Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Zelda. Only the plot changes and
Tristan Nieves.
Author's Note: Grrrrrrr, I hate writer's block. I also hate not knowing when to end chapters. I also hate it when I stall the action. So without further ado, I start the story.
P.S. This chapter is dedicated to OracleVortex. Thanks for reviewing for me. Also, thank you for inspiring me to write again. Everyone, go read her stuff, it's awesome!
~ ~ ~
A True Friend
Chapter 6
"The Meeting of the Heroes"
~ ~ ~ "Shield up! That's it, now, here comes a hard one!" Percy yelled out to Link as they trained in the Know-it-all brother's backyard.
As Percy swung a Deku stick at the other boy in the yard, Link put his shield in a perfect block, effectively reducing Percy's blow to a mere tap. Link didn't even flinch from the sharp contact when the two pieces of wood met. After only a few hours of practice, Link was already on his way to expertise with the shield. Percy attributed it to something he called "predisposition", but Link just thought it was skill. After all, how many ten-year olds did he know of that could use a shield effectively? After Percy took a few more swings, futily trying to find a weak spot in Link's defensive strategy, he waved his hand in surrender.
"Link," Percy began, "you have a real gift there with that shield. It's almost as if you were born with that shield attached to your arm!"
Link could only grin at the compliment. It took a lot to impress a Know-it- all brother, and Percy was in awe at Link's talent. It made Link feel a bit better about himself, and he almost forgot about the test Mido had placed before him. Link still needed a sword, and the Great Deku Tree wasn't getting any younger. As he leaned against the wall of Percy's house, he pondered where a sword might appear, if it ever did. He knew he couldn't count on Saria for one, since she had already supplied him with a shield, and would have given him a sword if she had one. Link sighed to himself and wondered how he would ever pass Mido's test.
"Link, buddy, are you okay?" Percy asked.
Link was jerked out of his reverie by the innocent question. He put on a quick smile, determined not to let Mido get to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied. "Hey, thanks for the lesson, Percy. I'm gonna go practice a bit more. See you around."
"Yeah, take care, Link."
Link walked back around the house, waving to Percy as he went. Percy waved back to the boy clad in green, and returned to his house to read up a bit on Deku Stalks and their medicinal purposes.
~ ~ ~
"Traveler, why did you choose now to come?" the Kokiri girl asked of Tristan.
"I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am. I didn't choose to come here at all, and I'm pretty sure I'm not a traveler" he replied.
"Not a traveler, The Traveler" the girl scolded him, placing more emphasis on the 't' than before, as if to make her point. It seemed as though the child was waiting for someone to come along, just not now. Or possibly not him. In any case, she was not about to let Tristan off the earth.
"Okay, okay, The Traveler. But you still have the wrong guy! I don't even know what I'm doing here. I didn't come here by choice, and I can't seem to find a way out!" he yelled at the blonde girl.
She seemed to consider that thought for a moment, and Tristan took the opportunity to look around the forest a bit more. The majority of the village still seemed to be in the second dimension, but the part closest to him, about a 10-foot circle around him, seemed to be alive and full. Another peculiarity he noticed was that 3D seemed to beget 3D, that is, a tree who no longer was in the confines of the polygons seemed to free its neighbor at the same rate as when Tristan was standing next to it.
The Kokiri looked back at Tristan, interrupting his thought with "You may not be The Traveler, but you still are an intruder here. And the only way for one to enter these trees is to be a traveler. So, what is your business with the Kokiri?"
"I, uh, need to speak with Link. He can help me out of here, I think." Tristan stuttered. The girl seemed to suffer from some mood swings, and severe ones at that. One second, she had him pinned to the floor, the next... well, she still didn't trust him, but at least Tristan was on his feet. He studied her clothing, now fully 3D. It was still the forest green that he remembered form the game, but the detail in every stitch was impressive, to say the least. The stitching on her tunic was in the shapes of leaves, and as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the leaves almost seemed to move.
Finally, she opened her mouth, saying, "I'm not sure how you know about Link, or how you got here if you aren't a traveler, but maybe you can explain this..." With that, she gestured to herself.
"Explain what?" Tristan knew exactly what she was talking about, but he wanted to know if she knew that she wasn't two-dimensional anymore.
Her eyes narrowed with impatience as she answered "This! Me! The Trees! Can't you see what's happened to them? To me? One minute I'm walking along Kokiri Path to the shop, like I do everyday, and the next thing I know, I see you appear out of nowhere up on a ledge!"
Tristan's eyes widened a bit at the last part. So he was invisible to the people of this world who weren't in the third dimension. "I can't explain this if I don't know what's going on, now can I? I'm just as confused as you are, and right now, I think things would clear up if I could speak to Link."
She looked at Tristan. "It won't do much good talking to Link if he can't see you. Besides, I still have a few more questions for you. Like how you got one of the rarest items in all of Hyrule." The girl pointed to Tristan's staff lying on the ground beside them. "The wand of the Skull Kid."
Tristan looked down at the stick lying on the ground. It didn't look like a wand to him. No, more of a walking stick. "Unless your Skull Children are much bigger than the one I met..." Or in the game, for that matter, Tristan thought to himself. "...then this is no wand. Look at it. The thing is much too big to be useful as a wand!" He told the girl standing in front of him.
She shook her head. "No, that is definitely a wand. Look at the carvings on it. A lot of effort was put into making that piece of equipment you hold in your hands, and the Skull Children aren't known for the amount of work they put into things." She knelt down onto the mossy ground and ran her fingers over the markings etched into the piece of wood. "You should take good care of this. It's not everyday a person can relieve a Skull Kid of his wand." And with that, the Kokiri grasped the staff and tossed it to Tristan, who fumbled a bit on the catch, but kept it off the ground nevertheless.
"Thank you... um, you know, I don't think we ever exchanged names. Mine's Tristan." He held his hand out.
The girl eyed him warily for a minute before replying. "I'm Rhiannon, but most of the Kokiri call me Rhi. Nice to meet you Tristan." With that, the two shook hands. "I guess I should take you to Link..."
~ ~ ~
Link was walking along the dirt trail that ran through the Kokiri village, putting up his shield against imaginary foes. He had enjoyed the training session with Percy, and only stopped to get to the second part of Mido's challenge: a sword. Link wasn't all too cheerful about having to search all of the Kokiri Forest just to please the Kokiri snob.
Navi hovered in front of Link's face when he stopped next to the pond adjacent to the shop. "Hey, are you okay, Link? You look all... depressed."
Link sighed in response. "We've had this talk before Navi, and I'm out of ideas on where to look for a sword." He racked his brain as hard as he could, thinking of where a sword might possibly be located. Drawing a blank, Link stared at Navi. "Do you have any ideas? Even vague ones? All suggestions are welcome!"
Navi shook her head as she fluttered around the head of her companion. "None. The only thing I can think of is to ask Saria to tell Mido to move. He listens to her and-"
Link cut her off abruptly. "No way! I am not going to go running to Saria every time I have a problem with Mido! I'm gonna do this one on my own, without going to hide behind Saria. Further more, I'm going to tell Mido-" He suddenly stopped short after noticing something out of the corner of his eye. Link looked up at a ledge above the village. Navi looked as well, but when no motion or other sign of abnormalities appeared, she turned back to face Link. He, however, kept staring at the platform, certain he had seen something. There it was again! Link couldn't explain it, but there appeared to be a Kokiri girl standing there, next to some other person. Link couldn't make out anything other than the person wasn't a Kokiri, since their back was to him. Then, without warning, they vanished again.
Blinking a few times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Link watched for a minute or two as the pair faded in and out of view. Having enough of this trickery, Link ran towards the lower ledges where he could get to where the unusual activity was.
~ ~ ~
Tristan had spent the last few minutes talking with Rhi, getting to know first-hand about Kokiri life. Rather, he had been listening to Rhi talk to him, as he was still uncomfortable doing small talk. He had learned about the different crops they grew, where they were grown, different herbs that were native to the woods that the Kokiri used for medicine, along with many other pieces of information. Just as Rhiannon had finished explaining the different months and their significance, Tristan saw movement behind her. "Rhi, someone is coming right at us, and unless I'm mistaken, I think it's Link!"
Rhi turned around to see her fellow Kokiri jogging in their general direction. She noticed, however, that his eyes were not focused directly on them. "Tristan, I don't think he can see us..."
Tristan was already a bit ahead of his new friend, and was running towards Link with a bit of apprehension. What if the Hero of Time didn't want to help him? What if the Hero of Time didn't want to be helped? What if I can't get home? What if I die here? What if I alter history? All these questions raced through Tristan's mind as he raced towards the Hero of Time. As he got closer, Tristan slowed to a walk, then turned around and jogged with Link, trying to stay as close as possible to get the polygon effect to wear off.
~ ~ ~
Link thought he saw the mysterious figure running at him, but then it vanished into thin air again. Link shook his head and continued jogging to the spot where he had last seen the two people. Suddenly, a girl appeared leaning against a tree, a girl whom Link recognized as Rhiannon. However, what startled him was the teenage male who was running alongside him. Link gave a cry of surprise and lost his footing, tripping and falling upon the forest floor.
Upon seeing the kid stumble and fall onto the ground, Tristan stopped short and grimaced. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid: getting off on the wrong foot. If Link didn't trust or believe him, Tristan was probably not getting home. He turned to the child sprawled out on the ground and extended his hand, saying, "Sorry about that, Link. I didn't mean to frighten you. My name's Tristan and I need your help."
~ ~ ~
Author's Note: Okay, this was a bit longer than usual. Also, it took a while to come out. I'm sorry, but I fell out of the fanfiction writing feeling. Hopefully, the next chapter will come together sooner.
Author's Note: Grrrrrrr, I hate writer's block. I also hate not knowing when to end chapters. I also hate it when I stall the action. So without further ado, I start the story.
P.S. This chapter is dedicated to OracleVortex. Thanks for reviewing for me. Also, thank you for inspiring me to write again. Everyone, go read her stuff, it's awesome!
~ ~ ~
A True Friend
Chapter 6
"The Meeting of the Heroes"
~ ~ ~ "Shield up! That's it, now, here comes a hard one!" Percy yelled out to Link as they trained in the Know-it-all brother's backyard.
As Percy swung a Deku stick at the other boy in the yard, Link put his shield in a perfect block, effectively reducing Percy's blow to a mere tap. Link didn't even flinch from the sharp contact when the two pieces of wood met. After only a few hours of practice, Link was already on his way to expertise with the shield. Percy attributed it to something he called "predisposition", but Link just thought it was skill. After all, how many ten-year olds did he know of that could use a shield effectively? After Percy took a few more swings, futily trying to find a weak spot in Link's defensive strategy, he waved his hand in surrender.
"Link," Percy began, "you have a real gift there with that shield. It's almost as if you were born with that shield attached to your arm!"
Link could only grin at the compliment. It took a lot to impress a Know-it- all brother, and Percy was in awe at Link's talent. It made Link feel a bit better about himself, and he almost forgot about the test Mido had placed before him. Link still needed a sword, and the Great Deku Tree wasn't getting any younger. As he leaned against the wall of Percy's house, he pondered where a sword might appear, if it ever did. He knew he couldn't count on Saria for one, since she had already supplied him with a shield, and would have given him a sword if she had one. Link sighed to himself and wondered how he would ever pass Mido's test.
"Link, buddy, are you okay?" Percy asked.
Link was jerked out of his reverie by the innocent question. He put on a quick smile, determined not to let Mido get to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied. "Hey, thanks for the lesson, Percy. I'm gonna go practice a bit more. See you around."
"Yeah, take care, Link."
Link walked back around the house, waving to Percy as he went. Percy waved back to the boy clad in green, and returned to his house to read up a bit on Deku Stalks and their medicinal purposes.
~ ~ ~
"Traveler, why did you choose now to come?" the Kokiri girl asked of Tristan.
"I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am. I didn't choose to come here at all, and I'm pretty sure I'm not a traveler" he replied.
"Not a traveler, The Traveler" the girl scolded him, placing more emphasis on the 't' than before, as if to make her point. It seemed as though the child was waiting for someone to come along, just not now. Or possibly not him. In any case, she was not about to let Tristan off the earth.
"Okay, okay, The Traveler. But you still have the wrong guy! I don't even know what I'm doing here. I didn't come here by choice, and I can't seem to find a way out!" he yelled at the blonde girl.
She seemed to consider that thought for a moment, and Tristan took the opportunity to look around the forest a bit more. The majority of the village still seemed to be in the second dimension, but the part closest to him, about a 10-foot circle around him, seemed to be alive and full. Another peculiarity he noticed was that 3D seemed to beget 3D, that is, a tree who no longer was in the confines of the polygons seemed to free its neighbor at the same rate as when Tristan was standing next to it.
The Kokiri looked back at Tristan, interrupting his thought with "You may not be The Traveler, but you still are an intruder here. And the only way for one to enter these trees is to be a traveler. So, what is your business with the Kokiri?"
"I, uh, need to speak with Link. He can help me out of here, I think." Tristan stuttered. The girl seemed to suffer from some mood swings, and severe ones at that. One second, she had him pinned to the floor, the next... well, she still didn't trust him, but at least Tristan was on his feet. He studied her clothing, now fully 3D. It was still the forest green that he remembered form the game, but the detail in every stitch was impressive, to say the least. The stitching on her tunic was in the shapes of leaves, and as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the leaves almost seemed to move.
Finally, she opened her mouth, saying, "I'm not sure how you know about Link, or how you got here if you aren't a traveler, but maybe you can explain this..." With that, she gestured to herself.
"Explain what?" Tristan knew exactly what she was talking about, but he wanted to know if she knew that she wasn't two-dimensional anymore.
Her eyes narrowed with impatience as she answered "This! Me! The Trees! Can't you see what's happened to them? To me? One minute I'm walking along Kokiri Path to the shop, like I do everyday, and the next thing I know, I see you appear out of nowhere up on a ledge!"
Tristan's eyes widened a bit at the last part. So he was invisible to the people of this world who weren't in the third dimension. "I can't explain this if I don't know what's going on, now can I? I'm just as confused as you are, and right now, I think things would clear up if I could speak to Link."
She looked at Tristan. "It won't do much good talking to Link if he can't see you. Besides, I still have a few more questions for you. Like how you got one of the rarest items in all of Hyrule." The girl pointed to Tristan's staff lying on the ground beside them. "The wand of the Skull Kid."
Tristan looked down at the stick lying on the ground. It didn't look like a wand to him. No, more of a walking stick. "Unless your Skull Children are much bigger than the one I met..." Or in the game, for that matter, Tristan thought to himself. "...then this is no wand. Look at it. The thing is much too big to be useful as a wand!" He told the girl standing in front of him.
She shook her head. "No, that is definitely a wand. Look at the carvings on it. A lot of effort was put into making that piece of equipment you hold in your hands, and the Skull Children aren't known for the amount of work they put into things." She knelt down onto the mossy ground and ran her fingers over the markings etched into the piece of wood. "You should take good care of this. It's not everyday a person can relieve a Skull Kid of his wand." And with that, the Kokiri grasped the staff and tossed it to Tristan, who fumbled a bit on the catch, but kept it off the ground nevertheless.
"Thank you... um, you know, I don't think we ever exchanged names. Mine's Tristan." He held his hand out.
The girl eyed him warily for a minute before replying. "I'm Rhiannon, but most of the Kokiri call me Rhi. Nice to meet you Tristan." With that, the two shook hands. "I guess I should take you to Link..."
~ ~ ~
Link was walking along the dirt trail that ran through the Kokiri village, putting up his shield against imaginary foes. He had enjoyed the training session with Percy, and only stopped to get to the second part of Mido's challenge: a sword. Link wasn't all too cheerful about having to search all of the Kokiri Forest just to please the Kokiri snob.
Navi hovered in front of Link's face when he stopped next to the pond adjacent to the shop. "Hey, are you okay, Link? You look all... depressed."
Link sighed in response. "We've had this talk before Navi, and I'm out of ideas on where to look for a sword." He racked his brain as hard as he could, thinking of where a sword might possibly be located. Drawing a blank, Link stared at Navi. "Do you have any ideas? Even vague ones? All suggestions are welcome!"
Navi shook her head as she fluttered around the head of her companion. "None. The only thing I can think of is to ask Saria to tell Mido to move. He listens to her and-"
Link cut her off abruptly. "No way! I am not going to go running to Saria every time I have a problem with Mido! I'm gonna do this one on my own, without going to hide behind Saria. Further more, I'm going to tell Mido-" He suddenly stopped short after noticing something out of the corner of his eye. Link looked up at a ledge above the village. Navi looked as well, but when no motion or other sign of abnormalities appeared, she turned back to face Link. He, however, kept staring at the platform, certain he had seen something. There it was again! Link couldn't explain it, but there appeared to be a Kokiri girl standing there, next to some other person. Link couldn't make out anything other than the person wasn't a Kokiri, since their back was to him. Then, without warning, they vanished again.
Blinking a few times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Link watched for a minute or two as the pair faded in and out of view. Having enough of this trickery, Link ran towards the lower ledges where he could get to where the unusual activity was.
~ ~ ~
Tristan had spent the last few minutes talking with Rhi, getting to know first-hand about Kokiri life. Rather, he had been listening to Rhi talk to him, as he was still uncomfortable doing small talk. He had learned about the different crops they grew, where they were grown, different herbs that were native to the woods that the Kokiri used for medicine, along with many other pieces of information. Just as Rhiannon had finished explaining the different months and their significance, Tristan saw movement behind her. "Rhi, someone is coming right at us, and unless I'm mistaken, I think it's Link!"
Rhi turned around to see her fellow Kokiri jogging in their general direction. She noticed, however, that his eyes were not focused directly on them. "Tristan, I don't think he can see us..."
Tristan was already a bit ahead of his new friend, and was running towards Link with a bit of apprehension. What if the Hero of Time didn't want to help him? What if the Hero of Time didn't want to be helped? What if I can't get home? What if I die here? What if I alter history? All these questions raced through Tristan's mind as he raced towards the Hero of Time. As he got closer, Tristan slowed to a walk, then turned around and jogged with Link, trying to stay as close as possible to get the polygon effect to wear off.
~ ~ ~
Link thought he saw the mysterious figure running at him, but then it vanished into thin air again. Link shook his head and continued jogging to the spot where he had last seen the two people. Suddenly, a girl appeared leaning against a tree, a girl whom Link recognized as Rhiannon. However, what startled him was the teenage male who was running alongside him. Link gave a cry of surprise and lost his footing, tripping and falling upon the forest floor.
Upon seeing the kid stumble and fall onto the ground, Tristan stopped short and grimaced. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid: getting off on the wrong foot. If Link didn't trust or believe him, Tristan was probably not getting home. He turned to the child sprawled out on the ground and extended his hand, saying, "Sorry about that, Link. I didn't mean to frighten you. My name's Tristan and I need your help."
~ ~ ~
Author's Note: Okay, this was a bit longer than usual. Also, it took a while to come out. I'm sorry, but I fell out of the fanfiction writing feeling. Hopefully, the next chapter will come together sooner.