What SW:R couldn't accomplish in about six months, ToM did in five hours.
We got a review. Three, actually. And one from the legendary ChangelingRin. I'm truly honored. We also got two follows, but that comes secondary to the review milestone.
Anyway, this chapter is the reason I made this fic. Just, the idea captured my imagination and is the reason any of the rest of this fic exists. Don't worry, I'm doing the entire story, but things are going to be pretty different in this iteration than in the normal MQ run. Don't you worry.
RRRP:
James Birdsong: Thanks!
FCL: Yeah, I'm not exactly trying to hide that this is MQ. Kudos to you, though. To answer your other (implied) questions, Link will not be turning into a Stalfos anymore, but that hand still does stuff. Regarding the spiritual stones… well… wait for Chapter 2. But… you gotta get to the cows somehow…
ChangelingRin (who I definitely didn't not refuse to not refrain from not asking to do this): The Kokiri Citizenship Test is like the Spanish Inquisition: nobody ever expects it. I honestly hadn't thought of this as an alternate dimension, just Link's own past that got warped when Zelda sent him back (although now that I think about it, that does make more sense.) Thanks for the input!
Also, if you thought the Kokiri Citizenship Test was funny, just wait for Navi. Or lack of Navi, anyway.
DISCLAIMER: If I owned The Legend of Zelda… well… let me just shuffle through my container of un-funny overused jokes… Ah, here's one. I'd completely wipe all mentions of Tingle from the face of the earth. But because I don't own LoZ, that actual monstrosity still exists.
Chapter I: Surprising Complications
Link had forgotten just how much dreams sucked.
He was standing at the entrance to Hyrule Castle, accompanied only by Navi, the incessant pitter-patter of raindrops on mismatched terra-cotta roofs, and the occasional lightning bolt in the distance. Death Mountain was on his left instead of his right like it ought to have been, and even though Link had grown somewhat used to the odd mirrored world, it still threw him off because it felt so wrong.
The drawbridge began to lower with a rusty groan. Link, knowing exactly what was coming, strolled over to his left to allow Impa and Zelda to pass by unhindered.
Sure enough, the pair of women bolted past him atop a white horse. Zelda was openly staring at him with undisguised confusion. It was at that exact moment that Link realized that he wasn't equipped with a sword or a shield. Excellent.
He had been so absorbed in watching Zelda fly by his face that he completely forgot about Ganondorf until his midnight black horse snorted only a few feet behind him. Link whirled around and was instantly frozen in terror by the future King of Evil.
He looked like he always did, right down to the orange diadem on his forehead. He was dressed in battle armor of Gerudo fashion, and if Link squinted he could just barely make out dried blood caked onto his torso.
Then Link made the mistake of looking into his eyes. The pupils and irises had disappeared entirely, leaving only a sinister golden glow. The Gerudo stretched out his hand as dark energy began to pool inside it, creating a ball of pure plasma that would surely sear Link through.
Ganondorf smirked evilly. "And so ends the Hero of Time."
"Wa- up! -e Gr- D-ku -ree wants -ou! Ca- t- -ate of -e -ntire worl- -oss-bl- d-pend on such a lazy boy?"
Link groaned, feebly attempting to shield his sensitive eyes from the obnoxiously bright sun. At least I'm not still turning into a Stalfos, he thought. Why did he sleep so late? Shouldn't he have been woken up by the light? Oh well. The point was that he wasn't asleep anymore.
"Leetle baby man took long enough! We must be going to the Great Deku Tree with much haste!"
"Navi, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" Link moaned, wanting nothing more than to return back to his-
Wait a second.
Navi?
"Navi!" the former Hero of Time exclaimed, leaping out of his bed to tackle the fairy into a crushing embrace. Even though it had only been a day since he had seen his fairy companion, Link was still immensely relieved that she was back.
"Oy! Ivan appreciates the enthusiasm, but leetle baby man should save it for the Great Deku Tree! Besides… you might crush Ivan…"
Link froze. He didn't remember Navi having such a heavy accent. Surely this was some kind of joke, right? At this point, he was half-expecting Mido to obnoxiously peek into the room and laugh in his face as Ivan reverted back to her usual pink coloring and returning to her Kokiri, glee evident in the way she glowed. Where was Navi?
Not between his arms, evidently, as the fairy that had woken him up was, on further examination, a far deeper blue than Navi was, bordering on royal purple.
"And did leetle baby man call Ivan Navi? Ivan has never heard of anyone named Navi. Ivan supposes it's not important. The Great Deku Tree has requested Link, the leetle baby man without a fairy, posthaste. And it is Ivan's job to bring you to Deku Tree now. There is no time to be wasting!"
Link picked himself up off the ground, still numb from the realization that Navi was gone and probably wouldn't be coming back. Even if she didn't remember any of their struggles, Link would have still appreciated her comforting presence by his side. Now he had to listen to a male, inexplicably un-Navi-like fairy named Ivan.
This would take some getting used to.
Affixing his Kokiri cap to his head, Link stepped out of his little tree house and was greeted by a beautiful forest landscape, with buildings carved out of massive tree stumps easily seven times taller than Link himself.
Footsteps echoed through the little walkway towards his place, and he looked down to see Saria jogging over and waving. At least it wasn't Mido.
"Yahoo! Hi, Link!" she said joyously.
He waved back, and then proceeded to backflip off of the raised platform, much to the Kokiri's chagrin.
"Link! Don't do that! You might hurt yourself!" Saria chastised.
"I know, I know," Link replied sheepishly, habitually rubbing the nape of his neck and immediately remembering his hand's… predicament. "Force of habit."
"If leetle baby man does all things so recklessly, Ivan will be worried he chose wrong job," Ivan said dryly.
It took his forest friend a few seconds of silence to realize exactly what had transpired before she had arrived that morning. "Oh. My. Goddesses. Link! You finally have a fairy! Wow! Now you're a true Kokiri!" Saria exclaimed, giggling. Link noted that it sounded awfully familiar to Zelda's laugh.
"You mean I wasn't a Kokiri before?" Link replied, laughing but still a little hurt.
"I mean, of course you were a Kokiri before, but now it's undeniable!" she amended.
"While Ivan would love to continue watching this exchange, Link has been summoned by the Great Deku Tree. We don't have time to chat," Ivan stated factually.
"Oh! It's quite an honor to be summoned by the Great Deku Tree! Please, don't let me get in your way. I'll wait right here for you!" Saria said amiably, taking a step back so Link could proceed.
"Spasiba, Miss Saria," Ivan acknowledged before turning to Link. "Come, leetle baby man. We must go with all speed!"
Link nodded, following Ivan as he waved back to Saria.
"Could you please stop calling me that? It's getting annoying," Link asked.
"Nyet! It's funny to Ivan," Ivan replied.
"Well, generally, fairies don't outright insult their Kokiri. Na-" Link started, before remembering that Navi was gone, replaced by this other fairy. "I'd just prefer to be called Link, if you don't mind."
"Very well. Ivan will not call leetle man leetle baby man anymore. See? It is better now!"
"It's a start," Link grumbled, approaching the entryway to the Great Deku Tree's grove.
He had received much attention from his fellow Kokiri, who had for the most part been pretty enthusiastic about Link finally having a fairy. Ivan was a character compared to most other sprites, with a personality that didn't fit his small physical form and a much louder voice.
"Where do you think you're going, fairyless!" a voice screeched, as a chorus of quick footsteps squelched directly towards Link. It was Mido. Perfect. Because his day couldn't get any worse than it already was.
"You're going to need a new insult for me, because I have a fairy now," Link said dryly, pointing at Ivan, who had perched himself on his left shoulder.
Mido stared at him blankly for a few seconds before glancing at Ivan. Then back at Link. Then back at Ivan. Then towards the Great Deku Tree. Then back at Link again.
"If leetle baby man would stop gawking like a drunken Skull Kid," Ivan started, "Link has been summoned by the Great Deku Tree. It would be appreciated if you could move."
"Why do you know what that looks like?" Link asked, imagining a drunk Skull Kid and failing to resist a chuckle.
"It is a long story," the sprite answered cryptically.
"Oh, for the love of Farore!" Mido spat. "You're telling me that the Great Deku Tree would summon you and not me, the Great Mido? If you're trying to make a joke, it's not funny."
The Kokiri Boss shoved Link back, forcing the Hylian to step a few meters back. Goddesses, he hated not being an adult.
"Like, come on! You're not even properly equipped! You should at least have a sword and shield, even if they're not going to help you because you're a good-for nothing, stupid weakling!"
Forcing a torrent of pure, unadulterated hatred down into the dark depths of his mind, Link turned around and walked away from the Kokiri's self-appointed Boss.
"We should split up. You look for the sword, Ivan will find a shield," Ivan suggested before darting off, not allowing Link to state whether or not he agreed to the plan at all. Grumbling, Link jogged the opposite way, clambering over the small fences and ignoring the many signs that had been erected by the Know-it-all brothers' house. Eventually, he was faced with the tunnel which would lead to the Kokiri Sword, if his memory served him correctly. Swallowing a wave of claustrophobia, Link crawled through the tiny tunnel, eventually appearing at the other side. He turned left, only to be greeted by a wall. Rotating one hundred and eighty degrees revealed the massive boulder that inexplicably rolled in a square formation around an oddly cubic elevated platform. Since the Hylian knew exactly how the boulder functioned, it was easy to outmaneuver, and the triumphant Link casually walked into the small glade and took the Kokiri Sword from its chest. Surely they wouldn't mind if he borrowed it for a while, would they?
He strapped the scabbard to his back - over the right shoulder - and drew it with his left hand, eager to practice with the blade after being sent adrift in time.
His expression morphed from eagerness to shock when he couldn't lift the Kokiri Sword. It hung uselessly in his fist, and try as he might, Link simply couldn't conjure the strength to perform even a basic swing. Perhaps it had something to do with his Stalfos hand. Come to think of it, why were all the Stalfos so identical if they were all once their own people, drained of life by the forest itself? And how did they all wield that same jagged blade that evaporated into mist when they died? It probably had something to do with that and the fact that his arm had no muscle, and thus, couldn't bend at the elbow.
But that was impossible; Link had just bent his arm when he was crawling through the tunnel! Even now, after he had let go of the sword, the Hero of Time could easily move his Stalfos hand about with no troubles. Confused, he put the sword back in his left hand, only for its weight to pull his arm towards the ground again. Try as he might, he knew he couldn't wield the sword with his left hand.
Link shrugged it off, picking the blade back up with his right hand. Fortunately, it didn't fall straight through his right, although it still felt awkward in the hand opposite the hand he was used to using. Escaping the glen, Link set to work becoming more used to his blade, or at least he would have if Ivan didn't show up.
"Leetle man found sword! Very good!" the fairy congratulated. "Ivan has found shield. Ted the shopkeeper is selling them for 40 Rupees. Leetle man must go buy one."
"But I only have, like, twelve Rupees!" Link said angrily, cutting down a sign without thinking. A Blue Rupee flew out, which Ivan picked up and carried to Link.
"There you go. Leetle man has seventeen now. Come, we must collect more!" Ivan ordered, flying into Link's hat.
!0*0!
After another half-hour of cutting grass, throwing rocks, and running around the forest in search of Rupees, Link finally had enough to purchase the wooden shield. He ran into the shop, disregarding the Kokiri girl sitting on the awning.
"Welcome!" Ted greeted, the prospect of gaining Rupees appearing to be very exciting for the short Kokiri.
"Hi, Ted. I need a Deku Shield, please.
"A Deku shield it is, then. That'll be sixty Rupees, please."
"What the f - Ivan told me it was forty!" Link sputtered, Ivan popping out from under Link's hat to figure out what all the commotion was about.
"Yeah, but you've got higher demand. Higher demand means a higher price," Ted replied snarkily, shrugging. "Go get some more Rupees and come back."
Link set out to comb the forest once again for more Rupees, and eventually returned with eighty just in case Ted decided to up the price once again.
"Deku shield, huh? One hundred Rupees for one, please," Ted declared.
Link blinked. "One… hundred…" His pathetically small wallet could only hold up to ninety-nine Rupees. Until he killed ten Golden Skulltulas and talked to one of the cursed people in the House of the Skulltula in Kakariko Village, ninety-nine Rupees would be the maximum he could carry.
"Stoopid leetle baby man told Ivan it was forty Rupees!" Ivan glowered.
"Prices change. Blame the fact that Rupees grow in bushes, on trees, and under rocks!" Ted spat, obviously terse.
Link needed that shield if he wanted to get past Mido, and only Ted had access to the extremely durable wood used to make Deku Shields. Any other type of wood would fall apart after a few bites from a Deku Baba. And if Ted kept trying to squeeze Rupees out of Link… well… it was obviously making Ivan red with rage - quite literally, since he was glowing crimson instead of his normal deep blue.
Without warning, the fairy darted forward, colliding with Ted's head before assimilating into it. Ted went slack-jawed, eyes glowing dark blue as he mindlessly turned around, plucked the shield from the display rack it was proudly sitting on, before turning to Link and handing it into his unexpected hands. He slung the shield over his blade's scabbard, where it nestled into its proper place.
"Ivan decrees that this Deku Shield is worth forty Rupees," Ted stated in monotone, except in Ivan's voice. "You will pay forty Rupees so that you are not stealing this Shield."
Silently, Link passed forty Rupees over to Ted. As soon as he had done this, Ivan's deep blue form exited Ted's body, who shook his head violently before returning to normal.
"Hey! What just happened? Why do you have a Deku Shield? And more importantly, why did you only pay me… forty Rupees for said Deku Shield? Robber! Blatant shoplifter! THIEF!" Ted screeched.
Link wasn't listening. He turned around and marched out of the store, breathing the fresh air of the Forest. It was midday, and there was an uncharacteristic lack of clouds over the Kokiri Village, revealing the sky to be a beautiful blue.
"So… Ivan… what was that?" Link inquired, genuinely intrigued. "How did you mind-control Ted like that?"
"Ivan… would rather talk about it in private, if you don't mind," the fairy said, sounding almost embarrassed. Nodding, Link turned back towards his small house, saying a quick hello to Saria before climbing up the ladder onto his patio and trotting inside.
"Ivan is different from other fairies," the fairy began instantly. "Ivan… lacks the ability to L-target."
"Don't you mean Z-target?" Link asked. He remembered Navi mentioning Z-targeting, but L-targeting was a completely foreign term.
Ivan gave him a dull look. "Z-target and L-target mean the same thing, silly leetle man. Anyway, it is a great shame, a fairy who cannot L-target. Ivan did not have friends among fairies, and by extension, always held fear of the Kokiri. Ivan worried that they would be just as bad as the fairies. So when Great Deku Tree asked Ivan to be partner of Link, Ivan was scared. Terrified, even."
Link nodded mutely, mind struggling to process Ivan's tale. At least he had some friends among the Kokiri, namely Saria, and once he left the forest, there were people like Zelda with whom he got along great. Complete isolation would have crushed him long ago. "But what does that have to do with the whole mind-control thing?"
"It has everything to do with it!" Ivan continued. "Ivan could not L-target, so Ivan needed an alternative. The alternative Ivan came up with was what you just saw. Ivan calls it 'Mind Hacking'. But it is not infallible. Ivan cannot control enemies like you saw with Ted; Ivan can only momentarily stun those with the desire to harm. And more powerful enemies can create mental wards that nullify Ivan's Mind Hacking entirely. And it takes time for Mind Hacking to… recharge. And Ivan still cannot aid Link in his accuracy. And Ivan is not qualified to handle Kokiri. And-"
"Ivan, I'm going to cut you off right there," Link said suddenly. "Enough self-pity. This 'Mind Hacking' thing you have going for you is really cool, and a departure from the abilities of other fairies. If anything, it makes you better than all those other fairies, because you can do something they never could.
"Besides, you've handled me pretty well so far. I… yeah," Link finished. He had to admit, while Ivan's inability to say the word 'I' was getting on his nerves, he wasn't any worse than Navi was. Ivan was more laid-back and let Link do his own thing, while trying his hardest to be helpful in a more direct way. Navi was more used to dealing with Kokiri, and Link loved her to death, but she could be a bit overbearing at times. But she always had Link's best interests at heart. He could tell that Ivan did, too, but the male fairy simply had a different way of showing it.
"Do you really mean it?" Ivan asked. "All of those things apply to Ivan?"
"Yeah," Link smiled. "Yeah, they do. Now come on, we have to go see the Great Deku Tree."
Was he being a hypocrite, telling Ivan to stop pitying himself when Link couldn't stop pitying himself? Well, maybe. Best to not think about it.
With that out of the way, the Hylian-fairy duo stepped out of the tree house and jogged towards the Great Deku Tree.
!0*0!
"Oh, you have a Deku shield," Mido noted, squinting at the wooden shield strapped to Link's back. "And what's THAT? Is that the Kokiri Sword? Good grief!"
"So… can I go see the Great Deku Tree now?" Link asked as politely as he could manage with the powerful urge to cut the Kokiri boss into bloody red ribbons.
"No way," Mido spat. "Just because you have a sword and shield doesn't mean you know how to use it. You've never held it a day in your life, after all! For your own safety, I won't let you by until you beat me in a duel!" Mido said, pulling out his own Deku Shield and Deku Stick - only for the Stick to be slapped out of his hands by Link's sword. Before he could react, Link had sidestepped around the Kokiri Boss and forced him into a headlock, the razor-sharp edge of the Kokiri Sword inches away from his neck.
"And I beat you in a duel," Link said softly. "Run along now."
When Mido didn't budge, Link released the bully from the headlock and shoved him away from the Great Deku Tree's grove. Mido stumbled, losing his balance and falling into the shallow water just in front of the valley that led to the glade. Without further ado, Link turned and swiftly stalked towards the Great Deku Tree.
"Ivan thinks leetle man overdid it," Ivan noted. "And when did you learn how to fight like that? The Great Deku Tree told Ivan that you have never held a blade before."
"Trust me, Ivan, I didn't overdo it. I just gave him a taste of his own medicine," Link stated, reminiscing about the time when the Do's had shoved him into that very same river, laughing hysterically at the abundance of mud that refused to get out of his clothes and hair. "And the Great Deku Tree was simply… misinformed. Let's go with that."
While the future Hero of Time was talking, a Deku Baba erupted from the ground just in front of him, and Link blindly walked straight into it. Link remembered the Deku Babas being just sticks with a carnivorous head on them, so the realization that they had lots of sharp prickers on them caught him by surprise.
"Ow!" Link shouted, taking a minute to gingerly pluck each thorn out of his wounded torso. "That hurt way worse than I remember it hurting!"
"Maybe if you were paying attention to your surroundings, you would have seen it," Ivan drawled.
Link glared at his fairy companion, prompting Ivan to stop talking. He spent another two minutes chopping the Deku Babas to bits until he had more Deku Sticks than he could carry.
Link turned left, and despite seeing the Great Deku Tree just the day before, he was still awestruck by its sheer size. The Tree towered over the surrounding forest, and the large moustached face etched into the wood certainly wasn't helping Link's sense of vertigo.
"Ivan is back, Great Deku Tree," Ivan said to the Tree.
"Oh… Ivan, correct?... Thou hast returned," the Deku Tree replied tiredly. "Young Link… welcome. Listen carefully to what I am about to tell thee. Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless and filled with many nightmares…"
Link remembered the dreams of Ganondorf perfectly well, given that he had had one just that day. He shuddered.
"As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades this land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it," the Tree continued. "Verily, thou hast felt it. Link, the time has come to test thy courage. I have been cursed, and I need thee to break that curse with thy wisdom and courage…"
Courage he had for sure. Wisdom… well, he had already done the dungeon before.
"Dost thou have Courage enough to undertake this task?"
Link didn't hesitate before answering. "Yes."
"Then enter, brave Link, and thou too, Ivan," the Great Tree's voice emanated, accompanied with the groaning noise of it opening its cavernous maw. "Ivan the fairy… thou must aid Link. And Link… when Ivan speaks, listen well to his words of wisdom…"
Sensing that the forest's guardian spirit was finished speaking. Link mustered his bravery before approaching and entering the Great Deku Tree.
It was dark inside of the old oak. The floor was matted with decaying plant life, and there was a Skulltula patrolling a section of vine that led up to the upper levels. There was also a hole in the ground covered in cobwebs, and an oddly placed unlit torch.
"I don't remember there being a torch there," Link murmured. Shrugging, he turned to the right and climbed a ladder up to the second level. He jumped onto an exposed branch, but before he was able to jump back off, he was suddenly subjected to the agonizing shriek of a Keese that had caught him unawares. Disgruntled, the former Hero of Time whacked it once with his sword, which was enough to kill the batlike monster.
"Disgusting creature," Link muttered, wiping the blood off of his blade.
The Hylian rushed along the wooden platform and was startled by the Gohma Larva that suddenly hatched from an egg Link was absolutely certain that that wasn't there the last time he was inside the Great Deku Tree. The cyclops tensed its legs as its eyes turned red, preparing to strike. Link was only barely able to jump out of the way as the Gohma threw itself off of the ledge and down to the Great Deku Tree's first floor.
Disregarding it entirely, Link turned to the large chest directly behind him. He leveraged the chest open, expecting to find a map of the dungeon.
He found exactly that- a map of the dungeon.
Having collected the map, Link continued along the parapet, stopping when he heard the unmistakable sound of a Golden Skulltula underneath a crate. The Hylian was easily able to break open the crate and awkwardly stab the giant spider. However, his swing threw his center of mass off, sending the Hero stumbling into the Skulltula's awaiting jaws. It bit down on the Hero's leg. Hard.
Yelling in pain, Link jumped back, taking a moment to address the wound in his limb. It hurt like hell; he expected this kind of pain from a Stalfos' sword, not a Gold Skulltula bite. Now truly enraged, Link brought the Kokiri Sword down onto the Skulltula's brain, killing it after some agonized writhing, before fishing out the token that proved its demise. Seeing that his business was done, Link kept walking until he approached the door that led to the Fairy Slingshot, idly noting another oddly placed unlit torch.
Before he could process what had happened, Link found himself stuck to a massive spider web that coated the entire entrance to the room. Lovely.
"Maybe there is a way to light this torch," Ivan suggested. "Perhaps then, you can burn down this spiderweb."
"Probably," Link agreed, turning around and approaching a patch of rough vines that extended all the way up into the tree's canopy.
"Leetle man can probably climb this," Ivan noted, failing to notice that Link had already started clambering up the wall. "Wait for Ivan!"
"You're a fairy, Ivan! You can fly!" Link yelled back.
"Ivan knows that, but there's this thing called courtesy!"
!0*0!
After circling the entire canopy of the Great Deku Tree and fighting more Deku Babas than he could count, Link finally found a large yellow button attached to the floor. When activated, Link turned to see a torch light up, burning a section of cobweb and the Keese corpse that had once resided on the aforementioned torch.
Farore, he hated Keese.
Deciding that going through this door first was the best maneuver, Link ran over to the door and opened it, only to be immediately assaulted by two Gohma Larva.
These Gohma are everywhere! Link thought as he hacked away at the larvae. It was definitely not this infested the first time I went through the dungeon.
Link looked up at the ceiling and noticed about ten more Gohma eggs. Without the Slingshot, he would have to fight his way through all of them with nothing but his sword, which was a suboptimal strategy. Link turned around to go back, only to find that the door was sealed tight with iron bars.
Perhaps he had to light the torch in the middle of the room. Yes, that was probably the way to unseal the door. Pulling out a Deku Stick, Link attempted to light the tip on fire for easy transportation to the torch, only to be mortified at the fact that he kept missing because he was used to holding it in the other direction. Once he finally managed to get the stick lighted, the Hylian sprinted towards the torch, temporarily ignoring the two Gohma that hatched, and successfully lit it before the Deku Stick burnt out.
A loud thumping noise caught Link's attention, and he turned to see that a small chest had appeared. Grumbling, Link climbed back up onto the ledge and stepped on the very obvious button attached to the floor. Three sections of the floor raised up, showing a way to the small chest. The Kokiri boredly leapt to each one, doing a flip at each jump just because he could.
He got to the chest, once again disregarding the Gohma babies, and kicked it open to reveal a blue rupee. All that for a blue rupee? Really?
"Leetle man is getting angry, is he not?" Ivan asked suddenly, startling Link.
"You can read me like a book," Link drawled.
"Ivan just knows you well," the fairy said dismissively.
"Ivan also met Link just today," Link replied, mimicking Ivan's method of speaking.
"Semantics," the fairy said flippantly.
Link rolled his eyes good-naturedly before jumping off of the ledge, thinking that ending a few Gohma on his blade would settle his nerves. Now there was a funny thought. Link remembered, once upon a time, when Navi had to comfort him whenever he had to slay a Deku Baba, every time a Skullwalltula met its end to one of his Deku nuts, and when tears had last dribbled down his cheeks.
How naive he was.
Shaking off the memories, Link realized that the once-living Gohma larva were all lifeless corpses now. Subconsciously, he noted that there were only two more Gohma eggs left in the room, situated on another ledge. Knowing what he had to do, Link jogged over to the first ledge, stepped on the button, then jumped back over to the other ledge. The Gohma in front of him hatched first, and Link whacked it away with his sword. The larva, fearing for its life, panicked and ran in the opposite direction. Link gave chase, not noticing that the other Gohma had hatched and was preparing to attack.
"Link, behind you!" Ivan warned, succeeding in getting the Hylian's attention. Link was able to sidestep the blow and then leapt at the larva, narrowly avoiding the other larva's attack, and bring his blade down on the second larva's head with all his strength. It died instantly. The last larva wasn't an issue; just another whack with the sword ended its short life.
The door finally opened on the other side of the room, and Link would have high-tailed it over there had he not noticed a large chest appearing right next to him. Praying it was the slingshot, the boy pushed it open and withdrew… exactly what he needed. A slingshot and a bullet bag filled with thirty small Deku Nuts intended for usage as ammunition. Perfect.
Finally exiting the room, Link contemplated jumping down onto the large web in the center before remembering that all the torches were lit and there was still another room to go to on the second level. Having made his decision, Link rappelled down the vine-covered section of wall, thankfully not infested with Gohma, and pulled out a Deku Stick before lighting it and rushing over to the large cobweb, burning it. Putting the Deku Stick away so that it wouldn't turn into a pile of soot, Link entered the room and almost got his head bitten off by a giant Deku Baba which towered several meters over him. The Hylian barely managed to avoid its lunging bite by backpedaling out of its range before whipping out his slingshot and peppering the Baba with shots until it collapsed, dead. He expected the door in front of him to open, but it remained locked. He was confused for an instant until he noticed the blatantly obvious eye switch over the door. Closing one eye and sticking out his tongue a little, Link shot the eye switch, opening the door.
Link progressed further into the Great Deku Tree, halting for a second to take a swig of water from the canteen Ivan had supplied. Groaning when he noticed even more Gohma Larva, he carefully aimed the slingshot and destroyed the eggs before they could hatch. He knew the platform directly in front of him would fall the instant he set foot on it, so he pragmatically dropped off the ledge and climbed up the conveniently placed vines to get on top of the plateau. He could have continued climbing up the vines to his right, but they were blocked by a large set of boulders Link knew he couldn't destroy without bombs. So he disregarded it, instead opting to grab the Compass from the chest and return to the main area.
"Ivan thinks we have to go deeper," Ivan supplied. "We have checked all the rooms above."
"Yeah, we need to go deeper," Link agreed before climbing back up the vines.
"What are you doing? The way further is back that way!" Ivan hollered before following his partner.
"Trust me, Ivan!" Link yelled back, having ascended to the top level of the Great Deku Tree. He backed up, ignoring the Deku Baba perched on the top of the branch, before sprinting forwards and leaping off of the parapet.
The air whipped through his golden locks as he plummeted towards the web in the center of the room, screaming despite himself all the way. The cobweb stopped his fall, but distended downwards with a loud groan before snapping with a resounding crack, allowing Link to fall further into the root system of the Great Deku Tree.
!0*0!
Fortunately, there was water at the bottom.
Ivan appeared as soon as Link dragged himself out of the water onto the nearest raised platform, clothes sopping wet. The Hylian shivered.
"What possessed you to do that?" the sprite demanded, angrily flitting around his head.
"I felt like it," Link summed up before violently sneezing. He looked up and instantly noticed an unmissable eye-shaped switch just over a barred door. He also noted a gold-plated floor switch, but it was tucked behind a spider web that he couldn't burn because the nearby torch wasn't lit. Glancing towards the elevated platform he knew he couldn't reach, Link jumped as a giant Deku Baba lunged towards him. Fortunately, it was stuck in the ground on that bit of raised earth, and Link was out of range. Deeming it the better option, Link leapt over to the other elevated platform and clambered onto it, slaying the two Deku Babas guarding another floor switch. Stepping on it lit the torch, allowing Link to jump back over and burn the spiderwebs. As he stepped on the gold switch, he noticed a small chest land with a whump over on the other raised platform. Internally, Link grumbled at having to slog through knee-high water yet again.
"Don't worry, leetle man. Ivan is on the job," Ivan declared before fluttering over to the chest, leveraging it open a few inches, then flying inside. A few seconds later, Ivan burst out of the chest, weighed down by a blue rupee.
"This leetle thing weighs nothing," Ivan stated reassuringly, wings beating furiously to stay aloft.
"Sure it doesn't, Ivan," Link replied, taking the sprite's burden and slipping it into his wallet. Shooting the eye switch led to the door opening, and Link casually walked through. The door locked itself behind him, and immediately Link was beset by a Mad Scrub that had made its home in the center of the room. It was flanked by two Gohma Eggs, so it would hardly be a big deal.
Link immediately put up his shield, deflecting the Scrub's bullet seed back at it. The Scrub screeched in pain and fled its tiny plant, instinctually scampering away to relative safety. Link didn't want to pursue, because closing in would awaken the Gohma larvae, so he opted to shoot it with his slingshot instead. It died unceremoniously, and Link was about to reach for another bullet when he realized he didn't have any left. Funny. Grumbling, Link stuck the slingshot in his pocket and whipped out his sword, swiftly closing the distance between himself and the Gohma Egg. He managed to cut one of them to ribbons before they hatched, but he was legitimately caught off guard by the two Gohma that dropped on his head, nearly ramming their head-spikes into the back of his neck. Fortunately, Ivan was able to Mind Hack them into a near-comatose state, and it was easy enough for Link to stick his blade down their gullets. The last Gohma was no big deal, just as its brethren were.
As soon as all the enemies were dead, the door he had just exited from screeched open. Link was momentarily confused before noticing the two torches situated in front of the locked door. There was no lit torch in the room for Link to carry with a Deku Stick… whatever was he to do?
"Leetle man needs to light these torches in order for the door to open," Ivan informed.
"I know, Ivan," Link growled back.
"Back in that waterlogged cave, there was a lit torch," the fairy suggested.
This made Link think. Was it possible that he could transfer the fire from one room to another? He'd never done it before, but then again… things were vastly different in this mirrored world. Pausing to adjust his boots, Link stepped back into the first room, lit a Deku Stick with a torch, and then sprinted back to the other room and lit the two torches inside, opening the door.
"Remember this, leetle man," Ivan said. "Ivan has great ideas sometimes."
Link sighed, disregarding Ivan's comment. He walked through the door to be greeted by a rotating spiked log suspended over a pool of water. A large hunk of what appeared to be algae drifted back and forth across the depths. Link knew from experience that it was strong enough to support his weight. Turning to his left, he kicked open a small chest and pulled out a few extra bullet seeds. Exactly what he needed, and he was able to more or less fill up his bullet bag with extra bullets from a nearby shrub. The water was crystal clear, and Link's clothes had dried enough that he could brave submerging himself again. Link took a deep breath…
"Leetle man…" Ivan warned.
And dived into the frigid water, desperately searching for a button at the bottom only to be shocked to find that there wasn't one. Frantically, the young Hero scrambled back towards the platform, shivering uncontrollably as his body was exposed to the stale air.
"Stoopid leetle man," Ivan said in monotone. "Obviously, you have to step on this blue button."
Link blinked, only just then noticing the obvious trigger. Perhaps this would lower the water level? He stepped on it, but it didn't do what he expected; instead of decreasing the amount of water in the pit, it only lit a torch a few meters away from him. As soon as he stepped off of the button, the torch went out. Suddenly, and with some level of embarrassment, Link understood exactly what he had to do. So he waited until the algae raft was almost to his side, then stepped on the button before quickly stepping off of it again, pulling a Deku Stick from his pack and touching it to the dying embers. They were hot enough to light the Deku Stick, and Link jumped back onto the raft before ducking underneath the spiked log. Temporarily ignoring the Gohma that hatched from the ceiling, Link jumped onto the platform and lit both conspicuously placed torches, successfully opening the door. After knocking the Gohma off of the platform into the water and filling up his bullet bag with more Deku Nuts, Ivan directed Link's attention to a Block of Time placed by the way into the next room. Hovering over it was a giant Skulltula, motionless.
What the hell is a Block of Time doing here? Link thought, aghast. My Compass says there's something beneath it, but I don't even have an ocarina yet!
It wasn't a big deal, he told himself. He could always come back later. Sighing in defeat, Link maneuvered himself so that his body was pressed up against the wall, because he had no other way to get rid of the Skulltula blocking his path. It took only two shots for the big spider to collapse to the ground, dead, before it shriveled up into a pile of unnatural blue flame. Link emotionlessly pulled himself onto the Block of Time and walked through the door, absolutely drained and still shivering.
The small room had another Mad Scrub, a Keese, and even more Gohma eggs. So many Gohma eggs were attached to the floor and ceiling. Luckily, the last room of this style was almost identical, so Link was able to kill everything in the room without much difficulty. The locked doors unlocked themselves and opened, allowing Link to proceed to the next room
The room was large and filled with… graves. At least twelve graves were haphazardly strewn across the room, alongside four torches, a Deku Baba, and a Keese perched on each torch. Killing the Deku Baba for its Stick, Link slowly tiptoed towards the blue button in between all of the Keese, keen on not making a sound. The button, Link reasoned, would probably light the torches, which would incinerate the Keese. Perfect.
The Hero of Time stepped on the button, and the torches lit, but the bats were not cooked. Rather, they were promptly engulfed in flames, becoming more dangerous Fire Keese.
"Ivan thinks that backfired," Ivan supplied.
"Shut up, Ivan," Link shot back.
Uttering a war cry, Link charged at one of the perched Keese, killing it instantly. He was unable to react to the other three, however, and one of them managed to slip past his guard and bite him, lighting the boy on fire. While it was better than being waterlogged, Link didn't appreciate the change in temperature, and beat at the flames until they were subdued. He reached out with his left arm to bash the creature to death with his shield, only to realize that his shield wasn't there anymore; evidently, it had burned to a crisp when the Keese touched him. Enraged more than hurt, Link cut the bat cleanly in half with the Kokiri Sword, then jumped back, narrowly avoiding the other two Keese.
Without a shield on his arm, his entire body felt off-balance and he hated it. Like it or not, Link simply wasn't used to fighting without a shield, and his sloppier attacks showed it.
What I wouldn't give for a shield right now, Link thought to himself in anguish.
Almost in response to his wish, Link felt something odd in his left arm, like there was some energy that wanted out. Distancing himself from the Keese, he stared in wonder at his Stalfos hand, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Ivan looked stupefied. "Why did you not tell Ivan about this?" he shouted.
"I thought you knew!" Link accused. "I mean, it's kind of hard to miss."
"How was Ivan supposed to know that leetle man was part Stalfos?" Ivan shot back. "No matter. If you can channel the dark energies that Stalfos use in their swords and shields, we can turn this calamity into a very strong advantage, indeed."
"Stalfos use magic?" Link asked, suddenly interested.
"Da. Stalfos use a tiny bit of dark magic to summon their weapons. That's why they all look the same. Have you ever seen a Stalfos? Ivan doubts it."
"Once or twice," Link replied flippantly.
"When did you- You know what? Now is not the time to be having this conversation," Ivan replied, gesticulating towards the two Keese who were currently swooping towards him. "Now we must fight."
"Gotcha," Link replied, sheathing his sword and shooting the two flaming bats down with his slingshot. Reapproaching the torches, Link activated the torches before lighting another Deku Stick and burning down the two large spider webs that blocked the two exits to the room. Knowing that he probably couldn't do anything beyond the door, Link opted to crawl through the small tunnel that led back to the waterlogged cavern. When he exited the tunnel, it was easy enough to kill the two giant Deku Babas that had grown by the entrance to the lowest echelons of the Great Deku Tree. He took the time to shove a large block - engraved, he realized, with the Gerudo insignia - down into the water below, allowing access from the lower platforms. Leaping off of the plateau, Link was able to light a Deku Stick on the still-lit torch before rushing back onto the plateau, touching his stick to the cobwebs covering the way downwards. The web burnt away, and to placate Ivan, Link took his time to carefully climb down the mottled vines that led to the deepest part of the Tree. Swimming out of the water that resided at the bottom of the hole, Link noticed three Deku Scrubs guarding the locked door.
"Damn, I'd kill for a shield," Link thought, knowing that a shield would be invaluable for getting the Deku Scrubs to open the door. Once again, he got that tingly feeling in his arm.
"Language, leetle man! Now hold still. Ivan wants to try something," Ivan supplied, turning red.
The past/future Hero of Time stared blankly at Ivan, failing to comprehend what was going on until he suddenly did.
Ivan changed color like that whenever he was about to Mind Hack someone. And the only one in the room besides the Deku Scrubs was…
"Ivan, don't you d-" Link started before he was cut off by Ivan's small body colliding with Link's forehead as his mind went blank, eyes glowing blue. Essentially, his consciousness had been separated from his brain, preventing Link from controlling his own self. His fairy was in command now, even though Link could still see and feel everything going on around him. He felt what little magical energy he had concentrating itself by his left forearm-
And he was shocked to see that a magnificent weightless shield had formed itself on his forearm. It was seemingly made of metal, with a ring of orange metal on the outside and a brilliant cobalt on the inside. He could tell that it was slowly draining his magical energy, but the energy drain was so sluggish that it was practically negligible.
Suddenly his mind was his own again, and Ivan resurfaced, the sprite looking giddy.
"Ivan told you. If leetle man learns control over his powers, things will be much easier!" the sprite exclaimed. "Now that you've done it once, your body should be able to dispel and summon that shield without much effort."
"Okay… Dispel!" Link ordered.
The shield, needless to say, did not dissipate.
Dispel, Link demanded internally.
The shield failed to disappear.
"It's not working," Link told Ivan sheepishly. "I guess I'll just have to go without it once my magic drains."
As soon as he said that, the shield poofed out of existence in a cloud of mist. He guessed it was less about telling the shield to disappear than it was telling the shield that it was no longer needed. A twinge of pain passed through Link's being for an instant before going away. Resummoning it was easy enough, because Ivan had already done the first conjuration for him and he instinctively knew what to do. He summoned and dispelled it a few times, just to get the hang of it, and to get used to the flicker of pain that accompanied dispelling the shield.
Link grinned maniacally. "This is awesome!"
Ivan smiled, a bit off-put by the possibility that his partner was completely insane. "Ivan is happy to help. Now, let's save the Deku Tree!"
"Of course," Link replied, summoning his shield. He trotted up to the three Deku Scrubs, which poked out of their little leaf huts and fired giant seeds at the youth. Knowing that their order was 2-3-1 and that the world was mirrored, Link angled his shield such that the seeds would ricochet first at the second, then the leftmost, then the rightmost, noting that taking the hits made his magic decrease just a little faster for a split second. He then closed in on the first Deku Scrub, knowing it would pop out of the ground.
So Link was stupefied when all three Scrubs burrowed back into their flowers and started firing again. He must have gotten the order wrong. Perhaps it, like the geography, was mirrored as well. So, 1-3-2? It was worth a shot. Shrugging internally, the Hylian directed the seeds back at their owners once again, only for them to burrow away again. Frustrated, tired, and surprisingly low on mana, Link just started sequentially trying every single order because he hadn't the faintest clue on what to do. He hated how every time he deflected anything with the shield, his magical energy took a huge hit. And he didn't have any bottles to store Green Potions in!
The correct order was 3-1-2, the exact next order he tried.
"How did you know our secret?! How irritating!" the Scrub shrieked.
"I guessed," Link replied honestly.
"Ugh, it's so annoying that I'm going to reveal the secret of Queen Gohma to you!"
"I mean… you don't ha-" Link began.
"In order to administer the coup de grace to Queen Gohma, strike with your sword while she's stunned," the Scrub interrupted. "Oh, Queenie… Sorry about that!"
It scampered back into its flower, and the door behind it creaked open.
"You didn't have to…" Link continued. "Oh well."
He didn't notice how dispelling his shield didn't hurt.
!0*0!
Link walked through the door into a dark, wet, and disgusting-smelling stone room. Pressing forwards, the boy narrowly avoided a sudden rockslide, sealing the way back.
Something started rustling on the ceiling above, as if crawling towards him at a rapid pace. He didn't need to look up to know that it was the massive parasitic armored arachnid, Gohma. The great beast dropped from the stone ceiling to the cold earth, directly in front of him, before rearing up on its hind limb, screeching its malice to the room.
Instincts took over as Link backpedaled, eager to put some distance between himself and the parasite. The five-legged spider arched its back before digging its front claws into the ground where Link had stood just a few instants ago, its singular eye glowing a bloodred. Link knew what he had to do, so he pulled his slingshot out of his pouch and aimed for its eye. He missed, so he tried again, this time succeeding in hitting the beast in its weak point.
I'm too used to L-targeting, Link thought glumly, yanking his sword out of his scabbard and repeatedly hacking at the arachnid's eye with the blade. However, it soon recovered from its stunned state, invisible armor sliding over its eye and leaving the whites of its eyes a golden hue. It clambered up one of the rock pillars in the room towards the ceiling as Link nearly choked on the malodorous fumes spewing forth from the gargantuan spider.
Recovering from his stupor, Link backpedaled, keeping an eye on the Gohma's weak spot as it shuffled about the roof. Soon enough, the eye's armor retracted as a lump began to form in its tail, which Link had confused for a hind limb. The Hylian boy knew it was a Gohma egg, ready to hatch, so he simply shot the beast down from the roof. It crashed down with a great, echoing boom, and Link returned to using its eye as a canvas, his sword as a brush and Gohma blood as paint. It only took a few more hits for the Gohma to start staggering around in its death throes before collapsing, twitching occasionally as it dissipated into an ocean of blue fire, which, having nothing to ignite, soon disappeared as well.
He stood silently for a second, watching the fire burn out.
"The Gohma wasn't evil," Link said suddenly. "It just wanted a place to live and to reproduce. It just happened to be sent to the Great Deku Tree."
He felt remorse, which he had no recollection of ever feeling towards the arachnid. He felt a certain anguish. The Gohma was not evil, no more than he was evil. He knew that the Gohma had been sent by Ganondorf specifically to kill the Great Deku Tree, but… did that make it inherently bad?
"Of course it wasn't," Ivan consoled, sensing Link's regret. "All living things are too complicated to be classified as good or evil. Either a being does a good thing, because it helps someone, or an evil thing, because it harms someone. The only beings this doesn't apply to are demons like Demise."
Let's just drop the subject," Link concluded, walking towards the glowing blue pillar that would transport him back to the Kokiri Forest. Demise… he thought, his mind drifting to Ganondorf as shudders coursed down his spine.
The pillar seized the child, pulling him back to the dying warmth of the Forest. It set him down just in front of the Great Deku Tree, whose mouth was still open wide.
"Well done, Link… Thou hast very well demonstrated thy courage…" the Tree's voice emanated. "I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes… Now, I have yet more to tell thee, wouldst thou listen…"
"I mean… okay-" Link said.
"Now, listen carefully… A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse on me…" the Deku Tree continued. "This evil man ceaselessly used his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule. For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods…"
Link tuned out the Deku Tree's recounting of the old legend. He knew what it was already, anyway: Din, Nayru, and Farore made Hyrule and everything on it, then left, leaving the Triforce. Boom. Done.
"Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm," the Great Deku Tree droned. "Thou must never allow that desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce… thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend. Because of that evil man, my end is nigh. Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started…"
Even though he expected this turn of events to take place, the revelation still sent stabbing waves of guilt through Link's being. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes filled with unshed tears. Ivan was not taking the news anywhere near as well, and the little fairy started openly sobbing, burying his face into his hands and weeping loudly.
"Yes, I will pass away soon, but do not grieve for me…" the Tree continued. "I have been able to tell you of these important matters. This is Hyrule's final hope. Link, go now to Hyrule Castle. There, thou wilt surely find the Princess of Destiny…"
Zelda, who would surely remember everything. She must, right?
Right?
"Take this stone with thee. The stone that man wanted so much, that he cast the curse on me…"
Suddenly, a bright green light appeared just before Link, nearly blinding the child. He threw a Stalfosified hand in front of his face to shield himself from the light until it disappeared, leaving behind the sparkling Kokiri Emerald, which slowly floated down towards Link. He moved to take it, sealing it safely in his Pouch of Holding.
"The future depends on thee, Link… Thou art courageous…"
If only the Great Deku Tree knew he would become the Bearer of the Triforce of Courage. Maybe he did.
"Ivan the fairy… Help Link to carry out my will," the Tree continued, his voice labored. "I entreat ye… Ivan… fare… well…"
With his proverbial last breath, the massive tree lost its color, turning a stony grey. Its leaves swiftly decayed, becoming a conglomeration of sickly browns, oranges, and yellows with a great groaning noise. Then, at last, the Great Deku Tree was still.
"Proshchay, Great Deku Tree," Ivan said solemnly.
Link couldn't take the pain of the Tree's loss anymore. He turned and fled the now-decaying grove, struggling to not let any tears fall. The Tree's last order to him was to not grieve. He had failed it last time, and he sure as hell wasn't going to fail him again.
Ivan soon caught up to him, not saying anything. He probably knew that Link was undergoing serious grief, although he couldn't possibly know just how much, and didn't want to disturb him just yet.
Mido, who was inexplicably still guarding the entryway to the Deku Tree's grove, however, would.
"Hey, Link! What did you DO?" Mido yelled accusingly. "The Great Deku Tree… did he… die?"
"He told me he was doomed before I started," Link said solemnly, not daring to look the bully in the eye. "There was nothing I could have done.
It was the wrong thing to say.
"How could you let something like that happen! It's all your fault!" Mido exploded. "Hey, guys! Link killed the Great Deku Tree!"
This sudden proclamation was heard throughout the entire forest, and nobody missed it. Heads peeked out of doors, none of them happy.
Oh, boy.
Link suddenly looked up. "The Great Deku Tree is dead," he started, shocking the entire forest into dead silence. "Before he passed, he told me that a black man from the desert had put a death curse on him. I broke the curse, but… only too late."
The Kokiri doubtlessly wouldn't have believed Link had he not broken down into tears at that exact instant and if his clothes weren't completely drenched in violet Gohma blood and stained with tiny flecks of his own.
"I tried my best," the Hero stated through his sobs. "That's all I can say."
With that, Link walked past the staring Kokiri, only stopping at his own habitation to grab some extra Rupees and to change into a fresh, waterproof tunic before walking out onto the bridge connecting Kokiri Forest to Hyrule Field.
"Oh, you're leaving…" a melodious voice rang.
Link turned abruptly, convinced that Saria hadn't been standing where she was when he had walked onto the bridge leading to Hyrule Field.
"But that's OK, because we'll be friends forever... won't we?" she continued.
"Of course we will," Link said. Ivan had darted into Link's hat to give him a bit of privacy for this moment. He was better than Navi in that sense. "Nobody could ever replace you."
"Of course," the Kokiri girl affirmed. "I want you to have this ocarina. Please take good care of it. I wanted to give this to you for the Summer Solstice that's in two weeks, but… well…"
"I understand," Link said amicably, grasping the musical instrument and looking at it with an undeniable look of nostalgia.
"When you play my ocarina…" Saria continued, a sadly happy expression etched into her face. "I hope… you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit."
"Oh, Saria," Link replied, stepping forwards and pulling her into a warm embrace, which she returned eagerly. "You will always be… my friend…"
When he pulled away, the girl looked more ecstatic by a few orders of magnitude. "Now, go. But don't forget who you are, Link."
Link grinned slightly, turned around, and walked forwards, towards his destiny.
I. Love. IVAN.
Ivan has a very specific voice, to the point that you're missing out on the story if you're not aware of it. To get this voice, take Gregor from Fire Emblem and Heavy Weapons Guy from TF2, then stick them together before giving that voice to Ivan. It makes the fic SO much better.
Regarding the shield, that came from the BS part of my brain. The BS part of my brain has good ideas but no good explanations for them. It's where Mind Hacking, my love of calculus, and my pen name come from. Basically, I figured "Hey, all the Stalfos look the same despite being different people as confirmed by Fado, so… they can use dark magic to summon swords and shields?"
So, that was that. And dear god, that chapter alone was almost 10,000 words, and most of it was just Link reacting to MQ. I feel dirty, but I'm not complaining because I think this chapter was handled pretty well.
Oh, and by the way, this fic was tactically written in advance so that I could have a consistent upload schedule (every Friday), so I'm going to have a blast watching all of the reactions to this while grinning sadistically at the fact that I know everything.
NOOTTD: 1. Navi spelled backwards is Ivan. Ivan is a Russian name, so I just imagined a Russian Navi and laughed my ass off for about twenty minutes. Thus, Ivan was born.
1.5. Mind Hacking came from my original manuscripts for SW:A, in which the main antagonist [Darth Furiz, who was immortalized as my pen name when I decided not to write it] had the ability to hack his opponents' perceptions of reality to manipulate them to his advantage. This ability would have been much more powerful in SW:A than it is in Tears of Memory, but I wanted to keep the idea, so I did. Plus, Mind Hacking is fun to say. Mind Hacking. Mind Hacking. MIND HACKING!
2. Joe and Ted are normal names for normal folks.
Like it? Hate it? Want to implant me with a Gohma? Then please consider leaving me a review. It goes a long way and I'd kill for some feedback. I respond to reviews at the Reading Review Rendezvous Point, or the RRRP.