SPECIALIS - :Heroes Doody: [4]

I woke up in the dark. Rather unexpected; my entire motherfuckin' core has been shot already from everything that has happened, so this doesn't surprise me by much. Still, what was happening was something otherworldly:

I'm looking up, right? I'm in the dark, staring upward. I see something shining above me, and I'm also floating in the air. I'm not falling this time; just like a jacuzzi-float sort of sensation. Nice and comfy. Something I've been needing after all of the shit that's been going down.

The Voice suddenly begins to speak. Again, in the flippin' language I can't understand. It's like listening through water. "I can't hear you!" I actually have some control over my actions in this dream-vision thing, and that gives me some reassurance to continue going. The glowing figure begins to draw closer, and I squint in effort to see them.

Damn, that's just messed up.

Ain't even HUMAN! It's a blue-purple person without any arms! Her voice--I'm assuming it's a female--is comforting, though, so I don't go screaming for the hills just yet. I hang in there, seeing if there's anything in it for me. Turns out the figure continues to speak, and this time, I'm beginning to make out words, but still, it's patchy; almost as if I'm learning Japanese and being introduced to it at the same time.

"Destiny...Hero..."

THE. FUCK?

"Darkness.....(alien language).....Arise....(more alien language, blah blah).......Guidance--" I try to continue listening, but find it somewhat moot; how am I supposed to figure something out with those bits and pieces going on? Something told me that whatever this voice was saying was along the lines of a warning.

That ain't my cup of tea. The figure continues to talk urgently, and I suddenly realize I'm not alone. I look to the side and see Link floating there, also looking up at the figure, but unaware that I'm there. Was I invisible? As I'm about to call to him, something happens.

I hear a roar, and suddenly, I see a streak of gold fall past me. Looking down, I see a girl--younger than me by a few years--fall past me. Must be Owl-Brow's daughter, since I see Link dive after her like the most precious thing in the world. Before I know it, I'm falling as well and rushing towards the girl. What was her name--Zelda? Yeah, that was the one. Zelda reaches out for help, and Link extends his arm, his eyes wide with panic and determination. He is too far away, and Zelda falls much further away to a dark, massive figure. The jaws open, and my heart gets caught in my throat.

Oh shit.

Grasping for anything, I cry out for help. Heels-first, I'm plummeting towards the beast's mouth, and Link doesn't even seem to sense me; he already looks defeated, even though I cry out for help. Who else is gonna save my ass?! I sure as hell can't fly, and I don't understand how he can float in here and I can't! I follow the fate of the girl and disappear into the jaws of the beast, darkness consuming me.

It doesn't end there, though; usually you wake up from this sort of thing, but I keep falling. Alone, separated. A feeling of despair begins to well up within me, and I suddenly feel my throat go dry, though I'm still screaming. As I fall, however, the glowing figure reappears to me and slows my fall. She says nothing to me, but my panic begins to subside, and I look down. I can see the landscape stretch before me, and I get a clear picture of what I'm supposed to do.

Fuckin' quests. I don't wanna do this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Waking The Fuck Up~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, cold-sweat. Great. At least it wasn't pissing my pants. My clothes felt grimy, sticking to my skin like a sickening second layer, and I pried my outer coat off, revealing two long slender arms and a sleeveless red top. I wanted to go for a walk, even if it was dark outside. Something told me the cool night air would help clear my head from whatever messed up shit just happened.

I left via the top floor and stepped outside. Immediately, I begin to rethink my rushed decision to leave my coat in my room when a cool gust of wind blows. Through my flowing hair, I notice something glinting in the distance and my eyes bulge out in recognition.

That glowing figure is real?! And who'd guess it--Link's trailing her! Curiosity encouraged me to follow, and I felt excited all of a sudden. I wanted to find out what was happening, and I would make sure I wasn't seen. I pursued Link, keeping myself at a distance and climbing quickly and quietly. Ever since I'd stopped...well, my "bad" habits, I hadn't had much practice sneaking around. However, since he had no idea that anyone else was out of bed, I'd have to say I was doing pretty good for someone out of practice.

Q: What are the "bad" habits?
A: Pop fuckin' popcorn. You'll be waiting a while for an answer to that.

I stop short as I watch him begin to scale a ledge wall covered in vines. I stay still and creep from behind a corner, peeking my head out to view the elf boy climbing the walls. As he disappeared over the top, I jumped out and began to run forwards.

Straight into the path of a rather enraged cat-lemur thing. I freak the fuck out. I accidentally kick the little rascal, and it goes flying over the edge. Praying to God I don't get sent to Hell for my sudden reaction, I continue onwards and scramble at the vines, eager to keep the elf in sight. Turns out the cat-lemur can fly Dumbo-style, so I found out later.

I climb ledges and shelves of vegetation, scrambling after this bastard. Geez, is he a fuckin' athlete? How much stamina has this bitch got? I certainly had none. Finally I manage to get to the top, and that giant stone structure I'd seen before? You remember it? Well, it's a massive stone statue of some angelic creature. I see a flash of green go darting inside the main entrance of it, and I pursue Link.

Entering inside, I see a massive round room and a pedastal sitting dead-center in the middle of it. Figures; well, if King Arthur's gonna make an appearance, now's the time to do it. Congratulations, Link--you're a motherfuckin' king.

You wish.

Well, the blue-purple figure glides off to the side and seems to coax the Knight into grabbing the sword. I narrow my eyes as I watch him gently pull the blade out of the ground and raise it into the air. It glints with power before he brings it down in a frontal arch, sending a slice of air towards the air in front of him. It strikes a metallic ornament, causing it to spiral and suddenly hum with a newfound power.

My jaw drops to the floor. A great flash of light occurs, and I see a great green light cast rapid shadows from the entrance. I run outside, away from the statue and towards the top of the stairs leading from the Academy. A giant green star streaks across the sky, falling down towards the sea of clouds. I watch in amazement and unable to take my eyes away from it as the star makes contact and a swirl of weather occurs. All that is left is a pillar of beautiful light, creating a perfect cookie-cut into the barrier. Movement from below me, and I look down to see the dark, massive form of Gaepora.

His eyes glint in the darkness. "Jacqueline..."

I was blubbering like a bleached moron. "That thing--did you see that?! Green! Came from--did you SEE THAT?!" FUCKIN' HELL! My apparent shock at what I had witnessed startled the man, but he had his own wonders to attend to, it appeared. He blinked slowly, "Perhaps...yes, I am certain."

Oh shit. Oh, God, no, please no--Last thing I needed was for Owl-Brows to suddenly go all "religious" on me. Prophecies and stuff; things were already going shitty for me, and as I watched him stare at me in unearthly wonder, my vision of the blue-purple figure began to come back to me.

Were those words...about me?

Well, fuck.

I began to realize what was going on here, though I prayed I was only going to be a guide. Nothing more; nothing more complex and stupid. I was just a person! A person who desperately wanted to get home! Gaepora approached me and placed both hands on my shoulders. "Come with me," he said, and I dumbly obeyed, my thoughts distracting me from any control over my body. He led me into the room under the statue, and Link and the figure had turned to face me.

"Jacqueline? What are you doing here?" Link's voice. I recognized that, at least. The figure floating next to him aimed its opaque blue eyes in my direction, and as I raised my own to meet them, I felt a shudder go through my body. It spoke, and I narrowed my eyes; still couldn't understand it. Link, though, could, and he looked at the figure before turning a questioning gaze in my direction. Gaepora guided me forwards, a satisfied smile on his face. "Yes, I believe I have found the answer. Jacqueline was sent by Hylia to fulfill whatever duty is to be done on the Surface; she is the way to the earth's surface."

WELL. FUCK. How did I get myself into this? Just fell out of the air. Nothing much else to it. So, if you decide to jump off the Empire State Building, you might be able to experience what I'm going through. No guarantees, though. I pray fuckin' Superman shit happens to you if you do. The three in my presence continue talking as if I'm not there. The figure is called "Fi", according to Gaepora, and Link asks about ways of finding Zelda on the Surface. I lose track of the questions asked, though I do remember that not once did they ask "Do you want to do this, Jacqueline".

Assholes. I looked from left to right, my facial expression obviously troubled. "Don't I get a say in this?" They fall silent. "I'm not planning on being drawn into anything...'huge'--look, I'll help you find Zelda, but after that, I want to get home. Back to where I belong." Gaepora and the others consider this, and the old man nods slowly, "Ah, you are correct, my dear; the excitement stole away any consideration for your desires. You, too, are lost in a land of which you know very little, and I am sure your loved ones are missing you, as well." He turns to me. "Once you have recovered my daughter," he promised, "I will do everything in my power to ensure return to your home."

I doubted it would be that easy, but he was trying, and I was grateful for his generosity. "Deal." We both shook on it, a fake smile on my face. It was taking all that I could from looking as torked as I was. With that aside, we turned back to Link and Fi, my eyes glued to the blue-purple figure. I still wondered why I couldn't understand most of what she said; if I could understand Link and his language, then why couldn't I make out what this..."thing" was saying? Something didn't add up.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one with suspicions; Fi was also eying me with interest, and it wasn't the kind that gave you a warm, fuzzy feeling. It was like the type when someone looks you up and down, scrutinzing your entire being to match their own stature and then huffing in skepticism.

The fuck are you looking at? I didn't like Fi; not one bit. She had this robotic sort of attitude, though I was quite sure there was some depth of emotion somewhere in that thing. Had no right to look at me that way. My dagger-stare was interrupted by Gaepora's sudden intervention, "I suggest that you make ready for the Surface as soon as possible." I looked towards him helplessly, and then sighed heavily. Couldn't be helped; I didn't know how to get home, and these were the only people that could possibly help me. Might as well look for the blonde stupid to fall off Skyloft and do my part; entertain them for as long as I can. Fi had turned back to look at me, her eyes staring straight through me. Did she know something was up?

Might wanna have a one-on-one with that one later.

Well, Link sheathes the blade and puts it on his back and takes his leave out of the room, Fi floating after him like a right-hand minion. She paid me no further attention to me, and I was alone with Gaepora. As discouraged as I felt about getting home, I felt the pressure weigh in upon me even more so because of the expectations on my shoulders. I looked at Skyloft's chief, seeing the smile on his face. He had confidence in me; a stranger. He thought I was some sort of..."chosen one" or something, sent to him by his goddess.

The. Fuck. I literally dragged my feet as I made my way out of the statue and back towards Skyloft. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and something told me many things were going to happen that would be rather unpleasant for me.