"Your new
master, Zeetan!" the dark one said, adding an insane laugh. The
creature before him took on the form of a person, dark and purple. He
glared at Zeetan, trying to pierce his soul, but Zeetan didn't
budge, didn't back down, instead, gave him back the same cold
stare, only more intense.
"I have no master" Vaati said
with a final glare, ready to walk off until a dark surge of power
surge through him, and Zeetan faded slightly. He appeared in front of
the mage with a hand on his forehead. Vaati struggled against the
grip, the darkness flowing around him. He tried his best to resist,
but soon found himself giving into the darkness.
"I live to
obey you, master" he said in the same manner Luce did. Then,
Zeetan turned to his other comrades, addressing Ridely and NME "Let
this be an example to those who don't join me willingly!"
They
both nodded, Ridely gulping slightly.
Meanwhile, night approached
for the warriors. Kirby and Samus settled into their own rooms, as
well as the dream traveler, Klonoa and his own two friends. Marie and
Spirit returned to his room, ready to rest once again.
"Another
day, another world saved from darkness..." Marie said, lazily
making her way to the bed when a portal appeared on the floor. Spirit
looked at it confusedly, and the godess tilted her head.
"Odd,
I didn't make a portal..." she said, raising a brow. She
approached it slowly, when suddenly a dark arm appeared from it,
grasping onto her leg, pulling her down into the abyss. Spirit's eyes
widened, and ran to her, grabbing onto her arm. He pulled against the
creature, but soon found himself lifted from the ground, being pulled
inside along with Marie.
Thrown out from the other side into a
vast ocean, many worlds away, Marie passed out from the darkness, and
crashed into the waters, drifting on top of the gentle waves. Spirit
landed just a few feet away. But he was unable to swim and thrashed
against the waters, trying to make his way over to Marie, but
failing. The water slipped above his head, his body sinking further
down, and then darkness surrounding him.
Before all faded away, he saw someone come at him, grabbing his arm...
Spirit
woke up sometime later on shore, a strange, person staring down at
him curiously. He blinked, her skin was light blue like a fish, she
had fins on her arms and back, making her look like some angel from
the seas. She smiled, turning to another aquatic person, who had
darker skin, a pointed fin from his head, and a green pair of shorts.
"It looks like they both survived" he said, kneeling by
Marie's body. He noticed that even while passed out, she kept a firm
grip on the orb, and was glad that it wasn't lost in the ocean. The
other one nodded, lifting the small child's body. Soon he felt his
body lifted as well. and being carried off in the person's arms.
Spirit tried to stay awake, but soon passed out once more. When he
awoke for the second time, he noticed Marie standing over him, a
loving smile on her face.
"I'm so glad you're alright!"
she said, hugging him with one hand, the other carrying the orb.
"Where... Are we?" he asked, looking around the unfamiliar
room, blue, decorated with shells and fish bones, with some musical
instruments off to the side.
"I'm not completely sure, but
the people who rescued us are really nice."
Spirit coughed a
bit, lungs still holding some water, until Marie took his hand. With
a glow, she placed it upon his chest, and the coughing ceased, no
longer being irritated by water.
"Thanks..." he said, and
Marie took his hand.
"Just wait til you see what's outside this
room!"
Walking outside the room with Marie, he saw a stage
before him that resembled a giant opened clam, a pool of water in
front of it. Waterfalls poured into the pool, and torches lined the
stage. A few more of the fish people tested out fishbone guitars and
drum sets, running about the place. Spirit recognized one of them as
the man he saw before passing out, and the singer as the lady from
earlier. As they finished a song, they received applause from the
people surrounding them, and Marie whispered into his cat ear "This
is a band of Zoras called the Indigogos... two of them found us and
carried us to the rooms they stay at. Soon they'll be on tour, and
agreed to take us to the main land... this stage is somewhere on the
ocean..."
He gulped, knowing he couldn't swim, as she patted
his head "But that's ok, I'll be here so you'll never drown"
The band then exited the stage, the two from before walking over
to Marie and Spirit.
"Good to see you two are feeling
better." the woman said. "By the way, my name's Lulu, and
this is Mikau."
"I'm Marie, and this is Spirit, but I
call him my cute little kitty"
Spirit blushed slightly, Lulu
giggling a bit.
"I guess you two must care about eachother."
"We do. We love each other, but we're also best friends."
Spirit said, causing Marie to hug him tightly.
"Well, we're
heading off to shore for a performance, and you're both welcome to
join before you head off."Mikau explained.
"Yeah, I'd
like to see more of this world" Marie turned to Spirit "We
must be here for a reason, right?"
He nodded slightly,
scratching his chin in thought "It's worth a check, I
guess..."
"By sea, our boat should reach another
continent called Hyrule by nightfall, so we must leave now..."
Lulu said, leading the two off. She opened a door, revealing the vast
ocean once again, Marie gazing on in awe. Her eyes seemed transfixed
on the waves, rhythmically rocking as Lulu tilted her head. She soon
noticed and forced a smile.
"It's an erm... elemental
thing..." she said with a goofy grin "We're not from around
here..."
She nodded "I can tell, I have never seen a
race with fur... or such clothes..."
Meanwhile, Zeetan's
latest puppet was leading his dark master through a temple, all the
way up to a series of golden triangles.
"The Triforce! So
this is the power of the goddesses!"
Vaati walked up to them,
looking as if he was fighting off Zeetan's power for that moment.
Zeetan tried recalling his servant, but it was too late, Vaati
reached out and grabbed the top triangle, its power fusing into his
body. The remaining ones disappeared and the mage turned around,
control mark gone from his being.
"Very crafty... I
underestimated you." Zeetan said, an odd sense of pleasure about
him.
"I've had enough of people trying to control me! That
fool Gannon thought he could do the same, and he was defeated."
The dark one laughed, then moved closer to Vaati "If I can't
control you, then how about a partnership?"
"What could
you bring me that I couldn't get myself?" Vaati replied
sarcastically.
"How about the removal of your curse?"
Vaati
paused.
"I know well that you attempted to remake the world
using a magical hat, and that your defeat caused its power to rebound
upon you, trapping your being to the form of a wind demon. Your
current body takes much power for you to maintain, and I can give you
the power to do so for eternity."
He pondered this for a
moment, then reluctantly said "You have a deal..."
Meanwhile,
Marie and Spirit had started their voyage to sea with the Indigogos,
as the last bit of land faded from sight. The Klonian cradled her
orb, taking in the salty scent of the ocean, and the delightful sea
breeze upon her fur. Spirit stood by her, holding her hand as they
both smiled at the sight. The sun remained high in the sky, but soon
that changed as a dark cloud loomed overhead. The waves rocked the
boat violently, Marie staring transfixed at the sudden storm. Spirit
tugged her arm, causing her to snap back to reality, saying "We
should go into the lower cabins, it looks like the weather's getting
rough!"
"A storm..." she said in some
trance.
"?"
"Can't you feel it?" she turned
to Spirit "a terrible storm... one caused by
darkness..."
"Zeetan?"
She nodded "He is
here, on this world..."
"Wherever he is, we'll stop
him."
He then held Marie tightly, trying to ease her mind
and he lead her down to the cabins.
"Hey, Spirit... What...
Do you think we should name our child?" She asked, blushing
slightly.
"If it's a girl, we could name her Tsuki. In old
Zarconian, it means beauty."
"And if it's a boy, we
could name him Runoa, after my brother."
They both smiled at
one another, and it wasn't long before they fell asleep in each
other's arms, both holding the precious orb that would one day be
their child. The boat continued rocking greatly, but soon the storm
died down, and it came to a calm. It delayed the voyage's progress
slightly.
Marie woke up to see Spirit still holding onto her and
nuzzled her head against his vest with a smile, to gently wake him.
He blinked slightly, wiping away the sleep from his eyes with
pleasant yawn and smile. The door suddenly opened, Lulu coming in
saying "We have hit shore!"
They both nodded, getting up
out of the bed and following her outside the cabin. They stepped
outside to see a Hylian port and walked onto a dock, as Lulu pointed
to a massive drawbridge.
"Once you make it through those
gates you should find yourself in the fields of Hyrule! If you head
west, you should make it to Hyrule, a great castle, but be careful if
you travel by night."
"Oh?" Marie's ears perked at
the warning.
"Undead creatures prey on the living by night,
but if you two can fight well, then you needn't worry..."
"We'll
keep that in mind" Spirit said, taking Marie's hand "when
we stick together, no one can take us down!"
She chuckled,
patting him "A brave lil one you are!"
"Oh, there's
much more to us than it seems" Marie said with a giggle "But
we must be off now!"
They both headed out toward the fields,
fighting all manner of spinning flower monsters and lantern holding
ghosts. Sunset was soon upon them, causing the two to quicken their
trek. As they reached the walled town, they looked in surprise as the
drawbridge went up.
"Great... We're locked out..."
Marie said with a slight hint of sarcasm.
"Um... That's not
the worst of our problems..." Spirit said in a terrified voice.
The young godess turned around, only to see a swarm of skeletal
creatures behind them.
"Those must be what Lulu was talking
about!"
"Looks like we'll have to make our stand right
here!"
"Or not..." Marie said, grabbing Spirit's
arm, gesturing towards the river "Trust me on this one!"
His
face became pale and he reluctantly nodded, both of them running
towards the river. Marie jumped in, Spirit being dragged in with her.
They stayed submerged for only a moment, and the goddess pulled them
both up to the surface, letting Spirit grab onto her
shoulders.
"Look!" she chuckled, pointing up "They
can't swim!"
"How'd you know?" Spirit asked, as she
chuckled.
"I just had a hunch!" she said, swimming
towards the end of the canal where water poured out from a pipe.
Spirit felt both himself and Marie being lifted out of the water by
her own telekinesis into the pipe's rim. Bars went across it to keep
out intruders, but thanks to their small size, both Spirit and Marie
were able to fit between them.
"Looks like nothing's getting
us here..." Marie said "But we'll be wet all night..."
She
noticed Spirit shivering, and leaned next to him with a tight hug,
letting the heat of both her body and the orb warm him. He purred
happily as Marie petted him gently.
"Just stay close to
me... You'll be fine..." she said with a warm smile. Spirit soon
fell asleep in her arms, still purring softly into her ear.
"You
may be a defender of the light, but you're still just like a little
kitten" she said softly and kissed him on the cheek before
falling asleep herself, their purrs both echoing through the pipes.
