Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ Fairy Tale ❯ New Faces ( Chapter 2 )

IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AUTHOR'S NOTE.

 

Blowfish: No doubt most of you are aware, FF.Net is cracking down on songfics…for no apparent reason. It really pisses me off, as the eighth chapter of TAoTT contains songs, and the next chapter of “Heroes” is to be a song-based chapter. Also, I actually have a songfic. They're threatening account closure, so I may not be seeing you guys here again anytime soon. But if you click my profile, you'll see that I have opened a Media Miner account under the same name, where I will be continuing my stories. I have “Heroes” and this fic up now, and I intend to put up my other fics as soon as possible.

 

But anyway, moving on to a less gloomy subject, I got reviews!

 

Reaka: Thanks, I hope you like where I'm going with it!

 

Jefepato: Yeah, but I do have a direction in mind. To have a mental illness…I can only imagine…and even then, I don't think I'm scratching the surface.

 

The Gemini Sage: Glad you'll enjoy it. However, I don't actually personally know anyone with the illnesses I'm depicting (though my mom does have a couple bipolar friends), so I have to go by research. Heck, you're probably fitter to be writing this than I am. :P Also, you spelled schizophrenia perfectly. Yeah, Mido's part was supposed to be a BIT funny…he seems like the type who'd cuss his ass off if he wasn't ten. I'm happy you liked the reference to it being the fifth in a series—I figured, “Hey, this is Shigeru Miyamoto we're talking about here. No use in leaving the rest of the Zelda series unmentioned, if only in implication.” And I must add, I NEVER get sick of listening to you ramble. You always have interesting things to ramble about. n_~

 

vladmir the hamster: First of all, before saying anything, your screen name is the third funniest thing I've heard all week. Trust me, for my writing, that was pretty short. I remember doing 22 pages in two sittings for TAoTT. Nuts, I tell ya. And to your other question (a very good question, might I add), I can say it will be answered in this chapter.

 

Ashley: Well, I see a lot of crazy-fics (for lack of a better term) in the TT section, and I said, “Why the hell hasn't anyone done this for Zelda? That's pure gold, that is!” Ganondorf seems like the type who'd be paranoid, doesn't he? It is kinda funny, now that I think about it. The book will actually play a big part in this story.

 

Christofori's Dream: Not really, no. But I am glad you're eager to see what comes next.

 

Massacre-of-Flies: It is sad, really. (But, if you really wanted a laugh, you could go read an X-Men Evo fic called “Crazy Like Me”. Less sad, more hilarious.) The problem with stereotypes is the fact that you can't get into the full depth of what the illness really does. For instance, back when Saria talked about Link's lack of speech (I was wondering if anyone noticed how short his sentences were), that is something I derived from my research—one of schizophrenia's less-known “negative” symptoms is hindrance of speech and motor skills. Creates a whole new angle, doesn't it? Don't feel bad about not giving advice or anything—not all reviews need mountains of analysis (though I do enjoy it ) and constructive criticism (however helpful). Oftentimes, a few words of encouragement are enough. This (the first chapter, just starting the second) is definitely one of those times.

 

KittyHorse: Ah, I've no doubt that you're most likely right. It is obvious, no? (And if it isn't to everyone else, then there's no worries—it'll be explained right away.) I'm very glad you like the concept, and am happy that you are intent on reading further.

 

SStWwE: Happy you loved it. More than anything, you say? Like, more than chocolate? BLASPHEMY!

 

Zeva: Yay, I have my first stalker at MM.Org! (Note that I don't mean stalker seriously…I mean, like, don't go peeking in my windows or something. That'd be creepy.) “Heroes will be up…well, it oughta already be up, if I followed my original plan.

 

Lovova: Well, that's actually under consideration. But yeah, that's one of the angles I'm probably gonna take…darn you and your perceptiveness!

 

Loved It: Glad to know you like it. And that thing you said about groups of people with mental illnesses makes perfect sense. It's relativity and perception at work: One who is with others like them thinks that they are normal. That's why the people in this story are—for the most part—going to be interacting fairly normally with each other.

 

Some Say the World Will END: Wow, thanks. I really appreciate all the lovely compliments, and I hope you like this next chapter.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda in any way, shape, or form (including the liquid form). That is Shigeru “Shiggy” Miyamoto's problem.

 

“talking” `thinking' voices “book text”

 

Blowfish: So, it's time for the next chapter of this screwy little fic. Guess who's coming to dinner?

 

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“I don't want to come here.”

 

The woman in the driver's seat carefully wedged her car in between the large pickup truck and the SUV in the adjacent spaces of the parking lot. She sighed and straightened her sunglasses.

 

“I know,” was the only response she could give.

 

She opened the door and stepped out of the compact car. She looked back to see the girl in the passenger seat sitting as if cemented to her seat. The woman climbed back into her seat, keeping the door open. She removed her sunglasses, revealing brown eyes with a strange tint that almost made them look red. A few strands of white hair hung down over her face. The blond girl next to her looked peered at her with icy blue orbs.

 

“What do you want me to do, Zelda?” the woman asked, her stony voice getting a bit softer. Zelda didn't say anything. “I know you think this isn't right—it took a long time to convince myself—but this is really…this is what's best for you. It really is.”

 

Zelda fully turned her head to face her caretaker. “Impa…you'll…visit, won't you?”

 

“Of course.”

There was a very pregnant pause, but then Zelda opened the door and stepped out of the car, followed by Impa. Impa collected Zelda's bags from the trunk, went over to her, and kissed her on the head.

 

“Let's go,” she said softly.

 

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`OK, OK, OK…it was…it was the man's wife! That's right! It was his wife, not his son…his son, like the sun outside, it's so hot. Hot, no, it's scalding, it's burning, like a fire—of course, it is fire, isn't it? Has something to do with hydrogen gas…gas leak. Leak in the pipes. Drip, drip, drip, leak in the pipes. Wait…I was thinking about the show! The show, the show…'

 

“The show,” Link muttered. Ruto glanced over at him.

 

“What's up, Link?” she asked playfully. “Gettin' into the episode? Law & Order is great like that. It was his son, I bet.”

 

“It was the wife.”

 

“Nah, she's too prissy to kill anybody.”

 

“But…the insurance money. She could…pick up the insurance—is it REALLY hot in here, or is it just me?” he finally asked, pulling on the collar of his shirt. Ruto glanced at him worriedly.

 

“The AC is blasting, Link. Are you…feeling okay?”

“I…there's something on my back. It's burning me, like a Dodongo.”

 

“Like a what?”

 

“One of the monsters in my book. It breathes fire. Feels like fire on my back.”

Ruto felt much more concerned now. “I'll get somebody,” she said, rising off the floor of the TV room. It was around noon, so almost everyone was at an appointment or enjoying their “free time” outside—Link and Ruto were all alone in the TV room. Ruto ran to the desk nearby, where Anju and Kafei, a nurse and doctor, had been a few minutes before when Ruto had gotten some water. Now they were nowhere to be found.

 

“Anju?” Ruto called desperately. “Dr. Kafei? …Anybody? Link needs help!” The dark-haired doctor came running out of a door, straightening his coat.

 

“What's he need?” Kafei asked quickly.

 

“He says he feels like his back is burning.”

 

“I'll get him some water, go back and make sure he's all right.” Ruto ran back in the direction of the TV room, and Kafei grabbed a washcloth from the drawer. He went into the back room and ran it under cold water in the sink. Anju slinked up behind him.

 

“What happened?” she asked.

 

“Link—patient 1986—is apparently experiencing some sort of tactile hallucination. I'm going to try to help him relax.”

 

“Ah. Need any help?”

“No,” he said, lifting the washcloth out of the sink. “But…we can't keep doing this, Anju. We need to…figure something out. Outside of work.”

 

Anju sighed. “Our lives are our work, Kafei. If we could, we would.”

“Yeah, but this is the reason they have the policy, Anj. It gets in the way.” He dashed out of the room, leaving Anju staring at the spot where he had been standing. After a few moments, she went back to her place at the desk.

 

Kafei made his way to the TV room where he found Link sitting on the carpet, rubbing his neck and as far down his back as he could reach.

 

“It stopped,” Ruto said. “He says it stopped.”

 

“Link?” Kafei squatted down next to the teen. “Did the burning stop?”

 

“Yeah…it went out.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so.”

 

“Oh. Well, then—“ Kafei was cut off by a garbled noise coming from the walkie-talkie attached to his belt. He put it to his ear. “Uh-huh…uh-huh…she's here now? I thought she wasn't coming until later. No, I was dealing with a patient—uh-huh. Uh-huh.”

 

Link observed the doctor curiously. Kafei appeared befuddled by whatever he was hearing, yet intrigued at the same time. There were several more “uh-huh's”, and “that's true's”, along with the occasional “but that's Rauru's department”. Kafei's conversation ended with an “OK, fine”, and he stood up.

 

“You two might want to get to the cafeteria,” the doctor said, checking his watch. “It's almost time for lunch.”

 

“Oh!” Ruto gasped. “He's right, Link! Let's go!”

“Meet you in a minute,” Link said. Ruto looked a bit fearful and pouty, but she did eventually leave. Kafei was about to leave when Link said, “Hey, Dr. Kafei.”

 

“Yes, Link?” the dark-haired young man asked, looking a bit weary.

 

“Who's coming?”

 

“A new patient. A girl.”

 

“Oh yeah, Darunia told me about that. Oh, and…”

 

“Yes, Link?”

“Lipstick.”

Kafei almost jumped out of his skin. He quickly took the damp washcloth and wiped his cheek, blushing madly. “Err…Link. Would you…not mention this to anybody?”

 

Link shrugged. “Sure.” Kafei figured that wouldn't be a problem. Link didn't know policy, so he had no obligation to report it. He was about to leave again, but…

 

“Doctor?” Link called.

“Yes?”

“Just one more thing. What's the new girl's name?” Kafei took a moment to inwardly chuckle at the irony of the question that Link could not have known.

 

“Her name is Zelda.”

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“C'mon, silly. Tell me!”

 

“Nuh-uh. Not a chance. You have to guess.”

“Hmm…the theme park?”

”Are you seriously guessing that? After I lost my lunch on the park owner's head when we were on the Death Mountain Crater Coaster of Fire?”

 

“Oh Goddesses, that was hilarious.”

“To you. I got banned for life!”

“OK, OK, not the theme park. Then…hmm…I hear cars.”

“We are outside. But we'll be going inside.”

 

“Hmm…Oh, I give up, dammit! Just take this thing off, Mido!”

 

“Party-pooper,” Mido chuckled, removing Saria's blindfold. Her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the light, and once they had, she gasped.

 

“Zora Hall!”

 

“Yup. The Indigo-Gos are back in town, and Mikau gave me two tickets. Afterwards, I thought we'd just hang with them.”

 

Saria squealed and jumped on him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mido!” She gave him a kiss, and he blushed.

 

“I oughta do this more often.”

 

“Let's go in!”

 

“It'll be a few hours before the concert starts.”

 

“Oh, come on! I bet everybody will be there.”

“Suzie and Mal did say they were coming.”

 

“Then let's go talk to them,” she said excitedly, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the building shaped like a mermaid's tail.

 

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Zelda sat in the lobby quietly staring out the window. It was eerily silent in the lobby, the only sounds penetrating the silence coming from the sound of the desk nurse tapping her pen on her clipboard and the cracking of the gum in her mouth. Zelda finally sighed and slumped in her white plastic chair. Everything in the lobby was white, excluding a few flyers behind the desk. She began to suspect there would be an enormous lack of color in her life for a while.

 

“Doin' okay, sweetie?” the nurse asked, an unmistakably foreign accent seeping into her speech. Zelda looked at her. She had dark skin and red hair, and couldn't have been out of her twenties. Zelda also noted the excessive amount of makeup she was wearing, along with a few very gaudy bracelets. The most outlandish part of her appearance, though, was the large orangey-red stone hanging on her forehead. Zelda hypothesized that this was some sort of religious accessory.

 

“Fine,” Zelda answered. “I'm fine.” The truth was, she felt desperately lonely. Impa had left, unable to miss a martial arts class she was teaching. Zelda felt claustrophobic as well, the large white room somehow feeling a lot smaller than it was. She felt angry that she had to stay here. She felt anxious, wondering if she would be able to handle staying in this cooped-up place.

 

But above all, Zelda felt scared.

 

She was terrified of this strange world that she had been dropped into, with its white walls, its loud, eternally humming radiators, and its distinct, pungent scent of medicine. It was a less-than-pleasant place to be living, and Zelda still had a hard time believing she was actually there. And just when the girl thought she couldn't be more afraid of the situation at hand, she heard the sound of someone dragging their feet down the hall…someone quite large.

 

The tall figure loomed around the corner into the lobby. He had fiery red hair, and dark skin—most likely, Zelda speculated, of the same race as the woman at the desk. His eyes were an eerily light brown, almost yellow. He was tall and muscular, but something about him seemed off. He wobbled a bit as he walked; not as if injured, but as if intoxicated.

 

After a few steps, he stood in the middle of the lobby. He hummed while swaying back and forth, as if listening to some sort of music that only he could hear. The nurse stopped cracking her gum and looked at him.

 

“Oy, Ganondorf,” she said, sounding as if she couldn't care less about what she was saying. “Whaddya need?”

 

Ganondorf giggled a bit, a rather odd shift from his usual quiet, stoic demeanor. The nurse cocked an eyebrow and Zelda shrank in her seat. The towering man leered at her.

 

“And who is this lovely lady, Nab?” he asked, taking a step in Zelda's direction. “Mmm? She's—“

“—New. You need something?”

“Hehehehe…”

 

“OY! You listening to me? If you haven't been sent here and don't need anything, I have to assume you should be somewhere.” She rummaged in her desk and pulled out a schedule. “You're supposed to be outside right now. Recreation time.”

 

“How am I supposed to recreate if I can't go wherever I want?”

 

“You find a book, sit down, and enjoy yourself,” she said, gritting her teeth. “You've been here a while, Ganondorf. You know the rules.”

 

Ganondorf's expression soured. “Twinrova doesn't like you. She says I should—“

 

“I'm going to call a doctor now, OK? You're just going to have to sit tight.”

 

“Maybe I don't want to sit tight.” He grinned devilishly. “Maybe I want to—“

“Ganondorf!” Ganondorf turned to see Dr. Kafei standing in the hallway with an orderly. “I believe you are supposed to be recreating right now. He will escort you,” he said, gesturing to the orderly. Ganondorf snarled, grudgingly following the attendant out of the lobby. “Sorry we didn't catch that sooner, Nabooru,” he said to the desk nurse.

 

“It's alright,” she said. “I just…don't like the way he looks at me. Creeps me out, you know?”

“Yeah.” He turned his head and looked at Zelda. “Ah! Sorry it took me so long to get here, Zelda.”

 

“I-I'm fine,” Zelda squeaked.

 

“Well, I'll show you to your room. Come.”

 

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Link walked down the hall, humming a tune he couldn't think of the name of. He had ditched Ruto when he met Darunia, persuading her that she would have much more fun playing chess with the depressed man than she would just walking around with Link.

 

She likes you.

 

`Does not.'

 

“Link! What are you doing out here?”

 

Link looked up at Dr. Kafei, who was accompanied by a blonde girl in a patient uniform. Link stared at her for a moment, but looked away when he realized what he was doing.

 

“I…uh…I was just walking,” Link mumbled.

 

“Where are you supposed to be?”

“In recreation.”

 

“Dammit…go back, OK? Do I need to call someone, or are you fine on your own?”

 

“I'm fine. Are you the new girl?” he asked the girl. “Are you Zelda?”

Zelda made a squeaking noise and nodded slowly. Link smiled.

 

“You have the same name as my book.” He held up the book he was carrying, and pointed to the title. “'The Legend of Zelda.'”

 

Zelda shuddered a little and squeaked again.

 

“Isn't that funny?”

 

“Link,” Dr. Kafei cut in. “I must show Zelda to her room and give her proper instructions about her stay here. You must go back to—“

 

“Well HIYA Link!” Zelda practically yelled, sticking her hand out. Link and Dr. Kafei stared at her, and Link hesitantly put his hand in hers. She shook it zealously, almost to the point of ripping the poor boy's arm off. She then laughed and slapped him on the back.

 

“Ah!” Link grunted, lurching forward a bit.

 

“Well, you don't have much of an arm there, do ya? Ya big strong MAA-AAA-AN!” She slapped him on the back a few more times.

 

“Augh!”

 

“You're funny! Anyway, it's nice to meetcha! My name's—“

 

“Excuse me!” Dr. Kafei interrupted. “We really should be leaving, and Link here should be getting back to recreation.” He took Zelda's hand and led her away. She waved to Link over her shoulder.

 

“Byyyyyyyyeee! See you later!”

 

Link scratched his head in confusion all the way back to recreation, Navi making all sorts of comments along the way. He pulled up a chair next to Ruto and Darunia.

 

“Hey, brother,” Darunia said, knocking over Ruto's apparently last rook.

 

“Hey,” Link said.

 

“Liiiiiiink,” Ruto said sweetly. “You seem a bit upset.”

 

“I met the new girl.”

 

“Oh! Was she nice?”

 

“I don't know if you'd call it nice. She was…weird.”

 

“Whaddya mean, weird?

 

“She started out all shy, like I was gonna club her over the head any second, and all of the sudden she's shaking my arm off and slapping me on the back like we've known each other forever!”

 

“Wow…freaky.”

 

“I know! It's like she was a whole different person.”

 

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“…And our manager says we're going on tour with Din's Firey Fists—you know, the metal band—in the summer. That other big band, I think it was—oh yes—Golden Destiny—the Golden Destiny—they were going to tour with us too, but their drummer had this family crisis or something and they—“

 

“Farore, Mikau, if you played guitar as well as you talked, your band would just…it would just freakin' rule the world, wouldn't it? Everybody would just bow down to the mightiness that is the Indigo-Gos, and—“

 

“Shut it, Mido. It is going to be one pimpin' tour, and if you don't get tickets…well pal, you won't know what you're missing. It is going to be so—“

 

“That's it! Evan, I demand you drop this guy from your band and we nominate him to run for governer! He's a born politician! He can't stop talking!”

 

“Oh come on. All I have to do is get you started on your ride, and—“

 

“Dude. Don't diss the ride. I spend hours perfecting that engine—“

 

“Point proven, ladies and gentlemen.”

 

“OHHH-OH-OHH! Don't you get me—“

“And this is after, what, two drinks?” Lulu laughed. Saria was already giggling hysterically, the only one who hadn't already practically died laughing listening to Mido and Mikau's banter.

 

“At least—at least,” Saria gasped, finally unable to stifle her laughter. “At least they stopped talking about cheese doodles and tortilla chips.”

 

“Which is better—salty or cheesy?” Lulu said in her best sports commentator voice. “Mikau vs. Mido!”

 

“A true battle of the Titans!” Saria shouted, joining in the fun.

 

“Who will win?”

 

“Who will lose?”

 

“Who will get completely plastered on the least amount of alcohol in the history of alcohol?”

 

“LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!”

 

“WHOOOOOOO!” Japas hooted randomly from the side.

 

“Duuuuuuudes…let's just chill, ya know?” Tijo said in slow voice. “You're like…disturbing the vibrations, ya know?”

 

Evan stared at him. “Are you high?”

 

“…Haha, fooled ya, didn't I?”

 

“Nayru, man, I thought you were dropping acid or something. Don't do that again.”

 

“Sorry, I couldn't resist. The look on your face was priceless! Besides, you know I would never do that stuff, man.”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

“I was just smoking a joint, is all.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

“Just kidding man, just kidding!

 

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Blowfish: Other than the introduction of the Indigo-Gos into the story, that last scene wasn't really all that necessary.

 

But DAMN it was fun to write.

 

Hope you enjoyed Zelda. And the Impa cameo. And how unbearably obvious I made Zelda's illness…though there's more to it than you suspect.

 

Aaaaaannnywaaaaaaay, catch y'all on the flip side.