That balance was threatened, however, when temporary tragedy struck Team Roo Island: during practice with a Clockwork Yooyu, Clutch Billaban suffered a career-threatening injury when attempting to catch a pass from Usul teammate Fenny Vail. The pass went wide and he tripped on his tail to catch it, but missed, and the Yooyu exploded midair. While it wasn’t close enough to do major damage, the blowback caught Billaban off guard and he couldn’t react fast enough. As a result, he was thrown into the goalpost and suffered a broken wing and sprained foot. It was assured he would make a full recovery, but to do so, the Pteri (who reportedly began to claim he was “getting too old for Yooyuball) took a sabbatical to rest, recuperate, and recover in Meridell.

While he was away recovering, Team Roo Island was eventually able to rally and get back to the fun and games they were known for – however, there was one exception: Vail believed herself responsible for Billaban’s injury. “This is because I don’t take Yooyuball seriously enough,” she lamented to her teammates. While they reassured her that what happened was an accident and that she wasn’t to blame, Vail’s performance on the pitch steadily began to decline, until her guilt culminated in a letter of resignation.

Fortunately, “Squeaky” Tressif pulled Vail aside and gave her some words of encouragement. His time with Team Brightvale and guilt at their once-dirty tactics gave him a unique perspective on what she was feeling. “He knows what it’s like to run away from a problem,” Vail said of the talk she and Tressif had. “And how important it is to face your mistakes. I know it wasn’t my fault Clutch got hurt, but I need to be there for him when he comes back – just like Squeaky tried to help his old teammates.”