Smash City Mall North - The Odd Couple

[Vize Viper]

It seemed the ends of the mall had taken less damage than the rest of the facility, which was a small blessing, otherwise the casualties would have been far higher...

But it also meant a bit of a walk.

"-which contains the plasma in the shape of a blade, while still letting it cut through matter. ... Make sense?"

A long walk Zero was using to explain how his Z-saber worked to the OTHER blonde swordsman walking with him. He wasn't sure where that pink thing... Kirby, Link had called it, had gone, but...

He really couldn't care less. As long as it wasn't thinking he was food again.

[Stoney]

Link was giving Zero a bewildered stare as the swordsman finished up. "Um...I understood the word 'blade'..."

He knew that This World tended to host some strange creatures, but this man seemed to be taking the cake. What with his talk of circuits, antimatter, plasma, energy envelopes and static charges (all things he didn't understand), the explanation was about as effective as describing nuclear fusion to a fish. (Which Link might as well have been, when it came to that subject.)

The Hylian sighed at last, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "You know, if you really wanted to keep your techniques secret, you could've just said so instead of making all that stuff up. It's not like I would've been offended or anything, I wouldn't want swords like that in the hands of every curious onlooker either."

He took a moment to unsheathe the Master Sword, letting its sacred glow bathe their surroundings in soft light. "Just like my own sword. I can't imagine how quickly my last adventure would've ended if there had been one of these in the hands of every enemy. Of course, that's disregarding how the sword repels evil, making it impossible for monsters to hold...plus how most of the monsters were made of shadow and the sword is infused with light, making it twice as deadly..."

He was rambling. Link took a deep breath to get back on topic. "But you don't have to lie to me to make up for it. Just say 'it's advanced magic and I can't say any more about it'. I'm okay with that."

He paused for a moment, gaze wandering back and forth between his sword and Zero's. A smirk suddenly crossed his face as he realized; no matter how strong Zero's magic was, the Master Sword was crafted with the blessing of the Goddesses themselves. It was still superior.

Not that such a fact was of particular importance to him; he never put much stock in pride, always finding it more of a weakness than a strength. But, well, it was a modestly flattering thought to behold.

"I tell ya what. If you want to explain things to me in a way I'll really understand, then help me do a little test." He raised the sword up into a vertical position between them, its gleaming surface reflecting Link's face back at him. "If your sword doesn't break immediately when I hit it with the Master Sword, then I'll know exactly how tough it is."

Chances were high that Zero's sword would break. You don't oppose the will of the Goddesses and walk away unscathed. But Link figured that a mage of Zero's obvious skill could get a replacement easily. And if not, well, he'd just have to help the man get one, learning how to make such a sword in the process. Win-win, really.

[Vize Viper]

The reploid hiked an eyebrow as he glanced over at Link, and the Hylian's glowing sword.

His glowing... METAL sword. Must have some kind of energy bubble around it. He'd seen similar weapons before. And he wanted to test this thing against his Z-Saber?

"Sure. Why not?"

The red Hunter grinned, a smile that explained his nickname as the "Crimson Demon", as he drew his Z-Saber, the blade appearing with a snap-hiss of energy sizzling the air. Stopping, he then turned to the other blonde, bringing his sword up and leveling the blade almost parallel with the ground, pointed at Link.

"En garde."

[Stoney]

Link stopped walking and turned to fully face Zero. "All right then!"

That smile was more than a little unnerving, and truth be told Link questioned whether this was a wise idea for a split second. But he didn't carry the Triforce of Courage for nothing; he quickly steeled himself and raised his sword. "We don't need to try anything fancy; I'll perform an attack and you try to block it, okay? No parrying or countering or anything like that, I just wanna see how that sword of yours holds up."

He lifted the Master Sword in his left hand, holding the right one up and close to his chest; he was actively resisting the urge to use his shield, and the hand felt empty and naked as a result. He did his best to ignore it.

Deep breath. "Here goes!"

Link took one step forward, launching off that foot as he swung the Master Sword down in a vertical slice. Midway through the motion his right hand joined the left one in gripping the sword, turning it into a double-handed swing with extra offensive force.

The Master Sword exploded into brilliant light as it was swung, as if it sensed the need for its full power and responded accordingly. Link aimed for the Z-Saber, sending a silent prayer to the Goddesses that Zero was indeed as skilled in swordplay as he appeared and that the Reploid's hand wouldn't get cut off in the next two seconds.

[Vize Viper]

To any human, that swing would seem intimidating, but to Zero, it was just a sequence of trajectories that he calculated, and responded to.

Although that wasn't important to him. It was the RUSH that could pass for Reploid adrenaline as his sword shifted position, and met the holy weapon with his own saber, the plasma blade letting out a squeal of protest as the unfamiliar energy around the Master Sword interacted with the Z-Saber.

That's... not a GOOD sound. The reploid's eyes narrowed, as he held his ground, while beyond the sound coming from his saber, the only sign of strain on the weapon was the blade glowing almost white where Link's weapon had met it.

[Stoney]

Link braced his feet and leaned forward, pitting his weight against Zero's as they locked swords for a moment.

The Hylian was astonished by this outcome: Zero's weapon had managed to hold up and didn't crumble under the Master Sword's strain like he'd thought it would. Although, he unknowingly agreed with Zero that the sound coming from it couldn't possibly be a good thing...

The Reploid was about as movable as a mountain, too. Link could tell right away that it would take far more than his own body weight to shove Zero off-balance. If they were truly fighting in a contest of strength, he would be completely outmatched.

...Reminded him a bit of Ganondorf, actually...

The Master Sword was pulsing brightly, its glow matching that of the stars in the sky...or maybe the fires of Death Mountain Crater. Or maybe the fractal shadows on the ocean floor cast by its surface. Or maybe the golden streams of sunlight pouring through the forest canopy...

Link blinked, realizing he'd gotten distracted by the ever-changing hues surrounding the sword. He frowned at the arcs of electricity crackling over the junction where his sword met Zero's. That didn't look good at all...

Finally deciding that it was probably a good time to stop, Link pushed off of Zero's blade and jumped backwards, putting some distance between them. "Okay!" He spokee, sheathing the Master Sword and taking a deep breath. "I've seen enough. Thanks for your help, I..." He trailed off, blinking in confusion at the Z-Saber which was wildly flickering now. "...Um...is it supposed to do that?"

[Vize Viper]

The reploid took a step back, and glanced at his Z-saber, blinking in confusion, The Z-Saber was supposed to be able to function for almost 12 hours without charging through regular use... and it had JUST been recharged. Somehow, the strain of going against the Master Sword had DRAINED its stored battery power.

What kind of sword WAS that thing? Looking up at Link, Zero shrugged, deactivating the weapon, and mounting it back on his shoulder.

"Yeah, it's fine, it just needed to recharge it's batteries."

[Stoney]

Link, as expected, gave Zero a look suggesting the Reploid had grown a second head. Which was now reciting Shakespeare. While drunk. And wearing a lampshade.

"...Recharging its wha?" He shook his head. "Never mind. I'm frankly surprised it's still working at all. the Master Sword was forged with the blessing of the three Goddesses and generally treats other swords like warm butter." He scratched the side of his head and adopted a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps it was because the sword isn't metal, per se..." he shrugged. "Regardless, I now know that even though the Master Sword's magic is stronger, I shouldn't underestimate your spells."

There was a sneaking suspicion in his mind...a suggestion so alien that he was paying no mind to it, but it was gaining strength after what he'd just seen.

Maybe...maybe that sword wasn't magic after all...maybe the Reploid's explanation had been more than mere nonsense...

Link shook the questions out of his mind as he went to give the Reploid a hearty slap on the shoulder, then thought better of it and settled for a friendly pat instead. "Come on, then. You went through that great big explanation about your sword, so I guess it's my turn now."

He turned to resume their walk, pulling out the Master Sword one more time. As expected, their brief exchange left no scratches or scuffs marring its surface. "It all began hundreds of years ago back in my homeland of Hyrule, during a time of great strife and war..."

[Vize Viper]

Zero decided to keep his explanation to himself about what exactly a battery was, his hands ending up behind his back as he resumed walking next to the Hylian. Of course, once Link STARTED his explanation of the Master Sword, only one thought went through his mind.

Oh god. History lessons.

But, to his credit, Zero did EXACTLY what he did when X started something like this...

Smiled. And nodded.