Chapter 14: The Elf
They were both on their feet when Pyra came over the pillar grasping Marth's sword. He had that smirk of success on his face. It was clear that he only had room for one more on his ring. And all signs pointed to Link as that final person. But link wasn't going to let that happen if he could help it.
He fired another stream of arrows. Pyra ducked and weaved between them. He jumped off the pillar and disappeared. Link went into Spin Attack, hitting Pyra when he reappeared behind him. Fox fired a barrage from his blaster. All but two of the green bolts hit their target. But Pyra was up anyway.
He swung at Fox, who backed away. Then Pyra rolled under Link, dropping a few of his own bombs. Link jumped, avoiding them, but was hit in the back by Pyra's Dancing Blades.
Fox slashed at Pyra's feet, tripping him and leaving lines of red across his legs. Link rolled away and used his hook. It grabbed Pyra by the chest and tried to pull him to Link. But Pyra grabbed the chain and pulled Link off his feet, throwing him into Fox. Fox jumped over Link but was hit by the Charge Shot Pyra had been saving.
Fox was hit down the middle passage. A Shield Breaker soon sent Link down, too. Both Smashers retreated to the bottom of the arena.
"How in Din's name are we supposed to stop him?" Link asked. "He's too strong."
"We can't give up," Fox said. "Or else it will all be over for us."
"Where does he get his power from?"
"The ring," Fox said. "It somehow allows him to absorb Smashers and their abilities. He plans to use you and the other's he has taken to defeat and absorb the Hands, thus gaining control of the tournament."
"Well, we can't let that happen, now can we?" Link said as a Charge Shot and a Shadow Ball came flying down the passage.
They both jumped away, letting the two balls of energy slam into the ground. Link readied an arrow and let fly as soon as Pyra showed himself. The arrow imbedded itself deep in the right of his chest. He just looked at it as if it were a mosquito. Then he charged, not even bothering to take the shaft out of his chest.
He swung at Link. Link brought his sword up and blocked the swing. They exchanged blows for a few minutes before Fox jumped in. Fox did what he could, but he had no depth perception. Many of his swings were off balance and awkward, cutting nothing but air.
Pyra kicked him in the stomach, sending him away. Link rolled under Pyra and stabbed him in the back. Pyra spun, yanking the blade from his hands and striking with his own sword. Link brought his shield up and blocked the swipe, but the edge of the blade left a long mark across its front.
Pyra looked at Link in irritation. He struck again, Link blocked again. Pyra slammed his blade down on Link's shield with one hand. With the other, he sent a jolt of electricity through the metal shield. Link was momentarily paralyzed. Pyra took the opportunity to use the Shield Breaker that, true to its name, shattered Link's shield.
Pyra reached out and grabbed Link by the throat with his left hand. His ears twitched and he spun around. Fox and launched into a Fire Fox. Using Link like a club, Pyra smacked Fox from the sky, smashing him into the ground. Then he placed a booted foot on Fox's back, pinning him to the ground as the ring began to glow.
Link squirmed, trying to get loose. He watched in horror as Pyra made a fist with his right hand and a blade of white energy shot from his knuckles. Pyra pulled his arm back and impaled him with the energy. Link let out a small cry of pain before his fidgeting stopped. The blade expanded, engulfing Link.
Fox shouted as best he could, trying to get up and stop Pyra. But the boot was too firmly placed. He tried reaching for the Beam Sword, but it was just out of reach. He tried for the blaster at his hip, but he couldn't get a good angle. When the boot was finally removed from his back, he knew that Link was gone, now a part of Pyra.
Pyra kicked Fox away. He slid across the ground and over the gap, landing on the little island to the right of the stage. He got up and watched as the arrow shaft and Link's sword both slid out of Pyra's body, falling to the ground with a clatter. Pyra picked up the sword and slid it in his belt with Marth's.
He smiled at Fox. A smile that radiated pure, undiluted triumph. He stuck his ring out and an arrow appeared over it. It hovered there for a second or two before flying at Fox. Fox hit his reflector just in time.
Pyra saw and gave a shrug. He had already counted himself victorious. Fox was nothing to him now. He had the eight greatest Smashers. He could defeat ten Foxes. But he had other things to do. He pulled his fist back and punched the air, forming a large portal. He gave one last mocking wave before jumping through.
Fox jumped to his feet. His whole body ached. Each twitch of his muscles sent a mind jarring pain through his body. He ignored it and ran to the portal as it began to close. There was only one place Pyra could have gone. And Fox knew of no other way to get there except by following Pyra. He looked at the Beam Sword as he ran. But he knew he had no time to go pick it up.
He made on last jump, disappearing within the portal seconds before it closed around the last few hairs on his tail. He was off to the one place the Hands would be.