Title: How it Worked Out

Chapter: 5*Breath of Life

a/n: For the part where they(Samus & Marth) speak about their histories, I have tried to be accurate as possible but there will be a few teaks here and there! ;)

Marth entered his room messily and closed the door quickly. That had been the third time he'd thrown up since the start of the exhibition matches. He couldn't tell whether he was getting sick or not and he was getting a bit tired of the back and forthness of whatever he did had. Going into the bathroom he took a glance at himself in the mirror, god he looked fucking terrible! He felt terrible too. He could see the discoloration around his nose but there was a bit yellowing around the iris in his eyes. He needed a shower; that would be just what he needed.

Roy became flabbergasted as Marth dashed away from him like that. Was he hiding something? The fiery young adult grumbled to himself for a moment before deciding it would be best if he headed back to the group, perhaps one of them knew something he did not?

"Yo' Roy, did you find out what he ran away for?" Link questioned with a curious expression, after all he the triforce of courage, not wisdom like Zelda did. Roy shook his head.

"No, He went in the bathroom and when I tried to talk to him he said everything was fine and then he ran off again claiming something about teeth!" Roy said slightly angrily, this was ridiculous, what was going on! He could see Samus was biting her lip, did she know something they all didn't? When she caught Roy's glance she sent him a death stare.

"Sammie…if you know something you should speak up. We talked about bottling up things." Peach piped up, causing her to get several looks only for them to shift to Samus. Now the death stare Roy had been receiving was given to Peach but only for a moment before she decided to speak up.

"He said he had just been feeling under the weather for a while and told me he had some stomach bug. I caught him throwing up one day, that's it. He's fine, alright!" Samus folded her arms upsetly and let out a loud sigh. What was with her today?

"He's not fine, that's the point Samus! This is being blown way to out of proportion, damnit. Why doesn't he just get some medicine from Peach?" Roy retorted, he wasn't truly mad as he was presenting himself he was just talking in the heat of the moment, "If he tells you everything, why don't you go try to talk to him about it!"

"Maybe I will!" Samus stormed off away from the four in confusion, sure she and Marth were friends but they weren't super close like that or anything. She'd feel awkward if she went back to the group, so she did what she said she would—check up on Marth.

Upon finally finding the room she noticed it was closed and gave a small knock—no answer. She repeated the process and came out with the same result. Something in her gut feeling told her to enter the room anyway—which due to that feeling saving her life plenty of times—so she listened to it. When she entered the room she was hit with a gust of cold air, he must have turned on the air conditioner. She looked around, not having been in his room before she wasn't sure which bed was his, but this proved to be no hassle as she saw him laying down on one.

She walked quietly towards him She was more of a blunt person to be honest, "…Marth? Marth wake up." The second time she said his name she raised her voice just a bit and he stirred slowly. She could see him beginning to sit up with a grunt. His hair was a mess as it covered his face. He seemed to only have a pair of sweat pants on, leaving his chest visible.

"Look you really need to talk to the others they're rea-Oh shit, you're nose is bleeding again." Samus watched as he brushed his hair out the way then automatically put his hand to his nose, getting a bit of the blood on his finger tips.

"I just can't catch a break, can I?" He let out a heavy, short chuckle as he got up swiftly heading for the tissue box on the dresser. She figured he was cleaning the blood off of his nose seeing as it must have dripped while he was asleep.

"Fuck." It was more of an agitated murmur than a statement to which Samus raised a brow at. He walked back towards his bed and sat down.

"Is there something else to add to your day?" Samus watched as Marth rolled his cerulean eyes.

"I just have this like…really terrible pain in my chest." Marth breathed in deeply which seemed like more of an aggravated chore to him now.

"Mayeb we should go see Peach." Samus commented quietly and Marth nodded. He got up once more with a wince and grabbed his shirt, putting it on. They got through the doorway with Marth leading before they reached a complication. Marth gasped painfully as he slumped against the wall of the hallway they were in.

"Marth?!" Samus rushed forward to see what happened to him and saw his eyes were shut. He wasn't responding either, what had he passed out from? Were his pains that severe?

She placed a hand on his shoulder before calling his name again before cursing loudly. She would have to leave him to get help but their friends weren't that far. She dashed away—after making sure he wouldn't fall—towards that last spot she'd seen the other four. With her lucky today she saw two others walking in her direction and knew immediately who they were—Roy and Peach.

"Look Samus I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier." Samus nodded anxiously before speaking to them about what had just happened.

"I understand Roy but now is not the time. He passed out in the hall. He said his chest was hurting and I have no clue what is going on…" Samus spit her words out messily but she hoped they understood what she was saying. Her thoughts were extremely jumbled and this all was unorthodox for her.

"Who?! Marth?" Peach questioned worriedly as she process what the bounty hunter had told her and when Samus nodded she told her to lead the way. They made their way back to where Samus was at previously noticing Marth instantly.

Peach immediately went to check his pulse and found it to be slower than normal. This was going to be beyond her expertise which meant she'd have to call Dr. Mario and bring Marth to his workplace.

"Roy get Master Hand, tell him to stay in human form as well. Be quick!" She ushered him off as she pulled out her pinkified cell phone which left Samus to stand around like a sore thumb.

"Yeah, Dr. Mario? I need to bring one of the Smashers in. It'd be better explained when we teleported there. Alright, bye," She snapped the phone shut and picked it up. A few moments later of waiting Roy came back with Master Hand.

"What seems to be going on?" He stopped after eyeing Marth who was currently being propped up with the help of Samus and Roy, "Ah, you'll need a teleport I presume?"

"Yes please." Peach said glumly and took the mystical looking sphere that he handed her.

"Stay in touch. I don't want things getting misconstrued." He walked off directly after finishing his sentence. She knew he was in a furious mood now. Peach pressed a button on the black sphere and within moments the four materialized as if they were going in for a brawl instead of going to the hospital setting.

"Well I've checked him over and he's been stabilized but there's one stipulation. He's going to need…a liver transplant and our waiting list is quite long." Peach was slightly mortified at Dr. Mario's diagnosis as was Roy. Samus simply stared at the ground hard. How had the day that was filled with happiness between the six gone to something so sour and serious?

"Can't he live without it or something?" Samus said arguably even though she was not an expert in this profession but Dr. Mario shook his head with a frown.

"No, he needs his liver to function, though I can suggest another option," Samus's interest peaked at the last bit, "One of you could be a living donor for him, for instance we could transfer part of the liver to him. The liver has the ability to regenerate if placed in that situation such as that. The process has a slight risk of failure but in this situation I would recommend it." The level of terror in the room shrank but a wave of anxiousness washed over them. Who would be the living donor?

"I-I'll be the living donor." Samus had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had not felt in many years—fear. Whether it was for Marth's life or going into the surgery she just did not know but somewhere along the road of being this ruthless bounty hunter they called she had grown a soft spot that gave her friends.

"That is fantastic news to hear. We will perform the surgery shortly so if you could follow me we'll get you prepped right now, alright." She nodded slowly and as the doctor started to leave she was stopped by Peach.

"This is very brave of you Samus." Peach said with a soft smile but Samus simply followed the doctor without another word.

The surgery and transplant had gone extremely smoothly and both participants were in a private room for recovery which could take 2-6 weeks according to the doctor—of course they'd be able to stay at the Smash Mansion for the duration.

There was a little noise in the room at first but as Samus stirred from her sleep state and began to wake up they became a bit more anxious and nosier. First one eye popped open and then the second and she stayed frozen for a moment trying to recollect herself on why she was here and then it hit her. She scanned the room and when she looked to the left where the second bed was in use. It was crowded by their group of friends who were focused on the person in the bed, Marth.

"Why don't you guys go bug Samus? It seems she's woken up." As soon as Marth stopped speaking she was met with four pairs of eyes to which she rolled hers. There was a faint pang of pain in her side but she ignored it as she knew why.

"Are you feeling alright Samus?" Peach walked towards her with a gracious smile. That seemed to be all she did lately in matter of events—smile.

"I'm alright." Samus let out a gust of air she'd been holding in as she spoke. She noticed Link whispering to Zelda, Roy, and Ike and in return they nodded and began to leave.

"You coming Peach? We need to call Master Hand with an update." Zelda looked towards the blonde princess and exited the room once she saw Peach walking towards her. As soon as they had left and the door shut Link looked at Samus.

"I need to talk to you both." Link paused a moment as if he were contemplating something before speaking again, "The night of the first exhibition match Mario told me that there was another break in. They caught the culprit and kept them in a back room, that's why I didn't come to bed right away. When we went to interrogate we found out he was a…space pirate."

Link noticed Samus's expression had hardened the moment he said it, there was a deep tie between those creatures and her, "We tried to get information out of him but he used a self-destruct technique. Marth, everyone was suspicious of why this transplant had to take place. Dr. Mario said that he found a poison called Atophan in your system, that's why your liver failed on you. Someone sabotaged your medicine." Link sighed as he finished, so far this year at Smash nothing was going right. Samus was clenching the bed sheets over her silently.

"Link," The said person slowly looked at Samus with bare guilt, "Why didn't you tell me before! I could've something and then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I'm sorry Samus, but we weren't allowed to tell anyone until now. Please don't be mad, even if you'd found out earlier that we had interrogated that space pirate that wouldn't have meant you'd known Marth was getting poisoned." Samus stared at him blankly.

"Yes it does. That's their signature technique Link! Every time they go on a job that's what they do, they poison someone!" Samus swallowed hard, "Can you…can you just leave for now. I'm not mad at you, I just need space."

Link nodded his head slowly and turned around leaving the room silently. Marth had not said a single word but he glanced at Samus, "Samus, you know this is not your fault."

"Yes it is! It always is, I should've seen the signs! Something like this always happens to me. I befriend someone; I let them in and then bam! They die. They came here because of me and they tried to kill you because of me." As Samus continued to speak the monitor that was connected to her beep a bit faster than before.

"Samus stop." Marth's tone was unusual and something she had not her from the prince, "You cannot help the decisions of your enemies, so don't start blaming yourself. When I resided in Altea I learned that one of our allies was ready to turn against us. They had even spread terrible lies about the kingdom and I; while some chose to believe them, I had many stick up for the kingdom I am prince of."

"It is your friends that will stick beside you no matter what, even with these turns of events. I am grateful for what you have done for me and I will stick beside you in this." Samus had been staring at her hands but looked up to stare at him in the eyes. Did he really care that much?

"I…I…thank you Marth." Samus was rarely at a loss for words but at this point she most certainly was. She had never heard a person tell her this, it was a foreign statement to her. He did not respond with words, simply letting his comforting smile do its job.

The duo would be able to go home today after five days of bed rest—only to be sentenced to more while at the Smash Mansion! During that time Samus had apologized to Link for snapping at him, she'd seemed to be doing a lot of that lately much to her dismay. She and Marth had connected a great deal more during their stay as often they were the only company they had.

It was the day after they had been out of surgery and everything was a bit hazy for them. The nurse that had been assigned to assist them had just left after giving them a type of pill that would help with their pain for the next twelve hours or so. This meant that once again they would have to fend for themselves with boredom.

"Samus, I know that you consider the other four and I friends of yours but you've never given us a deeper look at your history." Marth turned in the bed slowly, letting his legs dangle off. Samus looked at him dividedly, she always was reluctant in this area.

"You know why, you know I don't want to relive that in any way." Samus sent him a sour look to which he did not seem to be affected by.

"I understand that feeling Samus but if you told me about what went on we could possibly find out more of what they might plan. You are the only person to know firsthand. You could be the key to solving this problem that's going on." Marth sighed as she shook her head, "Maybe if I told you of my past it would help you with yours."

"You already told us about it, didn't you?" Samus was a bit confused for a moment, did Marth leave out a few details or something?

"While Altea is now safe there was a time when it was not the same. About a hundred years ago there was a dragon, Medeus that was killed in my country but he was resurrected only a few years ago and planned to strike my home again. When he did I was forced into exile and my father was killed by an evil priest called Gharnef and my mother...she was murdered by Morzas who was a mage. Both were loyal towards Medeus and they eventually kidnapped my sister, Elice. I founded a group to help me rescue my sister and destroy the dragon that had taken everything from me." Samus didn't say anything once again but crossed her arms silently, it seemed Marth had much more on his mind than she'd ever thought.

"There was a princess of a very prominent country, Archanea, who gave me her country's national treasure, the Fire Emblem. Eventually I reclaimed the Falchion from Gharnef and killed Medeus with the help of the Fire Emblem." He paused for a minute as if to let the information sink into Samus's mind.

"Were you close to your mother?" Marth figured at this point that Samus was a woman of wisdom. Though he did not speak of this often, the first response anyone usually had was to comment about how 'Well at least it's over."

"Yes. My father was a severely stern man and she was the exact opposite, perhaps that's why they fell in love." He watched Samus bite her lip anxiously debating an unspoken question he already knew the answer to, "Yes, there is more to my story but I can stop if you like."

"No, I want to know more." Marth nodded and continued speaking the words of his past.

"It was extremely peaceful after that. I was able to return to my kingdom and I had come across someone who had helped me in the past, Caeda. We connected again very well during that time but she was not quite right for me," Marth chuckled for a moment before continuing, "We overheard one day that a friend and former ally of ours, Hardin, began to conquer countries near Archanea. I left the country to investigate, leaving my sister in charge. At a certain point we found more of our other former allies but they had fled or been murdered by Hardin and his groups. We traveled to a place called Macedonia where a mage of Archanea revealed she had been hiding the Fire Emblem but there were gems that had to be found for it to regain its original power. In a short time I had found most but I received word that Hardin had conquered Altea right from under my feet."

Marth's story was interrupted by a yawn but he continued after like there was no break, "Immediately I hurried to get back to my kingdom but we passed through a different kingdom named Gra. It had suffered the same fate that Altea was happening to Altea. I was able to defeat Hardin and get the last gem which gave the Fire Emblem is power back. However, I soon learned that Hardin was not truly evil; he was being possessed by the evil priest, Gharnef, from before. I left to go defeat him. He had possessed a number of clerics that included my sister. Merric, a mage and friend of the royal family, helped to wake her from the control after I defeated Gharnef. Medeus had been reborn again but I was able to slay him again for the final time. This time Altea would return to normal for good."

"You didn't tell us the whole story then. I remember hearing you speak of being exiled from your country but nothing past that." Samus realized then that his past was just as troubling to bring up as was hers, "Are you still a Prince then?"

"I'm technically considered the Emperor now but I'm no longer in any sort of exile. Elice is simply ruling while I go away for different reasons such as Smash." Marth smiled as he heard Samus grumble about him being too damn complicated to follow, "Let's be serious now Samus. You pulled the same stunt as I, didn't you? You said you were a bounty hunter and you fought against the space pirates. There's more to the story than that; I know it may hurt to talk of it, so can you?"

"Great minds think alike, don't they? I think now that I can confess my past to you but I'm not into details. It'll be short and sour." Marth almost laughed at her supposed joke but did not, "I grew up on a colony called K-2L with my mother and father. I really don't remember too much considering I was quite young but I befriended a Chozo named Old Bird. Not long after, space pirates came to raid us and my mother died during this because of Ridley, a rather dragon-like space pirate. I ran off and my father sacrificed himself to destroy Ridley's ship. He eventually wiped out the entire colony leaving me the only one left alive. Old Bird rescued me and I was raised with the Chozo where they infused Chozo blood with mine. They built my power suit as well. When I turned fourteen I left for the Federation where I went on many missions over the years. Ridley and his group of space pirates eventually attack the Chozo, going after my second home and family. We did not defeat him then, in fact I actually had to be rescued after a few others and I escaped. I met someone named Adam who was probably the only person I've ever felt that understood me truly, he was like my father." Samus paused for a moment wondering if she could talk about this after all. If she could talk about the few people that were actually dear to her, that had left her.

"I trusted him dearly but eventually I left the federation secretly and became a bounty hunter. I was inexperienced and I needed practice to be better. This was a few years later and the federation had summoned be once more. They told me to destroy all the Metroid organisms, which meant killing Ridley. When I was finally able to battle against him I came out victorious. I also managed to kill something called the Mother-brain, which caused a self-destruction sequence to start. I managed to make it to my ship before the explosion of the base caught me but was shot down by another group of space pirates. I lost my Power Suit in the process, retreated to be safe and wound up a spot I had been to when I was younger—a scared Ruins Test. After passing they granted me with another Power Suit that was by far more powerful."

"So you've had problems with dragons too?" Samus had stopped once more and Marth took the time to comment with light humor. Samus nodded with a bare smile back.

"Sneaking onto the Pirate Mothership that had struck me down earlier, I escaped with one of their fighter ships after I set of yet another self-destruct. When I got back to the federation not long later they sent me out on another mission. I had investigated a Space Pirate Frigate that had been taken out by some sort of parasite. Sometime while I was infiltrating the ship one of those things caused a malfunction in the ship setting in off to explode. I hurried through the ventilation system but I was stopped by Meta-Ridley. He had turned into some sort of robotic creature. I chased him with my gunship but he was a bit faster. Eventually I found a jungle-like place and was confronted by something known as an Omega Pirate. Its death actually benefited me more than I ever would have thought as the radiation gave my suit bit of a tolerance against Phazon. Eventually Meta-Ridley sought me out and I was able to kill him then."

"It seems you have as complex a history as I do. I know you feel sorrowful Samus, but don't you feel lifted now?" It was true, Samus did feel a bit more free now from talking about her past. It was probably the first time she'd told anyone the entire story.

"I suppose I do. Thanks Marth."

"I hope you guys are ready to come back to Smash Mansion because it sure has been boring." Roy's sudden voice brought them out of their silence. When did he get there?

"Oh please, you haven't been bored one bit. You and Link with your pranks, I swear I'm going to kill you two one day…although that green hair dye in Peach's shampoo was a tad funny." Zelda reprimanded the red headed boy. He could be so stupid some times.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Zelda. All I'm saying is that Pikachu is going to kill one of us if Samus doesn't come back." Samus let out a loud laugh, which startled him. Normally when she found something funny the most she showed was a big smile or a small laugh.

"Oh really? That'd be pretty damn funny to see." Roy grumbled about how heartless Samus was being when she hadn't seen him in forever.

"Well they're sending you home now, so too bad, so sad." Roy said as if he were still a five year old child.

Oh my. ;-; I hope I didn't bore you guys but I promise the next chapter will be better! Definitely more action, and there'll be a slight time-skip of a few months. So enjoy and review please! O: