Samus' Worst Birthday Part Two

Part Two                                                          


The next morning at breakfast, the dining room was filled with talk of the previous night's event. It was all anyone could think or talk of before the day's matches. It was a team battle day, and everyone had been shocked to see that Captain Falcon and his teammate Snake were duking it out with Link and, coincidentally, Samus. They all wondered if Crazy and Master Hand had done it deliberately; they'd heard what had happened as many Smashers had reported Captain Falcon, to try and make them feel a little less guilty. The Smashers were slightly nervous at how this match would end. They weren't concerned for Falcon as such –nobody was talking to him today, except Snake- but they worried about how far Samus would actually go, if indeed she turned up. Some of the newcomers maintained that nobody would ever come to work, as it were, after something like that. Most of the veterans who knew Samus were just as convinced that Samus would turn up. She wasn't called tough for nothing.

It turned out they were right, and Samus came down to the dining room just a little later. However, she seemed to have returned to her old habits; once she got a plate of food, she sat alone at an empty table, and she was wearing her Power Suit. In recent months, after the Melee tournaments, Samus had, with Link's encouragement, started sitting with others at breakfast, not always saying an awful lot, but there all the same. And, she'd eventually stopped wearing her Power Suit wherever she went, meaning that people were more inclined to talk and listen to her, now that they weren't being glared at by a green eyed, orange bodied monstrosity. Samus had actually begun to open up, until now it seemed, she had closed into herself again.

No-one had the guts to go up and talk to her, and after many furtive glances and whispered comments directed her way, Samus sighed, picked up her plate and went to the kitchen, to eat alone. She had hoped that they wouldn't all be like that, she'd hoped that someone, at least would talk to her. She'd thought that Link would...but he hadn't even been in the room. Maybe he hates me that much, thought Samus sadly. Maybe he realised the horrible bitch he'd befriended, and wanted to keep his distance. Angrily, Samus shoved her plate away from her, without touching a bite. Sighing, she decided to go down to the lake, to try and relax.

When she got close to the huge, pristine lake, she saw she wasn't the only one escaping the mansion. She saw the white, feathered wings of the angel Pit, whom she barely knew. He had his hand on his companion's shoulder, looking at them comfortingly as they spoke. Beside him, head in his hands, Samus saw, her heart lurching, was Link.

Despite her anger at him for watching the video, for not respecting her wishes from long ago that her past be left in the past, and despite the fact she was sure he must think terribly of her now, she hated to see him upset. However, she didn't want to eavesdrop per say, so she crept behind the trees at the rim of the forest on the lake's shore. She could still see Link and Pit, and would know when they'd left. It meant that she was stuck now though, because she couldn't move without them noticing her. She'd only got there in the first place because Link had been hiding his face and Pit had had his eyes closed. Unfortunately, she could now hear exactly what they were saying, and though she tried not to listen in, she just couldn't help it.

"...she must hate me, I...why did I listen to Falcon, how could I do that to her? She was my friend, she trusted me and I ruined it..." Link said shakily, his voice heavy with guilt. Samus froze. Was he...talking about her?

"Hey, now Link, don't worry. If she's really as good a friend as you say she is, she'll understand surely?" Pit said, squeezing his friend's shoulder.

"She won't...she never spoke about her past, she didn't want to, she wanted to keep it hidden, buried...I promised that I would leave it, but I still jumped at the chance to find out what had happened to K-2L." Link said, his face still buried in his arms.

"I know, I know. But it was Captain Falcon who got the video. It's his fault this happened, not yours."

"But I still watched it. I'm no better than him. In fact, what I did was worse, I betrayed Samus...and now she probably h-hates me." Tears splashed down Link's face as he raised it to look across the lake. Samus felt horrible. He thought she hated him...she would never hate him, couldn't hate him.

"No she doesn't. She's your friend. She'll forgive you. I know it. Everyone else is scared of her anyway, you're the only person who has the balls to even look her in the eye." Pit said, trying to get Link to laugh. Link's mouth quirked slightly upwards, then dropped again. He sighed sorrowfully.

"I was just like everyone else at first, too. I avoided her, thought she was a vicious, ruthless ice queen just like the rest." He shook his head and smiled wryly. "Then we were put in a team, and without even saying anything to each other, we worked together like clockwork. We made such a brilliant team, and we aced the tournament." He smiled slightly at the memory, and his smile was reflected on a face watching them from behind a bright green visor.

"After that, we always worked together in team matches. And we spoke outside of the matches...and we got on so well. We had so much in common. Since then, well, we've been inseparable. The only thing I wished for was that she would trust me enough to open up about her past. I used to think that she didn't trust me, that she didn't see me as a good enough friend to confide in, and it frustrated me. Now I realise that her past was just too horrible for her...it's little w-wonder she never s-spoke of it..." Link's voice began to waver as he spoke, and new tears began to track his face.

"Pit, I..." Samus wanted nothing more than to go over to him and make his guilt disappear, she wanted to ensure he never felt like this because of her again. But then, from the trees opposite her someone was whistling, and out strolled a man she never wanted to see again, unless he was under her gun barrel. Pit and Link looked toward the sudden noise, and Link jumped to his feet, his whole body tense, fists balled, eyes glaring at Captain Falcon.

"Aw, you cryin' coz ya know I'm gonna beat ya in the match, Linky?" Falcon jeered, grinning widely. Pit stood quickly and put his hand firmly onto Link's shoulder.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here after what you did to Samus, Falcon. Either that or you're just stupid." Link said, his eyes narrowed to slits. Captain Falcon shrugged lazily.

"Hey, I didn't know all that stuff was gonna be on the video, did I? It ain't my fault. 'Sides, it was Snake that actually stole the video. I just told him to. Serves the bitch right anyway, for makin' me look stupid." He grinned, but soon he was flying through the air and slamming into a tree. Before he had a chance to recover from the punch Link had dealt him, Link had grabbed him by the neck and held him against the tree.

"Don't you ever, ever, call her that ever again, Falcon. Not if you wanna live, you piece of scum." Link hissed. Captain Falcon jerked angrily in Link's grasp, but he couldn't get free. He couldn't speak, so he settled for glaring at Link. Pit threw himself at Link, dragging him back from Captain Falcon, who fell gasping and coughing to the ground. Link struggled against Pit, who clasped his sword across Link's chest and arms in an effort to restrain him.

"You'll pay for that one Linky. You and your girlfriend." Falcon spat at Link. Link lunged towards him again, but Pit strengthened his hold on him, and Falcon rushed off toward the battle area.

"Link! Wait until you're on the battlefield at least, please? Then you can beat him up all you like, alright?" Pit said, pulling Link backwards. Link struggled for a few more moments then suddenly sagged in Pit's grasp. Link nodded, and Pit sat him down.

"Come on. Let's get you to Norfair, eh?" Link wiped his eyes on his sleeve, and nodded again. They trudged towards the battle area. Samus watched them go, the heaviness that had weighed her down that morning had been lifted, by Link's fierce protection of her, his obvious regret, and the fact that he didn't think it was her fault that her parents are dead. She made her way to Norfair, smiling slightly under her helmet. Maybe today wasn't going to be as much of a hardship as she'd thought, if Link was still on her side.

Appearing on the top left platform in Norfair, Samus faced Snake across the lava, Captain Falcon on the platform beneath her, Link underneath Snake. As soon as the commentator yelled, "GO!", she fired two missiles in quick succession at Snake, who shielded and lobbed a grenade, which she easily dodged. Link jumped upwards and spun, slashing Snake in the legs and sent him towards Samus, who blasted him with a shot from her arm cannon. Then suddenly Falcon jumped up and grabbed her, throwing her towards Snake, who kicked her towards the edge. She easily jumped back up, and dropped a bomb onto Snake's head. Link threw a bomb of his own at Snake, and his boomerang at Falcon. They fought violently for a few minutes, each team determined to prove their worth. But this time, there was more at stake than just the winning or losing of the match. Captain Falcon fought to get his own back on Samus for rejecting his advances, he fought Link because as he saw it Link had stolen Samus from him, though she was never his in the first place. Snake fought to prove he was the best fighter, to beat Samus after the ass-kicking he'd received last time he fought her. Link fought to prove to Samus that he was sorry, to try and convince her to forgive him, and to show Falcon what happened when he messed with his friends. Samus was fighting to prove to everyone that her past changed nothing of who she was now, and she fought to give that lousy, good for nothing Falcon a piece of her mind. She chased him around the tiny stage, but in her power suit she was slower than him, and he outran her. Link, seeing what she was trying to do, threw a bomb at Falcon, while he distractedly watched Samus. The bomb shook him enough that Samus was able to grab him with her plasma whip. Glaring down at the man, Falcon couldn't bring himself to look at her. He struggled though, at least until her fist smashed down onto his face, repeatedly. Her anger, that she'd tried so hard to keep under control, bubbled to the surface, and she didn't hold back. All of a sudden she threw him behind her, and he was sent flying off screen. Suddenly a grenade came hurtling towards her; she could see it out the corner of her eye. She shielded, but there was no need. Link jumped up into the path of the grenade and shielded himself, repelling the grenade away from Samus. Suddenly, there was a small flash of light above them, and then, floating lazily around the stage, was a Smash Ball.

All four of them went after it immediately, Falcon had the advantage as he started out higher than the others. He smashed it, but it went too far from him, towards Link. Link hit it with a bomb, but then grabbed Snake who was coming after it, leaving the path clear for Samus to blast it. Unsure whether Link had let it go intentionally or not, Samus turned her now brightly glowing body to face the opposite team, and unleashed the Zero Laser, blasting them both way off screen. Then, her Power Suit crumbled around her and broke off, as she had known it would. Standing, she had just enough time to shield before she was smashed by a revived Falcon.

Glancing behind her, she saw a towering wall of lava bowling toward them all, and she ran to the other side of the stage, Falcon close at her heels. Once there, she whipped around and tried to grab Falcon, but he'd been waiting for it. Dodging, he grabbed her instead, and threw her towards the lava. Already at a high damage, she flew across the level, nearly KO'd. She managed to grab the edge just in time. As Snake prepped a grenade to throw at Link, and Samus got to her feet, the commentator began his booming countdown.

"5!" Samus dodged a Falcon Punch.

"4!" Link hit Snake with his boomerang.

"3!" Falcon jumped up and smash attacked Link.

"2!" Samus jumped over Snake and kicked him in the head.

"1!" Link slashed Falcon with his blade.

"Time!" Samus went flying towards the screen boundary after a smash attack from Snake, but it didn't count as a kill.

The four of them assembled, panting, in a large empty space, as the commentator revealed the results. Only now did they realise that pretty much every Smasher in the Mansion had been watching the match, those who hadn't been in a match themselves.

"The winner is..." Samus and Link, both in green, glared silently across at the red-garbed Falcon and Snake. They glared back, but looked smug. They were sure they'd beaten them.

"Green Team!" yelled the commentator, and cheers erupted from the Smashers. It wasn't a particularly important match, but they all wanted Link and Samus to win, for each other, and to kick Falcon's ass. Falcon and Snake stared at each other, shocked. They turned to Samus and Link, who were simply standing there, looking at each other. Glaring, Falcon and Snake stormed out. They didn't want to even think about this defeat. Link and Samus stood, facing each other, lost in each other's deep blue eyes. Samus wrenched herself free first, and turned away, walking out of the hall towards the outside. The Smashers watched her go, not daring to speak.

"Samus, wait!" Link shouted, running after her. But she was much faster and was out the door within seconds. He ran after her, and spotted a green figure striding towards the lake as he threw the doors open. He jogged after her, remembering the first time they'd spoken to each other, right by this very lake.

Samus stood alone, watching the moonlight reflect in the lake through her visor. She suddenly longed to feel the wind on her face, and she pulled off her helmet. She sighed happily. Today had been good. First team match she'd had where everything worked perfectly, with the Hyrulian Link. Suddenly, she heard a sigh nearby, and turned sharply, to see Link himself standing there, watching the lake as well. She stared at him for a while, admiring the way the moonlight made his hair look almost white. Suddenly, he turned to her, and she jumped at the intensity of his gaze. He smiled after a moment, and she returned it without thinking.

"Nice teamwork today, huh?" he said, and she nodded.

"Um, there's, well, another team tournament tomorrow...just a couple of friendly matches...you wanna pair up? O-only if you want to, I mean, you don't have to or anything..." he stammered. She grinned, for some reason this idea appealed to her greatly.

"Um, sure. That'd be great!" She was, despite herself, nervous at the thought, but went to bed that night with butterflies in her stomach, nervously anticipating the following day.

She and Link had, once again, wiped the floor with the opposition. And again, and again. And they spoke outside of matches, becoming close friends. That had started it all, that meeting at the lake. He had watched her blonde hair glitter in the moonlight, watched her blue eyes dance across the surface of the lake and her face...

"Samus, wait!" She had stopped at the lakeside, and her hair whipped in front of her face in the light breeze. She turned to face him with stormy eyes.

"What is it, Link?" She said coldly, betraying no emotion. He swallowed hard, broken at the thought of losing her trust as he had.

"I...I'm just...God, I'm just so sorry, Samus! But...but I guess you don't want to hear it, do you? I know I stuffed up...well, more than stuffed up, I blew it completely. I shouldn't have listened to Falcon, he's an asshole. I...I know you most likely won't ever forgive me. I didn't know how much you'd suffered...if I could do anything to go back and change what happened to you, I would, I'd give anything, it must have been so terrible and we...I...sat and watched it like it was entertainment, and I hate myself for doing that, and I hate Ridley and the Space Pirates for causing it all, and I hate Captain Falcon for doing this." Link rushed out, desperate to try and get through to Samus who stared at him blankly. His voice trailed off and he hung his head. Whispering, "I'm so sorry," one last time, he turned to walk away slowly. Samus saw him turn to leave, but not before she saw the glisten of tears on his cheek, or feel the traitorous slipping of her own down her face. Knowing full well that if Link left her now, she might never be able to bring herself to speak to him again, and she might never feel as whole as she did around him. She ran after him and grabbed his arm, spinning him round to face her. Surprise flitted through his eyes, and just a little hope. He saw that the anger had left her eyes, and they once again shone with the light he had come to love.

Samus threw her arms around Link's neck, and his arms slid instinctively around her back, burying his face in her hair. He suddenly realised she was shaking with sobs, and the sound struck at his heart. He stroked her hair tentatively, whispering soothing sounds in her ear. After a while, her shaking subsided, and she looked up at him, tear tracks staining her face. She smiled a little as his face mirrored her own; tears, of regret, but of joy as well. Their eyes locked, and they stared into each other's souls, and knew in that instant that they would never let the other go.

"I love you, Samus." Whispered Link. She stared in awe, couldn't believe her ears.

"You...love me?"

"Yes, of course I do. I...I think I always have, just didn't realise it."

"I...I love you too, Link."

And as their lips met, a little tentatively at first, two white gloved hands, one crazy, one not so much, looked out over the lake from the top of the mansion, smiling as much as a hand can at the beauty of that perfect moment.