Hey everyone,
Oh boy, this ought to be a train wreck. . . okay, for one, I'm switching the point of views so that it will not be past-tense (so instead of I SAT, it will be I SIT). This will not be permanent, it is simply an experiment to see which one works out better in terms of sound-ness(?). If you guys think it's better the original past-tense way, please say so in a PM or review. I think that's all I have to say. . . yep, that's all. Enjoy the first chapter of the Adult Chapters while I go cry in the corner. . . and don't forget to give me a good first review for this story, I'd really like to know your opinions :D
Further to it being the second part of the book however, the ending to this story will split off into two different parts: a good ending, and a bad ending. Both endings lead to two differents stories. The good ending will lead to Generation of the Fairies and the bad will lead to the Fall of the Fairies trilogy, which is consisted of three books: Fall of the Fairies, Chapter of the Aeons, and Rise of the Demons, not to mention that the FotF trilogy will be a crossover fiction, mixing together Final Fantasy X/X-2 (the one with Tidus and Yuna if you don't already know), ToZ: Ocarina of Time, Time Gate, Kingdom Hearts, and Tales of Symphonia. The story's plotline also takes place in a future society, much more advanced than our own. Generation of the Fairies however, will only take place sixteen years after Time Gate, but I'm not going to tell you any more than that for the sake of keeping everything a secret for you to look forward to. However, I will tell you this: both stories, no matter good ending or bad ending, end with good endings (? I hope you all made sense of that, read that sentence again if you have to. . .) So the heroes win in the end of both (Or do they? You'll just have to find out. . .) I will submit the first chapter of both Generation of the Fairies and Fall of the Fairies so that you can choose which one to read first, depending which path you chose. And don't worry, the bad ending of Time Gate doesn't involve anyone DYING. Be thankful for that, cause' I sure am :D
Okay, as a last note, I'd like to thank the following authors for keeping up with the story so far and have put up reviews or made me want to write on FanFiction:
Rose Zemlya (Author of The Legend of Zelda: The Return, probably one of the best Zelda fanfics ever. You were and still are a big inspiration Rose, and I'm thankful to have found your story and met you. I actually found your story through a drawing on DeviantArt. Thank the lord for that.)
jioplip (Author of Legend of Hearts, a Legend of Zelda/Kingdom Hearts fanfic, also very good. I also thank him for putting up the best reviews EVER! Thank you so much for the support!)
ElementUchihaMaster (Author of several Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, Legend of Zelda, and Super Smash Bros. fanfics, including The Three Musketeers, Ask the SSBM Characters, Ask the Uchihas, and The Dark Unknown. Thanks for being such a constant reviewer!)
Satashi of the Muffins (Author The Legend of Zelda: Twenty Days, which has not been submitted to the site yet, but according to Satashi, is a work in progress and will be on the site soon, which I am looking forward to. Thanks for the kind words in your review, Satashi-chan!)
To all the authors that added Time Gate to their favorites for one reason or another, you know who you are.
Also I must add one more thing: this half of Time Gate, although not as bad as Fall of the Fairies, is going to be much darker. (OMG, darker than the Kyodai no Akuma arc?) Yes, darker than the Kyodai no Akuma arc. It is rated M for safety, due to violence, a bit of romance, and of course, more SWEARING. Not too bad though, just a few swear words here and there. And not just violence, swearing, and romance either, the entire storyline has this dark trait to it that I can't explain. . . of course, the Fall of the Fairies trilogy will probably be even worse for that dark trait. I'm planning on having somebody die, I don't know who yet, but just keep an eye out for that, although I am still unsure of this decision. . . I'll have to decide sooner or later. Fall of the Fairies is going to be much darker because of extreme violence, and change in character roles (Link starts off almost like a villain in the beginning).
Okay, I know that some of you REALLY hate author's notes, if not, then I hope you're satisfied with the results of where Time Gate is going to go, and I really hope you all enjoy the second half of Time Gate! (I'm also trying hard not to make this opening chapter too long by adding this monster of an a/n). Thank you all so very very much, and review if you ever have the time to. Also, I have online drawings of Time Gate and Fall of the Fairies on RateMyDrawings, you can find them under the username linkreaper1987. I am constantly updating, so go ahead and check out my drawings anytime you like! If you can't seem to find the drawings, tell me, and I'll send you the link :D
Enjoy!
Uzuki Cheverie
Time Gate: The Adult Chapters
Chapter 1: When Life Gives You Lemons, Punch the Idiot Who Threw the Lemons at You in the Face
People change.
So do enemies.
We cannot stop change, or the time that makes change.
However, one thing that should never change. . .
. . . are our goals. Even if we have to outrun time itself.
We will change.
And we will fight.
We will outrun the Goddess of Time herself, until we are at our last breath to fight.
And we will keep fighting.
Until time can run normally without people being afraid of the creatures of the twilight.
This we promise.
Lonely.
That's just one of the words that describes 'me'.
There's also bored, sad, a joker, stupid, clueless. . . but now I'm just looking at the bad side of things.
I should be happy, shouldn't I? I mean, I'm funny, handsome (in my opinion at least), fun to talk to, courageous, and daring.
Hm, I really don't know. . .
I snatch the shimmering blue crystal from around my neck, and a clock face arises from the glass surface. Silver lines depicting clock hands are moving around the circle, the whole thing appearing to be a floating blue clock.
"Hm, I have thirty minutes to get this done. . ." I calculate to myself. "I can use ten minutes to scout out the area. . . gah, I need a pen." I don't waste any time in whipping out a pen from my pocket, and I begin writing line numbers on my arm. "Ten minutes to scout. . ." I draw an 'X' on my arm. "And five minutes to analyze what I'm fighting. . ." I draw a 'V' next to it, but just far enough away so that I can differ the two completely different subjects. "That leaves me with fifteen minutes to deal with whatever I'm fighting. . ." I draw another 'V' sign and then throw my pen back into its spot in my jacket pocket. ". . . fifteen minutes enough to kick its sorry ass goodbye." I drop my crystal, allowing it to resume its position around my neck.
I reach up to my neck and grab the thick goggles that are tied over my shoulders. I pull them over my eyes and smile to myself. I shove my hand into my pocket and pull out a pocketwatch as I count down the time.
"Scouting, gross. . ." I sigh, almost as if I had forgotten my entire schedule in less than a minute. "I hate it so much. . ." But, I have no choice but to deal with it, so I start to scan over the area. I look up in the trees first to make sure there's nobody hiding above me. One third of the population of trees here are pine; the other two thirds are oak and maple. There isn't much grass here, but it's just in this specific area alone, almost as if the grass has been pounded down by some strong, heavy stone. When I look ahead, I also see that some of trees that used to be closer together are now pushed to the side like weak twigs, some of their roots being pulled up from the earth. I also notice that there is hardly any wildlife around. It's as if there was a giant earthquake, and all of the woodland creatures had escaped to safety.
This doesn't look good at all. Had this test really been prepared so dangerously, causing everything in this forest to be destroyed? They had really taken themselves a bit too far this time. . .
I check my pocketwatch again, and I see that exactly five minutes have passed. Onto analyzing. This thing that I'm fighting is obviously gigantic. If it's what caused the craters in the ground, then it must be made from stone too. And it's probably also the cause of the pulled up trees.
I look up to the sky once, and then I decide to travel a little deeper into the forest. Because this thing is so big, it obviously travels slowly, so it couldn't have gotten far. I begin to hum a little song to myself as a walk deeper into the woods, climbing over and crawling under fallen trees, and walking across nearly dried up ponds. This monster, this simple little test, has really messed up the ecosystem around here. . .
The only problem is that I can't seem to figure out what I'm fighting. It's obviously something I haven't fought before, and I know that I should know it. . . it just won't come to me. . . I check my pocketwatch again to see that I have seventeen minutes; two minutes to spare. I sigh in defeat and I rest against one of the big moss-covered trees that are still alive and standing in one piece. I guess that whatever I'm up against wasn't big enough to take down this one tree.
"Augh, this is taking too long. . ." I mutter to myself. Being 'me', I hate to waste time. Being with the Time Keepers for such a long time, I can't stand having to do pointless things; things like this. I'd rather jump right into the action and get things done quickly and efficiently. I spot a bird sitting on a tree branch not to far from me. I watch it for a few seconds, enjoying a moment of peace, but then it suddenly flies off, like it's in a real hurry. That can't be good. . . the birds and animals of this forest are usually calm, and they never leave a place right away. But being in the Dark Realm, there are probably a million things to be aware of, things that you know you shouldn't stay near. After being in the Dark Realm for so long, I know that feeling of insecurity and danger.
Then I hear a twig snap from nearby. My ears perk up the moment they hear it, so I'm alerted early and ready to move. The first thing I do is jump to my feet, a kunai ready in my hand. I look around, but there's nothing. Normally in a situation like this, if it hadn't been an enemy, it would have been something retarded, like a squirrel, or another bird. But this time, there was literally nothing there.
I sit back down against the hard mossy tree, but I'm finding it hard to get comfortable; not that I need to be or anything in case something attacks. But the surface of this tree doesn't feel right. It feels much rougher than bark, and I can feel small ridges in it, like cobblestone.
I take a deep breath before tilting my head up, gazing up at the sky. Instead of seeing the sky though, I find myself staring into two huge, white, glowing eyes.
Good Goddess Din.
I swear under my breath even more as I jump to my feet and start backing away from the horrible creature. The Time Keepers had really challenged me this time, and I was flipping pissed off.
As I run for my life from the monster, I clumsily grab my C.T. crystal again and contact Uzuki. Kon shows up on the screen instead.
"Kon? What the hell is going on here?" I scream. "I asked for something hard, but not this hard! Where's Uzuki?"
Kon gave me a look of unsureness. "Uh, I hate to tell you this Link, but there's been a change of plans. . ."
"WHAT?" I scream even louder.
"Yeah, um, Uzuki and Mitsuhiro decided to put your battle with all the Time Keepers and a monster together as one. . ."
"What the hell? I can't deal with that! Where's Uzuki?"
"Hm, according to what she said, she should be right behind you. . ."
I immediately and angrily turn off the crystal, and then I spin around, carefully running backwards (it's actually more like skipping at this point, just so I don't trip and fall). I look up at the monster, and I can see Uzuki standing on its stone head, a wide and satisfied grin on her face.
"Uzuki, you ass!" I scream at her as I ran. Luckily I was much faster than the creature.
"Now now, that's no way to speak to your elders," she laughs psychotically. She holds up one finger at me. "Test number one, Link! Name off the creature that you are battling and its battle history."
"Gah, I can't take this!" I yell, spinning around so that I'm no longer backwards and can run faster.
"Wrong answer!" She snaps her fingers. "Penalty number one!"
What, there's suddenly a penalty? I spin my gaze forward, only to be met by Yashiro's truck of a fist. I fall back in sheer pain, holding my now broken nose.
"That's for denying an answer!" Yashiro laughs at me, her fist covered in my blood.
"Augh, dammit!" I scream as I hold my nose in pain. I grab it with both hands, and then in one quick movement, trying to make it as painless as possible, I snap it back. I groan in pain, but I can breath again at least. I see that the monster is slowly gaining on me, now closer than before. I push past Yashiro and start running again.
"Penalty number two!" Uzuki declares. Crap, what did I do this time? I keep running, trying not to get hit by anymore traps, but soon a bandage flies out from nowhere and wraps itself around my foot, pulling me closer and closer to the monster. I see Mitsuhiro sitting next to Uzuki, the same bandage wrapped around his arm.
"That's for running from something you know you can defeat!" Mitsuhiro snickers as he pulls me closer and closer to the monster. "Stand up and fight, you coward!"
I really can't take this anymore.
"Come on Link, all you have to do is answer the simple bestiary question!" Uzuki encourages. "It's simple first year stuff!"
I take out a kunai and slash the bandage into two, freeing myself from its grip so I can run again.
"Penalty number three!"
I can't even begin to think about this penalty before I'm blown back by some strange force; a strange force that could only belong to Shuto's flute. I'm knocked back onto the ground, holding my ears in pain from the extremely loud music. The monster gets closer and closer.
"And that's for not even answering a simple question!" Shuto laughs as he pokes me with his flute. "Now are you going to start running again, or do we need to create a fourth penalty? It's so bad that we haven't even had to use it yet!"
Crap, there's no way in hell that I want that. I've been through so many bad things, punishments for doing something wrong. And now they had come up with a fourth penalty, probably the penalty created by the Devil himself.
I guess I really have no choice but to answer the question. I get up off the ground, but instead of running, I turn to face Uzuki and her crazy monster.
"Are you going to answer the question, Link?" she asks me, a bigger smile on her face now.
I think back to all the books I had read in the past five years with them. I think past all the history, language, tradition and strategics books, until I remember the one bestiary book that I had always loved and used every day: "Bestiary of Hyrule". It was there that I had researched about a creature such as this, a giant monster depicting another animal like a lion, or a boar, who was completely made out of stone and had the ability to possess other people with their shadows of Souls.
I wave up at Uzuki, telling her that I'm ready to answer. "Colossus, number one in the weight class! Has the ability to possess people's Souls and are commonly found around ruins and old castles!"
Uzuki claps her hands at me, a happier smile on her face. Although it's hard to tell what she's really feeling with those big sunglasses covering her eyes.
"Good job Link, you've been studying! But why are you so scared of them? They aren't that big. . ." She shakes her head. "Here we go, test number two!" She holds up two fingers. "Find Mitsuhiro-san!"
I raise my eyebrow in confusion, and I soon realize that Mitsuhiro is gone now. Mitsuhiro, as you may already know, is the camouflage master of the group. He can fool anybody into thinking he's in one spot or another, when he's really somewhere else. The only problem with looking for Mitsuhiro in the middle of the woods is. . . well, he's always wearing tuxedos, and he has really bony limbs, so when he hides in the woods - and if he's seen - he looks too much like the Kyodai no Akuma scouts. And that was a living hell for all of us.
"Wait, before you go looking for him!" Uzuki yells, stopping me in my tracks. "Um. . . you're not just going to go look for Mitsuhiro while you fight this thing, right? I mean, I don't like these guys as well as you do, so. . . find Mitsuhiro quickly. You should be able to find him in less than five minutes.
Great, now I have to scan the entire woods in five minutes looking for a guy that can blend in with environment like Shuto, Uzuki and Yashiro can blend in with a crapload of manga geeks.
So, the first thing I do is grab my C.T. crystal, and I contact Mitsuhiro. He always has his set to ring if he's not on a mission, so if anyone calls him when he's off the job, it will ring with a really loud annoying sound that almost sounds like a child's scream. . . only much sharper, louder, and creepier. Mitsuhiro has strange tastes in sounds and music.
I listen carefully for Mitsuhiro's terrible C.T. crystal ring, and I soon here it not too far from here. I smile to myself, grateful that Mitsuhiro hadn't turned off the ring, and I begin running into the direction of the sound. But then again, I start to get the feeling that he's playing a trick on me and the crystal is actually just sitting by itself on the ground somewhere. . . that would surely piss me off big time.
The ringing suddenly ends, which probably means that Mitsuhiro has realized what happened and caught on to my little trick. It doesn't matter, I'm close enough to him anyways. I examine the area around me. There are way more trees here, which means it will be even harder to find him. Mitsuhiro always knows how to blend in with trees. It's because of his dark way of dressing and his ability to stand completely still, barely even breathing.
I cautiously look around, aware that he could attack me at any moment. Just because Uzuki said that "You have to find Mitsuhiro" doesn't mean that Mitsuhiro can't just go ahead and find me. I hear a few rustles around me, but they're just leaves rustling in the wind. But after being outside for this long. . . I realize that there is no wind.
I spin around, and I see Mitsuhiro.
Impaled on a tree branch.
I can't help but scream in terror.
A Short Interlude
Uzuki buttons up her long fur-collared jacket, warming herself from the sudden chill of the outdoors. She sneezes once before pulling out a tissue and blowing her nose.
"Blech, I'm not used to being outside so much. . ." she sniffles. "I should be back inside, where it's warm. . ."
Mitsuhiro jumps up next to her, uttering the woods, "Boo." Uzuki jumps into the air in surprise, and then whacks Mitsuhiro in the shoulder when she finds out it's him.
"Don't do that!" Uzuki scolds him. "I can't take it when people sneak up on me like that!"
"Which is why I did it," Mitsuhiro snickers.
"Hey, where's Link?" Uzuki asks, looking around and trying to locate her teammate.
They hear a scream.
"Ah, that's probably him now," Mitsuhiro laughs under his breath.
". . .What did you do?" Uzuki asks suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, just a little illusion to get his blood worked up a bit. We want him to be prepared for anything, don't we?"
Uzuki sighs, shaking her head, and then sits back down on top of constantly moving head of the colossus. She didn't like them either; in fact, she was terrified of them. But she knew Link was terrified of them too, which was the main reason why she had chosen them for his test. She had to choose something that he had to learn how to defeat. . . of course, in a way, colossi weren't very difficult to defeat at all. They were actually extremely stupid. But they were big and intimidating, and if you screwed up once, you could end up like a pancake under one of their stone feet.
Mitsuhiro stares at Uzuki before poking her in the forehead. "Why don't you take those glasses off? You shouldn't wear those all the time, I can't see your eyes past them."
"I happen to really like these glasses," Uzuki replies. "My purpose for always wearing them is of no importance."
"Hm, whatever you say. . . just get a glimpse of the sunshine every now and then, okay?"
Uzuki smiles and nods at him, and then stares off into the forest, where another scream shatters the silence between the two.
Chapter 1 (continued)
I feel like throwing up. I know that this is an illusion, it has to be. . .
But I can't help but get sick. This was one the most worst things I had ever seen in my life. Even the sight of the Kyodai no Akuma would be comforting compared to this. This was just sick.
I back away from the illusion, wanting to take my eyes off it, but I can't seem to. It's so horrifying that I want to look away, but I have the feeling that I should keep looking. It's like a horror movie, when you just want to close your eyes but you still also want to see the ending, and you have no choice but to keep watching and hold onto someone else for dear life.
"Mitsuhiro, you sick twisted bastard. . ." I hiss under my breath before turning around and leaving. He had actually used the C.T. crystal trick against me, and he had turned the tables on me, making me the coward who wanted to run and hide. I have no choice but to beat the colossus first. Mitsuhiro can rot in the forest for all I care.
When I make it back, I realize that the colossus had been following me, and it was very slowly making progress. I guess it just didn't realize that Uzuki was sitting on its head.
I grab the sword handle that's protruding from the sheath tied to my back, and I pull it out, revealing the sharp, white, shimmering blade. Now that I'm older, it's as light as a feather, and it's not even the same size as me anymore. I hold my sword up, facing down the colossus, my small blue eyes staring deep into the glowing, round white orbs of the colossi's eyes.
"Hold it!" Uzuki snaps at me in a sharp voice. "You can't just fight the colossus by itself!"
What, are they actually going to give me backup? Because that would be a big help. . .
"You have to fight all of us at the same time!" She raises her arms, and the rest of the Reapers rise their heads and bodies from the shadows of the twilight, including Mitsuhiro.
Point taken, don't trust Uzuki when you're in need of something. Cause' she'll only bite you back and things will only get worse.
I sigh to myself in defeat, and decide to accept the horrible truth of what she has just said. Then I prepare my sword again, with a taunting look on my face. I charge at the monster, keeping an eye on all of the Reapers while I do so that they don't make any sudden movements. I see that Mitsuhiro is gone again, which is never a good sign.
"Bring it on, and I can take all of you!" I declare as I get closer and closer to the colossus, who has now aware of my existence. The monster lets out a loud shriek before lumbering towards me, its body causing small tremors in the earth with each big step. I try to avoid the shockwaves that are being sent out from its feet, and I soon make it to the base of its front left foot. The moment I'm about to climb up onto it though, Mitsuhiro appears out of nowhere and sends me flying with an elbow to the face. I look up at him, his body melting into the colossi's leg with a horde of shadows, a wide smirk on his face.
"Come on, is that all you've got?" he taunts me, holding his hands out as if inviting me in.
What a jerk. Of course I would end up falling for something like that though. Mitsuhiro's tricks. . . each new one was impossible to avoid the first two or three times, and even if you did learn the trick, he would very quickly come up with a new one to use, each one trickier than the last.
I realize that all I have to do is get on the colossus, find its weak spot, and then kill it. If I manage in doing that, I just have to take care of the Reapers, and then I'm done. Easy as beating up a Deku Baba. . . all I have to do is make it up on the colossi's back without slipping up and getting knocked off again, or getting stomped on by one of the colossi's humongous feet.
I start to run towards it again, and this time I manage to climb up its stone surface, all the way to where it meets the torso. Then I hear a yell, and I see Yashiro flying at me at full speed like some kind of ravenous vulture, her fist ready to meet my face. I quickly grab onto the fur underneath the colossi's belly, and I swing myself onto it, just barely avoiding her attack by a centimeter. My quick-thinking saved me that time. But I can't afford to get knocked off again, especially if it's Yashiro that knocks me off, because it would take longer to recover, which means more of a chance of getting turned into a human pancake by the colossus.
I swing myself back onto the leg and climb up as quickly as possible before Yashiro can charge at me again. I'm on the colossi's shoulder now. The marking on its body - it's weak spot - should be on its back, considering the type of colossus it is. I bring my sword up, and I bring it back down into the surprisingly soft flesh of the creature, black blood immediately coming up and spraying my sword. The colossus reacts, and begins to shake its body like crazy, trying to knock me off. I have no choice but to grab onto its fur and hold on for dear life. When its finished, I take my sword and stab it a second time, the wound getting bigger and more blood spraying out. The colossus gets mad again and begins to shake its body in attempts to knock me off. I tightly grip the fur, until my body swings towards the creature's head. The swing of my body from the shaking is so violent that I end up losing my grip on the sword, sending it flying somewhere off that I can't see. When the colossus stops shaking, the marking disappears; I have to find a new one now. But first, I try to locate my sword. It's on the colossi's head.
Right by the new marking.
Coincidence?
I jump up to my feet before the colossus has another chance to attempt to knock me off, and I charge up its rough furry body, until I make it to the neck. I'm so close to reaching my sword. . .
. . . until I get kicked right in the face. I fall backwards, doing a backwards somersault before stopping on the shoulder of the colossus. I see Uzuki with her arms crossed, a wide smile on her face as always.
"You didn't think I'd let you off so easily, did you?" she asks me in a joking voice. I stare angrily at her, the reflecting lenses of her sunglasses peering back at me. "You've got another thing coming, kiddo."
Darn it, I have no time for Uzuki's 'words of wisdom'. I have a colossus to defeat!
Uzuki takes her hand and flips the left side of her hair once, a sneering look on her face. "Fight me, if you think you can defeat me!"
I have no choice but to jump back up to my feet at her invitation. I put my sword away, knowing it's not the best weapon to use in a fight against her. I prepare my hands in the position she had taught me so many years ago, and I wait for her to make the first move.
Uzuki cracks her neck once before lunging at me, her long, black, fur-collared jacket whipping behind her. I begin to charge at her as well, both of us running at each other with ideas of what to do first. I bring one of my hands forward to strike, and she leaps into the air, flipping above me like an experienced acrobat, her legs finally meeting my back and kicking me forward onto the ground. She lands on her hands before cartwheeling herself safely on her feet. Then after that, she brushes herself off like she's just played a simple game of soccer.
"Is that all you've learned? Geez, you need some serious training to do. . ." Uzuki taunts, holding her hands up again.
I spin back onto my feet again and I charge at her once more, this time ready for her tricks. I flatten my palms out, straightening my fingers, and I bring my right hand up to strike her. She brings up her arm as well, blocking my strike. Both our hands are glowing with the energy of our Souls as we attack each other, our hands and arms blocking each other's attacks and the light of our hands bouncing off our skin like flames each time our Soul powers come into contact with each other. I soon found an opening, and in less than a second I had stricken her stomach, my Soul power hitting her organ, causing blood to explode out from her mouth. I twist myself away from her, keeping my defense up with my hands held high in front of me.
The corner of Uzuki's mouth twitches, until she smiles a wide, crooked smile, baring fangs the size of multiple sharp rocks. Great, the one thing that I didn't want happening had happened in less than a minute; I had pissed Uzuki off. Fighting Uzuki in a regular sparring match wasn't all that bad. The best part about it was that she made it fun. But the problem was what her mood was like. Fight her when she's in a good mood, and you're safe, but get her pissed off. . . you're going to have a lot of hell to deal with.
"Uzuki, calm down, it's just a battle!" I yell at her, not wanting to face her punishment. She doesn't listen to me though, and she immediately grabs the front flap of her jacket, pulling the opening away to reveal a thick swarm of Keese flying towards me. I can see the very tiny notepad and pencil attached to her arm underneath the sleeve. The bats all fly towards me like a thick cloud, their black bodies surrounding me and blinding my vision. I hate Keese, they're one of the most annoying creatures in the entire world. I notice that some of them are on fire too. I can't let those ones touch me.
Before I can even have a chance to fend the annoying creatures off, Uzuki reaches inside her jacket and pulls out a bigger sketchpad and a pencil. She furiously begins to draw on the paper, the pencil in her hand a long orange blur. She has a crazy look in her eyes as she finishes the drawing, throws the sketchpad to the ground, and lunges at it, placing her hands on the paper. Colors of blue and gold explode from the drawing, revealing. . . Mitsuhiro.
"Hey, that's a terrible hiding spot!" I yell after I've killed the last Keese. I look at Mitsuhiro with an angry look. "I never would have found you there!" Mitsuhiro gives me a serious look, telling me to get ready for battle. I bite my lip, and I reach for the handle of my sword. I pull the weapon from its sheath, its silver metal gleaming in the golden light of the Dark Realm.
Mitsuhiro grins at me, and also reaches for his weapon. He wraps his fingers around the bandaged handle of his katana, and slowly pulls it from its hoslter. I stare at his sword in fear; it's like the hatred and blood-lust of the Kyodai no Akuma is staring back at me with its deep red eyes. I shiver as I look at the blade of the katana, and then I look at Mitsuhiro, who is still holding the same crazy, blood-lust smile on his face. Those two are one and the same.
"So, I have to fight both you and Uzuki now at the same time, huh?" I ask. "Quite a challenge. . ."
"If you can't beat the leader and second-leader of the Time Keepers, then you'll never be strong enough to lead all four of us," Mitsuhiro states coldly.
"Shoot," I snicker. I hold my sword back as I charge at the two Reapers, as determined as ever to defeat them in this battle. Mitsuhiro and Uzuki move closer to each other, so that Uzuki's in the front and Mitsuhiro is in the back, both of their weapons held high. I swing my sword at them, and Mitsuhiro's katana comes up from behind Uzuki and to her front, blocking my attack. Mitsuhiro is holding Uzuki back like he's trying to protect her, which he probably is.
"Come on, let Uzuki fight for herself, would you?" I hiss, and bring my sword back up again. This time Mitsuhiro blocks it with the Time Distorter wrapped around his arm. He's now clutching Uzuki under his arms. I can see Uzuki's eyes glaring at me from beneath her sunglasses. She smirks, and then lifts Mitsuhiro's arms.
"The kid's right, let's not hold back on him so much," Uzuki snickers. "We should try harder."
Mitsuhiro smiles at her, and then she stands next to him, her scythe appearing from a burst of light and black blossoms in her hands. She lifts it above her shoulders with one hand, and then points at me.
"Give it all you've got, kid," she laughs.
Now I'm pissed at them for continuously calling me a kid. I back up and then charge at them again with my sword. Uzuki brings her scythe up in front of her, blocking my attack. I'm not done yet though. I keep swinging at her, and she keeps blocking, the sound of our metal weapons clanging against each other ringing throughout the entire forest. She keeps backing up as I strike her, giving a fair amount of room between the two of us. Uzuki suddenly jumps back, and she rips out a bandage from the small holster on her belt. She flicks her wrist, and the bandage whips out to me, wrapping itself around my ankle and pulling me onto my back on the colossi's fur. When I look up from the ground, I see Yashiro flying down at me, her fist held right in front of her and ready to strike. She lands right next to me, grabs my neck and begins to punch me in the face like there's no tomorrow.
"Take this!" Yashiro screams, and punches me in the face for a third time, this time really hard. I can feel my nose break again.
When she lets her guard down again to prepare another punch, I take my hand and punch her right back in the face, knocking her back in surprise. I take the chance to flip backwards back onto my feet. Yashiro charges at me, and I dodge her attack, straightening my palm out and drilling my fingertips into her stomach. Blood spurts out from her mouth. I take the chance to drive my fingers into her neck, shortening her breathing patterns and knocking her back even farther. She regains her balance, and bends down to catch her breath.
"Had enough?" I ask, daring her to fight more. She growls at me and then charges again. This time I dodge her continuous punches, running backwards so that I don't get to close. When I dodge again, I swing around and strike her right in the side, knocking her over to the left. But before she can fall to the ground, I shift myself over so quickly so that I'm underneath her, and I strike her right in the neck. She yelps for a quick second, and then falls to the ground in unconsciousness.
"One down, three to go," I mutter to myself. I turn back to face Mitsuhiro and Uzuki again, but they're gone. I know this trick. I turn around to run and get off the colossus as quick as I can, but before I can make it, a shrill tune blows through my head like an explosion, knocking me back onto the colossi's body. I lift myself up to see Shuto standing right at the edge of the colossi's back, his flute gripped between his hands.
"Aw man, it's you. . ." I chuckle to myself. "Man, I know this trick, so don't go trying to play it on me."
Shuto laughs, and swings his flute over his shoulder, much like how Uzuki usually holds her scythe. "What trick?" he chuckles. "I'm just here to fight you, no tricks at all."
I suddenly feel myself getting colder, my body freezing up all on its own, like a ghost has walked through me. I look at my hands, and I see the ice growing over my skin like frost.
"Didn't say I wasn't going to use magic though. . ." Shuto chuckled.
I look down at my legs and the ice that's growing over my boots and clothes. I smile at Shuto's choice of fighting, to use magic. I decide that I'm only going to defeat him by using the same thing, so I warm up my Soul power to my entire body. Then I clasp my hands together.
"Din's Fire," I declare in a low voice. Fire explodes on my arms first, and then it spreads around my entire body like a snake, melting all of the ice on contact. When the ice is all gone, I dismiss the fire with another clasp of my hands. Shuto is clapping his hands at me.
"Good job," he congratulates. "But unfortunately, you're going to have to do more than that to prove you're worthy of leading us." He swings his arms around in front of his body, twisting his waist and changing his position. Ice begins to engulf his arms, covering over his skin without freezing it. He prepares his fists, the ice jumping off his knuckles like steam.
I do the same thing, except instead of ice, I use fire. We both start charging towards each other, flames and ice being left behind on the colossi's body from where our steps used to be. He brings his fist up, and I bring up mine, our punches meeting each other in a clash of fire and ice. Our magic power deflects off of each other, and we bring our punches back again, continuously swinging our magic-charged fists at each other. He ends up punching me a few times in the shoulders, freezing up my clothes and skin. But I counter with a few blows to his chest, his own body catching on fire and burning through the fabric of his t-shirt. We keep punching at each other, and he soon lands an attack on my face, freezing up the side of my jaw and paralyzing my movements for a split second. I quickly swipe my fiery hand across the growing ice on my face, and it melts, the water running down my neck.
When Shuto punches again, I duck down, and instead of using fire, I quickly switch my magic power so that it changes to lightning, the electricity circling my palm like a sphere. I bring my hand back and then push it straight into Shuto's torso, sending the electricity all through his body. Shuto's head jerks up in shock, and now paralyzed from my attack, I kick him in the same spot, knocking him onto the ground. The electricity is jumping off his body like fireworks. I bend down so that I can see Shuto's face better, and then I pat his head.
"Thanks for the battle," I say before standing back up and turning around to face Uzuki and Mitsuhiro, who are now strangely standing back where they were as if nothing had ever happened.
"Amazing, you took down Yashiro and Shuto in less than fifteen minutes," Mitsuhiro says. "But we won't be so easy." The two of them raise their weapons, taking on their special battle formation. I want to take care of Uzuki first, so that it will make my battle with Mitsuhiro a lot easier. I charge at Uzuki, my sword ready to be swung, and I leap at her. She blocks my attack with her scythe, but I curve my body around so that I flip over and kick her in the shoulder, knocking her forward. I bring my sword back up to myself and I land safely on the hilt as the blade stabs into the body of the colossus. Having noticed the sudden pain, the colossus begins to jerk its body, trying desperately to knock us off. I hold on tight to the handle of my sword until it's done.
The first thing I do afterwards is grab my broken nose and crack it back into place again. I'm confident that the next time it breaks I won't be able to fix it again so easily. When I can smell again without feeling blood run out of it, I grab a kunai from the holster on my belt, and then I lift my sword from the colossi's body. Thankfully it doesn't notice this time. With two weapons in hand, I charge at Uzuki again, this time even more determined to defeat her than ever. The metal of my sword clangs against the blade of Uzuki's curved black scythe as the two of us glare at each other with lust for battle. She grips her scythe even tighter, and begins to push me down with her weapon. This is another trick that I've grown used to and have found a solution to. Uzuki lets go right at the last second, and zips past me, the scythe's blade slicing into my side. I fall back, but I immediately reach back and grab onto the girl's ponytail.
"W-What kind of game do you think this is?" Uzuki hisses at me.
I've got to admit, that is foul play, Dex says to me.
Oh, hello. Long time no talk, I reply. I don't consider this foul play when we're in the middle of a death battle. But then again, for Uzuki, it is a little unfair. She's been growing this ponytail for years, and she says that it's taken her forever to get it to look right. Oh well, I guess she's just going to have to overlook that problem and pay attention to the battle, right?
Knowing that she can't just rip the ponytail out of her head, she continues to resist, trying to pull herself away from my grip. But I'm not letting go. Half of this is too funny to watch.
"You jackass!" Uzuki swears in a loud voice, but despite her swearing I refuse to let go. "Ugh, you give me no choice!" She pulls out a windmill shuriken from the bag strapped to her belt. I widen my eyes at her. But she can't possibly be thinking of. . .
. . . she does just what I was afraid she would do. She uses the single closed blades of the windmill shuriken to slash at the base of her ponytail, ripping it right out of her head, leaving the remains of the ponytail in my hand. I drop it in shock as I stare at Uzuki's hair, the ends and top of her hair uneven from the sudden disappearance of her ponytail. And guess what Uzuki does? She lowers her head, and laughs a very low laugh. A psychotic laugh. I have made her snap. She turns to look at me, her eyes wild with insanity.
Good job, now you've gone and pissed her off! Dex growls at me.
Dammit, do you think I meant for that to happen? I scream back. Just shut up and let me handle this!
Uzuki spins around, and races at me with insanity in her eyes, her scythe flying behind her as she leaps into the air and lunges at me. The metals of our weapons meet again, blocking each other's attacks. She furiously continues to strike at me, so fast that I barely have time to think. But I manage to react in time and block all of her moves. When our weapons hit each other again, I flip out a kunai and I slash it across her stomach, blood flying from the thin but deep wound. She stops and looks down at the wound. Then she examines the rip in her fur-collared jacket.
Dammit, you just made her even more angry! Dex screams.
Uzuki looks up at me, an even crazier look on her face, and she begins to swing her curved blade at me even faster, my blocks rendered useless as she pushes me farther and farther down the colossi's back.
Dex, HELP ME! I panickly scream inside my head.
Wow, that was faster than normal, Dex laughs.
I look down at my hands and watch as the shadows creep along my fingertips and arms, covering over my brown jacket. They crawl up my back, and onto my face, and I can feel my teeth turning into fangs.
Whoa, not that far buddy! I yell.
Aw man. . .
The shadows that are growing at my feet disperse, leaving me in just the normal demon form that I use sometimes in emergencies. Twilight begins to grow on the handle of my sword, until it grows out all the way to the tip of my blade. That's far enough to give me enough power to defeat Uzuki, and maybe Mitsuhiro.
"Can we get this over with. . .?" I ask in a depressed tone. "I'm tired. . ."
"Me too," Uzuki replies, raising her scythe. "Me too."
We charge at each other for the millionth time, our weapons clashing at each other, and before I know it, it's over.
I look down at Uzuki, who's laying on the ground, blood running down her side. I bend down next to her and rub her forehead.
"Thank you, Uzuki," I say in a quiet, soothing voice.
"Shut up, I'm not dying," she snickers.
"I know, but this is the last time that I'll be looking at you and Mitsuhiro as my leader. Next time you see me, I'm going to be your leader."
She smiles at me, and then closes her eyes, letting herself rest until the battle is over.
I stand up, and I turn to face my best friend, and my rival, Mitsuhiro Minamimoto.
"You ready?" I ask him.
He cracks his neck. "Bring it on, Fairy Boy."
We smile at each other as we draw our weapons. Of course, the two of us had made a promise to Uzuki earlier that we would not take the battle too far like the time we fought for Mitsuhiro's Soul. This time, we would settle things quickly, and if things got too dangerous for one of us, then that person would surrender, no questions asked.
When I charge at Mitsuhiro, I throw my sword into the air, readying my fists right after I do and punching Mitsuhiro in the stomach. I can tell that he's going easy on me, but I don't want him to go all-out either. I bring my fist up again and strike him in the same spot, and then I bring up my other hand, straightened out, and I drill my fingers into his body.
"One pressure strike!" I declare. I rapidly drill my hands into the same spot of his body over and over again. I can see my sword falling back down. I have to hurry.
"Fifty-five pressure strikes!" I declare again. I keep striking his stomach, blood flying from his mouth. "One hundred fifty pressure strikes!" I finish off the move with a shove to the stomach with the palms of my hands, Soul power exploding like water ripples from my hands as they make contact with Mitsuhiro's body. He's blown back in an instant, allowing me to reach my hand up and grab my sword.
Mitsuhiro slowly begins to get back up, the blood running from his mouth like an endless waterfall. He coughs up a bit of blood before wiping his face with his arm, staining his skin with the color of scarlet. He takes the bottom of his tanktop and brings it up to wipe the rest of the blood off, soaking the bottom rim of his shirt.
"Don't like blood, huh?" I ask.
"Not my blood," Mitsuhiro snickers. He runs at me again, and this time I put my sword away instead of throwing it into the air. I don't intend of using it in this fight. I'd rather show off my hand-to-hand fighting skills. When Mitsuhiro punches at me, I keep dodging his fists, until I get the change to grab one of his hands and twist his arm, pulling him to the ground. He stumbles, but he doesn't quite fall; I just need the chance to break his guard. I lift up one of my legs and smash his face into the back of the colossus, where the surface isn't fur but stone. I lift my foot and continously smash his face into the stone, creating a small crater. The colossus doesn't seem to notice, thank the Goddess Din.
When I'm done smashing his face in, I grab his hair, pulling him up from the stone, and then I punch him in the face, reeling him back. I don't let go of him though, and I keep punching him. He comes back to his senses soon though, and he dodges one of my punches, bringing one of his fists to punch me back. Like a blur, I quickly dodge it, letting go of him and disappearing so that I'm standing behind him. I bring up both my hands, charging up the Soul power and turning it into electric power. I bring one hand up to each side of his head, and I let the electricity explode between my palms where Mitsuhiro's head is, shocking his entire skull and brain cells. After I feel that he's had enough, I stop the flow of electricity and watch him fall to the ground. The blood circles his head like a ring from where it drains from his mouth and from where his head had nearly exploded from the electricity power.
I hear a shriek from the colossus. Right, I still gotta take care of this thing. Not a problem. . .
I draw my sword from its sheath again, and I walk up the back of the colossus to where its monstrous head is. I flip my sword like a baton, calmly walking to where the mark on its head is, and like its an everyday thing, I take my sword and plunge the blade straight through the marking. I can see the eyes of the colossus light up, its eyes becoming big circles of white. It's eye is even bigger than me. Not very big my ass, Uzuki. Black blood explodes from the wound, and the colossus begins to resist, but I don't let it do anything before I stab it again. I jump off its head and wave goodbye to it before walking away.
But then I remember something important.
Something that I overlooked, something that if forgotten, can lead to terrible consequences.
"Okay, Link, so I'm going to teach you about the colossus," Uzuki says happily. "They are one of the biggest monsters out there, and the most horrifying to look at, but there is one thing you must always remember when fighting one."
"What's that?"
"If you ever kill a colossus, run for you life. When a colossus dies, its Soul escapes and tries to possess the person that killed it. So if you ever happen to kill a colossus, don't ask any questions, and don't stop running until you're sure the Soul is gone."
I look back at the colossus, and I can see the black, translucent spirit rising up from the remains of the twilight-covered monster. I can hear soft cries coming from the spirit, the cries of the colossi's unfortunate death. I flinch, but then I run, knowing that if I don't get out of here soon, I could become the next colossus.
Run, run, run, run. Don't look back for anything. Just keep running. Don't stop for anything, don't look back, and run.
Unfortunately, a person only has about a two percent chance of escaping, and I'm only fifty feet away before the spirit catches up to me and latches onto my body. I cringe up in absolute pain, my vision blurring, and I fall heavily to the ground, the spirit finally getting close of my Soul. I crawl on the on the ground, pulling up the grass and trying to get away, but I soon feel the colossi's spirit latch onto my Soul like a hook, killing my breathing and causing me to faint to the ground.
Great, I had finally passed the test and become the new leader of the Time Keepers, and this happens.
