Soulbound
Chapter III - Link: On Stranger Tides
Caribbean Sea - Deserted Cay
March 1, 2016 CE (3 Eldin, 1437 HCE Hyrulean Reckoning)
8:00AM, Atlantic Standard Time
Alex's eyes fluttered open. Seagulls screeched in her ear, while sea water lapped against her body and the surrounding white sands of the shoreline. A thick haze blanketed her mind. Her hands twitched with life as she pushed herself off the wet sand.
Oh God, my head...
She had never felt so strange, so out of balance before in her life. The haze in her mind began to fall away, as did the double-images that swam in her vision. Clarity returned to her, and she gazed out onto the unfamiliar scenery beyond. Confusion and dread filled her heart.
What the...?!
Instead of the metal hull of a plane, a sandy tropical island greeted her eyes. Sparse vegetation covered the shoreline. Off into the distance, she spotted a grotto along the beach, with two large slabs of rock piercing the horizon in opposite directions. As Alex's eyes scanned the beach further, her heart sank.
One after another, corpses of both humanoid beings and the hybrid creatures created from the storm of light. She recognized the the graceful aquatic forms and the round, bouldery shapes all too well. In between the bloated carcasses, bits of debris washed up onto the beach, from large scraps of metal to suitcases, purses, coolers, and containers of all shapes and sizes. As the seagulls pecked at their bodies to feed, Alex felt tears water in her eyes.
No... No...!
She backed away from the shoreline, mortified and sickened by the sight around her. An involuntary gasp escaped Alex's throat. Her hands flew to cover her mouth. The instant her fingers made contact with her face, Alex pulled her hands away. The sensation of slimy scales in place of soft skin made Alex stand rigid.
When she raised the palms of her hands in front of her face, her heart skipped a beat. Although the fingers and hands that obeyed her will remained humanoid, blue scales covered every inch of her fingers. They poked out of a pair of leather gauntlets, which covered her hands, wrists, and forearms, ending just below her elbows. A set of thick, dolphin-like fins erupted from the same area, their tips spotted and blotched as if covered by algae.
Alex's eyes traveled up her bare, muscular upper arms- arms more befitting a man than the slender arms she remembered having. Her entire upper body, exposed to the elements, had undergone a similar shift. A small set of fins obscured her breasts, which barely rose higher than the rest of her chest. Along her ribcage, three pairs of gills slitted across her skin. On her waist hung a green skirt, secured by a thick leather belt. Studded leather boots clothed her feat, reaching just below her knees.
What the fuck is this?!
Her fingers moved down her neck, where she felt a thick, leather choker around her throat, an object she did not remember wearing at all. Alex pressed her hands against her head. In place of her hair, a set of sinewy, fleshy strands dangled along the sides of her face. Her fingers traveled further down the back of her head, where a long, tail-like appendage hung off the back of her head in place her long hair.
In that instant, her heart began to pound in her chest. Her legs wobbled and shook, unable to bear the weight of her terror any longer. Her mind reeled as confusion and horror overwhelmed her thoughts. Alex closed her eyes and let out a blood curdling, aquatic scream.
"Oh God...," Alex muttered to herself, "What is this? What's happened to me?!"
She collapsed onto her hands and knees, unable to stop the sobs of terror from pouring out. Her fingers dug into the sand, while the sea breeze blew around her, causing the grass and shrubbery around her to sway. Even her voice had changed, sounding much deeper than she remembered. Alex tried to clear her throat, to remove the watery sensation that lingered when she spoke to no avail.
All around her, the seagulls flapped their wings and disappeared deep into the watery horizon, spooked by the otherworldly creature in their midst.
Tremors ran down Alex's body. Nausea filled every part of her body. Her skin, dry from sitting out in the open air, screamed for moisture. She wrapped her arms around her body as she walked toward the grotto in the distance.
Alex dared not look at the beach around her. The sight of death filled her with untold sadness. She did not know these people; they could have been fathers, daughters, sisters, or brothers. Now, as she walked the beach in an alien body, she wept alone, the sole survivor of a terrible catastrophe.
Why? Why did this have to happen? Why did any of this have to happen...?
In the maelstrom of sorrow that consumed her, she focused her thoughts on her memories of better times...
Oregon, United States - Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus
December 11, 2015 CE
12:00PM, Pacific Standard Time
The sound of a ticking clock stifled the silence of the room. All around Alex, various people of all ages sat attentively at their computers. On the monitor in front of Alex, she studied the exam questions. All across the screen, multiple choice buttons, checkboxes, and text boxes covered the webpage.
This has got to be the stupidest test I've ever taken. It's like they wrote these questions for five year olds...
Down the aisles of the classroom, a proctor watched the crowd with a careful eye. Alex let out a sigh of boredom. Minutes went by, and as she neared the end of the exam, her mind wandered off. Images of cats jumping into boxes and swatting at printers on YouTube filled her mind, and before her thoughts wandered too far, she stopped herself.
Alex, this is not the time to think about cat videos. I have to pass this stupid GED Exam, or I'll never hear the end of it from Grandpa...
She narrowed her eyes at the screen.
Come on, Alex! Focus! It's the last exam I need to finish!
Drawing in a deep breath, she typed in answers and clicked radio buttons. When she reached the end of the page, she glanced at the questions one last time, double checking her answers. Satisfied with her answers, she hit the submit button. Alex pursed her lips.
And now, let the waiting game begin...
She pushed in her chair and logged out of the test. Alex walked past where the proctor had seated herself. As she opened and closed the door behind her, Alex made her way out of the testing center and to the hallway beyond. There, she took a seat and pulled out her smartphone.
Minutes felt like an eternity. Alex gazed down at the screen of her smartphone with a smirk on her face. She opened her browser, and typed in a web address. Before long, she made her way to one of her favorite internet haunts- a Legend of Zelda message board. Within moments, she wandered into the Theorizing section.
She typed word after word onto the screen. When she finished, a series of new topics appeared on the screen:
Link and Zelda are in an incestuous relationship.
The Hyrule Historia Timeline is not canon.
The Fourth Piece of the Triforce is Real!
Sheik is a hermaphrodite.
Alright, that's enough of that for now...
She closed the browser tab, and surfed the internet in silence. Time flew by, and by the time Alex had finished perusing YouTube, hours had passed. Out of the corner of her eye, a woman in a dress stepped out of the testing center.
"Alex Donovan?" she asked.
On hearing the woman's voice, Alex sat up in her chair. She put her smartphone into sleep mode and looked up at the newcomer.
"Yes?"
"We have the results of your GED Exam ready. Come this way, please."
Alex followed the woman back into the testing center. Moments later, she stepped back out of the testing center. Her lips curled up into a half-smile as her eyes glanced at her results. Without another word, she put her phone in her purse and made her way off the campus.
3:30PM, Donovan Residence
Alex drove up to the small house in the cul-de-sac around her. Stepping out of the car, she made her way across the lawn and up the steps leading to the porch. The front door creaked open, and Alex poked her head inside.
"Grandpa?" She called out, "Grandpa, you home?"
She stepped through the door and looked around. Reclined on a sofa, an old man with thick gray hair reposed, his eyes closed and his snores thundering through the living room. Alex smiled at him, and tiptoed closesr to the sleeping elder. On the coffee table, she picked up a small whistle.
With a smirk on her face, she drew in a deep breath and whistled a tune of reveille into his ear. In an instant, the old man shot up onto his feet. He looked around him, confused and disoriented. When his eyes looked into the face of his granddaughter, Alex pulled the whistle away from her and laughed.
"What was that for? Didn't you see I was taking a nap just now?!"
Alex's smirk widened.
"Now, Grandpa, it's not my fault you were caught sleeping on the job again. That's okay, though, because I have good news to tell you!"
Alex's Grandfather rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"And what news would that be? That you've managed to not stir up trouble for once? That you've finally apologized to Susie Beckett for tormenting her all those years you were in high school together?"
In a display of mock disappointment, Alex wagged her finger at him.
"Now, Grandpa, first of all, it served her right for harassing me about my assets. Second, my breast size was, and is, none of her business to begin with, and third, had her gang of cronies not bullied everyone relentlessly, I'd have left them alone and not started that campaign on Facebook. Finally, would it kill you to have just a little shred of faith in me?"
From out of her purse, Alex pulled out an envelope. She opened the envelope, and removed a folded sheet of paper. Unfolding the document, she held it up to her grandfather's face, her mouth curled up into a full-fledged smile.
"I completed my GED, Grandpa. With Honors, I might add."
Alex's Grandfather took the paper out of Alex's hands, and held it up to his face. His eyes widened, and he glanced back at Alex with an astonished, smile on his lips. She grinned back at him, while the two hugged each other.
"I'm so proud of you, Alex! I knew you had it in you. A shame it took you getting expelled to realize it, but what's done is done, I guess."
"Now, Grandpa, you always used to tell me how much you hated Principal Rogers. It was never my fault that he had no sense of humor whatsoever."
"Alex, to be fair, I don't think anyone really appreciated you tossing all those pencils at the ceiling. Or that time you planted a whoopie cushion on his chair. Or even that time you recorded farts and played them back while he was trying to give a speech at the dress rehersal for the school play. Really, child, sometimes you can take your jokes a little too far..."
"Those were the days, weren't they, Grandpa? Why, it's making me teary just thinking about the days when I was young, stupid, and naive..."
"You still have much to learn, child."
"And now I might still have a chance of making culinary arts school if I keep this up. See, Grandpa? I do have goals in life!"
"Good. Now if you can just keep on sticking your nose to the grindstone, you might just make those goals of yours a reality."
Alex laughed. She kissed her grandfather on the cheek and patted him on the shoulder. In spite of his teasing, he looked back up at her with a smile. As she turned to look away from him, she turned her attention to a photograph on the wall, above the television. It showed a black and white picture of a younger man embracing a young woman. Beneath the photograph, the words "Frederick and Jolene", drawn in worn black paint, stood out against the beige frame around it.
"You think... Grandma would be proud of me?" Alex asked, a sad frown.
Frederick's eyes shifted toward his granddaughter, a frown of concern forming on his face.
"I think that she would want you to do your best, and to make something of yourself. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't know how much longer I'll be around. Someboday... you and your sister are going to have to learn to stand on your own two feet."
Alex turned around.
"I miss her so much, Grandpa... It's not the same without her..."
"I know, Alex... I know. It hasn't been easy at all since she passed away. But we'll get through this. Your grandmother is in a better place now. She... she wouldn't want to see you sitting here, moping about her like this. We have to be brave... for her sake, and ours..."
With a sigh, Alex glanced up toward the hallway.
"You're right, Grandpa. I'm sorry. Um... Have you seen Cass at all today?"
Frederick shook his head.
"I haven't seen your sister since she took off to work. She should be coming home soon."
Words danced at the tip of Frederick's tongue. A sudden thought came to his mind. As Alex moved toward the hallway, he held his hand up to stop her.
"Alex, Darcy called. When you have a moment, you might want to call her back."
Alex raised her eyebrow.
"What did she want?"
Frederick shook his head and shrugged.
"I don't know. She said she wanted to talk to you about something."
"Well, alright, let me put my things down..."
Alex disappeared down the hallway. She opened her bedroom door and set her purse down. Unzipping her purse, she rummaged through it, searching for her smartphone. When her fingers touched the glass surface of the touch screen, she pulled it out. Kicking her shoes off, she made herself comfortable on her bed, as she pulled the number pad on the screen and dialed numbers.
She placed the receiver up to her ear, and waited for the ringing tone to disappate. A smile formed on her lips as she heard a click.
"...Hello?"
Alex's face beamed as the familiar voice of a beloved family friend spoke to her through the receiver.
"Hi, Darcy! It's Alex. Grandpa said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Alex! Good to hear from you. Any luck with your GED?"
Alex nodded into the phone.
"Just finished my exam today. Passed with honors. I should get my official one in the mail sometime in June along with whenever PCC decides to send out diplomas."
"I'm so happy to hear that! You know, I was worried about you when your grandmother passed away. You kept on getting into all kinds of fights at school, and into all sorts of trouble. I know you've always been the practical joker of the family, but I'm glad to see you taking a bit of responsibility in your life, too."
"Well, you know, we all have to own up to the stupid things we do in life, right? Besides, I really want to get enrolled at Oregon Culinary Institute sometime, and with me getting expelled and all, I didn't feel I was going to be able to make that happen any time soon."
A laugh echoed from the receiver.
"Ah, still plan on being a chef?"
"You know it. Grandpa's a lousy cook. Remember that time he ruined an entire pot of home-made chili? Man, that was really something. How do you... ruin something like that, and so epically, too? I took one taste of that chili, Darcy, and my tongue just about fell out!"
"Yeah, that really was something. Say, Darren has been asking about you. We haven't seen you guys at all since your grandmother's funeral."
Alex frowned.
"That was my fault. I think we were all really caught up in her passing away. It still hits us pretty hard, her being gone... But you can't stay sad forever, you know? You have to pick up the pieces and move on at some point."
Alex could hear the smile on the other end of the phone. In spite of the pang of sadness in her heart, she felt her lips curl up slightly.
"Say, we were thinking of heading out to San Juan sometime late February for a little vacation. Would you or your sister like to come along?"
On hearing that question, Alex sat up straight in surprise.
"Well, gee, I'd love to, but money's still really tight, Darcy. I don't think I can afford a plane ticket to come out to see you."
"Don't worry about the money right now, Alex. I know money is tight for you and your Grandpa. I can cover the air fare, the baggage fees, what have you. Just let me know what you decide."
"Look, at least let me agree to pay you back. That's fair, at least."
"Think of it as my treat for you finishing your high school equivalency."
Alex let out a sigh. She did not feel comfortable accepting such a generous offer. While a trip to the tropics tickled her fancy, she did not like the idea of someone else paying for her trip, even if that person happened to be a family friend.
What do I do? Do I accept? Do I tell her no? Man, I haven't spoken to Darren in so long... He hasn't said a word to me since he blew up at me for that fireworks prank. I wonder how he's doing... but how am I going to get Darcy to agree to let me pay her back?
Not knowing what else to do, Alex nodded her head.
"Okay... I can come along, but we have to figure out a time I can pay you back, alright? Air fare's not cheap, and money doesn't grow on trees and all..."
"It's settled, then. I'll email you all the nitty gritty details. I have to get going now. Talk to you in a little while, alright?"
"Alright, Darcy, it was nice talking to you. Bye."
As Alex ended the call, she stared at the ceiling, wondering just how the trip would work out...
Carribean Sea - Deserted Cay
March 1, 2016 CE (3 Eldin, 1437 HCE Hyrulean Reckoning)
I'm such a idiot...
Alex stepped into the cold confines of the grotto. Slabs of rock formed the ceiling, leaving an opening across from where she entered. Rocky steps lead to more sandy coastline beyond. Sea water pounded against earth and lapped up the white beach.
Shaking her head, Alex turned her attention away from the shore and toward the large pool of sea water in the center. Despite her nausea, she dreaded stepping into the pool- dreaded feeding the alien flesh that made up her form. The thought of looking into the pool and seeing her face terrified her.
I have to know... I have to know what that light did to me...
The face that peered back at her through the water's reflection caught her off guard. Like the rest of her form, it carried little of the feminine curves she once possessed. Only the fact that her face still remained humanoid brought her any sense of relief. Off the sides of her face, fins shaped like hair dangled off her head. A pair of human eyes peered back at her; the left, a deep blue, and the right, the same green hue she had known since adolescence.
Alex's fear began to melt away into confusion. She knew the face of the creature she stared at in the water all too well.
Wha...? A Zora...?
She searched through her memory of the night before. Before her eyes, she had watched the other passengers shift and morph into forms harkening back to the tribes of Hyrule... tribes from a fantasy realm that did not exist. Alex remembered running through the plane, leading others to safety from the otherworldly light that twisted them into those forms. She remembered being touched by the light, and torn apart by it... followed a black void.
No...
Alex reeled at the void in her memory. She searched her memory again, certain that she made a mistake. To her own horror, she recalled nothing after that event, nothing at all besides her awakening on the tropical island. She held up her hands in front of her face.
This makes no sense at all! How did I end up here? What happened on the plane? Am I the only one who survived? Better yet... how did I survive? How am I even still alive at all...?
Unable to fight her body's cries for moisture any longer, Alex stepped into the pool. She knelt down within it, and her vision clouded up, as though a membrane had slid over her eyes. Alex sank deeper until her form became submerged under its surface. The gills along her ribs went into overdrive, drawing in oxygen out of the water. Shudders ran down Alex's spine at the alien sensations.
Am I stuck like this forever? Please God, I don't want to spend the rest of my life here on this forsaken island. I don't even have a Gilligan here to keep me company or provide comic relief. Granted, I'd probably kill him since he didn't do much for the Skipper or the Minnow, but still! It's the thought that counts, dammit!
Moments passed, and Alex's nausea began to fade. Her scales drank in the moisture of the pool, relieved of their exposure to the sea winds that blew across the island. In the depths of the pool, her stomach let out several growls. She frowned at her latest predicament.
Well, at least my appetite's about the same as before. I haven't started breathing fire at any passerbys in green tunics... yet. There's a couple positives I can take out of this... right?
Sometime later...
Alex stared at the shore with a solemn expression. For every human body that had washed ashore alongside her, she found several hybrid beings resembling Gorons, Zoras, Deku Scrubs, and Hylians. Beside them floated the wreckage of the plane, its metal scraps pushed up far onto the beach. The sight made her want to wretch.
This is awful...
She stepped over the bodies and rummaged though the suitcases and coolers that had somehow survived the crash. Everywhere, she found the same thing- clothes, electronics, and accessories too water-damaged to be of any use. Her stomach let out a growl, and she found herself wading through the cold sea water to find the coolers in hopes something, anything that could satisfy her hunger.
"I'm sorry... I know this stuff probably belonged to you guys, but seeing as you're dead and all... No hard feelings, alright? I don't want any of you turning into Poes and haunting me in my sleep."
When Alex placed her scaled fingers on the cold, metal surface of a blue cooler, she pried open the air-tight lid with ease. Inside, she breathed a sigh of relief. Inside the cooler, wrestled behind still-cold gel packs, bits of frozen chicken and hamburger sat within sealed plastic bags.
I'd complain about the lack of buns, but beggars can't be choosers. I don't know how much juice is in these gel packs, but I'll see if I can make this last a little while.
Alex turned around and nodded her head at the sea of corpses.
"Much obliged, fellas."
I'm not sure how this guy didn't get plugged up with sea water already, but... well, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.
As she pulled the cooler out of the water and onto the shore, she looked back out at the dead bodies around her. Guilt welled up inside of her. She felt like a thief, stealing food that these once-living people had worked to obtain. The thought of them lying there, being pecked at by the seagulls, filled her with sadness.
With a heavy sigh, Alex jumped back into the water and waded through the wreckage, her lips curled a deep frown. She tore open suitcase after suitcase, in hopes that she could find a shovel. Next to the body of a Goron hybrid, she pulled open a suitcase, and found several shovels, machetes, rope, and emergency flares. She raised her brow at the sight.
I'd say you were being just a wee bit paranoid, but I'm sure you didn't plan on turning into a rock anymore than I did turning into a fish...
As she pulled the supply suitcase out of the water, she held her right arm in front of her face.
It's weird... My right arm doesn't feel as strong as it used to be. I'm not used to being so... buff and all, but... it's like most of my power doesn't come out of this arm anymore.
That evening...
Alex rubbed two pieces of driftwood along a circle of rocks. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Throughout all of the luggage that had washed ashore, not a single one of them contained a lighter that worked. Now, Alex found herself struggling to build a fire. Her stomach roared louder. She furrowed her eyes.
Goddammit... They make this shit look so easy in the movies! Why can't I figure this shit out?!
Surrounding the wood with dry grass, she continued rubbing, hoping that something, anything would spark a fire. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she ground the pieces of wood into each other. The wood in her right hand jumped away, smacking her left hand. She cried out in pain and annoyance.
"Fucking Christ, why is this shit so hard?!"
She massaged her left hand. As her stomach rumbled in protest, she furrowed her brow. Alex tossed the pieces of wood aside for a moment and gazed down at her scaly fingers.
I don't get this at all... It's like my right arm just won't... grip like it used to.
A thought crossed her mind. Like a lightbulb going off in her brain, she grabbed the pieces of driftwood, and leading with her left hand, began to grind the wood together. With strength she never possessed in that hand before, she moved faster until sparks began to appear. She stopped and blew on the wood. Smoke began to rise up, and before long, she had a fire underway.
She looked up at her left arm.
Wait... since when did I become left-handed...?
Relieved that she had a fire going, she turned a flat rock toward the fire. Eager for sustenance, she unsealed the cooler and began to fumble through its contents.
Goddamn, I'm so hungry... I haven't eaten a damn thing all day...
Pulling out a bag of hamburger from the cooler, she grabbed the meat, divided it into two flat patties, and with her boots, turned the flatrock away from the fire. She placed the patties on it. The meat sizzled on the heated surface, while the aroma made Alex's mouth water. Moments later, Alex grabbed a nearby pair of sticks and flipped the patties over.
As grease began to drip down the sides of the rock, Alex poked at the meat, exposing their center. Seeing no trace of redness within the cooked hamburger, she carefully grabbed the two patties off the rock and placed them on the cold surface of the cooler. Content that the patties had cooled enough to eat, she pulled the meat apart and began to devour it.
Oh my fucking God... I never thought hamburgers patties alone could taste so awesome... Good thing my uncle showed me the rock trick, or I'd be up shit creek without a paddle right now.
Her hunger sated, she threw dirt onto the fire to put it out before returning to the grotto.
I've been out of the water for too long again...
Without hesitation, she stepped back into the pool of water within the grotto. As she sank into its depths, relief poured through every scale on her body. She shuddered as her vision clouded and her gills went back to work.
I'm never going to get used to this at all.
Freed from the ravages of her appetite, her thoughts turned toward her grandfather and her twin sister back home. Her head burst up out of the water. When she saw her reflection in the wavy waters, she let out a gasp. A blackened membrane covered her eyes.
A blue shimmer glistened on her left eye in the moonlight, while a green shimmer did the same on her right. Spooked by the sight, she pulled her face away from the water. Blinking her eyes, she felt the membrane slide away, revealing her true eyes once more.
Oh God... This is starting to freak me out something awful...
She cupped her face in her hands. Her terror, repressed by her need for sustenance, came thrashing back to the surface of her thoughts. As she remembered her grandfather's smiling face, the reality of her situation drew her into sadness. Sobs escaped from her lips.
What the fuck am I going to do? How the hell am I going to get back home? What if I do find my way back to Clackamas? He won't recognize me... I don't even recognize myself...
As she became lost further and further in her turmoil, she cast a glance down at the green skirt hanging from her hips. In that instant, an idea dawned on her.
Hold the phone for a minute... I recognize this skirt. Zora Link in Majora's Mask wore somethning like this, but... why the hell am I wearing it?
She laughed at the horrible, horrible theory that slithered into her thoughts.
Oh God, Alex. That's the shittiest idea ever. There's no way I could be wearing a mask and channeling the spirit of a dead person, much less a dead video game character. Nope. There's no way this is possible at all... Just like how a dimensional storm didn't just turn a flight full of innocent people into rabid Gorons and Zoras and god-knows-what-else... from a place that is equally non-existent, I might add... Definitely not possible at all...
Unable to ignore the implications of her theory, she lifted her hands up to her face. Her scaled fingers traveled the sides of her face, searching for the edges of a mask. When she found nothing, she grabbed the sides of her face and began to pull. Instead of the sensation of a mask being removed, she only felt the pain of her skin being tugged on.
Alex descended into a fit of laughter, followed by sobs of grief. For what seemed like an eternity, she cried into the night, until she could keep her eyes open no longer. She fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the waves of the sea beyond.
Link bolted forward. His eyes glanced around him, taking in the unfamiliar sights of grotto that sheltered him. Confused and disoriented, he pushed his body out of the pool of water.
Where am I?
He did not remember coming to this place. Images of the plane crash flashed in his mind, of the woman he tried to save that night, and of putting on a mask. Link moved his arms in front of him, wiggling the fins attached to them before shifting his gaze to the Zoran shape that obeyed his will.
It worked.
As he looked at his altered form, a frown formed on his face. Although the musculature resembled his own, the slender fingers, the ridge of fins that concealed a pair of breasts, stood as a sad reminder of the calamity wrought by the light's terrible power that night. To his complete dismay, not even a magical mask belonging to the fabled Hero of Time could correct twisted, feminine form the light forced upon him.
Despite the ambivalent emotions that boiled within him, he focused his thoughts on the amalgamate beings created by the light. Their maddened eyes, brimming with that unholy white energy, burned in his memory. Before his eyes, the very people he had sworn to protect had been reduced to crazed amalgamates- being neither fully Hyrulean nor completely of the strange world he found himself in now.
He touched his hand to his cheek, which felt warm and moist. Link pulled his hand away, eying the liquid that fell onto his scaly fingers.
...Tears?
Link shifted his eyes toward his reflection in the moonlit water. His left eye, the same blue he had known all his life, burned with the light's terrible power, while his right eye had shifted to a green color. He raised his brow, confused by the puffy redness that characterized his eyes. The sight of his glimmering left pupil sent shivers down his spine. He looked away from the pool and closed his eyes.
Have I been crying? What have I been doing this whole time?
He opened his eyes and shifted his gaze around the grotto. To his right, watery footprints from outside lead to the pool he found himself in. Link stepped out of the water and followed the prints outside. There, more footprints traveled across the sand. As Link moved to look at the shoreline, his heart sank.
Corpses washed up along the beach, along with wreckage. Some of them appeared Hylian, while others resembled Gorons, Zoras, Deku Scrubs, and other creatures from his world in varying states of change. Seagulls hovered over them, tearing into their bodies in a feeding frenzy. The very sight of them made Link clench his left fist in anger.
Link screamed at the top of his lungs and rushed toward the seagulls. The flock panicked and flew off into the night. He fell onto his knees and pounded his fist against the ground. Despite his attempts to bury his feelings, he could do nothing to stop the tears that fell down his face at the sight of his fallen people.
No... Oh Goddesses, no...
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a set of shovels and tools next to a makeshift firepit. Link pushed himself onto his feet and made his way over to the firepit. The firepit looked recently used. A metallic blue cooler rested nearby. Despite his curiosity, he ignored the container and grabbed a shovel.
He walked back toward the piles of bloated cadavers, a solemn expression on his face. Link drew in a deep breath and set about the grim task ahead of him. One by one, he pulled the dead bodies out of the water. Using his shovel, he began to dig into the sand. Minutes flew by, and with the hole in the ground completed, he dragged the body of an incomplete Hylian hybrid and gently placed them into the ground. Link wiped the moisture away from his forehead as he covered the body with the sand he dug up moments ago.
All throughout the night, Link carried on this solemn task. Not once did he rest, not until the bodies of all the hybrid beings rested within the arms of the earth. By the time the last body laid in a makeshift grave, he spotted the rising sun off into the distance. Spent and exhausted, he fell onto his knees and rested his arms and forehead on the handle of the shovel.
You shouldn't have died here. You should've died in Hyrule... where we belong...
As the scales of his Zoran form cried out for moisture, he offered one last prayer to the forsaken souls of Hyrule that had washed ashore.
Goddesses, please guide these lost souls, and grant them peace in their next life. May they find release from their pain and suffering, and may those of us who remain return to Your arms swiftly. Amen.
Spent and exhausted, Link hobbled toward the safety of the grotto. He walked into the pool of water and submerged himself in silence. Link closed his eyes, feeling himself beginning to drift away.
I'm sorry. I could not protect you. Please forgive me, everyone...
March 2, 2016 CE (4 Eldin, 1437 HCE Hyrulean Reckoning)
Ugh... Why do I feel so groggy...?
Alex opened her eyes. She found herself within the depths of the grotto's pool. Pushing herself away from the walls, she surfaced and stepped out of the pool. A loud yawn escaped her lips as she stretched her arms out in front of her. Alex's eyes wandered toward the rightmost entrance of the grotto, where she spotted many, many footprints in the sand. She shook her head in confusion.
I know I was up and about quite a bit yesterday, but... something just seems off here...
Alex stepped out of the pool and wandered outside. The corpses, once strewn haphazardly onto the shore by the sea beyond, had vanished. Rocks and boulders rested in the sand, placed with great care and attention as though monuments. A worn shovel stuck up out of the wet sand. She shook her head, perplexed by the sight.
How...? Where did they go? Was someone here last night?
"Hello?" Alex called out.
Only her watery voice echoed through the air. At first, she strode into a brisk pace before running all throughout the cay.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Is anyone out there?!"
No one answered her call. Nothing else but her remained on the sandy bar. Alex's eyes began to water, her hopes dashed.
Fucking Christ, this place is starting to get to me... I hope I never see this island again for the rest of my life.
Later that night...
The sound of horn billowing tore Alex away from her slumber. She had fallen asleep outside the pool of water. Alex's eyes shifted around the grotto, in search of the startling sound. When the horn blew through the air again, Alex stood up rigid. She raced toward the beach.
Wind pounded the sandy shore. Alex hend her hand in front of her face. Dark storm clouds gathered in the heavens above, while torrential rain poured onto the cay. As her eyes looked toward the horizon, she let out a heartfelt gasp.
Off into the distance, a boat pierced the horizon. Beacons of light drove away the growing darkness. Alex's heart raced, her hopes and prayers of a rescue answered. She jumped into the air and waved her arms and fins into the air.
"Help! Somebody help!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
Her eyes widened as the boat began to veer away from the island.
No no no no no
Frantic, she rummaged through the suitcase near her firepit. She pulled the fuse and lit the flare. Pinkish red flames billowed out gray smoke, and she waved it into the air.
"Come back! Please come back! Don't leave me here!"
She lit flare after emergency flare, hoping that she could get the boat's attention in the stormy seas beyond. The boat disappeared into the night. Alex fell onto her hands and knees, her sobs echoing in the raging storm around her.
"Please don't leave me... I don't want to be alone..."
Alex squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
Minute by minute, the boat began to shrink, until its horns could no longer be heard above the billowing winds around her.
For several days, Alex waited for another boat to arrive. No one came. Abandoned and alone, her supplies dwindled. By the eighth day, nothing remained within the coller, the food within gone. Alex sat outside the leftmost entrance of the grotto, taking in the setting sun. She held her hands up to her face.
I'm still me. No matter what happens here, I'm still me. Deep down, I'm still human. I'll find a way back home. I'll show my Grandpa and everyone I know that I'm still Alex Donovan.
She looked around the cay one last time, a defiant expression on her face.
We all have to make hard decisions at some point. I can't stay another minute on this island. There's nothing left for me here except to die. I cannot accept that. I will not accept that.
Alex gazed down at the clear blue water below. Fish swam just below the surface, while branches of coral, pink and stone-like, stood out from the azure abyss. Looking into that black abyss, she felt more afraid now than she had ever been on that plane. She stood up onto her feet and drew in one last breath of air.
I guess it's time for me to do as the Zora do... Since help is not going to come, I must help myself. So long, deserted island. The service here sucked.
She ran off the rocks that separated the grotto from the sea, and dove into the water, disappearing into sea beyond.
