Chapter 69: Right to Know; Champions Clash
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).
"Arashi-no-Saxophone 2"; Raynard's Theme (A) – The King of Fighters '96 OST. Scene 3 (First Half).
"Twin Dragons"; Lycidas' Theme – Yakuza 0 OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).
The World Championships.
A prestigious tournament only very few around the globe that are lucky enough to be invited to, not just for the actual participants, but for the audience as well; indeed, the exclusivity of the Prima World Tour's final world-class event is so coveted, only those with season passes or special connections may even enter the host country Draerith's 'Great Hall of the People' in order to spectate. All those without must make do with watching through the billions of Gossip Stones littered all over and around Aurelia.
In Link's incredible journey across Aurelia, he has somehow found the answer he has been desperately searching for; a route, or path, to getting stronger without necessarily relying on the 'Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai'; a godlike yet extremely dangerous native power that once rested within him, and the holy Triforce of Courage piece he also carries with him. Chaotic in nature, the Shinzui gave birth to a demonic and mirrored version of himself by name of 'Kage Narumono; an existence that Sheik of Link's original time once referred to as 'Dark Link'.
With his tutorship under the world's greatest living martial artist, an old Draerith woman by the name of 'Sun Hui', Link easily breezes through his first two opening rounds; round one and round seven. In his first go-around with Ragnar Romanov, one of the world's greatest fighters himself, the former Hero of Time manages to overcome his former rival and finalist Ragnar by agreeing to a demand that Ragnar himself initiates; to fight with his full strength.
In accidentally and unintentionally killing Ragnar, thanks to previous complications that Ragnar had made with his own body, Ragnar requests Link of only one final demand.
To win at the World Championships.
Although with a heavy heart in doing so, the young Hylian blonde acquiesces to his request and, with that, gives everything he can in his fight with Veronika in round seven; yet another rematch between the young pair, following their explosive go-around in Stralanavia's Speedy Skirmish, one this time that ends in victory for the straw-haired youth.
Meanwhile, in the lower bracket with Vassia automatically advancing due to Ragnar's untimely end, Barkner and Alwyn have their runback off-Gossip Stone and in a fairly explosive set of their own, Barkner manages to take it and advance, much to the surprise of everyone when they deliver the news. As Barkner advances to round ten to fight with Veronika and Vassia with her yet-to-be-decided opponent in round nine, round eight begins; a tantalising rematch indeed, two warriors that once clashed in the Palashian Premier national championship a mere five years ago.
In their first go-around Raynard, just barely and somehow, managed to pull off a surprising victory – especially in tandem with the massive age difference between them both at the time – now however, with the five year time-gap between them, Raynard attempts with great difficulty to remove the distractions so-recently placed by his blonde-haired rival Link, and sets his hardened eyes forward on his next opponent…
Scene 1
"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the world championships!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
Mr. Marshall's ever-enthusiastic call made the Aurelian audience sitting in the stands surrounding him and his younger co-commentator scream and cheer out in approval, their voices reverberating powerfully against the walls.
"If you're just joining us we're already eight rounds in to the Nation of Domination tournament, hosted right here in Draerith's beautiful Great Hall of the People!" The short-brown haired man smiled into his Gossip Stone resting on the table before him, enhancing and reverberating his voice for the people below. "These sets have been something else!"
"Tellin' me bro!" The younger man grinned into the conversation with, leaning his similarly short-haired head in the older man's direction before re-opening his mouth to continue. "They been off the hook!" He exclaimed out. "We had 'Fire Fist', we had Romanov, we had Palashia, Fedoroa, Weirson, Marino, Elbrus and even our resident Hylian champion; Van Garrick!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
In approval, the audience screamed out a second time, eliciting a lightly-amused chuckle from the listening Marshall.
"Indeed my young friend… indeed!" He chuckled. "It's funny you mention Van Garrick there Seth, because…"
As if cued up by his words, a display on the wall just under their glass window shot up via a larger Gossip Stone, depicting the tournament bracket as it currently stood. Sitting on the lower half of the higher bracket was 'Round Eight' and under it were two names:
LYCIDAS MARINO
VS.
RAYNARD VAN GARRICK
"That's right folks, it's a rematch! Or, how you would say Seth…"
"A runback!" The grinning Seth replied with, throwing his fist victoriously up into the air as he did, eliciting another scream from the surrounding audience.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
"Those of you that have been following our Prima World Tour over the past five years may have already seen Van Garrick face-off with former Palashian champion Marino, way back in the Palashian Premier," Marshall smiled on in illuminating the two combatants' history. "It was one hell of a match-up; thrills, chills and spills! I don't think anyone expected Van Garrick to take it, especially given his young age."
"For real Marsh," Seth grinned back in an agreeable nod. "I'd watch that match-up again and again… and now we got another one to look forward to!"
"Indeed!" Marshall chuckled back before soon re-facing the audience. "So don't go away people! It's the beginning of round eight… and what a round it will be!"
"That was…,"
Veronika's effort-filled gasps, spiced with the sound of the cheering audience around them, made the smiling Link's expression soften a little as he approached her and knelt down to offer her a friendly and inviting hand.
"In-Incredible…,"
She could barely wipe the beads of sweat dropping down from her forehead as she gracefully and appreciatively took his callous hand with her soft and porcelain one, wincing as she did.
"I knew it would be a difficult battle…," the young Stralanavian began again, breathing out deep as she stood back up, raising her silky-black haired head to mix her light-brown eyes with his deep-oceanic. "But I didn't realise just how difficult."
"You got nothin' to be sorry for Vickie," Link shot back in a deft yet slow shake of his blonde-haired head, his visible ponytail lightly waving with him as he did. "You put on a great match today."
Her slightly-saddened frown upturned slowly into an appreciative and enamoured smile of her own, a kind of comfortable and familiar memory for the two that they once shared together coming to mind. It was only when he recognised the look in her eye however that Link's own smile turned zig-zagged, and his own gaze faltered into a red-cheeked wince, lowering down to the ground below.
"Um… come on," he began, nodding the back of his head in the direction of the competitor's box behind him. "We'd better get back so they can get ready for the next match."
2
Raynard scrunched his chestnut-brown eyes shut and readied his nerves.
Round eight; his opponent, the one foe he barely beat in the Palashian Premier five years previous.
Lycidas Marino.
He re-opened his hard brown eyes and swished them 'round on a second pair that were fixated on him, only to find his next foe focused firmly on his far-off left; the similarly hard-expressed and folded-armed Lycidas himself. The older martial artist merely shot him over a silent nod and a firm-faced frown, stoic and aloof as ever. Half-surprised by the look of respect by the man, Raynard couldn't help but return it, a barely softer frown of his own in response as he did.
This is gonna be hell, he thought to himself wisely.
"If I could barely win last time… how's this one gonna go?"
His thoughts carried him on as the tannoy atop the small Gossip Stones situated in the corners of the competitor's box made all the fighters standing around it crane their necks and heads in their varied directions, waiting and curious.
"Lycidas Marino and Raynard Van Garrick," the voice began, a woman's and presumably a member of the Prima World Tour staff. "Please approach the arena for the commencement of round eight."
Raynard opted to give his next opponent one last brief look before turning to march toward the entrance to the ring, feeling the intense stares of everyone else in the room.
Never before had he felt so alone.
This never bothered me before, he thought to himself.
I shouldn't care what the rest of Link's friends think of me.
So why, he wondered…
"Why does it hurt?"
"Here we go ladies and germs!" The grinning 'Tasty' Seth opted to begin the announcements himself, a change nevertheless. "We comin' at ya with round eight!"
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
"That's correct everyone! Welcome back to the Prima World Tour!" Mr. Marshall, chief commentator of the PWT called out from their commentator's box high up in the building with an inviting smile of his own. "We're broadcasting from beautiful Draerith's Great Hall of the People, and all for the Nation of Domination world tournament! The world championships!"
"We've had some killer sets today already guys," Seth grinned into the conversation a second time, leaning toward his small Gossip Stone on the table before him as he did. "We had former grand-finalist Firbrand face off with Romanov and current Stralanavian champion Fedoroa, current Palashian champion Vassia fighting with Fedoroa, Weirson and Marino and finally, Elbrus and Hylian champion Van Garrick!"
"What an opening to the world championships!" Marshall agreed on with the youth in a light-faced nod, re-facing the audience as he did. "And we have more for you all ladies and gentlemen! Today's match-up sees our Hylian champion Van Garrick clash with former Palashian champion… Marino!"
Lycidas Marino
Aggressiveness: A
Agility: S
Grapple Countering: A
Raynard Van Garrick
Combination Damage: A+
Aggressiveness: A+
Agility: S
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
"That's right folks, it's a runback!" The similarly excited Marshall called out in his exuberant-faced smile. "Those of you who have been closely following our Prima World Tour may have stopped in to see our Palashian Premier! And in that premier, our boy here Van Garrick once fought with Marino!"
"Bro that fight was incredible," the grinning Seth shot back, shaking his brown-haired head in disbelief. "It was like… a grand finals match in early rounds!"
"Indeed it was my young friend; a bout, I daresay, that shall be surpassed!"
In response to Marshall's emphatic shout, the sound of the surrounding Aurelian audience all echoed out a third time in manic cheer, excited and enthusiastic. As Lycidas and Raynard marched on out the competitor's box together, one after the other, the cheering died down to a simple light chatter, leaving the pair of martial artists to climb the marble staircase to the largest arena they'd ever fought in. The referee, a chubby man dressed up in the official Prima World Tour uniform, stood as always in the centre of it, nodding at the two in acknowledgement as they approached before soon dividing for their respective ends.
"Red side, ready!"
As the firmly-frowning form of Lycidas took his spot on the 'red' tile of the arena, he cast the referee an acknowledging nod of his own, both gauntleted arms outstretched forward with one held back as if in light defence. He kept his golden-booted feet apart from one another, wide and true.
"Blue side, ready!"
Raynard, by comparison took a fairly more complicated stance; he stood leaning his right fist diagonally down with its palm and fingers opened up, his left clenched fist held backward behind him. The youth's own legs were similar to his foe's; spread out apart, almost as if to be ready for any subtle change in movement from his older and more battle-experienced opponent.
The referee chopped an arm down between the pair, re-opening his mouth to announce the beginning of the engagement. "Fight!"
3
WHOOSH
In a flash Lycidas was off and flying, his muscled topless form sheerly gliding across the skies to cross the distance between the two national champions; Raynard's hard chestnut eyes narrowed back at him before his own slim figure in respect chose to vanish in place, leaving the gliding Lycidas with no foe to attack. He slid across the marble tiles in his light landing his own hardened eyes narrowing and, widening them, grunted out in effort as he swung a back-fist 'round behind him, as if sensing him.
Sure enough, the glaring-eyed Raynard re-appeared swiftly and inevitably behind him, shooting up an arm to block; he successfully caught the sharp Palashian's back-fist before re-widening hie eyes, opening up his mouth and screaming an angered war cry. With little effort he used a mix of his great Aegir-control and physical strength increase by swinging the Palashian's much-more weighty body 'round in a sudden and abrupt toss behind him, high into the air.
FWIP
Raynard attempted to pursue, vanishing from sight in a sign of superspeed and, as he approached the wide-eyed Lycidas' tailspinning form, the former Palashian champion recovered with a deft back-flip. Muscled arms hanging at his sides as if to halt himself from moving entirely, he hung himself suspended into the air before lowering his outstretched right arm; charging rapidly with a bright-yellow Aegir he yelled out in his own expending of effort by firing down a huge wave of magical energy.
"YAAAAHHH!"
FWOOSH…
FRRRRRR…
As if in defiance, Raynard pulled back his left arm and, scowling horribly as he always liked to, re-widened his own chestnut-brown eyes as he screamed a second war cry in his next action.
"RGAHHHHH!"
SLAMMMM
VWEEE…!
KERRRRASSSSHHHH-CRUMBLE-CRUMBLE…
In Raynard's brutal response, by simply back-handing the wave of Aegir away, he sent it flying back behind them all. Although the screaming audience all yelled out in sudden distress as they watched the huge projectile come careering toward them, they all soon settled into gasps of relief when it dissipated harmlessly into an invisible wall of Quintessence, seemingly previously set-up in kind to their previous tournaments following the Hylian championship.
Sheerly shellshocked at the surprising sight, Lycidas could only stare back in gasping widened emerald-shaded eyes; the glaring Raynard, his own scowl carrying him on, soon upturned into a satisfied small smirk not unlike that of his blonde-haired rival as he returned the stare.
FWIP
With little warning in response Raynard's small form dematerialised, soon returning straight into Lycidas' front with a brutal elbow to the face.
SLAMMM
"Gurgh…!"
Feeling insulted by the small bruise left on the side of his mouth, and the small trickle of blood that fell from it, the shut-eyed Lycidas re-widened his eyes into a scowl of his own before returning a super-fast series of mid-air kicks as the two martial artists hung suspended in the air together.
FWIPFWIPFWIPFWIPFWIPFWIP
Rather shockingly, Raynard somehow managed to evade all of them; in incredibly-deft manoeuvres of his own, the raven-haired rival ran his head in swift darts from side-to-side to avoid the Palashian's stabbing kicks, his hardened narrow-eyed glower a mere flash in between each dart he gave out. Attempting to catch him out, Lycidas' green-shaded eyes narrowed a second time before he grunted out and went for a horizontal roundhouse, as if to cover the space he was missing.
FWIP
Simply out speeding him, Raynard's slim yet muscled figure vanished yet again and, before Lycidas could even see him let alone react, re-appear high above him.
WHOOSH…
"HNGH!"
CRASSSH
In a swift-somersault back-kick, the current Hylian champion seemingly easily and effortlessly countered his Palashian foe's assault with his own; a vertical one that saw the gasping older man tailspinning back down toward the marble floor beneath him.
VWEEEEE…
TMP
As Lycidas landed, and in a pained and effort-filled grunt at that, he widened both emerald-coloured eyes yet again as he shot his head up only to find his enemy vanished from his very gaze.
"Where-?!"
CRACCCK
"ARRRRGH!"
Somehow, shocking even the watching audience, Raynard's form re-appeared behind the screaming Lycidas', issuing out a vertical stabbing kick of his own into the man's topless back.
CRASSSSSH-SKRRRRRR
Time slowed down for the pair and, even as Lycidas' buff form dragged forward and skid across the beautiful marble tiles beneath him, Raynard pursued with a wide-eyed scowl on his face; a brutal-looking vertical dive-knee descent that saw the similarly shock-faced Lycidas side-rolling to his right in evasion.
KERRRRASSSSSHHHH
Raynard's strength, having been tempered over the last five years, easily broke apart the robust variant of marble stone beneath him; a harmless miss that saw chunks of marble spit up and fly in all directions at once. Time slowed down for the pair and as it did, the slabs of marble hovered in between the two martial artists; the only sight between them. As Lycidas however stood to his feet, he widened both eyes and buffed up his standing form; like magic, his muscles somehow got bigger and, as they did, he pressed on his recently new-found strength by leaping forward in an air-diving knee-kick.
SLAM
"Koff…!"
Raynard coughed out painfully and agonisingly as Lycidas' knee found itself squarely within the low-centre of his chest, sending him sagging through the air backward. The former Palashian champion soon followed up with a similarly brutal left-handed punching assault, striking him across the face and sending the black-haired youth sprawling across the already-damaged marble floor beneath them both.
Lycidas opted not to allow his younger foe time and energy to recover and, in maddened pursuit, grunted out in a glaring-eyed scowl as he shot a brutal vertical kick up into the poor Raynard's chin, sending him likewise grunting up into the air above them. Unwilling to let his recently-won momentum up, Lycidas followed up yet again by reaching up and grabbing the young man's exposed boot; the muscled Palashian growled out in effort as he ran forward with youth in-hand before yelling out in effort as he brought the wide-eyed Hylian crashing back down to earth.
SMASSSSSHHH
"ARRRRGH!"
Lycidas reached down to grapple at the yelling Raynard's head and, pulling him closer, chose to slam his purple-braided haired head directly into the young teenager's, immediately creating a massive blood-red stain on his temple.
CRACCCK
Raynard coughed out blood similarly trickling down on the lower-right corner of his mouth, chestnut-brown eyes scrunched shut as he cringed in sheer agony, barely unable to stand the pain.
CRACCCCK
CRACCCCCK
CRACCCCCK
Again and again the Palashian grunted out as he slammed the butt of his head directly into Raynard's; a brutal exchange that eventually saw the former champion tossing the current Hylian champion far up into the air above them both. At long last Raynard gained the sense and energy to react; he snapped open a single eye and contorted his angered face into another grit-toothed scowl before flipping backward in mid-air to recover. The former boy charged an aura of Aegir aggressively and angrily, re-opening up his mouth to scream out a rage-filled war cry as he shot his body down in mid-flight to begin a pursuit down of his own, his slim and muscled form whining out noisily to match the fiery aura encapsulated around him.
The watching Lycidas, his own face a mere shell of his former similar scowl, opted to upturn into a hardened furrow-browed frown before he soon returned the scowl and lightly flinched his body as if to charge his own aura of Aegir. His own figure also whined out as he shot up into the air to meet Raynard's descending flight, the marble floor beneath him breaking from sheer contact with his incredible power.
VWEEEE…
CRASSSSSSSH
SLAMSLAMSLAMSLAM
CRACCCCK
SLAMSLAMSLAMSLAMSLAM
The two exchanged a super-fast series of strikes and assaults, invisible to the untrained naked eye, every now and again Lycidas' fist finding a way through into the angered Raynard's chin and cheeks. The very ground itself rumbled violently from the sheer strength the two exuded together, leaving the watching Aurelian audience surrounding the two distressed and yelling out, even in spite of the massive invisible walls of Aegir protecting them.
VWEEE…
Their forms broke their engagement, both firing off in opposite hanging directions; now suspended in mid-air with expert Aegir-control, the two glared at one another – Raynard in his very-visibly exhausted gasps and growls and the watching Lycidas in a calming hardened frown.
It was very clear who was struggling and who was not.
FWIP
Lycidas' big muscled shape very suddenly shimmered and vanished from sight, leaving the gasping Raynard wide-eyed and shocked; he darted both chestnut eyes 'round in swift and desperate search, only to be denied regardless.
WHOOSH…
SLAMMM
"Urgh…!"
The former Palashian champion re-appeared in a cruel and unannounced knee-assault, successfully piercing Raynard's defences and sending him sagging backward through the air.
"HNGH!"
WHAM
This time Raynard could barely utter a gasp as he was followed up with a brutal hammer-like punch, sending him flying back down to planet earth. As his form sprawled and rolled backward across the marble floor beneath him, he attempted to recover by swiftly pushing his body up off it in a deft side-flip to land skidding backward, his already-weathered brown tunic ripped and damaged.
Raynard, watching the hard-glaring form of his foe high above him slowly descend down to meet him, could only growl as he re-stood to his ruined boots, setting his clenched fists at either side of himself. An aura of powerful black-shaded Aegir grew around him as blood fell trickling from his mouth, re-opening it to voice his angered thoughts.
"COME ON!"
Lycidas' narrowed eyes closed further into slits before he reacted; the larger muscled man's own aura intensified and, as it did, so too did the man's sudden quick descent down to the ground.
VWEEEE…
CRASSSSSH
TSH-TSH-TSH-TSH-TSH
Again as Lycidas' huge intimidating form clashed noisily with Raynard's, their auras of power and Quintessence began a second battle that raged as fiercely as their first, fists and legs maniacally moving at superspeed before, finally, one got the edge in the match-up.
SLAMMM
"Argh…!"
In a graceful back-flip kick in mid-air, Raynard was struck by Lycidas' athletic counter-attack, sending him billowing slowly and further upward into the air. The former Palashian champion pulled back one of his calloused hands and, with magical energy charging rapidly within it, released it all at once to follow up his assault with one seemingly final attack.
WHAM
Raynard held back a gasp as the projectile of green-shaded Aegir struck him in the lower chest, sending him sailing backward. When the projectile's movement saw a turn, taking him over toward the 'out of bounds' area of the ring, Raynard attempted to move desperately and drastically, letting out a pained grunt and gasp as he turned his body 'round to avoid being taken down with it. The projectile reacted and flew immediately down into the ground harmlessly, blowing up with a massive meaty explosion. Raynard hung in the air and let out continual gasps and beads of effort-filled sweat down from his forehead.
I've underestimated him far too much, he thought.
Just like at Palashia.
What's wrong with me?
DROOOOOOOM
The projectile at last blew apart the beautiful marble floor beneath him and, as it did, the shock of which sent him sailing back safely toward the ring; he sprawled helplessly and painfully against it, his body rolling across it as he dropped back down. Even as he attempted, with great effort to get back up to his feet, he was suddenly accosted by the firmly-scowling form of Lycidas behind him in a brutal grapple attempt from the back.
"Argh!"
Raynard's eyes widened and, even as exhausted as he was, attempted to rid the larger man's grip on him with use of his right elbow.
SLAM
"Ngh…!"
SLAM-SLAM-SLAM
"Hrngh…!"
SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM-SLAM
In ten primal strikes to the man's lower-left side, Lycidas at long last began to display the effects of exhaustion himself and let go of the gasping Raynard, finding himself staggering backward as he held onto his recently-injured side. The last Van Garrick however found himself in a much more-expended state, scowling-eyed shut and sweating profusely as blood fell from his open mouth. Surprising the youth yet again however, Lycidas' somehow-swift figure found itself re-appearing directly in front of the young man, drawing out a shocked gasp from him in response.
CRACCCK
"Argh…!"
Raynard's chestnut-brown eyes widened in sheer shock as the older man slammed another knee directly up into his chest, successfully winding and knocking the sheer breath out of him, before he followed up by reaching forward; grabbing at his messy tuft of black hairs on his head, pulled him closer to slam a couple of punches across the poor youth, drawing out pained and bloody grunts from him in response.
"YAH!"
WHAM
In a double-handed axe-like strike, Lycidas slammed a final assault down on the youth, sending him further careering and whining back down to the ground below them in an incredible velocity of speed. The narrow-eyed Lycidas followed, pursuing with bloody-minded determination and as he did, reached down to grapple at the yelling Raynard's body.
"Now…,"
Shocking Raynard behind him, Lycidas at long last opened up his mouth; the final precursor to the match-up's seeming end, the first time since beginning the set.
"This is the end!"
VWEEEEE…
As the pair picked up even further speed, drawing out a horrified wide-eyed bloody-faced scowl from the grappled Raynard, Lycidas eventually let go of his younger foe, sending him careering and tailspinning down toward the ground.
KERRRRRASSSSSSHHHHHH
The surrounding Aurelian audience all let out shocked gasps and distressed yells, even with the invisible walls of Aegir up protecting them, as a massive crater of destruction and power blew apart the arena below in Raynard's painful-looking drop. It was only when the smoke finally began to dissipate that the seemingly-unconscious form of Raynard was left dead-centre in the wake of the incredible demolition.
Acting quickly, the chubby yet quick referee leapt into action, rushing across and stepping around the rubble and destruction laid before him. He knelt over the fallen bloody form of Raynard, raising up an arm as he went down to a single knee, slamming his rough hand against the destroyed marble below him.
"One!"
As opposed to checking if Raynard was unconscious, as per the usual ruleset in the national championships, he instead counted to ten; a new rule unique only to the world championships. As he shot up the numbers, the restless Aurelian audience grew silent and when he finally hit the end, so too did they watch with bated breath.
"Ten!"
The firmly-frowning Lycidas shot down from the air, bruises and light blood injuries all over his body yet otherwise still relatively in a decent condition.
"K.O.!" The referee called out at long last, chopping a hand down on Raynard's unconscious form before swiftly standing to his feet and turning it on the glaring-eyed Palashian behind him. "This set's winner… is Lycidas Marino!"
