i took a short hiatus so i could focuss on school, and work, and online school, and first-aid class. i was quite busy.

i finally wrote chapter 12, because i was feeling a bit guilty that you didnt get an update :(

Review Responses:

Julian Ketrarch Spire: I made a point to spell your middle name correctly :) and thanks for pointing out that typo, im a bit notorious for that. I'm glad you chose to watch this too :)

Marioman174: thaanks:) and yes, a lot can stem from just a simple bet

Zelda Rockbell: hell yeah they kick ! lol. enjoy this chapter!

anime/videogame freak: i had a blast in california, but that seems like ages ago now :( and im really missing it.

Squirt Sapphire: thanks!! yeah, Roy's kinda getting fed up with people making a big deal about his head injury. its kinda driving him nuts. and have a heart! Peach still has a good side! although i would love to set her hair on fire more, there is a limit :P

and now i present, chapter 12 (with crappy title)!

Chapter Twelve
-Homesick-

"Liiiink! Link, get up!"

Link was being shaken forcibly, pulling him out of his deep slumber. He snorted loudly and awoke. "Wha-?..." He mumbled. His vision grew less hazy and a tall, grinning redhead slid into focus. "...Eliwood?"

"'Bout time you woke up." Eliwood said.

"What are you doing in my room?" Link asked confusedly, as he threw back his sheets and slid into his slippers.

"Waking you up of course." The readhead replied. He was sitting cross-legged at the end of Link's bed, grin not fading from his face.

Link rolled his eyes. "What for, you loony. There aren't any matches scheduled for today."

"No." Eliwood said. "But what difference does that make?"

"It means we can sleep in if we choose it." Link said, yawning. Of course, Link knew it made no difference to Eliwood. Link should have known by now that no matter what day it is, Eliwood liked to start it bright and early - and he liked starting it bright and early with Link. Every day for the past week, Eliwood had either knocked on Link's door until he woke up, or marched straight in, had Link not locked the door.

"Why me?" Link groaned as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Eliwood shrugged. "Dunno. Be quick in there, we don't want to miss breakfast!"

Link sighed. "I don't think we need to worry. It wont be going anywhere very fast."

"Kinda like you." Eliwood retorted cheekily.

Partly due to Eliwood's nagging, Link wasn't long in the bathroom. Soon he was out, and rummaging through his closet. He pulled out his favourite mustard-coloured tunic. Link had almost forgotten that at one point, that tunic was green. But Link had been living in the past so long, he had already grown used to the sepia tinted world. He threw it on, and the two proceeded onward to the kitchen.

It had been an eventful eight days since he first found himself fifty years back in time. Round one was exciting, as Link got a teaser of what his fellow combatants were like. The following days were filled with more matches. The more and more Link watched, the more Link started to realize the brutality of the fighters. These guys were not taking the tournament lightly. They were in it to win, which was a stark contrast from the friendly crowd fighting fifty years ahead.

Eliwood and Link joined the rest of the smashers in the kitchen for breakfast. Today they were having crepes. The duo took a plate each and found spots on the counter to sit and eat. They each took a crepe and started loading it with fruit and whipped cream. As Eliwood drizzled chocolate syrup on his breakfast, he started up a conversation with Galaxia. Link, who was stuffing his crepe into his mouth was listening in on a debate between Matthew Falcon and James McCloud.

"I tell you, that victory was fair and square." James declared, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

"Uh uh." Falcon disagreed. "If that freezie hadn't fallen on my head and frozen me, I woulda had you beat five to six."

Link knew the two were arguing about the battle the previous day, which James won. At least, according to him.

"That's just the way it goes." James said. "Besides, you had that Bunny Hood earlier. Coupled with your natural speed, I was pretty much a statue against you."

"Yeah, but you had the Cloaking Device on, so I couldn't even tell where you were. And when I actually found you, you didn't get hurt at all!"

"Well..."

Over on the other side of Link, Galaxia and Eliwood were talking about items too.

"How did it feel when you got turned into metal?" Eliwood asked in awe.

"It felt very strange." Galaxia replied. "As soon as i touched it, it's like my mind totally left the battle. My body was still frozen, but suddenly, i was in a completely different place."

"Whoa... and then?"

"Well, I had this weird feeling. I slowly got warmer, and the metal melted off. As soon as that happened, I was right back in the fight."

Link twitched, and anger slowly started to seep into him again. It just melted off Galaxia in under a minute, and Link had been imprisonned for a week! Without even thinking the words, they fell out of his mouth in a malicious tone.

"You didn't deserve it!"

The suddenness of his outburst pulled many of the smashers out of their conversations. They were all looking at Link now.

"What?" Galaxia asked, perplexed.

Link shot her a fleeting glance before looking down shamefully. "Nothing."

Still the smashers continued to stare, and it felt like Peach blaming him for Roy's injury all over again. He had to get away from the others. He quickly pushed his chair back and walked out of the room. His pace was fast; he needed to be alone. He couldn't bare all those people staring at him again, for something else that he did. He didn't even slow down when he heared Eliwood running after him.

"Link! Hey Link! Wait up!" Link was at the foot of the staircase when Eliwood finally caught up to him. He placed a hand on Link's shoulder to stop him. "Link?"

Without turning to face Eliwood, Link mumbled "I need to be alone." He tried to walk up the stairs again, but Eliwood kept his hand where it was.

"Link, tell me what's the matter."

Reluctantly, Link turned around. Eliwood looked at him expectantly. "I..."

"You?... You what?" The redhead asked. "Does this have anything to do with Galaxia?"

"Well, no..." Link said. "It's just that..."

"What didn't she deserve? Winning the last match?"

"No..." Link sighed. He turned around again and slowly started walking up the stairs, Eliwood following. "I just... I just miss it." Link said.

"Home?" Eliwood asked.

"Yeah." Link said. That was one way of putting it. "And I guess I was just jealous of Galaxia because she can fly home whenever she wants on her ship." Link lied.

"Ahh, so that's it." Eliwood said. "It's pretty hard, isn't it? Leaving everything behind. Everyone. Do you have... family back home?"

Link shook his head. "Not really. But... there's a girl. And... a brother I guess you could call him. And, some very good friends."

Eliwood nodded. "I see. Well, you've got friends here, don't you?"

Link snorted. "Not really.

"Well, you've got me, right?" Eliwood asked.

This stopped Link. In the week that Link had stayed here, there was one guy who stuck with him and made sure he was all right. I guess he could call Eliwood his friend. "...Yeah."

"That's the spirit!" Eliwood smiled. "You know, I wouldn't wake you up every morning if I didn't like you. I really like having you around. You're not like the others."

And Link smiled too. "I'm not?"

"Nah. You're a really good person Link. You have an incredible heart, one that doesn't approve of cheating, or foul-play. And you're a really good friend."

Link was deeply touched by Eliwood's words, and now more than ever was Link reminded of Roy. His admirability and loyalty shone through Eliwood, and it wasn't hard at all to see him as Roy's grandfather.

"Besides." Eliwood said. "You always seem a bit lost. If I don't look out for you, who will?"

Link laughed, and as he walked with his friend along the corridors of the mansion, he was glad that there was one person in the world that would stay by him no matter what.

well isn't that just the cutest thing ever? hmmmmmm??

i just gotta say. i got DDR: Hottest Party the other day. it's pretty addicting. im a total DDR fanatic! it kinda sucks that there's only been two DDR's released for Nintendo systems. so yeah, I've kinda been living off DDR and Red Steel (great game!)

and to my great frustration, i cant beat the first level of Kid Icarus ARGH!

and that's just a snippet of the world of video games and me.

stay tuned for more Heart of Gold latah!!!!

-Ciao! double H over an' out!