Hey guys. Happy Late St. Patrick's day if you celebrate it! I know you want to kill me for taking so long, but I've been really busy. After I was cured of my cold, I received another one because I decided to look at the storm from outside of my house. I can't help it if I like rain. Plus I had to work at an amusement park, and I had thousands of choir trips for the past few weeks. I've had this stupid poetry project for weeks. I used to like poetry but after the embarrassing moment of doing an oral report in front of the class for the required time of 10 minutes, I really loathe poetry. Thanks for the reviews, friends! Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 21

Beyond Belief Part I

I must be dreaming. There is no way. My eyes are playing tricks at me. Zelda shut her eyes for a brief second and then reopened them. Veronica was still there and not looking too happy. There were times back in the day, where Zelda believed zombies to be a myth, but seeing Veronica alive in flesh and bone changed her opinion. Peach looked over at Zelda. Zelda looked back at her with a look of worry on her face. They were busted. There was a very long moment of silence before Mr. Walden opened his mouth.

"At first I thought it was only Zelda causing the problems. But now I know you three plus your other accomplices, wherever they may be, are in on this too."

Zelda looked away from Peach for a moment and grabbed her left arm with her right. "Sir, please…" she said softly. "They have nothing to do with what happened here. I dragged them into this. I'm the only one who needs to be punished."

Veronica frowned. "You sure do deserve to be, but so do your friends. They were trying to sabotage our house while you were trying to kill me."

Zelda felt eyes on her. She forgot that her friends still didn't know what happened earlier to Veronica. So she should have expected confusion from all three of them. She turned her eyes toward Peach. Her face was unreadable, but she could tell Peach was dying to know what happened in the past few hours. She didn't respond to Veronica's comment as Master Hand turned in her direction.

Mr. Walden heavily sighed. "Might I ask what you were doing at this house?"

"Well…" Zelda started.

"She didn't think of this plan. I did."

Zelda looked at Peach. She was standing up for her. Peach crossed her arms. "I guess you still think Veronica is a little divine angel, don't you? But she's as bad as your son."

"My son? Don't drag Garrett into this. Are you trying to wreck both of my children's lives?" Mr. Walden questioned.

Peach frowned. "Mr. Walden, they're in this together. Him and his stupid friends knocked me, Zelda, and Samus unconscious and locked us in a freezer to freeze to death!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Roy piped in. "And then they tried numerous attempts to kill us."

"That's ludicrous. Garrett and his friends are well-rounded gentlemen. Your story is just becoming a bigger lie by the minute." Mr. Walden turned to Master Hand. "I think we're going to have to expel even more of your smashers, Master Hand."

Master Hand felt another tight feeling in his body. "Hmm…" he said quietly. Things were not looking too good. He may lose some more good smashers and his job.

"Daddy, maybe we aren't being fair at all. I mean we can at least let them have a fair trial. That way they can try and get their plea through." Veronica said with a smirk on her fare. "We can get a judge and everything."

Peach and Zelda exchanged glances and then looked back at Veronica. They knew she was up to something. But what the "something" was, was a mystery. Peach stepped back next to Zelda. "She's got something planned," she said quietly. Zelda nodded and kept her focus on the two Waldens.

"Hmm… it would be fair. I believe in freedom of speech. Why don't we? A brilliant plan, Veronica."

Zelda rolled her eyes while her friends groaned, moaned or said silent insulting words under their breath. A policeman ran into the room. "Sir, we found your son Garrett. He's unconscious. We think the large cat like human and that boy had something to do with it. We didn't go in the room but we could see through the crack in the door."

Zelda gasped. Oh no, Mewtwo's going to get into some serious trouble. And a boy… could he be Marth. Things aren't looking too good for us. She felt a small tug at her dress. Zelda looked down to see Pichu clawing at her dress. Zelda looked down at Pichu giving her a look telling her to stop. But Pichu didn't move. She decided to ignore the Pokemon and faced Mr. Walden again.

"Well, let's get to him quickly and get him some medical help." He smiled at his daughter. "I think we can get the Inspector to act as a judge, Ronnie. That's the best we can do for now. I believe he's still inspecting the other rooms and checking on the rest of Garrett's friends." Mr. Walden patted his daughter on the head. Let's go get him and get started with this questioning. Veronica, you may go first."

"Thank you, Daddy." She placed her hands on her hips. "But what about them? I don't trust them to be alone."

"Neither do I." Mr. Walden turned to the police officers. "Officers, when we get to the back room I want you to keep them there till we're done questioning Veronica. I don't want any interruptions."

Zelda saw the officers advancing towards them. What's going to happen now?

Lounge Room

Mewtwo appeared in the room. He saw Samus not too far away with her head on Marth's chest. He couldn't see her face since she had it buried in his chest. Her cries were barley audible to his ears. He looked at Samus's hands gripping Marth tightly as if he were her favorite stuffed animal. Mewtwo knew this was going to be tough for her. He had never seen the bounty hunter this upset about anyone's death before. He never really had a chance to actually see if death ever did upset Samus, but this scene proved that it did.

"What should I do?"

Mewtwo paused. Samus knew he was here. She raised her head up from her fallen swordsman. "I don't know what to do, Mewtwo. I have no idea what'I do next," she said quietly. "Where do I go from here?"

"That's a question you'll have to answer on your own." Mewtwo placed his hands at his sides. "But I know there is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"The day we left Serine Isle, Marth came to talk to me. He told me about..."

"The whole kissing thing, right?"

"Mm-hmm. But he told me something else too." Mewtwo recalled what he told him earlier. "He told me he felt like he wasn't doing his job."

"His job? What are you talking about?" Samus' tears had dried up, but her tears had stained her face.

"He said he felt the need to protect you from harm." Mewtwo saw Samus's odd stare. "He said he felt he was responsible for everything that happens to you. If anything he did ever caused you to turn away from him, like this kissing conflict, he felt he could only blame himself. I'm guessing what he did here to save you was his way of making up for letting you down. I never can understand these human emotions of love. They're hard to grasp and understand how they work. But staying on topic, I thought it was important for you to hear that," he concluded.

"It is. But I never knew that he felt that way. And then when I told him off yesterday. Oh. It's worse than I thought. I was an even bigger jerk than I thought I was. I didn't think it could get much worse. I'm the one. I'm the one who caused all this ever since that big fight just because I didn't know why he was really fighting with me."

"It wasn't your fault, Samus."

"Just tell me the truth. I'm tired of people trying to be nice to me. I want you to tell me how you really feel!"

"Fine, Samus. But let me tell you ahead of time you won't like it." Mewtwo stood next to her as she finally lifted her head from Marth. "You and Marth do not understand each other as much as you think you do. Your bond is weak."

Samus didn't know he was going to be that honest. "I know."

"You do?" he said quizzically.

"I do. It would always strike me in the back of my head. My conscience kept telling me how well did Marth and I truly know each other but I didn't care. I didn't want to leave him, and when he told me he loved me, I never had someone tell me that before. I thoght us being together would infiniately make us stronger, but in the end we were still weak," Samus said. "But I see what you're trying to get at. You're saying if I didn't meet him or ever interacted with him, he would still be…"

"...He still is," Mewtwo said quietly. He watched Samus' eyes widen. "Marth is still alive, Samus." He clarified for her.

"How…" Samus looked at Marth. She couldn't see him breathing or anything. She turned back to the pokemon. "How can you tell?"

"It's faint… but I'm getting a psychic pulse. He still is hanging on by a thread. And I will be able to bring him back."

"Are you sure?" Samus watched him nod. She sighed. Thank goodness. I don't know what would have happened next. I could have done...anything...

"I could have sworn I felt his presence slowly drifting away. But now it's like he's just sleeping." Mewtwo was really puzzled. "I just don't understand."

Samus smiled. "I know why. He has a strong will."

Mewtwo moved his eyes toward the ceiling. "It would appear so. He's a very lucky man. And you're lucky too, you know?"

Samus didn't respond to the last comment. She didn't feel special at all. She still felt like a jerk to all mankind and she no longer felt she deserved to be on this living Earth. She shook her head as she stood up. "Somehow, the feeling's not mutual." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I feel guilty."

Mewtwo kneeled down and looked at Marth. There was nothing else he could say to try and make a smile appear on the girl's face. But it wasn't really his concern anyway. He was asked by Young Link to only check on Link and Zelda. Mewtwo wasn't so sure if he could approach the young Hylian and tell the tragic tale of his lost older self. He closed his eyes. "I'm going to heal him now." He heard the shuffling of shoes. He opened his eyes briefly to see Samus had backed up in the corner of the room. That's predictable. She still needs time to get herself back together. I wonder if Marth will need space too. He continued his thoughts as he slowly used his healing powers.

Samus stayed in her small corner. A chill ran up her spine. What is he going to say to me? I just can't stand around and wait. I know it's over. It's pretty obvious after what happened. I drag him into trouble all the time. And when he gets a clear understanding of what happened earlier, he'll realize the truth and dump me. And I wouldn't like it any other way. Slightly satisfied with what she said, she crossed her arms and watched Mewtwo continue to heal Marth. In a minute, she could hear a small groan. She watched Marth scrunch up his face and then slowly open his cobalt eyes. Samus felt a small smile form on her lips.

"What happened?" Marth was speaking in a very soft voice. He looked to his left and saw Mewtwo above him. "Mewtwo?"

"Welcome back. We thought you were gone from this world." Mewtwo stepped back. "I've never seen such a recovery."

Marth didn't say anything. His eyes were checking his surroundings. In a matter of seconds, his eyes fell on Samus in the corner. Samus' eyes slightly increased in size. She stared at him, not sure what to do or say.

Marth sat up immediately. "Samus. You're back to yourself."

Samus' small smile dropped. She wanted to just fly into his arms. But she couldn't. It was too late for those things now. So, she just turned away and shifted her eyes to a nearby wall. "I'm glad you're okay. I-I mean we thought we lost you."

Marth stared at her for a long time. He could see Samus was fine, but he could also see Samus didn't wish to talk to him. He wouldn't let it end. He opened his mouth, but he was interrupted when the door opened. In walked several policemen.

"He's in here!" one of them said.

Marth watched the man run past him and over to the body of Garrett. What happened to him? Last time I saw him, he was just fine. Now he's down on the floor. Marth saw another policeman walk in with a stretcher. He hurried over to the injured Garrett. Marth saw Samus looking at all the men confused on what was going and Marth was even more confused then she was. He saw some familiar faces walk in. Mr. Walden came in with his dreadful daughter Veronica. Behind him were Master Hand along with Zelda, Roy, Peach, and Pichu. Zelda had spotted Marth first. She gasped. "Marth, you're okay."

Marth looked at the princess, surprised. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mr. Walden cut their conversation short. "So, you attacked my son."

Marth looked at Mr. Walden. "You have it all wrong. He attacked me and Samus." He was slowly remembering what happened earlier.

Samus looked at the policemen lifting Garrett onto a stretcher. Horrid memories started to fill her head as she saw his face. She shook her head and turned away as they started to carry him out of the room. She looked back at Mr. Walden. And apparently, he was looking at her.

"And I guess you're going to claim this is true, right? You're all in this together after all." Mr. Walden said in a snappy tone.

Samus forgot that she was talking to a higher authority and raised her voice. All sadness and joy she felt from Marth's fall and then rise, turned into boiled irritation for Mr. Walden. "Yes! He did attack us! And we fought back to defend ourselves from your evil children!"

Veronica jumped in front of her dad. "How dare you insult me and my brother!" she said directing it towards the bounty hunter.

Samus placed her hands on her hips. "You want an insult? I can be a lot more brutal than you think!"

Veronica growled. She was about to attack her, but Mr. Walden placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Veronica. I'm going to look for the inspector. Come along." Walden walked out the door and Master Hand followed him.

Veronica looked at the smashers as they left the room along with the police officers. "I told you. Mess with me, and I'll get back at you." She glared at Zelda with a smile. "That was a nice attempt to try and kill me, but you're just not good enough." Veronica sighed. "Sadly, I guess this will be our last meeting before you all are expelled. And when I tell my dad about you-know-what, Zelda, you are through!" Veronica skipped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

The room became silent before Samus got up from her corner and looked at Zelda. "When did she get here?"

"Not too long ago." Zelda stood in front of all the smashers. "I'm sorry, you guys. I really messed it up for everyone. We might all get expelled now."

"Well, we have a trial." Peach sat down in a nearby chair and Pichu pounced into her lap. "At least we can speak our minds."

"What do you mean trial?" Marth asked.

"Mr. Walden suggested we have a trial, so he can be quoted as a "nice" guy. I don't agree with those methods, but at least we get a say." Roy responded.

Zelda crossed her arms as she looked at the swordsman. "And what are we going to do? We have no evidence. Veronica and Garrett made sure we had nothing to back our stories up." She sighed, defeated. "There's no hope."

Samus walked up to Zelda and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Yes there is. Link wouldn't want you to give up so easily, Zel." She watched Zelda's expression drop.

"I don't know about all that. Link has changed. He attacked Marth in the train station and nearly twisted his arm," Roy said, remembering past events. Marth had forgotten all about his injured arm. It wasn't surging in pain like before, but every time he would bend it he felt a few aches.

Samus rubbed her chin. "That doesn't seem like something Link would do. Where was he going?"

"Don't know. But he didn't respond when I asked if he was going to see Veronica," Roy commented.

Mewtwo looked at Zelda. Is she finally going to tell them?

Peach remembered something. "That reminds me. Did you ever find Link in the mountains, Zelda? You said that's where he was."

Zelda started to tremble. "Yes… I saw him."

"That makes sense." Marth ran a hand through his hair. "Veronica must have been there. Link said he was going to meet with Veronica somewhere. I'm sure you didn't let that slide, did you?"

Zelda bit her lip. She couldn't tell them what happened. But the more they asked questions, the harder it was to keep quiet. "No, I didn't," she said in a tiny voice.

"Well, why didn't he come back with you? Or at least with Veronica?" Samus' eyes burned into Zelda's blue ones. She could see great sadness. Ever since Zelda came in here, she has been acting distant. Something's amiss. "Zelda, what happened?"

Mewtwo sighed. "Perhaps it's time to tell them what happened, Zelda."

Zelda looked down at her feet and sighed. She watched everyone in the room. Roy had his arms crossed with an arched eyebrow. Peach was looking at Zelda with great interest and Pichu was now standing in Peach's lap. Samus and Marth were both looking anxious and Mewtwo was the only one with a calm face since he knew what had happened. She sighed and parted her trembling lips to tell the story. "I've been keeping something very dreadful from all of you. You see, something happened in the mountains."

As Zelda told the story, she could see her friends' expressions change rapidly. There were some gasps, eye widening, comments, and questions. But Zelda didn't answer them. She kept her story going. She came to the part of what happened to Link. Everyone just stared at her and didn't say anything. Zelda started to whimper. She hated talking about it, but they needed to know. Usually, Zelda was the one who had to listen to the problems of her friends. But how the tables had turned. She sighed when the tragic news was over. "And that's what happened. Link isn't here with us because I killed him."

Samus stepped back. "Oh my… Zelda." She said in a barely audible voice.

Peach looked like she was going to fall out of her chair. Pichu understood what happened and was already sobbing. Marth hadn't said anything or done anything for the matter. He was staring at the ground with an odd expression on his face, trying to grasp what Zelda had just told them.

Roy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Zelda nodded in a jerky motion. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I thought Veronica was dead, and I decided if I killed Link, they could be together and we could have all been there together after I killed myself."

Samus frowned. "You know that was really foolish, don't you?"

"Yes. I realized trying to kill Veronica and then killing Link was stupid. But I realized it too late, Samus. I really am sorry."

Peach got up from her chair and crossed her arms. "She's not talking about that. She's talking about how you tried to set things straight by killing yourself just for them. They aren't worth that much trouble, especially after the trouble he put you through. And even so, Link would have never wanted that."

"But what about what I did? Don't you care?" Zelda asked.

"Of course, we care. Link is...was our friend." Samus answered. She was holding back her tears at the loss of one of her best friends. "But you're someone we care about too. It wouldn't have been better for us if you killed yourself."

"Guess you weren't quite thinking straight in the head during that time, were you?" Roy commented.

Zelda looked at all of them in disbelief. "How can you all act so normal after what I just told you? You must not have understood what I just said. I killed Link! I'm a killer! A murderer and terrible friend! Why are you all still talking to me? Go get Master Hand! Turn me in!" Zelda shouted.

Marth looked up from the ground and shook his head. He looked a little hurt by the story but he stayed strong. "No. There's no good reason in doing that, Zelda. Losing you too is not going to solve anything or make it better for anyone."

Samus agreed with Marth. She would never turn Zelda in. "What's done is done, Zelda. We can handle that later. Right now, we still need to get your name cleared from this framing."

Zelda grabbed Samus' shoulders and made her look at her. "Why are you torturing me like this? You guys had nothing to do with this. Just drop me and get on with your lives. I'm ready to receive an expulsion, time in prison, even execution. You guys do not have to stick up for me anymore." Zelda looked at Samus not faltering a bit. She started to cry. "Samus, please! I can't live like this!"

"We're not going to say anything." Peach walked over to her friend and smiled. "You were only thinking of what was best for Link. It's understandable."

"NO, IT ISN'T!" Zelda screamed. "STOP CARING ABOUT ME!"

Samus sighed and hugged the crying princess. "Sorry. Not going to happen. Weren't you the one telling me earlier that we all need to stick together. What kind of people would we be if we left you hanging? We're getting you out of this."

Mewtwo frowned at this sudden behavior. They don't care. Even after what Zelda said she did? This friendship is very confusing. Of all my studies on humans, this takes it to an all-new level.

Roy grabbed a chair and pulled it behind Zelda. "Here, have a seat." Samus let go of Zelda and helped her sit down. Roy kneeled down next to Zelda and did a small bow. "I'm still at your side, Princess. I won't let anything happen to you. Even if it means sacrifices will have to be made just to keep you safe."

"Roy, please…" Zelda shook her head. "I just want to accept my punishment."

Marth sighed."That's your problem, Zelda." He blew some bangs out of his face. "You always want to give in so easily. There's a way out of this."

"Oh really?" Zelda challenged him. "What is it then?"

Marth shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know yet. But hey, we'll figure out something. With six great minds in here I'm sure we'll think of something."

"Hey, just because Pichu can't talk doesn't mean she doesn't have a great mind." Roy defended the pokemon.

"Of course, Pichu has a great mind. I actually wasn't counting, you," Marth explained clearly. He watched some people chuckle, even Samus had a small smile on her face but he could barely see it because she was trying to conceal it from him. "But I'm here to help, Zelda."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Your time will come, Lowell." Roy got up on his feet. "Like I said, if you need me, I'm here for ya, Zel!" he said proudly.

Mewtwo closed his eyes and nodded. "I'm willing to offer my assistance."

"Pichu!" Pichu chirped.

Peach looked back at the pokemon. "I guess that means she wants to help also. And so do I, Zellie."

Zelda could not comprehend the fact that they were still trying to help her. She could tell they were still hurt by Link's death, but they also didn't want to lose someone else in the process. She knew they wouldn't back down, no matter how many times she would tell them not to help her. There was no point. They were too loyal. She felt very lucky at that moment.

Samus smiled down at Zelda. "Seems like you got yourself a good team here huh, Zel?"

Zelda nodded. "I just don't know what to say except thank you."

Roy butted in. "Enough with the sappy speeches about friendship. We only have so much time left. What can we do to back up our stories?"

Marth thought of something right away. "What about those mind controlling devices? Garrett used one on me. Veronica has been using those too."

Zelda rubbed her chin. "That's a good start. Do you have it on you?"

"I wish I did, but the one on my neck seeped into my body and then dissolved I guess. We're going to have to fine one somewhere."

"Wait," Samus said quickly.

Marth looked at Samus as she place her arm behind her head. She started using her hand to pick around the back of her neck. She stopped for a brief moment and then tugged at something. "It's still here." She pulled an object off the back of her neck from under her blonde hair. She squinted at the object when she brought it to her face. "This is one of the mind controlling devices they had. I don't think it works anymore."

"That's because of Peach's perfume. It works well on destroying those devices for some odd reason. That's how you broke out of the hypnotic spell." Marth added.

Peach looked at her perfume as Zelda handed it back to her. "I didn't know it was such a deadly weapon. But it did take out Jay, Hugh, Moe, and Ace."

"Garrett used it on himself, too," Zelda added.

Mewtwo looked at the bottle. "May I see it?" Peach nodded. She held it in her hand. Mewtwo used his powers to glide it over to him. He inspected the bottle while the others continued to talk.

"Wait. We can't exactly win just because we have a device. They can turn it around on us and say we made those devices. We need more proof to issue this kind of accusation." Zelda knew she was being a downer of plans, but due to past experiences, she was only being cautious.

"No problem. We just have to check out that computer in that secret lab room." Samus jogged over to the memorable closet, which was a secret passage to another door: A door to the lab. "I'm sure it has the entire project on it."

"Do you know the codes and everything?" Roy asked.

"I have a code decipherer. Any other questions?" Samus asked. There wasn't a single response. She smiled. "Alright we have the intro to our argument, but now we need the meat and potato portion." (A/N: That means we need the main important facts. Take school for example the most important classes you have are Math, English, History, and Science AKA meat and potato classes.)

"Okay. Maybe, but what about all the attacks Veronica unleashed on me? How do I reveal the truth about those?" Zelda asked.

Before Samus could say anything, the door opened. An officer walked in and looked at Zelda. "The inspector would like to see you, Zelda."

Zelda froze. It was too soon. She looked at her friends. They all nodded for her to go. Zelda guessed they had some kind of plan and she trusted them. She followed the officer out the door. The door slammed shut.

Samus looked at her hands. "Oh, that's right. Garrett took my watch and communicator from me."

Marth put a hand in his pocket. The two items of Samus's were still in his pocket. "Here, Samus. I found these on the train."

Samus turned around and saw her watch and communicator in Marth's hands. She took them slowly out of his hands. She looked at him. "Thanks." Marth nodded but turned away quickly. Samus knew this was troubling, but it had to be this way. "Anyway, I need to check this estate for some kind of clue. But someone needs to check the computer for the information on that mind controlling device."

Mewtwo stepped forward. "I can help there. I've worked with computers."

"Really? That's a relief. Then you can stay here and get the information while I go check the house for anything. Of course that's only if you want to."

"I don't mind." The Pokemon replied.

"That's good. Do you need my decipherer?"

"No I have my own psychic powers to guide me."

"Man, is there anything you can't do with your psychic powers?" Roy asked.

Mewtwo looked at the swordsman. "Not that I know of."

"I'm going to help look. It's not safe to search alone, Sam," Peach said. "Are you boys coming?"

"I am." Marth said without hesitation. "I don't want either of you girls by yourselves again." he added quickly.

"Count me in," Roy added.

Mewtwo looked at Pichu. "I want her to stay behind. " Pichu nodded and hopped off the chair she was sitting on. She scampered over to Mewtwo and stood by his side.

"Alright, we have a plan then. Pichu, try to keep an eye out till we get back too okay?" Samus asked the pokemon. She watched Pichu nod. Things were working out well. Now all they needed to hope for was if time was on their side. "Let's get going."

"Hold on. Aren't the police guarding the doors?" Peach pressed her hand on the exiting door.

Mewtwo closed his eyes for a few seconds and then reopened them. "Not anymore they aren't. Open the door."

Peach opened the door and gasped. There were about two or three guards out there but they were stiff as boards. She looked back at Mewtwo. "Whoa… you have some serious psychic powers."

"I think the only guards left are the ones guarding the front door." Mewtwo explained to the smashers. "So, the road's clear from here."

Samus ran to the door along with the others. "Come on, let's go." The four friends walked out the door to go find some helpful last minute clues. Mewtwo spotted the lab room and headed for the door. Pichu followed the cat-like Pokémon to the room.

Banquet Room

Zelda crossed her legs as she sat down in the chair. Veronica was too busy telling the story of her life since she met Zelda to Inspector Cashew. Zelda wanted to laugh at his name, but she knew this wasn't the time or the place. She turned her attention to Veronica as she continued to tell the story.

"...then she turned into Sheik, and then she was like a freak raising hell with a chainsaw only she used daggers. I only tried to defend myself. I never hit her once during the attack."

Zelda sighed and shook her head. Liar, liar. She didn't even mention all the devices and Link and her attacking me. Not like I was expecting her to though. I've lost count on how many lies she's told now. It has to be over a thousand by now. She saw the Cashew looking at her.

His brown eyes kept a stone, firm look on her. "Is there something you need to share, Miss Harkinian?"

"No, not at the moment," she said simply.

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, she picked up that shovel. You know, the one you found at the crime scene, and she whacked me across the head with it!" Veronica sighed and shrugged. "I don't know what happened after that. I woke up safe with my father."

Inspector Cashew helped her out. "Hmm, and then you said your father and yourself came back here."

"Oh yes. That's what happened. But what puzzles me is,I don't know what happened to Link."

Master Hand looked at Veronica when that name was mentioned. "Link? He was with you?"

Zelda froze. Oh no. They're going to find out.

"Yes, I forgot to mention he was up there with me. Zelda was attacking him too." She added. "I do hope he got away." Veronica glared at Zelda. "Or maybe you did something to him."

I don't know what to say. The only way to answer this is by telling the truth. But my friends told me not to say anything. Zelda started to get uncomfortable in her chair. Her hands started to tremble.

Veronica looked at Zelda's hands in glee. I knew it. She's going to confess at any moment.

Inspector Cashew turned to look at Zelda. "Zelda. Do you know where Link is?"

"Where Link is?" Zelda echoed. The inspector nodded. Her whole body start to shake. She was going to crack and she could feel it.

Master Hand looked at the smasher. "Zelda, answer the question please."

She didn't say anything.

Veronica started to get frustrated. "Well?"

Zelda bit her lip. She grabbed her head and let out a small cry. Her vision started to get blurry and then she fell to the floor with a loud thud. There were loud gasps and murmurs surrounding her. She heard a call for a doctor. She could hear Master Hand's voice calling her name.

"Zelda, are you okay?" he called. Master Hand started to feel worried when she didn't move or answer. One of Mr. Walden's doctors came into the room. He kneeled down by her side and grabbed one of her hands to check for a pulse. "She's fine. But she's really pale."

Inspector Cashew looked at Veronica and then at her father. "We're going to hold off on the questioning for a while."

Mr. Walden nodded. "It's for the best."

Veronica's mouth hung open. "But…"

"We'll finish it later, Veronica. Someone get this girl on a bed."

Zelda wanted to smile, but she knew it would blow her cover. Okay. I'm buying them a little bit of time. But I can't stay like this forever. Hurry up, you guys.

Upstairs

Marth didn't know whether he was looking for some clues or just looking for Samus. He wanted to help Samus search so they could talk while they looked, but he guessed Samus would've been a little too preoccupied to talk at this moment, and he wouldn't blame her. After all, things were pretty hectic. He passed up several rooms as his thoughts were surrounding and choking him. Just worry about it later. Your friend's future is at stake here. If I don'zt help in anyway, I know I'm going to feel like I didn't do my part. And I have to do everything in my power to do the best I can to be the most reliable I can be. With Link gone, it's going to be really difficult.

Marth's body shuddered at that name. His friend was no longer with him. This was the guy who showed him the ropes of SSBM, introduced to some of his friends and he helped Marth get to know Samus better. Even though he hated to admit it, he knew if it wasn't for Link, he and Samus might have not been together at all. And that's what puzzles me. Why would Link try and break up what he tried so hard to put together? It doesn't make sense at all. Is there an even bigger picture to the story? Marth was so busy pondering he didn't notice the table sticking out. He rammed his leg right into the table. He let out a small utter of pain and then retained the rest of the pain Yet again, his mind wandering lead to consequences. He looked up to see Samus coming back around the corner, hearing the noise.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine. I'm fine," he muttered. He was slightly embarrassed for making such a distracting noise. He felt like his face was turning red. "Don't worry about me."

Unlike the last few times, Samus didn't try to hide from him. She stood there and looked at him from head to toe. She moved closer. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go ahead and keep looking. I don't want to tie you down or anything. You're wasting time hanging around here." Marth said flatly. He watched Samus continued to keep her feet planted to the ground. What was she doing? "What's wrong?

"…" Samus was staring at him but she didn't follow the question. "Hmm?"

"Why are you standing there?"

"Oh…well, its just…well… I uh… um…" Samus gritted her teeth. Come on, Samus. Form a sentence. You always have conversations with him. MAKE SOME WORDS! She mentally coached herself. She took a deep breath. "I think it would be better if we…" her voice faded out. "Um… never mind." She started to walk off.

Marth arched an eyebrow. "Search together?"

She flipped back around. "Um, yes." Samus didn't want those words exactly. "Well, we don't have to actually search together. We could just be in the same general area… you know… I mean if something happens we can… we'll be able to..."

Marth thought about what she was trying to say and came up with an answer. "...have each other's back?"

Samus started to blush as she crossed her feet. "But you don't have to if you don't want to. It was just a stupid thought that came in my head." She looked at Marth's cobalt eyes looking at her without emotion. This is what she expected. "I can completely understand. Yes… I'm sure you wouldn't want to do anything like that."

Marth crossed his arms. "On the contrary, it sounds like a good plan to me." Samus looked up at him surprised he agreed. Marth walked up to her. "Yes, after all two heads are better than one. With us two searching together I think we'll get a lot done. It's like smasher synergy in a way." Marth said theoretically.

Samus nodded. "That is true." Her eyes met with his. They both fell silent. Samus thought for a moment she was back months ago when she first met Marth and she was very shy around him. Just like old times. "We should continue searching."

"Mm-hmm." Marth walked in step with Samus, not saying another word as they continued their search for clues.

Down in the Basement

Peach flicked on the light. She inspected the light bulb. "No large, black, hairy spider this time." She trotted down the stairs and Roy walked into the doorway.. "If I remember correctly, the cool things I found downstairs were in the back."

Roy leaned against the door. He never noticed how much he and Peach did things together. During this whole trip, he had been spending more time with Peach than he expected he would. In fact, he thought he was never going to do anything with her and didn't take it offensively. Roy expected Peach to spend her whole week with Mario and not even have time for anything… well, if he left out shopping anyway. But Roy actually saw the two Mushroom friends had barely spent any time together at all. No, this wasn't Roy's problem, but it was a realization that had come to mind.

"Oh my gosh!" Peach exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

Roy lifted himself off the door and came down the stairs. He stood by Peach. "What's up?" he asked quickly. "Anything bad?"

"Yes! It's terrible. Take a look at this!" Peach shoved a piece of fabric in Roy's face. "I just can't believe it!"

Roy squinted at the fabric. It was a familiar shade of pink. "Is that from you dress?" Peach nodded. Roy lowered his eyes. "Excuse me, but what the heck is so important about that!" he said loudly.

"I just so happen to love this dress. And to find out that stupid Hugh knocked me down the stairs and tore my dress in the process just makes me all the more want to wring his neck!" Peach exclaimed.

"You're really unbelievable, Princess. You can care about the littlest things even when your friends are in peril. You princesses are all alike." Roy continued on. "Shopping and clothes. Clothes and shopping. Make-up and jewelry. Jewelry and Make-up. That's all you ever talk about."

Peach looked at Roy in disbelief. "How dare you say something like that to me! Roy, you don't know me at all. You just love to stereotype people, especially princesses." she snapped.

"Listen, I've seen enough princesses to know they all have a glamour-loving snobbish side." Roy lowered his voice. He didn't want anyone to find them down here. "It's natural. You don't have to hide it." Roy almost smirked. but then he saw Peach's stone-hard glare. It was a look Peach had never given him when she was angry with him.

"I hate people like you. You judge me before you even get to know me." Peach looked at Roy's confused face. "For your information, I'm not like other princesses. I may seem all prim and proper but I have my tomboy side. I play sports. I'll get down and dirty and get my hands deep in mud." Roy had taken her to the deep end. "And just so you know, I care deeply about every single one of my friends. If they're in trouble, I'll do anything for them, even if it means sacrificing my life. I'm not some damsel in distress. I'm a warrior at heart. Send me into a battle and I'll work to the best of my abilities." Peach poked her finger hard on Roy's chest plate armor. "You see me as a nurse and a shopaholic, so you degrade me and call me an inconsiderate, whiny, pampered, palace princess brat!"

If the Roy could make an even more appalled face, it would look horrible. "Peach…" He started.

Peach cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No! I'm talking and I don't want to hear anymore of your criticism." She still hadn't realized her words were a little tough on the swordsman. "Roy, the truth is I wanted to be your friend. You seemed like a real nice guy when I first saw you. I guess I was stereotyping you too. And was my stereotyping way off. You're a jerk! I don't know why you're so mean to me. Do you remember how we met?"

"I vaguely remember. You were yapping out loud in the seat behind me, and I asked you nicely to quiet down. But you didn't listen."

"Apparently you don't remember what happened. You were rude to me. You told me to shut-up and then started insulting me on the bus. It was so humiliating. Everyone was giving me stares and talking about me the whole day and night!"

"It's not like it did me any good. You talked about me too. And all the smashers got on my case about this, too."

Peach frowned. "I'm done. I have nothing else to say to you, Roy." She shoved her ripped fabric into her pocket. "I guess I'll have to sew it myself. " She batted her blue eyes repeatedly as she searched the room. "Now, where is it?"

Roy watched her for a while. He didn't say a word as she continued to destroy the basement looking for clues. After a while, he shook his head and laughed. He didn't see Peach instantly flip around. He tried to stop laughing, but it just kept belting out.

"And just what is so funny?" Peach demanded.

Roy stifled his laughter. "I'm sorry, Peach. It's just… you're such a funny girl."

"Funny girl?" Peach crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

"You're different from other girls. You can change personalities in a second. You're furious at me one second, and then you're fretting over your dress in the next."

"Okay," Peach said, slightly confused. "And is that good?"

"If you want it to be. I'm just saying. It's a very interesting quality of you. You must keep your boyfriend Mario in stitches." Roy joked.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're just close friends."

"That's news to me. Then again I would expect that. You probably have some rich, handsome, tall, and muscular boyfriend at home."

"Actually I've never met anyone so handsome, that I would want to be their girlfriend. Looks aren't everything. And besides, I don't have feelings for anyone" Peach let her hands drop to her sides. "Or at least I didn't, until I came here to Nintendo," she said softly.

Roy looked at her with interest. "Really? Who is it then?"

Peach turned a bright red color. "I'm not telling you! That's private!"

"Oh, right, right. Private girl talk. I'm sure Zelda and Samus know all about whoever the guy is." Roy decided. He glanced at Peach for a second while waiting for an answer.

"They don't know who it is either. It's my secret and mine alone," Peach replied.

"Hmm. Must be one special guy." Roy turned around and walked to another side of the room.

Peach touched her warm face. She smiled. Yes, he's really special. Too bad it's too difficult to tell him that. Moron.

"Hey, Princess!" Peach drifted her eyes over to Roy again. He was looking down at something, and scratching his head. "Is this what you were looking for?"

Peach walked over to where Roy was standing. She looked down and gasped. On the ground was a gray and black device, shaped like a bracelet or cuff. "Yes. That doohickey is kinda suspicious."

Roy crouched down and picked it up. He inspected the device as he spiraled it around in his hands. It was smooth, but not breakable. He stood up and cradled the device in his arms.

Peach looked at it from a distance. "What do you think it is? It looks like it could be a stylish bracelet."

"Well, this is one ugly, stylish bracelet. Come on, let's go take it to Mewtwo. He'll probably know what it is."

Guest Room

Zelda braced her eyes shut. She couldn't open them just yet. She decided to buy a little more time. The police had moved her to another room and placed her on a bed. At least that's what it felt like. During the time, she didn't make a single sound, indicating she was still unconscious. She heard some murmurs though. She wanted to laugh when she heard Veronica complaining that she was faking. But she kept her composure. And when they inspected her, she did her unconscious role very well. They didn't suspect a thing. Her studies of Peach and her acting skills really paid off. She could hear Master Hand's voice along with Mr. Walden's.

"Master Hand, I don't know whether to just ban the girl and her friends, fire you, or shut down the whole SSBM. This is one of the worst things…"

"I know, Sir. And once again, I'm sorry. I never knew this would happen. Most of the time they are well-mannered and respectful. I don't know why things have suddenly changed. I can understand if you want to fire me."

No. I can't let this go on. This is all the time I can give you. Zelda let out a large cough. She repeatedly continued the process in hope of getting the two's attention. She was successful. Master Hand floated by her bed. Zelda slowly opened her eyes. "Unh… Master Hand…I-Is that you?" She said dramatically.

"Yes it is. Do you remember what happened?" He watched Zelda slowly shake her head. He sighed. "You fainted while we were asking you questions. How are you feeling?"

Zelda strained to rise on the bed. "Fine… I guess. I probably should have eaten something this morning. When I miss a meal, I can get really sick. I haven't eaten all day."

"That wasn't a bright move." A new voice said.

Zelda squinted at the doorway to see Inspector Cashew standing by the door. He walked inside. "You can really damage your body when you do that."

"I know. But I was in such a rush this morning." Zelda explained. She coughed again. "I thought it would be okay if I missed just one meal or two."

"Well, now you know it isn't." Mr. Walden snapped. "That was idiotic and foolish!"

"I'm sorry!" Zelda blurted out. She gripped the sheets of the bed tightly. "But it's my birthday today. And when I realized I wouldn't be sharing this wonderful time with my father and Impa…" She sniffed her tears back. "I couldn't bear it. So I left without eating out of depression." Yeah, that will do. I think they'll buy that story.

"Walden, give her a break. You're going to give her another headache," Cashew said as he sat in the chair in front of Zelda. "Now Miss Harkinian, will you be able to tell me your side of the story?"

"Well…it's faint, but I can remember some parts of the story. I just hope I can tell you without fainting again.

"Don't worry about it, Zelda. Just tell us nice and slowly."

Zelda nodded. "Okay." With pleasure.

Inspector Cashew rubbed his chin. "But for safety measures. Maybe you should eat something. Mr. Walden, can you have your cook prepare something?"

"Um…yes. I'll see if he's here." He left the room quickly.

Zelda sighed and relaxed herself on the bed. She didn't know how much longer she could stall.

Back Upstairs

Samus opened the desk. Nothing important. Just like everything else. Right next to her was a large bedroom, and by the looks of the name engraved on the side of the door, it was Garrett's room. She sighed and leaned against the desk. She was starting to feel hopeless. It seemed like Veronica had cleaned the house and made sure she left no clues. She let out an aggravated cry. This is a disaster. If we don't find something soon, we're really going to mess things up for Zelda. And I can't let that happen. Maybe Marth found something. Samus looked across the hall at Marth. He was busy checking another desk in the hallway. They hadn't said anything to each other ever since they agreed to search together. Not like she was expecting him to talk to her. She wasn't even expecting him to agree on searching together, but he did anyway. Why? She had no idea.

She parted her lips. "So," she said loudly and clearly. "Did you find anything?"

Marth continued to search, not turning towards her. "No. Nothing but a bunch of office supplies and papers. What about you?"

"I found some business cards with Mr. Walden's number on them. It could be useful." She looked over at Marth. "Is there a paper cutter in that drawer?"

Marth spotted it right away. "Yes. Here it is." He picked it up and carried it over to Samus. He handed it to her. "Here you go."

Samus took it. "Thanks." She laid her fingers on the papers divided into columns of business cards. She used her right hand to start cutting the cards in straight lines. There was a silence while she did this, but she could feel Marth's presence behind her.

Marth decided to break the ice. "You know. You really worried me back there, Samus." He noticed she didn't turn around. But he continued. "When you had that device on you I mean. I thought I, err wealmost lost you."

Samus concentrated on her cutting, ignoring the flutter in her body. "Yeah, it was a scary moment for me, too when I found out Garrett placed that new device on you. I really though you died, but like always, your strong will kept you alive."

Marth shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. There was only one thing I was thinking about."

Samus looked at Marth through the corner of her eye. He was looking directly at her. "I started to remember the good times I've had since I came to Nintendo. I've had some good memories here. But I think the best one I've had was meeting you, Samus."

Samus felt her heart stop for a moment. "No. I'm sure you've had better."

Marth sighed. "No. I could only think of you and that smile you gave me the first time I talked to you. The thought of never seeing it again, that's what kept me going." Samus felt him getting closer. "You're the reason I'm still here."

The thought of Marth being right behind Samus made her jump. In doing this, she tilted the paper cutter to its side and accidentally cut alongside her finger. She let out a small cry of pain and tossed the cutter away from her hand. She grabbed her finger quickly. The blood was gushing from the wound as she winced in pain.

Marth looked at Samus clutching her finger. "Your finger."

She tried to hide it from him. "It's fine," she said quietly.

Marth looked at her hand again before hatching an idea. He grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tore off some of the material. He turned Samus around to face him.

"What are you…"

Marth gently grabbed her hand and looked at it. The blood started to drip onto his gloved hand, but he paid no heed. He took the fabric he ripped off his outfit and wrapped it around Samus's injured finger. He applied pressure to it for five seconds. Samus kept her eyes on her hand in his. After applying enough pressure, he tied the fabric securely around the finger. He kept the fabric from getting loose by making a thick knot. He looked at the finger. "There. It should be fine now."

"…" Samus looked at him. She grabbed her finger as Marth let go of her hand. "You don't have to baby me like this."

Marth chuckled. "Well, if you weren't so reckless all the time, I wouldn't 'baby' you as you say. Anyway, we better continue the search." Marth turned around and looked back at the desk he was looking in.

"Marth."

Marth turned around. "Yes?"

"Thank you. For doing that."

Marth's face fell flat. "It's not a problem. No point in carrying a bloody finger around, right? I'm going to check on Mewtwo and the others. " He left without another word.

Samus crossed her arms. I can't think of a word to say to him. What is he expecting from me? I hope not an apology because I'm not. It's not that I know for a fact that I'm right about him attacking me or not, but the fact that none of this is making sense. I remember right before Garrett put that mind-controlling device on me, he told me he was the one who attacked me in the woods on Serine Isle. But how could he possibly be the one who did it? I believe it was Marth's physical appearance I saw that evening. So what did he do? Did he dye his hair and did he get blue contacts or something? But then something else occurs to me. If Garrett loves me like he supposedly says he does, why would he try and hurt me? And something else bugs me. If he is supposed to be on Veronica's side why did he give me that device yersterday? Wait a second. It's all coming together. I just have to check with him.

She walked back over to the room she identified as Garrett's. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The door made a loud squeak. She walked inside and checked the room. She saw the large bed right away and in the bed was the sleeping Garrett. She walked over to the bed, not caring how much noise she was making, and stopped right in front of his bed. He didn't stir a bit while he was resting on his back. Samus watched his chest rise up and down for seconds before having a feeling of doubting herself. I better be right about this. She decided to get it over with.

She shook him roughly. "Garrett, get up!"

Garrett didn't stay asleep for another minute. He jumped forward and Samus stepped back as he abruptly raised his head from his pillow. He started to catch his breath. When he's breathing returned back to normal, he spoke. "Where the heck am I?" He looked directly at Samus. "Samus, what are you doing here in my home?"

"You invited me here, remember?" Samus said quietly. "And then you and your friends Ace, Jay, Hugh, and Moe trapped me and my friends here in a freezer."

"What?"

"You were hitting on me earlier before you put a mind controlling device on me, so I would love you and only you. You used me to then put on the new modeled device on Marth, which nearly killed him. You don't remember any of that?"Garrett sat straight up in his bed. He looked very baffled. "Okay… so I did what now?"

Samus sighed and looked deep into his purple eyes. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

He shrugged. "Last thing I remember is taking you back to the resort, then I met up with my sister, and that's it," he replied.

Samus bit her lip. She looked at Garrett. "Lift your hair for a second."

"Um… sure." Garrett pulled his hair up, and there it was. Samus saw the mind-controlling device right away. "What for?"

Samus sighed and sat down on the bed. She found a glass of water by his bed and handed it to him "Here." He grabbed the glass gratefully and started to drink it. Samus spoke again. "Garrett, what did your sister want you for yesterday?"

"I don't remember. No… wait. I was the one who saw her. I followed her, and then something happened before I… I can't remember what it was." He fell silent. He looked at Samus questionably. "What's going on?"

"Your dad and Veronica are trying to expel Zelda for good. Things have reached the extreme," Samus answered.

He let out a yawn. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. You may be more trouble than assistance. Just stay in here and rest," Samus answered.

He rubbed his eyes. "No. This is my job, Samus. I'm came here to check on my sister, remember? I'm here to keep her sane." His voice was monotonic.

"Well, she's not really attacking anyone right now, so you're not needed." Samus was cut off by Garrett's loud yawn. "Besides you look very tired." Garrett didn't respond. His eyes were slowly drooping.

Samus looked him straight in the face. "Are you okay?" Garrett didn't respond. He fell straight back onto his pillow. Samus stared at him crazy as she heard him let out big snores. She frowned. "Those doctors must have really drugged him. Oh well." She got off the bed and tossed the blanket over his whole body, up to his neck. "I have enough information. Gotta find Zelda." Samus did a tiny leap into a run out of the room.

Lab Room

"Mewtwo!"

Mewtwo looked from the computer over to the open door. Pichu let out a small chirp of glee when she saw her friends. Roy and Peach hurried inside with an item in Roy's hands. "How did your search go?"

"We did find this bracelet-like-thing in the basement." Peach pointed to the item in Roy's hands.

"Actually it's more like Samus' blaster." Roy debated.

Mewtwo looked at the item. "It's really odd. I'll have to take time to inspect it."

"Well, I hope not too much time," Roy said while shifting the device into his left arm. " How's the information on those devices holding out?"

"I'm successful on my end. There are many helpful documents about the mind controlling devices from how they're made and what they do. Also, Peach, the perfume you have has a certain chemicals in it."

Peach gasped. "They do? And I've been using this since like forever!"

"Fortunately," Mewtwo said. "They're only deadly to the devices. Whoever is connected to them, gets infected by the chemicals too. But they do not die."

"Oh. I see. That explains a lot. No wonder all of Garrett's buddies didn't die after being sprayed." Peach placed her hands on her hips. "Doesn't mean I like them thogh. They deserve serious punishment! Anyway, did you find anything else out?"

"Not at this time. But I may find more information later. This computer is very knowledgeable in every subject and creation built by the Waldens."

Pichu hopped up onto the computer desk and looked at the device in Roy's hands. Roy tapped his hands against the mysterious item. "Good. Then the computer can figure out what's up with this weird gizmo." He started fiddling around with the buttons. His finger fell on a black switch. "I mean what does it…"

Peach saw Roy's hand on the button. "Roy, don't!"

Roy didn't react quick enough to Peach's plea. His fingers flipped on the black switch. The odd device lit up and made odd noises. The sounds roared in the smashers' ears. The device started to shake in Roy's already trembling hands. He didn't let go of it. Pichu looked at it, very amused by the yellow glow that was forming in the device.

Mewtwo saw it. "Pichu, get out of the way!"

The device shot the yellow beam right at Pichu. It directly hit the yellow Pokémon. Pichu let out a yell as she fell off the computer desk and onto the floor.

Peach screamed. "Pichu!"

Roy and Mewtwo stared at what just happened. They couldn't believe their eyes.

Meanwhile…

Zelda sat down in her chair and sighed. She had eaten her food, but found it hard to enjoy it with everythin happening. She was back in her seat where she had fainted. She kept her eyes on Inspector Cashew, looking over his notes on his notepad. They were notes from Veronica's story. Zelda watched him look over them a couple times. Sometimes he would make noises or he would scratch his chin. He would bite his pencil or make scribbles on his notepad. Mr. Walden and Veronica were sitting in chairs diagonal from Zelda and Master Hand was quietly hovering over all of them. The ten minutes of silence were slowly killing Zelda . Before Zelda felt like she was going to keel over again out of boredom, he looked up from his notes. She sat straight up in her chair, ready for the discussion.

Cashew sighed. "Okay, Zelda. Why don't you tell us your side of the story?"

Zelda nodded. "Okay. Well I don't remember what day of the week it was, but my friend Samus and I were sitting in the cafeteria. My other friend Peach came by and introduced Veronica to us. She seemed nice … then." She shifted her eyes over at Veronica. Veronica stuck up her nose and scowled. She continued. "But after a day or two, I started to see her true nature. The first thing she did was threaten me to stay away from my friend, Link. She said she gets what she wants and she wanted Link. I thought she was joking so I paid no heed to her. But I found out later she meant it. So I don't have to go into the big details, I'll just tell you how she tried to keep her word." Zelda explained all the threats with vivid images and concrete expressions. She left out no small detail. Mr. Cashew listened in awe, but he continued to write notes down in his notepad. She could see Veronica getting angrier by the minute and her father's face was unreadable. There was one subject she did avoid. She kept the story of the mountain war to herself, hoping she wouldn't be asked about it. She knew she probably would, but she hoped a miracle would occur before the question would come up.

"And so," Zelda concluded. "She's never stopped harassing me since then." Zelda crossed her arms. "And I have never done a single thing to her."

After Zelda's last statement, there was a long silence. Master Hand was frozen in time. Zelda knew this was going to be a major shock to him. But he would've had to know sooner or later. She relaxed her shoulders but kept her appropriate posture. Her hands felt sweaty, but she ignored it. She looked back at Inspector Cashew. "And that's my whole story."

"Well…" the inspector said shortly after. "Your story clashes with Veronica's. She told me what you did to her, you told me vice versa. And it seems Link was mentioned in each of the stories. You both have a crush on this boy, right?"

Veronica nodded. "I do." She looked back at Zelda.

Zelda bit her lip. "Yes, I did love him."

"What do you mean did love him?" Cashew asked her. "Where is this boy now?"

Zelda looked up. This was the question he asked earlier before she pretended to faint. There was no way to get out of this. She would have to answer. "I..." she fell silent.

Cashew cocked an eyebrow. "Veronica said she was attacked by you when you turned into your alter ego form Sheik. You also attacked Link. Correct?"

"No… it was not… not intended to be like that. She tricked me into coming up there and then she attacked me first. Plus she hit my friend, Mewtwo," Zelda elaborated. "She had a shovel with her and she rammed it into my leg and almost fractured my ankle."

"But she didn't try to kill you with knives and then drop your down a mountain!" Mr. Walden snapped.

"Mr. Walden, I'll handle this," Cashew said. "All that is true. Veronica called her father from the mountains and told him what happened. She wasn't fully unconscious yet, and she felt the impact of the fall."

And that doesn't make any sense. That was at least a 100 foot or more drop. She would have died. Zelda thought to herself.

"Zelda, did you attack Veronica?" Cashew said.

Zelda looked at everyone. She had never felt so miserable. She lowered her head and nodded. "Yes."

Cashew rubbed his chin. "Did you throw her off the mountain?"

Zelda looked at the door. No one was coming. She sighed. "Yes, sir."

Veronica was looking quite pleased. Everything is going according to plan.

Cashew sighed. "I hate to hear such things like this from a girl like you, Zelda. Master Hand talks fondly of you."

Zelda looked at Master Hand. She couldn't tell, but if he had eyes, he would not be looking at her. She brushed some of her blonde hair behind her ears. Master Hand… I am so sorry.

Cashew opened his mouth again. "Did you attack Link?"

Zelda couldn't take these questions. They were tearing her apart bit by bit like a pack of wolves. "Yes, I did." She heard some gasps, but she shut her eyes in response.

"Zelda, what happened to Link?" Cashew asked.

Memories started to flow through Zelda's head. They went back to the whole scene. Link and Zelda alone in the mountains after the dispatching of Veronica. She remembered plunging the knife into Link. The blood. The horrid memories staining her white gloves. The grave on top of the mountain with Link buried under the soil. She looked up. This was it. It was all over. She opened her mouth slowly. "Link… what happened to Link is-"

"-Hey! You can't go in there!"

She heard the murmur of voices behind her. They were the sounds of the guards. Before Zelda could question what was going on, she heard the door of the banquet room squeak open. Someone walked in slowly with heavy footsteps. Zelda looked at Veronica and saw her hand covered over her mouth. Master Hand and Mr. Walden looked shocked. Zelda turned around and thought she would faint right then and there. Before her eyes was a familiar face. There were cuts across his face and some were bleeding. His clothes were tattered, and patterend with dirt.

Zelda stood up as her eyes widened in disbelief. She knew that face. How could she be seeing this face? "L…Link?" she whispered so quietly.

It was the Hero of Time, Link. He was hunched over and leaning on his sword for support. But unlike most of the time, the boy had lost his normally calm nature and was looking furious. He looked like he was on the verge of hurting someone. He glared angrily and slowly opened his mouth to speak. "Where…are…they?"

A/N: AAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT WILL I THINK OF NEXT! I'm probably going to make you guys really wonder now. This is why this chapter received the name "Beyond Belief" And this is only part one. Which means there's more to come. I promise you, there are only two chapters left. No more… no less. Well nothing else to say except… review please. I might post another chapter before my birthday next month or even earlier. Depends…..

See you next chapter!