STRENGTH BEHIND A MASK
"Hey Link, what's in that bag?"
The warrior clad in the green tunic looked up to his fellow warrioress. Taking note of the bag in question that sat next to his octagonal shield and holy sword, he gave a slight shiver.
"That bag has some old masks I picked up a long time ago."
The blonde heroine who sat across from the fire tilted her head. She thought it odd that someone like Link would fiddle with trivial things that gave no advantage in battle. She hummed to herself, never really noticing the somewhat bulky bag before. Did he just pull it out of his "magic pouch"?
She stifled a laugh. Anytime she thought about the ridiculous notion that his tiny little pouch was enchanted to carry a wagon's worth of gear, never ceased to make her snicker. It was one of the most bizarre things she ever heard of.
Link took notice of his companions attempt to conceal a laugh. Immediately, he knew she was analyzing how he had managed to make the bag of masks appear from no where. In truth, he was just making sure he hadn't lost any. The villagers of some villages have tried many times to lift something from his pockets.
"You thinking about my pouch again?"
"Mhm."
Link rolled his eyes. "Figures. You know, I never met someone as nosy as you..."
"Hey! I resent that!"
Link chuckled as he turned around and rummaged through another bag. She gave him a pout, standing to walk over to his side of the campfire. She leaned down and flipped his hat about to get him to turn around.
"Can I look at your masks?"
"Cassandra, really?"
"Come on, I'm so bored..."
Link sighed. Cassandra gave him the brightest grin she could, just to egg him on. After looking at her excited expression for a few seconds, Link sighed again before reaching for his Mask Bag. He undid the strap and reached in. For some reason, Cassandra began to feel anxious, like a child in the town carnival that would come during harvest season.
Such joy came from those carnivals, she remembered crafting masks for Terror Night in October. The townsfolk would give sweets to the children for participating. Such fun memories, shared with her sister, were close to her heart...
After some picky selecting, Link finally pulled out a yellow mask shaped like a fox's face. Cassandra's eyes lit up slightly as he handed the old mask to her.
"It's so adorable!"
Link rubbed the back of his neck. "It's called the Keaton mask. Keatons are nine-tailed foxes in my world, they're sentient beings that give wisdom to those lucky to meet one."
Cassandra frowned. "That kind of sounds silly. Did you just make that up?" She asked in an accusatory tone.
Link laughed, "No no, it's the traditional history of the Keaton masks. They were sold by a shop in my country."
Cassandra hummed to herself, placing the mask on her face and wrapping the leather strap around her head. The eyes were thin, and it was a bit dusty inside, but she felt giddy. A childlike glee overcame her, and she nearly squealed with delight. Oh, how she wished she was young again, going door to door and asking for sweets.
"What other masks do you have?"
"Hold on, now. All of my masks have a purpose." Link looked her straight into her eyes, and Cassandra settled down from her metaphorical cloud of bliss, "The Keaton mask was used to summon Keatons, but it only worked if you could find specific spots."
Whether or not she thought he was just making things up to give his bag of wood some value – as she already marked him as the hoarder type – Cassandra actually took a moment to contemplate his words. She did feel a tad different with the Keaton Mask on... Shrugging it off, she took the mask off and set it on the log Link was sitting on.
"Yeah, sure. What else do you have?"
Grumbling to himself about a nosy Greek (to which Cassandra stuck her tongue out at him), Link reached into his bag and pulled another mask out.
It immediately made Cassandra frown deeper. "What is that supposed to be? A pig, or a boar?" She felt a tad iffy about this one.
Grinning at her obvious detest for the carved wood, "This is the Mask of Scent. I said all of my masks have a purpose, they all have some kind of power. This mask greatly enhances-"
"Smell?" She butt in. Link nodded, and handed her the oddly designed mask. Cassandra grimaced, and placed it on. As soon as she had the straps secured, she felt a wave of energy rush through her.
Her body moved of its own accord, she began to detect several smells around her area, Link, the burning wood in the fire, the rations supply, and some animals coming close to get the warmth from their campfire. Without her consent, Cassandra bent low and began snorting through the mask, sniffing and sniffing with guttural breaths.
Link grinned, and snickered. The third grunt was more than enough to convince Cassandra, as she stood back up and ripped the mask from her head. In her frantic attempt, she fell back and landed on her rump with an "oof!"
It was all to much, for her companion was guffawing loudly. She panted, extremely disturbed and her mind flooded with questions.
"What the hell just happened?!" Cassandra demanded, but she got no answer, as Link was busy holding his sides and laughing. She kicked his boot and threw the Mask of Scent at him.
Link was able to catch it, but couldn't stop his snickering. Cassandra pouted at him as he put the odd mask away before laying back on his log, still laughing.
"Liiiink!" She whined, "That wasn't fair!"
"I did warn you!" He manage between chuckles.
"You know, I've been thinking..."
"Oh, here we go..."
"Quiet!" Link snickered before she continued, glaring at him, "...We've been trying to beat Nightmare for a while now."
"And?"
"Well...I don't know, maybe we're not strong enough. We should try to get better so we can put an end to this...well, nightmare."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"...Does any of your crazy junk masks make you better at fighting?" Cassandra leaned in, hope in her eyes.
Link leaned back, she was a bit closer than he was used to. But her words registered as soon as he could put his mind elsewhere than her face being intimately close, enough for him to smell the apple she had moments ago, still lingering on her breath. Link's eyes narrowed at her question, his arms crossed and a frown of disapproval forming on his lips.
"Oooh no. Leave my crazy junk masks out of this."
"But-"
"Cassandra, the masks I have are not toys. I haven't used them in a long time, in fact, I haven't opened that bag for a whole decade! Tonight was the first time I've seen them since last time! A whole decade, Cassandra! That alone should give testament to why I don't play with them!"
"Why?"
"Memories, for one. Some of the masks I have possess terrible power. Blindly throwing them on just to gain advantage over a foe we can overcome by ourselves is both irresponsible, and promotes unhealthy dependence of power you can not understand, keep for yourself, or control completely."
Cassandra sighed, holding her head up with both hands as she gave Link a dull glare.
"You just want to hog them to yourself."
"Really?" He asked, his voice and face exasperated.
"Ahuh."
With a "hmph", Link reached into his bag and pulled out another mask. It was strange, white with red trimming. It bore a smile and a single eye shape. How was someone supposed to see out of it? She furrowed her brows at the strangely crafted mask, but watched silently as Link placed it on his head.
When the mask was secured, Link began silently staring at his companion. The stare from the single eye was so piercing, it felt as if Cassandra was losing herself in the orange color of the iris. It was as if Link was gazing through her, as if to uncover some dark secret buried deep in her mind. After staring at her for what felt like an eternity, which made Cassandra extremely uncomfortable, evident by the heated blush as she looked away, Link finally spoke up.
"You're the one who ate my apple! No wonder I couldn't find it earlier!" He pointed an accusatory finger at her. Alarmed, and extremely flustered that he somehow found out about her mischief, Cassandra could only shake her head.
"W-what?! No! I didn't do it!"
"Yes, you did. Don't lie, this mask can see through lies, and any construct of illusion." Link calmly stated. It was then that Cassandra realized that he managed to change the topic, somehow making use of a useless bit of truth to make her feel guilty.
"Seriously, Link? What is that, the 'Mask of Truths'?"
"Eeyup. Good guess, too. That's the actual name."
Slapping her forehead, Cassandra grunted.
"Zeus save me, I'm serious, we need to get stronger."
Link, having lost his playfulness at her words, removed the mask from his head. He stared hard and long at Cassandra's eyes, as if searching for something. She did her best to hold such a steely gaze, nearly faltering once or twice under Link's heavy glare, but months of traveling with the green-clad Hylian had helped her to build some resistance to his intense stares of doom.
After a long moment of silence, Link let go of his stare with a heavy, tired sigh.
"The reason why I don't brandish my masks, the ones that give me strength in unique ways, is because the masks morph the wearer's body to a new shape."
Cassandra tilted her head in confusion. "You mean, like, a transformation?"
He nodded, "Yes, only worse. It is a torturous process, every fiber alive and every nerve feeling every sense tenfold. The mutating is excessively painful, and only those with powerful wills can withstand the suffering required to complete the transformation."
With that, Link reached back into his bag and pulled out a mask that surprised her.
"That one... it looks like... you!"
Another nod. "This is a fearsome mask of unimaginable power. I have only brandished it once in my entire life... It is called the Fierce Deity's mask. The wrath within it is so great, it made another god tremble before the might I unleashed with this piece of wood. I swear, if fate allows me, I will never use it again..."
"But why?"
"The god in this mask has lost his name over the ages. The malevolent nature, the malice, and the unstoppable raw power in this mask... I almost couldn't control myself. Everything the spirit in this mask was feeling, thinking, I felt and thought as well. The same goes to my other masks that alter my form."
Cassandra pulled her knees in close, intrigued by Link's tale. She held on tightly to her legs, eager to know more.
"Emotions are amplified, depending on the nature of the mask, and the spirit inside of it. The Fierce Deity was a being of vengeance. A dark avenger, whom was angered by the sins of the other deity whom I was pitted against. When I wore his mask, I wanted nothing more than to punish everything! Everything... I wanted my enemy to burn endlessly."
For the oddest reason, Cassandra found herself staring into the eyeless sockets of the Fierce Deity mask, and great trepidation befell her. An awesome power emanated from it like a dangerous fume, and she could almost swear that darkness seeped from the mask like a drape, almost hiding Link's grip over the ancient wood. She was glad when Link placed the mask back in the bag, hiding it away so that it couldn't stare emptily into her existence anymore.
But Link rummaged around and pulled another mask from the bag. The face of the mask made Cassandra's jaw nearly fall into her lap. It was shaped like a knight's visor, a familiar, azure helmet etched into the wood of a wearable mask.
An unholy power reverberated from it. It whispered of desire to her, of hunger, and lust. It wasn't nearly as swallowing as the Fierce Deity's mask, but it invoked a great sense of terror and dread all the same.
"Do you know what this is?"
Cassandra slowly shook her head, but she had an idea of what it was supposed to be.
"I got this when I first defeated Nightmare, before I met you. I played a song of spiritual healing on my Ocarina, and freed the knight that had been consumed by Soul Edge's promises."
She lifted her eyes from the azure visor and locked with Link's piercing gaze.
"The unholy power of Nightmare that enslaved Siegfried Schtauffen was sealed into this mask. And with it, all the fury of Soul Edge's hatred. I never wore this mask, it makes me want to claim all that I desired, protect what I had, and destroy anything that stood between me and whatever I thought should be mine, just by holding it in my hand. It is a mask that invokes a dangerous selfishness, and greed. This, is what it means to seek power..."
"Hey, you alright over there?"
Cassandra briefly turned her eyes to Link, who sat opposite of the fire. She was supposed to be asleep while he had watched for camp-raiders, instead she spent the time watching the stars. A whistle meant to get her attention returned her focus to the long-eared warrior.
"Yeah... Just thinking. Why, something about me got you worried?"
Link grimaced a bit.
"Well..." He began, somewhat quietly, before swallowing a little. "...I was worried the argument about the masks had an...undesired effect."
Cassandra gave him a small smile. "It was a bit... I dunno. Unnerving to hear you talk like that."
"I have my reasons. I'm worried about what can happen."
"It sounded more like you were..." She paused, unsure if she could finish that. Link was the bravest person she had ever met. He didn't fear anything...right?
"I was what?"
"...Afraid..." She nearly whispered to herself. She winced after realizing she blurted it out loud enough that she knew he heard her. There was a shuffle, she opened her eyes and meekly looked towards her comrade and saw a sad expression adorning his face. Link gave a small sigh, his shoulders slumping.
He remained silent for a bit, as if trying to find something in himself. Cassandra didn't dare to speak, she felt like her words pierced him through the heart, it made her worry. Had she struck an old wound? Finally, he opened his eyes, a sad glint in his gaze.
"You're very perceptive...for a nosy Athenian." Cassandra groaned at his words.
"Liiiink..." She whined, making him chuckle. "You recovered from that pretty fast." She gave him a pout, which renewed his soft laughing. It made her feel better to hear him laugh. It just wasn't right when he seemed...disturbed.
There was something about the way he bounced back, nothing seemed to faze him, not for long, at least. She had known him for several months now, and it was easy to be herself around him. He made no judgment to her character, and the only strife was his teasing, which she secretly enjoyed. It occurred to her that she had a slight crush on him... 'Okay, maybe a bit more than that.' She thought.
"You should get some sleep, now."
His softened voice interrupted her musing. She sat for a moment, watching him pull his Ocarina from his pouch and place the pipe to his lips. It took a moment for the Hylian to find his tune of choice, but soon, sweet music was gently flowing from the royal blue instrument.
As Link played his alluring music, Cassandra felt her eyelids grow heavier. Before she turned on her side, she caught him watching her with guilt-ridden eyes. She had no time to contemplate it his strange shift in character, as the melody lulled her to sleep. She almost wanted to curse his songs for being so soothing...
Almost.
The sound of metal smacking her shield left a ring in her ears, the sharp sting of the impact sending waves of pain through her arm. But she held firm, and pushed the ax-wielding giant from her space. With a furious war cry, she leapt up, her sword slitting through the thick hide of her attacker's neck.
She heard him calling her name, struggling to defeat the nightmare that descended on them that evening. Cassandra rushed to his aid, ducking and dodging slashes and crushing blows. Link was in trouble, their enemies had managed to break through his powerful defense, and injured him.
She could see in his stance that he was getting winded quickly. A blood stain across his right shoulder, running down the slash that was left diagonally on his chest. A vicious punch from the Azure Knight left him reeling, yet he managed to decapitate a Lizardman behind him with the momentum of Nightmare's fist.
Somehow, in his attempt to hold Nightmare at bay, Link sighted an attack coming from behind his friend. "Cassie, look out!"
A blow struck her, but she was glad that it had been blunt and clumsy. She rolled forward, twisting her body to come back upright. Sighting the assailant, a masked mercenary, she thrust her blade up in a powerful stab, before ripping it from his side. Her attacker collapsed with a grunt, dying quickly.
A pained cry came from behind her, as she turned to see what had happened, she witnessed as Link took a slash that was poorly blocked across his left shoulder. The force of the strike had sent him spiraling off his feet to land in a heap. Nightmare laughed victoriously, closing in slowly to saver the kill. Soul Edge eyed Link's bloodied body hungrily, thirsting to taste more Hylian blood.
Her eyes had widened.
"No!"
With renewed strength, she charged a Berserker that stood between her and Nightmare.
Link grunted, pushing himself back to his feet as quickly as his injured limbs would allow. Tightening his grip on the Master Sword and his Hylian shield, he turned one open eye to Nightmare and glared at the knight's crimson gaze.
"Insolent little wretch. You are nothing but an insect to crush!" Nightmare's demonic voice echoed, distorted by fire and ash. Heaving the giant blade to his side, the red eyes in the helm of his visor glowed brighter, empowered by the turn of the battle in his favor. "I'll feast on your soul soon enough, little bug."
Link spat blood from his mouth, caused by Nightmare's crushing fist punches. He too raised his sword and shield, taking a stance once more. Though, he could feel himself weakening quickly. How did he not notice Nightmare's presence sooner? The attack was so quick, he was unable to defend properly. A mistake that was costing him vital energy.
Without a word, Link charged Nightmare head on, changing from defensive to offensive in the hopes of at least throwing Nightmare off by his drastic change in strategy. It worked.
Caught off-guard, Nightmare roared as he raised Soul Edge quickly, but was still caught by a cleansing slash from Link's holy Master Sword. Stumbling back as the purifying power of the blade burned his injured demon arm, Nightmare swung Soul Edge wide, forcing Link to raise his shield.
But the Hylian was nearly spent. He couldn't withstand the strike, thanks to the blood loss. Careening to the side, Link crashed into a nearby oak, crumbling to the ground with a spinning head.
Cassandra grunted as she pierced the Berserker's chain mail in a weak spot, shoving the brute from her blade. She glanced back to Link, noting that Nightmare seemed stunned and was holding his giant arm gingerly, but her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw her companion unmoving at the base of a tree, blood covering his tunic.
"Link, hold on!"
Before she could bolt for his prone form, something caught her eye. From the Athenian's left, another Berserker had come up and swung its ax's flat side towards her. She couldn't react in time, the blunt end of the ax struck her abdomen, sending her flying closer to Link, but not closer than several feet, her sword having left her hand in the air to land next to her friend.
She rolled, pain coursing her stomach from the destructive force. She felt a rib had cracked under that kind of pressure, and her head was dizzied. Shaking the fog from her conscious and stumbling over, she grabbed her shortsword. Before she could check her friend, another object caught her sight.
The azure helm stared back at her, darkness behind the mask seeped out around the paint of the wood. She could feel a great power beckoning her to brandish it against her enemies. Victory was assured if she would only accept its gift.
But Link's eery warnings echoed in her mind.
"It is a mask that invokes a dangerous selfishness, and greed."
She clenched her eyes shut, struggling to make the right choice. If she ignored him, there was a chance for them to survive. But would there be a cost? However, if she didn't, Link would die, and maybe she would follow his fate soon after.
"All of my masks have a purpose..."
'So what purpose are they for, if you never use them...?' She wondered to herself.
"Memories, for one. Some of the masks I have possess terrible power... Blindly throwing them on just to gain advantage over a foe we can overcome by ourselves is irresponsible."
Their enemies were closing in on her slowly. Nightmare was recovering from the Master Sword's repelling power, already reaching for Soul Edge, which kept staring at Link's prone form.
Cassandra's eyes darted between Link, the Nightmare mask, and her sister's old sword. She took a deep breath... And lifted the Nightmare mask. Turning it over, she prayed for strength.
With one last breath, Cassandra quickly placed the the visor on her face.
Energy exploded from her figure. A whirling wind engulfed her vicinity, forcing Nightmare and his minions back. Link stirred, revived by the dark powers that flowed around him like a torrential storm. She screamed, a terrifying, blood-curdling, gut retching scream that was striking fear in everyone near. Tendrils of power, akin to lightning zapped in and out of the vortex, singeing and electrocuting any enemies within range.
"No..." Link managed to breath out, trying to stand. "Cassandra, don't!"
A power pulse erupted from her body, he could vaguely see armor slithering onto her body and taking shape to accommodate her figure. Her left hand became encased in scales and claws, but retaining its original size. Link was knocked back against the tree, his injuries resurfacing and hindering him more.
Another scream of unimaginable pain came from his friend, and Link felt his heart lurch so hard, it nearly came out of his chest. He could only watch with terrified eyes and deep regret, wishing he could of prevented her from this hellish torture.
In hindsight, she regretted brandishing such a powerful force, inviting it to reforge her. The mask tore at her insides, twisting and turning and violently reshaping her entire core. Power coursed through her veins, the strength of a hellish nightmare powerful enough to make even the bravest men quiver in fear. Fire spewed in her lungs, the heat of the sickish, green flame burning her inside with passion and hatred. With every labored breath, the flame would come forth, emerging from her nostrils and mouth to lick at her face.
Cassandra felt all of her emotions increase tenfold, her mind raced with thoughts and memories. All her desires flashed in her mind's eyes, and a dark voice whispered to her that it could help her claim her wishes. She could feel her heart skip and sputter, all of the things she wanted could be her's to claim.
The voice, dark and ashy, whispered more promises. It promised to make her sister respect her adulthood, it promised to destroy Soul Edge and anyone she deemed an enemy. The voice assured her that her family would honor her when she restored peace and order to her homeland...
And then it promised to make Link love her. To make him desire her beyond measure. To claim him for herself, and no one else could hope to take his companionship from the Athenian. It swore an oath to ensure he remained at her side. Either as lover, or friend.
She felt herself shudder. Overwhelmed by the pain, she accepted these promises as worthy offerings, allowing the power of the mask to enter her body in full.
Nightmare stood in shock, unable to fathom what was happening, but sensing a great power equaling his own. Soul Edge having sensed the new aura, shifted its unholy gaze onto Cassandra's burning figure, standing tall and stiffly in the maelstrom of power.
The figure in the center of the storming energy shifted, covered from head to toe in draconic armor, holding a longsword made of metal and flesh, and a large shield on her left hand. A malevolent helmet adorned with batwings and a horn on the crest covered her head, and long blonde hair rose up from the rear of the helm in a ponytail to cascaded down her backside, whipping violently in the force of the vortex. Small ivory tusks decorated her spaulders, giving more to the petrifying nightmare that was a noble, spirited warrioress prior.
Extending her armored arms outward, Cassandra shattered the energy dome around her with her new found strength, causing several fissures to form in circles outward of her position. The world seemed to be pushed back by the force that escaped, a few smaller trees had fallen over and the small group of Soul Edge's minions had been knocked from their feet.
"This, is what it means to seek power..."
Somehow, Link remained unharmed. The Triforce mark on the back of his hand glowed brightly, but he quenched his eyes shut, fearing for his friend. She would be put to the test now, if she had managed to withstand the trial of transforming into a new body.
Through the raging fires that surrounded her, like a gateway into a world of damnation, green glowing orbs that completely eclipsed the Athenian's iris' pierced the group around her, watching as they stood up slowly. Her gaze landed on the Azure Knight, whom was glaring hatefully at the dark blue armored Athenian. She stepped forward from the cracked earth and towering flames, her steel sabatons causing indents in the earth to appear under the weight of her smoking armor.
She stopped just next to Link, who labored to breathe now. He struggled to get off his knees and onto his feet, but didn't have the power in him to move more. He collapsed again, his gaze landing on the blue steel of Cassandra's feet. His gaze traveled up, her whole body covered in thick, night blue armor and held together by small ivory covered rivets, white ropes and straps beneath her gear. Her chest plate was shaped to comfortably house her breasts, keeping her torso snugly protected. Eventually, his sight traced her fearsome helmet. The thin horizontal line visor leaving little room for anything to enter, shaped like the bow of a large vessel and lined in the white ivory color akin to her tunic.
Finally, he locked his eyes on her glowing orbs. She stared down at him, her eyes flickering briefly, as if showing a sign of some emotion that he couldn't decipher. She knelt down, pushing him to lay on his back, her hand lingered on his chest where his heart was before she stood back up to face Nightmare.
"Foolish child! No power you wield will hold me. His soul is MINE!" Nightmare roared, leaping into a charge, followed by his minions. A growling hiss escaped Cassandra's mouth, the greenish fire spewing out from her helmet's visor, lashing out in anger. How dare Nightmare claim Link as his to take, when she had desired him more? What an insolent creature, to think it held the strength to challenge her dominion, when she held the power to shake the earth to its core.
"No... Link is mine – all mine!"
Raising her shield in front of her, she readied to charge. But before she could take off, Link grabbed her leg. She looked down at him, glaring in frustration, before her glowing eyes softened when she remembered he was a friend.
"Cassandra... Believe in your strengths. Don't-" He coughed more blood, "don't let the mask's power control you! Don't listen to the voice! Believe in your strengths...as I do."
She turned her head back to the approaching group, saying nothing as she charged forward at a blinding speed. Link couldn't see the reddening of her cheeks, nor the burning hateful glare aimed at Nightmare.
With the force of two bulls colliding, Cassandra and Nightmare clashed their blades at breakneck speed. The force sending a shockwave from their planted feet. The two pushed against each other briefly, before Cassandra maneuvered her sword so that Nightmare lost his balance and fell over.
She took this time to deal with his minions. Her shield deflected a Berserker's ax before she stabbed his visor, piercing the brute's face. As it fell over, she sidestepped a Lizardman's sword strike and grabbed its arm.
Using her new found strength, the empowered Athenian spun the man-sized serpent around, knocking the only other Lizardman present back before swinging her victim up and then bringing it crashing to the ground. A crater formed beneath her from the brutal force, the Lizardman unmoving at its center, bleeding from several openings.
With only one Lizardman and a few mercenary bandits left, the latter of which retreated hastily at the furious display of Cassandra's impressive power, the Athenian turned her attention back to Nightmare in time to catch his sword. Soul Edge pushed down on her shield until its tip cut into her helmet, nearly piercing her eye. When she stopped Nightmare's carving, her sword slashed across Soul Edge's eye, making Nightmare retreat a few steps, holding his head as the blade gave off shrieks of pain.
Link's eyes fluttered open briefly, having managed to remain conscious enough to occasionally see varying spots of the battle. He hoped she would be strong enough to control the mask... Then again, how was it that she got it? He felt for his pouch, noticing the flap had come up while he was busy fighting earlier.
'Dammit... what else did I manage to drop? I don't need her getting excited with my stuff...'
A quick look at his surroundings suggested that only the Nightmare mask had come free. But why just it? Reaching into his pouch, he grabbed a finger-sized capsule with red liquid in it. Popping the lid off, he drank the small potion before gripping his sword again.
With his energy slowly returning, he rushed back into the fight in time to slay the last Lizardman before it could attack Cassandra's unprotected flank.
Nightmare and Cassandra briefly passed a look to the revived Hylian, watching as he stabbed the creature's abdomen before turning a fierce slash on Nightmare.
With Link and Cassandra beating at Nightmare's defenses, the two were quickly pushing the fiend back. For every strike Link launched that Nightmare countered, Cassandra parried and forced Nightmare to defend. And every time Nightmare slashed at Cassandra, Link blocked for her as she attacked any opening he left. Their union forced Nightmare to make a desperate move.
He shoved through them, grabbing a stunned Link by his neck. Cassandra rolled to recover, her eyes widening beneath her visor. "No!" She raised her sword to strike at Nightmare's flank. Not able to kill the Hylian immediately and stave of her attack, Nightmare used his helm to headbutt Link with enough force that a sickening crack resounded, before flinging the Hylian's motionless body aside to block Cassandra's retaliation. She caught Nightmare's blade, holding it above her as her glowing eyes watched her friend crumble unconsciously where he landed. Her distraction allowed the evil knight to push her off easily.
Nightmare swung his monstrous blade horizontally, batting Cassandra's sword back and clanging against her shield. He punched her defense with his claw hand, pushing her planted feet further backwards with his strength. She felt her teeth grit, digging deep as she forced herself to overpower Nightmare again, shoving him off with her shield.
The azure mass-murderer wasn't able to keep his stability when Cassandra's blade stabbed through his arm and slit his shoulder in a wide arc. The evil knight roared in pain, falling onto his back before rolling clear of the Athenian's wrathful assault.
"You won't claim him! I won't let you take him from me!" She shouted, her voice distorted by the same hellfire and ash as Nightmare's. She kicked, slashed and shield-shoved as Nightmare weakly dodged, parried and retreated.
"Link is mine!" Her sword once again shattered his defenses, this time stabbing his knee before she smacked his helmet with her shield and her sword followed, leaving a long gash on the thick metal. "I'll burn you alive for what you've done!"
Pulling on the mask's power, Cassandra's body erupted into sickly green flames. Taking hold of his demonic hand, Cassandra whipped Nightmare high above her with an earth shattering roar. Sheathing her sword, she launched herself up and, with a second battle cry, spun and kicked with enough force to crack his breastplate, the power behind it causing a ring wave to repulse from the impact, sending the knight spiraling through the air and into the trees.
Cassandra landed with a heavy thud, ripping her sword free of its scabbard on her back before chasing after the spot where she last saw the Azure Knight. After passing some of the trees, she stopped at his crash site.
Nightmare was gone, having retreated for now.
Unable to fathom her failure to slay her foe, Cassandra growled in frustration with hellfire lashing out from her armor in anger. In her fury, she swung her sword at the tree her enemy crashed into, carving through it easily and watching it topple over. With on final growl, she turned around and sprinted back to her injured friend. Her heavy armor clattering with every step, and her steel sabatons smacking her greaves with muffled clinks and clanks.
Link groaned. His head pounded fiercely, as if a pair of smithies were hammering on his head like it was an anvil. Blood trickled down his face, a gash above his eyes where Nightmare's helm had cut into his skin. His nose felt broken, and he couldn't get his eyes to focus long enough to make out where he was.
After turning himself gingerly over onto his no doubt bruised back, the Hylian clutched his nose in one hand while the other wrapped around his ribcage. He felt as if he landed on several boulders from how bruised his back felt.
'No way I'm walking away from this without a limp... Definitely going to be sore in the morning.' He concluded after a few moments.
As he slowly turned over, letting the blood from his nose drip out, snorting to keep it from coming into his lungs, the sound of heavy feet running in his direction caught his ears. He then remembered the battle. But who was coming to him? Nightmare or Cassandra?
As he thought about Cassandra's state of mind in the mask, he wondered if Nightmare was going to be less brutal, if Cassandra's merciless displays taught him anything today.
"Link." Her grinding, distorted voice called suddenly. Hoping she couldn't read minds under the mask's influence, Link braced himself for the worst as her armored feet came to a stop next to him. He felt her sit down next to him before carefully wrapping her arms around his torso, lifting him from the ground until his head laid in her tassets. Her normal hand came up to his head, while her scaly arm wrapped around his arms to make sure he didn't move.
"Hold still..." Her distorted voice gently whispered. She gripped his nose with her right hand, causing Link to brace himself for the inevitable. With a breath that let fire lash out of her visor briefly, she twisted it back in place. Link gave a painful cry, retching in her grasp temporarily forcing her to tighten her grip before he relaxed again.
She cradled him, until Link recovered from his shock. He took a few moments to catch his breath, as the still masked Cassandra held his head up. She pulled him higher until his head rested on her right spaulder, and still under the effects of the mask, the Athenian allowed herself to lean her helmet against his cheek.
"Where's Nightmare?" Link's pained voice finally spoke. Cassandra's grip tightened more, her peaceful demeanor changing into a hostile one.
"Gone. He retreated like a good little whelp..."
Her furious voice made him wince. "It's time to take it off, Cassandra." He muttered tiredly, hoping she'd acknowledge before her mood got worse.
"No. I'm taking what is mine."
"Cassandra!" His voice had become stern, but she didn't seem to budge. Her grip on him was still tight, and Link found himself asking why it had to come to this? He wasn't prepared to deal with his masks being used by anyone else, nor what effects they'd have.
He heard her growl a little, she was acting strangely under the mask's influence, but at least she was in control. Mostly.
"I can protect you with this power... Nightmare won't ever hurt anyone again as long as I have this mask on."
"You're risking yourself and others around you. That mask will tempt you slowly to darker designs than you set out to follow!"
"But I won't lose you to him!"
Link stopped, caught completely off-guard. 'Why'd she say that?' "What?"
"You're precious to me..." She muttered, fire lashing out of her helm again, harmlessly trailing his ears. Link struggled to distance himself from her helmet, but had no luck with his injuries and her iron grip. He felt his head heat up, and it wasn't the fire. If he was honest, he wasn't expecting to become Cassandra's source of possession equivalent to Nightmare's need for soul's.
'Well... this is, uh...awkward.' They both thought, simultaneously.
It had to be the mask, he knew it amplified emotions tenfold. She'd never admit it without the mask, he knew this much. The sun was setting, and he was still injured, yet he could feel her energy seeping into his body, like a healing radiation.
He was feeling better... but he didn't want her to use the mask's power needlessly. It was dangerous enough she wore it this long in the midst of battle.
"Cassandra, I'm begging you... let the mask go. I know you can do great things without its power."
A long silence followed. The only sound was the wind rushing through the forest, forcing the trees to sway about. Link waited for her to respond, slowly feeling that she would deny his request again.
But alas, she sighed as her head raised slightly. Her helmet moved away from his cheek, fire flickering from her visor.
"Fine..." She paused, raising her scaly hand up to grip the back of her visor. "For you."
With all her strength, she pulled. A vortex surrounded them, and the power housed in her body harmlessly seeped back into the mask. Her armor began to slither back up, leaving her white tunic, blue skirt, and tights as well as her white gloves in its wake. Her hair shortened back to its original length as the purplish energy peacefully undid her transformation.
The scales on her right arm fell off, landing on Link's torn tunic, fading into shadow and ceasing to exist. Link watched his friend revert to her normal self with a watchful eye. Sometimes, his masks had lasting effects that needed time to wear off.
He hoped this wasn't one of those times.
Cassandra opened her clear green eyes, blinking to adjust her eyes. She took a deep breath, and released it in a long sigh before remembering how she continued to cradle her friend. Passing her clear gaze over his form briefly, her heart weighed heavily at the sight. They were caught off guard, and Link paid a heavy price for it. Despite that she was no longer being influenced by the selfishness of the mask, the Athenian didn't feel quite ready to release him. This victory, despite being hard won, would leave them to cease their hunt for the time being.
Until Link recovered completely, that is. She just hoped her older sister didn't find out about all of this...
"Cassandra? How do you feel?" Link asked carefully, interrupting her thoughts. His keen eyes kept a stiff watch of her facial motions. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking a moment to assess herself, before she replied.
"I'm fine... I think. – I...don't feel any different."
Link breathed a sigh in relief. One less thing to handle for the day. He reached up and held his head, trying to sooth his splitting headache.
"Um, Link?" He looked up to her.
"Yeah?"
Cassandra bit her lip for a moment, as if contemplating something. Just as Link was going to inquire what was wrong, she moved in and gingerly kissed his lips. It caused Link to wince, as her nose brushed his, but he wouldn't let himself utter a word.
When she released his lips, she looked away, a blush on her cheeks.
"I know I said a lot of things in the heat of the battle...I'm sorry."
Link couldn't stop the smile from forming. He let a rough chuckle loose, unable to hide his own blush.
"Don't be. You believed in your strengths, Cassandra. Thank you."
She smiled. Before a frown surfaced, making Link furrow his eyebrows. Before he could ask, she dropped the Nightmare mask in his lap.
"I'm never doing that again!"
Link laughed hard, wincing as his injuries were aggravated by the guffaws. "That's what you get for being a nosy Greek!" He managed between bouts of laughter. Cassandra pouted at him, but said nothing. Instead, she gave him a final hug and gently slapped the back of his head, causing his laughter to resurface briefly. Reaching into his pouch, she grabbed their medical supplies and began cleaning and treating his wounds.
But as she wrapped his injuries in some fabric, she couldn't help but wonder something... He had closed his eyes, having gotten comfortable in her lap as her hands carefully maneuvered around his battered body.
"Link?"
He cracked an eye open to look at her. "Hm?"
"...Will you hold what happened today against me?" He smiled at her, gesturing her to lean down. Blinking, Cassandra leaned down to listen, but instead of talking, Link grabbed her head and pressed his lips to hers. Stunned, Cassandra made no motion to break free. Instead she melted into it to show she understood his answer.
A/N: I just wanted to thank two awesome people for helping me a bunch with this one. Thank you GrimGrave and Zanza Flux! You two are awesome!
Nightmare Cassandra? Absolute taboo, right?