A Journey Worth the Soul
Chapter 5
It's not a date!
The following morning, Zelda found herself walking through the small garden that was behind the mansion. She always enjoyed these walks that she had there since it reminded her so much of home. Her stroll took her past the small rose bushes that were just starting to bloom, their tiny buds reaching towards the heavens above, awaiting their moment to shine. The small fountain near the far edge of the garden bubbled and gurgled excitedly as it washed down a man-made river bed and ended its short journey into a small coy pond below. A small twinge of homesickness churned inside of her as she saw watched the coy swim slowly through their tiny world, apparently undisturbed by the figure watching them from above their small home.
She sat down on a nearby bench, enjoying the early morning sun as it warmed her body. She sighed softly, leaning back against the bench and closed her eyes, almost being able to imagine her own garden back in Hyrule. Her vision drew her far back into her mind as she walked along the rows of flowers and shrubs that filled her garden back home. She smiled, lost in her memories on such a beautiful day as this.
A small noise nearby threw her out of her dream world unexpectedly, a tinge of regret at having to leave such a splendid place so early. She looked around expectantly, waiting for the person who had interrupted her inner reflections to show themselves.
Zelda watched as a figure appeared from behind a nearby hedge and walked t towards the edge of the pond slowly. He held his hands behind him, his face showing that he was deep in thought. She watched him as he stayed glued to his position, not even noticing that she was even there. His cape swept back in forth in the small breeze, inches form the ground. Every now and then, the wind would move more swiftly, messing with his hair and revealing a small tiara that he always wore. He always seemed to wear that it, even when they went to town dressed like normal people. It always made her wonder…
After a minute, he turned around to leave the same way he came when he noticed Zelda sitting alone on the bench, watching him carefully. The young man smiled sheepishly as he realized that he was interrupting something that must have been special.
"I apologize," he quickly stammered, his face starting to turn red. "Did I accidentally disturb you your highness?" he asked hesitantly.
"No, you didn't," she replied. "Thanks for the concern though Marth, I was wondering if you would ever even notice me here with how deep in thought you must have been in. I hope that I wasn't the one who disturbed you."
The prince smiled, "No, you didn't…I was just…" he stopped, thinking over his words that he wanted to choose. She watched him closely as he struggled for words before he finally gave up with a chuckle.
"Never mind, it wasn't important anyways," he said, bowing to Zelda. "I will be off so that I do not disturb you anymore."
She watched him leave, a hint of amusement as well as wonder as he disappeared back down the path, his fluttering sapphire cape the last thing she saw of him before he was gone.
How amusing. She thought as she tried to go back to her daydream when a clomping sound reached her ears. She recognized the pace from the footfalls and decided that she would not be able to get back to her daydreams anytime soon. Zelda sat upright as she heard the footfalls stop and several voices, then the repeated pattern of clomping heading towards her. She didn't understand how somebody that could be so noisy had ever snuck up on any monster, unless it had been deaf.
After several seconds, a familiar figure appeared from behind the hedge, almost sliding to a stop near here as a large smile graced his face.
"I was hoping I would find you here," Link said as he walked over Zelda's bench and sat down."
"I wanted to make sure that I apologized after last night. I left kind of early and kind of forgot to say goodbye," he muttered, his smile fading somewhat. "I'm sorry for doing that I just…"
"Don't worry about it," she laughed cheerfully, placing her hand over the hero's mouth causing him to blush slightly. "I'm not angry at all. Just curious as to why you asked Samus to help you leave all of sudden."
"Oh, yeah," he stuttered, chuckling slightly. "I guess it was kind of last second."
She eyed him unpleasantly, "More like last millisecond," she retorted as she punched him in his shoulder, laughing slightly.
Link rubbed his shoulder as if he had actually been hurt by her blow. His ears lowered, his lower lip trembling like a whipped puppy. They stared at each other, keeping up their expressions until Link started choking down laughter, interrupting their staring contest.
"Ok, you win again," he laughed as Zelda started laughing as well. "I still don't understand how you can hold an expression like that for so long. I just don't know."
She smiled back at him, "It is part of the job," she replied. "You just start to learn how to control your emotions when you want to. It is a necessary part of the job."
Her smile slowing faded as his chuckling died down.
"So, was that the only reason why you came out to see me this early? Usually you aren't even up for another couple of hours."
Link lit up as he remembered the other reason he had come out to see her.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come to another movie tonight with me," he blurted out. Hyrule didn't have very much in the way of technology so when Link had arrived for the first Smash Bros competition, he had literally been dragged to the movies by Samus and Captain Falcon. The two of them had constantly bickered and quarreled during the entire movie but Link had become hooked.
"Which one is it tonight?" Zelda asked as she leaned forward, putting a gloved hand to her cheek. "Another beat-em-up like last time," she asked dryly.
His face flushed.
"No. It is actually one that was recommended to me and one that you would really like."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Link nodded, "Peach said that you would love it."
Zelda laughed, "Well if she said that it was good, then I will probably agree, as we are so much alike." Zelda giggled as Link chuckled, both of them knowing the implied sarcasm in the statement. The two princesses had become fast friends after they had met at the last competition, even though when it came to their ideas, they were worlds apart.. Ironically they had only met when they were involved with team battles where Peach was on Link's team and Zelda on Mario's. Link's smile widened as he remembered that day.
"Great!" he said leaping up from the bench, grabbing her hand gently and bowing to her as she giggled at his display of chivalry.
"Then I will see you promptly at 7pm tonight in the front hall!" He said, kissing her hand softly as she held it up for him, a smile on both of their faces. Their friendly attitude towards each other had caused some rather large stirs in the mansion with friends insisting that they were a couple. Each time they had heard those rumors they had laughed heartily. Link saw Zelda only as his closest friend while Zelda saw him as her friend and champion. Many times people had tried to hook them up, and all had failed.
"I will see you then," replying with some laughter. He quickly bounded out of the garden spot, leaving this time with barely a sound as he sprinted off. She shook her head in amazement at the difference in his coming and going while laughing softly.
How does he manage to do that…
-O-
Link bounded into the mansions great room where several of the Smashers were gathered on one of the sofas watching the TV while Toon Link and Lucas were playing a board game on the floor. Grabbing an apple from a nearby table, he ran to the back of the couch, grabbing it in one hand for stability as he leapt over it into a spot between Samus and Snake. They protested his sudden arrival with a 'hey,' and 'watch it,' before realizing that their quest was going to be staying instead of leaving any time soon. Samus mumbled about how he needed to stop doing that while Snake just glared at him.
"So, have either of you seen Lucario today?" Link asked as he took a bit of the fruit, its juices seeping into the recesses of his mouth reminding him how wonderful the food here tasted.
"Why would I want to know where that guy is?" Snake snorted in derision. Only two days before, Snake had taken a beating from the psychic pokemon for the first time and it was taking his pride a while to adjust.
"I've seen him today," Samus replied, not moving her eyes from the tv screen in front of her while trying to ignore Snake's comment.
"Great, where is he?" Link asked eagerly.
Samus shrugged, "I only saw him at breakfast." Link's long ears drooped. That had been over an hour ago and he was sure to be gone by now. Link wasn't even sure why he would be at breakfast owing to the fact that he couldn't even remember ever watching the pokemon eat ever.
"Although," Samus stated slowly, "He probably just went straight back to his room afterwards so you could probably find him there."
Link leapt from the sofa, creating a small annoyance for Snake, who resumed his angry mumbling.
"Thanks a bunch Samus," he said quickly as he bolted to the stairs, taking three in each bound before disappearing down the hall towards the living quarters.
"What is that kids deal anyways," Snake sneered, making sure that Link was well gone before placing down his newspaper on a nearby coffee table.
Samus raised an eyebrow beneath her visor. "I think that I can ask both him and you that same question."
"I am only responding to his actions," Snake snapped back. "I don't think that I have met anyone quite as odd as him in all of my journeys."
Samus had to chuckle at his statement, "Touché. He has his own style about him that you will either like or hate. Just ask Falco about that."
Snake grunted. He had already seen the two of them clash several times over the most trivial things and had noticed that both stayed away from the other while they were in the mansion. He had asked Fox about it but was waved off and told not to worry about them. Snake hadn't asked it because he was worried, he just wondered if any of that animosity could cause them to fight better in a competition.
Snake knew barely anything about any of the combatants here and wanted to know the most he could about his rivals before he had to face them in combat.
"So how long have you known him for?" Snake asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation.
"Since the first competition actually. Link and I were two of the originals so I guess we have known each other for several years now."
"So he must be a pretty good fighter then?" he asked.
Samus turned to face him, "Why would you ask such a stupid question? Of course he's good, otherwise he wouldn't be here."
Snake turned red, his anger getting the better of him.
"It isn't a dumb question," he shot back angrily. "I just haven't seen him do much of anything yet besides lose."
Samus' face flushed a deep crimson. "Just wait until you fight him yourself. Link might be in a funk right now, but everyone goes in and out of those in their careers. Once he is back to normal, he could trash you with his eyes closed."
"Not likely," Snake replied, grabbing his newspaper from off the coffee table, hoping to end the conversation.
Samus shook her head, inwardly groaning at the man's hotheadedness. Trying to turn her attention back to the tv, she kept noticing that every now and then Snake would glance over at her, then after several seconds, turn back to his paper. After several repetitions of this, Samus finally turned to face him.
"What are you doing?" she asked slightly annoyed at his behavior.
"Nothing… Nothing…" Snake responded, acting surprised as if he didn't know what was going on. She turned her attention back to the screen, watching out of the corner of her visor for him to do it again. Sure enough, a minute passed by as he again glanced over at her.
"What are you doing?" she responded more angrily this time. Snake again acted surprised, sliding over on the couch more away from her. She watched for another several minutes before he again glanced over at her.
Samus raised her hands in the air in fury, barging quickly out of the room while Snake watched on, joined by Lucas and Toon Link who were finally distracted from their game long enough to watch the bounty hunter leave. They looked over at Snake who shrugged his shoulders. The two children went back to their game, absorbed in whatever they were doing as a small smile etched its way onto his face.
-O-
Link slowed to a brisk walk as he neared Lucario's room. I hope that he has an answer to my problem.
"Hey Link, over here."
Link turned as he was about to knock on Lucario's door to see Peach standing in her doorway, waving for him to come over to her. He obediently did so, slightly irritated because of the interruption.
"What's up," he asked nonchalantly, hoping to make the conversation brief.
"Could you come in and talk with me for a second," Peach asked, smiling sweetly.
Link groaned inside himself as he walked through the door to where Peach was skipping happily over to her bed and sat down quickly. She seems to be in a good mood today he thought to himself.
"I heard about how you and Zelda are going out on a date tonight and I wanted to help plan it out for her," she said, excitement bubbling into every word.
"What?" he yelled, surprised that someone must have overheard his conversation with Zelda he had had just minutes before.
"First off, it is not a date," Link stammered, his blood pressure rising. "And second, how did you hear about that!"
Peach glanced quickly towards the balcony of her room before responding sweetly, "I have my ways."
Link stormed over to the sliding glass door, which conveniently stood slightly ajar and yanked it open the rest of the way. He stepped out and noticed that her balcony was almost directly over the bench where he and Zelda had talked earlier. The noise from the door being yanked open so suddenly had shaken Zelda out of her meditation and she was looking up at him with a puzzled expression. He felt his face turn red before he yelled a quick apology, re-entering the room, his face flush with embarrassment. Peach giggled as his face started to turn back to its normal color.
"Oh don't worry about it all that much," Peach said as Link paced across the room. "I won't tell anyone that you two are dating now."
Link smashed his hand on a nearby desk, startling Peach slightly.
"IT IS NOT A DATE!" he roared, his chest heaving in and out and his shoulders rising in quick succession. Peach was always starting rumors about Zelda and him and it starting to bug him. He was nowhere near good enough for Zelda in his own opinion. She deserved someone a lot better than someone from such a background as himself. How would the court at Hyrule think of her if she even mentioned that she was thinking of going out with him? He mentally shook his head. No, they would never allow it. Maybe someone like Marth would be acceptable to them, but not him.
Peach still smiled sweetly, not that Link could remember a time when she wasn't.
"Well, if you insist that it isn't, then I won't bother you about it."
Link felt his blood pressure begin to dive as she got up and walked towards the door.
"However," she said, sticking her arm across the doorframe blocking Link's escape.
"You will have to take her to dinner beforehand as well as buy her something that she likes. I will tell her that you will be picking her up at 6 o'clock sharp as well."
Link smacked his head in frustration, inwardly groaning as the door shut behind him.
"She always has to do this…" he muttered.
With his excellent hearing, he heard as Peach opened her balcony door and yelled something down to Zelda below.
Still grumbling he knocked on Lucario's door, hoping to find the psychic home. Thankfully he watched the doorknob turn and the door open, revealing a perturbed looking Lucario in front of him.
Link smiled hesitantly, not knowing why he always felt as if his soul was being searched whenever he was near the pokemon.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second about something," Link asked as the pokemon stared at him. He couldn't tell if Lucario was glad or angry to see him since he always had the same penetrating stare which was about as creepy as Mewtwo's ability to read your mind when that Pokémon had been around.
The Pokémon nodded quickly before turning back into his room which didn't consist of much. The walls were painted a dark blue, matching his shiny coat of fur while there was not a single piece of furniture in the entire room except a small refrigerator that hadn't been tossed out yet by the room's occupant. Lucario walked to the center of his bedroom and kneeled on the ground, folding his legs across one another and closed his eyes in meditation. Link copied him quickly, sitting across from him as the pokemon seemed entirely oblivious to having another person in the room.
I know why you are here Link.
Link heard the Pokémon's voice inside his mind, since that seemed to be the only way that the pokemon communicated to anyone. If he was only able to send out his thoughts to people or if he could read them as well, Link didn't know. What he did know was that it caused him to shudder as if he had broken out in a cold sweat each time that the Pokémon had spoken to him before.
Link closed his eyes and focused his thoughts.
Do you understand what I saw then if you know what I am here for? he thought hopefully.
No. I don't know why nobody else has seen what you have seen, or heard what you have heard.
No. That single word was like a dagger to his heart, causing him to miss everything else that the pokemon had said. Out of everyone in the mansion, he had considered Lucario to be the smartest and yet even he couldn't help him out.
Link was about to get up and leave when he felt Lucario's presence in his mind again.
I may not know why only you saw what you saw and heard what you have heard, but I do understand that somebody is watching you...somebody, with great power.
Link was stunned.
"Do you know who it is that is watching me?" forgetting to ask through his mind.
I do not the pokemon replied telepathically. All I can say at this point is that you must be careful with what…or who…you let into your mind. You have suffered a great deal of mental anguish these past few weeks as you feel that you skill in combat as declined as well as your worry over what would happen if you had to leave the competition because of your failures, thus leaving Zelda alone with Ganondorf.
Link's thoughts grabbed hold of the last bit of what he had heard. That had been one of his major concerns since he had learned that Ganondorf would be making a return visit to the Smash Bros competition. The thought of that man being alone in the same hemisphere as Zelda gave him the chills.
Do not worry about either of these things the pokemon continued. Since neither one of these things has or will happen. You have let worry cloud your mind for too long and it has affected you for the worse. Use the courage that is instilled within you to combat these thoughts, so that others cannot begin to control your actions.
Link opened his eyes in wonder.
"What do you mean others control my actions?" he blurted, forgetting that Lucario was still speaking telekinetically.
"Does that have to do with that person you mentioned earlier? Was he the one that I heard during the match?"
Lucario opened his eyes slowly, watching Link carefully for any reaction.
If you will but ask the right questions, then I can give you the answers you seek. I will not reveal any more than this to you at this time; for I see that you have not yet found the questions that you should be asking..
Link was about to protest when Lucario raised his hand for him to stop.
Just be patient young hero. The answers will be revealed with time…
Link nodded, grateful for the answers to two of his questions, even though he would be leaving with even more questions than he had before. He opened the door and was about to leave when he felt Lucario probe his mind once more.
By the way…have fun on your date with Zelda tonight. You two would make quite the couple.
Link threw up his hands in frustration.
"Of everybody you should realize that it is NOT A DATE!" he roared, slamming the door behind him, grumbling down the hall as several Smashers opened their doors and watched him fume down the hall.
Lucario smiled as he returned to his meditation, knowing one of the few things that Link did not know…his destiny.
Wow, this chapter was fun to write. Since it seems like so many SSBB fanfictions are about a character trying to convince another character to like them, I decided to take another route with this story. If you want to see some character matches in this story, check out my polls on my profile and vote for which one you want…or just leave a review.
By the way, thanks for the reviews. Any type of matchup's you ask might be put into the story as long as it can flow well. So only guy/girl combos!
