Okay. Apologizing for the ten thousand new chapter alerts you guys received. Okay, just a few, butI messed up several times and I had to keep deleting and restoring it. Delete, Restore, Delete, Restore, Delete… well, you get the picture. Now that it is winter break. I may finish this story before the New Year because if I don't I can say I've been working on this story for one whole year and that's pitiful. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 17

Game Over

Samus tossed and turned in her bed. Why couldn't she sleep? She had been in her bed for what felt like hours with her eyes wide open. She would shut them… but then they would reopen. She tried several times to fall asleep, but her eyes kept fighting her to stay awake and her eyes won the battle. She gave up trying to sleep. Even though her eyes were open she needed to know why. It could have been because of Zelda, on account of she was still sobbing on her bed ever since she got back in the room. She stopped once and Samus thought she was done but then she started leaking tears again. Zelda is keeping me awake with her crying. I need my sleep but she just won't stop. She's miserable. But it's not like it's my fault she's in the bed crying her tears out till she's as dry as a drought. She brought it on herself and she has to accept the consequences of attacking Veronica like that...even though, I probably would have done the same.

Samus pushed herself towards the end of her bed. She pulled her upper body off the bed and took a peek at the Hylian Princess. Zelda was in her pink nightgown with her head on her pillow. She was curled up in a little ball and she covered her face in her crossed arms. Samus shrunk into her bed. Then why do I feel so guilty? It wasn't my fault. I didn't do anything to her...besides yell in her face, but she did it too. Why do I care? Zelda had stopped crying for a minute and was sniffling. Samus knew she was preparing herself for another round of sobbing. Samus looked around the room. All of Zelda's things were packed up and sitting by the door. Samus rolled fully back onto her bed and landed right back on her pillow. She placed her arms under her head. What is this feeling? It's seems like it's guiltiness but it isn't. It's some other feeling. Her problems are not my problems, and yet I can't help but feel sorrow for her. Wait! That's exactly what it is. Concern. But why?

Samus sat up in bed and looked at Zelda again as she started crying again. She isn't my friend anymore, right? Why should I care at all? She can fight her own battles. Why worry at all about her and why am I worried in the first place? Samus shook her head. Don't be stupid, Samus. You know the answer. She's your best friend no matter what, and she would feel the same way if you were in her shoes. I'm starting to understand what Garrett meant. This argument isn't worth having. It's over nonsense. Right now. My friend needs me more than ever, and I can't let her down. Samus took a large gulp. But what am I going to say? I pretty much told her off earlier. Will she even listen? I'll have to try.

Zelda couldn't stop crying no matter how much she tried. Her heart had broken and snapped in so many different ways and she would cry about one thing and then she would cry about the next thing. It would never stop. Zelda felt her bed lower for a moment but then bounce right back up. She peeked one eye out from her pillow. Her eyes met with a pair of green, sincere eyes. She knew those eyes. Zelda lifted her head from the pillow and looked up at Samus.

Samus had her eyes lowered. "Hey."

Zelda continued to stare at her. Samus was actually talking to her. "Hey. What is it?" She rubbed the remaining tears out of her eyes.

"Listen. I'm sorry about the way I'm acting. I really am. I was so mad that you believed what Marth was saying over me, and then what happened after with the guys, I couldn't forgive you. I haven't been considerate at all with being expelled or Veronica making your life miserable."

"No, you don't have to be sorry. I didn't realize how much I hurt you by not believing you. And besides, you're not the one who has to leave because of my stupid actions. I want to apologize too. I don't know why I accused you of kissing Link like that. I never meant to be so mean about it."

"Well, it was a little out of your character. But I can see why you were feeling that way." Samus pushed her legs onto Zelda's bed and crossed them. "Link is someone you really love. I would be protective if it was… well, you know."

Zelda nodded. But then her tears started to fall again. "Samus, she won everything. She has Link and she was able to kick me out of here. I lost." Zelda started to sob again. She moved from going to her pillow to crying in Samus's lap. She didn't know if Samus would knock her off of her or not. But she took her chances.

Samus smiled. "Zel, you're such a crybaby." Samus rubbed her back in understanding. "But let it all out."

Zelda felt comfort from Samus as she continued to cry. Samus was reminding Zelda of her mother when she was hurt and she would go to her mother's arms. Samus and her were always there for each other even after their nasty fight. She couldn't be any more relieved."Sam, if there's anyone else I'm going to miss when I leave it's going to be you. I really am sorry. I will never doubt you again. And if Link kissed you it was probably because he was confused about his love for Veronica or me."

"Veronica?" Samus was puzzled. She stopped rubbing Zelda's back. "Zel, when I kissed Link I didn't know you or Veronica."

Zelda looked up immediately. "What?"

"Well, not at the time at least. I mean I kissed Link before, but that was before you or Veronica showed up at the mansion. That was almost three years ago."

Zelda looked up, quite confused. "I thought you kissed him while we were here."

Samus shook her head. "No. I thought you found out about the kiss from a long time ago."

"What kiss? I've never head of this."

"I never wanted to really tell you. But you need to know." Samus took a deep breath. "Three years ago, when we first came to the SSB mansion, that's what it was called before you guys arrived, Link and I… we never really got along with each other. We would always bite each other's heads off with insults and we would always fight with our fists. It wasn't pretty. Believe me. Anyway, I don't know what happened but our hearts melted and we became the best of friends. And soon it developed to be more than just a friendship. We started to like each other a lot. And then one day, we admitted our feelings towards each other and then… well, we kissed. But after that, we only went out a few times before we realized we should just be friends. No offense, but your future boyfriend is a little slow in the brain and that's not too attractive."

Zelda giggled. "He can be." That was the first time she had laughed in a while. But she stopped when a realization came to mind. "But what does this mean about the kiss that happened here?"

"I don't know. While we were on Serine Isle, I did run into Link. But he did his best to avoid me."

"But Link says you tried to kiss him. And then we caught you with him, trying to kiss him in town."

"That never happened. I never saw you guys once at the time," Samus explained.

Zelda gasped. "What is going on here?"

Samus scratched her head. "I don't know. It's all just too weird."

Zelda sighed. "But it no longer matters what happened. I'm leaving, so it wouldn't make a difference."

Samus sighed. "Yes. I know. But you're not leaving till after tomorrow, right?" Zelda nodded. The bounty hunter smirked. The surprise party will have to wait. "Well, you and me are going to do some investigating."

"Really? You're going to help?" Zelda's eyes grew big.

"Why wouldn't I? I can't see my best friend leave for no good reason. I'll make sure you will not leave at all." Samus gave her a thumbs-up. "By exposing Veronica for the witch she is."

Zelda's face was beaming. "You have a plan?"

"No. But I have ideas. Tomorrow we're going to do a little bit of traveling."

"To where?"

"I'll tell you in the morning. Just be ready and get comfortable shoes. You're not leaving me after we just made up." Samus sighed in aggravation. "I can't believe the time I wasted by being mad at you. I could have stopped you from going after Veronica. I could have thrown the punches for you."

"Don't worry about it. I needed to blow off some steam about that girl anyway. And honestly, it felt REALLY good," Zelda shyly said.

"Listen to you. You're spending way too much time around me."

"Yes, you are a bad influence." The two girls laughed. Zelda sighed deeply, glad to have her friend back. "You know. All day I was thinking about apologizing to you. I had fun yesterday, but it wasn't the same without you."

"Yeah, I couldn't have fun either. You guys just couldn't stay out of my head. It must be that strong bond we have. It can't be broken. It's too strong for Veronica or anyone else to destroy. We just couldn't figure that out."

"Mm-hmm I agree. I'm sure we will all be able to hold a conversation again when Veronica leaves or maybe even sooner." Zelda loved those good old days. It was her favorite thing about being in SSBM. "Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime, Z." Samus lied down on her stomach and prop a pillow under her crossed arms. "I'm glad I could settle one of our problems."

Zelda did the same thing. "So, worried about you and Marth?"

"Is it that easy to tell? I really am trying to forget him. But I can't."

Zelda gave Samus a serious look. "Samus, I want you to think for a moment. Do you really think Marth would do something like that you?"

"No, I don't. But I'm not assuming it. I saw it with my own eyes."

"And that's what Marth said about you and Link kissing and you denied it also. So, what's wrong with this picture?"

Samus couldn't answer that question. "I don't know. It's just I can't grasp that this happened to me. He was unlike other guys. He was a gentleman. I never met anyone like him. I never thought he would act like that."

"There's your answer. You know for a fact in your heart, he didn't do it to you. I know it's weird to tell you not to believe what happened right before your very eyes. But if you care about him, believe in him. I'm sure, even he believes in you no matter what happened."

"It's very weird to tell myself to deny what happened to me. But I do want to talk to him about that day." Samus's green eyes lit up for a second. "And, I miss him. But I don't even know what to begin to say to him."

"You'll know when you see him." Zelda yawned and placed her head on the pillow. "This will be the last day we talk like this."

"No, it won't. We're going to find some way to expose Veronica for the witch she is. It's not over till it's over."

"You're right." Zelda closed her eyes. We're going to have to keep fighting.

Hallway of 7th Floor

Link let out a frustrated yell. "I'm so stupid! Master Hand tapes the doors at 11pm." He walked quietly down the hallway while looking for his room. He was already going to be in serious trouble if he got caught. As he reached his room an idea struck him. I know magic. I can do Farore's Wind just like Zel, though she has better magic control. Hopefully, I won't end up in a completely different city like last time I tried this.

Link reached the front door. "Okay, here it goes." Just as he was about to do the spell he heard footsteps in his ear. He stopped and looked to his right. Veronica was there. He wasn't ready to talk to her yet, but he couldn't ignore her. He leaned against the door as she came up to him. "What?"

Veronica looked at him sadly. "Link, if there is anything I did to provoke you I'm sorry. I don't know what I did to hurt you, but I'll never do it again. And if it involves Zelda, I never meant to break your friendship with her. I would never try to do anything like that."

Link sighed. Since his walk, he just can't think about Veronica or Zelda the same. He questioned everything, even an apology. "Sure, Veronica." He muttered.

Veronica saw that Link was not going to be easily forgiving. Veronica groaned in sadness. "Link, please. I don't want you to be mad at me. You are one of the best friends I ever had. I cherish my friends more than anything."

Where did I hear this speech before? He thought sarcastically. "It's fine, Veronica. I want you to still be my friend. But I just need space to think right now"

"You're not mad?"

"Not mad. I enjoy my friends just as much as you do. So don't worry about it, okay?"

Veronica jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh thank you, Link."

Link reluctantly wrapped his arms around her. "You're welcome, I guess."

As he was hugging her, Veronica opened her fist. Inside it was a small tiny device. She softly pushed the device on the back of Link's neck under his loose hair. He didn't feel it at all. She went back to hugging him in a second. "You're so forgiving."

Link pulled away from the hug. "Sure. I have to go inside my room before I get caught by MH. So, see ya."

"Alright then. I guess I will retire to my room also. See you in the morning." Veronica walked off to her room as Link teleported away. Veronica smirked. Link, tomorrow you will do whatever I say.

The Next Day

"Zel, wake up. I have something for you."

Zelda's eyes opened for a second and then closed. She felt her body being shook lightly. "Come on, Zelda." Zelda gave in to the voice calling her name, and opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry but she could make out a colorful box. When her vision was back she saw the colorful box was actually a gift. It was covered in light pink wrapping paper and was tied in a yellow ribbon. The gift was in Samus' hands. Samus was dressed in a robe and she had a towel over her head and a grin on her face.

"Happy Birthday, Z. You are officially 16 years old." She said.

"Oh!" Zelda forgot that today was her birthday. "It is, isn't it? It slipped my mind. Is that gift for me?"

"No, it's for Ganondorf." Samus laughed. "Of course it's for you. You're the only one with a birthday. Here."

Zelda got up and looked at the gift. She took it from Samus. The present looked too beautiful to unwrap.

"Go on and open it!" Samus said anxiously.

Zelda paused for a moment, but then prepared herself to open her surprise. She carefully untied the ribbon and put it aside. She then unwrapped the present slowly so she wouldn't ruin the beautiful wrapping paper. The unwrapped present was a box. She took off the lid and the real gift was covered in tissue paper. As she removed the paper something shiny caught her eye. She withdrew from the paper and pulled out the shiny item. She let out a light gasp as she pulled out a beautiful golden belt. The belt was a long chain with gold key ring chains hanging from the belt and in the middle of each key ring was an emerald. The emeralds were a lot brighter than Samus' eyes. Zelda fell in love with the belt instantly.

"Sammie, it's gorgeous!"

"Glad to hear that. I thought I didn't have any taste in fashion. So, this was just a lucky choice in what was your type of style."

Zelda hugged Samus. "Thank you so much. It is so cute." Zelda got up quickly. "Oh Farore. Now I have to wear something cute and green so I can wear this belt. And then I have to have the right shoes and oh! This is just so cute! I never received anything like this. Thank you, Sammie! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Samus smiled. "You're welcome, Zel."

Zelda let out a high pitch squeal. "I'm going to get ready right now!"

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Zelda's happiness stopped. "Hmm? Someone's at the door."

Zelda went to the door. She opened the door to reveal Peach. She was dressed in her blue dress. "Hi, Zellie! Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Peach," Zelda said. "Glad you remembered."

"And I wanted to be the first one to tell you."

"Sorry. Samus beat you to it."

Peach blinked fiercely. "Samus did?" Peach looked from behind Zelda and saw Samus. Samus nodded in clarification. "Does that mean?" Samus and Zelda both nodded. Peach felt a grin growing on her face. She squealed in joy! "Aah! You guys made up! I'm so happy right now." She grasped Zelda's hands. "This really brightens my day. I thought the three of us were through being the world's greatest trio!"

Peach jumped from Zelda to Samus. "Sammie! This is just so cool!"

"Mm-hmm." Samus agreed.

Zelda decided to get approval from Peach. "Peach, look at the belt Sam gave me."

Peach gave the same response Zelda gave when she received the belt. "Oh my gosh. That belt is so cute! And totally fashionable! I've never seen a belt like this in any of my fashion magazines and I have like every single one! Good choice, Sam. Didn't know you had good taste in fashion. Which reminds me..."

"What?" Samus asked.

"You know what, Sammie. Remember what you promised you would do on Zelda's birthday?"

Samus blushed and laughed hesitantly. "Oh, right."

"What is it, Sam?" Zelda asked.

"Sammie here promised to wear a skirt or dress today for your birthday outing with us."

Samus nodded. "And I did. Check it out." Samus removed her robe and let it drop to the floor. She was wearing a red halter-top and a white, flowy skirt. She then removed the towel, and her golden blonde hair fell down in loose spiral curls. She was even wearing a little bit of make-up. "So, what do you think?"

"I knew you would look cute in a skirt. I like this outfit on you," commented Zelda.

"Super cute, Samus. You're a total hot babe. You can probably snag older guys looking like this." Peach winked.

"Older guys, huh?" Samus thought of Garrett instantly but then she stopped short of her thinking because Marth came to mind next. "I don't think so. It's just an outfit."

"To you." Peach straightened her gloves. "Let's head down for breakfast."

"I have to get dressed first, Peach!" Zelda rushed to her closet. "I have to get something green to wear with the new belt Sam got me!"

"Oh, let me help! This my specialty!" Peach followed her to the closet. "I can pick a good outfit in a heartbeat."

Samus rolled her eyes. "My two fashion-hyped friends. I can't believe we can actually be the best of friends."

Downstairs Breakfast Room

"Hey, Marth. Marth? Earth to Marth. Come in!"

Marth broke his trance and looked at Falco waving his hand in his face. "Hmm?" he answered.

"I asked you to pass the butter a couple times now."

"Sorry. I just spaced out." Marth passed the butter to him. "Here you go, Falco."

"Thanks." Falco went to spreading butter on his toast, not wanting to ask Marth what was going on. But Roy, Fox, Luigi, and Mario were curious. Fox decided to speak up. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. Just thinking."

Roy looked concerned. "Thinking about Sam again?"

Marth gave Roy a warning look. "Roy..."

Mario stopped Marth from going any further. "We already know the whole thing, Marth. We can tell it's about Sam and Link told us about it already. That's rough, dude. It's good you haven't gone into a mental breakdown or anything."

"It's not bugging me. I'm fine. She's the furthest person from my mind."

Luigi tried to reach him. "It's okay to admit that you miss her, Marth. We won't tell anybody."

"What's there to tell about that?" Falco muttered before he bit his toast. "It's just two starcrossed lovers here. It's just like Fox and his little girlfriend Krys-

Fox's hand went flying over Falco's mouth. "No talking with your mouth full, Falco!"

Mario decided to ignore what just happened. "We know how you feel, Marth. We know when there's something deep down bugging us, but our macho ways won't let us express how we really feel."

"Mario, I'm fine. Luigi, I'm fine. Everything is fine." Marth hoped that would end their suspicion.

Luigi and Mario exchanged glances, and then shook their heads. Falco aggravetedly sucked his teeth. Fox and Roy just looked at their hopeless friend. Marth was a wreck and he didn't even realize it. Luigi, sitting across from Marth, saw someone far away from them. "Hey, isn't that Samus? She looks a lot like her. But she'd never wear...that"

Mario looked next and gasped. "Momma Mia! It is her, and she looks incredibily ho…" Mario paused and thought about his words and then spoke. "I mean pretty."

Those words made Marth turn around. Samus was a distance away from him. But he could see her outfit clearly, and she was breathtakingly beautiful. He had never seen her in a skirt before. But that's not what really caught his eye. Samus was talking to a guy he did not know. He had a sword on his back and long hair in a ponytail. He was wearing a black and red jacket and black pants. He and Samus looked like they were in a lively conversation. A sudden feeling started to spring into Marth. And he knew exactly what it was. But he would drop dead before he would admit it. He turned back around. Luigi, Fox, Mario, Falco, and Roy were looking at the other guy, but when they felt Marth's eyes on them they went back to their food. They acted like they didn't see a thing.

But then Roy looked up and said one thing. "Told you so," he said, referring to last night's talk with Marth.

Fox narrowed his eyes at Roy. "Roy, shut-up. It's nothing, Marth, don't worry about it."

"She's probably asking him about something. She's only devoted to you Marth. Who else better?" Mario added.

Luigi and Falco didn't say a word. They knew the truth about what was going on and so did Mario and Fox. But they weren't going to lie in Marth's face about it. They just continued to eat their food. The last thing they needed to do was get Marth's hopes up. And to top it all off, it was none of their business.

"Good Morning, gentleman!" A bouncy Peach said as she arrived at their table, mercifully killing the awkwardness at the table. She saw Roy open his mouth and all she did was turn away. "Might as well save your breath, Pyro boy. You can't get me down today. Good news: Zelda and Samus made up last night."

Surprisingly Marth responded to Peach's words. "They did?"

"Mm-hmm. It was so sweet. They're talking and everything."

"So, Zelda is okay now?" Luigi asked. "Even though she's going to be expelled and has to leave?"

"No worries, my green-hat-wearing friend. Zelda isn't leaving," Peach announced.

"Not leaving?" Mario echoed.

"Yep. Samus, Zelda, and I are going to take care of that. Anyway…"

Young Link came up to the table with Pichu on his head. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Morning. Anything good to eat?"

Pikachu jumped up into a chair from the ground. He sat in the seat next to Falco. "What's the party plan, Peach?"

"I need you guys to get the party going. I need you to get everything set up because I'll be out with Zelda and Samus. Oh yes, Marth and…" She groaned. "...Roy, you guys will need to meet us. She won't suspect anything if her friends are with her. I was going to ask Link, but I haven't seen him yet. Young Link, is he in the room?"

"No. Link was gone when I woke up this morning. "

"Hmm? Oh well. Guess he'll have to miss out. So, anyway, Mario I'm leaving you in charge of this party with Fox and Luigi helping you. Keep everything on task, you guys."

"Roger that, Princess." Mario saluted.

"Hey! Why can't I be in charge?" Falco interrupted

Peach crossed her arms and sighed. "Because you're going to go take your ship to go get Zelda's other present. Remember?"

Falco slightly turned red. "Eh heh, heh! Um… I knew that."

Peach lowered her eyes. "I'm sure you did." She laughed it off and turned to Marth and Roy. "Okay, guys. Be at Joypadana River Walk Station at 4pm. You can get there by train." Peach pulled a paper out of her purse. She gave the paper to Marth. "I'm going to give it to Marth since he's the brains of you two. These are the directions to the place, and bring Link along if you find him. We'll meet you by the train station. You remember how to take the train right, Marth?"

Marth nodded. "I remember, but why do you want us to meet you there? Why not just come with you now?"

"Okay. Here's the thing." Peach sat down next to Marth and lowered her voice. Everyone else grew quiet so they could hear what she was about to say. Peach didn't mind the eavesdropping, so she proceeded in spilling the details. "Samus says there's something out there that we need to see. So, we're going to check it out. It's some giant mansion."

"Without permission?" Young Link asked.

"Yep. It's a top secret mission."

"So, you're breaking into someone's house," Luigi said.

"I wouldn't say breaking into someone's house. We're just going to go in without them knowing what we're doing," Peach explained.

"So...you're breaking into someone's house," Luigi repeated.

Peach sighed, seeing she couldn't sugarcoat it. "I know. I know. We sound like burglars, but we've gotta do it if we're going to save Zelda from expulsion. We have to find something, anything to expose Veronoica."

Marth didn't like the idea. "Are you sure you girls can go alone? It sounds dangerous; maybe Roy and I should go with you."

"And we can't handle danger? We're smashers. You guys just stay here and hold the fort. That's the main reason we need you guys to stay here: to lower the suspicion. Master Hnad, or worse, Mr. Walden, will know something is up if a lot of us are missing."

"I hear what you are saying, Peach, but I just don't feel comfortable about you ladies going wihout some male protection, if you know what I mean." Marth eyed Peach.

Peach rolled her eyes. "I know exactly what you mean, and don't worry. One, Samus is just as tough, if not tougher than most guys. And if you're so worried about male protection, just look over at that handsome guy talking to Samus over there. His name is Garrett. He's going to be there with us, and guess what: He's Veronica's brother."

"No way!" Mario squinted over to where the bounty hunter was. "Actually when you look at him a second time, you can see the resemblance."

Marth didn't bother to turn around. He hadn't even met the guy and he was tired of him. Luigi grew quite curious. "So, is he as bad as Veronica?"

"No, Samus says he's the exact opposite. She says he's kind and quite the gentleman. Garrett's so considerate and a good listener. She met him yesterday after you guys had your big fight. Who'd ever thought there would be another you out there, huh, Marth?" Peach looked at her watch, not realizing the hurt look she put on Marth's face. "Anyway, we'll be fine with him there. Oops, look at the time. We gotta move before it gets too later. See you later!" Peach skipped off to her friends. Pichu left Young Link's head to follow her.

Marth watched Samus stop talking to this Garrett guy as soon as Peach arrived. Zelda came over next and then the four of them left out of the building, Garrett walking out in line with Samus. He sighed. He had some thinking to do.

Joypadana Train Station

"Ooh la la! Joypadana is beautiful," Peach said with awe.

Zelda didn't see the beauty. "But Peach, it's just a mountain. Nothing special about it."

"Yes, but did you see the estate on top of it?"

"No, I missed it," Zelda responded.

"We'll get a better view when we get up there." The two princesses turned around to see Samus coming back. She had three tickets in her hands. "That is the place we're going to inspect after all."

"Are you serious? That place is bound to be flooded with guards." Peach exclaimed.

"No, it isn't. Garrett told me that the people I met at this bar I went to yesterday are the only bodyguards today. They're 'okay' guys, if not a little weak. But they won't bust us or anything. Mr. Walden will be out all today."

Zelda paused her breathing. "Mr. Walden? It's his estate?"

"Mm-hmm. This is where the Walden Family lives. Right up there at the peak of Nintendo in the center of it all. The headquarters that I'm sure is full of secrets," Samus said proudly.

Zelda smirked. "Oh, I see what you're planning. Veronica's evidence…"

"...could be right in that estate," Peach ended the sentence.

"Bingo," Samus said. "We're going to have to get up there by the little sky climber right there."

Zelda's face started to turn pale. "The sky climber? Oh, I hate heights!"

"Is it over yet?"

Samus looked out the window of the trolley. "We're almost there, Zel. Just hang on a little bit longer."

Peach decided to get a conversation going. "So, Sam? Why didn't Garrett come with us?"

"Well. He said he was going to check on Veronica for us. He said they were all supposed to meet for an early brunch I think."

Zelda glanced at Samus for a second while trying to avoid looking outside. "Do you really think you can trust him?"

Samus nodded. "I'm sure of it. He wouldn't lie to me.""

"Really? How would you know?" Zelda kept her head up, even though she was forced to look at how high up they were. "You haven't even known him for a full 24 hours yet."

"Well, I feel like I got to know him...a lot," Samus said. But that did little to stop Peach and Zelda from looking at her suspisciously. "Or at least enough?"

"See? That's what I was afraid of. We might be walking into a trap." Zelda placed her head down. "This is not good."

Peach stood up to look at the estate coming in view. "It's a little unsettling, but he seems trustworthy."

"Yes, he does. But I just can't trust anyone in the Walden family. You see what's been happening to me and Samus and just about everyone else." Zelda reminded her friends.

"I know, but trust him. He can't be wrong. He's not that kind of guy," Samus said quietly.

Zelda frowned, not liking that dreamy tone in her best friend's words. "Pardon me, but don't you have a boyfriend?"

Samus's green eyes flared at that question. "I guess."

"You guess?" Zelda gaped at her. "Yesterday you were talking about how you missed Marth. What is going on, Sam?"

"I don't know. Look, it's just hard."

Peach put a hand on Samus's shoulder. "Hard to what? You love Marth, don't you?"

"…" Samus didn't respond. She put her head down.

Zelda didn't like this response. "Samus, what's the truth?"

"Maybe I never loved him like I thought I did. But it wasn't his fault. It was mine. I guess I wasn't ready at all."

"So, you like Garrett?" Peach assumed. "After basically half a day?"

"No...maybe..." Samus raised her head again. "It's confusing, girls. I just don't know whom I like anymore. I just need time to think."

"Well, you'll have to think on the go," Peach said as she looked out the window. "We're reaching the end of the trolley."

"And I hope you really about it," Zelda added, making Samus feel guilty. Zelda stood up and readied her magic. "We should teleport out of here."

Peach grabbed Zelda's hand quickly. Zelda held out her hand to her other friend. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her destination. Veronica's big estate came into her head. She should feel Farore's magic glowing, and soon she teleported. The next moment, she felt wind blowing in her face. She opened her eyes to see herself at the front door of the estate.

"Well, we made it." Peach looked at the scenery. "Nice place."

The estate was a beige color in gold trimming. There was a man-made pond surrounding the mansion and the girls were standing on the bridge, which lead to the front door. The house was like a castle. The front of the house had a beautiful garden with vibrant and colorful flowers planted in rows. A large gate surrounded the whole mansion. The good news was no one was in sight.

Zelda eyed the whole front yard. "Looks like no one else lives around here."

Peach adjusted her crown. "Great. When I thought Veronica was good she told me she lived on an estate in her own private area. No one was allowed to be on the property or at this train station unless invited. They own the whole mountain."

Zelda shook her head. "I could never live like this. It sounds so lonely. We should probably get our investigation started. Samus, are you okay?"

Samus had her arms crossed over her chest, indicating to Zelda she was still deep in thought about their talk on the trolley. "I'm fine."

The front door opened. Peach and Zelda gasped as a man came out the front door. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. Both of them jumped into fighting positions as battle cries escaped their mouths.

"Hey, keep your voices down!" Samus said, canceling out their voices. Peach and Zelda stared at her, unwilling to lower their defenses. "Relax, you guys. He's one of the guards I was telling you about. His name is Ace. He's a bartender at the Corner Pocket. How're you doing, Ace?"

"I've had better days. So, you ready?"

Zelda and Peach finally dropped their hands when they saw Samus interact with him.

"Yes, we are. Come on, girls," Samus said.

Ace moved aside and let the girls in the mansion. The entire room looked just liked their mansion. Everything this place had the SSBM mansion contained. Except this estate had more statues and artwork around the room. And there was a golden staircase. But there were three other people in the room. One had black hair and green eyes, the other had brown hair and brown eyes, and the last was a large man with blue eyes and red hair. Samus recognized them all.

"Okay. So we can avoid even more screams, let me introduce these guys. This is Hyde, Jay, and Moe. They're the other three guards."

Hyde smiled. "It's nice to meet you, fair princesses."

Now he's all kind. Samus shrugged it off. She looked at the house. "Okay let's divide the house. Zel, you go upstairs. Peach, take the right and I'll take the left. We'll meet up once we're done searching."

"Okay. And does everyone have their communicators?" Zelda asked. Samus and Peach held up theirs and nodded. Zelda checked her own wrist and saw her wristwatch. "Whoever finds something, call the others."

"Or if we get scared," Peach said. "This place is kind of creepy."

"Alright then. See you guys later." Samus started to walk to the left. Zelda headed up the stairs and Peach scurried to the right of the mansion.

Train Station

"Marth?" Roy called.

"Yeah?"

"It's 2pm, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh… just making sure."

"Why?"

"Because we shouldn't be here until another hour and a half."

Marth glared at Roy. "I know that."

"So, why are we out here?"

"I can't let her go fall in love with some other guy. Samus is my girlfriend, and I'm not going to lose her like this," Marth said. It was the most honest he'd been in a while.

"So, you finally realize the importance of being with her?"

"Yes. I do. He's not stealing her away from me. She doesn't know him well at all. She's only sixteen. She doesn't need an older guy like him. Besides it's only been one day. She can't be over me."

"I can't tell if you're acting like her boyfriend or her father." Roy sighed. "Why don't you just say that you miss her?"

Marth let on a smile. "Okay, I do miss her. A lot."

"Good. Don't you feel better now that you got that off your chest? It's like being cleansed of all the wrongdoings in your soul."

"I don't know if it's that exact feeling."

"What are you going to say to her when you get to Joypadana?"

"Don't know yet. But I'll think of something. It will have to be well thought out and convincing. It will require some thinking time."

"Not my field of fun. I'll leave that to you, buddy boy. Maybe we should stay here a bit and you think about it before we take the next train." Roy found a bench and sat down on it. "You don't want to say something stupid in front of her."

"Good idea." Marth sat on the bench across from him. "How to start?"

"I don't know. I think you know what to say though."

"I got it. First I'll say 'I'm sorry'." Marth said, proud of his idea.

Roy stared at Marth long and hard. "Well, yeah… I figured that much. Why don't we try this again?"

"Okay." Marth was quiet for a while. Then he snapped his fingers. "Got it!"

Roy looked up hopefully. "Yes?"

"I'm really, really, sorry Samus," Marth said triumphantly. "Yes."

Roy lowered his eyes. "No." He groaned. "This could take a while."

Joypadana Mountain Estate

"If I were Veronica, where would I hide top secret evidence?" Peach scratched her head. "Hmm? Well, if I were her, I would find the nearest shredder and shred all the evidence or I would burn it or throw it all in the ocean."

Peach left the fifth guest room she had inspected. They all look the same but had a different color as their theme. The bedrooms were empty. All the cabinets and nightstands were empty of clues. There wasn't even a spec of dust in the room. When she came out she saw there were many other rooms to inspect. She took her chances and skipped two other guest rooms and headed for the last door down the hallway.

Her feet were killing her. How she longed to be carried by someone just about now. Her thoughts entertained her as she walked through every room. She then wondered what the guy would be like. He would be tall, handsome, and would protect me with all their heart and soul. He would be sincere and have a funny personality that would cheer me up on my miserable days. Who would that be? ...no it couldn't be him. We are two very different people. How would that work out?

Her thoughts carried her all the way to the furthest door. It was open and it was pitch black. Peach felt nerves climbing up her body and coming to her throat. She knew now that whatever was down there was going to make her scream at the top of her lungs. She stopped right at the door and peeked inside. She could make out some stairs. She moved her hand around and found the railing. Peach grabbed onto it tightly as she eased herself down the stairs into the darkness.

"Why did I go right? This place is so creepy. I need some comfort." Peach's knuckles were turning white as she grabbed the rail even tighter. "Where's the … ouch!"

Peach hit her head against something. She rubbed her head and squinted through the darkness. She made out a light switch. "Finally."

She flicked the switch. "At first I thought it was a… a…" Peach's eyes grew large as she saw a spider in her face.

Upstairs

Zelda jumped as she heard a loud scream. She recognized the voice. She pressed down on her communicator. "Peach, what's wrong?" she said quickly.

"SPIDER! A BIG, BLACK, HAIRY SPIDER!" Peach screamed through the communicator.

"Oh, Peach!" Zelda complained.

Another voice came onto the communicator. "Who screamed?"

"It's okay, Sam. Peach just saw a spider in her face."

"That girl is so… ugh. Tell her she likely scared the spider off with that big mouth of hers."

"I think she's over it, Sam. I'll check in with you guys later." Zelda turned off her communicator and looked down the long corridor. There was one more room to the left of her."

She sped up her walk into a run when she reached a room. As she looked inside, she paused for a moment. This was Veronica's room. Her entire room was purple. She had a few things that were a different color. She had a large royal purple canopy king size bed. All the pillows and sheets were purple and her initials were embroidered in gold on each pillow. She spotted Veronica's computer, the monitor covered in a purple fuzz. There was a laptop next to the computer. The carpet was purple and even the walls had a purple pattner mixed with white

Zelda walked inside the room. Veronica kept her room neat. Everything was put in the right place. She found herself looking over by a desk with a very large mirror. She walked over to the desk and saw something else that caught her eye. There was a picture on the desk. Zelda picked up the frame. There were two girls in the picture. She recognized one of the girls to be Veronica but the other she did not know. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes the same shade as Zelda. She looked on the sides of the frame and saw two names.

"Veronica and …Katy? This is the girl. The girl Veronica killed." Zelda stared at the picture. Veronica had an arm around Katy and Katy had one around Veronica and they were both smiling. They were in swimsuits at the beach. "Katy looks so happy in this picture, and so does Veronica. How could Veronica just change like that?"

Zelda saw a book in the corner of her eye. This book on the desk was all too familiar: It was Veronica's diary.

Left Side of The Mansion

Samus couldn't really tell if she was looking hard enough or not. She had been through the kitchen, dining room, and a lounge. There wasn't a single clue. She was now standing in the last room. She sighed. The questions Peach and Zelda asked her about Marth infected her mind. She never felt so confused. She couldn't give a straight answer at the time and she still couldn't. Samus crossed her arms. I miss him so much. But he doesn't want t come back to me. He can get any girl he wants. Why would he want to stay with someone like me? And why do I want to go back to someone who hurt me? Samus sighed. Zelda told me to believe him, even though I know what I saw. I can't unsee what happened that day. He...attacked me.

"I can't go back to him." Samus shook Marth from her brain and continued her search. She checked the desks and the cabinets. Nothing. She checked frames the files and papers. Still nothing. Samus saw a closet in the corner. Her last chance. She went to open the closet. As she opened it slowly, she looked inside. Her eyes almost popped out of her head. This was no ordinary closet. There was another room inside the closet. But it was hidden behind the rack of coats. Samus pushed them aside and looked in the room. There was a door blocking the room with a number dial on the door.

Samus rolled her eyes. "Please. You can't keep me out." Samus pressed her right earring. An orange scanner came on over her right eye. She then focused on the lock as she pushed her communicator towards the number dial. She pressed a button on her wristwatch. "Find the combination," She said quietly.

Her scanner on her eye started to show four numbers. The numbers were spinning like a slot machine. The numbers started to slow down. The scanner made a tiny beep and showed the combination.

"7-7-7-7 huh? Gee, that's unique," Samus said. She put the combination in and the door opened. "No way. Is that a computer?"

Samus's guess was right. The secret room was a computer room. It was a very large computer room. The room was full of other technology Samus couldn't even recognize, but this place had to be some kind of high tech lab. Samus walked in and looked around, not knowing where to begin. Looks like I hit the Jackpot. But why would they need a lab like this anyway? Guess I better start with stripping that computer of all its secrets.

As she reached the computer, she heard footsteps. "Oh no," she said quietly. She eyed a desk not too far away. She ran over to the desk and hid behind it. She tried not to make a sound as the footsteps grew closer. She looked up as a guy entered the room: It was Garrett.

"Samus, are you down here? It's me."

Samus sighed in relief. She got up from her knees. "Yes, I'm over here. Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"No it's just me. I'm quite surprised that you figured out the combination to this." Garrett advanced towards her. "I found this room a long time ago. But I didn't have a combination to it. But I knew you would figure it out though."

"It's nothing when you have state-of-the-art technology. Figures out combinations in seconds." Samus brushed some blonde hair out of her face. She looked up at him. "Uh…" When she looked at him she noticed he was looking at her in an odd way. "Are you okay?"

Garrett chuckled. "It's nothing, Samus." He walked up to her and stared into her eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"...well, I've been told I'm pretty tough," Samus laughed. "Besides, it's not like this place is dangerous or..." her voice faded when her stomach did flip flops, as Garrett's hand suddenly touched her cheek."...Garrett?"

"I've been thinking, Sam. And I'm just lucky," Garrett said. Samus tried to step back but she was prevented from doing so when she backed up into a wall. He leaned his right arm against the wall right by the side of her head as he drew closer. "I could have never been more lucky to meet someone like you. Once we stop Veronica, we can...it can be just us."

"Garrett, look, my friends..." Samus spoke. Why was he doing this? And more importantly, why hasn't she dodged him yet?

"Sam, just us..." Garrett whispered. His face drew close to her face, his lips closing in on hers. Samus's mind screamed for her to wake up, but she was frozen in place by Garrett's gaze. She felt hypnotized, but she kept fighting in her mind. Did she really want this? Come on Sam. Breakthrough. This may seem right after everything that's happened. After Marth attacked you, after Marth accused you of kissing your friend, it all sounds like a dream to have him looking at me like this. But... Samus closed her eyes, and as she felt Garrett call her name, she heard someone much louder call her name. Of course he would. Of course Marth, even in her mind, would call for her. But it can only be Marth. Only him. He is still with me, and no one else can replace him.

"Mmm." Samus opened her eyes. She broke away from him before his lips reached hers. "No. This can't happen."

"What?" Garrett was shocked by her response.

"I can't do this, Garrett. I'm sorry but you know I have a boyfriend. And this isn't right." Samus ducked under his arm and got on the other side of him.

Garrett crossed his arms. "I don't understand. You still can't be in love with him can you?"

"I wouldn't say love. But I still do like him," Samus replied. "After all, he's the reason I don't feel so alone in this world anymore. I thank you for yesterday. But you and I can't be more than friends. Besides, I think what you did just now, makes it all clear." Samus grabbed a note from her pocket.

"...what do you mean?" Garrett asked.

"I wandered into a servant's bedroom and found an interesting note." Samus watched Garrett's eyes widen. "Know what it says? It tells the servants that they can go home for the day because your father was going on an overseas day trip with you and Veronica. Strange since your father is back at the Nintendo Resort finalizing Zelda's expulsion while you're still here. But you couldn't let the servants stay here..." Samus crossed her arms. "After all, you can't have them interfering with the trap you've set up for me, Peach, and Zelda. Or should I say the trap that Veronica has set up?"

"You found out," Garret spoke.

"Easily when you leave evidence around. Trust me when I didn't want to believe. But the minute you asked me to discard my friends, I can only take this note to be true. You're not with us."

Garrett gave Samus a blank stare, and then turned his back to her. He sighed in defeat. "Impressive. "

Samus talked to his back. "I'm sorry it has to be like this, Garrett. But I can't talk to you if you're siding with your sister. And, I won't let you put my friends in danger."

"I am sorry too, Samus," he said in a whisper. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

Samus paused. What could he be thinking? "Wouldn't come to what?"

"Heh." Garrett raised his head and it contained a dark grin on his face as he looked over his shoulder at Samus wildly. "I'm not going to let you and your friends walk out of here so easily." Garrett moved so fast Samus couldn't see him in time. He grabbed her right arm, roughly spun her around and captured her other arm. Before she could even fight back, Garrett slammed her body, face first into the nearest wall. "I won't let you go back to your precious Marth. You belong to me now! And your gal pals, will be a nice bonus."

"Get off me!" she tried to pull free, but the weight of Garrett's body on her back was crushing. She cursed herself for dropping her defenses just enough for him to catch her.

"I'm afraid I cannot. Veronica's orders. Plus, she promised I get to keep you if I followed them." He admired Samus's face as it lifted from the wall. "I never have seen this side of you. Fear. I love it! Your beautiful face displays it so well."

"I'm disgusted with how every one of you Waldens are trash! For you to betray us like this," Samus growled.

"Oh, Sammie, you can't betray someone whose side you were never on to begin with. I've had you in the palm of my hands since the day we met. I wasn't supposed to meet you, and like I said, luck was certainly on my side when you walked in that bar. It was all too perfect. You were mine from that point on. But, we can talk about this later when we get better acquainted. Moe!"

Samus heard a loud thumping behind her. She saw the large man Moe coming towards them. He stopped right in front of them. "Yes, boss?"

Garrett loosened his left handed grip on Samus' arms. While still holding Samus with one hand he dragged her over to Moe. He threw her over to him. His strong arms quickly grabbed her tightly. "Handle her."

Samus couldn't budge in the shackle-like grip of Moe. She gave up even trying to break free. "How could you support your sister after all she's done? This has nothing to do with you!"

Garrett gripped her chin, forcing him to look directly at her. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure what's happening between Zelda and Veronica isn't any of your business either."

"It is when my friend is in danger, and she needs me," Samus spat.

"Well then it's mutual. My little sister needed me. So, here we are." He dropped her chin. "Babe, I would love to continue this conversation a little longer, but right now, you're going to take a little nap."

Samus didn't have time to respond. She felt a hard blow to her neck, and she instantly blacked out.

Veronica's Room

Dear Diary,

These days of therapy are really helping. I'm not thinking of Katy as much as I used to. I feel so much better now. My dad is so proud that he said I could visit the SSBM mansion until the Nintendo Festival. I'm so excited. I'll get to meet all the stars from Hyrule. I'll meet Ganon and Young Link. And my idol Princess Zelda will be there. She's so beautiful and elegant. I envy her. I may have more wealth than her but I desire to be her more than myself. Not only do I get to meet her, but I get to meet Link. Link is so handsome and brave. I think I can get him to like me. I hope I am able to really get close to him. We're leaving tomorrow.

Dear Diary,

Remember before how I was happy to meet Zelda. Well I no longer am. Turns out, Zelda is in love with my Link. That little boyfriend stealer. Yes I know he wasn't my boyfriend but I know he would be in love with me if Zelda weren't around. She's no different from Katy. And just like with Katy, I'm going to have to do something about this. In the end, Diary, I guess I didn't change that much after all.

Zelda stopped reading the diary. This was enough. She read the other entries of Veronica's plans to get rid of her. That evidence was good enough to clear her name. I better tell Samus about this.

Zelda pushed the beeper on her communicator. "Samus, are you there?"

No answer.

"That's not like her. She usually answers right back." She pressed the button again. "Samus, answer me." No response. Zelda grew worried as she pressed the button for the third time. "Peach, please tell me you're here."

"I'm here. Is something wrong, Zellie?"

"I'm fine. But something weird is going on. Samus isn't answering her communicator. I don't understand. She usually answers back and she still hasn't."

"I know. I've been trying to reach her, too. I wanted to tell her I found some great-"

Peach cut off her sentence. Zelda started to get even more worried. "Peach? I didn't hear you. What did you say-"

"Stay back! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Zelda could hear Peach's voice in a panic. She didn't respond to Peach's voice. Another voice that wasn't Peach's came on the communicator in the background. A man's voice, cackling.

"Have a nice fall, Princess."

There was rustling, before Peach's scream came ringing through Zelda's ears. Her eyes grew large. In a seconds, she could hear a crash and things falling to the floor and breaking. She could hear it all. The communicator turned off. Zelda turned pale, panicking as her fingers jammed the buttons."Samus! Peach! Answer me, please!" Nothing but static.

Zelda was alone now. She knew now what had happened to Samus, and why she hadn't been responding. Something happened to them. Zelda was afraid. She didn't know what to do.

"Oh, Farore, I'm alone here." Zelda dropped the diary on the ground. Her heart started beating rapidly.

"On the contrary, Princess" A male voice said.

Zelda heard a click. She turned around and froze in place. Right in front of her were the two guys, Jay and Ace. Both of them had guns out.

Jay smirked. "You will be joining your friends shortly."

Zelda had her eyes on the two guns. She still did not move and did not utter a word. Ace moved a bit closer. "Come quietly and we won't shoot."

Zelda stared at them. She didn't know what to do. But as they came closer she did the only thing she could think of at the time. She used her magic. She sent Din's Fire towards them quickly. Jay escaped from the attack as he jumped out of the way. But Ace took the attack directly and fell on the ground. Zelda took this chance to run out the door. She ran all the way to the door. Jay got up quickly and let go of the trigger before she got out the door. The bullet was quick but it missed Zelda by a hair and it hit the edge of the door. Zelda let out a scream as he shot it but she kept on running.

"SAMUS! PEACH! HELP ME!" She screamed.

Zelda made her way to the stairs. Both guys were up and they were firing shots without aim. Zelda had an advantage since they had terrible aim while running. Zelda started to run down the stairs. "Peach! Samus! Where are…" She skidded to a halt in the middle of the stairs. She gasped in horror as she saw the other men at the bottom of the stairs. But that's not what made her even more scared. Samus and Peach were down the stairs also. But they were being held captive by two of the guys. Peach was draped in the arms of the man called Hyde, and Samus was slung over the shoulder of the so-called trustworthy Garrett. Both of her friends were hurt and unconscious.

Moe was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. "Well," Moe broke the silence. "Looks like we have your dear friends."

Hyde was enjoying Peach in his arms. He was looking at Peach in a sick way. "And a fine catch it was."

Zelda didn't know what to do. "Peach… Samus… no… this can't." Zelda backed up into someone. She turned around to see Jay and Ace had caught up. Before she can yell, Jay struck her hard on the head. The blow knocked Zelda to the ground and down some of the stairs. Zelda felt numbness all over. Her vision was darkening. Before she blacked out, she could hear Garrett's last words:

"Game over, Zelda."

A/N: Oh dear. This is not good. These girls are in grave danger. What will happen to them? Is anyone coming to save them? I don't know. Find out in the next chapter! Please review!