A/N: Thanks to reviewers:
TaylorAndEllie
WhiteFire56
MidnightMoon16
Well, I suppose here's the chapter... it seems to be worse than the others. Hopefully that's just me! Things start to heat up a little bit, pairings become even more obvious. Enjoy it! (Please?)
Day 2: Let's Get This Over With
by mrtysh
"Ughhh, I feel like shit this morning; I hardly got any sleep..." Roy muttered to Link as he adjusted his tunic. There was no point in putting on his armor; he didn't have a battle today.
"Why would that be?" Link asked with concern; pulling on a heavy golden gauntlet.
"I don't really remember... I think it was dreams. Besides that, do you know how loud you snore?!" Roy grouched.
"What?! I do not snore, Roy," Link retorted hastily. "You were probably hearing yourself!"
Roy huffed indignantly and gave up on the attempt to regain pride, changing the topic; pulling on his own boots. "How's it been with Zelda?"
"O-oh, that..." Link chuckled nervously, suddenly becoming a little red in the face. "I-I asked her if she would join me in visiting Hyrule... We agreed we're going to leave Friday morning. I was hoping we c-could talk when we're there," Link stammered; now plotting out ways to talk to Zelda...
"Seems like a good plan! I'm glad you told her yesterday, and I knew she'd go with you. For months she's been talking about visiting," Roy stood, smiling encouragingly. "Well, I better get going, see if I can find Peach. See you," he walked toward the door.
"Thanks. I'll be in the music room; relax before the battle. See you then!" Link stood as well, deciding to leave his heavy shield and sword on his bed until the battle.
As he was about to leave, he remembered to rifle through his drawers and pull out a minuscule blue implement and take it with him.
-
Samus tugged on the left boot to her Zero Suit, now fully equipped. She had thus decided that she would fight without armor against Wario; it would make things easier and she was swift on her feet without it. Not to mention more of a 'sight' for Marth...
She shook that thought out of her head, remembering her reason for wanting to be ready at seven in the morning.
"Well, I guess I'll catch you later, Zelda," Samus called to Zelda, who was brushing the long mane that was her hair. She had already informed her roommate that she had 'business' to take care of, so she would be leaving early.
She closed the door, hearing the soft click that followed. Hastily, she ambled down the three flights of stairs, on her way to the kitchen, hopefully to find Marth again.
Reaching the foot of the second flight of stairs, she stopped to catch her breath; not wishing to be flustered if he happened to be there. She smoothed her hair the little it needed to be adjusted and continued, at a slower pace, down the last flight of stairs.
Making her way to the kitchen, she inhaled deeply for self encouragement. Samus crept into the room...
To find a small, empty, void space before her.
Sighing and furrowing a brow in curious frustration, she plopped into the chair she had been in yesterday and decided to wait and see if Marth would arrive.
-
Roy sighed as he paced up and down the secluded hallway in frustration. Thoughts raged a vivid battle in his mind, and he felt like he could slaughter someone over it.
Damn it, why can't I just talk to her already? I love her, so I shouldn't have any problems expressing my feelings for her. I'm going to tell her! Today, I'm going to tell her!
Roy huffed and headed in a different direction; walking a little too fast. Before he had gotten little more than five yards away; he turned a corner and suddenly bashed into another figure.
"OW" it squealed in a feminine tone as it flew backwards a few feet. "Would you mind watching where you're go-" the voice instantly ceased as its speaker looked up into the eyes of the distressed swordsman.
"Peach?" Oh, shit, this is just perfect. "I'm sorry, I really am, I didn't-"
"It's o-okay, r-really..." Peach averted her gaze from his own, absently smoothing out her lavender colored dress. A light blush rose to her cheeks instantly.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Roy wondered aloud.
"Well, I was just going to get away from the rest of the mansion... privacy, you know," Peach couldn't meet his eyes.
"Oh. Well, then, I'd better be going. I'll see you around," Roy hastily turned the corner, silently cursing over his bum of a brain.
-
Link stood in the middle of the room that held almost every type of instrument one could imagine in it. There was a grand piano in the middle of the room, several guitars, cellos, violins, and many others.
Yet he stood away from them all. He held a small blue instrument in his hands, blowing softly through it's airway; sounding out the beautiful notes from its ceramic build.
Link practiced forgotten melodies on the unforgettable Ocarina Of Time. Secretly, he had kept it with him ever since that day Zelda gave it to him. He remembered it perfectly:
Seven years previously, he waited in front of the closed gate to the Castle; awaiting the morning. Suddenly, in the still of the night, the bridge dropped to reveal a white mare that charged forward; carrying Impa, Zelda's only comfort, and the Princess herself, tears streaming down her face. She pulled something from her dressing and tossed it into the moat, though Link was too shocked to do anything about this; he was rooted to the spot. Another figure on horseback galloped toward him, he realized the figure as a tall, evil man clept Ganondorf. He rode on his horse out into the field, following the white mare into nothingness.
Link inhaled deeply, some of the color returning to his face. He ran to the moat, looking to see if he could determine the object that was thrown into it a few minutes previously. All he saw were rocks and... an ocarina?
To be sure, he dived in, the icy water chilling him down to his very core. He swam to the small blue object and grasped it tightly. Surfacing, his mind seemed to float off with the calm current into a... dream of some sort.
"Link? Link, can you hear my voice? If you are holding this ocarina, I am gone away, in hiding for a very long time. I want you to have this memory always, and more importantly, this song..." a faded, blurry princess told him, holding up the ocarina and playing the Song of Time.
That was all he could remember. He knew he'd never forgotten the song over all those years, and still hadn't. He still felt that powerful feeling when he touched the ocarina. Everyone had always said that the instrument contained a mysterious power, and when notes were played, they echoed far and did miraculous things.
So, Link needed to remember all the melodies he used to play. He mentally rifled through the contents of his mind, searching for the long lost memories.
-
"Good luck, Link!" Roy said, stepping into the portal with everyone else.
Link inhaled and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of how the earlier parts of the day had been nothing more than a blur in his mind. Apparently Fox and Captain Falcon had won their battles against Lucas and Jigglypuff with ease. For some reason, this made Link slightly nervous. Luigi was much like his brother, Mario, and Mario was one of the greatest fighters here. But, as was Link, so this would prove to be interesting...
Link exhaled slowly and stepped into the portal to the Bridge of Eldin.
The area was much familiar to him, the bright sun, the stone bridge that extended into darkness. It was fairly plain, but it was his own.
He was startled as Master Hand's infamous bellow sounded, "ASSUME THE POSITION... 3,2,1, GO!"
Nevertheless, Link held up the sturdy metal shield and readied the Master Sword. Luigi ran towards him with breathtaking speed, but Link quickly swerved out of the way, running in the opposite direction, drawing his bow and pulling an arrow out of his quiver. Raising the bow, he pulled it taut, arrow ready.
Luigi had turned back around and had started back towards Link again, only to be pelted with an arrow and hit with a boomerang tornado; knocking him back several feet. Link charged for the opponent, but was blocked by a large foot to the face.
On the ground, Link flew up feet first, bopping Luigi on the head. He drew the sword, performing the fairly complex spin attack, earning a few hits.
By this time, Luigi was getting a little exasperated, his hits being sloppier and receiving more and more hits. Link slashed at him with tremendous force.
Before either could attack each other again, King Bulblin galloped onto the stage right behind them. Link leaped into the air with ease, but Luigi was too tired; he got swept into the darkness by the infamous creature.
Link triumphantly sheathed his sword as a light carried him away from the battlefield.
"Link, you were awesome!" Roy grasped his companion tightly. He always seemed to be the first to congratulate everyone.
Marth added, "That was one long battle. I bet you're exhausted now, huh?"
"Well, now that you mention it, yeah. I think I should go take a shower before I even think about eating anything," Link chuckled, earning a disgusted looks from Samus and Peach, who, of course, were clean as anything. Link, on the other hand, was filthy; covered in sweat and smelled of it also. The stench of battle. "Thanks, guys."
"See ya, Link!" Roy called as the swordsman jogged out of the room. The rest of the group headed off to a lunch of roast beef sandwiches and lemonade.
Minus Zelda.
-
Samus leaned against the stone wall, biting her lip nervously. It wasn't just the battle, but Zelda. She was nowhere to be found after Link's battle, and was absent from lunch. Not to mention, Marth was constantly on her mind these days...
Luckily, she was early for the battle, so she could peruse the thoughts in her mind.
Where is she? I haven't seen her since this morning! This is really worrying me. Especially when she isn't even there to congratulate Link. Maybe I'll ask him about it later...
Zelda hadn't been seen by anyone since the early morning when Samus left the room. It hadn't really become much of an observation to anyone, until recently. It upset Samus; Zelda was never absent from such things...
Samus shoved this thought to the back of her mind and shifted to... Marth...
Why can't I talk to him? He shouldn't be so intimidating, and I need to find out if what I'm feeling is really true... I really like him, in the least. It's probably really obvious do everyone, the way I blush when he's around.
Samus blushed furiously as she saw Marth appear in the room. "Hey, Samus... You're early, too?" He casually flicked a stray strand of hair out of the way; thrillingly seductive to Samus.
"Oh, yeah, I guess I am. I'm ready for this battle, even though I'm worried about Zelda..." Samus muttered.
"Yeah, I've been wondering where she is. She wasn't at Link's battle, which was very peculiar. I think Link's going to check on her after your battle," Marth smiled encouragingly.
"I hope so. You guys know you don't have to be at my battle, right?" Samus said, seeing the disapproving frown on Marth's features.
"Samus, don't be talking nonsense! You've been to all of ours, and your our friend. We want to be there to support you! Call us your good luck charms," Marth grinned crookedly again; that which made Samus sweat from apprehension and anxiety.
"Oh, thanks, Marth... I didn't think I meant that much to you guys!" Samus met his sparkling azure eyes; slightly troubled, but thus unreadable.
They lit up when he spoke. "Samus, you mean so much to us. I don't know what I'd do without you..." he said, inching closer to her, their figures almost touching.
"Really?" Samus grinned from ear to ear. Suddenly, they were no more than a breath's width apart. Faces close enough to—
"Good luck Samus!" called Roy, with Peach and Link close behind him.
NOW?! Of all times? Shit... By now, Marth had sprung back fifty feet, and the 'feeling' was slowly dissipating.
"Thanks, Roy," Samus almost hissed, a subtle, venomous anger just dripping from the words, a certain glare in her eyes...
"We'll just, go then..." The group stepped silently into the red portal.
Marth sighed with utter disappointment; they were really getting somewhere just then. "Well, good luck, Samus. See you," and he followed the rest of them into the portal.
Samus then felt like punching something until her fists bled. Preferably a red-haired thing with two blond-haired things right behind it.
She sighed, giving up on the effort to reason with her thoughts. It was still a little early, but she was ready to fight, and get this over with. She stepped into the green portal and arrived in the middle of the Final Destination stage.
Odd, this was usually vacant during tournaments, and rarely ever used. Still, it was merely a floating platform to stand on. No obstacles, nothing to worry about.
As Wario was brought in from the portal, Master Hand sounded off the usual, "ASSUME THE POSITION... 3,2,1, GO!!" That she did.
Wario seemed to be paralyzed as Samus zoomed up to him and gave him a few harsh kicks, knocking him back afar. He quickly regained the lost time and damage with a powerful punch.
Samus whipped out her Paralyzer and the whip lashed out at him, sparking. She flipped backwards, waiting for his charge. As expected, he ran towards her, but was blocked abruptly by a stunning shot; thus allowing Samus to get a few hits in. Before he could attack, she flipped backwards, repeating the same process as before.
Soon becoming exhausted, but still succeeding, Samus readied the Paralyzer for a final blow. Wario waddled toward her in a daze; she could almost picture the tiny stars around his head. As he closed in on her, she lashed the whip out with tremendous force, sending him sailing into darkness.
She twirled the whip in triumph as the portal carried her away.
"Samus, you were amazing!" Peach squealed, hugging her tightly.
"Loved the technique!" Link said, nodding.
"That must have been exhausting!" Roy winked at her. Samus shot him a death glare in response.
When she tried to look at Marth, they both blushed, recalling the earlier event. Luckily, Link broke the harsh silence. "Hey, where's Zelda?"
"I've been wondering that, too. I haven't seen her since this morning; she wasn't even at your—"
"I have to go find her! Won't you come with me?" Link asked, his voice strained.
"Well, I... sure," Samus followed him out of the room; she could feel Marth's eyes following her as she turned the corner.
Marth rubbed his temples and sighed exasperatedly.
"I see things are warming up between you two—" Roy began, but decided to shut up seeing the vicious glare from Marth.
"Yeah, could've went even better, bastard..." Marth snapped irately.
"Hey, if we hadn't intervened, she would've missed her battle—" Roy blurted out. He knew that was a mistake, but oh so appropriate!
Marth was too frustrated and tired to pick a fight with Roy, right in front of Peach... That would fail to go over well.
-
"You think she's in your room?" Link inquired worriedly to Samus as they climbed the many flights of stairs.
"I don't know where else she'd be..." Samus muttered as they approached the door. "I'll check, just... wait here."
Samus tapped lightly on the door and, receiving no response, opened it quietly. Zelda lay on the bed, and Samus couldn't tell whether she was asleep or not, so she closed the door behind her.
"Samus?" Zelda whispered.
"Zelda? Yeah, it's me... We're all worried about you. Where have you been?" Samus asked, sitting on the bed next to Zelda.
"I've been in here all day... I feel terrible, and I have no clue why. I hated not being there for you or Link..." Zelda replied, her voice sounding strained and hurt.
"Need to talk about it?" Samus was truly concerned, and still questioned the 'why' of Zelda's absence.
"Well, I'll tell you this... I really need to go back to Hyrule, and I'm so glad that Link is taking me. He didn't need to do that," Zelda's features lit up as she thought of him.
Samus could only nod to this statement. She knew Link would be listening to this entire conversation. But of course, Zelda needn't know this.
"I wish he could know that I love him..." Zelda whispered.
Samus fought back a gasp. Perhaps Link wasn't there, but it was likely that he was. This could be bad... "I-I'm sure the time will come, Zelda..." That sounded dumb, Samus thought. "do you think you'd be able to join us for dinner?"
"Sure, just give me a minute to... collect myself," Zelda concluded with a half-smile. "Thanks, Samus."
"Don't mention it. Well, I'll just head down there, then," Samus waved and left the room, leaving the troubled princess to herself.
Sure enough, Link was standing right there in front of the door. Samus gave him a look that said, let's get the HELL out of here, now! And they silently hastened downstairs.
Goddesses, I'm a wreck! Getting this distraught over a man... Zelda scolded herself inwardly. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, smoothing her messy hair and re-adjusting her tiara. She had worn her sleeping clothes, so she searched for a dress to wear; a beautifully woven, lavender hued one.
"That'll do it," she muttered as she left the room, fully clothed and more gorgeous than ever.
-
"So, you're all right now, Zellie?" Peach asked with concern.
"I think I'm all right, thank you," Zelda smiled and sat in her usual chair, directly in front of Link.
After a little bit of discussion over battles, they were served meals of fettuccine alfredo with mushrooms. As they ate, or rather, eagerly wolfed down their food, a certain redheaded swordsman took that time to think things over.
I have to tell her. If I don't, I'll go insane and she'll never give me a chance. What if she does love me, and I just don't know it yet? But, then if she doesn't, that could ruin our close friendship. But... I have to tell her!
His thoughts were interrupted by a curious voice. "Roy? Everything okay?"
"Peach... oh, everything is fine, I was just thinking," he replied dismally.
"O-Okay, then..." Peach turned back to Zelda. Roy could tell she wanted to inquire further, but she didn't want to pry any further.
Everyone silenced as Master Hand bellowed, "Good evening, everyone! I would thus like to congratulate Fox, Captain Falcon, Link, Falco, Samus, and Snake on your winning battles and advancement into the next round. Well done!"
"Now, the battles for tomorrow are as follows: Mario versus Bowser, Pit versus R.O.B, Roy versus Wolf, Lucario versus Donkey Kong, and Peach versus Diddy Kong. I wish you all good luck; the battles start at nine, like usual," the hand concluded, floating out of the dining hall.
As everyone stood to leave for their rooms, Peach whispered to Samus and Zelda, "I'm really tired tonight, so I'm going to go straight to my room. I'll see you in the morning, then..."
"Oh, all right. Good night, Peach," Zelda said, waving and heading upstairs with Samus.
Marth sighed, not bothering to say good night to Roy or Link, who seemed preoccupied in a conversation. He wondered what kind of night this one would be as he left for his own living quarters.
-
Peach exhaled exasperatedly and opened the door to her room; re-decorated personally with pink bed-covers and pink curtains. She slipped out of the lavender dress she had chosen to wear, and found her nightclothes.
As she comforted herself, she couldn't help but think about Roy. He seemed so troubled today... I hope nothing has gone wrong! Perhaps I really should tell him of my feelings for him, it's the only way to know...
The thoughts were silenced as she lay on the warm bed, silky covers conforming to her body and wrapping her in a cocoon of comfort. That comfort was so relaxing, she couldn't help but fall asleep.
-
"You really think I might lose to Wolf?" Roy questioned Link as if he were mentally insane.
"Well, you never know! I'm not saying you won't win, I think you'll win! I'm just saying, be prepared!" Link warned Roy, chuckling.
"Uh-huh. I believe that about as much as I believe I'm a prince," Roy sarcastically added.
Link shook his head, changing the topic. "Hey, remind me tomorrow to go see Master Hand about leaving the mansion to go visit Hyrule with Zelda."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. That'll probably be a fun trip, just the two of you, all alone—I mean, ahem... I'll remind you, of course..." Roy stammered upon seeing the vicious glare on Link's face. That was twice today.
"Thank you," Link muttered, sitting on the bed to pull off his boots.
Roy pulled the tunic over his head and took off his trousers, remaining in only boxers. He lay in the bed, saying, "'Night Link."
"Oh, 'night, Roy," he undressed as well and switched off the light. He reminisced on the conversation Samus and Zelda were having earlier. Zelda was okay, apparently, but something was still troubling her. Half of the conversation had been whispered, so he couldn't hear it. He did, in fact, hear something about him, and it was frustrating to not know what that was. Moments later, he was snoring louder than the hum of a buzz saw.
Roy sighed, roaming through his mind's troubled thoughts for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. Tomorrow. After her battle, I'm going to tell her. I have to; it's the only way to know for sure.
Despite Link's loud snores, Roy easily fell into a deep slumber.
A/N: OH my god, that took way longer than it should have. I bet there are a ton of errors in this, so if I could be notified of them, that would be great! So I threw in some Zelda history, hop that was okay.
Also, if you have a question about some of my character choices, please ask.
Until next chapter;
mrtysh