If I can just go fast enough, I can leave everything behind, even if only for a little while. Epona's engine roars, the bike humming its power against my legs, as I keep speeding up. I'm outside of Northcastle now -- there's no speed limit on this road until we get the little towns just southeast of Kakariko.
There's no reason to hold Epona back, I think, opening the throttle. I need this. Things are getting too crazy; the stress is slowly killing me.
It doesn't take long before I'm the fastest thing on the road, but that's okay. Passing a few cars on a highway is nothing compared to dodging rocks and tearing around corners out in the canyon, and the highway is a much, much straighter ride, too.
My hair flies behind me, flapping in all the wind. It feels weird to not have my helmet on, but I don't know where it went, and I'd rather just get to Kakariko than look for a replacement. And Dark needs his helmet, so I can't wear his. I don't want to, either; it just doesn't feel right. Even if it is just a copy of mine, it's still his helmet.
It feels weird to actually be wearing these riding goggles, too. I grin at that thought. Shad gave them to me as a joke when he bought his bike -- for whatever reason, he prefers goggles to a helmet's visor -- and I've never worn them on a ride before. They're more comfortable than I thought they'd be. I think I see why he wears his now.
I weave through the group of cars I come across, left, right, left. Dark's probably just riding on the center line, but I prefer to drive more in line with the law. One of the vehicles blows its horn as I pass; I ignore it. Just because they're stuck behind a couple of slowpokes...
I don't even have to look down at the speedometer to know I can go faster. And now that there aren't any cars ahead of me for a while, I think I will. It's been a long time since I had the chance for this.
And for a while, it's nothing but the road and my bike and me, flying without leaving the ground.
I have to laugh at that; Vael told me that the day I offered him a ride home. I think he likes riding, even if he insists he'll never get his own bike.
Vael... I grit my teeth and stare off down the long highway ahead of me. I'm going to save you. I'll burn that monster out of you, and then we'll go riding again. I swear. I'll finally drag you out to Kakariko Canyon and introduce you to everyone. We'll ride, and then you and Shad will probably find somewhere to sit and discuss your latest discoveries.
Yeah, that's exactly what we'll do when this is over. I try to ignore the little dagger in my ribs that is thinking about seeing Malon again -- it's been over a year; has she found someone else? It's not like I'd be surprised by that. We both agreed that we could never make it work long-distance.
"It'll be okay," she'd said, faking a smile. "You'll find a cute girl out there who loves to hear you talk about history in no time."
I glance over; Dark's riding in the left lane, matching my speed. He isn't a cute girl, but... I sigh. She's right. I have found someone. Two someones, in fact, and that's the confusing part, even if one of them and I have been acting like a certain night never happened just to make things less awkward.
I look over at Dark; he looks back. Does he know...? I growl. There's no way I can ask that!
No, I'm not thinking about this now. I'll deal with that once Vael's safe. In the meantime, I want to enjoy this ride. It's been way too long since I've had the chance to do this, and I don't know how long it'll be before I get the chance again.
The bag slung across my back seems heavy, suddenly. No matter what is happening around me, I can't let myself get too carried away. I have to focus. We're going to Kakariko to find out what that madman learned from my notebooks. Then we'll go from there. The only way to get there is to drive.
Surely I can have a couple of hours for myself, can't I?
I shake my head -- damn it, my thoughts are racing faster than Epona! I narrow my eyes and focus on the road for a while. The road and the wind and the sound of the engine... and I let myself fly down the road. Traffic seems light today. Passing cars is easy, rhythmic; drift to one side and then back.
I scowl at the "speed limit ahead" sign as I fly past it. Almost to Red Rock already? Then Kakariko's only a climb through the mountains away... I don't know if I'm ready to get there yet.
Arriving at Red Rock means it's time for fuel. Epona's tank still has more than enough to get me to Kakariko on a good day, but the highway between here and there crosses the aptly-named Snowwall Pass. The status of the road is hit-or-miss most of the year.
Thankfully, I don't have to hunt for road conditions; there's a large sign just inside the Red Rock village limits proclaiming in large letters that the road over Snowwall is open today. That's good to see. Sure, the area guard does an excellent job keeping the main roads plowed, but I haven't been keeping up with the weather in this part of Hyrule, and sudden snowstorms aren't that unusual during mid-winter.
Still, the first thing I do once Dark and I stop at the station for fuel is dig out a sweater and put it on under my jacket. We're barely to the foothills, and it's already noticeably chillier than it was in Northcastle. Where are my gloves? I know they're in here somewhere... ah, there they are. I pull them on, too.
"Is Link getting cold?" Dark whispers; he's leaning in close, visor up. "I could warm you up, y'know..."
"I thought you wanted to get to Kakariko City? We won't get anywhere if we do that."
He laughs. "I could ride behind you. We could share body heat."
I start fueling Epona up, trying not to think too much about that. "Maybe you're the one who's getting cold."
"Maybe I am." He looks up towards the mountains in the distance; the peaks are hidden under a layer of gray clouds. "Here, take care of mine, too, okay? I'm going to go see if anyone knows what the weather's like up there."
"Suit yourself." It just looks cloudy to me; visibility might not be too great. What if it is snowing? I grimace. No, I'm not riding over Snowwall if it's snowing, especially if it's windy. I don't have the right clothes for that. Besides, it's been so long since I've needed my chains that they're sitting in my room back at the apartment. I've used them all of twice since moving to Northcastle, and both were during the ice storm last year.
I had to get Vael and me to the apartment somehow. I probably shouldn't have even been riding in that weather, but his power was out and he needed somewhere warm to stay, so... Not that it did any good, considering my part of Northcastle lost power just before dawn, but it was something, anyway.
"I feel like I should do something for you, Link. You did drive a long way in bad weather to come get me."
"N-no, Vael, don't worry about it. You don't owe me anything."
I'm not thinking about that. I'm not!
"There's a guard in there; he says the pass is overcast but precipitation free, so no snow for us," Dark says, walking over and leaning against the pump. "What are you so red for? Are you cold?"
"N-no, I'm fine."
"If you aren't cold..." he leans in close. "Why are you blushing?"
"I'm not blushing!"
"Yes, you are."
I put the handle back into its holder with more force than necessary. "It's nothing."
Dark laughs. "Oh, now I know I'm missing something good."
I turn to glare at him and get distracted by something shiny against his neck. It's a choker: a small silver Triforce suspended between two black cords. The gap in the center holds a dark red gem. He's wearing it wrong; the Triforce is point down.
"When did you get that?"
He grins. "I've had it. I just decided to start wearing it. I've had it on all day."
As busy as we were this morning getting ready to leave, I can't say I've spent much time staring at his neck. "And why are you wearing it upside down?"
"Why not? Seems fitting."
"Seems disrespectful to me." I pull my necklace out from under my shirt and run my thumb over it. "Okay, if green is for courage, what's red for?" I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I want to hear him say it.
He shrugs. "Power. Blood. Lots of things."
Lots of things... I don't think I'm in any mood to dig deeper right now. I tuck my necklace back under my sweater. "We should get going before it does start snowing."
xXx
The ride over Snowwall is uneventful. The pass is clear and a little cold; traffic is heavier but still not bad. Must be a mild winter so far.
It starts snowing lightly as we ride into Kakariko City. There's plenty of snow on the ground, though the roads are clear, the buildings and canyon walls covered in a layer of white. There are still lights hanging all over the place, the small white bulbs making the snow seem to glow. Kakariko City is beautiful this time of year. Even the majesty of the castle can't compare to this canyon.
I slow down to city speed, looking around as I ride. If only I wasn't here on important business, I could...
A horn cuts through my thoughts; judging from the sound, it's a motorcycle horn. And it's sounding in a pattern: three short, two long, one short, one long.
I repeat the pattern on Epona's horn and look around. There the motorcycle is -- it's turning into a parking lot just ahead of us. As it turns, I get a great view at its side.
A Nomad. A sleek, silver Nomad. I grin. I only know one person who rides a bike like that. I follow him into the parking lot and pull up beside him.
"Hey, Shad!" I call, turning Epona off. "I thought you were only going to ride that thing for a few months!"
Shad shrugs as he walks over. "What can I say? I decided I rather like the way this one handles. I tried one of the Mark IIIs, but it just isn't the same as this one. Some people just can't let something that works stay the way it is."
I grin. "Let me guess: Mido got ahold of it."
He pulls his goggles down around his neck and adjusts his glasses, laughing. "He offered to give it a tune-up, but he did such a good job I can't justify getting another bike."
I know that feeling. I originally got an Epona because it was cheap. She wasn't in the best shape, but she ran, and that was enough. Well, it was enough for me; it wasn't enough for Mido. And by the time Mido finished tinkering with her, she'd become the one-of-a-kind beauty she is now. Mido has a way with tools that no one else can even approach.
"I never thought I would see two Epona Customs in the same place..."
Dark laughs. "Well, now you have."
"So it seems... ah..."
"Shad, this is my cousin, Dark Masters," I say. "Dark, this is Shad Emmerich. He's one of my old classmates."
Shad reaches out and they shake hands. "Pleasure to meet you, Dark. So, if I may ask, what brings you to Kakariko City?"
"I need to check some of my old notes," I reply.
He looks down. "I see. I heard about what happened at the museum..."
That isn't a surprise. I doubt there's a historian in Hyrule who doesn't. "Yeah. I had a couple of notebooks come up missing, and I'd like to find out what I lost."
After a moment, he nods purposefully and looks up at me. "Then I'll help."
"You don't have to, Shad..."
"No, but I want to help." He smiles. "It might help take my mind off things for a while, you know?"
"Is something wrong?"
He adjusts his glasses again. "Oh, nothing serious, I assure you. There have just been a couple incidents of people attempting to sneak into the old graveyard over the last week. Nothing seems to be missing, but we've posted security just in case." He sighs. "To think we'd have to protect something like that... but after what happened at the Royal Museum, I guess I can't assume the graveyard will be safe."
K2 and K3 are full of notes from the graveyard excavation. Could it be...? "No, you probably can't. If you want... I can go out there with you later, just to look things over."
Shad seems surprised by that. "You would? Oh, thank you! I've been a bit leery of going out there alone."
I nod. "Then we should get going if we want to get both done before sunset."
"Right."
I start Epona back up, and we're off to Eldin College. It doesn't take very long to get there and find a place to park near the history building. And I do mean a place; we manage to get all three bikes into one space, black and green and purple shining in the light from the nearby buildings.
I reach up and brush the snow out of my hair. "So, how is the dig going?"
"Reasonably well. The professor and I have come to the conclusion that there is a tomb or some other structure behind that wall you found, though we don't know when we'll be able to investigate further." Shad shakes his head and swipes his keycard to open the door. "We requested permission from the castle to unseal it, but with everything that's happened... I highly doubt we will be getting it any time in the near future."
"That's unfortunate. Any luck translating the inscription on the wall?"
"It says something about a great hero and a great traitor. That's all we know right now."
I swallow hard, even though I'm not sure why.
"You two are going to do this all afternoon, aren't you?" Dark says. He's smirking; I can hear it in his voice. "Maybe I should've stayed home."
"No appreciation for history," Shad says, unlocking the door to the archives.
"Oh, I've got quite the appreciation for it. I just don't waste my time analyzing it." Dark sounds a little sad.
I sigh. Of course he doesn't. Shad and I are from the outside looking in. Dark is from the inside looking out. If we had his perspective of history, we probably wouldn't analyze it so much either.
"To each his own," Shad says softly. "Well, here we are. I'm going to check my messages; I'll be back in a few minutes."
"No problem."
It doesn't take long to find my copies; the archives aren't much different from the last time I was here, just a bit bigger. I grab K2 and K3 and head for one of the tables.
Plenty of sketches of an old temple and the winding passage, ending with a set of rubbings of the sealed wall -- it's the same door as the image I asked Dark to translate so long ago, only rubbings instead of a sketch. The letters don't show up any better.
"I don't get it. What is so important about this place to be worth stealing my books?" I mutter.
Dark taps one of the door rubbings. "Maybe someone thinks this tomb is important."
"But we don't even know what's in there!"
"Exactly." He leans against the table next to me. "They're looking for something."
"What?"
He shrugs. "I can think of two things that Pigman's cult could want. His ashes and the Triforce."
"But... they have his ashes," I murmur, drifting into a memory. "That's why they wanted to kill me..."
"It's been a long time, Link. We gave them plenty of trouble before you died, and it's been several centuries since then. Things get forgotten. Pieces get scattered. It's completely possible that Pigman's followers don't know where his ashes are anymore."
I shake my head; the memory's gone. "A great hero... and a great traitor... Do you think it's Ganon's grave?"
"No. Even assuming Pigman's minions had the sense to bury him, why would they do it in the Royal Cemetery? If he has a grave, it's as far from anything sacred as it can be."
"I still want to check this out, just in case."
He nods. "We will. Just as soon as we get done here."
"Yeah. I'm just so confused right now, Dark. I don't even know what to do."
"We'll figure something out, Link. I promise."
That doesn't help the weird feeling in my stomach. "I'm going to get something to drink. You want something?"
"I'll come, too."
I find a water fountain and take a long drink. Not really what I want, but it'll work. "That tomb is important. I don't know why, but it's important."
Dark puts a hand on my shoulder. "And when it becomes important, we'll know. We're going to figure this out, Link."
"Oh, I'm certain that you will. I'm counting on that, in fact."
That voice! I snap my head up -- Vaati's standing at the end of the hall! "How did you get here?"
He laughs. "I have my ways. Now, before either of you do something incredibly stupid like go for your weapons, hear me out. I have merely come to deliver a message."
"I don't believe you!" I snap.
"Link, what's all the -- how did you get in here?"
"Shad, stay back!"
Vaati smirks. "Hear me out, and I will leave. All I ask for is a few minutes of your precious time."
I grit my teeth. "All right, fine. What's your message?"
He walks towards me, stopping just out of arm's reach. "Two of your enemies are making a move this day." He holds his arms out to point in opposite directions. "One to the west, one far to the east."
"And you're telling me this why?" Is this a trick? Or is the Cult really up to something?
Vaati steps closer, leaning in. I have to fight the impulse to move away. "I despise the followers of the Evil King as much as you do, Link. If I can shatter their plans, I will. Now, if you don't want to stop them, then... perhaps I shall leave."
He's lying. He's lying. This has to be a trick! But he watches me, and I swear for a second his eyes turn gray...
"I will hear you out," I say softly. Vael? Are you the reason he's helping me?
"Good. Then listen well. One sends his pig-minded fools to find that which is lost. He looks west. The other is after a brilliant power. He looks far to the east. They are both moving now, so you must choose who to stop and who to ignore."
He steps back and brushes some of his hair out of his eyes. "And now, I will leave you to your decision." He laughs.
"Wait!" Dark yells, moving forward.
It's too late; Vaati flickers and vanishes.
"Wh-what was that about?" Shad gasps.
"It's a very long story, Shad, and we don't have time to tell it right now." I scowl. West makes me think of the cemetery, but east...? "Brilliant power..."
"Triforce," is all Dark says.
"So what do we do?"
"I may not know what's going on," Shad says, "but unless you plan on letting one of the two do whatever he wishes, we're going to have to split our forces."
"We?"
He nods. "Yes. We. I may not be much of a fighter, but I'll help however I can, Link. At the very least, I can check the cemetery for you."
"We'll check the cemetery, you mean. You're not going alone," I say.
Dark shrugs. "Then I guess that leaves me to head to Northcastle, then. Fine with me." He flexes his fingers.
I nod at him. He's easily the best fighter, so it makes sense. He'll be able to protect the Triforce. "Shad and I will catch up when we can."
"All right. Then I'd better get going. You two don't do anything stupid, especially you, Link."
"And you don't either!" I call at him as he runs outside. Please, Farore, don't let us be making a terrible mistake.
Shad clears his throat; he looks nervous now. "W-we should probably get going ourselves."
"Right."
xXx
I get to Snowwall Pass before I have to pull over. What if this is a trick? Vaati may just be doing this to get me away from Link...
...but if someone's going after the Triforce, I can't just hand it over to him. I remember what Ganon's done with that power before. If whoever this is gets all three, it's over. We won't be able to stop that.
I slam a hand against the handlebars. I can't do two things at once! Which one do I do?
"You seem distressed, little shadow..."
"I thought you were pissed that I struck you," I mutter.
Vaati chuckles. "Maybe I'm willing to overlook that for the moment. Besides, I need your assistance, little shadow. I, too, have things I must attend to." He puts a hand on my shoulder.
I shake it off. "Piss off."
"Now, now, is that any way to speak to your master?" He puts his hand on my shoulder again and starts gently massaging that part of my back. It feels good.
I grit my teeth and shake it off. It's a trick. "Maybe I don't care."
He chuckles again. "You should be thankful I'm in a good mood today." His hand rests on my shoulder again and continues massaging. I remember this. He only does this when he's pleased with me...
I lean into his touch and close my eyes. This shouldn't feel this good. "Really..."
"I have something I wish you to do for me, little shadow."
"Yeah, but is it something I'm willing to do?" I'm not giving in to him. I'm not. "And what about Link? You're just waiting for a chance to hurt him, aren't you?" Maybe not. He's not hurting me, after all... He's pleased with me.
He doesn't answer. Instead, his hand moves to rest on top of my head. "Don't worry about your friend. I'm not going to hurt him. It's a very important task, little shadow. You're the only one I can trust to do it."
"Mmm..." He needs me. I like feeling needed. I don't feel helpless when I know I'm needed.
Vaati leans in to whisper in my ear. "Will you do this for me?"
"What do I have to do? And you promise you aren't going to hurt Link?"
"Don't worry about him, little shadow." His hand strokes my cheek. "I'm not going to hurt him. Now... you don't want your enemy to get the Triforce, do you? Then go get it. Claim it for me, my little shadow."
And then Master will keep it safe... "Yes, Master. I will."
He whispers something magical-sounding, and we aren't on the pass anymore. I open my eyes and look around. We're not far from Northcastle.
"Master?"
"There's no point in wasting the time driving. Now, he is at the Temple of Nayru. I don't care how you deal with him, just get the Triforce."
"The Triforce is at the Temple?" Is that right? I can't remember... Why can't I remember that?
"The door is there. Find the princess if you must; I am certain she knows."
Yeah, I'll just find Zelda. She knows me. She'll help me. By the time Link and Shad get here, it'll all be over, and the Triforce will be safe.
"I must go now, little shadow. I trust you will not fail me."
"No, Master. I won't. I'll get you the Triforce."
He grins. "Good. I will be waiting." And he disappears.
I laugh as I pull back onto the road. This won't be hard at all. I'll just find this enemy, follow him until he finds the Triforce, and then I'll kill him and claim it for Master!
xXx
It's late afternoon; the overcast sky makes it darker than it should be. The old cemetery is eerie this time of day. It's empty and still and dead, even moreso than it normally is. I don't like this at all.
I especially don't like the car parked near the security fence. I don't know why, but something tells me that isn't the security guard.
"Well, someone's here, all right..." Shad says, sounding nervous. "It's probably someone from the department..." He sounds hopeful, but it's forced.
"Yeah," I say. "That must be it."
The first thing I do once I climb off Epona is take my bag off and pull out the Master Sword, strapping it to my back. All things considered, I want it where I can draw it. Shad gives me an odd look as I do; yeah, I probably do look weird with a sword across my back.
"Just in case," I tell him.
He nods. "R-right."
"You can still leave, Shad. I can do this on my own." If he stays, he might get hurt...
"No, I'm all right. Safety in numbers, after all."
Neither of us says a word as we walk over to the entrance to the old, ruined temple. I listen for anything that seems out of place, and I find something: a voice.
"No, you fools! Get up! I didn't bring you here so you could grovel! Now get over there and tear that door open!"
Why does that sound like Ralph's voice? I creep forward until I can peek through the door. That is Ralph, standing with his back to the door, yelling at a trio of Moblins.
"Get off your knees!"
I step into the doorway. Moblins here?! "No. Get out."
Ralph whirls around. "Link? What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the exact same thing, Ralph, but those Moblins answer it for me! I won't let you destroy this place."
"Tch! Like you can do anything to stop me! Get him!"
The Moblins stand up at that order and turn to face me. I reach up and wrap my hand around the hilt of my sword. I don't think I can handle all three of them at once, but what choice do I have...?
It turns out I don't have to worry. They charge at me, and then magic streaks past me and the three Moblins turn to stone.
Shad yelps behind me and then lunges inside, hiding behind one of the Moblin statues. "Link, look out! It's that man from before!"
And it is -- Vaati stands outside, in clear view from where I stand, one hand still outstretched towards us. He could have hit me with that spell... Why didn't he? For that matter, why not let the Moblins tear me apart? Doesn't he want me dead?
I step back, closer to the new statues, my hand still on my sword's hilt. I don't know if it's going to do me any good, but... it's the only weapon I've got right now.
"And just who do you think you are, Ziota?" Ralph snaps, stalking towards the door. He's keeping a safe distance for the moment, but he's mad. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"I have my reasons, fool," Vaati replies with a broad smirk. He lowers his hand. "There is something here that I want, but it has nothing to do with you. Go away."
Ralph tenses. "No one dismisses me, especially not someone like you! You're pathetic!"
He doesn't know that isn't Vael. Should I tell him? No. He had Moblins serving him. He's with the enemy. Let him make his own mistakes.
Vaati laughs and steps inside. "I'm the pathetic one? I'm not the one with stone minions. Now, stand over there and be silent; I have business I must attend to." He turns to me. "Now, I'm sure you have some idea what I want..."
"I won't let you destroy it!" I snap.
"Destroy it?" He laughs again; it's loud and crazy. "No, you silly boy. I want its power."
He can't use its power -- he isn't me. More importantly, he's evil, meaning... Wait, maybe if I play along for a bit, I can get close enough to try to burn Vaati away!
"Is that all you want?"
"For now. I don't make offers like this lightly, but I am willing to leave you be if you just give me your sword."
Ralph stomps forward. "Look, I don't like being ignored!"
Vaati narrows his eyes and sighs. "Just like a Moblin... In fact, since you seem to enjoy Moblins so much..." his lips curl into a sneer, and he raises his hand, saying something in a language I've heard before, somewhere before laughing. "Take this!"
Magic strikes Ralph in a brilliant flash of light; I have to look away. Ralph screams. When I can finally see again, it isn't Ralph standing there anymore -- it's a Moblin. A small Moblin wearing Ralph's clothing. The Moblin looks down at itself and shrieks in horror. It's Ralph. Vaati just turned Ralph into a Moblin!
Vaati cackles. "Perfect! How do you like your new self?"
Ralph just keeps shrieking, staggering back and staring down at his hands in shock.
"Ah, and now that you have hopefully learned to stop interfering with me..." Vaati smirks and turns back to me. "Give me the Master Sword, Link."
Or what? I wonder. Will he curse me, too? He might if I press him too hard. I take a deep breath and draw my sword. Farore, help me. I just need this to work...
"Very well," I say softly, stepping forward. "Here it is." I hold the Master Sword out and wait. He can sense magic, so if I try to call it too early, he'll know I'm trying something. But if I wait too long, it won't work.
Vaati strides confidently forward. "Hmm, perhaps you aren't as much of a fool as I thought you were." He grins triumphantly and reaches out towards the hilt...
...and I command the Master Sword to flare its power.
The world vanishes in a blast a blue-white light, the air humming with sacred power. Vaati roars in pain; I think I hear him stagger back. Now's my chance!
I lunge forward, shoving out with the flat of my blade. I feel it strike something solid; it and I both fall to the ground. The impact breaks my concentration, and the light fades though it does not go out. Vaati lays beneath me, purple hair cascading across the stone floor, red eyes narrowed in pain as he shoves out at the sword. Magic gathers.
That's when I get my focus bacck, and all Vaati can do is scream. The Master Sword is getting warm beneath my hands, the light getting bright enough to make everything look washed out. I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes, but I have to see what happens. Something's coming out of Vaati -- thin, wispy smoke as black as a starless night, rising up from his skin and drifting away from us both.
It's working! It's -- no! I suck in a quick breath as pain stabs through my chest like a dagger. My arms are getting weak, my sword incredibly heavy. I don't have much left...
Vaati's scream abruptly stops, and I take that as a chance to drop the Master Sword. The pain in my chest lessens immediately when the holy light vanishes. Vaati, Vael -- whoever is in that body right now is sprawled out on the floor, unconscious.
I slide into a sit and work on catching my breath. Did it work? What was that smoke?
"Link, are you all right?"
Shad! I stagger to my feet as he runs over. "I think so. What about you?"
"I'm not injured, though I must admit, this is rather confusing..."
I grin weakly at that. I'm sure it is. "I'm sorry, Shad. I'll explain everything later, I promise." I pick the Master Sword up and sheathe it. "You might not believe half ot if."
Shad looks over at where Ralph sits; the Moblin is staring at us both in horror. "I believe I might not be as close-minded as you think I am..."
Damn it; I had forgotten about Ralph. We have to do something about him. Though I have to admit, a lot of things make sense now. At least one of the people involved in the attack on the museum is a member of the Project. Vaati's right: Ralph deserves this.
No, he deserves worse. I stalk over and yank the Moblin up by his collar. "Was it worth it, Ralph? Was it worth all that blood?"
Ralph tries to answer, but all that comes out are squeaks and grunts. Of course; he knows how to talk as a human, not a Moblin. I shove him away. Cold-blooded son of a bitch. All this time I thought I could trust him.
"Link... That won't get us anywhere," Shad says; he sounds sad. "First things first: we need to get back to town. So, Ralph, where are your car keys?"
Ralph snorts and looks away.
I grab him by the collar again. "Look, you. Right now, the only people in the world who realize that you're really a human being and not just a damned Moblin are Shad and me. If you want help, you'll have to get it from us. We can always just leave. Night security will be here before long, and I'm certain that a Moblin will get their attention..."
Ralph looks defeated -- as defeated as a Moblin can, anyway -- and pats his left front pocket. Shad starts working the keys out; it's a tight fit, since Ralph apparently makes a bigger Moblin than he does a human.
I turn my attention back to Vael. At least, I hope it's Vael. He's already awake, sitting slumped over where he fell, his head down.
"Vael?"
"Y-yeah?" His voice is weak.
I step forward. "Is that really you?"
He raises his head. Gray eyes. He's got gray eyes. "I... think so."
I grin. It's Vael! "It worked!"
He gets a weird, distant look in his eyes as he climbs shakily to his feet. "I suppose it did."
How much of that does he remember? I'll ask later; right now, he needs to rest. "Do you think you can walk? There's a car outside."
"I'll be fine... I just need to find my breath," he replies, his voice as faraway as his gaze. "I'll wait outside."
"Okay." I turn back to Shad and Ralph. "Are you two ready?"
Shad holds up a keyring and shakes it; the jingle of keys is a strangely normal and comforting sound after all that just happened. "Ready. I suppose we'll just have to come back for our bikes."
That means three people and a Moblin in the car. Is the car big enough for that?
"Maybe one of us should ride back, Shad. That would give Ralph the entire backseat; he could at least lay down. Then he wouldn't be quite so visible..."
Ralph snorts and nods frantically. Good, he understands how risky it's going to be to keep him safe. How are we going to break the curse? I don't know anyone that skilled.
It takes us a few minutes, but we finally find a position for Ralph that doesn't make it painfully obvious that there's a Moblin in the backseat. Vael, meanwhile, sits on a broken gravestone, staring off into the distance. The wind is starting to pick up; is it going to start snowing again?
"Hey, Vael!" I finally call over to him. "We're ready to go!"
He looks over in my direction. "I'm not."
What? "Come on, Vael; you can rest when we get back to Kakariko City. We need to get going or we'll have to explain ourselves to security." The wind just keeps getting stronger. Something's not right here.
"Do you think I care what you need?" he snaps.
"What's wrong with you?" I step closer. "Let's just go."
He grins in a way I'm not comfortable with. "Very well... If that is what you wish..." He stands up and snaps his arms out to his sides -- and the wind gusts, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. I throw my arms up to shield my face.
"Link!"
"I should have known you wouldn't cooperate! Then I suppose I shall have to take it by force!" Vael -- no, Vaati yells. "The Master Sword will be mine!"
I stagger backwards, bumping into Epona. An idea comes to mind and I leap on and start the engine. It's crazy, and it'll probably get me into more trouble very soon, but if I can just get Vaati away from Shad...
"Shad, get out of here!" Dark, please be all right. I should've known we couldn't trust him!
Vaati laughs, and the wind bursts outwards in another cloud of dust. He isn't human anymore. He hovers in the air, long purple hair and long black robe dancing in a breeze that surrounds him. A gold line down the center of his robe splits and opens, revealing a large, blood red eye that pierces me with its gaze.
"I am filled with a power you cannot begin to understand!"
"Do you still dare to defy me, boy? Give me the Master Sword!"
I've defeated him before. I had a different sword, but... the blade of evil's bane can pierce that darkness. I know that. But what happens to Vael if I defeat Vaati in battle? I can't hurt him, and I definitely won't kill him... even if that means letting Vaati live.
Here goes everything. Farore, help Your hero, I think, and then I yell, "You want it, Vaati? Come and claim it!" And I open the throttle and tear off. I'm not heading for town. No, I'm heading deeper into the canyon. There's a veritable maze of side-canyons there, and I know this place much better than he does. More importantly, I can go all out, because this is the terrain I ride best in. This is just another race, albeit one with insanely high stakes.
Vaati follows me, soaring through the air in pursuit. I go as fast as I can, slowing only as much as necessary to take corners. It doesn't take long before I lose track of where I am, but it doesn't matter as long as I keep moving. I've got most of a tank of fuel. How long can Vaati keep this up before he has to rest?
A beam of fire streaks past my head; I jump and jerk the handlebars and almost lay Epona down, but I manage to recover. I don't see where the beam hit. I don't think I want to. A memory screams at me to keep moving, to dodge that beam as much as possible.
I don't know how long I speed through canyons trying to run Vaati ragged, only that night falls while I do. I'd forgotten just how dark it gets in these canyons; Epona's headlight isn't much help. Vaati hasn't been slinging fire at me for a while, but I know he's still behind me. The light from Epona's taillight is just enough light to see him by.
I reach what looks like a straight stretch and risk a long look in one mirror. I can't tell if he's tired or not; he isn't flying any differently, and the light's too dim to really let me see his face.
Epona jerks to the side as the front wheel strikes something; all of her lights go out. I immediately start slowing down -- I can't see! -- but then I hit something large and solid and fly over the handlebars and hit the ground. Somehow, I stay conscious. I groan softly and try to pull myself up, but it hurts to move.
Somewhere very close, Epona's engine whines and shuts off. What's going on here? I try to move again -- the ground doesn't feel like the canyon anymore. It feels like dirt. Dirt and tree roots and -- oh Farore, where's Vaati?
I try again to get up, but it all hurts too much... I can feel something wet and sticky on my forehead; am I bleeding?
Vaati screams in what sounds like shock; he's close. "Why? Why is there no wind?!"
And then I see light. It's small, and it's moving fast, flitting back and forth as its streaks towards me. No, it's two lights, one blue and one yellow. The yellow one flies towards Vaati's voice, while the blue one comes to me. I flinch and narrow my eyes; after all the darkness, the light is bright.
I hear a voice, I think, but I can't tell what it's saying. The light moves closer... and then I pass out.