During the nighttime, under the moonlight, it is the one: REVIEW ANSWERIN' time!
(Allow me to take this moment to answer to some comments I somehow missed from chapter 9, followed by the ones from Chapter 10.)
Chap. 9:
Tetra: It's okay to cry. I'm the writer and that scene alone took my nerves on a breakdown.
Inspiration of Imagination: Thank you for your kind words. I do strive to be better every day and maybe, just maybe, release an actual novel.
Trickster's Imagination: If you only knew how long I had the whole scene cooked up, complete with that one line (I had to have the perfect line for it, after all). That point was the reason I gave some focus to the whole Heart Container breaking in half or not bit.
Chap. 10:
lilgreefox: Well, to tell you the truth (but only to you, it is a secret to everybody), I kinda rushed chapter 9, the greater part of it written nonstop on Christmas eve. Now... you made me feel bad, thinking I made you feel bad about Link. Consider this chapter my apology cake. On the other part... Considering how my English vernacular is limited, I always try to make sure my wording is varied enough so I don't devolve into "he said-itis". Also, you're very lucky you mentioned Makar when you did. That chapter was the ONLY time I could've put him as I have the rest of the story planned. And about Medli... I'll admit that was my mouthpiece to the whole Zora-to-Rito evolution theory.
Inspiration of Imagination: No, no. Feel free to criticize when the need arrives. That's what the review function is for, and it helps me improve my way of writing. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.
The Legend of Zelda
Overlord of the Land
Chapter 11:
A Connection to the Spirits
Morning broke under a soft and steady rain, hampering but not stopping a certain pirate ship from sailing towards land and find an anchoring point. The crew inside the ship rushed all over the top deck, fighting the blinding rain to have everything prepared in a timely fashion. Atop the ship's bridge, a burly man dressed in a green shirt and a red handkerchief on his head bellowed orders while he steered the ship the right way. They were running against the unstopping tide of time, towards an uncertain goal, in an uncertain time and weather, and this was a battle they simply could not lose. When the man steering the ship ordered something, all available hands rushed over and made it happen.
Still, there was one room inside the ship that remained locked from the inside. It was the Captain's Quarters, and it was adorned with a sign that read: Do Not Disturb.
"I have really changed, haven't I?"
The desk inside the Captain's Quarters was a mess of papers and annotations. The Ancient Hyrulian Book lay open with obvious signs of being searched over, a stick stuck in the middle as a reminder of where was it was last perused. The torn pages, retrieved in previous missions, were bundled in a separate section closer to the chair, magnifying their importance. Scraps of paper, filled with explanations, summaries and simplifications of important matters to be digested in a short lapse of time, ran all around the desk and spilled to the floor. Charts and compasses filled up what little space remained in the desk... but as full as it was, it was still missing its most important piece: the captain.
Tetra stood only a few feet over from the desk, where she had a mirror mounted to the wall. She was just getting dressed in her usual attire, still missing her blue jacket and red cloths that normally went on her neck and her hips, when she took a good, prolonged look at her own figure in the reflection. She was definitely no longer the squat child of years before, with an overgrown head and as flat as an ironing board. She was a young woman. She had grown taller, her body had time to catch up with her head and her frame had become more curvy. She spent some time looking at the mirror, posing in various different ways to take in the full extent of her older self.
As she performed these poses, her mind wandered back to the Fairy Queen's conversation she had the day before. Among the throng of things she was told, she remembered being told that she had changed, and it was time to reflect that change. "Could this be what she meant? At least partway?" Tetra wondered. In that state of mind, she tried one last stance: she stood as straight as possible, trying to look as formal as possible, as royally worthy as possible. While it was hard enough to maintain such a pose with a straight face due to her current ragtag look, she managed to sustain it in a quite dignified manner.
That is, until someone knocked at her door.
"Excuse me, Ma'am." The voice of Nudge rang from the other side of the door (lucky for Tetra, as she deflated spectacularly from her puffed-up stance). "I thought you'd want to know that we're approaching land. Best get your gear ready."
"Oh! Okay!" Tetra said. She walked away from the mirror towards where the rest of her clothes lay. After dressing completely, she returned to the mirror to do her hair, And she considered briefly to just let it flow down for the day. She thought better of it, though, considering the possibilities of what they may encounter, and started rolling her hair in her usual bun.
"So... let me get this straight." Mako wondered as he and the rest of the pirate crew began walking down the rat holes that created a network of caverns underneath New Hyrule. "Link is NOT dead? And we're going over some invisible place to bring him back?"
"And here I thought you weren't as smart as you said you were." Nudge said with the brightest of smiles and fluttering his eyes oddly.
"Why, thanks. I..."
"I was being sarcastic..." Nudge interrupted Mako, annoyed. "... Idiot."
"What I mean to say is that I can't be the only one to see a logical fallacy here." Mako continued, choosing to ignore his partner's bad mouthing. "We all saw it, didn't we? Tell me how you can survive..."
"Mako..."
"... being crushed by two overgrown hands..."
"Makooooo..."
"... and buried alive in that shifting sand..."
"Maaaa- kooooo..."
"... That could easily get in your lungs and..."
"MAKO!!!!" The name echoed all through the caverns, making the small convoy stop in their tracks and become silent. From the front of the group, two flaming eyes were staring directly at the four-eyed pirate, attached to the furious, fuming form of Tetra who was holding the Goddesses' Compass in one hand and had the other turned to a fist.
"I tried to warn you, man." Senza whispered to Mako. "Three times, as a matter of fact."
Tetra stomped over to where the offending party stood. "Mako..." Tetra spoke, making it a point to stare at him eye-to-shuddering eye. "Two words: Shut... up." And with no further words, Tetra returned to the front of the pack and resumed walking.
For a good moment, everything was incredibly quiet. Only the squishing of the dirt under the pirates' soles could be heard in them. Tetra walked ahead of the bunch, looking intently at the Goddesses' Compass and willing it to guide them to the place that connects with the Spirit Realm, while Mako slowly let the rest of his comrades go ahead of him. The caverns were dank and dark, but enough light filtered in to allow them to walk on without resorting to their lamps. For that moment, all was peaceful... but then...
"but if I may..."
"G-ARGH!" Tetra's furious yell came as a fair warning for those in between her and Mako, who quickly made to hug the walls in the small corridor, and not a moment too soon, as their captain turned around and blasted off towards the quivering pirate on the back.
"Let it be known..." Senza said as he witnessed the punishment happening in front of him. "... that he was properly warned."
"Aye." Zuko answered.
"Gonzo?"
"Yes, Miss... eh... Ma'am?" Gonzo answered, stumbling over his own carefully picked words.
Tetra sighed in exasperation, trying to understand what was happening. "Why are you calling me Ma'am? It makes me feel old."
"Sorry, Mi... eh... Captain." Gonzo apologized. "I just thought I could show some more respect, since you've come to grips..."
"Captain?" Tetra interrupted, catching Gonzo's wordplay. "Gonzo... are you... rather, are all of you trying not to say my name?" She then took a good look at her underlings, who all looked at her uneasy and nodded lightly once (Even Mako, as bound and gagged as he was). "What's going on? Since when has my name been taboo?"
"Well... I guess I should explain." Gonzo spoke out. "Since you're trying to come to grips with your princess side, we thought we could help as well. So we were taking it easy and started by simply calling you Ma'am or captain, then we would progress to something more as we got the hang of it."
Tetra mused over it for a short while before shaking her head energetically and raising her hands in protest. "No. Don't. It's way too confusing. You can just call me Tetra for now, ok?"
"Aye, aye, Cap..." Gonzo stopped just in time to see Tetra staring at him narrow-eyed. "Eh... Miss Tetra."
"Right then." Tetra said, resuming the walk. "Now, are there any more inane things planned for the trip?"
"Nope." Senza said calmly. "The author has pretty much run out of ideas for this segment."
"The who now?" Tetra asked, looking at Senza with a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment.
"Eh..." Senza looked like a fattened pig looks being just presented to the machete. "We'll be good."
The group of pirates finally found their way out of the rat holes, ending up in a field close to some rather steep rocky hills. Waarheid lay to the south, it's outer walls extending as far left and as far right as the eye could see. The pirates were feeling a tad uneasy to see the magnitude of such grandiose construction, but could at least find solace in the fact that they were far away from it. To the west lay the Ancient Castle, with its faded colors looking so out of place in an otherwise colorful environment, and to the east was an incredibly tall doorway of green hues so securely closed it seemed impossible for them to pass through, even if they tried a thousand years.
"So, riddle me this:" Nudge wondered, looking up so much he almost feel back on his butt just trying to see the top of the doorway. "Do we push or pull? Or should we simply knock?"
"And from which side?" Niko commented, having ran all the way to the doorway. "Look! I can just go around the doorway all I want." And he did just so, proving just what Venus had said before, that the doorways seemingly led nowhere. "What do you make of this?"
"Maybe..." Gonzo mused for a moment as he witnessed Niko running tirelessly around the large doorway. "Maybe it's a portal, and when it opens, it will transport us to another dimension."
"Maybe there's something in that castle." Senza suggested, pointing to the old forgotten castle.
"No..." Zuko spoke. "Cursed... ancient wizard magic..."
Senza blinked twice while staying in place. "...So?"
"Guys..." Tetra addressed the lot without a hint of anger or stress in her voice. "Relax. If all goes well, we'll enter the hidden place in no time."
The pirates turned around to see Tetra slowly walking over to the impressively large structure, looking at it intently while clasping her hands together in front of her mouth, as if in prayer. Then, she mouthed some words, spoken so softly they were incomprehensible to any of the other pirates. Tetra took a few deep breaths and walked to the large doors, stretching her arms forward to touch them. "I beseech you, Light Force, mystical power of the Princess of Hyrule. Come forth." She pressed her hands on the doors, expecting the same glow she had experienced before... but nothing happened. The pirates looked at each other, exchanging confused expressions, probably silently asking what was supposed to happen now. "Pleeeeease..." Tetra pleaded, trying to reach deep inside and invoke her dormant power.
Then, it happened. A soft, bright glow enveloped not only Tetra, but also the entirety of the doorway, stunning the pirates in a slack-jawed, wide-eyed amazement. A loud creaking noise followed by loads of dust raining down from the unused doors signaled the long awaited opening, giving Tetra just enough notice to step back as the doors started opening towards her. ("Oh, so we pull." Nudge commented.) From Niko's energetic view, it was the oddest of sights: looking through the side opposite Tetra's, it was the same as before, with Tetra and the pirates looking in wonderment at something, and the outer walls of Waarheid providing the background; turning around to where Tetra was, however, provided a completely different vision from the usual rocky hills: it was a polished way leading into a magnificently intricate tower, filled with layers upon layers of design worthy of admiration, only marred by its faded colors.
"Is... is this real?" Niko asked, shifting his gaze between Tetra, the male pirates and the doorway.
"I guess there's only one way to find out." Tetra answered, still trying to snap out of her amazement. "Gentlemen... we walk on." Thus, the pirate crew picked up their supplies and drew close to each other as to avoid getting lost in case some sort of weird transition occurred when they walked through. As they passed, though, the transition was totally harmless, and it felt like they did not do nothing except walk a few feet forward. However, the tower now looked far more lush and colorful than it did just a while ago. They were slowly making their way to the tower when, halfway there, the doorway emitted a loud creaking noise. The pirates wondered why the door was closing, considering how they could just walk around it, but as the doors closed more and more, the backdrop behind them started blurring to the point that it became an indescribable swirl of colors.
"Yep." Gonzo said. "We're screwed."
"On the contrary." Tetra rebutted. "This merely means that there's no way to go but forward."
"ONWARD, MEN!" Niko yelled out, to which he earned the annoyed looks of his comrades. "Eh... that was your line, wasn't it, Captain?"
So, with no other way to go, the group of seven walked their way through the abnormally large entrance to the tower. Once inside, the flabbergasted group gazed upon the large room, whose interior matched the grandiose design of the tower's exterior with intricate landscapes etched into the walls and several portraits hung around, and was illuminated by enchanted lamps hanging from the high ceiling. There were four more exits additional to the one they entered from, three as large as the first, and a smaller one that led upstairs. The most striking and puzzling part of the room, however, was a strange stone statue of a long 2-piece object that none of the pirates could decipher its meaning.
"Is it... mobile?" Mako asked, pointing out the round wheel-like parts on the bottom.
"Maybe people could get in..." Senza pondered, looking at the more boxy part of the sculpture.
"It's... It's... What is it?" Niko wondered, looking completely lost.
"What this is..." An elderly female voice rang from behind the stone structure, startling the pirate crew and making them search where the voice had come from. Then, with a quiet chugging sound, an old, short woman with purple hair done in a bun that rivaled Tetra's apparently sitting in some sort of self-propelled carriage appeared from behind the structure and approached them. "... is none of your concern. At least not at this moment."
"Who are you?" Tetra braved to ask.
"I believe that since you're the ones who entered this sanctuary..." The old woman retorted, making Tetra step back and feel uneasy. "... I should be the one asking the question. But regardless, I guess it will not matter in the long run." The old lady then cleared her throat and set a hand on her chest area. "I am Anjean, and I watch over the Tower of Spirits."
"Anjean..." Tetra repeated, feeling it was important to not forget her name.
"And what do I owe this unexpected visit, Miss..." Anjean said, pointing over to Tetra and waiting for her to introduce herself.
"Oh! I'm Tet... uh..." Tetra stopped mid-sentence. She knew she had to embrace her royal heritage, and presenting herself as Captain Tetra of the Great Sea Pirates would derail her progress. Now she knew how her crew felt about it. Thus, she cleared her throat and started again, pulling a more subdued tone."I am the heir of the Throne of Hyrule, called forth by the Goddesses to rebuild the kingdom, and carrier of the Light Force, proof of my royal heritage." Tetra breathed deeply. She could not believe what she was about to say. "I... am Princess Zelda."
Anjean, choosing to ignore the distracting muttering of the guys behind Tetra, began eying the so-called 'princess' in front of her quite deeply. "You don't look so much like a princess to me." she said plainly. "More like a pirate, perhaps. Here's a hint: if you claim to be a princess, the clothes help sell the idea."
"Wha...? Wait... I'm just new at this!" Tetra attempted to explain.
"New?" Anjean asked. There was an indescribable tone about her voice, almost as if playful. "Princesses can be new at it when they're two years old. You're a young lady, Miss Zelda, and should know better, unless this is all a hoax."
Tetra sighed deeply. This was not going as planned. As much as she tried to think other ways of explaining, her mind was simply not up to it. Finally, she simply decided to drop her dainty tone and speak normally. "Listen, Anjean. I've been living in the high seas all my life, and it's only been recently that the Goddesses seemed fit to tell me that I had to rebuild Hyrule now, since the old kingdom is now a ruin under the sea, and I should finally come to grips with my past to make this work, only I hated this whole princessy thing and tried doing things my way until something happened that made me rethink my ways and pushed me to do things like a princess. So, yeah, I've had almost zero prep time to get here and do things the right way, but yes, I am the Princess of Hyrule. You want proof? I can show you the compass the Goddesses themselves gave me. I can show you the book of Hyrule's history which explains the whole thing. And what more proof than the fact that we're here, and I'm talking to you when this tower is supposed to be invisible and impenetrable to everyone? I opened that door back there, if you hadn't noticed. So I may not look it, I may not project it, But I am Princess Zelda."
Anjean sat slack-jawed for a brief moment after witnessing the young lady in front of her transform from an apparently frail girl to a more determined character sure of herself. After the initial shock, however, she let out a hearty laugh. "My, my... talk about feisty." Anjean said, taking Tetra by surprise. "And smart, too, to consider the door as proof. Yes, I noticed it, and I also sensed your intentions to be nothing but noble, which is why I didn't stop you from entering. Yeah, you don't look the part, but you certainly proved yourself enough. I guess I can trust in you, Princess." She then raised her gaze straight to Tetra's, giving her a wide smile, to which Tetra responded in kind. "Besides, how can I mistrust someone with such a great taste in hairstyles?" Anjean added with a laugh. "So, I assume these gentlemen are your royal guard, right?"
"Actually, we're the Pi... OW!"
"We have a sworn duty..." Gonzo said after kicking Niko before he could utter much. "... to help and protect the princess with our lives." He finished with a rather enthusiastic military-ish salute, followed instinctively by the rest of the crew.
Tetra couldn't help but laugh at Gonzo's hammy performance. "They're my crew. In reality, I'm still their captain, and we're still a band of pirates, but as soon as we're done with this final quest, it's quittin' time."
"Pirates?" Anjean repeated. "Well, no wonder."
"But I swear I've told you the truth." Tetra was quick to fix anything that might have been misunderstood.
"Now, dear, didn't I tell you?" Anjean reminded her. "You needn't worry about me. I know your intentions are sincere. Which reminds me, you never trally answered me. What exactly do you seek coming into the Tower of Spirits?"
Tetra's face turned serious. This was a matter she had spoken before already, so she was accustomed to it, but she was not about to treat it any less seriously than it deserved. "There is a friend of mine who was unjustly captured by two unsightly creatures. I believe my friend was taken to the Spirit Realm alive, and if I don't hurry to his aid, it could be too late. Now, I was told this tower connects to the Spirit Realm and I was hoping you could help me in that part."
Anjean looked deeply into Tetra's eyes as she spoke and even some time after. She then crossed her arms and nodded in understanding. "I see much determination in your eyes. That is a very important trait. But there is something else there, some conflicting emotions are at work within yourself. I will not speak them unless you wish to divulge them, but know that these emotions could lead to either the greatest triumph ever, or the biggest mistake in your life. Personally, I think approaching the Spirit Realm to attempt and retrieve your friend with such mixed feelings is a risky gamble, to say the least." Anjean then turned around and slowly started to move away the same way she came from.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no!" Tetra denounced, making her way ahead of Anjean and stopping her progress Her face had transformed from determined to clear-cut angered. "I did not come here just to be shown the door back out. I will not leave this tower until I make contact with the Spirit Realm and rescue my lost friend. What's a few mixed emotions? I could just control them for a few moments and nothing wrong will happen. Or is it that you don't trust me? Were you just playing with me then? Because in case you hadn't noticed, I have to do this, and even if you don't show me the way, I'll search high and low until I finish what I came here to do."
Anjean sat slack-jawed, witnessing how Tetra seemed more and more angry. Then, she let out a troubled sigh. "You do understand, child..." She began. "... that if for some reason you lose control over whatever situation you encounter at the Spirit Realm, you risk being stuck inside, alongside your friend. Would you risk that?"
Tetra's gaze turned sideways briefly, deep in thought. It didn't take long for Anjean to see just how frightfully determined the young lady in front of her was. "If it has to come to it..."
"So headstrong..." Anjean muttered while shaking her head slightly. "All right. If that is your wish, then I will help you." She then turned to the smaller exit that went upstairs and started to shout. "Byrne! Byrne, come on down. I need you down here."
From the entrance, a large muscular man whose build rivaled Gonzo and Senza descended. His skin was pale, his eyes were a strikingly profound yellow, and his blue hair was done in a thin ponytail. He was dressed in brown garbs and pieces of armor, and most of his face was covered in a blue cloth. But his most striking point was a large, mechanical claw where his right arm should have been.
"Byrne is my understudy." Anjean explained. "He wishes to serve the spirits as I do, and he's pretty quick to learn as well. He will help you reach the place that connects to the Spirit Realm here."
"Do you think it... wise, Anjean?" Byrne questioned, taking a glance at the ragtag crew in front of him.
"Don't you worry about that, Byrne. I trust them." Anjean reiterated. "Now if you'd please be so kind as to show them the way."
"Hmph... Very well." Byrne agreed, though with some reservations still in his head.
"All right!" Tetra exclaimed, making her way to the doorway that led upstairs. "Let's get going then... WHOA!"
"It's not that way." Byrne corrected Tetra while grabbing her by the neck collar with his left hand.
"I have got to do something about that neck collar..." Tetra muttered before getting back up on her feet and facing the stoic understudy. "So which way, then?"
"Follow me." Byrne said while walking towards the back of the stone structure. On its backside there was a door that was the same material as the rest of the structure, but as soon as he touched it with his claw, the door turned to wood and he opened it with no trouble. "Everybody in."
"Child..."Anjean called Tetra just before she boarded the strange compartment. On her hand she held a beautifully crafted pan flute, each pipe color coded for convenience, which she was thrusting in the pirate leader's hands. "I think you may need this. This is the Spirit Flute. If you play this flute, you will be able to find protection within the Spirit Realm. Use it wisely, for I'd be much to worried about you otherwise."
Tetra looked at the Spirit Flute apprehensively, then looked straight towards Anjean. "But... what am I supposed to play with this?"
Anjean looked intently at Tetra as the young lady was hoisted up to the compartment by her crew. Finally, at the last moment, she approached them and gave a playful wink. "The flute will tell you."
"Wait! That's my..." Before she could finish, Tetra was cut short by Byrne slamming the door shut. From Anjean's point of view, the wooden door transformed back to stone, matching the rest of the stone architecture.
"I will pray for you, child."
The inside of the compartment was a complete contrast to its outside: it was entirely composed of finely polished wood, its windows adorned with fine silk curtains, and it housed a couple of rows of comfy red chairs, which the crew was all too happy to use to relax. Tetra, however, chose to remain standing close to the door, opposite Byrne, who guarded the door, his claw firmly in the doorknob. This made for an extremely awkward moment in which Byrne sighed and grunted occasionally, and Tetra fidgeted with the Spirit Flute attempting to look calm.
"So..." Tetra spoke, trying to spark up nonchalant conversation, though her voice tones betrayed her. "What IS in the upper floors of the tower?"
"What this tower contains..." Byrne answered, calm as ever. "... and what this tower represents, is a story for another time."
"Ooh! Stories!" Niko sprang from his comfy chair and faced the yellow-eyed man. "I love stories. Maybe you can tell me the story some other time."
Byrne looked at Niko and his silly smile plastered on his face, and sighed lightly. "... Maybe." It was all he said in the matter.
"So what are we supposed to be doing now, Byrne?" Senza asked, curious as to why they needed to be in this smallish room.
"We are traveling." Byrne answered. "Deep beneath the Tower of Spirits exists a dimensional rift where one may enter the Spirit Realm. This compartment is the only way there, which is why I am holding the door shut. We wouldn't want anyone to fall away to the abyss before we get there, right?" He finished while his gaze began to focus at Gonzo, who also stared at him with a none-too-friendly look.
"So I'm to assume we'll be in a completely different place when the door is opened again?" Mako wondered.
"Place?" Nudge spat at Mako. "Try dimension! We'll be where the spirits live. Where the dead find their final rest. Davy frickin' Jones' locker! If we get outta there alive, we'll be legendary among sailors!" Nudge took a moment to understand what all that meant. The chill that went up his spine was very understandable. "Boy, the mere thought of it is terrifying, isn't it."
"Well... We're here already..." Zuko commented. "Can't turn back now..."
The rest of the voyage was spent in silence. Each of the pirates were deep in thought, considering what did entering the sacred sanctum of the spirits entail, and what would they have to do should anything unfavorable happened. Tetra shifted between sitting in the chair closest to the door and standing up, shifting her eyes between the enigmatic Byrne, the mystical Spirit Flute (its worth had yet to be proven), and each of her comrades with a mixed feeling of regret and gratitude: regret for having dragged them with her in such a delicate situation; gratitude for having stuck by her through this difficult situation, going so far as to deliver cheesy loyalty-laden lines and not accepting staying behind when she had initially proposed coming alone. Inside her mind, she was starting to imagine what would happen after this whole thing was over, after she had assumed Hyrule's throne, and she gives up her life on the sea. What will they do?
Her line of thought was soon broken, though, when at the corner of her eye she noticed Byrne turning his head upwards, then looking around strangely. "It looks like we've arrived." He finally said. "I forewarn you that you are here under special circumstances, and you may not comprehend or withstand what may happen in there. I suggest that those who do not wish to risk losing themselves stay in the compartment. This is your final warning."
The seven pirates stood up and began looking at each other slowly. From their individual looks, a sense of dread and worry had settled inside them, making them second-guess their intentions and feeling like they had a foot at death's door already. As they kept looking around, though, something else emerged from them: a sense of camaraderie, of fortitude in teamwork, a feeling that everyone was each other's crutch and despite each individual fear, being together overcame any such fear. Then, the lot turned to Byrne, their faces slowly transforming to a determined state. Tetra stepped forward and simply declared. "We'll all go."
"Very well. Prepare yourselves." Byrne said, and began turning the doorknob. When he opened the door, a blinding white light washed into the compartment, making everybody except Byrne cover their eyes to try and see what was beyond the door. As their eyes settled to the light, the pirates were finally able to bask on copious amounts of... nothingness. Beyond the door was a vast amount of white. There wasn't even a clear indication of where the floor was, or if there was a ceiling or walls. The only thing that resembled a solid object was a dark rectangular object somewhere far away. "You will need to walk all the way to those doors."Byrne explained, pointing to the rectangular object in the distance. "Past them you will be able to find that which you seek. Since you're many, I suggest the one who is to make the claim to enter first, followed by the rest."
Tetra decided to be the first to jump off the compartment. As it turned out, the floor outside wasn't too far down. She even thought the fall was about the same as the one in the Tower of Spirits. When she turned around she saw the compartment, but only the compartment part of the mysterious object, and its construction now matched its interior, in finely polished wood and high in colors. She motioned for her crew to follow her outside, and the pirates grabbed their supplies and jumped off as well. "I shall await for your return here. Now go." Byrne said before closing the compartment door and leaving them outside.
"Why do I feel we're sticking ourselves deeper and deeper in quicksand?" Nudge commented, his worries starting to take over him as he surveyed the stark environment.
"Buck up, Nudge." Mako reassured his comrade. "We're only a room away from finishing here. Besides, you're with us. We have each other's backs."
"Right." Nudge said, feeling a bit more confident after his partner's words. "So now all we have left to do is walk forward."
The pirate crew walked forward, making it a point to walk in a straight line as much as possible while keeping the faraway door on their sights. While the compartment in which they had arrived to that realm was moving farther away, the rectangular door made no visible strides towards them. As they walked on, an odd mist that blended with the environment started to settle in, and a creepy ethereal chanting echoed faintly across the area, making the group look around for the source of the voices, half-knowing they would find none. They continued walking, trying to ignore the calls and the chants, sometimes of deep masculine voices, other times from high-pitched feminine voices, who would easily confuse them and steer them wrong. When desperation looked like it would settle in place of determination, the dark rectangular door began looking larger and larger, proving that they were indeed making progress towards it. Tetra began doubling her efforts to reach the door, and the rest of the pirates did not dawdle for long and picked up the slack, going right behind her. Finally, the crew stood in front of a large door that had several carvings that one would only assume were the defining marks of the Spirit Realm.
"Well, this is it." Tetra spoke. "I'll enter first. Don't enter until I am fully inside." Tetra made for the door handle, but as her hand drew closer to the handle, her nerves began to rattle more and more, her stomach began feeling empty and queasy, her breathing shallowed and her vision blurred slightly. Her nerves were not letting her pull on the door, and she resorted to leaning on the door and close her eyes to try and control herself. No sooner did she do that, that images of Link started bombarding her mind. She hated to admit it, but even now, at the proverbial gates of redemption, the mere thought of Link gave her a sharp pang of pain in her heart, as her guilt still haunted her. This very thing, however, gave her the drive to get all the way to where she was, and was now working to give her the strength to open that door. She took a step back and pulled on the door, which opened rather smoothly, allowing easy entry to the room inside.
As Tetra entered the room, followed closely by the pirates, she couldn't help but marvel at the design of it. It was someplace she had never seen before: the room was modestly sized compared to the abnormally large place before, and had a defined floor and walls. Its floor was a lush mixture of white and gray, giving it the impression of stepping on snow. The walls and ceiling looked like they were made of a reflective crystal, and it was designed to look as if one were looking at the night sky, with a predominantly black background and a lot of blue stars which, thanks in part to the reflective surface, looked like they were infinite in number and depth.
When the last of the pirates made their way in, the door closed in behind them with a loud slam. "Deeper and deeper in quicksand..." Nudge repeated, feeling uneasy again.
"I can kinda see what you mean." Senza responded, feeling that uneasy feeling as well.
"Now, guys." Gonzo spoke energetically. "There is no reason to panic. We're all perfectly okay."
"Eh... Gonzo?" Niko addressed his superior, his voice trembling. "Can I panic now?"
Gonzo looked at Niko... and it was as if he was looking at a ghost. Niko looked pale and the black and blue crystalline wall could be seen right through his large head. Instinctively, he looked at his own hands, and it was just as he feared: He was turning transparent, just like Niko. All the other pirates' story was the same: their color was fading, and their body was becoming see-through. Everybody was shrieking in panic, some rushing to the door to try and open it, but it would just not budge, no matter how hard they tried.
"Oh, no!"
"We're done for!"
"What can we do?"
"Hey! What's going on with us!" Tetra yelled at the ceiling, hoping there was some sort of response from whoever was in charge there.
"You who have breached this private sanctum." A distorted, multi-pitched voice boomed from practically everywhere, assaulting the ears of the crew with its dissonant note. "You chose to descend to the place where the spirits dwell. Now you will join them."
"No!" Niko shrieked. "I'm too young to be spirited away!"
"Wait! I've yet to finish my compendium!" Mako screamed while trying to make the door open.
"This is the end!" Nudge wailed. "This is the final!"
"Oh, no! I'm not going to become a spirit anytime soon!" Tetra bellowed, and attempted to summon the power of the Light Force to counteract the mysterious vanishing. It was to no avail, for as hard as she tried to concentrate on her inner power, she kept slowly vanishing.
"Your earthen abilities will not avail you here. Only the Spirit's power works here." The voice announced.
Tetra's eyes widened as her mind raced with ideas. The Spirit's power, she thought. There was something within her items that could lend her the Spirit's power, and oddly enough, she only got it a few moments ago. She pulled out the Spirit Flute, which was the only thing within everything that was brought inside that was not fading away, and looked at it intently. Anjean had told her that the flute would tell her what to play when the time came, but she just could not understand how the flute could help her. Then, something struck her as odd about its design. On one side, there were some splotches of paint colored like the pipes of the pan flute. They were colored purple, yellow, red, purple, yellow, red, purple yellow, red, blue, red, in that order. "So that was what Anjean meant." Tetra said, almost laughing at the sly way of hiding the clue. Without waiting a moment, she breathed in deeply and began playing the song as shown in the flute's side. The tune was mildly sad, and evoked a strangely nostalgic vibe. The melody was creating the desired effect, however, and Tetra's vanishing was slowly being reverted, up until she was completely solid again.
"Yeah!" Tetra exclaimed in success. "Thank you, Anjean. Come on guys..." She then turned to her crew, but noticed that they were not quite as solid as she was. While their vanishing had halted, they had not regained a totally solid body yet. "Guys? What... Why are you still see-through?"
Gonzo made to talk, but even though his mouth moved, no audible words came out. While he spoke inaudibly, Tetra made a face of utter confusion, wondering if they were playing a joke on her.
"What are you playing at? Speak up." Tetra said, getting annoyed.
Gonzo looked confused, but tried speaking louder, almost to the point of shouting, as the pirates close to him proved by clasping their ears shut. Still, Tetra didn't hear a sound, and she made it known by shrugging her shoulders and pointing at her ears. The pirates began speaking amongst themselves, apparently still able to hear each other, and after a short while Gonzo faced Tetra and held a half-vanished scrap of paper in front of her.
"'You'll have to go on without us?'" Tetra read. "What do you mean, go on without you." Gonzo then pointed to another part of the message. "'We'll be of no help as we are now. Please understand.' No, I don't understand, now come here and..." Tetra's words got stuck in her throat as soon as her hand went through Gonzo's arm as if she were trying to grasp air. Her eyes widened and she remained slack-jawed and stupefied over what just happened. The pirates were completely surprised as well, to the point that Mako tried grabbing the pirate leader on his own, only to have his arms go right through her. Tetra looked fearfully at her crew, as though incapable of bearing another loss right now. To this, Gonzo lowered his head solemnly and wrote on the other side of the paper and showed it to Tetra. "'Don't worry. We're still with you.'" If anything, Tetra took a small solace in those words, and smiled at her crew. "To think the kind of crew I got stuck with..."
Suddenly, Niko's face transformed into one of true surprise and amazement, and began pointing to a point somewhere behind Tetra. When Tetra turned around, she saw a white and puffy circular vortex appearing from the room's wall. "You who have been resourceful enough to sustain your physical form within the Realm of the Spirits." The dissonant voice echoed around again. "What do you seek coming all the way here?"
Tetra saw this as her opportunity and faced the vortex (as it was the only visible manifestation of anything besides the pirates in that room) and spoke in a determined, commanding voice. "I have come here to reclaim one who was unjustly brought to this realm. By my power and authority as princess of Hyrule and heir to the throne, I demand that Link, Hero of Winds, be released from the Spirit Realm to return to the land of the living."
Tetra herself could not believe she was commanding the very spirits as if she had done this before. Behind her, her crew was clapping and giving her thumbs up for her thoroughly convincing performance.
"Thus you ask, and thus you shall receive, o Princess of Hyrule." The voice boomed on the room. "Link, Hero of Winds, your imprisonment will end here."
Then, almost immediately, the vortex started emitting a white mist, which was very quickly swirling up in a small cone. From inside the mist cone, a figure started to take shape and form a humanoid silhouette. When the mist started clearing, Link's body was hanging in midair, completely devoid of color, his head hanging down with closed eyes, and his sword unsheathed and held in his right hand. Slowly, the body lowered until he was left standing in an odd trance-like state, unmoving and unresponsive of anything.
"L... Link?" Tetra called with the weakest whisper she had spoken. She was nervous to even approach him, and she was very slowly raising her arm to try and grab his. "Link? Are you...?"
Behind her, though, Niko had exploded in a frenetic shouting and flailing, hoping to somehow break the mysterious spell and have his captain hear him. When the other pirates wondered what was wrong with him, he pointed frenetically at Link and told them what he found wrong. Then, the whole lot of the pirates was frenetically trying to get her attention. They were unsuccessful, however, as Tetra's gaze was locked on Link's uncolored figure. Niko decided then to make good use of his ability to pass through the more solid objects and rushed to get in between the two.
It was too late.
It happened in a split second. Link's left hand twitched rapidly and moved to grab Tetra's raising arm. His head tilted up and began transforming from the sleepy trance-like state to an impossibly wide, ear-to-ear smile and he finally opened his eyelids, showing that there was absolutely nothing inside the sockets. His normally colorless body was slowly transforming darker and darker, until he turned a deep, dark purple tone, and the vortex he had come from turned from its innocent white to a horrific blood red and pitch black. Tetra's face transformed into a dreadful, horror-stricken face, as she felt like she could faint from seeing who she thought was Link transform into a demonic, scary and potentially dangerous version of him. Tetra saw it and she could not believe it: Her nightmarish recurring dream had finally fulfilled itself completely.
Before Tetra could even try speaking, The dark mirror of Link readied his sword and made to stab Tetra. The pirate leader instinctively saw this and defended herself by kicking up and stepping all over the dark Link's face, stunting him long enough to loosen from his grip and distancing herself enough to reach for her sabre and assume a fighting position. When the dark Link shook off the attach, he raised his sword and rushed over to where Tetra was. Tetra was ready, however, and blocked the dark mirror's advance with her own sabre. The two were locked in a steel-cringing, strength-testing moment in which Tetra, while trying to concentrate on the fight, could not help but try and seek if there was some of the real Link within that dark shell and attempt to reach out to him, but no matter how hard she looked, Dark Link's terrifying face remained unchanging, his eye sockets completely vacant and his smile a dangerous reminder of how much he would enjoy getting an opening and slice her up good.
Dark Link looked like he was winning the strength test and he was making Tetra lower down to the floor, when suddenly, Tetra dropped completely on her back and once again used her feet in her favor to throw Dark Link up to the air and make him fall with a loud thud in the ground. Tetra was poised to take advantage of this and held her sabre ready to slash the demonic copy... when she stopped, her entire drive to fight drained from her. For the briefest of times, Tetra could've sworn she saw Link's tender green eyes looking back at her. The band of pirates, now a silent witness to the duel happening in front of them, tried to get their leader's attention so she were not distracted by any illusions, but it was completely hopeless without any real way to interact with her. When Tetra saw Link's eyes disappear in the blink of an eye, she snapped back to the problem at hand one second too late. Dark Link swung his sword forward, aiming for Tetra's heart, and while the blond girl was quick enough to avoid the deadly blow, the sword managed to catch her right arm and give her a nasty gash that went from her elbow to her wrist.
Tetra shrieked in a horrific, agonizing cry of pain. She felt as though her arm was about to fall off her body in a bloody mess. Her arms and her chest were becoming soaked in her own blood as she tried to find the best way to tighten and close the wound that was invading every part of her being and gave her little space to think outside of how much pain she was in right now. From the corner of her eye, she could spy Dark Link relishing on the moment, as if there wasn't a single good cell in that body. "Link... why?" Tetra whispered, her mind still willing to believe that the real Link was somewhere inside that body, just waiting to be freed. "Link, it's me." She pleaded, her self torn between her increasing heartache and her throbbing physical pain, leading her to the point of despair and tears. "Don't... please. It's me, Tetra. You know me."
Then, she heard an almost inaudible, yet clearly unsettling chuckling sound.
It was as though that one simple sound awakened something inside her. What she was looking at, what she was fighting, what was looking at her with a vacant stare that defined its pure contempt and disregard for life... whatever that dark purple creature looked like or fought like, one thing became clear in Tetra's mind: that was NOT Link!
Despite the throbbing pain, Tetra managed to pull a somersault backwards and land on her feet, taking Dark Link by surprise and kicking itself for such an oversight in its gloating. Tetra took this short break to untie her red cloth from her hip area and, using her teeth as support, tightly tie up the wound in her right arm. She then rushed over to where her sabre lay and picked it up with her left hand. She was not as skilled with her left hand as she was with her right one, but she could still defend herself, and in her current state of mind, she felt they needed a good number of fake Links to bring her down.
Dark Link wasted no time to strike first, trying to reach the wounded arm first. Tetra, however, had a new mindset and was not giving the mirrored copy any quarter. For every blow that Dark Link attempted, Tetra was ready with a block and a counterattack. If it weren't for the fact that Tetra was forced to use her left arm in combat, she could probably be having the upper hand right now.
"Where is Link!?" Tetra shouted at the dark copy in front of her. Dark Link merely shrugged and taunted her with its wide smile and waving eyebrows. "Oh, no. You're not Link! WHERE IS HE!?!?!?"
As the battle progressed, Tetra's determination fueled her drive in battle further and further, while Dark Link's moves became more and more erratic, in an attempt to take the skilled fighter fumble. Amazingly, Dark Link's usual wide smile started to diminish, and a worried look began to adorn his features. For the first time, Tetra was truly on top of the fight, and she knew full well that she could not slow down her pace if she wanted to win this battle to the death. She began to spice up her fighting style and threw out a couple of high kicks right on Dark Link's face, making the dark mirror image stumble for a while and gave Tetra plenty open space to return the favor for the gash at her arm.
Dark Link gave out an otherworldly shriek in pain as Tetra caught the side of its stomach area. Instead of red blood, however, a dark mist wheezed out of the gash and disappeared into thin air. Tetra thought of pulling the finishing touch, but Dark Link drew up his sword and blocked the deathly blow just in time. It stabilized itself on its feet and wearily held the sword with both hands, its dark, empty-eyed face filled with a mixture of fear and anger. Tetra dashed over to Dark Link with her sabre ready to attack, but Dark Link quickly pulled a move that penetrated Tetra's defenses and made to stab her straight through the nose. However, Tetra had anticipated this, skidding on her knees at the last moment and bending back to avoid the sharp blade by mere inches. In a wild surge of strategy, Tetra dropped her sabre and launched an uppercut right at Dark Link's chin, making its head swing back violently and making it lose its balance and fall on its back. Tetra then quickly grabbed her sabre, and jumped straight towards where the dark mirror image of Link lay.
It did not emit a single shriek of pain as Tetra's sabre skewered it through the chest. Instead, Dark Link's face contorted in various different forms, all without giving out more than a simple set of grunts. In the end, though, it looked straight at Tetra with those empty eye sockets and gave her a final, albeit weak, smile. Immediately after, Dark Link's body disintegrated into a dark purple mist that floated up in the air as it slowly dissipated into nothingness. And the vortex that had summoned the demon also disappeared, not even bothering to turn back to white before leaving the pirate leader's sight.
Tetra only took a small moment to rest and recover before her mind went back to why she was there. She raised her head to the ceiling, but before she could speak a word, the wall in front of her issued another vortex, this time a light-blue color matching the stars in the walls. Everybody kept a close attention to this vortex, since while it didn't look sinister like the previous one, they couldn't possibly lower their defense now. This time, however, they heard footsteps approaching, coming clearly from the other side of the vortex. Before long, the silhouette of Link could be seen from within the bright blue vortex. As the figure got closer, Tetra started to see some undeniable features: His skin had a healthy color, his tunic and cape were of a deep forest green, his green eyes were looking back at her with an unmistakable, genuine kindness and gratitude, and his smile, though not an ear-to-ear smile, was sincere and true. The biggest proof, though, was that his right arm was bare, as his sleeve was ripped away since the incident at the Garo Caverns.
Tetra tried, she really did, but every time she opened her mouth, she choked badly and couldn't emit much more and a meek sound. Link stepped forward and shrugged apologetically, almost as if apologizing for making her worry so much. At that moment, Tetra broke down, throwing herself in Link's arms and embracing him tightly like it would be the last time they would be able to see each other. Link returned the embrace, holding her as tightly as she did and caressing her head softly.
"You... You're here at last."
Tears were running unchecked all across Tetra's cheeks, but for the first time, she let them roll away.
"You've kept me waiting for so long."
Tetra's emotions were so strong, she shifted uncontrollably between laughter and sobs.
"Now, we're finally... we're finally..."
She passed her fingers through Link's golden locks. This was real. He was there. Link was back. Nothing else mattered. Not the wound, nor the place, nor the fact that they had company.
"We're finally together."
"Hold her tight, friend." Senza said, beaming the whole way through. "Miracles are fleeting."
"So, what are you thinking now?" Nudge asked the burly, bearded pirate.
"I'm thinking... that I've never seen stars this close before." Senza answered while shifting his gaze at the beautiful crystalline wall. It may have been his imagination, but at that moment, the stars on the walls looked like they were dancing around joyfully. "Thought they'd be whiter."
"We're together. As it should be."
"Niko, Zuko, secure the sails! Senza, man the wheel! Mako, I wanna see some coordinates!"
The pirates were scrambling all across the ship. They had the need to sail for high seas immediately, and Tetra's ordering behavior was a clear indication of that. The leader of the pirates took a good look around, taking into account what needed to be done, and quickly ordering someone to do the job.
"Well..." Nudge said in between taking breaths, "at least it's nice to have Tetra back in her old mood, right?"
"Well, I'm just happy that kind old woman Anjean helped us get our bodies solid again." Mako said with clear gratitude in his face.
"You two!" Tetra shouted, surprising the two talking guys. "Stop lallygagging and get to work! Move it, move it, move it! Nudge, get those cannons shipshape! Gonzo, move these supplies off the top deck! And Link!"
Link appeared from behind the top mast, clearing his brow from sweat. The mere fact he was there was enough to make Tetra quiet down and lower her commanding mood for a moment. Link looked softly at Tetra and gave her a nice, sincere smile, to which Tetra couldn't help but return the smile. For a few short lingering moments, the pair stood like this, their gazes dissolving into each other.
"Link..." Tetra began again, her voice sounding more subdued than before. "Go up the top mast and make yourself useful." Link gave a small chuckle before nodding in understanding and climbing up the ladder to the crow's nest.
And with all preparations complete, and all the people accounted for once again, the Great Sea Pirate Ship sailed off to a new location and a new adventure.
**To Be Continued**