Chapter 10: The Final Test
"You're going to regret the day you ever raised a sword against me," Ghirahim sneered as he flashed forward to slash Sonic. He dodged with a roll and got into position.
"Time to finish this!" Sonic grinned. He leapt forward and slashed at his enemy, but the Demon Lord deflected his blow once again. This happened a few more times before Sonic decided to try something different. He slashed, but when Ghirahim blocked, he rolled to the side and slashed his cape.
"Not again!" Ghirahim cursed, throwing his cape to the side. "Have you been training?"
"Sure have!" Sonic said. "I guess that makes one of us, huh?"
"Eragh!" Ghirahim shouted in anger, flashing forward to attack Sonic once again. Sonic jumped to avoid the attack and slammed his sword over Ghirahim's head. Even though he barely got scratched, the force of the blade hitting his skull caused him to put a hand to his head. He turned around and scowled at Sonic, who merely stood there with a cheeky grin. "You little rat...do you really think you can defeat me?"
"Oh, I know I can!" Sonic retorted.
Ghirahim swept his arm across his face. Five glowing darts flashed forward and struck Sonic, stunning him a moment. "Ungh!" he grunted. "What –" His sentence got cut off when Ghirahim slammed him in the side with his sword, knocking him to the ground. Sonic clutched his side, then looked puzzled. "Huh? No scratch?"
"Curses," Ghirahim grumbled. "I hit you with the middle of my blade. The tip is the sharp part." He twirled his sword in his hand and grinned at his foe. "Guess I better aim harder, huh?" With that, he flew forward again, thrusting his sword. Sonic rolled out of the way and stood in position, facing his foe. Ghirahim lunged again, but right as he was about to hit, Sonic disappeared. He looked around wildly, but the blue blur was nowhere to be found. "What trickery is this?!"
"No trickery," came Sonic's voice as something kicked Ghirahim in the back of the head. He looked up and saw the blue hedgehog smirking as he brushed his hands against each other. "Just the real super power of sonic speed!"
Ghirahim raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean the real super power of teamwork?"
"Shut up," Sonic deadpanned.
Zelda placed another gauze on Impa's side. Impa winced. "Ugh...he got me good."
"Will you be okay?" Zelda asked.
"Yes," Impa nodded.
"Good. Now I'm going to help Sonic." With that, she ran out of the room. A minute later, she came back in, distraught.
"What is it?" Impa asked.
"The town gate is blocked off by Ghirahim's army!" she exclaimed. "There's no way out!"
The duel between Sonic and Ghirahim continued viciously, with neither gaining an advantage over the other. Sonic thrust, but Ghirahim parried. Sonic tried to hit him over the head again, but to no avail. Even his speed couldn't fool the Demon Lord. Any time he ran to a far off space, Ghirahim used his needles to attack. They never missed. Worse, the Wind Blade was starting to wear out from the constant back-and-forth fighting.
But Ghirahim's patience wore out faster. Just when it looked like the blade couldn't go another round, the Demon Lord lunged with all his speed and strength to finish off the blue hedgehog. Sonic narrowly dodged this and pulled a roundhouse kick on Ghirahim once again. This time, the force of the blow knocked him onto his face while his sword skid across the ground. Sonic rushed at the sword and, with a mighty jump, slammed his blade into it and shattered it into little particles.
The air suddenly became quiet, with only Sonic's heavy breathing to be heard. Ghirahim slowly stood up, chuckling to himself.
"You think destroying my sword will stop me?" he sneered as he reached to draw his sword once again. His sneer vanished instantly when he failed to pull anything out. Confused, he tried again, and then again, but to no avail. "What...what is this?! Why isn't it working?!"
"Check the batteries, maybe?" Sonic shrugged.
Ghirahim glared at him. "You...you did this." He turned away, clenching his fist so hard that a small trickle of black blood came out. "I underestimated you, you filthy rat. But do not think for an instant that this is over. I will return, and when I do, I will make sure you suffer a most humiliating defeat." With that, he disappeared.
Sonic turned towards the Castle Town and saw Ghirahim's army disappear as though they had never come. He shuddered at the Demon Lord's last words as he jogged back to the castle.
"CURSE THE GODS!" Ghirahim screamed, slamming his fist into the wall repeatedly. "CURSE THEM ALL! But most of all, CURSE YOU SONIC THE HEDGEHOGGGGGGGG!"
His master watched with a deadpan expression as the Demon Lord fell to his knees, coughing. "Are you finished?" he asked, completely unmoved.
"I think I threw my voice out," he gagged. "Ugh...got any Capri Sun?"
"It's in the bathroom," his master mumbled, expression unchanged.
"Thanks," Ghirahim got up, still coughing, and went to get some juice.
His master just rolled his eyes. "If he fails again, I'm going in myself," he muttered to himself. "It seems this Sonic the Hedgehog is more of a nuisance than he made him out to be. Indeed, he is more than mere nuisance. He is a real threat." He stroked his chin, hidden in the darkness, then chuckled lightly to himself. "It seems we have a true, fair fight on our hands."
"Bleghk!" Ghirahim spat as he came back. "I hate that stuff!"
"Good," his master chuckled. "Then you can wield it against that meddling hedgehog."
The Demon Lord raised an eyebrow. "The juice?"
"No, the hatred." He stood up and towered over Ghirahim. "When you return to Hyrule Castle, hold nothing back. Destroy anything and anyone who gets in your way. Show no mercy. Perhaps Zelda's spirit will fail her, and the Triforce will be easy picking." He suddenly seized Ghirahim by his chest. "I can't keep you alive forever. The gods have only given me so much time to use you to my advantage. You haven't delivered what you promised, have you?"
"Ah, well, you know," Ghirahim shivered. "Since when do any politicians –"
"SILENCE!" his master bellowed. "You don't have a lot of time left before the gods seal you away again. If you fail, I will not be able to save you." He paused for a moment before his expression softened. "Do you understand this?"
"Yes, Master," the Demon Lord nodded.
His master dropped him to the floor. "Good. Then do as you must. I will not hear of any failure again." Ghirahim nodded, then walked away while his master gazed into the glowing red orb.
"Sonic the Hedgehog," he mused. "What sort of creature is he?"
Boy, I sure got carried away with the references in this chapter. I hope that doesn't bother you.
On another note, this story is almost done! Who knows? If NaNoWriMo and my other planned projects don't swallow my writing time, I could finish this before the month is out! Otherwise, at this rate I'll definitely finish this before the year is out.