NOTE: This is an excerpt from an OOT fanfic that I'm writing. Its pretty straight with the story, except I added a few of my own twists. I added a character named Aimee, who is sort of the "love interest" because I am, of course, a hopeless romantic. So yea…basically I'm just seeing how people like my writing. Some of it wont make sense if only because it references back to other things in the fic that aren't included here. All characters (except Aimee) are owned by Nintendo etc etc. Thank you.
Link crept, slowly, further into the darkness. With Navi infront of him, he could see that the floor had changed from gold covered dirt into…sand? He knelt briefly to run his hands through the tiny beige stones, confirming it's substance. Yes, he was treading on sand now, indicating that they were infact beneath Lake Hylia. Jeez, this place runs long…Scooping Navi into his palm, he held her protectively against his chest, letting her light shine through the cage of his fingers but not wanting her to go ahead of him.
"Stay quiet," he ordered her, and groped to the side for some sort of wall to walk along. His damaged hand reached stiff caked earth and he ran his fingers along it. He let his breath stabilize after so much running and blinked back fatigue, straining his eyes to see further into the abyss of black. The only sound he heard was his breathing, but, wait…
Someone else was in the room. As he walked, the deep, irregular rasps of another pair of lungs touched faintly on his ears and he froze, closing his fingers to smother Navi's light. Link stayed his breathing and shut his eyes, just…listening…
A soft, barely audible squeak of a whimper accompanied of the strained exhales and he could tell that whoever it was was injured. With his hand on the hilt of the master sword, he gathered his wits and called out a strong,
"Who's there?"
The breathing stopped for half a beat, then began at a quicker pace.
"L…Link?"
The sound of that brittle, rasped voice sent Link's heart straight into his throat and he let Navi loose, illuminating the immediate space around him. He could not see her yet, but the knowledge that Aimee was, at the least, still alive and close to him let him release the breathe he'd been holding since she was taken.
"Aimee! Aimee, where are you?"
There was no answer, but the breathing continued and he picked up into a jog until he could see her, crumpled limply like a broken porcelain doll in the middle of the floor. Her hair was flipped forward over her arms and face, which was turned into the dirt like she didn't have the energy to move it. The blue of her dress was ruined with the black and brown crust of now dried blood, streaked with the bright red and white of fresh ooze emerging from the wound exposed to him.
"Jesus, Aimee…" Link swore and dropped to his knees before her. He lifted her head gently and cupped her face in his rough hands, letting his thumbs run over the clammy smoothness of her pale cheekbones.
"Sh…Sheik?" Her eyelids fluttered, exposing the clouded and disoriented pupils beneath them.
"No, no Aimee its me. Its Link."
She furrowed her brow and made a small, strangled noise in the pit of her throat. Navi perched on her forehead, illuminating her face while running her tiny hands over the girl's skin in a calming motion.
"Link." It wasn't a question, just a statement, like she was trying to wrap her mind around the concept of him. Link laid her head softly to the ground and gently placed his arms around her, one around her shoulders and the other beneath her knees.
"Shh, Aimee, I'm getting you out of here. Don't worry…"
It was then that she opened her eyes completely, and with a start began to struggle, albeit weakly, in his arms.
"No, no!" She cried, pushing against his shoulders with hands white like little doves. "No, Sheik! Sheik is here!"
"What do you mean?" He asked. Shifting her in his arms, he was able to reach around and touch her face again. She didn't stop pushing against him and pulling her face away but it was barely making a difference. Before long she grew limp again and her head fell against his chest, completely unconscious.
"She's just delirious," Navi said, tangling herself up in her black locks and petting her forehead.
"I don't know…" Link bit at his lip, wondering if she was right and why Sheik would risk coming down here. Either way, he knew he could not keep the girl in his arms down here for much longer. Her forehead radiated the heat of infection through his tunic and, with fear, he knew she could be very close to death.
That decided it.
"I'm taking her back up," He said with resolution, and turned to head back out the door, but…
BAM. BAM. BAM. BAM…
The ground beneath them began to shake and, with a curse, Link saw the light beyond the door get cut off as it slid closed with a muffled thud.
"Navi, get in my hat!" He ordered, and maneuvered his sword out of its hilt without jostling Aimee. He crouched low to gain balance against the growing vibration and then, just as soon as it started, the shaking and thumping just…stopped.
"Who's there?" He bellowed. A deep, throaty noise was his only answer. It pulsated, growing louder then quieter consecutively as if…as if it was a laugh.
"I said, who's there!" Link yelled, feeling the volume of his voice rasp against his throat. No matter, because it resulted in was another deep chuckle and, suddenly, a light.
A very, very bright light.
Link clamped his eyes shut and shyed away from its radiant suddenness, blinded momentarily until his retnas adjusted. Slowly, he blinked, keeping both arms under Aimee and holding his sword out pointedly in his hand. It took a minute for him to figure out what exactly it was that stood before him. It was an enormous, lumbering silhouette of rippling muscle and flesh, hunched foreword with its long neck directed at the Hero and his unconscious companion. As the thing registered, Link realized its one, enormous eye was the source of the light. It took up the majority of it's bony head, staring huge and round and unblinking at him and emanating a red, fiery light out of it's gaping pupil. As it opened its tiny jaws, the beast hunched into itself and then stood up straight.
"Shit…" The Hero breathed, watching the immense beast unfurl before him. It was, at least, three times as tall as he was, its fists like great, dragging maces at the end of long, sinewy arms. It resembled a man, other than it's head, it's thick legs and torso rippling with pure hard muscle.
"I Bongo Bongo," It said, its voice echoing deep and loud in Link's bones. "I kill Hylian."
And with that, Link sprung into action. He laid Aimee hastily but as gently as he could onto the ground and stepped over her, pointing his sword directly at the giant in front of him in a protective stance over the girl.
"You will do no such thing, to either of us," He hissed, not even caring if the beast could understand him. It threw its head back and roared a deafening roar, and proceeded to beat its fists against the ground in a tribal preparation for battle.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
So that is where the noise came from, Link noticed, hunching low to the ground to keep from losing his balance. He paused half a beat before lunging at the creature, ducking his head and heading straight for the unprotected belly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the great fists swinging toward his head and he ducked, just in time, but the maneuver halted his first attempt at wounding it. He rolled through Bongo Bongo's wideset legs and stood up behind him, immediately at the advantage.
"!" With a feral cry, Link propelled his arm up and foreward to sink the master sword deep into the small of the giant's back, which was level with his face. Once again, in the split second before blade meets flesh Link felt the bloodlust swell up in his chest and he smirked and…
But the blade merely pricked through the beast's hard flesh.
"Shit!" He exclaimed in surprise, and had to duck as Bongo Bongo swung around and tried to brain him again with his fists. Before he could roll out of the way, the beast used the momentum and brought his long neck and head crashing down, driving his sharp chin into the small of Links back.
"Arrghh!" He cried, feeling the bone digging deep into the left of his spine. The weight of Bongo Bongo's head lifted and he rolled onto his back, bringing the sword up to slice at his thigh. It slid in through tough skin and drew blood, but the Hero soon realized that not only did it do nothing but anger the monster but now, he could not yank the weapon free.
"!" Bongo Bongo roared again and swung his leg around to try to dislodge the blade. Link, refusing to let go of its hilt, was pulled off the ground and flew through the air violently, being tossed around like a rag instead of a fairly tall human being. Finally, the blade jerked loose and Link crashed into the wall with a heavy umpf.
"Link!" Navi's voice chirped from underneath his hat, "Aim for its eye!"
He peered up at the approaching beast and, for a moment, was allowed to catch his breath. Indeed, Bongo Bongo's eye looked to be its only weak point. It shone, shimmering and watery, the perfect target. Link kicked himself mentally for not thinking of this before. Idiot, idiot, idiot! You're wasting precious time!
He drew his bow off his belt and knocked a slim, perfectly feathered arrow. Thanks, Saria, he thought, knowing the weapon's original owner. Once again he ducked, letting the massive fist fly over his head, but now instead of attacking him with the sword Link let fly an arrow, straight for the huge circular target three heads above him.
Bongo Bongo swung his head to the left just in time, letting the arrow sink deeply but harmlessly into the soft tissue around the eyeball. It hurt him, though, Link knew. His doppelganger shrieked and stumbled backward, his loud clumsy feet tripping over eachother as he fell backward. He caught himself and ripped the arrow out with another enraged roar, and stood several yards away from the Hero as if surveying a now threatening prey.
"How does that feel, you bastard?" Link bellowed, circling the beast as it circled him. Bongo Bongo, who up until now had seemed incoherent, smirked a suddenly very intelligent looking smirk and muttered,
"Dead Hand…"
Oh, no…Link began to turn but was stopped by the oh-so-familiar claws of a hand bursting from the sand. It grasped the back of his neck tightly and squeezed, its nails sinking into his skin.
"No!" He cried, disbelieving at his own stupidity. The thought of Aimee laying helpless just yards away brought panic surging up his throat and he bellowed,
"Navi! Get Aimee up, now!"
A pink light flew out of his hat as the fey rushed off to wake his companion, but he soon heard her shocked cry as one of the dead hands caught her.
"Link! Link it's got me!"
The Hero bellowed out an exasperated roar and tried to twist around to sever the hand that held him fast, but to no avail. Another burst from the ground and grabbed both his wrists together, and the two of them lifted him to dangle at eyelevel with his doppelganger.
"Well, well," Bongo Bongo said, "Look who is high and mighty now."
Link cursed himself, knowing he had fallen right into the beast's ploy. He was intelligent, he just pretended not to be. The ground shook again as he crept toward Link and he reached out to pinch his bicep between massive fingers. Link watched helplessly as the sharp nails trailed along his skin, the size of his hand.
"Mmm…you are a skinny one, aren't you? Master said I could eat you, as long as I spared your head, but…I'm thinking I won't. Infact, I might just string you up and make you watch as I eat your delicious little friend over there…"
"NO! No, you stay away from her!" Link began to struggle with renewed vigor as that blinding eye trailed heavily to the side over Link's shoulder, watching what he knew was the motionless form of Aimee. The nails dug deeper into his neck but he didn't care, didn't care, he had to get free to save Aimee.
The eye focused once again on Link's face as he reared back and spat right into it, cursing the beast to the deepest pits of Hell.
"You stay away from her you god-damned piece of shit! I swear I'll tear you apart right where you stand if you so much as –"
"I think I've had enough of this one's chatter," Bongo Bongo said nonchalantly, "Dead Hand, would you like to watch?"
From the shadows behind him Link saw the gelatinous form slither foreword, teeth clicking together nervously in giant jaws.
"Ahh, I thought so." Bongo Bongo said, and placed his fingers on either side of Link's bicep. "Lets see, how shall we do this…" The beast seemed to mock-ponder for a moment, letting the Hero seeth in rage and fear for his companions. Oh, Aimee…
The small jaws of Bongo Bongo snapped shut compulsively, over and over again, and he jostled Link's left, already damaged arm from the dead hand's grasp. Without saying anything he began to push against Link's straightened elbow, slowly, as if enjoying every second. Link knew immediately what he was doing and clenched his teeth, not having long to wait before pain began shooting up his bicep and into his neck. A scream was forced out of his throat and he felt something give with a sickening crack…
Aimee heard Link's voice beneath clouds and clouds of unconsciousness, very far away like he was in a dream. Pain seethed beneath her skin, a sickening burning that spread throughout her veins and made her want to turn herself inside out and rip them out, if only to ease the suffering.
Please, please, she murmered, unable to breath, unable to see. But then, there was Link's voice again, yelling at her as if angry.
NO! You stay away from her!
Her? Who is her? Aimee struggled to focus her mind. She swam, shifting through unconscious thoughts until she pryed her eyelids open and stared, momentarily unseeingly, into the red dim abyss above her. Then, as her mind sharpened with reality, details came into focus and the previously cloudy voice of the Hero of Time reached her ears once again.
"You stay away from her you god-damned piece of shit! I swear I'll tear you apart right where you stand if you so much as –"
His desperate pitch was cut off by another, much deeper voice. Aimee furrowed her brow and strained, turning herself over to get a clearer view of what was happening out of her sight.
It was Link, alright. She couldn't see his face, but she heard the fear in his voice as the beast circled him curiously. It was the same beast she had encountered when she was first dropped here, barely conscious and hardly coherent. It hadn't done anything but look at her, then ordered Dead Hand to not eat her…yet.
"Link," Aimee rasped, but she wasn't loud enough for any of them to hear. She took stock of her surroundings and saw Link's bow laying pathetically behind the giant's legs, half hidden in darkness. I must get to it, she thought, pulling herself foreword with her hands. It wasn't fast enough; the beast was fingering Link's arm, pondering the Hero's fate.
No! No, don't you touch him! She wanted to scream, to lash out and tear that disgusting hand away from Link's flesh, but couldn't find the strength within herself. Frustration propelled her foreword and she drew herself to her feet, panting as if she'd just run the length of Hyrule Field. She limped around the circle of light created by the giant's eye and collapsed again, cursing her wounds in her head. The ground was soft and moving, the sand making it difficult to walk. Link's piercing cry drew her gaze to his face, which was contorted and bleeding. The giant was pressing his arm and suddenly, with a nauseating, hollow crack, she saw his elbow give foreword and the bone break through the skin. His cry crescendo-d and then he stared, panting, at his mutilated and now useless left arm. The pain in his expression propelled her to her feet and she half jogged, half limped to the base of the giant's ankles, ignoring the shooting pain that convulsed through her with every motion. The beast, too wrapped up in sadistic pleasure, didn't notice her as she reached with feeble hands between his ankles to grasp the bow.
Steady girl, she told herself, forcing her breathing to slow and her hands to steady. Or at least, she tried. Her eyes scanned the area for something she could shoot and…there! Right beneath Link! A bloody arrow head, its sheath jagged and broken, but still long enough to be shot. Aimee paused, taking a couple lung fulls of air into her body as best she could. Don't think about the pain, girl, she ordered herself, and clenched her teeth. Glancing up, she saw that the giant now had his filthy hand tangled up in Link's hair, yanking his neck back to expose his throat. He leaned down and inhaled, long and deep, smelling the blood that gushed just beneath his skin. Anger reared up inside Aimee as she witnessed the disgusting show of sadism, mirroring the hatred in the Hero of Time's eyes as he glared up at the eye above him. A thick gray tongue darted out from between those thin jaws and slid, slowly, along the Hero's neck, and Dead Hand made little grunting noises as it watched, almost as if it were laughing.
Hell if I'm gonna let you enjoy that meal, you ugly shit, she thought, and at the count of three…
…she lunged.
Link saw her leap out of the darkness like the very essence of doom and death itself, rage contorting her face into a pale white mask. She landed before him crookedly and less than gracefully, grunting from the pain of the impact, and rolled right on through beneath his feet and out of his range of sight. What she was doing, Link had no idea. The rough tongue immediately pulled away from his neck, leaving a trail of slime along his skin, and the giant stepped back to behold what now had to be the tiny, enraged girl behind him.
"Let him down!"
Her voice was feeble, undeniably brittle and un-frightening. The creak of a bow oh-so familiar to him reached his ears as Aimee aimed, planning to shoot God knows what, at the prepared beast before him. Bongo Bongo crouched low to the ground and crept, huge hand over huge hand, to the side, circling around Link and also out of his site.
"Aimee, don't!" He panted, the pain still shooting up his arm and down his spine. It hung limply at his side now, blood trickling down his hands and off his fingertips. He tried not to look at it, knowing the bone was jutting through the flesh of the elbow like a shiv.
The resonating chuckle of Bongo Bongo was all he heard, other than his own breathing.
"Stop playing with toys, little girl. Ganandorf gave me special orders on how to deal with you,"
Link inhaled sharply at the mention of Ganandorf's name, still unused to hearing it after all this time. What could he want with her?
There was no response from Aimee, but she crept back into his sight as she retreated from the approaching giant, holding the fairy bow crookedly in front of her to accommodate a shortened arrow. Link saw by the blood on the sheath that it was the one Bongo Bongo had pulled out of his eye. Although her face was pulled sharply into a grimace, no doubt from the pain eminating from that possibly-fatal wound on her side, Aimee's eyes were clear and squinted, studying her doppelganger for the opportune moment to shoot. Red light from Bongo Bongo's eye reflected off the pale of her face and, with the blood and dirt smeared across her skin, she looked like a proper warrior of death. Link bared his teeth, jerking again at his shackles but gaining nothing. The size of the giant compared to Aimee was horrifying; his strong form overshadowed Aimee's broken one as he too crept back into sight.
"Aimee…" Link whispered, watching horrified as she backed herself against a wall, then raised his voice. "Shoot, Aimee, you don't have time!"
She didn't listen. Instead, she let the beast lower its giant eye to level with her face, just inches away from her nose. Despite her injured state, Link watched as the girl stood as tall as she could and met the giant gaze before her.
What are you doing, Aimee?
"What did Ganandorf tell you to do with me?"
Her words were hushed and steady, barely audible but undeniably clear in their intention. Link began to struggle with re-newed force.
"Aimee, what are you doing? Shoot him! Come on!" He jerked violently on the last word, and, miraculously, a finger slipped slightly from around his right wrist. Yes! He took advantage of the dead hand's weakness and pulled again before it had time to recover, and, miracle of all miracles, it lost its iron grip and he swung his right hand beneath his left arm and latched on to the wrist of the dead hand holding his neck. With a flash, Din's fire burst from beneath his palm and he heard the screech of Dead Hand as it watched one of its limbs burn completely in half. He fell to the ground and was immediately on his feet, holding his left arm stiffly at his side. Wasting no time, Link looked to where Navi was caught and let loose a stream of fire at that hand too, freeing his fey and injuring the creature further in one fell swoop.
"Link! Behind you!" Navi screeched, and the Hero of Time turned just in time to duck the rotting jaws of Dead Hand. With a feral cry he threw himself at its gelatinous body, latching on and ingnoring the little claws scratching at his back. The force of his attack knocked the creature back against the wall and, with one smooth motion, he pulled the master sword back out of his belt and pinned it to the wall, right through its neck. A gurgling screech resonated above his head where its jaws were opening wide, snapping shut convulsively with the pain.
Temple's energies…He thought, and bared his teeth. They welled up inside him and when the Dead Hand's screeches began to crescendo, he knew they were flowing from his skin.
I hope you suffer in Hell, Dead Hand.
Link held his fatal embrace a beat longer before pulling back, watching the fleshy beast writhe as its skin burned away from it's body and the bloody carnage of previously eaten and partially digested Hylians fell from the hollow if it's torso. They, too, were burned up by the light within seconds.
Link didn't waste time admiring his work, but instead turned steadily to face the giant and Aimee. He hadn't heard any more of what had been said, nor any screams, but his heart was in his throat until he saw Aimee still standing there, face to face with the dark beast before her. Navi slid unnoticed beneath his hat.
"Aimee…" Link murmured, slitting his eyes and studying the peculiar scene before him. The girl had her eyes closed, just standing stock still with the bow still held unused in her hand. Bongo Bongo stared at her face, unmoving, unblinking…
Until one of his giant fists reared back and came plummeting down onto the frail form of his companion.
"NOO!" Link screamed, and lept foreword to push her out of the way. They fell beneath the force of his palms and, in consequence, the giant fist crashed down on the back of his rib cage with several horrible cracks. Pain shot through his torso and he gasped, the breath being knocked completely from his lungs as his ribs broke beneath the pressure. Aimee screamed a jagged curse, something along the lines of what an idiot Link was, but he didn't hear beneath the pain. In the split second that he lay trapped, the jaws of Bongo Bongo darted to the space between his shoulder blades and his teeth tore away both cloth and flesh.
"!" Link cried out and flipped the hilt of his sword in his palm, so that the blade pointed directly at the shoulder of the giant. Summoning the temple's powers, he used the majority of his strength to drive the blade foreword and into Bongo Bongo's shoulder. His teeth ripped away from Link's skin and his doppelganger threw his massive head back and screeched, before turning to look at the weapon emerging from his gray and stone like flesh.
The unholy sound almost deafened the Hero of Time, but the pressure soon lifted from his back as Bongo Bongo yanked the sword from his shoulder. It clattered to the floor, bloody, and Link rolled to the side to pick it back up before the giant could pin him down again. All pain was numbed now by the temple's energies surging through him, and, standing with his sword at his side and glaring under grimacing eyebrows, teeth bared, he felt, for the first time, the true anger of the Hero of Time.
It was different, powerful. Much more powerful than anything the else that had ever spurred in his soul. It filled him up with the urge not to kill, but to fight for those who needed protecting. The point that Aimee had tried to make to him that night that seemed so long ago was now completely clear to him: the goal wasn't to kill out of revenge, it was to fight for justice. That blurry line was now so clear to him that, in this moment of clarity, Link had no idea how he had never seen it before.
He glanced momentarily at Aimee, who was just getting up from his shove and holding her side tightly. She looked at him and their eyes met, blue driving into blue, and a weak smile split across her face. She knew.
A cry of fury tore their gazes away from each other as both the Hero and the girl looked back at the giant. He screamed and threw himself, arms out in front of him with hands like claws, at Link, who ducked and rolled foreword to narrowly miss the immense body sailing over him. As Link landed he swung his sword around with all the anger in him, driving it deep into the giant's side. Simultaneously, he pulled the hookshot from it's spot on his belt and aimed it at Bongo Bongo's head, releasing it's hook and letting it bury itself deep into his doppelganger's neck. Bongo Bongo screamed again as the chain pulled taught and Link flew through the air, landing on the giants shoulders with his legs straddling the giant's massive head. Wordless with anger, the Hero of Time brought his broken arm up to clasp hands with his right hand and, with the master sword tucked between his palms, he drove the blade downward into the fleshy softness of Bongo Bongo's eye.
Immediately there was silence, and the Master Sword's tip emerged from the back of the giant's head right before Link's belly. Bongo Bongo's corpse paused a moment in the air before collapsing beneath Link, causing him to tumble foreword to land harmlessly on the sand beneath. Navi squeaked as his hat fell from his head and dumped her on the ground, splayed out pink and flickering in the sand. Gazing up at her charge, he could see her expression change from shock to anger.
"Use some grace, why dontcha?" Navi scolded, immediately picking herself up and brushing the small sand pellets from her smooth pink body. Link paused a moment, breathing. The temple's energies were still surging through his veins, swirling into his adrenalin and making his hands shake with the raw power. He turned, gazing down at the dead body of Bongo Bongo.
Well, Ganandorf, he thought, running his tongue over his dry and bloody lips, looks like you'll have to think of something better than this.
"Link,"
Aimee's voice cut through Link's pride like a cold blade as he remembered her presence. He looked up to see her sagging against the wall, head leaning back in obvious pain as she slid to the ground.
"Oh, Aimee, no…"
He jogged to her, kneeling once again before her to take her face into his hands. She looked up at him wearily through clouded eyes.
"Aimee, what were you thinking?" Link asked, exasperated. Blood was once again gushing from the deep teeth marks in her torso and it flowed over his hand as he pressed his palm against them, trying to stop the bleeding. Aimee didn't answer, just let her head sag against his forearm. He gave up trying to stop the bleeding and ripped the remains of her ruined dress from around her torso, using it instead to wrap around her wounds in a tight, make-shift bandage.
"Don't worry, I will get you out of here," He breathed, "Don't worry, don't worry,"
But then, a light began to surround him.
"No, damnit! NO!" Link cursed loudly, shutting his eyes and pulling Aimee close to him. She reached out a feeble hand and placed it along his neck.
"Shhh," she murmured, "I'll be here when you get back."
"No, no we don't have time!" He protested, but it made no difference. Within seconds the weight of her body in his arms disappeared and he was surrounded, once again, with the bright white light of the Realm of Sages.
"Shit!" He cursed, slamming his fist against the opalescent floor. Ripples of invisible liquid danced away from the impact of his hand and disappeared into the whiteness.
"Hero, calm yourself."
A wise, rich voice told him. He looked up, and found himself staring at a figure he hadn't seen for seven years. Shock jolted through him, but he soon recovered and stood before her.
"We need to hurry," He said, or more demanded. A small smile twitched at Impa's lips.
"I, as you now know, am the Sage of Shadow. I thank you for setting me free"…
UHHHHHHH the end :D