Author's Note: Ok, so here it is. Jesus, I went overboard with this one. Six thousand words!!! Well, that's good news, right? More for you guys to enjoy! Or downright hate....aw, I just made myself depressed....*sniff*. Help ease my depression with reviews please!!! More reviews equals more happiness, and rainbows, and unicorns, and, uh...yeah. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. That privilege belongs to the genius who created it: Rumiko Takahashi (Ohhh my god, let me just cut in to say something. She just began her newest manga, Kyoukai no Rinne!! It's amazing so far, of course. I mean, it was made by Rumiko Takahashi after all...). And I do not own The Legend of Zelda. That piece of downright epicness belongs to the great and godly Nintendo. 'K. Now read. :)
Chains. Everywhere around her, there were only chains, shackles, and more chains. A listless white glowed dully, encompassing everything. It reflected the blank, empty feeling she received as she opened her eyes.
"Where...am I?" Lia whispered.
She felt tired. No, such a casual word could not express the exhaustion she felt. She felt powerless, weak, as if there was no substance to her. She tried moving; she could at least do that much, right? But, as she willed her limbs to move, to shudder, to twitch, she found that she could not. It was then that Lia noticed the chains coiled tightly around her legs and arms, and all across her torso, pressing and biting into her flesh.
Lia inwardly cringed. She felt extremely uncomfortable. She wasn't in control of the situation. She wasn't in control of anything. As she was right now, in this space, there was nothing to call her own.
Her eyes snapped wide open in surprise as she felt something slithering across her ankle. She looked down to see a chain sliding across, and then levitating up, directly in front of her face. The very tip of it faced her, then...it distorted. The tip of the chain twisted, changed, morphed...until it became a face she knew very well.
She clenched her teeth, and tried to the same with her fists, until she remembered she couldn't at all because of the chains, which were still grinding into her soft flesh.
"Father..." she let out as another whisper.
Her father's tight, stern face grimly looked into her own.
"Vamalia."
"I told you...not to call me that."
"I believe it is my right to call my daughter whatever I wish to call her."
Lia tried to glare defiantly...but was just too exhausted.
"Your rights...don't mean shit. Rights are something you have to earn, Father."
"You think that means anything...coming from you, Vamalia? You, who we gave everything to, who we nurtured the best we could as parents, and still failed miserably at whatever she did? What makes you think you have earned or deserved anything at all in your pathetic life?"
Lia, despite her weakened form, still had the strength to venomously chuckle.
"'Gave everything to'? 'Nurtured'? After all this time, you still are determined in feeding me this crap? You cared nothing for me as a person. And if by 'nurtured', you instead mean that you pushed me to the edge of an abyss, working me like a slave, just to glorify your image as the hopeful parents of a prodigy of a daughter, then sure, you nurtured me plenty, all right."
Another chain snuck past Lia's form from behind her back, faced her, and changed as well, this time into a different face.
Lia bitterly smiled.
"Well, whaddya know...the whole gang's here. How do you do...Mother?" She sardonically said with a soft voice.
Her mother's face frowned.
"Do not speak like that to us. Learn your place."
"Now now, Margaret...no need to waste your breath on this failure of a daugher. I see that ever since we died, you've been as abysmal as ever."
Lia snorted.
"A fucking god would still be abysmal by your standards, Father. And you know what's really pathetic of you? If someone's parents die, their heart is supposed to be shattered, you know? Saddened so much, they would cry for weeks on end. Well, when you two died, I didn't feel a damn thing. Not a single tear went down either of my eyes. In fact, I felt relieved. You two weren't there to push me, to squeeze all the prestige out of 'till I was nothing but a hollow shell. I could finally lead a life of my own. Find my own identity, not strive to be some false prettied up little princess. You know, I've actually met a real princess? She's wise, elegant, kind...nothing like what you two were trying to make me be."
Lia's mother and father's faces were still stoic, the lines as deadened and pronounced on their faces as if a woodcarver had rougly gouged them in.
Lia took one look at them, and continued.
"Fake. That's all you two ever were, ever portrayed yourselves as, and ever pushed me to become."
Her father hissed out, "You were never anything, Vamalia, especially once we were gone. Without us, you can't make anything of yourself. WE were the only reason anyone even noticed you or considered you. WE were the only reason you had a decent life."
"Decent...? DECENT?!? Thanks to you two, I was a god-damned puppet!! I became happy, for probably the first time in my life, after you two died! Sure, I had no money, I was forced to steal, but for once, my spirit was my own, not forcibly molded into an imitation of some perfect little girl!!"
Lia's mother spoke.
"Perfect? Don't make us laugh. Even with our generous help and goading, you still failed at everything we put you to."
"I damn well did my best at everything you put me through!! Even if it was hard! Even if it was grueling! Do you know why? Because I wanted to please you; because you were my parents!! And I actually did pretty well at everything. But you two kept saying it wasn't nearly enough. That I was horrible at whatever I did. Do you know how badly I thought of myself?"
Lia looked down sadly.
"And...there was a time...that I loved you, as my parents. Before...when I was a child...you two were kind and loving. You embraced as your daughter once. I was happy in your care. So...." Lia's eyes swelled with tears.
"....what happened?"
Her father smirked a steely smile.
"Hmph. We just realized how useless it was to spoil you, that's all. That unless we did something, you would continue to be a failure. And even with what we did, you still are, after all these years."
Lia's eyes turned furious, and her mouth was set in a straight line.
"Well then...glad we cleared that up then. So, this is, always was, and will continue to be your true natures? Then...I'm thankful for what happened a year ago. I'm actually grateful to those demons and crazed beasts for attacking our settlement. Do you know how strange and awful for a girl to say that she's happy her parents were killed off by monsters...? I escaped and left you two behind in that burning house without a second thought! It's unnatural for someone to hate their parents this much...but I congratulate you; you two somehow managed it."
But her father seemed not to be listening.
"Hmm...let's list all the possible successes you've let slip through your fingers, shall we, Vamalia? In archery, you got third place in the entire competition. Third. We couldn't bear to even look anyone else at the magnitude of our daughter's failure after that. At school, you were ranked among the top ten...but not first. Swordsmanship...you came up some stupid style of your own you called unique...you wouldn't follow the teachings of the master swordsman we hired to teach you."
Lia defiantly and intensely stared at her parents, but at the same time tried not to let her tears fall.
"I wanted something to call my own."
"Yet, even with that supposed great style...you could not even win against some foreign boy who just randomly walked into our village. We became shamed beyond belief."
Lia's mother cruelly smiled.
"We should have forsaked such a useless daughter the minute we saw your inferiority."
Lia could not help it now. Her tears were falling freely, dropping onto the white, ethereal ground like stones.
"Why...? Why aren't I ever good enough for you?"
"You aren't good enough to be anyone's child. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise."
"No...shut up...you two are just psycopaths..."
"Do you really believe that? Don't blame your own inability to succeed on the parents who tried, in vain, to shape you into something even remotely acceptable. Someone like you can only be summed up in one word." Her father spat out in disgust.
Next to him, the chain with the face of Margaret, Lia's mother, spoke with a small, fake smile.
"A failure." She finished, with false sweetness laced into her tone.
Anguish filled Lia's heart as she looked into the unforgiving, cold expressions on her parents' faces. Her breath came out in gasps as that one word kept repeating inside her head.
Failure....failure....failure...
Lia's arms and legs fell limp as she stopped trying to resist against her physical and mental restrictions. The chains tightened to the point of leaving red gashes in her skin. Lia felt suffocated.
I can't take any of this anymore...Maybe I should just...give in. It's not worth it to fight anymore...
Her parents smirked.
"Finally, you have resigned yourself to your pathetic fate," her father stated, a tone of terrible triumph clear in his voice.
"Mistress...it seems they are not doing well."
"Hmm...it appears so..." She flashed a grin at Kazuma.
"But even if they don't, aren't they entertaining? I mean...their struggles...so extravagant. I almost feel satisfied just with seeing them squirm."
Kazuma hesitated.
"Y-Yes...Mistress. Of course."
"Oh, come on now, Kazuma. Don't sound so disappointed yet. They still haven't failed yet. All of them are still struggling. You never know exactly what might happen."
Her soft voice flowed like wind to Kazuma.
"I'm sure that you'll get your fight. He...isn't one to be trifled with."
"Of course. Thank you...Mistress."
Zelda panted as she sprinted across the field, her feet thumping dully against the grass.
This...what is this? This can't be happening...
Behind her was her kingdom. Her beloved kingdom of Hyrule. Burning to the ground. People were screaming, houses toppling, the entire town and castle being engulfed and consumed by fire and destruction.
Maniacal skeletal soldiers were cackling, mad with intent to slaughter and pillage. Creatures of all kinds ravaged everything within the boundaries of the walls.
Tears were falling behind Zelda and splattering to the ground. As she ran, her foot caught on a rock, and she tripped, causing her dress to become filthy with mud, and scrapes and bruises to appear on her face.
Zelda looked up. She had run into the forest, and fell into a clearing.
There was the sound of cool, running water, and the wind serenely caressed the trees. It felt strangely peaceful. Almost deceivingly so.
A gasp escaped from her lips as a rush of wind came and brought with it numerous white, gaseous substances. The substances flitted like smoke over to her, encircling her, and encompassing her in a whirlwind of white.
Zelda backed away into a tree. Then, her eyes widened in horror. The substances weren't gas. Zelda had looked closer, and saw that they had faces. Faces twisted with anger, hatred, sadness, regret, and agony.
The anguished spirits continued to swirl around her. They spoke words of hatred. They demanded redemption.
"Why did you let our kingdom fall, Princess?"
"We were all living in peace. Were you not determined to protect our peace at all costs?"
"Yet, when terror overruns our land, all vestiges of peace are now all but forgotten."
"Why is that, Princess? Why do you fail to keep safe all that we hold dear?"
"And why...do you run, like a coward?"
"You have a responsibility to your kingdom, yet you run like a dog with its tail between its legs."
Zelda tried to back away further, but her back had already been pressed into the tree trunk.
"No..." she whispered. "No...it's not like that...I-I tried...but what could I do? If I stayed, I w-would've gotten slaughtered..."
"Better to die like a devoted ruler than to survive like a worm."
"Please...there was nothing I could have..."
"You could have resisted. You could have fought for your people."
"I...I'm not perfect! I am a regular human being...I get scared just like any other human."
"You are not supposed to be a regular human!" the spirits spat. "Destiny has chosen you for the role as our leader. You are supposed to lead us to victory, and to peace. You are not allowed to feel emotions that impede that vision!!"
Zelda was frightened beyond belief, stricken with sorrow, and weighed down by guilt.
As she shivered with these emotions, the spirits continued their vengeful assault.
"Look at you...having all these feelings...like a normal person. You never were fit to be our princess. You are not special in any way. Here you reside as such an imperfect person..."
The harsh laughter of a skeleton soldier could be heard as it rode its bony steed towards Zelda. Enveloped with fear, Zelda screamed.
A scimitar swung through the air, cleaving down towards Zelda.
"...and it is here that you will die as an imperfect person."
"Mistress...why is he doing nothing?"
"Hmm...I wonder."
"At this rate, he will fail, and..."
"Calm down, Kazuma. Tell me, what do you think the result of failing this will be?"
"W-well, surely...their soul would be consumed in darkness...and they will lose sense of who they really are, right?"
"Now...that...I would find rather boring. Our lord put me in charge of this. And you know me, Kazuma. I always like to spice things up. Which leads to this having many possible conclusions."
"P-possible conclusions, Mistress? As in...you're not even sure what would happen?"
"Nah, I wouldn't really make it that out of my control. I would try to tweak things in my favor, of course. But yes, I believe this will be more unpredictable than anyone would first think," She smirked.
Kazuma worriedly gazed into the darkened sphere. He did know his mistress. A bit too well. And he hoped that things would not be "tweaked" to something out of their hands.
The last creature dropped to its knees as it was beheaded, the blood spurting upwards from the severed neck like a fountain.
Link turned around, his eyes of steel locked on his final prey. His hand gripping his blade tightly was stained crimson.
"Ganondorf...you will never learn. As long as I am here, your twisted plots will never succeed."
Ganondorf was slumped over, one knee on the ground, and his breathing came out in hoarse, gurgled gasps. However, even with the blood trickling in waves down from his mouth and dropping onto the ground, he managed a smirk.
"And...I suppose...that you think you have it any better than me?"
Confusion caused Link to crease his brow.
"Y-you think your fellow people are cheering for you...that the princess regards you with respect because of your bravado. Well...let me tell you...you are nothing but a tool. And......heh....a means to an end."
With that, Ganondorf collapsed onto the ground, his breathing slowing down to a stop.
Link looked at the dead body with hatred.
"Stop speaking nonsense. Like I will be deterred by empty words."
Link turned around, only to meet, face to face, with Zelda.
"Hello, Link."
"Oh, Zelda...wh-what're you doing out...?"
She ignored him, then walked past him to inspect Ganondorf's corpse.
"Hmm...very nice work. You have once again saved us from Ganondorf's oppression. I commend you for your consistency."
Link frowned.
"Consistency"? She's speaking of this as if it was a job. Why is she regarding it so casually?
"Th-thanks...I suppose..."
"However..." Zelda sighed as she swiveled around to face Link once more.
"It is most regrettable...but now that Ganondorf has died, we no longer require you, Link."
Link stumbled backwards.
"Wh-WHAT? What do you mean???"
Zelda smiled, and then her shape distorted, transforming into Midna.
Midna spoke.
"I mean that we have no further use of you, Link. So, unfortunately, we will dispose of you."
Midna casually bent down, and pryed the sword from Ganondorf's cold fingers.
"What? Midna...why? I-I thought that..."
"That you were more than just a tool to us? Well then, you were wrong, weren't you? After all...you were merely just..."
Link started to protest, but was cut off as Midna promptly thrust the blade into his chest.
Link mouthed blank words, as blood poured from his lips. His vision started to blur.
"...a means to an end." Midna stated with a bland smile.
Dan sat on the boulder with folded arms and closed eyes.
He opened them slowly to inspect his surroundings.
Darkness had swallowed everything up. All around the area where he sat, chaos and destruction churned up the darkened lands. Villages burning, terror enveloping every other living being. Creatures of such grotesque essence that people fainted at the mere sight of them.
Surrounding Dan were the three Goddesses, and they were speaking with spirited resonance.
However, Dan wasn't really concentrating on listening, so he only caught bits and pieces of it.
"...filled with only darkness, chaos, destruction....throughout your entire...."
"...never trusted, and...no light fulfilling..."
"...YOU were the one charged.... the blood-stained...in your..."
Dan then tuned them out completely, once again closing his eyes, this time deep in concentration.
Well. It appears that she has become better at this. Her manipulation of souls is done rather masterfully. But that means more trouble for us.
Dan started murmuring quietly to himself.
"Hmm...they are not doing well at all...." he sighed. "Well then...I suppose I'll have to lend a hand to each of them. Otherwise, this will not end well."
He opened his eyes, and a light started to circulate throughout his entire form. It shone brighter and brighter, until it shot upwards, into the blackened sky.
As it disappeared, Dan released a breath he was holding.
"That should do it. Although this leaves me with not enough energy to bypass this trap."
He smirked.
"Oh well. I wanted it this way anyway. After all..."
He remained still as the darkness and chaos from all around converged upon him, and swallowed him up.
"...integrating darkness was my original intent."
"Oh my."
"D-did he just LET himself fail???"
"It appears so...."
"M-Mistress....d-does this mean...?"
"Now, now. Hold your horses. You have to remember...the way I designed it is that they are each confronted with the darkness lurking within each of their hearts. The darkness is expanded until they are thrust into a situation that could cripple their soul with that darkness if they fail. But he......" She pursed her lips in thought. "It's as if he wanted us to expose to him to his own heart's darkness. Hmph. I really can't ever tell what he's thinking."
Kazuma paused, then became surprised.
"Mistress, what's happening?"
"Oh?" she giggled. "Now it's getting interesting. Finally. I expect no less from him."
Inuyasha panted as the three illusions (I mean, what else could they be? Inuyasha thought to himself in desperation) drew closer.
He moaned in internal agony, as his soul was seemingly ripped in two different directions.
What do I choose? H-How should I...? I mean...the jewel is here, in my hand....
The three illusions suddenly stopped. Inuyasha looked up in confusion, and then narrowed his eyes.
"Are you an illusion too?" he said to the transparent, shadowy image of Dan shielding Inuyasha from the other three.
"In a way," he replied.
The phantom replica of Dan swiveled to face Inuyasha, staring into his amber depths with his own grey pupils.
"So...you are limited to only this?"
Inuyasha had a quizzical look.
"What?"
"'I asked if you are only limited to what you see before you. They are asking you to either turn human or demon. I am asking you if you are only limited to that."
"I-I don't know what you..."
"You don't, do you?"
Dan walked closer, until he was close enough to cover the other three illusions from Inuyasha's field of vision.
"Of course, those are the two obvious choices. Each would logically have its own benefits for you, at least, as they over there..." Dan stopped to jerk his thumb backwards, pointing at the other three. "...would say."
"But...was it not you who told me that one must just 'plough forward' regardless of what lies ahead?"
"W-well, I...."
"You should take your own advice. You think that, if and once you complete the jewel, you are bound by those two choices? To just commit yourself indefinitely, telling yourself to take one option or the other?"
Inuyasha's jaw hung slightly down, his brows furrowed.
"Do what you want to do. Look into your soul...and see for yourself what it is you should fight for now. At this moment, do you not have something important to protect?"
Inuyasha's eyes hardened, and his right hand floated over to grasp the hilt of Tetsusaiga.
"Do you know what it is that you want to do?"
"Yes. I do." Inuyasha replied.
"Then...just do it."
Dan's image dissipated into smoke, and was blown away by the wind.
Inuyasha smirked.
"Even for an arrogant bastard like yourself..."
Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, flourishing it as it enlarged.
"...you sure are annoying, Dan."
Inuyasha swung his fang downwards, and cleaved away the three fake images, and along with them, the entire world of corruption that his soul was inexplicably placed in.
Lia hung at her perch, suspended by twisting chains.
By now, she had almost given up. She was done.
I've...resigned myself? Hah...really now....
"I really have become nothing but a weakling..." Lia whispered softly.
"If this is all you can do, then what else could you be?"
Lia's head snapped up.
"D-Dan?"
Leaning against...nothing, was Dan, a small distance away, with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
"Wh-What're you...doing here?"
"Ask yourself that first."
"Well...I'm..." Lia trailed off.
Dan pushed off of the white space he was leaning on, and walked a few steps towards Lia.
"To have given up, already....Lia, I had a higher opinion of you. I believed you were stronger than this."
This got Lia angry.
"You be quiet. What could you possibly know about me?"
Dan smiled.
"Now that is the attitude I want you to take. Of course, you're right. It would be stupid to ask me or anyone else who Lia is. I know nothing about you. Who is the one person who should know you the best? There is no other answer except 'yourself'. That's why you should ask yourself whether or not something is right. Whether or not something is good enough."
Lia looked at Dan, and pondered exactly what he said.
"Remember, Lia? What I said before? 'Vigorously fight against destiny'. Do not let destiny, or anyone else for that matter, decide and control your fate. If they insist on restricting you, well, there is a simple answer. Un-restrict yourself. You think that in this place, you have nothing? You have your beliefs, your ideas, your causes of fighting. Put simply, you have yourself. As your own person."
Lia gazed softly in Dan's direction. Then "hmphed" and turned away.
"Hah. You think that you've become some inspirational force? Some all-knowing sage that'll 'purify my soul' or whatever? As usual, you're still so full of yourself, Dan."
But, as she said this, Lia could not help a serene smile from tugging at her lips.
Then her face turned unsure, and she asked, for confirmation, "S-so...Dan...am I...okay as I am? I'm not a...failure?"
Dan rolled his eyes.
"I have never met anyone with such ill-concealed low self-esteem. And if you listened to me earlier, you should realize that it does not matter what I think about you."
But as Lia's eyes looked at him hopefully still, Dan continued.
"...but...if it really will help...you turned out....adequate. For a mortal, at least."
Lia's face broke out into a sincere smile.
"Thank you, Dan."
Dan once again rolled his eyes, then proceeded to walk away.
"You don't need me here anymore, right?"
"I'll...be fine. I can handle it myself, now."
"You should have done so from the very beginning. Stupid girl."
Lia ignored the insult, and called out, "Really, you'd better accept this gratitude! 'Cause I sure won't be thanking you again anytime soon!"
Dan merely raised a hand and waved it at her lazily from behind his back, before fading off into the blank white distance.
Lia sighed, then closed her eyes.
"Now then, I'd better get this over with."
A bright, shining light emitted from Lia's still form, encompassing everything from the shackles and chains, to the surrounding white, which dulled in comparison to Lia's immense surge of a pure, clear light.
"It's time...to stop screwing around." Lia whispered, before the world of chains eroded away in the light shining so brightly that it seemed as if it was sent directly from the gods.
Zelda had closed her eyes. When nothing had impaled or mutilated her, she tentatively opened an eye. This caused her to widen both her eyes in surprise.
Dan had somehow materialised right before her, and blocked the curved blade with his bare hand. He casually flicked his other arm at the skeleton, causing it scream and disintegrate.
"Dan...you...what's going on?"
Dan looked at her, then turned his entire body around to face her as well.
"That really depends on you. It's not as if I have any control of this place."
"What? Then...that means that I do?"
Dan turned, looked at the swirling corrupted spirits for a moment, and then gazed off into the distance.
"There are hordes of them coming. I cannot handle that many," As if on cue, Zelda suddenly noticed the army of skeleton soldiers galloping on their skinless steeds towards them from the castle.
"Therefore...by the time they get here...we must settle this."
"Settle...?"
"Zelda. Are you scared?"
"Wha...?"
"Do not make me repeat myself. Are you or are you not scared of...all this?" Dan carelessly waved his hand behind him at the chaos engulfing Hyrule, and at the dense, swirling fog of corrupted spirits.
Zelda stared in fear at the spirits, evidently too apprehensive to speak, lest more harsh criticism be thrown at her as a result.
Dan sighed.
"Do not make this too difficult, because it isn't supposed to be. Well, at least it is obvious that you are indeed scared. Look, you are even too scared to say that you are too scared. Of course you are scared. Do you know why?"
Zelda miserably nodded.
"Because I am weak...and undeserving."
Dan frustratingly put his hand to his head and muttered to himself quietly.
"Tch, I know that this is supposed to weaken the soul...but of all the mortals the Goddesses put me with, why did they have to choose the five most...emotionally sensitive? Or maybe all mortals are just...what was the word they used...'emo'? They are just so...easily depressed. To the point of stupidity."
Dan then looked impatiently at Zelda.
"No, it is not because you are weak and undeserving. It is because you are mortal. I stress the fact that it is alright for all mortals to feel despair, fear, anger, because it is normal for them. It is not alright for them to feel sorry for themselves or just break down in depression. It is completely pointless and accomplishes nothing. To this day, I still cannot fathom that aspect of you people."
Zelda hesitantly stood up.
The soldiers were getting too close.
"Do you understand? It doesn't matter if you are a princess or lord or revered emperor. It makes no difference, as you are all mortal. To me at least, all mortals have that easily exploited weakness. That they can feel."
Dan walked closer to Zelda and glared.
"And then...do you know what separates the better mortals from the weaker ones? They acknowledge the fact that they are scared or jealous or whatever emotion they feel is dragging them down...and they conquer it. They do not let one emotion take over them and dictate their actions."
The soldiers had reached them. They were wildly swinging their blades at Zelda, but for one reason or another, they could not hit her. Their blades met ground and trees, and they thudded onto boulders with a clang, but they just could not hit Zelda.
Zelda's quivering lip had stabilized by now. The corners of her mouth lifted with a hesitant smile.
"I...yes, you're absolutely....correct. I'm sorry, Dan, to appear so weak and helpless."
Dan tutted.
"There you go again. Expecting yourself to not be weak or helpless. Basically, expecting an impossibility."
Zelda still merely smiled. She looked all around her, past the shrubberies, meadows, and grounds, to the skies above, and the horizon in the distance.
"So...I am trapped within my own fear?"
"...Rather, you are trapped within the fear that you succumbed to your fears."
"Oh. Of course. I am afraid of not living up to my role."
Dan glared harder.
"Is talking all a princess does? Get on with it."
"Of course. I apologize."
Amidst all the destruction, amidst the hordes of cackling skeleton soldiers, amidst all the chaos and the fires, Zelda shone as a single beacon of light. The golden glow stretched outward from her body to become the head of an arrow, which shot up immediately and dispersed the dark clouds above.
Dan nodded, sighed "finally", and faded in smoke.
The light had spread to everything by now, with Zelda in the center.
Have I...defeated my doubts?
"No," she whispered. "It's more like I have ascended above them."
The pain he felt was indescribable. He could literally feel his heartbeat slowing down as blood pumped from the gaps in between the edges of the sword and the edges of the hole it made in his chest. Every time he breathed, more blood would spurt out of his mouth, staining his lips dark red.
His heart was wretching, both from physical pain, and internal pain.
"Wh-....Why, Mid...na?"
Midna blinked.
"Did I not just tell you the reason? Don't take it personally." She grinned, but there was no warmth behind it.
So...I was only...a blade to be sharpened, honed...and in the end...thrown away.
"At least...in the end...Midna...I....got to see....you."
Just as Link was about to close his eyes for the final time, however, a hand shot out of nowhere, to grasp the middle of the blade. It did not relinquish its steely grip, as the owner of the hand spoke.
"Do not even think to fool yourself into believing that what you see in front of you is the real Midna."
Link hesitated, then turned his head to gaze upon the new arrival.
"D...Dan..."
Dan's eyes turned as hardened as his iron grip.
"I thought that you of all people would at least be able to be rational and sort this out calmly on your own. Evidently, I should learn to not expect too much from mortals."
Link let out a laugh.
"But...Dan...you heard them. I would...no sooner...throw my life away...than let down my kingdom. It's...just as they say. I'm...useful...as nothing but a...tool." Link's breaths were coming out in short, hoarse gasps now, his voice getting weaker.
Dan gritted his teeth in annoyance and anger.
"Obviously...I mistook 'weakness' for 'rationality'. Hmph. Well, I believe I'm going to have to try a different tactic for this one," he spat out.
With that, Dan swiftly pushed Midna away, causing the sword to immediately plunge outwards, out of Link's stomach. A great fountain of blood spurted out, causing Link to cough with greater force.
Dan ignored Link's pain, drew back, curling his hand into a fist, and promptly punched Link square in the jaw, causing him to fall backwards.
Link temporarily forgot his anguish to look up at Dan with shock.
"Have you woken up yet?"
Link placed his hand delicately on his cheek, where a bruise formed. He stared at Dan with a peculiar expression.
"I clearly misjudged your character, thinking that you were strong, if this is how you choose to accept things."
Link slowly stood up, and looked at the blood pooling onto the ground.
"Link, in order to really have strength, you must remember what it is that drives you to do what you do. Do you fight for the sake of being useful? Of being a tool? Think, and remember what it is you really brave all these dangers for."
Link looked away in frustration.
"I...I...I fight for...my people. Hyrule needs me...to protect it."
He clenched his fists.
"And then...you must remember what it is you need to be strong for in the first place. Are you strong for Midna? Or Zelda?"
"That's...part of it. But...I have to be strong, so that I can see clearly, with my own eyes..."
"See what?" Dan inquired, coaxing Link further.
"See that....my country is safe."
By now, Link's wound seemed to have no effect on Link. Blood was still dripping, but Link stood firm and spoke clearly, un-impeded.
Dan was already beginning to fade away.
Hm. My energy has already run dry. I...most likely cannot assist anyone else.
However, before he could vanish, Dan continued to speak.
"Therefore...it is your own desire to protect that makes you fight. Not Zelda's desire, or Midna's, or the kingdom's, but yours. You want to do this, regardless of what anyone else may think. So this destiny of yours, as the Hero of Twilight, is fulfilled, only..."
Link finished for him.
"Because I want it to."
And with that, Link morphed into his wolf form, and let out a snarl of ferality.
Everything melded together, with Link being pinpointed at the center. Dan had already gone. A blue light shone through all the empty space left vacant, and along with it, a spirited howl resounded, sounding as if it could penetrate through someone's very soul.
The woman shrouded in black "tsked".
"Well, this certainly is a peculiar turn of events. Can't say I didn't expect it, what with it being him and all."
Kazuma continued to stare at the orb.
"Mistress...what happens now? I cannot be sure...everything is rather...confusing."
"Oh, don't worry your li'l head about it, Kazuma. Everything will become clear soon. After all...."
She got up from her chair, and proceeded to walk out of the dark room.
"...this is where the real fun begins."
Author's Note: Haaaahahahah! Okay. So, was that the longest chapter ever, or what? Well, by my standards, it pretty much is. I mean, 6,000 something words! Yeah, um, a lot of it might seem rather repetitive and doesn't flow well because of just going to one trial to the next repeatedly, which causes it to be this immense monster of a chapter, but I really felt as if I didn't want to drag it out any further. I really want to get to the next, important parts of the story, and even if I didn't, well...I feel that if I broke this part into more chapters, it just wouldn't work out well. So, in the end, I decided that it would be for the best to just smush all of this into one chapter. If you don't like it, you'll have to deal. Come on, look at the bright side. I mean, because of that, you get to read this huge-ass chapter! I mean, what an update, right? And, yes, there is school in Hyrule in my story. I mean, come on, I'm pretty sure Hyrule would have an education system. That's my interpretation, at least. And I most certainly did not forget Kagome. Of course I wouldn't. There's a reason for everything, so just patiently wait for the next update! Or impatiently, doesn't matter. Wow, this is dragging on for too long. 'K, well, hope you enjoyed.
Random quotation of the day:
"My voice gives me super strength!!!"
"Oh yeah, well, my hair allows me to defy GRAVITY!!!"
Meh, not exactly, but definitely along those lines. Stay tuned!!