The Planets

IV. Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity

"I can't believe you, Samus," Master Hand whispered, his voice breaking as he spoke. "After what happened on your night, I thought you would have learned your lesson, but this… it's just gone too far…"

Samus said nothing, only hung her head as she sat ashamedly in her chair. After she had lost control the night before, it had taken the efforts of every single Smasher, plus several Assist Trophies, to subdue her. She had destroyed every vendor at the festival and sent many, many innocents to the hospital.

"What happened, Samus?" Master Hand asked. "Just… what happened?"
Samus' voice shook as she spoke. "I… I was so angry, Master Hand… Ganondorf, he-"

"Do not attempt to blame this on him, Samus," Master Hand said quietly. "I know that you are both at fault, but… it was you, Samus, not him that changed into a boar and tore up the festival."

Samus wrung her hands, unsure of how to answer. Rarely had she ever gotten in trouble at the mansion and never before had she allowed her anger to cloud her judgment in this way. She was ashamed of what she had done, determined to right this wrong in any way she could.

"I… I cannot explain away what I did, Master Hand," she said quietly, feeling very small under the gaze of the giant floating limb. "But… if there is any way I can somehow make up for it…"

"I already have Smashers and Assist Trophies working to rebuild the festival, Samus," Master Hand told her. "And I already have sent my sincerest apologies to those that were harmed during your… romp. Since you are already being punished by the gods, I cannot truly dealt that much more of a punishment upon you. However, as a Smasher, you must be disciplined."

She nodded, accepting her fate. There was no way she could possibly defend her actions, yet at the same time, she knew that Master Hand was a fair being. He would discipline her fairly and properly. There was not a single mean streak in the hand before her.

"… I have decided that you are to not attend the rest of the Caelestis Festum," Master Hand stated. "At least… not until the last day, when Lucario is able to revert you and Ganondorf back to your normal selves."

What?

"Master Hand, surely you can reconsider!" Samus said, standing up. "Th-this festival… it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, Master Hand! I will never attend anything like this ever again! I-"

"You should have thought of that when you first allowed your anger to cloud your judgment, Samus," Master Hand said gravely. "It truly pains me to tell you this, but I am afraid that you must spend the rest of the festival in the mansion, not walking about on the grounds. I cannot risk you damaging anything else."

"Master Hand…" Samus was almost pleading with him at this point. The Caelestis Festum only happened every 10,000 years. She would be long gone by the time the next one rolled around. "Master Hand, surely there's some other way I can make up for all the wrongs I have committed…"

"There is no other way, Samus," Master Hand said, gently placing a finger on her shoulder. "I am truly sorry, but what has done has been done. I hope you have learned a very valuable lesson from all of this…" the finger was removed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare tonight for Kirby. He is the Bringer of Joy, after all…"

She hated everything.

She hated Master Hand, she hated Ganondorf, and above all, she hated herself. She had brought this upon her and accepted the consequences, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry at the world. A great event that only occurred once every 10,000 years was happening right now. And at this moment, the King of Evil was running around in her body, doing who knows what in retribution for what she had done to him.

Just her luck.

There was a knock on the door behind her. Not at all caring about who it was, she shouted for the person to enter. It was just her luck that said person happened to be Ganondorf, who was today swathed in an orange taffeta gown. She grimaced, her muscles tensing slightly as the Gerudo King entered the room.

"Miss Aran," he said quietly, walking into the room with the same regal air he had always carried with him. For the first time, the bounty huntress noticed that he held two glasses and a bottle.

"Ganondorf," she said bluntly. She did not complain as the King of Evil took a seat beside her, placing the bottle and the glasses on the table before her. Once that was done, he sat back and placed his hands- clad in long white silk gloves- in his lap.

"… I forgive you, you know," he began, never looking up from his lap. "What happened last night… has happened. It is likely that I would have done the same thing."

Samus hesitated. "I… Ganondorf, I don't know what happened to me… I was just so angry, so-"

"That is in the past, Miss Aran," Ganondorf interrupted. "It no longer matters now. When I heard of your punishment, I came here as soon as I could." he managed a small smile, which looked both familiar and all too foreign on the huntress' face. "Your friends… they are kind, but I find no joy in speaking with them. Then again, I find even less joy in speaking with my own…"

"You just have to give them time," Samus told him. "Peach and Zelda… they can be a bit annoying at first, but they mean well… Zelda is one of the most intelligent people I know and Peach is an amazing cook… and Captain Falcon and Snake are both very good men, and-"

Ganondorf laughed. "I thought they could be… when they are not too busy showing off to each other!"

Samus cracked a smile. "Yeah… those two… if you put a tree in a skirt, they'll hit on it in seconds."

Ganondorf nodded, sobering up a little. "I… brought some wine for you. This is a day that celebrates joy. No one, not even you, Miss Aran, should be denied joy on this day."

"There are two glasses," Samus pointed out. The Gerudo King nodded.

"You are very observant. I… hoped that I might be allowed to stay and drink with you. A bottle of wine is no good when had alone."

Samus grinned. "Crack open that bottle then and let's get wasted."

Ganondorf chuckled as he reached forward and picked up a bottle opener. "I… have another request, Miss Aran. Marth and Ike have offered us a rematch, seeing that- in their words- we seemed 'out of place' the other day. If it is alright with you, I would like to become your teacher and you mine. I can show you the ways of my magic and you can show me how to work this… technology."

Samus' grin widened. "Well… I'll consider it. Get that bottle open soon and I just might consider saying yes."

Their laughter rang in the Smash Mansion all through the night.

Current Story Word Count: 6,451 words