Chapter 66: Ring a Round (The Raynard)

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).


The heroes, having finally reunited after five long years of travelling Aurelia, find themselves joined around the very event that brought them all together in the first place; the Prima World Tour. A world-fighting tournament in the style of a tour, all around the continent, eventually culminating in the 'world championships'; the very final test of all of its incredible challenges.

Only a select few, however, may even sign up to the prestigious tournament; indeed, only those who have accrued enough 'Championship Points' may take part in the tournament of kings. Only eight of these impressive finalists within its borders have qualified:

Lycidas Marino.

Alwyn Weirson.

Vassia Palashia.

Veronika Fedoroa.

Barkner Elbrus

Ragnar Romanov.

Raynard Van Garrick.

And, of course, Link Firbrand.

All of these fighters, finalists in their own right, have fought all across the land of Aurelia in hopes of obtaining that one covetous title – 'World Champion' and, with it, all of the honours and glory that it conveys. Even as the tournament begins however, does tragedy strike; in round one, as Link matches up with Ragnar – one of his former rivals – the advice his last mentor gave him rings clearly and echoingly through his small Hylian ears.

"Poor Ragnar… he will be dead within the next couple of years with the way his body is now…"

Indeed, the words of Sun Hui are proven worthy for as the battle rages on and Link obliges Ragnar's request to fight with all of his gained might over the last five years, Ragnar finally succumbs… and all at once as well. As his body at long last gives in to the incredible damage he has tortured it through with the constant surgery and maintenance it has been required of, he finally begins to fall to the earth once more yet not before giving Link one final request.

"Please… promise me one thing… win today…"

The man, making one last appeal to the young man, leaves the world with honour and integrity intact, his inner concerns and worries put to rest along with the remainder of his incredible talent and skill.

Veronika and Lycidas similarly make their own progression through the tournament and win their matches with Vassia and Alwyn respectively, putting both Alwyn and Vassia down in lower bracket. Now, finally, the end of the top eight's beginning makes its end with round four:

Barkner Elbrus versus Raynard Van Garrick.

An old match-up indeed and two already acquainted with one another in previous national championships; Barkner hopes to see just exactly what Raynard has learned in the past five years of preparing for this moment. Raynard, however…

Raynard hopes to settle the score with his real rival; the one person he once qualified in grand finals with of the Hylian Hyrax…


Scene 1

"This is the world championships, broadcasted to your Gossip Stones here in Draerith's capital; Liushui City and I'm your host, Mr. Marshall!"

"Yo! I'm your co-host! 'Tasty' Seth!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

The two men that spoke into their own Gossip Stones, small and almost miniscule little carbuncle jewels sitting on the table propped up by other equipment to keep them stable; devices that enhanced their very voices and words to carry them down to the cheering crowd of people all seated below them both.

"If you're just joining us we're already three rounds in to this wondrous competition," Mr. Marshall began again, this time with a light-faced smile on his expression, re-opening his mouth to continue. "We've seen some incredible bouts thus far, haven't we Seth?"

"Hell yeah we have Marsh," the contrastingly-grinning Seth shot back, briefly tilting his short-brown haired head in the older man's direction before swiftly re-facing the window ahead of him. "We had Firbrand, we had Romanov, we had Weirson, we had Marino, Fedoroa, Palashia… we even got two more blasts from the past people!"

"And who are they Seth?" The smiling-faced Marshall pressed his younger companion with, brown-haired eyebrow risen upward as he did.

"Elbrus the Goron and Van Garrick the current Hylian champion!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

In response to Seth's grinning-faced call, so too did the surrounding Aurelian audience all let out a massive cacophonous cheer, their voices knocking powerfully and boldly against the very walls of the Great Hall itself, shaking it with a light vibration.

"Exactly!" Seth chuckled back, re-facing the front as he did. "So don't go away people! We have one of the best match-ups in the world coming right at you all… in round four."


"Well done…,"

The frowning-faced Lycidas, having also returned to the competitor's box following their electrifying match-up, swung his purple-braided head 'round to face the similar-expressed Alwyn behind him, approaching slowly in his usual militaristic-like march.

"I never expected you to have made such improvements, even over this length of time," the former Zoran soldier began again, as he nodded his slim blue head forward at the Palashian man, raising up his arm as if to be shaken with. "You were the better man today," Alwyn spoke humbly, nodding a second time forward at the man as he did. "I just couldn't keep up."

"No," Lycidas politely disagreed with the man, also frowning. "I was forced to rely on all of my strength…," he began similarly, raising up his beefy muscled hand to shake Alwyn's in a display of sportsmanship. "You are a fierce warrior."

Alwyn allowed a small smile to crease his normally near-unemotional features, lightly-pleased by the compliment spoken of by the stoic Palashian.

"Oh, well aren't you two the best of amis…"

The two men swung their heads 'round only to find the smirking-faced Vassia watching them both from within the confines of their group of friends, her fingerless-gloved hands resting across her hips as she did.

"Ignore her…," Link spoke up from behind the group, stepping past the smirking-faced Palashian princess as he briefly eyed her with a half-annoyed glance before re-facing the two ahead of him, this time with a light-toned smile on his face. "You both did great."

"For real," the grinning-faced Barkner added as he stepped forward to join the small group of three. "That was one of the best sets I've seen all year."

"There's only been one tournament all year you donkey." The similarly-grinning Malon shot into the conversation with, walking over to join the Goron with as she did. The listening Barkner swung his rock-skinned head 'round to face her and his own grin widened a little, chuckling as he reached over to playfully wrestle with her fiery-haired head.

"S'why I got you to keep me right!" He grunted out, her head in a softly-held headlock, drawing out laughing cries of protest from the young woman as she inevitably began to struggle in a similarly playful fashion. The watching group, and Link in particular, all let out smiles of knowing and affection, having missed interactions of this regard with every member of their usual party.

"All right, break it up," Impa began lightly yet somewhat firmly, frowning as she ever did into the conversation with, armoured arms folded. "We still haven't found out how things'll be going for you." She spoke again, this time directing her head-nod to the grinning Vassia; the Palashian princess, surprised, dropped her smirk in favour of an unsure-faced frown before double-taking in her leader's direction.

"M-Moi?"

Impa's frown upturned into a half-amused smirk of her own and she nodded a second time. "Well… yes," she answered in a light chuckle. "This is double elimination now, remember? You still have a chance to make a comeback."

"That's right," Zelda spoke up softly in contrast to Impa's hard contralto, stepping in to the pair, hands joined at her front centre; an old habit. "You're in the 'lower' bracket now, aren't you?"

"Oh!" Vassia called out suddenly, purple-haired head snapping back to her front, raven-shaded eyes widening as if she had suddenly just discovered an incredible fact. "Of course!" She exclaimed, her smirk returning to her as she rose up and clapped her fingerless-gloved hands together. "That should be intéressante…"

"It would be Vass, but…" Link began in a light wince as he revolved his blonde-haired head slowly and deliberately, guilt niggling at his baritone.

"But… what mon amour?"

Finding the sudden awkward silence that dawned on the group as lightly-irritating, Alwyn spoke up to cut through it, like a hot knife through butter. "Your opponent would have been Ragnar, Vassia," he answered simply with, his eyes half-closed as if in frustration with her callous and insensitive nature. "You'll get a bye in round five."

"Oh! Um…," she began again, wincing as she at long last realised her mistake. "How… silly… of moi…"

"What a fight that was! Magnifique!"

The group swung their heads 'round, their attention garnered by the sudden introduction of a familiar-sounding voice, only to find a similarly recognisable figure standing in the back entrance of the competitor's box; a violet-haired man dressed formally, carrying a walking cane and sporting a light beard across his front lip, joining to his lower chin. He wore an orderly suit, ebony in colour perhaps for the world-class event, and Palashian in design.

"Sir Alwyn… you truly are one of the greatest fighters I've ever seen in any ring," the man began again, stepping forward as he did, his cane clicking lightly in his quiet march. "I can honestly see why you have… sorry… had such a reputation within the Hyrulean Zoran military."

The frowning-faced Alwyn's expression quickly upturned into a half-amused smirk, near-mirthless in its source before he opened up his own mouth to respond. "Better watch Lavrentius," he began back in response, a kind of playful sound hanging upon his baritone. "Oversell me anymore than that and you'll be overcharging everyone else here."

The surrounding group, half-surprised by Alwyn's sudden quick quip, couldn't help but let out laughs of amusement and cheer, joyful in the atmosphere re-growing within their confines.

"I apologise…," Lavrentius chuckled back in response, shaking his short-haired head back at the older man. "I know just after a match it can feel somewhat… what is the expression…?"

"Sore?" Barkner offered in with a knowing and cheeky grin, rock-skinned arms folded as he leant toward the half-smirking Alwyn; the close friend's eyes narrowed as he revolved his head 'round his way in a kind of light glare, drawing out chuckles from the rest of the onlookers.

"I feel that," Link offered in with a fairly modest-faced smile on his countenance, directing it toward his half-smirking Zoran companion. "That ever happens to me I'll want a runback."

Alwyn, half-curious, revolved an eyebrow-raised smile in the firmly-frowning Lycidas' direction, almost as if to pose a question his way. Lycidas double-took in the Zoran's area before briefly re-eyeing the smiling-faced Link, and the former Palashian champion re-opened his mouth to speak and give voice to his inner ruminations.

"Yes…," the younger man began in a firm-faced nod. "I owe you, oh wise Zoran."

The listening Barkner, ever the youthfully-conducted member of the group, could only snigger openly and childishly, joined by the smirking-faced Malon on his left; two immature souls in a pod. "Oh wise Zoran!" The joking Goron grinned back, exaggeratedly repeating the frowning-faced Lycidas' words, drawing out smirking-faced giggles and snorts from the similarly infantile Malon.

"Come on guys; it's just their style," Link spoke up for his two old friends, smiling in their direction first before re-facing the half-smiling Alwyn and firmly-frowning Lycidas; they both gave him an appreciative and somewhat-surprised nod in response, grateful and pleasantly-surprised. "Besides, I think it's kinda cool."

"Wow."

Link blinked his oceanic eyes in response, swinging his curtain-haired head in the mezzo-soprano's direction that spoke up, only to find the lightly-smiling Zelda and frowning-faced Veronika staring back at him. He could only pique up a dirty-blonde eyebrow at them both, eyes very briefly hovering from each as he did. "What?" He began curiously. "What's…?"

"Link Firbrand… all grown up." Veronika voiced forward, her frown slowly upturning into a half-amused little smile, drawing out sniggers and entertained chuckles around the room. The listening Link couldn't help but roll his eyes and grow a small grin of his own.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I like it."

His nerves stiffened when he felt the smiling Zelda step forward and take one of his callous and rough hands into her smooth and silky grip, taking in the sweet scent she always liked to wear.

It felt nostalgic to him; something he remembered quite well of her counterpart from his own time.

"It suits you now," she spoke to him again, her velvety mezzo-soprano filling his small Hylian ears and lower cheeks with a light shade of embarrassed-red. "You're smarter now… older…"

"Sure ain't wiser though." The grinning Malon threw into the conversation with, lightly pushing at the grunting Link behind him, drawing out amused chuckles from the on-watching group around them.

"Enough about Link," the half-smiling Impa began, swinging her half-amused look into her usual objective-faced frown as it rounded on the surprised Goron Barkner. "More importantly… we have the last opening round to worry about."

"Oh shit, yeah…," the blinking Barkner began similarly in a crass-voiced curse, his own grin quickly dissolving into genuinely-surprised frown, perhaps inevitably rounding his curious-eyed stare on the glaring-faced Raynard leaning against the large room's wall to their group's far-off side. "It's been a while…"

"Impa-sensei…,"

The similarly curious Sheikah swerved her frown on the source of the baritone, only to find the alike-expressed Link facing her, his hands still joined within his country's princess'.

"Do we know… anything else about Ray…? Since coming back?"

Half-surprised by his inquiry, Impa could only furrow her brow at him contemplatively before responding. "No," she began in a light sigh through her contralto, turning her silver-haired head 'round to briefly eye the Van Garrick behind them all. "Five years is a long time but it's been… difficult to keep tabs on both him and his mentor."

"You mean Scaverin… don't you Impa." Veronika spoke up, as if it were more of a fact than a posit, a frown on her face as she did. The listening Sheikah nodded back firmly, glaring back at the similarly scowling-faced Raynard behind her.

"I think it'll be okay."

The group, surprised by the sudden onset of positivity, could only revolve their heads 'round on its source only to find the frowning-faced Link exchanging his own stare with the glaring and folded-armed Raynard. The young blonde's own frown soon upturned into a small smile as he re-opened his mouth, almost as if to continue speaking to the shocked group.

"There's still good in him," he claimed, drawing out unsure murmurs around most of the listeners surrounding him. "I know there is."

"You must be joking mon amour…,"

Vassia's quiet-voiced whisper, obviously spoken so quietly in such a manner as to avoid the watching Raynard in eavesdropping. Link blinked a frown on the Palashian princess to his right, upturning an eyebrow as if to prod her to elaborate further.

"How can you even think that he-"

"Remember that island we all stumbled on?"

Link's calm and soft interruption caused the half-annoyed Vassia to blink similarly and stop mid-speech.

"Oh!" Barkner exclaimed out, lightly slamming a right clenched fist down into his opened left rock-skinned palm. "Y'mean with that… woman? And her son?"

Realising Link was referring to their tragic discovery on an uninhabited island, and the interesting revelation in which Scaverin inadvertently revealed to them a few days later, left the listening group reeling on his words. The robed summoner's words rung true then as they did now:

"No… little Raynard here didn't quite have the stomach for it… so the task fell to me."

"I guess he is right," Malon spoke up for her close friend, turning her curious-eyed frown on the similar-faced Impa next to her. "I remember that Scaverin guy saying something like that."

"Well… I suppose if there's anyone in this group that stands a chance in getting through to him… it's you Link."

Alwyn's words, spoken with a contrasting sense of conviction in spite of his unsure wording, made the frowning-faced Hylian turn to face his close Zoran companion.

"I hope he can," Barkner spoke up near the pair, raising up a clenched fist as if to emphasise his next sentence, spicing it further with a light-faced grin. "It's either that or I gotta Elbrus Smasher him into oblivion."

"Do it Bark!" Malon whispered out next to the Goron with an excited-faced grin, drawing out a chuckling smirk from the listening Goron; he reached down to high-five her, exchanging a heart-warming gesture together.

"Just be careful," Impa advised him with, ever the objective one. "You may have been preparing for this… but so has he."

Barkner shot his group's leader an acknowledging nod laced with a grin before re-opening his mouth. "Will do boss."


2

"And here we are ladies and gentlemen… round four!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

The echo of the Aurelian audience's cheers bounced off powerfully against the Great Hall's walls in response to Marshall's words, leaving little in the gap between.

"We have one hell of an interesting show coming up for you lovely people." Marshall began again, ever with a sociable-faced smile.

"Oh yeah Marsh?"

"Indeed Seth!" Marshall chuckled back in response to the exuberant young man on his right with a lightly-acknowledging nod as he did. "In over five years we haven't seen them both… please, give a warm welcome… to…"

As if in response to his savvy introduction, a pair of pictographs laced with descriptors and depictions of the subjects' names and statistics shot up on the two large walls around the competitor's box; one a young scowling man and the other a smiling-faced Goron, both staring back at the viewer.

Barkner Elbrus

Defensive Ability: S+

Grapple Countering: A+

Side-Stepping: A

Raynard Van Garrick

Combination Damage: A+

Aggressiveness: A+

Agility: S

"Yooo what a cool match-up Marsh!" The ever-sociable 'Tasty' Seth cried out with an exuberant-faced grin, re-opening his mouth to continue. "I love watchin' Elbrus fight and this Van Garrick kid? He a man now! Just like his other buddy."

"Yes time's certainly moved on hasn't it Seth?" Marshall smiled back at the younger man in an amused chuckle. "If any of you lucky folks out there in the audience have been following our world tour in the past few years, you'd know of Elbrus and Van Garrick's reputations," he began again, this time re-facing the window to his front as he did. "Elbrus is an excellent user of the Goron race's incredibly-defensive techniques… but don't let that fool you! His use of the 'Elbrus Smasher' technique will leave you breathless!"

"You gotta love that Goron punch of his Marsh; it's got everythin'," the younger man grinned in with, tilting his head as he did. "Rocky and lethal; I love it!"

"Dare I say Seth; it… rocks…?" Marshall fired back somewhat sarcastically, quipping up a cheeky-faced little grin on his face as even the listening Seth rolled his eyes, drawing out mixed laughs, cheers, boos and even groans from the surrounding Aurelian audience around them both.

"Goddammit Marsh…"

This time the crowd below let out amused laughs of their own following Seth's embarrassed reply, filling the hall with a well-to-do atmosphere.

"And Van Garrick… Van Garrick is another special case!" Marshall spoke up again with a sociable smile, soldiering on in spite of the faux-mocking he received for his earlier quip. "One of the youngest competitors in the Prima World Tour history to have done so well…"

"And the youngest champion too, right Marsh?" Seth grinned back this time, hanging his head toward the older man, flashing his excited expression as he did. Marshall chuckled, nodding as he re-opened his mouth to elaborate.

"Indeed! At the tender age of only twelve years old he managed to hit the coveted title of 'National Champion', and of his own native land of Hyrule at that too!"

"That grand finals was off the hook Marsh! It'd be so good to see it again."

"We can always hope Seth," Marshall chuckled back in a light nod. "But, for now, we have two would-be champions in their own right to watch first; two of my absolute favourites!"

Seth grinned back, nodding similarly. "Dis gon b gud!"

"Please take your positions… and we can begin as soon as you're both ready."

As the frowning-faced Barkner turned his rock-skinned head to issue out a nod of genuine respect in Raynard's direction, the headstrong young Hylian, rather surprisingly, chose to reciprocate the gesture; indeed, although with a hardened scowl ever-present upon his youthfully-stubborn expression, Raynard returned the nod with one of his own – a sharp and glaring look to his chestnut-brown shaded eyed gaze. In receiving the nod back, Barkner's frown slowly upturned into a light-faced smile, words of his old friend Link also returning to him from five years prior.

"Yeah… I guess he is weird… but I reckon he's a decent guy."

Words he spoke so confidently in their very first foray into the Prima World Tour, and as far back as in their very homeland itself; Aurelia's capital itself, Hyrule.

"I never did thank you, ya know…"

Raynard's scowl remained present on his face yet an abyss-black eyebrow shot up in curiosity. "For what?"

Barkner's smile grew, just a little, as he took his own area; the 'red' side of the beautiful marble arena. "For helping us in Gylomecia; our group I mean." The Goron claimed, drawing out another half-suspicious stare from the young man.

"What do you-?"

It was only when the gears seemingly worked though his head that Raynard realised what Barkner was referring to, and he nodded in slow understanding, re-opening his mouth to respond.

"It's… whatever," he simply shook the matter off, as if it were a mere small favour the Goron was speaking of. "I had no choice; we had no choice."

Barkner's smile fell, if only a little, bending in similar empathy. "I know that… but still," the grateful Goron began again, nodding forward. "We appreciated it. Link did too, of course… most of all."

Raynard's scowl hardened and grew even fiercer at the mention of his rival's name, eyes narrowing angrily forward before they soon broke contact with Barkner's own stare, wandering away as if somehow in shame.

"It's… fine."

Barkner's own smile finally elongated and grew a little stronger as the young man's words echoed out in response; a predicator to Link's very own prediction five years prior. Satisfied with the response he received, Barkner leant back and affixed himself into his race's styled-fighting stance, eliciting the glaring Raynard to do the same.

"Red side, ready!"

Barkner nodded, his smile soon upturning into a hungry-faced smirk.

"Blue side, ready!"

Still scowling as always, Raynard merely nodded similarly to his older opponent, allowing the chubby and frowning-faced referee between them to chop a hand vertically far in-between them both.

"Fight!"


WHOOSH

SLAM

"Urgh…!"

Barkner grunted out in sudden shocked pain as the wide-eyed Raynard's slim form came crashing through him in an abrupt assault across his face, sending him tailspinning back through the air backward before finally crashing and thudding painfully against the floor beneath him. As he pulled himself up to his feet, surprised that his younger opponent chose to hold off on pressing the offence, Barkner wiped up across his face to rid himself of the light injury he was just gifted with.

"You've gotten better… quicker!" The Goron complimented with a light grin, leaning his body and his head to the side as he stared back at the firmly-frowning youth before him. "I couldn't follow you there."

"You didn't expect me to have gotten worse in five years… did you?" Raynard bounced back in a similar little grin, expectant and playful. The watching Barkner chuckled knowingly and amusingly, nodding.

"All right, all right…," he began lightly. "I can respect it."

Barkner pulled his fist back in response and, readying himself, pressed ahead and yelled out as he thrust a rock-skinned fist forward; the narrow-eyed Raynard saw it coming however and parried quickly, side-stepping to his right. Barkner responded by narrowing his own boulder-brown eyes back at the youth before pressing up into a surprisingly-quick series of kicks, all aimed fairly well at the black-haired youth, all of which were swiftly evaded by the glaring-faced Raynard; the young Van Garrick darted and weaved his head in and out of the Goron's swift kicks before eventually rising up his own muscled arm to block horizontally.

The ebony-haired martial artist widened his chestnut-brown eyes before firing back with a super-fast palm into the Goron's exposed chest; a powerful blow that sent ripples through his unfortunate body, eliciting a wide-eyed and gasping-like coughing reaction from the man as he was sent sprawling across the marble floor behind him. As Raynard walked over, slow and deliberate, he shot the Goron with a look of warning almost as if to dissuade him from rising back to his feet.

Barkner, however, chose not to listen.

He widened his boulder-brown eyes and pulled back his left clenched fist with which to attack and, as he very quickly shot up to his feet to do so, Raynard reacted instantly; he rose up his right palm to catch it in a swift block-parry before responding with a deft slam of his left elbow, stabbing it forward directly into the wide-eyed Goron's exposed chest again.

SLAM

"Hurngh…!"

In response to the savage counter-attack, the wide-eyed Barkner was sent violently tailspinning backward through the air; unable to alter his trajectory or even halt him by utilising the ground, a tactic of attack Raynard wisely took into account, Barkner soon found himself falling toward the 'out of bounds' range, his weighty body thudding loudly and noisily against its beautiful marble.

THUD

"Ring out!"

The sound of the referee, shocking both the barely winded Barkner and Raynard managed to shock the watching audience even further at the sheer swiftness of the fight before them. Raynard's hardened scowl grew lighter as he lowered his arms and cast the shocked Goron with a simple-faced frown.

"This set's winner… is Raynard Van Garrick!"