Thursday seems to have become the magical day... Nonetheless, all I can tell you guys is that you'll still be getting updates once a week. Expect twords the end of the week on days Thursday through Saturday.
Legend of Zelda 4 Life: Oh, Time Spinner is a deceitful cheater! And it doesn't care. it likes being an ass. XD Oh... and bad memories about Skull Kid will be returning within the next few chapters...
Lupi Loop: Glad you're enjoying it! And Vega won't lose his sarcasm, that I can guarantee. I said he'd be less of an asshat, that doesn't mean he'll drop it completely XD
GreenTriforceLuvr: Thank you. :D
Had Skull Kid not been playing his upbeat tune on his flute, the darkness all around them would have proved to be very silent. Before, it had seemed as if things watched them as they passed… now it felt more like nothingness. And nothing was in the nothingness. The place was not necessarily dark, for they could see in front of themselves well enough. It was just black. Empty blackness that just seemed to go on and on. Link and Zelda honestly had a hard time imagining that they were going anywhere!
But Zelda couldn't take it. She had to ask. "What is this place?"
"The Abyss." Replied Vega plainly.
"That's great. It doesn't tell us anything." Link snapped.
The silvertop shrugged, smirking a bit. "What's there to tell? It's the Abyss."
"Tch." Link was getting really pissed off. He and Zelda had gone through the desert and released him from chains and he was still so sarcastic and belligerent! He was about to same some very nasty things before Zelda stepped in.
"Vega, we're not as well-versed in this sort of thing as you are." She pointed out. "You know what the Abyss is, but we don't an-"
"And you really don't want to know." Vega interrupted. Facing them both, his expression was stern and angered. Waving an arm out, he said "Take a quick dekko around and you can see that aside from our fidgety friend ahead of us, there's nothing. Except for the times when there's something. Then we need to be afraid. There? Is that explanation enough for you?"
This time, before Zelda could retaliate with Vega's own anger, Link stepped in. Rather than using words, though, he just charged up and punched the star being square in the face.
A muffled, "FUCK!" rang out throughout the Abyss from Vega. He was now crouched down in pain with both hands putting pressure on a bloody nose. Of course, he didn't forget to glare at the page standing over him.
"Link!" Zelda screeched. "Why did you… He's bleeding!" She knelt down by the star and attempted to get him to let go of his nose. He merely snarled and pushed her away.
"Oh come on, Zelda!" Link said irritated. "He had that coming to him! From the moment we encountered him in Kakariko he hasn't shown us an ounce of respect! Even after we took him out of chains…" He couldn't finish because he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to spit on the man before him.
Zelda, seeing that no matter how hard she tried to help she was going to be rejected, stood and faced Link. "He's still our only hope. We need that wish."
Laughter. Vega laughed. But it was a bitter laugh, interrupted with the occasional wince and "ow". Both Link and Zelda just stared at him confusedly. After a moment, the star stood again and put his nose back in place with a sickening crackling sound. Face still bloodied, he looked upon his to companions with the most pitiful look that either had seen.
"And you wonder why I don't like you." He said it quietly and sadly. "Up in Heaven I was a star with mud-colored eyes and thrown out for it. Down here I'm only a conduit through which to grant wishes… No one ever gives a thought to the actual person, do they?" With one more bitter chuckle he added, "And here I thought that humans may have been more open."
Without another word, Vega turned away and once again began to follow the Skull Kid (who had been impatiently waiting for them to finish their little argument).
Zelda was despairing. She hid it, as she didn't want Link to know. The despair wasn't hers, however. It was all Vega. The depression, the sadness, the anger, it was all him. And feeling all this made her feel extremely guilty. After all, Vega had a point. She certainly hadn't given much thought to the star as anything more than magical creature that could grant wishes. Despite the fact that she shared his emotions, she really didn't see him as a person. Just a goal.
Link said nothing, not sure if he should feel guilty or not. Eventually, the prior came over him as he and the witch followed the star. There was no regret for punching Vega, as he was still sure that the star did deserve it… but much like Zelda, he never once gave a thought to the star as a person. And that just made him feel worse since he could relate to Vega's situation. All his life he was never seen as just Link. All his life he was Link, the son of the great swordsman Lancast. Vega was a star, just seen as a wish granting machine… and from what he had heard of Heaven, the star wasn't very well accepted there… and just for having brown eyes?
The witch quickened her pace and went next to Vega, who didn't seem to notice her. "Let us be your friends!" She said it cheerfully, but the shared sadness in her voice was still thick in the question.
Her plea for friendship was ignored. Vega just walked on ahead. But Zelda could feel the puzzlement going on inside of him at her question, the doubt and suspicion… and a small tang of bitterness. It was at that moment she wished she could hear the bits and pieces of his thoughts again…
But Vega was glad that she couldn't see those small glimpses into his mind. No one had ever asked to be his friend… But at the same time she had only asked because he went ahead and blurted out his sob story – something which he was deeply regretting now. His past was no one's business but his own. Yet it still confused him. As Link had so subtly mentioned, he hadn't even pretended to like either of the two teenagers. Why on earth would she want to befriend him? Just on the off-chance he would grant a wish?
And what was the point of it all?! Why did the fate of one dying man mean so much? The two didn't really know this person… why wish to save him? So what if someone not of royal blood didn't take over… In fact, he didn't really understand this human condition at all. Stars actually didn't really have that much in way of emotion. He and his sister were some of the more openly expressive stars. Other stars were pretty much shut in creatures with nothing better to do than look down upon humans or other stars that were… different… This will that humans had to break their back for people they didn't even know was beyond his understanding.
Disheartened, Zelda paused and but her lip. They shared emotions, so why couldn't he tell that she was sincere? She felt Link's hand on her shoulder, as well as her heart jumping into her throat.
"Don't let him get to you. Who needs to be friends with him anyways?" It was a weak attempt at trying to make her feel better, but he was trying at least.
Apparently, it was more than just a weak attempt. Zelda just looked at him blankly before her lips twitched into a small frown. Before Link even knew what was going on, he was on four legs, furry, and overcome with the sudden urge to lick places he wouldn't normally think of licking. When it finally occurred to him to be angry, Zelda was already gloomily walking ahead so all Link did was bark in protest.
"This is overreacting, woman!" He snarled as he sped up to catch up with the witch and star.
But his newly enhanced sense of smell kicked in and he came to a complete stop. He barked weakly and dug his snout in the black floor before remembering that he had to move on. If he thought the Abyss was unnerving as a human, as a wolf it was worse… The place reeked of death. Not decaying bodies, but actual death.
No longer angry at Zelda, he went to her side. He felt he needed to stay near her in this place… He wished he could use the excuse that it was to protect her, but actually it was for his own comfort. At least as a human he was ignorant of what lay in wait within the Abyss… Now as a wolf he was all too aware of the things that wanted their blood… Things that they thought had left them alone but were secretly following them.
In fact… Link actually found himself not caring about what company he was in so long as he got out of there. Lonely asshole star, crazy-but-cute feminist witch, twitchy scarecrow kid – it didn't matter anymore. He just hoped that very last one was a good enough guide to get them the hell out of there as quickly as possible.
After what felt like hours and hours of walking - and may have been since time was indeterminate in this place – the Skull Kid ceased playing his flute as they neared what seemed to be a white river.
It was a very strange sight to see just a river of white in such blackness. It wasn't truly a river, as the whiteness that made it up wasn't water. Neither Link nor Zelda, nor even Vega, knew what the whiteness was. But it rushed past at amazing speed and almost did kind of look like water… just minus any splashing. Stranger yet about this not-quite river was that it seemed to call out to any near it. There was no voice, but there was a certain pull to it. It was like a mother tugging at their child's sleeve, gently urging them to come forward. That wherever the river led to, it was a safe place.
Zelda took a small step forward.
"Heehee, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Said the Skull Kid. It seemed to be watching them curiously. "That's the Styx!"
"The Styx…?" Because the influence of the river was still there, Zelda's voice came out weakly. "As in… Death?"
Skull Kid nodded cheerily. "Yep. Didn't you know? Master Spinner is the second eldest of Death's children. Spinner lets Death use part of the Abyss for the Styx. Bit I promised Spinner that no harm would come to you-" At least not right now. "-so we have to go around it."
Vega frowned and looked left, then right. "How are we supposed to do that?"
The Skull Kid giggled and then put the flute by its mouth. It took a deep breath and then finally blew into the flute. The flute made a sound completely different from the notes it had been making before. This time, the noise that came out of it was buzzy and high and very, very annoying – especially to Link with his wolf ears.
A full thirty seconds passed of the annoying flute buzz before a grey medium sized boat seemed to shamble by and stop a few feet away. It remained perfectly still despite the whiteness rushing beneath it.
Skull Kid giggled and then hopped up into the boat, sitting near the boat's driver. Vega wasted no time getting up into the boat, either, but he did give the driver a strange look. It was that look that made Link and Zelda rather hesitant to get on board. After a deep breath and fist clenching, the witch did manage to gather her courage and climb onto the boat – careful not to touch the whiteness of the river. Link followed her.
As soon as they got on board, they immediately saw why Vega would give a strange look to the driver. It was a man – a human man. Or at least he was… It was obvious the man was still alive, but he was so thin that his bones could easily be made out; even through the rags he was wearing. His face had probably once been handsome, not it was hollow and sallow. The eyes were red-rimmed, bloodshot and empty, just staring ahead of the river.
After a moment, the man resumed guiding the boat onwards. Link and Vega were making it a point not to look at the driver anymore than they had to. And they didn't have to, so they weren't looking at him at all. Zelda, however, was disturbingly fascinated by the man. She couldn't seem to stop staring at him.
Eventually, she looked down at the Skull Kid - who had been staring at her - and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
If possible, the little scarecrow's grin went malicious. "He once loved an Immortal – the Spinner's sister to be exact. He became immortal himself because of that."
Zelda grimaced and looked back at the man. "That's what immortality does?"
"Of course not!" Said the Skull Kid as if it was common sense. "With his immortality, he thought he was too good for just one woman and became unfaithful. The Reaper of Retribution wasn't pleased by her husband's actions."
A shudder made its way up Zelda's spine.
Unexpectedly, Vega then spoke. "High Immortals tend to have short tempers."
Glancing behind at the boat driver, Link growled, "Noticed…"
"It also means that it would do us good not to upset anything in here." Said Vega sharply.
You know, I've developed a whole family of dysfunctional High Immortals over the years. It's just NOW that I'm thinking about how impossible it is for Death to reproduce. XD Oh well. And just in case you were wondering, Time Spinner has approximately 15 to 20 siblings, plus its five minutes older sister who was mentioned in this chapter.
I'd hate to go to one of their family reunions, to be honest.