Chapter 22:
During Mario's participation in the Ninja Tournament, over at the Gold Saucer, Luigi and his party were on their own mission, hoping to find a Great Gospel tome should Mario and his party fail to find one in Wutai with Luigi also wanting to train in the use of Star Power for the upcoming fight against Sephiroth. As the party arrived, they looked around and saw that a large crowd had gathered around and was looking out into the night. They could hear the bustle of people going to and from various locations at the amusement park. They also saw several stalls where people were lined up to play a variety of games such as balloon shooting, skeet ball, and other games. Luigi then looked over at Nanaki since they figured that he was the most familiar with this area. Nanaki, feeling the gazes of the others on him, looked over at them and saw them all focused on him.
"So Nanaki, what's the layout of this place?" Luigi asked, stepping forward. "What games would we be most likely to win a Great Gospel tome or something else that could help against Sephiroth?"
"Generally, there are seven main areas in the Gold Saucer, not counting the hub area called Ropeway Station. They are Wonder Square, Speed Square, Round Square, Battle Square, Ghost Square, Chocobo Square, and Event Square," Nanaki explained. "There is a map of the Gold Saucer in Ropeway Station. As for where the best prizes are; the best prizes can be won in Battle Square. That is where Cloud Strife won his Omnislash Limit Break tome during Meteorfall. In Speed Square, one can play a Shooting Coaster minigame to win some modest items and prizes that serve no purpose for our mission. Chocobo Square is where you can participate in and bet on Chocobo races. The prizes there are not bad. They sometimes have some rare Materia and some decent attack items as well so we might want to consider betting on one of the races. Ghost Square consists of an inn and an item shop. Event Square is where people can watch plays and performances. There is nothing important for us there. Round Square is where one can go to ride a gondola that takes you around the Gold Saucer. And finally, Wonder Square is where you can play a variety of minigames for GP, or Gold Points: the currency used in Gold Saucer."
"How do we get GP?" was Luigi's next question.
"You have to pay some gil for it," Nanaki answered. "It's been a while since I was last here so I don't know the current exchange rates. Maybe they have them at Ropeway Station."
The group shrugged but seeing no other options, made their way over to Ropeway Station. Upon reaching the station, they saw an entry way to a terminal that would take them to any of their desired locations. There were also other stalls for concessions as well as exchanges for gil. Nanaki immediately went over to one of the stall to get some GP for the group to participate in various squares and games. Luigi went over to join him so he could hold the cards that the receptionist gave them. Seeing that the current exchange rate was one GP for one hundred gil, Nanaki gave five thousand gil for fifty GP, knowing that he did not have enough gil to give the whole party GP and wanting to save some for any healing items or potential powerful weapons they could use for the upcoming battle against Sephiroth.
After getting the GP, Nanaki and Luigi returned to the party to give them the cards, with Luigi holding onto one of them so he could participate in the Battle Square. He then gave the remaining cards to Nanaki, Koops, Admiral Bobbery, and Lakilester.
"I'll go to Chocobo Square to bet on the races," Nanaki told everyone. "That way, if I win some, I'll be able to get some GP cards for the rest of you. As for the rest of you, take your time to look around and play some of the games. Some games in Wonder Square can get you some good amounts of GP relatively easily." He then went over to Luigi and told him, "Just so you know, in the Battle Square, during each round, there will be a slot reel that will give you certain handicaps. It spins relatively fast but you can use it to select the handicaps you want. These handicaps will stack as you go further into the battles so keep that in mind. However, the greater the handicaps, the more Battle Points you will receive at the end of each round. Also, the further you go, the more Battle Points you will get for certain handicaps. Once you finish, you can exchange Battle Points for prizes, some of the best prizes of all the games."
Luigi nodded, understanding what Nanaki was saying. He only hoped that his Thunder Hand ability would not count as magic or be able to be taken away during the battles. Once everyone had gotten their cards, party split up into groups and then went into a terminal room that had what looked to be holes or warps that would take the party members to their desired destinations. Luigi, after taking stock of his inventory, proceeded to make his way over to the hole that would lead to Battle Square and jumped in. Then, everyone else went into the holes that would take them to their desired destinations.
Luigi emerged from a tunnel, finding himself in a small hub area that had various tunnels that had signs pointing to other attractions in the Gold Saucer above them. The hub area was surrounded by a number of towers with saucers on top of them. The towers had green lights outlining them had what looked to be almost steampunk-like piping on them, indicating that that had once been powered by Mako reactors. Turning to his left, he saw a purple-carpeted staircase that led up to a building that resembled a castle, with two large swords crossed above its entrance, clearly denoting Battle Square. Wasting no time, the younger Mario Brother made his way up the staircase and through the entrance into the Battle Square.
Inside the castle, Luigi the purple carpet led to a door that had a skull over it and was labeled "CHALLENGER". To his right was a door labeled DIAs Show ROOM. Luigi figured that the current owner of the Gold Saucer was named Dia. Not far away from the door that likely led into the arena was a help desk that the plumber suspected where he was to go in order to sign up to take the challenge. A single woman stood behind the counter and looked over at Luigi, motioning for him to come.
He went over to the counter and asked, "Is this where I sign up for the Battle Arena?"
"Yes," the woman answered, smiling. "The entry fee is ten GP. The rules are simple. At the beginning of each battle, there will be a slot reel that will give you a handicap in the ensuing match. The greater the handicap, more Battle Points, or BP you will earn." She then gave him a seductive smile and continued, "Oh, a special note; save the greater handicaps for later in the match where the BP you'll earn is far greater. You can potentially earn up to ten thousand BP in one battle if you choose the Break all Materia handicap. In addition, each handicap stacks so be careful and try to choose handicaps that not only give a lot of BP, but also won't completely cripple you."
"Thanks for the tip," Luigi said. "I wish to sign up for the Battle Arena."
He then handed over the ten GP needed to enter. Once he had paid the entry fee, the woman handed him the entry form, which the plumber filled out. Once he was ready, he handed the form back to the woman.
"Thank you," the woman answered as she accepted the form. "Oh, one more thing. Most of the enemies you'll face are robotic or android replicas of monsters that existed during the time of Meteorfall, only powered up a bit. However, there is a chance that other entrants that may come while you're battling in there can be chosen to fight against you, so don't let your guard down. Also, while we try to avoid it, the Battle Arena has been known to inflict serious and sometimes, even fatal injury on participants. Be careful in there."
Luigi then thanked the woman before heading over to the door marked "CHALLENGER". When he approached, the door slid open, granting him access to the Battle Arena. Once it was open, he went on in.
Once the plumber had entered the arena, the door slammed shut behind him. Looking around, he saw that the floor was a brick floor with a red circle in the center with writing that Luigi surprisingly recognized that said, the brave do no fear the grave. Looking at the walls, he saw chains coming down from some pipe-like openings. There was also a second level above them, but he had a feeling that the room was designed to be reminiscent of a dungeon.
As he looked around, he decided that it was time to test out the power of the stars. Closing his eyes, he focused on the stars and began to feel the energy of the stars flowing through him. Almost immediately, he could feel his physical strength increase, as well as his speed and cognitive ability. It was unlike anything he had felt before. Still, he would rather use this time to train than to be forced to use an unfamiliar power against Sephiroth and whatever else the former SOLDIER was likely to use against him and the others.
The plumber stepped forward and looked across to the door at the other side of the room. Once he did so, a slot reel lowered with a lever on the side. The reel was spinning and Luigi gripped the lever and pulled it. As he pulled it, the reel slowed until it landed on the reel that had a toad on it. He felt a wave of energy wash over him but nothing happened, his Feeling Fine badge protecting him from being transformed into a Frog. Once the selection was completed, the wheel rose. After the wheel rose, he saw the door open and two bird-like creatures with human arms called Garuda entered into the chamber. The creatures approached him and gave bird-like calls before they attempted to peck at him with their beaks.
While to normal people, the pecks would have been seen as being fast, to the newly enhanced Luigi, the pecks moved in slow motion. The plumber merely sidestepped the pecks while grabbing his hammer. Then, with a single swing, he dispatched the first Garuda, shattering it, revealing it to be a robotic duplicate. A second swing was all he needed to finish off the second Garuda.
With the Garudas having been dealt with, the second battle was about to begin. The large slot reel lowered itself once more and began to spin. Once again, Luigi pulled the lever and the reel slowed. Eventually, it stopped on a symbol that had the word "Poison" on it. Again, his Feeling Fine badge prevented him from suffering from the effect. Once the selection was made, the wheel rose once more and the gate at the other end of the room opened. Out stepped a red quadruped lizard with two long fangs extending upward referred to on a holographic screen above as an Under Lizard.
The lizard wasted no time initiating the battle by charging towards Luigi and jumping into the air in an attempt to crush him. The plumber sidestepped his jump and once more, swung his Ultra Hammer, managing to connect with the draconic creature's head. Just as with the Garudas, the head of the Under Lizard was shattered and in its place were gears, cogs, and metal pieces. The rest of the robotic lizard fell to the floor and stopped moving. Luigi then looked over at the gate to wait for the wheel to drop once more as well as wait for his third opponent.
Sure enough, the reel lowered for a third time. Just as before, the reel began to spin as it arrived on the ground. Luigi pulled the lever and the reel began to slow until it came to a stop on the "Armor is Broken" icon. Since Luigi was not wearing any special armor at the moment, he was unaffected by the wave of energy that washed over him that would have broken any armor from the world of Gaia. In the back of his mind, though, the plumber was thankful that he was not wearing any defense increasing badges, fearing that they may have been broken by the effects of the slot reel.
The door on the other side of the room soon opened and out came two creatures that looked like a series of eyes had been glued together. Luigi recoiled at the sight of the creature and wasted no time unleashing a Thunderhand lightning bolt on the closest enemy. Lightning erupted from his hand and instantly struck the creature, the screen above identified as 8 eye. Electricity arced across the creature but it gave no cry of pain or any indication of damage save for the fact that it simply stopped moving.
The other 8 eye, though, decided to use its own magical attack called Eyesight on Luigi. Several balls of magic lashed out towards the plumber, forcing the plumber to go evasive. However, with the enhancements that his star power gave him, the balls may as well have been moving in slow motion, despite the fact that for other people, they would barely have been traceable. The plumber weaved around the balls and soon powered up another blast of Thunderhand lightning. Unleashing the blast of lightning, he finished off the other 8 eye with one hit. Wanting to make sure that both creatures were dead, though, he grabbed his hammer and went up to their corpses. Then, with single smashes, he smashed them to pieces, revealing them to be little more than robotic duplicates.
Once the 8 eyes were shattered, the slot reel descended from the ceiling for a fourth time. A few seconds after it began to spin, Luigi pulled the lever once more. The lever slowed until it stopped on the "Independent Materia is Broken" icon, signified by a large purple Materia image on the reel. Luigi grinned since he had no Materia on him to speak of. He just hoped that it would not affect the payout from the "All Materia is Broken" handicap later on. Either way, he simply stood ready for his next opponent.
The door at the other end of the room soon opened and out stepped a Hippogriff with red fur, black wings, and a yellow mane. One look at the creature told Luigi that this battle was likely going to be more difficult than his previous battles. As such, he wasted no time unleashing a Thunderhand lightning bolt on the Hippogriff. Electricity arced across the creature's body but it would take more than one lightning bolt to finish it off.
In response, the Hippogriff charged Luigi and attempted to peck at him with its beak. Just as with his other opponents, though, under the power of the stars, the movements of the Hippogriff looked as if they were being performed in slow motion to the plumber and he easily sidestepped its attack. Since it was so close, Luigi retaliated with a smash from his Ultra Hammer, striking the creature in the head. The force of the blow bowed the creature's head and caused it to attempt to take to the air. However, the flapping of its wings was unsteady and its liftoff was slow and ungainly. Luigi quickly rushed up to it and jumped onto its back, forcing it back to the ground, where it crashed and fell to the ground, dazed but not yet dead. Luigi made its fate certain as he spun in the air and performed a Ground Pound on the fallen creature. Luigi smashed into the Hippogriff's back and shattered its back, gears and pieces of metal flying out from the point of impact, revealing the creature to be just another robotic duplicate. As Luigi rose and stepped off of the fallen mechanical Hippogriff's corpse, he could not help but notice that these battles were far easier than he had expected, likely due to his star power, which was coming more and more naturally to him and was far easier to control than he had expected. Still, he was not about to stop using it for these fights since he was halfway to the end and he simply waited for the slot reel to lower once more so he could enter into his fifth battle.
Again, the slot reel lowered for its fifth time. Just as before, when the reel began to spin, Luigi pulled on the lever on the side to stop it. After waiting for a few seconds, the reel came to a stop on the "Support Materia is Broken" icon. Again, this had no impact on the plumber since he did not have any Materia on him. All that was left for him now was to wait for his fifth opponent in the Battle Arena.
The gates soon opened and two enemies stepped into the arena. The first one was a draconic creature with a long, thin, yellow body, blue wings and a red tail with a barb on the end of it. Behind the dragon was a human-looking woman with unnaturally milky white skin, long blue hair, and wearing a blue one-piece bathing suit. Looking at the holographic screen above, Luigi saw that the draconic enemy was identified as a Lessaloploth while the human-looking enemy was identified as Snow. He noticed Snow look over at him and grin seductively. The plumber gave no reaction, though, as he reached into his pocket and drew out a Fire Flower. Gripping it tightly, he transformed into Fire Luigi and opened the battle with a barrage of fireballs being unleashed upon Snow, figuring her to be vulnerable to fire. He was correct as the barrage of fireballs caught her off guard and struck her before she could mount an attack. She grunted with each hit as she endured the barrage. The fireballs did not ignite her but their damage was evident as her arms and legs looked to be covered with burns and she promptly fell to the ground. The plumber was quick to notice that she did not seem to be mechanical, unlike all of his previous opponent sin the Battle Arena.
As for the Lessaloploth, while Luigi was firing on Snow, it took to the air and went to cast an Ice spell called Avalanche. The moment Snow fell, massive shards of ice formed in the air and went to rain down upon Luigi. The plumber countered by unleashing a barrage of fireballs upon the ice shards that were raining down upon the field, and him. Each fireball that made contact with an ice shard instantly melted it to water it splashed on the ground, or onto the plumber, harmlessly. Snow was thankful for the Avalanche, though, as she used the to cool the burns on her skin. Still, she was in no condition to engage the plumber and could only watch as Luigi initiated his counterattack.
The plumber, wanting to finish off the dragon as quickly as possible decided to fire off a bolt of lightning with Thunderhand, hoping that it would be more vulnerable to electric attacks since it was a flying enemy. Unfortunately, the attack was not fatal, but it did inflict noticeable damage to the creature as electricity arced across its body. The dragon then flew down towards Luigi and thrust its tail towards the plumber, hoping to pierce the plumber and potentially poison him. The star power enhanced plumber easily dodged the attack and in one fluid motion, drew out his hammer and smashed it into the head of the beast, felling it with one smash. Gears, springs, and metal shards exploded outwards from the point of impact as the mechanical dragon was destroyed and the rest of its body fell to the ground, no longer functioning.
Luigi immediately went over to finish off Snow but as he approached, she held out her hand in a sign of submission and the plumber stopped his approach but did not lower his guard. It was then that Snow spoke.
"I yield," she stated plainly. "You're even stronger than the previous matches indicated. You just might be as strong as the legendary members of SOLDIER and Avalanche from so centuries past."
As she said those words, a door opened to Luigi's right. Snow rose and went out that door, withdrawing from the battle. Luigi breathed a sigh of relief as she withdrew since he did not want to harm a living person if he could avoid it.
The moment Snow withdrew from the battle, the slot reel lowered once more. After it began to spin, the plumber pulled on its lever once again. This time, the reel landed on the "Item Command is Sealed" icon, causing him to grit his teeth. As the wave of energy washed over him, he felt his items all become disabled. Thankfully, though, he did not lose his Fire Luigi power. However, he knew that he would be forced to remain in this form and if he transformed back to normal, he would likely not be able to transform back into Fire Luigi for the remainder of his time in the arena.
As soon as the slot reel rose, the gate at the other end of the room opened and out strode two white draconic enemies the screen above identified as Ironites. Once the Ironites entered the chamber, they immediately charged towards the plumber. Luigi deftly dodged their charges and retaliated with a barrage of fireballs, feeling that his best chance for inflicting significant damage would be to hit them with repeated fireball attacks, even though each individual fireball was noticeably weaker than his Thunderhand lightning bolt. In addition, he hoped that by spreading out the damage that he could give them both pause before initiating their next attack while he pelted them from range with Thunderhand.
Sure enough, both Ironites hesitated after enduring the fireball barrage, allowing Luigi to power his Thunderhand and unleash a powerful lightning bolt on one of the Ironites. The lightning bolt struck the first Ironite and inflicted significant damage to it but did not destroy it. Still, the beast fell to the ground and its movements were slow and jerky. The other Ironite quickly charged Luigi and jumped into the air in an attempt to body slam him, but the plumber saw the attack coming from a mile away and deftly dodged it. As he dodged it, he drew out his hammer and smashed it into the back of the Ironite, shattering its back. Metal shards and gears erupted from the point of impact and the mechanical dragon fell to the ground, no longer functioning. That just left the damaged final Ironite.
The other Ironite attempted to charge Luigi but it slow movement made it painfully easy for the green-clad plumber to both notice and intercept. Powering up a single bolt of lightning with Thunderhand, he finished off the other Ironite with the lightning bolt. Electricity arced across its body and it fell to the ground no longer moving. With the defeat of the second Ironite, Luigi awaited the arrival of the slot reel once more so he could select his handicap and continue with the next to last battle in this outing in the Battle Arena.
Sure enough, the slot reel lowered for a seventh time and began to spin. Wasting no time, Luigi pulled the lever on its side and the reel began to slow. After a few seconds, it stopped on the Magic Materia is Broken icon. Good, Luigi thought. That handicap would not hurt him. Still, he did not like not having access to his items and he believed that his seventh opponent would not be a pushover.
As the slot reel retracted into the ceiling, the gate opened and a humanoid being with blue skin, yellow eyes, with a star over its head. It also wore a red cloak and held a lantern in its right hand and a knife in its left hand. Luigi immediately went on guard since this opponent, called Master Tonberry according to the screen above the arena, did not look all that formidable, which told the plumber that it was likely the most difficult opponent he had yet to face in the arena.
Master Tonberry decided to initiate the battle by beginning to cast Everyone's Grudge on Luigi. While Luigi did not know this, the spell would inflict damage equal to the number of enemies Luigi had killed multiplied by ten. Still, suspecting that the attack would be debilitating, if not fatal if he did not interrupt it, decided to rush towards the enemy and smash it with his hammer. Swinging his hammer, he managed to smash it into the Master Tonberry's head, stopping it spell and causing the creature to stagger forward a few steps. The attack was far from enough to finish off the Master Tonberry, though, and Luigi went to smash his hammer into its head once more, hoping to inflict more damage. Before his hammer could make contact, though, the creature vanished from sight and reappeared behind the plumber. Sensing that something was wrong, Luigi immediately dashed to his side, barely avoiding a thrust that would have skewered him in the back, and likely would have pierced his heart. When he stopped to turn and face the Master Tonberry, the creature turned to face him once more. Once more, he began to cast Everyone's Grudge.
Knowing that he did not want to engage the Master Tonberry in close combat for fear of it teleporting behind him, he decided to engage it from range. Powering a Thunderhand lightning bolt, he fired it at the Master Tonberry, managing to score a direct hit. Electricity arced across the creature's body and it seemed to seize up as it could not move. Wasting no time, Luigi attacked once more with another Thunderhand lightning bolt. Again, electricity arced across the Master Tonberry's body. Knowing that the creature would not stay paralyzed forever, Luigi grabbed his hammer and waited for the Master Tonberry to make his move.
Just as he expected, the Master Tonberry vanished from sight with a loud clap as air filled the space that he had previously inhabited. Knowing that the creature was going to attack from behind, though, the plumber turned around and swung his hammer in a massive downward smash. Just as the creature reappeared to attack, Luigi's hammer struck it in the head, causing it to stagger forward a bit. Then, with an upward swing, Luigi caught it in the jaw and the force of the impact sent the Master Tonberry flying through the air. It flew several meters before crashing into the ground and skidding along it. Not wasting this opportunity, Luigi unleashed another Thunderhand lightning bolt on it, inflicting even more damage as electricity arced across its body. It was then that the Master Tonberry stopped moving, either paralyzed or dead. Luigi made its fate certain, rushing up to it and bringing his hammer down on its head before it could recover, assuming it had not already been defeated. The hammer smashed into its head and the head shattered into thousands of metallic shards as shrapnel and gears erupted from the point of impact, revealing the creature to be nothing more than a robotic duplicate. With the Master Tonberry defeated, Luigi then looked over to the gate across the room and waited for the slot reel to lower and for his final opponent to be revealed.
Just as before, the slot reel lowered to the floor and the reels began to spin. Pulling the lever when he saw a handicap he wanted, and was valuable in BP, he waited as it slowed and eventually came to a stop on the "All Materia is Broken" icon. He could only grin. Not only would he get ten thousand BP from winning this fight, he also would not get a handicap that would hinder him since he had no Materia on him. As the slot reel rose, he focused on the doors at the other end of the room. Soon, the doors opened and out came a single human. He was muscular and had fair skin, dark hair, and green eyes. Luigi thought he might have recognized the man as he approached the plumber.
"I must say, your performance has been historic," the man began, coming to a stop and focusing his gaze on the plumber as he gave a confident grin. "No one save for the legendary Cloud Strife has done what you have. While others have won the Battle Arena multiple times, you are making it look like I have to redo this entire arena. I'm Dia, by the way," the man said extending his hand. Luigi took it and they shook. "I own the Gold Saucer."
"But don't I have one more battle to go?" Luigi asked.
"So you do," Dia answered nonchalantly. He then grinned at the plumber and proclaimed, "And your final opponent in the Battle Arena is me!"
Luigi did not know what to think at first. Dia exuded a great deal of confidence and the plumber felt that it was justified. A part of him did not want to take Dia lightly but another part of him felt that if he used his star power, it would not be a fair fight. Deciding that he would fight Dia on even terms, he powered down his star power and placed his hammer on the ground. He would fight the owner of the Gold Saucer without any bonus enhancements save for his Fire Luigi power-up. A part of him wanted to power down from his Fire Luigi power, but he decided against it on the off chance that Dia had Materia and was willing to use it. Either way, he would concede the match if he lost his Fire power-up.
Dia then assumed a fighter's stance and proclaimed, "Okay then, let the battle begin!"
With that, the owner of the Gold Saucer charged Luigi and threw a punch at the plumber's face. Luigi knocked it to the side and attempted to do the same to Dia, only to have his own counterattack knocked aside as well. The two continued to exchange blows for quite a while, each one trying to get through the other's defense only to be rebuffed each and every time. Both Luigi and Dia threw countless punches and kicks at each other, only for them to either be dodged or batted aside. For a moment, Dia considered picking up Luigi's discarded hammer that was near the edge of the arena but he refrained. Luigi was tough but if he were to win, he would win this fight cleanly.
For his part, Luigi had also eyed the hammer in passing but, like Dia, had decided that he would win or lose fair and square. Besides, he had accomplished what he needed from the fights anyway. He had gained experience in using star power and, thus, he would not be making the same mistake against Sephiroth that the SOLDIER Koopas had made against him and Mario in what seemed like an eternity ago for the plumber, even if it had been less than a day. After a while of exchanging blows with few, if any, managing to land, Dia decided to change tactics.
The owner of the Gold Saucer lowered his shoulder and attempted to charge Luigi, figuring that since he was larger than the plumber that he should use his size advantage to his benefit considering that nothing else was working at the moment. Luigi, however, proved to be more difficult to grapple than expected and he sidestepped Dia's charge. The plumber counterattacked by attempting to push the charging fighter to the ground with an open palm strike to the back but Dia proved to be far more skilled than the other opponents faced in the Battle Arena as he turned to around and caught Luigi's arm. He then attempted to pull Luigi off balance but the plumber resisted and they looked to be locked in a stalemate. Dia then threw a punch at Luigi's head, only for Luigi to catch the fist and now both had hold of the other's arm. Try as they might, though, neither combatant budged an inch, though in Luigi's case, he was actively trying not to use any strength enhancements granted him by his Fire Luigi power-up. And Dia could tell that Luigi seemed to be holding back a bit, even if only unconsciously. More than that, though, Dia was beginning to fatigue, while Luigi seemed just as fresh as he was when he had entered the Gold Saucer.
Sensing that he had to do something quickly or Luigi just might outlast him, he raised his right hand, the one that had caught Luigi's arm, and let go of the plumber's hand. For the split second that Luigi's arm momentum carried his arm up, Dia lowered his hand and thrust his fist at the plumber's chest, managing to score a hit. Luigi felt the hit but it did not do any significant damage, merely forcing him back a step. The plumber did, however, let go of Dia's other hand and the two were free to engage with their full repertoire of martial arts moves.
Dia charged again, being careful to not overextend himself or overshoot on his charge. Luigi, however, stood firm and managed to back off and avoid the charge, thrusting his open palm out and managing to catch Dia in the side. The blow caused Dia to stagger backwards a few steps but did not inflict any significant damage to him. Still, Dia backed off a few steps, knowing that he was not going to win by going on offense. Seeing that Luigi was mostly fighting defensively, he wondered how the plumber would do if he had to go on offense.
The Gold Saucer's owner held out his hand and motioned for the plumber to charge at him. Luigi did not take the bait, though, and merely kept following Dia's movements so the Gold Saucer's owner was in front of him at all times. This continued for almost a minute as the fighters sized each other up. Even without his star power, though, Luigi knew that he could do this all day. The same could not be said for Dia, who would likely make a mistake before the end. And sure enough, he did.
Dia, seeing that goading Luigi into an attack was not working, decided to charge towards the plumber once more. This time, he went to throw a punch at Luigi's head, hoping for the plumber to catch it or bat it aside, allowing him to follow up with a quick whip kick to the plumber's sternum. Luigi, however, did not oblige, instead ducking down to avoid the punch. Lowering his shoulder, the plumber charged Dia, barreling into the Gold Saucer's owner. The shoulder charge send Dia staggering back several steps and had him terribly off balance, something Luigi was quick to take advantage of. Rising, he performed a side kick, which managed to catch Dia in the chest. The force of the kick was enough to lift Dia off his feet. He landed on the mat with a thud a few feet away, the Gold Saucer owner suppressing a grunt. Luigi charged into to press his advantage but Dia held up his hand, signaling his concession of the match. Luigi stopped and returned to the center of the ring but was still on guard.
"Impressive," Dia congratulated. "I think this is the first time I've lost a match since I was a kid. You are clearly the strongest fighter I've ever had the honor of fighting."
Luigi did not know what to say at first, merely answering, "Thank you, sir."
Dia then rose and approached the plumber, grinning. "I know you held back in that fight," he whispered conspiratorially.
Luigi gave no answer, causing Dia to laugh. "Don't worry. I knew even before we began that you would likely defeat me. I just wanted to test myself against someone as strong as you. It's been centuries since we've seen a power like yours." Luigi could only imagine what his reaction would be if he learned about Mario, or Sephiroth's return, or what fighting Bowser and the Koopalings would be like. "Anyway, you've won the Battle Arena. Since you've won all eight battles, you have earned twelve thousand five hundred and thirty five Battle Points. You can spend them at the two machines outside the arena for some really great prizes. But before you go, start spending your money on prizes outside, you have to come back to my museum so I can present you with a gift befitting your victory."
Luigi nodded and followed Dia as he made his way over to a door on the side. They went through the door and found themselves in a museum that had all sorts of treasures behind glass cases that Luigi was certain were wired to alarms and other security systems. Dia went over to a case that had a large black and gold belt that was reminiscent of the championship belts worn by wrestling champions in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries on Earth. He opened the case and then took the belt and went back over to Luigi, extending his arms and offering the belt to the plumber.
"Here," Dia said. "You've earned it for your exemplary performance in the Battle Arena."
Luigi accepted the belt and slung it over his shoulder. Before leaving, though, Dia went and handed Luigi a piece of yellow Materia that the plumber did not recognize. "Take this W-Summon Materia, too." Dia then inched closer and said, "I know that you arrived with friends that I've never seen here before. There have been reports of strange occurrences out there within the last few hours. Something's happening, isn't it?"
Luigi nodded, confirming the Gold Saucer owner's suspicions.
"I thought as much. You fought almost like the legendary SOLDIER or members of Avalanche from five hundred years ago. I can tell that you're one of the good guys, though. Otherwise, I would have used Materia in our fight. Whatever's going on out there, good luck in your quest."
"Thank you, sir," Luigi answered. He then paused before asking, "I'm just curious, do you have any additional Great Gospel tomes?"
"No," Dia answered, shaking his head. "My last one was won by Cado, the shogun of the Ninja Tournament in Wutai. He was pretty strong, too."
"Thank you," Luigi answered, managing to hide his disappointment, but his inquiry about the Great Gospel tome told Dia that things were likely far worse than things looked.
After accepting the gifts, Luigi departed the museum and went back into the lobby, wanting to spend his twelve thousand plus Battle Points. Once he reentered the lobby, he went over to one of the machines where he could spend his Battle Points. Checking the menu, he saw that most of the prizes were not all that great. Either they were not all that useful for him or the team, or were too expensive to be all that useful. While the Stardust item seemed useful since it could cast Cometeor once, he already had a number of Shooting Stars for the upcoming fight and the eight thousand BP price was too much since he figured that one additional Shooting Star-like item would not make all that much difference in the long run, especially when compared to being able to get three Speed Plus Materia. While he could not use Materia, Nanaki and Aerith could, and they would almost certainly love to have some additional Speed Plus Materia so they could keep up with Sephiroth. Spending twelve thousand Battle Points, he got the three Speed Plus Materia. With five hundred and thirty five BP left over, he checked the menu once more and found that a revival item called a Phoenix Down. Even better was the fact that it only cost 100 BP. Taking five of them, he used up all but thirty-five of his BP. Once he was finished, he exited the Battle Square and went to return to Ropeway Station to wait for the others.
He did not have to wait long for the others to arrive. The others jumped out of the holes and landed in front of him, with almost all of them having smiles on their faces.
"Man, you should have gone on that roller coaster in Speed Square," Koops exclaimed to the others. "It was tons of fun!"
"I would have but we needed to get money from the Chocobo races," Kooper answer. "I did eventually check out Ghost Square but the items were not all that interesting."
"You guys should have checked out Wonder Square more," Lakilester added. It had tons of fun minigames. Plus, I managed to get enough GP to buy five X-Potions. These babies will restore you to full health in one go."
Flurrie, who had gone on the gondola ride with some of the others, then turned to Luigi and asked, "So Luigi, how did things go in the Battle Square?"
"I managed to win all the battles and even fought the owner of the Gold Saucer," Luigi answered, showing them his Championship Belt. "I also got used to using star power in battles. It was far easier than I had expected. As for other prizes, I also got some Speed Plus Materia, a W-Summon Materia, and five Phoenix Downs."
"Those will be useful against Sephiroth and whatever else he uses against us," Nanaki stated. Luigi nodded in agreement.
"So, any word on any Great Gospel tomes?" Bombette asked.
"Yes," Luigi answered. "Unfortunately, Dia's last tome was won by Cado in Wutai. It looks like Mario's going to have to be the one to get it."
"He will," Yoshi Kid said enthusiastically. "No one there can beat Gonzales, especially considering how he stood up to Sephiroth."
Luigi had to admit that the young Yoshi had a point. Sephiroth was seen as being nightmarishly strong and he and Mario had managed to beat him and force him to flee.
"We should probably get going," Luigi suggested. "We have to pick up Mario all the way in Wutai and if he has found the Great Gospel tome, the sooner we can get back to Midgar or anywhere else there is easy access to the Lifestream, the sooner we can stop Sephiroth."
The other had no objections and proceeded to make their way over to the Dribble Taxi, which was situated on the main landing pad. As they approached the taxi turned on and revved its engine. Once the party had boarded the taxi, the taxi took off into the sky and made its way over towards Wutai to pick up Mario and his party.
Meanwhile over in Junon, Bowser watched on the screen as the cranes carefully loaded the huge ball of Mako onto the submarine. The process was not too difficult. It was delicate, but not difficult. His children continued to operate the cranes while Roy and Morton kept watch over Kamek, who was still sleeping both from the spell and the injection of Jenova cells and Mako from Bowser. Just as Bowser had expected, though, he seemed to have no negative reaction to the enhancements and all the Koopalings watching over him had to do was wait until he awakened.
Back at the cranes, the others continued to carefully load the ball of Mako into the cargo hold of the submarine. Onboard the sub, Ludwig and Bowser Jr. were on the sub's outboard deck as the cranes carefully loaded the ball into the hold. The two Koopalings helped guide the ball into the cargo hold and once it was far enough in that the cranes could no longer move it, they disengaged and both Bowser Jr. and Ludwig used their wands to create a containment field around the ball and guide it the remainder of the way into the cargo hold. Once the ball was in, the cargo hold doors closed. The two checked on the ball to make sure that it was maintaining its cohesion. When they saw that there were no changes to the ball, the two made their report.
"The ball's in and it looks to be maintaining its cohesion," Ludwig reported.
"Great!" Bowser exclaimed. He then turned to the Koopalings that were operating the cranes and told them, "You all go down to the sub and get it ready for launch."
"Roger," the Koopalings answered. They then abandoned the cranes and made their way through the exit doors and headed on down to the submarine.
Bowser then looked over at Roy and Morton and told them, "You two are with me. We've gotta keep an eye on Kamek to make sure that he doesn't develop a late stage negative reaction to the treatment."
"Right," the two Koopalings answered in unison. They then went and picked up Kamek and departed the Mako reactor. Bowser, however, remained behind for a few moments, considering what to do about the reactor. A part of him wanted to keep it on so as to draw attention to it since he would be long gone from the reactor and it would hopefully detour Mario and his friends from going straight after Sephiroth. On the other hand, an active reactor could also give the group quick access to the Lifestream and if worst came to worst and they found a way to destroy Sephiroth and exterminate the Jenova cells inside the Lifestream, that would doom his, or rather, Sephiroth's, plans. As such, he decided to deactivate the reactor before departing. Throwing several switches and pulling all the necessary levers, he deactivated the Mako reactor and did his best to cover the presence of himself and his children. When he was reasonably sure that no one would know that anyone had been down there, he departed the reactor core and made his way over the sub.
When he reached the sub, he could already hear the engines of the submarine revving. He saw Ludwig and Bowser Jr. on the other end of the boarding hatch waving over to him and took that as his cue that it was time to board the sub.
Once he boarded the submarine, he followed his children to the bridge of the submarine where several of his other children had taken their seats, particularly at the helm, navigation, and weapons stations. Once Bowser was on the bridge, Ludwig and Bowser Jr. departed to head down to the engine room to make certain the engines were working properly during their trip.
Once Bowser had taken his seat in the captain's chair, with Kamek being propped up in the Executive Officer's chair, the Koopa King bellowed, "Okay everyone, take us out."
"Roger," the Koopalings answered as they went about directing the submarine towards the exit. As they did so, though, they noticed that the doors were closed, something that the Koopa King was quick to notice.
"Hey, get those doors open," Bowser commanded.
Larry input a series of commands into the computer console at his station but the doors still remained closed. "I can't," he answered. "There's no power to the doors."
Bowser gritted his teeth. He was beginning to regret deactivating the Mako reactor. Still, if the doors could not be opened the normal way, they could be opened with a couple torpedoes. Looking over at Wendy, who was manning the weapons console, he bellowed in inquiry, "Wendy, we have a full supply of torpedoes, do we not?"
Checking her instruments for a second, she later answered, "We do."
"Then arm some torpedoes and destroy those doors."
"Roger," she answered.
The Koopa King then waited for a few seconds as Wendy input several commands to her console. After a few seconds, Bowser looked out the window and saw two torpedoes streaking away from the sub.
"Torpedoes away!" Wendy exclaimed.
Bowser then watched as the torpedoes streaked towards the door that led to the outside ocean. After a couple more seconds, the torpedoes struck the doors and detonated. The detonations blew out the doors and Bowser could tell from the bubbles that the doors had been breached. And if the bubbles had not been enough at the time, the large hole in the doors provided all the proof he needed and he grinned.
"Take us out," he directed.
Upon that order, the submarine moved ahead, easily maneuvering its way through the hole created by the torpedoes. Once the submarine had cleared the hole, it was free to maneuver, as well as travel at full speed.
On the bridge, the Koopalings turned to Bowser and Lemmy asked, "Course heading King Dad?"
"Take us to North Crater," Bowser answered, an answer that took the Koopalings by surprise.
"North Crater?" Larry asked. "Why there?"
"Because that's where the Starship Mario is located."
"But the Starship Mario has been destroyed," Iggy interjected.
"And that's why Kamek and the Grand Star we got will be so useful," Bowser answered evenly. "With the star and Kamek's powers, we'll be able to repair the ship as well as use the star's power to open a portal back to Hylia where we can install our new Lifestream and grant us even more power."
The others did not know what to think for a moment but after that moment, the plan began to register with them and they saw that it actually had a fair chance of success. And if they got a hold of the Starship Mario, they would be able to use it to slip by any early warning systems that the Mushroom Kingdom or even Hyrule had on Hylia and, thus, return unannounced until it was too late for them to do anything about it. And even better, it would possibly, even likely, strand the Mario Brothers and their allies on Gaia for quite some time.
"Okay then, North Crater it is," Lemmy stated as he input the coordinates and directed the submarine to head to the crater. Once the course was laid in, the submarine made its way north towards the Northern Continent, and towards North Crater, or as close as they would be able to go."
Meanwhile, inside the Lifestream, Sephiroth had not been idle. He had been pleased with the progress that Bowser had been making, and was even more pleased at the fact that he had finally given the Jenova and Mako treatment to Kamek. Still, there were issues that he had to prepare for. Through his newfound power to know the thoughts of all the living things connected to the Lifestream, he had learned that Mario and Aerith's party had managed to get a hold of a Great Gospel tome. He did not know if it would be able to kill him and destroy the Jenova infection inside the Lifestream but he could not afford to take that chance. Bowser's plan was now more important than ever. The modicum of power he had had to sacrifice in order to put a piece of his will inside the Mako that Bowser had drawn into the Junon reactor had already been replenished and was of no concern to him. The problem would be if they stumbled across Emerald Weapon or Mario and Luigi had managed to find out what he was doing.
Speaking of Mario and Luigi, he noticed that the taxi holding Luigi was making its way back to Wutai. It was traveling fast and he could tell that it would not be too long before it reached Wutai to pick up Mario. Then, at best, it would be short trip to Cosmo Canyon to arm everybody for the upcoming fight, and at worst, they would already have all the necessary weapons and Materia for the fight and would simply make a beeline for North Crater, or any entry point into the Lifestream. He needed a distraction. Fortunately, he had one readily available to him.
"Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo, get the Bahamut Fury Materia piece at once," he commanded telepathically. "Use it to summon Bahamut Fury and send it against Mario and his allies. They'll be riding in a flying car so target that and destroy or at the very least disable it so it can't reach Bowser.
The Remnants of Sephiroth gave no verbal answer to their master but they each nodded, knowing what they had to do. And with the knowledge of the world that their master had obtained upon joining with the Lifestream, they knew exactly where they needed to go.