"That's impossible you can't be me!" Buttercup yelled and prepared her hammer
"Oh but I am, I am the darkest part of you." The shade said and disappeared behind a tree only to appear behind another farther down in the orchard, "I know all that you are, all that you truly are and I can see your fears." The shade continued
"Enough!" Buttercup yelled swinging her hammer on the ground which sent a shockwave that scored a direct hit on the shade. The shade disappeared, "Heh! I guess you're not as tough as I am." Buttercup said smiling.
"Oh believe me I am!" came the shadowy voice behind her.
Buttercup turned to see the shade which actually seemed more solid than before. Before the shade was more like a ghost but now its body was opaque and it carried the same weapon as Buttercup.
"Your feelings are your weakness! Only in your anger are you strong!" The shade said and Buttercup swung her hammer as did the shade and they met at the center creating a percussion that blew the trees like a hard wind.
Buttercup, however, had prepared for just such an occasion and used that momentum to twirl with her body and deliver a crushing blow to the shade's head with her heal. The shade flew back and disappeared.
"I'm still not seeing how you're as tough as me!?" Buttercup said mockingly
A laugh caused her to turn and see the shade this time completely black and solid. She swung quickly with her hammer but the shade did the same and once again a percussion ensued. Buttercup tried again to use this momentum but the shade did the same and their heels met causing a destructive sound wave that knocked some of the leaves off the trees.
"When will you realize I am you?! I can do all that you can do, I know all that you know." The shade said as they continued to mimic blow after blow.
"You're not me you're just trying to stop me from getting Link back." Buttercup said trying desperately to get the upper hand but to no avail.
"Ah, Link. Yes let's discuss Link. I know that you don't truly care for him." The shade said at which Buttercup took a flying leap towards it but at the same time the shade went for a flying leap and their fists met which made a percussion so strong some of the smaller branches cracked off the orchard's trees. They were both knocked back but ran back in fighting.
"What makes you think I don't care about him?" Buttercup yelled as the blows were exchanged.
"You fear his power, his intelligence and strength they are a threat to you." The shade responded as they both ducked and threw an upwards punch that intersected in mid-air, "It is the same with your 'friends' whom you envy in your heart."
"I don't envy them!" Buttercup said thinking deeply but still managing to roundhouse kick at the shade but once again the shade imitated and allowed the shockwave to break off some branches from around the orchard.
"Really?!" The shade asked mockingly, "Remember I am the darkest part of you, I see you staring at them every day, seeing them grow and become stronger. You think on how amazing and popular Bubbles is and how Blossom has become quite the leader. I see you watching them with envy in your eyes."
"You're wrong!" Buttercup yelled throwing her might into a straight punch, the shade did the same and the percussion ripped the branches off all the nearby trees, "True I can see where they are growing and getting better but I'm not jealous of that I just want to be like them and grow and become stronger myself." Buttercup said amidst a flurry of mirrored blows.
"Please, you hate them for what you can't become!" The shade said angrily
"No! I love them for what I am. I could have never made it this far without them they are what push me to become better and better every day. That's what friendship is about, not letting someone's success become your pitfall but letting that success become your checkpoint." Buttercup said confidently and slammed her hammer on the ground releasing a beam of green light from the base that went straight for the shade. The shade followed suit and the resulting shockwave ripped the bark off the nearby trees.
"You see them and they can't understand you, You know they don't know who you are truly!" The shadow Buttercup howled amidst a flurry of blows.
They knocked each other back a little winded from the extended battle. Buttercup panted and then got up and smiled, "You're right they don't know who I truly am but I don't know who they truly are. Friends don't always need to understand everything about you, they see you and accept your little oddities and still love you for them. That's what forgiveness is all about you leave the things you don't like and keep what you do, accepting your friends faults as they come and working together to become better together." Buttercup looked towards the golden sky of the evening, "I never thought that I'd be able to get along with girls like Bubbles and Blossom, they were always so girly laughing about fashions and boys. I never thought that they'd get along with a tom-boy like me always thinking about sports but as we worked together and fought together we learned that we didn't care what each other was like, we loved each other for who we were."
"Lies!" The shade said lunging forward, Buttercup didn't try to attack but just gently took a step back and the shade flew right past her. "You know they will always despise you for who you are!" the shadow Buttercup yelled
"No! I know no matter what they will always love me for who I am and that's because… we are truly best friends!" and with that Buttercup gathered her energy into her fists so much that streaks of lightning gathered around her hands and caused them to glow a bright green color.
The shade lunged towards Buttercup and Buttercup put her strength behind a punch that connected with the shade's fist and sent it flying back into a wall.
"Fine you want to use your power like that well then try this." The shade clenched its fists and drew darkness into itself forming a black mass around it that then focused it onto each of its hands.
"You don't realize it do you?" Buttercup asked shaking her head and smiling, "When I'm at my strongest I don't fight with just my powers," The shade flew up in the air and came crashing down with both fists, "I fight with the power of my friends!" With that Buttercup leapt upwards and a glowing green aura surrounded her.
Their fists met and the resounding shockwave shattered the trees into small slivers that fell littering the ground like mulch. As the air cleared Buttercup was standing over the downed shade panting a little.
"At one point in time I might have even been mad at you," Buttercup said looking down with a small smile on her face, "But now all I can do is pity you, you who will never realize the wonders of love and friendship, in the end my feelings are my greatest strength." With that the shade vanished and did not return. Buttercup returned to the door and stood there in a moment reflecting on the shade. "If you are truly a part of me," She thought, "Then let's be friends."
A weight seemed to lift off of Buttercup's mind and she reached for the door, opened it and walked inside.
Thanks for reading everyone, just so you know I am now also on under the same user name. I am posting a book that I am writing hopefully to be published in the future but I need feedback and ideas so if you'd like to see an original piece of work by me just head over there and check it out. Ultima S. Next Link Reborn!