| GCB Fanfics: The Fanfiction Project |
August 20th, 2003"Bowser, Aeris and Cloud: The Rescue"Part III: "Boo Who?" August 11th, 2003 Two more days had passed, and Cloud was no closer to unraveling the mystery of what had happened to Aeris. Mario had won his fight, luckily enough, and Kefka had been eliminated and annihilated that very afternoon by Crono. Whatever part he had had to play in the mischief making, his time had run out. But the same would soon be true for Cloud... the days were slipping away, and Aeris's absence was becoming more and more apparent. He heard her name mentioned whenever he walked among his fellow fighters, only to hear them hush up at his presence. They must all be wondering why he hadn't found her yet. There was a natural animosity between them, due to the competitive nature of the competition... but Cloud hoped to find allies as well as enemies. The situation was too convoluted to tackle alone. Bowser had obviously just set up the tower to keep them occupied... a bit of insurance, and a line of defense against Cloud's possible searches. But sooner or later, he would have to stumble upon where Bowser was hiding Aeris. He could beat the Koopa at his own game, he was confident of that. Playing into his opponent's hands was all too familiar to Cloud. He had chased Sephiroth around the globe... and Sephiroth had played him like a chess piece. Sephiroth used him as a pawn against the Shinra and manipulated him into obtaining the black materia, while in turn thwarting Cloud's own objectives. By searching for Aeris and taking on Bowser on his own turf, he was doing just what the reptile expected. But he had no other options. If he kept at it, he was convinced he could succeed past the Koopa King's expectations. And with the right allies... the reptile wouldn't stand a chance. And it looked like Cloud might soon have one more. Mario's victory had meant a loss for Shadow, Sonic's counterpart and occasional enemy and ally. With Shadow's loss, the hedgehog was redoubling his efforts, trying to track down whatever chaos emeralds he could find. The hedgehog had asked Cloud briefly if he knew where Bowser might be found... and Cloud had informed him that he was still trying to track down the Koopa King. Sonic seemed eager to join... quite possibly just to get Bowser's emerald from him. Whatever his motivations, Cloud appreciated the need for another ally he could count on. The crowd had dispersed since the aftermath of the battle. Cloud was able to traverse the walkways unimpeded by fans, fanatics, or autograph seekers. He swung open the door to Mario's shop to find both the plumber and the hedgehog waiting for him by the door. Mario waved at him, and called out in a cheerful voice. "Let's-a go!" "I'm with the pasta man here." Sonic called out. "Let's make that turtle crawl back into his shell." Cloud smiled, and beckoned the two outside. Cloud began to lead the three of them into the direction of the woods without really realizing it. Cloud had almost given up hope on finding anything of note, but something felt right about searching today. He just hoped it would prove to be worth the time he had spent recruiting his two friends. Sonic glanced at Cloud every now and then as they headed deeper into the forest. "Where did you say we were going again?" "No clue." Cloud said, holding back a smile. "What???" Sonic yelled out suddenly, coming to a halt. Cloud just kept walking, and forced the hedgehog to catch up. "Sorry, Sonic, he-a meant to say 'No-a clue!'" "I heard him, rotund red! What are we all doing out here if we don't know where we're going?? I could be sleeping, or eating, or running laps around Knuckles or something! Don't we have any better way to search?" Cloud just kept walking, glancing from side to side occasionally, trying to avoid getting lost in the trees. The forest seemed like it was gradually getting thicker... Cloud directed the group towards the lighter patches whenever possible, keeping an eye on whatever landmarks he could find. Sonic kept glaring at him, so Cloud decided to give as much of an answer as he could. "Think about it Sonic... he's got to be hiding her somewhere. We already checked a good amount of the plains, and didn't find much. The forest would be one of the best places to hide her..." "Hide who? Don't you mean it?" Sonic interrupted. "You know Aeris? My girlfr... I mean, my friend?" "Yeah, yeah, I know. Geez. Hey!" Sonic suddenly sprinted off between two trees, jumping and careening through the underbrush. Before long, he was out of Cloud's sight... and suddenly, he couldn't even hear the hedgehog anymore. Cloud silently prayed to whatever forces governed this dimension that the animal had not chosen that moment to take a leak. "Hey guys, check this out! It looks like somebody built a really big house over here!" Mario skipped away in the direction of Sonic's voice, and Cloud followed behind at a distance, keeping his eyes on the red plumber's figure. Twigs snapped and leaves were trampled as the three fighters continued to disturb the peaceful tranquility of the forest with their search. They weren't exactly making their approach a secret... Cloud hoped nothing was waiting for them. Sonic had put it quite nicely. It was, in fact, not much more than a really big house. A pair of doors stood open at the front, invitingly. Cloud could see a lamp flickering on the inside. He shivered involuntarily. Something about the place gave him the creeps. The house had several sets of windows at the top... Cloud could see that the house was lighted on the inside... but it looked like indistinct shapes kept flickering in front of the light, and blocking his view. Mario nodded in satisfaction. "It's a ghost house!" "Cool." Sonic said, only to watch a floating white shape on the inside stick its tongue out at him and disappear. "Ok, wait, not cool. What are a bunch of ghosts doing here?" "Let's-a a find out!" Mario said cheerily. Apparently random adventure was a way of life for the plumber. Sonic zipped in front of him to block his path, and held his hands up. "Woah, take it easy there. Shouldn't we just call an exorcist or something?" Mario shook his head, puzzled. Then a look of understanding seemed to dawn own his face, and he smiled condescendingly at Sonic. "Ah, I-a understand. Are you-a scared of ghosts?" "WHAT!!! No. Come on, let's go, we're wasting time." Sonic dashed off into the house. He disappeared around the edge of the doorframe then darted back to the outside and waved at his companions. "Come on slowpokes, let's go." Mario leaped through the front door without hesitation, and Cloud reluctantly followed. "Mario, Sonic may be right, I'm not too sure this is a good..." And then the doors slammed shut behind them, cutting off their main source of light. Cloud and Sonic both jumped at the same time, the former a few inches, the latter a few feet into the air. Sonic raced back to the doors and tried yanking on them, but they refused to budge. Mario looked unconcerned. "We just-a have to beat the level!" Mario said as he shook his head, not understanding the problem. "Great." Sonic mumbled. "Come on, let's go." Sonic had taken the words right out of Cloud's mouth... but there really wasn't much else they could do. Mario walked in boldly even as the flickering shapes jeered at them from above. A spherical ghost dived down from the ceiling and wiggled its tongue out at Cloud, rolling around in circles in the air. The plumber leaped up into the air to pass over a pit without even looking down at the ground. Sonic got a running start on a ramp and did the same, simply soaring over the obstacle. Cloud took a deep breath and followed suit, cleanly making it to the other side. The speed at which the other two were able to get through the ghost house forced them to wait for Cloud occasionally as he walked and tried to run through the unusual haunted house. Aside from the occasional pits, the ghosts hovering in the air were the only hazard Cloud was having to endure. Sonic was able to zip underneath the ghosts and run past them before they could even reach him. Mario leaped over them and ducked when he had to... but the two were evidently having no problems. Cloud on the other hand had to constantly back up, and brandish his sword to keep the monsters at bay. Cloud thought he caught Sonic snickering occasionally... but he didn't let it trouble him. He was making good progress, and they were in no real rush. Cloud was glad to see a wall off in the distance. Mario and Sonic were standing by the door, talking with each other as they waited for him. Mario waved a hand and pointed to the door. Before Cloud could speak up, both him and Sonic had already passed through. Cloud stumbled up to it and peered through... he couldn't make out anything on the other side. Closing his eyes, and trusting to fate, Cloud quickly stepped through to the other side. The door slammed shut and disappeared behind him. The three of them were stuck in a small room. Mario and Sonic were both looking around confusedly. Cloud spotted a white object moving closer to them out of the corner of his eye. It seemed more distinct the other ghosts for some reason. Cloud turned to face it, but the ghost suddenly brought what looked like two tiny hands in front of its face, and seemed to disappear. Cloud gestured for Mario's attention. "Listen, what's that?" "Ah!" Mario nodded smugly. "That's a peek-a-boo ghost. It doesn't like being looked at." "Interesting." Cloud muttered. He turned away from the ghost, only to spot three more slowly gliding towards him from his right. Not believing his eyes, he turned to look at the ghosts, but they disappeared again. He could scarcely tell that they were there. On instinct, Cloud jerked his head to one side to spot the first ghost bearing at him with fangs outstretched. The ghostly apparition squeaked and faded away again. Cloud backed away cautiously from the ghosts, nudging Mario in the ribs. "Guys, we may have a problem here." "Oh great," Sonic said, drawing Cloud's attention to the back of the room. "There's like a dozen over there." "Mama Mia!" Mario called out, clearly excited. The ghosts disappeared again as all three companions turned to face them. Sonic yelped and leaped up into the air as a set of ghostly fangs arrived from behind and tried to pierce his fur. "Hey, watch it there! You wanna die twice?" Cloud pulled out his sword, and turned away from Sonic, watching ghostly shapes fade out and halt their movement even as his gaze met them. "All right. We can't turn our backs to them. We just have to get back to back here." Cloud slowly backed up until he could feel Sonic's furry presence. He reached out his left hand to grab onto Mario's arm, holding his sword in his right hand. The three of them formed a triangle, each trying to covering as much of the room as they could with their gaze. Cloud risked turning his head to one side slightly to see that the air was filled with vanished ghostly figures. Cloud returned his focus to the cloud of ghosts floating in front of him. Something didn't feel right about all this... "So, Mario, how do we kill them?" The plumber shrugged his shoulders. "Why would you-a want to? They're already dead." "MARIO!!!" Sonic and Cloud yelled at the same time. "Take it-a easy. You just can't-a be looking at them when you fight-a them." "All right. Any of you two see an exit?" Cloud guessed that Sonic and Mario were shaking their heads. "All right, on the count of three, we make a break for one of the walls and try to hold out there. When we get there, just take out whatever ghosts you see. Ready? Zero... One... Three." Sonic sprinted off towards the walls, and Cloud and Mario chose to follow his lead. Sonic began leaping into the air and diving at the ghosts, steering clear of the fangs. Occasionally he would pass straight through a ghost and land on the floor, rolling back to the wall for cover, and to regain his bearings. Mario reached the wall and began jumping into the air and landing on the ghosts, planting occasional punches and kicks. Cloud closed his eyes, put his back to the wall, and swung his blade as quickly as he could through the air, trusting pure intuition to guide him. The air was filled with ghostly pops as Mario and Sonic leaped and ran back and forth along the wall, and Cloud stabbed at any ghosts who could get within the reach of his sword. And soon... the air had a deathly silence once again. Cloud dared to open his eyes... Mario and Sonic were giving each other a high five, and he couldn't see so much as an outline of a ghost. "So... now where?" Cloud wondered. Mario pointed to the wall where they had come from. Surprisingly, there was a door there again. Cloud scratched his head... he was sure that hadn't been there before. Not wanting to get left behind again, or stuck fighting any more ghosts, Cloud made a break for the door, forcing Mario to quickly sidestep out of his way. As he passed through the eerie portal a second time, Cloud found himself in a surprisingly normal setting. There was a giant easy chair and a couch in the center of the room, with a big screen TV hooked up to a video game console. Cloud leaned over to look at the console... it had a title called Super Bowser World plugged into it. Cloud shook his head, uncomprehending. The only video games he was familiar with had been in the golden saucer. There was a door at the end of the room... but Cloud was in no hurry to move on. On top of the couch, and spilling over onto a tabletop, there was a stack of papers. Cloud chose to pick one up at random as he heard Mario and Sonic shuffle into the room. He beckoned them over as he began reading the contents of the page out loud. Phase 1: Kidnap Aeris Phase 2: ???????????? Phase 3: Profit!!!!!!" Mario groaned, shaking his head. Sonic began looking around the room, scattering around bags of chips and looking over and under everything. "You don't suppose he'd keep any chaos emeralds in here?" The hedgehog asked hopefully. "I don't think so..." Cloud said doubtfully. "This just seems like a hideout of some sort." Cloud picked up another sheet of paper with a BITAYBPOE heading. This one looked like a giant blueprint of some sort... it had a giant pit, with a row of platforms leading up to a summit. Cloud recognized it as the tower he and Mario had climbed earlier. Eagerly, Cloud shuffled through the papers, trying to come across anything that looked like it might be a place to hold Aeris. As he skimmed through the sheets, Cloud's eye caught the word "dungeon" on one of them... he decided to take a closer look at the blueprint. It looked like a giant boat of some sort... but that didn't make any sense, Cloud hadn't seen enough water to float a raft in this dimension. It had an propeller at the end of it, and what looked like a maze of corridors leading up to the dungeon. Cloud pocketed the blueprint, and was about to reach for another, when he heard some giant, lumbering footsteps shake the floor. Sonic stopped rummaging through the room to glance at the door, startled. Mario began to look nervous as the sounds grew louder, clearly coming from the other end of the door. "Maybe we should get-a going." Cloud was quick to agree. The whole house had given him the creeps... he would be all too happy to get out of there before Bowser could show up. Aeris clearly wasn't there, and he didn't want to deal right then with whatever traps his nemesis might have planted in his own lair. Mario was standing on the other side of the room, holding the door open, and beckoning impatiently. Sonic scooted through the other side, still looking nervous. Cloud walked through just as he heard another door swing open. "Gwa ha ha. Ah, finally. Hey! Who's been sitting in my..." Cloud yanked Mario's hand and pulled him through to the other side of the door. Cloud dared to open his eyes again... and found himself breathing fresh air again. He was back outside in the forest. Sonic was scratching his head, and Mario was breathing a sigh of relief. "That was too-a close!" "Actually that was kind of fun." Sonic interjected. "You want to go back there again?" But before Cloud could answer in the negative, he heard a roar coming from Bowser's haunted house. Cloud yelled to his companions to get out of there, and began running away as fast as his legs could carry him. His two companions joined him, Sonic streaking ahead easily, and Mario chugging along beside him. Cloud heard the sound of wood splintering and collapsing behind him... it sounded like Bowser must be laying waste to his own hideout, now that it had been discovered. Cloud smiled, even as he kept running out of the forest. At least they were doing some good. The three fighters reached the outside, Mario and Cloud panting with exhaustion. Sonic just glanced back at them with a satisfied smile. "Yeah, that was kind of fun you guys. Let me know when you wanna go hunting again. See ya!" Mario patted Cloud on the back, as Sonic streaked off into the wild green yonder. "Don't-a worry about it. You'll find her. Trust me, I'd-a know." Cloud nodded slowly, still trying to catch his breath. "Yeah... I hope you're right Mario." Next Entry Back |