Formerly "Do you Want to Be Invincible?"
V1.1
By: The Kirby Kid [email protected]
Disclaimer:
.
Notes from the Author. ( That would be me )
Welcome to the Sequal of my last fic, "
Before I start, you should know that you're going to see a lot of familiar names. Names like Link and Zelda. I just want you to know that these aren't THE Link and Zelda from any game previous or any game to come.
Names like Link and Zelda are important in Hyrule, and hence get passed on from generation to generation. I'm taking that little fact and using it for other recognizable names too.
So as a reminder, if you read any name you remember from a past Zelda game just remember, that isn't THE character, it's another character with the same name.
Complicated enough for ya? Good! Hope you enjoy my new multi-parter. Please comment if you read it in a review...if you've got the time of course. Thanks.
**********
The sun was inching slowly over the highest point of the sky above the Castle courtyard. A few people were strolling by, castle workers that were heading to town for a break. There where a few soldiers and guards milling about, some sparring with fellow soldiers, others watching, some bragging to their mates about their latest catch.....fish that is.
It was all very interesting to the young boy of 12, who was looking at a nearby training weapons rack. The boy was dressed in a greenish-brown tunic, and sported brown tights underneath. Covering his dirty blonde head was a green tuke, which was quickly becoming the style at the time.
The boy stared at the weapons rack for a second longer, and then chose a long wooden broadsword from the "tykes" section of the stand. He weighed it carefully and then swung it expertly through the air.
Laughing, he brushed his hair aside and pointed the weapon to another boy who was sitting on the pavement of the courtyard. The kid seemed to be more interested in the clouds than in the weapons.
"Hey you!" , the boy with the sword hollered.
The other glanced over at him, and then turned away. "My name is not 'You', Rocco. I know your name, the least you could do is learn mine." he grumbled quietly.
"I don't care what your name is!", Rocco yelled. " Freaking new kid... fine. Hey Link! Get over here, let's fight!"
The other boy looked at him with deep blue eyes. "Why should I fight you?", he asked calmly.
Rocco smirked. "How about for rights to who gets to wear my outfit. I'm tired of you stealing my ideas anyway!", he pointed to Link's clothing as he spoke. The other boy wore a green tunic and a green tuke, as Rocco did, but Link also had leather shorts beneath his tunic, and brown leather boots.
"I told you, I wore this before I came to Hyrule!", Link shouted back. He turned away from him once again. "Moron." he growled silently.
"What'd you say, freak?"
"Nothing, buzz off!" Link shouted.
Rocco sneered. "Oh I know why you don't want to fight..."
"Let me guess, it's because I'm chicken isn't it? You win, now leave me alone."
"I-I uh... wasn't gonna say that!", Rocco lied.
"Oh?", Link mused. "Then it must be because I'm a wimp right?"
"Whu..."
"Or a girly-boy?"
"Uh..." Rocco mumbled. "Uh....no...it's because you've got bad traits!!"
Link ears sharpened and he turned to the other boy. "What?"
Rocco smiled and shrugged. "Oh I'm just saying I can't really blame you for being a wimp. You get it from your Uncle's side, after all."
Link stood up, furious. Even standing at full height he was still several inches shorter than the 5'3'' Rocco. Rocco being a full 2 years older than Link might have had something to do with that. Still, right now, Link wasn't thinking about height advantage.
"My Uncle has the strongest traits!", he blasted.
"Prove it.", Rocco said, and he calmly threw Link a weapon. It was another wooden child's broadsword. Link caught it in the chest and was knocked down to his bottom.
Rocco and a few of the soldiers who were paying attention to the altercation laughed. Rocco swung the sword down and pointed it to the flustered Link. "Defend yourself!", he shouted, and with that he attacked.
The first strike was an overhead swipe towards the fallen boy. Link was barely able to roll out of the way before the wooden sword slashed the pavement where he once was.
Link got to his feet and attempted to bring his sword up, with horrendous results. He ended up swinging the sword into the air and behind him, falling backwards at the same time. He did however manage to nick Rocco's chin with the false swipe.
Rocco reared back and wiped his chin angrily. He assaulted Link again, this time with a horizontal swipe to the midsection. Link swung his sword forward to block, and crashed his weapon into Rocco's. The other boy was sent back on his heels by the force of the blow. This Link was quite strong for his age.
But he wasn't strong enough. Rocco recovered and brought the sword down on an arc on Link again. Link held his sword to his face, parallel to the ground and braced himself. The first blow smashed so hard against Link's sword, he could feel the force siding down his bones. He slipped and fell to his bottom again, while Rocco continued his barrage.
A few of the soldiers gathered around to watch the amusing dispute. Rocco had been training day in and out with his father, so he was becoming quite proficient with his weapon. Meanwhile, this is the first time anyone had remembered Link holding a weapon ( if they remembered him at all ). It made for quite the one-sided session.
Again and again Rocco brought the sword down hard on the boy. Link was gritting his teeth, just trying to hold on for dear life. Another blow registered against his blade, and another shock traveled down his arms. Link panted heavily. It was no use, he couldn't compete against Rocco. It was stupid of him even fighting with him in the first place.
As Rocco raised his weapon high for another strike, Link jutted his best foot forward in an flailing gesture. He tried to aim it at Rocco's midsection, but ended up connecting with something a bit lower down.
Rocco gasped and dropped his weapon. The other soldiers winced visibly and shook their heads. Link watched in horror as Rocco held himself and fell to his knees, wheezing.
"AaAaaAaaaaAAaaAaaaahhhhhhh", Rocco gasped.
"Hey, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! It was a reflex!" Link said hurriedly.
"AaAaaAaaaaAAaaAaaaahhhhhhh", Rocco gasped.
"HEY!", a voice sounded. The soldiers around the scene parted as a large man dressed in leather armor entered the courtyard.
"Hi Rocky.", a soldier hailed. "First Rank back from their rounds already eh?"
The man nodded and looked to the boy who was squirming on the ground. "What the hell happened here?"
The same soldier shrugged. "Rocco and the boy here had a little spar. The boy finished it by kickin him where the sun don't shine.", he said, grinning widely.
The man, Rocky, looked at Link angrily and grabbed him by the scruff of his tunic. Link gulped and looked at him wearily. The man was easily 6 feet plus. He was wearing Hylian Light Registered Armor, basically of the same shape and design of Hylian Armor, but made of leather instead of metal. It made for greater mobility, while still offering some protection. It also made certain men look like beasts. Rocky here was a great example.
"You little freak!", he shouted. At least know Link knew where Rocco got it from. "You can't fight worth a damn, so you kick instead?"
"It sounds so logical when you say it like that."
Rocky growled and raised a gloved hand, before a voice boomed in the courtyard. "RELEASE THE BOY!", the voice said.
Rocky turned around. Behind him was a man in the same Hylian Light Armor. He was shorter than Rocky at 5'8'', and a little stockier. He had dark blue hair, and wore a thick parted moustache on his face.
The other soldiers, sensing a fight in the air, gathered around, while giving the two men plenty of space. Whenever there was a chance to see two soldiers of the First Rank throw down, they took it. It was usually a good match.
Rocky smiled and released his grip on Link, unfortunately for the boy, who was 6 feet in the air at the time. He fell to the ground in a heap.
The new soldier didn't move his gaze while he spoke. "You ok, Link?", he asked.
Link got up and backed away into the crowd. "I'm doing better than Rocco.", he called back. That elicited a few laughs.
Rocky growled as Rocco scampered back into the crowd to watch. "Your nephew isn't worth the clothes on his back, Adrel.". With that, he walked over to the sparring weapons rack, soldiers parting the way for him. "And if you disagree, come on and back it up!", Picking up a wooden weapon and shield as he spoke.
Adrel chuckled."Like father, like son.", he said quietly. He stepped over to the weapons rack, picked a slim wooden broadsword and an oak buckler, and headed back into the center of the courtyard with Rocky.
With weapons at the ready, the two circled each other like wolves. A few chants and cheers came up from the crowd, usually of the "Go Rocky" variety. Link watched the match intently.
Rocky started the match with a jab towards Adrel's temple. Adrel brought his shield up and moved his head slightly as the weapon grazed hard against the oak surface. At the same time, he swung his weapon down towards Rocky's neck. Rocky easily parried the move with a hard crash of his sword. Adrel was knocked slightly off balance by the counter, and as his sword hung in the air for that split second Rocky made his move.
With a grunt, the larger man slashed his sword in the opposite direction, heading for Adrel's head. Adrel expertly spun in a circle, Rocky's attack narrowly missing him, and crashed his oak shield into the larger man's face.
An intrigued "ooooooohh" came from the crowd, as Rocky reeled slightly, then faced Adrel with a viscous scowl. Without a word, he leapt forward, stabbing with his weapon.
Adrel caught the offending sword with his own, pinning it to the ground with a hard crash. What he did next amazed Link, and a lot of the onlookers. The stocky man shifted his weight to the ball of his left foot, and swung around in a full circle. The move was so fast, Rocco's sword still lay pinned to the ground by the leftover force.
Link watched as the air seemed to distort around his Uncle's blade, as Adrel's strike reached 350 degrees, and was inches away from connecting with Rocky's stunned face.
"ENOUGH!!", a voice blasted through the courtyard. Adrel stopped his attack, the sword an inch away from a nervous Rocky. Rocky wasn't nervous about Adrel though, he was worried about the voice, or more importantly, from whom it came from.
The other soldiers whipped around to the direction of the voice, milling about nervously. Someone was coming through the crowd, but Link couldn't see him clearly until the soldiers nervously got out of the persons way.
The man wasn't as tall as Rocky...nearly nobody was, but his presence made him seem like a mountain compared to the soldier. He stood at 5'10'', and was slim and muscular, but not muscle-bound. He wore a silver-colored tunic and black pants, with silver fingerless gloves and boots. He wore something over his head, almost like a silver tuke, but it covered the entire top half of his face. Link couldn't see any eye-holes, and he had no idea how this man could see. Long dirty-blonde hair fell from beneath the tuke-mask and past his shoulders. He had a long slim and slightly curved sword strapped vertically to his back.
Link was awestruck, and he wasn't the only one. Even his uncle lowered his weapon to the ground and stepped away. Link's uncle was the strongest man he's ever known, but this person...this person seemed...
... Invincible.
Incidently, that's exactly what the others called him.
"Uh...Invincible.", Rocky said nervously. He scratched the back of his head. "We..uh.. we were just. Our boys, see...they were".
"The Royalty walks through this Courtyard at least 10 times a day.", Invincible growled. "They do not have to see their First Rank soldiers acting like little children."
The crowd of soldiers mumbled nervously. Invincible turned his head slightly. "Nor do they have to see their Soldiers acting like gamblers at a Cucco-fight."
The crowd silenced, and the man turned to the former combatants. He turned his head slightly back to the crowd. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
"YES SIR!!!" The soldiers shouted.
Again, Invincible turned to Rocky and Adrel. "If you want to spar, spar...but keep it professional."
"Yes sir, Invincible sir!", Rocky and Adrel announced at attention.
The man nodded and started back towards the Castle. He stopped for a moment, and didn't bother looking back. "Boys...."
Link blinked. Was he referring to him? He and Rocco looked at each other, then at Invincible, sweating slightly. "Yes, sir?", they asked in unison.
"Stable duty."
S...stable.... Link shuddered. All those horses...all that waste. Oh this was punishment.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
Link and Rocco quickly looked to each other, and then back at the Invincible. "YES SIR, INVINCIBLE SIR!!"
With that, the man walked back to the castle, and the rest of the soldiers departed the area, mumbling about the cool fight and of course, the appearance of Invincible ...even if it was a talking down to.
Adrel sighed and looked down at Link. With a quick smile, he left the area, Rocky walking beside him. Link guessed there was no hard feelings.
Link looked back into the courtyard to get another glimpse of the man, but he was nowhere to be seen. The boy sighed and started towards the stable.
**********
It was now nearing night in the Kingdom of Hyrule. A few miles off in the neighboring town of Kakkariko, a few of the villages boys were still outside. They sat clustered at a table in the backyard of a house, lighted by outdoor torches. Several green rupees lay clustered in the center of the table. Cards were being drawn.
"Screw it, I'm out", stated a shaggy haired boy, and he threw his cards down to the table.
"How about you Mikel? You still in?", a voice from the table asked.
"Don't get your rocks in a knit, Rune.", A short black-haired voice said quietly. He stared at his cards carefully, then looked to the pot of money in the center. "I'm in for 5, and I'll raise ya 10."
"Forget it." a pudgy boy said, as he dropped his cards. "You two are too serious for me."
Mikel smiled and looked to his sole opponent. While the other kids in the game were human, this was slightly more obdurate. The Goron looked up from his cards briefly with his small beady eyes, and rubbed his sprouting flinty goatee. His massive hands were perfect for concealing his cards from wandering eyes.
"I'll see your 10, and raise you another 10.", he said quietly, throwing blue rupees into the pot.
"You're bluffing."
The Goron's expression didn't change. "Try me."
Mikel looked at his cards carefully. 4 of a kind. He sweated nervously, and then sighed and threw his cards down. "Damn rock. What you got, flush?"
The Goron grinned sheepishly and faced his cards. "You were right, I was bluffing." He reached over and poured the rupees into a little leather bag. Mikel and the other boys groaned painfully.
"Crap, that was my allowance!", Mikel complained.
Rune looked up carefully. "You want it back? I'll give it back if you really..."
Mikel brought his hands up and shook them vigorously. "No no! You won it fair and square, Rune. My fault for trying to read the expression of someone with practice being stone-faced, right?"
The boys laughed. Rune smiled and stood up. It was funny enough having a Goron regularly hang out with Elven people, but this young Goron was even funnier. He wore pants. Blue tights that somehow managed to fit and not tear when he sat. How or why he wore or needed pants was another matter, but he was a friend to most of the kids of the village.
"I'm outta here.", said the dark-haired boy. The shaggy-haired and pudgy kid followed and left the yard. Lastly, Mikel left to, waving to the Goron.
Rune sighed and peered up to Death Mountain. He always wished there were more hours to the day, To lengthen the time between being in the Village,and at home.
He started his trek up the mountain, nodding to the guard who kept watch at the gate. Rune was a still growing boy, and he'd one day soon become a hearty and large Goron Brother. He just didn't want that day to happen any time soon.
An eerie light emanated from beyond a slab corner in the pathway. Rune stepped up quickly and into the corner.
A swirling, coalescing energy stood before him, enticing and beckoning. Rune took a cautious step forward, if only to examine the phenomena further.
Before he even had a chance to scream, tongues of light whipped out from the portal and wrapped themselves completely around his body. With an unnatural force, they lifted him off the ground and into the swirling mass of light.
When it was over, the light returned to the swirling center and moved silently amongst itself, almost as if it were waiting patiently for another victim.
**********
Invincible sat in the Waiting Room of the Castle, rubbing at his eyes through the super-thin and see-through material of his Tuke-mask. He was instantly aware of when Impa came through the doors.
"Tell me she's better.", Invincible asked hopefully.
Impa smiled. "Zelda's fever is gone, and she's feeling much energetic.". She crossed her arms over he ample chest. "She wants to get back to work right away, she tells me."
Invincible sighed. "Rile's done a fine job of taking care of the Kingdom while she's been sick. Why doesn't she give it a rest?"
The matriarch shrugged. "It's true the Prince is quite capable of running the Kingdom on his own, she's the Queen, and she takes it quite seriously."
Invincible agreed. After the King had abdicated the throne due to illness, Zelda had taken the responsibility of the Kingdom, including the title of 'Queen'. Sometimes she would work herself literally into illness though. He would have to sit down with her and beg her to relax sometime.
His lips creeped into a small smile. If he knew Zelda like he thought he did, he knew she'd listen to the suggestion, and then toss it into the wind. It was perhaps a small flaw of hers.
With that thought, Invincible got to his feet. "Guess I'll be going home. Say goodnight to the kids for me."
"As always. Goodnight."
The silver-clad warrior nodded graciously and left the room. A warm comfortable bed was looking better and better at the moment.
After all, even those who were invincible needed their goodnight rests.
**********
After Link had washed the pervasive smell of dung off of his body, he readied himself for bed. His thoughts still focused on the man in the courtyard, the Invincible. The memory of his presence still made him shiver. And even with all the power of strength he felt from him while in the Courtyard, there was something else. Something Link couldn't put his finger on.
Adrel wondered into the room and patted Link on the head. "Got some good days work done I hear.", he said smiling.
"Not by choice, Uncle.", Link sighed. It wasn't something he wanted in his mind before he went to sleep. Instead, he looked up to his Uncle carefully. "Hey, Uncle....do you think you could teach me how to use a sword?"
Adrel blinked. He didn't expect this from Link. Ever since he was little, he didn't express any interest in the fighting skills, even though Adrel thought he'd make an excellent soldier. He wondered if Invincible had anything to do with it...or was it Link's little skirmish with Rocky's boy.
It didn't matter. If Link wanted to learn, he'd teach him. "It wont' be easy boy. It'll probably be harder than what you did in the Stables today."
Link nodded. "I don't care. I wanna at least try."
Adrel nodded and patted Link on the head again. "We'll start tomorrow then.", he said as he left the room, and closed the door behind him.
Laying there in the dark, Link thought with his blue eyes wide open. He adored his Uncle, and greatly respected his strength...but he was never convinced by his Uncle to become a fighter himself. Yet, not even a glance from the Silver Man drove him to the fighting arts.
Link decided as he fell to sleep, that he wanted to become Invincible.
NEXT: Link begins his training. Will the Invincible help him out? Err...doubtful, but maybe. What do I know right? ^_^. And what's up with that snatching light? And a little more clues into the identity of Invincible and the reality in which he resides. All coming up next in V1.2, Coming to a Fanfiction site near you. Please review if you're reading. Thanks a lot, and I'll see rya.