So, the three members of the team that you didn't see yesterday, first Furious J with a Raiden-based fic, then StopPokingMe with a baseball game, and then BigCow with thoughts from Magus and a meeting between villains Kefka and Sephiroth, weigh in with their own final fics before the tourney began.
A quick note… Some of you may be wondering why a few of your favorite characters haven't shown up yet. But don't worry… They'll show up in time.
Tomorrow… The matches would begin.
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DAY THIRTY
Jack woke
up. Slowly he got up and dragged himself over to the bathroom to shave. Half
way through this activity, his eye caught the clock in his bedroom. '10:35'
said the digital display. Slowly, Raiden returned to shaving... Until something
in his mind clicked."10:35!?!?!?!?!?!?" Yelled Raiden suddenly,
pulling the razor off his face, nicking himself in the process. He quickly
finished shaving, put on his skull suit, and rushed out to the training center.
When he got there he headed immediately to the shooting range. Unfortunately,
all 7 slots were filled.
"What's
the matter, kid. Get in a fight with a lawnmower?" Said a dry voice from
one of the booths.
"Snake! Sorry, I overslept."
"Listen, Raiden, do you think I plan on letting you win this? Do you even
think I'm not prepared to use lethal force?"
"I know, but I said I'm sorr-"
"Sorry, isn't good enough, kid." Snake interrupted, "This is a
real tournament, if you're not prepared to make the commitment then you should
just go home now."
A third voice chimed in, "Leave him alone, Snake." The third voice
belonged to the experienced gunman of the NSA, Sam Fisher. "He's just a
kid, he doesn't know any better."
"Yeah Fisher, how would you feel about killing a kid in your first match?
And not because he wasn't good enough, just because he wasn't prepared."
"If that's the job..."
Raiden stormed off. He'd had enough of being referred to as a kid. Hadn't he
done enough, taken down a swarm of Metal Gear Ray's, defeated a clone of Solid
Snake in a sword fight. He figured he'd best brush up on his sword moves since
the shooting range was a no go. He looked around for someone to practice with,
and started to drift over to Dante, but he saw the demon's sword change into a
giant sickle and thought better of it. Finally his eyes met the Air Pirate,
Vyse. Vyse had his two cutlasses in his usual style, one held regularly, one
held by the handle with the blade parallel to his forearm. "Hey
Vyse!" Raiden yelled, "You up for some sparring."
"Sure thing," replied Vyse.
Vyse and Raiden could relate to each other. Both of them had to get over the
'kid' barrier. No one respected them because of their age. However, they had
both shown that when it came down to it they were both truly capable. Vyse and
Raiden were pretty even. Both of them had impressive control over their
weapons. Normally Raiden would've had to use at least some gunfire to win, but
all this time off of his ship Vyse was getting a little weary. He longed to
sail the open skies of his world Arcadia, with his friends Aika and Fina.
Suddenly a huge explosion interrupted his longing…
The explosion came from just outside the training center, where a very
unfortunate Mr. Vercetti had made the mistake of slapping KOS-MOS's ass. The
resulting explosion had taken out the entrance to the training center as well
as injuring several hapless bystanders.
Vyse and Raiden rushed over to see. Vercetti was lying unconscious half way
through a marble pillar, and KOS-MOS seemed to be moving in for the kill.
"Stop!!!" yelled Vyse, "You can't just kill him."
"I have detailed files on proper conduct from males. His behavior did not
match these files. Repercussive actions were deemed necessary." replied
the machine.
"Did you have to blow up the whole training facility?" commented a
bewildered Vyse.
"My files on Thomas Vercetti indicated a substantial level of skill. Any
less force than was applied would have resulted in a 18% drop in
accuracy."
"For Christ's sake. Some people just can't take a ****ing
compliment." Vercetti seemed to have awoke and was now rubbing his
throbbing head. "****, this was my best ****ing suit. Genuine ****ing
shark skin, and now its ****ing ruined, ****!"
Vyse looked around… He wasn't sure which one was crazier. But being the good
Samaritan he helped the downed one, his friend. "Geez, man are you
okay?"
Vercetti got up, with some help from Vyse. His gray sharkskin suit now looked
more like a black tank top and short shorts. "Hmm... NO!!!!"
"Well, Tommy, I can't say you didn't deserve this. I mean… That's just
uncalled for." Scolded Vyse.
A smug grin slid across Vercetti's face. "Well, it was worth it, and I bet
she enjoyed it too. Didn't you, sweet chee-"
He was interrupted by the two gatling guns the size of motor cycles that
suddenly were pointing at his face. Isaac watched as Tommy backed away,
panicked, from the angry KOS-MOS.
"Ah
crap."
----
Train, observe, train. Observe, train, observe. It had been a month, and the
contestants had all fallen into a daily routine. It was WAY too much like
homework.
These guys need to lighten up! Ness had thought. Sure, it was sometimes
fun hanging out with Pikachu, Sonic, and a few of the others who weren't
stony-faced grownups, but there was no one here he could really relate to. It
didn't help that the only one around here anywhere near his age was that mopey
wet blanket, Sora. He'd seen the guy smile, what, twice, in a month?
That was about the point that the idea had hit Ness. We need to do something
fun for a change! And I made sure to bring along my home-run bat and a ball...
He had set out immediately to find players.
After much effort, he had finally found enough players to make up two teams.
Unfortunately, he had to explain the rules to almost all of them. How could
so many people have never heard of baseball? It was almost as weird as not
believing in aliens.
After some time arguing, Sonic agreed to join Mario's team and the teams were
set.
Of course, there were a few problems once they had started the game. Letting
Wario be umpire was the first mistake. Before long, it had become obvious he
was trying to fix the game. They kicked him off the field and into the small
group of onlookers, one of whom was just as displeased. "No more shall you
crooked my bet!" yelled CATS. "All your gold coin are belong now to
me."
Nobody could quite agree where Kirby's strike zone was, and Bowser and Mario
had nearly come to blows over it. Of course, it didn't matter while Mega Man
was pitching--eventually they had to rule that shooting the ball out of your
gun-arm was not a legal pitch.
Sora had had a bit of trouble grasping the concept of a single, precisely timed
swing. He was doing better now, though. He even seemed to be having fun on
occasion. Aeris, noticing this, seemed relieved. She had been trying to
convince Cloud to join the game since she had found him, studying the
contestants as they played. He had refused repeatedly, preferring to study his
possible future opponents from afar. When the great ape with the tie had hit
what looked to be a sure home run, Cloud's eyes followed the dinosaur, Yoshi,
as it jumped dozens of feet into the air, extending its tongue another ten to
catch the ball.
Ness stepped up to the plate. Why are you staring at me, you glowing-eyed
dork? Tidus was on the mound, and he'd been pitching--er, kicking--a
no-hitter. His girlfriend, Yuna, was cheering him on, oblivious to the little
squirrel that had snuck in under her skirt and was now gazing upward. Is that
what Conker had meant when he said he'd rather "admire the scenery"
than play?
"Hey-a batter-a batter-a batter..."
CRACK! Can't catch that one, can ya, Luigi!
----
His name was Sephiroth. And he was power incarnated.
He was the son (as he saw himself) of Jenova. In his dimension he had been
without question the most powerful being there was. He had set out to unlock
the secrets of the ancients, and came close to defeating the power of the
entire planet. He had only fallen thanks to a team of fighters assisted by a
being who bore a shadow of his power... Cloud Strife. A useful tool for a
while, but he had enough of me to still be a threat. He should have known it
was impossible for him to succeed. But he did.
Sephiroth whipped his sword through the air in an arc. The Masamune hummed
softly as it sliced cleanly through the air. He had swung his sword to claim
many lives with as little effort.
He had been brought back to do what he did best. Fight. He knew no equal in
magical powers or the art of the sword-but he had still been bested by an
inferior last year. His foe had been an elfish boy armed with a sword... and
the triforce of courage. Link overcame his fear in facing him, and won the
battle of the mind. The physical battle was merely a formality after that.
He stood alone in the middle of the arena, illuminated only by the light that
shone from his eyes. He knew of Link's opponent in his own dimension,
Ganondorf, another being with a will to power like his own. The boy's nature
was one of simplicity and courage, and apparently in his neck of the woods that
overcame superior might.
If Sephiroth had been a little more human, he might have shaken his head and
scowled at fate. But that was not his nature. The boy and him weren't the same
type of being. They weren't even in the same league. If he fought him again he
would win. He could do no otherwise. He was a superior form of life, and he had
to win out.
Laughter seemed to surround him. Laughter... laughter was pointless. This
laughter was simply mad. A jester in yellow and green... with orange and red
stripes around his neck began to make his way towards the center of the arena.
He did not walk with the purpose or focus Sephiroth exhibited... he seemed to
twitch randomly when he moved. He would start running then stop again, and then
hop a few times back and forth before darting forward. He came within a few
feet of Sephiroth and let out another insane laugh.
Sephiroth remained impassive, and simply looked at the stranger. His gaze spoke
volumes of his experience, power, and will. The president of Shinra had frozen
in his tracks; unable to speak when Sephiroth fixed him with glowing eyes. One
look and he was able to fill the mind of any rational being with fear.
This one appeared not to be rational enough to be affected. "Loser!
Fool... WEAKLING!" The stranger spat on the ground. "You beat all
these fools to lose to a little boy! You're worthless! Heh hahah!" He
resumed his inane chuckling.
Sephiroth showed no reaction, but the clownish figure continued anyway.
"Still don't realize you can't win, do you! You're just another hack with
a sword! Who do you think you are, king of the goths?" He spat on
Sephiroth's exposed blade.
Sephiroth merely studied the stranger. He was either a complete idiot or
believed himself to be so powerful that he was not intimidated by the taller
man who already had his weapon out. Either one would be interesting.
The clown gave him the once over and shook his head. "Idiot! Not me, you!
Idiot! I am Kefka! I controlled all the magical forces in the universe! I
destroyed an entire world, and remade it in my image!"
"I am Sephiroth. And this would be the Masamune."
Sephiroth jerked his blade forward and put the full force of his body behind
it. Kefka flinched as he saw the incoming attack... but grabbed the blade by
its tip just before it reached him. He smiled and muttered a few words...
Fire engulfed the Masamune, but Sephiroth held the blade at Kefka's chest. His
hand was burning, but the pain reminded him he was alive. "Is that all you
can do?" Sephiroth asked.
Kefka let out a shriek and a dark vortex appeared, surrounding them. Soon, he
could see nothing but the burning sword and the clown giving him a wicked
smile. Sephiroth spoke softly. "You close that vortex and neither of us
will get to fight again."
Kefka leaned forward and whispered in Sephiroth's ear. "It doesn't matter
if you fight!" He let out an insane chuckle. "You'll fail anyway! You
know you won't win. Best to end it all now! Living is pointless. Until you have
embraced death, destruction and despair, you cannot fight. Your will is weak!
You can not overcome yourself."
Sephiroth's hand felt like it was holding a sun. Nothing the clown said made
any sense. Sephiroth drew in a breath and used some of his own magic. The light
in his eyes grew until it outshone the flame on his sword. It began to
penetrate the dark void around him until pinholes of light could be seen
through it. Finally, it broke through the darkness, and the black hole around
them vanished like a shadow.
The stranger released the sword and the flames disappeared. Sephiroth looked at
Kefka again. He was apparently saying something pointless.
"May you learn to love your defeat." Kefka spat. Sephiroth threw the
Masamune at him... but he had already disappeared. Sephiroth retreived his
sword and left the Arena. He was done, and the next fight began in only a day.
----
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And eventually drives
one mad. Magus had been watching the encounter between the two beings that
had thought they possessed absolute power. And when two beings of such
potential meet, the results can only be humbling for both. Challenging
Lavos had proven impossible for him, despite his near infinite-power... but it
was not impossible for the group of heroes he chose as companions. They had
gained strength by banding together. The weak, together, had outmatched the
strong.
A bolt of lightning crashed down beside Magus, seemingly out of nowhere. It
appeared to him that he was different from Sephiroth and Kefka merely in his
ends. He would have done anything to destroy Lavos, and seek revenge. His goals
merely worked out in a way that enabled him to make use of Crono and his
friends. He simply had different goals than the other villains. That, and I
am still sane. Ruling or destroying the world is pointless. It is all
pointless... compared to the mastery of time.
Another bolt of lightning split the sky. Then another, then another... they
appeared in a circle around him, with increased frequency. Magus sighed, and
rolled his eyes.
"Crono, would you cut that out?"
Crono chuckled, and jumped out from behind a bush. "Eh, I was bored, you
were brooding, seemed like a good combination."
"Yes. Thank you. Your sense of humor is only surpassed by your verbal
skills. Now run along."
Crono chuckled again, and sauntered off. "See you around, good luck in the
tournament."
"You too," Magus said out of reflex. Crono might see Kefka in the
ring, or maybe even Sephiroth. He had less reason to fight than the others-no
pride in his abilities, no enemies to destroy, or grudges to settle. He had
nothing to prove, no desire to test the limits of his power against the best
fighters from time and space... he merely wished to enjoy himself.
We'll see how long he lasts with that attitude. The next fight would be
tomorrow, most likely an easy victory for the returning champion. Magus smiled.
It was good to be an outsider. He intended to surprise the fighters who had not
seen him in battle before…including the champion himself… when it came to be
their time to fight.