Well, finally finished the next chapter! And not just one, but two fights this chapter! It just keeps getting longer from here...
Book I, Part I: Mortal Conflict - A Hero's Challenge
Chapter V: Proving Grounds
"Welcome back to the first annual SFA Grand Championship!" the announcer says, his voice carrying clearly over the sphere screens in the locker room. "Three rounds are complete, with three more to go! Our lineup of fighters has dwindled from sixty-four to a mere eight! These eight fighters will continue to show their mettle in the coming fights!"
Looking around, I can see the other seven fighters that have advanced to the fourth round along with me. Everyone is silent, and I can almost feel the anticipation in the room as I continue to examine the fighters. Everyone looks somewhat tired, but far from ready to give up. The tournament hasn't been easy on anyone, it seems, no matter how well prepared they believed they were.
'Guess there's nothing to do now but wait and watch. I should keep an eye on everyone now, see how they fight.'
"So, you're my next opponent?" a voice to my right says, causing me to turn. A young girl no older than 20 is standing there, her black hair pulled back into a bun. A black tank top and pants cover up her slender, yet powerful looking frame, and a pair of fighting gloves adorn her hands. I can also see what appear to be a pair of sais belted to her waist.
"Guess so," I reply, nodding slowly. "And you are?"
"Amy Mitsura."
"Benji Powell. Nice to meet you, Amy," I say, extending my hand, which the girl shakes.
"Looks like our round is next," she says, looking up at the screen, which is showing the current fight between a large, bare-handed fighter and a man in a long, black jacket of sorts. The latter seems to be quickly gaining an advantage, powerful swings and strikes from both his free hand and his sword putting the other man on the defensive.
"Yeah, looks that way. Hope it turns out to be a good one," I offer, causing Amy to nod.
"I would expect no less from someone who has advanced this far," she replies. Glancing back up at the screen, we can see the man in the black jacket holding the sword's tip to the other man's throat, who is lying on his back on the ground. The referee calls the match then, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.
"Guess that means we're up," I say, shrugging and beginning to walk towards the arena, Amy giving a short nod of acknowledgment before following.
"Moving on to our second match in round four! Introducing our first fighter, from Kilika, Amy Mitsura!"
Amy steps out into the arena first, looking around at the cheering crowd silently, before taking her position near the middle of the arena.
"And her challenger, from Besaid, Benji Powell!"
Swiftly, I step out into the arena, walking over to step in front of Amy at the middle of the arena.
"I have a request," she says suddenly, causing me to quirk an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"I wish for us to fight unarmed. Armed combat is a test of skill, but the ultimate test of strength and wit comes from unarmed fighting, where the only weapons are your mind and body," she continues.
"Unarmed, huh..." I mutter, pondering over the suggestion for a minute as the referee looks on. "Alright, fine. Unarmed it is." Reaching to my back, I remove both of my katanas, still in the sheathes, placing them on the ground. Amy does the same with her sais, and the two of us share a nod to each other, before stepping back to our respective sides of the arena.
(Play: The Divine Spirit of Language - Motoi Sakuraba, Star Ocean: Till The End of Time)
"Fighters ready! Begin!"
This time, I decide not to take the first move, instead waiting for Amy to attack. A quick chop from Amy's right hand is stopped by my right hand, my left snaking out in a quick palm thrust to the chest. Amy slaps it aside, a low kick slamming into my left knee and making me bend down some on my left side. Quickly, I lash out with my right leg, spinning and sweeping Amy off of her feet before she can chain the attack. Amy rolls backward with the sweep, springing back to her feet as we pause for a moment to choose our next avenues of attack.
Seizing the opportunity, I run at Amy, leaping into a spinning kick which she evades, a punch slamming into my stomach as I land and blowing the wind out of me. A knee slams into my face as I double over, throwing me back and off of my feet. Wincing from the powerful strike, I roll out of the way as an axe kick smashes the ground where I was a moment earlier, getting back to my feet just in time to begin trading a flurry of blows with the powerful fighter.
A straight punch is deflected by Amy, followed by two left jabs, a side kick, and a left uppercut that she jumps away from, her body taking on a red aura for a moment as she launches an attack.
"Dragon Tail!"
Lashing out with a powerful kick, Amy's foot connects with a hastily-made block, an explosion of fire causing me to stumble back as my arms are burned by the unexpected attack. Shaking my arms for a moment, I regain my focus and call up magical energy, hoping to gain a moment to recover.
"Blizzaga!"
The spell catches her in the right shoulder, spinning her and freezing over part of her shoulder and arm. Quickly, I blast a following Firaga spell at her, but she flips to the side, closing to point-blank range again with devastating speed. A palm strike connects with my sternum, pushing me back as a roundhouse kick slashes across my face immediately after, blood beginning to flow from my nose. Wiping it away quickly, I bring my left arm up to block a high kick aimed for my head, before hurling her back with a well-placed straight kick.
"Flare!"
My following spell tears up the ground heading for Amy, who leaps to the side once again, her hands glowing with white energy now.
"Tiger Strike!"
The first strike comes faster than I can get a block in place, slamming into the left part of my chest and causing me to step back, the place where I was hit now throbbing. I'm able to see the second attack coming, a quick left hook that I duck, lashing out with a fist in an uppercut that connects, snapping Amy's head back sharply. The two of us break off again with that, again sizing up each other for another encounter.
"Not bad," she comments, rubbing her jaw slightly. I simply nod, breathing heavily from the fast rounds of attacks.
"You're good...better than me, really," I reply, before straightening again. "I won't give up that easily, though! Shadow Blitz!"
A sphere of blackness engulfs us both as I go back on the offensive, aiming a powerful punch at Amy's face. The girl blocks the attack, however, as I continue to strike, a duo of quick punches deflected, before a side kick sneaks through, hitting her left side and putting her off-balance. A following snap kick connects with the side of her head, staggering her, before I sweep her legs once again, making her land on her back as the area brightens again.
"Even without weapons, I'm no pushover!" I yell, taking a moment to kneel and catch my breath. Amy grunts, getting back to her feet slowly, the wind apparently knocked out of her from landing on her back.
"I can tell," she says, growling slightly as she retakes her stance. As Amy focuses, a red aura grows around her body, slowly increasing in size for several seconds as her Overdrive activates.
"Dragon Flight!"
One moment, I'm standing several feet away from her, and the next moment I'm holding my face due to a staggering punch from Amy. A second punch slams into the right side of my face, a third into my chest, followed by two side kicks that I barely block and a spinning heel kick that sends me rolling across the ground. Even as I'm standing back up, the red aura from her Overdrive begins to fade away, and I think that I might have a chance to recover. Amy, however, has other plans.
Once again, Amy is in front of me before I can react, lashing out with a powerful kick that knocks me off my feet again. Hunching over slightly, Amy breathes heavily as I cough, struggling to regain my vision, as well as even breathe from the Overdrive. Apparently, the Overdrive tired her out quite a bit, despite all the damage it inflicted on me.
"Surrender...yet?" she asks, trying to catch her breath. Groaning, I stand back up, trying to formulate some kind of attack plan.
"I don't surrender..." I mutter, shaking my head and focusing once again. "Darkside Assault!"
Amy seems just as surprised as I did when I seem to reappear at point-blank range, before I smash a fist into her face. Following up with a series of jabs and hooks, I switch to kicks in order to force her farther back, a side kick, then roundhouse kick pushing her back and giving me room to use my finishing spell. Dark energy begins to glow in my hand as I move back, thrusting my hand forward as the Ultima roars forth, a massive explosion of dirt and dark energy completely blocking Amy from view. Gasping, I sink to my hands and knees as I look over, seeing Amy lying on her back, flat on the ground and moving only slightly. The referee begins to count, the count slowly rising to 10 and stopping, signaling the end of the fight.
(End: The Divine Spirit of Language - Motoi Sakuraba, Star Ocean: Till The End of Time)
Despite my exhaustion, I can't help but smile, mentally chuckling at how absurd it seems to even me.
'I've made it all the way to the semifinals...better than I thought I'd do, really. I thought I'd be out by third round or so.'
Slowly standing up, I manage to inch my way over to where my swords are lying, picking them up and reattaching the sheathes to my back. Taking one of the swords out, I hold it beside me, leaning on it almost like a makeshift walking stick as I begin to make my way out of the arena.
Several minutes later, I step out of the infirmary. I'm still not back at full strength, because of all the exertion from the previous round. No matter the magical item or spell, there's still very little you can do for fatigue. As I round the corner, I can see Darius standing in the hallway, speaking to a young girl. The girl is dressed in a figure-hugging purple shirt, leaving her tanned abs exposed, as well as a waist-robe covering the front and back of her legs, as well as her right side. Through the exposed left side, I can see what appears to be some sort of chain mail covering her legs, nearly all the way from her feet to her hips. Two katanas, one sheath above the other, are belted to her left hip, and her entire left arm down to the wrist is covered in a metal gauntlet. As she looks over at me, I can also see that her brown hair is spiked downward, reaching to roughly her shoulders.
"Well, look who's still in the fight," Darius says, glancing over at me with a smirk as I approach. "I'm almost impressed. Then again, you sure are stubborn."
"The more persistent they are, the better the fight will be," the girl says, looking over at Darius.
"True," he replies, nodding thoughtfully before turning to me. "Tell you what, Ben. If you manage to win the next round, I'll bring you something to help get your energy back. Of course, you have to actually beat her."
"So, I'm going up against her next round, then?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," she says, stepping forward to me. "I'm looking forward to a good fight. Please don't let me down, like all of these other pretenders have." With that said, the two of them leave without another word towards me, leaving me standing there in thought.
"Should've figured I'd be up against her next round..." I mutter, shaking my head. "This won't end well at all."
"We're here at Luca Stadium for the first of two semifinal matches! Please welcome, from the Moonflow, Andréa Beoulve!"
I can already see Andréa on the other side of the arena, looking quite excited and eager to begin the semifinal match.
"And her opponent, from the island of Besaid, Benji Powell!"
Quickly, I step into the arena, a broad grin on my face as I enter. I'm looking forward to this fight, after the look I saw on Andréa's face earlier. I can tell she wants a good fight, and I'll be more than happy to oblige.
(Play Final Fantasy 7 Philharmonic Suite Finale OC Remix)
Without hesitation, Andréa draws both her swords, a katana and wakizashi, and advances. Both of my swords are in my hands in an instant, just in time to meet a downward strike from both of her swords. Despite her small frame, she has tremendous strength behind the attack, and I break the clash of blades, stepping back and swinging out with a high cut that Andréa ducks under. A lunge from Andréa sends me spinning around the attack, her other blade striking out at my chest. Quickly, I parry the attack, going on the offensive with a blitz of strikes that forces her backward.
"Fated Circle!"
The energy disc flies at Andréa from close-range, the younger girl simply leaping over the attack effortlessly. Upon landing, Andréa brings both blades to her side, focusing energy into the swords.
"Shockwave!"
The force behind the subsequent swing of Andréa's blades sends a wave of white energy flying at me, causing me to trip myself and fall to the ground, the energy wave passing harmlessly overhead as I flip myself back to my feet. Andréa is upon me in moments, slashing away with skill that I'm hard-pressed to defend against, much less counter. A strike sneaks through my defenses, ripping open a cut along my right forearm, and a second cut catches my side before I back away.
"Holy!"
Stabbing a sword into the ground, I thrust a palm forward, the beam of holy energy rocketing towards Andréa at blinding speed. Andréa rolls out of the way of the attack, before sheathing her wakizashi. Holding her left hand up, a transparent circle of energy begins to form in front of her hand, and she traces an intricate pattern in the circle as it flashes with blue light.
"Symbology: Ice Needles!"
My eyes widen as the circle suddenly expands to at least 5 times its original size, and a hail of sharp, icy spikes begins to fly from the circle. I have barely enough time to get my arms in front of my face before the needles are upon me, stabbing and piercing every part of my body. When the attack ceases, I look down at myself, seeing droplets of blood flowing from a large amount of tiny puncture wounds. Andréa isn't finished, however.
"Symbology: Lightning Blast!"
Just as I look up, a veritable ray of lightning slams into me from another large circle of energy, causing me to scream as the electricity flows through my body. The electricity finally stops, leaving my body twitching slightly from the voltage as I bring my swords back in front of me.
"You won't put me down that easily!" I say, putting away one of my swords and beginning to advance to close range once again. "Rough Divide!"
My sword comes up a little faster than Andréa can move, the katana in front of her doing little to lessen the impact of the energy wave from my sword. Andréa looks more annoyed than hurt, however, as she begins to cast another spell.
"Flare!"
The beam of non-elemental magic races towards me, and I hold my hand in front of me, countering with a spell of my own.
"Flare!"
The two Flare beams struggle to overcome the other, before they simply explode between us, neither one able to break through the other. As the dust clears, I can see Andréa flying towards me, having leaped into the air while the smoke provided cover.
'Man, she's fast!'
Andréa's leaping strike is avoided as I step to the side, my sword coming up instantly to parry a subsequent swing and knock her sword away. A lunge is deflected by Andréa's sword, and an overhead swing ends much the same way, before Andréa plants a foot into my chest, throwing me off-balance.
"Crescent Locus!"
Andréa then seems to kick the air, as a wave of energy extends from her foot, slamming into me and lifting me into the air to crash into the ground a moment later. Rolling backward, I hold a hand over my chest, the area stinging fiercely from the energy attack. Throwing my hand forward, I fire off a rapid series of Fire spells, the attacks evaded skillfully by Andréa as she runs between all the spells. Just as she closes in, however, I launch a Firaga that catches her in the chest, throwing her back and onto the dirt.
"Impressive," she says, standing up and wiping dirt from her face with a small smile.
"I haven't been training all this time for nothing," I reply, smirking slightly.
"Hope you can last longer than everyone else I've fought," she says, another magical circle appearing in front of her hand. "Symbology: Deep Freeze!"
The circle expands like the others, and snow suddenly begins to fall in an area around the two of us. In a matter of moments, the temperature has dropped drastically, the entire area now covered in a blanket of frost and ice. Without warning, the ice suddenly explodes, sending a storm of icy projectiles slamming into me and causing most of the smaller cuts made by the Ice Needles attack to become larger gashes.
"Blasting Cannon!"
In the time it took the Deep Freeze attack to run its course, Andréa has already charged up another attack, a trio of energy pulses rushing towards me. Eyes widening, I throw my hands in front of me, casting a spell on instinct.
"Ultima!"
The Ultima attack meets the energy pulses with a deafening explosion, also causing me to shield my face from the smoke and dust thrown up by the attacks. As the smoke clears, I can see Andréa nearly right in front of me, already preparing to launch another attack. Channeling my energy, I prepare to counter her attack, and hopefully gain an advantage.
"Triple Kick!"
"Hyper Rush!"
Three waves of energy are sent at me in the span of a second, but I dodge the first two, cutting through the third with my sword before stabbing it into the ground and dashing to Andréa. A high kick connects with her arm, and I quickly reverse the momentum, spinning the opposite direction in a spin kick that blasts into her stomach. Pressing the attack, I begin to throw a mixture of jabs and kicks, ending with a spinning heel kick that sends her tumbling. I know the fight isn't over, however.
I'm proven right when Andréa gets back up a moment later, katana gripped tightly in her right hand as she spits out some blood from her mouth.
"Nice counter," she compliments, her katana held at her side. The two of us charge at nearly the same time, swords clashing with a ringing of metal on metal as we each struggle to overpower the other. Andréa gives up first, dropping her sword low and dodging, which causes me to fall forward and gives her an excellent opportunity to land a powerful strike along my side, blood beginning to flow from the new cut. Spinning out of pain and instinct, my sword cuts nothing but air as Andréa moves back, her sword once again moved to her side.
"This is where it ends," she says simply, blue light swirling around her in preparation for her next attack. "Air Slash of Fury!"
Cutting the air quickly with her sword, Andréa sends an invisible wave of air at me that strikes me before I can react, pushing me backwards and causing me to stumble. Andréa continues to slash, more and more waves of air flying at me and causing me to go fully defensive, a quickly erected Protect spell warding off parts of the attack.
"No...it doesn't end for me here! Not just yet!"
Quickly, I grab my other sword from its sheath, holding the two in front of me as the Protect cracks and then shatters, forcing me to defend against the waves of air. Stepping forward, I begin to dodge around the air waves, Andréa following my every movement with her attack. My swords begin to glow as I channel energy into them, holding them to the sky.
"Blasting Zone!"
A beam of energy suddenly blasts from my swords, and I waste no time in bringing it down towards Andréa, a large gash being carved out of the earth as Andréa moves, barely dodging the attack but still getting thrown to the ground by the shockwave. Seizing the chance, I cast Haste on myself, moving in front of Andréa and lashing out with a powerful kick as she stands up, catching her in the side of the head and sending her back to the ground, dazed. Both of my swords come down towards Andréa, ready to finish the fight, but Andréa manages to get her sword up to block. Quickly, I kick her left hand, wincing in pain as my foot meets metal, but smiling on the inside as she drops her sword. Both of my swords come down again, pointing at her face, and she hangs her head slightly.
(End Final Fantasy 7 Philharmonic Suite Finale OC Remix)
Sighing, Andréa watches as the referee begins to count, before looking up at me.
"An impressive fight. You've proven that you're the better fighter," she says, and I nod, a hand going to my left side and the large cut there.
"It wasn't easy, I'll say that...you had me going there at the start. Those Symbology attacks are brutal..." I reply, wincing some. The referee finishes counting, waving a hand to signal the end of the fight as Andréa stands up, reclaiming her sword and sheathing it.
"Oh well. It was a nice fight. At least you came out better than everyone else I fought," she says, extending a hand once again. Smiling, I take the hand, shaking it quickly.
"I'm not too sure I want to see how anyone who fought you ended up," I say, chuckling. Andréa just smiles at that, shaking her head, as the two of us begin to head out of the arena, two medical officials stepping over to see that we're okay.
'...I can't believe I'm in the finals...I wonder who'll win the other semifinal match...' I think to myself, stepping into the hall leading to the infirmary.
So, Ben has made it all the way to the final round! Who will be his opponent, and for that matter, can he win? You'll just have to wait till next chapter to find out! As always, please read and review!