Chapter 6: Night At The Gold Saucer
It had been 40 whole minutes since Drogo, Tifa, Cloud and Max had arrived in Coral. Max had been working on the bike and Drogo was working on the new car he had won in the street race.
"Sunny can you pass me a ¾ spanner," Drogo asked Sunny, he was currently underneath car making some modifications to the hydraulics and the suspension. Sunny was watching him.
"Ok," Sunny answered as she reached into the tool kit to find a 3/4 spanner. After a couple of minutes searching she found one and handed it over to Drogo, "here you go."
Drogo took the spanner and smiled at Sunny, "thanks," he said gratefully as he continued to make his modifications, "now to see if the car is running smoother."
Drogo put the key in the ignition switch and inserted a number code into the computer.
"78669," Drogo said to himself , the car roared to life as Drogo pushed the start button. The computer lit up as a performance chart wass displayed. "Seems like Tifa's new car will work even better," Drogo stated, he looked at the car, he was satisfied with it for now.
"The car seems to be doing ok," Sunny agreed as she hugged Drogo, "I'm so glad you're back." Sunny kissed Drogo on the cheek.
"Thanks Sunny," Drogo said as he blushed slightly at this.
On the other side of the garage Max was working on the bike.
"Hmmm…" Max thought to himself, "this should work." Max turned the bike on as it too roared to life. After checking a computer hooked up to the bike, Max turned the bike off and he unhooked the computer. "Ok," he told Drogo and Sunny, "I'm gonna go back to the house, you guys take all the time in the world." He grinned slyly and gave them a wink as he said this. Max left the garage leaving Drogo and Sunny alone, Drogo grinned at Sunny.
"Now, where were we?"
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Sunny asked quickly knowing what Drogo had in mind.
Drogo gave Sunny a disappointed look. "Awwww…" He moaned.
Sunny laughed when she saw his face, "don't worry," she said reassuringly, "it'll just be the two of us."
"Well I was thinking of kissing each other in the car until the cows come home," Drogo told Sunny his plan, "but your idea is just as good."
Sunny took Drogo by the hand and she dragged him out of the garage, "come on, I know a great place we can go."
"Ok we'll go with your plan."
"Barret mentioned this place to me," Sunny explained to Drogo, "it sounds really cool and fun."
"Ok lets go."
Sunny and Drogo walked out of town to what looked like a cable car.
Drogo stared at the cable car, "this is it?" He asked trying to hide his disappointment.
Sunny shook her head, "no," she answered, "we have to get into the cable car, it'll take us to the other side. At least that's what Barret told me."
Drogo and Sunny entered the cable car and it took them over the desert. Sunny and Drogo looked out of the window and were amazed at what they saw. It was the Gold Saucer theme park that was in the shape of a giant artificial tree, with bright neon lights, loud music and filled with the laughter of people having fun. Ten minutes later the cable car arrived at the station and Drogo and Sunny stepped out of the cable car and walked over to the entrance.
"Welcome to the Gold Saucer!" An attendant greeted them cheerfully and he saw Drogo and Sunny together holding hands, "and what a cute couple. You just won an all day free entry into the park."
Sunny stared at the attendant, "you mean, we get in free?" She asked unable to believe her luck.
The attendant nodded, "yep, go right in."
"Thanks,"replied gratefully as she dragged Drogo towards the entrance, "lets go Drogo."
After two minutes of walking Drogo and Sunny entered a circular room with many tunnels leading from it. There was a map on the wall and Sunny and Drogo took a look at it.
"Lets see, where do you want to go first?" Sunny asked Drogo.
Drogo read all the attractions on the map, "Haunted Mansion Hotel, Gold Saucer Battle Arena, Theme Park Rides, Chocobo racing, more Arcades, Gondola Ride, Theatre, The Heart Stopper?"
"Oooohhhh…Chocobos!" Sunny squealed in excitement, "that sounds like fun, let's go!"
"Can't we go on the Heart Stopper first?" Drogo pleaded giving Sunny the puppy dog expression.
Sunny gavr Drogo a confused look, "what's the Heart Stopper?"
Drogo shrugged in response,"looks like a ride of some kind."
"Sounds like fun," Sunny said anyway, she was willing to try anything once.
They both walked away from the map and slid down the tunnel leading to the Heart Stopper. Drogo failed to mention that the Heart Stopper was a ten star roller-coaster.
Drogo grinned to himself, "I love being vague sometimes," he whispered quietly so that Sunny couldn't hear him.
When the couple got to the ride, they were seated in and the restraints fell over their heads.
Sunny looked at Drogo, "Drogo are you sure this ride is safe?" She asked him, unsure of what to think.
"Well they have to make all the safety precautions," Drogo answered reassuringly, "otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to run it."
Sunny sighed and sat back in her seat, "I guess you're right."
The car began its slow ascent up the track, passing through a long dark tunnel.
Sunny had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, "I have a bad feeling about this."
The car zoomed out of the tunnel and Sunny managed to get a good look at the ride.
Sunny screwed her eyes shut, "oh shhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed as the car sped down the narrow track and made a quick left bank into a duel loop de loop. "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Wooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" Drogo yelled enthusiastically as he waved his arms in the air. "Come on Sunny open your eyes!"
Sunny shook her head, "I'd rather not!" She shouted.
"Come on!" Drogo insisted, "you're missing out on a lot of fun!"
Sunny sighed and she slowly opened her eyes, the ride made a right bank and the track left the saucer the ride was in and it approached the roof of the Chocobo race track. Sunny and Drogo could see a ¾ loop that went through a hole in the roof.
Sunny's grew wide with shock, "is that a vertical drop?"
"Looks like it!"
"Oh…nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sunny yelled at the top of her lungs, the car went down the vertical drop and into the Chocobo saucer, the car reached the bottom of the drop and met with a five barrelled loop de loop round the Chocobo track. The car left the final loop and looked like it was going to be submerged within the lake on the race track.
"It's going underwater!" Sunny had regained her ability to speak after the shock of the vertical drop.
The car brushed the surface of the water but didn't submerge, the car left the water and went up a ramp both Drogo and Sunny saw two tyres and a vertical hill.
"How are we gonna…?" Drogo started to ask and he felt a bump underneath him as the car hit the tyres and shot forwards up the vertical track. When they reached the top it half looped and spiralled down the track the track went off the Chocobo saucer roof and did several twists and turns, and loop de loops before reaching a station.
Two things attached to the side of the car, it took Drogo a second to figure out what they were before they activated and their purpose become clear. The devices reveal themselves to be jets as the car went along a vertical track with left and right banks, 3 loop de loops to a vertical drop, the track twisted round as the car turned upside down by the track travelling the underbelly of the theme park saucer and it finally approached the end of the ride. Drogo and Sunny stepped off the ride and made their way back to the main entrance again.
"Phew," Sunny heaved a huge sigh of relief to be back on solid ground again, "that sure was scary."
"That…was…AWESOME!" Drogo yelled.
"I guess it was kind of fun…" Sunny admitted, "after I got over the shock of all those twists and turns and loop de loops."
Drogo grinned at Sunny, "do you want to go again?" He asked eagerly.
"No!" Sunny snapped quickly.
Drogo laughed, "come on it was fun the first time."
"I've tried it once," Sunny replied, "I don't want to go on it again."
"But the adrenaline rush," Drogo started, "the fear, the excitement, that was a ten star ride!"
"I know," Sunny agreed, "but I'm not really a roller-coaster person."
Drogo gave Sunny a sceptical look, "that's not what you were saying that time we went to the Terra Firma carnival," he told her grinning slyly. "You dragged me on to every roller-coaster in the carnival."
"Alright, I did like it!" Sunny shouted, "it's just that I'm trying to get my centre of balance back."
"Ok, ok," Drogo said not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice. "You pick the next thing to do."
Sunny thought for a while, "hmmm…"
"I have a guide of the park here," Drogo said to Sunny, he took a leaflet out of his pocket and gave to her. "It'll tell us everything there is to do." Drogo grinned at Sunny"Oh, and I also got a souvenir." Drogo held up a picture of them on the Heart Stopper saying the words, We Survived the Heart Stopper.
Sunny looked at the picture. "I didn't really pull that face, did I?" She asked sceptically.
Drogo nodded trying hard to contain his laughter. "The camera must've been on the vertical drop."
Sunny scowled at Drogo, "they always put the camera in the worst places," she complained.
"You've never been one for vertical drops, have you?"
Sunny shook her head, "not really," she answered, "now lets look at the guide and see what else there is."
Drogo gave Sunny the guide and she looked at it. "Hmmm…" Sunny whispered quietly, "let's see, there's the Haunted Mansion Hotel, Battle Arena, Chocobos…" Her eyes lit up when she saw the word chocobos. "Ooooohhhhh! Chocobos, that sounds like fun, lets go see the Chocobos!"
Drogo gave Sunny a confused look, "what are Chocobos?"
"Well," Sunny explained as best she could what chocobos were. "Cloud told me that Chocobos are some kind of bird you can ride. They're supposed to be really cute and friendly."
"How fast do they go?" Drogo asked.
"Cloud said it depends on the type of Chocobo."
Drogo nodded, "ok, lets go."
Drogo and Sunny slid down the tunnel that led to the Chocobo racing track, they walked up the steps and entered the arena.
Drogo stared at the two cards Sunny held in her hand. "What's that you're holding?" Drogo questioned curiously.
"Oh," Sunny answered as she held up the cards, "these are Id cards."
"Id cards for what?"
Sunny tapped her nose slyly, "you'll see."
Sunny and Drogo walked over to the attendant sitting at a desk.
"Yes miss, how may I help you?"
"Hi, we'd like to see the Chocobos please," Sunny politely requested.
"One moment please." The attendant blew her bubble gum as she typed something on to the computer, after a few seconds of typing she faced Sunny again and the bubble popped." Go through the door and you want door number 3," the attenant answered helpfully as she pointed to a door at the back of the stadium.
"Thanks, lets go, Drogo."
Drogo followed Sunny as they walked through the door, they walked through door 3 and found that it was a stable.
"Awwww…they're so cute!" Sunny exclaimed hardly able to contain her excitement.
A gold coloured Chocobo walked over to the fence, the fence was labelled Lucky. "Kiweee…" Lucky called, as it stared curiously at the newcomers.
Sunny reached out and stroked Lucky on the head, it closed its eyes slightly. It appeared to enjoy the attention it was getting. "This must be Cloud's Chocobo," Sunny stated.
Drogo gave Sunny a confused look. "Cloud has a Chocobo?"
Sunny nodded, "yeah, he said that he couldn't take care of it any more so he gave it to the Gold Saucer," she explained everything that Cloud had told her. "He gave me these id cards."
Drogo turned his attention to a screen above his head. It was telling everyone the names of the chocobos that were participating in the race and the names of their jockeys. Lucky's name was on the list but there was no name next to the chocobo's name. "Hey!" Drogo called to Sunny, "the screen says you can race the Chocobo."
Sunny smiled at Drogo, "do you want to race it?"
Drogo smiled back, "sure," he replied, "it's not like these chickens can run fast."
Sunny gave Drogo a warning look, "I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you."
The Chocobos lined up on the track, Drogo looked at the other competitors and saw Sunny on the side lines. Two commentators were riding in a hot air balloon floating above the track.
"Good luck Drogo!" Sunny yelled giving him a thumbs up sign.
The sound of a gun shot was heard as a signal for the racers to go.
Drogo grinned at the chocobos, "their not so fa...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!" Drogo yelled in shock as Lucky zoomed out of the gate and Drogo shot off the saddle. He would have landed on the floor if it wasn't for his foot getting caught in the stirrups.
Sunny placed her hands over her mouth. "Drogo!" She yelled.
"Well that's a funny way to ride!" Commentator one shouted down the microphone so that everyone could hear him.
Commentator 2 nodded in agreement, "hmmm, yes, I believe they call that pavement kissing!" He yelled jokingly.
Both the commentators laughed, and Sunny glared at them and she reached for her bow, when she realised that she had left it at Barret's house.
"Crap," Sunny cursed to herself, "I knew I'd forgotten something."
"The jockey seems to be a new comer to Chocobos!" Commentator one commented, "but Lucky is still going strong being a five time champion!"
Drogo's spines flared out to avoid hitting the pavement as he tried to grab hold of the stirrups. He grabbed hold of the stirrups and pulled himself up to find that the Chocobo had no head.
"Huh?" Drogo turned his head round to find that he was riding backwards
"I've heard of show boating but I've never seen anyone go to that extreme!" Commentator two laughed loudly into the microphone.
"Maybe he wanted to wave to the competition!" Commentator one joked.
"STOP SLAGGING OFF MY HUSBAND!" Sunny yelled at the commentators.
Commentator two looked down at the crowd and he saw Sunny jumping up and down. "Looks like the new jockey has an obsessed fan girl!"
"Hey!"
Drogo flipped on his saddle and he began to ride properly.
"Huh?" Drogo cried out as he spotted a jump and he shot off his saddle because he couldn't get his feet into the stirrups, and he landed standing on the saddle.
"I've heard of freestyle but that is a new way to ride!" Commentator one was intrigued by what he saw as a unique way of riding a chocobo.
"Yes, I've heard of this, they call it Choco-surfing!" Commentator two continued to make jokes at Drogo's expense.
"Come on Drogo!" Sunny yelled encouragingly.
Drogo attempted to get back on to the saddle by dropping down, but he missed the stirrups and he landed spread eagled on the saddle.
Commentator two flinched when he saw that, "I don't care where your from, landing spread eagled on the saddle of a Chocobo had to hurt!" He declared loudly.
"I feel sympathy for his unborn children!" Commentator one added, he also flinched when he saw Drogo land on the saddle.
"Hey!" Sunny shouted again.
"Owwww…!" Drogo yelled in a high pitched voice. Drogo found the stirrups of the saddle and he coughed his voice back to normal. Lucky jumped as the saddle shot upwards and hit Drogo in between the legs.
"Owwww…" Drogo cried out again in an even higher pitched voice, "pain!"
Lucky passed the line and the Chocobos were returned to their pens. Drogo was given 100GP for winning.
Sunny ran up to Drogo and hugged him. "Drogo, are you ok?" She asked her face was filled with concern.
"Yeah…" Drogo replied in a high pitched voice, but he soon coughed it back into place. "I'm fine, just…in pain in a few places." Drogo winced in pain as he said this.
"Maybe we should find somewhere for you to rest for a while," Sunny suggested not taking her eyes off Drogo.
Drogo and Sunny walked out of the Chocobo area.
"Where to next?" Drogo asked Sunny.
"Let's see," Sunny said as she took the guide out of her pocket and began to look at it. "Why don't we go to the arcade." She suggested.
"Which one?" Drogo asked.
"You choose," came the reply.
"How about the side show booths?"
"Ok."
Drogo and Sunny made their way to the side show booth arcades. By the time they had reached their destination Drogo's walking pattern had returned to normal. They saw a hammer and bell stand and a muscular guy had a go and got a score of 800.
"Oh! Sorry sir," the announcer said apologetically, but he wasn't really sorry at all. "Nice try but you need 1000 points to win a prize."
Drogo walked up to the announcer, "can I have a try?" He asked.
The announcer smiled at him, "sure," he said encouragingly, "step right up, 10 gil!"
Drogo paid and he lifted the hammer. "It's weighted on one side," he said to himself, "if I use the right stance and swinging speed…"
Drogo twisted the hammer round so that the heavy end would hit the pad. He held the hammer behind him, he swung round and side flipped as he landed the hammer hit the pad, the score total showed up as 1750. It took the announcer a second to figure what just happened.
"WINNER!" He yelled as the word winner flashed on the screen behind him. "Here is your prize!" The announcer passed a giant stuffed teddy bear to Drogo.
"Here Sunny." Drogo gave the teddy to Sunny.
Sunny took the teddy, "thanks Drogo," she replied gratefully as she kissed him on the cheek.
After a log chopping contest with a sword, a knock the cans down with 3 balls, beating a strong man in a tug-o-war, winning a basket ball challenge and dart game the couple left the side shows.
"Thanks again for winning all these for me Drogo."
Drogo smiled at Sunny, "are you sure you don't want me to carry one?" Drogo asked pointing towards the bags full of stuffed toys that Sunny was carrying.
Sunny shook her head, "no, it's fine."
"I'm glad the attendant gave you two bags to carry them all."
"Yeah," Sunny said in agreement, "I think they were shocked that you kept winning."
Drogo grinned at Sunny, "side shows always have a twist," he explained.
"I remember whenever a carnival came into town," Sunny reminisced, "Spike always used to win at everything."
Drogo shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, he knew that whenever Spike was mentioned Sunny would get upset. So he quickly changed the subject. "Hey, do you want to go to the other arcades?"
Sunny nodded, "ok."
After half an hour of arcade games, the couple made their way to the gondola ride. Drogo and Sunny stepped into the gondola and sat down next to each other.
"This place sure is beautiful," Sunny commented as she looked out of the window.
Drogo nodded, "yeah."
The gondola started moving.
"So…are you glad we came here after all?" Sunny asked grinning at Drogo.
"Yeah," Drogo agreed, "other than being hit in the same place twice, I had a great time."
The gondola reached the top of the Gold Saucer.
Sunny laughed at Drogo's response, "yeah, hey!" She looked out of the window again to see the park below. "You can see the whole park from up here!"
Drogo also looked out of the window and was amazed by what he saw, "yeah." Was all he could say
"And the fireworks…" Sunny added as they heard loud bangs and the sky was filled with colour, "they're so pretty."
Drogo nodded, "yeah they are."
Sunny turned to face Drogo, "I'm glad you're safe," she said out of the blue.
Drogo stared at her, "what's brought all this on?"
Sunny sighed, "it's just that now we're here alone," Sunny answered, "where it's quiet, I just thought about what would have happened if…"
Drogo took hold of Sunny's hand in both of his and he turned his body round to face her. "Sunny, I'd search to the ends of world for you."
Sunny smiled, "I'd do the same for you."
Drogo kissed Sunny to reassure her, Sunny pushed Drogo back on to the seat. As time seemed to slip by, Sunny and Drogo kissed each other passionately, to them seconds seemed like hours. The car pulled to a stop and the attendant opened the door to find them on the seat of the gondola.
"Ahem!" The attendant coughed loudly to get their attention.
Sunny and Drogo quickly broke apart.
"Sorry to interrupt," the attendant said apologetically, "but the ride has finished."
Drogo straightened his jacket and Sunny tried to get her hair into a suitable manner. Drogo and Sunny left the Gold Saucer and took the cable car back to Coral. Within ten minutes they arrived in Coral town and walked into Barret's house and found Max lay on the sofa watching TV.
"Hi Max, you still up?" Drogo asked staring at his friend lying spread out on the couch.
Max looked over at Drogo and Sunny and gave them a weary smile. "I couldn't sleep," He told them trying hard not to yawn. "So I thought I'd watch TV for a while."
"Are Cloud, Tifa and Barret in bed?" Sunny asked Max.
Max nodded, "yeah," he grinned slyly at them, "you two look like you had fun." He commented.
"Yeah we did," Sunny replied, "we went to the Gold Saucer theme park."
"Yeah…Sunny, you have a bit of hair sticking out," Max informed her trying not to laugh.
"I…oh…"Sunny removed her headband and she attempted to straighten her hair out before putting her headband back in.
"Sunny and I are gonna go to bed now," Drogo informed Max, "don't stay up too late."
"Ok."
Drogo and Sunny walked upstairs, they entered their room and locked the door. Sunny put her prizes down and they both sat on the bed.
"I really enjoyed myself tonight," Sunny said with a smile.
Drogo grinned at Sunny, "yeah, now remind me," he asked her slyly, "where were we."
Sunny pushed Drogo back onto the bed and she kissed him as music from the Gold Saucer could be heard in the night. Downstairs Max heard a thud.
"Uhhhh…" Max shook his head slowly as he tried to get the sound out of his head. He turned the volume up on the TV so that he could hear the canned laughter of a late night comedy show over the noises coming from Drogo and Sunny's room.
Max sighed sadly, "where are you Pandora?" He asked in his head, "I miss you, life seems empty to me, please be ok."
Chapter 6 is finally complete, I thought that I'd make this chapter more light-hearted. Sunny and Drogo had a bit of a romantic moment. Lol, don't worry, there'll be plenty more romantic scenes between the other characters. Chapter 7 will be on its way soon, please feel free to make any constructive comments.