Trust my luck! Finally get a WiiU and the bloody thing won't work. EIGHT HOURS! EIGHT HOURS I'VE BEEN TRYING! –slumps down in a corner- Murphy's law? Why? TT^TT
Ahem, anyways, picked up me Hyrule Historia and I'm suddenly really inspired, hence why I'm writing this and not the Christmas special. Thanks for all yer reviews. When I get my machine working, I'll start replying to reviews.
Chapter 13
Friends and Family
"You're a natural flyer." Gaia mentioned as said, as she preened her daughter's feathers, much to the young dragon's embarrassment.
"MA-AM!" Kay wailed as her mother began roughly preening the feathers of her head.
Link put his head on one side.
"I saw you flying in, I've only ever met one man who could fly as well as you." The puzzled frown gave way to curiosity on Link's face. "Your father."
Silver choked on her food.
"I'm sorry?" she rasped.
"He often used to visit us. Boreas was his good friend. They often used to fly around the city, doing errands for people, taking letters of great importance." At Silver's puzzled look, Gaia added. "Boreas was the brother of our current leader, Euros."
"Boreas…" Silver mused. "Hey, I remember reading about him in the library. The four brothers of the wind."
"You are well read." Gaia said, clamping her daughter down with one large claw. "Yes, they are the four greatest leaders the Sky has ever seen. Boreas of the North was the eldest, Notus of the South came next, Euros of the East, our current leader came third, and youngest was Zephyros of the West, Kay's Father."
Kay's wails fell silent and she looked up at her mother.
"Though he was youngest, he was much like Euros, a crimson plumage like the sky at sundown. He was also the smallest." Her tone had become wistful and sad.
Link looked down, feeling ashamed. He'd killed Boreas himself, though not out of choice, he still felt responsible. Silver, having regained her breath, put her head on his knee and looked up at Link with large puppy eyes.
It wasn't your fault.
Link smiled and patted her head.
Silence descended on the nest, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Oh Farore!" Silver suddenly said. "We should probably tell Shad we're alive."
Link stiffened. He'd forgotten completely about him.
"Thank you for having us." Silver said, inclining her head to Gaia, then to Kay. "And thanks for catching me."
"Welcome!" Kay chirped in reply. "Need a lift?"
"If you wouldn't mind." Silver said.
Link smiled as he put on his tunic and undershirt, opting against the zora armour this time. Kay extended her wing to allow them to climb up. Link scampered up and grabbed fistfuls of feathers. Silver squeezed in under Link's arms, eyes screwed shut.
"Just tell me when it's over?"
"How can you not like flying? I mean, seriously!" Kay muttered as she took a running jump out of the window.
"Until we next meet." Gaia called after them.
Kay lifted on the strong wind, spiralling up. They flew into a cloud, and moisture stung Link's face as Kay drew patterns with her wings. Lifting up and out, she suddenly tucked in her wings and dropped like a stone. Link lay low over her neck, howling with joy. Kay added her voice to his, her sharp shriek slicing the cold air. Silver's terrified screams joined them. Oocca huddled beneath Silver, wings clamped over her ears.
"Why is everybody screaming?" she shouted.
While the flying was fun, the landing was anything but. Kay decided to try a flat landing. She hit the ground and skidded along the cobbles. By the time she stopped, they were hanging off the edge of the island. Oocca fluttered up and shrieked into Kay's ear.
"YOU HARE-BRAINED MORON! PULL US UP THIS INSTANT!" Her voice was like chalk on a board.
Kay scrabbled at the ground, unable to flap her wings without falling. Her back legs scratched against the rock, searching for purchase. The mist curled around Link and flashed green. Kay suddenly lifted into the air and skidded face first back across the island. When Silver got back on dry land, she was looking as green as the hero's tunic. Link joined her, a grin on his face.
"Sorry…I miscalculated my dive…again."
"Idiot…" Oocca muttered darkly.
"SILVER! NYAN!" Something grey latched onto Silver's face.
"mmmr..mmhhm...mrmf…"
"What nyan?"
Link picked the small grey ball of fur off of Silver's face.
"Oh nyan, you couldn't breathe nyan. Sorry nyan. I was just so excited nyan!"
Silver noticed grey kitten in Link's hand.
"Long time no see!" the wolfos said.
Link put the kitten down and she latched onto Silver's leg.
"They all said you poofed nyan. But nyan cat didn't believe them…nyan."
"Link?"
Link turned to see Shad, waving as he half jogged, half walked over.
"We thought you'd died. When you left us, we were…"
Link smiled mischievously.
"The Oocca Link! The Oocca exist! Why did you not? The…the… Ooccaness!" Shad said after a while.
Link chuckled, patting Shad's shoulder.
"Ooccaness…" he muttered.
On the ground, Epona stood in Hyrule Field, on the cliff that over looked the chasm created by the last Great War. The sun was setting, washing the sky with crimson blood. Black clouds gathered on the horizon like vultures, waiting for their victim to fall. The wind suddenly picked up, as if it were fleeing. Then the air went dead.
"I thought you'd come Nubia." Epona said without turning round.
"You're senses are as sharp as a cat's as always." The lynx replied, appearing from the thick roiling darkness.
"Come to kill me?" Epona asked.
"Not to kill you, I realised my mistake last time." Nubia said. "I've seen how much you care for him. Like a mother."
"No, you were much better at that then I."
"No, instead I come with a preposition." Epona's ear swivelled to face her. "It has recently come to my attention, that a certain colleague of mine has proved rather…well to be frank…useless."
"You mean the Goriya?" Epona asked.
"Yes, he assured me he was the best for the job. The strongest. He'd have ruled Zant's army, if not for Bulblin. But as it stands, the Laviren refuses to join me, and the Goriya lies in pieces…literally speaking. I understand that you were only doing as the alphas demanded, that you had no choice. For that, I can try to forgive and forget."
"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
"Join me Epona. Allow the darkness into you. It really isn't that painful, and it brings such freedom."
Epona turned to face the lynx, eyes ablaze and ears flat.
"I would never betray them! Never! You destroyed them all Nubia! It wasn't just adults that were killed. Children died Nubia! How could you?"
"Children? That was all I ever cared about. And how did they repay me. It was those precious children that killed me!" Nubia snarled.
"So you murdered our entire race out of vengeance." Epona half reared, her halter chains rattling.
"The greys were corrupted. Even their children were evil. I felt it was my duty to put an end to it."
"That's a lie and you know it!"
"Oh get a grip Epona. It was your precious little charge that got you cursed. You'll never use magic and sing or make trinkets ever again because of one stupid little boy."
"I'd rather live a cursed life than see an innocent child killed!"
"And what to me? What to me?"
The lynx's form shifted into that of a kokiri, her human form. Her short hair was like a cloud of darkest pitch. Her clothes were stained black, her skin ashen grey. In her hand she clutched a necklace, the same Epona had made her all those years ago.
"Even after all these years, I cared. You were decent! You were loyal! I can't bear to see you wasted on such a pathetic, traitorous serpent!"
"You tried to kill me! Twice!" Epona retorted, rearing threateningly.
"I never realised. I saw you, running across half of hyrule, fighting those giants. Your loyalty is wasted on that chu."
Epona stepped forward, nostrils flared, her hooves stamping.
"You are evil Nubia. From the moment you accepted that darkness. My friend died a long time ago. You're nothing but a warped shadow."
Nubia's face contorted into sneer, and returned to her lynx form.
"Fine, continue to protect him. But let me remind you, you're harbouring a murderer."
Epona reached breaking point. She brayed and reared, hooves tearing through the darkness.
"YOU'RE A LIAR! HE NEVER CHOSE THIS!"
"I'm sorry Epona. When we next meet, I will have to kill you."
Looking at her, the mare could almost see her friend, in her dark eyes, a small glint of gold, like a lone autumn leaf in the night. Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
"Drop dead!" Epona snorted.
"Already have."
When the darkness was gone…Epona was left standing on the edge of cliff, her coat turned blood-red by the failing light, panting. Never…
Up in the City, Link was seated on the edge of a balcony, legs dangling over the long drop to the ground. He leant against the marble fence post. In his hands was the Master Sword.
"Kay told me, I'd find you up here." Silver said, sitting down behind him.
The wolfos leant against Link's shoulder, trying to ignore the empty sky.
"What's up?"
Link smirked and Silver nipped his arm.
"Don't remind me…" Silver muttered, screwing her eyes shut.
Link chuckled and fondled her ear. He returned his gaze to the sword. The hilt was slowly darkening. Now it was charcoal grey. With his free hand, he touched the wings of the hilt which were coming closing. He hadn't noticed it at first, and since then he hadn't really had much time to think about it.
"Still no word of Fi?"
Link shook his head. He was beginning to seriously worry about the spirit. It had been over a month since he'd last seen her. He'd tried contacting the light spirit, but it seemed the connection went only one way.
"So there isn't anything we can do?"
Link pondered, ideas sparked to life in his brain before slowly dying away like sparks leadping from a roaring fire.
Silver watched Link think. She felt so helpless. This wasn't something she could scare into submission. It wasn't even something she could fully understand. Unwittingly, her thoughts began to wonder. She thought of Link's mist, which now curled around the blade in thin tendrils, as if imploring the spirit to come forth. A memory, from the volcano, floated into view; ofwhen Link had nearly been crushed by the remains of a rock wyvern. She'd remembered the mist surrounding her, reflecting his mind onto the outside. What if…
"Link…do you think the mist would reflect Fi's mind. The way it did yours."
Link looked at her, head tilted to one side.
"I mean, the master sword has been answering your call since the first Link. Surely it could work."
Link thought about this for a moment, turning the sword over in his hand. After a while he nodded.
"Oh yeah…you'd need somewhere safe. I forgot about that."
Link turned his gaze to Kay.
"She might know…well, there's no harm in asking."
Silver put her muzzle to the sky and howled. The young dragon turned her head and with leapt from her perch, gliding over to face plant the ground. Getting up, she shook her feathers.
"Kay, do you know of anywhere completely safe and isolated?"
The dragon's head tilted to one side in confusion but she nonetheless nodded.
"I know loads of places like that."
"We need one that's almost completely impenetrable."
"I guess you'd probably be wanting the Procellum Vault then. But I don't understand, why?"
"For something extremely dangerous and reckless that should never be repeated by anyone in the history of the world."
Kay chirruped happily.
"You can count on me."
Moments later found them soaring through the sky, riding the buffeting winds blowing from Snow Peak.
"Mind yourselves." Kay warned. "This might get a bit bumpy."
Tucking in her winds, she dropped into a steep dive. They whistled between two pillars of floating rock and slalomed between the jagged teeth of broken islands.
Silver huddled beneath Link's arms, whimpering as the air clawed at her fur and froze her paws.
Kay's whoops and shrieks echoed through the empty sky. Link's howls of elation joined her. They banked, looped the loop and swerved, narrowly avoiding a splattering death on the rocks. The dragon's long tail fluttered behind them like the ribbon on a kite. Her long feathers were frosted with ice. Link sighted along her neck, her head moving to and fro as she turned and dove with incredible accuracy.
It seemed all too soon when Kay fanned open her wings and spiralled down to land in a heap on the roof of a huge domed building. A rumble of thunder shook the stone beneath Link's feet as he extracted himself from the mound of feathers. The sky was the colour of dark grey stone. It roiled and boiled with a fathomless fury. Sheet lightning forked along the sky, turning the world bright purple and white. Torrential rain pummeled Link's head and shoulders, almost forcing him to his knees.
"This is what makes this place so unreachable." Kay said, getting to her feet. "You have to be a damn good flyer to dodge all that lightning. And if you can avoid the lightning, the rain makes it damn near impossible to see."
"You must be really good then." Silver muttered, half sarcastically as she tried to shelter next to Link.
"I may be crap at landing, but nobody ever said I couldn't fly."
Link smiled and patted the dragon's beak in thanks.
"I'll stay here and keep watch. If what you're about to do is as dangerous as it sounds, I want to make sure I'm nearby to help if I can, or at least stop anyone barging in."
Link smiled his thanks.
"See you around!" With that, she leapt into the sky. "Don't die!" she called as a way of good bye.
A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, revealing the dragon as she circled the vault, true to her word.
"Over here." Silver called.
She was stood next to a very small trapdoor. A symbol of the tiforce was glowing faintly on the stone.
Link came and kneeled beside her. Silver put her paw to the stone. The top triangle lit up but nothing more happened.
"Uh…Link?" Silver asked.
This island was known as the Procellum Vault. If it were a Vault, than that would suggest valuable and possibly dangerous items were held inside. So whomever owned the vault would only want trustworthy people to open it. But if it would open to any who held the triforce, then Ganondorf could've just waltzed up and pilfered the lot. So, it would make sense to make the lock so only somebody who did not want the contents for their own gain. For that, they would have to work alongside their equal and therefore not feel threatened. It suddenly clicked in Link's brain. Link put his own hand on the stone next to Silver's. The bottom right triangle lit up. The stone moaned and slid aside to reveal a passageway.
"That's using your noodle." Silver said.
Link bowed theatrically.
As soon as they entered the passageway, the stone slid shut behind them, the triangle fading to a dull glow.
"Though goes our ticket out…" Silver muttered despondently.
Link assumed his wolf form, relying on his senses to guide him.
"Why is it, we always end up in some dungeon or other?" Silver said as she hit her head on the low ceiling.
The wolf shrugged, crawling forward on his tummy.
"I just hope this tunnel doesn't get any smaller or you'll get stuck."
Link flattened his ears at her.
"What, it's not my fault you like mince pies!"
Link growled and looked away.
"Christmas is no excuse." Silver chided.
The wolf growled and crawled further.
Luckily for both of them, the tunnel ended abruptly, dumping Link headfirst into a pool of stagnant water. The wolf sat up, sneezing water. He growled, his fur was sodden and heavy and the pool smelt funny. Shaking water from his coat he went to climb out when something crushed him back down to the ground.
"Thanks for catching me!" Silver said, jumping off and onto the stone floor, with barely any water in her fur.
Link growled and stood up again, shaking himself. He flicked water from his ears and sneezed up foul smelling water. He climbed out. He felt as if a second Link were riding on his back.
"You look awful." Silver said, Link growled at her.
He growled and brushed past. They were in a large cavern of some sort. In the centre was a triforce symbol. Link could see several deactivated traps. He and Silver padded into the middle. The water was part of a shallow moat, with a false bottom. When activated, any currents detected in the water casued the bottom to collapse away to reveal a tank of water beneath filled with sharp stakes. Spikes would also appear from the sides of the moat, making it impossible to climb out. Axes hung from the roof which would swing down to cleave any unfortunate passer-by in two. Bows operated by levers were hidden inside pillars. There were false floors, trap doors, pillars and crystals that could focus a beam of light into a laser. The best part, was that there was no way to deactivate said traps except from the middle where Link and Silver were. The same concept as the entrance applied to the triforce in the centre. Link and Silver stood on their respective triangles and a low hum rumbled through the cavern. Wheel began to turn, traps were armed, fires were lit. It was quite the fortress.
"We should remember this place." Silver said.
Link nodded. If they were defeated, this cavern may well become the home for the population of Hyrule. The cavern was vast, and from what he could sense, this was one of many. He or Silver would pass their triforce piece to Zelda and have her activate the traps. It made for grim thinking, and Link pushed it out of his mind. He needed to focus.
He and Silver met in the centre triangle. As they did, pillars of light stretched up from the three triangles, creating an impenetrable golden crystal wall.
Link whistled in admiration, they hadn't missed anything.
Now in hylian form, he placed the sword in the centre. The mist curled around him, swirling faster and faster until it was a spinning ball. Link had never attempted this before, the only time it had happened he hadn't even been in control. He'd have probably stayed like that for all time if Silver hadn't woken him. To attempt it will conscious, seemed nigh on impossible.
"Concentrate." Silver said.
Link did, and the mist began to glow with every colour of the triforce. It finally settled on purple and blue, the colours of the master sword. Shapes began to appear in the mist as the vault faded away.
"Link!" Silver called as the mist began to swirl faster and faster.
The hylian reached out to her, then a wall materialised between them.
"Link! Link!" Silver howled, something had gone terribly terribly wrong.
Dun dun duuuuuun! What has happened? The horror! Anyways, Christmas Special is up is my terrible parody. I am really tempted to illustrate it. Anyways, that aside, thanks for reviewing guys. You have no idea how happy they made me. Your Christmas present, I revealed two thirds of my pairings! (I can't believe I got talked me into doing this) Anyways, I'm really inspired to write more, so expect more. If I can finish writing it. Note: Theatres and Hyrule Historia and Music are amazing inspirers!