AN: A few hours early so I don't forget tomorrow!
Guestie: I'm going to try to make the female characters I already have more involved, and I'll see what I can do about Malon. I haven't made a plan for her at all yet! But I love her, so it's GOTTA happen. As for Lana, I haven't played HW! But maybe I can do some research because she seems pretty cool . . .
Kreinreign: I liked that line, too! You've picked up on a very important moral point in the story, mwehehe! Glad you liked the seagulls. I want more Shadow/Link/Aryll cuteness, not gonna lie. If I didn't love drama so much I would make an entire fanfiction about them being cute and stuff.
I got a TON of followers this last week! Thank you all so much! Don't be shy about telling me what you think and stuff. I love getting feedback! ^^ Of course I'm also just happy you're reading the story, so no pressure!
Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites!
"OH MY GOSH!" Shadow yelled. Link came into the living room from the kitchen to see what was up. Shadow was on the family computer—Granny didn't allow computers in their bedrooms, so Shadow had left his at Ganondorf's and was stuck with the old desktop with slow internet.
"What's wrong?" Link asked.
"Do you have ANY idea how much it costs to call Minish Land?"
Link shook his head.
"100 rupees! . . . A MINUTE!"
"Can't you just use Hycam?"
"They don't have access to very good internet over there. His home's a tiny village in a third world country. I don't even have his address."
"Do they even HAVE addresses in third world countries?" Link wondered.
Shadow shrugged. "I dunno . . . I mean look." He pointed at the screen. There were screen shots of ramshackle houses in a woods, and next to a beach. The people in the pictures were dressed primarily in leaves, but there was some cloth as well. They had angled eyes and tan skin. They were all barefoot.
Link leaned closer. "That's where Vaati's from?"
"Yeah."
Link tried to picture the diva fashionista Vaati in tribal clothing, and failed. "It looks kinda nice," he commented.
Shadow nodded. "Looks warm, unlike HERE."
Link smirked. "Don't like the snow?"
"Not anymore! We got creamed yesterday . . ."
This made Link laugh. "Bad sport."
Shadow huffed.
Neither Link nor Sheik had admitted what they'd spoken about during their fight. The two seemed awkward together, but so far they weren't avoiding each other, so Shadow felt that was a good sign?
He put another item on his list of Things That Have Happened.
1. heart attack : (
2. Link is bro, bro is life 8D
3. living with Link : D
4. Vaati's gone : ((((
5. Vio is weird : |
6. Nightmares : (
7. Sheik and Link fight : (
Somewhere else, Sheik was making his own list.
1. dad hates me
2. no he really hates me
3. I suck
4. I'm gonna get my heart sucked out in a week and ½
Link wasn't the type to make lists, but if he did. . .
1. Grilled cheese? Too squishy . . .
2. Hard boiled cucco eggs? No. Gross!
3. Bacon? Bacooooon.
Aryll's list was very simple. She was merely copying what she thought Shadow was doing on the living room coffee table, to the best of her ability. What she was trying to write was this:
1. Seagull
1. seagull
7. seaGull
4. SEAGULL
44. SEAGULL
4444. SEAGULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
What followed was a stunning crayon depiction of said seagullllllll.
Vio started making a list of things he wanted to check for his research project with Sheik.
1. Do shadow beings breathe?
2. Do they need air?
3. What do they eat?
4. What do they need to survive?
5. What is a shadow being's blood made of?
6. Shadow
7. Shadow is really hot
8. I wonder what Shadow eats . . .
It devolved pretty quickly after that.
Vaati was busy making poetry on his 22 hour flight to Minish land.
Roses sont rouges
les violettes sont bleues
Je me sens morte
et tu me manques
Midna scratched through all the points of her speech and tried to not write hate notes about that darn nut job of an adviser in training.
1. I AM the blood Princess of Twilight, why should I have to defer to the decisions of the council just because they think they know better because I'm "too young"?
2. ZANT IS ONLY A YEAR OLDER THAN ME, AND YET HE HAS THE VOICE OF THE COUNCIL BEHIND HIM.
3. If I'm too young, SO IS ZANT.
4. This guy is seriously pissing me off . . .
5. Can they NOT see he is trying to usurp my power? He doesn't want democracy like he claims, HE WANTS TO BE KING! THE KING OF TWILIGHT!
6. Oh CRAP I forgot calculus homework is due tomorrow.
7. CRAP IT'S TOMORROW WHY AM I STILL AWAKE! ACK!
Another crumpled wad of paper hit her in the neck. Midna spun around and glared at Vio. "What?" she hissed.
She hated presenting Twilight History at other high schools besides Hyrule Castle High. This place was the worst. People were so racist! But, it counted as extra credit, and that's how she was passing her classes, soooooo . . .
A round of giggles cycled through the students. Vio shrugged.
Midna sighed. "As I was saying, the Twili began to travel to Hyrulean territories only a few hundred years ago. However, much of the population was cut off when fifty years ago, the path between our worlds was destroyed. We can still travel back and forth, but it is very difficult, only one or two Twili or Hylians can move across worlds a year, and it takes much preparation. We don't know why or by who the gateway was destroyed—"
"That's a lie," Vio spoke up.
Midna tensed, her face trying very hard to break into a sharp-toothed snarl. She turned to Vio and responded, as sweetly as Twilight, "How so?"
"You DO know why," he said. "The Twili over here just don't like admitting it."
Knowing sneers from other students met Midna. Keep calm. You can do this! "That's a misconception, Vio. We really DON'T know what happened . . ." she raised an eyebrow. "But if you have an idea on what happened, let's hear it. What have you heard happened?"
Vio stood from his seat excitedly. "The two worlds, Light and Twilight, were never meant to be connected in the way they were hundreds of years ago. It's like trying to mix oil and water—they hate each other. Somebody figured this out and realized both worlds were slowly destroying one another. That somebody sabotaged the gateway, destroying it and marooning thousands of Twili in the Light world."
Midna sighed. "That's one . . . theory. The other is that the Light Worlders were racist bastards who were afraid the Twili were going to take over their land and turn it into a land of Twilight, and they were responsible for the destruction of the gateway."
"But what if it was a Twili who did it?"
"Excuse me?"
Vio grinned. "The Twili were the ones who ultimately had power over the gateway, right? How could a Hylian sneak past all the guards so easily without being noticed?"
"What's your point?"
"Isn't it possible that, considering the issues created by the two worlds connecting, that a Twili took it upon themself to destroy the gateway to both worlds?"
"Yes, but only if your theory is correct, which is doubtful. After all, I'm still here, and Light doesn't affect me. How do you explain that?"
Vio shrugged, unconcerned.
Midna continued, "It's also possible some Light Worlder did it to save both worlds, as well. It's also possible that the Twili were the racist bastards who didn't want to be connected to Light Worlders and so destroyed the gateway out of racial hatred." She motioned to the rest of the class. "There's a lot of mystery, and really nothing to be gained by discussing things that have absolutely no proof. We really have no way of proving—"
"I've heard another theory."
Midna crossed her arms. "And what's that?"
"That there was a power struggle in the Twilight Realm. That there really was a plan to take over Hyrule."
Midna made sure her face was stone-cold. "And?"
"But it wasn't from the royalty."
That was new. Midna's facial facade broke just a bit. "What do you mean?"
"I mean there was an insurgency. A powerful group who wanted to overthrow the Twilight government as it was. This insurgency eventually got control of the gateway, and rather than let the insurgents migrate en masse to Hyrule and begin to attack, the Twilight Princess teamed up with a Hylian, sneaked in and destroyed the gateway on both sides."
A few students suddenly looked offended at Vio, as though it were preposterous that a Twili Royal would care so much about Hyrule, as though it were preposterous that a Twili could be so noble.
Midna thought for sure there must be powerful lightning outside. Her skin pricked with static electricity. She had goosebumps. "How . . . how did you come about this theory?"
Vio was smiling, his hands steepled under his nose. "Just thoughts."
Midna was afraid to say anything. She couldn't disagree, because that would be agreeing with the racist students who were currently making noisy jabs at Vio, but she couldn't agree, either, because then she'd ALSO be the subject of their attacks—and they wouldn't be so nice to her. She shook her head, making a point to force a mock-disbelieving chuckle. "That's a wild theory, Vio."
"Isn't it possible?"
She froze, staring at her notes on the desk. "I don't know."
The school bell rang. Nobody moved. Midna steeled herself. "It is true that the Twilight Princess was officially exiled from the Twilight Realm a few short months after the gateway was destroyed. Maybe your theory had something to do with it."
The tension in the room was palpable.
"And maybe," Midna continued, "The Twilight Princess had no such noble ambitions, and merely destroyed the gate out of contempt for Light Worlders."
Some of the tension relaxed. Students nodded and began agreeing with one another. They could accept that reality. Midna fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Now get out of here! Bell rang twenty seconds ago!"
Midna found it hard to stay alert while she walked away from Castle Town High. Vio's words kept ringing in her head. Where did he come up with that? There's no way he got access to any Twili records, so what does he know and how?
She pulled out her phone and called Sheik. She left a message. "Hey Sheik, what kind of Twili books you got at your castle? Anything legit or is it just What Le Hylians Believe About Le Twilis? Thanks, bye." Maybe Vio found some tomes that actually had real information. Maybe somebody stole books from the Twilight records. It's not like it would be hard.
Maybe Zant sold them.
Her stomach turned at the thought. She tried to tell herself that Zant wasn't that dishonorable, but she couldn't entirely convince herself.
Fast footsteps approached from behind. Midna spun around, waving her bag ferociously. "GAAAAARRRR!"
Vio dodged the bag, then stepped forward. "Hi, Midna!"
Midna, slightly embarrassed, calmed down and said, "Oh, it's you. Don't DO that!"
"Can I walk with you?"
"Yeah, I guess. What do you want?"
"I'm just interested in Twili stuff, that's all."
They started walking again. "Okay, so is this an interview or what?" Midna asked. "And hey, you almost got me killed in there! What are you doing saying noble things about Twili in a school full of racist people?"
"It was only the truth."
"You say that, but you don't actually know."
"No, but I'm pretty sure."
This guy's confidence. "Just saying, watch your back for the next week or so. Some people might have beef with your viewpoint."
"I'll keep that in mind. So anyway, you said people can still move from the Light World to the Twilight Realm, right?"
"Right."
"Do you know how they do that?"
"It's a closely guarded secret kept by the Hylian Royal Family and a few select Twili."
"But don't you want to get back?"
"To the Twilight Realm? Some of us do, yeah."
"What about you?"
She shrugged. "Never been. No idea."
"There must be somebody who wants to fix the gateway, somebody who would know about the current path?"
"Why do you wanna know?"
He shrugged. "I just have some theories, is all."
"Do you want to fix the gateway?"
He shrugged.
"Why?"
Again, he shrugged.
Midna stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. Vio stopped soon after and looked back at her. "Vio," said Midna, "WHY are you so interested in this?"
"Have you heard of the Shadow Realm?"
"Well duh. It's only the place parents everywhere use to give their kids nightmares at night."
Vio chuckled. "Yes. Do you think it's possible to travel there?"
"Yes."
This took Vio aback. "Really? Everybody else thinks it's impossible."
"I don't like the word 'impossible.'"
"I'm really glad to hear you say that. I want to find a way to get to the Shadow Realm. I want to study the Twilight gateway to get ideas. That's why."
Midna didn't wonder too much why he wanted to get to the Shadow Realm. Hylians were notorious explorers and couldn't leave well enough alone, even when it was bad for them. Still, she asked, "So, you just want to go to the Shadow Realm because . . ."
"I'm just doing a project with Sheik and got interested in the subject."
"Sheik?" They must be doing a school project together or something like that. "Well . . . I guess I could show you some Twili magic if you'd like. Dunno if it would help or not."
Vio beamed, a glint in his eye. "I'm sure it will help marvelously."
Midna squinted at him. "Who still uses that word?"
"Marvelous people."
"Hm . . . 'marvelous.'"
"Her hair?" Sheik stammered. "Midna can use her magic to control her hair?"
"Yep," Vio replied. "Among other things. I guess Twili magic is ingrained in their very being in a way more deeply than Hylian magic in Hylians."
"Okay . . . so how does this help us?"
"We gotta return the Shadow guy to his realm eventually, right?"
Sheik hid his annoyance. "Yeah, but we gotta fix his heart, first!"
Vio chuckled, seeming to enjoy Sheik's discomfort. It drove Sheik nuts. "I learned something else, as well," Vio continued.
"What?"
"The Shadow Realm is inaccessible from the Twilight Realm."
Sheik threw his hands in the air. "Vio! How does this help at all?!"
Vio smirked. "Why are you so worried? It's not like it's life or death."
"It's GRADES."
"No it isn't. There's no way this is a school project."
"Fine, you got me. Now can we PLEASE get back to the problem at hand?"
"Sure thing, Princess."
The next weekend came, far too fast for Sheik, who had holed up in his bedroom with a dozen magic books.
"I think this isn't working," Krad announced, laying on Sheik's bed and tossing a bouncing ball at the ceiling.
"You think?!" Sheik snapped back derisively. "If you'd just let me ask for help—"
"You and I both know that won't end well."
That's what YOU think! Sheik had secretly, under the guise of studying shadows, figured out how to send a secret message to his mother. Magically. He just wasn't sure if it would work . . . "I don't know why you're so against help. The more people we get on this the better chance you have of surviving."
Krad chuckled. "You misunderstand, Princess. I don't CARE about surviving." He floated off the bed and rushed into Sheik's face, making the prince lean back. "I JUST WANT MY HEART BACK!"
I forgot, Sheik thought to himself, I'm dealing with Mr. Illogical Whiny Brat! "I'll get it to you, don't worry."
"I'm getting impatient."
Sheik gut plumetted. He held up a finger. "You promised. You promised. Two weeks! It's only been one."
Krad folded his arms smugly. "Maybe I don't care. Maybe I just want to rip people's hearts out now. Maybe I'm bored. Maybe I need a new experience."
He's trying to feel something, anything, Sheik realized. It must be maddening, not having your own feelings. I mean, what's your motivation for doing things? It's not to help people, and it's not even to help himself—he barely even comprehends the fact that if he doesn't get his heart back healthy, he dies. He doesn't even feel bad for killing people. I don't even think he's trying to goad me or anything. He's literally just trying to bargain because he's bored. Sheik stood up so he could be level with Krad, who was sitting languidly in the air. "Krad, I know there's a good person in there. That good person doesn't want to hurt people. I know it's tough, but you've gotta hang in there. You'll really regret it if you don't. I promised to help you, and I will. Okay?"
Krad's freckled face frowned in displeasure. "O . . . Okay. But hurry up!"
"You got it, boss," Sheik sighed to hide the growl in his throat. "Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you go bug somebody else?"
Krad flipped upside down. "What?"
"You said it yourself. You've been locked up for fourteen years. There are a LOT more interesting things in this world than . . . well, my life. Why don't you go check it out?"
"And how, pray tell, would I keep an eye on you?"
"You've gotta trust me by now. I haven't even TRIED anything."
Now he flipped sideways in the air. "I guess that's true . . ."
"Seriously. Why don't you go see what's on TV or something?"
"TV?"
"That magical box with magical images on it. Lots of violence on there. You'll love it." Sheik could tell he'd piqued Krad's interest.
"Well . . . alright, but I'm keeping the door open!"
Sheik sighed. He forced a smile. "You REEEEEEALLY don't have to."
Krad floated through the door, which he opened with his shadow magic. Sheik looked out at the hall and watched Krad travel downstairs to the family room. When he didn't return for several minutes, Sheik let out a cautious breath and returned to his desk. He began scribbling a note to his mother. It was messy, but he didn't have time to be careful. He hoped it was legible. He folded it and tiptoed to the door. He glanced around, hearing the TV downstairs. He looked the other direction of the hallway, toward his mother's bedroom. Fighting off the fear that coldly crept up his spine, Sheik slowly snuck out of his room. He heard Krad's raucous laughter and almost cried out, but apparently the shadow had just seen something amusing on the TV. Sheik sighed in relief. He made it to his mother's room and quickly shoved the note under the door. Then made his way back to his room.
He sat at his desk and covered his face with his hands, shaking all over like a leaf. I did it . . . Oh Mom, please come home fast! His task completed, he continued studying, feeling both severely relieved and severely apprehensive.
Nabooru strolled into Denny's. Most people needed some place quiet to study, but not Nabooru. She grew up in a huge family of sisters, so she was used to studying with noise. Other distractions, however, like sisters with questions or problems or just bugging you because sisterhood, were why she had to go to Denny's, a noisy place with free wifi. She met the greeter, who escorted her to a booth by a window. As she passed, she recognized Link sitting a few booths down. He had his head in his heads, looking very downtrodden. "Can I sit there? He's somebody I know," Nabooru asked. She walked over to Link. "Hey. What's wrong?"
Link peeked over his fingers. "Oh. Hi Nabs. What are you doing here?"
"Studying. You?"
He didn't answer, but he didn't tell her to leave, so she sat down.
Link suddenly said, "I broke up with Shad."
Nabooru blinked. "Oh . . . I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, he canceled. Again. So I called him up and told him to . . . to . . . you know. That I wanted to break up. He didn't even sound like he cared that much, but I feel like utter crap."
Nabooru patted his arm. "Don't worry . . . men are REALLY good at making their mates feel worthless—I mean . . ."
Link looked at her weirdly. "You DO realize—"
"Yes." Nabooru flushed, removing her hand and placing it in her lap. "Yes, I do. Sorry. I've never helped a guy get deal with a breakup before."
"Have you ever broken up with anybody?"
She shrugged. "Not really, but my older sisters have." She rolled her eyes. "They keep dating Hylian men and then wonder why they end up single moms and alone." She shook her head. "I'm sorry! I'm not helping at all, am I?"
Link chuckled. "It's fine. Why do you hate Hylian men so much, anyway?"
Nabooru looked at him like he was an idiot. "Because! They're lying, cheating, stealing , self-entitled spoiled brats who enslave women!"
Link put his chin on a fist, grinning. "Really?"
"Well . . . that's what I was taught to believe. And that's what I've seen, too! None of my sisters seem able to keep a guy. They always leave, including . . ." She stopped herself, then looked at Link's friendly face and continued, "including my dad."
Link's eyes widened. "Oh. Wow. I never even thought about the fact that Gerudo kids get left by their dads all the time. All the time. I'm really sorry, Nabooru."
She crossed her arms, frowning at the freckles on them. "It's okay. It's not like I NEED a dad. I'm a Gerudo after all, it's just . . . Ugh! Anyway, we're talking about you, not me. SO. Who're you gonna date to get back at Shad?"
Link straightened. "What?"
"Who are you gonna date? I know this guy named Kafei. Says he's not gay, but I don't believe him—"
"What? Why would I want to date again right now?"
"Best way to get over a breakup! Find a rebound date. Nothing serious, just for fun. A fun date's exactly what you need right now."
"Oh . . . okay."
"Now! As I was saying," she started counting off her fingers, "There's Kafei, and the other guy I think you'd like named Fado, but he's not a genius and considering you really like Shad that might be either the best or worst thing for you right now—"
"Why just guys?"
Nabooru paused. "I thought you were gay?"
"No no!" He smiled and stated proudly, "I'm bi."
Nabooru blinked slowly. "So . . . you like both . . . at the same time . . .?" Her face was full of confusion.
Link blanched. "Oh no! Definitely not. It's like, I like red heads." He giggled bashfully, thinking of Shad. "Obviously. But I also like blond hair. I don't need both to stay faithful to one person."
Nabooru nodded. "Okay. That makes sense." She smirked. "So you're not entirely hopeless."
"Huh?"
"Hahaha, nothing! Just teasing . . . in THAT case, there's . . ."
A familiar knock at her door. Sheik looked up hopefully. His mother stood in the doorway, a shopping bag in her hand. "Sheik, dear, I found the TV on downstairs."
She must not have found the note yet. "Oh, I must have left it on . . . sorry."
"What are you studying?"
"Uh . . . the Shadow Realm?"
Mrs. Harkinian cocked an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you be studying that?"
He shrugged. "I dunno . . . just interested I guess." PLEASE go to your room! He ended up having to chat with his mother for several minutes before she finally went to her room. Sheik fought hard not to panic as he waited for something to happen. He had a sudden thought. Where is Krad? If he wasn't watching TV anymore . . .
Something smacked him in the back of the head. He turned around and found a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. Krad stood leaning against the opposite wall, glaring at him. Sheik, stomach knotted, reached out a shaking hand and took the crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it.
His note.
Krad pushed off the wall and leaned over Sheik. "That was a BAD idea."
The blood left Sheik's face. He sprang from his chair and out of his room, not stopping until he reached his mother's room. He barged through the door.
"MOM!"
AN: I am sorry Sheik-sama! So so sorryyyyyyyyy!
I do NOT know French, so please don't kill me. Yes, in my world the Minish speak French. Why? Because it fits Vaati SO WELL!
