Legend of Zelda: Child of Darkness
Chapter 3: The Invasion
It had been almost two weeks since the night at Ezlo's house, and things were back to normal. There were chores to be done, training to endure, going to the market, and the occasional feeding of the stray cats. The only real difference was that, more than ever, Lock had a nagging feeling that people were watching her, talking about her, weather they really were or not. Even around her mother, who was just as much of a mess as always, she felt more tense. She told this to Link as they headed back from the market.
"You should give it a rest. Nothing is going on. I mean look, everything's still the same as always." Link replied.
"I know I know, but it's just so...weird. I don't know why it is, it just is."
"I really don't get you semetimes. I'm sure that having some of mom's cooking tonight will make you feel better, though." Link nudged Lock with his elbow.
"Well she DOES make some good soup." She replies with a smile. IT soon faded when the two of them heard a commotion coming from down the road behind them. Mido was running through the village in a panic, stopping everyone he came across. All the people he passed seemed to completely change in demeanor.
"What's going on?" Link asked. Lock shook her head, not knowing anything, and ran up to Mido and the others in hopes of catching some of the conversation.
"They're coming here NOW!" She could hear. "T-there are TONS of them! Black armor, a-and pig faces! They're at the rear gates!" At that point, more villagers came running up from the southern end of the village. They were all afraid, running frantically to anywhere safe. Sounds of metal clashing and loud grunts in the distance erupted over the panicked crowed. Link looked to Lock before they both turned tail to warn the others.
As the passed by homes and knocked on doors, Link was the first to reach Ezlo's house while Lock was across teh street evacuating the place. Ezlo was already standing outside witha worried look on his face.
"Ezlo! There are moblins attacking the village! I need a sword!" Link said. Ezlo nodded and rushed inside. He took two swords down from a shelf and handed them to Link.
"Find you sister and give her one of these. The two of you need to get every able bodied person you can find who's willing to fight, and send the rest going north. When you have everyone, tell her to take the fleeing villagers to safety, to protect them, and you will regroup with the rest of us." He said. He knew Link was young, but a brave fighter, and one of the best in the village. Link nodded and was about to leave, but turned back around.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I'm going on ahead to fight. I'm sure a few others have already chosen to fight, and I can't leave them." Ezlo replied. He nodded to Link and took up another sword. Link nodded in return and went to look for Lock.
Link caught up with her a few houses down. She had already gotten most of the villagers out to safety and sent a few of them to warn the others ahead.
"Lock, you follow them and evacuate the rest of the town, I'm gonna grab anyone who can fight to hold off the moblins." He said, handing her a sword. Lock took the blade, but shook her head.
"Most of them are already safe, I'll be more useful to the village if I fight, too."
"But they might need someone to-"
"I'm not leaving." Lock said, looking sternly at Link. Without a word, Link understood, and headed back south with Lock following close behind. As they continued forward, they could hear the sounds of the battle rising.
"...My gods..." As they came to a halt, the two looked across at an army of armored moblins and bokoblins razing the village to the ground. The brave villagers who stayed behind were using everything at their disposal to fight off the invasion. Link looked to Lock. "How many would you say?"
"Around two hundred and fifty, maybe more." Lock replied, eyeing the field below. She knew there wasn't much time, but it was better to know the numbers rather than run in blindly.
"You should stay here and pick off anyone who gets passed the front line. I'll find Ezlo and help him there." Link took off before Lock could protest. Not wanting to be left out of the fight, however, she joined the battle head on.
The grunts and yells of the advancing army surrounded the villagers in an angry roar. Heading the counterattack, Ezlo stood at the forefront of the battle, taking down several foes with each swing of his blade. To his left a moblin's body flopped to the ground. Ezlo looked back to find that Link had finally joined the fight.
"And your sister?" Ezlo asked. He spun around to impale an advancing bokoblin.
"She refused to follow the refugees, she's taking down stragglers." Link freed his sword from the plates of a moblin's armor and hefted on of their shields onto his right arm, blocking an oncoming blade.
"Do you really believe she'll stay back there?" Ezlo met back-to-back with Link, both dodging more attacks.
"Not at all." Link slammed his shield into the next foe to attack and plunged his sword into its chest. "Just thought I'd mention it." The two continued to fend off their attackers and protecting the other villagers.
Lock had already gone through some of the nearby buildings, killing enemy forces inside. Fortunately, there hadn't been any civilians left inside, or at least that's what she thought. After clearing out a hallway of bokoblins, their blood still warm on her blade and clothes, she heard the cry of a child.
"Oh gods..." She raced down the hallway, where a moblin stood over a pile of crates, smashing them one by one. The child's voice was coming from beneath them. Without hesitation, Lock rushed behind the beast and jammed her blade in between the plates of it's armor and through it's heart. She gave it a twist to be sure that the thing was dead. She flinched a bit when the warm blood hit her face, but she had no time to be squeamish. She shifted her weight before the moblin could fall to move it out of the way, and proceeded to push some crates out of the way as fast as she could. Under the boxes, tucked into a hole in the wall and floor was a small girl, visibly shaking in fear and crying loudly with tears streaming down her face.
"Don't worry, he's gone now! C'mon, let's get you out of here!" Lock reached for the girl who was wiping the tears fro, her eyes to see. The moment she saw the bloodied blade and dark bloodied face above her, however, the girl shreiked and ran out of the building. Lock was shocked for a moment, but then took off after the girl. "It's too dangerous to go alone!" She yelled, but then she rounded the corner, the girl was nowhere in sight. Lock searched frantically for the girl. It seemed that while she was trying to save the girl, the enemy set fire to the village. Lock began to panic when she couldn't find or even hear the girl.
"She's not here." A voice spoke from behind Lock that made her jump. She spun around and pointed her blade out toward a man clad in armor from head to toe.
"What are you?" Lock yelled, standing firm against him. She hesitated to strike only because the man didn't wear the armor of a darknut, so she wasn't sure if he was friend or foe.
"I know who I am, but do you know who you are?" The man replied. Lock saw that he wasn't attacking, but she didn't let down her guard.
"That's a stupid question. What are you doing in my village?"
"Your village?" The man stood lit a statue amidst the flames that began to spread around them. "This village hates you, yet you claim it is your home? You have never been a part of this place." The scenery around them seemed to disappear, the flames, the buildings, the sounds, all sank away into a black-purple haze.
"Wha-What are you doing?" Lock tried to back away, but her legs wouldn't move. She twisted her torso around, but still her legs were stuck. "Let me go!" She kept struggling to move, but to no avail.
"It's no use, you'll just hurt yourself." the man began to walk forward as his armor melted away into the haze. He was a tall man, with deep purple hair. The strangest thing about him, however, were his white eyes. Lock thought she may have seen some markings on his face, but they were well hidden behind his hair and hood. "If you hadn't noticed, I am no soldier. I am a shaman, a dark mage if you will, part of Lord Ganondorf's army." Lock's eyes went wide.
"G-Ganon...whare are you attacking us?" She asked again. The man held up a hand to silence her.
"That is none of your concern. I'm only here to see you, my dear. To free you from this prison you call a home."
"Shut up, you don't know me!" Lock wanted to attack the man, but then her arms went limp and her sword dropped and stuck into the ground.
"So angry. I supposed you get that from your father." The man moved closed, studying Lock up close. "I know more about you that you know about yourself. You see, unbeknownst to my Lord, I have been watching you for quite some time." He circled back around in front of Lock. "You are the girl they call Lock...or more appropriately, that Gerudo girl, the dark-skinned one, or any number of things. The people here are afraid of you, they despise you. Haven't you ever wondered why? If something goes wrong, you are the first to be blamed."
"Where are you going with this?"
"No matter what you did to try and defend yourself, people still looked down upon you."
"Stop it! What's your point! Let me go!"
"And while everyone else, including your brother, was always recognized for their good deeds, you are only remembered for your screw ups."
"You're lying! They wouldn't do that...would they?"
"And whenever you needed someone to lend an ear, there was never anyone to comfort you."
"I said STOP IT!"
"FACE IT!" The man grabbed Lock by her face and made her stare right at his. "No one here likes you. If you were to die out here on this battlefield today, no one would mourn your death. Even your own mother wishes you were never born!" He threw her head back and stepped backward, watching her closely. "You're alone here. Everyone had turned against you from the start. You could end it, you know. You could end them all. I know you have felt the urge to do something...drastic. You have a darkness in you, I can sense it. Why don't you let it loose? Why don't you just kill them all? Or are you the pathetic little worm that these people see you as, hmmm? You're nothing but DIRT to them!" He said with a chuckle. Lock's eyes started tearing up as she let her head hang, her breath growing louder and louder.
"LIES!" Her head snapped up as she lunged forward, grabbing her sword and slashing through the man as he turned into a cloud of black dust. Instantly the scene around her returned to its previous state. The fire had completely engulfed the area around her, burning through the roof above...until it collapsed right on top of her.
Link and Ezlo, along with a handful of men still able to fight, rushed forward on the enemy forces, taking down at least one beast with every swing of the sword. The village was collapsing all around them, and though they fought valiantly, they were greatly outnumbered, surrounded by blazing fires, and the remaining men were tiring.
"Link, try to find a path! We need to retread to the north! We can't win this here!" Ezlo called out. Link bashed a moblin's face in with the butt of his hilt.
"Are you CRAZY?" He looked around. "Even if any of us wanted to leave, we're surrounded! And I'd never leave you behind!" Link had a point. Ezlo looked around and saw nothing but pig faces on all sides.
"Well then we'd better make the best of what we have left. Make every strike count!" Just as he finished speaking. five moblins in a row were bowled over in front of them by what seemed to be a flying boar. Both Link and Ezlo turned their heads simultaneously in the direction it came from. At the other end of the path, Lock came rushing down, following the tossed boar and planted a knee into the nearest enemy's face, plunging her sword into its forehead at the same time. She dislodged the blade and leapt off of the moblin's face, aiming for the next two below.
"Way to go Lock! She's kicking serious a**!" Link exclaimed, but Ezlo looked on in worry.
"Something's not right." He said. Link sliced open another moblin before turning to Ezlo with a bewildered look on his face. The enemy army began to focus its attention on Lock, who was tearing limbs off with one hand while prying them from their sockets with her sword. "She's never had this kind of strength..." Ezlo attempted to get Lock's attention by calling above the noise. "LOCK!" His voice was drowned out by the grunts and squeals around. A bokoblin nearby drew back an arrow on his bow and aimed for Lock. As if by instinct, Lock sensed it coming and leapt for the bokoblin. Ezlo reeled back as Lock pounced on the creaure and proceeded to hack at it like a wild animal on a carcass. He saw them, her eyes.
They were gold.
Lock continued to rip her way through the enemy forces like a wolfo on a baby goat. Link met back with Ezlo, who seemed to be in shock.
"Ezlo, what's wrong?" He asked.
"We have to stop her." Ezlo replied.
"When she's SLAUGHTERING the enemy?"
"She's out of control! She's only attacking the next thing that poses a threat to her!" Ezlo said. Lock ripped apart a few more moblins, and then a few more. Their numbers were falling drastically. Seeing what was happening, the last of the army turned tail to flee. Some of the villagers gave chase, not wanting to let them live for killing their families and friends. Lock, however, only saw a group of beings running away, and she chased after them, letting out an inhuman yell as she raged onward.
"Link, we have to stop her! She'll attack our men!" Ezlo said. Before anyone could take action, however, Lock raced up and knocked down the first moving object she could get her hands on, digging her fingers into its neck and her sword into its chest.
"DADDY!" The little girl that Lock rescued was still on the battlefield. She ran toward her fallen father while Lock still had her blade embedded in his chest. The girl's shriek caught Lock's attention. She turned and went after the girl, who fell over on the ground and tried to retreat in fear. With her sword in hand, Lock swung down at the child, but then there was a loud clang.
Link had made it just in time to stop Lock's blade inches away from the girls head. He threw Lock back to allow the girl some time, though it took all the strength he had.
"Run away!" Link yelled to the girl. She scurried to her feet and took off toward the northern end of the village as fast as her feet could take her. Link raised his shield on his right arm, his sword in his left hand. "Lock, snap out of it! What are you doing?" Lock recovered from her fall and charged at Link. Link blocked with his shield, but he couldn't push her back. "Wake up!" He cried. Her eyes were gold and filled with bloodlust. Link's shield began to crack under the force of Lock's attack. Not wanting to become worm food by his sister's hand. Link attempted to knock her back by hitting her with the hilt of his sword. When he swung at her, Lock dropped her sword and caught his hand in midair. A dark aura began to emit from Lock, and the force continued to press against the shield. Now Link was trapped. His shield war breaking, and his knees would buckle under the force of Lock's strength at any minute.
"Lock! WAKE UP!" Suddenly, Lock backed off, shaking her right hand as it smoldered a little. Link noticed there was a light, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. Lock and the beasts that still remained began to back away. He noticed the light was coming from himself, more specifically from a mark on his hand. He was only able to look for a split second before a blinding light engulfed everything around him.
There was a long silence, or at least it seemed that way. The sounds of the fires were gone, even the grunts of the moblins, and there was nothing but a bright white. When it began to fade, people could see that the fires had been put out, and that most of the remaining enemies had been turned to dust by the light. Those that survived were being picked off by the remaining villagers as the beasts tried to make their escape. Lock stood still and silent, looking tired and weak. Link waited for a moment, wondering what would happen next.
"...Lock?" he slowly approached her. Lock lifter her head toward him, and Link saw her eyes. They were their normal green again.
"Link..." she began to sway. Link threw down his sword and shield to run and catch her before she hit the ground. She was out cold. Some of the remaining men went to look for survivors among the bodies as Ezlo walked over to the siblings.
"Ezlo...what just happened?" Link looked up to him, clearly worried.
"For once...I don't know..."
Legend of Zelda (c) Nintendo
Child of Darkness and OCs (c) Lock of Hyrule