Author's notes: The lyrics at the beginning of the chapter belong to... Some branch of the Pokemon company. Yes, they're from a Pokemon movie. But they're also almost identifiable to this story.
First and foremost, I want to thank the people that have been reading and giving me such nice reviews. ^^
Thank you, Carol (Snowangel: Goddess of wolves): You know I had to thank you first. ^_~ Thanks for being the one to stick with me and encourage me to continue when I just wasn't sure if it was worth it. I'm glad someone is still enjoying this story (everyone else who was reading this story kinda forgot about it). I hope this chapter lives up to your predictions! ^.^v
Thank you, Prince of Darkness: Unfortunately, I don't think I'd be able to write something as well as STFF again; personally, I'm quite fond of my story Black Balloon, but if I've been writing this story for a few months short of a year and I haven't quit yet, so that's an accomplishment for me. I believe the song you're talking about is the one in chapter 16, which is "Hero of the Day". One of my favorite Metallica songs. I'm quite happy that someone can get into my writing.
Thank you, Sinnatious: Yay, another Roy fan. ^_^ One of the best? Wow, I thought the only people who would say that are my friends, trying to make me feel better. ^^; I know I'm a bit slow with my updates, mainly because I keep starting other stuff. Heh, bad Mel. ::sweatdrop::
Thank you, kyuusei: Ah, disturbing... Yep, that pretty much sums up what goes through my head. o.0; Mewtwo's so often misunderstood; he's not evil, just kind of spiteful. But a lot of SSBM fans aren't necessarily Pokemon fans, so they don' realize that. Roy and Zelda's one of my favorite pairings, yes... But without Roy and Marth, most of the storyline is useless. ^^; I started this before the whole wave of Marth/Roy stories, so back then, it was actually a slightly interesting couple. -_-;
Thank you, Boethas: ...Wow. This review totally blew me away. I can't tell you how flattered I am! Somebody saw my writing to its full extent! My work has not been in vain! Writing alternating POV is a bit hard, but it makes it that much more interesting. I wish more people would try it. The best SSBM yaoi story... Man, I wish they held contests for these kinds of things, so I could see if anyone else agrees. ^^; Thank you, tenfold. ^___^
__ __ __
Chapter 18
Marth's POV
"One heart
Can make a difference
One choice
Can change it all
One voice
Can travel the distance
And be heard all around the world."
I had explained to princess Zelda what happened in my comatose episode. She seemed to be mulling through my words, but my mind wasn't focused enough to wait calmly for her to make logic out of it. My thoughts kept returning to the expression that I had seen on Roy's face...
...Had it been real?
"Well, I daresay it would make sense..." Zelda murmured finally.
I shook my head slightly to break off those thoughts, and turned my attention to her words. "What do you mean?"
"You said the last thing you heard the voice saying was about the answer being Stalfos, didn't you?" her eyes were narrow with concern as she looked up at me.
"That's right," I barely spoke; I was still struggling to focus all of my attention away from the image of his terrified face as his breath was cut off... I shut my eyes tightly for a second and looked back at her. "Do you know what that means?"
"I'm afraid to say so, but I think I might..." her soft voice carried a most uneasy tone. "Stalfos are a form of monster from Hyrule, brought to life from those cursed by the depths of the Lost Woods. Just as the Redead we encountered before, they are easily influenced by Ganondorf's power, and he can persuade them under his command," she turned back to me, as if leaving it to me to piece together what she had.
"So... Luigi's wounds; would they... be similar to those caused by these creatures?" I spoke slowly, as I was almost afraid of the implication being true.
"I believe so," she whispered.
I remembered vividly what Roy had said before being forced to run into the face of suicide in those woods. 'I-it's not true... I didn't do anything to him. There were these creatures... Please, you have to believe me.'
The creatures...
He had been speaking of the Stalfos.
'I'm your best friend, dammit. Why can't you believe me?'
The horrible pain of intense guilt swept over my mind and caused an aching in my chest. Every word he had spoken was true, and still I turned him away. I continuously asked myself the question he has asked me that day, through his own tears. Why couldn't I believe him? Why didn't I realize that he would do no such thing to his own ally? All it would've taken was one voice... One person to believe him--to defend him, and he would be okay. But after all was said and done, I couldn't even be certain if he was still alive after what I had witnessed.
No... He was. I could feel it.
I slowly lifted my empty gaze to Link, who had been with us yet silent through the entire conversation. He had a similar expression to the one I was sure I bore. His unmistakably keen senses quickly picked up that I was looking at him, and he turned to me as well. The look in his eyes told me that he knew as well as I did who had truly been betrayed.
Although Zelda had full right to give us an "I told you so" lecture, she didn't say another word. Her eyes were closed and she was supporting the weight of her head with her left hand. After examining both of the Hylians and myself, I quickly came to the conclusion that we weren't going to get anything done, when there was still something that we could do.
"Look at us," I said aloud. "After discovering that Roy is innocent, this is all we can muster the energy to do about it."
"What can we do?" Link finally spoke. "Falco's halted the mission until we know Luigi will be all right."
"This isn't about the mission anymore!" I immediately blurted out in response. I was able to calm myself before erupting on him, and adapted a quieter, but still stern voice. "If you're willing to let Ganondorf torture and kill him, then so be it," I rose to my feet. "But I won't stand for it. Not without trying."
Link closed his eyes and sighed lightly, with almost a smile. "Marth, you know I won't let you get yourself killed alone," he stood up beside me. "If we go running headlong into danger with the odds against us, we do it together."
I couldn't help but smile at him, and his least possibly subtle ways of telling me that I was an idiot, but he'd stand beside me anyway.
"Excuse me, but," Zelda stood as well, so we were all on even level again. "What on earth do you plan to do? Go running into the fortress, swords swinging and demand that they release him?" she raised an eyebrow at the two of us.
"Maybe we don't have a plan, but time isn't on our side. I'm either going to get Roy out of there, or die trying," I told her as proficiently as possible.
"Well, I must admit that I admire your determination," her eyes softened, as if she admitted defeat. "You won't mind if I lend a hand, will you?"
I smiled once again and examined the team that we had assembled in a matter of minutes. On my side, I had Link's cunning, which had proven to be brilliantly useful earlier, and Zelda's knowledge and foresight, not to mention help if either of us get too badly injured. I looked above the forest trees and into the drifting sky. The mission didn't matter to me anymore. What mattered most was freeing Roy. And if there was one thing that I swore to fulfill, it was that I wouldn't let Roy die thinking that I wanted to betray him.
I heard a soft, "Hm" from my left, and I turned to Zelda, who seemed to have been looking straight into my eyes the entire time. "You really do love him, don't you?"
First and foremost, I want to thank the people that have been reading and giving me such nice reviews. ^^
Thank you, Carol (Snowangel: Goddess of wolves): You know I had to thank you first. ^_~ Thanks for being the one to stick with me and encourage me to continue when I just wasn't sure if it was worth it. I'm glad someone is still enjoying this story (everyone else who was reading this story kinda forgot about it). I hope this chapter lives up to your predictions! ^.^v
Thank you, Prince of Darkness: Unfortunately, I don't think I'd be able to write something as well as STFF again; personally, I'm quite fond of my story Black Balloon, but if I've been writing this story for a few months short of a year and I haven't quit yet, so that's an accomplishment for me. I believe the song you're talking about is the one in chapter 16, which is "Hero of the Day". One of my favorite Metallica songs. I'm quite happy that someone can get into my writing.
Thank you, Sinnatious: Yay, another Roy fan. ^_^ One of the best? Wow, I thought the only people who would say that are my friends, trying to make me feel better. ^^; I know I'm a bit slow with my updates, mainly because I keep starting other stuff. Heh, bad Mel. ::sweatdrop::
Thank you, kyuusei: Ah, disturbing... Yep, that pretty much sums up what goes through my head. o.0; Mewtwo's so often misunderstood; he's not evil, just kind of spiteful. But a lot of SSBM fans aren't necessarily Pokemon fans, so they don' realize that. Roy and Zelda's one of my favorite pairings, yes... But without Roy and Marth, most of the storyline is useless. ^^; I started this before the whole wave of Marth/Roy stories, so back then, it was actually a slightly interesting couple. -_-;
Thank you, Boethas: ...Wow. This review totally blew me away. I can't tell you how flattered I am! Somebody saw my writing to its full extent! My work has not been in vain! Writing alternating POV is a bit hard, but it makes it that much more interesting. I wish more people would try it. The best SSBM yaoi story... Man, I wish they held contests for these kinds of things, so I could see if anyone else agrees. ^^; Thank you, tenfold. ^___^
__ __ __
Chapter 18
Marth's POV
"One heart
Can make a difference
One choice
Can change it all
One voice
Can travel the distance
And be heard all around the world."
I had explained to princess Zelda what happened in my comatose episode. She seemed to be mulling through my words, but my mind wasn't focused enough to wait calmly for her to make logic out of it. My thoughts kept returning to the expression that I had seen on Roy's face...
...Had it been real?
"Well, I daresay it would make sense..." Zelda murmured finally.
I shook my head slightly to break off those thoughts, and turned my attention to her words. "What do you mean?"
"You said the last thing you heard the voice saying was about the answer being Stalfos, didn't you?" her eyes were narrow with concern as she looked up at me.
"That's right," I barely spoke; I was still struggling to focus all of my attention away from the image of his terrified face as his breath was cut off... I shut my eyes tightly for a second and looked back at her. "Do you know what that means?"
"I'm afraid to say so, but I think I might..." her soft voice carried a most uneasy tone. "Stalfos are a form of monster from Hyrule, brought to life from those cursed by the depths of the Lost Woods. Just as the Redead we encountered before, they are easily influenced by Ganondorf's power, and he can persuade them under his command," she turned back to me, as if leaving it to me to piece together what she had.
"So... Luigi's wounds; would they... be similar to those caused by these creatures?" I spoke slowly, as I was almost afraid of the implication being true.
"I believe so," she whispered.
I remembered vividly what Roy had said before being forced to run into the face of suicide in those woods. 'I-it's not true... I didn't do anything to him. There were these creatures... Please, you have to believe me.'
The creatures...
He had been speaking of the Stalfos.
'I'm your best friend, dammit. Why can't you believe me?'
The horrible pain of intense guilt swept over my mind and caused an aching in my chest. Every word he had spoken was true, and still I turned him away. I continuously asked myself the question he has asked me that day, through his own tears. Why couldn't I believe him? Why didn't I realize that he would do no such thing to his own ally? All it would've taken was one voice... One person to believe him--to defend him, and he would be okay. But after all was said and done, I couldn't even be certain if he was still alive after what I had witnessed.
No... He was. I could feel it.
I slowly lifted my empty gaze to Link, who had been with us yet silent through the entire conversation. He had a similar expression to the one I was sure I bore. His unmistakably keen senses quickly picked up that I was looking at him, and he turned to me as well. The look in his eyes told me that he knew as well as I did who had truly been betrayed.
Although Zelda had full right to give us an "I told you so" lecture, she didn't say another word. Her eyes were closed and she was supporting the weight of her head with her left hand. After examining both of the Hylians and myself, I quickly came to the conclusion that we weren't going to get anything done, when there was still something that we could do.
"Look at us," I said aloud. "After discovering that Roy is innocent, this is all we can muster the energy to do about it."
"What can we do?" Link finally spoke. "Falco's halted the mission until we know Luigi will be all right."
"This isn't about the mission anymore!" I immediately blurted out in response. I was able to calm myself before erupting on him, and adapted a quieter, but still stern voice. "If you're willing to let Ganondorf torture and kill him, then so be it," I rose to my feet. "But I won't stand for it. Not without trying."
Link closed his eyes and sighed lightly, with almost a smile. "Marth, you know I won't let you get yourself killed alone," he stood up beside me. "If we go running headlong into danger with the odds against us, we do it together."
I couldn't help but smile at him, and his least possibly subtle ways of telling me that I was an idiot, but he'd stand beside me anyway.
"Excuse me, but," Zelda stood as well, so we were all on even level again. "What on earth do you plan to do? Go running into the fortress, swords swinging and demand that they release him?" she raised an eyebrow at the two of us.
"Maybe we don't have a plan, but time isn't on our side. I'm either going to get Roy out of there, or die trying," I told her as proficiently as possible.
"Well, I must admit that I admire your determination," her eyes softened, as if she admitted defeat. "You won't mind if I lend a hand, will you?"
I smiled once again and examined the team that we had assembled in a matter of minutes. On my side, I had Link's cunning, which had proven to be brilliantly useful earlier, and Zelda's knowledge and foresight, not to mention help if either of us get too badly injured. I looked above the forest trees and into the drifting sky. The mission didn't matter to me anymore. What mattered most was freeing Roy. And if there was one thing that I swore to fulfill, it was that I wouldn't let Roy die thinking that I wanted to betray him.
I heard a soft, "Hm" from my left, and I turned to Zelda, who seemed to have been looking straight into my eyes the entire time. "You really do love him, don't you?"