Anonymous-Chapter18-(10-31-2012):I'm glad you picked up on that. It will come back later in the next story.
Without further ado, here is your chapter.
Link leapt across the broken drawbridge, stumbling slightly as he landed on the opposite side.
Sweat was pouring down his face and neck. The fingers of Link's left hand were slick, but they maintained a death grip on his sword. Before that skeletal thing had somehow managed to spirit Link's sword away from him.
But not now, not this time.
If Link lost his sword during this fight, either he would die, or Malon would…
No, that wouldn't happen. Link wouldn't lose his sword.
Running straight ahead into the courtyard, Link saw the scattered horde of redeads milling about. He remembered his first day in this adult body. How he had been scared, guilty, depressed, confused, and all around in a bad place. But then he had met Malon and she had pulled him out of it.
Link couldn't lose her.
"Malon!" Link bellowed, breaking the ominous silence and drawing the attention of the redeads. Part of him hoped that she would just appear safe and sound beside him. Then they could just walk away and return to the ranch.
But she didn't appear, so Link screamed her name again.
A flash of sudden movement caught Link's eye. It was the crow, landing on a windowsill of one of the destroyed buildings.
That must be where they were. Link dodged around the restless corpses and into the marked building. The air was stale and the light was dim. Being filtered through the dust filled air gave it a dusky appearance.
"Malon! Where are you?" Link shouted, hearing his voice echo throughout the ruins.
There was a muffled noise from the second story. After a frantic search, Link found a decrepit spiral staircase and started climbing. Several of the steps were missing and long gone, leaving Link to jump over the empty spot.
Soon he had reached the origin of the sound, and found himself standing alone in a room. Aged pictures covered the walls, some had been torn away or otherwise ruined. But others were still in decent condition. Most of them showed a young boy and what was probably his mother. One showed the boy alone playing with a dog.
A few children's toys were scattered across the floor. A few block covered in mold and dust, a grey and peeling Keaton mask. In the center of the room was a pile of bleached white bones. After a quick and nervous examination, Link decided that the bones were truly dead and would not reanimate.
The growling caw of the crow sent a chill of Link's spine and caused him to turn around in a hurry. Behind him stood the skeletal thing. Only it was somehow different from what he had seen the last time. Where there had been fingers before, the thing's left hand held a set of five curved claws. The teeth that had once seemed human were now pointed and disturbingly canine.
Behind him lay Malon. She was unconscious, as if under some kind of spell.
Link held his sword with two hands, preparing to attack or defend at a moment's notice.
"What do you want?" Link demanded, his voice deliberately flat as to not betray any sign of fear.
Link heard the sound of bone grating on bone, and the complaining creak of aged joints that moved though they shouldn't.
"You… are a… Theif!" The menacing voice growled, suddenly lunging at Link and clawing at him with the oversized talons.
Link stepped back, avoiding the attack but still feeling a sick sense of dread emanating from the creature.
"W-what are you?" Link asked, his voice wavering for a moment before he took control again.
The thing laughed, and it felt like icy nails in Link's spine. "A little boy, barely alive. I am a creation of yours, might as well be my father. Hello daddy, I'm your son and you made me and you made me a monster!"
Another attack, but this time its terrifying claw dug thin furrows into Link's thigh as he tried to avoid the attack.
As the creature's icy bone touched Link's flesh, an image popped into his head. A memory, of something he might've seen before, just not from this perspective. Someone else's memory.
I looked up at my mother. Behind her the sun was shining. In the corner of my eye I saw a dog running past us. There couldn't possibly be a single cloud in the sky. Beyond my mother, I see a little girl holding her father's hand as they stroll through the courtyard of Castle Town. A cool sweet breeze stirred my hair, pushing it into my eyes. My mother's hand gently swept it back out of my eyes and she smiled at me. I smiled back at her. I saw a white horse riding past us. It was so big I could hardly believe it. I saw two people on its back, one was a little girl and the other was older, though I couldn't tell how old.
Link snapped back to the present. The thing was coming for him again. With a reflexive snap of his wrist, Link knocked its claws aside and jumped away from the skeleton. Whatever this was, it had some kind of grudge against him.
Taking the offensive, Link struck out quickly against the skeleton. It seemed to slip around his assault and wrap its hand around his wrist.
Before Link had time to react he was plunged back into a sunny day of the past.
Even as I watched the sky filled with clouds. Dark angry things that seemed ready to throw down lightning and rain and all sorts of unpleasant things. I pointed to them, trying to show my mother that it was going to rain soon, that we should probably head inside. Looking up, my mother let out a sigh of shock and scooped me up in her arms. She started running, her breath coming in quick fearful gasps. Her worry seeped into me and before we had gone two feet I felt tears of fear welling up in my eyes. What could scare my mother so badly? And whatever it was, I should probably be scared of it too. From my place at my mother's shoulder, I could see other people running. Frantically heading for houses, alleys, the field. Anywhere but the town square. Suddenly the sound of laughter cut through the air, freezing my blood and sending chills up my spine. My mother started to run faster, her fear obvious. She held me tightly and I leaned closer. As long as I was with her, nothing could get me.
Link fell backward and stumbled over some of the toys, dropping to the floor and feeling helpless. No, he couldn't let himself get dragged back into those memories, whoever they belonged to. Link saw the thing coming for him again, and rolled out of the way. He jumped to his feet and slashed the creature across the chest. Several ribs shattered and it recoiled in a flash of pain and fury.
"I never did anything to you!" Link shouted at the skeleton as it recovered itself and tried to regain its footing.
"Lies…" It groaned.
"No! It's the truth. And why would you bring Malon into this?" Link demanded, forgetting caution and stepping toward the downed creature.
"Returning the favor," It said chuckling, "You took what I loved."
Before Link could even comprehend what had been said, the claw wrapped itself around his ankle and an explicit memory flooded his mind.
"Where are you all going?" said a tall dark skinned man riding a jet black horse. Stepping up to one of the guards he asked, "Did you see the horse?" The guard took a solemn expression and shook his head. Obviously this was the wrong answer and some invisible force tore him away from the ground and tossed him into the fountain. I watched for a moment before my mother covered my eyes with her hand. "Did you see the horse?" I assumed that he was asking a second person. I assumed that they also answered inadequately. A wet sounding crunch resonated through the courtyard. The voice asked again, and again I heard something terrible happen. If I could censor my ears the way my mother killed my sense of sight, I would. "What about you? You there, with the kid in your hands. Have you seen the horse?" Who was that, I wondered. Who could he be talking to now. I felt my mother shake her head slowly. I felt something powerful and unseen come between my mother and I, tearing us apart and sending me flying to the ground. I opened my eyes just in time to see a large cart come flying toward me. It landed atop me and held me against the ground with all its immense weight. Within moments I found I couldn't move at all. I started to scream, feeling terrified and isolated.
Link found that he had dropped to his knees. His hands were on the floor in front of him. His sword was lying flat on the ground in front of him.
"Now I'm going to kill her."
Link felt himself stop breathing. His hand flew toward the sword and he started to pull himself into a standing position.
He lunged toward the skeleton standing in front of him, standing near Malon. Striking with all the strength he had, Link severed the vicious claw from the skeleton's arm. Link saw the glowing red eyes burn brighter, presumably from pain.
Link hoped that it hurt.
He pulled the sword back again and stabbed it into the skeleton's chest, where the heart would be if it was alive. Its mouth dropped open, a wordless shriek emanating from between the bleached white canine teeth.
Suddenly it started to walk toward him, pulling the sword deeper within its chest. Link saw the hand flying toward his, but he wasn't fast enough.
The remaining bony claw wrapped around his.
I felt the cart pressing down on me, forcing me to stay still. From somewhere else I could hear my mother screaming. Just a few minutes ago the sun had been shining, why was it so cold now? With a terrifying sort of delight, the voice said, "No, that's all wrong. He can't see the show." Then it laughed. I felt the cart lift itself off me for a moment. Something moved me too. It sort of turned me so I could see my mother. She was standing all alone in one corner of the courtyard. She was crying. Why was she crying? I felt the cart reassert itself and I felt immense pain cutting deep into me. One of my arms was left free but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't move the cart. I felt tears stinging my eyes from both fear and pain.
Link opened his eyes and realized he was lying flat on his back. He felt some tears in his eyes, fear for his mother, fear of that man who was doing this all. And he wondered why this was happening to them.
Then he shook his head and wiped the tears away. That was someone else, some other time.
But Link knew who the terrifying man was. He knew who the people on the white horse were.
Ganondorf
Princess Zelda and Impa
The last people he had met before entering the temple of time and being sent here.
Then Link thoughts returned to the subject at hand. Malon! Where was Malon?
Link jumped to his feet, reaching for the sword as he did so. Looking around wildly, Link found that he was the alone in the room.
"No…" Link whispered, feeling his last hope die. Somewhere, that thing had taken her away. Somewhere she was probably dead. Link had had the chance to save her but he hadn't been able to. Link screamed, as loud as he could. He screamed out her name, and that he was sorry.
Finally when he was out of breath and dropped to his knees. Link saw something on the floor in front of him. The blocks that he had noticed earlier were arranged carefully in front of him. Each block had a number or a letter on it. They spelled out a phrase.
7 DAYZ
SAM RO0M
She was still alive. Link rejoiced that she was okay. That his weakness hadn't harmed her. Malon was okay, and Link still had a chance to save her.
Nothing would stop him this time.
Malon was going to be okay because Link would allow nothing else.
The next time Link saw that skeleton, he was going to cut its head off and crush it beneath his boot.
If that killed it, the skeleton would be lucky.
Link put his sword away and started to leave the room, but froze when he heard the sound of beating wings behind him.
Was it the crow? Had it come back early along with the skeleton?
Turning quickly toward the window, Link saw a sight he dreaded.
That owl from his childhood, Kaepora Gaebora.
"You were given a second chance, "it said, "And you may have thrown it away. Have you forgotten the carnage? The deaths that you caused? You wasted your time with that girl before and Hyrule fell because of it. This time the fate of the world hangs in the balance. I cannot let you make such a devastating choice twice."
"I'm doing what you told me to!" Link growled. "There's only two more temples and two more sages. Are you saying that saving a life is a waste of my time?"
"One life or all of them. That is the choice you have."
"Dammit! It's not a choice! I can do both! I am doing both!" Link shouted.
"You fool, you've forgotten haven't you. You thought you could do this before but it resulted in death. Don't you remember? Maybe I need to show you again."
"What?' Link started to say but he was cut off. He felt the air around him grow cold and thin. He couldn't breathe. Link struggled to take a breath. He couldn't move either. Couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Link tried to scream but found he couldn't do that either.
Within a moment it was over, and Link picked himself up off the cobblestones of the Castle Town courtyard. Beside him the fountain gurgled with the splashing of water. The sun was shining overhead.
Link felt a voice inside his head, "You won't die. But everyone else will. And you will remember your duty."
Link saw a white horse bearing Impa and the princess rush past him.
Overhead the sky started to fill with dark clouds.