it is something that grows over time...

[sageprincess]

Characters: Zelda and you!
Format: Action to start; will match
Setting: Floor 77; Floor 3; Dorm halls and around; Floor 25 and around; Floor 81; Floor 101
Summary: Zelda deals with the shadow children outbreak.
Warnings: WORDS. SO MANY WORDS. Also more angst than you can shake a stick at, I guess.

Floor 77; August 12, morning
[Zelda has a very good habit of checking her mailbox every morning. Most of the time there is nothing, but she has gotten too many important things through the mail to forgo her daily ritual.

But perhaps it would have been a good idea today.

The moment Zelda turns the latch on her little box, she is instantly pushed back, slamming into the opposite wall by a torrent of water. But it's not just normal water, she soon learns. It burns her eyes and every gasp of air is met with a mouthful of salt and copper. It's salt water.

Seawater. An ocean mixed with blood.

The mailroom has been thoroughly flooded with a few inches of water before she manages to scramble to her feet, soaked to the bone and bloodstained. It's just glamour, she tells herself, heart beating wildly. It's not real.

But this is the future you've doomed them to. Even if you restore the worlds, this is what awaits you.

It's an ugly truth she's been trying desperately to forget. Because if she thinks too long on it, if she fully realizes that even her struggles here are ultimately futile, she may just lose the will to fight. And that's something she can't afford to do. Not now. Not when so many are depending on her--

Her thoughts are quickly derailed as she feels something bump into her leg - a cloth package marked with the Eye of Truth bobbing away in the bloody sea the Tower has given her. She shouldn't open it, there's no one in the Tower that knows the significance of that symbol, it must be another trick, the logical part of her screams, but the familiarity of it draws her, possesses her to pick it up and slowly unravel its bindings. Jewels and broken pieces of gold slip out and fall into the water as she does, but it is the worn, bloody leather gloves she finds that causes her blood to run cold.

The gloves soon join the jewels in the water as she nearly drops the entire package. A single ruby and a strip of white cloth remain in her grip, and that's all it takes to put together where the other gems are from.

The crown of Hyrule.

Shivering, soaked, and with panic wild in her eyes, the Princess grasps the wall of boxes behind her desperately for purchase, staring in horror at the cruel display before her. And to herself, she chants:]

It's not real, it isn't real, none of it is real--

Floor 3; August 12, afternoon
[After a change of clothes and recovering from what she found this morning, Zelda does what just about anyone who's been in the Tower for a significant amount of time does to cope.

Compartmentalize and repress.

She throws herself into her research, despite some part of her knowing she won't get anywhere without some new development. Even if it's frustrating, it's easier than thinking about all her "gift" reminded her of. She's pouring over the 'psy-' section of a dictionary, trying to find something worthwhile given the lack of actual psychology books, when she gets the feeling someone is staring at her. And sure enough, when she looks up, she finds one of those shadows with gleaming white teeth she saw in the elevator shaft "smiling" at her.]

What is-- I thought the red light was meant to keep the shadows in the lower levels...

[There's certainly alarm in her expression, but she lacks the kind of fear one shows when facing a malevolent creature. After all, the shadows didn't seem to care about her before, and this one is only staring.]

Did the explosion destroy the barrier somehow...?

[She muses to herself as she examines her sudden company, even going so far as to reach out and attempt to touch it when it becomes blatantly obvious it won't attack. So this is a 'psychelysis phantom,' huh...?]

Dorm halls and around the Tower; August 13 and 14 (Easy mode: anyone Zelda considers in a solidly positive light should be able to shoo these phantoms away.)
[After her initial examination, Zelda doesn't pay much mind to the shadows tailing her. Sure, they're creepy, but then again, she's had a retrieval unit stalker for the past four months now. She's learned to ignore its presence when she doesn't need to slip away from it, and the shadows are much the same.

The Goddesses should have chosen another.

Until they start speaking, that is.]

What--?!

[She whirls around at the sound of a familiar voice - Rauru's voice - but only sees the small entourage of phantoms she's collected.

Geeze, this is supposed to be our leader? I knew a dozen women under my command that would have been better than her.

Why did you leave us behind, Princess? Don't you care about Hyrule anymore?]

Of course, they are related to the phantoms. [She tells herself shakily, trying to get her bearings after hearing the voices of those she hasn't heard in over a year. Nabooru, Saria...] I should have expected as much, really.

[After a steeling breath, she turns back around and continues walking. For the most part, she is able to continue Tower life as normal, though occasionally one might find her standing with her fists clenched and jaw tight as she tries to ignore the Sages of Light, Spirit, and Forest's criticizing words.]

Floor 25 and around the Tower; August 14 and 15 (Normal mode: these phantoms will require people Zelda considers to be friends to shoo away.)
[Look at what I, the patriarch of the Goron race, have been reduced to! Is this how the Royal Family treats its kindred and allies?!

You're our leader, not theirs. Or has it been so long that you have forgotten who you really are?

Zelda finally loses her patience when the Sages of Fire and Water appear.]

That is not it at all!

[And to think she had come here to try to get some peace! The two shadows surrounding her have other plans, of course.

Then why are we still like this? Why is Hyrule still a wasteland?!]

I have been trying but--

[But all you've done is doomed everyone to die in less than a year--

Such "conversations" gradually become more and more common as time goes on, with Zelda refuting the phantom's arguments every time. As time progresses, however, she starts feeling more and more tired with fighting, and while she attributes this exhaustion to a lack of fitful sleep, the glamour glitching reveals her wireframe limbs are starting to change from their normal indigo to a pale, almost clear shade...]

Floor 81; August 16 (Hard mode: this phantom will require people Zelda considers to be family to shoo away.)
[As the end of the week approaches, she realizes there's one Sage she hasn't heard from yet, and the dread that follows is possibly worse than anything the others have said. Combined with her exhaustion, it makes her stop on the eighty-first floor, instead of continuing to the mailroom as usual. She had gone for some semblance of normalcy, but now...

Staring out the bulged out window into the glamoured sky beyond, she waits. And soon enough--

Princess.]

Impa...

[She does not turn around, does not face what her attendant, her guardian, her mother has become.

Do you not love me anymore, my child?]

Of course I still love you. You raised me, protected me...

[Then why have you replaced me?]

What? I-I could never...!

[Does that man, that "Arthur," sing you to sleep at night? Does your "Servant" protect you like I did?

Zelda flinches noticeably, shoulders raised like a guilty child caught doing something wrong. Her eyes begin to water, no amount of preparation able to stop such words from hurting.]

No, it isn't like that at all! I care for them, but I still care for you too!

[They will never be your family - they aren't from your world. Our world. You understand this, don't you, child? You know they will leave you. They will never be able to care for you or protect you like I did before you turned me into this.

And that's the final straw. Too exhausted to fight logically against the voice of the woman who raised her preying upon her insecurities and fears, Zelda puts her hands over her ears, closes her eyes, and cries.]

Please, stop!

Floor 101; August 17, closed
[By the end of the week, Zelda's collar is nearly completely drained of its color, only a few flecks of indigo remaining, and Zelda herself can barely find the energy to move. When the glamour glitches and shows things for what they really are, only a thin halo of protective fluid remains around the light of her soul, the rest of her body clear and white.

Unable to venture much farther away from the dorms, she rests in the hanging gardens, body reclining against one of the trees near the center, with Dax's sapling clear in her sight. To most passing by, she probably looks like she's sleeping, chest rising and falling slowly and evenly, and to their credit, that's all she really feels like doing. The week has certainly been taxing enough. But there is one, final phantom that has come to haunt her, and at her feet it looks down upon her silently.]

So you finally came.

[Her eyelids lift, though it's hard to say she's really seeing anything.]

It is you I have wronged most of all, isn't it. I thought I was doing what was best for Hyrule. What was best for you. ... But in the end I have only invited suffering upon all I have wanted to protect.

[...]

Apologies cannot possibly make up for what I have done, but I truly am sorry. None deserve such a cruel fate less than you. If only... I could turn back the clock once more... and perhaps he could save you in my place...

[Eyes closing once more, the Princess of Destiny's head lulls quietly to the side as she offers up the last of her energy to the Hero of Time.]

Comments

Floor 77

[lookmanostrings]

[It had been a long time since he'd caught the scent of seawater-- if he ever had truly "smelled" it in the first place. The line between physicality and just general awareness was a bit iffy after thousands of years.

But it was a familiar sensation nonetheless; one that drew his attention to the floor from the stairwell, but there was something else that drew his attention after that.]

Princess--?!

[Shivering, soaked, and jewels in her hands; he missed the other objects on the ground before, in favour of worrying about her instead. Fado splashed across the water quickly (his short height of course meant it was kind of almost up to his knees), skipping any mental of acknowledgement that there was blood in it to rush to Zelda's side, setting a hand on her arm to try and calm her down.]

Please, calm down, nothing is happening...! What happened...?

[sageprincess]

[Zelda jumps when she feels Fado's hand on her arm, apparently having not heard his exclamation or approach. There's a wild sort of fright in her eyes as she looks down, breathing heavily, trying to get her mind to wrap around what the Wind Sage is saying.]

Fado...?

[What happened? Her eyes drift back to her mailbox on the opposite wall, a small trickle of water still spouting from it.

But it's not real. It's just glamour.]

... Nothing. [Inhale, exhale. Calm down.] Just... another trick of the Tower, that is all.

[lookmanostrings]

[It was good she was starting to calm down, but it was going to take a lot more than that to convince Fado everything was hunky dory.]

A box does not spray sea water for no reason.

[He lowered his arm back to his side, but there was still a heavy frown on his face.]

Please-- if you find it suits you, you can feel free to confide in me. You seem even more shaken than I have seen you before...

[sageprincess]

[Perhaps another time, perhaps if panic wasn't rushing through her veins, she would try to protest, try to say she's fine. But Fado's assessment is correct, and as such there's little resistance to his pressing the topic.]

The Tower... is trying to hurt me. The seawater-- it is meant to be the Flood.

[A reminder of her fate. She tries not to think too long on that, instead opening her hand to reveal the ruby that was once the centerpiece of the crown of Hyrule.]

This is from the crown, and... [Then she starts pointing to the things she dropped as they bob up and down far too innocently.] Sheikah bindings. You can tell by the Eye of Truth. And... those gloves...

[But she can't make herself say it, her sentence changing into a painful whine before she cuts herself off by covering her mouth with her hand. It's been a rough morning.]

[Normal Mode, the 14th]

[bloodyashes]

[It seems like today is a day for princess problems.

Why did you leave us? says a shadow with hands in its hips - angry, lecturing, familiar. Asch is doing his best to ignore her. Why did you abandon us, Luke? You didn't really give up on your home, did you?

He didn't, and so he picks flowers. At least up until the point that he hears yelling across the field. He recognizes the voice; and somehow, strangely, the phantom of Natalia does too.

Why her, Luke? Does our promise really mean so little to you?

He ignores one princess and her entourage for another, crossing the field with a few flowers still in one hand.]

You're hearing them too, then.

[sageprincess]

[Sadly, some poor flowers are being crushed by her balled fists as her seemingly one-sided conversation continues, irritation written plainly upon her face. So distracting are the phantoms that even with her sensitive Hylian hearing, she doesn't notice Asch has approached until he speaks up.

And, strangely enough, when he speaks up, the two shadow children at her side duck away, distancing themselves from him while still trying to stay close to Zelda. Their voices drop back into a whisper, though they're not gone completely yet.

Are you trying to replace us?]

Yes. [She answers Asch, not the phantom speaking in her head, with no small amount of exasperation.] They have been speaking for a few days now.

[bloodyashes]

Then they're likely attaching themselves to everyone.

[The shadow of Natalia hangs back, still a little bit forward of the others, still attempting to engage Asch.

Quit acting like nothing is wrong! Kimlasca is gone, and you're just going to do nothing?! Just going to move on and forget us again?

His expression twists briefly, but otherwise he doesn't react.]

Seems like they're getting stronger, too.

[sageprincess]

You are right; the first day all they did was stare and follow.

[You can at least call us by our names!

She turns her head towards her own shadows, lips pursed, but there's something in her eyes that betrays a feeling other than annoyance. Something more solemn. With their voices quieted, it's easier to not have impulsive, kneejerk reactions to their insults and criticisms.]

Perhaps I am growing weary of them as well. Either way, I suppose it is too much to ask Jason for some kind of explanation, considering this seems to be an accident.

floor 25

[puppy_lancer]

[Like many of the residents in the Tower, Lancer has been feeling exhausted this week. One hand goes up to rub at his eye as he shuffles through the floor listlessly, deprived of his usual energy. Not only is he tired, but his mind is filled with the voices of the two shadows that follow him. He is so busy listening to their complaints that he almost trips over Zelda.]

Whoa!

[At least the sensation of falling is enough to get him to actually look at his surroundings.]

Hey, you're the Princess...

[sageprincess]

[Unfortunately, the phantoms invading her own mind are enough of a distraction that she doesn't notice Lancer's crash course until it's too late. She's startled in turn, looking up at the man who nearly tripped over her.]

Yes, I am.

[And a shame upon my Sworn Brother's name!

There's a twitch to her brow, but she forces herself not to acknowledge Darunia's insults until Lancer is gone.]

[puppy_lancer]

You alright here?

[Meanwhile, "Connla" screams in his ear. 'You would comfort a stranger, and yet slay the ones you love!']

[In response to the phantom, Lancer winces. That one went a little far, seeing how Zelda wasn't a complete stranger.]

[sageprincess]

[She doesn't answer immediately, instead taking note of his expression change and then glancing towards his shadowy entourage.]

We have the same problem, if I am correct.

[So we're just a problem to you now? It's your fault we're like this, you know!]

dorm halls, August 13

[colonial]

[America has quite a parade of shadows trailing after him, but for now--well, they're still distressing, but their voices are whispers and fade in and out and he can ignore them at least a little bit. It's seeing Zelda looking angry while her own shadow creatures stand around her that compels him to approach, though, because--]

Um--are they talking?

[--maybe it wasn't just him.]

[sageprincess]

[It takes the Princess a moment to respond to America's question after she turns and pointedly ignores her own shadows' commentary, as she's struck silent by the sheer number the boy has following him. And she thought the voices of the three Sages was distressing!

... There's hesitance to answer even after the shock fades, however. The last thing she needs is to admit she might be going completely and unequivocally insane. But... Aria wouldn't lie, right? If they truly are related to the phantoms as she said, then it can't be her. Hopefully.

She nods.]

Whispers here and there, yes. Can you hear them as well?

dorm halls / easy modo

[axeforasong]

[headtilt. Don't mind the decapitated pony head she's carrying around as a trio of shadows trail after her; two reserved and trailing back, another flightier and angrier; all limbs gesticulating and moving about. Though you'll probably hear her before she arrives because-]

"Is not!"

[...]

"Is Tower! Don't die anyway!"

[...]

"Well is your fault then!"

[...]

"Wcale nie!"

[this would probably make sense if you could hear both sides of the conversation.]

[sageprincess]

[Well. There's some relief at knowing she's not the only one hearing voices.

... That pony head is concerning, though.]

Mayu, are you all right?

[Her own shadows continue their unheard whispers, though they seem to skirt around Mayu as she approaches.]

[axeforasong]

[the two lingering shadows behind Mayu don't change their distance, though the more active one seems to respond belatedly to Zelda's presence... by scarpering as soon as she speaks.

...Mayu sighs wearily.]

Have been worse, yes?

[sageprincess]

That is one way to put it, I suppose.

[True, out of all the things to happen while Jason was in charge, at least this doesn't involve bodily mutilation. But doesn't change the fact it's still rather disturbing.]

I see you have your own entourage as well. And, ah... [How to put this politely--] What... exactly is the horse's head for?

[Floor 25 / August 15th]

[faithstaynight]

Zelda!

[Unlike the soft, accusatory whisperings of the shadow children, the voice that calls out to her now is clear, and full of concern. Ruler's expression, as she approaches, matches her voice, tailed by her own shadow child. She had been able to ignore its whisperings for the most part, even though its words (In Gille's voice, your death did this to me, your failure caused me to fall away from God's grace, why Jeanne why) stung badly, so instead she focused, as she usually did, on the others.]

Zelda, you must not listen to whatever voices you hear!

[sageprincess]

[And the strangest thing happens as Ruler approaches.

Zelda's shadows scatter and flee, as though the Servant's presence harms them somehow.

Zelda herself doesn't seem to notice their exit just yet, Ruler holding her attention for the moment, but give her some time and she'll start to realize how blessedly quiet it suddenly is.]

I know, I know, Ruler. I am sorry, I lost my patience. [And then, through slightly gritted teeth:] They know just what nerves to strike, don't they.

[faithstaynight]

[Ruler looks a bit surprised as the shadows suddenly scatter. She hadn't been able to get rid of her own little follower, so how had that been so... easy?

No time to think on that now, though, as the surprise is so soon replaced by a frown.]

... They do. Things that I did not know would even hurt... [She expects the chorus of "your fault your fault your fault-" but... it's then that she notices that the shadow child tailing her had scattered with the others...]

Strange, that they ran. It is most welcome, but I did not to anything to threaten them. [Yet.]

[sageprincess]

[She's about to lament with her friend about the terrible things her shadows have been saying, but then... she says they ran? Sure enough, a glance around the field reveals not a single shadow child in sight. And none in her mind, either.]

Peace at last... [She sighs with relief, her (glamoured, wireframe, increasingly pale) body relaxing with the silence.] I do not know what made them flee, either. None of their behavior matches what we saw in the elevator...

floor 81 hard modo

[keepscalm]

[He's so tired. Every few floors, he has to stop and rest, all at once taking a reprieve from the shadows and giving them an opportunity to swarm him further.

He stops on the stairwell at floor eighty-one, leaning against the wall so that he won't fall to his knees. The shadow just behind him mimics the action; 'Hey now, don't hurt yourself, old man! I know you're way too weak to keep up.'

All around, the whispers and sobs of his citizens that never were almost drown it out. He almost misses the cries that don't belong amongst the rest, that don't originate from his world.

He looks out onto the floor proper to see the other shadows; they definitely aren't his. They're trailing someone else. And...he recognises those sobs, he realises.

England pushes away from the wall to begin the trudge over. With concern, he announces his presence:] Zelda?

[sageprincess]

[Hands clamped tightly over her ears in a futile attempt to muffle the cruel voice of her caretaker, Zelda doesn't hear Arthur's approach or his calling of her name. But the phantom taunting her does.

Oh, look, here he is now. Will you run sobbing into his arms again? I thought I taught you to be stronger than that, but perhaps you weren't listening after all...

Arthur might be able to tell by the delayed response that it isn't his voice that causes her to whirl around, blue eyes wide with distress. She looks upon him with no small amount of fright and alarm, primal instincts urging her to run, to escape the pain, to find solace and comfort where she knows it to be. But... the presence of the phantom at her side - tall, imposing, arms crossed and looking every bit the part of body guard despite being little more than an incorporeal shade - stops her, its harsh words and familiar voice shaking her to her core.

You know he will leave you, child. Everyone does. Even I had to leave you because of what you did. Do you really think he is so different? Do you really think all your false promises can make him stay?

Her hands clamp tighter around her ears, eyes clenching shut and head ducking as though that will protect her. But despite her closed off body language, she does cry out--]

No, he isn't like that! Impa, please, stop!

[keepscalm]

[He can't hear whatever awful words her phantoms are feeding her, but they must be exceptionally cruel to make her look at him with such fear in her eyes. England's heart wrenches; he's already one down and he can still feel the hole in his soul where America was just this morning. He knows America will be back (they always come back), but it hurts and he can't watch that happen to Zelda too.

He rushes to her without thinking much of it, and as he nears, the shadow on his heels backs off, though just slightly. Some of his crowd draws away too — he knows from the whispers that they're the citizens he's "replaced" with Zelda — and he'd almost be grateful if Zelda didn't have to cry to accomplish this.

It seems that she can't hear him, with her hands over her ears as they are, so he reaches for her once he's within range, a gentle hand on her shoulder to alert her of his presence.] Zelda, you're— I'm here. It's- it's all right.

[He tries, but the words are hesitant. He doesn't know what the ghosts of her world are telling her. But whatever it is, England saying so probably won't make any of it "all right".]