Chapter 18: Janni

…

Link rushed back into his cabin and dressed in his tunic, work slacks, and boots as fast as he could. Then he flung open his footlocker. After taking a bit of time to decide whether it would do any good to carry a sword around, he put on his sword and boomerang. He decided against his pin hammer for now, and Irleen's gems would not do him any good as long as Irleen was not with him; he could not even use her exploding gem since he could not remember the Sorian words to trigger it. The flare gun would be equally as useless since no one could see him firing it. The Sorian bracelet was no question; if a sword could be used, he would need some strength behind it. He wished he had another piece of equipment. He felt exposed otherwise.

He noticed a source of light near the top of his vision as he closed the footlocker. He looked up to see the shield still waiting face-up on his desk. For a moment, he wondered if he should take it along. Then he crossed the room and picked it up, reasoning that he had already carried it to the ship. After he slipped his right hand into it again, he turned and left the cabin.

As he crossed the deck, he noticed how deathly silent things were. His eyes wandered back and forth, wondering if he was just not noticing his crew. Of course, they were still there; Flower was just stepping out from behind the starboard staircase, and Lwamm's and Twali's dark skin color made spotting them in the broken deck lighting more of a challenge in a rush. The Gelto preferred to wear soft-soled shoes on the deck, meaning that Link could only hear about half of the crew walking the deck at any time.

Link carefully walked down the gangplank. However, he hesitated at the bottom just before touching the pulsing rock that was the island's surface. He could not help feeling that there was some parallel between this and an incident two years ago on Bold Island. Back then, a Sorian had outwitted some of Cunimincus' crew (granted, Irleen had mentioned at the time that those particular creatures were not very smart to begin with) and turned the technoworks, living rock, against them to slaughter them in very simple, very brutal ways. He wondered if the tiles of rock they had been walking across could be another kind of technowork that just might decide to attack him in the same way: forming itself into vaguely human shapes and either crushing him or slicing him apart. His best indication that it would be another such trap would be if the tiles reacted to him in any way, just as the technoworks had acknowledged him and Layna as trespassers. He kept his body stiff and ready to run if that was the case, and he carefully raised one foot to touch to the tiles.

Once that foot was down, he felt like an idiot. The stone walkway continued to pulse as if he was nothing. Link took in a relieved breath and let it out in a sigh. Then he started across bound for the settlement.

He had to admit that it was a little comforting to know where the island beneath him was at instead of having to rely on the edge of the starry sky. Even after a single pulse of light passed, the ground remained illuminated enough that he could make out some detail on the tiles he stepped on. However, he refused to let himself relax, glancing over his shoulder to the ship until it was just a dim light on the horizon and making sure to thoroughly study a spot each and every time his eyes moved. He wanted to make sure that whoever Layna was sensing would not surprise him.

A scream from the settlement made Link jump. Without realizing it, he had walked the entire way to the outskirts without even looking forward to check where he was going. This was probably the reason he had to stop short of walking into a wall. He rounded the house and started to walk the nearest street, which looked to stretch toward the tower at the center.

The population definitely had a different look about them, although Link still felt that their presences were as empty as before. Instead of hollow black staring at him, the settlers sported white bodies with distinct, blue orbs of light in place of normal eyes. They still wore their cloaks, although Link did happen to note that one settler also wore trousers that peered out from the bottom scraps of his cloak, worn over legs that clearly did not exist anymore. He wondered if that was just some oversight or if maybe that particular settler was similar to Maroon. Link never got the chance to ask, losing the settler in the crowd.

Link was also amazed to see some color on these simple buildings around him, including proper Hylian writing. However, as welcome as the bright colors against the glow of the pulsing street were, Link found that the messages carried disturbing ideas as he read them.

—"Run away"

—"Nightmares"

—"Can you find my children?"

—"No hiding"

—"I cannot wash blood away."

—"Why won't you just let us die?!"

—"I'm sorry I don't remember your name."

Link felt himself grow cold and sick. These ones stood out in his mind because of their clarity; the rest, when they were legible, read as nonsense like "Swinging from a ceiling" and "Don't touch my hand". He had never seen such graffiti before. It told him of a poor state that the Hylian settlers had been living in while they waited for their ultimate fate as wandering nothings. Or, Link began to realize, death.

He clasped the handle of his sword with his right hand. He thought that it would help steel him from his surroundings, but his shaking hand caused the sword to rattle in its sheath. It made him wonder how hard it would be to wake up right now, far from his body and so deep asleep that Leynne could not rouse him. If this view of the island became too much for him, would the shield release him? Could he be scared into waking, like any of the number of nightmares he had had throughout his life? He would have gladly looked for a way to leave this new horror.

Instead, he shook his head, closed his eyes, and took in a few deep breaths. Running was not an option. Something in this twisted reality was after his crew, and he had to stop it before they became the next generation of broken settlers to roam about this desolate island. What would people say back home? And what if those same people came looking for them?

Link shook his head again. He had to get his thoughts straight and quit focusing on what might come. He opened his eyes and started forward into the crowd, deciding that his first stop should be the library buried under the streets. Maybe, if he looked at the library, an original part of the island, he might find some answers.

As he continued down the streets, he found it harder to avoid the settlers. Two of them, he bumped into on accident. They did not disappear like before, but Link only assumed that it was not happening because he was not hitting them hard enough. Instead, though, the second one he bumped looked at him. It was subtle, but Link could tell that he had done something that actually garnered some attention. Naturally, Link could not discern much of a reaction from its blank face. It did not say anything to him, either. It just looked at him and then went about its business. It made Link wonder if, somehow, the settlers were asleep on the same level as him. But then, the lack of further response seemed to indicate that they could not see Link. Or at least, they could not perceive him without having to go through the insanity filtering their interactions. Other than that, it seemed like life simply continued as it had been. He occasionally caught snippets of one-sided conversations, but their words were just as nonsensical as before.

"Heh heh~"

Link froze. About half an hour into his exploration in this new view of an old society covered in dreariness and subtle insanities… and he heard someone giggle? The full impact of the thought sent a shiver up his spine. It had been high-pitched, like a girl's voice. And while it was not really unusual to hear one of the settlers giggle, this one actually sounded like it had a bit of mirth to it. If that was the case, Link found it to be even more disturbing. It had sounded close. He stood still in the middle of an intersection between two streets, the residents around him simply walking around like he was just a small obstacle.

"Heh heh heh~"

Link jerked to his left just in time to see a figure flee out of the street.

"Wait!" Link hollered as he spurred himself into a run. "Stop!" He bounced off three more locals as he ran for the narrow side street the giggler had disappeared into. Other than a few of the settlers, it did not seem like anyone had come down this street.

Until he saw a shadow jump from behind a stack of crates further down and around another corner. He gave chase again, not even bothering to shout. He rounded the corner just as the shadow ducked down another street. Even as he followed, Link realized that he was being led by this creature. He considered briefly that he was about to fall into a trap. It was just enough that, before he moved onto the next street, he looked down it to make sure there was no obvious sign that he was about to be caught.

He was being led away from the residents; this much he could tell just by the fact that fewer and fewer seemed to wander this part of the settlement. He knew this was the western areas of the settlement. Other than that, he was lost with that third turn. The streets narrowed and widened to accommodate the buildings, whatever they were now. Twice, Link was forced to ascend and descend a set of stairs that did not seem to have a purpose; they just happened to be built into the middle of the road, whereas the sides of the road were still level.

Just before what must have been the twelfth turn, Link had to slow down and catch his breath. Even in a dream-like reality, he was not fit enough to run for so long. He had kept his pace just under a full run due to the fact that he wore a pair of boots that would accelerate him to top speed. While this might have made it easier to catch the shadow, it was also a good way to collide with the side of a wall if he lost focus. He leaned on the corner for a moment. Then he peered around.

The street was deserted. Link looked backwards to see that the street he was on also lacked locals. And yet, he noticed that the lamps in this area were lit as well. As he stepped around, he saw a few crates at the top of about a dozen stairs in the middle of the road. The space between buildings was wide, probably just a little narrower than some of the other streets. There were no turns at the foot of the stairs, so Link gathered that the creature was somewhere at the top. He did not hear any further giggling or the scuffle of shoes on the run. It had to have stopped here.

Heart pounding from both exercise and fear, Link held the shield in a ready position to protect his chest and started up the stairs. Still no sound; even the din of people talking, even the screams, were too far away to hear. He dared a glanced back down the street, but he was so lost that he could not even tell where the main roads were. He would need to jump on the nearby buildings to gauge his location. But he would do that later.

The two crates had been placed against the wall on the right side of the street. Link was just ascending the last few steps when he realized that he had been given the slip. He only confirmed this when, standing at the top of the stairs, he had a view of the area immediately behind the crates. Nothing. With a sigh, he looked further down the street for a moment. Nowhere else to hide, and at least two more streets the shadow could have disappeared down. Furthermore, it seemed like this time, the shadow wanted to escape. That must have been the trap, Link realized. A miserable little prank. It would have been nice to catch the creature; it might have given Link someone else to talk to, someone who was still in some sort of right mind. He glanced down the stairs. And then he gave the street one last look.

He met a pair of large, amber eyes instead.

"WHOA!" Link hollered as he jumped backwards. One foot missed the landing, and he felt himself slide down the stairs. He placed his hands on the ground to stop his fall.

And the creature stepped up in front of him. "Heh heh!"

Link looked up to see those wide, amber eyes on a round face covered in dark blue skin. It wore a smile, showing pointed teeth glistening in the lamplight. It had no visible nose on its smooth face, only a pair of narrow, vertical slits where nostrils should be. Its hair, cropped in the front so it had wispy bangs and loosely tied behind its back, was brighter blue against its skin if still pretty dark in the dim lights. Its top was a long-sleeved, woolen shirt with thick, horizontal stripes of red and black. Its trousers looked to match its skin and carried loops of chain that hardly made a sound, two chains on its left hip, one on the right. Even wearing thick clothing, Link could tell that the creature underneath was quite scrawny by Hylian standards. Its feet were bare, allowing black nails to grow out into thick, pointed claws. Link could not see its hands because they were thrust into its trousers' pockets.

Link carefully raised the shield while he stumbled back to his feet. "Who are you?" he asked as his left hand slid toward his sword, done slow to avoid alarming it.

It had no eyebrows, but Link saw its brow rise in the light. "Who am I?" it asked in a teasing tone. Its voice definitely carried a girl's pitch, so this had to be the shadow Link was following. She removed a hand from her pocket and tapped one clawed fingernail against her cheek, looking up at the sky as if in thought. Then she told him, "It's been so long that I might've forgotten the answer. I know that, at one point, my name was Janni. It probably still is." She then placed both hands behind her and leaned forward, still grinning. "Who might you be? Is your name Janni, too?"

Link took a moment to look her up and down again. Besides the claws, she did not look like she was carrying a weapon. Link withdrew his hand from the sword's hilt, but he stood up straight with the shield still raised in case he was wrong about her being dangerous. "Link," he answered. "Captain Link of the Island Symphony."

Her mouth formed a ring. "Oooooh," she droned. "A captain? Of those new creatures?"

"Yes," Link said in a terse voice.

He watched her float down to the step he stood on. Then he had to check to see if she actually was floating. In the meantime, she raised one hand over his head to measure his height. "A little young, aren't you?" she asked. "To be a captain?"

Link raised a scowl to meet her eyes. "A lot of captains tend to be at first," he replied.

She backed away. "Ah, I see. Then you simply grow… into the position." She held her hand above her own head.

"How can you see me?" he asked. "I've been wandering around for a while, and you're the only one who's talked to me. My own crew barely noticed."

She placed her hands behind her back again and giggled. "Ooh, that's a fun question. Let's save that for later."

Link found himself a little stunned at Janni's playful attitude. "Uh… o-okay?" he replied. Then he indicated the surrounding buildings. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"Obeeta."

"Obeeta?" Link asked, making sure of what he had heard. The answer was without context. Was it the settlement? The island?

Janni seemed to pick up on this because she elaborated, "The name of the island is Obeeta. Unless you wanna name it something else."

Obeeta. It sounded like a Sorian word, and it would make sense. He would have to remember to ask Irleen about it. In fact, he tried to dedicate the decision to memory by remarking, "Sounds like a Sorian name."

"Sorian?" Janni asked, her face changing to a mildly surprised look. "You mean the Rito? You know about them?"

"Yeah, I guess," Link replied with a nod. "One of my close friends is a Sorian. She's the one who helped us find this place."

Janni faded out of sight. Then Link leaned backwards when she came back into existence just a hair's breadth away from his nose, poised as if she were leaning forward while balancing on one foot. "Well. Isn't." She pressed closer. "That." And closer, forcing Link to take a step back. "Interesting." She came close to pressing her forehead against his, and he bumped into the wall behind him. Then Janni backed away and settled onto the ground, standing straight up. "Is she with you? I'd love to meet her."

For a moment, Link thought that her inflection on the word "love" sounded strange. He told her, "She isn't. She's back on the ship, probably sleeping."

Janni turned so she had to look at him out of the corner of her right eye, her face turned upward to the sky. "Ooh, you don't wanna do that. Not now."

Link glanced out toward his left, where the descending steps and lower buildings allowed him a vague look at nearby rooftops. "I noticed," he told her. He listened to a couple of screams in the distance. Then he turned back to Janni. "What's going on? My crew has been having nightmares and bouts of insomnia for the past two days. Is there something here causing it?"

Janni, turning her head to Link, took a step up. "Mm. Yeah, I suppose you could say that. Although it's really the loss of good dreams that it causes; the nightmares are just a side effect."

Link tightened his grip on the shield. He could not believe that there actually was something disturbing his crew. He put on a hard glare as he asked, "What's causing it?"

"The night."

Link blinked in confusion. He was not expecting that answer, especially since it hardly answered a thing. "The… the night. Just the night causes all this?"

Janni shook her head and clicked her tongue. "No, no. If that were so, do you think any of you would survive?"

"I still don't get it."

Janni giggled at him. "It is a creature that feasts on good dreams as if there's no end to them. The Obeetans, the people who wander the streets, couldn't come up with a name for something they never saw coming, never learned how to fight. For lack of a better term, they simply titled it 'The Night'." She tilted her upper body to one side with a small grin on her face. "It's all really fascinating, really. How many creatures have you heard of that can feast on something so… personal?"

Link could feel his heart beating harder. He could not believe that just hearing Janni explain The Night was causing his anxiety, although he had to admit that her gleeful tone and her general appearance probably added to the hole slowly deepening in his stomach. "Not many," he conceded.

Janni shrugged as she said, "Weeell, I imagine you'd've never heard of this one if you'd taken a lesson from the natives. The Obeetans discovered a long time ago that The Night prefers the night. If you sleep during the day, it won't bother you. But night is the time it loves to go out and feast." She held up a finger and spun it in a horizontal circle. "And you and your crew just served yourselves up as the main course. Can't you just imagine The Night licking its chops as it stares into your most fantastic dreams?"

Link tried to suppress the shiver trying to climb his spine. "I'd prefer not. But. Clearly, there's a way to avoid it."

"One or two," Janni conceded with a side nod. Then she pointed at him. "It looks like you found both."

Link glanced down at the shield he was still holding up. He took in a deep breath and lowered it. "What about you? You don't look like any of them. You can clearly see me; you're talking to me."

"That's because you and I are connected."

"How?"

Instead of answering, Janni held both hands out before her. When she brought her hands together as if to receive a pair of handcuffs, Link saw a pair of thick manacles fade into existence around her wrists. With the way she angled her hands up and to one side for Link to see, he caught a feature on the manacle on her right wrist near the chain.

A circle with a round oblong cupping the bottom half.

Link raised the shield to look at the symbol on the back side again. "Are you a prisoner of the shield?"

"For centuries." She let her arms drop to her sides, the manacles disappearing as if they had never existed to begin with.

"Haven't you ever tried to escape?"

"Where would I go?" Janni held her arms wide, and Link could swear that they lengthened a bit. "The Night encompasses the whole island. Anyone foolish enough to sleep when The Night comes out to play slowly begins to lose their sanity. I've seen Obeetans friends with each other one moment, and then turn on each other the next." She floated up again and descended down to Link's step, one hand pointing to where a human would have a temple. "You grow paranoid, not knowing if you're awake in a dream or sleeping in reality. And after a year, you start thinking aloud to yourself. I've heard some of the most interesting thoughts." She crossed her arms together at her elbows and entwined her fingers. "Twisted. Askew." Then she jumped away from the stairs. Link's first instinct was that she was about to fall and began to reach for her. However, she simply forgot to fall, instead floating in mid-air on her side as if she were lying on a couch. She sported a grin at Link's reaction while Link just retracted his hand. "I find it relaxing. And then, one day—you never know when—you find yourself praying for an end. And most people find it the next day. So, to answer your question, Captain Link of the Island Symphony, no. I've never tried to escape."

"But… if you're dreaming like me—" Link began.

"Ah… hahahahahahahahah!" Janni became boisterous with laughter, causing Link to jump. She righted herself in the air and held her stomach as she laughed for a few moments longer. When she calmed down, she had a satisfied smirk on her face. "You think you're dreaming? I assure you you're wide awake, probably as awake as you'll ever be. You see, things on Obeeta change when you sleep with the shield. When you sleep with me." Link gulped, and Janni just grinned wider. "Oh, I'm sorry, Captain Link of the Island Symphony. Was that too much for you?"

Link shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Does…" he started, trying to find another topic. "Does The Night know about you?"

For a moment, Janni looked genuinely stunned: smile gone, mouth agape in the slightest, and eyes wide. Then she glanced off to one side. "It knows," she answered without her previous mirth. "It just doesn't care."

Link was mystified by her reaction. He was not sure how to interpret it. So he switched subjects again. "What if we leave? Will it let us go?"

When Janni looked back at him, she appeared more disinterested. "The Night controls everything around here, asleep or awake," she told him. "You saw what it did when it shoved your ship away. That was just it tasting you. It won't just let prey sail away; some of the Obeetans found that out the hard way. It's been here for longer than I have. And thanks to you and your crew, it has new feed. So, if you wanna leave, you'll have to deal with The Night first."

"How do I do that?"

She paused, and her face molded into an angry glare. "That's something you'll have to figure out on your own."

Janni then faded out of existence, the look on her face lingering in Link's vision for just a little longer.