Chapter 18: The Strategy
The Kirby ran at Fox. Fox understood immediately. Pyra had sent him into a match. He was going to try to weaken, if not kill him with the tournament. Clever idea. But with the energy of the Master Hand running through his blood, Fox felt like he could take on anything.
He waited for Kirby's attack, which came in the disguise of a Cutter move. Fox hit his Reflector, bouncing the attack back at the puffball. Kirby jumped over it and began to fly up.
Fox ran after him, but was stopped by a might gust of wind coming from the tree. Fox reached for his blaster, forgetting it wasn't there… but it was there. He pulled out his old blaster and fired up at Kirby. The shots hit him in the side and knocked him from the air. He fell to the platform below where the tree blew him to Fox.
Fox kicked Kirby into the air where he was hit by a Fox Fire. They both landed and Fox charged. Kirby opened his mouth and began to suck in air, trying to swallow Fox. Fox shot forward, passing through Kirby. The illusion that followed slammed into Kirby, knocking him back.
Fox spun and grabbed Kirby. He punched Kirby several times before throwing him into the star cubes on the left of the stage. Then he pulled his blaster and fired several shots. None of the shots hit Kirby. They went past him and hit the shimmering star cubes. They exploded, sending Kirby shooting across the sky. He burst out the right side of the stage.
Then Fox found himself on a giant floating vehicle. It was shooting through air, wind blowing past him. It was Big Blue. In front of him was Capt. Falcon in a green outfit. He ran at Fox and tried to Falcon Kick him. Fox rolled under the kick and his reflector, pushing Capt. Falcon into the air.
Falcon recovered and ran at Fox. Fox blocked the incoming kick and delivered one of his own. Falcon stumbled back and fell over the side of the purple ship they were on. Fox went after him. They both landed on the racing speeders below.
Falcon was up in seconds. He threw several rapid fire punches. Only one made contact, knocking Fox back a step. But then Fox dropped and kicked Falcon's feet out from under him. Falcon was sent into the air, where Fox punched him, sending him onto another car.
Fox jumped over and kicked Falcon in the back. Falcon turned with a Falcon Punch. Fox jumped and landed on one of the floating cameras. Falcon joined him and they exchanged blows for a while.
Then Fox hit his reflector, knocking Falcon from the camera. He fell between two cars and was run over repeatedly. There was a flash and Fox found he was somewhere else, now. He was on Yoshi's Island surrounded by four Yoshi of red, yellow, blue and pink.
The blue one jumped at him. He got over Fox and shot down with a Yoshi Bomb. The other three rolled up into eggs and rolled at him. Fox jumped, letting the three eggs collide, shattering into pieces. Fox spun and kicked the dropping Yoshi, knocking him away.
Fox began to charge a Fire Fox. But he realized that he was rocketing towards the pink Yoshi before he even started to charge. He slammed into the Yoshi, sending it rolling back. The other three kicked at Fox. Fox put his arms up and absorbed the impact.
Then Fox shot forward in a Fox Illusion. The illusion stretched out and hit all three of them. They were clothes lined and flipped around on their back. The pink one had recovered by now and shot its tongue out. It wrapped around Fox's arm.
The red one did the same, getting his other arm. They both began to pull, trying to rip Fox in half. Fox grabbed their tongues and pulled back. He tugged hard enough to get one into the air. He spun this one around into the other.
He used both and spun them around and around. He threw the red one at the orange Yoshi, knocking them both off of the stage. He threw the pink one at the yellow Yoshi, knocking them off of the stage.
All of a sudden, he wasn't there anymore. He was on a giant Squirtle. He was surrounded by all the pokemon. A Pikachu with a green hat shot a jolt of electricity ay Fox. A Pichu with blue goggles did the same. Fox was shocked back to where a Jigglypuff with a red bow was waiting. She opened her mouth and began to sing.
The melody reached Fox ears and forced him to a slumber. He didn't feel when a blue-tinted Mewtwo picked him up and flung him across the air. He landed on an Onix that was floating past. Fox woke up and readied himself.
The pokemon jumped up on the Onix and were ready to attack. Already Pyra was abusing his power. The Hands never let more than four Smashers fight at a time. It was clear that Pyra was doing everything he could to stop Fox. Fox smiled and attacked.
The blue Mewtwo ducked under Fox's first punch. Fox went with the momentum and flipped over Mewtwo. He landed and kicked Pichu in the face. He stumbled back and Fox shot him with his blaster. He dropped the blaster and kicked Pikachu's feet out from under him when he got too close.
Jigglypuff came floating in, kicking and singing. Fox hit his reflector, knocking her back. She rolled into Mewtwo, who threw a shadow ball at Fox. Fox jumped and let the projectile hit the recovering Pichu.
Then he launched a Fire Fox that hit Jigglypuff square in the chest. Jigglypuff stumbled back with the force. Fox landed and kicked out, knocking Jigglypuff into the air. Fox did a back flip and connected with Jigglypuff's back. She rocketed into the air and disappeared in the background.
Fox dropped to his knees as Pichu went flying over his head. Fox reached up and grabbed a hold of Pichu's tail and slammed into the top of the Onix float. Pichu hit, but still had enough sense to send and electrical jolt down his tail. Fox let go as his hand was nearly paralyzed. Then he kicked the rodent across the float.
Onix began to sink so Fox jumped and landed on an incoming Whooper. The other three followed. Fox kicked Pikachu before he could land. He rolled back onto the Onix, barely jumping off in time. He shot through the air and landed on a Sudowoodo's foot.
Fox shot him with his blaster, the bright red lasers burning his tail. He jumped and shot forward at Fox. Fox holstered his blaster and shot at Pichu in a Fire Fox. They collided, Fox knocking Pichu from the arena. He landed on a Snorlax and dodged an attack from Pikachu.
Pikachu chased after Fox, who dodged every attack. When Pikachu would attack, Fox would jump back. When Pikachu would send and electrical charge, Fox would reflect it. When Pikachu tried to send a bolt of lightning straight from the sky, Fox shot away with a Fox Illusion.
Pikachu was angry. He rushed Fox. Fox jumped and kicked Pikachu hard in the back. Pikachu bounced off the float and plummeted down, out of the stage. That just left Mewtwo, who had teleported right behind Fox. He grabbed Fox with his mind and threw onto a Seal.
Fox recovered in mid-air and landed on his feet. Mewtwo was after him, throwing Shadow Balls. Fox put up his reflector and bounced the Shadow Balls back at Mewtwo. Mewtwo just teleported away from them. But this time, Fox knew where he was going to reappear. Fox kicked behind him and hit Mewtwo in the chest.
Mewtwo floated back slightly. Fox pounced and punched him in the face. Mewtwo spun to one side. He got up and flung a half charged Shadow Ball into Fox's face. Fox did a back flip before crashing on his face. He rolled forward and kicked Mewtwo under the chin. Mewtwo was sent into the air where McCloud hit him with a Fire Fox, sending him into the background.