The plot has thickened, and it only get's more so from here on out. So much shit is hitting the fan, it's not even funny. And I am so glad I got back into the swing of things with this fic. This one is a story that I need to tell and that's exactly what I'm going to do, goddammit!

Anyway, thanks so much for reading, commenting and everything you do!

-Jack Knights

The first thing he noticed was the brilliant warmth. It was like a tender caress, enveloping him in gentleness. He could almost see it in his mind's eye when it suddenly disappeared and he felt a horrible stab of pain in his back. As the darkness threatened to take him over again, it suddenly returned in a burst of light. Instead of returning a light touch, it became a searing heat, burning into his flesh and igniting his bones. He nearly cried out under the sudden assault.

"Lend me a hand, I can't do this alone," the soft voice of a woman said, her tone clipped, breaking through the pounding in his ears.

The light dimmed and the heat lessened, taking some of the pain with it, easing his mind. Snake was acutely aware of his throbbing back as he returned to his senses. First was the bitter acrid tang of smoke, almost burying the scent of perfume, then the hands on his back, could feel the weight of them creating an almost unbearable pressure.

Cracking his eyes open just a fraction, he realised that the light he had seen was coming from all around him. He squinted against the harshness of it as it stung his retinas and squeezed his eyes shut, groaning.

"Thank Nayru," someone breathed, a sigh of relief. "He's finally coming back. I thought he was too far gone."

Opening his eyes again, he blinked wearily, the light becoming a cheery glow. Slowly, his memories filtered back in. He remembered being confronted by Sheik and starting a fire. Then he tried to escape and failing, being captured and tied up, subjected to interrogation. They broke his fingers and his back and he'd told them things, thing that Samus had overheard. Samus, staring at him with a blank expression, shocked.

"Where is she?" he tried to say, but his throat was raw and all that came out was a hoarse whisper.

"You've gone too far this time," a woman said sternly, and for a moment he thought she was reprimanding him. "We did not agree on this."

"I did what I had to," a high, male voice defended himself. Snake turned his head up, a flicker of recognition going through his mind. His gaze fell upon Sheik, the blonde's face grim and turned to the side, his expression one of annoyance. The ninja's hands were on his back and he was glowing.

"Now we know," he said acidly, glancing down at Snake, the two men glaring at one another. The light flickered and waned and he felt Sheik's hands leave his body as he stood. "I'm going to go check on Ganon. She really knocked him out cold."

"Fine, go," the woman said, leaning over Snake, her braided hair coming into view. Confused, Snake attempted to sit up, confirm what he had seen when a firm hand forced him back down.

"Zelda?" he groaned, cringing at the pain in his throat.

"Try not to speak, you've damaged one of your vocal cords," she murmured quietly. "I'll get to it in a second, just let me finish your back."

He did as she asked, biting back the questions that came to mind as the pain flowed away steadily.

"You must be surprised," she said eventually, "to find out that Sheik and I are not one and the same."

He made a noise in the back of his throat and she sighed. "There is much I have to answer for, and a lot of explanations I have to give, but I have something I need you to understand first and foremost, alright? Just know that Sheik and I two halves of the a unit, but not the same one."

He nodded and she took a deep breath, her brows furrowing as she sought his gaze, locking her eyes with his.

"What Sheik and Ganondorf did, I had no part in any of it. None of this should have happened. He went after you, without my consent, without coming to me with a plan."

Her hands shifted, moving further up, to his neck and he felt the brief flash of pain as his vocal cords stitched themselves back together. "I've known for a very long time that you're more than what you seem, that your reasons for being here were not the same as ours.

"am a mediator, I don't like to intervene, to cause conflict. But now it seems that by not intervening, I'm indirectly responsible for much of this debacle. I should have come after you myself, taken an active role in all this. I might have been able to convince you with words, and avoid having you threatened with violence. Instead, it came to this."

His voice cracked but when he spoke, his tone was even and flat, dead serious. "I had my back broken, princess. They wanted me dead. That's one helluva threat."

"And I can't apologise enough," she answered. The light faded away and she folded her hands in her lap. She grew silent, her back ramrod straight and face composed in a neutral mask, emotionless. She wasn't exactly prostrating herself, begging him for forgiveness and the sight of her made her blood boil. He released a shaky breath, feeling it lace with anger as he pushed off the floor. His arms spasmed but held and he sat up.

Looking around, he noticed the room had changed. They were no longer below the main building, with its stark white walls and immaculate tiled floors. This room was bright and cheery, elegant with its long delicate drapes and subtle patterns on the carpets. The insignia of the Royal Family was stitched into the chair nearest him and he realised he had been moved to Zelda's room.

"I want to avoid any further bloodshed like what happened today, so please, Snake, explain yourself. My judgement may have been clouded as of late, but I'm confident I'm right when I say you're not a bad man, David. Misguided, like most of us, but not evil."

He owed the princess nothing, wasn't obliged to explain himself any further. In fact, he was more than prepared to simply walk out the door and forget the whole thing. He had what he wanted, his mission was done and he could leave.

But something kept him rooted to the spot. It was more than just the sudden development of the princess and the ninja being two people, or the potential of uncovering something more sinister going on between them. He thought back to Samus and realised he had some explaining to do himself.

"I didn't lie," he said mutedly as he stood. She looked up at him, but he refused to meet her gaze. "I was sent here to assess a threat and deal with it accordingly."

She swallowed, her composure slipping slightly at his admission. "I had thought so, and Sheik had said as much, but to hear you admit it…"

"I had two objectives," he began. "The first was to get information, to collect as much information on you people as possible. Everything from your personal history to your moves, magic, technology, all of it had to be compiled and searched with a fine toothed comb for weaknesses."

"Are we really that much of threat?" she asked and he nodded.

"Absolutely, though some of you are good, noble people." He narrowed his eyes as Sheik came into the room, Ganondorf leaning heavily on him. "Others, not so much."

Snake got to his feet as Sheik dragged the barely conscious King of Evil over to Zelda, keeping him upright as she began to glow softly again. He took in the pairs of angry eyes, glaring at him, contrasting greatly with Zelda's soft, neutral gaze and turned away.

"You said you had two objectives. What was the other?"

"To confirm if my source was right."

"Who?" Sheik demanded. "And right about what?"

He said nothing to the lithe man, untrusting of the ninja. Zelda stopped healing Ganondorf and came over to stand in front of Snake, putting a hand on his forearm.

"Snake, if you know something…" she murmured and he pulled away from her.

"Doesn't it seem odd, the fact that even after several months, this tournament hasn't progressed at all?" he said gruffly.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked, genuinely confused.

"the past two tournaments took a lot less time to come to a conclusion, so why is this one taking so long and going nowhere in particular?" he asked instead. "Why hasn't a winner been chosen yet?"

The princess exchanged a look with Sheik, who was frowning, unable to come up with an answer. He started walking, his pace slow and laboured, strangely unused to his own feet.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Sheik shouted, shoving Ganondorf forward into Zelda's arms as the big man swayed. "You can't leave!"

"Are you seriously going to try and stop me again?" Snake growled, his voice a dangerously low pitch. "While I'm sure your princess wouldn't approve, I won't hold back if you come at me again."

His body radiated tension, his stance neutral but prepared, fists at his side. "I won't hesitate to kill you, now that I know where you stand."

Zelda moved to stand between the two of them, arms extended outwards to keep the two men at bay. She stared pointedly at Sheik, an unheard conversation passing between the two. The blonde glowered but made no move to approach him and the princess dropped her hands to her sides, frowning.

"Unfortuantely Snake, he's right," she said evenly, fixing him with an unwavering gaze. "You can't leave."

He grabbed her by the shoulders, gripping her hard enough to make her wince. "Why not?"

"For one," she said, bringing her hands up to his chest, deftly removing a thumb drive containing all of Snake's analysis from a pocket, "you can't very well leave with this, can you?"

He made to grab it from her, prepared to break her arm, her wrist, whatever it took, but it disappeared in a flash of magic. He glared at her, and she leveled her gaze at him. "I didn't want to have to keep you here against your will, but I will employ whatever tactics I can to get you to stay. There is still much we need to say."

Gritting his teeth, he released her, shrugging nonchalantly. "Keep it, all the information I need is up here," he pointed at his skull. Of course, there were other backups, stored elsewhere on his person, but there was no need to let her know that. He turned and made for the door, his hand on the knob when she called after him.

"You can walk out that door now, but you'll never be able to leave this facility," she said, causing him to pause. "Have you tried it yet? The walls are far too high, lined with electric fencing strong enough to put a man into a coma."

"There's one entrance, a solid steel wall several feet thick," she continued, and he straightened, turning to face her again. "Unless you've got a weapon that can penetrate nearly ten feet of concrete, then that's not an option."

"I might not have one, but my friends will," Snake said.

"Then go ahead and try to contact them," she offered. "I know you have means of doing so, that don't require the use of whatever technology available here."

He frowned and turned his body slightly away. Quickly, he made a call. But it never connected. Mood blackening, he tried again, using a different frequency and found that it didn't work. A cold sweat broke out across his body, his hair standing on end as he cycled through every frequency he had and found them all dead.

Communication with the outside world had been severely limited, he'd known that the moment he'd arrived, and he switched frequencies fairly often, making sure they could never pin down and block all of his channels. After they'd listened in to his CODEC calls, he'd been sure to be more careful, but they'd somehow found a way to cut him off completely. He cursed.

"What the hell's going on here?" he demanded.

"I told you," Sheik mocked. "You can't leave. None of us can. We're trapped here."

His eyes widened in surprise, unable to fully comprehend what he'd just been told. They were being kept there, like prisoners? To what end? It wasn't about having a constant source of entertainment anymore, if it had ever been. No, something far more sinister was at work and it chilled him to the bone.

"Even if you're right, there's got to be some way out of here," he murmured, wracking his brain. "Workers, chefs, clean-up crews, someone has to be coming and going."

"There isn't," Sheik said hotly. "There's a reason this place is stocked with ROBs. They run this entire place. Not a soul here except for us."

"Why haven't you told the others any of this?" he asked.

"What good would it do, getting them all riled up?" the princess asked and he frowned.

"Make enough noise, someone out there is bound to hear us."

"'If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make any sound?'" Zelda posed and he looked at her, confused. "Have you never gotten a glimpse at the world outside? There's nothing around us but wilderness.

"We're alone out here."

"But how…" he began, his words trailing off.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Snake?"

"If you keep asking me, I'm going to go back there and punch you," he threatened. "Now shut up and let me focus. Snake wasn't entirely convinced of the plan, but it had already been set in motion. He'd hacked in to the Smash Bros Tournament and secured himself a spot during the event. There was no turning back now. He had to admit that it did seem suspicious, enough to warrant a brief investigation.

The streets were surprisingly busy, despite the dark skies and rain pouring down from above. Snake had opted for a long brown trench coat and black slacks, his gear stored in the bag slung across his shoulder. Instead of the usual bandana, he wore a wide brimmed hat, obscured his face while simultaneously allowing him to keep an eye on the street.

Among the umbrellas and fast paced pedestrians, he looked at home underneath an awning, appearing to be waiting for a taxi. While he was waiting, it wasn't for a yellow cab, but a darker, nondescript car. He'd received confirmation of his ride to the tournament and had stood waiting twenty minutes in the rain. He silently decided that he'd wait ten more minutes before calling it quits and heading back home.

A man bumped into him, and Snake took a step back to allow him under the shelter. He was unassuming in a dark suit, a black overcoat protecting the silk from the rain. His face was half hidden in the shadows cast by his umbrella as he turned to mutter an apology, a wide smile spread across his face to show incredibly white teeth.

"I am sorry for the delay," he said, catching Snake by surprise. "We had trouble finding a place to park."

He deduced this man had been sent to fetch him and he inclined his head in acknowledgement. He man's smile grew wider. "Shall we go?"

The man was off, blending in well with the crowd. He had trouble keeping up with the man and the voice in his ear commented on it.

"Feeling out of shape, huh Snake?"

"Shut up," he growled, catching up to his escort as he rounded a corner. They were in a side street, where traffic was minimal and few people were walking. A jet black car, long and sleek, waited for them. The man already had the door open for him and Snake silently climbed in, placing his bag on the floor.

"I can take that for you," his chauffeur offered and Snake declined. His smile never waned, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. As the door closed, he scanned the back of the car. He took in the ample leg room and the mini fridge in front of him with a look of surprise. A television was set into a wall that divided the back from the front and he frowned. This was the kind of low key opulence he wasn't used to and it set him on edge despite the comfortable air.

His companion walked around the car to the driver's side and slid in. The engine purred to life, a quiet hum of power and incredibly bright headlights brought the streets in extreme relief. They were soon off, merging with traffic seamlessly.

"I'm sorry for all the cloak and dagger," his driver said amicably, his voice drifting through hidden speakers in the back, "though I suppose someone of your calibre is used to such things."

He remained quiet, wondering just what it was that he had really gotten himself into. Without missing a beat, the man continued speaking.

"You must understand our position. The participants are kept secret until we are prepared to unveil them. Every last detail is carefully planned; hundreds of possible combatants considered and narrowed down to a mere thirty-six. Highly exclusive. Not just anyone can get in."

It didn't go unnoticed that the man's voice had taken on a less than friendly tone and he crossed his arms, looking out the window. If they were as careful with their choices of competitors as they'd claimed, why had they decided to let him in? They had to have known that he'd wormed his way through the system and obtained a spot. They hadn't even left the city yet and Snake already had a sinking feeling about the tournament.

"But, now that we are on our way, please help yourself to whatever you'd like from the bar fridge. The television has a satellite connection, so feel free to watch whatever you want. There is a phone, as well as a personal computer within the console beside you.

"Please, make yourself at home," the driver said cheerily, the speakers letting out a brief hiss as they shut off. Snake waited several minutes before making his call.

"It looks like I'm in."

"Be careful Snake, you're going in blind. I can't seem to track your coordinates because of the weather."

He frowned, wondering if there wasn't another reason behind the failure of the tracking device in his bag. "Alright. I'll contact you as soon as I'm able. I'm going offline until then, just in case this doesn't turn out to be a waste of time."

"Roger that."

He cut his call then and settled back into the soft leather seat, taking off his hat and swiping off the drops of water that still clung to the fabric. Setting it aside, he leaned against the door, not bothering with the services at his disposal. On the surface, everything seemed normal enough, but it was the little things that kept adding up. He was already suspicious of the whole affair, but now he was on edge. Something wasn't right.

He ignored the food and drinks, not wanting to chance a random act of poisoning. He knew nothing about these people and it never hurt to err on the side of caution. As he sat looking out at the landscape, the city giving way to a long expanse of highway, he was suddenly tired. Feeling his eyelids droop, he wondered if maybe he was getting too old for this.

"They knocked us out on the ride here," Ganondorf said, his voice slow and measured as Snake considered his own escort. The big man carefully got to his feet and fixed Snake with an ireful gaze. "If it wasn't the food, it was the drinks."

"Or the air," he muttered, surprising them. "I was asleep before I even had the chance to eat anything."

"It was like that for all of us," Zelda explained. "I haven't had a chance to check with everyone, but the majority experienced similar circumstances."

"And what role do you three play in all this?" he asked. "You've got at least an inkling of what's really going on, so spill."

"We're like you, Snake," she said. "After I noticed communications were being locked down, I realised something very strange is going on. For whatever reason, we're being kept here. We're not in cages, not yet. Whoever's responsible for this wants us to remain ignorant and happy, and so long as we do, we've got some semblance of freedom.

"But if even so much as one person sets off their alarms, that could all change. People could get hurt."

"Like what happened to me?" he muttered angrily. "Sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but it's already too late for that."

"Snake please, we're on the same side here!" she pleaded, exasperated. "I can't take back what Sheik did—what we did to you, but we can work together, figure this out and keep everyone safe. Let us help you!"

"No offense, princess, but I don't exactly trust you, any of you," he raised his head at Ganondorf and Sheik. "I'm better off doing this on my own anyway."

"How do we know you won't just run off if you find a way out?" Sheik accused and he shrugged.

"You don't."