MAGICAL FIGHTER ZELDA TAKES ON THE SHADE! - PART 1
On the last episode, Zelda arrived at her new school incredibly nervous! She was lucky enough to meet two new friends, but was unlucky enough to make a few enemies as well. She's learned that her two new friends-Samus Aran and Peach Keen-are in fact Magical Fighters, chosen to protect the world from the emotion-devouring ghosts known as Shades! Not only that, but Zelda is destined to become a Magical Fighter as well! However, it seems that those three aren't the only Magical Fighters at S.S.B. Academy…
Lu floated to the ground and landed, poised, on the tips of her boots. Her Magical Fighter outfit was dark blue and black, with a corset and fluffy miniskirt. Puff and the other girl dropped down on her either side. The new girl's dress was white and flowing, and Puff's looked similar to a ballerina's costume.
"All right, girls. Let's take it down!" Lu cried, dashing forward with incredible speed. Blue light trailed from her boots as she ran, and began to coalesce between her hands as she held them to the side. A large, blue ball of energy soon formed between her palms, and she released it. It soared straight into the Shade, narrowly missing Peach as she floated down to earth.
"Watch where you're shooting!" Samus yelled, closely harried by the Shade's tossing head and scattering shadow balls.
"Then get out of our way!" The girl in white raised her weapon, a large, ornate bow, and began firing arrows of light at the Shade. Peach leapt out of the way, dress flapping. The Shade shook off the attacks and bellowed, barrelling toward the three newcomers with its head low.
"Jen!" Lu called, dashing out of the way.
"Right behind you!" Jen Puff grinned, thumping to the ground directly in front of the charging Shade. Zelda watched in horror, but Jen raised her weapon-an enormous, pink hammer-and stopped the Shade in its tracks with an enormously powerful smack to the chin.
The Shade stumbled off, stunned, and Samus and Peach jumped back to face off with Lu.
"What do you think you're doing?" Samus demanded.
"What does it look like? We're taking care of the Shade, and we're clearly doing it better than you," Lu scoffed, casually tossing and catching a ball of blue energy in her palm. "Just leave this to the professionals."
"Look, if you let it get away…" Samus gesticulated angrily. "Just let us help you, okay? I mean, with all of us working together-"
"In your dreams, grandma," Lu said with an acidic smile.
"Oh, you did not," Samus exclaimed, but their banter was cut short when the Shade let loose with another roar. It had recovered from its beating and turned back to face the group of Magical Fighters, the little shadow balls swarming all over its body, erasing the wounds beneath.
"Looks like a healer," the girl in white cautioned.
"I can see that, Illia," Lu snapped, preparing another energy ball. "Look, we'll have to take it out fast and strong. I can count on you two to back me up, right?"
"Of course," Illia said, and Puff heaved her hammer up to rest across her shoulder, grinning.
"That won't work!" Samus called, but the three girls were oblivious. They leapt into action, light trailing from their clothes and weapons. Illia laid into the Shade with her bow, disorienting it. This allowed Lu to run in close, sinking sphere after sphere of light into its head and legs. As soon as it stumbled, Puff's hammer caught it in a brutal uppercut, sending sharp teeth flying.
The Shade hit the ground and was motionless for a few moments, but did not dissolve. Shadow balls quickly covered it, and before long it had been healed again. The Shade got back to its feet and scuffed at the ground, as if it were about to charge.
The Magical Fighters on the field got ready, but the Shade turned on its heels and fled.
"No. Get back here, coward!" Lu cried, charging after it. The Shade burst into a swarm of shadow balls, which flew, swift as the wind, out into the city. Lu slowed, then angrily kicked at the earth.
"Jen, you didn't hit it hard enough!" Lu complained.
Samus strode over to her. "Do you know what you've done!?"
"Yes, I've missed out on a perfectly good Trophy, and it's all your fault," Lu said, rounding on her. "If you hadn't been here to distract us-"
"Are you joking?" Samus growled. "I've been doing this far longer than you have, LuLu. You don't kill a healer just by laying into it with everything you've got. There's a strategy."
"Well, whatever," Lu snapped. Her Magical Fighter garb disappeared in an instant, and her girls came up behind her, also restored to normal. "Now no one's going to get the Trophy, so who really cares?"
Samus' hand went to her temple. "This is not about Trophies. This is about loosing a Shade on a city. A Shade like that could devour plenty of emotions."
"Not ours," Lu shrugged. "If it tried, we'd sense it and snatch its Trophy. And next time, we will: so stay out of our way." She flounced away, flanked by her two groupies. Puff flashed them a malicious smile as she went off.
Samus let out a shaky breath, fists clenched tight.
"Hitting them won't solve any of your problems," Peach reminded her lightly, her Fighter garb disappearing. Zelda hurried over to the two, still watching the area where the shade had flown off to. There was no further sign of it.
"I know," Samus said darkly, returning to her normal appearance. "They're just so reckless. They're only in it for the Trophies. It's beyond me how people like them get chosen to be Magical Fighters."
"Y-you guys knew they were Magical Fighters, too?" Zelda squeaked as she approached.
"Yeah. They've been a thorn in our side for months," Samus frowned, staring after them. "Like we mentioned earlier, Peach and I do our best to protect the city from any Shades that come here. When you defeat a Shade, it leaves behind a bit of its power: in the form of a little medallion called a Trophy." Samus reached inside her locket and pulled out a small, flat disk of gold as an example. Several more rattled around in the locket. "Once you collect enough of these, it's possible to upgrade your own abilities as a Magical Fighter."
"Samus has already had an upgrade," Peach said with a wink. "You'll notice her outfit is fancier and her attacks are a lot stronger than mine, and that's why."
"I hadn't really noticed that," Zelda smiled, then went silent as she remembered the Shade. "So now that thing is going to go around and eat emotions in the city?"
Samus crossed her arms. "We won't be able to find it until it manifests again, and that can take ages. You're never supposed to let Shades get away." She glared after Lu's group and the trio of girls stood there in silence.
"Well, we're very sorry to keep you here for this," Peach said after awhile, laying a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "I realize it's all so new and scary-school and Shades! You'll grow used to it all eventually. We'll… see you tomorrow?"
"Y-yeah," Zelda agreed. "I'd better get home. Bye, you two…"
Peach waved, but Samus only grunted, staring with narrowed eyes at the street where the Shade had disappeared. Zelda hurried silently off campus, eyes on the sidewalk. She hardly knew what to think anymore! From the way Samus acted, it seemed like being a Magical Fighter was a huge responsibility. Zelda wasn't sure she'd be able to live up to that, if she even did have Magical Fighter powers…
She smacked into someone and ended up on the concrete, scratching her knee. "Oh, no, not again! I'm so sorry!" she cried, cursing herself for her stupidity. Could she not go one day without smashing into everyone on the street?
"No, I'm sorry, too! Are you all right?"
For some reason, at the voice, Zelda's heart caught in her throat and it was all she could do to look up. She'd somehow managed to crash into a young man about her age-one who was particularly good-looking, with blonde hair in just the right amount of a mess; concerned blue eyes below arched eyebrows.
"I…!" Zelda exclaimed, already blushing. "N-no, I'm okay…"
"Ah, but you've scratched your knee," said the boy mournfully. "Here, at least let me grab your books. It's the least I can do." He quickly swept up her scattered books and handed them to her, then pulled her to her feet. "Really, I'm quite sorry."
Zelda blanched, suddenly noticing what he was wearing. An S.S.B. uniform? "You go to the boys' Academy!"
"And you to the girls'!" the boy said with almost equal enthusiasm, causing Zelda to blush more fiercely. "My name is Link, pleased to meet you."
"Z-Zelda," Zelda replied. "U-um, thank you. For helping me up, and with the books, I mean…"
"No problem," he said with a positively heart-melting smile, cocking his head slightly. "See you around, Zelda!"
He walked off in the other direction and Zelda struggled not to fall over. Every negative thought she'd had about the day, she now disregarded. New friends, new adventures, and an incredibly cute boy at the same school as her?
She was officially sold on S.S.B.
