It had been two days since they crashed. Meta Knight's condition was unstable. He'd fall asleep, wake up and feel fine, or he'd wake up and not even speak. He was having one of those particular moments, but he seemed worse than before.
The remaining able three had managed to find fire blankets and made themselves beds around the fire, that way they could get some sleep without worrying about dying in their sleep. As Link laid in his makeshift bed, he stared at Meta Knight who had his back toward him. Link squinted his eyes and noticed that he was a lighter color than the dark blue he was supposed to be. He got up, "Meta?"
He groaned weakly, but even that was almost inaudible.
"Hey, are you feeling alright?" He asked, practically hovering over him, trying to get a better look at Meta Knight's masked face.
"My… body… hurts…" he barely whispered.
"Are you cold?"
"Very…" he said quietly.
Link felt like he was talking to someone who was dying and he didn't like it. He carefully pulled him closer to the fire and put his blanket over him, "You're going to be alright." He said soothingly. He looked around and found Ganondorf and Ike sleeping. He looked back down at Meta Knight, who claimed he was cold, but yet he was sweating. The side of his body that wasn't facing the flame was lightly frosted over. His eyes were barely open and his breathing came out as puffing wheezes. Link finally realized that Meta Knight was sick. He sat back and shook his head, sighing that they might lose him. Unless…
Link looked in the direction they were flying in before they crashed and saw the faint outline of mountains. He looked back down at Meta Knight and sighed.
Hours later, Ike and Ganondorf had finally stirred and looked around. "Where's Link?" Ganondorf asked.
"For one who hates his guts, you sound awfully concerned." Ike said. Then he got up and checked the area around, "That's an excellent question." He said upon his return. Then he looked down at Meta Knight, "Hey, Meta, you're not looking too well."
Meta Knight just stared ahead. He knew Link left, to where, he didn't know. He coughed slightly, wheezing as he inhaled.
"Isn't that Link's blanket?" Ike asked.
Meta Knight pulled it in closer to him, as though they were intending on taking it away from him.
"It is." Ganondorf said.
"Meta," Ike knelt in front of him, "Did you see where Link went?"
He just looked at him and closed his eyes.
Ike sunk. He sat back and brushed his hair back with his good arm, "Shit." He said.
"What? What happened?"
"He passed out again." Ike motioned to Meta Knight. He moved to sit against a makeshift wall, "We're going to die out here."
"We are not!" Ganondorf snapped, "If anything, Link probably went insane over lack of food and he went hunting."
"In the middle of nowhere?" Ike asked, "Ganondorf, there's nothing to be eaten out here. We've been here for two and a half, almost three days, and I haven't seen a single animal out here. Not even a predator. There's no food out here." He snapped back, "He left us and didn't tell us where he was going, as if there was anywhere he could go."
Ganondorf raised his fist as though he was preparing to hit him. But instead of hitting him, like Ike expected, he took a deep breath and sighed deeply. He sat down next to Ike, "I was trying to stay positive. That's what Link would've done. I will be honest, I'm scared to death of what's going to happen. And it may be hard to believe, but I actually am worried about where Link may have ended up." He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, "For all we know, he could've gone and committed suicide by just walking out there and trying to find help. The boy has guts, I'll admit. I mean, he fights me all the time and I'm twice his size. At least. He's stupid with bravery."
"Meta's fought you and you're four times his size."
"We might end up losing him too…" Ganondorf said sadly. "We all might die out here." He said.
Ike just looked at him, and thinking about it, he was huge. He looked back down at Meta Knight, "You know, I've never seen this side of you."
"The truly scared side? That's because this is the only time I'm actually thinking this way. If we were trapped in the jungle or the mountains, then I'd probably be a little bit more of an evil bastard to everyone."
Ike shrugged, "I like the nicer side of you better than the evil bastard side."
Ganondorf couldn't help but to let out a slight chuckle.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountains that Ike was staring at, Link stood at the base, shaking violently of the cold (despite the fact he brought a blanket with him to wear as a cape) and studied the ledges for the weird blue cactus they were sent out for in the first place. He looked around and found the Snow Cactus. However, he remembered the reason Meta Knight was with them to begin with. He furrowed his brows and pulled out a knife he took from Ganondorf and stabbed the wall, hoping to uncover some rocks he could use to climb. He found the walls were really made of just solid ice. He made himself footholds and started climbing. He slipped and fell back on the first three tries. He stared up at the sky and took a moment to recover from the third fall, mentally cursing himself for stressing the wound on his side. He got up once more and tried again, taking his time.
When he reached the top, he looked down at the cactus and carefully began cutting parts of it off so he could access the roots. He didn't care if he brought back a full, living cactus. It had fruit, so he held onto them, dropping them into his hat that he used as a pouch at the moment. He finally began pulling up the fat, short roots that held the plant into the frozen ground. With his shaking hands, he studied the root before putting it into the bag, as though he was worried to have any bugs crawling on it. He finally tied the hat to his belt and climbed down, making his way back. He intended on giving Meta Knight some of the root when he got back. Then he'd pull through and they'd all survive long enough to get help. Hopefully. Then when they got help, he'd give Fox and Falco the root. He kept the fruit, so he and Peach or Zelda could plant the seeds so they will never have to make this run again. He wondered how everyone was doing, if they'd even noticed that they hadn't returned yet. They'd notice. The Great Fox is not a small ship. And without Ganondorf's complaining, they're sure to notice. He began coughing violently. He dropped to his knees and kept coughing, "No…" he coughed and forced himself back up. He pulled a small piece of the root out of the hat and cut it smaller so he could put it in his mouth. It tasted like ginger, but it was very soft. It more or less dissolved in his mouth. He stared ahead and continued walking.
"Hey, is that Link?" Ike squinted to see.
Ganondorf squinted, "It is!" he got up and met with his rival. "Where were you?"
Link collapsed before he answered.
Ganondorf caught him, "He's frozen!" he called and pulled Link into the shelter, lying him next to the fire.
Ike checked him, finding that Link's skin and hair was slightly frosted over, his tunic was slightly more redder than it was before, and his skin was practically an ice blue and his lips purple. Then he noticed something missing; "Where's his hat?"
Ganondorf pulled it off of his belt and felt the weight inside, "What on earth?" he opened the top and looked inside, "Hey, isn't this the root we're out here for?"
Ike looked at it, "It is."
Link coughed slightly, "Give some to Meta…" he groaned and got up.
"Kid, are you okay?" Ike asked.
"I'm fine. It's freezing out there." He took the hat from Ganondorf and pulled a small bit of the root out. He took the knife out of his belt and cut the root, replacing the rest and returning the knife to its owner. "Is Meta Knight awake?"
"No."
Link knelt next to Meta Knight and hesitated before taking off his mask. He paused before continuing and stared for a moment.
"What's he look like?" Ike asked, unable to see passed Link's back.
"A blue version of Kirby. But a little more serious." Link said, astonished. It wasn't the face he was worried about, he was worried about how pale he was.
"Really?" the two peered over Link's shoulder to get a look themselves. Ganondorf almost exploded with laughter, but instead he turned around and took a deep breath.
Link sighed and carefully slipped the root into Meta Knight's mouth, replacing the mask just the way it was supposed to be.
Ike looked down and away. Link put his hands to his head and took deep breaths. Ganondorf refrained from laughing. Ike was finally the one to break the silence, "And here we thought he was supposed to be intimidating."
Ganondorf finally broke into laughter.
"Guys, guys…" Link chuckled and took a deep breath while Ike and Ganondorf rolled on the ground and laughed. "There's a reason he wears that mask." he said, "I'm sure this was why." He sat on his pile of blankets.
"Why? Cause people won't take him seriously?" Ike asked, trying to breathe.
"Because he's adorable and looks exactly like Kirby?" Ganondorf laughed, him saying adorable even sounded funny.
Link took a deep breath, "Yeah." It was obvious that he had a hard time staying calm about the situation. Then he remembered how pale Meta Knight was. "He's really sick you guys."
Ike wiped his eyes and sat up, "He what?"
"He's sick." Link repeated, "He wasn't sick before we left. Which usually means that his wound is infected."
Ike and Ganondorf stopped laughing and looked at each other.
"Ike, were there flares or anything in the ship that can send a signal?"
"The cockpit was still intact. But I doubt it has any power." Ike informed.
"I'll work on it," Ganondorf stood up.
"If you get a signal, call for help." Link said. He sighed. Then he realized that his throat wasn't scratchy anymore and that he wasn't coughing. But then, he realized that his body had grown completely numb.
"So you think this stuff will work on Meta?" Ike asked.
Link nodded, "It works. I promise." He leaned against the makeshift wall.
"Good." Ike said. Then he looked at Link for a while, "Did you really go out there just to collect that root?" He earned a nod, "Why?"
"We needed it. Meta got sick and was barely responding. I got a little bit of whatever he had. I had to."
"So you risked your life trying to get something you didn't know was even out here?"
Link gave him an exhausted and weakened look, "Desperate times calls for desperate measures." He said before passing out.
"Whoa, Link!?" Ike jumped up and checked on him, not expecting him to fall asleep so easily and so quick on him. He looked at his side and found it was bleeding again. He sunk. It was so cold that Link didn't even feel how bad the cut really was on his side. He reopened the wound who knows when and it's been bleeding since. "Ganon!" he called in fear.
Meta Knight groaned behind him, "Ugh… what the-?" he rolled over, "Ah-" he winced and lifted his mask just enough to spit out whatever was in his mouth. He looked up and saw Ike kneeling in front of Link, "Is he okay?" he pushed himself to his feet and walked toward them.
"He passed out. He lost too much blood from that cut." Ike said concerned, trying to keep a smile hidden from him.
"I got a signal," Ganondorf returned, "What's wrong with Link?" he asked. He saw Meta Knight and almost laughed, "Good to see you're awake."
"He lost too much blood." Ike repeated, "He needs help."
"Help's on the way." Ganondorf said.
"Why's he blue?" Meta Knight asked.
"He went out and got some of that root for you." Ike said.
"He almost froze himself to death just to get that root?" he asked in agitation, "He could've died."
"So could you." Ike snapped. "He knew you were sick, so he got it to help you."
Meta Knight crossed his arms, "Selfless fool."
"He was trying to help you."
Meta Knight thought about how Link was the first to check on him whenever he needed it. When Meta Knight was thrown from the ship and impaled, Link was the first at his side. He gave everyone instructions as to what to do and even had them pitch in and give him something to keep warm in. He looked down, it was because of him that Link went out and looked for the root. And in all of that, he apparently ignored his own injury. He looked back at Link, "It's not a cut." He said. He had to return the favor he was never able to take care of before.
"What?" Ike looked at him.
"It's deep." He explained, "A piece of the ship stabbed him, just like it stabbed me, but it didn't impale him."
"You decide now to tell us?" Ganondorf asked.
"I've been unconscious this whole time. That and I thought he told you two." He sighed, "Then again, considering that he went out and got that root for me, he probably didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry."
"Then, how do you know he was stabbed?" Ganondorf asked, enraged that he wasn't informed earlier.
"I saw it happen. I was the one to take it out because he begged me to."
"When did this happen?"
"When the mountain hit the wing." Meta Knight explained, "Before we fully crashed."
"That was five minutes before we actually crashed." Ike furrowed his brows.
"I was trying to take care of the wound, but we didn't have time. When we crashed I was thrown out of the ship and that metal impaled me."
Ganondorf pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn…" he sat down. "That idiot." He growled, "Too stubborn for his own good."
"Is there anything left of my cape?" Ike asked him.
"No, I used it on you two." Ganondorf shook his head.
Ike sat down and watched Link. "Help is on the way, right?"
"Yes." He nodded, "Marth and Toon Link answered, so they're coming with Kirby and Zelda."
"How long will it take?" Meta Knight asked.
"I don't know."
They sat silently and waited for help to arrive. Before long, Meta Knight fell asleep. Then Ike. Ganondorf sat there and stared at the wall opposing him. He didn't react when he heard an engine above him. He didn't react then the engine landed next to him and the mechanical hiss sounded as a door opened. He didn't even react when he heard the familiar voices of Marth, Zelda, Toon Link and Kirby calling for joy.
