Forever and For Always

Chapter One

BREAKAWAY

A/N: I've decided to do something a little different with this fic as compared to normal.. namely, for each chapter, I'm going to include a song or multiple songs that helped inspire it in this section. I won't be adding lyrics and turning it into a song fic, it'll be more like giving you a list of things you could listen to while reading for added effect. Each chapter will be named after the song (or, in the case of multiple songs, the one I think fits the most)

Music:

"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson


When Lulu was a little girl, her mother would always hold her in her lap and sing to her before bed, singing all kinds of songs to her, telling her stories about the Zoran heroes and their many adventures in the Great Seas. She would help her wash her long, delicate fins and sing to her about beautiful Zoran princesses in far off lands. She would cradle her when she was close to tears and sing to her about all of the famous Zora in Termina's history. Lulu had grown up with the sound of her mother's voice close at hand, always ready to sing wonderful songs of romance and adventure to her ailing daughter.

And then one day she was gone.

Lulu's father, a businessman of a Zora King-like build, had been completely distraught at the death of his lovely wife; inconsolable, even. It was even more unfortunate that Lulu hadn't understood what was happening, having her mother there one day and gone the next; she was old enough to understand the concept of death but at the same time, a child doesn't just assume their mother is dead when she vanishes.

Because of her mother's death when she was just very young, Lulu's father had always been very protective of her; he had always chosen friends for her that he specifically approved of, had always set specific boundaries for her to play in and had openly discouraged any boy that showed an interest in her when she started to get a bit older. Lulu loved him deeply, but she'd always wished he'd let her have a little more freedom. It became especially bad when she started to come of age.

"You should really start to think about getting married," he would say to her.

"Father, I'm in the prime of my life," she would always respond. "I have plenty of time to consider getting married. I have things I want to do beforehand."

Every time she said that, her father would chuckle and pat her on the head. "You can still get married and chase your dreams, precious," he would tell her. "Just look at your mother. She married me when she was your age and had you and still had a lucrative singing career. Now, there are some very nice Zoran men I think you should meet.." And it would go the same way every time, with her father telling her about all of the Zora's he thought would be just perfect for her. And she would simply tune him out, as always, thinking about all of the things she could do with her life if she ever left her father. Not that she couldn't leave whenever she wanted- it wasn't like he was keeping her prisoner there or anything- but she knew it would break his heart if she left, and with her mother dead there was no one else to take care of him in her absence. So she stayed with him and dealt with how protective he was of her.

She still had dreams, of course, and things she wanted to do with her life. But they could wait.


"Lulu, I'd like you to meet Toto! He was your mother's manager when she was a member of the the Indigo-Go's."

"Pleased to meet you, sir."

Lulu had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, even under the well-intentioned stifling nature of her father. Her father tried to keep her away from the undue influence of her peers, usually to great effect; since she'd spent most of her youth keeping to herself, it didn't bother her much that she was still mostly left alone.

Lulu extended her hand to the small, smartly dressed Zora, who took it by his own and kissed her knuckles.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lulu. I hear you're a lot like your mother."

The female Zora blushed a little and tittered gently, her laughter like the sound of bells. "That's what my father always tells me, but I don't quite see the resemblance. It's very nice of you to say, though."

Toto let out a hearty chortle. "Well, you certainly are as humble as her, that's certain. And you're just as beautiful as she was," Lulu smiled at the manager, feeling suddenly bashful. She knew she greatly resembled her mother, but being told she was as beautiful as her was always a wonderful compliment for her. "Do you sing?"

Caught off guard, Lulu held her fist up to her mouth. "Ah- I've never really tried before."

When Lulu's mother was still alive, the house had been perpetually filled with song- as a professional singer, she would sing songs of all sorts as she played with Lulu or did housework or at just about any time, really. As a child, she'd often sung with her; she'd never been as good as her mother, of course, as she'd been very young at the time.

"Oh? Really? Well, maybe you should try! You see, I'm trying to put together a new generation of the Indigo-Go's, and I thought you might be interested."

Lulu's father cleared his throat. "Ah, I'm not sure that's the best idea. Lulu's never been good with crowds, you see, and as you heard her say, she's never tried to sing.."

"Oh? That's a shame, then. I just came to tell her the option was there if she wanted to act on it," he explained. "I should probably be going; the first round of tryouts start today and as the band manager, it would be catastrophic if I were late. Would you mind grabbing my coat and hat, old friend?"

"Of course," Lulu's father replied, waddling off to procure the items Toto had asked for. Once he was out of earshot, the band manager turned to Lulu.

"Your father hardly lets you get a word in edgewise, I see," he said. "The offer is still open, if you want to take advantage of it. We'll be holding auditions today and tomorrow at the Zora Hall. I think it would be lovely to have the daughter of our original singer there."

Just then, Lulu's father returned with Toto's coat and hat. "Here you are, friend. I hope the auditions go well. I'm sure my darling would have loved to see the comeback of the Indigo-Go's."

"I'm sure too, Hock. I'm sure I'll see you soon."

And with that, the small Zora left and her father followed to bid him farewell, leaving Lulu thinking about the Indigo-Go's. The band that her mother had been in. She remembered sitting on her father's shoulders in the huge crowds, watching her mother sing her heart out on stage with her other band members. She had always been so beautiful and happy like that. Lulu wanted to feel like that, too, although she had no idea if she could even sing.

Her father came back into the room. "I'm sorry, Lulu, if I'd known that all he wanted was to try and get you to work for him, I wouldn't have brought him to meet you," he sighed, giving his daughter a strong hug. Lulu smiled and gave her father a quick pat.

"It's okay, father. I don't mind. I like to meet old friends of mother's," she replied. Her father released her and held her at arm's length.

"You really do look like her," he sighed. "I don't know what I did to deserve girls like you two."

He kissed the top of her head before wandering off, absorbed in nostalgia. As soon as he was out of the room, she sighed deeply. In spite of how much people told her she was like her mother, her father never gave her the opportunity to actually act like her; she assumed it was a fear of losing her the same way he'd lost her mother, but it still irritated her. In her entire life, however, she'd never done anything to rebel against that.

That was going to change.

A little later, after gathering her courage a little more, she went and found her father where he was lounging. Clearing her throat to get his attention, the leaned against the door frame. He looked up from whatever it was he was doing.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he said in acknowledgement.

"Ah- I'm going to go out and do some shopping, okay, father?" she said. The large Zora smiled at her.

"Of course, dear," he replied. "Don't be too late coming back, okay?"

She returned his smile. "I won't, father."


Lulu stood outside of the Zora Great Hall, clasping her hands together with her breath caught in her throat. She'd been so excited to finally defy her father for the first time that she could remember, but now that she was there, she was too nervous to enter the auditions. She kept trying to tell herself that she was always told she was like her mother, and her mother had been the lead singer of the Indigo-Go's years ago. But the truth was, she had no idea if she was as good a singer as her mother, or if she could even sing at all.

"Excuse me, miss, do you need help finding anything?"

Startled by the sudden address, she turned around with a little gasp. Standing there was a tall, round Zora with big, gentle eyes. He looked unlike any Zora she'd ever seen, however, sporting what looked like horns on his head and fins stretched between his arms and torso that almost looked like wings. "Oh, I'm sorry, you startled me. No, thank you, I- is this where the auditions for the Indigo-Go's are being held?"

"Yes! Are you here to audition?" he asked. She nodded. "Your name.. it's Lulu, isn't it?"

"Ah- yes, how did you know?" she asked with surprise. He shrugged.

"Toto said a female Zora who looked like the old lead singer of the Indigo-Go's and had the same name would be coming to audition," he replied. "And you look just like her. I'm going to guess you're related?"

"She was my mother," Lulu replied. She extended her hand to the large Zora. "I'm Lulu, but I guess you knew that already."

The bigger Zora shook her hand vigorously. "I'm Tijo. I'm the new drummer."

"I wasn't aware the band already had members," Lulu admitted. Tijo smiled.

"Yeah, we already have a drummer and a keyboardist- we're just looking for a singer, a guitarist and a bassist," he replied. "Hey, come on, let's get you inside and on stage if you're going to be auditioning!" Without another word, he gently ushered her inside, and Lulu obediently followed.

Within the concert hall, a massive stage had been built in the image of an open clam shell. There were clearly marked outlines where instruments were meant to be set up, but at the moment there was only a microphone set up. At the front of the stage sat Toto, who was currently talking to another male Zora with almost eel-like features. When he saw Tijo and Lulu approaching, he stopped the band manager in whatever he was saying and pointed them out. The portly Zora turned around and smiled at the approaching female.

"Ah, Lulu, you made it! I was hoping you'd show up," he said brightly. He then turned to the other male Zora he'd been conversing with. "Evan, this is the prospective singer I was telling you about- she's the daughter of the original Lulu! I think she would be perfect for the job- I mean, don't you just get a good feeling when looking at her?"

Evan, the eel-like Zora, looked her up and down with a less-than-innocent, appraising gaze. "Mm. Yeah. So long as she can sing," he agreed. Lulu blushed a brilliant purple as he gave her a full once-over. Toto seemed oblivious to the way he was looking at her, and instead walked up to the young girl and ushered her forwards onto the stage.

"Um- just so you know, I've never really practised before or anything.." she said. Toto gave her a pat on the arm.

"Don't worry, my dear," he said. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now get up there and show us what you've got!"

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Lulu stepped up onto the stage and positioned herself in front of the mic. She looked at Evan, Toto and Tijo, all waiting for her to show them what she could do, and almost threw up.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus on the fact that her mother had stood on that very stage and performed in front of huge crowds a hundred times over. "What should I sing?" she asked the band manager sitting at the front of the stage.

"Whatever you want, Lulu."

She thought long and hard before deciding on one of the fairy tale songs her mother used to sing to her as a kid, and took the microphone between her hands. They were shaking slightly from how anxious she was feeling, but she tried very hard to ignore it.

As soon as the first note drifted from her lips, everyone in the room fell deathly silent. They stared at her with wonder and awe from the first word to the last of her song as she sang a story of love and loss her mother had lulled her to sleep with a hundred times in her childhood. Her voice echoed around the room as she channelled her mother, echoing the sweetest song she could imagine.

When she finished, everyone was still quiet for a moment, until Toto stood up and started clapping wildly.

"Bravo, bravo!" he cheered. "That was astounding, Lulu. You sounded every bit as good as your mother, bless her heart- maybe even better. I don't think we have any reason to continue the auditions for singers, do you, boys?" The band manager turned to Tijo and Evan, who nodded in agreement without pause. "Lulu, if you'd like to join the Indigo-Go's, we'd be more than happy to have you."

"Thank you," she said as she smiled, feeling something like hope bubbling up inside of her.

Lulu had spent all of her life being treated like a captured princess; her father doted on her and gave her every material object she could have ever wanted, but his protective nature was stifling and had kept her from really being able to express herself. His habits even kept those he deemed as 'acceptable' friends for his daughter from growing close to her, and thus she'd spent most of her life isolated, a prisoner in her own home. She loved her father deeply and knew it would break his heart if she ever left; she knew he had only her best interests at heart, wanting to keep her from the same fate that befell her mother. But she wanted to be a part of this, to be loved and admired like her mother had been.

She just had no idea how she was going to tell her father.


"Father?"

Hock looked up from his business reports to see his daughter, Lulu, standing in the doorway of his office. He smiled brightly at her.

"Oh, Lulu, you're back," he said. "I'm sorry, I haven't started dinner yet. Is there anything in particular that you want?"

"Actually, father, I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes," she replied. As she walked up to his desk, his face contorted with worry.

"Is there something wrong, sweetheart?"

"Ah- well. When you first met mother, she was already a singer for the Indigo-Go's, right?" she asked. The Zora father nodded.

"Yes. In fact, I met her after one of her shows."

"And you didn't pressure her to leave the band when the two of you got married?" she asked. Hock smiled.

"Of course not," he said. "She was born to be a singer, I could never take that away from her. Besides, business wasn't as good back then as it is now and your mother's career kept us fed. The only time she ever took a break from work was close to when you were born."

"And.. what if I wanted to sing?" she said, her voice small. "Would you support me?"

Hock seemed taken aback by her question. "Well, Lulu, singing as a career would mean you were away from home a lot," he explained. "Your mother practically lived in her dressing room. And besides, have you even ever tried to sing? I mean, if you really want to do it, I can hire a tutor for you, and maybe in a couple of years-"

"I tried out to be the Indigo-Go's lead singer," she blurted out, tired of holding back. "I made the cut. Toto said I can sing as well as mother did, maybe even better. He said that the job is mine if I wanted it, and I do." She took a deep breath, winded from her miniature speech, carefully watching her father's face. "Besides, I think it's time I leave, father. I'm not a child anymore, I'm an adult. Most girls have moved away from home and started their careers already."

"Most of them have gotten married too, Lulu, and you still refuse to do that," her father pointed out, although he still seemed to be in shock.

"Most of them have gotten married to people they love," she refuted. "A man or woman they fell in love with while they were younger. But I never had anyone close enough to me to experience that, because you always scared them away."

Lulu could practically see her father's heart break, and sighed.

"I love you, father, but I just think it's time for me to move on," she explained. "This is a chance for me to actually do something with my life. I'm sorry, but.. I think I have to do this."

She turned away from her father, not wanting to look back at his stunned expression, and shut the door gently behind her. Moving towards her room with the intent of packing some clothes and a few sentimental items to hold her over until she got a chance to really move out, she kept telling herself that this was what was best for both her and her father. Once she was gone, he wouldn't have as much to worry about, and he might actually be able to properly mourn for her mother.

Even telling herself things like that, leaving her home was hard to swallow. But Toto had offered her a room at the hall, which would be most convenient for both the band and for her, and she was ready to leave the figurative nest.

She hoped.