//------------------------------// // 17: What In The Blue Hell...? // Story: Dark Body, Light Soul (Or the Tale of the Stalfos) // by Garino //------------------------------// Chapter 17: What In The Blue Hell...? I woke up to a...surprising scene. I was on the ground, yes, because I remember laying down after trying (and failing) to put a blanket on Melody, who supposed to be sleeping on the bed. Can you identify the problem with the previous sentence? If not, here's the answer: a blanket was on me, with Melody grasping my right arm like Twilight might have held on to Mr. Smartypants when she was younger. Yeah, I totally went there, now you can't get that image out of your mind. I removed the blanket with my left arm, but I couldn't get my right arm out of Melody's death grip. No matter how hard I tried, she kept her grip on it, like she would disappear if she didn't have it. So, I grabbed the upper part of my arm, and pulled as hard as I could. With a sickening *SNAP!* it came out of its socket. I finally got off of the ground and started looking for my things. My shield was there, but...where was my sword? There was a yawn behind me. I turned to see Melody groggily open her eyes. When she saw my arm in her hooves, she let out a startled yelp. Aw, she's so cute when she's scared, I thought. "Mr. Fortisk...Fortesque," she corrected. Uh-oh. I think I angered her again. "Morning, Melody," I said. Just play it cool for now. Maybe her wrath won't be directed at you. "M-morning. Did you rest well?" She seemed to drop her "I'm a kid!" act and was being all caring like a mother. Stop it! I can't handle any more fake acts! "Yeah. Um, that's kinda...my arm you have there..." "Oh!" Melody gave my arm back and winced as I placed it back where it belonged. I opened the door and, shield on my back, walked into Jack's living room. What time was it? Too bad the dead have no need for clocks, I could use one ALL THE TIME. "Hey, Daniel," Melody said. I turned to her, and...was that a blush? "I'm sorry for...how I acted last night..." I put an arm around her. "It was just the cider talking," I assured her. "No reason to be nervous." "Y-yeah, the cider," she nodded. "Just...the cider. Oh, you still need new clothes for your final match!" "Yeah, but we have time, right? I mean, the match starts at noon, and it's only..." Right. Damn it, why couldn't I be a bird? They have an infallible sense of time. Melody gasped. "N-noon?!? But it's 11 A.M. right now!" she shrieked. "Wait, how do you know that?" I asked. "Ghost senses," she hoof-waved, "but that doesn't matter! Get to the arena, I'll have your clothes ready by the time you get there!" With that, she flew off. Huh. Now I wish I was anything BUT a Stalfos. I mean, yeah, detachable limbs, cool fashion sense, and durable as steel, but look at all the flaws! No time to reflect on them, though: I had a match to attend! "Ah, there you are, Daniel! I was wondering if you were going to show up!" I had just entered my room and that's what Jack had to say? I didn't know what to say, except...IS THAT BASTARD HOLDING MY SWORD?!? I snatched it from his grasp, making him laugh. "Relax, I was just fixing it up! No need to act like you just got out of bed!" I flipped Jack the bird. Seriously, we were in HIS house, why couldn't he wake us up around 9-ish so I wasn't in such a rush? No matter, I was here. Thankfully, with ten minutes to spare, and all of my equipment accounted for. I took the moment to charge my sword, knowing Shiira was going to be a difficult opponent. It took about six minutes to charge, though, and I was out of breath. Wait, how can I be out of breath? The dead don't need to breathe. I didn't have time to answer my question as Melody entered the room, with familiar clothes. "Sorry, but I couldn't think of anything else on short notice," she apologized. Yep, it was the old look: the blue robe and yellow hat combo. An idea popped into my head suddenly. Why do they do that so often? "Do you happen to have yellow thread and a needle on you?" I asked. Melody shook her head. "No. And even if I did, I don't think I'd have enough time to do anything with them." Damn. There went the Triforce on my sleeves idea. It was here that our friendly, neighborhood zombie dragon courier appeared. "Ready, Daniel?" he asked. I quickly donned my garbs and nodded, putting all of my items into place. "Alright. Your opponent, I'm sure you know, is Shiira. And please, take my advice and don't underestimate her. She's been nicknamed the Red Death for a reason." I followed the courier to the gate. One minute to go. My sword had the white hue, my Crusader kite shield was snug on my left arm, and I felt like I do when I'm about to play Event #51 on Super Smash Bros. Melee. That is to say, I was scared out of my fucking mind. The Hub Of The Multiverse, Olman's Plane Olman looked over the list again. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. This was getting out of hand, and his pawn hadn't even gotten into Equestria yet! It was only a matter of time before Daniel, or whatever his real name was, got in too deep. In fact, according to his sources, it was about to get very ugly. And his sword...it put Olman on edge. If its hilt was anything to go by, Daniel risked destroying himself. "No..." he mumbled. "No need to worry. Daniel is resourceful: he'll succeed. I must have faith." The old man tapped a finger on the map sprawled on his desk, where Daniel supposedly was. The former human's job was simple, really: free the sealed warrior. Olman did not need to ask him to do so: the warrior himself asked for Daniel's help directly. Good, it meant that much more energy for...other plans. "If you can hear me, Daniel, listen," Olman monologued, "You are about to cross the point of no return. Your success, or failure, all lies in the actions you take for the next 48 hours. And yet...it saddens me. I can do nothing more as long as you reside in Necro City. I can only hope you survive. But, I have faith. You took the mantle, where six others denied it. Start praying, Daniel. Pray to whatever it is you truly worship, because by tomorrow...you'll need all of the strength you can muster."