A Journey Worth the Soul

Chapter 9

A Girl Worth Fighting For


"Good luck Link."

The young Hylian smiled widely as he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him, whispering into his ear.

"Thanks for your support Zelda," he responded while glancing over his shoulder into the radiant face of his fellow Hylian.

"It really does mean a lot to me."

Zelda felt a small blush begin to creep across her cheeks for some reason. She began to laugh somewhat nervously, covering her mouth with her hand to cover both the laughter and her reddening cheeks.

Marth watched from the opposite end of the room, some sort of feeling trying to well up inside of him as he watched Link give Zelda a quick hug before he began walking towards the teleporter where Marth was standing. Something about the entire scene seemed to churn something inside of him. He felt a type of…melancholy about the whole display between the two friends. His mind began churning with questions as to why he was feeling this way since to his recollection, he had never felt this way before. Except for maybe…

"Are you ready?"

Marth jolted from his thoughts as Link clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Of course," he mumbled quickly, a bit startled while he tried to re-organize his thoughts onto the upcoming battle.

Link noticed something amiss in his friend. He looked into his friend's eyes and noticed confusion coursing through them.

"What's wrong Marth?" Link asked, his concern for his friend noticeable.

"Nothing's wrong!" Marth spat out, a little too quickly. Link took a quick step back from his friend, somewhat worried about what had caused his friends outburst.

"Sorry," Marth mumbled, rubbing at his forehead. "Didn't mean to snap at you…"

"Marth. Tell me what's wrong."

Marth avoided the piercing stare coming from his friend, as if even glancing up at him would have turned him into a pile of ashes in an instant. What was he doing? He thought, closing his eyes while focusing his thoughts. His emotions felt as if they were coursing through his body at a million miles an hour; anger, joy, happiness, distrust…everything churned into one gigantic mesh of passion that embroiled his insides while making his mind numb.

It was just a little hug? He thought, finally turning to meet his friends gaze. Marth shot his friend a quick grin, although the attempt was half-hearted at most. What is going on with me?

"Both of you ready for your three stock match?" Master Hand yelled at the two smashers.

Link turned away from his friend hesitantly.

"Could you give us a minute here?" Link paused while Master Hand considered the Hylian's question.

"Wait, why a three stock match?" Marth interceded, wondering why the Hand was increasing the stocks. "Why isn't it just a normal one life match?"

"Why do kangaroos fly?" Master Hand cheerfully replied as he pressed several buttons on the control panel, completely forgetting about Link's request barely a moment earlier.

Link nodded in acceptance as Marth's mind tried to wrap itself around the Hand's odd statement. After several seconds, a light popped on in Link's mind as he finally understood what was said.

"Wait a second…" he pondered while raising his head to look over at Master Hand. " Kangaroos don't…"

"And here you go!"

Master Hand interrupted Link midsentence while pulling a large red lever in the middle of the control panel. Both smashers disappeared into the shimmering blue light caused by the portal in an instant. As the light disappeared, Master Hand's body reverberated into a hearty laugh.

"Of course kangaroos don't fly," he said to himself.

"Everyone knows they prefer to swim."

-O-

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

And here we go.

Link glanced around him and smiled as he saw a familiar stage as he appeared from in a flash of blue light and a rush of wind onto the stage. Large towers spiraled into the sky in the background while the remains of a ruined temple lay everywhere around him. The immensity of the stage made it so he couldn't even see Marth, who from experience, he knew to be on the opposite side of a gulley and stone pillar.

There is no way that Marth will beat me on my home turf… Link laughed to himself while glancing towards the opposite side of the stage at Marth, who had just appeared, leaping across a small chasm while sprinting towards him. Link began to run towards the swordsmen while pulling a small object from out of a pouch on his belt.

-O-

"This oughta be a very good fight," Mario concluded as he watched the two swordsmen run towards each other.

"They should both be evenly matched as well," Fox remarked. "Even with Link's previous losing streak, the kid has enough weapons to rival anything I have on the Great Fox. He's a walking armory."

"Although Marth seemed a little more…how shall I put this, resolute than normal," Peach added quickly. "That might give him an edge over Link."

A soft whirring sound filled the stadium box. Peach turned around just in time as Zelda stepped deftly out of the light and into the stadium box. The two princesses smiled at one another as their eyes locked. Peach motioned for Zelda to join her in watching the fight from an empty chair next to her. The Hylian swiftly moved towards the open seat, sitting down on its edge, enthralled at what prospects the battle had.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked politely, not taking her eyes off of the two swordsmen below.

"No," Peach replied. "They just started the moment before you entered."

Zelda let out a quick sigh of relief while watching the distance between the two fighters close.

Let's hope for the best.

-O-

A huge explosion right in front of Marth blasted the swordsman onto his back, just as Link had hoped. Link leapt through the cloud of smoke, brandishing his sword, readying it for a quick frontal smash. Marth caught the move and deftly blocked it, showering the two combatants in a shower of sparks. Both leapt backwards, eyeing each other for any weaknesses. Link grinned as he began pulling another bomb out from his tunic,

"Are you just going to use those or are you going to fight me like a smasher?" Marth yelled across towards the Hylian.

Link shrugged, "Only when I need to use them."

The Hylian jumped backwards while throwing the bomb forward. Marth quickly put up his shield as the bomb sparked red, exploding against his defense. The prince released his shield and began charging up his sword, ready to repel Link's attack when the Hylian would jump through the smoke. As the smoke began clearing, Marth found that there was nobody on the other side of it.

Nothing? Where did he go?

Marth lowered his sword and looked around the stage, trying to find where the Hero of Time went when he heard the patter of boots above him.

"Up here!" Link yelled as he leapt off a platform above Marth, his sword pointing straight down towards the prince's head. Marth barely leapt out of the way in time as Link's sword plunged deep into the earth right where the Altean had been a moment before. Marth saw Link struggle to pull his sword out of the ground as it was caught in between a couple of large rocks and took advantage of the situation, charging up his sword and slashing at Link.

The force of the blow blew Link backwards just as he yanked his sword out of the ground. Link slid to a stop, putting up his shield as Marth began an onslaught of blows aimed at the Hero of Time, each one pushing the Hylian farther and farther across the stage.

-O-

"Oh, that doesn't look good for our elf friend…"

"Falcon, shove it!"

Zelda turned to see an angry Samus shaking her fist towards the racer who was waving his hands in front of him.

"It wasn't me," he hesitantly remarked. "It was Wolf!" he said while pointing at the furry figure across the box. "He said it."

Wolf glared at the racer while Samus shook her head in disgust.

"Idiot," she mumbled to herself as she walked towards Peach and Zelda, wanting to put as much distance between her and the racer as possible.

"I would hate to be in Link's position right now though," she stated. "Marth does look like he wants to kill something pretty badly right now."

She cringed as Marth's sword found a hole between Link's sword and shield and sent the Hylian back another several feet onto his back, knowing from experience that even with all of the protective features installed to protect them, it still smarted to get hit by the Altean sword.

"Let's hope that Link has got what it takes to beat him eh?" she joked, turning towards Zelda. Her smile slowly disappeared as she noticed that the princess was totally involved in the fight taking place in front of her. Samus wondered what was so special about this fight since Zelda usually was never this involved. She finally gave up wondering and went back to watching the battle.

-O-

Link groaned as his back smashed into the ground for what must have been the fourth time during the match. Marth raced over to the fallen Hylian, raising his sword for a downward thrust when Link rolled around the attack, grabbing a hold of Marth's back as he passed with his clawshot.

Marth struggled against the grip of the weapon as it pulled him towards Link. When the Altean came within range Link repeatedly kicked the Altean several times in the back. With a final powerful throw, Link released the clawshot's hold on the warrior, sending Marth stumbling away from him as Link notched an arrow into his bow, sending it flying towards the prince.

The arrow hit Marth square in the back, sending him sprawling forward and over a small edge that led to the lower half of the stage. The fall was too sudden for him to land on his feet, sending him toppling head over heels, rolling down a small incline before being thrown painfully onto the stone platform below. Shaking his head, Marth pushed himself off the ground while groggily checking the damage counter on his wrist.

Fifty five percent already? Marth wondered. Marth stumbled underneath the edge of the cliff above him, hoping to catch Link unaware when the Hylian would jump down to continue their battle. He gripped his sword eagerly, feeling the power rush into his blade as he focused on the spot where his blade would strike.

Marth's instincts took over the instant he saw a figure appear in front of him and let loose a barrage of thrusts with his sword. He heard a loud cry as Link flew towards the edge of the stage from the volley of blows, causing the Hylian to tumble head over heels. Marth pursued his fallen adversary leaping into the air while aiming a quick downward thrust with his Falchion, hoping for the best.

Link came to a harsh stop as his head collided with a small boulder. The Hylian rolled onto his back, ignoring the pain reverberating through his skull while putting his shield onto his chest, knowing instinctively what the prince was going to do. The wonderful sound of steel striking against steel rang in Link's ears as Marth's falchion bounced off the Hylian's shield causing Marth to lose his footing as his hand rang with the impact of his attack.

-O-

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen those two fight this well before," Ike spoke in awe. He watched as Link leapt to his feet and began delivering a series of strikes against Marth, who was doing his best at parrying and blocking the blows. The two warriors seemed to be performing an intricate dance as they fought, each one searching for a small crack in the others defense, or a mistake that could quickly gain them the advantage.

Zelda watched in amazement while the two young men fought below, a mixture of wonder and awe filling her soul. Her breath caught in her throat as Link stumbled backwards after slipping on the smooth and polished stones. The Hylian's arms flayed about as he tried to catch himself from his fall. Within an instant, the room filled with applause and cheers as Marth released a deadly smash attack, sending Link flying off the edge of the stage. Link tried to return to the stage with his spin attack, but was already too low to be able to recover.

"That was amazing," Samus exclaimed as Link reappeared in a pillar of light at the top of the stage. "And to think that this is a three stock match. With the way they are fighting, this will be one of the best matches in smash history."

Princess Zelda nodded somberly as she watched Marth leap and run up the cavern and back to the top of the platform.

"I know," Zelda sighed softly as the pillar of light around Link disappeared. "I just wish that…"

Samus smiled at her. "You just wish that Link was doing better huh?"

Zelda nodded slowly. To her amazement, Samus began to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Zelda asked as the bounty hunter's laughter began to die down.

"For being friends you sure seem to care about him a bit much wouldn't you say?" Samus asked slyly.

"But he is like a brother to me," Zelda insisted. "He is always there for me so it is natural that I would want him to do his best."

Both Samus and Peach looked over at the princess of Hyrule and smiled.

"I think Zelda has a crush on someone…" Peach giggled.

Zelda felt her face begin to flush a bright red, her cheeks beginning to burn slightly.

"I would think you would know better than to think that," she muttered softly as Peach giggled some more.

"Don't worry Zel," Samus laughed, placing a hand on the Hylians shoulder. "Your secret is safe with us."

Zelda rolled her eyes as both of her friends burst into laughter. She would let them badger her all they wanted.

It won't change my relationship with him at all. He is almost a brother to me. She thought, watching her Hero move deftly across the stage, his auburn hair swirling around his face in a small breeze. How could I view him any differently than that?

-O-

Marth grabbed a hold of the final ledge, grunting as he managed to pull himself up and onto flat ground. He kneeled, catching his breath for a moment while glancing around, trying to locate his foe when a small blue object bounced onto the ground in front of him.

Not again…

An explosion rocked the arena, showering Marth in a thick blanket of smoke before blasting him backwards across the stage, with Link racing after him with another bomb at the ready.

Marth rolled across the ground, sliding on his hands and knees, breathing heavily as he struggled to rise to his feet. His eyes darted to the smokescreen as a dark shape formed inside of it.

Link burst through the cloud of smoke his sword at his side as Marth struggled to his feet to block but wasn't quick enough as Link swung his sword downwards into the chest of the Altean.

Objects turned into stars as his vision began to blur momentarily while his body rocketed up from the impact.

Glad we can't feel pain… Marth groaned inwardly as he felt his body reach its climax, then beginning to fall back to earth. He twisted his body in midair, hoping that by so doing he could land on his feet. His idea was dashed when he saw a tiny blue object coming up towards him, its small fuse almost completely burnt.

Not again…

-O-

Link watched and waited with bated breath as the bomb exploded right beneath the Altean, rocketed him further up into the air in a shower of sparks and fire. He hopped onto a nearby stony platform to gain some height as he watched Marth beginning to descend.

I'll have to time this perfectly…

Link jumped towards Marth when the swordsman was about ten feet above and in front of him. Charging his sword, he released the energy as Marth was almost directly above him unleashing his devastating spin attack. Marth caught Link's gaze at the moment of impact, both faces showing a mixture of surprise and approval.

Marth grinned.

"Well done."

Dust scattered into the air around him as he landed on the ground, an explosion sounded at the edge of the stage signaling his opponent's first departure.

One down, two to go…

-O-

"That was quick," Samus remarked as Marth reappeared near the pagoda at the opposite end of the stage from Link.

"What were you expecting? A drawn out fight when Marth's damage was that high?" Fox noted dryly. Samus shot him a glare, quieting the smasher in an instant as he knew an angry bounty hunter was not what he wanted in such a confined space.

Samus felt a hand on her shoulder and instantly began to cool as a familiar voice rang in her ears.. She turned to see Zelda's smiling glimmering eyes staring directly into hers.

"They both have two stocks left Samus," Zelda spoke softly, her voice rich with emotion and a tone that could soothe even an rampaging dodongo. She leaned in closer, cupping her hands around her mouth as she whispered in Samus's ear.

"There is still time for your boyfriend to impress you with a win."

Samus jolted backwards, almost knocking over Zelda who burst into laughter as the Hylian bumped into a startled Pit, who had chosen the wrong time to walk behind her with a can of soda. The young boy fell to the ground, his drink drenching him in the bath of sugary liquid.

"What's going on? What was that for? Who…" the angel's tirade sputtered to a stop when he saw Zelda turn around, an apologetic expression etched into her very being.

"I'm…terribly sorry Pit," she exclaimed as she extended her hand to the fallen boy. Pit reached for the hand, taking it softly in his while the two of them pulled and pushed him back up.

"I didn't mean to bump into you like that."

"Do not worry yourself Zelda," he said, trying to wipe off what liquid he could off of his tunic while flashing his characteristic toothy grin. "I can just clean it off when I do laundry next."

"At least let me buy you another one," Zelda insisted.

"That sounds good to me."

Palutena's bodyguard bowed his head and quickly walked towards where Toon Link, Lucas and Ness were near the edge of the box.

As soon as he was gone, Zelda laughed quietly as Samus' face began to flush a deep red.

"What do you know and how do you know it?" Samus whispered as soon as the boy was out of earshot.

Zelda waved her hand and replied with a quick tell you later as she went back to watching the fight below, leaving Samus to wonder for the rest of the evening.

-O-

Link ducked while blocking with his shield as Marth crashed his falchion against him with all of his might. Link began pushing back, as he brought the master sword up, adding extra strength into the shoving match.

"You're doing well today," Marth grunted while trying to unbalance Link.

"Thanks. You're not doing half bad as well."

"Why don't we try adding something to this fight?"

Link paused, momentarily pondering Marth's question.

Is he really talking about a bet in the middle of a fight?

Marth took advantage of Link's confusion, tripping Link as the Hylian broke free from the shoving match. Link fell to the ground, rolling onto his back while bringing his sword up at the same time, barely in time to block a two handed overhand strike from Marth.

"What kind of bet are we talking about?" Link asked, gritting his teeth as the glimmering edge of the Falchion drew steadily closer to him, almost nipping at the edge of his tunic.

"Not much."

-O-

"Hey guys, what did I miss?"

Samus turned at the sound of Snake's familiar voice as he came into the stadium box and took his normal place next to Fox and Falco.

"Finally he shows his face around here."

Samus turned towards Zelda who was glaring at Snake, her eyes flickering dangerously.

"What did he do this time?" Samus asked, a bit bewildered at the princess's anger. Usually Zelda was calm as a summers morning yet now she seemed as if the jaws of brinstar had opened up inside her eyes. Zelda leaned up to the bounty hunter and whispered into her ear exactly what Snake had done on her and Link's night out.

As Zelda spoke, Samus's face turned an ever brighter shade of red while one could almost see the steam coming from her ears. When Zelda finished, Samus was clenching and unclenching her fists in rage while her clenched teeth, if they were any weaker would have been ground to powder.

"SNAKE!"

The mercenary flinched at the sound of his name being mentioned, especially since he recognized the voice all too well. Slowly, he began to turn around, facing one very angry bounty hunter and a severally agitated princess.

"What?" he asked, trying to act as if he didn't know what was going on, which he more than knew what Samus was raging about as Zelda was standing by the bounty hunters side.

Samus walked slowly towards him while reaching for her laser whip as Snake began slowly backing up.

"Now Samus, lets not be too hasty here…"

Samus adjusted the knob on her whip, increasing the power ten fold as the beam began to hum menacingly.

"Samus there are kids here…do you really want to scar them for life?"

She shot him a wicked smile, her teeth bared.

"They'll deal with it."

-O-

Marth felt himself spinning in midair as he flipped up and over Link, landing roughly on his back as a loud 'umph' escaped his lips.

"I can't do that for her. If you want to ask her, then ask her! You don't need me to be a postal boy for your escapade!" Link roared while leaping to his feet, his ears beginning to turn a scarlet. Marth stumbled back to his feet, a little dazed by the Hylians response.

"If it is too much of a problem then…"

"That isn't it! How could I ask my best friend to do that? I wouldn't know how to begin!" Link screamed, his chest rising and falling quickly. Link grabbed the clawshot from his pocket and launched the device at Marth, catching him off guard. The instrument pulled him with incredible speed towards Link, who shoved his shield in front of him, making it collide directly into the oncoming prince's head.

Stars burst through his vision as the Altean stumbled backwards, his mind foggy and vision blurred by the impact. Through the starry clouds that filled his mind, Marth could barely make out a green blur walking towards him.

"I'll help you get to her if you want to ask her so badly," he heard faintly as he saw the figure place something inside his outer tunic.

"I'll just speed things up here a bit."

Marth's vision began to clear just as the spark on the fuse of Link's bomb began to disappear inside of the weapon.

Link and his cursed fascination with bombs.

"Then you better win," Marth quipped as he thrust his Falchion forward in an overhead smash attack. Link was too busy with his venting to dodge or block quickly enough and was sent flying off the stage. Directly after his attack, the bomb exploded, shooting Marth in the opposite direction of Link, who was cursing his luck as the stage fell far from his view.

-O-

Samus let go of Snake, allowing his body to crumple to the floor. She was breathing heavily as she stood over his battered frame, giving him one good last kick to his side before she rejoined Zelda, who felt a mix of shock…and pleasure with what her friend had done to the spy. Most of the smashers were standing wide eyed around the scene, too timid to intervene while she had pummeled the mercenary to a pulp.

Fox grinned silently, hearing Samus' footsteps pass behind, her heavy steps reverberating through the floor causing the box to shake…just a bit. He had ignored the whole fiasco, knowing that it would be folly to interrupt Samus from her prey and be painful to the eyes watching a grown man cry. Snake had made a big mistake…and he needed to pay the price for it.

Although I didn't think she could bend a person around like that though… Fox thought as he watched the battle. Note to self, never get on Samus' bad side.

"I'll never do it again…I promise," Snake whimpered softly, his body huddled in the fetal position.

"You better not," Samus replied icily, cracking her knuckles as Zelda softly laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to calm her.

"I think he understands that it isn't good to spy on people now Samus," Zelda said quickly and just loud enough for Snake to hear over his moans.

"If he does," she went on, "then I'm pretty we could arrange a three on one match of Bowser, Donkey Kong and Dedede against him."

Several snickers could be heard coming from the opposite side of the stadium box with Bowser's cackling, roaring laugh sounding the loudest. Zelda was not joking about getting the three behemoths against Snake in a match either. For some strange reason, Master Hand had prescribed it as an actual punishment and the three had promptly been given the nickname of "The Punishers". Captain Falcon had found out the hard way the truthfulness of that statement since Master Hand had ordered him to test them out to see if it was good enough.

It was…with very painful results

"You realize you all are missing an excellent match down there."

Fox's voice droned over the din in the box, drawing most of the smasher's attention, first to him, then back down to the stage.

"What did we miss?" Zelda asked, mentally smacking herself for not paying attention to something so important as she walked quickly to the lupine's side.

"Nothing much," Fox shrugged. "A couple of good hits, a stab here, a block there. Link getting his butt kicked out of the arena a second time."

Zelda felt her emotions become numb at his last statement. She spun around to face the large scoreboard that stood above the stadium. Fox was right. It now had Marth at two lives and forty percent damage while Link was down to just one life left. She gripped the railing on the edge of the platform tightly, her breaths coming in quick breaths.

She had told him that she was going to support him during this match and she had literally turned her back on him. How could she have done something that stupid she wondered as her eyes were drawn to the lithe green figure below. She lowered her head, uttering a silent prayer to Nayru to give strength to Link for his fight since he desperately needed a win now, of all days. He wasn't fighting for himself today. He was fighting in memory of them.

He was fighting for his parents, as this was the tenth anniversary of their deaths.

-O-

Link arrived on the stage in a fit of rage.

How could I have let my guard down like that?

He saw Marth standing at the opposite side of the stage, grinning widely at the Hylian.

Let's see how long that smile lasts…if he wants a duel, then he'll get a duel!

This is for them.

Link raced towards the Altean, feeding energy into the Master Sword at his side. With a roar of fury, Link leapt off of a platform just as his sword began bursting with energy. Marth waited in front of him, readying his Falchion for a counter as Link smashed the sword of evil's bane into the earth below him. A surge of energy formed around him, circling outwards as it swept from his sword, radiating into the air around him. Marth was caught by the ever expanding wall of energy as it crackled and burst around him, as if the very air was on fire. He gritted his teeth as the energy held onto him, keeping him trapped by its tendrils as his damage rocketed up.

-O-

"What on earth is that!"

Pit nearly fell onto his back as a gigantic sphere of whitish energy erupted from the master sword, enveloping both Link and Marth into the sphere.

"I don't know," Fox said, dumbfounded at what was going on. "I've never seen him do anything like that before."

Zelda watched in shock at what Link had done. She knew the power that lay within the master sword. She knew what Link had just done.

Yet she also knew that Link's attack had just cost him almost all of his energy.

Why did you have to go and do that?

She stared down at the stage below, wondering how in Hyrule Link could have been stupid enough to go and do that.

-O-

Link's breaths came in ragged bursts as Marth's body crashed to the ground in an unseemly mess. The tiara that was given to him from his sister skipped across the ground, rolling along until it came to a perfect stop at the Hylian's feet. Link pulled the master sword from the ground, using it as a cane as he leaned down to delicately pick up the priceless object in his hands.

Marth groaned as he tried to pull himself onto his feet, his knees wobbly from whatever attack had just hit him.

What was that…

Using Falchion to steady himself, he tried rising to his knees but collapsed back onto the ground. His vision caught movement in front of him as a familiar figure began walking slowly towards him. He tried getting to his feet but collapsed onto the ground again, his joints revolting from his minds control. His eyes moved upwards as Link bent onto his knees, his hand extending with a silver object in the Hylian's palm.

Marth slowly pushed himself up to his knees, at which he grabbed the object tenderly, eyeing it carefully as he slowly placed it upon his head.

"Thank you." It came out raspy, almost guttering…but Marth truly meant it.

"No problem," Link coughed as he readied the master sword by his side, his whole body which had been pulsating with power, now felt completely drained.

Marth got unsteadily to his feet, his legs quivering as he held Falchion by his side while staring into the blue orbs of his opponents eyes.

"I don't have the energy," Marth rasped, "To continue this fight now. Finish this so we can begin anew."

Link nodded as he began pouring the rest of his energy into his sword. As he felt it reach full power he slammed it forward, deftly striking Marth across his chest. The Altean flew across the stage at an astounding speed, disappearing in a brilliant flash of light as the large scoreboard over the stadium subtracted a stock from Marth's life count. Link watched him disappear, a small smile of triumph etched on his face as he fell to his knees. His vision became slightly blurry as he steadied himself on the master sword.

I'm so going to get it from Zelda now.

He imagined what she was going to say in his mind. Her voice echoing loudly as he imagined her finding a out of the way place to begin lecturing him on the Master Sword.

He had only begun to tap the true power of the master sword several months earlier, by accident if by anything. With each experience of tapping the swords true power, it left him feeling weak and powerless for several hours to several days in some instances. Link shook his head, struggling to his feet when he heard a familiar voice.

Looks like you need some help there kid.

Link groaned. No, I think I will be fine…now go away.

Link thought he heard a harrumph as he felt the presence in his mind gain a slight edge to it.

You'll regret not accepting my help kid. I'll make sure of that! With that the presence in his mind disappeared.

"Glad he's gone," Link mumbled as he straightened. He heard a pop in his back as he turned to face Marth who was bound to be coming any second now. He tried moving, but felt an unsettling power completely envelop his body. He tried to reach out but gasped as his arm went completely numb, frozen in place. A scream barely escaped his lips as the numbing sensation reached his face…

-O-

"Looks like Link is in trouble now, he can barely stand, let alone fight."

Zelda watched nervously as Link staggered about while coming to his feet.

Why did he have to go and drain himself like that again she thought.

He is never thinking of his health. Last time he went and did that he nearly killed himself. I told him not to try this again unless I was there to heal him afterwards…

Zelda silently fumed as she watched Link finally stand firmly upon his feet. Oh, he was going to get a mouthful for this. She had warned him time and time again not to do what he just did.

Why did he have to go and do that again.

-O-

Marth raced towards the edge of the stage, hoping to catch Link while he was still offguard. He felt full of energy while the last thing he saw of Link was the Hylian staggering from even holding his sword upright.

If I can win this now…

His thoughts raced ahead of his feat as he leapt across the chasm that separated the two upper portions of the stage. He ground to a halt, his feet sending up a scattering of dust and pebbles as they slid across the ground. His eyes found his target, standing directly in front of him, almost oblivious to his presence.

This will be too easy…

Marth leapt from the platform he was standing on, rolling as he hit the ground to avoid damage as he moved towards the figure.

Yet Link didn't move.

Marth again ground to a halt in front of his opponent, raising his sword into a defensive stance, expecting Link to surprise him with something.

Yet Link didn't move.

Marth took a cautious step forward, watching for any sudden movement on the Hylian's part. That was, until he looked directly into the Hylian's eyes.

Are they…blank?

Hoping he was wrong, he sheathed his sword and walked towards Link who still was not moving, studying Link to find out what was going on.

Link was almost like a statue. It appeared as if he was taking a step forward and froze midstride. One of his hands was outstretched, as if he was trying to grab…or block something from hitting him. Marth circled his friend, ending up in front of him, completely bewildered as to what was going on.

"Link? Are you alright?"

No response. The figure might as well have been a statue. Link's eyes were wide open; his usual lively blue eyes now a dull grey, showing no emotion or recognition of the world around him.

Marth pressed a small button on his damage counter and brought it up to his mouth.

"Master Hand, something's wrong. Stop the match."

His radio crackled as the gravelly voice of the founder of the Smash Bros came online.

"What's the problem Marth? Are you losing?"

"No," Marth snapped, yelling into the speaker on his wrist. "Something is wrong with Link, aren't you watching? He isn't moving at all. It's like he is a statue or something…"

Almost as if on cue, Link let out a huge gasp. Marth jumped back, his hand instinctively going for his sword as Link collapsed onto the ground, grabbing at his throat while trembling on the ground.

"Link!" the Altean yelled, somewhat frightened at his friend's behavior. "What's going on?"

Link stared at his friend as his body trembled, his eyes filled with terror.

"Help…me," he cried as his body began trembling violently.

Link let out a horrifying scream as his back arched into the air into a perfect half circle, as if something was possessing him.

"Help me…he is…"

"Master Hand, stop the match now!" Marth roared into the communicator. "We need medical attention for Link now!"

His eyes passed onto his friend as he kneeled down, trying to steady his friend who was writhing in pain.

"It's going to be ok Link," Marth whispered, trying to calm his friend. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Get…out of here…" Link said trembling, his hand grabbing at the Altean's collar. "He is…coming for…me."

Marth stared at his friend who was beginning to calm somewhat, although his body was still being shaken by an unknown force.

"What's going on? Who's coming?"

Link's eyes widened as his grip on Marth's collar tightened to a point where Marth felt as if he was being strangled.

"Him…"

All of a sudden, dozens of tiny puffs of smoke appeared in the air around the two swordsmen. Several black objects dropped from the sky, tiny propellers on the back of each little ball. Two large eyes opened on each one as the props on the back of each item slowly began to turn. Marth's eyes widened in fear as Link screamed out in a fresh burst of pain. The Hylian suddenly stopped screaming, falling limp onto the ground.

Bomb-ombs.

"MASTER HAND! GET US OUT NOW!"

"I'm trying!" came the annoyed response. "The machine is going crazy! I don't know what is happening!"

"Try harder!"
Marth hefted the unconscious Hylian onto his shoulders as he began to run across the stage, leaping over several of the small black objects which had begun walking towards them. Several more loud pops sounded in Marth's ears as more of the bomb-ombs dropped from the sky and began their inexorable march towards them.

I thought there weren't supposed to be any items! Marth thought as he leapt over a bomb-omb that fell directly in front of them.

"There, the machine is fixed."

Marth heard Master Hand through the transmitter and let out a sigh of relief as he reached a large wall that stood next to the chasm above. Hearing the creaking of cogs at work behind him, Marth jumped up against the wall, his arms burning from the weight slung across his shoulders as he attempted to lift both Link and himself onto the platform above.

A small poof above him caused him to avert his eyes to the above platform. A small winding sound could be heard as a shadow overshadowed him. A bomb-omb walked over to the edge of the platform, holding its place directly above him. His eyes widened in shock as the fuse disappeared into insides of the device.

As the object exploded a bright beam of light surrounded the two smashers. Unfortunately, the blast caught them first, sending them flying across the stage. As Marth began blacking out, he could swear that he could hear the bomb-omb laughing at him.

-O-

"Where is Dr Mario!" the Hand roared as two shafts of light appeared in the teleportation room.

Several of the smashers had already left the stadium box and were running into the room at full speed, led by very worried Zelda and Samus. After watching Link's behavior, they had instantly bolted for the teleportation room.

A single figure appeared in the shaft of light. As the light faded, a sudden gasp echoed throughout the room.

Link slid to the ground, falling off of Marth's shoulder and landing in a heap onto the ground as Marth tumbled to the floor of the room beside him. Most of the clothes were smoldering, smoke rising from horrible burns that covered most of their exposed skin. The room instantly began to fill with the stench of burnt hair, clothes…and flesh.

Most of the smashers stood in complete shock. Zelda looked at the figure of Link lying on the floor, his body completely motionless. Tendrils of smoke rose from gaping holes in his clothes, revealing the chain mail underneath to be melted together by the heat of the explosion. She had seen destruction before...and she had seen death. But she was not prepared for those sites to greet her here.

Master Hand's piercing voice echoed into the void as her vision began to blur.

"Get the paramedics!" Ike yelled as he reached the two unconcious figures on the ground. "They're still breathing, but barely!"

Nothing mattered to her anymore. Everything she heard turned into fuzzy sounds as Princess Zelda fell unconscious onto the floor, the triforce on her right hand pulsating madly.


Sorry about the time inbetween postings. I finally have all of the information that I want to include in the story written down into an outline so I finally have a plan on how I want to write this story and It took a long time to write this exactly how I wanted it . This story is going to be quite longer than I expected it to be, even with this chapter since I didn't even get to 1/3 of the stuff I wanted to include in here so...Please stay with this as it progresses. I promise, promise, promise, proooomise that I will get the next few chapters up more quickly...maybe. :)

Don't forget the poll. Only a few more days until it closes. You have five choices so make sure to use them all!

Oh and… MERRY CHRISTMAS!