The Planets

VI. Uranus, the Magician

It was almost time for the match. Samus felt her throat constrict slightly as she thought of it. Here and now was the time for her to show Ganondorf what she had learned from him. It was also time for Ganondorf to prove that he was not as bad with technology as everyone had thought.

They had taught each other and trained well into the night, sneaking off into the gym when everyone was sound asleep to hone their skills. Samus even gave Ganondorf her best Power Suit and had watched with hidden glee as he vaporized every training dummy they came across. Ganondorf, in the meanwhile, did not hide how pleased he was when she managed to use his powerful magic to blast holes in many of the targets he had set up for her.

She now sat in the waiting room, anticipating the start of the match. Ganondorf had managed to teach her beginner level to intermediate magic last night. Although she had learned quickly, he had told her that he did not want her harming herself during the match. Some of the magic he used was so volatile that even he was occasionally hesitant in using it to take out his enemies.

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, going over in her head all that he had taught her the night before. The magic he summoned was based on how calm he was in battle. She did not have to concentrate so much on how hard she was to hit with the magic, as the powerful magic was backed up by the Triforce of Power. She did, however, need to make sure that she was a good distance away from her opponent before unleashing it. Ganondorf's magic was naturally a bit slow, but this speed came in the exchange for great power.

In the distance, she heard a crowd of people as they filed into the stadium. There was no doubt that all eyes were going to be on her. The audience would be waiting to see if she tried anything tricky, especially after what had happened on the Day of Mars. Samus sighed, for she knew that while she was many things, one thing had always been clear to her.

Samus Aran did not fight dirty.

She heard a bell in the distance. It was time for the match to start. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated on opening a portal to the Final Destination stage. Her hands tingled slightly, her breath hitched, and a small pressure built up from behind her eyes. When she next opened them, there was a portal standing in front of her.

Excellent.

Samus stepped into the portal, careful to not be too distracted by the whorl of purple surrounding her. After a few seconds, the Final Destination stage materialized before her and she stepped out. A second later, Ganondorf rolled his way onto the stage, taking great use of her Morph Ball form.

Marth and Ike were already on the stage, swords gleaming in the dim light of the stadium. Samus regarded the two, judging their strengths and weaknesses. It was all too obvious that, with Ganondorf's low speed, she would fare best facing off with Ike. With her strategy in mind, she waited for Master Hand to give the ready go.

"Ready? Go!"

And she was off. Samus charged at Ike, already concentrating slightly on coating her fist with Ganondorf's purple magic. She watched as Ike lifted up Ragnell and attempted an overhead thrust at her, but she was too quick. Her fist connected with his torso just before Ragnell could so much as graze her head.

Ike staggered back slightly, winded by the impact of her fist. Recovering as best he could, he hitched up Ragnell again and charged at her, the Cursed Blade humming a deep-throated song of death. Samus side-stepped just in time, now coating her foot in the Gerudo Magic. Before Ike could turn around, her foot connected with his back.

Ike was caught by surprise, but he recovered quickly once again. Flicking Ragnell over his head, he slammed the powerful blade into Samus' side, a blow that would have sliced her in half had the safety measures on been up. Samus gasped, panicked just a little, but recovered. She charged forward and clamped her hand around the mercenary's throat, channeling as much of her magic into him as she could before setting him down.

Not far away, Ganondorf was battling Marth. The plasma beams he fired often caught the Prince off-guard, as were the countless missiles and Super Missiles. Ganondorf was taking advantage of Samus' ranged expertise, knowing full well that Marth preferred close combat.

Ganondorf rolled into a Morph Ball, charging at Marth as the Prince ran into slice him to ribbons. Ganondorf tactfully rolled up to him and de-morphed at just the right time, slamming the Prince's jaw with his helmet. Marth cried out in surprise, staggering back at the sudden impact. From the way he clutched his jaw, Samus knew that it was going to hurt for a long while after.

While she skillfully took Ike's blows and dealt powerful ones of her own, Samus' eyes scanned the battlefield. There was to be only one item this match and it was imperative that either she or Ganondorf grabbed it. The Smashball, the most powerful item in the entire tournament, could appear at any time.

There!

She grabbed Ike and threw him, making sure that he was as far away from the precious Smashball as possible. The mercenary, taken by surprise, took a few seconds to recover before he too noticed the glowing multi-colored ball. Ganondorf, knowing full well that this could win them the match, threw Marth out of the way before he too charged at the sacred item.

Samus was the first to leap at the ball, but Ike leaped above her and slammed his sword into her, sending her down to the ground. He went for it next, but Ganondorf slammed himself into the mercenary, sending both to the ground. Undeterred, Marth now leaped for the precious item, his sword coming forward to stab it. Samus let out a cry of jubilation as Marth's sword proved not strong enough to crack the ball and instead sent it reeling her way.

Samus caught the ball, a smirk forming across her face as she felt it pulsing beneath her fingers. This was it. All she had to do was crush the Smashball and it would be all over…

Her fingers curled, feeling the delicate shell of the power source breaking beneath them. She felt a rush of energy and power as the Smashball filled her, the great power singing through her veins. Summoning everything she had, she poured her concentration into taking the form of the beast once again.

Her human form curdled and changed. Her hair disappeared under a mane of red. Her eyes became black, soulless pits, gleaming with an evil deep within. Ivory tusks burst forth from between her lips as her hands and feet changed into powerful cloven hooves. Dark fur bristled out from She slammed them into the ground and roared, taking in Marth's and Ike's trembling forms.

Once again, she was The Boar.

Current Story Word Count: 9, 338 words