WHY HELLO THERE. My name is Reily; some of you already know that, some of you don't. For those that don't, hello, and thanks for dropping by. 8D For everybody, not just newbies, welcome to the first chapter of Reversal. This is mostly meant to be a silly little story, obviously a bit of VaatiZelda to come eventually. I only want this to be around five chapters, but it may end up going a bit over. Whatever the case, it will not be long at all.

Also, it should be noted that just because this is a more "just for laughs" story does not mean characters shall be OOC. They will not, because if there's anything I get iffy about, it's having characters be out of character! Plus, it's funnier if in-character characters are put in absurd situations. Hehe...

I have a bit more to say, but that will wait until the end of this chapter... As always, my first chapter is shorter than what normal chapters will actually be. So don't use this as a guide for what future chapter lengths will be.

Act I: In Which the Princess is Kidnapped or In Which it is Evident that the Guards of Hyrule are Quite Incompetent

Gibdo was the eldest of three siblings. He had a younger brother, Poe, and a younger sister, Ghini.

… His parents had a rather morbid sense of naming.

But despite the odd names he and his brother and sister had grown up with, they had led relatively normal lives. Which was dreadfully boring. Ghini had been lucky. At age 15, a knight came and whisked the pretty girl away to who knows where. Well, Poe seemed to know, but apparently was charged by Ghini that no one else was to know. Which Gibdo supposed was the price he paid for siding with their parents on the disapproval of the knight that had come courting.

But Ghini had been the only one of them to lead a somewhat exciting life. He and Poe were not so lucky. They had joined the castle guard in hopes that they would stop criminals in their tracks and be heroes in no time. But that didn't happen. Nope, it was just as boring as ever…

And today was no exception.

Gibdo had been assigned to guard the Four Sword Shrine. That was actually a sore spot for Poe, who had some sort of strange fascination with famed monster trapped within the blade. But this wasn't the first time that Gibdo had been assigned to the shrine, and it probably wouldn't be the last. And he wished his foolish little brother would believe him when he said that the whole thing about a monster within the Four Sword was just a legend. Gibdo had been assigned here far too often to believe that anything menacing could be in that sword. Nothing menacing even passed by the shrine. The most dangerous thing that Gibdo had ever seen passing through the shrine was an extremely fat rabbit. Just a rabbit; not even a Pols Voice, just a fat rabbit.

The guard sighed at his post, wishing he could be anywhere else but here. He glanced over his shoulder at the blade he was supposed to be guarding. Knowing that nothing or no one was going to be passing by, he left his post to approach the blade. He squatted down in front of it, staring at it with all the boredom of a rowdy schoolchild being forced to sit still during their lessons.

"If there's a monster in here, then I really am a Gibdo." He said flatly. He stood up, still staring dully at the blade. "It's just a rusted, old sword from a rusted, old story. Why don't people realize that?" He nudged the hilt with his index finger. "Tch." Finally, he kicked the flat of the blade, ignoring the ugly scraping sound within the pedestal. But nothing happened, only proving to Gibdo that he was right and anybody who believed the legend of the Four Sword was wrong.

Grumpily, he went back to his post and prepared himself for the next grueling three hours of nothing.

What he hadn't expected to hear was a clattering of a sword upon stone. Puzzled, he looked over his shoulder to see that the Four Sword had fallen from the pedestal. And again, no hideous consequences. Sighing miserably, he walked over to the Four Sword to put it back in the pedestal. But just as he reached for the hilt, he was blown back feet into the air by something he just couldn't explain. As he tumbled on the floor and raised his head, he realized that the Four Sword Shrine wasn't at all peaceful or boring anymore. The wind was blowing madly all over the place, causing the surrounding trees to flail, the small little animals to run away frantically, and Gibdo realizing he'd probably done something very bad. Because the source of these wild gales was from the fallen Four Sword.

He watched in horror as a shape seemed to emerge from the Four Sword – one that was only supposed to be a legend.

The wind had died down as quickly as it had begun when the shape had taken definite form. A black sphere with a great red eye, horns and several pairs of wings. Gibdo gaped in terror at the sight. He wanted to scream, but his voice was lost. He wanted to run, but he was frozen on the floor. He just prayed that he would not be found…

But he was, of course. It was difficult not be spotted when you were the only thing metal coated in the immediate vicinity.

Vaati had easily caught the glare of the sun off the soldier's armor, and his red eye had focused right on Gibdo. The great eye looked down to the Four Sword and then back to the soldier. "A soldier released me?" It was a rather horrible voice that Gibdo wished he was deaf to. He could only let out a hoarse whimper in response. That one little whimper seemed to have made Vaati all too happy. There was a glint of enjoyment in the large eye that was difficult to miss. "Ah yes; I thought I heard something like a disbeliever. What was it you had said? 'A rusted, old sword from a rusted, old story'?" He cackled before closing the space between the fallen guardsman and himself. His eye was just inches away from Gibdo's face. "And as you can see, that rusted, old story is quite real, and he's eager to start a ruckus up again. And you-" one of the smaller, batty wings that kept the giant eye aloft pointed right at the soldier, "-can play your part by telling your dear princess that I'll be coming for her."

Then there was the sound of horrible laughter before another massive galestorm occurred. Gibdo closed his eyes to keep any of the dust and dirt from billowing into his eyes, but by the time everything had died down and he opened his eyes… the beast had gone. And the Four Sword was still laying quite useless on the floor… like him.

Gibdo wanted to cry. Not only had he been an idiot non-believer and released an evil that the princess had worked so hard to keep sealed up, he was also responsible for telling the princess what had happened and what the beast had said. And then of course, there was the fact that he had peed himself and essentially did nothing to attempt to prevent the escape of the monster in question. Whoop-de-freaking-do. Nothing like telling the princess you were an idiot and a coward.

"I'm going to get fired." Gibdo sobbed woefully as he picked himself up and wobbly ran back to Hyrule Castle.

Zelda paced back and forth in her room nervously. This was bad. This was very, very bad. Vaati was on the loose again because some idiot soldier had to be a non-believer! Well, was; he certainly wasn't one now. But still, whether someone was a believer or not really should have been taken into account before assigning anyone to the Four Sword Shrine!

There was a knock on her door. She shrieked in surprise.

That shriek caused the door to burst open and several guards to swoop in, encircling her with spears pointed outward. They all looked around savagely, looking for the beast that dared try to kidnap their fair princess.

"No, no," she assured them, "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I was just… surprised."

The guards then quickly formed a single file line, standing at the ready. They did not leave.

Link then walked in, obviously a bit taken aback by the sudden entrance of the soldiers and then how it was apparently for nothing. He stepped into her room awkwardly, and then said, "Erm, well, another guard just went to retrieve the Four Sword… Alright, I need to ask, what happened?"

She flushed slightly, only mumbling, "I was a bit jumpy…"

Link strained to hear, but he nodded. It was understandable, what with Gibdo's news… He only just hoped that brother of his was a more competent soldier and brought back the Four Sword without issue. "Well, we should probably wait in Great Hall. There's more protection for you there, Zelda." Link assured.

Zelda twiddled her fingers. "I'm not sure about that… I mean, wouldn't going to a larger area only make it easier for Vaati to break in and wreak havoc? Honestly, here might be a-"

"Please, princess!" One of the soldiers interrupted. "I feel Link's suggested course of action is wise. While there may be more space there, that also means more soldiers in between yourself and the beast! We are gladly willing to lay down our lives for you!" The other soldiers nodded adamantly in agreement.

"Well, that's fine, but I don't want anybody to lay down their lives for me. If we're lucky, that soldier will return soon with the Four Sword and Link can take care of Vaati before anybody dying is necessary." Though honestly, she didn't like the idea of anyone dying, necessary or not.

But the soldiers would have none of it. Even Link, who was willing to agree with the logic behind Zelda's line of thinking, went unheard. Zelda deeply wished her father was there, for surely he would be able to knock some sense into these men. But alas, the king was on vacation in Lake Hylia and no one could contact him.

What incredibly lousy timing for a vacation.

So Link, Zelda, and the soldiers went to the Great Hall. The princess immediately felt out of her comfort zone. Every guard in the immediate vicinity had to have been in the Great Hall at that moment. And nothing said "Relax, you'll be fine, Princess," more than an army of armor clad soldiers pointing a spear at even the smallest speck of dust. Clearly, she wasn't the only one jumpy. And that was not good for anyone's morale. Despite that, time dragged on. She remained quiet, Link standing by her side and offering a comforting smile. It was a smile she couldn't help but return, even though she knew she truly didn't feel much better.

Link just had that quality about him, the one that made her smile at all times. And that was good, to be able to smile in adversity. Even though it may not have made the situation better, for the briefest moment in time it seemed like everything would be better.

And just as soon as she was beginning to believe that everything would be okay… it was not.

Zelda had been completely correct in her earlier assumptions. A larger space was, in fact, quite ideal for a beastly wind mage to barge in. And he did not use the doors. No, Vaati was all for making entrances. And what better way to make an entrance than to break through the giant stained glass window that decorated the back of the Grand Hall.

Glass shattered and fell, and the soldiers immediately went to cover Zelda with their shields. In the process, Link was pushed out of the way, despite Zelda's cries for them to leave Link by her side. Vaati laughed at the chaos he had stirred by his unconventional entrance. And in his demon form, the laugh was gravelly and rough and absolutely terrifying (Gibdo, who, despite being suspended without pay and pending a court-martial, was present and had the unfortunate luck of peeing himself again). The mage was quick to spot his prize, as she had to be where the huddled mass of guards were. With his mastery of the wind, he easily threw them aside and swooped down, extending a massive claw to grab the girl.

His aim was true, he caught the princess. She screamed flailed, and punch and kicked, and was being an all around pain in the butt to keep a hold of, but he didn't worry. His claws had never failed to keep a princess within their grasp, and he knew they wouldn't fail him now. But Vaati hadn't expected to feel a sudden weight pulling him down. His great eye looked down to the side, to see an idiotic boy in green hanging desperately onto one of wings. He hissed at the sight, and shook the wing lightly. But the boy was persistent and wasn't letting go.

The situation soon became cause for alarm as a soldier had grabbed onto Link. A chain started to form, weighing down the wind mage even more. Zelda cheered them on, but Vaati wasn't willing to put up with any of this. He summoned a powerful gale, one that managed to loosen Link's grip on his wing just enough so that a sharp turn from the mage sent the boy plummeting down into the mass of soldiers. The princess shrieked for her hero, but Vaati paid no mind. He let out a triumphant laugh and then quickly flew away from the broken window he had entered.

Link pushed his way (with great effort) through the soldiers and to the window. Which was rather useless as the window was on the second story while Link was still very much grounded. So by the time he had gotten to the window, all he could do was helplessly look up and watch the speck that was Vaati and the princess fade higher into the sky.

"I got it! I got i- what happened?" Everyone turned to the doors of the Great Hall. Standing there was the guardsman called Poe, holding the Four Sword like a delicate package within both his hands. He looked around, oblivious that all the blame for what had just occurred was now being put on him for being just a bit too late. Of course, the damage to the Great Hall and the general gloomy mood was quite enough for the soldier to put together. He looked at the broken stained glass window and then frowned with deepest disappointment.

He had just missed the great wind mage Vaati! How unlucky was he?

And so I introduce for the first time ever... living Poe! For new people, Poe is an OC of mine who just so happens to be Poe. He features in a few other stories as his namesake, but one thing will never change when it comes to Poe when it comes to him being living or dead... He is and forever shall be a Vaati fanboy of the highest caliber. For those already familiar, living Poe has a brother and sister! Poe and Gibdo are mostly here for extra silliness. Live!Poe and Gibdo will actually feature in a future story... but their story won't be nearly as cheerful. As for the sister... yeah, she exists. That's all I plan for her. :B

Anyways, this is simply the beginning. The real fun stuff begins next chapter, which includes a bit more about the exact relationship between Zelda and Link, and that Vaati, who shall not remain a flying cyclops of a demon, is a horrible pervert. Hey, this is rated T for a reason, you know. Next chapter will be out... I dunno. Whenever. Probably after the next chapter of Fly Away.