Chapter 10: Metaknight Captured
It was dark, the only light that was emitting in the darkness was from a small fire. Around it was Link, and Kirby, both of them just staring into the flames.
"Metaknight is getting weaker…" Kirby muttered. "That crystal that Master Hand shot into him what is it doing?" he asked Link trying to find out what was going on.
Link just stared down at the fire using a deku stick to poke it. He didn't respond to Kirby, as though he didn't hear him. It was most likely that Link was in shock, from his recent battle. His only edge against the universe conqueror Master Hand, had been destroyed. Although several fragments of the NES sword remained, they wouldn't refuse back into the old blade. Not even the Biggoron's sword, the base of the old NES sword.
"Hello can you hear me?" Kirby shouted. Link still didn't hear. Angered Kirby brought out a giant mallet, and tried to hit Link with it. However to his surprise, Link stopped the mallet with the stick that he had been poking the fire with.
"Your attack was to slow and predictable!" Link muttered, hardly even looking up. Link was troubled, rarely had he ever been like this. He dared not think about Metaknight's condition.
It was dark. And Metaknight floated amongst this darkness. "Where am I?" Metaknight muttered to himself. Everything was becoming darker and the only source of light was a strange glow coming off of Metaknight. 'My body is glowing?' Slowly all of the darkness formed into one being. It was Master Hand, and a dark aura resonated off of him.
"Metaknight!" Master Hand laughed. "Join me! I will make you a general of my dark army!"
Metaknight just looked at Master Hand. "No!" He responded calmly. "I will not destroy the lives that I protect!"
"And what if you have no choice!" Master Hand shouted, the darkness surrounding Metaknight, and slowly began to engulf him.
Kirby had left Link alone and enjoyed the nice feel of the fire. Metaknight then began to violently shake. A Seal of Smash appearing on his forehead. "What the?" Metaknight's voice shouted out, startling both of the warriors. "I can't control my body!" This got both Link and Kirby's attention; both of them jumped up and faced Metaknight, the Seal of Smash illuminating the night.
"This is really what we needed right now!" Link said sarcastically. "We are on a planet that is now nothing more than a desert, we are about to be killed by one of the only survivors on the planet, and… lets not forget that whole part about him being a former ally!" Metaknight drew his sword, and in a flash of lightning the crimson blade appeared.
"Master Hand didn't have this kind of ability last time!" Link shouted surprised.
"It must have something to do with the fragment!" Kirby responded. Both of them stared at Metaknight.
"Please run!" Metaknight pleaded.
"Sorry Metaknight!" Link said, as he drew the Master Sword. "But the least we can do is get that crystal out of you!" Metaknight's crimson blade began to change into a pitch black color. And swinging the sword a dark mist came out of it, surrounding the area.
"So you don't run away!" Metaknight's voice had now changed, and it was a lot deeper, and scratchier. Suddenly everything vanished. Link stood alone in the dark area.
'I can't see anything…' Link thought to himself, raising his hand in front of his face, soon to discover that he couldn't even see that. 'I'm blind? No it has to be an illusion, just like in the Shadow and Spirit Temple!' The Shadow Temple was the second last temple in Hyrule, most of the enemies hid in the shadows, and waited for the temples traps, and illusions to intimidate intruders, and then they strike. The Spirit Temple the monsters most of the time were invisible, and hard to see with out the Lens of truth. Once Link had inquired if the monsters were ghosts, or just souls being manipulated by the two witches. His question was never answered.
There was a sound of someone running towards Link. Reacting Link slashed at the origin of the sound, only for something to block it. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air.
The pressure was released off of the sword, and Link felt a fabric brush against his back leg. Quickly he turned around and slashed downwards, the slash however was stopped by something, which vanished quickly. Quickly realizing that his opponent was parrying, Link turned around and guarded where his backside would have been. The sound of metal clanging against each other once again rang out. 'Are all of the sword movements that predictable?' Link asked himself, focusing on the battle, blindly blocking the attacking sword. 'This can't be Metaknight I'm fighting…' Link quickly sheathed his sword, and grabbed a bow and arrow. With one shot he aimed it at where he predicted the opponent to be. He then released the magical, light arrow. With a dull sound the light arrow was knocked away, and created a hole in the shadow barrier.
Light exposed the entire area, and Metaknight's bat wings were expanded, he was gliding towards Link. Link grabbed three more arrows and fired two of them at Metaknights wings, and the other one at Metaknight's body. Metaknight blocked all three with several sword attacks. With each arrow being hit away, Metaknight's sword had lost its black color, and became a temporary white. However the black had returned.
"So you destroyed the barrier! Good for you!" Metaknight mocked Link.
Metaknight attacked Link, using the same attack pattern, that he used in the dark, yet Link found it harder this time to counter. After about the 7th time of Metaknight attacking, Kirby jumped in and punched Metaknight's face. Metaknight went flying back and landed on the ground, looking as though he wasn't fazed by Kirby's attack.
Link just stepped forwards. "I think it's over Master Hand! Reveal yourself!" Master Hand materialized in front of Link and Kirby. "Now answer us how you are able to control Metaknight?"
Master Hand just laughed. "Fools! Who ever holds the crystals, I can control them! They are just puppets after all!" Master Hand moved his fingers and Metaknight's body slowly moved, as though it was against his will. It was easy to see that Metaknight was fighting back with everything he had.
"You will not bend my will that easily!" Metaknight gasped for air, regaining temporary control.
"Fool! I am controlling you just like a puppet! The way that they control us! The strength of your will doesn't matter!"
"Metaknight! You have to fight it!" Kirby shouted. Link however just walked forwards holding the Master Sword, pointing it at Metaknight.
"He no longer has control over his body, and his mind he will soon lose as well!" Link just said quietly. Metaknight flew towards Kirby and Link his sword becoming a sphere that protecting him, and rapidity slashing both Kirby and Link. Both of them were sent flying back. When the smoke cleared a quarter of Metaknight's body had been taken over by the seal. Most of it was just a random pattern of glowing crimson signs. As quickly as the seal appeared it vanished and Metaknight fell down onto the ground, and his sword flying a few meters away.
"But how?" Link asked, wondering how Metaknight fainted.
Kirby just held up his hand revealing a crystal barrier appearing in front of him. "The mirror ability any attack that might of hit me, was reflected back at him! But sadly a few of the blows did get through to me. I have enough strength to end this!" Kirby began to suck in the air, and began to drag in Master Hand.
"You think I fear you?" Master Hand shouted flying into the void of Kirby. "Lets see you defeat me like this Kirby!" Kirby's body expanded, and then he swallowed Master Hand. Violently Kirby's body began to glow with all seven colors of the rainbow. And then it began to expand. "Your pathetic body can not contain my power!" Master Hand laughed vilely. "Link has the ability to end this now! He just has to fire a light arrow at you Kirby, and that will seal us both!" With out hesitation, Link grabbed his bow and one of his arrows. Loading it on the bow he aimed at Kirby, who had now expanded to 4 times his normal size. "But does he have the heart to do it?" Master Hand's voice boomed out louder than before. "Or are you having second thoughts?" He asked Link in a mocking manner.
Link on the other hand was shaking. He couldn't keep the bow still.
"DO IT!" Kirby shouted. "Destroy him mushroom!" Link let go of the bow, and the arrow rocketed into Kirby. Slowly Kirby began to implode, his body being sucked into the center of where the Light arrow hit. Beams of light erupted from Kirby. "Nice knowing you!" Kirby smiled "Cake!" Kirby's body then completely disappeared, and all light vanished.
"Is it over?" Link asked, not expecting an answer.
"It would appear so…" A voice said from the side of Link. He looked down and saw a wounded Metaknight. "I stopped feeling Master Hand's presence from the Smash Crystal once the attack was done." Metaknight reached up to his for head and pulled out the smash crystal that was lodged in his head. He immediately collapsed. "Got to hand it to that thing, it does know how to drain your energy!"
Link picked up the crystal that was on the ground, and he stared at it. From inside he could feel about a hundred different presences. He closed his eyes and clutched the crystal tightly. When Link opened his eyes he was in a dark place, a place with thousands of shadows, and thousands of voices echoing out, each of them radiating a dark presence. But there was one beyond all that let out a dark presence, one of pure evil. Link turned around frantically trying to find it.
Link fell down and was knocked back to reality. "That presence what was it?" he thought to himself. "It was chilling to the bone…" Link stared at the spot where Kirby used to be standing only moments before. There something flashed. On the ground, lying there was a second smash shard. A brief aura glowed from it. Link recognized it as the same aura from the light arrows. "So they were sealed inside this," Link said both relived and worried. "If I break the seal, Kirby will be released, and so will Master Hand"
Link placed his index and middle finger on to the crystal, and forcing some of his magical energy onto it, however it was repelled. Link grabbed the other Smash shard and placed it on the second. They both fused together becoming slightly bigger. The new shard sparked, and 3 lights flew out, one black, one pink, and one white. All three hit the ground 10 feet away from the crystal and formed into actual figures. The white one became Master Hand, and the ink one became Kirby. The black one was a dark Kirby.
"Thought I was a goner, peanut!" Kirby laughed. "That was the most intense battle I've ever fought, it seemed to go on for a century!"
"Are you afraid of me now?" Master Hand asked Kirby.
"No!" Kirby laughed perhaps now more eager to fight Master Hand.
"All right if all 3 of us attack him, we might be able to win!" Link said, drawing the Master Sword.
"Yes…" Metaknight laughed getting up off of the ground. "Though I'm still tiered… I think I can do this!"
The three rushed towards Master Hand, Kirby was in front, Link in the middle, and Metaknight was behind them, finding it difficult to run. A barrier appeared around Master Hand knocking the 3 warriors back. Metaknight flew back and lost grip of his sword, and was knocked unconscious. Kirby landed flat on his face, and Link's body slid across the ground. The Smash Shard was knocked out of Link's hand and fell on the ground. Master Hand proceeded to pick it up.
Master Hand floated in the air. "I see… so the seal became stronger…" He pointed his index finger at Metaknight, and his unconscious body floated over to him. "You will become the leader of my army Metaknight!" A portal opened and Metaknight's body floated in. With out another word Master Hand flew into the portal.
Kirby ran after Master Hand, while Link stared at Metaknight's sword. With out hesitation Link picked it up and ran through the portal.
To be continued…