I stepped into the sun, holding my hand above my eyes to provide as a sunshade of sorts. I took a stride to the side of the entryway and stopped just outside of the building, blinded by the sudden onslaught of natural light that filtered through the sparse clouds above. It was chillier than I had expected considering the brightness. I'd almost prefer to go back into the electricity driven halls, but there was no way from the Campus Center to the Arts building unless you took the path through the wide open community field. At least the solar panels covering the winding concrete trail would provide some shade.
I took a breath. Why did I have to sign up for back-to-back classes that were on opposite sides of the campus? Oh, how I would love to grab a cookie or bag of chips from the cafeteria right now, but that wouldn't exactly be possible thanks to the fact I would have to go out of my way and climb a few flights of stairs for my reward. Who had the brilliant idea of making you exercise for you food?
"Hey Ly."
I spun around. How could I not have noticed someone standing right behind me? I really must need a snack. Stupid low blood sugar, stupid health problems and stupid lack of salt in the American diet that I so desperately need. Most of all, stupid friends.
"Dear Hylia! Damn it Dan, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
I remember I met him last semester in my English class. I noticed he had a Wind Waker iPhone case that looked exactly like the shirt I was wearing. Once we got to talking I recalled he was in my Video Production class back in ninth grade. We hit it off as friends when he saw the AMV I did for our first project. He was really the only other person at the high school who didn't think anime was just porn or kiddie cartoons. I never knew he was into gaming at the time and lost contact after transferring to a school that would accommodate my disability. I didn't know anyone there, except my mother, who happened to be the librarian, but I quickly found others who shared my similar interests.
Not like it mattered anyway. Once they got to high school, practically all of my friends suddenly became Emo or Goth or whatever you want to call the new phase they were going through. I felt like I was the only one who stayed the same: still that awkward middle school kid, even now that I was a lower division student at a community college.
"Jumpy as always I see."
"You know it's not like I can help it," I replied with an exasperated sigh.
"Right, whatever. Adrenaline issues, salt intake, something with your heart as well. I'm surprised you didn't faint this time."
I didn't let his teasing get to me. It lifted my mood to be honest.
"Exactly, whatever. Nice seeing you, but I got to get to class. I've already wasted too much time here," I said, turning and heading off. I must have been standing around longer than I thought, because we were the only two people in the open. I paused and glanced back at the Campus Center, Dan in his jeans and black t-shirt with a picture of Toon Link screaming, "I'm not Zelda!" still leaning up against one of the large glass panes that went all the way around the first floor.
This was weird. Even after classes started people still wandered outside, or hung around in the Campus Center. Now there was an eerie quiet that was only broken by his words.
"Changed your mind?" he smiled, pushing away from the wall and taking a step towards me.
"No, I'm just wondering…" I looked around, starting to freak out a bit. My stomach growled, reminding me I was hungry and breaking the silence the two of us stood in. "Where did everyone go?"
"Hmm? I… don't really know. I was only waiting for her… I didn't really pay attention to anyone else."
"Ooo… and who is this mysterious "her?" New girlfriend?" I teased, elbowing him in the ribs.
"No, Zelda, remember?"
"Wait – what?" I asked, confused and excited at the same time. Did he mean the Zelda? The one from the video game series? He sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket and messing around with it. I caught a glimpse of the Wind Waker case as he turned the screen to me.
"I texted you earlier. I figured since you're such a Zelda fan you would like to meet the one the series is named after. She sent me this."
"You know I don't have service on campus, right?" I responded, taking the cellular device from him and looking at the message. I read it over in my head a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
Zelda (message received: 9:06 AM)
Sorry it's short notice, but I know it's dangerous to go alone, so I need a friend to come help me look for Link. I'm worried about him. He left three days ago, and I haven't heard since. Please meet me at the west doors to the Campus Center at 10:30 today.
"Since when were you and Zelda friends?" I asked, setting aside the fact that she – and Link – were fictional characters.
"Doesn't matter. So, will you join me?"
My thoughts of hunger completely slipped away at his proposition, but I suddenly remembered I had class.
"And ruin my perfect attendance rate? Like that's going to happen. Last semester one of my professors gave me a reusable water bottle and flash drive as a reward for never missing a day or being late.
"Wow, it really doesn't take much to please you. Anyway, it's not like you're going to keep that record this semester."
I glanced back down at the phone in my hand. The time across the top read 11:02. Just how long had the two of us been waiting around out here? So much for class. I sighed.
"Fine. I'll join you," I answered his question with little enthusiasm, keeping my breathing even. Inside I was extremely excited, but couldn't let that show. I didn't want to faint, or give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd won.
"Great!" he said as I handed the phone back to him.
"…and she's a half hour late," I spoke, making the mood somber. Dan looked at me in silence for a moment, then gritted his teeth.
"Damn it, did she get kidnapped again?" he said, irritated.
"So I guess we search for both of them?" I spoke half-heartedly. This would be more trouble than it is worth. I knew it would be.
"Well, it's not like we have much of an option, do we?" he replied. I shrugged. So much for a normal day. Normal is boring though. At least this had the possibility of being interesting. "Okay… then where are we going to start?"
"We have to go at this systematically. We need to start at one end of the campus, and make our way to the other," I explained, taking a step backwards, away from the Campus Center and towards the ever-present sign that held a laminated map of the school grounds. He followed me and the two of us look it over. "We're here," I said, pointing to the top left region of the map. "If we take the path from where we are and go towards the Math Lab, then we can swing down the stairs, end up next to the Life Sciences building, walk around the koi pond and take a peek over at the Physical Science center, drop by the Ag sector, and start making our way back along the south portion," I spoke, dragging my finger along the trail highlighted on the map. "Pass the Med center and Library, then through the open air amphitheater, which leaves us a close to the track once we cross the baseball field. From there, it's just over the hill to the track and Gym, and after that, up the stairs towards the Arts building…" I drifted. By the time we got there, my class would have finished. Not like it mattered anyway. At least I didn't have another one for two hours once my Art History class was over. I continued.
"Then we go north of it and through the Sustainability Complex. From there it's just a short ways to the Admin building and by the end, we can stop right about here." I pointed to the other side of the Campus Center. It's where a bunch of permanent concrete tables were, chessboards spray-painted onto the surface of them, along with other things that shouldn't be spray-painted – on anything. "Luckily we don't have to worry about them leaving the property with nothing around the school," and I wasn't kidding – it's a 45-minute ride by bus to the nearest town.
He nodded, eyes traveling along the path I had pointed out.
"Yeah… that should work," Dan eventually spoke. "You okay? That's quite a ways."
"I'll be fine. If I really need anything, I'll grab something from the vending machines behind the Physical Science building," I reassured him. The only vending machines on campus were located near the sciences. They were the type you think only exist in Japan. You know the ones that have everything from a candy bar to a tri-tip dinner? Yeah, that type of vending machine. I rarely used them because they were in one of the sketchier areas, hidden out of sight from the main path and nowhere close to the doors of the building they backed up against.
I understand why Zelda wanted a friend when looking for Link. College campuses can be a dangerous place to go alone.
"Okay then… ready?"
I nodded in reply and the two of us began heading toward the Math Lab, walking in silence for a bit as we kept out eyes peeled for either the green-clad hero, or the elegant young woman.
"I wonder if Em is working," I mumbled to myself as we passed the brick building.
Em was my first friend. I had known her from the first day of school back when I was a little kid up until third grade. I had to transfer because I was being severely bullied, something of which that may have contributed to my illness I still carry to this day. We kept in touch over the years, but this semester was the first time I had a class with her after almost a decade of being that lone, mostly friendless, kid. She got a job in the Math Lab, as it was her best subject, plus her mother was a professor in math here anyway. Sometimes I wondered if Em would be too, but she always told me she hated numbers, which often made me question why she decided to get a job that dealt with them, tutoring others. Now that I was thinking about it, she was the one who got me into video games, the Zelda series in particular.
"Doesn't matter. It's not like anyone is here today anyway…" Dan drifted. "Besides, we have to find them," he was referring to Link and Zelda. How he felt like they would be here with no one on campus, I didn't question. We continued on in silence, coming to the koi pond after passing the Life Sciences building. The two of us decided to take a short break, each grabbing a snack from the vending machines. I got some salted peanuts and he took a Klondike bar.
I sat on the edge of the small pool, looking into the water as I nibbled on my snack. Even though the sun was out, the moon was in the sky as well, faintly reflecting in the pond next to me.
"Dan…" I drifted, sudden realization coming to mind. "Zelda's text… it said Link's been missing for three days, right?"
"Uh, yeah," he said. It was obvious from his voice that he had no clue where I was going with this. I slowly turned my gaze from the water and looked to him as he tried to catch a drop of ice cream that threatened to fall to the ground. "What game took place over three days?" I said, voice shaking. His eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion I did, forgetting about the treat and letting a little dribble to the concrete under his feet.
"You can't mean…" Dan's voice drifted. We both looked up to the sky and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief upon noticing that the moon had no face. That eliminated one fear. I jumped off the ledge surrounding the little pool and walked up to him, crumpling up the empty peanut bag and shoving it in my pocket.
"We have to find them. I don't want to deal with this stress much longer," I explained. I knew this wouldn't be easy. Why did I agree to it in the first place? That's right. I wanted to meet fictional people.
Brilliant idea, absolutely brilliant.
We set off again, following the path we had laid out back next to the map by the Campus Center. We didn't see anyone on our quest, and neither of us spoke, walking most of the south area of campus. Eventually, we crested the short hill that separated the baseball field and track. After coming around the restrooms that backed the hill, we were greeted with an unexpected sight.
"A…" Dan drifted, eyebrow raised as he looked at the object before us.
"…kart?" I finished off. Yes, it was a kart. The type you see in Mario Kart. I think this this one was called the Badwagon or something. It looked something like one of those classy '70's muscle cars, but shrunk down so that only one person could fit in it.
"Why in the world is a kart sitting on the track?" Dan asked to no one in particular. His gaze lifted and he noticed not just one kart was on the trail, but just shy of two dozen were. That's when we heard it.
"Hey!" Someone called from behind us. I spun around, relieved that there was finally another human. Maybe they could explain the odd presence of the vehicles.
Except it wasn't a human.
The girl came running from the top of the hill down to us. She was in a pink calf length dress with brown leather boots that met her gown at the hem. Around her waist were a few belts: one made of golden discs and the other more along the lines of a sash that matched the color of her boots, a blue apron-like cloth hung from it over her left hip adorned with a white symbol that was a variation of the one found on the Hylian Shield I'd seen in my favorite game series.
She slowed her pace as she approached. Her blond locks, wrapped with green and pink ribbons, swayed as the came up to us, her pointed ears sticking out from behind the waves of hair.
"Dan! Where have you been?" She asked, gaze drifting from him to me. "Oh? Who's your friend?" she asked Dan, referring to me as she seemingly forgot about her previous question.
"This? Just Lyra. Lyra, meet Zelda, Zelda meet Lyra."
I sort of stared at her for a moment. Dan wasn't kidding about it being Zelda. I thought that maybe he was talking about some of his friends roleplaying, and I went along with their delusions, not wanting to awkwardly arrive to class late but needing something to do.
Not even a cosplayer could pull off this accuracy, and I would know, being one myself and meeting a few famous professional cosplayers in my time. Something about the air around her let me know this was the real Zelda.
As if this day could get any weirder.
"Ah! Karts!" she spoke excitedly, clapping her hands as her eyes jumped from one vehicle to the next. Her face slowly became less upbeat and more depressed as she looked to each one. "…but the Master Cycle isn't there…" she drifted, bringing her gaze back to the two of us. "Anyway, why didn't you meet me by the Campus Center? I waited there for almost an hour!" she asked, irritated, obviously directing her question to Dan as her gaze bore into his.
"I did! I was with Lyra. We stood by the doorway and then campus map for quite a while, easily past 11:10" he rebutted. I watched the exchange.
"That was the east entrance, you idiot!" she said, slapping her palm to her forehead. "The west entrance is by the concrete picnic tables!"
Although I was a good map-reader, I always got my east and west confused. I still do, along with the occasional left and right. That dumb "hold your fingers like an 'L'" trick really works when it comes to remembering which hand is which. I should have known though. I guess at the time I was a bit too distracted by the fact that we were looking for Link and Zelda.
"Nothing can be done about it now," Dan sighed. "At least we met up. We still haven't found Link though."
"I see," Zelda said, eyes drifting back to the vehicles on the track. "But…" I could tell she was getting an idea. It was obvious from the way a smile crept onto her face. "Taking a ride will make this faster."
"You don't mean steal these karts?" I asked in shock.
"Steal? It's not stealing if they don't belong to anyone," Dan said, apparently agreeing with Zelda's unspoken idea. I sighed. This day was already weird enough. It's not like I could talk some sense into them anyway, with this entire nonsense happening.
"Okay," I said reluctantly. "…but I get the B Dasher," I replied, running up to kart and hopping in. It was my favorite vehicle in Mario Kart DS, my first racing game.
Dan and Zelda glanced at each other in silence, and then soon followed. The girl took the Cat Cruiser, the pink of it matching her dress, while Dan jumped in the Mach 8.
"Ready?" Zelda asked, glancing between the two of us.
"Wait – we're racing? I thought we were searching for Link?" I replied, confused.
"We can look for him while we race. Besides, he might hear the engines and come looking for us," Dan said, revving his own ride, eyes looking forward once more.
My gaze went back to Zelda and she pointed up. I followed the direction she indicated, my sight settling on Lakitu holding a stoplight attached to the end of a fishing pole.
I was going to ask where he suddenly came from, but I figured it would be pointless. I didn't have a chance anyway, as a Loftwing came out of nowhere and collided with the cloud-riding turtle just as the light changed to green.
I was to busy staring at the bizarre sight to actually put my foot to the accelerator. I heard Dan let out a yell, and Zelda's shrill laugh as the two left me in the dust. I tore my gaze from the now arguing Lakitu and Loftwing and slammed the pedal to the floor.
The kart took off, going much faster than I had anticipated. Was this a 150cc kart? For some reason I assumed they would all be 50cc since we not only had to keep an eye out for where we were going, but for Link as well.
The thought quickly left my mind, stripped away by the intense gust of wind that plastered my face. I pulled on the wheel sharply, turning right and just barely making the turn around the edge of the track, veering off away from the field and towards the buildings once more. I assumed we would follow the same path Dan and I had planned out earlier.
I completely forgot about the stairs.
I closed my eyes as I approached them, unable to turn left or right unless I wanted a head on collision with the railings that lined the path from the field to buildings nearby. After a moment, I opened my eyes. I was surprised to see I wasn't riding up or running into the stairs, but floating over them. I looked down at them below and noticed my shadow was a bit odd for a kart. I shifted my gaze above.
"Lakitu?" I asked, incredibly confused to see the creature hovering above me, holding my kart at the end of a line attached to a fishing pole. He didn't say anything, just setting me at the top of the steps, waving once, and disappearing into a puff of cloud.
That… was strange.
Anyway, I continued onward, making sure not to go nearly as fast but still a good pace that gave me a chance to catch up with the others. I took a few more turns, glancing at the Arts building as I passed it. I looked ahead once more. It appeared I was gaining on Dan and Zelda, who were neck-and-neck.
I slowly increased my speed; just now realizing the kart didn't have a speedometer. That didn't matter. I was getting closer by the second. That's when we came across the Sustainability Complex.
I hope these karts are hybrid.
The Sustainability Complex is a pleasant little area made up of probably eight or so originally portable buildings that have been there for probably a quarter century or more. They are surrounded by gardens that grow everything from decorative flowers to food. It almost looks like a little community. I made sure to stay on one of the many concrete paths that was just wide enough for one kart. The trails weaved in and out with each other, going around the buildings and gardens in loops.
Somehow, one of us ended up taking a wrong turn and was heading towards the others. Dan was approaching quickly. I sharply veered the wheel in the opposite direction of him, plowing through a bed of flowers. I felt terrible for that, as I loved plants. I didn't have much time to think on it though before I crashed into one of the buildings.
"Ly! Lyra!" I faintly heard Dan call. My vision was blurring, along with my other senses. Damn it. I wasn't being careful. I knew this was too much excitement. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, to be honest. The two of them were suddenly by my side, Dan effortlessly lifting my small form from the smoking kart while Zelda looked down in shock.
"Is she ok?" I heard her ask, frightened. I took a deep breath.
"Yeah… I'm… fine," I said with a shaking voice. I wasn't in pain or anything, at least this time. Dan braced me. "Sit…" I drifted, barely able to form the words with my heavy lips. At least he understood, lowering me to the ground. I couldn't be vertical so quickly, especially after that. I took a few deep breaths, eyes closed. It's not like I could see anyway, with my vision a weird milky grey. Dan was holding my shoulders now, making sure I didn't fall over any further. I wasn't fully upright anyway, leaning back at some angle. I was glad this seemed to be a mild episode compared to some, my heart not outright rebelling against me this time.
"What's wrong?" I heard Zelda ask. She almost sounded like she was in a tunnel. Dan stayed quiet. He didn't know enough about my condition to provide an explanation, and I was thankful for that. She wouldn't understand. No one does. It took half a dozen doctors four years to figure out what was wrong with me anyway. I was almost tempted to explain myself since it was Zelda, but I didn't want to confuse or worry her.
Or have her pity me.
I don't know how much time passed. I always loose track of that sort of thing when this happens. Vaguely I remember the time I woke up on the floor of my room, blood on my face from a deep gouge in my eyelid, narrowly costing me my vision on the right side of my face. My glasses had caused it. Oh, the irony.
Eventually I pushed myself from the ground, coming to a wobbly standing position.
"No more karts…" I said. Dan nodded, and Zelda spoke quietly, looking to the broken vehicle.
"Yeah, I suppose that was a bit dangerous."
I followed her gaze, eyes settling on the wreckage. I was sorry to leave behind such a mess. Once I was feeling better I would come back and clean it up. Finding Link was still the priority though. It's not like anyone would complain in the meantime, us being the only ones here.
"Well, we made it most of the way around campus," Dan spoke. Only now did I realize he was right. "Just a little further until we are back where we started.
The three of us walked in silence again. Honestly, I really like silence, especially when sharing it with others. A lot of people I know prefer to talk, but I prefer to think. I'm glad the other two felt the same way, at least right now. I didn't want to bring up the incident that came to pass just a short while ago.
We stopped next to the Admin building to take a brief break. After we rounded the corner, we'd be on the other side of the Campus Center.
We still hadn't seen Link.
Zelda looked sad and slightly scared. I know she and Link are really close, especially since this is Skyward Sword Zelda.
"It's alright. We'll find him," I spoke up, breaking the quiet. "Let's get going again." She nodded and the three of us continued on our way. Zelda let out a gasp as the concrete picnic tables came into sight. She rushed ahead and Dan and I looked to where she went.
Link was just sitting there.
Well, it wasn't just Link just sitting there.
Mario was with him, as was the Master Cycle, leaning up against another table.
…and they had coffee.
"Welp, I'm done here," I told Dan with a sigh. This was seriously the last thing I expected.
"You," he said, stepping behind me and pushing on my back, forcing me to move forward unless I wanted to fall on my face. "Aren't going anywhere until we see what's happening over there."
"Fine! Fine, I can walk you know."
We approached them. Zelda was talking to the two, exasperated.
"Do you know how worried I was?" I heard her say as we came close. Link's mouth sort of hung open and Mario silently took a sip of his coffee, watching the one-sided exchange. "I can't believe you took three days to get coffee!"
"Ah, we didn't just get a coffee," Mario interrupted. Everyone looked to him in silence. "We went karting all around Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom."
With those words, Link slowly stood, lifting his coffee cup and pouring its contents on Mario's bright red hat. It was obvious the hero didn't want Zelda to know about that. The liquid dribbled over the brim and onto Mario's nose while the plumber sat completely still, letting Link do so. Once the cup was empty, Link crunched it up in his fist, tossing it at Mario's face. The object bounced off his nose, and the plumber blinked once.
Link turned back to Zelda, whose face was bright red.
"Is that why you haven't been in Skyloft? Leaving without a letter or anything to me know where you were!" she shouted, Link's eyes widened in response to her uproar.
"What? Are you his mother?" Dan asked jokingly. Link glanced between Zelda and Dan.
"No, we're dating," she replied.
"You two? Dating?" I asked, mouth agape. I honestly hadn't expected that. I mean, sure, I wanted them to be a couple. I was practically screaming at the TV 'kiss already!' when playing Skyward Sword while the two were on top of the Goddess Statue. But this was different.
I guess nothing should be a surprise by now. I mean, I'd skipped class to take a walk across a deserted campus to find fictional people only to see some karts and race with the titular character of a video game series, end up crashing my favorite ride, then come across a plumber and hero having coffee who acted as if all this is completely normal.
No, normal is boring. This is far from boring.
Zelda took a deep breath, looking aback to Link sorrowfully.
"I thought you might have gotten stuck in a dungeon… or… or…" she didn't finish, gaze drifting to the ground, but we all knew what she was thinking. Zelda took a deep breath and met Link's eyes once more. "So, next time you leave, would you let me know?" she asked dejected.
Link gave her a sad smile and walked up to Zelda, drawing her into a hug and whispering something in her ear. None of us could hear it, other than her of course, since she was blushing, her face even redder than a few moments ago. Link drew back some, looking into her eyes. She nodded slowly and he took her hand, facing Mario, me, and Dan.
Zelda waved with her free arm, a smile on her face as the two of them walked over to the Master Cycle. Link got on, and Zelda followed, sitting behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his back. Link revved the bike, winking at the three of us and speeding off with Zelda.
We watched him go until he disappeared around the side of the Admin building, the sound of the bike fading slowly.
"Why can't I get a happy an ending like that?" Mario said somberly.
"Oh sure," I responded, rolling my eyes. "At least you get a kiss from Peach. Link and Zelda have been around just as long as you, but do they ever officially end up together? No!"
They completely ignored me, Dan speaking up.
"It's alright Mario. At least you have Peach."
"No… she and Bowser went golfing without me," he replied. Dan patted the mustachioed man in overalls on the back.
"Happens to the best of us buddy…" my friend drifted.
I sighed. I can't believe I missed class for this.
…but I'll admit, it was pretty fun.