A/N- Thanks for the reviews, darthritter86, maximushyrule, and The-Saiyan-From-Hyrule. I am so so so sorry for the slow update! I started school last Monday, and then I went camping, and now I only get an hour to write every day!
Disclaimer- I don't own Zelda
"What is it now?" Malina mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Riste was waking her up in the middle of the night. She had probably gotten an hour of sleep, then. How wonderful. She had dreamed about something, but she couldn't remember what it was.
It was about Yuumei. She was singing a lullaby to you, and you were just a baby.
Ah, the ever helpful voice within Malina's mind. Even though it had been a week and a half since they had left, she still felt a dull ache. Even though Yuumei had the potential of being an enemy, Malina could not help but miss her. The woman had a kind, warm presence about her, a presence that was dearly missed by now.
"Up. It does not matter what we are doing, as long as we are doing something, yes?" Riste said simply. He then grabbed her boots, pulled off her warm sheet, and forced the boots on her. Malina was unsure whether or not this was a good sign. It could mean that they were going to start working late into the night, and it could mean something entirely different. Personally, she was hoping for option two.
As they left the room, Ceris, who was waiting outside as usual, gave her a little nudge. "I bet you're just so excited that he woke you up. I can tell by that crazy look in your eyes." Crazy? Malina? That was a possibility.
They walked down the familiar hallways, and the only thing that she could hope for was that Vaati wasn't here, coming to kill her. That would not be a good thing, especially with her magic insisting on repeating that terrible dream at least once a week to keep her wanting to continue training. When Malina had said that she was fine, her magic announced many long and scientific words that she did not know. It just proved that her magic was learning faster than she was. What was wrong with her?
Well, you have schizophrenia for one thing.
And that means...?
It means that you hear voices in your mind that aren't your own, and that you haven't made up. It's a slight problem.
See? I knew there was something wrong with me...
Ah, Master's going to talk now.
"Okay, when we get out there, I want you to draw out your magic as much as possible. I want to see what happens, because I can compare it to what happened to Vaati when we took him outside in an occasion as such." Riste said.
Malina stared at him blankly. "Can you tell me what's going on? It might help me." Riste snorted, but did not answer.
Finally, she realized that they were leaving the building. Whatever was going on, it had to take place outside. And what about Vaati? Did he want to see how much they were alike? To see if she would be a danger to the future world any time soon? A thousand thoughts raced through Malina's mind at once, but only a few seemed to be anywhere close to being likely. So, she focused more on what the other two were doing.
Riste was walking; no surprise there. His arms swung further than most people's, but it helped that he had very long arms. It made him look slightly like a monkey. A funny thought, really. However, because he might be listening, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. No need to get in further trouble.
Ceris seemed to be on constant alert. One of his hands were on his sword at all times while the other was free. The free hand was always near Malina in case he would need to push her back or something. In the breeze his hair floated around his face and she could feel her face turn red as she realized she was staring at him. Again. It was becoming slightly problematic, because every once in a while, Riste would notice. When he would, he would yell at Ceris for being in the way when it was really her fault for being so...
Malina never got to finish that thought because her magic spoke. Oh, I see what he's thinking. I get it... how silly. I didn't even consider the power that the cosmos had over me. And the Goddesses. Oh dear, he is smart, isn't he?
What are you talking about?
Ah, you shall understand as we go along. It's rather simple with the appropriate figures...
I have no clue what you're talking about, and I'm not going to pay attention long enough to find out. In- Malina began, but was quickly stopped as they reached the wall. What were they doing here?
"Once we get beyond that wall, there is no protection from the outside world." Riste said, staring up at the wall. "We will have no way of talking to the Zoras, because they will not be able to hear you beyond the wall. If we go out, however, we might learn some very important things that we need to know. But there is also a chance that we will be unable to return here. Or at least some of us. We don't know what Vaati is planning, after all."
"I think that it's better to take some risks in life than to live in shelter all your life." Malina said. The message was clear: she wanted to learn whatever it was that Riste had to teach her, no matter what it happened to be.
The man nodded, his face still having no expression. That was another thing that she had noticed about him. It was either he was angry, or he was feeling nothing. A smile had obviously touched his face when he had been teaching Vaati, but it was hard to believe. He looked as though there had never been a happy day in his life.
You're getting off track, my sweet innocent.
Huh? I'm not innocent, you should know that by now.
My dear, I have seen from the end of the universe to the beginning. I have seen the first moment of time, and I can see the end. I learned all of this whilst you slept, within three or so weeks. It is near impossible for me not to see you as an innocent, Mally.
Malina chose by this point to ignore the voice within her mind and follow Riste into the woods. She had mindlessly walked across the bridge, being already used to following the elder man. Following her by not far was Ceris. She felt like she was being the overly protecting Princess again, and that annoyed Malina. She wasn't as helpless as they all thought. However, even as those thoughts rushed through her mind, she realized that being overly protected was better than not being protected at all.
The woods were dark and, quite oddly, cold. The sudden climate change caught Malina off guard and she shivered. She was used to it being warm all the time, and the sudden cold reminded her that it was nearly winter everywhere else. She suddenly wished that she hadn't wanted to leave. She quickly brushed the thoughts from her mind, choosing to take another look around.
The woods were dark, nearly as dark as the sky. The trees all were brown, including the leaves. In fact, everywhere seemed to be dirty brown or pitch black, which happened to be two colors that Malina detested. However, she did like chocolate brown.
After perhaps ten minutes of them walking through the forest, they came to a clearing. Riste walked over to the middle and sat down. Malina didn't question him, she just sat down next to him. Ceris did not sit down; he was patrolling the area with a serious look on his face. It seemed that he couldn't even take a half a moment off from his duties which slightly annoyed the thirteen-year-old that sat a few paces from him.
"Lay down." Riste instructed. "And do as I told you when I say so." Malina did as he said and stared upward, to the stars. After perhaps five or so minutes, she felt something happen. It was a warm and strange feeling. Her magic laughed openly.
Look up, little Mally!
So she did. And shock came over her. There appeared to be at least five falling stars across the sky, all at once. Malina pointed dumbly up at the black sky, and Riste snorted at her. Ceris looked up and also seemed to be slightly surprised, but not as much as her.
"What, have you not ever seen a meteor shower before?" Riste asked, his eyes slightly annoyed. Malina nodded, her face still in wonder. Ceris even sat down next to her to watch it. "Have you?" He asked, his question now pointed towards the boy.
"Yeah... but only once." Ceris answered softly.
"All right, then. Now, Malina." Riste said, giving a sharp look to the amazed girl. She snapped out of it and sighed. It was always work and no play. Well, she was in training, so she supposed that it didn't matter.
Stop thinking and start working! Her magic exclaimed. Malina rolled her eyes.
As she called her magic, she could only wonder what they were thinking would happen. Her magic seemed to be slightly annoyed and sent Malina a few images of her using her magic. That was a hint to start focusing and ignore any little thoughts that she might happen to have.
After a moment, a feeling of loss came over Malina. Not loss as in pain, but as though she had lost something that she had been holding. A sigh escaped her mouth as she realized what it was. Her magic felt as though it were gone. She opened her eyes to look around and blinked in surprise. A little girl with short, blond hair stood in front of her. The girl had bright purple eyes and was tiny.
"Who are-" Malina began, but the girl cut her off.
"Oh, is this what I would look like if I was a human! I didn't expect to be so small... and my clothes are very white." Her magic suddenly turned to Riste and gave a quick bow. "Master, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. We must make this lesson short since Mally is not very quick."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Malina exclaimed. "What's going on!? Are you my magic?! How did you get out of me!"
The girl rolled her eyes and sat down. She began drawing in the dirt, speaking softly. "Now, let's say that this circle is you. This huge circle right here is me. We can say that, in basic terms, I am the universe compacted. It is a rather long and complicated story, so I'll have to give it to you in a nature that everyone here can understand. Sword Boy, you need to know this as well. This happens to be something that Vaati's magic wouldn't tell you."
"Hurry. We only have limited time before the meteor shower ends." Riste urged.
"I know, I know. Now, I am, in another sense that would make more sense to you Hylians, a piece of the Triforce that was given life force and put within a human being. I'm not quite that, but pretty close. My power is immense as soon as it fully matures, and you, Mally, will be the glove for my hand. I can use you in any way that I want, and do anything that I would like with you. However, you must know that I won't use you for anything of evil intent. The most likely thing will be searching for my other parts. Or, since I already know where Vaati is, the other part to this puzzle."
"What do you mean?" Malina asked, who was now thoroughly confused.
"As there are three parts to the Triforce, there are three parts to me. Vaati has one part, and someone else has a piece, too. The Books of Wisdom, Courage, and Power were written by us. I wrote the Book of Wisdom. Whichever of us,Vaati and me that is, find the person first will be the person to win this war. I'm afraid that as soon as one of us die, we will be gone. All of us, I mean."
The thought of her magic disappearing frightened Malina. What if Vaati found the person first? Would she die? It seemed very likely that she would, indeed, die. She closed her eyes and tried to think straight, but it wasn't working right now. She would just have to listen and learn.
"Even with all of this power that I have in my hands, I have to have help to win this war. When they return, or Malina finishes with her training, I'm going to make a war plan. I can speak to Power, as I'd like to call Vaati's magic, any time that I'd like. It doesn't take much effort, so any time you'd like for me to talk to him, I'd be more than happy. Now, Riste. After a while, your services will no longer be needed and I will begin to teach Malina what she needs to know. I know more about magic than any single person should ever know. If you ever need to know anything about magic, just ask Malina to ask me."
Riste nodded, but his face was slightly annoyed that a little girl was telling him what to do. "Is there anything else that you would ought to tell us right now?" Riste asked, but it sounded more like an angry growl.
"Yes." Her magic said plainly. "I would rather to be referred to as Wisdom from now on as a first. Not 'Malina's magic.' That's fairly stupid name in my opinion. Secondly, that boy right there, Sword Boy as I call him, might be the lost part to this puzzle we have here." Ceris stood up immediately, his face showing shock and anger at this.
"I am not going to have some stupid magical voice in my head." He said, sounding furious. Wisdom stood up from her squatting position and brushed off the front of her white dress. When she looked up from her dress, her violet eyes were fiery and full of an unnameable anger. Even the boy who was at least a foot taller than her took a step back.
"You might. And then again, you might not." Wisdom said flatly. "If you do happen to have a voice within your mind, I can promise you that it will show itself within the next year. Get to know me. Be my friend. I would hate to have you as an enemy, and more than anything, I think that Mally would hate to have you as an enemy. I would like there to be one day a week that you two try to be friends. I don't care what you do, but I think that Mally would profit from having a day off. Don't you think so?"
Riste could only nod by this point. Malina did as well, but she was much more enthusiastic. Ceris looked down, a flash of nothing but hate towards Wisdom came from his eyes.
"It's settled, then." Wisdom said, clapping her hands together. However, her hands were see-through. She seemed to notice this and still remain calm. "The meteor shower is ending already, I see. Ah, well, it was a pleasure to be able to see you all for the first time and not just in a memory. Thank you very much." She bowed again, and she pulled herself up, a slight smile was on her face. Quite suddenly, Wisdom burst into a bright light and was sucked into Malina.
For quite a while no one said anything. No one could think of anything to say. Especially Malina. It was hard to suck everything in, including Wisdom. It was rather difficult to get the magic flowing again. After a while, she finally did. And when she did, there was only one thing she could think of to say.
"Let's go home."
Yuumei looked up at the sky as she sat on the log that Sparrow had pulled out of the river. They were finally in the Hyrule Field and it had taken them long enough. They had gotten lost for quite a while until a few Kokiri had found them. After that, they had not wanted them back in. From this experience, Yuumei had learned not to stray from a path or you get a bunch of angry children with swords come after you.
As she stared up at the stars, a light frown etched her face. There appeared to be bright lights that were going across the sky. What were they? As though to be an answer to her question, Shina sat down next to her.
"Isn't it pretty?" She asked softly.
"Yes, but what is it? Even though I've lived in Hyrule for nearly six years, I've never seen anything like this."
"It's called a meteor shower." Shina began to explain. "I'm not sure why they happen, but they do, I guess. Make a wish."
"Why?" Yuumei asked, curiosity coloring her voice.
"I don't really know, I guess." Shina admitted, laughing slightly. "I guess it's just something that we always have done here. Just make a wish, whatever you want."
So Yuumei did. Do you know what she wished for? She wished for Malina to be as happy as possible and not to be scared of the future, no matter what it held.
Vaati stood on the balcony and glanced at Power, whose black hair and violent red eyes seemed out of place for some reason. "I hear that you've been having troubles, Vaati. Is there anything you'd like to dump on me whilst I'm here?" Power asked, his eyes glowing for an instant.
"I'm not sure what to do." The violet haired man admitted. "I thought that the brat would have killed me by now, but I guess that I was wrong. Even with all of that power within her grasp, I should have expected her to go find a teacher. What was not expected was that she agreed to everything that that old fool said."
"You should be used to surprises by now, Vaati." The other man said, placing a deathly white hand on the other man's shoulder. "You'll never get anywhere if you keep this up. Remember, you have me and I have two suspects on who Courage might be. There is, of course, that boy Ceris as Wisdom thinks, but there is another. It's your cousin, Daysin." After hearing this, Vaati began to swear to himself.
"Tura ran away. I know where he is, of course, but it would be difficult to bring him back. He feels great guilt because he still thinks that he killed the one that he loved, which is not true. He left right after the party ended. My only guess on where he is happens to be Kakariko, where he was born and raised. He didn't run into the others because he wandered around in the Lost Woods for a while before he left. I should have sent someone after him..."
"Yes, you should have, Vaati. It's not like you to make mistakes and I would rather you not begin right now. But there is only chance, you must remember. We don't even know all of the people who could be Courage yet. We only know two. Don't forget, Vaati, that you weren't the only person that I could have picked. There were only two people for me, but that didn't make a difference. It was the teacher or the student, and I chose the student. Be glad, boy."
Vaati could only nod to this, still murmuring to himself. "I should have killed her when I had the chance. Every day this is turning out to be more and more of a mess, especially since I learned that only Wisdom can look at the Book of Wisdom."
"You could not kill Wisdom!" Power almost shouted. "Killing her before Courage chose his human would be like destroying the world!" After a moment, he calmed down. "I can understand what you would mean, though. I almost wish we could, but that is not possible in this war. We must be careful in what we do and how we do it. This war will be dreadful to no doubt in what I can understand."
"I don't care." Vaati said flatly. "I just want to be able to kill that brat myself. She's been bothering me since we first met, and I can no longer stand it. As soon as Courage reveals himself, I'm going to kill her."
"By then you might remember everything, so I suggest that you plan this out carefully." Said Power. "All we know about her is that she was very important to your life. She might still be as soon as we're all done with this."
"Whether she is or not, she's going down." Vaati hissed. "I hate her so much..."
Power watched him with only slight confusion. Why did Vaati hate Malina so much? It was understandable to hate someone a lot, but Power had seen Vaati's thoughts. Vaati's happy place, as some people called it, was where he was strangling her, or watching her burn, or even stabbing her in the chest with a knife and slowly twisting it. Power was evil sometimes, but this was getting a little bit strange.
"Now, now. You ought to calm down, we need to make plans in any event of attacks." Power said, but Vaati seemed to think he was on a roll, so he continued with his demented speech and ignored the inhuman thing next to him.
"Calm down?! How can I calm down?! I need to kill this girl! I'm certain that it's her fault I can't remember anything! From when I was about twelve and on, there is a large blank spot! I can't even remember my own age very well. I think that I might be twenty-three, but I'm not even certain about that..."
Power remained silent. There was nothing to say by this point. That was when he began fading away. Vaati sighed upon seeing the fading man next to him. Power spoke only a few words then, and remained silent for a week thereafter.
"You love her, don't you?"
The question hung in the air heavily, and Vaati did not answer for a quite a while. He just stared up at the stars and wished he could kill everything and everyone. Except Malina. He would torturre her for the rest of her life.
Finally, after a quite a while, he spoke again. "Yes, and that's why I hate her." Then he fell to his knees and began to weep, feeling more exhaustion than pain. It was terrible that Vaati would admit that to anyone, including himself, but it was the truth. Somewhere deep inside him, Vaati loved Malina more than he loved the world. He needed to kill her so he wouldn't have to feel that love anymore.
And that's why Vaati hated Malina.
A/N- Over 4000 words! Score! Anyway, I'm still very very sorry that I didn't update sooner! Please R&R!