Note from the Author: I won't start this thing with a wall of text expressing my feelings over the whole ordeal. That can wait for the end of the fic. I'll just open this by saying that this is for JSparks and, to a lesser extent, for everyone else that got involved.
Toon Link and Red, the Pokemon trainer from Kanto, were just returning to the Smash Compound after an intense brawl on the day of the incident. It had been a hot day and the battle in question was arguably hotter as the pair of children had to face off against two other teams: Marth and Ike as well as Lucario and Captain Falcon. The kids came out on top, but only barely. After the fight, Toon Link followed Red to the Pokemon Center in Smashville and then to the Compound itself.
"I don't get why he's called a Flying type," Toon Link said in reference to Red's Charizard. "He looks like a dragon with a flaming tail to me."
"I'm not saying I disagree with you, but it's not like I can do anything about it," Red sighed, growing a bit weary of the subject. "He is what he is, and every Charizard like him is the same way. It's not like somebody just decided to make all Charizards like that, it's just the way he is."
"I guess so," Toon Link yawned, a result of the arduous battle he just survived from. "Man, say what you want, but I had fun in that fight."
Red started to retort, but was interrupted by the shouting taking place inside the Compund, just near the entrance. Curious, the children entered the compound and followed the voices.
Loud as they were, Toon Link couldn't make out what all the shouting was about. He could, however, determine those involved. His older self, Link, stood beside Zelda, Fox, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong against the combined forces of Ganondorf, Bowser, Wolf, Wario, and King Dedede.
"What do you suppose they're going on about this time?" Red asked loudly, with an exasperated look on his face.
"Beats me," Toon Link shrugged, although child-like curiosity overwhelmed him within seconds. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS FIGHTING ABOUT!"
While the top-of-his-lungs shout got the Smashers to stop screaming at each other for a short moment, he was answered with remarks of 'beat it, kid', 'mind your own business', and 'go play somewhere, the big people are talking'. While most of said remarks came from the perpetual villains, Toon Link's interruption was unanimously ignored by the group, and the shouting resumed almost immediately.
"So much for that," Red shrugged. "Maybe we should go ask someone else?"
But Toon Link's childish curiosity and heroic determination - combined with the supernatural courage granted him by the Triforce piece he held - won out. "No way. They're gonna tell me one way or the other."
With that, Toon Link dug into his bomb pouch in search of his favored method of crowd control. What he found was an item he forgot to put to use in his fight – and forgot to turn in afterward. After pulling out the Mushroom Kingdom terror, Toon Link's youthful grin doubled in size and dared to fill the entire lower half of his face.
The Bob-omb activated as soon as it hit the floor – right in the middle of the crowd. The familiar noise it makes upon activation stopped all fighting in an instant, and the Smashers in question had but a few precious seconds to ask Toon Link exactly what his problem was before they got the hell out of Dodge.
"Does the word 'overkill' have any meaning to you at all?" Red asked with a single raised eyebrow after the entrance was promptly vacated. Toon Link's response was to rub the back of his neck with his left hand and sigh raggedly.
"So much for that."
Toon Link spent the next hour in his room, contemplating the severity of his actions when he heard a stirring outside of his door.
"Let me talk to him."
Toon Link identified that voice as Princess Zelda's almost immediately. He heard his older self on the other end, but his words were harder to make out. The fact that he sounded like he was freaking out had something to do with that, though.
Eventually, Zelda knocked on the door. "Come in," Toon Link said before she could ask.
"Thank you, Link," Zelda said as she entered. Alone, to the small hero's relief. "I just wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier today…"
"I know what I did was kinda wrong," Toon Link sighed. "I just wanted to know what you and the others were fighting over, and I guess - I mean, I got a little… well, a lot carried away."
"I understand," the princess said calmly. "But you've been with us long enough to know how much damage a Bob-omb can do... where did it come from, anyway."
"I picked it up in my last brawl, forgot to use it, and forgot to turn it in, afterwards," Toon Link confessed swiftly. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry for throwing it into the crowd like that. I really am."
"Thank you for apologizing," Zelda smiled before sitting on the child's bed beside him. "And I suppose you'll find out eventually, so I might as well tell you. About two days ago, Princess Peach got a letter from her servant, Toadsworth, telling her that the King passed on."
"'Passed on'? What, like he moved to somewhere else?" Toon Link asked, not quite old enough to know all the analogies involved in the subject.
"It…" Zelda struggled to find an easier-to-understand analogy, but was unsuccessful. "It means he died, Link."
"Oh…" Toon Link muttered. "OH! That bites!"
"…Yes, it does," Zelda agreed abruptly. "See, the funeral was scheduled for three days after the letter was written, but Peach didn't get the letter until after a whole week had passed. So she-"
"She didn't even get to say good-bye," Toon Link interrupted. "Wow…"
"Yes," Zelda nodded, taking the interruption in stride. "Peach has been overcome with grief ever since she found out."
"So, that's what you guys were fighting about!" Toon Link asked in a shocked tone.
"Not exactly," Zelda sighed. "You see, not everyone in the Compound understands how strong, how gripping Peach's grief is, or the loneliness that comes with it. And some people… some of the less virtuous of us, believe that she shouldn't be dealing with her grief here in the compound. Link – I mean, your older counterpart and I disagreed with that, and naturally, it started a small argument."
"You call that small?" Toon Link asked bewilderedly.
"No, of course not," Zelda tried to explain. "It started out small, though. But as it went on, people started joining sides, and, eventually it turned into a little mini-war. No blood has been shed over it yet, thank the Goddesses-"
"I wouldn't count on that," Toon Link sighed raggedly, rubbing the back of this neck with his left hand. "Not after what I did."
Zelda stood up at that point. "I'll go let everyone know that you apologized, so that nobody tries to react violently to it. I'll come back when I'm done."
"Actually, if it's okay, I kinda want to pay my respects to Peach," Toon Link replied after standing up as well. "I feel bad about what happened to her, too."
"I'm sure she'd love to hear your support," Zelda smiled before she left.
Toon Link waited for a moment before leaving, giving her a chance to calm his older self down. Once out of his room, he walked through the hallways of the Smash Compound in search of Princess Peach. What he found, however, was the elder of the two Mario brothers standing guard outside of his room.
Mario had been watching over his princess ever since the letter arrived. He was fully aware of the rising arguments, though, mostly through word of mouth. As such, he had heard about Toon Link's dropping of the literal Bob-omb and, assuming as many others did that Toon Link had joined the side of the aggressors, pulled out his trusty mallet when the child walked up to the Princess's door.
"Hold it-a right there," Mario said calmly, but with hidden malice. "Princess-a Peach isn't holding any audiences. "I'll hafta ask you to go play somewhere else."
Toon Link cursed his luck mentally, although part of him knew he would face opposition. "I'm not here to mess around," the young hero said calmly. "I just want to pay my respects to your Princess. Can you tell me where she is?"
"So you can drop another Bob-omb?" Mario growled. "I don't-a think so."
"Look, I apologize about that. I was trying to get answers, I didn't even know what the arguing was about at the time."
"So you think throwing a Bob-omb into a group of people is the way to do that, then?" Mario huffed, bouncing his mallet on his free hand.
"N-no!" Toon Link half-shouted while shaking his head. "I admit I got carried away and like I said, I apologize for that."
"Carried away!" Mario blurted out in rage. "You really expect me to believe that! More-a likely that you were on their side and were-a trying to escalate-
"What, like I think Peach doesn't have the right to grieve wherever she wants! NO! I'm not like that at all! I'm not a douchebag like those-those-"
Toon Link gasps for air after his little rant, mostly to give himself time to calm down. Once he regains his composure, he raises his right hand, letting Mario see the symbol for the Triforce of Courage.
"Look," the boy said stoically. "I swear to you, by the Triforce itself, that I have only kind and reassuring words for your Princess. If even the slightest hint of ill will escapes my lips, may the Goddesses strike me down where I stand."
Mario considers Toon Link's oath as he, too, calmed himself. "Fine," he nods. "But if you-a give the princess any more grief, I'mma be the one to strike you down."
"Okay," Toon Link agreed.
Mario put his mallet away slowly and opened the door behind him. "Princess Peach is in here. She hasn't left her room since-a the letter arrived."
Toon Link walked slowly into the dark corridor. The sound of gentle weeping echoed in his elf-like ears as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room.
"…Princess?" Toon Link asked softly as he looked around. Shortly after, he was able to make out the silhouette of the princess laying on the far end of the massive bed.
"Yes, who is it?" the Princess asked with an even softer tone, as though her voice was nearly gone from all the crying.
"I'm Link… well, the younger Link," Toon Link explained. "I heard about what happened… with the letter, and… I just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear it."
"So you came to pick on me, too?" the princess retorted through her sniffling.
"N-no, not at all," Toon Link said quickly while looking over his shoulder in hopes that Mario didn't hear her assumption. "I think you have every right to grieve for your loss. I…"
As Toon Link searched for the words he was looking for through his mind, he recalled the sight of other funerals in the past, and how some adults would hold their hats over their chests. He mimicked the act in front of the princess without knowing what it meant as he finished his last sentence. "I just wanted to share my support with you… to pay my respects, kinda."
Toon Link heard the princess rise from her bed, but wasn't expecting to be smothered by her surprisingly strong hug.
"Thank you," Peach whispered through her tears. "It means a lot to me to hear you say that."
"Uh, no problem," Toon Link replied, nervously yet sincerely. "I hope you feel better soon…?"
"Thank you," Peach smiled, although Toon Link's eyes hadn't adjusted enough to see it. Once he heard her footsteps heading back to her bed, Toon Link took his leave and stepped out of the room. Before he could walk away, though, Mario placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Hey… thanks. And-a sorry for assuming… y'know."
"It's okay," Toon Link nodded. "You look kinda tired, though. Shouldn't you get some rest?"
"Not until Princess Peach feels better," Mario shook his head. "Or at the very least, not until all these arguments blow over. She has-a enough trouble without dealing with all-a the haters out there."
"I don't doubt it," Toon Link agreed. "Take care, then, I guess."
"Later," Mario said, letting the young hero go. As Toon Link walked away from the princess's guardian, he reflected on the entire situation. An idle thought passed through his mind during his reflection that he felt worthy to mention, if only to himself.
"Must be nice to have friends you can depend on when your whole world is crashing down around you."
Note from the Author: Okay, so my awareness of and involvement in the arguments surrounding the death of JSparks's father didn't happen anything like the story contained herein. I guess you could say that this story was inspired by the incident, even though it was supposed to be my response to it. Or something like that, anyway. Oh, well.
In short, while I agree that the rules of this site are here for a reason, I strongly believe that JSparks has every right to grieve wherever she feels most comfortable doing so, and I stand by her side along with everyone else who as defended her thus far.
And to the haters out there, I welcome your flames. My body for a shield. Hell, you can get me banned all you want, for that matter. I'll just create a new account and repost everything I've written thus far. In the words of the immortal Three-Dog, 'you can't stop the signal, baby.' And I dare you to try, because you'll only be wasting your own free time, not mine.
I didn't mention that I don't own any of the characters in this story, because this is a website for fanfiction for crying out loud. It's pretty much a given at this point, especially given how long this site has been up and how much the community herein has evolved.