I'm honestly shocked that I managed to finish this chapter in a week. I thought I'd be working on this for a while, but hey, go me for being productive with the story! Anyways, this one is a bit more uplifting by the end, so enjoy!
-Joost
Shattering the Stars
Chapter 16: For Our Eyes Only
There was an eerie stillness looming above the clouds of the Snowhead region. The peaks, normally blanketed with ice during the fall and winter, remained snowless during the summer, overlooking all of Termina quietly as the minutes ticked by. The Gorons had lived for many years undisturbed by any calamity, ever since a boy in green helped quell the rage of a beast known as Goht that had been unleashed on the temple by the corrupted witch, Majora. Yet now, even in the welcomed era of peace throughout Termina, something was present that none were aware of.
Hovering above the chilled clouds of Snowhead was a dreadnaught belonging to a man that was alien to the realm. He and his crew, all profane pillars to a shared plan, inspected the land acutely. On the bridge of the advanced ship stood Shatterhand, a tablet in his hand, absorbing all the information he could about the land that one of his foes hailed from. Beside his boots was one of his hounds, a blood hound, asleep comfortably with its master. It was outfitted with miniscule surgical enhancements around the eyes, ears, and mouth in order to make it a fearsome hunter.
On the tablet in his hand, there was a live feed of Clock Town, the drone's camera zoomed in and focused on the Stock Pot Inn. It was there that Shatterhand was certain he had seen a young, red-headed woman. Something about her called out to him.
One of the many men working under Shatterhand's grip nervously approached, a number of his coworkers pleased that he was the one that had lost the bet to speak to their leader. With a distinct stutter, he asked, "Is everything satisfactory, sir? I-In regard to the sentries out around the regions…?"
Shatterhand said nothing for a moment, until easily moving past his followers' initial question and going on to what he suspected they wanted to discuss. "You have news for me, from the captain, I presume?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then speak," Shatterhand ordered.
"W-Well, sir, there seems to be a new anomaly in our scans. Far out in realm ADDQ-2004, then moving to ADDQ-1988. Our readings show high variances of energy not dissimilar to your Ultra Sword…" After another moment of wordless collection, Shatterhand deactivated the tablet in his hand. "It-It seems that the variants have an ally…"
Shatterhand stopped. It was as if he had abruptly become a statue, motionless. About half a minute passed before another word was spoken.
"In some realms, it's said that victory is decided before a battle even begins," Shatterhand mused aloud, his words only confusing his underling. "It all revolves around strategy if I remember correctly. You must prepare for the kill while the opponent is unaware."
"Uhm… I'm not sure I follow, sir…" The technician mumbled in response.
"Do you think that we were unprepared for our battle in the Mushroom Kingdom with those… people?" Shatterhand asked, turning his head, glancing at his minion out of the corner of his right eye.
"N-No, sir…"
"Then how to you suppose we were not successful in eliminating them?"
"B-Because we were-"
"Not prepared, that is correct," Shatterhand said before the other man could even finish his thought. The hound by his feet instantly woke up at the sense of its master growing irritated. "Now in all of my years of doing this, only some of our targets ever fought back. A few didn't even acknowledge that they were on the receiving end of revenge. But now there is a band of misfits that were able to stand up to our own strength, ending that battle in what I'd call a draw."
"S-Sir, the captain was sure that such an outcome was a coincidence!" The technician cried, growing ever more fearful of both his leader and the hound that started glaring at him with a pitch-black will in its eyes.
"NO! It was mere coincidence that we were nearly beaten at one time in the past, this new threat is something that had been prepared, planned, and thought out for some time!" Shatterhand stamped his foot onto the floor, denting the steel lining of the bridge and making the entire room shudder just slightly under the force. He turned around, showing off the crazed look in his left iris as he clutched his face with his good hand. "To think… We were almost defeated by that speedy, blue rodent and that pantsless bobcat!"
Every single workman on the Dreadnaught's bridge ceased their occupations and looked with worry at their fearsome overlord. They all felt sorry for the poor soul that had been forced to speak with him about the new signals that the Nav-Com had detected.
"Hah… Hahaha!" A sinister, deranged chuckle came from Shatterhand's lips as he tightened the grip on his face, smiling underneath his fingers. "Those two were a powerful duo, all because of those puny, miscolored stones. Heh-However, I have no doubt that they acted on their own volition in an attempt to stop me. These new 'heroes'… They are being guided by someone… Ha!"
Finally, Shatterhand stopped laughing and silently pointed towards the technician before him. Without hesitation, his bloodhound sprang up and tackled the man, mauling him to death before everyone's eyes. Flesh was torn and blood was spilled, while Shatterhand simply turned back to the tablet and continued to stare.
"Captain?" Shatterhand pressed on the glass, calling down to his second in command.
"Yes sir?"
"Search for Technician#256's next of kin and find a replacement. His employment has just been terminated," Shatterhand said plainly.
"Right away."
"Thank you," Shatterhand responded, before another thought came into his head, "Oh, and conduct a scan of all our databases for a certain name, I want to see if we have them logged in any of our previous engagements."
"Yes, and what is the name, sir?"
"Romani," Shatterhand repeated, listening to the recording the drone had caught of the female innkeeper speaking to the woman in question over in Clock Town. He didn't recognize the name but observing that she was at least six or seven months pregnant had piqued his interest. That was the one, he told himself. That was the one that Link, one of his new foes, was trying to protect.
"What do you mean, 'He's not the same Link', Freddy?" Crystal asked her friend, trying to make sense of his bizarre choice of words.
"I-I mean… Well…" Freddy was at a loss with himself, his Switch nearly falling out of his now sweaty hands. Link, Mario, Luigi, and Kirby all stared at him with a bewildered look, wondering what the boy was going on about. "Okay, you four, look here!" Freddy fumbled with the cords and dock for his Switch and set them up by Violets' TV. After a minute or so, the flat screen turned on and the Inkling entered the home menu.
"Alright, everyone, c'mere," Freddy beckoned everyone to gather around him and keep their eyes on the screen. They all did so. "'Kay, so, you remember how I showed that you all were from these things called video games, right?" The four travelers nodded with suspicion, their thoughts on the matter still murky with confusion. "Well, don't freak out, but…"
The TV was flooded with a distinct red, the image of a controller that Mario was familiar with on screen before wiping away and presenting a slough of icons, a number of them box-art for games that the red and green plumbers knew.
"Hey Weege, look, Kid Icarus!" Mario pointed to one of the games available, recognizing the sprite of an angel with a bow battling various monsters against a black background, all surrounded by a neat, silver border.
"Mario, you know about this?" Tael asked, flying closer to the plumber.
"Yeah, back home in Brooklyn, me and Weege had this nifty little console that we could play games on. It was pretty new," Mario hadn't thought about his precious entertainment system in some time, but fond memories flooded back of him and his brother competing in a match of Tetris.
Freddy just absorbed all of what Mario said with silence, inwardly freaking out that Mario had some knowledge of the games he was about to show them. It simply blew his mind. Then it occurred to him that it was just at least some of the games since Mario referred to his console as 'new'. His thumbs flicked the joystick repeatedly, scrolling through the many, many options that had been granted on the service while he thought about what exact time period each of these visitors came from. After all, when he saw Violet spending time with Kirby, he didn't appear to know what a phone was.
"So you guys know some of these here?" Freddy asked, slowing his pace as he scrolled along, "Like TwinBee, Urban Champion, Metroid, and, uh… Oh hey, Double Dragon and StarTropics! You know 'em?"
"I mean, we've played Urban Champion together."
"We kinda hate that game," Luigi added, "But it's the fun sort-of hate, y'know?"
"Yeah, and I've played a bit of Metroid, I think…" Mario put his hand to his chin, scratching it lightly as he thought about the few games he used to own. There was a lot to go over, his shelf of games not that large nor small. "Though I don't remember a game called 'StarTropics' or 'TwinBee', though. Do you, Weege?"
"Nah," Luigi shook his head.
"But why are you telling us this?" Tael butted in.
"Because…" Freddy stopped scrolling and let the group see what he had landed on. On the screen was an image of box art, with big, bold, red lettering saying, 'SUPER MARIO BROS.' "This is one of your first games, and right next to it," Then they saw the gold-colored box art of a platinum shield, the words 'The legend of ZELDA' written neatly below it. "This is where you guys come from. I didn't want to show you guys this so soon, but what Link said… I just couldn't stop myself…" The Inkling wore a sorrowful look as he exited out of the app and looked for another similar one.
Mario, Luigi, and Link were speechless, struggling to process all the wild information in such a short time. Kirby was shocked as well, but simply couldn't fully emphasize with the others due to Mario still unable to understand him.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped, hoping that he could at least get through to Luigi and Link. Luckily, he did, as they turned around to face him almost immediately.
"Hey," Link knelt down and patted Kirby on the head, smiling. "That… That really means a lot. We're just confused, don't worry, buddy."
"Yeah, we'll be fine!" Luigi faked confidence the best he could, sharing a grin underneath his moustache. "Right bro?" Luigi tapped Mario's shoulder, but the red plumber didn't react. He had been staring off into space for a bit now, the comprehension of his life completely shattered.
"M-Mario?" Luigi said, entering his brother's view and waving his hand in front of his face.
"Weege…" Mario mumbled.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that everything we've been through, all the times we've faced Bowser… Is all that just fiction?" Mario had taken the game he saw before him into perspective and started mustering up thoughts that would outclass even the most saddened artist thinking their craft was worthless. His pupils were narrow, a bleak, pessimistic darkness lining his face.
"What?! N-No!" Freddy quickly brought the others' attention back to him; with the game he had selected on screen making Link's blood run cold. "Before I show you guys anything more, just because the stuff on here matches up with your lives doesn't mean it's made-"
Link walked past Freddy and stared at the screen. It was time for the spectre of despair to cast its shadow over him, moving away from Mario. Painful memories flashed before him at lightning speed, yet he didn't get overwhelmed. He took them with silence as a crestfallen, dejected shock crept along his spine. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. All he could do was stare at the screen.
'The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask', it read.
Even Tael, the eternally optimistic fairy was taken by surprise, but he fought through it and brought Link out of his trance by flying in front of the hero's face. "Link! Stop! Looking at that isn't going to do you good."
"I was trying to say," Freddy continued as Link slowly staggered over to the couch and sat down, his breathing heavy. "All the stuff on that screen, in those games, it's not exactly a reflection of what's probably happened to you guys." Freddy was working hard to keep the visitors' minds intact. He never wanted to expose them to everything all at once, but fate seemed to be against him. "Link, you said you were married, right?"
Link didn't respond, so Tael just nodded for him.
"Well, that means that after you beat Majora," Freddy was glad the name was both easy to remember and on the box, "You stayed in Termina!"
"I did, yes…" Link said, not looking at Freddy or anyone else in the room. His head was facing the floor, hair drooping down and casting small shadows to hide his face.
"Well that's not what happens at the end of the game. Maybe it's just how your own life differs from that one!" Freddy turned off the Switch, letting the light from the TV blacken. He set down the controller and sat next to Link, feeling a little odd that he had to comfort a grown man. "I remember you said that you believe in fate. Wouldn't you say that it was fate that led you to take a different path?"
"I…" Link quickly trailed off, thinking about what Freddy had suggested. As he was occupied, Mario sat down on the other side of the couch, Luigi following. Amy, Crystal, and Violet could only watch as their friend had to rush to make sure all their guests' minds wouldn't melt.
"Hey Link? I think… I think I do believe it fate now," Mario said suddenly. Link just glanced at the plumber, waiting for him to elaborate. "Freddy, was it?" Mario looked at the blue Inkling, "I don't know how the hell all these games of yours work, but I do know one thing. My brother and I are real. Kirby's real. Link is real. Maybe fate, however it works, is leading us all in some way."
"Y-Yeah! Exactly! Your lives have just as much meaning as anyone else's," Freddy nudged Link's shoulder, "So that shouldn't mean that you take it as anything less than what you deserve!"
"You know, the thought of differing outcomes after my battle in the Moon did occur to me before. Right when I met my variant for the first time," Link explained, sitting up. "He didn't seem to recognize Termina at all, and it made me wonder if there really were other timelines, timelines where I didn't stumble my way into Termina, or maybe even be sent back in time by the princess…"
"Really, Link?" Tael asked.
"Mhm, but I didn't want to dwell on it at the time." Link did his best to smile at his fairy companion. "Now it's practically confirmed, but I don't feel any assurance. I don't feel comforted by the fact that there are possibly dozens of different variants of myself and others, and that they can do what I haven't, perhaps fix or even avoid some of the mistakes I've made. I only feel… terrified."
"Excuse me?" Crystal was the only one who stepped towards the group, her eyes filled with compassion. "Maybe why you feel scared is because… uhm…" Crystal instinctively grabbed onto Amy's hand, causing the Inkling to blush. "It's because you're the only one who has to do all this."
Link examined Crystal for a moment. Her words looped in his head a couple of times before he understood.
"You're right," He said gloomily, "It's just us fighting this war against him, Shatterhand," Link peeked over to his left at the others. Mario, Luigi, and Kirby, the people whose lives he had stepped into out of the blue. He dragged them along with him and let the danger set its sights on them as well. "And we're losing," He finished.
"Well, it's like you said, Link," Mario forced a smile and flicked the brim of his cap, smirking like he valiant man he aspired to be. "There'd be no one. There'd be no one to defend our homes and more if we didn't step up to the plate, 'ey?"
Link eyed the plumber, inspecting him. At last, he could tell that Mario was acting seriously.
"I'm sorry, alright? If I gotta be the first to say it, fine. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry as well," Link replied.
"Awwww, see, I knew they'd make up!" Crystal turned to Amy and hugged her passionately, literally taking the breath away from her partner as she embraced her a little too hard.
"But just…" Mario looked around the room, at himself, his brother, and then Kirby. "We're still in pretty bad shape, aren't we?" Aside from Link and Mario's repaired relationship, their wounds still remained. The Terminian didn't have any potions with him, and he cursed himself for being so careless when leaving home, as he had plenty of bottles that he could've used.
"We are," Link hated to admit. "Violet?" He directed himself towards the purple teenager who had been silent the entire time. The second she laid eyes on him, she looked away, embarrassed. "Do you mind if we stay for a while longer to rest up? It's a lot to ask, and I'm sor-"
"Y-Yep, that's totally fine," Violet mumbled, her friends staring at her with confused expressions. Why was she being so distant?
"Oh, alright, thank you," Link nodded his head in gratitude and then stood up from the couch, his view now centered on the window. It was still raining, even after hours of downpour, with no signs of letting up. He briefly held an internal battle on whether or not to go outside, but with how cramped life had felt over the past few days, he elected to take his chances with the rain. "Maybe we need something to get our minds off this. Would anyone want to get some fresh air?"
"Ooo! Poyo! Poyo!" Kirby sprang up with excitement at the suggestion, having wanted to see what else the city had to offer.
"H-Huh?!" Amy, Crystal, Freddy, and Violet all exclaimed in unison.
"Yo, are you crazy?" Amy walked over and put her hands on her hips, wondering if Link had a screw loose. "You can't just go out in the rain!"
"Wha-" Now Link had a new reason to be confused, besides the lingering worries of how these 'video games' depicted his life. Tael flew over to his friend, also wearing a face filled with bewilderment. He knew to be careful around rain because of his wings, but why couldn't Link go? "Why not?" The hero asked.
Now was ample time for the countless questions he had about this realm to resurface. With how strange these teenagers appeared; it made him mildly curious if the rain was somehow different. Was it poisonous? Acidic? Some other third thing that was vaguely dangerous?
"Us Inklings can't go out in rain! We'll melt!" Amy and her friends still didn't realize that their visitors were completely like them.
"'Us'?" Link raised an eyebrow.
"We aren't like you guys," Mario stood up from the couch, "I thought that was pretty obvious." He didn't want to sound rude, but he pointed towards Amy's 'hair'. "All that isn't something we know. No offense, but you look like a squid or something."
"Wait-" Amy froze and then looked at her friends. They gave her some shrugs and she decided to change into her squid form.
"WHA?!" Mario jumped back, almost scared by how uncannily Amy's form resembled one of the minions of Bowser which he and his brother loathed. When the girl changed back, she couldn't say she was shocked by the reaction. Even Kirby was a little off-put by the display. Link was indifferent, squids being rare in Termina. In truth, he didn't really know what he was looking at.
"You can't do that? Is that why you were so confused by the food?" Amy pointed a thumb at the kitchen, referring to the fridge where Link and Luigi found nothing they could eat.
"Wait a second, wait a second," Freddy butted back in, hands outstretched as if he were folding out a blueprint. "Are you all mammals? Like, actual mammals?!"
"Are… mammals uncommon?" Mario asked.
"They're pretty much extinct," Violet said, having regained a bit of her deadpanned demeanor. "The only mammal that we know is a cat. His name is Judd. Oh, and his clone! Judd was preserved over a long time and is I think basically immortal, I think. His clone was created just a couple months ago."
"Hang on, wouldn't Mr. Grizz also be a mammal? Y'know, since he's a bear?" Crystal suggested.
The Inklings just stared at Crystal like bugs when the rock they lived under was lifted, exposing them to the harsh daylight. The lone Octoling felt small compared to the six, squinted eyes of her friends.
"Um… But it's just a little theory I have, haha. Mammals are extinct."
"Don't be silly, he's just a wooden statue, Crystal," Freddy said confidently, waving off the outlandish idea.
"Interesting…" Mario said. Whatever the history of this world was, he was a little interested in finding out while staying here for the time being. "No matter, I still wanna get some fresh air. It'd be nice after being cooped up here for so long."
Amy, Crystal, Violet, and Freddy just gave each other worried looks while their band of visitors left the apartment, preparing to step foot outside.
Link stood just under the overhang in front of the entrance to the apartment building. The rain blasted down and hit the pavement at a rate which made the Inklings and Octoling nervous. Mario stood right next to him, with Luigi behind. Lastly, Kirby was right beside Link's left leg, staring out curiously at the city, eager to explore everything he laid his eyes on.
Extending his hand out past the protection of the overhand, Link wanted to feel the rain. Team Inkstrike tensed up as they waited for something to happen, murmuring amongst themselves.
A raindrop hit Link's finger, then one to his leather gauntlet. More dripped onto his index, middle, ring finger, and pinky, soaking them. The sensation made the hero smile, not having felt rain hit his hand for some time. It was relieving in a way, how nature could ease him away from the stresses of his quest. Slowly he left the dry protection of the overhang and stood out, getting drenched.
"It's just rain!" Link hailed the comforting feeling of the storm, ironic when he considered his childhood fear of the rain. He looked up at the clouds and let the droplets hit his face, cleansing his skin just a bit. It was nothing compared to what a good shower would do, but he would ask the others about that later.
Luigi chuckled and joined Link in the rain, spinning around childishly, mimicking a scene from a movie he once saw with a man enjoying a strong downpour. He too felt almost a soothing power coming from the sensation of water hitting his body. It didn't matter if his clothes became soaked, he was happy for the first time in days.
"Poyo! Poy poyo!" Kirby danced with Link and Luigi, splashing down in various puddles, getting his little, pink body sopping wet. The pair of green clad men laughed as if Kirby had told a hilarious joke, Mario also stepping out to get in on the fun.
During those minutes that the crusaders messed around in the stunted rage of the normally fierce thunderstorm, they completely forgot about Shatterhand. The thought of responsibility removed itself from their minds as Amy, Crystal, Freddy, and Violet watched them, smiling as the groups' joy crept along their faces, making them consider joining them in the rain as well. Unfortunately, they wouldn't, their weakness to water being the only factor keeping them away from the enjoyment of ignorant play.
For Amy and Crystal, seeing such happiness during the storm was odd. From what they had seen in their lives, rain always seemed to belong to pain. For both of them, a lot of memories of trauma had been followed by thunder, almost mocking them as it got in the way of their happiness. Now, for the first time, they were witnessing joy in the company of raindrops.
"Eh, what's a little water gonna do to us? C'mon!" Amy, without thinking, grabbed Crystal's hand and went out into the storm, engaging with the crusaders in their little moment of excitement.
"Wha-? Amy!" Crystal was scared at first, as were Freddy and Violet, but when she noticed that the rain was just steady enough not to diffuse much of her and Amy's ink, a smile appeared along her cheeks.
It was rare for the rain to be calm enough not to disturb their bodies, but Inklings and Octolings could stand a fair amount of water before it started to hurt. The rain being perfect as to not bring them harm may have been a coincidence, the pair thought, but for a split second they wondered if it was fate. Nah, that's silly. Why would fate bring them rain?
Link, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, Amy, and Crystal all enjoyed their time in the rain, laughing and smiling happily as puddles were splashed and clothes were drenched. Amy and Crystal made sure not to get in the way of the puddles, though.
Later, after the fun was over, a thin line of water could be seen trailing along the polished, wooden floor of the apartment building lobby, leading towards the elevator. It continued on the top floor, number ten, trickling over to the closest of many doors to Violet's apartment. Since she owned the whole floor, it was easy for one to find their way around, and only a few doors were reserved for other rich folks.
"Poyo…" Kirby said drowsily, tired from all the playing in the rain. He emitted a sound akin to a cat's purr as Link pat his head, slowly drifting off to his own personal dream land.
Link was sitting in the bedroom Violet had given him, Kirby in his lap, looking out the window. He didn't have his tunic on, his clothing drying in the laundry room. He was shocked that there was an entire machine dedicated to washing and drying clothes, but his mind didn't remain on the topic for long. With Kirby fast asleep in his lap, Link was thinking about home, about Romani, and about the child they were expecting.
Ever since he met Kirby, Link felt something that he had never felt before. When he picked the Star Warrior up and smiled, an instinct that he didn't know existed bubbled to the surface. It was almost like a mix of pride and love, his chest enveloped in warmth each time he did it. A part of him hoped that such a feeling was that fatherhood was like. To his own surprise, he never asked Anju or Kafei in the months since Romani became pregnant. Maybe whenever he returned home, if he did, he could ask them.
The day was long from over, but a small part of Link longed for a comfy nap, just like the one Kirby was having. Slowly but surely, while he heard the faint echoes of Mario and Luigi sharing jokes in the living room, he drifted off to sleep, the spectre of despair having been vanquished at long last.
Link's mind thankfully wasn't on the silly games that brought him so much confusion just a few hours before. While their meaning still made him wonder how events in other realms transpired, for now, he tuned those thoughts out. Instead, he was thinking about his wife and child. Just before he started snoring, a smile was on his face.