*Chapter Two: An Uncanny Reflection*
"Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing!" Mario and Luigi were still going at their food jokes. It kept Link up all night and he couldn't even get one wink of sleep. Link wished they would go to sleep. "Would you two just shut up?!" Link finally shouted to the brothers. Large, purple bags sat beneath Link's eyes. Although Link would tell them to stop, Mario and Luigi would just ignore him. "Why don't we give each other nick names?!" Luigi exclaimed. Oh, brother. Link rolled his eyes. He already knew they would call each other "pasta brother". "Yeah, I'll give you some. Mario, you can be fat tomato and Luigi can be celery stick. There! Perfect names if you ask me!" Midna piped in.
Mario and Luigi ignored the remark, turning back to their own conversation. Just as Link suspected, they called each other pasta brother. Link would rather sleep in a closet right now instead of being with them. Suddenly, the bell rang for breakfast and everyone quickly started down the hall. As Link walked down the hall, he felt a strange feeling like something wasn't right. This place… it didn't seem like the old Smash Head Quarters, but they did say it would be different. Putting realizations aside, Link quickly caught up with Midna and the other princesses.
"Link," Princess Zelda finally said to him after a while. "I have a strange feeling about all this…" Link looked to her and smiled, feeling great pleasure that someone else felt the same about it. He gave her a look, saying he thought that, too. He had been in Super Smash Brothers since the first tournament and it had never been this dark or red. Everyone there was dressed in black and it made him wonder why. He suspected it had to do with Ganondorf and Bowser. "I'll be right back." Link walked between the crowds of people, looking for the evil doers.
Link already knew they wouldn't fess up, but he would make them and it was worth a shot. But, he knew Ganondorf was honest, unlike Bowser. Bowser told lies a lot. He could count on the truth from Ganondorf. Suddenly, Link bumped into Bowser, falling onto the floor. Ashamed, Link quickly gathered himself and stood up, pointing his sword to Bowser and Ganondorf. "OK, evil doers! What's up with bringing everyone here, thinking it's a battle? To kidnap? I thought so!"
Bowser and Ganondorf swapped looks and then looked towards Link. "Come again? You think we brought everyone here just to kidnap Princess Peach and Princess Zelda?" Ganondorf began laughing uncontrollably. "Good idea, kid! But we didn't do that. We came up with the conclusion that you brought everyone here." Link was confused. It was almost weird that his archenemy thought the same thing he thought… except the part he brought everyone here.
"So, you're saying you didn't? Well, I didn't." Link lowered his sword by his waist. Many people were getting to the point where they thought this wasn't the right people. The crowd suddenly decreased into the dining room, except the group of ladies. Link looked back, holding up one finger, meaning he would be a minute more. "So, what are we going to do?" Link lowered his voice. Bowser and Ganon shot each other new looks of wonder and curiosity. Ganondorf shrugged, but Bowser had an idea. "Why don't we all join forces? Then maybe I could finally get Peach!"
Ganondorf rolled his eyes, elbowing Bowser in the rib roughly. This meant he shouldn't be thinking of himself, rather thinking of the good for others. "I mean, we'll join forces, so we can get to the bottom of this! But if I do this, I want Princess Peach and a ton of coins!" This time, Ganondorf stomped on Bowser's foot. He didn't remove his place on Bowser's foot. "You can get the coins, not Peach." Link said to Bowser, although he would not award them to him. He waved, quickly walking to Midna and the others.
In the dining hall, the butlers served fruit and cereal. Not really a good breakfast, but Link ate anyway. Unlike last night, the table boomed with laughter and words of conversations. But Link sat in mere silence. Peach tapped him with one of her fingers. "Um, Link? Can I speak to you? Um, outside, please." Link nodded, pushing his plate forward and heading outside into the black courtyard. Link was the only man Peach could talk to seriously. Mario just laughed it off, but he wasn't a bad person. It was just sometimes Peach needed to talk seriously to someone.
"I'm sorry for bringing you out here…" Peach said quietly folding her hands across her brooch. Link nodded. He was actually glad someone took him out of there. All that noise was hurting his ears. "It's just… I don't feel comfortable here. It's too dark. And nobody is following the right agenda… I… I want to go home now." Peach sat down on a blood red bench, placing her head in her hands. Another person didn't feel right about it. So, this must mean someone else was leading the battle and not the original people. But, who?
"It's OK, Peach. I had the same feeling. Other people do, too. And you're not forced to stay. You can go now." Link smiled, trying to make her feel better. He hated it when people were sad or mad. He did everything he could to make someone happy. Peach looked up, her eyes glossy. She smiled, standing up now. "I will. Thank you. Please don't tell anyone about this. You have to promise!" Peach walked quickly from the courtyard and down the hall. Link smiled. But he still had to figure out who was behind this.
Suddenly, his shadow began to shake wildly. Link stepped back quickly as Midna's head popped out from the blackness. "Aww, does little Peachy have a crush on Linky?" Midna taunted. Link shook his head, the smile still on his face. "Or is the opposite?" Midna smirked towards Link. With this, the smile faded from his face. "I think you have a crush on me."
The color drained from Midna's face. Obviously, she did. "Have you been reading my diary?! That's it! I'm not talking to you for the day!" Midna disappeared inside the shadow, keeping her words to herself. Link laughed quietly, heading back down the hall to wish Peach a farewell. As he was walking to the main entrance, he heard soft voices. Deciding to hear good information, Link stopped abruptly. Quietly, he hid behind a corner.
"I heard that Princess Toadstool is leaving due to her being suspicious of the new place." A deep voice said.
"We can't let anyone leave! Good thing we have those drivers that bring 'em straight back here. Sometimes even kidnap 'em." A male voice said with a laugh. Two tall men emerged from another hall. Link quickly hid himself to think. He had to tell Peach before she got in the car. With no hesitation, Link quickly tore down the hall, very close to the entrance. He didn't even want to imagine what could happen to Peach. She couldn't even walk in the meadows alone without getting kidnapped. The battle bell rang, but Link ignored it, putting all his strength into getting to the entrance before she was taken away.
Finally, he got there and just in time, too. Peach was still waiting for the car to arrive. But she waited quietly and patiently. Link quickly walked to join her by her side. "Oh, hello, Link." Peach smiled pleasantly. Link couldn't talk because he had no more energy in him. He pointed inside. "No, no. I'm going now. Good bye, Link." Peach turned her attention back to the dirty street. Suddenly, a black car drove down the street. It was exactly like the car Link had come in. It swerved quickly by the curb and the door quickly popped open. "Ya, comin', lady?" The driver yelled to Peach.
Peach nodded and walked to the car. She put her suitcase in and put one foot in when Link grabbed in her by the shoulder. "Peach!" He was surprised he could speak. "They're going to kidnap you!" Link pulled her back from the car. Her eyes were large, but they were still calm and light. She grabbed her suitcase from the car, and stepped away. "Thank you, kind sir, but I'm not in the mood to be kidnapped." Peach curtsied with a pleasant smile and joined Link in walking inside.
Link looked back at the driver to see his face blood red. The driver slammed his fist on the wheel, but quickly gaped at it to see it turn light pink. "Well, if you and your girl friend aren't going to come, then we'll boot you from the tournament and say you stole something." He smiled deviously, showing multicolored teeth. Link glared, clenching his fist. Peach flipped around, so her eyes met the driver's. She ran towards him in a fast manner, doing so flawlessly. Peach didn't like it when people lied about other people. She called this "Spreading false propaganda."
Anger inside her, Peach stuck her head in the driver's window. "We're not dating and you shouldn't be spreading false propaganda about other people for no reason. Link and Midna like each other, now stop being such a bully." Leaving no room for him to talk, Peach kicked the car, leaving a huge dent in it. Like nothing had happened, Peach dragged her suitcase along her side. Link stared at the dent, wondering how such a girly girl could do that. He pushed his question aside as he and Peach walked inside. "Thank you, Link." Peach smiled.
Peach opened the door for Link, allowing him to go inside. He accepted this, but looked back. He froze automatically by the sight he saw outside. It was a tall man with a funny mask and fingers of confetti. His shoes looked like those of elves. Link turned back, walking from the door. He knew he must fight this evil doer. The evil man was known as Zant, the usurper king of Twilight. Peach quickly equipped Perry, her trusty parasol and followed Link. She tried to look as innocent as possible, so she wouldn't attract trouble to Link.
Link thrust out his sword, just to be aware of any attacks Zant should pressure towards him. Zant smiled deviously, the same smile like that one man. "A hero and his princess. How delightful."
"I'm not his princess! I'm Mario's princess! Link and I are just friends." Peach corrected. Her eyes glossy with tears. Obviously, she didn't like being called Link's princess. Link could tell she loved Mario, as everyone says. Zant still had that ugly smile on his face. "Shut up, blossom princess." Zant waved his left hand, sending a force towards Peach. This force sent her flying back and crashing into a marble wall. "MARIO!" She had screamed.
Link returned his gaze back to Zant. He pointed his sword at Zant's neck. Zant only rolled his eyes at him, for he knew he could give Link worse treatments. And this is what he would do. "So, Link. You believe you're stronger than me. How foolish." Zant lifted up his hand, a small red crystal forming in it. Link stepped back a bit, foreshadowing what was going to happen. Link remembered that crystal when the land of Hyrule was blotted under Twilight. With dark magic inside, it was able to turn Link into his feared form with just one touch. Zant would probably thrust it inside Link's head like before, for that was a part in the body where it could easily make the whole body go under the power.
The crystal lay in Zant's hand. "Good night, hero." Zant waved his hand in a magical manner, sending the small crystal flying towards Link. He tried to dodge it, but it was too fast. Link collapsed in an instance, transforming into a grey wolf. Link's shadow shook wildly, Midna appearing from it. "Zant! How could you?!" She floated above Link, Fused Shadows spinning around her. She smirked as the Fused Shadows crashed against her head. They began shaking wildly as her little imp body turned into that of an orange spider. She pointed her front legs to Zant, holding a spear. Midna stabbed it into Zant, but before it hit him, he disappeared.
Midna quickly dissolved into her imp self, landing beside Link. She touched his forehead, trying to remove the crystal. "Oh, Link. Why did I leave you?"