A Link to Murder

Chapter 5

Kirby ran into the control room. He looked down at the stadium, and saw Marth talking to Samus. Then, he just picked her up, speared her, and tossed her over the side.

“Oh, no!” He cried. He looked over the controls, and quickly began typing. The Master Hand had asked Kirby to go to the control room, because Kirby was the only one who understood the computer well enough to operate the platform. He was behind the scenes in almost every fight, saving people from almost certain death. He had to get the exact coordinates on everything just perfectly, or the platform would show up in the wrong spot. He hurriedly fixed the platform, and recovered Samus just in time. He gave a sigh of relief.

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Marth laughed, turning. He had slain the most powerful enemy of his. But, as soon as he had turned, a fist connected with his face, filling him with a mysterious dark energy. He yelled out, falling to the ground.

“Get ready to die, swordsman.” Ganondorf said. But Marth rolled behind him, rising almost magically. His sword easily sliced through Ganondorf’s right arm, then smacked him in the head with the flat of his sword. Ganondorf dropped.

Marth stood over the body in contempt. He raised his sword up, about to plunge it through Ganondorf, when a large energy blast hit him in his back. He flew over the edge, but his hand lashed out, grabbing the edge, and he flipped back up.

“How the Hell?” He asked, as he saw Samus stand before him. He looked up to the control room. Kirby stood at the controls, ready for anything.

“Little punk!” Marth screamed, whipping a dagger out of a sleeve of his now very torn up and burned cape, and flung it with deadly aim, piercing straight through Kirby. Samus looked up, only for a moment, then back at Marth. She fired two missiles at Marth, a homing missile followed by a more powerful one. Both connected. Marth was badly injured now. He rested for just a moment before rising.

“Well, well. Mans de Dieu. The hand of God. However, it seems as though Kirby has been slain, so, I wouldn’t be too hopeful for it happening again.”

Samus, however, kept her face still. “Good. Because now you die.” She fired another missile. Marth dodged it, and rushed forward. He slashed, connecting with her armor. She punched Marth in the chest with her arm cannon, denting the armor. Marth staggered back. She walked forward, and smashed him in the face, backhanding him with the arm cannon. He yelled in pain, clutching his face. Samus leapt up, and kicked the hand that held his sword. It whipped back, flinging the sword off the edge.

“No… no, my sword! I can’t fight without my sword!” Samus looked down at him as he rose. The instant he was up, she put her arm cannon to his head. “I’m placing you under arrest, Marth.”

Marth looked at her, confused. “You – you’re not going to kill me?”

Samus waited a long time, gun on the ready, before finally shaking her head. “No. I’m not going to kill you. But I don’t think you’ll live too long after you go to court.”

Marth laughed. “I can’t believe you’re not going to kill me!” Then, without a moment’s notice, he slammed into Samus, taking her to the ground, using only brute force. She shot her cannon, but hit only air.

Marth reached around the back of her neck, flipping a switch, which released the locks on her helmet. He knocked it away, and punched Samus in the face, breaking her nose.

Samus cried out in pain. “Not so powerful without your suit, are you? This is the moment I relish. Killing you with my bare hands.” That’s when he felt something grab his leg, and lift him off of Samus. Ganondorf took the leg in both of his hands, and, with all his force, slammed Marth into the ground.

“Shit…” Marth said, just before his head fatally connected with the ground. Ganondorf tossed the body over the edge, then looked at Samus. “You alright?” Samus nodded, looking up at him.

“You saved me… why?” Ganondorf shrugged. He toyed with the thought that he may have feelings for her, but instead said, “What goes around comes around. You shot him, I pick him up and slam him into the ground.” He smiled, and reached his hand down. She took it, and stood up. After getting her helmet, she looked around.

“How do we get out?” As if on cue, the Master Hand walked into the control room, and waved. Final Destination faded away, and the bridges extended, connecting with the now plain arena. Samus looked over the edge. Falcon and Marth lay almost right next to each other, Marth’s sword quite a distance away.

As they left the arena, Master Hand greeted them, shaking their hands.

“Congratulations, you two. I thank you for what you did. Marth was a psychopathic murderer, but thanks to you, he won’t be killing anymore.” Then he said, more to Samus than Ganondorf, “If you wish to take a leave of absence while you recover, that would be entirely fine. I’ll still give you a pay, and everything. I can understand that it would be hard, to do what you did.” Samus looked at the ground, and nodded slightly.

“Thank you, Master Hand.” She said quietly, then turned, heading to her quarters.

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Three days later, the remaining smashers were gathered together. The Master Hand was giving medals to those who had participated.

“Link, please step forward.” He smiled, rising and walking forward.

“Link, I feel we all owe you an apology. We wrongfully accused you of murder, and for the entire crew, I apologize. For courage even in the face of despair, I award you this medal.” Link bowed, and Master Hand hung the medal around his neck. Link went back to sit with Dr. Mario, Ganondorf, and Bowser, who had all previously gotten their respective medals.

“And lastly, I would like to give this medal to Samus Aran. Samus, would you please come forward?” Samus rose. She still wasn’t over what she had been forced to do.

“Samus, you made the greatest sacrifice of all. You lost a best friend, and you lost a lover. And yet, in the face of this, you saved us all from a powerful danger. For this, I award you this medal.” She bowed her head, and the Master Hand hung it around her neck. She then returned to her seat, her eyes not meeting anyone else’s.

“And now, let us have a moment of silence for those who lost their lives fighting this fight.” They all bowed their heads. Samus tried to change her thoughts, but, try as she might to remove them, images of Marth remained in her head. A silent, unnoticed tear rolled down her cheek.