A/N: For valentines day, I present a fic that is dedicated to my favourite SSBB pairing, Link x Samus.

Memories

The sun's warming glare was unwelcome to Link at that particular moment in time; though it was unavoidable much to his distaste. Its rays filtered through the trees and cascaded upon the makeshift camp that was strewn with various objects that held some value to a particular Smasher. For example, some careless child (Ness) had left his Baseball bat as a hazard right in front of the doused campfire.

'It's silly of him to do that', Link thought angrily, 'someone could trip and burn themselves in that fire.'

In truth, it was near impossible for someone to be tall or light enough to land in the flames if they tripped, and there weren't any flames to fall in anyway. Link was merely peeved at a certain event around thirty minutes prior and would take his bottled rage out on anything. Though he could never solve his other emotional problem through picking on the other Smashers. To see their forlorn faces when he yelled would only enhance his negative feelings.

It was bad enough to have a massive argument with a friend, such as Marth or Pit who he surely felt closer to than his other companions like the proud and isolated Ike or the smart and stunning Lady Zelda. If he had a fall out with those two it would certainly wrench his heart. They were close to him, always there for him when he needed a shoulder to lean on. Zelda and Ike watched out for him, and although they didn't have enough in common to be best buddies they were still very close. But losing them could never hit him as hard as it had when he lost her.

They'd never argued. Sure, they'd hit rough patches that needed to be settled in a Brawl, but never had they gone a day without speaking since the day they met. Link never thought he'd ever hear the words she spoke earlier that day.

She'd told him she never wanted to see him again.

He didn't deserve that kind of cold shoulder.

But he hurt her.

Summer spilled through the trees, the afternoon sun directly overhead. It was too warm to wear multiple layers, so Link, Marth and Pit had resorted to sunbathing topless in the forest clearing, much to the pleasure of Peach and Nana who watched dreamily from behind a log whilst working through an ice cream each. The Smasher's lounged around lazily in the sun, absorbing its rays and simply relaxing, letting free all the tension that smashing filled one with. It was as if the world was filled with serenity and peace. Frankly it wasn't.

"Link, you hear something?" Pit asked with a bored tone to his voice. Link sat up lazily and listened, trying to hone in to what Pit was hearing.

"What do you hear?" he queried. There were many unusual noises, such as the sound of Toon Link teaching Jigglypuff to sing one of the songs Link had passed down onto his smaller friend- the Song of Time so it seemed- with his Wind Waker. That was causing quite a racket alone, without it mingling with the rest of the din that belonged to the Smash camp.

"I hear screaming. Not painful screaming though, more so angry screaming… Sounds like a girl."

Link listened harder, blocking out the rest of the noise and focussing on a faint yelling that was coming from the forest. Following his ears, Link rose to his feet and followed the yells, backed up by Pit and an agitated Marth who was stumbling sleepily along dragged by the angel. The shouts piqued the interest of several other Smashers and the whole camp soon filed into the trees just to see what was going on.

It was two of the Smashers that were causing the commotion in the forest, though it was not a typical brawl that was going on rather than a cat fight. Princess Zelda stood in the dust, the area so dry that the little amount of grass was yellowed and razor sharp, towering over Samus Aran who lay in the dirt with her paralyser poised at the brunette Hylian's face. Why they were scrapping was unbeknownst to the bystanders, but the serious looks on their faces meant business. It was no casual fight like the ones the Smashers lived for.

"Zelda, what…"Link raised his eyebrow at the Princess and the Bounty Hunter who were shooting each other looks that could kill. They were oblivious to him talking, it was either that or they were ignoring him. Samus pulled the trigger on her weapon, but Zelda knocked it askew by casting Din's Fire and nearly giving Samus a serious burn. The human girl flipped herself onto her feet and grabbed Zelda by the armoury that rested on her chest, just above the hem of her violet dress. As she pulled back her fist to pretty much knock the Princess out, Link's instincts kicked in and- paying no attention to the fact that he and Samus were so close they seemed conjoined at the hip- he flung the Gale Boomerang out which struck Samus down after hitting her in the face. Zelda jumped back in the sheer shock of the blow and there were several gasps in the crowd. Samus rose to her feet dizzily, blood pouring from a boomerang shaped gash on the bridge of her nose.

"Oh gosh, call a doctor," Peach squealed, overreacting like she often did.

"I'm fine…" Samus hissed coldly, walking over to Link with an icy glaze in her eyes.

"Sammy…" he tried to place a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but she shook him off, balling her hands into fists and scowling, "I'm sorry." Samus drew back her hand and slapped him across the cheek, leaving a red mark before she walked off, telling him the sourest words she'd ever said to him.

"Don't give me that sympathetic guilt crap. Leave me alone."

"Samus… Please…"

"Get out of my sight and never let me see you again."

Link had left after that, feeling hurt physically and mentally. He slumped into his makeshift bed and inhaled the musty scent of the pillow that had lost its softness and had become deflated, much like he had. He felt so bad for what he did to Samus in an attempt to protect his Princess.

The red mark her slap had left was in the shape of a broken heart

Samus Aran had been Link's first friend in the World of Trophies. When he arrived, he'd been shunned by most of the others because he was so 'underdeveloped'. It was hardly his fault that in Hyrule there was no technology. He'd never left her side after she befriended him; it was as if he was her pet. Her loyal canine that would oblige to every command. Thinking of Samus with a heavy heart, Link closed his eyes and attempted to sleep as the baking sun acted as a sheet for his bed.

As he slept, images began to form in his mind like a dream. But it was no dream. It was a memory.

Princess Zelda's courtyard was blooming with spring. The slate walls were beautifully ornamented with flowers, the grass was thick and lusciously green. A younger Link stood aside a younger Zelda, giving each other looks of grief crossed with joy. Link was about sixteen and at the time had centre parted strawberry blonde hair. His tunic was much more vivid than the one the current Link wore, and lacked chainmail which was a major difference. He was equipped with his Master Sword and Hylian shield and was shaking Zelda's hand. She was seventeen and still blonde, unlike her brunette look she had more recently adopted. She wore pinks, as that was her colour at the time, and was gazing endlessly into Link's pools of blue eyes. Behind them, completely out of place, was a portal leading to an unknown place.

"Link… Good luck…" Zelda whispered, her voice tearing up. Link nodded- he'd never been one for words until he got to the World of Trophies and met Samus- and turned to face the portal.

"Hey Link. Play Zelda's Lullaby to remember me."

Stepping into the light, he turned and waved a leather gloved hand to the Princess before vanishing out of sight in a flash of brilliant light.

The transfer of Link's body from Hyrule to his destination all occurred in that flash. Within milliseconds, he was laying face first in a muddy puddle in a whole new world. He sat up and wiped his face, grumbling and ensuring his Ocarina and faerie, Navi (who had taken to hiding in his hat) were alright. He nodded in relief and rose to his feet unstably, already cold as the mud trickled down his face from his hair.

"Are you Link?" a small voice queried suddenly. Link gasped and looked to his feet to see a fairly short young boy, dressed in strange (to Link) shorts, purple and yellow striped t-shirt and red cap which sat atop dark brown hair. His eyes were black, but he looked so innocent that Link trusted him. The Hylian nodded whilst adjusting his long, green cap so it sat in a comfortable spot on his head. The little boy grinned and extended an arm to shake Link's hand, "I'm Ness. Geeze Mister Link, everybody thought you weren't coming."

"Am I really that late?" Link mumbled to himself, his voice rusty from underuse.

"Well, yeah. The person before you arrived ages ago. Welcome to the trophy world," Ness kept chatting and Link nodded every so often as they approached what looked to be a makeshift camp with three tents and a fire in the centre. The sky was beginning to grow dark, but in Hyrule it had been early morning when Link left. It was clear there was a time difference. The camp was fairly empty, with only twelve people in total if Link was the last to arrive. The complexions of the people there were strange; Link didn't recognise anybody and didn't even know what most of them were. The first two were pretty easy to unravel. Two, mid-thirties men with blue eyes and brown hair, each sporting a different moustache and similar clothes. One was very short and was attired in blue dungarees with a red shirt and cap sporting the letter 'M' in gold, encased in a white circle. The second was much taller and slimmer, wearing the exact same clothes apart from the letter being 'L' and the colour of his shirt and cap being green. Both had large noses, brown shoes and white gloves. They looked to be brothers, their features were very similar. Behind these men stood the largest ape Link had ever seen. Its fur was brown and it wore a tie coloured red. It hulked over and looked around in a dumbfounded way, though Link would soon discover it was rather smart. Besides that ape was a little, pink, spherical character with a plain, adorable face and red shoes. There was nothing much to that one, but they looked rather bored and sleepy. There was another pink ball next to them, with a swirl of hair atop its head, two cat ears and large, green eyes. It had longer limbs and looked so lightweight it could have popped like Tingle's balloons. There was a small, yellow creature next to that that looked like some cross between a rabbit and a cat, with a cute little face consisting of spherical eyes, a button nose and cat-like mouth, surrounded by astonishingly pink cheeks. It had long ears with black tips and two stripes on its back. Its tail was in the shape of a massive lightning bolt, connected to its body with a stripe of brown. It followed Link's gaze inquisitively as he looked towards the next person, a human this time dressed in a tight, blue suit, red helmet that covered his eyes with a black visor and yellow boots and gloves. His belt was brown, his shoulder pads silver and his scarf, yellow, and he was certainly muscle-bound. He was the kind of guy a typical girl would keel over for. Next to him, standing out from the crowd, was a man that looked like a human fox, dressed in grey and green and wearing things Link wouldn't have known about without them being explained to him. Next to him was a small, green dinosaur like creature with a white underbelly, brown shoes and red shell. It looked tame for a monster, like all the odd beings did. Possibly the most mysterious though was the figure that was slumped in the corner. They sat by a tree, looking to the floor through a green tinted visor built into a red helmet that covered their entire head. They were practically a suit of armour, with large, orange shoulder pads and a breastplate which stuck out along with the large, green cannon on their left arm. The rest of the armour was normal, just yellow and orange metal with an emerald studded into the only hand. You wouldn't know they were human unless you looked up close and saw their face looming under their defence. Everybody but them was looking at Link, so he thought. Even if they were, he couldn't tell.

"Jeeze, this kid is late," the muscular man stated in a deep voice.

"Sorry," Link mumbled, kicking up dust with his boots, "I only just woke up… And my horse was being slow so I had to walk to the town and-"

"Horse?" Both the man and the fox person cracked a grin and Ness's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, you have a horse? Wow!"

"This guy is going to be easy. Horse… Hah," the man whispered.

"Leave him a-be guys," the little, moustached man in red stated, "nice-a to meet you Link. I'ma Mario, and this is my brother, Luigi," he indicated to the man in green, who bowed shyly. They had a strange accident that Link quite liked. It was different to the same accent the people of Hyrule sported.

"I'm Fox McCloud," the fox man stated. His name was original, "don't mind Captain Falcon, he's just a jerk in my opinion. It's compelling that you don't know any other way of getting around though…"

"I can warp but I misplaced my Ocarina."

"Kid knows magic… Interesting," Link assumed the man who seemed to jeer at him was the one called 'Captain Falcon'.

"So do I," Ness piped in, "sort of…"

"And these are Yoshi," Mario pointed to the dinosaur, "Donkey Kong," the monkey, "Jigglypuff," the little cat eared pink creature, "Pikachu," the yellow one, "and Kirby," the pink creature with shoes. Kirby waved at Link joyfully with stubby arms and Pikachu made a noise that sounded like, "Pika Pika."

"Nice to meet you all," the Hylian sighed, "what about them?" he looked to the figure by the tree, who had rose to their feet. They had a very feminine, hourglass figure but a woman would never wear those clothes.

"Won't say a word. I think they're mute," Falcon stated grimly.

"Do you know their name? You know mine."

"We have a list of all of-a the names," Mario affirmed, "all we know is that they're called Samus or however you-a pronounce that…"

Samus shook their head at a clear mispronunciation. Link made a mental note that it was certainly not pronounced Say-mus if they ever spoke to him. That seemed to be a pretty big if. Only Ness seemed to accept him, and seemed deeply intrigued with his medieval culture. The kid knew magic, so he said, so he must be the closest to Link in that place.

"Link, you knowing nothing about guns and stuff won't be much good here…" Ness mumbled, "unless you have some divine power up your sleeves…"

Link rubbed the back of his left hand, where the mark of the Triforce lingered, watching Samus with awe. He could just see a pair of blue eyes watching him back.

"Don't you like pasta?" Ness asked, poking Link's leg and reminding him of the bowl that was in his lap. Link snapped out of his funk and gazed at the food that had been placed in front of him. He'd always been a meaty person and pasta alone was too plain for him.

"I'm not hungry…" he lied. Ness could sense his fib and raised an eyebrow.

"If you get any skinner, you'll be a twig," Captain Falcon remarked snidely, "aren't heroes supposed to be passionate warriors, not bulimic teens with greasy hair and messy clothes?"

"I'm not bulimic! I'm just not big on body building!" Link snapped. He already had developed distaste for Falcon not three hours after meeting him.

"Well, I'm going to have to change that. Get up, show me your moves."

"Falcon, please don't now…" Fox bemoaned. Mario sighed and Pikachu cocked its head.

"N-no…" Link mumbled, looking away. Captain Falcon seized his collar and pulled him to his feet in a strong tug that hurt his chest with the material being pulled taut and a fist pushing him in the ribs. Quaking, Link reached for his sword and poised it at the Captain, who let out a cry of "FALCON PUNCH!" and sent the Blade of Evil's bane flying. Link gulped, this man was strong, too strong for a sixteen year old. He readied his fist for another punch and whammed Link in the face. Blood splayed from his nose and he collapsed, clutching the breakage the force had made.

"You've made your point…" Ness mumbled, gazing at Link who was bleeding on the floor. Falcon sighed and turned around, not giving Link a second thought, which brought the hate rate higher.

"That was unnecessary," Luigi stated agitatedly, "he is a bleeding on the floor."

"Ness… My bag… There is a bottle in there full of red stuff… Get it…" Link instructed, his face burning when he spoke. Ness obliged and reached out to the large, hessian sack by Link's makeshift bed. Surprisingly, someone else got there first.

"What do you want?" the young boy inquired, investigating the face looming behind the mysterious Samus's helmet. They made a shooing gesture with their non-cannon hand and Ness scarpered nervously, not enjoying the demeaning presence of this character one bit. Everyone else had seemed to have followed Ness's footsteps into the forest in the distance, probably to explore their surroundings. To Link, it seemed more likely that they were embarrassed to be near him.

"I asked him to help me," Link grumbled, "you scared him off."

"It's best if you're not being ogled in your weakened state Link," when Samus spoke, their voice was light and monotonous, with a girlish hint to it. Link tilted his head. They seemed a strange being, almost inhumane, yet they were talking to him. The weakling. The misfit. The 'underdeveloped kid'.

"Well, you can go away too then… Or are you allowed to 'ogle' me?" Samus let a small laugh slip and delved into Link's sack. He felt as if he were being probed when they pulled out each of his items, his Ocarina, Gold Gauntlets, Eye of Truth, Fairy Bow, Bombs and other unidentifiable objects that had broken in his bag. Eventually they pulled out a bottle of red liquid and handed it to Link, who downed it in one gulp and felt a painful twinge as the potion fixed his nose. Wiping the blood with his sleeve, he rose to his feet and went to retrieve his sword. Samus still remained in that very spot by his bag, watching him.

"You're not even thanking me?" they scoffed, "silent hero much?"

"Yeah…. Hey, look who's talking!"

"I don't trust them much, that's why I didn't introduce myself earlier… You have to be careful around these people," they took a on a log cast to one side and beckoned Link to join them, "I'm Samus Aran. And you're Link, though if you have a surname or not, I can't tell."

"I don't… I never knew my parents, so I never inherited one. All records of them were lost in a blaze and a war far from the forest I grew up in…" Link sighed. He always felt a little sad he never met his parents, but he had learned to love who he had. Then the Deku Tree had died. As from then, all he had was a human settlement in Faron Woods, just a little while away from his childhood home Kokiri Forest. Samus heaved a sigh and removed their helmet- revealing their identity to Link who was taken aback. Samus was a woman, and an astonishingly pretty one at that, much to the Hylian's surprise. He could help but eye her face, the features almost to perfection in his eyes, which was different to most teenage dreams. She fit the same colour code as Zelda, with the same cerulean tint to her eyes and the same pale blonde hair- falling past the neck hole of her suit in a straight waterfall- which wasn't as well kept as Zelda and lacked her distinct wave. She wasn't as pretty as Zelda, but Link had always felt the Princess was a little over the top, though she was the highest authorised figure in Hyrule.

"Yeah, that oddball Samus is a girl…" she sighed, "sorry about your parents. It must have been hard never knowing them. I knew mine, but they died when I was three. Which is why I became a Bounty Hunter, because of my alternate raising."

"I was always destined to be a hero, even if my mother and father lived… May I ask who would raise a three year old as a Bounty Hunter?"

"Who would raise a boy to wear a dress…" she studied his face and smiled, "joke. I was raised by a race called the Chozo- don't ask for an explanation, you're out of luck if you want one."

"I was raised by the Great Deku Tree as a Kokiri. What are you anyway?"

"Human… What's a Kokiri, and you can't use the no explanation thing on me because it won't work."

Link explored his mind to find a definition of the race he had grown up with.

"Forest folk," he stated, "who live with their faeries and never grow up."

"Did you leave them because you have?" she asked on a small, inquisitive voice. Link shook his head.

"I left because of Ganondorf- the King of Evil- who cursed the guardian of the forest and drew me into the conflict. I was ten."

"That's young," Samus stated, "I never could have survived at ten."

"I nearly didn't… But when I found this," he indicated to the Master Sword, "I woke up seven years later and fought. Then I was sent back when Ganon was sealed away in the sacred realm and lived five of those lost years in peace. In one, I was taken to a world called Termina, doomed to fall in seventy-two hours because of a dark curse placed upon them by Majora's Mask. And the other year hasn't rolled around yet. I'm seventeen next year…"

"I see…" Samus looked thoughtful, "I'm just heroic when I'm needed. Playing heroine is my job… Is this Ganondorf dead then?"

"I don't know… Maybe…"

"I wonder if Ridley'll strike here…"

"Who?"

"My nemesis… A prehistoric looking alien space pirate who pretty much ruined my life. I hope that this world isn't invaded, it is simply unfair on us all if little moments like these are destroyed." Link nodded in agreement and removed his hat, forgetting Navi was hidden within. The blue ball of light zipped out and came to rest on Link's shoulder, "hey Link!"

"That was my ear your voice just killed," he joked, smiling at her. If it weren't for Ness and Samus, his little faerie would be all he had.

"She's your companion?" the Bounty Hunter asked.

"Yeah…"

"I work alone."

"I hate that…" Link sighed, "With somebody there, you always have somebody to confide in. You're never lonely and fear cannot swallow you up. There is always somebody to love you, watch over you. To keep you warm when you're really cold, to get help when fate tries to consume you."

"I don't know what that's like… I'm not big on friends."

"Are we friends Samus?" Link inquired, hoping she's reply with a yes.

"I'll be your friend Link. I'll watch over you and I'll always be here for you to confide in, as a shoulder to lean on. We're alone here, we have no family and everyone we know, aside from your faerie, is far away, beyond the stars. You have to promise to return the favour though."

"I promise… Because you're a powerful friend to have. I can see it all in your eyes."

"It looks like we've got company," Samus sighed, looking through the trees at a small figure charging over to them. Ness emerged from the forest, which was giving off a pleasant, woodsy odour, and took a seat besides Link on the log.

"Is everyone coming back now?" Link sighed.

"No the- You're a girl?" the boy's mouth was agape and Samus grinned at the comical expression.

"Yes, Ness, that I am."

"Gee, you're really pretty Samus," he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. Samus blushed and shrugged.

"Thanks. Hey, you got my name right."

"What're you two doing here anyways? The Master Hand- he's a giant hand who is the leader of this place- was pretty peeved that you weren't there. And you can't fight Falcon, because we're only allowed to fight in the stadium because you don't get hurt there, and you get prizes if you win battles!"

"Lovely. Ness, please say things in intervals instead of all at once. You remind me of Navi," Link stated, patting the boy's head. Ness grinned sheepishly and Link's faerie growled.

"Okay Link," he stated, "what's that blue thing?" he prodded the Ocarina of Time.

'Play Zelda's Lullaby to remember me'

Zelda's words were a distant memory, though she had said them not four hours prior. Smiling, Link lifted the ornamental instrument and began to play the sweet tune that had been passed down through Hyrule monarchy to help young children sleep. When he played it, it always sent a sensation of contentment down his spine. He forgot who he was when he played that song and became absorbed in the beautiful tune. Ness and Samus became absorbed too, all thoughts bugging them being lifted away into the air with the notes of the song. As Link played the lullaby, he felt a connection between the young boy and woman.

Friendship.

Much to Link's distaste, he was awoken from the heart-warming memory at that point. There was a soft hand shaking his shoulder lightly and a tender voice washing through his ears like lukewarm water.

"Link… Wake up…"

"Hwah?" He sat up groggily and turned his head, his body clammy from the humidity of that day. To his surprise, the eyes he met belonged to Samus Aran, though they were glazed over with remorse and bloodshot, as if she had been crying.

"Welcome back to reality Link…" she sighed. Link tilted his head in confusion. There was a large gash on the bridge of her nose which looked sore but had probably been treated with some magic, more likely to be the Song of Healing played by Zelda's mysterious alter-ego Sheik than a potion. He knew he'd given her that wound and remembered those spiteful words she had said to him. Why was she trying to wake him up?

"What do you want?" he asked harshly. She bowed her head and sighed.

"I understand now. Why you hurt me earlier… You were just being loyal to your Princess."

"Yes… It's dishonourable to stand up for your friends if your Queen is in danger… So, you're not mad?"

"Not with you… With me maybe but… Never with you Link…" her voice became teary and she looked aside, blinking hard.

"What happened anyway?" Link asked, putting an arm around his friend and reaching a finger towards her eye to catch the tears that began to fall. Samus never cried in pain or sadness, only anger. She was too strong, but succumbed to her emotions. It was natural for a human.

"Zelda came onto me… She accused me of stealing her man… I swore at her for accusation and she slapped me…"

"A fight over love? Is it Ike?"

"Ike? No. He's too secluded, too proud. I only like him as a companion, not anything more."

"Who then?"

"You know him," Samus turned her head to face him and smiled. She had her hair down; like she had on the day they met. Link loved her hair down.

"Marth?"

"Pretty boy, not my type."

"Pit?"

"I barely know the guy?"

"Snake?"

Samus retched, "noo!"

"Gimme a clue? Wario?"

Now you're just being silly," she accused, tugging on a strand of his sandy hair.

"I give up… If it's Ganon then I'm going to ki-" Samus cut him off by placing a finger on his lips and shuffling closer. Their noses were half a centre metre away from each other.

"Would you like me to show you?" she asked, her voice regaining its regular tone. Link nodded. Samus reached across to Pit's makeshift bed and seized his mirror shield, keeping her finger on his mouth. She parked it in front of him and pressed lightly on his head so he bent down to look into the glass.

"All I see is me…" he mumbled. Realisation hit suddenly and he went scarlet, "it is me…"

"Yes… It's you…"

"I'm your man? And Zelda still has a crush on me?"

Samus closed her eyes and sighed.

"I should have told you sooner Link… I'm in love with you and I have been for a while now. I've bested foul beasts and crossed treacherous terrain, but the hardest quest I've ever been set was by my heart. And it's taken months to complete…"

"I never knew… If I had… This feeling. I've had it for a while now, and it's taken until now for me to realise just what it is. The undeniable love I've felt for you for so long. I've just realise it existed…" Link took Samus's face in his hands, "I love you Samus Aran… Forever, my heart is yours…"

"And mine…Yours…" the emotions were becoming too much for her to handle, the hardest battle she'd ever endured. There was only one way to defeat the beast of longing passion. The Bounty Hunter brought her face into contact with his and their lips touched.

Like a lullaby playing on serene spring nights, the two became absorbed and forgot their purpose. All they could live for was each other at that point and the minute they were drawn into the kiss their hearts conjoined. For the first time in his life, Link felt whole. Samus was the key to fill in the part of his life he'd lost due to conflict and orphan-hood. The passion erupted around them, encasing them in non existing flames that licked at their bodies, making the heat unbearable.

They didn't care.

Eons later, then broke apart and gazed into each other's eyes, still wrapped around each other in an inseparable embrace.

"Hey Link, c'mon!" a voice of a young boy called. Ness stood over them, grinning, "it's dinner time! Luigi made pasta, but you can get something else. I know you don't like it."

"Okay Ness… Fine…" the Hylian stated, pulling Samus to her feet. He wondered how much Ness had seen and if their love had scarred his innocence. As the three made their way over to the huddle of Smashers, all lulling in the sun and talking, Link turned to Samus and whispered: "I do like pasta now. Because it was a bowl of uneaten pasta that brought me to you. Every time I want to make a gesture of compassion, I shall present to you a bowl of pasta. Only you will understand."

Two bowls of the food remained, one in a plain white dish and the other sporting a blue stripe. Link took the white one and insisted Samus take the other.

"Why? What do you have against blue?" A disgruntled Zelda scorned, overhearing him.

"No reason…" Link mumbled. But Samus knew why and took the bowl that she had been allocated.

It was that very bowl that completed her life. Forever.