The forest was one of the most mysterious places Ike had ever been to. Towering redwood and pine trees, which seemed to be hundreds of feet high, reached towards the sky, which gradually darkened. Sparkling specks of white began to appear in the sky. The wind was a cool breeze dashing thought he rustling leaves.
"I hate to break it to you guys, but we're probably not going to make it out of this forest sooner or later." Fox said, as tones of murky dark blue shadows began to bathe the area.
"It's best to rest now." Falco added. "We've been traveling for a long time."
"What about the Pokemon?" Roy asked. "They might attack us!"
"I think I'll be fine." Fox replied. "I mean, there's more than one of us."
The travelers decided to rest in a small forest clearing. It was a patch of green grass in the middle of pointy trees. While Ike, Marth, and Samus set their equipment down onto the ground, Fox and Falco made a small fire. Roy stayed close to his older friends, as he was a bit cautious around his new, unfamiliar surroundings. Link paced around, trying to recognize the location, only to fail.
"Are you sure is safe here?" Roy carefully asked, sitting down next to Fox and Falco.
"Yeah, I'm sure!" Fox replied with a smile, opening a can of food. "If anything happens, we'll take care of it!"
Roy nodded in understanding however, he still felt uneasy.
Ike, Marth, and Samus sat next to each other around the fire.
"Hey, where's Link?" Marth asked, looking around for the Hylian.
Samus pointed at a tree. "He's there. Hey Link, come over here!.
Link, who was standing on top of a large tree branch, sighed sadly and quietly to himself. He carefully scaled down the tree and sat down with his friends.
As the sun slowly dropped below the towering trees and turned the sky completely dark, the traveling friends cooked their dinner— canned, preserved food and began to chat.
"Fox, how long will it take us to get Link back to his home?" Ike asked between chews.
"Not really long, maybe a few hours." Fox answered. "Unless if we make a wrong turn."
"I have a question." Marth spoke up. "How is Link home? Where is it?"
Falco awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, that remains a mystery to us. We hadn't actually been there before."
"I can tell you if you want to know." Link said. "I live in a castle of a kingdom called Hyrule Castle Town. It is next to a wide lake called Lake Hylia. To be honest, I don't want to give away the details!" Link blushed shyly.
"That sounds nice." Samus commented.
"Yes..." Link replied, before his unhappy voice suddenly fell.
"What's wrong, Link?" Ike asked worriedly. "Are you feeling sick?"
Before Link could answer, he was cut off by Roy's delighted, surprised cry.
"Whoa!" Roy shouted, quickly getting up.
"What is it, Roy?" Falco asked.
"Look at these glowing lights!" Roy pointed to a ghostly yet warm glow of dotted, gold lights slowly floating into the air, towards the dusk sky.
"Oh, these are Illumises and Volbeats." Link said, watching the bug Pokemon harmoniously drift into the air. "They are special bug Pokemon who likes to come out during dusk and find their mates." Link held out a gentle hand, allowing some of the brave Illimises and Volbeats land and sit on it. The Hylian showed it to his friends. "The climate must be well tonight, as many of them are coming out."
"So cool!" Roy gasped, looking at the bug Pokemon.
An abrupt, low hoot startled Ike and his friends, except for Link who stayed calm. He knew the source of the sound. In fright, the Illimses and Volbeats on Link's hand quickly flew away, back to their friends and family.
"What was that?" Ike asked, cautiously looking around his surroundings. Ike's question was followed by a series of softer coos.
"Don't worry, it's just a nest of Noctowls and Hoot Hoots." Link coolly answered. "He pointed to a nest sitting in the dark shadows of the tree branches. Two little Hoot Hoots were sitting in their nest, watching the strangers. A large Noctowl perched next to the nest, diligently looking for predators.
"Whoa, they are big!" Marth whispered.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you, unless if you hurt them." Link replied.
In awe and bewilderment, Ike could only look around his amazing, tranquil surroundings. The Illimses and Volbeats were sparkling, gold specks gliding in the air. The Noctowl calmly cooed to its offspring. In the corner of his eyes, he saw a few Oddish and Gloom scurry out of the bushes. A tiny Spinarak carefully weaved its web. A small herd of Budew was hurrying through the tall grass back to their home, so they could rest for the night. Like a gentle voice lulling the night to sleep, a wind calmly rustled through the trees.
Ike had never seen anything like this before in the underground world. The scenery was a light in darkness. This was what he, his friends, and the residents of the underground world were missing all along! Because they were isolated in their tiny world, they never knew that such a beautiful sight existed!
Watching his peaceful, impressive surroundings, Ike wished he could enjoy the scenery forever. However, a heavy, feeling slowly draped over him. The feeling was known as sleepiness. Ike yawned quietly as the drape covered his friends, causing them to feel drowsy.
After struggling to stay awake, the travelers eventually fell asleep on the soft, cool grass next to each other. The forest's tranquility lulled them to sleep.
Unfortunately, tranquility could sometimes not exist in the surreal, mysterious, dream world.
Running. That was what Marth was panicky doing. He was being chased by an unknown force through an ominous, dark realm.
"What is chasing me?" Marth asked himself, looking behind and trying to identify his pursuers. He could not see anything. All he saw was a pitch black shadow with an ominous aura surrounding it, telling Marth this was something to fear.
Strangely, Marth's legs, which were pushing themselves to dash faster, away from the force, suddenly grew heavy, like if he was stepping through cement. Rock-hard bricks were chained around his ankles, slowing him down much to his anguish.
"No, I need to hurry!" Marth exclaimed, struggling to stride faster.
Marth's struggles were futile. Instead of going faster, he came to a complete halt, leaving him helpless and open to the force, which finally caught its prey.
"No, please no!" Marth panicky said, struggling to lift his stone-hard feet.
It was too late. The shadow wrapped around Marth and squeezed him, causing him to scream in pain. His lungs felt like they were on fire. Air was shoved out of his body, making Marth gasp desperately for air. His limps suddenly felt as heavy as a large chunk of iron.
"No... What is this?" Marth asked himself, unable to move. "What is this sensation?"
With a small rustle, reality forced Marth out of the dream world. Groggily, Marth looked around his shady surroundings for the source of the noise. The wonderful, dazzling surrounding that lulled his friends to sleep mysteriously vanished. It was a lamp that turned off. The silvery moon loomed in the sky, its thin rays of light slightly illuminating the dark forest while the stars twitched and sparkled.
Another sudden rustle caught Marth's attention. He quickly turned around and saw a bush shaking wildly. His anxiety rose along with his adrenaline. What was that? Marth slowly stood up, took his sword, and cautiously crept towards the bush, his hands shaking wildly.
Roy, who also heard the rustling sound, quickly awoke. "M...Marth?" he yawned, getting up. "What is that?"
"I don't know." Marth could only reply. "I'm going to find out now. Stay back!"
Roy nodded and watched the azure-hair male sneak closer to the bushes. As soon as when Marth was one step away from the bush, it strangely stopped. It became as silent as the night itself.
Marth stared at the bush before turning around and facing Roy. "Well, there's nothing there." he said.
With a sudden, low hiss, a shadow figure with glowing red eyes leaped out of the forest and lunged at Marth. Roy screamed, "Marth! Look out!"
Luckily, Marth's reflexes were quick. He swiftly turned around and stabbed the figure into the stomach with his sharp sword, which made it vanish into murky, dark purple dust.
Ike and the others quickly awoke. "What happened?!" Ike nervously asked, taking his sword. "Did something happen?"
Marth's answer was cut off by a series of livid growls and hissed.
"We're surrounded!" Fox said quickly, loading his gun.
"By what?" Samus asked. "Pokemon?"
"No, not by Pokemon!" Falco answered. "By...!"
Before Falco could answer, zombie-like monsters with glowing red eyes, dislocated jaws, and an ominous, violet aura circling them lunged out of the woods into the clearing and surrounded the travelers. They were either armed with gleaming, iron weapons or razor-sharp claws.
"By Risen." Falco finally answered.
"What are the things?" Roy asked, staying close to his friends.
"We don't know." Fox answered, keeping his eyes on the monsters. "All we know is, they are some kind of undead warriors. They rarely roam appear in the forest if I remember correctly. But, there seems to be lots of them now! Something must have attracted them here!"
One of the Risen lunged at Ike, who blocked the attack with his sword, knocked it down onto the ground, and ended its life with the plunge of the gold blade. At the moment of that action, the rest of Risen charged at the travelers.
The group began to fight for their lives. As Ike dodged the Risen's attacks and countered the violent actions, Marth warily watched over his and his friends' backs. Fox and Falco ran around in circles, confusing the Risen and waiting for the perfect chance to strike. Samus blasted energy balls at the Risen. She simply kicked those who got too close to her.
Yet, there was one member who could not defend himself.
A panicked, frightened scream caught Ike's attention. In terror and fear that someone got brutally injured, Ike quickly slashed a Risen with his sword and turned to the source of the voice.
"Roy!" Ike exclaimed.
Roy was cornered by two Risen and a large boulder. His navy blue eyes wide with fear, he cowered against the boulder, wishing that this nightmare would end. The Risen growled hungrily at the vulnerable, defenseless boy, preparing to attack.
"H-Help!" Roy cried out, shutting his eyes close as the Risen slowly went closer to him.
"I'm coming, Roy!" Ike exclaimed as he hurriedly towards the helpless, younger male, only to get blocked by two other Risen. "No, not now!" he hissed under his breath as he quickly blocked their attacks.
Roy could only helplessly watch the two frightening Risen point their gleaming, jagged ax and sword at him, about to plunge the lethal weapon into his flesh.
"Please, no!" Roy exclaimed, covering his eyes as the Risen growled at him. "No!"
"Roy!" Ike screamed as he stabbed a Risen. "Hold on!"
Just as when Roy expected the Risen to plunge their deathly weapon into him and tear the life out of him, there was a sudden swoosh, the violent sound of flapping wings, and a clang of an opposing sword blocking the attack. He shakily uncovered his eyes and saw an angel bravely defending him from the Risen.
The angel had chestnut brown hair and a small build. He wore a pure, white tunic, a black shirt and leggings, tall brown boots, and a gold wreath on her head. His indigo eyes were wide with determination as he gnashed his teeth and held the Risen's attack with his gold and purple bow.
"G...Grgh!" the angel said to himself through his gritted teeth. "Can't... Hold... Any longer!"
Roy hastily looked down and saw a long tree branch at his feet. Not wasting a second, he quickly picked it up and swung it at one of the Risen's legs. It was a plunging meteor that impacted its leg, causing it to yelp in pain. This gave an angel an opportunity to throw the other Risen off its feet to the ground violently.
"Go, go!" the angel shouted to Roy, motioning to him to follow him.
Noticing that the two Risen were slowly getting up, Roy hurriedly followed the angel. The two hastily climbed up a tall tree like a Chimchar and cautiously watched the Risen.
"Don't worry, they can't reach us." the angel reassured to Roy, who was shaken from the near-death experience.
Roy sighed in relief and nodded in response.
Ike turned around and spotted Roy with the angel in the tree.
"Who is that?" Ike asked himself, not noticing a Risen sneaking up to him from behind.
"Ike!" Marth exclaimed. "Look out!"
As Ike immediately turned around, a midnight-blue haired man garbed in a dark blue coat, white cape, and single silver shoulder plate hurriedly stabbed the Risen in the stomach with a war cry. Ike slightly jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of the unexpected army. Who was he?
"Let's go now!" a voice yelled. Link's ears twitched at the familiar voice. Could it be him?
A golden-haired, blue-eyed Hylian wearing a green tunic lunged out of the shadows and swung his sword at some of the Risen. Following him was a midnight-blue haired woman wearing a dark blue tunic, a blond-haired man with light blue eyes garbed in a yellow tunic, and a dark brown haired knight garbed in light blue armor.
"Defend them!" the Hylian ordered quickly. "Make sure that there are no more Risen waiting in the bushes!"
"Got it!" the woman quickly said, before turning to attack a Risen.
With the help of the allying strangers, Ike and his friends managed to defeat the remaining Risen. Panting for air, Ike cautiously looked around for any more Risen. His hands were slightly shaking from nervousness. Sweat soaked into his headband.
"Is everyone ok?" Ike finally asked.
"Yeah, I think." Roy answered as he and the angel got down from the tree.
Ike turned to the Hylian. "Who... Are you?" he awkwardly asked.
Before the Hylian answered, Link quickly hurried towards him and cried out, "Father!"
"Link, is that you?!" the Hylian asked in shock, recognizing the voice.
It took the father a few moments to recognize his son. As soon as he identified the young Hylian as his son, he wrapped his arms around Link and gave him a warm hug.
"You're alright!" he said, stroking Link's dirty-blond hair.
"F-Father!" Link began to sob hysterically. He buried his face into his father's shoulder. "Father..." he cried into his shoulder.
"Sh, it's ok." Link's father reassured calmly. "Shhh, Daddy's here now."
"I missed you..." Link softly said, snuggling against his father's body.
Ike was a bit bewildered. That Hylian was Link's father? To be honest, the two hardly bared similarities with each other. While Link had dirty blond hair parted on the left, azure eyes, and short pointy ears, his father had pure gold hair parted in the center, deep, cobalt blue eyes, and long pointy ears. The only things Link seemed to inherit physically from his father were his eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes.
"Erm, who are you guys?" Ike asked again.
Link's father immediately released Link from his embrace. "Not now." he answered. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get out of here. It's dangerous here in the right. Follow us."
Ike nodded and he and his friends followed the strangers through the forest.
Author's Notes: Well, that trip escalated quickly...
Here's chapter 2! To be honest, it was a bit hard to write this chapter, since I had no clue what should happen. So, sorry if it's a bit disappointing and suspenseful. In the next chapter, we will learn more about Link's friends and family, Hyrule Castle Town, and one of his enemies.
If you hadn't done so, please check out my poll. Once when chapter 3 is up, I'm going to eliminate two choices that have the least choices, just letting you guys know.
Story Questions:
What do you think was chasing Marth in his dream?
What would you like to see in future chapters?
What characters would you like to see in future chapters?