CHAPTER LXVI

THE SHOWDOWN CONTINUES

Mickey, Cloud and Aerith only watched a few of the next five preliminary matches in the Showdown – eight battles were scheduled; the one that Mickey and Pete had won was only the first. One by one, teams were eliminated until five pairs earned a spot in the quarterfinals with Mickey and Pete.

The second to last preliminary match was scheduled for later that day, but Cloud and Aerith knew that they were in the last match that evening. Besides Mickey and Pete, they knew that the thin little man Barlog and his fat partner Phineaus had made it through by the skin of their teeth. They also knew that Rai and Fuu made it through, but not because they had seen the match; Rai paraded up and down the corridors of the hotel that night, announcing it to anyone and everyone that would listen. The only other team they had heard about was made up of a tall, agile man called Tycho and his compact, powerful partner Gabe.

"We should really be studying the other teams…" Aerith urged Cloud as they sat on a bench outside a small café in town. Cloud nursed a large mug of tea as Mickey silently agreed with Aerith. "We only watched Barlog and Phineaus, and they seemed like a joke…"

"That's exactly why we're not watching. It'll make you soft. You'll become comfortable and you won't give it your all," Cloud said, swigging his tea.

"No, it wouldn't! It's called 'being informed'!" she shouted, causing a few nearby tables to look in their direction. Mickey serenely smiled at the onlookers, diverting their attention from the red-faced Aerith.

"I'd rather be surprised," Cloud smirked, kicking back in his chair. Aerith positively exploded when he said this, standing straight up as her chair slammed backwards into the ground.

"Fine! You can be surprised and get yourself disqualified, but I'm going to be informed!" She stormed off toward the Setzer Dome, fuming like a candle.

Less than ten minutes later, Mickey had dragged Cloud to the dome to catch up with Aerith; secretly, Mickey had hoped to catch the end of the fight. As they were greeted with an outpour of contestants and audience members from the entrance, Mickey knew that the match was over. Aerith stood, arms crossed, against the ticket counter off to the side.

"Well? Who won?" Cloud asked.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise…" Aerith said coldly, averting her gaze from Cloud's youthful face. Something deep inside Mickey told him that she wasn't mad about Cloud's arrogance…she seemed more angry that she had missed another opportunity to spend time with him.

"Attention, Starsweep Underground!" the intercom boomed, reaching into the streets surrounding the Setzer Dome. "The final preliminary match will begin in twenty minutes – Trolo and Roy; Tidus and Selphie; Cloud and Aerith; Hayner and Seifer!"

"Let's go," Cloud said, walking straight to the dome.

"Good luck!" Mickey said, though Cloud made no indication that he heard him.

"Weapons?" Thorn asked Cloud as he came to the gate. Cloud rolled his eyes and turned half-way, showing the Buster Sword strapped to his back. "Remove it so I can see."

Further aggravated by the request, Cloud drew his blade so that it was only inches from Thorn's torso.

"Cool it, or you'll be disqualified." Thorn went to take the sword to examine it, as Cloud slammed it into the ground so that it stuck upright in front of the four-armed nuisance. He shot his hand out, holding Thorn back from touching the Buster.

"Nobody touches it but me. Call it a superstition," he said, trying not to get too aggressive. Thorn raised an eyebrow, but apparently sympathized with Cloud's plea – he motioned for him to go on. Aerith's encounter was much shorter – the bodyguard examined her short staff for a moment and handed it back to her almost immediately thereafter.

Cloud quickly tied the red bandana around his wrist as Aerith made hers into a cute headband – they had plenty of time to waste, as most of the combatants didn't show up until five minutes before the fight.

Trolo, a stiff, tall man walked up to Thorn.

"Weapons?" he said, growing weary of the drill.

Trolo rolled up the sleeves on his red and white jacket – his arms were entirely mechanical. Though they weren't nearly as impressive as John Silver's, they were formidable – he demonstrated by clenching shut a portion of the metal cage with two of his fingers. His face showed no visible emotion – even when he spoke, the mouth moved up and down in predictable, constant patterns.

His partner Roy was slightly less impressive – nearly half Trolo's height, he seemed downright dwarfish compared to his partner. He didn't resemble a robot at all – his bulging forearms were intimidating, to say the least. His green and black robe swayed around him, dragging along the ground and creating the illusion that he was floating above it. Having no weapon, he entered directly behind Trolo, tying a yellow bandana around his forearm as soon as they had settled.

A tall, handsome boy was next in line. He impatiently tapped his foot on the floor, his army pattern pants setting off his blonde hair. Next to him was a boy only a few inches taller than him – he wore an undersized purple beanie cap over his slicked back platinum hair. His purple vest was opened to reveal a pressed, white shirt beneath it.

"I'm beginning to think Setzer lied to us…" Hayner said, catching a glimpse of Trolo and Roy. As his gaze shifted to Cloud and his Buster Sword, he began to sweat, wiping his palms on his army pants. "He…he did say we were the best Strugglers he had ever seen, right?"

The boy with the cap laughed. "He said that to me, chicken wuss. You only came along because he said I needed a partner – I would have taken Rai or Fuu, but they came on their own…" Seifer said, cracking his knuckles.

"Shut up, dumbass…that was two years ago, anyway. Think of how much better we've gotten?" Hayner said, staring at the barbed portions of the dome. "On second thought…I think he might have just wanted to take our munny…"

"Well, at 500 apiece, you'll be puttin' up a lot more posters if we don't win," Seifer said, trying to keep his calm as Thorn extended his arms, reaching for his weapon.

Hayner showed off a brand new bronze-colored kitana. Seifer handed over a long, silver sword that looked strangely like Leon's gunblade – the major difference was the shape of the blade and the barrel – it was sleeker, slimmer, and overall more intimidating. After they entered, Seifer chose the blue bandana.

"Aw, man! I said 'green' how many times! Jeez, I think you do this stuff just to piss me off…" he said, tying a blue bandana around his belt loop.

"No…not me," Seifer said, feigning innocence.

The second to last combatant was Selphie – a spry looking girl with brown, bouncy hair. It curled up in two wings over her shoulders, which were clad in a white blouse. Her blue tie and skirt were just like Kairi's – in fact, they went to school together – though Cloud and Aerith had no idea. She smiled and flashed a peace sign as Thorn examined her long, orange nunchaku, allowing her to pass. Her partner Tidus was a little tanner than her, his dirty blonde hair adding to the effect. His glassy looking blue sword was serrated at one end, and Thorn almost didn't let it pass – but remembering Cloud's sword, he decided it was no more dangerous. Selphie had her green bandana on before Tidus even made it through the gate; now being slammed shut by Thorn.

The announcer's voice startled the Setzer Dome's patrons as it came out of nowhere. "Strap yourselves in, folks – the final match of the preliminaries is about to begin, and it looks like it'll be a doozy!"