Chapter 63: (Down the) Rabbit Hole - Third Generation VS. Second
Nation of Domination Arc – The World Championships
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda; this is just a Fan Fiction
Featured Music: "Character Select" – Killer Instinct (1994) OST. Chapter Briefing.
"The Instinct" – Killer Instinct (2013) OST. Scene 1 (First Half).
"Hinamatoom"; Ragnar Romanov's Theme – Killer Instinct (2013) OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).
"Ryu & Ken-no-Theme" – Street Fighter II V OAV OST. Scene 4 (First Half).
In a grand total of five years the heroes led by Impa of the Sheikah have at long last reunited and, as they have, so too has the world championships themselves begun; all in the front end of the country of Draerith, east of Aurelia. Having vanished to parts unknown throughout the continent of Aurelia in order to prepare for the world championships, they finally return with more years of adventuring and battle experience under their belt, having trained extensively for this one of a kind event.
With their grand results all across each country of Aurelia, each martial artist within Impa's group hope to prove themselves within the final fighting arena of the Prima World Tour; the world championships. Only one out of the top eight qualifying fighters can achieve this title however…
Alwyn Weirson.
Barkner Elbrus.
Lycidas Marino.
Ragnar Romanov.
Vassia Palashia.
Veronika Fedoroa.
Raynard Van Garrick.
And Link Firbrand.
These eager warriors put their faith in themselves and all for the final test of their might and faith; a fight to the finish in a new, double elimination tournament designed only for the best of the best, for the ultimate champion of the very continent, and the world itself.
Hyrule, Palashia, Kaiohdrahl, Gylomecia and, finally, Draerith.
It is these countries, all across the beautiful land of Aurelia that have seen these eight warriors' greatest feats, and it is in Draerith where they shall all meet one last time; and this time for the final event that will rock the martial artists' community to its core. For five years each and every one of them have prepared, yet none more so than Link himself; having met with the world's greatest martial artist herself, Sun Hui, Link also manages somehow to break free of his shackles of the 'Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai', after a lengthy ten years of despair under its influence.
It is with this new hope, and the incredible skills that Sun Hui taught him, that Link prepares himself for the greatest challenge he were to ever face since leaving his home country of Hyrule; he sets his sight on his eternal rival and once-closest friend, Raynard Van Garrick, in hopes of meeting and fighting him within the confines of the tournament, to settle their score with one another following their very first incredible clash within the Hylian Hyrax five years prior.
"This is not the end," Link tells himself.
"This is the beginning."
Scene 1
"Welcome back, one and all you Aurelian lovelies… to the Nation of Domination!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
The sound of the surrounding Aurelian crowd littering the audience stands situated around the massive fighting arena inside the Great Hall of the People echoed out powerfully, leaving even the very ground itself with tiny vibrations from the sheer thousands of people stationed there. Mr. Marshall and 'Tasty' Seth, two old favourites in tournament commentary, sat up in their own private and lavish booth within a windowed room, sitting at a front desk and speaking through small Gossip Stone technology to amplify their voices into the main battle arena.
"You're here at the beautiful Draerith gardens of the Great Hall," the formally-dressed man smiled through his Gossip Stone at the front-left of the table. "I'm Mr. Marshall, chief commentator and with me always is my partner in crime…"
"Tasty Seth!" The younger brown-haired man, much more informally dressed called out with an emphatic grin as he leaned over to his left to issue out the smiling Marshall with a light fist-bump, resting his short-wearing legs across the table as he did. "What's up boys and girls?! We got a hell of a show for you all this weekend; three days of fightin'!"
"That's right Seth… all former champions and finalists of each and every one of our national championships all across Aurelia…," Marshall began again in reply, briefly eyeing the youth on his right before re-facing the audience forward. "While we've yet to pair our great would-be champions and finalists we can safely tell you that this weekend… will be the greatest you've ever spent."
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
"I can't wait for this Marsh…," the grinning Seth commented on, turning his head to eye his older compatriot. "To see what everyone's been cookin' up since Stralanavia's Speedy Skirmish? Aw dude…"
"Indeed…," the smiling Marshall nodded in a half-amused chuckle, facing the youth before turning back forward again. "There you go folks, straight from the horse's mouth itself; you'd better not leave those seats!" He smiled again, raising up a free index finger to point directly at the seated audience members. "This tournament… is going to get hot!"
"I can't believe it's been five years since we seen ya both!"
Barkner's ever-sociable greeting made the firmly-frowning pair of martial artists exchange a quick hardened glare with one another before turning back to face the Goron before them, nodding in acknowledgement.
"And you both ain't changed," the ever-grinning Goron spoke up again, shaking his rock-skinned head back at the pair before him as he re-folded his arms at them. "You gotta love it!"
While Lycidas bowed forward in his own display of respect, it was Ragnar that opened up his mouth to speak.
"Elbrus…," Ragnar nodded forward in a hardened glare of respect, firmly-frowning as he always did. "And Firbrand…,"
Realising that the last national champion of Kaiohdrahl was addressing him, Link could only raise up his dark-blonde eyebrows up in similar acknowledgement, casting the Draerithian man with a light-faced smile of his own. Ragnar approached him and, as he did, rose up his right open-palmed hand to slap brotherly into Link's own right, a powerful tiny vibration emanating from the sheer strength the pair of martial artists commanded together.
"It is good to see you…," he at last spoke up in greeting, nodding down at the blonde in his Draerithian tunic before soon casting his hardened nodding frown on each member of the joining group all around him. "Good to see all of you."
"And you," Impa smiled rarely in the man's shirtless man's direction, her armoured arms folded as always. "Been keeping up with your training as well I see; both of you." The silver-haired Sheikah nodded in the frowning-faced Lycidas' and Ragnar's directions, drawing out lightly-exchanged glances between the pair.
"How have you all been?" Lycidas spoke up surprisingly, breaking his silence, directing a concerned nod down at the blinking-faced Link. "After that fight in Gylomecia…"
Ragnar, curious, could only exchange another look between the pair, eliciting a half-amused smile from the listening Link.
"I'm fine," the young Hylian responded with in a grateful nod of his own. "I'm just glad no-one else got hurt. If it wasn't for you bein' there… and Ray…"
Realising who he was referring to, the rest of the group swung their own concerned frowns 'round only to find the caped and folded-armed Van Garrick himself pacing around the room, as if to get a look at the surrounding martial artists.
"Raynard…," Alwyn spoke up quietly in a furrowed brow of curiosity, watching him pace. "I don't like that alliance he has with Scaverin…"
"And he's only gotten stronger within the past five years…," Zelda agreed on with the Zoran as she turned to face him. "This looks like it'll be a very difficult tournament…"
"Hmph!" The smirking Vassia huffed back, eyes briefly shut as she rose up her violet-haired head to match. "I look forward to trouncing him!"
"Didn't you two end your last match in a double KO…?" Barkner hung up into the air curiously, eyebrow raised and corner of his frown upturned into a lightly-amused smile.
"Sheer luck!" The insulted Palashian princess fired back angrily on him, drawing out laughs in response around the close group of friends. "Merde!"
"It was a good match though," Link agreed on with his Goron companion, speaking again with a soft and understanding smile, pulling a surprised little squeak from the listening Vassia. "You did great then, I thought."
Her scowl almost immediately lifted, soon being replaced with a half-embarrassed little smile, marked with a light-red tinge to her cheeks. "Oh… well… thank you mon amour."
"Urgh…,"
Link blinked in the half-annoyed Malon's direction, waiting for her to speak again.
"I miss the old you," she complained again, eyelids lowered at him and brow furrowed as she did. "Where's the insults? Where's the overconfidence?"
He couldn't help but smile back at the fiery-haired farm girl, opening up his mouth to respond.
"I suppose everyone must grow up some time."
He blinked again only to find the similarly-smiling Veronika having spoken up for him, eliciting an appreciative-faced smile from him in response. His eyebrows raised when he realised they had a small bird-like companion missing.
"Malon…"
"Yes baby?"
He rolled his eyes but kept his inward reservations on her clearly-sarcastic response to himself before re-opening his mouth.
"What happened to Grasshopper?" Link pressed her curiously, tilting his straw-haired head at her as he did.
Malon merely blinked back at him. "Huh?"
He rose an eyebrow, similarly perplexed. "Grasshopper? The little Cuccoo we bought in Strala-?"
Her blue-shaded eyes lit up, like lights on a tree and she smiled, clapping her small hands together softly. "Ahhh! Yes! Grasshopper!" The fire-haired girl began again. "Well when we went back home very briefly, I chose to take him back home… my home."
Link blinked back similarly, genuinely shocked they went back to Hyrule without him. "Y'mean… Lon Lon?"
She nodded. "Yeah! Dad was only happy to have another Cuccoo to add to our numbers; in fact he told me he'd take very good care of our baby we had together…"
Link rolled his eyes again, unable to stop the painful blush to his cheeks as she very obviously attempted to embarrass him again. While she succeeded in doing so, she also managed to anger the spluttering Vassia next to him; the Palashian princess yanked him closer to her with her right arm, hooking it into his muscled one.
"I think not!" She exclaimed back, somewhat insulted as she narrowed her eyes at the smirking farm girl. "Mon amour would never!"
"Four!"
The sound of one of the many members of the Prima World Tour staff exclaiming the number of one of the participants made the wide-eyed Link and his group of friends swing their heads in her direction, eliciting a half-surprised reaction from them. The Hylian youth however, all too grateful for the interruption, could only unhook his arm from Vassia's perfumed grasp before turning to give the frowning-faced Impa one more nod; an exchange in which she returned that left the rest of the participating group permission to go retrieve their numbers.
2
"As you all know we utilise a series of small Gossip Stones to randomly generate you all a number for pairing you with your match-ups," the smiling young woman spoke up from the front desk, holding up the little light-blue stones in her possession, as if to display them up to the eight challengers before her. "This year's world championship tournament will be no different… please… take a stone and report your number."
Link smiled back at the woman in gratitude as she handed him one of the many small blue stones; bringing it up to his similarly oceanic-eyed gaze, he couldn't help a feeling of nostalgia wash over his back as he watched the dream-like qualities within the stone slowly form and wash themselves into a figure of ancient Hylian.
一
As always he could not decipher it and rose it up to hang next to the blinking Alwyn on his right; the former Zoran soldier rose an eyebrow before peering down at it and nodding in acknowledgement.
"'One'," he translated for the young man, drawing out an appreciative-faced smile from him in return. "Looks as if I got three instead."
"Nice!" The grinning Barkner commented on, on Link's left; the young Hylian turned his smile on the Goron, peering over at his own Gossip Stone to get a look at the number.
四
"'Four' I think." Barkner followed up with in his light-faced grin, drawing out a new frown from the listening Link.
"Bark… that means you're up against…"
The Goron rose up his eyebrows, dropped his grin in favour of a curious frown and traced his friend's stare, only to find the glaring Raynard staring back at them both.
"Don't hold back," Link spoke quietly, eyes boring a hole in his raven-haired rival. "It's gonna be a tough match-up."
"Don't have-ta tell me twice…," Barkner murmured out as he did, watching Raynard carefully. "Gonna give him everythin' I got."
Link chose to elongate his smile into a small grin of encouragement, nodding as he brought up a left hand of camaraderie on the Goron's right shoulder before soon re-facing the glowering Raynard. They spent a second or two watching one another before Link chose to break the eye contact, re-joining his companions to see their own numbers. He leant over to the frowning-faced Vassia, only to find her carrying another peculiar character.
二
"Two," the smiling staff member spoke up as she stepped toward the Palashian princess, taking her Gossip Stone back and nodding again, this time in the frowning Veronika's direction. "Two, same here. You two will be fighting in round two." She smiled again, this time exchanging a look between the wide-eyed Vassia and frowning-faced Veronika. Link watched on with genuine interest.
"One."
Link about-turned, only to find the hard-eyed Ragnar standing before him, displaying his Gossip Stone number to him; in ancient Hylian, the number read as:
一
Realising this meant he was now paired with Ragnar, essentially for a runback and in round one, Link couldn't help but grow his smile into a small smirk as he nodded in confirmation and respect to the older man before him.
"Three!" The similarly frowning-faced Lycidas cried out, rising up his Gossip Stone as he did. Behind its beautiful dream-like blue ocean, it formed the number:
三
The brow-furrowed Alwyn swung his own frown in Lycidas' direction; the pair of well-experienced warriors shared a nod of acknowledgement and mutual respect together, before soon the staff member took all their Gossip Stones.
"Thank you all!" She smiled again with a nod before sweeping her arm horizontally onto the white board on her right. The group of would-be-champions all gathered around her to get a quick look at the contents and, soon finding their ancient Hylian numbers forming on it magically, they all focused on their own.
Round One:
Link Firbrand VS. Ragnar Romanov
Round Two:
Vassia Palashia VS. Veronika Fedoroa
Round Three:
Alwyn Weirson VS. Lycidas Marino
Round Four:
Barkner Elbrus VS. Raynard Van Garrick
The watching Alwyn turned to bow in respect to the similarly firmly-frowning form of Lycidas, drawing out a likewise display. Vassia gave the eyebrow-raised Veronika a brief smirking shut-eyed shrug before lowering her hand to shake it in sportsmanship; Veronika put on a small smile to her face as she returned the gesture. Link cast his excited grin in Ragnar's direction, raising up his dominant left arm and open-palmed fist to be shaken in a far more brotherlike fashion; the ever-glaring Ragnar scowled back as usual, yet responded in kind with a firm grip, nodding back at the young blonde as their palms slapped together noisily.
Raynard, on the other hand, elected to issue out a hardened glare of sheer hatred directed at the frowning-faced Barkner and his group of friends surrounding him.
A sheer contrast by comparison.
"As always, good luck in your match-ups," the brown-haired woman began again, turning her smile around each member involved in the tournament. "And please… remember to enjoy yourselves."
"This is it ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Marshall began again through his Gossip Stone, his voice carrying down the thousands of people littered below. "Welcome back… to the world championships!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
"We're starting off with one of the best possible match-ups to begin any tournament…" The smiling Marshall began, raising up his hands to point up at the window between him and the watching audience before him. As if it were cued up by his words, the small Gossip Stones threw up a coloured pictograph of a frowning-faced young blonde-haired man on-screen.
As opposed to the very first pictograph he took way back in Hyrule for his participation in the Hylian Hyrax, this one was far more subdued and disciplined; the young man merely stared back at the viewer in a leaning-stanced frown, wearing a dark-blue tunic weathered by use and carrying the symbol of Sun Hui's dojo – an extremely select symbol that only three people in the world had the honour of displaying. Next to the pictograph, on its right, sat the young blonde man's name and tournament statistics, as having last been seen fought.
Link Firbrand
Aggressiveness: A+
Agility: A
Tenacity: S
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
Almost as if having finally recognised the youth on-screen, the watching Aurelian crowd immediately erupted into excited cheers, their voices thundering against the window before them. The smiling Marshall chuckled, nodding as he re-opened his mouth to continue.
"That's right folks… in five years your personal favourite – and mine – has finally returned to us… and the five years truly have changed him!" Marshall smiled through his Gossip Stone. "In our light research of his preparation, he tells us that he has gone through the same training his upcoming opponent has…," he began again, his smile elongating into a light smirk as he did. "A life-or-death two-year training exercise… with Sun Hui!"
"Sun Hui…," the blinking and frowning-faced 'Tasty' Seth murmured out next to the older man, his co-commentating partner. "You'd think I'd recognise that name…"
"You will in a second my young friend…," Marshall chuckled knowingly in Seth's direction before nodding his head at the window before them both. "Look!"
In response to his words, the pictograph of Link and his statistics soon changed and this time into an older man; a much more familiar and recognisable one for the Aurelian public. A shirtless, muscled and front-chested scarred man of older age, perhaps in his thirties. He stood in a hardened scowl, his short-black hair sitting well atop his head to match the ugly scar sitting across his eye.
To say he looked well-experienced would be an understatement.
Ragnar Romanov
Combination Damage: S++
Aggressiveness: S
Punishment Proficiency: S
"Yo…," the wide-eyed Seth whispered out in genuine shock, leaning his legs off of the table from his usual careless manner, almost as if to display the genuine gravity of the situation. "We got… 'Fire Fist' and Romanov in the first round…?"
Marshall chuckled back positively, nodding as he did. "That we do my young friend."
"YOOOOOO!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
Rather amusingly, Seth reacted in a way similar to the screaming crowd around him, pumping both fists in excitement and widening his eyes as he did.
"You know what this means Marsh?!"
Marshall quipped up an eyebrow and popped the young man a light grin as he did.
"It means we got a grand finals match…," the younger man grinned back, eyes widening a third time. "In round one…!"
The watching audience let out another screaming cheer of approval and agreement with their easily relatable commentator, drawing out another half-amused chuckle from the nodding Marshall.
"You're not wrong…," he began before re-opening his mouth and raising up his head to speak. "'Fire Fist' Firbrand and Ragnar Romanov haven't only just encountered one another folks… this is their second go-around," the knowledgeable commentator explained briefly, quipping up another brown-haired eyebrow as he did. "Those of you who have kept a close eye on our world tour may have caught our boys here clash in grand finals of the 'Kaioh Bio'…"
"One of the best tournaments we ever had Marsh!" The grinning Seth shot back. "It had it all! Upsets, carnage, even blood…! I ain't ever seen a better one."
"Well you'd better prepare yourself for one Seth because this…," Marshall began again, in his own grin, flashing it first on his friend before soon re-facing the audience. "Is the world championships!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
3
"Welcome back to the Prima World Tour boys…," the smiling-faced referee spoke; a familiar older man standing in the centre of the main Draerith ring, nodding his head over at the smiling-faced Link and firmly-frowning Ragnar as they approached him from the competitor's box. "We missed you."
Recognising the chubby referee as the same man who refereed one of his previous bouts in the Prima World Tour, Link could only smile back at him and nod in acknowledgement, eliciting a similar reaction from the firmly-scowling faced Ragnar. As the two competitors headed on up the wide and short marble staircase to the large ring before them, they turned to face one another and reacted in kind with one another.
Link smiled, oceanic eyes shut as he placed his left fist into his open-palmed right hand softly and slowly bowed forward carefully and respectfully; seemingly a sign of respect and deference tailored to the Draerith custom. It was only when the scowling-faced Ragnar reciprocated the gesture, and perfectly at that, that the watching audience erupted into cheers of appreciation and acknowledgement for their familiarity with one another's teaching background.
"How do you like that Seth…?" The watching Marshall smiled on in appreciation, turning his short brown-haired head to direct his words to the sitting Seth on his right, his eyes still focused down on the ring below him. "That's an old-world greeting; a gesture used only for the ancient warlords of Draerith… and for one other person."
"Whozzat?" The blinking younger man merely blurted out with; eyebrows raised up as he did. The listening Marshall rolled his own eyes and dropped his smile in favour of a mildly-irritated frown, pulling some amused laughs from the listening audience.
"Sun Hui of course! Who else?!" He called out, his smile slowly returning as he eyed the clueless youth before re-facing the ring below. "They say she adopts the old-world gestures, not out of humility or a simple affinity for it… but because she is old enough to have lived back then!"
The listening Seth widened his eyes in a sheer display of incredulous shock, almost unable to believe it. "Damn…"
"Red side, ready!"
The smiling Link nodded as he backed a few steps into the 'red' plated side of the arena, slowly affixing himself into the Loftwing-style karate stance.
"Blue side, ready!"
The ever-glaring Ragnar set his own small Draerith shoed feet apart from one another and placed both clenched fists far at his sides, eyes focused firmly on his new opponent, nodding in a mixture of acknowledgement to the referee and in focus of his foe.
"Prepare to strike!"
The watching Aurelian audience had, by now, grown deathly silent for the first time since even entering the Draerith gardens, awaiting the upcoming first match of the world championships with bated breath. Satisfied with his respectful responses from his challengers, the frowning-faced referee clapped his rough and callous hands together emphatically before chopping a hand down in finish.
"Now!"
Last son of the Jade Dragon
Ragnar Romanov
The wide-eyed Ragnar opted to waste no time in beginning round one; he leapt silently through the air in a blitzing dive-kick, glaring over at the wide-eyed Link.
SLAM
"Hrngh…!"
Perhaps taken by surprise, Link was sent tailspinning through the air, first by the initial landing kick and then sent spinning by the second twisting one.
THWUCK-THWUCK-THWUCK-THWUCK
Ragnar chose to lay on the offensive pressure by stepping on his recently-gained okizeme and leaping up in a light short-hopping kick; one that was bat back away by the narrow-eyed Link. The young blonde responded by throwing a wide roundhouse kick up at the shirtless martial artist; a manoeuvre that saw Ragnar swiftly duck under before throwing up a left kick at the young Hylian's right.
Link shot up his right arm to block diagonally before deftly throwing up a quick high right kick with his bare foot; Ragnar returned the favour by quickly blocking and tossing a lunging right punch forward, forcing the wide-eyed Link to back-dash away from the blow and then duck the next quick left haymaker Ragnar threw his way.
The former Hero of Time fired a quick low body blow with his right fist; an attack, though landed, was met with Ragnar's own response – a quick diagonal chop to the grunting Link's left sided neck, sending him staggering back. Ragnar kept hold of the youth and slammed a left knee savagely into his under, following his new combination up with a choke-hold grapple. Link's eyes widened as he felt Ragnar brutally slam his right elbow painfully into his exposed back, forcing a violent-sounding cough from him in response.
Ragnar utilised his incredible physical strength by yelling out in effort as he began to spin the boy 'round and 'round before eventually and finally letting go, throwing the blonde in an expensive seismic-like toss.
SLAM
"Urgh…!"
Link scrambled to his bare feet, even as Ragnar swiftly pursued presumably to finish the job with a series of quick kicks, diagonal and vertically-aimed. Even as he managed to somehow block all of Ragnar's incredibly-fast blows – punches and kicks – it was inevitably-doomed to failure; the wide-eyed jade dragon used one of the small windows provided to him to slam a painful underside knee, sending the grunting and shut-eyed Link up briefly into the air. With him very briefly suspended in the sky mere inches off the ground, he followed up with a screaming spinning striking roundhouse kick that saw the shut-eyed Hylian brutally tailspinning through the air.
"WAT -AAAAAA!"
Ragnar followed up his brutal assault with a swift leap through the air, positioning his right leg high up vertically in the air to bring down in a hardened and barbarous axe-like kick. This time Link rolled to his back and narrowed his oceanic eyes back at the older man before shooting up one of his own kicks up in a quick defensive manoeuvre. The result of which managed to knock back the grunting Draerithian, sending him knocked back down where he came; he didn't stay down for long however, and opted to recover swiftly with a quick back-flip to his feet, before taking off again in aggressive pursuit.
Link hurried, again to his feet as his opponent deftly approached him, and like lightning the pair began to exchange blows together once more; all blocked. It was only when Ragnar seemed to gain the upper hand again, and slammed a low kick into his gut, throwing him up barely into the air again that the tides changed once more; Ragnar followed up his assault by grappling the youth by his arm and throwing him over.
SLAM
Link coughed out as he landed yet responded with his own counter-attack; a debilitating pair of sweep-kicks, one after the other, that saw the wide-eyed Ragnar drop down to the marble floor beneath him.
FWIP
CRACK
Ragnar grunted out as he was struck by the blonde's quick spinning roundhouse, eliciting the pair to stand back to their feet, raising their fists once more to fight.
The pair exchanged yet another series of quick kicks and fist-strikes before, finally, Ragnar yet again caught his younger foe with a narrow-eyed elbow in the ribs; Link's oceanic eyes widened and he coughed out a second time, allowing his adversary to follow up with a simple second grapple – this time he grabbed the boy's arm and tossed him forward, sending him grunting and slamming painfully into the ground as he did.
As Link lay on the ground, gasping for air, the watching Ragnar narrowed his eyes in silent scrutiny down at him, seemingly unimpressed and unconvinced with the display thus far.
"What is this…?"
Link snapped open his widened eyes in shock, darting them up to the top of his head in Ragnar's direction, waiting for his next sentence.
The older man's scowl grew worse and, this time, was genuinely displeased. "Are you holding back on me…? Afraid you will kill me like last time…?"
The curious Aurelian audience all began to exchange quiet-voiced murmurs with one another as they watched, unsure and quizzical.
"Enough of this!" Ragnar cried out angrily, his voice much more emphatic this time, his words knocking powerfully off the walls of the Great Hall. "I demand you show me your true strength!"
As if he was called, Link slowly and carefully stood back up to his bare feet, casting his old friend and former rival with a concerned look in his eye.
I can't believe he worked that out so easily, he thought worriedly.
If I do what he says though…
"Then what Liling-sifu told me may come true…"
Only the words of Sun Hui echoed within his mind when she told him her history in teaching Ragnar.
"Poor Ragnar… he will be dead within the next couple of years with the way his body is now…"
The very thought weighed heavily on Link's mind, and yet he couldn't very well deny Ragnar the challenge he was seeking.
He sighed thought his small Hylian nose and, with eyes briefly shut, re-opened them as he responded. "Okay Ragnar," he began in a light frowning nod, setting his arms and legs apart as if to ready himself a second time. "I'll give you everythin' I got."
The watching Ragnar, though still scowling, at least replied with a silent and similar nod in response, waiting and watching.
4
Link placed both arms and legs into what seemed to be a bladed stance, fists clenched at both his sides and his eyes calmly shut as he set apart his bare feet. The very ground itself began to tremor, though lightly, as a light-bright blue-shaded Aegir whipped up at his feet, slowly rising up to create beautiful blue sparks around his body; indicating a massive rise in strength and Quintessence. The Aegir itself began to form a small shroud around the former Kokiri's body, leaving the watching Ragnar to merely narrow his eyes forward and relax his stance in sheer shock and doubt, unsure and curious as he watched.
Almost as if reacting somehow to his gigantic increase in spiritual and physical strength, a lone butterfly of blue colour began to flutter its small form around him, somehow attracted to the shroud of Aegir he created. As if reacting in kind however, the butterfly very quickly flew off when a second dosage of Aegir shot out from Link; a much-more violent and bloody-coloured crimson veil of magic that resembled that of the Shinzui and of its former wielder – the demonic Kage Narumono.
Ragnar, having expected this, tilted his black-haired head at the youth before turning his frown up in light distaste, awaiting his next move.
BZZZZT
BZZZT
BZT
Small sparks of artificial electricity, a sheer testament to the incredible power that now leaked from his very form, emanated out and echoed around them all, dazzling the watching Aurelian audience. Numerous thoughts ran through Link's head, most of them negative yet one remained; a single memory of a sentence he once spoke, five years prior to this moment.
"I renounce you… Kage."
Somehow reacting to his inner ruminations, the great blood-red aura of his violent shroud of Quintessence very suddenly began to change; back into the beautiful calming blue he had become known quite well for since returning to the championship. First, spreading from his fingers, then his hands, and eventually the rest of his body; the hardened scowl on his face and the scrunched-expression his eyes took faded back into a placid and composed shut-eyed frown, leaving all watching in genuine curiosity.
Unknown in the reasoning behind to all watching, a grateful and well-tempered smile slowly spread on the young Hylian's face; ten years' worth of searching, finally at its end.
Ragnar, his patience outlasted, chose to widen his eyes and leap forward in a deft and reckless dive-kick through the air, screaming a war cry as he did.
"WAT-AAAAAAA!"
Somehow, in great spite to his aim normally being fairly reliable, he had missed his target by a single inch and in that single inch came Link's counter-attack; his similarly blue-shaded eyes snapped open, the smile on his face faded to an objective frown and he ended the engagement with a single technique.
The One-Inch Punch.
"Hmph!"
SLAM
CRRRRRRRACCCCCKKKKK
"Hurngh…!"
Ragnar's eyes widened and, like rushing water crashing against solid rock, halted in mid-air almost as immediately as he drew close to his younger opponent; he now found himself hanging directly off of his foe's fist, blood now slowly collecting in the bottom left and right corners of his mouth. The watching people in the stands could only silence their chatter, shocked at the sheer speed in which the fight managed to end itself, unable even to speak as they watched Ragnar cough out one final time before finally turning back the way he came, dropping back down to the ground in a pained heap.
THUD
Even as Link himself slowly recovered, standing back to a simple stanced state, he had to turn back to face the shocked referee to garner a reaction from him.
"O-Oh!" He exclaimed, his head crashing back down to earth. "Um… K-K.O.!"
The watching audience, still respectfully silent, watched on in bated breath for the referee to finish.
"This set's winner… is Link Firbrand!"
Realising exactly what had happened in the result of their extremely short exchange, Link put on a saddened and more morose turn to his frown as he knelt down by the coughing Ragnar's side; the wound didn't look too bad, as if it were a mere bruise across his already-scarred and muscled chest, but the look on his wide-eyed face and the blood that never-ended out of his mouth told a different story.
"Poor Ragnar… he will be dead within the next couple of years with the way his body is now…"
Again, the words of Sun Hui echoed throughout his mind as Link stared down at the fallen Ragnar, nodding down at him in a mixture of acknowledgement and respect; a look that the watching Ragnar returned, finally choosing to smile.
Before the two could even speak to one another however, a group of medical professionals linked to the staff rushed in from the competitor's box, all carrying numerous tools. The smile on Link's face dropped back into his saddened-eyed frown as he stood up off his knelt position, casting his morose look down on them, already knowing of the inevitable ending of this exchange.
"I can't stop the bleeding!"
"Where's the source?!"
"This doesn't make sense!"
The now-scowling Ragnar growled back at all three staff members, slapping away one of their hands with his right, re-opening his bleeding mouth to address them as he did.
"There's nothing…," he began in his pained scowling, growling a second time as he coughed once more, yet more blood falling from his mouth and staining his muscled chest. "Nothing any of you can do… I chose this…"
His cryptic wording, only further complicating the matter, left the three staff members exchanging unsure worried looks with one another.
"This was…," Ragnar began again, this time in a weakened-eyed frown, gasping for air. "Bound to happen… sooner or later… with the way my body is now…"
The listening and watching audience, almost unable to believe the proceedings, could only sit and watch in respectful silence.
"L-Link…," he began again, casting his frown and his raven-shaded eyes up to face the similarly frowning-faced youth on his top left, raising up his left calloused palm up as if to be taken.
The young blonde responded by stepping forward slowly, eliciting the medical staff to step back and allow them room; he knelt back down next to the man and took his left palm into his own in a camaraderie-like display, student-to-student.
"Thank you…," Ragnar gasped out, his frown slowly switching up into an incredulous smile, blood badly staining his mouth and his chest. "You gave me… an artist's death…"
Link's oceanic eyes lowered, as if in some form of shame, unable to face the older man.
"Do not weep for me…," he smirked back at the Hylian, shaking his short-black haired head, tears ironically beginning to stain at his eyes. "I asked for this… I wanted this…"
"But… Ragnar…"
"No," the older martial artist interrupted softly, again with a wide smile present on his terribly-wounded face. "I asked Liling-sifu to tamper with my Aegir-points… I knew the risks of what could happen… of what would happen."
Link lowered his eyes again as he felt the man squeeze his fist roughly in his, nodding in understanding.
"This fight…," he began again, his tears flowing freely now as he laughed mid-speech, blood falling from his mouth in similar display. "Was the greatest of my life… I owe you, Firbrand… I owe you so much…"
"R-Ragnar, I…"
"No… let me finish," the older man smirked again, shaking his head one last time. "Only two of us now remain after today… two of Liling-sifu's greatest works of art…"
Link almost instinctively knew who the Draerith was referring to and nodded, thinking back to his enlightening conversation with his last mentor.
"You… and Sathryon…," Ragnar started yet again, laughing as if he could barely believe it. "I could not ask for a better rival… or a better friend."
Link's frown weakened and turned softer again, a saddened look in his eye as he listened on in deferent respect.
"Please… promise me one thing…"
"Anything."
"Win today," Ragnar smirked back at the blonde teenager, the tears on his face as powerful as the blood threatening to take his own life. "Do our dojo proud… do Sathryon proud… do me proud…,"
This time a small smile began to form on the listening Link's face, as he nodded slowly back at the man.
"Do yourself proud," Ragnar finished in another laugh, grinning on as he did. "If anyone deserves to win here today… it's you."
The smile on Link's face, while spreading a little, still retained its melancholic-like quality to it as he listened on in veneration.
"This is… the first time I've met someone stronger than I am…," Ragnar began again, his own smirk slowly and gradually switching from his face to a dream-like-eyed frown. "It… feels… kind of…," he began again, the lights in his raven-shaded eyes very quickly dimming. "Good…"
All at once the light in his eyes completely dissipated and, as it did, so too did his once-powerful hold on Link's left palm; the now-frowning faced Hylian reached forward to shut his former rival's eyelids as if in respect, before shutting his own, lowering his ponytailed head and raising an extra palm to grip his now-departed friend's hand into his own, almost as if he were praying for him.
Link, struggling fiercely to keep tears from flowing from his own eyes in the inevitable knowledge of how the fight was going to end, could only re-open up his mouth to reply to the now-deceased Ragnar Romanov.
"I will, Ragnar…," he began, eyes lightly shut as he did. "That much I promise you."
