A/N: This is a rather long chapter, just to warn you, but also pretty dang important. For Fallon at least. *smileyface* Leslie belongs to ChildofCourage on deviantART, but I should also mention that her story is a rather large crossover, with her character going to several worlds. You have been warned- *wave of hands*
That pervert! Bastard! Idiot! Sex-Crazed Demon!
How dare he kiss me like that!? Never mind the fact that I started it, but he didn't have to get that out of control! I still felt his tongue in my mouth, trying to taste more of me. I gagged slightly; face still burning with not only rage, but embarrassment.
My eyes stayed close to the ground, refusing to look at the smirking demon beside me. One little glimpse of betrayal gave me a wave of satisfaction to still see the red imprint of my hand on his cheek. Now as long as the idiot got the idea I shouldn't have to worry about anymore perverted attacks. From the smirk on Ghirahim's face, I knew it was the opposite.
Pervert.
I sighed and shook my head. Falling a thousand feet really does change things. Back in Skyloft, I was respected and never taken advantage of. Here, I had to watch everything that I did so that this pervert doesn't chance upon an opening.
Not paying attention to where I was going, I continued deep in thought. Later on, I realized I probably should have been more attentive.
Just as I was wondering whether I should I have went with Leslie, I heard something that should have been frightening, but was actually rather amusing.
The sound of someone yelling "CRAAAAAAP!" was accompanied by the breaking of branches and Ghirahim going "Unf!"
I whirled around with my sword halfway out of its sheath- then stopped. Ghirahim was laying face-down in grass, desperately trying to spit it out of his mouth. On top of him however, was a girl. She straightened herself, "I really need to learn how to fly…" The woman had brown hair that was cut much like Leslie's.
"Leslie?!" It jumped out of my mouth before I could even realize that I did. What was going on here!? I could have sworn she went in the opposite direction, but here she was… Wait, I didn't see that sword spirit Furrie of hers.
She turned around, looking at me in confusion, "Yes? That's my name, how do you know it?" Then she said something that startled me even more "Is your name Fallon?"
I stood there like an idiot, fumbling for a response, "But how?"
Leslie-look-alike replied evenly, "You know the character whose human name matches mine, her real name is Linka. I'm from another world. My name is Leslie Tait. I'm an artist that just happens to be a fledgling Great Fairy." She stood, wings flapping on her back slightly as blood rushed from her face. Fairy Leslie stumbled slightly- causing my body to jerk in case she was going to fall- and she leaned against a tree. Her clothes were in ruins, probably from the fall.
I allowed my muscles to relax and I blinked a little, "Well… that's surprising?" Concern crept into my voice, "Are you feeling well?" Even if she wasn't the Leslie from earlier, I couldn't help but feel at least a little concern for her.
"I'm just a little sick. A bit of a fall you know; I'm not used to these wings yet." Her face looked a little sheepish and she glanced down at her messy clothes. I glanced at Leslie's wings, seeing them tremble slightly.
I blinked, and my hands automatically turned to my bag and I began to dig through for my last bit of health potion. Frowning as I saw there was only half a bottle left, I held it out to her, "It's not much but…"
"Thanks but I don't need it," Leslie smiled while holding up a bottle of weird-looking liquid. She quickly drank it and blood returned to her face as she fixed her clothes to look better. With a look to Ghirahim she snorted, "Serves him right, but it was an accident."
Placing the potion away for later, I turned to Ghirahim and crossed my arms. My head was starting to hurt slightly, probably from the fall and everything that had been happening. I felt a scowl appear on my face, "Now what am I going to do with you? You already slowed me down enough before."
Ghirahim shook his head and scowled back at me, before looking at Leslie, "Who do you think you are, dropping out of the sk—Oh." The scowl resurfaced as he recognized her.
Shaking her own head, Leslie replied in annoyance, "Oh boy, do I have to re-explain myself to you too? Just gets better and better."
"You!" Ghirahim exclaimed, jumping off the ground gracefully, his spine almost like rubber in a way. What did he mean be 'you?' Did he think that she was the Leslie we had met earlier?
"What? Just because I look like another girl who happens to have the same first name as me doesn't mean I'm her." Boy was that a mouthful. Leslies rolled her eyes however, signaling that she was getting bored off this. It was slightly odd though, and strangely coincidental. But…
"Then… which was the one… huh?" Ghirahim's brow furrowed, as if deep in thought as he stared at Leslie.
"My name is Leslie Tait and I happen to be from another world and I am a fledgling Great Fairy." Leslie rolled her eyes again, right on cue. What exactly was a Great Fairy? I reminded myself to ask Ghirahim later on.
Ghirahim's eyes narrowed, "Yes I got that you imbecile! However that still does not explain if you are the mirror girl."
Mirror girl? What did he mean by that? I looked at Leslie, and immediately saw her reaction to it. In between one moment and the next she was pale, anger hidden far behind the fear in her eyes. Oh… this could not be good.
"Mirror girl?" She gulped audibly, "What do you mean by that?" Was it just me, or did the forest suddenly grow cold?
Ghirahim took a step forward Leslie, and I nearly flinched forward. "Perhaps it's just me, but I was sure there was once I girl I kept… her name was Leslie Tait." And suddenly, the atmosphere gained weight like it had eaten five hundred kilos of pumpkin soup.
Wait. What? Disgust rolled into me and I directed it at him. "What the hell?" This demon, he wasn't joking when he wanted me as his slave at first!? And obviously he's had slaves before. But what frightened me was Leslie's face as it drained of even more blood.
"D-Did she have a m-middle name?" She asked, voice shaking in fear. Oh Goddess, that was not a good sign. I sent her a quick look of distress, but her eyes were focused on the cruel smirk Ghirahim adorned upon himself.
Ghirahim paused long enough to tap his chin in thought, "If memory serves me, it was Velein."
There was no more blood in Leslie's face, any of it gone somewhere else. "That's m-me… I am mirror girl." Oh, why did she have to say yes?
I had to do something, something to get Ghirahim's attention off of her. "Ghirahim, what is she talking about?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leslie take a step back and I stiffened.
Ghirahim took another step forward, his eyes still on Leslie. After a tense moment he shook his head, "Oh… she was just a… friend… of mine before." He straightened, the surroundings losing its weight. "Never mind however, let's continue on our way to the Spirit Maiden hm?"
Leslie let out a great sigh, "Okay… you had scared me there for a second." I saw her slump into a tree, the fear beginning to leave her.
Ghirahim waved airily, "Oh, I'll be sure to find you again." Ghirahim disappeared from sight for a moment, whispering in Leslie's ear.
Red anger clouded Leslie's face as she backhanded Ghirahim. "Look pal, I'm nobody's slave!" Her voice echoed loudly through the clearing, silence quickly replacing it.
What was that? I stomped over to Ghirahim, taking his ear in between my forefinger and thumb, "What did she just say?" Oh, I was starting to get annoyed with this demon. The pounding behind my eyes increased, biting my already limited patience to the size of a pea.
I felt Ghirahim's glare before I saw it, "Just before you're stubborn doesn't mean I haven't had other slaves!"
"You don't enslave random people!" I let it slip past, anger mounting with every word out of his mouth. "Especially women!" I saw him flinch, the anger slipping for a moment to let in satisfaction.
Out of the corner of my eye, Leslie folded her arms, "Fallon's right."
"Like I care?" Ghirahim rolled his eyes, his arrogance practically shining.
And then suddenly Ghirahim was in the air, hanging upside down by the vines around his ankles. I stared at his shocked expression, feeling the similar emotion on my own face. Just what had happened? I looked at Leslie, answering my own question when I saw the smug look on her face. She had done that? I suddenly realized just how in over my head I was. Here I was, a mere human, among those who can control the very plants and summon forth swords out of nowhere? I felt insolent, small, and vastly unimportant. I felt like I was among Gods, or giants. Perhaps it would just be in my best interest to find Zelda and return to Skyloft, and forget this ever happened.
Ghirahim sighed after a moment, "Oh, another one of you annoying fairies." He disappeared again and I jumped a little when he landed in front of me. "Well that was amusing."
"Whatever, Ghirahim. Just leave me alone." Leslie sighed and turned away, wings drooping slightly.
Ghirahim sank into the mockery of a bow, "With pleasure. You had interrupted Fallon and I, so be on your way if you would mirror girl." Without even looking I knew he was smirking, the song of the devil he was.
I saw Leslie tense slightly, turn, and kick Ghirahim straight in the face with her heeled boot. "There, see you round… Men, humph!" And with that, she turned back on her heel.
Ghirahim rubbed his nose for a moment before turning to me with another wicked smile, "Now… where were we?" I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat, arching an eyebrow at him. As if he was getting anywhere with me, after everything that has happened in the past couple of days!
"I'm still here!" Leslie shouted, and she was in fact still within sight. "Honestly! Ghirahim, I hope we don't meet again. I won't end up with you in the same area again! By the way," I saw her lift something, "catch!" And suddenly there was something whirling through the air, just to hit Ghirahim in the mouth. When it flopped to the ground I looked at the foreign episode closely. It resembled some sort of footwear, though I've never seen that fashion of shoes. Leslie walked back and picked up whatever she had hurled at Ghirahim and turned to leave. "Fallon if you need me to beat him up feel free, my month or so stay in Feudal Japan made me a pretty good Demon Slayer."
Ghirahim growled from the ground where he had been knocked onto, "You insolent brat!"
I ignored him, smiling at Leslie. If only she could pass on a bit of that knowledge to me, but the pervert was watching. "I think I'll manage, thank you though."
"No problem, and if ask me, I think I preferred a petulant half demon to him for one very good reason. At least InuYasha was a good guy." Leslie answered.
Blinking, Ghirahim and I both asked the question that immediately popped into our minds, "Who?"
"Never mind, InuYasha was a Half Dog demon I hung out with for a few days. I prefer his half-brother Sesshomaru. He's a full dog demon who's not as annoying as Inu or Ghirahim. But, that's a different world from here." I gave her a blank look and she slapped her forehead. "Never mind, see you around Fallon. I hope I don't meet you again, Ghirahim." Her smile was laced with sarcasm as she walked past Ghirahim.
"We'll see about that." Ghirahim replied with a malicious chuckle.
I blinked, the world moving fast. My head was still throbbing, like little beings were shoving pins into my brain. "Bye..?"
Leslie turned back around, an apologetic smile on her face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel awkward Fallon. I'll see you later. I hope I can figure out these crazy powers of mine. Being the next Great Fairy of Courage is a lot of weight to take on." She completely ignored Ghirahim, who seemed to have noticed this fact as he began to mumble under his breath.
Smiling a little I replied, "Good luck then, I guess?"
Leslie gave me a look, but then smiled, "Thanks, same to you."
I laughed a little, "See you later then, Fairy Leslie."
"Okay! I hope we meet under better circumstances." Leslie smiled even larger. After a moment a grin overcame the smile, "Do you hear something?"
The dots connected and I grinned back, tilting my head, "Why I don't believe I do." We let our faces fall into our best poker faces, ignoring the rambling of Ghirahim next to us.
"Maybe it was just an annoying gadfly buzzing in my ear," she laughed, the straight face not holding out for long at all.
"Perhaps," I smiled, feeling the headache retreat for a moment.
All of a sudden Ghirahim stopped talking, "Why are you laughing? I thought you were gone already." He seemed annoyed, but I didn't even glance in his direction.
"You still hear anything?" Leslie asked, laughing louder.
How long has it been since I was able to joke around and have fun? Was it really only last week? It seemed like a lifetime ago. "No, I don't believe I do!"
I felt Ghirahim grab my shoulder and command, "What are you two imbeciles talking about? I don't hear anything except for you two!"
"So Fallon, have you seen any good loftwing races?" Leslie asked with a smile.
A small arrow launched itself into my chest as I thought of home and Leila, but kept a smile on my face and for a chuckle to pass through my lips, "Now that you mention it, I did see a close call the other day!" It wasn't a total lie; I almost didn't reach Zelda in time to save her.
Ghirahim shook my shoulder, "Now you're talking about races?! What is with you women?" Insert ignoring him here.
"Me too, but the guy I bet on won, so I got a lot of rupees for it. So, how's Groose the muscle head doing?" Leslie chuckled.
Well, here's something I don't have to lie about. "Oh, he's ignoring lessons like usual. Next time I see him he should be expecting a harsh scolding from me."
Ghirahim threw his hands up in the air, "Women!" Oh, did he finally realize that? Good for him.
"I see well that is the way of things with boys like him," Leslie shrugged while smiling nonetheless.
"I know," I let out a sigh, "I've been trying to get through his thick pompadour ever since he attended the academy."
Ghirahim flinched for whatever reason, "What? Who in the worlds would have a disgusting hairstyle like that?"
"Pompadours belong in the Modern Realm's America during the 1950's on Elvis Presley. Groose just can't pull of the look. He's an idiot, but I've seen worse." Leslie shook her head, as if saying 'There's not much else to say about that.'
Ghirahim growled, "They're hideous!"
"Try a Mohawk...ugh not my thing at all!" She replied, "The Eighties' hair styles where pretty bad too." Leslie shook her head. "Be happy people are relatively sane here." Was she speaking to me or Ghirahim?
I blinked, then nodded, "I think I am…" Even if people falling from the sky seems to be a normal occurrence lately. Wait… where did Ghirahim go? I looked around to see him facing a tree, looking thoroughly disgusted. Well, at least he knew how I felt when he decided to hit on me.
Leslie seemed to have seen his expression as well, for she burst out laughing. I smiled at her reaction, glad she wasn't afraid anymore. "Ah, I love it when payback is this funny!"
Ghirahim turned slightly, giving Leslie an eye the devil would be proud of, "Oh you will pay dearly for that." The sky seemed to stop moving for a moment, the weight of his words giving pause to everything.
"How? You never really carry out a threat! You're either too lazy or too wimpy to fully carry it out." Leslie smirked. And there was the proof that this really wasn't the Leslie from earlier; she wasn't afraid to taunt Ghirahim.
Her words seemed to have no effect on Ghirahim though, as he began to stalk forward with a slight growl, "It's not a threat. It's a promise." My hairs began to rise and I felt my muscles become tense as I spotted the dagger in his hand.
Without really knowing what I was doing I stepped forward and in the path of his blade, "That is enough. It was a joke Ghirahim." This was going to get out of hand if one of them didn't stop.
"Please, spare me," Leslie replied, sarcasm dripping off every word. Oh boy.
Ghirahim pointed past me and to Leslie, "Do you not remember me giving you those scars? Did I make a pointless threat then?" I felt my joints lock in place and my muscles freeze.
The pig, the disgusting bastard! I tried not to flinch, the headache rushing in with the anger I felt towards Ghirahim. The un-chivalrous demon was going to learn something from me, even if he was an all-powerful sword or whatever he was!
"Yes… and definitely no," Leslie's voice was small and I heard the rustle of cloth.
I swallowed, trying to make my voice as calm as possible, "What did you do to her?" I held my eyes level with Ghirahim, daring him to lie to me.
A smirk fell over Ghirahim's features and he shrugged lightly, "Why don't you ask her?"
"I'm lucky the others you made didn't scar." Leslie replied with another rustle of cloth. What was she talking about? I didn't dare take my eyes off Ghirahim… But I had to look.
I glanced over my shoulder at Leslie, my eyes tracing down to her collarbone where three diamonds were imprinted into her skin, darker than the rest of her skin. It settled in me, and I made sure the image was imprinted into my memory, "What…? Why did he..?"
"She disobeyed me." Ghirahim replied from beyond my vision, and he sounded as if it was so ordinary to scar people for no reason. "Now do you fear me Fallon?"
Another rush and I felt my fingers curl as my body turned. My fist wound up and down with the strength of my body, Ghirahim falling down from the impact of my fist to his face. "Fear you? How laughable! You don't know the meaning of fear!" He did not know the fear of falling a thousand feet, of losing your parents, of supporting yourself. He did not know the fear that coated every sinew within me as I fell, as the air ripped at me, as I felt bones shatter and blood leave my body. He did not know mortal fear. With one movement I was over him, glowering down. This was no God- this was no giant that could kill me. This was simply an arrogant ass of a demon. "In fact, I'm disgusted with you." The headache grew to a crescendo, each a lance to the center of my being.
"Thanks for that Fallon." Leslie's voice shook me out of my thoughts, causing me to look at her with a slight smile. She was trembling a little, Ghirahim's words obviously shaking her to the core.
I turned back to Ghirahim with a snarl on my tongue, "If you ever do that kind of thing to anyone again… Expect me to do the same to you." There was a little thing called justice, and it struck a deep chord within me.
"Fallon that isn't half of what this idiot has done to me… If you ask me he's done worse."
I twitched, images hurtling themselves into my brain at a fast rate of what he could of done. None of them I liked. Disdain for Ghirahim coursed through me and I felt my hand twitch towards my sword. I must protect Zelda, Link, and both Leslies from him. "There was a time where every crime committed against a person was committed against you." More thoughts flew through me and I couldn't grasp a hold of any of them. Where these words came from I had no clue, but my headache was giving way to something more vicious. "From what I can tell, I should just throw you off a cliff and be done with it." Ghirahim's eyes bore into me in anger, moving from side to side. Or was I?
Suddenly I felt dizzy, the strength that anger had lent me disappearing as quickly as it had come. "That's what I would have done… so… long… ago…"
My head hit the ground, and no more.
