I was gonna wait until the first day of June to post this, but. Well. I'm an impatient little potato sometimes. Plus, I decided to do a six-heart speedrun of Skyward Sword, so I was really in the mood to post something. I already made it to the mining facility, and it's only been three days :D I also noticed I totally forgot how some areas were laid out. I mean, I'm changing things so that the world's bigger than it is in the game, but still. Hopefully I'll be able to keep things more accurate now that I'm playing again.
Reviews!
Katriss: I love Rinku's sarcasm, too. Now if only I could come up with quips like hers on short notice... Anyways, I figured no one wanted to hear about politics. I know I didn't want to even write them in the first place lmao. The way I see it, thousands of years have passed between when Demise was first sealed and the present day. If Hylians and other races that fought alongside Hylia have completely forgotten their history, it makes sense that the demons would as well, though with Ghirahim flaunting about, it's more apathy to the situation rather than forgetting. I'll keep the name thing in mind, too. I'm just really bad at coming up with names. If you stick in all of the Japanese names into a translator, you'll see how lazy I was XD
Guest #1 & 2: Glad you're liking the story so far! I've got a better idea of what I want to do with the story now than when I first started, so I'm planning on seeing this thing through to the end. It might just take a few years.
Guest #1: I have the moderate reviews option on for guest reviews, so if I don't go in and accept them right away, it takes a few days for them to show up. I was confused when I first reviewed a story as a guest, so you're not alone!
Chapter posted 5.30.18
Chapter 11: Skyview
The room went from quiet tension to cacophonous mess in seconds after Osoku relayed his news. There were people who stared in shock, people standing up and cheering, people shouting that the Spirit Maiden wasn't real. Some even ran over to Osoku, demanding more details about what exactly happened. Ghirahim was one of those people. I couldn't hear Osoku's answer over the background noise, but he must have told Ghirahim where Zelda was spotted, because shortly after approaching Osoku, Ghirahim turned on his heel with a huge grin on his face. Without so much as a word of warning, he grabbed my arm and snapped, teleporting us out of the room.
I fought off nausea as we reappeared at our destination. While my ears were grateful for being relieved from the noise, I would have rather stayed in the room than deal with Ghirahim's warping magic again. As I was all but dragged by Ghirahim, I slowly became aware of our surroundings. Grass. Trees. Giant mushrooms. Stone path? I looked up. We were in front of the temple that I had warped to during my first encounter with Ghirahim.
"Ah, Skyview Temple, of course she would appear here. Why didn't I think of this before?" Ghirahim began voicing his thoughts. "Well, no matter. The goddess is all but mine now. That abysmal barrier is still in place, but I'm certain there will be a way through it inside the structure." With another snap of his fingers, we warped from outside the temple to a room somewhere deep within.
I groaned as I fell to the floor, barely keeping myself from hurling. "Give me a fucking warning when you're going to do that, asshole. Did you already forget that I don't have a high tolerance for your warp magic?"
Ghirahim glanced down at me. "On the contrary, I do believe I told you that you reacted better than most Skyloftians." He walked over to what appeared to be a door emblazoned with Hylia's symbol. Running his hand along the grooves, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, guarded by another barrier, but it's weaker than the one outside. Perhaps I'll be able to break through it." Summoning a sword, he began to hack away at the door, sparks flying with every impact.
By then, I had mostly recovered from Ghirahim's magic and looked around. The room was huge, but sparse in decor and lighting. The only objects around the room were some ancient-looking pots, and the only light came from a few torches as well as a hole in the high ceiling. It was my turn to frown. "Wait, this is the deepest part of the temple, isn't it? Aren't we cheating by just warping down here?" After exploring more dungeons and temples than I cared to count, it somehow felt wrong to not explore any of it and jump straight to the end.
"It's only cheating if there are rules to break, and last I checked, there are none." Ghirahim paused his swings for a moment and leaned against the wall. "Besides, the crystal above the entrance was activated, which means someone else besides us and our target is already here. I doubt the Spirit Maiden would have left the door open, after all. Perhaps it was that boy in the green tunic I saw wandering around the woods a few days ago. He didn't seem like the cautious type, after all."
I was ready to snap at Ghirahim for saying Zelda was my target, but what he mentioned after that made the words catch in my throat. A boy in a green tunic? Knights wore tunics as their uniforms, but none of them were green. Karane's was the closest, but even that was more of a yellow-green. If there was a Hylian walking around in a green tunic and it wasn't me, it had to be Link.
"Come to think of it, his outfit is remarkably similar to yours, skychild," Ghirahim continued as he resumed swinging at the door. "Is that a common fashion amongst Skyloftians? Green tunics and floppy hats? The tunic itself is fine, but the hat is horrendous. It looks like you're wearing a windsock on your head!"
"Hey!" I pouted as I protectively grabbed my hat. "I like my hat!"
Before our banter could continue, the giant doors on the opposite side of the room began to creak open. As the opening enlarged, I could make out a person with blond hair and a green tunic pushing the doors open with incredible effort. Link. With the new tunic and sword on his back, he looked far more prepared to play the part of the Hero than when I had last seen him.
As the door began to close behind him, Link began to look around the room with a worn-out expression. His eyes widened once he noticed me. "Rinku! Oh, thank Hylia, you're still alive!" With newfound energy, he ran across the room and enveloped me in a hug. "It's been so long since you fell into that tornado, everyone thought you were dead! We kept trying to get past the cloud barrier, but our loftwings wouldn't fly through it. Zelda kept talking about the surface as well, and then one day, she just upped and vanished! She wasn't anywhere in the sky. That night, some spirit came to my room and led me to the Goddess Statue, and guess what? There was a room underneath it! That's where I got this sword, by the way. It's so much cooler than the ones the knights use, right? Gaepora said it was made to be used by—"
"As touching as this little reunion is, I'm afraid I must cut it short." Ghirahim finally made himself known, causing Link to stumble away from me in shock at the new voice. "Goodness, were you so eager to catch up to your friend here that you failed to notice me? What an airheaded move, though I suppose it's fitting, considering you live in the sky."
"Rinku," Link cautiously began, "who's that? And why is…he in here with you?"
I bit back a laugh as Link tried to take in what he was seeing. It was hilarious to watch his reaction to Ghirahim, but I knew playtime was over. "That's Ghirahim. He's the asshole trying to kill Zelda."
"I am more than capable of introducing myself, skychild," Ghirahim growled. "As my servant crudely put it, I am the Demon Lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this world you call the surface. You may call me Ghirahim. In truth, I very much prefer to be indulged with my full title: Lord Ghirahim. But I'm not fussy." He allowed his sword to dissipate as he began to strut around the room. "I would not necessarily say I am trying to kill your precious little friend. Nay, I need her alive if I am to resurrect my master, and I can sense her here…just beyond this door."
Link visibly tensed when Ghirahim mentioned Zelda. Before I could stop him, he drew his sword, causing its sound to echo across the room. "You need to leave Zelda alone. Now."
Ghirahim let out a dark laugh. "Did you really just draw your sword? Foolish boy. By all rights, the girl should have fallen into our hands already. She was nearly ours when this blasted skychild threw herself into my tornado in place of Her Majesty." The torches around the room began to flicker as Link and I stepped away from Ghirahim. "Do you have any idea how that made me feel inside once I discovered the ruse? Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!"
Ghirahim warped, causing our eyes to dart around the room trying to find him. I unconsciously reached for my sword and shield, only to be met with open air. I gritted my teeth. This was bad.
"I could have killed this skychild the instant I discovered she was not Her Majesty, you know," Ghirahim said. "Yet I decided she had the potential to be useful. She has already done so a few times already, and now is her biggest moment yet." A hand grabbed my arm out of nowhere, ripping me away from Link. "Sweet, dearest, darling Rinku, would you be so kind as to remove this scum from my sight? You needn't murder him, I won't be that harsh, but I would quite enjoy seeing you beat him within an inch of his life!"
I cringed at how sickeningly sweet Ghirahim was trying to be. Once his grip on my arm loosened, I tore myself away from him and ran back to Link's side. "As if! I will never do anything to harm Zelda or Link. No matter what you try to threaten me with, my spirit will stand strong." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Link look at me and smile in relief at my statement.
Ghirahim shook his head and warped his cloak away. "Truly now? What a shame. I had hoped you would have changed your mind after I sheltered you for so long, but I suppose your kind has always been rather ungrateful."
"Sheltered me my ass," I bit back. "You threw me in a cell for over a month and used me like a slave! In what world is that hospitality?"
"Ah, so you are naïve enough to believe you could have survived down here on your own. Let me assure you, survival in the wild is nothing like the soft life you lived up in the sky." Ghirahim's gaze narrowed. "Bah! Enough of this chatter. If you won't fight this boy, I will, and I won't hesitate to attack you as well, should you get in my way."
Ghirahim began walking towards us without summoning his sword. He was planning on toying with us, just like he did with me during our first encounter. I quickly looked around the room for something I could use as a weapon. My eyes latched onto the pots I noticed earlier. They weren't anywhere close to being a dangerous weapon, but they looked heavy enough to do some damage.
"Link," I quietly hissed, "I'm going to try and distract Ghirahim. When his focus is completely on me, you run in and slash at him. Be careful, though. If you telegraph your attacks, he's going to grab your sword and take it from you."
"What?" Link looked bewildered. "How the hell could he do that? And what does telegraph even mean?"
"Look, just throw in a fake before you actually attack. Fake left, swing up, fake right, swing diagonal, that type of thing. Come on, we need to move!"
I ducked and rolled to the side as Ghirahim threw several daggers at us. As I got up, I grabbed one of the nearby pots. It was coated in dust and felt like it could break at any moment, but it would have to do. Looking back at my opponent, I saw that he was already advancing on Link, who looked rather intimidated by the demon.
"Hey, diamond boy, over here!" I chucked the pot as hard as I could. Ghirahim glanced over at me and leaped back to avoid a pot to the head. It shattered with a satisfying crash on the wall behind him.
"Did you not heed my warning? Foolish child," Ghirahim snarled. With inhuman speed, Ghirahim ran over and slammed me against the wall, hand tight on my throat. "In case you have forgotten, I still have your equipment. You are completely at my mercy. If you wish so desperately to die, then I shall gladly—gah!"
Ghirahim suddenly released me, allowing me to crawl away and gasp for much-needed air. Glancing up, I saw that Link had taken advantage of the distraction and slashed Ghirahim across his back. While it didn't seem like a very deep cut, it was enough to cause blood to ooze out of the wound, dyeing the white cloth a crimson red.
With a glare, Ghirahim charged at Link. He gasped and threw up his shield, barely getting it up in time to block Ghirahim's fist. The impact still had him sprawling back and shaking out his left arm. The impact was so strong, in fact, that the wooden shield had splintered where Ghirahim had made contact with it. If Link hadn't gotten it up in time, that would have been his face instead.
Looking back at his opponent, Link swung his sword, but Ghirahim easily deflected the attack with a wave of his arm. On his second attack, Link remembered what I had told him earlier. He feigned a swing, then slashed in the opposite direction, creating a long cut along Ghirahim's torso.
I sprang back up and grabbed another ancient pot, not ready to call it quits yet. Running as quietly as I could, I approached Ghirahim from behind and grabbed onto him, smashing the pot into the side of his head. Once it shattered, I kept my grip on the shard of pottery that remain in my hand and tried to slash at Ghirahim's face and neck. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep that up for long. Ghirahim grabbed me by my tunic and threw me over his shoulder. I hit Link squarely in the chest, and the two of us collapsed in a heap to the ground.
"You brats need to learn your place." With a snap, Ghirahim summoned his sword from earlier and brandished it at us. Without a moment of hesitation, he charged at us, ready to run us through.
I gasped and quickly glanced at Link. The boy was still winded from having me thrown into him and was nowhere near ready to parry the attack. Thinking fast, I grabbed the sword from his hand and raised it to meet Ghirahim's. The clang of metal rang through the air as I struggled to keep the obsidian blade from slicing us in two.
Master… I blinked as an unfamiliar voice spoke in my mind. No. You are not Master Link, yet you seem to possess the same spirit as him. How peculiar.
I don't have time for this, I thought as I continued to fight. Whoever you are, don't tell Link about the spirit thing. And, unless you're going to say something helpful, shut up.
As you wish, the voice responded. I am Fi, the spirit within the Goddess Sword and servant of Hylia—
Ghirahim's blade inched closer to my face. Didn't ask, don't care, I need to beat this guy.
My analysis indicates that Ghirahim's strength far surpasses the enemies my Master has previously encountered. I calculate only a 15% chance of beating him as you are; however, if you try to take out his balance, there is a 70% chance that you and Master Link will be able to recover from your current position.
Oddly specific, but I'll take it. In one motion, I shifted the blades slightly higher above my head and swung my leg out at Ghirahim's knees. Shock replaced the smirk he had on his face as he suddenly found himself falling sideways. I used the opening to launch myself at Ghirahim, causing him to roll back to his feet and meet me blade-to-blade. I heard something shuffling away from us, signaling that Link was able to get up and move out of the way.
"Link, you should really be the one doing this," I grunted as Ghirahim and I traded blows. "I can't fight all of your battles for you. The sword chose you, not me."
"She does have a point, boy," Ghirahim taunted. "After all, it should be a gentleman protecting a lady, not the other way around."
"S-shut up. It's not my fault she's more experienced than me!" Link stumbled over his words, embarrassed that he couldn't do much to help in the fight.
With Ghirahim distracted at Link's expense, I ducked down and rolled around my opponent, giving myself the opportunity to twirl and slash at his already wounded back. Ghirahim howled in pain before jumping away, glaring at me and Link.
"Well…" Ghirahim began, pointing his sword at us. "You put up more of a fight than I would have thought possible with only one weapon between the two of you. But don't clap for yourselves quite yet. That sword and the girl's skills are the only reasons you still live." He glanced over to the sealed door. "I fear I spent far too long teasing and toying with you. The girl's presence has all but faded from this place, which means there's no reason to linger here." Without warning, he reached over and grabbed my arm with such strength, I was surprised that it didn't break. "Good-bye, boy. Run and play this time. Get in my way again, though, and you're dead."
I sensed the magic building up around us as Ghirahim prepared to warp. In the seconds before we did, I quickly threw the Goddess Sword back to Link. "Link! Find the Master Sword! Save Zelda!"
Link reached out to me as if to say something, but it was too late. My vision was engulfed by diamonds as the magic was released, and Ghirahim and I were warped out of the temple.
Looks like Rinku has do do all the work around here. Oh well. Tbh, this was originally going to be two chapters, but then I realized that both of them would be horribly short, so I mashed them together.
So long as I can keep up on both writing and schoolwork, I'm going to try and post one chapter a week. I have chapters 12 and 13 done, 14 is in the process of being written (aka I have the words "Chapter 14" on a word doc lmao), and I have outlines all the way through chapter 20. Obviously, passing my class comes first, so if I find myself drowning in ochem hell, this is the first thing that's getting thrown on the backburner.
See you guys next week, maybe not at the same time, but definitely the same trashcan!
