A/N: Ack. Sorry for the long time gap-I've had internet trouble and general life "Krazy-ness" since school's let out. _ Oh well, there's a touch more in this chapter to make up for it and I'm hopefully going to get the action started again, now that everyone's close to catching up and all of that fun stuff. Thanks for the wonderful reviews, suggestions and faves! I really, really appreciate it and it helps me to write faster and actually want to work with my plot bunnies instead of whapping them with something. Anyway, enjoy the read!

Disclaimer: See first chapter.


Something felt wrong.

Link couldn't quite wrap his head around it and that was beginning to bother him in ways he didn't quite want to acknowledge just yet. He forced himself to maintain the relaxed posture in the saddle, making it easier for Epona to carry him through the unfamiliar terrain.

He was riding on something very close to instinct and it was scaring him just enough to know what if he dipped any further or deeper into himself, he'd be toying with something a little darker than he'd dared to show in this universe.

It didn't sit well with him.

Neither did the thought of Samus and Pikachu stomping through the forest on their own. His gaze flickered once more to the silent fairy keeping pace with him. She was moving with a graceful ease that belied her rank as more than just regular tree fairy.

A gentle mental nudge coaxed his thoughts towards conversation, but the blond-archer deliberately tamped down on that train of thought before it could get out of hand. He didn't have time for that. He needed to focus on things and right now, he hadn't been doing a very good job of it yet.

Whatever was off about his new fairy companion would be a mental puzzle for later.

Get your head screwed on, Link! He mentally shouted at himself, he could feel his own emotions stirring just enough to agitate Epona and it took a touch of concentrated effort to force himself to relax again.

Losing his head was not an option.

"This princess friend of yours…" The fairy zipped to the side and for a moment, it was almost as if she would collide with horse and rider before a flare of yellow-green light blazed brightly and she had assumed a miniature form. "What's she like?"

Without warning, she slid into the elf's overtunic, clutching the V-necked fabric tightly between tiny hands to steady herself as she adjusted to the change in transportation. She was just close enough to speak loudly for him to hear, but was no longer exerting herself to keep up with Epona's wild pace.

Something seemed as if it had spooked the mare and there was nothing but raw power pouring out from the elegant steed easily bearing the grim-faced archer across the darkened forest floor. There was nothing but shadows and shapes playing across and around the odd trio as they plunged deeper into the forest.

"Oh Linky boy…" The fairy sing-songed. "Your princess friend…I might have seen her you know, if you could just tell me what she-"

If he was annoyed at her new nickname for him, Link didn't show it on his face and the lack of light in the forest helped that, for the fairy's glow didn't light up his features enough to see. His grip on the reins tightened, easing Epona into a less punishing pace.

He'd caught a distinct feeling of something to his left and without questioning the flicker of intuition, tugged the leathered straps in his hand to guide the mare's head in the desired direction.

"Her name is Peach." Link muttered, his voice low. "Princess Peach. She wears pink and couldn't stop smiling if she tried." His mouth twitched at the memory of the cheerful blonde princess, she'd always managed to cheer him up, no matter how horrible, awful or even homesick he'd felt. He'd always counted that as one of the girl's special gifts.

"Pink…peach." The fairy mumbled, faintly.

"Well?"

"No. Haven't seen her, don't know her." The fairy ducked, hiding her face with the edge of his tunic collar. It was obvious from the way she was curled up against his neck and chest that she didn't like traveling the way they were, but chose not to complain for whatever reason remained unsaid. "Is she important?"

"She's my friend." Link nearly growled. "My friends are always important."

The fairy fell silent for a moment, then she shrank deeper into the forest green folds of the overtunic. She didn't say another word.

Link pretended not to notice.


It didn't lead to an underground facility, Samus discovered, inching her way painstakingly slowly down the tubed ladder. It was slow going, but not as tedious as she thought it would be, because the lack of speed allowed her scanners to get to work, checking the place more thoroughly before she'd actually set foot in there.

Eventually, she reached the end of the ladder and stepped out into equally dark surroundings. She'd lost all semblance of anything vaguely resembling moonlight the moment she'd pulled the hatch down and closed over their heads.

Pikachu had only given a worried whimper, before his golden cheeks had sparked softly and a faint yellow light had reflected just enough for her to see without having to turn on her own light sources for the moment.

It had been a welcome gesture.

Stepping down, gingerly, Samus was surprised to find herself standing at what seemed to be an intersection of underground tunnels. There were nine different earthy pathways branching out in a lovely circular fashion, apparently a place of ancient, if not frequent use, because the headings of each tunnels were tastefully decorated with colorful stone tiles.

Lovely. Samus thought, darkly.

Pikachu switched shoulders, its little head whipping about from side to side, obvious unease showing in the unpredictable sparks emitting from its golden cheeks.

"Easy little guy." She reached one hand upwards, attempting a gesture of comfort before realizing that her current state didn't quite allow it. She scowled deeper, her hand falling back to her side.

"Pika?" It spoke in confusion.

The faintest sounds of scraping and scrabbling caught her ears and Samus felt her chest tighten. That couldn't be good at all. "Okay, first three in front of us-" She swallowed. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Pi-ka!"

"Yeah. I agree." Samus bolted down the pathway at dead center. She'd just have to trust her suit for the moment to keep track of where she was, where she was going and any other troublesome details—like mapping the new surroundings—right now, her mind was fixed on one thing, getting away from her pursuers.

It was highly unlikely that they would follow her down to the strange hideaway, but she wasn't about to take chances. After all, there was no way she could know whether they had been the ones to put the trapdoor there—and if that was the case, then a headstart was really the only advantage she could pull on. "Pikachu?" She muttered.

Strong little paws took hold around her neck and helmet.

Samus almost smiled.

If running was all she could do at the moment, then she'd run—because then she'd have time to think of a decent plan to throw her attackers back where they belonged—in history!


Snake was pleasantly surprised to find that he could keep up with the mysterious turbaned figure. That was good in his book, in fact, it was very good. He liked that enough to smile as he continued the chase through the underbrush.

The fact that time was ticking away to easily and dangerously did not sit well with him, but he was seasoned enough to know that there was nothing he could do about it at the moment and if that was the case, then he'd simply have to focus on himself in the present.

Several unusual things had happened in the past week and the older man now wondered if they were connected in any way to the most recent happening of kidnapping. It wasn't something he wanted to think about it—at least, not because it made sense, but rather because it confirmed yet another one of his suspicions.

Sometimes, it could be a pain to be right all the time.

He could almost sense the others catching up and wondered how long it would be before they closed the gap. He didn't particularly care when the kiddies wanted to play and they dragged him along and into the mess, but he didn't care to ignore it when the elaborate games put into motion by darker, more experienced players dragged the innocent into the gamecourt.

Princess Peach was by far a long shot from the lovely Princess Zelda, but he had always found it difficult to hold a grudge against the too-cheerful, too pink and too blissfully clueless scrap of royalty, that he'd found himself more annoyed to hear of her kidnapping than he cared to let on.

Of course, it hadn't helped to see Princess Zelda's reaction to that and to bear witness to the ensuing squabble between the princess and her favorite blond archer. Snake snorted, he'd yet to figure out what was exactly going on between those two, who seemed to be so close yet so far apart at the same time.

It was the kind of thinking that made his head hurt, so Snake stopped thinking about it. But his mind nagged him gently with the faint reminder that Princess Zelda would no doubt pop up somewhere along the Rescue-Princess-Peach-Mission, simply for the reason that she did not wish to be left out of the loop.

He chuckled at that, because if there was something he did enjoy in the entire mess of being 'ported away from his homeworld and stuck in a fighting tournament mainly comprised of kids—it was watching the vivid expressions on the brunette girl's face.


In a deeply hidden cavern, water droplets trickled down from the stone ceiling with painstaking slowness, the only actual sound in the glistening and brightly lit section. In the very center of the natural room, a wide blue pool of crystal clear water shimmered and rippled, lit by some unseen light and moved by some unseen hand.

Atop the beautiful, shimmering surface, various images played out across the liquid expanse, flashing images of a blond boy archer, a woman in a suit, a yellow and red vehicle skimming through the forest and a winged boy being dragged away.

A handful of shadows dropped down from the ceiling, pooling into a giant black puddle on the floor before rising into a fully-formed, functioning figure in swirling blue, tender, delicate wings slowly growing out.

"Tabu…" The figure lounging before the viewing pool sighed, stretching and standing to full height. "That was severely disappointing. I thought for sure, granting you a touch of my powers would be more than enough for you to bring me a little boy's head." The figure turned, shrouded in dark blue and silver-tinged robes, effectively hiding any form to the mysterious being. "And you even let the woman escape? They were able to call for reinforcements, I don't like that, Tabu. I thought that you were capable of handling this, after all, you had them at your mercy just months ago, was it?"

There was no answer.

A laugh, a cold laugh. "Ah, sorry. I forget that breathing the same air as I do can steal your precious voice." The laugh echoed weirdly in the close quarters, bouncing off the glistening cavern walls. "Since you are still useful to me at the moment, I shall grant you one more—no, one final chance, please, do make the best of it and if I need you before your mission is completed, then that will be your only regret, yes?"

A choking, gasping sound was the only answer.


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