A/N: Hey, it's me again! What's up, peeps?

Link: Well... Um...

Eliwood: (running in circles) WAAAHHH!

Ed: (chasing him with a bucket of water) HOLD STILL DAMMIT!

Roy: Kekekekekekekekeke... 8D

Oo Um...

Link: Roy set Eliwood's cape on fire.

Ah, I see.

FME: (laughing her head off) XD You're gonna be in trouble, Roy!

Roy: Kekekek... WHAAAAT?

Chappie time!

Dragon Blood: Chapter 4: Explosive Confrontation

News always got around fast around this Mansion, so when ten minutes passed, every one of them were gathered below the Screentron of the Battlefield. Vanuto was a bit irritated by the undesired crowd, but he put it past him as he awaited the arrival of his opponent along with the rest of them.

Finally, Roy entered the vast room, face and eyes devoid of most feeling. The rest of the Smashers moved out of the way to allow him to approach his challenger. And yet he wasn't willing to look up into the face of the sorcerer.

Vanuto was not moved by this disrespectful act. "Are you ready, Roy?"

"Yeah..." he nodded, his sapphire gaze not moving.

"Very well."

With that, the two approached the transporters. Roy took a deep breath, trying his best not to lose his cool. He looked up from the floor briefly, but did a double take as he saw Link and Marth standing not too far away. Link grinned widely and gave him a thumbs-up, whereas Marth simply had an encouraging smile on his face. Even after he walked out on them, they were still there to support him. He returned a grateful smile before stepping into the pod to face his fears head on.

The Screentron flicked on to show the small stage and three smaller platforms floating through space, the dark skies with blue, green, and purple swirls and starry twinkles framing this simple arena. There were two small columns of light on the top and bottom platforms, and Roy and Vanuto materialized into battle. Roy quickly drew his sword and Vanuto brandished his bony staff defensively, awaiting the command to let loose.

"Ready... GO!"

Roy dropped through the top platform, performing a Half Moon Swipe from above, hitting Vanuto right on. The sorcerer growled and returned the favor by slashing into Roy with the sharp end of his staff, and it was unbelievably sharp. It would've torn Roy apart had he not been protected by the SSBM magic that flowed through the arenas. Roy attacked with his Double-Edged Dance next, racking up Vanuto's damage counter with each strike. Vanuto tried to perform a thrusting stab, but Roy hastily Countered it and sent him for a ways with a Smash attack, but not too far, as he hit the floor, inches away from the edge.

"Looks like Roy dominates Vanuto in the weapon-based combat," Fox added his commentaries. "But then again, Vanuto doesn't look too natural, wielding the staff like a weapon."

"Betcha he has something else under his sleeve," Samus mused.

Indeed he did. As he stood, his eyes almost seemed to glow as he gave Roy a nasty glare, which made the Pherean freeze on the spot, rooted in fear. The crimson stone embedded in the bony staff began to glow like embers, and a small blast of flames slammed into Roy, knocking him back quite a bit. As he got back on the stage, he just barely dodged another blast, and another, and another...

"Yep, told ya."

"That's not fair!" Young Link exclaimed. "He's not even giving Roy a chance to attack!"

Roy was stuck on the defense, jumping from platform to platform to avoid Vanuto's arcane magic. Dammit! He chose this stage so I'd have no cover! He realized, filled with anger, and it did a good job of covering up the fear. That's when he remembered. My shield!

The Shield was a feature he rarely used, only for Side-dodging purposes. He had nearly forgotten all about it over the months of practicing.

As he landed on the large platform, he activated his blue 2P Shield, its spherical bubble encasing him in its protection. But Vanuto fired again, and to everyone's surprise, it was powerful enough to break through that defense. The Shield's clear surface shattered like glass from the sheer force. Roy recoiled in shock. He never saw that coming... or did he?

"No way!"

"Those lasts can break Shields?"

"Oh, man, Roy's toast!"

Link and Marth watched tensely as Roy swayed, glowing red and twinkles sparkling on his body, indicating the aftereffects of a shattered Shield. Pretty soon he lost his balance and fell to his knees, his mop of hair drooping and covering his face as his arms struggled to support his whole upper body. He was utterly defenseless. Vanuto knew this as he casually strolled forward and stood in front of him. He smirked at Roy's haggard figure and rose his staff, ready to strike.

"Oh no! Roy's a goner!" Zelda cried.

"Yeah! KO that sucker!" Falcon cheered.

As he watched, Marth was unbelieving the concept he was witnessing. No way! Roy wouldn't be stupid enough to leave himself open like that! He's gotta be setting up some sort of trap!

Marth couldn't have been more right.

"PSYCH!" Roy exclaimed with a sly grin, shooting up and swinging his sword in a devastating Smash attack, and sense Vanuto was so close, he got a taste of the strongest part of the blade: the center. Needless to say, the young sorcerer went flying, a humungous column of light indicating his loss of one life. Roy laughed in triumph.

"ROY'S OUR BOY! ROY'S OUR BOY!" Link started to chant excitedly, getting most of the other Smashers to do the same. Even Marth, who usually wasn't the one to cheer, joined in.

As Roy soaked up the cheers like a sponge soaks up water, the recovery platform carried Vanuto back onto the stage, and he looked extremely angry for being fooled so easily. Noticing his return, Roy rolled to the side as the sorcerer dropped through the top platform and tried to strike him with his staff again. At the end of his roll, he stood on the west side of the platform, facing an incensed Vanuto.

"Hmmp," Vanuto scoffed. "So you were able to knock me out once. I'd like to see you do it again... without your sword!" He sent out a blast that aimed for the Sword of Seals. Roy cried out as it exploded on his hand, sending the sword into oblivion.

"No!" He leaned over the edge and tried to catch it, but it was no use. The blade fell into the astral void, never to be wielded for the rest of the battle.

The Smashers all gasped in tension at this. One of the teleporters began to glow, and Roy's sword came flying out, landing on the ground with an audible clatter. Link quickly plucked it from the floor, giving Marth a worried glance, equally returned.

Roy turned to face Vanuto, fear clearly plastered on his face. The sorcerer could do nothing but brandish his staff and cackle at his opponent's misfortune. "Let's see how well you battle without a weapon!"

As Roy was forced to flee from his attacks once more, his mind was racing at 100 mph. Oh no, what am I gonna do now? That damn bastard, he cheated! I can't believe he's cheating!

And at that moment, something warm grew within his body. He could feel it grow hotter and hotter, but paid it no mind as if it was a second nature. He felt his body tense up, his fists tighten, and his face contort in withdrawn fury. The more callous and anger he offered it, the more it grew until it was a mass of white-hot energy, needing to be let out. Badly.

"Whoa, what's with Roy?" asked Luigi as the redhead stood rigid on the east side of the stage, showing either signs of pain or contained fury. It was hard to tell.

Vanuto halted his assault as well, staring at Roy's agitated figure in anticipation. Was this it? Would this be the power he was hoping to reveal?

As if to answer him, Roy swiveled around to face him, taking a furious pose. His eyes burned the fiery color of flames that threatened to consume the world with their callous lick. And now it was Vanuto's turn to be afraid, as he took a step back, holding his staff defensively as if it would help.

"...rrrrrrRRRRRAAARRGH! BASTARD!" Roy let out a piercing roar, and upon his command, an earsplitting explosion rocked the Battlefield. The flames scorched all areas of the stage, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier around Roy as his clothes billowed about in the fire's force. From within this protective circle, he ordered the inferno to gather and strike his opponent with all its force. The huge meteor of flames collided with Vanuto, and his damage counter went from 0 to 250 as he fell into the sky, screaming as his aflame figure became a star in the distance.

"HOLY CRAP!" Nearly every Smasher exclaimed in unison, the rest standing aghast at the unbelievable attack they had just witnessed. Never before had anyone performed an ability so destructive, not even Falco, Bowser, or Ganondorf could begin to compare with the sheer power the Pherean had summoned! How on earth did he do it?

Roy stood in there in dumb astonishment, catching his breath that got caught in his throat. Whoa... how the freak did I do that?

"This game's winner is... ROY!"

Vanuto stepped out of his teleporter, wincing over the few burns on his skin that SSBM magic couldn't block. But right now, all attention was on Roy as he slowly stepped out. Glancing around, every single gaping face was more priceless than the last. He lastly glanced at Link and Marth, whose pupils had nearly shrunken into tiny dots and their jaws threatened to unhinge and drop to the floor. Roy couldn't help but grin, as seeing those faces would probably be the height of his day.

Link wasn't sure what possessed him to move forward and meet his friend halfway, but that face did not change in the slightest, his big ears threatening to flop down to his neck. It was downright amusing for Roy as he watched the elf try to speak, but one word fumbled over the other as his initial shock got the better of him and caused him to stutter profusely for a few minutes.

Roy grinned. "Hey, thanks, I'll take that." He casually reached over and took the sword from Link's trembling grasp and sheathed it.

At last, Link got a hold of himself, putting a hand to his forehead to relax. He let out a deep sigh, then looked up at his friend. "Roy..." he started, his voice on the verge of squeaking. "How... the freak... DID YOU DO THAT?"

"I don't know!" Roy laughed. "But it was fricken cool!"

"What're you talking about? That was WICKED AWESOME!" Link hollered with a wide grin on his face, and they broke into a mix of laughter and cheering. "I mean, you were all like 'RARGH!', and then it was like 'FWOOSH!', and the fires were all 'BOOM!', and...!"

Most of the Smashers joined in the excitement as the easily excited expressed their comments in loud voices.

"WOW-THAT-WAS-SO-COOL!"

"Do it again!"

"That was amazing! Unbelievable!"

Marth stood apart from the group of over-excited Smashers, but a smile of gladness was clearly on his face, more so at the happy expression on Roy's face as he did his little victory dance with Link. He had many questions to ask, but chose to let his best friend savor his victory over his fears.

His sapphire eyes glanced at Vanuto, who overviewed the mess of Smashers in disgust. It was to be expected for him to be angry at his loss, but as his vermillion eye found Roy, his look changed instantly into that same thoughtful gaze. Yes... all of this only proved his hopes even more. Just one more test, and he'd have the answer...

Marth watched the sorcerer turn on his heel and sprint away towards the dorms. A faint glare came to his face as suspicions went on high. The more Vanuto came and went, the more shady and suspicious he seemed...

A/N: See? Longer chapter!

FME: Yay! Dragon powers! (snuggles Roy)

Roy: SA-WEET! 8D

Ed: (SPLOOSH!) How's that?

Eliwood: (wrings out his cape) Yeah, peachy. Thanks.

Ed: Tis what I'm here for.

Eliwood: Alright, where is he?

Link: (points to Roy) Right over there.

Roy: O.O WAAAHHH! (runs away)

Eliwood: You are SO DEAD! (chases)

XD Please review!