Background: I am going to be making up to Link for the rest of my life for this alone... It all started with a dream of only the very beginning few paragraphs. And, thanks to all of the rumors about Ocarina of Time I've read over the years (I love a good conspiracy), the rest just flowed easily. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart! It's kind of nightmare insane mixed with a little just plain disturbing content and some stuff that probably still doesn't really make sense... but thanks goodness (and badness) for artistic license, eh? I am really happy with how this turned out. And I think you'll understand why, right away. I guess I can officially forget a job at Nintendo, ever.
Link Fallen
by Orin Drake
He moaned quietly, every
muscle in his body feeling like it had been stretched to its absolute limit,
then broken. His arms, legs, everything burned fiercely.
He opened his eyes and blinked away the grogginess, unsure what had just
happened or where he was. The last thing he remembered... he'd saved
Hyrule! He'd killed Ganon, saved Zelda, returned peace... the Ocarina...
the music... she said she'd send him back...
However, sitting up slowly,
this was obviously not home. Nowhere close. Instead it appeared
to be a dimly lit cavern like any other. His heart crumpled, and
he felt like sobbing. Not this again. Not still.
It was supposed to be over, already! What the hell had happened since...
"Rise and shine, Hero of
Time." He heard off in the distance. The sudden, harsh voice
from nowhere had made him start, looking in the direction that it had come
from but being unable to see anything. The voice was familiar, somehow,
but...
A form began to materialize
in front of him, lit dimly from behind. He rubbed his eyes quickly,
trying to get his bearings, prepare for a battle. As his eyes adjusted,
he nearly felt all of the will and strength drain out of him into a well
of confusion. He looked at that form, that splitting image in the
mirror with so many cracks, and was struck completely thoughtless.
A creature that looked just
like him, just like he could have been a twin, grinned back at his expression.
His eyes were hard and cold; enough to have been Ganondorf's own.
"I bet you thought you won. I know I did."
Link scrambled backward
and to his feet, being forced to pause in that position due to extreme
pain ripping through his legs. He'd fought through pain before, but
it had never been this sudden. He hissed with it, pulling the Master
Sword from behind his back but being unable to lift it fully at first.
Such agony radiated through his arm, his hand, sparking like electricity.
It was only then that the words hit him. "What are you?" Time,
he needed to buy himself some time.
The form only nodded knowingly.
"I'm you, you fool." Each word steadily rose in pitch and
volume. "I am you, after you saved Hyrule however many
dozens of times over and went mad!"
Link shook his head, unable
to contain a shudder. "No. Hyrule is safe now..."
"Fool!" the mirror
image spat hopelessly. "Idiot! All of you! When Zelda
sent you back, she didn't bother to realize that the cycle would continue
forever! Over and over and it will never end!"
Link took a deep breath
and finally yanked the trusted sword from his back, holding it as steadily
as he possibly could. Calm assurance, he had to keep it tight...
"It can't be-"
"Do you know how many times
I've had to see everything shatter?!" the doppelganger interrupted in a
scream. "How many creatures I've had to kill? How many innocent
people have died over and over, and I can't stop it?!"
The sane Hero of Time backed
away slightly out of genuine fear. This was... this was unreal.
This was even more eerie than the shadow of himself Ganondorf had concocted.
It wasn't right... and he was beginning to believe this apparition.
It was at the same time ridiculous and too real. He could smell the
desperation coming off of that creature, and it was clearly no simple feat
of magic. No illusion trickery. "Then why am I here?"
"If I kill you, it'll all
be over. Everything will be over! It never will have begun!
Freedom for both of us!" The evil twin's hand rose to pull an identical
Master Sword from his back.
Link swallowed. His
arms still ached, but he saw no other choice than to take a breath and
try to support the Hylian Shield as well. This couldn't happen.
He had to prevent it. "If you kill me, Hyrule will fall!"
"Fuck Hyrule! It's
not worth this pain!" the cracked mirror image took a determined slash
at him.
That was one of his moves,
alright. It was like practicing against a living mirror--only, this
wasn't practice. He raised the shield and used all of his strength
to push the form backward.
The "other" Link cried out,
breaking the momentum and darting back for another attempt. It was
deflected once more with the shield, but so hard this time that the violently
sudden resistance had made his hand temporarily numb.
It wasn't much better for
the "real" Link, save that he was still alive and unharmed. That
hit he'd just deflected had knocked him on his ass and made his entire
upper back feel like the spine was being ripped out. But that cold
intensity of battle was still fresh within him; regardless of the disgustingly
painful muscles, he forced himself onto his feet and panted, a knowing,
finalizing look in his eye. Slowly, he raised the Master Sword.
"At least... if I kill you, it's a cycle of mercy. You'll suffer
no longer."
"No!" his other self screamed.
"This will go on! Forever! It will continue! Your pain
is my pain! You have to die!"
Ugh, begging. Regardless
of how evil, how vile something was, begging got to him. Not
enough to matter, however; he drove the Master Sword through a pair of
ribs, severing the heart altogether. A move coming more from familiarity,
he twisted the blade and jammed it just a little further before throwing
the form down and yanking the sword back out.
His double dropped, blood
leaking from his mouth. Link wasn't sure what he expected, but whatever
it had been was not what was happening. Instead of a flurry of magical
energy, or even just a body laying there to gather flies, it merely grew
transparent and disappeared.
A loud, repetitive snapping
sound diverted his thoughts from analyzing what had just happened.
He swiftly turned on his heels toward the sound, sword ready for another
strike. But even if what met his gaze had attacked him, he would
never have been ready for it.
There was a very well dressed
man standing several yards from him, leaning against a stone pillar surrounded
in shadows. That wasn't the shocking part; the man looked unmistakably
like Ganondorf crossed with a human. Or, more specifically, with
a Hylian. His voice sounded like any normal young adult as
he greeted with false serenity, "Welcome, Link."
There was no way to word
anything he was feeling, then. This was just... weirder than anything
he'd ever encountered. And, given his life up to this point, that
was a lot. "What-- Why am I..?"
A devious smile lit up the
man's face. "I brought you here to tell you a story." He paused
to let a hateful glare from his captive audience wash over him, but the
gentleness of his voice never wavered. "So listen. You might
be familiar with some of it already. You see, in the beginning, there
were the Goddesses Din... Farore... and Nayru. But, you see, they
weren't the only Goddesses of Hyrule. There were four."
Link shook his head, confident
in his words and far more confident in his stride; it seemed this man was
only a lunatic. "There were three. Three pieces
of the Triforce, three powers."
The man only shook his head
and gave a maddening smile. "All you know of now is the Triforce.
But you see, what was to become the Triforce was the Golden Triangle,
back then. There was a fourth piece. Wisdom, Power, Courage...
and Chaos."
"Why would three Goddesses
of Light and Order allow one of Chaos?" Link challenged firmly,
grasping the Master Sword for another encounter.
The man chuckled heartily.
"No one ever said they were the smartest Goddesses. But Chaos, you
see, was not originally a Goddess. She was just a girl who offered
to help the Goddesses, back in the day when they still talked to their
Chosen People. The girl who would be Chaos took their creation on
her back, so to speak, so they could rest and restore their powers."
"A Goddess would not need
to rest." Link hissed.
"Shows what you know."
The man teased. "They were energy, and they had spent much
of themselves on their creation. They did need to rest. But,
regardless of your rudeness, I shall continue. Chaos took to the
task with assured grace, taking all problems in stride and fixing them
when she could. But she was only one girl, not a true Goddess.
Problems became more and more, harder, more elaborate, but still she would
not tell the Goddesses due to her martyr-like pride. Only when everything
went too far for her to live on did she stop. And of course,
it was a bit too late, then." He made a casual "away" gesture with
his fingers. "She was crushed to death by the weight on her shoulders.
A horrible way to die... don't you think so, Hero?"
Link stared at the man with
contempt. "I am not a martyr--"
"Oh, I'm not suggesting
you
are." He interrupted, then changed the subject entirely. "Obviously,
the world fell with Chaos. So, the Goddesses that you know recreated
their 'chosen world' with the symbol of a Triforce. Only three pieces
with a hollow center. Only them, and no other. They learned
from the past. But they could not erase it. Chaos was no longer
a member of the Golden Triangle... but was spread throughout the universe.
There are those who remember, of course. But it's not quite common
knowledge. Only the Royalty and the Sheikah are aware of it, now.
And even then, it's just a pretty symbol."
"You love to hear yourself
talk." The Hero of Time hissed impatiently.
"Indeed." The man
agreed with a smile. "I shall move on to why I am here, then.
You see, my predecessor found his way through the Sacred Realm."
He paused to flash a bigger, wicked smile. "Onto the other side,
as it were. Dimension, space, time... he became almost as a god.
But he didn't count on having to pay for his universe shifting. He
joined with Chaos, just as he had intended. But he, too, suffered
by being spread throughout the universe, immortal, to be used and discarded
at will without a standard consciousness."
"A proper end." Link
breathed.
"I suppose it was.
He left his powers with me... which is, finally, why you are here."
He uncrossed his arms and pushed himself away from the pillar, taking only
a couple of steps forward. "I have to admit, I was hoping you're
slightly mentally impacted self would have ended this for us. It
would have made my father more powerful, as well as my own magical benefit.
But I digress. Now that you've chosen that road, it's time to put
you to another challenge." He raised his arms, a sudden violent wind
encasing the room, nearly knocking them both off their feet.
Link held strong, however.
He was ready for whatever this bastard could throw at him. His words
held no meaning but insane banter, and his magic looked like it was worked
for rupees. Wind? What, to throw him off balance? Imbecile...
But, as the wind died as
suddenly as it had risen, there was certain a magical... tinge to the room.
A bitter feeling in the air, and a heavy weight in his stomach. Link's
mouth fell open when he looked upon himself--no, creatures of Darkness
that looked like him--in three forms. One was his match exactly,
but his face was harder, his features sharper. His hair was a dark
shade of brown the same length, and his clothing was a dead-on match.
The second clone stared
at him from behind a devious looking mask, the eyes glowing eerily.
His face was hard, angry, and his hair was a gleaming silver white.
He wore the same sort of tunic, but it was colored differently, in blue
and white.
The third form was an all
too familiar sight, however; a perfect silhouette. That three-dimensional
shadow that glowered at him openly, though he couldn't make out a face.
He swallowed hard, feeling
a sense of... wrongness that went with this encounter. It was only
echoed like a physical force all around him as all pairs of eyes darted
back and forth. His own gaze finally found that bastard son of Ganon
and held firm.
"You are the Holder
of the Triforce of Courage." The man assured smugly. "Look
at your shield, boy."
Nervously, he turned his
only defense around to gaze at its front for only a moment. Instantly
he saw what he was directed at; the Triforce was at the top, but at the
bottom was an up-side down piece. The Fourth Piece, carried in the
talons of a big red bird. He'd seen it before, so many times, but
it had never clicked. Never made much sense to him at all.
And now that he saw it, he found it made even less sense.
His unspoken questions were
regarded with that smug smoothness he'd already come to despise.
"These creatures before you are your choices, boy. If you want your
reality to survive, you had better make some good decisions. All
of these are you."
No. It was
a silent word on the edge of his tongue. He looked around at them
again, all staring at him, all looking as though they'd just received the
shock of their lives, too. Certainly he could never become that shadow;
he'd fought that shadow! And the one with the white hair and glowing
eyes, that was too powerful, too much. And the brunet... he looked
like some distant relative at best. No, this wasn't real.
And then the thought occurred
to him, What if it is? What if I kill them? This
is my reality.
The man laughed as though
he'd heard every thought. "That bird that carried the Fourth Triforce
could be any number of people, Hero. But most often, that
is determined by the one who takes responsibility for it. That one
who takes the brunt of a hero's pain..." he grinned viciously. "It
could be anyone who knows you. Who loves you."
Chills ran through Link's
spine. In his travels, he had come to know that there were a number
of girls who held affection for him. And he realized with a cold,
slow jolt that if any of them were harmed in any way because of what he
did...
The man laughed low and
deep, mirroring Ganon's almost perfectly. "Let us begin, shall we?"
A blaze of light seemed
to pop in front of Link's vision, making him flinch and blink it away.
When the brightness of the light left his eye, a form appeared in its place,
standing next to Ganon's son.
It was Zelda--only, it wasn't.
She looked so much like what he remembered, tall and shapely and innocent
even in her young adulthood. But her face... it looked almost as
though at some point in time it had been shredded. The features,
the skin, it was all very... disorderly. With one eye she saw his
shock, and put her hands up as if to calm him; but only revealed that whatever
had attacked her face had done the same to her hands. There was no
trace of the white gloves save a few tattered remnants on her upper arms.
"I've come so far to tell
you this..." she moaned with the voice of a moblin. "Link... you
must let yourself be slaughtered."
He blinked, repulsed, confused,
his head spinning. Certainly that couldn't be Zelda. She couldn't
be serious. Or sane.
"So much pain..." she sobbed
quietly. "Everyone is in so much pain..."
"Stop this!" Link shouted
at the man who'd started this.
A grin passed over the shadow
of his lips for just a moment. "Oh, Hero of Time. Villain of
Space. You caused this by killing the pained form you first encountered."
"No!" Link assured himself
aloud, his voice only momentarily showing how young he really was in a
sobering squeak. "This is your illusion. This is Ganon's illusion!"
But the man only shook his
head slowly, waiting. It was a patient sort of look, the kind when
you're expecting something to happen, that you know will happen, but it's
only a matter of time.
Link was enraged.
He was doing nothing. Maybe he was doing everything. But he,
himself, couldn't take that anymore. Lashing out his anger, his helplessness,
he slashed his brunette clone through the belly. Instead of seeing
the magical cloud of sparks ensue that he expected, or even intestines
at his feet, he felt a tearing pain at his own stomach. It lasted
only a second, only long enough for him to know it was there. As
soon as it disappeared, so too did the dying clone. Completely, utterly,
gone.
Opening his mouth to question,
Link looked back to where the image of Zelda had been. But now it
was another; Malon. Her face was in tact, her eyes bright with a
smile. But once more, something was terribly wrong. Instead
of legs and feet appearing from under her dress, he saw wheels. Four
of them, like her upper body rested upon some sort of table.
Link shuddered at the nightmare
image, barely able to contain the contents of his own stomach. He
dared not open his mouth, not for a moment. Not even to ask...
But she beat him to it,
that same easy smile on her face that he remembered. Her voice, though,
it was... it was slow and slurred. Drugged, even. "Oh, don't
worry about it. Ganon's not so bad. He didn't punish me half
as bad as he did the Kiroki children."
He wanted to scream.
He needed, so badly, so scream. To wake up! To get out!
He couldn't stand it. His hands were shaking. Anger, fear,
unthinking rage... he sliced the shadow version of himself through
the knees of both legs. Once again, he felt the pain; only for an
instant. Again, the form that was once there was gone completely
with a blink. But he dare not look over to where Malon had been standing.
He couldn't take it. Couldn't see what might be waiting there.
The spawn of Ganon, so he
was beginning to truly believe at this point, only smiled. "Come
now, Hero. You must face your consequences."
I don't want to!
threatened to burst from his lips. That or a never-ending sob.
Maybe a scream. He dared not try any of them. With a heavy
stomach, he glanced. Nabooru, the Gerudo. But she was so skinny,
so gaunt, and--oh Gods!--she had no hands! No arms! Just crudely
fashioned sticks with hooks that looked like they'd been sewn into the
flesh of her shoulders. Her skin was bruised purple almost everywhere,
clearly having been freshly beaten...
He was going to lose it.
He knew he was going to lose it. His mind, his stomach, everything.
Tears were already threatening, already brimming. The only one left
was that other, that one that wore the mask. Through tears, he cried
out with nothing but the ache of his very soul, and decapitated the creature.
This time there was no pain.
The lack of it, of anything, made him cringe. A tiny light of hope
burned through him, but he didn't want it extinguished yet. He didn't
want to look over and see what he almost certainly knew he would see...
"Link?" he heard clearly.
It was concerned, gentle but pressing. And it was Ruto.
He turned his head but kept
his eyes closed. Just for a moment. Just until he could get
his breath. Opening them, he prepared himself for the worst yet.
All that met him was a very
worried looking Zora. "Wha--Link?! What's happened? What's
the matter? Didn't we save everyone?"
And then the terror hit.
That bastard son of Ganon--he was sure, now--, had somehow stepped behind
her and--
Link had darted, sword out...
but it was too late. That... that disgusting, inhuman... He'd slit
her throat. Too quickly to have stopped him. Oh, Gods, the
Sage of the Water Temple was bleeding to death at his feet. And even
when he went to kneel by her side, he could see her becoming transparent
as though ceasing to exist altogether.
Angry, tear filled eyes
bored through the bastard when the helpless hero looked up. "Why?!
What is this?!"
"Link..." the man said very
calmly, tossing the knife away from him, as easily discarded as a leaf
that had fallen in his hair, "Ganon was my father. It was only right
to carry out what he had wanted me to do." He smiled softly, almost
gently, then pulled his foot back and drove a kick straight into Link's
stomach. Then another. And another, until all the hero saw
was black.
He woke with a scream so
loud it seemed to come from everywhere around him. After it ended,
he took a deep breath and let another one explode from his mouth.
His throat ached, his jaw trembled, but... there was nothing else he could
do. With wide, startled eyes, he took a look around. The Lost
Woods. Early morning. He had no idea where he was, but he knew
he'd never been in an area covered by such thick grass before. Somewhere
he'd never traveled, perhaps.
The warm breeze made him
shiver, and he quickly discovered why; he was covered with sweat and blood.
None of it seemed to be his own; just a reminder, perhaps. Looking
at his red hands, he established quickly that he was a child again.
He certainly didn't feel like it. Touching his moist face,
however, reassured him. But... children didn't have these kinds of
nightmares.
He scrambled to his feet,
his eyes still wide with whatever that experience had been. A dream?
All of it? It was far too real to have been a mere dream. But
here he was, back home. Or close enough, at least. He could
find his way back to his house from where he was, he was certain.
This small matter of being coated with blood, though...
His ears twitched; water!
He knew where he was after all. Though he'd never dare to dive into
that pool again. Still feeling a bit numb, he stumbled through a
hollow log and toward the sound to find a pool of water identical to that
in his dream; or, well, whatever it had been. He didn't want to reflect
on anything now. Or ever.
He splashed and scrubbed,
reveling in the feeling the cold water gave him. He felt much more
awake, much more distant from whatever had just happened. Dunking
his head under the water, he didn't even open his eyes. He didn't
want to see through that hole. Worse yet, he didn't want something
to reach out and grab him, to take him away from his home. He was
back, and young again, and there was no way he was going to leave.
Ever. He wasn't Hylian, he was Kiroki. He knew he was.
No mistake. He was just the odd boy out, with no fairy. That
was alright. He'd rather have none than the one in his dream.
Clean. Wet and shivering,
but clean. He stood and wrung what he could out of his clothes, then
turned to find his way home. Meeting his gaze and coming his direction
from another hollow log, however, was a smiling girl...
"Saria?" Link croaked, his
throat still aching a bit from the scream.
She smiled even wider, seeing
that he was soaking wet. "Link! I was wondering where you'd
gone!" She giggled and trotted up to him, completely overlooking
the startled look in his eyes.
It was Saria.
It really was. His dearest friend. Instead of a casual greeting
like he would have given her at any other time, he actually stepped up
to her and gave her a prolonged hug.
She was a little stiff from
surprise at that. Sure, they'd been friends for a while, but...
"You're friendly today, Link." She giggled.
"No matter what happens,"
he begged her, "Don't ever let me leave the forest. Promise me."
She pulled back just for
a moment to look at him closely, suddenly very serious. His request
was obviously very important to him. "Okay. I promise."
Link nodded, smiling.
"Okay. Let's... go home."
Well, I don't think Link will ever talk to me again. It was only a matter of time, really, but I bet this sort of drove him over the edge... As for Navi, well... I don't really care about Navi.
