New chapter woo! Have you noticed the new chapter titles from now on? We're nearing the end of the story! Yay! Finally! Aren't you glad for me? Tee hee! I've written the ending already! I just have to get there now ^_^'
Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda games, though it would be cool, and all other disclaimers apply. I don't own the term 'Majin', that comes from an anime series called Dragonball Z, but it seemed to fit the line I'm following nicely.
I opened my eyes. No Pain. I shot up and hit my head on a wall. I rubbed it tenderly and checked my collarbone. It wasn't broken anymore. I moved it warily. It was fixed. Yay. But ow for my head. I held it and looked at the culprit. A sloping ceiling wall thingy-me-bob.
I looked around, a dark room, bars along one wall going out into a hall of some sorts. A dungeon or something. I turned my attention back to my attacker.
"F***ing wall, hit me will you?" I rapped it with my knuckles "Ha! Take that!"
"Hey..." a voice groaned from the other side of the dark room
I squinted over to the source of the voice as familiar figure lurched forward.
"Lucy!" I stumbled off the bunk and hugged her fiercely
We just sat there for a while, weeping and stuff. I felt relieved and whole again. I wasn't torn. My friend was alive, and I was alive to see her again. It was a good feeling.
When we'd calmed down a bit I said, "What happened?"
"I fell," she said simply
"No kidding, I'm sorry I couldn't stop you falling"
"I haven't finished yet" Lucy drew back a little and raised her shirt and sleeves, bruises littered her skin, a purple patchwork quilt "I guess you could say they were ready for me"
I hissed in sympathy "Then what?" I could see her eyes glittering in the dark
"I was beaten, they wanted to know everything we'd done and where we came from, what weapons you were armed with, our worlds history. It was a lot of pointless stuff, but they made me speak of it all anyway. Everything. They knew a lot too, they said if I didn't tell them everything they wanted they'd take me to Majin Reika"
"Who's Majin Reika?" I asked quietly
"Their leader, they say she is a god" came the reply
"And who were they?"
"Demons"
I sat still, listening, thinking. Lucy had had a very rough time, I'd been taking it easy. I felt awful.
An arm linked through the crook of my elbow.
"Don't beat yourself up about it" Lucy said softly "It was a risk we knew when we came to Hyrule, and my fault for running ahead near the temple"
"But I should have helped you, Link should have helped you"
"You aren't a superhero" Lucy giggled softly "And your weakness isn't kryptonite, it's self doubt"
I shoved her gently "When did you get so wise?"
"I don't know"
~ ~ ~
I filled her in gradually about all that had happened while she'd been gone, like the meeting with Zelda, the change in our mission and Navi's visit. It got me thinking, where had Navi gone anyway? I told her about the battle and how I didn't know where Link and the Zora were either. She listened to it all silent and still. I would have given her the broadsword back, but I didn't know where it was.
We must have been in the cell for hours. Or at least it felt like it. When a light shone down outside the cell, lighting outside and we could see there was a long tunnel, water trickling down the walls and moss on the floor and cells lining the walls. All empty, or had bones piled in them.
I felt ill again. But pushed it away.
A silhouette appeared in front of the bars; I looked up into the black holes of a skull. Biting back a scream, I realised I was staring into the face of a Stalfos, a real life Stalfos.
From a voice that rumbled out of an empty rib cage it growled "Get up"
"Where, where are we going?" Lucy's voice asked clearly
"To see the Majin" he replied and pulled the bars from the cell one by one, till there was a gap around a metre wide "Out"
We stumbled out into the hallway and retched as a stench of rotting flesh met our nostrils, I looked closely at the Stalfos, eyes watering, and somehow it was still decomposing. How long had the guy been dead?
"Move" he shoved us along the corridor
I kept my eyes on the ground, gripping Lucy's poor bruised hand from comfort, not wanting to look in the cells nearby.
"Stairs" Lucy warned as the first one came up
We climbed and walked, twisted and turned. Down this corridor and that one, in through that door, in through another. A maze of paths that only the Stalfos seemed to be able to calculate.
Eventually the dull glare from fiery torches was flooded into bright natural light as we entered the great hall. In a similar design to the Temple of time, instead of an altar it contained a marble seat, red carpet underneath and running up a small flight of stairs to a large stone door. Very different to the dirty stone slabs the rest of the building seemed to be made out of.
We were lead to stand in front of the throne.
"Kneel" the Stalfos commanded in the voiceless rumble
We obeyed, Lucy wincing as she got to the floor. I smiled comfortingly at her, although I was shaking hard. I looked at my hand, how could she not see I was a wreck?
We waited in silence; the only sound was the clank of the Stalfos' armour as he changed position.
Finally a sound rang through, a gong I think, and it definitely sounded like it. And the stone door behind the throne began to slide apart, a bright light filling the room.
I swallowed and rubbed my eyes; this hero thing really involved too much light for me.
In the centre of the light a small silhouette began to form, then grow larger. The light cleared and then the person walked into the room.
The woman was tall, too tall for a normal woman. And beautiful, surpassing Zelda's beauty in every way, inhumanely beautiful, and a deathly snow white complexion. Her deep black hair drew back in an elegant ponytail with braids gripped in loops around the front to emphasise her cold, hard blue eyes. She wore a pure white dress, not a wrinkle to be seen, and it stretched far out behind her and the sleeves almost touched the floor.
She smiled at us, yet it held no warmth, it was a cruel smile, long out of use.
She strode down the deep red carpet toward the throne, perfectly balanced. She could have piled books on her head or something. Spreading her skirts she sat on the throne.
"Welcome" she said, her voice steady and articulated, "So you are the two I've been hearing about"
We stared at her, she'd heard about us? Like what? What had she heard?
"So you have come to save Hyrule," she continued "Too bad"
"Not to save it exactly" I began but was silenced by a cuff from the Stalfos
"The Princess must be desperate to send children against me" the woman continued, "Do you know who your up against?"
"We have a pretty good idea," Lucy mumbled
"I am the Majin Reika" The woman stood up to her full height, "And no mortal or god can defy me"
"They all say that" I said under my breath
"Why are you being rude?" Majin Reika's eyes narrowed "I could have you killed for being so. Maybe I will"
"I don't think you will" Lucy said firmly
"What makes you so sure little one?" Reika walked forward and calmly looked down on Lucy
"I'm sure because I've been here a while and I'm not dead"
"I could be playing with you girl" the Majin's smiled was cruel
"Then why ask all those questions?" Lucy smiled smugly "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were curious about our home and adventures"
The Majin's smiled twisted "Pitiful fool" she slapped Lucy to the floor "I am NOT interested in your stupid life or friends! I am after nothing you can offer me! I am working to a goal!"
"What's that goal?" I asked
Majin Reika looked at me and said coolly "You're not smart child, don't think I'd tell you just because you asked me. No, I won't tell you now. Take them away, I am tired of them" she waved her hand and walked back up the steps to vanish into the light "I look forward to another chat little girls"
The Stalfos dragged Lucy and me up by our collars as the door shut on us and that crazy-looking woman disappeared from view. I stared at the door where it had shut. Who the hell was she? What the hell had she been going on about? Lucy seemed to think she knew what was going on. I'd have to ask her.
But for now I figured it was back to the cell. Once again we were marched along in silence and back towards the gloominess under what I think was underground. That was where cells were usually.
Finally we were shoved back onto the stone floor and shut in again.
I slumped against the damp wall.
"Well" I sighed, "I guess we're stuck here"
"Mmmm" Lucy agreed lying on a bunk and rubbing her bruises tenderly
"That woman was the Stalfos' threat I take it?"
"You got it"
I stared at my hands while turning a thought over in my mind "Lucy"
"Yeah?" she rolled over to look at me
"What was that lady talking about?" I asked "She seemed to know all about us and we don't know anything about her and why she's doing what she's doing"
"Well I think I've picked up a few ideas about her. I think she's controlling all the evil in this place somehow. I mean, all the monsters seemed to be linked in their heads. From what I saw, they didn't have their own brains. They acted like a hive mind"
"Like the Borg on Star Trek!" I put in
"Yeah, like that...in a way, I guess. Anyway it seems like she wants to take Hyrule over"
"So why did you ask if she wanted to hear about us?" I asked
"Because I thought it might buy us some time if she were interested in us" Lucy replied
"Why do we need time?"
"Well" Lucy stared once more at her bruises "I don't think we're needed at all, she didn't seem interested anyway. Maybe she's after Link"
"Not in the pet he's in" I scowled
"What do you mean?"
"He shouted at me and hit me! Well, shook me violently. It hurt!" I cried "I didn't do anything to him!"
Lucy was quiet for a moment then said "Maybe it's catching up to him finally"
"Once again I'll ask this question: what do you mean?"
"Well, you remember how every one in Hyrule seemed to be turning nasty and killing and fighting?" I nodded "Maybe it's a magic that that Majin ladies doing or something. And Link was immune for a while because he's so good"
"But what about the Sages? They weren't bad," I pointed out
"From what I've seen they seem to be the definition of types of good" Lucy stretched, "Sleep, we need to get some rest I think after all that walking"
"Yeah, walking to the great hall and back is really tiring," I said sarcastically.
But then, if that was true, why did I fall asleep instantly?
Ooooooh what did you think of that chapter? The Last Quarter Part II is over for now then! We're drawing near to a closure at last! Come back soon for the nest instalment!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda games, though it would be cool, and all other disclaimers apply. I don't own the term 'Majin', that comes from an anime series called Dragonball Z, but it seemed to fit the line I'm following nicely.
I opened my eyes. No Pain. I shot up and hit my head on a wall. I rubbed it tenderly and checked my collarbone. It wasn't broken anymore. I moved it warily. It was fixed. Yay. But ow for my head. I held it and looked at the culprit. A sloping ceiling wall thingy-me-bob.
I looked around, a dark room, bars along one wall going out into a hall of some sorts. A dungeon or something. I turned my attention back to my attacker.
"F***ing wall, hit me will you?" I rapped it with my knuckles "Ha! Take that!"
"Hey..." a voice groaned from the other side of the dark room
I squinted over to the source of the voice as familiar figure lurched forward.
"Lucy!" I stumbled off the bunk and hugged her fiercely
We just sat there for a while, weeping and stuff. I felt relieved and whole again. I wasn't torn. My friend was alive, and I was alive to see her again. It was a good feeling.
When we'd calmed down a bit I said, "What happened?"
"I fell," she said simply
"No kidding, I'm sorry I couldn't stop you falling"
"I haven't finished yet" Lucy drew back a little and raised her shirt and sleeves, bruises littered her skin, a purple patchwork quilt "I guess you could say they were ready for me"
I hissed in sympathy "Then what?" I could see her eyes glittering in the dark
"I was beaten, they wanted to know everything we'd done and where we came from, what weapons you were armed with, our worlds history. It was a lot of pointless stuff, but they made me speak of it all anyway. Everything. They knew a lot too, they said if I didn't tell them everything they wanted they'd take me to Majin Reika"
"Who's Majin Reika?" I asked quietly
"Their leader, they say she is a god" came the reply
"And who were they?"
"Demons"
I sat still, listening, thinking. Lucy had had a very rough time, I'd been taking it easy. I felt awful.
An arm linked through the crook of my elbow.
"Don't beat yourself up about it" Lucy said softly "It was a risk we knew when we came to Hyrule, and my fault for running ahead near the temple"
"But I should have helped you, Link should have helped you"
"You aren't a superhero" Lucy giggled softly "And your weakness isn't kryptonite, it's self doubt"
I shoved her gently "When did you get so wise?"
"I don't know"
~ ~ ~
I filled her in gradually about all that had happened while she'd been gone, like the meeting with Zelda, the change in our mission and Navi's visit. It got me thinking, where had Navi gone anyway? I told her about the battle and how I didn't know where Link and the Zora were either. She listened to it all silent and still. I would have given her the broadsword back, but I didn't know where it was.
We must have been in the cell for hours. Or at least it felt like it. When a light shone down outside the cell, lighting outside and we could see there was a long tunnel, water trickling down the walls and moss on the floor and cells lining the walls. All empty, or had bones piled in them.
I felt ill again. But pushed it away.
A silhouette appeared in front of the bars; I looked up into the black holes of a skull. Biting back a scream, I realised I was staring into the face of a Stalfos, a real life Stalfos.
From a voice that rumbled out of an empty rib cage it growled "Get up"
"Where, where are we going?" Lucy's voice asked clearly
"To see the Majin" he replied and pulled the bars from the cell one by one, till there was a gap around a metre wide "Out"
We stumbled out into the hallway and retched as a stench of rotting flesh met our nostrils, I looked closely at the Stalfos, eyes watering, and somehow it was still decomposing. How long had the guy been dead?
"Move" he shoved us along the corridor
I kept my eyes on the ground, gripping Lucy's poor bruised hand from comfort, not wanting to look in the cells nearby.
"Stairs" Lucy warned as the first one came up
We climbed and walked, twisted and turned. Down this corridor and that one, in through that door, in through another. A maze of paths that only the Stalfos seemed to be able to calculate.
Eventually the dull glare from fiery torches was flooded into bright natural light as we entered the great hall. In a similar design to the Temple of time, instead of an altar it contained a marble seat, red carpet underneath and running up a small flight of stairs to a large stone door. Very different to the dirty stone slabs the rest of the building seemed to be made out of.
We were lead to stand in front of the throne.
"Kneel" the Stalfos commanded in the voiceless rumble
We obeyed, Lucy wincing as she got to the floor. I smiled comfortingly at her, although I was shaking hard. I looked at my hand, how could she not see I was a wreck?
We waited in silence; the only sound was the clank of the Stalfos' armour as he changed position.
Finally a sound rang through, a gong I think, and it definitely sounded like it. And the stone door behind the throne began to slide apart, a bright light filling the room.
I swallowed and rubbed my eyes; this hero thing really involved too much light for me.
In the centre of the light a small silhouette began to form, then grow larger. The light cleared and then the person walked into the room.
The woman was tall, too tall for a normal woman. And beautiful, surpassing Zelda's beauty in every way, inhumanely beautiful, and a deathly snow white complexion. Her deep black hair drew back in an elegant ponytail with braids gripped in loops around the front to emphasise her cold, hard blue eyes. She wore a pure white dress, not a wrinkle to be seen, and it stretched far out behind her and the sleeves almost touched the floor.
She smiled at us, yet it held no warmth, it was a cruel smile, long out of use.
She strode down the deep red carpet toward the throne, perfectly balanced. She could have piled books on her head or something. Spreading her skirts she sat on the throne.
"Welcome" she said, her voice steady and articulated, "So you are the two I've been hearing about"
We stared at her, she'd heard about us? Like what? What had she heard?
"So you have come to save Hyrule," she continued "Too bad"
"Not to save it exactly" I began but was silenced by a cuff from the Stalfos
"The Princess must be desperate to send children against me" the woman continued, "Do you know who your up against?"
"We have a pretty good idea," Lucy mumbled
"I am the Majin Reika" The woman stood up to her full height, "And no mortal or god can defy me"
"They all say that" I said under my breath
"Why are you being rude?" Majin Reika's eyes narrowed "I could have you killed for being so. Maybe I will"
"I don't think you will" Lucy said firmly
"What makes you so sure little one?" Reika walked forward and calmly looked down on Lucy
"I'm sure because I've been here a while and I'm not dead"
"I could be playing with you girl" the Majin's smiled was cruel
"Then why ask all those questions?" Lucy smiled smugly "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were curious about our home and adventures"
The Majin's smiled twisted "Pitiful fool" she slapped Lucy to the floor "I am NOT interested in your stupid life or friends! I am after nothing you can offer me! I am working to a goal!"
"What's that goal?" I asked
Majin Reika looked at me and said coolly "You're not smart child, don't think I'd tell you just because you asked me. No, I won't tell you now. Take them away, I am tired of them" she waved her hand and walked back up the steps to vanish into the light "I look forward to another chat little girls"
The Stalfos dragged Lucy and me up by our collars as the door shut on us and that crazy-looking woman disappeared from view. I stared at the door where it had shut. Who the hell was she? What the hell had she been going on about? Lucy seemed to think she knew what was going on. I'd have to ask her.
But for now I figured it was back to the cell. Once again we were marched along in silence and back towards the gloominess under what I think was underground. That was where cells were usually.
Finally we were shoved back onto the stone floor and shut in again.
I slumped against the damp wall.
"Well" I sighed, "I guess we're stuck here"
"Mmmm" Lucy agreed lying on a bunk and rubbing her bruises tenderly
"That woman was the Stalfos' threat I take it?"
"You got it"
I stared at my hands while turning a thought over in my mind "Lucy"
"Yeah?" she rolled over to look at me
"What was that lady talking about?" I asked "She seemed to know all about us and we don't know anything about her and why she's doing what she's doing"
"Well I think I've picked up a few ideas about her. I think she's controlling all the evil in this place somehow. I mean, all the monsters seemed to be linked in their heads. From what I saw, they didn't have their own brains. They acted like a hive mind"
"Like the Borg on Star Trek!" I put in
"Yeah, like that...in a way, I guess. Anyway it seems like she wants to take Hyrule over"
"So why did you ask if she wanted to hear about us?" I asked
"Because I thought it might buy us some time if she were interested in us" Lucy replied
"Why do we need time?"
"Well" Lucy stared once more at her bruises "I don't think we're needed at all, she didn't seem interested anyway. Maybe she's after Link"
"Not in the pet he's in" I scowled
"What do you mean?"
"He shouted at me and hit me! Well, shook me violently. It hurt!" I cried "I didn't do anything to him!"
Lucy was quiet for a moment then said "Maybe it's catching up to him finally"
"Once again I'll ask this question: what do you mean?"
"Well, you remember how every one in Hyrule seemed to be turning nasty and killing and fighting?" I nodded "Maybe it's a magic that that Majin ladies doing or something. And Link was immune for a while because he's so good"
"But what about the Sages? They weren't bad," I pointed out
"From what I've seen they seem to be the definition of types of good" Lucy stretched, "Sleep, we need to get some rest I think after all that walking"
"Yeah, walking to the great hall and back is really tiring," I said sarcastically.
But then, if that was true, why did I fall asleep instantly?
Ooooooh what did you think of that chapter? The Last Quarter Part II is over for now then! We're drawing near to a closure at last! Come back soon for the nest instalment!