Author's notes: The lyrics belong to Chad Kroeger. I checked the booklet. And I wouldn't have to check the booklet if they belonged to me, now would I?
Onto my thank-yous which I've grown accustomed to doing. ^_^
Thank you, Tinie Ashie: Yay, someone's enthusiastic about me updating! ^^ Just seeing someone happy with my writing makes me want to update faster. ^_~
Thank you, Snowangel: Yes, I know you. ^_^ Eh-heh, yes, the cliffhangers... Unfortunately, this chapter doesn't explain any more of what happened in the last one... ::sweatdrop:: I had to get back to the other three so you know they didn't get eaten by Redead or something! ^^; The best you've read? Wow...
Thank you, Lupa with a pen: I apologize for the cliffhanger again. ^.^; But hey, if there weren't any, would people really come back to read more? Cliffhangers make the world go round... As much as we hate to admit it. ^^ I'll admit that I've complained about cliffhangers a lot, but it gets me to come back and see what happens. ^.^ I'm glad you like Black Balloon and Loser; right now Loser and this are the only things I'm concentrating on, because people inspire me to continue. Thank you! ^_^
Thank you, Vallen: If reading about people in pain makes you sick, then you're just as sick as I am. @.@; Not only do we read it, but we write it. I swear, STFF and FnoK should be like, twin fics or something. o.0; *ahem* Damn, you read right through me. ^.^; But it's working, isn't it? Heh. The lyrics in the last chapter are from "I Stand Alone", which I've kind of decided as Mewtwo's song in this story. It fits, ne?
Thank you, Sinnatious: Wai, don't get on your knees! It's not THAT good! At any rate, I'm hoping to start getting chapters out in decent time; I know what will happen for the next few, so as long as I can sit down and WRITE, I'll be good. ^^ And I torture you with cliffhangers because I love torturing people. *laughs evilly until she chokes* @.@; I'm glad you think my sick plots are written well. ^_^;;
Thank you, Boethas: You know I love your reviews! ^_^ I tend to write short chapters--especially for this story--because going into the next thing in the same chapter would take me MONTHS to complete. ::sweatdrop:: A lot of the chapters with Roy's POV end up being fillers, to build up to something else... I don't know why; I don't do it on purpose. ::scratches head:: Hooked, eh? Maybe I should make STFF pills: to hold you off until Mel stops slacking off and writes another chapter! Heh, kay, maybe not... ^^;
Thank you, Moiras: Course I know about Three Swords: it looks to be one of the few yaoi SSBM fics that's written WELL. I haven't gotten any complaints since I first put yaoi in this story, so hopefully that means it's written well... ^^; Yes, poor Roy... I torment him too much. I always torture the characters I love most. Weird, sick little thing of mine. @.@; I'm glad so many people like my altenating POV system; when I first started, I thought people would find it annoying. Sometimes the POV system is what delays chapters, though. Take this one, for instance: I wasn't sure who's POV it should be--if I knew right off, I probably would've started right after I posted the last chapter. But I decided to stop being annoying and actually put a decent amount of action in a single chapter. ^^;; So that decision kind of decided for me whose POV it'll be.
Thank you, kyuusei: Yes! Someone who ISN'T a Pokemaniac such as myself understands Mewtwo's character! There is hope for the world yet! And someone agrees with my view on cliffhangers. ^^ I'm afraid this one might be another one, but I'm writing up the author's notes before the chapter itself. ^^; This isn't meant to be bragging or anything, but I think at least for this particular story, I write Roy/Marth differently than other authors do, in the sense that I don't portray Marth as a kind, sensitive, modest little sissy boy. Eveyone just sees that Marth is pretty and Roy has fire and automatically assumes that Marth is as I said above, and Roy is a brash hothead. It's fun to write Roy like that, yes, but that doesn't necessarily make him in-character. But really, if people would pay attention to what they say in SSBM (you can find translations almost anywhere), it's obvious that, if anything, it's the other way around. I seem to be the only author who portrays Marth as a bit rude, and not overly-sensitive. In fact, there was one part of the story where he was a complete asshole. Nobody else will do that. I thought because of thoes things, people wouldn't like this story. But I got eight reviews on the last chapter, so that's not bad! ^_^
__ __ __
Chapter Twenty-one
Zelda's POV
"Someone told me love would all save us
But how can that be? Look what love gave us
A world full of killing
And blood spilling
That world never came."
Something was wrong. I didn't know what it was, but I had a deep sense of foreboding. I wasn't sure if it meant something was happening back at camp, or if something was going to happen to us. Either way, I didn't say anything to Link or Marth. I just walked silently behind them, alert as ever.
It had been a while since anybody spoke. Very few words, if any, were said since we left. It wasn't a lively situation in which to make conversation, and I was usually satisfied with silence, but something about the dead sounds of the forest stirred me. At the same time, I was thankful; if it hadn't been so quiet, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to comprehend this upset inside of me.
We had been out in daylight for a few hours; I estimated that the fortress wasn't far away. The three of us against Ganondorf's army was going to be a challenge. I was unsure of how well we could perform against them, especially myself; I was bearing Roy's sword, which I had no experience with. I'd never wielded a sword before, and so I was nervous about how I would do if it came down to that. I would have to rely on the power I myself had.
Suddenly Link stopped. I did so immediately after he did, while Marth didn't turn around until he didn't hear footsteps behind him anymore. "What is it?" he whispered, his eyes suddenly alert.
Link raised a finger to his lips, then stood completely still. I could tell that he sensed something that Marth, being human, couldn't. I focused myself as well, and felt what he must have: a strong energy emitting from ahead of us. Although it seemed to be a decent hundred yards away, it was approaching faster by the second. Link realized as soon as I did that we had to move; he grabbed the prince, who still seemed unaware, and leapt into the side brush. I chose a faster technique.
I focused my mind on what I desired, and with a quick flash of green light, I soared into the trees above. From my overhead view, I could see Link peer over his shoulder to see what had been approaching, but there was nothing. Marth, of course, was thoroughly annoyed.
"Do you mind if I ask why the hell you threw us into a bush?" he seethed, rubbing his right arm.
"What was that?" Link mumbled to himself as he seemed to ignore Marth's comment.
"Nothing was there, Link," Marth's voice had calmed down, probably noting that Link sounded completely serious. "Maybe you're just getting paranoid."
"You felt it too, didn't you?" my friend turned up to the tree, knowing exactly where I would be.
Instead of coming down to answer him, I just rose my voice a small way. "Something was there. I don't feel it anymore, though..."
Marth put on a face as if he was concentrating, and after a moment, he spoke. "Well, whatever it was, apparently it wasn't after us. We should keep going; we're almost there. I'll just... Try to be more alert."
Almost immediately after he finished, I felt a strange wind brush past me, heading for the other two. It was the same aura from whatever rushed by...
"Look out!" I called down to them. Marth proved to live up to his word, as he jumped in front of Link and held his sword out in a defensive position. He was successful in holding the force back, but it shot back in the direction from which it came, passing through me. A cringe of pain came over me in that short moment, and I knew that we were dealing with something big. Just like I had sensed...
But I could also feel that this force wasn't its truest form. I guessed that it had a physical form, with the ability to leave its body, or possibly dematerialize. I didn't have time to dwell over what it might be, because Marth spoke again. "It's homing in on all of us; we should split up!"
Without arguing, Link nodded once and ran further into the brush. Marth, being the faster of the two, leapt over the narrow path between bushes that we were on before, and dashed out of sight. I decided my best route would be to stay above the ground, but I couldn't very well the way I was then. Gaining as much balance as possible from the branch I stood on, I closed my eyes and focused my mind once again. A strange sensation passed through me.
I felt a quick wind across my body as it began to subtly reshape. My skin quickly gained pressure, as opposed to the flowing dress I wore. Everything started to come into focus and within seconds, the transformation was complete. From my neck to my feet, I was almost completely covered in skintight blue. Bonds hung from my body; around my wrists to conceal weapons, and around my face to conceal my identity. I opened my eyes once more, ready to evade.
I leapt easily from one tree to the next, hardly moving the branches as I landed. I could feel the presence behind me; it chose to follow me, probably because I was the last to leave. I just kept my pace going well, until I found myself in a clearing, with nowhere to go but down.
I leapt again as if to reach another tree, but instead let myself go and landed on one hand and then my feet, now on level ground. The force followed me, as I expected, but didn't pass through me again. Instead, it went past me and through the clearing, into the other side of the wood.
I wasn't sure how I could battle the energy, so I didn't pursue. I assumed it had retreated back to the fortress, where it no doubt came from. But calculating the pace at which it was moving, I shouldn't have been able to feel it anymore. It felt as if it hadn't gone much further than the edge of the clearing. I didn't know what it could be doing, but I found out before I could think it over.
An all too familiar cry echoed through the open space, and a form charged onto the grass. I shifted my weight to my right foot and held my left in front of me, ready to battle. But somehow I couldn't believe that that force was really the energy of a Wolfos.
As the dog creature rushed toward me, I shook my left hand rhythmically, each shake producing a long, slender needle from the bands around my wrist. I collected four before shooting them at the Wolfos. But as they connected with the creature's head, it didn't seem phased. I knew for sure I didn't miss; I had the aim perfectly aligned and I saw it connect. That told me for certain that a Wolfos was not its true form.
That didn't give me a better idea of what it actually was, though. I didn't know what would be needed to defeat it, but one thing that I wasn't anticipating came to mind; I slowly reached for the sling hanging around my waist, and pulled out the Sword of Seals.
I pulled the blade in front of me as soon as the wolf lunged. It pushed the monster back, but I couldn't defeat it just by blocking. I jumped back a bit and lowered to sword to my side, then dashed up to my opponent and slashed. I heard a cry of pain, but I also knew that it didn't inflict much damage. I flipped backwards before it could deliver a counter strike, then slashed again. But I didn't feel any bluntness in the wind; it didn't connect.
Before I could regain proper balance from the swinging sword, I felt a sharp, gashing pain on my back. I almost fell forward, but I caught myself on my hands and flipped again, higher this time. I landed a distance away from the animal, trying to buy enough time to develop a strategy. I couldn't continue attacking with the sword, and the slashes in my back were throbbing as I felt blood streak down, clashing with the blue and white battle suit.
I dashed to the right as it lunged again. Time was running short, and although I was desperately trying to think of a technique that could defeat the monster, panic was blocking my co I swung the sword again to try to keep the wolf at bay while I tried to focus, but that strike missed also. I jumped straight over the animal to avoid it's counterattack. I did another flip upon landing, spreading the distance between us again. Desperation was getting the best of me, and I seemed defenseless.
The Wolfos charged again, with more force than before. I was ready to retreat, but I felt a strange energy forming between my hands. I looked down to see that the sword was emitting a bright glow. I wasn't familiar with the sword's abilities, but I had never seen Roy make it do such a thing... Except when charging the devastating Flare Blade.
But it wasn't in proper position to release that move. I wasn't attempting any attack with it, for that matter. Whatever the reason for the glow, it was confusing the Wolfos. It stopped itself, pulling back and trying to look through the light which seemed to be burning at it's eyes.
Before I knew what was happening, a spiral of fire ignited from the hilt of the sword upward, above the trees. The force sent me back, but I didn't lose my balance. Everything in the area was tinted by the light from the flames of the sword. I heard the Wolfos let out a much louder cry, but I couldn't see through the fire to what had happened. I felt more energy rising from within the blade. I had no way of shielding myself as the flames exploded into a giant inferno, and that was all I could see.
Onto my thank-yous which I've grown accustomed to doing. ^_^
Thank you, Tinie Ashie: Yay, someone's enthusiastic about me updating! ^^ Just seeing someone happy with my writing makes me want to update faster. ^_~
Thank you, Snowangel: Yes, I know you. ^_^ Eh-heh, yes, the cliffhangers... Unfortunately, this chapter doesn't explain any more of what happened in the last one... ::sweatdrop:: I had to get back to the other three so you know they didn't get eaten by Redead or something! ^^; The best you've read? Wow...
Thank you, Lupa with a pen: I apologize for the cliffhanger again. ^.^; But hey, if there weren't any, would people really come back to read more? Cliffhangers make the world go round... As much as we hate to admit it. ^^ I'll admit that I've complained about cliffhangers a lot, but it gets me to come back and see what happens. ^.^ I'm glad you like Black Balloon and Loser; right now Loser and this are the only things I'm concentrating on, because people inspire me to continue. Thank you! ^_^
Thank you, Vallen: If reading about people in pain makes you sick, then you're just as sick as I am. @.@; Not only do we read it, but we write it. I swear, STFF and FnoK should be like, twin fics or something. o.0; *ahem* Damn, you read right through me. ^.^; But it's working, isn't it? Heh. The lyrics in the last chapter are from "I Stand Alone", which I've kind of decided as Mewtwo's song in this story. It fits, ne?
Thank you, Sinnatious: Wai, don't get on your knees! It's not THAT good! At any rate, I'm hoping to start getting chapters out in decent time; I know what will happen for the next few, so as long as I can sit down and WRITE, I'll be good. ^^ And I torture you with cliffhangers because I love torturing people. *laughs evilly until she chokes* @.@; I'm glad you think my sick plots are written well. ^_^;;
Thank you, Boethas: You know I love your reviews! ^_^ I tend to write short chapters--especially for this story--because going into the next thing in the same chapter would take me MONTHS to complete. ::sweatdrop:: A lot of the chapters with Roy's POV end up being fillers, to build up to something else... I don't know why; I don't do it on purpose. ::scratches head:: Hooked, eh? Maybe I should make STFF pills: to hold you off until Mel stops slacking off and writes another chapter! Heh, kay, maybe not... ^^;
Thank you, Moiras: Course I know about Three Swords: it looks to be one of the few yaoi SSBM fics that's written WELL. I haven't gotten any complaints since I first put yaoi in this story, so hopefully that means it's written well... ^^; Yes, poor Roy... I torment him too much. I always torture the characters I love most. Weird, sick little thing of mine. @.@; I'm glad so many people like my altenating POV system; when I first started, I thought people would find it annoying. Sometimes the POV system is what delays chapters, though. Take this one, for instance: I wasn't sure who's POV it should be--if I knew right off, I probably would've started right after I posted the last chapter. But I decided to stop being annoying and actually put a decent amount of action in a single chapter. ^^;; So that decision kind of decided for me whose POV it'll be.
Thank you, kyuusei: Yes! Someone who ISN'T a Pokemaniac such as myself understands Mewtwo's character! There is hope for the world yet! And someone agrees with my view on cliffhangers. ^^ I'm afraid this one might be another one, but I'm writing up the author's notes before the chapter itself. ^^; This isn't meant to be bragging or anything, but I think at least for this particular story, I write Roy/Marth differently than other authors do, in the sense that I don't portray Marth as a kind, sensitive, modest little sissy boy. Eveyone just sees that Marth is pretty and Roy has fire and automatically assumes that Marth is as I said above, and Roy is a brash hothead. It's fun to write Roy like that, yes, but that doesn't necessarily make him in-character. But really, if people would pay attention to what they say in SSBM (you can find translations almost anywhere), it's obvious that, if anything, it's the other way around. I seem to be the only author who portrays Marth as a bit rude, and not overly-sensitive. In fact, there was one part of the story where he was a complete asshole. Nobody else will do that. I thought because of thoes things, people wouldn't like this story. But I got eight reviews on the last chapter, so that's not bad! ^_^
__ __ __
Chapter Twenty-one
Zelda's POV
"Someone told me love would all save us
But how can that be? Look what love gave us
A world full of killing
And blood spilling
That world never came."
Something was wrong. I didn't know what it was, but I had a deep sense of foreboding. I wasn't sure if it meant something was happening back at camp, or if something was going to happen to us. Either way, I didn't say anything to Link or Marth. I just walked silently behind them, alert as ever.
It had been a while since anybody spoke. Very few words, if any, were said since we left. It wasn't a lively situation in which to make conversation, and I was usually satisfied with silence, but something about the dead sounds of the forest stirred me. At the same time, I was thankful; if it hadn't been so quiet, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to comprehend this upset inside of me.
We had been out in daylight for a few hours; I estimated that the fortress wasn't far away. The three of us against Ganondorf's army was going to be a challenge. I was unsure of how well we could perform against them, especially myself; I was bearing Roy's sword, which I had no experience with. I'd never wielded a sword before, and so I was nervous about how I would do if it came down to that. I would have to rely on the power I myself had.
Suddenly Link stopped. I did so immediately after he did, while Marth didn't turn around until he didn't hear footsteps behind him anymore. "What is it?" he whispered, his eyes suddenly alert.
Link raised a finger to his lips, then stood completely still. I could tell that he sensed something that Marth, being human, couldn't. I focused myself as well, and felt what he must have: a strong energy emitting from ahead of us. Although it seemed to be a decent hundred yards away, it was approaching faster by the second. Link realized as soon as I did that we had to move; he grabbed the prince, who still seemed unaware, and leapt into the side brush. I chose a faster technique.
I focused my mind on what I desired, and with a quick flash of green light, I soared into the trees above. From my overhead view, I could see Link peer over his shoulder to see what had been approaching, but there was nothing. Marth, of course, was thoroughly annoyed.
"Do you mind if I ask why the hell you threw us into a bush?" he seethed, rubbing his right arm.
"What was that?" Link mumbled to himself as he seemed to ignore Marth's comment.
"Nothing was there, Link," Marth's voice had calmed down, probably noting that Link sounded completely serious. "Maybe you're just getting paranoid."
"You felt it too, didn't you?" my friend turned up to the tree, knowing exactly where I would be.
Instead of coming down to answer him, I just rose my voice a small way. "Something was there. I don't feel it anymore, though..."
Marth put on a face as if he was concentrating, and after a moment, he spoke. "Well, whatever it was, apparently it wasn't after us. We should keep going; we're almost there. I'll just... Try to be more alert."
Almost immediately after he finished, I felt a strange wind brush past me, heading for the other two. It was the same aura from whatever rushed by...
"Look out!" I called down to them. Marth proved to live up to his word, as he jumped in front of Link and held his sword out in a defensive position. He was successful in holding the force back, but it shot back in the direction from which it came, passing through me. A cringe of pain came over me in that short moment, and I knew that we were dealing with something big. Just like I had sensed...
But I could also feel that this force wasn't its truest form. I guessed that it had a physical form, with the ability to leave its body, or possibly dematerialize. I didn't have time to dwell over what it might be, because Marth spoke again. "It's homing in on all of us; we should split up!"
Without arguing, Link nodded once and ran further into the brush. Marth, being the faster of the two, leapt over the narrow path between bushes that we were on before, and dashed out of sight. I decided my best route would be to stay above the ground, but I couldn't very well the way I was then. Gaining as much balance as possible from the branch I stood on, I closed my eyes and focused my mind once again. A strange sensation passed through me.
I felt a quick wind across my body as it began to subtly reshape. My skin quickly gained pressure, as opposed to the flowing dress I wore. Everything started to come into focus and within seconds, the transformation was complete. From my neck to my feet, I was almost completely covered in skintight blue. Bonds hung from my body; around my wrists to conceal weapons, and around my face to conceal my identity. I opened my eyes once more, ready to evade.
I leapt easily from one tree to the next, hardly moving the branches as I landed. I could feel the presence behind me; it chose to follow me, probably because I was the last to leave. I just kept my pace going well, until I found myself in a clearing, with nowhere to go but down.
I leapt again as if to reach another tree, but instead let myself go and landed on one hand and then my feet, now on level ground. The force followed me, as I expected, but didn't pass through me again. Instead, it went past me and through the clearing, into the other side of the wood.
I wasn't sure how I could battle the energy, so I didn't pursue. I assumed it had retreated back to the fortress, where it no doubt came from. But calculating the pace at which it was moving, I shouldn't have been able to feel it anymore. It felt as if it hadn't gone much further than the edge of the clearing. I didn't know what it could be doing, but I found out before I could think it over.
An all too familiar cry echoed through the open space, and a form charged onto the grass. I shifted my weight to my right foot and held my left in front of me, ready to battle. But somehow I couldn't believe that that force was really the energy of a Wolfos.
As the dog creature rushed toward me, I shook my left hand rhythmically, each shake producing a long, slender needle from the bands around my wrist. I collected four before shooting them at the Wolfos. But as they connected with the creature's head, it didn't seem phased. I knew for sure I didn't miss; I had the aim perfectly aligned and I saw it connect. That told me for certain that a Wolfos was not its true form.
That didn't give me a better idea of what it actually was, though. I didn't know what would be needed to defeat it, but one thing that I wasn't anticipating came to mind; I slowly reached for the sling hanging around my waist, and pulled out the Sword of Seals.
I pulled the blade in front of me as soon as the wolf lunged. It pushed the monster back, but I couldn't defeat it just by blocking. I jumped back a bit and lowered to sword to my side, then dashed up to my opponent and slashed. I heard a cry of pain, but I also knew that it didn't inflict much damage. I flipped backwards before it could deliver a counter strike, then slashed again. But I didn't feel any bluntness in the wind; it didn't connect.
Before I could regain proper balance from the swinging sword, I felt a sharp, gashing pain on my back. I almost fell forward, but I caught myself on my hands and flipped again, higher this time. I landed a distance away from the animal, trying to buy enough time to develop a strategy. I couldn't continue attacking with the sword, and the slashes in my back were throbbing as I felt blood streak down, clashing with the blue and white battle suit.
I dashed to the right as it lunged again. Time was running short, and although I was desperately trying to think of a technique that could defeat the monster, panic was blocking my co I swung the sword again to try to keep the wolf at bay while I tried to focus, but that strike missed also. I jumped straight over the animal to avoid it's counterattack. I did another flip upon landing, spreading the distance between us again. Desperation was getting the best of me, and I seemed defenseless.
The Wolfos charged again, with more force than before. I was ready to retreat, but I felt a strange energy forming between my hands. I looked down to see that the sword was emitting a bright glow. I wasn't familiar with the sword's abilities, but I had never seen Roy make it do such a thing... Except when charging the devastating Flare Blade.
But it wasn't in proper position to release that move. I wasn't attempting any attack with it, for that matter. Whatever the reason for the glow, it was confusing the Wolfos. It stopped itself, pulling back and trying to look through the light which seemed to be burning at it's eyes.
Before I knew what was happening, a spiral of fire ignited from the hilt of the sword upward, above the trees. The force sent me back, but I didn't lose my balance. Everything in the area was tinted by the light from the flames of the sword. I heard the Wolfos let out a much louder cry, but I couldn't see through the fire to what had happened. I felt more energy rising from within the blade. I had no way of shielding myself as the flames exploded into a giant inferno, and that was all I could see.