Chapter 6: The Rodent

His hunch was right. By analyzing the leaf, Fox was able to figure out where it had come from. He set the Great Fox on a main course for Kanto. He had a vague idea of who Pyra might be after. And if he was right, Pyra would be nearly invincible. If he succeeded. Fox had to make sure he didn't.

While en route to Kanto, Fox took a trip to his armory. Having lost his blaster on Brin Star, he would need something new. And something with a little more kick. His old one was useful for little more than annoyance. It definitely wouldn't hold back Pyra. But fortunately, he had managed to pick up a few things before leaving the tournament.

A large crate sat in the middle of the armory. Fox grabbed a crowbar and pried the lid off. He tossed the crowbar aside and reached into the crate. There were several things in it. There was a large blaster, which Fox examined. It was a powerful weapon that was used in the tournament on occasion. It fired the same as his blaster and had more power behind each blast, but it had more kickback and ran off of a limited power cell that needed to be recharged or replaced. Fortunately, there were several power cells at the bottom of the box.

There were other items in the crate, but Fox let them be. They might come in handy later, but for now, the blaster would do. He returned to the cockpit and dozed in the command chair. He would need to keep up his strength for when he ran into Pyra again.

With the Great Fox orbiting over Kanto, Fox scanned the surface from his Arwing. The scanners didn't pick up much, though. Nothing but the indigenous life. Fox swore, thinking he may already be too late. But then his sensors hit something. It resembled the activities elsewhere on the planet, but there was also something much bigger. It had to be Pyra. Fox hit the controls and made his way to the disturbance.

Sure enough, he saw Pyra ducking it out with a small, yellow creature. The yellow creature jumped back from Pyra's massive punch and sent a jolt electricity towards its foe. Pyra jumped over the blast, rolled when he landed and kicked the yellow creature in the back. It went flying with a loud "Pika! Pika Pi!"

Fox targeted Pyra and fired from his Arwing. Not expecting the attack, Pyra was hit full on. He was knocked to one side as Fox fired barrage after barrage at him. When he stopped, there was just a cloud of smoke. Fox slowed enough to watch the cloud.

From its interior, a massive ball of energy was shot up towards the Arwing. Fox saw it coming fast. Too fast. It struck the left wing while Fox was still trying to get the engines up to speed. The Arwing became unstable, forcing Fox to land. He did and jumped from the cockpit, blaster at the ready.

By now, the cloud of dirt had cleared. Pyra was standing there, looking very angry. He stuck his arm forward and began to charge up another shot, the energy forming on top of the ring. Fox let him. When the blast was at full, Pyra let it fly. Fox crouched, waiting for it to get close enough. When it was ten feet away, Pyra hit his Reflector. The energy struck the small shield and bounced back at Pyra.

Pyra expected this. He had Samus's memories and knew that Fox would do this. So after he fired his shot, he moved to a flanking position. Then he fired off several missiles that appeared over his ring and attacked. When Fox dropped his Reflector, he was hit in the back by the missiles.

He rolled forward in pain as Pikachu jumped from the bushes. He sent a massive jolt of lightning at Pyra, who didn't move in time. The energy struck him full in the chest, but Pyra planted his feet firmly. All the energy traveled through him and into the ground, leaving him with nothing but a slight tingle.

But by doing this, Pyra left himself open. Pikachu took the opportunity to ready a skull bash and fly at Pyra. He hit Pyra square in the chest. But Pyra did little more than let out a grunt before slamming Pikachu into the ground.

Fox could tell his strength was increasing. This was bad. Pyra stretched his right hand out the ring began to glow again. Fox drew his blaster and began to fire. Pyra, expecting the red laser fire from Fox's old gun, took the green energy blasts right in the shoulder, knocking him back. He let out a grunt as the fire burnt through his trench coat, singeing the flesh underneath.

Fox kept firing until the power cell was drained. Quickly, he tried to replace the cell, but Pyra was faster. He was on Fox in seconds. His first attack was a Falcon Punch followed by Screw Attack. When they were both in the air, Pyra slammed his fist into Fox's stomach. Fox rocketed into the ground. Then Pyra began dropping bombs. They landed on or near Fox, blowing up around him.

Pyra landed in front of Fox. There was an odd smirk on his face. He crouched down and grabbed Fox by the hair, lifting his face up off the ground.

"You know?" he said. "You're making quite the pest of yourself." He tightened his grip, pulling at the roots. Fox's face twisted into a grimace. "And I can't quite figure out why. What does it matter to you if the Master Hands rules the tournament or if I do?"

"The controller of the tournaments," Fox muttered, "has control of the galaxy."

"That's just a perk of the job. One I intend to make the most out of." He stood up, letting Fox's face hit the dirt. "Too bad you won't be there to see my reign."

He stuck his right hand out and began to charge up a Charge Shot. Fox tried to hit his Reflector, but was hurting pretty badly. The strength of this cat creature had grown remarkably. Each blow felt like being hit by a train. And Pyra could only keep getting stronger. This seemed hopeless. He looked up and saw the charge shot was nearly full.

This is it, he thought to himself.

But then Pyra stopped the attack and spun around. Pikachu had launched another Skull Bash. But Pyra whipped around fast enough to backhand Pikachu. When the ring hit Pikachu's face, the rodent exploded in a burst of white energy, leaving little pellets of floating energy. Then Pyra stuck his fist in the middle of the swarm and all the little pellets rushed the ring. Another panel began to glow before a third face and emblem appeared.

Pyra smiled as he felt the power flow through him. Then he turned and sent a bolt of lightning through Fox's body. Fox let out a yell of pain as he twitched violently from the electrical surge. Pyra laughed.

"This will do," Pyra said. "This will do nicely."

And with that, he turned and ran off into the forest.