Disclaimer: All Bust-A-Groove elements belong to Enix. I own nothing.

Note: I know nothing about the mechanics of bridges.

Note: I think I messed up the time scheme of the story a bit. If you recall, earlier chapters said the competition was supposed to last ten days, but in the story, it's really only lasted four or five...so bear with me and pretend that it lasted ten days! Please keep an open mind!

Pander Forever
Chapter 7: Vs.
by ArchFaith (formerly known as the ArchPrincess of Saturn)

8 PM sharp, just as Michael instructed.

I stood next to Z on the cement. The cement on the highway running across the Kanagawa Bridge, west Tokyo. It was cold. To me, anyway. I had unconsciously wrapped my arms around myself. Z, noticing me, patted me on the back, but said nothing.

The Bridge was a suspension structure, built from huge steel wires and cables. During the night, it seemed to sparkle with tiny lights. Tonight it had been equipped with special neon blue and green lights, adding to the 'groovy' atmosphere.

It had been closed off to transportation the day before, to prepare for the festivities which would mark the end of Bust-A-Groove 2. Instead of cars and buses, now people stood on the Bridge, on areas roped off. Most of them were reporters and news anchors, a few spectators. I stood on a huge raised platform erected in the middle of the road. Z was next to me. The rest of the people on the platform consisted of James, the DJs, and all the other competitors, who were seated on chairs on the other side of the platform.

James gazed at his watch. Michael suddenly ran across the stage. He quickly fastened James's mic to his tie. "Really Jamie darling, can't you remember to put on your mic before you leave?" he asked, exasperated.

"Sorry Mike. I forgot again," James grinned.

Michael looked at him, faking anger and stifling a smile. "Alright, people!" he called, clapping his hands. He addressed everyone on the stage as he said, "The pre-show's beginning in...five...four...three...two...one..."

All of a sudden, cameras appeared of nowhere, suspended from the towers on top of the Bridge. James flashed a smile. "Hello you groovy happenin' cats!" he called. "Well, we are one hour away from the spectacular spectacle, the FINAL MATCH OF BUST-A-GROOVE 2! It's our gnarly fan-dancer, Pander, vs. the neato robot man, Robo-Z! As we count down to the special event, we'll be having interviews with all our dancing peeps and recap the entire tournament! But now, are you ready to Bust-A-Groove?"

Despite the cold, James's outdatedness, and the suddenly realized silliness of it all, the crowd started cheering.

James's grin grew even larger. "Well, I bet you all know your picks for the winner, huh? Let's find out what our other dancers think!" He raced to the section of the platform where the losing dancers sat, randomly picking out...Heat.

"Hello, b-boy! What up, yo?" he asked.

Heat stared blankly at James. He wore his alternate outfit, as all the other defeated competitors did. "Hey, James," he greeted after a pause.

"So, who's your pick for the winner tonight?"

"Hmm, das a tough one, y'know. I mean, they're both real good. Z's a veteran and all, but Pander showed he can really pull it off. But I'm guessing tonight it's gonna be Z."

I looked at Heat from across the stage. He caught me and shrugged."

James fluttered to pick Kelly up out of her chair. "Hey Miss Kelly, how've you been doing?"

Kelly tossed her long blonde hair. "I'm doing great, James," she answered. "And for tonight, I really hope it's Z who wins. It'd be a shame if some first-timer who won outta luck grabbed the Trophy..."

She stopped all of a sudden, and I realized that Z had given her a look. "But hey, whatever happens, happens," she quickly ended before sitting back down.

Next up was Hiro. "Well, Z may be the veteran and all, but Pander's got the edge. He was really groovin' at our match the other night. I've never seen Z move like that before. So I've gotta say Pander."

"Man, this whole thing is kinda weird, know what I'm sayin'? I mean, two non-humans beat out everybody else, and now one a dem's gonna get the Trophy. They've gotta be pretty good ta do that, ya know? But my pick for tonight's Pander. Dat fan trick is actually pretty hot." I couldn't believe my ears, hearing what Strike had to say about me.

So it went on like that, James interviewing everyone about their picks:

"Z's cool, but Pander would make a good panda sushi..."

"Lamer! Like, it's going to Pander..."

"Mrow, if ya wanna know the truth, I'm going with Z-Z!"

"Pander's way too good, he stole my match...waaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Me? You're asking lil ol' me? Both of these darlings are so good, I can't decide..."

"Z is my creation, Pander dances so well. I cannot decide..."

"Both of them are our friends. We know they'll do the best they can..."

Several other dancers were interviewed before James was satisfied. "Alrighty then!" he yelled. "Let's do a recap of the BAG2 competition, starting from Day One..."

"Roll the footage!" Michael yelled. The live cameras stopped rolling and James sighed. "There. That oughta keep the audience at home for a while."

The coverage had stopped for a while, and I sighed with relief. I finally had time to collect my thoughts. Would I win? Was I good enough? Did I have what it took? Suppose I got this far on luck. Sheer luck. Would I fail on the match? What if...?

If it's luck, let's hope there's still some more left.

"Are you alright, Z?" I asked, uncharacteristically. Usually it was him asking me if I was okay, but no, this time the other way around. This time I wanted to know how he felt. Good, bad, nervous...what?

"I feel confident," Z responded, "that I will win."

This was a change. Wasn't he saying last night how he wanted me to win? What...?

"You were never more wrong, Z. It's me for sure," I replied, boosting my ego.

We faced each other and clasped hands. We didn't want to do this. Of course we wanted to win BAG2, but...not against our loves...

I don't remember how long we stayed in that position, but the next thing I knew was a camera in my face. "We're back, folks! Now let's talk to the big guys, the competitors, Robo-Z and Pander! How do they feel?"

A microphone was shoved in front of Z. "So Z, how are you feeling tonight?" James inquired.

"I feel invigorated, to say the least," Z answered coolly. "I have been waiting for this match a long time. I knew that from the beginning that I would be a finalist, and I know tonight that Iwill emerge victorious."

"Are you nervous at all?"

"I must confess, a small percentage..." Z's voice trailed off, then picked up again. "A bit, but not a lot."

"Do you feel any different than you did at Bust-A-Groove 1?"

"Quite. I mean...at BAG1, I was not versing someone that I know so very well." Z gave me a sideways glance.

"I see, I see. Thanks Robo-Z! Good luck tonight!" James wished him, energetically shaking his metal hand. "Now how about you, Pander? You're a real surprise, ya know! No one expected you to be a finalist! How do you feel?"

"I'm doing alright," I reply neutrally. "I'm going to try my best tonight. And I know that my best is good enough to win."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah," I answered shyly. "My style is so different from all the others. But I'm gonna prove that old style can triumph against new!"

What was I saying? More words to boost my ego? This wasn't me at all...

James smiled with a knowing look in his eye. "Right, Pander! Good luck to you too!"

"Thanks, James."

James turned away from us and walked to the center of the platform. "So then...after ten days of non-stop rhythm and action, awesome matches, flashy scenes, your favorite dancers bringin' down the house...it's time for the Final Match."

At this all the chatter in the crowd stopped. Silence pervaded the entire company of people gathered across the bridge. The other dancers, in their section, folded their hands quietly on their laps, as if it were a sacred moment.

Michael climbed up the steps and gestured to Z. "If you please, darling," he politely requested. Z nodded. His red steel wings snapped out from behind his back, and he flared up into the air, gliding gracefully over the water in the misty bay. He hovered for a moment, then suddenly released a blindingly bright light that engulfed everyone present.

I shielded my eyes from the flash. When it became dark again, I looked up...and saw...

Z had grown to gigantic proportions. He was now taller than the bridge itself, standing ankle deep in the bay waters. Everything about him had expanded, making him look invincible.

Was he invincible...?

The crowd beared the transformation with unusual calm. Of course, they had expected this. I hadn't expected the humongous size, though...

Michael clasped my arm and led me to a large gray helicopter that was parked next to the platform. I automatically stepped inside. Michael gave the pilot a thumbs-up and the helicopter slowly lifted off the ground, stirring up some dust from the street.

"Whoa!" I cried, almost losing my balance. The helicopter's doors were open all the way, ensuring a fall if I were to miss a step.

"Be careful in there!" the pilot advised. I nodded.

The helicopter flew until it was right next to Z's face. It then hovered, giving me an extreme close up of Z's eyes. I looked into them. Was this still the Z I knew, loving, gentle? Or was it another Z, aggressive, hurtful?

The latter.

My eyes became slits. I stood tall and straight. I gently shook my right hand, and the fan appeared. I fluttered it gently against my chest before bringing it up to my face, covering my nose and my mouth, leaving only my eyes to speak.

Z glared at me. Well, Z, I can be strong too. Were you expecting any less?

In the moments before the match began, I took time to note my surroundings. The bridge was behind me, glowing neon blue and green. Thousands of people clustered onto it, in anticipation. At the ends of the bridge, I noted newstrucks parked, with reporters making some last minute commentary. Cameras were mounted everywhere there was room; on the towers, cables, rails, handheld...everywhere!

I looked down at the platform. In the dancers' section, Heat was playing with a tiny flame flickering in between his fingers. Next to him, Comet munched on some boxed sushi. Next to her, Tsutomu was scribbling madly in a notepad. Strike had taken off his medflys, to reduce the glare of the lights, while Kitty-N sported an angry expression as she talked on her cell phone. Kelly twirled her hair with her fingers, apparently doing nothing. Columbo had a switch in taste and now sat on Hiro's shoulder. Hiro is turn, had both arms around Shorty, who was nestled against him. Capoeira was staring straight up at me, in the eye. I winked. They winked back.

James and Michael stood in the middle of the platform, looking up at us. Z and I. I observed that a giant version of Michael's score tabulating machine had been set up on the platform. Two of them, in fact.

I took in the whole scene and breathed hard. Could this be happening? What if this whole thing were all a dream? What if I had never left the Zoo, and I was still a panda? What if I was dead?

"Bust it, Pander," Z's voice advised. I snapped of my dream and stood to attention.

James's mic moved in slow motion to his lips. "Acid Line," he announced. Z's theme. "One...two...three...four! GO!"

The music began. Of course I had heard it before. Long ago, I had even tried dancing to it. But I hadn't done so well.

But I was much better now. I can handle this! Right...?

Z's theme was another of those lyricless songs. It relied on effects rather than voice. I detected drums and keyboards echoing in the background. It was pretty fast...

C'mon, Pander! Your theme is faster than this! Keep going!

I had to...

One, two, three...ugh, I missed! No worries, only one little miss...

The helicopter was horribly unstable. It swayed and rocked, magnifying my fear of heights. I found it impossible to do any kind of combo without losing my balance. The pilot was handling the helicopter very well, but I wasn't used to the gentle rocking.

I missed quite a lot.

By now, the second solo had arrived. I managed to score well on that, while lost his rhythm and stumbled on every beat. This would boost my score.

One, two, three, four...Freeze! Finally, some big points! Smooth sailing from here...My relief was soon engulfed by shock. An attack!

Z had aimed his ray gun right at me and fired...I was down. Oh, at least it wasn't for a solo. That would've been bad.

My dancing was a bit better than when I had began. I began to do some Freezes and combos. I concentrated on my moves and tried not to glance at Z.

Work for it, Pander! Please...

Third solo...first two okay...third...no!

Z performed them perfectly.

I could still make up for it...still make up...

Keep going!

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

FREEZE!

The music faded. It was done. What happens, happens.

I sank to my knees, exhausted. I didn't turn around to witness the reading of the winner. Did I win? Did I win!

The crowd gasped. "Our winner is..." James began.

I shut my eyes tight. I did my best; what could be better?

My eyes popped open as the name was read.

"Robo-Z!"

TBC
Yes, I know I waited an eternity to put this chapter in, but after my vacation I found that was down. I decided to wait until I was certain that people were back there again. So stay tuned for the Epilogue, and my brand new story, SHADES. Hopes someone is reading this