It is now time for the final brawl against the Renegades. Zelda and Link have both defeated their respective opponents (with Link's match ending in a draw). As far as his friends are concerned, after this fight everything can go back to normal. Only Red knows that this is nowhere near finished, this is only the beginning. Read my profile because I need an OC for a different story that I haven't started yet. Hopefully my Inbox won't bet overflowed. Just kidding,t hat be great. Later viewers.

Chapter 10: Red vs. Snake

Snake was a seasoned fighter but even he was taken off guard by Red's new powers. He adopted a bemused expression, crossing his arms as he did so, and studied Red's fiery blade. Just how the hell did that happen? Red noticed his gaze and hefted Dragon Claw. "Thanks to the beating you guys gave me last time, you somehow unlocked some hidden power deep inside of me." He pointed the blade at Snake. "Now I'm going to use them to return the favor."

He took another step forward…right onto a buried mine. It went off with a loud explosion, dust shrouding Red. The shockwave blew past Snake, his bandana flapping in the wind. Snake laughed out loud. "Tough talk kid, but that seems to be pretty useless in a fight." He abruptly stopped laughing as Red calmly stepped through the cloud of dust. It flowed off his body in swirls before it slowly faded away. Snake stared at him, both hands dropping to his belt. Well, that didn't work.

Snake grabbed the grenades by the pins, pulling them out and tossing the grenades lightly in the air. Tossing the pins behind him, he primed the grenades as they fell back into his hands. He threw them diagonally over each other and watched as they spiraled towards the advancing Red. "Catch!" he called after them.

Red normally would've been slightly worried if it hadn't been for the powers that Tabuu controlled through him. The energy being controlled him very much like a puppeteer. With a twitch to a couple of strings, Red's arms whipped into motion. He caught one grenade in a fiery fist and sliced the other one out of the air. With a flash of fire, his wings blasted behind and sent him hurtling towards Snake. His hand drew behind his back, the grenade still intact.

Snake could barely believe his eyes. He hadn't even seen Red's sword move. One moment it was at his side, the next it was in the air and one of the grenades had gone off. He did not just cut that one in half…did he? He wondered what had happened to the other one but soon found out. Before he could blink, Red had closed the distance and delivered a left handed uppercut to his jaw. Snake recalled something shiny at the moment of impact but then the something exploded. He was blasted into the air and when he reached the height of his flight he had a moment to make sense of what happened. "That kid caught one of my grenades." He shook his head as he began to fall. "How the hell did he do that!?"

Tabuu wasted a second to watch Snake soar skywards. Planting his feet in a wide position, he said in a quiet voice "Twister". Fire and dust spiraled around and encased Red in a whirling tornado. The attack flew upwards, heading straight for Snake. Said person looked down, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Seems he's not gonna let me touch down in peace.

The tornado engulfed the Renegade and for a while he was being spun around the spinning death storm. A burning claw reached from inside the vortex and grabbed Snake by his straps. He was pulled into the eye of the storm and was staring the storms creator in the eye. Red stared right back then smirked. "Going down." He said. Next thing Snake knew, he was sent hurtling towards the ground. The wind caught him before he hit and blew him back towards Red.

Tabuu put Dragon Claw over his chest, the blade trailing fire in the wind. As Snake drew level with him the sword came swinging towards the rising mercenary. Snake was launched from the storm just as it died down. He slammed into one of the pillars, landing on the top platform. Red slowly floated opposite of Snake, remnants of the storm barely visible around him. Snake slowly stood up and spat some blood out. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grimaced at the red that he saw.

Red watched him calmly and grinned evilly. "Don't even bother; you're going to be getting much worse than that." His wings burst forth with renewed flames, some of them ever so slightly coating his arms. "You might not leave here alive!" he growled and shot towards the staggering Snake, Dragon Claw aimed for his heart.

Snake dodged to one side, avoiding the blade that had been so close to running him through. It still managed to give him a shallow cut on his side. He hissed as the cut began to burn. He ignored the pain long enough to swiftly deliver a kick to Red's midsection and jumped onto the ground below. Red didn't really seem to notice the attack and leisurely drew his sword out of the wall. It created a screeching sound that set Snakes teeth on edge. "You can thank me later; I cauterized your wound that way you won't die from blood loss." He said without turning around.

He heard a click below him and swung the sword behind him, slicing the grenade in half. It exploded harmlessly. Red now turned around and looked down at Snake. "How long will it take for you to realize that your little toys are useless?" he called down.

Snake got on one knee and pulled his mortar out. He dropped a shell in the barrel and closed his ears as the explosive flew towards Red. He launched two more before the first one had even hit. There was a trio of explosions as the pillar collapsed on top of Red. Snake dusted his hands off and eyed the pile of rubble. "Probably never." He quipped.

There was a rumble as the pile began to shake. With a sound of tearing metal and wind, the debris swung upward in another twister. Snake was buffeted by the wind and nimbly jumped, slid, and ducked the flying wreckage. He wasted no time and began to chuck grenade after grenade into the storms maw. A flurry of explosions went off and the tornado ceased to exist. Red was standing on top of the rubble now and seemed stunned. He looked at Snake in alarm and called in a panicked voice. "Snake, this isn't me! I'm being controlled by Tabuu!" he fell to one knee as he was wracked with tremors.

"He's trying to regain control and I can't hold him off much longer." He looked at the speechless Renegade with pain in his eyes, both physical and mental. "I need you to warn everyone and if it comes to it…kill me." He gasped as his body began to stand up on its own. "BEFORE I KILL YOU!" his face was at once filled with anger and Snake didn't think it was at him.

"You incredible fool!" he seemed to be talking to himself now. "You think that you could take advantage of that distraction and try to ruin my plans!?" he grinned and the smile reminded Snake of a bare skull. "You want to fight me, then I will take what is dear to you! You very well might get killed and that would disrupt my plans but I will make sure that the cost will be great to us both!"

He gave Snake a sidelong glance. "I'm afraid that our business will have to be cut short, Renegade." Snake drew his bazooka and sent a missile speeding towards Red. Or is it Tabuu? Who is this guy anyways? He gritted his teeth as Red cut through the incoming rocket and began to walk towards him. Who cares? That kid said that he wanted me to kill him and that's what I'm going to do.

Snake stood up and sprinted towards Red. "I don't know what is going on but I was hired to beat Red!" he called to no one in particular. "I don't know if your still there but that just means that my target and objective have changed!" his hands moved in a blur and had expertly primed a C-4. He put it on his belt and put his hands in the air just as Red swung the sword down at him.

He caught Red's hands and bared his grunted with the effort. "This is bigger than me so it shouldn't matter if I become collateral damage!" he flicked up the switch that he held in one of his hands. "NOW! WE BOTH DIE!" he locked eyes with Red as a timer began to count down from thirty seconds on the C-4. They both glanced down at it.

Red/Tabuu scoffed. "That was pretty anti-climactic." He struggled to break free of Snake's grip.

"Really, this blast will probably kill you but haven't you already seen how useless they are against me; you'll die in vain, fool." He said and relaxed.

Snake shook his head. "Since we still have some time I would like to let you know that this is no ordinary C-4." Red cocked his head. "Please, do tell."

Snake continued. "Red previously fought with upgraded items. That's what this is like and it has enough power to destroy this entire stage; I just never use it because there isn't enough time to escape the blast."

The blood drained from Red's face and he looked back at the timer. There was only ten seconds left. "I am much faster than you, I could still make it!" He tried moving but he felt like he was moving in water. "WHAT IS THIS!?"

Snake grimaced as the final seconds ticked away. "When it gets to ten seconds it slows time down; a little insurance and the reason that you're not getting away." He closed his eyes as the C-4 began to glow bright white.

Red watched with glad eyes as a soundless explosion erupted around him. He had helped keep Tabuu at bay in the final countdown. Tabuu himself wouldn't die but he, Tabuu's instrument of destruction, would at least not be able to hurt anymore people. His eyes began to shine with unshed tears. He blinked, allowing a single tear to trace a path down his face. Since the explosion was soundless, Zelda could hear the two words whispered for her. "Bye Zelda." Then the screen failed and winked out.

Zelda sat watching the black screen even though there was nothing left to watch. She couldn't get any words out as tears began to coat her face. Her heart couldn't, no wouldn't, accept what had just happened. She picked herself up and walked over to the three unconscious smashers next to her. I didn't get to say good-bye Red and until I do, you are not leaving me.

No, this is not the end but it is a cliffhanger. Has Red died along with Snake? Maybe this will stop Tabuu's plans for good, or maybe he will just take control of someone else? I would greatly appreciate every ones opinions on this story and what they think might happen. Later.