Chapter 52: Behind the Deceit
~~~'Thou and thine comrades art in peril. Thou must stay strong, and pure. Thou must remember thine purpose to overcome the shadow that will take thee unawares.'
Those were the words the Great Deku Tree spoke to Link just before he learned of his destiny as Hyrule's Hero. He could not find meaning in what he meant by saying such, but then he became Dark Link and found meaning in the warning. But after all that had transpired before him, Link was beginning to believe that the warning went much deeper than that. It seemed as if the Deku Tree was trying to warn him of Uryan, Nid, and Eroraf's betrayal; a warning that was interpreted all too late.
Link's Ogenbard deflected the barrage of energy balls that careened at him. Uryan aggressively continued his offensive against Link, trying to find a way to land an off-guard hit. Link began expertly turning aside the attack when Eroraf unexpectedly made an appearance and unleashed an attack with his sword. Link blocked the attempt with his shield and forced him back, following with a vertical strike that Eroraf evaded. A shinning projectile came Eroraf's way and hit him in the arm, blowing him to the ground. Auru stepped near. "I'll keep him busy!" He holstered his crossbow and went to meet Eroraf.
An unseen fist came at Link suddenly from his side, but was repelled by Rakam. Nid appeared before them and began winding a punch, only to be forced to dodge and unseen attack. He looked toward the Sheikah watchman's way. "You sneaky dog."
The Sheikah didn't respond to his insult, instead only posing for battle with needles held in both his hands.
Nid faced him. "Fine then, let's go!" He darted after the Sheikah watchman and they suddenly and quickly engaged each other, both going faster than the normal eye could watch. Before Link noticed, another salvo of deadly energy was coming at him. He desperately leaped out of the way as the attack collided with the ground.
"You were just what we hoped for, Link. I'm glad to see that first hand," Uryan said.
Link took a fighting stance and faced Uryan. "I don't suppose you want me to thank you for that."
"Surely not," Uryan said, shaking his head with a condescending smile, "I was merely commenting on your skill in combat. I was at first afraid that your power lie solely with Dark Link's existence, but since he hasn't recently made an appearance, it has testified to your own strength and skill that allowed you to conquer the dragon and the other challenges up to now."
"Dark Link?" asked Rakam, confused at their exclusive conversation.
"Yes," Uryan answered, "He was going to become a creature of the darkness, but we stopped it from happening, only for that side-effect to occur."
"You only saved him because he was a valuable piece in the Patriarch's games!" Rakam rebuked.
"If that's what you want to believe then go ahead, it doesn't change the fact that it happened," said Uryan.
"So even that was just a means to use me!" Link interjected, glowering at him.
Uryan formed energy orbs in both of his hands. "Frankly Link, yes, it was. Now there's no need for you anymore."
Rakam formed his sword. "No need? What do you--?" He was abruptly interrupted by a sudden lunge from Uryan. Uryan pushed his energy-filled palms at him, but Rakam blocked the attack and parried, trying to swing at him. Uryan disappeared before the attack landed and suddenly reappeared behind Link and struck his back with the palm of his hand. Link fell forward and then swiftly rolled onto his feet once again to avoid being caught off-guard twice. Uryan tossed one of the energy balls at Link, but Link stuck the sphere with his sword, sending it back at Uryan. The force connected with Uryan, blasting him to the ground. Uryan recovered to his feet in a manner that seemed as if a mysterious force pulled him to his feet.
"You're even more powerful than I anticipated. I can't take you lightly," he said, keeping his hand on the smoking wound that the energy ball created.
Rakam leaped in front of him suddenly, and swung his sword, missing slightly as Uryan strafed to the side. Without warning, Zelda appeared before Uryan with her Kodachi drawn. She quickly lunged at him, preparing her attack. Uryan attempted to strafe away from the attack, but he was too slow. The Kodachi hit its mark, stabbing Uryan in his torso. He forced himself away from her, holding his profusely bleeding gash. Zelda made another attempt at him, but Uryan quickly made a hand motion, creating a force field between him and her, repelling her. "You devious cur!"
Zelda stood ready beside Link and Rakam. "No, you are the one who is full of deception."
Eroraf fiercely fought off the quick-witted Auru with his sword. Auru used nothing but blades that extended from the wrist of both his hands to attack Eroraf. Eroraf was quite surprised at the unexpected display of strength, speed, and skill of the seemingly old man known as Auru. Each strike Auru made was carefully done with accuracy, keeping Eroraf on defense. As the fray went on, Auru suddenly made a surprise dual strike with both his blades, forcing Eroraf to jump away from him. As soon as that happened, two flying object landed a blow on Eroraf's sword arm. Eroraf grunted loudly as he took the surprise attack. The two objects came to a rest on Mikau's arms. Auru followed up by kicking Eroraf in the face, knocking him to the ground. Mikau continued the consecutive attack by lunging at the fallen Eroraf to land a killing blow, but Eroraf motioned his hands, causing a powerful gale to blow through, throwing Mikau far from him. As Eroraf got to his feet, Auru suddenly launched another attack with his blades, but Eroraf meticulously blocked the attack and parried, cutting Auru's arm slightly. Strangely, Eroraf chuckled slightly upon getting to both his feet.
"What do you find to be so funny?" asked Mikau as he approached the field of battle once again.
Eroraf stood at ease as he finished his giggling. "I had no idea that we had selected such an elite group of warriors when we started this mission. I'm really impressed with both myself and the irony of my situation."
"The irony?" said Auru, looking confused.
"I hired you all to help us, and now, I am forced to kill you all. Life sure has a sense of humor," Eroraf casually said to them.
"You twisted monster!" Mikau darted rapidly at Eroraf and struck with his fins, but Eroraf blocked the sudden lunge with ease. Auru continued with a strike of his own, but he was blocked by another sword in Eroraf's free hand that had suddenly manifested itself.
"No more games," Eroraf ominously stated. He deflected both of them with a sweeping motion and then he took a stance with both of his swords. His wounded arm was held low, apparently affecting him to a degree.
Auru smirked slightly. "So, we can finally get serious now."
"I was serious about killing both of you from the start of this," Eroraf rebutted.
Both the Sheikah watchman and Nid were at a moving stand-still. The Sheikah's pointed strikes and Nid's powerful punches countered each other, creating a deadly mass of unstable equilibrium that could explode at any second. Nid suddenly punched the ground, creating a shockwave that caused the ground to sink further than it already had from the fracas. The Sheikah, however, suddenly appeared above him and launched several needles down on Nid. Nid caught each one in his hand, to much surprise. Nid then, instead of tossing them back at the Sheikah, threw them behind him. They were all knocked aside by Medi's Kodachi. Nid blocked the Sheikah's next attempt to attack as he came to the ground, and pushed him back. "A two on one, that's seems a bit one-sided," Nid noted.
A powerful fist suddenly struck Nid's face, throwing him to the ground. Darmani raised both his fist. "You're wrong; it's a three on one."
Nid stood up and wiped his face beneath his hood. "Fine then, that's fair enough. Even the three of you are outmatch when compared to me."
"Don't be so sure of yourself," said the Sheikah watchman with an indifferent expression in his eyes.
"Let's test my theory then!" Nid suddenly turned on Darmani and launched a sudden flurry of melee moves. Darmani blocked the first few, but he couldn't keep up with Nid's furious pace. Nid downed Darmani with a sharp uppercut and then he immediately went after Medi. She raised her Kodachi to defend herself as he came upon her. He flew his fist at her, but she dodged it deftly and stabbed at him. He returned the favor, dodging her attack also, and then he brought his elbow down at her. She rolled forward to dodge the attack, and simultaneously, she threw several shuriken at Nid. They all hit him, causing him to stumble back from the pain. Suddenly, the Sheikah watchman appeared behind Nid and brought a needle to his neck. Before the attack could land, Nid vanished in a flash of light and materialized above Medi, bringing down a kick on her. Medi looked up and saw the looming foot of Nid coming at her. She attempted to move, but she wasn't going to escape the attack. Suddenly, Nid's kick was negated by the Sheikah watchman's own kick that went against his. A loud thundering boom echoed through the shrine as the two blows cancelled each other. They both landed on the ground and came at each other. Just before they initiated their fray once again, Darmani suddenly came down on Nid in his curled state. Nid, however, caused the air above him to suddenly ignite, creating an explosion that repelled Darmani. The Sheikah took advantage of the surprise attack by jabbing Nid in his stomach, making Nid stumble back, coughing.
"Do you still think you outmatch us?" Medi said, confidently.
Nid spat blood from his concealed mouth. "Don't get excited for merely having a momentary --!" Suddenly, Uryan crashed into Nid. They both fell to the ground and then quickly regained their footing. Nid looked at Uryan. "What happened to you?"
Uryan was holding his chest. It had been singed from an attack of his own deflected back at him. "The Hero, he's tougher than I though." Immediately after Uryan spoke, Eroraf appeared with them.
"Brothers, we're being overwhelmed," he said, keeping his stance, despite the many cuts his body wore.
The Sheikah suddenly attacked Nid, forcing him to block his attack. At the same time, Link lunged at Uryan and Auru at Eroraf. Every attack was blocked simultaneously. Soon after, Medi followed the Sheikah's attack with one of her own, along with Mikau, and Zelda. A bright flash happened, and then receded, with Eroraf and Nid in another part of the shrine. Uryan, however, remained in place. Zelda's Kodachi ran through his body completely.
"Brother!!!" Eroraf yelled out.
Zelda yanked her Kodachi from Uryan's shocked body and he slumped to his knees first, and then he fell down to the ground slowly. The one who had played them all like pathetic puppets on steel strings had finally fallen. Once he hit the ground, his hood fell back, revealing his face. What was there caused Zelda to shriek in extreme horror and astonishment. It was not the enigmatic face that they expected to find, but it was Impa, Zelda's attendant.
"What? Impa, you were the one behind all of this?" yelled Link angrily.
"No, she's not," answered Auru. All of them turned to Auru, who seemed to have a frightening expression on his face, compared to the sage-like face he usually had.
"Is there something you want to tell us also, Auru?" the Sheikah watchman asked.
Auru smiled and answered, "I am Uryan."
A flood of shock ran through the war-torn shrine as his words echoed off into the distance.
"If you are Uryan, then what does she have to do with this?" asked Link.
Zelda was kneeling by Impa, who seemed to be barely conscious about what was happening.
"The little wretch was spying on us and found out too much," said Nid. "We couldn't let her go free after that."
Zelda looked up at them. "Why was she spying on you? She wasn't assigned to that mission, someone else was!"
"Your Highness," interrupted the Sheikah watchman, "We only told you that she was busy with another job, but the truth was that she took on that job herself. When she didn't report back, we knew that the worst had become of her and we decided not to tell you, knowing that you're judgment would be impaired if you knew." Zelda looked at the Sheikah with a betrayed look. His eyes fell as he said, "Forgive me, Your Highness."
Zelda looked at Impa, who looked around the shrine with a look of bewilderment. "Impa," Zelda whispered as she stroked the Sheikan woman's face.
"If she wasn't involved with this, then why was she posing as you?" asked Link.
The man once known as Auru pointed to his head and spoke, "Mind control. I separated my consciousness into two and lived through both myself and Impa's body," he explained.
Rakam approached Uryan. "What did you do with your body, Uryan?"
"His body?" asked Darmani. "But isn't that him?"
"No, it's not. I've seen him before, unlike the rest of you," said Rakam, keeping his focus on Uryan.
"This body is merely a disguise so that I could move amongst the shadows of Hyrule. Obviously, that will no longer be beneficial to me."
Uryan suddenly leaped away from them to his comrades. "Taking the stones from you will have to wait, no that we've lost our element of surprise."
Rakam formed his sword. "Are you meaning to run from us after what you've done?"
"Call it what you want. We have lost our advantage, and we will now be taking our leave," he replied. "Hero," he said, shifting his focus to Link, "You will not live to touch the Master Sword. Understand that well," Uryan said, narrowing his eyes.
Suddenly, they all vanished with a flash, and were gone.
"Impa!" Zelda yelled to the fading woman.
Impa's head lay on Zelda's lap. The Sheikah's once cold and perceptive eyes were now hazed and her skin was deathly pale. Her breathing was unsteady and sent chills down Zelda's spine. Everyone ran to be at Impa's side and provide any kind of support they could.
"Does anyone have anything to close her wound?" urged Mikau.
"I have something!" Medi spoke, reaching into one of her pouches on her belt.
"Don't bother," said the Sheikah watchman.
Medi looked at him in a confused way. "What do you mean don't worry? She's dying!"
"That's exactly what I mean! She is dying and there isn't anything we can do to stop it. You're a Sheikah, you should be able to see that!" he said. His eyes turned to Impa. "Believe me; if there was anything we could do, I would have done it by now."
Impa's eyes shifted slowly to Zelda. "Zelda…is that you?" she asked.
A tear formed in the corner of Zelda's eye. "Yes, Impa, it's me."
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you…sooner," Impa said.
Zelda held Impa closer. "You don't have to be sorry; you did it to save Hyrule."
Impa looked to Link. "Forgive my actions against you, Hero."
Link smiled uneasily, "It wasn't your fault; you were being controlled."
Impa shook her head lightly, "Yes, it is… I was…weak."
The withheld tears in Zelda's eyes suddenly fell down her face. "No, don't say that! You aren't weak. You're the strongest woman I know."
"Hero," Impa said, "Do not be…fooled… They still need you," she said to him.
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
She didn't answer, instead, shifting attention to Zelda. "I will always…love…you…" Suddenly, her body fell limp as a long held breath left her lungs slowly. Zelda didn't bother fooling herself into denial; Impa was dead. She cried loudly as she buried her head in Impa's body. The mood was solemn. Everyone stood still as Zelda wept her loss.
After awhile, Zelda looked up to them with tired eyes. "We can't leave her here, we must take her."
"I'll carry her," said the Sheikah watchman. "It's the least I can do for Her Highness," he said, kneeling to Impa's body. "And for Impa."
As he went to grab the body, he suddenly gasped, as his attention became fixed. "There's something in her mouth!" he said in astonishment.
"What?" said Link, walking over to see what the Sheikah watchman saw. When he looked, he saw nothing. "What are you talking about, I don't see it."
The Sheikah looked over to Medi. "Hey, Medi, you come look."
She came to the body and peeked into Impa's mouth. She shrieked and then fell back at the sight. "What's in her mouth?" she yelled.
"That's what I thought," the Sheikah said, "It's invisible."
Rakam investigated the mouth to see what was in there. "So that's how he did it," he muttered to himself.
"What did you say?" Link asked.
"He was using a parasite to control this woman's thoughts and actions. It's invisible to the normal eye, allowing it to take over its victim with ease. Uryan created one to use Impa as a decoy for himself," Rakam explained.
Zelda pounded the ground in anger. "That monster! He cannot get away with the crimes he has done!"
"Calm thyself, child," a loud, majestic voice sounded.
Everyone turned to Lord Jabu-Jabu, who apparently had been watching patiently.
"Vengeance brings destruction. Do not use it as thy motive," he rebuked.
Zelda's eyes fell.
"The cursed three now move to leave Zora's Domain. They do not mean to take the Zora Sapphire, as they understand that they cannot obtain the Spiritual Stone without the Hero having laid hands on it, so thou can rest easy," he explained.
"I wonder what they're planning then," Rakam said.
"Princess, of Hyrule," said Lord Jabu-Jabu, "Do not worry thyself about the woman's body. I will take it."
Zelda nodded and then softly let Impa's body down as she stood to her feet. "Goodbye Impa."
A majestic blue light enraptured Impa's body and lifted it into the air. As it went higher, it began to dematerialize until it no longer remained.
"Now that I have regained my power, I shall restore my realm to its normal state," stated Lord Jabu-Jabu. It suddenly splashed the frozen water around it and a radiant light emitted from the fish. The air suddenly became warm as the light continued, and the ice that encased the cave suddenly began cracking as it rapidly melted under the sudden temperature change. The light slowly receded until it disappeared. The shrine was no longer a frozen place. "The land is normal again, but it will be unstable for a while. Take caution as you journey down from this place. Go thy way now!"
