Waahhh, sorry my updates are getting slower and slower. I got busy with final exams and conventions and just things hhhhh
Anyways, enough of my excuses. Here's the chapter thing yay. Much shorter than the last one. Sorry if it seems filler-ish...
Thank you for all of your reviews btw! omg we're almost at 100 whhhaaat, when did that happen?
Summary: The Shadow Realm kind of sucks.
And I'm sure by now you guys have figured out that italicized means the past/flashbacks/nightmare things lol.
Warnings: Umm... dead things?
It's almost heartbreakingly pathetic gazing down at the broken form lying in my arms. The hero chosen by the goddess; the being unmatched in battle; the unbreakable spirit. Such titles seemed hardly fitting now for the so called 'chosen one.'
I knew it was reckless making such a dramatic gamble with the enemy, a human and one of her pawns no less. It was foolish, even. But I didn't exactly have a multitude of options at my disposal to choose from at the time being.
He listens as I speak, and although he was struggling to stay conscious, I could see the disbelief and confusion in his expression. He swallows once and his lips part. When he spoke, his tone was raspy and near silent.
"Why… w-would you…?"
His words trail off into a small fit of coughing. The poor thing.
"… Offer your assistance at such a dire time in my existence?" I finish for him. Such a simple creature. Could he not grasp the concept of their being more than just black and white? Good and evil? I sigh, lifting my gaze from him to the dank ceiling. "Yes, it must be a trick. The servant rebelling against his master is such an absurd prospect…"
Dropping my contemplative façade, I lower my sights back to his abruptly.
"I assure you, my tragic hero, it is no trick. The options I present you with are very real. You could accept my offer of freedom in exchange for a favour in return, or you could stay here and allow yourself to be tortured to death." I pause, letting the reality of my words sink in like a dagger through soft flesh. "The choice is up to you, really."
Surely, in his situation, no being with a basic instinct to survive would take the latter option. My hand squeezes his shoulder, fingers digging into his skin – not enough to harm but enough to make my warning clear. If he declined then he was of no use to me. Possibly, if he begged, I would end him right here in an act of mercy.
But, if a human were presented the option of life or death, they would inevitably choose to live. I had seen this firsthand – and in some ways it was almost admirable.
Why should he be any different?
While he deliberates, I grow impatient for time was not on my side. If I were to be caught having this conversation with the enemy and if my plan were exposed, I would suffer the consequences of the highest treason. For the king's right hand man to be discovered plotting against him, well…
Let us just say that I would be the one begging for death.
Finally, he speaks once more, or attempts to. It's hardly audible and I have to cock my ear towards him. "What was that?"
With somewhat of a struggle, he raises his head and looks me in the eye, his gaze holding a startling amount of determination.
"Yes…" he whispers, so low even I from this proximity can barely hear it. "I'll do it."
And with that, his fate is sealed. His word was all I needed, and that I have obtained.
I smile.
Link came to a conclusion that few things were as awkward as making the descent into the unknown alongside your worst enemy. Or worst enemy turned… something else. He didn't entirely know what to think of Ghirahim anymore, other than the fact that he seemed to be working against his own kind, and did that make him an… ally?
But there was no way that the demon lord was helping out of sheer good will. He had said himself that in exchange for his services, Link had to assist him in retrieving something. As for what that something was? The hero didn't have a clue. He found that he wasn't really interested either, being more concerned about the welfare of his best friend.
Impatient as he was, Link would have preferred to leave right after Ghirahim had made him that offer the night before, but even he in his overtired state knew that wasn't a good idea. Ghirahim had insisted that the hero rest before they embarked, as having a fatigued human with him in the unforgiving lower realms would be quite the hindrance. ("You'll be of no use if you're practically falling asleep where you stand!")
Link had reluctantly agreed. He hadn't returned to the village however, and for that he felt guilt, but he couldn't deal with anything else that night. He needed peace, somewhere familiar. He'd gone to Skyloft instead, practically fainting in his old room in the academy. A few hours of sleep were all he managed, but it was better than nothing. Although he knew it was a cowardly thing to do, he'd left a note explaining where he'd gone, though conveniently leaving out exactly who he was travelling with.
He felt a bit better physically, but mentally he was ridden with anxiety. Where was Zelda now? Could they reach her in time?
Of course he wouldn't dare reveal this to his companion. He kept up a mask, but knowing how adapt the demon was at reading his emotions, it probably wasn't fooling him.
The hero dropped down from the ledge, landing at the base of the cistern. A small sigh fell from his lips as he glanced back upwards. By now it was dawn, the early morning light making its way through the openings in the roof at the top of the temple. Barely a fraction of it was able to reach down to where he stood now. Before him was the door that would lead to the grim underside of the cistern, the one Ghirahim said they had to go through.
Link looked over as he heard the demon touch down close by, but he didn't pay much attention to him, heading towards the door instead. Right as he was about to open it, a palm landed on the stone, stopping the hero.
Link looked over at the demon beside him with a frown, irritated. "What?"
Ghirahim drummed his fingers on the door, his eyes narrowing slightly as he peered down at Link.
"Before we enter this realm, I'm going to make a few things clear to you right now," he said. The blond resisted the urge to roll his eyes and looked away. Ghirahim was only delaying them, and probably for the sole purpose of agitating the hero.
He let out a sharp gasp as a hand suddenly seized his jaw, forcing his gaze back to the demon lord. Ghirahim's grip wasn't exactly rough, but it was authoritative and demanding of Link's utmost attention.
"From this point on, there will be no turning back, no backing out, no absconding before both ends of our little agreement have been fulfilled…" he spoke lowly as though to drill his point in, his dark eyes boring into light blue of the hero's. "You will follow my instruction and my instruction alone… lest there be consequences."
He leaned in closer and Link swallowed, looking up at him warily.
"And I must warn you, the creatures that we will most certainly encounter are not as… forgiving as those above." A dry smile flashed across the demon's features for a brief moment before it was gone. He released Link's face, instead lightly pinching a lock of the hero's blond hair between his thumb and index finger. "So, I ask you once more: do you accept my offer in its entirety?"
The small gesture threw Link off a bit and his lips parted in surprise. He jerked back slightly, but kept up his composure, not wanting to appear flustered in front of the demon. "… I already said I did. I don't see why it needs to be said again."
Ghirahim made a small humming noise, inclining his head slightly. "Just call it… a matter of insurance."
Link huffed. Fine. He would play along, if only to let them start after Zelda faster. He gave the demon what he wanted.
"I accept your offer," the hero ground out. But somehow he felt as though his words carried a different sort of energy to them as they left his mouth. He blinked, trying to focus on the feeling, but it was gone in the next moment.
Almost immediately, Ghirahim moved away from him, looking significantly more cheery, like he'd gained an item of great importance.
"Perfect," he said, clasping his hands together. Link could only scowl, a bit puzzled by the demon's behaviour.
The door suddenly flew open and the hero felt two hands gently rest on his back before giving him a shove forwards. He grunted softly and stumbled, managing to catch himself. Behind him he could hear the door close once more and Ghirahim's footsteps, along with the demon's chuckling.
The hero felt a pit grow in his stomach. He couldn't help but wonder if he had agreed to more than what he was aware of.
The golden-haired girl fluttered between consciousness and unconsciousness, her surroundings a mess of blurred shapes, occasional noises, and bouts of darkness. A dull ache stemmed from the crown of her head, pain spreading through the rest of her body with every small movement. She was aware that she was draped over something firm and muscular. Someone was carrying her, jostling her lightly with each step.
Movement was impossible; she was entirely drained of energy and her body felt like deadweight. That, and something coarse was binding her wrists together in front of her.
Zelda could hardly recall what had happened and how she had ended up in this situation. She did remember briefly fighting off her attackers, but they were so fast and it was so dark – and her bow was definitely not suitable for close range. She'd been overpowered… and then nothing. Her back felt empty now; of course she would have been stripped of her weapons.
A faint buzzing in her ear… noise… talking. Who was speaking…? The words were too far away, but they didn't sound like familiar voices, or so the goddess reborn initially thought. She wanted to listen closer, but she was so tired… weak…
"… presuming surface dwellers actually care about their goddess, they should be in pursuit by now…"
Zelda managed to crack her eyelids open for a few moments, catching part of the conversation. She could dimly see the ground passing by before her, but it didn't look anything like the forest floor or even like any place she had ever visited thus far on the surface. Before panic could register, the girl quietly slipped back under the welcoming waves of unconsciousness.
Sometime later, an alarming flash of pain shot through her as she suddenly bounced on her carrier's shoulder. Jarred to awareness by the sudden motion, a soft, but very audible groan, passed through her lips.
A voice spoke up, addressing the one carrying her.
"Watch yourself. If she is damaged too severely, our lord will have our heads." They hissed in warning, and then paused to reconsider. "Well, preferably just yours."
A low grunt of irritation sounded close to Zelda's ear.
"It isn't my fault that this pathetic excuse for a reincarnation of the goddess is as delicate as a flower. If this one–" her carrier readjusted her over their shoulder, "– can be harmed so easily, than perhaps it isn't worth the effort."
A silent listener to the exchange, the spirit maiden couldn't help but feel hopelessly frustrated. These people, if they even were people… their motives were unclear. Where did they come from and why did they attack now…?
Zelda brought her fists down onto her carrier's back, the feeble action going completely unnoticed. She wanted to kick and cry out and break free and run but all of that was simply out of reach. There was nothing she could do except helplessly slump back down, consumed by worry and fear.
"Li… ink…"
A sickening snap made Link flinch for the umpteenth time. He'd certainly been down here before, but now the crunching of bones beneath his feet seemed a lot more pronounced. During his previous adventures, the underside of the cistern had been one of the more unsettling places he'd visited, if the not the most unsettling. Deceptively beautiful on the top, horrifically disturbing on the bottom – two sides of the same coin.
He stepped lightly, but could still feel the remains of various creatures shifting underneath his boots. How far had they travelled? This area was unfamiliar to the hero; a boneyard of some sort.
Ghirahim's brightly coloured attire stood out almost obnoxious in this grim place, and yet he seemed to belong. The haze of lavender smoke swirled around him, lifting the edges of his cape. He strode with ease, apparently unperturbed by the sediment beneath him. In fact, he seemed to be in a better mood than before, Link noticed.
Like his regular self.
It put the youth off, to say the least. But he didn't want to say anything.
He frowned, beginning to ponder their conversation from before when a grip on his ankle quite literally jerked him from his thoughts. A sharp cry left him as he stumbled, falling face-first. His hands sunk into the condensed osseous matter that made up the ground and he immediately jerked back in disgust. "Agh!"
His yell alerted the demon lord just up ahead, who turned to look back at Link, seeing him sprawled on the ground. Then, his eyes shifted away as another sound filtered into the musty air – the sound of objects shifting and sliding against each other.
Link looked up in surprise, ears alert as the noise escalated in volume, glancing behind himself. "What is that…?"
Something burst up through the ground; a hand connected to an arm, its pale, spindly fingers stretched upwards. Upon closer examination it appeared that it wasn't just pale, but skeletal and rotted. The hero's mouth dropped in surprise as several more limbs emerged from underneath the bony sediment. He tried to get up, but found that whatever had grabbed him was keeping a vice-like grip on his ankle. His gaze travelled down, seeing filthy fingers wrapped around the ankle of his boot.
"Hm…" Ghirahim hummed as he watched rotting bodies pull themselves from the earth after their clawing hands had broken the surface. He didn't seem particularly impressed with them. "I'd say that is our queue to take our leave."
The demon lord turned on his heel, about to continue on when he noticed that Link wasn't following him. "Are you waiting for an invitation?"
"I can't… move," Link protested, kicking against the hand that held him. For something appearing so fragile it certainly didn't let up, its hold not even loosening a fraction. Meanwhile the other bodies, having freed themselves from their earthly tomb, shambled closer…
Then the hand's grip shifted, dragging downwards as though using Link as leverage. The rest of its arm became visible; something ragged dangling from its wrist. Then a sleeve emerged, dirty and stained with unidentifiable matter, but recognizably white. The hero's eyes widened in slow horror as realization came over him, watching the first traces of a blonde head rise from underneath the bones.
Link couldn't say anything, couldn't even cry out as 'Zelda' raised her face, bloodstained and smeared, grey and sunken eyes fixed on him. Her once golden hair was matted and stringy, even missing in some parts where her bare skull was visible. Her skin was half-decayed, falling off in areas. The youth was frozen, only movement out of the corner of his eyes drew his attention from the image of his best friend. He turned his face ever so slightly to see that the other bodies had taken on the semblance of people he knew – and some he didn't.
His friends, Skyloftian knights and citizens, all dead but somehow still dragging their corpses towards him, closing in on him. And then there were the others, who appeared to be soldiers of some kind; distant but familiar, as though having come from an era long before his own. Link's struggles had died. He was entranced, unable to flee even as he felt 'Zelda's' skeletal fingers clawing up his leg…
And then a foot stomped down on the reanimated corpse's head, the sound of a caving in skull forcing Link from his shock. The grip on his ankle was suddenly relinquished and he was free. Before he could stagger to his feet himself, a white-gloved hand grabbed him by the upper arm and hauled him up, shoving him away from the small advancing legion of the dead.
The two fled, their rapid footsteps echoing down the cavern as they ran. The undead soon disappeared far behind them, for the corpses weren't very fast at all, and the demon and the hero slowed back down to a walk after a few minutes. Link was panting, leaning on his knees for support as he regained his breath. He was still shaken, thrown off by what he'd seen.
Ghirahim's condescending sneer was directed at him, but the blond didn't particularly care at the moment. "If you'd rather not be left rotting down here, I suggest you keep your head out of the clouds, boy."
The hero blinked in surprise, raising his head up to look at him. Wait, did… did Ghirahim not just see what those things resembled?
"I thought I saw…" he said breathlessly, pushing himself to stand up straight, "… something."
His accomplice eyed him for a moment, tilting his head as though deliberating something. "Visual illusions are prevalent in this realm, but if you can distinguish them from reality…" a smile, only just bordering on unnerving, spread across his face, "…well, you shouldn't have a problem traversing through this wretched place."
Link frowned. "You're telling me you didn't see anything back there, at all?"
The demon scoffed as though Link were an idiot.
"Aside from those half-decayed corpses? No, I did not." Ghirahim swiftly spun on his heel, his cloak snapping softly as it caught the air. He called back over his shoulder cheerily. "Now, no dawdling, hero. Come along."
Link sighed heavily and started off again, following Ghirahim deeper into the dark and unfamiliar world. It was growing dimmer with each passing second.
The demon lord was right; the realm underneath the cistern did stretch far, further than he would've thought possible. During the mission that the goddess had assigned him he'd only barely scratched the surface of what this place truly was.
They'd been travelling for what seemed like hours, venturing deeper and deeper into shadow, encountering monsters much like the first group that had swarmed them. Fortunately, for the most part they had simply avoided any outright confrontation by skittering around them. Though it was still eerie watching them shamble about aimlessly, dead eyes fixed on nothing.
He didn't stare too long for fear of them taking on an illusion form again, however.
Now the youth stood at the top of what appeared to be a small cliff side. They had reached the end of the caverns but… just where exactly were they now?
The hero didn't know what to make of what lay before him. The world before had opened up into a barren wasteland that seemed to stretch on without an end. There was no ceiling as far as he could tell, only an infinite blackness, a night sky with no stars. Between the darkness and the low swirling clouds of haze, he could hardly see the ground as well.
He felt uneasy staring out at nothing. No, more than uneasy; he felt almost empty and hopeless. He didn't want to look at it any longer.
And those demons had dragged Zelda through here?
Link inhaled sharply as he felt a hand slide to his shoulder, his attention quickly being drawn from the scenery before him to the demon who had appeared unannounced behind him in his usual fashion.
"I suppose it is a tad dreary…" Ghirahim sighed sadly, then he tilted his head and gave the boy a look, "… but I think the hero is perfectly capable of handling a little bit of grim scenery, don't you?"
"Yeah, whatever." Link said, brushing him off. "How do we get through it exactly…?"
He was genuinely curious. They had no light, and although he knew that the demon could pick up Zelda's trail, he wasn't entirely certain if Ghirahim could navigate them through it correctly or not…
… or if anything unpleasant was waiting for them out there.
But his temporary partner didn't seem troubled in the slightest. Ghirahim turned, starting towards a path that Link hadn't initially noticed. It lead down into the land below, running along the cliff side. The hero narrowed his eyes as the demon spoke.
"Oh, this is the fun part actually."
"Knowing what your idea of 'fun' is, I'm sure it's the exact opposite…" Link scoffed quietly, but Ghirahim heard him anyway. The demon lord stopped walking, looking back at him with a falsely pleasant smile on his face.
"And what exactly is 'my idea of fun?'" He questioned, inclining his head slightly.
Link scowled back at him. "Nothing good, I can say that."
He tensed up when Ghirahim began stalking towards him, but he refused to back down, staring back readily and defensively.
"You seem to think that I gain most of my gratification from tormenting you and watching you dither in confusion and frustration." The demon stopped before him, his hands clasped together behind his back. "Well, let me tell you something, sky child…"
Link's eyes narrowed. Having Ghirahim talk down to him like this did not sit well with him at all.
The demon lord bent his neck so that their faces were inches from touching. "I do. Truthfully, your turmoil is one of the most satisfying things I've beheld in my lifetime. I suppose it's grown to become somewhat of a… guilty pleasure of mine."
Link didn't falter. "Then why are you helping me…?"
"Because it ultimately benefits myself in the end." The demon sighed as though the answer were obvious, bringing his lips to Link's ear and speaking in a low mutter. "Or maybe I just pity you."
The hero abruptly stepped back, almost laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of that notion. "I'm not the one who should be pitied!"
Ghirahim made a show of rolling his eyes as he sarcastically excused himself from that comment. "Ah, yes. I had forgotten how organized your life is at the moment. I do beg your pardon."
"I won't be mocked, and especially not by you." Link huffed, simmering where he stood. His voice of reason was pleading with him to calm down, for there was little point to this exchange with the demon – especially at such a dire time. He found it hard to listen, and he hated himself for it.
The demon lord barked a short laugh, his demeanor shifting to a lighthearted one, or something resembling it at least. He made his way back towards the path, carelessly waving a hand back over his shoulder.
"You should be embarrassed by how easy it is to get a rise out of you. Now drop the hostility."
"And what if I don't?" Link shot back before he could stop himself. Ghirahim simply wagged a finger.
"Ah-ah. Our agreement, remember? You will do as I say, hero." He paused to make his point clear. "Besides, your concerns should lie with Zelda, or have you forgotten about her situation already?"
The blond's eyes widened for a moment before he dropped his gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling very foolish. Right, how could he forget? And he was wasting time arguing with this… this...
The hero found that didn't even have a creative enough word to call the demon.
Ghirahim sensed his subtle victory, smirking back over his shoulder. "Now, come along. I promise I don't have anything perverted in store for you."
And like a good little obedient accomplice, Link complied, though he didn't believe the demon lord's last statement for a second.
Looks like Ghirahim's got Link on somewhat of a leash now, eh? xD
Oh yeah, and I have a headcannon that Zelda is actually a very skilled archer in Skyward Sword, or has the potential to become one, hence her weapon of choice is a bow.
I got else nothin' to say, other than I hate proofreading but it is something that must be done. Whine whine whine.
R&R I guess... *3*
