Ico
VII : Closer
Retriving the sword, the two children had wound themselves out of the room, and onto the long path serving as walls of the castle. Outside, they could see the glowing gate, waiting to slide open. The other half, however, remained dark and drab.
"We got half of it open! Do you see?" Excitedly, Ico pointed at it, looking at Yorda, "Isn't that great?"
Not understanding, she did nothing. But, after a minute, she suddenly pointed skyward.
"What is it?" Looking up, he saw black figures flying through the air, coming down at them quickly. With a sudden burst of suprise, he shoved Yorda into the corner before the railing and wall to the previous room. They came down quickly, scurrying close, but teasingly jumping back every now and then.
Weilding the sword skillfully, Ico sliced through the shadows quickly; after fighting the mob off, he collapsed into a seated position before Yorda's feet. Staring down, Yorda placed her hand on his head momentarily, then removed it.
"Thanks!" He let out a bit of a laugh, still overjoyed by the gate, "I don't know where I'd be without you by now."
Hopping to his feet, he grabbed her and began running to the next doorway. Yorda, startled, was stumbling along, staring off at the mainland's edge before the closed gates. It was green - alive- unlike her island. She could see huge flocks of birds soaring about the trees; suddenly she found herself before a ladder.
"Come on!" Ico was already halfway up, smiling widely.
"..." Climbing up carefully and slowly, Yorda found herself on the biggest ladder she had seen. It ran up the wall near the door back to the main castle; up above she could see Ico waiting for her on the ledge. Reaching the top, she was dragged off again with the same, happy, hyper speed displayed a minute ago.
They found themselves on the courtyard's balcony. Yorda walked to the edge and looked down, spying her birds. Meanwhile, Ico had run over to a switch- giving it a yank, a bridge from the opposite side came down from it's suspension and created passageway over the courtyard. Taking Yorda's hand, and, running at a high speed, dragged her across to the other side. They found themselves standing on the balcony that once led from the room with the black chandelier.
"Hold on a minute..." Ico glanced around the balcony, "We were here before, weren't we?"
Since the bridge had been drawn, all of the ropes connecting to it were slack; however, one in the corner looked as if it was still holding something. Yorda walked over to it's holder, staring at the rope. Leaning over the balcony edge, she noted that it wasn't tied to anything. Wondering what it was for, she gazed up and down it, soon accompanied by Ico.
"Why don't we cut it down and see what happens?" Taking the sword, he cut the rope in half. It suddenly slid down through the holder, but got stuck between the wall and the mount. Nothing else happened.
"Let's go down there and figure out what happened..."
They had wandered through the room with the chandelier; luckily, their bridge was still there. Unluckily, some shadows were awaiting them, coming down around them in a flock. Running through the mass, the two children made it to the ledge-bridge, sliding down at a high speed. Reaching the bottom, Ico shoved Yorda to her appointed corner and promptly turned around to defend her. The shadows, though, seemed to have gotten word of the blade, as they hopped back each time he swang the blade.
"Hold still!" Leaving Yorda for a minute, he chased after one and gave it a good slice. Turning around, just as a monster approached Yorda, he swung the sword and nearly cut it asunder. Fighting until they were as threatening as the dust among the castle, Ico took glance over Yorda and found her to be alright. With a sigh, he rested against the wall for a few minutes.
Soon they were back in the courtyard, staring at the rope.
"...the window..." Ico gasped, pointing at two windows that could be accessed if one were to swing on the rope. "Don't move."
Giving it a tug, he found it to be relatively sturdy. Climbing up, he got to the height of the second window and began to swing. The rope began to shift in the holder; since it was held so loosely, it suddenly gave way.
Yorda moved out of the way as the rope fell down into a messy pile on the floor. Looking back at the window, she found Ico to be hanging off the sill by basically his fingernails.
Climbing up, he found himself face-to-face with a box. Giving it a pull, he moved it so he had enough room to squeeze behind it; squeezing over the box, he managed to get his head stuck.
"These things are more trouble than they're worth..." Slowly turning his head to get his horns free, he suddenly fell behind the box with a 'thud' and a puff of dust. Letting out a sneeze, he quietly said, "Excuse me."
"Cketchinodo!" A weak voice called the word out.
"Catch-a-what-oh?" He peered down at Yorda from behind the box.
She was staring up, silently.
"...uhm... okay." Shoving the box, he called, "Look out!"
Yorda scampered off to the side as the box fell down, followed by an Ico. Standing up, he gave a grin to Yorda, before shoving the box to the lower window. Holding his hand out, he called, "Come on!"
Taking his hand, Yorda was helped up the box and through the window. During the short trip, Yorda let out a sneeze.
"Excuse you!"
"Ckechinaida!" She wiped the back of her arm across her face.
"Catch-a... what?" He blinked, staring at her.
"..."
"...never mind." Hopping out of the window, he helped her down. They were on a wooden platform that bridged across to the other side of the new room. The room, almost as tall as Yorda's tower, had a HUGE waterfall coming down from a honeycomb-shaped opening in the wall. The mist, combined with the warm sun, made the room sleepily comfortable.
Yorda was immediately at the edge, staring up and down at the waterfall. The sounds were unlike anything she'd ever heard; the power of nature she felt was astounding. Taken by the waterfall, she numbly stared at the cascading falls.
"Wow." The only word that could come out of Ico's mouth did so in a whisper.
Looking down at the other levels, Ico spotted a door. Hurrying across the bridge, he hopped off onto the lower level, then called, "Yorda! Come!"
With a start, she ran across the bridge and to the edge.
"I'll catch you, come on." He held his arms open, waiting for her down below.
Taking a leap off the higher platform, she knocked straight into him, both of the kids hitting the floor. Ico, underneath, wasn't hurt at all, since he found Yorda to be incredibly light. After righting themselves, the two walked out the door. They were in a pit, lined with stone, outside the building. An elevator stood in the corner, covered in thin dust.
"Over here." Climbing on, and making sure Yorda was safe, Ico turned and found there wasn't a switch with which to activate it. "Huh? How do we...?"
Looking down, Yorda noticed the gate that went up for safety on the front was down. Reaching, she grasped the cool metal and began to lightly pull. It moved slightly, but wasn't planning on moving any farther.
"Oh, good idea." Ico gently swept her hands aside, then gave a mighty upward thrust- the gate clicked into place, and the elevator suddenly rose very smoothly. Reaching the top, the side gate slid down, allowing them easy passage onto the balcony.
Climbing off, the two kids took a moment to glance at the nice view- they could see the mainland's edge, and the sea and the sky. If it wasn't something they had already seen alot of, they would've paused longer. But, without hesitance, they left the lands overlooked.
Walking back inside, Ico found the two to be quite stuck.
"Don't go anywhere... I'm going to climb out of the window up there." He gestured at a window above, quickly taking off and climbing out.
Yorda, ever silent, walked to the edge of the platform, staring at the tumbling waters. Something about it was just intriguing; looking at the window, she couldn't see Ico. Two thoughts began to fight in her mind, but were interrupted when her name called from outside.
Running back out, she spotted Ico on the ledge of the pit.
"Come!" He held his hand out, looking up at her.
Quickly, and quite smartly, she ran to the elevator, which activated and brought her down. Running to the wall, she took his hand and was quickly hauled onto the next level.
"Now, we've got to go all the way up there," Ico pointed near the top, "Up some ladders."
Beginning the climb first, Ico encouraged Yorda to follow. She came up slowly behind him, to find him at the top with a smile. Heading up the second ladder, she was met with a similar greeting, where she responded with a faint grin.
Running through a door, and then another, they found themselves in a large room. The only exit - a window- was inaccessible, that is, in a conventional sense. Pipes ran across the walls, holding climbing potential.
"See you in a minute!" Ico was already up scaling the walls.
Yorda stared, silent, watching him leave.
After climbing the walls and out a window, Ico found himself outside near an artifical river. Taking a running leap over the banks, he found a massive dial-like switch. Walking up to it, and taking a wooden beam running from it, he began to push and found it turned. Leaning against it, he made MANY complete circles, the water in the artifical river becoming smaller and smaller. Pushing it until it would go no father, he found the stream to have been entirely empty.
Inside, Yorda was dismayed, as her waterfall had shut off entirely- not a drop fell. She had gone back down to one of the platforms while alone, being most upset. Where did her water go? Looking at the window the water once came from, she suddenly watched a box topple down. Ico came down second, awkwardly landing on his rear end. Rising, he blinked to find Yorda beside him.
"I thought I told you not to move..." Ico pushed the box down, then turned to her, "Sorry I broke your waterfall, though."
He took her hand and led her all the way down to the area that once held the waterfall's spillage, then moved the box to a hole once concealed by the pounding waters. As he did, a shadow grew in a corner, and three shadows rose up from within.
"Yorda, qui-" He blinked, noticing she had already fled to her corner. Taken off gaurd, he was knocked over. Scrambling back upright, he ran to the corner and knocked the shadows away before slicing at them. As one taunted him by leaping back, the other would reach for Yorda, but were quickly stopped in their efforts. After the three were gone, Ico let out a loud groan. "Won't they EVER give up?"
"..." Yorda glanced at the box, then walked to it, standing beside it.
"That's right, we're going up there!" With a bit of a smile, he climbed up, helping Yorda up.
Suddenly, the wet air was whipping against their faces, and below, waves crashed against the rocks. They were in a tunnel carved in the rock of the island, a very wet and slick pathway. After just a few feet, Yorda had fallen over entirely, bringing Ico down as well.
"We've got to be very careful up here. We'll go slow." Rising back up, and making sure Yorda was stable, he took her hand and began walking very slowly and carefully. Around a bend, they came across a smooth, rock platform. Climbing up, they found themselves in the presence of a very wet sofa. Walking to the stone couch, both of the kids flopped into the seat, glad to rest their bruised legs.
"We're getting closer..." Ico stared up. Up above, on another ledge, many wooden objects rose upwards. Further on ahead, there was a staircase that led to nothing, the steps having fallen apart many a years ago. With a sigh, he leaned against the wet stone, not caring whether his clothes got damp or not. Yorda didn't mind either, in fact, being quite asleep at the moment. "You have the best ideas..."
With a yawn, he moved a bit closer to her, then took a short nap.