Me: I swear, these things have a life of their own and I just write and write and write…
CS: That can't be healthy, I'm sure
DISCLAIMER:
Me: Who is it?
CS: Umm…you're going to like this…
Me: Huh?
Zelos: It's me! Lovely adorable hunk Zelos!
Me: OO WTF?
Zelos: Yes, well I thought I'd pop up for some action
CS: I wonder what kind of action you're referring to…
Me: Let's not go there CS. Um, Zelos-kun, could you do the disclaimer?
Zelos: Anything for a gorgeous woman!
Me: …You hit on everything with two legs, don't you?
Zelos: Pretty much. Spread the love and all that jazz.
Me: …Right. The disclaimer?
Zelos: Timberwolf does not own Beyblade or the various universes. Only Tasara and herself is her own.
Me: Thank you.
Zelos: No problem love.
Lil Tanuki Wolf: Because I lack originality, that's why. That, plus I wanted to see how you guys would react to a toothless Alucard. Oh, and your debut is here.
SilveryKitsune: I'm touched you think I'm a strong character. Personally, I'm not too fond of myself in this story. I like Spike and Sonbre better and Trevor's cool too. The guys always seem cooler.
Skittles the Sugar Fairy: Sidefics are coming up next. A hassle, but that way, everyone gets their screen time. And I live a longer life when it comes to this story.
Nanashi Ni: Sarcastic humour is my speciality. And I'm still hiding from Alucard. First I burned down his bunny, now I made him loose his teeth. I have a death wish, I know.
Morgana Magi Lady of Light: Pushy, aren't we? I'll try to review your stories once I read them, but I'm really busy lately, so give me some time, k?
Aquenze: Oh! ToS! I miss that game. I'm going to play it 24/7 when I go home!
RingWorks: I hope I never suffer writer's block either. It's a pain and for this story, it's a nuisance.
Sapphire Angels Devil: Like I said, I took major liberties. Plus, I'm lacking in some kick-ass nasty baddies.
Nessi: Not seen Hellsing? Pick up either the manga or the anime today. Trust me, it's worth the money.
Lunare Valhart: (blinks) You have an aversion to yellow rodents? (sniggers) I didn't know that, but I'll be sure to keep that in mind later on. No, this does not have the yellow rodents, but something more interesting, to say the least. The title is a giveaway at any rate.
White Dog: Narcissistic? Oh yeah, I think I'll agree with Tala on that one. Sorry for ganging up on you. I didn't know you liked Alucard. I'll be sure to put in your request for an autograph the next time you guys meet.
Little Leila: LV will be fine, trust me. At least, I hope she will be fine (sweatdrops) I think I just contradicted myself. If you get lost on this one, you're welcome to ask me questions on LJ, okay?
Hades of Hades: Please continue writing! But it's up to you, I guess. Thank you for reviewing my YGO fic 'NonExistent'. I really thought I wouldn't get any reviews for that fic, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised.
The Author Adventure
By Timberwolf220
Chapter Eleven: Ocarina
(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)
Lunare blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.
It didn't change.
"If you keep blinking like that, your eyeballs might fall out," Sonbre drawled, ducking when Lunare's fist swung his way and gave his familiar viper's grin, "It's not going to change."
Lunare muttered something about Tasara being the spawn of the devil or something along those lines.
"Maybe it's my mistake?" Lunare said hopefully. After all, this place pretty much haunted her every moment.
Tanuki and Rumi-chan just gave her blank looks, "You know, your conversation id going completely over my head right now," Rumi-chan said, "Something we should know?"
"Or shouldn't know?" Tanuki muttered.
"Hey, look at those old ladies there!" A childish voice called out to them.
They blinked and glared at the new voice, "OLD LADIES!" They snarled, veins popping near their foreheads. The kid just smiled cheekily.
Sonbre winced, "Poor kid, whoever he is," Then he blinked, "Umm…Lunare?"
Lunare snapped, "What!" Sonbre resisted the urge to cringe.
"Doesn't that kid look familiar to you?" Sonbre said quietly.
Lunare caught the strangled tone in Sonbre's voice and looked down at the boy. He had golden hair which hung by his sides much like a girls, yet not so. He had bright wide blue eyes and was wearing a green tunic. A tiny sword and wooden shield hung on his back. Lunare's eyes widened.
"Link!" (A/N: For those who don't know, this is Link™ from Legend of Zelda™)
The kid beamed, "Cool! You know my name!" But he frowned, "But how did you know that granny?"
"GRANNY!" Lunare started advancing towards Link, a foreboding glint in her eye, "I'm gonna kill you, you little—,"
Rumi and Tanuki immediately held Lunare, "LV, you can't kill him," Rumi said, pulling her back, "Besides, if he IS Link, we might need his help."
Tanuki nodded and added, "Also, didn't you like Link? He is your muse, isn't he?"
"My Link wasn't so bratty," Lunare muttered.
"Amen," Sonbre added with a smirk, "But they have a point."
Link just stared at them and smiled happily, "Let's play hide and seek!" He pushed Sonbre onto the ground, "Tag, you're it!" And with that parting remark, he sped away.
Lunare suppressed a laugh. The others weren't so lucky. Tanuki and
Rumi were rolling over the ground. Sonbre got up, fire in his verdant eyes.
"KILL THAT BRAT!"
This was going to take a while.
(O)
Interlude+
Brigs walked through the corridors, ignoring the inward curiousity in him that said, "Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!"
He has to kill his curiousity one of these days.
Maybe he could 'accidentally' walk into one of those rooms. But unlike Aquenze (who had a believable excuse. He knew what authors without a direction sense are like), he didn't have an excuse. That means Tasara can him for target practice without batting an eyelid. And that girl is nasty with a beam gun. You'd think a traditional guardian would have a more traditional weapon.
At any rate, the doors were no-go zone for now. It made you wonder really what exactly Tasara had hidden in those rooms. And why she wouldn't let anyone near them? Was it for safety or something else?
He shook his head. What was he doing? He doubted Tasara! Nevertheless, now that Angy was here (and hadn't seen him yet. Thank the lucky stars), he was worried. Something was so wrong about everything that was happening but he couldn't put his finger on it. He understood why Caliyana and Skittles went through those 'quests', but why did the others have to do it. The fact that they made it all the way here (which no author has done before) should be proof enough!
"Brigs?" It was Caliyana, "Why are you walking down the same corridor for over an hour now?"
Brigs glanced and sweatdropped. Joy, he didn't even realize it! Guess Angy was right when she said his head was only half-full (the rest of it is filled with useless stuff anyway, she said), "Sorry, lost track of myself."
Caliyana smiled, "That's okay. I'll show you out," She raised her arms and a door appeared. Smirking, she opened and gestured for him to go through, "Ladies first."
Brigs scowled at her, "Very funny." He walked in, feeling the sudden wind on his face when he appeared outside his room, "Thanks though."
Caliyana shrugged, "No problem. It's a nice privilege though," She smiled and for a minute, Brigs thought he saw a flash of fang, "Being the pupil for being the next Guardian."
Brigs muttered something about 'privileges be damned' or something along the lines of that, but Caliyana caught his grateful smile when he closed the door to his room.
End Interlude+
(O)
"Of all the places he could have gone, why oh why did he go into the LOST WOODS!" Lunare yelled.
They were standing in the middle of a small clearing and there were three oak tunnels facing north, east and west. South was the one they came through. They spent almost a hour, getting hopelessly lost, pelted with seeds, attacked by wolves (though they kicked its lousy ass easily) and falling into random holes to be greeted by pink glowbugs (though LV said they were fairies).
Tanuki shrugged, "Pretty good hiding place, if you ask me." She said dryly.
Rumi nudged her, "Don't encourage her. She might kill us out of frustration." She whispered.
Sonbre said nothing, but the sweatdrop at the back of his head said it all.
He bent down and sniffed the ground. The smell seemed to be mixed with human metallic sweat and a soft earthy feeling that you get when you walk into a garden after a spring rain.
"Oi, onna!" Sonbre barked, "He went this way!"
Lunare stopped arguing with Rumi and Tanuki and snapped her head at Sonbre, "Good, let's follow him."
They came up to a clearing where there was Link sitting next to a girl with green hair. Link was chatting animatedly to her when she looked up and her face was a picture of surprise. She nudged Link (hard) and he scowled at her, "Saria! What did you do th—," He paled for a moment at seeing them there before breaking into a giant smile, "Wow! You got through the forest! And didn't turn into Stalfos (1)"
"That's because we had a sniffer dog," Rumi said, jerking a thumb at Sonbre. He twitched, must not kill…the baka onnas…otherwise…
"That makes sense," Link said shrugging and sniggered, "He's got funny eyes. Greeny-yellow."
Must not kill little bratty kids either…Sonbre said calmly in his mind.
Saria giggled, "Are they your friends Link?"
Link shrugged, "They showed up out of nowhere. Like zombies!" He waved his hands in the air in exaggeration. Veins popped at the word zombies and there were some really nasty glares aimed in Link's direction.
That can't be good for his health.
Saria cocked her head at them, "Is there something you need?"
Lunare blinked and realized what they were actually here for, "We're looking for an item of power?" Lunare mentally cursed how vague her answer was.
Saria was still, her eyes misting over, "Well, there is some of Link's old stuff."
They looked at her, "Link's old stuff?" Rumi quoted, "What stuff?"
Saria smiled, "Items from his quests; his Seasons Rod, the Harp of Ages, Pegasus Boots etc…"
The others sweatdropped as Saria continued and looked at Link with dot eyes.
"Busy saving the world, huh?" Sonbre said dryly.
Link (who is still a kid and doesn't realize the powers of sarcasm) said cheerfully, "All the time!"
The others just sweatdropped once more.
(O)
Interlude+
Aquenze whistled a cheery tune as she walked down the corridor, her hands behind her back like an errant child on vacation. Her hands behind her back twitched as she allowed her herself a wicked smirk.
Now where was that room…?
Honestly, she spent almost an entire day looking for Tasara and wondering whether she could find the room where she could check on the others. She jumped as one of the doors opened suddenly and she was faced with a girl with really light freckles and tan-blonde hair. She blinked and said, "…Hi?"
She resisted the urge to wince as the girl looked at her, clear suspicion in her eyes. Then they dawned, "Hey, weren't you with those Chosen who came here before?"
Aquenze nodded so vigorously that for a minute she thought her head would detach and the girl would end up using it as a basketball. She shuddered at that mental image (A/N: Space Jam!)
The girl stuck out her hand, "I'm Skittles."
Aquenze stared at the hand and looked at Skittles again. Deeming it safe, she shook Skittle's hand, "Aquenze."
"What are you doing here Aquenze?" Skittles said, "I thought you would be with the others."
Aquenze smiled sheepishly, "I have an obsession with mirrors."
Skittles cut her off, "Say no more," There was an equally embarrassed look on Skittles' face, "I understand how you feel. At any rate, why are you roaming around? If Tasara sees you—," She suddenly bit her lip as if afraid of giving something away.
Aquenze blinked, "Well, I thought if there is a way to check on the others, just to see how they're doing, y'know?"
Skittles nodded and that look of unease vanished, "Go about six rooms forward and then turn left. There would be a large mirror there. Tasara won't say anything because that room is off-limits to her."
Aquenze's eyes were curious, "How come?"
"That was the Old Guardian's room," Skittles explained, "I think there's some rule about the present guardian not being allowed to go there until she resigns from her duty. Something like that. I don't remember," she pauses and mutters under her breath, "Must go through that manual again."
Aquenze felt a thrill run down her spine, "So I can go?"
"Sure," Skittles said cheerfully, "Just tell the mirror what dimension you wish to see or which person. Make sure you say it clearly otherwise the mirror will misinterpret your desire."
Aquenze grinned as she headed off, "Thanks!"
"You're welcome," Skittles yelled back before smiling and thinking, "What a clueless girl."
Skittles had no idea how wrong she was.
End Interlude+
(O)
After Saria had gone through the entire inventory of Link's weapons (and the rest of them were catching some shut-eye), Lunare asked her where they could find these weapons.
"It's in the Hyrule museum for great heroes," Saria said absently.
They sweatdropped, "Since when did Hyrule have a museum?" Lunare said, her eyes twitching. That can't be healthy.
Saria replied, "Ever since Link saved the world."
They sweatdropped.
"How do we get in?" Tanuki mused, "I mean, you'd probably need a permit or something, right?"
They stared at her.
She blushed, "Just a thought."
"They do actually, considering the dangers if some of these items got into the wrong hands," Saria said, "So you'll have to convince Zelda to hand you a permit."
"She's just a kid, right?" Sonbre said aloud, trying to recall as much of the game as possible, "So getting a permit shouldn't be that hard."
Link made a face, "Zelda? She's such a bully. It's always 'princess this' and 'princess that' all the time. And she keeps petting Epona the wrong way."
"How many ways can you pet a horse? Actually don't answer that," Lunare said hastily, "And Zelda is a princess, so deal with it." Link pouted, but Lunare deliberately turned away.
Rumi-chan who has been oddly quiet, spoke, "Shouldn't we go?"
Saria nodded, "But take Link with you," She added.
"Why?" Sonbre said, twitching as Link shot some Deku seeds at him. He scowled darkly at the kid who didn't seem the least bit deterred and stuck his tongue out at Sonbre.
Remember the mantra Sonbre. Don't kill brats. Don't kill brats. Don't kill brats.
Link shot a Deku seed at his eye and all his patience flew out the window.
Not that he had much patience to begin with.
The others sweatdropped at the scene of Sonbre chasing Link with a very pointy dagger. Sighing, they ignored them and looked at Saria.
"That's a good question though," Tanuki said, "Why should we take Link?"
"Because the guards will let you in, if you take him."
They blinked, "Really? How come?"
Saria smiled, "Zelda demanded it. And you don't mess with pint-sized princesses."
"Oh," And they watched Sonbre chase Link around the trees again, his dagger glinting evilly. Lunare twitched and looked up at the sky, "Madre de Dios, what did I ever do to you?"
She swore that she heard a voice snigger at her.
(O)
Interlude+
Aquenze opened the door hesitantly. There was no noise at all and the room with lit with soft candles. In the back of the room, against the wall, was a large circular mirror. She blinked and closed the door behind her. She wasn't sure that she followed the instructions correctly, but this seemed to be the right place. Yet, her fears never completely died, a slight ache at the back of her head.
The mirror seemed to echo that feeling. Déjà vu Harry Potter, she thought silently, remembering the first book and the Mirror of Erised.
She sat in front of the mirror, her eyes wide. Now what was she supposed to do? Slowly, she closed her eyes and willed herself to see something. Maybe Timmy and the others? But for some obscure reason, she felt her thoughts drift towards Tasara and her helper or pupils or whatever.
She opened her eyes to see the mirror had cleared and there was colour in the reflection. She squinted closer and gasped.
It was Voltaire.
"She received it?" He said gruffly.
"A stroke of luck," Boris said, "The people who took it from the Nikanoru were heading her direction."
The Nikanoru? Aquenze suddenly had a flashback of the renegade Chosen that attacked them in the warehouse. She shuddered unconsciously and returned her attention to the mirror.
"So, it's all set. She's distracting them with those tasks," Voltaire licked his lips, "Everything is falling into place beautifully. And my worthless grandson? How is he doing?"
"He is still resisting with his teammates. Those assassins are no match for them it seems," Boris looked angry as if taking the losses personally.
"Well, it doesn't matter for now. There's nothing they can do. They know nothing," Voltaire lifted a red beyblade, "Ah, look at it Balkov. Isn't it lovely? It will reunite the worlds once more."
What Beyblade is that? She didn't recognize it. But it seemed similar. She peered at it and gasped.
Dranzer. Voltaire had Dranzer.
What the hell was going on?
And there was a burst of epiphany.
Dranzer and Black Dranzer were like twins. Dranzer was the carbon copy of Black Dranzer, only lacking slightly in power. Otherwise they are identical.
A link from one world to another.
Aquenze knew, having an item from another world (or dimension. Same difference) was dangerous. Because other than the mirror gateways that are guarded by the Guardians, there was no other way into the real world. Except if…a part of the other world existed in both planes, in both realities.
This could literally tear the precocious balance between the Chosen and the Other Dimensions.
Aquenze felt the oppressive press of questions fill her head.
How did Black Dranzer get here? Doesn't Tasara know? And why does Voltaire have Dranzer?
There was a loud noise in the corridor outside the room. Startled, Aquenze lost her focus and the image vanished. She stared at it, her hands twitching. There was something seriously wrong with this scenario. But when the grand unveiling happens, she'll be ready.
She'll be ready.
End Interlude+
(O)
Maybe it was her imagination, but she couldn't remember the field of Hyrule ever being this frustrating. For one thing, the flying plants nearly cut them up into shreds. When they stopped in the night to rest, those freaky zombies decided to give them all heart attacks. After that, all that was left was a bunch of bones and a chronic fear of the dark.
Lunare decided that it would be a long before she picks up a Zelda game to play.
When they finally reached Castletown ("I swear, reaching this place wasn't supposed to take this long in the game!" Lunare raged. The others sweatdropped), they were barely holding onto their sanity.
Link, on the other hand was perfectly sane. As sane as a kid who saved the world time-travelling and playing weird songs and battling squids and over-sized pigs.
Yup, perfectly in—er…—sane!
They approached the palace and as Saria said, the guards let them in because of Link ("If that only worked in the game," LV muttered)
And in her little garden was Zelda.
"Link!" She smiled and hugged him. Link squirmed and gasped, "Um, Zelda? You're squeezing me too hard."
"Oops," She let him go and he collapsed, his eyes swirling.
They sweatdropped (they seem to be doing that a lot, ne?).
Sonbre muttered, "He saved the world?"
Rumi nodded, "I know, it's hard to believe."
Lunare went to Zelda, "Ummm…Your Highness, may we have a permit to enter the…," Lunare scrunched up her forehead to remember the name, "…the Museum for Great Heroes?"
Zelda nodded and pulled up a scrap of paper and handed it to her. Lunare blinked, "That was too easy."
"Princess Zelda!" One of the guards ran upto her, "There's some unknown monster terrorizing Castletown!"
Lunare looked upwards and cursed, "I jinxed it!"
Sonbre snickered, "That you did."
Zelda furrowed her brow and grinned, "You guys, could you get rid of this unknown monster? Please?"
"And if we don't?" Tanuki said.
Her expression turned dark and terrifying and the others flinched in fear, "THEN YOU DON'T GET IN YOUR BLOODY MUSEUM CAPISH!"
"Yes ma'am," They answered immediately.
"Now do you see why I don't like her?" Link whispered.
"Well, it makes sense," Lunare said as they left the palace to deal with the 'unknown monster', "Princesses by nature are control freaks."
(O)
Interlude+
The history of Black Dranzer is interesting to say the least. People assume that it is simply a carbon copy of the real Dranzer, the dark side to the light, the shadow behind the glorious bit-beast.
In truth, Dranzer is the copy. After all, aren't copies nothing but a weaker version of the real thing?
But it goes further. The law of Tao states that the universe is divided in two elements; the positive and the negative. Yet the positive and negative are deeply intertwined and they themselves can have the power to recreate a world.
Or similarly, break the world.
Now, think dear audience, since Dranzer and Black Dranzer are irrevocably linked to each other, they are also drawn to each other.
Thus, the cataclysm and the wheel are set in motion. Whether they can be stopped is to be seen.
End Interlude+
(O)
"Where did it go?" Tanuki demanded.
The civilian trembled, "It went into the Temple of Time."
Sonbre cursed, "That place is pretty small. It'll be hard to fight in there."
"I can open the Wall of Time if you want to make it bigger!" Link chirped.
"Not necessary at the moment, but thanks," Rumi said as they trudged down to the Temple of Time, "I don't think I'll ever play this game if I ever get it."
"Amen," Tanuki muttered behind her as they entered.
The Temple looked docile and calm. Their eyes surveyed the area, but there was nothing to be seen.
"Is it really here?" Tanuki said softly and then closed her eyes. Nothing. She couldn't pinpoint a presence in this room other than the five chosen and Link.
Wait…
Five Chosen?
"It's here!" Tanuki snapped her eyes open. Immediately after the cry, three arrow bolts were aimed at Link. Sonbre picked him out of the way and the arrows embedded themselves in the marble floor.
Lunare saw where it came from and aimed a cold blast at the invisible figure. It missed, but the invisibility wore off at the sudden moment and they got a clear look at their attacker.
"Chosen," Sonbre gritted out, "Like those Nikanoru."
"No," Lunare said suddenly, "It feels like a Chosen, but less…human."
The attacker was blonde-haired and had striking green eyes. He seemed rather…angry and he bared pointed fangs at them and hissed. He seemed almost incapable of human speech, Lunare thought, if she hadn't seen the glint of intelligence lurking behind his eyes. He was still human, but he was not exactly one of the Chosen either.
"True," He said. His voice was guttural and they winced at the harshness of his voice, "Do you know what gives a Chosen power? Supernatural power?"
They paused. What truly gave them power? Didn't Tasara say it was because of the open portal that messed with the realities of their world?
"It is the power of the portals opening," He grinned, "But why do I look different?"
He was reading their minds! Tanuki stepped back as she tried to fortify her mind with her ghostly power. Rumi and the others were still somewhat spellbound by his words.
"Because I am drawing power from the portal themselves," He grinned, "And do you know what that means for the other Chosen in the real world?"
"By all means, do enlighten us," Sonbre looked bored.
"They die. Their power is being sapped little by little. You," and he turned to Tanuki, "Where's your best friend? Little late getting home, wasn't she?"
Tanuki felt numb, "How…?"
"The useless ones will suffer first, then the strong. The strong always survive," His eyes were hypnotic almost, "Unfortunately, you're not strong enough to take on anything."
Again, he spun in the air and arrows flew. Tanuki snapped her head and formed a barrier that protected them.
Then something unusual happened.
Link pulled out his Ocarina and played a song. It was lilting and made a person's spirit rise like the Sun. The Sun's Song, Lunare realized with a jolt, he was playing the Sun's song.
The renegade Chosen froze in mid-air.
"How…did…you?" He snarled at Link.
"Good question," Rumi said quizzically, "How did you do that Link?"
Link's eyes were unusually dark, "He's not really alive. He's dead. The Sun's Song has power over the dead."
Lunare readied her sword, "Do we kill him? And make sure he's permanently dead?"
Tanuki shook her head, "Not yet," She stared at him coldly, "Where is she? What happened to her?"
He smirked, "Either she's dead or like me. Remember people like me require energy. And what better energy source is there than weak Chosen?"
Tanuki's eyes flashed silver and ghostly bonds wrapped themselves around the renegade Chosen's throat, "Why did you need Chosen so badly?"
He grinned and his eyes rolled backwards. She blinked and the bond disappeared, "Is he dead?"
Sonbre observed him quietly, "It's as if his life force just stopped."
Lunare stared, her eyes hard, "Like a battery. He lost his power source. Whoever is pulling the strings for this guy clearly didn't want him telling us anymore," She turned to Tanuki, "You okay?"
Tanuki nodded, "…Yeah…" She looked at the renegade and finally tore her eyes away.
"I figured out Tasara's cryptic message. I know what the item is," Lunare said slowly.
They blinked, "Well, what is it?"
"It's the Ocarina," Lunare said, "The whole focus of this game was the Ocarina. The name 'Ocarina of Time' is a dead-ringer."
"Lunare…"
"Yes?"
Evil looks began to appear in the others' eyes, "WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGURE THAT OUT BEFORE THIS WHOLE MESS!"
Lunare cringed in fear, "Umm…"
Link blinked, "Ocarina of Time is a game? I thought it was a musical instrument."
Yes, Link is young. Young people are dense by nature.
"Link? Can we borrow your Ocarina?"
Link blinked and handed her a green Ocarina, "This is Saria's, so be very, very careful with it, okay?"
Lunare nodded and turned to the others, "Shall we go?"
"Yeah," They muttered.
Lunare sighed, but when she looked upwards, she smiled.
Coming here may have been a pain, but she was redeemed slightly in the end.
"See you grannies!"
Slightly being the key word here.
-XX-
Me: My God, these chapters will take forever! I'll never finish this story! It'll haunt me forever!
CS: Aren't you being a little overdramatic?
Me: I am?
Me: The next chapter are tibits of the past. More like an interlude big chapter.
CS: Messed up chapter to be precise.
Me: That was mean.
CS: …You haven't seen mean yet.
Me: Reviewers receive—
CS: Their own Ocarina!
Me: With whichever colour combination you want.
CS: (plays her pink Ocarina) Review!