'Well, where are we going to now?' Reis asked Wakka as they descended the steps of the Kilika temple.

'We're going to Luca, the second-largest city in Spira,' Yuna said, her staff landing on each step with a soft clunk.

'And you'd better not make any trouble there, both of you, Tidus and Reis,' Lulu muttered.

'What trouble did I make?' Reis said, raising her voice, indignant.

'You threw a rock at another summoner's guardian,'

'So? He hit me hard with that hammer of his,'

'You didn't have to break his weapon or threaten him,'

'Oh, be quiet. You're no different, talking about me as though I'm a fiend,'

'You both…what have I told you before? We don't want in-fighting among ourselves,' Yuna said, clapping a hand over Lulu's mouth.

Boarding the ship, Yuna turned back one last time towards Kilika. There was a sad look in her green and blue eyes that Reis had never seen before; although she was familiar with that feeling. Yuna had never shown a single hint of sadness before, and this expression was completely different to the Yuna Reis knew. It was…longing, almost to the extent of not being able to see something again.

'Yuna…? Is something wrong?' Reis asked her, looking straight into her eyes.

'No, it's alright, Reis, it's nothing,'

'Alright…'

Climbing the stairs down to under the deck, Reis entered her cabin. Jumping into the hammock hanging on the side, she began to sleep, the ship's motion rocking her slightly with each thrust of its paddle wheels.

Moments later, her cabin door opened with a loud creak, causing Reis to sit bolt upright. Yuna stood framed in the narrow doorway, stepping into the room and closing the door softly behind her. Sitting down on the foot of Reis' hammock, she stared at the ceiling.

'That potion you gave me…what was in it? I feel as though…I was reborn, full of energy. And yet…there is a sadness that grows in me, that I think you possess as well. I felt anger when Lulu made her disrespectful comments…it is as though…a part of you is in me,' Yuna said, tears flowing down her cheeks, 'I felt your sorrows. I felt your emotions. I felt your longing for someone that you loved—someone that I don't know. It doesn't feel right…to be delving into someone else's memories, to be looking into their past…Is there anything you can do about it?'

I've never realised the healing potion that I had made with my own blood…would have such an unintentional effect…I'm sorry, Yuna…

'I'm sorry…' Reis whispered into her ear, grasping Yuna's hand with her own, 'I never thought it had such an adverse effect on others…I've only drunk this myself, and I thought it had no such effects…'

Lies. Lies! Reis, you lie! You've used this exact same potion on Edea! How many lives will you ruin like this? How many lives will you condemn to seeing and feeling thoughts that you have, to be possessed by sadness?

'Reis…don't blame yourself for it, I can understand that you're only trying to help me,' Yuna muttered, pushing herself away from the dragoner and exiting the cabin.

She's feeling sorry for me. Am I really being that hard on myself? No…I'm only being realistic…This is what I've done, and these are the consequences.

'Reis? Be rested for the Blitzball tournament, ya?' Wakka called out from the other side of the door, 'It's going to be a long, hard day tomorrow,'

Is Blitzball really that exhausting?

'If that's so, then I'd better make more blood potion…' Reis mumbled to herself, jumping out of her hammock and drawing out a glass bottle and a silver knife. Positioning the bottle on a table, she held her wrist over the top of the bottle. Biting her leather glove, she cut down hard on her hand, spattering the table with her blood and then carefully positioning the bottle with an unsteady hand, catching as much of her own blood as was possible. Panting, she extracted a bandage from the box labeled 'Besaid Aurochs' on the hammock next to hers, wrapping her wounded hand in the white linen. Cutting some excess bandage off, she wiped off the blood from the table, before collecting the bottle and putting a cork over it.

Putting her uninjured hand into her pocket, Reis pulled out several Sinscale crystals, crushing them to powder before adding them to her blood. The mixture steamed and bubbled, settling down minutes later to be a thick, ruby-red liquid. Shaking this for fifteen minutes, she licked up the blood on her injured hand that seeped down past the bandage.

That coppery taste…How familiar I am with it…

'Reis? Is everything alright?' Yuna shouted from behind the door, 'I thought I heard something,'

'Nothing, Yuna, it's alright,'

'Alright then. Have a good sleep, tomorrow morning we're arriving before dawn at Luca,'

She can really sense my feelings now…what I feel, she feels. I wonder if it's the same with thoughts…

'Wake up, Reis!' Wakka said, shaking her body, 'We're at Luca,'

'Already…?' Reis yawned, rubbing her eyes, 'It's so early…'

'I've told you, Yuna, she isn't worthy to be a guardian,' Lulu commented, shooting her a look of pure venom.

Why does she dislike me so much…?

'Come, you all, up. Tidus, Wakka and Reis have to be in the Luca Blitzball Stadium before 7 a.m.' Yuna called out cheerfully, skipping up to the deck. Only Kimahri and Lulu seemed to be as energetic as Yuna; the others were half-asleep, yawning and stretching as they ascended to the deck.

Luca was a far larger city than what Reis had thought; built of glistening white rock, embellished in blue and gold, the entire city could have well served as the imperial capital of Ivalice. The docks were packed with ships, large and small, sailing or powered by paddle wheels. Thousands thronged the area, human adults bartering with the smaller folk that they called the 'Al Bhed', great furred creatures similar to Kimahri, varied in colours; it was nearly a sort of crossroads for the entire world.

'This—is Luca. The second largest city in Spira, after Bevelle,' Wakka said to Reis, jumping down onto the dock, 'Come, let's have a look around, we've got a while until the tournament starts,'

'Alright,'

Wakka led Reis around the city, showing her the finest and largest city she had ever seen. Although the dragoner had never had fondness for civilisation or large gatherings, she was quite impressed at the way that they managed to build everything without 'machina'—tools or machines that the Al Bhed invented, said to be sacrilegious to their religion.

'It's almost time for the Blitzball tournament,' a little child shouted to his friends, running towards the stadium, 'Come on, let's go,'

'That means us too, Reis. Let's go,'

Back at the stadium, Reis was at a loss of what to wear for the Blitzball tournament. Her linen and wool dress was definitely not a good thing to wear; absorbent of water, would weigh her down; Wakka had explained to her that this was a sport in water.

'Try this,' Letty, a teammate, said, 'It might fit you,'

Closing the changing cubicle door, she slipped off her dress, putting on the tight-fitting garment that Letty gave her. It fitted fine, allowing most movements, although extremely uncomfortable in the fact that they squeezed her breasts and seemed to pull her legs as she moved.

The team wolf-whistled as Reis emerged from the changing cubicle, holding a thumbs-up towards her and smiling widely. Smiling back, she walked up to Wakka, who was busy putting on a half-glove on his right hand.

'Wakka…I'd like to ask you about the rules…'

'Yes, I'd forgotten to explain that to you…' Wakka murmured, slipping on his left glove, 'In Blitzball, the main objective is to put the ball-(he shows a blue ball, about a foot across)-through the triangular-shaped goal at the other end. There are five players per side; plus a goalkeeper. You will be in the midfield position, which means that you are at the most forward position of the five. Your purpose will be to put the ball through the goal—unless if you want to pass it to another team member. This person here, Tidus…he claims that he's a player from a city that has been destroyed nearly one thousand years ago…I don't trust him, but nevertheless, he is quite trained from what I can see…'

'Alright, I got it. So when are we playing?'

'Right after this. We're kind of doomed right now; we're facing the team that's been champion for ten years in a row,'

Champion for ten years in a row…that's probably really good…? I'd like to break their winning streak…

'It's been a while since I'd played here…This will be my last time. I will be a full-time guardian, for the rest of my life!' Wakka shouted out to the team, which stared at him, thunderstruck, 'I've wasted enough time and effort trying to get the Crystal Cup, the trophy of this tournament…I should've done something else that mattered more…but anyway, let's go, team, we're up now,'

Opening a small door at the back of the change room, Wakka opened a steel hatch in the floor, revealing a well-like hole, filled with water. Diving in, the rest of the team followed the leader, leaving Reis to be the last one out.

This is freezing…The water's so cold…and yet I can breathe…there must be some sort of magic that they've put into the water.

'And here are the Besaid Aurochs!' the announcer blared out on his megaphone, amid the roaring cheer of the crowd, 'The losers of the past decade! Will they be back to lose again?'

'Oh yes, I think they will lose again. They couldn't even defeat the Ronso Rage last year, and they were the second worst Blitzing team in existence before,' the other announcer said.

The crowd's laughing burned into Reis' ears, causing her anger to stack up a little more than usual. Wakka was apparently had the same thoughts coursing through his mind; his fists were clenched, and he was gritting his teeth. Looking forwards, Reis caught a glimpse of the other team; smug, grinning fools, idiotic-looking, they appeared to be the least likeable people in the entire world. One of them thrust their middle finger up in a rude gesture, to the amusement of the crowd.

This is most unacceptable…On the team's honour and my own; I will defeat them in this match.

'Are you ready, Reis?' Wakka shouted in the water, 'The game's about to start. Hurry, go to the front, you're in the midfield position. Just grab the ball as soon as it comes down, and rush to the other side's goals. Do not let go of the ball unless you're hitting it into the goals,'

'I got it,'

I'll show them how it's done…

'It appears that the Aurochs have two newcomers! Let's see how they fare today, shall we?'

'I'm sure we shall see some new talent here, pal! That's if they've picked up a better recruitment agent, ha!'

I'll see about that!

'3…2…1…Blitzoff!'

Reis lunged forward as the ball shot upward, knocking aside her opponent's scrabbling hands as she grabbed the ball. Swimming forwards as fast as she could, shooting careful glances left and right as her opponents dived and lurched forward in an attempt to tackle the dragoner; only to be deftly dodged by her heightened combat reflexes. Tossing the ball into the sky, she locked her other wrist in place—a fraction of a second of silence, as her hand whistled in a wide arc onto the ball, striking it towards the goal, about twenty metres away. Shooting forward at an incredible speed towards the hapless goalkeeper, the blue sphere barreled into the poor man, scoring a point for the Aurochs when the man—and the ball—entered the triangle of metal, speeding out of the other side.

'Have you ever seen anything like that! The Auroch midfielder has just scored a goal from the middle of the Blitz arena, and to add injury to insult, knocked the Luca Goers' goalkeeper through the goal!'

'Nope, nothing like it,' the other commentator shouted, 'This time round they do have a secret weapon,'

The crowd cheered as the Luca Goers' midfielder gained possession of the ball; Reis sped towards him, approaching with malevolent intent.

'Take this!' she roared, as she dived forward, wresting the ball out of his hands, before speeding off again in the opposite direction, 'Tidus, catch!'

The blond teammate swam forward on his side, clutching the blue ball in his stomach before moving towards the Goers' undefended goal; the goalkeeper was still out cold after his head bumped against the metal edge of the goals. Tossing the ball, Tidus somersaulted in the water, striking the ball hard with his shin, causing it to shoot off three metres off the goal.

'Oh, you useless thing! Let me show you how it's done,' Reis growled, pushing her way past the opposing team, grasping the ball, 'Prepare for this…'

Dropping the ball, she threw her weight into one heavy kick, knocking the goalkeeper's unresisting body out of the goalposts; the ball soared into the goals with absurd ease, scoring another point for the Aurochs.

I can see my teammates clapping their hands together…I've scored two points against the best team in this world…They're not that hard, at all…

'Wakka! Wakka! We want Wakka!' the crowd chanted, amid the raucous comments of the two commentators. Shrugging her shoulders, Reis swam back to the Aurochs' change room, patting Wakka on the shoulder as she passed him.

'You did very well, Reis. It's time for me to take over…'

I hope you do well, Wakka…

Pulling off the drenched outfit that she wore, Reis put a leg through her skirt, shaking her flowing golden sheets as she put the other one through. Brushing her hair with a hairbrush conjured out of energy; she blinked into the mirror on the wall.

That had to be one of the fastest and roughest sports that I've played, not that I've played many…well, unless you include fighting, of course.

Yuna was nowhere to be seen as Reis sat down in one of the seats, among the crowd of cheering and whistling crowd. Neither was Lulu or Kimahri. Looking onto the game, she could see that the Aurochs were struggling without her; the score was already even at three for both sides.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the aura of festivities, from the direction of the stadium entryway.

'Fiends!' a man screamed, 'Fiends have invaded the stadium!'

Fiends? How can they enter this large city so easily?

'Step aside,' Reis muttered to the child next to her, 'I'll exterminate them,'

'Weren't you the best Blitzballer on the Aurochs' team?' the child piped up, 'You're so cool!'

'Yes, but, please, step aside,'

'Ok, catch you around!'

A stinging pain tore through Reis' mind as her right shoulder was ripped by a sharp claw; a stone-skinned dragon stood in the doorway, glaring straight into her face.

This is not one of my family…This is not one of my blood…This is a fiend, a monster, a cursed soul…

'You will perish today! The doom of a planet…Crush Punch!'

The beast exploded in a shower of body parts and blood as the holy energy shredded its form to pieces. Holding out her hand, Reis gathered the crystal shards left behind in her palm, attracting them to her hand with a pulse of magic. Holding up the large blue crystal in the air, she began to chant an enchantment she had not used for a long time.

Perhaps not even in my lifetime…but…how did I know this? I just know…somehow, its effects and its power…

'Fire, ice and lightning, wind and the earth, light and darkness, combine as one! Crush the evil as the planet's defence!'

Instantly the day turned to night; angry storm clouds gathered overhead as the spell took hold. Still chanting, Reis stepped back slightly in fear as a lightning bolt struck the flying fiend next to her, roasting its flesh into dark ashes. Steeling her heart, she continued the chanting, until at the last moment, she brandished her light blade out, sweeping it in a circle about her; drawing the shape of a five-pointed star on the ground, she resumed her chanting, stabbing the centre as she finished her seventh round.

Flaming shards of rock and freezing javelins of ice rained down on the stadium, impaling all the creatures without mercy; shrieks of the defeated and dying fiends could be heard, ringing around the building as the unforgiving barrage continued; a piece of soul crystal struck her face as a dragon five metres to her left exploded in an inferno, a blazing meteorite having fallen through its body. Holding out her hand, Reis began to gather all the crystals of the fiends; immediately thousands of tiny fragments gathered in her palm, growing as bits of soul attached themselves together in one sphere in her hand. At last, the shower of death had stopped, leaving not a trace of damage on the stadium itself, but numerous corpses of fiends lying scattered on the tiles of the building. Reis heaved a vast crystal into the seat, nearly as tall as herself; shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight, in its various colours; green, red, blue, black and silver.

This would be very useful as a magical artifact, I think…

'Reis?' Yuna asked, her staff clunking on the entryway floor, 'How did all the fiends die so quickly? The crusaders have just arrived, only to find corpses of fiends on the ground. Only you could have done this; for when we kill them, they leave no body; they simply depart for the afterlife. Please, tell us. We're not angry, quite the opposite, really,'

'Ah…' Reis stuttered, collapsing into a seat, 'It's…well, I used a spell that I have learned…somehow…years, decades…maybe centuries ago, I don't know how. I just…felt like I could do it…I felt that…I knew how to do it. I've never learned it in reading, I can tell you that much,'

'It's still a good thing that you cast that, Reis,' Lulu mumbled from behind Yuna, 'You prevented many deaths today by slaying the fiends…I salute you,'

She's saying sorry…but I don't believe her. They say the eye is the window to one's soul; well, Lulu's is still hard and cold as ice.

'Let's go,' Reis said, standing up, grasping her mangled shoulder; blood flowed steadily down her dress. Stumbling as she descended a step, Yuna caught her about the chest, bringing her up to a sitting position.

'You need to be healed first,' Yuna said fearfully, as she pulled away from her and saw her hands, immersed in blood, 'Healing breeze, come and refresh! Cura!'

The torn flesh and skin closed and healed as the spell took hold; blood stopped flowing and the pain ceased. Helping Reis to stand, Yuna and Lulu walked out of the stadium, to be met by Wakka, Kimahri and Tidus, and a mysterious red-jacketed man, who joined them as they walked into the golden sunlight outside…