KT – DA: Helloooooooo everyone!

Link: Oh my God! Head for the hills!

KT – DA: Ha, ha, very funny.

Marth: Milady, do we have a new chapter?

KT – DA: Yes.

Roy: /runs into room/ Help! She's insane! She won't leave me alone!

Karanos: Rooooy! Don't run from meeee! Oh! Hello everyone. Working on setting my brilliant literary genius to words?

KT – DA: Yes, thanks for collaborating with me again.

Karanos: Collaborating? Collaborating?! It was all me! My genius ideas! Mine! Bo-ha-ha-ha!

Roy: /edges away while she's not looking/

KT – DA: Roy! Do the stuff!

Roy: Gah! /gets pounced upon by Karanos/ right… Kuroi Tenshi – Dark Angel does not own SSBM or any of its characters.

Link: Thanks to everyone for reviewing!

KT – DA: The chapter cometh!

Getting Over Out Troubles – Shouldering Responsibility

Sarah Holly jumped to her feet, dropping her fork with a clatter. The grumble and chatter of people talking fell away a Peach hit the floor. Sarah, Marth, and Roy were at her side in a flash, Link sitting forgotten at the table.

Roy knelt at the fallen princess's side, shaking her shoulder. "Peach! Peach, wake up!" Peach didn't respond.

The Smashers were gathered around the small group with varied expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Sarah felt helpless for just a moment, but she shook it away and stepped forward to take charge of the situation. "Everyone, please clear the way. Roy, pick Peach up and take her to the hospital wing. Dr. Mario will see to her." Nobody moved, and Sarah grew angry. "Need I remind you that I am Master Hand's personal assistant? I hold authority over everyone in this room! Now move!"

Roy swung Peach into his arms and started for the now-clear path to the door. He hesitated and looked back at Sarah. "What about Link? I can't just leave him."

Sarah glanced at her catatonic friend. "Don't worry. Marth and I will take care of him."

Roy bit his lip, then nodded once and continued on to the hospital wing.

"Everyone else," Sarah said, turning back to the crowd of Smashers. "Go to your dormitories of the common room. I will talk to Master Hand. If we need anyone, we'll come get you."

As the crowd started filing out into the hallway, Sarah sighed and put her hand on her forehead. She didn't like where this was going. First Zelda, now Peach. Her first two friends at Smash Mansion were both in the hospital wing. Sure, Peach was probably only sick, but that didn't make Sarah feel any better.

Marth came up beside her, Link in tow. "It'll be okay, Sarah."

"Marth, would you be absolutely wonderful and gather up everyone's dishes for me? Just set them on the counter in the kitchen," Sarah said.

Marth nodded. "Yes, Milady. I will do that."

Sarah smiled at him, then left the dining hall. She was pulling her cell phone out of her pocket as she went.

"Peach is sick," she said when Master Hand answered.

"Sick? How sick?"

"Sick enough to faint away in the dining hall and not respond to Roy shaking her." Sarah passed the common room, ignoring the stared from the gathered Smashers.

Master Hand coughed. "That's pretty sick, I guess. Where is she now? Where are you now?"

"She's in the hospital wing. I had Roy take her there." Her heels were pounding on the floor as she fast-walked through the halls. "I'm en rout to your office."

"Oh, you don't need to come here. Go to the hospital wing and see what you can do there," said Master Hand.

Sarah stopped walking. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't need me to take care of anything?"

Master Hand laughed. "Sarah, I think you're over-reacting. This isn't a huge problem like Zelda's accident."

"Well… okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Sarah sighed. "Well, goodbye then." She hung up the phone and started back to the hospital wing.

When she got there, Peach was awake. Roy turned and smiled at her as she entered.

"She woke up right after we got here. She says she feels okay." Sarah could tell he was excited. They walked over to where Peach was lying on a bed.

"I'm okay, really. I'll stay in my room while I get over this," the princess was telling Dr. Mario irritably.

Dr. Mario looked up at his patient curiously. "But don't you want proper care?"

Peach rolled her eyes. "What, and take attention away from Zelda? I think not. I'll just stay in bed for a few days."

"Well, someone has to look after you. You're obviously sick, and we don't know what you have yet," Dr. Mario said huffily.

"Fine, fine," Peach sighed. "Someone help me up."

Roy and Sarah both stepped forward and took hold of her arms. Peach seemed unable to make her legs support her weight, so the two of them didn't let go as they walked up to her room, Dr. Mario trailing.

Once the princess was in her bed, Dr. Mario turned to Roy. "I want you to stay in here and keep an eye on her."

Roy protested. "But what about Link? He's my charge, too."

"Marth and I will watch over him." Sarah said, looking up from where she knelt at Peach's side.

"Oh. Alright then," Roy said, sounding a little disappointed.

Dr. Mario bustled around, making a few last adjustments until Peach screamed at him to get out. Sarah told Peach to quiet down and get some sleep. She smiled at Roy, who was writing something in a notebook, and left, closing the door behind her.

Sarah went down to the kitchen, thinking to wash the dishes left from breakfast. When she got there, however, she found them all clean and neatly put away.

"Marth," Sarah whispered wit ha smile.

She decided to go to the boys' room then, thinking that Marth would have taken Link there. She was right.

The prince looked up as she entered. The Hero of Time did not.

"Sarah! I thought you would come eventually," Marth said. "How is Lady Peach?"

Sarah sat down nest to him and looked at Link. "She's… going to be okay. She's awake, or at least was, and she insisted on being taken to her own room to recover. She didn't want to take attention away from Zelda. Roy's staying with her, and Link is out charge now."

Marth reached up and pushed Sarah's bangs behind her ear gently. "You called Master Hand. What did he say?"

"Not to worry so much," Sarah said, turning to look at the prince. "We don't appear to have a very hard job."

Marth smiled and sat back against the headboard of his bed. Sarah scooted over and curled up next to him. They stayed that way until a knock came on the door much later. Marth freed his arm from around the nearly-sleeping Sarah and went to answer the knock.

Roy swept into the room, a little out of breath, and set the tea tray he'd been carrying on one of the bedside tables. Sarah glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was nearing six o'clock.

"Thought you might want a little something to drink, since I was getting some for Peach," he said, panting.

Sarah sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Oh, thank you."

Roy looked at Link. "I'm also scheduled to check on Link now."

"What?" Marth asked, stopping his teacup halfway to his mouth.

Roy sighed and pulled out the notebook Sarah had seen earlier. "Look, I set my schedule. I sit with Peach for an hour, since she's my main charge, then I go make tea for you and Peach. While I'm here, I watch Link for fifteen minutes. After that, I take Peach's tea to her and go sit by Zelda for fifteen minutes." He stopped to take a breath. "Then I do it all again. I have to make sure nobody overworks themselves, you know."

Sarah didn't say anything for a moment. "What about you, Roy? Who's taking care of you?"

"Me? I don't need taking care of."

"And that would be why you have such horrible bags under your eyes, right?" Marth said quietly.

Roy looked back and forth between the two of them. "I…"

"Come on, Roy. Let's go back up to Peach now," Sarah said, taking him by the arm. She was surprised when she flinched at the contact, and quickly let go.

Roy, meanwhile, was arguing. "But I have to make sure Link is okay first!"

"He's fine, Roy. I'll come tell you if anything happens. Now go with Sarah," Marth said, sending a concerned look at Sarah.

Regaining her composure, Sarah waved off his unspoken question and beckoned Roy. The redheaded boy followed with a sigh.

Outside Peach's room, Sarah held out her hand. "Give me that schedule of yours."

"What? Why?" Came Roy's indignant response.

"Because I said so. Give it to me," said Sarah. Roy fished his notebook out of his pocket and handed it to her, grumbling under his breath. They went inside and saw Dr. Mario attending Peach again. Peach looked worse, pale and weak. Sarah made herself push worry aside and strode over to the doctor.

"Dr. Mario, look at what Roy's doing to himself," she said, thrusting the book at him. The doctor flipped through the schedule, then looked over at Roy.

"You're piling all this responsibility on yourself? Roy… you can't do this. You'll shut down."

Roy's temper flared. "No I won't! I can handle taking care of my friends! It's what keeps me from shutting down!"

Dr. Mario shifted something from the table to his hand behind his back. "I was going to give this to Peach, but I can make another batch, and I certainly don't need another patient in all this mess." He moved toward Roy. Sarah caught a glimpse of what he held in his hand, and moved forward as well. Dr, Mario was right. Roy needed this.

Roy backed into a corner, fear showing in his tired eyes. He was truly exhausting himself, Sarah saw. Dr. Mario grabbed his arm and produced the syringe from behind his back. Roy's eyes went wide, and he started trying to twist away. Sarah, taking a deep breath, took hold on his arm as well, and together the two of them wrestled him to the floor, where the doctor injected Roy with the sleeping medicine. Roy glared at them both before his eyes slid closed and he fell asleep.

"There," Dr. Mario said, standing up and brushing himself off. "That should make him sleep for a good ten hours. Goodness knows he needs it."

Sarah grinned at him. "Good. I'm going back to Marth and Link now. Will you be going back to Zelda?"

Dr. Mario shook his head. "No, I'll stay here with Peach, now that Roy's asleep. After all, it's not like Zelda's going anywhere anytime soon."

With another smile, Sarah left. She was thinking about poor Roy, thinking that it wasn't fair that they had to drug him to sleep. She didn't hear the click of a lock behind her.

Karanos: Ah, aren't my ideas lovely? /crushes Roy again/

Roy: /cries/

Marth: Yes, it was a good chapter. Very suspenseful there at the end.

Karanos: Yes, yes, that was my idea.

KT – DA: Um… actually, it was my idea to end it there…

Karanos: No it wasn't! I distinctly remember thinking that one up during lunch today!

KT – DA: You did not! I thought it up!

Karanos: I did too!

KT – DA: Did not!

Karanos: did too!

Link: Oh… Goddesses… Sweet Din…

Roy: Make them stop. Please.

Marth: Milady… um, Milady?

Link: Just give us a review, please. Maybe that will shut them up…