A/N: Chapter Eleven - Finnish - Näkemiin – Goodbye

Happy anniversary.

OoO

It was as if she were holding her breath.

Zelda didn't know what to think. Her Link, her beloved… fighting a copy of herself? Just the mere thought of it was surreal, but she knew it to be the truth. After the night's events, she would believe anything. If Link made it out alive… what would she do?

I would shower him with love, she thought assuredly to herself. I'll never let him go again.

She looked over to Peach, her eyes softening in pity. Luigi was gone, but Link wasn't. Zelda still had a chance, to hope that the person she cared for most would make it out alive. Peach didn't have that luxury. And her brunette couldn't possibly imagine the pain her friend must feel.

"I'm okay," she had said. "It's okay. I knew… I knew this could have happened." The blonde choked and tried to stifle her sobs. "I just wish…" And she trailed off, not able to complete her sentence. Zelda lightly placed a hand on Peach's back, unsure of how to come up with a response. There was no way to respond to something like that. The best thing she could do was remain silent.

And hope the best for her own lover.

Her knuckles turned white as she tightly gripped the edge of her dress. If there was anything she could do, to help Link and everyone else out… she would do it in a heartbeat. Trade places with him, even. I feel so useless, she thought, I can't even help my own boyfriend when he needs me most. And the worst thing about it was the very real possibility of him dying.

There were the two children, Nana and Popo if she recalled their names correctly, who had gone in together. One was dead, and the other was distraught. Nana was doing alright now; at least she was still alive, but Zelda didn't know how much longer she would last. Everyone else, except possibly Olimar, was much taller and stronger than the poor little girl.

There was the woman, Samus, who didn't seem to have anyone in the audience waiting for her to return that Zelda could see. She was strong and tough from what Cirvex spoke of her, but Zelda didn't know if she would be able to hold up to the likes of Link or possibly even Roy.

There was Lucas, the little boy. His twin brother was waiting in the audience for him to return, and would no doubt be crushed if he didn't make it back. But could Lucas really hold his own against Samus?

There was Roy, the redheaded boy. He seemed like a fun, easygoing type – someone Link would get along with perfectly well on different occasions. He was definitely athletic; Cirvex had given recaps of each round at their conclusion on what each person had done, and Roy could definitely fight. He seemed to have one of the highest chances of living through the night.

There was Olimar, the small Hocotatian. Waiting for him in the audience was his best friend Louie, who didn't seem to be very worried at all. But Zelda had seen him multiple times throughout the night, and the little blonde male always seemed to have a straight face. Perhaps he was more worried inside than he showed…

Then there was Link. Oh, sweet, handsome Link… Like Roy, he was athletic, and could outrun almost anyone she knew. He was quick on his feet and a good strategist, and could definitely think himself out of any situation. And Zelda hoped, prayed, that tonight would be no different.

But that was selfish. She wanted him to live so he could return and love her for her own satisfaction. Zelda cared about his wellbeing and wanted the best for him, but she also wanted the best for herself. Was it worth killing five innocent people? Killing others who had already lost their lives to the malevolent machine?

She didn't know what to think.

Zelda wasn't in Cirvex's simulated world, but she felt as if she had been fighting alongside everyone who was the entire night. A battle raged in her mind as she tried to fight off the throes of selfishness and keep hold of her morality, but as each second passed she found that it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"Zelda?"

The brunette was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a light tug on her arm. She turned to face Peach, who looked up at her with a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

Zelda let out a shaky breath. "Yes… No. I don't… I don't know." She held her head in her hands. "What am I supposed to think or do, Peach? I want Link to live and survive, but I don't want the remaining prisoners' blood on his hands! Is it selfish of me to want him to live just because we're in a relationship? There are children in there! And I can't… I don't know what to do…"

Peach closed her eyes and soothingly rubbed her friend's back. "I'm not going to tell you what you should do," she whispered. "That's up for you to decide. But if you want my opinion…" she looked down at the capsules below, at the capsules that held the body of the participants. Only five were still breathing. She let out a shaky breath. "Just watch and see what happens. Nothing you do will change the situation. What happens in there won't change because of what you do out here."

"I hate…" Zelda choked out, "I hate how we're supposed to just sit here and watch this happen. And we can't even see what's going on. All we know that's happened so far is what Cirvex has been telling us, and I can't trust that thing."

As the brunette rambled, Peach simply nodded along. She wouldn't say anything more, instead choosing to listen to her distraught best friend. Knowing that her own lover's brother was already dead… Peach felt a sort of detachment. As if she couldn't quite believe it. He was right down there, right in the capsule on the stage below… but she would never see him again.

I'm sorry, Luigi, she thought sadly to herself. I'm sorry I couldn't help you.

OoO

Roy and Lilina moved as if in a dance, weaving in and out in front of each other as they brandished their weapons, looking for an open spot. After being caught by surprise earlier, Lilina was keen to her every surrounding and seemed to be able to read Roy's mind, moving out of the way and anticipating his every move. This only served to anger and frustrate the redhead, and as such his attacks became more fierce and wild.

Lilina had a cocky smirk plastered to her face, and Roy was instantly reminded once more of the clone he was facing. This wasn't the real Lilina. She would never hurt him like this…

He threw his arm back, ready to strike once more with vigor. His opponent quickly ducked out of the way of the oncoming hammer and kicked herself up into him, causing him to cough and sputter as they soared through the air. She landed daintily on her feet without a scratch, and he came to meet the ground face first.

"Getting tired?" The Lilina doppelganger asked, tilting her head to the side. "That's no fun, Roy… I'm just getting warmed up."

"Oh, really?" He quickly rolled back onto his feet and held his hammer out in front of him defensively. "So am I."

And with that, he jumped forth once more. She stepped backwards and held out her sword, as if waiting for him to impale himself onto it. Smarter than that, Roy thought as he ducked beneath the blade. Lilina's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly turned to meet her opponent face to face. Roy smirked and kicked his left leg out in front of him – it hit its target and she fell to the ground.

Knowing he wouldn't have enough time to strike hard with his hammer, he lifted his foot and planted it firmly on her torso, hard enough to prevent her from rolling away. "Who's getting tired now?" He asked, raising his hammer up high.

Lilina frowned and raised Toon Link's sword above his foot, ready to jam it in. Roy swore and quickly jumped out of the way, hoping she wouldn't be able to stop her own momentum and stab herself. Unfortunately, she moved the sword out of the way at the last minute and she rose back to her feet, perfectly unharmed save for a few scratches.

"Please," she muttered. "I'm not so dumb as to attack myself."

"You sure look to be the type, though," Roy shot back as he darted forward once more. What he wouldn't give to have his flamethrower back… Nonetheless, the two fell back into a dance, with one attacking the other only to completely miss. To any onlooker they would look perfectly matched, but Roy knew that it wasn't an option. He would not allow a tie; he had to win, lest he be the second sacrifice for the round.

He wanted to go back home to the real Lilina. Back to his family and friends, where they would welcome him back with open arms and possibly throw a feast to celebrate his victory. But… his eyes darkened, ducking below yet another jab from Lilina. His victory would come at a cost: the lives of everyone else still playing Cirvex's little game.

He hated the computer. Hated him for what he put them through, for what he planned. Roy didn't care if Lucas thought there was a nicer, alternative side to the sadistic machine; that didn't change the fact that people had already died, and more were going to fall before the night was over. They didn't have unlimited time.

It was do or die, and Roy did not plan on dying tonight.

He noticed that as he fought the Lilina imposter, the plant things that blonde guy had summoned seemed to completely ignore them. Perhaps it was because he hadn't made any contact with Louie at all, or maybe it was because they were all focused on Nana and Link. Roy didn't have any time to spare to watch how they fought, however. He had his own fight to settle.

"Had enough yet?" Lilina taunted, holding up her blade. Roy noticed that she was panting, and she seemed too tired to even hold up her own weapon properly. Briefly he wondered how and why a computer generated program was able to tire, but he was thankful for it.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Finally he allowed himself a smirk, knowing that if he couldn't beat her with pure strength, she could bring herself down. All he had to do was survive. Easy enough. Lowly under his breath he muttered, "Have at you, bitch," and dashed forward, weapon in hand.

Lilina's eyes narrowed and she side stepped his attack, not moving nearly as often as she was before. Roy let out a short laugh. If she wanted to play like that, then he would make her move.

Quickly he made his way over to the sea of Pikmin and picked up the nearest one, a plump purple one that seemed to weigh five times as much as it looked it should have. With a little difficulty, he managed to hurl the thing straight at his opponent, who stepped to the side and let it fly past her. When she turned to look at Roy again, she found five more Pikmin, all of various colors, being tossed her way. Immediately she found herself in a game of Pikmin dodge ball as she tried to dodge and avoid the oncoming creatures, slashing through some of them with her sword.

"That's it," she muttered after dodging fifteen of the things. She took one step forward –

And a heavy purple Pikmin planted into her face.

Lilina let out a groan of pain as she fell backwards, and Roy took the moment to rush back and kick her as hard as he could, knowing he wouldn't get a good shot in with just his hammer. She coughed and rolled away before he could get another kick in and shakily stood back up. Roy dashed forward once more, his weapon at the ready.

Lilina wobbled on her feet for a moment before just barely ducking below the swing of his hammer. Roy turned on his heel and reached out with his hand to grab a fistful of her hair, pulling it back and dragging her with it. She let out a surprised yelp as her back met the hard concrete and once more found herself at the mercy of the redhead. He knelt down to force the sword out of her hand and pointed it at her neck.

"Had enough?" He tilted his head to the side, much like she herself did earlier. "Shame. I was just getting started."

She growled and was about to spit a comeback at him but he tipped Toon Link's blade forward, the sharp edge just barely cutting into her throat. A thin stream of blood trickled from the puncture, and her eyes widened. "You…" she managed to whisper with difficulty. "You wouldn't kill your beloved friend, would you…? Roy?"

Roy's eyes narrowed and he slammed the blade down with all his might, effectively cutting both her voice and her life off. "You aren't Lilina. Don't you dare try to play that with me."

He sighed and closed his eyes. His battle was done. He won. The redhead looked down at the two weapons he now held; his hammer and Toon Link's sword. He gripped the handle of the blade tightly; he would not let it go to waste. Roy had seen how easily the sword was able to slice through the flowery Pikmin first hand – the others could use his help.

He turned to see Nana and Louie still going at it. A rainbow of Pikmin latched themselves onto the poor girl and slammed their hard heads onto her body, but she remained resilient and kept up her end of the slap fight. It was as if she didn't even notice the horde of Pikmin stubbornly clinging to her pants and parka. A look of pure determination was on her face, trying to overpower her opponent despite the added weights.

An explosion caught his attention, and he turned to see Samus jumping away from the suited being, smoke rising from a newly formed hole in the ground. Seeing how the blonde woman probably needed his help more than Nana, Roy quickly made his way over to help.

"Samus!" He called once he was close to her. "Don't worry, I'm here to help!"

"I don't need your help," the woman muttered in reply, but she didn't force him to leave. Roy considered this a silent victory, and handed the hammer to his partner.

"Here," he said. "You might need this."

She raised an eyebrow at the offering and shook her head, much to his surprise. Before either of them could talk, a laser was suddenly shot from a barrel on the enemy, and they jumped out of the way to avoid getting singed. Roy quickly rose back to his feet and kept his eyes peeled.

Samus had landed next to Claus' body, and she eyed the forgotten dagger embedded in his chest with interest. "Better than a hammer," she mumbled, and used both hands to rip the blade out. A sickening squelch emitted from the body as she removed the intruding weapon, but whether it bothered her or not she acted indifferent. Now armed with a sharp and useful weapon, she took a readied battle stance.

The purple suit of armor looked between its two opponents, unsure of whom to go for. Eventually it decided to just go for both of them at once, and raised both of its arms to unlatched two guns. Bullets shot like rapid fire from the barrels, and the two temporary teammates quickly moved out of the way, edging as close as they dared without getting shot.

"Think it'll run out any time soon?" Roy called over the roar of the bullets, seeing the ammunition slow down none.

"Not at all," Samus growled. "It's not human, Roy. It won't tire, and it has all the ammunition and weapons it needs to kill us. Stay on your guard or stay here and die." With that, she lashed forward, dagger pulled back and ready to strike.

Roy blinked and looked after her, quickly following behind. As she moved out of the way of a swing of the suit's arm, Roy did the same and both found themselves face to face with the enemy. Samus slid the blade of the dagger beneath the visor of the creature and Roy slashed Toon Link's sword with all his might at the hard armored side, not finding anything else quickly enough to it.

Immediately the thing reacted, kicking Roy up and out of the way and attempting to do the same to Samus. She saw the attack coming and jumped up over its arm, bringing herself close enough to the suit to wrap her legs around its neck and pull the lodged dagger skywards. Her strength was enough to pop the glass of the helmet off and she was able to look inside, to see what it was exactly she was facing.

A hollow shell stared back at her.

She blinked and gasped, caught by surprise, and the being used this opportunity to shake her off and kick her away. It brought up its arm to level with her face and a laser cannon popped out, charged and ready to fire –

Roy let out a war cry and smashed into the empty armor from the side, knocking it onto its side and sending it crashing to the asphalt. The laser that was aimed at Samus missed completely and it went off into the distance. From the tiny shrieks of what must have been agonizing pain, Roy figured that it had hit the Pikmin. Good.

He took the opportunity to raise his sword up high and slash it down onto the ready laser cannon, effectively slicing it off. It crashed onto the ground with a clunk, and Roy kicked it far away for good measure.

"You alright?" He held out a hand to Samus, who ignored him and stood up on her own instead. The redhead chuckled nervously and slowly put his arm back down. He was just trying to help. Shaking his head, he turned back to their common enemy.

Electricity crackled from the now disconnected wires as the suit slowly raised itself back to its feet. Before it could completely recover, however, Samus had dashed up to it and stabbed her dagger deep into its chest, as if trying to reach for a heart that wasn't there. It seemed to be amused by her useless attack and whipped her across the face, sending her sprawling back to the ground.

Roy growled and made his move before the thing could finish off the blonde woman, and this time used its hammer to smash in what would be the suit's head. A large dent formed and the redhead smirked at his strength, lifting the hammer to get in another short when it suddenly threw out its arms, pushing him back and to the ground.

Samus had already gotten up by this point, and she grabbed Roy's sword as he fell. She ignored his surprised cry of "hey!" and used her new and improved weapon to slash at its neck. A thin cut appeared on the surface, but otherwise it did nothing, and she was forced back once more. Samus was not one to give up, however, and almost immediately she was back in front of her suit's doppelganger, hacking and slashing away.

Her redheaded partner picked himself up and moved to help. He pouted at having his new weapon taken away from him so quickly, but quickly settled for his old trusty hammer. Together the two left a series of slashes and dents on the purple suit of armor, barely giving it any time to register the attacks and retaliate. They drove it back, the suit slowly moving backwards and the two slowly following it, until they were off the road and stood on relatively soft glass.

Suddenly it reached out and grabbed Samus' and Roy's arms, and before the two could react and move away, an electrical current from the inner workings of the armor shocked them both. They screamed in pain and agony and as their opponent let them go, they fell to the grass, twitching and emitting odd sparks of electricity from their bodies. The suit looked down at them both before walking away to join its last partner in battle.

Lucas remained in the background all the while, not being able to do much of anything with his hands bound and wrapped. He gulped, watching his teammates put up with their respective enemies. He wanted to scream and cry out as he saw Samus and Roy fall, but he knew he couldn't distract Link and Nana from the Pikmin and Louie. The suit of armor moved away from its victims, so the blonde boy knew they wouldn't be hurt more for now.

Link had been doing his best to keep the Pikmin away from Nana, but as he destroyed more of the plant-like beings, Louie only whistled and called for more as if he had an infinite number of them at his disposal. Each of them had an elemental sort of power about them: the red ones burned him as he touched them, the yellow ones shocked him, the white ones just plain made him feel sick, the purple ones were impossibly heavy, and he didn't know much about the blue ones other than the fact that they had mouths and the other colors didn't. If the blue skin was any indicator, he would guess that their elemental power was water based, and he was glad that there wasn't a large body of water nearby.

Nana and Louie kept up their slap fight, not having much physical strength themselves and have no weapons besides the Pikmin. Nana couldn't control the Pikmin and they wouldn't dare attack their master, but she wouldn't let Louie have them either. Every time he tried to pick one up, she would grab his arm and smack it out of the way, much to the blonde's chagrin.

Link continued to use the dual blades Pit had wielded, slashing through the Pikmin with ease. More just kept coming, and so he was glad that he was able to kill them with ease. Fragile bodies, destroyed so easily. In the back of his mind, he was grateful that they didn't leave their corpses behind; they just turned into soul wisps and floated up into the sky. He didn't want to stand in a field of bodies, flowers or not.

"Nana!" He called, slashing through a large purple Pikmin. "You okay back there? Don't worry; I'll be there as soon as I can!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the Pikmin started attacking and jumping him in even larger groups than before, giving him more trouble. They started to weigh him down and his movements became sluggish until he could barely move at all. "Ah!"

"Link!" Lucas cried. He had almost darted forward to help his friend but stopped himself as his hands seemed to pulse painfully in protest. The boy groaned. If this was Olimar's friend and he could control the Pikmin, did that mean Olimar also had the ability to control them? Where was the little Hocotatian, anyway? From what he knew, Olimar was still considered alive by Cirvex's standards and as such should be here fighting with them.

If he could clench his hands, he would have done so. The one person they needed most right now was missing in action, and no one, not even Cirvex, had any clue on where to even start looking for him. He had to be here somewhere, in the world the malevolent machine had created…

"Please, Olimar…" Lucas whispered to himself. "We need you…"

Nana seemed to notice Link's predicament and she turned, eyes widened as she saw her friend fall. Louie took the chance to grab a nearby white Pikmin and he flung it with all his might at the girl. It hit his target dead on, and she collapsed, giving all of the other Pikmin the opportunity they had strived so hard for to cover all areas of her body. Her muffled screams and cries went nearly unheard under the sound of the chattering Pikmin.

Lucas gulped, tears welling in his eyes. Samus and Roy were unconscious, Link and Nana were buried in a sea of Pikmin… and he was incapacitated. There was no way out of this…

Suddenly, a large amount of Pikmin suddenly rose into the air, all clinging onto a certain tall body. Link looked out furiously from the flowers covering his face, and he roared dangerously, "I have had enough of you damn creatures!" Yelling angrily, he held the dual swords in both hands and spun, sending all the Pikmin clinging to his skin flying to the ground. As soon as their bodies connected with the hard surface, their eyes widened and they turned into wisps of what they once were.

Louie was alarmed by the sudden movement and moved to blow his whistle – but right from underneath him, Nana's arm shot out of the flowers and her hand wrapped around his wrist. He struggled and tried to kick her off, but she refused to let go. Link continued to declare war on all the Pikmin, mercilessly hacking each one he saw until the numbers noticeably dwindled and there were just a few left.

The small blonde Hocotatian started to sweat, looking nervously at his two opponents. Nana, now with less Pikmin covering her, was able to stand up with much ease and she looked her enemy dead in the eye. "Your turn," she muttered dangerously as Link came up behind her, one of the dual swords raised high in the air.

Louie turned to run away, but Nana's grip on his arm prevented him from taking even a step. Link brought the sword down and the blade crashed into the helmet of the small being, forming a large crack instantly. One more swing from the blunt weapon and the entire helmet shattered. The mesmerizing blue light that shined from the top fell to the ground and went out.

Nana watched with cruel glee and let go of her opponent as he reached for his neck with both hands and fell to his knees. Some of the glass had punctured his skin, and trails of blood streamed down his face, giving him a rather pitiful look. "I… I…" he rasped, desperately trying to breathe. "N… no wa... y…" His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he shuddered once before falling to the ground, limp and unmoving.

Link looked down at the Hocotatian before finally leaning back. "Finally. That was annoying." He plucked a stray flower from his hair.

"Link! Watch out!"

The blonde had just a moment to register Lucas' quick warning before something suddenly collided into him full force, sending him sprawling to the ground. Nana let out a cry of alarm before she too was sent flying. The purple suit of armor stood tall above them, and the girl shivered at the empty shell. The glass visor of the helmet was gone, showing… absolutely nothing inside.

From a distance, Samus slowly and weakly rose to her knees. She breathed heavily, feeling pain course throughout her entire body. She was tired and wanted a rest… but she couldn't. There was still a fight she had to settle, and she'd be damned if she was going to let a girly girl brat and Mr. Majesty finish it for her.

She stumbled as she took a step forward, but she was not going to let that deter her. Samus bit her lip and continued her limp, determined to see it through to the end. Suddenly an arm snaked its way around her chest and she turned, ready to bite the head off the person who touched her, and stopped when she noticed Roy smiling innocently up at her.

"Need some help walking?" He asked. She frowned; who was he to help her? He was in just as bad, if not worse, shape than she was. But even as she looked him over and pondered over his question, she realized that with his help, the two had lasted a lot longer than if she had just battled alone. With his help, she was walking faster than if she had just continued on her own.

She frowned and didn't respond. Roy shrugged, used to her antics, and together the two continued their struggled limp to where the battle was now taking place.

Lucas brightened considerably when the two rose, but his expression quickly changed to worry when he looked back at Nana and Link. Both of them were struggling to stand, but the purple power suit wouldn't even give them the chance. It knocked them back down mercilessly every time they tried, and while Lucas knew it was capable of taking them both out in one hit, it seemed to be holding back. But why? His eyes widened as he came to the realization.

It's teasing them.

He bit his lip, anxious and worried for his two friends. Six enemies were down, counting Popo and Tetra from hours earlier, and there was only one left to go, but… none of them were in any condition to fight. It was a doomed battle.

"Hey," Roy called out to the suit like he had a death wish. "Yeah, over here. Did you forget about us? I'm hurt." But he had a look of pure malice on his face as he glared at the being that had hurt him and his friends. His right hand gripped the handle of the hammer tightly and his knuckles started to turn white. Samus likewise did the same with Toon Link's sword.

With the power suit's attention grabbed, Nana and Link were finally able to stand back up, albeit dizzily. The girl with the pink parka grabbed her head and moaned softly in pain, and the blonde male instantly reached for his dual swords. He took a few seconds to recover and then lashed out, hacking at the suit with no mercy, leaving countless slashes in his wake.

Samus and Roy, determined not to be left out, rushed to aid him. The power suit, knowing that it was out numbered even with its severely weakened enemies, brought out two canons and aimed it as well as it could. Link, however, quickly reacted and slashed them off before they could fire, rendering them useless.

Lucas smirked; they were finally having the upper hand again.

They brought the power suit to its knees, all attacking as hard as they could, knowing it was their final enemy for the time being. The suit of armor crackled with electricity and started to go on the fritz; its movements because jerky and sporadic as it tried to deflect the many incoming blows. Roy's attacks were the devastating ones in particular and already, after a short time, it was looking completely beat down.

A hatch opened on its back, unnoticed by all but one. Three thick black wires snuck out and coiled around a foot of each attacker, and then—

Everything stopped.

Samus and Roy got their second dose of electricity, and neither showed any signs of movement as they hit the ground. Link screamed as he was forced to undergo the painful surge, and his twin blades fell to the asphalt with a clatter, his own body following suit. Their bodies twitched as electric waves bounced off of them, but they didn't willingly move by themselves.

Lucas stared in horror as the power suit slowly rose back to its feet, its joints creaking with every movement. Sparks of electricity bounced across its armor and wires jutted out everywhere. It looked like a complete mess; the blonde boy couldn't even begin to comprehend how it was still functional.

The empty armor lifted Samus by her neck and managed to seem disappointed by her lack of reaction. In a small fit, it threw her back on the ground, separated from the others, and unlatched its final cannon, a rather unstable one that seemed about to fall at any second. But its physical state apparently meant nothing as visible energy started to gather at the front, ready to finish the female bounty hunter once and for all.

"No!" Lucas shouted. He wanted to run, to do something to help, but his legs seemed glued to the ground. Come on, work with me! I have to save Samus! Come on!

The blonde boy could do nothing but stare at the horrific sight happening in front of his eyes. The tough and strong blonde woman lying unconscious, at the mercy of her attacker… The canon was ready to fire. It crackled and fizzed, but a bright beam of light shot forth from the barrel, and Lucas was forced to cover his tearful eyes.

When the light died down, he almost didn't want to move his arms. He didn't want to see what had become of the strong woman. But… he had to. Maybe… maybe there was a chance he could save her. In his mind he highly doubted it and knew it was impossible, but he need something – anything! – to reassure him that she wasn't dead.

That reassurance came in the form of a little girl in a pink parka.

Lucas finally unshielded his eyes and had to blink twice at the sight before him. The power suit, now completely out of energy, let off a final spark before finally crumbling into a heap on the group. Standing just beyond it, in front of Samus…

"Nana!"

The blonde boy, knowing there was no more danger, ran to her. Her once spotless coat was now almost completely charred with soot, and her skin was in a similar condition. She coughed once, and smoke came blowing in front of her face. Lucas cringed at the smell of burnt skin and fabric, but pressed on anyway.

"Nana," he cried, running up to her. As soon as he made it, she took one look at him and fell to the ground. "Nana!" Lucas was scared to touch her; he didn't want to put her in any more pain than she was most undoubtedly currently in. He settled for holding her hand. "No, no… You…"

"Did I… redeem myself?" The girl asked, her voice hoarse. She coughed once more, and soot splattered on the bottom of Lucas' chin. He didn't notice. "I wanted… to prove that I changed… and that I really am sorry about earlier…"

"S-stop talking," Lucas muttered. Nana's eyes widened, and he quickly added, "D-don't strain yourself… We'll help you, okay? You won't die here…"

"I… took that attack for Samus," Nana muttered. "I took it head on… for her. There was no way… someone like me… would make it to the end of tonight, anyway…"

"But you're so close!" Lucas tried. "You're just going to throw your life away? What about your brother? Would he have wanted you to do this?"

She closed her eyes and thought. It was only a moment, but Lucas feared that she would slip away soon. Like the others before her… "I think… yes… he would."

The blonde boy bit his lip. They were so close… they had already defeated three enemies without many casualties; why did she have to go and sacrifice herself to the fourth?

"L-Lucas," she sputtered, and he had to lean in closer to hear her voice. "Who do you think deserves… to live? Me… or Samus…?"

"I can't answer that, Nana…"

"Samus is strong… and she's an admirable woman… but look at me. I'm just a scared little girl… who couldn't even tell her own brother from a fake… and got someone killed because of it." Lucas' heart panged at the thought of Toon Link, but Nana continued before he could say anything. "If there was a choice… between me and Samus… who would move on from this round… Samus is the better choice by far, Lucas."

"Nana, stop…" He shook his head. He didn't want to hear this. Everyone always had to give some heroic speech in their final moments, and he didn't want to hear them! It was a guarantee of their death, as if they had already accepted it… why couldn't they see that Lucas still believed in them? Why couldn't they see that they had so much more to offer than to just sacrifice themselves? Why couldn't Lucas stop caring?

"I saw how panicked you were when that thing was going to kill Samus," she whispered. "And I thought to myself… 'I don't like seeing that look on Lucas' face.' If I had let Samus get killed… I would have just taken her life for granted… I wouldn't have appreciated it… because I know I won't be able to do anything now. Not without Popo…"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. And smiled. And the only thing Lucas could think was,

How can she smile in the face of death?

"I'm s-sorry, Lucas…" A tear fell from her eye, and she started to shake. "F-for everything I did tonight…"

"It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay. You're okay. You're going to be okay."

"Yeah… I am." Her eyes fluttered closed again, and she didn't reopen them. Lucas sat there for the longest time, looking down at her, holding her hand, waiting for her to say something else. She didn't.

"I wonder why you still think you can save everyone."

Lucas looked up, recognizing the familiar voice instantly. He frowned, and finally let the tears fall from his face. "I thought you changed. I thought you were going to get us out of here without any more deaths."

"Did I ever say that?"

The blonde boy didn't reply.

"Rules are rules, Lucas. The world you live in, outside of my virtual one, isn't a fun place. Humans are horrible and disgusting creatures. They steal, they rape, they kill. My world isn't much different from the real one."

"You used to be human," Lucas whispered.

"Used to be. And isn't that the key word? Congratulations, you've made it to Round Four."

Lucas shuddered and closed his eyes, tilting his head to the ground. He didn't want to play anymore. No more rounds, no more deaths… he just wanted to go home.

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to start the round until all the players have been gathered…"

Olimar.

"How hard can it be to find one Hocotatian? Apparently it's harder than it seems. I'm going to look through my virtual worlds again. Hang tight, Lucas."

As if he could do anything different. And just like that, he found himself completely alone.

OoO

"Round Three is complete. Fatalities are as follows: Toon Link, Nana. Round Four will begin shortly. The current time is six thirty. Participants have one hour and thirty minutes to complete the last two rounds. Participants still playing are as follows: Link, Roy, Olimar, Samus, Lucas."

Peach let out a shaky breath at the sound of the children being listed as fatalities and stole a glance at Zelda. The brunette merely shook her head and laid it back in her hands. The little girl, and the little boy who looked so much like her boyfriend… gone.

Elsewhere in the audience, Claus slumped down in his seat. He was honestly surprised to hear that his brother was still alive, but he really was glad. If Lucas died… he didn't know what he would do. They had always been together, and they did everything together. He wouldn't be able to go through life with his brother suddenly missing from his side. It just wasn't a possible reality to him.

Farther down in the rows, Louie held a yellow Pikmin close to him. He was aware that the blue light emanating from his antennae might be bothering the people directly behind him, but they hadn't said anything. It wasn't as if they actually had anything to watch, but he was still self-conscious about it. He pulled his knees up to his chin and used the little Pikmin as a pillow between his legs and chest, much to the confusion of the plant-like creature. Nonetheless, it seemed to be alright with the arrangement after the initial shock.

"Do you think Olimar will be okay?" Louie asked it, stroking the back of its head soothingly.

The yellow Pikmin looked up at him and blinked. Despite its large ears, it had no idea what the Hocotatian was saying. All it understood were the whistle commands the blue man ordered. Nothing more, nothing less. Usually it was for food, or battle, or retrieving items… but it rather liked the comfortable silence it had fallen into, and nuzzled close to Louie's chin.

Louie looked down at it and sighed. He wasn't expecting an actual response from the creature, but sometimes he wished that he could communicate with the Pikmin. Though perhaps it was for the best that he couldn't understand them and they vice-versa; the first time he had encountered the little flower beings, he had tried to cook and eat them.

It was then that he realized that for the first time in months, he wasn't hungry.

Louie looked down at himself in awe. Not hungry…? That was an unfamiliar feeling to him. Usually what was on his mind were food and various ways to cook plenty of meals. He was a good cook (at least Olimar had said so), and he took pride in what he felt was his only calling.

But now that he had seemingly lost his appetite, he realized that he actually had something on his mind worth thinking about that wasn't food. Sure, Olimar was his friend… but food usually took precedence over friends. It couldn't be that he was actually worried for the older male, right?

... Olimar can take care of himself, he thought stubbornly, clutching the yellow Pikmin closer. The action elicited a squeak from the creature, and he nuzzled the top of its head. "It's okay. After this is all done and Olimar gets out, how about I make us a grand meal?"

Even though it couldn't understand him, the Pikmin squeaked in response, and he smiled.