The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z

What I Like Like About You

"Rings that can turn you into monsters?" Brown scoffed as he nonchalantly shut Duo's front door with his foot and unstrapped his sword and shield. "That almost sounds too weird to be true."

Though he was about to remove his own gear from his back, Duo stopped in place, pouting slightly at his successor. "Why would I lie about something like that, Brown?"

"I'm not calling you a liar!" answered Brown, holding his hands out in front of him defensively, "It's just… who would even use something like that, and why would they want to?"

Duo placed a finger on his chin and thought for a moment. "…Well, I suppose it would be a good way to experience the world through the eyes of another creature." He smiled. "An exercise in empathy, maybe?"

With a shrug, Brown snorted. "Ah, who knows?" He sat down in the armchair he'd placed his gear against and made himself comfortable. "Still, I'd kinda like to see how those rings worked with my own eyes."

"I still have them, you know!" said Duo chipperly. "I'll let you try them on if you want."

"Really!?" said Brown, leaning forward in his seat and grinning excitedly. "Awesome! Thanks, Duo!"

"Just a second," Duo said as he hurried down the hallway towards his bedroom. He returned a short moment later with a large, varnished box and sat it down on the coffee table. Then, he opened it, hovering over the many different rings situated inside until he found the one he wanted. "There we go!" he said, holding the ring up for Brown to see. "If I remember correctly, this one's the Like Like ring. When you put it on, it turns you into… er, a Like Like."

"Yeah, I think I got that much." Brown took the ring from his predecessor and inspected it closely. "It's… kinda ugly looking, don't you think?"

"It's not the most fashionable ring I have, no," laughed Duo. "Try it on!"

The younger Hero looked the ring over for a short moment longer; then he grinned to himself. "All right, then, here goes…!" He slipped the ring onto his right ring finger, and in an instant his form transformed into a pale green Like Like. Surprised by the suddenness of the change, the Hero-turned-Like Like writhed around a little, bending over in various directions as if trying to get a good look at himself.

"Well?" asked Duo, "How's it feel to be a Like Like?"

Brown could only emit a low gurgling sound in response.

"Oh, that's right, you can't talk in this form," said Duo, scratching his cheek sheepishly. "Guess you'll have to tell me when you turn back."

Suddenly, Brown froze in place, as if suddenly realizing something dreadful. Then, he wiggled around, gurgling in panic. Duo seemed to come to the same realization a moment later, and he gasped.

"Oh no," he said, "I forgot to tell you how to turn back!" He knelt down next to his gelatinous friend. "You don't have any hands right now, but you can turn back if you spit out the ring."

Brown's gurgling noises became angrier-sounding, as though asking how the heck he was supposed to do that in this form.

"You just have to try, Brown," said Duo, frowning nervously, "use your instincts!"

The frustrated Like Like writhed around every which way; however, try as he might, he couldn't figure out how to spit anything out. At this, Duo stood and placed his hands on his successor's "lips", gently prying them open.

"H-Hold still," he stammered, grimacing slightly as he reached inside of him, "I should be able to find it and — "

Suddenly, Brown's entire form began to contract, and Duo screamed as he was swept off of his feet and swallowed head first. For a moment, he kicked his feet as Brown commenced "chewing" on him; then, finally, he coughed the elder Hero back up, spitting out the Like Like ring in the process.

"Eugh…" muttered Duo to himself as he scraped some of the Like Like saliva off of his sleeve; then, he caught sight of Brown, who had returned to his normal form. "Brown, I'm really sorry! I should have told you about — "

He was interrupted by a loud belch from Brown, who then reached into his mouth and fished around for something with his finger. When he pulled out a metal screw, he looked back at Duo, his eyes wide as he realized that the latter's shield had vanished.

"…Brown? What are you looking at?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, no, my shield!" He sulked. "And Mini had made that just for me, too…"

Brown groaned, clutching his stomach and doubling over. "N-Never mind that," he said, "I-I don't think I feel so good…"

Duo stood, then pulled up his friend, draping his arm over his shoulder. "Here, uh, the bathroom's this way…"

With a nod, Brown walked as Duo led him towards the bathroom. Then, he let out another belch, wincing at the gross, metallic taste in his mouth.