Chapter 8 - So....This Is Goldsaucer

Traveling for the next morning was great, with bright skies and warm air. Vincent explained that they were getting closer to Gold Saucer and the desert that surrounded it, and with a wind coming from the southeast; the hot desert air would make the temperatures warmer. Eric looked into the blue sky, his eyes distant, yet happy. Yuffie watched him, how his eyes were so peaceful, so carefree. She brought her chocobo up next to his then tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Eric jumped slightly, and then looked to her with that same content smile.

“Eric,” she started, “what are you doing?”

“Just thinking,” Eric replied, “See, when I was young, I read a lot of adventure stories. You know, about traveling to save the world kind of stuff. Well, I always wanted to travel. Not for any reason, just because, with no real destinations in mind.”

“That's nice,” Yuffie answered. “And I know what you mean, there's nothing like the open road.”

Vincent rode behind the pair, listening intently to their conversation. As he listened and watched the two, he noticed how much they reminded him of himself and Lucrecia. He recalled how he and Lucrecia didn't get along very well at first, and even though Vincent thought she was beautiful when he first met her, he saw her as a bratty daddy's girl. But as they spent more time together, Vincent found they had more in common then he thought. After that, they were inseparable, and many good memories were made.

Thinking of Lucrecia caused Vincent, without even thinking about it, to reach into his collar and pull out the thin chain that he wore around his neck. On this chain was a small locket, just a simple, silver oval with the engraving of a single rose. He clicked it open to reveal a small portrait of his love, Lucrecia. Vincent gazed at it for a moment, remembering when he and Lucrecia had given one another's portraits to each other.

It was the last time Vincent saw her alive. They had sworn to keep them forever, and to never forget one another. “How stupid I was,” Vincent said quietly, thinking of the irony of it all. A single tear formed in his eye as he closed the locket and put it back under his collar.

“Hey, Vincent! Whatcha doin,” he heard Yuffie call. Vincent looked up to see that he had inadvertently stopped his chocobo, and that Eric and Yuffie had gotten some distance on him.

“Vincent! You have to see this!” Yuffie called, her voiced filled with excitement. Vincent brought his chocobo to the top of the hill they were on, and looked down towards where Yuffie was pointing.

Below was the desert, or where the desert used to be. Now the large area was filled with tall buildings, golden in color, with bright lights and large windows. Tiny dots could be seen between the buildings, people moving around from one amazing sight to the next. In the center was the large tower and saucers that used to house Gold Saucer.

“Looks like they've upgraded,” Vincent said quietly, his eyes losing there typical cool and growing large at the sight of the huge city. Eric, whose mouth was hanging open, just nodded his head. Yuffie couldn't take it any longer.

“Come on,” she cried, “what are we standing around with our mouths open for; waiting for flies to choke us before we get there? Let's go already!” And with that, she drove her chocobo down the hill, with Eric and Vincent following behind.

As the three approached the edge of enormous amusement park, they saw a huge line to use the entrance gate. Yuffie stomped her foot in frustration.

“Well this is stupid,” she said, pouting. “How are we supposed to get in?”

“I know,” Eric answered sarcastically, “How dare they ask us to be patient and wait our turn.”

“Why did you say it like that?” Yuffie asked angrily.

“Well, Captain Obvious, I said it that way because you asked a stupid question.”

“No I didn't!”

“Yes, you did!”

“Quiet!” Vincent interjected forcefully. Yes, they were just like Lucrecia and himself. “Now look,” he said slowly and quietly, “It appears we have no choice but to wait like everyone else. I don't want to hear another sound out of either of you towards each other until we get in, understand?”

Eric looked away from the group, his face slightly red from embarrassment, and Yuffie crossed her arms and huffed loudly. Vincent just shook his head, and couldn't help but smile slightly at how ridiculous the words coming out of his mouth sounded.

They ended up in line for an hour and a half getting through the entrance gate. When they got to the front and showed their Gold Pass, they walked through the gate, and saw a familiar sight. Waving to the entering guests was a large pink moogle. It had shiny black eyes and large arms and feet, with a small set of bat wings on its back. Yuffie ran up to it, with Vincent looking around for their friend that would most likely be nearby.

The three approached the large moogle, which was actually nothing more then an animated stuffed animal. It seemed to recognize them, because it looked at them for a moment, then it stopped moving completely. Suddenly, the moogle started talking with a familiar voice.

“Vincent! Yuffie! It's great to see you!”

“Reeve? Is that you?” Yuffie asked, somewhat surprised at the voice. As long as the two had known Reeve, or his alias, Cait Sith, they had never seen his moogle doll speak.

“I can see you're surprised,” the moogle chuckled, though its eyes never changed their emotionless expression.

“Just a little,” Yuffie answered, patting him on the head, “We've just never seen you talk through the moogle before.”

“I know, I'm experimenting with a microphone that is directly wired from me to the doll.”

“Whatever,” Yuffie said, getting bored with the technical details.

“We need to talk with you,” Vincent said, stepping forward.

“Ah, Vincent, don't you ever relax? You're all work, no play. Actually, I was hoping I would get to see you soon. I have a question of my own.”

“Very well,” Vincent nodded, “where shall we meet?”

“Well, I was hoping I could speak with just you,” he replied quietly, hoping Yuffie, who had walked off with Eric and was getting something to drink, wouldn't hear.

“Easier said then done,” Vincent answered, “You know how she is. Besides, there's another kid, Eric, that's with us too.”

“Eric?” Reeve asked.

“I'll explain later, we just have to get them out of here first.”

“Leave that to me,” Reeve answered, his voice carrying a sly tone. Suddenly, the doll fell flat on its face, and a voice came over the intercom system.

“Would the holders of the winning golden pass, numbered 6082431, please report to the receptionist building to claim your all-expenses paid Golden Park Time passes. The holders of golden pass 6082431 please claim your prize of two Golden Park Time passes. Their values will be explained when you pick them up. Thank you, and have a golden day at Gold Saucer.”

Vincent looked in the direction of Yuffie, who wasn't even looking to see if she had won. Eric tapped her on the shoulder, and she looked up, then Vincent saw Eric take the gold pass, look at it, then watched as both him and Yuffie ran off towards the front. He couldn't believe it, but Reeve had done it. He turned back to the moogle doll, which stood up again.

“Just follow the doll,” Reeve explained, “It'll take you right to me. I can't talk anymore, I have customers,” and with that, the doll was once again fell silent, and started walking down the busy street. Vincent followed quietly.

“These passes give you unlimited rides on any ride here in Gold Saucer, as well as half price on all games. You can go to one free show a day, and stay in the hotel of your choice. All food is free and you are able to skip right to the front of any line for a ride, provided you are of the right height.”

As the woman behind the receptionist counter explained the value of their passes, Eric and Yuffie just stared in disbelief at each other. Theycouldn't believe their luck. As the two left the reception area with their new passes, a thought struck Eric.

“What about Vincent?”

“What about him,” Yuffie echoed.

“Well, there's only two passes,” Eric pointed out, “What's he going to do?”

“Does it matter? If he was here, he'd probably act like a martyr and depress us all.”

“Well, where is he?”

“Probably went to see Reeve, so they can talk about boring tech stuff.”

The two walked into the ride area of the park, looking at all the amazing rides, trying to figure out what to go on first.

“Let's ride that one!” Yuffie pointed, indicating a huge roller coaster. Eric, who had a fear of heights, looked around for something else.

“How about that one,” he said, pointing to the Moogle Train, a slow moving train ride.

“You have to be kidding,” Yuffie said haughtily, as if it was beneath her.

“Well, kinda,” Eric answered sheepishly, not wanting to let Yuffie know his fear. Heaven only knew how she would treat him if she found out.

“Good, then quit fooling around and let's go!” And with that, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the ride. They got to the front of line with their passes, and as Yuffie and Eric were strapped in, Eric tried his best to comfort himself.

“It's just a ride, it's just a ride, it's just a ride,” he chanted to himself over and over, hoping his heart wouldn't tear out of his chest from pounding so hard. He braced himself against the seat as the cart went up, and Yuffie glanced over.

“You're not scared are you,” she asked, nudging him. Eric turned to her and started to open his mouth, but the sudden drop of the hill kept the words from coming out. The ground rushed towards them, and the next thing Eric knew, he was lying on the ground and Yuffie was slapping his face. Really, really hard.

“Come on, Eric, snap out of it!”

“Yuffie! Cut it out! I'm up, I'm up!” He sat up, his cheek red and stinging from when Yuffie was hitting him. He glared at her. “Could you hit any harder?”

“Well, yeah,” Yuffie said, rolling her eyes, “but I didn't want to hurt you.”

“I could tell,” Eric answered, rubbing his sore cheek.

“Don't be such a wimp,” she responded, helping him to his feet. “You need to toughen up.”

“I'm fine.”

“You only fight with material,” she explained, “That's wimpy.”

“No it's not,” Eric mumbled, starting to walk away.

“Ah, come on, don't take it so hard. I'm just trying to help.”

“How?” Eric asked, turning back to her.

“Life is tough,” Yuffie explained, “So you need to get tough too.”

“Well, `Doctor Yuffie', what do you suggest?”

Yuffie thought for a moment, then a smile spread across her face and she snapped her fingers in triumph. “I've got it. We'll go to the Arena!”

“What!” Eric said, startled by her idea.

“Yeah, we'll sign up for a team match, with no materia allowed.”

“WHAT!” Eric shouted, drawing people's attention. “I can't fight without materia! Are you nuts?”

But Yuffie wasn't listening; she was too busy looking at a map of the park. “It says here that the actual arena doesn't open until after dark, but they have a training center that's perfect for beginning and advanced fighter's alike.”

“Yuffie, are you listening?” Eric asked, crossing his arms. She looked at him, and Eric spoke slowly, “I-can't-fight!”

“You can with some training,” she replied, grabbing his arm again. They started walking towards the center spire of the park. “We'll also need to see what type of weapon to get you.”

Eric just shook his head as he followed along quietly. He knew arguing was pointless, and that Yuffie probably would ignore him anyway.

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