Wake Me up from This Never-Ending Nightmare

by FlowerOwl

The Calamity hit, and the Malice left nothing but death and destruction in its wake. Many died and the few who were lucky enough to survive the attack lost everyone they loved. Zelda was no exception.

The two of them both holding the title of princess meant that they seldom had time together - a problem only made worse by the threat of Calamity Ganon looming over Hyrule and both of them carrying a part of the responsibility to stop him. So most of the moments they did manage to find were connected to their training in one way or another be it meetings between all of the Champions or the rare days that Mipha would accompany her father on a visit to Hyrule Castle.

That day was just another one of those stolen moments. By some miracle, Zelda had managed to convince her father that maybe seeing how Mipha controlled Vah Ruta would help Zelda gain an understanding of how to use her own powers. While telling the lie, Zelda had been sure that he knew the real reason for her wanting to go to Zora's Domain, but by some miracle, he had believed her. So with the king's blessing, Zelda had set out towards the Lanayru province, Link following her, of course. Thinking of how happy Mipha would be when Zelda would pay her an unplanned visit, made Zelda able to just barely tolerate Link's silent observation and the way he would constantly be standing right behind her, a blank expression on his face.

She had been right. The second Mipha spotted her enter the domain, she set down the pot she had been carrying to instead run over to welcome her, planting a kiss on her cheek, the sudden movement sending Mipha's tail swinging from side to side. Whispering to at least be able to pretend they had some privacy, Zelda told her about the condition for her visit, Mipha's eyes shining with joy.

Later, after they had persuaded Link to stay behind, telling him that between being in the Divine beast and Mipha carrying her Lightscale Trident, they would be completely safe, they set out towards Vah Ruta.

Walking next to Mipha and enjoying the way that Mipha's hand fitted into hers perfectly, a stupid, hopeful part of Zelda couldn't help but think that maybe it would really end up helping her with her own innate abilities to see Mipha use hers.

But, of course, standing next to Mipha and observing how she got the Divine Beast to move by simply thinking about what she wanted it to do, did not grant Zelda any revelations from the Goddess. The tiny hope that she had allowed to grow, the voice telling her that perhaps her lie had been more than yet another way to see Mipha, had ended up being nothing more than her own feelings of hopelessness manifesting itself.

So when Mipha had finished showing how she could make an endless supply of water appear from the elephant's trunk, and had looked over at Zelda to see her reaction, she had turned to see the tears rolling down Zelda's face.

Reaching out to embrace the blonde in an attempt to make her feel better, Mipha suggested that maybe they should leave the Divine Beast and head back to the dam.

The fact that she had not even been able to be happy for Mipha - why couldn't she just be proud for her, why did she have to make everything about herself - stung, but, in the end, Zelda leapt at the chance to leave the beast that did nothing but remind her of her own failures.

They swum back to the dam, Mipha purposefully making herself slower to wait for Zelda, and Zelda trying her best to swim as well as Mipha. It was an impossible thing to achieve, trying to outswim a Zora, but it had warmed Zelda's heart to see the other girl pretending to not wait for her every other metre.

Halfway between Vah Ruta and the dam, it began to rain, almost as if the skies had decided to mirror Zelda's sombre mood, and the moment the way out of the water, both of the girls headed inside the little house that had been built for Mipha on top of the glowing blue structure that was the dam to seek shelter.

Every little thing inside the house, every little detail on the building itself served to make it clear that the Zoras adored their princess. After all, none of it was really needed. Vah Ruta was only a short distance away from the domain, Mipha would not be wasting a significant amount of time by going up there every day. And yet, they had still made the little house just for her to use. Even if the inside of it was as lavishly decorated as Mipha's chambers back in the Domain, it was still luxurious with decanters, glasses, silver plates and a bed so soft that Mipha had described it as the feeling of floating on water. Zelda could not blame the Zoras for having chosen to make such an extravagant design for their princess. Mipha truly deserved the world. Hopefully, one day, Zelda would be able to give it to her.

But as she had sat down on one of the chairs in there, Zelda could not help but feel envious of Mipha. The very chairs that Zelda and Mipha were sitting on were proof of how the Zoras had deemed Mipha good enough at controlling Vah Ruta, a good enough princess, that they had built the elegant house for her to stay in when training, deeming her abilities good enough to warrant such an expense. Meanwhile, Zelda had passed out in a spring while praying and had had to be carried out by Urbosa and had to put up with Link following her around, judging her silently as he watched all of her mistakes.

"Something seems to be bothering you," Mipha said, her sweet voice pulling Zelda back to their moment, "what is wrong?"

"It is nothing, I was just…" Zelda paused to think about whether or not she should tell Mipha about her burdens. Everything in her screamed at her not to say anything, not to make Mipha worry over her. But the way that Mipha reached out to touch her hand convinced her to tell the truth, "I was just thinking about… how I cannot seem to awaken my powers." She felt the tears appear in her eyes at the last words.

Mipha had only smiled. "Oh, Zelda. I am sure that you will find out how to use your sealing power someday."

"But I cannot afford to wait for that moment to arrive," she was dangerously close to crying, "if I do not find a way to seal away Calamity Ganon then you as well as everyone else in Hyrule, no, in the entire world will die! And it will all be my fault!"

"Zelda," Mipha slid off of her chair and was kneeling in front of her, now holding both of Zelda's hands in her own, "Zelda, look at me." she waited until Zelda did so before continuing. "You are not alone in this. You have me together with the other Champions at your side. And I swear to you that I will help you in defeating Calamity Ganon. Then, when the world is safe, we can finally be together."

"But what if you get hurt because I could not manifest my powers? What if you die?" the last word was barely more than a whisper but the way that Mipha looked at her told Zelda that she had still heard it.

"I will not. I promise you that I will always return to you."

And with that promise for Mipha to stay alive, Zelda was able to somewhat leave her worries about the future behind.

But it turned out that Mipha was not able to keep her promise.

Zelda had no to know if she was truly dead, but Mipha had been in Vah Ruta - trying to help Zelda and Link, providing the support that Zelda should also have been able to give - when Calamity Ganon sent out the Malice to take over the Sheikah technology, and Zelda knew that even if she was not dead, she was trapped inside the beast. And knowing Mipha's fear of small spaces, the fear that had kept her from being able to follow Zelda into the caves when they would go to explore the ancient technology, Zelda almost hoped for her that she was dead. It would be the most merciful fate for Mipha.

At least, that was what Zelda told herself in an attempt to convince herself that Mipha had not suffered. It was highly unlikely; the destruction was spreading through the kingdom, leaving nothing but death and ruins in its wake and Zelda doubted that there would be anyone still alive once Calamity Ganon was finished with his rampage. Everyone would suffer, the Champions had just been the first of many to die.

Hylia, Mipha deserved so much better. They all did.

Though, when she and Link had to flee, Zelda was surprised by an intense surge of anger directed as Mipha. Despite her words about the two of them being able to be together someday, she had not kept her promise in the end. She had left Zelda when she had needed her the most. And they would never meet again.

The last realisation was the first thought that had entered her mind when she had felt the intense pain in her heart that had made her instinctively know that all of the Divine Beasts had been taken over and their Champions attacked. The realisation had almost been enough to make her lose all hope, completely giving up. The only thing that had kept her from falling to the ground had been Link who had grabbed her hand, dragging her with him.

Guilt set in immediately after the anger. Here she was, having survived the first attack despite how it had been her fault that Calamity Ganon had even been able to unleash its destruction onto the world in the first place. If she had only managed to awaken her powers like Mipha had believed she could then nobody would have had to die. So really, Mipha's death had been her fault, at least indirectly.

Zelda might not have been able to awaken any powers that would be of use, but she had been right in her prediction about being the cause of Mipha's death. She supposed the numb feeling in her mind was a good thing, otherwise she would not have been able to attempt to flee with Link.

But it all caught up with her, and in the end, Zelda wasn't even able to run anymore.

So when she broke down in the forest while Link was trying desperately to get them to safety in Kakariko Village, she had cried not only for her lost kingdom and people but also for her lost love.

Link went back to her and held her while she cried, something Zelda was thankful for, but still she could not tell him about all the thoughts of guilt, anger, and sadness that were mixed up inside her brain. Thankfully, he had not asked for an explanation, instead he had let her be, had not reminded her of how they had to hurry to not be cornered by Calamity Ganon, and in that moment that was what she needed.

Not even a few hours after having lost the love of her life, Zelda lost Link as well. When he fell over in the swamp just outside of Fort Hateno, she already knew what would happen. They were so close to reaching Kakariko Village, but had not expected the Guardians to have already reached the fort.

Zelda knew that had she not slowed them down, they might have made it all the way to the village, but in that moment even the guilt felt like it was coming from far away, like she had mentally left her body a long time ago.

But of course, none of that was be able to change the situation. They had thought they would be able to avoid an outright fight with the guardians, and were not prepared for meeting them. That had been their downfall and the reason that Zelda had lost her last friend.

She knew that it was selfish to think of it as her losing someone when plenty of people had died, had lost their home, had lost their loved ones as well, but when she sat in the swamp right next to the fort, surrounded by the immobile Guardians she had hit with her powers, she cried, unable to even get up from where she sat cradling Link, begging him not to die, to not leave her completely alone.

Two guards ended up taking him with them, but only Hylia would know if they would be able to make it all the way to the Shrine of Resurrection. And even if they managed to get Link all the way to the shrine, there was no saying how long it would take him to heal. From her studies, even a slight fracture could take weeks to heal. There was no way of telling how long it would take for Link to be brought back from the brink of death. Had Mipha still been with her, she would have known how to heal him in just a second. But Mipha was gone and would never return.

So Zelda would just have to wait for Link to recover, hoping that she and the rest of the world would have time for that. A sob escaped her. She was back to where she had started, praying to Hylia, just like she had been through her entire childhood while trying to awaken her powers.

But praying to Hylia had meant nothing in the end. After all, she had not ever felt her powers or been able to use them until it was too late and everyone she loved was either dead or dying. Why was she so powerless? Why had she been unable to do anything until it was too late? From many the tales her father had told her about her ancestors, princesses who all shared her name, Zelda, they had been wise and had possessed an instinctive ability to know their own powers and how to manifest them even from an early age. Meanwhile, she could do nothing but hope for the best. Hope and pray over and over again.

She was done with that, with being helpless. An idea formed in Zelda's head and she looked up at the embers that were still glowing in the swamp, a reminder of all the damage around her.

As she forced herself to get up from the ground, picking up the Master Sword to hide it and make sure that no monster would get the chance to touch it before its owner would come back for it, she nodded to herself. She would have to go and keep back Calamity Ganon herself. She was not entirely sure if her powers could hold back the beast or if she even knew how to control them, but she had to do it. She had nothing left to lose, and if it turned out that she could not contain Ganon, at least she would be able to see Mipha once again.

So after having left the Master Sword in the protection of the Great Deku Tree deep inside the Korok Forest, Zelda set out towards Hyrule Castle to face Calamity Ganon.

She spent the next hundred years trapped inside the castle that had once been her home, trying to keep the remains of her kingdom safe. Upon having entered the castle, her body had dissolved into light, and somehow she had known what to do, willing the light that made up her body to go straight towards the cloud that she instinctively knew housed the soul of Calamity Ganon. It had screamed, had tried to fight back, but Zelda had been unrelenting, using all of her anger and heartbreak to stay focused. At last, she had somehow forced Ganon to retreat into a cocoon, sealing it within Hyrule Castle, Zelda's consciousness getting trapped inside as well.

She had done that, reminding herself of what the thing she was fighting every second to hold back had done to Mipha and everyone else.

Time did not pass the same way in the cocoon as it did in the normal world. Or at least it had not felt like it did to Zelda, and she knew that the lack of perception of time was the only thing that made her stay sane. Having to spend a hundred years trapped inside the castle while feeling every second pass would have meant the end of Hyrule.

But it seemed that the cocoon did not only protect Ganon while it tried to gain enough strength to break free, it also protected her from having to know exactly how much time had passed. She would float around in the Malice inside of the cocoon, the only thing she was aware of being when Ganon would try to trick her to get out, calling for Zelda to concentrate even more on not letting the evil all around move even one bit. She was been completely covered in Malice, but with it somehow not having its normal effect on her, something that felt incredibly cruel to Zelda as she had seen first-hand how it was deadly to everyone but her. She had been among the few people lucky enough to survive the first attack and here she was, surrounded by the very thing that had killed so many without it harming her in any way. Had it not been for how she could feel how the soul of Ganon had deteriorated so much that there wasn't anything left than a desire to kill, she would have thought that it was somehow his doing.

While fighting for her kingdom, she had been able to see glimpses of what had happened in outside of the castle while she was in the cocoon, fighting to keep back Ganon. She saw how the survivors had sought out to the few remaining towns, everyone helping each other to stay alive. She saw how they had worked to establish a new society. She saw how life had continued, the people finding a new meaning to life while building a new life for themselves.

The visions always appeared when she was about to lose hope, bringing along a sense of warmth of happiness. Had it not been for how Hylia had abandoned them all to die, Zelda would have thought that she was the one behind it. As it was, she just tried to focus on the joy of seeing how the people had somehow managed to thrive instead of the anger directed at the goddess that had left them.

It could have been only one day. It could have been millennia. She did not know and had no energy to spare while fighting Ganon to ponder the question of how much time has passed in the outside world. But finally, Link woke up once more and set out to slay Calamity Ganon, her voice guiding him when she found a moment where she did not need to focus all of her power on keeping back Ganon, telling him that he had slept a hundred years. Zelda was not entirely sure of the number, but a voice within her head told her that it was correct, and one hundred years seemed right with everything she had seen happen in Hyrule. She managed to see a glimpse of Link as he entered Vah Ruta, Prince Sidon cheering for him like his sister had once done for Zelda, but then Calamity Ganon roared and launched another attack on her dwindling powers, almost as if he knew that Zelda had been about to finally get closure about what had happened to Mipha, keeping her from even doing that.

That was almost been enough to make her succumb to the hateful energy that was flowing around her, but seeing that Link would soon be there, she found enough strength to stay strong. Soon, Link would be there, and together they could defeat Ganon

And she was right. In comparison to how long she had waited for Link to wake up, hardly any time passed before she saw Link enter the Sanctum in the heart of Hyrule Castle. That was the moment when Zelda was no longer able to fight back against Ganon, and the still unfinished beast fell out of the cocoon onto the floor below, sending both itself and Link crashing to a hidden basement deep beneath the castle.

Zelda was left behind; her body still nothing more than light soaked in Malice and her powers dwindling every second. Seeing no way to return to her corporeal form, she instead focused on concentrating her powers. If she could get in just one last attack, then perhaps she would get the chance to avenge Mipha.

The glimpses that Zelda was able to see of the battle taking place below her were fewer and more blurry than the ones she had gotten of the kingdom. She almost felt how her very soul was slowly slipping away along with her powers, weakened by having fought against Calamity Ganon. But she somehow summoned enough strength to give Link the Bow of Light to use against the beast that Ganon transformed into after being forced to turn into its original form of pure hate. But it left her with no more energy, her soul fading quickly. At least, when she died, assuming that she would go to the afterlife despite no longer having a body, she might meet Mipha again. How she longed to join her once more.

And suddenly she was able to breathe again. The light that had been Zelda for the longest time flew out of the castle, joining Link on the fields. It glowed brighter than ever before and Zelda felt how her body formed around her. She opened her eyes once more, the sensation of looking at the world with her own eyes novel to her.

In front of her the essence of Calamity Ganon was flying through the air against the purple background of the sky, unable to find the energy to take on a real form. Deep inside Zelda, a newfound amount of power appeared from out of nowhere, surprising her. She had honestly thought that she had been about to die from having exhausted her powers, but in front of her very eyes, and a bright dome of light appeared around Calamity Ganon. It grew quicker than Ganon could move, quickly dwarfing the beast in size. Picturing how proud Mipha would have been of her, Zelda somehow made the dome dissapear, taking Ganon with it.

With the Malice no longer seeping through the air, the sky cleared, Zelda seeing how it had been a brilliant blue all along, the colour hidden behind the Malice.

Together, Zelda and Link spent the next couple of months trying to rebuild Hyrule. The task was immensely difficult, Zelda sometimes thinking that it was even worse than her fight against Calamity Ganon, and even after months of work, they had barely made a dent in the task ahead of them.

But at least the months of work allowed Zelda to learn what had happened while she had been gone. With Link helping her by answering all of her questions, or at least the questions he had had time to find the answers to after having woken up in the Shrine of Resurrection, she came to learn how her guess of a hundred years having passed was correct, something that was verified by multiple people all over Hyrule. It took a bit of persuasion before Link was willing to tell her about how he had met Mipha's spirit inside Vah Ruta, and how she had helped him in the final battle against Calamity Ganon. When Zelda looked at him and asked where Mipha had gone after that, Link looked down at the ground, his expression turning dejected. In between his skills as a guard and him having spent countless of hours with her, he had no doubt known about her feelings for Mipha both before and after the Great Calamity had taken place. Zelda took that as confirmation that Mipha really was dead.

For the first time after having regained her body only to face the enormous task of rebuilding the kingdom, Zelda was glad that it took so much time and focus as it kept her from thinking about Mipha and everything she had lost. Deep inside her, the hope that Mipha miraculously had survived and had stayed hidden for the last hundred years, had died when Link had refused to tell her about Mipha's fate.

She had a great task ahead of her and had to time to grieve. So Zelda locked the memories of Mipha away, trying to forget them and to avoid the Zora's Domain and Mipha's home.

But of course, like every other time she had tried to avoid something, fate dragged her into it anyway. Halfway between Kakariko Village and Hateno Village where they had been about to visit for a trade negotiation, Zelda and Link were stopped by the Sheikah Slate beeping. One look at the screen was enough to tell Zelda that there was something wrong with Vah Ruta. And despite how she had sworn not to go back, she could not risk it endangering the Zoras again. Not when Mipha had given her life in an attempt to save them.

So she and Link set out towards the Domain.

That was why they were currently standing on the little entry ramp to the Divine Beast.

Their surroundings resembled those of a hundred years ago so much that Zelda could have sworn that no time had passed at all. But it had, she could feel the effects of everything they had been through practically seeping into the air between herself and Link.

The former knight was standing silently next to her, awaiting her orders, his right hand resting on the hilt of the Master Sword. Not once, in all of the months they had spent travelling all over Hyrule, had she seen him let the weapon out of his sight for even a second. Even while sleeping, Link would make sure that it was always close by so that he could grab it and be ready to fight in just a couple of seconds.

Zelda knew that she should have talked with Link about how he was feeling, and that she should also talk about her own worries and fears, especially now that they were preparing to venture into the Divine Beast again. But she did not say anything, not even to give orders. Instead, she was standing completely frozen while staring into the depths of Vah Ruta. Mipha had died in there. If she entered now, what would she risk seeing?

Link seemed to have almost read her thoughts, for he reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid. There is nothing in there; I searched the entirety of the Divine Beasts while I was looking for the terminals to take back the Beasts."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely."

And so they journeyed into the set of chambers that made up the insides of Vah Ruta. It was cold as ice there, and the occasional wind that would blow in from over the mountains where of no help.

They had not even been in there for half a minute when they spotted the first pool of Malice. It was placed next to a gigantic cogwheel that Zelda knew was a big part of why the elephant was able to move. But in that moment, Zelda could do nothing but stare at the Malice next to it. It was there, looking exactly like the Malice that had been within the cocoon. She had been immune to that, but who knew if she was anymore, now when she had her body back again.

She felt Link tug on her arm and turned her head slightly to look at him.

He pointed at the purple puddle of slime. "Don't step in it. Trust me, it's nasty and will cling to you until it has killed you."

"I wasn't going to," she assured him.

But as they were manoeuvring around the obstacle, she couldn't help but look back at the Malice and think about how it would feel to touch it. Link had grabbed her arm, so she could not go back and try it, but in that moment, she was not sure that she would not have done it if he let go of her.

They entered the chamber that was placed in the very heart of Vah Ruta. It was of course there that the main control unit was placed. Link walked up to the structure, inspecting it. It looked just like Zelda remembered it from when she and Mipha had been there, talking about everything and nothing. For a second, she could have sworn that she heard Mipha's melodic laughter echo around the room, but it was gone before she had time to say anything. Link did not seem like he had heard anything so she stayed silent.

Instead, Link turned around towards her and pointed at the Sheikah Slate that had been hanging from her belt. "I can't see anything wrong with the unit here, but maybe we should try to activate it just to be sure."

"Yes, of course." There was nothing wrong with his logic, so Zelda had no reason to feel uneasy. But as she walked over, past Link, towards the control unit, she suddenly got a horrible feeling of that something was about to happen. She tried to calm herself by thinking that it was just the nerves that had been caused by being where Mipha had died.

Zelda placed the slate on the main control unit, and immediately felt something inside it moving.

"Link-" she called, alarmed by what she had felt, but that was everything she managed to say.

A cloud of purple Malice shot out of the unit in front of her. She involuntarily took a steep back, looking up at what was happening in front of her.

The cloud of pure evil was ripping up parts of Vah Ruta, pulling it into the middle of the cloud. Had Zelda not been too scared by what was happening in front of her, she would have yelled at it to leave the technological marvel be, to not ruin it. But she couldn't.

The cloud was beginning to resemble a, for Zelda, tragically familiar form, the tail and fins taking form as the Malice turned red.

Mipha was floating in the air above her. Zelda could see how the Malice was covering Mipha's skin, how her once amber eyes was glowing with a dark blue colour, and how a part of the Divine Beast was covering her face but there was no doubt that it was Mipha.

The rest of the Malice disappeared and before Zelda knew of it, Mipha was holding a spear, much longer than the Lightscale Trident that Zelda had always seen her carry. This spear was blue, shinning and clearly another part of the Sheikah technology that Zelda and Mipha had spent so much time studying before the Great Calamity.

Next to her, Link had drawn the Bow of Light that she had given him. But why would he do that? This was Mipha, here, right in front of them.

"Mipha," Zelda heard herself whisper.

Mipha seemed to hear her, for she looked down at her, the blue eyes staring straight into Zelda's soul.

For a moment Zelda thought that maybe Mipha would tell her what had happened, would come down to her, or maybe cry, like Zelda could feel she was about to do.

But that was not what happened. Not at all.

No, Mipha let out a roar that made both Zelda as well as Link jump. "You left me! You left me alone to die!"

"Mipha-" Zelda said again, unable to form any other thoughts, with the tears rolling down her cheeks. She had not thought of how angry the Zora must have been for how Zelda had not gone back to check on her before facing Calamity Ganon, but now that she was here, face to face with Mipha, Zelda saw how foolish she had been to trust a vague sense of pain in her chest as proof that the champions had died. Mipha would never have done that. Mipha would have come back to save Zelda no matter what.

She sank to her knees. "Mipha, Mipha, please… forgive me." But she knew that there was really nothing she could say.

From somewhere far away, she heard Link yell at her. "It's not real, it's not Mipha!"

But she could do nothing but listen to the disharmonic sound of Mipha's voice from above her. "I remember that there once was a time where you cared about people other than yourself! But that is long gone; I see now what kind of selfish, pathetic person you really are!"

Looking up, Zelda saw how Mipha's eyes were filled with hate and contempt, the blue holding none of the warmth and love that Mipha had always had for her.

Next to her, she heard Link take out an arrow from his quiver, still yelling at her. "Don't listen to it; it's Malice and nothing else! I'll shoot it now!"

He aimed, and Zelda understood what he was about to do.

Jumping to her feet, she tried to jump over to knock the bow out of his hands. "No, stop!" she screamed in a futile attempt to make him see who was standing in front of them.

She hit his right arm, but he had already let go of the arrow.

It flew through the air so slowly that Zelda would have believed that someone had figured out how to stop time. She followed the arrow's course with her eyes and saw how it would land right in Mipha's throat. And just like she had been unable to stop Calamity Ganon, there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was nothing she could do to keep Mipha from dying once more.

Just before the arrow hit its mark, the light in Mipha's eyes dimmed, and Zelda saw the familiar amber glimpse of the love of her life. Mipha's lips moved, forming the words 'I love you.'

The arrow hit its mark.