𝕰𝖈𝖙𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖍𝖆𝖚𝖓𝖙 2021_Day 21 [Treat]
~Elements from "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess"~
Category: Humor, Almost Identity Reveal, Mystery, Cursed Relic that needs a Host.
𝕯𝖆𝖞 𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞 𝖔𝖓𝖊: 𝕳𝖔𝖘𝖙 ⅋𝕽𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖈
Midna was minding her own business when the front window of the antiquary she was manning during her apprenticeship crashed inwards, due to the 120 pounds (wet) of ghost boy thrown inside.
While the responsible was cackling and monologuing outside, Phantom had enough spirit to grab his Thermos, uncap it and capture the imbecile.
As soon as the threat was secured, the Hero of Amity reached the counter to ask her if she was alright. After receiving an affirmative reply, he was about to ask her for a broom and a scoop to at least sweep off the glass shards, when he noticed the item Midna had been restoring.
He asked her what it was, because it was giving off "Infinity Realm" vibes or something. As she was answering that she had no clue since she had just started, Phantom reached out to touch the relic.
Once he made contact, a blinding white flash lit the shop ad a "thud" sounded on Phantom's side of the table. When Midna managed to blink away the black spots, she noticed immediately that there was something amiss, beside the lack of a white haired teenager, since she couldn't see him anymore. Had the metallic Lantern she had been restoring launched him outside the shop and that had been the cause of the noise, or was there something else?
Midna peered over the table and did a double-take: there was a black haired teenager on her floor! What…!
Quickly, she circled the table to check the pulse of the boy and she found it, even if a bit slow. Breathing in relief, the woman searched for Phantom… only to notice that the lantern was lit with an otherworldly white-bluish flame that was trembling as if being blown by a strong breeze.
Alarmed, Midna (carelessly and impulsively) picked up the artifact, only to be engulfed by a vortex that tossed her around, but without letting her fall. As the wind died out, the restorer shrieked at the appearance of her clothes: she now had a mid-tight-long green tunic over pants of the same shade, leather brown boots, a conical shaped beret, which point rested on her back, and a little black cape with silver linings over her shoulders. She turned to see it better on one of the antique mirrors and, lo and behold, it sported the "DP" symbol with the same silver thread.
‒ What in the flying fu-…! ‒ She gaped incredulous. Yes, this was Amity Park, but this was ridiculous!
«Well, that was more or less the same thing I thought.» Phantom's voice echoed (more than usual) in her head, making the woman whirl around to search for him.
‒ Phantom! Where are you?! ‒ She growled a the unexpected surprise.
«Hey, no need to get snappy! I should be the snappy one, since I'm trapped inside the Lantern!» The teen retorted indignantly.
‒ But how?! ‒ She demanded.
«Your guess is as good as mine! I only touched it to get a better reading for a second, but it must have sucked my core out.»
‒ Out… of the boy? ‒ She eyed the KOed raven haired teenager on the floor.
«Boy? …Are you saying that there's a body on your end?!» Phantom practically shrieked.
‒ Well, yes. Black hair and lame clothes. He's still alive, if you were wondering. …Were you possessing him? ‒ Midna accused.
«No! Yes! …It's complicated. But he won't wake up until I get out of here. Do you have any instructions coming with this thing?!» He fretted.
‒ Maybe, let me check. This cursed thing changed my clothes as soon as I picked the Lantern up, by the way. ‒ She grumbled, putting down the relic and began looking for its wooden box.
«It changed your clothes?» The flame trembled to the side, as if he had tilted his head.
‒ Do you mean that you can't see anything from there? ‒ Midna blinked at the spirit, who seemed to shrug.
«Well, not really. I can only feel the energies around. Yours is stronger that the average civilians, though, I don't know if it's due to the Lantern or if it's a "you" thing. Anyway! We can discuss this later, did you find anything?» Few times she had heard him this distressed in the news reports, but given the situation it was understandable.
‒ Yes, yes, I have some documents, be quiet and let me read them. ‒ The restorer carefully handled a fragile-looking handbook and opened it, trying to decipher the writer's calligraphy. A while later, she spoke up. ‒ Okay, so this is an artifact capable of capturing a "Poe soul"¹* or whatever, allowing the holder to wield its powers until "the Task" is completed.
«Which task?» Was there dread in his voice?
‒ Collect the globular orbs in the surrounding "complicate area"²* …and the spirit within the Lantern should be able to sense them! The energies you said you feel could be because of this! ‒ Midna exclaimed in realization.
«Maybe. Does it say how many we need?»
‒ No, just that we have until dawn before "the soul inside the Lantern is trapped permanently" and that I'll "be bound forever to both of them". ‒ Midna looked up to the outside of the shop. ‒ The sun has just set, so we need to get moving. But how can I leave the shop with the window shattered?! My boss will skin me alive, borrowed powers or not!
«You have my powers now, so I have an idea. Pick whatever you need now, then get out the shop, I'll teach you.» Phantom seemed a little more calm, but still urgent. The both of them wanted to get out this situation as soon as possible after all.
‒ Okay. ‒ She picked up her phone and pocketed it into the bag she found under the cape (right above her bottom), along with a bottle of water, her thermos of coffee (she would need it) and a packaged sandwich. Under Phantom's prompt she also picked up the "Fenton Thermos" beside the boy's body, which she moved to an armchair because the floor was still full of glass. She hanged the item to her belt and exited from the shop.
Following Phantom's instructions, Midna managed to build a wall of ice before the Antiquary, blocking the entire passage. The Hero assured her that it would resist all night since it was ghost ice, so they departed on the hunt for these "globular orbs".
After following a trail, they understood immediately what they had been tasked to retrieve: bluish Will-O-Wisps. The first was just outside the park, so Midna rushed to catch it, succeeding without effort, since it didn't move from where it was hovering. She fed it to the Lantern, making one of the crystals embed on the topside light up.
The more they found them, the more crystals shined, allowing them to think that this would be easy… However, they soon discovered that it all had evolved into a treasure hunt with each "hint" hidden in the most inaccessible places that only thanks to Phantom's powers she could reach.
And let's not talk about when a couple of Phantom's enemies showed up and she had to fight them off with a beautifully adorned ice sword³* that had materialized out of nowhere (later the ghost teen would have told her about how, given how many Wisps they had collected, he had had enough strength to summon it for her).
Anyway, now the "normal" ghosts were inside the Fenton Thermos and according to Phantom's energy readings there weren't many Wisps left.
After capturing the last one in the cemetery, Midna took a pause to snack on her sandwich and take a swing at her coffee. She really wished that there weren't many left…
A "Uh uh" shook her from her musing (had she really wished for something in Amity Park even if it was in the privacy of her mind!?), making dread immediately pool inside her stomach.
‒ What? ‒ She immediately demanded.
«Well, there's a good news and a bad news. Good news: there's only one Wisp left. Bad news: you won't like where it is.» The flame shifted uneasily.
‒ At the bottom of the park lake? ‒ She had intangibility for that, but that couldn't be the issue.
«Wouldn't that have been better? Unfortunately no, the Fentons have it.» Phantom sighed, flame dulling down. «They'll either try to experiment on it or store it away.»
‒ Can't we just go to them and ask for it? For our safety they'll certainly hear us out! ‒ She proposed.
«Midna. Do you really think that after seeing you clad like a medieval knight with my logo on your cape, they'll be open to speak with you?» He deadpanned.
‒ …Right. Any ideas then? ‒ She sassed back.
«One: we'll try to sneak in. I have "the keys" for the place. We just need to make them get out of the house.» He hummed.
‒ Anonymous call warning them of a ghost attack on the other side of the town? ‒ She suggested.
«It could work. Maybe where we really caught one of the ghost in the Thermos, so there should still be some residual signature of them around. They'll stay out a bit to search for them.» Phantom added.
Plan shaped, they moved to one of the side alleys to watch over the Fentonworks and Midna made the blocked-number call. Not even a minute later, the Fenton RV roared to life and sped away with both hunters riding on it.
The duo waited until they were out of sight (and hearing), then Phantom made them sneak in right through the front door (they went intangible and invisible, mind you, but still! It was the house of ghost hunters!).
When no alarm blared, Midna kept following the teen's instruction and walked down the basement directly into a laboratory worth of a mad scientist.
‒ How come you're so familiar with the things here, since they hate you? ‒ She ought to ask, maintaining invisibility, as she heeded to the trapped Wisp in a glass box.
«You remember the kid on your armchair? He's their son. He sometimes helps me fight ghosts, giving me a boost and a tour in this lab. This is why I was so preoccupied that he was left behind in coma. He's my friend.» Phantom explained, as Midna unlocked the case and let the Lantern absorb the Wisp.
‒ Well, now we're good. This really was the last, right? ‒ The restorer closed the glass case and speed-walked away, almost sprinting upstairs, eager to get back to be an antiquary apprentice. This night had been fun, sure, but she was exhausted.
«Yep. Now we need to get back to Danny, so I give him back his soul. And I'll totally buy this Lantern with my funds, so no one will be able to use it against me. » He stated resolute, as she phased out the front door.
‒ I still have to finish restoring it! ‒ Midna protested, as the ice mare that had started manifesting to let them move around more quickly around the thirtieth Wisp appeared. She mounted on and directed it to the antiquary, dropping the invisibility as they started galloping.
In record time, they found themselves before the ice wall that protected the shop, the ice mare dispersed and after Phantom's coaching, Midna was able to dispel the protection as well.
The instructions didn't specify how to free the trapped spirit, so they winged it by making the boy's body grab the Lantern.
The flame immediately snuffed out, pulling them in total darkness.
‒ Phantom? ‒ Midna asked, scrambling to pick up her phone to light up the surroundings, but there was no need as two toxic green eyes lit in the darkness.
The two stared at one another, then the ghost boy powered up an Ecto-blast, allowing them to see the interior of the shop.
The human boy was nowhere to be found and Phantom's body was steadily regaining his whitish glow, while Midna's clothes were back to normal.
The two deflated in relief, plopping down in the two antique armchairs. After few minute to relax in the aftermath, Phantom got up and with telekinesis (because he had remembered that power only because they had needed it to retrieve a Wisp) he picked up the glass shards, dumping them into a waste basket. He then reached the empty window-case and crated a panel of ghost ice to replace the glass.
‒ Won't it melt? ‒ Midna observed the teenager's work while still sprawled on the armchair.
‒ Not this one. With my degree of control I can make it never-melting and super-resistant. Only powerful Ecto-blasts can make a dent on this window now. ‒ He tapped on the ice, making it vibrate.
‒ Well, at least I won't have to explain to the boss the damage. Now, what about the Lantern? ‒ She eyed the relic on the desk.
‒ Since you could handle it without problem before I got trapped, you should put it inside its box along with the journal and I'll bring it to a secure location. I can bring my fund's checkbook tomorrow? ‒ He proposed. ‒ Besides, I have to drop Danny home and I'm sure you need to sleep. ‒ He looked at her worriedly.
‒ Yeah, sleep sounds ideal. Let's go with that. ‒ Midna rose and she made quick work of the Lantern, boxing it and shipping it off with Phantom, who promised to come back as soon as he could the following day.
After closing the shop damper, the woman already lamented the lack of her icy mare "Epona", as she had nicknamed her, and walked home, where her Goth-esthetic apartment would allow her to go back being a "twilight princess" rather than a Hero.
It had been fun to have the role reversed for a night, though.
¹* Poe are violent spirits of the LoZ world. In Twilight Princess you had to collect them to help a golden statue break his curse and let him turn back into a man.
²* The in-game name for Dungeons and maps.
³* Yes, this is the manifestation of the Master Sword through combined efforts of Danny and the Lantern.
A/N. This was endless. I started with good resolutions, but then (I don't know why) I got distracted by RL things and lagged behind. Hope that for next one shot my muse will be more collaborative… (눈‸눈)
Anyway! Yep, this was a reference to the "LoZ: Twilight Princess" Midna, it seemed fun to involve her in this quest, so I hope to have given her justice. 〜(°w°)〜
The identity reveal trope had been subverted because Danny managed to come up with an excuse while Midna was looking for the Will-O-Wisps (the Tiny of the one-shot), so one less concern.
I tweaked a bit the function of the original Lantern in LoZ, changing the Poe souls into Wisps and storing them inside the artifact instead of the "inventory"/"bag of holding" that Link uses, to fit better the plot.
Hope you liked this, type ya tomorrow!
Will Day 22 be Theft or Favor? Check in "Domestic Phantoms" and you'll find out!