SPECIALIS - :I Want An Elevator: [5]

The figure stood before a circle made of blackened magic, weaving in and out across the floor in an intricate, complex design. Their back to any who might identify them, they strode forth quite suddenly until they came to the center of the design, to where a crystalline object sat impaled into its core.

They placed their hand upon it, caressing it as if it were a pet of sorts. "Lord Demise...are you...among?"

There was a great shaking, though the figure did not flinch. Satisfaction was apparent in their body-language. They smile, "It is fortunate you have not left us, my Lord...what shall our move be?"

FIND IT...FIND THE VESSEL...

The figure nods slowly, "Yes, Lord Demise--but we cannot approach it like the time before...last time, the boy was victorious."

PAYMENT...IN BLOOD...

"None shall oppose you, my Lord; we have the advantage, this time." The earth begins to rumble and quake, eager to break apart, but the artifact in the center glows brightly and holds fast. The figure's face breaks into a grin, and a small canine protrudes from their upper lip.

"They will pay, my Lord--they will pay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Loftwing Man~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fuckin'. AWESOME.

Adrenaline was surging through me; we were getting ready to fly! FUCKIN'. FLY! I knew this was going to be something totally different from an airplane ride. Southwest, you've been replaced. If I had my Smartphone with me, I would've gone on Facebook and done something like this:

+1 Like for "Loftwing Riding"--

Fuck. Yeah.

Link was busy saddling up his Loftwing, adjusting the billet straps to make sure they were secured. I noticed there were no stirrups, now, and something cold pinched my gut. Link wrapped his fingers around the horn of the saddle and turned to face me. "Have you gotten everything you needed? Any tools you need before we head down?"

Mind. Blank. Overdose of happiness for riding completely wiped out any important details I may have had for the incoming situations (I later discovered I would have probably wanted to get some sword-training in, or, I dunno, a weapon to protect myself with?), and since I had already recovered my jacket, I didn't really think I needed anything else, so I simply shook my head and proceeded with a "let's get this show on the road" phrase. Link had already said goodbye to his friends and the chief, and the whole village had wished him luck on his journey; I was stuck with him, and if I was going to get home as soon as possible, we were going to leave now.

Link blinked a bit before nodding, content with my optimism, and urged his Loftwing into the air. The bird took off with ease, flying high into the air.

"Whenever you're ready." He approached the edge and waited for me there. I, not wanting to look like an idiot, approached the ledge and looked over it. The sea of clouds were so far away, and I felt a dizzy spell come over me and summoned inner strength to brush it aside. "Wait here." Link leaped off the dock that overlooked the ledge and disappeared from view. A high-pitched whistle sounded, and I ran to the edge to see a large, red shape with a figure on its back fly far off towards the sea of clouds. It banked in a wide arch to come back towards Skyloft, but to my surprise wasn't coming back up to the landing dock.

From below, Link's voice carried: "..........."

I leaned forwards, "WHAT?" He repeated, still a good ways from being aligned with the dock, and I still couldn't hear him. Again, I inquired, though a small deal more urgent and impatient this time. "...ump!"

Fuck that. I spluttered, "Really? SERIOUSLY?" I blinked a few times, "You really want me to JUMP?" Aw, look at that; he's assuring he'll catch me. Does he even know physics and what gravity will do to me as soon as I jump and land at that distance? Irresponsible little--his bird's gonna have major back pain. And then how am I going to get back up here?

For a legendary character in a puzzle-infested universe, he ain't very bright. Still, it looked like he wasn't going to come to me, so I would have to take the steps to reach him. I backed up, breathed deep, and--

Didn't. Jump. Stood there, frozen like a chick. I flinched, like I was going to jump, but I never actually managed to make a jump. Not even a little hop--just a really bad flinch. The bird was drawing closer and Link was gesticulating more urgently; it was now or another circulation, which would give me time to feel foolish and catch up on any other memories that publicly embarrassed me. I was pretty sure people were watching and could tell exactly what was going on.

May as well just get it over with. I backed up a ways and then took a running start, sprinting with all I had towards the dock. With the cry of a pansy I left Skyloft's safe shores behind and fell towards the cloud sea. Out of the corner of my vision, which was fixated on the clouds below me, a red shape quickly emerged--

WHUUUUUUU-MPH!!!! Solid contact, knocked heads, bruised limbs. What about this was a good idea? The Loftwing didn't like it, either, but flew on steadily after having buckled under the immense impact. I had missed my "saddle-section" and landed on top of Link, just in front of him and barely missing the Loftwing's neck (also narrowly missing the horn of the saddle, might I add). Both of us were hissing in and out through our teeth, our fingers instinctively clutching our hair in effort to force the pain in our heads to submission. We groaned for a bit, trying to ease the ache in our heads. "Fuckin'--moron..." The cursing eased some of the pain, but only so much. "Are you all right?" Link finally asked.

I bowed my head, still wincing in pain, but nodded slowly, "Yeah...I'm all right. I'm fine. You?"

Link had the decency to look embarrassed--ashamed, even. Bonus points, my man. "I don't think we should do that again."

"Jump together next time?"

"Agreed." We conceded the idea, and I made my way to the lower section of the saddle. After getting myself in place, Link took command of his circling Loftwing and went straight for the pillar of green light. As he steered, I took in the sights. It was breathtaking; nothing but floating rocks, small birds, and empty sky everywhere. There was a giant mass of clouds off to the north, encircling in a vortex formation. It reminded me of an enormous dome, or that giant golf ball thing at Disney World, Epcot. The speed we were approaching the light was great enough to keep my hair from whipping my face, and I couldn't help but smile.

We closed in on the pillar and the hole it created in the cloud barrier, and Link shouted back to me, "We're going to have to jump!" I did a double-take but had no time to react as he flung himself from the back of the Loftwing towards the center of the hole. Without a rider, the bird instinctively was already climbing again, and in that climb, sent me reeling off its back and back to the plummeting formation.

Way to go, bird.

As I fell, I saw Link falling in a perfect sky-diving technique. I struggle to copy and found my descent slow somewhat. The Knight seemed to be listening to something, and after a few moments, nodding in comprehension and turned his head in my direction. "You're going to have to hold onto me; I'm going to use the cloth Zelda gave me to reach the ground!"

"That's all nice, but where to you propose I hold on to?!" Crazy idea after the other was sending my sanity further and further away, and the mass of trees were getting freakishly close. "There isn't any time! Grab onto me!" Link was going for something on his back--

WELL FUCK. I dove forwards, spread-eagle, and then wrapped my arms around his ribcage, just under the armpits. He flung out the cloth and my grip viced, the sudden tension forcing him to make a strange whale noise in response. I swung back and forth uneasily, gravity trying to tear my grip away, but I hung on. All the while, I was whimpering like a baby and Link was trying not to growl in concentration, his eyes always darting up towards the feeble-looking cloth he used to parachute us.

The trees were coming closer, but at least we had slowed our descent considerably that maybe we would make it to the ground alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Welcome To Earth...Surface~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We broke through the ceiling of the trees and down into the forest, the cloth taking us ever so gently down to the floor. When we were at a safe distance--

He. Fuckin'. Let. GO. I cried out in shock as he just let go of the cloth, and both of us went tumbling to the ground, him landing on top of me. The wind knocked out of me, I painfully bumped my head against the earth and into the grass and groaned as the sword sheath dug its way into my abdomen. Link rolled off me, got to his feet, and then helped me up. "Sorry about that," he apologized with a regretful smile. All I said was "Mrrrrrrrrrrrrr" and promptly took his hand-up and dusted myself off before looking at my surroundings. Fi came out and began to recite something unintelligible to the Knight, leaving me the freedom to do whatever the hell I pleased. When she was done, however, my attention was forced to revert back to the only living soul I could understand. Fi had disappeared at that point.

Link turned to me, "It looks like Fi had a good idea of where Zelda is. She says that we should make our way to a temple nearby."

"And why would we do that?"

"She thinks Zelda's there."

Unlikely. I wasn't about to voice that opinion, though, so I shrugged and started walking, wincing still at the Link-induced injuries I had sustained. I rounded the corner, and a nasty-looking bulbous plant suddenly slithered up and lashed out, its jaws OPEN?! "MOTHERFUCKIN' HELL!" I barely managed to snap back in time for the carnivorous plant's maws to snap on air and not my leg. As I wheezed in and out from shock, the plant slid back on the ground and Link came a-runnin'. "The fuck! What the fuckin' shit is that?!"

Fi came floating out. Strings of weird words. My head snapped in her direction, my eyes wide with shock and my forehead sweating. "The FUCK did you just say?" She gave me an impassive look, and Link had his shield at the ready. "She said that it is called a Deku Baba."

More like a Fuckyou Baba. I looked at the F.U. Baba and felt an immense hatred for the ugly plant rise within me. Traumatized already, and I was gonna go through this to find a blondie that I didn't even owe anything to?! Bull. SHIT. Still, it looked like Link had everything under control, because Fi suddenly disappeared and he unsheathed the sword on his back and prepared to fight the plant.

It didn't take long. He lured it out, it lunged forwards, he side-stepped and beheaded it. The heart of the F.U. Baba shriveled up, the outer leaves curling up and turning a nasty brown color, a small purple smoke emitting and vanishing. I remembered the bruises on my body and hugged my ribs as we proceeded forwards; I kicked the remnants of the F.U. Baba, scuffing the bottom of my boot in the grass to clean it off at the same time.

We were walking alongside a massive circular pit with a downward spiral ramp that ended with a massive black design in the center of it, something lodged in the middle. Both of us exchanged looks as we approached the edge and observed it from the distance. It wasn't clear as to what was down there. Fi emerged, gently floating off to the side of Link (coincidentally, opposite of where I stood. Go figure.). Another strings of weird phrases emerged, and Link looked intrigued. "The Sealed Grounds? I had no idea something like this was on the Surface. Did you, Jacqueline?" He turned to me.

I slowly looked at him, and then at Fi. Her eyes bore into me, as if they knew I held a secret. I shook my head slowly at the Knight, "No...I had no idea of this place. I must've been somewhere further than this forest; as odd as it looks, someone would have noticed it." I looked back down at the bottom. "What do you suppose it might be sealing?"

"I don't know," Link replied, though Fi was unfazed. She spoke to Link, and he ushered me with him, Fi leading the way. We all made our way towards a rather decrepit temple; it looked like one of those tall onion-roof dome-shaped buildings out in India, though chopped in half, the inside of it protruding out for the elements to grow over it. When we approached it, however, Link stopped. He turned and started walking towards the outer rim of the pit, stopping before it to look down at the design and whatever lay in the center of it. He stood still for a while, unmoving. His silence bothered me, so I approached him. "...Hey, Link?" He didn't answer. Reluctantly but concerned for my partner, I placed a hand on his shoulder and inquired again. "You in there, Link?"

Again, silence. It wasn't long before something happened, though; he abruptly flung his hands up in front of him, as if to ward off something evil, and he cried out in fear. A curse sprang from my lips as I ripped my hand from his shoulder and stood back, completely off-guard for the spaz attack. He began to ease up and open his eyes. Once he realized he was safe, he looked around and lowered his arms completely to his sides. He turned around to face me; judging from my expression, he must have realized something had happened, but was unwilling to share the cause of it. "Are you all right?" I asked.

"It's nothing." His response was short, but it was gentle. He didn't want to talk about it, and I wasn't going to ask. As long as my partner was breathing and alive, that was all I really cared about, so I shoved my concerns off to the side. "What do you think's down there?" I asked. "I'm not sure," Link replied, "but I know of a way I can find out. Wait here." He leaped off the edge and used the cloth to parachute to the ledge beneath him, and then to another section of the ramp beneath that one. Oddly enough, Fi had stayed behind with me, and her presence made me feel nervous. Trying to ignore her presence, my eyes followed Link's progress towards the seal on the ground. What did it seal away? Thinking about to Link's expression, he had looked disturbed at whatever he had seen.

Fuckin' visions. I knew that he had seen something, like I had seen something while I had been in the shower, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I looked at the symbol on the ground. Did I already know what was contained beneath it? After a moment's pause I took off after the Knight, running the downhill slope as fast as I could, jumping at safe distances (and wincing; nice choice, heels) and continuing my trek down to the bottom. Link had already reached it and was reaching for the blade on his back by the time I got to the bottom. Surprised, he halted his action. "Jacqueline? What's wrong? Why are you down here?"

Panting, I stopped a moment to catch my breath. "Please--I gotta know."

Link looked confused, "What do you mean? Jacqueline, you should probably go back up and wait with Fi--"He stopped as I shook my head stubbornly, "I need to do this; it's important. Don't strike it." Our attention was drawn to the artifact, black smoke beginning to emerge from underneath it. Link looked wary, "Jacqueline, I need to strike it, or else something will happen." Fi suddenly flew overhead and went to Link's side, her gaze also on the hissing artifact. She spoke, and Link nodded in agreement, "Yes, I understand." He raised his hand to get his sword--

I couldn't let him do that before I had my chance! Without knowing what drove me, I suddenly strode forth and whipped out my hand to put it on the object.