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[forhylia]

Characters: Link and whoever wishes to poke him
Setting: Room 04-04 and Floor 1, breakfast time
Format: Prose preferred, but feel free to use action/brackets
Summary: Link wakes up, completely unsurprised and unbothered that his world has ended. That's old news. Time to go eat some oatmeal and figure out where he is.
Warnings: Spoilers for the Skyward Sword prequel manga


Link was only half-surprised to be waking up. One does wake in the afterlife after death, no? But as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, something was quite wrong. This strange suit was uncomfortable and strange looking. The room was sparse and seemed overly sterile. And how in the world did the ceiling glow? He tugged at the collar around his neck, frowning. Thankfully it wasn't restricting his breathing, but it was bothersome.

This was far from what he had pictured.

There were a few things to be inspected, though. Three other beds, all empty, as well as a nightstand with two envelops upon it. Frowning curiously, Link lifted the first one and carefully tore it open. Strange, that it did not require a seal to remain shut. There was a slight ache in his chest as he read it. Yes, he knew that his home had been destroyed. He didn't need that reminder of his failure. At least he could rest assured that his people were safe in the White Goddess's loving arms.

The second letter, however...

The further Link read, the stranger things became. All these things that were expected of him... This was where he would sleep; unexpectedly three others would be occupying the room with him. Food could be found downstairs. What was a 'network'? A postal system of some sort? Link placed the second letter on his nightstand next to the first. Perhaps he could find somebody to speak with about it.

He got out of bed, cracking the cricks out of his neck and approaching the chest that was obviously his and thankfully unlocked. He pulled it open with a grin.

"Excellent." He smiled as he pulled the Master Sword from the chest, inspecting it carefully. As expected, it had taken no damage in the battle. He pulled it partially from the scabbard, closely inspecting the triangular symbol that had appeared on the blade. He set the sword aside, pulling out his various other belongings. The ridiculous white jumpsuit was on the floor within seconds, soon to be replaced with Link's signature green tunic, hat, and boots. He contemplated putting on his mail and gloves, but chose not to. They would stay in the trunk. He was only going to eat breakfast, hopefully. Link put in his earrings, setting his gloves, sword, and armor back in the trunk and closing it. He opened his door and set out into the hallway.

Time to find out what this afterlife was all about.




Link fumbled for a moment with the elevator buttons before making his way to the first floor. The dining area was a reasonable place to look for people, and he was hungry.

He settled himself at a table with the bowl of oatmeal a worker had handed to him, taking a look around the room. There were other people milling about, chatting and eating. He dug into his oatmeal, which wasn't half bad. The food quality in Hylia had suffered significantly under the crumbling regime of the king.

Link had intentionally sat himself at one of the larger tables as if to hopefully invite company.

Comments

[oracleofseasons]

Across the room, a red-haired girl was standing in the line to pick up her own bowl of oatmeal. When it was finally handed to her, she wrinkled her nose; if this was what they welcomed people with, she sure wasn't looking forward to the food they'd get once they'd been here for an extended period of time. Generally people tried to make a good first impression on guests...

She could already tell that she was going to sorely miss Impa's cooking. Ah, well. There wasn't really anything she could do about it.

What she could do right now was sit down and get the whole "eating oatmeal" thing over with. She went up on her tiptoes and looked out at the room - ah, there was someone interesting! Not to mention a little familiar-looking, though he sure did look older than the Link she knew. She crossed the room to his table, set her bowl down with a slight clatter, and slid into the seat across from him.

"So," Din began, "You're not making faces or whining about how icky this stuff is. How bad was the food where you came from?"

...because that's definitely the best way to make friends, way to go.

cafeteria

[fusedstars]

"There is more food available within the kitchen when you are finished with your oatmeal. Good food I mean,"and all said by Hei when he walked past Link, setting a plate of food for a random person who asked for it. Considering he was always cooking here, it was no trouble to make something.

And true to Hei's word, there was a bounty of food in the kitchen if Link went. A plate or two had some missing, mainly because Hei was eating that as he went back and forth from cooking to eating.

[great_king_of_evil]

When Link would engage in the corridor outside of his room, he may happen to see a certain King of Evil passing by. One whose powers and aura may be strikingly familiar for some sort of unexplained reason. In any case, Ganondorf would stop in his tracks as he saw that man leaving the dorm-- That one.

Obviously one of the heroes, yet different from all the other Links he had seen in his homeworld or in this tower so far-- And goddesses knew how numerous they were. However, he felt a particular rush of hatred upon seeing that particular Link. Not on a personal level, after all he knew nothing of that Link yet. No, but for so long had the heroes hindered his plans, both here and in Hyrule.

But now, he had needed one of them during his latest coup against the tower, when he cursed the very tower and imprisoned a third of its inhabitants. Right when he had needed one, they all disappeared. And now that this was all over, here was one of the Heroes. Always in his way, always sent by the Goddesses to prevent him from success.

[puppy_lancer]

[Lancer plops down in a chair next to Link's table, not even setting his food down before tearing off a chunk of his waffle and popping it in his mouth.]

Mm?

[He stares at Link's oatmeal.]

Oatmeal? You're new?

[forhylia]

Link looked up at Din with a slight smirk.

"Prison food would hardly be considered preferable to anything..." He held up his spoon, slop oozing off the edges. "Even this." He ate another spoonful.

"It is the first true meal I have eaten in a very long time."

[forhylia]

Link perked up at the mention of more food.

"Excellent! You have my thanks. Are we fed regularly here?" To him, this was good food. Hylia's gradual demise had led to a scarcity in good food and drink, and prison food was that much worse.

[forhylia]

A shiver passed through Link's spine as the strange man passed by. A rush of dread, a sinking feeling in his stomach. No, he could not explain why. The Hylian had no reason to feel any animosity toward this man.

But he took mental note of him anyway. Something in his gut told him to. He continued on his way downstairs, on edge for no rational reason he could quite place. He was not afraid. Link hardly feared anything (which had proved to be his greatest weakness).

He just did not like the feeling this man gave him.

[forhylia]

[Link looks up from his bowl of lovely, delicious slop.]

Yes, I have only just woken up in my room.

[He doesn't seem too shaken by the sudden change.]

[puppy_lancer]

And nobody's told you anything about this place yet?

[At least this guy is calm about it.]

[forhylia]

[The Hylian shakes his head.]

No, but I was assuming it is a sort of afterlife. [A slightly wistful look comes over his face.] I already knew that most of my home was gone.

[The letter had hardly been a shock.]

[oracleofseasons]

The girl didn't so much as bat an eyelash when he oh-so-nonchalantly mentioned prison food. She'd met people from all walks of life as part of the performer's troupe; and, well... someone who'd spent time in prison was far from the most colorful character she'd ever met.

"Cheers, then," She said with a bit of a mischievous grin, holding up her bowl. "To the first of many true meals."

A slight pause, followed by, "Though it seems they've got us all holed up pretty well here, so... from one prison to another, hm? Though hopefully it's a little more bearable than the last place you were."

[forhylia]

Link grinned, holding up his bowl playfully in a mockery of a toast.

"It is much more bearable thus far. And I was able to spend some time free before arriving." But it had certainly not been for pleasure.

"Does this mean I can assume that you have only just arrived as well?"

[oracleofseasons]

"You can assume whatever you want. In this case, your assumption just happens to be right."

Din laughed and took another bite of her oatmeal once their "toast" had finished, then shifted a little in her seat. Staying in one place for too long had never been her style, and she was itching to get moving again as soon as possible. If that meant shoveling down this slop, well, so be it.

She inclined her head, studying him for a moment or two. "So... had the chance to check out any of the other floors yet, or did you come straight here?"

[forhylia]

"No, it was straight to the food for me. Have you any idea what the other floors consist of?"

Link was more than interested. One hundred floors, supposedly, each unique and fascinating in its own right. He would see them all.

[oracleofseasons]

Din shrugged. "I have a vague idea. The floor above this one looks like it's got medical supplies in it... though they're not supplies I'm familiar with."

The infirmary was a lot more advanced than things had been in Holodrum.

"And above that floor, there's a room full of books. I didn't get to take a closer look at either of them, though."

[puppy_lancer]

[He gives a dry laugh.]

Well, this ain't heaven. But most of the people in here don't deserve hell.

[forhylia]

"Medical supplies and books, huh..." Link stroked his chin absentmindedly as he thought.

"That certainly does not make this place seem hostile in any way." It had a slightly sinister air about it, but he could not be certain of anything until he actually had facts. There had been that strange man in the corridors upstairs, but Link doubted he had anything to do with this tower on a whole.

He perked up suddenly.

"I apologize for my rudeness- My name is Link." He did not bother with his title. Hylia was gone, and he did not recognize a single person here as one of its survivors.

[forhylia]

[Link's eyes narrow.]

Would you say that this is hell, then?

[It doesn't seem it. Free food, a library, an advanced infirmary...]

[puppy_lancer]

Nothing of the sort.

[He slowly shakes his head.]

Well...you could say it sort of is, given that our souls are stuck here. But it won't be hell for long. Not if we have anything to say about it.

[forhylia]

You mean people are resisting the authorities here?

[It certainly is strange. They claim to have saved them from their dying world, yet this man is calling it hell. That's quite a contrast.]

[puppy_lancer]

Yeah, we've got people working on that.

[He's helping them out. Mostly because Ruana is dangerous and probably can't be trusted to run the Tower. He's not quite sure how he feels about the other stuff on their agenda.]

[forhylia]

So we are trapped here and cannot leave, and we aren't certain of the intentions of those running this place, and people are fighting to find a way out?

[It is difficult to absorb all at once. No, being taken here does not sit well with him, but he has yet to see anything overtly bad.]

[puppy_lancer]

You've pretty much got it. Don't worry--this place is livable, even if sometimes it's not pleasant. Just watch out for the experiments.

[oracleofseasons]

She nodded slowly at his observation. "It looks that way, doesn't it? But from what I've seen the floors get more dangerous - and more fantastic - the further up you go." Which of course meant that Din was going to be spending most of her time in the higher blocks of the Tower, because settling into a safe but dull existence had never been her style.

When he perked up, she raised an eyebrow; when he introduced himself, she chuckled. Just as she'd thought - he wasn't her Link, but he was a Link.

"No apologies necessary - I didn't introduce myself either. My name is Din, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She left off her title as well; even if it would have meant anything to this version of Link, it was probably best to keep that information to herself, at least until she had a clearer picture of the Tower and its inhabitants.

[forhylia]

[Now he frowns.]

What sorts of experiments?

[Coming from a world of very limited science, the only sorts of experiments Link has ever heard of have been magical ones. Is that what they are here for? All of these people gathered to one place to be used for experimentation?]