Chapter 25: A fiery battle

The festivities were going in full force, there was loud music playing that could probably be heard at the next island, lots of dancing from the natives, it didn't seem like it would stop. Link was relaxing at the only place they could offer with soundproof rooms Sirena Beach Hotel. Most of the other members were getting tired of the partying also, after all 7 days of continual partying is bound to get boring some time.

"I could of gone with Fox into space," Link moaned. "Why are we still here?"

"We have to go to another island." Peach said walking into the room with a map. She opened it up and put it down onto the wooden table. She used her parasol to point at their current location. "The Rainbow cruise is currently getting repairs by those who aren't partying. And we need to go to Kongo Bongo. We have an ally there, who might be able to help you."

There was a knocking at the door. Luigi who was the closest to the door went and opened it. Standing there was a Pianta, "I've got a letter to a Mr. Link?" He said waving it in the air, Link got up and took the letter from his hands.

Link stared at the letter puzzled. "Mail? But no one knows me here!" he sat down and began to read it.

Rai however was staring at the letter; the writing was facing him, and upside down. "Brother…" he muttered, no one had heard him. Link had placed the letter aside, and when no one was looking Rai grabbed it, and began to read it. "A letter of challenge," he thought to himself. "In Corona Mountain."

Making sure no one saw him Rai slipped out of the room and started running down the hallway.

Rai stood in front of a pool of magma, floating in it was a wooden canoe. Staring at it suspiciously, he wondered why a piece of wood wasn't catching fire. He stepped into it and magically it was propelled into the Center of Corona Mountain, where a giant rock platform was sitting. Rai jumped off of the wooden canoe and walked into the center of the platform.

"So you came Link!" A voice shouted. "You got my letter of challenge, but now by stepping onto this platform you have sealed your fate!"

"But I'm not" Rai tried to tell him only to be cut off.

"For here I will kill you, and I will be blessed with greatness!"

"Damn it Tei!" Rai shouted.

"Rai? What are you doing here?" Tei asked realizing that the person wasn't Link but someone else. In front of Rai appeared a person wearing mostly black. He had messy black hair that covered his crimson eyes.

"Tei, I've come here to fight you!" Rai declared shaking.

A wicked smile crossed Tei's face. "Is that so? It pains me dearly to say that you will not be missed my weakling brother! You who held us back, with out you we will be able to achieve our vengeance faster!" With that Tei dashed at Rai.

"Have you seen Rai?" Link asked Kirby.

"No not since you received that letter." Kirby responded. "Perhaps he went out to party again."

Link sat down on a couch trying to relax. "Then he probably would of told one of us." He looked at the nearby table where he had placed the letter. "Hey where is that letter?"

"I think Rai was looking at it earlier," Pikachu said walking into the room. Link suddenly jumped up and ran out of the hotel room

Link was running down the streets of Isle Delfino. The parties in their honor for saving the island were still going on and constantly blocking off the direct route to Corona Mountain. "If Rai is there he probably is going to be dead by the time I get there!" Link thought to himself getting annoyed by all of the detours.

Rai skidded across the ground, he was partly burned and most of his clothing was singed. Tei grabbed him by the shirt and picked him up off of the ground. "Now then good bye you little shit!"

An arrow flew passed Tei's ear. Looking at the entrance of Corona Mountain Tei saw Link, and he threw aside his brother. "Your fight is with me!" Link said, loading another arrow. The two stared at each other for a brief second.

"So you came," he laughed. "I was afraid I would have to kill my little brother!" Tei sighed with no trace of emotion in his voice. "Of course him betraying The Master is punishable by death!"

"His strength, he is much stronger than Rai!" The NES sword declared. "To beat him you must hit his weak point for massive damage!" Link just looked at the sword.

"You can be more annoying than Navi at times," Link sighed. "At least Navi told me the weak point. Except for Ganondorf…" Tei sent a fireball towards Link, who slashed it back at Tei, however unlike must enemies who got hit by their own attacks, Tei was unaffected. "But how?" Link asked shocked.

"I am an elemental, I am the fire itself!" Tei laughed. In his left hand he held something out, glowing with a brighter crimson than ever before, was a Smash Shard. "Now then Link have you ever wondered what would happen if a Smash Shard went into a volcano?"

Link's eyes widened at the shock of what Tei was planning. "You idiot its suicide! You will kill us all, and destroy this island!"

"But that's only your theory, I think the smash shard will absorb the raw power of the volcano!" Tei smiled devilishly, "now lets find out who is right!" before Tei could throw in the shard a spark of electricity hit his hand, causing him to drop it on the stone surface. He glared at his younger brother for a moment. "It appears I should of finished you off!" Tei raised his hand and a giant beast began to emerge from the magma. Link fired the Longshot hitting Tei in the hand. To Link's surprise he was being reeled in towards Tei, quickly thinking Link spun around kicking Tei in the face sending him flying out into his fire monster.

Tei reappeared on the shoulder of the giant monster. He was staring at his hand that Link had pierced with the Longshot. Link grabbed the smash shard that was on the ground, and Rai slowly got up, and stood beside Link, an electric sword forming in his hands. "We have to take this thing on at the same time!" Rai said to Link. Link however wasn't listening. He was staring at the shard in his hand. The corrupt aura was getting stronger, and the very air Link was breathing was becoming intoxicating. With out much warning Link collapsed onto the ground grabbing his chest, dropping the shard.

"Yes you haven't adjusted to the new power," Tei laughed. "It has become much more corrupt, all thanks to you Link!" Tei appeared in front of the two kicking them back and picking up the shard. With one swift movement Tei threw it into the magma behind him. Rai got up and lunged towards Tei, his lightning sword coming down, however a barrier of intense heat appeared and protected Tei from the sword. Tei then punched Rai in the abdomen winding him. A fire sword appeared in Tei's hands and he approached his fallen brother. "Good bye brother!" He said emotionless, swinging down the sword, however something stopped him. Link lunged in front of the sword and used the SNES shield to protect himself from the blade and the heat. "Why did you jump in the way to protect him?"

"He isn't a warrior!" Link replied. "He doesn't know the consequences of battle! He has his life to live!"

"But so do you! Why sacrifice your life for his?"

"That's just what I do at times, act with out thinking." Link grabbed the NES Sword, "besides I can't let you kill your own brother, no matter what The Master orders!"

"I see so I have to go through you!" Tei began to heat up the area beyond what a normal human could take. The Kokiri tunic began to burn off however Link had thought ahead and wore the Goron tunic underneath. Link jumped back grabbing Rai and placing him on the ground away from the fight. Quickly Link began to play the Song of Storms, when the rain began to fall it didn't reach the ground, as it instantly became steam. "You only have the NES Sword, and the SNES shield as your weapons now! What can you do with weapons you can't even access 100 of their power?"

Link smiled as he clapped his hands together and a green light began to shine from his hands. A strong gale of wind began to circle around the inside of the volcano, mixing up the cool air from outside, the rain from above, and the hot air in the volcano. The rain could now fall touch the stone platform the three fighters were on. The rain began to weaken Tei. "I'm not that weak!" Tei laughed.

"Finish it!" Link said calmly. Tei looked at Rai to see that he had his hand out and was charging a shot of electricity. Releasing the shot, Tei was instantly zapped, and he fell back into the magma, disappearing from view. Link grabbed the weakened Rai and walked into the boat, pushing off the edge and towards the entrance.

"You're not rid of me yet!" Tei shouted out appearing once again on the shoulder of the Magma monster, in front of them blocking their escape. With one swing of the NES sword a gale of wind rushed at the monster knocking it back, and sending Tei off of its shoulder, and into a small pool of water outside of the mountain, the Magma monster was completely obliterated. The boat reached the entrance and Link stepped off of it, and then into the outside. He glared down at Tei who was fully submerged underwater.

"He can't swim, he is a hammer, and the water takes away his strength." Rai whispered weakly in Link's ear. Link placed Rai down and jumped into the waist deep water, grabbing Tei from the bottom of the small pond.

It was dawn when Link had returned to the hotel, with both Rai and Tei in tow. Everyone else had noticed that Link and Rai were gone, and were relived to see the two. But puzzled to see Tei. "Get Rai bandaged up!" Link ordered. Within several moments Princess Peach and several of the mushroom Kingdom's best doctors were on the scene helping Rai. "And help him, he has lost a lot of blood!" Link said pointing at the wound that the Longshot had made on Tei.

"Medicine won't help him!" Rai quickly shouted out. "It's the wet clothing that is making him weak." Everyone stared at Rai. "Get dry clothing on him!"

"We have to ask you to wait outside young sir," the one doctor told Rai. He then urged out everyone else. They sat down in the hotel's lobby.

"Someone has some explaining to do! Milk!"

Link just nodded in response he looked up at Rai. "Are you telling them, or am I?"

Rai stood up from where he was sitting and prepared himself for what he was about to say. He looked in Peach's eyes, followed by Mario, Jigglypuff, Kirby, and Pikachu. "That person is my brother," Rai said pausing, he took a few seconds to take in their reactions which ranged from not phased to completely surprised. "While The Master has destroyed your planets, he has taken my family from me. I am the youngest of three children, that person there is my older brother Tei. Once they are done I would like to talk to him alone."

"Under the circumstances I can't let that happen!" Link found himself blurting out.

"Why?"

"Only a few hours ago he was trying to kill you at least allow me in there if he tries it again." Link responded.

"Fine…" Rai sighed.

"Sir we are going to have to treat those burns," A doctor said to Rai. Rai got up and walked into a different room.

"Say where is Yoshi and Luigi?" Link asked Mario.

"They are out at the party." He replied. Link nodded and began to wait patiently. A few minutes later Rai came out from the room bandaged up the doctor was right behind him.

"I did a blood test," The doctor said holding a small flask filled with blood. "He might be a bit tired."

"Thank you Dr. Stiles," Rai happily smiled. Dr. Stiles smiled back walking into the room where Tei was being contained.

"He works for the government," Princess Peach explained. "An excellent doctor and he is always there to help. He appeared a few months ago from a government spaceship."

Link continued to wait patiently just staring at the wall and trying to pass time. Dr. Stiles came out of the room and looked as though he was stuffing something into his coat pocket. "You will be able to see your brother soon Rai." He said as he passed.

"Thank you doctor!" Rai shouted happily.

"Please excuse me for a minute," Link said getting up following Dr. Stiles at a distance. After a moment or two of walking Dr. Stiles entered an empty hotel room. Link pressed his ear against the door trying to listen.

"I found two samples for the project!" Dr. Stiles said.

"Good perhaps your extended visit to the Mushroom Kingdom actually was good!" A voice Link didn't recognize said. "Anyways send them over."

"Very well" Dr. Stiles said. "The first sample is from a boy named Rai." There was a clicking sound.

"Impressive!"

"The second one is from a boy named Tei," The clicking sound returned.

"Both are impressive doctor! And both will be significant additions to our project EON6! You will be rewarded appropriately!"

"EON6?" Link thought to himself believing that he had heard all that he needed to he began to walk away. When he returned to the place where everyone else was Link sat down. A few moments later the door opened and a doctor walked out.

"You may go in now." the doctor said. Both Rai and Link stood up and walked into the room.

Tei was sitting up in the bed staring at the wall. He glanced over at Link and Rai as they entered the room but his attention soon returned to the wall. They both sat down in two chairs that were prepared for them. They were silent for a while until eventually Tei spoke up "Why? Why didn't you kill me?" He asked. The two were taken aback by his question and glanced at each other for a brief second.

"I won't kill someone who is defenseless," Link replied. "And besides you were just a puppet in the Master's scheme right?"

"If that is what you want to believe, then so be it."

"You don't mean?"

"Yes…" Tei replied ashamed. "He threatened to kill Rai unless we helped him. Eventually that very fear turned into hate, and it blinded us, and the Smash Crystals grew stronger. And the darkness was harder for us to escape." Tei looked down at the blankets that were covering his legs, doing his best to avoid eye contact. "But during that battle, when I let go of the crystal, part of me began to return to normal, but it wasn't until you said something Link it was a snap back to reality, 'besides I can't let you kill your own brother, no matter what The Master orders!' From there on I realized what I was doing, and when you knocked me into the pond I could feel his power fading. Finally something purified the water, and me. An item in your possession."

Link held out the Gameshark. "It's the only thing I can think of, I believe Pikachu called it a 'Gameshark'"

Tei looked at Link and Rai for the first time smiling. "I thank you, but now you will have to rescue our sister: Sui. She went off to Kongo Bongo." Tei then pulled something out of his pants pocket, showing it to Link. "It's the Fire Medallion, The Master gave it to me to use it against you in battle."

"But you didn't."

"I did, it was what was breathing life into that magma monster," Link grabbed the Fire Medallion. "But don't apply it to the Master Sword just yet, with out the opposing and empowering Medallions it will just become another race against the clock." Link stared at the Fire Medallion; he only needed the Water, and Forest Medallions. "My sister holds the Water Medallion. And the Forest Medallion is still in The Master's possession."

"Our next stop was going to be Kongo Bongo anyways. This is just all the more reason to go." Link said. "Care to join us?"

Tei just smiled. "Thought you would never ask! You have a ship right?"

"It's currently being repaired, and should be done by noon."

Tei smiled and closed his eyes. "Is that so," He laughed "Then wake me when we're ready to go."

Link got up. "Of course!" he said walking away. He looked back to see Rai sitting beside him. "Aren't you coming Rai?"

"No…" Rai said. "I would like to stay here with my brother for a little bit longer."

"But!" Link tried to protest.

"I don't think he will try to hurt me. He is too tired and exhausted to do anything."

"Very well," Link sighed closing the door.

To be continued…

Notes:

"To beat him you must hit his weak point for massive damage!" For those who aren't familiar with the E3 2006 Sony Press conference this line was a reference to it.

Also I think I've been watching a bit too much One Piece…