A crowd of well-dressed people was gathered inside. Topaz glanced around in awe, trying not to appear dumbfounded. There're so many people here! It looks like a cocktail party, not some kind of sporting event. This is a bigger deal than I thought. Topaz edged her way over to a low table laden with drinks and fancy cheeses. At a loss, she poured herself a drink from one of the unlabeled bottles. She sniffed her goblet. This...is this...alcohol? Oops. She left the drink on the table and tried to find someone–anyone–she knew.
"Oh, Topaz! Topaz! Look over here! It's me!" Startled, Topaz turned around with sort of a sinking feeling. "It can't be," she muttered. But, sure enough, Nika came trotting out of the crowd toward her.
Nika looked faker than ever. Her long face was painted even more heavily than usual, and her hair was forced into stiff curls. She wore a skin-tight pink satin dress, and to top off the look, she carried a brightly-colored drink in one hand.
"Topaz!" squealed Nika, hugging Topaz with her free arm. "Imagine seeing you here! Did Philocetes invite you?"
"Are you kidding? Phil hates me."
Nika leaned closer, perplexed. "But this thing is invitation only. How did you, like, get in?" Topaz looked down and blushed. "I was invited by...Cloud Strife."
Nika looked a little shocked. "He invited you, invited you?" Topaz flashed a little smile. "Yeah, he did." Nika sipped her drink and said, "That's awesome! I'm kinda amazed. He's, like, only a year younger than me. Which would make him nineteen and all that stuff."
"I can do math, Nika. I'm not four."
Topaz was smothered in another of Nika's hugs. "I know! I'm just so thrilled that my little cousin is growing up and dating older men!" Topaz managed to wiggle out of her cousin's embrace. "It's not really a date. And he's only three years older than me." Quickly, she changed the subject, saying, "Why did you come here, anyway? You're not a regular Colosseum-goer." "You silly," chirped Nika, "that doesn't matter. Sephiroth invited me."
Before Topaz could say anything else, a voice boomed from a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling. "All spectators of tonight's invitational battle, please make their way to the arena seating area! This epic fight is about to begin!" Some of the people in the lobby cheered, and the whole crowd began to shuffle slowly out to the arena stands. Nika grabbed Topaz by the arm. "Like, come and sit with me. It'll be fun."
The Colosseum at night was quite a sight to behold. Big torches burned around the edges of the seating area. The arena itself was illuminated by two huge spotlights that Topaz had never noticed before. As she walked along behind Nika, Topaz wondered to herself, Where are the fighters? I haven't seen either of them at all.
A while later, everyone had taken their seats. The stadium was filled with the pleasant buzz of hundreds of people talking in low voices. Finally, the Colosseum announcer appeared and stood in the center of the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted. "I welcome you to the fight of the year: a battle between Cloud Strife and General Sephiroth!" The stadium reverberated with cheers.
One of the spotlight beams swept to the far side of the arena. There, in a circle of white light, stood Cloud. He was dressed in his usual suit of half-armor, made up of equal parts metal and cloth for increased flexibility, and wore his trademark tattered cape over one shoulder. Cloud held his famous Buster Blade, huge and ominous as ever, balanced onthe capelessshoulder. "In this corner," bellowed the announcer, "we have tonight's challenger, the infamous warrior Cloud Strife!" Topaz cheered as loud as any of the other Cloud fans in the stands.
The second spotlight beam made its way to the other side of the stadium. There stood another man, taller and thinner than Cloud. The man had long hair the color of mist, and he wore a black robe. Like Cloud, he had one wing, but this wing was covered with shining black feathers. "And in this corner, we have the grand swordsman, General Sephiroth!" Topaz heard Nika screech something that sounded like, "I love you, Sephiroth!" Topaz nudged her in the side. "I gotta admit, he's certainly not bad-looking," she said teasingly.
Both men were poised for attack. The announcer scampered away, leaving the two great warriors alone to fight each other. The very atmosphere tensed almost sickeningly, until the sound of a bell stabbed the air. The two fighters sprang to life.
Their swords met at the center of the arena. The two blades scraped forcefully against one another, sending showers of sparks into the night air. Sephiroth swung his long, thin sword at his opponent, but Cloud managed to leap away. Sephiroth's sword plunged into the ground where Cloud had been. While Cloud was still airborne, Sephiroth used his sword to boost himself into the sky, swinging his fist straight at Cloud's face. Cloud managed to raise his sword in time and blocked the attack. Both warriors landed again, and Sephiroth managed to take his sword out of the ground before Cloud could get in a hit.
They went on like this for a long time, evenly matched. For every clever assault, there was an equally clever block or parry. They almost seemed to mirror each other in their violent dance.
An hour flicked by in an instant. Cloud and Sephiroth were both getting out of breath, but neither had suffered any serious wounds thus far. They stood opposite of each other, panting hard. It was so quiet, a pin hitting the ground would have sounded like gunfire.
Sephiroth suddenly rushed at Cloud with his sword high above his head. Cloud raised his sword to block the other man's weapon, but at the last moment, Sephiroth lowered his blade and slashed Cloud's unprotected leg. Even from the stands, Topaz could see Cloud shudder with pain. Scarlet blood flowed from the cut and stained Cloud's dark clothing.
Topaz was anxious. Cloud is much smarter than that. How could he've been fooled by a simple fake-out? He's getting tired, I bet. That's why. "Come on, Cloud!" she cried. "You can do this!"
The two of them managed to keep fighting, but more and more injuries were made in the process. Cloud broke Sephiroth's guard and landed a direct hit on the General's wing, which shuddered and began to shed bloody feathers. In anger, Sephiroth used the dull side of his sword to hit Cloud's ankles. Cloud buckled and fell to his knees. Sephiroth used this opportunity to thrust his sword down violently at his opponent, but Cloud managed to roll away just in time.
As time passed, the fighters grew more and more exhausted. The blood of both warriors splattered the arena like a dark mosaic. It was a little scary, watching two people continually wear each other down so much, but that was the thrill of battle.
For Topaz, though, this had gone beyond thrill. Her heart had practically jumped to her throat. Every muscle in her body had tensed to the breaking point. She found herself shouting encouragements more and more, until she forgot where she was. She was no longer just a spectator. In her heart, she was part of the fight.
The match looked like it would end soon. How can this possibly continue much further? The two of them are almost dead! They can barely even move! As if to prove her wrong, Sephiroth used his woundedwing to barrel into the air, flying around like some horrific, blood-drenched demon. Cloud was trying his best to guard himself, but it was plain as day that he was struggling. Sephiroth shot upward, using the ink-black night as a veil for his body. Cloud looked all around in a desperate search for the powerful General, but it was all in vain. Sephiroth had simply evaporated.
Suddenly, there was a fierce cry. A blurred shape descended from the sky, straight at Cloud. Cloud raised his sword at an angle over his head to deflect the assault. Topaz clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white. There's no way Sephiroth can get through that defense! Still, Sephiroth charged on, weapon held out straight in front of him. He was horribly hawk-like in his attack...and Cloud was this hawk's prey.
The tip of Sephiroth's long sword met Cloud's Buster Blade. The two weapons deflected each other with a loud clang. Somehow, while still airborne, Sephiroth used the energy of his sword bouncing off Cloud's sword to swing his weight up over Cloud's head. Time seemed to slow. Topaz was terrified. She suddenly knew what was going to happen. She watched, powerless, as Sephiroth continued to swing around so that his legs were aligned with Cloud's back. While his body was still in the air, Sephiroth plunged his sword into the bloodstained ground. The force from this action sent the General backwards, like some sort of reverse missile. Sephiroth's heavy black boots smashed into Cloud's back, sending him crumpling to the ground.
There was deep silence. The announcer dashed cautiously into view and crouched near Cloud's unmoving form. "Ladies and gentlemen..." said the announcer sternly. Everyone held their breath. "He's out cold! Sephiroth is the winner!"
Sephiroth raised a gloved hand in victory. The stadium was filled with a deafening boom of both cheers and boos. Cloud was taken away by the medics, and Sephiroth was helped out of the arena. The fight was over.
Nika's annoying voice brought Topaz back to reality. "That was an awesome fight! I gotta say, Topaz, your man rocked pretty hard. But he was no match for Seph!" "Cloud's not my man," insisted Topaz, blushing.
The snow-perfect full moon was almost exactly overhead. "I gotta get home," said Topaz. "It's past midnight...I should be asleep." Nika peered at her. "Topaz! It's totally not like you to skip out on a party like that."
"The party's over, Nika."
Nika winked. "Nuh-uh! There's still the post-fight party to go to."