Alrighty, guys, let's rejoin our heroes back in the castle!
What will they encounter next? Will they be able to overcome their next test?
I present to you, chapter twenty-eight! :D
Chapter 28 – Blue
Darkness was continuing to close in further and further on the Four Links, despite the determined glow from Green's torch as they pressed on through the passageway. Though they had entered it filled with hope and determination, the further on they walked, the more and more their spirits began to sink. The tunnel through which they had pressed on, on the other side of the broken-down door, continued to lead on and on, with no end- nor stairs- in sight.
Green's eyes narrowed once more in frustration as he lifted his torch out in front of him, the flames still unable to light the entity of their passageway. Still, up ahead… all they could see was darkness.
"Argh! This is so stupid! We've been walking in this tunnel forever!" Blue suddenly snapped, his frown curling across his face in disgust as his hands balled together, his fury mounting by the minute. "Where are the damned stairs? We should have reached them by now!"
"Blue, it's entirely possible that Ganondorf changed parts of the layout of the castle," Vio said with a sigh as he shook his head, looking briefly over his shoulder at the other two Links who were walking behind them. His gaze turned back ahead as he looked after their leader and his torch. "All we can do is press forward until we reach the next area."
Blue sighed as he crossed his arms angrily, shaking his head in impatience.
A weak smile came over the face of his friend, and Red reached out an arm to Blue's shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, Blue!" he piped cheerfully, "I'm sure we'll reach the end, soon. After all, all tunnels gotta end somewhere, right?"
"Guys!" Green suddenly snapped, just barely cutting off the end of Red's sentence by a hair as his eyes widened, piercing through the dim light his flame was sending out in front of him. "I think I see the exit!"
With an excited cheer, the Links increased their pace dramatically, boldly running through the last stretch of the tunnel to come barreling out of the entrance, excitedly spilling out into the next room. Finally, they were out of that god-forsaken passageway… but… where were they now? This was question they each asked themselves as they stood in the center of the large, darkened room, looking around them to try and decipher their new surroundings.
"I… I don't remember this being part of the castle," Red found himself whimpering as he shied closer to the others, his eyes looking up at the enormous room. It looked like a room befitting a god… massive pillars held up the incredibly tall ceiling in a circular pattern around the edges of the room, and the walls themselves looked crumbled and broken, like they had been smashed with a heavy object. Large chunks of rock and rubble lay scattered around the room.
Green's eyes narrowed as he lowered his torch, instead reaching towards his blade. "It wasn't…" he found himself muttering as he continued to look around him, the light of his guide unable to illuminate more than a few feet in front of the Links.
Suddenly, from the depths of the dark room around them, the entire floor shook with a mighty thump, a loud crashing sound echoing out across the heavy, half-shattered stone walls around them. The Links, startled, grabbed their swords as they tried to keep their balance on the shaking floor… And slowly, a loud rumbling sound began to echo from their backs…
Blue whirled around, his eyes wide. "G-Guys, get out of the way!" he roared suddenly, turning around as he pushed the other three Links forward and onto the ground. The four heroes fell to the ground, the breath knocked out of them- just in time to narrowly avoid a massive, cascading avalanche of rock and stone which fell across the entrance which the Links had only just come from. The massive chunks of stone pounded the ground, sending the heavy vibrations once more through the room, and piled on top each other… Effectively sealing the entrance through which they had just entered through a solid wall of rock.
Green struggled to his feet as he also struggled to catch his breath after the terrifying encounter, and looked frantically around him. "Everyone okay?" he shouted loudly, his eyes darting around to make sure the others had also been safely pushed from the falling rocks. A small part of him breathed easy as he noticed the other three heroes also getting to their feet- perhaps shocked and bruised, but more or less unharmed.
"What was that? A landslide?" Vio gasped as he regained his footing, looking around them swiftly. "There was that large vibration on the floors, and then…"
The hero trailed off as his eyes finally settled on the dark shadow which had emerged from the darkness of the room, slowly approaching the heroes- each footstep it making sending tremors through the shaky, rubble-littered floor. His heart sank in an instant as a cold chill ran through his body- and, with wide eyes, the four heroes looked up at the massive giant which stood over them all.
A horrible sneer was the first thing crossing the hideous face of the giant as it looked down at the bugs of children which stood in his path. His shoulders were hunched over, the tops of them mere inches from hitting the tops of the high ceiling, and his head loomed down over the heroes, his hungry eyes looking at them with a hint of insanity gleaming in his eyes. In his hand he grasped firmly a large, medieval club, which itself was strewn with blunt, yet horrid-looking spikes.
Once more, the crooked grin of the giant grew on his disgusting mouth, his grubby, filthy hands lifting high and clenching the handle of his club. With another roar of fury and insanity, the giant swung his colossal weapon against the nearest pillar- and, like a pile of pebbles, the massive, study pillar shattered under the might of his weapon, splitting clean in two as giant chunks of rock rained down from the sky.
"SHIELDS UP! NOW!" Vio practically screamed as he noticed, within an instant, that hail of stone falling all around the Links. Wasting not a second of their precious time, each of the heroes instantly grabbed their shields, ducking low as they crowded together, lifting their shields upwards above their heads.
The four heroes grit their teeth and gasped as they summoned all their might to hold up their shields together, ducking under the large umbrella of steel they created overtop them and gasping as the rocks pelted them from above, shaking their grip on their shield and forcing the heavy load on their arms. The Links looked at each other, their eyes wide and almost helpless, as they bore through the seemingly endless rain of boulders which crashed down upon them- the shields were doing their jobs, protecting them from the pelting and slamming rocks, but they could only keep their grips on their shields for so long before the force of each falling boulder wrenched their shields clean off their hands.
However, the pillar eventually ran out of rocks to rain, and, with a giant empty space in between it, it now seemed like a duo of a stone stalagmite and stalactite, hanging from the air and reaching for the other half of its entity, but unable to clear the massive space of rock lost in the giant's mighty blow against it.
Blue was the first to stand, wasting not a time as he gasped, thrusting the rocks off his shield and jumping upwards, raising high his shield as he looked at the Giant which stood laughing over the four. Blue's burning eyes blazed in fury at the moronic creature which was delighting in toying with them… His foot alone was the size of a house, his club the size of two- if he wanted to, it would be more than easy for him to squish them like a bug. But, no… the stupid creature instead laughed deeply, the crazy glint returning in his eyes. He was playing with them…
"We… we can't beat this thing, guys," Green gasped as he struggled to his feet, helping the staggering Red regain his balance and looking frantically at Blue and Vio. "We have to get away! That thing's bigger than anything we've ever seen! And there are so many pillars here that he can just keep breaking down… If we try and stand and fight it…"
"Well, where, then, do you suggest, we run off to?-!" Blue roared in anger as he returned the stare of the giant, though his own hands were shaking against his sword and shield as he looked up at the atrocious opponent. He didn't like the idea of running, but even he wasn't going to be an idiot- the beast was the largest thing he had ever seen, possibly the largest thing in existence, and he would be a fool to actually want to face off against it. "In case you didn't notice, we're trapped!"
"No- guys, look!" Red shouted as he struggled to his feet, his scratched and battered face lighting up as best it could as he pointed to behind the Giant. The others followed their friends' gaze… and their eyes snapped open as well. On the far side of the room, a small hint of light peeked out through the darkness. In the last two landslides, a small avalanche of its own must have been created across the walls, and a passageway had opened up on the opposite side. It wasn't much, but still- it was a way out.
"Get to that tunnel!" Green shouted, his eyes narrowed in determination and his hand gripping on his shield. He looked sharply around at the others as they nodded and charged forward, keeping a fearful, yet careful watch on the Giant as they attempted their escape.
The Giant watched, almost amused, as the little children scattered around his feet like cockroaches. Once more, the hideous, twisted smirk danced across his hideous face, and he turned around to face them as they ran for the exit. Laughing grotesquely, the Giant lifted his large, loathsome foot, casting a great shadow over the four fleeing children as he slowly began to bring it down…
Blue, the furthest behind the group as they ran, looked behind him, his eyes wide, upon seeing the shadow descend upon them. His breath caught in his chest, and he stopped immediately, his teeth gritting as sweat beaded down his forehead. Slowly, he put his shield back on his back- and, in the same simple motion, brought out the long strand of rope, gripping the handles in his fist as he reached down to the rubble-decorated floor with his other hand.
"Leave my friends alone!" Blue roared furiously as he swung his own shoulder around in a circle behind him, letting the ends of his sling snap as the small pebble loaded in its pouch lurched from the force of his mighty swing.
The small pebble instantly transformed into the large boulder Blue was so familiar with, and it flew sharply upwards into the air, shattering instantly into millions of pieces of rock as it collided with the underside of the Giant's bare foot. The result was instantaneous, and Blue watched with wide eyes at the scene which unfolded in front of him.
Caught off-guard by the small child he could hardly see under the shadow of his own foot, the Giant's eyes flew open and he cried out in his deep, twisted voice, his balance thrown off with the sudden force against his lifted foot. His arms swung around madly beside him, but it was not enough- and, with a large grunt, the gargantuan beast tumbled backwards, his back slamming hard against one of the pillars and his backside lurching to the ground. The pillar instantly shattered under the weight of the fallen Giant, and the massive boulders of broken rock fell all around him. But it was not the rocks from the broken pillar which caught Blue's attention- but the rocks above.
The entity of the pillar shattered, the Giant looked up as an inarticulate moan escaped his mouth… and, with a loud cry of pain, he winced, bringing his hands up to his head as large pieces of the ceiling began to fall upon his head and shatter upon harsh impact with the ground, so far away. Blue's eyes flew up towards the chunks of rock which seemed to be falling from the sky- where the pillar had once been, now a large crack was split across the ceiling, chunks of the roof falling down around the Giant's fallen form.
Instantly, Blue whirled around as he looked for the others. The passageway was beginning to crumble as the vibrations from the Giant's fall reached the other side of the wall, and Green and Vio were helping the smaller Red through the elevated passageway, hurrying as best they could before the tumbling rocks once more sealed them in with the terrible monster. Lifting Red into the tunnel, Green then stuck out his hands as Vio stepped up on them, leaping swiftly into the cave. The other then turned around, holding down his hands to help the third Link up and into the exit.
However, as Vio bent down to offer his hands to Green, his eyes looked upwards- and flashed in realization. "B… Blue!" he gasped, looking up towards the Link, who stood nearly in the middle of the room from when he had stopped and attacked the Giant. Green whirled around to where Vio had been calling.
"Blue, what are you doing? We need to get out of here, come on!" Green shouted desperately as he turned back towards Vio, grasping his hands as he climbed up the rocky slope and into the exit.
The Giant, shaking his head as the rubble ceased to fall from the sky, brushed off his shoulders with his massive hands, pushing himself back up to his feet and looking down at him with a furious sneer. Once more, he took another step back towards the Links, clenching his club back in his hands as he raised it high over his head. The little pesky bugs knew how to fight back, huh? Well… he supposed, then, he'd have to play a little harder…
Blue took a few careful steps back, his eyes looking up warily at the recovered, approaching Giant. And yet… his eyes couldn't help but going up to the hole in the ceiling where the rubble had fallen on his head… Something… something was important here. Once more, he looked behind him as he heard his name called, seeing the other three Links standing in the exitway and calling out to him to hurry.
Once more, the Giant roared as he thrust his foot down on the tile, mere feet from Blue. The hero started backwards, rolling quickly off to the side at the impact- and his eyes went wide as pieces of rubble once more fell from the damaged ceiling.
That… that was it!
Slowly, the blue Link began to calm himself, taking deep breaths as he slowly once more got to his feet. After the attack from the Giant, he now stood only a few feet in front of the exit where the three Links were hiding. He looked back sadly at them- the exit was large enough for the Giant to follow them through. Even if they were able to escape… there would be no guarantee they would be safe from the monster's wrath. He… he knew what had to be done.
And slowly, the sad smile disappeared as he gave a bold, wry grin. He knew he had to buy time, to do this just right. Bending down, the hero once more scooped a pebble into his sling, and shot it out at the Giant. This time, however, the beast was ready for the attack, and quickly raised a hand, easily slapping away the massive boulder which flew at him. However, the deflected, giant mass of rock slammed against another, nearby pillar, and the rocks once more rained down upon the Giant's head. Roaring in fury, the ignorant brute turned his rage on the pillar, smashing it with his fists as if attempting to get it to stop attacking him.
This was his chance. Slowly, the Blue hero bent down and once more, carefully, chose a small piece of rubble to load into the pouch of his sling. The smile once more crossed his face… and he stood back up, his back facing the other Links.
"Heh… you guys… you'll be able to beat him… Ganondorf… without me… right?"
Only a few feet away from Blue, who was standing calmly facing away from them, Green and Vio looked at each other in surprise upon hearing Blue's words.
"Blue… what… what do you mean?" Green shouted, though his panic started to rise as he began to understand. "H-Hurry and get in here, the Giant's getting back up!"
Softly, Blue smirked as he looked half-way over his shoulder. "Yeah… you guys will. You're all strong, y'know- sometimes stronger than me, even if never admitted it before." He shook his head, looking up at the enraged Giant as he began to pick himself up. "But… you were right, Green- you won't be able to beat this guy. And… I won't let him chase you guys down." He smiled as he lifted his sling into his hands.
He… he's trying to sacrifice himself! Vio's mind instantly snapped into place as he realized what Blue was doing. "This is nonsense! Get in here, Blue! We… we're running out of time!" He tried to gasp as he began to take a step forward, grasping his sword.
"We won't let you stay behind alone!" Green shouted angrily as he, too, gripped his sword and took a step forward, ready to jump down and out of the passageway to help his friend.
"Heh… I had a feeling you'd say that." Blue smiled as he tucked his chin. "Sorry, guys… It's the only way. You'll… you'll forgive me… won't you?"
"F… Forgive you?" Red whimpered, having been listening to the conversation but his heart too heavy to speak, until now. He was almost too afraid to ask… but his eyes grew wide as he dared. "For what…?"
Once more, Blue quietly chuckled, grasping tightly the handles of his sling as he tried to hide the hurt in his eyes. "I… I had fun, guys… thanks…" A split second after he spoke, the Blue hero whirled around, the sling high above his head as he whipped it sharply across his shoulders, the end snapping as he let it go and let the pebble fly high above him. The boulder connected sharply with the wall above the passageway, and, instantly, the wall shattered as the rock made contact with the stone. And, just as Blue had expected it… he watched with a small, yet grim smile, as the rocks began to tumble downwards, creating a waterfall of stone between him and the open passageway.
"NO! BLUUUEEEE!" Green yelled, his eyes wide in fear as he tried to jump forward before the rockslide completely closed them off- but as he leapt forward, he was a split second too late- and his fists connected sharply against a solid wall of rubble, the last stone slamming into piece as it blocked away the final shred of light from the wide, tall room.
The cries of his friends were instantly silenced by the cascading wall of rocks which blocked the exit, effectively sealing them away and out of the harmful path of the Giant. Blue smiled as he turned away, looking back at the Giant with a bold, unafraid grin. Already, he was getting up and rubbing his head, setting his sights back on the child who had now twice made him into a fool.
"Alright, you bastard," he hissed with a fearless grin as he faced off at the Giant. "It's just you and me now." Their eyes locked against each other in a furious, intense gaze.
"Let's roll."
Infuriated once more by the insolent bug's words, the Giant roared as he tramped forward, slamming his feet on the ground with each step as he swiftly approached the boy. With a loud yell, the Blue hero once more slung his weapon over his shoulder, sending the pebble-turned-boulder flying up towards the Giant.
Learning from the past two mistakes, the Giant blinked and instantly ducked to the left, watching as the boulder missed him by almost a mile, instead flying harmlessly over his shoulder. Instantly, he looked back at the hero, laughing cruelly at the missed attack. However, before he could take another step forward, an incredibly loud crashing sound shook the entire room, followed by a deep rumbling as another pillar met its demise behind him, the rocks crumbling to the ground.
"What, you think I missed?" Blue smirked confidently, crossing his arms smugly. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Giant… he knew what he'd done… but… he was ready for it. It was the only way, after all… and he watched with triumphant eyes as the panicked Giant whirled around him, realizing just what Blue had done.
The pillar-down count had climbed past the ceiling's breaking point, and rapidly, cracks were beginning to split the ceiling like lightning, the cracks in the roof spreading all around the ceiling. Already, chunks of the roof were already beginning to plummet precariously down to the floor. The Giant's eyes grew wide as he finally understood what was happening:
The entire ceiling was about to collapse.
Frantic, the Giant ignored the boy as he instead ran around in quick, tight circles, pounding against the wall and roaring as he desperately tried to find an exit from the trapped room. More boulders falling from the roof began to strike him, and he began to stumble as the chunks of roof fell down upon him…
Slowly, Blue began to back up against the wall, his sling carefully pocketed away as his eyes looked upwards at the caving-in roof as he took slow, deep breaths to keep himself calm. It wouldn't be long now… until the entire roof came crashing down on them. But, it didn't matter anymore… it would bring the impossible enemy down. The others… they'd be safe. Once more, Blue smirked as he looked at the panicking Giant. And before the walls finally came crashing down, spilling its mountain of rock throughout the room, Blue cocked one last grin as he spoke triumphantly underneath his breath.
"… You lose."
Bwahaha! Looks like I'm back to my old, evil cliffhanger self, no? ;)
Oh no! What's going to happen to Blue? Has he really doomed himself in the collapsing room? What about Green and the others, now trapped behind the wall?
Find out what happens to the heroes in tomorrow's chapter, the last of the Links' tests- Chapter Twenty Nine: Green!
