So...this is actually the very first chapter I wrote. This is what's been in my head since Chapter 1...give or take a detail or two.
There aren't going to be very many more chapters left...2-4, depending on how the next couple of these go.
I hope you like! Thanks for being here! :)
Chapter 17- Weak
Zelda paced menacingly before Link, as if she was a feline braced for imminent attack. He stood similarly, staring into the blazing orange, cat-like eyes of Ganon.
Master Link- I still cannot sense Hylia.
Link squinted, and caught a small flash of green.
Zelda!
You remember what you must do? If need be?"You have to kill me…"Link shook Fi and his memories away, and stayed focus on Zelda's steps...he couldn't afford to lose focus-
Too late- Zelda thrusted her hand forward, to cast an intense, magenta and white light. Link tried to dodge the light and malice hybrid, but the substance caught the edge of his right forearm.
"AH!" Link cried out, as he collapsed to his knees on the ground.
Pain...unlike anything he'd ever felt before...it shot up his right arm in searing waves. He cradled his right arm in his left.
"Oops! Sorry, Link," Zelda's voice was sickly sweet, "Here, let me fix that right up…"
Zelda raised her arm again, and a calculating smile formed on her face. Link quickly unsheathed the Master Sword, ignoring the burning in his arm, and assumed his battle stance-
And then he saw the green again...small, green flecks mixed with the orange in her evil gaze…and he hesitated.
Come back!
"Zelda, stop!" Link shouted.
The light and malice beam shot straight at Link's right elbow, and the sheer force of the blast sent Link backwards into the stone wall. He heard the Master Sword clatter to the ground shortly before he did. He tried to push himself up, but-
-his arm.
No…
His right forearm hung limp and lifeless from his shoulder. Link stared at the grotesque mess still attached to his body. The physical agony was so intense that it was disorienting- adrenaline pulsed through his veins, each wave rendering the pain a little more bearable.
Zelda cackled. "Easy. So easy. I should've thought of this centuries ago!"
Link was frozen in shock.
Master, this isn't Zelda anymore! You need to focus!
Link gulped, and clenched his eyes shut. Fi was right- Zelda hadn't mangled his arm...Ganon had. But I saw green...Zelda must still be in there somewhere!I cannot sense her, Master! It's too late!Please-"It feels amazing to wield this power once more," Zelda said, staring at the Triforce etched into her hand, "I haven't had the opportunity to use the Triforce since the Era of Decline…"
Link took advantage of Zelda's momentary distraction, and pushed his warring thoughts aside. He heaved himself forward with his remaining good arm, stumbling slightly. He grabbed the Master Sword, and somersaulted forward to face Zelda. With the sword pulsing in his left hand, and balancing with what what feeling he had left in his right arm, he thrust forward, holding the tip of the sword mere inches from Zelda's neck.
For a moment, it was almost silent. He could hear nothing but his own breathing, and Zelda's. They stared fiercely at one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.
Master?! What are you waiting for?! You know what you must do!
"Interesting…" Zelda chuckled, and relaxed her stance, "I'm impressed, hero. You're certainly one of the most courageous Links I've faced in my many lifetimes."
Link remained silent, and tense.
"Are you really going to kill me?" Zelda asked quietly.
Link felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.
I don't know-
Yes!
Link gulped, and even though his glare remained steely, his arm wavered.
I...I don't want…
"Well, go ahead, hero," Zelda taunted. She took a small step forward, pressing her neck into the tip of the sword. Her expression was smug, and challenging.
They'd talked about this-
But Zelda said that it wasn't the most likely future!
Master...I'm sorry...
He'd never truly considered it- but would it have made this any easier?
Please...Goddesses above, please, I am begging you- please don't make me do this!
Silence.
Link and Zelda continued to stare at one another. Link could feel his heart thundering as he stared at Zelda's hopeless, orange eyes. He searched for another spot of green...anything to give him a reason not to…
But there was nothing. No more sign of Zelda.
"YOU are my best case scenario."
Link whimpered.
"Zelda, please," he begged, "Come back to me!"
"HA!" Zelda laughed, and stepped closer, pushing her neck back into the blade, hard enough that she'd drawn a miniscule amount of blood.
"She can't hear you, hero. She's almost completely subdued."
Almost...
"You may be the only one who can save Hyrule from me."
Still not a hint of her usual emerald.
"I don't want to hurt or destroy people, Link..."
He took a deep breath in.
"So you'll let Hyrule suffer and waste away because of your weakness?"
He tightened his grip on the Master Sword.
I am the Hero. This is my duty. I must protect Hyrule.
He pulled the sword back, and prepared to plunge forward-
...but Link couldn't move.
Master...it ISN'T Zelda.
Zelda threw her head back, and laughed again, this time shaking the ground beneath her. She stretched out her hand towards his chest.
I can't do this.
"So that's how it is, hero?" She thrust her hand forward, and with a bright, blinding, BOOM, Link flew backwards, and slammed into the wall again. The Master Sword clanged as it dropped to the ground.
Master Link!
Link made no move for the sword. What was the point?
Weak…
Goddess above...he was in so much agony, both physical and mental. Shame wrapped around him like a suffocating blanket.
Master Link! You have to fight back!
Link collapsed into a pile on the ground.
What are you doing?!
He remained still.
"So worthless…" Zelda seethed, "So weak...how could Hylia have chosen you, you pathetic excuse for a warrior?"
Zelda paced around him.
"Hylia always chooses the same kind of hero," Zelda said distastefully, "Courageous, strong, persevering...decent qualities. I'd say I also possess those qualities…"
Zelda's lips curled into a leonine smile. "Every few centuries or so, the Hero's care for the Princess moves beyond what Hylia can control. I've been defeated many times by that hero...his love for the Princess made it nearly impossible to penetrate through his will, over and over again."
"But this time," Zelda's tone was triumphant, "I decided to use Hylia's own Hero against her- she relied so heavily on the love of the Hero, but how would she feel if she knew that his love would destroy them both? When her hero would either turn against her, or let Hyrule fall to ruin?"
It worked.
No!
Zelda stopped in front of Link, and looked at him with disgust, "How does it feel to know you failed her, Link? That your weakness will still kill her? And how many Hylians will die?"
Link felt a wave of guilt crash into his body. Once Zelda delivered the final blow, Hyrule would be completely at her mercy.
Link, get UP!
Zelda sauntered towards him.
"Foolish Hylians...you think that you can defeat evil. That your precious Hylia could ever outsmart the curse of Demise? You're such cowards. Worthless, stupid cowards."
Zelda stood over Link. She looked down at him, mockingly.
"Look at me, Link."
Zelda reached for his face, and grabbed his chin roughly.
And he looked. He studied her cropped, golden hair, framing her elegant, heart-shaped face so beautifully. He memorized the small curve of her nose and the peppery, feather-light freckles on her cheeks.
"I'm still your Zelda," Zelda whimpered convincingly...if not for the eyes, she looked and sounded completely normal...
Fi grew desperate.
Master Link! You MUST do this! Think of all of the Hylians Ganon will destroy! This is what Hylia wanted! What ZELDA wanted!
I don't care.He couldn't do it. He would not do it. Let all of Hyrule burn- he would not be responsible for the death of the woman he loved.
There! Her eyes...a flash of green!
Zelda...I'm so sorry...
Link ripped his chin out of her hands. She reached down, and grabbed him by tunic, hoisting him violently into the air.
Suddenly, Zelda's eyes widened in horror, and she dropped Link to the ground.
And she screamed.
Not a normal scream...a bloodcurdling, frustrated, desperate shriek that shook the entire temple. Her hands covered her face as she bent towards the ceiling.
"No...mine...MINE!"
With one final, primal scream, Zelda's body stilled, and she collapsed to her hands and knees.
Water flowing. Heavy breathing. Stillness.
"Link..." she whimpered.
Is it…?!
No...he couldn't hope...he couldn't expect-
"It's...me…" she whimpered again, but more strained.
Link sprinted to her. She was sprawled across the temple floor, now, gasping as she wriggled against an invisible force. He reached his good arm behind her head, and lifted her gently off the ground.
"Zelda," he groaned, "Zelda I was-"
"No...Link, wait…"
He paused, his arm still curled protectively behind her.
"I have to get you out-"
"Link…" her voice was desperate, and she grabbed his tunic roughly. "...it's...bound...for now…but I can't…not for much longer…"
Zelda looked at Link's wounded arm- or what was left of it- and tears filled her eyes.
"Zelda, we can take you to-"
She shook her head, "It doesn't matter who you take me to, Link!"
Her tone was desperate.
"Hylia's voice...the futures…there are only a few left..." Zelda breathed heavily, "I'm holding him back for now...but when he surges again, I won't have any power to hold him back. The Triforce will split…"
"If Ganon has Power, and is able to possess Zelda for her Wisdom...I'm worried that your Courage doesn't stand a chance."
Paya was right- Link wouldn't stand a chance against two pieces of the Triforce.
"Link…" her voice grew even more desperate, "I...I don't want...just trust me...I'll end up destroying you, and then destroying Hyrule…"
Please, Zelda, NO!
Master Link...she's right.
Link couldn't speak, so he let his actions speak for him. He leaned to her face, and pressed his forehead into hers. She sniffed, and let out a quiet sob. Her gazed into her, watching flashes of magenta break between the green of her eyes.
Goddesses, please-
You're running out of time.
"This was how it was supposed to happen," Zelda's voice was earnest, "This battle was mine. It has always been mine. The universe must balance itself once more."
Zelda...I don't want to live without you.
Link's heart felt like it had imploded. How could the Goddess give him this duty...this destiny? If he had known that part of his duty involved this...the sacrifice of the Princess, his love, to the scourge of Hyrule...
Zelda whimpered. She was in so much pain...her face now contorted in anguish…
I'll do it.
He couldn't believe he was about to do this."I love you," he whispered fervently, "I don't want to do this."
As he reached for the Master Sword, she blinked...her eyes were still full of tears, but emeralds...so beautiful…and, for a second, not a hint of darkness…
"AHHH!"
Link and Zelda both whipped their heads towards the earth-shattering roar. The mummified Ganondorf shook, and jerked his head to the side.
Ganondorf opened his eyes- orange and sinister.
No!
A burst of green light shot at Link's right hand, and the icy, powerful sensation crawled up the rest of his arm. The force knocked Link backwards, and he clenched his eyes shut as he fell back onto the ground.
"NO!" Zelda yelled. He felt her warmth at his side, as she fumbled for something attached to his belt.
"Trust me, Link," she hissed, "We will do this right this time."
Her lips pressed to his forehead, as Zelda's hand guided his left hand onto a smooth, cold surface.
"I love you," she whispered.
"WHAT?!" screeched Ganondorf.
And everything disintegrated into blue.
This is MINE!
"Get out, Princess. Give up."
Zelda summoned every ounce of Goddess power left inside of her, and pressed tightly against the bounds of Ganon, screaming her frustration and anger to the Goddesses.
Ganon wavered.
"No...mine...MINE!"
Mine, you bastard!
With one final, primal scream, Zelda's body stilled, and she collapsed to her hands and knees.
On the outside, water flowing. Heavy breathing. Stillness.
But inside…
"Give it BACK! I will take what is mine!"
Zelda's body burned hotter than the core of Death Mountain. The pain of trying to keep Ganon bound within her was nearly too much to bear...
"Link..." she whimpered, "It's...me…"
She heard his footsteps rapidly approaching, and stretched herself out on the stone floor. When he reached her, he placed his arm under her head, and lifted her up.
He must be so terrified...
"Zelda," he groaned, "Zelda I was-"
"No...Link, wait…"
He stopped, and Zelda searched the depths of her being for any remaining shreds of courage.
I'm here.
Hylia...how am I going to do this?
"I have to get you out-" Link started.
"Link…" her voice was desperate, and she grabbed his tunic roughly. "...it's...bound...for now…but I can't…not for much longer…"
"You are MINE!"
Zelda looked at Link's wounded arm- the bloody, broken mess looked unreal- and tears filled her eyes.
I did that-
Focus!
"Zelda, we can take you to-"
Zelda shook her head, "It doesn't matter who you take me to, Link!"
She hadn't meant to snap- but he wasn't making this easier…
The futures…
Imprisoned by Ganon once more, Zelda had quickly located Hylia- her missing companion was also trapped by Ganon's malice. And Zelda finally understood…
This was Ganon's plan from the beginning...
Oh, he'd tested Zelda's limits...experimented with how much and how little power he could harness from her. But the Springs were useless...Hylia's power had never needed a charge. Ganon had simply created the illusion that it did help, the illusion of a need to fulfill, while he continued to grow and thrive in the temple. Once he realized that Hylia's voice was Zelda's voice of warning and reason, it hadn't taken much effort to subdue Hylia with the malice in Zelda's mind.
The malice was Ganon. Pieces of his spirit, infecting Hyrule. Infecting her. The calamity was merely a piece of Ganon's assault of Hyrule...it distracted the Hylians from finding the sentient form he was creating.
And all he'd needed...all he'd been waiting for...was this. Zelda. Link. Ganondorf. Alone, and at their most vulnerable. For, in this state, the Triforce would soon be his. And thus, Hyrule.
She'd led Link right to his death. She'd led them both to their deaths.
"Too easy, Princess…"
Zelda, FOCUS!
"Hylia's voice...the futures…there are only a few left..." Zelda breathed heavily, "I'm holding him back for now...but when he surges again, I won't have any power to hold him back. The Triforce will split…"
And Link needs to be gone when that happens.
Ganon's transition into Ganondorf was nearly complete, and once it was...he'd have the Triforce of Power once more…
There were, indeed, only a few futures left: 1- Link stayed, and Zelda, controlled by Ganondorf, destroyed him; 2- Link stayed, and slayed Zelda, then Ganon, and Hyrule was saved…
And 3...
"Link…" her voice grew even more desperate, "I...I don't want...just trust me...I'll end up destroying you, and then destroying Hyrule…"
...Get you out of here with the Triforce of Courage, for an eventual victory.
She didn't want to destroy him- and she would soon. And she saw the look in Link's eyes...the tortuous conflict swimming in his distressed pools. She knew that, even though she'd asked for the worst, Link would fail. He wouldn't be able to kill her.
Link leaned to her face, and pressed his forehead into hers. She sniffed, and let out a quiet sob.
"ARGH!"
Zelda! My power...its waning!
Just a little more time, please-
You're running out of time!
"This was how it was supposed to happen," Zelda's voice was earnest, "This battle was mine. It has always been mine. The universe must balance itself once more."
Link...I don't want to live without you.
Hadn't she already done this once?! Now, Hylia was asking for it again?!
No...time…
And how was she going to convince Link to leave her here?
"I love you," he whispered fervently, "I don't want to do this..."
He reached for the Master Sword with his bad arm…
You won't have to, my love. Wait-
"AHHH!"
Link and Zelda both whipped their heads towards the earth-shattering roar. The mummified Ganondorf shook, and jerked his head to the side.
Suddenly, a burst of green light shot at Link's right hand, and the green and white tendrils gripped onto his arm. He let go of her, and fell backwards.
"NO!" Zelda yelled instinctively.
Zelda caught sight of the square attached to his hip.
The Slate!
Get...him...out...
She mustered up her remaining strength, and threw herself towards him. Once at his side, she reached for the Sheikah Slate, and searched for Kakariko Village.
Hylia, please-
He will soon have a piece of the Triforce...
Hylia's voice was distant, and echoey. Zelda felt a sharp twist in the Triforce in her hand.
It's time.
Zelda leaned into Link's ear.
"Trust me, Link," she hissed, "We will do this right this time."
She kissed his forehead, and guided his hand to the slate. She carefully placed his finger above the Ta'Loh Naeg Shrine.
"I love you," she whispered, as she pushed his finger down gently.
"WHAT?!" screeched Ganondorf.
And, with a wary, confused look, Link disintegrated into blue.
Gone...he's gone...
Zelda...
Will I ever see him again?
...I don't know.
Alone, and willfully suppressing the torment within her heart, Zelda turned to the monster.
And a monster he was- as he stood, Zelda could see that he was almost three times her height, and settling into his height as the flowing malice around the room pulled into his body. His sinewy, gray flesh stretched and pulled with the tightening of his fists and the stretch of his muscles. His long, wild, red hair billowed behind him, and was kept back by a glowing, orange diadem.
The orange matched his malevolent eyes.
"What have you DONE?!" he howled, "Where have you sent him?!"
Zelda's heart skipped a beat as she felt the terror spread throughout her body, but she also couldn't help but feel a small bit of triumph. She'd outsmarted Ganon.
She smirked, "Nowhere."
Ganondorf roared.
"Foolish girl! We'll see what you'll have to say after this!"
Zelda's triumph quickly vanished as the light began to fade from Ganon's eyes.
"WHERE, Princess?!"
The voice came from her mind, and stormed through her being, overtaking everything within her. She lost feeling in her legs...then her arms...every cell in her body faded from her control.
This is the end…
And it was. It was the final, clear future Hylia had been able to show her. Since Link couldn't kill her...there was only one guaranteed way that Hyrule would survive. That he would survive.
And it meant that she couldn't.
You have always been worthy…
Hylia's voice was a whisper, now. Almost gone.
I will miss you in my head.
I will see you soon...
Was this what her mother had tried to protect her from? Had her mother's sacrifice only prolonged this?
"Paya found your mother's entire diary...she can't show it to you because of something she found that might help us destroy Ganondorf."
Was there something more? Something else her mother had done? Something that made a future of success possible? Something in her hand cracked, and pulled as though being torn from her body.
Zelda hissed, and then held her breath. She didn't want to spend her final moments in fear. Instead, she summoned her memories: Her mother, combing her hair and singing to her as she fell asleep...Her Father, and the light in his eyes before her mother died...Urbosa, and her protective, watchful, and conspiratorial eye...The Champions...Impa...Purah…
And Link. Their sloppy, impulsive kiss at the stable. His whispered, "I love you," at the Spring of Power over 100 years ago. The relief of seeing him once more after the fall of the Calamity. The elation of the return of his love...and his memories. Every touch...every kiss...every turbulent and thrilling moment of their relationship played behind her eyelids.
"Marry me, Princess."
"Yours. Forever."
Zelda clenched her eyes tighter.
I love you Link-
"This is MINE! YOU are mine!"
And everything went black.
Don't hate me, ya'll.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nexrt chapter, coming soon!