Chapter 11: Aokigahara
The next morning, Gale woke up to the sharp ringing sound of a phone. It was six in the morning. He stubbornly stayed in his bed for a few minutes until he couldn't stand the noise anymore. Rolling over, he stretched his hand over to the bedside table and slammed it over one of the vibrating cell phones Dugal had given all three of them yesterday.
"Uhhh, hello?" he asked groggily. Dugal's voice cheerfully answered him.
"Is this Mr. Petrov or Mr. Engst? Can you hear me all right?"
Gale stifled a yawn. Why does he sound so goddess-damned chipper so early in the morning? "Yeah this is Gale. I hear you loud and clear."
"Wonderful! So the phones work." There was a mumble of voices as Dugal spoke with someone in the background. Then, he came back with a business-like tone. "Come down to the lobby by eight. That should give you plenty of time for breakfast. Got it? We certainly won't wait for you. We have a long drive to Mt. Omuro outside of Tokyo."
Gale mumbled an affirmative and then hung up. He noticed Link passed out in the bed next to him, and so threw a pillow at him. Link yelped and he flew up, his left hand automatically snapping over his back as though he were reaching for a sword. Rolling his eyes, Gale jumped up and threw open the blinds. "Get ready. Your Mr. Dugal wants us to be down at the lobby by eight."
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They met up with Zelda downstairs, and after a quick continental breakfast they got into the black Audi and made their way out of the metropolis. Zelda was politely quiet, taking everything in silently. There wasn't that much talk without Gale's complaining directed towards Link or his shameless flirting directed towards Zelda, much to everyone's relief. Gale looked both tired and slightly on edge in the presence of the suited men, especially Dugal. Therefore, the two-and-a-half hour drive to the Avilux I research facility was stiflingly quiet. Even Dugal, who had spoken for most of the trip from Narita yesterday, only stared outside the window or typed messages on his BlackBerry.
They had driven out of the city and had gone up into a mountainous region. Unlike the grey expanse that was Tokyo, the place they were at was empty of skyscrapers. The only things that blocked the sky were the mountains that surrounded them, and the snow tipped trees.
The car stopped in front of a white-walled building with few windows. The man with the blue tie, Condor, opened the door of the car and asked the three teens to step outside. Dugal straightened out his suit and waved his arms wide. "This is the Avilux I research facility. I know it looks small, but most of it is under our feet." The man laughed to himself as he strutted over to the simple building. "Research requires experiments to be shielded from sunlight. No wonder some of the white-coats are a little strange in the head. Hahaha!"
Zelda, Link, and Gale exchanged glances. Condor's gruff voice muttered after them.
"Like Willits, sir?"
Dugal held up a finger. "Condor! Are you in the position to ask such things? Just because you are associated with me does not make you Dr. Willits' superior," he said sharply. His easygoing attitude had completely dissipated, and Gale suspected this was closer to the man's true personality.
Condor said nothing for a while, and then gave a short bow. "I apologize, sir."
"Go find Hawk and Kestrel. Let them know I've arrived."
"Yes sir."
Link watched the man jog ahead and disappear into the building.
Condor, Hawk, and Kestrel…
There was that feeling again: the feeling that Dugal and Avilux I were involved in something much more sinister than simply uncovering the truth behind zerons.
Names based on birds of prey? They can't be their real names, so does that make them code names? That's like something a gang or agency would do. Link frowned. I must be over thinking things…
To ease his mind, he chatted to Zelda who seemed a little nervous. Her pink fleece jacket hugged her tightly and she kept her arms close, holding her bag in front of her. The only part of her that was loose and relaxed was her ice blond hair that waved in the mountain breeze; everything else about her was rigid. "I hope you don't turn into a crazy scientist," he tried joking.
Zelda smiled for the first time that day. "Oh? Will you not associate with me if I do become one?"
"Uh…" Link felt his voice catch. He was uncomfortably aware of how his cheeks were unnaturally hot in the cool winter air. Zelda giggled at his reaction.
"What are you two standing there for? It's warmer indoors."
Link was roughly pushed aside as Gale shoved through, his longboard under one arm. His other hand automatically found its place on Zelda's back as he began to walk her along. Link found he wasn't feeling too happy about this.
"You're not as pretty when you're standing stiff from the cold." Gale gave a snide grin. He seemed to be taking pleasure from the girl's obvious annoyance.
"What's with the longboard, Vaa - …Gale?" Link asked flatly, trying not to sound too upset but at the same time wanting to tell Gale that Zelda was off limits. Zelda Sterling is not the same as Princess Zelda. Zelda Sterling is not the same as Princess Zelda. Zelda Sterling is… aw, screw it, they're too similar.
Gale temporarily took his attention away from Zelda and looked at his longboard. "I got Dugal's lackeys to put this in the trunk of the car. I'm not leaving this sweetheart. She goes where I go."
Zelda took the opportunity to wrench away, and she shot a scalding look back towards Gale. The albino had a cheeky grin across his face. "Aw, now no need to be jealous my dear! The Dervish may be my favorite, but you are far more interesting."
Zelda walked quickly to where Dugal had gone with Link hurriedly following protectively. "Please stop your shameless flattery. I do not appreciate them."
"Relax, you know you like the attention. You're so uptight."
The girl pretended not to hear him. All the while, Gale looked like he was having too much fun. He trailed after them, thinking with a smile, I've trapped you in my game, Zelda, and you can't escape until I've won. After all…
I have never lost.
XXXXXXXX
Gale wasn't very impressed with the facility when he first stepped inside. There were two silver elevator doors on either side of a metallic receptionist desk. A few navy blue couches spotted the white marble, but besides that there was nothing else.
"As I said, most of the facility is on the lower floors," Dugal explained, noting the three's disappointed looks. He exchanged a few words with the receptionist, signed in, and then led them to one of the elevators. He pressed floor B2, and they descended.
"I'll give you a tour of the place, Miss Sterling. We will begin with the second level first, and then I'll take you to level three afterwards. Level one is where all of the offices and filing information is, and since that is more company work I think we can skip that level."
Zelda nodded. "Yes sir." The elevator lights blinked at B2 and they stepped outside to a long stretch of corridor. There was a map of the level posted on the wall next to the elevator, revealing a complex looking floor with many corners, rooms, and hallways. Gale thought it was unnecessarily maze-like.
"As for Mr. Petrov and Mr. Engst; would you mind taking the tour as well before I take you both to Skull Kid?" Dugal asked, and then stopped when he noticed a lanky man in his thirties standing awkwardly by the elevator doors. He was fidgeting with his hands and swaying from side to side, unable to make up his mind on how to catch their attention. "Dr. Willits? What perfect timing. What are you doing, standing out here, instead of having your nose buried under all of your paperwork and research?"
So this is Dr. Willits, Link thought. The man was extremely tall, and stood a good head above Dugal. He was almost as pale as Gale, most likely from the lack of contact with the sun, and he had a weird way of twisting from side to side as though he were uncomfortable with standing still. His stereotypical white lab coat did little to cover how thin he was.
Dr. Willits grumbled. "Perfect timing? That's because you insisted I wait here to meet the new recruit. You are at least half an hour late – I wasted half an hour standing here instead of working on something worthwhile."
Dugal drew a blank. A few seconds later, he laughed, slapping his palm on his forehead. "Ah yes, I'd forgotten I was supposed to let you know that I was to handle the tour since we figured you would be busy with your work. Terribly sorry," he added, not sounding too sorry at all.
"There you go again, Dugal! You never take your job seriously like most of us here and you think you'll get away with it all, just because you're good at what you do." The doctor sounded bitter. "It's no wonder the Air Force Academy didn't hesitate to kick you out as soon as they found an excuse to. I don't see what the boss sees in you; one of these days, you'll find yourself on the wrong side of Avilux I, and hardworking people like myself will be laughing when you pay."
"My, my, I know I was wrong to have lost your time but that doesn't mean you can insult me that way. Especially in front of visitors – you are embarrassing the company."
"The fact that I do not like you and your crew has always been clear, Dugal. I only listen to you because of your position."
Dugal coughed, and he turned momentarily to the bewildered three teens behind him. "Excuse my colleague." Then, he was beside the doctor in a flash and dropped a few words in an undertone. Dr. Willits flushed in a livid rage, but managed to nod once, apparently agreeing to something the other man had said. Dugal, meanwhile, was smiling amiably. A few more words were exchanged quietly, and finally, Dugal waved Zelda over. "Miss Sterling, please come with me. I will show you around. Mr. Petrov and Mr. Engst," he stopped the two boys, "please follow Dr. Willits. He will be more than happy to take you to Skull Kid."
More than happy? This guy looks WAY more than angry, Gale thought.
The doctor stormed over to the elevator and impatiently called Link and Gale over. Zelda watched them, unsure of what to think about what had just passed. She didn't notice she was still looking at the elevator doors after they had shut until she heard Dugal's voice.
"If you would follow me, Miss Sterling."
"Oh!" She turned on her heel and hurried over. Glancing back one more time, she asked, "Is there something I should know about Dr. Willits? I might be working with him after all…"
The man seemed to consider her question, and then smiled. "You needn't be worried. He appeared cranky today because of my mishap, and it's no secret that I get on his nerves. His life is his research, you see, and he becomes upset with anything that interrupts it. He is not a difficult man at all – I only needed to remind him one thing to get him to see that we have to look our best in front of visitors such as yourself."
"What did you remind him?"
Zelda never noticed Dugal's face darken behind the cheerful smile. "Oh, I simply reminded him that I am good at what I do."
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Gale and Link followed the muttering Dr. Willits, exchanging glances with each other from time to time. The tall doctor seemed to be talking to himself, obviously complaining about having to show around "these nuisances" and spewing curses at Dugal.
"Why can't Dugal take care of this himself? He thinks he's so much more important than me just because he has the title 'Executive.' Executive indeed! He's only a consultant after all and a researcher such as myself is far more important to the boss. That sly bastard…"
After many twists and turns through the labyrinthine corridors, the doctor's muttering finally stopped when he paused in front of a security door. There was a glass panel that served as some sort of observation window, and inside the room was –
"Skull Kid!" Link exclaimed, rushing to the glass. Sure enough, the mischievous boy (?) was sitting cross-legged on the floor playing with a toy recorder. Skull Kid looked up and waved at Link while Dr. Willits punched in a few numbers on the door's keypad. Gale found the situation odd – why in the world would an innocent research company keep Skull Kid in lock and key way down here in the basement?
"You have some visitors, Skull Kid," Dr. Willits called once he opened the door. His voice suddenly changed into something endearing instead of the hateful muttering. Apparently the doctor either really liked kids, or really disliked Dugal. Link guessed it was both when Skull Kid ran over and tugged at the doctor's lab coat.
"Doctor Skinny! Let's play a game!" Skull Kid stuck his head around to take a look at Link as well. "Link, you too. I'm bored!"
The doctor smiled. "Isn't he a sweet boy?" He nodded his head towards Link. "It seems you spoke true as well when you said you knew him. We were wondering if this boy had any relatives at all since he never mentioned any."
Link took a step towards Skull Kid. Where was the Ocarina? He noted the bulge in the pocket of Skull Kid's hoodie. That must be it. Link frowned. I can't do anything while Dr. Willits is here watching.
Before Link could think of a plan to take the Ocarina of Time away from Skull Kid, the boy in question screeched and jumped back.
"YOU! You're the white guy that was mean to me!"
"Me?" Gale scrunched his eyebrows together. Why do I have anything to do with this? He scratched his head. "Oh yeah. I might have told you to get the hell away from me at one point."
Everyone was surprised by the sudden tantrum that exploded from Skull Kid.
"Go away, jerk! You're no fun at all, and I don't want to see your stupid ugly face. I don't want to play with you!"
Skull Kid made a grab for the Ocarina inside his pocket. At that moment, the doctor's hand shot forward and gently but firmly grabbed the boy's hand. Skull Kid resisted at first, but then relaxed when Dr. Willits tried to calm him down. Without turning around, the doctor addressed the shocked Link and Gale.
"Would you two boys step outside for a moment?"
Stricken, Gale quietly stepped outside first. Link spent a few seconds staring longingly at the ocarina in Skull Kid's possession before he dejectedly stepped outside as well. Once outside, Link leaned against the wall and sighed. "I was so close…"
Gale grunted. He also leaned against the wall and brought his hands behind his head. "Geez, what was up with that kid? He's totally mental, just like you."
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"We have a collection of zerons Dr. Willits and his team have been studying for some time now. He was highly impressed by the work you have been doing on analyzing the previous papers that have been written on zerons." Dugal was currently leading Zelda through the hallways of level B2. Several people in white coats and clipboards were walking around, as well as men in suits with red ties instead of Dugal's purple and Condor's blue. "Sometimes, people underestimate the importance of literature analysis studies that someone like you have done. We need people who can take all the separate studies and summarize them under one general, important idea that puts the key points together."
Finally, they reached a spacious room with a lot of expensive looking equipment. There was a researcher working at one of the terminals in the corner of the room, and in the center a team of engineers were working on some sort of device. There was a bluish glow in the room as sparks flew from the metal welders.
"This looks like something out of a science fiction movie," Zelda said, pointing at the cylindrical metal object the engineers were making.
"Indeed." Dugal scratched his chin. "I'm not too sure how this thing is supposed to work, but I was informed it's for the newest project involving Skull Kid's fascinating ocarina. Speaking of which, that was another reason why Avilux I wanted you to work with us."
Zelda raised her brows questioningly.
"Since you were the first to 'discover' Skull Kid's abilities with the ocarina, per se, you have the right to claim ownership of this research. However, we were aware you were limited in resources so I suggested to my employer that we take you under Dr. Willits' wing," the man explained.
Zelda nodded thoughtfully. "It was a reasonable offer." She frowned at the thing in the middle of the room. "Can you tell me what it is Dr. Willits wants to do with that… that device?"
"Ah yes! Follow me, I have something very interesting to show you." Dugal perked up and strutted over to the lady by the terminal. After quickly exchanging a few words, he led Zelda over to the large screen that powered up along one of the walls. An image of an arrowhead appeared on the screen. "I'm sure you are aware of what this is?" he asked, waving his hand at the image of the old arrowhead.
Zelda squinted, trying to get a better look. Then, she popped a fist in her hands. "Oh! Isn't this the first zeron ever discovered – the arrowhead that spontaneously combusts into flames, ice, and light?"
"Correct." Dugal snapped his fingers and the lady at the terminal nodded. The arrowhead onscreen burst to flames, and the fire molded itself into the outline of a large bird of prey. A faint outline of a triangle made out of three smaller triangles appeared over it as well. Zelda felt the image of the triangle over the bird was familiar, but she was sure she'd never seen anything like it before. Oh well. She went back to listening to Dugal ramble. "Here at Avilux I, the initial goal of the research with the arrowhead zeron was to determine the mechanism of the spontaneous combustion, and ultimately see if we could turn that discovery into a new energy source. This particular research was what created the Avilux I division of the company, really; before the company had a different name but the focus for this line of research had grown so large that my employer decided to change it. The logo was derived from the way the fire around the arrowhead would flare off to the side like the wings of a bird."
Dugal adjusted his glasses. "Study on the arrowhead gradually waned as progress seemed to halt. We just could not find a way to recreate the fire on a larger scale that would be more useful for us, and so Dr. Willits moved on to research some of the newer zerons that had been discovered."
Zelda sounded surprised. "There're more zerons?"
"Certainly, and many more that we have yet to discover, no doubt." The man's eyes glinted. "But, none is as exciting as Skull Kid's ocarina. When you told us about the 'fire fairies,' we realized that this may have the potential to revive our project on an alternate energy source. Dr. Willits has already done preliminary studies before your arrival, and he claims that these fire fairies also spontaneously appear without an apparent source. Do you know what this means?"
Zelda bit her lip, and then her eyes widened. She gasped. "Do you mean to say… no… No. I'm probably wrong. That can't be…"
Dugal only smiled.
"Are you… are you saying that this can lead to a possible – "
"Infinite energy source?" He was grinning from ear to ear. "Amazing what zerons can do, hmm? Now imagine what those fools who belittle energy manipulation will think when this gets published."
Zelda stiffened. Dugal was right. It would show them – all those old fogies who had made fun of her team for pursuing a field that they claimed were a joke.
"Right now we are allowing Skull Kid to play around with various songs since he is the most musically gifted amongst the people here. Well, that and the fact he becomes downright hostile whenever we try to take the ocarina away from him." Dugal sighed tiredly, perhaps remembering an incident with Skull Kid. "It's no problem, however. I heard from Dr. Willits' associates that progress is being made and that pretty soon we'll be able to amplify the power of the fire faires into something that is more large scale. That's what this device is all about."
Zelda looked at the thing in the middle of the room again. What Avilux I was attempting to do was enormous. If this succeeded, then the world could forget about nuclear power plants and coal mining. They'll have clean energy that would be applicable to so many different things. She was speechless at the thought that she had been asked to take part in this project.
Dugal watched her carefully. "Now, Ms. Sterling, are you still interested in working under Dr. Willits for the company?"
Zelda blinked, and then stammered. "Are you… are you joking?" She shook her head, still stunned. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're asking me to work for you instead of me begging to work for you." She took a deep breath, trying to sound as collected as possible.
"I would be happy to work for Avilux I, sir."
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The door opened, and a somewhat frazzled looking Dr. Willits stumbled through. He didn't look too happy with Link and Gale, but he didn't mention what happened with Skull Kid at all. He only mumbled something about the boy having sudden temper issues. Link took a peek through the glass windows of Skull Kid's room; the boy was back to playing with the recorder, but he was pouting slightly. Now was not the time to see Skull Kid again. He'll have to find a way to return later…
The doctor checked his watch, frowning. "Well, it's still a little early to let you two go since Dugal asked me to babysit you boys until a quarter of." He straightened out his coat. "I suppose I can show you our zeron collection. Would you care to see?"
Link nodded, and Gale shrugged. "Why not?"
"Follow me."
They walked to another section of the floor, this time going to a room that looked like a museum gallery. "Link, was it?" The doctor asked. Link didn't say anything, but nodded again. "I hear you were related to Skull Kid." The comment was prodding, but not pushy.
"Yeah. He's a distant relative, and I'd been looking for him ever since we split up," Link replied. He hoped that was an innocent enough answer, and he was relieved when the doctor seemed to buy the story.
"I'm sure you have an unusual story to tell about Skull Kid and yourself, but I'm not the type of person to take interest in such personal matters."
Well… Link wasn't sure if the doctor actually bought the story or he was an impersonal weirdo.
"I am, however, curious as to how Skull Kid got a hold of the ocarina. It is one of our most remarkable zerons, and unlike the ones we've found so far it's in good condition."
Mmm, probably impersonal weirdo. "It used to be mine."
"Oh really?" the doctor sounded surprised.
"Yeah. But I don't remember where I got it from because I've had it for as long as I can remember," Link added hurriedly.
"Ah, a family heirloom then?"
"You can say that."
Throughout the conversation, Gale appeared somewhat confused. He wondered what the connection was between Link, Skull Kid, and the ocarina, but he knew Link wasn't going to give them the full story now. He gritted his teeth, vowing to get the reserved blond to reveal more about himself. What was that fool hiding?
There weren't very many objects on display, but Dr. Willits seemed extremely proud of them as he explained what they were, one by one. He'd become cheerful again, back like when he had been dealing with Skull Kid. Gale figured as long as it was something related to his research, the doctor was going to be happy.
"We call this one the Wizard's Cane," Dr. Willits tapped the glass where an old, red cane was placed on display. Parts of the cane were badly damaged from age. "We were very fortunate to have found this buried in a bog, otherwise the wood would have decayed and we wouldn't have found it the way it is now. Like all other items displayed, this one is preserved in a vacuum casing to discourage decomposing."
"What's special about it?" Gale asked, trying to hide his obvious interest.
"When you swing this cane, a small red block appears out of thin air. Swing it again, and the block explodes and spouts fire."
"Wow." Gale moved his face closer to the glass. "Can we um… see?"
"I'm afraid not. This artifact is fragile as it is, and it's already heavily damaged. We believe that long ago this used to be able to create even larger blocks that made even greater explosions."
"You're joking."
"There's another reason why I don't want to demonstrate as well."
Gale tilted his head quizzically.
"Every time you swing the cane, energy is drained out of you. We had a few of our staff collapse after swinging it too much before we figured out that the cane was literally leeching off of them. It's not safe."
"Oh…"
Meanwhile, Link was silently taking in the details of the worn, red cane. He'd heard of it before in a story his Zelda had told him. The Cane of Somaria: a cane that takes the magic power of the holder and turns it into an exploding block. To think it had survived to this day was incredible.
The next object was a boot. Some feathers appeared to have once been stuck on its sides, but it was missing most of them and there was a gash across its sorry side. "Boots of Speed, or rather, Boot of Speed. We couldn't find the other one." The doctor frowned. "We discovered this grants the wearer to run over 30 miles per hour after some idiot decided to wear it and 'take a walk.' He should have known better than to have stuck his foot into an ancient treasure like this – he ended up crashing into a tree and cutting that gash across the side of the boot. He came out of that incident with a concussion and a twisted ankle; the concussion from slamming into the tree, the bad ankle from having one foot that couldn't keep up with the other one."
Pegasus Boots! Link thought. It was another item from the old stories.
Gale crossed his arms. "Since you have one boot, why can't someone make a replica? Then you'll have both and in good condition, and you might even be able to place it on the market."
The doctor shook his head. "Of course we've tried to replicate it. It doesn't work. We just get something that looks like the original, but don't work like the original. That's the thing about zerons – we don't understand them, so we can't recreate them."
The last object in the room was a tattered gold gauntlet. Link recognized it at once. I've worn that before…
"The last zeron we have in possession are these gauntlets. It's not in good condition at all, but it was the best we could do."
"What do these things do?" Gale asked.
"The wearer gains the ability of super strength. Again, we have not been able to replicate the gauntlets. We thought it might have had something to do with the garnet set in the middle, but analyzing it revealed nothing. Our current technology still has trouble showing us what it is that makes these zerons different from ordinary objects."
"These all look old." Gale walked around the three objects again, stopping in front of the glass whenever he tried getting a closer look. "Is there a reason why the zerons you find are old?"
"An intuitive question," Dr. Willits approved. "We were able to use carbon dating for all three of them, and we came to a rough estimate that these were around ten thousand years ago. This is, however, a very rough estimate and we could be off a thousand years or more. We do our best to manage with what we have."
"Hmm." Gale thought nothing of it. Then, something struck him about the date. He stiffened, was about to say something, and then decided against it. It has to be a coincidence! he thought. However, he was having difficulty getting over the fact that according to Link, Vaati had been around roughly eight thousand years ago, which was right around the time the zerons had been dated at. Vaati, magic, zerons… eight thousand years ago…
Gale didn't know what was relevant about those topics, but he couldn't dismiss them either.
Magic isn't real, is it? He began to feel doubtful about his earlier resolve that Link was a lunatic. But if that's true, then doesn't that mean I can very well be the Sorcerer Vaati? In the blink of an eye, all thoughts of Vaati disappeared as though a mental block had been placed on him. Puzzled, Gale tried to recall the small things he'd heard about Vaati, but he could only pull up a blank slate. His doubts slowly disappeared, and though he was bothered by the speed in which the amnesia had surfaced, he thought firmly to himself, I'm Gale. No one will take that away from me.
"To answer your question," the doctor's voice interrupted Gale's thoughts. He'd almost forgotten he'd asked him something. "To answer your question," Dr. Willits repeated, "we go by the theory that there had once been a time when people knew how to create zerons on their own, and this is why the objects we find are all close to the same age. We don't know why we lost the knowledge, but that is something for the archeologists and not for an energy manipulation researcher like me. Besides," he continued, thoughtfully watching Link from the corner of his eye, "not all objects are necessarily old."
Link hesitated. He hadn't really been paying too much attention to the conversation, and it took him a moment to realize both Gale and the doctor were watching him curiously. "Oh!" he gave his best smile. "Skull Kid's Ocarina? Uh, yeah, our family took good care of it for many generations."
"And we're extremely glad to have come across a zeron like that in such great condition."
Dr. Willits appeared pleased, but Gale sulked in the background. He was sure that comment was another of Link's cover-up lies. Not being able to come up with a different explanation as to why the ocarina wasn't old like the other zerons, however, Gale gave up and resorted to glaring disapprovingly at the back of Link's head. There was something about Link that got on his nerves.
"Are these three the only ones you've found so far?" Link asked, unaware that he was being glared at. The doctor shook his head.
"We've heard rumors of others, and we've been trying to get a hold of them but it has been difficult. For instance, we heard a promising story about a special sword of mirages somewhere in a forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji, but we've had no luck. It turned out to be an urban legend."
The tone in Link's voice changed. "A sword in… a forest?"
The tall man leaned against the display case of the Cane of Somaria. "Hmm? Is something odd about that?"
"No. Just clarifying," Link said as though it weren't important. Gale, however, suspected otherwise.
"Ah." Dr. Willits turned away, and then he suddenly perked up. "Actually, you bring up a good point."
"Huh?" Link's eyes widened.
The doctor was grinning darkly. "It's not just any forest," he said in a hush. "It's the forest where no compass can save you, the forest where foolish wanderers become lost forever, the forest where once you enter, you can never leave." His voice was a whisper:
"Aokigahara Jukai. The Sea of Trees."
The three of them stood in an odd circle, none of them saying a word. Gale's eyebrows were twisted in a skeptic's arc, Link looked like a ghost had walked over his grave, and the doctor was frozen with his arms out melodramatically. Finally, Dr. Willits shook in uproarious laughter.
"Hahaha! You two look dumbstruck, especially you," he signified Link. "There's nothing at all interesting about Aokigahara except all the fantastic stories behind it. Most of them aren't true."
"Of course they won't be true," Gale muttered, somewhat relieved that there wasn't a possibility that an out-of-control zeron was causing paranormal activities.
Link, however, felt weak in the knees. He was sure, no, absolutely convinced that a special sword existed in Aokigahara.
Aokigahara isn't just any forest, he thought in a daze.
It's the Lost Woods.
Travel Log:
Mt. Omuro - After hearing all about the Tokyo skyscrapers, I wasn't expecting actual trees 2.5 hours away from the city. There's some snow on the trees, but not a lot of it. We passed a bunch of signs pointing towards camping grounds which there seems to be a lot of. Nothing too interesting out here.
Aokigahara Jukai - Haven't been there yet, but sounds like an ordinary forest. I think I heard something about how the place has the second most suicides in the world next to the Golden Gate Bridge. Ok, fine, that makes it less ordinary, but if you look past that part I am certain that there's nothing strange about it. I mean, c'mon, it's just a forest right? People lose themselves in forests ALL the time. Stupid Link... getting freaked out over nothing.
fleetfleets: I might have mentioned this already, but the places under the travel log are all real. Even the myths surrounding Aokigahara are real; they really do say people walk in, and never walk out. Oh yeah, this is a meaningless quibble but just like I represented Grandpa Loze with Ezlo, Dr. Stan Willits' character is derived from Zant (I'll be sure to include more Zant-like characteristics as the story progresses, cause right now he's just some random strange doctor). They're NOT reincarnations though, so don't take them as such. You can think of them as cameos :)
Midna Hytwilian: Happy birthday :)
Good job catching the Shadow Beast reference! I knew I made it kinda vague, so I was wondering how many people were actually able to catch that. Haha, that last comment can be so true.
Reily96: I'm having waaaay too much fun writing Dugal. Seriously, I have to be careful he doesn't turn into a Gary Stu. :P
Triangles are confusing enough... but pentagons?! (faints)
And yesh, google earth is amaaazing. I can sit in my room and walk around Shinjuku if I wanted to. Take that, expensive planes!
Death-Note-Zelda-Kitty: I'm still surprised responses have been mostly positive towards Dugal, even though he's sneaky. Ah, you'd be surprised how careless security can be at airports (going in, at least. They're more thorough for immigration). Especially with passports. They just flip through it and away you go.
Shadow Blues: Don't worry about not reviewing - I know what you mean (guiltily looks at all the stories she's read and not reviewed yet...). Actually, that point will be addressed later - why Link seems to know some things about the future and not other things (like photo manipulating using computers). Because... if the stuff he "remembered" about the future are memories (be it muscle memory or actual memory), then whose are they? Just food for thought, and a hint for what's coming :P
Astral S. Kepeire: Ehehe, I knew someone was going to pick up on that - because I know I ignored the feeling there was a lot of stuff describing Dugal in that chapter, hoping no one would really notice (lol oops). Was it you who hasn't played TP yet? The black shard was a Shadow Beast reference that I wasn't sure many people were going to get (however, you're correct that it'll probably be mentioned again). Happy to hear you like it so far, 'cause this might be the hardest story I've had to write to date. :)
marium: Oh man, Tingle... I think I'm going to spare my readers this time around and not include him lol
Darkwind: Me too, actually (I don't remember if I already told you that or not). I think I became fond of the idea of Gale becoming addicted to getting Zelda to look his way, like a game. Yesss, the internet has spawned some really strange pairings O.o;
lawleit: Nice observation - the black shard is, in fact, very much like the thing Zant made except instead of turning that poor bloke into an awesome wolf it turned him into a Shadow Beast and killed him. (shakes head) Dugal and all those researchers probably don't know the magnitude of what they're trying to accomplish...
LinkxDarkLink: Yay Dugal fans! I saw someone with a Gale haircut a few weeks ago... you never know lol. Thanks, I had a wonderful break :)
DeidaraIsGod2010: Thanks for the praise! Eep, the triangle thing is going to be hard to write - i get nervous just thinking about it haha
jioplip: Oh wow, I guess that's one of those things spell check won't help you with haha. I'll have to find that and fix it, thanks for letting me know :)
SubZeroChimera: And I definitely will write more :D
henslight: Ah, ok. This story is completely, utterly unconnected to The Unresolved, Beyond Centuries, etc. So Vaati's still "the bad guy" and the goddesses are definitely not happy with him. It's a fresh start I'm taking (Opal appeared as a cameo, she's not the same as she was in the BC series). I'm a tad confused about the timeline stuff you're asking about, but if it helps, this story is slightly AU (I had to do this so I wouldn't have to be too concerned about messing up the timeline - I couldn't afford to argue with people about what timeline was the right timeline). I guess I'll be taking some info from Minish Cap, Four Swords Adventures, and Ocarina of Time: adult timeline.
Minish Cap - to follow Vaati's history
Four Swords Adventures - using the final battle as basis for Vaati's last known appearance according to this story. This is when his reincarnation spell triggered and he ended up cursing himself.
Ocarina of Time: adult timeline - this is where it gets AU. If I follow this one faithfully, then I probably won't be able to follow WW/PH/etc plots depending on people's ideas of where things go where. I won't be following this one faithfully, so it's AU. I'll be using this to take background info of objects such as the Ocarina of Time, Link's childhood, his relationship with Princess Zelda, and... and... ah crap I'm so confused. Bottom line: I haven't really thought through the timelines at all, and am using the fact it's AU to save me from confusion lol.
Yeah, Link's weird for me too. I guess it's the fact I'm trying to make him the stoic untalkative type added to the fact he's in the wrong time period... I'm still in the works of trying to figure it out.
Mmmm... well... it is going to be a triangle like I said... I can't make everyone happy :(
Thank you so much for your review! It lets me gauge where I am with my writing, so they're extremely helpful. :)
And of course you can draw fanart if you really wanted to, so long as they're cited :)
You're on devart? Do you go by henslight there as well?