Look, I did it! I got it out before Christmas! Consider this you early present, readers. I hope you like it!! ^^ ...And now, to completely change the subject, I think I may have too many characters in my comics. Therefore...
Me: -dramatic voice- Today on Total Drama Island-
Sora: This isn't Total Drama Island!
Me: Nope.
Link: You don't even watch that show.
Me: Nope.
Malon: Is that all you can say?
Me: Nope.
Gaara: Are you gonna say something else?
Me: Nope.
Malon: ...Will you tell us why you're not saying anything else?
Me: Nope.
Link: -irritated- You wanna knock that off?
Me: NOPE!! :P
Link: AAAAARRRGH!
Sora: Yeah, pretty much.
Trunks: -walks over to me- Will you please stop saying nope?
Me: -glomps him- YEP!! ^^
Gaara: Nice... he made her stop.
Sora: Yeah... maybe we should keep this guy around. Think so, Link?
Link: Nope.
-giggles- I've had that in my head for weeks now; so glad I finally typed it. Anyway, thanks as always to Kiarra-Chan, and, as I'm sure you know, I own no one and nothing but Angel, the Dark Master and his minions, and the Black Castle. Oh, and the little girl.
Malon: What little girl??
Me: You'll see! ^^
"WHADDAYA MEAN YOU'RE NOT SURE?!" Angel shrieked, waving her arms around wildly.
"I mean what I said," Link answered, trying not to laugh at her actions. She looked incredibly ridiculous. In fact, the way she was flailing reminded him of the time he had gone inside Jabu-Jabu to rescue Princess Ruto. The Zora princess had made similar motions with her arms when Link had, in her opinion, been standing in one place for too long.
"But... but... but..." She stared at him in obvious confusion, unable to complete a sentence for over two minutes. Finally, she forced out "But why don't you know where we are?"
"Becuase, Angel," Link replied, "I've never been here before."
The fourteen year-old seemed to have lost her ability to speak. Seeing this, Link took hold of Epona's reins and turned her in the direction of the far-off mountains.
"Let's go," he said. Without another word, he urged Epona to begin running, which the red Hylian horse did without much hesitation.
Angel stared after her blonde companion, wondering how he could be so calm when he was up to his pointy, elf-like ears in unknown territory, and, most likely, hidden danger.
Baka... That's one of the first rules of being a warrior: Never show your fear. You should know that by now, she berated herself, feeling the need to use the Japanese word instead the English. Now do something intelligent and follow Link before you get killed by some random bad guy that might not even exist. ...I make the most sense of anyone I know, she thought sarcastically.
"Come on, Shadow," she commanded the stallion, and made a snapping noise with the reins. Shadow pranced about for a moment, trying to get used to the uneven ground. Then, noticing Epona dissapear over a hill, he whinnied loudly and tore into a run. Angel, startled by his sudden actions, tried to remember comforting lines from horse books to slow her heart, which pounded as hard as Shadow's hooves against the earth.
~Elsewhere~
Flames towered high above the burning village. A thick, black smoke filled the shriek-filled air, making the villagers' eyes sting as they ran through it. Some called out in vain for their families and friends, while others sought merely to escape with their lives.
Amid all the chaos, a woman stood with her daughter, a frightened child of about ten.
"Listen to me very carefully, my child," the mother said. "I want you to promise me that you will run as far away from this place as you can. You know the way to the other village, where your grandmother lives. I want you to go there and stay with her until I get there," she instructed.
The child's sky blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "But-" she attempted to protest, but was cut off by her mother's voice.
"Promise me!" she begged.
"...Yes, mother..." the little girl said. "I promise."
"Thank, you, my child." The woman pushed her daughter away, toward the exit of their village. Squinting through the smoke, she could just see the young girl's figure dissapear.
"Be carefu-" she started to say, but was cut off by a maniac's laughter from somewhere behind her.
"Who are you?" she demanded, searching for the man who had attacked the village.
"Who am I? Who am I?! How can you not know who I am?!" the voice shouted, clearly upset. "The sound of my voice is supposed to strike fear in the hearts of the Hyruleans! Aren't you scared of me?"
"No," the woman replied.
"Not even a little bit?" he asked, sounding crestfallen.
"No."
"Darn it!"
A whoosh! could be heard over the roar of the fires, but the voice had vanished.
"Good riddance," the woman muttered before rushing off into the smoke to help her fellow villagers.
~With Link And Angel~
Angel was exploring her surroundings when she came uopn Link, who had left her earlier after she made a comment about being hungry. A rabbit had been caught in his hastily crafted snare, and while the creature wasn't exactly big, it was large enough so that they would be able to eat something.
Link held the Kokiri sword in his right hand above the squealing animal, but to Angel's surprise, the Hylian didn't strike. Instead, he heaved a sigh and untied the rabbit's trapped foot. The frightened bunny scampered off into the bushes as quick as it could.
"What did you do that for?" Angel shouted. (Hey, she was hungry!) "Why didn't you just kill it, Link?"
Link rose from his crouching position and slowly turned to face her. "You can't just kill something," he said darkly. "Every creature has a right to live, even the monsters we fight. I know they have to be killed in order for us to survive, but sometimes I hate that I've slaughtered them. Every time they come at me, I pray that they'll decide to leave me alone, but the never do, and-"
He broke off and looked at Angel. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Oh, sorry. It's just that you reminded me of a book I read recently."
"What book?" Link asked curiously.
Angel sat down in the grass, guessing that she'd be talking for a while. "It's called Brisingr, and it's the third book in the Eragon series, also known as the Inheritance Cycle. The main character, Eragon..."
About an hour and a half later, Angel had successfully explained most of Alagaesia to Link, making sure she included everything she knew about the dragons.
"...And they have this thing inside of them called-"
"You like dragons, don't you?" Link interrupted, looking amused.
The teenage Earth girl jumped up and cast a wistful look skyward, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "Oh, yes," she said, longing evident in her voice. "I wish there were dragons in Hyrule, or that I could be in Alagaesia with them."
"So I suppose if you were around dragons, you'd want to be a Rider, huh?"
"No way," Angel said, surprising him. "No. I wouldn't be able to handle it."
Link looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Still looking up at the blue sky, she lowered her hands to rest at her sides. "People tell eachother all the time 'I'm counting on you.' But when they really mean it, and someone is honestly depending on you to do something important for them..." Angel shook her head and looked at Link over her shoulder. A twinkle appeared in her greenish eyes when she gazed at him, and for some reason, the blonde Hylian felt his heart best faster for a brief moment.
"I wouldn't be able to deal with the responsibility or the stress that came with the whole Dragon Rider thing. I almost lost it earlier when I had to fight Morpha," she informed him. "If I hadn't been fighting for our lives, I wouldn't have been able to stand there like that. I'd have run around screaming my head off or something stupid like that."
A sudden gust of wind blew her long hair into her face. As she struggled to push it away, Link stood and unbuckled the strap that held the Master Sword in place.
"Here," he said after Angel had tamed her hair, holding the sword out to her. "It would make a lot more sense for you to carry this since I can't fight with it."
And so began another struggle, this time to get the sword strapped on. After five minutes of watching her fight with it, Link took pity on Angel and helped her.
"Thanks," she said sheepishly, a blush creeping onto her face. "I should have been able to do that without help..."
Link shrugged her apology off and lay down in the long, soft grass. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange-ish glow across the land. The wind whispered through the grass and trees, telling its story to any and all who would listen. Somewhere in the distance, a brook babbled on, knowing that no one would pay attention to what such a small stream had to say and not caring a bit.
Angel sat down as quietly as she could. She knew from playing her video games so often that the Master Sword made many clinking noises when it moved, and was in no mood to hear them right now. For now, the sounds of nature and of her friend's steady breathing were enough for her. (Wow, Link must have been tired if he fell asleep that fast!)
It's so peaceful here... she thought to herself. I bet everywhere in this part of Hyrule is quiet and calm like this.
Not quite, Angel. Not quite.
~The Black Castle~
The Dark Master stomped around, ranting and raving. Lily, trapped in her little cage, couldn't help but hear bits and pieces of it. When she heard "What does a villain have to do to get a little respect?!" her devious little mind quickly devised a plan to send her boredom packing.
"I know what you should do," she said loudly, leaning foward to look at the Dark Master through the bars.
"You do?" he asked excitedly.
Lily tried hard to supress a laugh. "Yeah, I do.
"What?"
The fourteen year-old smirked. This is gonna be fun... Mwahahah.
"Alright, let's review," Lily said.
The Dark Master sat in front of her cage, a notepad on his lap and a quill pen in his hand. His minions sat in a group about five feet away, looking at Lily admiringly. To them, she was the smartest person in the world right then.
"When someone asks you who you are..." Lily began.
Her pupil immmediately launched into his answer, reading off the paper in his hands. "I use my magic to float in the air and summon up a wind so that my cape will flutter dramatically in the breeze. Then I answer with any of the following: I am your worst nightmare; your destroyer; the last person you will ever see..."
"Or?" the Earth teen prompted.
"Or... Ahem... I am the Dark Master, the most powerful wizard in Hyrule! The very mention of my name terrifies even the bravest and strongest of warriors! I will rule this land, and all shall tremble at my feet! TREMBLE!!!!" he shouted.
Lily snickered behind her hand. She'd had the Dark Loser fill up five pages of his notebook with the words and behavior of the worst cartoon bad guys on Earth, and by worst I mean the stupidest and least threatening.
"Very good," she managed to say. "You might be a great villain yet!"
The Dark Master danced around like a happy child. His minions joined in, as they practically were children (well, mentally anyways) and didn't want to miss out on the fun. And as all this went on, Lily sat in her cage and watched, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Evil little girl, isn't she?
Kiarra-Chan - That should be illegal!!! ...I just spelled that wrong, didn't I? hahah lol. And now, a question for you: Have you noticed that these reviews and replies have become somthing of an on-going conversation between us?? Now for the important question two, which I asked at the end of the last chapter. What kind of ending do you want? I kind of need to know...
