Link walked into the room quietly. Glancing around, he saw his friend Kai sitting in a chair beside the bed and another friend, Tierra, lying down on the bed. "Hey," he greeted them. Kai looked up tiredly, then back to Tierra.
"What's going on? Everything still okay?" Link asked. Tierra was pregnant, and nobody knew how this had happened, but could only assume it had something to do with the dark wizard Kai had been fighting ever since he was a small child. The wizard had cursed Kai's entire family, Kai's curse being that he was immortal, and had to watch everyone he loved die. His sister, Novali, had been killed recently by creatures known as Wolfos. Her curse had been being half nightmare. Nightmares were creatures that were distantly related to a horse, but were evil and had magickal powers. They breathed poison gas that could rot away flesh and poison someone in only seconds.
"What isn't going on….yeah, things are….okay," Kai replied, cracking his neck. Then he gave a short sigh and added, "Well, alright, less than okay…"
"What's happened?" Link inquired, getting concerned. He knew that Tierra would be going into labor soon, and couldn't help but be worried; this wizard had cursed Tierra so she would die in childbirth. Kai was doing everything he could think of to prevent this, and Link didn't know if he'd thought of anything yet. I only wish I could do something myself, Link thought, but knew he couldn't, as he knew very little magick.
Kai's reply sounded slightly angry. "I'm just fairly pissed at an Oracle."
Link looked at him questioningly.
"Basically, it says if there is a rock blocking your path, go around it, unless you can't, then you have to move it. And I asked, simple enough, how do you move a rock….the answer….enthusiasm." Kai sighed irritatedly.
"Well, I can see why you are aggrivated then; that's no use."
"No it's not indeed…what kind of poetic justice is that…." Kai sighed again. Tierra laughed quietly at him, the first sound Link had heard her make since he entered the room. "It also said it's going to be nurture over nature, ultimately, i.e. if the kid is going to…but I don't really buy that…I don't know it's…" Kai trailed off, shaking his head.
"I'll be right back," Link said, walking out of the room. He returned in a few seconds, carrying a small black puppy. "You little brat," he said quietly to it.
"What?" Kai asked, wondering what it had done.
"Never leave a puppy alone in a room if the room's got anything in it….she was chewing up a book," Link replied angrily.
"A book?! Geez….which one? Hopefully not too important…."
"It was a library book. Luckily it doesn't seem to show much…."
Kai sighed in relief. "Well, that's good that it doesn't show anyway…."
Link gave the puppy a reproachful look and snorted. "I hate puppies," he uttered. "Especially ones that chew…"
Kai laughed a bit. "Come on, it's only a puppy." Then he added, quite sarcastically, "It's not like it did it on purpose."
Link laughed.
"It's not like it's…doing it to BOTHER you Link…." Kai chuckled as well.
"REALLY now…." Replied the Hylian, setting the pup down.
Tierra smiled a bit. "Ah. Good. You're laughing….keep that up."
Kai stretched. "Mmmph. I'm not going to sleep tonight either, am I?" he asked Tierra.
"Nope." She replied shortly.
"Man…"
"Ah, don't worry Kai, you're not the only one." Link said. "I'll probably not sleep tonight either. Won't be able to."
"Eh? How come?" Kai inquired, looking over at Link.
"It's partly this idiot dog. I'll have her to worry about…" he looked down at her, then back at Kai. "But more because….too much on my mind I guess."
"Of course…" Kai smacked his head lightly. "Wake up Kai…" After a few moments of silence, he began to nod off.
Tierra threw a pillow at him. "On your feet!"
"Wha?! I'm awake…"
Tierra sighed. "Are you going to be any help at all?"
"Of course…me? Not help? What speakest thou of?"
Link laughed at Kai's innocent tone, then bent down and picked up the puppy. " I suppose she needs a n—OUCH!!" he yelled as the puppy began to chew on the bandage on his injured arm. "Brat…"
Kai chuckled. "Is that her name now?"
"It should be…" replied Link, looking at the now torn bandage on his arm. "Stupid dog." He chided, setting her down. "And don't come near me again."
Kai turned to look out the window. "Uh…oh…." He said quietly.
"What?" asked Link, wondering what had happened now. He turned and looked out the window himself. "Ah." He said nervously. "Ah." There were nightmares fast approaching, flying towards them.
Tierra sat up to look herself. "Nightmares…."
"Oh damn them!" Link exclaimed. "Why right now?!"
Kai picked up his staff. "They're…different."
"How so?" asked Link, wondering what Kai was talking about.
"Different aura…I don't recognize them. And I've been around enough t….shit." he said quietly, for there was a crashing sound somewhere in the house. "One second!" said Kai, running out of the room.
"What happened?" Link asked Tierra.
"Link….they broke through the door I think…" she said quietly.
"Oh shit….that's not good."
"They're breaking enough things around here…." Tierra said angrily.
Kai came back within their view, followed closely by nightmares. He shouted and cracked one over the head with his staff.
Tierra called out the door, "I thought you were TIRED Kai!!"
"I AM!!" he shouted, summoning a fireball in his fist. A nightmare disintegrated before their very eyes.
"AH!" Tierra cried, getting up and slamming the door shut.
Outside the room, Kai was breathing quickly and fighting the nightmares as well as he could. He yelled, "On it Tierra!" breaking a nightmare's jaw at the same time.
Tierra as well was panting. She turned to Link and said, "They're moving deeper into the house."
"Oh crap….this is NOT good."
They heard Kai shout, "What kind of nightmares ARE they!" He speared the next one he saw. "They…disappear when….you kill 'em…"
The door jolted, but Tierra held it shut firmly.
Kai shouted fiercely, holding his leg and looking angrily at one of the nightmares. "Damn you!! Get OUT!" He quickly killed two more nightmares. Panting, he turned around. "What the f…." He shouted and was knocked down.
"Kai!!"
"KAI!!! You alright?!"
Kai was thrown against the door and pinned there. Tierra and Link watched the door, both afraid for Kai. Suddenly claws came protruding through the wood. Link let out a cry. "CLAWS?!!"
Kai was breathing hard and sweating. "I don't think…" He choked and struggled.
"KAI!!" Tierra and Link both cried, almost in unison. Tierra threw open the door, her eyes wide. She pulled Kai down. He struggled to stand up.
"Ti…get back….in there."
Tierra sent a bolt of lightning at the nightmares remaining then looked at the leader. Kai, breathing shallowly, uttered, "That's…not…right….what the hell…Link….it's like a hybrid…." He threw an energy blast at it, but it bounced off. Link looked closer at the nightmare. It looked like a draft horse, but it had wings that looked as though they belonged to a dragon. It also had scales. "Man…" Kai said, catching his breath.
"You alright?" Link asked, worried.
"I think so….I hope. What is it waiting for…." Kai breathed, looking up at the nightmare. "My leg's numb, but…I'll…be okay."
Link shook his head. "You might not be okay…what happened to your leg? What'd the nightmares do to it?"
Tierra closed her eyes, raising her hands, and blasted the last nightmare through several walls to the outside. Kai looked wearily at Tierra. "You wanna do that again? There's still stuff that isn't broken yet…"
Link laughed shortly, suddenly very pale. "You two….I'll be back shortly." He closed his eyes and flickered out, transporting himself back to the room across from his, in his house. He opened the door fearfully. His soulmate, Star, fell into the room as he opened the door. His fears had been confirmed. While he was with Tierra and Kai, just seconds before, through his connection with Star, he had felt a sharp pain in his neck, heard something slam against a door hard, and heard her cry out in his mind. He gently picked her up, laying her on the bed. He looked at her fearfully, then transported himself back to where Tierra and Kai were.
"Hey," Kai said. "Where'd you go…."
"Back home," he replied shortly.
"What happened?" inquired Kai, leaning on the wall.
He quickly explained the situation, finishing with, "I'm not sure if she's all right or not…and I don't know what, or who, did it…"
Kai looked surprised. "Geez…It just keeps getting better and better doesn't it….hope she's okay…."
"I do too…" Link replied, trembling slightly.
Kai tore up some of his cloak, using it to wipe off his leg, which was covered in blood. "I think you're going to need a new cloak soon Kai…" Tierra said.
"What did happen to your leg? You never said…"
"I…the bone's broken." Kai replied. "As are a few ribs…" He sat down. "They'll heal. Just have to wait a while…"
"You sure you're going to be alright?"
"I…yeah I'll be fine Link."
"All right…" Link said skeptically, looking concerned. "Well, at least this little brat is keeping quiet and not chewing anything…." He looked down at the puppy and said to it, "What're you staring at?"
Kai focused on healing his leg. "That might not be such a good thing Link…I wonder what got Star?" he said, wiping off his leg again.
"Knowing my luck, the dog's probably plotting against me…." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I also wonder what it was…"
"Against you….heh, never…not her." Kai picked at something imbedded in his leg. "Wha…."
He ripped it out. "Frick."
"What was it?" Link asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Tierra went over to stand next to Kai, taking the object from his trembling hands. "So…some kind of….clawish, spur thing," replied Kai.
Tierra sat down opposite Kai and took his leg in her hands, starting to heal it. Kai watched her intently. "I could do…that myself you know…"
"Mm-hmm." Tierra replied distractedly.
"Ouch…that sounds bad…I wonder if it was poisoned…" Link said, as always thinking of the worst.
"I hope not. But…I've never seen anything like that…before," said Kai.
"It was Kai…actually. Strange poison too," Tierra told him.
"Damn…" Link cursed quietly.
"What…" Kai sighed and laid back. "What is WITH everything…is this…beat on Kai week or something…" He moaned and held his head, saying to Tierra, "Don't! That hurts!"
"Stop fussing….I'm being as gentle as I can." Tierra said, slowly pulling out the sac of poison. "If you'll stop moving for about ten seconds….you're just making it worse you know…."
"Kai, I would do as she says if I were you…I know what it's like to have poison all throughout your body and trust me it's worse than getting it taken out," Link told him.
Kai gave a defeated sigh. "Very well." A second later, he yelled, "OW!"
"Don't you ow me…. it can't hurt that badly…oh wait, it's attached itself to you already? Hmm…"
More coming soon!!