*Noctis is in his evil lair. Inside is the prisons that hold the fighters he took captive. And outside is the AAA Stadium--for this takes place in a room deep inside.*
Noctis: So as you can see, Link, I have you perfectly trapped. You and the others are completely twisted in place by my indomitable plans!
Link: . . .
Noctis: I can understand your silence. After all, I am the Dark Bear of Revanda, the most confusing and perplexing professor that ever was! MacBlank will rue this day, mark my words. None could ever see this coming!
Link: . . .
Noctis: Ah, but I see, you're trying to defy me by being silent. No more! *Whacks Link with his Cane*
Link: . . .
Noctis: What is this? You still will not talk? So be it! I will teach you who's truly in control here!
*Noctis powers up his cane, causing a blue glow to fill the room.*
Noctis: Now you see! I have all the cards here. You will... wait... what is that?
*Noctis peers closer at Link*
Noctis: No... no no no! This cannot be! You are not him! You are... Dark Him!
*The light exposes exactly how evil this Link is, as the Link covers his blood red eyes and hides away from Noctis' cane.*
Noctis: How could I be deceived? Who could possibly have pulled such a foul trick on me? Why am I speaking to a person who can't speak back as if they're going to reply at any moment? Why? Why? Whyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!
*A familiar plumber interrupts Noctis by hitting the walls of his prison with a certain hammer, even if it is rather in vain*
Noctis: What?
Mario: *Silently holds up his hand as if to say something*
Noctis: Silence, you!
Mario: *Shakes his head and jumps up and down, then stomps on a plate of strange looking pasta that was in the cell with him*
Noctis: Bah! I'll just have to leave this room so you can't annoy me anymore! My EVIL plans will continue with or without Link... although I have to say, Mario, you've lost a lot of weight from what I remember.
Mario: *Spins in place and hammers the bars again*
*Noctis stomps out, slamming the iron plated door behind him.*
(Evening in the Superpower offices. Digifanatic folds his hands behind his head, trying to sort out remaining business on his computer, still flustered by the recent events. Outside fans are filing out from after Lanos' dramatic entrance.)
Digi: What a mess...fighters bolting the Stadium, my fellow Superpowers are all bringing their own baggage in, and I'm just trying to be the guy that keeps going.
???: And it keeps getting worse.
Digi: Huh?
*Zero shows himself, taking a cloak off.*
Digi: Oh.
Zero: Noctis has kidnapped several fighters! Although to be honest, I'm not entirely sure which ones. He said he kidnapped Link, but Link is right here. And the same with Mario...
Digi: Oh boy.
(He writes down some notes on a piece of paper.)
Digi: Seriously, why can't I just not be dragged into anything? (sighs) Just one match, just one match. All we need is some honor around here.
Zero: Matches are certainly important, but we're going to need to address these Mavericks attacking us sometime.
Digi: Well... I'll get to it, but first... we have to do this match. We can't just spend all of our time constantly dealing with supervillainy. There's a Stadium that has to be run.
Zero: Right. I'll try to get some more help while you do that. Have to keep the lights on, I guess. Best of luck with that. *Zero warps out*
(He nods to himself, getting off from his seat and walking to his door, hand thoughtfully on his chin.)
Digi: Right... I know just the match to do.
(Cut to the next day, outside of the Stadium. Digi is accompanied by Princess Zelda and Link, the group all contemplative of the situation at hand.)
Digi: Princess, warrior, for the good of everyone that deserves some order and peace for once, I offer the two of you a match in the arena and rules of your choosing.
Zelda: And perhaps it's best that we do everything we can to keep them thinking the best.
Link: And show that we never give up either.
Digi: Indeed. A grand exhibition is what we all ought to have.
Zelda: We have to accept the offer, there's no other use waiting here until something worse happens.
Digi: Ready for anything. Is there anything special we can arrange for you two?
Link: As a way to remind everyone where we all come from and who we fight for, we should duel on several of our arenas.
Digi: A small series?
Link: (nods) One life at a time.
Zelda: I am not afraid of such a bold decision. There are many places Link and I have been throughout our years, and that is how it shall continue to be, as long as fate tell us so. Life and death always in the balance.
Digi: I understand, and I wouldn't let anything get in the way of what you two would like.
(Link bows to Zelda)
Link: For Hyrule, and for the Stadium.
(Zelda holds her hands together)
Zelda: And for our honor.
(And now to the match itself.)
Digi: If there is ever a time where solace may be rightfully deserved, today is one of those days. Princess Zelda and Link have agreed to a best-of-five series spanning the many regions of their homeland, starting off in Great Bay and moving to other arenas on the loser's choice until someone has won three matches. This is surely going to be a test of their fighting styles and a way to prove their honor for all of us around. And with me is someone who always has a word to say about honor. Your take, Meta Knight?
Meta Knight: As a swordsman, I am very eager to see how Link fares against his ally, the lady of Hyrule. With her magical abilities, it reminds me very much of my rivalry with Kirby.
Digi: But a friendly rivalry it is, and I imagine no ill will be had between our fighters when all is said and done.
Meta Knight: If anyone dares to interrupt this match, they certainly won't be splitting sides. We will all fight together.
Digi: That it is. Link and Zelda are teleporting into the bay, and it's time to get the first match going.
Meta Knight: As is customary for honorable matches, both Link and Zelda have bowed to eachother before fighting. And like that, Zelda begins the match by throwing a Din's Fire at Link. Link uses his shield to block it and quickly shoots an arrow back at Zelda, while walking towards her. Both of them are currently on the topmost platform facing eachother.
Digi: Zelda takes advantage of Link's pace, grabbing him and palming a magical burst before letting him go, but he's coming back by hitting her with a boomerang. He catches it midjump and stabs her from above, jumping over to the turtle's island!
Meta Knight: Farore's Wind guides her to fight with Link once again, where she dances several shots around him, transforming to Sheik while he's dazed. Now she stabs Link with a needle, trapping him on the small island, making it harder for him to use his projectiles.
Digi: He does manage to throw a bomb at her, apparently willing to take part of the blast himself! It's still early on, he's got plenty of chances to keep it going as he slashes her again.
Meta Knight: Sheik gets up and attacks Link again by using her chain, shocking Link and knocking him off-base with the medium-range attack.
Digi: Still might be early for a knockout blow. Link throws down another bomb, leaping back to the observatory knowing the turtle's about to go underwater...and Shiek's going to make it back too.
Link: Hanging around, huh?
Sheik: Don't think I've forgotten to stay on your pace.
Link: Well, let's see if you can keep up with this.
Meta Knight: And Link has leapt towards Sheik and is trying to go in for the kill with a downward stab attack!
Digi: She's hit but she does manage to teleport back to the edge with little room to spare! Wonderful recovery, but Link saw it coming as he charges a slash and sweeps her away for the first kill.
Meta Knight: Link puts his sword away and tips his cap to the crowd...the arena has not changed yet, but Sheik is still coming back to congratulate him.
Digi: Maybe she wants a second chance on Great Bay?
Sheik: (nods to Link) Well done... (offers him a Heart Container and then her hand)
Link: Thank you. Don't think I'm not watching your back.
(Link absorbs the heart and takes Sheik's hand as she teleports them off Great Bay in a poof of smoke. The arena blurs and fades for a moment before remerging as the Pirate Ship.)
Digi: Nope, she's taking it to the high seas for the second match, charging in and kicking Link around twice.
Meta Knight: I'm not so sure this arena is good for Sheik...it's quite small so Link doesn't have to chase her down as hard. But she's continuing to kick and punch at him.
Digi: He gets one back at her, though, stabbing her directly in the air, chasing after her with the Spinning Sword Jump to keep her juggled.
Meta Knight: Sheik teleports underneath Link and slashes him once with her chain! She's got him dazed as she tosses him into the stern of the ship.
Digi: And here comes the cannon fire! Link is hit and Shiek just rolls to the side. They're definitely surprising us in this match of the series.
Meta Knight: What colorful bursts, they must be careful not to be distracted. Link walks out of the explosion and grabs Shiek through the smoke. He swipes and tosses her off the bow, just grabbing back on afterward.
Digi: And Link pulls out a bomb, throws it at her as she gets back up but she rolls out of the way, and the bomb falls into the water.
Meta Knight: Sheik kicks Link backwards as he now perches on the bow of the boat, careful not to fall off.
Digi: Link managing to stay onboard as well, tossing another boomerang. Sheik gets back up quickly, but steps away from him more.
Meta Knight: Link runs in but she teleports right through him, grabbing him from behind and throwing him onto the deck.
Digi: That's probably not the plan he had in mind...
Meta Knight: And there's the smash! Shiek has sent Link into the skies and to his first loss.
(Link drops back down onto the deck of the ship, crossing his arms at Shiek)
Link: Not bad...but I do know something you don't.
Shiek: You think you can outsmart me?
Link: Perhaps not, but do you know anything about truly fighting on your home turf?
(The two are sent off to the original Hyrule Castle arena.)
Digi: Well this is a surprise! This was Link's old arena, long before the princess joined the Stadium! The fight is back on, Link surprising Shiek in her new surroundings by giving her a knee and reeling her in with the hookshot.
Meta Knight: Shiek gets up quickly, though, and kicks Link several times, at least until Link strikes back with a heavy sword swing that sends Shiek flying backwards.
Digi: I'm sure Link is looking out for the tornadoes, and I don't know how much Shiek knows about them. Either way, none have popped up yet. Link throws her off the edge and now he's got her in the corner on stage left.
Meta Knight: Link continues to gracefully sworddance around Shiek, who rolls out of the way after three quick slashes. She slashes Link in return with her chain before jumping on top of the arch to transform back to Zelda.
Digi: She's trying to get herself some breathing room, jumping back to the center while Link pulls out another bomb.
Meta Knight: Zelda charges a magical burst, Link throws the bomb, and she uses the burst to detonate it away from her.
Digi: And one more shot with a partial charge, that one singes Link's head!
Meta Knight: They now meet up under the floating platforms, trading close physical blows. Zelda smashes Link upwards, and looks to be following him up.
Digi: But Link stabs her right back down onto that first platform as he regains his senses. A tornado's swirling around towards the stage right edge of the center, will he take advantage?
Meta Knight: He throws Zelda to that side, but she's able to use Farore's Wind to avoid the tornado, and now she's on the slanted platform!
Digi: But with her not attacking Link, that gives him a free chance to jump over the tornado.
Meta Knight: Merely an obstacle in their fight.
Digi: Yeah it is, it's already petered out as they continue to scrap on the side. Link throws his boomerang again, but Zelda has the reflex to summon Nayru's Love and deflect it!
Meta Knight: Her defenses have been strong in this match, but Link has been powerful enough to fight his way through them--just like that, with another spinning sword move!
Digi: That sends Zelda off the edge, but she makes it back. This time, Link runs in and throws another bomb, which sends them both flying in opposite directions, and Zelda's knocked out!
Meta Knight: A brave attack by the hero, and I hope it's one the princess respects...
Digi: This time the arena becomes...Hyrule Temple...and they're really far apart.
Meta Knight: Link is on the top platform and Zelda is on the bottom one. Zelda is warping towards him, though.
Digi: Link has pulled out yet another bomb.
Meta Knight: Zelda won't let him throw it, though. She warped up and did a spin-kick to his face, making him stop holding it.
Link: Ow! I thought you said we were going to fight with honor!
Zelda: Oh come on, the bomb is still there. Am I supposed to just stand around?
Digi: And Link swings his sword in anger at Zelda, only to be blown up by his own bomb. Bravo.
Meta Knight: Zelda is chasing after him as he flies to the left...
Digi: But he slashes her out of the way, now looking at the platfoms above him, trying to figure out how to continue handling her.
Meta Knight: It's not going to be easy to just knock either one out with the size of the arena, as Zelda kicks him from above.
Digi: Link stumbles a bit getting back to his feet as Zelda swipes him again, but now she's jumping off the side...hoping she can lure him to those platforms on the bottom.
Meta Knight: She must be careful to not fall underneath the arena herself! But she has her descent under control, teleporting to the bottom platform.
Digi: And Link is back on his feet, perhaps trying to figure out the best way down without leaving himself open to anything Zelda may use.
Meta Knight: I see her moving down there at the platform. She appears to be turning into Shiek again.
Digi: Link is rushing down, due to the perceived opportunity to attack.
Meta Knight: He's too slow though. He's just gotten hit in the face with a single needle.
Digi: Well, he's gotten up and shot an arrow at Shiek, keeping his distance.
Meta Knight: Now Shiek has been hit by the arrow, but Link's still moving around... he's hanging from the ledge.
Shiek: What's the matter, can't get any closer?
Link: After last time, I'm not going to fall for any of your tricks.
Shiek: Suit yourself.
Digi: Shiek quickly climbs up the platform and hits Link, knocking him over, then runs past him to the left.
Meta Knight: But Link's gotten up faster this time and grabbed Shiek with the hookshot!
Digi: Now he throws her down into the gap next to the island, but she teleports back on!
Meta Knight: Shiek kicks Link up into the low ceiling and slashes him with her chain once more.
Digi: But he steps back and quickly fires an arrow at her. Not enough to hurt her a lot, but it throws her off her rhythm
Meta Knight: Now it's his turn to smash Shiek into the ceiling with his sword!
Digi: Incredible job between these two, Shiek ducks and punches at his legs, and Link bounces back after the hit.
Meta Knight: Shiek takes the opportunity to hit him one more time, then teleports towards the center of the bottom layer for some more breathing room.
Digi: That may be best for them both...they share a glance and a nod to each other before Link runs in, flinging his boomerang.
Meta Knight: And now Shiek has thrown his needles into the boomerang, blocking it entirely.
Digi: Link hits Shiek with another slash but Shiek techs off of a wall and leaps at Link, using his Shiekaport to launch Link flying towards the left edge.
Meta Knight: Link climbs back up... ...but gets nailed by one of Shiek's kicks and is sent flying off of the stage to his doom!
Digi: No he doesn't! He just makes it back on again! And this time he's much quicker to jump back onto the platform, stabbing Shiek once more before she can attack.
Meta Knight: That must not have been a direct hit! Shiek grabs him and throws him into the corridor above the platform, as he bounces hard off the ceiling.
Digi: They meet once more as Link descends and Shiek jumps up, and there's a meteor smash from Link! Shiek is now the one that drops into the gap, and she will not make it back up. Game, set, match.
BY A SCORE OF 3-1, THIS SERIES' WINNER IS LINK!
(Link looks around the temple for a moment, tipping his cap to the audience as the arena flashes bright white, reforming back to its default platform. During this time, Shiek reappears on a revival platform, jumping off and transforming back to Zelda in mid-air, then stepping over to Link.)
Link: Zelda. (nods to her)
Zelda: Well done. I wish I could have kept up, but this was what we needed to do.
Link: And thank you for sparring with me.
(Digi walks over to them as they are ready to head off of the platform.)
Digi: Glad to see you two enjoying things. Link, how did you feel about fighting a series of matches like this, knowing Zelda had plenty of ways to slow you down?
Link: It wasn't a problem at all! At least it wasn't like having to fight off all of Ganondorf's forms...
Zelda: (laughs a little) Don't you start comparing me to him.
Link: Everything's okay right now, though.
Zelda: Yes, but we may be needed again whenever someone else is ready to threaten us.
Digi: (nods) Do you have anything else to say, Link?
Link: I just hope everyone thought we fought each other hard and fair. You might even say we did it because we care about each other, and if we put that aside, we wouldn't be fighting together.
Digi: That's always good to hear. Zelda, any thoughts from you?
Zelda: Don't let anyone think I lost this because I didn't know how to fight on my own castle well enough. I never got thrown around by any of the tornadoes, after all.
Digi: That's true, we noticed that.
Zelda: And it's tough to be a long range fighter once you get stuck on the bottom level of the temple.
Digi: Anything you'd have liked to do differently?
Zelda: Considering I transformed as soon as I made it down there, I fought the way I needed to. I just wasn't quick enough to keep him down when I knocked him off.
Digi: Understand completely. Thanks for your time, we'll be looking forward to see you and Link fighting again, Princess.
Zelda: Thank you very much.
Digi: Welcome.
(Later that day, in the hallway)
Digi: Did you enjoy helping out today?
Meta Knight: As much as I prefer being in the fight, it was good to study them and appreciate what we still have from another side.
Digi: Definitely. I know I probably don't have much left to do before I plan on getting out of here, but as long as we don't lose any more fighters, that's the most I'm worried about.
Meta Knight: You and Metal Man have been working together for a while, are you worried about the control you'd be leaving to him?
Digi: Aside from how eccentric he is, he does know how to run things. Maybe not in the most common sense of manners, but he does.
Meta Knight: I see.
Digi: Once you figure it out, you go with it.
Meta Knight: Do you have any other advice for all of us staying around?
Digi: (tilts his head for a moment) Nah. You've made it this far, I think you'll all be fine.
*A large room. Filled with lights and metal-and-glass desks. Much like an NFL news broadcast desk. Three people sit there, reviewing the match between Link and Zelda. But they aren't from the SSS...*
Iron Man: You know, I wish people would stop redoing the same match over and over again. I'm pretty certain Link has fought Zelda like, a thousand times. Couldn't they have at least given them bazookas?
*A man in a white labcoat sits there, writing down formulas. He looks up and adjusts his glasses, with his 'Bruce Banner' ID pass still stuck to his coat.*
Bruce Banner: Tony, why don't you take off the suit? Nobody's going to attack you here.
Iron Man: There's this... crazy man... he attacked me once, we tried to crush him in the trash compactor and... somehow his little friends saved what wreckage remained.
Bruce Banner: You should really relax, Tony. If anything really bad happens, well, the other guy can just take him out.
Iron Man: But 'the other guy' will probably take out the entire AAA Stadium too.
Bruce Banner: That's why you should stop antagonizing those people. They don't really pose a threat.
Iron Man: But how can you be so sure? They have the main Stadium, that one, uh, the horse guy ran, the one the weird stupid people on this planet really considered the best one? We ended up with the one that was a doomed expansion league that shut down a while ago.
Bruce Banner: But what does it matter when they're mostly out of people? I mean, it seems like half of their audience is just paid to be there, and their fighters have been going missing....
Noctis: *Chimes in* But of course! All according to my plans!
*Tony and Bruce stare at Noctis like he suddenly grew a third arm.*
Iron Man: What did you do?
Noctis: I kidnapped their most important fighters!
Iron Man: *sighs* We don't WANT those fighters, they're all overused. Now I'm going to have to have my lawyers work overtime to claim they accidentally got trapped in here.
Bruce Banner: Seriously, what is up with you and that strange outfit? We're men of science here, not British Nobility.
Noctis: But-but... but this is what we need to do! To be evil and show them how powerful the Dark Side is!
Iron Man: Look, I know there's an outside chance some sort of weird stuff from a place long long ago, far far away might encounter me and the Avengers some time, but I'm trying to put that off as long as possible. So if you could please... not bring it up in front of me...
Noctis: But... but... I caught Dark Link!
Bruce Banner: Wait... I thought you caught their most important fighters?
Noctis: And... uh... there's a Mario made out of paper!
Iron Man: *Slowly facepalms*
Noctis: It's all my evil plan, you know? We'll surely beat them now!
Iron Man: Look, Noctis, it's nothing personal, but if you do anything that stupid again, you're fired.
Noctis: WHAT?
Iron Man: Part of the reason me and Bruce here have done so well is we've done away with the whole... monocle-wearing villain thing.
Noctis: *Gasps as his monocle falls off and shatters on the floor*
Iron Man: So you're going to need to stop wearing British Nobility outfits, and you're going to have to stop the weird evil plans. Otherwise we'll personally imprison you in that dank fortress you secretly built in our basement.
Bruce Banner: Besides, that was intended to hold me when I get out of hand. If you fill it up with a bunch of strange weirdoes, then no one will be able to contain me when I get angry.
Noctis: But I love when you get angry!
Bruce Banner: NO YOU DON'T. *Smashes the table so hard it breaks* ....Sorry, I have to excuse myself before something... bad happens. *Walks away*
Iron Man: Just a little advice from a modern millionaire to a victorian one: don't give the little guy a reason to hate you. Then nobody will cry when you die, and you'll end up like Seraphis the Loser Horse at Super Stupor Stadium did.
Noctis: *Gasps again* But... but everyone loved Seraphis!
Iron Man: Nobody but your world's piddly little nobodies cared about that dumb horse. Even Metal Weirdo got more name recognition than that thing, and that Metal Man nutcase was horrible! You people just have to be educated to know that the world doesn't revolve around horses and ninjas. It's about science, technology, and lasering bad guys into tiny molten bits! ...So seriously. Take that damn top-hat off before I BURN it off.
Noctis: *Timidly removes the hat*
Iron Man: And find some clandestine way to release or remove those people you kidnapped! I don't have the money to deal with any more wrongful imprisonment suits after that entire incident with the Metal Maniac the other day. Would you know he had over ten insurance policies covering that? I sure didn't. The lawyers are inundating my inbox and I don't have infinite money to pay them off with. So scram!
Noctis: Y-yes, Tony. *Walks off shamefully*
Iron Man: Sheesh. He should know better. I only wear my top hat for special occasions. And even then, it's white, and it's not evil looking. He needs to learn how it's done. With a lot of computer generated effects and an all-star cast of ultimate fighters! Not with a bunch of... confusing shenanigans the Hardy Boys are going to figure out after reading tea leaves. That's entirely the wrong century for this gig.
???: So Tony, when do I get to show up and talk to the others?
Iron Man: *Glances to the figure in the robe* Not yet, we need you to wait for a big public splash. Plus I have to clean up the mess Dark Bum over there created.
???: Just don't keep me waiting too long. I'm afraid there's plenty of other people bidding for my services...
Iron Man: Don't worry, it'll be worth it. Just don't break any bones, I don't think I can replace those without a proper 3D scan of your body.
???: Oh... I have that covered.
Iron Man: Good, because my health insurance policies for my people is expensive enough when a lunatic starts shooting radioactive lasers at them. *Walks out*
???: Heheheh... as if I have to worry about dying... *Walks away as well*