Chapter 7

A… Weird day

Smash Manor, Lobby entrance

•••••••

Why would he do that? He put himself at risk for just some articles of clothing!

The stuff that goes through mortal's minds boggle me.

But why? We need him alive, and well!

Do you think he knows that? No, we need to oversee everything, and only interfere when needed.

But with the stuff happening in the outer worlds…

We must not speak of it. The tragedy of Traverse town will not be brought up just yet.

When are we even going to bring this plan of yours to action? It seems like a little out of your reach.

Do not doubt my powers. We just cannot be involved just yet. He has to be involved at the right time.

But what of taboo? Remember how he threatened him?

That was a mere bluff. Even taboo's power cannot extend to the outer worlds to that extent. He merely has a morbid mind set. He only wants to boost all the fighter's skill with a little intimidation. Taboo can only bring someone to him, not send someone to the outer reaches.

Why exactly can't we involve him just yet? And Taboo seemed dead set when he made the threat.

He needs to be in the right state of mind in order for us to mentally connect to him. The time is nearly here, so be patient. And Taboo is has said that threat to others, as well. Some have brushed it off, while others nearly broke down. Master hand did it last year to fighters as well. It's a common tactic.

But Shouldn't we hurry this along? With the outer Realms disappearing, the Darkness seems to be heading straight to the tournament!

This is not something to be rushed! I know your determination to help is admirable, but the longer you pester, the more you make me ache.

I just want to save the ones I love. That is all.

I know, and this is the best chance we got. We have to choose him, because his healing better than all other fighters. I could've chosen another, but the mental strain that it would cause by just creating a link between each of our minds would've killed any other fighter.

But then wont he have to be weakened to make contact?

Yes sadly. And our time to connect is almost nigh. I will look into the darkness, and try to hold it off until he is ready. But in doing so, you will have to make contact. I'm counting on you. Do not fail me, and the time will arrive soon, as I've said. But ONLY at this time are you to make contact with him, understood?

Yes. It will be hard, but I will do it.

Good. I will be in contact shortly.

•••••••

Samus's POV

When I arrived, I was quite glad I was back. It wasn't fun for me, since I don't like too much attention to be put on me. The practice battles were displayed on a huge display inside of the room. Supposedly, after I had my brawl with Cloud, people put their bets on both of us in the tournament. I had no idea why me, but the sum of the total amount of money that was placed on me had me speechless. I couldn't fathom to have that much money, even the thought of it made me hurt.

Roy was dragging behind me, with Marth holding him up. Roy was one of those people who you give a little Beer to, and then they go absolutely drunk mad. It was funny seeing Roy jump on top of the Bar, yelling on the top of his lungs; "I'm too sexy for my shirt" and then tried unsuccessfully to rip his shirt off, because he seemingly forgot that he had left his armor on. It was quite a scene, especially when he did it again, proposing a toast to "Big Butts," and that he could not lie.

Marth looked to me, as I looked back at him. He looked repulsed by the fact that Roy had breathed on him, and he almost gagged. I laughed at him, when I saw that Roy was out cold. "Come on," I said, hastening my pace. "Let's get him to our room."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that he moved rooms. You are staying with two boys' then, huh Samus? That's a little weird." Marth said, also trying to match my pace, but failing because of the heap of a person next to him. He grunted as I began my ascent upstairs, and he tried to follow suit.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea! All I wanted to do was have that room! I haven't had luxury like that in years!" I said defensively.

"But think about it. Why would you want that room? Is it just because of the Luxury of the apartment? Because the rooms here are all nice, you know. Every room is adorned, and you left yours to go to a better one? The rooms are lavish as is. Or is it because of the people inside? Or rather, Person?" Marth said, straining to lift the unconscious Roy up the first flight of stairs, stumbling at almost every step.

I turned away, trying to hide the red obvious on my cheeks. "No, just in all the time that I've been here, I've never had that room. All the veterans have had the Romana suite, just not me. It vexed me thoroughly, even to this day. Why does a newcomer get to have it now?"

"I don't know, to be honest. The only person we've had like cloud was last year, and that was Snake. He since then wasn't able to be found, and that's why he didn't appear in this one. An invitation was sent out to him, but it was never opened." Marth said, panting, as he finally reached my level, only to grunt out of disapproval, when he saw me take the last flight of steps in three giant leaps.

"I thought that Snake had just decided not to come." I said, sitting down looking at Marth struggle. I didn't bother to help him; this was all too fun.

"No, he just wasn't able to be found. At all. It was as if he wasn't even born, or even existed. Its kind of scary. Normally, visitors even from the outer realms would show. But now there is hardly any to watch. Its unnerving, just to see the substantially less outlanders." Marth said as he made his way up the stairs, trying to hoist the dead weight on his back.

"I didn't notice before. It almost seemed normal for me." I said, getting up at Marth's new speed.

"The leaders of each world and kingdom are trying to keep it private. That is why nobody's heard of anything. I guess that they are trying to do the same thing in the other Realms." Marth said passing me.

"It must be serious then. Why don't they send us to investigate then?"

"The leaders have sent out their scouts to find out. We still haven't gotten word from them, so we are considering it just a one-time occurrence." Marth said, walking at the same pace as me, even with Roy drooling all over his back and hiccupping occasionally.

I thought to myself. "Isn't that a bad way of thinking about things? I mean, it only makes sense to think about it in the highest priority, right?" I asked Marth.

"Yeah, but with everyone focused on the Tournament, it seems like just a thing that will go away. But that's the problem. With everyone so focused on the tournament, Things only get worse from here. And we're stuck here, so we can't do anything about it. Once we accept, It's like a contract that we can't leave. It is fun to participate, but it's at a cost." Marth said, coming to the doorway. He then tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

From the other side of the door, we heard scratches. Then the door swung open slowly, and we saw Pikachu hanging on the doorknob on the other side. Pikachu then dropped down and grabbed at My shoes. Pikachu had never been nice to anyone but me since his trainer had left him here. But I never seen him in this room.

Pikachu then ran over to the other side of the first bed, and disappeared out of sight. I walked over to the other side of the bed and gasped at what I saw. It was a man with blond hair, with a completely Black outfit, that had on the shoulder a metal Wolf. The sword next to him was like Cloud's Sword, but this one had a much more unique pattern on it. I then realized that this man wasn't just a stranger, it was Cloud himself! I could recognize that face anywhere, even though most of it was shielded from my vision with hair. But this time, Cloud's hair was more laid back, and it kinda looked like Shulk's in a way, except it was spikier than his.

"Marth, summon a doctor now." I said, looking at him urgently. I looked down and checked Cloud's Breathing, and it was abnormally slow. I panicked and began to pump down on his chest like you would do if they weren't breathing at all.

"Hgnn!" Cloud managed to get out of his mouth. He moved farther away slowly, and laid in the same position. "Maybe next time…ask me if I'm alright, ok?" Cloud said as he breathed heavily.

"What happened?" Marth asked calmly and collectively.

"Nothing is wrong, I just used a little too much of my magic in one go. Nothing to worry about." Cloud said, resting his head. He closed his eyes, and his breathing was strained even from talking.

"What are you doing, Marth? I thought I told you to get the doctor!" I yelled to him. He shaked his head, and looked me dead in the eyes. He dropped Roy onto the nearby bed, next to Cloud's.

"The doctors can do nothing to help him. He used too much magic, so his energy is drained. When a spell caster uses magic a little too advanced for his skill, He starts to lose his Body's energy. Cloud just needs a day of rest, and then he will be fine. What did you use magic for anyways?"

Cloud opened his eyes and laughed. "Just my outfit and my Sword. Sentimental stuff." I noticed that his outfit had a sort of mini cape just below the waist. The holster for swords on his back seemed to be made not for the huge sword that he has, but regular swords. The regular stub that he had on his back was present, but it was masterfully camouflaged to the black color.

The straps that held the holster onto Cloud stretched all the way up to the front of cloud's chest, and Cloud's collar was black, stretching up to cover half of his face. But his collar was open, and it more or less looked like Ike's collar.

Marth then face palmed himself, shutting his eyes and grinning. "You outlanders. You still surprise me to this very day." Marth then looked to me, and nodded. We both hoisted Cloud up onto the bed next to Roy, and Cloud was lighter than I thought. His eyes even seemed different, like the glow in his eyes were subdued. When Cloud was on the bed, his breathing instantly slowed, and he was fast asleep.

"Based on his conditions, it will probably take him a day or two to recover. He used a lot of magic, and my guess is that he didn't know exactly how much magic he would be expending." Marth said, slowly bringing his hands to his chin. "We'll need to keep an eye on him and feed him, since he can't do so by himself. I guess we'll alternate watch of him, and Roy will join in when he's all sobered up."

"how do you know all of this?" I asked, surprised at the hero. He simply smirked and looked at the asleep man. "I know because this happened to me and Roy before. We were both practicing our magic, My piercing blade, and Roy's flare blade. Roy still almost uses his to its full potential, but I don't use magic hardly ever anymore. That's why Roy's attack damages him, even if it's only 10 percent. We were both Bedridden for 3 days the first time we tried it. But because I already sense a magic outpour coming out of Cloud, it will probably take only a day."

It was weird, hearing the King admit to that. He normally seems like the person to be generous when needed, and one of those people who simply can't mess up if their life depended on. "Magic outpour?" I asked, curiously.

"Yes, a magic outpour. I have the ability to see magic abilities, and know their 'color' by their aura. I always knew that Cloud had a green aura, because of the magic coming out of him. Roy keeps his magic stored up, so his whole body looks an orange color. You don't have any, so you look normal to me. Let's say robin. He dosent show his color, because he uses many types of magic, but his color that he has is a dark purple and changes as he uses magic. Cloud on the other hand, is like a outlet of magical power. He's green, but the green is always leaking out of his body like a sun. It always replenishes him, even when he's wiped. Even now, I see a green aura Around him instead of just in him."

"Ok. This is starting to make a little sense now." I said, envious of Marth's power. "What should we do now then?"

"Monitor him. If anything happens, call me over. To be honest, I don't know what's happening to him, but we need to keep track of him. I know little, so I might call in Robin to help."

"But right now. Like, Right now."

"Oh! Get some rest. It's only been two days since his arrival, and he already needs to sleep. It looks like all of your belongings have been brought up for you." Marth said, opening the door to leave. "Goodnight, Aran. Get some rest. I know you don't have a practice match tomorrow, but you still need it for the day afterward." He smiled, closing the door, leaving me alone with Cloud and Roy, both unconscious.

Me being a tomboy, I never would've done what I did next. But I guess that a momentary thought of home and emotion made me do what I did. I Crawled into bed, the bed that Cloud was on. I laid down, and faced his unconscious face. As I laid there, I admired his face. Then I drifted off to sleep, thinking that I was either the stupidest person on the planet, or the smartest person.

Either way, I knew the way I felt now. There was no denying.