Chapter 14

IS92: I really need to stop making promises I can't keep. But in my defense, I had a lot come up recently.

Sheik: Sure. But that's really no excuse for not keeping your promises.

IS92: Yeah, Yeah. I know...

Sheik: Just do the disclaimer...

IS92: Alright alright. I don't own Zelda or any of the things from the Zelda series. Let's get to the story before the fangirls flay me and eat me alive...

Chapter 14

As we reached the outskirts of Kakariko Village, I was surprised to smell the faintest hint of smoke... Something was wrong.

"Wait here, Link!" I shouted, dashing into the village, not waiting for him to actually listen to me. The sight that met me was a terror.

The village was ablaze.

Every building was on fire, and I cursed myself for having gotten hurt and delayed our journey here for so long. But now was not the time. I ran to help one of the villagers put out his house. When the flames were extinguished, I started to ask my questions, finding out what had happened. But the fires were apparently the least of the village's problems right now. A great rumbling came from within the earth, beneath the well...

A sickening feeling hit my stomach as I realized... That thing in the stories Aunt Impa used to tell me... That shadow monster that very few could see unaided, the one she had sealed into the well many years ago... It was trying to get out. And with Aunt Impa at the shadow temple, There was no way to stop it. I froze in front of the well,

And Link, that IDIOT came running into the village as soon as I had been able to approach it. The rumbling beneath the well hushed for a moment, almost like the beast had stopped trying to escape. But that was too good to be true. The beast couldn't have just given up. I knew it wouldn't. Even when Aunt Impa had fought to seal this beast, it was much more tenacious than that, and with it's anger allowed to grow unchecked over the years, it was much harder to believe that the monster would just give up.

I heard Link's footsteps behind me as I carefully watched the well for any signs of movement. Stupid Hero, didn't he know he could be killed?

"Get back, Link!" I shouted at him as the ground began to tremble slightly beneath my feet once more. The tremors grew and then finally, the wooden archway that went over the well flew from the ground, the sound of cracking timber almost drowning out the faint pop of the seal Impa had placed breaking. And then... That... thing... It came out of the well... I stepped back just slightly, preparing to fight it, barely noticing that Link was still staring at the remains of that stupid wooden arch.

I could see the thing clearly, ominously glowing red eye looking like a deformed flower's center, something that had burned to ashes, perhaps. Two grotesquely gnarled hands floated free of the stumps of its arms. The body of the thing looked like some sort of disfigured human torso, but that was all I could see. The massive beast was still partially hidden in the well.

Its red eye looked at me almost... curiously, and one of its gnarled hands flew forward and grabbed me tightly around the waist. I couldn't breathe. I flailed and hit at the thing's hand as it started to shake me and threw me off to the side. I landed past the steps, the wind knocked out of me, though I was still conscious.

"Sheik! Are you alright?" Link called out, dashing towards me. He knelt by my side, checking to make sure I was still breathing.

Stupid Hero! I thought, Didn't anyone tell you not to take your attention away from your opponent? He was making a big mistake. As I heard Link unsheathe his sword, I wanted desperately to yell at him to just run and not be a fool. He'd only get himself hurt if he tried to fight the beast now, when I'm pretty sure he couldn't even see it. But I couldn't speak or move from where I was just yet. I lifted my head to watch Link. The beast had taken a shadowy form, slithering across the ground towards him. He held his shield up, sword at the ready, but that wouldn't be enough. I reached out to try and tell him to run, to do anything except stand there. But he paid me no attention.

"Don't worry Sheik. I'll protect you." He said with deadly seriousness in his voice. I wanted to strangle the idiot. Didn't he realize how stupid he was being, putting himself in danger because of me?

The beast picked him up, tossing him back and forth between its massive hands before throwing him to the ground and returning to its shadowy form, slithering away towards the shadow temple. This was bad. This was very very bad.

"Looks like you're coming around..." I said, almost in tears in relief. He sat up, shaking his head to clear it. "Thank Nayru you're okay..." My relief was short-lived, as I remembered what had brought him so close to being killed.

"You Goddess-forsaken moron!" I yelled at him, "I ought to kill you myself just for being such an idiot! Do you have any idea how much danger you were in? How much danger you put the future of this land in with your stupid actions? Get it through your head, Hero! It's nice that you want to protect everyone, but doing something so... so... moronically suicidal is just insane!"

"But... Sheik... You could have died..." He said, looking at me with sad eyes. If I'd been any less angry at him, the expression would have made me feel as guilty as if I'd kicked a puppy. I leaned in close to him, looking him in the eye and making sure he was looking back.

"Don't you EVER do that again. I have known since day one how dangerous this would be, and I have not once deluded myself with the idea that I can't possibly die along the way, Hero. It's a risk I've been willing to take. And when it comes down to it, your life is worth infinitely more than mine. If I die, then you have to figure things out for yourself and actually use the lump three feet above your arse for once. If you die, then all of Hyrule's hopes for freedom from Ganondorf die with you. Please realize that, Link." I breathed slowly, trying to calm myself down after ranting at the boy so much. It was not suitable for a Sheikah warrior to have such an emotional outburst, and I had to wonder if the attachment I was developing towards the Hero was the root cause of this. But wondering about that was for later. There were bigger things I needed to talk to Link about now.

"I'm sorry, Sheik." He said, frowning. He seemed honestly hurt, something that I could understand, given the way I'd just spoken to him. "I didn't think about it that way. But... I'm still glad I was able to protect you." He smiled softly, and I felt myself melt a little. But again... This wasn't the time for that.

"Link..." I stated, looking him in the eyes, helping him up, "A terrible thing has happened! The evil shadow spirit has been released!" He looked at me and from the expression on his face, I knew he had made the connection between what had attacked the two of us and the thing I was speaking of.

"Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed the evil shadow spirit in the bottom of the well... But the force of the evil spirit got so strong, the seal of the well broke, and it escaped into the world!" I continued, trying to explain as quickly as I could, "I believe Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it up again, but...she will be in danger without any help! Link! Impa is one of the six Sages. Destroy the evil shadow spirit and save Impa! There is an entrance to the Shadow Temple beneath the graveyard behind this village." He nodded in understanding.

"I'll go right away." He promised. I pulled out my lyre.

"The only thing I can do for you is teach you the melody that will lead you to the Shadow Temple... This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time... Listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadow!" I played the somber, almost scary tune, and he echoed it back to me. The music joined into a duet, echoing throughout the near-empty village.

He brought the Ocarina away from his lips as I put away my lyre.

"Let me take care of the village." I said, wishing I could be more useful than I was at the moment. "I'm counting on you, Link. You have to help Impa." He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I will. I promise. I'll be back before you know it." He gave me one of those bright, genuine smiles of his and then played the tune I'd just taught him, warping off with a little sparkle.

"Good luck, Link." I said, looking off in the direction of the graveyard. I had work to do. The people of Kakariko Village needed me now.

IS92: Well Sheik certainly gave you an earful, didn't he Link?

Sheik: He deserved it, too. *crosses arms*

Link: Oh come on. You're not still mad, are you?

Sheik: What do you think?

Link: You're still mad. Geez. I said I was sorry!

Sheik: Just come back alive and I might forgive you.

IS92: I don't have the energy to deal with you two today... So I'll just end your argument here. Thanks to everybody who is still reading this, especially to those who have been waiting all this time. :) I promise, you guys. I'm going to finish this one way or another, and it should definitely go faster now. I didn't get over 25,000 words into this just to stop because of a year and a half of writer's block.