CHAPTER 2 – You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison (My Chemical Romance)
While the song I listened to is something different than the one I chose for the title (mostly because I wanted lyrics) they should both be listened to. So even if you don't like/know Homestuck, you should go listen to Black Rose, Green Sun – Homestuck soundtrack. No lyrics, but it kinda suited the theme I was going for. Remember, I don't own these songs. I just like them. That's all.
Ghirahim had woken him early that morning, warning him that the demon realm was stirring. Something big was happening, and under no circumstances was Link to leave the safety of the mansion. He had snapped his fingers the moment he finished speaking, vanishing into nothingness.
So Link had practised with a bow for a few hours, confident that he hadn't allowed his skills to deteriorate. Only when he got tired of retrieving his arrows from the center of the target did he stop and rest.
He wandered the halls for a while. Eventually, he found himself back in the room he called his own. The clothes he had acquired on the way to the demon realm were still folded neatly on the desk, almost untouched. His blue eyes studied the bundle for a second, then he shrugged. There was no harm in it.
A few minutes later, he was clad in the clothes. They were the same style as his the uniform the Knight Academy in Skyloft had gifted him with, only instead of the emerald green, this uniform was a shade of green so dark, it was almost black. The cloth seemed to be made of a material he'd never seen before; it shimmered in the light, and even though it had been folded for weeks, there was no sign of creases.
He inspected himself for a moment, then nodded in approval. Just as he exited the room, he felt a slight twinge in the corner of his mind – a corner the Demon Lord had come to possess. He lowered the barrier in his mind to allow the demon to speak to him.
"Boy. The demons are stirring – the true demons of this realm."
Link cursed under his breath and made his way to the entrance hall, snatching the sword that housed the demon and quickly belting it over his tunic. "The demons? You said something about them before, about how your people were exiled, but those demons were already there and much more vicious." he frowned, grabbing the set of pouches he carried. There were times his pockets seemed almost bottomless, when he considered what he could fit in them.
Outside the mansion, he could dimly hear thunder blooming. In Skyloft, he'd never seen a storm before, except from above the clouds. Now, especially in the demon realm, he had grown used to them – even fond of the storms. Rain began to lash the building, the thunder howling a strange duet with the wind.
Today though, it wasn't calming. Adrenaline shot through his veins, waking him fully and heightening his senses. Unlike when he first began to fight, his hands weren't sweaty and his body was relaxed, but not dangerously so.
"Sky child... Link. These demons are amorphous horrors. They won't hesitate to tear lesser creatures into tiny, quivering gooey bits. And if the rumors are true..." the voice faded slightly, an unhappy note being carried across in his tone. "The demons don't possess much of a threat to the creatures already here... but if they found a recently activated portal leading back into the world of light..."
He didn't need to finish his sentence. Link was already ready to go.
"We need to go back, Ghirahim. I'm not going to sit here while good people die." he said fiercely, aware that the demon wanted them to stay low. "If they go anywhere near the surface, then I'll slice them to ribbons." his voice was ice cold, a tone that the Demon Lord had never heard him use before.
Before he had been forced to ally with the sky child, Ghirahim would never have considered returning to the world of light until the chaos was over. But now? Now, he felt like he owed the sky child that much, at least – an alien feeling. He didn't like it.
Being good made him itchy.
But he allowed his consciousness to speed towards the sword, becoming solid once he was close enough to the boy. "Well then, we should be going." he said simply, trying to make his tone sound exasperated. "We're going to need some way to fight back, even if this plan is foolish. It's barely even a plan."
Without waiting for an answer, he led the boy outside into the rain. Things were changing. He just didn't know if they were changing for the better.
There was tension between them as Ghirahim let out a piercing whistle, a large purple-black birdlike creature flinging itself out of the storm clouds. It landed heavily before them, its claws kneading the mud as it turned its head to fix them both in place with one large beady eye.
The Demon Lord gestured for the boy to go first, then leapt up behind him. He whistled again, lightly kicking the creature in the side to get it moving. Its beak snapped at the empty air before it shook itself, springing into the air with ease.
Despite being used to heights and often riding his own Loftwing, he didn't trust this creature to keep them in the air and not eat them. Or drop them. He wasn't sure which was worse. But it was faster than walking all the way to portal back to the surface. So he leaned back against the demon, one arm held before his face to shield his eyes from the stinging rain.
Soon they rose up above the stormclouds, the birdlike creature shaking itself as it glided through the air. Now that the blonde had a chance to get a proper look at it, he noticed that while its appearance seemed generally birdlike, its feathers were more like scales, and its wings were similar to the wings of Keese.
All in all, this creature was much more unsettling in the light.
Barely two hours later, they descended back through the stormclouds and landed roughly before the ruins that housed the portal. Link all but leapt off the creature, glad to be back on the ground and no longer available as a snack. The demon seemed amused by his reaction as he shooed the creature away, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and leading him into the ruins.
When they exited the portal, the blonde was surprised to find the ground dry, and not a single cloud in the sky. His clothes were wet, but they'd dry soon enough. The odd material seemed to be waterproof as well as durable.
Just as the once-hero began to think of where to go first, the demon spoke up. "It might be advisable to visit Zero and Icarus first, gather what help you can before you leap head-first into the onslaught of questions your sure to be bombarded with once you return to your people." he spoke derisively, waving a hand loosely in his direction.
But Link nodded in agreement, unusually quiet as they began to walk once more. He was lost in his thoughts, pondering the last time he had encountered the strange couple.
Zero's lips spread in a wide grin, her pointed teeth seeming even sharper than before as she lunged towards him. Their blades met in a shower of sparks, blue eyes meeting crimson. She spun quickly, the weapon arcing towards him again. He barely had enough time to block the blade with his own, his arms quivering from the strength of the blow... A pair of muscular, scarred arms wrapped around Link's middle, startling him. A boy a little older than him was grinning at him crookedly, short black hair swept back from his face... golden eyes... "I can tell how much power you have." he taunted, a pair of silver gauntlets forming around his hands and wrists, the fingers tipped with claws...
He shook his head slowly, brushing aside the thoughts. They had parted on good terms, even if the couple were... unusual, to say the least. Ghirahim glanced at him on occasion, looking like he was a little curious about what he was thinking. So he spoke up.
"What do you think about dreams? Do they have any meaning, or are they just something to be discarded and ignored?" he asked quietly, pinching the inside of his lip between his canine teeth – teeth that were a little longer and sharper than they had been.
Visions assaulted his mind rapidly, invading his senses. He saw himself, a black blade across his back and a black outfit that replaced his usual green one. He wore a smirk on his lips, his blue eyes confident in his own power. The vision changed, showing himself sprawled across Ghirahim's lap, his hands tangled in the other's white hair and the demon's hand on the boy's hips. He wore nothing but his trousers and a pair of gloves, looking more regal than ever before, yet looking more like a pet with each passing second. Another image revealed him held loosely in Ghirahim's arms, the citizens of Skyloft bowing their heads in mourning as the demon walked past, the still boy hanging limply. Zelda tried to run after the demon, but was held back by a young man with red hair, his pompadour mysteriously absent. Tears streamed down her face as the man murmured something to her, trying to console her. Finally, the last image was of Ghirahim stepping in the way of an attack aimed at his sky child, his arms thrown wide with a snarl as he shielded the boy with his own body. He turned his head and looked Link in the eye, a pained smile on his white lips. "We are bound by a red string of fate, you and I... one that will be stained crimson with your blood!" he whispered.
Ghirahim frowned uneasily. "Dreams... dreams are more than flimsy ideas. I think you should pay attention to your dreams, even if you don't like what they show you." he admitted slowly, reaching one gloved hand up to brush his pale hair back a little. "But remember than dreams are exactly that: dreams. Things you desire, things you hate, things you fear... pay attention, but don't allow your dreams to control you."
The hard expression in his eyes was hidden as he sped up slightly, now walking just ahead of the boy. He had seen the memory of his dream. And the demon was afraid.