Finally! I had a field day with this chapter because... well, the title says all. I sososo wanted to finally write about this guy.
Well, I'll be off for vacation so no writing during that time. Thought I'd submit this one before I go away. Happy late 2010!
Chapter 10: Halstead Dugal
"Ow my legs," Gale groaned as the two boys stumbled out of the plane. He was super tired, too – the thought of Vaati had distracted him to the point he hadn't been able to get some good sleep. Link twitched like a cat as he stretched his cramped limbs, and the two exchanged worn looks as they dragged themselves through the crowd of people and got in line for immigration. Gale got his passport out and lazily flipped it in his palm. For the first time, he remembered something about Link's passport. "Hey Link, so do you have a US passport or a passport from some other country?"
Link stuck his hand in one of the many pockets of his dark green trench coat and got out his passport. He showed it to Gale. "It's just a regular US passport."
"Heh. Knowing you I was half expecting you to have an unusual one. I'm relieved you even had one at all, since you were living in the streets before you sneaked your way under Gramps' favor." Gale lost interest for a second, and then he suddenly began to feel uneasy. His head snapped back and he snatched the passport away from Link. "Hold on a sec…"
"Hey, what was that for?" Link reached out for his passport but Gale swiped it out of his reach. The other people in line stole glances at the commotion.
"Shhh, keep it down! You're attracting attention." Gale waved him away and took a look at the passport again. He then began to feel sick. "Link… what the hell is this?"
"It's my passport."
Gale took a deep breath, noticed the other people in line all around them, and then sighed heavily. He said under his breath, "This is gramps' passport with your photograph glued over it…"
Link grabbed the fake passport out of Gale's hands and slid it back into his pockets. He had a somewhat sheepish expression, but he repeated, "It's my passport." He put a firm grip on the other teen's shoulder. "I'm relying on you to look as though nothing is wrong for this to work as well as it had through security at Newark. If you act odd, then the suspicion will be thrown on me and we'll be caught," he said sternly.
Gale sounded exasperated. "You mean you got by security with this thing at Newark?"
"Yes. Now don't look suspicious. Remember, this is my passport."
Gale couldn't believe it. He should have expected something like this from Link. He should have known something was up when the punk had asked him if Grandpa Loze had a passport. Sneaky bastard, he must've known that he wouldn't have been able to apply for a passport in time for this trip, so he'd settled for a fake one. He had a bad feeling about this. Sure they might have been able to go through security at Newark, but immigration was going to be a lot more diligent about checking passports. He was positive that Link's fake passport wasn't going to work here, especially since he'd been able to see something wrong with it.
"Zelda's already waiting for us over there."
Gale turned to where Link was pointing. Sure enough, the dainty girl was waiting just behind the grayish cubicles that they had to pass to officially be in Japan. The silver-top shook his head. She was going to have to wait for much, much longer than she thought.
"Hai! Tsugi no okata!" The immigration officer waved Link over. "Next!"
Link walked over and calmly presented his passport. Gale watched him from behind the white line that had been drawn across the carpet, and he crossed his fingers that things would go smoothly. His hopes were dashed when Link and the man began to have a conversation that lasted longer than it should have. I told you it wouldn't work, you dummy.
He just nodded to himself when he saw the man speak into the mike and call over another man in a uniform. At this point, Zelda was sending him questioning looks but all Gale could do was shrug back. Ah well. At least I won't be having any problems. The official looking man that had been called over tapped the expressionless Link on the shoulder and signaled him to follow. At that moment, Link turned around and pointed at Gale, saying something to the immigration officer.
Gale blanched, and then seethed when the man with Link looked at him and waved for him to follow as well. You idiot.
He shook his head with disbelief just as he passed Zelda. It amused him for only a little bit that she seemed so confused. You should have known he was trouble, princess.
XXXXXXXXXX
The two were taken away from the lines of people, and into a small waiting room. There they were sat down and they waited for some time before another man in a security suit came over and crouched down in front of them. He looked slowly from Link to Gale and then flicked out the fake passport in front of Link's nose. Gale flinched a little in shame, but tried his best to keep a poker face. He had to give Link props for having the flattest expression ever.
"Care to explain this?" The man asked gruffly in a thick, Japanese accent. He paid little attention to Gale, though he occasionally glanced over to him as though prodding for some info from his end. Gale decided to keep his mouth shut and let the creative liar do his part. After all, it was all his fault they were now sitting here and not outside getting their luggage.
Link cocked his head, and then, to Gale's disbelief, shrugged. The official looked peeved, and he rested his head tiredly on the side of his palm. The passport waving in his hand created small gusts.
"We're going to have to send you back to where you came from at this rate."
"Please don't."
"Then what's the meaning of this?"
Link became quiet again. His eyes were wandering as he tried to find a way out of this problem, and Gale averted his gaze when the blue eyes looked to him for help. Gale pointedly stared at the ceiling – it wasn't his problem.
Link stared in the space between his feet, and the officer waited for him for an explanation. After a while, Link opened his mouth to speak but no one got to hear what he was about to say, because at that point a Caucasian man in a smart black suit with a conspicuously bright blue tie strode in and interrupted them. The immigration officer stood up, his eyebrows scrunched together in puzzlement. The man in the suit whispered something in the officer's ear.
Link and Gale exchanged glances as the officer nodded with some hesitation. The officer took a quick look at the two teens and then took a tentative step back. The clock ticked, and then a figure stepped around the corner.
Like the man that had walked in before him, he was wearing a black suit. It was a stylish Armani suit, and he was wearing well-polished shoes that practically gleamed under the fluorescent lights. As the man brought his thin hands up to fix his silk purple tie, Gale noticed a thick silver ring on the man's middle finger. It appeared they were looking at a very rich man.
The man himself wasn't as memorable as his clothing. He seemed to be the type to be able to slide in and out of crowds without being remembered. He had the appearance of an average Caucasian man in his late twenties. His dusty black hair was washed neatly to the side, though some parts spiked out rebelliously. He smiled lazily towards the officer and the teens, but his hazel eyes darted as quickly as a snake's tongue behind his black-rimmed glasses.
"I believe you heard from my man that I would like to have a word with these two?" He asked the officer in a smooth voice. He spoke with a Northeastern American accent - Gale thought it could have been a Long Island one, but he wasn't sure. The officer didn't really get a chance to respond as the man roughly patted him on the arm, shoved something that looked like a couple of bills into his hand, and pushed him out of the way. The officer looked somewhat lost and uncertain as he frowned at the bills in his hand, and then at the man in the suit that now had his back towards him, and was crouching in front of the two boys.
"Uh… sir…" he began, not liking the fact he was being bribed.
The man in the suit didn't even turn around. "You may step outside, good man. I'll speak with you again about these two troublemakers once I have a word with them. Then they're all yours."
"…" The immigration officer swayed back and forth on his toes as he battled his moral conundrum, and then quickly strutted outside.
Satisfied, the man in the suit chuckled pleasantly while Gale and Link sat stiff in their seats. "Well! I certainly didn't expect you to get into trouble so soon. Link Petrov and Gale Engst, I presume? Miss Sterling mentioned you were both quite, ah, quirky, and I guess I should have known you might create problems." He shifted his weight to get into a more comfortable position, and then held out his hand. "You may have guessed already, but I am the Chief Executive Consultant of Avilux I, Halstead Dugal. Please call me Dugal."
Gale shook his hand after Link. He couldn't help but think that Dugal, with his black suit and sitting in a low crouch, looked like an overeager panther trying to determine if they were prey. Gale didn't feel entirely secure in letting his guard down around Dugal. The man continued.
"So tell me why I should even bother helping you out. To be honest, I only had an interest in bringing Miss Sterling along and if it weren't for her insisting you two to come along as well, I would have left you to find a way to get to Japan on your own."
Link gulped. He sat straighter in his seat. "I'm Skull Kid's distant relative. I've been looking for him for a long time and I would like to see him. He doesn't have anyone besides me."
Dugal tapped his chin. "I see, I see." He whirled around to Gale. "And you, Mr. Engst? What is your story?"
Link spoke for him. "He's my cousin."
"Ah. Ha."
Gale gave a slow nod and kept a cool gaze locked on Dugal who was considering him with interest. The two had a stare off up until Gale wasn't sure he could hold his confidence. Dugal smirked and steepled his hands in front of his face.
"And I'm pretty sure Skull Kid is something like your sister's brother-in-law's son," the man laughed in amusement. Link and Gale tensed. Dugal raised his eyebrows, and then suddenly stood up, laughing freely. "I'm only jesting. Of course I believe you're both concerned family members who only want to see their relative. Skull Kid is such a charming rascal – he keeps everyone's hands full – and I'm pretty sure a visit from both of you would make him happy." Dugal crossed his arms behind his back and turned on his heel. "I'll speak with the immigration officer and see what I can do. I don't know what you did that got you stuck at immigration, but as long as you weren't trying to blow anything up I can probably get you through."
Link and Gale looked bewildered.
"…You boys weren't trying to blow anything up, were you?"
The two vehemently shook their heads "no." Dugal smiled.
"All right then! I will see you outside shortly, and I expect you to tell me a little more about Skull Kid on the ride to the hotel."
The two remained in their seats for quite some time after Dugal left chuckling to himself for something he alone found amusing. They heard him chatting up the immigration officer outside – the latter sounded flustered and unsure, but they seemed to be making some sort of deal. Gale was the first to speak.
"I don't like him."
Link nodded. "Yeah. He's too…"
" - Slick. Like he owns the place."
"Uh huh."
"Like he owns the world."
"Yeah. I also had that vibe that he was plotting something."
"I know what you mean. He's a sneak, I'm sure of it."
There was a pause in their conversation. Outside, the conversation between Dugal and the immigration officer was taking a cheerful turn. Gale rubbed the bridge of his knows, appearing satisfied by something.
"He's a cool guy."
"What?!" Link almost fell out of his chair. He turned to Gale in disbelief while the white haired teen just shrugged.
"I do. I don't like him, but that doesn't mean I don't have respect for him."
"You're unbelievable." Link stood up as the officer walked back into view and motioned for them to follow. "In any event, I think we should keep a close eye on Dugal. I'm pretty sure that once we meet up with Skull Kid our problems will be over, but it wouldn't hurt to stay on guard with this guy."
XXXXXXXXXX
Ah yes, I have forgotten to tell you what you must do upon finding Skull Kid again. It is not Skull Kid that is the problem so much as the instrument he has – the Ocarina of Time. You are aware of the different powers the Ocarina has. For instance, if you play the Song of Storms you can summon rain at will, if you play the Prelude of Light you will be instantly teleported to the Temple of Time, and if you play the multitude of other songs you will cause other magical things to occur.
Music is what commands the Ocarina of Time, and music is infinite. To understand all the abilities of the Ocarina is impossible for a finite mind, for there are endless possibilities for the instrument. Therefore, there are certain effects you have yet to witness because music is so malleable. You have already experienced first hand a part of the hidden powers of the Ocarina. When Skull Kid played his song he played a variation of the Song of Time, causing both of you to travel to the future.
A little time travelling would have caused Time some problems, but that is not nearly as devastating as what Skull Kid has recently discovered how to do. His new song has the potential to unleash a power that should not be awakened. If the power were given to the wrong hands, this world would be ravished.
This is the reason why you must find Skull Kid and return to your own time by playing the Song of Time.
You must play it before Skull Kid completes his new song: the Adagio of Phoenix Flare.
XXXXXXXXX
"Hahaha! You really have to do better than this if you wanted to fool immigration."
They were all sitting inside a spiffed up black Audi, and Gale felt a little out of place in a luxury car with mahogany linings on the interior. Dugal twisted around in the passenger seat to hand back Link's fake passport.
"You could have at least made a digital fake instead of a crude job with stick glue and a cutout photo. I'm impressed you at least got through security in the US."
Link took it and wiggled around to put it back into his pocket. Zelda, who was sitting on the window seat next to him, watched the incriminating passport disappear into his coat with interest. She sighed, and then addressed Dugal.
"Dugal, I'm sorry my acquaintances gave you problems. Is there anything I can do?"
"There's nothing to worry about, Ms. Sterling. It was easily taken care of, and I have no interest in money. All I want is for you to consider Dr. Willits' offer under Avilux I." A small speck of light bounced around in the car's tan ceiling as the sun reflected off of Dugal's silver ring.
Link noticed Zelda relax after hearing her offer wasn't being pulled back after her "friends'" incident. The position seemed to mean a lot to her.
Dugal continued. "Ah, well, since we have an hour and half left until we reach Hilton Tokyo, why don't we take the time to hear a little bit about Skull Kid? If that's all right with you, Mr. Petrov."
Link felt all eyes on him. Come to think of it, Dugal wasn't the only one in the car who he'd kept to himself about the imp. "What do you want to know?"
"Hmm, I guess I should get straight to the point. Tell me about the ocarina he seems inseparable with." Dugal kept an eye on Link's reaction through the rearview mirror. "He won't go anywhere without it, and his reactions become extreme if we so much as hint taking it away from him. It's curious."
Link's expression became blank. He was sure Dugal knew that the ocarina that Skull Kid had wasn't an ordinary ocarina, and he had a feeling Zelda knew something about it as well. He didn't know how much they knew about the power of the Ocarina of Time, however, so he decided to play it safe. After all, Dugal was simply prompting him right now and he wasn't willing to give more than what Dugal was giving him. "It was… a present I gave him," Link began carefully. True enough, according to that brat. "He's always been obsessed with music, and as long as he can play to someone he'll be happy." He looked at Dugal straight in the eye, a little challengingly. "I don't know why you'd want to take it away from him."
The man broke his gaze and turned to watch the road ahead thoughtfully. Finally, a little smile appeared on his face. "We've tried to borrow it from him a couple of times because that instrument possesses amazing properties. Properties I'm not sure you fully understand."
Oh don't worry, I know, Link thought to himself.
"As Ms. Sterling can confirm, the instrument can create effects that are nothing short of magical."
"Magical?" Gale sounded skeptical.
Dugal laughed lightly. "Of course not magical magical. As people of a technologically advanced era we'd like to avoid that word. You'll see what I'm talking about when I take you to our main facility tomorrow morning."
Zelda, who seemed to want to ask something, spoke up. "Dugal, why did you become interested in this line of research? I know Avilux I promotes research that is innovative, but you must know that the field of energy manipulation isn't taken very seriously by some scientists…" She bit her lip. "Why spend so much funding for a field that's not legitimate by the greater scientific community?"
The man adjusted his glasses. "The short answer is that I work under Avilux I, and part of my job is to look for opportunities that will potentially benefit the company. My employer is a forward thinking man who isn't afraid of making risky investments that will ultimately make the company grow tremendously. So what your field isn't recognized yet? One day you'll be at the top, and Avilux I would be there with you for having the insight to support you from the beginning.
As for the money, why, quite frankly we are a disgustingly rich group." He stopped abruptly, glancing quickly at the driver – the man with the blue tie from earlier – and then started over. "Hmm, at least the top executives are. Not that Condor here isn't generously paid."
"No sir," the driver said emotionlessly.
Appearing pleased, Dugal rambled on. "Now where was I? Ah, yes, money. Just believe us when we say we have enough of it to not worry so much about where it's really going. At the end of the day, it'll all come back to us because we took risks that were worth it. My employer is a very powerful man in this regard. He could very well be one of the most influential figures in the entire world if he wanted to be, but right now he's fine without having the spotlights on him. So don't fret about the reason we're funding you, Ms. Sterling. In fact, that's a silly thing to be worried about: people aren't usually worried about being given money."
Gale looked out the window. Japan didn't seem too different from the US from the highway. They even had Disneyland; he could see the white European castle in the distance as they drove past it. He yawned. It was only a few hours past noon, but he was really sleepy. The jetlag was getting to him, and he hadn't been able to get enough rest on the plane. He didn't have enough energy to focus on Dugal's talk about his company. Only Link and Zelda seemed interested in what the guy had to say. Oh yeah. I almost forgot I have absolutely nothing to do with any of this Skull Kid business.
"What's the long reason you're interested in… whatever it is Zelda's researching?" Link asked.
"I suppose we have a while," Dugal mused. "If you don't mind, this is going to be a long story."
Link and Zelda confirmed. Gale, on the other hand, was half asleep.
"Not many people know this, but my goal used to be to become a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. I wanted to fly the F-22 Raptor; such an elegant plane. So just as I finished high school I went straight for the Air Force Academy in Colorado. I sailed through the first two years with near perfect grades and barely any problems in the physical fitness tests. The only issues I had were some minor trouble with a few lieutenant colonels, but besides that I was on the right track. I was one of the best!
The third year was what changed everything. During the fourth week of first semester, I was jogging with one of my roommates when he collapsed without warning. He just started shouting something about his hand, and when I ran over to him there was a black, glassy shard with red engravings stuck in his palm. I only know that it was something he'd found on the beach when he went to California earlier in the summer, and he must've stabbed himself with it during the jog. Well, I actually don't know how that thing got stuck on his hand – what happened next was more shocking to me.
The shard splintered and engulfed his hand, and before I knew it there was a gigantic black thing in the place of my roommate. It was definitely humanoid, but it was no longer my roommate. Without warning, it attacked me and gave me a gash across my chest, and it probably would have killed me if it had been alive longer. Fortunately, the thing died in the span of a few minutes. It screamed and died from what seemed to be the presence of the sun.
Unfortunately… I lost a friend, and also had to explain the sudden disappearance of my roommate who was last seen with me. The thing my roommate had turned into had vanished after it had died, and of course no one would believe my fantastic story. Even I had trouble believing it at the time. I thought it was a nightmare.
The incident crushed my opportunities to move up in the Air Force. No one blamed me explicitly for the death of my roommate – there was no proof and I also had that gash – but I could tell everyone thought I had something to do with it. The lieutenants who I'd caused problems for earlier took the opportunity to make things harder for me to succeed in the academy, and they told me I was pursuing an impossible dream since my vision wasn't great. A fighter pilot can't be someone who wears glasses, they told me. They continued to make life as miserable for me as possible.
I had enough of their, excuse me, bullshit, so I dropped out of the academy. During that time I'd gotten in contact with a notable employer through a good friend. I tried my best to forget about that terrible day at the academy, and after a few years of huge profits I almost did.
Avilux I contacted me soon after. They'd wanted me to work for them because they'd heard about my successes with other employers, and they gave me a six-figure salary. Of course I'd accepted. It took me a couple of years working under Avilux I before I ran into something that reminded me of that black shard that had changed my life. It was an arrowhead that burst into flames, then ice, then a blinding light all by itself. Dr. Willits was researching it under the company's funding, and over time we were able to collect other objects exhibiting strange phenomena."
Dugal paused. The three teens in the back were very subdued with slightly tired yet wide-eyed expressions. Only Link didn't appear too surprised by Dugal's story of the black shard and strange objects. The man chuckled, and he continued in a soft voice.
"These objects, zerons, opened the world for the field of energy manipulation. Do you know why they're called zerons, Ms. Sterling?"
Zelda shook her head no.
Dugal smiled. "There are zero logical explanations that will explain what these objects can do. Dr. Willits coined it." He looked at the window. There was an abundance of tall, grey buildings with gigantic billboards, signifying they were getting close to the center of Tokyo. "He's trying to find a way to explain it. I'd also like to know, and that is why I take interest in the project. Maybe I'll also find an explanation for that strange black shard my roommate found a while ago."
Dugal ran his hand through his hair. His face revealed little emotion, and it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. Gale noted this with some interest. He's either a cold bastard who's not affected by death, he thought, or a tough bastard who knows better than to show weakness. Whichever one it is, Dugal keeps painting himself to be someone we shouldn't mess with.
Soon, the curious executive consultant had a self-satisfied grin again. "Hm. Well I certainly don't expect you kids to believe my little story." He leaned his head back against the headrest. "I've talked enough for today. Why don't you get some rest until we reach the hotel? I'm sure you haven't had a lot of rest on the plane."
XXXXXXXXX
Gale, Link, and Zelda got out of the car and filed into the golden lobby of Hilton Tokyo. Everything glowed gold; from the large golden pillars that were in the middle of the room, to the walls, to the ceiling, to even the floor – it was all golden. Link felt severely underdressed. Dugal went over to the front desk to check them in, and they were given the keys to two rooms – one for the boys and one for Zelda. The man himself disappeared, retiring elsewhere in the expansive city for the rest of the day. The wheels of their carry-on suitcases rolled across the polished floor as they followed an attendee to the elevator. They climbed up to the seventh floor and were shown their rooms. They were right across each other.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Zelda said to the boys after opening the door to her room. Gale waved noncommittally without looking; he was past his flirting games today since he was too tired from the flight and long drive. Link stood standing by his door.
Zelda hesitated, noticing the blond was staring at her strangely. Feeling awkward, she asked, "What is it?"
"Huh? Oh, um… nothing," Link said as he snapped out of it. "Uh, if you need anything don't be afraid to let us know," he added hurriedly. Appearing a little flustered, he quickly turned around and went into his room after Gale, shutting the door behind him. Zelda giggled, and then went back into her room.
I was second guessing myself for bringing them along, she thought, but it's nice to have company here. Especially Link… he's weird, but there's something familiar about him that makes me feel safe…
XXXXXXXX
Link supported himself against the wall, palms sweating. Zelda Sterling is not the same as Princess Zelda! Stop seeing the two as the same person or you'll get too attached! Link scolded himself. He couldn't help it – he loved the Princess from his own time period and he missed her, and it didn't help that Zelda Sterling looked so much like her. It was uncanny. It wasn't going to do him any good if he became attached to Zelda Sterling because when this was over he was going to go back to the past anyway. Another thought also bothered him.
… Would I be cheating on my Zelda if I began to like the new Zelda? His head hurt. I mean, I'm pretty sure Zelda Sterling is a reincarnation, so they're almost like the same person right? Or is that not how it works?
Not liking the idea of the possibility of cheating, Link flopped over onto one of the beds and decided to sleep the thought away. He was tired anyway.
Gale, who had already buried himself in his own bed by the windows, grumbled and tugged at the window curtains. The sun was shining through because it was still afternoon in Japan, but Gale was miserably sleepy from jetlag. "Ugh. Why am I denied sleep?"
Link grunted something from his bed. The teen had both arms crossed over his face. After a while, one blue eye peeked out from under an arm. "I can't sleep either."
"Hmph."
"Gale, have you ever cheated on someone?"
Sounding groggy, the bundle that was Gale shifted. "Huh? What's this all of a sudden?" There was the sound of yawning, and it was evident Gale wasn't really paying too much attention to the question. "And yeah, sure, that's everyday stuff."
"How can you keep a clear conscience?"
"Oh geez, can you just try to shut up for once so I can try to sleep?"
It became very quiet for several long minutes. The sound of cars and passersby on the streets below became conspicuously loud in turn. Link took a breath, and attempted to sleep again, thinking Gale had fallen asleep already. Just as he took his coat off and tossed it off the side of the bed to be more comfortable, Gale's slightly airy voice muffled through from under the covers.
"The key," the voice drawled tiredly, "is to not become attached. Then you don't really care what happens. I've answered your question – don't bother me again."
Link frowned. Not become attached? He made it sound so easy. Struggling to make sense of the strange moral dilemma on whether or not it was possible to emotionally cheat with reincarnations of people, Link buried his face in one of the bed's many pillows. Why did I have to be the one to fix problems all along different timelines?
fleets: Ugh-ness. I didn't know how to end this particular scene, but I wanted to include Link's dilemma (yesh, I'll be attempting a very messy triangle-esque thing with Zelda. One of the things I'm most nervous of attempting this time... eep).
Also! If any of you are lucky enough to visit Japan, the areas and locales I'm going to include are real places. Sometimes my descriptions don't do the places justice - google images can give you an idea if you're curious. And if you want to know relative distances of places the characters will be moving around, Google map satellite will give you an idea since I'm relying on it for travel accuracy. From this chapter forth, I'll include a travel log, written by none other than Gale Engst :P (since it's coming out of Gale's mouth, political correctness may occasionally be an issue. You've been warned. Disclaimer: I find Japan and its culture to be cool, but I do like to poke goodnatured fun at some aspects of it much like some people like to poke fun of "fat America").
Travel Log:
Narita Airport - Decently large airport. Very clean. Very proper. And did I say very clean? Yeah. Just past immigration is a very large high-ceilinged place where you can grab luggage, and it's a little frustrating if you're waiting in line because you can just imagine your stuff going around and around just an escalator away. To say the immigration officers have thick Japanese accents is an understatement. How do people understand what they're saying?
Tokyo Metropolis - I've only seen it through the window of a car so far, but it's huge! It's hard to describe... it's not really like New York. Buildings are crammed in even the smallest spaces imaginable, and some of them are ridiculously thin. At one point we passed over a river, and I didn't realize it was there since it was shadowed by a whole network of roads over it. I guess if you only have a tiny island that's about as big as California for a country, you have to be really space efficient. The "highway" should not be called a highway - so friggin slow.
...well, we did pass by wooded area that seemed to be a park of some sort next to our hotel. I think I also saw a shrine in there, too, but I'm not too sure. That line of green was refreshing to the eyes after all that excessive grey and blinking billboards.
Hilton Tokyo - Typical four star hotel for business people. As soon as you step in, everything is gold with the exception of one area with maroon velvet seats and maroon carpets. It goes up to an incredible 38 floors, but we got stuck with the standard guest rooms on the 7th floor. And man, the beds are so low and the bathtub is kinda deep. I don't get it. I hear it's like that for most hotels around Japan though.
Death-Note-Zelda-Kitty: Haha, that's so true about Gale! Planes aren't that bad. It's actually pretty boring on a long flight because they ask you to close the windows: you can't tell if you're even moving at that point because all you can see is a bunch of people sitting in a cylindrical "room."
Reily96: You already know there's going to be VxZ, so just in case, prepare yourself for a heartattack :P. Just in case. I was thinking that about Link, too, but I figured he'd be better with puzzle types that require thinking of the "now" (I see chess as needing more of a future planning thing, and with evil mastermind types i.e. Vaati, I thought Gale would be better at it).
The Goron thing - I got it after there was mention of it in the LoZ Ocarina of Time Manga. :) It didn't really mention what Link did about the food though (even though Darunia said Gorons ate rocks...)
Ooh, well, sounds interesting if you do end up doing it :)
marium: Not completely, because Gale's also a master of denial and he doesn't want to think Link of all people is right about him. There's hints of it though ;)
Darkwind: Merry Christmas to you too, and Happy New Year! Aw, man, thanks for catching that! I'll go fix it. And I'll give Gale that Orbit (not sure how much effect that'll have on him though...)
LinkxDarkLink: I picked Bernoulli's principle because that's the explanation that's most common (and what Gale would know), but I also heard that there are other explanations as well that's better than Bernoulli's. Uhhh... I dunno... I find rocketry to be really difficult especially the mathematics portions like differential equations and linear algebra... 8(
I'm sure if there was a person like Gale somewhere he wouldn't be very well liked (though I'd want to meet him, and then run away quickly lol). Merry christmas and Happy new year to you too!
Midna Hytwilian: Merry Christmas! And Thankies! I had a ton of fun with the Vaatiness, too. :) Lolz, DuGal XD
Daaah, I still have tons to improve - (but thank you... blushes). Indeed reincarnation fail haha. Poor Vaati, the fool. That WOULD make life horrible for Gale and Link because they'll be all uncomfortable about it... ummm, nah, I don't think I'll write a proper gay pairing ever just because I'll feel strange about writing one (unless it's realistic enough). Friendship, friendly rivalry, rivalry, or outright hate for each other are the four types I'll cover for what I write.
Astral S. Kepeire: I know, Chapter 8 was more of a Thanksgiving special I submitted late, and something I wanted to use to get rid of that yucky "on hiatus" post. I kinda needed it though, to explain why Loze was ok with them going...
Mmm, yeahhh sorry but I can't make everyone happy on this point (I try to accomodate, but nothing's ever perfect) - that's why I decided to warn readers so they knew what was coming. At the moment, I'm thinking of keeping everthing open to interpretation (like I explained earlier), but be aware that my opinions might change throughout the story and you might not like what I do. If and when that happens (because it IS a possibility, however slight), I hope you won't be too shocked because I'll warn you now it can happen.
Hehe, hope you didn't have to wait too long for this one! - (ionno... having a life can be a stressful thing sometimes)
Yoshifan95: Thank you for the praise! I was a little worried because the setting deviated so much from the Zeldaverse. And I'm happy you like it so far - this is the first time I've ever included pairings in a story, so I'm relieved it's working for people so far :D
DeidaraIsGod2010: It very well might! XD I actually didn't like the VxZ pairing at all once upon a time, until it kinda grew on me. I got a clear personalization of Vaati for myself and then, something about having Zelda in the equation became very rational (to me, at any rate). Since I used to not be too excited about the pairing I expected some people to be disgruntled... last thing I want is a flame war between supporters and non-supporters though, so I let people know what I was planning to do. I think it's all good - can't be too worried about what other people are thinking about pairings :)
Thank you! I'm happy you like it, and wish me luck on this project :D
