I told some of you that I thought I'd have this chapter up in a week.
All I have to say is that I'm so sorry. I'm going to refrain from making empty promises in the future because life is unpredictable and I don't always know what the heck is going to happen.
You might want to review the last chapter before reading this one to catch yourself up to speed. I know that I had to do as much.
And apologies for that the last chapter was such a cliffhanger. In my mind, it wasn't a cliffhanger because I was like, "Clearly they know what's going on because it's what happens in the game."
But it then occurred to me that some of you maybe haven't played Hyrule Warriors. So yikes. My bad.
Also, did anyone else just completely forget that Proxi existed? Because I'm pretty sure I left her out of that last chapter entirely. The joys of writing over large gaps of time, whee!
Sheik fought the feeling, but the world began to blink. Everything became a purple haze. She saw a collection of images, all in flashes.
Cia raising her hand, a complete glowing Triforce on it.
"But that would mean that Cia had the Triforce of Power," Sheik reasoned with herself sleepily, "And that's impossible."
Lana's face was in front of hers, saying something that Sheik couldn't hear.
"But Lana's unconscious," Sheik argued with herself further.
Goddesses, she really was losing her mind.
Suddenly, she could hear Lana. She could feel Lana shaking her shoulders. "Jade!" Lana was shouting, "Get Jade! Hurry! We have to get out of here!"
"Oh," Sheik thought, "I suppose I could do that."
She stood up and immediately collapsed again. "Never mind!" Lana cried, "Just grab hold of her! Wait for me!"
Lana seized Link's body and vanished. "That's odd," Sheik thought, crawling over to Jade and grabbing the sleeping girl's arm.
Lana materialized again, standing over Sheik. "Don't let Jade go!" Lana warned, gripping Sheik's arm.
"Why isn't Cia stopping us?" Sheik wondered, her mind still fuzzy.
She cast one last glance at the Black Sorceress. Cia wasn't paying them any attention. Whatever the sorceress was doing, she was completely rapt. Her head was thrown back, her arms lifted to the heavens. It was like she was under some sort of enchantment.
The pressure of Lana's nails digging into her skin brought Sheik back to reality. The feeling was like being caught in a windstorm. There was a hurricane of sound whizzing around Sheik, and then, silence. Sheik found herself at the edge of the Valley of Seers, Link's body lying limp on the ground. "Don't move!" Lana pleaded.
Lana's book of sorcery flung open in her hands, the pages flipping rapidly. A blue light glowed from the book. Lana disappeared. Or at least, Sheik thought she did. It was difficult to be certain of anything; it was all like some horrible hallucination.
Dying a slow death. . . only after watching those closest to her die first. . . was that all real too? Or was this all only Sheik's worst nightmare yet?
An orb of light flashed before Sheik's face. "Sheik? Sheik, what's happened to you? Are you alright?"
Proxi's tiny voice was frantic, panicking. But Sheik didn't have the strength or the presence of mind to answer her.
Lana materialized again, clutching Impa. The general looked all the worse for the wear. "She's going to use the Gate of Souls' power!" Impa said, "We'll be obliterated!"
Sheik looked to the altar in the distance. A stream of purple lightning poured from the sky, connecting the Gate of Souls to the heavy fog above.
"Everyone, gather around me!" Lana cried. She threw her book of sorcery into the air, the tome still emanating a blue glow. When it fell into Lana's hands once more, a sphere of blue light burst from the pages, encircling the small huddle of fallen warriors.
"Ah! A shield," Sheik thought.
Almost as soon as Lana had created her protective barrier, the ground rippled and rolled up like a wave in the ocean. A seismic blast of energy shot out in all directions from the altar. Beneath the light of Lana's shield, however, Sheik and the others were unaffected.
Once the wave of energy cut through the land, it left everything changed in its wake. Washing over green grass, it left ash and charred dirt. Slicing through trees, it left barren wasteland, not unlike the current state of the Valley of Seers.
But wasteland wasn't the only thing left in the wake of the energy. Still feeling as if she was delirious, Sheik watched a strange floating island lower out of the sky. In the distance, the ground gave way, evolving into a volcanic mountain, a ring of smoke circling at its top. Opposite the mountain, a desert land, containing a massive stone bridge and ominous palace, shot up from the earth.
"What in Hyrule?" Impa muttered.
"Excellent work, child. Three fragments of my spirit have been returned. The only one that remains is the one trapped by the Master Sword. . . "
When there was finally quiet after Hyrule had been ripped apart, Lana's shield flickered and vanished. The floating island, the volcano, and the desert wasteland still remained, each visible in the distance. The purple smoke still swirled in the sky over the Valley of Seers, but Lana had transported everyone so far from the altar, it was impossible to tell if Cia still stood at the top.
Stirring for the first time, Link sighed, blinking. "Z-Zelda?" he murmured.
Impa's face twisted with pain as she stood, immediately gripping her side.
"That blasted witch has manipulated the power of the Gate of Souls into open portals into different eras across the history of Hyrule!" Impa said, her hands clenching into fists, "Though where she got the power to do something so grave, I've no idea!"
Sheik knew the answer, though she daren't say as much.
The completed Triforce. . .
"Why would she want to do that?" Jade asked.
Her strength and memory returning to her, Sheik seized Lana's arm. "Let me go!" Lana wrenched herself free, alarm in her eyes.
"What aren't you telling us?" Sheik demanded, "I heard you talking to Cia at the altar! With whom do your allegiances lie?"
"This is madness!" Lana snapped, "What are you suggesting? I do not side with Cia!"
"You said you didn't know what she wanted!" Sheik protested, "I don't know what you were discussing, but it sounded as if her motives are quite clear to you!"
"Lana?" Impa prompted.
At first, Lana said nothing, her head bowed. Gradually, she raised it, her eyes flitting from Impa to Sheik to Link. She sighed and nodded, "I did not lie. I did not know what Cia wanted, but. . . I did have a theory."
"Why would you withhold this information from us?" Sheik demanded, "Do you realize the danger you might've—"
"No one was ever in any danger!" Lana interrupted sharply, "And I had my reasons. Everything has changed since I've joined you, and what I hoped to prevent by helping you has now become a reality."
"And just what exactly is that?" Impa asked.
"Cia is possessed by a darkness," Lana said, "One that compels her to do these awful things and has forced all the light from her heart. With her new power, she has opened portals into three different eras, as Impa has said. In each of these eras dwells a fragment of the dark spirit that drives her. At one point, the fragments of this darkness were all sealed away, safe in these different periods of history. But I know even now that Cia strives to reunite each of these fragments."
"No!" Impa exclaimed. Her voice conveyed both rage and disbelief, her eyes wide.
Lana continued, "Cia has opened portals into the era of the Hero of the Sky, the Hero of Time, and the Hero of Twilight. Once all of the fragments from those eras are gathered, Cia will be utterly overtaken, and the dark spirit within her will be fully resurrected."
Impa asked, "Where did Cia get this new power?"
"The completed Triforce," Lana said.
Sheik gasped. Lana. . . knew? Had she seen Cia rip the Triforce of Wisdom from her being?
"Impossible!" Impa said, "Link, raise your right hand."
Link obeyed, causing Impa to cry in alarm. "Your Triforce! It's gone!" she exclaimed.
"My what?" Link raised an eyebrow.
"Cia took it from him on the altar," Sheik said.
If Lana knew Cia had assembled the completed Triforce. . . then Lana had to realize that Sheik was the queen!
"But that still can't be!" Impa protested, "The Triforce of Wisdom is wielded by Queen Zelda!"
Sheik balled her hands into fists, anticipation mounting within her. Why wasn't Lana explaining? All it would take was the mentioning of Sheik's true name!
Lana looked away, "I-I don't know what became of the queen but. . . "
"No!" Impa breathed.
Sheik's heart sank within her. Perhaps. . . perhaps Lana hadn't seen Cia take the Triforce from her.
"What are you saying?" Link's brows furrowed.
No one responded. "She's being held captive!" Link said, his voice swelling in volume, "She's alive!"
Impa bowed her head.
"Oh no!" Proxi cried.
"Oh no," Sheik seconded.
They couldn't possibly believe—?
Sheik's heartbeat quickened in her chest.
"She's not dead!" Link shouted, "She's alive! What's the matter with all of you?"
"In order for Cia to gain the Triforce," Impa's voice shook as she tried to verbalize the difficult thought.
"Look at me!" Link grew increasingly passionate, gesturing at himself, "I'm alive and she took my Triforce! Why would—"
"Silence!" Impa said sternly, "It does nothing to sit here and postulate what fate might have befallen the queen. Whether she be alive or dead, I know she'd not want us wasting time squabbling over her!"
Beneath the solemnity of her tone, her voice quivered slightly. Because Sheik had known Impa for her entire life, she recognized it: Impa was suffering as much as the Sheikah would allow herself. Even though the general had acknowledged that Link could be correct, Sheik could discern what Impa truly believed. She believed her queen was dead and already the Sheikah mourned her.
Impa straightened, "Before we can repair any of the damage Cia has inflicted on Hyrule, we have to travel to these eras and seal the gates she's since opened there. Until we can halt this entourage of monsters, we've no hope of defeating her and the evil she's summoned."
"But what about these fragments of an evil spirit that she's stolen?" Jade asked.
"Yes, what can we do?" Proxi wailed.
"The deed's already done," Impa said, "The best we can hope for now is that we can cut off her resources and defeat her before she gains access to the fourth."
"There's another?" Jade's eyes widened.
Impa nodded, "It's sealed away by the sword of evil's bane in the Temple of Time. Long ago, to prevent the evil from reincarnating, the sages of Hyrule sealed divided the spirit of evil into four segments. They never imagined that there would be a way to tear across space and time, past and future, to access all the pieces at once. However, the Triforce has allowed Cia to do just that. Her portals must have been active in these realms for some time, giving her the legions of monsters she would need. But it's only now, with the Triforce, that she has finally been able to summon forth the spirits from their respective prisons."
Link had said nothing, his face buried in his hands. Sheik could only imagine the emotions he kept at bay behind his palms: rage, heartbreak, shock.
"What must we do to avenge the queen?" he finally asked.
Proxi, despite her attachment to her rescuer, flitted to one side warily. Even she was taken aback by Link's tone of voice. Sheik repressed a shudder. Any adversaries of Link had best beware; his gaze warned that he lusted for blood. "I think we'd be most effective splitting up," Impa said, "We waste valuable time if we seek out each of the gates individually."
"I'll go alone," Link said.
"No!" Sheik immediately protested.
The look Link gave her made her flinch. "Jade will accompany you," Impa said to him, "Sheik, you will accompany Lana. I will go alone."
"No!"
This time, both Link and Sheik objected.
"Let me go with you!" Sheik pleaded, seizing Impa's arm. Impa jerked away, frowning.
"I don't need any accompaniment!" Link insisted, giving Jade a look of disapproval. Gratefully, Jade was still fixated upon the altar far in the distance and did not notice that Link was looking at her as if she was a disease.
"Link!" Proxi objected, darting from one side of his head to the other.
"General," Lana said slowly, "I believe Sheik is right. Allow me to go alone; you've witnessed my magic firsthand."
"I trust your ability, but I am not certain I trust you," Impa said.
Lana stiffened. For the first time since Sheik had known her, she looked irritated. "There is no one who yearns for peace more than I," Lana said coldly, "I am against Cia and all that she stands for. Allow me to prove my allegiance and put an end to this suffering."
Sheik knew that Impa probably wanted Sheik to act as a spy and explore Lana's motives more closely. But Sheik also knew that Impa was a proud warrior. Overconfident and too severe to admit her own weaknesses.
Sheik didn't trust Lana either. But the thought of Impa going anywhere alone, still wounded from battle. . . the Sheikah general would kill herself.
"I agree with Lana," Sheik took Impa's arm again, holding it more firmly this time, "I refuse to be dissuaded. We Sheikah will conquer this together."
Impa's eyes narrowed, studying Sheik. Link repeated, "I refuse to be dissuaded! I will do this alone, and you will allow me to do so!"
"What are we talking about?" Jade asked, finally alerted to the conversation once more.
"You are to accompany Link and seal the gate in your era," Impa said, glaring at Link, "Is that clear?"
"Absolutely, general!" Jade bobbed her head.
Link muttered something under his breath, scowling. Sheik's hand fell away from Impa's arm, her heart breaking for Link. Behind the fury that now consumed his face, she saw the agony he strove to hide.
In spite of his talk of preparing himself for Zelda's death, he hadn't been ready after all. He'd been secretly hoping all along that he could save her. Now, believing her to actually be dead (or, in the least, believing that she was not in the valley and there were no further leads as to where she was), he was a man lost. Sheik wished she could embrace him, wished she could speak the truth. But his eyes avoided her at all cost, focusing on the ground instead. Thanks to her recent recklessness, Sheik was shut out of his world forever.
"I still don't get it," Jade said, "What is this evil spirit that Cia is trying to resurrect?"
Proxi shivered, making a frightened sound.
"I daren't speak it aloud lest it prove to be true," Impa muttered, "All you need to know is that he's ravaged Hyrule throughout the ages, both as man and as demon. And should Cia be successful in her efforts now, the end will be upon us."
It was decided by Impa that she and Sheik travel to the volcano that had sprouted in the distance. Death Mountain. While a remainder of the mighty peak still existed in present day Hyrule, it was nothing in comparison to its predecessor from the ancient era of the Hero of Time. With the fabric of time now in shreds, Death Mountain was an active volcano once again, no longer the dormant and quiet hill it had become. It took Impa and Sheik two days' journey to reach Eldin Caves, the location of the new Death Mountain.
There was little conversation exchanged between Impa and Sheik as they traveled. Sheik concluded that this was likely to save time, but all the same, it made for very lonely and eerie traveling conditions at times. The first night, huddled around the small campfire that Impa had made, Sheik finally did get more than a few words from the general. "You realize that the fate of the queen plays an integral role in your future, Sheik," Impa said.
Sheik balled her fingers into a fist in frustration. Though she was glad to see Impa initiate a conversation with her, this was definitely not the topic she wanted to discuss. "Yes, I know," she said, hoping to cut the conversation short.
Impa continued, "Your life and protection are of the utmost importance now. I beg you to be cautious as we embark on this journey. Should a situation arise in which I'm in danger, I must ask you to be wise and concern yourself only with your own safety."
Unable to completely repress her former self as queen, Sheik rolled her eyes. Thankfully, Impa was looking at the fire. "General," Sheik said, "I cannot simply cast you aside. Would you ask me abandon our Sheikah heritage, the very foundations for our culture?"
Sheik knew Impa would likely be impressed by that. Sheik's many days passed in the royal library served her well now: for a Sheikah to abandon another would be considered treasonous. Unless. . .
"The foundation of the Sheikah is the protection of the royal family," Impa's red eyes met Sheik's, "And that is now you, Sheik. If the queen is dead, you are the only hope of Hyrule. You must leave me, should such a situation arise."
Sheik sighed, standing, "I will go and see if I cannot catch us something to eat."
"Very well."
Eldin didn't boast a wild array of wildlife, thanks to its heat and rocky terrain. But nonetheless, Sheik was eager to explore and rid herself of such grave conversations. Lately, Impa seemed to have an obsession with the macabre.
The subject of talk was not the only thing that alarmed Sheik, though. She had not missed the way Impa's body seemed so slow to heal. Even though Lana had administered one of her spells before the group had parted ways, Impa still bore a slight limp from the battle in the Valley of Seers.
"But before you yourself lose all your strength and suffocate on your own spit, everyone you've ever loved—everyone you've ever even claimed to love—will perish before you. So that you can see it with your own eyes."
Sheik shook her head, trying to forget the terrible words as she explored the dead land of Eldin.
You know what we're abolishing? We're abolishing this idea of posting updates on Fridays or Saturdays. It originally was intended to provide some much-needed organization to my life, but I'm afraid it just hasn't been very good at that. Instead, it's more so encouraged me to be lazy right until the weekend, which has become a repeated pattern for multiple weeks. Even now, I had to split this chapter in order to have something to post before the year's end. Sheik and Impa's gallivanting in Ocarina of Time land has now been pushed into the next chapter, which, honestly, annoys me to have to do. And I'm a bit embarrassed by how darn short this chapter really is. I mean, it's my own lazy fault, but yeah. From here on out, expect updates on any given day.
And I feel like we should talk. A bit of an explanation is owed, I feel, for my disappearing acts.
I've been working on this story for over a year now. WHAT EVEN. That's ridiculous, because, as of now, there are only eighteen chapters plotted for this story. This is not meant to take forever to write! Originally, I naively thought I could have this fic finished by last May.
But a lot has changed since I started writing this. I was still in college when I wrote the first chapter of this story (which blows my mind!). I've since graduated, gotten a job, and, on a personal note, almost completed my second manuscript.
Yes, I want to be an author one day. And the largest reason I haven't updated as frequently lately is because I've been dedicating a lot of my free time to my personal projects. November, for example, was National Novel Writing Month, and I was working on my second manuscript almost exclusively.
HOWEVER, that being said, I remember what it was like when I was in high school and in my prime fanfiction-reading days. I would come across a fanfic I loved and the author had just completely dropped off of the face of the earth. It was so disappointing, and yes, I do know stuff happens sometimes that warrants that kind of behavior. Nonetheless, I still don't ever want to do that to you guys. I've said I'm not abandoning this story, and I really do mean that.
I'm dissatisfied with this, at this point. It was meant to be my grand "magnum opus" of fanfics, but I really don't feel like Link and Zelda's love is quite believable. I know if I was a reader of this story, I would question how quickly their feelings developed for one another. I think it would have been better for me to write a ten chapter story about them falling in love and then a ten to fifteen chapter story about their Hyrule Warriors adventures.
Maybe one day I will do some major edits and make that happen. But yeah, we're sticking to what I said about making empty promises. None of those. I'll talk about doing some rewrites when that's actually a guaranteed possibility.
SO, my current plan—though there are elements of this story that I'd really like to edit and improve upon—is to keep writing and just wrap it up for the time being, keeping the details I've already written as they are and giving you guys a solid ending.
We're halfway through this bad boy and the goal that I am pushing myself toward is to have you all a completed story as soon as possible. Even though I am working on some other things that mean a lot to me, I'd love to get this off of my plate and have the peace of mind of knowing I provided you guys with a satisfying, albeit imperfect, story. Maybe I'd even then be able to edit and repost it one day!
If you're still here after the longest author's note I've ever written, hey thanks. Thanks also for sticking with a story. It's got a special place in my heart and here's to hoping you find out what becomes of our heroes ASAP.
Happy New Year!