This is a fanfiction. The characters and world of the games involved in this story are the intellectual property of Nintendo. I am simply writing an original story in their world.
The Outrealms is designed for an appropriate audience based on the rating of the games that inspired the story. Expect content equivalent to that of a T-rated game. Mild language, frightening elements, mild suggestive themes, thematic elements, and fantasy violence may appear.
If you have not read the previous chapters of this story, you can find them here. While each chapter can stand alone to a degree, I recommend you read the previous chapters to experience the full impact of the story.
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An ancient song reverberated through the halls of the Temple of Time. The words were etched on the walls, and the music hung in the air as if by magic. No one lived who understood the power in those words, but they gave the temple a timeless feel. This feeling was magnified by the different artifacts in the temple: the pedestal upon which three glittering spiritual stones were placed, the great Doors of Time standing open and leading the way to a pedestal. This pedestal was bathed in sunlight, tinted by the colored glass windows portraying the great sword that once rested in the Pedestal of Time: the Master Sword.
Lucina took all of this in, her face wide with awe. She’d seen such holy places in her own world, but the world of Hyrule was still very new to her. Each sight amazed her. The Falchion strapped to her side seemed to hum with the music of the temple. Her cloak waved behind her as if a light breeze blew through the building. It was the power of the temple, a gentle pulse that made the whole place feel alive.
Link stood beside her, his ornate shield strapped to his back and the beautiful Master Sword held tightly in his left hand. He still wore his blue scarf with the Triforce emblem, the symbol of his country and of the holy mission he’d been given. As the Hero of Time, Link had been tasked with saving all of the Outrealms from each other. It was an imposing task, but one that Lucina was determined to help him with.
On Link’s other side stood Zelda, the princess of Hyrule. She no longer wore the garb of battle but instead a flowing, lovely dress, full of imagery from the history of her people. Her pointed ears jutted out beneath long blonde hair, and her eyes once again glowed with a calm, wise blue. Zelda would not be leaving with Link and Lucina, but she wanted to see them off.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Link said. “It feels like yesterday.”
Zelda gave him a small smile. “For you, it practically was yesterday.”
Lucina placed her hand on Link’s shoulder. “Are you ready? You’re the one who has to open the gate.”
Link nodded, showing all of his teeth in an excited smile. “I’m excited to see new worlds. Can you imagine what kind of place we’ll end up in? Maybe we’ll meet another hero like us, or a powerful wizard!”
“Remember the purpose of your journey, Link,” Zelda reminded. “You need to keep your eyes open for things from other worlds. There’s nothing wrong with being excited and having fun, but you need to be wary as well.”
“Yes, mother,” Link said, smirking. “We’ll be fine. If anything bad happens, Lucina and I are both good swordsmen.”
“I am inclined to agree with Zelda,” Lucina retorted.
Link just laughed it off and strode towards the Pedestal of Time. He lifted the Master Sword high and held it just over the slit in the pedestal where the blade would fit. Taking a deep breath, he dropped to one knee and plunged the blade into the hole. A burst of bright light traveled through the pedestal into the floor, creating a huge column of glowing energy that poured upwards from the ground. Lucina felt the familiar sensation of timelessness all around her as the Outrealm Gate began to open.
Link rose to his feet as the gate opened, ready to sink into the light beneath them. The gate opened slowly, starting at the pedestal and expanding outward. Suddenly, Lucina heard footsteps as Zelda rushed towards Link. She wrapped the hero in an embrace, the young man blushing and returning the hug awkwardly.
“Come home safely,” she urged.
With that, Zelda took a few steps backward, watching as the gate overtook Link and Lucina.
Lucina felt all the familiar feelings of traveling through the Outrealms. The stream of colored lights, the warping of space and time, the sensation of existing outside of the laws of the universe; all of these things were known to her and yet could never feel normal. She was vaguely aware of Link falling beside her, but not out of any physical knowledge of his presence. Simply a feeling in her heart that somehow, in this infinite expanse of time, he was there beside her.
It suddenly struck her that they might not arrive at their destination at the same time.
Lucina burst through the barrier between worlds and felt herself falling, but only for a moment. Her feet hit the ground almost immediately, a hard metal surface that made an odd sound when she landed. She heard that same sound a moment later and turned to see that Link had arrived right beside her. Whatever caused people to travel through the Outrealms at different paces had not affected them.
Looking around revealed a very unfamiliar environment. They were in some sort of hallway where the floors, walls, and ceiling were all made of metal. At each end was a hexagonal door with a glowing blue surface. The air felt strange and tasted odd in Lucina’s mouth. There was nothing natural about it – no tinge of moisture, no faint aroma of grass or trees. The whole chamber felt completely clinical and foreign.
“What kind of place is this?” Link questioned.
“I’m not sure,” Lucina said, uneasy. “And I don’t care for it.”
They walked over to one of the weird doors. Lucina extended a hand, reaching out to touch the surface of the door. It stopped just before contacting the metal – the blue glow was actually a barrier of some kind, like a magical shield. There was no door handle or hinge that she could see. She drew the Falchion and tried to touch the door with the edge. The blade bounced off of the shield harmlessly.
“It appears that we’re trapped,” she said.
“Let me try something,” Link replied. He motioned for Lucina to step to the side, and she did so. Link drew the Master Sword, which glowed brightly with white light. When the hero wielded the blade at his full strength, it could fire beams of energy. A quick flourish of the sword sent a whirling beam of energy at the door. The energy smashed against the glowing barrier and caused it to dissipate. With the barrier gone, the door suddenly retreated into the wall, creating an opening. There was no clear hinge or mechanism – it was as if the wall sucked the door inside of it.
Lucina quickly stepped through with her sword held protectively, unsure of what to expect on the other side. The door led into a massive chamber with some kind of metal pedestal in the center. Upon it was a cylindrical glass wall, holding in some kind of liquid and a massive creature. Bright pink with what appeared to be a sea shell upon its head, the creature had thick tentacles and a massive, gaping mouth with no teeth. Upon seeing Lucina the creature gasped and began waving its tentacle arms around.
“Oh my, a human! Please, you must be willing to help me. Please save my children!”
Link stepped up beside her and his eyes widened upon seeing the weird creature. Navi flew out from his tunic and floated forward to get a closer look at the monster. She flew back to Link almost instantly and seemed frantic.
“Link, listen! That’s a mother Maimai, a creature from our world. She has the power to travel between worlds at will. Adult Maimai have incredibly powerful magic, and they are always nice to people who are nice to them.”
Link nodded as Navi retreated into his tunic. He sheathed his weapon and motioned for Lucina to do the same.
“What happened to your children?” Lucina asked. “And why don’t you just smash the glass wall keeping you inside?”
“I do not know what this barrier is made of,” the maimai answered, “but it is not glass. I can’t break it, even with all of my strength. My children are imprisoned in a similar cage behind me. However, some of them have been taken away from here by the monsters who control this place. I’m terrified to think of what they’ll do. Please, you have to help my children!”
“We will,” Link said. “But we need some help. Do you know anything at all about this world?”
The maimai looked downcast. “It is a world of metal. Everything here is encased in it. Some kind of magic allows the building to operate by itself, without a person there to operate any of the doors. There are monsters here, and they have other monsters and some innocent creatures like me all imprisoned. Their weapons are the most powerful magic I have ever seen. They can burn you alive without even laying a finger on you.”
“Sounds like we have our work cut out for us,” Lucina muttered.
“Is there any defense against these monsters?” Link questioned.
“It seems that their magic can’t tear apart metal right away,” the maimai replied. “That shield you carry might be able to protect you somewhat.”
“Alright then,” Lucina said. She placed her hand against the glass imprisoning the maimai. “We’ll find your children and protect them from these horrors. We’ll return to you soon.”
They turned to head back towards the door, Link drawing his blade and unleashing a blast of energy to open the door once again. The pair stepped through, their mission fresh in Lucina’s mind. She had assumed that only malevolent things would arrive in other worlds, that she would always be protecting a peaceful world from a hostile invader. But their first mission was here and things were already upside down.
A good creature had arrived in a frightful world. They were the only ones who could protect it.
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I hope you enjoyed the first part of Chapter Two. This week is Multiplayer Week on Adventure Rules, so if you enjoyed this post, be sure to share it on social media so that others can enjoy it as well. And there’s a challenge involved as well: if the blog can gain seven new followers by the end of the week, then I’ll be facing off against some adventurers in multiplayer games and writing short stories based on the experience. The more you share, the more likely we are to reach our goal and to have some bonus content on the blog. Thank you so much for your support!
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