Counterbalance
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, TP. It'd be awesome if I did, but I don't.
Chapter One: It Begins
A girl sat in her boring final period of the day in high school, doodling in her notebook while listening to the teacher ramble on about trig functions, more specifically finding the cosine, sine and tangent of a certain degree on the unit circle, and scribbling down notes in between her drawings, the graphite of the mechanical pencil scratching against the thin paper.
She caught the girl out of her peripherals and was about to ask how to solve the problem on the board when the chime of the rang cut through the rare silence of the classroom.
The redhead sighed in relief, hurriedly closing her notebook and grabbing her backpack.
Another girl with curly hair sent her a goofy look, causing her to laugh as she hastily stuffed everything into her bag. She walked over to her, nudging her in the side.
"Hey, hurry up already! I don't have all day Skyler."
Skyler stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, yeah. Hold on, I'm almost done."
Shoving down the last of her things, she zipped up her bulging backpack, the massive weight of her school supplies unbearable. She couldn't help but groan, twisting her back so it popped loudly.
"This whole school thing is an insufferable cycle of stress, drainage of brainpower and continuous dark circles under our eyes." Skyler muttered miserably.
"Isn't that the truth? We could almost pass for zombies," Her friend grinned. "At least it's Junior year - and we can yell at the underclassmen all we want, mwahahah!
"Uh-oh, you're cackling again. That must mean there's some kind of sinister plot in your head." The redhead sighed, glancing at her friend as if it were a normal occurrence.
She sent her a maniacal grin, her light brown orbs twinkling with mischief. "Maaaybe. But it's not like you'd be interested or anything."
"Uh, of course I'm interested! It's about torturing the annoying freshies, right? I mean, the really irritating ones. Tell me the plan and I'm in, Maggie." Skyler smiled wryly at her partner in crime.
Maggie smirked. "'Kay, but let's get outta here first and I'll go over it with you at your house."
Her curly auburn hair bounced against her shoulders as they hurried out of the school, eager to return to their houses.
"Man, the evil plotting will have to wait - I just remembered that I have a project for my anatomy class and I have no idea what I'm going to do. You're lucky you're a genius." Skyler scowled.
"Dude, I don't do half of my homework and I'm getting C's. You just stress out too much." Maggie protested, waving a hand dismissively.
Soft rays of sunlight warmed the left side of Skyler's face despite the slightly chilling winds of fall. Her scarlet-colored hair glowed brightly like a halo under the sun, the soft waves cascading down her back.
She was going to bask under the sunlight while it lasted, since in Seattle it was as rare as seeing rain in Southern California. And while she didn't live in the city itself, the west part of Washington tended to have more showers and cloudy grey skies than anything else. But she loved the forests and greenery, plus she kind of liked cloudy days. It felt like anything could happen.
"Y'know, if you're coming over the maybe you can help me start and finish my project up and we'll plot while playing Twilight Princess?" She suggested, eager to get to the Wii and play the aforementioned game.
Twilight Princess was one of her favorite Legend of Zelda games. She wasn't overly a nerd about it, but Twilight Princess was an exception. The graphics were absolutely gorgeous, especially considering it was a Wii game, Midna was hilarious and awesome, the plot and gameplay were good, and to be honest, she loved how good Link looked.
If only he could talk...
"Yeah, sure. But you know there won't be much working." Maggie replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she smirked.
Skyler snorted. "Uh, yes there will be. In case you forgot, the last time I blew off homework my dad kept me prisoner in the house for two weeks. I went nuttier than usual 'cuz of that."
Maggie groaned, sending her puppy eyes that never worked.
"Mags, I'm serious."
"But it's your birthday! You can't do work on your birthday!" The curly-haired teen protested.
The redhead sighed heavily, beginning to use an overly dramatic voice. "Oh, boo-hoo. Do I need to pull out the tissues, or explain again that my dad is super strict about his house rules? Besides, you and I both know that if I slack off, I never get anything done any time soon. And my birthday's tomorrow."
Maggie grumbled under her breath, but sighed. "Fine, I'll help. Of course I have no idea what you expect me to do."
A rustle from the nearby forest they were passing caused Skyler to pause. "Did you hear that?"
Her friend looked up at her with bemusement. "Huh? No, why? Is your imagination already causing you to see things?"
The redhead shoved her playfully. "Ha ha, funny. Oh wait, I think I see a flying unicorn playing with a fire-breathing dragon and leprechauns drinking mugs of liquid rainbow!"
Maggie sighed, casting her friend a disapproving frown. "Oh gawd, I knew it. You've been taking the crazy stuff, haven't you? I told you it messes with your head, girl! Now look at you," she shook her head, "Just a mess. A super crazy mess."
Skyler rolled her eyes, shoving away the cackling girl. "Shut up! That's not funny, Maggie, you know I'd never go near whatever it is you're talking about. I meant I thought I heard some rustling in the forest nearby."
Maggie glanced over at the grass leading to the thick forests to her right, some bright green leaves fluttering down from their places on the high branches by a passing breeze.
"Well, either I'm losing my hearing or you're going crazy. I mean, crazier than you already are. Or maybe legit crazy?"
Skyler rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, you're so hilarious that my brain couldn't process it all and I forgot to laugh. I'm not going crazy. Er, well, crazier. Forget it, it was probably just a squirrel or something."
The curly-haired teen shrugged. "If you say so. Let's just get to your house already and I'll begrudgingly help you with your anatomy project, 'kay?"
She huffed. "'Begrudgingly'?! Might I remind you that I practically helped you write your ENTIRE final essay for AP Lit last year? We pulled an all-nighter and I almost failed my history final 'cause you had the last mocha latte in the fridge!"
Maggie threw her hands up in surrender while they continued their walk. "Okay, okay! Fair point, I totally owe you one. Geez, calm down man!"
Skyler sighed heavily once more. "I'll calm down when we finish my anatomy project. We'd be at my house by now if you didn't walk so slow!"
"Hey, I walk at a nice, leisurely pace. You're the one that's always in a hurry to get somewhere."
Again, the redhead heard rustling coming from the forest, only now it was continuous. And growing ever closer to her and Maggie.
"Uhhh...Mags?"
"Yeah, what?"
"I think we should run."
Maggie looked at her incredulously. "What? Hell no, my backpack already feels like I'm dragging around a pound of bricks, I don't wanna make it even worse by running! Why?"
"That rustling I mentioned? It's getting closer - as in right at us!" Skyler exclaimed, her greenish-blue eyes flitting to the bushes worriedly.
"What? Sky, there is no rustling! Are you sure you're okay?"
"Oh, screw it! I'm running with or without you! There's no way I'm sticking around after seeing so many sci-fi movies and tv shows!" The redhead stated, beginning to sprint down the sidewalk to leave her best friend in the dust.
"Maybe I should look back? Maybe there's nothing chasing me - maybe it is just all in my head. Oh peanut butter and crackers, please don't have there be some kind of freaky monster thing on my tail like in the horror movies!" She thought, still contemplating whether or not she really wanted to risk glancing back.
She felt herself slowing as her chest heaved from exertion. Due to school, she had neglected her regular exercise routines that kept her in shape. Skyler knew she had been getting pudgy, but if she'd known that she'd be running from some kind of mysterious thing, then she would've kept it up despite all of her homework.
"AHHH!" She screamed, feeling something with claws knock her down.
Panting and terrified for her life, Skyler finally turned her head to see - much to her astonishment - a golden wolf with glowing red eyes. It almost looked exactly like the one from Twilight Princess.
"No, please, I'm no one special! Don't...don't eat me! Or, uh, knock me out or anything!" She pleaded, already near tears. "My birthday is tomorrow, please-"
Tendrils of light emanated from the wolf, enveloping her in their brightness. Her vision started to cloud with white, and as her eyelids became increasingly heavy, she saw that her surroundings were turning to a bright pure white.
"No...please..." She murmured before sinking into darkness.
Maggie stood there for a moment in shock, trembling in fear at what just occurred.
Her best friend, seemingly paranoid and afraid for her life, had started off running without her and didn't even look back before falling flat on her face when she was about to round the corner.
The curly-haired teen was about to burst out laughing until she saw the look on her friend's face - one that was full of terror. It was as if she'd been pinned to the ground by an invisible force.
And then, when lights started consuming her, Maggie had shrugged off her backpack to run as fast as she could to help her. But she was too late - Skyler disappeared in a sudden blinding flash from the lights that had enveloped her.
With trembling fingers, she managed to pull out her phone and dial Mr. Black's - Skyler's father's - number. She considered calling the police, but who would believe her? They'd just think she was some stupid teen high on drugs or hallucinating from sleep deprivation.
"Hello? Maggie, what's wrong? Is Skyler with you? I thought you two were supposed to-"
"-Mr. Black, Sky just...vanished in front of me." Maggie cut in, her voice monotone.
Shock overloaded her senses, causing her to feel as if she'd become detached from her body. She felt her mouth go dry and her nerves tingle as a brief pause left her to vaguely hear the chirping birds and the cars rushing by.
"...Wait, what? Maggie, I-what do you mean? How can she just disappear? Where is Skyler?"
"I-I don't...I don't know! First she started running off w-without me because of some s-stupid rustling, and then the next thing I know she's disappeared in a flash of light!"
Her initial shock was beginning to recede, soon getting replaced by waves of panic.
"What?!...okay, okay...Maggie, go to the house and calm down - I'm aware you know the garage code. I was just getting off work, so I'll meet you there, okay? Thank the Lord the boys are still in school at the moment...got it, Maggie?"
"O-Okay." She squeaked, her voice small.
Hanging up her cell, the curly-haired teen stumbled back to retrieve her backpack, hefting it onto her shoulders once more. She knew Mr. Black - though he did his best to mask his panic - was as terrified and worried as she was. Tears clouded her vision, but she triumphantly held them back. Maggie sniffled as her lower lip wobbled.
"I should've just friggin' ran with her."
Desmond Black clutched the steering wheel of his 2007 Toyota Avalon so tightly his knuckles flushed white. He ran a hand through his graying dark brown hair, doing his best not to have a meltdown in traffic.
His dark-blue eyes flitted from the windshield to his rear-view mirrors and out the sides. "Come on, come on!"
He slammed a large hand down onto the horn, the sound blaring in the broad daylight. After noticing his breathing was becoming short and erratic, he took a moment to calm down and take deep breaths.
"It can't be time yet - it's not her birthday yet! I was supposed to be there, to explain things so she wouldn't be confused or scared! And now...now, she'll have no idea how to handle any of it. Damn it, what went wrong?" The older man muttered, so out of sorts that he didn't notice traffic had started moving until a horn honked behind him.
"Skyler...I will find a way to get to you, I promise. There's no way in hell that I'll let you go through this alone. I made a promise to your mother..." Mr. Black whispered, his sturdy jaw set.
"I promise I'll come to you."
That solemn promise he made by his lonesome in his vehicle was the only thing that kept him from losing all sanity at the thought of his missing daughter.
A/N: Soo...hopefully this isn't plagiarizing anymore. Again, apologies and thanks to Link's Rose - she's a lifesaver and an excellent author. Review, favorite and follow! They are like my author-candy.