April Test Drive Meme

[thewakemods]

It's that time again!

→ Comment with a new character you'd like to test out in the game's setting. (put character/canon in subject line pls!)
→ You don't have to be in the game to comment! HI NEW PEOPLE LET US ENABLE YOU.
→ Tag around with new and old characters.
→ App all those characters
→ ???
→ PROFIT!

**NOTICE** - For new series and recent updates/occurrences to existing ones, please mark as SPOILERS if you must refer to such, but please use your own discretion in general.

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[curse_of_power]

Among the many waterfalls along the length of the De Nile stood a large cloaked figure. He simply stood for a long moment, eyes closed as the sleeves of his cloak billowed in the wind. In each hand was an ornate sword shining in the sunlight in stark contrast to the otherwise dark colors adorning the man.

After a few minutes of quiet contemplation of his situation, Ganondorf raised his right hand, looking at the back of it after planting the point of that blade into the ground. There was nothing there. The mark of power that had been the object of his ambition for so long was gone... and yet there was a power in this place latent, and foreign. But ripe for the taking.

With an ominous laugh that echoed throughout the area he turned, taking up his sword again and began to wander in search of that power he could feel in his veins.

[younghero]

Link was doing a patrol for his Task Force duties on Epona. Usually, it was simply spotting new people and taking them to the nearest Welcome House, and giving them a quick rundown of how the city worked. Ordinarily, it was something he really enjoyed, although, with the Endos situation progressively getting worse, the boy was also worried for any newcomers' safety.

But, today, he heard that laugh. He sat bolt upright in the saddle, reaching for his bow. Link knew that laugh. He knew what that laugh meant, and he mentally begged Nautilus just to send this one back. The Wakened had enough issues right now.

He dug his heels into Epona, urging her towards the laugh, ready to fire as many arrows as he needed. Technically, not the welcome he was supposed to give, but it was the one the other deserved.

[curse_of_power]

Ganondorf saw the streak of red coming toward him, and simply smirked. He adjusted his grip on his twin blades before a thought dawned on him. It wasn't just someone that looked like the so-called 'hero' that sealed him away all those centuries ago, but it was the very same. Centuries of imprisonment and frustration came at the hands of this child. But he was a child. Not the same warrior that brought the blade of evil's bane to bear against him in the ruins of Hyrule Castle.

For once the gods seemed to be smiling on him. Questions about what this place was, and why he was here could be placed aside for now. He had a friend to greet.

[younghero]

Clef was going to kill him.

Zelda probably wouldn't question this response, and Shadow probably wouldn't either. But, Clef was going to have a fit.

Shaking those thoughts aside, Link dismounted, getting shield and sword ready. "You should leave."

[curse_of_power]

That got him another chuckle. Ganondorf motioned to the expanse around them. "Oh I would gladly do just that if you would point me back toward Hyrule."

His gaze just intensified as he looked back to the hero. "Then again, I should not be surprised to find you here, boy, after you abandoned your land. I was so surprised to find that the Gods' chosen warrior was nowhere to be found, and that the chain of destiny that bound you to the Triforce had been broken when I escaped my prison. So tell me. Where is the road to Hyrule and I will gladly return to conquer it once more."

[younghero]

Link's expression went quickly to annoyance. "What're you yammering about?"

Guess who still has a familiar marking on his left hand? Not that it meant much beyond cosmetics in the city.

"We kicked your ass in the future, and you're awaiting execution back home."

[curse_of_power]

"Correction. You imprisoned me. And when you went back, you took your destiny with you. I survived, I broke free, and there was no chosen warrior to stop me."

He laughed again, though bitterness quickly encroached on it. "With nobody to wield the Master Sword against me, Hyrule was mine for the taking. But rather than let a Gerudo rule the land, your vaunted gods decided it was far wiser to flood Hyrule as the King used the Master Sword to seal my power away, for all the good it did them. For while the Triforce of Courage may have been scattered to the far corners of the seas, Wisdom was still held by the royal family. It was simply a matter of finding it."

[younghero]

Dirty liar---who did he think he was fooling? If something like that could've happened Zelda never would have sent him back. He was sure of it.

"Why would I believe a single word of that?"

The temptation to start a light-arrow barrage was strong.

[wisdominshadows]

Atop the highest bridge in Nautilus, Sheik adjusted the fingering on her harp again. The highest points of the Eastern District were normally a source of inspiration for her, but today the song she was composing simply refused to come together. Perhaps a short break would help her clear her thoughts....

And then she heard that laugh rumble from beneath her, and all thought of music vanished from her mind.

She breathed in and out, to calm her racing heart, then raised her head carefully to see exactly where Ganondorf Dragmire had appeared in Nautilus.

And there. Not so far away that he could not see her if he looked up, though the distance might let her go under his notice. Might.

If she was fortunate, which didn't seem likely at the moment.

The disguised princess allowed herself one more sigh, and a moment to compose a message to other interested parties. Then she began to climb down, taking care not to catch his attention.

[curse_of_power]

For his part, Ganondorf did feel a familiar sensation, as if being watched. However, that sensation was rather normal considering his station as royalty and conqueror. Without the Triforce to alert him to the other bearers, he was unaware of just who was watching him. Still, he scanned the area as he walked, keeping a good grip on his blades just in case.

[wisdominshadows]

His status as walking plague and public menace, more like.

Armed and armored as a warrior, check. Sheik moved carefully to the ground, keeping an eye on him as often as she could. It would never do to let the Bearer of Power out unwatched on the world; who knew what he could do in Nautilus if he slipped away.

Though...was there something strange about him now? More aged and weathered since she'd last seen him, clearly, but....

Cunning and ruthless, she'd called Ganondorf to Clef, and never to be underestimated. And that was all, of course, true.

But whatever was different about him now, it was best to find out sooner rather than later....

How close could she come before he noticed her in return? She was about to find out.

[theshadowturnedhero]

Perhaps the most unfortunate thing is Shadow had no idea what Ganondorf actually looks like. His Lord Ganon was just a pig monster, or a voice in his head. He's never seen him when he looks like a normal Gerudo male.

What he had seen was someone he's never seen before. A possible newbie, or just someone pondering the river? Well, if he's new, he does have a duty as Task Force member, so he's approaching when the....laugh happens.

"....well, that felt needlessly dramatic," he said, tilting his head questioningly.

[curse_of_power]

There was an odd sensation as Ganondorf turned to address the shadow. It was an oddly nostalgic feeling really. As if presented with a fragment of himself from a life he hadn't lived. Still, that it took the form of the Hero kept him guarded, adjusting the grip on his blades.

"I care not what you think is needlessly dramatic or not. Who are you?"

[theshadowturnedhero]

Appearance, he doesn't know. Voice, however? Voice he knows. Even if the verbal communications are harder for him, it was the first voice that actually spoke to him. It's a voice he could never forget.

He jerked back as if burned, eyes going wide. "Lord Ganon!" He yelped, panic and fear rocketing through him before he has a chance to gain control again.

[curse_of_power]

That gets an arched eyebrow from the Gerudo king. He had Link's face and voice, and to hear that voice call him 'lord' was surprising to say the least.

"If you know me and submit to me, then you will answer my question. Who are you? Or what are you?"

[theshadowturnedhero]

Shadow steps back, because courage is easy when he's confident in his abilities. He knows he's good, he knows he can fight, and survive a lot. But against Ganondorf, he didn't have that confidence. Especially alone.

He's afraid. He never really thought he'd ever have to face the demon king after he had stabbed him in the back.

His figure is shaking, but....there is something.

He doesn't recognize HIM. Maybe. Maybe he can work with that?

"Shadow," he finally said, short, abrupt, trying to think, figure out what he's going to do. Run, fight, what can he do? What is he going to have the nerve to do?

[curse_of_power]

A shadow? That would explain much. He had used such creatures before, but none had been more than just a reflection with the purpose of killing Link. This was something far more sophisticated. Something that would be beyond his ability without the use of the Triforce. Interesting. Still, there was recognition. Perhaps he could bind the shadow to his service.

"I see. Well then, Shadow, report. What is this place and why am I here?"

[theshadowturnedhero]

Run? Fight?

....lie?

Because that was the problem, wasn't it? Where they were? Death didn't stick. Even with reincarnation, the cycle still took a while to start again. A lifetime or more. So much so legends were never clear. But death here was a week. They couldn't kill him. Maybe unmake him, but that would take time to convince enough people. Imprisonment was a stop gap until he found a way out himself, even in Helix, it would be foolish to underestimate his determination.

Clever was the only option.

Just like Vio had done.

"...it's Nautilus." He lets himself be nervous, cowed, the servant who did not expect his master's direct attention. "Another world. Like the Sacred Realm or Dark World, but a lot more removed. It's connected to Hyrule, but it's connect to a lot of other worlds. Different histories, different races, different rules on how...how everythin' works. Magic, and things like that." This is stuff he could find out from anyone. It's suspicious if he hides it, and at least he'd know what he knew.

"But there are problems. Flaws in those worlds. So Nautilus wakes people up from those worlds so eventually they'll be able to fix it."

[agathaheterodyne]

That was a mad laugh! She knew mad laughs! Agatha looked up from the death ray she had been cleaning, heaved it up onto her shoulder and ran off towards the sound. Gil? No, too deep and a little too evil. Tarvek? He fit the evil bit, more or less, but his voice was more aristocratic, and he tended more towards a cackle. The Baron?

Oh that was a nasty thought. She skidded to a stop at that thought, but not in time, she was in full view. But... not the Baron. And... Not anyone else she knew either. Unknown sparks were best treated with caution. Hopefully he didn't recognize her. Before Paris she would have taking anonymity as a guarantee with anyone who didn't serve Wulfenbach. Now....? Now they were using her face - and more - to sell HATS of all things!

Still, a mad boy didn't always follow the news. "New here?" she asked, hoping to hide the fact that she had no clue where the spark here was....

[curse_of_power]

He arched an eyebrow as he assessed Agatha with a glance. Definitely not Hylian, meaning she likely didn't know who he was. With a flick of his wrists, he sheathed his blades in their holders tucked into the recesses of his cloak's sleeves.

"I suppose I am. Though I am not entirely sure where 'here' is."

[agathaheterodyne]

"Who are you, exactly?" she asked, to avoid being asked what this place was. She was... not comfortable knowing so little. And if he was a fellow Spark, that could be a good thing, a dangerous thing, or both. For once she was treading carefully.

It wouldn't last.

[curse_of_power]

The demon king took a moment to scan the horizon for any kind of landmarks he could use to get his bearings if need be. Like Agatha, he didn't like knowing so little. Still, it would be good to build allies in this place.

"I am Ganondorf Dragmire, King of the Gerudo. However I realize that may mean little this far from my lands."

[agathaheterodyne]

It still told her a lot. A shame all of what it told her was based on her world and thus wrong. But perhaps at the heart of it, it was also right. Because what it mostly told her was that he was dangerous. A possible ally for a time, but to be watched. All sparks held some flicker of megalomania, only the strongest of them - about half, she figured - tried to rule, called themself a king or a baron. But those who survived that? Called themselves that with such confidence? Far fewer, and far more dangerous. The Baron. He survived. Everyone else in Europa ruled under him. the Master in Paris. Albia didn't care for such titles.

The Heterodyne? Perhaps at one point, in the past. Perhaps in the future.

For the moment, she nodded. "It means little and much at the same time," she said simply. Before she could decide what more to say, her little dingbot poked its head out of her pocket. It looked like a pocket watch with articulated arms and legs an a huge eye for a face. It looked up at her questioningly.

"No, I don't need assistance just now, thank you," she told it. Its body bobbed and it climbed up to rest on the shoulder that did not have a death ray. She sighed. Even minions that were built had minds of their own some days.

"Your minions as troublesome?" she asked him, to get a gauge of him. Because she was trying to get an idea of him, she kept the wistfiul fondness from her voice.

[curse_of_power]

The only trouble his minions seemed to have was incompetence. How many times had they been given a simple task in stopping a single boy and still failed? Too many for him to keep track of.

"No. Though I do not think of them as minions. My people have endured enough, the last thing they need is a tyrant."

...Too bad that's what they got, though it was true. He didn't think of the Gerudo as his minions. But he sure didn't consider the Moblin and Bokoblin conscripted into his army as people either.

[agathaheterodyne]

She nodded a bit, relaxing. "Tyrants have had a bad history," she said, agreeing. "It's better to treat our people well." Yes, someone was starting to think he might be one of the good ones. Her own people... she was concerned about them. Had been since she knew she had any. It was odd, having a city of her own....