Ike was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, when Marth abruptly slammed the door open. Jumping slightly, Ike let out a small, annoyed sigh as he looked at his best friend. Marth's skin was as pale as paper. A single candle light sitting on the nightstand gave his wide, cerulean eyes an eerie glow. Clutched in his jittery hands was a thick-covered book.

"What is it, Marth?" Ike mumbled sleepily and grouchily, sitting up in his bed.

"Ike, I need to show you this!" Marth said anxiously. "It's really important!"

"Why is it important?" Ike asked, rubbing his eyes. "Can you show it to me tomorrow?"

"No, I need to show it to you now!" Marth protested impatiently.

"Fine." Ike replied.

Marth uneasily sat down on Ike's bed. He was a bit scared to show Ike the bewildering, shocking illustration. How would he react? Would he be so dreadfully shocked that he would pass out? Or would he shrug it off and say it was nothing important?

Before Marth could flip to the page, Ike asked, "What's that book about?"

"I'm not sure." Marth answered. "I was in the library, when I suddenly heard a knock on the door. I went to see who was there, and there was no one. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light that blinded me. When the light died down, this book appeared. I opened it, and..."

Marth never got to finish his sentence, as he cringed in fright.

"Did you read something disturbing?" Ike asked, setting a hand on Marth's sweaty shoulder.

"N...No." Marth answered softly. "The text isn't in English. It's in Hylian. I couldn't read it."

"Is it a picture that scared you?" Ike asked again.

Marth nodded yes.

"Let me guess, it was a picture of a horrifying monster!" Ike guessed out loud.

"No, it was a man." Marth answered quietly.

"What about him?"

"I'll show you." With that, Marth hesitantly opened the book to the certain page.

As soon as Ike's cobalt-blue eyes made contact with the page, the two blue orbs widened in astonishment. The illustration depicted a young prince garbed in a royal blue tunic, tall boots, chestplates, and a flowing sky-blue cape. Sitting on his head was a certain gold tiara. A sword was held in his gloved right hand. His azure hair reached his chin. The blue bangs barely reached his matching cerulean eyes.

Ike glanced at the picture of the prince and at Marth, quickly making comparisons. Yes, the two had the same cerulean eyes that matched with their azure hair. Yet, what made things much more shocking was the tiara! It looked exactly the same as Marth's! What was this? Was this some sort of a trick or sorcery?

"Oh my gosh, he looks like you, Marth!" Ike finally managed to speak.

Marth shakily nodded. "Yeah, he does. I'm scared, Ike. I wonder who is this man. He can't be me, even though he looks like me! This book was probably written long before we were born!"

"This is weird." Ike said. "Hair, eyes, even the tiara! Everything looks the same!"

"Well, there is one small difference." Marth said, taking off his tiara and showing it to Ike. "In the picture, the prince's tiara has a blue gem. Mine's doesn't. It was lost."

"We need to have either Link or Zelda translate this!" Ike said. "Do you think they are still awake?"

"Link told me that Zelda is in a meeting, right before I went to the library." Marth answered. "I don't know about Link, though."

"Well, let's find him and ask him to translate the text!" Ike replied, quickly getting out of his bed.

Holding the book, Marth followed Ike around the shadowy, dark castle. It was awfully quiet, as the castle's inhabitants were either asleep or doing their own things. Not knowing where Link's room was, the two bluenettes sneakily peered into each of the rooms, hoping that no one would notice their rude intruding. Among the rooms, they managed to spot Samus slowly falling asleep, Fox and Falco engaged in a long conversation, and Roy reading a book with Pit. However, there was no Link.

"Maybe Link's busy with something." Ike said.

"Could be." Marth replied.

"Let's get some sleep and ask him tomorrow."

Just as when the two bluenettes turned to go back to their bed chambers, a certain silver-haired adviser directly appeared in front of them in a ray of glittering diamonds. Ike and Marth jumped in surprise, preparing to run away.

"My, good evening, Ike and Marth." Ghiarahim greeted, his voice calm and collected. "Why are you two up so late?"

"We were looking for Link." Ike answered bluntly. "Now, leave us alone!"

"My, how curt." Ghirahim replied with a hint of annoyance. He went closer to Ike and Marth. "Tell me, why were you looking for Link? Did you need something from him?"

"Well, we wanted him to translate something in this book." Marth said, hoping that his answer would make Ghirahim go away. The adviser was making him uncomfortable. "Since we can't find him, we're gonna ask him tomorrow."

"Why don't you ask me? I can translate." Ghirahim offered.

Ike and Marth doubtfully looked at each other. Should they let Ghirahim translate? Sure, they could learn about the prince quicker, but what if Ghiarahim was plotting some sort of a trick? He seemed awfully strange...

"Sure." Ike said, opening the book to the page and giving it to Ghirahim. "Translate this page."

"We really want to know who is this prince." Marth said with a hint of want in his eyes.

"Ah, this prince." Ghirahim said with a small grin. "He awfully looks like you, Marth."

"Well, yeah he does." Marth replied with a small huff.

"Isn't it a coincidence?" Ghirahim asked with a hint of trickery in his voice. "His full name is Prince Marth Lowell."

Ike and Marth gasped in shock. No, this could not be!

"This can't be..." Marth said, clutching his head tightly. "That prince shares my name!"

"You're kidding! Are you?" Ike exclaimed.

"No, I'm not." Ghirahim answered. "Would you like to learn more?"

Ike swallowed nervously. "Sure."

"Prince Marth Lowell was the Prince of Altea, a kingdom on an island neighboring the mainland. After when his father was killed in war with Crimea, a rival, enemy kingdom, Marth succeeded him, and became a great ruler. He still had the title "Prince of Altea", as he needed to marry in order to become king. Due to war, he never became king, as he spent his final years fighting Crimea along with allies."

"Did he die in battle?" Marth asked.

"No, he didn't." Ghirahim answered. "Just as when the war reached its height, a violent plague broke out. It claimed many victims; one of them happened to be Marth. In just a few days, Marth passed away."

"From what Zelda told us, there were two kingdoms fighting over land." Ike spoke up. "Are the two kingdoms Altea and Crimea?"

"Yes, they were." Ghirahim answered.

"Why were they fighting?" Ike asked. "Why couldn't they get along? Was there something special in the land?"

Before Ghirahim could answer, he was cut off by a certain, angry, blond Hylian.

"Ghirahim, what are you doing?!" Link asked suspiciously, glaring at the silver-haired adviser.

"Nothing, Link." Ghirahim cooly answered with a smirk. "I was just having a small conversation with your friends."

"Yeah, 'small'!" Link sarcastically replied. "You were telling Ike and Marth something, were you?"

"Fine, fine." Ghirahim sighed in annoyance. "I guess I cannot stretch the lie any longer. I was telling Ike and Marth about the past. The two seem very interested in the history of this world. A few minutes ago, they were looking for you to translate the contents of this book. I kindly offered to translate for them. Now that you are here, I guess I am no longer useful in this situation..." Ghirahim suddenly turned to leave.

"Wait, Ghirahim—!" Link started quickly.

It was too late, as Ghirahim teleported away in a flash of sparkling rays of diamonds. With a soft sigh, Link looked down at the floor, his ears drooping. He was too late. Ike and Marth were already intrigued in Hyrule's past. There was no turning back. Besides, since Marth himself already has a relationship with Prince Marth himself, he and Ike should learn about the truth, for better or worse.

"Link, are you alright?" Ike asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Link answered, forcing a small smile.

"Sorry Link, we really wanted to know who this Prince Marth is." Marth apologized.

"Isn't it funny?" Ike spoke. "He has Marth's name and looks exactly like him!"

"I know, it is." Marth said nonchalantly. "...Ike? Marth? Are you two really interested in the past of this world?"

"Yeah!" Ike and Marth answered.

"I really wanted to learn more about your world, Link!" Ike added.

"Well," Link began, unsure how to explain to his friends. "There's something very important that only both of you need to know. However, you can't just learn about it from a book. You need to travel somewhere."

"Where do we need to travel to?" Marth asked.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow in the morning with Princess Zelda." Link answered, a bit stern. "Princess Zelda holds all of the information needed for our travel."

Ike and Marth nodded in understanding, not knowing that a certain adviser was eavesdropping in their conversation.

Wolf and his men, members of the Anthropomorphic Tribe, were waiting inside the shady, dark forest when Ghirahim approached them with news.

"The plan had just been carried out." Ghirahim said. "As long as fate does its job, your little blond-haired, pointy-eared boy will finally be in your hands."

"So, if you follow your instructions, we will get the boy, am I correct?" Wolf asked.

"Certainly." Ghirahim smiled wickedly. "Just make sure that the azure-haired friend of Ike is in my clutches as well in the end!"

Author's Notes: I'm on Spring Break! Woohoo!

Sorry that the chapter's a bit short. I just wanted to introduce some suspense into the chapter and the annoying cliffhangers. Hopefully, the pace of the story is going fine.

Also, I currently closed the fanfic poll and opened a new poll. If you hadn't heard already, I wanted to start a webcomic based on my fanfics. I did get started on sketching the first comic (Based on Lone Flame.), but I had second thoughts, didn't like the current sketches, and decided to start over. The poll is just asking which fanfic would make an interesting webcomic. Personally, I would really appreciate it if you voted and whatnot. Guests without an account can vote too; just let me know in a review.

Story Questions:

Do you think Marth is related to the prince?

Why do you think Ghirahim wants Marth?

Your poll choice?