Strange Hands
by chloralose ratafia
Sometimes all you need to do is look underneath for the truth.
Written August 2006 because D'Artagnan requested Gibdo/ReDead crack. "The Legend of Zelda" is property of the good folks at Nintendo, and the song Strange Hands from which this ficlet is named is property of The Films.
Mama always said never to trust a Gibdo.
They'll suck the life out of you, she said, steal everything you own. The Gibdo and ReDead can't coexist, so you just keep your distance, darling
But surely...not all Gibdo were bad? Mama's words didn't explain the odd lurch the ReDead felt in its chest when it first laid its eye sockets on a Gibdo. The lurch wasn't bad; not like being run through by a tree branch or steel. No, it was a pleasant, warm sensation. Like a heart, beating. Was this...life? No, the sensation the sight of the Gibdo gave wasn't bad at all.
ReDead usually resided in dark places infested with supernatural power where Hylians rarely wandered, while Gibdo preferred dark places infested with the living; they preferred places where the bravest and foolish of adventurers were sure to visit. They liked the world of the living, after all. Especially material objects. The ReDead couldn't understand why they were so obsessed with the living. ReDead were communal creatures of darkness; there was no place for light where they tread. So Gibdo and ReDead rarely met.
But in this instance, they had. The ReDead from the Well in Kakariko had heard the siren calls of the Stalchildren at night and ventured forth into the moonlight with insatiable curiosity...and promptly fell into a hole. That's where it, for the first time, saw a Gibdo.
The ReDead stood motionless and gazed with eyelessness at the white-clad creature from afar - too frightened to draw closer, too intrigued to run. But then it suddenly had no choice but to react.
In a blinkless moment, a small boy clad in green and wielding a toy sword dropped down into the whole the Gibdo and ReDead occupied. From the boy's surprised yell and daze as he attempted to stand up from his fall, it was accidental. For a brief moment, the ReDead pitied the Hylian creature, but all emotion vanished as soon as the boy came to and realized his situation - realized the power of his sword against two creatures of the night.
It was the Gibdo that started it (so attracted by life, perhaps), that moaning of sorts that was so familiar to the ReDead. It watched in interest as the Gibdo gave a slow about-face and staggered towards the body of life. For this reason, the Gibdo was the first that the boy advanced upon, sword ready.
The tyke attempted to rush the creature when something stopped him in his tracks; it was a sound that made the ReDead's insides shift pleasantly. That familiar, shrill scream...there was no way Mama was right about this one. Such a dashing, brave, and beautiful creature could never be untrustworthy. With considerable interest, the ReDead found its feet shuffling toward its target as it watched the Gibdo draw close before suddenly leaping onto the boy. A shiver of delight coursed throughout the ReDead as it stopped just feet from the Gibdo and boy, engaged in a struggle that the white-angel was sure to win. It had light by its neck, coaxing it slowly into darkness as all movement died down until the Gibdo stood up...
Victorious.
The soulless sockets of the two creatures of darkness met in the absence of light. There was an immediate connection as the damned came together. The ReDead lifted a rotting hand and caressed a foul area in the Gibdo's bandages where the light monster had wounded in the struggle. No further sounds were made in the crushing silence because it was unnecessary; they understood.
They were gentle as dried lips and a gap in the wrappings met, with outstretched arms enclosing around their forms. Small motions were made and eventually they crushed against each other, disregarding the vanquished monster at their feet. It was like two bodies wandering alone, aimlessly in the darkness, had finally met. What was lost was now found. They knew it to be true that even without words they belonged to one another. Gibdo and ReDead. Now wasn't that a thing? Who would have thought that a creature that gravitated towards acquiring light and a creature that kept to recesses of the dark would come together in a perfect and natural union?
Mama always said never to trust a Gibdo.
Well, Mama was wrong.
The ReDead removed itself from the other to gaze almost...lovingly as its hands continued to wander. One wandered up to the head where the bandages began. Curiosity demanded that the ReDead pull at these bandages, and as it did so, the creature watched the Gibdo carefully to see if its actions were right or welcome. The Gibdo showed no signs of discomfort and so the ReDead continued, pulling the bandage. It loosened from around the Gibdo's forehead, down to the eyes, the nose, the chin...
It was then that the ReDead stopped, eyeless caverns wide with shock. Was this really the case? Was it like this? The ReDead's hand came up to feel the side of the Gibdo's naked face, caressing from one cheek to the other...down to the chin and up to the forehead. An unidentifiable sensation jolted through the mass of undead flesh - a damned epiphany of sorts as the ReDead stared into the rotting reflection of one's own.
They were the same.
End