Author's Note:

Guess what? I'm baaack! :P

Hello, hello again.

This chapter came late due to several family related issues, birthdays, and work on other fanfiction. I am now working on Spinach Dip, a Harvest Moon inspired fanfiction. Not only that but I am also in the process of two Final Fantasy related works, another Marth/Link (because of the die-hard fans), and some Kingdom Hearts. BUT HAVE NO FEAR the other works will begin after the end of either this one or Spinach Dip so that I don't clog up my time with thousands of updates. I know that would only make some of you mad.

Needless to say, I'm going to do my best to keep from being so late again. But please understand if I am late that I may be busy, (and could ya review a little more guys? Plz?)

By the way, if you would like to know about another Marth/Link fanfiction in the near future, read my profile. It will list the name of the fanfiction you should be looking for…

Samus Aran is a lot like Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. Same faces, similar voices, and similar personalities. Right? I know it.

Warning: do I have to write this? No I don't. you should know what's in here by now. Because of this, I will no longer place warnings in the chapters UNLESS there is something else included, like lemons and such.

Enjoy!~

'Trials of Strength'

Following the drunken mess that is Roy, the mansion was miserable.

Like Falco had predicted, Roy had finally regained memory of the night before and had raised all hell. Especially to those known as Marth, Falco, and Ike.

The smashers thus decided to avoid Roy as much as possible, instead focused their energies on battling and practicing for the Trials of Strength they were expected to perform in. Everyone except Roy that is.

"Why can't I participate huh?" Roy nagged, holding onto Marth's shoulder and tugging it down. Marth growled and shoved Roy off.

"You're not a Smasher anymore, remember?" he said, roughly brushing himself off as Roy scowled. The redhead stomped his foot.

"Yah but, can't I just join in a little bit?" he whined. Marth placed his hand to his forehead.

"Why are you asking me!" he suddenly shouted. He huffed and stormed off, Roy glaring at Marth's retreating form as he ground his teeth.

"You know that pisses him off, so why do you keep it up?" asked Ike sleepily. Roy straightened up at the sound of Ike's voice and whirled around, a scowl still plastered to his face. Instead of shouting at the mercenary, though, he turned back toward Marth's direction and balled up his fists before following the sapphire haired prince.

Ike sighed and leaned back into the couch he sat at, eyes trained to the ceiling. "I wonder why he's so angry?"

Ike jumped at the sound of another person's voice and looked up to see Link, arms folded across his chest with a puzzled look on his face. Ike shrugged and settled back into his seat.

"He's never bothered Marth so much. He's like a puppy following his mother." Link commented. The elven swordsmen sighed heavily as he too walked out of the room in the same direction as Marth. Ike furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes. He decided that Link could probably handle those other two on his own, and would rather not get in the way only to piss off Marth and Roy even more than they already were.

"Sleep, sleep, sleep…" he mumbled.

"Marth"

Link had caught up with the prince, who was leaning against the wall with a hand to his chin, in the hallway. Marth's eyes were glued to the ground, as if he hadn't noticed Link calling his name. But at last he spoke.

"Roy's acting up lately. Must be because of the drunk incident. I think…" he turned to face Link. "I think it's working." he said. Link's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrow.

"What in Goddesses' name would allow you to make that assumption? I don't see how it could possibly be working what with the way Roy's mood has been these past few days." concluded Link. Marth grinned.

"Link, don't you see it? Roy left the Smash House because of the fighting. He said so himself, he only came back to visit. But now all of a sudden he wants to join in the Trials of Strength? One that Ike is going to be a part of?" Marth insisted. Link sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Marth, you keep saying Roy will be the death of you. I think you'll be the death of me." he said. Marth grinned again and chuckled.

"Well, you'll just have to see. I'm going to talk Master Hand into letting Roy into the Trials of Strength. Then, I'm leaving him behind with Ike. And that is that." he said before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway. Link groaned inwardly and walked up the stairway to his bedroom.

"Master hand." Marth said, catching the gloved hand's attention. Master hand waited patiently as Marth cleared his throat. "It has come to my attention that Roy has been eager to participate in the Trials of Strength. I understand that he is not a part of the tournaments or the Smash Bros. team, but I wondered if maybe he could at least join in on this. Just to test his strength." Marth explained.

Master hand thought a moment, before making a hand motion that showed he approved. Marth smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, I'll tell him to gear up now." he said. As he turned and left the room, a wide grin appeared on his face. He set about finding the angry ball of fire known as Roy, and once the redhead was in sight, Marth quickly wiped the grin off his face and replaced it was a stoic expression.

"Roy. Master hand is going to allow you to join in on the Trials of Strength. I suggest you go ahead and practice for it." he said. Roy sat up from his seat at a long couch.

"Really? He said yes?" Roy wondered. Marth nodded.

"Yes, yes, now get up and go practice some, you moron." he said. Marth turned on his heel, leaving. A smile broke out on Roy's face, and he silently cheered to himself. Marth chuckled down the hallway as well. His own plan working perfectly.

"Man, now what am I gonna do?" Roy thought aloud. He got up and unsheathed Sword of Seals, looking at it and tapping lightly on the metal.

"Hey."

Roy jumped up and clutched his chest, growling as Ike stood in the doorway. "Don't scare me like that." he ordered. He turned back to his sword and sat down, tapping on it again. Ike made his way to the couch and sat down, looking over at Roy every so often.

"I think Marth is sneaking around." Ike commented. Roy nodded.

"He's getting back at me. When he first got here, I picked at him all the time. Made him mad, sorta like you. And then, I left. But before I did, I had set a specific goal. It was achieved because I knew it would be, I guess Marth is just trying to do the exact same thing." Roy thought. Ike furrowed his eyebrows.

"Geez, you guys have a lot of frustrations to work out." said Ike thoughtfully as he leaned back against the couch, arms behind his head. Roy growled underneath his breath and looked to his side, away from Ike.

"Whatever." he mumbled. Ike sighed.

"Don't act like that Roy. You know good and well that I didn't ask for you to tell me all this. You gave me this information and I commented on it. Just, take the comment or don't. But don't be mad because you invited me in on your problems." said Ike wisely. Roy felt his cheeks heat up as he was made a fool in front of Ike. But he quickly gathered himself again, still astonished however at how easily he'd broken down.

"…"

"You mad now?" asked Ike. Roy jerked his head toward Ike, his features showing bits and pieces of shock.

"N-no. Did I say I was angry?" Roy growled. Ike chuckled.

"You sound like it." Ike prodded with words. Roy's eye twitched a bit at this. How could someone like Ike be able to show off like that? Roy was the clever one!

But Roy felt tired. He looked at the ground, pouting silently, and averted his gaze and he slumped somewhat in his seat. Ike watched the redhead carefully. What was going on now? Some wise guy way of getting Ike fooled again? Well he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

"I'm going to my room. See ya, maybe." he commented. Ike rose from the couch, Roy not even moving as the mercenary left the room. He slowly looked over at a wall and sighed, before letting his head fall in his arms.

What's wrong with me lately? That moron managed to outsmart me twice. Roy thought, and groaned inwardly.

"Dammit…" he muttered, and threw a pillow across the room.

"You ready for the Trials?" said Zelda cheerfully as she read a book, curled up in a chair. Samus looked up and smirked.

"I'm always ready for a challenge, princess." she said, chuckling. Zelda sighed.

"Well, I'm not sure I am." Zelda said, a pout on her face. Samus shook her head.

"You're always looking down on yourself, just…" Samus thought for a moment before continuing. She wasn't really good for this sort of thing after all. "You've just got to relax and let you confidence slowly rise on it's own. Doubting yourself guarantees failure. Remember that."

"Yah, I'll try." Zelda said, still melancholy, but smiling as well. Samus chuckled and rose from her seat.

"C'mon princess, it's time for us to line up for the rules of the Trials of Strength. Alright?" she said. Zelda nodded and made sure to save the page of her book before getting up and following the space warrior.

"Wonder what Master hand has in store for us?" Zelda thought aloud. Samus shrugged.

"Who knows, with Master hand it could be anything." she answered. Zelda sighed heavily.

"Well, let's just hope he isn't trying to kill us." Zelda joked. Samus nodded, humoring her.

"Yah, let's hope for that."

They reached the library in time to see most of the other Smashers seated or congregated around the fireplace, awaiting instruction. Samus motioned for the Hylian to follow her, and they retreated to a corner of the room that wasn't crowded. Before long, everyone had entered the room, and a list of instructions was issued to every Smasher. Samus read over the instructions quickly. They read:

1) You will be allowed only one partner throughout the challenge. Once you have teamed up, you may leave them at any time, but you can not replace them nor add anyone else to your group.

2) Each team has a set order of challenges that must be met. You cannot finish the Trials of Strength until you have reached the end of the challenges given to you.

3) The name of the game is survival, but there are ways to earn more points. For instance, leaving on your own will issue you more points, but helping another Smasher in trouble will also help your score. Perseverance is also looked at graciously. Points will allow you to be absent for tournaments in the future, or be given time outside the Smash House, so they're pretty important.

4) Losing any one challenge will result in immediate removal from the Trials of Strength, and all earned points will be lost. Therefore, make sure you are carefully moving throughout the terrain, being fully conscious of traps, enemies, other Smashers, and much more.

"Well, seems like pretty easy rules to follow." said Zelda. Samus grunted.

"Don't take them too lightly." she said. Zelda nodded, still looking at her list of rules. Suddenly, she turned toward Samus, a bright smile on her face.

"Will you join my challenge?" she asked. Samus chuckled.

"Somehow, I knew you would say something. Yes, I'll join you." she said, still laughing. Zelda nodded again.

"Good. Then let's get to the doors." she said. Zelda and Samus made their way to the doors, and Zelda smiled as she disappeared a moment, and was still smiling when she reappeared, towing Link behind her. Samus raised an eyebrow.

"Zelda, we can't-"

"I know, I know." Zelda answered. She turned to the other Hylian, eyes wide with excitement. "So who are you with?"

"Do you have to ask princess?" Samus said softly. Link blushed and Zelda giggled.

"Oh, of course it'd be Sir Marth, wouldn't it?" she said. Now it was Link's turn to raise his eyebrow.

"Princess, since when have you started calling him by a formal name? And yes, it's Marth." he said. Zelda opened her mouth to answer but closed it when Marth appeared behind Link, pulling Link back to kiss his cheek.

"Someone talking about me?" he said, chuckling. "I hope it's something good."

"Um, I'll tell you later okay?" Zelda said, grinning at Marth who seemed to think it was something suspicious. But all the Smasher's attentions were turned to the door as it opened. Slowly the Smashers made their way out, and the house dissipated as the forest turned into a large, never-ending field.

"Well, let's get started." said Link. Marth nodded and waved to Samus and Zelda before taking Link's arm and making his way through the crowd. Marth managed to catch up with Roy, who stood there watching the others as they continued their trek. Marth grabbed Roy and led him away before finding his way to Ike. Roy's eyes widened and he began to pull away.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Roy said. Link smiled.

"Roy, you know Ike's got no one to go on his challenge with. I'm with Marth after all. Can you please go with him? If not for Ike or Marth then for me?" he asked, being as genuine as he could be. Roy groaned and pouted before reluctantly trudging towards Ike.

"Let's go." he growled. Ike sighed and followed, waving to Link and Marth who waved back. Marth grinned.

"Let's go Link." he said excitedly. He grabbed Link's hand and ran, Link laughing.

"Marth slow down!" Link shouted, giggling like a child.

"So where do we begin?" said Samus. The land around the two had turned into a forest again, but one much different than the regular one surrounding the Smash House. Zelda continued to walk, surprised by how lush the plants and trees were.

"Well, let's just walk in a direction and see where it leads us." Zelda suggested. Samus rolled her eyes but followed the princess anyway.

"Sure. Let's do that."

They walked for some time before the grass seemed to become shorter, and thinner. Samus placed her hand in front of the elven girl, looking at it with extreme concentration.

"I don't trust this. But it looks like we have to go through it, because it looks like it goes on everywhere around us. Make sure you're careful." Samus said. She removed her hand and they continued, watching their feet closely.

"What was that?" Zelda asked, tensing up and becoming frightened. A faint screeching sound had caught the Hylian's attention, but Samus didn't have the hearing capabilities a Hylian had, and could hear nothing.

"You're being paranoid, Zelda." Samus said, continuing on. Zelda stamped her foot.

"I'm serious Samus! Something is out there, I heard it myself!" she reasoned. Samus chuckled as she maneuvered her way around a large bush.

"Zelda, stop worrying so much alright? So long as the sound doesn't attack us, we don't need to worry. Now, c'mon." Samus said. Zelda sighed and followed quickly.

"I hope you're right Samus." she mumbled.

They continued without incident, making their way through the foliage without trouble. But something still made Zelda uneasy, and she tensed up again as the screeching continued. She looked down at the ground and Samus looked at her, sighing.

"What is it now, princess?" she asked. Zelda looked up at her, a worried look on her face.

"It's the screeching again Samus. It's coming from beneath us." she whispered. At that moment the 'ground' fell through and they both gasped as they tried to grab hold of anything around them. Each girl caught hold of a stray branch and hesitantly looked down to see large, overgrown plants that looked much like Venus Flytraps, sitting on the ground. Their mouths were slightly open, as if awaiting the princess and the space warrior's arrival.

Samus looked around to see if anything nearby was worth grabbing onto to help pull her up. She saw a low hanging branch and smirked before climbing her way up her branch. Then, using all her strength, she jumped and pulled herself onto the ground. Immediately she turned around and looked to see if there was anything near Zelda. She pointed to a branch to the left diagonally.

"Grab that and I'll reach over to pull you up." Samus called. Zelda nodded.

She reached for the branch, about to grab it, when the branch she held snapped and she squealed, tensing up immediately. Samus held her breath and climbed over to the branch she'd pointed out, slowly reaching her hand and using her other to hold herself up. She looked back and aimed her laser whip at a high branch way above their heads and off the ground, using it to support herself.

"Grab my hand." she yelled. Zelda nodded and reached over, stretching as far as possible before finally catching Samus' hand. "Okay, I'll pull you up, but you have to help me support your weight."

Zelda's mouth opened wide as she scoffed. "Are you calling me fat!" she shouted. Samus rolled her eyes.

"No. Now if you don't hurry up the monsters down there will get you."

"Alright, alright." Zelda said. Samus heaved upwards as the princess used her free hand to grab the other branch and her feet to walk on the one previous.

Samus collapsed backwards, Zelda forwards, and they caught their breath a moment. Samus turned her head to see Zelda. "Okay, next time you hear something funny, I believe you." Samus said. Zelda got up and brushed herself off, laughing.

"Learned your lesson then huh? Anyway, that's over so let's hurry and find the exit. This has to be part of the challenge." Zelda said. Samus nodded her agreement as she got up as well. They continued their way, coming across the exit quickly. A large stone mountain-like tunnel sat before them. It looked as if someone else had already past by there, as, footprints were found like a trail through the tunnel. It was dark and dreary as if sunlight never reached this place. Samus sighed.

"Let's see what else you're hiding, Master Hand." Samus said, smirking, before she and Zelda approached the end of the forest and headed into the stony entrance.

"I wonder how the others are doing." said Link, placing his hand on a giant mirror. Marth shrugged as he climbed his way past some sharp rocks and pieces of glass. Their surroundings had transformed into a large mountainous rock with shining mirrors sticking up everywhere. Some were only a few inches tall whereas others were taller than the two swordsmen.

"I don't know but let's keep going Link." said Marth. He turned to see Link standing in front of a particularly tall mirror, and he sighed as he walked over, appearing behind the elf. They smiled at one another. "C'mon Link."

"Alright." Link said. He turned away from the mirror and they climbed together, watching for enemies and making sure they didn't lose their footing and fall on a sharp rock or one of the many mirrors.

"You really think that Roy and Ike are good for each other?" asked Link softly. Marth nodded.

"Yup."

"How so?"

"…"

Marth stopped walking and looked up the sky. "You know how I said I didn't like you? And how every time we ran into each other I'd pretend that it made me mad?" he asked. Link nodded.

"Well, Roy's doing the same thing I believe. He's trying to pretend it doesn't effect him, but it does." said Marth. "And I'm not about to let him forget it. Look!"

Marth pointed to a nearby boulder. There was a small blue bird perched on the rock, chirping occasionally. The two smiled and watched it before it flew away.

"You know, I don't think this place is a challenge at all. I think it's a place to think. A place to recall." Link said thoughtfully. Marth nodded.

"I agree. Now, let's find the dangerous stuff." he said. Link nodded too.

"Yah."

"Well this is just great!" Roy shouted, his voice echoing in the shadowy space of the tunnel. Ike said nothing, but smirked and continued to walk through the tunnel as if he was completely by himself. "Aren't going to say something? Like 'shut up Roy' or 'do something useful because you're a pain in my ass'?"

"Nope." said Ike simply. Roy balled his fists up and stomped behind Ike in a continuous pout. They said nothing after that, only walked in complete silence as they made their way through the dark trail.

Without warning, a hazy cloud came up and Ike felt his foot slip forward. It was a hidden abyss. Ike turned and tried to catch himself as he fell, but found the things he grabbed weren't enough to hold him up. He was resigned to defeat, easily beaten, but was shocked to find Roy grabbing Ike's arm and yanking him upward. Ike smiled gratefully and walked his way up the wall before reaching the top.

"Thanks." said Ike. Roy got up and brushed himself off.

"Don't mention it." he said, obviously still pouting. Ike smirked and stood up as he and Roy found the edge of the abyss and slipped past it.

But the end of their troubles wouldn't stop. As they walked silently for some time, they felt the air become colder, and the ground become softer. Without warning, Roy gasped and fell forward, tripping over a switch on the ground.

"Ugh…hey, do you hear something?" said Roy as he looked around, lying on his stomach from where he had fallen. Ike listened a moment before his eyes widened in realization and he turned to pull Roy off the ground.

"C'mon let's go! This place is gonna collapse!" he said. He could hear rocks tumbling from behind them and soon the walls began to shake. Ike shoved Roy along and they both ran as fast as possible before coming across another abyss. They struggled for a moment, trying to decide whether to jump it or just fall in and see what happened.

"Let's just jump in! There's no fog in it this time and I'm pretty sure there's no where else to go!" Roy shouted. Ike nodded hurriedly.

"You're right. Let's just jump." he shouted back. They jumped in and soon everything around them became black as night. But the ground reached them quickly and knocked the wind out of the swordsmen. They laid there a while, trying to recover from the fall, before they got up and tried to figure out just where they were.

"Well, look at this." said Roy. There was a small doorknob attached to the wall. A large slit could be seen carved into the wall almost like a door. Ike furrowed his eyebrows.

"You think it's a way out?" said Ike. Roy shook his head, about to comment, when suddenly torches were lit all around them. Many doors could be seen now and it seemed that the two were trapped in a circular room. Roy looked around in confusion.

"Well this is just great. How do we know which door to open?" he asked, turning to his indigo-haired companion. Ike shrugged.

"I don't know. But we're sure to figure it out. I mean, opening doors shouldn't send us back. It's probably a matter of finding the right doorway out, and fighting any enemies that come out from behind the wrong doors." he said thoughtfully. Roy nodded.

"Right. So, we'll both choose a door and one of us opens it." he said. He looked around again before turning to Ike again. "You go first."

Ike rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Alright. Which door do we want first?" Ike asked. Roy thought for a moment before pointing to a door diagonally right from them. Ike sighed again and trudged over to the door. He hesitated a moment before swinging the door open. A loud bang erupted from above them and Ike managed to jump away just in time as a boulder fell in the exact spot he had been standing in. He looked at Roy with wide eyes.

"Guess it's my turn." said Roy. Ike got up, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve.

"The left one." he said. Roy walked over and placed his hand on it. He closed his eyes and jerked it open, covering his face as a cloud of bats flew out and congregated on the ceiling, some flying up through the hole that the boulder fell out from.

"Okay. You go." he said. Ike nodded and sighed again as he immediately walked to the one behind them. They braced themselves for what they'd find, but as Ike threw open the door, nothing happened. They exchanged glances before both peered into the darkness. Roy used his hand to summon a flicker of fire, and they found yet another tunnel.

"Great." Roy breathed. Ike smiled.

"At least it's a way out. C'mon, let's get this over with alright?" he said. Roy nodded.

"Yah, before something else falls from the ceiling." he joked. And into the darkness they walked, the door slamming behind them.

Author's Note:

I was going to make it way longer, because the Trials of Strength were supposed to fit into one whole chapter. But then it got longer and longer and I just decided, you know what? Let's split it up into two chapters. So, here it is. Part one. Hope you enjoyed because after this things are supposed to heat up even more between our impending couples. Yay.

Review please!