So sorry, everybody! I'm so caught up in a bunch of other things that I forgot to update!
Anyways, you know the rest. Some stuff happens where I resolve two subplots. Now, the only thing left to resolve is the main plot. I can get to that next chapter, and then, epilogue.
In other words, this fic is about to end soon! Oh no!
Don't worry about it, though! I have plans for a spin-off of sorts; I guess you all wonder what's going on with Link, eh? Well, he gets sent to jail, and stuff happens that is to be retold in my current project-in-conception, Paranoia. Basically put, expect Link to go through all kinds of crap in that. I'll go into details once I get there.
But for now, the second to last true chapter of Symphonische Metamorphosen. Enjoy!
A second knock emanated from the other side of the doorway.
"Hey!" shouted Falco's voice from across the door. "Open up! You've been in here fo' days and ya haven't said anythin' to either me or Fox! Get out and talk a little, will ya?"
Matthew simply tucked his head into his arms more. The former hand had been deprived of sleep, and he was not about to let Falco wake him up.
A third series of knocks came from the door.
With a begrudging sigh, Matthew stood up and opened the door to find the birdman standing in front of him.
"Damn it, man," said Falco. "Why didn't ya open up like I asked ya?"
"I need sleep," said Matthew.
"I don't care right now," said Falco. "What's up wit' the silence lately?"
"I'm still thinking," Matthew lied.
"Bullshit," said Falco as he stepped into the office. "You've had plenty o' time to think."
"I'm still lost," said Matthew, eyes diverting away from Falco as the anthropomorphic bird paced around the office.
"Well, get yourself unlost," said Falco.
"But I can't," said Matthew. "I can't!"
"Then I think that you're lyin' to me," said Falco. "Ya can tell me! I don't mind a bit what ya think!"
"But I…" said Matthew.
"It ain't like I'm gonna tell anybody other than Fox," said Falco. "Come on!"
"But it's stupid!" said Matthew.
"So what if it's stupid?" asked Falco. "It's not like anybody ain't got the right to hear it."
"And you'd never understand," said Matthew. "I don't think any ruffian would understand."
Falco opened his mouth to speak, but anger took over as he opened it, and it continued on its way.
"Who are you calling a ruffian?" asked Falco. "Me?"
"Yes!" shouted Matthew. "You, with the New York street accent!"
"Shut up!" shouted Falco. "My father left me on the side of the street, I had to pickpocket my way through life for six years! Did that stop Fox from befriending me and finding me a home? Hell no! So you shut your trap before I mess ya up!"
"I don't care!" shouted Matthew. "You haven't had to deal with not having the chance to tell the people you cared about that they were important to you!"
Matthew stopped after saying this, and stepped back in shock that he had apparently let his secret fly.
Falco nodded and smiled a little as his hands placed themselves on his hips.
"Now we're gettin' somewhere," said Falco.
"Quiet!" shouted Matthew.
"What?" asked Falco. "I can't be down to earth around here?"
"You don't understand!" shouted Matthew. "I had a bunch of things I never told Cornelia, and now she'll never know!"
Falco's eyes widened slightly as Matthew huffed and puffed where he stood.
"Cornelia was part of me!" shouted Matthew, tears beginning to stream down his face. "She was there for me through everything that I've ever suffered in my life! I've always had her to help me through all of the troubles of life, and it was she whom I would turn to whenever I had a problem! Who do you think I have now! Nobody! And now she'll never know that she meant so much to me! So get out and leave me the fuck alone!"
Matthew slouched against the wall and placed his hand on his face as the tears came down without abandon.
Falco stood there, bewildered by what Matthew had said.
The bird then walked up to Matthew and wrapped his arms around him comfortingly.
The head of the tournament was at first surprised, but he wrapped his own arms around Falco's form and cried into his shoulder.
"There, there," said Falco. "I'm here. I'll listen to what you say."
They stood in this position for a little more time before Falco patted Matthew.
"I'll take ya to the graveyard later today," said Falco. "So ya can tell her she was important to ya. How's that?"
The head of the tournament nodded as they parted.
Falco nodded and walked out of the door.
"I'll see you later then," said Matthew.
The bird turned around, nodded to Matthew, and continued on his way.
I'm a slut…
This commanding phrase ran itself in Samus' head for the umpteenth time that day as she sat on her bed wondering what to do.
She had not bothered to do her hair that morning, so a mess of blonde strands stood on top of her head as she sat on the bed. Her skin-tight suit lay on the ground next to her bed as it had lain discarded when she woke up. She froze herself in her room, as if wishing for death to come quickly.
She was not invincible. She had never thought this would cross her mind, but it finally did. Samus would speak of her accomplishments with the same amount of disdain as the amount that she retold with pride running in her system.
But it was the fact that she had to pay the ultimate price for it that killed her; she never knew she would get a child from anybody (and especially from a man she did not love). Therefore, she was destroyed inside. Her old self lay tattered inside of her mind.
And yet, there was no new self to occupy the space that was left vacant in Samus' mind. She had no idea how to start over, and she had no idea where to begin in her new life.
Therefore, the bounty hunter could be considered a mess.
And thus, she sat on the bed, trying to think clearly for once in between bouts of throwing sheets of loose-leaf paper around the dorm.
But the clear thoughts never came. And she kept standing up and tearing the sheets of paper in her hands as she ran around screaming and throwing the said sheets of paper this way and that.
And just then, the papers were lying scattered all around her after having freshly settled on the floor. Nothing had come to her yet. Nothing.
Suddenly, a word appeared in her mind. She had never given much thought to it, but she realized then it would give her what she wanted; rest, peace, and a sense of her pride restored to her.
She stood up and did her hair with a little water with the brush that lay on the bedside table.
As she stood in front of the mirror, though, her expression fell; she wondered if she was doing the right thing at all.
At this, her expression fell and she fell into her old self-doubt again. However, she eventually perked up and looked into the mirror.
After doing her hair, she slipped into her zero suit.
Matthew knelt in front of the grave of his departed sister, the wind playing games with his brown hair as he knelt in front of it.
Falco stood off to the side, watching Matthew as he whispered small words to Cornelia's spirit. The avian wondered if Cornelia was actually hearing anything that Matthew said, but he knew more than anybody that Matthew really needed to get his feelings out to something. Therefore, he knew that he had done the right thing.
The head of the tournament stared forwards after having said a long statement to Cornelia, and he held back as many tears as he could as he placed a bouquet of roses that were laying in his hands the entire time on the ground in front of Cornelia's tombstone. He then looked at the top of the tombstone.
"I remember that there was a lullaby that you always wanted me to sing when dad died," whispered Matthew. "You sleep now, but not in peace. Let me just say one last thing…"
The head of the tournament swallowed, eyes watering as he opened his mouth.
"Day is doneGone the sun,From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.All is well, safely restGod is nigh."
The tears began to flow as he sang the silent syllables, the wind blowing a few pedals away from the roses.
Finally, when he finished, he knelt there for a while. He knelt, letting the tears flow freely so that Cornelia could see them. He cried until he felt that his tear ducts were devoid of anything left to cry, and this took him a long time to approach.
When he had finished letting the tears out, Matthew stood and turned to Falco.
"Ya ready?" asked Falco.
"Yes," said Matthew.
"Let's go then," said the avian.
He walked to the Arwing that was parked in the lot, with Matthew following closely behind.
A white sedan rode up to the gates of the mansion, and access to the driveway was achieved by it as it drove to the steps. The white paint job shone brilliantly against the heat of the afternoon sun.
Zelda and Roy emerged from the passenger and driver's seats of the sedan, and Roy walked to Zelda and took her hand.
"So how was it tonight?" asked Roy.
"Oh, that was a lot of fun!" said Zelda. "I'd like to do things like that again!"
Roy had taken Zelda and his co-workers to a rather rowdy bar in the southern part of downtown Smash City where the dancing was fast and the beverages were mild. They had arrived in the middle of the day's dance hour, and, needless to say, Zelda had gotten Roy and herself into one dance too many, and Zelda came out of it wishing for a lot more than what she had been given.
"Yeah," said Roy. "That was a lot of fun. I'd be glad to take you again sometime."
"Oh, would you?" asked Zelda as the two of them walked up the marble steps.
"Of course," said Roy. "So I'll see you Friday at six?"
"Friday at six," said Zelda. "Got it!"
As they approached the doors, they opened seemingly by themselves. Out walked Samus with her face somewhat under-nourished in terms of make-up and with sapphire eyes that sparkled with an odd mix of sadness and happiness.
"Hey, Samus!" said Roy. "Haven't heard from you in a while."
"Oh," said Samus, just noticing the prince and princess standing in front of her. "Sorry about that. Can you take me somewhere?"
"Samus, you're not planning on—" began Zelda.
"Don't worry about it, dear," said Roy. "I'll make sure I don't get tempted. But sure, I'll take you somewhere. Where to?"
Samus stood there, seemingly trying to muster up the courage to tell them as she walked forward and faced the distance.
Finally, the bounty hunter opened her mouth.
"The abortion clinic."
"The abortion clinic?" asked Zelda. "Samus, why would you need that?"
"Because I'm pregnant with a child I don't want," said Samus. "I'm surprised nobody told you."
"What do you mean, 'with a child you don't want?'" asked Roy. "I'm pretty sure that everybody wants a child they can call their—"
"It's Link's child, okay?" said Samus. "I don't want it!"
"But why the abortion clinic?" asked Zelda.
"I need it to be taken away!" said the bounty hunter. "I don't want it!"
"Well, you can give it away for adoption," said Roy.
"Who would take a baby of a slut?" asked Samus.
The princess' eyes widened as this sentence came out of Samus' mouth.
"What do you mean, baby of a slut?" asked Zelda.
"Because that's what I am!" shouted the bounty hunter, finally losing her last holds on her sanity as she lurched forward, tears coming from her eyes.
"Samus, who told you—?" asked Roy.
"I wasn't supposed to get pregnant!" shouted Samus. "You don't get it at all! Bounty hunters don't get pregnant by people that they don't love! I hate that man! I hate him! I wish he would die for making me what I am and making me unable to break the grasp of this… thing on me!"
"Hey!" shouted Zelda as she grabbed Samus' shoulders and shook her a little. "Settle down! You are not a slut, understand?"
"No!" shouted Samus. "You don't get it! You don't know what it's like to feel the anger of a thousand people on you! Especially you!"
"Me?" asked Zelda. "Why should I be angry?"
"Because I slept with the man you loved!" shouted Samus. "You hate both of us now, and you'll probably spread the word so nobody would take the baby! Who will do it, then?"
"I will!" shouted Zelda.
A silence pervaded the outside of the mansion afterwards as Samus looked at Zelda with a bewildered expression on her face.
"Zelda, why?" she asked.
"I should be angry at you," said Zelda. "I really should. But I'm not. The last time I ever saw that man, he told me that he needed attention, and I assume he used all of us to some extent, especially you. I cannot bring myself to be angry at you over that. Therefore, I have no enmity towards you.
"And I should hate Link enough to not want to take in his children. But I don't. Why? He did some terrible things, but in the end, he admitted that what he did was wrong. I will never forgive him for what he did, but he knew that he was wrong, and for me, that is the only reason why I still have some respect left for him.
"You are not a slut, Samus. You never will be."
The bounty hunter and the prince both looked at the princess as she looked at Samus in the eye, a fierce determination to prove to Samus that she was not what she branded herself burning in her eyes.
And then, Samus collapsed on Zelda's shoulder, crying for as long as she could muster tears.
The princess instinctively wrapped her arms around the bounty hunter comfortingly, and Roy came forward and patted Samus' hair.