There was one thing that almost everyone in the Smash Mansion hates, and that was puppets. Most of the smashers had bad experiences with puppet-like entities, metaphorical or actual ones, but there was one person that was absolutely terrified of them. Link, the hero of Hyrule himself feared them the most. He cannot stand them no matter how much courage he mustered. He had kept it secret for a while now. This was also a major reason why he did not enjoy Halloween much either, despite him going out this night with someone special to him.

"It's just one night, how bad can it be?" Link whispered to himself as he was preparing his costume. He dressed up as a generic thief, nothing too special. He also thought it was clever of him to have his sack of "stolen goods" carry some of his gear. Better safe than sorry. When he was ready, Link left his room and headed to the manor entrance where Little Mac was waiting, dressed up as a werewolf with a tail, fake teeth, and even fluffy ears. Strange, but the hero thought it was cute.

"Hey Link, ready to head out?" the boxer asked with a bright smile on his face. The Hylian couldn't help but smile as well, he adores that grin of his.

"Yeah, where are we going Macaroni?" he asked. Mac groaned a bit from the nickname.

"I was thinking of heading to the horror carnival that the other smashers made for a contest." he replied.

"Sounds good." Link said. The duo started to walk to a big field where the attractions were being held. Gigantic tents covered the area and screams from many gave a spooky atmosphere. Around the place were also snack stands, hosted by the Villagers, Peach, and surprisingly Captain Falcon.

"Woah, is that Falcon? I need to see this!" Mac shouted and dashed off before Link could say a word. He followed the bruiser who was already chatting with the speed racer.

"Hey Falcon, I'm surprised to see you not managing a horror attraction." Link said when he arrived at the stand.

"Yeah, I couldn't think of a good idea this year, so I decided not to, to keep the scares at their best." Falcon replied. He was very jolly at this time of year, it's a lot of fun to him.

"I hope you figure out one next year, I heard you are really good." Mac sighed. Link forgot that this was the pugilist's first event in this world. By the tone of his voice, he was a bit disappointed.

"Thanks! Hey do you two want to try some of my specialty chocolate?" Falcon asked.

"Yeah!" the two chirped in unison. They love sweets, can't get enough of them. The captain gave the two a piece each that were shaped of a man's face concealed in a mask with bull horns on top. When they took a bite, the two were shocked by how delicious it was. It was probably the best chocolate they had! Before they could say anything, their faces contorted in disgust. The sweet treat turned horribly bitter! Falcon was laughing hard at how good he got them.

"Now you know why I call it a specialty!" he hollered. The two laughed along with the racer.

"Remind me to come back here later, I'm going to get some for Doc." Mac said to Link, he had a devious grin on his face.

"If you do it, you'll have the worst training day of your life." the hero stated. The bruiser just shrugged and chuckled. They said goodbye to Falcon and headed to a nearby tent to begin their night of frights.

"This one was made by Palutena." Link said as he was looking at the sign near the entrance. That's not good.

"Oh man, with the movies she watches, it's gonna be terrifying." Mac said. That made Link feel a bit better, he had someone to be scared with, and perhaps hold closely. Nodding in agreement, the two entered the tent. It was very dimly lit by small lights that were lined along the ground, leading them to the exit. Mac's eyes darted, ready to punch anything that might catch him off guard. Link kept his ears open for any sudden noise.

"Jeez, the suspense is killing me." the boxer whispered. Link put his arm in front of Mac, making him stop in his tracks.

"What's that?" Link asked as he pointed to the figure lying on the floor. He started to slowly approach it, Mac was right behind him in case the situation turned bad. When they got close, they were able to recognize the person to be Marth of all people. Link walked over to the prince.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked as he crouched down next to him to see if he's alright. Suddenly, Marth pounced Link, making the boxer and Hylian scream. The hero was able to get a good look at Marth, which made him freeze in terror. His eyes were glassy, and his mouth looked like it was on a wooden hinge. His arms and legs had strings crudely attached to him. He was a puppet.

"Give me… my soul back…." Marth spoke in a ghastly voice. Link shrieked and shoved the Hero King off him. The Hylian grabbed Mac's arm and started to sprint away as fast as he could. Mac, who almost tripped a couple times trying to keep up. He knew right away something was wrong with Link. He never seen the Hylian act like this before. But before he could stop him, two more figures emerged from the shadows. It was both Robin, and Reflet, bearing similar features like Marth's, but these two had needle-like teeth exposed.

"Our god wants your soul!" Robin declared with a disturbing wide smile. He was giving chase.

"You would be great sacrifices!" Reflet cackled, following her male counterpart. Link did not hesitate one bit and kept running, desperately searching for the exit.

"Link stop! It's just part of the attraction!" Mac cried, trying to stop the Hylian before he hurt himself. When he didn't show any sign of listening nor understanding, the bruiser decided to grab him from behind, lifting him off the ground.

"Let go of me demons! I AM NOT ONE OF YOU!" Link howled as he tried to struggle free. He kicked the boxer hard in the stomach and managed to break free. Link opened his bag and pulled out his bow and shakily tried to get an arrow on it. Mac grabbed Link's arm and smacked the bow out of his hand.

"Link it's alright! None of this is real!" the boxer yelled. The tacticians quietly walked to the duo, heavily concerned about the hero's breakdown. Link was shivering as he was staring at Mac.

"Let's get you both to the exit, Link needs some air." Robin said. He and Reflet led them to the exit and apologized for what happened, then proceeded back into the tent, leaving the two alone. It was silent for what seemed like hours before Mac spoke up.

"What happened? Are you afraid of puppets, Link?" he questioned. Link nodded and looked at the ground, ashamed of his previous behavior, and not telling Mac.

"I'm sorry for what happened." he uttered, not looking at the bruiser in the eye. Mac didn't know what to do, but he had to say something to cheer his partner up. He wanted to know why Link was so terrified.

"It's alright... but, why are you scared of puppets so much?" he asked. The Hylian took a deep breath.

"I sometimes feel like one...and I hate the feeling so much…" Link started. Mac stayed quiet. "There was also a time I got attacked by a few monsters that were puppets... I remember the pain…. I remember the nightmares of being those things! Gods I probably am one!" The Hylian broke down crying, having many repressed memories and emotions rush back to him all at once. Mac was shocked, seeing the hero like this. He couldn't fully understand the experience Link went through, but he wanted to help. Mac walked over and hugged Link, letting him cry into his shoulder.

"Link, you are not a puppet, not one bit." he stated in a stern voice. He calmly pulls out of the embrace, his expression was calm. "You have your own free will, you chose to do things you want to, like today."

"But, I didn't choose to be a hero." Link muttered. Mac raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I was just… thrown into the fray of things. I only wanted to save my friends. I didn't ask to put myself in so much danger!"

The bruiser was astonished, until he remembered that they were the same age. They were both young. Link was thrown into so many battles and fighting for a cause based on the will of higher beings. Mac only knew so much about the Hylian. He couldn't imagine the stress of it all. In fact, Link knows him more. It was difficult for the pugilist. However, there was something that bothered him.

"Did you choose to give up?" he asked. Link stared at him, confused. "Did you choose to give up when things got bad? Or when you had to become the hero?"

"...No." Link responded.

"If you chose to, then does that really make you a puppet?" Mac continued.

"No, it doesn't." Link answered again. The boxer nods in agreement.

"You had a choice and chose to help everyone. You are your own person Link, and no one will take that away. And if they try, I'll punch them out." Mac stated. Link chuckled a bit, and wiped away his tears.

"You're such a dork Mac." he replied. Mac wrapped an arm around Link's waist.

"Well, then I'm your dork." the boxer smiled. Link started to laugh. "We'll overcome our fears together, alright?"

"Deal, and I need tell you about myself more." the hero responded, smiling as well. The two left to the mansion, not without buying some of Falcon's chocolate first for Doc.

…

The next morning Link was in the dining hall of the mansion, drinking some coffee before Marth walked towards him.

"Hey Link, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"A lot better, if you came to apologize you have my forgiveness." Link replied and smiled.

"That's good, I didn't mean to terrify you like that, I was worried sick." the prince let out a sigh of relief.

"I know, you were doing your job. Oh, who won the contest by the way?" Link asked.

"Surprisingly, Lucas and his group won." Marth answered. Link looked at him. Lucas was not a prankster type, not one bit. "He had these robots shaped like pig people shooting lasers, this grotesque man-child in a spider-looking machine, it was horrific."

"That does sound scary, too bad I missed it." the hero replied.

"Maybe next year he might do something similar." Marth said. The prince glanced around a bit. "Hey, where's Mac? He's usually with you at this time."

"He has an extra long training today thanks to his gift for Doc." Link responded and started to snicker. Marth thought about it for a second.

"He gave Doc some of Falcon's chocolate, didn't he?" he asked. The Hylian laughed.

"I warned him." he said. He looked at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to check on him, I'll see you later." The prince waved goodbye and Link went to the gym, only to see Mac trying to lift weights that are much heavier than usual for him. Doc saw Link and waved.

"Alright son, you can take a break!" he shouted. Mac placed the weight down and collapsed on a bench, his breathing was shallow. Link chuckled and sat next down to the boxer.

"I thought my arms were goin' to explode." Mac said between breaths.

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson." the Hylian smiled.

"Nah, it was worth it, I got a picture on my phone." the bruiser snickered. Link started laughing.

"You are a dork Mac, and I won't stop saying it." the Hylian stated between his giggling.

"And you're a goofball, mister I rolled into trees a couple times." Mac jested. The two laughed at their jokes. The boxer sits up. "I have to get back to training soon, Let's do something later." He kissed Link on the cheek and ran over to Doc before he called for him. Link got up and left, grateful of Mac and their relationship.