A/N: Apologies for putting this out a little later then usual, I've been playing BDSP nonstop with all my free time and have been having a great time! The flip side is that I've been distracted from putting this chapter out. Either way, its here, hope you enjoy!
Ally Analysis: Ganondorf
Ganondorf is one of our most physically imposing and powerful allies. This power is well diversified and is split between Ganondorf's physical and magical abilities.
I would like to focus on Ganondorf's physical abilities first. The most prominent part of Ganondorf's combat style is his swordsmanship. He wields a composite style based off of a number of Gerudo sword techniques but draws mostly from a strength based Gerudo style. Despite his strength-based style, Ganondorf's alterations have allowed him to maintain a surprising amount of flexibility and speed, making his style a truly frightening prospect to face. This is combined with his sword, a large anti-armor sword. It's a powerful weapon that compliments his powerful style perfectly. In addition to his swordsmanship, Ganondorf is a highly skilled hand to hand combatant, a master of the Gerudo Sand Fist style, and is not to be taken lightly. I would also like to mention that Ganondorf maintains peak or near peak Gerudo physicality and his physical strength is prodigious.
Secondly, I'll focus on Ganondorf's magical abilities. While many of these are poorly understood and the full extent known only to Ganondorf himself, he does make excellent use of dark energy magic, combining it with his sword and martial arts attacks to create devastatingly powerful techniques. He also has been known to hurl balls of dark energy magic at his opponents, as a powerful but a somewhat slow ranged attack. Ganondorf's most powerful application of his dark magic is his ability to transform into various monsters. He has been seen transforming into various creatures such as a giant spider or giant boar in the past, though his most powerful transformation is an enormous chimera monster called Calamity Ganon. All in all, Ganondorf is a tremendously valuable asset to our side.
It is difficult to say what could be suggested to help Ganondorf improve his combat style without a comprehensive understanding of his magical abilities. As such, I will only make a few recommendations for his physical combat method. First, I will recommend the use of more weapons then just his sword. Even bringing a few knives would grant more diversity and options in combat. Second, I would like to recommend that Ganondorf consider more modern weaponry as an option. While I do not mean to write off his tremendously powerful style by any means, I think that pieces of advanced technology could be tremendously powerful in the hands of a warrior as capable as Ganondorf.
Act 7: King Dedede
Chapter 5: Last Resort
Dedede stared down Ganondorf, hammer at the ready as the other Smashers were caught up in their own battles. He pressed a button on the haft of his hammer and began charging the jet. Ganondorf smirked and lunged for him. Dedede grit his teeth and swung his weapon, narrowly missing Ganondorf as he dove aside. The dark lord quickly regained his footing, taking a guard stance with his sword. Dedede checked the pocket in his coat. He had only 3 Gordos available, and more that he could deploy in his IDD. And considering the opponent he was up against, he probably wasn't going to have much time to do that. He'd have to make them count.
Ganondorf quickly went on the offensive, taking several powerful one handed slashes at Dedede, who blocked them with some effort. Ganondorf suddenly raised his sword over his head, both hands on his blade.
"Warlock BLADE!"
Dedede took a quick sidestep as Ganondorf's sword, now covered in malignant purple energy, slammed into the ground near him. The resulting explosion just barely didn't reach Dedede, who hefted his hammer and landed a heavy strike square against the dark lord's chestplate. It sent Ganondorf reeling several steps backward.
"Heh! You aren't so bad after all! Clearly, I underestimated you! This will be a good fight!" said Ganondorf with a dark grin.
"Of course you did, ya big lug!" grunted Dedede, as he hurled himself forward, hammer at the ready.
He swung his hammer, but Ganondorf sidestepped it easily. Ganondorf prepared to counter, but Dedede grit his teeth and jumped high into the air, using his forward momentum to sail straight over a few houses, before landing in a crater in somebody's backyard. As Dedede pulled himself to his feet, he discreetly popped one of his Gordos into his mouth. It wasn't a second too soon, as the nearby fence got blasted into bits as Ganondorf strode through, his fist glowing with purple energy.
"I never would have expected you to be the type to flee," said Ganondorf, charging an energy ball in his hand. "I suppose we're all full of surprises. But you can't outrun me."
Dedede just glared at him. If he had tried to talk, it would have been a dead giveaway for the Gordo.
"Nothing to say this time, eh? Well, it won't save you. Warlock Shot!"
Ganondorf hurled the energy ball at Dedede, before rushing at him, his foot glowing with the same purple energy.
"Wizard's Foot!"
Dedede ducked out of the path of the energy ball, before thrusting the head of his hammer out, forcing Ganondorf to sidestep. He spat the Gordo in his mouth at Ganondorf with immense force, offbalancing him, and causing him to stumble and fall. Dedede slammed his hammer down, but Ganondorf rolled to the side, purple energy already charging in his fist.
"Warlock Punch!"
Dedede grunted as the punch slammed square into his gut. He staggered back, coughing. That hurt. A lot. And clearly that dark magic crap Ganondorf was using made the strike hit harder. But he'd had worse. Ganondorf was gonna have to do better than that if he wanted to win.
Dedede gave Ganondorf a dirty look as he got to his feet and took a cautious guard stance. Ganondorf adjusted his grip on his blade and paced around Dedede in a circle, like a wolf. Dedede turned as he walked to keep facing his opponent, ready for the slightest sign of an attack.
Dedede glared as his opponent, his gaze never faltering. Ganondorf looked like he was on a stroll in the park. What was this, some sort of mind game?
Dedede grit his teeth. He had no idea what Ganondorf was up to, but it was taking too long. He suddenly lunged forward, and swung his hammer at Ganondorf with an overhead strike. Ganondorf caught the hammer head with his hands, glowing again with purple energy. He grunted against the strain, but his eyes widened as Dedede's thumb slid down to the button on the handle.
Quick as a flash, Ganondorf shoved the hammer to the side and jumped the other way as the jet engine in the hammer roared to life. The weapon crashed into the ground, cracking the pavers underneath and forming a small crater. Dedede quickly readied his hammer, as Ganondorf rolled into a crouching position. Suddenly, he hurled his sword at Dedede. There was only one thing to do. Dedede opened his mouth and inhaled the sword, before spitting it back from whence it came. Ganondorf sidestepped the homecoming projectile, where it buried itself deep into the concrete near the edge of somebody's pool.
Ganondorf raised an eyebrow in shock, before turning back to Dedede. Dedede adjusted his grip on his hammer and awaited his assault.
Ganondorf rushed in and threw a couple of punches, which Dedede blocked, followed by a shove kick. It didn't move Dedede, but it threw off his balance a little, enough for Ganondorf to turn and dash back to where his sword landed. Dedede narrowed his eyes, and rushed at Ganondorf, Jet Hammer charging as he rushed towards his target. Ganondorf grabbed his sword by the hilt and wrenched it free, bits of concrete flying into the air. Dedede slammed his hammer into the ground as Ganondorf barely jumped out the way, shattering the concrete he'd been standing on just a second ago. Ganondorf cloaked his foot in purple energy and quickly retaliated with a kick.
"Wizard's Foot!"
The attack struck Dedede in the side forcefully, sending him staggering a few steps. Dedede grunted in pain. That stung, a lot. Yeah, it had to be all that dark magic crockery that was boosting his damage output. He'd have to avoid more hits like that.
Quick as a flash, Dededede struck Ganondorf in the face with the shaft of his hammer, before landing a brutal headbutt. Seeing stars from the attack, Dedede grabbed a Gordo from within his coat and chucked it at Ganondorf. The villain managed to defect it with his sword, but Dedede shook the stars out of his vision and barreled at him. He hefted his hammer around, and brought it down on Ganondorf, who blocked the strike with his sword. The two pushed against each other, matching strength against strength.
Ganondorf shoved the hammer aside, and rushed in for a barrage of sword strikes. Dedede quickly hefted his hammer in a defensive maneuver and blocked the barrage. Ganondorf hefted his sword over his head.
"Doriyah!"
Dedede grunted as the blade struck the handle of his hammer. He shoved the sword aside, and then shoved his mallet's head square into Ganondorf's gut, shoving him back. He pointed the top of his mallet at his opponent, pressing a button as he did. The top of the hammer opened up to reveal a number of missiles, which Dedede promptly fired. The rockets combined into a large explosion, sending Ganondorf flying. Dedede quickly hit another button on the handle of his mallet, before pressing a button on the IDD in his glove. He was going to take any opportunity to refill on Gordos, and it would only be helpful to deploy the next set of rockets into his hammer preemptively.
Dedede was stashing his extra Gordo in his coat pocket when he caught a glowing ball of energy out of the corner of his eye. He quickly inhaled the projectile, and returned it to the sender, who was standing on the roof of a nearby building. Ganondorf jumped down, charging another energy ball in his hand. As he did, a dark color began swirling in the energy ball, expanding it to the size of an exercise ball.
"Sphere of Darkness!" yelled Ganondorf, before throwing it. Dedede took a deep breath and began rushing at Ganondorf, jumping high into the air as he did, sailing well over the energy ball. He landed with a massive shockwave, causing Ganondorf to stumble as rushed in, sword swinging. The dark lord rolled to his feet but was forced to roll again as Dedede slammed his hammer down onto the place where he once was. He jumped to his feet, and rushed at Dedede. Instead of attacking him with his sword, Ganondorf feinted with his sword, before grabbing Dedede by the coat and dragging him to the ground. Dedede grunted as he hit the ground heavily, but there was no time to think, there was only time to react.
"DORIYAH!"
Dedede blocked the strike with the haft of his hammer, shoving up with all his might against the massive armor cleaving sword that was just inches away from his chest.
"That's….it…." grunted Dedede. "Y'all in for it now…."
With a mighty effort, he shoved Ganondorf's sword back, reached into his coat for his last two Gordos, stuffed one into his mouth and chucked the other. Ganondorf, having recovered his footing, batted away the thrown Gordo with ease. Dedede scrambled to his feet, and barely managed to block Ganondorf's follow up strike, shunting it aside.
"Wizard's Foot!"
Dedede spat the second Gordo at Ganondorf, but the spike ball was blasted aside by the attack. Dedede grunted in pain as the kick slammed his side, but he managed to headbutt Ganondorf as he tried to swing his sword again. His finger slipped down to a different button as he hissed in pain. This had gone on for long enough.
"WHIRLWIND HAMMER!" boomed Dedede, as his jet hammer roared to life. He began to spin, holding his hammer out, and whirled towards Ganondorf. The dark lord attempted to block the attack, but his sword was knocked clean out of his hands, and he was sent flying, crashing clean through an unfortunate doghouse, the fence behind it, and the shed behind the fence, before finally being stopped by a large tree. A number of dead leaves and acorns rained down from the leafy canopy.
Ganondorf got to his feet, a little slower than he had before. Dedede stared warily, but quickly felt a spike of panic as Ganondorf's eyes began glowing.
"Well, you're certainly more of a thorn then I bargained you being. But there's still no escape for you! HRRRAAAAAAGHHH!"
Ganondorf began glowing as dark magic energy swirled around him. Dedede, realizing that this would take Ganondorf a moment, began deploying a few extra Gordos. As the glowing reached its peak intensity, his shape began to change and expand. As the glowing died down, Dedede gave the giant bipedal pig monster armed with two swords in front of him a wary glare.
"Pig monster? That all you got?" yelled Dedede defiantly.
"All I've got?" boomed Ganondorf, brandishing his twin swords. "You're going to regret those words! Ganon is not so easily defeated!"
Dedede grabbed one of his Gordos, tossed it into his mouth and spat it as hard as he could. It struck Ganon square in the nose. It hardly seemed to phase him. Dedede grit his teeth. That wasn't good, was it?
He pointed his hammer at Ganondorf, and fired off another barrage of rockets. They exploded on the monster as it advanced on Dedede. It slowed it down Ganon, but only for a moment.
"HAH! Your pitiful hammer does nothing now!" boomed Ganon.
Dedede glanced down at his hammer and pressed a button.
"WHIRLWIND HAMMER!" he shouted, spinning at Ganon with all his might.
Ganon brought his swords up in a guard position and managed to stop the strike with some effort. Undeterred, Dedede gathered his strength into his legs and jumped into the air, high above Ganon's head, before plummeting down onto his tail, crushing it. Ganon roared in pain as Dedede capitalized on the opening and landed a solid Jet Hammer to the monster's back sending him a few steps forward.
Ganondorf turned around, swords swinging, almost as if unharmed. Dedede narrowly jumped out of the sword's range, but was forced to dodge again as Ganon lunged at him. Dedede ducked under one swing and sidestepped another with just millimeters to spare, before jumping into the air, and landing with a heavy thud some distance away. He was going to need to put some distance between himself and this monster.
Dedede quickly pressed a button on his IDD. It was time to use his emergency measure. Thankfully, what he was deploying wasn't very technical or complicated in nature. Ganon had already turned and was rushing at him again. It was going to be a close thing.
A sphere like object materialized in his hand. As the light cleared, Dedede crushed it in his hand with no hesitation, and the rainbow aura of the Smash Ball washed over him.
Dedede hefted his hammer, and growled, "Y'all in trouble now!"
He reared his hammer back and swung with all his might. Ganondorf crashed into his hammer, sword first, and stopped cold in his tracks.
"Hah! How d'ya like that!"
Dedede sidestepped the followup strike, before landing a powerful swing to Ganon's face. Ganon staggered back for a moment, as Dedede landed another strike, followed by another, each hit releasing a small shockwave from the force of the he hits. Dedede grinned as Ganon jumped back, his swords in a guard stance. It was on now. Oh, it was on.
Ganondorf began charging dark energy in his mouth and fired a laser of dark energy at Dedede, who jumped away as Ganon swept his attack in a wide arc. The villain followed it up by cloaking his entire body in dark energy and rushing at Dedede. Dedede rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, as Ganon plowed through several fences and sheds like they were matchsticks. He grit his teeth. He was gonna have to avoid that attack. Unless….he could overpower it? He was being boosted by the Smash Ball right now after all. This could work after all….
"Come on, big guy!" shouted Dedede. "That all you got? I thought Link said you were strong!"
Ganon turned and roared menacingly, a few windows in the nearby houses shattering from the terrible, screeching howl.
Dedede pressed several buttons as Ganon rushed at him. It was all or nothing now. The hammer's jet engine revved to life as Ganon cloaked his swords in dark energy as he got nearer. Whatever that was, it was definitely looking to be a strong attack.
"HURRICANE HAMMER!" boomed Dedede as he began spinning at immense speed. As he did, the jet engine flared to life and powered the strike even more.
"DARKNESS RUSH!" roared Ganon as he gathered dark energy around his body and began to charge at Dedede.
A split second later, Dedede's hammer and Ganon's swords collided with immense force. Dedede was thrown to the ground from the force of the attack, his hammer sent flying off several meters. He looked up to see Ganon, still on his feet, but having clearly lost his balance. His swords were both stuck in the ground.
Dedede grinned. Maybe his attack had worked?
Suddenly, Ganon pulled his fist back cloaking it in a dark aura. Dedede's grin quickly fell. That wasn't good, was it? He tried to scramble to his feet, but Ganon was already on top of him and his fist crashed into him like a runaway freight train.
Dedede was sent flying through the air. He crashed through somebody's house, obliterating the outer wall, and several interior walls as he went. Dedede rolled over, groaning. His entire body screamed in pain as he tried to pull himself to his feet. He tried to move his left arm, but warning shots of pain ripped through it as he tried. That had to be broken. He looked up to see Ganon go to retrieve his swords. That wasn't good. If only he could find his hammer, he might have a chance…
He hefted himself to his feet slowly and grabbed a night stand. Without a second of hesitation, he popped it into his mouth. He checked his pocket as he limped through the holes that he'd made from flying through the walls. One more Gordo. He'd have to make it count.
As he made his way outside the house, he saw Ganon wrench one of his swords out of the ground like it was a knife stuck in a watermelon. Dedede blanched. Could he take this guy on even if he was down a sword? He looked around, hoping to see one of his allies, maybe Red, or Meta Knight or Link. But none of them were in sight. He was going to need some backup, and fast. He looked around and spotted his hammer, lying on the ground in the driveway of the neighbor's house. He shuffled towards it as quickly as he could, cradling his broken arm.
He heard a whistling through the air, and turned his head just in time to see Ganon's sword hurtling through the air at him. Dedede quickly spat the nightstand out of his mouth as hard as he could. Thankfully, the projectile managed to stop the sword, burying itself into the blade and offsetting its momentum. The sword fell, crashing to the ground, its blade stuck halfway into the nightstand.
Dedede grunted as Ganon ripped his other sword out of the ground and started making a beeline towards him. He was going to need to move fast. Dedede could hear the thunderous footsteps approaching as he neared his hammer. He picked it up with his good hand, pressed the Jet Hammer button, and took a wild swing as Ganon rushed up to him. He managed to bat the incoming sword strike aside, but was left wide open for the follow up punch to the face.
Again, Dedede was sent flying, his hammer knocked out of his grasp and his injured arm exploding with pain as he tumbled across the ground.
Ganon retrieved his other sword as Dedede curled up on the ground, trying not to scream. It wasn't just his arm, pain radiated throughout his entire body. A few traitorous tears leaked from his eyes. Dedede looked up to see Ganon advance on him, both swords in hand.
"Well, well, well. You certainly pushed me farther then I was expecting. I'll give you that. But in the end, you were no match."
Ganondorf raised his sword, ready to strike.
There was a dark flash with a golden streak in front of him as the sword came down. Dedede blinked his eyes. Was that….
"You will not harm his majesty any further!" commanded a steady voice that Dedede knew well.
"Meta Knight?"
The Star Warrior turned.
"Your majesty. I will end this villain here. You have fought valiantly, but please allow us to vanquish this fiend."
Turning back to Ganon, Meta Knight brandished Galaxia.
Suddenly, a bluish arrow and a reddish arrow shot through the air, accompanied by a separate twinkle. The projectiles struck Ganon in the chest, one exploding with bluish energy and the other with a fireball. Ganon staggered for a moment.
"Dedede? Dedede? Are you all right?" asked another familiar voice. Dedede looked up to see Kirby, his body covered in blue streaks, as he rushed up to him, concern etched all over his face.
"I'm fine Kirby," grunted Dedede as he tried to pull himself up. He grimaced as he did, his injured arm protesting even the slightest movement as more pain shot through his sides.
"No, you're not," said Kirby. "We need to get you out of here."
"Grab me my hammer," said Dedede, making more of an effort to get up.
"No!" said Kirby. "You're hurt badly! What would Meta Knight say if I let you back in the fight? And anyway, Meta and Link and the others have this, right?"
Dedede looked up to see Meta Knight and Link dancing around Ganon's powerful strikes, while Sheik hurled needles and Deku nuts from a distance and Young Link, now in his Rito form, rained arrows from the sky. Red, Green, and their Pokemon ran up to them.
"How bad is the damage?" asked Green sharply.
"He's beaten up pretty bad," said Kirby immediately, before Dedede could say anything.
Green nodded, and pulled out a Pokeball.
"Machamp! I need you to help me get Dedede out of danger! Scizor! Cover us!"
Red nodded and turned to Kirby. "Come on! Let's go help the others!"
Suddenly, a loud shout was heard from behind them.
"WATCH OUT!" yelled Young Link.
All heads turned to see Ganon charging at them. Red immediately chucked two Pokeballs, and Lax and Pika landed next to Poli.
"Let's get him! TRIPLE FINISH!" shouted Red. Immediately, Lax fired a Hyper Beam, Poli unleashed a Hydro Pump and Pika shot a Thunder. The three attacks converged into a powerful whitish blue beam, crackling with electricity.
Kirby cupped his hands and gathered bluish energy in his hands.
"Ancient Laser!"
He fired a large bluish beam from his hands, striking Ganon next to where Red's Pokemon's attacks were landing. Green narrowed his eyes as Ganon's charge began to slow, pushing hard against the powerful attacks.
"Machamp! Cover Dedede! Scizor! Use X Scissor!"
Scizor rushed up to Ganondorf and landed a powerful X shaped slash to his belly, eliciting a howl of pain.
"Now! Use Superpower!"
Scizor followed up his attack with a powerful two handed punch against Ganon's gut.
From behind, Link had drawn his bow and was shooting arrows alongside Young Link, while Sheik continued to pepper the monster with her needles and Meta Knight fired off several sword beams.
As Red and Kirby's attacks began to die down, Green shouted, "U Turn! Get out of there!"
Scizor rushed up and landed a slash before turning and zipping back to Green. As it did, Link sprang into action.
"Helm Splitter!"
Link vaulted into the air and landed an overhead strike. Sheik was right behind him, but opted to strike low with a powerful slash of her short sword.
"Edge of Midnight!"
The two jumped back as Ganon turned on his heel. The two pointed their Sheikah gauntleted hands at Ganondorf, pulsing with energy.
"Guardian Beam!" they shouted in unison, as two powerful lasers flashed out and struck Ganon square in the face. Ganon was knocked back a step or two, as Young Link, having switched to his Goron form, rushed at him and landed a powerful body slam. Ganon stumbled back, but managed to recover quickly, and landed a powerful kick to Young Link as he charged again, sending him flying through another house.
However, before he could do anything, Meta Knight warped next to him with the Dimensional Cape and landed a quick flurry of slashes.
"Knightly Barrage!"
Dedede managed a faint smile, despite the pain he was in as Ganon howled in agony. Next to him, Kirby began shooting a storm of lasers from his hands, each one exploding with deadly force. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his last Gordo. He reeled his arm back and hurled it, somewhat awkwardly. Dedede grinned with satisfaction as it struck Ganon straight in the nose.
Ganon swung his swords viciously as Meta Knight rushed in for an attack. The Star Warrior blocked the attacks, but was thrown off balance, and warped away with his dimensional cape before Ganon could follow up.
Ganon swung his tail at Kirby as he circled away from Dedede, still firing lasers. Kirby created a shield around himself, but the tail strike smashed straight through it, and he was sent flying by the force of the hit.
Dedede paused, and then looked around in some confusion. Where were the others? Ganon lowered his arms from his guard position and snapped his head around. He looked like he caught something out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late, as Sheik, Link and Meta Knight suddenly rushed in and plunged their swords deep into Ganon's sides. The monster let out a ghastly shriek before collapsing and thrashing wildly. Link, Sheik and Meta Knight quickly jumped back as the massive form of Ganon eventually turned black and faded away, leaving Ganondorf in the middle.
The villain pulled himself to his feet, his original sword still in hand. He took a look around at the Smashers surrounding him. He sheathed his sword and began clapping.
"Bravo, Smashers. It is no easy thing to defeat my Monster Ganon form. However, I'm afraid that I must bid you all farewell for the present."
"And where will you run?" asked Meta Knight, pointing the gleaming tip of Galaxia at Ganondorf.
Ganondorf gave him a bemused smile and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a portal appeared next to him on the ground. He gave a dangerous smile.
"Farewell, Smashers. We will meet again soon."
With no further delay, he jumped straight through the portal.
Link rushed up to the portal and dove through, just before it closed.
"Green, you get Dedede to safety, I'll go back up Link!" said Red. "Sheik! Aero! Let's go!"
Red released his Aerodactyl, and clambered onto its back. As they took off, Aero grabbed Sheik by the shoulders, before soaring off into the distance. Meta Knight quickly made his way into the rubble to find Young Link and Kirby.
Green turned to Dedede as Red and his Pokemon quickly took off in search of Young Link.
"Are you all right?"
Dedede grit his teeth. "Sort of."
Suddenly Dedede heard rapid footsteps coming towards him.
"Dedede! All right! Is anything broken? Are you bleeding anywhere?" spouted off Kirby.
"My arm's not doing so hot," grumbled Dedede. "I'm beat up but I think the rest of me is ok."
Or at least hopefully that was true. You couldn't secretly have a broken rib or something that you wouldn't feel, right? Dedede really hoped that it wasn't true, he was already in enough pain as it was.
"Kirby, go help Meta Knight. I can get Dedede back to camp by myself," said Green.
"Got it!" said Kirby, before running off in the direction Meta Knight had gone.
Green turned to his Machamp, recalling Scizor.
"Machamp! Can you carry him?"
Machamp walked over to Dedede, who held up his good arm. Machamp helped Dedede to his feet. Dedede winced as his broken arm protested any sort of movement but managed to stabilize himself on his feet. Machamp put his arm over its shoulder while wrapping two of its other arms around Dedede to support him. Machamp nodded at Green and gave a thumbs up with its free hand.
"Be careful. Let's get him back to camp without hurting him anymore. I'll cover you," said Green, reaching for another Pokeball. "Kabutops! We're going to cover Machamp and Dedede. Let's move!"
Some distance away…..
Link rolled out of the portal and looked around him. Ganondorf was only a few feet away, standing just in front of a much larger, swirling portal. The forest was dense here, with the portal he'd just jumped out of sat up against the trunk of a large tree, with the larger portal sitting up against the side of a cliff.
Link lunged forward, but Ganondorf turned and blocked his strike with his own sword.
"Ah, you're not so easily disposed of, are you, hero?" said Ganondorf.
"No, I'm not," said Link.
Link jumped back but maintained his fighting stance.
"Hmph. Its why you've always been a thorn in my side," said Ganondorf.
"I think I've been a bit more than just a thorn. I've foiled your plans before and I'm going to do it again," said Link.
"You're out of your league, hero. Even if you defeat me, there are more powerful fighters then just me."
"Like Ridley?"
"And more. Even some that could defeat your precious Hands. More powerful than even me. You may have numbers, but you don't stand a chance."
"We'll see about that."
"We will see. Though don't think for an instant that I'm not going to get my rematch, hero."
Link glared impassively, his face resolute. "You think you're going to win? And anyway, since when were you such a team player?"
Ganondorf merely smirked. "Things have changed. And I will soon have my revenge on you, and I will rule Hyrule. Farewell, hero."
With a wicked grin, Ganondorf stepped through the portal. A moment later, the portal closed.
Link's grip on his sword relaxed, though he stood there for a few moments, waiting for something to happen. But nothing came, other than the wind gently blowing through the trees.
Link sheathed his weapon and sat down on a nearby rock. Thank goodness there was no trick to the portal. He pulled out his cellphone and checked his connection. He had one bar of reception. Good enough for him. He activated his distress beacon and sighed. Now to wait until Red or Green came to pick him up.
In Crossing Village….
Dedede grimaced as they slowly entered the town hall. He caught Kirby out of the corner of his eye as the puffball caught up with him, having discarded his powerup.
"Looks like the area's clear!" said Kirby cheerily. His optimistic mood fell. "You're not seriously hurt, are you?"
Dedede shook his head with some effort. "Not too bad, I think. It looks worse than it is!"
"He's beat up, but I don't think he has any life threatening injuries," clarified Green. "How's Young Link?"
"Shaken but he's not seriously hurt, just bruised. I guess that Goron form of his is just that tough," said Kirby.
"That's good then," said Green.
Kirby glared at Dedede. "It took 8 of us to beat him the last time he tried to take over the world! What were you doing taking him on by yourself? You could have gotten killed!"
Dedede gave him a look. "He attacked me first! And anyway, I was doing just fine until he knocked my hammer away!"
Kirby just sighed. "Don't do it again, all right?"
Dedede looked away. It had been a pretty close shave.
"All right."
Several Hours Later….
Dedede looked at the new cast on his arm wryly. He looked over to where Raddle was writing a few notes on a clip board.
"All right, you are good to go. I want you taking it very easy until you get your doctor to look at your arm, all right?"
"You got it, doc!" said Dedede.
"All right. Also keep me posted on when and where you're taking our mayor," said Raddle.
"Will do!" said Dedede as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.
Dedede walked out of the clinic room, his body still aching, but not as bad as it had earlier. Thankfully, it was only his arm that was injured beyond some bad bruises and scrapes from crashing through the houses. He paused a moment by Vaugn's bed. He looked a bit better, but his pallid complexion, several casts and heavy bandaging didn't lie. Dedede put his good hand on the footrest of the bed and shook it a little.
"You're gonna make it, little buddy. I know ya will," said Dedede.
He shuffled through the hallway, and into the waiting room, where the other Smashers were sitting. Kirby immediately tossed him an apple. Dedede caught it with a grin and stuffed it in his mouth whole. It must have been locally grown, as Dedede could taste the freshness.
"Are you all right?" asked Meta Knight.
"Doc got my arm casted. I'll have Skylark look at it next time we see her. I'm supposed to take it easy until then," said Dedede.
Link nodded. "That was a brave but reckless move there, Dedede," he said. "There aren't many people to have taken on Ganondorf in a one-on-one fight and lived to tell about it."
"Well, thanks to you fellas, I'm one of them!" said Dedede. He paused for a moment. "But in all seriousness, thanks. That was one heck of a fight. I had him matched even until he went into that monster form, and things didn't go so well after that. You were all right on time."
"You need to be more careful, your majesty," said Meta Knight. "Things might not have gone so well if I had been a little further away."
"I know," said Dedede. "Like I said, he went for me."
"You should have called us in, your majesty. While I know Ganondorf likes to single out targets, you should have tried to signal for help in some way," said Meta Knight.
"The fight went much better when we were all there," said Link.
Dedede sighed but didn't say anything. They were probably right.
Kirby pat him on the back. "I'm just glad you made it! You'll have to tell us about the fight, I wonder if Ganondorf has picked up any new tricks."
"Sure thing, Kirbs! But over something to eat, though," said Dedede. "I'm starving!"
He paused for a moment. "By the way, y'all grabbed my hammer before we got on the train?"
Olimar nodded. "Yes, we did. Me and my pikmen personally escorted it aboard."
Dedede gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks, pal. Also, we checked that Ganondorf had bailed for good, right?"
Link nodded. "Ganondorf closed the portal. I saw him do it. He's gone."
"And the R-47 signal disappeared as we closed in on their location," said Red. "I had to use Link's emergency beacon to find him."
Dedede nodded. "Anything else I should know?"
"We're gonna wait here till we hear from the other teams," said Red. "Hopefully their missions are going smoothly."
Dedede nodded. "Sounds good to me!"
He looked around at his fellow Smashers and grinned.
"Now let's go get that grub, eh?"
And that's a wrap for Act 7 King Dedede! Next time on Echoes of Battles Past... Act 8 Fox.
See you then!