In an instant, Link slashed and swiped his sword with wild force and accuracy, each hit continuing to hit the copy of Zelda and seeming to do more damage than the last one. Flying backwards, the copy continued to fight back, figuring the best way to defeat Link would be to fight as Sheik.
In the Sheikah form, the copy was indefinitely faster than in the Zelda incarnation. With this increased speed, the copy was able to attempt to attack Link directly with a series of quick and near-continuous series of kicks and lunges. While Link was able to fend off most of the attacks, there was no way that he could have blocked all of them, thus gathering some damage.
However, knowing that this Zelda was merely a copy of his princess, Link realized that the mechanized form of the Hylian princess must have some pattern to its attacks. Crouching behind his shield, Link successfully blocked enough of the copy's attacks to discern the pattern it was following.
Whenever this copy attacked Link, it always attacked with a series of sweeping kicks, attempting to quickly reach Link's unprotected side, and then it would use its chain somewhat unexpectedly to try and catch Link by surprise. If that worked, the copy then threw its darts at Link and repeated the process.
Finding the right time in the pattern, Link leapt up in the air during one of the kicks, startling the copy just enough for Link to securely strike with his sword pointed downwards in an attempt to plant it right in the copy's head. Link's attack hit well, knocking the copy a little ways up in the air. With his quick reflexes and instincts, Link's next move was to attempt to keep the copy up in the air by thrusting his sword upwards and continuing to send the copy flying.
However, one time the copy realized Link's methodical attempts to attack it and momentarily vanishing in an explostion. The force of the blast knocked Link downwards, and the copy took its best shot to attack Link on his way down to the Battlefield stage.
With a vicious series of kicks, the copy managed to keep Link airborne as it attacked him mercilessly with bold malice in its eyes. The damage continued to accrue upon Link as he fought bitterly to try and regain his footing for a moment. When he finally got that chance, Link leapt in midair away from the copy and landed on the opposite floating platform.
As the battle returned to even grounds, the copy readied a number of throwing darts, all aimed at Link's head. However, before it could unleash them, Link threw his boomerang at his foe and knocked it down for a moment. Seizing that opportunity, Link prepared to unleash his powerful smash attack. When the copy regained its footing, it met with the brunt of Link's blade, sending it skyward. As it returned towards him, Link readied to deliver the final blow.
However, Link felt a pulsation go through his body, one that wouldn't let him deliver a finishing blow. The brave and determined swordsman bore a shocked expression upon his face, unknowing of what was going on.
As that happened, the copy landed upon the ground, but it was relatively obvious that something was quite different about it. Since it was a robotic copy with exposed wires, it seems that the damage Link had done to the copy with his sword had caused some significant damage to the circuitry of the copy.
The copy suddenly bore a somewhat demented, sadistic smile upon its visage. For a second, Link felt a tinge of natural fear. However, in another second, Link's great courage prevailed as he waited to try and see what would happen. Still bearing that somewhat fearsome smile, the copy waved its one hand then latched itself onto Link.
Before anyone knew what was happening, the copy shone a bright shade of red and detonated itself while still holding onto Link. The ensuing explosion damaged Link very severely, leaving the man clad in green barely breathing.
Though the copy of Zelda had been defeated, it came at a very heavy cost. Though the group of five was deep within the territory of their opposition, with time running out, one of their more skilled fighters was nearly dead. Link's will to live and relentless courage would keep him alive, but there was no doubt that he was seriously out of contention from battle for a while.
Meanwhile, Bowser had finally tracked down Fox and the last two items. Upon the Great Fox, flying around in Corneria, Bowser's quest for the tenth and eleventh items came to its culmination. Before they engaged in battle, the Koopa King and the somewhat impulsive Star Fox leader stared each other down, neither one wanting to lose the ensuing battle.
As their preparations for battle were completed, the two fighters leapt at each other. Descending from the height of the great wing, Fox had the clear advantage over Bowser as he delivered a powerful kick aimed at Bowser's jaw. While still in midair, Fox decided to activate his Fire Fox maneuver and the force of the flames and Fox's body weight sent Bowser airborne for a moment.
Returning to his feet, Bowser shook his head and breathed a stream of fire in the direction of Fox. Quickly jumping, Fox easily avoided Bowser's first attack. However, Bowser decided to pursue Fox, trying to spin into the fox using his Whirling Fortress attack. Though Fox was agile in battle, this attack was able to momentarily knock him backwards. Using that opportunity, Bowser leapt into the air and used his size to attack Fox with his Bowser Bomb.
After being hit with the powerful strike, Fox was able to regain his footing for a moment and decided to let his skills as one of the guardians shine. Quickly, he delivered a series of kicks to Bowser, and when Bowser attempted to parry some of the attacks, Fox simply used his Fox Illusion and, after the effect of that attack was done, powerfully kicked Bowser in the back of the head, knocking the behemoth to the ground.
Rubbing the back of his head, Bowser returned to his feet and decided that he'd have to use the items that he brought along with him: the Star Rod and the jetpack. Choosing to reserve the Star Rod for a last resort, Bowser took out the jetpack and began to constantly float above the ground. From some experimentation, Bowser also found that he could make the jetpack increase his speed and the range of some of his attacks.
Once airborne, Bowser used the flight and movement of this mystical item to breathe a moving stream of fire after Fox, who was forced to run from this stream of flames. Eventually, Bowser had cornered Fox on the edge of the Great Fox. Continuing to breathe his stream of fire, Bowser knew that Fox would have to do something somewhat drastic in order to avoid damage.
Much to Bowser's dismay, Fox did just that; rolling out of the way of the last of Bowser's stream of fire, Fox leapt into midair and, very athletically, managed to turn his body over and kick Bowser in the gut. As a result of that kind of attack, the jetpack was thrown off-balance for a moment, sending Bowser crashing into the cockpit of the Great Fox.
Smirking for a moment, Fox continued to assault Bowser with a series of powerful kicks, culminating his intricate mode of attacks with another use of his powerful Fire Fox, engulfing Bowser in the flames for a moment before he launched himself at his opponent.
When Bowser returned to his feet, he momentarily discarded the jetpack in favor of the more powerful Star Rod. Since he knew that the Star Rod was one of the more powerful items, Fox decided, considering the severity of the situation he knew the guardians were in, to disobey the oath he had taken as a guardian. Taking out the face mask and the neck guard, Fox implemented the two items he had sworn to protect from falling into evil hands.
As he placed the two items upon his form, Fox momentarily was reduced to his hands and knees: to one opposed to injustice, the items could only bring great misfortune and pain. If Fox was to keep the two items upon him for any extended period of time, the evil presence locked away in the items would slowly seep away at the good that pervaded the guardian.
Though he had added protection to his face and neck, Fox seemed to cringe in pain, experiencing the power of these terrible items for the first time. It was if a voice spoke to Fox through the items, especially through the face mask. Though the voice spoke to him in a dark tone, Fox knew that the advice he received was sound.
"The Star Rod may grant him momentary invincibility, but you know that if you wait long enough, the power of his stolen item will eventually wear out," the voice offered as its first piece of advice to Fox.
The Star Fox commander nodded in response to the voice and decided to try and hide himself under the wing of the Great Fox while Bowser activated his invincibility. As Bowser became momentarily invulnerable, he again grew in size somewhat.
Hunting for Fox, Bowser slowly lumbered his way across the Great Fox, creating small craters in the hull of the ship with each step he took. Fox knew that at this rate, the Great Fox would be reduced to a shell of a ship and would crash land while both were still upon it.
Despite the possible wreck of his ship hanging in the balance, Fox decided to remain in a momentary hiding. However, that was not to last as Bowser found Fox in his spot. Before Bowser knew what was happening, Fox taunted Bowser, then executed his Fox Illusion when Bowser angrily lunged at him.
When Bowser landed on the ground, Fox saw that the invulnerability had momentarily worn off. The voice urged him to attack, and Fox again attacked Bowser with a series of kicks, eventually using a smash kick in order to knock Bowser up into the air. When Fox went up to attack Bowser in midair again, he saw that the invulnerability had returned.
Realizing that Fox was around him, Bowser grabbed him with the Koopa Klaw and chewed him up (literally). Then, throwing Fox to the ground, Bowser again used his Bowser Bomb and used the full brunt of his new size and nearly flattened Fox into the Great Fox.
As much as Fox tried to come up with some defense for the attacks that Bowser now was using against him, neither he nor the mask could create a legitimate strategy: the Star Rod, doubled with the sheer size of Bowser were nearly unable to be beaten. As valiantly as he had fought, Fox faced only defeat.
When the battle concluded, Bowser forcefully removed the two items from Fox and surprisingly found that the outline of where the items were on Fox seemed to burn as if they were acidic to him. Once Bowser had full possession of the last two items, he saw again the same vision he had seen: destruction by the hands of one being.
Despite the greatest efforts by the guardians and the five heroes sent to try and halt the plans of the three evildoers, they failed in their attempt to stop the eleven items from falling into the wrong hands. It would take nothing short of a miracle for their foes to be thwarted.
