DANCE, DANCE, DANCE
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Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo
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Genre(s): Action/Humor
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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC. NO BETA, so beware of grammar mistakes
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Summary: Feel the music in your bones!
(Or, Some said it was a curse. Some said it was a blessing. Link just thought it was super neat~)
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What the hell is this? Wild internally wailed, stumbling on thin air and caused him to unconsciously evaded a Blin's frantic attack. Lucky. But still, why in Hylia's name, I couldn't use my own feet?!
The moment they landed in this place—most likely, a new world and a new Hyrule. Nobody recognized this dessert—everyone knew something wrong had happened. Their body instantly locked up, posture rigid. They couldn't move freely, limbs felt awkward and stiff. As if an invisible rope coiled and tightened around their entire body.
Not to mention, there was this music.
Good music, sure. Very catchy and easy to remember, he could definitely jam on it.
If a horde of monsters wasn't trying to kill them right about now!
Wild soon understood Twilight's aversion towards magic. When it was in your hand, it was a handy, little thing. Yet when it was in someone else's grasp, someone wicked with no good intention, it could cause mayhem within a snap of a finger. Whatever-force that bind them away made their movement to be snappy, for the lack of better word. One second, they fought the beasts as they usually do. The next, they staggered and swayed like a recently awoken Stalfos. Wild couldn't even count how many times he fell on his butt or his face for the last… past minutes? Ten minutes. He felt his tunic doused with dirt and grass, courtesy of rolling around the dirty ground too much, as he couldn't really stand on his legs with this weird magic enveloping his entire being. Wind and Legend let out inappropriate curses. Hyrule tried to protect Four, who was reeling in shock after failing on blocking a Goblin's sword swing. Twilight just crawled on all four to dodge an incoming attack. And Time let out an undignified squawk. Even Sky's and Warriors' beautiful, choreographic stance that was taught by the academy, one of the things they were so proud of, was nowhere to be seen.
And the goddamn music.
So. Goddamn. Annoying!
(If Twilight knew his internal cuss, pretty sure the guy will get a heart attack. Look. He already admonished Wind for swearing upfront. The guy is a sailor, for Goddesses' sake, give him a rest already, Mom)
When Wild was ready to produce a bunch of bombs and wrecked these monsters, environment be damned, a gentle wind suddenly rushed past him. Before a figure shrouded in a dual-colored tunic, semi-messy hair tied back by a blue feather hairpin, descended upon the beasts almost majestically. The first thing that caught Wild's—and pretty sure, everyone's—attention was the colors. Rainbow blade. Rainbow 'play button', smacked dab on his ear protection (?) and was peeking through the back of his tunic (it was hindered by the humongous sheath hanging onto his shoulder). Music note motif at the collars and the bottom of his clothes had been going on and off like a dying lamp that needed to be replaced. All in all, this kid's getup was very eye-catching. Even more so than Legend's pink hot cheerleader costume. But asides of his cheerful attire that could very well burn their eyesight, Wild's attention was focused onto the fact that—
He disposed of the surrounding enemies rather easily.
How? Rainbow didn't pull off any unique items nor spells. Fighting style wasn't particularly complicated. Wasn't as jaw-dropping as Sky's and Warriors' stylized form. In fact, if he had to compare it to something, the kid looked like he was…dancing? One two, slash stab pierce. One two, swing bash thrust. He jumped, the bird feather on his hair let him stopped in midair for a split second, then he continued on mauling the poor Moblin. He stood straight, suddenly crouched low, and sliced a Keese in two. Each time he moved, there was a swagger in it. He looked like a kid in sugar high—something Wild had an experience of. Whether it was Wind or the scared teenager himself, usually both of them—hopping, spinning. He looked like he was having fun and—
Is he humming?
"Hey! What are you guys doing, just standing over there?" 'Rainbow' chirped. Blue orbs glittered with playfulness as he ducked under a Bokoblin's spiked cub without looking. He then stabbed it in the stomach, turning the monster into a speck of mere dust, "come on! Join in on the fun~"
"A little bit…busy here," Time gritted, clumsily evaded a strike coming from below, "we're trapped under strange magic. Can't move as fluidly as you, kid."
"Strange magic?" he threw the big sword into the head of a Lizalfos, let his own body to be supported by one hand only and spun, kicking the jaw of the Blin's with his steel boots. Realization dawned upon him when he picked up his weapon and he continued on fighting, "oh. You guys must be from another world!"
Huh? How did he arrive at that conclusion? Wild was flabbergasted.
Well, it wasn't wrong. But still. By the way he spoke, it almost like 'people from different universes' is just a common sense here. Did something like Warriors' adventure happen before? The 'combining-a-bunch-of-timelines-to-create-a-cobble-mess-of-a-perfect-world' thing.
"First thing first. I'm sure you've heard the music, right?" Rainbow started explaining, swaying left and right to dodge a continuous laser from a statue with a rotating, glaring eye. He kicked it down and kill it mercilessly, "that is the source of the strange magic, as you've called it. You want to get rid of the magic? Then get rid of the monster that sings the song. I like to call them Music Monster~"
"Okay, all right. Where's this Music Monster then?" Twilight immediately piped in. His desire to never, ever be involved in this magical nonsense any longer was palpable.
"Don't know. Sometimes it hid, sometimes it disguised as a statue or even a rock, it could be anywhere. You have to have enormous luck to find it on the first try," everyone groaned at that, "don't worry about that, though. If we keep on killing 'the minion', it'll come out on its own. Music Monsters were usually very protective of their subordinates. In the meantime, you guys should dance."
"Dance?" there was clear disbelief in Warriors' tone. He landed a point-blank strike on a tektite, then fell on his bum when he stepped on his own scarf somehow.
"Yup. The music it played forced everyone within its radius to play by 'the rule'. You break it, it'll punish you. See?" Rainbow laughed when Wild tripped right into a panicking Bublin. Rude. At least he managed to kill it before it could retaliate back, "what you have to do is dance. Simple."
"No. No, it doesn't," Sky mumbled. Wow, he must be super tired with this strange world and its 'mechanism' for him to be that passive-aggressive, Wild was kind of impressed.
"Really. You just have to listen to the music. Feel the rhythm. Follow the beat," the boy continued, ignoring the usually laid-back member's quip and muttered one two, one two over and over, showing them how to listen to the said rhythm and moved according to the beat. He accentuated the following point by killing another Lizalfos, who tried to impale him, yet failed as Rainbow parried it (one), forced the spear out of the enemy's hand (two), and beheaded it to dead (one).
Legend cursed for the nth times, "this is ridiculous."
"That's how it worked. You just gotta adapt~" he whirled, notching an arrow he stole from a dying Black Armor and nailed a sneaky Keese on Wind's unsuspecting back, "oh, also. Try not to use any jumping attack for now. Stay simple. Falling down is counted as one beat. If you don't have a Rito Feather or Hover boots to save your hide, or you just can't nail the landing, you'll break your tempo. It's dangerous if you fall right into an enemy's range. Trust me, I know."
It took a while for them to adjust. Sky and Warriors were the first who managed to (later they said, it was like obeying a teacher/commander order). Followed by Wind and Time (who admitted that singing along with pirates/Kokiri taught them a lot). Legend was next (grumbling about 'Din' and her 'Troupe of Performance'), Four (Picori Festival dance battle), and Twilight was close behind (Ordon Village love to celebrate whenever their crops were successful). The only left hanging was Hyrule and Wild.
"You two suck," was Rainbow helpful comment, both of them grumbled.
Hey! It wasn't totally their fault for having a spontaneous, all-over-the-place fighting stance as their way of battling, okay? Hyrule was alone in his journey most of the time. And Wild was an amnesiac. Nobody really taught the humble traveler to do things other than to survive. And even though Wild was previously a knight and sometimes, those moves only a soldier pulled were shining through, doesn't mean he could completely mimic the steps.
The next minute was a total fluke; a thing that surprised him yet definitely wasn't unwelcome. Wild proceeded to fight from the distance, producing three arrows at once, ready to be sailed. He then missed a beat, tilted to the side and unconsciously released his grip from the arrowhead. Instead of killing a Goblin he'd been eyeing for a couple of minutes, it went off course. And somehow, through luck and a complete accident, those arrows nailed an invisible Poe who hovered over their battlefield and seems to be watching them flailing from a vantage point. It let out a screeching noise, died, and the music stopped.
"Wha—" Rainbow blinked. Wild noticed his colorful blade, along with the rainbow play button on his ear protection and tunic, had stopped changing colors (and thank God too. The constant changing of that sword was kind of…hipnotizing. Maybe that was the point. To disoriented enemies. He didn't know why the play button design acted like that, however). The music notes on the collar and on the bottom of his tunic also stopped blinking. Within a second, the kid stopped 'glowing' and he was pouting because of it, "aww, party-pooper! I still wanted to dance, you know."
"Good work, Wild," Legend praised, killing the remaining monsters who was running around like a featherless Cucco, now that their leader was dead, "let's end this so we can finally rest. We haven't had our breakfast yet, I'm so hungry."
Another ten minutes passed and the fight had officially ended. Twilight had been praising the Goddesses front to back after the music ended. And Wild was doing the same too, gleeful that he could finally be his gremlin—a title he happily accepted—self once again. That fight was one hell of an experience. Dancing and fighting? He won't tease Warriors and his fancy stance anymore after this.
"Not bad," Rainbow approached, grin bloomed wide. He heard Hyrule gasped from behind and Wild couldn't really blame him. Now that Rainbow stood close and everyone wasn't high strung from being stuck in a ridiculous battle, they realized that this child may be the hero of this world. His face reminded him of Warriors. A smaller version of their Captain, as height was shorter yet still a tad bit taller than Wind. He kept on talking, not recognizing the sudden stare he garnered from the Heroes of Courage, "for a world traveler, you guys learned fast. Did you come from Cadence's home? But if so, you should know about the Music Monster from a single glance. After all, they came from her world. This may sound like a hassle to you, but I don't really mind. The musics are a delight and you know what? Sometimes, I hid in someplace safe and let the enemies roamed for a bit just so I can listen to the song. It becomes everyone's favorite pastime now. Even Zelda like it. Although I wished the civilians would stop coming to the dungeon. The Music Monster over there are way more brutal than the overworld Music Monster."
He really loved to talk, "umm…are you Link?" Wild asked.
"Yeah," Link answered without hesitation, no shred of wariness at all over the fact that nine strangers knew his name. But then again, knowing the life of a hero, some people must've hailed him, "do you need something from me? Don't tell me...someone really did come to the dungeon today? Dammit! I needed to ask Barriara to speed up the production of that 'recorder' thingy. Those people are going to kill themselves one of these days!"
"No, no. Not at all," Time placated, "actually, we are—"
A music suddenly echoed from afar. Twilight let out a frustrated yell.
Link snickered, "my house is over there. Each monster has a 10 to 15 km radius so let's scram before it could trap us."
"You sure know a lot about them, huh?" Four stated as they scampered and ran away from the source of the marvelous yet ominous song, "despite them not originated from your own world."
"Cadence taught me a bunch. Music Monsters are annoying at best, limiting our movement and all. But it was a double edge sword for its subordinates as well. You realized how the enemies showed a lot of opening in their defense, right?" Link questioned back, "you can pull up your usual trick when you get used to the rhythm, but not the monster. They're stuck with their simple attacks and, as long as they didn't corner you, easy to counter too. Because they don't have any brain and they're stupid. Except for Lynel. Fuck that guy."
They arrived at a simple home, made of wood and was situated near a shallow pond. It was surrounded by thick forest with no neighbors on sight. Link's house was small and homey. He didn't have much in it, just a living room with a round table and chairs. A couple of paintings depicting places in his world, along with pictures of him with Zelda and a blonde-haired girl, laughing and playing, was seen hanging around the wall. His kitchen was mostly bare, and a slightly ajar door on the corner showed a bit of his slightly messy room, with what seems to be a guitar was placed on a bed. Judging from the simple setting, Link must've spent his life mostly journeying around, like how Wild did. Having a place to rest rather than sleeping in an inn most of the time was cheaper, after all. It was practical too. As Link prepared some tea for them to sip, Time started to tell the tale. About different worlds, about the Links, about Chosen Heroes and the new journey they have to embark. All the while, Link was silent. Listening to the story with blank eyes and hands folded in front of his chest. The cheeriness he showed before was nowhere to be seen.
When the story was over, there was silence. The rainbow boy had his orbs closed, not looking at any of them, it made Wild fidgeted in his chair. Was he…upset? At the prospect of being ripped away from his birthplace? He understands that. Even though his Hyrule was considered bad—not as much as Warriors. His place was in a constant war and it was kind of saddening—yet he still loved it anyway. The wilderness, the people. If whatever-magic-that-brought-them-together didn't force-teleport him to who-knows-where, he didn't want to join in on this adventure at all; pretty sure the others thought so too, especially Time and Legend. He still remembered how furious the pink-haired teen was when he got transported into their group without his consent.
Link opened his eyes and he leaned forward, lips thinned and gaze sharp, "I only have one, important question…" Wild gulped, he straightened, ready for rejection. So when the kid opened his mouth and spoke—
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"Is there any Music Monster in your world?"
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Everyone sweatdropped and Wild facepalmed.
Never mind, then.
"No," Time slowly uttered, "as you can see from our terrible performance, we never heard about uh...Music Monster at all."
"NOooOOoo!" Link's forehead slammed onto the table as he exaggeratedly whined, "how could you not have any Music Monsters? This is BLASPHEMY!"
"Are you really a hero?" Warriors shook his head, "how could you condone the existence of an enemy?"
"I don't consider myself as one. Because it was a group effort," Link pouted, pushing his tea away, "Ganondorf is a tough enemy to beat, but I gotta admit his 'battle theme' is top-notch."
Really, now…
"Definitely needed to ask Barriara to hurry up on the production of that 'recorder' then. I won't let anyone whisked me away from my hometown without recording some music to bring with me," Link then straightened up, smiling, "so, what do you guys want to do now? Wanna explore for a bit? We may find some Music Monster along the way~"
"Please no," Twilight sounded so despondent.
"We have to, Twi," Four sighed, "you know that there might be a day we will be teleported right back to this place, hm?"
They winced at the mere thought of that.
"By the way, what do you want to call yourself?" Wild questioned, while the other make themselves at home and the scarred hero asked for permission to use the kitchen. As Legend said, they haven't had their breakfast yet and everyone's stomach started to rumble in displeasure, "we usually just used our hero title but it seems you don't have one, huh?"
"Yup. Just a normal Link," he hummed, index finger and thumb cradled his chin, watching Wild throw any edible ingredients into a pot and searing it right to his memory. When the water bubble and the curry were almost ready, Link snapped his finger, a playful grin blossomed on his unblemished complexion, "call me Beat!"
"Any...reason why you chose that name?"
"Because Rhythm was too mouthful."
Wild laughed, "that's true. Well, Beat—"
Glad to have you in our group.
(A/N): Check this Link to know how Beat look: novirp13 dot tumblr dot com /post/611960624654712832/every-time-i-created-a-gif-my-respect-towards
And here's another GIF for you: novirp13 dot tumblr dot com /post/612117007556542464/1-i-think-you-should-hire-another-backup-dancers
Jojo added Warriors already, in which he's not canon in LoZ timeline. So, I added another non-canon character into this rooster~
As you can see from my fanart, I…didn't know which color I should use for my headcanon design. Should I choose the usual Link's getup; Green tunic and Brown hair? Or should I choose Cadence's outfit color scheme but flipped; Purple Red tunic (instead of Red Purple) and Blonde hair? I like Purple Red, cuz it's bright and cheery and it complimented his rainbow theme. But I like the green one too cuz…the sword handle is green LOL.
(No, seriously. That's the only reason why I cannot discard the Green Brown look)
So…that's why I didn't describe Beat's color scheme too much in the fanfic itself. Choose whatever design you like, guys. `3`
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BONUS:
Four: "I've been wondering but…Beat. What is that?"
Beat: "Hm? This? It's an ear muffler. Barriara made this for me."
Four: "What's the use for? I've noticed the…what was it called?" *looked at Wild* "play button?"
Wild: *nodded*
Four: "I've noticed that the 'play button' on your ear muffler and tunic changed colors whenever we fight your monsters. Just like how your sword did"
Wild: "Yeah. In fact, they've changed color simultaneously. Like…they're following the music beats or something"
Beat: "That's the point. These items" *pointed at his ear muffler and tunic* make it easier for me to hear and feel the rhythms. Mine won't block your voice, and specifically used to amplify the sound of the music coming from the Music Monster."
Four and Wild: *ooh'ed in amazement*
Beat: "You guys don't have an ear muffler in your world? I thought it's a common item, especially for the Blacksmith"
Four: "Nope. Never heard of it"
Wild: "Me too"
Beat: "Huh…color me surprised. And here I thought your world techs surpassed others, Wild. With that Sheikah Slate of yours…"
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(It's clearly headphones. But let's just called it Earmuffs)
(And yes, Beat. I'm disappointed too. I've googled and googled and googled, and I still couldn't find any earmuff in BoTW world! You think they should at least add this accessory for the winter clothes, but nope!)
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BONUS (2):
Warriors: "Still. Can't you choose…I don't know…less colorful sword? It was okay when we fight common enemies, but it was so distracting when your Music Monster is in the vicinity."
Beat: "Nope."
Warriors: "Why? Because it's your strongest sword?"
Beat: "That too. But I used it because I love rainbow"
Warriors: "…"
Beat: "Don't you dare judge me, mister! I'd like to see you travel without your precious scarf"
Warriors: "Touche"
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Caladbolg is a really colorful weapon. :'D