A Journey Worth the Soul
Chapter 2
Toast Warmed Over
Link awoke with a slight headache and the memory of his reoccurring dream haunting his recollection. His entire body felt drained, as if the dream had robbed him of almost all of his conceivable energy. Rubbing his eyes as the light from the morning sun came through his window; he realized that the sun shouldn't be up that high so early in the morning. Yawning while sitting up, he glanced over at the clock sitting on the dresser next to his bed and cringed.
"Ah, great."
The cafeteria was as noisy as ever as people came in and out, getting ready for the tournament that day. Several smashers were lined up at the breakfast bar, grabbing whatever they wanted while others were talking at the tables. The noise was generally boisterous, although today was an exception. It was just plain, irritatingly loud.
"I wonder where Link could be," Zelda asked as she sat down at a table next to Pit. Her eyes scanned the room as she took a quick bite of cereal, forgetting to chew as her mind concentrated on things elsewhere.
"He probably just slept in…again," replied Pit who was idly chewing on a piece of bacon. "He does have a tendency to do that you know. And you might want to remember to chew Zelda, you're dripping milk."
Zelda's hand went instantly to her mouth as she gagged down the cereal she was eating. The cereal scratched at her throat as it went down, sending her into a quick coughing fit.
"Sorry about that," she murmured, wiping the remnants of cream from her lips. "I'm just a little bit worried about…you know." Her cheeks turning a rosy red as her eyes again took up their surveillance of the room.
"I have never known such a person that could sleep like-a him," Mario laughed as he sat down at the table next to Pit. "He even makes King Dedede look active."
The giant penguin glanced over from the table next to them with a grin on his face, chucking, or more squawking happily as he grabbed another piece of toast from his plate. The food was swallowed whole in one gulp as he patted his stomach contentedly.
"You guys are probably right," Zelda answered, as she slowly sipped at her glass of orange juice. "I just hope that he remembers that today is his do or die match in the tournament. If he doesn't win this one, he's out, and not just for this tournament, but forever."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Peach answered back from Zelda's left. "He hasn't been late for a match yet." Her voice was cheery and perky as always as she continued. "And maybe a bit more sleep might make him do better this time."
Zelda bit her lip while dropping her spoon full of cereal into her bowl, creating a small splash of milk and cereal onto the table. Pit glared at Peach, mouthing for her to knock it off as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom suddenly became aware of what she had said.
"I'm sorry Zelda. Maybe he just has been having a string of bad luck lately. He'll break out of it one of these days. Who knows, today might just be that day" the princess replied cheerfully. "Although," she paused, pursing her lips, "I have noticed that he actually does worse the longer he sleeps."
"I think that's enough Peach," Mario laughed nervously as Zelda began rubbing her hands together nervously. "We all-a know that Link is a great fighter. He will win today for sure-a."
"I sure hope so," replied Marth who had just sat down next to Pit and directly opposite of Zelda. "The last few fights against him have been, to put it bluntly, pathetic."
Zelda glared hopelessly at Marth who shrugged his shoulders unapologetically. "What, it's the truth."
Pit jabbed the blunt end of his spoon right into Marth's ribcage while whispering a silent 'quiet'. The rest of the table simply glared at him. Marth rubbed at his side, staring back at the angel.
"He's right,"
Everyone turned to Zelda whose head was bowed. "Marth is right, Link hasn't done very well these past few weeks, and I haven't been able to help him at all. He has gone from one of the best smashers in the current tournament to being ranked the lowest. I was able to beat him in practice yesterday by simply kicking him off the stage…" Zelda's head raised slowly. "He didn't even try to get back on the stage. It was as if he just…gave up."
"He should do well today though," Mario added cheerfully, trying to get rid of the pervading sour mood at the table. "I mean, he is going against Jigglypuff. What is the worst that could hap…"
Mario stopped mid sentence as the door to the cafeteria swung open and a very disheveled looking Link walked through. The Hylian was messing with his hat which was being obnoxiously stubborn in not wanting to stay on his unruly hair. He walked slowly over to the bar, grabbing a plate while knocking over several others and began sliding food slowly onto his plate. The entire cafeteria was silent as all of the smashers and assist trophies watched the young fighter slump his way over to Zelda's table, sitting down with a loud thump as the chair creaked and argued against the sudden increase of weight.
Zelda watched him eat pathetically slow, his hands barely being able to drag the food to his mouth. His bloodshot and baggy eyes were making him appear like the living dead, causing a heightened sense of concern about him. What is happening to him? His clothes were horribly wrinkled instead of the usual niceness. And every now and then, his head would dip towards the table as he fought off the urge to sleep. Almost landing in his bowl of cereal twice finally caused him to give up eating his breakfast entirely. Pushing the bowl aside, he laid his head on the table, muttering for everyone to keep it down as he snoozed.
"Hey Link, glad that you could make it," Pit stated, a bit unsure of what to make of his friends' appearance. "Did you get a good night's sleep for today's fight?"
Link swallowed the mouthful of muffin that he had just bitten off without even chewing, unfazed as the mass moved down his throat. "Not really," he replied, yawning so loud that King Dedede looked over at him from the other table and began shaking his head.
"Was it Nana and Popo again?" asked Zelda hopefully. "Those two have been up to some pranks lately and…"
Link shook his head. "No, they didn't keep me awake. It was just…"
Why can't I tell them about these dreams…?
He was tempted to tell them about the dream that he had had again, but couldn't bring himself to do it. They would probably just laugh since I am worrying over a simple, stupid dream. He glanced over at Zelda, sensing a bit of worry in her eyes. I couldn't tell her anyways, even if I wanted to…
"It was just a bad night," he finally lied, grabbing the last piece of toast on his plate and bite into it so he wouldn't have to answer another question.
"Well you chose the wrong night to not get any sleep you know," Marth chimed in. "If you don't win today then you will be out of the competition so you better wake up,"
Marth reached over and patted Link on his shoulder to show his support although it had the reverse effect. The smack shook him awake since he had finally fallen asleep with his eyes open.
"Huh."
Marth shook his head and pushed himself up from the table.
"Hopeless," Marth stated dejectedly as he pushed himself away from the table. "At least I know that we will have one easy pink fluff ball to fight against in the semifinals this time around instead of another swordsman."
Pit glanced over at Marth as the Altean walked out the backdoor and into the yard. As soon as he was gone the angel scoffed, "That was kind of him."
The rest of the table nodded in agreement as Ike walked over to their table and sat down in the space that Marth had just vacated.
"Don't take it personally," Ike inserted while everyone was trading comments about what must have ticked off Marth that morning. "He just wants everyone to be their best," Ike stated. "And right now, Link isn't doing well in that category."
Everyone glanced over at Link who was nodded slowly.
"I know. I know that I am really sucking it up right now," he said, his face downcast.
"Today will be different though" he finally stated summoning up enough strength to push himself up from the table. "Today won't be like the past few fights," he said with as much gusto as he could muster as he turned to leave. "I'll win today."
"That's the spirit!" Mario said as he slapped Link on the back, almost toppling over the young man. Link grimaced as he sauntered towards the door that led to the stadium, pushing it open slowly then disappeared down the hall. As he left, Zelda let out a huge sigh.
"Do you think that he can win today?" She asked to no one in particular.
Pit just eyed the spot where Link had gone, "It would take a miracle."
Authors Note: added 11/7/09- I've been asked about the history of why Link was going to get kicked out of the tournament if he lost this match and I think that is a good question to ask since I failed to explain it really well in here. So, in the story for the past two months, Link has been getting his butt kicked in each match...kind of an understatement for some of them. The founders of the tournament have watched and decided that if he did not win this next one, he would not be a worthy enough fighter to participate in the elite fighting competition that is smash bros. Hopefully that clears things up a bit.
Also, if you liked the story, have questions, anything, just send me a note. It makes the day start off right when I get mail in my inbox, since usually it is empty... :( . The poll on my profile page is also up and running about who you would like to see as couples in this story since I have not made up my mind on several of them. Personally going ZeLink but with enough votes... ;)
