CHAPTER LXIII

STARSWEEP UNDERGROUND

Walking through the large dome proved to be more difficult than they had thought – though the streets of the city were relatively quiet, it had to be due to the fact that everyone in town was crowded into this one building.

Grabbing the first human-looking person he could find, Cloud turned him around by his shoulder ruggedly. "What's this place called?" he asked the smaller person.

"Starsweep Uh…Underground…" he said, cautiously peeling Cloud's fingers off of his shoulder. "This is the Setzer Dome…can I go now?" he said, not waiting for an answer as he ran off.

Aerith grabbed Mickey and Cloud's attention when she stopped dead in her tracks, looking up at the top of the dome - hanging from a sturdy looking hook sat a massive, glass case, encrusted with jewels and other shiny materials. The frame was seemingly solid gold, but the contents were the most interesting – a bronze bear, reared up on its hind legs. It was far away, but they could see that a massive brown boulder was etched into its stomach.

"The Boulder Bear!" she said loudly, causing a tall, tan man in front of her to turn around and laugh. He had shoulders twice as wide as his body, with strong looking arms poking out from a tight, red muscle shirt. His black hair made his head look like a block of concrete on his shoulders.

"Of course it's the Boulder Bear! It's like, the reason we're all here…that thing's supposed to be worth a bunch of munny, y'know?"

Next to him, a silver-haired woman turned around, She wore a blue and purple vest with darker pants. Her short hair was cut so that it obscured her pale face – her left eye was covered with a black eye patch.
"Priceless," she said, turning her back on Cloud, Mickey and Aerith.

"My names Rai, and this is Fuu. Hope you're not enterin' the tourney…we'll have to crush ya into dust, y'know?" he said, turning back around to stand with Fuu in what emerged as a slowly moving line. Cloud, Aerith and Mickey stood there, hoping to get a better glimpse at the Boulder Bear. Mickey looked around in the crowd for any familiar faces…but he saw none.

"Next…next! NEXT!" an annoyed girl's voice shot at Mickey, standing at least two feet away from a small table which sat two young girls. Rai and Fuu were gone, and so was the rest of the line that was ahead of them. The two young girls looked similar - one had her hair in a cute little bob, showing off her green eyes and the other wore hers in pigtails – it became obvious why, when she pulled at them stressfully when Mickey held up the line. Quickly, he ran up to the table with Cloud and Aerith behind him.

"Excuse me…" he started to say, but she rudely cut him off by tossing a clipboard onto the table in front of him. Holding out a pen like she wished she could snap it in half, she said "sign."

"Wait…" Mickey said as the pen was forced into his hands.

"No – sign or get out. Don't hold up the line," the girl with the shorter hair said.

"But I…" Mickey started to protest – but when a large, frowning man with four arms stepped behind the girls, cracking his knuckles, he decided to sign and step to the side. Cloud and Aerith followed his lead, going down the small path that was cordoned off with ropes. It emptied them out into the rear of the dome – there were tables of food and drinks presented lavishly along all sides of the area, with plush looking couches in the center.

Mickey grabbed a piece of fruit as Cloud bit into a nice, thick sandwich. "Well, whatever we signed up for, at least they're feeding us…"

The dome's intercom crackled as a peppy, announcer-like voice came through.

"Attention all visitors to the Setzer Dome – registration for the Starsweep Grand Showdown will close in twenty minutes. Please make your way to the registration tables and have a lucky day!" The line cut off immediately after he finished speaking.

A small rush of late-comers clumped together at the registration tables, but when the bell indicating the end of twenty minutes sounded, only two people were turned away. They cursed loudly and left the Setzer Dome with the assistance of the large four-armed fellow.

"The registration has ended. If you are not registered, please exit the Dome – the preliminaries will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. – we hope to see you there!" said the cheesy announcer's voice, cutting off once again. As they looked around, Mickey and Cloud could see a wide array of people – it didn't seem like the typical crowd for any event they'd ever seen. Suddenly, the partitions were retracted into the ground, giving the participants a little more room to spread out. A small, circular doorway opened up from the floor as the registration table was cleared away from above it. A tall, decorated man rose up on platform elevator, making an entrance so grand that most of the people in the crowd felt compelled to clap.

The long, light purple haired man stepped out into the center of the dome, staring up at the Boulder Bear. His hair was spiky, reaching a bit past his shoulders. It rested against his beautiful purple cape, a piece that didn't seem to go with his white and gold tuxedo. His perfectly manicured eyebrows raised over blue pupils as his tiny, pressed mouth began to speak.

"The Boulder Bear, ladies and gentlemen. A prize worthy only to the best of the best. You are the best this universe has to offer – as evidenced by the sheer fact that you were able to make your way to Starsweep Underground in the first place. My name is Setzer Gabbiani – I will be your host, your master of ceremonies, and most of all – your banker." He laughed at his joke as the audience cautiously feigned a chuckle.

"The cost of entry is 500 munny, as I'm sure Rose, Lily and Thorn informed you at the registration table…"

"They never said that! That's outrageous!" Aerith muttered, clenching a fist.

"Don't worry…I've got 1,900 munny…we've all got plenty," Mickey assured her.

"The game, dear friends, is Showdown," he said, spinning in place to get a good look at all of his combatants. "Is anyone unfamiliar with the rules of the game?"

Aerith and about ten others across the group raised their hands. Against the hundreds of others in the room, their numbers looked especially small.

"Very well then, the game is played as such -" he said, as the platform raised even higher so that he was staring down at everyone in the room.

"The combatants are paired off – if you cannot choose a partner, Rose, Lily and Thorn will pair you off manually. In the case of an odd number of combatants, the odd man out will be disqualified," he said, scanning the room for any singletons.

"What happens then is simple – four pairs are pitted against each other at a time, only one pair moving on from each group. If you or your partner faints, you forfeit – both must be conscious at the end of the battle."

Cloud continued to scan the crowd, only half listening to the rules of the tournament. He could have sworn he saw a black mask with fangs out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to get a better look, it was gone.

"Each round will consist of four teams, until there are only four teams left – at that point, the matches become two on two. Environmental hazards will occur randomly, triggered by our computer throughout the matches. It's up to you to react and use these to your advantage," Setzer continued, smirking. "For every individual your team defeats, one-hundred munny are credited to your account – the munny is only received when you rise to the top of the ladder and claim the title of Underground Grand Showdown Champion. You win nothing by coming in second. First place is the only place in the Showdown – remember that."

Everyone hushed in the crowd – the potential prize was staggering…the hundreds of combatants, at one-hundred munny apiece…the 500 munny entry fee suddenly seemed like chump change.

"That's it – the pairing will begin at 11 a.m. in the hotel lobby, and it will end promptly at 1 p.m. At 2, the preliminaries begin – good luck, combatants! See you tomorrow!"