CHAPTER 2, LINK
My knees wouldn't stop banging together. So when I started to board the train, I nearly toppled over again. The District all thought I was already a weakling by how I had reacted when Zelda's name was called…I mustn't give them a reason to confirm those thoughts. I needed a Sponcer in the Games.
Zelda gently guided me down the halls, because I was so numb both in body and mind I couldn't really see where to go. She pushed me down into a chair and sat next to me.
"So…" She began. "Here we are."
"No going back." Ganondorf muttered. "I actually feel sorry for you, Link."
"Kibos djoi." Midna said, her orange eye wide.
"I'll win these Games." I managed to say. "I'll win these Games…and I'll get food for everyone. More than enough food. We'll never go hungry again."
"You'll choose the Wish?" Zelda asked.
"Wouldn't you?"
"The Capitol can decide what they grant or what they don't…I don't want to wish and then have them take it away along with my life."
I stared down at my boots for a long time. "I guess you're right." I whispered.
The train gave a lurch and then began to move. I watched outside as a huge crowd that had gathered to wish the train farewell began to move out of my line of sight as the train sped away. Goodbye, home. Goodbye, everyone and everything I had ever known…
I felt Midna pat my shoulder comfortingly. That gesture was as close as she would ever get to sympathetic, but to me, it was a huge encouragement. I managed to give her a small smile before Zelda scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me close. "Allies?" She whispered.
"Until we die." I whispered and hugged her back. "Never give up."
"Don't worry. I'll find you a nice Sponcer. And if they don't want to Sponcer you, I'll make 'em." Ganondorf punched his fist into his palm but smiled rather good-naturedly. "I know this is sort of cheesy and all, but I want one of you to win."
"Well, we have the complete Triforce plus a being from the Twilight Realm ." Zelda said, letting me go finally. "Courage. Wisdom. Power."
"And Power is going to get you a Sponcer." Ganondorf added. "Count on it."
"Niiriko kresson dieo din." Midna said, agreeing with him.
"Thanks, guys." I said before breaking down in nervous, terrified tears. So much for the Courage.
Zelda put her arm around me while Midna landed on my shoulder and patted my hair. Ganondorf sat on the other side of me and managed a sort of friendly punch that nearly broke my arm. Then he just stared at the floor.
We remained like that for a while, even after I stopped crying my eyes out. Only when did Corewell call us to the dining car did we move again.
All the Tributes and their friends were already seated along a huge table laden down with food and stuffing their faces. I had never seen so much in my entire life. There were three roast turkeys, but it didn't stop there. There were dishes I had never seen before, some of them odd colors. Corewell, who was already seated at the head of the table, motioned for us to sit down and dig in.
Going to the Hunger Games was worth it after eating just one bite of the turkey. I almost completely ignored my silverware as I dug into the feast. Many of the other Tributes had the same idea, and when I got a glance at Corewell's face, I nearly burst out laughing.
Only when I feared that if I took another bite I'd explode did I stop eating. After glancing down the line of Tributes and their companions, many of them looked like they felt the same way I did. Corewell then finally began to speak.
"Well, the journey to the Capitol will take about three days. Until then, claim a room and then get to know one another. Make allies. Find out each other's weaknesses. I'll leave it up to you." He stood up and walked out of the dining car. Almost instantly Lucario left the other way, accompanied by Trevor.
Then the air exploded as everyone began talking at once. I said to Zelda, Midna and Ganondorf, "Come on. We need to form a plan somewhere quiet."
Zelda nodded and got up from the table to bump into Snake as he was leaving the room. He faced her and one of his eyebrows shot up onto his forehead as he began to look her up and down. Ganondorf roughly pushed him aside and we exited as fast as we could.
"Ok, plan A, avoid Snake at all costs." I began.
"That would make everyone happier." Zelda agreed, finding four chairs along the wall and claiming one. "Besides, he's not my type."
It took me a minuet to realize what she was talking about, but when I did, I nearly blushed. I examined the floor and shuffled my boots in a circle as Ganondorf began with the plan.
"First of all, Midna and I will find a group to Sponcer you. We'll send you as much as we can during the first day or two, but if we run out of money or anything, you're on your own. We'll also try to figure out the other Tributes'' weaknesses. Now your part is rather simple: Stay alive and avoid Snake, killing only when absolutely necessary."
"That sounds like a good plan to me." I reasoned. "But we have no idea what the arena will look like, or what will be in it. What will the Cornucopia hold?"
"You're fast thinkers, right? That's also part of your role." Ganondorf said about ten seconds later. "We'll try to send you messages in the things we send you."
"Like you'll arrange stuff to give a outline of the arena?" Zelda asked.
"Sure."
"And give us something along with that to tell us who to take out first and things like that. Or if you can alert us to any danger."
"Sure thing."
"I have an idea." I said at last. "We'll try to project our image as being weak. When they come at us, we'll kill them instead. They won't know what hit them."
"You already did a good job of that earlier at the District." Ganondorf snickered. I shot him a murderous look. "But yes, that seems like a good plan."
"But what about-" I got quiet as another person from the dining car came by our plotting zone and froze for a second, unsure of what to do. Then he came over to us and said softly, "Hi. I'm Roy. Ike's friend."
I didn't say anything, just stared at him. Roy shifted his weight onto his right leg and looked uncomfortably at the floor. "I have to talk to you."
"What?" Ganondorf demanded.
"You know Marth? The blue haired kid?" Roy began. "It would kill Ike to see him dead. He tried to save him from the Reaping, but looked what happened. I want…I want you two to form an alliance with him and Ike."
"Why?" I asked curtly.
"Because you seem like a survivor." Roy stared straight into my eyes. "You've seen things that I can't even imagine. You'll have a chance in the arena, but Marth…"
"We'll form an alliance with him, but only until there are six Tributes left." Zelda said. "After that, he has to get far away from us."
Roy opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and then nodded. "Thank you." He left to go back into the car.
"Poor them. I can't imagine volunteering for someone only to have them get picked a bit down the road." Zelda sighed. "But then again, I want to be allies with everyone, because we're all from the same District. It's terrible that the Capitol had rebuilt these Games."
I just nodded and glanced out the window, where it was beginning to get darker. I stood up and said, "Well, we'd better go find a place to sleep tonight. See if we can all get rooms close to each other."
We searched the closest car, but they were already claimed. So were the second and third cars. We ended up near the caboose and about as far away as you could get from the dining hall.
"I'll take that one, Midna can have that…Zelda, that can be yours…and Ganondorf can have that one." I said, pointing out each door in turn.
"I notice you put me as far as you can possibly get away from everything and everyone else." Ganondorf announced.
"Yeah, sorry. That's just how it goes." I shrugged, but a smug smile played on my lips. Ganondorf took a swing at me, but I rolled out of the way and ducked into my new room. "I'm going to take a shower."
The room was just big enough to hold a good sized bed, a dresser and a small bathroom. I turned on the water and was amazed to find that it was warm. In the District we all had to boil our own hot water, so this to me was paradise. I steamed up the entire bathroom so bad I had trouble seeing.
When I exited the bathroom with a towel around my waist, I noticed that my hero garments had been changed with soft black pants, undergarments, and a green shirt. Hoping that I would get my preferred clothes back later, I put the new ones on and then stepped outside my room to try to find the others.
Hoping that I would get my preferred clothes back later, I put the new ones on and then stepped outside my room to try to find the others. Instead, I ran into Marth.
"Roy told me you want to be allies." He said. "Do you really?"
"Well…" I began. "I didn't actually say…"
"So no?" Marth said. "I really wanted an alliance with Ike and someone else. You seem like the type that takes charge and leads warriors into battle."
"I'm anything but that." I admitted. "Tell you what… We won't necessarily be allies, but we won't kill each other either."
"Sounds good to me." Marth nodded. "But if you ever do want to be in my alliance, just tell me, Roy, Ike or Lyn."
"Ok." I said, watching him leave the car to probably go to a recreational room somewhere.
"Already forming alliances?"
I jumped and reached for my sword, which of course wasn't there. Standing against the back wall of the car was Wolf O'Donnell. He had his arms crossed across his chest and he was staring at me as if he were planning to kill me right then and there.
"Anything wrong with that?" I retorted.
"Oh, no. I've already formed an alliance myself." Wolf examined his claws intensely. "And we won't fall. Not until the final three, at any rate."
"Who are you with?" I asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know." Wolf smiled, showing me razor sharp teeth. "Until the Games, you will remain clueless. You will only know when you are about to die."
On that creepy note, he walked past me to get to the other cars, flicking his tail in my face as he went. I clenched my hands into fists and tried to picture who the heck would side with him. The first two people that crossed my mind were Fox and Snake. They seemed creepy enough. But then there was antisocial Lucario, who could be siding with anyone.
"What's wrong?"
Zelda came out of her room dressed in a knee-length black skirt and slightly frilly shirt, her hair combed out long and dripping behind her shoulders. She had obviously discovered the awesome showers too.
"Wolf is wrong, that's what." I said. "He was just standing there, making me paranoid! Who the heck would side with him?"
"I think Fox." Zelda said.
"He said he had another ally."
"I'd say either Snake or Lucario."
"That's what I was thinking."
"I think if we discover who had alliances with who we can possibly have a shot at these Games." Zelda said. "So…Wolf and Fox definitely. Me and you, possibly Ike and Marth too…That's really all the obvious alliances I know of."
"Pikachu doesn't seem like the type to side with Lucario." I thought. "So if he even has an alliance…who's it with?"
"I guess we'll just have to figure that out as time goes on." Zelda said after a brief pause. "Come on. I think we better get to know everyone just a little more."
So we headed down the cars, not bothering to wait for Ganondorf and Midna. When the sound of loud music filled our ears I knew I was right about some sort of rec. room. Zelda opened the door and we found most of the Tributes and their partners.
A woman about twenty or so walked up to us and said, "I'm Samus Aran. I've seen you around the District, but never much."
"Same here." I said. "Do you have any alliances?"
"I think that will be revealed soon." Samus smiled, but there was a hint of deceit and evil in her eyes.
"Don't be so obvious." Zelda hissed in my ear. I just barely heard her over the blaring music. "Get to know their personality and that will tell you a lot about who they close for an ally. Let's split up."
I watched as she went and sat next to Ash, who was talking to Pikachu and translating for Ness. I glanced around the room, trying to find someone who didn't look like they cared about the music or anything else in the world anymore. My gaze settled on a dark figure slumped in a corner.
The only thing I really knew about Shadow was that he kept to himself and never really spoke to anyone. He was a dedicated worker and never gave up; and swore loyalty to only a few people. I sat next to him on the floor and said, "So…what do you think about the train?"
Shadow didn't answer. He just stared at me like I was nuts. I probably was.
"I still can't believe I was picked for this." I sighed. "But you volunteered! That takes a lot of courage, I bet."
Shadow still didn't say anything. He was now staring at the floor like it would reveal the answers to surviving the Games.
"To tell you the truth, I'm sort of scared." I said in my best worried tone. "So would you want an alliance?"
Shadow then stood up and walked out of the car. I was left sitting in the corner looking like a dork and thinking I blew my chances already. But one thing stood out to me…maybe he and Lucario had an alliance already formed. They were antisocial and probably powerful, so why not? I stood up and began looking around for Zelda to tell her my prediction.
But before I could find her she found me. Her eyes said she found something important but the rest of her face was emotionless. "Come here, Link."
I followed her out into the hallway and she said so fast I could hardly understand her, "Ok, as far as I know Wolf's alliance is with Fox and Pikachu. That could pose a probablem, because I heard that Ash trains him day and night."
"Really." I muttered. "Any weaknesses that are apparent?"
"No…but he is sort of shy." Zelda paused. "Maybe he'll try to avoid everyone during the Games and only attack when attacked. It seems like everyone's going for that tactic."
"Well, we'll learn who our real enemies are once we being training ourselves." I answered.
