The sun was setting by the time Stree and the rest of the group reached Djose Temple, so they decided to stop there for the night. "Upon hearing this started jumping for joy over the chance to see Gippal again, though she stated firmly that they were 'just friends'.

"Of course you are," said Paine. Stree smiled, then turned away when Kam gave him a funny look.

"I think when we get there we should ask Gip if he'll let us borrow his airship," said Wakka as they neared the temple. Rin shut down the hover and hopped out.

"I think that I shall get some supplies. The food is running low." With that, he turned and walked into the temple. Stree dropped down from his vantage point on the top of the machine, and grabbed his bag. He strapped the sword that was now his to his back, then walked over to the temple entrance. "Hey, wait up!" shouted Tidus from behind him. Whatever good feelings were in Stree disappeared in an instant. "I said wait!" shouted Tidus.

Stree continued walking. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Look I said I was sorry about what happened, so why are you still so angry at me?"

Stree growled again, and spun around to grab Tidus. He caught him in the throat and pushed him into the temple wall. "It's because you weren't sorry when it happened! She's still has nightmares about it! Did you know that?"

"Stree, I'm sorry, I.I didn't…"

"Of course you didn't! You were too busy bragging to everyone else about your latest victory!"

"I went to see her when I heard!"

"Yeah, three days after it happened! And you brought that stupid bitch with you, too! I thought that even you wouldn't be so stupid!"

"Hey, I…" Tidus voice cut out when Stree started closing his hand tighter on his throat.

"Hey!" A flash filled the air. Stree cracked open an eye and found himself lying on the ground, his arms and feet bound to pegs pushed into the ground.

"What the hell's going on?" shouted Stree, struggling against his bonds.

"Calm down," commanded Gippal, stepping into Stree's field of vision. "Calm down, and I'll let you free." Stree started to relax a little, but was still visibly tense. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Stree, a little confused now. He remembered grabbing Tidus by the throat, and arguing with him, but nothing beyond that.

Gippal gave him a strange look. "Are you kidding? You jump Tidus, then head turns into a ball of fire, and you don't remember?"

"What?" asked Stree, really confused now. He tried to open both eyes, but something was holding his left eye closed

"Here, I'll show you," said Gippal, reaching down to untie Stree. He held out a hand to help Stree up, but he ignored it and hauled himself to his feet. "Over here," said Gippal, pointing Stree to a mirror. He walked over to it, then nearly threw up when he saw his reflection. The whole left side of his face was completely black, including his eye, and his right had a gigantic cut running right down, from his forehead, through his eye and down to the corner of his mouth.

"Wh, what's this stuff on my face?" Stree asked after his voice returned to him.

"Something to help heal the burns on your face. We tried to apply it as quickly as we could, but by the time we got to it, your left eye had already been fused shut. It's closed permanently," said Gippal, his voice full of sympathy. Suddenly, he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" demanded Stree.

"Sorry," replied Gippal. "I just had a thought. You, me and Auron have all lost an eye. It's starting to turn into a club."

"Do I get a membership card?" asked Stree.

Gippal laughed again. "Ah it's not so bad once you get used to it. Hey, some girls even find it kind of attractive."

"How long till this crap comes off?" asked Stree.

"You can wash it off tomorrow."

Stree turned around and walked out of the room, into the entrance of the temple. He saw Auron, Tidus, Wakka and a few others that Stree didn't know all laid out on bed, bandages and bruises all over them. He turned around to find Gippal behind him.

"What the hell happened to them?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"You happened. After you jumped Tidus, Auron and a few of my workers tried to pry you off him, but then, you went all fiery and started laying into all of them, not to mention the burns they scored off you when the flames burst out. I was lucky. I only got hit in a arm." He held out his right arm to show a blood stained bandage wrapped around his bicep.

"Sorry," mumbled Stree. He looked around and spotted Kam tending to Auron, and walked over to her. "You all right?" he asked when he reached her. She turned around to answer him, but paled when she saw his face. She held a hand to her mouth for a second, then swallowed the rising bile and was able to answer him.

"I'm fine. You did a good job on a lot of others, though."

Stree nodded. "I noticed." He looked around and saw Rikku and Paine huddled in a corner. Rikku looked over at him, then turned away and rushed off to the bathrooms. Paine wouldn't even look at him. He turned and walked back to Gippal. "You have anything I can use to cover myself up for a while?"

"We only have bandages for no. When we pass through Bevelle, I was going to see if I could find you something a little more practical." Stree nodded and grabbed a bandage off one of the medics, then proceeded to wrap it around his head. "How long until we leave?" he asked after he finished.

Gippal nodded, then replied. "After we move those three to the Ixion, we'll be able to lift off."

"The Ixion?"

"That's the name of my airship. It was built using pieces of this temple that we found when we refurbished it." Whether it was that he didn't have to see Stree's scarring, or because of pride in his airship, Gippal's words started to flow a little easier. Stree nodded.

"Hey if we have a chance, can we stop off in Luca?"

"What's in Luca?"

"My airship."

Gippal nodded. "Sure." Suddenly, a loud voice echoed through the temple, then a thump slammed against the door. "What was that?" he asked.

Stree turned and grabbed his sword, which he found leaning against a wall. "How quickly can you move them?" he asked, pointing to Tidus, Wakka and Auron.

Gippal grabbed a shoulder cannon, and motioned to one of his aides to start moving the three. "How long do you think we have?" Suddenly, the door exploded inwards and Fiends started rushing in.

"I'd say not too long."