The dark mist swirled around like an ominous fog, reaching as far as Zelda could see. She had felt Ike's presence in the void, but had yet to find him. The notion worried her. Was he growing weaker? Had one of the phantoms injured him since the last time she saw him?
"Ike?" Calling out his name was probably pointless, but the way the eerie silence made her heart thunder she felt she needed it. "Where are you?"
A scream, deafeningly loud and blood curdling, ripped through the stillness. Zelda ran as fast as she could towards the noise, hoping that she wasn't too late. A brick wall rose up to meet her, stopping her dead in her tracks. As tall as the walls around Castletown, the dark gray stabbed through the fog towards the bleak sky.
Determined to continue, Zelda summoned a large fireball and launched it towards the wall. It buckled, the stonework groaned, and finally it collapsed in on itself with a loud boom. Dust and the smell of mold assaulted Zelda's senses and she coughed before continuing.
On the other side of the wall was a damp and empty stone room, with walls that stretched and vanished beyond her limited range of sight. Despite the decrepit nature of the place it seemed to be lit by some magical source imbedded in the walls, lending her some meager light as she advanced.
On and on she went, following the despicable sound, using the walls as a guiding force. She worried briefly that this was some sort of ruse luring her away from Ike, but the thought of turning around and possibly leaving him to his fate was unbearable. After what felt like hours she finally felt a change in the air.
The fog mostly cleared, only enough left to cling to the ground and not reach her knees. Her feet moved from the stone floor to what felt like slightly damp sand despite the blackened outer appearance and she finally saw him.
"Ike!" His name was a startled gasp on her lips as she took in his current state. His shirt was nothing but tattered rags, exposing the bloodied mess of his torso. Blood and a discolored liquid oozed from deep scratches in his skin, the two mixing into a disturbing brown as they traveled down his chest.
He was leaning against the burned remains of a tree, his legs shaking as he raised his head. His eyes met hers and she saw him hide the pain as his mask slid into place. "I'm not falling for shit," he spat out in a monotone.
"Ike it's the real me, I promise," she spoke in a gentle tone as she approached. He tried to step away and fell with a grunt.
"You're not real, none of this but the pain is." He closed his eyes as he tried to pull himself up. She winced at the whine that left his lips before he collapsed against the black sand. "Just end it. Whatever torture you think this is, whatever you want..." He drew in a ragged breath and Zelda used the opportunity to take the few steps forward. "I've got nothing to give."
Zelda knelt beside him and gently ran her fingers through his hair. His eyes shot open, wild with panic. "You've given me plenty of things Ike, and I promised we'd do whatever it took to get you out of this. Sheik is working on it now, he said he had an idea... What did this to you?" The question left her lips with horror.
"You," he responded with a pained hiss. "I'm still not sure you're not going to do the same."
"What can I do to convince you that it's me?" She waited as he blinked slowly, hoping she could prove it.
"I don't know..." he trailed off and she leaned forward. Without hesitating she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. She tried to pull away but his hand came up and gripped her face firmly, keeping their lips together.
"Damn," he chuckled weakly when he finally released her. "I've missed that."
"Do you believe me now?" she questioned with a small smile and he nodded.
"What realm is this? I'm not truly alive, but death evades me. I want to wake up from this and yet I fear that the next phantom will be the last I can endure."
"I promise you that I will get you out of here, just as you got my throne returned to me. You will wake up from this and we-"
"We what? Zelda I know what I am and what I can never be. I am not worthy of you nor will I ever be. You need to pull yourself out of this and let Sheik kill me. I cannot go on like this, and I don't wish to live a life where-"
"Ike? Where are you?" Zelda felt her eyes widen at the voice of his mother. Ike winced and pulled himself from the ground.
"Get out of here, do as I've asked please. I can't do this. I can't go on. Zelda," he gripped her chin and pressed a swift kiss to her lips, "you deserve so much more than I can ever be. Go, you will find that. I have no doubt. Go!" He pushed her away and she stumbled backwards.
"Ike?" His mother's voice was closer and she watched as he limped off, her heart breaking.
She let her magic fade and found herself on the side of Ike's bed, his limp hand in hers. She stared down at his slightly furrowed brow, tears welling in her eyes. How could she be expected to do as he asked? How could she live with herself if she let Sheik kill him? Selfishly she didn't want to lose him. He was suffering, that much was obvious, but she knew that no matter where she looked or who she met that no one would ever match up to him.
"Zelda," Sheik appeared with his puff of smoke, his red eyes on her.
"Have you found something?" she asked as she wiped the tears she didn't realize had fallen from her cheeks.
"I... have. This spell is meant to wear him down physically and mentally. It works away internally, trying to kill him from the inside as he lays sleeping. Eventually he will succumb to the injuries or the sheer mental anguish of his loved ones turning on him."
"What can we do?" Her voice shook but she found she couldn't bring herself to care.
"The merciful way is to kill him." The words were harsh and Zelda sucked in a breath. "For him to wake up from this he has to kill the phantoms of those he loves. In the records of everyone this has ever been cast on only one person has ever managed to kill their phantoms."
"Did they wake up?"
"They did, only to kill themselves because they couldn't live with what they had done." Sheik took a silent step towards her and laid a warm hand on hers that held Ike's.
"He's strong, he can do this," she insisted.
"Zelda, I may be overstepping my bounds here but... to so selfishly hold onto him when he is in so much pain-"
"Ike deserves to know what has to be done at least! He can decide for himself from there. If he truly wishes to die then," her voice caught and she took in a shaky breath. "Then I will let you fufill your promise. Let me go in and speak to him once more." Sheik nodded and she shut her eyes, preparing herself for what she might see.
"I'm going with you," Sheik's voice broke her concentration. "From my research his phantoms can hurt another presence there and I won't risk it nor will I allow it."
XxX
Crying. That was the first thing she became aware of. Soft, mournful, soul wrenching sobs cut through the eerie silence. She looked to Sheik, unsurprised to see his red eyes wide with worry. Together they stepped through the swirling fog, both of them on high alert for danger.
Not too far along they found a gruesome sight. Sprawled on the ground was the pale and twisted body of Elincia. Ike was kneeling above the body, crying as he held one of her blood soaked hands.
"I'm sorry," he gasped out in a hoarse voice.
"Ike?" Sheik stepped forward warily. "What happened?"
"She... She attacked me. I couldn't handle it anymore. I... I just wanted her to stop-"
"Ike that's not the real Elincia, you know that right?" Sheik asked as he placed a hand on Ike's shoulder. "Your queen died by Bayonetta's hand. Remember the truth Ike, I'm begging you."
Ike's eyes widened momentarily before he shut them. A shudder worked through his body and he moved to stand. Sheik helped him up and Zelda stepped forward. "I snapped her neck," Ike whispered as he leaned heavily on Sheik. "She seemed so normal right before I almost didn't-"
"It's the spell trying to save itself," Sheik explained gently. "You can get out of this if you kill the phantoms. Can you do it?"
"I don't," Ike took a shaky breath and met Zelda's worried eyes, "I honestly don't know."
"They are not real Ike," she said firmly as she stepped up to him and took his hand. "It isn't your mother, your sister, me, or your friends. They are not real. If you kill them, your mother and sister are going to be there when you wake up. I will be there, by your side, with your hand in mine. Kill these phantoms, be free of this, then we can move forward."
Ike nodded and pulled himself from Sheik's side. He tugged her to him and she sighed happily when he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
"Leave this place, I'll kill them all."
XxX
"What happened?" Zelda asked Sheik when she realized she had been shut out from Ike.
"I'm not sure, but I believe that the spell has forced us out." Zelda glared at nothing before shutting her eyes and trying again to find Ike. "Zelda," Sheik's hand touched her shoulder gently, "let him do this. If you keep this up you will overexert yourself and I will not allow that to happen, not again."
"He's alone in there-"
"We reminded him that they are no more than phantoms, the rest is up to him." Sheik's words were spoken with a touch of force, but she needed the reality of the situation slapped in her face.
"I said I would be here when he awoke, so bring me whatever papers I need please. Alert his mother, but I would rather not have her hovering whilst he is still unconscious." Sheik nodded and vanished with his puff of smoke, leaving Zelda to look down at Ike's body.
He seemed paler than she remembered him to be, and his hand in hers was damp with sweat. Careful not to jostle him, she wiped his brow of the beads that coated it and felt his hand in hers twitch.
"I'm here Ike," she whispered soothingly.
XxX
A pained noise pulled Zelda from her sleep. She sat up in the chair placed beside Ike's bed, her back painfully reminding her that it was not the most comfortable place to rest. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw Ike laying there as he had been before, the only change in his expression. Pain creased his brow, his lips were slightly parted with soft noises, and his hand in hers was twitching.
Immediately she reached out with her magic and Sheik appeared. "He's fighting the phantoms," the Sheikah confirmed without preamble as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I've been pouring over the tome about this spell and the closer he holds the person to his heart, the harder the phantom will be to destroy. This must be his mother to show such signs outwardly. Perhaps it's even you."
"Sheik, I highly doubt-"
"Just because he hasn't said it, the fact that you are present in the world of that spell speaks volumes." With those words Sheik shot her an uncharacteristic wink and Zelda couldn't help but blush.
"We'll see," she said as she turned her eyes back to Ike, her momentary mirth immediately dampened. "I just want him to wake up."
"He will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to my potions. When he wakes up he'll need nutrients and fast."
He vanished and Zelda gripped Ike's hand tighter in her own. "You may not have said anything about love or affections," she whispered gently to the unconscious man, "but I do care for you. More than I ever thought possible. I know you wish to return to your own country, and I am sure that would be the proper thing to do, but selfishly I want to refuse to let you leave. Ike...I am not falling for you because I already I love you."
XxX
"Zelda?" Ike's voice made Zelda tear her eyes from the list of damages done to the small township she had been hesitating to make an official recognized town. Her eyes were on him immediately and she stared in slight disappointment as his eyes moved under his eyelids.
"Perhaps I'm going mad," she mused aloud as she turned her attention back to the township and their plight.
"Zelda," Ike's voice called her again and she set the parchment aside.
"Ike? I'm here," she squeezed his hand again, trying to contain her excitement. Was he waking up? His hand tightened around hers painfully and she winced.
Sheik appeared and she looked at him desperately. Without saying a word he pulled out two vials filled with red liquid and a small glass jar holding a gleaming light from a pouch at his side.
"He'll wake up soon," Sheik remarked as he eyed Ike. "Whoever he's fighting must be the last for him to be reacting so physically." Zelda looked back to Ike, her eyes roaming all over his face. He was in pain, obviously fighting with all his might within the confines of the world concocted by the spell.
"I'm here Ike," she whispered as she wiped a delicate hand across his brow.
XxX
It took another hour. An hour of waiting, of fretting, of Zelda worrying her lip until it bled. Then, with a deep gasp Ike woke up. He sat up quickly, gasping down air, eyes wild as he tried to focus.
"Ike!" Zelda beamed at him, her happiness pushing any idea of minding her emotions out of her head. He whirled to her, panic and fear making his chest heave. She didn't give him time to contemplate what was happening around him. As fast as she could she embraced his sweat soaked body, her face buried in his neck.
"Zelda?" He croaked her name in a hoarse voice and she nodded, not moving from her place.
"Congratulations Ike," Sheik said with an obvious amount of awe, "you have just survived one of the darkest spells I've ever researched." Zelda couldn't help a breathless laugh at that, her own amazement at what had happened almost overwhelming her. Slowly but surely he wrapped a shaking arm around her and she smiled against his neck.
"I can't believe I made it," Ike said before he pulled back. She reluctantly released him and watched as he looked down at his bare torso. "My wounds? I was bleeding-"
"Just the spell," Sheik assured quickly as he held out a red potion. "I need you to drink this while I inform your mother and sister that you have made it." With that he left and Zelda looked up at Ike. A blush worked it's way up her cheeks and to the tips of her ears as she caught the look in his eyes.
"I'm so happy you're back," she whispered and he grinned at her before putting the vial to his lips. She watched with faint amusement as he drank the red potion down, his face distorting to one of absolute disgust.
"Ugh," he shuddered and she laughed lightly. "That has to be the most foul thing I've ever tasted."
"Red potions are not delicious, but have incredible healing capabilities." He tossed the vial aside and she squealed in shock as he pulled her to him once more. Despite his weakened state he easily pinned her to his side with a kiss to her temple. His hand found hers and she laced their fingers.
"I'm still uncertain that you are really you," he admitted with a sigh. "I never thought I'd make it out of there... Ranulf was next to impossible to take down when his phantom transformed, both Mist and my mother were vicious with their hands... Mist got a damn staff out of nowhere. You though, remind me to never piss you off."
A laugh left Zelda's lips despite the seriousness of the topic. "Was she that bad?"
"Your spells used in dark ways? Yes, I almost didn't make it." She nuzzled closer to him at that, a frown on her lips.
"I would never use my magic in that way, and especially not against you." He grinned softly before he ducked his head to kiss her. She let him, working in tandem with his lips as if she had kissed them all her life.
"I suppose the spell took some of the surprise out of this, but I do truly love you Zelda." She beamed at him for that, more than willing to respond to his confession with one of her own.
"Ike-"
"Ike!" Elena charged into the room, followed closely by Mist, Sheik, and Link. At this Zelda couldn't prevent the slight groan and Ike squeezed her gently as the group gathered around his bed.
As Zelda listened to him retell the tale of his time under the spell, her heart seemed lighter. He was awake, he seemed healthy, and now she could focus all her efforts on fixing her kingdom. As he hugged his sister his eyes caught hers and she gave him a look that she hoped conveyed her love. Judging by the way he responded with a genuine smile, he understood.
XXX
Sorry this update took a bit. New phone, learning new issues it has (example: files not getting saved and the battery life). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think! Much love, Leigh