vatheon | From one underwater city to another

Entry tags:

From one underwater city to another

Who: Ganondorf and you. Yes, you.
What: Showin' up and causing trouble without lifting a finger
Where: near the Lamufao
When: When normal people should be sleeping
Style: Brackets, brackets, unto infinity
Status: Open like a book

[If anyone is up at this late hour and happens to wander over to the Lamufao, they may just find an absurdly tall elderly gentleman hunched over on one of the benches nearby. He looks terribly tired, as if he had just recently seen everything he had worked for snatched from his grasp and the world fall down about him. Inwardly, while he's too tired to do much angsting about apparently being dead, he certainly finds it ironic that what appears to be the afterlife is an underwater city not unlike the one he had spent the greater part of his life sealed in, and where he had been turned to stone.

Go bother him?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Their words come back to Sola, snapping him out of his indecisive fog. Link's hand grounds him more than anything said. In fact, much of what they've said doesn't make sense to the replica, who looks at his feet as he speaks.]

There isn't a Link there, Zelda sent you - I mean, him, back in time.

[He takes a deep breath and glances between the two, then lowers his head again, shifting uncomfortably.]

And... and I can't go back. It's not just that I'm dead, I...

[His hand in Link's clasps tighter.]

I'm not...

[I'm not real, I shouldn't exist, so how can I go back?]

[In her nearly delirious state, it doesn't occur to Zelda just yet that Link doesn't know what she did. Link from her timeline and Link here in Vatheon have started to blur together, so of course he knows!]

You were created by a spell. Whether you would go or stay is up to you of course, but it is a choice. If repair work is needed, we can handle it.

[...She sent the other him back?]

[Link looks briefly startled, glancing between the two. He supposes that's why she had asked if he would want to regain his childhood - would it have been more than just a hypothetical question, if he had lived?]

[His mouth is dry, and it takes him a moment to get the words out, giving Sola's hand a squeeze.] But you can exist there. You're a person, so you should be allowed to come with us, right?

[Sola blinks between his brother and the princess, hesitant to say anything more. The idea that he could actually go and see Hyrule, that's something that makes his heart swell. Hyrule, the homeland he'd never really gotten to see before his life had been cut short.

But how does he tell them that while he wants to see it, while he wants to stay with his brother, he doesn't want to leave here? He's happy here. Vatheon's the only place he's ever been happy. He has a matesprit and parents, Trolls though they may be, and friends. True there were people like Ghirahim who scared him but overall Vatheon feels more like home than anywhere.

Yet if Ganondorf ordered it, he'd have to go. He knows he would.

Ears drooping, Sola just remains silent, unable to find words to express his racing thoughts.]

What we will do after leaving Vatheon becomes an option can be decided at a later date. For now, we should focus on possibly working together with Ganondorf, or at least making it clear that we don't want aggression here. Can you feel him, Sola? Does he call to you?

[She looks to the shadow expectantly, waiting for an answer. Chances are Sola can't defy any order of Ganondorf's (if she'd created something like Sola, she would make sure it couldn't turn on her - so surely Ganondorf had done the same), but did he have orders to not reveal his location?]

[Catching sight of Sola's drooping ears, Link gives his hand a squeeze. Although he can't tell what his specific discontent is about, but he probably looks pretty similar, himself.]

[Ganondorf, here.]

[Hyrule, drowned.]

[The version of him that survived, that was good enough, sent back.]

[And now this - the prospect of having to possibly work with Ganondorf. It's almost too much to accept, and he wants to plead to Zelda not to let that man near him or his brother.]

I don't wanna work with him. I want him to go away. [It's a faint, plaintive, childish plea, but, well - Hylian ears are sharp.]

[At Zelda's question, Sola wants to run. He'd been trying to ignore that pull from the moment Ganondorf had taken his leave of them. Now he looks back the way his master had gone, feeling a failure just for the simple fact that he can't ignore that call.

That he'll always be owned by Ganondorf, no matter what he does.]

...yes...

I don't want to work with him either, but we may not have a choice in the matter. He can't be killed, even back on our world. Like us, he will be reborn. He can't be sealed either apparently, or he will break through eventually. Even if we could somehow work the coral and send him away, what good would it do? This has to stop. This fighting, this never ending cycle of vengeance... it has to stop. Even if he killed my father, even if -

[Her voice catches at that point, anger seeping through as she looks away.]

Even if there's a timeline where he killed you, we can't let that control us. We must not let our personal feelings prevent us from taking this chance. If you two are uncomfortable speaking with him, I shall do it on my own.

[At that, her eyes turn back to Sola, unwavering.]

Where is he?

Edited 2012-07-22 23:07 (UTC)

[As much as he wants to deny it, to refuse to work with someone who's evil, he's forced to admit the wisdom in Zelda's words - at least she seems to be living up to what her piece of the Triforce represents.]

[Link, for his part, just feels afraid.]

[They can't stop him here, but neither can he stop them. They can't kill him, but he can't kill them.]

[Maybe they should work together.]

[But he's definitely not going to let Zelda face such an evil man by herself, so he swallows roughly.] You won't have to talk to him alone.

[Even if he feels filled with fear every time he sees him, even if he's acting like a fairly poor approximation of a Hero - he won't let Zelda put herself in danger.]

[He doesn't want to follow Ganon but the look on Zelda's face brokers no argument. Blaming his necessity to follow on that rather than his own failings is a little easier as well.]

He went this way. Just... don't fight, okay? I-I don't want him to make us fight.

[It's a childish request but from a dark place. Sola is well aware that if Ganondorf ordered it, he'd have to turn his blade on them. He doesn't have a choice. But he doesn't want to die, not again...]

[If she could hear Link's thoughts, she would tell him that sometimes, courage means acting even when in the face of fear. Zelda's actions right now aren't born of courage, they come from sheer desperation. The fate Ganondorf described for Hyrule wasn't one she could accept, and she's willing to do anything to have a chance at changing it.

Besides, hadn't she been advocating a state of truce for everyone else and their enemies in Vatheon? Now was hardly the time to change that stance.]

I have no intention of starting a fight. This must be done though, and the sooner the better.

[Before he has a chance to regain his strength. Before he makes more puppets like Sola to fight them.]

Let's go.

[Zelda turns and heads in the direction Sola indicated, resolve written in every movement of her body.

[Already? Link hesitates for a moment, then exhales, turning to follow her. After a moment of consideration, he holds a hand out to Sola, moving a little closer to him to murmur something quietly.]

If he makes us fight, I won't hurt you. I promise.

[If he makes him fight... he doesn't know if Sola will be able to stop himself. But he's not hurting his brother like he did in the Water Temple.]

[Not again.]

[The face Link receives in answer to his promise is altogether relieved and hopeful as the replica takes his original's hand and squeezes tightly. More than anything he's afraid of facing Link in battle again. Even simple sparring is difficult; he's either afraid of his initial purpose taking over and attacking Link full on or too timid because his last moments in Hyrule flash before his eyes. He doesn't even bother to attempt sparring against Link anymore.

Swallowing and glancing to Zelda but still keeping Link's hand tight in his own, Sola turns toward the direction he can feel his master in and starts walking.]

[Once they actually reach the island, the sensation of Ganondorf's power is easier for Zelda to feel on her own. Of course. If he'd been telling the truth, he wouldn't exactly want to be underwater, would he? Her anger is once again pushed aside as she approaches the man, taking a deep breath before trying to speak.

He killed her family.

He killed her people.

He killed Link.

If he's telling the truth, that has to all be put to the side.]

I... apologize for the outburst. I do not yet know for certain if you were speaking the truth, but if you are... we must not let that happen. All of us must not let that happen.

Edited 2012-07-23 03:28 (UTC)

[He had been waiting for them of course. Though he still was unsure how to feel about what the hound that had once been his sword in another life had said, it confirmed that they had been connected long before the Triforce had split. ...Still, he can't help but think there may have been more to it than the hound told him... Ganondorf selves this line of thought for another time. Now was not the time to bring it up.]

...You are proposing an alliance?

[Link gives Sola's hand a reassuring squeeze, then lets go, stepping forward. He's not quite meeting Ganondorf's eyes, struggling to keep himself composed and calm, but not backing off.]

[He doesn't want to fight. He doesn't want this to turn into yet another battle, he doesn't want Sola turned into a weapon, he just wants to stay here and be happy.]

If - if we work together, we might be able to fix Hyrule. We might be able to make it so no one gets hurt, including the Gerudo. And...

[He ducks his head, stepping back.] There's no point fighting here.

[The absence of Link's hand in his makes Sola feel vulnerable, his own courage failing as his brother displays his. He hugs himself and remains silent, willing himself unconsciously to become part of the background. He wishes he was anywhere but here. He wishes Ganondorf had never come, even if it sounds as though there will be peace. He wishes he could be in the hive with his fathers, or in his secret place with Johnny watching the fish effortlessly float by.

They're not fighting, this is good, it is, but he expects his Master to break the calm at any moment. He has no reason to believe otherwise, but as long as he's not involved, not noticed, he won't have to fight.

Probably.]

Edited 2012-07-23 18:05 (UTC)

[An alliance with Ganondorf. Hearing him say it, the absurdity of the idea really strikes her. An alliance with the man that murdered the rest of her family? With the man that rampaged across her country for seven long years, who searched for her so desperately that she had to live in someone else's body? She can't ever forgive him. She certainly won't ever forget what was done, and she won't trust him either. As much as she wants to stand and fight him, though, she knows she can't. The hero standing by her side is her only real line of defense against the king of thieves, and he's already tried fighting. Both he and Sola are clearly terrified, and Zelda knows she has to be the one to fight this time. With words.]

It is as Link says. An alliance is exactly what I am proposing. We stand in a place between times - you from the future, us from the past. The future you have described is one that we must prevent.

[It sounds as strange to him as to her. It is obvious the princess expects betrayal, and the hero is oddly fearful, and the shadow... even a blind man could tell it was doing its best to escape his notice. Nevertheless...]

If the possibility avert my present exists, then I would be a fool not to take it. Name your terms. [To enter into an alliance without defineing what they want from eachother would be a mistake after all.] ...I should inform you though, it seems that it is not in your time that the root of the problem truly lies, but rather in a time long past when Hyrule did not yet exist.

What do you mean - before Hyrule existed? [Link is almost hesitant to speak up, but his curiosity is overriding his common sense right now. He still lingers behind Zelda, at Sola's side with his hand in reach if his brother wants to take it again, but it doesn't seem like an attack is coming.]

[Ever so slightly, he's lowering his guard a little.]

[At his words, her stomach twists. Before Hyrule. The time of Link of Skyloft... he hadn't known what "Hyrule" was. But he did know about Hylia. He'd surely held the answers to other questions she has now, too. Does Ganondorf know somehow?]

I would like to know as well, especially if you believe the new information may affect any sort of agreement we could come to.

[The beginnings of ideas she already has can wait.]

I know not how much you already know, but the encounter I had with the being known as Ghirahim was... illuminating to say the least.

[He's still not quite sure how to feel about it. If there is one thing Ganon knows though, it is that he will not continue blindly down the path his predecessor had paved for him.]

The desert is a harsh mistress. Even simple day-to-day living is a struggle. However, the sands also have the remarkable quality of preserving ancient knowledge that decays in climates where moisture is more plentiful. Tell me, have you ever heard of the goddess Hylia?

[The confidence the princess had been displaying up to that point starts to crumble as she looks up at Ganondorf. Hylia... one of her past lives.]

I have only heard of Hylia since coming to Vatheon, from Link's predecessor and then a crazed man with gray skin. Is that the Ghirahim you speak of?

[If so, then he must already know that she is Hylia. Ghirahim's hatred for her was so clear, he wouldn't have failed to mention who the "enemy" was.]

That is indeed the one I speak of. I assume he has already informed you of your status as her reincarnation too then? [He doesn't pause long enough to allow for an answer.] It seems that she was responsible for the sealing of a demon king, and her first reincarnation was party to those responsible for his destruction. However, it seems the demon king vowed to dog the steps of Hylia and her chosen hero for all time. Ghirahim was the sword of that vengeful demon king.

[He pauses to give Zelda a rather grave look.]

...He referred to me as "master."

[She nods in the small pause available, listening to his words with an expression of increasing pain.]

So we have all been slated to play these roles since before our lives ever began.

[No. It can't be this way. If this is the story that's been written down for them, she's going to change every word that she's yet to read. She still hates Ganondorf for what he's done, but even more than that she hates the idea of being locked in an eternal conflict.

One that Link will have to fight for her every time. The chosen hero.

It has to stop.

Zelda extends her hand towards Ganondorf. Her fingers are curled hesitantly, but she's holding it out nonetheless.]

No more.

From one underwater city to another

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Back to Zelda > Ganondorf > Link > Sola?

Indeed.

no subject

As long as he's not addressed, he won't talk so skip him unless someone talks to him

no subject

no subject

no subject

Skipping Sola!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)