Chapter 65: 'Round and 'Round; Fight for Seniority

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).

"VS. DJ Subatomic Supernova (Phase 2 – Lead Rock Backing)" – No Straight Roads OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).


With their tour of Aurelia essentially complete, the group of heroes led by Impa make one final stop; into the eastern lands of Draerith. Said to be a lush land with a deep culture and even deeper-minded people, Draerith is also home to many other sites, such as the Great Hall of the People and is the one and only home of the greatest living martial artist in the world.

An old woman going by the name of 'Sun Hui'.

Sun Hui, a woman of horrible repute perhaps in due to her immense skill and strength, has been sensei to only three students in the past.

Ragnar Romanov, famous martial artist and current Kaiohrahlian champion.

Link Firbrand himself, having received a nomination and a referral from his original mentor Impa.

And Sathryon Vikeruce, greatest living soldier in the world, and infamous warlord of the far-off continent of Dracolius.

Sun Hui's training is brutal but effective; all three students, although going their own way with their own martial arts, become experts in their warfare thanks to Sun Hui's incredible mentorship and powers. She gifts them with her own brands of variations in her martial arts yet gifts only one with her greatest; the 'Kiss of the Lynel'.

Sun Hui admits even to her third student that she deigned not to teach this particular technique to Ragnar or even to Sathryon himself; a testament just to how effective and powerful the 'Kiss of the Lynel' appears to be.

With all of Sun Hui's training under his new Draerithian belt, Link presses on to the world championships held nearby in the Great Hall of the People and soon finds himself up against his comrade-in-partnership; Ragnar Romanov himself. Although the fight appears to be one-sided in Ragnar's favour, he very quickly catches on to this fact, and soon demands his friend and rival to fight with everything he has.

A request that proves to be his undoing… and even his death.

Link, in a single technique, manages to overcome Ragnar's incredible strength and speed and even sets the chain of events in motion to end the man's life; a road that saw Ragnar executing himself. He explains to Link that in having his Aegir-points accessed and unlocked at an early age, he has essentially accelerated his growth not just in fighting… but in general as well. His lifespan in doing so has been cut in half and, with his final duel with Link in the opening top eight of the world championships, finds himself finally at death's door at the young age of thirty; a scary thought for the young Hylian.

As he proceeds on to round seven in the upper bracket, Vassia Palashia and Veronika Fedoroa clash in round two; a fairly even fight until Veronika somehow manages to gain the upper hand and turns Vassia's aggressive fighting style against her with her 'Soul Illusion' technique. Veronika also proceeds to round seven and finds herself up against her fellow finalist in the Stralanavian Skirmish; Link. While Link may still be feeling fairly guilty and unnecessarily complicit in Ragnar's death, Veronika instead is looking forward to her clash with Link in round seven.

Meanwhile however, in round three of the beginning of top eight, Alwyn and Lycidas find themselves paired off; two fan favourites and expertly skilled in their own styles of fighting. The watching Aurelian audience can only wait for the next match-up to begin…


Scene 1

"What a match-up that was! Palashia versus Stralanavia, grace versus beauty, technique versus skill!"

Mr. Marshall, chief commentator of the Prima World Tour, had his baritone expanded and strengthened to fill up the Great Hall's event room; he cast his ever-sociable smile far out past the window he sat behind next to his younger co-commentator companion.

"With Veronika's victory over Vassia, she moves on to round seven to meet up with her former foe, 'Fire Fist Firbrand'," he continued on in his light-faced smile, drawing out roaring cheers from the surrounding Aurelian audience ahead. "Truly an exciting prospect! It will be their first how you say, 'runback', since their last explosive go-around in the Stralanavian Skirmish!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

"Yooo now I can't wait for round seven bro!" The similarly grinning-faced 'Tasty' Seth cried out excitably. "That last grand finals man… it was hype!"

"'Hype' indeed my young friend!" Marshall laughed back in response with a light nod of acknowledgement. "I'm fairly inspired to see the next go-around myself!" He added as he re-faced the younger man before swiftly turning back to the crowd before them both. "But until then we have another match-up with which to whet your appetites… so don't go away folks!"


"I can't believe I lost that… and so quickly… merde…"

The insulted and beaten Vassia cursed in Palashian; an old habit she liked to carry with her as she trudged along back to the competitor's box, the smiling-faced Veronika next to her.

"You did very well," the older young woman complimented on as she walked casually forward next to her. "It was just… your overconfidence," she began again, weakening her smile a little as she did. "If it wasn't for that, you could easily have taken that set."

Vassia, genuinely curious, turned her violet-curled haired head 'round to briefly eye the Stralanavian curiously, eyebrow piquing up as she did. "Y-You really think so…?"

Veronika's smile elongated this time as she revolved it on the Palashian princess, re-opening her mouth as she did. "Undoubtedly," she answered back in her thick Stralanavian accent. "You have incredible skill; skill that far outstrips my own."

Perhaps for having her ego stroked, the listening Vassia's half-surprised frown soon upturned into a light-faced smirk, shutting her eyes as she did. "Why thank you…," she smirked back, her overconfidence returned in full force. "I suppose it does, doesn't it?"

"Welcome back."

The ever-frowning Impa greeted the pair with the rest of her entourage surrounding her, now having been re-joined with the smiling-faced Link.

"No!"

Veronika, and the rest of the surrounding group in surprise, could only dart their eyes and head over to the source of the shocked soprano; the seemingly-embarrassed Vassia shot up her fingerless-gloved hands as if to shield her blushing-red face with.

"Mon amour! You mustn't see me like this!"

The listening Link, obviously having been addressed, found his smile fading in place of a humorously-unimpressed frown, his eyelids drooping down as he cast her with his weary-faced expression.

"I'm sure it's not that bad Vassia," he answered her with in a similarly humorous rolling-eyed frown. "We all lose sometime; in fact in your case it's a good thing."

"Yeah," the smiling Malon spoke up in agreement ahead of the young man, re-opening her mouth to elaborate as she did. "I mean look at him; he's never won one of these things."

Realising she was invariably insulting him, Link double-took in her direction ahead of him, his half-tired frown soon taking a lightly-miffed turn, drawing out silent smiles of amusement from the surrounding group around them.

"Well… I suppose you are correct…," the smirking Vassia responded with, her embarrassment seemingly having left her. "After all… Veronika is a highly-skilled opponent."

The listening Veronika smiled back at the Palashian princess' rare words of praise, eliciting a similarly-smiling nod of acknowledgement from the far-off Link watching her. Almost as soon as they were all ready to open their mouths to continue the conversation however, did the sound of the tannoy ring out through one of the small Gossip Stone replicas in the top-ceiling corner of the room.

A signature for the next round to begin.

"Damn…," the listening Barkner murmured out, swivelling his rock-skinned head 'round to the small Gossip Stone behind him and the voice speaking through it; one of the many staff members of the Prima World Tour, requesting for round three's participants to approach the ring. "That was fast…"

"No time like the present I suppose…," Impa spoke up quietly with a quick-quip up of her silver-haired eyebrow before soon revolving her fire-red eyes 'round on the similarly frowning-faced Alwyn on her left. He stood in a folded-armed state, identical to her own, ever the stoic one. "You two ready for this?"

"As ready as we'll ever be, I'd say." Alwyn simply responded with in his own light-faced frown, drawing out the similarly firmly-frowning Lycidas to step out from the back, nodding back at the Sheikah and the Zoran in front of him.

"Indeed," he responded with in modern Aurelian, his bare muscled chest tensing as he rose up one of his bulky clenched fists to bump lightly and brotherly with the frowning Zoran. "Our battle… shall be legendary."

A corner of the listening Alwyn's frown upturned into a half-amused smirk as he re-opened his own to respond. "I don't know about that…," he began in his amused smirk, the expression on his face soon relaxing into a well-meaning smile. "But I definitely won't hold back, Lycidas."

The firmly-frowning form of Lycidas nodded back at him. "Nor I, Weirson."

"You guys may as well be brothers," the grinning-faced Barkner quipped up beside the pair, folding his own muscled Goron arms at them. "It's like lookin' into a mirror, personality-wise."

The rest of the group gave out light chuckles and laughs in response to his joke.

"Good luck Al, Lycidas," Link smiled amiably in the pair's direction, pulling their attention with a couple of shaken hands their way. "Make it a good one."

Lycidas merely gave the younger fighter a nod of acknowledgement before beginning his slow march toward the exit of the competitor's box, drawing out a similar response from the lightly-frowning Alwyn. The former Zoran soldier gifted his old compatriot friend a handshake and nod of his own before soon following after the former Palashian champion.

"My rupees are on Alwyn," Malon spoke up affably, casting the back-facing pair of martial artists with a light smile as she re-joined her calloused hands to rest behind her. "All that experience as a soldier; it'll just be too much."

"Mm… I dunno."

Realising the contrasting statement came from the standing Link left Malon double-taking in his direction behind her; she lost her earlier smile and it fell into a curious-faced open-mouthed frown, 'rounding her fire-haired head to face him as it did. "What?" She began curiously. "What don't you know?"

Link's stare briefly broke contact to eye the farm girl on his front-left before soon re-facing the front, his light frown upturning into a half-expectant smile. "One of 'em might surprise us…," he started in response, holding back a chuckle as he did. "All I'm saying."


2

"It's round three people… welcome back to the world championships!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Mr. Marshall, chief commentator for the Prima World Tour, let the smile on his face grow a little as the very sound of the audience's screams rent the chair lightly that he sat in. "We've got an interesting treat for you all today…"

"Oh yeah?" The younger man grinned back, tilting his brown-haired head in the older's direction. "Whassat Marsh?"

"Those, my young friend, are two old favourites of yours!" Marshall responded with in another smile, 'rounding it on the youth next to him. "Alwyn Weirson and Lycidas Marino!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

On the very window they spoke behind flashed up a pair of coloured pictographs, both of similar-statured men. Alwyn, slim blue arms folded, stared back at the viewer with a simple-faced frown, his body held to the side. Lycidas on the other hand, bare-chested and extremely muscled, opted instead to leave his hands at his sides, staring back as he did.

Alwyn Weirson

Combination Damage: A+

Agility: S+

Punishment Proficiency: S

Lycidas Marino

Aggressiveness: A

Agility: S

Grapple Countering: A

"These two are killers, ladies and gentlemen," the smiling Marshall began, his baritone echoing out through the small Gossip Stone he spoke into. "Marino, former Palashian champion, is not an easy fighter to beat; very few have succeeded in advancing through him."

"Yo I can't wait to see his opponent fight though Marsh," 'Tasty' Seth began in reply, grinning back at the older man on his left. "This Alwyn guy easily been one of my favourites!"

"And mine too Seth!" Marshall enthusiastically responded with. "Weirson's experience as a former Zoran soldier certainly comes in handy during his fights! Many of which have been strong upsets, some that have even rocked the very foundation of this sport to its core."

As the frowning-faced Alwyn and Lycidas both marched out, side-by-side to approach the large ring before them, they faced the smiling-faced referee in the centre before stepping over to their respective areas; one red and one blue.

"Always nice to see you both again." The referee greeted them both with, receiving simple stoic frowning nods of acknowledgement from the two stone-like men.

Both Lycidas and Alwyn, affixing themselves into their own battle stances, also gave one another similar nods as they both clenched their fingers together into fists.

"Red side, ready! Blue side, prepare to strike!"

The chatter in the thousands of audience stands surrounding them all began to die down slowly as the beginning of the next round slowly came into form. The referee widened his eyes as he chopped a hand in between the pair, beginning the round.

"Now!"


Alwyn, almost as soon as the referee called out, narrowed his teal-shaded eyes as he pulled both arms back and shot them horizontally across the air; in reaction, the bladed fins on his forearms fired out from them as if they were projectiles, both swinging dangerously through the air.

THWUCK-THWUCK-THWUCK-THWUCK

The watching Lycidas reacted in his own way to the undulating boomerang-like projectiles by leaping his muscled form up into the air, hovering briefly to cast his narrow-eyed glare down on the fast-passing boomerangs below him. Behind him however, as he hovered in suspended mid-air, the two fin-blades found themselves swinging back 'round to attack his undefended rear and Lycidas widened both eyes before snapping his braided-haired head on them. Aegir began to hum quietly at his irises before he reacted with a swift counter-attack; very small yet extremely quick pairs of beams shot out from both of his eyes, concentrated and powerful, clashing noisily and boldly with the undulating boomerang-blades.

KERRRASSSSH

Lycidas allowed himself to let out a rare-faced smile, seemingly satisfied in having destroyed the attacking technique; it didn't take him very long however to notice the sudden change in the air. He widened his eyes and attempted to swing his head 'round to his undefended side, only to find his foe having re-appeared behind him; also suspended in mid-air was the narrow-eyed Alwyn, pulling his right fist back, ready to counter-attack. The watching Lycidas attempted, with all of his might to react, but his opponent was simply too fast.

SMASH

Lycidas grunted out, eyes scrunched shut in a pained scowl as he was sent spiralling and twisting endlessly through the sky, allowing the glaring Zoran to follow up his sudden assault with a quick burst of his Aegir to pursue in the air. As he fast-approached and went for a simple air-dashing lunging fist, Lycidas seemingly regained control of his body and shifted himself to his right to avoid it. Alwyn noticed fairly quickly and altered his air-arc to give chase a second time, brow furrowing curiously as he did; the slim Zoran and the wide-eyed Palashian exchanged a super-fast series of lightning-quick swipes and strikes, the speed of which left the surrounding Aurelian audience screaming and cheering.

In Alwyn's seemingly sharper speed he managed to outfight the wide-eyed Lycidas and, finding a window between their fists, shot in a couple of quick slamming fists before firing a roundhouse across the Palashian, sending him sailing back further into the air behind him. He, of course, gave chase again and as he did the narrow-eyed Lycidas halted his flight in mid-air, glaring and watching. Alwyn opted, rather oddly and recklessly to charge anyway; going for a simple upward-air dive-kick.

WHOOSH

The shocked Zoran soon found himself passing through the Palashian's form and, realising it was an after-image, was simply too late in his revelation.

SMASH

"Ngh…!"

The re-appeared form of Lycidas shot out from seemingly nowhere to issue the exposed Alwyn with a brutal vertical kick, sending him sailing and plunging back down to planet earth, his slim blue form whining in the sheer speed with which his form was sent. As he landed onto the concrete ground below him, so too did the firmly-frowning form of Lycidas follow, the scowl on his face a similar sense of reason that the two shared together. The two martial artists stared at one another, watching for any weaknesses in their stances together before, finally one of them moved.

The glaring-faced Lycidas, pulling his right arm back, all of a sudden shot it forward and widened his eyes into an open-mouthed shouting scowl as he did; in response, a huge aura of yellow-shaded Aegir billowed around him, lifting up his purple-shaded braided haired ponytail, whipping it around wildly. Alwyn watched carefully, affixing himself into another stance as he did. It was only when his foe's aura reacted a second time that the watching Zoran soldier realised his intentions and, his teal-shaded eyes widening, could do very little in response to Lycidas' next sudden assault attempt; a huge arm, form of sheer magical Aegir and Quintessence, shot out of his aura and came bulleting down the distance between them at a speed that even Alwyn could not match.

The former soldier widened his eyes and held back a visually-stunned gasp when the Aegir arm gripped at his leg. Just as suddenly as it caught the Zoran did it begin to pull him back in, this time drawing out a shocked gasp from the scowling-faced Alwyn, his slim form whining in the sheer velocity with which he moved at.

SLAM

"Hurngh…!"

As he drew close, the glaring-eyed Lycidas slammed his free fist into Alwyn's face, firing him back whence he initially came in a loud-echoing whine. Almost as soon as his legs began to rapidly-approach the marble-stone wall behind him did he catch his Zoran feet against it in swift recovery, soon turning his flight into a defensive attack; Alwyn knocked and cannoned himself off of the marble-stone wall by bounding himself off of it.

Like a cannonball he was sent speeding back toward the narrow-eyed Lycidas, the velocity of which sent ripples through the very air itself. As Alwyn at last came within range and he threw a swift bladed haymaker, the wide-eyed Lycidas just barely managed to evade by ducking his body backward in an impossible angle for most humans, before responding with his own counter-attack; a grunting slam of both legs in a painful-looking vertical kick that fired the wincing Alwyn far up into the sky above.

When the Zoran managed to regain full use of his slum blue body however, he swung himself up into a hovering position, gripping at his injured area before quickly pulling both bladed-fin arms back presumably to attack with, finding the glaring Lycidas fast-approaching him from below as if to finish the job. A small aura of Aegir of his own, viridian in colour filled the former soldier's figure as he rapidly-channelled magical energy and power inherent to his race within the bladed fins on his forearms.

As Lycidas began to come within range, rising up one of his muscled fists to attack with, Alwyn reacted by widening his eyes and endlessly twisting in place; the Aegir in his aura began to react similarly by humming out loudly and cacophonously, artificial electricity inherent to the Zorans filling his person and the immediate area around him – a powerful defensive technique indeed.

The assault seemed to connect; as Lycidas came barrelling up from the ground below him, his form shot directly and recklessly into the twisting man's form and yet, surprisingly, no real reaction appeared to take place; indeed, the watching audience could only watch in mixed cheers and curious chatters as Lycidas' scowling figure began to shimmer within place as he came up at the point of contact.

Realising almost immediately from the former Palashian champion's shimmering identity that it was simply an after-image, Alwyn widened his eyes a second time and attempted to cancel his technique with great haste, but it was simply too late.

SMASSSH

"Agh…!"

VWEEEEEE…

Alwyn was sent spiralling and cascading back down toward the ring below and, as the crafty Zoran attempted to alter his flight-arc to avoid falling out of bounds, the narrow-eyed Lycidas pursued him immediately as if to dash his hopes.

CRACCCK-SLAM

VWEEEE…

Before Alwyn could even recover from the previous assault, Lycidas managed to reach him a second time, cracking his right shoe into the man's exposed lower stomach as if to wind him before finishing his small combination with a swiftly-spinning double-backhand – the force of which managed to send Alwyn careering back down in an alternate flight path, his bruised and battered body spiralling down toward the area in between the ring and the audience stands.

CRASSSSSH

The watching people in the stands remained unusually silent for a change, hoping and curious on the referee's next decision; the chubby man wearing the Prima World Tour uniform stepped forward from outside of the ring himself to announce the end of the round.

"Ring out!"

His announcement came loud and cacophonous, echoed by the tiny Gossip Stone resting on the front of his clothing.

"This set's winner… is Lycidas Marino!"