Author's Note: Yes, I'm a little late with this; the Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct was almost two months ago. But oh well.

This fic makes heavy use of the Zelda canon, especially the Split Timeline Theory. The closing Author's Notes explains the many details.

Ninja Princess

I ran past the Hero Chosen by the Goddesses and the Demon King of Thieves, who were too engaged in combat to notice me despite my swishing skirts and high-heeled shoes. Leaping up onto the platform above me, I saw a child who looked very similar to the Hero I had just passed: it was his younger cross-timeline counterpart, the Hero of Winds.

Toon Link smirked as I stood back up. He taunted me, waving his conductor's baton wildly, before hopping up to a platform above him.

Gritting my teeth, I used my magic to teleport upwards. I landed softly on the platform just as Toon Link hopped off and shot an arrow straight at me where I landed. He hopped away again, laughing gleefully as I recoiled from the damage.

I paused a moment to catch my breath and observe my surroundings. Link and Ganondorf were still very preoccupied with their own fight, though Link seemed to be gaining the upper hand in their duel. Toon Link, meanwhile, was just taunting me and running back and forth across the stage.

All right, that kid was too nimble to chase while wearing a dress.

Quickly, I drew from my training in Sheikah magic and transformed into an androgynous ninja. My dress morphed into a blue ninja suit, and my brown hair became a neatly braided blond ponytail.

I dashed after Toon Link, readying a handful of needles. He yelped and ran away from me, but I threw the needles at him, knocking him down and giving me the time to catch up to him.

I grabbed him, and smiled ironically. "This is our last match in Brawl," I told him. "I'm not going to go easy on you. Especially after you taunted me like that." I rubbed his hair affectionately before hurling him off the side of the stage. "I'll see you after this match, Hero of Winds!"

As he hit the boundary of the knockout zone, he let out a yell. I stood there for a moment, panting, until I suddenly felt a sharp metal object pull me off-balance.

I found myself dragged by a hookshot towards Link, the Hero Chosen by the Goddesses. He caught me and smirked. "I'm not going to go easy on you, either, Zelda," he said. I frantically glanced around the stage - had Ganondorf already been knocked out without my notice? Evidently so.

Link bashed my head with the hilt of his sword unapologetically before throwing me off the side of the stage, just as I had done a moment ago to Toon Link. He gave me a friendly little wave as I went soaring, helpless, into the knockout zone.

"Game!" Master Hand, the referee of the match, shouted out. He paused a moment, waiting for us to all regenerate on stage. We put away our weapons and stood next to each other as the giant disembodied hand floated up to us. "And the winner is… Link! Congratulations, Link! And congratulations to all four of our Brawlers today, as this is their final match in Brawl! It is with great pleasure that we see them off: Link, Toon Link, Ganondorf, and Z..." he hesitated slightly before finally settling on saying, "Sheik! We wish them all luck as they continue on with their pursuits here in the afterlife!"

I heard a cheer from a crowd as the stadium came into focus. The crowd was hidden during the match so as not to distract the Brawlers, but the audience could see clearly what was happening on the stage.

The four of us smiled and waved out at the crowd, letting their cheers wash over us. Then, we exited the stadium. As soon as we were out, I transformed back into my normal princess form, since I was much more comfortable in that form than my Sheikah form. We started to make our way back to our rooms in the Smash Manor.

"I totally could've defeated you if Zelda hadn't interfered!" Toon Link said to his counterpart from my own era.

"Relax, kid," Link said. "That was our last match. Let's just say we all had fun, and leave it at that."

"Speak for yourselves," Ganondorf muttered darkly. "Stupid heroes." With those words, he charged on ahead of us.

Toon Link outright laughed at that. "Even here, in the afterlife, he's as angry at us as in he was in life."

"The feeling's mutual," Link growled. "If the Ganondorf from your timeline were here, you'd be just as mad at him as I am of this Ganondorf." He shook his head and turned to me, forcing himself to speak in a lighter tone of voice. "What about you, Zelda? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," I muttered, somewhat distractedly. I paused a moment before saying, "It's just that I'm really sad that this is the end. Sure, we'll all still keep in touch, but I mean, will the thirty-nine of us Brawlers ever be together again like this? To have fun testing our abilities against each others'? I never would have been able to meet everyone, from electricity-producing housecat-sized rodents to portly Italian plumbers. And now we're all going to separate. I'm just really sad about this whole thing ending."

"Well," Link reasoned, "before Brawl there was the Melee event, and before that there was the original Super Smash Brothers event. Who's to say that there won't be another one?"

"The Princess Zelda from the Era of Time was in Melee but stepped down so that I could take her place in Brawl. Why wouldn't I abdicate in favor of another Princess Zelda even if Master Hand organizes another Super Smash Brothers event?"

"It'd be totally awesome if Tetra could join us!" Toon Link butted in.

"You're not helping my case," Link said.

Toon Link shrugged and turned to me. "But Zelda, if you really enjoy these Super Smash Brothers events that much, then I say just tell Master Hand that you would really like to participate in the nextanother one. Despite what I just said, I don't think the other Zeldas would mind." As I started to interrupt him, he barreled on. "Look, why don't you worry about this later? That may have been our last match, but there are still a few days left of Brawl, for other Brawlers' final matches. Just enjoy these days while we're still here and don't worry about what'll happen next."

I sighed, unconvinced, but by this point, we had already made our way back to the Smash Manor, so I just waved goodbye to the two heroes and headed to my room.

When I got to my room, I barely had time to sit down before I heard three strong knocks at my door. I got up in surprise before wandering back to the door and opening it.

To my surprise, a regal-looking blonde woman in a beautiful dress was at the door: Princess Zelda from the Era of Time, the cross-timeline counterpart of my ancestor. "Hello, Princess Zelda of Twilight," she said.

"Princess Zelda of Time," I responded cordially. "I was not expecting to see you here. Would you like to enter? Please, take a seat."

Princess Zelda of Time thanked me and sat the chair in front of my desk, while I seated myself lightly on my bed. Once we were comfortably settled, I said. "I hope you do not mind my abruptness, but may I inquire about the reason for your visit today? I believe that we have not talked since my arrival here in Brawl."

"Oh, that's true, isn't it?" the Princess of Time said. "I've attended several of the matches that you've been in, though. The one you just came from, for example - you came in second; that's not bad. In any case, I came to discuss a matter of relative importance… First, though, as I've said before, you don't need to be super-formal when talking to me. Yeah, you're a princess speaking to another princess, but we're all family, aren't we?"

"But I must respond, as I have before, that although your observation holds some merit, you are not only my cross-timeline ancestor, but also the legendary Princess of Time, the leader of the Seven Sages who helped the Hero of Time defeat Ganondorf in your timeline and seal him in the Twilight Realm in mine. I feel an obligation to speak formally in the presence of such a historically significant figure."

The blonde princess shook her head and said, "You're just as important, if not more so. Your timeline will remember you as the princess who actually helped kill Ganondorf instead of just sealing him away. Still, let's drop the subject. We have more important things to discuss." She took a quick breath here, one that would've been unnoticeable to a commoner but betrayed her nervousness to me. "Master Hand wanted this to be on the down low, but he's planning the next Super Smash Brothers event, cryptically referred to by the codename 3DS/WiiU."

My heart skipped a beast. "Truly? ...The two Links and I were discussing the possibility, but you are certain about this?"

She nodded. "Master Hand told me personally, since I'm one of the seven veteran Smashers who are not in Brawl. But this is why I've come to your room to talk to you. Master Hand wants one of us Zeldas to participate. I was in Melee, and you're here in Brawl, so we get priority as returning fighters to join 3DS/WiiU."

"Indeed?" I interjected. "I was expecting to be asked to step down for another Zelda, as you did for me. But you claim that we are permitted—even encouraged—to return?" Cautious hope blossomed in my chest.

"Yes, absolutely," my cross-timeline ancestor replied. "But it's more than just that. I have come to miss the sense of community here as a Smasher and the fun that I had in Melee. Watching you, I have grown rather jealous, and I would love to rejoin the next Super Smash Brothers event." She suddenly looked down, avoiding my eyes. "…But certainly, we can't both participate in 3DS/WiiU. Having two Zeldas would be confusing. …And if we can't both take part, one of us has to step down."

Only my extensive training as the princess regnant of Hyrule kept a neutral expression on my face; a wave of disappointment washed over me as she spoke. I would have given almost anything to be a part of this next Super Smash Brothers event. With all that happened in Brawl, the crazy shenanigans the Brawlers got into all the time, I truly loved this place and the people in it. But if I had to take the spot of my cross-timeline ancestor… that was a line I could not cross; I couldn't just disrespect the wishes of the leader of the Seven Sages. "If you would like to participate, Princess of Time, I can certainly step down."

Princess Zelda of Time just frowned at my offer. "But you're just saying that because you don't want to offend me. But really, you really want to return to the next Super Smash Brothers event, too. We both do, equally."

Right. Having been the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom until her death, she could read other people's emotions and intentions with decided clarity.

I stayed silent for a moment. "I cannot deny your claim," I said finally. "But if I do not step down, I would feel horrible, for you will not be able to participate, as you so long to." A thought struck me, and I paused for a moment. "Princess Zelda, we have Link and Toon Link together in Brawl, and you had Link and Young Link in Melee, even though they were the same people. If we each call ourselves something different, then can't we both join as Time Zelda and Twilight Zelda, or something like that?"

She frowned. "I suppose having different names would work, but I don't think that Master Hand would accept those names in particular. Toon and Young both describe those Links' physical appearance, whereas our epithets of Time and Twilight mean nothing to people who are unfamiliar with the history of Hyrule, and Master Hand wants these Super Smash Bros. events to be understandable to the general public. Maybe something like... Blonde Zelda and Brunette Zelda? But that just sounds funny."

"Besides, how would we call our transformations into Sheik? When I transform into Sheik, my hair becomes blond, like yours. 'Brunette Sheik' would not apply."

"Yeah, so I guess we'd have to find something else that makes us two look different. I mean, if Tetra joined, it'd be fine, since she has a different name and all, and if her granddaughter from the Era of Rails joined, she could be Toon Zelda or even Phantom Zelda if she wanted - maybe both, if Master Hand lets her transform like we do."

"Hold on a moment," I said. "Transformations. What if we forgo our transformations?"

"How would that help? I mean, yes, you'd never turn into the blonde Sheik, but we decided already that 'Brunette Zelda' is quite a silly name."

"But if you stay as Sheik, and do not transform back into Zelda, I could sign up for the event as Zelda, and you could sign up as Sheik."

The Princess of Time snapped her gaze up at me. For a moment, she parted her lips, apparently thinking on what to say. Finally, she said slowly, "I suppose that your suggestion would be appropriate."

"You're unwilling." I said. It wasn't a question; just like my ancestor, I was the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom during my lifetime, and I could read people just as well. "I'd offer to be Sheik and let you be Zelda, but honestly, I'm uncertain that I would have enough strength in me to keep up the disguise. There's the magic that maintains the Sheikah appearance, and at the same time I have to expend physical energy to perform all those acrobatic moves that Sheik does. I don't know how you managed to maintain that form for seven years. For me, when the Twilight Incident happened, I didn't even try to draw on my Sheikah training."

The Princess of Time hesitated for a moment, cloaking the room in an awkward silence. Finally, she said, "I concede that I do, in fact, have significantly more practice than you at being Sheik." She clasped her hands together and set them in her lap. "Still, the seven years were certainly not comfortable. I often questioned my own identity during the time period. Being a Sheikah is significantly different from being a princess. Although I am Princess Zelda of the Era of Time, the ruler of Hyrule and the leader of the Seven Sages, and not Sheik, the last Sheikah, I… it was difficult to reconcile those two identities during those seven years."

She fell silent, not looking up from her hands. I dared not speak.

"Presently," she ventured forth, "so that both of us may participate, it is necessary that I readopt this persona, remaining disguised as Sheik and abandoning my identity as Princess Zelda of the Era of Time."

"Well, not necessarily," I said. "Unlike the War of Time that you experienced, it's not instrumental that you keep your identity hidden from everyone. We all know that Sheik is Zelda; if you change back outside of battles, no one will raise a big fuss."

"But will I still be Sheik to everyone? Will I be the Sheikah who sometimes disguises himself as a princess?"

"Princess Zelda," I said, "even in Melee, everyone referred to Sheik unequivocally with female pronouns. My Sheik form retains a feminine body shape and even a ponytail. You don't have to turn yourself fully into a male ninja; you can retain some of your princessly attributes. …And if it makes you feel better, I'll continue to call you Princess Zelda of Time, even if others call you Sheik. I'll do my best to make it known to the other Smashers and the audience that you are not Sheik himself—or herself—but Princess Zelda in disguise."

The princess's face remained guardedly neutral for a moment, staring motionlessly at her hands in her lap. When she finally looked up at me, she wore a warm smile on her face. "Thank you, Princess Zelda of Twilight." She took a deep breath. "Besides, it's either this, or only one of us participates, isn't it? And I really don't want to take your spot, nor you mine."

She stood up and waved her arms, transforming magically into her blue-suited ninja form—though, I noticed, she retained a ponytail and several other more feminine features, unlike the purely masculine form she had during the War of Time.

She continued, "I'd also like to point out how much more informally you've started to speak to me even over this course of this conversation. Maybe I phrased it wrong before. Yes, we're family, but more importantly, we're friends. We support each other, and putting up that barrier of formality would just barricade our bonds of friendship. If we're going to both be fighting together in the 3DS/WiiU, I think it's probably better for us to drop the super-fancy speaking style."

I stood up and shrugged. "Mayhap thy reasoning hath merit." I smirked. "But in any case, Princess Zelda of the Era of Time, thank you for compromising with me. You have no idea how much this means to me, to continue on in the Super Smash Brothers events. Um… Would it be unprincessly to hug you right now?"

She smiled. "Not at all." She extended her arms out, and we embraced for a moment before she stepped back. "I'll let you go enjoy the last few days of Brawl. I'm going to go tell Master Hand our proposition. I'll see you in a little while, then, once Master Hand sets up 3DS/WiiU."

"I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you," I replied.

Author's note: This fic, like my other SSB 3DS/WiiU fic Deep Breathing, are coming out before the games themselves; the final game may make some parts of this slightly noncanonical. For example, they might reveal Ocarina of Time Zelda as a costume change for Zelda (like with Male/Female Wii Fit Trainer and Villager, or Wire Frame Mac)—which I'm really hoping will happen, though I'm fine with Skyward Sword Zelda or A Link between Worlds Zelda (and/or Hilda).

There are thirty-five playable "characters" in Brawl, but two of these "characters" are actually multiple people: the Ice Climbers are two people (Popo and Nana), and the Pokémon Trainer is four (Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, and Red/the trainer himself). This brings the total up to thirty-nine.

There are five characters who are in Melee but are not in Brawl: Pichu, Mewtwo, Roy, Dr. Mario, and Young Link. However, the Link and Zelda in Melee (from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) have been replaced by the Link and Zelda from Twilight Princess, so there are a total of seven non-returning characters.

The War of Time and the Twilight Incident are terms that either I have created or are fandom terms (I can't remember; it's hard to separate my own ideas from things I have seen in the past, sometimes); in any case, they're not canonical (as far as I can tell), and simply refer to the events of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, respectively. Similarly, the Smash Manor (sometimes called the Smash Mansion) is a purely fanonical term that's pretty common in fanfics—it's just the name for the house where the Smashers reside.

As a side note, in my headcanon, Link from Melee is the Link who died in the Downfall Timeline (in which Link is defeated, causing the events of A Link to the Past), whereas Young Link is the Link originally from the Adult Timeline and the one who (spoilers) goes back in time to the Child Timeline (leading to the events of Majora's Mask, and later, Twilight Princess), leaving the Adult Timeline heroless (leading to the events of The Wind Waker and, eventually, Spirit Tracks). The Zelda from Melee is the one from the Adult Timeline who sent Link back; the equivalent Zeldas from the Child and Decline Timelines do not make an appearance in Super Smash Bros.

By the way, it is lightly implied in Spirit Tracks that the Zelda from the Era of Rails is the grandchild of Tetra from The Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass. I just kind of took this implication and ran with it, though I've since discovered that Hyrule Historia (the official book on Zelda canon as of Skyward Sword) states that she's actually Tetra's fifth descendant (great-great-granddaughter). Oh well.

I don't have a single headcanon for where exactly Smash Bros. actually takes place—this fic assumes that it's an afterlife (inspired by Queenie Z's Hyrulian Valhalla Saga - story id 7746574 - which is similar but with the various Links in the Legend of Zelda series), but I'm not sure if that seems quite right. The other likely headcanon is that this world is just some collector playing with his trophies, animated by his/her imagination (my machinima on YouTube takes this stance). The disparity in technology among these universes make it highly unlikely that all the universes take place concurrently, though it is nevertheless still a possibility that simply the characters have reconvened in a random place after the end of their respective games. A lot of fics—mine included—just kind of handwave away or outright ignore this whole issue.

And finally, I don't know how to explain the Dr. Mario/Mario split in Melee or the Samus/Zero Suit Samus split in 3DS/WiiU, the former because the Mario franchise is just weird in terms of continuity (in the upcoming Mario Kart 8, there's Pink Gold Peach alongside Peach herself… yeah) and the latter because I am completely unfamiliar with the franchise.

Published May 23, 2014