Yaay, new story! This is the text version of my manga, and it is a SERIOUS fic. "Cortex, writing something serious?!" you cry. Yes, I know. Gulp.
Anyway, a warning: this first part is INCREDIBLY OC- heavy. Please stay patient, however, things will improve in the next part! (Which will also be considerably shorter, by the way. Phew).
PROLOGUE Part 1: The Robotic Monarch of Inaria
Inaria was your typical cliche "happy kingdom". It was the place you read about in fairytales as a young child, believing that such kingdoms did actually exist- problem free, perfect in every way.
Although there were no princes or princesses in Inaria- indeed, the robotic Queen had even refused servants, fiercely independent as she was- it would still not take much imagination to squint up at the castle in the centre of the land and see a silhouette waving from the top of the tower, in need of a handsome prince to come to her aid. Alas, the royal family consisted of only one person in that kingdom, but since it was a machine it rarely ventured out, choosing instead to remotely govern the country through frequent telegrams to its retainers. Being a creature of logic, this sometimes caused problems as Inaria's troubles could not always be solved purely by looking at the facts. Like many problems in the real world away from fantasy, sometimes one had to look a little deeper into perhaps the emotional repercussions of the alternatives to these problems... It was not always the best choice to have an emotionless machine who could only compute the solutions. However, nobody dared to challenge the Queen. Inaria was a textbook kingdom- or, to be more precise, fairytale, as was mentioned above. Problems eventually sorted themselves out, with only a little guidance needed from those in charge.
There was a large divide between the rich and poor, of course. Peasants would toil in the fields to grow food for the rich, who would eat it and demand more. The situation was the same, if worse, all over the world. Compared to some of its poorer counterparts who could only look upon their ailing economies and divides with shame, Inaria had an enviable reputation. There were next to no beggars on the streets, due to the naturally charitable nature of those who had lived in the kingdom for a while, and had grown accustomed to the slightly unnerving fact that they could have anything they needed and thus could afford to take the less unfortunate in.
The terrain was mostly flat, taken up by urbanised areas surrounded by paddy fields and rural hills. Pollution was beginning to have an effect on the kingdom, but it was not really noticeable as yet and so was not deemed to be a problem. Large computers in the capital city kept an efficient monitor on all that was happening over the kingdom, as if an oversized CCTV camera was sweeping the land. Data would be recorded, correlated, and sent to the Queen. This system worked well for the most part, and no one problem was brought to mind for too long before it was swiftly rectified. The kingdom was highly technologically advanced, much more so than the rest of the world who could only plagiarize their fantastic ideas.
In summary, Inaria was a peaceful and well- governed kingdom that was assumed to be indestructible. Any problems simmering under the surface were quashed before long and, with powerful military protection and strong surrounding walls, intruders were not expected or taken very seriously.
Nothing could go wrong.
However, Inaria had what was soon to become a counterpart kingdom- Hyrule.
At that point in time, the two kingdoms had absolutely nothing in common, and nothing to link them to eachother at all. Indeed, none of the denizens of either realm had any idea the other existed. This was because they were both contained in separate dimensions, and the two worlds they were in were cornered off from eachother seemingly forever. This was to change, but not yet.
Hyrule was the "dark" version of Inaria. Stuck in mediaeval times with a hapless royal family, it had once been hailed as the "kingdom of the Gods". Pilgrimages had been made to it from travellers from all over their world just to see the sacred spot where the first goddess was said to have fallen to earth, and the trails that the many heroes had made to rescue her descendants from the various evil forces that had plagued the kingdom over history. Of course, all this was said to be legend. But the truth was very different.
These legends, and indeed these evils, did exist. Hyrule had once again fallen into decline- poverty and war was rife as black magic once again engulfed the kingdom. Those that had dismissed the tales of old as mere stories found themselves fleeing the kingdom, only to be forced back by guards of darkness who would send them to their deaths. Once again the kingdom's connection to the heavens and the mystical forces of the gods had taken its toll. However, a small comfort for those well versed in the legends of Hyrule came in the form of the ongoing tale of "Link".
In every era, whenever darkness threatened the land in one of its frequent forays into this permanently terrified realm, it was said that a hero dressed in green and bearing a sacred symbol on his hand would come and bring peace to the land once more... for a time. Then the whole sorry cycle would repeat itself, but in every iteration of this legend Link would return and vanquish the wrongdoers. However, this was but a legend with no true evidence except the word of storytellers in the street, or mothers with their children at night. It could be said, however, that the tale of the sacred mark (which supposedly gave Link the powers he had) had some basis in the wider world of Hyrule. When the land had been created by the three Golden Goddesses- Din, Nayru, and Farore- they had left a relic of their brief visit as they departed once more for the heavens. At the point where the heavens met the earth, three triangles were formed in the sky. From then on, they marked the boundary between these worlds, and the place where they were kept was known as the "Realm Of The Heavens".
The Triforce also had a physical manifestation on earth as well. It was said that in any age, whenever the hero Link was needed, that the mysterious mark on his hand would be a simple triangle, seeming to be cut into the skin. This triangle would represent Courage, and the reigning princess of Hyrule at that time- always called Zelda, as part of an obscure tradition in the royal family- would receive the crest of Wisdom. Finally, a recurring element in the stories would be that a man named Ganondorf would be the leader of the evildoers, and on his hand he would receive the crest of Power. If the three pieces of the Triforce were reunited, whoever had united them would become omnipotent, and since the Triforce handily doubled up as a wish- granting device (regardless of the morality of the one making the wish), he could get whatever his heart desired merely by "asking", as if the relic were a genie. Therefore, Ganondorf would strive to accomplish this goal, but Link and Zelda would always quash his plans in a boundless display of strength for the greater good.
That, in a somewhat large nutshell, was the tale of the Triforce- the tale that the Hylians, in these dark times, were inclined to believe as much as they could. After all, in such a magical kingdom, surely anything could be possible?
Queen Krishna rested her chin on her hand absentmindedly as she gazed out of the topmost castle window. Inaria's Royal Palace was an immense structure. White and turreted, a flag flapped desolately at the top, the only excuse for colour when put against the somewhat boring pureness of the structure. Windows were scarce- there was one small peep- hole in the centre of each of the turrets and one large, double- glazed monster at the very top of the castle that was spread around the main body like a band, so that the Queen could have a 360 degree view of her kingdom. Inside the palace, rooms were plain and unassuming. They were all painted the same bland shade of white, with an equally dull carpet put in the centre. Of course, the contents of each varied, but there is no need to point out any notable points as there genuinely were none. Furniture was rarely seen, and many of the rooms served merely as storage rooms for nonexistent items, doors locked shut until the momentous event came when they were actually to be used.
"I'm booooooooored." Krishna sang to herself, pushing herself away from the window and performing a clumsy one- foot spin on the shiny floors that quickly ended with a smarting backside.
She picked herself up, tutting at her own incompetence. True, as a robot she was not really supposed to imitate human ability to the level of accuracy she strived for, but it was still depressing to know that her inability to stay upright during particularly balletic moves may be misinterpreted as a malfunction in the future. She mused that that was probably the major difference between robots and humans; if a human were to fall over after attempting something beyond their ability, it would simply be dismissed as inexperience. Alas, with a powerful humanoid robot such as her, designed to mimic perfectly the various functions of the human anatomy (excluding reproduction, of course, as what use would that be?), this instability would be seen as an error on the part of the programmers or designers- as would any quintessentially human behaviour she attempted to replicate, such as smiling for no reason or flying into a rage. It was frustrating, yes, but it would have to stay that way until the "uncanny valley" had been traversed and humans were more willing to accept imitations of their good selves into the wider world.
She wished she had someone to discuss this with sometimes. Another robot would be particularly nice, as they would be more able to understand her logical thought processes and various emotionless grievances, if such words were not oxymorons. It was not something she felt she could readily discuss with humans; any complaint she had about the way she was viewed or treated may well be seen as rebellion. She may be the Queen, but the people still had the power to override her should they feel the need to.
Anyway, she felt she needed someone to talk to- machine or not.
As if on cue, there was a hesitant knock on the door. Krishna glanced towards it expectantly- "Come on in!"- and greeted the person who entered with unbridled enthusiasm.
Quote, her trusted advisor and confidante, returned her bearhug with a gentle squeeze. Krishna gave this somewhat over- familiar (but well- meaning) greeting to anyone she happened to know. It was terrifying for the recipient, as one could never be sure whether to hug the delicate robot back in just as welcoming a manner and risk crushing one of her circuits, or to respond weakly or not at all and disappoint her. Quote always opted for the latter.
Krishna pulled away. "Quote, my buddy, my pal! Ah, you did my laundry! Thanky- doos, me old mucker!- Me old mucker... I'm pretty sure that's an Old Etonian phrase. Did you go to Eton?"
Quote shook her head, quite used to Krishna's hyperactive swinging between several topics. She set the pile of fresh clothes she had been carrying down on Krishna's "squeaky- clean laundry pile". "Your Majesty, Eton is a boys' school."
"Aaaaaah. You're a girl, right?"
"That's right, Your Majesty." Krishna was still a bit unsure of the differences. One simply had to be patient and encouraging.
Krishna threw herself down in a chair. Quote cringed at the loud clank that followed, but the Queen seemed unperturbed. "Hey, you've redone your hair. I could see your roots last time, and now I can't. Nice work! Wish I had that kinda hair. Black is sooooo boring." she sighed, fingering her long, sleek black locks.
"I think your hair is fine the way it is, Your Majesty. We wouldn't want to risk damaging it..." But inside, Quote felt a warm glow at the compliment. In her turn, she wished she had hair like Krishna's, long and dark.
The robot did a backwards handspring across the room, landing just in front of her shocked retainer. "Your Majesty! My goodness!"
"Hahaaaaa, scared ya! I assume." Krishna fell into a "thinking" position- hand stroking chin, comedy expression twisting her face. Quote chuckled. "What's on your mind, Your Majesty?"
"Ugh, please call me Krish. Or Yer Maj if you can't bear that. Anyway... Hey, Quote, d'ya ever think that there may be other worlds out there? Like, alternate realities or something? Being a creature of logic, I can't really find any evidence for it. But you humans are so wishy- washy. I'm curious to know what you think."
Quote fell silent, thinking carefully about her answer. "I think... the existence of alternate realities would very much depend on an individual's view of the world. I'm quite creative and I enjoy making things up- so yes, I believe that there must be SOMETHING out there. At the moment, though, I'm not sure what."
"You just doubt that this is the only world in existence? Excluding space, of course."
"You could see it like that, yes."
Krishna raised an eyebrow, interested. "Do you ever think we'll find those dimensions?"
"...No. Our two worlds were probably separated for a reason. What reason that may be, I can't say."
The Queen nodded, satisfied at her confidante's response. "Thanks, Quote. It was nice to talk with you. I assume you're done with that washing...?" she asked casually, gesturing towards the pile in the corner.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will leave you in peace."
With that, Quote turned gracefully and departed, shutting the door gently behind her. Krishna was left to her own thoughts, something she quite enjoyed. She liked working things out for herself, sometimes making up mathematical problems just so she could go to the large whiteboard hanging on the north wall and solve them. Quote would frequently enter her room to find her standing in front of this board, marker in hand, frowning as she puzzled over some inconsistency in the equation. The usual assumption was that robots, perceived as merely mobile computers, were unbeatable at maths and were programmed to solve anything they should come across. While that was true for the most part- humanoid as she was, Krishna was still unable to perceive the world exactly as a human would, having to rely on complex algorithms just to pick up a cup- the greatest feature of the robotic monarch was that, like a human, she made stupid mistakes once in a while. This only served to endear her to some, and become an annoyance to others.
Of course, deliberately programming a robot who was in charge of a country to make mistakes was a risk in itself, but luckily nothing terrible seemed to have come of it as of yet except for some bad decisions once in a while, which more often than not were results of Krishna's lack of empathy towards humans as highlighted above.
The sun was beginning to set, casting an unstable orange glow across the horizon and bathing the forests tracing the tips of the hills a deep red. The cloudless sky only served to accentuate the vivid colours of the evening. Krishna watched from her window as the sun slowly dipped behind the trees, filtering through the leaves and sending streaks of light across the hillside. Being a robot, she could not define beauty as a human could, but Krishna still enjoyed this time of day for reasons she could not quite fathom.
Tying the back of her hair up in a small bobble to keep it neat during the night, she prepared herself for sleep. She had set sleeping and waking times- sleeping was about 7:00 pm, and waking was about 6:00 am. Being as human as she was, sometimes she would lie awake thinking or oversleep, but overall her programming had the final say on her tenuous circadian rhythm.
Thirty minutes later, her thoughts began to falter and she gradually fell silent. Within seconds, she was fast "asleep".
Dimensions away in Hyrule, the purple- skinned young man sat proudly atop his dragon and surveyed the charred and twisted landscape. He did so enjoy seeing the results of the destruction he had wrought with his own hands- on the orders of his lord and master, of course. But Ganondorf usually gave his minions free rein anyway, and the liberation was addictive.
He looked behind him. "Beautiful, isn't it, Shadow Link?" he asked the boy- around 13 or 14, though he did not really have an age- uneasily straddling another dragon.
"Oh, yes, Master. You've done a fine job." Shadow replied cheerfully in a mid- Atlantic twang. He looked into his master's eyes as he said this, searching for any evidence that the mage had even acknowledged his reply- searching for emotion. As usual, he found nothing behind the red irises, and hunched his shoulders in embarrasement. Had he said too much again? Or too little? Did the mage want compliments?
"You're awesome at this!" Shadow tried again in vain. His master nodded, an autonomous response to the sound of his lackey's voice, and turned his attention back to the horizon. His waist- length purple hair fluttered ceaselessly in the autumnal wind- not that one could tell what season it was in Hyrule anymore, the kingdom destroyed beyond recognition. All his own work, of course. And Ganondorf's.
He shifted slightly, adjusting his floor- length cape around his shoulders. He was always to be found in this cape, along with a long purple tunic fastened with an ornate belt. In these slightly colder months, he wore thick knee- length pantaloons for warmth, but his choice of footwear was always sandals fastened up and around his legs with long ribbons, like a ballerina's. All in all, he looked much more dainty than Shadow, who wore short black tunics, leggings, and massive clompy boots.
Many people assumed the mage was a girl, but he didn't really mind that. All his life he had enjoyed causing conflict, even if it was over something as basic as gender. As long as people were puzzling over him or running in fear from him, well... That was all he asked. He couldn't think of anything he liked more than having free rein over the forces of darkness, as the most powerful sorceror in the land. Yes, even more so than Ganondorf, whose power had faded over the ages.
The mage's name was Vaati.
But he called himself Gufuu in this stupid, weak human form. He didn't want to attribute his true name to this pathetic appearance.
He called back to the boy behind him in glee. "Are you ready to go, Shadow? Tonight we break the dimensional barrier!"
Shadow nodded. "I'm ready when you are, Master."
Vaati did not hear his minion's words. He merely heard his voice, a quickly- fading echo in his troubled mind. Deciding that the answer was probably the affirmative he kicked the dragon's sides roughly. "Okay, go!"
A single beat of powerful wings, and Vaati was hurtling across the night sky, rising ever higher as he urged his airborne steed on. This was probably the most enjoyable experience of them all; flying. Oh, to see the faces of the villagers as he soared above their towns, burning them down, blowing them to pieces! The helplessness of the ridiculous people down below! One or two brave warriors would try to fire at him, especially when they happened to fly over Hyrule Castle (now reduced to rubble, of course). But the arrows and cannonballs never reached them- the dragons were too fast, too strong, and Vaati was an experienced flyer.
Any attacks that did penetrate the air between them were quickly deflected by Vaati himself, using a powerful blast of magic that simply shot the weapon back to earth. Some of them landed like bombs, throwing up great chunks of land. It was highly amusing.
Feeling a distinct change in the air- an unearthly heaviness bearing down on his shoulders- he knew he was close to the dimensional barrier. Nobody but a select few members of the Kuroi, him and Shadow included, knew it even existed. It had been kept a secret from the Hylians by the goddesses themselves for millennia, and no mere human had ever spoken of it or indeed known of it ever since the kingdom had first been sealed off from the world that lay beyond. At last, though, the secret had been uncovered. By Vaati himself, no less- the acute sensitivity of his magic attacks had picked up a flaw in the atmosphere one day, and through thorough investigation and sleepless nights searching he had discovered the break in spacetime. He had reported it to Lord Ganondorf, of course, who instead of doing the noble thing and going to investigate himself had simply sent him and Shadow on the mission instead.
He licked his lips- they were becoming dry and chafed through unwanted nervousness. The speed of the air hitting his face didn't help either, and his eyes were beginning to sting. But now was not such the time to worry about such trivial things- his cold grip tightened as he felt the gap's presence become stronger.
He took a deep breath, taking one hand off the dragon's flanks to point at the spot where the flaw was. He concentrated all his energy to flow down his arm like water into the tip of his finger. Concentrating hard, he forged his mind and magic into one and sang-
"Rei, dashadu... konei shutu, rei shutu, kieranu sa lei,
Rei, dashadu, konei shutu, rei shutu, kieranu sa lei,
No ma shutu konno, sa la, ku wei, sankono ra lo...
No ma shutu konna, sa la-"
There was an electric flash and a bang that seemed to split the air in two. The sky ripped in half as if it were a piece of paper, jagged ends separating at light speed to reveal a tunnel- like darkness, getting darker as it progressed deeper into spacetime. Geometric patterns faded into the "walls", glowing faintly before flickering out. Despite his shock, Vaati managed to shoot out a beam of darkness to Shadow which bound their dragons together.
"CRAP!" Vaati couldn't help shrieking as a lightning bolt missed him by inches, heat searing his back ruthlessly. He instinctively ducked, and as he did he felt an impossible feeling of being pulled apart and compressed at the same time- he tried to look up but another flash of light and heat forced him down again.
Something hit him painfully, full on and then there was whiteness then darkness and then and then and then ...
"My goodness!" Vaati heard his own voice broke the sudden silence in the air. The lightning, patterns, and darkness had gone, to be replaced by-
the peaceful quietness of a kingdom covered in a blanket of late sunset, glowing invitingly at the sky. He hovered many miles above it, taking in the flawless view with wide eyes. A sudden thought struck him, and he whipped round. "Shadow Link?"
But Shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Vaati skilfully manoeuvred his dragon back round, flying at speed towards the point where he assumed he had entered this dimension. Yes, he felt the crack in time on the other side of the sky even now- he was somewhat relieved to know he would be able to return- but the magical bond that had held him and Shadow was gone. He could not sense his minion anywhere, and surmised that he must have been returned to Hyrule.
"Seems the dimensional crack will only let certain people through." he mused. "Why me?"
As Vaati sat miles above wondering, the people of Inaria had not ignored the enormous bang that had interrupted their evening. At first some thought it was thunder, coincidentally right above their houses- it shook rafters, caused fittings to collapse, and frightened animals into submission. But word quickly spread through to the tight- knit communities, and when somebody pointed out the sky, the kingdom let out a collective gasp as they realised that something had gone terribly wrong.