Master Kirby
23rd August 2006, 02:30 PM
Hi everyone. I have been a reader here for years, and have enjoyed many of these stories (such as Lisa The Legend, The Emerald League, and The Adventures of Tyler and Magmar). This is my first story I have posted at TPM. It is a short story that takes place in the Zelda universe, in the setting of The Ocarina of Time. I just started with a general plot, and continued typing whatever came to mind.
NOTE: Italics mean that the words are being thought.
Last week I was participating in Nintendo's annual Camp Hyrule summer camp and one of the activities was to write a short story. It was limited to 1000 words, so by the time I had finished this I had to cut it down. I have entered the full version here.
It could probably use some better description, but since it was originally meant to be short, I couldn't use too much and still keep it short. I tried not to keep it too serious, so it may show a new side of Link. Comment on how you think I did, what you liked and disliked about the story, and how I could improve next time I write something.
Link vs. Pikachu: The Food That Fights Back
It was a fine summer morning to be up and about. The sun was climbing into the sky, its rays drying up the last to the sparkling dew on the grass. Link always enjoyed riding his horse Epona around Hyrule Field on days like this. He smiled to himself as the grass rushed by beneath their feet.
“I sure am glad that Epona likes to run. If it wasn't for her, it would take forever to get anywhere, especially since I gave the Bunny Hood to that running man. He used to be hard to catch, but now I need to ride Epona to keep up with him.”
Link's train of thought was derailed by an earthquake of hunger rumbling through his stomach.
“Huh? That came from nowhere.” Link chatted with Epona. “You sure are lucky you can eat grass. You have an all you can eat buffet, and all you have to do is look down. I should have packed more food before leaving camp. Maybe if I keep my eyes open I can find some animals that would taste good.”
Nearing the edge of the field, low lying bushes replaced the windblown grass as the main form of ground cover leading into the forest. Link happened to glance over to a group of bushes and thought he saw some movement.
“Oh, look.” He thought. “I hope that is a rabbit. I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving.”
Link rode up alongside the bushes, pulled out his bow, and leaned closer to see if he could identify what was there.
“I can almost taste that rabbit stew now!” Link whispered in Epona's ear. “I'll even let you lick out the bowl when I'm done.” She twisted her head around and gave Link a look as to say “Lick out the bowl? I'm not your pet dog! I'll stick to grass for now, thank you very much.”
Link quietly dismounted and crept around to an opening in the bushes and peered in. The animal he saw looked to him like a yellow rabbit except that it had a long zig-zagging tail. It was sitting in a small clearing nibbling on some mushrooms and strawberries that were growing there.
“That rabbit almost looks like a Keaton, though that sure is some weird tail.” Link wondered.
“Oh well, food is food. You can't be picky about what it looks like. When those Gerudos were eating Octorock I thought that was gross, but it was actually kind of good when I tasted it.”
Link looked over to Epona and motioned for her to push through the bushes from the other side. She snorted, trotted ahead, and walked into the bushes near the yellow creature. What a shock she had when she broke through! The Pikachu was so surprised by the giant beast trampling into its nest, that it let out a burst of electricity stopping Epona in her tracks.
“Waaaaaa?” Link exclaimed in disbelief. “That is the first rabbit I've ever seen fight back!”
He stared as the Pikachu crouched down and bared its teeth. The hair on the back of its neck stood on end, sparks of energy jumping through the surrounding air.
“Pi-Pi. Pi-kachu! Pi-Pi-Pi!!!” It was hopping around making all kinds of noises. Epona was dumbfounded. This rabbit had just hit her with some kind of magical attack. She had felt much worse, but this was a surprise, coming from such a little animal.
Link was broken out of his amazement by the familiar noises rumbling forth from his belly. He pulled back a fire arrow and let it loose, striking the ground in front of the Pikachu. As the fire burst forth, blasting the yellow beast backwards, Link pulled out his sword and charged forward yelling.
“NO food, whether its a magic rabbit shooting lightning or that bowl of molasses I found in the Spirit Temple will EVER ATTACK MY HORSE AND GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!”
Epona saw that she was not needed at the moment (and didn't want to get shocked again), so she trotted back a distance, giving Link room to work. While horses excel at getting someone from one place to another quickly, they aren't really that good at fighting. A hard kick can leave a mark, but thats about it. Grass isn't hard to kill, so horses never needed fangs, claws, or flaming breath.
The blast of the fire arrow threw the Pikachu, tumbling and flaming, across the clearing. By tucking in its legs and rolling into a ball, it was able to absorb some of the force before recovering its footing. A thorough flopping around in the still damp grass was enough to extinguish the flames, leaving the yellow animal looking around to find its assailant.
Upon hearing the noise Link was making, Pikachu turned from the retreating horse and looked towards the man with the sword. Link leaped into the air, sword above his head, and swung it down towards his prey. Pikachu stepped to the side, causing the sword to cleave a hole in the ground.
The small one quickly jumped back and began charging electricity in its cheeks, glaring at the armed intruder. It had been all strawberries, mushrooms, and laying in the sun before this man arrived to wreak havoc in the silence of the little clearing.
Link took note of his opponent's swiftness, and concentrated on the task at hand: catching this odd yellow rabbit and filling his stomach.
“I have traveled from land to land, defeating all kinds of monsters that threatened the peace of the good people who called for my help. I have faced armies of moblins, escaped the clutches of pirates, and have subdued the largest monsters who, through their immense strength and ferocity sought to dominate and rule through fear. I will not be stopped by a some magic piece of food. If you think that just because you are fast..zzaaaaaaow!!!.”
Link's speech was cut short by a direct thunder bolt to the chest. He cringed as the electricity pulsed through his body. Pikachu turned and began to flee across the clearing until the spike and chain of a hookshot flew past, sinking into a tree branch ahead. Link was pulled forward and landed on the ground blocking the way to the forest.
The events that followed tested the skills of both the man and the beast. Link lunged forward slashing with his sword while the Pikachu ran around the clearing jumping off trees and blasting electricity all around. While Link was able to use the weapons that he had collected on his quests, he was constantly bombarded by lightning from all directions.
While fighting this extremely fast animal, Link began to wonder. “This is the first time I have ever seen a rabbit that could control lightning. Maybe this isn't really a rabbit after all. It doesn't seem to be that easy to defeat, even though it only comes up to my knee.”
As they neared a grove of trees, Pikachu climbed up and started thunderbolting the branches so that apples rained down on top of Link. Link tried pulling off a vertical spin attack, but that just caused more apples and branches to fall down on top him.
Finally, a branch hit him on the head and knocked some sense into him. “Why am I putting this much effort into trying to defeat an animal that I don't even know is edible?” Almost as if in answer to his thoughts, a well thrown apple wedged itself firmly into his mouth. Link stumbled back, prying the apple out of his teeth while trying to avoid getting hit by more.
“Okay, okay. I give in,” he shouted. “Even if I was sure you really were a rabbit, it wouldn't be worth getting fried to try to eat you .... just let me take some apples and I'll leave.”
After one more volley of apples flew from among the branches of the trees, Link filled a bag and walked back out into Hyrule Field. When he emerged from the bushes he found Epona rolling on her back snorting in uncontrollable laughter.
“It wasn't really that funny. How was I supposed to know it wasn't a rabbit? You saw those ears! You can't say those didn't look like rabbit ears .... and it was eating fruits and vegetables just like a rabbit.”
Epona just stood up shaking her head as she thought. “Poor Link. He always thinks with his stomach, and forgets that not everything that moves is food. I guess thats why he had Navi with him all those years. I'd hate to imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't stopped him from eating those bomb flowers in Dodongo's Cavern!”
The two friends walked together across Hyrule Field, eating apples as they enjoyed each other's company.
“You know Epona? I think we should head in the direction of the ranch. I could go for a couple bottles of milk, and if we help with some of the chores, I think we could get Malon to bake us some apple pies with the rest of these!!!”
As Link mounted up, and Epona trotted west toward the ranch, she thought to herself. “I wonder what Malon is going to think when she sees Link ride in with half of his hair missing and his clothes all burnt up? I guess even the Hero of Time makes a mess of things from time to time.”
The End
NOTE: Italics mean that the words are being thought.
Last week I was participating in Nintendo's annual Camp Hyrule summer camp and one of the activities was to write a short story. It was limited to 1000 words, so by the time I had finished this I had to cut it down. I have entered the full version here.
It could probably use some better description, but since it was originally meant to be short, I couldn't use too much and still keep it short. I tried not to keep it too serious, so it may show a new side of Link. Comment on how you think I did, what you liked and disliked about the story, and how I could improve next time I write something.
Link vs. Pikachu: The Food That Fights Back
It was a fine summer morning to be up and about. The sun was climbing into the sky, its rays drying up the last to the sparkling dew on the grass. Link always enjoyed riding his horse Epona around Hyrule Field on days like this. He smiled to himself as the grass rushed by beneath their feet.
“I sure am glad that Epona likes to run. If it wasn't for her, it would take forever to get anywhere, especially since I gave the Bunny Hood to that running man. He used to be hard to catch, but now I need to ride Epona to keep up with him.”
Link's train of thought was derailed by an earthquake of hunger rumbling through his stomach.
“Huh? That came from nowhere.” Link chatted with Epona. “You sure are lucky you can eat grass. You have an all you can eat buffet, and all you have to do is look down. I should have packed more food before leaving camp. Maybe if I keep my eyes open I can find some animals that would taste good.”
Nearing the edge of the field, low lying bushes replaced the windblown grass as the main form of ground cover leading into the forest. Link happened to glance over to a group of bushes and thought he saw some movement.
“Oh, look.” He thought. “I hope that is a rabbit. I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving.”
Link rode up alongside the bushes, pulled out his bow, and leaned closer to see if he could identify what was there.
“I can almost taste that rabbit stew now!” Link whispered in Epona's ear. “I'll even let you lick out the bowl when I'm done.” She twisted her head around and gave Link a look as to say “Lick out the bowl? I'm not your pet dog! I'll stick to grass for now, thank you very much.”
Link quietly dismounted and crept around to an opening in the bushes and peered in. The animal he saw looked to him like a yellow rabbit except that it had a long zig-zagging tail. It was sitting in a small clearing nibbling on some mushrooms and strawberries that were growing there.
“That rabbit almost looks like a Keaton, though that sure is some weird tail.” Link wondered.
“Oh well, food is food. You can't be picky about what it looks like. When those Gerudos were eating Octorock I thought that was gross, but it was actually kind of good when I tasted it.”
Link looked over to Epona and motioned for her to push through the bushes from the other side. She snorted, trotted ahead, and walked into the bushes near the yellow creature. What a shock she had when she broke through! The Pikachu was so surprised by the giant beast trampling into its nest, that it let out a burst of electricity stopping Epona in her tracks.
“Waaaaaa?” Link exclaimed in disbelief. “That is the first rabbit I've ever seen fight back!”
He stared as the Pikachu crouched down and bared its teeth. The hair on the back of its neck stood on end, sparks of energy jumping through the surrounding air.
“Pi-Pi. Pi-kachu! Pi-Pi-Pi!!!” It was hopping around making all kinds of noises. Epona was dumbfounded. This rabbit had just hit her with some kind of magical attack. She had felt much worse, but this was a surprise, coming from such a little animal.
Link was broken out of his amazement by the familiar noises rumbling forth from his belly. He pulled back a fire arrow and let it loose, striking the ground in front of the Pikachu. As the fire burst forth, blasting the yellow beast backwards, Link pulled out his sword and charged forward yelling.
“NO food, whether its a magic rabbit shooting lightning or that bowl of molasses I found in the Spirit Temple will EVER ATTACK MY HORSE AND GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!”
Epona saw that she was not needed at the moment (and didn't want to get shocked again), so she trotted back a distance, giving Link room to work. While horses excel at getting someone from one place to another quickly, they aren't really that good at fighting. A hard kick can leave a mark, but thats about it. Grass isn't hard to kill, so horses never needed fangs, claws, or flaming breath.
The blast of the fire arrow threw the Pikachu, tumbling and flaming, across the clearing. By tucking in its legs and rolling into a ball, it was able to absorb some of the force before recovering its footing. A thorough flopping around in the still damp grass was enough to extinguish the flames, leaving the yellow animal looking around to find its assailant.
Upon hearing the noise Link was making, Pikachu turned from the retreating horse and looked towards the man with the sword. Link leaped into the air, sword above his head, and swung it down towards his prey. Pikachu stepped to the side, causing the sword to cleave a hole in the ground.
The small one quickly jumped back and began charging electricity in its cheeks, glaring at the armed intruder. It had been all strawberries, mushrooms, and laying in the sun before this man arrived to wreak havoc in the silence of the little clearing.
Link took note of his opponent's swiftness, and concentrated on the task at hand: catching this odd yellow rabbit and filling his stomach.
“I have traveled from land to land, defeating all kinds of monsters that threatened the peace of the good people who called for my help. I have faced armies of moblins, escaped the clutches of pirates, and have subdued the largest monsters who, through their immense strength and ferocity sought to dominate and rule through fear. I will not be stopped by a some magic piece of food. If you think that just because you are fast..zzaaaaaaow!!!.”
Link's speech was cut short by a direct thunder bolt to the chest. He cringed as the electricity pulsed through his body. Pikachu turned and began to flee across the clearing until the spike and chain of a hookshot flew past, sinking into a tree branch ahead. Link was pulled forward and landed on the ground blocking the way to the forest.
The events that followed tested the skills of both the man and the beast. Link lunged forward slashing with his sword while the Pikachu ran around the clearing jumping off trees and blasting electricity all around. While Link was able to use the weapons that he had collected on his quests, he was constantly bombarded by lightning from all directions.
While fighting this extremely fast animal, Link began to wonder. “This is the first time I have ever seen a rabbit that could control lightning. Maybe this isn't really a rabbit after all. It doesn't seem to be that easy to defeat, even though it only comes up to my knee.”
As they neared a grove of trees, Pikachu climbed up and started thunderbolting the branches so that apples rained down on top of Link. Link tried pulling off a vertical spin attack, but that just caused more apples and branches to fall down on top him.
Finally, a branch hit him on the head and knocked some sense into him. “Why am I putting this much effort into trying to defeat an animal that I don't even know is edible?” Almost as if in answer to his thoughts, a well thrown apple wedged itself firmly into his mouth. Link stumbled back, prying the apple out of his teeth while trying to avoid getting hit by more.
“Okay, okay. I give in,” he shouted. “Even if I was sure you really were a rabbit, it wouldn't be worth getting fried to try to eat you .... just let me take some apples and I'll leave.”
After one more volley of apples flew from among the branches of the trees, Link filled a bag and walked back out into Hyrule Field. When he emerged from the bushes he found Epona rolling on her back snorting in uncontrollable laughter.
“It wasn't really that funny. How was I supposed to know it wasn't a rabbit? You saw those ears! You can't say those didn't look like rabbit ears .... and it was eating fruits and vegetables just like a rabbit.”
Epona just stood up shaking her head as she thought. “Poor Link. He always thinks with his stomach, and forgets that not everything that moves is food. I guess thats why he had Navi with him all those years. I'd hate to imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't stopped him from eating those bomb flowers in Dodongo's Cavern!”
The two friends walked together across Hyrule Field, eating apples as they enjoyed each other's company.
“You know Epona? I think we should head in the direction of the ranch. I could go for a couple bottles of milk, and if we help with some of the chores, I think we could get Malon to bake us some apple pies with the rest of these!!!”
As Link mounted up, and Epona trotted west toward the ranch, she thought to herself. “I wonder what Malon is going to think when she sees Link ride in with half of his hair missing and his clothes all burnt up? I guess even the Hero of Time makes a mess of things from time to time.”
The End