Author's notes: In the last chapter, I asked for people's opinions on putting a more... Unfriendly twist in the plot. The only three who responded said that I should do what I want, and I appreciate that very, very much. But I need to clarify why I ask for the reader's opinion. In chapter five, I introduced the direct yaoi theme and put it in the disclaimer. I got a review from RcA saying, in a nutshell, that she thought the story went to hell because of it. I announced in chapter three that I was going with that idea, and I even asked people what they thought I should do. The people who showed the most interest in the story said to go with my original idea. But still I got that review. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why I asked for your opinion: to avoid situations like that. I guess it didn't work, though, so I'm just going to do what I want with this story.
Chapter Six
Falco's POV
I had tried many times to push it aside, but I couldn't deny it any longer. My party was falling apart. Two of my best fighters had gone missing without a trace, and Luigi was getting nervous and couldn't focus on anything. I envisioned myself to be the great leader that would liberate the Smash Brothers who saw the faults in Mario's ways. But when all was said and done, I didn't know what to do anymore.
But I would never go back to work for Mario again. One of my friends was dead because of him, and I wasn't going to sit around and see what mistake he'd make next. Something had to be done, and I was the only one who would do it. No matter what happened, I had to stay true to myself.
I watched with fading interest as Pikachu dashed through the grass, evading Luigi's fireballs. The two had been training all morning, and neither one seemed very tired. At least there were some good signs. The pale Hylian princess walked up from behind and joined me.
"They're doing pretty well, aren't they?" she commented quietly.
"Luigi's doing a little better, I suppose. Pikachu is pretty strong as it is," I responded in a monotone.
I could feel Zelda's eyes on me, but still I stared straight ahead at the battlers. "Falco..." she sighed. "I know our condition's pretty bad right now... But it will improve, I promise."
"How can you be sure?" my voice didn't change in tone.
"Link and Marth will come back. I know they will. I don't know what happened to them, but they're smart and they can take care of themselves. They'll be back."
I closed my eyes and folded my wings over each other. "I don't know, Zelda. How do we know they didn't leave us intentionally?"
Before the princess could answer, I turned my attention to the sound of footsteps approaching our area. The others heard as well, and Luigi and Pikachu ceased their battle. I had my blaster in my immediate reach. After many moments of waiting, a figure rushed through the bushes and showed itself. Panting and shaking, Link collapsed before us.
"Link!" Zelda cried as she ran to his side. "What happened?"
The boy gasped for breath many times, unable to talk clearly. "Ganondorf..." he breathed.
"What about Ganondorf?" I pressed for more.
His breathing pace slowed enough so that he could speak. "Ganondorf's planning an attack on the base tomorrow! We have to warn them!"
"What?" was all that came out of my mouth. Despite the way I felt about Mario, I had to agree with Link. We couldn't stand around while they were attacked. I lowered my head and tried to think of what to do about the situation. "Pikachu," I called.
The Pokemon perked up at the sound of it's name, then jumped before me. "Pika?"
"You're the best one for the job. You have to return to the base and warn them. Do you understand me?"
Pikachu narrowed his eyes and nodded once. "Kachu!" he answered, and ran off.
Having that taken care of, I turned back to Link, who was still exhausted. Zelda had rested him against the bark of an overgrown tree, and was kneeling beside him. "Can you tell us what happened, Link?"
The elf swallowed and closed his eyes. "I was attacked... In the woods."
"By what?" the princess questioned him further.
The boy seemed to tired to continue talking, so I stepped away from him, Zelda following.
"Will he be all right?" I asked her.
"He should be fine soon. He recovers from injuries quickly," she followed with a sigh. "I'm more concerned about where Marth is. They both disappeared at the same time, and if Link was attacked, Marth was probably with him. But... Where is he now?"
Our conversation was again interrupted when rustling sounds could be heard all around us. Dark figures suddenly appeared, surrounding our camp. The swarm took me completely by surprise, and I didn't know where they came from. "What are they?" I asked with a wave in my voice.
Zelda looked all around the area, and I could see worry rising in her facial expression. Setting her view straight ahead, she breathed in heavily. "Redead."
Panic struck through me instantly. Redead were creatures that served Ganondorf. I began to get an idea of what attacked Link in the woods. Although they were generally slow and could be taken care of with a strong, swift attack, we were greatly outnumbered. But still I wasted no time before destroying them; I charged straight toward one of the monsters and gave it a powerful double kick, knocking it onto the ground.
The creatures took notice of my actions and began to swarm in. I was joined by Zelda and Pichu, while Luigi kept Link safe. But their quantity was overpowering our strength; once I had destroyed one, there was another inches away from my flesh.
My concentration on the monsters around me was broken by a shriek filling the air. I turned from the Redead surrounding me and saw that Zelda had fallen victim to the creatures. Two of them had a grip on her, while four others crept toward her. She tried, but couldn't execute any attacks to push them off. "Zelda!" I called out to her. But I knew that if I tried to get to her, the Redead around me would get me, too. Pichu and Luigi were just as stuck as I was. I didn't know what I could do to help her.
I suddenly heard another voice. A blur of purple and white rushed toward the princess, shouting a battle cry. A swift blow took out three of the Redead around her. The person responsible finally came into focus, but I couldn't believe what I saw. I thought he was dead...
A horrible groaning noise filled the air around me, and two of the monsters surrounding me fell to the ground. I turned around to see what had knocked them out, and the prince Marth stood before me, fighting off the creatures. Instead of asking questions, I threw myself into the remaining ones, sending them down. Having the Redead around me cleared, I went to help Pichu while Marth ran over to Luigi and Link.
There were few Redead around Pichu; he was probably the smallest threat. With two more fighters, the creatures were taken out within a few short minutes. After a Redead was defeated, it vanished within the next few seconds, so our camp was finally cleared. Luigi seemed a bit shaken up, Pichu was exhausted, Marth was at Link's side, and I looked across the opening to see Zelda and Roy embracing. I was still quite confused, so I decided to find some answers.
I walked toward the tree where Marth and Link rested. I seemed to go unnoticed, so I stayed silent for a while.
"Link..." the prince whispered, perhaps checking if the boy could hear him. "I did it. I got him out."
Link adjusted his head to face Marth, then smiled. "Great," he replied wearily.
"Marth," I mumbled to call attention to my presence. He turned his head and saw me, and came back to his feet. "Can I talk to you?"
He looked down at Link, then back to me. "Yeah."
We stepped away from the resting boy, and I immediately started interrogating. "What happened?"
"Well..." he sighed, watching his feet as we walked. "What do you want to know?"
"Let's see, you and Link suddenly disappeared yesterday, Link comes back and collapses at our feet, then you and Roy--who we assumed to be dead--show up out of nowhere. It's kind of confusing, so I can't exactly pinpoint specific questions."
The prince cleared his throat and forced a smile. "I guess that does seem pretty strange, doesn't it?" he glanced toward a fallen log that was rested across the edge of our camp. "Why don't we sit down, and I'll explain the whole thing to you?"
Chapter Six
Falco's POV
I had tried many times to push it aside, but I couldn't deny it any longer. My party was falling apart. Two of my best fighters had gone missing without a trace, and Luigi was getting nervous and couldn't focus on anything. I envisioned myself to be the great leader that would liberate the Smash Brothers who saw the faults in Mario's ways. But when all was said and done, I didn't know what to do anymore.
But I would never go back to work for Mario again. One of my friends was dead because of him, and I wasn't going to sit around and see what mistake he'd make next. Something had to be done, and I was the only one who would do it. No matter what happened, I had to stay true to myself.
I watched with fading interest as Pikachu dashed through the grass, evading Luigi's fireballs. The two had been training all morning, and neither one seemed very tired. At least there were some good signs. The pale Hylian princess walked up from behind and joined me.
"They're doing pretty well, aren't they?" she commented quietly.
"Luigi's doing a little better, I suppose. Pikachu is pretty strong as it is," I responded in a monotone.
I could feel Zelda's eyes on me, but still I stared straight ahead at the battlers. "Falco..." she sighed. "I know our condition's pretty bad right now... But it will improve, I promise."
"How can you be sure?" my voice didn't change in tone.
"Link and Marth will come back. I know they will. I don't know what happened to them, but they're smart and they can take care of themselves. They'll be back."
I closed my eyes and folded my wings over each other. "I don't know, Zelda. How do we know they didn't leave us intentionally?"
Before the princess could answer, I turned my attention to the sound of footsteps approaching our area. The others heard as well, and Luigi and Pikachu ceased their battle. I had my blaster in my immediate reach. After many moments of waiting, a figure rushed through the bushes and showed itself. Panting and shaking, Link collapsed before us.
"Link!" Zelda cried as she ran to his side. "What happened?"
The boy gasped for breath many times, unable to talk clearly. "Ganondorf..." he breathed.
"What about Ganondorf?" I pressed for more.
His breathing pace slowed enough so that he could speak. "Ganondorf's planning an attack on the base tomorrow! We have to warn them!"
"What?" was all that came out of my mouth. Despite the way I felt about Mario, I had to agree with Link. We couldn't stand around while they were attacked. I lowered my head and tried to think of what to do about the situation. "Pikachu," I called.
The Pokemon perked up at the sound of it's name, then jumped before me. "Pika?"
"You're the best one for the job. You have to return to the base and warn them. Do you understand me?"
Pikachu narrowed his eyes and nodded once. "Kachu!" he answered, and ran off.
Having that taken care of, I turned back to Link, who was still exhausted. Zelda had rested him against the bark of an overgrown tree, and was kneeling beside him. "Can you tell us what happened, Link?"
The elf swallowed and closed his eyes. "I was attacked... In the woods."
"By what?" the princess questioned him further.
The boy seemed to tired to continue talking, so I stepped away from him, Zelda following.
"Will he be all right?" I asked her.
"He should be fine soon. He recovers from injuries quickly," she followed with a sigh. "I'm more concerned about where Marth is. They both disappeared at the same time, and if Link was attacked, Marth was probably with him. But... Where is he now?"
Our conversation was again interrupted when rustling sounds could be heard all around us. Dark figures suddenly appeared, surrounding our camp. The swarm took me completely by surprise, and I didn't know where they came from. "What are they?" I asked with a wave in my voice.
Zelda looked all around the area, and I could see worry rising in her facial expression. Setting her view straight ahead, she breathed in heavily. "Redead."
Panic struck through me instantly. Redead were creatures that served Ganondorf. I began to get an idea of what attacked Link in the woods. Although they were generally slow and could be taken care of with a strong, swift attack, we were greatly outnumbered. But still I wasted no time before destroying them; I charged straight toward one of the monsters and gave it a powerful double kick, knocking it onto the ground.
The creatures took notice of my actions and began to swarm in. I was joined by Zelda and Pichu, while Luigi kept Link safe. But their quantity was overpowering our strength; once I had destroyed one, there was another inches away from my flesh.
My concentration on the monsters around me was broken by a shriek filling the air. I turned from the Redead surrounding me and saw that Zelda had fallen victim to the creatures. Two of them had a grip on her, while four others crept toward her. She tried, but couldn't execute any attacks to push them off. "Zelda!" I called out to her. But I knew that if I tried to get to her, the Redead around me would get me, too. Pichu and Luigi were just as stuck as I was. I didn't know what I could do to help her.
I suddenly heard another voice. A blur of purple and white rushed toward the princess, shouting a battle cry. A swift blow took out three of the Redead around her. The person responsible finally came into focus, but I couldn't believe what I saw. I thought he was dead...
A horrible groaning noise filled the air around me, and two of the monsters surrounding me fell to the ground. I turned around to see what had knocked them out, and the prince Marth stood before me, fighting off the creatures. Instead of asking questions, I threw myself into the remaining ones, sending them down. Having the Redead around me cleared, I went to help Pichu while Marth ran over to Luigi and Link.
There were few Redead around Pichu; he was probably the smallest threat. With two more fighters, the creatures were taken out within a few short minutes. After a Redead was defeated, it vanished within the next few seconds, so our camp was finally cleared. Luigi seemed a bit shaken up, Pichu was exhausted, Marth was at Link's side, and I looked across the opening to see Zelda and Roy embracing. I was still quite confused, so I decided to find some answers.
I walked toward the tree where Marth and Link rested. I seemed to go unnoticed, so I stayed silent for a while.
"Link..." the prince whispered, perhaps checking if the boy could hear him. "I did it. I got him out."
Link adjusted his head to face Marth, then smiled. "Great," he replied wearily.
"Marth," I mumbled to call attention to my presence. He turned his head and saw me, and came back to his feet. "Can I talk to you?"
He looked down at Link, then back to me. "Yeah."
We stepped away from the resting boy, and I immediately started interrogating. "What happened?"
"Well..." he sighed, watching his feet as we walked. "What do you want to know?"
"Let's see, you and Link suddenly disappeared yesterday, Link comes back and collapses at our feet, then you and Roy--who we assumed to be dead--show up out of nowhere. It's kind of confusing, so I can't exactly pinpoint specific questions."
The prince cleared his throat and forced a smile. "I guess that does seem pretty strange, doesn't it?" he glanced toward a fallen log that was rested across the edge of our camp. "Why don't we sit down, and I'll explain the whole thing to you?"