The sun lazily climbed the sky, hidden by cotton ball clouds threatening to rain. Toon Link woke up around nine in the morning to stretch his tired limbs. As usual, there was the noise of people crowding and the P.A. system blasting muffled sentences he could barely recognize.
"I'd like to mmhmnmmhmn to you mmnhmngggmmghnnnn between mnmffhhnnn nnhhhnmn and hmmnff..."
"Why does smash stadium open so early? I'd like some peace and quiet!" Toon Link pouted, kicking his pillow off the bed. He stared it down for a while before jumping at it with his sword. The feather filling puffed out, flying everywhere. If anyone would ask why he murdered his pillow, he'd say he wanted to make it snow in his room rather than tell the truth. Looking back on it, he didn't remember why he did it. He didn't mind leaving the fabric carcass there, as he could just hide it under his bed anytime. For the moment, he hid his sword in a sack beside his bed. Whatever disorganized plan he had going, he thought he was fool-proofing it. When he was done rearranging things, he felt confident enough to leave his room.
Once the door squealed open, he saw hordes of people much taller than him and they were mostly tween girls. The realization sent a malicious zap down his spine that sapped him of all courage he had. Toon Link was frozen, staring into the distance. Some people laid their icy glances on him and it made his stomach jiggle.
A group of some ditzy girls skipped over and asked him what was wrong with him, he panicked.
"It's none of your business!" he sneered at them and stuck out his tongue. After all, they were probably just as fake as their bubbly attitudes. "Go away, or I'll call-"
"Toon Link!" Zelda towered over him. "That's no way to talk to people."
"They won't leave me alone, princess."
The argument had blown up enough to have the fans watch the event rather than actual matches. Toon Link saw everyone glaring at him, every stare was empty and unsympathetic. He thought they were all against him.
"Fine, be that way! It's not my fault you guys are mean spirited!"
"How are we mean spirited? You're the one yelling at people."
Toon Link stiffened himself and searched his mind for a chilling comeback, but he realized there may be no point arguing with Zelda. The comeback would have to be something true and insulting, he slouched upon knowing that nobody would believe him and there wasn't anything he thought he could diss about her. She was smart, powerful, well respected and guys drooled over her.
"You enjoy being an all powerful tough guy, don't you?" He growled. "Yet you get kidnapped by Ganondorf over and over..." Everyone fell silent as they watched the little warrior's words settle a nasty scowl on Zelda's face. She did not say anything to him -at least not verbally- her glare was enough. What did Toon Link's inquisitive question have to do with this argument or anything relating to previous ones? Zelda picked at him like a hungry vulture, and it was his turn to point out a fault in her. He cowered a little, after all, he still disliked upsetting people.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEYYYY YOUUU GUYSSSSSSSSS!" CDI Link drop-kicked the silence with his unusually clumsy optimism. "Fighting won't solve it! Toon Link, let's go!"
"Huh? Why?" Toon Link squeaked through his chattering teeth.
"Because Link told me to tell you to come with me because you have to go to a psy- I mean appointment at twelve. Zelda, please excuse him. He's been wire strunged since yesterday." The jolly elf wasn't at all intimidated by Zelda's shifted discontent towards him. It passed through his ignorant eyes like a pin shoved through a ghost. This secretly pissed off Zelda even more, but she said nothing. She had to be dignified and sophisticated, because that's what defines a princess in her opinion.
"The appointment isn't for another three hours, where are we going?"
"Many places, you gotta come!" He nodded rapidly. "Zelda, you can go back to doing what you do. Have fun fighting whoever today!" CDI Link shook Zelda's hand wildly, snatched up Toon Link, and ran off like a frightened ostrich before Master Hand could detect his presence.
Outside, it had begun to rain. Every drop had been like grey paint which killed the scene with doubting sorrows. CDI Link hadn't gotten more than tweny meters away from the building before he fatigued and stopped to pant.
"You can put me down, I'm fine."
"Sure, I'm tired anyhow." He placed Toon Link at his side. "Are you experiencing funny stuff at this moment?"
"No, and it's not funny." Toon Link stared at CDI Link's vacant eyes. He'd never guess anything could run through his goofy brother's sweaty little head. CDI Link was just not the smart type in any way possible. "I want to know exactly why you have to leave the stadium long before it closes."
"Well," he panted heavily, "Master Hand says I'm a burden on people. They don't like me, they think I'm dangerous!"
"You don't seem like the type."
"I don't even know that for sure. But I did forget an umbrella!" CDI Link stopped panting and lit up with the same chronic joy he always emitted and walked on. Toon Link scuttled beside him with his head down in some form of shame he didn't understand. Was it the embarrassment of being with someone more hated than himself? He'd hate to think that biting feeling came from such a thing. CDI Link was rather nice to him, even putting up with the heavy pessimism that played spades within Toon Link. It was that moment when the skeletons tapped at him again, pushing for him to keep up. They even whispered bitter things harbouring sickly charms used to render precious things helpless.
"I'm hearing voices! Is someone behind us?"
"Not that I know," CDI Link shrugged, "you hear stuff and I don't. That's perception."
"Not normal perception!"
"That's why you're going to get checked out, I heard from Link." Those words struck Toon Link with an odd sense of affection and brought up the contrite in him.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I doubted how smart you are and-"
"No need, you're totally fine in my book. But that problem you have is real and needs to be treated, whatever it is." CDI Link's stroll was confident and casual with slow, big strides as he whistled some cheesy pop tune from decades ago people normally didn't care about. Toon Link noticed that his friend had a little bit of trouble walking in a straight line and wondered how often it caused embarrassing situations. Half of the time, CDI Link's feet nearly stepped on each other.
"Doctor Mario said some things about your eyes-"
"Yes, they used to look in different directions and there were days which I had only control over one of them. People called me 'Derpy Elf' for it. And that thing about depth perception... it means I have trouble with telling how far objects are away from me. And my funny walking is due to something deep within my ears. I'm not sure how that works, though."
"Do you know where we're going?"
"There's a hut around town someplace that sells the best duck bacon around." CDI Link swung his head around to scan the flat and miserable scenery, but all he found were trees and a street up ahead. When they got there, traffic was mad with impatience as something down the road had stopped the advancing traffic. Whatever it was, it didn't graze a concern into either of the pedestrians' minds. CDI Link slipped between the narrow passages with Toon Link hugging one of his legs as a nervous kid would do.
"Wait... duck bacon?" Toon Link squeaked.
"Yes, and they make it extra rubbery and the strips have been soaked in some kind of barbeque sauce!"
*Back Inside Smash Stadium, Link and Zelda were in a heated debate.*
"What? Really? How do you know?" Zelda growled at Link, she had a hard time believing anything that came from her trusted warrior's lips.
"It's a thing called 'hallucinating'. The little guy has it." Link kept his arms crossed and eye contact stiff.
"That's still no reason for him to-"
"Lash at people? He's a scared kid, you'd do the same thing if you thought people hated you for trying to bring an important issue to attention."
"That may be, but he's got to control himself."
"You know, princess, he thinks you hate his guts. Not to mention the way you discipline people in general is very callous."
"Hmmmmmmm," Zelda rolled her eyes, "I have to be on top of things, who else is fit for the job?"
"That doesn't mean you have to be an ice-queen who's PEE-EHM-ESS-ing all the time."
"What's wrong with you, Link?" She gasped.
"Peach said that to me, others agree with her as well."
"I don't need their respect." Zelda lowered her voice to almost a hiss.
"Then they don't need yours, either. Ever heard of 'mental illness'? Poor Toon Link could have something like that."
"You really missed the point, Link."
"No, you missed mine. Get educated and a thing called a 'heart'." Link's truthful remark stung Zelda almost worse than salt in an infected cut. She said nothing to him with her words, and gave him the evil eye. He sarcastically mimicked the the scream painting, and she turned three angry shades of red.
It was awfully busy back at the "Duck Bacon Hut" as CDI Link liked to call it. It was a claustrophobic space painted orange with a small TV in one of the top corners. Toon Link was busy trying to tear up the slimy bacon with his teeth while everyone was busy watching the news. It was embarrassing, really. Trying to tear up something like a dog with a chew toy is rather ridiculous. CDI Link had already torn through his share of the duck with almost no effort required. Lots of the customers were capable of doing the same, and poor Toon Link wished he knew the trick to it.
"I see you're having fun with that." CDI Link joked.
"I'd have more fun if it didn't taste so funny. Why does it have to be so slimy?"
"Because some people rip off a chunk and swallow it whole."
Before either of them could say more, the collective gasp of the people stunned them. It was the kind made by anguished ghosts. Toon Link had ripped off a chunk and swallowed whole just like the regulars, but shuddered with disgust. Even after everyone stopped talking, Toon Link was hearing distant voices. He couldn't tell if they were real, fake, outside, or anything else. They said bunches of muffled concerns, including one that instructed him to look up and see what the commotion was.
There was some scary footage of what had happened back at the stadium. A familiar and rumpled plumber had been struck limp by some unidentifiable somethings that were still unidentifiable even when the footage had been slowed down for skeptics to look again.
"What... is... that?" Toon Link squeaked, hugging his stomach trying to convince it to keep the food down.
"I don't know. Let's just hope the fiend gets caught, 'cause no one wants to be in the same building as a murderer." CDI Link's enthusiasm was unusually low, and he resembled someone a with a more sober state of mind. Even his "squirrel tail" of a pompadour had no bounce to it, as it just hung low to the side of his face. "I hate it when that stuff happens."
"I only have too many answers for that," Toon Link gulped down another chunk, "but none of them make sense. Where do we go next while people are investigating the incident?"
"We can go to the library and get lost in a few books. But as I recall," CDI Link blew his hair away from one of his eyes, "children don't like doing that. They like movies. I guess using your brain to put pictures in your mind as your eyes follow lines isn't popular."
"I would like to leave soon, these seats are hard." They also coincidently resemble clawed up furniture from who-knows-how-many-decades-ago.
"Are you bothered by anything going on 'in here'?" CDI Link tapped his own head with a jesting finger.
"I did hear people tell me to look at the TV. Nothing more than that, nothing unfriendly though."
"Good, we can leave." CDI Link swept a hand across his crestfallen face as his legs shook upon bearing the weight of his body. "To the library!" He shouted with sudden glee colouring his face. A few people stared, because they weren't used to seeing anyone so enthusiastic about reading books. In fact, bookworms were not known for extroversion.
Meanwhile, Toon Link had been eyeing the large spider in the corner that was munching on leftovers. It's abdomen was as large as a bowling ball, jet black as the corner of the universe and shinier than rupees. When it spotted the little boy, it cocked its head and waved one of its skinny legs. As scary as it was, there was something comical about it and Toon Link was tempted to wave back out of courtesy. Yet it vanished after he blinked. Toon Link was too distracted to notice that CDI Link had tugged him outside. The odd images continued and the odd voices still pestered the poor boy. There was something very wrong and very fake about that smoking skeleton wave and blink at him from the wooden chair outside some merch store. But to Toon Link, it was the skeleton's kindness that seemed fake. The skeleton was real, dead spirits could be very well alive and desperate to tell anyone anything just to get something out of them.
"How real are these things?" Toon Link squeaked.
"What things, little guy?"
"The waving skeletons, that spider eating someone's garbage-"
"That's the manager's pet."
"REALLY?" Toon Link's eyes grew.
"No, I'm just kidding. I didn't even see it."
The library was almost deserted except for the respectful introverts who kept their focus on their books, they didn't look up or say anything against the two travellers. This form of respect is often misinterpreted as anti-social or snobby behaviour, but Toon Link didn't see it that way. It was nice for a change. Shelves towered about two and a half meters high, and many books were thick. Many of those were copies of the same book written in foreign languages and some titles had been hilariously mistranslated. Toon Link skittered up and down the aisles across the rows and back again faster than CDI Link's focus could follow.
"Gee, whatcha looking for, anyway? It must be really important."
"Ummm, no. I'm just curious. The book I'm looking for isn't here!"
"Which one?"
"I don't remember, it had pictures of beasts on the front of it. Inside, a page had been wrecked."
"I found something you might be interested in," he nodded his goofy head and held up "Origin of Monster Species". "It's a banned book, I hear. I think it's really silly how people get upset over it." CDI Link's eyes briefly misaligned their gaze.
"Actually, that sounds cool!" Toon Link hopped excitedly, "I'll take that one for sure! I've been dying to know what an indricotherium is and other strange creatures."
They spent almost twenty minutes looking for some good fantasy novels, and ended up with a heap of books.
"I'm sorry," said the librarian, "the limit of books you can take out for huge novels is five. I highly doubt people read nineteen books within a month unless they're short novels."
The two shrugged as they put back some of the books against their will. The librarian did have a point, though.
"That's better. You're the youngest I know who'd probably read that much, especially in fantasy. Most people who do look into 'Atlas Shrugged'. It's a lengthy read on objectivism, but I loved it." Her eyes glimmered with a faint charm.
"What?" Toon Link cocked his head.
"If I were to explain, we'd be here all day. According to the data in your library card, you have one book overdue."
"That's my fault, miss." CDI Link injected, "I'll pay up really soon. I lost the book and I'm really sorry."
The two were satisfied when they left the place, it was quite gloomy in its grey colour scheme.
"I had no idea Pauline was the librarian." CDI Link's voice gained a raspy scratch.
"Who?"
"One of Mario's girlfriends, they broke up a long time ago. What time is it, anyway?" CDI Link attempted to make both eyes focus in search for a clock.
"Time to go, I guess." Toon Link twitched at a sudden realization that CDI Link seemed less dopey than usual. "There's something up with you, I think. You seem more, more..."
"Sober? Depressed? Sensible? Tired? Yes, all of those." Both eyes looked in the same direction, but that seriousness added to his solemn side.
The waiting room outside the psychologist's office was dead silent and devoid of people. Toon Link and his goofy companion waited patiently for the other patient to come out. CDI Link turned his neck in every direction, looking at everything with the energy of a coffee-buzzed squirrel. He neither frowned nor smiled. Toon Link quietly read a portion of the controversial book in his head.
"Ahem," a sickly voice called from the other end of the small room, "I really love that book you're reading." Toon Link dared to look over his book and saw a ghost. Her head was nearly cut off and held in place by a string of skin.
"Um, thanks?" he couldn't judge a person living or dead by their appearance, but the gruesome sight made his stomach knot itself.
"Thanks to who?" CDI Link injected.
"You mean you can't see...?" Toon Link shivered. He hated it if people lied to him, but he wasn't sure if he could trust his companion this time.
"Whatever you're seeing, it must've been nice since you thanked it." CDI Link blew his hair out of his eyes.
"But she's over..." Toon Link pointed where the ghost had been.
"Keep clam and eat carrion, little guy!"
"Wha-?" The click of the door and the arrival of a smiling person interrupted their brief conversation. He blinked at them and hobbled out of the room. The Hylian boys were confused as to why a bony fella would look so ridiculously happy.
"NEXT!" A stern female voice signalled for them.
"Do you need me to come inside with you?"
"I guess so."
It wasn't large inside the psychologist's therapy room, and the lighting was a sorrowful sepia colour.
"Welcome," she turned to face her surprised guests, "I can't tell which one of you is the patient. You both look pale."
"S-S-S-Samus?" Toon Link wondered what the bounty hunter would be doing here, dealing with fragile and broken minds.
"Surprised? It's alright, I don't bite."
"I guess I better wait outside," CDI Link giggled, "I can't say much and it's better to hear from the little one." He gave his little brother a pat on the back and nearly tripped on the way out.
Toon Link immediately hopped onto the couch and relished the soft feeling of sinking in. Samus refocused her gaze at him and crossed one leg over the other. To him, she looked a tad sinister the way the shadows curved to fit her features. Her hands held a pen and notepad, which made Toon Link worry about having every move and word recorded. How would she or anyone who saw use that information?
"It's sad that you're already experiencing what kids usually get in their late teens. Tell me what has happened and how you feel."
"Well, Zelda has been very cruel to me, for starters. My mind has been this way since late autumn of this year."
"I see, Zelda has always been bossy. Don't blame yourself for her problems."
"She thinks I'm a brat trying to trick her or something. I see things that other people don't seem to notice and I can sense something's out there. Whatever it is, it can't be friendly." Toon Link wrapped his arms around his knocking knees.
"You sound scared," Samus's voice softened, "what if I told you that what you see and hear aren't really there?"
"Huh? Please tell me they're real."
"There are chemical imbalances in your body messing with the synapses of your brain. That can make you feel depressed or paranoid when there seems to be nothing that should make you feel that way. Some people experience hallucinations that look real and sound like they're outside your head." Samus elaborated. "They only seem real, but they are a part of a problem, and that problem is very real."
"If you s-s-say so."
"I know so. The mind is such a complex thing and it's hard to keep up with sometimes. Do you find yourself happier after being exposed to the sun?"
"No, not at all. Now that I think of the time I looked out my window on that summer day, I was very jealous. But now, it makes me feel somewhat fuzzy." Toon Link felt his eyes become warm from welling up tears. "Everybody seemed so happy."
"It's not everyday that nostalgic days come around, you regret not going outside for that."
"All I have to comfort myself are books and music."
"You have support from a group of people too," Samus jotted down some notes, "they wish you'd feel their presence instead of the monster's presence."
"They're always there, even when they're not around."
"Who?"
"The skeletons, that ghost in that room, and the giant shiny spider-" he paused, gasped, and continued, "what does it all mean?"
"I remember something about having skeletons in one's closet meaning that you've lied a bunch, but that's not what you see."
"They appear in random places and say things to me. Am I out of my mind?" Toon Link's eyes darted across the room.
"No, you're not insane. If you were, they'd consider me insane as well." The words echoed in the little Hylian's ears.
"But I'm sick, they say!"
"Do you have urges to hurt anyone? Do you like to watch things burn? Do you feel no empathy towards people getting hurt?" Toon Link shook his head. "Then you aren't a pyromaniac or a psychopath. That's good."
"I got scared when I heard the news today, and I don't want to go back to the stadium until everything's fine." He shuddered.
"Understood," Samus paused to write down notes, "it's scary stuff."
"What are people going to do to me?" Toon Link rocked himself back and forth with hot tears streaming down his face. Samus handed him the tissue box and he took a few tissues to wipe his eyes.
"Some people end up in the hospital. I was there for a few months getting treated for PTSD." She didn't seem so threatening to him anymore. In fact, Toon Link thought she was cool. It took him a few seconds to realize he was smiling.
"What's PTSD?"
"It means Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"What do I have? Can you tell me please? It would be a lot less scary once I know!" He bounced in his spot.
"It might be Paranoid Schizophrenia. You feel threatened by the world all the time and you experience hallucinations that play with your senses."
"Wow," he slouched.
"There is treatment, but no cure. I know you can deal with it very well, since you haven't resorted to self harm as far as I know."
"Really?" Colour filled Toon Link's pale face and he smiled once more.
"How do you deal with those nasty feelings? You said books and music, but have you considered other things?"
"Does screaming in my pillow count?"
"Well, it's a lot better than letting everyone hear it."
"I've taken out a few books to keep myself occupied, like this controversial one!" Toon Link held up the book cover ecstatically.
"There's a part of that book where some theories fall short. Mind you, it is quite old."
"When was this published?" Toon Link flipped through the first pages that hardly anyone looks through. "Eighteen-fifty-nine!"
"Amazing, isn't it? It stretches the imagination a little."
"I wanna go on an adventure in time and see those things. There's a thing I want to ask, but it sounds- all right I'll just say it! Is it normal for my mood to flip around without any good reason?"
"That's what chemical imbalances in the brain do. They screw people up. Everyone has chemical imbalances, but some of them are really unbalanced. Don't panic, you still have a mind and capability of thought processing."
"That's sort of a relief." Toon Link shut the book and looked up at Samus. Her posture was relaxed and her countenance remained calm. Like many other people, he thought these were characteristics of a cool person. "Life is hard when nobody takes you seriously, I'm glad somebody does for once."
"Your time is up, is there anything you want to say before you go?"
"I feel fuzzy, that's about it." Samus got up and held the door open for him. He hesitated to skitter out, as he wished he could say a few more things. The brighter room greeted him and CDI Link wore his familiarly goofy grin.
"He's all yours, take care." She closed the door softly, barely making a sound. CDI Link got up and stretched his cracking limbs.
"They're not real, but they're scary illusions is all. I wish I could stop seeing them."
"Did she tell you about what happens in the hospital?"
"No," Toon Link frowned, thinking he was about to hear terrible news.
"It gets worse if you act out, they can and will turn you into a vegetable." This made Toon Link burst out in laughter, although it wasn't normally considered funny business at all. It wasn't his concern, it just sounded funny. CDI Link shrugged and began guffawing himself as they left the room. Their humble fun was interrupted unfortunately by a somewhat forgotten person whose existence was not discussed even in a place as lobotomized as the CDI kingdom.