Blue, after a fight with Vio, has stormed off into the snow on his own, determined to find a way through the mountains to show the others his worth.
But in this brave bid for recognition, has the headstrong hero bit off more than he can chew...?
Chapter 14 - Apparition
The wind roared in his ears as the cold bit at feet, the full force of the blizzard bearing down hard on the lone Link. Shivering, his arms wrapped around him, Blue opened his eyes through the storm, looking at his surroundings. Damn… was he really a fool to have come out on his own? Looking around him, he could see nothing but a swirling cascade of snow, white blinding him from every angle.
Blue grunted as he pushed through the snowfall, trudging through the feet-deep snow, mentally pushing himself to go onwards. He'd find a route through the mountains, and then find his way back to the others. He grinned as he felt his strength renewed. Hell yeah. A little bit of cold and snow wasn't going to stop him.
"I'll… I'll show 'em," Blue huffed as he began to quicken his pace, his blood pumping as he went from a crawl, to a walk, to a full-blown run through the snow, his fists beating the air as he raced across the snow, reckless and wild, unafraid of what lay ahead.
And yet, it would have been wise of him to look before he leapt.
Because as he broke the line of trees, his eyes narrowed in determination, they suddenly became wide open as he felt his feet slip on the icy ground, staggering back as he noticed the all-too-quickly approaching cliff edge he had been running towards.
Crying out as he stumbled backwards, sliding towards the cliff, the boy turned around and, falling over as the edges of his feet slid over the edge of the cliff, sunk his fingers into the icy surface, scrambling to try and find anything to hold on to, anything to keep his momentum from carrying the rest of his body over the edge.
Sliding to a stop, the boy's cries ceased as he dangled over the edge of the cliff, his fingers trembling as they struggled to keep their slipping hold on whatever ridge they had caught. His weight… the sword and heavy shield on his back… Blue's arms began to tremble as his eyes went wide, staring up at the blinding white sky above him. No… No….!
"AHHHH!"
Unable to keep his grip any longer, the hero's hands lost their hold on the cliff's edge, and his full weight pulled him down, falling helplessly towards the ground-
And with a terrifying jerk, Blue gasped as he felt his falling momentum suddenly stopped, a sudden pressure closing in on his hand. His eyes were wide as he looked up as he dangled from his arm…
Just barely peeking over the edge, a hand had shot out and wrapped around Blue's wrist. Unable to carry Blue's weight in one hand, another soon joined the first as it grabbed his arm, slowly hoisting him up.
Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Blue lifted his other arm, grasping hold of the arm which had came out and saved him. He gritted his teeth as he felt himself slowly but surely rising back upwards, inching closer to the edge, and soon, pulled onto the icy ground once more.
For a moment, Blue lay there, gasping for breath and clinging to the ground, as if he never again wanted to let go of it. However, only a moment passed before the unyielding hero shook his head and hoisted himself back up on his feet, blinking a few times to see just who it was who had saved him. Probably Vio, if it's my damned luck, he thought with a groan as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at-
Well.
That… wasn't Vio.
Blue blinked in confusion as he looked… not up, but down… at a small child which stood in front of him.
The boy smiled, his bright, blue eyes lighting up the dreary scene of the snowfall as he looked up at the hero. "Hey… are you okay?" he asked cheerfully, rubbing his red wrists from where Blue had grabbed hold of him.
"Uh… yeah…" Blue looked down at the little child in confusion. First of all- was this really the one who had saved him? The kid looked to be no more than six years old! And secondly… what the heck was a little kid like him doing in the middle of the mountains? Still, he couldn't ignore the fact that the boy had saved him, and, reluctantly, he nodded as he muttered, "Th…Thanks…"
"Oh, good!" the boy cheered as he clapped his hands in joy, looking up at the hero with his youthful eyes. "When I saw you go over the cliff, I was scared I'd be too late…"
Blue paused for a moment, looking down at the kid. However, before he could ask him anything, the child suddenly jumped up close to him, looking up at the other with near-adoring eyes, causing Blue to take a half-step backwards, looking down at the child, surprised and confused at the same time.
"By the way, my name's David!" the boy piped up, tilting his head curiously as he stared at the elder boy. "What's yours?"
"Um… Blue." Strange… why was he still using Red's nickname, to this child who obviously knew nothing of the hero Link? Was it because he had gotten so used to it, it was now second nature? Or… that he actually liked it? Well- certainly not the second one, he thought grudgingly as he turned his thoughts back to the child.
"Hey, kid…"
"David!" the boy corrected him with a wide grin.
"David, then," Blue said, raising an eyebrow at the child. Such a strange boy… but then again, he was so young, innocent. Did he even know of the dangers he was in, alone on the cliff? "What are you doing out in these mountains all by yourself?" he asked, kneeling down to be at eye-level with the child. "It's real dangerous out here."
Now, this was a side of him which he wouldn't let the others see… still, he wouldn't forget that the child had rescued him from falling off the cliff, and he wasn't about to turn a blind eye to a little boy alone in the snow. He was a hero, after all!
His glowing smile fading into a small frown, the boy looked down, crossing his arms behind his back and kicking at the snow with his shoes. "I'm… I'm lost."
Blue's eyes fell lightly as he looked over the child. He seemed to be adequately dressed for the winter, wearing a heavy coat and a blue scarf, matching his sad eyes, draped around his neck. Maybe he had come from the mountain village to explore and had gotten lost?
Smiling, Blue stood up, looking down at the kid. "Come on, then," he said, flashing a bold grin and extending out his hand to the boy, "I'll take you back home."
David looked up at the extended hand, then up to the other. Sniffing, he shook his head and took a single step back, surprising the other. "No, I… I can't go home," he insisted, shaking his head again as he took yet another step back. "I… I'm hiding…"
"Hey, it's okay," Blue grunted, confused, as he took another step forward, once more kneeling down in hopes it would make the boy more comfortable. He blinked at the second part. "… Hiding? Out here? From what?"
"I can't… I can't go back home!" David cried, raising his fists up to his cheeks as he took another backwards step… then suddenly turned around and began to run.
"H-Hey!" Blue cried out, eyes wide in surprise, as he jumped back up, ready to run after the other. "David!"
The boy had only just begun to flee from the other- when suddenly he was thrown back by a massive, invisible force. Shouting out in fear, David cried in pain as he fell against the ground, helplessly looking up, his eyes wide in fear, at his attacker.
Swirling around him, a silvery-wisp of a figure began to form, glowing white orbs serving as its eyes as the bright shadows twisted around until the spectral image of a ghost was looming over the child, cackling madly.
The minute the child had been knocked down, Blue's eyes had gone wide and he gasped, wasting not a second in drawing his blade and rushing towards the scene.
"YOU! I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" the ghost screeched in an insane, cackling joy as it practically danced over the fallen child, who looked up in terror at his attacker. "NOW, YOU WILL HAND OVER YOUR-"
"Not on my watch!"
Glancing to the side, the ghost lost precious time in its hesitation, and screeched in pain as Blue's blade sliced cleanly through the apparition, cleaving the silvery ghost clean in half. The wisps of silver, struck by Blue's blade, writhed in agony as it twisted around in the air, dissipating in seconds.
David looked up from the ground to see Blue standing protectively over him, his sword wielded in both hands and brandishing it high above the child. "Whatever the hell you are," the bold Link roared at the ghost, "I won't let you hurt him!"
Screeching in pain, the ghost lunged once more at the Link, its curved talons arcing straight towards Blue. With another battle cry, Blue lunged forward, fearless, to meet his attacker, driving his Four Sword once more cleanly through the ghost, the blade passing easily through the illusory ether and once more slicing a clean path through the phantom.
Landing cleanly on the snow, Blue looked up through his bangs to see the ghost, cut to pieces, screaming in agony as it bled away into the light, dissolving until there was nothing left.
Smiling wryly, Blue panted as he pushed himself back up to his feet, looking back at the boy.
"Hey, David, you okay-"
Blue's eyes went wide.
"K-KID! WATCH OUT!"
The boy, who had previously been sitting on the ground and watching Blue in fascination, suddenly looked off to the side and shouted in terror as another ghost, having seemingly appeared from the side, ambushed the child.
Blue, chest heaving, ran to cover the short distance between them- but was suddenly cut off, and he shouted in surprise and anger as another ghost swirled up in front of him, blocking his path and sneering at him in mad pleasure.
Blue's wide eyes glanced around him, and his heart sunk. They were entirely surrounded… as if having been called by the first one, they now swarmed around the two children… He couldn't count on both hands and feet the mass amount of ghosts flooding the air… Though, notably, they were all after the boy who was struggling to push himself off the ground and run-
"DAVID!"
The boy could not see it coming, and instead gasped as he felt himself shoved to the ground by a ghost that flew… clean.. through it…
Blue's eyes went wide as his heart nearly stopped.
David looked up from having fallen on the ground, his sad, empty eyes looking despairingly up at Blue. As the ghost had passed through him… and as he had fallen to the ground… his physical form had been shattered, and the ghost of a small boy looked up at the hero, his eyes wide in fright and pain.
"Blue…" the ghost child whimpered, his chin tilting towards the ground in shame as he felt the other ghosts close in on him, "Please… run away… save yourself…"
Blue grit his teeth as he felt his determination surge back through him. So… this was the boy's true form…? He was a ghost, like the others? Well… No matter. These other phantoms were haunting him, torturing him… and he was not going to let them continue. He still had a debt to repay, too. Raising his sword high above his head, he let out another battle shout as he leapt forward, slicing clean through his obstruction and landing swiftly on the snow. He slid briefly on the ice and his heart skipped a beat, for a half second remembering the fear of falling off the cliff.
His eyes narrowed fiercely as he dashed the fear away in an instant. No fear. He would not be allowed fear, not facing up against this mass of phantoms. No fear… Shouting loudly, swinging his sword high over his head, the hero jumped straight into the crowd of ghosts. Landing in the center, he looked over his shoulders as they began to gather around him… his sweaty palms readjusted their hold on his sword's hilt…
And, at just the right moment, he swung.
"HYAA!" Blue roared as he kicked off from the ground, slicing his sword powerfully through the air in a tight Spin Attack, ongoing and vicious as he dug his blade into each ghost around him, vanquishing the hoard of specters in his massive, annihilating attack.
The attack lasted only a few seconds, but when it was over, Blue stood, hunched over and panting, in the middle of a wide-open clearing, alone with his sword, his shield…
… and David.
The child had not changed in his relative appearance, still holding those wide, innocent blue eyes, and the matching blue scarf around his neck. But his very form… it was transparent and wispy like the others. Slowly, lowering his blade, Blue walked over to the boy, standing next to him and looking down, a bit sadly.
"Blue," David sighed as he looked away, "I… I'm sorry I tricked you…"
The hero cocked a small smile as he looked down at the child. Sheathing his sword, he instead laughed and said, "So, you're a ghost too, huh? Well, you sure fooled me." He looked around at the now-empty clearing where the ghosts had once been, and, sparking a thought, he looked back at the ghost boy.
"If you're a ghost… why didn't you let me fall?"
David looked up at Blue, and raised one of his ghostly hands to rub it across his nose, sniffing as if he were trying not to cry. Slowly, he got to his feet and looked up at Blue, a smile coming to his face. He may have been a ghost, Blue noted with a quiet sadness, but he was still just a child. How young had he been when he…?
"You're strong… I could sense it the moment I saw you. Stronger than most people…" David's gaze traveled for longingly to where the ghosts had attacked him. "They… they were after my treasure."
Blue raised an eyebrow. "Treasure?"
Looking up at his hero, the boy smiled before reaching in his pockets… and slowly pulled out what seemed to the other to be a simple child's toy.
"I think… I think you should have it," David said as a warm smile came upon his cold, ghostly form, holding out his hand which held his treasure. "You... even though you saw I was a ghost... you still protected me... "
Looking down at the object in the ghost's hand, Blue looked once more towards David- then picked up the object, looking at it strangely.
It was a roughly-crafted, though sturdy and strong, sling. The rope was thick and looked heavy, though was surprisingly light on his hand. The pouch was made of a rugged leather, though it was nearly as smooth as the ice upon which he stood. Truly, it looked magnificent… and the hero knew from tales that it had once been a powerful weapon in old times… but… it was just a child's toy, right?
Blue looked back at David, giving him a slight grin. "Uhm.. Thanks, but… you know, it's not really a treasure. It's just a toy."
David grinned and shook his head. "No… it's a very powerful weapon, promise. In the hands of those truly strong…" His face fell and he looked aside, out across the snowy tundra, as his voice became morose and quiet.
"My… my dad gave it to me, many... Many decades ago. He gave it to me, told me to keep it safe, to keep it from falling into the 'wrong hands'." He looked back at the sling and smiled, a more melancholy yet nostalgic voice coming to his voice. "All those ghosts… to protect me, my dad put a curse on the mountain. Those without a strong will, without strength of the mind and of the body… They would fall asleep on the mountain, never again to wake up. Those who chased after my treasure… they were the ghosts you beat."
Blue nodded, listening to the child's story. The poor boy… he wondered how long his spirit had been rooted to the mountains, his soul bound to protect what his father had entrusted him with. His gaze traveled once more to the sling in his hand. If it were really that special, then…
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
Wait… Wait a minute…
"Wait! What you said a second ago," Blue suddenly shouted at the boy, his eyes wide as he demanded a quick answer, "Those who fall asleep… You mean, anyone who falls asleep on this mountain turns into a ghost?" The boy blinked at him, confused- then slowly nodded.
Red… Vio, Green… They had been… YAWNING….!
Oh… Oh, CRAP!
"The others!" Blue gasped as he suddenly turned around to sprint away. "I… I gotta warn them!" And yet… he felt himself skidding to a stop. Hesitating, he looked back over his shoulder, his face becoming sad as he looked at the lone ghost child.
David smiled once more, his bright, innocent charm returning to his face. "Blue… thanks… now I can go... in peace..."
And Blue watched, in quiet sorrow, as the image of the child began to fade away into the light of the mountains, dispersing into the air around him, until once more, the young hero was alone on the cliff.
Looking down at his hand, the hero quietly observed the boy's last gift to him… turning back to where the ghost had left, he gave a curt nod, grinning as he muttered under his breath, "You're free now, kid… go… go rest. Leave the rest to me." Pocketing the child's treasure quickly, he turned around and continued his wild chase down the mountain, chest heaving and panting as his eyes narrowed in determination- he had to find the others, quick… before it was too late.
And as the hero left, the mountain-side was once more empty…
But it was not empty for long.
In the middle of the clearing, from beneath the snows, a dark shadow began to emit and collect on the arctic floor… and as it rose, gathering solidity and form, the mounds of shadows twisted and turned…
And slowly, it began to follow the fleeing Blue hero.
So, this is my first time writing a small, OC side-character. Please go easy on me! P:
Has Blue been gone too long? Will the others be sound asleep by the time he gets there?
Blue's plight continues in the next chapter, Chapter Fifteen: Resolute! Coming tomorrow!