Hello world of fanfiction! DubbleDuelSword here once again and- *gets vast amounts of items thrown at* ok I deserved that. But hey, it's not easy multitasking life, school, fanfiction, and fandoms. But I won't make excuses, besides I've been through stuff I'd rather not talk about. Anyway, FINALLY an update to this story!
As always I do not own any of the characters, places, franchises, games, and anything else that has copyright to it that involves these two franchises or references.
Chapter 9: Return of The King of Thieves
Other than the footsteps of the three walking down the road of the city, silence was all that could be heard. For someone so used to the chaotic sounds of thievery, it was strange, uneasy, almost… unbearable. Penny had agreed to lead Link, Flame Princess, and Tobi to the king's tower, which stood at the center of the town, but she hadn't expected it would be so awkward. She had attempted to talk to the two but about what? They were both so different from her. One was a princess, royalty for Glob's sake, and the other was some self professed hero of a place she never heard of. What could she possibly talk about!? Her face strand, like that of an upcoming headache, as they continued to walk. Her thoughts now focusing more on the unbearable silence. She felt like she was going to scream until a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hey, are you okay?" She felt a hand being placed on her shoulder, she turned to see Link behind her, he was at eye level with her, looking at her with concern. "Are you okay, Penny? It seems like something's on your mind."
She sighed, as she took his hand off her shoulder she aimed her gaze toward the ground her eyelids closed halfway. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's just that the city is...it's…" Her arms crossed the front of her as she placed her hands on her shoulders. "It's gotten a little… creepy... " The last word escaped her lips barely above a whisper. it was still audible to Link.
"Creepy? What do you mean by that?" A confused look graced Link's face as he tilted his head still looking at Penny. "Its...its...you wouldn't understand…" An assuring grunt left Link's mouth as a small smile formed on his lips.
"Try me."
Penny let out a sigh, eyes fully closed, as though she was ready to tell a story. "Well it's just that…" she paused as she lowered her hands from her shoulders to rub her arms. "It's unnatural for the city to be this quiet, it's almost disturbing."
"You seem scared for someone who didn't have a care in the world not that long ago." Eyes turned to Tobi, who was hovering above Link's head. "I thought you said you were used to this whole 'the king is back' junk." She hesitated to speak, stumbling on her words a red flush began to creep onto her face.
"Wha-what?! I never said that! It's just that when he attacked you three he was so silent and quick and…" her voice lowered as the last word escaped her lips. "deadly." A brief silence came before Penny resumed speaking. "This guy is the King of Thieves for a reason, he steals everything. From clothes to jewels, from babies to actual dirt, even people's lives! It's not that I'm frightened by this guy it's just that… I value my life, okay?"
Link looked at her with an assuring smile as he tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention. "It's alright if you're scared. No one will judge you differently for thinking about your well-being."
"I might." Tobi chimed in before Link swatted him away with a wave of his hand.
"Ignore him, he's been trapped in a bottle for who knows how long. My point is, it's okay to be scared but I still have to investigate as to how this king is alive, plus he stole all my stuff. If it comes to me fighting him you don't have to help, besides I'll protect you if it comes to that. You offered us a way to his tower so, can you still do that?" Penny's face turned a slight pink as she looked away from Link.
"Yeah I can still do that." With that the group continued down the path towards the town's core.
...
Long yellow legs breached out from the forest leading to very familiar massively sized potato shaped dog with a boy clad in blue wearing a white bear hat laying on his head. It was clear that something was on his mind for a look of concern was displayed on his features. Unbeknownst to Finn, Jake was calling for his attention only for Finn to outright ignore him as he was lost in his thoughts. "Dang it Finn…" Jake stretched his arm up towards Finn and shaped his hand into a cone shaped cylinder and shouted Finn's name with his now amplified voice. This managed to break Finn from his thoughts, snapping him back to reality like that of a frantic dream.
"WHO?! WHAT?! WHEN?! WHAT'S GOING ON!?"
Jake laughed at this for a short while before calming the boy down, assuring him that everything was alright. "Relax Finn. Geez man, you seemed pretty out of it. Ya haven't said a word since we left the Candy Kingdom. Is everything alright?" Finn paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before he responded to Jake's question.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I'm just worried, ya know? About that Link guy, I honestly can't tell if he's on our side or not. I mean when I first met him in the Crystal Eye dungeon he said he wasn't the shadow but when I look at the shadow they look exactly alike." Jake let out a sigh.
"Look man, you're letting all these problems mess with your head. If this guy really is on our side then it's all good but if he isn't we can just flatten him like a pancake." As Jake said this he made gestures with his hands to put further emphasis on his words.
Finn sat up from his laying position and shook his head in disapproval. "But Jake remember what the shadow did to us when he attacked the Candy Kingdom? He's not like other baddies we've fought before he's like… different somehow."
"Nah man, he just caught us off guard with those wolf guys and his other tricks, you'll see. Next time we see him we'll knock his lights out!"
Finn folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "Alright if you say so, Jake." Finn said with slight concern still present in his voice. It wasn't that he didn't believe his dog-brother's words, on the contrary he did. But having experienced the shadow's power first hand left room for doubt in the hero's mind. Jake's right, he just caught us off guard is all. But why do I feel like I'm missing something, something really important? Like this just a small part of a picture or something?
An explosion was heard, Finn immediately opened his eyes to the sound of it. "What was that?!" Frantically he searched for any signs of the explosion, eventually finding a trail of smoke rising in the distance. "Jake, I see it! That way!" Finn pointed straight ahead.
Jake picked up speed, the faint trail of smoke began increasing in size and its origins revealed, having come from some sort of structure which appeared to be on top of a hill of some sorts.
"Jake is that… a city?" Finn squinted his eyes to have a more focused view on the area they were closing in on. It indeed appeared to be a city as he could make out various building like structures but he couldn't make out what is was on. He wanted to think it was a hill but that would be impossible given the area's surroundings, that being equivalent to a dry wasteland.
"You think it might be the City of Thieves?" Jake said eyeing up at the human. Finn continued to stare that the structure, as they got closer more details came to light allowing Finn to clearly make out the details.
"I think it is, Jake. Hurry, we've got to get there to see what's going on." The city was now in full view as both continued to travel into it.
The City of Thieves was always a mess, very little, if anything nothing, went into rebuilding given that its citizens only cared for what they could obtain from the community rather than what they could give. However, it appeared that the city was in far worse condition than what Finn previously remembered. Various fires spread throughout the streets and along the buildings and piles of rubble from charred buildings. The two walked cautiously towards the rising cloud of smoke noticing the various craters in streets, some leaving small impressions while others burrowing deep into the earth.
"What do you think happened here Jake?" Finn said keeping his eyes on the piles of rubble they passed by. He expected something to come from any of them and as such he kept a hand on his demon sword, sheathed between his back and backpack.
"Might have been a fight, or some kind of monster attack." Knowing what the city was best known for, his eyes looked around frantically trying to find some kind of movement, to Jake it wasn't natural for any kind of city to have no trace of people living in it, not only that but for it to be in these kind of conditions.
"You think anyone might still be arou-" His sentence was cut short by a pile of rubble on their right beginning to move. Jake grew his hands and bawled them into fist while Finn took out his sword shouting, "Who's there? Show yourself." Little by little the rubble began to clear, Finn and Jake could make out a cloak having been dyed in the dust and ash from the pile. A hand had wormed its way from within the pile and began dusting it way from the exterior. Has it did this Finn and Jake noticed traces of red hair glazed in streaks of ash began to reveal itself. As much as the two wanted to help whoever was under the pile before them their reasoning held them back.
Knowing what the city was most infamous for they didn't want to run the risk of a thief taking advantage of their kindness or better yet leave the city with a knife stuck in their head. More rubble had been cleared away and the two could make out facial structures. Whoever this person was it was clear they didn't have a nose and their cheeks bulged out the most. The person gasped for air, taking in deep, long, breaths, eyes closed. Violent coughs began to erupt from the person, between coughs the person managed to say "That… was… close…" The voice sounded feminine and given the ingestion of dust a bit high-pitched for the average female. Finn and Jake lowered their arms, they recognized who this was.
"Penny?" Both drew closer to the girl, still cautious however. Finn reached his hand out to her dusting away the remaining debris that clouded her vision. Slowly her eyes opened, she could make out blue splotches. Wearily she asked, "L-Link? Is that you?" More coughs erupted from her being, she jerked her head away from her onlookers and continued to cough, hand now covering her mouth to avoid inhaling any more dust.
"Link? No, it's me, Finn." She turned her head to face her speakers once more, her vision now improving she's able to make out a white bear cap just above the blue. She also noticed the lack of blonde follicles and bare neck.
"Heh, I guess it really is you Finn." She said weakly. "Long time no see. Heh, I wish we could have meet on better terms, I could have told you all the things I've been up to…" Finn removed the rubble surrounding Penny, removing her from the pile her held her in his arms.
"Penny," he began. "tell me what happened here."
She weakly laughed and slowly slung her arm on her head as to cover her eyes. "I'd love to tell you Finn but I'm kinda tired." Using her other arm she slowly pointed up the road, closer to where the smoke was rising. "O-over… there…" more coughs shot out from her followed with traces of spit. "T-they need your help more t-than m-me…" Her arm immediately hung down signaling her losing consciousness.
Finn looked at her in concern then shot a quick glance at where she pointed to. It seemed like a light of some-sort was radiating from where the smoke was rising, a fire perhaps? Finn shoved Penny's body into Jake, who instinctively stretched his chest into a bowl to hold the small child. "Take her Jake." With that Finn had bolted down the street leaving Jake to call out to the boy only to be ignored.
Drawing closer to the scene, Finn continued to run down the streets fists clutching tightly as thoughts ran across his mind. How does Penny know about this Link guy? If Peppermint Butler was right about him coming here he could have caused this!
Finn stopped in his tracks, his thoughts derailed from his mind as he took notice of his environment. If his memory served him correctly this was supposed to be the center of the city, where the king's tower once stood. But that was the thing, there was no tower. Where the tower once stood now laid a massive crater within it being an enormous fire which the smoke had been emanating from. Cracks and embers were scattered around the area and the buildings around the area were charred, looking as though they were ready to be reduced to ash in a few seconds.
"What happened to this place?" Finn began to walk around the fire looking for the other people in the area that Penny had mentioned. Now across the fire from where he started Finn found a figure clad in blue laying on the floor, close to the edge of the crater. Finn cautiously approached it noticing that it was a person with blonde hair which had covered his face. He was breathing heavily, one arm at his side while the other dragged over his stomach hand clutching his side. Finn noticed various burns on the person's clothes and skin as well as a stain of red from where his hand was clutching. "I think this is Link." Finn voiced his thoughts and in turn gained a small reaction from the boy who he was currently standing over.
It seemed like he was trying to say something as his breathing became erratic. He slowly began to lift his arm that was to his side now pointing above his head he began to speak though his breathes. "T-the… their… help… princess…" It was all Finn could make out but he became confused at the word 'princess'.
"Princess? What do you mean 'princess'?" Finn turned his attention to where the boy's finger pointed, at first all Finn saw was fire and scattered embers but noticed differences with the flames colors. The flame he saw compared to the one next had subtle differences, for instance fire he saw had outlines and shapes of red rather than just orange. It also seemed like the fire was flat and took more of a bodily figure then it did an actual fire. His eyes widened, realization hit him as he rushed over to the fire Link pointed to. There's no way it can be. That's impossible, right? He ran faster has his mind processed that it was indeed the outline of a person. He slid down to the figure, kicking dirt and blowing out embers as his body came to a halt before the fire elemental. There was no mistaking it, it was her.
"Flame Princess…" The name escaped his lips barely above a whisper. He knelt down to her, examining her body. She laid on her stomach, arms buried under her. Her glow wasn't as radiant as it usually was and her hair, instead of flowing upward, was flat on the ground spread out and covered her face. Subconsciously, Finn reached for her, his hand placed on her shoulder, he flinched expecting for the burning sensation to come to his palm but it never did. What the? She-she's… "She's warm…" Finn gently turned her to see her face, her eyes were closed her mouth was slightly open. He could hear her shallow breathing over the quiet roar of her flames. It felt like his emotions were ready to erupt from his very being as he examined her noticing various cuts and bruises that marked her. His eyes followed her arms and noticed her hands were firmly gripped onto a glass bottle that she pressed against herself.
"Just what the Glob happened here?"
…
It was dark, the sound of footsteps was all he could hear as he wondered to himself what exactly was going on. The steps grew closer.
"Who's there?"
There was no response.
"Answer me, who's there?"
The steps stopped and he could feel something warm being placed on his head. He could hear faint voices, they seemed to be calling out to him.
"He's moving." The voice sounded feminine and sounded familiar to him.
"Wait, I, I think I know who that is…" A ray of light emerged from the darkness and grew until all that remained was white. Link awoke.
His eyes slowly fluttered opened as he let out a low groan. He turned to his right noticing various medical devices and monitors that were hooked to him. He then turned to his left seeing a pink figure in white which extended a part of itself towards him. He looked up towards his forehead noticing that a hand was placed there. His vision became more clear make it clear that the pink figure was a person wearing a lab coat, he knew who this person was.
"Princess… Bubblegum?"
She jerked her hand away hearing him speak but let out a sigh of relief soon after.
"Link you're awake. Good. I was worried you wouldn't be waking up any time soon seeing your condition when Finn and Jake brought you here."
"Wha?" Link became confused but continued. "Wait, Princess Bubblegum what are you doing here and where am I?"
"You're in the Candy Kingdom. There aren't really many other places where you can receive free healthcare you know."
He turned his head to the other end of the room he saw a bright light laying on what appeared to be tinfoil which covered the bed.
"Flame Princess!"
He sat up but immediately tensed up in pain, his eyes shut tightly as he laid back down, he dragged his arm over his body, under the sheets.
"Link you need to take it easy." Princess Bubblegum placing her hands on him trying to ease his pain. "Like I said, you were in critical condition when Finn and Jake brought you here. You can't afford to be moving around too much if you want your body to heal."
Link managed to open one eye so he could look at the princess.
"I've been through worse. H-how bad can it possibly be?" He said through gritted teeth. He pushed the covers off him and gasped seeing the full extent of his condition. His entire torso was wrapped in white bandages wraps. The arm that he used to clutch his body, the left, was wrapped in a cast while his right only had a few bandages as well as his legs. "W-was it really that bad?"
"I'm afraid so." Princess Bubblegum closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "I examined the injuries myself, it seems you've broken your left arm and your right has minor bone fractures. Your legs only suffered a few cuts and burns and your forehead has a gash that I patched up."
Link raised his right hand to his forehead, feeling the medical tape that he saw on his body. "And what... this?" He said gesturing to his torso.
"Well…" She cringed. "You have several broken ribs, some internal bleeding and your back may have a big scar left on it."
Link sighed and used his right arm to cover his eyes. "That's just great, more scars to add to my collection. It's going to be awhile before I'm going to be able to leave this hospital room, isn't it?"
"Not necessarily." Bubblegum said raising a finger. "Finn said that he has some healing tears that can fix up any wound."
Link chuckled to himself. "It's funny. Normally I'm the one helping strangers that I just happen to passby but now I get to see it from their perspective. I really am grateful for his kindness and people say that we look very much alike too. I guess our morals for helping people in need are just the same too."
"I guess so." Bubblegum smiled, she found it a little amusing how alike the two heroes were. "So," she said in a serious tone. "care to tell me what happened in the City of Thieves?"
Link frowned as he turned his gaze down towards his battered body.
"Y-yeah. I'll tell what I can remember. You see, the King of Thieves was alive, just like you said."
"Was alive?" Bubblegum said confused emphasizing the was. "You mean you saw him and he was alive but you…"
Link remained silent, he opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shut his eyes as if he was forcing himself to recall his previous events.
"I...I…" His eyes shut tighter as he began replaying the memory.
…
The city's center held a tower atop of a pyramid like altar where the King of Thieves lived the remainder of his life. The three had reached their destination, Penny took in the surroundings of the area making mental notes of every difference as the group made their way to the foot of the steps that would lead the up to the base of the tower. Everyone but Penny stopped at the base of the building looking up to get a better look of the tower.
"I think this is it." Link said as his eyes scaled what he could see of the tower. "This is the only tower-like thing that we've seen so far-" Link stopped his sentence as Penny had bumped into him. "Huh? Oh, Penny." He looked down at the child noticing how her eyes were darting from building to building and how worry overtook her expression. "Are you okay Penny?"
She turned to him, almost stunned that he would ask a question like that. "Am I okay? Am I OKAY!?" She emphasized the sarcasm in the second usage of the phrase. "Oh course I'm not okay! We are literally in the center of all that is wrong with this place and you are asking me if I'm okay!?"
"Penny…"
"I'm scared, Link. No, I'm terrified. I don't want him to steal my life away! Especially after I had just renounced my ways."
"I told you I'll protect you if it comes to us having to fight the king."
"How do I know if your protection will be enough!?" Link flinched at her words, it was rare that anyone ever questioned the boy's ability. "You're just a KID, like me!" Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she continued to speak. "This is a man who spent his entire life stealing things since the day he was born!"
"Does this mean the first thing he stole was his mother's life?" Tobi implied.
"Tobi." Flame princess said in a hushed voice trying to discipline the fairy.
"For as long as I can remember I've used this sin of thievery to continue to feed this never ending cycle that powers this city and only now have I renounced my ways to break this cycle. I don't want to die at the hands that rule over this sin!"
Silence was all that followed, not even the sound of the winds were audible. Link opened his mouth to say something that would comfort the child yet all that was heard was laughter, an all too familiar laughter.
"Well now, aren't we greedy desiring so much more protection. And yet you say that you've renounced your ways to break the cycle of thievery. Bah, such greed is truly pure sin."
"Wanting to protect your life isn't sin!" Link shouted. "Every person has the right to preserve their right to live, it isn't sin!"
A bellowing laugh came from the King of Thieves. "How rich, what naive ideals. Is this what the youth of today is like, full of childlike wonder and naivety?"
"Yeah and I'm pretty sure back in your day you didn't have ideals. What you had were skeptical opinions and that's the way those there people in the ground like it." Tobi said this in a mocking old man voice earning a small snicker from the princess.
"You vex me, fairy." He growled. "You may have been able to elude me once but that is a mistake I will surely not make again. This time I will be sure to stuff you into the smallest bottle possible after I've stolen your friends' souls from their bodies."
"Ha, I'd like to see you try." He laughs nervously as he slowly floats closer to the princess.
The wind begins to pick up as the whistles of wind start to become violent gusts. Link's eyes turn to the corners of his sockets looking for something… for someone.
"I don't like this…" Penny unsheathed a black knife she kept hidden in her sleeve and held it tightly to her.
"Just stay close to me." Link said branching out an arm to her as though to shield her.
"Quite overconfident if I do say so myself."
All eyes fixated to the origin of the voice to which being the tower. On top of the tower stood a figure clad in black wearing a cap the blew with the wind. There were nothing too distinguishing to identify the figure other than it looking like a shadow or a silhouette. The only distinguishing thing from the figure were two orange lit circles which could be inferred as eyes.
"Hello, my pray." His voice was thick and was identical to that which was stated to be the King of Thieves. His mouth showed no visible movement meaning that he must have been wearing a mask or something that obstructed his mouth. "Don't you feel ever so grateful as to be able to bask in greatness."
"And by that he means a whole shade of black. Ooo~ I'm so scared."
"Silence fairy. You may have been smart as to hide from me the first time but your smart aleck mouth won't save you from me this time."
"Ooh~ we got a big shot, don't we? Tell ya what your highness, I'll let you get the first shot on my friend in the blue over there. Free of charge of course."
"Tobi!" Link growled narrowing his eyes at the fairy.
"My, you are brimming with overconfidence. I suppose I shall take you up on that offer just to demonstrate what it is you are dealing with."
With that he vanished.
"Tobi what the heck are you thinking!?" Link said shouting at the fairy.
"Relax Link I have a plan. Trust me this will be worth it but you need to take one for the team."
"What do you mean-"
A burst of wind rushed past the group nearly knocking them onto their bottoms. Link however lifted slightly off the ground, doubling over as though he had been punched in the stomach. He fell to his knees, coughing for air as his arms were clutching his stomach. The figure reappeared at the top of the tower this time his arms were folded over his chest in a pleasing manner.
"This is only but a taste of the power that you are facing."
"Real big talk for someone who looks like they're the next Ninja Gaiden wanna be cover boy." Tobi said now floating next to Link who was getting back up to his feet.
What does that even mean? The figure shook his head dismissing the thought. "Well whatever. Boy," He called for Link's attention as he unfolded one of his arms to take out a brown leather sack. "You want back your clothes and items, do you not? Well they're all in here. Personally I couldn't figure out where all the items came from, especially with that sword vanishing once I stole the clothes. At any rate, if you wish to have these items back just try and take them from me."
He vanished once again this time however the group was more alert as to what he would do.
"What the heck was that for Tobi!?" Link shouted letting out a few more coughs. "You're just angering him with your insults and I'm left to take the beatings!"
"Okay look Link I'm actually sorry I had that happen to ya. Be grateful that I'm apologizing. But in any case, I had to have him rush by us like that so I can get a feel for his speed."
"'A feel for his speed'? What do you mean by-"
"DUCK!" Everyone crouched to the floor, minus Link who had been bonked on the head by Tobi, seconds later a rush of wind went flying past their heads. "As I was saying before I needed to get a feel for his speed. You see Link, I am not at all as useless you may or may not think I am. Being the assistant to The Great Fairies demands vigilant eyes that can pick up on everything and everyone so that the Great Fairy Princess is in no real harm. But that's a different story for a campfire kiddies. Point is I can see him move now."
"You can see him move Tobi?" Flame Princess said in shock.
"JUMP!" The group did this feeling the same rush of wind has they had before only this time below their feet. "But yeah I can see him now."
"That's amazing Tobi!" Link said excitingly.
"Isn't it though? I'm just a small, golden, fairy full of all sorts of tricks. But now isn't the time to be praising me we kinda have a guy who wants to kill us." Tobi then flies over to Penny. "So little girl if you could be so kind as to give Link that knife you are so lovingly holding on to that would be great."
"Are you nuts?" Penny shouted in disbelief. "I need this to protect myself!"
"Penny please." Link said trying to reason with her sternly. "I can't use fire like Flame Princess and I don't have my own weapons at the moment. I said I would protect you and you don't have to get involved in this fight if you don't want to. So please."
She moves the knife away from her chest so she can stare at it.
"We're running out of time!" Tobi said fluttering up and down.
"Penny!"
"Okay fine!"
She hands Link the knife who quickly takes it and grips it sideways so that the blade was sticking out.
"Where Tobi?"
"To the side of Penny! Aim low to avoid his fist and cut forward as if you were going to punch what was in front of you."
Whether it was Link being in the heat of the moment or just feeling the need to be unnecessarily epic, Link jumps over Penny turning his body so that he was facing the road ahead. He crouches down and lunges his entire body and extends his arm making seem like he was going to fly forward. As he does this he feels that familiar rush of wind go right by him only this time he feels the knife dig into something, or rather cut into something. Link turned his head to where the knife was cutting noticing how it somehow was cutting a tear into the air as well as leaving a trail of blood in what it cut into. He felt the rush of wind flow backwards and with that feeling he saw the cut his knife caused fall back with the wind, noticing how the blood from the cut was seeping out in the opposite direction the wind is going. The king reappeared a few feet away from Link.
"I must say I wasn't expecting this. First you being able to detect the sounds of my steps from walking and now that fairy is able to see me while I run. This is most interesting." Link resumed his stance, eyes focused on the enemy before him. "Not talking I see. Perhaps this is your battle sense working at the moment. I can tell just by looking at you that you are no ordinary child. As a matter of fact the only normal one among you is that coward of a girl."
A fireball was launched at the king which he snuffs out with standing spin kick.
"So what if she's scared?" Flame Princess shouts. "I'm sure if you were her age and in the same situation you would be scared too."
"My, my, what a thought, my dear princess." She growls, slightly leaning forward she ignites her hands to prepare more fireballs. "But no, I would dismiss such emotions if it would only get in the way of my desires. After all I am thief, the king of them no less. In this world only the strong can prevail and the strong must steal from the stronger! Meaning that the only strong ones are the thieves and with me being the King of Thieves I reign supreme!" He points his thumb towards his chest to further emphasizes his statement.
Tobi laughs to himself, nodding in disapproval. "Is that what you think strength is, just stealing from those stronger than you? You really do have a weak concept of what true strength is."
The king lowers his arm and turns his body so that his right shoulder is now facing them and not his torso. He looks directly at the fairy as he says, "What did you say?" sounding like his authority, or morals rather, were being questioned.
"You heard me Mr. Pseudo Hayabusa, I'm calling you out on your meaning of strength. If anything you make thievery sound like a compensation for weakness. True strength is forged from within, not gained from stealing. If anything, you steal because you're weak and if that's the case you must be the weakest of them all. Which leads me to your attire and you in general."
"What of it fairy?" The king's gaze intensifies as his eyes narrow.
"I notice how Link managed to cut you in the side where your ribs should be located, correct?" The king glances at the injured area noticing the new flesh wound seeping out blood from his side. He nods returning his attention to the fairy. "And like I said before I can see your movements. I noticed how you cringed as that knife cut you open, care to explain why?" The king remained silent to which Tobi made a light chuckle. "Alright then I'll tell them, your highness." He emphasized the 'your highness' with smugness. "If this guy really is as strong as he says he is then a little cut from a dagger should mean nothing, right? I mean with his speed and his power a little flesh wound shouldn't so much as phase him, right?"
"Get to your point you bothersome pest!" The king spat with venom in his words, his patience nonexistent.
"Well if I must," Tobi chucked. "My point is is that you aren't as every bit as powerful as you say you are. All this power that you have comes from equipment that you have on underneath those black pajamas. And if that's not the case then explain to me this, how can a man of such caliber fall in a place that he rules over, to people that he is king of?"
"You wretched fairy!" He spat. "I chose to die on my own accord, in my tower, these weaklings have no hand in my passing!"
"You chose to die you say?" Tobi smiled, he'd fallen right into his hand. "I never said anything about you dying. If you recall I said the word 'fall' and not 'die'." The king's eyes widened realizing his mistake. "You just admitted to taking your own life and I know why you did it."
"SILENCE!" He disappeared.
"Everyone group together so that everyone's back is covered. Flame Princess channel fire like a flamethrower to the left."
They did as they were told, Flame Princess blasted the stream of fire from her hands noticing how something was cutting into her flames yet soon gave up as her flames flared to the right in which the king reappeared several feet away from them. His clothing had burned away in several spots which revealed some of his clothing underneath. He wore gold plated shoulderguards that had a skull carved into each. His arms seemed to be covered in a dark brown leather material which went down to his indigo colored gloves. The fingertips of the gloves were made of some sort of metal they melted away showing the king's sickly green finger tips and black painted nails. The remainder of his outer attire remained somewhat intact. The king was hunched over, his shoulders went up and down signifying his heavy breathing.
"You took your own life because you were afraid of another thief coming along and stealing all that you had stolen. Isn't that like, I don't know, the ultimate humiliation for a thief possible? And for a king no less."
"BAH! WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW ABOUT HONOR? HOW CAN YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO SOMEONE OF MY LEVEL?" He didn't disappear this time it as he decided to make a straight B-line for the group. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PROVOKE A KING! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT MERE COMMONERS! PEASANTS JUST WAITING TO BE STOLEN FROM!"
"Peasants, huh?" Tobi said smugly. "Well then let me show just what it is that these 'peasants' can do. Children, if you please…"
Both Link and Flame Princess grunted in agreement, Link ran forth while Flame Princess threw fireballs as support. The fireballs surpassed Link and as they did they began to circle in closer to each other until forming into one massive fireball. The King of Thieves delve into it head first and exiting with flames covering his body. Link took this opportunity to spring into attack, Link jumped turning his body so that he could deliver a swift kick to the King's gut and followed this with a punch to the face with his free hand. The King only staggered at this while Link was quick to continue to add pressure in the form of attacks. Link followed up with a series of jabs, holding the knife like he had previously, every jab lead to the King stumbling back in an effort to avoid the blade. Occasionally this left him open allowing Link to deliver a punch in order to further weaken the King.
"I must admit your moves are incredibly tenacious. You would make a fine thief."
At this Link's eyes widened, he went for another jab which was avoided allowing for another opening. However, instead of following through with a punch, Link jumped and went for a slash to the face. It surprised the King that the boy decided to go for such a bold move and simply ducked under the knife however he hadn't expected a face full of brown boot courtesy of the boy before him. The kick landed with an echoing twack and sent the King a few inches away from Link. The King was still on his feet but to say that he wasn't dumbfounded by Link's boldness in attacking would be an underestimate.
"That was pretty bold, boy." He said through heavy breaths. "So tell me something, why haven't you finished me yet? I know you are full well of being capable of doing it."
Link took a regular stance, relaxing his shoulders and arms. "I don't want to kill people. I can tell the difference between something of pure evil and someone with ill intentions. Those with ill intentions… I believe that they deserve a second chance. So that they can redeem themselves and atone for their actions."
The king stood their with quietly laughing only moments later to erupt into laughter. "Wow! That IS rich! Never once have I meet someone full of so many ideals and such naivety!"
"Besides," Link lowered his gaze so that his bangs were covering his eyes. "It's not my place to pass judgment on someone who's already done it." He said this under the Kings laughter but it hadn't gone unnoticed.
"What was that?" He hissed. Link brushed his bangs from his eyes, looking directly at the King who noticed a red flare in the boy's normally blue eyes. The King turned and gasped in horror noticing the massive fire trails that surrounded him. The King could do little before the trails had attacked him from all sides, engulfing the King in a massive flame.
Link let out sigh as he dropped to his knees and released the black knife. The group ran up to him, Penny had helped back to his feet because ya know Flame Princess is… well… just read her name.
"Wow Link that was amazing!" Flame Princess praised. "I had no idea that you could even move like that."
"I didn't think I still could either. It's been awhile since I had to fight that intensely." Link gave a small smile which soon faded into a frown. "It's too bad I couldn't get back my-"
Before he could finish his sentence a burned bag flew out of the massive fire.
"Well, talk about convenient." Said Tobi.
Link walked up to the bag he bent down to grab it and has he did he quickly turned around and but the bag on display as he held it up with one hand with it somehow floating a little off his palm and slowly spinning mysteriously. Everyone just eyed the fairy boy before Tobi was the one to speak.
"Link cut that out, that's freaky." Link blushed as he placed the bag in, wherever he keeps all his items, and scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, with less weirdness, what do now gang?"
"Well I guess we could go back and tell Princess Bubblegum that we did what she asked of us… sorta." Flame Princess added that last part with a hint of embarrassment as she looked at her handy work, as in the massive flame.
"Yeeeeah, Flame P I think you might have went a little bit overboard." Tobi said.
"Oh really?" The ominous voice, low, voice put the group's chatter to a standstill. From the flames shot out a blue fireball. It hurled itself right at the princess and carried her away along with her screams. The group turned immediately to the fire from it erupted laughter. "Man, you are the most stubborn people I have met in all my lifetime and second lifetime." A visible silhouette emerged from the flames and Link immediately took a battle stance. "Boy, you make me laugh. What was your name again? Oh yeah that's right it was Link. I'll be remembering that." The silhouette began walking towards them as he did Link could make out more distinguishing features. If this was indeed the King of Thieves his mask must have burned off as his face was visible. Link began to tremble as the figure came closer. He noted the sickly green skin and the short red hair, no it was impossible… wasn't it?
"What's the matter Link?" The king said with a smug. "Your body language is completely different from before."
The man's voice had changed to Link, it horrified him it sounded so familiar. Link began to back away with every step the man took this not only scared Penny but Tobi was getting a bit scared too.
"L-Link?"
Link began hyperventilating, he clutched his chest trying to somehow calm his breathing but how could he. During his adventures of Hyrule there was always one main source of the lands problems, there was always that one figure that haunted his dreams when he traversed the land, he swore to the Goddess of Time herself that this nightmare had been sealed in the Sacred Realm and yet there it was. Link dropped to his knees.
Link bit his lip feverishly, his mind trying to snap out of the state of fear in order to formulate words. The figure stood before him it was the source of all that was evil and unholy in his original timeline. It was… it was… it was…
"G-G-G-Ga-" He was choking on his words he couldn't breath properly he felt like throwing up. It was all a nightmare, it had to be. The man before him laughed an all too familiar laugh as purple energy began to envelop the man fist. Link's eyes dilated, this was very much real.
"Ganondorf…" He let out with a whisper as the man plunged his fist into the boy sending him crashing into a building. He slowly skid down the building and sat on the floor, head drooped down, possibly unconscious.
The man laughed deeply as the purple energy began vanishing from his fist. The man's forehead glowed a black light has he continued his laughter.
I noticed how people wanted me to make the King of Thieves Ganondorf and I had every intention on doing so and I justify this by saying that the king isn't technically revived but rather reanimated. It's a little complex and I don't want to get too much into detail because, yeah, spoilers. Anyway here is the long overdue chapter that I had to postpone for like a year or so because life wants to be a bitch to me.
Maybe some day I will regain what little sanity I once had…
