#and as you keep building and fixing hyrule castle also gets fixed

[1hellofacookie]

I may have said this on here before but

so many issues of Totk would have been fixed had they just sent Link to the past.

It would have given us the chance to experience a Hyrule that is still the same but also very different in certain spots and it would've made sense. It would've been so interesting to explore the old buildings and structures, and see how the land evolved and changed, how the flow of time affected it.

The lack of Sheikah tech would've made sense as well as the abundance of new monsters.

We also could have gotten a story that finally unfolds alongside the player, where your progression actually has an effect on the world.

We could have gotten a variety of new armor/clothing and weapons.

I think instead of the focus on the depths it would have been so much more fun had the world changed more. The depths are too huge, empty and dark to be interesting and to feel rewarding instead of like a chore. Like, keep some caves here and there, put some cool rewards in them, or a side quest/puzzle (and not a fucking shrine, for the love of Hylia, please) to make them worth exploring and maybe keep the "depths" or part of them exclusively for dungeons and similar shit.

For example, the water temple lead up?? That massive cave had so much potential! it would have been so great if something in there had been the water temple.

Also put that shit from the 2019 announcement trailer under Hyrule castle (or whatever would be there), that woulda been sick.

Doing this would help making the depths and caves or any underground location feel special and not overwhelming.

The issue lies heavily in the emptiness of every vast space in Totk. Rewards were scarce in Botw, but in tears they're practically non-existent. In Botw you'd find a chest in the weirdest places and they'd have a weapon or another useful thing in them, but in Tears, if you do find a chest, theres rarely ever something of value in them. It robs you of any patience to explore since it makes you feel like it's pointless, because you either don't find anything at all, or nothing useful.

The sky islands are honestly super pretty, I absolutely love the aesthetics, and I wish we had gotten more of the ones like the Great Sky Island and not just copy pasted shit.

Nevertheless, the story would still need a lot of fixing (I don't particularly like the Zonai as they are in Tears) and also please ffs get rid of the hot glue, I think its an awful game mechanic, giving the player too much freedom for their own good and its honestly just kinda ugly.

anyways, I had a point when I started this post, I may have kinda lost it due to too many tangents, but please take what it is so far and any other additional reblogs

[leafmutual]

breath of the wild 2: electric boogaloo where we get to play as link AND zelda as they go around fixing hyrule and tying up the loose ends that didn’t really get tied during the first game. nintendo hire me

[hermitdrabbles56]

Immune System headcanons

Note: I am not a doctor but I have a...sort of idea and I'm rolling with it.

Time: Use to have an absolutely horrible immune system as a kid. Like probably got sick a couple different times on his adventures but had to push through. And when Mask was in Wars era he scared the shit out of Wars more than once. Since then his immune system has gotten better as hes gotten older and he's started being around people more. He doesn't get sick nearly as easily as he used too. But, he's starting to reach the age where his body is slowing down from all the abuse its taken over the years so things are starting to hit him again if he isn't careful.

Warriors: Toughest to crack because of how much illness and death he's been around. He's careful to the point of paranoia. His down fall is when he's stupid and forgets to take care of himself because he gets vulnerable when his body is exhausted.

Sky: Help him. He's one of the worst. He comes from a small isolated community in the sky where they had no chance of catching anything very dangerous. Moving to the surface has definitely fucked with him. His lungs are compromised, He already is easily exhausted, and who know what the gravity was like on skyloft so yeah, he's a little messed up and gets sick very easily.

Wind: He's no better than Sky. Small community very little contact with other communities before his journey. He manages to get through his first journey without getting sick. But Traveling with tetra and the pirates is a different story and it messes with him a bit. So he's gained a little more immunity than he had? But it's still bad.

Wild: Absolutely dog shit. There are very few Hylian communities still around so he hasn't encountered much. Plus the tomb of resurrection messed him up just ad much as it fixed him. Be it the malice that was on him when he was placed in the tomb or the tomb being broken to begin with it sapped a lot of his strength and stamina right out of him (yes he took a hundred year nap so that also can attribute to the decline but the tomb was also supposed to be preserving and healing him so what the fuck) and you bet it fucked with his immune system too. First time he catches a cold it nearly kills him. His whole world is a death sentence that he has spitefully dragged himself through.

Four: One of the most stable immune wise. He grew up in a busy town and frequently traveled with his grandpa as a kid he's a healthy little thing and is very careful and takes care of himself. When he gets sick it's a normal sick and generally no one has to worry to much about him.

Legend: His bones may fucking hate him but he's healthy. He grew up in the busy city surrounding the castle and he's been to do many places by now that his immune system is almost iron. Not to mention the malice his world is steeped in. But when it does hit him it hits him really hard because of all the other problems he has.

Hyrule: It's complicated and complex. He's used to a poisoned and malice steeped world that's riddled with plagues. But at the same time he's malnourished and his body has taken a lot of abuse. His fairy magic and spite are probably the main things keeping him functional as he just pumps as much healing magic into himself as possible until he can get access to medicine.

Twilight: Immune system like steel. Yes he was raised in a small village just like Sky and Wind. But he was also raised on a lot of good hearty crops and herbs (and is in a village that is blessed and protected by essentially a mini god), and we have no idea where he may have lived before Ordon (in my personal headcanons the locations would have made him pretty damn sturdy). His body is extremely healthy to start with and then he has time to build up even more of a tolerance when he starts being around castle town and the other villages more frequently. So he's learned how to be careful with illnesses especially since he doesn't want to bring anything back to Ordon. But generally when he does get sick it's a fairly quick recovery unless it's something extremely serious but even then he's capable of bouncing back pretty quickly unless other factors have fucked him over.

[wutheringmights]

I just read the newest chapter and I loved it! ♥ ♥ ♥ I was wondering if you had some hcs about the engineer that you could share?

Awww I'm glad you like it! I just spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what "HCS" meant before realizing I'm a tired idiot who can't read lol

But yeah! I got some headcanons for the engineer/Spirits I can share!

These headcanons are a mix of things I generally believe for any iteration of the Hero of Spirits and a few things exclusive to CTB. It's pretty obvious which are which.

Technically this is slight spoilers since most of this is not mentioned in-story, but Warriors is a such a self-centered asshole that I'm not sure when I can get him to explicitly ask about Spirit's backstory lol

This got super long and kind of just became me talking about Spirits's entire backstory, so enjoy:

Spirits is sixteen during the course of Spirit Tracks, mostly because that was the vibe I got from him when I first played the game (I made him younger for CTB)

He's not descendant from Wind (who I maintain disappeared instead of settling in New Hyrule); instead, he's Aryll's great grandson

His family name used to be Outset, but when everyone who originally immigrated from Outset island took on that last name, they changed it to Aryll to reflect the family matriarch

So Spirit's full name is Link Aryll, though there is a branch of his family that uses Macaryll instead

The Aryll/Macaryll family is huge; everyone has at least six aunts and uncles on all sides of the family and they can trace back how they are related to Aryll

"I'm Grandma Aryl's third son's second daughter's fifth child." -someone Spirits is related to, probably

He actually never met his great grandmother; she died before he was born.

Spirit's dad was full-blooded Lokomo while his mother was Hylian; his mother passed a few months after he was born after never truly recovering from childbirth while his father died in a fishing accident when he was eight

He went to live with an aunt and uncle who owned a general store; their relationship was polite at best. The aunt and uncle told Spirits upfront that they intended to give the store over to his cousin when he was older so Spirits needed to come up with his own life plan

Spirits didn't necessarily mind since he never wanted to work in a store for the rest of his life, but the ultimatum made it clear that they didn't care for him like a son

To this day, their relationship isn't strained and he doesn't hate them. But whenever they meet, he's overly polite; they're more acquaintances than family

He's cool with his cousin though. They have different interests so they aren't best friends, but they're okay.

Spirits also always had his spirit-sensing abilities. It's really like a sixth sense to him, as normal and automatic as seeing and hearing; he actually didn't realize this wasn't normal until he was a little older

His abilities at this point are limited to sensing vague ideas of a person's spirit (if they're light or dark, etc.), and seeing ghosts (which are really rare. You have to have a lot of power yourself to become one)

(Note: I'm not the only one who headcanons Spirits as having spirit sensing abilities; if you know who can up with the idea, please let me know so that I can tag/credit them!)

The elder of his village told him that select Lokomo had minor spirit sensing abilities, and those who did were traditionally made elders of their villages; being more of a follower than a leader, Spirits adamantly dismissed that idea and refused to be trained on how to hone his spirit senses. He also never learned any of the religion behind it

Which was a little worrisome since his abilities are way stronger than most

Besides, he's always liked trains and it's been his dream to travel around the kingdom as an engineer; being some town's elder would get in the way of that

Anyway, Spirits had to pass a written exam before being accepted as an apprentice engineer, so he's very studious and has a lot of drive (pun unintended?)

He went to live with his Uncle Niko during his apprenticeship in another town; Niko isn't related to him, but he's been a friend of the family for so long that everyone secretly thinks he's actually related to someone and they just forgot who

Niko is his real family, hands down. Those two are as thick as thieves and bring out the wild side in each other

A preteen Spirits used to think Niko was a little lame and kind of embarrassing, but now that he's older, he's all for Niko's weird old man-ness and has even picked up on some of his weird old man-ness himself

That being said, they're both disasters. Neither can clean or cook or do any kind of housekeeping and their shared house is cluttered with Niko's art projects and Spirit's half-finished tinkering

Growing up, Spirits had no idea he was related to the legendary Hero of Wind; Aryll died before he was born, but even in life she was filled with too much grief over her missing brother to discuss it often. Within the family, being related to the Hero of Wind is a rumor at best.

Of course, Niko knows but keeps it a secret from Spirits; once he got back from his LU-adventure, Wind told Niko about the curse of the Hero's Spirit. Then he went missing post-New Hyrule's founding, which really drove the terror of the curse home. Niko thought he could keep Wind's family from falling victim to it by not inadvertently encouraging them to follow in Wind's footsteps

So Niko kept it a secret

And obviously, that didn't work

Spirits' quest to save New Hyrule resulted in him realizing that he needed to embrace his Lokomo heritage and get a handle on his spirit powers; Anjean gave him a little training during his quest but afterwards he traveled around the kingdom to find as many people as he could with abilities like his

They were all really excited to teach him what they knew, especially the religious aspects of the abilities; Spirits is still not the most religious person, but he at least understands and embraces the cultural significance of what he is able to do

This is where he learned how to read a person's Spirit to get an idea of their life experiences and the kind of person they're like; he can also detect where a person is without having to put much effort into it

At Zelda's encouragement, he also got more sword training from the Castle Guard. She offered him a place among them, but he turned it down in favor of remaining an engineer. He still helps around as a swordsman when he can and will act as Zelda's body guard

Speaking of which, he and Zelda are 100% in love. Their relationship started out as puppy love but over the years as matured into a deep connection built on mutual respect

When he's working on designing new engines or parts for his trains, he occasionally brings his drafting materials to the castle gardens so that he can work alongside Zelda; sometimes she falls asleep leaning against his arm and he has to be careful not to shake her awake as he works

Whenever she need to go anywhere in the kingdom, she rides in his train and teasingly criticizes his conducting; he takes a lot of pride in his conducting, but he lets her get away with it since her critiques are objectively hilarious

He keeps a tiny pictograph of her taped to his dashboard

But there's a bit of a problem with their relationship, and it's that he doesn't know if he wants to be the prince consort or not. He does love her, but that would mean giving up being an engineer in favor of being stuck at the castle all of the time

Plus, he's doing great as an engineer; he's saving up to open his own garage that produces his own train designs

Eventually, he leaves for the War of Eras

His experiences with Warriors leaves him more sure than ever that he doesn't want to be the prince consort, resulting in him ending his relationship with Zelda shortly after he returns home

It hurts for a long time to be around her since all of his old feelings keep coming back, so he keeps his distance for a long time; it takes a few years for him to go back to hanging out with Zelda as friends

But now she's approaching marriage age, and he spends a lot of time when he's on body guard duty super jealous of these princes and ambassadors from foreign kingdoms who try to court her

But again, he knows he can't be in a relationship with her so he respectfully and silently pines over her (I'm just a sucker for pining, okay?)

Okay, more random headcanons that are a little less sad

Spirits likes super spicy food, but since he can't cook to save his own life, he just eats whatever he can get his hands on

He's super dirty all of the time, just the epitome of scrappy; there's always a smear of oil somewhere on his person

He actually really hates bathing and only keeps his curly hair in check to comply with train safety regulations

He's really polite and a little shy, but once he loosens up, he gets talkative and personable

He's also very contemplative; he likes conducting so much because he gets to spend long stretches of time alone with nothing but his thoughts

His trauma/stress response is to shut down; he goes quiet, loses energy, and sleeps for longer periods of time

He tends to gravitate towards socializing with people who are older than him, which gets him labeled as being no fun by his peers (despite having someone as cooky as Niko for a uncle)

Post-adventure, his best friend is Linebeck III. They're drinking buddies. Neither can really explain why they even like hanging out as much as they do

(I just like the idea of Linebeck accidentally getting attached to one kid and his whole bloodline getting forever tangled with Wind's; they're bros for multiple lifetimes)

Not only is Spirits good at designing and building new machinery, but he's great at tinkering; he can fix almost anything and will buy broken things on purpose just to have something to fix

No one really knows he's a hero; he doesn't like the attention and, at his request, Zelda did her best to keep his involvement with Malladus a secret

Because not many common people know about his adventure and records of New Hyrule are very rare, he's considered in Warrior's time to be a forgotten hero; some scholars believe that a Hero of Spirits may have once existed, but if he did, no one really knows who he was or what he did to serve the bloodline of Hylia

[fatefulfaerie]

Abnormality

Zelink Week 2021 prompt #6/7 @zelinkweek2021

Word Count: 2,225

Incarnation: Age of Calamity

Additional Prompts Followed: Timeline Alteration

“UTA” inspired by the “TVA” of the Disney+ series “Loki”

Trigger Warnings: abduction, brainwashing

Before Link knew it, he was being pushed along a dark hallway, hands tied and feet tripping on each other when he was pushed too abruptly.

“Faster.”

He could barely see, but long, blinking blue lights told him it was a narrow space, and his boots sounded as if they were walking on steel. He walked faster nonetheless. His own iron armor made even more of a ruckus.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked over his shoulder to the man who was pushing him. “What’s going on?”

He was in Hyrule Field last he remembered, returning to the castle after battling a Moblin. He saw an odd, egg-shaped robot and the next thing he knew he was pushed to the ground, landing in the steel trappings of wherever he was now. He was brought to his feet and pushed whenever his captor thought his pacing was too slow.

The man never answered. Link was blasted with light when a door opened as if automatically with the same noise as a sword slinking into a sheath. Link, who marvelled at such unprecedented technology, was pushed in before he could remark at it. The man behind him was gone when those same doors closed behind him.

Link looked behind him and there were no longer doors, just a wall. So he looked in front of him.

The room was clad with a silver material unlike stone. Angles jutted out at odd places and Link had never before seen architecture like this as he slowly paced forward towards the table.

Someone cleared their throat, a woman. Link’s head popped directly forward.

“Name?” She asked.

“What’s going on?”

“Name?” She repeated. It seemed Link found another person who would not humor his questions.

“Link,” he answered.

The receptionist seemed annoyed, eyes rolling to the back of her head and her eyelids fluttering. Link wondered what he did to upset her, but she scribbled something down on a piece of paper nonetheless.

“Birthdate?”

“August 16th,” Link replied. “But--”

“You have been charged with the crime of temporal misdemeanors,” she interrupted. “How do you plead?”

Link’s mouth moved but no sound came out.

“T-temp…” he tried, but failed. “What even is that? What did I do?”

“How do you plead?” She asked. There seemed to be no negotiation.

“G-guilty,” Link stammered. “I guess.”

She pointed her pen to the left, where there was now an opening, a doorless entrance.

“Step onto the platform for processing please.”

Link hesitated.

“Now,” she said without even looking up, and so Link did as he was asked, stepping onto the platform with oddly textured lines. With a jolt, it moved him along, Link’s arms drifting from his sides and knees bending as if bracing for danger. But before he could even get a sight of what was in this next room, his vision was clouded by white mist, a substance that shot a tingling feeling throughout his entire body until he couldn’t even feel his body. He was paralyzed completely and before he could fall, mechanized hands clutched his limbs, his arms, his legs. He felt his armor being stripped off but he didn’t have the control over his eyes to see who was doing it or where it was going, to object to showing this much skin and feeling this vulnerable in a strange place. Neither could he employ his vocal nodes to object to the last bit of clothing being removed until he was left only with a blue Sheikah-grade undergarment covering his most private area.

He could still see though, still tell he was being moved along into the futuristic building with no discernible connection to anything he had ever seen in Hyrule.

When he finally stopped, he stopped in front of a man behind a podium. Around Link were burn marks and the foul smell of burning flesh. His heart began to race.

“Link 816-D, you have been--”

But the echoey voice of doom was stopped when someone came racing through a now opened door, a woman in a blue dress with jagged and yet structured patterned white lines. The dress was far too tight and far too short for anything fashionable in Hyrule, but the dark-haired woman looked professional and put-together nonetheless. The fact that her dress almost exposed her knees was the least of Link’s concerns, it was just odd.

He definitely was not in Hyrule.

“He is to be questioned,” the woman said. Link couldn’t deny she was beautiful. He tried not to think about it. “Concerning the matter of the leading variant at large.”

“Very well.”

Link felt the greatest sense of relief when he was able to move again, permitted to step off the platform, and given garments to clothe himself in. They actually quite resembled the white and blue that everyone in this place wore, Link given white pants, a blue shirt, and a jacket that said “variant” on the back.

He stayed silent until the woman sat him down in a room, sitting across from him with a welcoming smile.

“Sorry about all that,” she said with her hands clasped into each other and her elbows on the table. “We don’t have the best reception here at the UTA. Let’s just say you are very lucky to be with me right now.”

Link didn’t quite know what to say.

“I-I’m sorry but…” Link stammered. “What is the UTA? Why...w-why am I here and...who are you?”

She pursed her lips.

“Somehow I always forget you guys come in here with no context,” she said, almost apologetically. “Allow me to explain. My name is Whitney and I am an employee of the UTA, which stands for the Unified Timeline Authority. We are in charge of making sure that the timeline is pure of contamination such as unauthorized time travel, timeline splits, and nexus events that cause timeline splits. We have worked long and hard to turn a chaotic and temporally lawless timeline of Hyrule into a unified and cohesive timeline. We work tirelessly to make sure the timeline stays straight, and doesn’t veer off from the set path.”

It sounded rehearsed to Link, but more than that, it sounded confusing. He got bits of it but he still stared, overwhelmed beyond belief.

“Okay, okay,” Whitney said, pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil. She started drawing a straight line on the page.

“Here is your timeline. You pull the sword at thirteen but you put it back, right? You didn’t tell anyone?”

Link nodded.

“Okay so time moves along and you age, as you know.”

She started drawing another line, exactly parallel to the first.

“Meanwhile, there is an alternate universe where you do keep the sword. Believe it or not, these both are heading towards the same destination until BAM!”

She stopped drawing the first line abruptly and let the second keep going straight. She continued the first with a line askew, making an angle.

“You encounter the little robot and everything changes. The destination is put in jeopardy at a rate we’ve never seen before. So we step in.”

“You have seen the robot so we took you. We also took the robot so he can do no further damage. We then go to where the robot came from in the first place and make sure he doesn’t come again. Thus, we have two robots. Both are now destroyed. Now I know what you’re thinking. Two robots but one of you, how does that fix it? Eliminating the second robot made it so that it never contaminated your timeline, and so there is now another Link that made it to the destination, the event where all alternate timelines become one. Thus you are the extra Link, a variant.”

She erased some of both lines and made it so that the two lines converged into one, drawing a dot at the exact place where they did and labeling it “the destination”.

“So I’m here because I saw the robot?”

“Not quite. You see, we could have wiped your memories or even wiped you but we took the opportunity to gain some…intel…about another variant.”

“Who?” Link asked.

“You,” she answered simply.

“What?”

She almost laughed.

From below the desk she pulled out a clipboard, the exact one that Link saw that first woman with. She handed it over to Link, who took it and knitted his brow at what he saw.

At least half of the names on each and every of the many pages were either Link, Zelda, or Ganon, each name accompanied by two to four numbers and a single capital letter.

In the middle of the last page was what the judge called him, Link 816-D.

“Yeah sorry about that,” she said. Of all the things she could apologize for, she sounded too casual to be apologizing for any of them, for kidnapping him, for stealing the armor he earned, for uprooting his life. “You are actually the fourth Link to come in with that birthday, thus Link 816-D.”

Link put the clipboard down slowly, and returned his gaze back to the diagram.

“The destination,” he said, before looking up. “What is it? Why is it so important that you can’t have it not happen?”

The destination is the singular moment where we were finally able to unify the timeline into one. We refer to it as the calamity.”

The word struck fear into Link’s heart.

“C-calamity…” he began, attempting to fight his shock at how cheery she said that word, how casually she referred to something that could kill thousands of people. “As in Calamity Ganon? Are you serious? You...y-you want that to happen? Do you realize what that means?”

Whitney nodded.

“It’s unfortunate,” she said. “But it was necessary that we let it happen. The near destruction of Hyrule was the only way to unify the parallel timelines. It isn’t the first time we took advantage of a disaster to slowly work towards unification. There used to be three separate timelines that were nowhere near parallel, mind you.”

Link went pale, cold. His eyes stung and his lungs paused. Not only did they permit the calamity but they let entire kingdoms be destroyed for their order.

For some reason Whitney assumed that Link was just as comfortable as her with the situation.

“The variant we are concerned with exists in the single timeline beyond the destination but the variant is trying to undo the calamity, and we need to know why. Activating that robot and sending him across parallel timelines was his first attempt. He is, of course, only a variant of you, but we feel that questioning you will lead to a bit of clarity as far as his motives. If you submit to questioning right here and now, we can offer you a job, you won’t have to worry about being destroyed or anything. I used to be a variant, too, you know. All of us were variants once. We’d love to have you join us.”

Link wondered how long this woman had been here for her words to sound so fake, so insincere, so rehearsed. Perhaps she was kidnapped as a child, perhaps she was raised by other people like her, who lost themselves gradually.

Thus Link most assuredly did not want the job, did not want to be a part of something that trades apocalypses for senseless organization, that trades lives for convenience.

The kingdom of Hyrule he once served not ten minutes ago was so much more…

It was...

Well he supposed they were no better, doing those same things, just on a smaller scale.

So he could either work for the UTA or be destroyed like the variants who did not comply. He could die for his morals or he could sacrifice them.

But perhaps there was a third option, one where he fought for his morals, destroyed the UTA from the inside.

“I’ll take the job,” he finally said, Whitney smiled. “But I have to ask...you said you were a variant...who were you?”

It didn’t seem like a question that was commonly asked, and she hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer, it was more like she genuinely forgot. Link narrowed his eyes.

“I was a variant of Princess Zelda,” she said. “I used to go by Hilda but when I got here they labeled me as Zelda 108-A. I was taken the moment Lorule got it’s own Triforce. Lorule was destroyed by the UTA, but...it was already a mess.” Whitney shrugged. “It was probably for the best.”

Her entire kingdom was destroyed and she showed so little empathy. Link could hardly believe it. She was so casual about it, like she was talking about what she had for lunch.

“A friend got taken alongside me but,” she laughed. “You know it’s funny I don’t remember their name.” She shrugged again. “Must not have been a very good friend. I’m sure you’ll be a better one.”

Link pitied that poor friend. He could very well have been her best friend, could have refused to comply and could have been erased from her memory so that she would comply, would slowly lose herself and become another drone of the UTA.

Link inwardly refused to resign to the same fate, to maybe, if possible, save her too.

“What is your first question for me?”

[ashleyswrittenwords]

Whumptober No. 1

Let’s Hang Out Sometime! (Waking Up Restrained | Shackled | Hanging)

Series Summary: After Calamity Ganon awakens, Zelda is left alone and heartbroken. Now something horrible has happened to Link and no more is she merely tasked with fighting the Calamity - but also what is left of her knight.

Note: Hey all! October is finally here! Many thanks to @spacebeyonce​ and @dontwaitupxx​ for reading through this first one. The hardest part is always getting started.

The first time she slipped up was the second time she saw him.

It was an immature coincidence when she went to investigate the sound of a little girl screaming, which turned into a horrible one when it was at the exact moment she felt her divine seals slipping.

Zelda woke to darkness and the sounds of her own ragged breathing. For a moment, she panicked. Hands scrambled to pull apart and her body writhing against their holdings to run… to where?

The castle, the castle, the castle.

Her mind was a whirlwind.

Calamity Ganon. The seals. The seals broke.

Then, the world bit back at her all at once in the typical way it did since her powers were awakened. From the flora to the skies and the soil to the mountain peaks. The sensation was so overwhelming that it hurt and she breathed in a loud gasp. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the realization that – no, they didn’t break.

Everything was much too alive for that.

Black spots marred her vision as Zelda fought the bile in the back of her throat. The last thing she remembered were eyes that were a bit too blue and the sensation of the moblins’ claws holding her down.

“That’s a shame.”

She was too weak to jump once the room came into a sudden clarity. It was still dark, but she slowly adjusted to her surroundings. The ground was damp, wetting her bottom and backside uncomfortably, the air stale. A cellar, perhaps? There was a slit in the upper wall, just tall enough that the figure in front of it had to partially lean up to see outside.

“For someone so legendary,” the figure said, but there was no mystery when he opened his mouth. “Ropes were enough to shackle you down.”

Her head was in the clouds and she wrestled with her senses to anchor where her body was. When she spoke, her voice was scratchy, misused.

“What did you do to me?”

His laughter was Death Mountain magma being doused by cool sea water. Deep and dangerous, yet tempting and curious. It made her cringe.

“Well,” he nodded to himself. “That is the question, isn’t it?”

Making out his form was difficult in the dark, harder to grasp that this wasn’t him because the silhouette was the same. The manner of his purposeful, lumbering gait bared such a semblance that her breast overflowed with hope that maybe Hylia wasn’t so cruel to let him leave her.

Why should their story be any different from the heroes and princesses of old?

Zelda was captured, put in a dark place. And here he was coming near her with an ever-comforting presence. She was to be rescued.

Then, her eyes adjusted just enough and suddenly that smile wasn’t so reassuring. Hands that were meant to be Link’s curled into fists and relaxed repeatedly, making his intentions drill forebodingly in her stomach.

“Don’t touch me!” Zelda screeched, pushing her feet against the stone and doing anything that meant getting away from him. She learned her ankles were also bound and her heels slid against the floor only to push her back flush with the wall behind her.

Link’s hand reached the back of her head. She lashed to the ground, screaming obscenities. Fingernails dug harshly into her scalp and snapped her head back. Nose met nose, grimace met silent scream, narrowed eyes met wide ones. Her palm flexed behind her, instinctively wanting to draw power from a well long since dried up.

He sneered, “Do you think just because you were able to pin Ganon down, you could do the same to me?”

The pressure on her hair tightened,  pulling a choked sound from her throat.

“Don’t pretend as if I haven’t seen you playing royalty across Hyrule. Playing at building something by going from town to town. I never realized you could be such a comedian,” he said, smoothing a course thumb over her cheek. “Because you sure are humoring me.”

The inflicted pain was red and hot. Her nails bit into her palm until the two throbbing parts of her body canceled out. He continued to speak into the open air, not seeming to care if she heard or not.

Feather light laughter escaped him with the sound of his indecisiveness to keep air in his chest. His gaze washing over her until eventually the laughter  morphed into a deafening scream. Link wrenched his hand away, tearing strands of hair with it. A dark, coagulated substance dripped to the floor, too thick to be water. The stench was almost overwhelming.

Zelda fumbled to pull the  loosened rope from her wrists, the light from her fingertips was already fading and the ground shook. She  fixed her attention to her ankles, wrestling the blade in the bottom of her boot out to pry the constraints apart.

Link continued to scream, cradling his hands against his stomach.

“Yes,” she said, once the soles of her feet found the floor. The word came out airy, but loud over his audible pain.

His eyes found hers, now yellow  and shocking. Zelda forced herself to maintain the stare, even when he doubled over. She didn’t elaborate because they both knew what she was answering.

The princess didn’t pretend to know what was happening to him because her power hadn’t manifested like this since Calamity Ganon was trapped. Nor did she let herself inspect any further. The door flew open, revealing a masked Yiga clansman. He stopped his sentence to stare at Link.

When his head turned to Zelda, she held the short blade before her and desperately tried to ignore the throbbing in her skull. Immediately, he readied a stance and shouted as the broadsword he  held swung down harshly. She tensed, cursing herself for not listening to Impa more, and inelegantly tripped backwards to avoid it.

The mask didn’t give her any hints on what he was about to do, so when he lurched she just narrowly escaped him. The clansman’s bulky frame didn’t allow his movements to follow through with her own, which made it easier for her to climb his back and trap him in a headlock. Their frantic clawing made maintaining her leverage difficult. Suddenly her back slammed into the adjacent wall and her breath was knocked out of her.

Don’t think about it. Just do it. Do not think about it.

With nimble fingers, she flipped the blade towards herself and drove it inward with the rest of her remaining strength. The Yiga gargled into her ear and her grip on the knife slipped as the arteries in his neck spilled open. Too lodged to pull out, Zelda abandoned the knife once the body under her slacked to the ground. She didn’t turn even when Link called out to her in a voice all too familiar.

[muffintonic]

Alright, I think i’m done BOTW 2 spamming for today. Anywho, time for some thoughts in general!

1) I hated how the shrines in BOTW were so cold and dark compared to the bright and lively nature outside (I wish they had all looked like the Master Trials challenge where there were trees and stuff incorporated inside), so I hope if we’re forced to have dungeons they’ll be more like the Wind Waker ones. 2) I hope they don’t make us use the grappling hook or anything like in Wind Waker to move around the sky islands (I hated that mechanic). 3) I’m probably one of the few people who wanted less Zelda and more of the Champions in HWAOC since i’m only really attached to BOTW (and we saw a fair amount of Tetra in Wind Waker)/apparently Zelda’s been sidelined in all the other games, so i’m hoping in vain that we get more Champions material in BOTW 2. Also, Link could stand to have some more cutscenes centered around him as well (the few we got in some of the sidequests in BOTW were great). 4) I only really somewhat care about Riju and Sidon, so I won’t mind if the new gang gets sidelined in BOTW 2 (I still think Nintendo wasted the found family/band of brothers aspect on the dead characters--I love them so much and they’re all I want!! The problem is, they’re dead and I don’t really care all that much about their replacements!!! I dunno, maybe i’m hampered by the fact that I can replay the original champions’ memories whenever I want/read their diaries, but I can’t rewatch the new gang’s cutscenes AKA i’ve forgotten their characterization since they don’t talk to me much now that the game’s over). It’d be great if they have some weaving storylines in BOTW 2 that will get me more invested in them, but currently i’m not that interested. 5) Speaking of which, I know it’s 100% not going to happen, but goddang if I don’t want the Champions to have been returned to life. Nintendo totally squandered HWAOC by not making it a true prequel/canon to BOTW (the Champions Ballad confirmed that the Divine Beasts had trials in order to be synced to the champs, so the new gen use of them wouldn’t have happened without that + Mipha thought Link had changed in BOTW yet says in HWAOC that he hasn’t changed + some scenes like “Champion Revali’s Song” never happened at all/got replaced with alternative scenes that really changed some dynamics + basically all of Revali’s time-relative characterization from his diary/pre-100 years of solitude got thrown out + I feel like Daruk got totally sidelined), so i’m still craving that Champions content. Also, I feel like it’s totally unfair that Zelda came out of 100 years totally unaged while everyone else died. Life seems to really suck for people in the LoZ universe who aren’t chosen by divine powers. 6) They’d better keep it open world and non-linear. I can’t go back to being forced to backtrack/trudge through things, I just can’t. BOTW was everything i’ve ever dreamed about in a game (truly open world + non-linear + interactive + meaningful story + lots of outfits + beautiful landscapes) with Skyrim previously being the only thing that came close to what I wanted, so I really hope BOTW 2 doesn’t deviate too much from that. 7) I really liked Kass in BOTW, but i’m not sure what direction they’d go with him in BOTW 2/i’d be fine if he sat BOTW 2 out. I worked so hard to complete all his quests in BOTW so he’d go back home to his family, GODDANGIT, KASS. 8) Someone mentioned that since the first trailer had underground aspects, we’re probably going to be playing as Zelda with the Slate there, and I agree. They didn’t make a playable model for her in HWAOC for nothing. 9) I want to be able to stable the deer and bears and stuff, but I know that won’t happen. Being able to ride the moose and rhino things from the Hebra area probably won’t happen either, but I want to ride them!!! 10) I hope there’ll be at least a few new buildings and stuff in the towns/they’ve started construction on some areas in Central Hyrule, but I guess that’ll depend on how long it’s been in-universe since BOTW. Or maybe not, considering how there’s still Karson and Hudson even though Bolson retired from Bolson Construction--insta-towns like Tarrey Town could totally be feasible if they wanted! 11) I have one foot in the camp that believes there’ll be time shenanigans in BOTW 2. HWAOC totally threw me off with it being an alternate timeline, so i’m not sure whether we’re going to be experiencing that again or time travel itself, but I definitely won’t be surprised this time around if Nintendo goes that route again (and it would be super interesting to see the Link from 10,000 years ago). I’m not entirely convinced that the Link we see exploring the sky in the second trailer isn’t our Link, mainly because he seems to still have on the blue boxers from BOTW. 12) I also heard that maybe this will be the last LoZ game ever since something something Demise something Skyward Sword something something lore from games i’ve only vaguely looked into (i’ve only ever played BOTW --> Wind Waker --> HWAOC)??? If so, it kind of sucks that I came in just when they started making games with playstyles palatable to me (I had to look up every single thing when playing Wind Waker, but BOTW let me solve things according to MY logic/I missed being able to explore in HWAOC), but at least it’ll end on a super high note/I won’t experience later disappointment, I guess. If BOTW 2 involves breaking the reincarnation cycle for the Triforcers, I would be really surprised. (On a related note, Nintendo making Ganondorf good would also be a 100% shock to me, but it would be great to end on that as a subversion. Yes, I want them to bring back the semi-complicated Ganondorf from Wind Waker.) 13) I hope they don’t rush releasing it. I heard they pushed back BOTW originally (I got it in 2019), but it came out fantastic for it! I know COVID’s been affecting things, so I really hope they’re treating their staff right and are mindful of crunch. 14) I want even more outfits (there seem to be at least two new ones, if the variant of the Hylian Tunic crossed with Link’s Champion’s Tunic counts). Give me all the outfits!!! Also, I hope we get even more hair variations in addition to the hair down option (which is all i’ve ever wanted since I saw the mod that altered the Ancient Helmet). 15) I wonder if we’re going to get a bonus for having both BOTW and HWAOC save data. 16) I wonder if we’re going to be keeping the Champions’ skills. I’m going to miss being super overpowered, if not. 17) I hope Nintendo doesn’t cave in and make surfaces climbable in the rain. Having that limiter is more realistic and Link would otherwise be too overpowered with a super climbing ability. 18) I liked BOTW’s scattered music that got more noticeable in populated areas because it was fitting for the post-apocalyptical/nature aspect. Hearing your footsteps in an open field and the buzzing of insects was super nice and prevented me from getting music fatigue (which i’d probably experience since whenever I play BOTW it’s for 5-10 hours at a time). I hope Nintendo either keeps that or makes audio options. 19) I heard that BOTW 2 is going to be super dark or something, and i’m okay with dark, but not GRIMdark, so I hope it doesn’t go that far. From what we’ve seen in the second trailer it still looks beautiful, but I hope it doesn’t do that thing that some games do where after the midpoint/a certain story point all the scenery permanently changes to be dark and scary (that’ll seriously hamper post-game playability for me if so). 20) If they expand on the Zonai, that would be super cool! Doubly cool if the time travel shenanigans involve them/ancient Link being one! 21) I kind of want windstorms to be a weather feature. We had lightning, heat, and cold, but no wind! No, I don’t count the wind geysers and the occasional breeze in Tabantha. 22) I want a chest in my house to hold more weapons than just the gear mounts. BOTW only had enough mounts for the champions’ gear, but it also had rare items like the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller’s Sword that you can’t get anymore once you use them up! 23) I want to be able to stable my horses at my house. What’s the point of that little area if you can’t stable your horse there! 24) Speaking of Link’s house: where is Zelda going to live? If the castle’s not reconstructed, it’d be neat if Link adds an extension to his house for her. 25) I hope they open up part-time jobs (think Mabinogi) as an option to earn rupees. Having to hunt for Luminous Stone deposits or feed Trott to make money can be such a chore. I think some of BOTW’s minigames/sidequests might count as those, but those minigames were either frustrating if your goal is to earn money (since most of them cost money to play in the first place and the mechanics weren’t always easy), or didn’t earn that much in general. 26) I wonder if Kilton is going to have updated items since the monsters seem to have changed. 27) I want to be able to dive underwater (mainly so I can explore the beautiful reefs over at Lurelin). A dive meter like the one from Super Mario Sunshine would be cool. Also, it’d doubly be neat if you had a separate stamina wheel for swimming and could permanently upgrade your swim/diving stamina (the speed+ swimming items just consumed your stamina faster, which was a pain)! 28) It’s definitely too late for this, but it’s a shame that the Hylians have so many face/body/hair and outfit variations, but the Zora, Rito, and Gorons don’t. The Gerudo were kind of okay with the hair and body variations, but the other races seemed to have a serious copy-paste problem. I guess technically some of the more important NPCs (ones with quests/cutscene triggers) had different coloring, but they were severely lacking in clothing variation. Also, the only old Rito was the elder??? At least the Gorons and Zora had some old folks besides their leader walking around. Very weird, but I don’t think BOTW 2 can fix any of this. 29) I wonder how they’re going to do the final boss battle, considering how epic/cinematic the BOTW 2x battle was. What can top fighting (on horseback, no less) a giant, flaming boar made out of malice? 30) I wonder what the Yiga are going to be up to, considering how Ganondorf seems to be somewhat kicking in BOTW 2.

[telesthisia]

(No reblogs! Make a new post please!)

|| The Basics ||

Name: Zelda of Hyrule Nickname(s): Zel, Zellie, Elle, Ellie Age: 19 Species: Human or well Hylian 

|| Personal ||

Religious Belief: The three golden goddess + Hylia but... she’s known as the forgotten goddess in her timeline since certain legends faded away from the public’s knowledge but not at all the royal family’s. Sins: Lust / Greed / Gluttony / Sloth / Pride / Envy / Wrath Virtues: Chastity / Charity / Diligence / Humility / Kindness / Patience /Justice Primary Goals In Life:  To create a brighter future for her people for generations on end, leading to the eventually famed Golden Age before the Hero of Time’s downfall... though Hyrule has recovered once she’s born there are still remnants of ruin from that era as such she wants to protect her people as well as make Hyrule safer, while she doesn’t do it within her lifetime because limited lifespan her dream does still come true years later aka LOZ and LOZ 2 don’t be fooled by the plot, Hyrule was in its prime during those games!  Languages Known:  Hylian Secrets: Well... it’s no secret among her staff but outside the castle, she keeps her poor health (heart condition and undiagnosed rare anemia problem) and near lack of magical stamina a secret since that can put her at a pretty bad disadvantage. She has plenty of enemies, namely those who align themselves with Ganon and the resurrection of him is still possible provided the person is a powerful mage with knowledge of doing that sort of stuff in the first place. And then there’s also court drama she has to worry about but that’s for another long lengthy headcanon post I should have out... soon... ish. Also while obvious with partners and in a meta sense and if you’re super observant but her guise Elle is, in fact, her, the princess of Hyrule so... ye...  Quirks: Her birthmark of the Triforce is... certainly unique. But if we’re talking mannerism rather than physical then allow me to just ramble because hoo boy! When nervous or worked up, she often tucks her stray hairs behind her ears, even when she’s not feeling those emotions she’s always fiddling around with it (in her royal wear) often flipping it out of her face or trying to make it look a little neater. She has the Pendant of Courage, a gift from Link and often clutches on it when she feels the need to summon her courage if she’s feeling not that brave, often trying to recall Link’s courage during his many adventures. When using any of her PSI powers she tends to have a nose bleed, as such, she often carries around a handkerchief and tries to cover it up before going off somewhere to stop the bleeding. When laughing, she likes to hold her smile behind her hand... and when yawning she tries to cover her mouth. SHE IS THE WORST COOK TO EVER EXIST holy crap but can make mean cookies. When flirting (more like embarrassed flirting pft) she looks away to the side and twirls her hair around her finger trying to hide her red cheeks. Her romantic out view on life stems from the fact that she was constantly surrounded by death and history and art so there’s morbid beauty in the melancholy... this girl gets excited over Friday the 13th and samhain ok like... there’s a lot to unpack with that. THERE’S MORE BUT I’VE RAMBLED FAR ENOUGH!!!  Savvies: Well... she bakes pretty good cookies BUT UH!!! YEAH she’s pretty proficient with her light magic! While she can’t do the amazing things other Zeldas can do because of limitations she’s not someone you would want to mess around with. She’s learned to work around those limitations and has great control over her powers. On top of that, she somehow knows how to use a crossbow so :’) while not the light arrows (she’s too weak to wield a bow) and it was a lucky shot she at least knows enough about how it works to fire it in the first place. She reads a lot, even as a kid she’d sneak off to the library to read the history about Hyrule or read maps and well she’s pretty knowledgable about her nation as a whole! And thanks to sneaking out she knows how to sneak past the guards and knows all of the secret passages in her castle like the back of her hand! Can’t forget her amazing political insight and ability to think outside the box! She has pretty innovative ideas for her times esp when concerning the common folk, but sometimes they don’t always go through because well... nobles. 

|| Physical ||

Height: 5′0″  Weight: you never ask a lady her weight! >:0 Scars/Birthmarks:  Has a cat scratch scar on her right palm which is also where the triforce is located! Abilities/Powers: Light magic, as the descendant of the mortal goddess she has been blessed with the Light Force. On top of that she’s come from a line of sages and has the Triforce of Wisdom so as you expect she has so much magic. She can heal, bless your weapons, smite away darkness, sense darkness (As a matter of fact she’s pretty sensitive to it and it makes her lowkey sick if it’s too much) and then there’s her PSI abilities which includes clairvoyance and telepathy! And then... her connection to the spirit realm.  Restrictions: AHAHAHA SO MUCH, she’s a glass cannon which is why she’s so, so, so easy to kidnap in the first place. She may put up a fight but not for long, as such her tactics are always to make a distraction and then escape. But she has poor stamina and just a poor heart, she can’t really overexert herself without a) causing pain and b) passing the hell out which was common in her younger days. Using magic takes up a lot of stamina as shown in ALTTP esp with the more powerful spells, you need an amazing reserve to cast all of that and sadly while she has good control she doesn’t have good reserves. SOOOOOOO to fix this she always has to take medicine of magic. Mana blockage is a thing that can happen, more often than she’d like to admit which causes pain once again and makes using magic pretty hard. Now onto her telepathy and clairvoyance. While they sound useful there are restrictions on those as well, for one with telepathy while she can contact anyone so long as she finds their signature subconscious she doesn’t have to worry about distance too much so long as they are within her range which is... maybe more than 200 meters? I need to think about the range more because there are certain places where she can reach you and cannot but there’s def a range limit. She tends to get nosebleeds and headaches from using telepathy. Her clairvoyance is where she can see bits of the future, but they are very vague and hard to decipher and there’s always a chance of the future changing or not changing. As for her connection to the spirit realm, pretty much she can see dead people... in her dreams and there’s no way of shutting this power off she’s gotta deal with the horrors that is this realm. Now seeing spirits isn’t anything new in LOZ but contact to the spirit realm is something that’s implied that only royal family members can do... as implied by Zelda’s words in BOTW where she said her mom (or grandma??) could hear the voices of the spirit realm.  

|| Favorites ||

Favourite Drink: Rose tea Favourite Pizza Topping: Basil...  Favourite Color:  Blue!  Favourite Music Genre: She pretty much likes slow and relaxing music, piano comes to mind but *kayne shrug* Favourite Book Genre: Romance aHEM as a princess she doesn’t have time to read cheesy romance novels and fantasize about the day where someone riding on a white horse will sweep her off her feet and they ride off into the sunset never having to bear the burden of her heritage and responsibilities hahaha..... but history and folklore. She likes tragic stories that have bittersweet endings.  Favourite Movie Genre: Fantasy, tragic tales, suspense, romance flicks  Favourite Season: Spring Favourite Butt Type:

Favourite Swear Word: "Goodness me!”  Favourite Scent: Forest scent, the fields, that ancient scent you smell when visiting old places, the smell of book pages  Favourite Quote: “Time has stopped for me long ago.”

|| Fun Stuff ||

Bottom or Top:

Sings In The Shower: Yes!!! Well... rose soaked bathwater because she’s spoiled stupid by her castle staff and Impa but she’ll hum a tune here and there!  Likes Bad Puns: Of course! She has the playfully innocent attitude so puns is right up her alley! Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic / Good / Gray / Evil Build: Slender / Scrawny / Bony / Fit / Athletic / Herculean / Babyfat / Pudgy / Obese / Other. Favourite Food: APPLES!!! Namely baked apples and more importantly apple strudel! Her nation is famous for having delicious apples that can help cure fatigue and even rise up stamina a bit! She’s very much a follower of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” esp if that doctor keeps giving her bitter medicines.  “Boss” Theme Music :  Excuse me for using a sad track... but... sAD MUSIC HONESTLY SHE’S DEPRESSION PERSONIFIED!! It reflects her hidden melancholy for like everything. I feel like if you have to fight her as a boss it’ll be more of a beautifully sad moment than something epic like that boss fight with puppet zelda which slaps honestly.  Their Opinion On The Mun: “Does she thrive on my pain?”  

Was tagged by: no one

Tag 15 People: wHO EVER WANTS TO DO THIS

[eggoreviews]

My Top 25 Games Advent Day 9 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (#17)

“My Lorule may remind you of your own home. But, in fact, our kingdoms are as different as night and day. Worlds apart, as they say.”

At long last, I get to cover one of my all-time favourite franchises on this list. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is my absolute favourite (2D) Zelda game and is, in my opinion, a masterclass in dungeon and world design. Taking everything that made A Link to the Past so great and changing it completely whilst also changing barely anything, A Link Between Worlds stands out from other Zelda games as something truly memorable, as well as being one of the best experiences you can have on a handheld console.

A Link Between Worlds, being a not quite sequel of ALTTP, took all its cues from its predecessor as the groundwork of an excellent game; an interesting enough narrative that kicks off straight away, two different but almost identical worlds to explore, an array of great dungeons and items to tackle them and a whole bunch of optional collectibles. Both Hyrule and Lorule are a joy to explore and just see what you can find, whether that be just some rupees, a minigame or even an item that later becomes important. It’s easy to get lost in just wandering around, as both worlds feel diverse and interesting enough to keep that from getting old too quickly. But my personal favourite aspect of this game, as well as its main reason for placing here, is the dungeons. Every single dungeon you come across in the game is intuitive, challenging, expansive and unique, and with each dungeon able to be tackled in any order, it truly customises the experience to the individual player. While admittedly a fair few of the dungeons are reskins of old favourites from ALTTP, they’ve been tweaked enough to feel fresh and brand new, at least enough so that this game doesn’t feel like a thinly veiled remaster. Where A Link Between Worlds really stands tall is in its final dungeon, Lorule Castle, which still is pretty much my favourite dungeon, purely for its atmosphere, its motif and its perfectly balanced and challenging puzzles. The dungeons in this game are absolutely phenomenal.

In another move to separate this game from its predecessor, you no longer find important items in convenient dungeon chests; you now have to buy or rent them from your new roommate Ravio. Renting is of course cheaper, but it does come with the drawback of having that item taken away if you happen to die while out in the field, which gives a genuine weight to the deaths you experience and gives you much more of a drive to avoid unnecessary deaths, which never feels unfair. It’s a system that really benefits the gameplay, as for the most part, the general experience of this game is just an upscaled ALTTP, so this type of item usage gives the game something entirely different.

Another substantial difference between ALTTP and A Link Between Worlds that makes it way better is its central focus on a running narrative and much stronger characters. While the overarching plot of the game is essentially the same as before, except this time it’s seven sage descendents with actual character that you’re rescuing rather than seven identical, nameless maidens. Most notably though, each character you come across on your journey really makes the world feel vibrant and alive. Hilda, as Lorule’s counterpart of Zelda, acts as a helpful character for the majority of the game, before revealing her intentions of stealing Hyrule’s triforce to fix her kingdom is a very interesting subplot, as it gives more depth to her character and there’s definitely an element of moral grayness to it that’s really rare for a Zelda title. You know Hilda is justified in wanting to save her kingdom from ruin, but it’s at the cost of Hyrule, which then makes the ending of Link and Zelda using their triforce to save Lorule despite Hilda’s actions even more emotional and impactful. And then there’s our main villain, Yuga, a sorcerer hell bent on perfecting the art he makes out of other people and strives for perfection by, you guessed it, resurrecting Ganon. But here’s the thing: Yuga is a much, much more compelling and memorable villain than ALTTP’s Agahnim, who time has been very kind to despite the fact he appears like twice and all he basically ever says to Link is “fuck you, dude”. Yuga is a slimy, pretentious artist who is very, very easy to hate just on his personality and his treatment of Link alone and that makes me love him as a villain even more. Plus, his design is awesome and I’m always down for a unique Zelda villain, as the likes of Zant and Ghirahim also ended up being some of the best parts of their respective games.

Now we come to one of my most important things to focus on in a game, in particular a Zelda game, the music. Of course, they nailed it. The new mixes of the Hyrule and Lorule themes based around the Overworld and Dark World themes from ALTTP are catchy and memorable, the dungeon themes are atmospheric and luckily not quite as repetitive as other previous games. In particular, I’m giving a special shoutout to the Yuga boss theme from Hyrule Castle, which blends brass instruments and deep, chanting vocals help to give this boss fight and Yuga himself a unique feel that separates him from just another one of Ganon’s goons. And last but not least, one of my all time favourite Zelda tracks, the Lorule Castle theme. The slow build, the layering, the swelling orchestra as it becomes more and more epic the higher you ascend into the castle, it’s genuinely incredible and stil constitutes as one of my favourite game finales of all time.

I know I spent a hell of a long time comparing this game to A Link to the Past in this review, but I felt it was important to drive home just how much the series has grown over the past decades, even if it does keep a lot of those old Zelda tropes we’re all too used to. A Link Between Worlds is an excellent example of modern dungeon design and, despite the fact this spot nearly went to Link’s Awakening, comes out on top as my favourite 2D Zelda.

Standout Moment Award: Lorule!! Castle!! Hnnnghg Yuga Ganon fight.

Standout Character Award: Yuga. As arguably the slimiest, most pretentious Zelda villain in the series (which is saying something, especially since Ghirahim exists) Yuga left an immediate impression on me and is still one of the series’ most enduring one-time villains.

Tomorrow: No. 16; a modern tale of prejudice and Mr. Krabs.

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan]

Linked Universe Fanfiction ch. 9: Can We Get Back to Adventuring, Please?

Stop! You’ve Violated the Law!

So, you’ve stumbled upon this original post for my Linked Universe fanfiction. That’s okay, it happens to everyone. As of March 2021, I’ve uploaded the entirety of this fanfic to my Archive of Our Own page. Along with finally giving the story a name--Oops! All Links: A Linked Universe Story--I made substantial edits to some of the chapters. These range from minor stylistic revisions to fixing a gaping plot hole that kinda completely broke the character conflict in the earlier chapters. I also renamed and renumbered (but not reordered) the chapters. Specifically, this is now Chapter 11: Can We Get Back to Adventuring, Please?

The AO3 iterations of these chapters are the definitive versions. So, if you would like to read this fanfiction, please do so on AO3, right here. With this embedded link. Hehe. Geddit? Link?

Note: My screen name on AO3 is FrancisDuFresne. Yes, that is me. I am not plagiarizing myself.

Anyway, for posterity’s sake, the rest of the original post is below the cut.

The Links continue their journey to the next village and now face a dense, dark forest. By the way, have you ever wondered what the Links think of the Timeline? Thus continues my fan narrative of the @linkeduniverse AU. Word count: 1275

“Just a few more minutes, boys!” Wind exclaimed. “We’ll be out of these hills and into the… oh, shoot.”

Legend smirked. “You forgot about the possible swarms of monsters?”

“… Yeah.”

The Links had been walking a shade above three hours since returning to reality. The fire was far from gone from their minds, but they were glad to be rid of this place. They had to admit it was beautiful, though. The noontime sun shone on rolling hills, wind blowing the tall, swaying grass. A few clouds had crept up on the edges of the horizon but showed no sign of raining on their proverbial parade.

As far as Time was concerned, things were back to normal. His companions hadn’t brought up the masks, and they acted no differently towards him than before today. Time suspected they may still have questions but didn’t want to dampen their good mood by asking them. That was fine. They could discuss it more tonight when they were comfortable and safe in an inn.

Wild chuckled. “Relax, Wind. We don’t know for sure if there are any monsters. The woods are just so thick that I can’t get a good reading of it.”

“After yesterday,” Legend began, “I’m not shocked there are limitations to that Slate of yours.”

Wild was about to shoot back a retort when Sky butted in, “Drop it. We got out of there safely.”

“Thanks to you, Sky.” Hyrule said.

“You can thank Fi,” he replied, patting the Master Sword’s hilt above his right shoulder. “She was the one that guided us.”

“She is quite the sword,” Time added. Secretly, he hated the Master Sword. He saw it as a curse, one of the many factors that led to his childhood suffering. However, it was a blessing to the other six of them that wielded it. He felt it best not to sully their opinion of it.

“Fi helped me too, once,” Wild said.

Sky looked at the back of Wild’s head; the latter had the map and was leading the group. He thought Fi had only ever spoken to him. He wasn’t offended, per se, more shocked than anything. “Really?”

“I was mortally wounded when Calamity Ganon struck my Hyrule a century ago. Zelda thought I was doomed, but the Master Sword glowed and sort of sang to her. That let her know I could still be saved. I suppose I owe Fi my life.”

“Huh,” Sky replied. He drew the sword. Its silver blade reflected the sun brighter than the others’ swords, save for the Four Sword. He smiled. “Heh, I wouldn’t expect any less of her.”

Given he himself had forged the Master Sword, Sky gathered that his adventure somehow took place before any of the others’. It still confused him how they all could coexist. By reciting the legends and history they knew, they figured out a somewhat cohesive, yet confounding, chain of events.

Sky forged the Master Sword and Hyrule had yet to be established. He was clearly first. Time witnessed the split of the Triforce, so he must be next. Based on the historical texts in Hyrule Castle, Twilight seemed to live centuries after Time. Over their time together, Twilight began to see eerie similarities between Time and the ghostly Hero’s Shade who mentored him. He preferred to ignore them for his own sanity’s sake.

It all got muddier after that. Time had suspected Zelda sending him back in time had somehow disrupted the flow of time. Lo and behold, Wind seemed to also live centuries after Time, but Hyrule had been flooded. His legends told of a Hero of Time that disappeared when he was needed. Time wondered whether Wind lived in the world that Zelda sent him away from.

Even more disturbing was Legend’s story. In his world, Ganon was sealed away by the seven sages, but not a hero. In this alternate reality, could Time have perished in his fight against Ganon? Hyrule had heard vague legends of a legendary sword, but never figured it was the Master Sword until he met his other selves. Strangely, Warrior and Wild somehow seemed to hail from a melding of everyone else’s worlds.

Four was the most peculiar case. Neither the Triforce nor the Master Sword seemed to exist in his world. Instead, there were the Picori bestowing the Light Force upon the Hylians. The concept of it all utterly confused the Links. After trying to piece it together, they never mentioned it again.

Sky was snapped out of his thoughts of multiple timelines and realities when Warrior said suddenly, “Well, it’s about time.”

They had reached the top of a hill and were faced with a tall, dense forest. The heroes couldn’t see the village beyond, but figured the treetops were obscuring it. Wild frowned. He thought they would be able to see it based on map’s elevation readings. He hooked the Sheikah Slate back on his belt.

He withdrew his paraglider from his pouch, gripped one handle with his left hand, and knelt on the ground. In a flash, ghostly flames appeared around Wild. He jumped. An updraft carried him a hundred feet in the air, a hazy image of a Rito soaring up with him. His paraglider holding him aloft, he got a better view of their surroundings.

Satisfied, Wild returned to the ground. Despite seeing him use this ability several times before, the others were still awed by the sight. The concept of fallen warriors imparting this and three other powers upon him was foreign. Time’s experience with his masks was similar, but Wild’s seemed much more wholesome in nature.

“Don’t worry, I can see the tops of buildings way down there,” Wild confirmed. “Five or so hours in there and we’ll be through.”

“Wait, wait,” Warrior said. “Let’s think this through. We do not want another ambush on our hands.”

Wind groaned. He found Warrior’s obsessions with plans and tactics annoying. Time shot him a look. Wind saw it and stood at attention.

Warrior continued, “Legend, arrow count.”

Thinking back to last night, he remembered that he had counted the arrows before going to bed. That seemed so long ago. “Uh… oh, right. Forty-two.”

“Hm… four each. Wild, you’re our best archer, you need more. Volunteers?”

Sky shrugged. “Aye. I’m better with a sword anyway.”

“Seconded,” Time said.

“Third…ed?” Wind flubbed.

A chuckle spread across the group. Fighting back more laughter, Warrior composed himself. “Okay, Wild, take sixteen. Make them count.”

Wild nodded.

“Legend, Twilight, Four, Hyrule. Take four each. I’ll take five.”

Legend pulled their stash of arrows out of his pouch and divvied them up. Warrior came up last and took the remaining five. They fit their ammunition in their quivers. “Right, next order of business,” Warrior continued. “Twi, transform and take point. We need your senses. Wild, I want you behind him with two arrows nocked. Fire at Twi’s mark. Sky, cover them. Everyone else, fall in behind them. I’ll take up the rear. Keep your eyes on the shadows. It looks pretty dark in there, so everyone grab a lantern. We’re low on oil, so let’s try to get out of there ASAP.”

The others nodded. This seemed easy enough. At least, if they didn’t encounter anything nefarious. They knew they probably would, but they could handle it. Warrior turned to Twilight and nodded. The latter took on his beastly form and took the lead. Wild drew his bow and nocked two arrows. The others unsheathed their swords and raised their newly lit lanterns. With a last look at the clear blue sky, the heroes entered the dark forest.

[mrneighbourlove]

Negotiation in a Fiery Alliance: Ch 1. The Lord of Hyrule’s Quest

Klinge closed his bathroom cabinet, coming face to face with the mirror in front of him. His eyes dilated upon looking on his face. This was the face of Malik. He was a human being again. Only two weeks in his new humanity, he was still in awe at his transformation. Taking his right hand he felt his cheeks. He was warm, soft even, and the metal arm felt cold upon touching it. Taking a toothbrush, he went a little overboard. Hygiene was something he never had to keep up with before. Finishing up, he washed his face, and wiped himself clean. The water felt chilling on his face, so he was glad he dried himself down. Walking back to his room, he looked around his new quarters. Covarog had provided him a new massive tower for his sake of lord ship. It would take some time before he finished building a house for himself and Asakonigei. Speaking of which, he watched his beautiful wife sleep soundly. Leaning back onto the bed, he leaned over her, giving her a soft kiss.

"Nhmmm..." Asakonigei stirred slightly on the mattress from the kiss. Ever since Klinge had turned into Malik, her husband, he had trouble learning how to be... human again. It was highly amusing watching him complete everyday tasks. When Asakonigei reminded him of little things he had to do, Malik almost seemed perplexed. "Mhmmm... it's too early." Asakonigei grumbled lightly as she pulled the covers up over her heard. "I don't want to get up just yet. Come back to bed, it's warm and soft here."

"What if I warm you up instead." Tearing her blankets off, he hugged her close, giving her slow kisses on her face and neck.

"HEY!" Asakonigei protested when Malik yanked off the blanket and then smothered her with love. "Goodness, what's gotten into you this morning?"

"I'm just in a good mood? Can't I hug my beautiful wife?"

"Snuggles, kisses, and compliments?" Asakonigei grinned at him, teasing a little. "No, no, you're definitely up to something. What is it this time?"

"Well... I was thinking we could do that thing that you are so good with your mouth this morning~ I can treat you well after in return~"

"Ooo, I see you're trying to butter me up to get what you want." Asakonigei giggled as she ran a finger from his chin to the center of his chest. "And I get a treat too? Well what if I want my big, thick, and hard treat first?"

Malik's hands rubbed the hips of his charming wife in return. "You're the mechanic. You should know ever engine needs to be revved up first."

Asakonigei was in the process of taking off her pajamas when there was a knock. Groaning aloud, the Kovina glared at the door. She scowled and fixed her top.

"Whoever is at that door, I'm going to throw them out the window."

"Not if I do so first." Malik grumbled, giving his wife a deep kiss and a spank on the ass to keep her wet and waiting. Grabbing a robe he covered himself up as he opened the door, glaring at whoever ruined his morning now.

Ralnor stood outside Malik's doors, his face as stoic as ever, even at the man's glare. The secondborn prince had his hands clasped behind his back, his face not betraying any emotion.

"The queen requires your presence." Ralnor then added. "Now."

"Does she now? I can tell that you won't make her wait, will you." Malik turned to his wife before Ralnor could give an answer. "This sounds like business. I suppose I'll see you after work?"

"Rrr... fine." Asakonigei flopped back on the bed, sulking. "I know you have to go, but I don't have to like it."

"I wasn't interrupting anything... was I?" Ralnor tried his best not to smirk. "Don't keep the queen waiting, commander."

"You were. And it's Lord Malik to you now, Prince Ralnor." Klinge quickly got his new attire on. It was a fine suit and clung close to his body, and tight chainmail underneath, but still a far cry from his shells that he wore as an undead. The fresh air was a foreign concept to him. As he walked with Ralnor, he tugged at his collar, never finding the right pace for the perfect fit. "Do you know what this is about?"

"Hmm, since you are now a lord, that occupation comes with newfound responsibilities." Ralnor thought it was rather funny to see the old commander rather vexed about being interrupted with Asakonigei. "The queen has a task for you to complete for her. Since our queen is with child and cannot leave the castle, and our king refuses to leave her, she has personally asked you to do this for her."

"What?" Malik actually showed he was startled, for the first time in Ralnor's life. The Gerudo Lord knew he new occupation would hold new challenges, but he did not expect to take them on so soon. "Covarog is not one to stray away from his responsibilities. Even with Zarazu pregnant."

"While that may be true, the king refuses to leave with Zarazu this close to her due date." Ralnor shrugged his shoulders. "His reasoning is that he will not be absent during the birth of their second son. The queen requested the king be present, as it is Lorleidian tradition for the husband to support his wife during childbirth."

"Zarazu just- never mind." It seemed Zarazu and Covarog shut everything down the moment she found out she was pregnant with her boy. Why would her third child, or any child, be any different? Arriving at the court room, Malik strolled in. He exchanged a view glances with some nobles. His transformation and new title had stirred the political environment around the castle. "Queen Zarazu. King Covarog. I am here upon your summons."

"My brother and his queen have been trying for a child for the last five years." Ralnor reminded the commander. "So they're bound to be... careful."

As soon as the pair walked into the court room, Ralnor bowed politely to his brother and Zarazu. The queen was sitting in her chair while Covarog stood beside of her. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword, always on alert for danger. Covarog knew some of the nobles, as well as any other enemies, may try to harm his wife and unborn children. So, he was not going to leave her side, even though Zarazu was more than capable of protecting herself. Ever since Klinge had turned human, into Malik, Zarazu was without her personal bodyguard most of the day. Covarog did not like it and did not trust anyone else enough to guard her besides the captains, and Kelly and Tulilad had their own duties to attend to during the day.

"Thank you for arriving so promptly, Klinge---Lord Malik. I apologize, I'm still getting used to the new name." Zarazu smiled at her friend. "Please, sit."

Murmurs traveled at his name change. Sitting down, Malik adjust his seat. “What is the business at hand, ladies and gentlemen?”

"We have a task for you to complete since our queen is now with child." Covarog told Malik as he hesitated to leave Zarazu's side. She gestured for him to do so, and the king then presented Malik with a scroll. The writing on the scroll contained new trade agreements for the Kikai Empire, as well as helping the Hasai build a new alliance with Danjur. Since the Kikai Empire was recovering from the hydra poison blow, there was still some aid required. "We need you to be an ambassador for Hyrule as you travel to the Kikai Empire and Danjur to help build a stronger alliance for future generations."

Malik gripped Covarog’s arm. This was startling news. “This is why you aren’t doing this yourself, isn’t it.”

"That is not necessarily true, Lord Malik," It was Zarazu's turn to speak this time. "You asked to be instated to the title of lord, and with that title come responsibilities. My king has started to repair the burnt bridges of the past with the Kikai Empire and has already built a strong foundation with the kingdom of Danjur. However, it is now your turn to show us that you can handle the pressures of being a lord and look past the bias which might cloud your vision for our children's future. It is better to have peace, than to have war." Then she simply asked him. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Malik felt the pressure of everyone eying him. Nodding, he took a bow to his Queen. “Of course. I’ll prepare at once to leave with my wife. Is there anything special about this case I should know about in advance?”

"You will have assistance with the Kikai Empire and Danjur, Lord Malik, I will not send you into uncharted territories alone." Zarazu assured her friend. "My sister, Zizi, and her husband, Kahli, have graciously volunteered to go with you to the Kikai Empire as well as Danjur to help establish a good relationship and to make a notable impression." The queen then interlocked her fingers and smiled brightly, a little impish look on her face. "And I have arranged transportation as well."

“Kahli? Why him?”

"Do you know any other Hasai who will tolerate you for the sake of their wife?" Covarog tried to hold back a snort. "Or will agree to be near you?"

"My king..." Zarazu gave her husband a look, who instantly shut his trap. "What my king is trying to say, Lord Malik, is Kahli is our best option at the moment. He is married to my sister and has good standing in Hyrule. He can vouch not only for the kingdom of Hyrule, but also his own people."

“Very well....” Malik rose, incredibly annoyed by this assignment, but it was his duty. “What transportation did you have in mind?”

"Pojiji's old earth dragon, Ari'phompha, has graciously volunteered to transport Zizi and Kahli to their destination, so I asked Nubi'ahlus to escort you and Asakonigei," Zarazu elaborated. "So there will be no delays or set backs taking a road. Kahli was most concerned about being on hazardous roads with the threat of bandits, mudslides, so on and so forth, so I indulged his request for more conventional transportation."

"You will spend one day traveling to the Kikai Empire on dragon back, and three days there to negotiate means of trade and other concerns for the alliance." Covarog continued. "Then you will spend the next three days traveling to Danjur, and spend three days there before traveling back home."

A knock came to the door. Kahli came in with his wife. The man wore respectful robes in black. “Queen Zarazu. Our preparations our complete.”

"Thank you, Kahli." Zarazu stood from her seat to greet her sister, Covarog instantly going to help her stand. "My king, I am fine."

"You're pregnant."

"I'm not two tons of fun just yet, I can walk."

"... all right."

"Zizi, you look well!" Zarazu hugged her baby sister with a bright smile. "Hard to believe Manaco is going to be a big brother already. He's barely over a year old."

"Who's fault you think that is?" Zizi nudged her husband with a grin. "Kahli failed to tell me about his 'spring season' and couldn't keep his hands off of me."

"I think Covarog has a spring season everyday." Zarazu giggled with her sister. "Another boy? Girl?"

"It's another boy." Zizi patted her belly. "But so far, no hot flashes like I had with Manaco."

"Maybe that means the kid will be a Zemlja like you."

"Who knows, we'll see."

"Are you sure you're okay going? I can always send someone else."

"No, no, sis, I got this. Besides, my husband is going and he needs my support."

"Very well." Zarazu smiled at Zizi. "Do you need anything else?"

"I think we're all ready, and we're grateful that you're taking care of Manaco for us while we're gone."

"I took care of baby dragons, and you are as a baby, I can handle Manaco."

Kahli held Zizi close, not liking the stares of the nobles. “We’re very excited for the newborn. As well as your support.”

"I'm the queen, though I am also Zizi's sister. Of course I will support you both." Zarazu noticed how close Kahli was holding her baby sister. She recalled Zizi telling her that once more, Kahli's instincts were in overdrive since she was pregnant with their second child. The queen thought it was slightly amusing. "Please, let me know if there is anything else you need before you leave. Lord Malik and his wife, Lady Asakonigei, will be accompanying you."

Malik smiled fondly at the name. “I like the sound of that. Lady Asakonigei.”

Just before any more fun could be had, another knock came, followed by mechanical clanks. To everyone’s surprise, the Android, T0-D entered the court room, having somehow having gotten past security.

“Statement: Greetings meatbags! Especially you fat one. I hope your pregnancy isn’t an issue Zizi.”

"... what is that thing doing here?" Zizi did not hide her disdain for the robot, crossing her arms. Ever since T0-D kidnapped her, the Zemlja was not trusting of the robot despite the friendship with Zannah. She growled at him, "My pregnancy won't stop me from turning you into a pile of nuts and bolts if you get within ten feet of me. Stay over there, you pile of scrap metal."

"Tod... we talked about this." Zarazu groaned in annoyance as the robot made his entrance. She tried her best to be civil. "There are protocols in place. You must announce yourself to the guards who will escort you here. This is the agreement. If you do this again, we're going to have to report it to Zannah."

"Your owner knows this, we discussed it." Covarog was not pleased either, especially since the robot loved to challenge security any way possible. "You follow protocols when you visit here, we follow protocols when we visit your empress. It's disrespectful for you to come bounding through here."

"Please, Tod, don't do it again."

“Amusement: Oh, you know it’s all in good fun. And why have protocols if your guards can’t even spot me? Seems foolish to waste time.”

Kahli held his wife close. Her distaste was his own. “T0-D, why are you here?”

“Statement: Emperor Zannah sent me to intercept you. A trip to the Empire is no longer required.”

“Why is that?”

“Quarry: Are you broken Kahli? Did you malfunction? No? Than don’t interrupt, and I’ll tell you.”

T0-D’s eye went from blue to red, and back to blue again after issuing his insult. “The Empress is traveling directly to Danjur for an open negotiation. She can’t wait for Zarazu to join her.”

"My queen, unfortunately, cannot join your empress at this time." Covarog said through gritted teeth to the robot. "My wife is pregnant and for her safety, as well as my future child, cannot leave the castle."

"Please tell Empress Zannah that I send my deepest apologies, but my king is right." Zarazu told T0-D. "We have tried for a child for so long, we cannot take any risks by my venturing beyond the castle."

"In her place, we are sending Zizi and Kahli, who Zannah knows, as well as Lord Malik and Lady Asakonigei."

"Quarry: Lord Malik?"

Malik cleared his throat. "We fought against each other at the end of the war."

"Exclamation: Ah! You certainly look much better. You're no Zarazu, but my Empress will make do. Zarazu, would you like me to record a message for my Empress?"

"Yes, please, T0-D, I think recording a message for your empress will be suitable. I'm sure she can understand the situation I am in currently, and it will be better to explain for her." Zarazu nodded her head. "If you have any other questions before I record, I will answer them now."

"Excitement: I'll need a ride with one of the dragons. I'm sure Zizi and her husband will love my company."

Malik did not like the android either, but he knew that his Zizi would NOT be able to handle her buttons being pushed for a day of travel stuck with the machine. "You will ride with me Android. I'm sure my wife will find you fascinating. She's a Kovina."

"Curiosity: The members of the metal tribe. I suppose it will be the closest thing to transcending your meatbag status. Zarazu, you may record your message now."

"If he tries to get on Ari'phompha, I'll push him off." Zizi grumbled under her breath to her husband. "I don't want him touching me, near me, and if he makes one more joke about me being 'fat', I'll figure out by some law of Zemlja magic to dismantle him."

Zarazu pulled T0-D aside to record her message.

"Empress Zannah, I hope you are well. I regret to inform you that I will not be able to attend this alliance meeting with you in Danjur. I am now with child after trying for over five years. My king and I have both agreed that for my safety and the safety of the future heir, I cannot leave the castle grounds. In my place, I am sending my younger sister, Zizi, and her husband, Kahli. You are both acquainted with each other, so I know this will make the proceedings easier. Accompanying them is Lord Malik and Lady Asakonigei, who are on good terms with Danjur. I hope to be seeing you soon."

T0-D's eye went from white, back to blue upon finishing the recording. "Statement: The recording is stored. I'm sure she will be glad you sent Kahli. And for what it's worth, I'm sure you will deliver another little 'bundle of joy'."

Zarazu then returned to her husband's side. "Please make any last minute preparations, and be safe. I will be awaiting news."

~

 "You know, when you accepted this title of 'lord', I had no idea we'd be traveling outside of Hyrule." Asakonigei was excited. "I've never been anywhere except here and Lorleidi. I heard Danjur has these... these metal machines that are like... living! And these things called engines! Do you think they'd let me mess with..." The Kovina was rambling, almost having a skip in her step. "I cannot believe Zarazu wants me to present my suits of armor for them. Do you think they'll like them?"

Malik nodded, finishing packing his bags. "I'm sure they will. As long as we stay behaved. I hold the reputation of the entire country on my shoulders. As far as Zarazu is concerned, I am the country."

"Do you think we'll have time to... ourselves?" Asakonigei asked him as she placed a brand new piece of lingerie on top of Malik's pile of clothes. Black, silk, and very revealing, all of her husband's favorite items in a piece of lingerie. "Because I'd hate for this to go to waste..."

"I'll make the time." He leaned over to give her a kiss, and shut his bag. "You seem excited to explore Danjur culture. How do you feel about the Hasai?"

"I'm curious about the Hasai, but I don't want to upset you, love." Asakonigei then told him. "I want you to be comfortable first. I can always learn from a book, but if you don't want me near them, then I won't go. You're my main priority, my love."

"Unfortunately, you'll be exposed to them, no matter what. And I'm sure you'll have no problem with them as much as I do. It's history on my part. And to my dismay, I'm certain, unlike Zizi, your first exposure to them outside of Kahli will make you love them..."

"What makes you say that?" Asakonigei halted Malik from packing for a few moments, taking his hands. "You know I'll be on your side."

"Your love as a gear head will make it so..."

Walking to the courtyard, T0-D was chatting it up with Nubi'ahlus. "...honestly, I don't understand your worries. Surely even you must understand fire is the most attractive element. Any dragon would be glad to be your mate."

Turning to the door opening behind him, he waved to Malik and his wife. "Greetings: Oh Lord Malik. Nubi'ahlus and I were wondering if you had rusted with the time you had taken to arrive. Even Zizi could roll her way over on her stomach faster than you."

"Fire is probably most attractive to Hasai culture, metal person, but in Lorleidian dragons, it is the soul." Nubi'ahlus explained to the robot. He was very curious, sniffing the man who... was not a man. It was confusing for him. "We must resonate with each other."

"Oh... my... spirits." Asakonigei sucked in a sharp breath when she saw T0-D. "What is that?!?!"

"Answer: I am combat and communication Android, designated T0-D. I work in the service of my Master, Emperor Zannah of the Kikai Empire. I have lived for thousands of years, originally designed by ancient Shiekah, but in time, have been modified by Hasai engineers. I am one of kind, and very proud of my programming. Humans have called me dangerous, intelligent, and joy to be around. I understand the human biology and mind to handle people effectively."

"That means he's good as a killer, or just getting under other people's skin..." Malik huffed, ignoring the android to get his bags loaded.

"You're a moving piece of metal! You can talk but you're not alive, and oh my spirits, look at those gears!!!" Asakonigei was definitely excited, approaching T0-D with curiosity and not having any qualms about touching the robot. "You're made out of such fine materials, look at the quality of craftsmanship! What is the power source? How exactly how the metal not degraded with time? Do you have magical components? What about---"

"Asa, please..." Zizi groaned as she ran a hand down her face. "Now is not the time."

"But it's a... it's... living but not living! I've never seen anything like this!"

"You can pester the asshole later, for now, we need to get the dragons prepped."

"Correction: I do not posses an asshole, like you do Zizi. Tell me, is yours located by that hole on your face? Would explain the fecal matter that spews from your mouth at times." After delivering his insult, T0-D turned his attention back to Asakonigei. "Intrigue: Why I have a master core in both my head and my chest, as so if one is damaged in an unlikely event, I can still function. The ancient Shiekah held a deep potential for the ultimate blend of magic and technology. And the metals found in the original Hasai homeland held a metal known as Cortosis. Very interesting metal, as it grants me an immunity to low to medium level voltages. I am indeed living, in my own way. I find your fascination of me to be most interesting, given the uneasiness Zizi and her sister view about their false philosophy of my life."

Just for that insult, Zizi threw her bag at him, the pregnancy hormones getting the best of her.

"I ought to bury you so deep in the ground that you'll never claw your way out, you piece of slag!"

"Zizi, calm down, you don't need to stress the baby." Asakonigei told her friend. "I know you two don't have a good relationship, but can we try to be civil for the sake of this alliance?"

"Hmph. Tell that to the thing."

Asakonigei sighed and shook her head.

"Well, for your information, um..."

"They call the thing Tod."

"Tod," Asakonigei then told the robot. "I am a Kovina, I control the metal elements of the earth." She demonstrated by pulling particles from the ground, forming a ball of silver. "So it is in my nature."

Kahli hurried his wife onto the dragon, getting her away from the environment.

T0-D was heavily intrigued. "Excitement: A truly amazing ability. It is so enjoyable to find a Lorleidian who has a power not rooted in in the ground."

Malik groaned. "Great. You do puns too. Alright, both of you on the dragon."

"I'm going to find a way to kill him, I swear." Zizi grumbled to her husband as Kahli helped her onto Ari'phompa. It was a little awkward with her big belly in the way, taking a couple of tries to get comfortable. It did not help things that her back was killing her from the extra weight. "Hate that damn thing."

Asakonigei climbed on Nubi'ahlus, settling in behind her husband. She assured Malik that Nubi'ahlus would fly safely and not as rambunctious as Ba'puu. She knew her husband was not overly fond of the queen's water dragon, due to his sassy personality.

"I will make sure as soon as we arrive in Danjur, you are treated to a spa my flower." Kahli helped Zizi up, holding her tight and close once they were packed and on board.

"Thank you, Kahli." Zizi sighed, rubbing her back. "As long as I'm with you, I'll be okay. That thing just pushes my buttons." She then purred at him, giving a light tug on his chin. "But a spa would be no fun if you weren't there with me."

"Good spirits, by the time you're fifty, you're going to have team of kids for a game of ball if you keep it up." Asakonigei snorted at Zizi's flirty ways. "Then an army of grand kids."

"I don't mind having a large family." Kahli nipped at Zizi's neck. He'd enjoy massaging her all over once they were airborn.

Malik helped his wife up, and waited for the Android to get on the saddle with them. "I believe we are now ready for take off."

"Hrm, with the way your spring seasons are, I think Asa's prediction might come true." Zizi yipped slightly when Kahli nibbled at her neck. That was one of his favorite things to do, and she still was not used to it. If he was wanting her to get horny midair, then he was certainly getting her ready for it. "Maybe next time, we'll try for a little girl."

"Come on, Tod, Nubi'ahlus doesn't bite unless I tell him to." Asakonigei patted the seat on the saddle behind her. "Unless you plan on walking there."

"Statement: I'd be a very undesirable snack. Could even suffer an iron overdose."

T0-D climbed aboard, sitting around the couple. Malik made sure everyone was secure before waving back to Zarazu, who was sitting by the balcony.

Zarazu was watching with Covarog as the two dragons took off into the sky. The queen had given her sister an enchanted mirror to alert her of when the group arrived in Danjur. She hoped everything would go smoothly...

[crossroadsdimension]

World Collision Chapter 12

I really am on a roll with these chapters...you guys can find previous chapters by searching for the tag “World Collision” on my blog or going to FF and searching for my profile “FourthWallBreaker.” You’ll be able to find most -- if not, all -- of my stories there!

Grim Discoveries

When Flare-Up and Myra came back to the hidden base in the sewers, Myra had a hollow look in her eyes at what she had learned from Flare-Up.

Myra. A World Jumper. It was difficult to wrap her head around but there was something about it that felt so right.

But what was that going to mean for the future? What was going to happen when what the Dark Arms had done was fixed? How was it going to be fixed?

And what was going to happen to her?

Peach went straight for Seeker and hugged him tightly. “I am relieved that you are all right!”

“And the same to you!” Seeker replied. He looked over at Bowser with a more serious expression as the Koopa lumbered past him. The two of them exchanged looks before Bowser looked away with a grunt. “You two were the only ones in the castle?”

“From what I can remember,” Bowser grumbled as Peach let Seeker go. “Why?”

“Mario’s somewhere up there. Same with Yoshi and Daisy and probably Rosalina, too, if she got involved in this from her galaxy. You haven’t seen hide or hair of any of them?”

Peach shook her head. “No; Bowser had come to kidnap me again when—“ She froze, then screamed and pulled back. “She showed up!”

Myra followed Peach’s gaze and blinked in surprise when she saw Peach was pointing at Flare-Up. Flare-Up didn’t look the least bit startled by the princess’ reaction.

“What is she doing—“

“Flare-Up has got control of herself,” Seeker replied. “It’s okay. She’s helping us get everything back to the way it’s supposed to be.”

Peach looked uncertain at that as Myra blinked in confusion. “Are you certain? I have heard she has played the part of someone who was still free in order to get others under their power before. What makes you think she isn’t going to do that now?”

Myra blinked a couple times. Was Peach suggesting that Flare-Up was…?

She looked over at Flare-Up, as did the rest of the small group. Flare-Up noticed their gazes and chose to look at Captain America, then at Myra.

“What say you?” Flare-Up asked. “You were there when I was found.”

“All I remember clearly is that you used up your energy getting it off my back,” Captain America replied.

Myra started to nod in agreement, then paused. “There was—there was something on a computer about that stuff not working on you. I think it said it was…Project Reclaim? Something like that.” She paused. “Wait. Reclaim?” She stared at Flare-Up with wide eyes.

“I had to get my immunity from somewhere.” Flare-Up shrugged a little, her expression blank, but there was something in her eyes that flickered there for a moment. Myra tried to guess at what it was – anger? sadness? – but it was gone in a moment.

“But she’s on our side now,” Seeker said. “She’s got her head back on her shoulders, and she’s just as willing to take them down as the rest of us. You don’t have to worry about anything, Peach; you can trust me on that.”

Peach hesitated, then shook her head and retreated to the opposite end of the chamber. Luigi followed after her with a quick glance back at Flare-Up.

As the group drifted off, splitting up, Crystal moved closer to Flare-Up.

“Are you…gonna be okay?” Crystal asked.

Flare-Up looked over at her. “You don’t need to worry about me. There are other things to be worried about.”

Crystal hesitated, then nodded and moved away from Flare-Up.

Myra stated where she was. “Y-you…you were controlled by them? B-but you’re the World Jumper!”

“A World Jumper,” Flare-Up corrected. She looked away from Myra and towards the pipe they had come out of. “We aren’t as invincible as you seem to think we are. We never are.”

“B-but –“

“There’s no buts about it.” Flare-Up looked at Myra. “I may be powerful, but there are some things that even I am not fully prepared to stand up against. Don’t forget that.”

Myra blinked. “Th-then…what about me?”

“You’re still learning – or remembering, at least.” Flare-Up paused. “I doubt that the Dark Arms are aware of your presence as one that matches mine. They weren’t aware of my brother’s true strengths, so I doubt they will come after you unless you’ve managed to remember something. All you can do for now is watch and attempt to remember everything that you can about the world you left behind. You will recover more of yourself that way.”

“But what if the memories don’t come back?”

“They will, given time. You have to be patient and wait for them to come back on their own.” Flare-Up eyed Myra for a moment, then looked over at Seeker. “There are still others out there who need to be rescued.”

“I agree, but we can’t just rush out there when we don’t know where to find them,” Seeker replied. “You were lucky to find these two so close to us; I don’t know where we would be able to find Yoshi or Daisy, much less Mario. And trying to attract their attention might get us more problems than we’re able to handle right now.”

“I agree.” Nightwing stepped forward. “The best thing we can do right now is scout out the area and see if we can free more of the locals. Then we can spread out from there. We don’t know how large this Zone is compared to the Precursor Zone yet; we could end up being in one of the more compact areas for all we know.”

“We aren’t; the most compacted one is the Dark City Zone.” Flare-Up nodded towards one of the walls. “Since it’s multiple cities from multiple dimensions merged into one location.”

Myra stared. “H-how do you know?”

“Considering they liked me so much, they had to make sure I knew where I was going. The fact that we need that data in order to fight back against them is the only thing that’s keeping me from deleting it.” Flare-Up tapped the side of her head. “The Mushroom Zone is the most expansive; the Hyrule and Cyber Zones are second and third. Then Dungeon, Maverick, Precursor, and Dark City in that order. Dark City is more than one World Zone, no doubt because the Marvel and DC universes are so close together in concept and world build. Otherwise there are seven World Zones in total that have been merged together.”

Everyone in the temporary base started at Flare-Up with blank expressions.

Flare-Up inclined her head, taking the stares in stride. “If the Dark Arms come after me, it’s more likely it is because of the information I have concerning their initial operations than because of my power. I was attached to their database and used as a backup before I was put on ice.”

“…we’re going to need that data.” Nightwing motioned for Flare-Up to follow him to where Luthor and Brainiac were working on a computer tower, sequestered from the rest of the group.

“Whoa.” Myra stared after the Reploid as she followed Nightwing. She looked over at Seeker. “Did you…did you know she had been controlled?”

Seeker paused at the question as noise around them ceased at Myra’s voice.

“Kid, we all did.” The man wearing the red and yellow armored suit came over to the two of them. “It’s not exactly unnoticeable when someone like her is running around on a leash. It was avoiding her that was another problem.” He shot Flare-Up a look, and she glanced back at them with an expression that sent chills down Myra’s spine.

“Considering they used her to clear out the Dark City, I’m surprised you didn’t put two and two together sooner,” Seeker commented. “If you had been in the Dark City when all this started, at least.”

Myra shook her head. “I-I was in the Hyrule Zone. I don’t remember how I got there, though; I don’t know anything about that place. After that I guess I was just…really, really lucky in avoiding getting caught. I’d been in the Dark City Zone for a really long time before….” She shrugged.

“Huh.” Seeker raised an eyebrow. “That’s…definitely not what I’d expected. Although, since you don’t seem to remember what World Zone you came from, maybe the quakes that happened when the worlds merged together caused you to be thrown into another Zone and lose your memories in the process.”

“You think so?” Myra frowned. Could she have been in one of the other universes that were collided together? Could she have been doing a World Jumping thing right then, and that’s what caused her to lose everything?

“It could be; anything can happen in the Mulitverse.” Seeker clapped a hand on her shoulder. “You just have a little more bad luck than average, I guess, but enough good luck to avoid a lot of the dangers we’ve had to deal with up until now.”

“But what’s that going to mean for the future, then? If you guys have more bad luck than I do, then—“

“It’s going to balance out. But with my sister’s good luck and determination, I think we’ll be able to get through this without any problems.” Seeker grinned.

Myra frowned. “The Dark Arms are looking for her, though, right? So things could end up being even worse for us if we aren’t careful…”

Seeker’s grin dropped. “You do have a point there. But no one here’s as reckless as they used to be; they’re going to have a difficult time finding us unless we make ourselves known in some form of a large battle. For now, we’re going to have to lie low and strike when we can.”

“We’re also going to have to attract the attention of those who are MindTech’d presently, Seeker.”

Myra and Seeker looked over as Flare-Up walked towards them.

“Because of the Mushroom Zone’s size, we are going to be running around in open areas a lot more than I’d like,” Flare-Up added. “There may not be Dark Arms here yet, but there are others who have been placed under their control and are hiding in certain areas. We’re going to have to either go to them or get them to come to us. We were lucky that Bowser’s and Peach’s castles ended up merging in the Collision.”

Seeker frowned. “Right. But going out now and going after them so quickly after finding Peach and Bowser could get us more attention than we’d like.”

“I appreciate the fact that you’re thinking, Seeker, but we don’t have as much time as I think you’d like us to have.”

Myra blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Flare-Up paused to consider the question. “There are…some things, about what the Dark Arms did, that are making me uneasy. I would like to get this reversed as quickly as possible so that they don’t become permanent – or worse, the Time Barriers become even more unstable than they already are.”

“What happens then?” Seeker’s voice became hard.

There was a grim look in Flare-Up’s eyes. “This entire portion of the Multiverse collapses, and takes all of us with it.”

[mrneighbourlove]

Filling the Emptiness: Ch 5. Coming Together

“Ms. Ingo. Please take a seat.”

Sunny Ingo had been waiting a while now outside on a bench. Her father had gone inside and made his case to their benefactors that she was not only ideal, but the perfect person to take on the mantle and responsibility of running Lon Lon Milk incorporated. Sunny groomed herself and dedicated her life to running the ranch effectively.

Leere’s family looked into her background, and the King and Queen themselves made recommendations for her. Sunny felt so grateful, but also a huge amount of weight on her shoulders for this meeting to go well. She wore a formal dress, but nothing like the royals had. It was more casual, but the material it was made of would speak for how rich her family was. She also straightened her hair and applied makeup as well as darkener to her eyebrows to look more appealing to the men. Sunny didn’t mind flaunting wealth on rare occasions. She and her family poured their full will and strength into their business to become so successful.

Entering the conference hall, Sunny gave a bow to the various men and woman who were seated. “Good afternoon everyone.”

“Good afternoon Ms. Ingo. Please take a seat.” Sunny did as she was told, finding a seat at a table. Her financial supporters sat in a half circle in front of her, taking notes the second she walked through the door. It seemed that they were judging her before she even spoke a word. The man directly in front of her had a curly mustache, and a big red bowtie. “I’m sure you’re anxious about today.”

“Not at all Mr. Burnaby.” Sunny’s thick accent pushed to battle against his own. It would be a battle of carefully chosen words, and having to never show a hint of weakness.

“Ah, well that’s good. Because we have very important matters to go over.”

“Quite, quite.” Another man, with a rounder belly, a white mustache took a sip of Lon Lon milk. “Did you make this?”

Sunny gave a smile, and a jolly chuckle. “I did. Along with the rest of my family. We follow the mantra of working smart and hard. That way everyone is happy with the best quality product ready to be distributed.”

One of the woman, Lorleidian, on the council gave a nod of approval. “A very great way of thinking Ms. Ingo. Can you tell us any changes you’d make if you were promoted to leading your families business? It is very Hylian oriented as I’ve noticed.”

“Well, it’s true that it’s a Hylian born business. Hard to keep up with everyone else Mamm. Kids rather see dragons and all the exotic critters Princess Orana gathers than horses or farm animals nowadays. And to be honest, Lorleidians are amazing at fishing and suppling other labour to the work economy. That said, I want to make something clear. I won’t pass up any work from other folks if they are looking for a modest living though. When I lead, I want to inspire everyone to work as a team. We help each other grow. I’d love to expand our product to the far reaches of Hyrule if we can maximize our work force.”

That answer seemed to register with the woman, and, with a quiet and slow nod, she made notes in her ledger. The council took a minute to talk silently amongst themselves, shooting glances back at Sunny as they came to their own conclusions. The lead man cleared his throat, speaking once more. “Ms. Ingo. We understand that you are a family business. Your father inherited the business from his father. Which your grandfather inherited it from his mother. Now, we understand that all of your siblings are married. Some even have kids.”

“That’s correct.”

“We also understand that you have a select taste in lovers that would make it difficult to continue your family line.” The man gave Sunny a deep look in the eyes that made her uncomfortable. “I’m sure someone as dedicated as you could fix that issue. Correct Ms. Ingo?”

Sunny was a little miffed, her brow giving a slight furl, but she kept her smile bright. “I can have you all rest assured, that I will find a way to continue the family line.”

The councilman stroked his mustache, thinking over her words. “We have your character references, as well as your work history regarding your efficiency. We’ll talk over our choice on the matter. Give us five minutes Ms. Ingo. Please stay where you are.”

The rancher watched as the council men and woman stood up and walked to another room to privately discuss their vote. She took a few deep breathes and thought back to her family for comfort. Her mother in particular brought her peace…

“Moma! Can I look at the telescope?”

A woman with hair as dark as space smiled down to her daughter. She named all her children after the entities of the grand beauty of the galaxy. Her first child had hair as bright as the sun. Her little Sunny. Lifting her daughter up on her lap, Phoebe tipped the telescope for her daughter to peer through. “What do you see Sunny?”

“I see stars! I love stars!”

“Stars are amazing my dear. It’s why I named you after the most important one.”

“The sun! It feeds everyone life! Its how Papa is able to run the business!”

“That’s right. But our galaxy is filled with so many wonders. Look over here.” Sunny’s mother adjusted the telescope, and showed off a few constellations to her daughter. “That’s the chariot of Apollo. And over here. The fire of Din. Some say the gods reward the best of humanity with new constellations in the sky.”

“Really?! What else is up there?”

“Well my dear, I was going to save this for tomorrow… but what the heck. You know how the crown prince and that beautiful water princess are getting married?”

“Yes! I saw glimpse of them while at the market with Papa! They look so happy!”

“Well, they’re going to be blessed by one of the crowning jewels of nature itself for their wedding tomorrow. Look at the moon Sunny. You noticed how its been slowly been growing bigger?”

“Yes? Is it gonna fall onto the Earth?”

Phoebe gave a lighthearted laugh at that. “No, no my dear. I certainly hope not. What’s happening, is that an event called an Solar Eclipse is about to take place. The moon travels directly in front of the sun, and for a small window of time, it will block it out, plunging the world in a small period of darkness.”

“That sounds scary!”

“It’ll be beautiful. I promise. It’s a day that you won’t forget. You’ll see such amazing sights.”

“Ok.” Young Sunny felt a little better at her mother’s encouragement. “Maybe we can get a meteor shower too!”

Her mother gave a giggle, bouncing her daughter on her knee. “Perhaps we might. May even be lucky for a small comet or meteorite to land in Hyrule. The really small ones are good luck if you collect them.”

“But the big ones go boom!”

“Yes they do. So let’s hope we can avoid that~” Phoebe set her daughter down and took her hand. “Now come along. You have a goodnight’s rest to attend. Let’s not keep your siblings waiting for a bed night story.”

“But I don’t want to go to bed.”

“Silly girl. When we go to sleep, that’s when we dream. And dreams lead use amongst the stars…”

That was the last good memory Sunny had of her mother. The day the sun went out, so did her mother. Sunny shook her head, dispelling the bad thoughts from creeping in on what came after. She wouldn’t let the bad end ruin everything good before hand and she couldn’t afford to cry right now. Those softer times of her mother and her astronomy made her feel safe and happy in her mind.

When the council returned, she sat straight, but relaxed thanks to her internal meditation. The man with the mustache took the lead speaking once more. “Ms. Ingo. I won’t waste anymore of your time. The board has made its vote. We are 9-7 in your favour. Some aren’t convinced, but I’m sure you can change their minds. When your father is ready, he may officially hand over the title of C.E.O to you. Congratulations Ms. Ingo.”

Sunny stood up, trying to not let the excitement get to her. She felt disturbed that, most likely, without the help of the royals, she probably wouldn’t have the job she worked so hard for. The rancher shook each and every one of their hands. “Thank you so much. I’ll prove I’m right for the job. You can be rest assured in your continued support of Lon Lon Ranch.”

“I’m sure our investments will be rewarded.”

Sunny left the board meeting, and ran to her family waiting for her. Her brothers and sisters had worn their best clothing for coming anywhere near the castle. She let relief wash over her seeing them all here. “I did it. I got the job.”

Her siblings and father cheered, rushing to greet her. “Yes! I know you would!”

“You got the iron will to do so!”

“That’s our Sunny. Always burning bright.”

Her father gave her a pat on the back, his wrinkles smoothing out as he smiled. “You’ve done well Sunny. How I wish your mother was here.”

“I was actually thinking about her. Maybe she’s a shooting star giving us luck now.”

From the end of the hall, Leere was running around the corner, having been given word that Sunny had finished her meeting. Seeing her family, she felt some anxiety creep up on her. What if she didn’t live up to expectations? Wearing a simple dress, she gave Sunny’s family a wave as she approached. “Hello everyone.”

Sunny turned to Leere, taking her hands and planting a kiss on her. “I did it. I’m going to be the C.E.O of the Lon Lon Milk Corporation.”

Leere’s face bloomed into ecstatic happiness, and she kissed Sunny back again. “I’m so proud of you. You’re going to be fantastic.”

Her family eyed the couple, finally getting a look at them together, and eying Leere up on what kind of woman she was. Sunny put an arm around Leere’s waist and turned her towards them. “I’d like you all to meet my girlfriend. Princess Leere.”

Leere gave a polite bow of the head. “Just Leere is fine if that makes you comfortable.”

Galaxia was the only one to not be overly cheerful, or build the façade of being kind to every royal she met. She wanted a straight answer, so she’d be straight in her tone. “So, Leere. You and my sister love each other?”

Leere looked Galaxia in the eye. The woman was about as tall as her sister. But her hair was black as the night. She had two tattoos on her neck. One of the Sun and one of the Moon. She sort of reminded Leere of her brother Ralnor in a way. They both had an aura about them that told others they couldn’t be budged. “Yes. I cherish her dearly.”

“You’ve only met recently.”

“Funny how love works, doesn’t it. It gives you life.”

Sunny was about to stand up for Leere, when Galaxia gave a smirk. “Very good answer. Just keep her happy and we’ll get along fine.”

Her sister extended a handshake to Leere, and Sunny was relieved when her lover took it. Leere liked the fire of this woman. “Of course. Didn’t get your name.”

“Galaxia Ingo.”

“Leere Dragmire.”

Sunny introduced the rest of her siblings, happy that Galaxia seemed to approve. “These are my brothers, Apollo and Cosmo. And this is my youngest sister, Luna.”

Luna gave a polite hand shake to Leere. “I’ve seen your preform. You’re really good on stage.”

“Why thank you.”

Sunny rubbed Leere’s hand. “Would you like to come back to our place to have dinner and celebrate?”

Leere looked to the family, who nodded to encourage her. “I’d be honoured.”

Sunny’s smile burned brightly, and she gave Leere another kiss. “Great! Let’s go get you to change to something more comfortable.” The Rancher snapped a finger to her family before her brothers could make a cheeky comment. “We’ll just be ten minutes.”

But that didn’t stop them anyways. “Wow Apollo. Just in ten minutes?”

“Well, they don’t call it a quickie for nothing.”

Sunny rolled her eyes at them. “Get ya families you silly men.”

Leere and Sunny walked hand in hand back to Leere’s bedroom. Sunny’s siblings looked to their father to get his opinion. He simply shrugged at them. “I’m too old to complain. If she makes Sunny happy, who are we to argue?”

“What about the whole ‘family generation’ thing?”

“I’m sure that they’ll figure it out Galaxia. Let’s head home. We’ll have steaks tonight.”

~

Leere pulled Sunny into her bedroom, giving her another deep kiss. “I’m so happy for you.”

“I’m glad that my families future is secured and we can keep moving forward in the business. Thank you for helping me dear.”

“I wanted to help the woman I love.” Leere pressed another soft kiss to Sunny’s lips.

Sunny held Leere’s shoulders firmly as they kissed lovingly. With a smile, she let go, heading to Leere’s bathroom. “Imma get my makeup off. Feels tacky and sticky. You get changed now.”

“Sure thing.” After Sunny disappeared, Leere was in the middle of getting changed when she heard her roof tile slide open. She nearly gave a loud yelp of surprise when she saw an old friend stopping by.

“Bonegrinder senses that you’ve been awfully happy lately. Must be because you’re finally in the sunshine.”

Leere squinted at him, something very specific bugging her about his wording. Like a buzzer, the realization rang off loudly in her head. Bonegrinder was always a cheeky being, and with him able to see into the future, he spoke in cryptic messages sometimes. It dawned on her that he knew long ago that she’d be together with Sunny. “YOU CHEEKY ASS!”

Sunny yelled from behind the bathroom door. “Everything ok?”

Crap. Leere didn’t want to spring someone like Bonegrinder or any of the Hive on Sunny without plenty of preparation. “Nothing Sunny! I’m just talking with a friend quickly who needed some advice.”

“Okay!”

“Bonegrinder told you didn’t he? He said that you’d find your sunshine.” The Anagari took a finger to play with one of Leere’s locks of hair. “The twins miss your company you know.”

“I’m sure that they’ll have to understand I’m taken now.”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

“Bonegrinder. You and the rest of the Hive don’t interfere in Lon Lon Ranch’s business, do you?”

“Ah! Bonegrinder loves eating their cows! So succulent and pristine in its flavour.”

“Do you mean buying cut steaks?”

“Why would Bonegrinder by small steaks when he can swallow whole cows?”

Leere grabbed his hand and gave it a light smack. “Enough of that. I won’t tolerate you stealing her cattle in the middle of the night. You can’t do that anymore. You want steak, you buy it like everyone else.”

Bonegrinder gave light pout of the brow, a small chuckle leaving his lips. “Every well. No more whole cows in the middle of the night.”

“I mean it. Or I’ll come down to the underground and give you such a thrashing.”

“Hehehehe, this old snake would love to see you do so~” Bonegrinder gave Leere a light pat on the head. “Will be sure to mark the calendar for your big day. Take care of yourself little porcelain doll.”

Leere wasn’t sure if Bonegrinder was dropping another prediction on her, but before she could say anything, Sunny opened the door, giving the old snake enough time to slither away with a giggle to himself.

“How’d things with your friend go?”

“Good. They, uh, went good.” Leere noticed Sunny’s brows were blonde again, and her hair a little more tussled. “You look natural.”

“Isn’t the line that you look beautiful?” Sunny, with the tilt of her head, eyed Leere with a grin.

“You always look beautiful, makeup or not.”

“See, it’s lines like that that make ya irresistible.” The Rancher took hold of Leere, hugging her close to her chest. Leere purred as she rest her head against her. Sunny took note that Leere hadn’t gotten changed. “What’s taking you so long?”

Leere smiled, knowing the perfect excuse. “I wanted you to watch as I got undressed.”

“Well that’s just playing dirty.”

“I know. You’ll have to get back me later~”

Sunny gave Leere’s bottom a spank for making her have to wait. “Keep making comments like that, and I’ll hogtie you to the bed.”

“Well, wouldn’t want to make your family wait now, would we.”

“No. Which makes you shaking that white bum in my face really hard to resist.”

Leere quit teasing her lover for now, and got changed into her causal attire. A simple shirt and long Hylian skirt. Lastly, because she saw Bonegrinder, she put his scale necklace around her neck. “All done.”

Sunny tilted her head towards the necklace. “That’s really pretty. Where did you get it from.”

“A friend of mine… Actually, same friend you just missed.”

“Oh. Is he one of them Lizalfos people?”

Leere shook her head. “No. Big snake man.”

“You’re friends with a big snake man?”

“Yeah. It’s a long story.”

“Well, we got a long walk and ride back to the ranch. I’d love to hear it.”

Leere felt Sunny’s smile penetrate her soul, and she felt so happy to have someone who just wanted to listen to her. Even though she couldn’t divulge the full details, she could tell her the story in some form. “Years ago, I was a party animal and an active archaeologist. I found this crypt one day that were full of monsters. However, they weren’t monstrous per say.”

“You mean how people could call Moblins monsters, but many won’t hurt a fly? That’s just rumours?”

“Exactly.” Though the Hive could and have hurt people before, some had soft layers underneath their shells if you got close enough to look properly. “They had so many characteristics that made them human. At this time, I just lost a friend of mine. I felt that everyone around me died because they associated themselves with me. So here I find these monsters bigger than the average person, and more durable too. I thought I found the perfect friends.”

“So what happened?”

Leere gave Sunny a light pat as they left the front gate and headed to the stables to reach their horses. “Well, first I had sex with twins. Reeeeeeally kinky twins.”

Sunny raised her eyebrow, than let out a chuckle. “Oh boy. Sounds like a handful.”

“Two pairs for both my hands if you know what I mean. A handful indeed.” Leere stuck her tongue out and briefly allowed herself to be immature by cupping the air with her hands. That got a strong laugh out of Sunny. Giving a sigh, Leere’s memory of first meeting the Hive grew a little more melancholy. “Down there, I also discovered an old temple. I saw things from my future that terrified me. A brief glimpse of all of time. My time. I felt so scared. Had this dread about my own life. So I talked my snake friend into having sex with me. Only male I’ve ever willingly been with. I regret that because I think I only did it because I felt like my life was one big void that needed to be filled. So I tried everything. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and even a little self pain.”

Sunny squeezed Leere’s hand as she watched her lover stare off into the distance. “No one goes through that and comes out to where you are without change.”

“You’re absolutely right about that. I was ready to slowly kill myself if my brother Ralnor did search me out. He told me how my family worried that every time I left, I might never return. Because I always held a darkness in my heart. Most of the time I left, I’d always return scarred by some terror I had to defeat. My friend in the crypt realized this too, and he convinced me to leave with my brother. Afterwards, I checked myself in for rehab and counselling to deal with all my grief and pain. One of the best decisions of my life.”

Sunny was a little surprised. She knew that Leere held a darkness in her heart. It was a little intense to know how deep things got with her, but she was happy knowing Leere pulled herself out of that place. “What you did was very healthy.”

“One cannot help others, until they help themselves. This world is full of those that are full of pain. They often lash out, or hurt themselves, and they tell themselves that its justified. No more. That no longer applies to me. I see the force I am capable of being, and I hold my pain tight, but I will no longer let it bleed me or others.”

Sunny nodded fondly towards Leere, and held her hand. “Golly. You’re a smart woman Leere. And you’re right. When people are in pain, they do often think about how they can lash out to feel better. To quell that aching heart they feel.”

Leere stopped Sunny from getting on the horse. “You speak from experience.”

“I told you once before my mother died during the Solar Eclipse. I felt… so empty that day. That when the Sun went out, and the fire came crashing from the sky like a meteorite storm, I lost my own light for a while. I didn’t know how to deal with that pain at first. I didn’t know where to put it. But I looked around me and I saw I wasn’t the only one in pain. My whole family was going through sadness and hurt. And so were so many other survivors who felt the pain that I felt. So instead of throwing my anger out towards others, everyone decided to come together. If we were going to be hurting, we wouldn’t hurt alone. We’d have understanding and love to come together.” Sunny wiped her face of tiny tears forming, giving a light smile to Leere. “Thinking about her even now gets me emotional. I wish she was here. But I’m sure she’s smiling down now as one of them stars in the night.”

Leere squeezed Sunny’s hand, her heart going out to her. “The spirits of loved ones, regardless if they are in the same plane as us, will always look out for us. I’m sure your mother is looking after you all the time.”

Sunny wiped her tears once more as she pulled Leere in for a tender hug. “Thank you Leere. For opening up and being supportive.”

“And thank you as well.”

Leere stood on her tippy toes to kiss Sunny, and both gave each other another tight hug before releasing. The princess walked to her horse and had to use a step ladder to get on top easily. Rinku made it look so easy. Sunny was a natural as she hopped on her stead. “You ok there?”

“Yep. I’m lucky Blackbolt knows how to stay still.”

Sunny laughed at that. “Without that step ladder, you reckon you’d triple your time getting on that horse?”

“Bah, don’t patronize me missy. I might be small, but I think I know how to handle a horse.”

Each woman smiled at each other, and with a flick of the reigns, they rode off to the ranch, side by side.

https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/183811908896/filling-the-emptiness-ch-4-in-love Previous Ch. 

https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/184658907816/filling-the-emptiness-ch-6-big-changes Next Ch. 

[mrneighbourlove]

Kindled Passion: Ch 7. Stolen Flame

A good month had passed. Kahli had worked hard, avoiding the glare of the Gerudo brothers glare. Even harder to learn Lorliedian wedding customs. He wanted to be perfect for Zizi, but caring for his own culture.

It was almost time to bring in the summer harvest. Over the last month, Kahli had learned everything there was to know about running his own section of a plantation. In the future, Kahli had expressed a desire to run the entire plantation to ease Zizi's burden. Grateful for the help, the Lorleidians had learned more of the Waku and were now fond of him. Despite the obvious dislike of the Dragmire family, Kahli was flourishing under the tutelege of the Zemljas. Today, he was helping Zizi manage the intake of plants. Recording the yield of each and every plant was a pain, but it had to be done properly for exports. It was a hot day, the sun bearing down on the workers as carts were loaded to take to the ports. Usually, Zizi was full of energy, but this afternoon, she felt... odd. Huffing, Zizi took the papers and started fanning her face.

“Zizi? Are you alright? You seem tense.”

"Sorry, Kahli..." Zizi set down the papers and ran her hands down her face. She looked a little green and sweating more so than usual. Taking some water from the pail, Zizi splashed it on her face and neck, trying to cool off a bit. "I'm just... just so hot. Maybe yesterday, I got dehydrated..."

“I’ll call a doctor.” Kahli walked around to ask another work to grab some help.

Naira, the Dusa from the children's hospital, arrived at the plantation at the call for help. She was expecting an accidental cut from a scythe or perhaps a sprained ankle, yet the Waku told her it was Zizi. The Zemlja was not feeling well. Taking Zizi aside into one of the tents, Naira was a touch concerned.

"You're burning up." Naira told Zizi as she pressed a cool rag to her head. "Lorleidians do not get sick so easily. Is there anything you've done differently lately?"

"No, not lately."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Well... um..." Zizi then cleared her throat and then admitted with a sheepish smile. "Kahli and I have been more known... intimately."

Kahli looked out over the landscape, avoiding any stares. The marks he left on Zizi still hadn’t healed, mostly because of more then one session.

After a half hour or so, Naira left the tent. Assuring Kahli that Zizi merely needed to rest, and heal from the vigorous love making. The healer, in not so subtle words, expressed to Kahli it was probably a good idea for the two of them to refrain from roughness until Zizi's body had adequate time to recover. Naira figured she would want to deliver the news to her lover.

Inside of the tent, Zizi relaxed on one of the cots. This was an unexcepted surprise, but not an unwelcome one. The Zemlja always thought that Zarazu or Zolori would be first to have children, but... it was going to be her. In a little less than eight months, Zizi was going to have a baby... her baby... Kahli's baby.

Kahli went back to her. “What was it she prescribed about you?”

"Naira told me I needed to stay hydrated and to rest for a few days." Zizi sat up on the cot, knowing she would have to tell Kahli of the news. "Naira also told me that we're going to have company very soon."

Taking Kahli's hand, Zizi felt hesitant. She was not sure how he would react to this news, especially so soon in their relationship. Either way, this was her child and she would make sure the babe was loved. "Soon... it will not be just the two of us."

Placing his clawed hand on her stomach, the Zemlja looked into her eyes, hopeful and a bit nervous.

Kahli’s blackened pupils expanded in utter shock. His mouth hung open, chocking on air. His body actually became cold for a moment. “That’s....”

Fatherhood. He was going to become a father. He was going to acquire a mantle of manhood. For Hasai manhood was achieved through a grand hunt, conquering land, or achieving the status of a parent.

His heat came back as he eased his initial shock, his other hand caressing her face. “That’s the best news...I have ever heard.”

Zizi breathed a sigh of relief at Kahli's words. Why was she worrying about such a thing? Kahli said he loved her, wanted to be with her. He spoke of the future, wanted a family. Sure, this was a little soon, but... sometimes life did not go as planned, it rarely ever did. Maybe a little one was what the two of them needed. It was very well a blessing, and Zizi decided to treat it as such.

"Naira said I'm only a few weeks along at most, maybe a little more." Zizi told Kahli as she held his hand to her face. "After winter, our little one will be here... our son."

“A...a son?”

"Dusas have the ability with magic to tell whether the child is going to be a boy or a girl." Zizi explained with a bright smile. "Naira told me he's doing very well, and has a strong heartbeat. And for some reason, he's giving me hot flashes." She laughed lightly with a shake of her head. "That's why I was sweating so badly."

Kahli hugged her for a moment, before pulling away and kissing her. “We need to tell your sisters.”

"Yes, tell them they're going to be aunts." Zizi agreed, knowing her sisters would be excited to have another addition to the family. "Zarazu will no doubt start sewing a horde of clothing for our boy and Zolori, despite her demeanor, really does love tiny babies. I'm sure she'll want to babysit at some point. Though we can tell them later... for now, I think I'll take Naira's instructions to heart and simply rest a while."

“Alright...I’ll stay with you.”

As Kahli rested beside her, Klinge had heard everything, going about his daily check on her. Heading back to the castle, he merely strolled through the castle. This would be neutral news. Good to Zarazu, horrid for Covarog. Would be interesting to see. Opening the door to their office, he cleared he throat. Seemed Covarog and Zarazu were making out on the desk. Three minutes later and it would have been inappropriate to intervene. “My lordships. I have delicate news to report.”

"EEK!" Zarazu squeaked when Klinge opened the door, almost halfway to indecent. Her face turned a blood red, seeing that Covarog had her dress hiked up to her hips. It was not unusual for the king and queen to be frisky in the middle of the day. She expressed embarrassment while Covarog seemed annoyed.

"After all these years, you haven't learned how to knock?" Covarog grumbled under his breath, not happy about this interuption. "Can these delicate news not wait until I'm done with my queen?"

"Covarog, get off." Zarazu scolded him as she pushed at his chest and then stood, clearing her throat, still blushing. "Klinge... what is this news we must know?"

Klinge decided to simply be blunt. The King and Queen could save baby making for later.

“Zarazu. You’re sister, Zizi, is expecting a baby.”

"... WHAT?!" This time, Zarazu was the one to lose composure, just briefly. "Zizi?! She's not... how..." Her mind instantly turned to the one man who she knew fancied her little sister. Taking a breath, the queen did her best to steady her nerves. In her mind, Zizi was always going to be her baby sister. Yet, Zizi was grown and now a woman. She was able to make her own decisions. There had to be a positive side to this. "... Kahli is the father, isn't he?"

"What in the hell was your sister thinking?!" Covarog asked his wife, not happy at all about the situation. "That bastard is a Hasai!!! An enemy of Hyrule!"

"Kahli has done nothing to give us reason that he is an enemy." Zarazu did her best to keep calm. "He has caused no trouble, despite what happened in the dungeon. Zizi has assured me multiple times that his intentions are sincere."

"Zizi would say a Manticore had good intentions!" Covarog argued. "Pray tell, Zarazu, what are you going to do if he is an enemy? A spy? Someone who was just looking to hurt your sister or our family?"

"Easy." Zarazu took a steady breath and pulled her long hair back into a tail. She needed to speak with her sister. "I'll kill him myself." She looked to Klinge. "Please escort me to my sister."

Klinge simply nodded. “Of course.”

Back at the camp, Kahli braided Zizi’s hair, forming her dreadlocks into a bun. “I can’t believe I’m already thinking of names for him.”

"Kahli, we have at least eight more months to go." Zizi laughed as her lover fixed the dreads. "We have plenty of time to think of names, but first... I think it would be nice if we could..." Her face flushed a little. "I mean... if you want to... we would need.... to get..." Her words were a little quiet. "M-Married?"

He nodded rather tamely. “I’ve....been asking around about your tribes culture on how to purpose...”

"There are different ways that Lorleidian men express interest to their chosen partner." Zizi told Kahli with a soft smile. "Some build their lover a house as a way to propose, some present a rare gift, others say a declaration in front of others... it really depends on the couple. Though you do not have to do any of those if it doesn't suit your culture." She looked at him. "I want to respect the Waku traditions as well."

Kahli chuckles to himself. “My culture has been heavily lost to destruction. And Hasai traditions are...well it’s safe to say I don’t think you’d like it if I burned a picture in the side of a mountain, or killed a beast in your name.”

"... yeah, let's just keep things simple." Zizi was not overly fond of the ideas, but did not want to insult his culture. "How about this? We'll just do our own ceremony the way we want it. We don't have to follow any of the Lorleidian traditions if you do not wish to do so." The Zemlja told Kahli as she interlocked her fingers with his. "You are my adanata... my other half, the missing piece of my soul. No matter what happens, as long as we are together."

“Then I simply ask you to marry me.”

"Of course I'll marry you." Zizi leaned, kissing him on the lips and then flushed again, but this time, due to another hot flash. "I think our son is already showing signs of using fire. I will certainly have to learn more about Waku physiology." She then asked. "Would you mind getting me some more water?"

“Of course.” He turns to see Zarazu and the bastard Covarog arrive. He does his best to ignore them as he grabs Zizi her desired water.

Zizi saw her sister and brother-in-law arriving, knowing that look on Zarazu's face. Something told Zizi that a particular imp had shared intimate news... or maybe it was one of the guards. She was not sure. The Zemlja decided that she was going to have a long talk with Skull Kid about privacy.

"Zizi?" Zarazu was not quite sure why her sister was in one of the medical tents. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm all right, just got a little dehydrated. You know how it goes when you're out in the sun all day."

"Well, if you have a moment, I'd like to talk to you." Zarazu eyed Kahli walking out of the tent, her husband, then the commander. "Privately."

Kahli took a cauldron of water, adjusting its temperature to a medium degree. Klinge simply stood guard outside the tent, getting the message from his queen.

Covarog wanted to go inside the tent alongside his wife, but understood it was probably best to simply wait. This was between sisters. While the king was concerned for Zizi's sake, he did not want to upset his queen with angry words. So he would patiently wait outside, keeping a watchful eye on the Hasai.

"... you know about Kahli and I, don't you?" Zizi asked her elder sister quietly. "Are you here to tell me that you're disappointed?"

"No. No, I'm not." Zarazu sat down beside of Zizi. "I want you to be happy, Zizi. I really do."

"Then why do you look so upset?"

"... a little bird told me you were pregnant."

"...?! Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that this changes a few things, Zizi." Zarazu tried to chose her words carefully. "I want you and the baby to be healthy and safe. I believe Kahli doesn't intend any harm to you, however, I'm worried."

"About what?"

"I'm worried about the possibility of this being used against our family. I don't want anyone to hurt you or the baby because of Kahli being a Hasai."

"Why would they do that? Everyone on the plantations love him."

"I'm not referring to Lorleidians, Zizi... I'm thinking of the Hylians. What the Dragmire’s went through with Kanisa being kidnapped."

"... then what do you suggest I do?" Zizi asked Zarazu. "I love Kahli. I make no plans of leaving his side and I sincerely believes he cares for me."

"I... I only want you to be careful." Zarazu took her sisters' hands and kissed her knuckles. "You're my baby sister. I love you and want you to be safe."

Kahli walked towards the tent with the water. Klinge raised a hand. “The Queen is not ready for you.”

“This water isn’t for me.”

“And I have my order.”

Kahli was not going to deal with this bullshit anymore.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Way. My pregnant wife needs this water.”

That struck an old cord with Klinge, and how, for a brief moment, he too was an upcoming father. It pained him to think on his curse of undeath. Against the wishes of his Queen and King, he moved to the side.

Kahli walked into the tent, setting the water down. “How’s your fever?”

"Fever?" Zarazu inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Heh... I think our boy is going to be a flame baby." Zizi said to her sister as she took the water from Kahli. "He's giving me hot flashes, making me feverish."

"I see." Zarazu created a smooth block of ice in her hands and then wrapped it in one of the available cloths. Pressing it against Zizi's forehead, her sister sighed in contentment at the coolness. "Do you need an ice bath?"

"No, no... this is fine." Zizi assured her sister. "It feels nice."

"A boy, huh? I'm going to have a nephew."

"Yes, a little fighter."

“We’ll hopefully be married before he arrives.”

"Married... well, you two will have to have a suitable living quarters." Zarazu told Kahli with a small smile. "I'm sure we can arrange for a house to be built among the plantations."

"One thing at a time." Zizi assured her sister. "For now, I need to rest for a bit. Don't want to tax the little one."

“Thank you Zarazu.”

Klinge motioned for his queen to take their leave. It was obvious the couple wanted to be alone.

"I know that there may be harsher times in the future, a few obstacles to overcomes... but I will do my best to help you." Zarazu promised Kahli. "I just ask... that you have patience." Taking Covarog's arm, Zarazu saw that her husband saw nothing but had a hard stare. It was rather obvious he was not happy with the ordeal. "Come, love... let's leave them to talk."

As they drove back, even Klinge made a lighter comment. “Come Covarog. Even I, after all this time, see little danger. He’s even having a baby...”

"I'm not worried about the child, I'm worried about someone attacking Zizi because of it." Covarog remarked. "I don't want her hurt."

“Covarog, I think-“ A pause. There was a sound. The sound of mechanical footsteps heading toward the plantations. A sound that made Klinge turn the cart around as soon as it’s horror reconnected to his mind.

Back in the tent, Zizi finished the water as Kahli held the makeshift ice pack to her head.

At the tent Kahli was preparing lunch when he heard the sound. It slowly drew closer. He didn’t quite recognize it right away, but it felt faint in the back of his memory. “What...what is that noise?”

"...? I don't know." Zizi heard the clanking, thinking it sounded like one of the mechanical engines from Danjur. "Is someone wearing heavy armor? Or maybe one of Corsaire's mechanical... oh... what did Orana call it? Steam engines?"

Sensing Klinge's sudden apprehension, Zarazu looked at her general.

"What's wrong?"

Klinge looked to Covarog. Perhaps the fear of the Hasai was correct afterall.

After a few moments, the sound stopped.

Kahli stood on guard. “Something feels wrong...”

Suddenly, bursting from the roof, landed the source of the sound. A large seven foot tall android made his appearance. It was white as snow with a slick domed head, the centre holding a single eye. It’s legs held talons that allowed it to walk up any surface, and sharp claws on its hands. Whipping around with surprising speed and grace, it grabbed Zizi, administrating a dose of paralysis from its fingers.

“Observation: Target in reach.”

Kahli raised his palm to strike fire at the mysterious Android, only for it to make a sudden squat. At this level it administrated a devastating punch, almost annihilating a kidney. Kahli fell as pain over took him.

Looming over Zizi, the Android picked her up effortlessly with one arm. “Introduction: I am T0-D. I am here to take you to your new home.”

It walked with her to the roof, seemingly no where to go.

Klinge arrived with Covarog, and they laid eyes once again on one of the deadliest killers the Kikai Empire ever had. The same machine that Covarog failed as a child to stop Kanisa’s kidnaping. The same one Klinge fought in a duel to the death to cover Zelda in the final stage of the old war.

Zizi had no time to react. As soon as the drug was introduced to her system, she was limp and out cold. Her green eyes went wide and then slipped shut, confusion and terror written on her face. As the android left the tent, Zarazu saw Zizi in the machine's clutches. Rushing toward the android, the Lorleidian queen was screaming for her little sister.

"Let her go!!!" Zarazu could not outright obliterate the android, lest she risk hitting Zizi. She formed ice underneath its feet, causing it to slip. Using her magic, she coated the android in a thick layer of ice trying to pin it to the ground. "Covarog! Klinge! Get Zizi!!!"

Covarog brought out a sword and began hacking at the android's arm. It had a whole arm wrapped around Zizi, and he had to get her free. When the blade did not work, he tried to pull her free, straining against the metal.

“Query: Why have I fallen?”

Looking at them his eye glowed from blue to a frightening display of red, and a beam of plasma shot out at his attackers. It was hot enough to melt just enough ice for him to break out using the force of his legs and free arm. His mechanical strength smack Covarog away with a right hook as he stood up. Activating the talons on his feet, T0-D made sure to not fall on the ice again.

As Klinge prepared to attack, a shadow loomed over. A dragon flew overhead, breathing fire at Zarazu and Covarog so they would keep back. It was not like animalistic Hylian or common Lorliedian dragons. It lacked wings, a round body or heavy scales. It was long like a serpent, with only two arms to give it anything to grasp. Two long whiskers sprouted from his face, with a flaming main to give it an intimidating figure. “Away with you.“

T0-D climbed onto its back with Zizi, and with a roar, the Dragon took off into the heavens.

Covarog saw the dragon and tackled Zarazu out of the way. The two rolled across the ground, away from the danger of the flames. This was not a Lorleidian dragon, nor a native species of Hyrule. Scrambling to her feet, Zarazu was not about to let it leave with her sister. As it started to take off, she hurled a spear of ice at the dragon's belly.

The dragon dashed around like a lightning bolt away from her shot, roaring at the other dragons that he had broken through Hyrule under their watch. With that he zoomed back to his home land.

Kahli groaned as he walked out, his body still in incredible pain.

“N-no. Zizi.”

"Klinge!!!" Zarazu ordered her commander. "I want forces ready to follow that dragon! I want it dead and I want that android in pieces beneath my feet!!!" She was enraged, the air feeling cold around her. Tromping over to Kahli, she wanted to throttle him. It was not his fault, but he knew there was a chance of this happening. Someone had to come after him, yet he never said a word about a robot or a feral dragon. Kahli was hurt, but he was still conscious. "And you..." Zarazu grasped him by the shirt. "Are going to give me some answers..."

 "Zarazu, that... that was one of the same machines that kidnapped Kanisa years ago." The king told his wife. "We are going to need Kovinas to warp the metal out of shape so they will not be able to attack us. I will contact the guards."

“Zarazu. I have no idea why they came for Zizi and not me.”

"You must know something, they took my sister!!!" Zarazu nearly shouted, her composure barely holding together by a thread. "Why would they take her? Is this revenge?! You say you haven't had any contact with the Kikai Empire for years, but I need you to think!" She nearly shook him, tears brimming at her eyes. "Why would they take Zizi of all people?! She's never done anything for them, she's just a herbalist for spirit's sake!!! She grows plants, she hates fighting, she's never done anything wrong!"

“I don’t know Zarazu. If it was another attack against me, then they would have just killed me instead of trying to emotionally hurt me. They must have a need for her. Something only she can do for them.”

Zarazu was lost. Her sister had just been taken and she could not release her full potential of magic without the risk of hurting Zizi. She needed answers, she had to go after that abombination that took her. This entire time, Klinge had not moved. He had not said a word. Was the great commander in shock?

"Klinge... your queen gave you an order. Why are you not moving?" Zarazu's words were coolly spoken. "I know you have fought these things before. We will need your help."

"Let's gather our forces to go and get Zizi back." Covarog told his wife, leading her away from Kahli and the commander. "We need to get Ralnor's reports of the area as well."

"... get Kahli some help as well." Zarazu motioned for some of the workers to help Kahli walk properly. "Bring him to the castle for treatment. I won't have Zizi's son without a father."

Klinge slowly turned to Kahli. Losing ones wife like that, so quickly, he froze with post traumatic flashbacks hitting him. “What do you need?”

Kahli brushes the workers off. “I need a skilled Vatra, preferably your Zolori, and a fire dragon of your people.”

"If you think you're going anywhere with that kind of injury, you are wrong." Zarazu told Kahli firmly. "You can die from that wound. I will not have Zizi losing you, nor your unborn child. If you are so stupid to think you'll last like that, then you're solely mistaken. Treatment, then I'll get you what is required. We are going to get my sister back."