Disclaimer: You know the deal. I do not own Nintendo or any of the characters or products that are related to Nintendo.
Chapter 5
Link
I fell backward on my back, taking a kick from Fox. That is how it always was during the training session with Fox and Falco. Fox brought his hand out, offering to help me up. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up to my feet.
"What's the tally?" I asked.
"We had six sparring matches, and we each won three a piece," he answered. I sighed.
"I wonder if Samus is doing so well." As if on cue, I heard the sound of an object being slammed against the ground, followed the sound of a fist being impacted against someone's jaw. I shook my head. Whenever Falco and Samus sparred, there's never a winner. They were both evenly matched, though none of them would care to admit it. That was the usual scene in one of the two gyms in Smash Mansion.
There were two gyms. The one we were in was strictly for hand-to-hand combat and exercising. Meaning, Samus had to go in without her suit (though she still wore a hood that concealed her face) and I was without my sword, my long shot, my bow, my arrows, my bombs, and boomerang. The other gym was for testing out weapons, seeing if they were fit to use in battle.
"Calling Samus and Link, calling Samus and Link," a voice said over the intercom. "Your match is in forty minutes."
"Same time tomorrow, Link?" Falco yelled out, walking up to me with Samus trailing him. I nodded and waved my hand to say goodbye. Samus and I exited the gym, walking towards our rooms to get ready for the brawl.
"Who is our opponent?" I asked.
"Yoshi and Peach," Samus replied coldly. "This match shouldn't take long." I nodded. I was just about to ask another question when we passed by Ganondorf and Bowser."
"You better hope you lose this match, kid," Ganondorf said. I turned around, raising an eyebrow.
"What the hell is you talking about, you oversized Christmas tree?" Samus demanded.
"You didn't know?" Bowser said with that annoying laugh of his. "Boy, are you two in the dark."
"I'm trying to be polite, so I'm just going ask you two one more time. What the hell are you talking about?" Ganondorf laughed out loud again. My eyes went cold.
"Let me bring you into the light," Ganondorf offered. "The winner of the next match has to face us. Guess you're not going to win this tournament after all." His laughing was joined by Bowser's laughing. I was about to reply, but Samus beat me to it.
"Um....if I were you...Ganondork...I wouldn't be laughing," Samus said coldly. "You had your ass handed to you by Link over a million times. Which is kind of sad really." A scowl crept across Ganondorf's face. "So I suggest you use the money you saved up for that little celebration party to pay off your future medical bill. Because by the time we're done, Link will extend your eternal losing streak, and I will turn your friend into turtle soup!" I smiled as Samus and I walked off. There was an odd silence between us as we walked on. I sighed and decided to break when we were near our rooms.
"Thanks, Samus," I muttered out. Samus turned her hooded face towards me. I supposed she had her eyes on me, but I couldn't tell.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now let's get ready. What color you're wearing today?"
"Well...what do you suggest?" I asked.
"Well, I'm thinking of going for a color change myself. How 'bout some black?"
I nodded a bit. "That'll be great."
Samus
It was probably a good thing we chose black. The stipulation of the match was simple. Each fighter had only one stock, and there was only one weapon: The Bob-omb.
The Bob-ombs are bombs that stay inactive for a good fifteen seconds, allowing them to be used as explosive projectiles. However, after those fifteen seconds, they start walking back and forth until they hit someone or something, causing a huge explosion.
Link and I walked towards the middle of the stadium along with Peach and Yoshi. We both extended our hands forward. Yoshi grabbed one of my fingers and shook it gently. Peach kissed Link on the cheek. It was sportsmanship thing.
The stadium turned black, transporting us to the location of our smash-fest. The stage showed a one huge platform. No platform above, and nothing to break our fall except for the usual ledge. This was the Final Destination. No distractions. No interferences from certain objects like an Arwing or anything like that. The only thing we had to worry about are the walking bombs.
"FIGHTERS READY? GO!"
I jumped forward at Peach, knocking her backward. She quickly got back on her feet and returned the favor with a swing of her umbrella. We quickly exchanged blow after blow. Maybe I was a little bit overconfident when I thought we had this match in the bag. I needed to somehow get the upper hand.
At one point, I was knocked backward by a golf club (Where does she hide those things?). As soon as I regained my footing, a Bob-omb dropped from the sky. As I expected, Peach dashed for the little projectile. Instead of making a run for it, I launched a missile, destroying the bomb in front of her. As she was blown back, I quickly took advantage, unleashing a flurry of punches. I brought my leg straight up and send my heel straight on her head, knocking her downward. I was giving her any room to breathe, knowing she could turn the tide quicker than I could snap my fingers. I unleashing so much punches I had Peach putting up her shields. That still didn't stop me. In my mind, I could almost see what Peach was seeing: A person in a black armored suit, wearing away her shields. Eventually, Peach's shield shattered. She was stunned, changing into many colors the same way anyone in her situation would. I immediately charged up my cannon, ready to blast her away. That is when I saw it.
From behind her, Link seemed to have everything under control with Yoshi when suddenly, a Bob-omb was walking towards his direction. As soon as the walking explosive touched him, Link was blown sky high. He landed the wrong way, causing his leg to bend too far back, and his head bounced off the ground. He was unconscious. Yoshi, who just regain his senses, didn't see that. he quickly jumped out. My eye widened in shock. He was going for the finisher! As soon as he dropped down, I flipped over Peach and launched my charge shot. This knocked him out of the stage. I quickly turned around and launched my grappling hook, and pulled her towards me. I send a few punches to make sure she wouldn't comeback before I tossed out of the stage.
"FIGHT O-"
"OH SHUT THE HELL UP!" I heard myself yell out. "GET ME A DAMN DOCTOR! LINK'S HURT!"
I was kneeling over the young Hylian, hopelessly hoping he was okay. He was knocked out cold and it was obvious he needed help. A medical crew was now hovering over him, and I felt a hand over my shoulder. It was Peach.
"You need to step aside, let them take him to the medical wing," said I looked down at Link one last time before I reluctantly walked away, eventually exiting the arena. I was sad because my partner had fallen. I was pissed because he was taken out in such a dishonorable way. I even though I didn't show it, I was afraid. Since Link was hurt, if he doesn't recover by tomorrow, I'll have to drop out of the tournament. I was walking towards my room, ready to call it quits when I saw Falco along my way. He stopped in front of me, his head tilted up.
"I heard about what happened," he said. "The Master Hand wants to see you in the oval office." He walked off, and I followed him. His eyes were somewhat swollen, as if he was...
"Falco, were you crying?" I asked. Falco didn't answer at first. He than gave a slight nod.
"I'm worried about Link." I left it at that as I saw the black doors of the office. I pushed the doors, accepting my fate.
Master Hand
I looked up at the armored figure in front of me and sighed.
"Sit." I said. She took the seat on the exact opposite of mine. I sighed and decided to let her in on the reason why I called her here. "I know about what happened to Link. Under the rules, you are supposed to be out of the tournament." Although I can't see her expression, I could feel her staring at me with anger. I shrugged and continue. "I know you're angry with this...so I decided give you a choice. You can either drop out of the tournament, as the rules say, or you can face Ganondorf and Bowser, alone." She tilted her head to side, obviously pondering about this.
"I don't know what to say," Samus whispered out. "I want to go on and win this tournament, but I don't know if I could take on the two by myself."
"I'm not asking you to decide today. If you want to take this challenge, all you have to do is show up tomorrow. That is all." Samus stood up, than exited the office. I sighed. Being the head of this event, I'm not supposed to pick any favorites. But deep down inside, I was hoping to God that she took the challenge.
Dr. Mario
I looked down at Link's leg. His leg wasn't broken, but for he needed to stay in the hospital for three days before he could properly walk on it. Unfortunately, that was the good news. I tilted my head up to see Samus enter. I nodded in greeting. She, in turn, gave a nod of her own.
"How is he, Doc?" she asked.
"He won't be able to fight tomorrow," I answered. She grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Link's bed.
"Is it okay if I wake him up?" she asked.
"That's what we want to know," a voice said behind. I turned around to see Fox. Behind him were Falco and Zelda.
"Yes, it's okay," I answered. "But don't wake him up too hard. He did hit is head, after all."
"Um..." Samus looked up at us. "If it's not too much of a bother, would you mind leaving me alone with Link?"
"All right," Falco answered. He than turned to the three of us. "All right, you heard the lady. You have to go." All of stood up and went to our respective areas: I went into my office, which was down the hall. The rest went into the waiting room.
Link
My eyes eased opened as I felt myself being shaken. I saw Samus looked down at me.
"Hi, beautiful," she said jokingly. I half smiled.
"How long have I been out?" I whispered.
"Hell if I know. I wasn't here the whole time. I just got here, to tell the truth." I sat up in my bed and looked at her.
"Remember when I said we were even when we fought Mewtwo and Pichu?" She nodded slightly. "Well, now I owe you big time." I looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Thank you." She tilted her head to the side.
"You're welcome." I looked at her, frowning a bit.
"I guess we're done for, right?" She was silent for a bit, her head bowing. She was either sad or very pissed. All of a sudden, she stood up send a fist towards a wall, easily punching a whole through the surface.
"No...we're not," she muttered out slowly.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
"After the bout, The Master Hand gave me an offer: Drop out of the tournament, or face Ganondorf and Bowser alone." She faced me. "Link, we had come so far, and you think I'm going to get put out of the tournament THAT easily?" I looked at her, surprise present on her face.
"You're willing to go that far to face me in another match?" I said.
"It's not about the damn match, Link..." She sat down again and looked at me. "I just want to win." I looked at her and smiled a bit.
"Do what you have to do." She bent down towards me until she was face to face with me. She than lifted her helmet from the front, revealing part of her face, but still enough to leave me in mystery. She kissed me on the cheek. My eyes widened, a little more than surprised by what she did.
"I will, Link," she muttered out before she let her helmet drop. "I will." She turned around, about to leave.
"Samus," I called out. She turned around to face me. "Does that me, you bury the hatchet?" She stood there for a few minutes.
"I guess so," she answered. "I'm not doing this for myself, after all."
Fox McCloud
I yawned and opened my eyes. I noticed my head was on Zelda's lap. I quickly sat up, blushing to no end. Zelda than looked at me and smiled.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"I was sleeping?" I said. "Sorry." She chuckled a bit.
"It's quite all right," Zelda assured. "It was nice stroking your fur. You're quite cute, you know."
"Oh please," I replied, blushing lightly. "I'm not that great looking." We both laughed a bit. After that was a long silence. I was looking at the door of Link's room. I was wondering what Samus was talking to Link about. I sighed. I took a glimpse of Zelda. I wanted so much for her to be mine. But alas, we could never be. We were two different species, and...it just wouldn't work. But why do I still crave her affection?
As if against my will, I saw my hand slowly place itself on Zelda's. Zelda looked at me, and I looked back, blushing again.
"Sorry," I muttered out before I slowly lifted my hand. Before I could completely remove my hand, I felt her hand close around mine. I looked up at her again, and we both exchange small smiles. We were holding hands for the first time. Her hands were warm and soft. She squeezed my hand slightly. Was I wrong for thinking there could be nothing between us? Zelda slowly let go and stood up.
"I must go," she said softly. "It's getting late." I stood up.
"Please, let me walk you to your room," I offered. She smiled.
"You're sweet, Fox. But that won't be necessary." She stepped forward and hugged me. I hugged he back, feeling the warmth of her arms. She than released the embrace and nodded. "Good night, Fox."
"Good night," I whispered back.
Chapter 5
Link
I fell backward on my back, taking a kick from Fox. That is how it always was during the training session with Fox and Falco. Fox brought his hand out, offering to help me up. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up to my feet.
"What's the tally?" I asked.
"We had six sparring matches, and we each won three a piece," he answered. I sighed.
"I wonder if Samus is doing so well." As if on cue, I heard the sound of an object being slammed against the ground, followed the sound of a fist being impacted against someone's jaw. I shook my head. Whenever Falco and Samus sparred, there's never a winner. They were both evenly matched, though none of them would care to admit it. That was the usual scene in one of the two gyms in Smash Mansion.
There were two gyms. The one we were in was strictly for hand-to-hand combat and exercising. Meaning, Samus had to go in without her suit (though she still wore a hood that concealed her face) and I was without my sword, my long shot, my bow, my arrows, my bombs, and boomerang. The other gym was for testing out weapons, seeing if they were fit to use in battle.
"Calling Samus and Link, calling Samus and Link," a voice said over the intercom. "Your match is in forty minutes."
"Same time tomorrow, Link?" Falco yelled out, walking up to me with Samus trailing him. I nodded and waved my hand to say goodbye. Samus and I exited the gym, walking towards our rooms to get ready for the brawl.
"Who is our opponent?" I asked.
"Yoshi and Peach," Samus replied coldly. "This match shouldn't take long." I nodded. I was just about to ask another question when we passed by Ganondorf and Bowser."
"You better hope you lose this match, kid," Ganondorf said. I turned around, raising an eyebrow.
"What the hell is you talking about, you oversized Christmas tree?" Samus demanded.
"You didn't know?" Bowser said with that annoying laugh of his. "Boy, are you two in the dark."
"I'm trying to be polite, so I'm just going ask you two one more time. What the hell are you talking about?" Ganondorf laughed out loud again. My eyes went cold.
"Let me bring you into the light," Ganondorf offered. "The winner of the next match has to face us. Guess you're not going to win this tournament after all." His laughing was joined by Bowser's laughing. I was about to reply, but Samus beat me to it.
"Um....if I were you...Ganondork...I wouldn't be laughing," Samus said coldly. "You had your ass handed to you by Link over a million times. Which is kind of sad really." A scowl crept across Ganondorf's face. "So I suggest you use the money you saved up for that little celebration party to pay off your future medical bill. Because by the time we're done, Link will extend your eternal losing streak, and I will turn your friend into turtle soup!" I smiled as Samus and I walked off. There was an odd silence between us as we walked on. I sighed and decided to break when we were near our rooms.
"Thanks, Samus," I muttered out. Samus turned her hooded face towards me. I supposed she had her eyes on me, but I couldn't tell.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now let's get ready. What color you're wearing today?"
"Well...what do you suggest?" I asked.
"Well, I'm thinking of going for a color change myself. How 'bout some black?"
I nodded a bit. "That'll be great."
Samus
It was probably a good thing we chose black. The stipulation of the match was simple. Each fighter had only one stock, and there was only one weapon: The Bob-omb.
The Bob-ombs are bombs that stay inactive for a good fifteen seconds, allowing them to be used as explosive projectiles. However, after those fifteen seconds, they start walking back and forth until they hit someone or something, causing a huge explosion.
Link and I walked towards the middle of the stadium along with Peach and Yoshi. We both extended our hands forward. Yoshi grabbed one of my fingers and shook it gently. Peach kissed Link on the cheek. It was sportsmanship thing.
The stadium turned black, transporting us to the location of our smash-fest. The stage showed a one huge platform. No platform above, and nothing to break our fall except for the usual ledge. This was the Final Destination. No distractions. No interferences from certain objects like an Arwing or anything like that. The only thing we had to worry about are the walking bombs.
"FIGHTERS READY? GO!"
I jumped forward at Peach, knocking her backward. She quickly got back on her feet and returned the favor with a swing of her umbrella. We quickly exchanged blow after blow. Maybe I was a little bit overconfident when I thought we had this match in the bag. I needed to somehow get the upper hand.
At one point, I was knocked backward by a golf club (Where does she hide those things?). As soon as I regained my footing, a Bob-omb dropped from the sky. As I expected, Peach dashed for the little projectile. Instead of making a run for it, I launched a missile, destroying the bomb in front of her. As she was blown back, I quickly took advantage, unleashing a flurry of punches. I brought my leg straight up and send my heel straight on her head, knocking her downward. I was giving her any room to breathe, knowing she could turn the tide quicker than I could snap my fingers. I unleashing so much punches I had Peach putting up her shields. That still didn't stop me. In my mind, I could almost see what Peach was seeing: A person in a black armored suit, wearing away her shields. Eventually, Peach's shield shattered. She was stunned, changing into many colors the same way anyone in her situation would. I immediately charged up my cannon, ready to blast her away. That is when I saw it.
From behind her, Link seemed to have everything under control with Yoshi when suddenly, a Bob-omb was walking towards his direction. As soon as the walking explosive touched him, Link was blown sky high. He landed the wrong way, causing his leg to bend too far back, and his head bounced off the ground. He was unconscious. Yoshi, who just regain his senses, didn't see that. he quickly jumped out. My eye widened in shock. He was going for the finisher! As soon as he dropped down, I flipped over Peach and launched my charge shot. This knocked him out of the stage. I quickly turned around and launched my grappling hook, and pulled her towards me. I send a few punches to make sure she wouldn't comeback before I tossed out of the stage.
"FIGHT O-"
"OH SHUT THE HELL UP!" I heard myself yell out. "GET ME A DAMN DOCTOR! LINK'S HURT!"
I was kneeling over the young Hylian, hopelessly hoping he was okay. He was knocked out cold and it was obvious he needed help. A medical crew was now hovering over him, and I felt a hand over my shoulder. It was Peach.
"You need to step aside, let them take him to the medical wing," said I looked down at Link one last time before I reluctantly walked away, eventually exiting the arena. I was sad because my partner had fallen. I was pissed because he was taken out in such a dishonorable way. I even though I didn't show it, I was afraid. Since Link was hurt, if he doesn't recover by tomorrow, I'll have to drop out of the tournament. I was walking towards my room, ready to call it quits when I saw Falco along my way. He stopped in front of me, his head tilted up.
"I heard about what happened," he said. "The Master Hand wants to see you in the oval office." He walked off, and I followed him. His eyes were somewhat swollen, as if he was...
"Falco, were you crying?" I asked. Falco didn't answer at first. He than gave a slight nod.
"I'm worried about Link." I left it at that as I saw the black doors of the office. I pushed the doors, accepting my fate.
Master Hand
I looked up at the armored figure in front of me and sighed.
"Sit." I said. She took the seat on the exact opposite of mine. I sighed and decided to let her in on the reason why I called her here. "I know about what happened to Link. Under the rules, you are supposed to be out of the tournament." Although I can't see her expression, I could feel her staring at me with anger. I shrugged and continue. "I know you're angry with this...so I decided give you a choice. You can either drop out of the tournament, as the rules say, or you can face Ganondorf and Bowser, alone." She tilted her head to side, obviously pondering about this.
"I don't know what to say," Samus whispered out. "I want to go on and win this tournament, but I don't know if I could take on the two by myself."
"I'm not asking you to decide today. If you want to take this challenge, all you have to do is show up tomorrow. That is all." Samus stood up, than exited the office. I sighed. Being the head of this event, I'm not supposed to pick any favorites. But deep down inside, I was hoping to God that she took the challenge.
Dr. Mario
I looked down at Link's leg. His leg wasn't broken, but for he needed to stay in the hospital for three days before he could properly walk on it. Unfortunately, that was the good news. I tilted my head up to see Samus enter. I nodded in greeting. She, in turn, gave a nod of her own.
"How is he, Doc?" she asked.
"He won't be able to fight tomorrow," I answered. She grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Link's bed.
"Is it okay if I wake him up?" she asked.
"That's what we want to know," a voice said behind. I turned around to see Fox. Behind him were Falco and Zelda.
"Yes, it's okay," I answered. "But don't wake him up too hard. He did hit is head, after all."
"Um..." Samus looked up at us. "If it's not too much of a bother, would you mind leaving me alone with Link?"
"All right," Falco answered. He than turned to the three of us. "All right, you heard the lady. You have to go." All of stood up and went to our respective areas: I went into my office, which was down the hall. The rest went into the waiting room.
Link
My eyes eased opened as I felt myself being shaken. I saw Samus looked down at me.
"Hi, beautiful," she said jokingly. I half smiled.
"How long have I been out?" I whispered.
"Hell if I know. I wasn't here the whole time. I just got here, to tell the truth." I sat up in my bed and looked at her.
"Remember when I said we were even when we fought Mewtwo and Pichu?" She nodded slightly. "Well, now I owe you big time." I looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Thank you." She tilted her head to the side.
"You're welcome." I looked at her, frowning a bit.
"I guess we're done for, right?" She was silent for a bit, her head bowing. She was either sad or very pissed. All of a sudden, she stood up send a fist towards a wall, easily punching a whole through the surface.
"No...we're not," she muttered out slowly.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
"After the bout, The Master Hand gave me an offer: Drop out of the tournament, or face Ganondorf and Bowser alone." She faced me. "Link, we had come so far, and you think I'm going to get put out of the tournament THAT easily?" I looked at her, surprise present on her face.
"You're willing to go that far to face me in another match?" I said.
"It's not about the damn match, Link..." She sat down again and looked at me. "I just want to win." I looked at her and smiled a bit.
"Do what you have to do." She bent down towards me until she was face to face with me. She than lifted her helmet from the front, revealing part of her face, but still enough to leave me in mystery. She kissed me on the cheek. My eyes widened, a little more than surprised by what she did.
"I will, Link," she muttered out before she let her helmet drop. "I will." She turned around, about to leave.
"Samus," I called out. She turned around to face me. "Does that me, you bury the hatchet?" She stood there for a few minutes.
"I guess so," she answered. "I'm not doing this for myself, after all."
Fox McCloud
I yawned and opened my eyes. I noticed my head was on Zelda's lap. I quickly sat up, blushing to no end. Zelda than looked at me and smiled.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"I was sleeping?" I said. "Sorry." She chuckled a bit.
"It's quite all right," Zelda assured. "It was nice stroking your fur. You're quite cute, you know."
"Oh please," I replied, blushing lightly. "I'm not that great looking." We both laughed a bit. After that was a long silence. I was looking at the door of Link's room. I was wondering what Samus was talking to Link about. I sighed. I took a glimpse of Zelda. I wanted so much for her to be mine. But alas, we could never be. We were two different species, and...it just wouldn't work. But why do I still crave her affection?
As if against my will, I saw my hand slowly place itself on Zelda's. Zelda looked at me, and I looked back, blushing again.
"Sorry," I muttered out before I slowly lifted my hand. Before I could completely remove my hand, I felt her hand close around mine. I looked up at her again, and we both exchange small smiles. We were holding hands for the first time. Her hands were warm and soft. She squeezed my hand slightly. Was I wrong for thinking there could be nothing between us? Zelda slowly let go and stood up.
"I must go," she said softly. "It's getting late." I stood up.
"Please, let me walk you to your room," I offered. She smiled.
"You're sweet, Fox. But that won't be necessary." She stepped forward and hugged me. I hugged he back, feeling the warmth of her arms. She than released the embrace and nodded. "Good night, Fox."
"Good night," I whispered back.