Here we are, folks! The final match of the third round. We're almost done
with this story now. After this chapter, we'll have the break, followed by
the final match. I hope you've enjoyed the ride and are looking forward to
the end, cause it's gonna be one hell of a battle! Oh, and I'm sorry if the
last match wasn't that good. Really.
Disclaimer: I only own Scales and Pi2.
Scales paced around the lounge anxiously. She was the only one there, aside from the Mask Salesman and Majora. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Three minutes left until her big fight with Heinrich. From what she had heard, people were placing huge bets on the outcome of this fight. However, despite her incredible performance in the last two rounds, most of the viewers didn't think she had a chance. As far as she knew, her friends would be the only ones placing bets on her victory. She paused for a moment, feeling eyes on her back. She turned to see Majora glaring at her from across the room. The evil mask floated over to her, leaving his master behind to watch TV. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "Will you please stop pacing? It is really annoying." Scales bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous about my next fight." "Why?" "You've seen Heinrich in action, he rips anyone who approaches him t shreds. I'm worried that I won't make it." Majora snorted in disgust. "Please! You are one of the best fighters I've ever seen. You exceed all of the other Smashers in talent." Scales was surprised. "You really think so?" "I know so! Of course, you're nowhere near good enough to defeat me when it comes time for you to fight in the last round." Said Majora. "You really think I'll get to fight you? You really think I'll beat Heinrich?" Scales asked. "Of course! You have upgrades, your own skill, and a Chaos Emerald. And what does he have? Just a lot of nasty stuff involving his body. You'll beat him easily." Majora reassured her. Scales suddenly felt better. "Thanks Majora. I'll do my best then, so I can prove you're wrong about me not being strong enough to fight you." Majora chuckled. "We shall see, we shall see." The P.A. switched on. "Scales Biolizard, please report to the arena." Said Pi2. Scales sighed. "Well, here I go." She started for the door, but turned around at the last minute. "Majora, thanks for the encouragement." "You're quite welcome, Scales. I wish you luck in your match." Said Majora. "Thanks, I'll need it." Scales walked out of the room. Majora turned to face the window. "Oh, but you must win, lizard. It is more important than you think for you to beat the Xenomorph. You will make it to the final round. I will beat you. And you will die. That is the way it has been prophesied, and that is how it will happen." He watched as the crowd got more energetic, eager for this match. Majora pondered on whether or not he should give Scales a little "help" against Heinrich, but quickly decided against it. The prophecy said she would fight him of her own accord, without being helped along the way. He paused. Then again, the upgrades counted as help, did they not? Therefore, could it mean that the prophecy wasn't true? He scoffed at his misgivings. Of course the prophecy was right! Everything that had happened so far was foretold in the prophecy, Ganon being defeated by a yellow runt, Grunty being squashed by a rock, the God of Destruction failing to destroy. Yes, it was true. She would fight him and die. That is how it was supposed to be. But in the back of his mind, there was still a little doubt that he could not get rid of.
The mood of the crowd was palpable, thick enough to be cut with a knife. Everyone was eager to see the fight, thinking it would be incredible. They would not be disappointed. Pi2 waited as the special stage that had been chosen for this scene was completed. It was a great solid mass, filling up most of the arena. It was a mammoth hollow metal cylinder with an open top. A wood and mesh framework covered the top of the cylinder. On one of the edges of the cylinder stood a crane-like object with a big ugly blue frog hanging from it. A simple stage, to all appearances. However, Pi2 had something special planned if the battle lasted longer than five minutes. "Our stage for this match is the heart of Razorbeard's Prison Ship! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of the third round we've got here. This match will determine who fights Majora in the final round. Whoever wins this match just might walk away with ten million dollars. And now, without further babble from me, let's get ready to rumble!" The cheers from the crowd got louder and louder. "So let's do this in 3." Heinrich's cage was airlifted onto the stage. "2." Scales warped onto the stage. "1.Go right after I open Heinrich's cage!" Scales looked at the big metal object anxiously. All her muscles tensed in anticipation for this. She would do this. She would not lose. She would not let down her friends or her brother. She was not going to be beaten by Heinrich. She was going to put up a fight the viewers would love, not an immediate bloodbath. Heinrich's cage was fully unlocked. "GO!!!!!!!" It was time. The alien raced out of his cage, screeching, thirsty for her blood. Time seemed to slow down. Scales could see every step the Xenomorph took, trying to get to her. She knew she couldn't let it. But she didn't intend on waiting for it to get to her either. She did something none of Heinrich's other opponents had done before. She ran right at the monster. The two got closer and closer to each other. Heinrich's fangs were bared. Scales mimicked him, knowing he wouldn't understand the gesture but feeling like she should do it anyway. Just as they were going to collide, Heinrich pounced. For Scales, things still seemed to be going in slow motion. She crouched low, ducking under the pounce. As Heinrich passed over her, she jumped up, delivering a nasty spinning uppercut with her Talon. Heinrich screamed and fell to the ground. He rolled around, got up, and charged at her. She sidestepped his charge and slashed at him with the Talons as he passed. Heinrich spun around, hitting Scales with his tail and knocking her away. The monster leaped at her, intent on ripping out her intestines. Scales quickly spun around, smacking Heinrich away with her own tail. The Xenomorph got up, screeched, and ran at her, claws outward. Scales raised her Talons, ready. Heinrich attacked savagely, lashing out with his claws, trying to get a hit. Scales blocked every blow with her Talons and slashed at the alien every chance she got. While Heinrich managed to block some of the time, Scales often landed a hit on the Xenomorph's featureless face. (Well, featureless except for the mouth.) Soon, Heinrich's curved skull was marred by multiple scars, each leaking green blood. Heinrich backed away, opened his mouth wide, and spat a stream of acid at Scales. She double- jumped over the stream, positioning herself over Heinrich. As the Xenomorph looked around, confused as to where she had "disappeared" to, Scales smashed into him from above with her Dragon Dive. She jumped off the alien right away, not wanting to get hurt. Heinrich spat some more acid at her. She rolled under the stream and delivered a powerful uppercut to Heinrich's jaw. As his whole body tilted upward for a moment, Scales grabbed him around the waist (yes, with the talons!) and threw him in the air. She jumped up after him. Propelled by the Jet Anklets, she managed to stay in the air without really falling. Before Heinrich could recover from being thrown up, Scales hit him with countless punches and slashes, carving up the alien's chest and other areas of his body. With a final blow, she smashed him back to the ground and hit him with a Dragon Dive. Heinrich panted as she got off of him, then staggered to his feet. Shaking his head, he growled and pounced at her again. She jumped out of the way easily, slashing him while he was in midair. Heinrich fell, hen got up slowly. He backed away, then opened his mouth. Scales prepared to jump, expecting an acid spit. What she did get was much different. Heinrich's second jaw suddenly shot out of his mouth, attached to his body by a long organic cord. He had two mouths! The second mouth was wide open, attempting to bite her. Scales ducked quickly. The mouth snapped over her head, and retracted into the big mouth. Heinrich shot out his second mouth again. Scales dodged it and started running in circles around Heinrich, trying to confuse him. Aided by the Jet Anklets, she was faster than before. Heinrich, to her chagrin, did not seem to get dizzy. In fact, he appeared to have a great sense of timing as was evident when he leaped right into her path, almost killing her. She managed to jump over him right before he could claw at her, allowing her to perform another Dragon Dive. After hitting Heinrich, she got off of him and whacked him with her tail as he got up. Before he could retaliate, she followed the Tail Whip up with a Rocket Kick. Seeing as how she had never tried it before, she was quite pleased with how it worked. She had kicked Heinrich in the chest, mentally willing the rockets to engage. After the kick had connected, the jets ignited, blasting Heinrich several yards away. As Heinrich regained his balance, Scales ran at him with Chaos Control, smashing into him and sending him flying. Heinrich would have gone over the edge, if not for the crane and frog. Heinrich hit the crane and fell onto the platform. The structure creaked and broke, tipping over and dangling the frog of the end of the platform. Heinrich got onto his feet and charged at Scales, screeching bloody murder. She got into a fighting pose, getting ready for him. As he was about to run into her, she ran past him, Talons facing outward to slice at Heinrich as she passed. She stopped and turned around. Heinrich did the same. The Xenomorph looked over itself with its eyeless head, seeing no visible new damage. That's when his left arm fell off. Heinrich looked at his spewing stump of a shoulder, surprised, then looked back at Scales, growling. Scales smirked. Her smirk vanished when suddenly Heinrich's stump throbbed. What was going on? Instantly, something erupted from the stump in a shower of green blood. It quickly solidified, taking a deadly shape. It was a new arm. "No way." Whispered Scales. Heinrich's expression seemed to change to something not unlike a grin, as if to say You thought it was going to be that easy? Well, think again. Heinrich screeched and rushed at Scales, swiping his claws. As Scales prepared to take the fight to the next level, Pi2 noted that five minutes had passed from the start of the battle. Turning to face one of the technicians in the control booth, he nodded. The technicians immediately began inputting commands for the holo-projectors. On the battlefield, the Parakoopas picked up the opened cage and flew it off the platform. Heinrich's charge was immediately broken when the whole platform started rumbling. "What's going on?" yelled Scales. Suddenly, the pillar shot up into the sky, rising higher and higher and higher, until it was half a mile above ground, a great metal tower. The people below gasped and murmured in amazement. The walls of the cylinder changed, becoming see- through like one way glass. Of course, the two fighters on top couldn't see this. Before Scales or Heinrich could make another move, there was a great creaking sound as the meshwork making up their battleground sagged and suddenly snapped, sending both of them falling down through the cylinder. Both screamed for a moment, startled, then both of them tried to figure out a way to defeat the other despite all this. Spinning through the air, Heinrich spat acid at Scales. Scales maneuvered out of the way with her rockets, then slammed into Heinrich, knocking him into the wall. The Xenomorph caromed off of the wall and hurtled further down the tube. Scales used her Jet Anklets to slow and control her descent. She hoped there would be solid ground wherever she was heading. After a few minutes, she found that the cylinder's walls were narrowing, forming a sort of funnel. The funnel ended in a large hole. A red light wafted from the hole. Having no other choice, Scales descended into the pit. She found herself in a cavernous chamber at the very bottom of the metal tower. It had many pillars and pylons reaching up to a ceiling, where the hole she had come out of was. There were some tunnels leading from the main chamber, twisting through the metal walls before coming back out at different points of the room. Some distance away from her was a huge yellow robot hanging between two pillars. It was grabbing onto either pillar with one of its long arms. One of its feet was missing, and the other was fairly small. The robot's body was sort of shaped like a round cone, the point being at the bottom. At the flat part of the body was the dome-shaped head, with two portholes of different sizes and two weird antenna. There were several platforms scattered throughout the room, and there was what appeared to be at least one walking missile on any given platform. Oh, did I forget to mention the floor was covered with lava? Despite it being holographic, it was somehow giving off excessive heat. Scales landed on one of the platforms. She looked around and saw Heinrich had landed on a different platform than the one she was on. As she was pondering what was going on, Pi2's voice echoed throughout the chamber. "Scales, Heinrich, I apologize for this sudden change of scenery, but I thought it would help make the fight a little more interesting. I'm really sorry about this, but the big bosses suggested this stage. Nothing I can do but give you the laydown on this area. The walking missiles may seem dangerous, but are really quite helpful. All you have to do is jump on one, and you can ride it to anywhere you want in the room, be it another platform or a tunnel. Be wary though, that if you hit something else while riding the missile, it'll blow up, causing serious damage. The rockets will regenerate, so don't worry about getting trapped anywhere. The lava beneath you is unlike the lava in the Samus stages of the last two Super Smash Brothers games. Instead of being propelled out of the lava if you touch it, hitting the surface will be the equivalent to losing. It's not real lava, but it is the ground. The tunnels around the room each contain a cannon with four shots. The only way to get into them is to ride a missile into them and grab the cannon as you run by. Use them wisely. Finally, the big robot you see is not essentially part of the background. It is called the Grolgoth, and can be both a hazard and a help. The Grolgoth can be walked across like a platform, and even has a walking missile for the purpose of transportation. However, it also fires explosives at you, so be careful. Finally, Scales, I must warn you that Heinrich is smarter than we originally thought. Far from an unintelligent beast, he is actually a sentient killer. He can think, and possibly come up with ways to outsmart you, so be careful. Do both of you understand? Good. Begin!" As explosives started getting launched from the Grolgoth, Scales started running towards the nearest missile when she suddenly got a better idea. She turned towards Heinrich, who was already heading for the nearest missile on his platform. Pointing her gauntleted hands at him, she fired a Serpent Strike. Heinrich was struck and reeled, screeching. He looked at Scales, hissed, then ran right towards her. She fired off another Serpent Strike, hitting him again. He stumbled for a moment, then kept coming. She was surprised when, instead of stopping at the edge of his platform, Heinrich leapt off! At first she thought Pi2 had been wrong and Heinrich was just an instinct-driven predator when to her astonishment, two wing- like projections ripped out of Heinrich's back! The heat from the lava swelled upwards, going into the wings and allowing Heinrich to fly! "You have got to be kidding me!" she moaned. Heinrich screeched and swooped down at her, trying to get a strike. She dodged and tried to hit him with an attack, but he was already higher up, ready for another run. As he swooped down again, Scales tried to hit him with a Serpent Strike. Heinrich dodged and plowed right past her, missing. She was relieved, until an explosive fired from the Grolgoth hit her life support system. The Protection Shell kept it from damage, but it was still a close call. Scales quickly formulated a plan, seeing as how trying to hit him like this was absurd. As Heinrich started swooping down again, she ran to the nearest missile and jumped on it. It instantly took off, running along at a rocket-propelled speed. Scales grabbed the front (not the warhead, but close) and nudged the missile in the direction she wanted to go. She ran it off of the platform, allowing the missile to shoot through the air and across the great chamber. She flew haphazardly, trying to hang on for dear life while dodging Heinrich's acid and Grolgoth's explosives. She finally managed to pilot the missile into a tunnel, leaving Heinrich behind. The missile hit the ground and started running along on its comical little legs. As it ran, Scales saw the cannon up ahead. She leaned down and grabbed it right as she passed by. Hefting the cannon onto her shoulder, she guided the missile through the winding tunnel and out into the main room again. Heinrich spotted her and eagerly flew towards her. Scales let go of the missile's nose and carefully aimed the cannon. She was pleased to find it had an auto-aiming function, immediately homing in on Heinrich. Before he could move away, Scales fired off all four shots. The cannonballs rocketed towards Heinrich, each hitting him and exploding. Heinrich screamed and faltered, nearly falling out of the air. He regained his balance and flew after her, screaming. Scales tossed away the useless cannon and turned the missile around aiming right at the oncoming Heinrich. Heinrich assumed she was planning to slash at him while passing and kept coming towards her. Scales kept adjusting the missile's course so it would keep heading straight for Heinrich. Then, when they were only a few feet apart, Scales leapt off the missile. Heinrich wailed and tried to turn away or drop, but it was too late. The missile hit him, exploding and sending him smashing into the wall. He slid down the wall, almost falling into the lava, but the heat filled his wings again and allowed him to soar once more. Scales groaned as she landed on a platform. "Damn, I was so close! Better try again." Heinrich stayed towards the ceiling, getting a good view of the arena. He spat frequent streams of acid, constantly trying to hit Scales. Scales continued to dodge the acid AND the explosives, all while heading for the nearest missile. She jumped on it and took off, riding towards another tunnel. Knowing this was her plan, Heinrich quickly flew after her, trying to beat her to the tunnel. He got to the tunnel entrance seconds before her and hovered in place, blocking the entrance. As he prepared to spit acid at the oncoming lizard, Scales simply jumped off the missile, letting it rocket right into Heinrich and explode, causing lots more damage. Scales landed on a platform and watched as Heinrich plummeted, hoping he would hit the lava. He didn't. He flew up once again, really pissed. He looked around, trying to figure out how to kill the lizard without blowing up again. He hissed angrily as an explosive sailed for him, breaking his line of thought. He dodged it, then suddenly realized what to do! Dodging more explosives, Heinrich flew onto the hanging Grolgoth while Scales watched apprehensively (still dodging explosives). Heinrich landed and ran behind the robot's head. He spat acid onto the hull, eating through the locked entry hatch and letting him into the cockpit. (Yes, I realize this is a holographic robot, therefore should not have a cockpit. WELL I DON'T CARE! Thank you.) Delicately sitting in the small chair, Heinrich worked on the controls, turning the simple explosives to limited heat- seekers. Scales had a very bad feeling as Heinrich got into the Grolgoth. When an explosive launched towards her, she suddenly thought it would be a good idea to get on the missile. She ran towards the nearest missile, and was surprised when the explosive followed her! She quickly hit it with her Tail Whip when it got close, knocking it away and detonating it. More heat- seekers were launched. Scales quickly jumped onto the missile and launched it off the platform, heading for the closest tunnel. She looked behind her anxiously as the explosives homed in. She was relieved when eventually their engines ran out and they fell harmlessly into the lava. Angrily, Heinrich fired more explosives, only to get similar results. Apparently the heat-seekers worked better at close range. Scales piloted the missile into the tunnel, guided it through the twists and turns, grabbed the cannon, and rocketed back out. Shooting towards the Grolgoth, Scales dodged countless homing explosives, doing multiple barrel rolls to throw them off. As she neared the Grolgoth, she readied the cannon, aiming for the left arm of the robot. As she started to fly over the metal limb, she fired a shot at the robot's hand. The shot exploded, causing the robot to let go of the pillar. The Grolgoth was still tightly grasping the pother pillar, but was now very close to falling in the lava. As Heinrich frantically launched more explosives, Scales turned the missile around and rocketed back for the Grolgoth. Doing a continuous barrel roll to throw off the explosives, Scales aimed for the robot's right hand and fired. (Yes, she did this while spinning around and around. Incredible, huh?) The shot exploded as she passed over, and the robot let go of the pillar. It started to fall, when suddenly a rocket activated in the Grolgoth's remaining foot, keeping it floating in the air precariously above the lava, its entire body tilted so as not to unbalance the leg and fall. Scales frowned at this and turned around, aiming for the leg. She fired her third shot. Unfortunately, just before it hit, an explosive struck the shot, detonating it harmlessly in the air. Cursing, she aimed again. But she was so intent on getting this shot in she didn't notice the explosive hurtling towards her until it was too late. She tried to barrel roll out of the way, but it was too close. The explosive hit the missile, causing a double explosion, blasting Scales. She screamed and fell, severely burned and hurt. She hurtled for the lava, too weak too activate the jet anklets. She was going to lose. Heinrich laughed, sort of. Just as Scales was about to hit the lava, the black Chaos Emerald glowed. She suddenly stopped falling, hovering just above the lava. "What?" The Emerald continued glowing, and then her Jet Anklets ignited, giving off a great burst of green flame, sending her rocketing into the air at incredible speed. Not sure what was happening but realizing this was her chance, Scales moved towards the Grolgoth, shooting for it like a missile. She extended her arms; Talons pointed forward as she picked up speed. Heinrich fired more and more explosives, all of which were blown up by impact with her talons. She slammed right into the chest of the robot, her momentum causing her to tear right through the metal and out the other side. Wracked with explosions, the Grolgoth fell into the lava, its head falling off. Before it could sink completely into the lava, Heinrich flew out of the cockpit, trying to get to safety. Scales turned around and rocketed towards Heinrich, propelled by the emerald flames. Heinrich noticed her coming and tried to flee. But he wasn't fast enough. Scales rammed into him Talons-first, ripping right through his back and exploding out of his front. (Considering Xenomorphs erupt from people's stomachs, this is kind of ironic.) Heinrich fell apart in midair, his pieces plummeting to the ground. Scales' green rockets sputtered out, and she started falling to the ground. The stage faded, and she was safely lowered to the solid earth. She was a bit confused as to how exactly she had done that, but it didn't matter at the moment. What did matter now was that she had won, and would be going to the final round. She could do it! She could win! As the crowd showed their approval of the match's outcome wildly, Majora cackled in the lounge, pleased that everything was working out the way it should.
There! The end of round 3! Next will be the third and final break, followed by the incredible Round 4! Stay tuned readers, because we're not through just yet! Next Time: In the first half of the third break, the last secrets are revealed. Watch as Scales explains her reasons for entering the tournament, and learns of her destiny. Read as Majora at long last reveals his origins and his true plans begin to unveil. What are these long-held secrets? Find out on the next.Super Smash Bosses!
Scales paced around the lounge anxiously. She was the only one there, aside from the Mask Salesman and Majora. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Three minutes left until her big fight with Heinrich. From what she had heard, people were placing huge bets on the outcome of this fight. However, despite her incredible performance in the last two rounds, most of the viewers didn't think she had a chance. As far as she knew, her friends would be the only ones placing bets on her victory. She paused for a moment, feeling eyes on her back. She turned to see Majora glaring at her from across the room. The evil mask floated over to her, leaving his master behind to watch TV. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "Will you please stop pacing? It is really annoying." Scales bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous about my next fight." "Why?" "You've seen Heinrich in action, he rips anyone who approaches him t shreds. I'm worried that I won't make it." Majora snorted in disgust. "Please! You are one of the best fighters I've ever seen. You exceed all of the other Smashers in talent." Scales was surprised. "You really think so?" "I know so! Of course, you're nowhere near good enough to defeat me when it comes time for you to fight in the last round." Said Majora. "You really think I'll get to fight you? You really think I'll beat Heinrich?" Scales asked. "Of course! You have upgrades, your own skill, and a Chaos Emerald. And what does he have? Just a lot of nasty stuff involving his body. You'll beat him easily." Majora reassured her. Scales suddenly felt better. "Thanks Majora. I'll do my best then, so I can prove you're wrong about me not being strong enough to fight you." Majora chuckled. "We shall see, we shall see." The P.A. switched on. "Scales Biolizard, please report to the arena." Said Pi2. Scales sighed. "Well, here I go." She started for the door, but turned around at the last minute. "Majora, thanks for the encouragement." "You're quite welcome, Scales. I wish you luck in your match." Said Majora. "Thanks, I'll need it." Scales walked out of the room. Majora turned to face the window. "Oh, but you must win, lizard. It is more important than you think for you to beat the Xenomorph. You will make it to the final round. I will beat you. And you will die. That is the way it has been prophesied, and that is how it will happen." He watched as the crowd got more energetic, eager for this match. Majora pondered on whether or not he should give Scales a little "help" against Heinrich, but quickly decided against it. The prophecy said she would fight him of her own accord, without being helped along the way. He paused. Then again, the upgrades counted as help, did they not? Therefore, could it mean that the prophecy wasn't true? He scoffed at his misgivings. Of course the prophecy was right! Everything that had happened so far was foretold in the prophecy, Ganon being defeated by a yellow runt, Grunty being squashed by a rock, the God of Destruction failing to destroy. Yes, it was true. She would fight him and die. That is how it was supposed to be. But in the back of his mind, there was still a little doubt that he could not get rid of.
The mood of the crowd was palpable, thick enough to be cut with a knife. Everyone was eager to see the fight, thinking it would be incredible. They would not be disappointed. Pi2 waited as the special stage that had been chosen for this scene was completed. It was a great solid mass, filling up most of the arena. It was a mammoth hollow metal cylinder with an open top. A wood and mesh framework covered the top of the cylinder. On one of the edges of the cylinder stood a crane-like object with a big ugly blue frog hanging from it. A simple stage, to all appearances. However, Pi2 had something special planned if the battle lasted longer than five minutes. "Our stage for this match is the heart of Razorbeard's Prison Ship! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of the third round we've got here. This match will determine who fights Majora in the final round. Whoever wins this match just might walk away with ten million dollars. And now, without further babble from me, let's get ready to rumble!" The cheers from the crowd got louder and louder. "So let's do this in 3." Heinrich's cage was airlifted onto the stage. "2." Scales warped onto the stage. "1.Go right after I open Heinrich's cage!" Scales looked at the big metal object anxiously. All her muscles tensed in anticipation for this. She would do this. She would not lose. She would not let down her friends or her brother. She was not going to be beaten by Heinrich. She was going to put up a fight the viewers would love, not an immediate bloodbath. Heinrich's cage was fully unlocked. "GO!!!!!!!" It was time. The alien raced out of his cage, screeching, thirsty for her blood. Time seemed to slow down. Scales could see every step the Xenomorph took, trying to get to her. She knew she couldn't let it. But she didn't intend on waiting for it to get to her either. She did something none of Heinrich's other opponents had done before. She ran right at the monster. The two got closer and closer to each other. Heinrich's fangs were bared. Scales mimicked him, knowing he wouldn't understand the gesture but feeling like she should do it anyway. Just as they were going to collide, Heinrich pounced. For Scales, things still seemed to be going in slow motion. She crouched low, ducking under the pounce. As Heinrich passed over her, she jumped up, delivering a nasty spinning uppercut with her Talon. Heinrich screamed and fell to the ground. He rolled around, got up, and charged at her. She sidestepped his charge and slashed at him with the Talons as he passed. Heinrich spun around, hitting Scales with his tail and knocking her away. The monster leaped at her, intent on ripping out her intestines. Scales quickly spun around, smacking Heinrich away with her own tail. The Xenomorph got up, screeched, and ran at her, claws outward. Scales raised her Talons, ready. Heinrich attacked savagely, lashing out with his claws, trying to get a hit. Scales blocked every blow with her Talons and slashed at the alien every chance she got. While Heinrich managed to block some of the time, Scales often landed a hit on the Xenomorph's featureless face. (Well, featureless except for the mouth.) Soon, Heinrich's curved skull was marred by multiple scars, each leaking green blood. Heinrich backed away, opened his mouth wide, and spat a stream of acid at Scales. She double- jumped over the stream, positioning herself over Heinrich. As the Xenomorph looked around, confused as to where she had "disappeared" to, Scales smashed into him from above with her Dragon Dive. She jumped off the alien right away, not wanting to get hurt. Heinrich spat some more acid at her. She rolled under the stream and delivered a powerful uppercut to Heinrich's jaw. As his whole body tilted upward for a moment, Scales grabbed him around the waist (yes, with the talons!) and threw him in the air. She jumped up after him. Propelled by the Jet Anklets, she managed to stay in the air without really falling. Before Heinrich could recover from being thrown up, Scales hit him with countless punches and slashes, carving up the alien's chest and other areas of his body. With a final blow, she smashed him back to the ground and hit him with a Dragon Dive. Heinrich panted as she got off of him, then staggered to his feet. Shaking his head, he growled and pounced at her again. She jumped out of the way easily, slashing him while he was in midair. Heinrich fell, hen got up slowly. He backed away, then opened his mouth. Scales prepared to jump, expecting an acid spit. What she did get was much different. Heinrich's second jaw suddenly shot out of his mouth, attached to his body by a long organic cord. He had two mouths! The second mouth was wide open, attempting to bite her. Scales ducked quickly. The mouth snapped over her head, and retracted into the big mouth. Heinrich shot out his second mouth again. Scales dodged it and started running in circles around Heinrich, trying to confuse him. Aided by the Jet Anklets, she was faster than before. Heinrich, to her chagrin, did not seem to get dizzy. In fact, he appeared to have a great sense of timing as was evident when he leaped right into her path, almost killing her. She managed to jump over him right before he could claw at her, allowing her to perform another Dragon Dive. After hitting Heinrich, she got off of him and whacked him with her tail as he got up. Before he could retaliate, she followed the Tail Whip up with a Rocket Kick. Seeing as how she had never tried it before, she was quite pleased with how it worked. She had kicked Heinrich in the chest, mentally willing the rockets to engage. After the kick had connected, the jets ignited, blasting Heinrich several yards away. As Heinrich regained his balance, Scales ran at him with Chaos Control, smashing into him and sending him flying. Heinrich would have gone over the edge, if not for the crane and frog. Heinrich hit the crane and fell onto the platform. The structure creaked and broke, tipping over and dangling the frog of the end of the platform. Heinrich got onto his feet and charged at Scales, screeching bloody murder. She got into a fighting pose, getting ready for him. As he was about to run into her, she ran past him, Talons facing outward to slice at Heinrich as she passed. She stopped and turned around. Heinrich did the same. The Xenomorph looked over itself with its eyeless head, seeing no visible new damage. That's when his left arm fell off. Heinrich looked at his spewing stump of a shoulder, surprised, then looked back at Scales, growling. Scales smirked. Her smirk vanished when suddenly Heinrich's stump throbbed. What was going on? Instantly, something erupted from the stump in a shower of green blood. It quickly solidified, taking a deadly shape. It was a new arm. "No way." Whispered Scales. Heinrich's expression seemed to change to something not unlike a grin, as if to say You thought it was going to be that easy? Well, think again. Heinrich screeched and rushed at Scales, swiping his claws. As Scales prepared to take the fight to the next level, Pi2 noted that five minutes had passed from the start of the battle. Turning to face one of the technicians in the control booth, he nodded. The technicians immediately began inputting commands for the holo-projectors. On the battlefield, the Parakoopas picked up the opened cage and flew it off the platform. Heinrich's charge was immediately broken when the whole platform started rumbling. "What's going on?" yelled Scales. Suddenly, the pillar shot up into the sky, rising higher and higher and higher, until it was half a mile above ground, a great metal tower. The people below gasped and murmured in amazement. The walls of the cylinder changed, becoming see- through like one way glass. Of course, the two fighters on top couldn't see this. Before Scales or Heinrich could make another move, there was a great creaking sound as the meshwork making up their battleground sagged and suddenly snapped, sending both of them falling down through the cylinder. Both screamed for a moment, startled, then both of them tried to figure out a way to defeat the other despite all this. Spinning through the air, Heinrich spat acid at Scales. Scales maneuvered out of the way with her rockets, then slammed into Heinrich, knocking him into the wall. The Xenomorph caromed off of the wall and hurtled further down the tube. Scales used her Jet Anklets to slow and control her descent. She hoped there would be solid ground wherever she was heading. After a few minutes, she found that the cylinder's walls were narrowing, forming a sort of funnel. The funnel ended in a large hole. A red light wafted from the hole. Having no other choice, Scales descended into the pit. She found herself in a cavernous chamber at the very bottom of the metal tower. It had many pillars and pylons reaching up to a ceiling, where the hole she had come out of was. There were some tunnels leading from the main chamber, twisting through the metal walls before coming back out at different points of the room. Some distance away from her was a huge yellow robot hanging between two pillars. It was grabbing onto either pillar with one of its long arms. One of its feet was missing, and the other was fairly small. The robot's body was sort of shaped like a round cone, the point being at the bottom. At the flat part of the body was the dome-shaped head, with two portholes of different sizes and two weird antenna. There were several platforms scattered throughout the room, and there was what appeared to be at least one walking missile on any given platform. Oh, did I forget to mention the floor was covered with lava? Despite it being holographic, it was somehow giving off excessive heat. Scales landed on one of the platforms. She looked around and saw Heinrich had landed on a different platform than the one she was on. As she was pondering what was going on, Pi2's voice echoed throughout the chamber. "Scales, Heinrich, I apologize for this sudden change of scenery, but I thought it would help make the fight a little more interesting. I'm really sorry about this, but the big bosses suggested this stage. Nothing I can do but give you the laydown on this area. The walking missiles may seem dangerous, but are really quite helpful. All you have to do is jump on one, and you can ride it to anywhere you want in the room, be it another platform or a tunnel. Be wary though, that if you hit something else while riding the missile, it'll blow up, causing serious damage. The rockets will regenerate, so don't worry about getting trapped anywhere. The lava beneath you is unlike the lava in the Samus stages of the last two Super Smash Brothers games. Instead of being propelled out of the lava if you touch it, hitting the surface will be the equivalent to losing. It's not real lava, but it is the ground. The tunnels around the room each contain a cannon with four shots. The only way to get into them is to ride a missile into them and grab the cannon as you run by. Use them wisely. Finally, the big robot you see is not essentially part of the background. It is called the Grolgoth, and can be both a hazard and a help. The Grolgoth can be walked across like a platform, and even has a walking missile for the purpose of transportation. However, it also fires explosives at you, so be careful. Finally, Scales, I must warn you that Heinrich is smarter than we originally thought. Far from an unintelligent beast, he is actually a sentient killer. He can think, and possibly come up with ways to outsmart you, so be careful. Do both of you understand? Good. Begin!" As explosives started getting launched from the Grolgoth, Scales started running towards the nearest missile when she suddenly got a better idea. She turned towards Heinrich, who was already heading for the nearest missile on his platform. Pointing her gauntleted hands at him, she fired a Serpent Strike. Heinrich was struck and reeled, screeching. He looked at Scales, hissed, then ran right towards her. She fired off another Serpent Strike, hitting him again. He stumbled for a moment, then kept coming. She was surprised when, instead of stopping at the edge of his platform, Heinrich leapt off! At first she thought Pi2 had been wrong and Heinrich was just an instinct-driven predator when to her astonishment, two wing- like projections ripped out of Heinrich's back! The heat from the lava swelled upwards, going into the wings and allowing Heinrich to fly! "You have got to be kidding me!" she moaned. Heinrich screeched and swooped down at her, trying to get a strike. She dodged and tried to hit him with an attack, but he was already higher up, ready for another run. As he swooped down again, Scales tried to hit him with a Serpent Strike. Heinrich dodged and plowed right past her, missing. She was relieved, until an explosive fired from the Grolgoth hit her life support system. The Protection Shell kept it from damage, but it was still a close call. Scales quickly formulated a plan, seeing as how trying to hit him like this was absurd. As Heinrich started swooping down again, she ran to the nearest missile and jumped on it. It instantly took off, running along at a rocket-propelled speed. Scales grabbed the front (not the warhead, but close) and nudged the missile in the direction she wanted to go. She ran it off of the platform, allowing the missile to shoot through the air and across the great chamber. She flew haphazardly, trying to hang on for dear life while dodging Heinrich's acid and Grolgoth's explosives. She finally managed to pilot the missile into a tunnel, leaving Heinrich behind. The missile hit the ground and started running along on its comical little legs. As it ran, Scales saw the cannon up ahead. She leaned down and grabbed it right as she passed by. Hefting the cannon onto her shoulder, she guided the missile through the winding tunnel and out into the main room again. Heinrich spotted her and eagerly flew towards her. Scales let go of the missile's nose and carefully aimed the cannon. She was pleased to find it had an auto-aiming function, immediately homing in on Heinrich. Before he could move away, Scales fired off all four shots. The cannonballs rocketed towards Heinrich, each hitting him and exploding. Heinrich screamed and faltered, nearly falling out of the air. He regained his balance and flew after her, screaming. Scales tossed away the useless cannon and turned the missile around aiming right at the oncoming Heinrich. Heinrich assumed she was planning to slash at him while passing and kept coming towards her. Scales kept adjusting the missile's course so it would keep heading straight for Heinrich. Then, when they were only a few feet apart, Scales leapt off the missile. Heinrich wailed and tried to turn away or drop, but it was too late. The missile hit him, exploding and sending him smashing into the wall. He slid down the wall, almost falling into the lava, but the heat filled his wings again and allowed him to soar once more. Scales groaned as she landed on a platform. "Damn, I was so close! Better try again." Heinrich stayed towards the ceiling, getting a good view of the arena. He spat frequent streams of acid, constantly trying to hit Scales. Scales continued to dodge the acid AND the explosives, all while heading for the nearest missile. She jumped on it and took off, riding towards another tunnel. Knowing this was her plan, Heinrich quickly flew after her, trying to beat her to the tunnel. He got to the tunnel entrance seconds before her and hovered in place, blocking the entrance. As he prepared to spit acid at the oncoming lizard, Scales simply jumped off the missile, letting it rocket right into Heinrich and explode, causing lots more damage. Scales landed on a platform and watched as Heinrich plummeted, hoping he would hit the lava. He didn't. He flew up once again, really pissed. He looked around, trying to figure out how to kill the lizard without blowing up again. He hissed angrily as an explosive sailed for him, breaking his line of thought. He dodged it, then suddenly realized what to do! Dodging more explosives, Heinrich flew onto the hanging Grolgoth while Scales watched apprehensively (still dodging explosives). Heinrich landed and ran behind the robot's head. He spat acid onto the hull, eating through the locked entry hatch and letting him into the cockpit. (Yes, I realize this is a holographic robot, therefore should not have a cockpit. WELL I DON'T CARE! Thank you.) Delicately sitting in the small chair, Heinrich worked on the controls, turning the simple explosives to limited heat- seekers. Scales had a very bad feeling as Heinrich got into the Grolgoth. When an explosive launched towards her, she suddenly thought it would be a good idea to get on the missile. She ran towards the nearest missile, and was surprised when the explosive followed her! She quickly hit it with her Tail Whip when it got close, knocking it away and detonating it. More heat- seekers were launched. Scales quickly jumped onto the missile and launched it off the platform, heading for the closest tunnel. She looked behind her anxiously as the explosives homed in. She was relieved when eventually their engines ran out and they fell harmlessly into the lava. Angrily, Heinrich fired more explosives, only to get similar results. Apparently the heat-seekers worked better at close range. Scales piloted the missile into the tunnel, guided it through the twists and turns, grabbed the cannon, and rocketed back out. Shooting towards the Grolgoth, Scales dodged countless homing explosives, doing multiple barrel rolls to throw them off. As she neared the Grolgoth, she readied the cannon, aiming for the left arm of the robot. As she started to fly over the metal limb, she fired a shot at the robot's hand. The shot exploded, causing the robot to let go of the pillar. The Grolgoth was still tightly grasping the pother pillar, but was now very close to falling in the lava. As Heinrich frantically launched more explosives, Scales turned the missile around and rocketed back for the Grolgoth. Doing a continuous barrel roll to throw off the explosives, Scales aimed for the robot's right hand and fired. (Yes, she did this while spinning around and around. Incredible, huh?) The shot exploded as she passed over, and the robot let go of the pillar. It started to fall, when suddenly a rocket activated in the Grolgoth's remaining foot, keeping it floating in the air precariously above the lava, its entire body tilted so as not to unbalance the leg and fall. Scales frowned at this and turned around, aiming for the leg. She fired her third shot. Unfortunately, just before it hit, an explosive struck the shot, detonating it harmlessly in the air. Cursing, she aimed again. But she was so intent on getting this shot in she didn't notice the explosive hurtling towards her until it was too late. She tried to barrel roll out of the way, but it was too close. The explosive hit the missile, causing a double explosion, blasting Scales. She screamed and fell, severely burned and hurt. She hurtled for the lava, too weak too activate the jet anklets. She was going to lose. Heinrich laughed, sort of. Just as Scales was about to hit the lava, the black Chaos Emerald glowed. She suddenly stopped falling, hovering just above the lava. "What?" The Emerald continued glowing, and then her Jet Anklets ignited, giving off a great burst of green flame, sending her rocketing into the air at incredible speed. Not sure what was happening but realizing this was her chance, Scales moved towards the Grolgoth, shooting for it like a missile. She extended her arms; Talons pointed forward as she picked up speed. Heinrich fired more and more explosives, all of which were blown up by impact with her talons. She slammed right into the chest of the robot, her momentum causing her to tear right through the metal and out the other side. Wracked with explosions, the Grolgoth fell into the lava, its head falling off. Before it could sink completely into the lava, Heinrich flew out of the cockpit, trying to get to safety. Scales turned around and rocketed towards Heinrich, propelled by the emerald flames. Heinrich noticed her coming and tried to flee. But he wasn't fast enough. Scales rammed into him Talons-first, ripping right through his back and exploding out of his front. (Considering Xenomorphs erupt from people's stomachs, this is kind of ironic.) Heinrich fell apart in midair, his pieces plummeting to the ground. Scales' green rockets sputtered out, and she started falling to the ground. The stage faded, and she was safely lowered to the solid earth. She was a bit confused as to how exactly she had done that, but it didn't matter at the moment. What did matter now was that she had won, and would be going to the final round. She could do it! She could win! As the crowd showed their approval of the match's outcome wildly, Majora cackled in the lounge, pleased that everything was working out the way it should.
There! The end of round 3! Next will be the third and final break, followed by the incredible Round 4! Stay tuned readers, because we're not through just yet! Next Time: In the first half of the third break, the last secrets are revealed. Watch as Scales explains her reasons for entering the tournament, and learns of her destiny. Read as Majora at long last reveals his origins and his true plans begin to unveil. What are these long-held secrets? Find out on the next.Super Smash Bosses!