fleets: whooo I'm on a roll! (...kind of)
Chapter 18: Harrier Strikes
After a good night's rest for the odd trio, they found themselves standing at the edge of the hiking trail that led into the infamous Aokigahara, the Sea of Trees. Link made them double-check what they had brought for their expedition: a few energy bars, water, sandwiches, a foldable map of the area around Aokigahara, and one compass by Dark to share between them. Stepping over roots and rocks, they progressed down the trail. Well, whatever trail there was: Aokigahara was mostly rugged and dense with trees, relatively untouched by humans for some strange reason.
"We'll stick to the markers left by hikers for now until we go deeper into the forest. Then we'll explore the unmarked areas since that would be our best shot at finding the temple," Link explained.
Gale didn't sound too optimistic. "If it even exists at all," he shrugged, "you heard how Dr. Willits failed at finding it."
"And you know I'm one of the few who can navigate the Lost Woods. Have some faith." Link smiled with confidence. "Besides, if I can't do it, then Zelda should be able to."
"Me?" The girl asked, surprised. Then, she looked around. "I don't know. I kind of know what you mean, but at the same time…"
"With things like this, it's all about trusting your instincts. Come on, let's go find the Temple of Time."
XXXXXXXX
Dark stretched out on the tatami mats in his house and stared at the ceiling. He'd sent the weird bunch off to Aokigahara on a taxi, and once again he was left alone in his home. It had been a while since he had had friends or visitors over, and he was somewhat relieved to be by himself again. Ever since he had become "Dark," he felt drained whenever he was around people for extended periods of time.
He rolled over lazily. His winter break was becoming interesting with the meeting of the other Link. He had been prepared to have a completely chill winter break of doing absolutely nothing. Even Christmas and New Years, he had been planning to shut himself up indoors so he didn't have to see all the happy families celebrating.
Dark snorted. His teachers at school had noticed his changing attitude and had recommended therapy, but he'd ignored them. He didn't want to explain to anyone why his dad wasn't around anymore. He'd even managed to push away all of his old friends, telling them he wanted nothing to do with them anymore. It didn't take long for them to drift away, afraid of his sudden vicious attitude; some learned the hard way that an injured wolf was a dangerous wolf.
No one but the police knew about his father's "suicide." He'd asked to keep it private, and afterwards he lied to anyone curious that his father was really busy and rarely went outside. Initially, he'd been worried that people who took care of property loans and all of that adult stuff would come knocking on his door with questions, but they never came. Even though he didn't really know how those financial issues worked, he had assumed that someone would say something since he never tried to take care of taxes or pay for anything. It was odd, but in two years nothing had happened; some goddess out there must really favor him in that regard.
Therefore, no one ever bothered Dark about his dad's disappearance. He liked it that way, but at the same time he was aware that it was hindering his ability to get help on the issue.
Oh well. Screw that.
He rolled over again. Hmm, now what? I suppose I could just go sit in a corner and be emo for the rest of the day, he thought sarcastically.
Dark raised his head to a soft "ping." Someone had pressed the doorbell, but who would visit him at this time? Did the trio come back already? It couldn't have been more than half an hour since they had left. Getting to his feet, he walked over to the door and peered through the viewing hole. His clear blue eyes narrowed. A postman was standing outside his door with a clipboard to sign and a package. Dark was suspicious, however, because he knew that the postal office never did deliveries before noon for his area.
Dark had had several experiences in the past of gangs trying to get rid of him or frighten him by coming to his front door, but he had always been prepared. The gangs should know that he could beat them in a fight, and that it was near impossible to catch him off guard with simple tricks like disguising as the postman. What was with this sudden renewed effort to get him?
Dark waited a few more minutes by the door to see what the postman would do. If he was indeed the real postman, then the man would leave and come back another time. If not…
The "postman" rubbed his gloved hands together, trying to keep away the winter wind's bite. This man had no intention of leaving.
Well, if that's the case…
Dark cracked his knuckles. These guys were going to learn one hell of a lesson.
Opening the door, he had been expecting the man to confront him. He had been expecting for the "postman" to do something to attack him in one way or another. What Dark hadn't been expecting was for the postman to look up at him in fright and block his head with both of his arms up against his temples in defense.
"Please! Please don't hurt me!" he shook. He had dropped the clipboard and package onto the ground.
"Wha -?" Dark was perplexed. He frowned, and then said sternly, "what are you doing here? What do you want?"
"I w-was forced into this! I d-didn't want t-to but Harrier made me and –"
"Harrier?" Dark hissed at the name.
"P-please! I spoke too much, they'll come after me now! You've got to help me! You have to help me! HELP ME!" He began to shout hysterically in a panic, leaving Dark not knowing what to do. He wasn't used to handling situations like this.
"Okay. Okay okay, just calm down."
"THEY'LL GET ME NOW YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!"
"Be quiet! You're causing a commotion! Just calm down!"
"Put me out of my misery!" the man wailed. He hung his head and buried his face in his hands.
Realizing how hopeless it was to calm the panicked man with words, Dark decided to oblige in putting him out of his misery. "All right then. I'm sorry about having to knock you unconscious for a while." He brought his hand back and prepared to hit him across the head in such a way that the man would black out smoothly. However, he was surprised when the postman suddenly stopped screaming and calmly brought his right arm up to block Dark's hit.
The man smiled out of pity, and his slightly creepy grin made Dark realize his mistake in letting his guard down. "Yes, I am sorry for you."
As soon as Dark's fist connected with the man's, he felt it hit something metallic under the jacket, like a thin canister. There was a cracking noise, and then a low hiss of air as nauseous fumes escaped from the arm that Dark had hit. Dark tried to back away, but instead he staggered with dizziness and felt a tingling sensation in his arms and legs. The gas had caught a direct hit on him, and his reaction was becoming slower. It wasn't difficult for the man to come up to him and grab him around the neck, the paralyzing gas still fuming out of his arm.
Both of them fell to the ground, the gas starting to affect the postman as well. Dark struggled to stay awake. However, the last of his remaining energy disappeared when he gave up at the sight of people rushing towards him. They were laughing about something, and before long, he felt a gag jerk over his mouth and a rough chord immobilize his hands and feet.
Damn…
XXXXXXXX
Four gang members from Smoker's gang sat uncertainly in the car where Dark lay bound inside the trunk. To be honest, they had been caught off guard by the fact that Dark had gone back to looking like, well, Dark. "He lost that blond look real fast," one of them mentioned.
Smoker heaved his shoulders in a shrug. "It's too bad for him. Harrier wanted to see him, and you can't escape someone who's from Talon Four."
"Aren't they Talon Three now?"
Smoker paused, and then warned, "Don't say that in front of Harrier. He'll get upset."
The car made its way around the small lakeside town. It stopped and let some pedestrians cross the road, the people blissfully unaware that it was in the middle of kidnapping an unfortunate teenager. The "postman" lay sleeping peacefully in the backseat from the effects of the paralyzing gas, and his companion sitting next to him grumbled, trying to take off his shoes.
"Ugh, I'm so glad I can finally take these things off." He popped one off with a grunt and began to pull on the other one. "Seriously, these shoes are two sizes too small."
"Harrier's orders. Whatever footprints we leave behind are footprints that are smaller than they're supposed to be."
"Yeah but still…"
"Don't you think we're better off trusting a man who was part of a group that never left a trail for the police to follow?"
"Yeah, yeah," the man mumbled, rubbing his feet. Then, he reached over and carefully rolled up the sleeves of the sleeping postman. Under the sleeves were hollow, aluminum armbands with several valves lining the sides. The armband that Dark had hit was dented inwards, and it was apparent the force had popped the valves open so they would release the gas inside. "Man, so this thing is from Talon Four?"
"Hey, careful with touching that. You don't want to accidentally set that off or we're all going down," Smoker scolded from the driving seat.
"Heh. But only strong impacts will set it off, right?"
"Yeah, but we can't be too careful. The only reason Harrier had it was because Talon Four thought it was too stupid to hold onto."
"I think it's a good idea. I mean, if you know you're going to be beat up then you might as well have something that's going to take your opponent down with you."
"Idiot, that's why it's stupid; it's only for people who are going to go in knowing they don't have a winning chance. It's a kamikaze device. Talon Four isn't like that." Smoker sighed. "I kinda feel sorry for the kid though. Harrier hasn't been in a good mood ever since he's lost his legs." He looked at the road ahead sadly. "If I wasn't scared shitless of the guy I would've run far away from him a long time ago."
The rest of his group agreed.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Sir! It's Harrier, sir!"
"Hm? Is that you, Hawk? What is it?"
"I just heard that Harrier has planned a kidnapping."
"…Is that all?"
"Uh, what?"
"I said, 'Is that all?' If it's just a kidnapping then it's rather minor for something a kind of man like Harrier might do."
"Um, well, yes – "
"Hawk, do not bother me with petty details of the life of Harrier. I said I only wanted significant details."
"Sir, it's only a kidnapping at the moment. There are…rumors. I hear he's out for blood this time, but since it's only a rumor it's unreliable and – "
"Out for blood? Now that is significant."
"But sir, they're rumors and you know how unreliable rum – "
"Hawk, what did I say about being specific? The thing I like about you is that you come back to me with reliable facts, but the thing I don't like about you is that you disregard speculations because they're not reliable."
"Yes sir."
"Sometimes, speculations and rumors can be just as true. Do you know who he has targeted, and why?"
"Well sir, they're only rumors but – "
"Hawk…"
"Yes sir. This is what's interesting: I hear he is after the son of the man who he had a tangle with two years ago. The man from that incident, sir, which led to Harrier being dismissed from Talon Four."
"Indeed? How unlucky of him to go after this venture right when we arrive."
"And sir, another curious thing…"
"Hm?"
"Do you remember the name of the son?"
"I know I should, since it's my money that is paying for his property taxes and everything else; a compensation, if you will, for Harrier's actions. But an agent handles that for me and I have no interest in names. Why do you ask?"
"Well… the boy's name happens to be Link Petrov. It's exactly the same as our target's."
"What?! Are you telling me Mr. Petrov is the same person as the one who is going to be kidnapped?"
"Uh, no, I don't think so. I think it's just a coincidence, but I thought that was odd."
There was a loud sigh from Dugal's end. "Hawk, please make sure to filter out any irrelevant reports from now on. I do not care about the coincidences of names."
"I'm sorry sir. I just thought it was interesting."
"…Yes, I do admit it is interesting. Curious, even. However, interesting though it may be, it is irrelevant."
"Yes sir."
"Hmmm, well, keep a close watch on Harrier. If he does anything that might ruin our name, stop him."
"Yes sir. Sir, may I request backup?"
"Backup? Surely you can handle Harrier by yourself. The man's a cripple."
"Yeeesss, but he's still Harrier…"
"What is he going to do, roll you over with his wheelchair?"
"You overestimate me, sir, and underestimate Harrier. And he might roll me over with his wheelchair, sir."
"If that's true, then you are no longer needed by Talon Three. Come, come, Hawk, you are only put off by the difficulties we encountered by the Harrier of the past."
"He gave even you trouble, sir."
"False."
"…yes sir."
"Hm. In any event, keep a close eye on him and handle him as you see fit. If it leads to getting rid of him for good, then be quiet on how you go about it. The less attention we have the better."
"Yes sir."
"And Hawk?"
"Sir."
"You're right. Be careful around Harrier – he was our slash man after all."
"…Yes sir."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Dr. Willits gently tugged Skull Kid's hand to move him along to the main research area where his newest device was being set up. Things had been moving along steadily even after that event with those troublesome teens. Skull Kid, enjoying the attention he was getting from all the researchers, happily obliged and skipped after the lanky doctor. The boy played a beautiful Adagio as he hopped along, inciting a couple of his fire fairies to appear and follow after. Dr. Willits and the rest of his team had long since given up on telling Skull Kid what he can and cannot do, since the more rules they set the more he enjoyed breaking them. The doctors quickly learned that with Skull Kid, reverse psychology worked best.
Several researchers walking the halls scooted out of the way of the flitting balls of fire to avoid being burned. Skull Kid giggled, and ran ahead.
"Come this way. We tweaked your stage a little, Skull Kid." The doctor led the giggling boy over to the device. Skull Kid scrutinized it for a few minutes, and then a wide grin spread on his face.
"What will I get if I play a song this time?"
"That will depend on your performance, surely. Last time I answered you before hearing your song you played one note and left."
"Heehee, I surprised you, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did," the doctor replied tiredly.
"What if I said I won't play anything unless I knew what was in it for me?"
The doctor snapped his fingers towards his assistants by the computer monitors. He told them to ready an experimental run, and then plopped Skull Kid on the platform of the device with two tall pillars on both ends. Dr. Willits chuckled. "You sure are a difficult boy."
"So what's in it for me?" Skull Kid repeated. He blew a note on the Ocarina, causing an orb of fire to burst in the air next to him. He was surprised, however, when the six-winged orb didn't disappear when he stopped playing. "Huh?" His eyes widened, and then he noticed the doctor nodding his head satisfactorily.
"Good! It's working!" The doctor waved his hand towards his assistants again, and they changed a few parameters on the monitor. Upon doing so, the fire fairy disappeared again. Skull Kid squeaked.
"Wow that was so cool!" He would have looked like a normal, bubbly boy if it weren't for the glint in his cat-like eyes. "How did you do that?"
"It all has to do with this little stage," Dr. Willits tapped the platform Skull Kid was on with his foot. "Now are you interested in playing a song for us?"
"Yeah!" Skull Kid took a crooked bow and brought the Ocarina of Time to his lips. Just as he began to play, the doctor moved over to one of the computer monitors that were taking data. He watched the data points appear on the screen.
He fiddled with the edge of his coat. Things were progressing marvelously well, and he guessed it would only take a few more months for the initial runs would be complete. Skull Kid was getting better with the Ocarina every week, and he was adding new segments to his musical piece every time he played. The doctor was also able to see correlations – with every improvement the boy made on his song, the six-winged "fairies" would grow larger. The computer monitor also showed that there was a greater energy output from the orbs of fire as they increased in size.
He looked over to where Skull Kid was playing now. There were currently four fire fairies the size of a beach ball circling around. The doctor hesitated. He noticed there were fewer of them than before… did that mean that number was sacrificed for size? He checked the graphs on the computer again. Well, the energy output was far greater for four bigger ones than from the initial dozens of tiny ones.
"Dr. Willits, there's a message for you from Mr. Ganon." An assistant said quietly by his side. A flash of annoyance crossed the doctor's face from being interrupted.
"What is it?" He asked curtly.
"Mr. Ganon would be making a visit tomorrow. He wants to see the progress of project Avilux Ignis."
The doctor almost fell out of his chair. "H-he's coming? Here? Tomorrow?" he sputtered. Then, he glanced uneasily at Skull Kid playing.
"Yes."
"All… all right. Thank you."
The doctor sat in a slight daze. He had a somewhat creepy obsession with Ford Ganon, almost to the point of idolizing him like a god. At the same time, the man feared him. He only felt comfortable showing the progress with this project after he was sure it was completely fine. Besides, he just knew Skull Kid was going to cause trouble for his boss and the doctor was going to take the ultimate responsibility for whatever might happen.
Dr. Willits observed Skull Kid again. His eyes wandered over to the orbs of fire. Their movements have changed, he noted with mild interest. When this project first began, those fire fairies had been flitting in an almost insect-like fashion. Now that they were bigger, however, they swooped around like vultures. Yes, 'swoop' was a good word to describe their movements…
Excited by the observations, the doctor wrote down a few notes in his notebook with a small smile on his face.
Next to him, his graduate research assistant made the same observations but was less ecstatic than the doctor. He had a sudden gut feeling that these fire fairies that had started off as lively, pretty things were something more sinister. Their wings flashed and flared, and though they never burned Skull Kid, they didn't hesitate to… attack… some of the assistants if they got too close. This occurrence had increased in frequency as they grew larger. The assistant wondered to himself what would happen when the numbers finally decreased to one. He hoped the doctor knew what he was doing.
XXXXXXXXX
Gale balanced on top of a half-rotten log in the middle of the forest. He munched on his sandwich he had packed with a flat expression that had "I told you so" written across his forehead. Zelda sat across from Gale with a disappointed look, and Link appeared frustrated. After a while, Link took a deep breath. "I know it has to be here…"
"Oh yeah, because everything you say is so right," Gale spat sarcastically.
Zelda rubbed her arms to keep away the chill, and then looked up at the sky. "We can probably look for another two hours or so before heading back. The forest will get dark really soon."
"Yeah…" Link sounded dejected. "I didn't think it would take this long to find it. I don't recognize anything about this place."
"I tell you, it doesn't exist!" Gale insisted.
"You and your pessimism, would you just shut up for once, Gale?" Zelda snapped, much to both boys' surprise. "Dark found a temple before. We can ask him to join us tomorrow." She stood up defiantly, grabbed a bewildered Link by the arm, and led him further towards the forest. Gale stared after them, mid-bite on his sandwich.
He was slightly peeved at first that she had spoken to him that way. His blood boiled, and he clenched his fist with a demented grin. Gale snickered as he followed after.
"Dear Nayru!"
Gale was almost knocked back when Zelda zipped towards him and gripped his arm tightly. He looked at the pretty girl holding onto his arm, back to Link who had his eyes on the ground with a troubled expression, and then back to the girl. He smiled broadly. "What, did he try to pull moves on you, dear?"
A flash of disgust appeared on Zelda's frightened face, but she continued to hold onto Gale. Now it was Gale's turn to become disconcerted. "What? Why are you holding onto me…?"
Zelda slowly relaxed her grip, but she was as white as sheets. Now Gale was genuinely disturbed, and he turned to Link for an explanation. "What was that?" he asked when Link mumbled something.
Link repeated again, quietly. "Suicide." He turned his head to Zelda sympathetically. "This is your first time seeing death, isn't it?"
Zelda nodded, and Gale frowned. "Death?" He took a step forward towards Link, and blinked when he saw a discolored pile of human bones just in the shade of a tree, with tatters of the person's clothes limply sagging over it. A long, slender sword was pierced through the skeleton's ribcage over the heart. "Ah…"
"This is the forest where people enter and never come back," Link mentioned. He stepped around the pile of bones, careful not to disturb it. "We'll probably see more like him, whoever he was… Dark did say that this forest was famous for its suicides."
The mood suddenly became somber. It reminded them that this was no ordinary forest; it had a creepy history behind it and it certainly wasn't a place people went to for family fun.
As Link walked away from the deceased, he thought he heard a faint clattering sound. He whirled around, only to come face to face with his two companions who appeared bothered by their earlier finding. Gale cocked his head questioningly, and Link peeked over their shoulders. The pile of bones was still a pile of bones.
He stared at it for a while longer before turning his heel and continuing onward. "…It's nothing." Link pinched the bridge of his nose. His past experiences with the Lost Woods was making him imagine the sound of the skeletal Stalfos. Imagination was a powerful thing – those bones hadn't made that clattering sound, and yet his ears had deceived him.
XXXXXXX
Dark groaned, and tried to open his eyes but found a cloth wrapped tightly over them. He tried to shout, but his voice came out as a muffle through another cloth wrapped over his mouth. A dull pain over his wrists and ankles, along with a slight numbing sensation from his legs from having them in the same position for so long, made him realize he was bound immobile.
That's right! I was captured.
He still felt sluggish from the effects of the gas, and he had trouble remembering everything that had happened. Little by little, he recalled how he had fallen for the fake postman's wailing and had punched his arm to release the paralyzing gas. Well, there's nothing I can do in this position, Dark thought glumly. The more he struggled with the bonds around his wrists and ankles, the tighter they became until he worried they would cut off his circulation. Dark tried his best to calm down and think about his predicament instead.
He couldn't see anything because of his blindfold, but from the way the ground vibrated he could tell that he must be inside a car. There was also the dull thrum of an engine coming from below as well, confirming this idea. They were taking him somewhere, and he could hazard a guess that they were most likely taking him to meet Harrier himself.
Dark had some idea of what Harrier wanted; it was to hurt him or maybe even kill him. It was a wonderful prospect.
How long have I been unconscious for? Dark wondered. Another bout of worry washed over him as he thought about how helpless he was with his hands and feet bound together. Trying to take his mind off of the worry, he began to plan out how he could possibly escape once his captors took him out of the car.
There was a rumble and a slow, heaving lurch as the car slowed down and turned into a driveway. Dark muffled an "ow" when he bounced and rolled inside the trunk, hitting his head against the side of the wall. He could hear his heart thumping when the car stopped and he heard the doors open.
Now what?
The doors slamming shut, he strained his ears and heard voices outside. He thought he recognized one of them as Smoker, the man from the gang he had beat up two years ago. They sounded just as panicked as he was at the moment, and he wondered why. As the trunk clicked open, bits of their conversation drifted through.
" – bad idea? Do you think Harrier would let us leave after we drop this guy off?"
"Oh don't be such a wuss! We haven't done anything to offend him."
"Yet."
"Hey stop that!"
They continued to argue, and Dark lay as still as he could, trying to gauge his options. He felt a hand pull him gruffly by the collar of his jacket and throw him unceremoniously onto the ground. Dark decided against struggling when he was dragged towards his destination, determining that putting up a struggle would result in unnecessary pain. It was better to save his energy for the actual leader of this whole business than on a couple of thugs.
Wincing every so often as his back scraped against the rocks on the ground, Dark patiently allowed his captors to pull him up the steps and inside a house.
"He's surprisingly obedient, isn't he," someone mentioned. Dark felt someone flick him on the face. "Or maybe he's not awake yet?"
Dark growled a warning through his gag, and the person who had flicked his face sounded amused. "Aw, he's awake and taking the abuse. What a good little wolfie."
Footsteps clicked along a polished floor, and for a moment Dark was relieved he wasn't being dragged across rough ground or carpet that would incite carpet burns. With a heave, his captor swung him across the floor and he skidded a few feet before rolling to a stop. Dark squirmed, trying to get into a more comfortable position.
"Show me his face."
Dark froze. He felt hairs stand up on the back of his neck when he recognized that voice. He would never forget that voice.
Light blinded him for a few seconds when his blindfold was forcefully ripped off of his face. He squinted a few times, adjusting his eyes, and then he felt someone come up behind him and twist his head up by his hair.
"Mmmf!" he protested through his gag. Then, he took a moment to look at Harrier.
Though the man was sitting in a wheelchair, he didn't look any less dangerous than before. His hands gripped the chair's wheels calmly, and his Talon suit was as sharp as when Dark had last seen him. Dark glared, and he met eyes with the man who had changed his life for the worse. That was when he noticed how chilling Harrier's eyes were – the left one was a normal brown, but the right was discolored to an off white, with the faint outline of a scar running across his eyelids. Dark didn't remember that from before…
Harrier gave a short smile. "Good work Kokuhai." He tilted his head towards the door without looking at the gang. "Take his gag off, and then leave."
They quickly obliged, and Dark gasped when his mouth was finally free of the gag. He grit his teeth when Harrier let out a hissing laugh.::
"You didn't follow your promise, wolf. Or should I say 'Dark?' I hear that's what you are called these days."
"What do you want?" Dark snarled.
Harrier rolled slightly closer and leaned forward in his wheelchair. They were in a high-ceilinged room that was dimly lit, and the shadows of guards moved along the floor above. Harrier flicked his right hand and a small blade suddenly appeared between his fingers. He spun it around slowly, letting Dark see every glint the metal made. "You and your father are the reasons why I lost my legs," he said quietly, "and my right eye." Harrier abruptly stopped the knife from spinning, and then flicked his right hand again to reveal two knives. "I wasn't going to do anything to you since I'm a man of my word: if you had kept your promise to lose your identity I would have left you alone. However, now that you have broken your end of the deal," Harrier flicked his left hand and two more knives appeared for a total of four. Dark struggled furiously to sit up so he wasn't lying on his side anymore. Harrier continued in the same, even tone, "I'll make you pay, boy."
A bead of sweat rolled down the tip of Dark's nose: Harrier was far from a helpless cripple in a wheelchair.
Travel Log:
Aokigahara - Otherwise known as the Sea of Trees, or Jukai. Some guy wrote a book about it and named it Kuroi Jukai, or the Black Sea of Trees, and it was about all the disappearances and suicides that happen in this godforsaken forest. That sparked a suicide boom; it was the "cool thing to do" to go kill yourself in Aokigahara. People sure are weird. Anyways, this forest thrives on all the urban legends surrounding it. Like, they say that compasses fail to work due to a spastic magnetic field (totally false, by the way), or that cell phones and radios also stop working (another false rumor). It's a little disappointing though, when you learn that an almost mythically creepy forest turns out to be the product of a bunch of rumors of people disappearing. Yeah, rumors. People don't vanish here, they just go and die here. ...Well, I suppose I can understand how some people might get lost since it's a huge forest. And it's eerily quiet here, like there's no wildlife or anything; not even the sound of wind passes through because of the sheer density of trees. Yeah, this place gives me the creeps.
But still, if people walk straight enough, won't they be able to find a way out of the forest? I mean, we haven't gotten lost yet so far... It's all rumors, right?
fleets: As much as I like my baddies, I can't find myself liking Harrier. At all. Prolly cause he's just psycho.
Midna Hytwilian: Yeah... Dark had a pretty crappy life with terrible luck. Not that he really could have done anything about it. Gale? Vaati? Or is it Gale? Who knows! (I sure don't). Sometimes I go back and reread the things I write about Gale, because he's actually "known" about Vaati since the Burger King chapter with Link - it's just all this time he's been in denial. ;)
jioplip: We'll see more of Harrier for sure in the upcoming chapter. And yeah, I'm surprised myself at how my updating has been - life is so dynamic, I never would have imagined I'd actually have time to write right now (shrugs). That question mark is well placed! I'm not sure how they feel about each other, or how honest they're being with themselves. It's what the reader makes of it; personally, I see Gale as having such huge commitment issues that as soon as it might become something real he bolts and becomes mean (er... meanER). We shall see! ;)
Sapphiet: I imagine Dark thought about all of his options, and realized how futile it would have been (considering how far he underestimated his opponent). He's also feeling a massive amount of guilt over his father's death, thinking that if he hadn't stuck his nose in something he shouldn't have, his father would still be alive. Oh yes, the bug! That will play a part for sure ;)
xBlackDragoonx: It's funny I never considered how there would be an "emo Dark Link" for every generation where there's no hero (and I wrote this story! O.o;). I think you're right - wow... that really does suck. Poor guy.
TheSoupDragon: Thanks! It took me some time to get to this point. There was a lot of explaining to be had :)
Astral S. Kepeire: Though I've never played OoT, I got the inspiration of Links' fight from what I've heard/read/seen about the water temple fight. Bingo! The goddesses DID make OoT Link look like what his modern counterpart should have looked like as a hero. So he has the same clothes, same looks, same skills (like lock picking), same everything except maybe attitude. Yeah, the Gale/Vaati conflict is coming up... and though I'm pretty sure about how it's going to play out I'm sure the chapter is just going to write itself when I start. Anything can happen, really, and for that I'm nervous about what's going to happen to poor Gale and/or Vaati.
Go right ahead! I love getting fanart (who doesn't?) :D
Wow... you're right about the OCs. I remember I used to HATE using them with a passion. When I first started I tried to avoid using Opal, but she turned out to be too important in BC to ignore (I mean, no Opal and no plot). Now most of the cast are true OCs (i.e. Dugal, Talon Three, Harrier, etc) or half-OCs (i.e. Dr. Willits based off of Zant, Loze based off of Ezlo, etc). I guess it was unavoidable... :P
henslight: The idea of not being able to control your own destiny is indeed frightening. It's one of the main reasons why Gale is, to this date, terrified of openly admitting he's Vaati even though he knows Link is right. Nono, the kids aren't actually kokiri - their personalities were written with the kokiri in mind (sorry if I was misleading). As for chapter number, I think we have around six or more left. It could change though, so I'm not completely sure.
Reily96: Haha, feel free to see what you like - I'm giving readers the option of seeing romance or no romance. Uh... I hope Harrier doesn't remind you of someone in real life (that'd be frightening!). And you're right - Dark is about to find out just how horrible even cripples can be. And yay you updated! ;)
Mirria1: Whooo, Vaati! :D
LinkxDarkLink: Yuppers, this is/was the big plot thing I'd been planning for ages. I loved getting into Dark's backstory - one of the reasons why he's one of my current favorites! Though Gale/Vaati will always have a special place in my heart lol. Thanks!
i-wish-a7x: Your wish is granted - Dark will be a veeerrrry important character in this story. So essential, in fact, that I won't be able to write the ending without him. ;) Thank you!!!