| GCB Fanfics: The Fanfiction Project |
July 3rd, 2003Preshow Tidus was getting impatient. He had waited a month since he was here, awaiting his first chance to prove himself. At least Yuna was here with me this time. Last year the delays nearly drove me nuts! I hate waiting. Now his match was only a few minutes away, and they seemed like days to him. He idly kicked his blitzball against the wall as he fenced with an imaginary opponent. This geezer I'm up against hasn't shown me much to be afraid of, but oh, will it ever be fun to take him out! Tidus could still hear the warlock's sneering insults ringing in his head. "You'll never measure up to me! Just surrender, crybaby, I'll make it quick and painless." His blood had boiled at that; it could have been his father he was facing again. I don't give a damn what he sounds like! In a huge arena, with thousands of screaming fans...this is my turf! He'll get the rookie's jitters, and I'm way too fast for him anyway! Just this one victory, Tidus knew, would win him another month with Yuna. He could still feel the kiss she'd given him before he entered the waiting area. I think that might just have to become part of my pre-game ritual. Come on! What's the hold up?! On the other side of the arena, Ganondorf was much more patient. His eyes burned with evil intent. This boy was too easy to unnerve. A pity his death will prove such little sport. He had scarcely tapped the power at his command over the past month, planning to use the element of surprise to defeat all that stood between him and Link. And with him out of the way, all Hyrule and her triforces will be mine for the taking. But first, this yammering wimp must be dealt with. His laughter rang in the small room. The Battle If the dark magician had been capable of pity, he would have felt sorry for the young warrior who was about to taste his magic. He knew swordfighters like the one who stood in front of him, standing so straight and confident. He had killed more than his share of ordinary fighters. Only the boy who bore the master sword and a third of the triforce was to be taken seriously by him in this tournament. Even more importantly, his opponent knew nothing about him. The boy's emotions were all on the surface-anger at Ganondorf's taunts, a desire to stay with Yuna, and a bravery which blindsided him to the reality of the battle he was about to face. He would be easy to manipulate. Ganondorf, just for comparison, only bore his opponent a perpetual sneer. He was clad in dark armor from head to toe, with jewels embedded on his shoulders, palms, and where his heart would be. The armor, like so much else, was mostly to intimidate his foes. He had no real need of it. The match began. Ganondorf made no move. He raised one arm in a beckoning motion. "Let's see what you're capable of, boy." If Tidus had seen Link shake his head up in the stands, he might have been more cautious. Instead the boy leaped into the air like an acrobat, but propelled by his own force. He swung his sword in a downward diagonal arc, preparing to either slice Ganondorf in the neck or force him backwards. Ganondorf watched his attack with detachment and raised a single hand. Dark energy began to pour out of it. Tidus's blow hit Ganondorf's arm square on... then he was thrown back by the dark shock. Tidus stared at him in disbelief and confusion. He still doesn't comprehend the inevitability of his fate. How amusing. Ganondorf began to laugh at him, and raised his arm, still flowing with black energy. He pointed it at Tidus, and a dark beam began to flow out. Tidus dodged to one side, and began to run back towards Ganondorf. Ganondorf frowned, and used his other hand to fire blast after blast in Tidus's direction. Ganondorf merely watched at Tidus juked, dodged, and slipped between his shots. He's even faster than Link was. Ganondorf frowned, and raised his hands in front of him in a protective shield of energy. Tidus leaped into the air again, and Ganondorf brought his hands up... but Tidus landed behind him, and quickly jerked his sword backwards, stabbing Ganondorf in the thigh. "Why you little..." Ganondorf began to pulse with energy. ---- Tidus smiled. The wizard was obviously more powerful than he let on, but he knew that he was still mortal, and Tidus still had a shot against him. Apparently, Ganondorf also had a shot about ready to be fired at him, but Tidus stared him down. A dark sphere of energy traveled the few feet between them but Tidus deflected it with his sword and threw it up into the air. Time to show him what I've got. Tidus whipped around in a circle and hit Ganondorf with a spiral cut, then jumped backwards just as the wizard tried to grab him. He threw his sword up and blocked the wave of energy he knew was coming in retaliation, and dived forward again for another strike. The wizard's armor was strong, but he couldn't hold out forever. He could tell the magician was getting angry... but suddenly he stopped shaking, and laughed. "Very well boy, let's try this again." He gestured with one hand, beckoning. Tidus didn't want to give him a chance to think this time, and leaped forward, plunging his sword straight into the wizard's heart. The blade met with no resistance. Tidus blinked. Could it have been that easy? A dark fireball hit him from both sides. Tidus was barely able to stand. Tidus saw the wizard laughing to his right... and to his left. And now behind him, where he had originally stood. All three wizards raised their hands and shot out another blow of energy. Tidus charged at the wizard to his right... but again was met only with an illusion. He desperately tried to back up to avoid the incoming blasts, but was hit by all three. He doubled over in pain. All three wizards disappeared and reappeared in a triangle in front of him. They raised their hands and fired their shots. Tidus held his sword in front of him, and managed to reflect every beam back at the attacker. The one farthest away was thrown back a few feet, and began to fade out of existence. Oh no you don't. Tidus ran with every ounce of energy he had left. "Blitz ACE!" He yelled. ---- Ganondorf was still feeling the blow of the last attack, and was desperately trying to dissolve before the boy could reach him. He failed. He felt the boy's blade, not as worthy a sword as the Master Sword, but powerful none the less... it slashed through him eight times from every conceivable angle. He decided to fade back into existence only to be struck by some projectile he couldn't detect, or imagine where it had come from. But the boy was right in front of him and Ganondorf seized his change. If he wanted to make this a close range fight, he could do that. He seized the boy with his powerful arms and let dark magic flow through him. "A worthy effort," he whispered, "but futile. I have destroyed more of your kind than you can imagine." Tidus held back a scream as he felt his body be overrun by the dark forces. Ganondorf let the magic throw Tidus up in the air, and dealt him a powerful blow with one fist. Tidus soared and then slid halfway across the arena. Ganondorf flew up into the air and hovered over Tidus, firing dark blasts into his helpless body, watching him twitch. Amazingly, Tidus managed to roll out of the way and throw his sword upwards-but Ganondorf sustained the blow and continued his barrage. Finally, the boy's body went limp. "That's enough!" Yuna yelled. "You've already won, what more do you want... you monster!" Ganondorf sneered, and turned his back on Tidus, only to be forced to hide the pain he felt. That boy had come closer than he realized, Ganondorf's entire body was still feeling the effects of the boy's sword. Best not to be so careless in the future. Yuna climbed down the stands and rushed over to Tidus. "I'm sorry..." "No, you're alive. That's all that matters now." Aftermath She had seen this outcome coming. She had summoned Aeons--powerful creatures from other planes entirely--hundreds of times; no one could do that without gaining some sense of recognition for spiritual power. She had been able to tell that Ganondorf had that power in spades--and that he was far stronger than Tidus, at least where magic was concerned. But Yuna hadn't been able to tell that to Tidus. She couldn't even tell it to herself and really believe it. But in the end, the only thing that truly surprised her was that Ganondorf had stopped short of killing him. Then something even less expected happened. Tidus began to fade away. The audience's cheers for Ganondorf started to die down, giving way to murmurs of confusion. Even when AiAi had been slaughtered, he (well, what was left of him) had been taken to the medical ward, then sent back to his homelands from there. Tidus's disappearing seemed familiar to some, but it was still very strange. Even Ganondorf had stopped celebrating, and was now scratching his head with the rest of the crowd. "...Tidus? What's going on??" Yuna started, eyes widening in shock. He tried to reach up to her, but fell back grunting in pain. She had been cradling his head in her hand...but when it fell to the ground, it passed right through her. "No," she whispered. "I guess...it was just my time," he muttered weakly. He did his best to give her one more smile before he vanished completely. For several seconds, she couldn't move. After what she had just seen, she couldn't even think. Then it occurred to her to check the medical ward, to see if they could tell her what had happened. Quickly, she started to get up. "Huh. Well. That was quicker than I thought it'd be," said a snide voice to her side. She froze again. "You don't really care at all...do you," she accused Tidus's butcher, still not looking at him. Ganondorf blinked. "...'care'? About what?" "I will kill you right here," Yuna growled, whirling on the man with guns in hands. The crowd gasped, and the dark wizard's eyes widened...for an instant. "What, with those? Please." Before she could realize it, he had flung a ball of deep purple flame at each of her weapons. They weren't anywhere near full-strength--not after that battle--but they were enough to incinerate the surprised summoner's new, makeshift pistols. She dropped them to the ground in disgust. "I'm sorry...Yuna, was it?" Ganondorf continued with a sneer. "But if you want to avenge your poor little superstar, you're going to have to wait until the final round. You see, fighting outside of the matches is strictly prohibited! And I was never one to break the rules...." He grinned. Yuna scowled, her hands forming into fists in spite of herself. She wanted nothing more than to tear the man apart...except to see if Tidus was really gone. And if she fought Ganondorf now, she'd likely never find that out. Her common sense back with her, she took off for the medical ward in a sprint. "And even if you DO manage to reach the final match--what makes you think you can defeat me?" he called after her. "OR Link, the ONLY one of these underpowered idiots that could possibly bring me down??" But Yuna had stopped listening long ago, putting her hatred for the warlock aside. The crowd wasn't too happy with him, though. "Oh, who cares what you think," he shouted back as they booed him off the field. ---- Another dark wizard stood outside the door of the medical ward half an hour after the battle. He got several strange stares from passerby...which could only be expected, since he hadn't had his match yet. None of them asked him any questions, though. His narrowed eyes seemed to be answer enough. About ten minutes after he arrived, Yuna came out of the ward slowly. The wizard didn't react at all, but he could see fresh tear-stains on her cheeks with his peripheral vision alone. She started to walk away, then jumped when she saw him. "Magus," she said in surprise. "So he's gone after all," he said, rather than asked. She nodded and looked down. "They couldn't really explain it, but they were sure. Something about how he was already dead...speeding up the process of his return. They said they'd look into it more...but...." She shook her head. "Why do you ask?" she said, instead of finishing the sentence. "I was curious about the sciences and magics managing this tournament," he explained, still not moving a muscle. "I'd hoped to learn something about how their systems operated. Apparently they run on incompetence." "Oh," Yuna said, looking back down. She sniffed. "Well...I'm sorry I couldn't help you." She turned to walk off once more. "I lost someone myself, once." She stopped and looked back at him, her eyes wide. "Twice, actually," Magus continued, with something approaching sadness in his voice. "...I'm sorry." Yuna couldn't quite give him a response. Seeing she was uncomfortable, Magus turned away quickly. "Don't worry about Ganondorf," he said as he hurried off. "I'll take care of him for you." And for myself, he added mentally, a scowl forming on his face. Yuna was still staring in his direction long after he had gone. Next Entry Back |