CHAPTER LXIX
THE SEMIFINALS CONCLUDE
"The ties that bind! This has gotta be my favorite surprise of them all!" the announcer shouted over the intercom.
Setzer smiled smugly in his viewing chamber high above the arena floor.
"Hang onto the wall – I need the rope," Cloud shouted to Aerith, as he jerked her backwards by rushing towards Rai across the dome. Rai followed his lead, brandishing his weighted staff as Fuu awkwardly clung to the dome behind her. The ropes around Aerith and Fuu's midsections were tight, providing constant pressure…
Fully extending the ropes allowed Cloud and Rai to barely come within attack distance of each other. Slashing rapidly, Cloud repeatedly struck Rai's massive staff. It clanged like metal against metal, surprising Cloud; it looked wooden. Using the split-second opportunity, Rai swung sideways and knocked Cloud across the dome – forcing him to drop his Buster Sword from the impact.
Pete and Mickey stood idly by, not entirely sure what course to take.
"Gimme da rope!" Pete said, yanking it so that he had a good amount of slack.
"We've got to share it!" Mickey said, pulling back hard. Suddenly, Mickey saw Cloud swinging his way across the dome, like a strange, human tetherball. Steadying himself as best he could, he softened Cloud's landing as he attempted to catch the man that was three times his size. The two of them crumpled into a heap on the ground, as Phineaus' deep, craggy laugh echoed through their ears.
Aerith tried to hold him off by casting a fire spell, but it didn't seem to affect him. His thick hide was absorbing the spells faster than Aerith could cast them – before too long, he was standing right next to the pretty girl, laughing his undersized head off. As he grabbed her around the torso with one of his huge hands, Mickey quickly realized that his leg had become entangled in Cloud's cloak…
Pulling with all his might, Phineaus tore Aerith away from the wall. The resulting force pulled Cloud back into the wall, quaking the very floor of the Setzer Dome. Mickey, having been caught up in Cloud's cloak, was pulled as well – causing Pete to awkwardly rocket into the wall behind him. Phineaus swung Aerith once and tossed her on top of Cloud's motionless body, effectively damaging four fighters with one move.
"Oooh…that doesn't look pretty…looks like we might have our first contestants eliminated…"
But Cloud stood up, steadying Aerith on his shoulder. The force hadn't knocked them out – it just made them a bit woozy. Out of nowhere, four small, colored buttons rose up from the ground in the center of the arena. They were just out of reach, even if the teams gave up the maximum amount of slack – Cloud immediately snatched Aerith's staff out of her hand as he dove toward the buttons, reaching out and smacking the red one. Instantly, the ropes attached to Aerith and himself were gone – he flung the staff back to his partner and scooped up his Buster Sword, turning to attack Phineaus and Barlog.
As he dashed past the buttons, he was almost slashed by the rebound of Fuu's black chakram. It had slammed into the blue button, freeing her and Rai as well. Aerith cried 'magnega!', dragging Rai and Fuu helplessly into the center of a raging whirlwind. Rai swung his staff, desperate to hit anything he could…
"What's the matter, big boy?" Cloud teased Phineaus by slicing his shirt. "Don't like it so much now that you're still chained and I'm free, do you?" Cloud pummeled Phineaus in the face with a series of rapid punches. In an animalistic rage, Phineaus beat his chest and dove straight at Cloud, pulling the much smaller Barlog into the fence. Repeatedly, Cloud jumped out of Phineaus' grasp, causing him to slam his own partner into the metal grate over and over. Soon, Barlog limply slid to the ground – defeated by his own partner. Instantly, they were teleported out of the dome.
"Barlog and Phineaus, show's over!" the announcer said cheerily.
As the magnet spell wore down, Fuu reclaimed her chakram and used it like a sharp, spiked hula hoop – slashing into Aerith, she tackled her backwards into the fence, holding her against the wall as Rai slammed Cloud unaware from behind.
As he laid out on the ground, Cloud rolled sideways, avoiding a downward thrust of Rai's powerful staff. Slashing his sword, Cloud seemed to miss Rai entirely – but it connected where he had intended it to – the yellow button depressed, and Mickey and Pete were free.
Diving at Rai with lightening speed, Mickey spun his keyblade around him, beginning to look like a tiny, whirling tornado. Rai called out to Fuu for help…but Aerith had smacked her into Pete's line of sight, and the massive Legion Knight pounded her mercilessly with his fists.
Simultaneously, Rai and Fuu collapsed – Mickey and Pete had finished them in no time flat. They teleported out of the dome as the announcer shouted "I don't believe it! The mammoth and the mouse pull it off and pound through the opposition! Rai and Fuu, show's over!"
Mickey looked up at Cloud and smiled, while Pete clasped his hands stupidly over his head, accepting all the praises from the entertained audience.
"Good luck, pal," Mickey said, untying the yellow bandana and dropping it at Cloud's feet.
"What! What'd you do, tiny!" Pete gulped, noticing he and Mickey were now outside of the dome.
"And the little mouse forfeits the match, leaving Cloud and Aerith to move on to the finals! Completely astounding!" the announcer tried to scream, but the booing and hissing of the audience had reached the highest pitch – viewers and gamblers were absolutely furious that Mickey and Pete had thrown the match – but Mickey didn't care; Cloud and Aerith had a far greater chance to win it all than he and Pete did.
"Sorry Pete. Guess we won't be winning after all…thanks for the help, though," Mickey said, smiling as he walked toward the exit.
"B…but…you…you used me! Of all the dirty, rotten, double-crossin'…" Pete mumbled, heading for the bleachers. He would have ended up doing the same thing in the finals against his superiors, Ember and Vincent. He smirked as he sat down, awaiting the final match. "I guess Vincent and Ember are just gonna have to prove their worth, dat's all…"
