| GCB Fanfics: Vs. Mode |
Vs. Mode - Aeris vs. Master Chief"And a hearty welcome back to the viewers of Vs. Mode." Lucca begins as the crowds cheer with their usual glee. "For those just tuning in, Bowser just showed Yoshi who the dominant reptile is and he advances to the next round to face the Seventh Squad leader of Double F." "But not without some difficulty." Brock continues, "The cute dinosaur puts up quite a fight against the nemesis of his home node, but in the end, the fire breathing lizard was simply too much." "Unfortunately," Lucca says in a tone with thinly veiled annoyance, "Max has just told me that they'll need to stay in the Medical Center for a little longer. Someone in management seemed to have thought it a good idea to put both their beds beside each other. After a little incident with Yoshi's sheets catching on fire and Bowser crashing through a suddenly bedless floor, doctors have decided to put both these competitors far, far, away from one another." Brock sweatdrops upon hearing the news but continues. "But let's move on to the next match. Our next fight is another tale of beauty and the beast as the pink dressed goddess of the Double F battles some armored gun man or something. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely going for the cutie." "Like there was ever any doubt." Lucca mutters under her breath. "And speak of the angel, here she comes accompanied by the other members of her squad." Brock says, completely oblivious to his partner's opinions. The prelude to Aeris' theme wafts from the speakers, feeling like something as delicate as glass, drawing all those who listen in, their hearts rising and falling with the soft music. Then the glass breaks into a symphony of strings that flows like silk, filled with so much emotion and sadness that some of the more softhearted amongst the listeners weep in tears. Aeris walks towards the ring in complete silence, not even taking the time to smile or wave at her legions of supporters. This worries Cloud as he had never seen the girl like this before. "Aeris," he asks, "is there anything wrong?" For a moment, it looks as though the flower girl will not answer the swordsman's query, however, she pauses from her trek to the ring and faces Cloud, her eyes filled with some sort of emotion that the Soldier could not discern. Anxiety? "Cloud, I'm worried..." Cloud chuckles a bit, "There's no need to Aeris. Master Chief may look imposing, but in the end, he's just human. We've fought stronger people and beings before and won." The magician simply shakes her head. "I'm not worried about this match Cloud, I have fought here before after all. What I'm worried about is this tournament in general, and how it looks like I might have to eventually fight you." Cloud begins to reply then stops as the fullness of this realization hits him. He had been so concentrated on the tournament and his goal to defeat Link and Mario that he had forgotten the chance that Aeris and he might eventually square off in the ring. He couldn't just treat it like his battle against Auron. While the ronin was his ally, Auron was still a warrior at heart. To treat Aeris as he did with his fellow swordsman was unthinkable to him. "If that time comes, then the two of you will fight to the fullest, and to the victor goes the chance to battle the champion. Should you make the choice to back away because of compassion and feelings, letting the other go on without an opportunity to see if they are strong enough to challenge the elf, you will in the end hurt him or her a lot more than any spell or blow could ever do." Aeris stares at Sephiroth in surprise, not expecting him to give any words of encouragement or advice. "Thank you." she says before climbing up the ring. The two men watch the flower girl walk away before returning to the entrance to watch the battle. "You never did tell me why you agreed to join us." Sephiroth smirks at his current leader. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, puppet. Let us leave it at that" "Whatever you say Mr. Bigamist." Cloud whistles innocently as the Jenova-infused Soldier glares at his former nemesis. "And representing the beast side of this match," Brock continues in a very bored tone. "It's some guy who shoots stuff and- ow! Will you quit that?" Lucca retracts her foot from the Pokemon Breeder's shin. "Not until you learn to stop getting distracted by the contestant's breasts. Anyway, he single-handedly battled the covenant and was the last chance the human race had against the Flood. He is the soldier known only as the Master Chief!" "So Cortana," the Master Chief asks the A.I. as he enters the arena to a mixed reception of cheers and boos, "what can you tell me about this Aeris?" "Not much Chief," a female voice in the armor says, "based on the records, she's one of those weird magicians who does all those hocus-pocus, sort of like that boy you fought the last round. She's fought here before though. She was eventually defeated by Solid Snake, rather badly too. " "So, she lost to Snake." The soldier muses. "A normal human like me, at least when compared to some of the others. Well that increases my chances a bit." "What are your thoughts on this match Lucca?" Brock asks as both fighters walk to the center of the ring. "Aeris definitely has the advantage here. She has magic on her side, not to mention more experience around the ring. However, one must not discount Master Chief completely. Those who were here last year would best recall that it was a soldier like Master Chief who cut Aeris' string of wins short. While the methods of Snake and the Chief are not exactly alike, one must not discount the possibility of an upset." The Ref-Bot hovers to the area where both competitors stand with both his flags raised. "Player 1, ready?" Aeris tightens her grip on the Princess Guard "Ready" "Player 2, ready?" Master Chief draws out an MA5b Assault Rifle and nods his head. "Combatants ready. Raise Force Barriers. Match 39, Aeris Gainsborough vs. Master Chief. 3, 2, 1... fight!" "Power's on; game's started and Master Chief immediately opens fire at the beauteous Aeris. Boo! A pox on people who doesn't have respect for beauty. Boo!" "Can't you at least try to give a façade of neutrality?" Lucca says exasperatedly before continuing her commentary, "Aeris tries to evade, but Master Chief easily keeps track of his prey. He's definitely not on the same level of the Shinra guards the magess used to fight. The soldier is in top form tonight and he's not giving Aeris any time to cast." "Bah," Brock grumbles, "I thought you said Aeris will win this match easily? At the rate this is going, the contest will lose another fine figure of the female body. This sucks! Look, in desperation, Aeris is swinging her staff even though she's so far away! How is she planning... to... hit... him..." Lucca chuckles a bit at the dumbfounded face of Brock. "That's how. We just saw the effects of a weapon attached with the Long-Range Attack materia folks, and it looks like Master Chief had not expected the staff swing to magically strike his rifle from that distance. Bullets hit the barrier as his weapon is pushed aside and Aeris follows up with another long-distance strike, freezing the veteran soldier in place." "Eh?" Brock asks intelligently, "Not that I'm complaining but, how did she do that?" "You haven't studied up on the workings of Materia have you?" Lucca smirks as the Pokemon breeder shakes his head. "To put things simply, Aeris has linked up the Materias in her weapon to do more than just damage. Each swing that connects has a chance of giving a random status ailment. From the looks of things, the Chief got Paralysis and now she could cast in peace." "And cast she does as she finishes the chant for Big Guard." Brock screams, doing a one-eighty from confusion to enthusiasm, "Barriers of all kind surround the beautiful mage just as Master Chief regains movement. He grabs his rifle and fires everything he can at one of the goddesses of Double F but the bullets just clatter on the ground, not being able to penetrate the magical shields. Oh yeah, MC's in trouble now!" "Master Chief walks back a few feet and brings out the rocket launcher. Flames surround the barrier, making it look like a large fireball for a moment but it doesn't even look like it made a dent. Aeris, meanwhile, is peacefully standing in the middle of all that noise with her hair whipping around due to a magical wind. And now, she calmly casts Demi 3, throwing the soldier to the ground due to strong gravitational forces." ---- Down in the ring, Master Chief is not happy with his first encounter with a Barrier spell. "Okay Cortana," he mutters to the A.I. as he strains against the sudden increase in gravity, "I can't see any visible power sources for that shield, and if this is any indication of what she can do, I'd probably be long dead before I wear that force field down. I am open to any suggestions right now." "Well Chief, the barrier releases the same kind of energy as the earlier spells so it's probably magical in nature. Unless you can create something with the same frequency, you probably can't destroy it easily." "Terrific. And here I am without my magic hat. Listen Cortana, every armor has some sort of seam, some kind of weak spot. Continue scanning the barrier and try to look for a gap or anything that's keeping that shield together. Got it?" "Got it Chief. Scanning now. Oh, you may want to try to get out of the way." "Huh?" ---- "Woo-hoo! And the ever-pretty flower of Midgar continues her domination with a string of spells. Freeze does just that as the Chief is given the cold treatment. Break frees him from his icy prison but not before giving him a splitting headache. She follows things up with a Twister, and she completely blows away the genetically-enhanced soldier with beauty and power!" Lucca rubs her head as though in pain. "I don't know what's worse, your single-minded obsession or your horrible puns. Nonetheless, you're right about her slowly dismantling the Chief. Aeris casts Flare on the soldier, but he just runs through it and gets in close to the shielded mage. Does he have a plan?" ---- "Scanning complete." Various pointers appear on the visor of the soldier. "Chief, if you can direct a strong enough force on this area, the barrier should break." Master Chief grits his teeth as he focuses on the small spot Cortana found. He only has one chance. If he misses this, the next spell will more than likely knock him out cold. ---- A sound much like glass shattering shuts Brock up. "Hmm... interesting." Lucca comments as the magical shields collapse, "Looks like Master Chief has found a way around his little problem. We'd probably need to replay that scene to find out how he did it but the results are unquestionable. Master Chief swings down his rifle and Aeris stops her chant to block, but the soldier's too strong for her and she gets knocked down. He drops some grenades before retreating back, and Aeris gets blown all the way across the ring. Looks like he's trying to catch up in damage." "Curse you Master Chief! Curse you!" Brock screams as he stands with one foot on the announcer's table and the other on his chair. "If your thoughtless action permanently ruins the perfection of Aeris, I swear upon my honor as a Pokemon Tamer that I shall hunt you down with my Onyx and kiyaaaah!" Lucca sighs as Brock falls off-balance. "You've been taking lessons on speech-making I see." Brock rubs his rear a bit before sitting back on his chair. "Just something I picked up from a pair I always encountered before. " "Aeris gets up on a kneeling position, using her staff as support. She is still reeling from the effects of the grenades and Master Chief takes full advantage of this. He opens fire with his assault rifle and Aeris rolls out of the way to a standing position. She breaks to a run and hops off the edge of the ring. Master Chief immediately gives chase and I don't blame him. Keep a mage out of you sights for a while and you'll find yourself kissing the ground faster than you can say abracadabra." "That's our girl, beauty and brains in one package. Master Chief jumps down after her but Aeris trips him up with her staff. The Chief is flat on his stomach and Aeris attacks him while he's down with... two punches? What the heck is that girl thinking!" Brock shouts incredulously, "Master Chief won't even feel her little fists in that armor of his!" "I don't know but she's getting back in the ring now before the referee counts her out. Master Chief grabs his rifle and follows her up. Say, I just noticed something. Is that a plasma grenade I see attached on the back of the Chief?" A large explosion throws the genetically enhanced soldier forward, and he lands a few inches in front of Aeris. "Hmm... I guess it was. That Aeris sure is a tricky little vixen, mugging the Master Chief like that. Guess those 'punches' weren't useless after all." Lucca says as the Ref-Bot announces the victor. "Master Chief is unconscious. Winner: Aeris Gainsborough." "And the audience explodes with cheers for the beautiful goddess' win. She had some rough spots while fighting the soldier, but in the end, the winner was never in doubt. Woo-hoo! Go Aeris!" Brock screams, joining the masses in their showing of appreciation for the Cetra. ---- An unfamiliar feeling fills the essence of Master Chief as he floats in darkness. The sensation is warm, yet not searing. It tingles with cold, yet not freezing. His heart and soul feels as though it is nourished by manna from heaven, and slowly, he could feel the pain fade away. His eyes snap open, and he finds himself face to face with the softly chanting figure of Aeris. The mage's eyes slowly open and she looks at him with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm just casting a cure spell. Your wounds will be fine, though you may still need to have the Medical Center take a look at you, just in case." "A cure spell?" Master chief mumbles as he feels his wounds sealing themselves up, "You could have healed yourself during our match when you had that shield around you and you didn't go for it?" The flower girl giggles at this, "I didn't think it would have been fair if I kept popping back like a zombie when you didn't have anyway to regain health." The soldier chuckles a bit at this. The girl handicapped herself and he still lost. Guess he needs more training against these magic-users if he returns next year. "So what hit me back there when I climbed back into the ring? It felt like a plasma grenade." The Cetra giggles again after he said that, "It was a plasma grenade. I saw you use it in your fight against Felix. I stole it from you while you were down, and stuck it in your back. You didn't give me any time to cast a spell and I can't completely rely on the status ailments that my weapon gives since they're too random so I had to improvise a bit." "Heh... beaten by my own weapon. You're pretty resourceful, how the heck did Solid Snake defeat you last year?" Master Chief asks. A sweet smile appears on the face of the flower girl as she answers him simply. "I just got lucky today, I guess. There we go, all finished" The Chief stands up and flexes his muscles a bit, feeling more rejuvenated than ever. He turns around to thank the girl, when he notices something he had not before. "You're still bleeding. Why didn't you heal up before you treated me?" Aeris smiles back at him "You needed more help than me. Don't worry about it, I'm tougher than I look." she says as her two allies climb up the ring to join her in celebration. ---- "And the two competitors shake hands for a good fight, showing no signs that they were trying to kill each other just moments ago. Sephiroth and Cloud walk up beside her as Master Chief leaves and raise her arms in victory, gaining more cheers from the crowds. Aeris joins Cloud in the sweet sixteen, and Sephiroth is expected to join them soon. Today is a good day to be a fan of the Seventh Squad of Double-F." Lucca announces as the stadium is filled with fans waving 'Final Fantasy Forever' signs. "Up next is a battle between red and blue, metal and fur, sword and quills, Reploid and Hedgehog as Zero and Sonic take on each other in the arena. While there are no fine examples of the female body here, this should still prove to be an exciting match. We'll be right back, after these messages." Next Entry Back |