A/N: After a long hiatus, I decided to come back and fix up this story. And, seriously? This... this needed some serious, serious overhaul. I apologize to everyone that lost interest in this, or that was disappointed and wanted me to continue. I had to go through some... pretty hard stuff last year, and well, it didn't clear up until the start of this summer. Anyway, that's no real excuse, but I'm trying, and I'll try to finish this story. It shouldn't be too much longer, anyway, after I'm done updating/uploading all the new replacement chapters.
Warning: This is a CYBERPUNK AU (Alternate Universe), heavily inspired by Ocarina of Time, but not a parody/mirror/whatever. By cyberpunk, I am including dark themes, suggestive material (including but not limited to: drug use, horny teenagers, unorthodox violence, excessive cursing, and addiction/dependency). If this bothers you, if you are under-aged, there is a button at the top of your screen that stands for BACK. I suggest you use it.
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, amateur effort not intended to infringe on the rights of any copyright holder. Characters belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 5 - Boned
It didn't apply to him. Or, at least, that's what Link kept telling himself as he walked past the beautiful girl. Her mask was down, her hair was dirty blond, her face was better to look at than her body—which said quite a bit, because that body was amazing—and he didn't know how to deal with that. So, he did what he did best in situations like this—ignore it.
"I'm Zelda," she said from up top while he spent the last five minutes browsing through the debris, looking for his accidentally discarded modular shiv.
"I know," he replied though he kept his eyes to the floor. After another fruitless search, he sighed. "Four oh four."
Beep. Beep.
His head snapped to the left as his pointed ears picked up on the sound and finally saw it. A small handle with the blade retracted rested under a pile of dead cables in the far corner. Link strode over and quickly plucked it from the ground, sliding it back into the secured strap against his left leg.
Now that he had what he was looking for, however, Link couldn't ignore her anymore. Which was more than a little irritating for him as the program should have knocked her out for more than hour, but she was up in a little over twenty minutes, or just before his third shower ended.
"The missing heir to the throne," he said as he turned to see her staring down at him, blue-gray eyes slightly widened.
"How—"
"No one knows you're missing yet, of course," he interrupted. It was difficult to keep his expression passive, but he managed it pretty well as he climbed the ladder and gently pushed her aside. Navi rested on the rusted shelf above his bed, her holographic image seated calmly beside the device. Despite himself, a corner of his mouth twitched up in a skewed half smile.
:: Case file two six seven oh dash five five five five. Classified :: Navi announced.
Link felt, rather than saw, Zelda flinch. Seemed they hit a nerve. He took a deep breath as he reattached the Navigator to his wrist, waited for the hologram to dissipate, and then faced Zelda.
"Get out," said Link softly.
"You're in danger," she replied, eyes narrowed.
Link shrugged and leaned back slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest, expression calm. Her stare wavered.
"I can help," she insisted.
He shrugged, again, then slowly pointed to the window with a small smile on his face.
"Out."
A slew of unidentifiable emotions passed through her eyes before she shut her agape lips and leapt out the window. An uncomfortable silence settled over him as he quietly ran through his options. It was possible, if he acted quickly, to obtain transport out of the city and hide out until he could get his bearings straight.
"Contact Mido," he murmured as he shrugged on his thrice-cleaned synthetic leather jacket.
:: No response :: was the reply. Link frowned as he jumped down from his platform and made for the door.
"Contact Azazel."
:: No response :: He heard again. Outside, he shoved his hands into his pockets while he picked up the pace.
"Navi," he hissed, faintly remembering to keep the panic from his voice. "Is there anyone left here?"
:: Scanning life forms — section oh one oh ::
He walked—no, ran—deeper into his neighborhood. The total lack of chatter and the noise of the daily workings of people rang in his sensitive ears. The hum of electricity and unfocused static buzzed louder than usual, as if making up for the oppressive silence. A few more feet and Link stopped in front of the irritating demon-child's home—the very same kid who woke him up every morning with screaming and rocks.
:: Link! :: Navi beeped suddenly, startling him.
"Results?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
:: Residential section oh one oh abandoned ::
That was definitely the last thing he wanted to hear. Guilt suddenly shook him to the core, momentarily knocking him off balance. His vision swayed, and so did he. Get a grip, he cursed at himself and swallowed down the painful emotions. The wheels of his mind began to turn, an insane plan to storm the Gerudo Corp. complex and rescue his adoptive family already beginning to form despite the best efforts of his common sense.
So swept up was he in his self pity that Link missed the movement behind him. Before he could register what happened, his face pressed up against a metal wall, pinned.
He thought about struggling, but the rusted metal already bit hard enough into his skin without any excess movement.
"Fuck," he sighed.
"Truce," a feminine voice murmured almost mechanically behind him. "Your personnel files outline a self involved hero personality complex—"
"Zelda?" he grunted, suddenly very aware of their proximity and silently thankful he was facing the wall instead of having his back to it, or else he imagined he would be at the receiving end of an embarrassing ass kicking. He shifted slightly, uncomfortable, and vaguely realized she was still talking.
"…virus in the system to infect others and persuade them into obeying his every command. Someone has to stop him. You're the only one who's escaped and managed to stay hidden for—"
"Please remove your hands from my body," he interjected hoarsely, jaws clenched.
"Need to be sure you won't try anything," she replied as her grip considerably tightened on his wrists. Yeah, he was really in trouble, and not in the my-life-is-in-danger kind of way.
I'm going to hell, he realized.
Apparently oblivious to his thoughts, she continued: "…everyone, everything, life as we know it is in danger."
Sure, to him she sounded a little crazy and way too idealistic. But the longer he thought about it, and he really focused on it because he had to focus on something else, Link realized belatedly that she was right. He knew the mind of the man running Gerudo Corp, knew the security systems inside and out, knew how every process and program and system ran. Or, he knew how they worked roughly four years ago.
"A lot changes in four years," he muttered dejectedly. At his response, her hands finally, finally, released him, and he thanked the goddesses when she stepped away.
"Is that a yes?" she asked.
"Yeah," he grit out, breathing deeply. Taking a moment to calm down, Link filed away his unexpected hormonal reactions in a dark place at the back of his mind, to be dealt with later. Then he sighed, and slowly turned around to face her.
"So," he said lightly, "Where do we go from here?"
"We need to find a safe location to discuss things further. I don't trust this place." She gave him a pointed look, her hands hanging uselessly at her sides.
He sighed. "All right, I know a place."
