreign to his flesh.

Ow... oww... what is this feeling? It hurts! OOOWW!
Rohzar smiled back, his crimson eyes locked onto him as he planted a kiss on the Hybrid's head. "You're always welcome here... But I'll be stopping in Kilika for the next month. Family affairs and all. Urgent as it seems..." He said somewhat grimly.

"Right..." The hybrid blushed.
"I'll cya than." Cassius took his materials and proceeded to the lake. He'd do his routine where he'd get cleaned up and yata yata. The usual.

"I hope Bohdan didn't see that..." he said as he stood nude opening the package to see quite a bit. There was indeed new clothes... Ones that were stylish to him... but he noticed something different about it... For starts, there were no socks, or any kind of undergarment... It was a one piece suit that could be used for diving; a water repellent suit.

Wh-wha...? he blushed a bit before putting it on, the groin area was surprisingly concealed by a layer of material, so it wasn't so bad; he's seen tribal religious fanatics...

"Is so much of my leg muscle supposed to show...?" He wasn't used to this... In fact he was a bit... shy of wearing this as he got dressed.

Does my rear have to stick out so much...? Also.. I noticed my tail fits fine... and completely plugs it... Wait.. there is a seethe to put on over it too...? And a mask...? He observed the pieces and parts on his outfit and could certainly confirm this was a diving suit, and adventure gear for a flexible person. He could see there was a belt and shirt.

The shirt was blue and went on over his chest; which concealed a hereditary trait he absolutely loathes. The belt went over the shirt as he placed on what was a jacket. Which was a conferrable fit, and had a nice fold to accommodate the suit. The folded area was blue, and was meant to be worn as short sleeved.

Then he saw his black and white boots. Most of the boots themselves were black, but had a white lining around the edges for designer purposes. There were no strings, just three little belts to keep it secure around his legs.

I suppose this is stylish... he blushed again as he folded his arms looking at his reflection in the water.

"Right... now what is this..." He pulled out Rohzar's dagger from the packaging as well as a hammer.
"You didn't... You really should not..." he sighed as he placed it on his utility belt as well as the hammer with his Atelier.
He also placed the large pouch of Gil onto the belt, it contained roughly over three thousand Gil. Which would be fine for the voyage. He was going to keep his promise to Bohdan.

Last but not least was a large cube like machine. There was an instruction manual that could be simplified as "Use Atelier to Power it up."

Cassius raised his Atelier up into the air as he charged up energy, plugging it into the back of the cube. Within moments the cube floated above him.

"Hello Master!" it said in a rather pompous like voice.
"Ahhh!" He screeched.

"No Need to be alarmed! I am Helios! A medical Machina specialized in Vocalized speech, healing, and scanning the environment to fauna! I must say your heath is in peak shape as of late!" The cube was spinning around in place as Cassius soon noticed there was an eye in the cube looking at him.

"This is... very helpful acctully..." He said quietly.

Helios looked at the boy. "What shall I call you Master?"
"Cassius Alexandros Svent." the Hybrid spoke.

"What a gloriously long regal name! Unfortunately no one is quite regal in Spira!"
"Huh. A joker too. Shall I laugh injuries away too?"

"Laughter is the best kind of medicine!" Helios made a projected image that looked like that of a Carbuncle.
"That looks like the plushies I collected as a child." He chuckled.

Cassius chuckled a bit longer. He couldn't believe he had a Machina following him now. He was good at taking care of his possessions, but this was a new one.

All he had left to do was wait for Bohdan.

Gippal watched as Zanka as well as Tirk were slammed out of the sphere by Alex. There were a few times she managed to knock him from the sphere as well...But instead of sitting there he moved towards her, knowing her next move and sure enough she kicked it towards him. He caught the ball but was slammed in the back. Grunting he gripped the ball tightly before being slammed again from the side.

"And it looks like Gippal is getting the brunt force of the Abe's anger today people. Some of those hits got to hurt."

Grinding his teeth he managed to see the next one aiming for him, He waited for the last moment before sticking his arm out, and instead of taking the hit, he pushed the mans head down which caused the momentum to go under him. He then placed his feet on the mans back before propelling himself towards their goal.

Two of the defenders came at him as he dropped the ball. "It looks like he's going for the shot!" one announcer said, "perhaps not the best choice seeing how Abo is wide open again."

He kicked the ball, but it wasn't aimed for the goal. It slammed into Duncan's face, the left defender, and bounced back to Gippal, who spun around and kicked the ball again with the back of his right foot.

"WAIT Could this be!?" The Announcer yelled

The ball then slammed into Jerald's face, and back to Gippal as he barrel rolled a few times to build momentum, "It looks like the Jecht shot!" He then kicked the ball with his left foot sending directly towards the goal...Slamming the goalie in the chest and knocking him back into the net, the ball bouncing into the side of the net.

"Goooooooooooooooooaaaal Wow people We now see someone had been practicing, creating his own shot similar to Tidus's Jecht shot. It looked like it hurt those players, Never Have I seen a shot from that distance knock a Goalie into the net."

Gippal smiled and nodded while pumping his fist above him. He moved back to starting position. He looked over to Urick and Eva, at which he saw Urick's nod of approval and Eva jumping up and down cheering. He smiled then looking towards Nai for moment, pointing at her then towards the goal, as if saying that was for her.

Abo swam by and patted him on the back while he turned to nod to him he looked at Alex to give a Thumbs up for her Defense and passing.

---------------

Urick looked at Sai as she spoke to him, saying she understood he didn't say much, but would still like the answer from before. He did know what he wanted to say, but it would be quite impossible for him to explain it to her. He simply nodded a few times, trying to show that he would. He noticed Eva with her eyes on him, Narrow as if she was interrogating him with her eyes. But she simply looked back to the sphere.

As the game begun, Urick could have told anyone, if he could talk that was... that Gippal was going to get knocked around quite a bit from his former team. Sure enough a foul hit right off the get go. Gippal simply told him to bring it on. When the ball went onto the Auroch's side of the sphere it was quickly intercepted by Alex. quickly knocking two men out of the sphere and a woman away from her. Dodging two more at the same time. She was truly graceful in the water, He couldn't help but smile at seeing her at work.

Alex watched as Gippal managed to catch the ball before being bombarded. In which case, the white haired striker managed to pull off something a bit unbelievable. Pulling off a shot like Tidus's Jecht shot... How the bloody hell did he managed to pull off something like?! Still, as he looked over to where Urick and that girl were surely sitting before looking toward Naisha. In which case Alex glared as he gestured toward Naisha and the goal. His reasoning better be good over this met or he's getting double the pummeling.

The white haired man then started looking toward Alex and gave a thumbs up, the red head's eyes blinked softly before scoffing and giving a thumbs up of approvement and a job well done in return before continuing the game.

The game went on for awhile, the Aurochs being a deadly opponent since both Gippal and Alex were in it and on the same side. The Abes had difficultly keeping up, managed to land a couple scores but had trouble landing any thanks to Alex's powerful fast tackles while Gippal racked up scores.

Now, Gippal had the ball and was of course about to get hammered by some Abe's. Quickly, Alex darted foreword, swimming right in his path and taking the tackle. She grunted, but the Amazon woman quickly threw him off, sending him propelling through the water with her greater strength. However, when she was tackled from behind, they hit her right just bellow her left shoulder blade causing her to grunt painfully at the sore move. Growling angrily, she tackled him and propelled him out of the sphere.

"Ohhhh looooks like a foul play was made on the Crimson Valefor. Doesn't look like Alex's shoulder isn't too hot! Will the champ have to step out?"

Alex could hear the announcer before moving her arm, growling as she forcfully shoved her shoulder back into place. It hurt, but she wasn't about to let it kick her out before the game ended. Slamming into another player about to tackle against Gippal.

"Looks like Alex is as tough as ever! She's still in! And defending her teammates to the max!"

As the game began, it was good to see that Gippal at least wasn't out of form. He was swimming faster than she last saw him 5 years ago. His movement also became a lot more refined overall. Nai concluded that whatever he was doing for the last years he was missing, he at least didn't overlook his training. It was also almost enjoying to see how all the body tackles from the Abes were concentrated on Gippal.' They must be holding a grudge huh?' Nai thought with a smile and closed her eyes. Remembering the feeling of water around her, but was suddenly dragged away from her memories by the commentary as she opened her eyes just in time to see Gippal pulling of a very specific looking move. The mage's eyes narrowed... he had some new moves up his sleeve. That wasn't something he used at all 5 years ago, it must have been created after that. Then the white haired man proceeded to point at her clearly meaning this goal was for her. She waved his hand at him in not pleased fashion then she showed him 2 fingers, indicating she wanted at least 2 more goals from him before the end of the match. She was going to work him hard on that field. The sponsors for the team depended on this match. Depending on the performance of the team, there were going to be a few more signing up. She was still the manager so she couldn't leave that opportunity go away.

“Coach, pull a time out . Alex may have fixed her shoulder back in, but that needs to be checked now. Before they start to target it more. “ Naisha pulled out a com sphere and called Tidus. ” Also change formation, they are targeting our Aces too much. We cannot afford any too serious of injuries in the first match.” She stated with a very demanding voice.

The pale woman had her arms folded across her chest as she lay back in the same relaxed position as before. Her crossed leg bounced lazily up and down as she watched the game. Her vibrant eyes followed the players quietly and she gave no indication of joy or usual coliseum enthusiasm like the summoner beside her. Saina didn't take much interest in what she was seeing with the exceptional brow quirk at brutal plays like Alex throwing people out of the water sphere to a single nod when she found something she liked happening, like Alex defending her teammates. The same went for anyone in question on the team, but she didn't give anything more than that. In fact, when Eva started to clap and cheer for her team, she turned her head to examine Eva. Her behavior did match the majority of patrons in the stadium with the exception of herself, Urick and a handful of others around the enclosure who were probably dragged here against their will. Seeing the summoner happy brought the dim smile back to her face. Then, when she noticed her worry and wonder once her cheering had died away, Saina frowned. The summoner looked so nice when she was smiling, it made her look incredibly approachable and friendly with a carefree aura. A complete foil to the pale woman's own. Taking this into consideration, she turned to the summoner.

"...Would you like something, m'lady?"

She asked this with a slight gesture to the workers travelling up and down the stairs offering refreshments ranging from valefor-shaped cotton candy to other local treats. Her eyes locked back onto the sphere when Gippal began his specialty move. Watching the carefully executed precision, her eyes widened only slightly. And then he turned to the mage from yesterday in some sort of 'This is for you,' gesture. The whole thing brought a cheshire smile to Saina's face and she chuckled airily. What a charmer.

Eva looked over to Saina wide eyed when she asked if she needed something, pointing to the treats the workers were selling. "Oh..."A smile came onto her face. "I'm fine thank you Saina. I'm gunna wait till after the game to get something to eat..." She turned back to the game to see Gippal use his special shot he worked on the last two years that she knew him. To actually see it in action was another thing. Especially when it knocked two people in the face. It must of hurt, but the way they were being mean she didn't feel sorry for them.

She then notice Gippal point to someone in the box next to them, indicating that shot was for them. She wondered who it was to... was it that girl from before? Naisha was it? Maybe he was trying to get on her good side again. She continued to watch the game when she came to the realization it was turning more to a brawl than a game with all the tackles on both sides. It looked like Gippal and Alex were getting the brunt of it. She knew Gippal was a tough man, and by the looks of Alex she was tough as well. But it was only a matter of time before one of them got seriously hurt, and as she thought of it, Alex protected Gippal but hurt her shoulder in the process. But just as quickly she popped it back into place. Definitely super tough in her book.

Bohdan showed up next to Cassius. "Hello, I'm sorry it took so long. I must have slept in, somehow." Bohdan noticed the machina that was now following Cassius. "Hm. Most impressive, I look forward to traveling with it, I've never seen such a machine before." Bohdan had little to do in the way of preparation, he was wearing all of his possessions and had what little money he had in a coin bag. "I am ready to leave if you are." he said.

Cassius hid his blush by staring at Helios.
"You didn't... see anything did you...?" he said quickly.

Helios examined Bohdan.
"This is Bohdan. Helios, you're job is to keep him in peak condition. Heal him when necessary." Cassius said flatly.

"Right... Now the waiting game at the Beach." Cassius said waving at Bohdan to follow him.
The machine followed him closely while scanning the Ronso. "Did you eat breakfast? It is the most important meal of the day!"
"This will get old fast if he does this every day..." Cassius thought to himself about how Helios comments on everything.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, so I assume not." Bohdan said in response to Cassius' question. "Hm, and come to think of it, I suppose I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I can wait, however. I'm eager to move on with our trip." He followed Cassius as he was directed to. "I... appreciate your concern for me, little machine." he said to Helios. "I also appreciate that you're willing to have your machine help me, Cassius."

"Right..." He said to the first response.
The machine simply faced Bohdan. "You should eat to stay as healthy as you are! And perhaps you'll bulk up even more!" the machine sounded excited for heath, which was perplexing to Cassius.

Maker forbid I end up with people nagging me to do things... Cassius shuttered at the thought of being lumped with a large group of people. He was claustrophobic as is, but the idea of being stuck in the middle bothered him most...

People...

Cassius snapped back to reality where he heard Bohdan thanking him.
"Dude, it's no problem. You pretty much promised to protect me, so it's the least I could do. Besides, I rather be in good standing with you rather then have you go 'oh maker... this child is the most useless, he drags me around and does not pull his own weight... I acctully want to help you in any way I can seeing as you're just as willing. Consider it a pact." Cassius smiled a bit at him, even if shyly.

My face frigging hurts...

He made his way to the beach where he'd sit under shade to wait. Helios was scanning the environment just around Cassius.

Gippal wanted to help Alex, but she took the hits for him, He spun over another defender, leaving him wide open for the goal, He swam as fast as he could to the goal, but it wasn't fast enough. Another came up to his left, the same one who said he was gunning for him. He allowed the ball to go free from his hands as he turned to take the hit in the chest. But he didn't he grabbed the defender by the arms and used his own momentum to swing him by him and out of the sphere. Then with out missing a beat, he spun again and did a sideways sphere shot, slamming into the goal as the goalie wasn't ready. The crowd went wild at the show, and Gippal smiled before raising one more finger saying one more left when suddenly there was a loud crash and explosion from up above. He looked up to see the massive machine that held the sphere together had been somehow snapped in two and began to fall. The entire water sphere lost it's shape and now was falling with all the players in it. The players would all fall into the net below. But they were far from safe, Gippal started yelling. "MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE" As soon as Gippal managed to get under control of his body he looked around, seeing one of Abe's players stuck in the middle. He scrambled towards her knowing it could be his last moment. He reached her and quickly untangled her two metal pieces seemed to be in slow motion falling right on top of them all. They were wedged together after the explosion, but finally the pieces keeping it up failed and both fell. Judging the falling metal as he could he gripped the girl around the waist and flung her up towards the edge the of net. As the metal hit the net, it ripped, snapping sending a few players flying. It didn't for Gippal, it only made him do a backflip as it ripped his feet from underhim and falling down just right next to one of the arches. The arches slammed into the concrete causing a louder crash than the explosion, Sending dust into the air, enough to completely envelope the stadium for a minute. Gippal had hit his head pretty hard one ground and groaned as he sat up. He could hear screaming, crying and people panicking and running for the exits. He started coughing violently as he breathed in all the dust, and when he managed to clear his head enough he saw how close he was to dying. Mere centimeters from his head now laid the Arch. He crawled away from the arch, wincing and coughing as he went. It was so surreal to him, He could hear everyone but couldn't see anything. His eyes stung from the dust so much he closed them and continued blind. He stopped when he felt someone, He looked down to see one of the Auroch's not moving. He was about to shake him but he stopped himself. The man was crushed to death. "Damn it..." He cursed, and knelt down lowering his head.

The chaos lasted a few minutes, and surprisingly a gust of wind help blow away most of the dust in the air. Then on cue the speakers for the announcer box crackled to life. “Citizens of Spira! I've come to call repentance unto you. For all of you are full of Wickedness, and have become stiff necked and hard in your hearts to the teachings of Yevon.” A man spoke with zeal over the intercom. Gippal looked up at the box to see a man standing on top of the announcers box, the highest point in the stadium. The sun was behind him, making him a black figure with a cloak flapping to the side of him. Gippal didn't need to see him....He knew that voice.

The man waved his hand towards all in the stadium. as it grew silent save for a few people crying or in pain. “In these last 25 years our people have been stricken with greed, envy, laziness, and disrespectful! You have all forgotten what the teachings of Yevon had done for us, what Sin did to help us stay humble, to respect our elders, and Summoners. But worry not my children, the Lord Yevon has blessed me, granting unto us the way back to him!” He raised a book high above him. “Behold the words of Lord Yevon himself! His teachings and commandments on how we are to live. He guided me to his ancient palace, deep within Zanarkand and gave unto me his last words, as well as a record of all the knowledge of the summoners of the time before the Machina war. Lord Yevon has now deemed it time for the Atonement to be made once again!" As he spoke The stadium shook again, but this time it was smaller, and more as if it were steps. Suddenly behind the man rose a large serpent's head, that of a dragon. "Look and See! For Our Aeons have been returned! They've come to teach us once again who we should be, and guide us to safety from Sin Once again!"

The man Looked down at them all "Sacrifices must be made sadly, and my heart grieves for the ones lost today... "

Gippals blood began to boil as he stood up, his fists where shaking as she glared at the man, "THHHHHHAAANNNNNNNEEE!" Gippal roared. It was enough to stop the man in mid sentence. He looked down at Gippal and smiled. "Yes?" He said simply. Which only infuriated Gippal more. But before he could speak Thane continued, "Ah Gippal... So good to see you again. I have a special gift for you my old friend..." At that he waved his hand...
______________________

Urick Slowly stood up after the arch fell and it seemed to stop for a moment. As soon as the arches began to fall he had thrown himself over Eva and Saina, Knowing that they wouldn't be crushed, but he took the hit in the back from concrete flying all over, leaving some gashes in his back, but he seemed to not notice them. He looked to Thane as the man spoke and moved his way over to Eva, covering her from Thane's sight. He heard Gippal yell after the mans monologue. At least he was alive...He thought to himself. But soon Thane waved his hand, saying there was a Gift for Gippal. Suddenly people began to scream as Fiends appeared out of no where and started attacking everyone.

"Stay down. " Urick said with a commanding voice to Eva as he moved again seeing two massive wolfs running towards them. He stepped in-front of the first wolf as it tried to bite him, At which he punched downward, crunching the wolfs head with a single blow. He then caught the second wolf as it jumped over him by the tail before swinging it over the edge into the Arch, below.

Everything had happened so quickly that she couldn't take it all in at once. Those damnable arches that she had had such a premonition about before had collapsed, the players from before mostly in a net, Gippal risking his life. Then Urick blocked both her and Eva from debris. Her eyes had looked at his in that moment before he moved to take on the fiends. With all the noise around her she had barely noticed the name who called himself 'Thane' above. As soon as Urick launched the second wolf over the edge into the nets below, she was on her feet.

Cool, collected, Saina's fast paced vision dimmed into one of slow motion. Fiends were everywhere, attacking everyone. Her grip on her katana tightened as she drew her blade, as she did snow fell softly wherever the black metal seemed to go.

"We need to get Eva to a safe place."

She said this while looking at Urick. She felt her duty was first to the summoner behind her, even with so many others crying for help. Saina then looked away and dashed ahead to clear out the enemies before them to keep Urick back with Eva to work as the escort. As a flying enemy tried to approach her, she leapt from where she was running, apparently very nimble, and sliced the enemy in two with her blade in the middle of an elegant turn, as though she were dancing rather than fighting. As the wisps of the enemy sparkled away, she moved forward... until she heard the voice of Thane.

Saina stopped dead in her tracks, as though she had run into a brick wall. She stood stock still for a moment, her grip on her black, snowy katana tightening... She looked up. There. In the announcer's booth... She knew that man. Slowly, she looked back at Urick, her eyes flicking between him and Eva. When she spoke, it was like two people were speaking at once.

""

With that, she turned and with her free hand, shot up into the direction of the booth the man was standing in. In that motion, all the water that had been trying to drain down below the nets suddenly shot up and made an ice stair case straight to the booth. Her eyes empty but her body moving like she was possessed, Saina leapt and ran up the ice stairs she had just created, her black, snowy katana at her side, ready to strike as the fast movement of her body pushed the wind past her, causing her cloak to flare up and move dramatically behind her. She was fast, and as she got closer to the booth, her hand held out in front of her, forming an alchemy like symbol again in front of her. Her eyes glowed brightly, her grip on her black katana tightening as a dozen black ice lances formed around her, all aiming for the man, Thane. Her ice-cold blood boiling, she leapt from the top of the stairs just before they ended, katana in position to slash down at the man, the black ice lances moving to impale him and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Lance De Glace!"

Alex watched Gippal, glancing toward Naisha to see her motioning back before Gippal made another goal. He motioned with one finger, indicating one more left. But just then everything seemed to be thrown into utter chaos. The sphere was split in half, causing the water to collapse and all the Blitzers to fall into the nets. Coughing a bit, hissing as she landed on the wrong side and onto her injured arm, Alex ground her teeth before immiedietly stumbling to her feet. Wondering what the in the name of all that is holy was going on. For now, she had no time to worry about that as she heard Gippal shout for everyone to move and her blue eyes flicked to the collapsing arches.

Yet she didn't move immiedietly, her eyes were darting around to make sure everyone was going to get out of this. She saw Gippal stay back to help a girl from the Abe's, and she saw Rid seem to try and gain his footing but before she could run toward the Auroch goalkeeper, the arch fell and the net snapped. Grunting as she was thrown off, she slammed into the ground, just barily managing land on her heels, right hand scrambling for a grip. Vision blurred by cloud and dust, her lungs filled with the taste of debris that caused her to cough roughly, she heldp hr right hand over her eyes to try and avoid dust entering them while trying to see through the large cloud.

Urick, Naisha, Gippal... Everyone. They had to be alright.

Once she could effectively see, she spotted Gippal and bolted over to him, her worry and concern over him almost completely pushing aside any resentment she had. Quickly kneeling down beside him, she helped him at least to a kneeling position so his face wasn't on the ground.

"You okay Cottonhead?" she asked before her gaze fell on the body he was near. Rid. The goalkeeper's lower body was completely crush, his once bright eyes now dull and lifeless, terror frozen on his usual cheerful face. Alex could only stare in utter shock and horror. Her fingers slightly clenching tightly against Gippal's arm before her blue gaze turned furiously toward the voice.

Seeing the man, she recongized him yesterday and fury burned within every fiber of her being as he prattled on. A snarl erupting from her lips as her cold blue eyes burned like blue flames.



Alex roared loudly along with Gippal, but despite wanting to instantly bolt at the guy and do what she just threatened, she didn't leave Gippal's side. He was hurt, and it looked pretty bad, and despite how much she did want to go up there and kick this prick's ass for the pain and death he caused, she did have to take care of her friends. In which she briefly made a scan to see if the others were okay. Urick, seeming to make a dive to those two women. Well, at least he seemed alright.

Just then, the man apparently motioned and signaled for apparently fiends to burst into the stadium and start attacking people. Cursing under her breathe, Alex glared as a dingo and condor made their way to them. Alex stood in front of Gippal, glaring at the two fiends. The dingo went left, as if trying to ignore her and go after Gippal, while the condor tried flying above to get at the white haired man.

Alex wasn't about to let the two fiends get her friend as she grabbed the condor by the legs with her right hand before quickly slamming it down against the dingo, causing it to yelp while a large crunch is heard as she basically used the bird like fiend like a fighting stick. Quickly, she repeatedly slammed the two fiends together, the two not taking long to disperse into orbs of light known as pyreflies. Tensing a little as she shuffled away from them. Never did Alex like hanging around the things.

Quickly, she picked up Gippal with her right arm, slinging him over her shoulder before quickly bolting across the stadium. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to carry her sword during a match so she would have to rely on her hand to hand combat. It was alright, especially with her armored gloves, but she was more effective with her sword.

As another dingo tried launching at them from the left, Alex quickly kicked it in the face with the flat of her foot, before twirling right with her foot out and slamming the tip of her boot against the fiend's cheek. Launching it into another condor and causing them both to slam into a piece of rubble. Grunting a little as she shifted Gippal's weight before continuing onward. The cries for help, the blood curdling screams of agony, and the stench of blood... It was enough to make her mind foggy and a heavy weight fill her heart from being unable to do anything for them. Those poor people... Somehow, she had to help, but she had to make sure her friends, and their.... 'Friends' were alright as well.

Reaching Urick and that strawberry blonde girl, just in time to see that bloody ice #%#%# to run off after Thane which made Alex grind her teeth together irritably. First, entering the table with a gibberish excuse and acting all holy, now taking a fight that should belong to one of them?! That little.... But Alex didn't have time to deal with that, there were people who needed help.

Grunting as she crouched a little before leaping up onto the edge, gripping it with her right hand before doing a one arm pull up and shouldering Gippal off to land on the other side and to be in the audience stands with Urick and the strawberry girl. Panting a little, her blue eyes briefly stared at the unknown girl before looking to Urick. "You babysit him." she said before turning her gaze towards the VIP booth, about to try and make her way to Naisha but a screech caught her ear.

Quickly turning, out of no where, a Garuda appears and screetchs, flapping its large wings as it made its way toward the four. Seeming to aim for Urick and the pink haired girl. Alex cursed, quickly pulling herself up with her good arm and quickly stood in its path. Balancing on the railing, she pulled her right arm back before punching the fiend right across its left cheek. Causing its long neck to snap to her left, wings flapping wildly in a attempt to regain balance. One of the massive wings clipped her and she fell off, quickly grabbing at the wing for some sort of hold as the two took off in the air.

The tall red head growled. "This is not my %#%#%#% day already!!!" she shouted as she was thrusted in the air, the two flying a good 200 meters in the air. Landing on the fiend's neck, she managed to wrap her arms around it, letting out a shout of pain as electricity of agony shot through her left shoulder. With a growl, she started rapidly kicking the toes of her boots into the jaw of the Garuda.

Screaming out in pain and anger, the giant flying fiend flew wildly, trying to shake her off. Managing to loose her hold enough to slump her body to the base of the neck, it's feet reached up, talons crunching down against her body and ripping the attacking Amazon off its neck. Giving a hiss, long limber tongue flicking out before crunching its razor fangs against her torso as she was held horizontally against its jaws. Letting out a shout of pain, Alex ground her teeth as she tried pounding her right fist, which was the arm not in the mouth, in the nose. But the fiend wasn't relenting as its fangs crunched harder, trying to snap her in two.

Coughing, Alex growled and her blue eyes glared fiercely at the fiend. "If I had my sword... This would be easier to chop to pieces... But I'm not about to become bird chow so I hope you're ready to be fried chicken you %#%#%#%!!" The red head roared, hissing as she forced her left arm to cooperate, her left fist tightly gripping the tongue and pulling as hard as she could.

A blood curtailing scream erupted from the giant beast as its fangs released their grip, jaws opening wide now as the fiend shook its head, trying to pull the tongue back in. The red head moved so her right leg hooked over the upper muzzle, using her left hand to pull as hard as she could on the tongue and a attempt to keep balance on the wildly raging beast, while using the right hand to punch repeatedly at the Garuda's eye while repeatedly yelling '%#%# you' with each blow.

The fiend screamed and cried by the agonizing beating, wings flapping as it wildly flew around the stadium, crashing into any other flying fiends that had the misfortune of being in its path. Before finally spinning downward and crashing into the stands. Alex cursed as she saw it was crashing and she dived off, covering her head in a attempt to protect it while her back landed harshly against a Wally before she skidded a few steps until halting. Groaning a little as she laid there for a moment, bleeding, her eyes opened to see the Garuda struggle to get up before it finally fell and burst into pyreflies.

Sighing a relief, Alex quickly struggled to a standing position and took a moment to look over herself as her right hand held her throbbing left arm. The uniform was practically torn to shreds. The straps to the overalls gone, and pretty much all the upper half was ripped off. Luckily, she wore her vest and it seemed to be in tact so it covered any embarrassing parts. While the lower parts had rips in the side around the thighs. Her torso was covered in blood, dripping from teeth marks.

Taking a deep breathe, she grumbled before looking around to examine where she was before starting to move.

"Okay, that was fun." Alex grumbled. "Come on Alex, get moving. It ain't over yet. Buck up. Keep fighting." she chanted before picking up her pace into a speedy jog, punching any fiend who got near her and quickly went to the VIP booth. Everything hurt, it was hard to move, it was hard to even breathe as her breathes came out ragged and sounding more like she was choking. But she had to get to Naisha. Had to make sure her friend was okay. Probably bably was the only thing keeping her moving.

"Nai! You alright?!" Alex shouted as she bursted in.