AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am actually alive. Who would've guessed? Hey, it's been like two months, and I apologize for being so late. My computer's been dead for two months though, and I had to work around that. To make up for this, I grabbed something a little extra for the three people still reading. Go to pastebin and enter this after it (slash)KybMM4zt - Go ahead and check it out. I've done a write-up on some behind the scenes stuff just for you guys. Hopefully the updating process can go a lot smoother from here on out. Thanks for your support! Remember to read, review, but most importantly, enjoy!
Groose and Ghirahim walked further still, the moon resting upon the dark night sky, sunken into the late hours passing. It was only by the light of the moon above that they were still able to see the large silhouette in the distance. A large, blackened figure loomed, but even so far away, Groose could almost feel it breathing down his neck, watching him with an intense fixation. It was waiting, restlessly counting down every last second it would take until Groose and Ghirahim met in battle with it. Link was back at the base with that Duke character, Cheeb was in the clutches of that horrid beast, and Klein had disappeared a while ago. Groose was feeling pretty lonely.
Ghirahim watched the looming figure, knowing this would be his toughest challenge yet. It took courage from deep within him to vanquish the ones he once held so close. But, it had to be done, many others were relying on him. Nothing would stop him. He held in his hands the promise of redemption, and he would do whatever he needed to in order to fulfill that promise.
The two approached the figure, drawing closer and closer to their goal. The wind blew through the canyon, echoing off of its walls. Their footsteps were a solid, unwavering beat. Neither one dared speak, for fear of alerting the beast. Groose and Ghirahim slowly began to watch the red, piercing eyes come into their focus.
Groose threw up his hand abruptly, breaking the monotony of the trip there. He ushered Ghirahim over to one side of the canyon, where they could hide behind a sharp rock jutting up out of the ground. Groose squinted, struggling with the limited light he was provided. He was able to make out the general area around the monster, which was a large empty basin at the end of the canyon. A large chunk of the canyon wall had previously given way, making for a jagged cliff edge on the far side of the basin. This was the end of the road.
Link revved up his engine, listening to the howling roar. The metal under tension, begging him to touch and go. Giving in to its desires, Link pulled back on the handlebar, shooting forward. The roar of his bike filled the canyon, drowning out the emptiness. Link was astounded that the Kikwis would have a motorcycle just laying around, especially since it wasn't really a military vehicle, but whatever. The wind flew through his hair, giving him a taste of the freedom he had felt so long ago.
Link let a cocky smile cross his face as he increased his speed. The loud hum of the engine grew. This was going to be fun.
"Alright, on the count of three, I'm gonna say 'go', and we're going to run out there and hit him, really hard."
"That's your plan?"
Groose sat for a second, scratching his head. "Yes."
"You thought about this plan, told me it, and you legitimately thought 'Yes, this is a great idea.'" Ghirahim sighed.
"Well I don't know about this shit, all I know is that… thing out there is like fifteen feet tall and could probably kill you, or worse, hurt me."
"Well I know about this shit!" Ghirahim said, his voice rising above the previously hushed tone of the conversation. Groose quickly gestured for him to calm down, for fear they would be found. "Sorry, but trust me. I know this guy inside and out. All we've got to do is-"
There was a deafening crash as Groose and Ghirahim were both slammed into the rock wall. Ghirahim, dazed but aware, quickly teleported himself away from the wall, behind the monster.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry. Was that me?" a large voice bellowed. Knowing his adversary, Ghirahim quickly sidestepped a large fist after the monster had spun around and slammed down his hand. Ghirahim aptly used the pause to leap onto his arm. For a beast three times the size of Ghirahim, he was very agile.
Ghirahim dodged the demon's other punch, leaping off of his arm and into the air. Spawning a plethora of sharp daggers, he finished his arc and landed on his feet. With a quick snap of his fingers, the daggers shot down, piercing the hard skin of the demon. He let out a roar and arched backwards, reaching for the knives in his back. Ghirahim rushed forward, creating a thick blade as he sped towards the beast. Running into its legs, he cut the beast's appendages open, toppling it in the same motion. Quickly dissipating the sword, Ghirahim turned around to face the demon. He was caught by surprise to receive a large and rather heavy boulder to the face, sending him sprawling backwards.
"Is that all?" the monster spoke. It let out a crude laugh as it rose again, seemingly unhurt. The thrown rock had incapacitated Ghirahim, and Groose was just coming to his senses again. Groose could hear a faint humming in the distance, as something approached. Groose got onto his feet, staggering forward towards the hum.
"H-Hello?" Groose called out to the noise. Suddenly, the rock basin was bathed in a bright light. The roar became even louder, and soon a blue streak came into focus. "Sonic the Hedgehog!?" Groose cried.
"You've got one more guess, dumbass." the blue streak called out.
Groose smiled. He knew he could count on Link. As the area was slowly illuminated, Groose got a better view of the monster. He was a colossal being, with rough, charcoal colored skin. His eyes burnt red, and the light of the motorcycle was gleaming off of the monster's silver gauntlets. He had corse silver hair, which reached down to the ground. A large pool of blood was forming around his legs where Ghirahim had cut him.
Link sped on forward, fumbling around with some dials below him. As the radio waves crackled with life, Link grinned as he twisted the knob. The voice of Kenny Loggins, who apparently exists in this universe, filled the canyon.
"Headin' into twilight, spreadin' out her wings tonight…"
Link mouthed the words to himself as he slowly began to unsheathe the long, makeshift sword on his back. The Deku Beast's tooth had served him well.
"She got you jumpin' off the deck, and shovin' into overdrive…"
The motorcycle was quickly approaching the beast. As he cleared the entrance to the basin, he leapt into the air. The bike crashed into the beast, exploding upon impact. Link continued to scream at the top of his lungs, positioning himself in the air. His cries filled the canyon.
"Highway to the danger zone! I'll take you right into the…"
The beast, recovering from the fiery ball of scrap metal that crashed into him, had merely enough time to look up before Link came down, his sword crashing down through the beast's skull.
"-Daaaaaaaaaaaaaanger Zoooooooooooooooooooone!" Link finished, belting out the last words of the song. The monster followed with belting out a howl of his own, although it was more akin to a shriek of pain. Link pulled out his sword, sheathed it behind him, and turned around to walk towards Groose. However, Ghirahim quickly tackled him, sending him sprawling to the ground as the demon swiped the air where he once stood.
"Oh come on!" Groose said, "What's it gonna take to bring this guy down?"
A small figure leapt down from the canyon above, sliding down the rock wall. Groose saw it out of the corner of his eye, and watched it descend. As he approached the bottom, the flames of the prior explosion illuminated the area enough to make out that it was a Kikwi.
"Now it's Klein Time!" a small voice called out. The beast turned to see Klein sprinting towards him as fast as he could go. The monster howled in fury, stomping below him. Jumping to avoid the shockwave, Klein latched onto his leg. He slowly made his way up the beast, who was flailing around in frustration. With a small but sharpened knife in his mouth, the Kikwi climbed up to the top of the beast. Groose got a general idea of the plan, and rushed into the fray, grabbing one of the monster's arms. Link followed suit after getting to his feet, grabbing the beast's other arm.
As they worked together to restrain him, the Kikwi made his way to the top of the monster. Wrapping himself around the monster's neck as best he could, he could feel the dark blood of the beast soaking into fur. Taking the knife, Klein jammed it into the monster's throat. Even more blood began to seep out of the beast, who fell to his knees and clutched at his throat after Groose and Link had stepped back.
"Geeze, that thing has more blood than a shitty video game creepy pasta." Link exclaimed. He turned to Groose and patted him on the back. Groose wrapped him up in a hug, to which Link didn't even bother objecting to. He was too tired. Collapsing on the ground upon his release, Link let out a small laugh. He threw his arms behind his head and looked up at the stars. "We did well, didn't we?" Link asked.
"Yeah, I guess." Groose said. "I just want to be done with this." Groose sat down as Klein walked over to him with the monster's two gauntlets. The Kikwi stood at a tense position of attention. He held out his hand, which Groose took in his own. Klein pulled Groose back to his feet.
"I've obtained the two gauntlets from the demon." Klein informed him, walking over to the demon chief's fallen body. On the ground lay two separate metal gauntlets, which had once been around his wrists. Approaching one, Groose picked it up. It was cold to the touch.
"So?" Groose wondered aloud.
"Well, if you look at the patterns on the face of them, there's one with a triangle shape, and one with what I think is a Kikwi. The question is, what do they mean?"
"I don't know. Ghirahim knows a lot about this stuff, and I'm really tired. I'm also pretty bad at the whole 'thinking' thing. I'll ask him."
Grabbing the two gauntlets in his arms, Groose walked over to where Ghirahim was sitting against the rock wall of the basin.
Link heard a loud clanging of metal, which jerked him out of his dreamy state. He sat up and looked over to where the noise had come from. Groose stood over by a large pile of rocks. Slowly getting to his feet, Link made his way over to Groose, who was bent down, looking at something. The first rays of light from the morning sun began to show through the night, dispelling the darkness that had clouded the past hours of battle.
Link walked up, and would've asked what Groose had been looking at if his voice hadn't ceased to function. His mouth hung agape, unable to produce words to comprehend the situation. Ghirahim lay on the ground, bloody, and with a sword protruding through his stomach. Link fell to his knees and held Ghirahim's head in his hands.
"...who." Link finally mustered, tears of panic beginning to swell in his eyes.
Ghirahim coughed up a thick, dark blood before pointing. Link and Groose turned to see two figures standing at the opening to the cliff's edge. The two then leapt off the edge of the cliff. Groose ran over in time to see them disappear into thin air within the cloak that belonged to one of the figures.
Link bent down, and attempted to remove the sword before Ghirahim groaned in pain and spit up more blood. "Let me help you, damnit." Link softly whispered.
"I can't… you need… Lanayru… Alakai… go…" Ghirahim's voiced trailed off as he fell limp. Groose walked back over in a frenzied panic.
"Why is he hurt, though?" Groose cried, picking up Link and shaking him. "We've seen him take much worse punishment than this! He's a sword spirit, can he even be hurt by swords?!"
A small sliver of purple caught Link's eye. He leaned down, and wiped some of the blood off of the handle. Groose fell to the ground limp. Link didn't want to believe it, but he forced himself to come to the realization. The hilt could only belong to one sword. The blade of evil's bane.