Day One: Part 1

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#19 Ganondorf and #18 Link vs #13 Strazio Rockwell

Strazio Rockwell gripped the rotting limb in one hand as he hugged the side of the road. Just because he had been given a severed arm didn’t mean he wasn’t going to put it to some damn use.

Up ahead, Strazio saw a hulking figure walking almost casually down the street. Never one to balk away from the competition, the Defender of Darkshire casually walked up onto the road and turned to look at the man approaching him.

“Hello,” Ganondorf replied as he lifted a hand and waved it at the white-haired warrior. “I also enjoy an early morning walk down the streets.” The dark-skinned man with wild red hair flashed a smile and dipped his head at Strazio. “I’m Ganondorf, and you are?”

“Here to win,” Strazio replied bluntly as he tried to figure out where the man could be hiding a weapon on his person. Ganondorf’s bag certainly seemed to be bulging a little more than it should have but did that mean he was packing some serious heat or just a handful of coconuts? “You look familiar…”

“That’s flattering,” Ganondorf replied as he leaned over and let his bag slid from his shoulder to the ground. “But you seem like a man who is all about business, so why don’t we talk business then?”

The Defender of Darkshire dropped his own bag and rushed forward, gripping the severed Grecian arm like it was a sword made of the finest steel. He swung the appendage at the Gerudo’s bearded face, and it was with more a look of confusion than fright that Ganondorf hopped back to avoid the arc of the swinging ‘weapon.’ For a moment, the would-be King of the Dunes glanced at his bag, but before he had a chance to make a move for it, Strazio lunged at him again.

“Nice equipment,” Ganondorf muttered as he avoided another swing of the arm. Although the white-haired man was clearly trained in how to handle weapons, he was unable to swing the awkward, bending limb with the same finesse he would have with an actual sword. “You show great promise… you should seek me out at my home in the Dunes.”

Another! Another would-be king who wanted Strazio to kneel at his feet?

No.

“Not a chance!” Strazio bellowed as he slung the arm around his shoulder and threw out his palms. Ganondorf saw the flash the collar light but failed to make the connection before the bolt of white energy erupted from the other man’s extended palms. The force of the explosion was enough to drive Strazio backwards, which meant it was more than enough to stun the Gerudo King and hurtle him onto his haunches.

The light faded, revealing that parts of Strazio’s hands and arms were now dripping blood, as if he had sacrificed his own flesh into the attack.

“How does it feel to be humbled?” Strazio replied as he started toward the Gerudo, who remained on his backside. Actually…Ganondorf was smiling as the snarling warrior approached him. “What?”

“Why don’t you tell me how it feels?” The warlock replied as he pointed to something behind the Defender of Darkshire.

With a scowl, Strazio turned just in time to see the Hero of Time make a decision that, although many saw it coming, was still enough to stun anyone in the viewing audience who knew his past. Without a second thought, Link pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher, and a heartbeat later, the missile exploded at Strazio’s feet. As Ganondorf watched with a faint grin, a roasting figure flew over his head and slammed into the pavement.

The Gerudo king rose to his feet clapping his hands as Link walked over to him. “Your aim needs some work… that’s probably a little heavier than a wooden bow, isn’t it?”

Before Link could answer, the two allies both heard a hoarse cough from a few yards away, prompting Ganondorf to grin. “I think I could have been great friends with this guy.” The pair turned to see, oddly enough, Strazio Rockwell back on his own two feet. “This is the part where you run away.”

“Never,” Strazio barked as he started to walk toward the pair. With each step, the Defender of Darkshire’s scorched flesh burned away, leaving behind an endoskeleton of white-hot energy that radiated with enough light to guide in some lost ships. After a few steps, only a glowing white figure of pure anger remained. “Die.”

With a staggering speed, Strazio Rockwell shot forward and buried a burning fist into Ganondorf’s gut. The Gerudo kick let out a grunt, but before he could retaliate, a second hand grabbed him by the neck and threw him backwards. As Strazio pressed the attack against Link, his other foe hit the street and immediately turned to his bulging duffel bag.

As Ganondorf fiddled with zippers, Link ate a glowing white fist. A beat later, a severed arm swung down and smashed against the Hero of Time’s face, leaving behind a bruise and smear of centuries-old blood against the young warrior’s cheek.

“Friend!” Ganondorf shouted, prompting Strazio to spin to confront the Gerudo. The king was holding a large oblong sphere in his hand that radiated a beautiful shade of silver in the light of Strazio’s transformation. “This is where we part ways.”

Before the Defender of Darkshire could attack once more, the egg released a burst of light into the early morning sky, and in a matter of seconds, that mass of energy took a shape.

…the shape of a very large and very angry Silver Rathalos.

“What sorcery is this?” Strazio screamed as the dragon swooped down and smashed him into the pavement beneath one of its massive hands.

“Get rid of him,” Ganondorf commanded the creature, which responded by closing its clawed hand around the writhing, glowing body of its master’s foe. With a kick of its wings, the Rathalos took flight, leaving Strazio to angrily rip and tear at its hand as the pair ascended further and further into the sky. Each kick of its wings and every failed attempt to tear apart the monster caused the light of Strazio’s transformation to dull.

When they were high enough that a now un-transformed Strazio could see the entire island, the Rathalos released its grip, letting the defender of Darkshire plunge back into the Abyss.

[spoiler]Strazio Rockwell has widespread burns, and his left arm will be broken when he lands -- 1 minor and 1 major injury (+10 Damage)
Ganondorf has a some cuts and scrapes from the Overload blast -- Minor Injury (+2 Damage)
Link has a bruise on his face -- Story injury (+0 Damage)
Strazio Rockwell has used Overload (-2 SP) and Avatar of Anger (-1 SP)
Strazio has lost his bag (but not his 'weapon'), which can be taken by Link and Ganondorf
Ganondorf has used the Silver Rathalos Egg, which will remain inert for 24 OOC hours from the posting of this F2F[/spoiler]