The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Present
I do not own the Legend of Zelda© or any of its characters.
Chapter 7: Have Courage: Part 2
At the school, a certain professor was researching early that morning. He seemed to be confused, and that was something that frustrated him. Prof. Shad had been searching through every history book the school had to offer as well as his own personal collection. But nothing seemed to help the distraught teacher. "I know I have read about it somewhere….but where?" He dug into another shelf of old books, but like the first hundred, no luck. Slightly angry and disappointed, he sighed and replaced the books on their respective shelves. Just as he was about to walk away, a book fell from the top shelf and landed on top of the poor man's head.
He rubbed the sore spot and picked up the book, curious. The title read, 'Ancient Legends.' He looked over the cover and gasped. On the front of the book was the same symbol he had seen on the back of that strange kid's hand. Prof. Shad walked over to a desk and sat down. "Now, let's find out what you are my young friend…" With slightly trembling hands, he opened the book and began to read. He had a vague idea of what that symbol was, but it was so ludacris that he couldn't believe something like that existed. The scientist in him wouldn't allow it. But science could only go so far, there were still many questions as to how the earth, life, time, and existence began. "Before time began, before spirits and life existed..."
To Zelda, it seemed adventuring was nothing at all like what the books describe. Things always seem to go wrong just when they relax. Whether it was walking into a room filled with monsters that had to be defeated, or annoying puzzles to solve so they could progress further. 'This adventuring stuff isn't as fun as it's cracked up to be…' Zelda sighed. Link, however, cut down all the enemies as if they were paper. To him the puzzles were as simple as a child's jigsaw puzzle, even though he didn't know what that was. Frankly, it was getting on her nerves. As of right now, they were trying to figure out where the final key was using the map and compass Link had acquired a few rooms back. 'Triforce of Wisdom my butt…' She grumbled. "Huh? You say something Zelda?" Trying to play it off she waved her hand in front of her face, "Nothing! I said nothing. Hahaha…." Link raised an eyebrow, "You sure? I could have sworn I heard you say something about the Triforce…" Just then, iron bars slammed down behind them, "Why don't you pay more attention to what's going on around us so we can avoid stuff like that!?" Link groaned as he slashed through the keese and the skulltulas, 'How could I even compare her to 'my' Zelda? She isn't cute at all…' Zelda threw deku nuts to blind the enemies that were trying to sneak in and attack his blind spots.
After their battle with the Stalfos, Link decided that Zelda could support him by distracting the enemies behind him. He was going to let her use the crossbow that he had gotten, but she wasn't strong enough to load the arrow. So he gave her a small bag of deku nuts. 'What are these things?' Zelda asked him. 'Deku nuts.' He replied. 'P-pardon?!' Zelda sputtered after her mind took a short trip to the gutter. Link raised an eyebrow, 'They are fruit that fell from the Great Deku Tree. When you throw them, it can temporarily blind the opponent, as well as yourself if you aren't careful.' 'I can't believe I thought that…' She threw another of the blinding fruit as Link finished off the rest. The bars slid open. "According to the map, the final key should be in here…"
Zelda looked over his shoulder, "As well as a ton of monsters?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm. Link smirked and turned his head towards her, "Now you're getting it. Ah….!" Around the time he finished teasing her they both noticed that their faces were so close they were almost touching. 'Woah….she is really cute…' Zelda recovered and blushed furiously as she shoved him away from her, "You're too close!" Unfortunately, for Link, there was a low hanging wall in front of them. He fell to the ground holding his now throbbing face. Zelda seemed to realize that it was her fault and apologized, "Sorry! I…uh… you surprised me!" Link, still holding on to his nose, gave her an annoyed look, 'I take that back. She isn't cute at all…' After nursing his face for a few more seconds, and listening to a few more apologies from Zelda, he stood up. "Alright, all we have to do is go through this door, get the key, and proceed to the final room. The flame should be there." Zelda nodded and steeled herself for what might be on the other side. What she saw surprised her.
"Huh. It's empty." Link stated simply. "Empty? All those rooms just to get to this one, that's supposed to have the final key that gets us into the room with the flame, and it's empty!?" During her little rant, Link grabbed the key, and after another silly pose walked back over to her. "Let's just be thankful. At least we can have a breather." Zelda deadpanned, "You know, you're pretty carefree for an adventurer." He just grinned, "If I keep a positive outlook, these adventures are a little more bearable." Zelda's thoughts went back to that feeling she got when she looked in his eyes the first time they met, and the dream from the night before. "You know…" Link stopped, "Hm?" "You should think about yourself more…" She finished quietly. "What? I didn't hear you." She shook her head, "N-nothing! Let's just get this flame and get out of here." Link nodded and they both walked to the door on the other side of the room.
The Phantasmal Assassin was patiently meditating in the final room. Preparing himself for the confrontation that was about to happen. At first glance, he looked just like a bundle of rags. But underneath, he had a black, samurai kimono with chainmail under that. He had a small leather belt that wrapped around his waist and held a large number of assassins' tools. "Who's there?" He didn't need to ask. He knew this presence. Dark Link stood off to the side of him, "The 'hero' is almost here. Make sure you leave no trace of his existence. Oh, and one more thing, the princess is off limits." Shadow Strike smirked and licked his lips, showing his sharp fangs, "That goes without saying." With that, Dark Link smirked and vanished, 'That fool won't last. He will only test him. I will be the one to destroy the hero. Just you watch 'Link' hahahaha!'
Shadow Strike rose to his feet. 'The time has come.' He hid his presence and waited. As if on cue, Link and Zelda walked through the door as it creaked open. "So where is the flame?" Zelda questioned him. Link was searching all around him. He had been in temples and dungeons long enough to know that this was too easy. 'I know he's here, he's probably waiting for a sneak attack. What a coward.' Link spoke up, "Huh, maybe we got lucky again." Zelda looked at him, "Isn't that a little…convenient?" Link shrugged, "Probably, but I don't see any enemies, do you?" Zelda looked around, "No…I guess not." Shadow Strike, narrowed his eyes. 'That boy is underestimating me. How he sensed my presence…he truly is the reincarnation of the 'Hero of Legend.' But I will end him here…' Silently, he drew a sharp needle, tipped with poison, and threw it at Link's neck. Link pretended to trip and the needle harmlessly flew past him. Shadow gritted his teeth, 'I am being mocked…' This time he threw two, one aimed for his foot, the other aimed for his right arm. Link raised his arm and pointed at something while side stepping, "Hey what's that?"
Both needles missed.
Now he was getting angry. This time he threw ten poisoned needles at Link, all aimed at his vital spots. Link turned and drew his shield, deflecting them. He then tossed a deku nut at the assassin, which caused a flash to light up the area. Using his cloak to cover his eyes, the evil warrior dropped from his hiding spot and landed a few feet away. "Hmph. It seems I underestimated you." Link drew the goddess sword from its sheath, "Who are you?" Link asked. Throwing off his cloak, he gave his introduction, "I am the Phantasmal Assassin, Shadow Strike. And I will be dining on your soul." Link smirked and readied his stance, "You're welcome to try." The dark warrior drew his own blade, a serrated, katana shaped, weapon and lunged at the hero. Link parried and struck back with a low slice that was easily dodged. Zelda, after overcoming her initial shock, readied a deku nut and looked for an opening. Link and Shadow Strike exchanged blow after blow but neither seemed to have an edge. They broke away from their attacks to catch their breath. 'Dang, he's strong…' Link was bleeding from cuts all over. However, he dodged in a way that most of them were shallow. Link tried to read his movements, looking for a weakness, but the assassin's movements were so fluid that he couldn't find any. As quick as they had broken apart, they pressed the attack once more, each trying to land a successful hit.
Link watched his enemies' movements closely, looking for any kind of weakness. He swiped at the assassin's chest after using a feint to the right. The assassin fell for it due to Zelda throwing a deku nut at their feet. However, the assassin barely dodged, his kimono was torn and through it Link could see a dim light behind the chain mail. 'That must be his heart…' A voice chimed in his head, 'Master, analysis complete. As you have noticed, his weak point is the glowing area on his chest. However, the chain mail is magically enhanced to reflect damage from swords. Attacking it with the goddess sword is pointless. We have to find some way to 'pierce' through the chain mail.' Link thought for a moment, 'Pierce huh….? Ah!' Link fished around in his pouch while the assassin charged in, "You've let your guard down!" Link quickly blocked and defended, trying to create enough space to reach his bag. But the assassin wouldn't give him any chances and began to furiously barrage Link with a series of swipes and stabs.
Zelda was down to her last deku nut. She knew that Link had figured out something, but he couldn't do anything with that assassin constantly bearing down on him. What should she do? If she didn't time it properly, it might blind Link instead. Link took a second to glance at Zelda. She caught his eye. He gave her a look that said, 'on my signal.' Zelda waited calmly, watching for the signal. Link swung down with all his might, trying to break the assassin's defenses, but the blade held fast, just like Link had hoped. Link dropped down quickly and used a sweep kick to throw him off balance. "Now!" Link yelled. Zelda launched the deku nut at their feet causing a blinding flash to light up the area. Shadow Strike recovered from the kick and the flash just in time to hear a sound coming from his right. 'Click.' He turned expecting to meet a blade but instead there was nothing but pain. He looked down and sticking out of his chest was an arrow. He looked back up in the direction it came from and there was Link holding the crossbow. As Shadow Strike began to fade, his last thoughts were, 'Truly, a marvelous warrior. Hahaha…his soul would have been very tasty….' And with that, he disappeared.
Yep, the first temple arc is finally done! Don't worry, the flame getting part will be in the next chapter. Also, I still have no one voting on the poll I have on my profile. Please vote and let me know what you would like to see in future chapters. Reviews are greatly appreciated so that I can make these faster! Anyhow, enjoy!