THE SEQUEL IS HERE! So sorry for the enormous wait, but I'd re-written this thing about one hundred times, and just when I was happy with it, my internet connection decided to die. The joys of life, eh?
Moving on...well, there isn't much I can say, apart from a load of thank-yous to everyone who reviewed the last chapter of Impossible! There were so many of you, my mind literally exploded. Well, not literally, but you get what I'm on about. Thank you all so much- I appreciate every single one of you! :D
Moving further on, I hope that, despite its shortness, you enjoy the real finale :)
There's one thing that my life has taught me. One thing I can forgive it for.
What to do when you are on the brink. The brink of unconsciousness, the brink of life; when the world is milliseconds from slipping away.
Even if you're half-blind and you can feel the life ebbing from your veins, even if the pain is ripping you apart. Even if, as the world cracks before your eyes, you start to believe that it is too late.
You get up. You reach for the remainder of your life because in the end, what else can you do?
Of course it will hurt. Damn, I remember a time when I thought I would die right then and there, the pain was so bad.
But I didn't die. I woke up a month later to the news that I'd saved the population of an entire planet. Was it worth getting back to my feet? Looking back on it- yes. Of course it was.
So yeah. Don't give up. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?
Not today.
Samus wondered whether there had ever been a day like this one. Some days there had been mutated, blood-thirsting monsters on her every side. Some days swallowing the instinctive terror welling up in her gut had been enough to make her sick. Some days she had almost forgotten the sound of her own voice because there was simply nobody left alive to talk to. But no time had she wanted, truly wanted, to die.
Therefore, she realised, today was worse.
The room before her was pretty much empty, save for a couple of wires spewing from the machine inside and trailing off through the ceiling. The machine itself was nothing but a small pad fixed to the back wall, designed to send the smashers back to their own universes. On touch it was activated.
Once her fingertips reached the surface, it was over. The coordinates had been set. There was no returning.
Behind her, an army of smashers were waiting. If she so much as looked back, they would be there to prevent her escape.
This situation was like none other she had faced. There was no danger, but more than everything to lose. As soon as she felt tears begin to prickle at her eyes, she wiped them away, mentally cursing herself.
She was about to go over the brink. Better to leave before that happened.
Samus was set to leave by mid-afternoon. Zelda's bleary gaze went to the clock, which read something around two. She was past exhaustion- too weak to get up from her bed again and check whether the bounty hunter had left.
It wasn't long before her door was thrown open. As footsteps scuffed along to carpet towards her, she sank back into the pillow, allowing her to see who it was without requiring her to move too quickly. Despite this, she could have made a well educated guess as to what the person's identity might be.
Peach's bright appearance clashed cruelly with her mood. As soon as the Hylian noticed her, she turned her gaze down.
"Oh, Zelda. You look awful," the pink princess muttered.
"Do I?"
The blonde inched back, visibly stunned. "What's wrong?"
The Hylian's eyes, lost of all the life that had once occupied them, were suddenly staring up into hers. "You tell me."
"Are you suggesting...that I had something to do with last night?"
"I wasn't suggesting it. I know you did."
"But...I wouldn't-"
"You're disgusting. I cannot understand, for the life of me, why you would use Link: the man you loved, to avenge yourself," Zelda spat.
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Don't you? Perhaps you'd better ask Link why he told me otherwise."
Panic contorted Peach's features. "You spoke to him?"
"This morning. He was desperate to apologise, but he could barely talk because of the state he was in. I know everything. I know everything you said to him and everything you convinced him to do. I wouldn't describe him as easily lead, but it seems your cunning is too much. Who would have imagined it; you, the ringleader? You're such a liar. Such a disgusting liar."
"You've the nerve to speak like that to me? You had his love and you turned him away for what? A woman. A blunt, uncultured murderer who didn't deserve half of the love Link did!"
Zelda's voice quietened. "You can say all you want about Samus, but you're nothing...nothing in comparison to her."
Peach's mouth was left agape. Then, in the silence, her expression darkened. Zelda waited patiently until the blonde's hand suddenly came up to slap her. The Hylian raised a sparking fist before herself and shot a warning gaze up at the other woman. Peach stopped mid-movement and scowled.
"So now your twisted side comes through," Zelda snapped. "My last wish is to hurt you, but I fear I am the end of my tether. Use that cunning of yours and leave before you get what you deserve."
Peach's hand dropped to her side, shaking furiously. As much as she disliked it, she knew she was beaten. She smoothed out her dress and stalked back to the door.
"Samus has gone, by the way. I watched her," she said from the doorway. "She looked like she was going to cry."
Zelda didn't reply. Peach smirked and slammed the door behind her.
It was too bright. That was all Samus registered as she returned to her senses. Where was she again? Her ship- that was it. She opened her eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the stinging light.
But as she did so, she found that that she wasn't looking through the glass of her ship's front window at all. What stretched out before her was not the familiar array of buttons and levers of her vessel's interior, but something she hadn't seen for years.
A cloudless sky.
Unsteadily, the Princess of Hyrule hurried down the corridor. Her thoughts were somersaulting with uncontrollable anticipation. She could only pray nobody stopped her.
The teleportation room was close. It wasn't long before she reached it, clutching wearily at the door frame for support. Her migraine returned, striking like thunder. She leant against the wall for a moment, gasping rapid breaths. Just a couple more steps would take her home, but the pain was blinding. In amongst the hiss of white noise and the thrum of her heart, she picked up the sound of somebody approaching. There was fleeting second of panic, but then she looked back and saw the front of a dusty green tunic moving towards her.
Shaky arms came around her, and she sank into Link's hardened torso, returning the hug. His breathing was raspy and shallow above her.
"I...wanted...to say bye..." he struggled.
"How did you know I was leaving?"
"T-thought you might...came to check," he replied, sentences fragmented and painful, every pause filled with heaving gasps. She looked up at him, unable to hide the sympathy from her gaze. "I want to go too..."
"No," she said quietly. "You'll become seriously unwell if you leave now. Here you will have treatment sufficient to heal you, but the doctors in Hyrule are not qualified to deal with your condition."
"You know...that I'm sorry-"
"I swear Link, I'm not saying this because I do not want you to come with me. Honestly, I wish..." she sighed shakily, "...that things hadn't turned out this way."
"Same," Link said, raking his fingers gently through her hair. "You're too kind to me...what I did...wasn't forgiveable."
"Maybe not, but you're my friend."
"So cliché," he grinned, a smile that betrayed his misery. "But you're right," he released her, "That's why I need...to let you go."
He stepped back. Zelda closed her eyes, concealing the film of tears that clouded them. "I should help you get back to the medical bay first-" he cut her off with a shake of his head.
"I'll get...someone else. You need to go before you're...caught," he inhaled sharply. "You'll wait there for me?"
"Of course," she replied, wiping at the moisture under her eyes. She wrapped Link in a final embrace, whispering goodbye into his ear.
"Go," he rasped.
Zelda nodded and pulled away. Amongst the tired lines etched into his face, there rested a look of contentment- a new understanding. Satisfied, she turned away.
He left quietly. By the time she reached the panel, he had vanished from sight. Everything had been resolved- it was time for her to fulfil his request. Excitement, misery and ecstasy; Zelda could barely tell one from the other as she reached forward to press her palm on to the reader.
Samus wandered on across the field, treading lightly in her stupor. The land around her had been set alight under the glow of the evening sun. The air was rich with scents of summer, the grass was soft underfoot, and most strikingly of all, there was silence. Or at least, for a short while.
"Beautiful, is it not?"
Samus stopped at the foot of a nearby tree and looked up. Sheik was sitting on the topmost branch, gazing admiringly across the plain. The huntress blinked to confirm her existence, but in the split second her eyes had been shut, Sheik had dropped herself from her perch, landing centimetres away. She reached out, bandaged fingers curling around Samus' arm.
"Your eyes are mistrusting. You don't believe this is real, do you?"
"I...don't know."
"Then see for yourself," Sheik replied, tugging the bounty hunter's arm towards her. Samus quickly picked up on the action's purpose, and grasped the cowl covering the lower half of the Sheikah's face. It slid away, revealing a smile that could only have belonged one person.
"So it really is you," Samus breathed. Zelda appeared nervous.
"I changed to coordinates before you left so that you would come here, to Hyrule," the Hylian admitted. "I know I shouldn't have...but-"
"I've been dreaming of this place ever since you mentioned it to me- dreaming of living here with you. Zelda...I've never wanted anything else more in my life. What you've done for me...can't be repaid..."
"All I ask is that you stay," Zelda smiled, a little sheepishly, and opened her arms. The blonde flung herself into the embrace, pressing her lips onto the Hylian's with untamed affection. Samus Aran had finally found a home.
"I never wanted to go back to my own world. I knew if I went there, I would lose the part of myself that you had shown me."
Zelda, having dropped her disguise, glanced across at Samus. The pair had seated themselves on one of the land's vast bridges, staring out into the daunting, endless horizon. It was late now, and the sun lingered there, ready to drop away. Her lover's voice had fallen to a hush, but even at its level, Zelda could hear the triumph in it. She herself felt a little dazed, still trying to come to terms with how happy she was. For the moment she was content with just listening to Samus- with knowing that she was there.
"I understand that your world must not have been pleasant. Witnessing the technology at the mansion was odd, even frightening, I'll admit. I can't think how I might have coped if I had lived where you had."
Samus shrugged. "I guess technology isn't all that appealing, but I was born with it, so it never bothered me much. In fact, my ship and my suit mean a lot to me."
"I still don't know what you use them for, though I was quite entranced when I saw you for the first time, striding in, clad in that terrifying, brilliant armour of yours. In fact, I admired you."
Samus gave a rueful laugh. "I may look the business, but it isn't really an image to admire. Do you know why I wear that armour?"
"For something dangerous, I presume."
"I kill for money. I'm a bounty hunter: that means that saving people only happens if it's included in the description. It's not something to be proud of."
Sensing the other woman's bitterness, Zelda slid an arm around her shoulder. "I don't believe one word of that."
"It's true," Samus grunted.
"I meant about your intentions. I don't know much about what you've done, but I do know about you. I know that you can't sleep."
"And?"
"Insomniacs are insomniacs for a reason."
Samus sighed. "My last mission wasn't so good, that's all."
"You needn't tell me about it. I know that you won't forget, though. I know that even this new life won't be able to heal that look in your eyes."
"What look?" The bounty hunter appeared mystified
Zelda reached out and took the blonde's chin in her hand. She looked hard into the other woman's frosted pupils and sadness tugged at the corner of her mouth. Noticing this, Samus pushed the Hylian's hand away and took Zelda in her arms.
"It's OK," she whispered. "I'll be fine."
"I wished I had met you earlier," Zelda replied miserably. "There must be something I can do."
Samus kissed her head and nuzzled it. "You're ridiculously sweet, you know that?"
"I try my best."
The bounty hunter couldn't suppress a chuckle. "If you really want to do something to help, then stop worrying about me. I don't need sympathy, I need you to smile. When you're happy, I'm happy, because I love you, and I can't say how I great it is just to hold you and know that you're safe."
"And you say I'm the sweet one," Zelda muttered. "Oh, and I love you too."
"You'd better, otherwise I'm jumping off," Samus grinned, nodding the the edge of the bridge.
"You could try, but you'd be out of luck. The brink of this bridge isn't the end. Lake Hylia lies beneath; so deep that even jumping from this distance wouldn't cause you harm."
"There goes my plan. Sound like a nice place, though."
"I've been considering whether to set us up there, you know. It's pretty much empty, so no one would see you in that bizarre suit of yours and die from shock-"
"It isn't bizarre, it's practical!"
"Whatever you say. The point is that I can continue to rule my kingdom without having the trouble of hiding you at the same time."
"So that's where we're going to live?"
"Only if you think it's up to scratch. In fact, we can go and have a look now."
"I can't imagine how anywhere could better than this."
"You'd be amazed," Zelda said, wriggling out of Samus' grasp and striding to the bridge's edge. Magic sparked between her fingertips as she clicked them, summoning her Sheikah disguise again. She looked back, and Samus could see the excitement shining in her crimson pupils.
"Come on, then."
The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Wait...wait a minute...you're not planning on jumping down there, are you?"
"It's the quickest way, and the sun will be soon be gone."
"But if you jump, then I'll have to jump as well!" Samus cried.
"Of course. It's not as if you know the safer way yourself, is it?"
"You're supposed to be a princess. I though princesses were sensible!"
Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'm perfectly sensible, thank you very much. Now, unless you're scared-"
"Me, scared? You're kidding, right? I've jumped from far higher than this..." Samus scrambled to her feet and moved to Zelda's side. She looked down. Her face fell. "Well, maybe not quite as far..."
"Then I'll go first," the Hylian replied casually.
"But, what if-"
Before she could continue her protest, Zelda was gone. After a moment's anxious waiting, there was a faint splash, and she leaned over the edge in time to see the water leap and the lithe, miniature form of Sheik quickly resurfaced from the depths of the lake. It rippled it the setting sun, strangely appealing, as if it were awaiting her.
"The things I'd do for you..." Samus muttered, and threw herself into the hands of fate.
So there we have it- the end. I really hope to hear some more feedback, although you've all been extremely helpful already. I'm considering setting up a new community and posting a new (hopefully a long-term) SamusXZelda fic, amongst others, so if you liked this, then watch this space! I have a very dark plot in mind, for anyone who likes that. Probably won't be M rated, though...
Anyway, thank you all again for reading, and I guess I'll see some of you people soon-ish :D