Peach, District 9
Our three days of training were over.
My allies? Mario, Luigi, Marth, and Ike. Somehow, I managed to do terrifically painting camouflage, and Ike finally agreed to an alliance.
I stood in a strange room with blinding white walls and no furniture, waiting for the people the Capitol were going to send to make me into something I wasn't. They were going to polish me, shine me, slap a bow on me then send me on that chariot ride. Every citizen in the Capitol was waiting to meet the contestants "personally", and the chariot rides were their chance. Every eye would be watching all forty tributes ride out, their glitzy outfits catching people's attention.
The chariot rides were crucial to getting good sponsors.
My mentor, Toad, was waiting back in the hotel room to give me a few more pointers before I left for the chariot ride.
The day after the chariot ride, every tribute had their scores determined, which took up the entire day since there were so many of us, then that night we would have our televised interviews in our chariot ride outfits, and the next day was the Hunger Games.
I wasn't so sure if I was ready to go out on that chariot and face all those people, but when the Capitol people came in and started examining me as if I was some rusty nail stuck in their foot, I knew I had no choice.
Zelda, District 7
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, unsure if what I was looking at was in fact a mirror or instead a window.
If it was a window, the woman on the other side was the most beautiful I had ever seen. Her brown hair flowed loosely around her shoulders, two chunks in the front wrapped in ribbons. Her body was draped in a dress flowing loosely down her body, intricate designs covering the whole of it, including the Triforce, the symbol of District 7. A gold headdress with a sapphire in the center of it glistened in the dim light, matching the woman's eyes perfectly. Long white gloves covered her arms, and gold shoulder plates glimmered.
Only this wasn't a window. It was, in fact, a mirror, and I was dressed as the beautiful Princess Zelda from District 7. Only I didn't feel like a princess. I felt like an impostor, a commoner wearing clothes far too good for her, which, in fact, the clothes were far too good for me.
I wished desperately to have my clothes back on, but that would have to wait.
It was time for the chariot rides.
Link, District 7
Somehow, someway, I was able to snag my clothes from home to wear on the chariot ride.
How? Let's just say that, after a thrown lamp, a squished brownie, and a hostage wig, my forest green tunic and matching cap were on my body as I stood in the room filled with the other tributes (whose names I now knew from all the time I spent training with them) and forty separate chariots.
I couldn't help myself and found myself staring at the other tribute's outfits.
Mario and Luigi were wearing matching blue overalls with different colored shirts underneath, red for Mario and green for Luigi. Not only that, but they wore hats that were the same color as their shirts and had the first letter of their names printed in a white circle on the front. Their outfits were actually pretty plain for the Capitol's sense of style, which made me curious as to why.
Some of the tributes weren't even wearing clothing, like Kirby, Jigglypuff, Pichu, and a few others.
Peach was wearing a pink, puffy dress lined with frilly lace and held a white parasol above her blonde hair adorned with a small crown. Her face though, looked like she was going to be sick. Mario stood by her side, holding her hand to calm her.
I didn't blame her for feeling sick. This was possibly one of the most important parts when it came to getting sponsors.
Pit looked like an angel. No, an actual angel. He wore a white toga lined with gold trim with a pair of black pants and a black t-shirt underneath. His shaggy brown hair was adorned with a gold wreath, and his wrists were wearing two gold bracelets. He was staring off into space and sitting on the edge of his chariot, legs hanging down. I guess his stylist decided to emphasise the fact he had wings by dressing him as an angel.
My eyes travelled across the others, but when I noticed Zelda standing by a chariot and staring at the ceiling, none of the other tributes even held a candle to her.
The top half of her dress was a royal purple, the bottom half a distilled white. It was covered in intricate designs, such as the symbol of District 7, the Triforce. She wore long white gloves, and a gold headdress with a blue jewel in the center that made her eyes stand out. Her long brown hair framed her pale face, and her pointed ears wore two silver earrings.
She was dressed as a princess.
I walked over to her. "My, my, my, Princess Zelda. You look beautiful as ever, may I say."
The sound of my voice startled her, and when she saw how I was dressed, her jaw dropped. "How did you get your actual clothes?"
"Well," I chuckled, "let's just say that those stylists love their wigs."
She gave me a strange look, which just caused me to laugh harder.
"I'll never understand your ways," she shook her head, trying to conceal her smile.
"Perfect! I prefer it when no one knows how I do what I do."
Zelda started laughing, and I couldn't hold in my laughter either.
Suddenly, Zelda stopped and looked away from us. I followed her gaze to where she was staring. Snake (the jerk) was standing by his chariot, dressed in a full gray bodysuit covered in clips, hooks and anything else you could think of to make him look like one of the most menacing people here. I wondered why Zelda had been staring at him, but then I followed his gaze and noticed he was staring directly at Pit, a murderous look in his eyes.
"Hey, sis." I put my hand on her shoulder, bringing her attention back to me. "He can't do anything here. There are people from the Capitol who would stop him before he even got within 10 yards of Pit, or us."
As I finished, Zelda noticeably calmed, but she still felt tense under my hand which was still on her shoulder.
"But what about when the Games start?" Her voice cracked, and I wished I could reassure her and take away her pain. "His first target will be Pit, and Pit will be with us, and he already hates me as well, and the kids-"
"Zelda." I interrupted her, knowing where this was going. "Don't worry. There are three of us and one of him. Calm down." I kept my voice firm, trying to get through to her. I purposely left out the fact that he could have allies, seeing no need to frighten her anymore than she already was.
She calmed down again, a little more than last time, and gave me a small smile. "You're right. I don't know what came over me…"
"Hey, it's fine. We're all nervous." As I finished, I heard someone approach me from behind. Turning, I saw the one person I never wanted to see again.
"Ghirahim! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the hotel room!" I almost hissed, but thought better of it and instead said it with grating annoyance in my tone.
"It is time for the chariot rides!" He said with a strange lilt in his voice, and before I knew it, he was dragging me to my chariot and away from Zelda, who was trying very hard not to burst into hysterical laughter at the sight of my mentor dragging me away.
Zelda, District 7
I stood in my chariot, waiting for my turn. Every tribute had their own personal chariot, and they were organized in order of District, so Snake, being the only tribute from District 1, would be the first tribute to ride into the sight of hundreds of thousands of Capitol citizens.
I felt like I was going to be sick at the thought of all those people, so I focused on the one thing familiar to me here. Link stood in the chariot ahead of me, his back facing me. He had managed to successfully get Ghirahim back to their hotel room before someone noticed he was there.
There were only three other tributes from 7, Young Link, who was ahead of Link, and Toon Link, who was ahead of him. The other tribute from 7 was Ganondorf, and he stood behind me, his red hair looking like flames in the lighting and his green skin making it impossible for me to discover if he felt sick or not.
Suddenly, my chariot lurched forward and I knew Snake was already in the bright lights and the deafening applause, probably soaking it all in. I started to get really nervous, and when I saw the bright light, I knew that I had to change my facial expression from that of a scared, sick girl to that of a happy, regal tribute. I wasn't regal in any way besides my clothes, but my stylists wanted to give me that look of royalty (for whatever reason, I think they said something about my face looking like a queen's) for the chariot rides and the televised interviews.
And then I wasn't in the dark anymore, the deafening applause of the Capitol was for me.
Peach, District 9
I waved, smiled, and waved again, caught up in the endless cycle that was the chariot ride. Sometimes I would even blow kisses, and the cheering got noticeably louder. People were screaming their favorite tribute's name, and I was no exception.
"Peach!"
"We love you Peach!"
"Marry me Peach!"
I was sickened. These people didn't know what we were going through, they treated this as the one big event of the year that everybody would be talking about.
I wondered what those people would say when I died...
"Aww! She was my favorite!"
"I knew she should have gone left at that tree!"
"Oh, well. At least Mario's available again!"
Well, maybe not that Mario thing…
Suddenly, I realized that I was at the circular area in front of the massive mansion with the large landing that President Master Hand would talk to us from. I swore to myself that if I ever was to get into a room with the President alone, I would kill him.
I looked back at the other tributes behind me, and noticed the last one was pulling to a stop.
It was time for my first official meeting with the president, and most likely my last.
As the president floated out, I wondered how I would have reacted if I hadn't known what he looked like. He was, in short, a giant, floating, disembodied, gloved hand. That was it, and it sort of freaked me out even though I knew what he looked like already from watching the Hunger Games year after year on television.
The crowd slowly quieted down, and I knew that our president was about to speak.
"Welcome, welcome." He began in a deep, echoey voice, and I began to wonder how the heck he was talking without a mouth. "Tributes, we welcome you. We salute your courage and your sacrifice. And we wish you a happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor."
After that, all the tribute's chariots turned around (Snake still in front) and rolled back into the dim room where all the chariots were, every citizen of the Capitol still cheering wildly
It wasn't until then that I realized that President Master Hand had said something he never said before.
He called it the Hunger Games.
Pit, District 11
As soon as I got back to my room, I changed back into the clothes the Capitol provided for us before, the simple gray t-shirt with plain black pants.
I almost couldn't believe the fact I was dressed as an angel for the chariot rides, and wondered if that would hurt my chances for good sponsors or help it.
Hopefully, it would be the latter.
I still had to wear that outfit again for the televised interviews, and wasn't looking forward to it. At least I have til' tomorrow night before I have to wear it again, I thought, staring up at the ceiling from my spot sprawled out on my hotel room bed.
My mind wandered, and I remembered something from before. Why would the president suddenly start calling it the Hunger Games?
I pondered for a while, but coming up with no plausible reason why he would besides some sort of alien abduction, I decided I'd ask Link and Zelda tomorrow while we waited for our turn to demonstrate our skills and receive our scores. We had become pretty close in the few days of training we had, and I was glad I was allied with them and the kids.
I just hoped that none of us would die too soon in the arena.
And if I died, may it be for them.
Link, District 7
I sat in a plain room with gray walls, all forty tributes with me. We were all waiting for our names to be called to demonstrate our skills and receive our scores which would be revealed after the interviews are aired. They were calling names according to District number, so I was able to relax a little knowing that even Snake hadn't been called yet, so I had plenty of time. Ish.
Zelda sat on my left, all the kids we allied with sitting on the floor in front of us and playing some imaginary game, but we hadn't seen Pit yet.
"Hey Zelda." I said casually, trying to catch her attention.
"Yeah, Link?" She asked me, though unlike the other day, she seemed much calmer.
"Does my cap make me look fat?" I gestured to my hat which I wore, even though I was wearing the plain clothes the Capitol had given us.
As I asked her that, she gave me the strangest look I'd ever seen her have. I obviously was just trying to cheer her up, but she didn't seem to understand that, causing me to burst into stifled laughter.
"Why the heck would your hat make you look fat? I think that was the most idiotic question you have ever asked me." She rolled her eyes at me.
A wild grin broke out onto my face. "That was kind of the point!"
Well, that comment earned me a quick punch on the arm.
"Really, Link. You can be so idiotic at times." She was trying to stay serious, but a grin crept onto her face.
When she looked away from me abruptly, I was afraid Snake was doing something again but followed her gaze to Pit, who was walking over with a strange look on his face.
"Hey Pit!" I called out, causing him to smile slightly.
"Hey Link." He responded, pulling a chair in front of me and Zelda and sitting on it backwards, his arms resting on the back.
Zelda must have noticed his strange look as well, because a look of worry came over her face. "Pit? Is everything alright?"
"Huh?" He came out of his daze, and gave Zelda a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. I was just thinking about something I heard the other day."
I raised my eyebrows at him, silently questioning what he heard.
"Well," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "yesterday, during the chariot rides, President Master Hand said something."
Zelda interrupted him. "He says something every year."
"No, it was something different than he normally says." Pit said quietly. "He called it the Hunger Games, not the Pageant."
My jaw almost hit the ground. "He never calls it the Hunger Games! Why would he just start this year? In fact, why would he call it that at all? The Capitol finds the term the "Hunger Games" to be insulting!"
"Exactly my thoughts." Pit said, a troubled expression clouding his face. "I was actually going to ask you if you had any ideas as to why he'd do that."
I shrugged, and Zelda did the same. To me, there was no logical reason as to why he'd say the Hunger Games.
"Link, District 7." An echoey voice came over the speaker, and I realized they were calling me to go into the other room and display my skills.
Crap, I thought silently. I hadn't even realized they started calling people in, and by the looks on Zelda's and Pit's expressions, neither did they. Standing, I walked to a door on the other side of the room that lead into a room similar to the training room, but with a small landing area where the gamemakers and others could watch me and give me my score.
Well, here goes nothing, I thought as I turned the doorknob and entered the room where my score would be determined.
Link, District 7
I stood in front of a table covered with random weapons, trying to decide which would be the right one to use to impress the gamemakers and other Capitol citizens all watching me from their comfy little landing, where they chatted, drank some pink liquid, and stared at me, amused at my indecisiveness.
Finally, I decided that I would go with the boomerang, because it was the only weapon besides the hookshot I hadn't seen other people using expertly.
I could hear the stifled laughs as I scooped up the bright yellow weapon, knowing they thought this to be the weakest of all the weapons I could have chosen.
That was the main reason I chose the boomerang. If I could show them how I could turn something so simple into a deadly weapon, they would give me a high score. If I failed, however, I would get a low score and would be considered weak and picked off by the other tributes.
In other words, I was taking a big chance on this one weapon.
Gripping the bright yellow object tightly, I walked over to a small area that would fill with moving wire frames. They were shaped like people, but their design was much like the outfit that the lady at the reaping had worn and the man at training.
Me using such a small weapon in such a hard training area elicited more laughter from my judges, and I had the sudden urge to attack them with my boomerang, but calmed myself and instead imagined their pathetic, pale faces on my targets, currently frozen but about to start up.
A female wire frame ran at me from behind, but I whipped around and flung the boomerang, "slicing" her head cleanly off. The boomerang kept flying, however, and took out two male wire frames before returning to my hand, on which I promptly flung it again. Five were taken out this time, and when I whipped it again a male wire frame with a "sword" attacked from behind.
I knew he was coming though, and spun around, grabbing his wrist and keeping him from bringing the sword down. While he was struggling with me, I made sure to keep him in place so that when my boomerang came back…
Slice! The boomerang cleanly took off his head and I jumped to catch my weapon, spinning to find six more wire frames chasing after me. Four died on the initial throw, but the other two, armed only with their computer generated fists, began to punch at me.
Duck. Dodge. Swing. I couldn't hold off their fists much longer, and I looked for my boomerang desperately. When my eyes saw it a few feet away on the floor, I dove between the legs of the wire frame to grab it just as one of the wire frames tried to punch me.
Grasping my boomerang, I rolled away from where I landed, knowing that my opponents would be attacking where I landed. I quickly jumped to my feet and spun, flinging the boomerang at the nearest wire frames head. It's companion quickly came at me, but before it could even touch me, the boomerang flew through it's head, returning safe and sound to my hand.
I had defeated them all, barely a scratch on my body, and every face watching me from the landing was in shock.
Take that, boomerang doubters!
AN -
Take THAT, boomerang doubters!
The boomerang isn't actually my favorite weapon, but for some reason, it is my absolute FAVORITE weapon in Oracle of Seasons/Ages!
My actual favorite for almost every other game is the bow and arrow, though I hate it in Skyward Sword because of the automatic zoom it comes equipped with.
Nintendo! I love the challenge of trying to hit targets from REALLY far away! (like in Twilight Princess, when you have to hit that pole… I almost never use the Hawkeye!)
Also, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (and I know what you're thinking - another chapter?! Already?! Well, I felt sick today, so I took time to write this and get my mind off of feeling like bleah)
Next chapter might be awhile, I have visiting relatives! ...Somebody save me!
Anyways, now that I have ranted, just wanted to thank OrangeStreakedStar for following and favoriting! I was so happy, I couldn't stop squealing randomly until I ran out of breath!
And now, a response to my loyal reviewers:
Zelda Charm - I had never seen a story with Zelda and Link as siblings, so I wanted to try it for something new! Also, I feel really bad knowing that in upcoming chapters, I'm going to have to kill people! D: I'm hoping you won't hate me when this is all said and done with! (Also, it kills me to think about the kids as well!)
OrangeStreakedStar - First, thanks for reviewing! Second, my heart died as I wrote these chapters, and it is dieing knowing what I plan to do to them all! Thanks for all your compliments!