"Link." Marth asked, his eyes shone with obvious confusion. "What are you-" He stopped abruptly as he hit the ground, thrown by the impact of a bomb. The green-clad warrior walked closer. His smile was different. Marth winced as he noticed the malevolent expression of the person looming above him. The demon-like smirk made his stomach lurch with fear. Using a great deal of his strength, Marth stood and drew his sword with one hand.

"Link... Why-"

"Don't worry..." The Hylian chuckled. "It will all make sense soon." He raised his sword and slashed at Marth, only to be blocked by the blue knight's weapon. His eyes narrowed in indecision.

"Link..." He frowned and tightened the grip on his sword. His teeth clenched as he twisted around the long-eared boy's attack, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward while Marth began to attack him from behind. Link quickly stood and blocked his attack with a red shield that appeared around him. Marth stared, awestruck.

"...What?" He muttered as he tried to figure out how his supposed-friend had done that, but was not given enough time for the shield vanished and Link thrust his sword, aiming for Marth's stomach. He tried to dodge it, but wasn't quick enough and fell backwards as a result of the impact. He stood as quickly as he could.

"How did you do that!" He demanded, staring at the swordsman. Link laughed in response.

"You haven't found out yet?" He asked. "Well, you were sent here pretty fast..." His smirk widened as he ran towards Marth and attempted to hit him hard enough to send him off of the platform.

Wait, what? Platform? Marth realized and looked around. There were amazing colors all blended around him and debris flying everywhere. How could I not have noticed-

Link stopped his thoughts abruptly as he was sent screaming off of the solid stone arena.

This is it... He thought, wearily. This is the end. Betrayed by someone I thought was my friend... I never would have once imagined that it would end this way. His sight was suddenly filled with a blinding light. He closed his eyes, but to no avail as the light seemed to penetrate his eyelids. Then, all at once, it faded. Marth opened his eyes and
was met by swirling colors and flying debris. I'm back in the arena? He thought, looking around. He seemed to be standing on some glowing pedestal of some kind. It impaired his vision somewhat, but he noticed a green figure quickly advancing. He jumped from the pedestal (which immediately vanished) only for Link to swing his sword through Marth. He looked down at himself and he seemed to be flashing.

"Wait... Am I... A ghost!" He asked, fear causing his voice to quiver. Link stopped in his tracks and covered his mouth, a few chuckles escaping from it. Marth stared at him.

"What? Hey!" Link burst out, laughing whole-heartedly.

"I can't believe it!" He shouted through his laughter. "You still don't get it! How dense can one be!" Marth looked at him with an immensely confused look.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!" He shouted. "What's going on?"

Link's laughter faded somewhat and he wiped tears away from the corners of his eyes.

"Ha... I'll tell you once you're... Ha.. Back at the castle."

Marth lifted his head in happiness.

"I'm going back?" He asked. Link snickered.

"Yeah, not for a long time though." He glanced at his sword. "I'm too jovial to fight." He said, smiling. He walked to the edge of the platform.

"Link, wait!" Marth shouted. The blonde smiled, encouragingly.

"Don't worry. You'll be seeing a lot more of me before this is over." He said happily before stepping off of the edge of the platform. He screamed as there was an explosion. The land returned around the platform, telling Marth that he was back at the dungeon. He gripped his sword.

"What did he mean by that, I wonder..." He muttered, sheathing his sword. He shrugged. "He said that he will explain everything when I get back to the castle. I suppose that I need to finish my quest to return." He nodded. "The sooner the better. I'll be back in record time!" He looked astonished at his own words.

"...Record time? Where did that term come from?" He thought about it for a moment before shrugging it off and looked down the dark hallway. He smiled. Soon he would be back in the apparent safety of the castle. He would be able to meet everybody and make his room the way he wanted. It would be his new..

"Home."

Believinginyourfriendsandembracingthatbeliefbyforgivingfailure.Thesefeelingshavevanishedfromourhearts.

I'm sorry this one took so long! Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? No? Yeah, thought not. T-T

Soelle: Yeah, I know it was short. I updated! Not exactly what you'd call "Soon" but… Eheh.

Foxdude33: Ah, thank you. grin In reality, I can't say much for it's quality either, but thanks.

CheeseFromJupiter: You like the Happy Mask Salesman, huh? What do you think about the Ikana King?

BlackLightPrincess: No, no! I like long reviews! . Besides, I usually write longer. smile

Princemarusu: I personally think that the Happy Mask Salesman is kinda creepy, but the game would be nothing without him! Seriously. If he wasn't there, then there'd be no one for Skullkid to steal the mask from and no one to tell you to get it back! Also, there'd be no one to turn you back into a Hylian. I'd hate being the Deku Scrub through the whole game. T-T

Firedragongirl: Well, I updated… However long it took me!

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I apologize again for making this take so long. I've been enjoying my Summer, you know? ; So, I make it up to you by reviewing on the day that I'm celebrating my birthday.