Just like days before, Cody and the gang resumed their cruise through the stars. Tensions unfortunately hadn't settled down much since their last time onboard. In fact, despite the lack of bickering, things had probably gotten worse. In the back, Cody and Mokona cheerily replayed the battle against Trickmaster again and again alongside rounds of boastful chatter. And in the front, Loudred, acting as the pilot once again, awkwardly tended to a perpetually sneering Alakazam.
"Two big bosses down," Cody laughed in a haughty manner as he playfully tossed around his Keyblade into the air in an almost rhythmic pattern. "Can't believe Yuffie was right. I really am going to turn into a hero."
Mokona, who'd been projecting his memories for the two to view, jumped happily up and down as they once again reached the moment Cody laid his final two strikes. "So cool!"
"Heck yeah, I'm the coolest!"
Loudred tried to stay in his default state of lackadaisical smiles and composure, but as he shifted his eyes towards Alakazam, even he couldn't help but feel nervous. His friend was trying his best to block out Cody's arrogance, but at the same time, he barely tried at all. It was like he wanted to relish in the teen's stupidity just to purposely fuel his anger. Loudred might as well have been sitting next to a leaking time bomb.
Mokona's slideshow suddenly jumped over to the last bit of their Mystery Treasure Dungeon adventure; the moment none of them had any clue what to make of. They were consumed into warmth and light, and the Keyblade performed an act none of them could quite make out. Cody's boasts subsided as he took time to seriously examine the scenes. What happened back there? None of the crew could provide an answer, and the mystery of it all made them all unwilling to try to attempt one themselves.
"Hey, we're about to land!" Loudred called out, almost relieved he was going to escape the suffocating negativity in the ship.
Cody and Mokona jumped. They were approaching a brand new world. Cody quickly erupted into a cocky smirk.
"Don't get too excited," Alakazam grumbled. "We are sticking to our search this time, got it?"
He wasn't actually facing Cody when he spoke out to him, his built up spite wouldn't take it, but even then, he could sense the eye rolling.
Boy was Loudred glad they could all finally get off that ship.
oOo
SMASH STADIUM
oOo
In the upper depths of the sky, a grand platform lay suspended in the clouds. And on it laid an even grander stadium.
Cody eyed the massive structure in excitement while Mokona bounced along, copying his enthusiasm even if he wasn't quite sure why. Loudred couldn't help but grin at the two as if he were a proud father taking his kids to a theme park for the first time.
And then there was Alakazam whose attention was occupied at the very edge of the platform. His eyes bulged out in terror as he marveled at the ground deep down below.
If he was so scared of heights, why was he willing to look down at the ground anyway?
"Hey, are you coming?"
Alakazam was snapped out of his internal turmoil by Cody's voice who called back at him in an annoyed tone. The rest of the group was already further up ahead, heading towards the entrance of the lavish building. For once, Alakazam was too taken in by his own state of mind to give Cody another snide remark as he hurriedly shoved the boy aside while he rushed past the others.
"A simple 'excuse me' would do," Cody angrily yelled in response. The usual bickering he expected never came as Alakazam just continued along his way in frantic silence.
Loudred leaned towards Cody. "He's deathly afraid of heights."
"What? Seriously?"
"Yeah. That's why he never uses his telekinesis on himself."
"He was looking at the edge with his own free will," Mokona chimed. "What a dummy."
"Yeah, he does that. Guy's got a bad habit of indulging in stuff he knows he'll hate."
Cody blinked in surprise. Alakazam, in all his tightwad glory, always seemed like he was on top of everything that came his way. There was a part of him that was glad to finally discover a weakness in that overserious head of his.
"Hey, are you three coming or not?"
Alakazam echoed the same calls over to his three companions who had lagged behind just to gossip.
"It's not just that idiot not taking things seriously this time," he shook his head.
And with that, the four made their way into the stadium
oOo
"Who even are these people?" A young woman furrowed her brows as she hunched behind the lobby's reception desk. Her waist long sky blue braid bounced in the air as she rapidly reviewed the documents that cluttered her computer screen over and over again. She bit her lips and frumpled her light white dress in frustration. Entry after entry were images of mysterious creatures cloaked in black and bright gold eyes.
She didn't know it at the time, but they were all Heartless.
"Literally all these entrants and only one normal looking dude? Somehow just that makes him even more suspicious. Who is he?"
"HI, EXCUSE ME, COULD YOU TELL US WHERE WE ARE?"
She screamed.
Alakazam elbowed Loudred while he, Cody, and Mokona all covered their ears in pain. "How many times do I have to tell you? You're a lot louder than you think you are."
"Sorry," Loudred responded a lot more cheerfully than he should have.
"When you say it like that, it doesn't sound like you mean it," Cody snarked.
"Uh, excuse me?" The woman started, steadily matching her wavelength with the mood of the new group in front of her. "Are you four here for the Newcomers Tournament?"
Cody blinked. "Tournament?"
Alakazam jolted in disdainful worry.
"Do you not know where you are?" She laughed as if that information was the most obvious thing in the world. "This is Smash Stadium; a world in the crossroads between worlds where heroes gather to train and fight."
Cody's interest piqued.
Alakazam knew what was coming next.
"How do I enter?" Cody leaned forward, his grin large enough to tear the corners of his face.
"Whoa, calm down," the woman giggled. "Unfortunately, the next tournament is going to start really soon, so most of the normal registration methods are already closed.
"But," she winked as she snapped her fingers. "We have a system set up where certain staff members can get fighters in based on recommendation. Groups are fine too. You just gotta come back here with an entry sticker and you're good to go."
Alakazam wanted to halt this conversation right this instant, but Cody's enthusiasm was much faster than he could handle. Loudred and Mokona, who were much more indifferent to what was being entailed, simply snickered mischievously beside him.
"So who do I go to for a sticker?"
The woman pointed to her right. "There's a guy named Seth who should be working down the hall right now. Just tell him Bianca sent you guys."
Cody shot a quick pair of finger guns as thanks before skipping along. Any protests Alakazam could've made were for naught as Mokona forcefully hitched a ride on his head while Loudred pulled him along. Bianca could hear his complaints alongside the happy duo's cheerful noises as the four made their way out of the lobby.
She smiled, sat back down in her chair, and lightly rested her head in her hands with strangely intimate thoughts mulling her head. "Something about the guy feels kind of familiar…"
oOo
The moment Loudred and Mokona both let go of him, Alakazam was on his usual shit once again.
"I thought I told you we were going to be serious this time," he shot at Cody, who was having absolutely no issues ignoring him. "The last world, sure, we saved a kid, but what does anyone have to gain with us entering a fighting tournament?"
"Don't be a killjoy," Mokona bounced on to him once more, forcing a shrill screech from the Pokemon.
"Yeah, this sounds like it could be fun," Loudred added.
"You've got to be kidding me," Alakazam gaped.
"That's three against one," Cody mocked from up ahead. "Like, come on. Every kid grows up watching anime with tournament arcs and stuff. Can't blame me for getting excited."
"Yes, I can," Alakazam grumbled inaudibly.
The group slowly halted in place as they noticed a new figure up ahead. A guy with a mess of bright orange and blond streaks and a white sleeveless trenchcoat that just barely draped on to the floor was meticulously arranging a bulletin board display. This was the first person they ran into on their way through the wing, but there was still some skepticism abound. He looked even younger than Bianca. Was this really Seth?
A loud bang could be heard from the men's bathroom just a couple of steps away.
"Yo, Seth, uh, one of the toilets is, um, really clogged. Uh…can you get someone else to do this?"
The young man groaned and without leaving his eyes from his workspace, he shouted back, "You guys are the cleaning slaves. Just grab a plunger and deal with it yourselves." He continued on with his commanding tone as the two voices in the bathroom continued yammering.
Cody squinted. Those voices were strangely familiar. But more importantly, this was seriously Seth?
He felt a hard push from the back from what felt like a rabbit foot. After giving an incredulous look at Mokona, Cody nervously approached the young man supposedly named Seth.
The closer he got, the more he got a sense of just how small the guy was. Cody was considered fairly short for his age, but this guy, who sounded like he wasn't too far apart in age from him, had almost the stature of a child who just barely hit puberty. The trenchcoat didn't drag near the ground because of its length but rather his whole attire was made up of clothes much too big for him, all baggy and stuffed in attempts to falsify a look of normalcy. He wasn't going to lie, he felt a bit nervous when he was told to practically beg for an entry sticker, but the image laid in front of him proved to assuage his fears.
Or at least they did until what transpired next.
"Um—"
"Whatever you guys broke, I don't care," Seth cut in almost instantaneously. "Could you just move that display case back there a bit?" Seth flew his thumb over his shoulder towards the bulky furniture sitting on the opposite side of the hall. "After they spruced up the walls around here, the feng shui's been throwing me off. Just move it a tiny bit to the left, alright?"
Cody blinked and gave a quick look to his companions. All he received in return were shrugs.
Might as well I guess.
He may have become a fighter in the past couple of days, but even he knew that he was still relatively useless when it came to heavy lifting. He quickly shuffled next to the case, took a deep breath, and…
…
…
…
…His brows started to sweat and his muscles ached like hell. Just about what he expected.
"Hey, uh," he winced over at Seth. "Sorry, it's a bit too heavy for me. Could you get someone else—"
"What did you say?" There was a sudden coldness in Seth's voice.
Cody blinked. "Uh…it's too heavy?"
"Too heavy?" With his eyes shut tight and his fist ready to snap the pen he held in half at any second, Seth furiously swung over to Cody.
"I've been training each and every one of you for how long and this thing is too heavy for you?! You've gotta be kidding me. If I were in a worse mood, I would've kicked you out of the Brawlers right this second! Do I have to double all of your training regimens just so I know all of you can push over a measly display case? How about triple them?!"
He opened his eyes.
Cody looked like he just pissed his pants.
"Oh, I thought you were one of them. My bad, " Seth concluded nonchalantly before he turned his back and resumed his errand like nothing happened.
…
…
…
Seth sighed and turned around once again. He didn't have to check to know that Cody was still there.
"If you're trying to get last minute seats or something, ask Bianca at the front desk."
"Uh, actually," Cody coughed. He was caught so off guard by Seth's outburst that he failed to regain any sense of composure. "She told us you could get us an entry sticker, so…"
There was a brief moment of silence as Seth stared off into space trying to process what Cody just requested of him. In an instant, his poker face distorted to a cynical and almost cruel amused grin.
"You're kidding me," he snorted. "You couldn't even push over a display case and you expect to survive in a tournament?"
Well you didn't have to laugh in my face about it.
After wiping away a tear, Seth's face of bemused mockery quickly flipped over to a similar one of anger and annoyance he held earlier.
"Listen, I take my role as a trainer seriously."
He trudged over to Cody in a threatening manner. Despite the fact that the other teen had to tilt his head upwards just to look Cody in the eyes, even he could feel the air of authority and superiority from him.
And it pissed him off.
"If you think you can just waltz right in here with the body strength of a slinky made with string cheese and beat people up just for fun, I'm going to ask you get out of my face and don't come back."
"Hey, back off," Cody spat. "You can't just judge how tough I am based on that. I'll have you know, me and my crew…" He gestured over to his three companions who had largely stood around awkwardly in silence this entire time. "We've been traveling around and beating tons of monsters left and right. We're more than qualified to fight."
Seth eyed the three and gave a disdainful grimace. "You've got Pokemon with you too? How original. Maybe you four might be interested in volunteering as assist items instead?"
If Cody couldn't deal with Seth's attitude, Alakazam and his short temper were certainly having none of it.
"Alright, that's it," he grumbled as he made his way towards the display case. Just like Cody, he manifested what little body strength he had into his push, but to no avail. He even resorted to using his telekinesis, nearly forcing his eyes to bulge out of their sockets in agony as he tried his absolute damndest to do anything to this stupid thing. And of course, that didn't do anything either.
"Mind helping?" Al choked as he motioned his eyes, tearing up from all the pressure he exerted, towards Loudred. He, and even Cody nearby, jumped at this request. They were already distracted at their amazement that his stubbornness himself was actually entertaining this, but he actually seemed determined to make it happen.
The bulky Pokemon hobbled on over and shoved his shoulder alongside his companion against the frustratingly secure case.
"Hey, Mokona," Loudred called. Al gave him an odd look. The heck can Mokona help in all this?
Mokona rammed his head at lightning speed towards the case, frightening the two Pokemon as they bolted away mere seconds before his impact. Mokona was like a cannonball and even then, nothing happened.
Seth looked on in a mix of mirth and pity. "These have got to be the weakest Pokemon I've ever seen."
"Yeah, and you can do better?" Cody sneered.
"Of course I can."
Just like the four who came before him, Seth confidently marched on over to the display case and held out his arms.
…
…
… Perhaps he should use his shoulder instead?
…
…
…
…His back?
…
…
…
Hmm.
The Keyblade crew all glared at the teen's flustered face with the coldest eyes possible.
"Okay, okay, I see your point," Seth threw his hands up in frustration. "But still, if you think I'm just going to hand out stickers to a pack of randos willy nilly, you've got another thing coming."
"I told you, we're not just some 'randos'," Cody replied. "We actually have something going on."
"Yeah, sure you do."
"Just hand us the dang sticker," Alakazam snarled, once again surprising the others with how invested he'd become.
"Threatening the head honcho? You guys definitely aren't getting stickers now."
"What?!"
"Ha ha, we'll just ask Bianca to give us one then," Loudred stated as if he had made a brilliant breakthrough. "She's staff here too, ain't she?"
"Actually," Seth pulled arrogantly. "She's kind of been promoted recently, so handing out entry stickers is no longer under her jurisdiction."
"But there's literally no other staff here," Cody griped.
"Well, tough luck."
oOo
"I'm going to kill that kid!"
"I'm going to kill him first!"
The group had made their leave out of the building, and Loudred and Mokona could do nothing but gape at the sight in front of them. Their entire journey thus far, Cody and Alakazam shared nothing but friction with one another. But here for the first time, they were finally united by a common enemy.
"That's it," Alakazam raged. "We're getting in that tournament. I don't know how, but we are getting in just to rub it into that shorty's face!"
"I was expecting him to just shuffle us off into a different world," Loudred mused over to Mokona who nodded sternly in agreement.
"You two!" Al pointed towards the much more mellow duo. "Give us a plan. Now."
'How about," Mokona breathed heavily with a carefree grin. "You guys all hop into my gem here and I sneak onto the field and vomit you all out?"
"Hahaha, that's horrifying," Loudred happily gave his feedback. "How about I go and spam Uproar and take everyone's eardrums hostage until they let us in?"
"You idiot," Al shook his head in disapproval. "You'll be taking our eardrums hostage too!"
With his head in his hand, Cody also tried to come up with a plan…but his attention however was taken away by something off in the distance.
His eyes were wide. Gwen was right by the side of the stadium building peering towards something that caught her attention further back.
Was that really Gwen?
Cody blinked his eyes feverishly. Just like back at the hotel, the familiar goth disappeared just as quickly as she was there.
The same sense of confusion and delirium he had the last time he saw "Gwen" resurfaced. Was that her? Was it not? Was he going crazy? Was she really here?
…Should he check?
Cody glanced over towards his companions who were absorbed in a heated discussion for their gameplan. It didn't seem like any of them were likely to break out of it. He'd be sure to get a thorough recap later.
Cody quietly pranced over towards the side of the building. A barrier was built opposite the walls of the stadium, likely to prevent any unfortunate accident from occurring in case anyone happened to find their way over here. What resulted however was a space that greatly resembled that of a shady city alleway.
Gwen wasn't here.
But someone else was.
And then and there, Cody could tell skipping out on the group huddle was a mistake.
A man stood, no, floated in the middle of the cramped space. If you could call it a man. He was like an ephemeral digital being with bluish "skin" that floated along in the air like the drapes of a ghost. He looked up at his frightened new visitor.
Cody couldn't tell, but Tabuu truly didn't expect to run into the teen this soon. He had merely hid there for meditation.
Regardless, it was now the perfect time to initiate his plan.
Cody would've screamed and run as fast as he could, but that would've been no match for Tabuu's speed. If you could call it speed. The unknown being that was further into the alleyway enough to resemble a ghoul earlier was now right in front of him as if his very being had no real concept of time and depth.
Cody thought he was dead on the spot.
…But rather than killing him, the being held out his hand instead.
It appeared to be a small sticker.
Cody's mouth wobbled. His head was too dipped into fear to properly process this moment. In his head, if he didn't take this offering right this instant, he was going to face a fate worse than death.
His shaky hands sloppily plucked the sticker out of Tabuu's open palm.
And without even a blink, Tabuu was gone.
Cody was sure he pissed himself this time.
"Hey, Cody!" He jumped at Mokona's high pitched call. The familiar voice grew louder the closer the rabbit thing got. "What are you doing over there?"
Cody turned around and did his absolute best to hide all the fear in his face and stance. "Uh—"
"Hey," Loudred pointed at the geek's hand. "What's that?"
Cody looked down. He was so frightened by the blue being, he didn't even realize what he just took. In that instant, all the fear he tried to hide truly was gone. It was all replaced with excitement.
"I…I found this sticker while I was over here," he grinned and shook with anticipation.
Alakazam snatched it right out of his hand and pumped the sticker right into the air like he was showing it off to the heavens. "Wait'll that jerk gets a look at this!"
oOo
"How the heck did you four…?" Seth gawked at the sticker he held mere inches away from his twitching eyes.
The gang snickered at him with faces even smugger than all the looks Seth had given to them combined. Cody and Alakazam in particular took their gloating expressions to whole new levels.
"So," Cody chuckled. "That means we're in the tournament, right?"
Seth took another look at the four. After a brief pause, he finally slouched in defeat and spoke in a tone that attempted to mask his reluctance with any ounce of dignity he could still muster.
"Yeah, fine, yes. Just give me the rest of your stickers."
…
…What?
"What do you mean 'rest of our stickers'?" Alakazam blinked.
Seth squinted. Did these guys not…?
He regained a bit of his usual authoritative stature. "Stickers only cover one fighter. I need three more."
"But didn't Bianca say this tournament accepted groups?" Loudred tilted his head.
"Yeah, and you still need four separate stickers. These things are for recommendations. I'm not going to let a crappy fighter in just because their friend is decent."
"Oh come on!" Cody and Al cried out simultaneously. Mokona joined in as well, though his tone felt more like he was doing it for fun rather than genuine frustration.
"Sorry, rules are rules," Seth replied, his smirk going against the lawful neutral tone he held.
Soon enough, another argument broke out amongst the five. In the relatively quiet halls of the stadium wing, their yells and threats of violence echoed past every wall. It was unsurprising that the commotion would even attract the attention of the lone receptionist who was stationed all the way in the main lobby.
"What in the world is going on here?" Bianca snapped, shutting everyone up instantly. It seemed that even with his high and mighty nature, there was still someone who could manage to reign Seth down if even just a little.
"Bianca, Bianca," Cody called out, hopeful she would side with them. "Okay, so we got the entry sticker but this dude still won't let us in."
"Because you need four stickers, genius!"
"Why didn't you say that to us earlier?! You did that specifically to sabotage us," Alakazam yelled.
"I specifically remember using plurals. Maybe your ears are about as strong as your psychic abilities."
"Why I oughtta…"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Loudred cried out in a panic. "Al, calm down. You don't need to hit him."
"Hit him!" Mokona egged on.
"Go ahead! It'll probably feel just like a pillow."
"Quiet!"
The five once again answered Bianca's demands.
The blue haired woman sighed before looking over at her coworker. "Look, I sent them over to you because I know you're frustrated at the upcoming tournament lineup. We both are. Are you really going to be this stubborn now?"
"Stubborn?" Seth scoffed. "Hey, rules exist for a reason. I've worked my ass off all these years making sure this place upheld its reputation. What kind of example would I be setting if I started making exceptions?"
"Is this really the time for that? Seriously, Seth?"
And for the third time in a row, the bickering resumed, only with Bianca now joining the fray. With a sixth player officially in the verbal battle, the raucous scuffle quickly evolved into an uproarious storm. The spacious halls only amplified their thunderous voices further. If this continued, soon, no one in the entire building would be unaware of what was going on.
"Shut up!"
And just like when Bianca made her entrance, everyone in the vicinity switched off.
A man with spiky blonde hair scowled menacingly at the six. With his overwhelmingly dark clothing and a tattered auburn cape that fluttered ever so lightly in the wind, one could not be blamed for assuming ill intent just from a quick glance at him. His cape that thoroughly covered both his neck and mouth helped amplify the daunting rigor of his eyes of blue flames. It was like they were being stared down by a deadly intruder, ready to strike at any moment.
Except Seth and Bianca knew that this man had every right to be in the building. It was a fact they were reluctant to accept.
The two shuffled out of the man's way. Surprised that the thick headed duo were so quick to give in to the man's unspoken demand, Cody and company followed suit.
Silence remained amongst them even minutes after the man left the area. Normally, Seth would've restarted his quarrels and Bianca would've been ripe and ready to reel him in. This time however was different. Bianca and Seth glanced amongst one another. The slightly older woman could sense the teen's still lingering reluctance, but even he started to give in.
Seth sighed. Might as well have those four in on this too.
"Okay, listen," Seth leaned towards the four with an almost uncharacteristically soft tone. "Our next tournament is…not full of what either of us would consider ideal entrants."
"Yup," Bianca nodded seriously. "Just tons and tons of weird black monsters. And when they all signed up, he came with them."
That was all the four needed to hear. The Heartless had made their way to this world too.
But what about that guy?
"Is he with them?" Cody arched his brow.
"That's the thing," Seth answered. "We have no clue what that guy's story is, but with everything that's going on, all the monsters, how empty this place has been, can't blame us for being suspicious."
"So the Newcomer Tournament," Bianca continued. "It's designed to allow winners to join the 'Brawlers' group that gathers here."
"Basically a collective of heroes from all across the worlds," Seth took over. "And if that guy turns out to be bad news, who knows what's going to happen once he gains access to that space."
"Originally, we made today's tournament special in that the winner can only be crowned if they win the exhibition match at the end. Our personal failsafe. But…" Bianca's eyes motioned down to her coworker who still looked like he held some forms of reluctance in him.
"Truth is, we need more assurance against that guy. The fighters we got on hand right now can take those monsters down easily. But him? We've seen a bit of what he can do in battle and we're not positive the manpower we have right now is enough."
Cody blinked. Does this mean what he thinks it means? "So, then…"
Seth let out a defeated sigh. "If you guys are as tough and amazing as you claim to be, take him out, tire him out, just do anything to help us keep him from winning."
Despite knowing that they'd just taken on another unexpected mission, the four began to glow. They were actually in. The sheer fact that they were going to participate seemed to trump any and all implications of what their role was going to be.
Seth sighed once again. "Now hurry along to the waiting room before I change my mind."
And they did just that. Despite nearly getting into multiple violent altercations with the teen, Cody and Alakazam voiced out their thanks to Seth while Loudred and Mokona flashed excitedly appreciative gestures as they all quickly made their leave from the wing. The wing that was once bouncing with reverberating swears and insults was now calm and peaceful as Seth and Bianca were left gathering their thoughts and impressions on the motley crew.
Seth groaned. "What did I just do? Those guys aren't gonna do shit."
"Come on," Bianca patted his back. "I think you're selling them a bit too short. I sent them to you for a reason. I'm not the toughest fighter in the world, but even I can pick out heroes from the crowd.
Seth looked up at his coworker with a serene and almost nostalgic face. The complete opposite of any and all expressions he's made that day. "Trained from the best, right?"
"Yup."
oOo
On a normal day, the waiting rooms of the stadium were filled to the brim with humans and creatures of all different sizes and forms. When Seth and Bianca stated that this was a place of heroes, they did not exaggerate. This was a world designed to train them for the hardships that awaited them back home, and just walking through past the walls of the stadium was enough to imbue a sense that one would witness legends in the making. On a normal day, the waiting room was like an overwhelming cluster of hope and valor.
This was not a normal day.
And to be frank, the stadium hadn't had a normal one in a while.
The room that was built to hold the enormous batch of fighters that typically occupied the building throughout the year was in a sorry state of near desolation and abandonment. The room that was normally kept in tip top shape was quickly collecting dust and grime in every corner and beyond, no doubt because the lack of occupants made constant upkeep increasingly demotivating. Ironically, even though a dim and dark setting would have perfectly completed the look, the lights were bright and in full operation.
Three individuals gathered in the center of the room; not even a splinter of a fraction of the capacity these walls were used to.
"Okay, this is way too weird," A young brunette angel squeaked. "Where is everybody?"
"I know Seth said they were short on fighters but," a tall kid in traveling gear and a red baseball cap darted his eyes across the barren room. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't seen anyone else in days."
"Popo and Nana were around a few days ago," A fully armored woman stated. "Though by the sounds of it, they haven't been back to their world in a long time. I wonder why."
"Maybe the mountains here are more fun to climb? Oh, maybe they're on vacation or something?"
"Pit, that's dumb…but is it really a coincidence that we're the only ones who are free at the moment? I know we're all heroes here, but—"
"With all due respect, Red, you're not really a traditional 'hero' like the rest of us. You having more free time than everyone else is pretty normal."
"Wow. Harsh, Samus."
"Uh, excuse us…"
Cody and company timidly entered the room. Despite only being face to face with three fighters, they could still feel the might of their presences.
The angel zipped over excitedly and began to yap like a puppy. "Ohmigosh, are you guys here for the tournament? It's been ages since we've seen someone new." He hooked his hands tightly onto Cody's and shook him like he would a can of soda.
"Oh nice, are you a Pokemon trainer too?" The kid in red admired Alakazam and Loudred who were clearly unamused by the query. "What kind of Pokemon is that?" He pointed to Mokona.
"I'm not a Pokemon. I'm Mokona!"
"Hi Mokona!" Pit's face beamed as he finally let go of Cody to happily shift his focus to the small white creature, giving Cody further vertigo as he was grounded just as abruptly as he was in motion.
"I'm Cody by the way," the geeky teen said weakly as he attempted to reign in his oncoming nausea at the same time. "Those two are Loudred and Alakazam."
"And I'm Mokona!"
"I'm Pit!"
"Red."
"Samus."
Cody, Alakazam, and Loudred all glanced around the room, really taking in the unexpected spaciousness in comparison to the grand collective of heroes they were hyped up about. But that wasn't the most important thing here. Alongside the several dozens of fighters that should've been here, there was one in particular who was oddly absent.
"Hey," Loudred spoke. "Is that guy not here? The one with the spiky hair?"
The room that already possessed limited energy was now dead as the three veteran fighters all shifted their looks uncomfortably amongst one another.
"You mean that Cloud Strife guy?" Red nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, yeah, uh," Pit fumbled. "We don't actually know where he is. We just know we're supposed to beat him."
"Since you're asking, I'm assuming that's why you four are participating as well?" Samus asked.
"Good guess," Loudred laughed in an attempt to bring any sense of levity back to the room. "Seth said you guys were supposed to be the big barrier to keep him from joining your club or whatever, but he brought us on too to help."
"We're the failsafe!" Mokona shouted in glee.
"No," Alakazam groaned. "They are."
Cody, who was still feeling a bit queasy, looked up at Samus for guidance. Obviously, all three of them had to be experienced warriors and adventurers to be able to hold the title of a Brawler, but something about her in particular made him really feel he was standing amongst the greats. And if he was going to get any reassurances on what they were dealing with, it would probably be from her.
"So, what exactly do you guys know about him?"
"Suspicious and likely a threat," Samus responded flatly.
"Other than that I mean? Like, what's his deal?"
No one could really see her true expression under her armor, but if they did, they would've seen an almost concerned and gentle sigh.
"We're treating him like a high security threat, but if I'm going to be honest…he just seems like a moody kid to me."
oOo
Cody groaned and gripped his stomach tightly as he slipped off towards the men's restroom. Pit's excited puppy dog gesture really should've been harmless, but his weak body was of course not taking any of that motion sickness lightly. In fact, he was amazed he'd been doing relatively well on the Gummi Ship.
As he pushed open the door, he began to hear the same pair of voices he heard earlier when he first met Seth. He remembered feeling oddly familiarized with these sounds, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He got his answer the moment he stepped in.
"I am not touching that stall. Do you think these perfectly toned hands of mine are made for this kind of crap work?"
"I already fixed up nineteen stalls today. How much you got done, pretty boy?"
Oh. My. God.
Cody burst into a gasp of laughter. He would've been hollering hysterically if it weren't for his still nauseous stomach that caused him to keel over as his chuckles mixed in with ill coughs.
"What?!" Chris and Chef shouted as they turned towards his direction. Their eyes soon widened.
"Cody?!"
"Pipsqueek?!"
"Y'know, I honestly forgot you two were missing too," Cody choked out between gags. It was impossible to hide his constant tilts to retching, but it was just as impossible for him to stop grinning.
"Dude, what are you doing here?" Chris asked frantically as he grabbed a hold of the teen's shoulders. "Wait, forget that. Just get us the heck out of here!"
"No," Cody burped noxiously, forcing Chris to back off in disgust.
"What?!" He screamed, his outrage mixed in with his revulsion at the tinge of incoming vomit.
"You two have put us through hell this whole summer. This is just karma coming home to roost."
"Karma?" Chef snarled. "I'll show you karma." He approached menacingly as he aggressively smacked his hands together.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cody halted the man. "You sure you want to do that? Won't you get in trouble with Seth? After all, I am a competitor."
Their jaws dropped.
"Now if you'll excuse me."
There was no way he could hold it anymore. Like the speed of a river stream in a storm, Cody slammed right into the first bathroom stall he could reach and spat out chunks after chunks of muck and grossness; a total waterfall of disgust.
He was going to be there for a while.
Chris could do nothing but weep. He had just cleaned that stall.