Here it is (finally): the last chapter of the story, and a pretty long one too. Even though there is something I desperately want to mention about this chapter, I won't because it'll spoil the entire thing. Just be ready.

Thanks to the people who reviewed the last chapter! You're all supremely epic, and your feedback has been a huge inspiration to me. This one's dedicated to you, so I hope you'll enjoy :)

A month onwards

Marth glanced from the card in his hand to the sea of smashers seated around the cafeteria. He cleared his throat before addressing them. "Alright, who wants to know this week's brawl roster?"

"You actually did it? You got the information from Master Hand's office?" Fox called.

"This isn't the original copy, but I noted it all down before anyone saw me," Marth replied with the trace of an amused grin playing on his lips.

"Damn. And there was me thinking you didn't have it in you. Well, go on, enlighten us."

"This week, there will be...no brawls."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, apart from Jigglypuff and Meta Knight, who were deeply involved in some sort of never-ending make out session at he back of the room.

"Seriously?" Wolf questioned.

"Seriously. It seems the boss has decided to give us a week's break for once."

"But that hasn't happened in..." Pit started counting on his fingers, "...in...well, never."

"Now that I come to think of it, it isn't a bad idea either," Ike put in. "I wonder who gave him that one."

"Apparently someone suggested it to him," Marth said.

Peach nudged Link playfully in the ribs. He smiled at her.

"Anyway, in other news..." Marth tossed the card over his shoulder, "...Ike's going to be cooking us a celebratory dinner tonight, due to a wave of positive feedback on his last meal, Kirby and Red are on cleaning duty for this week, oh, and lastly, Aran is back in action, everyone!"

All eyes turned to where Samus was sitting. She tensed, but then Zelda squeezed her left arm supportively, and confidence poured back into her. She mustered a smile, and the pattering of applause rolled into the air. She had hardly expected them to be so welcoming, but then again, she had never used to pay attention. It made her feel oddly warm inside, perhaps a little uncomfortably so, but she was sure that she would grow accustomed to it over time.

Ever since Zelda had become part of her life, she had begun to heal in all senses of the word. The surgery on her injured arm had been a success, freeing her from the dim surroundings of the medical bay, but that wasn't the only change that had come about in the past month. It was as if a fog had been obscuring a vision, and somehow, Zelda had driven it away. She noticed things now- a nod, a smile, a compliment- they all meant more than they had ever done.

Part of her could not accept the change. It wasn't her real self admiring the captivating enigma that was her lover, but a misguided, idealist Samus Aran with hopes that ran off into nowhere like broken rail tracks. Nothing ever remained by her side for long, and there was a reason for that. She was unpredictable, irritable, cold. Her life was far too dangerous for another to share, and she had no intention of inflicting the suffering it had caused her on anyone else. It was, after all, no life for a princess.

"Zelda!" Samus looked over her shoulder in time to see a flash of pink drift past her eyes. She leant past Zelda and found that Peach was in the process seating herself on the other side of the Hylian. "How have you been?"

"Fine, fine. What about you?"

"Me? You've no need to worry about me, darling. I've been helping a friend out, that's all. Now, what's been going on? I haven't seen you in a while."

Zelda kept calm expression. "Not a lot. I've been learning how those newfangled computers work. I still don't understand them, to be honest."

"Surely your month's involved a little more than coming to terms with the concept of electricity-"

"I'm sure it's pretty difficult to understand when you'd never even heard of it before," Samus cut in.

"I never said it wasn't, but...I just haven't seen you around much. If it's a private reason then you don't have to tell me, but of course, it wouldn't be anything that serious, would it?"

Now Samus saw Zelda's façade begin to crack. "I don't quite catch your meaning."

"I just mean...well, it seems that you've been backing off a little...you know, from the rest of us."

"And? Maybe she needed a break," Samus snapped.

"Yes, that's why I suggested that Master Hand let us off brawling for a week. I thought Zelda might be a bit tired."

"That was very considerate, but-"

"Come on. It's exactly what you need. Besides, it would mean we could spend some more time together; as friends."

"I don't see a problem with that," Zelda replied, struggling to keep defeat from her voice. She could almost feel Samus seething beside her.

"I'm glad. I've been wanting to talk to you anyway."

"About?"

"Something that can't be discussed here, darling," the pink princess giggled, but her sharpened gaze flicked discreetly in Samus' direction. "Anyway, it's getting late. Perhaps I could meet up with you tomorrow morning?"

"In private?"

"In private."

Zelda sighed, raising a hand to massage her temples. "I see. Perhaps you might consider waking me at a reasonable time, then." It was a well-known fact that Princess Peach woke up at exactly five in the morning, and possessed the irritating habit of dragging everyone out of bed with her.

"I'll see what I can do," the blonde princess chirped, and bounced to her feet. "I guess I'll see you then."

"I guess I will," Zelda replied, albeit more tiredly. As Peach left the room, she felt Samus' hand come to rest on her shoulder.

"We should go." The bounty hunter's voice had taken on a rough edge. "If I'm not going to see you tomorrow, I want to make the most of tonight."

Alarm flashed across Zelda's face, and she whipped round. The blonde chuckled.

"I don't mean sex-"

"Samus! Do you have to say that in public?"

"Nope, but you look so adorable when you're embarrassed."

"People are staring at us..."

"Then let's get out of here. We don't have to do anything special tonight, but I want to spend it with you." Samus knew that her lover had been uncomfortable with the idea of relationships to begin with, and was still struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality. As desperate as she was to take their relationship further, she didn't want to push Zelda out of her comfort zone. Simply being in the presence of someone who cared was more than enough for the bounty hunter; at least for the time being. "So, what do you say?"

"I would like that. Very much," Zelda replied, a timid smile taking form on her lips.

The Master Sword clinked noisily against Link's back as he walked. His steps were rapid and purposeful, reflecting the fury pulsing in his chest. If Peach was right, then he was about to see for himself the truth about the woman he loved.

He took a flight of stairs down to the lower floor of the mansion and hurled the door open at the bottom. Sweeping through, he slowed his pace and made his way more casually past the groups of smashers on their way to the training hall. Shortly afterwards, he reached a small lobby, with a pair of glass doors on the opposite side opening out into a secluded courtyard.

Dusk had fallen over the mansion, and the crimson sky was on the verge of fading to darkness. Link paced carefully to the doorway, scanning the area before him. It was empty, save for the silhouetted foliage scattered around it. No sign of what Peach had told him to look for.

But then his sensitive ears caught the hum of nearby voices. They were soft, caring, quiet, and most importantly, familiar. Thrill and fury sparked in him at once. He almost flung himself out into the open, but managed to keep self control. Instead he grasped the side of the door frame and leant slowly out from behind it, eyes darting to where he had heard them speaking.

And there they were.

His gut wrenched at the sight of Samus, the woman he most despised, with her rough hands resting in the grasp of Princess Zelda. And what was worse, was the fact that they were smiling. Smiling like drunkards at each other as if time had stopped around them and everything else had simply ceased to exist. As if he had ceased to exist. He bit back a hateful cry, and watched as Samus gently pressed the brunette against the wall behind her and moved in to rest her forehead against Zelda's.

"Wait..."

Link raised an eyebrow. Although Zelda appeared utterly entranced, her tone betrayed anxiety. Samus drew back, but their fingers remained interlocked.

"What's up?" she asked softly. Link had never heard the bounty hunter use such a voice. It made him sick to think that she reserved it only for one person.

"What if people can see us?"

The hero stiffened, heart racing.

Samus laughed. "Nobody's here. Besides, what does it matter?"

"Other people would think that this...that what we're doing...was wrong-"

"Does that make it wrong?"

"Not necessarily, but-"

"Why worry about how we look in other people's eyes? When I look at you, I see everything a person should be, everything a person should love. Surely that's more important to you than what other people think?"

Zelda's expression of discomfort lightened to one of dazed content. Her eyes sparkled in the last of the light as she gazed up at Samus. "That didn't sound much like you."

"It's your fault. You changed me," the blonde replied jokingly. "I don't even know what I'm saying any more."

"It sounds quite poetic. Maybe you should become a writer."

"No thanks." Now both of them were laughing. "As great as that sounds, I don't think it's for me."

"You never know. Life is nothing but a story."

"I guess if mine turned out for the better, then anything's possible."

"Thank the gods it ended up that way," Zelda said quietly.

"If I knew them, then trust me, I would," Samus muttered, and their fingers slipped apart.

She wrapped her arms around Zelda's waist and leaned in to her again, slowly, carefully. The brunette released a muffled gasp when their lips touched, the sensation flooding her veins with ecstasy. She shivered at the feeling of Samus' body pressed up against hers and of the bounty hunter's ragged breath in her mouth. Half-drowned in the wonder of it all, she let her arms slide around Samus' torso, pulling her closer. For some time (it was impossible to tell how long, it had felt like both a split-second and an eternity) they shared in each other's warmth, until the need for air forced them apart.

By then the sun was but a crimson sliver on the horizon, and although it was almost too dark for Samus to see her lover's reaction, she was pretty sure that it had gone down OK. She opened her mouth to ask, but didn't manage to utter a word before Zelda flung her arms around the bounty hunter's neck and kissed her again.

Link grunted in disgust. Both hands curled into fists at his sides, before he turned and walked briskly away.

Peach was waiting for him by his room as he arrived there. Her features were set in an expression of satisfaction, a small smirk twisting the corner of her mouth and eyebrows raised as if to say: 'I told you so.'

As he moved to grasp the door handle, she caught his arm.

"What?" He snapped. "You were right. They were there. The woman I love is a traitor. Anything else you'd like to make clear to me?"

"I just wanted to ask if you were ready to do what we had discussed..."

"You think I wouldn't be?" he spat, and opened the door. "Goodnight."

It slammed somewhat conclusively behind him, as if he was never going to leave his room again. As if tomorrow, a new man would step out into the world.

A twisted man.

The beginning of the next day was relativity uneventful for Samus. She had woken late, with the feeling of exuberance from the previous night lingering in her, rendering her pretty much unable to concentrate on anything else. The only thing that pained her was Zelda's absence. Peach must have dragged the Hylian away long before she had woken herself, and Samus wasn't going to make an attempt to find them. She didn't want to take over Zelda's life, and in order to do that, she would have to give her space from time to time.

She sighed, shifting position on her bed so that she was looking at the ceiling. Memories of the previous night drifted back to her, snuffing out her anxiety. After Zelda had kissed her, she had felt a sense of certainty. She had known then and there that their love was real, not a dream, not an impossibility. Peace had fallen over her.

The pair had spent the rest of the night simply talking, without further need to prove their affection for each other. Samus hadn't spoken much of her life, too afraid to recall some of the events aloud for fear that the words might shatter the perfect mood. Zelda had decided not to push Samus (aware that the bounty hunter had tried hard not to push her), and had taken the opportunity not to speak of her life, but of Hyrule.

Samus had found herself hooked on the subject, on the image of the perfect land. It sounded like a kind of heaven: a kingdom packed full of people, actual people, most of which did not intend to kill or capture. The concept was almost surreal.

They had talked, half-jokingly, about a life there together. About where in Hyrule they would live (apparently it didn't really matter; the view from any home's window was breathtaking), about how Samus might adjust to living such a primitive lifestyle (the subject brought on much laughter; neither of them truly believed she would cope) and numerous other things, until the night had become cold and Zelda had fallen asleep in Samus' arms.

As shocking a realisation as it was, the bounty hunter was coming to terms with the fact that her life couldn't get any better. She began to wonder whether it meant her life was about to take a turn for the worst, when a frantic knocking sounded at her door. She nearly jumped, having been lost in thought for so long, before sliding off the bed to go and open it.

It revealed Ike, who appeared tenser than usual. He nodded in greeting. "I need to tell you about something. I wasn't going to do it at first, but I've decided that it's too important for you to miss."

"You'd better come in," Samus sighed. She walked to the bed and seated herself on the end as Ike closed the door behind him. Already dread had settled in her stomach.

"So, what's happened?"

Ike sat down beside her and clicked his tongue. "It's not so much as what's happened, but what's about to happen. You see, I'm aware that you and Zelda...y'know...are together. Thing is, I heard Peach and Zelda talking this morning. Peach said that Link is..." he stopped, sounding apprehensive.

"Link is...?"

"He's...also in love...with Zelda."

"Well that's too bad, 'cause he isn't getting her," Samus snapped. "If he wants to have a go, then that's fine, but I swear that as soon as his foot crosses the line, I'll be there to stop him."

"That isn't all I heard," Ike said, voice dropping low. "I heard that he's planning to go out with her tonight and confess his love. Zelda was horrified, but Peach told her that she had to go, for his sake-"

"Zelda doesn't have to go anywhere. It's her choice."

"She wants to go too. She feels it's the only way she can tell him the truth."

"What if he doesn't listen? Or what if he overreacts?"

"I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself. I only wanted you to know because...obviously this quite significant, and I wouldn't have wanted you to be unaware if Zelda had decided not to tell you herself."

"Of course," Samus replied distractedly.

"So yeah, that's about it. I'll leave you to think it over." Ike stood and made for the door.

"Thanks..." Samus mumbled after him, almost too quietly for him to hear as he left the room.

Once his footsteps had faded out of earshot, the bounty hunter's eyes narrowed. Her relationship with Zelda was already under threat. It was the only thing she had left, and it was about to be blown from underneath her. She couldn't imagine life without it, couldn't imagine returning to her old life where compassion was a dead weight, pulling her under in the sea of black, desolate space.

She was no longer strong enough to hold on by herself. If there was any chance, even the most minute possibility that she was about to lose the woman she loved, then she had to make sure it wouldn't happen. She would have to find out exactly when and where this 'meeting' was.

The day had passed slowly for Zelda. She hadn't eaten after her conversation with Peach. She had found that she couldn't rest either, and had spent nearly all of the afternoon in the training room under her Sheikah disguise, thrusting the anxiety through her fists and out into the sandbag.

Now she was sitting alone on her bed, paralysed by her own apprehension. How was she going to tell Link the truth?

She shivered and let her gaze fall to the floor. She already knew that clock on her wall read nine thirty at night. Her meeting with Link was at ten. She could barely get a hold of herself- the nervousness was making her sick. Throughout the day she had been desperate to go and find Samus, to tell her how worried she felt, to be consoled. However, it would only have made the situation worse.

Behind her cold façade, the bounty hunter was fierce, protective and unrestrained. The news that Link was about to try and win Zelda over would only provoke her. It would be better for everyone if the news remained concealed.

The Hylian glanced up at the clock again. Two minutes had passed. The second hand seemed to be dragging itself onwards at an abnormally slow rate. Zelda, now past boredom, did not tear her gaze away until it was two minutes to ten.

Link took a couple of paces towards the edge of the balcony, eyes drifting across the empty plain of darkness that was the sky. Billowing clouds hid the stars, but a couple were rimmed by the daunting glow of the crescent moon, it's faded image shining vaguely through their wispy surfaces as though it were just about to emerge.

There was a cold bite the wind, he noted as he pressed the edge of the wine glass to his lips. He took a brief drink and set it down on a small table nearby. It was placed next to another glass and a bottle, partly emptied to make it look like Link had poured his own drink from the same one.

The Hylian scooped it up by the neck and scanned the label to check that it had been replaced. When he had verified this, he released it and went back to his post at the balcony's edge to wait. He wasn't nervous. Everything would go to plan.

He didn't have to stand there for long. Zelda approached him slowly, but his sensitive ears picked up the sound quickly enough. He swung round and grinned at her. It wasn't an uncharacteristic smile, just friendly a little naïve. Peach had told him to act himself, despite the fact that he no longer felt that way.

Zelda returned a sad smile. He pretended to ignore it and leapt straight into his dialogue. "Thanks for turning up so late. You were probably busy-"

"Oh no, I wasn't. Not at all." She spoke softly, hoping her tone might cushion the impact that her words were about to have.

"I'm glad to hear that. Um, I don't want this to be too formal or anything...but perhaps you'd like a drink?" He snatched up the glass on the table and offered it to her.

"I don't know if I should..."

"I don't want to be the only one. " He smiled, raising his own glass. The apprehension faded from her expression, and she moved forward to take it from him. She needed something to settle her nerves, after all. He poured her out a fair amount of wine (which she didn't bother to inquire about. So long as it calmed her, anything would do). She thanked him and followed him to the rail of the balcony.

"I've been...thinking. Well, that's probably a bad way to describe it. I guess I've been...learning. Learning about myself, about my relationships with other people. Learning that they're not what they used to be."

"I know what you're talking about," she replied glumly, before taking a rather large swig of wine.

"You do?"

"Yes. Or at least I think so."

"What am I talking about then?" He spoke light-heartedly, but with a noticeable amount of force.

Zelda paused, wondering whether she should betray Peach and admit that the blonde had explained it all to her beforehand. The decision was made even more difficult by the feeling of dizziness that was starting to overcome her. She held the railing tightly with her free hand and turned to him.

"Link..."

"Yes?" He sounded hopeful. Looking at him made her feel even more unsteady.

"Are you..." the words came out strangely thick. Her tongue seemed to be having trouble forming them. "Are you in love with me?"

He looked as dazed as she felt. For a while he stared straight into her eyes, a frightening lust glimmering around the edges of his pupils. She might have looked away, had the edges of his face not been blurring spontaneously before her. It was taking enough focus just to stay on her feet.

The sound of glass shattering drew everything back into clarity again. Link's hands were now empty, and crimson wine was pooling like blood around his boots.

Without warning, he grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away, but the strength had drained from her limbs. Her own glass slipped from her grasp as he dragged her into his embrace. Before she knew it he had jammed his lips onto hers, kissing firmly and hungrily. She was almost sick at the sensation of his tongue forcing its way into her mouth, slithering around inside like a starved predator. The world was spinning and all she could do was endure it until he finally released her, panting, but with a dark smirk stretched across his face. He cocked his head at her evident repulsion.

"What's the matter? You didn't like it?" he said tauntingly, voice gruff. She staggered back from him.

"What's the matter?" He spat, advancing on her. She thought she might collapse. "Are you upset because it wasn't the way Samus kissed you?"

"H-how did you know?"

"You thought you would be able to hide it? You thought that you would be able to hide the fact that you were a liar from me, Your Highness?"

Zelda stumbled back to the railing and clutched at it desperately. Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Do not...refer to me that way..."

There was a echoing crack as his palm struck the side of her face. "Don't even begin to think you're in the place to give out orders. You wait until the Royal Court hears that their Princess is a filthy, deceiving homosexual. We'll see how long you can bear that crown."

"You wouldn't..."

"Pathetic. Imagine if your people could see you now, crying because you're frightened too frightened to admit the truth!" He hit her again. "You coward!"

Zelda was now slunk against the railing. Link was blurred mass before her eyes, clouded by drink and uncontrollable tears. "I thought I knew you..." she sobbed.

"Yeah. And I thought I knew you. Turns out you really did deserve to end up this way: piss drunk and too weak to put up a fight for what's left of your reputation!"

A low crunching sound stopped him. He looked over his shoulder to see Samus, grinding the remains of his wine glass under her heel.

"Say another word and believe me, you'll be choking on it before you have time to finish," she snarled.

"Samus. Just in time. Let's see if you can hold onto Zelda whilst you aren't breathing." He laughed, an uncharacteristic, demented sound, and unsheathed his sword. Zelda struggled to her feet in panic. They were going to try and kill each other.

Link dived forwards, swinging his sword in a brutal horizontal arc. It was powerful, but far too slow. Samus' whip had coiled around the shaft of the blade in under a split second, and it was wrenched violently from Link's hand, pulling him off balance in the process. He staggered, blocked her incoming kick with one arm whilst using the other to steady himself against the balcony rail.

But he had only just recovered when the tail of her whip tore through his cheek. He gasped, one hand instinctively flying to the wound, leaving him open. Samus delivered a second kick, precise and powerful, into his diaphragm. He doubled over and she leapt at him, knocking him to the floor. She pressed a knee to his chest to prevent his escape. One look at his frightened, bloodied face and Samus felt the fire of hatred leap up within her. If she had left him alone with Zelda for much longer, then no doubt the princess would have been in the same condition, or worse.

She placed a hand to his throat. A cry arose from somewhere, sounding muffled and distant. She applied pressure slowly, watching Link's expression change from fear to pure terror. It was a while before she registered that someone was clutching her arm. She looked back. It was Zelda- a worrying sight to behold. Blood trickled down her chin from a cut on her lip, accentuating the deathly white tone of her tear-streaked face.

It felt as if someone had stabbed Samus' heart. She released Link immediately, and moved to cradle the brunette as she collapsed. Zelda was limp in her arms, and the bounty hunter quickly came to realise that she had fallen unconscious.

Panicked voices arose from inside the mansion. Dread crashed down upon the blonde. She looked back to where she had knocked Link down and saw that he was utterly still.

Chaos descended. Smashers were charging out onto the balcony. She hugged Zelda closer to her as they crowded around Link, those with medical experience giving orders and checking his condition. Then the sickly sweet voice of Princess Peach arose from the doorway, and Samus overhead her explaining to the group what she had seen.

Apparently this only included Samus' attack on Link. Soon hands were tugging at her arms, forcing her to let go of Zelda as hauling her in the other direction. At first she struggled against them, half delirious and desperate to hold her only comfort once more. However, as she saw the rest of the smashers carefully tending to the brunette, she felt a sense of calm return to her, and, as both Hylians were carried off, she allowed them to drag her away.

As soon as Zelda reached wakefulness, distorted memories of the previous night swam back to her, and she jerked upright in her bed. It was however, a mistake. Pain, overwhelming and sharp, exploded inside her head. She clutched at her temples, groaning.

"I'm not surprised it hurts. You'll have one heck of a hangover."

She glanced right, and noticed an outline in the dimness, leaning against the wall near her bedside. "Samus?"

"Yeah, it's me." The bounty hunter's words trembled. "I haven't been standing here that long, by the way. I only wanted to check up on you."

"Don't worry about it," Zelda said quietly. The noise made her head hurt. "You sound upset. What's the matter?"

Samus laughed sadly and then bit her lip. "You don't remember, do you?"

"I do...slightly. I was on a balcony, it was dark...Link was there...he was trying to tell me that he loved me, I think..." Samus watched the princess' eyes cloud over. "I had a drink...but only one...and then, then it all becomes a little unclear..."

"You fainted last night. I was told that it was because of the amount of alcohol you'd taken. Are you sure you only had one drink?"

"Absolutely."

"He must have spiked it...that sick bastard..."

"Who? You don't mean to say-"

"Link. He got you so drunk that you couldn't fight back, and then he took his anger and jealousy out on you like the pathetic, twisted psychopath he is."

At this point, Zelda's hand drifted to her cheek. She touched it gingerly and winced. "Why was he angry?"

"Because he knew that you loved me."

"Oh dear. I never imagined he would allow jealousy to overcome him. At least I am not suffering any serious injuries. Link must have come round eventually."

"He didn't." Samus' voice shook again. She kept her gaze lowered in the knowledge that she was starting to lose control.

"If that is so..." Zelda drew in an anxious breath, "...then why am I alive?"

"Because I stopped him. You told me not to. You told me not to go too far and I ignored you. I almost killed him, and if you hadn't been there...if you hadn't staggered over to stop me then...I might just have done it."

"Samus..."

"I'm so sorry, Zelda. I've been thrown out. I'm leaving."

The Hylian froze in shock. "No...no, they wouldn't!"

"They would. He's in a terrible state, and all because I couldn't get a damn hold of myself. This is my fault. I deserve it."

"You don't! Oh gods, please don't leave me..." The brunette's voice was barely above a whimper.

"I don't have a choice. If I don't leave by myself then they'll make me."

"We have to do something-"

"No, Zelda. This was going to happen anyway. One day, we would have had to return to our own worlds, we always knew it was true. I chose to forget it. I couldn't accept that or relationship wasn't going to last. Now I've got to face up to the truth. This is my own stupid fault, Zelda. Let me go and find someone who deserves the love you gave to me." Samus reached for the door handle.

"No...don't you dare..." Zelda flung the bed covers away and sat up again, but her vision swayed violently. "Please, Samus!"

The blonde's blurred image halted in the doorway. "You'll find someone else," she said quietly, and left.

She walked quickly to escape the silence that followed in her wake. Zelda was clearly past hysteria, because not one call came after her. Samus pictured the Hylian, lying there, pale and alone and soundlessly tearing up on the inside.

But she couldn't go back. She would have to forget Zelda and relearn the path to solitude: the road to internal death.

Living forever was, after all, impossible.

Votes. Sequel, or no sequel?

Hoping to hear what you have to say, and thanks again to everyone who is reading this. Remember. You are awesome.

Peace out ;)