Man, it's good to be back!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The Great Sea
It hadn't occurred to the group just how far they had been flung until they found themselves crashing down into the ocean, but even the freezing cold water wasn't enough to wake the unconscious Saya and Ness. The waves bobbing up and down violently, the group struggled to stay properly oriented as they kept getting shoved underneath and losing their breaths for a few seconds.
"Everybody!" Krystal shouted. "Start swimming towards shore!"
"This is no shore!" Felicia whined. "We're all gonna die!"
"If you keep up that pessimism, we certainly will!"
Everyone began to follow Krystal's orders when…
"Pikachu-pi!" Pikachu cried.
"What is it, boy?!" Felicia called before realizing that the group was two short. "Wait…where's Saya and Ness?!"
"Oh, God, they've gone under!" shouted Lucas.
The ripping and roaring of the sea had proven too much for Saya and Ness, both slipping underneath the waves without presenting any sort of resistance and starting to sink. Samus and Lucas wasted no time in diving underneath and kicking against the strong current to reach the limp and unconscious bodies of their comrades, Lucas just barely missing grabbing Saya's hand as though she was suddenly pulled further down by an invisible force. He knew she was at no risk of drowning, but that didn't matter. The last thing he'd let happen to her was sink to the bottom of the ocean with no escape.
He kept kicking while Samus dragged Ness back to the surface. He was fast running out of breath, but stubborn will to save his friend kept him going, though he was starting to think twice about it. He began to feel as though his lungs were shriveling up the longer he went without breathing, and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from sighing in relief when he finally seized Saya's hand and began hauling her back to the surface.
Unfortunately, he realized that he was too far away to reach it. He must have dove at least forty feet, and as the last of his breath faded away, he felt certain that he…was being raised up at high speed?
Before he felt the sensation of being pushed from behind, he heard a loud howl from above the surface, undoubtedly being Amaterasu. What didn't make sense was how quickly he was being pushed, not to mention…just what was pushing him? He reached behind him and felt a wet and rubbery object, most of it pushing against his back. As he listened intently, he heard it. A loud and booming call that was high-pitched and oddly comforting. It was majestic, almost as much as Amaterasu's howl…and he had a strange feeling of what creature this call belonged to.
Lucas took in a huge breath as he finally made it back to the surface, realizing that the sea was now calm with the others just relieved to see that he and Saya were alright. Following this, he shifted Saya into his arms and cradling her like an infant before he turned to look at his rescuer. For a few moments, he saw nothing until a large white mass reared up out of the water and blew a jet of water forty feet into the air. The mass rolled forward until it revealed a massive tail attached to it, confirming Lucas' suspicions.
"It's a whale!" he exclaimed.
"Indeed." said Amaterasu before she let out another howl.
The whale responded with the same call Lucas had heard before, and he was surprised to see that it had come from underneath him. He looked through the dark water to see the great whale looking up at him, almost with a smile on its face. What truly caught his attention, though, was its size. It had to be more than a hundred feet in length, and its pearl-white skin helped to contrast it from the dark ocean water.
The whale called again and Amaterasu laughed.
"It would seem she likes you, Lucas. She found your daring rescue attempt to be rather stubborn, but very brave at the same time."
"Yeah…you can't expect me to leave Saya hanging whether she's immortal or not."
"Hey!" Samus called. "Ness is waking up!"
Everyone swam inward as the young boy started to wake up, and he yelped and struggled slightly upon seeing where they were.
"Calm down, Ness!" said Mewtwo. "We aren't dead yet."
"But why in the world are we…ship!"
He pointed over Samus' shoulder, and the group turned to see that there was indeed a boat sailing by just as the sun was finally coming up, but it looked like no boat they had ever seen before. It was large and wooden with a single massive sail on its mast, a crow's nest at the very top of said mast. There were cannons jutting out from the sides, and though they were far away, they could still see that everyone on board was rather scruffy-looking.
If they didn't know any better, they could swear they had just come across a band of pirates.
Still, pirates were better than the bottom of the ocean. The group began waving their arms about and calling out to the ship as it sailed by them from a good distance away, hoping that someone on board would notice them. Thankfully, the man in the crow's nest had through his telescope and leaned over the side as the captain passed below.
"Miss Tetra! Folks in the water off the port bow!"
"Got it! Gonzo! Link! Let's you and me get 'em aboard!"
Saya finally opened her eyes, finding herself in a wooden room with the sound of the sea softly slapping against the boat. She clenched her hands and felt them clutching the sheets of the bed she lay in, and as she turned her head, she found a blonde-haired young boy smiling at her from the chair beside the bed.
"Hey. You finally woke up."
"Link?"
"….uh, yeah. That's my name, but how did you know?"
The young boy wore nearly the same garb as Link, but his physical appearance was vastly different. For one thing, he could have been more than twelve or thirteen years old, and while he was still taller than her, he was still several heads under the other Link's height. Most interesting were his eyes, which were very big and almost cat-like. He looked like someone straight out of a manga or an anime.
He wore an appropriately confused expression over being called by name when he hadn't introduced himself.
"I…I know someone else named Link. Sorry." Saya responded before reaching for her head when it suddenly began to smart."
"Easy there. Your friends said you've been through a lot today. You need to rest."
"My friends…Lucas!"
Saya pushed Link's hand aside and struggled to her feet, running up the nearby stairs and to the deck. She shielded her eyes when the bright sunlight appeared, and it took her a moment to see that they were still out on the sea, but the waters were now calm and perfect for the great ship she stood on to navigate.
To her relief, all of her allies that had survived Jedah's blast were strewn about, some helping out with the pirates' work, others sitting around with nothing to do, and one in particular having a young blonde-haired girl hold his hair back as he got sick over the railing.
"Lucas!" Saya called.
Lucas shot his head up almost instantly and looked in her direction with no way to react when she rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders.
"Are you insane?!" she half-shouted. "I could have killed you!"
"But…what was I supposed to do?"
"Let me finish Ganondorf off, that's what! I'm not mad about you stopping me from doing it or anything, but you should've known better than to sneak up behind me like that!"
"If I hadn't, Ganondorf could have sucked that power out of you! He could've killed you!"
Saya stopped speaking and stared into Lucas' eyes, instantly regretting shouting at him even though she was more worried about him than anything else.
"At least she's up and at 'em." said the pirate girl before she turned to Link. "No thanks to the boy wonder here."
"You can't really keep a good girl down, I suppose. You oughta know, Tetra."
Tetra smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Well, you got me there. Anyways, welcome to my ship, Saya Kusanagi. My name is Tetra, and I think it's safe to say you've already met Link here."
"Yeah…it's funny, though. I know someone else named Link and he wears an outfit just like his."
"I would call that strange, but then again…"
She jerked her thumb at Saya's comrades strewn about the boat.
"I think I've officially seen stranger."
Saya's comrades in particular looked over in her direction at that very moment and all breathed sighs of relief seeing that their friend was safe.
"Thank goodness…" said Krystal. "I have to say…I think you had a good reason for hiding your power now."
"Yeah." replied Saya. "…is Ness okay?"
"He is well." said Mewtwo. "Samus and Felicia have been tending to him for quite some time now. I think he is enjoying it just a little too much, however."
"What are you…oh, Ness, you can't be serious."
The phrase "boys will be boys" was the only appropriate thing to think at the moment she saw Ness, his head resting on Felicia's lap with Samus sitting right beside him. There was no way to be sure, but Saya had the feeling that he was only pretending to be asleep.
Her eyes then roamed off the side and spotted Mario, lazily leaned up against the railing looking down at Luigi's hat in his hands. He didn't look nearly as depressed as Saya thought he would look. He had lost his own brother in the attack, and here he was not crying or even looking sad. If anything, he looked determined.
"Um…Mario?"
Mario looked up and smiled as Saya approached him.
"Hello, Saya. You feelin' okay?"
"I'm fine…well, not really…but I can't think about Maru-kun right now. About Luigi…I'm so sorry."
"What for? He's-a fine."
"Huh?"
Mario shrugged.
"I don't really know what it is…but I have a feeling that he's alright. He's come out of way worse situations than getting sucker punched into orbit like that. Either way, I'm not gonna give up on him. He's my little brother, so how could I?"
"And as for Peach and Yoshi…"
This time, Krystal and Mewtwo were the ones to speak.
"They aren't dead, Saya." said the latter. "In a comatose state, certainly, but not dead."
"Huh?!"
"I can't really explain it very well in words, but…I could still feel life within them."
"But Jedah sucked out their souls…shouldn't they be dead?"
"It doesn't really make any sense to me, either…perhaps that Morrigan woman would know something about it."
"If that's the case, we can forget it. I can't stand thinking about her after all she's put us through."
"You know, your words really did hurt her."
"Yeah, right. She's a succubus. Nothing hurts her. She doesn't care about anything
Krystal sighed.
"Don't be so quick to judge her. She might reveal an entirely different side of herself once she's been pushed to the edge. In a lot of ways…she's just like you."
Saya stared at Krystal with wide eyes, half-furious and half-offended that she'd dare to make that kind of comparison. Within moments, however, her expression softened as she realized that yes. They were similar. Both were exceedingly powerful (though the more powerful one was a no-brainer) and both solved their problems by cowardly running from them. But at least with Saya, there was a good reason she did so. What about Morrigan? Did she have a reason to always run from responsibility?
"If I see her again…and mind you, that's a big if, I'll talk to her about it."
"That's good. Ammy's been waiting for you for a while, by the way. She's up by the helm with Gonzo."
Saya dashed up to the helm instantly, making sure not to get in the way of the tall and muscular man steering the ship. He smiled as she came up.
"Ah, you're Saya, yeah? Your dog's been laying there moping all morning. Guess she's pretty worried about you. I'm Gonzo, by the way."
Saya nodded before jogging over to Amaterasu and hugging her. The dog promptly barked happily and began licking her face.
"You and I are going way too far for this whole thing to be worth it, aren't we?"
Amaterasu whined and rested her head in Saya's lap, prompting the girl to stroke her head softly. Little did Saya know that the goddess was having an internal conflict, all over something that Lucas had been pressuring her to do for all this time.
"What should I do…Lucas is right. Revealing my true self to Saya would perhaps greatly benefit her, but I do not want to ruin the relationship between us…"
Saya continued to pet Amaterasu and stare out at the lovely sea, certain that she had heard a whale calling from a great distance. She flinched somewhat when she was tapped on the elbow and turned her head to see the adorable mouse Pokémon smiling at her.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped.
Saya smiled and raised her free hand, gently scratching under Pikachu's chin. The Pokémon smiled and jumped onto Saya's shoulder and gently pawed her cheek.
"Pi pi?"
"I'm sorry?" Saya asked.
"He asked if you're feeling okay." said Felicia.
Felicia had left Samus to care for Ness for the time being and managed to get an awed stare from Saya. The girl would blink every time the catwoman swished her tail and tilt her head when her ears twitched.
"Y-yeah…I'm fine…better after what Mewtwo said, anyway."
"You're looking at me really weird. You sure there's nothing wrong?"
"I've just…never seen a catwoman before that's all."
Felicia giggled.
"Did you wanna maybe touch my ears?"
"Uhh…"
"Don't worry. I don't mind. Heck, I welcome it!"
"Ooookaaayy…"
Saya slowly reached out, recoiling slightly when Felicia leaned her head closer but still managed to build up the courage and touch her. Felicia's ear twitched and she giggled again while Saya grew an awkward smile on her face.
"So what do you think?"
"They're…soft, I guess? Not really sure what I'm supposed to say."
"That'll do. We should all get to know each other well if we're gonna be travelling together, anyway."
"Indeed we should." said Tetra as she and Link walked up to them.
Saya stood and scratched at the back of her head before speaking.
"Listen, for what it's worth, thank you for rescuing us."
"It's no trouble at all." replied Tetra. "Quite frankly, we're a little lost ourselves. We sailed into some strange fog while we were looking for land."
Saya and Lucas looked at each other uncomfortably. Hadn't that been the same thing that happened to Bowser's airship?
"So where are you headed now?" asked Saya.
"To the mainland." said Link. "Your friends told us all about what happened…so Ganondorf really is back, huh?"
Saya gritted her teeth and refused to look at them for a brief moment. The memory of Ganondorf slaying Takamaru was still fresh in her mind, even after she had been unconscious for several hours. She wanted more than to be rid of her cursed power. Now, she wanted revenge, and to that end, justice.
"Of course," Tetra spoke up. "They also told us that this Jedah guy he's working with built up an entire army for him. Trying to face him head-on is suicide, although a certain someone would prefer to do that, anyway."
She shot a glance at Link, who looked away and began nervously whistling with his hands in his pockets and his boot scraping against the floor. Tetra rolled her eyes before turning back to Saya.
"We're gonna have to build up our own army if we wanna have any chance of taking him on, so once we get back to the mainland, we're all gonna head out and look for anyone who can help us."
"Well, there's Chris, Jill, and Parker." said Lucas. "We could give them a call about what happened. And…yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, Morrigan would probably be a lot of help right about now."
Saya was about to speak again before the ship was suddenly jostled violently, throwing a few people off their feet and nearly knocking some of them overboard.
"What the hell was that?!" Ness shouted as he woke with a start.
"Zuko!" Tetra shouted to the pirate in the crow's nest. "Any ideas what hit us?"
Zuko jostled his telescope into his hands and looked down at the water far below, seeing nothing for a few brief moments before seeing a ridged back of…something rear up out of the water.
"Miss…it's back!"
"Oh, you have gotta be kidding me!' Tetra growled.
She ran to the side of the boat and looked over the side, as did Saya and many of her comrades. As they did, the ridged back appeared again, resembling some kind of fin.
"Please, for the love of all that's decent in the world, tell me that's not a shark." Felicia whined.
"That's not a shark." said Tetra.
"Good."
"It's much worse."
"…dammit."
Tetra turned and cupped her hands together.
"All hands on deck! Battle stations, boys! The Lagiacrus is back!"
It seemed like she had only just called out the monster's name when it finally reared its head out of the water and roared at them. There really weren't any words to describe ti properly, but the best anyone could come up with were "reptilian", "big", "dinosaur-like", and worst of all, "angry".
"What the…what is that thing?!" Lucas cried.
"A Lagiacrus!" shouted Tetra. "The freakin' thing's been following us since we first entered these waters and we haven't got a clue how to take it down!"
"INCOMING!"
They all dove out of the way just as the great beast swiped its massive claw at them and seemed about to strike again when Samus launched a missile against the side of its face, her Varia Suit having finally recovered. The creature roared in moderate pain but otherwise didn't react.
"Thing's built like a tank!" she shouted. "Anyone got some kind of weak point?!"
"He's going under us!" Link hollered. "Everybody hold on!"
The Lagiacrus reared up and bumped the underside of the ship with its back, threatening to topple it as everyone struggled to remain standing. The beast roared again as it surfaced and slapped the water with its massive tail, teetering the ship even more before it did something even worse: it climbed up onto the deck. It thankfully wasn't large enough to sink the ship instantly, but it was undeniable that the ship was slowly and steadily starting to submerge.
"We're sinking!" Gonzo shouted.
"Yeah, thanks for the heads-up, Gonzo!" Tetra growled. "We didn't already notice!"
"How the hell are we supposed to kill this thing?!" Samus growled.
"Let's not worry about killing it for the time being! We gotta get it off the ship before we go under!"
Krystal cracked her knuckles and unsheathed her staff, running forward and vaulting out of the way whenever the Lagiacrus swiped at her.
"Compared to some of the big monsters back on Cerinia, this thing is practice." she said with a smirk before taking a flying leap and grabbing onto its hide.
The beast bucked about as the cobalt vixen began climbing up its body, and roared several times in annoyance when more of its targets followed suit. Felicia, Samus, Link, and Tetra all began climbing up the creature's back, holding on for dear life as it tried everything it could to shake them off. Back on the ship, however, Saya and Lucas were quick to notice a strange buildup of energy along the creature's spine, as well as a distinct hum that seemed to be getting louder and louder.
"Wait a minute…is that thing about to…"
"Guys, look out!"
The five noticed and vaulted themselves up the Lagiacrus' back faster and faster before they leaped high into the air just as it unleashed an electrical current through its body. As they came down, they prepared their weapons and struck, only for the beast to throw its head forward and launch them all back onto the deck save for Samus who latched onto it at the last second with her Grapple Beam. She hung in front of the creature's great maw and aimed her arm cannon.
"Activate Plasma Beam!"
The grooves along the cannon began to glow bright red, and when the Lagiacrus started to roar, she fired a charged shot down its throat and released the Grapple Beam just as it snapped at her. The creature choked and wheezed on the shot, finally releasing the ship and delving back under the water.
"That's it!" Link cheered. "He's weak against fire!"
"Be careful!" Mewtwo called. "It's still here! It isn't even close to giving up yet!"
The Psychic Pokémon pressed his fingers to his forehead and focused. The beast was there somewhere…underneath them…coming up quickly…preparing to take a chunk right out of the ship.
"I think not!" he roared, reaching out with his mind and grabbing the second he got the chance.
Those aboard the ship watched in amazement and awe as Mewtwo steadily heaved the massive creature up out of the water, and despite how much it bucked about and roared, it was held firm. Mewtwo showed visible signs of strain thanks to the creature's intense weight, but he continued to raise it. The Lagiacrus turned its attention towards him and unleashed a furious roar before charging its spine again and launching a bolt of lightning straight at its captor.
Mewtwo may have been defenseless, but Pikachu was quick to jump to his aid.
"Pika-CHUUUUUU!" he called, letting loose a massive bolt.
The two bolts connected and locked together, the great reptilian Lagiacrus and the small mouse-like Pikachu struggling to push their bolts toward each other. The Lagiacrus roared again and shoved its head forward. Mewtwo's knees began to buckle under the creature's intense weight, and the bolt connection began to slip towards colliding with Pikachu. Suddenly, Ness rushed forward.
"Hold tight, little guy! PK THUNDER!"
Ness' bolt connected and began forcing the connection back toward the massive beast, at last colliding with it. It screamed in pain and fell helplessly back into the water as Mewtwo finally released it, falling to his knees in the process.
"Damn…remind me never to do anything like that ever again." he panted.
"Look out!" shouted Mario. "He's-a comin' back up…and boy, does he look-a mad!"
An understatement if there ever was one. The Lagiacrus wasn't just mad after what Ness, Mewtwo, and Pikachu had done to it. It was outraged. It swung its tail at the boat, slapping it with such a force that everyone stumbled backward and only Mewtwo and Krystal's telekinetic interference kept them from falling over the edge.
"Hey, scaly!" Link shouted, aiming his bow after dodging a swipe from the creature's claws. "Heads up!"
As the Lagiacrus opened its mouth to roar, Link focused all his energy into the tip of his arrow and miraculously set it ablaze before letting it fly. The arrow embedded itself into the beast's forehead, and it slashed about in anguish before grabbing at the first person it saw: Saya.
"No no no NO, SAYA!" Lucas screamed as the girl was helplessly dragged off the ship.
Saya thrashed about in the reptilian monster's grip, finally getting loose when she decided to try her luck and sink her teeth into its hide. Surprisingly, the Lagiacrus roared in pain and released her, even though this resulted in her flying a good distance from the boat. The icy cold of the water pained her as she came crashing down into it, and the feeling of pain was only made worse when the Lagiacrus began swimming toward her at high speed.
"Ammy!" Ness yelled. "Do something!"
Amaterasu obliged. She ran to the front of the ship, sucked in a big breath, and let out her majestic howl. It echoed through the air and the thousands of pounds of seawater, swiftly catching the attention of a certain massive creature below. Saya tried all she could to try and get away from the reptilian beast barreling toward her, trying her best to ultraburst again or do something to defend herself, but she simply lacked the strength to do it. She was about to shield her eyes just as the monster was a few feet from her…when a hundred-foot long white whale breached out of the water and forced the Lagiacrus under the water with her back.
"What the hell?!" Saya cried.
"It's that whale again!" Lucas sighed. "Man, she's just at your beck and call, isn't she?"
The Lagiacrus resurfaced and growled, searching all around for its attacker before it saw Saya again. It attempted to attack only for the whale to appear in front of it and ram it with her nose, forcing it backward and giving Saya enough time to start swimming back to the boat.
"Yeesh." Tetra sighed. "Talk about divine intervention. Link! Throw down the ladder and help her aboard!"
Link ran to the side and threw down the rope latter attached to it, and Saya began climbing the second she reached the boat. As she climbed, she turned to watch the whale and the Lagiacrus continue to fight. The Lagiacrus snapped at the whale's snout, only for the whale to sink under the water and strike the Lagiacrus with her enormous tail. The Lagiacrus grabbed the whale's pectoral fins and ended up with near-deafness when the whale opened her baleen-lined mouth and let out a loud and ear-piercing call, causing the Lagiacrus to release her and writhe about in pain.
"Atta girl!" Tetra cheered. "I tell ya, whales are just the greatest things ever…oh, no!"
The Lagiacrus had finally gained the upper hand and seized a portion of the whale's back in its mouth, keeping her restrained with its claws and digging in to the point where she started to bleed. She let out a pained cry that struck sadness and horror into the hearts of those on the ship.
"We can't let that monster do that to her!" Felicia cried.
"Right you are!" said Tetra before turning to the helm. "LINK AND NIKO! HOIST ANCHOR! GONZO! FULL SPEED AHEAD!"
The three leaped into action, Link and a short striped-shirted man hauling the anchor up out of the water and Gonzo directing the ship toward the gargantuan battle. The Lagiacrus was angry, it was hungry, and it was ready to tear this whale apart bit by bit. Thankfully, Tetra and her crew had other plans that it realized too late. It turned just in time for the point of the bow to jam through its neck. In a somewhat gruesome display, the Lagiacrus choked and coughed and tried to pull itself off of the point, but it was no use. It was stuck, and it succumbed to its injuries very quickly. Before long, it hung limp on the point and once Gonzo pulled the ship back, the Lagiacrus' lifeless body floated uselessly for a brief moment before it sank under the waves.
"Boo-yah!" Link cheered. "Got 'em!"
"Kind of a brutal way to go out, though, yeah?" said Gonzo as he scratched at the back of his neck.
Saya ran to the railing and looked out at the whale, who seemed gravely injured but certainly alive.
"Is she gonna be alright?" she asked.
"Look!" said Lucas.
A brilliant light ascended from the crystal clear waters and wrapped around the whale's wounds, and in seconds, she was good as new. Saya breathed a sigh of relief and waved to it.
"Thank you!" she called.
The whale let out her majestic call again before diving back under the water. Gonzo prepared to begin steering the ship back to the mainland when…
"She's coming right at us!" shouted Link.
Saya looked down at the water below just as the whale reared her head out of the water and looked at her with what seemed to be a bright smile. Saya smiled in turn and gently reached downward until she laid her hand firmly on the whale's snout. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, and she found herself stroking it affectionately.
"That's twice that whale's come to save us now." said Felicia. "Where did she come from?"
"She is Manaurai." said Amaterasu, taking care to make sure that Saya didn't hear her talking. "Some call her the Ancient Mother or the White Mother. To all, however, she is known as a guardian of the seas. The pure-hearted that embark upon the waters have nothing to fear, for she will always be there for them…and I suppose it helps that she is rather playful, as well."
Saya turned her head.
"Come touch her, Lucas! She's really friendly!"
Lucas flushed bright red and he heard some of the girls giggle, but he stepped forward nonetheless and steadily reached toward the Ancient Mother. She closed the distance between her snout and his hand quickly, and he found himself smiling at her majesty and her friendliness despite being hands-down one of the largest animals he'd ever seen.
"I don't know where you came from." he said softly. "But…thank you. You have no idea how much Saya means to me."
The Ancient Mother seemed to smile again…and in his head, Lucas heard a soft voice.
"I believe I can guess, dear one."
At last, the great whale slipped back underneath the water and began gracefully swimming away, breaching every once in a while as she went and letting out her majestic song. Those aboard the ship waved her goodbye before Zuko looked through his telescope and his face lit up.
"LAND HO!" he called.
"Perfect!" Tetra cheered. "The tides are finally working in our favour…wait a second. Who the devil is that?"
Saya and her comrades looked in the direction Tetra had pointed out, the former groaning at the sight of the green-haired demon waiting for them on the shoreline.
"Of all the people waiting for us…goddammit."
"Took you long enough to get back, honey." Morrigan said with a smirk as the ship came to a stop at a good distance from the beach and everyone disembarked.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw what happened, and I know this isn't going to make up for what I did, but for what it's worth…I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what? For being responsible for this whole thing or because you're too much of a…"
Ness stepped forward with a stern look.
"Saya, stop it before you say something you'll regret. Morrigan's not the real enemy here."
"He's right." said Krystal. "If we're going to take down Ganondorf, we can't start fighting each other like this."
Saya growled under her breath and looked at the succubus' nonchalant expression with scorn. She was responsible for all of the atrocities that were going on right now, and yet here she was acting like none of that mattered. Then she remembered what Krystal and Mewtwo had said. How in the world was Morrigan anything like her?
She sighed.
"I don't like it, but fine. Any ideas?"
"I went to where you guys were and saw what happened. Marth, Ike, Pit and all them. They aren't dead."
"Mewtwo already told us that."
"Did he tell you how to get them back to normal?"
"How?"
"Jedah is a stealer of souls. He uses the life energy of others to make himself stronger, and his body holds many souls that he has total control over."
"So we have to kill Jedah? Should be easy, right?"
Morrigan shrugged.
"If only it were. Jedah's a lot more powerful than he looks. My guess is that we'd have to gather all three of those Celestial Mothers that Link was talking about."
"I…don't recall." said Link. "If I met you before, I'm pretty sure I'd remember."
"Oh, great. First two Dantes and now two Links? …well, at least this Link is cute. A bit too young for me, but it's better than nothing."
"Sheesh, where did you guys get this chick? And what's this about another Link?!"
"I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but if we're gonna do something, I say we should do it quick. The last I checked, there was a whole army of those pig things headed towards Tokyo."
"Whoa, whoa, WHAT?! They're sending MOBLINS to a populated area?! What are they, crazy?!"
"I thought you knew that already."
Tetra stepped forward.
"Alright. Here's the deal, guys. We need to start building up our ranks or else we're never gonna stand a chance against Ganondorf. I say we split up and look for anyone who would be willing to join us. What do you say?"
"No sense in waiting around for them to flatten the whole country." said Samus. "Let's do it."
"Okay. Anybody know someone we could recruit."
Morrigan only needed a few seconds of thought before she smiled
"I think I might know who could help." she muttered before turning to Saya. "Saya, when you and Link were running around my castle…"
"What are you talking about?" asked Link.
"Not you. The other Link. But did you see a human man sleeping while you were there?"
It had been quite some time since Saya had been in Morrigan's castle, but she remembered the man as clear as day.
"Yeah. What about him?"
"He owes me for saving his life, so I'm sure he'll join our cause if you tell him that. You really need a good enough reason to ask him to join you or else…well, he can give a really cold shoulder when he wants to."
"Great. So who is he?"
"Dante's twin brother. Vergil."
Saya froze and remembered the memory she had heard in Dante Omega's head. It was safe to say Morrigan was talking about Alpha, but if Omega's Vergil was a villain, who was to say Alpha's Vergil wasn't the same?
Then again, what choice did they have in the matter? They needed to do something before Ganondorf and S.I.N. took everything over.
"Okay. Sounds like a plan."
"Good." said Tetra. "Gonzo, you and the rest of the crew stay here and wait for us to come back. Saya, Lucas, Link, Krystal, Felicia, and Pikachu. You guys head for that castle. I'll take the rest of you and head with you to Tokyo."
"Got it. Can you send us in, Morrigan?"
"No." said the succubus."
"…why not?"
Morrigan feigned scorn and crossed her arms with a fake pout.
"I'm owed an apology and I will have it before we go anywhere."
"Surely you can't be serious!"
"I am serious…and don't call me Shirley."
"Goddammit…fine. I'm sorry."
"Not good enough."
Saya could swear she was near to ultrabursting again with how annoying Morrigan was getting, but they dind't have time for that.
"Fine! I'm sorry for yelling at you and blaming this whole thing on you. I swear to devote my life to you, great empress Morrigan Aensland, mistress of all darkness! Are you happy now?'
"That'll do. Off you go, then."
The succubus gathered Saya's troops into one confined space before casting her hands upward in a graceful manner. A column of light descended on the group, and when it faded, they were gone.
"Was that really necessary?" asked Tetra.
"No, but don't we all like to have fun?"
"…you're weird."
"So I've been told."
Thus, they were off, but someone in the distance was way ahead of them.
"Back to the castle. Just as I suspected." Jedah muttered before looking over his shoulder with a cocky grin. "Lilith? Are you in the mood for a little playtime with our human friend?"
Ah, Wind Waker. That's the game, guys. That's the game I spent days of my childhood playing finding all the little secrets, fighting a plethora of creative enemies and bosses, and getting wrapped up in the fantastic story. Is it my favourite game ever? No. As I said in a previous author's note, that's Twilight Princess, but Wind Waker was not only the first Zelda game I ever played, it was also the game that etched Zelda into my mind as one of the greatest game series...no, THINGS ever created. And yes, I was very happy when they remade it for Wii U and when they put Toon Link in Brawl.
Now to address the two elephants in the room for the uninitiated. What game is the Lagiacrus from and what game is the Ancient Mother/White Mother from? The Lagiacrus is the first Leviathan-type monster (and by that definition, the first boss) you encounter in Capcom's Monster Hunter 3. The Ancient Mother, while heavily resembling a blue whale, is from Nintendo's Endless Ocean series and...I'm not gonna lie. The Endless Ocean games are actually REALLY good. Casual as all hell? Absolutely. Fun? You bet. Should there be an Endless Ocean 3 on Wii U? F*CK YEAH!
There's a list you oughta start up: the games ZombieAxeHero recommends to you. First it was DmC: Devil May Cry, then it was Samurai Warriors 3 (because Takamaru's original game was only in Japan), and now it's Endless Ocean. If you like animals and you like the ocean and/or scuba diving, you'll love this game.
You're welcome. ;)
SOUNDTRACK SO FAR
Saya, Ness, and Lucas- "Pollyanna" from Earthbound (SSBM)
Marth to the rescue- "Together We Ride" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (SSBM)
X and Zero versus Kirby and Meta Knight- "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star (SSBB)
Link versus Morrigan- Morrigan's theme from Marvel versus Capcom 3
Link versus Dante- "Never Surrender" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Krystal and Trish versus the Moblin horde- "Lock and Load" from Devil May Cry 1
Krystal versus Mewtwo- "Poké Floats" from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Saya versus Ghirahim- Ghirahim's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Frank versus Ghirahim- "On a Mission" from Dead Rising
Courthouse caving in- "No Redemption" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Samus escapes- Metroid Prime main theme
Chun-Li versus Samus- Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV
Standoff on Mount Fuji- "Douchuumen" from The Mysterious Murasame Castle (go on Youtube and look for a version by a group called ysk1210)
Saya and Lucas- "Love" from Mother 3
"LET'S ROCK!"- "Devils Never Cry" from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
The Devil Trigger- "How Old is Your Soul?" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Ryu and Ken versus Juri- Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV
Jedah's assault on the airship- Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 (SSBB)
S.I.N. versus B.S.A.A.- "Ride on Sea" from Resident Evil: Revelations (or Biohazard: Revelations if you live in Japan)
Ike to the rescue- "Eternal Bond" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Saya's sorrow- "Kinder Days" from Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (known as Successor of the Skies in Europe and Australia)
An army of twenty-one- Main menu theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dante versus Dante- "Empty" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Saya's rage- Tabuu's theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tetra's pirates- "The Great Sea" from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lagiacrus- "Sea and Land Tremble" from Monster Hunter 3
The Ancient Mother- "Shenandoah" from Endless Ocean (it's actually a old American folk song. The game's version is performed by New Zealand-based singer Hayley Westenra, and I kid you not, she has one of the most beautiful singing voices I've ever heard.)