GCB Fanfics: The Fanfiction Project

August 22th, 2003

"Preshow, Aeris vs Sonic: Black Curtains"



August 20th, 7:52 PM
The Hero's Haunt


Seemed like everybody was celebrating, that night.

Just about all of the competitors had something to gain from the day's happenings. Aeris had her freedom back; Cloud had Aeris back. Samus and Snake had the satisfaction of knowing they'd helped--whether they admitted they cared about it or not. For Mario, it was just another job well done. As for everyone else...well, they wouldn't have to deal with Bowser anymore.

For once, though, Sonic wasn't joining in the festivities.

He was sitting by himself off to the side of the main group, drinking a cup of water just to give himself something to do. For him, this wasn't a job well done. It was just another step on the long road to collecting the last three Chaos Emeralds. It was almost a misstep, in fact--he'd barely snatched the emerald from Bowser in time.

He could've done a lot more to get that emerald. He could've looked harder, could've stayed more alert. If he'd just stuck around at the Sweet Sixteen party, he could've hitched a ride straight to the airship's basement with Samus. From there, he would've had the emerald off of Bowser in no time flat...and probably rescued Aeris, to boot.

Come to that, he could've done a lot more to rescue Aeris, too.

Sonic had been thinking about his own problems a lot lately, telling himself it was for the Greater Good...but that's not who he really was. If the emeralds hadn't been here at all, he probably would've agreed to help Cloud anyway, if he had asked him. But with those too-precious gems at stake, he'd put Aeris out of his mind--and managed to slack off on getting either of them back. Now, because they'd taken so long, she had one night to celebrate her freedom before she had her next match...against one of the people that had rescued her.

It was like some sort of twisted joke. He'd spent a week and a half on a "quest" to find this girl, and he'd done it just in time to kick her out of the tournament. He was pretty sure that's how things would turn out, too. Aeris wasn't a fighter at all; even if she had the strength to get past Sonic, he doubted she'd have the heart for it.

And then, of course, Cloud would murder him in the next round.

Well, the hedgehog sighed to himself, might as well at least TRY to settle the score....

He stood up and looked over at the main group. Mario was standing in the middle of it, telling Crono, Mega Man and Vercetti all about their "adventures." Luckily, Crono was on the outside edge, sitting across from Samus (who was looking almost as bored as Vercetti). Sonic zipped up to the spikey-haired swordsman, startling most of the group.

"Hope you don't mind if I borrow this guy for a couple minutes," he said with a grin, dragging Crono behind him as the others looked puzzled.

Crono seemed just as confused when they reached an outside table, raising his eyebrow at the hedgehog.

"Hey, Crono...you talk to Cloud a lot, right?" Sonic asked. "You know--at the parties and all, with Link...before he went nuts, I mean."

"...Yeah. Not a lot," Crono qualified, "but sometimes."

"Cool...well, you think you could find him and Aeris and give 'em a message?" Sonic went on. Crono nodded. "Tell 'em I want to postpone tomorrow's match until eight o'clock at night...okay?"

It was the same time Magus had fought Sam: the latest that a match could possibly take place.

Crono blinked at Sonic twice. Then his eyes widened a bit, as he realized who was in that match. For a few seconds, he just stared at the hedgehog, as all the pieces fell into place. By the end, he was looking down in pity--for Sonic as well as Aeris and Cloud.

"Just thought it might sound better coming from you, y'know...?" said Sonic, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Yeah," Crono agreed, nodding sadly. "...I'll tell them."

"Thanks," Sonic replied, heaving a sigh of relief. He didn't stay at the celebration for too long after that.


August 21st, 10:26 AM
Training Grounds


The next morning found Sonic in one of the training rooms, preparing for his upcoming match (for once). Of course, the last week and a half had given him more training than he'd had for the rest of the tournament...but fighting and adventuring were two different things. And Aeris wasn't just some damsel in distress; she was probably the strongest magic user here, outside of Sephiroth. If she did find her motivation, he could be in some serious trouble.

The hedgehog had set up a series of targets, spaced erratically around the room. He ran circles around the whole setup, timing his laps until he knew he was almost at top speed. Then he jumped, curled up and threw himself at the closest target. He hit it dead on, then bounced off from there, knocking all but two of the targets over before he touched the ground.

Shaking his head at the ones he hadn't hit hard enough, he started to set them up again...then stopped, as he noticed Aeris and Cloud coming through the door.

Both of them were looking a little subdued. Cloud had his usual grim face back; Aeris was still smiling, but not like she had been yesterday. "Uhh...hey, guys," Sonic said, grinning uncertainly. "What're you doing here?"

"We wanted to talk to you," said Cloud.

"Oh yeah? What about?" Sonic replied, walking up to them.

Aeris stepped forward, her smile widening again. "First off...I can't thank you enough for helping Cloud find me," she beamed, taking his hand and cupping it between her own.

"...don't worry about it," the hedgehog mumbled. "It was nothing. Really." That wasn't too far off from how he felt about his "help," either.

"I also wanted to talk to you about our match," she went on. "...Crono just told us what you said."

"Oh, he did? Good," Sonic answered, looking relieved. "I was hoping he wouldn't go nosing around for you last night...."

She just smirked in response.

"I realize what you were trying to do, Sonic...and I thank you," she assured him. But then she lost her smile, and suddenly looked sad...probably more sad than Sonic had ever seen her. "But...I can't accept your offer."

Sonic's brow furrowed. "What, you want to have the match now?"

"No...no, I don't," she said, shaking her head. "Actually...I'm forfeiting the match. We were just on our way to tell the head office."

The hedgehog's jaw dropped halfway to the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! You're not serious, are you??" he exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. But he knew she was before she answered; behind her, Cloud was looking down, grimacing with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sonic...but I just can't fight you," Aeris insisted, holding her arms out wide. "After all you did for me--how could I repay you by trying to hurt you?"

"Oh, brother," Sonic groaned, his head in his hand. "Listen...this whole thing is totally uncool for all of us, all right? But it won't get any better if one of us backs out. You want to stay here with Cloud, don't you?" he asked.

Aeris looked to the side. "...of course I do, Sonic...but--"

"So how would you feel if I forfeited so you could?"

She gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Yeah, you see?" Sonic said, smirking. "The only way we're not gonna feel like total jerks about this is if we play this game right. Follow the rules, give it our best. It's not cool, but there's no way around it that isn't worse."

"But...you saved me, Sonic," Aeris murmured, looking down.

"Well, now I've gotta fight you," he answered, shrugging. "Just think of it as a favor to pay me back. ...all right?"

Aeris looked down, shaking her head slowly. Sonic was right, of course; she'd feel terrible if he forfeited for her. They could waste all day arguing over who should stay and who should go, but they would never agree, or at least be comfortable with their agreement. Fighting for it, the old-fashioned way, seemed to be the only answer...as it so often was, in this dimension.

Her head told her there was really no choice but to fight. She just hoped she'd be able to put her heart into it as well.

She looked up at him reluctantly and gave him a weak smile. "...all right, Sonic. ...I'll try."

"All right," the hedgehog said back, smiling. Then he peeked behind her and laughed. "Makes ol' Clod happy, anyway," he remarked.

She turned around to find Cloud sighing in relief, not even reacting to the taunt. He smiled broadly, obviously trying to keep a full-fledged grin from his face. He hadn't wanted her to forfeit, either...but it had taken Sonic's words to convince her. He could have bristled at that, but he didn't--he was too relieved to see her fighting, trying to win...trying to stay with him for a little while longer....

"It does, doesn't it...?" she mumbled, her warmest smile back on her face. Maybe she could put her heart into this after all....

"Okay, I think I've had all the sappy smiles I can take for the morning," Sonic muttered. Aeris giggled; Sonic rolled his eyes. "We're settled now, right? So get out of here and lemme practice! I got a lot of work to do before 8 o'clock!" The two nodded happily, then quickly left after saying their goodbyes.

As the hedgehog sighed and went back to setting up his targets, a little voice in the back of his head told him he was an idiot. He'd just been handed a free ride to the quarterfinals--and six more days to get back the other emeralds--and he'd turned it down because he was stuck on a guilt trip. But that little voice was drowned out by his conscience, telling him he'd done the right thing. It felt pretty good to listen to that one again.

He was just about to restart the routine when Cloud came back through the door.

"You two back again already?" Sonic snickered, stopping and crossing his arms.

"No...just me," Cloud corrected. "Aeris is waiting outside."

"Oh. So...whaddaya want, Cloud?"

"Just to tell you a few things," the mercenary responded. "First off...thanks. Again."

Sonic smirked. "Hey, I did it for me as much as her."

"Whatever the reason," Cloud shot back, wearing the same wry smirk. Then, like Aeris before him, he lost his smile quickly. "Second...I want to tell you now that if you win, I won't hold it against you. Like you said, this is what we have to do...what we all signed up for. Maybe if it were somebody like Vercetti...but you've helped us too much for me to be petty."

"Good to hear, Cloud," Sonic replied, mentally wiping his brow.

"Finally...I'd like to make a small request."

Uh oh, Sonic thought to himself. Nevertheless, he said simply, "Oh? What's that?"

"...try not to kill her."

The hedgehog blinked.

"Well, duh," he remarked quickly. "I'd never been planning on--"

"None of us do," Cloud interrupted. "But in the heat of battle...things don't always go by plans. I've nearly killed Bowser twice in the last week." He sighed. "That's not why I'm asking, though. ...do you remember when Tidus fought Ganondorf?"

Sonic furrowed his brow. It seemed like an eon ago, now. "Sort of...wasn't that the one where the crazy chick came out and tried to shoot the guy?"

"Yuna," Cloud informed him, holding back a snicker and a scowl at the same time. "She came out onto the field because Tidus was dying. But she was too late to save him, and he faded away on the spot. The medical ward said they weren't sure why...but they thought it might be because Tidus was already dead in his world."

"Whoa. Creepy," Sonic murmured. "So...what's this got to do with me not killing Aeris...?"

Cloud turned away from him and sighed. "...Aeris is already dead in my world," he said, steadily.

For once, Sonic was speechless.

"I'm not asking you not to hurt her," Cloud went on. "I just want you to be careful about it. If Aeris is meant to leave here tonight...I would really like to give her a proper goodbye. ...that's all I ask."

With that, the mercenary walked off, leaving much more quickly than he and Aeris had together.

...ah, man... Sonic groused, scowling. Like I didn't have enough to worry about with this match BEFORE....



Today's Authors: Jjukil
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