Ehehe… Marth is fun to manipulate.
End of an Era
Chapter Eight
"Now, ladies, gentlemen, and Kirby, I'd just like to remind everyone that unless we put three light-years between ourselves and the mansion in the next, oh, I dunno, thirty minutes; Master Hand is gonna catch us. And I assure you, nobody wants that!"
"No, Falcon, nobody wants that, so will you please focus on what you're doing!"
I keep my eyes shut and attempt to ignore the bickering going on around me. Falcon currently getting a tongue lashing from his Melee partner, Samus. The two of them are in charge of, flying, this, ship of hers. Doctor Mario and Marth seem very involved in whatever quiet conversation they're having in the seats behind mine. While Kirby seems fascinated with the bright lights flashing past the window as the craft speeds along, what entertains him makes me ill. All I know about myself is that I want off of this thing; now.
Everything is cold, metallic, flashing, buzzing, and vibrating. I can't feel the slightest amount of magic coming from anything, and when I look out the window, except for the occasional blur of colour, I see nothing but an all consuming darkness. Something so deep I feel as if I could fall through it forever… Even now, not being able to see anything, my world keeps spinning and all of the odd, conflicting sounds I can only half-hear are only making me dizzier.
"Not enjoying yourself; Princess?" Marth asks; I crack one eye open, feeling stiff as I tightly clutch the uncomfortable arm-rests. He looks a bit pale as he also has a hard grip on the seat next to mine. One side of the, cockpit… is all metal and those odd light panels, the other side where we are, has seats built two-by-two going down the side, and securely connected to the wall.
The vessel gives a lurch as we're moving, and I can't help the small cry I give at the jolt. I fist one hand in front of my mouth; eyes tightly shut as I slam my hand back down on the armrest, feeling my stomach flip a few times. Keeping Nayru's harp up close to me from where it's wrapped in a layer of cloth, I hear Marth scrambling around into the next seat; apparently he isn't as used to this type of travel as all the others.
"No," I say tightly, keeping my jaw firmly shut in case of another lurch. "Not at all."
"Are you going to be alright?" He asks; I don't open my eyes, even as I feel his hand come down over my own shaking one. I breathe deeply, trying to calm down and nod quickly.
"Just… Get me off of this thing, and I'll be fine." I assure him, feeling more and more agitated by the second.
"This isn't my first choice in travel either," He says in a shaky voice, stuttering something in his native tongue before switching back to the common. "But, it is the fastest way to Hyrule."
I almost laugh at that, hating every moment I have to spend on this contraption, and grateful for his company. If I hadn't been told over and over again that this would get us beyond Master Hand, and to Hyrule faster than anything, I doubt I would have climbed aboard.
Getting far, fast, is incredibly important though; Master Hand clearly has no intention of letting people return home for long-term commitments, made very clear by his talk with Marth and I. Thankfully, Mewtwo was right on the mark when he said that the others were just as upset, even if the idea didn't directly effect them. As soon as we are a certain distance from the Mansion, Master Hand won't be able to track us. Even though he knows we're going to Hyrule; he won't be able to sense where we go. In actuality, it's only through common sense that he'll search Hyrule.
"Marth…" Kirby whines, I manage to crack one eye open again and see Kirby looking tearfully around. It's like he's mocking me as he just stands there, not holding anything to stay upright and not looking as if he needs too. He shuffles his long pink feet a few paces back and forth though, in an oddly familiar pattern. The poor thing looks as if he's about to burst.
"Marth… I have to go pee…"
"Are you planning on remaining outside forever?" A deep, feminine voice asks. I look up to see nothing but shadows in the doorway in front of me, everything still dark as night around the garden as I can't see the person who spoke. Slowly though, I begin to see the subtle light even the night generates shining off of the Sheikah garments the woman is wearing. I don't say anything as she steps out of the doorway, her shoes clicking against the stones as she jumps easily across the water separating the entry from the grass where I'm sitting.
"Is the King finished?" I ask after a short silence, the Sheikah crosses her arms while looking down at me. Her face is still shrouded behind the various scarves her kind wear when in times of turmoil, but for some reason, I have no problems recognizing Zelda's old nurse, Impa.
"Almost," She reports, "He should be ready any time now…" A brief pause before, "May I speak with you for a moment?" Impa asks; an odd look in her eyes as I just shrug in reply. Sitting down, the Sheikah puts about a foot or two of distance between us, remaining silent as she digs into a pouch hanging from her belt. I keep my eyes where they were before, looking up at where I know the Herald for the castle is; the Triforce flanked on both sides by outstretched wings, my fingers unconsciously tracing the same pattern which is a part of the Master Sword's hilt.
"Here," Impa says, drawing my attention back as she tosses a small bundle at me. Out of reflex, I snatch it from the air with my right hand before it sails past me. "You haven't eaten yet since you arrived." I look down at the bundle with a bit of uncertainty for a few moments before unwrapping it. A dry roll of bread, with what looks like a tough bit of meat and brittle cheese is inside.
"It isn't much, but it should tide you over for the moment." She continues, apparently noticing my hesitation. I actually haven't eaten much today, or, maybe it was yesterday, but after waking up I went straight to the arena with Mewtwo, then I had the medicine in Dr. Mario's Ward before the drama with Zelda, and then… Farore came so…
"No, I…" I wrap the food back up and shake my head. Oh wow; I missed two meals, I'm wasting away. I don't think so. "I can't. I just…" Food must be scarce by now; I've been well fed all this time so now I can go a few days without eating.
"I've never seen a young man your age turn down a meal," Impa chuckles slightly, the cheer sounding a bit forced though as she takes the roll back, slipping it once more into the pouch.
"I don't think you wanted to speak to me about food…" I say, rather bluntly actually. The bodyguard's laughter dies quickly, allowing that damn silence to boil back up. The only thing breaking it the splash of the fountains the distant sound of people working, and speaking to one another within the castle.
"His Majesty said…" I've never known Zelda's nurse to have any kind of trouble speaking before, but whatever she's trying to say seems difficult for her to get out. "You said that…"
"Is this about the Princess?" I ask after a moment more of her stuttering. In the darkness I glance over at where Impa is, there only being enough light for me to see her slowly nod her head. I smirk briefly before sobering up,
"Zelda is alive, and for the moment, she is safe." I say in a somber voice, looking once more to the towers as I speak.
"I saw her fall into the river…" Impa murmurs, almost to herself in the shadows. I give a small sigh and knock my head back against the tree trunk a few times.
"I know what it looked like to you, Impa," I say quietly, "But I swear to you—"
"On what?" she interrupts; I glance at the Sheikah from the corner of my eye, noting the very level look she's giving me. If she were a truly spiteful person, there's plenty which could accompany that statement.
"I swear on my life to you, Impa of the Sheikah Tribe, Assigned Nurse and Protector of the Princess Zelda, that her majesty is alive and well." Perhaps making it so formal wasn't necessary, but again, she doesn't comment on it. At least not until;
"And here I'd thought you were going to swear on your honour." I keep myself from flinching at the blunt comment, her tone not mocking or jesting, but carrying a hint of distaste if anything.
"And what good is any honour I still possess?" I question, the conversation not helping my bitter mood. "I thought you'd want something of at least minimal importance."
"Are you saying you're better off dead?" Is the curt reply.
"It's not as if I have much of a purpose after this is over." It's the plain and simple truth, or at least it's what I believe is happening. "Clearly I'm fit for neither guarding the Triforce nor protecting Hyrule, and it's not as if I've had many plans for the future aside from those two things." My eyes are closed again, and in the silence of the garden I can hear Impa shift how she's sitting slightly, before a giving a small sigh.
"I suppose, life has never been fair for you…" I open my eyes and turn my face towards her fully, the comment both unexpected, and surprising.
"What?" I ask; I can see Impa smiling sadly in the low light.
"As a child in the woods you were somewhat of an outcast," She murmurs, "At such a young age you were given a terrible responsibility, and were even forced through time into a horrifying future." I blink slightly at how much she knows, Saria or some of the other Kokiri must have become more open to other people over the years, that or the Deku Tree let Navi go where she pleased, and she ended up telling about my childhood. Being ostracized as a child isn't something I've ever gone around telling people about.
"Time and time again…" Impa continues softly, I'd thought she'd finished, but apparently not. "You were always there, your own life put on hold to help others. We never actually took the time to ask about what you wanted, did we?" Reaching up, Impa tugs at the scarves over her face, pulling them down under her chin so that I can see her frowning in the dim light. The bodyguard not looking pleased with her own conclusion, while I just keep quiet about it.
Sure, no one else ever really asked what I thought of the situation, not in a way that I could refuse. But that's just it, I could have said no; it's not like I would be smacked around for shaking my head and going home, or even looked down upon by all those people. I was only a child when this started; in fact I was asked over and over by different people if I wanted to call it quits, but my own pride and stubborn will to succeed always made me push on. No, Impa's wrong, people did ask, and did push me to just be a child, but there was always something that made me accept, that same… reckless courage…
"You surprise me though," I find that my eyes have wandered to the grass in front of me, and pull them back to the Sheikah,
"What do you mean?" I ask, a warm look in her eyes as she regards me a moment more, before shaking her head with a smile, wisps of her white hair moving back and forth with the motion.
"You always think with your sword, don't you?" She asks, still with that smile. "What you can do with it, so much violence." She stretches out more on the ground, looking relaxed, even though I know that's virtually impossible for a Sheikah. "To be honest, I had thought a compassionate young man like yourself would have gone after the other side of life. Not become a reckless heartbreaker like you seem to be now."
"Excuse me?" I ask, my eyebrows both vanishing up into my hairline with the comment. I'm beginning to wonder about how scarce alcohol has become, this is perhaps the last conversation I thought I'd ever have with Impa.
"Well, there was the Zora Princess, the young maid at the Lon Lon ranch, the second Kokiri sage seemed quite taken with you as well, a member of Subrosian High-society, an Oracle in Holodrum, the Guardian Tree of Labrynna—"
"Gah! How do you--!" Shocked, and now I feel like I'm burning up. How in the world did she find out about all of those awkward situations? Malon, Ruto, and Saria I understand, but Din, Rosa, and the Maku Tree?
"And, there were rumors a few years ago about someone across the sea in Terminia." Impa's smile is about as large as I've ever seen it, not that it's much mind you, but more than her normal smirk. I notice that she was counting the names off on her fingers, and finally realize my mouth is hanging open, closing it with a snap.
"But those weren't—" My shock is fading gradually, leaving me to feel even more wretched. So now I toy with women's emotions? Farore, every scrap of faith I ever had in myself as a person seems destined to be thrashed… haven't I done anything right with my life?
"I take it you aren't enjoying our conversation…" Impa comments dryly, and I stop banging the back of my head against the tree, I hadn't even noticed myself starting this time.
"I was supposed to enjoy this? Forgive me for not picking up on that," I say spitefully. I highly doubt that even a lengthy, well versed discussion with Fox about the Wire Frames would have me enjoying myself though…
"But, you never thought about that kind of life; did you?" She asks after a brief pause.
"Well, I was twelve when everything started," I reply in a flat tone. "Went to Labrynna and Holodrum when I was fifteen, and spent all the years after that..." I let the words fall as I don't want to continue down that path, already knowing what Impa will say next.
"You like it there, don't you?" She asks, the question actually not what I was expecting. I had thought she'd try to find out where I went, not what I thought about it.
"Not in the least." is the automatic response. I hate that tyrant of a Hand and everything he's taken from me. My pride, honour, friends, dignity, the ability to fight, and most of all my arm. Maybe Impa's right about me, I've always thought very highly of myself as a result of my strength in battles. I doubt I've ever been arrogant about it, maybe once or twice, but it's not as if I've gone around calling myself the Master of Swordplay.
"I find that difficult to believe," Impa comments, her voice carrying a knowing tone. "I don't doubt that you loath how you were there instead of in Hyrule when we needed you, but I'm all but positive you felt very welcome and at home during the time before Ganondorf's return." Again, I just don't understand how she could know all of this, and find that all I can do is just stare at her in the darkness.
Even though I certainly don't want to admit it, there is a sense in what she's saying... Yes, I hate almost everything about the Smash Mansion now. The strange technologies, the mindless fighting, having next to no say in my life anymore... But I guess you could say I only started thinking that way once Hyrule became threatened again. Even during my match with Falco, the same day Zelda arrived, I actually had fun, sure I still had a few slips with terms walking back to the Mansion, but... that doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed myself...
A slight humming starts in the air, and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as hurried footsteps come towards us. Impa stands and I do as well, both of us watching the shadowed door as one of the Zoras comes rushing out. A blue-skinned man with eyes a pure dark blue, no pupil or iris, just the solid dark colour.
Like all Zoras, he has a long face and head, from the top of which hangs a long sleek fish-tail, a part of his hair-less scalp. This young Zora is one of the scarred, wearing dark red pants as well as a light loose top. Something that at first I was shocked by, Zora are people of the waters, and feel no need to cover themselves. Now though, the toxins in the water have begun to not only poison them, but to be so horrid as to eat away the fins which normally extend from their elbows. Their skin scared to the point where many are ashamed, and others have their gills damaged to the point where a terrible number can no longer breath without coming to the surface for air.
"His Majesty is finished," The Zora says, his voice somewhat raspy from his ordeals. This Zora is actually one of Jabun Jabun's former attendants, his new High Priest to be exact. Jabun Jabun seems to have fled the land though with the flooding, something which has both shocked and disheartened yet more people.
"You must hurry; although the waters shall remain away, the barrier between ourselves and the Evil Ganodorf will fade momentarily. The men are ready to fight till their last breath." He looks to Impa with the last part, and the Shiekah nods, her scarves once more in place over the lower half of her face. I do so as well to show my understanding, the humming only growing more intense as we stand there, before I begin to make my way through the shallow water, and up unto the stone walk-way.
Once inside, Impa quickly goes off to where the men are lining up, facing the door at the opposite end of the hall. The vaulting chamber decorated with dark blue stone, thick, red carpets, and the royal emblem above each pillar which supports the upper balcony. I glare darkly at the back of the copper statue in front of me as I enter; a huge monument made in my image, and something I would rather not look at.
"This way," The Priest says hurriedly as he leads me down the stairs after the Sheikah, but instead of continuing down the second flight, he turns abruptly to face the front of the statue. Once I'm standing next to him, he turns once more, this time at where the men are standing, a few of the Hylian and Labrynnian soldiers seems to have been waiting for him, and I watch as they start tugging huge triangular shaped blocks of stone into place over the Triforce symbol on the floor. As soon as they finish, I'm startled to hear the low rumbling of shifting stone, turning back around to see the statue slowly sliding away from me, and revealing a small staircase and door underneath.
"Before his end, the King of the Zoras spoke highly of you." I glance back at the Priest to see him bowing to me, bent half-way and his back perfectly straight. The blotched scars on the back of his head painfully visible as he straightens. "I wish to do so as well." His voice sounds full of both respect and calm, but his Zora eyes betray the fear he's hiding. I don't have anything meaningful to say as I jump down in front of the door, ignoring the steps off to the other side. Glancing back though, I see him holding a worn blade, one the others must have passed him.
"Good luck."
"Samus, I am now officially convinced that this bucket-of-bolts should be sold for scrap." Captain Falcon says bluntly. I don't open my eyes as the two Bounty-Hunters begin arguing yet again with each other, Samus's voice sounding muffled and distant through her visor.
"Are we there yet?" Kirby asks as I feel the rumbling around us fade slightly, as if whatever was propelling us forwards loses power.
"Samus! This isn't the place!" Falcon argues.
"And how would you know that?" She challenges, I can hear the sound of her striking switches, creating high-pitched tones and blips. As things quiet down a bit more, but for the chatter of the other people with me, I at last lift my head up from where it was resting on Marth's shoulder. The other High-born still has little colour in his skin from the odd form of travel, and I don't doubt that I look the same, still feeling drained and sick.
"How can I not know what it looks like? I've flown past it enough damn times!" An odd silence fills the compartment, and I hear the Captain curse quietly under his breath.
"When, or rather, why would you come near Hyrule?" Samus asks, sounding intrigued as I sit up a bit straighter in my seat, feeling cramped from the hours I've spent in it.
"Ah-well, y'see… umm…" Even though I can't see Falcon from behind the large seat he occupies, I watch one gloved hand come up and bend to scratch behind his head, his voice sounding sheepish as he tries to form an answer. "I am so busted…" he mutters after a few more moments of erratic stutters.
"Wait," Samus interrupts, from where I'm sitting I can only see one of her arms as she gestures to cut him off. "Does this have anything to do with all those flights you took after Link's… Injury…?" A deep silence swamps the entire chamber, even the rumblings quieting for a brief moment.
"Yup." Falcon says in a showboating tone. "What can I say? After his… arm… Link was a bag of nerves that jumped when you entered the room! Understandably, of course, but it was no less annoying… So I thought I'd try and find his home-world, just to help calm him down a bit," I look over at Marth and notice him smiling at the apparent gesture of kindness, I myself feeling mixed emotions about the Captain's actions. "After I found it and took picture after picture after god-damn picture. I got enough to show that it was Hyrule, and showed the images to Link to convince him that the world hadn't come to an end."
Captain Falcon continues speaking to the others, going on about his escapades, but I stop listening, my seat also giving me a clear view out the front window of the vessel. I gasp as a large orb appears as if from nowhere, green, red and yellow blotches, sharp in contrast to vast expanses of bright blue. Silver wisps, like those on a marble, are feathered along the surface, and from where we are; everything almost seems to be, spinning, ever so slowly…
"Weather Patterns," Falcon says, pulling me from my thoughts as an odd frame appears across the image, foreign characters appearing with bits of information I cannot read. "Look at the ozone, when I was here last there were clouds up the wazoo in the northern hemisphere. Now? None. Plus, according to these stats," He pauses for a moment, a few tones sounding before the frames and information change, this time showing a wire-frame version of the… world… with glowing green lines pointing to various areas.
"There's a whole whack-load of land missing on the surface," he explains, "And the thermal levels under this Ocean in the south west are way less than the rest of the planet. Hyrule was a constant, some, Subrosia, place heating it all up."
"So you're saying that this isn't Hyrule, and that the co-ordinates downloaded from your ship were wrong?" Samus questions testily.
"I'm saying this isn't the right world, and that your stone-age navigation system couldn't take the directions from my sleek, top-of-the line, drop-dead gorgeous-"
"Why you-!"
"Zelda," I pull my attention away from the two arguing pilots, looking behind me to see Doctor Mario mulling over something. "Can you tell if this is-a your world or not?" He asks, I blink and feel my brow furrow slightly at the question.
"I'm… not sure," I reply softly. Looking down into my lap, I find myself unconsciously rubbing my left hand, the fingers of which are curled around the frame of the Harp. There is no golden pattern on the back to show where the Triforce rests within my hand, but I've spent so many long years looking at it, I've memorized every detail, and can see it even as I sit here. Looking back up at the orb hovering in the darkness, I blink and focus one the far side, a portion slowly coming into view out of the darkness which must be night.
"Whoa," Captain Falcon exclaims as swirling dark clouds hover over a frighteningly large portion of the surface, "that's gotta be a Meteorologist's worst nightmare come true."
"I'm getting readings of unheard of rain patterns and frigid temperatures." Samus adds, looking over the glowing panels in front of her, "I doubt any light is reaching the surface, it must be dark as night down there."
"Yes… it's… always night…" I whisper, Falcon cranes his neck around the back of his chair to look at me, I lower my eyes back down to my clasped hands as I feel faint, "It's all so cold down there, rains swallowing everything in icy water…" Marth looks between myself and the window again,
"So… that is Hyrule then…" Doctor Mario murmurs; sounding sad as Falcon once again regards the instruments in front of him.
"There are signs of drought everywhere across the rest of the planet, but along the coasts, there's extreme flooding." He reports. "All the rain is being dumped onto that one region right there; everything else is getting ignored."
"That stormy area is where the both of you hail from, isn't it?" Marth asks, looking over at me, I keep my eyes down as I nod, not wanting to look at the clouds. Its true then, the Goddesses truly flooded only Hyrule, not Labrynna, or Hollodrum, or anywhere else… Just Hyrule…
"Okay, so the big-blackish-swirly-thingy is where we're headed?" Falcon asks, cracking his knuckles as he seems tired of simply talking for so long. His light-heartedness isn't true though, but it seems that he prefers joking over mulling about the unchangeable. "Alrighty then, Princess, if you would be so kind, where amongst the evil-looking-cloud-of-doom might Link be?" I frown, pulling myself from my thoughts, and shake my head after a moment.
"I honestly don't know…" I reply softly, "I would say the castle but—"
"Okay, castle, gotcha." Falcon interrupts, looking across the swirling mass nearly in front of us now. Do days truly go by so fast? "Princess, where might the castle be?" He asks, and I fire a flat look at the back of his chair.
"Underwater." I say snippily, I had been about to tell him that it's most likely the castle and most of the lower mountains have already been consumed, before when he cut me off at least.
"What?"
"Hylians live underwater? Neato!" Kirby squeals, drowning out Falcon's exclamation. To be honest, Kirby startles me slightly; he's been so quiet I had thought him asleep.
"Samus," Dr. Mario calls from behind me, Falcon's complains not pausing as I look behind my seat, and notice the doctor casting the blue orb a careful look. Looking back at the large window, I don't know what he's worried about. I can't see anything at all different, at least not until
"What's that, down there?" Samus asks, her voice still muffled by the green dome over her head. One orange-gloved hand pointing down from behind her chair into the center of the clouds where a small, golden light is trying to shine through the storm... I gasp slightly, and before I can help myself, I'm unbuckled and walk over to the front.
"Princess...?"Dr. Mario calls, sounding confused as I don't reply, merely lifting my left hand up. A subtle glitter from under my glove is all I need to see.
"That's it." I say softly, turning to face Samus, and then Falcon, pointing towards the almost invisible speck through the clouds. "That's where I need to go."
"Zelda," Marth says, looking a bit concerned, "Are you sure that its the-"
"Sure she's sure," Falcon interrupts, he and Samus already working away on the buttons and panels, the sounds from before waking up again. "Don't argue with the lady, she knows where she wants to go, so we're going."
"Don't need to be so rude," Samus comments dryly.
"Yeah, well, I don't like sittin' around all day watching that cloud go by." He snaps back, myself at last making it back to my seat and buckling back up, holding the Harp against me as Marth watches warily.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and Kirby, please fasten your seat-belts as we begin our decent. We apologize for the delay, and hope you don't mind the turbulence with re-entry. Samus's shocks suck."
"FALCON!"
Does it really matter which one said 'Good Luck'? I think not, thus why I didn't specify.
