Beyond the Boundaries
Disclaimer: I still don't own Zelda. Ah, well………
Chapter #9- The Trials pt.1
Hex took them out to an old stone structure that looked like it used to be some sort of gate or entrance of some sort. There, he addressed them on what was to come.
"Here before us is what used to be the gateway to pass to and from worlds, sort of an entry way if you will. This is where guardians stood watch as the elders of this plane, the Via elders, granted the guardians with the powers to refuse or accept life forms wishing to pass through this world. I once stood here as a guardian myself…….but that was long ago."
"Via elders?" Link asked inquisitively
"He means the elders of this world. The ancient texts of my people, the Twili, say that they were around even at the arrival of the goddesses. They alone control the passage way to other worlds. It was said they were the ones who forged my world, the Twilight realm. They had to split the world in two so as to create an equal balance to the two worlds."
"Hmm, you are well advised in the history of the Via elders. As expected for a princess of Twilight, I'm impressed."
Hex gave a soft chuckle. Link gave her a supportive thumb up and winked at her. She smiled and winked back.
"So all we have to do is walk through here to get to the training grounds?" Link asked the old guardian.
"It is not as simple as that, my friend. First of all, I must tell you the instant you step foot into its boundaries, there is no telling where you will end up. You may be transported to the nether plane or even to one of your respective worlds. But you will need a way to return here to Hemix. Here, both of you take one."
Hex held up two shards, one of light and one of dark. Link took the dark shard while Midna took the light shard. Each one shined with a vibrant glow.
"What are these?"
"These are astral keys; these are your links to this world. Keep these with you as they are keepers of time. See the bright shine coming from them? That light indicates how much time you have left until you have to return to Hemix. The time limit is three days. When the light from the keys turns off completely it means you must return here to this spot, regardless if you have not completed all the trials. Each trial is different from the last and all have a significant meaning in battle. It will be up to you what you do with the knowledge that is handed down to you."
Hex turned and faced the stone gateways. He let out a roar and the same dark chains that had restrained Shun burst forth from the ground but each of these chains had a set of fierce jaws sprouting out from where the shackles should be. The little mouths snapped and flailed wildly about. Hex let out another roar and the chains formed into one to create a sort of black metal beast version of him. The dark form of Hex slammed his front right paw down and the ground split in two. Just as the ground cracked between the stone gateways, a wall of light rose up acting as a barrier. The fissure line Hex had created split the wall of light until it opened up, granting them entrance to the training grounds.
"I'm sure I don't need to say this but good luck, to both of you."
Link and Midna nodded to the old guardian and, hand in hand, entered the gateway. The wall of light consumed them and in an instant they vanished from Hex's' view. The old guardian smiled to himself.
"Well……I guess I'd better get to my own training. They have each other to support. They can draw strength from one another so I have nothing to worry about. But still…..I guess I can help them out for a little while longer."
Link and Midna stepped into a world that mirrored the Twilight realm only this world was…..plain. Mostly shadows intertwined with streaks of light, no buildings or people around, nothing. Just a vast plain of……..nothing. They looked around and could not find any obstacle or any signs of hostility.
"Uh…….so, what do we do now? There's nothing here!" Link exclaimed.
"Well….maybe we have to wait for something to happen." Midna looked around and from a distance, saw what seemed to be a single building standing lonely on the horizon.
"Hmm, let's check that place out. Maybe there's someone there who can tell us about this place."
Link began to walk in that direction until something pushed him from behind and knocked him onto his stomach.
"Ow! What the….!"
A familiar laugh echoed from behind Link and Midna came to his side and helped him to his feet.
"You'll need to stay alert here in the lower axis. Travel too far away from the central point and you'll be wondering here aimlessly forever!"
"Is that…"
Suddenly, Hex's frame came into their view. It was an astral projection of Hex they were seeing. The old guardian laughed out loud and he looked to the two heroes.
"Welcome to the Lower axis. This is a dimension directly below the world of Hemix. I never thought you guys would get such a perfect training ground. The first thing you need to do is get to the central point, where that building is over there, and await an entity to instruct you. From this point on, you two will be on your own. The instructors here on this plane are a pain in the ass but believe me, the training is well worth it. Of course, I'll look in to see how you are faring every once in a while. Good luck, heroes!"
And with that, Hex vanished from sight. Link and Midna wasted no time and made their way to the central point. Inside, there were two bedrooms, one washroom and a kitchen with shelves full of food.
"Hmm, nice place. Isn't it a little too homely to be a training facility?" Link voiced his thought. Before he could hear what Midna had to say, a loud booming voice rang through his ears.
"WHAT, YOU GOTTA PROBLEM WITH THAT, PRETTY BOY?!?!?!?!"
A small creature that resembled Midnas' cursed form took hold of Links' front tunic and flipped him over her shoulder, sending him flying across the room and making Link crash into a wall.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" An enraged Midna demanded the little creature to answer.
Before she could get a good answer, the creature did the same number on Midna, sending her crashing into the same wall Link had crashed into and crashing into Link at the same time.
"Suck it up already! The name's Nid. I'm the entity that rules this plane so I don't wanna hear any of your bellyaching, got it?"
Nid stood no taller than three feet, had long dark red hair, gold eyes and a hot-headed temper. Clad in a simple black tunic and red slacks, Nid walked over to where the baffled heroes lay.
"Hmph! So this is what Hex gave me to work with? The years must be getting to the old dog. Well, you're lucky it's just me today. My sisters won't be here until tomorrow so we can get your training started now. So! What are your names? I can't be calling out 'Hey, you!' all the time. Well?"
Link helped Midna rise to her feet and they dusted themselves off.
"I'm Link….from Hyrule. Ow……"
"Midna…..from the…"
"Twilight realm, I know! You are the current leader of the Twili, eh? I guess I got my work cut out for me then. Well! Let's get started then!"
Nid snapped her fingers and they were instantly back outside of the central point and into the axis plane.
"Well then….From what I understand, you two are trying to achieve the impossible by completing the guardian trials in three days time. For a normal guardian, it would normally take five years to complete one trial. And that's if they have a high amount of power. The lesson for today, kiddies……..Shade of Puppetry!"
"Shades of Puppetry?" Link asked quizzically.
Midna turned her head to Link. "The art of fusing a shadow with a solid form of light."
"Very good, princess! And lucky for you guys, we have all the necessary ingredients. One part shadow being and one part light being. The trick to this is…..manipulating the form and molding it to your preference, creating a mighty being of mixed powers!"
Link let out a slight sigh. "Well, that doesn't sound like a lot."
Nid looked to the young lad with a sadistic smile on her face.
"Oh…..really? Are you so sure of that?"
She let out another snap from her fingers and immediately, Link and Midna fell to their knees.
"H-Hey! What's…going on?!"
Nid walked up to them and brought their faces up to meet her eyes.
"I have released the gravitational safety, letting the natural pressure of this planes' gravitational pull weigh you down. It's like walking around with twenty goats on your back! I'll check on you two in about seven hours. Have fun!"
Nid walked away from the struggling two and disappeared from sight.
"W-well, all we have to do…ugh, is get our bearings and do the shadow technique, right?!"
"It's….not as simple as that!"
"What?!"
"In order to do the Shades of Puppetry….we have to be able to access our rooted powers! My shadows…."
"…And my light! Damn!! I-I can't even get to my feet! And what kind of name is that for a technique?!"
"How the hell…should I know?!"
From a far away distance, Nid looked on at their struggle.
"Sorry to be so harsh on you two…….but determination alone isn't going to be enough to defeat Shun."
Nid looked to the sky over head, wondering how Hex was progressing.
Hex returned to his chambers and took out six spears from a rack on the wall.
"I never thought I had to use these ever again. It's a heavy risk…..but there's no other way. Just one more thing to make sure of before I proceed with my own training."
He left his chambers and went out into the guardian cemetery. Once there, Hex stabbed the spears into the headstones of the former guardians' graves. From a bird's eye point of view, the spears made a pentagon formation. Once al spears were properly aligned accordingly, Hex stepped into the beams of light streaming forth from the ground. In a brilliant flash, Hex was in the light world, Hyrule. From what Hex could see, all of the dwellers of light were frozen, held in place by the halted hands of time. Hex entered castle town and passed by merchants holding their goods for the public to see, children playing their games, a guard chasing a thief, all frozen in place. It was quite a sight but a sad one as well. For the people he is seeing right now is hardly different from statues.
Hex made his way past the gates and proceeded to enter Hyrule castle. Inside, he ventured into the throe room, where a frozen Zelda sat at her throne as calm and collected as ever. Hex was hardly surprised by her expressions, though.
"Don't you think you should pull yourself out of the time hold now, princess? Your face will remain like that if you leave it so."
As if in slow motion, Zelda blinked her eyes and began to move her head. She regained her bearings' and was now fully aware of the present. She turned and saw a four-legged grand beast clad in celestial armor and knew immediately that she was in no danger.
"It is an honor to meet a being such as you. I must ask, do you have an explanation for why all is frozen in Hyrule?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Tell me first, princess Zelda. How long have your people been like this? As the bearer if the Triforce of wisdom, I'm sure you have seen everything since you and your people were frozen in your current state."
Zelda nodded in grief as she confirmed her answer.
"Here, it has only been a day since all of Hyrule was seized by the halted hands of time. I would think that being a light being, I too would have been completely frozen. Why is that, I wonder?"
Hex grinned at her little question.
"I guess being the bearer of the Triforce of wisdom has its' advantages. You have the upper hand here, princess Zelda. You have the ability to move freely about in the light world and due to that advantage; you can keep a close eye on the people. As we both know, they cannot remain this way forever."
"Indeed you are right, my friend."
"Oh, forgive my rudeness. I'm in a bit of a hurry. I' am Hex, guardian from-"
"Hemix? I recognize the insignia of the guardian. To be honest, I always thought that world to be merely a myth. Two sides of the same coin rolled into a single realm. Neutral, yes. But not at all the same. I heard that Hemix is actually the only known crossing point from realm to realm. I'm familiar with the world but this is the first time I have actually met a being from such a realm as Hemix."
"Heh, I feel honored, my lady. But I must finish my business here and move on to my prior engagement. I simply came here to make sure you are aware of what is going on. You are familiar with the legendary hero Link, I presume."
He saw Zelda give a nod in response.
"Well, he and the Twilight princess are in the midst of going through the Guardian trials to prepare for the arrival of the escaped Shun."
Hex saw the familiar look of horror in Zelda's' eyes; that same look of disbelief when he himself had learned of Shuns' escape. He said nothing more at this point, giving the princess of light a chance to soak in what he had just informed her of.
"I….see. Well, then….if those two are going to rise to this challenge, I have no doubt in my heart that they will pull through for all of Hyrule and the Twilight realm as well. I believe in them so there is nothing to fear."
Hex gave off a light chuckle.
"Your show of strength and complete trust in your allies are a thing to be reckoned with, all quite admirable traits of a worthy and benevolent leader, if I do say so myself. But now, I must beg your leave, my lady. I have an engagement to attend to."
"It was an honor to meet you, Lord Hex. Please do be careful on your travels."
"To you as well, Princess Zelda"
And with that, Hex vanished in a haze of darkness. Zelda sighed and looked to the glowing symbol on her hand. She will watch over the kingdom with strength and devotion to protecting the people of Hyrule. She only prayed for Link and Midnas' well being, no doubt in her mind that they would accomplish the trials that lay ahead of them; just as they did when they fought for Hyrule before.
"Well, I guess its time for me to check on them. Hopefully, they aren't crushed merely by the weight of their own hair."
Looking at her hour glass, Nid decided to go out and check o the heroes. Leaving the central point Nid made her way to the spot she had left the heroes only to be met with Links' tunic and Midnas' long dark robe folded neatly in a small pile, oddly enough, in the middle of the floor.
"Hmm, I guess they couldn't hack it and folded their clothes in a form of defeat. Guess I over estimated the-"
Nid was silenced when what looked to be a black jagged scythe slammed down right in front of her, making her fall on her seat and stumble back.
"You over-estimated who?"
Nid looked up to see a menacing figure standing above her. The figure reminded her of a hulky looking wolfos with a mix of gold and forest green fur covering his body, a dark silhouette swirling itself around the left of it's' chest, almost like a woman caressing it. Their eyes were a simple color of blue and yellow, their pupils not even visible. Links claws looked to have a terrible power to them; Midnas' shadows had a force behind them that made even Nid shake a little. Those two were actually beginning to look unbeatable, almost…….invincible.
"Well, well. Looks like I spoke too soon. Very nice! I'm impressed you two mastered this form so quickly and so accurately, I might add. Usually when a guardian could not master their new form, they turn into a monster and it doesn't end well. But you two pass today's' training. This brings you one step closer to defeating Shun. But just to be sure…..it's time for a pop quiz!"
Collecting visible red power energy in her right hand, Nid slammed them at full force sending them careening back into a wall of shadows. Link shook his head free of rubble and looked up. Nid was rushing towards them with awesome speed, another orb of energy swirling wildly in Nids hand. Midna used her shadows to move them out of the way just in time and Link gets back up to his feet. Nid broke her hand through the wall but seemed to be unfazed by the fact that she missed them completely. With a calm look on her face, Nid dislodged her hand from the gaping hole in the wall and turned to them.
"I must say, you two have improved quite a bit but the real change I want to see….is how well your endurance has improved!"
Nid came at them again and Midna brought up a shadow shield with the mere flick of her hand, blocking the hit.
"What does she mean our endurance?" Midna spoke to Link telekinetically, through their minds seeing as how they were now a single form.
"She won't stop attacking! She wants to see how far we can keep up this form!"
"Exactly! Achieving the Shades of Puppetry form is only the tip of the iceberg. Holding that form is a whole other story! Now! Show me what you have learned!"
Nid attacked again increasing her energy outtake, her power surging through her fingertips. Midna brought up her shields again, blocking the hits as they came.
"This isn't gonna work! We need to go on the offensive!"
"Well, you tell me Hero! That's your field of expertise!"
Link looked to Nids' attack patterns as they came. She was stubbornly aggressive in her assault, fierce as well but Link had to disregard that and focus on her movements. One swipe and then another. Link had to wait for a small gap in her attacks and as soon s he did, he could give Midna the signal to go for it. Wait for it….wait for it….
There! As Nid reared her right hand back for another strike was a small and brief pause in her movements.
"Midna, now!"
With a forceful shout, Midna extended her shadowy hand and took hold of Nids' arm. Taking advantage of Nids' shock, Midna slammed her into the ground. Before she could rise on her arms, Link lunged forward and caught her in a standoff, his claws just inches away from her neck while pointing a sharp point of energy at both him and Midna.
"Touché, my friends! Very well done!"
Nid retreated her energies and dusted herself off.
"You both have completed the first day of training and even demonstrated all the lessons you have learned."
"Lessons?" As the figure spoke, its voice was that of Link and Midna combined to create a fused speech.
"Yes! While we had our little sparring session, I took note of what you used and how you used it. For instance, anyone would know to look for a small break in my attacks and go for it. But what I was impressed about was that you and Midna were able to harness the power of the fused being so quickly and so easily. Normally, it would take almost a year just even gain control of the technique whereas you two mastered it in a day. But there is something I may have for got to mention..."
Nid was cut off when she heard the light snoring of the two heroes sound asleep, tired from their ordeal. Without even conscious knowledge of it, they had separated form their fused state laying sprawled out on the ground and fast asleep.
"Heh! Well, I'd say you two deserve a good nights rest. I guess Hex knew what he was doing when he sent you two here after all. But I gotta tell ya...it doesn't get any easier after this point"
-End chapter
A/N: Chapter #9 is now complete! I think I may have botched up somewhere so if anyone doesn't get anything please e-mail me or leave a review saying what you didn't get. I'm so rushed to get to the second "Love scene" before it completely slips my mind but it is as they say: "Patience is a virtue."
So just like my readers, I have to be patient with myself on this. Let's face it; the story is no good if it is rushed without the proper thought to it. Chapter #10 is well under way! Anyone have a guess as to what will happen to Link and Midna? Even I'm trying to fathom the outcome! (Geez… and I'm the one writing this! Well, that doesn't say much about me, does it?) --
Your feedback is very much appreciated and it counts! The writer cannot bring the pen to life if it has no mindful will from the author! Flames are still welcome! I appreciate your patience and thank you for your time!