Dropped Stitch

The Legend of Zelda

[Fandom+ (1)]

Lyra stared in horror at the sight before. "What in the Act Six is that?!" She practically screamed the question. "What did you do?"

Circe shrugged. "There was not much to do, actually. Now, go on. I'll meet you on the other side." With that, she disappeared, leaving Lyra alone with a combat arena that looked like a clump of intestines, with a thousand grinnning, living skulls as spectators and an unknown enemy waiting to slaughter her.

Lyra put her hand on her hip, where her keys were stored, and went forward. The skulls tracked her movement, turning towards her whenever she moved closer to the middle of the ring.

Halfway there, she met her first booby trap. The floor arched like a cat's back, and before she knew it, Lyra found herself on her back as a guillotine's blade rushed towards her neck. She rolled out of the way, but the blade cut off a sizable chunk of her hair.

"Okay," Lyra said, as she stood, her hair half cut off, "You've done it now, you creep! I'm no girly-girl, but- I LOVE MY HAIR!" She withdrew her most recent key, which she was betting on being incredibly powerful, as the enemy chuckled from the shadows. "I call forth from the Riordan universe, my patron demigod! Lyra Deighton!" As she shouted it, Lyra's eyes widened in surprise. Of course! Rick hadn't described every single demigod, so she could really have a double there!

Indeed, out of the silvery crack stepped Lyra herself. This Lyra had even lighter hair and tanned skin from being in the sunlight all the time. Her hair was shorter- much shorter- and she wore the orange shirt of a camper.

"Hey!" She cried enthusiastically, hugging Lyra. "So, what have we done so far?"

"Crash of the Byzantium?" Lyra suggested.

Lyra's double grinned. "So, I'm guessing this is your first time summoning me?"

"Yup. Do we have a weird time stream going on?"

"You bet!" The Lyras grinned at each other again. "Okay, so what do you need?"

"That guy over there, sitting in the shadows," Lyra said, pointing.

"Wrong!" A deep voice declared. Suddenly, Lyra heard footsteps behind them and whirled around to see who the enemy was.

They looked a lot like a Minotaur, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, but this creature also had snakes for hands.

"That's really gross," Lyra remarked.

"Yeah," Her double agreed. "We should give him a makeover."

Both cracked their knuckles, and the man (?) chuckled.

"I admit," He said, sitting down on the floor, "I did not expect the two of you." The monster spread its hands, gesturing to the skulls that clattered and fidgeted in the place of normal spectators. "Ah, well. It just means more for my collection!"

"Yeah, right!" The twin Deightons yelled in unison. "We'll kick your ass!"

The monster-man lunged, and the Lyras gave each other a smile. They already knew what the plan was.

[$^$]

Winter wouldn't leave the body.

Ananda had tried everything- from logic to brute force (what little she had)- but nothing worked. She was beginning to get concerned.

"Winter," She said. "We cannot stay here until we are eaten by monsters."

"Why not?" He asked miserably. "It's not like there's anything else to do. I am stuck on a planet of people that I can't protect, with nothing to do except fight. What am I supposed to do, Ananda? Knit?"

"You can fight," Ananda said sadly. "You can get better and protect those that you love."

"I can't."

"You can," Ananda said. She was trying to be patient.

"I can't! Cassi is dead and you will be too, if you stick around long enough. So just leave me alone."

"I will not!" Ananda shouted. "And if you think that I will let you sit here with a corpse and waste away, then you could not be more wrong! Death does not mean that one stops and dies as well. If I had done that, I would be dead a hundred times over! Do you know how many times that I have watched friends and family get devoured by monsters?" Ananda slapped the Player full on the face. "You are not the only one who has suffered!"

Winter looked up at his companion with wide eyes. A red mark was forming where she had slapped him.

"Ow," He muttered.

"Apologize," Ananda commanded.

"Sorry..." Winter mumbled. "Jeez, Ananda. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Get up," Ananda said by way of reply. "We must move. Cassi will not bear a grudge simply because we leave her for the scavengers."

Winter got up, taking one last look at the broken and bent body before him. "I wish we could give her some form of dignity," He murmered.

"She is too happy to care," Ananda replied. "To bury her, or to decorate her body, is to pin her onto this futile planet. She will be much happier this way."

"I guess," Winter said. He started to walk away from the corpse, but coudln't get more than a few more steps before Ananda began to have to pull him.

"We cannot be here. The scavengers will come out sooner for such a feast."

Winter let her pull him along. He wasn't sure what would happen if he let go of her hand.

************************************************

I spend all night practicing at the library. No one notices me as the librarians come in that morning, thanks to my Immorta Worrior skills. I catch some sleep, setting an alarm on my phone for eleven a.m.

My dreams are bizarre and disjointed, but all I remember when I wake up is Cirra, killing me. The weapon in her hand shifts from a rock to a spear of cold air to her bare hands, encrusted in the blood of the girl I'd been kissing last night, who is hanged in the distance, her throat slit.

I shake it off and get to work, tapping into the computer interface. I don't like hacking my characters in online games, but I have a feeling it will be necessary. In the end, she looks just like me, is three times as fast as the average character, has any number of insane power ups, and three different special moves targeted to psychologically ravage any enemy.

I'm ready. The fighting room pops up, and I click on its icon. It's time to settle this once and for all.