Author's Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros or any of the characters involved in it. I am earning no profit from this story, other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others! I hope you all enjoy reading it!
Link noticed Cloud and Young Link sitting without food before them. He was already finished eating, and was seemingly waiting for Zelda to also finish. "You two must be hungry."
"We're alright," Cloud waved him off. "It's just one night."
Link shook his head. "Nonsense. I can remedy that." He pulled the Sheikah Slate off his hip. "I never did finish making you that cake, Cloud."
Cloud had, in all honesty, forgotten about the cake. He felt a little guilty now that Link had brought it up, but there were simply more important things going on and the event had slipped his mind.
"I'll take cake for dinner!" Young Link decided quickly.
"I want some too!" Pit added.
"I'm sure that'll make you feel better, Toon," Palutena said softly to their youngest friend, who nodded after a moment of consideration.
"Excellent," Link said. "Red velvet, right, Cloud?"
Cloud shrugged. "Sure." He was touched by Link's insistence, and his stomach was also happy that he wouldn't be starving himself tonight.
Link got to work immediately. Dinner was kind of over, and the other fighters were starting to wander back upstairs to their rooms. Those that remained cast Link a curious glance as he summoned his cooking materials from his Slate, but nobody said anything about it. Within a few minutes, the pot from before had a fire lit underneath it and a pan of cake batter baking inside it.
"Happy belated birthday, Cloud," Link said, standing from his kneeled position, now just waiting for his makeshift oven to do its job. "And again my sincere apologies for giving you a punctured lung."
"Forget about it," Cloud said. "Nobody knew what to do, it's alright."
"Let's not talk about that again," Shulk said.
Everyone quickly agreed. They stood eagerly around the pot as the concealed batter slowly rose into a proper cake. It smelled really good. Cloud had originally doubted Link's actual ability to bake anything decent, seeing as his table manners were generally atrocious, but it seemed the kid did have some talent when it came to preparing food.
After about half an hour, Link lifted the lid, and a perfectly baked red velvet cake was sitting in the pan. Pit's lips parted in awe. Young Link's stomach growled loudly. Cloud realized his mouth was watering. He was very hungry, and that cake looked amazing. Link deftly removed the cake from the pot and decorated it with vanilla icing. Robin put out the fire behind him.
The design was simple, seeing as Link had an eagerly awaiting audience; just a few swirls on the top and along the sides, but it was most definitely aesthetically appealing.
"I would write 'happy birthday,' but you know I cannot read," Link said almost sheepishly, drawing a knife from the Slate and raising it over the cake.
"I promise I don't care," Cloud said.
"It looks so good!" Zelda added, hugging him tightly.
He blushed. "It's nothing, I assure you."
"Cut it up already!" Young Link cried. "I'm starving over here!"
"Cloud gets first piece, right?" Palutena asked.
Link nodded. He counted the people standing around him, and then cut the cake evenly in that many slices. Then he moved out of the way and let Cloud approach the cake first. Behind the ex-mercenary, Young Link and Pit just about shoved each other out of the way for the next place in line. Palutena pulled her angel back, quietly berating him; Pit had eaten. Young Link had not.
Cloud picked the piece with the most frosting, plated it, and took it back to his seat. Link watched him as he took his first bite. It was so good! If Cloud had thought it smelled good, then the taste was simply beyond describability. "It's amazing," he informed Link quickly, almost forcing himself to slow down. It was moist and the frosting wasn't too thick or too runny. It was absolutely wonderful, and very much reminded him of the cakes Tifa used to make on his birthday, but maybe even better.
"I am glad," Link said, watching with contentment as the others tried the cake and showered him with similar compliments. But perhaps the greatest compliment of all was the complete and utter silence that occupied the room once everyone had their piece. Young Link didn't tease Pit for the crumbs around his mouth. Shulk didn't engage Zelda in a conversation about a book they'd both just read. It was totally quiet. Nobody wanted to stop eating Link's cake. It was just that excellent.
Everyone had their sizeable piece, Link included, and Cloud now felt a lot better. He wasn't hungry anymore, and the stairs incident felt like it had happened a long time ago now. Toon Link seemed happier, Link was very much unsure what to do with all the praise, and the entire group was loving their dessert. It was a good night.
"Well, I'm going to head to bed," Robin decided eventually. "It's been a long day. See you all in the morning. And thank you once again for the cake, Link."
Link nodded.
"Robin, wait!" Cloud called, remembering something important. Good night or not, they still had business to attend to. The tactician glanced back at him. "We still haven't talked about getting Sephiroth on our side."
For a moment, awkward silence consumed the room.
"Er, we will, Cloud," Zelda promised. "But we can't do it with you around, can we?"
Cloud paused. Mewtwo had mentioned that Sephiroth had been in his head the other night. And Sephiroth himself had confirmed that he took information from Cloud's head during their conversation. But how would the others know about it?
"I heard Sephiroth listing everything that he knows through you while I was eavesdropping," Young Link said pointedly. "He goes through your memories on a regular basis. You can't know anything important."
"Right," Palutena agreed. "Whenever we have that conversation-which we will, I promise, we're not stupid-you'll never know about it. It's for our own good, okay? I'm sorry."
Cloud nodded slowly. That made sense. "Fine."
Robin continued on his way up the stairs. The others took this as their cue to head on to bed as well. Once one person went to bed, everyone else usually followed pretty quickly. Cloud got up and walked to the staircase next, not feeling the need to talk to anyone else. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he'd forgotten something important, but no matter how hard he thought about it nothing resurfaced. So he resolved to just call himself stupid and move on with his life. By tomorrow the weird feeling would be gone.
As he walked across the main room, he overheard Link and Zelda talking. Not every word, but one here or there. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but the room was pretty empty and theirs was the only conversation being held.
"-wrong, Link?"
"Nothing….don't like...lying to him…"
"Stop worrying...be fine...agreed."
Cloud reached the staircase and headed to bed. He didn't think much of their words. Of course Link didn't like lying to anyone, even if it was needed. The group was going to need to lie to Cloud consistently about whatever their Sephiroth plan would be. And that was fine with him. But it was unsurprising that it bothered their chivalrous knight.
Cloud got upstairs, got ready for bed, and lay down to sleep.
How is your head? Mewtwo asked.
"Fine. Why?"
The blade cut deep. I was worried.
"Nothing Jenova couldn't handle, I'm sure. Don't remember much, really."
Better that way, is it not? Vivid memories of a sword wound would be uncomfortable.
"I guess."
In any case, I am glad you're alright.
Mewtwo ended their connection, and Cloud went on to sleep. The next day, absolutely nothing of interest happened. Zelda, Robin, and Shulk spent a lot of time upstairs away from him, so Cloud assumed they were busy discussing Sephiroth. Hopefully they could come up with something without his help. Other than that, Cloud spent most of that day dreading the next. He clearly remembered Sephiroth's promise. Tomorrow, the two of them would be challenging Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Or more accurately, tomorrow the two of them would be getting thrown into the torture room. Probably for a long time. A direct attack on their captors was a serious offense. Especially if they somehow managed to do some actual damage. But there was nothing Cloud could do about it but wait anxiously.
"Wonder why he doesn't just do it today?" Young Link asked idly while he, Cloud, and Link played darts. "You're already angry. He did a really good job of hacking you off yesterday."
"Cloud knows the attack is tomorrow. He knows his fate is sealed, and that resistance is futile. His anger will continue to fester until tomorrow," Link replied easily.
"Since when did you get so knowledgeable about feelings?" Cloud grumbled, but his evident bad mood only served to prove Link's point.
"Well, let's beat him at his own game, then," Young Link suggested. "Let's do something fun instead of this boring garbage. Something that you can forget about tomorrow."
"Like what?" Cloud demanded.
The three considered the proposition. It wasn't a bad idea, but Cloud wasn't so easily entertained. He hated poker now, he didn't really like darts, and playing sports was pretty old. Playing with Toon Link, while endearing, was usually a drag. It also never required much concentration. Reading, playing mindless board games, stacking blocks, all of those would allow Cloud's thoughts to drift off. And they didn't exactly have anywhere good to go right now.
"I may have a suggestion," Link said. He pulled the Sheikah Slate off his belt. "I hear you have a motorcycle back home."
"I do," Cloud replied, unsure where Link was going with that. He hadn't thought about his bike, Fenrir, much. He liked driving it, the wind whipping through his hair was a great feeling, and battling on it was a pure adrenaline high. But he had a lot more important things back home that he worried about more often.
"Want to ride one?" Link asked, tapping at the screen.
"Okay, first of all, you have a motorcycle?" Young Link said incredulously. "And you've never mentioned it?"
"It never seemed important," Link shrugged.
"And second of all, where exactly could Cloud drive a bike around here without killing himself?" Young Link questioned.
Link spread his arms out, as though gesturing to the entire main room.
Cloud glanced around the area. It was, in fact, a huge room. It encompassed not only the dining table, but an area for reading, the dart board, and the space for viewing fights that was never used. The middle of it was widely empty. And currently, there weren't many people here. Cloud could avoid the few fighters milling about the corners of the room.
"What do you say?" Link asked.
Cloud nodded. "I'm in."
Link pressed a final button on his Slate. The screen emitted long strands of cerulean light that coalesced into the silhouette of a motorcycle. Once together, the strands solidified. Most changed from blue to brown to form the main body of the bike. A few remained blue, outlining the lights of the bike. A couple turned orange, becoming even more lights along the tires. The process only took a few seconds before a full-on motorcycle was sitting in front of Link and Cloud. It was a fancy machine, that was for sure. It's design reminded Cloud of a horse, with a bowed head in the front and even lights that served as eyes. It was also smaller than most motorcycles, as though it had been specifically designed for someone of short stature, like Link. Even so, it was a remarkable motorcycle, and Cloud found himself impressed. Fenrir was quite nice, most notably its storage for extra weapons, but it also couldn't be stored in a device that fit on his hip.
"Woah. That's a sweet ride," Young Link decided, running his hand across the nose of the bike. "Not comparable to Epona, of course, but it's nice."
"Behold, the Master Cycle Zero," Link said, and Cloud detected a hint of pride in his tone. Cloud couldn't blame him for being proud of this thing. It was quite something. "Allow me to give you a quick test drive." Link climbed on and gestured for Cloud to get on behind him.
"I can drive a motorcycle," Cloud argued.
"I insist," Link replied. He sat down on the seat and the Master Cycle Zero sprang to life, it's darkened eyes brightening and the bowed head curling outwards so that it appeared to be staring straight ahead. The motor roared in apprehension, and smoke escaped the exhaust pipes. Cloud sighed, sitting behind Link and holding on tight to the knight's shoulders.
Link glanced backwards. "Do not fall off." That was the only warning Cloud got before Link pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and their mount erupted into sudden motion. The machine reached its maximum speed, and Link had to make a hard right turn to avoid crashing into the wall they were driving straight towards. The other fighters in the room had of course been watching with great interest, and now most of them had dumbstruck looks on their faces. The robots were keeping an eye on the duo as well, but they weren't doing anything strictly illegal, so the bots eventually returned to their usual tasks. Link and Cloud flew around the room multiple times. Cloud tightened his grip on Link's shoulders, somewhat afraid of falling off. Link expertly controlled the Master Cycle, weaving in and out of the various pillars that held up the mansion's higher floors, dodging any fighter that got in their way, and performing otherwise ridiculous stunts. He drove up a wall and backflipped off of it, pressing on an extra pedal that activated springs attached to the tires and flinging them off the wall. Cloud grinned, his heart beating fast and the wind rushing through his thick hair. Young Link whooped in admiration. Their spectators applauded. Link landed cleanly, skidding to a halt and stepping off. "Did you get the controls?" he asked.
Cloud nodded. Save for the spring pedal, it was exactly the same as Fenrir.
"It is all yours. Do not hurt yourself."
Cloud got onto the bike, revving the handles and listening to the powerful motor beneath his feet shuddering in anticipation. He leaned forward, pressing the gas pedal, and quickly turned right as the wall got closer than he was comfortable with. For a few minutes he just drove in circles, figuring out the drift of this new toy and exactly how sensitive the steering was. Once he had that figured out, he took off, pressing the gas as hard as he dared. The Master Cycle sped up at his command, the speed climbing much higher than it had with Link in control, as if the knight simply couldn't press the pedal hard enough. Cloud skidded around the room for a moment, regaining control with this ridiculous speed, and then he drove right towards the wall. Before he reached it, he pulled up on the handles and allowed the front wheel to make contact with the vertical surface. The bike pulled itself up the wall, and when Cloud felt gravity beginning to take hold he pressed the spring pedal and launched himself off the wall. He landed, and Link nodded in approval.
"Show us something new!" Young Link called.
"Easy," Cloud replied. He took off again, turning around by drifting around a pillar and leaving his hand on the ground for balance. His glove burned from the friction, but he didn't let up. Once he'd executed the sharp turn, he pushed off the ground and pointed the nose straight at Young Link. He pulled his sword off his back and held it out sideways. The Hero of Time stared him down, his arms crossed over his chest and courage gleaming in his eyes. Cloud got about ten feet away from Young Link, and he shoved his sword into the ground and pressed the spring trigger, sending the Master Cycle into the air. Cloud held onto the Buster Sword, using it for leverage, and wheeled himself around in the air, clutching the motorcycle between his thighs as tightly as he could. The wheels spun against nothing, their rotations getting faster and faster without the ground to contend with. The exhaust pipe passed Young Link's face with about an inch to spare. Cloud let the motorcycle land and pulled his sword out of the ground, pressing the brake and stopping himself. Everyone watching let out a sigh of relief. Link put the Sheikah Slate away and pretended like he hadn't been about to take the bike out from under Cloud's feet. Young Link cheered. "That was awesome! Where'd you learn that one?"
"I fight on motorcycles a lot," Cloud replied nonchalantly. "You learn fast in combat."
"I want a turn!" Young Link declared. Cloud got off, the hero got on, and Young Link took a turn. It was very obvious that the kid had never ridden a bike before. His legs were just barely long enough to reach the gas pedal, and had it been a normally-sized motorcycle he wouldn't have been able to. But once he figured out how to get it to move, which took a few minutes, he was off. He turned as tightly as he dared around the pillars, coming within a few inches of one of them, probably not on purpose. His face lit up with glee as the wind pulled at his hair and tore his hat from his head. He just drove in shaky circles for a while, as keeping his balance on the narrow mount proved to be enough of a challenge.
But then he got a little bolder and drove straight at the wall, intending to attempt the stunt that both Cloud and Link had managed so easily. "No way this ends well," Cloud muttered. It was one thing for two experts to do crazy things like this. But this was the first time that Young Link had ever seen a motorcycle, much less actually driven one. Sure, he'd heard about them from Cloud and the others who lived in a more modern world, but he'd never seen one until today. Cloud was honestly impressed the kid had gotten it to move at all.
"I will not let him injure himself," Link promised. "Though… being ready to catch him might be a good idea."
Cloud nodded.
Young Link reached the wall, and raised the wheels off the ground just as Cloud and Link had. He drove a few feet up the wall, and sprung himself from the wall. So far, so good. And then the problem arose. He lacked the upper body strength required to complete the flip. He was upside down, his head facing the ground with nothing but empty air separating the two. And worse would be that the Master Cycle could then fall on top of him.
"Catch him," Link commanded, pulling his Slate off his hip. Cloud took off running, but even he couldn't keep up with the motorcycle's immense momentum. He grit his teeth, breaking his Limit on purpose and pushing himself even faster. The bike disappeared under Young Link's feet, the strands of light drifting back towards Link and his device, leaving Young Link sprawling in midair. But he was still going to hit the ground hard. Cloud used the power of Climhazzard, throwing his blade forward and dashing towards it faster than should've been humanly possible. He collected Young Link in his arms before he reached the sword, and caught the blade in his free hand. The two tumbled to the ground, Cloud shielding the child with his own body. But most of Young Link's momentum had been halted, and they were both unharmed.
Young Link let out a sigh of relief, standing up and brushing himself off. He collected his hat from where it had been thrown across the room and awkwardly cleared his throat. "S-sorry," he mumbled.
Cloud just shrugged. "Forget it. I didn't expect that to go well."
Young Link looked like he wanted to be cross, but after his epic failure he didn't dare object to that statement.
"Let us be glad you are unharmed," Link suggested.
Cloud nodded. "Besides that stunt, you didn't do bad for your first time."
"Really?" Young Link asked.
"Certainly," Link agreed. He held up the Slate. "Perhaps you would like to ride with me this time?"
Young Link nodded excitedly. Link spawned the Master Cycle again, the two of them got on, and they whizzed away.
Palutena came downstairs, watched the motorcycle fly around the room for a few seconds, and then approached Cloud. "What kind of madness is going on here?"
"Link's showing off his motorcycle."
Palutena smiled. "Have you had a turn yet?"
"'Course."
"And?"
"...It's a nice ride. The wheels are smooth and it responds really well when you steer it."
Palutena nodded. "Young Link almost killed himself, I'm guessing?"
"Of course he did."
The goddess laughed. "Wouldn't expect anything less."
Link drove Young Link up the wall, backflipped, and landed safely. Palutena clapped. "Can you do that?" she asked.
"No problem."
"Oh, feeling cocky are we?"
"You've never seen me drive. I'm not half bad."
"Well, don't keep me waiting." Palutena whistled, and Link stopped the Master Cycle. "Cloud and I want a turn!" she declared.
The two Hylians got off, and Cloud and Palutena took their places. Cloud revved the engine as Palutena got comfortable behind him, placing her hands around his torso. "Don't fall off," Cloud advised. Then he took off, pushing the bike as fast as it could possibly go. Palutena whooped, her long green hair getting caught in the wind. Cloud drove her around in circles for a few minutes. When she started relaxing, her grip around his stomach loosening, he kicked it up a notch. He drove at the wall, and her grip tightened again. She knew what was coming next.
Cloud drove up the wall and pushed the bike off of it. Palutena cried out in delight, letting go of Cloud's torso and using only her legs to hold on. Cloud finished the flip and landed squarely on the ground, then pushed the machine back up to full speed. They drove around a pillar and straight towards Pit, who was coming down the staircase. Pit's wings flared out in alarm, and he held his hands out in front of his face. Palutena laughed at him. Cloud planted his sword in the ground and skidded to a halt, the blade creating a solid gash through the floor as it was dragged forwards from the motorcycle's impressive momentum. They stopped right before Pit, and the angel let out a very audible sigh of relief.
"W-what were you thinking?" he demanded shakily.
"Oh, come off it," Palutena snickered, running her hands through her hair, which was now terribly tangled. "Cloud knew what he was doing."
Pit rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips. "A little warning would've been nice!"
"Maybe next time," Cloud said unapologetically. He pulled his sword out of the floor and returned it to his back. He got off the bike and let Link return it to his Slate.
Pit mumbled something under his breath and Palutena flicked him in the forehead. "Lighten up. You're fine."
"Looks like you all are having a good time down here," Shulk noted.
"We are," Young Link confirmed.
"If we forget the part where you almost died," Link added.
Young Link stared at him. "W-was that sarcasm? Where did you get that from?"
Zelda winked, coming to stand beside her boyfriend and taking his hand. "Where do you think?"
Young Link scowled.
"Why did you all come downstairs?" Cloud asked.
"It's about lunchtime," Robin answered. "We figured we might as well be downstairs when Master Hand calls us."
"Hopefully none of us will have a fight," Pit said thoughtfully.
"Nobody's really due for one," Zelda said.
"Well, we'll see," Young Link shrugged. "You know the rotation isn't exactly fair."
Zelda sighed.
Only a few minutes later, the alarm bells started ringing. Everyone already in the main room dropped to their knees and those that were outside or upstairs appeared in the various doorways. Sephiroth stood in the doorway, also bowing before his captor, his wing visible and flared out. It was clear he was irritated. Cloud had watched him bow, and he always did it this way. It was as if he wanted to make sure that Master Hand understood that the one-winged angel was not pleased with this arrangement. Not like their captor cared. Sephiroth noticed Cloud staring at him and flashed him a sly smile. Cloud quickly focused his attention elsewhere, his anger flaring up again.
Master Hand snapped into the room, and he surveyed his prisoners for a moment, making sure nobody was misbehaving. Seeing that nothing was amiss, he began his announcement. "My robots have informed me that we have a new couple among us. As of yesterday, Link and Zelda are together, correct?"
The couple in question shared a nervous glance. Zelda spoke up. "Y-yes, that's correct."
For a moment, total silence reigned the room. Toon Link gripped Zelda's dress, his hands shaking. Pit fluttered his wings nervously. Was there some unspoken rule about romance? Master Hand emanated displeasure.
Eventually, Master Hand spoke up again. "I see. Well, you have my approval. How about I show my appreciation for you two?"
Link tensed. Zelda's nervousness slackened. Cloud shook his head. He knew what was coming next.
"The fighters for today are Link and Zelda. And the fight begins in ten minutes," Master Hand decided. He disappeared from the room, leaving the fighters alone.