| GCB Fanfics: Vs. Mode |
Vs. Mode - Zelda vs. Mega Man"Here we are, back in Zanzibar Stadium, for the final match of the second round. The ring has been repaired once again, and we should be in for a spectacular finish to what has been a set of battles that have all gone down to the wire." "The tournament officials really need a way to shift some of the repair costs to the competitors. I can't keep bailing them out every time," Lucca states. "Maybe for next year, but right now we need to see who will complete this year's Sweet Sixteen," Brock says just before loud cheers and a familiar theme signal Mega Man's entrance. "It seems the Mega Maniacs are out in full force to cheer on the Blue Bomber after Zero's fall to Sonic," Lucca notes. "In the last round, Mega Man survived a scare against the feisty Mr. Resetti. The boy robot is going to need a much better performance this time around, if he hopes to make a return trip to the third round." Zero stays by ringside as Mega Man jumps into the ring. "And who should be standing in his way but none other than the most graceful, the most gentle, and the most gorgeous girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!" The Song of Time, complete with Gregorian chants, announces the entrance of the princes of Hyrule with Link beside her. "Princess Zelda has quite a few fans here herself, and it's obvious why that's true." "Really? Is it her strong magic, her alter ego's athletic prowess, or the fact that she's the title character in a popular series?" Lucca asks, generally knowing how her partner will respond. "All of those are also good points, Lucca, but-" "Never mind, Brock. We all know what you look for in a girl..." As they make their way to the ring, Zelda glances over and notices a worried expression on her companion's face. "Is something the matter, Link?" He quickly turns to her in surprise. Link had hoped he wouldn't have to retell his vision to Zelda so as not to trouble her also, but he didn't intend to lie to her either. "Well," he begins nervously, "It's about this match..." "Link, I am glad you care for my safety," the princess says before the boy could continue after his hesitation, "But I am not as helpless as you think I am. I will be fine." Hearing those words, Link could do nothing but watch as she takes her time walking up the few steps into the ring and to her match. I know you're not helpless, Zelda, but I don't know if my vision will come true or not. If it does, you're more helpless now than ever. Link tries to shake such negative thoughts from his head and just focus on giving the princess his support, hoping beyond hope she will leave the ring as complete as she had just entered. "In another case of magic versus technology, this match is anyone's guess. Mega Man can pull any one of his wide array of sub-weapons out at any time, not to mention his own chargeable Mega Buster." "But Zelda is both a spell caster and a physical fighter. Power and speed, two sides of the same coin, there's no way she can lose!" Brock exclaims. Lucca rolls her eyes before she says, "We'll see if Brock's prediction is right as the final match of the second round is set to begin!" "Players, to your positions. Player 1, ready?" "Ready!" Mega Man says as he readies his arm cannon. "Player 2, ready?" "Ready," Zelda softly answers. "Combatants ready. Raise force barriers. Match 48, Zelda vs. Mega Man. 3, 2, 1... fight!" "Power's on; game's started! Both fighters start by moving away from each other and circling around the ring cautiously. It seems that neither wants to make the first move in fear of being severely counterattacked." "We've talked about the strength of these two characters, Brock. Mega Man's normal tactic is to find his opponent's weakness and exploit it mercilessly. Zelda doesn't have the physical strength to go toe-to-toe with anyone, so she either needs to transform to her speedier self or wait for a chance to show off her magical abilities. They're continuing their slow and deliberate movements, causing the crowd to grow a little restless..." "Tactics and strategy are important parts of any battle, but of course people watch a fight fro the action, which there hasn't been much of yet. It looks like things might pick up as Mega Man is charging up his arm cannon! Zelda, get out of the way!" "The Buster Shot is discharged, which the princess barely manages to sidestep. The boy puts up a Leaf Shield as Zelda goes on the offensive. She conjures a volatile red sphere and delivers it right at Mega Man, where it detonates right in his face and incinerates his Leaf Shield!" "Woo! Go Zelda!" "Briefly stunned, the Blue Bomber shakes the hit off and activates his Napalm Bomb. How is the Hylian princess going to counter that?" "Mega Man fires his weapon right at her, and after a few bounces it detonates, causing the area around poor, poor Zelda to be concealed in a dust cloud. How dare that boy attack a lady with heavy weaponry!" "Do you ever let up, Brock? It looks like Zelda was just hit with a devastating blow. The effect was dramatic, and we're waiting to see whether or not this match is over already. As the smoke clears, we see... nothing!" "Nooooo! That attack must have vaporized her!" "Mega Man looks shocked. He's probably wondering if that last attack really was too powerful for her. Ref-Bot is counting since she's not present in the ring, and the crowd has fallen deathly silent." "I've lost another beautiful girl to look at! Now how will I-" Brock is cut off as a loud cheer rose from one side of the arena. "What's going on? Why are they cheering?!" "Look over there!" Lucca points as the camera zooms to the far side of the stands. At the top of one of the staircases stands Princess Zelda, unscathed. "Incredible! She was able to teleport through the force barrier to safety." Lucca pauses. "How did she do that?! Oh, great. That means I have another glitch to fix..." "I'm so happy she's alive! Zelda teleports back into the ring, just in time to avoid disqualification and continue the match." "Pause for new rule," Ref-Bot commands. "Going past force barriers will result in automatic disqualification! Is that clear?" Both fighters nod, allowing the referee to continue. "Match 48, resume!" "Ok, let's really get this match started! Zelda backs away again and pulls out... an ocarina?" "Not just any ocarina, Brock. That's the Ocarina of Time! She's going to play a song, possibly to change the flow of this battle." Mega Man, the spectators, and everyone else listen as the princess of Hyrule plays a soothing melody, recognizable only to her and one other in the stadium. That's the song of... Oh, no! Link looks up to see dark clouds begin to form above the open roof of Zanzibar Stadium. Seconds later, he feels something touch his face just below his left eye. Raindrops... Zelda puts away the Ocarina, but the rain continues within the ring area. The spectators are safe from getting wet because of the force barriers, but not so for everyone inside. The princess played the Song of Storms. My vision... it's coming true! "By playing a song on the Ocarina of Time, Princess Zelda has summoned a rainstorm over the stadium," Lucca explains to those watching from home. "I'm not quite sure why though since Mega Man is known to be rustproof, as evidenced from the underwater battles he's fought against some of Dr. Wily's creations. She must have some sort of a plan, but what?" "Meanwhile, Zelda has changed clothes in the blink of an eye, becoming Sheik. Sure, she may have lost her alluring blue eyes for slightly disturbing crimson ones, but the tight-fitting outfit shows off her curves and especially her legs much better than her customary pink dress." "You don't sound nearly as attracted to her now, Brock. Trying to find a silver lining?" "Yes," Brock sobs, "I knew she was a girl before, but now, if I didn't know, I wouldn't be able to tell." "It doesn't matter to Mega Man as he starts firing Bubble Lead, but to now avail. Sheik is just too fast for the watery projectiles as she speeds toward her opponent." "An acrobat in almost everything she does, Sheik just used Mega Man like a pommel horse and did a handspring off his shoulders for some serious airtime. Don't try this at home, kids! Mega Man turns around to try and nail her in the air, but Sheik whips out her chain, and he gets wrapped up." Almost immediately after Brock's commentary, the Blue Bomber yells as he feels his inner workings begin to overload. "Not only that, Brock, but the ninja-wannabe adds some juice to that chain and is giving the boy a shock straight to his circuits! So that's what her plan was... Zelda summoned the rain in order to get Mega Man wet, so that her chain's electricity would have the desired effect, and the insulation in her outfit protects her from getting a dose of her own medicine. She's very clever. I'll give her that." "Admit it, Lucca. I don't think even you could have come up with that plan if you were down in that ring." The purple-haired scientist utters one word, which causes Brock to learn what a lit matchstick feels like. "Insulting my intelligence will get you burned, Brock..." Under the strain of electrocution, Mega Man searches deep through his memory banks, hoping to find a way out of his predicament. Electricity... Elec... Elec Man! The way I beat Elec Man was... "Cut Blade!" The scissor-like weapon shoots out of his Arm Cannon, severing the chain binding him and ending the flow of electricity in the process. "Mega Man cuts off Sheik's short circuit tactic with one of his oldest sub-weapons, the Cut Blade! The boy is putting good use to it now, sending it again at Sheik. Wow! That was too close. Sheik bent over backwards to dodge the blade, but the piece of cloth covering her face was sliced open, revealing the rest of her transformed visage." "But she still looks like a guy!" Brock laments. "Pardon my partner, please. Sheik goes back to relying on her speed." She's quick. Quick... Quick Man! I stopped Quick Man using... "But Mega Man looks like he's ready for her this time. How do you hit a fast moving object? Either you use a fast weapon or you stop the object, and Mega Man has both of these abilities. The Blue Bomber activates his Time Stopper!" "Sheik, Link, and Ref-Bot have been frozen in place, but we and the audience are safe because of the force barriers. That's fairly impressive, Lucca." "Actually, that's a bit of a relief. I wasn't even sure they could handle temporal distortions, but it looks like they can! I just need to find that other bug... Anyway, with Sheik not able to move, Mega Man is free to unload shot after shot of his Arm Cannon into her until his Time Stopper runs out of weapon energy." "Link and Ref-Bot look a little confused as to what just happened. All they know is one minute, Sheik was really moving, and the next she can barely stay on her feet. She uses what little energy she has left to turn back into Zelda. I'm guessing that she doesn't have what it takes to use her speed anymore, and she has to rely on her magic the rest of the way. But it was all going so well for her!" "The tables have turned, Brock. Zelda uses her teleportation to try to get behind Mega Man, hoping to give him an up-close taste of some of her shocking magic. The Blue Bomber has other plans though as he jumps before he is caught in her grasp and fires a Spark Shock straight down at Zelda! The princess's strategy has backfired as nothing protects her from the electrical payback Mega Man just dished out." "And so another girl has been defeated in the GCB," Brock blubbers as he wipes his eyes with a tissue. Link could only hear Zelda's piercing scream before she slumps to the floor of the ring. Disbelief is all that shows on his face, barely registering Ref-Bot's start of the ten-count. He could remember it all from his vision with startling clarity. The princess lies on the ground... with the rain steadily coming down... and the boy robot in blue armor standing over her. "Winner: Mega Man." "Hey, are you all right?" Mega Man asks as he reaches down to check on his fallen foe. As soon as he touches her hand, the boy robot knows he made a terrible mistake. His and Zelda's screams fill the air of the stadium as he jumps back clutching his hand, as if burned. "Ahh! My programming! No, don't activate now!" The boy robot knows he gains something new from everyone of his major opponents that he defeats, but even he knows this is going too far. The problem is that he had been taking weapons for so long that it had become a reflex for him. Clutching his hand, Mega Man yells, "Stop this! I don't want anything from her!" His declaration goes unanswered as Zelda falls silent and a golden triangle manifests itself above her. The Triforce of Wisdom seems to be drawn to him like a magnet as the artifact drifts slowly towards the Blue Bomber until it disappears into his metallic body. A new and mystical feeling begins to course through the Blue Bomber's circuits, overwhelming his logic components and forcing him to look at the back of his hand attached to his Arm Cannon. He now bears the emblem of the Triforce of Wisdom. "No..." Mega Man looks back at Zelda and then to Link. In that situation, he does what all confused boys do... Mega Man turns around and runs. "COME BACK HERE!" It had all come to pass before his eyes. With the Master Sword in his hand, Link gives chase before remembering the second part of his vision. He had something... no, someone more important to take care of first. Closing his eyes, the Hero of Time returns the Master Sword to its place on his back before taking the few hard steps to where Princess Zelda lay unconscious. As the sky darkens over the arena, Link kneels down next to his princess and holds her limp form tightly to him. Drops of water appear on her cheek, both from the rain and from the boy's tears. One thought replays itself over and over in his mind... This can't be happening... not to her... anyone but her... And in that one moment, all of the emotions he had been hiding, even from her, came rushing out. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Back |