PART I:
The Nightmare
CJ and Shaylene sat in his room. He had the TV on, playing random YouTube videos through his Wii U, and was typing away on his laptop. Shaylene was playing her 3DS.
"Dude... I can't wait for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to come out." Shaylene said.
CJ laughed a bit. "Yeah, me neither."
"Well, Ruby and Sapphire were my first Pokemon games, so I'm dying to see how much better the remakes make Hoenn." Shaylene reminded her best friend.
"I know." CJ said. "You haven't let me forget that you started with Ruby and Sapphire."
"Oh! That's right... You never played any of the Hoenn Region games, did you?" Shaylene remembered.
"Not the handhelds, no." CJ answered. "I played a very little bit of Leaf Green way back, and I've played Colosseum and Gale of Darkness, but I never played Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald. And by the time I had the chance to play them, I was well into Gen 5, and the pace of the older Game Boy and GBA games just felt too slow."
Shaylene chuckled. "I know what you mean. Every old game feels crazy slow compared to Y."
"Yeah." CJ agreed.
"So... what are you working on?" Shaylene questioned, pointing at CJ's computer.
"Another story." CJ said.
"Mind if I take a look?" Shaylene asked.
"Um... Yeah, I guess so..." CJ hesitated.
"You don't sound so sure of that." Shaylene stated.
"It's just a... dark part of the story that I'm working on..." CJ warned. "It may make you uncomfortable."
"I'll be ok." Shaylene said, as she started to read what CJ had written.
"Hey CJ." Shaylene said with a smile.
"Hey Shay." CJ said.
"What's up?" Shaylene asked.
"Remember my face-off with Ganondorf?" CJ asked.
"Sort of..." Shaylene said. "Didn't he say something about fighting your darkness?"
"Yes." CJ said. "He told me that he and I suffer from the same curse... The curse of Demise... The curse laid down by the Demon King himself... Centuries ago, when the Chosen Hero of the Goddess took down the Demon King, Demise swore that an incarnation of his hatred would eternally plague the descendant of the Hero and the incarnation of the goddess... In other words, Demise's curse would eternally plague the bearers of the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom."
"But... Ganondorf has plagued you, not me and Stacey." Shaylene said.
"Are you sure?" CJ questioned. "Ganondorf and I have been at war over the Triforce of Power, and that war has put stress not only on Stacey, but Saria before her... Both have had to witness the man they love go to war with a demonic man who's existed in Hyrule for centuries."
"But... Where do I fit in?" Shaylene inquired. "And what about Layla and Ryan?"
"Ryan had to watch his sister... His twin I might add, stress over watching her lover face Ganondorf." CJ said. "Layla should be obvious. Because of this war and this curse, she lost her life. As for you..."
"CJ... Why are you avoiding this part of the answer?" Shaylene asked. "H-how do I... How do I fit in to this?" Fear began to cripple her voice.
"Because of this war... Because of this curse... You have been forced to grow up faster than you should have. You've been stressed much like Stacey and Saria. You've had to watch your best friend risk his life time and time again by facing the King of Evil in battle." CJ said. "And lastly, this curse has brought a price down on you that's affected not only you, but your sister as well..."
"What do you mean?" Jennette asked.
"I'm not sure how to say this..." CJ said, as his eyes began to water. "This curse on the Triforce is the reason you girls lost your home and your family..."
"But... how?" Shaylene asked.
"Police said that the fire was caused by a explosion from a faulty gas heater." Jennette said. "Are you saying that Ganondorf caused the gas heater to explode?"
"No..." CJ said. "...I did. I'm... I'm sorry... I... I used my amulet to tap into my power and used the powers of the Sage of Fire to ignite the heater and cause the explosion. I didn't even completely remember doing it until I was given a vision of it in a dream last night..."
"Why the hell would you do something like that?!" Jennette exclaimed.
"I... I don't know... I was blinded by my desire to be with Shaylene." CJ said. "I wanted to be with her... be close to her... keep her safe... protect her..."
"So you destroyed our home?!" Jennette screamed. "How did you know that she wouldn't be in there!?"
"I'm sorry! I wish I could fix this..." CJ said, sobbing. "I watched you leave for your walk... As soon as you were gone... I... I just... I lost control... I let my heritage get the best of me... I let Demise's curse take control..."
"Don't blame that fucking curse!" Jennette shouted, slapping CJ. "That's not an excuse. I can't believe you'd do something like that! You're a sick fucking bastard!"
CJ rubbed his cheek and looked at Shaylene.
"I'm really sorry, Shay... I... I don't know what I was thinking..." CJ said. "I... I love you... I never wanted to hurt you..."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you blew up our damn house!" Jennette snapped. Shaylene simply buried her face in her sister's shoulder and wept.
"Shay... Jennette..." CJ was unsure was to say.
"I'm beyond fucking done with you." Jennette said. She and Shaylene turned and walked away.
Shaylene finished reading and sat there with a shocked look on her face. CJ paused for a moment, swallowed what felt like a lump the size of a grapefruit in his throat, and looked at her.
"Are... Are you okay?" He asked.
"Would... would you ever really do something like that?" Shaylene questioned, her lip quivering and her eyes beginning to water. CJ grabbed her hand in his and looked into her emerald green eyes.
"No... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever hurt you like that..." He said. "You mean so much to me, Shay. I never want to see you go through that kind of pain. I've lost so much, and I know what it feels like. The last thing I would ever want is to see someone I care about going through the same thing."
Shaylene smiled, shifted closer to her best friend and laid her head against his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, Shay." CJ said.
"I love you too." Shaylene responded.
That night...
Shaylene laid in her bed, asleep. Lightning flashed outside and thunder clapped as she tossed and turned in her sleep.
"He wasn't himself..." She mumbled in her sleep, as a scene played out in her head.
Shaylene and Jennette were walking through a vast desert, along the bottom of a tall cliffside.
"Are you listening to yourself?!" Jennette snapped. "He killed Mom, Dad and Steven!"
"But..." Shaylene said. "He wasn't himself..."
"Why are you defending him?" Jennette interrogated. "He's a sick bastard! He killed our family because he wants to sleep with you! Deep down, he's just a sick creep!"
"Don't say that!" Shaylene screamed. "He's a nice guy! He loves me! And... And I love him too!"
"How can you say that?" Jennette asked. "Especially after what he's done!"
"Because... I trust him..." Shaylene said. "Sis, you don't understand what he suffers from..."
"Don't start trying to defend him, Shay." Jennette said. "And don't start agreeing with his damn curse bullshit. It's just a lame excuse he's trying to use to hide the fact that he's a creep!"
"What are you going to do?" Shaylene asked. "Kill him? That would make you no better than him."
"Taking his one life isn't close enough to justice for what we've lost, Shay." Jennette said. "And don't forget... We wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for that fucking wish he made on that stupid Crystal Wii remote."
"Please tell me you're not going to try to take the Fused Shadows from the Twilight Realm and fight him..." Shaylene begged.
"Of course not." Jennette said, as they came to a strange crack in the wall surrounded by a magical aura. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bracelet. She put it on and it began to glow. "I'm going to Lorule. I'm going to claim their Triforce and use it to defeat CJ and take his kingdom for us."
"The Sacred Realm..." Shaylene murmured, as the dream seemed to jump ahead in time.
"My Triforce of Courage is resonating..." Stacey realized.
"So is the Triforce of Wisdom..." Shaylene said, looking at her hand. "CJ's entering the Sacred Realm!"
"We need to go there!" Stacey said.
A short time later, Shaylene and Stacey were teleported into what appeared to be a beautiful castle courtyard, with glistening white pillars and a white stone walkway, all surrounded by perfect green grass. At the end of the walkway was an empty pedestal.
"There!" Shaylene exclaimed. CJ turned and saw the girls.
"Stacey... Shay..." He said, tears in his eyes.
"CJ, what are you doing?" Stacey asked.
"Fixing what I've done." CJ said. His hand began to glow. Stacey and Shaylene looked at their hands as the glow of the Triforce began to fade.
"CJ... Jennette's gone to Lorule!" Shaylene exclaimed.
"Shay... You... You came to warn me?" CJ asked. "Even after what I've done? You're not mad at me?"
"Of course I am." Shaylene said. "But what's done is done. And what Jennette wants to do is no better than what you did... Besides, I know you're sorry. I know you wish you hadn't done it. And I trust you enough to know that you weren't yourself when you did it. I know the curse you suffer from... What's done can't be fixed."
"No." CJ said. "It can be fixed. And it will be." He then watched as a golden portal opened before him.
"CJ!" Shaylene rushed forward as CJ stepped through the portal and it closed. "Shit!"
"What is he going to do?" Stacey asked.
"Whatever it is, he needed to take the Triforce from us." Shaylene said, holding up her bare hand.
Shaylene's eyes shot open and she quickly sat up in bed. She looked down at her hand and sighed when she saw the Triforce of Wisdom.
I still have it... She thought. So it was just a dream... I think...
The next day, CJ and Shaylene were walking around downtown together.
"Hey... I have a question for you." Shaylene stated.
"Ok. What's eating ya?" CJ inquired.
"Well... It's about that story you were working on yesterday." Shaylene replied. CJ bit his lower lip and took a deep breath.
"What... what about it?" CJ asked, stuttering.
"I had a nightmare last night." Shaylene said. "As if the story continued in my dreams. Jennette went to Lorule to try to take their Triforce... And you took the Triforce from me and Stacey and went into the Sacred Realm. It... It felt so vivid and real. When I woke, I was scared. I thought it had all actually happened. I even looked at my hand to see if I still had the Triforce."
By this point, CJ had crossed his right arm over his chest and was holding his left arm, which was drooping at his side.
"And there was something else. In my dream, Jennette said something about a crystal Wii remote and you making a wish on it." Shaylene said.
CJ took a deep breath and just stared at Shaylene for a moment.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
CJ sucked in his lips, hiding the red part, for a moment before finally speaking. As he did he unfolded his arms and let them hang at his side.
"There's something I should tell you..." He said. His heart was racing and he felt like he was sweating like a fat guy in the summer sun. "It... It isn't just a story I'm writing... It did happen."
"But... but how? We're not in Hyrule..." Shaylene said. "And my family's still alive... And Jennette doesn't have Lorule's Triforce..."
"Let me go back a bit." CJ said. "I was in a car crash..."
"On your way to school in January." Shaylene said. "City bus ran a red light. Yeah. It made the paper. Mom, Jennette and I visited you in the hospital. It got to a point where Mom and Dad were thinking about taking me to a doctor. My grades plummeted, I was barely eating, and I couldn't sleep. They thought something was seriously wrong with me. I couldn't stop worrying about you. I was scared you weren't going to come out of your coma. I thought you were gone."
"Well, not long after I came out of it, I found a special edition crystal Wii remote." CJ said. "It was supposed to be one of 10 special ones produced for a contest, but it got canceled. Somehow, one ended up in my possession. And even weirder, it could grant wishes."
"So... you wished for us to live in Hyrule and for my family to be dead?!" Shaylene snapped.
"No no! It's not like that!" CJ explained. "I don't even remember making a wish at all. I was playing Skyward Sword, I passed out and next thing I knew, I was in Hyrule Castle. Then you called me and said you and your family were in Ordon Village."
"Wait… But all that is impossible..." Shaylene said. "We've been training our powers since January... And you haven't been in any kind of accident... Or the hospital..."
"Reading my story must have triggered the memories..." CJ said. "After we ended up in Hyrule, we discovered that the Yu-Gi-Oh anime had become real."
"...And so did the Triforce Destiny Cards and a lot of the other fake cards you made." Shaylene said. "Ok, this is weird... None of this happened, so why am I remembering it all like it did?"
"It did happen. Like I said, somehow reading my story must have triggered the memories in you." CJ said.
"But that still doesn't explain the nightmare... Or why we're not still in Hyrule..." Shaylene said.
"I'm getting there." CJ stated. "As I should have expected with being in Hyrule, it wasn't long before we started dealing with all kinds of stupid trouble. Kaiba threw a Duel Monsters tournament that naturally caused a chain of events that led to the fate of the world being at stake. He tried to get his hands on the Triforce Destiny Cards, and Bandit Keith stole a mystical item known as the Dark Mirror."
"Why does that sound familiar?" Shaylene asked.
"You played Four Swords Adventures, right?" CJ questioned. Shaylene nodded. "That's where it's from. It brings out the darkness in a person's heart. Bandit Keith used it to corrupt the two Triforce Destiny Cards he stole."
"Two?" Shaylene gasped.
"The Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny." CJ said.
"Wait... Bandit Keith beat me AND Stacey?" Shaylene asked, eyes wide.
"No. Stacey and Layla." CJ replied. "You didn't have the Triforce of Wisdom yet."
"So, that came after we got our powers here on Earth?" Shaylene asked.
"Will you hush and let me explain?" CJ requested.
"Sorry." Shaylene said.
"Bandit Keith managed to corrupt the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time, turning them into the Hero's Shadow and the Princess of Darkness." CJ said. "Luckily, I was able to defeat him and lock away the Corrupted Destiny Cards and the Dark Mirror. But the darkness had already been awakened. Before the tournament began."
"Mom and Dad... and Steven..." Shaylene said.
"It's all coming back to you, isn't it?" CJ asked.
"Sort of... I can't really remember anything past our duels with Yugi at the end of that tournament. It's all fuzzy." Shaylene said. "But I remember losing my family. I remember you inviting me and Jennette to live in the castle. I remember you comforting me by their graves."
"Not long after the tournament, my fears came to life when a darkness fell over the kingdom." CJ said. "Stacey, you and I were ripped from the present and cast into Hyrule's past, where we witnessed the three most pivotal battles in history... Stacey witnessed the Hero of Time's battle with Ganondorf following his first rise to power, you witnessed the Hero of Twilight's battle with Ganondorf following his escape from the Twilight Realm, and I witnessed the Hero of Skyloft's battle with Demise... the moment that gave birth to Demise's hatred, Ganondorf's malice, and the curse that would eternally afflict the bearers of the Triforce."
"I remember... the Temple of Time in ruins... And Ganon's Tower rising from the desert sands..." Shaylene said.
"Yes. Twinrova destroyed the Temple of Time to begin their resurrection of Ganondorf." CJ said. "And trapped the other Sages in their temples. Stacey rescued Janelle and Alex. I rescued Dayan and Danielle. You rescued..."
"Aubrey and Jennette." Shaylene finished CJ's statement.
"As we all emerged from the final three temples, we witness three light pillars rising up from the desert." CJ said. "They representing the flames of the Dark Gerudo Rites... Destruction, Sorrow and Despair. Stacey and I met you at the Spirit Temple as the other Sages returned to the castle. We rushed in, desperate to stop the King of Evil from rising again. But it was too late. We arrived in time to witness as Layla was sacrificed and Ganondorf was reborn. However, all hope wasn't lost. The goddesses descended from the heavens to tell us that the Triforce's destiny was being fulfilled before our very eyes."
"What?" Shaylene asked, puzzled.
"Although Layla was lost, the goddesses spoke of the Triforce's destiny. When Hylia shed her immortality, she entrusted the protection of her mortal incarnation as well as the Triforce to her servants, the Sheikah." CJ said. "Every generation, Hylia's incarnation and Impa's descendant, the Sage of Shadow, have been close. And the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage became tied to Hylia's incarnation and the Spirit of the Hero. With the Spirit of the Hero and the Triforce of Courage with Stacey, and the Triforce of Power in my possession, the goddesses chose to pass Wisdom, and Hylia's spirit, on to someone close to Impa's descendant."
"...Me." Shaylene said.
"Exactly." CJ said. "The Triforce was within its rightful hands. Hylia's incarnation, her guardian, and the Spirit of the Hero. And the power of time was passed on to me, as Impa was the one who held the knowledge in ancient times to open the Gate of Time. With that, we set out to stop Ganondorf."
"Stacey and I stayed behind fighting his monsters, while you went ahead." Shaylene remembered.
"Yes." CJ said. "Ganondorf and I faced off at the top of his tower. But we didn't do battle. He spoke of a darkness that constantly fought to control him... the curse of Demise. He spoke of his bloodline, and stated that because I was born of that same bloodline, that the two closest to me suffered because of Demise's curse... you and Stacey."
"And he begged you to end him... Before Demise took over." Shaylene said.
"And that brings us to what you read in my story... and your nightmare." CJ said. "Ganondorf mentioned the darkness in my heart, but said there was light in my soul. So I set out to atone for my sins..." He paused and took a deep breath. "I confessed to you and your sister that I was the cause of the fire that killed your family."
Shaylene's eyes widened and tears formed in her eyes.
"Y-you... You really... r-really did it?" Shaylene asked, fighting back tears. By this point, they had reached their house. CJ opened the door to his apartment. Shaylene stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do.
"I'm sorry..." CJ said, stepping closer to Shaylene. She stepped back.
"Stay away!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe you'd do something like that!"
"Shay..."
"No! Stay back!"
"Shay... Please..." CJ stepped forward. Shaylene pulled her hand back and slapped CJ across the face full force, causing him to fall back. He sat there on the floor, staring up at his best friend. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears were streaming down her cheek.
"How could you do that?!" Shaylene shouted.
"Wait! Please! Let me finish!" CJ cried out. Shaylene looked at him with her hurt and angry emerald eyes.
"Fine." She said. CJ stood up and held out his hand.
"Please... Come in." He begged. Shaylene hesitated for a moment, but accepted his hand. He led her inside and the two headed into his room and sat down on his bed. "I never explained what happened with Jennette, Lorule's Triforce, and our Triforce."
"...Go." Shaylene said abruptly.
"When I finally confessed about the terrible deed I did, Jennette reacted much like how you just did." CJ said. "A mix of pain, anger and confusion. You were hurt, but didn't entirely blame me. She didn't see it that way. She-"
"Snapped at me for agreeing with Demise's curse." Shaylene realized. The anger vanished from her eyes and was replaced by teary eyes and a sorrowful frown. "She went to Lorule, looking for its Triforce. And you..."
"I took the Triforce from you and Stacey." CJ said. "And went to the Sacred Realm, where I used the Triforce to reverse everything the Crystal Wii remote did, sending us back to our normal magic-less lives and sending Hyrule back to being only a land in a game."
"But it didn't stay that way." Shaylene said. "After you sent us back to our regular lives, the N-Sphere was activated and we all gained our powers."
"Yes and no." CJ said. "This is the second time the N-Sphere was activated. The first time, everything was much the same as it is now, except a couple of things. Half of downtown was leveled when the N-Sphere activated, and the group responsible for the original activation were an organization known as the Smash Brothers... Led by me. From the future. Under the name 'Captain N'."
"What?!" Shaylene gasped.
"Captain N came back from a terrifying future to give me... himself... powers early so that he... I'd be ready to stop the future that he... or I... came back from." CJ said.
"What kind of future?" Shaylene asked.
"The kind of future where your sister is a power hungry dictator, Stacey's dead, and you and I are married... I think." CJ said.
"Explain. Fast." Shaylene said.
"We all got powers. I married Stacey. It broke your heart. Jennette went power hungry. She took over the country. Turned it into a militaristic state. I tried to flee to Canada with Stacey and our daughter. They were killed. I tried to fix everything by marrying you. It didn't work. So I went back in time to now to give myself powers early to try to stop the future from happening." CJ said.
"Whoa... Okay... But, downtown's still standing." Shaylene said. "How was this the N-Sphere's second activation?"
"After the first activation, we took down Captain N. That's how I learned about the future." CJ said. "When I told you and Stacey, she lost her mind. Tried to kill you. Said it was the only way she would live. The only way our relationship would live. I told her that if she killed you, there wouldn't be a 'her and I'."
"She tried to what?!" Shaylene exclaimed.
"I tapped into my future as Captain N and traveled back to just before he activated the N-Sphere the first time." CJ said. "I tried to stop him from activating it, but couldn't. Somehow, though, there wasn't an explosion. He was swallowed into a vortex and my powers doubled, as well as the effects of the N-Sphere from the first activation. You all gained your powers and monsters started appearing around the area. But the new thing was that the worlds started fusing with ours. And none of you remembered the battle with Captain N... until now."
"You... gave up powers... and gave up on Hyrule... not once, but twice... For me?" Shaylene asked.
"Of course." CJ said. "I love you. The first time, I couldn't stand to see the pain in your eyes, and I couldn't stand myself for causing it. The second time, I couldn't watch my fiancée kill the woman I wish I could lo-" He quickly covered his mouth, but the words had already slipped out.
"Do you... really mean that?" Shaylene asked.
CJ exhaled. "...I... I do..." He said, shyly.
"That makes me so happy!" Shaylene exclaimed. She jumped CJ and wrapped her arms around him so hard that he fell back onto his bed.
"Me too. I'm glad it's finally off my chest." He said. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss.
