Bonjour. lol. sorry for the long wait, but two sprained fingers slowed me down. not to mention a bad case of writer's block. according to my friend, there's a writer's block epidemic in our town... o well. This is a LOOOOONNNGGG chapter and was going to be longer, but i decided to divide it in two and not keep you ppl waiting so long. THE END IS NEARING. yes, it is. i'd say 5-6 chapters left. i am already starting on the sequel. weird yes, but im getting a little bored with this story, and i already know how its ending. so ya, enjoy!

XV. The Tournament PART ONE

Roy and Link entered the stadium. They found Marth practicing in a corner.

"Marth! Hey Marth!" Link called.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"Not much. Hey, do you know what's going on?" Roy asked.

"Lot's of things are going on." Marth said.

"What do you mean by that?" Link inquired.

"Zelda… She's been acting sorta strange. Okay, let me rephrase that. She's been acting REALLY strange."

"Tell me about it," Link rolled his eyes "Girls…"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Roy said.

"Oh Roy. Why can't we be like you?"

"What?"

"Link is losing his girlfriend, and I can't find one." Marth said "You on the other hand have a great relationship with Peach."

"Yeah, I guess I never really noticed."

"Lucky ass."

"I'd like all your attention please!" Ronald Smash called through a megaphone. "We thank you all for coming, as this is very important. After reviewing the results from the preliminary rounds, Gerald and I have set up the tournament. Here is the list." The red haired man held out a large poster.

Peach VS. Pikachu

Roy VS. Kirby

Luigi VS. Mewtwo

Bowser VS. Pichu

Donkey Kong VS. Zelda

Yoshi VS. C. Falcon

Samus VS. Falco

Fox VS. Ganondorf

Link VS. Jigglypuff

Ness VS. Ice Climbers

Mario VS. Marth

Young Link VS. Dr. Mario

"The rules are very simple. Every time you knock your opponent out of the arena, you get a point. Every time you get knocked out of the arena, you lose a point. The smasher with the most points by then end of two minutes wins. The winners of every round will compete against eachother in the second round. Then the winners from that round go on to compete in the quarter finals; then the semi finals; then the finals."

Jigglypuff? That can't be right Link thought.

"First up! Peach and Pikachu!" The Pokemon and the princess stepped into the arena. Pikachu was growling and making menacing faces at Peach. Peach merely yawned. "Ready. GO!" Pikachu sprinted to where Peach was standing; but before he could do anything, a huge, cast iron frying struck Pikachu's head. CLANG.

"Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark!" Said Roy. Peach then proceeded to slap Pikachu to death. SMACKSMACKSMACKSMACK. Enraged, Pikachu sent out a bolt of electricity, which gave Peach more than a little shock. Hair now fried at the ends, Peach whipped out a golf club and smashed Pikachu out of the arena.

"One point for Peach!" Gerald called, and a "1" appeared under Peach's name on the scoreboard. Peach was jumping up and down in sheer joy.

"Zelda! ZELDA! I GOT A POINT! HAHA, I'LL BET THAT STUPID LITTLE MOUSE DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!" Unfortunately, the poor, unsuspecting, Princess Peach hadn't noticed the stupid little mouse crawling behind her. She hadn't noticed Pikachu's face had turned beet red in anger. And, sadly, she hadn't the slightest clue that she was about to be sent out of the arena, crashing into the stands.

"PI-KA-CHUUUUU!" A colossal ball of electricity shot from the pokemon's body hurtling towards a now terrified Peach. As fast as lightning (pardon the pun), the great energy hit the poor princess and she flew straight out of the arena, as if she were just shot from a cannon. She crashed into the bleachers in the stands.

"Ooohh, An excellent hit from Pikachu! Nice moves!" Shouted Ronald. Peach stumbled out of the stands and dragged herself back into the ring. Just as she was within the arena, however, the bell sounded and the round had ended.

"We have a tie! Unfortunately, there cannot be any ties, so you two must have a sudden death match. First out loses." Gerald said. Peach managed to stand up and gather her bearings.

"Ready. GO!" Peach was planning out a strategy when something fell on her head."

"OW! What was that?" On the ground in front of her was a small, white and red ball. "What the hell?" Angry, she picked up the ball and hurled it at Pikachu. To everyone's great surprise, Pikachu shot out of the arena on impact. Before the gargantuan blue turtle could escape its small, round prison, the match was called to an end.

"Peach is the winner!" Cried Gerald through the megaphone. "Peach, congratulations, you move on to the second round!

"Next up are Kirby and Roy. Please step into the arena." Brandishing his sword, Roy readied himself for battle. The signal was given, but neither fighter stirred. Roy was sure Kirby would make the first move. Kirby had a different plan.

"Let's go!" Ronald said, "The match has started!"

Well, I can't waste any time Roy thought to himself Sword in hand, he charged toward the pink puffball.

Wait for it. Wait for it. NOW! Kirby's cavernous mouth opened up and the poor swordsman was swallowed up.

'WHAT THE HELL?" Link said, "What happened to Roy?" The poor red head was inside Kirby's mouth, struggling to get out. Thankfully, Kirby soon spat him out. Roy looked up only to see Kirby had sprouted red hair.

"HEY! You stole my hair!" Roy said "OH MY GOSH! AM I BALD?" Roy's hands shot up to his head, only to feel his soft gorgeous locks intact. He let out a sigh of relief. Kirby saw his chance for a smash attack.

"HIYA!" Kirby's little pink fist connected with Roy's stomach, and he was knocked to the ground. As he lay there on his back, stunned, he could see Kirby standing over him with a huge mallet in hand.

"ACK!" Shrieked Roy, as he rolled out of the way. He jumped up and swung his sword at Kirby. He kept stabbing the poor puff until he finally saw fit to smash Kirby out of the ring.

"One point for Roy!" Gerald called. The battle carried on. In the end, the score was two to three for Roy. He and Kirby shook hands, then stepped out to let Luigi and Mewtwo fight. The plumber seemed to be no threat to the psychokinetic Pokemon. Mewtwo attacked Luigi with lasers, and electric shocks, and all kinds of nasty things. He lifted the plumber into the air and dropped him. Luigi only managed to get a few hits with his fireballs. By battle's end, Mewtwo had won six to one. Mario consoled his younger brother.

"Luigi. It's-a okay. You-a did-a your best! Mama mia, the way-a you KO'd Mewtwo, wow." Mario knew in his heart Luigi had tried his very best, but he had to admit, Luigi was nothing compared to Mewtwo. Maybe it's just me, but some of these pairings don't seem very fair. Luigi and Mewtwo? Bowser and Pichu? Link and Jigglypuff? Mario wasn't the only one thinking this. Zelda had noticed. As well as Peach, Link, Roy, and Marth.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think the whole system is wacky." Said Link, sceptically.

"Indeed. I don't think Gerald and Ronald gave this much thought." Zelda said.

"Maybe it's a joke." Roy suggested.

"I highly doubt it." Peach replied.

"Perhaps this whole thing is a set-up, and they're making it so a certain someone will win the tournament." Marth said.

"That's interesting idea." Said Zelda

"Bowser wins!" Cried Ronald through the megaphone. "Next up are Zelda and Donkey Kong!"

"Well, I guess that's a fair pair." Link said.

"Wish me luck." Said Zelda, and she walked up to the arena.

"Knock'em dead Zellie!" Peach cheered.

"Ready. GO!" The huge ape clambered toward Zelda, who expertly hit him a ball of Din's Fire. Zelda wanted to keep Donkey Kong as far away from her as possible. Almost completely unfazed, the Kong ran towards Zelda again. This time she used Farore's Wind to teleport to the other side of the arena. Donkey Kong was getting frustrated. Zelda kept dodging his attacks; but she wouldn't be able to keep it up for very long. Donkey Kong saw his chance. WHAM! His massive fist hit Zelda's face, and she flew right out of the ring.

"THAT WAS SO CHEAP!" Link and Marth yelled in unison. A little "1" appeared on the scoreboard under "DK". Blood was dripping from Zelda's face as she stumbled back into the arena. Fortunately for her, a strange heart shaped object gently floated down from the sky; a Heart Container. Zelda picked it up, and her wound was instantly healed. Ready to fight again, Zelda leaped into the air. Donkey Kong did his helicopter spin. Zelda did her lightning kick (A/N: I think that's what it's called), and knocked the monkey down. It was a pretty close battle, but Zelda won by a hair. In the last three seconds, Zelda had smashed DK with a homerun bat. After shaking hands, Zelda limped back to the others.

"Zelda, you did great!" Peach said. Exhausted from the battle, Zelda just collapsed. Marth caught her.

"Easy there Zelda. Link, why don't you fetch her a glass of water." Link was a little unsure about this. Sure, Marth and him were great friends, but it seemed that Marth was always trying to get close to Zelda. Leaving her in his arms while he went to get some water was a perfect way for Marth to do just that. However, Zelda did look like she could use something to drink, and Peach and Roy were watching, so Link just went off to get a glass of water. Meanwhile in the arena, Captain Falcon and Yoshi had started fighting.

"Come on, Roy. Let's get a better view."

"Yeah, okay." The prince and princess walked away. Zelda was still in Marth's arms. She had totally forgotten that she was angry with him. It just felt so comforting to be there, in his arms. They weren't as strong as Link's, but it didn't matter. Marth was stroking her head, and gently rocking from side to side, trying his best to comfort Zelda. He knew that she and Link were together, but he just loved being so close to Zelda. She looked up at him.

"Thank you, Marth."

"No princess, thank you." They looked into each other's eyes.

I never noticed how handsome Marth is. I guess I never really got this close to him.

Oh, princess. You are so beautiful. If only you and Link… Link was walking back from the hotel, water bottle in hand.

Geez, I had to walk ALL the way back to the hotel. Then, search the whole damn place for a vending machine. I'd better get some thanks for this. As he entered the stadium, he saw Zelda and Marth. Huh? What are those two doing? And what happened to Roy and Peach?

"Hey Zelda!" Link called. "Your water is served!" Zelda turned her head to find Link standing a few feet away, waving and holding a water bottle.

That was close! We almost kissed!

"Oh, uh, thank you Link." Link handed Zelda the water. She unscrewed the cap and chugged it. "Aaahh. That's much better. Thank you."

"Game! Next up: Samus and Falco!" shouted Gerald.

"Oh, yes! I've been waiting for this match." Marth said. He went to find a better spot.

"Zelda," Link said. "I've been meaning to talk to you. I'm really sorry I went back on my promise."

"Oh Link, we mustn't fret over that. That was silly. I should be apologizing."

"Really? Well, in that case I forgive you." Zelda smiled at this. "And you know what else?"

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." They both smiled. "How does tomorrow sound?"

"For what?" Link asked. Zelda rolled her eyes.

"Dinner!"

"Oh! Right. Sure."

"Good! Wait here, I'm going to tell Peach." And the Hylian princess dashed away.

I'm SO glad that's over Link thought.

well, that's that. hope you liked it. crappy ending, i know, but remember, there's a part two! please review! the last few chaptersshould contain less romance and more action for those who are getting sick of Link and Zelda and their relationship... and their relationship problems. lol. well, that's a wrap. aloha! AND REMEMBER: REVIEW!
-Ciao