It was night at Gold Saucer and Vincent Valentine was trying to sharpen his skills for the challenges he knew were coming. While the others slept, he would practice his shooting. Gold Saucer didn't have a real range, of course, so he had to settle for Speed Square and the "shooting coaster" it contained. But after a few rides through the attraction, Vincent was getting frustrated.

He hadn't expected a lifelike combat simulation, but this was just a roller coaster with a tacky fake laser cannon on the front. It was useless for training, and he decided the ride he'd just finished would be his last.

But as he was walking away from the booth, a figure in a familiar pink dress appeared out of the crowd. When Aeris saw him, she waved and walked faster, aiming her steps towards him. "Hi, Vincent!" she said.

"Hello," he replied.

"What are you doing?" Aeris asked.

"Attempting to train."

"Oh." Aeris paused. Perhaps she expected him to say something? When he didn't, she continued. "I'm just taking a walk to… well, to try and take my mind off something." She smiled. "Can I train with you?"

Vincent hesitated. Would she get anything from this ride? There was an arm wrestling game at the arcade in Wonder Square that might increase her strength, useful given that she fought with a staff - that would be a better use of her time. "I don't know that we can train together. Our combat styles are different, and if this roller coaster is only marginally helpful as target practice for me, it's entirely unsuited to you and your weapon."

Aeris seemed confused. "Wait, you're training on the shooting coaster?"

"I was attempting to. I'll likely stop and try to find something else."

"Alright," Aeris started. "I don't want to judge, because I know you're taking our struggle seriously, but if you're trying to train with an amusement park ride, maybe you should just rest instead?

Perhaps she had a point. Irritation at the toy laser cannon on the roller coaster did nothing to hone Vincent's body or mind.

Aeris continued. "Or you could just take a walk, if you, um, don't prefer to sleep at night. Or have some fun with me, out on the town. Take your mind off anything that's… frustrating you." She paused, glanced at the roller coaster, and smiled a wicked smile. "Hey… do you want to do something we shouldn't?"

Vincent wasn't sure how to take that, and he waited for Aeris to elaborate. She didn't, so eventually he said, "Explain."

Her smile got bigger. "Let's use real guns on the roller coaster."

"That's… very unsafe."

"I mean, it's a little dangerous, but there's not really anything to hit besides the targets. Only one coaster goes at a time, and besides that, it's mostly empty space."

"I only have one gun."

She sighed. "We'll take turns."

"We could hit each other."

"We'll each pick a direction and only shoot that way."

"Do you know how to use a firearm?"

Aeris glowered at him, just a bit. "I grew up in the slums, Vincent, give me some credit. I'm not the best shot, but I can load, aim, and fire." She made as if to push Vincent toward the ride. "Come on, let's go!"

Vincent finally acquiesced. "Alright, we can do it. But just once."

"Yes!" Aeris gave him a big smile. "I wasn't sure you'd actually go for it. Okay, follow me." She bounded over to the ticket booth and said warmly, "Two tickets, please!"


When the ride was over and Vincent's gun was safely back in its holster, under his cloak, he scanned the area for signs that their non-standard use of the ride had been noticed. The crowd, and more importantly the staff, appeared oblivious. He looked at Aeris, who seemed lost in thought, and after a moment she noticed him and smiled. "That was fun! I was just trying to figure out who got more targets."

"I was keeping count."

"Oh!" Aeris waited but Vincent remained quiet. "…Can you tell me what the score was?" she asked.

"Are you sure you would like to know?"

"Yep!"

"Twenty-six to four."

Aeris blushed. "That bad, huh?"

"To be clear, twenty-six was my score."

"I figured that!" Aeris said with a tone of indignation. "You didn't have to rub it in."

"I apologize."

They stood still for a moment, before Aeris asked a question. "Do you want to do it again?"

Vincent looked at her for a long moment. It was possible they would draw unwanted attention this time. This was not the best training, despite being better than the ride's default setup. And Aeris would likely want them to shoot from the same sides of the coaster as before, giving her a handicap since she had missed more targets than him.

But it was also fun. "Yes," he replied.