The driver dropped the chain and held his hand out, blocking the crowbar. "Wait, this kid could join us, whadda ya say? Let's give him a chance to prove himself." Then raised his fists as well "C'mon, Kid, have at it! take your swing!" The passenger dropped the crowbar with a loud clang and Link lunged into the Cyan Racer, only to get knocked back suddenly, not even seeing what hit him. The driver's eyes crossed and he laughed drunkenly, stumbled barely a raised footstep, and fell to the ground in a crumpled and goofy heap beside his partner, who was also subdued.
"You know better than to enter the alcoves, princess. Escort your friend inside, you're both lucky I showed up when I did." Impa scolded from the outer perimeter of the alleyway alcove. She was carrying a wooden sword and shield, presumably used to knock the cyan racers unconscious. "Follow Zelda, she'll instruct you to wait for me. I've contacted your mother, and you'll be staying with us for a while." Zelda ran ahead toward her home in this new neighborhood which had replaced the curving alcove. Link hesitated briefly and followed... The Princess.
Chapter VIII: Real Misadventure
Whoa, that was long... why was it "3 chapters"? Maybe, kind of like a TV show?
It would need "to be continued" at the end of each page/chapter though...
I'm starting to dig it...But, if that chapter was 'unreal'...
Then what does that make this chapter...?
Impa halted him momentarily, holding out her hand. "One more thing. Link, These are risky times. It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." Link swallowed hard, took the sword and shield, bowed politely toward Impa, and turned to follow Zelda, jogging to catch up.
Zelda and Impa lived in a simple home, 2 stories and a basement; you could tell it had a basement from the outside, because of the ground level slats-for-windows at the basement ceiling, near the ground. She was standing on the bottom step waiting for Link to catch up, "C'mon, Link! I'll show you around." She ran up and opened up the house, standing inside the threshold. Link casually followed her up, but before he knew it Zelda had his hand and was ushering him through the living room, while pointing out and naming Impa's decorative Sheikah weapons and an impressive Gerudian guard's Scimitar Staff. She pointed down the hall before they entered the kitchen, "Bathroom, bedrooms." she said on their way in, pausing briefly as she described everything he saw himself. "The back door is beside the door to the stairwell. Stairs are on the left, back door is on the right. Beside the doors is the dining nook we use for breakfast and supper." She said, pointing as she went. "Upstairs is used for storage, and a small library Impa keeps for me, basement is where you'll be staying..." She abruptly stopped and suddenly turned around "In the dungeon!" She said menacingly as possible, but started to laugh just at the end.
Impa came in shortly behind them and scolded Zelda, "He'll be staying in the adjacent room beside the Dojo, plenty comfortable, young miss. Go upstairs and research Kaepora Gaebora's notes in the Book of Mudora." She turned to Link once Zelda left. "You're going to train with me while Zelda is upstairs studying. I will not allow you to get sucked into her fate without ample preparation. Today, you will get used to staying here; understanding where everything is, where you'll be sleeping, familiarizing yourself with your new equipment, and learning your limitations. I expect you to be ready for supper by the afternoon. We will be gone in the evenings; this is your only free time to practice alone, don't waste it. I will test you when we return each night." Impa opened the door on the left and held it for Link. He followed the stairs down and Impa followed close behind, further guiding him, "There is a closet full of wooden targets you may use during instruction and free training, and spare wooden shields and swords if you break yours, but please, do try not to. Your room is located at the far end behind the dojo."
The basement was a wide open and largely empty room with two walls lined with mirrors forming a L of mirrors and an X of reflections. Link didn't see the closet, let alone the room he'd been assigned. He walked to the center of the room, stopped, looked around, and waited. Impa approached the center of the dojo, beside him, turned to face the mirrors on one wall and walked straight forward. She slid a mirror aside, revealing a modest room: Bed, light switch to the ceiling light, small dresser topped with a TV, consoles, and Nintendo games, and enough empty room to stretch in all directions. Link walked toward the room, Impa returned to the center of the Dojo.
After inspecting things briefly, Link approached Impa, who spoke as he neared "From the center of the room approach the mirrors, there lies the closet; or your room, depending on the wall you choose." And pointed to the other mirrored wall. Link took the instruction implied and walked that direction, to the wall. There, he found a sliding mirror concealing another concealed space, the closet was found. Two log dummies rolled out gently.
Impa approached the supply closet, "Before we begin, allow me to explain how to best utilize your equipment." She said, putting the dummies back and closing the mirrored door. "Young as you are, I cannot expect you to have ample strength enough, to carry everything expected of a hero, so listen closely: You would have no trouble at all carrying the wooden training sword and shield, but if you were to attempt to take on a full sized sword or shield, you would require both arms to use just one or the other. Additionally, you have that useful satchel, which can only carry a limited amount of weight. The legendary weapons the goddesses crafted will not all fit in such a small space. If you have to leave anything behind in your journeys, know that monsters will hunt for your weapons and relics to return them to guarded treasure chests and booby-trapped dungeons. Ganon's minions have grown increasingly vigilant over the centuries." She paused and inspected Link's newly equipped weapons, making sure he had a firm grip. "Which is why I must train you just as vigilantly!" She shouted as she jumped back and revealed a pair of wooden weapons of her own, as if out of nowhere. "I will not go easy on you, boy. This is your only example, next I will use it against you. Hold your sword like so." She held her sword out in her right hand in a prepared stance. "and your shield like this." Shaking her left arm to prompt the shield's poised position. "When you strike, you have four basic attacks:" She said, exemplifying each one as she explained it "Cutting vertically, Slashing Horizontally, Stabbing, and the technique I used to subdue the riffraff in the alley, the hilt strike. You can also utilize your shield to accomplish the same stunning blow as your hilt. Now you try."
Link clumsily swung the sword with his right hand and nearly dropped it. Setting it down, he traded his shield and picked the sword up with his left hand. This time he cut through the air with sturdy precision. Vertical cuts, horizontal slashes, stabs, and blunt strikes. When he showed Impa he could do what she showed him, without warning she shot at him with her sword for a quick cut. Link barely dodged it by rolling aside, but couldn't resist her follow up from behind while he exited the roll.
Rather than striking, Impa sheathed her sword, "You understand the basics well enough to practice alone while Zelda and I tend to the park downtown. I will show you how to block next." She rose her shield in front of herself and instructed Link to stab at her. Link did and she blocked it with her shield. "You have a strong strike. This shield would not withstand ten of your blows. Just as your shield would break past its threshold, so too will your sword. The wooden targets are sturdier than your sword and can take more blows than a wooden sword can deliver. I must prepare dinner for you and Zelda. I wont usually ask this, but try to break your sword at least once while I am upstairs. So that i know you have endurance enough to last in a fight: Outlast your sword!" She returned her wooden sword and shield to the closet and retrieved two wooden dolls for Link, bowed politely, and went about, up the stairs.
Link dragged the dummies into the middle of the room, one at a time, and proceeded to cut and slash them as hard as he could. He swung and swung, knocked one over and slashed the next. Swinging harder and harder, he lunged in for a stab and dropped the sword upon impact. A short but intense burst of energy, he sat down for a moment to catch his breath, picked up the sword, righted the fallen wooden dummy, and retreated several paces. He took a deep breath, bowed to the wooden target, and ran at it as Impa had run at him. He slashed the target and spun around to cut it, stepped back into the second target and smashed his hilt against it from behind, turned, and slashed the second target, successfully shattering his training sword for the first time.
He felt a strong sense of pride. Breathing heavily, he wiped his brow and smiled to himself. Or as to himself he thought; Zelda smiled as well, silently watching from the bottom of the stairs. Link was short of breath and just stood there, internally admiring his success as she approached quietly behind him. "That was quite impressive, Link." She said sincerely; a welcome startling, his shocked eyes and confused smile revealed to her. "Impa doesn't know i'm down here... I wanted to see if you were as strong as I thought you were... and to give you this..." She held out her hands, revealing a small empty pendant made up of a soft golden spiral. "It's one of three pendants which will help the Hero of Time... Although I'm not sure how... yet. just... not yet." She looked warily behind herself "I better get back upstairs before Impa finds out I'm not buried in an avalanche of books." she said, hesitated a moment, smiled at Link, and quickly and silently ran up the stairs. Link returned to his sword and shield practice.
Impa, Link, and Zelda all ate supper together in the kitchen dining nook beside the back door; while Impa explained that Link would be wisest to remain inside and train, but welcome to explore none the less. She cautioned that if he were to leave the house, it would automatically lock behind him, and he would be unable to re-enter until Zelda and herself had returned.
Watching them leave in the blue van from the window, Link waved and smiled at Zelda, who smiled and waved back. With such an overwhelming adventure staring him in the face, Link felt tiny, dwarfed. He needed to get some air, but didn't want to be locked out. Thought a moment, reflecting on something Impa had cautioned him about earlier, and decided he should have the equipment closet downstairs inspected if he were to leave.
He thought the sword and shield would suffice, and opened the mirrored door. He found the sword and shield he was looking for and spied some other weapons buried behind wooden targets: a bag of Deku nuts, and two individually marked bags that said "bullet seeds", one green, the other blue. He inspected them, but they were empty. There were 10 Deku Nuts, so he took them and the bag they came in. While he was there, he figured he'd swing the sword around and get familiar with carrying it. He watched himself in the mirror, slowly moving the sword around, getting a feel for it. Vertical, horizontal, stab. All very slow movements. He nodded to his reflection, turned, and left.
Up the stairs, in the kitchen, he filled his small bottle with some water, and his large bottle with milk from the fridge, before taking off for his breather. He needed to get familiar with the area and find a quiet place to unwind. Link left the house and heard the latch behind him drop heavily. Off the front step, he looked around briefly, checking out the neighborhood. This house was one removed from a corner lot. The direction he'd come from earlier, from the alleyways. He decided to peek at the dead end where the commercial back door was, since there wasn't much in the area but homes and streets. Around the corner, back the way he'd come. He stood in front of the alleyway, staring at it a moment. He had no idea how to get back here or where he would wind up if he entered again. Staring longer, Link considered deliberately losing himself in the alleys on an endless journey through... whatever lay beyond. But only for a moment before turning and leaving.
On either side of the alley were shops. One was a grocery market, the other was clothing and accessories. From the clothing shop came an attractive teenage girl with tan skin and red hair, wearing black shorts and tank top. She seemed in a hurry, ignored Link, turned down the street, and got in her car. He watched her drive away, oblivious of him staring at her the whole time. He thought she looked familiar and had hoped he would be recognized, but nothing happened. He walked along the sidewalk in the opposite direction for a while, eventually passing a hospital.
The next neighborhood was mostly homes, with only a few small shops every several blocks, and only on the one street. Other streets led down dead ends and into cul-de-sacs, and neighborhoods lined with homes. A couple asphalt paved alleyways gave Link a chill as they made him think of the brick alcoves. He came to a busy intersection after walking for a long time, where the other side of the street looked more like the downtown area, with commercial buildings and offices hugging the streets. He noticed a shadowy figure emerge from the alleyway between a tall, fancy office building sporting big bold letters reading "Gorman Bros. HYREALTY", and a small office called "Doutor's" with no indication as to its services. Link backed himself against the corner of a building and watched. The figure, staying low and moving quickly, darted from tree to tree, lamp post to traffic signal, traffic sign to mail box; until a fire escape offered a higher vantage point. This person did not notice Link watching them, but showed vigilance, always looking over their shoulder and making pause to scan the area around them. Once the coast appeared to be clear, they gracefully ascended the fire escape, as if flying, using it as merely an apparatus before they finally jumped onto the rooftop of a lower adjacent office and vanished around the corner.
Link gave chase, running across the street and dashing for the next intersection. By the time he had reached the corner, the ninja had vanished. Not a sign on rooftops nor in dark corners on street level. Link sighed and dropped his shoulders, disappointed. He trudged along a moment before realizing he was being watched. He felt eyes on his back and turned around, but there was no one there.
*perspective shift*
Impa stood behind Zelda, waiting for her to finish her chapter. "Very good, your training will begin after we eat. I must change your routine today to include that you be on the watch out for our guest; your friend. If you see him, try to guide him back to the house, and test his perceptive abilities. If he chases you, lead him back, and open the house while both trying to lose him and guide him. Do not enter home, do not follow him in, but convince him the house has been entered before him..." She seemed to have more to say but cut short, "Continue your studies. I will call you for dinner." -
- Impa, Link, and Zelda all ate dinner together in the kitchen dining nook, Impa explained that Link would be wisest to remain inside and train, but welcome to explore none the less. She cautioned that if he were to leave the house, it would automatically lock behind him, and he would be unable to re-enter until Zelda and herself had returned.
Watching them leave in the blue van from the window, Link waved and smiled at Zelda, who smiled and waved back. "Your day begins now, Princess." Zelda grumbled "Are you going to call me that from now on? I don't like it." She said, climbing in back. "Just change, miss, I'm pulling over around the corner." Impa said, smoothly controlling the van along the neighborhood.
Zelda finished changing her out of her outfit into Ninja Wrap and pulled her mask over her mouth, nodding to Impa as she opened the van door. She darted out and dashed back toward the previous street and into the shadows of the alley ways. Once in, she turned around and left, emerging in the run down outskirts of West Hyruletropolis. She spent no time and jumped back in the alley, avoiding any chance of being seen. She, again, turned to exit, but paused to catch her breath. Her heart pounded but she ignored it as she emerged between two offices downtown.
Staying low and moving quickly, Zelda darted from tree to tree, lamp post to traffic signal, sign to mail box, until a fire escape offered a higher vantage point. She looked over her shoulder from this vantage point and scanned for anyone who might see her movements, before she moved on, leaping down to a near by rooftop. She kept low, approaching the edge, scanning for company.
She watched Link run past and instinctively knew he was following her, recoiling from sight. Now she followed him. After his running all the way from downtown to Lake Hylia, she knew he was going to prove special. Using techniques learned from Impa's training, Zelda hid in many awkward locations and stealthily stalked him until he sensed her. He trudged along a moment before realizing he was being watched. He felt eyes on his back and turned around, but there was no one there. Zelda prepared herself to attack him, retrieving her throwing needles, waiting for him to turn back around and catch him immediately in his shock.
Link slowly stiffened, sensing someone behind him, and drew his sword and shield. He turned swiftly, defiantly, reversing Zelda's plans on her and they stared each other down; Link breathed heavy a moment, shock caught in his chest, Zelda gripped the fine needles in her hands, crouching low, concealing her intentions. She blinked, Link Swallowed hard, and Zelda instantly darted forward and threw a handful of needles at Link. Link tried to roll aside but caught one in the leg, and immediately torqued around in pain, but used the momentum to raise his shield and protect himself.
He pulled the needle out then stood up, holding the shield in front of him, blocking a second handful of needles successfully. He ran ahead to strike, but Zelda performed a backflip and dodged his swing. She then rushed forward and struck his core with open palms. He doubled back, winced, and coughed. Looking up, he watched the ninja turn and run. He tried to sublimate the pain and gave chase, trying to catch up.
Zelda lead the way back home, corner after corner, keeping Link close enough to see her, but far enough to keep him running. They rounded the last corner and she dashed ahead and pulled out her key. As soon as she made it to the front door, she unlocked it, opening it a hair, then ran around back of the house. Link saw the ninja curve down Zelda's street, and dashed ahead faster, putting his sword and shield away. He ran faster, rounding the corner just in time to see some bushes near their house rustle. He ran on, toward the front step, and noticed the door was ajar. He halted and curiously approached the door. He felt a slight sense of dread mixed with suspicion, and stopped entirely on that front step. He looked around and drew the sword again. Frowning, he turned to face the street again and scanned the neighborhood. There were no cars parked anywhere, no people walking on the sidewalks, no blinds drawn in the windows, and not a sound of car, pet, play, family, or neighborhood. He gripped the sword hard and stared down the other end of the street before he sheathed it. The dead end across the next block down seemed less an end and moreover just dead. He entered the house and slammed the door, then ran downstairs...
He knew there was something strange going on, indeed, but he didn't know what, much less what to do about it. Impa said this was time not to be wasted, so if he needed to protect Hyrule, let alone himself, he should take her advice. He began practicing the sword techniques Impa had shown him, and eventually moved on to the wooden targets. Zelda had disobeyed Impa and followed him in through the back door, where she had waited while he entered the house. After she watched him through the door window, she unlocked it quietly, and closed it just as silently behind her. She crouched in the shadows of the stairwell and watched Link intently. He seemed incredibly intent and focused.
He swung his sword vertically, horizontally ""Hut, hyia!" Stabbed, cut, slashed. He was working up his breath and breathing faster. Cutting and slashing, two of each. He stabbed, cut, then jumped sideways, slashing diagonally down when he landed, "Hyeah!" Breathing hard, "Hut! Hyia!" Horizontally, vertically, he thrust the sword in the air and stabbed the it thrice: "Sit sat, siahhhh!" as if vanquishing invisible evil.
He huffed, quickly caught his breath, walked over to the mirrors, and opened the closet. Huffed again, this time more like a sigh, wiped sweat from his brow, and entered. Zelda swiftly snuck across the dojo and entered his room, keeping the door ever so faintly cracked open that she could still watch, closer.
Link dragged a large wooden dummy out from the closet and propped it up in the middle of the room. He paced away from it, backwards, staring intently at it. When he stopped, Zelda held her breath. He unconsciously held his too. Staring down the wooden opponent, Link exhaled sharply "Rrhhhhaaaaaaghhh! And leapt into the air and lunged his sword at it, smashing the sword immediately.
Zelda tried to stifle a squeal, and covered her mouth all at once. She felt certain Link would have heard her and dared not peek. She rolled against the wall and pressed as close as possible, tip toeing. They stood motionless together, yet worlds apart... Link was exhausted from chasing and being chased; Zelda stuck in awkward indecision. She silently exhaled all her breath and unconsciously held it out. The door slid open and gently came to rest on her shoulder, elbow, arm. She squinted tight for a moment then fiercely shot her eyes open. Link's back was turned to her and he gently rolled his footsteps toward the bed and flopped down diagonally on it.
Zelda hugged the wall around and out the door as quickly and quietly as possible, then silently ran toward the stairs. She stopped and turned back, darkness concealed the room Link lay in... Though she peered in anyways, hovering indecisively at an event threshold... Then walked quietly up the stairs to the back door, opened and locked it, then hesitated again.
Impa had silently watched from the shadows the entire time and finally stepped into the illusion as Zelda locked and shut the back door. "It's getting late, go survey the park. Link already suspects this is part of the illusions of the Lost Woods, and I will need to hasten his training before we can send him into the forest. Your training must have been sufficient, princess. Be aware, stay alert, I will follow shortly behind after I resecure the house; but, go now..!" Zelda darted away, feeling partly ashamed of herself, but mostly content that she now had proof that Link's spirit was so strong, willful, and direct as she suspected... Hoped.
Impa's hands glowed dark and purple, she waved her hand across the sky in an arcing motion and closed her eyes. The world immediately around herself became shadowy and grew rapidly; trees slowly replaced the majority of the homes around them, rocks and terrain contoured the streets instead of asphalt and concrete, and shrubs and grass covered the ground. The house transformed from a cookie-cutter residence to a distinguished two story stone-and-log cabin, the copy-paste neighborhood became an artistic masterpiece of nature. Impa's posture shifted softly through several different positions, as she moved her left hand about with focused intent, allowing her right hand to relax by her side; the left hand emitting shadowy illusions around the house, the right, drawing shadowy energies from the forest around her. A graceful slow motion dance of supreme posture, had she an audience.
She opened her eyes, they were covered with shadow, and all was plain, undistinguished, "cookie-cutter" neighborhood again. She nodded, her eyes shaded, energy drawn away from her hands, blinked, her eyes returned to normal, she turned, and finally made way back to the van - parked around the corner at the end of the block. As she drew away, at the opposite end of the street where the next block began at this block's end, the forest shadows loomed outward, and from their invisible depths peered two pairs of red eyes.
Zelda darted away, feeling partly ashamed of herself, but mostly content that Link's spirit was so strong, willful, and direct. She smiled under her facewrap, convincing herself that she would help Link secure the Triforce and return Hyrule to its natural prosperity, intended by the goddesses.
She returned to the rooftops by jumping from wall to wall in the narrow alley, entering from the illusory edge of Hyruletropolis, and exiting atop a parking garage across the street from the Temple of Time. There was little to no cover, so she had to wait for a large vehicle to pass by, heading south. After several minutes, the perfect opportunity revealed to be a milk truck stopped at the red light. She jumped down, throwing the momentum of her hips into a flip to ease the landing; triangle jump. Her success came to please her, satisfying her personal practice - as Impa has eternally directed.
The low branches of the well aged fir trees of the park made good cover and access for her stealth from the back of the milk-tanker. However, she learned to keep an eye out for the Goron Link, whom has twice nearly caught her changing: Once into her ninja wrap, and once out of it. She climbed the tree several stories, until she could survey the outlying territories without being seen.
Racers and Brawlers appeared to be confronting each other south of the park, they were lined up and poised, but nothing was happening, appearing to be a discussion rather than a fight. One cyan Racer backed off after a moment, and two others rushed to his side. They exchanged looks a few times and turned to leave. The purple Brawler at the center of attention appeared to taunt the departing Racers.
As the crowd dispersed, a large group of Brawlers split off twice into downtown, one group heading deeper, the other group lined the street across from the park. Zelda waited, expecting them to cross, or challenge Goron Link, whom had been observing the same line form across the street from their park.
Goron Link clenched his fists... His stomach growled. He unclenched and gently tugged his stomach. "oohh, I hope they don't want to come over and cause trouble..." He finished his eternal lap around the park and took stop beside the bridge to watch. The entire park and street stood between him and the 8 Brawlers lined across it. Stomach rumbling. They did not move, did not speak to each other: Statues with folded arms, in silly purple outfits. The blue van's brakes squealed softly as it parked behind him. Goron Link's face involuntarily widened with a smile. He heard the door open and shut, waited for the next door, but instead heard nothing, footsteps following the unexpected emptiness.
He turned to inspect the feed, and saw Impa approaching him with something large in her hands. His eyes widened a little as he saw the gray and lumpy object, closer and more detailed, pocked with tiny specks of crystal, possibly... "Stone Turnip?" he uttered barely audible, then cleared his throat "Is that a Stone Turnip?!" he inadvertently shouted with excitement. "Did you bring me a Stone Turnip?" Impa nodded, trying not to smile but failing to hide it, and held the lump of stone out to Goron Link. He grabbed it jealously, and inspected it closely. His smile thundered as he laughed and gnashed at the stone. He gobbled it all down and patted his belly with a huge - DRUMB - that echoed across the street! A brawler recoiled as if struck, impressed. His neighbors turned to his shock with scorn, as if scolding.
Impa nodded to the Goron and returned to the van. "Strange..." Goron Link said to himself, "They aren't setting up...?" He felt invigorated by the ultra-health-food for Gorons and intuitively suspected more Brawlers were going to come by soon. He turned to stare across the street fiercely. The same brawler recoiled again. The same neighbors stared him down, again. Goron Link glared "What are you up to?" He said to the Brawlers, out loud to himself. Impa started the van and drove away, prompting Goron Link to notice the approaching Brawlers from behind the bridge!
A sudden click of heels beside him, "what was that?" As he turned to see The Ninja crouched beside him, poised low, wide, and prone. "We're together?" He quietly grumbled, Sheik nodded.