Chapter 20: The Final Battle
Pyra shot down at Fox. Fox rolled under the attack, spun and fired his blaster, peppering Pyra in the back. He didn't even flinch. Fox cursed as he slid the blaster back into its holster. He ducked under one of Pyra's punches and brought his own fist up into Pyra's gut.
It felt like punching a brick wall. Pyra stumbled back from the blow, but piercing pain shot through Fox's arm. He stepped back, clutching his arm. Pyra watched this and grinned. He cracked his knuckles and advanced. Fox jumped out of reach.
But Pyra didn't need to be close. He extended his right arm and a blue laser shot out of the ring. Fox didn't react in time. The laser burned into his chest. Fox rolled away and put up his reflector, bouncing the beam away. Pyra dropped his arm and jumped several feet into the air. He did a flip before shooting straight at Fox. They collided and Fox was knocked backwards.
He slid across the arena and came to a stop inches from the edge of the platform. He got to his feet, shaking. He tried to concentrate. He tried to bring the energy of the Master Hand to him. But he had drained a lot of it during his fight with himself. But there was still some left. This he brought forth and readied himself for combat. He looked at Pyra and rushed him.
Pyra waited, his fist back to pummel Fox into the ground. But before he reached Pyra, Fox shot forward in a glimmer of blue light. Pyra understood what this was, but not soon enough to do anything more than block the illusion. Meanwhile, Fox stopped right behind Pyra, jumped and kicked him in the spine. Pyra fell forward a step or two, dropped his block and had the illusion slam into his face.
Then Fox jumped over Pyra and charged his Fire Fox. He shot down and landed where Pyra had been mere seconds before. But Fox spun his feet out and caught Pyra in the ankles, tripping him. Fox got to his knees and clasped his hands, bringing both fists down on Pyra's chest. Pyra let out a loud gasp before zooming back into the air, where he caught his breathe.
Fox jumped and grabbed Pyra by the ankles, trying to get him to the ground again. Pyra pulled one leg loose and began to kick at Fox's hands. Fox tightened his grip, sinking nails into Pyra's ankle. Pyra let out a grunt of pain before he began to spin wildly. Fox couldn't hold on and was flung to one side. He bounced off the ground and landed on his feet.
He looked up in time to get hit the face by one of Pyra's booted feet. Fox spun around and landed on his chest. He pushed himself up and rolled away before Pyra could stick his other foot into Fox's back.
Fox got to his feet and turned on Pyra. Fox jumped in and out, delivering punches and kicks that weren't always blocked. He would dart in and punch Pyra twice in the chest then duck out, leaving Pyra to swing at nothing but air. Then, while Pyra was off balance, Fox would dart in again and kick at his legs, hoping to trip him up.
But Pyra remained standing. And he kept missing Fox by less and less, until one of his blows finally connected. His fist slammed into the side of Fox's head. Fox was knocked back by the force, and was knocked off balance long enough for Pyra to close in.
He jumped forward and punched Fox in the stomach. Fox buckled forward with pain. While Fox was hunched forward, Pyra brought his elbow down on the back of Fox's head. Fox's face slammed into the ground hard, leaving a crack across the purple platform.
Fox was too dazed to realize he was being picked up by the collar, or that he was being dragged across the ground towards the edge. His mind started to clear when he was being lifted into the air. He was held there for a moment. His head cleared and he looked down. He was being held over the edge by the back of the neck. He felt the grip loosen and he began to fall.
Fox hit his reflector. It slammed into Pyra, sending him flying across the platform. Fox reached out and gripped the edge. He pulled himself up and rolled to his feet. Pyra was doing the same.
They glared into each other's eyes before running at each other, shouting. They slammed into each other tried to get a hold of the other. Fox grabbed Pyra's arm and twisted it around. Pyra shouted in pain before whipping his foot around, kicking Fox in the back of the head.
Fox's grip loosened enough for Pyra to reverse the move. Fox let out a scream that was almost rivaled by the sound of his bone breaking. Through blinding pain, Fox kicked out, landing a solid blow to Pyra's knee. His leg snapped backwards, cracking the knee in two.
Pyra let out a shout and pushed Fox away, slashing his back with his claws. Fox rolled with the blow and got to his feet, jumped and kicked Pyra in the face, smashing his nose. Blood gushed forward and splattered the platform. They stumbled a part from each other, holding their wounds.
Pyra wiped his nose on his sleeve and gave his leg a kick, snapping the knee back in place. Fox stretched his back and flicked his arm back together using the energy of the Master Hand. He stretched his arm as Pyra stretched his leg. Then they hit fighting poses again and rushed in again.
Fox blocked a punch from Pyra and sent his own into Pyra's kidneys. Pyra recovered quickly and spun, smacking Fox in the side of his head. Fox flipped sideways and landed on his feet. He jumped into a back flip and kicked Pyra under the chin with both of his feet. Pyra was sent into the air, spinning. Fox jumped up after him and grabbed him by the tail. With a mighty pull, Fox threw Pyra down to the platform. He hit, head first with a solid crack.
Fox landed several yards away, ready to fight. Pyra slowly began to pull himself up off the ground. He was stiff and struggling to get air. Fox took the advantage and ran at Pyra. He jumped and slammed into Pyra's back, sending him sliding across the platform. Fox was on his feet instantly and running again. He kicked Pyra in the side, sending him closer to the edge of the platform. He took another flying leap and kicked Pyra in the side of the head. Pyra rolled inches from the edge.
Fox was running at him again, ready to push him off the platform to his death below. But Pyra was moving differently now. He rose quicker this time. And he was reaching into the back of his jeans. When his hand returned, it was sparkling with shiny metal disks, which he flung at Fox with all his might.
Fox saw the spinning blades coming at him, but he was on a direct course. He couldn't react in time. They sank deep into his chest. He was flung backwards by the force. He slid across the ground. When he came to a stop, he looked down at his chest. He tried to pull the blades out, but before he could, Pyra landed on his stomach, sinking his knees into Fox's gut. Fox let out a gasp as air was forced from his lungs.
Pyra grabbed Fox by the throat and pulled him up. He pulled his arm back and began to punch Fox over and over again. Fox struggled to get loose, but the grip was too tight. Fox could barely breath. Then Pyra threw Fox into the air and punched him so hard, he felt several ribs break and stick out his back.
He was also sent flying. He rocketed across the platform, and it looked as if he were going to sail off the side of the stage. But then he hit something. He looked around and saw that Pyra was there. He had moved so fast, he had cut of Fox's path. Pyra then kicked Fox back onto the platform. Fox sailed up and landed right in the middle of the platform.
Fox was too hurt to move. He just closed his eyes and tried to breath, though it was hard since his broken ribs had shred one of his lungs. Plus the blades were still deep in his chest. Fox was faintly aware of footsteps.
"You were good," Pyra said, kneeling down. "But I was better." H rose and kicked Fox in the side. "Even with the energy of the Master Hand, I could still beat you." He held up his ring.
"And this little circle of metal was all I needed to claim power over you all." He let out a laugh as he began to back up.
"As much fun as this was, Fox, it is time for it to come to an end."
With that, he jumped into the air and began to rise into the air. He rose ten, twenty, thirty feet over Fox and kept rising. Higher and higher he went.
Fox looked up as Pyra became nothing more than a twinkling star. He knew he was done for now. He could do nothing but gasp for air. He tried to bring forth the energy of the Master Hand again, but he seemed to be out of it. There was no energy to tap into this time.
He watched Pyra as he began to get bigger. He was rocketing down, aiming right for Fox's chest. When he got closer, Fox saw that his right hand was extended in a fist. The ring glittered brightly with the silhouette of the Master Hand.
Then Fox felt something rise in him. Something warm and comforting. He tried to identify it, thinking it was some untapped store of the Master Hand's energies. But it wasn't. It didn't belong to the Master Hand at all. But he felt some measure of strength rise in his arm. He knew what he had to do.
He reached to his chest and wrapped his fingers around one of the spinning disc lodged there. With a sickening slurp, he yanked the disc out of his chest. He looked up at Pyra, racing down towards him. Fox watched him grow, waiting for his moment. He knew that whatever happened after this, he was most likely going to die. He accepted that and waited.
Slowly, Pyra grew larger and larger and got closer and closer. Fox took careful aim; he would only get one shot at this. When Pyra was fifty feet away, Fox pulled his arm back as best he could and flung the small disk up at the on coming Pyra. Pyra was too blinded by rage to see the small item fly up at him.
Fox watched it as if it were in slow motion. The small, bloodstained disc flew silently straight up. Pyra flew straight down. The small piece of metal sliced through the metallic circle wrapped around Pyra's finger and lodged itself in his finger.
A look of terror came to Pyra's eyes as he realized what had happened. He pulled his hand up to look and his course altered ever so slightly. He slammed into the ground, leaving a large dent inches from Fox's head.
Fox was blown away by the force. He slid toward the edge, scraping his nails across the platform, slowing him down as his legs slid over the edge. He twisted around to see what was happening.
Pyra was staring at his bloody hand in sheer horror. But it wasn't the blade lodged in his ring finger that his eyes were focused on. He was looking at the two halves of the ring in his palm. He began to scream in terror as the halves began to vibrate. Sparks of electricity shot out of the ring, striking Pyra's chest, knocking him back. The ring halves fell from his hand and bounced off the platform. They still shook and shot out electricity.
Pyra fell to his knees, reaching out to the ring, trying to push it away. But when his clawed hand touched the metal, a brilliant white orb of energy expanded from it, engulfing Pyra completely. Pyra's screams were still echoing from the orb. Then, with a great shudder, the noise stopped and the orb exploded.
Fox covered his eyes from the intense light. But the light would not be shut out. It seeped around Fox's fingers, reached under his eyelids and shot through his pupils and onto his retina. The pain was incredible.
The light persisted for several seconds before the orb exploded. The massive release of energy knocked Fox off of the platform. He held onto the lip with all his diminishing strength. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to pull himself up. When his chin passed the platform, he kicked his foot up and rolled his way onto the stage.
What he saw made his heart give a great leap of relief and joy. Laying on the platform in one large white lump, were both the Crazy Hand and the Master Hand. Fox got to his knees and began to crawl his way over to them. But a voice in his head stopped him.
Rest now. You have done enough.
Fox fell onto his stomach. He watched as the Hands rose from the platform and began to float slowly into the air. He was smiling with joy when a small object landed in front of him. He looked at it and saw that it was the ring. He reached out and spun it around. Each panel now had a silhouette of Pyra, shouting out in horror. Fox's smile widened further as he muttered two words before passing out.
"Mission complete."