Herring and Hwa Hae Ji were eating together at the infirmary at the time. Joon Wen was laying on the bed watching them eat.

"Now what am I gonna do? I lost my chance to win the prize money for Joon's treatment."

"How long as he been sick?" Herring asked her.

"Five years now." Haeji replied before Mochi leaned in to lick the applesauce.

"Do you know what caused it?" Herring prodded further.

"Not really, I remember Joon started with flu-like symptoms before his skin got cold and clammy, then he lost muscle mass, his hair got thin and brittle. The treatments that could stop the progression of his illness got expensive, I had to steal hundreds, thousands of won to pay for a month's worth of treatment. We lived out in the streets for a while before he caught the illness. I've asked other wizards to help find the cause of his illness, but they didn't have any answers. I've slowly lost hope in finding a treatment, so I've sought to steal whatever I could find." Haeji explained, then sighed, "I just want to find a cure for his illness."

"If there was another way for me to help you and your brother, I would." Herring stated, which read to the host's ears.

"How are they treating you?" A feminine voice asked the sick patient.

"The food is good, I can't complain. Though this strange watch is kinda itchy." Joon Wen Ji replied. The hostess looked at the EMCuff.

"Perhaps some calamine lotion would help." Natalie looked through the cabinets looking for the vials and labels. Who would put an EMCuff on a sick patient? I'll have to check through the security cameras. She thought before she found the calamine lotion and applied it around Joon's wrist.

"Thanks. The itch had been killing me for a while now. Do you know where the bathroom is?" He asked before he shifted into a sitting position.

"There's one in the next room to your right." The host responded just as he stood up weakly, then walked up hastely to the bathroom door. Once he sat down, he grumbled something about “shouldn't have eaten that sundae.”

"If either of you want to participate in the Redemption Round for another chance to win the grand prize--"

"I accept the challenge." Herring interjected.

"Splendid! How about you, Ms. Ji?" Natalie asked before the young New Korean gave a scrutinizing glare at the hostess.

"Why would I want to join in another match when I got stabbed in the stomach!? I gave my all in that match and you want me to lose another one!?" Haeji reprimanded at the hostess while she gave an indifferent glance in return.

"I am not responsible for the decisions the judges make. I'm only in charge of organizing the matches." She responded before Haeji gritted her teeth.

"Well I don't want your dumb match." After Haeji said those words, they heard a loud thud coming from the bathroom.

"Joon!" Haeji shouted, the blonde combatant got out of the bed with gauzes and bandages covering her cuts. She saw that Herring and Nour rushed in to help lift the patient off the floor. They had to put him back on the bed before the nurse checked on him.

"This doesn't make any sense? He was just fine a while ago." Nour stated. Nat had a sneaking suspition of who might be the one behind this, so she headed out of the infirmary. There was nothing she could do for him, just in that moment, Mirror and Phixa's match just ended.

I will deal with her later...

Piros was disappointed to see that the phoenix hybrid had lost the match, and to add that it was a shapeshifting mirror who had managed to pull off an allure that made her reflection seem domineering, yet appealing.

The ruddy hue-man looked at the awning near the arena where the crestfallen phoenix hybrid trudged while her talons made little scratch marks on the ground to the carpet. He hadn't noticed that Ratu had ran past him.

Alexandra flew back to where the other competitors were, once she saw Phixa crestfallen, the angel walked up to the hybrid phoenix.

"I saw the match. You were great out there." Alexandra said.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. I bet you couldn't see the difference between him and I."

"I saw the difference by the look in your eye." Alexandra looked at Phixa in the eyes. Phixa let out a breath before she slumoed her shoulders.

"I justed wanted a chance to win one tournament to prove that I can be strong like a full-blooded phoenix." Phixa said before the hostess came into the fray.

"You're in luck, I happen to be offering an opportunity for defeated combatants another chance to stay in the tournament." The hybrid looked at the hostess, a flawed mortal with a natural complexion, small sun spots on the bridge of her nose and partially crooked teeth. Phixa walked a couple of paces in front of the hostess.

"Of all the tournaments I participated, I never heard such an offer." Phixa gave a scrutinizing glance at the host.

"Until now. This is the first time I'm implementing an additional match and I was hoping you would be one of the first contenders to participate. This could encourage new aspiring combatants to compete in the future. With your expertise, you can give insight on what could make this tournament different from the previous tournaments you've partaken in." Natalie said before she prodded for any more information.

Phixa and the hostess saw the nurses take Ratu away to the infirmary while the boy was unconscious.

"Well that was fast." Phixa blurted out.

"We don't usually allow children to participate unless the parent or legal guardian sign for the minor to compete." Natalie explained.

Piros saw Phixa talking to a woman in a grey suit. He couldn't help stare at the phoenix hybrid, from her coppery skin to her feathery waist.

"When I was in Paradise, the Phoenixes would fight over the fire or in very high places. The stadium where the phoenixes fight every year remained flawless, symmetrical. A full-blooded phoenix could fight for a whole day without signs of exhaustion, with my human half, I have a lot of difficulty keeping up with them." Phixa responded.

"Perhaps a full-blooded phoenix can endure extremely high temperatures and intense flames much more than a human, or a phoenix hybrid would, but have you considered using abilities that a full-blooded phoenix couldn't possess?" The hostess suggested.

"What do you mean?" Phixa cocked an eyebrow.

"What it's a phoenix's weakness?" Nat popped the question. "What are the weaknesses that a hybrid like you can use as an advantage?"

Phixa laughed at the question, the idea of a hybrid defeating a purebred phoenix was absurd. Then again, she had been belittling her abilities for so long. As an afterthought she remembered that a phoenix was at its weakest during the dark, the cold, low temperatures. She had been focused on trying to emulate a phoenix that she had overlooked her human side. What made flawed humans so interesting that made a flawless phoenix like her mother fall for a human?

"The dark." Phixa replied.

"This is your chance to fight out of your comfort zone. Who knows? Maybe you'll discover something new about yourself." The hostess shrugged. "The Redemption Round will start tonight at 8. Be prepared."

Phixa saw her walk away, unaware that Piros was watching her. Herring was about to tell Piros that Haeji finally got out of the infirmary when he spotted him staring at one of the winged women. Herring Ja sneaked up from behind him, startling him.

"Who are you staring at?" The young fisherman asked him while he saw Piros blush. He looked away as he stammered.

"N-n-no one." He lied.

"Which one is it?" Herring prodded while Piros looked away.

"I w-was just looking." He stepped away but Herring was adamant in getting answer.

"Ooooh, you got hooked on someone aren't you? Who's the lucky lady?"

"Whydayawannaknow?" I shouldn't have asked that, Herring gave a devious grin, the corners of his mouth creased with malice.

I knew it, I've known Piros since we were little kids. He would talk really fast when he tried to hide something from me. "So you do like someone! Which one is it?" Herring asked him.

"No!" Piros shouted before he walked away and Herring took the opportunity to jump on him and held on like a child taking a piggy back ride. The young fisherman interlocked his ankles around Piros's torso.

"Tell me who the girl is! Tell me tell me tell me." Herring said out loud.

"STOP! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!!!" Piros berated him, which caught the attention of the winged women.

"PIROS FOUND A LITTLE LOVE BIRD AND HE'S CUCKOO IN LOVE WITH THAT GIRL!" Herring sang at the top of his lungs.

"Are they fighting?" Alexandra asked her.

"I have no idea." The phoenix hybrid admitted. Piros face turned red, both in anger and embarrassment. So he buried his face in his hands.

"Is the blonde girl, is it?" Herring asked him.

Alexandra nudged Phixa on the shoulder and gestured her to follow her.

"NO! GET OFF!" Piros yelled, shaking him off.

"It's the phoenix girl!" Herring shouted, looking at her.

"SHUT UP!" The ruddy human pried Herring's ankles, then threw him off before he saw her radiant eyes and coppery face.

"Ow!" After he landed on the ground, he got back up to see Piros and Phixa face to face, and he's blushing.

Is it weird that he looks like a red tomato? He has pink skin while Phixa looks like one of the sunkissed gods that the Flavens and Titians gush about. Herring thought.

"Uh...hi." Piros managed to say.

"You must be Piros." Alexandra intiated, cutting away the awkward atmosphere.

"Yes." Piros then cleared his throat. "I'm Piros. I watched your fight."

"Well, it was the first match. It's been a while that I've got to fight someone." Alexandra commented while she cracked her knuckles.

Piros? "I saw your name under mine earlier." Phixa mentioned. Piros blushed.

"When?" Piros asked, Herring's eyes darted at Piros and then at Phixa in a panic.

"An hour ago, when all the names of the fighters were shown in bullets before the tournament started."

• Phixa  |  ᛈᚻᛁᛉᚪ

• Piros   |  ᛈᛁᚱᚩᛋ

"Are you going to fight as well?" Phixa asked him, looking at him in the eyes.

"No." Piros responded.

"Believe it or not, Piros is a common name, the land where I was born is also named Piros." Herring interjected as he slung his arm around his best bud.

Alexandra snapped her fingers as she caught his drift. "Like Paris!"

"Yeah! She gets it!" Herring said as he pointed at the blonde angel that helped him keep the lie convincing whether they knew it or not.

"Oh, it must be another fighter then." Phixa said while Piros took another look at her. The phoenix hybrid took a look at the red haired hue-man before taking a side glance at the angel. "I'll be getting lunch if you need me."

"Have fun!" Alexandra replied before one of her biological needs kicked in. Duty calls. She flapped her wings then flew to find the women's restroom.

Then it kept Piros thinking about earlier. The receptionist took a glance at the ruddy lad, "you must be Piros, I presume?" He approached to the receptionist that had a sandy long-sleeved tunic and a peachy complexion.

"How did you know?" Piros asked.

"Your friend has requested me to save you a spot. Herring, I believe?" The receptionist gave that Buddha-like smile.

"Aren't you going to give me a ticket?" Piros glanced at the booth.

"That won't be necessary, your friend paid for your ticket firsthand. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't received the ticket that the receptionist told him about.

"Herring, where's the ticket?"

"What ticket?" He asked.

"The ticket for my entrance. Didn't you pay?"

"I didn't pay for any ticket because I told the receptionist that you were my blood relative. That way, he could save a spot for you to watch me fight." Herring told him, though Piros wasn't convinced, the receptionist said your friend not relative and Phixa mentioned his name a minute ago.

"Then who is the other Piros that she mentioned?" He inquired while he furrowed his auburn eyebrows at Herring.

"It could be any Piros. Piros Ppalgan, Piros Punakas, Abang Piros, Cochineal Piros, Piros Purpur, Byrrus Alvon Piros, Piros Cuvapp, Piros Gorria. It could be any average Hue." Herring rambled.

"Are you fully certain?" Piros asked him, looking Herring straight in the eye.

"Absolutely certain." Herring vehemently swore. That quelled the doubts in his mind.

"Then I believe in your word." Piros said.

"Piros, do you have any gules on you?" Herring asked. Piros checked through his pockets and took out 50 gules.

"I'll pay you back after my next catch." Herring took the spare change to see if he could by some decent sake.

The hostess headed to the backstage of the stadium. Warlin kept an eye on the Venusians,  one of them are needed for the Gladatorium Tryout and he needed to plan the return of his Imperial Majesty perfectly.

Chris declined the offer to participate in the Redemption Round. Tony, Chris's younger brother, headed to the men's restroom. Warlin, a wizard who served the Emperor, followed the younger brother to the restroom.

The receptionist notified Chris that a man was looking for him, upon leaving the stadium, he found his estranged father, Simon, near the blue car. With a devious grin, Simon approached his son. As the two men stood 12 feet apart. Simon announced, “Give me the crystal.”

Nat checked on the security cameras, during the commercial break, Erica and Natalie had to watch the footage after one of the spectators called out one of the combatants. One another security camera, it can be seen when Warlin entered the men's room. After Tony took a leak, he zipped up his pants. When he turned around, Warlin casted a sleeping spell on him. With a wave of a staff, Tony disappeared.

"As if I'm going to let you." Chris retorted, glaring at the man in front of him.

Simon summoned the gem with a snap of his fingers. Chris's eyes widened. "Have you forgotten, son? What I say, goes." Simon held the small gem that Chris shrunk and with a touch, the gem reverted to its original size.

Warlin got out of the men's room. Alexandra came out of the women's bathroom nearly the same time. "Shouldn't have eaten the teriyaki with hot sauce." Alexandra said while she creased her face in discomfort.

Herring found a sushi bar that sold sake so he went in bought a shot, by the first sip, he spat out the alcoholic beverage. "You call this sake!? I've drank fish oil and it tastes better than this carp!"

Hwa Hae stood next to Joon, her older brother coughed as he spat out a blotch of blood. "What's wrong with him?" She asked the nurse.

"This is not good. The blood taken from him showed signs of an infection." Nour explained, the sick patient coughing even louder.

"He can be treated!" Haeji shouted, denial laced in her voice, her mouth quivered.

"Yes, but I need to give him an antidote for the virus he acquired. The problem is that we are running low on supplies." Nour then picked up a vial and opened the plastic that contained the syringe, putting the needle inside the vial to fill the syringe with the remaining dose of the antidote. "This is the last dose that I have of the antidote. If he's immune to it, then there is nothing I can do for him." The Tunisian nurse warned her.

Hwa Hae Ji sobbed, feeling helpless as she watched her brother cough uncontrollably.

After she saw the nurse inject the antidote, Joon felt the coughing stop, though he looked more ghastly than he had been before. "Haeji." Joon weakly muttered before he closed his eyes. Hwa Hae Ji ran out of the infirmary crying.

Stella hazily saw the lights of the ceiling while the paramedics turned the stretcher to the left and down the hall. She heard Micah's voice call out to her. "Stella!" The Izarian groaned while they took her to the infirmary.

"Outta my way!" Micah shouted while she passed by a random stranger before she made it to the infirmary.

"Are you her relative?" Nour asked at the short alien.

"I'm her colleague." Micah pulled out a plaque with the initials I.B.I. "She got poisoned by an Indoraptor."

"You'll have to wait outside." The nurse informed.

"I've dealt with these types of cases before." Micah crossed her arms while maintaining a professional tone.

"I have to attend the patient." Nour said while the Amoebian gave an antidote that has turquoise colored liquid.

"Use this in case your detox methods fail." Micah walked out of the infirmary.

Nour looked at the vial that was given to her. It was the only thing that she had left. The Tunisian nurse went to check on the gray skinned alien. Stella was trembling from the side effects of the poison. If it wasn't for her pulse, she would have mistaken her for dead, the Izarian's hazy gaze was also misleading so Nour replaced the syringe and tested the antidote Micah gave her. Desperate times, desperate measures. After one of the paramedics removed Stella's jacket, Nour injected the antidote.

Stella's cloudy red eyes mistook Nour's silhouette for Carina's. Stella inhaled, "Carina," she exhaled before she closed her eyes.

Carina looked out on the open portal and saw two men standing, one of them was holding a powerful gem which caught the attention of the usurper.

"I'm one step closer to eliminating this filthy rock. Too bad I won't be there to see the looks on your faces." Simon paused, "Oh wait, I can." Just when he was about to destroy the stadium, Simon noticed a shift in energy.

"Where's your brother?"

"He's not your concern." Chris remarked, though deep down he thought, He should've been back by now.

How am I going to take that gem? Carina thought before Simon saw her and smirked.

Chris saw his father teleport with the gem and stood behind Carina. "It's rude to eavesdrop." Simon whispered behind her ear, when Carina turned around to face him, he grabbed her by the neck, choking her. Chris teleported to where they were. "You know the old saying: Curiosity killed the cat."

With a snap of his fingers, Chris teleported Carina out of Simon's vice grip and took the gem back. Carina coughed, as she tried to breathe after the chokehold. Simon gave a psychotic smile as he slowly clapped before he walked a couple of paces forward.

"Very good," Simon said sarcastically, "you finally had the gull to play with your daddy." Then he dropped the smile to put his sneer in place as he ceased the slow clap. "Play time is over." He glared with a menacing tone.

Warlin saw this and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Chris was more than ready to defend Carina whed Simon's hands glowed dangerously to release a blast of great magnitute until a collar appeared around Simon's neck, nullifying his powers as the glow faded and went out in a flash and Simon disappeared before the flash faded.

They shielded their eyes from the blinding light before it died down. The handsome Venusian looked at Carina with concern. "Are you alright?" He looked at her verdant eyes, though by the looks of it, she looked like a scared cat with those eyes.

"I'm ok." She let out a cough, "Thank you. I just need some fresh air." Carina said as she cleared her throat.

"Here." Chris gave her a white handkerchief.

She held the thin piece of fabric. "You need this a lot more than I do." The Venusian said in a non-committal tone as she held a firm grip on the handkerchief.

You have no idea. Carina thought with malicious intent. "Thanks for saving me."

"No need to thank me." Chris gave a smile before he left her alone to find Tony. Carina uncrumpled the handkerchief to find any trace of him in the thin fabric. A drop of saliva, sweat, a strand of hair, anything that she could use to her advantage.

Nothing. Drat! Carina's eyebrows furrowed.