A/N: To the guest reviewer who had some questions about how the other Hyrulean races would be depicted:
1: The pointy ears are very subtle, but they're still there, which will become plot relevant later on.
2: Without spoiling anything, The Zoras are endangered and the Gorons are more or less in hiding due to mankind's ever expanding development.
Now on with the story!
Late-morning arrived without much fanfare. The tundra that was once a low-rent neighborhood gave off a bright white shimmer in the bright sunlight. Those that were up and about in their homes cursed the snow and the problems it brought; namely getting out of the house and getting to work through all the snow. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the more foolhardy donned their winter clothes and dove out their windows into the snow as if it was a swimming pool, celebrating that there would be no school. Others still geared up to shovel away the white monstrosity that had seemingly devoured the neighborhood, looking to make a quick dollar or two.
In one particular housing complex, however, one trio of young adults did not fit any of the above. Two were awake, feeling tired and miserable, while the other slept peacefully.
Link was the very first to awaken. After being plagued with the same nightmare over and over for several hours, Link gave up on trying to sleep around half past nine. He laid on his back, not caring about anything besides trying to get some decent rest. His hair was a disheveled mess, and his eyes were bloodshot from the lack of proper sleep.
Lee fared only slightly better. He also laid awake in his room, unable to move due to a sleeping Saria having wrapped her body around him sometime after he got back into bed. This gave him some temporary comfort for a while, but it wouldn't be long before the nightmare came back. At one point, he almost woke Saria up because his body started to spasm during the dream. Eventually, he decided to simply stay awake to avoid waking up his girlfriend.
The two boys laid in their respective beds looking - and feeling - miserable for the majority of the morning. They simply wanted to be able to sleep.
Eventually, Link got fed up and forced himself off the couch. Slowly, he made his way towards the staircase. He figured that if he couldn't sleep, he could at least find something to eat.
As he lumbered up the stairs, his mind drifted back to the nightmare. He couldn't shake the feeling that it had some significance for him and Lee. Link initially wanted to just chalk it up to their video game marathon, but it felt too real to be a simple dream.
What could it have been though? Link thought, trying to suppress a yawn. A vision? And why are me and Lee involved in it?
Link shook his head. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.
After what seemed like minutes, Link finally made upstairs into the kitchen; his second time entering it this morning. He could almost feel the deja vu kicking in as he went though the cupboards looking for something to eat.
"Ugh, who knew a nightmare could completely wreck your sleep cycle like this?" Link muttered as he pulled out a box of instant oatmeal and a bowl from the cupboards. "I've never been so tired in my life."
Link pulled out a sack of cinnamon-flavored oatmeal from the box and ripped it open, pouring its contents into the bowl. All he wanted to do was go back downstairs and sleep until sunset, preferably with the heater on full blast, snuggled up into his comforter...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"...k."
"...ink."
"...Link!"
"Link!"
The blonde's eyes snapped back open. Instinctively, he spun around too see who was calling him, only to see a similarly exhausted Lee looking back at him. His eyes were bloodshot and his usually carefully twisted dreadlocks were a disheveled mess.
Link, despite himself, couldn't help but smirk at the sight. "Well, don't you look dashing this morning," he quipped cheekily.
Lee snorted. "You're one to talk. You've must've been sleeping there a good while before I even came up."
Link, unable to come up with a witty retort, merely shrugged and continued preparing his oatmeal. "I couldn't get any sleep," he replied simply.
"Nightmares still driving you crazy?"
"You've got no idea," Link said as he poured water into his oatmeal. "But you ain't looking too hot either, dude. You get any sleep at all?"
"Barely," Lee said, rubbing his temples. "Saria's still asleep, but I was buggin' all night, and I don't even know why."
That was a partial lie. Lee knew exactly why neither he or Link had gotten no sleep, but he didn't want Link to start drawing up conspiracy theories. Though that hadn't stopped himself from doing so.
"In any case," Lee continued. "A decent meal should wake us up." Lee opened up the fridge, and began pulling out eggs and slices of ham. "You want any eggs with your oatmeal, man?"
Link shook his head as he put his oatmeal into the microwave. "Knowing your cooking, I'd rather not."
"Hey!" Lee shouted defensively. "I'm perfectly capable of cooking food nice and proper. You, on the other hand, destroyed the kitchen in high school trying to cook something."
"That was an accident!" Link countered.
"If you call nearly nuking the cooking classroom twice in a single semester an accident, I'd hate to see you do it intentionally," Lee remarked. "Shit, you was so bad, they barred you from touching anything except a microwave at the community college."
Link grimaced at Lee's statement, and sunk into his chair. The second incident gained such widespread infamy in the city, Kakariko College preemptively blacklisted him from their culinary program. They eventually let him in via their music program, but with the caveat of instant expulsion if he tried to go near the school's kitchens.
"It was an accident," he grumbled. On a whim, he decided to flip on the kitchen radio that sat on the table while Lee cooked. The tiny stereo crackled as it came to life.
"Good morning, Kakariko!" the smooth velvet tone of the radio host seemed to glide through the speakers. "You are listening to Mack Daddy Mikau on 97.5 KLOZ, the soul of Kakariko and beyond! To all my fellow commuters who had to travel through this mess, and getting stuck everywhere, I sympathize with you immensely. I may be lucky to live close enough to my job here to walk, but for anyone else who has to drive, it's carnage out there. If your car isn't buried in snow, it's getting stuck in it; and if you're not getting stuck in it, you're spinning out on pure ice. Swear to Christ Almighty, I walked by a 25-car pile-up on the way here..."
"Jesus Christ," Link muttered. "Mother Nature isn't screwing around."
"I feel sorry for any homeless people who was caught in that storm," Lee said, shaking his head. "Most of them must have frozen to death."
"Yeah, and we're likely stuck in here for who knows how long," Link replied.
"I wish," Lee said as he turned on the oven. "I was supposed to do a grocery run today, and I might still have to, since we're running low."
"You're nuts, you'll get stuck out there!" Link exclaimed. "Besides, there's no way there's a store open right now!"
Lee chuckled. "You know as well as I do The Ruler doesn't close his bodega if he knows he can get a profit."
Link laughed as well. He knew Lee was referring to Richard Martin, better known as "Rick the Ruler" or "Slick Rick," a former career criminal who went straight later in life and became a legitimate entrepreneur. He had businesses big and small all over Kakariko City, including a decently-sized grocery store in their neighborhood. He still lived uptown, despite his wealth, but he was rumored to still have connections to the city's underworld, so nobody dared to mess with him.
"He might be persistent, but even he would have to give up in this mess," Link retorted.
Lee just shrugged, and began cracking some eggs. "How do you want your eggs, man?"
"Over easy is fine."
At this point, Saria emerged from the basement, yawning. She wore an oversized dark green t-shirt as she sauntered towards the kitchen. She sniffed the air, the smell of frying eggs wafting through her nose. Lee must be cooking again, she thought. When she made it to the kitchen, she was greeted by the exhausted forms for Link and Lee. Saria quickly covered her mouth in a vain attempt to conceal her laughter, while the boys just rolled their eyes.
"Yes, we know we look like crap," Link said to Saria. "No need to rub it in further."
"Yeah, but I've never seen either of you look this bad in the morning!" Saria laughed. "I don't know what was up with Lee, but did you stay up all night, Link?"
"...Sorta," Link said nervously, remembering the nightmare.
Lee just waved a hand dismissively. "We'll get cleaned up after some breakfast," he said. "You want any in the meantime?"
Saria smirked. "I think you know the answer to that, honey."
Lee just chuckled as he tended to the food. Saria sat down next to Link. Taking a good look at him, she realized he looked much worse than she initially saw. His tired eyes were red and puffy, with dark circles around them, and his face looked paler than usual.
"Oh, God!" Saria breathed, becoming concerned. "I didn't realize you looked this bad, Link. Are you sure you're alright? You're not sick or anything?"
Link, despite himself, laughed at Saria's sudden concern. "You sound like my mom," he replied.
"Well, you're basically my brother, and I've had to patch you up more than a few times whenever you and Lee got wrapped up in fights," Saria countered.
Link rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, I promise. I just need some food."
Saria gave him a concerned look. "Alright, but I'm dragging you back to bed if you start to nod off."
Link just smiled and shrugged. The microwave beeped, signaling that his food was ready. Link started to get up, but Saria quickly sat him back down. "I'll get it for you," she said as she got up from the table.
Lee just laughed at the exchange. "Damn Saria, we're not gonna drop unconscious at a moment's notice!" he said as he watched his girlfriend get Link's food.
"I know, but I can't help but worry about you two all the time," she sighed.
"Honestly, we're fine," Lee said. He began placing some of the finished eggs on a plate. "A decent breakfast should keep us going for a while. Can you grab some hash browns and bread for me, by the way?"
Saria nodded, and got Link's oatmeal out of the microwave first, then proceeded to move towards the fridge. She quickly slid Link some milk before grabbing hash browns from the freezer.
"Thanks," Link yawned, grabbing the milk. As he poured it into his oatmeal, the voice of Mack Daddy Mikau came back through the radio speakers.
"This is Mikau, and welcome back to 97.5 KLOZ, the soul of Kakariko!" the DJ spoke cheerily. "Good news for those of you living uptown in the Messa: I got word that plows and salt trucks are being sent down your way! I can't confirm this, but word is that they're not city plows, they're apparently from a private contractor. Perhaps Rick the Ruler is pulling some strings for his home turf?"
Everyone in the kitchen was surprised. "If he is, that's a quick turnaround," Saria noted. "That storm was horrible!"
"I welcome it," Lee replied gruffly. "The city hates giving the Messa anything, except for that friggin' eyesore we're named after that got turned into a resort. I'm all for someone giving the city the finger, and helping us for a change."
"You really think it was Slick Rick, though?" Link asked. "I know he's got pull, but the city could block something like this."
"Slick Rick or not, anything that helps us out is good in my book."
Meanwhile, back downtown, Zelda had just walked out of her personal bathroom after a long shower. She felt rejuvenated and alert after a sleepless and stressful night, but still couldn't shake the feeling something bad was brewing just under the surface. Making sure her towel was secured around her waist, she walked into her closet, and began looking around for something to wear. Her thoughts kept drifting back to her dream, and the two men that were in it. She knew for a fact that the man in green with blonde hair was likely the Hero of Legend, but drew a blank at the man in red.
Zelda hummed in thought as she picked a pink blouse out to wear. The obvious answer would be someone of Gerudian descent, but that made no sense to Zelda. Barring Nabooru and maybe the Oracle of Seasons, if some stories are to be believed, the Hero rarely had any Gerudo allies, and Ganondorf would almost certainly be ruled out as well for obvious reasons.
Who else would it be, though? Zelda thought. There's zero chance that was a Goron or Zora standing next to the Hero. A Sheikah, perhaps? Not all of them had white hair, so it's possible...
A loud knock on her bedroom door pulled Zelda out of her thoughts. "Zelda!" the voice of Impa could be heard through the door. "Are you ready yet? Your parents and Mr. Ganon are waiting downstairs!"
He's here already?! Crap! Quickly, Zelda grabbed a black skirt, stockings, and a few other items off the racks. "I'll be out in a minute!" Zelda called out. Quickly, she got herself dressed, and tied her hair back, before opening the door for Impa, who looked at the heiress with concern. "I was beginning to think you fell asleep in the shower," Impa commented.
Zelda looked down, somewhat embarrassed. "I took a cold one to prevent that," she said. "It worked, though I don't think I'll ever be doing that again for a long time."
Impa's concern was quickly replaced by loud laughter. Eventually, she managed to catch herself, and said, "You're braver than me."
Zelda rolled her eyes, huffing lightly. "Anyway, where's the meeting happening? In the lounge?"
Impa nodded. "Everyone else is there, they're just waiting for you."
Zelda shrugged as she walked towards the elevators with Impa. "At least my parents were willing to let me be in on this meeting," she said somewhat bitterly.
"They have to," Impa said matter-of-factually. "You're technically part owner of Triforce as the heir, and have the same authority over everything that goes on with the company."
"Except that my parents can still veto whatever I do," Zelda pointed out. "Like overruling my decision not to go through with the merger with Ganon's company."
Impa shook her head. "Okay, that's fair," Impa conceded. "But like I said last night, money talks."
The two had made it to the elevators by this point, and Zelda pushed the "down" button to call for one. "I still don't like this idea of merging our companies," Zelda said. "If I'm interpreting my dreams right, and he is Ganondorf, he'll essentially have unlimited access to our company resources to do whatever he wants without impunity, in addition to his own."
"Which I don't get, personally," Impa replied. "His company has just as much as yours, if not arguably more; I don't personally see the need for a merger." The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, allowing the women to enter the lift. "It would be a waste, especially from a business standpoint," the bodyguard continued.
"I know," Zelda said as they walked in the elevator. "But there's gotta something he must want, or he wouldn't be pushing for this otherwise."
Impa looked at Zelda in concern, but said nothing else as the elevator traveled down to the main floor. Soon, it came to a stop, and the ladies walked out, making their way to the lounge in the mansion's east wing. Zelda felt dread overwhelm her as they got closer. She knew very well that she sounded like a complete lunatic, and Impa probably secretly thought as much, but her gut was never wrong, and her reoccurring dreams couldn't have been a mere coincidence.
Soon, they entered the lounge, where her parents, their lawyers and Ganon and his team were waiting. Zelda swallowed the disgust that threatened to bubble up within her when she saw Ganon sitting across from her parents, doing her best to remain civil in his presence. "Hi Mom, hi Dad," Zelda greeted gently. "Sorry that I'm a bit late."
"Nonsense, Zel, you're right on time!" Her mother said sweetly. Her father nodded curtly, but smiled at her. Zelda smoothed out her skirt and turned to face her corporate and personal enemy. He almost fit the appearance of the legendary Ganondorf to a T: Dark skin, golden eyes, red hair, not to mention muscular and imposingly tall, even while sitting. The biggest difference was that his nose wasn't anywhere near as big or pointy. A casual smile rested on his face, but Zelda could tell it it was a front.
"A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Ganon," Zelda said politely, doing everything she could to hide her burning hate for him.
"Likewise, Princess Zelda," the taller man said humorously, peering at her over his horn-rimmed glasses.
Zelda rolled her eyes in exasperation, despite her attempts at decorum and professionalism. There wasn't a day where somebody didn't crack a Legend of Zelda joke at her expense, and she didn't need Ganon - of all people - to do so as well.
"Please don't start with that," Zelda said firmly. "I already get enough of it everywhere else I go."
Ganon chuckled, but conceded by holding up a hand in surrender. "My apologies, Miss Harkinian," he replied smoothly. "I was merely trying to break the ice a bit."
"Let's not be overly formal here," Zelda's father spoke, raising a hand. "We're all very well acquainted with each other here, and considering the conditions outdoors, I'd rather not keep you here for long in case it snows again, Eric."
Ganon nodded, and straightened himself up. "In that case, then I guess we can go straight to reviewing the contract, hm?" He gestured to one of his lawyers. "Jermaine, if you please?"
Jermaine nodded, and handed the Harkinian's the contract to look over. "Me and my team made sure that our demands and provisions were reasonable for all sides, though I leave that up for you to decide," he continued. "I'm open to suggestions."
The Harkinians nodded, and looked over the contract with their lawyers. Zelda eyed the contract's terms with suspicion, looking for any carefully hidden clauses and terms Ganon may have hidden. The family flipped through the pages of the contract slowly, combing through the terms the tall man was offering for the merger with a fine-toothed comb. Mr. Harkinian hummed as they looked over everything.
"I personally see no issues with the contract so far," he said. "Everything seems like it's in good order."
Zelda scanned the pages closely, and reluctantly conceded that her father was right. There was no sneaky loopholes or clauses as far as she could see, but something was still off to her. "I have no objections either," she stated diplomatically.
Mrs. Harkinian nodded in agreement. "Then if were all in agreement, I suppose there's..." she trailed off when a particular clause caught her attention. "Wait a second, what's this?" she said with an accusatory edge. Zelda immediately grew suspicious, and took the paper for herself to read over.
"...In the event that the current CEO and COO of Triforce should no longer be able to perform their duties for whatever reason, ownership of their shares of the company shall automatically revert to Eric Ganon?!" Zelda's voice quickly shifted from mild confusion to pure fury upon reading the proposed clause. She slammed the contract down on the table, and stood up, glaring daggers at the rival CEO. "You're not only trying to go over my head with this deal, but you have the audacity to try and blatantly freeze me out of a company I have half-ownership of right in front of me, you slimy son of a-!"
"Zelda, calm down!" her father admonished, placing a hand over hers. Zelda glanced at her father, and back at Ganon, before reluctantly sitting back down, still giving the business man dirty looks.
"Eric," Mr. Harkinian began calmly, though there was a clear edge to his tone. "While I apologize for my daughter's outburst, Zelda is correct. She owns fifty percent of our company, and is the legal heir to take over its operations in full, family ties or not. What you're trying to pull is legally and morally unethical!"
"But is it, really?" Ganon countered civilly, though there was mild condescension in his tone. "While Zelda may own part of the company, arguably being the majority owner at that, the two of you still have more power than her, especially when it comes to the power of veto. You both overruled several of her proposals before, including her attempt to block this merger." He then turned his attention to Zelda. "And this isn't to say I think your parents are justified, or that you're an incapable businesswoman, but how can you make decisions for Triforce when your parents continuously overrule your choices?"
"As if you'd be any better!" Zelda spat venomously. "We'd only end up in a constant power struggle with you wanting to run everything yourself!"
"Zelda, relax!" her mother hissed, growing concerned about Zelda's behavior. "What's gotten into you?"
"Gotten into me?! I've been telling you both this merger was a bad idea from the start!" Zelda retorted. "I saw the writing on the wall, but you still wanted to go through with it!
"Zelda, that's enough." Zelda's father held up a hand to silence her before tuning his attention back to Ganon. "Listen Eric, we've been friends for a long time, even before we were business rivals, but I'm not agreeing to such a blatantly one-sided deal!"
"Jordan, I assure you both of our teams came up with a very lucrative and reasonable contract for both of our companies..." Ganon began.
"Don't give us that crap, Ganon!" Zelda shouted. The normally mild-mannered businesswoman was fully fuming now. "You wouldn't have tried to slide that clause in there if it was a reasonable contract! I'm the legal heir to Triforce if something were to happen to my parents, or if they chose to step down, merger or not. So if you want this merger to work out as planned, then I suggest you revise this agreement, Eric."
Ganon remained stoic, his hands clasped together in front of him as if he was making a prayer. Eventually, he lifted himself from his seat, and adjusted his suit and glasses. "Fine by me," he said evenly. "Far be it from me to try and ruin our already longstanding relationship. I'll draft a new contract with our lawyers soon, but I think it's best I take my leave now before another storm decides to surprise us."
"Please do," Zelda said, not even bothering to hide her icy tone. Ganon gave her a hard look, but said nothing as he packed up his things, and left the lounge with his team of lawyers. Zelda and her parents watched silently as Ganon left. As soon as they were out of earshot, Jordan spoke, "Zelda, what were you thinking?! Why did you have to snap at Eric like that?"
"Because I have every right to call out Ganon on his crap, just like you!" Zelda retorted angrily.
"Zelda-," Jordan began, but Zelda cut him off.
"I'm not hearing it, Dad!" Zelda banged her fist on the table. "I understand you two have more experience and knowledge in running Triforce, but Ganon has a point, as much as I hate to admit it. You never let me have any say on things, despite me owning half the company, and being actively being involved in the day to day operations as well! And if I do make an executive decision, you two immediately overrule it, regardless if it's good or bad!" Zelda ran her hands through her hair in exasperation. "How am I supposed to prove myself as a good leader if you keep cutting my legs from under me?! It's a miracle you even let me sit in on this meeting!"
"Zelda, dear," her mother said soothingly, trying to calm her daughter down. "We do trust your judgement, but anytime things involve Eric, we noticed that you get too emotionally invested, and it causes you to make rash business choices, and we can't have that for the company."
"No disrespect Mom, but how is trying to protect our family business rash?" Zelda countered fiercely. "You two kowtow to Ganon so much, it's disgusting! I understand dad's been friends with him for years, but that doesn't give someone who's still technically a rival CEO the right to have so much influence on our business! I kept trying to warn you Ganon was going to try something shady with this merger, and I was proven right by the way he brazenly tried to hide that clause in that contract!"
"Griselda Harkinian, you will settle down this instant!" Jordan demanded. He rubbed his temples in a vain attempt to ease his frustration. "I'm not happy about what Eric just did either, but you've been extremely confrontational towards him for years now, and it only increased when the merger was proposed; and as one of the owners of this company, you can't be acting like that, even if he's a rival CEO!"
"He's a transparent crook!" Zelda snapped at her father. "You saw what he just tried to do with that contract, and you would've signed it had Mom not taken a closer look at it!"
"But-"
"'But' nothing!" Zelda started taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Once her fury had subsided a bit, she continued, "Dad, you know all about his transgressions. Why is it, outside of your friendship, that you'd want to merge our company with Labrynna?"
"Two reasons," Jordan said. "One, Because it's a lucrative deal, and get a giant cut of any of the current developments in progress, and two, we get to have input on any projects going on now, and in the future. The input is the main reason why we want to do this, because we might be able to curb his illegal activities."
""Dad, have you lost your ever loving mind?!" Zelda exclaimed, trying to keep herself from shrieking outright. "Ganon is literally the Godfather; do you think he'd let you live if he finds out you tried to sabotage his operations?!" Zelda then looked at her mother. "And please don't tell me you're actually supporting this dumb idea, Mom."
Mrs. Harkinian sighed. "I'm not exactly thrilled at this prospect either, Zelda," she admitted. "But your father is convinced he can get into Eric's ear, and convince him to stop his illegal operations."
"And you think jeopardizing our lives and company is worth it!?" Zelda ran her hands through her hair in frustration, not believing what she was hearing.
Impa, who had remained silent up to this point, walked up and gently placed her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "While I normally keep myself out of these matters, I think it's best you all called it a day," Impa suggested. "All of you are clearly on opposing sides of this deal, and arguing while tensions are still high isn't going to help any of you come to an agreement over it."
"I agree," Mrs. Harkinian said. "I think we all just need to take the day to cool off, then we can come back to this another time."
Zelda didn't say anything. Instead, she left the room in a huff, without even as much as a goodbye to her parents. Impa quickly dashed through the doors after her charge, uttering a quick goodbye to the elder Harkinians. Zelda was already halfway to the elevators when Impa caught up with her.
"What happened back there?!" Impa whispered. "You don't like Ganon, I get that, I'm not a fan either; but you didn't have to rip into your father like that!"
Zelda groaned in annoyance, her head downcast. "My dad, I hate to say it, is a moron," she grumbled, rubbing her right temple. "The merger is one thing, but this misguided plan to try and redeem Ganon is lethally stupid! He's going to get us all killed if he goes through with this!"
"Then what're you going to do?" Impa asked. "If you try to sabotage the merger, you'll only prove your parents right, but you'll be facing a worse fate if you let them go through with it."
Zelda sighed as they returned to the elevators. Briefly, another vision flashed before her eyes. There were two men clad in tunics, one green, one red, facing down a large monster that was obscured by a bright light. The man in green, who she assumed was the Hero of Legend, wielded the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, while the one in red merely wore gold gauntlets. When the vision ended, the heiress looked up at Impa with a determined expression.
"I don't know yet. But it's clear I can't take Ganon down on my own. I need to find out who the Hero is, and fast."
Well, damn... what do I say except "long time no see"? :P
It's been an atrociously long time since I updated any of my fics, especially this one but I'm back... hopefully. Honestly, I won't bore you with any of the details, but life's been a roller coaster. years of college, working in the radio industry, and a pretty good music career... It's been hectic LOL.
Having that said, I never meant to leave my stories to die, so I plan on updating more frequently in my free time... and I got plenty of it with this damn 'Rona going around... RIP my gigs.
Anyways, I dunno how many have found this story in the bowels of this site, but if you still enjoy it, and think my writing isn't wack, or have a critique on how I can improve, drop a review.
'Til next chapter, this is Afro Thunder saying... peace.
