Stranger (III)

TW: Continuation of sadistic-ish behavior.

Eyes shut tightly, Zelda whimpered quietly. She wasn't to look upon him, not without permission and she had. Oh by the Goddesses she had and because it had been so long since she'd been punished it was going to hurt.

His lips twisted as bitter amusement and vindication coursed steadily through him. Like the blood in his veins, they gave him the fuel he needed, the strength to breathe. He was right and she was proving it. Something within him cried out for her tears, begged for the fear which she reeked of. The hunger for liquid relief was GONE, replaced by the NEED to taste the power—the same power she'd handed him so long ago and had given him again!

She had TAKEN that power from him with the Ocarina, had taken YEARS from him and then given them back so he could fight the same war AGAIN. It had changed NOTHING except his mind and spirit were older than his body. Some of the bosses stayed dead, but some didn't and had to be killed again because she took that CHOICE. SHE was the Sage of Time, SHE was the Queen of Destiny, SHE should have been the ones in the dungeons, not him—but the Goddesses had a sick sense of humor and made him the 'hero of time', as she called him. In jest, no less!

A low, rumbling growl vibrated in his chest and slowly pushed up his throat and out into the air. She was weak and powerless. Instead of standing tall, she cowered and bowed her head. She should be STRONG, strong enough to defend herself and the country.

She hadn't even been able to do that. She'd let HIM win. Eventually she'd killed him, but only because he'd threatened her precious Sheikah.

What a disgrace.

She was a disgrace to the throne, to the Goddesses and other Sages, but more importantly, to her family. He had every right to be angry. Her knees trembled with the urge- the need- to kneel, but she ignored it. He hadn't told her to, had never like her too, and she wouldn't do more to anger him. She'd done enough already.

"Will you stop crying?" he hissed when she failed to swallow a sob. "Haven't you spilled enough tears? What right do you have to cry, Zelda? Tell me!"

"N-n-none, S-S-Sir."

"Ex-actly. So why are you?"

"I-I-I do-n't kn-ow, Si-r," she whispered before hiccupping softly.

He growled, eyes flashing gold as anger threads of fire leaked from him like steam. "Stop. Stuttering. Stop. Crying. Just...STOP!" he yelled. His voice echoed within his own mind as he screamed at himself as much as her—at the whispers which were so TRUE but making it hard to think.

She fell without thought, allowing instinct to guide her. She barely felt the ice and snow beneath her as she sunk to her knees, head bowed in submission. She trembled, holding her breath to remain silent as she clenched her eyes shut to control the welling tears. She couldn't do anything right. If she made him mad enough he might hurt her. He hadn't been like her other Master yet, not really, but if she didn't start behaving he might and she wouldn't survive it again.

"GET UP!" Eyes wide and filled with chaotic emotion he stared at her crumbled form. So consuming was the vindication, the anger, so numbing was the cold wind, that he never felt his nails curl and sharpen like a wolf, never felt the biting sting as they drove into his calloused palms. "If I want you on your knees, I'll PUT you there, you worthless thing! Get up!"

Scrambling, she stood, trembling so hard she nearly fell again. Struggling to breathe, she kept her head bowed, praying her voice would hold. "How m-may I please you, M-Master?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rage and hysteria laced his words as his voice broke. His eyes, already wide from mental strain, began to tear as his lids retracted farther. Spittle flew from his mouth as he snarled the words, his muscles shaking with the last shreds of his control. "NEVER call me that, do you UNDERSTAND?! I am NOT your MASTER!"

"Yes, sir!" she cried. "I understand." Pitiful, weakening emotions ran through as her world fell apart once more. If he wasn't Master, but was Sir, then what was he? What did he want?

"Why are you scared?!" He wanted her to know how he felt, but he didn't want her to cower, didn't want to break the already weak being. She was pathetic, but she could be useful. However the scent of her fear made him want to tear it from her. She had controlled him, they all had, but her more so, for years. They had made him feel useless, like a failure, that he could never be anything and he would- had!- make her feel that way. But now she was TOO weak, was TOO worthless to him.

She didn't speak, no longer having the words necessary to appease him. She didn't know, nothing she'd ever been through had prepared her for this, for a Master who wasn't Master and who wanted her afraid but not terrified. Something within her struggled to speak, struggled to give a viable answer, and so desperately, she listened to it.

"L-Link, p-plea-se, I—"

For just a moment, the world became awash with the blackness of unconscious and the red of freshly-spilled blood. The colors became a swirl of emotion within him that exploded, tearing free of the chains he'd held around it for so long. The world within him howled as she begged him for help again. One too many times.

Determination steered him as the blinding colors of rage and war and death consumed him. He stepped forward, teeth bared as he unclenched and raised a hand. The wind was cold against his scorching flesh as his arm swung through the air. So high was his wrath, so consuming was the urge to release everything, that he gained no satisfaction as she flinched.

Counting silently to himself, he watched with an odd detachment as the space between his large hand and her colorless face closed. The screaming thoughts within his mind became so loud they deafened him.

Two...on- Crying out in pain as teeth sunk into his leg, he stumbled back, hands grabbing furiously for the source of his pain. Reality shattered the cage he'd placed around it, slamming into him as the pain tore up his limb. Fury coiled in his heart as he reacted instinctively.

Kicking wildly, he dislodged the thing that attacked him and smirked with satisfaction as a loud crunch rent the air. He stared at the mass of fur in the snow as it shook, trying to clear its daze.

His eyes snapped to her.

"Call it off." His words were quiet, deadly in their calm utterance as they fell effortlessly from his lips. Only when she faced him, dilated eyes bloodshot and swollen, lips bloody from biting them, trembling from justified fear that he spoke again. "Call it off...or it dies," he added softly.

Garo snarled and prepared to leap at the traitor, at the monster that DARED hurt her. As he pushed off the ground, he yelped in surprise and retreated from the bright, hot wall that appeared. Swinging around, he snarled when he realized it was surrounding him. It was too high to jump, and so hot he'd be too hurt to help her.

Horror pulsed through her frozen veins as Zelda stared at the narrowing ring of Din's Fire which surrounded her pup. Numbness claimed her as all thought vanished, leaving only disbelief. "Garo," she breathed, reaching for the struggling mutt.

"Call it off, Zelda. I won't tell you again," Link whispered. He smiled cruelly, laughing quietly at the expression on her beautiful, if repulsive, face.

He was...serious. He would kill the pup...because he was...trying to defend her. Shuddering, she wrapped her arms around herself. "Garo, sit," came the oh so quiet order. "Sit...stay."

Staring at his beta-omega through the writhing heat (fire, they called it), he couldn't believe she would tell HIM to sit and stay. While the bad alpha was hurting her! But then he heard her plea, telling him to stay so he wouldn't be hurt, that she couldn't bear it if he was. Snarling at the tainted alpha, he sat in the snow. Unable to leave without risking himself, and unwilling to hurt her, he stayed. Oh...but he would NEVER forget this. If he so much as laid a hand on her, he'd regret it. Maybe not right away, not when it could cost them both their lives—but he would make the other male pay.

As she watched him sit, something within her protested. A spark of defiance, of the strength everyone said she had, the same something that had pushed her passed the pain and fear and made her wrap her hands around Ganondorf's throat, urged her to fight back. He had threatened someone she loved, had attacked him. Just like the despot had.

But...

The fear of retaliation, the fear of everyone knowing, of what would happen to Garo outweighed that spark. A single Deku Nut compared to the entire Lost Woods; it was no match against the memories and training. Garo was safe, as long as he listened. Link wouldn't hurt him. Impa hadn't been—and Ganondorf would have.

She couldn't defy him.

And he knew it.

Chuckling once more, he watched the light die in her eyes and smiled with pleasure as she fought fresh tears. His breath hissed as he let it out through bared teeth. Excellent. She was...just as he wanted her. He hadn't broken her completely. Weak, but still possessing enough strength to make it fun.

He neared her, grimacing with each step. Pausing to inspect the bite, his lips receded in a silent snarl when he saw the damage. For such a small mutt, he'd bitten with enough force and depth to tear the muscle a bit. Grinding his teeth, he snapped his head to her.

She shook at the look in his eyes. Bottomless, they seemed to show nothing but pure hatred. Her own face stared back at her as he backed her into the corner. She sipped the air as their breaths mingled. Pain and memory washed through every cell of her body as her mind narrowed to his expression.

This time, she didn't flinch when he raised his hand.

Good for her.

Clearly she'd learned something in the last few minutes.

Placing his hand against her throat, he remained silent, holding her glazed eyes as she swallowed against his palm. Her pulse fluttered like hummingbird wings under his fingers, quick but so very fragile. Slowly wrapping his fingers to cover her pulse, he continued to stare, waiting.

Even when she struggled to breathe, she didn't fight or look away. Interesting. Tears gathered in her eyes, either from pain or the cold, he wasn't sure, and she didn't blink.

What had changed?

Meeting now-gold eyes with hard-won calm, she felt something within her shift. Magic welled within her as the Triforce burned on her hand from his touch. She held the power back, refusing, as she had previously, to use it. That was not how to win.

First...she had to survive.

Then...

She wasn't sure what came after that.

He was Sir, was Link, her brother and Hero, her knight and the Goddesses' chosen warrior. She had brought him to this point, and asphyxiation was her punishment, so be it. She'd endured far worse.

There. He watched her eyes fill with panic for a brief second. No, not panic. Terror. Something beyond it. Something...

Something that hurt to see.

Terror, yes. But also knowledge that burned him and sullied his rage, his determination, his pleasure at knowing she was hurting like she'd hurt him.

It was the same knowledge, the same acceptance and resignation that he'd seen for too many years when she'd begged.

Loosening his hold, he slid his hand down her throat to trace her collarbone.

There it was again.

Growling, he leaned closer still, making her look at him even as she blinked away tears and tried to look away. "You're doing it again," he hissed, her breath hot against his face. "You're lowering me to his level."

She said nothing, knowing words would only make it worse, would only anger him further. Deep within her, she nodded in acknowledgment, but not at what he was saying.

But at the fact that she'd made the right choice.

Her original Master was dead by her own hand.

But his replacement...

His replacement was much better.

He would punish her, would protect her, would care and love for her when he needed and wanted to.

But he wouldn't...

Go there.

He dragged his hand lazily down her chest, nestling it between her breasts. Curling his lips in disgust at touching them, he shoved harshly.

Her cry of pain as her head and back struck the wall were music to his ears. Soothed, he pressed his cheek to hers and whispered in her ear, not knowing that he'd proven her wrong, not caring that she suddenly started shaking again, ignoring each whispering plea. "If you cross me again, you, your precious Sheikah and the mutt WILL regret it. Do you understand?"

She nodded, head spinning as everything she'd come to realize, had come to accept as true, was torn asunder.

He wasn't better.

He was worse.

So much worse...

He was unpredictable. His moods changed more than His. It was too easy to mess up, too easy to mess up one too many times and make him cross that line.

She didn't even know where the line was anymore.

She'd thought it meant he wouldn't...that...but...

She was wrong.

He might not. But he might too. He was showing it, was close, was really close, so close she could feel even if he was affected by the cold. So close his chest was against hers and his heart against hers and his mouth against her ear and just because he'd done what she'd asked him the past didn't mean it wouldn't change. But he was with Shad and liked men so maybe he wouldn't because maybe he couldn't but still that wasn't the point and—

Her thoughts broke into a million quiet pieces as he pulled away and wiped his hand on his unhurt leg as if disgusted. Her eyes fell to the trampled snow as he looked at her again, waiting for him to say something, to tell her to move or speak or something.

"I don't want your body, Zelda," he told her calmly, trying to soothe the huddled woman. He had proved his point, had taken back what she and Them and everyone had stolen from him, and made her pay for disobeying. He didn't want her afraid now. He wasn't angry any longer, that had gone.

Running a hand over her cold, silky hair, he sighed and pulled her protectively to his chest. Yes, he'd done the right thing, yes. She was his sister, but sometimes he had to treat her like the younger sibling, just like he'd done. Like a kid that took a cookie before dinner, she'd taken her punishment like a big girl and now he could comfort her. She'd done wrong, and had brought it on herself, but he wouldn't hold it against her.

It was done and over with.

His thoughts became orderly, whispered words of comfort as he nodded to himself. He could be strong for her, when she was weak. And when he needed to rest, she'd take care of herself like a good girl, leaving him alone. But right now, he wanted to comfort her so she knew he wasn't mad anymore.

Taking shuddering breaths, Zelda buried her face in his chest, tears leaking from her closed eyes as the icy wind sliced against her hands, ears and neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered, praying he wouldn't lash out. "I'm sorry for being selfish, for not listening to you and always asking you for things."

"Shh, Zel, I understand. I forgive you." Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, he hugged her tight. "It's ok sister, it's ok, I promise. I'm not mad anymore."

From within the cage of fire, Garo watched, snarling silently as he paced. The sickening stench of the male was overwhelming his beta-omega's slow-to-face fear scent. They were hugging.

He was trying to comfort her?! After...after wanting and trying to KILL her?

Eying the still raised wall of fire, he growled softly. The traitor alpha was sick and smelled bad, like the stuff that man gave him the first day he was here. But his female was sick too, and worse, the male knew it. Knew how to use it.

Knew how to hide his sickness behind her own.

But he couldn't hide from him.

And soon, he wouldn't be able to hide at all—he'd make sure of it.

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AN: Ok, so, erm...Link's insane. Yeah. I don't think anyone missed that part. Zelda is...also very much insane (most of the time, even if it's subconscious). Not as bad as she was, but still not close to truly sane. Don't think anyone missed that either.

So we have two insane "siblings", one extremely angry Wolfo-dog mutt, a Guardian who we haven't checked on since much earlier in this installment because all she felt was terror.

Next chapter is going to be so much fun!

Songs:

Stranger by Hilary Duffy (interpreted)

Begging for Mercy by Bullets for My Valentine

Stricken by Disturbed

In Pieces by Linkin Park (first verse)

Just For by Nickelback (Garo, taken slightly out of context)

I Hate You by Sick Puppies

PS: I realize that I never actually mentioned if he went back and forth in time or not...not out-right. If you read it again, you'll realize Link mentions she took years from him, that he fought he same war and bosses again. Remember 1-Link is insane, 2-I'm twisting multiple games into one story, 3-the story's plan isn't set in stone, it always changes! Using the Ocarinia he could have lost "years" of his life but not as many as in OoT. Or maybe he did relive the entire war. Or it could be that he really is just THAT lost inside his head. Will the full story of the Ocarina of Time in Their Bond series ever be revealed? The world may never know...