Me: -cringes- Don't shoot me, please...
Malon: What kept you from updating this time?
Me: Well, for starters, I got flamed, and it turned me off from writing for a couple of days. Then I told myself (after looking at the flamer's page) that whoever it was, they read all the chapters (I know, 'cause they mentioned something in the most recent), so they secretly liked it. I mean, come on, you're not gonna sit and read something you hate, so yeah. They liked it and just gave a mean review 'cause they were jealous. Or maybe I'm wrong; maybe people WILL read something they hate. I know I wouldn't. Anyway...
Malon: Anyway?
Me: Anyway, after all that, I couldn't find the inspiration to write anything in this story or my other one OR any of the random oneshots I come up with all the time! So basically, I temporarily lost my ability to write. Then, when I got it back, I typed tons of this chapter and (RETARD!!!! --bashes head against the wall-) when asked if I wanted to save changes to the document, I aimed for 'Cancel' and clicked 'No.' Talk about stupid!! Now, to top it all off, my "wonderful, maddening, infuriating, glorious mother" has practically grounded me from the computer! But I typed anyways, 'cause I love you guys. It makes my day when I find your reviews in my inbox. ^^ So thank you, everyone, and I hope you enjoy this 3804 word chapter of The Tormentors In Person.
Sora: -bursts into the room- MALON! DESTINYKEYBLADE! YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS!
Me: Probably not...
Sora: MIDNITE CAN TALK!!!!!!
Me: .......-holds hand out- Alright, whatever you've got, hand it over.
Sora: NEVAH!!!!!! -runs away-
Me: Malon? Could you be a dear and-
Malon: With pleasure! ^^ -takes off-
Me: -waits a few minutes... and a few more... and then finally-
Malon: Got it!
Me: Great; what was it?
Malon: -hands over a red box of cereal with a toucan on the front-
Me: -facepalms- I should've known they were smoking Froot Loops...
The whole Froot Loops thing came from Girl Scouts; I'll tell you all about it later if you remind me (this means you, reviewers). Anyway, as for the disclaimer, I own nothing new... except for Ari and Scorpio. And the girl Angel is based on is not that good at singing or storytelling. That's simply for the story. The quotation above is from Coraline by Neil Gaiman, and the song in this chapter is from The Last Unicorn. ...The movie; I think there's a book... And please read the notice after the review replies; it's important.
"How did you end up all by yourself out here in the middle of nowhere?" Angel questioned.
The little girl, sitting in Angel's lap, turned her head so that she could look at the older girl. "My village got attacked. I don't know who did it; there weren't any soldiers or monsters or anything..." She frowned. "All I remember is smoke and fire... lots of screaming... I was too scared to pay much attention to what was happening," she explained.
"And?" Link asked. The child had awoken his curiosity with this strange story.
"My mother... she made me promise to run. She wanted me to find the village my grandmother lives in, but I got lost, and..." She started sniffling again. "And now I don't know where I am or how far it is to Grandmother's village or anything!"
"Shh, shh... It's alright," Angel assured her, giving her a little hug. "Link and I will help you."
"You will?" The girl looked up at Angel, her bright blue eyes shining with hope.
"Of course. Now, what's your name?"
She smiled. "Ariela.* But you can call me Ari." (*pronounced Are - ee - ella.)
(line break)
~Angel's POV~
"This is fun!" Ari shouted over the pounding of Shadow's hooves.
I couldn't help but smile. She was so adorable! I'd felt a strong attatchment to the child the moment I saw her in that bush, almost like I knew her already. Which was crazy, of course; I'd never seen her before in my life. Still, though, a bond had instantly formed between us, and I vowed that no matter what it took, I would help Ari find her way back to her family.
Ariela... It was such a pretty name! A bit strange, perhaps, but beautiful just the same. Does Link think so, too? I randomly asked myself.
This thought made me glance at the Hylian. It was the first time I'd thought of him since we discovered Ari, and suddenly I wondered what he thought about this new developement. I hadn't even asked him if he wanted to take part in this new adventure. I'd have to talk to him when we stopped for the night... When I was finished practicing with my weapons, of course. With Link injured from my tug-of-war with Morpha, I was going to have to be ready to defend our little group if danger reared its head.
...What? My bond with Ari? ...WHADDAYA MEAN THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE?! It is NOT impossible for two people to share an extremely strong bond of friendship even if they've only known eachother for a little while! Although I suppose I did help it along a little bit... How? Well... It started with a story.
~Dusk~
~No One's POV~
Darkness was beginning to fall, the last light of the setting sun casting an orange glow across the land. On this beautiful soon-to-be night, little Ariela had a problem: She couldn't get to sleep. The child was very tired, having exhausted almost all of her energy earlier in the day, but no matter what she tried, she just couldn't drift off to dreamland.
"Man!" Ari exclaimed, pushing herself off the ground after her last failed attempt.
"What's the matter?" came Angel's voice. The elder girl was feeding a few apples they'd found earlier to Shadow and Epona. Link sat nearby, seeming to be deep in thought about something.
Ariela walked over to the horses and began to pet them lovingly. She'd liked the creatures immediately after meeting them. But then again, what girl doesn't love horses?
"I can't sleep, Angel," the black-haired girl complained. "I miss my mom... And I miss the stories she used to tell me to help me fall alseep when I couldn't."
Angel's face brightened. "She told you stories?"
"Yeah."
The fourteen year-old grinned. "Have no fear, the storyteller is here!" she said, striking a dramatic pose that made Ari giggle. Angel sat down, motioning for the child to do the same. "So Ari, what kind of story do you want to hear?"
Ari frowned. "Umm... What kinds do you know?"
"All kinds! About all kinds of people and animals, too!"
She thought for a moment, and happened to glance toward Shadow and Epona. "Do you know any about horses?" she asked eagerly.
Angel nodded rapidly. "Oh yeah, definitely. About horses, ponies, unicorns-"
"What's a unicorn?"
The older girl stared at her younger counterpart. "You don't know what a unicorn is?" she asked incredulously. Ari shook her head, and Angel made up her mind. "Well then, I guess I'll have to tell you about them so that the story will make sense."
She launched into her explanation, unaware that she had two people listening to her. Link, who had never heard of a unicorn either, was slightly curious as to what they might be - and what kind of story Angel had to tell about them.
"-usually white, and some of them have wings, but the ones in this story don't have wings and they're all different rainbow colors. Actually," Angel said, "that's what this story is really about."
"Rainbows?"
"Yep. In fact, it's called The Runaway Rainbow."
Ariela frowned. "Rainbows can't run away!"
"Well, this one did. Of course, it helps that the rainbow was actually a unicorn..."
The Hylians were completely lost. "The rainbow was a unicorn?" they asked in unison, and Angel looked at Link questioningly.
"You're listening?"
"I didn't know what a unicorn was, either!" he said defensively. "I just thought-"
But Angel cut him off, laughing. "It's alright; you can listen if you want. Just don't interrupt."
Link crossed his arms and turned his head in another direction, trying not to hear what Angel was saying, although in the end he couldn't help it.
~Fast Foward! ...Oh, and Link's POV~
"...And so, thanks to Rarity and her friends, the rainbow was saved, and all the colors returned to Ponyville."
Ari shifted her position. The child was fast alseep, and had been for a little while now. I gathered that Angel hadn't noticed from the expression of surprise on her face. She looked a little strange in the flickering light of the fire she'd stopped in the middle of her story to build so we wouldn't all freeze. (The nights were getting colder as winter approached.)
The surprised look melted into a warm, caring smile, and Angel brushed a few strands of midnight-black hair out of Ariela's face. "Good night, tiny tenshi," she whispered, and slowly crept from where the child lay.
It occurred to me as I watched that, while Angel could be quite annoying, she could also be very sweet. When she wanted to, of course. I wondered vaguely why she cared so much about the little girl we'd picked up. Don't get me wrong; Ari was adorable and easy to like, but... Oh, I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore. Forget I said anything about Ari and go back to where I left off talking about Angel.
She came back and sat by the fire, sticking her hands toward it and rubbing them together to warm them up. Then she glanced up from the flames and looked at me. And wouldn't you know she looked up right when I looked at her? I hated making eye contact with that girl; it made me feel all weird... (A/N: Ooh, weird feelings! Look out, Link; soon you'll be in so deep you don't know how to get out! ...Ahem... Yeah. Sorry.)
"...Hi?" she said uncertainly.
"Uh... hi," I replied.
Angel raised an eyebrow. "What, do I have to tell you a story, too?" she asked, pulling her hands back and plancing them on her hips.
"Huh?"
She laughed. "You're looking at me like you want something. Do you want a story?"
....You know, I think I just might. (You should hear her; she paints pictures in the air with her words!)
Hoping to make her laugh again (although I had no idea why), I said, "If it doesn't have unicorns and ponies in it."
My wish was granted. Angel laughed, a bell-like sound that rang through the quiet night. "Alright, let's see," she said, and began ticking things off on her fingers. "I've already explained Eragon, you don't want any pony stories, I'd be scared if you did, you probably don't want to hear about the Avatar, and.... Hmm. ....Ha! Got it!" she exclaimed.
She grinned triumphantly. However, the moment she began to speak, her expression changed, and her voice took on a deeper, more mystical tone, which Ari and I soon began to refer to as her storytelling voice.
"Link, the story I am about to tell you is divided into four parts. The first part is sort of a prequel, and is not really neccessary. Honestly, it is more of an explanation of things in the trilogy, but since I would have to explain these things anyway, would you like to hear it?"
I nodded.
"The let us begin!" Angel cleared her throat and started to speak. "In a h-"
"Wait, what's it called?" I interrupted, noting that she hadn't told me.
A sly smile crept onto her face. "It has more than one name. However, you may call it There and Back Again. Now then, as I was saying, in a hole in the ground, there lived..."
~Ari's POV~
"How come Link gets the cool story?" I grumbled under my breath. I liked the unicorn one, but Angel started telling the good one after she thought I was asleep! I didn't hear what it was called, but I heard everything else about the story. And boy, what a story it was! I was sad when Link yawned and Angel said they should go to bed.
I wanted to hear more! I pouted. Nobody heard me, though, 'cause I said it in my head.
Anyway, every night, I pretended like I was alseep so that Angel would start the other story up again. Then I'd just lay there and listen, trying not to say anything so that they wouldn't know I was awake. But enough about what happened at night; what happened during the day was way more exciting! Especially those two days when...
~No One's POV~
"Hey, I think I know where I am!" Ariela exclaimed one day as the threesome rode through a large canyon-like area. In front of them was a pass that, while a bit dark and shadowy, appeared safe enough from a distance.
Angel pulled back on Shadow's reins. "Whoah!" The stallion came to a halt, whinnying loudly in protest. He hated standing still.
"What's going on?" Link asked from somewhere behind them.
"Ari thinks she recognizes this place!" Angel called back to him. In moments, the red Hylian mare and her rider were beside the black stallion and his passengers.
"..."
The fourteen year-old raised an eyebrow as she gazed at her blonde friend. "Nothing to say?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"....Angel, get your bow."
Both Ari and Angel looked at Link in alarm.
"Link, why does she need-" the child started to ask, but cut off when Link snatched her out of Shadow's saddle (A/N: That could be a tounge-twister if it tried hard enough...) and dropped her on the ground beside the horse.
Angel leapt off her mount and scrambled for her bow. "Why do I need this, Link?" she asked loudly, a note of panic in her voice.
He didn't answer. What he did was jump to the ground and grab hold of Shadow's reins with his right hand; Epona's reins were in his left.
Ari, who had been told about the encounter with Morpha, noticed this. "I thought your arm got hurt!" she exclaimed.
"Shh!" was the only reply Link had to offer. He knew good and well that this was quite a stupid thing to do, but he didn't want the horses to bolt. While it was true that they could be called back with the Ocarina, it was better to have them there in case fighting was a stupid course of action, too. Having never visited this part of Hyrule before, Link wasn't sure what kind of monster was coming toward them, but whatever it was sounded big and unfriendly.
"Get an arrow ready," he commanded quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angel fit an arrow to the string.
"Where do I aim?" she asked in a strangled voice.
Link listened for a moment, trying to determine where the small rocks clattering to the canyon floor were falling from. "There," he said. He dropped Shadow's reins to point at the place the monster would likely emerge. Angel turned her arrow in the right direction, and Link took the reins again.
"It's getting closer..." Ari whispered fearfully. And indeed it was.
Shadow's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. Talented horse that he was, he could tell the scent of good things from the stench of bad ones, and whatever was coming was most definitely bad. Epona began to prance about nervously. Her eyes darted from place to place as she looked for a place to run.
"Ari, I want you to run," Link said to the frightened child in front of him.
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Where?"
"Back that way," he answered, glancing behind him. "This thing's big, and if I had to guess, I'd say it probably eats little girls."
Shrieking, Ari sprinted away. And that was all it took.
The monster, a gargantuan scorpion-like creature, dropped down from the canyon wall. Epona reared up, pawing the air wildly, and attempted to run when she touched the ground. Link pulled back on the reins with all his might, relieved that Shadow was standing still. He focused his attention on the red mare and released the stallion, only to find (once he'd managed to calm Epona) that Shadow had taken off.
Meanwhile, Angel stared into the scorpion's one huge eye (A/N: Try to imagine a cross between Gohma from Ocarina of Time and the first boss on the Windwaker; it's got the one eye from both of them, pinchers like the WW thing, and it's a scorpion, like... uh... itself? ^^), knowing that she had to shoot at least five arrows into it. The problem was, she only had nine, ten if you count the one she was about to use, and with her twenty-eighty vision, she wasn't exactly the best at aiming...
Look at it this way, she said to herself. You got five misses. Just like bowling on the Wii Sports fitness test. Yeah... five misses...
Steeling herself and taking a deep breath, Angel let loose the arrow she held. The creature swatted it away with its stinger.
"Okay... That didn't work... EEP!" she squealed as the scorpion came up close to her. It was almost within stinging range now; Angel had to come up with a plan, and fast. Snatching another arrow, she shot it right in the pupil of the scorpion's eye. With the distance the arrow had to fly shortened, the beast didn't have time to stop it.
Now the monster ("I think I'll call him Scorpio..." Angel muttered to herself as she drew another arrow from her quiver.) thrashed around, blinded. In agony and angry about it, Scorpio began jabbing his tail into the ground, swinging it around in between stabs. It was undoubtedly in this way that the Fairy Bow was knocked from Angel's hand.
"Not good!" she yelled when her weapon fell to the ground. As in her encounter with the Tektites and things at Lake Hylia, Scorpio turned in her direction. "Stupid," Angel said, rolling her eyes at her inability to keep her mouth shut in battle.
As the great beast came toward her, stabbing at the ground in front of him, Angel did the only thing she could think of: She pulled the Master Sword out of its sheath and started hacking at Scorpio. First a leg came off... then about half of his tail... then another leg... and so on and so forth.
Finally, Scorpio was missing so many limbs and bleeding so much that he collapsed. Shadow, who had run toward Angel with the intention of rescuing her, saw that his help was no longer needed and contented himself with trampling the fallen monster. Scorpio's sightless eye slid closed, and Angel, panting and covered in purple scorpion blood (that's right, purple), let the Master Sword fall to the ground, for she knew she had won. Yes, she'd won, but that didn't save her from a severe scolding later...
~That Night As They Sat Around The Fire~
Angel sat with her legs crossed, her elbows propped up on them, and her face resting in hands. She stared into the dancing flames as Link chastised her for the way she'd defeated Scorpio, only catching pieces of what he said.
"...can't just freeze up; you have to stay focused and concentrate on your enem... and you have to aim; it's a wonder you managed to hit that thi... just like when you faced Morpha: you starting stabbing like craz- ARE YOU LISTENING?!" Link thundered, seeing the glazed look in Angel's eyes.
She snapped to attention immediately. "Yeah, I'm listening."
The blonde crossed his arms. "I don't believe you. What did I just say?"
"You asked what you just said," Angel replied coolly.
"Before that."
"You said you don't believe me."
"Before that!"
"You asked if I was listening."
Link growled in frustration, and Ari, who had thus far been silent, couldn't help but giggle.
"You think that's funny?" he snapped.
Ari giggled again. "Extremely," she answered, a smirk on her face.
Link shot Angel a glare. "Why'd you have to go and make her act like you?"
The fourteen year-old cackled maniacally in a way highly reminiscent of Lily. "You ready for your story?" she asked Ari, turning her back on Link.
"Yeah!" Ari said eagerly.
"Alright! That's good, 'cause I've got a really exciting one for you tonight!" Angel cleared her throat and let her voice take on its mystical tone. "On a dark night, out in the desert, a man waited out in the middle of the shifting sands for his accomplice, a thief by the name of..."
Link rolled his eyes and sat down. Like one Angel wasn't enough! he thought, but deep inside, he knew he didn't really mind.
(line break)
Ari shivered. A cold winter wind was blowing through the trees of the dark forest they rode through, and being cold was something the child wasn't fond of. Now, while Ari liked the woods in general, she did not like this particular forest. It had an eerie feel to it, as though something sinister were waiting around the corner, ready to grab her at any given moment. The little girl put her hands in Shadow's mane, letting her fingers get tangled up in it.
"I don't like this place," she told Angel, whom she rode in front of. "It's creepy!"
"It's okay, we'll be out of here soon," the older girl reassured the younger. After a moment, she asked, "Do you want me to sing you a song to help pass the time?"
Ari nodded fervently. "Yes, please!" she squeaked, jumping at the sound of a stick breaking under Shadow's hooves.
Angel opened her mouth to begin, but Ari cut her off. "Wait, what's the song about?"
"Just listen," Angel replied. "And imagine that this forest is the one in the song, okay?" With that, she again prepared to sing.
"When the last eagle flies
Over the last crumbling mountain
And the last lion roars
At the last dusty fountain
In the shadow of the forest
Though she may be old and worn
They will stare, unbelieving
At the last unicorn..."
"What does she look like?" Ari asked in a whisper.
"She's as white as snow, and every bit as big as Epona. She's not like the colored unicorns. Her horn sparkles with the magic she uses. And when she gallops through the woods, the plants all get greener; the flowers' colors brighten; even the trees react to her prescence."
The wind blew again, hard and cold, and Ari pulled her fingers out the horse's mane so she could wrap her arms around herself. She glanced at the flowers on the ground. They were covered in frost, as the sunlight didn't reach through the trees to warm them up.
"When the first breath of winter
Through the flowers is icing
And you look to the north
And the pale moon is rising
And it seems like all is dying
And would leave the world to mourn
In the distance, hear the laughter
Of the last unicorn
"I'm alive! I'm alive!" "
Angel's voice rang out clear and strong through the silence of the forest, bouncing off all the trees to travel deeper into the woods. Link, who had only heard the Earth girl sing once before, and then only for a brief moment, was amazed by what she could do with her voice. It was truly a gift, he thought.
After a few moments more of riding along, the travelers came to a clearing. Ari took a flying leap off Shadow's back, laughing, and flopped down on the ground where she landed. Although the forest continued, she was happy to be granted a reprieve from the feeling that something was going to get her - and she was happy to see the sun and clouds above her again.
Angel and Link dismounted as well and walked over to where Ari lay in the soft grass.
"Hey, was the song finished?" she asked suddenly, sitting up and giving Angel a questioning look.
Angel shook her head. Clearing her throat, she continued.
"When the last moon is cast
Over the last star of morning
And the future has passed
Without even a last, desperate warning
Then look into the sky where through
The clouds a path is torn
Look and see her, how she sparkles
It's the last unicorn!"
She made to sing the last two "I'm alive"s, but another voice sang them first - a female voice, and it wasn't Ari's. The sound of thundering hooves approached, though neither Shadow nor Epona were even moving. From out of the trees, a majestic white horse appeared, a sparkling horn in the center of its forehead. Slowing from a gallop to a trot, from a trot to a prance, and finally to a walk, the creature approached little Ariela, who ran to it, smiling.
Link and Angel looked on in disbelief as the unicorn nuzzled a laughing Ari. They glanced at eachother briefly, then turned away to gaze at the trees and attempt to convince themselves that they were seeing things.
MegamanSora - Well, not everone can... but I suppose you're entitled to lol. Really? A yes? Cool! ^^ ...I still haven't decided what the sequel will be yet, but I'll try my best to write one after I do. Yeah, you really do need to; I wanna read it! Yes, I know who Megaman is: ANNOYING!! But that's just my opinion. Wow, is it that obvious? You hit the nail right on the head; I'll turn 15 in a while. Not sayin' when, but in a while! Anyhow, thanks for reviewing! I hope you continue to do so; if you read that big paragraph at the top, you know how happy I am when my readers are satisfied.
Kiarra-Chan - -jumps up and down gleefully- YOU ARE THE MOST AWESOME REVIEWER EVAH!!!! Seriously, you have no idea how awesome it is to hear that I'm a good writer. (Especially after that stupid flame...) Thank you so much, 'Arra-chan!
Shepherd's Purse - Aww, thank you! You make my day, you know that? Your reviews are always so lovely and long, and you don't have negative things to say; only helpful. So I thank you! Now, to answer those questions and respond to those statements... -clears throat- Four? Wow, at least I haven't done that... But I don't think you should have thrown the notebook away. Mistakes are things to learn from... At least, that's what I think. Yeah, Angel is pretty random, isn't she? The way she feels remains to be seen... even by me! That's right: I don't know yet! -looks around nervously- Did I say that? Ummm.... That might change... But I'm trying to look for other options, so they might die and they might not! (I'm so terrible!) Hmm... would that be a big spoiler...? Huh... Not too bad, so the answer is: It might be a different game series. See, that's not too bad, is it? lol Yes, Angel definitely needs a hand. And she'll get one. After reading this chapter and the way Link was getting onto her for her sloppy performance, I'd say you probably figured out that he'll start coaching her. Hmm... I don't know how he would have felt... I know I would've been screaming, though! And of course, by now, you know why the little girl in the bush was in the bush, so... -reads through the review on more time- Looks like I've answered everything!
And now for that notice I mentioned: I now have 5 different endings planned for TTIP, and since I can't choose between them, I'm just going to post all of them when the end rolls around. Ending #1, the original and the one that leaves room for a sequel, will be titled The End... Or Is It? Ending #2, the happy one, is Not Perfect, But Good Enough ; #3, the sad ending, is Where I Stood, and is sort of a song fic to the Where I Stood by Missy Higgins. #4, the I'm-not-exactly-sure-what-this-is-but-I-think-it-could-be-seen-as-depressing ending, will be titled The Way They Look. And finally, the title of #5, (my favorite, along with #1) has not yet been decided. I'll list all possible titles here, and once we get to the end and I post all the endings, I would very much like it if you loverly readers would read all of them and tell me which one you thought was best, along with which title you think is better for #5. Better Off, Reflections, To Be A Hero, Four Years To The Day, Shattered, and Poor Hobbits are the titles. Hopefully, I'll update often enough to get to these mysterious endings in just a little while. For now, though, I hope I've satisfied you with the latest addition to The Tormentors In Person. ...Thank you, good night! XD
