A\N: FINALLY! I have finally pulled together a first chapter of Giggles! Not overly happy with it, but I have a lot of ideas, and I think I like where it's going. Don't know how fast these updates are going to be because I'm trying to finish up some other stuff, but I wanted to at LEAST get this started! Please go to my facebook page and like it if you already haven't! It would really help me out, and it makes things easier on me because I post my day to day updates there and then I don't have to reexplain myself in these author's notes. It really helps!
www . facebook increak96
Thanks! Please enjoy and review!
Ghirahim panted heavily, pumping his arms as he sped down the long, dark corridor, sweat sliding down his face. His lungs burned as he stumbled around a corner and took off again, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
He heard thunderous footsteps behind him, fear spiking through his chest as he pushed himself further and harder, slipping down the marble halls haphazardly as he fled.
Please, please don't let them find me!
But Ghirahim's plea went unheard, and when he shot into the foyer, he slipped on a large puddle and hit the ground hard, his pursuers quickly catching up with him.
"Master, are you okay?"
"Master, I need help with my mast test!"
"Master, you said you were going to take me flying today."
"Master, I want to go see Father! Can you take me?"
"Bubbles!"
Ghirahim sighed, his head dropping to the floor. A loud groan escaped his lips, and the little Krykin boy knelt beside him, giving him a kiss.
"Master, you need to get up. I want bubbles."
Shai frowned down at him, holding out a hand. "Master, you don't look so good."
Ghirahim got to his feet and looked down at himself. He was dressed uncharacteristically in baggy black pants and a white spandex top—no gloves, no earring—and he was soaking wet from the puddle. His breath reeked of coffee and his theatrical flair was all but gone.
Coryai reached out, feeling the demon's forehead. "Do you feel sick?"
Ghirahim shook his head, batting the hand away. "No, I feel fine. I'm just a little stressed out." He sighed, rubbing his tired eyes and shaking his head slowly.
Kanji took his arm, peering up at him with concerned eyes. "Master, perhaps you should take a small vacation. Away from the servants and the generals and just be alone for a while."
Ghirahim wrung out his shirt, moving his head from side to side. "Being alone is so depressing, and I have too much to do. And what about Essein? Someone has to keep an eye on him, and I can't—"
"Master," Shai cut him off forcefully. "I can take care of Essein, and the generals have wasted enough of your time to last an eternity. Kanji, go fetch Master's suitcase. Tovi and Coryai, finish the laundry pronto and put it all on Master's bed."
The demon's all disappeared, and Shai scooped the little Krykin into his arms, chuckling when the boy grabbed at his face, pulling on his mouth and cheeks. Ghirahim watched him silently, a light smile tugging his lips. How quickly his boys were growing into men. Shai had just turned seventeen years old, Kanji was two days shy of sixteen, and the twins were in their fifteenth year, all of them excellent fighters and mature beyond what he thought possible at their age.
"Shai, you don't have to do that for me, I can easily handle this. I'm several hundred years old, and I can take a little tension."
Shai scoffed slightly. "Master, you may be over two thousand years of age, but even you need a break every now and then. I am perfectly capable of handling this castle for as long as you need."
Ghirahim sighed, cupping his hand around Shai's face and smirking. "When did my little crybaby turn into a young man? And how did I miss it?"
Shai laughed, briefly embracing the elder and giving him a classic giggle. "Some parts of me will never grow up, Master, and you know that. Now will you please go and enjoy yourself?"
"I don't want to spend the entire week alone, Shai!"
Shai held up his hand. "I've already got that figured out. You go upstairs and pack, and I'll be back with your travel companion in a few hours. Essein will be staying with me the whole time, so you don't have to worry."
Ghirahim nodded, somewhat confused, and started down the hall. "Whatever you say, Shai."
The boys disappeared in a shroud of spades, and Ghirahim continued down the passage.
What on earth is that crazy child planning?
"Link, why weren't you at practice today?"
Link groaned, lowering his face to his pillows. "Zelda, I saved the world. Twice. If I need to practice, I'll go see Ghirahim."
Zelda scoffed, throwing his curtains open to let in the light. "That… that thing is a bad influence and can't be trusted."
Link sighed. "I told you, I'm not having this discussion with you anymore. Ghirahim is my closest friend, and I trust him."
"Trust him? After what he did to me?" She raised her voice, and Link knew right away where this was going.
"Oh, yes, it was so horrible being chased from a distance and attacked once." He rolled his eyes, glancing at her momentarily before laying back in the sheets again.
Zelda gasped. "You have no idea how horrible it was!"
Link sat up suddenly, throwing the sheets off. "Oh shut up already, Zelda! I don't really give a rip, okay?"
Zelda whirled around and stormed out the door. "Fine!" she screeched, and the door slammed.
Not two seconds later, Groose entered, a confused expression on his face.
"Hey, Groose," Link mumbled sleepily.
"Link! Why'd you have to go and make Zelda mad like that?" Groose sighed. "Now she's gonna be fuming all day…"
Link rolled his eyes again, flopping back into bed. "I'm sick of her picking on Ghirahim. It's been two years, and he's walked the straight and narrow perfectly. I mean, he's still a demon, and Axialis is still considered a mostly 'bad' country, but there's been peace. There is no reason for her not to trust him."
Groose gasped. "No reason?! Have you forgotten everything he tried to do to Zelda?"
Link growled, his anger reaching a near breaking point. "What he tried to do to Zelda was nothing compared to what he actually did to me!" he shouted, standing up. "I've forgiven him! Why can't all of you? Honestly, I'm thinking of moving to Axialis and staying there permanently! Beats hanging out and here with youguys!"
Groose stopped, eyes wide. He rubbed his neck and looked at the ground, shifting slightly. "Sorry Link, I guess… I guess with Zelda being the princess… and a little girl… we all sorta forgot…"
Link sighed, falling into the sheets for the third time. "It's not your fault, I just get so sick of hearing about Ghirahim. And about Zelda. And about how awful it was for her. And how brave she was."
"And how special she is?"
Link cracked an eye and looked at his redheaded friend. "Yes."
Groose nodded, a light smile playing at his lips. "I know. It got really old, really fast. But she's still our friend, and I think you guys should try to work it out."
Link sighed, walking over to the window and leaning against the pane. "I've tried. Honestly, it's going to come down to the two of us agreeing to disagree, and she's totally against that concept. I don't know what to do…"
"Maybe you need a vacation!"
Both men jumped at the sudden, cheerful voice, and Link smiled when he saw a raven-haired demon on his windowsill with a child on his lap.
"Hey, Shai! What's up?"
Shai laughed, and Link noticed how mature and deep it was. Certainly he could pull out his old voice as he had moments ago, but he was no longer a child. He was a man.
"Master is having some of the same problems you are, so I suggested he go on a vacation. But he doesn't want to go alone, and since there have been so many barriers between the two of you lately, I thought…" Shai let his voice trail, a playful glint in his mismatched eyes.
Groose nodded at him, grinning. "Do it, Link. You deserve it!"
"What about Skyloft?"
Groose waved it off. "Pipit, Karane, and I can take over."
"And Zelda?"
"We'll tell her you're on patrol. Or maybe we'll just tell her the truth, and she can get over it." He shrugged.
"My studies?"
Shai cut in, bouncing Essein a bit. "Master was a science, history, and math major."
Essein clapped his hands, doing a little dance on Shai's lap. "'Cation, 'cation' goin' on a'cation!"
Link looked between Groose and Shai, and finally at the singing Krykin before nodding. "You're right. I'm going on vacation!"
It was a wonderful week the duo enjoyed. In a little shack right on the ocean bordering a forest, the two made their stay and enjoyed each other's company. Sometimes they enjoyed solitude as well, going off to read books or take hikes or sit and think alone for a while. Swimming, water games, sparring, recalling the old days, swimming some more, hiking, seashell collecting, swimming again, boogie boarding, and swimming all filled the next few days. Link loved to listen to Ghirahim tell old demon tales—being the theatrical demon lord that he was, it wasn't surprising that his storytelling skills were phenomenal. The only bad part was possibly waking up and finding the demon lying on the beach tanning… in a speedo. But he got over that, and for the most part, the week was an enjoyable one.
Zelda sent him a letter at one point, and she was not happy, but Link just used that as kindling for the fire. Ghirahim didn't comment on it, but Link knew he was slightly happy to see them growing apart. Link couldn't really blame him—Zelda had never treated Ghirahim like anything but trash.
Ghirahim also received a few letters from the Demon Senate, but those also became kindling. Ghirahim replied only to one of the letters, which was an emergency letter, and the rest of them were discarded immediately. It made Link happy to see the demon enjoying himself. He was carefree and happy for the first time in who knew how long?
It was really a nice vacation, but soon enough, it was time for it to end. They had to depart the next morning and head back home to their usual lives, but both of them felt better than they had in ages, so there was really nothing to complain about.
Yes, it had been a fine vacation indeed…
"Link, you aren't very good at this, are you?"
Ghirahim laughed as Link glared at him, sticking out his tongue.
"Listen," he continued, "It's very simple. You close your eyes, and shout 'marco'. I reply with 'polo', and judging from the sound of my voice, you try to guess where I am. Then, keepingyour eyes closed, you swim after me. Okay?"
Link scowled, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "I think youshould be the blind one next."
Ghirahim smirked, closing his eyes. "If that's what you want, I shall."
Link swam back a ways and waited for Ghirahim to shout. The demon closed his eyes.
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
Ghirahim heard the sound of him going underwater, and not two seconds later, his arms were snaking around the boy's body. Coming up, Link pushed Ghirahim away, wiping water from his eyes.
"How?!" he shouted.
Ghirahim laughed, grabbing his shoulders and dunking him under again. Link forced his way back up, grabbing Ghirahim by the wrists.
"No, seriously! How do you dothat?"
Ghirahim just shook his head. "Magic, I suppose."
Link rolled his eyes, swimming back towards shore. "I think we should play more volleyball. I'm actually getting the hang of that."
"It told you that you would," Ghirahim replied, swimming next to him.
Link smiled and looked back to shore, frowning when he saw a small group had formed there. "Hey, who are those people?"
At Link's question, Ghirahim scanned the shore, frowning at the sight of the Senate standing on the shore, waiting for them. Grabbing Link, he teleported them to beach a few yards down, holding an arm slightly in front of Link.
"What do they want?" Ghirahim braced the joint as Link stepped forward. *Don't move.*
Link nodded, a somewhat startled expression on his face.
"Ghirahim," the leader of the group spoke as they came to a stop just a few feet away. "We regret to inform you that the castle was handed over to the newly appointed demon heir last night."
His heart skipped a beat, but his face remained stoic. "Oh, really?"
His eyes glanced at the youngest demon present, a red demon, and then scanned the rest of the group, trying to get a better grasp on the situation.
"Yes. Demise appointed a new successor directly before he was vanquished."
"I'm well aware." The bite was cold and harsh, his eyes speaking volumes as he approached the man, his expression reading a blatant 'do not begin to think you are better than me. I will correct you.' There was a brief silence, and then Ghirahim took another step forward. "Exactly, what point are you trying to make?"
The leader glared at him. "You are exiled from this land, and all that you own, slaves included, belongs to Demise's chosen."
Ghirahim's eyes sharpened to daggers, opening his mouth to speak. The young one caught his eye again, and he stopped, the gears in his head moving ninety-five miles per hours. "Very well." His fists were clenched at his sides, but his pulled in his rage, smiling sweetly. "You tell my successor to treat my boys nicely."
"Or what?" a lower rank scoffed.
Ghirahim glanced over at him and smiled sweetly. "Or he may end up like you."
"Like me…?"
Ghirahim swung his leg forward and snapped his head clean off, watching the mass of flesh and gray jelly roll on the ground. "Yes. Like you." He glared at the group. "Now get out of here! All of you!"
They quickly dispersed, teleporting away as colored smoke and shapes filled the air.
When the last of the demons had vanished, Ghirahim turned to Link and let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What just… happened?"
"I got fired," he said dryly.
"How? They can't do that, right? And it was so… sudden, like… wait, what?" Link was obviously panicked about the situation. After all, if someone else was in charge of Axialis, it could mean his homeland was once again in danger.
Ghirahim shook his head, trying to remain calm and think the situation over. "Technically, they can't do that, no. But Demise still has a lot of control here. It was probably voted in. Am I correct, cherry child?"
Link's brow scrunched up in confusion as he looked around. "What?"
"I said, 'isn't that right, cherry child?'" Ghirahim snapped, and as the diamonds at his feet disappeared, the two gazed upon the young red demon from the Senate.
"Ah!" The child fell backwards, fear evident in his eyes.
"Cute little thing, aren't you?" Ghirahim smiled bitterly, coiling his fingers through ruby locks and pulling him off of the ground.
"P-please, m'lord! The Senate—w-well, most of the Senate—doesn't know what's going on. The top five had a meeting last night, and since then, everything's gone haywire!"
Link stepped forward, hands on his hips and a determined glare in his eyes. "And you had nothing to do with this… little meeting?"
"N-no…" The child's eyes wandered to the ground.
Ghirahim growled, jerking his hair and leaning down. "I heard that, cherry child. Your lie was far too obvious."
The redhead shuddered. "I just—I was—I sent their messages! It's my job, and I didn't think there was anything weird! It was to the badlands, which was odd, b-but… I never thought—I didn't—"
"Badlands? You mean to Khyra?"
The nodded furiously, blood tricking down his forehead where his hair had come out in clumps.
"Where inKhyra?" he pressed, touching noses with the boy.
"I don't remember, please, there was a man there and he used some kind of spell on me, and I can't remember a thing!"
"Oh, really?" Ghirahim raised his eyebrows. You little whelp. How dare you lie to me!
"Y-yes, really!" he sobbed, slamming his hands over his eyes. "P-please, let me go… please m'lord…"
Ghirahim grinned from ear to ear, seizing the child under his arms and swiftly lifting him from the ground. "I cannot possibly. It would be far too dangerous to send you back now. What if they did something to you?"
"B-but—"
"No buts, I simply must take care of you until this whole matter is sorted out. Come, Link."
Link followed, trying to hide the grin on his face. "Oh, Ghirahim, you're such a pure spirit."
"I know, Link. I'm a saint."
Ghirahim clutched the boy tighter, feeling the body tense in his grasp. "Of course, there is always the possibility that he won't make it. Our journey will be rather tedious and difficult, and there's no telling how many countless trials we'll face out there. We may just have to drop him off at some point and hope he lives."
Link nodded. "That sounds reasonable."
"Or maybe we can hand him over to the enemy. You would fight for us, wouldn't you, cherry child? I mean, you might be tortured, but it would all be for a good cause."
Link held up a finger. "And let's not forget all of the lovely diseases.
"O-okay!" the boy exclaimed, gripping Ghirahim's shoulder. "I'll tell you, just—just let me go back please!"
Ghirahim smiled, the thought of giving in to the boy's demands a very humorous one indeed. "Alright, tell us already."
He put the boy on the ground and waited for him to respond. "Um, w-well." The boy fidgeted, glancing around. "Well, it was pretty far in. I had to go through Charin to get to Sylfos, and the actual destination was Liali."
Ghirahim scowled. Liali. Home to some of Axialis' worst criminals. What a pleasant place to finish off my vacation.
"I couldn't really see where I was going because it was really dark, but there was a cave I went into, and at the back was a door, and this door opened up into a massive… castle like structure. It was… it was very magnificent, considering it was in Liali. There was a man there… with caramel hair and eyes—he looked almost human! He took the scroll and then gave me his reply, and I ran all the way back. He didn't speak to me, so I can't describe his voice, but he looked like a baritone."
The boy stopped, swallowing hard and looking frantically between the two of them. "And that's really all I know!"
Ghirahim nodded, rage still swelling in him from the idiot's decision to lie. "Fabulous. Thank you for your cooperation. Step forward for me, won't you, cherry child?"
Fear etched into his face, and he shook his head, stepping away.
"Don't fear, child, it's just a quick chastisement." Ghirahim held out his hand, a barrier forming around him and the boy, leaving Link on the outside.
The boy shivered violently and stepped forward, tears staining his cheeks. "Y-yes, Your Excellence?"
Ghirahim sneered at him, seizing his chin and pulling him closer. "You're bumping it up a notch to try and flatter your way out of this." A sharp backhand momentarily silenced the boy's sniveling. "Wretch!"
He accepted the backhand and said nothing. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"What is your name, fool?" Ghirahim spat, grabbing his face again and holding it.
"I-it's Qyroi…"
"Qyroi? That means lies."
Qyroi nodded his head sadly, but his eyes showed nothing but fear. He did not truly remorse who he was or what he did, he merely feared pain.
Ghirahim formed a dagger in his left hand and held it behind his back, sliding his right thumb between Qyroi's jaws and prying them open. He looked at the child's mouth for a moment, disappointed that it had come to this.
"Don't worry, Qyroi. After today, you'll never lie again."
Qyroi's eyes widened, and he realized just a second too late what Ghirahim meant. The demon's hand flew forward and he drove the blade into Qyroi's mouth, slicing the tongue clean off and dropping him.
"Ghirahim!" Link pounded his fist again the diamonds. "Ghirahim, what was that?!"
Ghirahim dissolved the wall as Qyroi hit the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. Link moved to help him, but Ghirahim snagged his arm, pulling him in the other direction as he began to walk.
"No, Link, the boy must learn."
"That was too harsh!" Link objected, watching the boy over his shoulder as he walked alongside the lord.
"No, it wasn't. The mouth is an excruciatingly powerful thing, Link, and in his hands it is a bad thing. We can't afford this kind of liability running around." Ghirahim stopped, glancing over his shoulder at the boy. Snapping, he summoned a red potion into his hands. "Drink this before you bleed to death, cherry child." Ghirahim whipped the bottle and it flew across the beach, sliding in the sand.
"Ghirahim…" Link murmured softly, still watching Qyroi.
"Leave him, Link." Ghirahim released Link's arm and continued to walk. "You are going to need no emotion if we're passing through the badlands. Liali is not a friendly place…"
Link's gaze lingered for just a moment more before he turned away and followed Ghirahim. "It doesn't feel right…"
"You can't trust your feelings, Link. The right thing sometimes feels like the wrong thing, and vice-versa."
"He's just a child…"
Ghirahim did not waver. "He's a demon. Demons are resilient, and our ability to feel pain is lower than that of a humans. It makes us almost unbeatable in battle."
Link chuckled softly at that. "Believe me, I know."
The two shared a laugh, and then Ghirahim let out a heavy sigh. "Whoever took over the castle now has complete control of my boys."
Link bit his lip, deep in thought. "Do you have any idea who it could have been?"
Ghirahim shook his head. "I'm utterly clueless."
"Caramel hair and eyes…" Link paused. "I can picture that. It's… familiar."
"Keep thinking, it will come to you."
Ghirahim picked up speed a little, spying the Coryian Ridge—named after Coryai, of course—in the distance. "We'll get a fabulous view from there! Come on, let's go."
The two ran off, sand slowly melting into grass as they moved away from the ocean and into the woods.
Adventure number three… let's hope it's as interesting as the last two!
A\N: When Ghira's at the beach, he's in a speedo tryin' to tan his cheeks.
BTW
Qyroi - KUH-roy
Liali - lie-uh-lee
