AAAAHHHH!!! We're writing now! Fasten your seatbelts, folks, this a collaborative story written by us, the Mighty Mocheezemo! Also known separately here as Sunny and Necro.
Chapter One, CHYAAAA!! –Sunny's hyper, sorry-
Wrath of Courage
Chapter One
I Can't Do It
Blackness, for a moment the world was silent, pain was nothing, no breath in lungs pressed tight by the force of impact. In an instant, up became down, right, left, and his senses were a blur of motion and light.
Gasping for breath, the swordsman felt himself fall from the mechanical platform of light and metal, the disc vanishing as he dropped down to the broken ruins below. Without thinking one half-gloved hand came up to hold down the flowing black of his cap, the blue wings of his sword's hilt pressing against the top of his left hand as he braced himself for the force of hitting the ground.
Past one ear he flinched as a young man close to him in age with a cape of deep green and hair of midnight black was sent tumbling past him, helped along by the black-clothed man's shoulder. The Prince let out a startled gasp as his back arched over a portion of a long toppled pillar, his own sword still clasped loosely in one hand as he looked around in a daze.
Leaving the wounded opponent where he lay, the Hylian charged forwards down the steep incline of the underground tunnel. Jumping once as the ground fell away beneath his boots, his target was well in sight as he aimed his blade for a blunt stab straight through the other man's exposed back.
Crying out in sudden pain at the bloody wound, the red-haired general found himself falling forwards. The opponent he had been facing dropped her weight down onto her right leg, bending at the knee and arching to the side to avoid him as he went sailing past her and into the clouds and netting far below.
"Link," Breathless, a pair of crimson eyes flashed up towards him, the lower half of his partner's face obscured by layers of scarves as the ninja-like figure regained her balance and rose gracefully to her feet.
"Sorry, I'm late," He responded coyly, bringing his right hand up to sweep across his brow, wiping away a trace amount of sweat. In his left hand, the Master Sword's point was left trailing down towards the ground in a relaxed manner, the knuckles of his sword hand resting against his hip.
"Down!" Swerving out of the path of his partner's balled fist, the Hero blinked before a flash of silver whizzed past his shoulder. The sharp rattling noise of the chain cut through the war-cry of the Prince bearing down on the pair from behind.
Stunned, the Altean Prince let out a pained cry as the Shiekah's chain hooked around his neck and under his chin. A pull with more force than expected of the slight figure brought the swordsman flying forwards as Link brought his sword back up to attention. But he was still a moment to late as the Princess's alter-ego dropped down onto the small of her back as Marth sailed overtop of her, planted her boot on his chest, and gave him one final shove to send him over the cliff edge beyond recovery.
"Keep your head up if you wanna keep it." The smile was evident behind her scarves as the Sheikah was one her feet once again, back facing the drop where she'd just tossed the other royal. But she folded her arms in a scolding manner he keenly remembered coming from her mentor.
To his shock and her surprise, a moment later the air around them filled with angry flames. A vengeful Roy dropped from the broken platforms above with his sword charged and unleashing a fully powered blast of fire and heat along the Princess's back, sending her spiraling forwards into the still deeper catacombs beneath the shambled temple. Striking the steeply slanting roof once and then falling to the ground, the Sheikah clawed at the loose stones and dirt until her feet ran out of solid earth and she was left clinging breathlessly to the edge.
"Zelda!" Turning sharply towards the enflamed younger man, the knight pulled back his sword and aimed a powerful swing towards his side. The parry was weak, Roy holding his sword awkwardly at a downward angle as the Master Sword spat sparks at him. Drawing his blade back up however, the Hylian tried to jump back as fire surged up the length of the tempered steel and a second raging blast sent him flying back down the same path as the Sheikah moments before.
"FIVE!... FOUR!..."
The sloppy attack left him breathless from the force and heat of the flames, sliding down the loose pathway until his boot struck solid stone. Instead of slowing him however, the obstacle simply caused the Hero to continue sliding down the hill sideways on his stomach.
"THREE!..."
"Link!" He came to a stop directly over the edge, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as his eyes met first with the emptiness far below the hovering arena. Out of the darkness however he could see her, her eyes altered by ancient magics, her face covered by the scarves of her people's protector's. Throwing his arm out over the edge, her hold fell away under her fingertips.
"TWO!... ONE!..."
She dropped like a stone, the tight black contours of her body-suit swallowed up by the abyss far below. Somehow it seemed almost surreal, the shortened lengths of her sun bleached hair flaring past her eyes before a surge of white light signaled her exit from the game.
"TIME!"
"Sorry about that…" Knocking his head against the silver metal of his full-sized locker, Link sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since the match had ended over a quarter of an hour ago.
"I said don't worry about it; it wasn't your fault." The hiss of hot water splashing across the pale blue tiles of the shower muffled her words, but Link could hear the exasperated tone in her voice. The thick dividing wall kept the showers and lockers separated from one another, but they could still hear one another just fine as Link stood in front of a small wall mirror.
Furiously running his calloused hands through the drooping lengths of his golden bangs, the Hero ended up just letting out a sharp breath as he gave up. His hair was still wet from his own shower, but refused to cooperate with his attempts to tame its wild ways.
The sound of water tapering off came to his attention as the whisper of smooth cotton signaled the end of the Princess's shower. Turning without meaning too, the knight felt his ears suddenly burn as Zelda chose that moment to not only emerge from behind the dividing wall, but also to adjust her towel around her body. The clouds of hot steam made her skin glisten in the florescent lighting, and swallowing a hard lump the Hero turned right back around.
"Link?" Turning back towards his locker, he heard the clicks and clacks of the tumblers falling into place before Zelda began rifling through her own belongings. Taking a breath, he was still waiting to hear it for letting Roy get the drop on him so many times. Instead, he only heard the heavy sound of the towel dropping to the damp floor, and practically buried his face into the dark space between his shield and gauntlets. "I think we need to talk."
"I should've known he'd come from above."
"Not about that."
"Huh?" Blinking, he heard the sound of the locker snapping shut and straightened up. Regrettably, his head was still within the locker, and a moment later he was blinking stars out of his eyes with a splitting pain along the back of his skull.
"You seem tense," She commented, chuckling slightly as Link nearly jumped out of his skin. Her hands were softer than one would have expected from a trained fighter, but Link was well aware of them as her fingers gently began pressing down around his shoulders. At her touch, the hero felt a stimulating tingle run along his spine, snaking out from under her hands as she began working at the tight knots winding their way through his shoulders.
"Tense? A little maybe…" Stumbling over the words, Link felt himself beginning to melt under his partner's caress. Moving down as he finally began to relax, Zelda let her hands trail along his sides until they were spread across his front, at which point she leaned forwards against him. She let her chin come to rest over his shoulder, and Link couldn't bring himself to be aware of the thin layer of silk between them. After-all, she was a Princess.
Wait… Princess…
"Damn it…" His shoulders sagged just a bit as he let out a heavy sigh and he realized what the princess wanted was never able to be. They were from different backgrounds, she was a princess and he… An orphan? He had no standing, no titles or wealth; he was nothing in their world save what is sword had made him… Least of all a prince worthy of her hand.
"What is it, Link?" Zelda wondered if she had done something wrong as Link shrugged her hands off of his shoulders and gently pushed her away. He didn't turn to look at her, reaching instead into his open locker and starting to pull a fresh shirt over his head.
"Zelda," Eyelids drooping, he let his head hang as he spoke his princess' name, absently smoothing the front of his shirt into place. It could never be, was the thought running through his head. Oh, how he wanted not to have to do this, he wanted to be with her, he wanted to live the rest of his life by her side. But he was not a prince and was obligated to her father above all else.
"I just can't," Were the only words he could manage as he turned slowly to his open locker and grabbed his only black tunic to walk out of the shower room.
"And what do you mean?" She asked, her voice soft even as she tried to keep him from just walking out on her. He could hear the confusion in her words, gritting his teeth for a moment before speaking bitterly.
"I meant what I said. There's no need to say anything else."
"Next Competition, HP Battle, Green Greens Stadium, Roy vs. Link. Commencement in two minuets." The loud speaker in the hallway outside declared. The automated female voice sounded more hollow than usual to the distraught pair inside.
"I need to go now." And with that Link turned and once again began making his way towards the door.
"Wai-"
"NO! …I don't feel that way." Leaving the room and tension behind him, he let out a shaky breath and felt his thoughts tumbling over one another. He wished that he hadn't had to do that, could feel his stomach tying itself in knots, bile rising to the back of his throat as he forced himself to walk away. There was nothing he wanted more then to just run right back to her and take it all back with her in his arms.
But… a princess…
"I can't do it…"
That took a very very very long time to write, three weeks mayhap? Four? Eight? Milly at least lost count...
That's what happens when you only write well at night, and school's still running. There's also the problem of much anticipation of what shall come LATER on in this story, and it being sort of hard to break the hearts of beloved characters. Well, sucks to be them.
We shall admit to the fact that we really, really, REALLY wanted to write what SHOULD have happened, but that wouldn't have worked out well for the rest of the story... But...
She dropped the towel!!
