Hi all, Joe Elf here with chapter 7.
PLOT TWIST!
That is all.
Many thanks to Dire Heart, LoZfanbman, alfred pierce, ajones yoshi(CHALLENGE COMPLETE!) and LightResurrection for your reviews as well as to those who are now following the story. Thank you all for the input last chapter, I'll be working on the ending soon, unfortunately. Only a few more chapters to go! (T_T) Have fun!
Chapter 7: Your Insolence will not be tolerated
"So, they plan on using the Triforce of power to tip the balance in their favor, hmm? Perhaps give it to Link as well? That would barely be a hindrance once I get to him."
"Of course, Master. You are the most powerful after all..."
"Very well, let them proceed with their plan. I will punish them accordingly for thinking they could get away with such criminal acts."
"As you wish, my Master."
"Come with me. We will hide out at the scene of the crime. When they arrive, we will be ready."
Roy slept in the royal chambers. He would train with the best soon and he needed to be rested. Suddenly, a voice sounded from next to his bed. "GET UP YOU LAZY PUNK! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SUFFER!"
Blinking groggily, the King sat up. The fourth god stood by him, eyes glinting menacingly. "W-what time is it?" he asked, scrambling to his feet.
His Master put his sword to his throat. "It's already four o'clock, slacker. If you're not in the courtyard in three minutes, this whole "training" thing is over."
"Y-yes sir!"
Three minutes later, Roy was scrambling to the side of his trainer. "I'm here, sir!" he panted. Unimpressed, Fourth sneered at him.
"And about time, too. I'm starting to doubt your conviction, foolish mortal."
"Never!" he growled. "He will die."
"We shall see. Sprint one hundred laps around the castle. I will return before you finish. If I don't, keep running until I'm back."
The king gulped. "Is... is that even..."
"You're saying something?" asked the god dangerously.
"No, not at all!" he answered, then started running. Fourth watched him go, amused though he didn't show it.
"Does jealousy really do that much? Somehow, I don't think so..." He stretched. "Ah well... Guess it's on to the next pair." His body vanished into thin air.
If he had been paying a bit more attention to his surroundings, he might have noticed that Roy's eyes had a subtle red hue to them.
Midna shuffled a little closer to the big, hairy, warm wolf that acted as her pillow. It might have been a bad idea to warp directly to Snowpeak after talking to Fourth, since it was a tad bit cold and they had no idea when he would meet them like he said he would. On the other hand, if he had showed up before they arrived they would have been in big trouble.
"Link is lucky," she thought, "He has a ton of fur. I'm used to living in the Twilight realm. Not exactly a winter resort..."
Suddenly, as though some evil spirit has sensed her thoughts, her fluffy pillow began contorting, letting out barks of surprise. Suddenly shivering in the icy-cold air, Link returned to his hylian form. "What?" he exclaimed groggily, for he had been having a nice sleep.
"That's cheating. You make it too easy," came a familiar voice from the surrounding darkness.
Link's eyes snapped open. "Ah, Master. You've arrived."
"Yes. I'm here to give you your first test."
"We're ready. Hit us with your best shot," stated the Twilight Princess with conviction.
"Then shut up."
"Come again?" asked Link, surprised.
"You say your goal is to understand Kyo so that you might, if possible, find a way to bring him back, no?"
"Yes, that's exactly it," nodded the Hero.
"Then you must first learn to feel other people's thoughts, emotions and desires. To do so, you will both stay up here for two days without speaking, without gesturing and without communicating via magic," explained Fourth. The wed couple stayed still for a moment.
"Though it seems a daunting task, I think we both understand the importance of it," began Link, "I would like to know, however, how transforming into a wolf has anything to do with communication?"
"Even though Kyo isn't a wolf, we would be getting the same experience to sense what is inside a living being's heart..." said Midna, trailing off. She was starting to get cold again and wanted her fur blanket back.
"Quite true, quite true. But, the point is not so much in the fact that his physical body is that of a wolf when he transforms. It's more that the exercise is more effective when uncomfortable, as it is more difficult to concentrate. When you finally confront Kyo, he may well be attacking you. A bit different from being warm and cozy, don't you think?"
"Wait, you mean to say..." stuttered Link.
"And to make sure you don't cheat, I'll be taking this little beauty with me," he said, revealing the shadow crystal in his hand. "The exercise starts... now! Have fun." He winked and vanished.
Midna looked at her husband. It was going to be acold two days...
Just chilling out in the grass of Hyrule Field, Fourth watched the sun begin to rise. "Well, I guess I'll just stay here 'till lunch then, he mumbled to himself. Meanwhile, in the sacred realm, all hell was about to break loose.
"It is in her abode, correct?" asked Nayru nervously.
"Of course. She left it there when her minion, what was his name again... Ganondorf, that's it, departed the world of the living by the hand of my chosen wielder," answered her partner-in-crime.
"Are you still sure you want to do this now?"
"Of course."
"I think it would be wiser to stick with out original plan of waiting for "Master"," she said the word with utter contempt, "To leave on a "business trip" to reduce the odds of him finding out..."
"We don't have the time for that. He needs to be stopped as fast as possible. Your Hero is, by simple fact, not able to defeat the enemy. Neither of them, at this rate. Mine on the other hand, has all the guts and will soon have all the power necessary to strike him down. One cannot fear a tyrant, for they thrive on that fear, they rule by it."
Nayru nodded. "True words indeed... Very well, let us proceed."
Slowly, carefully, they advanced towards their goal: the shining red triangle that existed at the center of its surroundings. Farore made the first move, reaching out to touch it. Once she did, it was a simple matter of contacting the soul she wished to transfer its essence too. That was the plan that they had elaborated. The Hero of Time, as he was known, would then receive the third piece of the Triforce and with it, would have the ability to destroy both their enemies.
Before she had the chance to do so, however, a strong power bowled her and her partner over, smashing them full-force and sending them flying away from the item they sought.
"Well, well... What do we have here?" chortled a cold, sinister voice. Nayru and Farore struggled to regain their composure as their Master approached them. "Just what explanation are you going to give me, I wonder, for this untimely expedition?" He had them cornered; they couldn't escape. "Even if you empowered Link to over 9000 times stronger than he currently is, he is nothing next to the power of the fourth Triforce. I've said it before and I'll say it again: know. Your. Place."
"We will never truly be your slaves, miserable fool! You can do nothing in this place. You who have lived only in the Light realm can never understand the energy at the base of here's existence. You control nothing! Din, you have humored him long enough, don't you think? Let us end this once and for all," yelled the goddess of courage.
Din, who had up until this point remained at Kyo's side, gave a start as she was mentioned. Looking down, embarrassed, she retreated a few steps.
"Traitor..." growled Nayru. Kyo laughed loudly, a snide, dark laugh straight from the depths of hell.
"It's true, I can not make you feel physical pain, humiliation, trauma that I could in the Light realm. Since it seems you really want to endure such sentiments, how about we move?"
"M-move?" asked the goddess of wisdom, sounding slightly nervous.
"Yes, I know just the cave to settle down in. A place I molded with my own hands. It should fit nicely and provide you with plenty of cleaning to do."
"What are you planning!?" yelled Farore. The man laughed again.
"See you in the real world, slave," he smirked, then unleashed enormous magic power on the four of them.
"YOU SAID 6:00 AM! IT'S ALMOST LUNCH TIME!" yelled a frantic Romal upon his Master's entry into his own domain.
"I know."
Kitsune glared angrily at him. "We were worried something important had happened. How could a god forget an appointment?"
"You shut up and get back inside. I'm training him, not you, scum," sneered Fourth in what was possibly the most snide voice he had ever used. The twins took a few steps back, biting their lips, then turned tail and ran back inside, hiding their faces. The student watched them go, worried.
"Were they... crying?" he wondered to himself as his Master sat down on the front steps.
"So, why do you think I made you all worry like that? She's right, after all, I wouldn't forget something like that."
"So there is a reason?"
"Certainly. I am always training you, even if I'm not around. Now, following my train of thought, why do you suppose I didn't show up?"
Romal opened his mouth to ask how he was suppose to know, but stopped. The point was that he be able to think like his Master, so he couldn't rely on getting the answers every single time. He considered for a moment before he answered. "I assume something else came up, whether it concerned me or not, and knew that the other thing was more pressing. You wanted to show that one must prioritize."
Fourth raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. You are partially correct. It's true that being able to prioritize what needs to be done is necessary. When in war, for example, one must needs know whether to concentrate on offensive maneuvers, disrupting trade, raiding key villages, etc... What would you say, however, if I told you I spent the morning laying in Hyrule Field?"
Romal's eyes widened in surprise. "I... don't know..." he admitted.
"The lesson to learn is that you can't expect your plans to be upheld. When you cross blades with my old apprentice, if you expect him to block low and he attacks from the left, you're finished."
"The same way I expected you to show up and you didn't. If it had been a battle situation, I would be dead," the student finished.
"Excellent, you're already getting better at this. Now then, for your training today... I will answer one of your questions."
"My questions?"
"Back when I asked you to be my apprentice, you asked me three questions: what my plan was, how Kyo survived and how he managed to overpower the goddesses, remember?"
"Ah! That's right!" remembered Romal, startled, "Does this mean you'll finally explain something?"
"That's the idea."
"Without making a loud, annoying screech?"
"Precisely."
"And then we train?"
Fourth chuckled. "What I'm about to tell you is your training. It is the basis of mine and Kyo's powers, for we have the same." He got up and walked a few meters away. "I have never, ever physically trained in my entire existence-"
"As a god, you wouldn't need to, though, no?" questioned the heir.
"Nor the equivalent in the dimension of the Sacred realm." That was a bit different... "This is because we both Kyo and I draw our power from the same place. Can you guess where?"
The apprentice knew, of course, the answer. "The source of power from the fourth piece of the Triforce, balance."
The god did not answer immediately. He turned around and looked up at the trees swaying in the wind. "Tell me, young one," he said finally, "What is "power" to you?"
"Strength?" he shrugged, "The will to train?" Romal saw the back of his teacher's head incline.
"You're only half right. Power, it is true, comes from will. But will and strength are channels to power."
"I don't understand..." said the other, struggling to do so.
"Power does not come from training your body, that is just a mean of releasing your power in a limited capacity. The same goes for will: the will to fight is another outlight for what could be called your inner strength."
"And what is inner strength?"
"You."
"...I still don't get it."
Fourth faced him. "You're inner strength comes form you. Everything you know makes you who you are: powerful. From learning a secret sword technique to knowing which glass to use for which drink at a classy party, from writing a love letter to getting rejected, it all makes you grow, develop, become powerful. The wider the range of things you've experienced, the more situations you will be able to overcome. The stronger your conviction will be, the better you will fight."
"You mean that by simply living an everyday life anyone can be as powerful as you?"
"Indeed," he chuckled, "Not much to it, is there. But it does not suffice to simply live, obviously, but to believe, no, to know that which I have just told you."
"... I..." mumbled Romal, brow furrowed. "That's... pretty abstract... What you're saying that I have to accept the fact that what you just told me is true?"
"You must not only believe me, but know it is true, know it as surely as you know that this very land exists," explained Fourth, gesturing around him. "So here is what you're going to do: today, you will help out around the mansion. I have arranged for there to be some minor blemishes that need repair, so you will help your two idiot sisters out and clean this dump up. When the day is done, sleep. When you awaken, I will be there and we will fight, and you will be strong."
"Because I have to. I need to help everyone."
"NO! You will be strong because you will. Because you are strong. Did we not just say you had to know that what I said was true? If so, then you know perfectly well you have as much power as do I or Kyo. It is essential you understand this."
The heir closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands. For some time, neither spoke. Finally, he looked up. "I... will try. But I still have one question..."
"Ask away."
"If what you said is true-"
"If?"
"Since. Since what you said is true... I'm only 17 years old. Kyo has centuries behind him. He's had so much more time to live an everyday life, acquire new talents, experiences, memories... Doesn't that make him still immensely more powerful than me?"
It was Fourth's turn to stay quiet now. Then do something most un-godly: he plopped himself down on the grass and looked at the ground, averting his eyes. Romal hesitated. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, but was his Master actually wistful? He opened his mouth, "Um..." but quickly shut it again. He would wait until he was spoken to. And wait he did.
"I never told him," he said suddenly. The apprentice froze.
"Huh?"
"When I trained Kyo, I wished for him to discover it on his own. I wanted to avoid pampering him, not making him have to think, so I told him a lie..."
"A... lie?"
"I told him that he had the fourth piece to the Triforce, the one that bonded the rest together. He took the bait. How did he survive? Because he knew he survived, he refused the fact that he would die despite whatever I had told him about that emergency power. He himself does not understand, at the moment, for he does not know that there is, in fact, no such thing as the fourth Triforce."
Romal gasped. Was he hearing right? "Did you say no such..." he trailed off, seeing the look of deadly seriousness on the others face.
"And now it would appear he made the same mistake I did when I first began exploring my power..."
The apprentice was getting more and more confused. "There was no fourth Triforce? A mistake?"
Slowly getting up, the deity began walking off into the forest. "Return the house to it's pristine condition then get some rest; tomorrow you and I will do battle."
Within the mansion, the twins were debating a matter of just as great importance. "Why is he such a jerk?" murmured Kits.
"Yeah," agreed Ami, "It started just after we warped from the medical ward to here... What could we have done in such a short time to make him hate us so much?"
"Hm..." nodded her sister, "Well either way, we have to get on his good side. We can't let Romal get all the attention. So how shall we go about obtaining his favor?"
Okami gave a wolfish grin. Kitsune started smiling as well. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.
"The way we always do, of course!" snickered the other.
A small, blue-haired girl vomited blood as his knee once again plunged into her stomach. He yanked her towards him by the collar, her feet dangling in the air.
"Oh, it hurts, doesn't it?" he laughed as she retched even more blood, powerless before her Master. "Try talking your way out of this one, you little bitch!" he yelled, then threw her with all his force, her head crashing into the wall. As though life-less, she slumped down on top of her already unconscious, green-haired sibling. The Master laughed.
"Well, now that that minor inconvenience has been dealt with, I'll be off to conquer the first of two worlds. But first..." He approached his two beaten, bleeding prisoners, restraints in hand. "I wouldn't want these two lovely young maidens trying to avoid my gracious hospitality now would I?" He locked their hand and feet together, then to a peg in the wall.
"In this world, they no longer posses the power of the gods as I do. I am the only one with a Triforce here, therefore I am the most powerful! Remember that, my sweet, and watch over them for me, won't you?" he asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, tracing his third slave's cheek with his finger. Gulping back tears, she nodded.
"Excellent. The when you next see me, I shall be ruler of the Twilight. Oh and I disabled the trials, so you shouldn't be bothered by images of my imminent victory, cascades of deadly spikes or evil doppelgangers."
The woman shuddered. The man leered.
"See you soon, oh great goddess of power..."
And he vanished.
SO MANY MYSTERIES AND SO LITTLE TIME! Will Fourth ever make sense?
No, absolutely not. What are you thinking!?