I know it's been a long time, but I hope you all haven't forgotten about me. Bear with me for a little while longer, my life seems to get more complicated every single month. Hopefully I'll be able to be a little more punctual with my updates.
Still don't own LoZ or Nintendo. Still DO own Alexander, Mina and Blood Crusade.
Alexander awoke to small footsteps passing by the door to their room. He looked to the blacked-out window, feeling that the sun was about to sink below the horizon. He carefully rolled Mina, wrapped in the thin blanket, off to the side so he could stand. No sooner had he done so, than the room began to swirl around him. He leaned against the bedpost, trying to shake off the nearly unbearable headache.
Mina rolled over to see him swaying dangerously. "What's wrong Master?" She kneeled, hands on his shoulders, trying to keep Alexander standing.
"It feels like the muscles in the back of my neck are trying to pull my face through my skull."
"You forgot to feed again, didn't you?" She began to rub his shoulders, trying to ease his tension.
"Yes, very observant. Now, where did I put that flask?" Alexander stumbled to where he had hung up his coat and rifled through the pockets. "Damn, empty." There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?"
A soft voice came through the door, clear, despite the two inches of wooden door. "My name is Shawna, I need you to pay for tonight's stay, Sir."
"Come in, Dear." He motioned for Mina to open the door. The girl stepped in. She was about five feet tall, long, straight black hair down to the small of her back. She wore a simple, ankle length tan dress, with a V-neck showing just the slightest hint of cleavage. She looked nervous, as if she knew what sat within the room. Nervous or not, Shawna stood tall, or at least as tall as her diminutive countenance would allow.
The girl pulled a small slip of paper out of her pocket. "It will be another 20 Rupees to keep the room for tonight, sir."
Mina came up behind her and put her hands on the small girl's shoulders. "Oh, we'll pay, don't worry about a thing, hun." She whispered breathily into Shawna's ear. "But my Master is so very hungry, don't you think you could help him out just a little?"
"W-we have a number dishes on our menu downstairs. I-if you will pay, sir, I can go get you something to eat."
"I'm not sure you understand what we are yet, my dear." Alexander stepped closer, putting a hand on the girl's cheek, feeling the blood that courses just below the surface. She was blushing. "I believe I've found something quite delectable right here."
"B-but my father-"
"Will never know a thing. Simply relax, and enjoy what is to happen." With that, he leaned in and gave the innkeeper's daughter a soft kiss. She responded quickly, leaning into the much larger man as much as she was able. Alexander smiled into the kiss, brushing his fangs against her lower lip. Mina leaned in and sunk her fangs into the girl's neck. Shawna gasped as the needle-like bones plunged deeper into her soft flesh, her eyes fluttering with the new sensations. Alexander kissed his way along the girl's jaw line until he found her pulse beating against his mouth. He curled his upper lip back and pierced the vein, freeing the lifeforce that struggled beneath the flesh like a trapped rabbit. The two creatures of darkness began to drink from opposite sides of the poor girl's neck, bodies pressed close together. Shawna began to writhe between them, her breath coming fast and shallow, arms wrapped tightly around Alexander's waist. Alexander pulled both girls closer to himself as he felt the life returning to his body. Their victim gave an audible moan before going limp in his arms. Alexander and Mina pulled away, leaving two little pinpricks on either side of the girl's neck. Her breathing was ragged and her heart beating a mile a minute. She looked up at him, fear evident on her face even through the pleasure she had just felt.
"You will be fine, my dear." He helped her sit on the edge of the bed. "Mina, get your salve out and treat our host's wounds." Alexander reached into his coin purse and pulled out 100 Rupees. "Twenty for the night, and the rest is for you, and the wonderful meal you provided us tonight." He held the gems pressed in her palm. "Provided, of course that you can keep this a secret."
Shawna nodded slowly as she rose from the bed. "Yes, of course, Sir. You are too kind." She placed the money in her pocket and bowed deeply. "If Sir has need of anything else during his stay, I will be more than glad to help. Enjoy your stay here at our inn, Sir." She lifted her head and slowly walked out the door, wobbling ever so slightly. So many thoughts raced through the young innkeeper's daughter's mind that she nearly bumped into the green clad warrior that had become a regular in town. "I'm sorry, Sir. Did your adventure go well today?"
Link smiled and nodded, noting the drying remnants of the Vampire's salve on the girl's neck. He set his jaw and quietly excused himself. He opened the door to see his two pale companions wiping their faces of any traces of blood. Midna jumped out of his shadow as he closed the door.
"What the hell, you two? The sun hasn't even gone down and you're already snacking on some innocent girl? Are you freaking insane? What will you do if she tells Renado about this?" Link just stood beside her and nodded. "And besides, the innkeeper's daughter? Really? How clichéd can you get?" She sighed. "Ahh, whatever. Hey, Hero, show them what we were doing while they slept all day." Link nodded and pulled the Ancient Sky Book out of his satchel and laid it on the table.
"I see, so you found all the missing symbols for the book." Alexander leafed through the book. "So, now what do we do?"
"There's that nerdy guy down in Renado's basement that's part of the adventuring group. He says he's studying the Sky Writing, so my guess is we'll be able to figure out what to do next if we show him this book." Midna tossed the book back to Link who put it away.
"If the sun's down, then, why don't we all head down to see him?" Alexander adjusted the straps on his sword and threw his coat over his shoulders. "Are you ready, Mina?"
"Yes, Master, all set!" She giggled as she sheathed her daggers.
Alexander and Mina landed softly, side by side in the small cavern. Link's footfalls on the ladder could be heard clearly from above. Down the hall, they could see a thin figure poring over a book of some sort. Link grunted as he dropped down from the last few rungs. The three warriors walked toward Shad. The skinny man looked over his shoulder.
"Ah, Link. Did you read my letter? As it turned out, that word I learned from you didn't do anything with the statues I found." He looked back to the statue looming over him. "After all that, I wonder how that word was supposed to be used." Link handed Shad the Sky Book. "Hm? Are there more letters in the word than the last time I looked at this? How did you investigate the... Link, this is amazing! Amazing! Now THIS must be the word we need! Let's try it immediately!" Shad looked up at the statue and spoke the new word from the book. The statue shifted, changing shape. "It has taken on the same shape as the other statues. What can this mean?" He looked back to the book, scratching the side of his head. "And I thought we had solved the last of the riddles. Blast! How confounding!" Shad slammed the book closed and handed it back to the silent Hero. "I must apologize, Link. I need to cool off a tad before I mull the problem further." He looked behind the green warrior and saw the two vampires for the first time. "Ah, hmm, what are you?" Shad opened one of his own books. "ah, yes, I see. Homo Sanguinus… commonly known as Vampyr or Vampire." He stared, wide-eyed at the two. "Vampires? They seem harmless enough, and they seem to be helping Link out. I wonder… Link, there are some holes in my research about Vampires, do you think there's any way I could have a little chat with your companions here? I swear I won't take too much of their time, and then you can get back to your adventure."
Link glanced to the Crusader and his student, who only nodded consent.
"Oh, this is fantastic, I've never actually seen a Vampire in the flesh, before, and now I have two to question, this is amazing!" Shad packed up all his bags and books. "You have a room in the inn, yes? Wonderful, we shall convene there and discuss your kind." He was up the ladder and gone before anyone else could even blink.
"I'm not going to have fun with this, am I, Master?" Mina looked up to her teacher, slightly apprehensive.
"I do not suppose either of us will, Childe." Alexander walked forward and clapped Link on the shoulder. "Something tells me that we will not be joining you for quite some time. Do not wait for us. Leave us some indicator as to where you are headed, and we shall follow as soon as we are able. Good luck, Hero."
"See ya, Midna!" Mina shouted on her way out of the cave. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
"That's not a long list, my dear." Alexander followed the young Vampire out of the cave, leaving Link and Midna to stare into the darkness.
"That was interesting, wasn't it?" Midna looked up at the statue. "Alright, now that the bookworm is gone, let's get this thing moved and find out what's behind it. Hopefully it will be a clue as to how to get to the sky city. We have to get that last shard of the mirror."
Link took out the Dominion Rod and shot the ball of life magic into the statue. It shuddered to life and jumped out from in front of a smaller cave. Link looked inside as he pocketed the Dominion Rod.
"What is that? Is that a cannon?" Midna flew around it a few times. "Looks busted. Isn't there someone at Lake Hylia that knows about this sort of thing?"
Link nodded and took out a spare piece of parchment and wrote directions for his comrades when they finished with Shad.
"Oh, and I suppose I have to carry it for you, too? No, I don't mind. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what this thing will do." Midna opened up a portal, pulling the cannon, Link and herself into it.
Link landed softly in the grass around Lake Hylia, the crisp scent of flowers and the clear lake water on the night air was refreshing after the dusty cave. He looked around to see if the old cannon expert was around. The broken cannon crashed to the earth just behind him. Jumping, Link looked around for Midna.
She sat on top of the support structure. "Sorry about that, Hero, it was a little heavier than I thought." She hopped down and hovered just over his left shoulder. "Is that him over there?"
Link walked across the bridge toward the large building in the center of the lake, where a man sat in front of the door. "Hey, Buddy. Thanks for flying with Fyer. You wanna give it a shot, Fella? You'll soar through the sky, whaddaya say?" Link just shook his head and pointed back to the cannon. "So… Uh, is that yours? Well, you gonna give me the tour, or what?" The two walked back toward the cannon. "Whoa, it's kind of retro, huh? And no ignition device, so you can't even use it. But, I suppose I could fix it for you… I mean, maybe… that is, if you can pay me 300 rupees… in advance. Whaddaya say, fella?" Link just nodded and handed over a large handful of the colored gems. "Ah, I knew you'd see the light, buddy. Now, I'll just be a second." And with that, Fyer moved with a speed which belied his fairly advanced age.
Before Link could even finish a jar of milk, Fyer walked back toward him, sweat on his brow. "Here we go, buddy. All working as it should… I think. It may look like a piece of junk, but this thing's got some powerful innards. You're going to be knocking on the door to the heavens!" He took one last look at the cannon before shaking Link's hand. "Well, you just have all the fun you want, Ok, buddy?" Link just nodded as Fyer waddled away.
"That took long enough. Come on, Link, let's go get that shard." Midna pushed Link toward the cannon. Link simply sighed and pulled out the clawshot and aimed at the target inside the cannon. The chain pulled them into the chamber and the door closed behind them. With a single, earth-shattering blast, Link and Midna disappeared into the night sky.
Finally, the next temple is on the horizon. Again, a lot of Fyer's and Shad's dialogue is paraphrased from the actual script. I kind of feel sorry for my characters right now, being stuck with that little bookworm. Hope you're all still enjoying it, please R&R.
Until next time, Kitties.