"When the Goers use a left flank formation, then you want to shift your position more to the middle," Vidina explained to Chandale. "You'll still be at risk of running into a defender or two, but it will be easier to pass if you need to."

Chandale was listening carefully to Vidina's coaching as they rode the SS Winno to Luca. She hadn't realized how many different gameplans there were in blitzball. Each team had different plans, different player skills, and different setups. The only thing that seemed to stay the same with each team was that their best offensive player set up on the left side rather than the middle or right.

"I don't have much experience in passing," Chandale said nervously. "Dad had me focus more on shooting and taking hits."

"That's fine," Vidina replied. "If you can take a hit, then the defenders will have a hard time with you. If you seem to be in trouble ahead, though, then you can always turn and pass back to a defender. They're usually pretty open when the offense is pushing forward."

Chandale continued to listen to Vidina explain different tricks she could use. As time passed, though, her thoughts started to fade back to when her father was training her on the beach of Besaid. He was incredibly strict with his instruction, but still showed love and support. The more she thought about it, the more she missed both him and her mother.

"Chandale?" Vidina noticed Chandale was no longer listening. "You alright?"

Chandale realized that she had zoned out. She quickly brought herself back to reality and shook her head with a smile.

"I'm fine," Chandale responded. "Just thinking."

"About your parents?" Vidina asked softly.

"Yeah, I just hope we can find Mom. And no one's heard from Dad since he left. What if he's in trouble too? The man in that sphere said he was after all of Mom's guardian's too."

"True, but your dad is the best guardian that ever lived according to everyone else. And Kimahri is definitely no pushover, either!"

The door to the cabin they were in suddenly opened. A tall man stood in the doorway, carrying a serious look on his face. He wore a long, white robe with black pants underneath it, and had a white helmet that covered his hair. Strapped to his back was a long spear that had a sharp point on both ends.

"What is it, Mowlin?" Vidina asked.

"Victori has informed me," the man answered. "The three of you plan to find the person responsible for the disappearance of the Gullwings?"

Mowlin was a high-ranking priest of the New Yevon sect. He was stationed at the temple of Besaid five years prior, and almost everybody took an instant dislike toward him. He wasn't "preachy" compared to most priests, but was still very outspoken when it came to his opinions. Even worse, almost no one agreed with most of his opinions. According to Tidus, the only good thing about him was his excellent skills in fighting fiends.

"That's right," Vidina responded to Mowlin's question.

Mowlin bowed down on one knee. "I request permission to accompany you on your mission."

Chandale and Vidina looked at each other in confusion. Mowlin had almost no relationship with either of them, nor did he have one with Chandale's parents. There didn't seem to be a logical reason for his desire to join.

"Why do you want to help?" Chandale asked. She didn't do anything to mask her dislike toward the man.

"I fully understand that most people in Besaid to not much care for me," Mowlin said. "However, your mother always made sure I was doing well. She showed me compassion when no one else would. I wish to repay her for her kindness."

"Well why did Victori tell you to ask us? She's the one in charge."

"Victori told me to come to you, Chandale, because it is your mother that's missing. The way I see it, Victori may be in charge of the mission, but you are the leader."

Chandale was shocked at Mowlin's answer. She didn't want to be the leader of anything. All she wanted to do was beat the crap out of the guy who kidnapped her mother, then return to her normal life.

"Can you give us a couple minutes?" Vidina asked.

"Certainly," Mowlin answered. "I will be on the main deck near the front of the ship."

Mowlin left the two alone immediately after he finished talking. For a couple of minutes, silence filled the cabin. They both thought to themselves on what would be the best course of action.

"Personally, I hate Mowlin," Chandale finally spoke up. "But he's probably even more skilled than Victori in a fight."

"My only problem is that he's a member of New Yevon," Vidina replied. "I hate traveling with those self-righteous know-it-alls."

"So do I, but we both saw what that dark Aeon was capable of. What if there's more, and even more powerful?"

Vidina couldn't argue with her logic. The more strength and experience they had, the better the chance they had in future battles should they come. Mowlin had proven his strength shortly after he arrived on Besaid. A small group of fiends wondering into the village one night and attacked a family inside their hut. Mowlin was the first to arrive, and eliminated all of the fiends before anyone else could respond.

"So what did she say?" Victori asked Mowlin as they looked out to the open sea.

"They are considering it right now," Mowlin answered. "I know neither of them care for me all that much."

Victori slapped Mowlin's back, making his stumble a bit. "That's because you don't keep that big yap shut! If you'd let people get to know the real you, maybe you could make some friends."

"I didn't come to Besaid to make friends," Mowlin snapped. "I went there to revive the temple and hopefully bring some spirituality back to the people."

"Good luck with that." Victori started to think back to her childhood when Sin was still around. Sin was killed for good when she was a teenager, but not before it killed her entire family in Kilika. After everything that happened, she quickly joined the millions who wanted nothing to do with anything spiritual.

"You don't need luck when you have faith," Mowlin replied to Victori's statement.

"Whatever you say," Victori said with a hint of sarcasm. "Most of Spira would prefer there be no spirituality at all. New Yevon has a very small following for a reason."

"I'm well aware of that. People forget that even New Yevon hates what happened in the past. Our beliefs have nothing to do with Yu Yevon or Sin. It is a new faith altogether."

Victori didn't respond after that. Mowlin was very skilled at saying things that are difficult to counter in an argument. As soon as people started to realize that, they stopped protesting to him altogether.

"We've come to a decision," Vidina suddenly said from behind.

Mowlin turned to face them. "I will respect your decision regardless of what it is."

"Neither of us can stand you," Chandale said with a short tone. "But you're very good in battle, and we could use that."

"Thank you for your offer, and we will accept," Vidina finished for Chandale.

Mowlin didn't say anything back. Instead, he bowed in gratitude, then walked away from everyone. Chandale still wasn't comfortable with him traveling with them, but she couldn't deny his usefulness in a pinch.

"That puts our little team at four," Victori said. "The more we have, the better chance we have."

"I hope so," Chandale said in response.

"Chandale, you know of all the guardians that traveled with your mother, correct?"

"Of course I do! They're like aunts and uncles to me. What's your point?"

"High Summoner Yuna had six guardians travel with her on her pilgrimage. Most summoners only had one or two travel with them. You mother, however, recognized the power than can be found in a group of people who trust each other with their lives. They grew stronger, not individually, but as a team. That is the only way they could have defeated Sin and Yu Yevon. You may not like Mowlin's personality, but you can trust he will look out for you no matter what."

"Whatever," Chandale responded. She didn't want to agree with Victori, so she could only act like she didn't care either way. "I'm going to sleep now."

"I think I'm going to go to my cabin too," Vidina said. "I wanna get some rest before we dock in Luca in the morning."

"Then good night," Victori said. "Good luck in the tournament. Mowlin and I will patrol the area the entire time. If we find anything or anyone suspicious, we will inform you."

Vidina yawned loudly before nodding to acknowledge. He didn't entirely agree with playing blitzball during a time like that, but it could very well work well as a bait for the culprit. They just had to be careful not to get anyone hurt in the process.

"Welcome all, welcome all!" the blitzball announcer shouted through the speakers that were stationed in every corner of Luca. "We have a lot of excitement ahead of us today as he kick off a new season of blitzball with the annual Crystal Cup Tournament! In just three hours, we will begin the tournament that will prove which team is the best!"

People roamed through the streets of Luca. Luca had changed significantly over the years. The city was enlarged, creating three new areas. One of the areas was solely residential, while the other two areas were packed with different tourist attractions. Tens of thousands of people would flock to Luca for the blitzball tournament, allowing for merchants to make more gil that day than almost the whole rest of the year.

"We do have some unfortunate news, however," the announcer continued to talk. "As most are already aware, the Gullwings' ship disappeared during a mission, as well as the crew, including our High Summoner Yuna. They are all still missing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them, and we hope to see them soon! Because they are missing, last year's champion, the Besaid Aurochs, will be receiving a first round bye. They are automatically in the second round."

"That's unexpected," Vidina said as they exited the ship.

"I'm not complaining, though," Borard, one of the Aurochs defenders said. "That means we only have to win two matches to be champions again."

The team immediately moved for their locker room on the east side of the stadium. It was the same locker they had every year. The locker room was slightly larger than the others, and as champions, the Aurochs were given complementary snacks and drinks as well.

The Aurochs were quickly changed into their uniforms and dove right into the gameplan. Without Tidus around, they had elected to bring Vidina in as the interim coach and captain. Even though he was the goalie, he had unmatched knowledge when it came to planning and knowing the opponent.

"How you feeling Deato?" Vidina asked.

"Little sore, but I say it's a miracle I can play at all," Deato responded. "I'll give it my all out there!"

Vidina nodded with a reassuring smile. "Chandale, with Deato less than one-hundred percent, we're going to need you to carry the blunt of the offensive plays. Moona will be playing at Middle to act as a bit of a decoy and shield for you."

Chandale had hoped they wouldn't need her too much. Her nerves weren't even close to calm, and with them depending on her, the feelings continued to get worse. The only thing she could think of was her desire to have her father in that locker room with her, giving her a pep talk and telling her she'd do great.

"You got that?" Vidina asked Chandale. From his point of view, she wasn't paying any attention at all. "Chandale?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I understand," Chandale finally acknowledged. "I'll give it my best shot."

Vidina shook his head. "Your best won't be enough out here. I'm not trying to demotivate you, but we face the winner between the Luca Goers and the Al Bhed Psyches. Both of those teams are championship teams."

Chandale didn't know what to say back. Vidina basically told her that she wasn't good enough to play, but they had no choice otherwise. As good a friend as he was, his mentality was completely changed in the locker room.

"Hey Vidina, cut her some slack," Borard said. Borard was the oldest member of the team aside from Tidus, and loved to impart his knowledge on the younger players. "She's gonna do great, ya? She is Tidus' daughter after all!"

Before Vidina could respond, a knock sounded from outside the door. Shortly after, the door opened and Rin appeared. Chandale knew Rin only from seeing him through the commsphere. She knew that he was a very old friend of her parents, and he helped them more than once during their fight against Sin.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I hope I may speak with Vidina and Chandale," Rin said politely.

Vidina nodded and he and Chandale exited the locker room. Rin didn't seem to be worried about anything, but also didn't seem happy. Chandale knew him to be a relatively happy person no matter the situation.

"What's up?" Vidina asked as they stood in the hallway.

"I have been in communication with Djose in hopes of receiving updates about the rescue mission," Rin responded. Chandale could almost instantly tell that bad news was coming and her heart dropped. "I'm afraid Gippal's airship was attacked and brought down over the Calm Lands. They crashed in a deep gorge, and when men were sent down to attempt a recovery, no one was found. There were no signs of people anywhere."

Chandale immediately started to fight back tears. It was almost too much to think that both of her parents were both missing, possibly even dead.

"What do we do from here?" Vidina asked. He could tell Chandale couldn't say anything, and didn't want to force her to have to.

"I have been made aware of your mission here," Rin answered. "It would seem that whoever is behind the disappearance of all these people is also the one you hope to find here. I took the liberty of speaking with the authorities here in Luca, and surveillance spheres have been placed all throughout the city. If there is anyone suspicious here, then we will know."

Vidina shook Rin's hand in appreciation. Just like always, he was a man that could be depended upon. Chandale still wouldn't say anything, clearly in shock from the news she just received. Not only were both her parents missing, but so was the rest of the Gullwings, as well as Kimahri and Gippal. Slowly, Spira's most prominent figures were dropping off the face of the planet.

"What do I do?" Chandale thought to herself. "I'm not capable of doing anything. I'm only sixteen. I've barely fought anything that had any real power. How am I supposed to fight something that could defeat Spira's strongest people?"

Suddenly a loud explosion shook the entire stadium. Chandale lost her balance and was caught by Vidina. They looked at each other, then ran for the exit. A second explosion rocked the stadium, seemingly more powerful than the first. The walls and ceilings began to crack and fall apart as everyone ran for different exits in complete panic.

Chandale and Vidina rounded the corner and reached the pathway to the stadium seating. Horror filled their eyes when they realized what was causing the damage. A giant dog-like creature with three heads stood on the far end of the stadium, launching fireballs from its mouths. Each fireball created a separate explosion that turned the area of impact into an unrecognizable pile of rubble.

"What is that?" Chandale asked in shock.

"I have no idea," Vidina responded. "I've studied bestiaries almost my entire life, and I've never seen a fiend that looked like this in any of them."

"Another dark Aeon?"

Vidina nodded back. It was the only explanation. Whoever left the sphere on Besaid was clearly in Luca, and intended on destroying everything. The stadium was nearly in complete ruin in only a matter of minutes, then the creature began to make its way for the main part of the city.

"We need to find Victori and Mowlin!" Vidina said while grabbing Chandale's hand and running toward the exit.

"My revenge begins now. Anyone who gets in my way will die, and it will not be merciful."

A tall man in all black stood on top of one of Luca's tallest buildings. He looked out at the frightened people as they fled to the nearest exit. Panic had made it impossible for Luca's authorities to get anything under control.

"You're taking this too far, Liasom," a shorter man said from behind. "I'm your brother, and I love you, but I thought you only wanted to stop the summoners and their guardians."

"Panca, my dear little brother," Liasom said slowly. "These people supported the summoners. They are just as guilty."

Liasom held his hand out, and a massive light formed around his fist. Once he opened to fist, the ball of light flew down toward the city. It took only a few seconds to reach the street, then it stopped and hovered a few feet above the ground. People stared at it in confusion as it grew brighter and brighter.

"Don't do this," Panca begged. "We have Yuna and Tidus. That should be enough right there."

Liasom smiled with amusement, then snapped his fingers. The light orb suddenly exploded, and the nearly thirty people that stood around it suddenly disappeared completely. All that was left was a shadow of their bodies, imprinted on the ground.

Panca watched his brother, who seemed to be gaining pleasure from killing the people below them. He released four more orbs of light and scattered them around the area. Once they erupted, crowds of people disappeared from existence. In less than a few minutes, Liasom became responsible for more than a hundred deaths and seemed to want to keep going.

"This is wrong," Panca thought to himself. He held a short, bulky axe in his hands. His knuckles began to turn white as he tightened his grip on the handle.

"Little brother," Liasom suddenly said without turning to face Panca. "I always knew you weren't capable of doing what needed to be done. You're weak, just like our father was."

Liasom quickly rose his hand, and Panca suddenly rose off the platform he stood on. He slowly floated around his older brother until the were face to face. Liasom didn't have any emotion on his face as he stared at his little brother.

"This will be the only time I show you mercy," Liasom said. He opened his hand wide. "You have two options from here on. You can either grow stronger and rejoin me in my efforts, or you can run away and die with everyone else."

Liasom flicked his wrist quickly. Before Panca could do anything, he suddenly began to fly through the air as if he was shot out of a cannon. Nearly ten seconds later, he was above the water off the coast of Luca. Once he hit the water, the impact knocked him out completely. He floated face down in the water for a few seconds, then slowly began to sink.

"Victori!" Chandale called as she and Vidina struggled through the crowds to reach their allies.

"What the hell is going on?" Victori asked once they were face to face. "We heard people saying there was a giant three-headed dog in the stadium."

"Yeah, we think it's another dark Aeon," Vidina replied. "We got a good look at it. It's not like any fiend that's recorded."

"What do we do?" Chandale asked nervously.

Victori thought for a few seconds. The monster was far larger than the Isonade on Besaid, and clearly more powerful. They could try to fight it, but they would be risking thousands of lives if they did so in Luca.

"We need to get that thing out of the city somehow," Victori said. "Chandale, how's your white magic?"

"Um, I only know how to use a couple spells without screwing up," Chandale answered. "I know a basic cure spell and Mom most recently showed me how to use the esuna spell."

"Perfect, we just need the cure spell. Mowlin, I want you and Vidna to get that thing's attention by any means necessary. You'll be the bait to lead it out of the city and into the fields around the Mi'ihen Highroad. Chandale, you need to follow at a safe distance and be prepared to heal if either of them need it. I'm going to try and find the person who summoned it. A summoner has to be nearby in order to keep their Aeon out, so I just need to find the person who isn't running to the nearest exit."

Vidina and Mowlin didn't hesitate after Victori was finished explaining the plan. They both jumped into a full sprint to catch up to the beast. Chandale was a little slower to move, but after a shout from Victori, she hopped into action as well.

"Hey, you alright?"

Panca could here someone calling to him, but he couldn't seem to even open his eyes. He attempted to move his limbs only to feel an intense pain course through his body. His arms were clearly broken, and his legs felt like they could be as well.

"Try not to move. My name's Andama. I'm a white magic priest for New Yevon. I'll have you healed soon."

Panca decided to comply and relaxed his entire body. The pain that shot through him made it hard not to tense up, but he could feel the warm glow of the priest's healing spell. It didn't take long for him to stop thinking about the pain, and started to think about his brother.

"Liasom's out of control," he thought to himself. "He didn't even think twice about throwing me like that. There was no guarantee I would survive, and I probably wouldn't have if not for this priest."

It took a couple minutes, but the pain in Panca's body slowly faded into just soreness. He realized he could finally open his eyes as well. The priest had a look of relief on his face. He didn't wear common priest garbs, however. He was wearing a uniform for the Bevelle blitzball team. Panca figured he must have been a player for the team.

"Thank Yevon you're ok!" Andama exclaimed. "I was shocked when I saw you flying through the air and splash into the water. I swam out after you immediately, but I thought for sure you would already be dead."

Panca got himself to his feet. He checked his body out for a few seconds. He was still covered in bruises, but the priest had managed to mend even his broken bones. There was no doubt that he was a healer of the highest skill.

"Thank you very much," Panca said with his head bowed. He had his hands at his side and realized that he didn't have his axe. "You didn't see a large axe weapon with me, did you?"

"Yes, I did actually," Andama replied. "But I'm afraid it was too heavy for me to swim back to the shore with it. I am so sorry."

"It's alright. Again, thank you so much for your help. You saved my life."

Before Andama could respond, Panca was running toward the main circle of Luca. He could see the top of the three dog heads just over the tops of the buildings. Explosions still erupted throughout the city, burning some buildings, and completely destroying others.

"Hey!" Vidina shouted from in front of the giant beast. "Down here you stupid dog!"

Vidina held his hand out and launched a blizzard spell. The spell hit the side of one of the heads. All three heads reverted their attention toward Vidina and Mowlin and roared so loudly that they had to cover their ears.

"Think I pissed it off?" Vidina asked in a half-joke.

"Safe to assume so," Mowlin responded.

All three heads formed their own fireball and launched them toward Vidina and Mowlin at the same time. Vidina dove to the side and Mowlin dove in the other direction. The fireballs hit the ground and exploded on impact. Both fighter dodged the fireballs, but the explosion pushed them both ahead as they slammed into the ground with immense force. Vidina gripped his arm in pain as he remembered the damage the Isonade had inflicted on it.

"You ok?" Mowlin called.

"I'm ok, but my arm is pretty much shot," Vidina answered. "My sword is light though, so I can still fight."

They were quickly cut off as the beast tried to stomp on the both of them. Mowlin jumped to the side, then began to run around the get behind it. He used his spear to slash across the legs, and Vidina did the same on his side. They could tell they didn't do much damage, and instead made it even angrier. Once they got behind it, they waited for it to face them, then began to run for the city's exit to Mi'ihen Highroad. The beast didn't hesitate to follow.

"They got it to leave the city," Victori told herself. "That's great, now I need to do my part and find the summoner."

Victori scanned the area carefully. Everyone was still in complete panic as they tried to find somewhere safe. After a bit of searching, Victori noticed a short, muscular man running in the opposite direction as everyone else.

"There you are," Victori said angrily. She ran after the man and quickly caught up to him. She tackled him, then rolled him over and put the spikes of her glove right at his throat.

"Hey! I'm not a bad guy!" the man nearly shouted. "But I know who is behind this attack."

"And who the hell are you? Why should I believe you?

"My name is Panca. The man who summoned the Cerberus Aeon is my older brother. He's on top of the Luca Clocktower."

Victori let her guard down and stood up. She wasn't sure why, but she felt she could trust Panca. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would be responsible for hundreds of deaths.

"Lead me to him," Victori almost ordered.

"I'm not going to do that," Panca replied. Victori readied herself for an attack. "I want him stopped, but I doubt you could fight him. He would kill you before you could even get one attack through."

"I'm not going to just stand by and watch all these people die!"

"Then we need to stop his Aeon. If we stop it, then he will cease his attack and retreat."

Victori scanned Panca. He was clearly built for battle, with his muscles making his large shirt almost look too small. He had a few minor scars on his face, most likely caused by fiends with claws judging by the way they looked. The only thing he seemed to be missing was a weapon.

"You don't fight with a weapon?" Victori asked. "I don't have time to babysit someone."

Panca smirked and gripped a short pole that was hanging off his belt. He held it in front of his body and gave it a quick flick. Suddenly the pole extended to almost four feet and an axe blade formed at one end. It was purely made of steel and seemed to be very heavy.

"Impressive," Victori admitted. "I take it you've shopped a few Al Bhed merchants."

Panca nodded, but his attention shifted to an explosion that sounded like it went off outside of Luca. He looked around and noticed the Cerberus wasn't anywhere in the city anymore.

"My team has already lured the Aeon out of the city," Victori explained. "We need to catch up and give them support."

Panca didn't waste any time before he started to run for the city's exit. Victori quickly ran after and caught up with him. The panic was beginning to lessen with the Cerberus out of the city, but the damage and loss of life was already too substantial for anyone to begin to fathom.

"I won't forgive my brother for this," Panca said as they continued to run.

"What's he hoping to accomplish with all this?" Victori asked. "Why kills hundreds of innocent people?"

Panca started to answer, but suddenly froze in place. He tried to move, but his entire body felt like it was paralyzed. Victori stopped when she noticed.

"What's wrong?" Victori asked.

"I-I can't move my body," Panca said while trying to move. "Liasom is near."

"How very perceptive of you, little brother," Liasom suddenly said from inside a nearby alley. He stepped out and revealed himself to them. He held a long staff in his hand with a blood red orb on the top of it.

"You must be the one who's behind all this," Victori said angrily.

"My name is Liasom," Liasom said with a bow. Victori could tell the bow was his way of mocking her. "I am the last summoner Spira will see, but I have a whole different goal compared to summoners of the past."

"What plan might that be?"

Liasom tossed his staff into the air. He snapped his fingers and the staff suddenly disappeared from their sight. Shortly after, they could all see Cerberus beginning to disappear. Victori could only assume that Liasom had just dismissed it.

"I only seek revenge," Liasom said. "I am here to judge those who avoided judgment all these years. I recommend you give up on your little rescue mission. I have already defeated High Summoner Yuna and all those that were with her. I even stopped the famous Sir Tidus and that Ronso guardian. If you think you can defeat me, feel free to try. I did warn you, though."

Victori couldn't get another word in before Liasom lifted his hand into the air and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Once the smoke dispersed, there was no sight of Liasom. He was gone, and took his dark Aeon with him.

"What the hell did I just witness?" Victori snapped at Panca. "You are going to give us everything you know."

Panca didn't argue with her. He wanted his brother stopped just as much as she did, if not more. His only concern was whether they were even capable of stopping him.