The Legend of Zelda: Children of the Gods

Chapter Ten

"I must say," Sharp commented as he and Selphie headed back to the main chamber, "You handled those Redead rather well. I doubt Link ever beat four off at once without getting one latched to him."

"I wish you could have told me that he took the Hover Boots," Selphie said exasperatedly, "Then I wouldn't have had to go through all that."

"Well you never asked," Sharp replied, "I'm following you, not vice-versa. I was wondering why you went that way in the first place."

Selphie silently wished that he were tangible enough to hit him.

When they reached the chamber, Sharp floated over to the giant bird statue. "Let's see you solve this puzzle," he said with a smirk.

Selphie sighed, walking over to the statue, examining it closely. It was just a giant stone bird set on a stone pedestal. It didn't seem out of place, really. It just seemed... creepy. She walked around it, and saw that there was a large block attached to it, possibly to help turn the statue. She looked at the bottom of the statue. There were small grooves in the floor that implied that yes, the statue could be turned. She examined the block, noticing something engraved it the stone.

'Make my beak face the skull of truth.

The alternative is descent into the deep darkness.'

"That's comforting," Selphie said as she finished reading. She looked around in silence. So she had to turn the statue so that it faced one of the skull torches around it... The 'skull of truth' part was a bit beyond her, though. She went to the nearest torch, reaching up to touch it. Maybe there'd be some sort of det—

"What the hell?"

She watched as her hand passed right through the skull, as if it wasn't even there. "...An illusion?" Selphie thought about it for a moment before going to each skull in turn, reaching up to touch them, and each time, her hand passed through. Finally, she reached to touch one, stopping when she felt the warmth of the flame. She touched the skull, quickly withdrawing her hand. She looked to Sharp. "Could you just stand over here for a little bit?" she asked. Sharp nodded, taking his place beside the torch, standing there obediently. Selphie went back to the statue and, taking a deep breath, put her hands to the stone block, pushing as hard as she could. Slowly, the statue began to turn. She grunted as she pushed it, slowly getting it to face the torch that Sharp stood by. She abruptly stopped pushing, starting slightly when she heard the sound of metal scraping against stone. She turned to look across the room. At the far end of the room, across the deep chasm, the portcullis had been raised.

"Let's go then," Sharp said, floating across the chasm to the room beyond.

"Hey!" Selphie cried, "Sharp!"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Sharp pulled out his violin and played the Wind's Harmony, and Selphie was carried across the chasm. She smiled at him, and he bowed his head to her. Then, they continued down the corridor.

"So, when do you plan on visiting Ikana?" Sharp asked, "Flat misses you."

"Well, if I have my way, I'll get to see him soon," Selphie replied absently, "I'm not giving up until I get back to the right time..." She could hear something deep in the temple. It sounded vaguely familiar...

"Well, I'm not likely to be going to Ikana," Sharp said, a sneer audible in his voice, "I'm not going near those hags!"

"Koume and Kotake?" Selphie asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, them," Sharp said, grimacing, "Flat's told me about how they constantly bug him, wanting his tears, needing them for ingredients."

"Ingredients?" Selphie echoed.

"Yes," Sharp nodded, "Something about this fatal illness... It's very rare, and there's no known cure. However, they've come close to making a cure for it."

The sound drew nearer as the corridor started to descend.

"What's this illness?" Selphie asked.

"I think it's called Illawarra," Sharp replied, "The symptoms are usually unresponsiveness, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and, as the illness progresses, minor internal hemorrhaging and hallucinations, and the final result is death."

Selphie cringed slightly. "That's pleasant."

Suddenly, Selphie tripped, landing hard on her stomach. Unfortunately, she fell at the edge of a drop-off and ended up tumbling over the edge. She landed hard on her backside, closing her eyes tightly as she rose to her feet, a wave of pain coursing through her body. The sound was right in front of her now. The sound of metal scraping against stone... she recognized it now. Slowly, she opened her eyes, staring wide-eyed as she saw an entire row of guillotines, rising and falling and rising and falling. She remembered that night, just three years ago for her... the night that he came and broke into her house. She remembered his putrid stench, his grinning face... she could see it in her mind, as though it were happening again. She watched as her father was dragged over to the makeshift guillotine that he set up, watched as he pulled the cord, releasing the blade. She watched it fall, heard the sickening sound of the blade cutting clean through, and she saw her father's head by her feet.

A red haze enveloped her as the world began to spin around her. She staggered forward, just barely able to hear Sharp shouting at her over the sound of the guillotines as they continued to rise and fall, the sound overwhelming her, blocking out all other sounds. She closed her eyes as she collapsed, the darkness finally claiming her as she heard someone shouting her name.

'

Voices.

She could hear voices. They were faint, as though from far away. She felt warm. She could feel somebody's hand on her cheek. She took a deep breath, recognizing the scent that enveloped her.

Selphie opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times as she tried to see straight. She could see a dark mass encompassing a face, and she could see silver eyes staring down at her. She groaned softly, closing her eyes as she moved closer to the source of warmth.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Just give her a minute to clear her head."

"What about that spell you used earlier?"

"It doesn't work that way."

Selphie groaned softly, opening her eyes again. This time, she could see things much more clearly. She looked up at the person holding her and saw Kage staring back at her, a worried look on his face. They were in front of the Shadow Temple, sitting in front of the doorway. Selphie looked up at Kage again and noticed that he wasn't wearing his father's haori. She then realized that she was wearing it draped over her shoulders, bringing her warmth.

"How are you feeling?" Kage asked her.

"I-I'm okay..." she replied. She wanted to cry, but something held her back. Kage must have noticed it, as he placed his hand on her cheek. "It's okay to cry," he said softly, "It's not good to keep your emotions bottled up inside, especially after what just happened." Selphie stared up at him for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes and, before she knew it, she was crying into his shoulder. Kage just held her close, waiting patiently while she continued to cry, relieving herself of the stresses she kept hidden from the world. After maybe five minutes or so, she calmed down, and her tears ceased.

"...It must have been a frightening ordeal for you..." Kage whispered softly.

"...What?" Selphie asked, looking up at him.

'I'm telepathic.' Selphie started slightly when she heard Kage's voice inside her head, although his lips did not move. 'When you started to panic, your mind lost control and your thoughts were projected to me. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. It must have been terrifying.'

'You don't even know half of it...' Selphie thought darkly. Kage closed his eyes.

'I'm sure I don't, and I don't expect you to tell me any of it,' he replied, 'I just want to make sure you're okay.'

Selphie was silent. Kage helped her to her feet, and she noticed that his right arm was hanging limply at his side. Before she could say anything, she noticed Sharp standing next to Kage.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, "What happened?"

"You passed out," Sharp replied, "You fell underneath one of the guillotines. Your friend showed up and punched the guillotine as it came down, shattering before it was within three feet of you."

Selphie looked at Kage with wide eyes. She then grabbed his arm and, hearing Kage's hiss of pain, lifted up on the sleeve of his kimono. His arm was covered in blood, which flowed from several large cuts all over his arm. She looked up at him, but he wouldn't look back at her.

"It was the only way I could save you without you getting hurt..." he mumbled softly. Selphie sighed softly.

"When we get to Goron City, I'll bandage that up for you," she said, pulling his sleeve back down. She turned back to Sharp, giving him a small smile. "Thanks for accompanying me into the Shadow Temple."

"No problem," Sharp said, returning the smile, "Take care of yourself."

"I will," she replied, "And I'm going back to Ikana... to our time."

Sharp was silent, as though contemplating her words. "...Good luck with that," he said finally, "I hope to see you again." He then vanished, and Selphie turned to Kage. She noticed the pained look on his face and frowned slightly.

"...What's wrong, Kage?"

"N-nothing..." he said, managing a weak smile, "My arm hurts. That's all."

Selphie was silent, not certain that she believed him. She took his free hand in hers, pulling on it gently. "Let's go," she said softly, "The others are waiting for us."

Kage nodded slightly, giving her a weak smile. When Selphie turned away from him, his smile vanished.

'...You don't even know half of it...'

'

"What could be taking them so long...?!" Darunia muttered angrily, drumming his fingers on the floor. He was sitting cross-legged in front of the statue in his room, staring at the far wall. Iggy and Jiji exchanged nervous glances. When they had said that Selphie had gone somewhere with Kage, Darunia had been on edge the whole time. They kept their distance from him, making sure to stay well out of his reach.

"I'm sure that they'll be here soon," Jiji said softly, "The worst that would have happened is they would've gotten attacked by a..."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Darunia snapped, cutting her off, "I'm worried about Selphie. I don't trust her alone with Kage."

"Um... I don't think that Kage's likely to do anything to her," Iggy said calmly, "And Selphie can easily take care of herself."

Darunia didn't reply.

Less than five minutes later, one of the Gorons came running in. "Big Brother!" he exclaimed, "Selphie's here!"

"Well, escort her here," Darunia commanded, and the Goron left quickly. Soon enough, Selphie and Kage appeared in the doorway. Selphie looked well enough, although Kage looked rather unkempt, and had a strange expression on his face.

"Sorry we're late," Selphie said, giving all three of them a smile.

"What took so long?" Darunia asked gruffly, eyeing Kage warily.

"And how come you're wearing Kage's jacket?" Iggy asked.

"To make a long story short, Kage saved my life," Selphie replied. She gestured slightly to Kage, who sighed, sitting down on the floor. She glanced at Iggy and Jiji, who had shocked expressions on their faces. "Do you have anything I could use for bandages?"

"Uh, yeah," Jiji replied, pulling out a small handful of cloth and tossing it to Selphie, who caught it.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "Hold out your arm and pull your sleeve up," she said to Kage, who complied silently, extending his arm and pulling back his sleeve to reveal his wounds.

"How'd you get those?" Iggy asked, grimacing at the sight of all the blood on Kage's arm.

"Guillotine in the Shadow Temple," Kage replied shortly.

"That doesn't answer the question," Jiji said coolly.

Kage opened his mouth to retort but hissed softly as Selphie wiped the blood away, starting to dress the wound. When she finished, she tied it tightly, and Kage pulled his sleeve back down.

"...Thanks..."

Kage then stood, moving towards the door.

"Hey, wait a minute-!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Where are you going?" Jiji demanded.

"...I don't know... and I really don't care..." Kage replied softly, "I need some time alone... to think..."

"...Here..." Selphie said softly, taking off his haori and handing it to him. Kage looked at her for a moment before taking it from her.

"...Thanks..." he muttered, not looking at her, "...Take care of yourself...and good luck with your journey home..." He then draped his haori over his shoulders and left without another word. He made his way to the entrance of the city, hesitating at the doorway. "...I was a fool for ever thinking my dreams could be a reality..." he said softly, glancing once over his shoulder, "...I am nothing to them... Nothing..."

He then turned back towards the entrance and vanished outside without another word.

'

Okay... this is my second time posting this. I don't know what happened, but the chapter kept cutting off... let's hope that this time it doesn't.

Also, please review! I want to know what you guys think of my story!

... sadness