Chapter 32: Conquering Oneself; Making Peace
Drought of the Hylian Waters Arc
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.
"Settling the Score" - Goldeneye (1995) OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).
"Termination" - YS I & II Chronicles OST. Scene 4 (Second Half).
"Last Moment of the Dark" - YS I & II Chronicles OST. Scene 5 (First Half).
"Termination" - YS II (Falcom Boss Zanmai Ver.) OST. Scene 5 (Second Half).
"Story Mode BGM (Kage)" - Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition OST. Scene 6.
Despair for the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis; in one word...
Betrayal.
Having come this far in their gruelling venture to free their country from the tyrannical grip of their usurping ruler, the feared Dreadlord Dragmire, Hyrule's freedom fighters press on their previous success of the divine Forest and Fire Temples. Emboldened by their own accomplishments the group of men push on to assist the suffering Zoran people of Lake Hylia. In doing so they not only hope to re-gain their former sea-living allies but hope to preserve their own supply of fast-dwindling water.
Unfortunately for the group, however, Hyrule's regime forces at last make an indelible play on the proverbial board of chess that they play; in pulling at the group's weakest link, the brooding mercenary Raynard Van Garrick, Scaverin and king Ganondorf's military forces hope to destroy the alliance from the inside out.
With eventual fruition the king's right hand successfully manages to manipulate the detached sole survivor of the Van Garrick clan and, with it, manages to turn the tides of Hyrule's second civil war in one single stroke. Now faced with not only the surviving mind-controlled Alwyn and his former ally Raynard, the anxious Sheik can only blindly hope for some kind of divine intervention to save him.
Not all is bad fortune on the battlefield however, for in his own exploration of the divine Water Temple, the Hero of Time himself manages to come into contact with the missing Zoran princess Ruto. After a heartfelt reunion Link, Ruto and Navi all agree to join forces in an attempt to re-locate their split-up commander, Ruto's companion Alwyn and their dark-haired mercenary ally.
In spite of their previous successes however... Link cannot help but feel apprehensive at the prospect of running both into the loose Scaverin and his former companion Alwyn...
Scene 1
"Haa... haa..."
Gasping from the sheer effort with which he put forth, Raynard narrowed his amber-shaded eyes down at the fallen form of his former ally. The unconscious Sheik lay down face-up in the pool of shallow water the group resided in.
"Impressive."
Surprised by the intruding voice the listening mercenary swivelled his dark-haired head 'round to eye the approaching Scaverin. His hands were joined together in the dark-brown cloak he wore so well as he arrived to the scene, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"You didn't even require any assistance...," the former bishop chuckled as he similarly eyed the comatose form of the blonde Sheikah. "You'll go far with those skills my son."
Merely huffing back in response Raynard let his new commanding officer know his mood.
Not one to be trifled with, at least in this moment.
"Get out of here..."
Surprised by his words, the listening Scaverin blinked back in response.
"Say what?"
"Get out of this area...," Raynard growled over his shoulder in a firm-eyed repeating. Glaring back, the listening former bishop allowed him to continue. "I'm going to unmask this manipulative coward... and I'd like to do it alone..."
"Hmph...," Scaverin murmured lowly, tilting his bald-headed form before lightly gaining a knowing smirk. "I can appreciate that...," the cloaked schemer shot back before about-turning and briefly shutting his eyes. "Come... Sir Alwyn," he urged the lifeless Zoran puppet at his side. "We must give them some alone time..."
Ignoring his new commander's teasing, the growling ebony-haired mercenary re-began his march and knelt down over the fallen form of his former ally. Though he stared back at the shut-eyed form of his former companion he just as quickly turned his eyes away from the fallen Sheikah's.
Push away the shame and doubt, he thought.
This goes deeper than that.
With that thought driving him on he reached down and, with narrowed chestnut eyes he undressed the blonde Sheikah via his turban and scarf.
The long light-sunset hair the Sheikah carried spilled on out to reveal a well-kept ponytail. When the watching Raynard at last managed to get a good look at Sheik's real face.
Behind the long white scarf he normally sported his facial features were very surprisingly feminine in nature; from his high cheekbones to the smooth skin he seemed to sport so well.
This isn't a man, he thought.
This is...
This is a woman...
It was then that Raynard realised exactly who this was.
Falling down to his rear in a wide-eyed open-mouthed frown, the shocked youth could barely form a word out to successfully register his disbelief.
Suddenly and, all at once, everything began to make sense; all the lies Sheik had told him in the past regarding his fallen clan, the manipulation of the rebellion and especially of her 'favourite' pawn.
The Hero of Time.
That's all these people were to her, he thought.
Disposable commodities.
The scowl he normally liked to wear upon his face grew and, with intense speed at that; mutating into a hateful look he stood back up to his feet and glared on down at the person he had once followed with such zeal that it now sickened him.
The commander he respected, admired...
And the woman he loved.
"Liar...," the sole survivor of the Van Garrick clan whispered out. "You're just...," he re-began before glowering on down hatefully at the blonde woman. "A liar..."
"I must say I am impressed with your growth darling; you really do look like a man now."
"Uh huh."
Rolling his cobalt eyes back as he sighed his usual response, Link did all he could to keep himself engaged in the conversation that princess Ruto so seemingly wanted to have with him.
The more she talked however the more he found he wanted to leave.
Maybe I have commitment issues, he thought half-woefully, a comical snort and grin adorned on his tone.
"What's so funny?" She scolded him with an annoyed gaze as she 'rounded her head to eye him mid-march.
"O-Oh uh...," the blinking Hylian managed back before chuckling good-naturedly and shaking his blonde-haired head. "Nothing." He laughed well-meaningly, waving the matter off. She narrowed her ruby-like eyes back at him suspiciously before relinquishing and re-facing the front.
Just the thought of being married was enough to make him sick.
As if that dream in the Fire Temple with the woman with perfume was bad enough, he thought embarrassedly.
Oddly enough he found he couldn't get the dream-like exchange with her out of his mind ever since.
Chances are very likely it was a dream.
But there's always the chance it wasn't.
"She did say she loved me..." He countered himself in a firm furrow of his brow, narrowing his eyes to match.
Sighing however, the Hero of Time blew a stray strand of straw hair from his sad-eyed gaze in a mixture of despair and frustration.
"Gotta be proof to the contrary."
"What's proof to the contrary?" Ruto pressed him. Realising he was thinking aloud, one of his many irritating bad habits, he silently cursed himself out for his error before attempting to think quickly. Before he could however his oceanic eyes widened as they double-took in the forward direction before them.
"That...," he clarified as he rose up his stubby right index finger to point ahead at the sight before them. "I guess..."
Ruto turned to trace his gaze and found the pair standing within an oddly wide open space; a shallow pool of water filled their surroundings, matched only by the odd beach in three separate locations. One beneath the pair of heroes' feet, one in the centre alongside the dead tree around it and one straight at the end of the room, similarly built to the entrance's with a door adjoining it.
"That's... strange...," Ruto raised one of her eyebrows in curiosity. "Do you...?"
Staring on with her Link's eyes narrowed in recognition when he caught the sight a group of standing figures.
Three.
A bad omen lifted the small hairs on the back of his neck.
"Yeah... I... see it," he clarified for her in an acknowledging nod. The air was filled with a penetrating kind of silence before, finally, Link opted to re-open his mouth to continue. "Navi... is it...?"
"I think so...," the guardian fairy similarly nodded quietly on his right side, similarly staring forward. "It looks bad."
Using her words as a cue Link half-turned his head to address the Zoran princess on his left. "Ruto... I need you to-"
"No way!"
Disarmed by the sudden ferocity her voice took the listening Link couldn't help but widen his eyes and raise his eyebrows up as he turned back to face her.
"I'm not going to end up on the sidelines again...," she emphasised with a hard narrow of her eyes before folding her arms and raising an eyebrow of her own. "Not like last time."
Sighing through his nose Link drew in air with his mouth before letting it out as he exchanged a tired look with the listening Navi.
Sometimes you just can't argue with a woman, he thought to himself in a mixture of half-joking wistfulness.
–
2
In approaching the suspicious group of three Link couldn't help but stay wary even with the added backup of the Zoran princess, ever loyally behind him. As he began to make the final arrival the figures at last stepped out from the very small shadow the tree offered them and the watching trio got a look at their alleged enemies.
"Ah... at last..."
Stiffening at the sound of that familiar voice, the listening Link narrowed his eyes as he tilted his body lightly, fingers twitching for the holy blade resting on his back. Sure enough the owner of the venom-laced voice revealed himself to be the low-smirking Scaverin, standing in between the low-stance Alwyn and the firm-faced Raynard.
"We've been expecting you...," the cloaked right-hand to Ganondorf smirked on in greeting before outstretching his bony old hand forward as if to be taken, tilting his bald head as he did. "Hero of Time."
"Link... it's definitely him..." Navi whispered at the blonde youth's right side.
"Yeah...," Link nodded in acknowledgement, eyes narrowing in his hardened frown. "I feel it..."
"Alwyn?" Ruto called forward from the back, raising a curious eyebrow up at the seemingly forgone Zoran warrior. "What's wrong with him?"
"Ah... the royal princess... yes...?" The watching Scaverin began as he stepped forward to gaze back at the Zoran woman. "Nothing's wrong with him, dear heart," the summoner grinned back before chuckling as he placed one of his slim hands to rest on the man's shoulders. "Sir Alwyn is better than ever... isn't that right?"
Almost as if in mocking the pair of heroes before them the low-stance form of the governed Zoran soldier merely stared on back silently, a kind of vacant look in his ocean-teal eyes.
"Where's Sheik?" Link demanded, a harsh narrow of his own oceanic eyes in response.
"Hmph..." The former bishop grunted back before lightly turning his bald head 'round to nod upward. Sure enough, a second figure stepped out from behind the tree and one that the watching Hero of Time managed to recognise. Link couldn't help but widen his sea-blue eyes as he realised exactly who it was standing next to his enemy.
"R-Ray...?" Link gasped back, his straw-shaded eyebrows rising up in surprise. Though the silent Ruto looked from between the pair unknowingly she listened on intently. "What's going on? Why are you-?"
"It's over Link...," Raynard interrupted the blonde with a deft shake of his head and a firm tone in the deep baritone of his voice. "Ganondorf is just... too strong for us to make any kind of dent in his military force," the young man clarified as he tilted his ebony-haired head determinedly. "You knew that."
With a light huff back Link similarly leant his body to the side as he stared back, narrowing his cerulean eyes. "I never took you for a defeatist Ray," the ex-Kokiri batted over, his own baritone taking a hostile turn. "What made you switch sides?"
"In a word...?" The quiet speaking Raynard began before swiftly narrowing his own eyes and creasing his face into a scowl of sheer hatred with it. "You." He finished out in a firm-eyed hiss.
Surprised by his retort Link could only furrow his brow in an inquisitive frown. "Me...?"
"Do you know how humiliating it was when you showed up...?" The mercenary began, stepping on past the watching and grinning form of his new ally. "I served... in that rebellion for seven long years... before you turned up...," the dark-haired warrior growled on out as he leant his head to the side in his angry tirade. "Zelda's favourite pawn...," he spat out venomously, glaring forward as he did. "That's exactly what you are." He hissed forward, his hatred barely veiled.
Turning his shocked expression into a light frown Link merely tilted his blonde head as he re-opened his mouth to respond. "So what now?" The Hylian pressed, stepping forward for the presumable face-off they were destined to have. Reaching up for the divine Master Sword hanging on his back he glared on back in a similar expression. "You going to give Sheik up or do I have to knock you senseless?"
Raynard's scowl twitched, but only very lightly as he listened. "I'd like to see you try." He challenged back, reaching similarly for his steel halberd.
"Darling no!" Ruto hissed out from the blonde youth's back. "Let me he-"
"No," Link merely interrupted as deftly as she had said it; the Hero of Time merely kept his narrow-eyed gaze fixed forward as he stared on back unflinchingly at his rival. "It has to be like this," he began back before furrowing his brow as he finished his sentence. "Just me... and him."
The listening mercenary's scowl twitched a second time but only very briefly. "Something I can get behind...," he began before grinning humourlessly. "For once..."
SHHHIIING...
The divine steel of the Blade of Evil's bane sung slowly and noisily as it was drawn out of its resting place, joined by its ever faithful companion; the bright-blue of the Hylian Shield. Similarly swinging the steel-singing halberd he carried so well 'round both of his sides, the narrow-eyed Raynard advanced very slowly and gradually to glare back at his blonde opponent.
"I'm gonna do...," the young wayward began as he turned his head to glare forward at his new enemy. "What I should have done... a long time ago..."
With frightening speed and agility the form of the glowering Raynard phased in and out of existence; a lasting after-image of his scowling form gave the watching and wide-eyed Link enough idea of where to expect an assault. Turning on his brown-booted heel Link back-dashed abruptly into the air, kicking up the shallow pool of water he stood in as he did; seemingly having attempted to attack the blonde from his undefended left side, the air-dashing Raynard grunted as he suddenly re-appeared in view. With a singing wide horizontal swing of his halberd he attempted to slash effectively and quickly at his opponent.
CLANG-SKRRR-TINK
In one incredible move the narrow-eyed Link clashed not only the Master Sword with his enemy's weapon but managed to push through the fiery sparks of confrontation they caused and sent the grunting Raynard back-flipping through the air. Pulling back the Hylian Shield in his right arm he narrowed his eyes directly at his target before grunting as he tossed forward the tool in a deft and wide motion.
WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK
"Agh...!"
CLANG
In a pained grunt of effort the firmly-scowling Raynard attempted to bat back the flying Hylian Shield. Although he was successful he found his flight path was, thus, diverted to his lower right side; double-taking to his lower right he caught the super-fast sight of the low-running Link toward his landing position.
"Bastard...!" The dark-haired mercenary hissed in his grit-toothed scowl before swiftly bringing up his halberd in a defensive motion. Rounding the corner the narrow-eyed Link widened his oceanic eyes before suddenly erupting his body into a violent 360-degree spinning-strike.
BLAST-CLANG-SKRRR
Gasping as he was turned alight by his enemy's encased fire covering the blade and his form the grunting Raynard, though managing to defend as much blowback from the abrupt strike as much as possible, was still sent sprawling across the watery ground beneath him. Growling as he turned his free left hand down to the shallow-wet ground below he recovered by pushing off of it boldly to side-flip backward. Turning his black-look up to catch the sight of the flashing form of his foe the similarly scowling Raynard waited until just the right moment before making his move.
As the rush-down form of the narrow-eyed Link made his after-imaging approach his rival's chestnut-brown eyes widened before leaping to his right side. Successfully evading the diving Link's sweep attempt he also simultaneously counter-attacked by slamming a roundhouse into the young hero's face.
SMASH
"Grngh...!"
Sent into a spinning frenzy the shut-eyed Link twisted his pained scowl as he spun on seemingly endlessly. Acting on his gained momentum Raynard furrowed his brow and leapt up high into the air as he landed; pulling his steel-singing halberd back he grimaced his face as he began to plummet down at an incredibly high speed, his weapon down to make a final descending strike with. Even as he spun wildly through the air however the wide-eyed Link used his remaining free right hand to grasp at the watery landscape beneath him. Using it as a foothold he flipped up to a hand-standing position; surprised as he descended down to meet him Raynard opted not to change his movements and merely continued to drop down. Lowering himself temporarily Link narrowed his sea-blue eyes before grunting in effort as he slammed himself up straight into the sky, presumably to meet his high-flying foe. Spinning in an aerobatic somersault, the narrow-eyed Hero of Time spun the divine Master Sword 'round his left hand before gripping it with both arms, presumably for more strength.
As the pair began to approach one another Raynard, at least, realised his mistake.
The form of the frowning Link flashed in and out of the sky.
An after-image.
Gasping in wide-eyed horror, Raynard could do little but watch as he passed through the young Hylian uneventfully; seemingly having planned the entire exchange the agile Link re-appeared directly above the horrified form of his opponent.
SLAM
"Gurgh...!" Raynard managed out in a wide-eyed, agonising grunt; the concentrating form of his opponent hung in the air as he slammed his left elbow into the young man's back, temporarily slowing the pair's descent. Twisting through the rest of his counter-attack in the air Link grunted as he smashed his right boot across the dark-haired boy's side, causing him to spin around wildly. In a final acrobatic curve Link widened his eyes and yelled with effort as he finished with a spinning left back-kick, delivered deftly to his enemy's wide-eyed lower stomach.
SMASH-SPLASH
With impressive speed and strength the pair were sent singing back down to the watery ground beneath them; as Raynard coughed out in a wide-eyed, open-mouthed plea, the firmly-scowling faced Link remained suspended in mid-air, his left foot emblazoned on his opponent's chest. Time at last began to return to its normal flow for, as he choked on his earlier failure, the growling Raynard grappled at his opponent's exposed leg. Though he realised his own mistake, the watching Link was far too late to do much of anything about it; being pulled up through the air the wide-eyed Raynard screamed with an unhealthy mixture of anger and hatred as he hurled the blonde over his form.
CRASH-SPLATTER
"Hrngh...!"
Although the mercenary lost his tenuous grip on the falling Hero of Time he brought his rising sun kick to successfully and quickly drive his fallen weapon with enough force to swing back into the sky.
WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK
Swiping at the air with his superior right arm he gripped the halberd's hilt in an expert scowl before channelling it directly with his blue-forming aura of Aegir. As the dull hum of his aura gave off its vibration, the narrow-eyed Raynard slammed the blade-end of his Aegir-coated halberd down into the watery ground beneath him. Seemingly reacting in kind with its touch, the far-connected shallow pool of water began to vibrate alongside the dull buzzing the glaring form of Raynard gave it; as the sprawling and rolling Link grunted in his endless twisting he at last used his right arm to push up off the ground in an effort to recover. Somersaulting in a side-flip the Hero of Time grunted through the bloody-face he now sported as a result of his former injuries.
As he landed however the blonde youth gasped on in an attempt to recover his lost breath, visibly fatigued. Noticing the water around him shine oddly and start to move in odd waves the narrow-eyed Hero of Time shot his gaze around in some attempt to work out what was going on.
"Link! He's going to-!"
SPLASH-DROOM
Screaming in horror, the watching Navi was blown back by the sudden explosion of Aegir that erupted between them; droplets of water and showers of white splashed high into the air and, caught within the blast, the grunting Link was sent careering back through the sky. Slamming directly into one of the few half-destroyed stone walls littering the outside of the battle arena, Link widened his eyes when he caught the spinning sight of the swinging-singing steel halberd that his opponent seemed to carry. Unable to move in time to evade it, it managed to successfully sink directly into his lower stomach, pinning him to the wall effectively behind him.
Time seemed to stop for the wide-eyed youth; coughing out in wide-eyed horror, blood visibly escaped from his mouth and from the newly-fresh wound laying beneath him.
This was it, he thought.
They'll turn on Ruto and Navi after this...
And Sheik will die.
Just as he finished his last seeming thought the gasping form of Raynard began to approach the pinned form of the fallen Hylian. Similarly tired and fatigued from the battle, the dark-haired mercenary glared forward as he stepped toward the bound Link.
"F-Finally...," he gasped out before flashing a grin back at the grunting, scowling Link. "You know, Link...," he started again, sweat dripping his brow. "I was always better..."
Unbeknownst to the spiky-haired youth however, the sea-blue of his enemy's eyes very slowly began to change.
From the calming cerulean of the ocean...
… to the hellish crimson of blood itself.
Stepping forward, Raynard gripped at the hilt of his halberd on the side and rose his eyebrows up, surprised.
What the hell, he thought.
Finding himself unable to pull it out he growled as he yanked at it roughly.
SKRRRRRRRR...
Widening his eyes and positively frightened by the sudden jarring sound, Raynard snapped his chestnut-eyed gaze up to find the freshly-faced grinning Link pulling his opponent in by the halberd's blade itself.
"W-Wha-?!"
Barely unable to register his bewildered shock any further, the watching Raynard could only watch as he himself also was pulled forward by his enemy's action.
"Shin'ozo...," the newly red-eyed form of the fiery-haired Hylian began in bloody-faced greeting. "Tomete KURERU!"
–
4
DROOM-FLASH
In an incredible display of fireworks, the explosion of fire-style Aegir that the standing form of Link gave off was enough to force the young Raynard to back-dash away to safety. Their bated breaths held back as they watched, the group consisting now of the narrow-eyed Raynard and the far-off Scaverin and Alwyn kept their stares as consistent as the wavy water that travelled around their ankles.
Finally, as the dust and smoke settled, the low-grinning fanged form of the devil-like incarnation stepped out, merely dropping the divine Master Sword at his feet as if it were nothing more than a useless trinket.
CLANG
Kage Narumono stood imposingly and impossibly across from the glaring-faced Raynard.
Confirming his fabled identity by the telltale signs; the boiling-red eyes, the similarly-shaded fiery-red hair, the sharp fang-like canines in his mouth and even the elongated claws on his hands Raynard knew exactly who this was. Swivelling his head 'round to face his new ally and commander he narrowed his chestnut-brown eyes back at the summoner.
"There! He's out!" He called over. "I did it!"
Seemingly opting not to speak in response the watching Scaverin merely tilted his bald head in his low smirk, his cloaked arms remaining folded.
"Hey!" Raynard called angrily, his eyebrows rising up to match his new-found irritation. "I did what you wanted! I brought out that freak!"
Just as before the listening Scaverin left very little to the imagination in his smirking silence; giving the watching black-haired boy a knowing low chuckle the former bishop seemed to convey his intentions. Raynard's eyes widened when he realised them.
He's going to make me fight this thing, he thought.
Having given almost everything in his energy to fight the Hero of Time before him Raynard very quickly found his fatigue kicking in.
There's no way I can do this, he thought anxiously.
His dark-brown eyes shot down to catch the sight of Kage's seeming earlier wound having been healed with monstrous speed.
The power of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai.
"If I survive this...," the mercenary began, a low tone to his voice before he about-turned his eye on his new commander threateningly. "You're next."
"Oh I'm not concerned about that...," Scaverin chuckled knowingly, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. "Boy."
Last of the Van Garrick Clan – Raynard Van Garrick
In a desperate move indeed the black-haired Raynard shot ahead in a grunting, wide diagonal slash attack with his steel halberd. Opting not even to move to evade it the glaring Kage merely shot up his right red-aura fist and caught the blade mid-swing.
CLANG-SKRRR
Gasping in wide-eyed shock the watching Raynard struggled indefinitely in an effort to remove his weapon from his enemy's burning clutches.
"Taoreta ichizoku no zangai...," Kage began, his right fist twitching intensely from the fierce grip he held on the halberd. Widening his hellish-red eyes however he strengthened his hold on the weapon before re-opening his mouth to match the rise in power his cloak of fiery-red Aegir gave him. "MESSATSU!"
CRACK-CLATTER-SMASH
"Agh...!"
Raynard, sent stumbling back a few steps from the sheer force at which his opponent gave back to him, was left reeling from the impact. At last recovering he rose his eyebrows up in horror when he realised the weapon he carried broke from the force his enemy gave him.
This is bad, he thought.
"Real fuckin' bad...!" He finished his stressed rumination by gritting his teeth and turning his wide-eyed frown up only to find his opponent missing somehow. "Wha-?!"
SMASH-CRACK
In an agonised mixture of what sounded like a cough and a gasp the wide-eyed Raynard was sent stumbling back a second time, visibly knocked upward off his feet by the sheer strength of his enemy below him; standing in a low-held position, Kage Narumono's right fist lay embedded deep within the black-haired mercenary's chest, seemingly knocking him directly upward. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for the pair of warriors as they remained in their unmoving position; Raynard in his wide-eyed, open-mouthed agonised pain and the glaring-faced, narrow-eyed Kage Narumono. At last the demon acted on his momentum however by following up his low strike with an effort-filled back roundhouse kick to the face.
"HNGH!"
CRASH
Grunting in great agony Raynard was sent sprawling and wildly spinning through the air; droplets of blood from his open mouth followed on after him, staining the once pristine watery-blue of the ground beneath them. Widening his eyes however the black-haired youth shot one of his arms down to recover with; grappling at the watery ground below he grunted as he pushed up off of it into a deft somersault backward. Landing in a hard-eyed glare the watching Raynard very quickly shot off almost invisibly to his sharp-right, leaving all form of common eyesight.
The glowering Kage darted his hellish-red eyes off in quick search for the fast-moving form of his enemy; appearing as if from no-where, the wide-eyed mercenary yelled with effort as he shot toward the demonic warrior in a deft leaping knee strike. Raising up his own knee to defensively counter the wide-eyed Raynard Kage merely stared back at the gasping mercenary, raising a fiery-red eyebrow up as he did.
"Is that all...?" He hissed ahead through his fanged canines. Unable to register his visible horror and fright Raynard could only stare back, his eyes twitching from the sheer dread of what was to come. Reaching forward with his left clawed hand Kage widened his own eyes as he pulled his enemy combatant toward him; the abrupt force of which caused the ebony-haired youth to gasp in terror.
CRACK
The pair shouted out, one in a barbaric yell and the other in a panicked and pained howl as the grit-toothed Kage smashed his head brutally into Raynard's own. Reaching forward once more with his left arm, the glaring-faced demon grabbed his opponent's head by his hair and dragged him across the watery ground viciously. The force with which Kage put into his ruthless manoeuvre managed to draw blood and trail it along the wavy waters beneath them, staining its once pristine blue.
With intense effort the narrow-eyed Kage grunted as he pulled back his victim before tossing him with great force high vertically into the air above him. As the screaming mercenary was sent careering up the glaring Kage 'rounded his muscular arms around himself as the ground began to shake. The very shallow pool of water he stood in started to convulse alongside the very earth itself and, as ripples in the water formed, a boiling-red fiery aura of Quintessence coated the narrow-eyed Kage's form.
As the heavily fatigued and wounded form of the vulnerable Raynard at last descended within range, Kage Narumono roared in a hateful battle cry as he shot forward his Aegir-infused pair of fists.
"MESSATSU!"
In that final assault Kage managed to finish off the wide-eyed and gasping Raynard; perhaps unable to find his voice from the sheer divine amount of agony he went through, his mouth remained shut as he was sent careering off into the watery surface below. His body sprawled, rolled and even trailed blood horribly as the poor betrayed youth's travel at last came to an end; halting as his body approached the beach-like formation that the smirking Scaverin and his emotionless soldier stood on.
"Hmph...," the previously silent summoner hummed lowly before upturning his smirk even higher than before. "Impressive."
–
5
"S-So I was just...," the agonised Raynard managed to sputter out, his tone as ragged as the great physical pain he displayed. Blood covered most of his open wounds, dyeing the cerulean pool around him a darkened coral-red. "Just another puppet...?"
Looking on down at his recently deceased ally the smirking Scaverin chuckled as he merely nodded back in response. "To me?" He asked, almost as if for clarification before chortling a second time and narrowing his eyes. "Of course."
Coughing violently from the agony he suffered Raynard caked his surroundings in his lifeblood, miserably groaning as he turned his eye to the seemingly endless sky above.
"What a fool...," the mercenary lamented, a sad look in his eye as he spoke. "I-If I had just...," he began again, the look in his eye becoming glassy, as if approaching the end. "Not let... this take... hold of me, then..."
As his baritone managed out its final echo, the light behind his eyes at last began to fade away, signalling his death.
"And the rebellion are down one more man; such a pity," the watching Scaverin threw in with a light grin. The growling Kage 'rounded his hateful scowl on the older man, narrowing his hellish-red eyes at him. "Settle down now...," he began once more before nodding his bald-headed skull forward, as if to direct him. "There is, after all, one more to deal with."
Grunting in his fanged scowl the demonic Kage about-turned only to find the horrified-faced princess Ruto staring back at him, seemingly having been previously shocked into silence.
"Hmph...," the watching Kage growled back, grit-toothed scowl and all before swinging his fiery-haired head back to face his old enemy. "Weak...," he shot back before licking his lips hungrily and upturning his scowl into a light grin. "The time has come, old man... at last," the demonic warrior grinned forward as he began to stalk forward, as if the cloaked schemer was but mere prey to him. "You are next..."
"Very well..." The newly firmly-frowning Scaverin replied in his folded-armed expression before slowly unfolding them and raising up his arms.
The pool of water in which they all stood in slowly began to convulse, surprising the wide-eyed Kage; in quick action he managed to keep his foothold by slamming his right boot into the ground, eyes narrowed. As time drew out like a blade, eventually, something formed out of the water directly before the cloaked old summoner. Watching with a furrowed brow of concentration the demonic Kage glared on silently.
"Now...," the glaring Scaverin re-started, a dangerous look in his eye. "Come forth!" He called out, eyes widening. As if in response the form beneath them commenced in rising up; a strange gel-like tentacle of gooey water. "Morpha!"
"Morpha...?" The watching Kage muttered out, raising a curious eyebrow at the eye-like nucleus that travelled up and down the long tentacle-like form.
"Oh no...," Navi murmured in growing realisation. "Get out of the way; he's going to-!"
"Oh yes!" The laughing Scaverin interrupted the far-off little guardian fairy before widening his eyes and re-opening his mouth. "Now Morpha! Extract it!"
Lowering his stance to a defensive position the narrow-eyed Kage Narumono was in no way ready for the odd assault that was to take place; the giant aquatic amoeba suddenly shot forward, as if directed somehow by its caller. Wrapping its long gooey appendage 'round the grunting and growling demon it, very slowly, began to inch the top end of its body into the villain's mouth. Squeezing down on his body it forced an angry scream from him to do just that and, as it did, the wide-eyed Kage found himself grunting and gagging from the sheer force of it.
"No! Link!"
"Get away from him!"
In spite of the anxious Navi and Ruto's calls the nucleus that was Morpha merely continued its horrid application in reaching down into the youth's body, seemingly as if looking for something. Gagging once more in a wide, teary-eyed scowl, Kage Narumono found his normally fierce aura of Aegir flashing in and out of itself.
A very visible sign indeed.
"Excellent," the watching Scaverin grinned forward in satisfaction. "Do it."
On his order Kage's pained yell was interrupted savagely and consistently by the amoeba's rough handling; eventually, it managed to pull something bright out from within and flew on back with it, freeing the vessel that was the Hero of Time. Gasping from the sheer pressure he had seemingly dealt with, even in his second persona, the fatigued Link collapsed forward onto his two knees, hands resting on the watery ground below.
"Link!"
Turning his teary-eyed right he found the worried forms of his two companions; the Zoran princess Ruto and his constant partner Navi.
"What's-?" He began uncertainly, blinking back at them cluelessly. "W-Where's Ray?"
Nodding her blue bulbous body toward the mercenary's fallen body the ex-Kokiri swivelled his blonde head 'round to the front only to find his former comrade's corpse.
"Ray...," he murmured out in a saddened frown. His straw-shaded eyebrows rose up however when he caught the sight of what appeared to be a mass cloud of fiery-red Aegir hanging in the air. Standing next to it were the smirking forms of Scaverin and the frowning stance Alwyn, seemingly still a mindless soldier for the villainous summoner. "W-What the-?"
"Link I...," Navi began, seemingly gulping down saliva as she spoke nervously. "I think I know what that thing is..." She claimed, appearing to refer to the angry cloud of crimson Quintessence.
Adding up the blanks in his memory, Link's oceanic eyes narrowed past the beads of fatigued sweat he suffered before widening them in horrific realisation.
"N-No... it can't be..."
"Oh yes...," Scaverin repeated a second time, his grin growing in a positively amused laugh. "Say hello... to your other side!"
With that enthusiastic call the old sorcerer laughed as he watched the cloud before them very slowly form into what appeared to be a human-like torso, legs and, finally, arms.
When Link caught the sight of its fiery colour forming a mirror-like image of himself he realised exactly who it was.
Kneeling down in a similar position to himself, the humanoid form stood back up to its feet before snapping its head back 'round to glare at him.
Kage Narumono stood before him.
"But... how is that possible?!"
In spite of the young Hylian's panicked thoughts and worries the mimicked form of himself glowered on right back at him as if to dash all of his hopes and horrors.
"Now...," the grinning Scaverin began as he stepped forward and reached ahead with his right cloaked hand. "I hope that you appreciate how difficult it was for me to-"
SLAP
In a surprising motion indeed, the fiery form of Kage merely back-handed the furrow-faced Scaverin's arm away, as if disgusted somehow.
"What is the meaning of-?"
Re-opening his hellish-red eyes to glare on back at the cloaked summoner he widened them and, as if by magic somehow, an invisible force pushed at the gasping forms of the former bishop and his standing soldier. Sending the pair skidding a few steps safely back they were, nonetheless, surprised.
"How dare you...," Scaverin growled forward as he lowered his cloaked arms to scowl on disapprovingly. "I saved you from that prison of flesh and bone and I should be treated with-"
"You shouldn't be treated at all...," Kage countered back in his classic demonic-toned baritone, eyes narrowing back at him. "Old man...," he began again before re-opening his mouth to continue. "Just because you understand the nature of the Shinzui... does not mean you have the power to control it."
Shocked by the phantom's words the listening Scaverin widened his eyes before, very slowly, narrowing them in silence. Seemingly satisfied with his handling of the situation the similar-faced Kage about-turned back to re-face the knelt and wide-eyed Link.
"Eighteen years...," the demonic warrior re-began as he tilted his body to glare back at the blonde. "Eighteen long years I have been a captive in your body...," he started before hissing his next reply in his narrow-eyed glower. "But no more."
Stepping forward, the water beneath him gave off a very light splash and even began to part as if sheerly afraid of his form.
"Come on... Link...," he growled forward as he very slowly marched toward the named youth. The listening Hylian gulped down a load of saliva, expecting a confrontation coming as he stood up to his feet. "Tonight... we fight for control!" The demon roared passionately, his voice knocking against the walls of the Water Temple's insides as he rushed forward.
Demonic Manifestation of the Holy Triforce – Kage Narumono
Surprising the blonde youth, his mirrored image shot forward with a sudden lunging dragon-like rising punch attack.
"HNGH!"
Unable to move in time to evade or even block the gasping Link was sent shut-eyed and bleeding high into the air to match the angry scream the crimson-shaded second side shouted out.
"SHORYUKEN!"
Widening his eyes the injured Hero of Time put his effort into turning his body 'round mid-flight to alter his curve; in an acrobatic flip he managed to recover by using his free left hand to grip at the wet ground below him. Pushing up off of it he grunted once as he somersaulted even further backward, landing in a skidding frown. As the super-fast Kage re-appeared with blinding speed behind the youth, the blonde narrowed his eyes and didn't even bother to turn his head while he shot up his dominant left arm up to block with.
SMACK-CRACK
"Argh!" The demonic warrior howled out in pain as his opponent parried the obvious direct assault before countering with his own small grapple. Angry at the defending Hylian the phantom-like apparition growled as he swept the legs, successfully taking the wide-eyed Link off his feet before swiftly yelling in effort as he savagely spun in a super-fast roundhouse back-kick. Though the Hero of Time was sent careering through the air and even rolling he managed to, somehow, turn his helpless flight into a second recovery.
As the hateful-eyed and predictable Kage shot lowly across the Water Temple's beautiful floor, kicking up its lovely water in his flight, he about-turned to get a good look in on his recovering enemy. Anticipating his opponent's intention however, the wide-eyed Link managed to take his gasping mirrored form by surprise; in his aerobatic air-rolling he turned his recovery into a sheer attack. Wildly spinning in his air-twisting series of kicks he collided them roughly with the grunting and gasping Kage, sending him reeling back up into the air. When the wide-eyed Link landed he similarly grunted before flipping forward and positioning his leg down to dive-kick his falling enemy.
Snapping his own hellish eyes back open Kage, in desperation, merely opted not to soften his landing at all. Landing in a pained battle cry he managed to leave both of his arms for a mixture of defence and offence; surprised and not foreseeing this the wide-eyed Link was unable to alter his jump arc and watched on worriedly as he descended down to meet the hungry-faced demon. Just as he feared the grinning Kage Narumono managed to grapple Link's predictable assault and, as he remained in mid-air, he glared back down at his laughing demonic second side.
"Useless!" He called upward in his open-mouthed fanged smirk. "I know all your-"
CRACK
Directly countering the wide-eyed demonic warrior's claims by action, Link used his remaining leg to spin into a deft and snapping roundhouse kick. Surprised and, seemingly unable to have also foreseen it, the fiery-shaded form of Kage was sent drifting and rolling across the watery ground. Pushing up off the ground he grunted angrily as he side-flipped into a kneeling recovery. Using his right hand he cupped the sides of his face as if to rid himself of the jarring his opponent gave him.
Double-taking with his beady fiery-red eyes he widened them before deftly swerving his darkened head down. Managing to avoid the narrow-eyed Link's wide haymaker he returned a low knee to the youth's gut, sending him gasping and stepping stumbling backward. Pressing forward in his hateful-faced counter-attack Kage growled as he leaned forward to sweep the legs a second time however, this time, he was met with failure.
Bounding with a skyward flip forward Link both managed to evade his enemy's strike and successfully delivered a counter-attack by using his enemy as a mere footstool; gasping in both the shock and anger Kage was sent similarly stumbling in the opposite direction to the recovering young Hylian. Altering his flight arc to land side on the narrow-eyed Link watched his opponent carefully, left arm lowered to catch the ground safely and legs lowered to land with them. Positively furious with his human persona Kage growled before suddenly disappearing; a sign of superspeed.
Anticipating his assault once more Link grunted as he turned to his previously undefended rear and shot up his left boot in a deft diagonal kick. Similarly prepared Kage widened his satanically-red eyes before raising up his right elbow, quick as a flash, in order to defend. Although he was successful in his art of defence his delivered retaliation was not; as he shot down his remaining left fist in retribution he merely managed to blow apart the watery ground and the holy stone with which the surface contained. Cut stone and rocks spat up alongside the splashing water as the super-fast Link shot up into the sky, disappearing in the sheer agility with which he moved.
Despite all of this however the growling Kage managed to predict the ex-Kokiri's incoming dive-kick by similarly vanishing from sight; yet another sign of their inhuman speed and agility. At last their exchange appeared to be coming to an end for as the grit-toothed Link turned his head up his eyes widened as he caught the sight – and feel – of his opponent fast-approaching him. Shooting up his right leg in a deft counter-kick he managed to strike the quick-footed Kage across the face and yet, even so, was similarly struck by the Kage's flying punt.
"Grngh...!"
"Hngh...!"
Time slowed down for the pair of similar-bodied warriors as they reeled back from the equal strength of their hits. Eventually however, as time regained its normal flow, the pair found their forms spinning wildly in opposite directions; using their Aegir to halt their involuntary flight they grunted similarly as they landed.
–
6
Gasping as he about-turned to re-face his fiery-shaded mirrored-formed opponent, Link used his right arm to wipe off the boiling-red blood that trickled down his chin eyes focused on his enemy. Laughing back in response, as if somehow knowing the altercation's result, Kage similarly about-faced to grin demonically back at the watching blonde.
"There is nothing...," he began, his satanically-red eyes flashing ominously as he spoke. "Nothing that you can do!" The demon-like warrior laughed on gleefully. "For all your eighteen years of wretched life... I have lived inside of you," Kage claimed, tilting his head in his knowing fanged smirk. His grin furrowed just a little as he finished his sentence. "I know every technique and power you have..."
"All of 'em... huh...?" Link challenged his former second side with a harsh narrow of his eyes; curious as he listened, Kage furrowed his brow in silent curiousness. "We'll see." The Hero of Time finished in a wry grin, as if having known something significant.
"Hmph...," Kage growled back, eyeing the youth suspiciously. "You really think you're stronger than me...?"
"Stronger...? No," Link replied with a shake of his head, a pleasing smile atop his otherwise bloody and bruised countenance. "I've never been as strong as you are."
"Nanda-ko...?" Kage muttered lowly, halting in his march to narrow his eyes in bewilderment. "What is this...?" He questioned curiously, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Finding no anxiety or dread within the youth's smiling eyes he growled to match his hateful scowl. "Grnngh... why...," the demonic will began again, creasing his scowl even firmer. "Why aren't you afraid?!"
"I could never be afraid," the Hero of Time shot back, a confident look in his grinning-eyed expression. "I've never accepted that you're me... after all."
"Grnngh...," Kage growled back animalistically, widening his fiery-crimson coloured eyes as he found his form beginning to flash in and out of itself. Realising what was happening, his eyes were beginning to fill wide with horror. "B-But I-!"
Link's confident grin softened into an understanding smile and, at last, he bid his formerly living demonic second side a farewell look.
Just as he re-opened his fanged mouth to speak one final time, Kage Narumono gave his watching vessel a final scowl. "Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai ga anata no naka de nemuru kagiri...," he began, his form ghosting in and out of itself as he narrowed his boiling-blood-red eyes. "Watashi wa kesshite shinanai..."
His words, filled with hatred and assurance, echoed out into the quiet air of the Water Temple that they stood in; the listening Link turned his shut-eyed smile directly skyward as Kage's Ancient Hylian reverberated quietly across the walls. Though he could not translate each word as perfectly as he'd like to, he'd gotten a very good idea of what the demon had said to him.
In spite of his gashes and wounds that Kage Narumono had dealt to him he couldn't help but grow a big smile upon his face as he felt the very ceiling of the chamber and the background dissolve back into stone and man-made construction. Opening his mouth to speak one final farewell, Link left his well-meaning smile upon his face as he did.
"Goodbye... Kage."