Shadow and Light
Beast Within
Link drew Epona to a halt on the edge of the field, looking out with a narrowed gaze at the scene that lay before him. A vast group of Bulbin were moving steadily towards Castle Town, and among them he could see the towering figure of the Bulbin King. He was larger even than before, and the beast he rode was monstrous. Even from the distance, he could make out its enormous tusks. It would be difficult to get in close.
Movement from Castle Town caught his eyes, and he peered over to see a row of soldiers rushing across the bridge to line up on the field. So the Princess knew of this development and was responding in kind. It made no difference. Maybe they'd prove useful; they could handle the small fries, while he went after the King. He needed that mirror, and would stop at nothing to get it.
For now he sat back, watching and waiting, even as the first delicate snowflakes of winter began to drift down from the heavens. He barely felt the cold nip in the air. He was so close to his goal he could taste it...just a little while longer, and the prize would be his.
The faces of the Resistance were all grim as they came out with the Princess. Zelda sat mounted on a large white gelding, her eyes immediately scanning the horizon for any sign of Link. "...There," she murmured softly, a stone sinking in her heart that her theory had proven right. She could see him in the distance on his mare, merely sitting there and watching for now. A sight that might have once brought her comfort only now brought her dread. If only they could get through to him...if only they had more time! With the impending battle looming over them though, she feared they would not even have a fair chance.
"Alright group," Auru turned to the others, his expression grim. "Rusl. You will go to Link. You're the closest to him of all of us. Maybe he'll listen to you. The rest of us will cover you as best we can. Worse comes to worse, just try to distract him while the soldiers take down the beast." Rusl gave a slight nod, his eyes determined, although his chest was tight with dread and worry. He had known Link for so long and cared for him like he was his own son; the thought of having to fight him broke his heart.
Zelda urged her mount forward to address the sea of soldiers. "If you can, focus on the King," she instructed. "If he can be brought down, this will likely end. Do not touch anything that should appear at his defeat!"
It was then that a single arrow flew from the Bulbin's end of the field. The soldier it had aimed for rose his shield and blocked it, but with the first shot fired, the Hylians spilled forward in a charge. The battle had begun.
Link smirked slightly from his vantage point as the sound of battle cries and clashing metal reached him. He dug his heels into Epona's flank, bringing her to a full on gallop as he reached to unsheathe his sword. His eyes were locked on the massive King. Other mounted Bulbins peeled off and rushed towards him, taking aim with arrows and clubs. Link's sword cut them down with ease, even as he urged Epona to go faster.
Rusl rushed forward when he saw Link's charge, determined to get to him before he could reach his target. "Link!" he shouted over the din, as the others met the attacks of the surrounding enemies. The green-clothed boy made no sign of hearing him as Epona thundered past, nimbly weaving through some Bulbins and trampling others. Arrows whizzed past horse and rider, most missing their mark, while a few others bounced harmlessly off the shield on his back. Zelda let out a cry of warning moments before the mare shoved her way through a group of Hylians, Link not even giving them a second glance. He'd come close enough for her to see his eyes; they were orange, like the Twili. The magic had a hold of him, and she knew now with sinking dread that he would not stop.
Rusl grit his teeth in frustration. He would never catch them on foot.
A boar was rushing towards him. Thinking quickly, he braced himself and grabbed hold of the saddle as it passed. With a grunt, he yanked himself up, knocking the lone Bulbin rider off with a strong punch before settling on the creature's back. Digging his heels into the beast, he urged it forward after Link and his chestnut mare.
Beyond them, the Bulbin King loomed, his already large form mutated and grotesque, dripping with some sort of gray slime. It turned to face the blond haired boy, attention drawn by the shards that Link possessed, but his large form made him slow. Link's blade flashed as he passed, leaving a deep, long gash in the monster that oozed black with blood.
The beast King Bulbin rode squealed in rage, throwing its head as it gave chase to the Ordonian hero, saliva dripping from its open mouth. Epona turned wide to meet the beast head-on. Link's orange eyes peered up at the monster, his lips quirked in a smirk as he urged the mare to go even faster. They barely avoided the mutated boar's tusks at the second round, but in return Link's sword scored another deep wound.
But before he had the chance to turn Epona again, a heavy blow to the side sent horse and rider both tumbling.
Rusl regretted having to resort to such measures, and had managed to turn the boar he'd been riding to avoid skewering the mare, at least. Luckily Epona seemed fine and quickly got to her feet, snorting her displeasure. Link was a little slower to pick himself up, but seemed unhurt as well. When he looked up at Rusl though, who had just jumped off his own mount to face him, his eyes were dark and enraged at the interruption.
"Link, listen to me," Rusl cried over the chaos of battle. "You have to stop! This isn't you!"
"I don't have time for this," the blond growled in response. The snow was falling thicker now, white flakes dancing through the air and mottling their clothes.
"Link, please!" Rusl pressed desperately, taking a step closer. "You are missed back in Ordon. More than you'll ever know. Colin, Ilia, Bo, Fado-we're all worried and we all miss you. Please, just come home with me. We want to help you!"
Glowering, the boy bent to pick up his sword, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he straightened. "Then stay out of my way. I've got to do this. You can't stop me, and you'll be sorry if you try."
"Please...there must be a part of you still in there, somewhere," Rusl called mournfully. "Let us help."
For a moment he thought he saw a glimpse behind those orange eyes; a soft sadness. That same lost look he'd seen countless times after Link had returned.
But then it was gone. Link held his sword up threateningly, his eyes narrowed and focused, daring Rusl to challenge him further.
Rusl felt his heart ache in protest even as he drew his own sword. Ashei, Auru and Telma had all caught up to them by now, and were taking turns with the Bulbin King, keeping the monster occupied and away from the two swordsman that were now staring each other down.
"I don't want to hurt you," Rusl yelled to Link, his voice pained. "Please, Link. Let it go. You don't need that mirror."
"You have no idea what I do or don't need," the blonde growled in return. "None of you. You don't know a thing about me!"
He lunged suddenly, crying out in effort as he swung his blade down at Rusl's shoulder. The old man quickly blocked, though the sheer power behind Link's strike caught him by surprise, forcing him to take a step back to steady himself. Immediately Link pulled back, twisting and slashing again. There was another clash as Rusl blocked yet again.
The older man didn't want to attack; he didn't want to hurt this boy. He couldn't hurt him...
But Link was giving him little choice; his attacks came one after another, clearly sharing no such reservations. With each strike he seemed more determined, more crazed; every moment he was wasting here, dealing with this nuisance, was another moment that he wasn't going after the mirror he could sense only yards away.
It was this frantic madness that gave Rusl the break he so desperately needed. Finally an opening presented itself, and with it the older man struck, knocking away Link's sword with one solid attack. Surprised, Link hesitated, finding himself staring down Rusl's blade.
"You're unarmed. Stand down, Link."
Rusl felt his blood chill as the boy's orange eyes narrowed, a small, cruel smirk tugging at his lips.
"Unarmed? Hardly."
He turned suddenly, lunging for the Bulbin King, who had drawn close again in his own match. Rusl reached for the boy uselessly, crying out, not sure what Link was doing but fearing for the worst. All anyone could do was stare in utter shock when Link leapt up at the distracted beast, unarmed, before shifting and mutating into a large, dark gray wolf. Sharp teeth chomped down hard on the slimy monster's arm, and the sheer weight and inertia of the attack dislodged the Bulbin from his saddle, sending both of them crashing to the ground.
Link recovered faster than King Bulbin, up on all four dark paws and leaping again with a gravely snarl for another strike even before his target was on his feet.
"Stop him!" Rusl cried to his stunned companions, even as he sprinted forward to try and do so, himself.
The creature gave a pained roar as the wolf latched on somewhere near its throat, teeth gnashing and paws flailing. Blood and slime splashed violently across the grass at their feet.
Bulbin managed to throw the wolf away, but stumbled noticeably, its strength waning from the long battle. Despite tumbling hard across the ground, the wolf was immediately up again, it's own dark fur stained in filth, and rushed in for another attack. Another leap for the throat, another spray of blood. Bulbin let out a choked cry, before toppling over, unmoving, the wolf standing over him with his jaws still clenched and his eyes burning with blood lust.
"No!" Rusl cried in dismay. For a fragile moment, nothing happened, but then a blackness drew out of the Bulbin's body. As it drained from him, the great goblin seemed to transform back into his original form, somehow unharmed from the ordeal. The wolf finally released his prey and backed up a few steps, tilting his head back and closing his eyes in satisfaction as the black fragments rushed over to swirl around him, the cloud growing so thick it mostly hid him from view.
Zelda gasped in horror, watching from a distance. The Bulbins stopped fighting, looking around confused as their restored leader slowly picked himself up with a grunt, his piggish face scrunched up slightly with confusion. What were he and his people doing here?
The blackness around the wolf that had been Link seemed to grow, and the members of the resistance backed away in fear. Even Link felt a jolt of anxiety, not understanding what was happening before his mind went blank with the pain of further transformation. His ragged cry could be heard echoing across the field in the sudden silence. The soldiers could only watch in horror as the shadowy figure in the swirling black current grew even larger, dwarfing even the chestnut mare that was now shying away in fear. Courser, inky black fur sprouted over the dark gray from before, tinged with shocking purple and blue markings. His fangs grew bigger and sharper, matching dark claws that tore into the ground below with every convulsion.
Zelda pressed a hand to her mouth in horror. This was completely different from the wolf-like form he'd taken before. This time, he was much larger, and much more sinister looking. Shadows seemed to radiate from the entire length of his body like steam, twisting and curling against the gray light of day. The area surrounding him seemed to be drenched in twilight, as if Link were now some sort of anomaly, somehow existing in both worlds at once.
The mirror was whole again. She could almost see it through his dark, unrecognizable eyes.
The beast threw its head back with a long, low howl that seemed to distort the very air around them, then brought its head back down, hungrily taking in the armies before it.
"Faron, help us," Auru gasped.
The resistance had little choice but to retreat as the giant beast lunged forward, jaws snapping at them. They didn't know what else to do. Their friend was in there, somewhere-they couldn't bring themselves to just fight it.
The soldiers had no such reservations, but there seemed little they could do as well; the spears they threw couldn't pierce the beast's thick fur, and none dared get close enough to use a sword.
Not even the Bulbins, who reacted mostly for self defense against the creature at this point, seemed able to do anything to it.
Renado watched in horrified silence from his place near the princess. "What can we do?"
Zelda's expression was set and stiff. There was only one chance now. She only hoped it would work.
Determined, she spurred her gelding onward, heading straight for the raging beast, even as it tore into a Bulbin that was unfortunate enough to come too close.
Confused at their Princesses' actions, the soldiers hesitated in their scramble to keep their distance, as did the members of the resistance.
"Distract him!" Zelda cried to Rusl and the others. "Buy me a few minutes!"
They nodded uneasily, before rushing forward. Auru set up his canon as Ashei circled around behind, yelling obscenities at the wolf-like monster. As he turned to lunge at her, a blast from the canon made him stumble somewhat, a violent snarl ripping from his throat. The ground shook as he picked himself up, before charging at Auru, lips curled in a terrifying snarl. The man was left with little choice but to abandon his canon as one of the beast's giant black paws swiped at him. The weapon was sent flying and tumbling across the field in several pieces, well out of reach and probably far beyond repair.
Feeling a need to help despite the confusion and chaos around him, King Bulbin gave a loud commanding grunt, before leading the charge towards the monster. Mounted Bulbins began to flank the wolf from either side, shooting fire arrows and shouting at the creature. The projectiles bounced harmlessly off for the most part, but the sting of flames was still annoying, and kept the monster focused on trying to retaliate on the goblins as the resistance tried to regroup.
Meanwhile, Zelda jumped from her mount, and clasped her hands together in front of her. Her hair and dress fluttered in the wind as she called out. "Spirits of the light! Wielders of the great power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world...in our hour of need, please, come to our aide!"
Bulbins and Hylians alike scattered in alarm as light suddenly flooded the expanse of the field. The beast turned his massive head towards the source, only to draw away, howling in pain at its brightness. He stumbled back, as if being pushed by some unseen force.
Zelda spread her arms out, directing the power of the light spirits against him. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and her delicate jaw was set, though unshed tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes.
The light enveloped him, snaking around his massive legs, holding him in place as it completely surrounded and overwhelmed him. The beast arched away in vain, an almost human sounding scream tearing from him as they light grew in intensity, burning at his entire body, battling the shadows that had consumed him.
Even the dwellers of light, all save for Zelda, had been forced to shield their eyes against the sheer brightness of it.
And then, when Rusl didn't think he could bear to listen to the screams any longer, a warm blast of air rushed past them, and the light finally seemed to fade. Silence fell across the field, and there was a moment of absolute stillness save for the snowflakes that continued to float down from the heavens.
When all peered at where the beast had stood, all that remained was a still, human form, collapsed and unmoving on the ground.
T.B.C.