towerofanimus | [00? ∆ what a lazy boy!]

Entry tags:

[00? ∆ what a lazy boy!]

Characters: MM!Link and YOU
Setting: Room 1-12, then the Cafeteria
Format: I'll match you!
Summary: A familiar start to the story: the hero wakes up. But... Wait, he's done this before. Hasn't he? How long has he been out? Link is up and on his feet and looking for answers. Also? Oatmeal.
Warnings: None thus far, but BACKDATED to the start of the month, 'cause I'm a loser.

[ 01 ; Room 1-12 ][Link ... is.

It's like... It's like waking up. It's like waking up from a very, very long dream, one that you don't remember too well. There is something... about darkness. And death. Even time stood still in the desolation. Did time die, too? Or did it simply slip away? Fall back into a place where light and happiness waited for the world to breathe again? It was a dream like that, he thinks. And... It was lonely. It was so lonely. It was so very lonely.

But here he is. He is ... back. He stares at the white suit on his skin, touches the collar around his neck. Huh... back. The tower. The tower feels like a far-away dream, too, even if he feels the same. He opens his trunk. Peels the white suit away, pulls on his Kokiri tunic. Takes the Gilded Sword and straps its sheath to his back. Stores away the hookshot, the Keaton Mask, and a glass bottle. Holds the Ocarina of Time in his hands. Draws in a deep breath.

There's nothing to do but what needs to be done. Which means... Finding his friends. Finding answers.]

[ 02 ; Cafeteria ]
[Link knows that the cafeteria is a good place to go to watch for people, so he that's where he heads.

He's not sure if he's surprised when he's given oatmeal. He's not sure if that's a good sign, or a bad sign. But he does remember being here before. He isn't entirely new. (Those memories have to be real.)

So? He sits at a table and eats his oatmeal. Link's expression is mild, a little curious, but, as ever, serious, more serious than a kid "his age" probably has any business of looking. His feet are kicking lightly as he sits on the bench, his attention isn't entirely on his food. He's watching the people. Looking for familiar faces, for faces of friends -- for faces of anyone who looks as out of place as he remembers being, the first time he woke up in the tower. Maybe he'll pick up his oatmeal and come sit with them, if he does.]

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[Well, if "out of place" means anyone unfamiliar, there just so happens to be a short, old guy in a really bulky looking suit of armor knocking back what looks like a fifth glass of water, judging from the empty glasses he's collected by the table beside him. The presence of so many glasses may or may not be connected to the empty wrapper of a nutrition bar, also next to the cups.]

[He's not sitting down, though—instead, he's hovering lazily in the air, a good four feet or so above the ground. He's laid back as if he were in some sort of invisible hammock, legs crossed at the shins as much as his suit of armor will allow.]

[After taking another heavy gulp from the glass in his hand, he lets out a loud sigh and sets it down on the table beside him. He looks like he's contemplating whether or not he should get another glass of water.]

[Link looks on curiously. He doesn't think anything of the armor or the floating, really. But only one nutrition bar, and that much water?

He must really like water.

Link continues to watch to see if he's going to do anything else or if he's done with his meal.]

[Well! Water does help get the taste of nutrition bars out of his mouth, and he'd felt a little dehydrated besides. He'd prefer something with actual flavor, but alas, it's one of those months ...]

[The man rocks forward into an upright position, swinging his legs underneath and behind him. By now it's apparent that there are small jets of blue flame—plasma, really—erupting out of his boots and a backpack-like apparatus on his armor. And it's propelling him over to the serving lines to get another glass of water.]

[That nutrition bar was nastier than usual!]

[The cafeteria is the one stop almost everyone goes to, whether to eat or meet up. Minato? He's here to eat.

If only the menu wasn't full of nutrition bars. Sure, all the food here were nutrition bars in disguise. But Minato do love the taste and textures of food, illusions or not. Maybe he should go inside and cook... Or just suck it up and eat the bars.

...Lunch. Or dinner, he'll make up for it. So this young man, with a sheathed gun and sword, picked up his tray and get the bars. A moment later, as well as a glass of water to drink, he's glancing around at the tables for a spot to sit down at.

...If that a boy with a bowl of oatmeal?

With a blink, Minato gave Link a curious look.]

[Link returns the look, head tilted a little. This person... looks familiar, in the "I've seen you around the tower" kind of way.

He scoots over a little on the bench, which he doesn't need to do because there's plenty of room where he's sitting, but it's an invitation all the same. You can sit with him, if you want. He doesn't mind.]

[If anyone recognise him, Minato usually think it's due to his departed Strega self or people seeing himself around.

He blinks again, before walking over towards the table. So yes, he'll be accepting the silent invitation. Once he's there, he looks at Link with a questioning look.]

Can I sit here?

[He saw the invitation, but he still asked out of ingrained politeness.]

[Link wouldn't be able to tell him if he asked. He doesn't think he ever directly interacted with him -- any of "him" -- before, so it's hard to say.

Oh. Huh? He's asking anyway? Maybe Link wasn't clear enough. Or, maybe he just wants to make sure. That makes sense, too. Link nods.] Yeah.

[Placing his tray on the table, Minato sits down on the bench.]

Are you new, or just returned?

[He look like those blond boys he saw around.]

I... Returned. [He guesses. He looks kind of uncertain about that.

He takes a spoonful of oatmeal, but waits to speak until after he's swallowed. He may have grown up in a village of eternal children, but he's learned manners since leaving the forest.] I can't tell how long it's been, [he confesses, unable to keep the concern off of his face.]

[A returnee...and someone who doesn't even seem certain of how long it's been.]

...Welcome back. [Between wandering their dead worlds and this tower, Minato would pick the tower because there's people to talk to.] What's the last thing you remember happening in the tower?

[Other than a couple of months, Minato's been in this tower for...a few years now.]

[Link is quiet for a long moment as he thinks.]

... there was... a labyrinth. And we were supposed to kill each other, but a lot of us refused. But it didn't matter, because there could only be one person standing at the end.

And... then... the administrators... were trying to find out which one of them was "the best."

... it had been... a little while since then.

There can be only one...

[Minato can think of two labyrinth challenges. The battle royale and the hunt. Judging the from the description, it's the first one, he thinks.]

...It has been a while. I think that one was two years ago.

[And as Link exits his dorm room and makes his way down the hall, he will hear the sound of loose paper clattering to the ground some ways behind him. Turning around reveals the Princess of Hyrule at the center of the sudden mess, older and more world weary than she was even at the end of their journey together, frozen in place and staring with wide eyes as if she's seen a ghost.

How else is one meant to look at someone they have mourned being separated from twice over?

Give her a moment, she'll shake out of the shock soon enough.]

[Link half-turns when he hears the sound, curious and a little confused, but then he stops, too.

Ah...

Princess.

She looks...

... tired.

... he's... glad, though. That he's already found her. (More like she's found him, but.) He wanted to find her. He wanted to talk to her.

He should say something. He should let her know that it's him, and not another him. But what?]

I'm sorry, [he ends up saying. And then, as if it'll explain everything,] I feel like I was asleep. ["But I'm awake now."

Link, this is such a strange way to say "I'm back." What are you doing.]

Edited (added sth for clarification and then forgot to clear the subject field. /punches self) 2014-04-26 22:15 (UTC)

[She could laugh at the way he says it, if sleeping had not been exactly what he was doing the last time she had spent years waiting for him. She should be overjoyed to see him again, filled with hope as she had been so very long ago, and yet... she finds fear settling in her heart.

So much has happened. So much has changed, including her.

She thinks of the hundreds, thousands of souls she has put at risk for the chance to put an end to all this. She thinks of the feeling of running Arturia's blade through Jason's chest, the life draining out of his too-human eyes.

What will her Hero think?

Lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, she gives voice to one of the more simple ones.]

... I still have your shield.

[Link blinks.] Oh...

[And then, he smiles.] I'm glad. Has it...

[... oh, no. Can he actually say those words? His eyes dart from her face to her shoulder, then back up.]

Has it kept you safe? [Except then he feels stupid for even asking. This tower... It would take more than just a reflective shield to protect her. His eyes drop entirely now.] At least a little.

[Judging by the moment of silence that follows his question, the answer is the one he's dreading. It's awful, but true - a simple shield is as nothing against the likes of the administrators.

But there is something it's done.]

... It has reminded me of you.

[Of why she's fighting. Of the strength and courage he had shown during their journey. Of the hope his eventual return had once inspired in her during those years of darkness. And in this place, where death means so very little, the resolve to just keep going is so very important.]

[... he's... not sure how to -- feel about that answer. He... knew. It's not like he didn't know. The shield isn't -- wasn't -- enough. But it still... but she... The way she says that, it's like it -- like that... was still important. He doesn't know how he feels. (He's barely even aware that his face is reddening.)

... but he... but he can't look at her. Because. The fact that she's needed reminding, the fact that he hasn't been here, even if it was for one day, it...]

I'm sorry. [He's already said it, but he. But this keeps happening to them. He keeps -- He keeps disappearing, whether he means to or not, when she needs him. When he should be protecting her. So this time, when he says it, it's much lower, much quieter, more guilty and ashamed, even if he knows that it -- like everything else in the Tower -- was entirely out of his control. Being held in the Temple of Light for seven years was, too. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. That doesn't mean it wasn't him.]

You need not be.

[The first words she's said to him that isn't preceded by a lengthy, hesitant pause, and of course they're to reassure him. It's instinctive, and perhaps somewhat prompted by her own guilt.

His soul had been among those that had been risked when the power cores were shut down, after all.

She regains enough sense of herself to kneel and begin cleaning up the notes she had dropped, though her thoughts still swim in all directions. She cannot tell him about that, not yet, some strangely nervous part of her says. She has done so much--]

We have made progress.

[--An altered version of that thought slips out, but maybe that's okay. Perhaps that will help comfort him, to know that their fate doesn't rest so heavily upon his shoulders as Hyrule once did, and she can slip into the easy, comfortable role of guide once more.]

[He lets go of a breath he's been holding. He doesn't know what he was expecting, but she...

... well. It doesn't matter. They're okay. And now it's time to get caught up.

He gets down on his knees to help gather papers, too.]

That's... good to hear. [A beat.] What kind of progress?

We have allies among the retrieval units now, for one.

[Yes, this is good. This is easy. Like any other new arrival, without the burden of history weighing down upon them. She begins with the more pleasant news.]

Their leader's name is Aria, and she is a good friend. With her help, we were able to learn about the fluid they put in these collars around our necks.

[She taps hers briefly - still indigo after all this time.]

[Link's eyes light up.]

That's great news! What does it do? Why are they different colors?

We do not have a definite answer on the colors, but that was not the major reason why we were looking into them.

[Her voice quiets a bit, conspiratorially in a way (the administrators simply have to know of their work by now, but old habits die hard), and for a moment she almost has a flashback to that fateful day in her courtyard.]

The fluid possesses a drug that suppresses our real abilities - it is what allows the administrators to limit what we can do. But we learned how to separate out the drug and regain our true powers.

[They can fight back.]

[Samus pauses in passing by once she spots Link, and manages to put forth a slightly amused look.]

Well, at least there's some things that don't change about this place.

[Link pauses, too, when she does, uncertain if she's wanting to talk to him. She looks familiar...

He blinks a few times at what she says, though. Huh?]

What do you mean?

When I was here last, there were... A lot of people here that looked like you. I haven't seen as many this time around, but knowing there's a few left is a touch reassuring.

[Or...not, if she words it like that. GOOD JOB, SAMUS.]

[... not -- as many?

Something falters in Link's chest.]

How -- How many are there?

[...suddenly, Samus realizes that was probably a Bad Thing to Say™.]

Ah... Enough to be encouraging?

[Maybe that'll work as a diversion. Ahah...]

[ Going to the cafeteria was always something uneventful and boring, not to mention untasteful-- Except for today that the Princess of Lorule caught an all too familiar sight. She had seen these green clothes before. And that face, or at the very least a very similar face. Once in her homeworld, once in the tower.

But this one looked different. Much more serious and mature than the young Link she had met in the tower, and even than the one from her homeworld. And so she'd approach him to confirm his identity. Nevermind that this princess looked like a color swap of Zelda. ]

Hero of Hyrule?

[ How many heroes did Hyrule have in the first place? ]

[Link stares at the young woman approaching him. She looks... like the Princess. No -- She almost looks like... a Termina version of the Princess. Her hair and eye colors, they're like Kafei. Surreal experience? Oh yes. Confused hero? Most definitely.

Slowly, he nods. He's still staring at her, eyes a little wide. It takes him a moment to find his voice.]

Ah... Yes. [A pause. ... oh, yeah, that's right, he should -- specify.] Hero of Time.

[ The inverted Triforce on her dress and staff probably wouldn't help in making this an any less of a surreal experience. Either way, she had never heard of a "hero of time", but thinking to it, Hyrule had so many heroes it fell under sense they'd each have a title so history could remember them all appropriately.

His reaction of surprise indicated he was pretty much oblivious to Lorule, like everyone else she had met so far. ]

Ah, you need not be so embarrassed, young hero. [She gave him a light smile, but only for a second.] I am Hilda, Princess of Lorule Kingdom. It is an honor meeting another one of Hyrule's chosen.

[This is so confusing. This is confusing for errybady.

Ah... Embarrassed? He's not embarrassed. ... right? -- Come on, focus, focus.

A princess... A princess, like Zelda, even. Lorule... even sounds like Hyrule. What's the connection here?

Oh, um. He should be... yeah. He bows his head, because that's what you're supposed to do when you meet royalty. He didn't know that when he first met Zelda, but he certainly knows it now.]

Th... [What is it that he heard people say in the castle while he visited the Princess -- Princess Zelda, he should be more specific now -- after Ganondorf was sealed away again...? It feels like a lifetime ago. Three lifetimes ago.] The honor's... mine. [Yeah, that's it. Something like that.

... his curiousity gets the better of him.] You... Can I ask something? Have you heard of... a place called Termina? Clock Town? [It's kind of stupid of him to ask, he knows, because he knows what this Tower can do, the different kinds of people it can draw in... but. But. The similarities. He has to at least ask, right?]

[ Now, if anything the way this tiny version of Link was all embarrassed and flustered was sort of cute. That reminded her somehow of another hero...

But she tilted her head when he mentioned Termina and Clock Town. No, neither rang a bell. No such place existed in her world, or in Zelda's as far as she knew. ]

Termina and Clock Town? No, I'm sorry. I have never heard of such places. [Though if he asked, there was surely a reason and now she wanted to know why.] May I inquire why you asked?

[Oh. Okay. He guesses he just jumped to conclusions, like he was worried about.

... ah, but now she wants to know. How... How does he explain this?]

Oh... I... [hmm.]

Before the Tower... that's where I was. Not Hyrule. I'd... traveled there. I was looking for a friend. You... [... hmmm. Hmmm. This is hard.] Remind me of someone. [A beat. More honestly:] More than one someone. But one someone in Termina.

[ More than a someone? Well, doubtlessly one of these someone was Zelda, but the other... Probably the Princess of Termina?

It was surprising, but then for all she knew there could be hundreds of these worlds. She wondered if Termina had its own Triforce. ]

... It sounds like this Termina is a world that runs parallel to your Hyrule. [A pause while she considers the implications.] If so, it wouldn't be surprising for me to have a counterpart in this world as well.

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[00? ∆ what a lazy boy!]

02 ; Cafeteria

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