The Day the Universes Collided
Chapter Sixteen
The Legacy of Links
Game Realm P.C.
Time: 0200 hours
Maverick scowled as the other Links lay on the floor of his ship, gasping and sweating. Allstar and Dark Link looked as if they had just seen a ghost, Waker's eyes were far larger than normal (but then they had always been a bit big for him), and both Link and Elfin had their hands locked in claw positions.
"I told you to hold your breath." Maverick pointed out.
"You didn't say we'd emerge in the middle of freakin' outer space!" Allstar Link shrieked once he had enough oxygen to do so. Maverick shrugged. "You could have shared the fact that your shadow-mist ability allowed you to survive in space without air, too!!!"
"I could give you the same power, but I'd have to cut off one of your body parts to make the transfer." Maverick murmured, "Like that useless blob sitting on the top of your neck."
"Can you feel the love here?" Dark Link grumbled as he slowly got to his feet, "I'm just glad that you decided to be so kind as to share the power with us for the brief seconds it took to keep us alive long enough to get in here!"
"Where are we anyway?" Waker asked, rubbing his eyes as the other heroes began to recover and stand up. Maverick looked around him and gazed at a single golden triangle that shone on a nearby wall.
"This is my base of operations, the mothership called The Legacy of Links. I simply call it Legacy. This is my home." he replied and began to walk off, "Zee! Status report! You five had better step to it, I'm not running a hotel here."
"Welcome home, Captain Maverick. The Legacy of Links has sustained minor hull damage on the port side, Decks Three Alpha to Four Beta have lost electrical power. The Elfin Phoenix has been recovered. Starboard wing has been lost and there are major damages to the starboard side." a computerized female voice announced over the PA system. Link blinked a bit. It sounded a lot like Zelda's voice!
"Repair status!" Maverick ordered as he led the group down a hall. The voice continued.
"Repairs on The Legacy of Links are 75% complete. Repairs on the Elfin Phoenix are 35% complete. You have a recorded message from Captain N and Lieutenant GCN." Zee replied. Maverick stopped and frowned.
"Something is wrong. Captain N and his sister never contact me unless there is something they can not handle." he muttered, "Zee, play message."
"Maverick! You've got to get this message! It's Nin and Tendo! I don't know what's wrong but....OH MY GOD! Hard to port! Hard to port! We need backup! Maverick! Get here as fast as you can! If you're alive and receiving, get to the Planet of Powers! SEGA!! NOOOO! Tendo, you heartless bastard! You've murdered your own girlfriend in cold blood, you backstabbing son of a...AAAAAGGH!" The message ended in static as Allstar and Dark Link covered their mouths in horror. The other Links looked startled, then turned to Maverick for an explanation. Maverick stared at the floor, a strange expression on his face.
"Zee, time-stamp on the message." he whispered.
"Time-stamp: Message received P.C. 2735, 1500 hours."
"How long have I been MIA?"
"Contact was lost P.C. 2730. Contact resumed P.C. 2740." Zee answered. Maverick closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh. "You have additional messages. Playback?"
"Yes." Maverick murmured and opened a room in the hall, "You five can take any of the rooms in this hall for the duration of our time here. Don't expect anything fancy. This is not a luxury ship. The Legacy was designed for combat."
"What happened? Who's Captain N? I thought he was just a stupid TV show! When did Tendo and Sega hook up? What's going on here?!" Allstar barked questions, looking more and more frantic with each one.
"It sounds like the Twins went crazy! But, how?! What could have done it?!" Dark Link cried.
"I give you three guess what did it and the first two don't count." Elfin remarked pointedly as Link looked down at his boots and then looked up again with a grim expression.
"The figurine of this world." he hissed, "This is crueler than anything Ganondorf could think up. Using a world's gods and goddesses against their people, nothing can be more despicable than that!"
"What are we gonna do? I saw them using lightning back in the other world! The Storm King's Bolero won't work on anything that's not wind!" Waker cried, hands clasped together to keep from letting them shake.
"Message playback." Zee began and the messages came in, one after another. "Maverick, if you can hear this, we are in a dire situation. The Nintendo Twin have gone mad. They've completely destroyed the Mario Homeworld and are proceeding to burn every other world they come across." the voice of SNES Sigma said, shakily, "Reports are coming in that they'll be heading for the MegaMan world next. Everyone's trying to evacuate, but we don't have enough ships for it. They blasted as many ships as they've created for us. I'm guessing only one third of the population will be saved. Considering how few of us are there to begin with, that won't be many. Please, warn the others, save the others. We can't survive an attack like this."
"This is GBA Samus! Oh jeez-us! Those Twins move like light! One second here, the next there! Sega's still alive, but barely! Oh Yokoi, save me, please! Maverick! Get your butt in gear and help us out! The Twins will kill us all! Agh! I lost sight of Tendo! Where is he?! GB Samus, where is he?! Oh noooo! Shields! Raise the- KEEEESH!!"
"This is Sony Song. Greetings, Elle Maverick, I must implore you to stop my mother and father from destroying a beautiful realm and all of their children. I can not bring myself to harm them and as such I have decided to entrap my worlds in a protective shield. I will be unable to move while generating this shield, and so I beg of you! Stop Mother and Father! Stop Nin and Tendo from destroying us all! They are far too powerful now for even I to battle!"
"This is Allstar N64 Link of the battle cruiser, The Reality64, flagship of the Shigeru Armada. Report to the Zelda Homeworld ASAP. We have come up with a plan to stop the Twins and need your aid."
"That's me?" Allstar murmured in confusion, "I sound weird."
"He sounds as if he's tired of the battles. I can relate to that." Link sighed, "Imagine having to battle the gods and goddesses that created you, gave you life. That would make anyone sound very weary after a few fights."
"Zee, plot a course to the Zelda Homeworld. Continue repairs." Maverick ordered and ran his hand through his hair, "Nin, what are you and your brother doing? You were always so gentle and sensible..."
******
The Legacy of Links
Game Realm P.C.
Time: 1600 hours
The heroes slept soundly in their rooms as the ship sailed onwards through the stars to its destination. Allstar remained awake, however, staring up at the ceiling as he thought over what he learned. Nin and Tendo? Destroying everything they worked so hard to protect? What kind of powers must the figurine have, if it could drive the Legendary Children of Nintendo into a killer insanity?
His ears perked up as he heard footsteps in the hall. Scrambling out of bed, he opened the metal door and peeked out. Maverick walked down the hall and the once harsh lights overhead were now a soft glow, lighting the cream walls and creating the illusion of a tomb-like corridor. Moving quietly, Allstar went around and woke the other heroes. He shushed them when they tried to gripe about the rude awakening and followed Maverick to a large set of double doors. Maverick stood waiting, frowning at them. He held a shallow bowl of rice and a pair of roses in his hands.
"You're so pathetic when it comes to stealth maneuvers." he growled, "I heard you coming a mile away. Allstar, you breathe too damn hard." Link snickered as Allstar turned red. "It may work wonders on Zelda, but try not to get horny over everything with long legs and boobs."
"What is this?" Elfin asked, trying to change the subject. He waved his hand at the double doors. The doors had the symbols of the Triforce engraved on each one. Maverick looked up at it and sighed.
"This is the Sanctum. I was about to enter it when you lamers barged in on me. It's my daily ritual." he replied flatly.
"Ritual of what?" Waker asked, blinking up at the Triforce symbols. Maverick growled and rolled his eyes.
"If you're so damn eager to know, you may as well follow me in. But once we step beyond those doors, you must remain absolutely quiet. No sounds come out of your mouths, or my Twin Master Swords will make sure you speak in soprano for the rest of your lives." he threatened coldly and turned around. "Sanctum, open." The doors slowly parted and allowed them to enter.
The Sanctum was a large room filled with candles, hundreds of them, all glowing softly. The room didn't have much else, except for a pair of capsules at the far end of the room. The capsules were hooked up to a pair of computers that hummed softly as they performed their mysterious duties. The Links followed Maverick as he walked carefully and quietly to the capsules. Set before the capsules was a small table with a photograph on it. Maverick set the bowl of rice before the photo and laid the roses down on either side of it, a white rose on the left side, a black rose on the right. He stepped back and gazed up at the capsules. Then he began to speak softly.
"We were Nintendo, betrayed by heaven. We did what we could, with what we had and died as a result. We were denied the grace of heaven. We were Nintendo; X-Box will pay." he recited in a cold voice. Allstar glared at him in a fury. He was about to speak when Dark Link nudged his shoulder. Looking back at him, Allstar noticed the pale expression on his twin's face. Dark Link pointed at the capsules and he looked up to see what had shocked the other Links.
In the capsule on the left was yet another Link, suspended in a blue liquid that glowed with the light of the base of the machine. The front of his tunic was stained a dark color and riddled with holes. The Link had his eyes closed, tubes and wires connected to his body as the computer next to him continued its work. In the capsule on the right was a copy of Dark Link, in the same shape as his twin.
Allstar Link uttered a small cry and stepped back in horror. Maverick looked over his shoulder, glaring at him. Unable to look at the bodies any longer, Allstar fled the room, soon followed by the other heroes. Maverick remained in the Sanctum, gazing up at his long dead mentors with the same longing expression he had in the previous world.
"Wh-what the hell was that?! He's got a dead me and a dead you in there!" Allstar shrieked at his twin once he got his voice back. Dark Link shrugged, lost for words as the other heroes stood waiting for Maverick. The captain finally appeared and closed the Sanctum's doors. "You sick, twisted bastard! Why are they in there?!" Allstar demanded of the elfin captain.
"I'm keeping them suspended in Limbo until I find a way to revive them. I have their memories and programs in me, frozen just before First Day, and I exhumed their bodies before the Collision destroyed the Game Realm. I'm searching for the Source of Souls." Maverick replied simply, "If I can find it, I can use it to restore Allstar Link and Dark Link's souls, reload their memories and programs and my mentors, the true Link and Dark Link, will be brought back from the dead and returned to me."
"Why? Why not let them rest in peace?" Link pleaded, "They've done their part in helping the world, please let them have their deserved rest!"
"They were stolen from me in the prime of their lives! I will not allow them to stay in Limbo while their copies run around ruining themselves in their name!" Maverick snapped.
"You do know that keeping the dead like that is extremely illegal, right?" Elfin remarked.
"You're not in your jurisdiction, Officer." Maverick growled, "I'm keeping them on board this ship, which was named in their honor, until I find the Source of Souls. I don't care if it takes me to the end of my life, I will resurrect them and I'll have my family back!" He turned around and whistled sharply. "Pichu! Come!"
A tiny yellow and black mouse came scampering down the hall from another part of the ship. It skidded to a halt before Maverick and jumped up onto its hind legs, waving its paws joyfully.
"Pichu! Maverick! Good to see you!" Pichu said cheerfully. Maverick nodded and pointed at the Sanctum's doors. "Guard Sanctum! Got it!" Pichu ran up to the doors and sat down in front of it, promptly falling asleep and snoring softly.
"That should keep it safe from you five." Maverick murmured. Allstar blinked at him as if he were mental.
"A sleeping Pichu is going to keep five Links out of a room? How do you figure that?" he asked.
"Swords and shields conduct electricity very well." Pichu murmured in his sleep, "Especially Master Swords, they were designed to channel energy."
"Ah, right." Dark Link murmured, "Same goes for my Mirror Sword, it's a copy of the Master Sword."
"And what's up with that weird prayer? 'Betrayed by heaven'? When did that happen?!" Allstar snapped. Maverick shook his head.
"Enough! Get to bed! We'll be arriving at the Zelda Homeworld in three hours and I don't need you whiny pretty boys messing things up here!" he snapped and stomped away. Waker hugged Link's arm.
"Don't die here, too. Don't die here, too." he whispered fiercely, "Too many Links dying, every world we go to has a Link dead or about to die. Please don't be one of them, Hero!"
"Kid's got issues." Elfin grumbled as he headed off. Allstar fumed to himself as he walked with Dark Link back to his room. Link walked with Waker, trying to soothe him, as Pichu slept on, guarding the room that held the last of the true Great Allstars from before the First Day.