A/N: Again, I want to apologize for taking so long with posting the last chapter, that, since it’s summer, I’d turn out two chapters in 24 hours. At least that should make some people less hostile towards me until my next chapter update... if anyone WAS hostile -sweat drop-
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“Damn. Shit. Mother fucking, cock sucking. Hell.” for every syllable Ani spouted, she bumped her forehead against the cold metal bars that enclosed her in the front. “How-did-this-happen?” she paused a moment, glancing to the right with her half-lidded eyes.
There was a light clacking on the ebony tile above her, but it faded away.
This has got to be one of the worst situations I have ever been in.
“Run this by me again...,” she wrapped her fingers around the bars between her head. “How did we get here?”
“She’s in there somewhere, then, and I can test you as I draw her out.” the boy cracked his knuckles, smirking as he slowly walked forwards.
Lirin stepped back, eyes narrowing. This guy seemed powerful from how he had concealed himself from her.
“They won’t let you out until you’re done, and it’s a long while before an hour ends.”
Lirin snorted, backing up one step for every two he took. “Tell me who you are.”
“No, no. There’s time for that, but I have orders.” he shook his head, fixing one of his gloves.
“Who’s ordering you?”
“Is it that hard to figure out?”
“Where is he hiding at?!”
“Oh, will your questioning never cease?” he reached up with his right hand over his head, and the dark sand parted, allowing water to shoot up and stop at his eye level.
Without another word, he stopped walking and pulled his hand back; the water followed his hand motions exactly until he pulled back once more and shoved forwards.
The water roared towards Lirin, and the only thing she had time to do was jump The water rushed at her, slamming her square in the chest and knocking her back against the door in the Lion’s mouth.
Her body stuck for a moment, and she lurched forwards onto her knees to brace herself with her forearms. Lirin coughed, gasping for breath. The water had left her winded, and no doubt would leave a mark.
“Not out yet, eighth?” he stood over her, arms crossed.
Even without a response, he must have realized it was a no. “Can’t talk?” he seemed a bit disappointed. “I thought the eighth would be far stronger...”
Lirin tried to pull herself up, but she felt like she was slipping away, all feeling leaving her. She collapsed, eyes blank.
“Ugh... God... dammit..” she muttered, holding at where she was struck as she pushed off the sand, wincing, and got to a kneel. “Jesus Christ, you had to it right there, didn’t you?” she glared up at him.
He had lost all of his smugness by now, confusion sweeping over him in such an obvious way.
“Fuck...” Ani grimaced, rubbing at the sore spot again as she tried to use the wall to stand.
He just stared at her, completely bewildered. It seemed this was not what he had expected.
The male moved forwards and stared Ani over. Standing toe-to-toe, it seemed there wouldn’t be much height difference, but Ani was slouching and he seemed to be standing straighter than anyone normally would.
Shrugging, and without any regard for where she had been hit, he picked Ani up and plopped her on his shoulder before a large amount of water washed around them.
The next thing she saw was the entrance to Gerudo Fortress.
“Naceal, come on, we’re going!” he called and she tried to wriggle from his grasp.
“Dude, get the fuck off me, your hand is way to close to my ass!”
“Well, we’ll be taking our leave now, boys.” a girl’s voice came next, but she couldn’t see whose it was.
Again, the two were engulfed by the water that surrounded them from nowhere.
“Where the hell are you taking me!?” she shouted, kicking her legs and slamming on his back with her fists. The water disappeared again and they were in a dark room with a few cells.
“Oh shit...” Ani let herself go limp. There was no way she was going to get herself out of here.
The girl opened one of the cells and the boy sat Ani down on the cell floor and quickly closed the door, most likely incase she tried to run out, but she just sat still. The girl had already left Ani’s sight, but the boy stayed for a few minutes until the girl called him.
“Ugh... and that was just three hours ago. Fucking ridiculous...” she snorted, closing her eyes and letting her forehead just rest against the cold metal bards.
We still do not know their intentions...
“Yeh, or where the hell we are.” she fell back lightly, lying against the dusty stone. “Dammit, why does this shit keep happening!?”
Some thing’s cannot be explained.
“I know that already.” she grumbled, putting her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. “Damn... fuck, fuck, fuckedy, fuck...”
Is that honestly all you can say?
“Shut up! There’s not a whole lot else to say right now, so I’m taking out my blinding rage by cussing... I can cuss all the hell I want...” she closed her eyes tightly.
Their conversation was cut by the slow, now familiar creak of the door just down the hall and some number of stairs away. The stairs creaked as well, with every step the person took, and they were taking their time.
Step, pause. Step, pause. Step, pause. With how long they were taking, Ani began to wonder if either they were stupid, crazy, or a zombie.
Goddammit, if you’re there, just come out already... she thought irritably, now glaring in the direction they would appear from.
Just as the person’s rythmed movements had struck a definite nerve, they ceased completely.
“...Huh?” she whispered to herself, sitting up and crossing her legs so she was sitting like a pretzel.
Only a few seconds later, more footsteps came to her ears, but at least these ones weren’t annoying and slow. Normal.
She stood up and moved to the bars, wrapping her hands around two again and trying to peer out at an angle. She still couldn’t see anything, though now there were muffled voices.
There were the slow foot steps again, going back up the stairs, and the normal ones coming back towards her. It was that guy that brought her here.
“I’ve got food for you.” he said, as if he were used to this situation, and stopped in front of the bars.
Ani cocked an eyebrow at him, and then looked down at the food. “...A piece of bread?”
“That’s all you’re being allowed, for now.” he stepped to the right, where there was a hatch and slid the small tray beneath it before walking back over with his arms crossed. “So what’s your name?”
“Huh!?” she stared. “What’s my name?! How the hell are you gonna ask me that after capturing me and throwing me in here?” she glared, trying to push her face through the bars at him.
“Just tell me your name,” he sighed, rubbing his right temple with his index finger.
She scoffed and let herself fall back onto her butt, a lot more roughly than she had before. “Tell me your’s first.”
“I’m not here to play games, tell me your name now, or I’ll take the bread back.” he moved to reach for the small hatch, but Ani pounced on the tray and moved it back out of his reach.
The male closed his eyes, letting his own head fall against the cool metal of the bars.
Victory.
“Necrid,” he muttered, opening his eyes and looking at her with great annoyance.
Ani blinked and tilted her head for a moment. No way, Necrid? Necrid, like, from Soul Calibur II?
“Necrid, huh?” she repeated, just looking at him with a blank face.
He nodded, and moved back to standing up straight with his arms crossed. One of his hands rapped its fingers on his upper arm, clearly she was trying his patience, but there were bars separating them. There wasn’t much he would be able to do.
“No last name to go with that?” she cocked her eyebrow.
He just shook his head, keeping his look stern.
Ani sighed and rested her elbow on her knee, moving her chin onto the flat of her palm and looked up at him as if she were bored. “Just Necrid, ... huh... who was that other girl?”
Necrid rolled his eyes, but answered, “My sister, Naceal.”
“Y’all don’t look alike at all...”
“That’s not really the point, is it?”
Fine. She was stuck in a rut, and her fun time was over. Ani sighed, moving herself back against the wall and closed her eyes. “Ani.” she mumbled, but saw him nod. She had hoped he wouldn’t hear it, but to late now.
“Alright, Ani, eighth sage, whatever I should call you...,” he looked to the left, where he had come from for a moment, and seemed to be satisfied as he turned back to her. “Where are you from?”
“Why are you interrogating me?”
“Well, I’ve got to, for now.”
“Who says?”
“My master.”
Eww, I don’t like that... she cringed mentally. Lirin scoffed.
“Who’s your master?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“I think it is, if he’s holding me captive.”
“Then I can’t tell you.”
That worked.
“Where is this?”
“You should know...,” she tilted her head at that response. “It’s your temple.”
“Woah...,” she stared at him, her eyes widening.
Ani hopped up, a childish smile on her face and she moved closer to the bars. “Seriously? I’ve seriously got a temple?”
He took a step back, not expecting that. “Y-yes.”
“Sweet,” she laughed, sitting back down. “I thought maybe somebody blew it up or some shit, but I guess not. Yay! Ani’s got a temple.” she continued with the last four words, making a small song out of it until Necrid cleared his throat.
“Uh, sorry...” she laughed a bit quieter. “You don’t seem so bad, ya know... Why’re you workin’ for this master of yours anyway?”
He blinked at her for a moment, and looked away, giving a light shrug as his response.
“Come on, there’s gotta be a reason...” she smirked, picking up the bread and playing with it in her hands. It was dry, and a roll. Not the best bread in the world, but at least the inside would be soft... she hoped.
“Really, it’s nothing. We just get paid for doing what he says.”
She sighed, and moved back against the wall again, breaking the bread apart from either side. “Well, where are you from then? You don’t look like you’re from Hyrule, really...” she glanced up at him, just to see his expression before she went back to the bread roll.
Necrid didn’t respond for a few minutes, just shifting his weight to either side as he looked at the door down the hall. “Termina...” he finally said.
Ani mushed the ends of the bread in her fingers and looked up quickly at him. “Termina?”
He nodded.
“Termina...” she repeated again, as if trying to come to terms with it. She set the two halves of the bread roll back in the tray and stood back up at the bars. “How are you from Termina?”
“Why is that so strange?” he was the one to cock an eyebrow now.
“Eh-“ great, she had thrown herself into an even deeper rut.
From what she had assessed from the game and manga, Termina was a sort of alternate universe Hyrule with mostly the same recycled people, but new places, and gods in stead of goddesses. Nice going on her part...
“I mean,... Um. Wh-where in Termina?”
He just sighed and let it go. “Around Great Bay.”
She tilted her head, looking him up and down for a moment. “...You look kinda like a gerudo, but you still have hylian-...ter...manian? Ears.”
Necrid tapped the tip of his left ear and opened his mouth th speak, but the door atop the stairs burst open and a loud pounding came down the stairs.
“Necrid, what are you waiting for? Master Ga-“ the girl from before stopped dead with her words and looked at Ani for a moment, then back at Necrid. “Why are you talking to her?”
“I was getting information.” he stated firmly, crossing his arms again.
“What ever you want to call it, we’re going to be late. There’s a meeting, and Dark Link will be there.”
“What about him?”
“Yes, he’ll be there to. When is there a meeting without him?”
Him?
Ani blinked, looking back and forth between the two as they spoke until Naceal clambered back up the stairs in a huff.
“Who’s ‘him’?” she cocked her head quizzically.
“We’re not sure ourselves.” he said blankly before lightly waving and walking away from the cell.
“Huh... Him... So there’s Ganon, Dark Link, Necrid, Naceal, and Him?”
His name can’t just be him...
“But there’s nothing else to refer to him as...” she sighed. “Oh well, that’s who he’ll be for now. Just Him.”

