Hello all! I am searching in vain for something to do at work bc got some reason it's been dry af here, which has led to me hiding behind a huge cardboard box pretending to put ducts together while type this. So! I think this will make either really mad or really mad. Or really happy??? It's the end of part two, anything goes! Enjoy!
Dirt under her nails. Sweat rolling down her neck. Cool forest air on her skin. Metal in her hand.
Zelda rubbed her thumb over the pin slowly. She let out a slow breath that only shook a little, and closed her fingers over the pin. The undergrowth rustled, footsteps came closer, but Zelda didn't look up.
"What news?"
Purah shuffled on her feet, biting her lip. "We haven't found them, Zellie."
Zelda let out a shallow breath and stood, clenching her fist around the pin. "Take me there."
Purah led them through the woods to the Sacred Grove, and Zelda tried to ignore the signs of destruction on the way. She kept her gaze forward, feeling as though if she concentrated hard enough, she could see her son running ahead of her, fear nipping at his heels.
Zelda felt the burn behind her eyes and shut them for a long moment. When she opened them again, she stood in the Sacred Grove from the legends.
Had she been in another situation, Zelda might have been more awestruck. Here was another place the Heroes of the past had stood in, another piece of Hyrule's history--her history, along with Link's. But no.
She crossed the clearing without paying any mind to the broken architecture and scientists running around like mice, instead focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. She climbed the hastily-constructed steps to the balcony and put on her mask, hiding the worry.
"How is it going?"
Robbie straightened. "We're having trouble getting it to respond. It seems to operate on an unknown force. We can't find a stable pattern, either."
"Maybe whatever attacked them is interfering with us," Link suggested. He wore his Alliance uniform along with everyone else. The Master Sword stuck up over his shoulder. He glanced at Zelda. She nodded faintly, staring at what Robbie and Purah worked on.
The Doors of Time stood closed, emitting no light from either side. Link had asked the heroes, specifically Twilight, how they worked, but so far nothing they did had gotten the Doors to open to them. Not even a crack.
The princesses were stumped as well. None of them had ever gone through the Doors, after all. Even Wild was at a loss, though that hadn't stopped her from directing Zelda to the library on many occasions.
Zelda swallowed, staring at the Doors. It had been two months since Hazen, Saval and Tessen had disappeared. Word had gone out and spread like wildfire: the crown prince is missing.
The empire had turned upside down. No one had seen him, or the Twilight Princess, nor Tessen either. Though Zelda and those at the Grove knew they were most likely together, word had still gone out to search for them. Zelda would take no chances.
Dark and Midna had arrived two weeks ago, hastily leaving their ambassador in charge of Twilight. Dark and Ilayen scoured the darkest corners of the empire, even going as far as the Northern Reach. They'd returned with nothing but the dirt of travel.
Tetra could hardly stand to be in the Grove, watching and pacing the old overgrown stones, only to be told they'd found nothing yet. On the other hand, Zelda herself had pitched a tent on the balcony, hardly able to tear herself away even for a bathroom break. The fear lived in her always, the not knowing if they were alive, if they were okay, if they were dead somewhere and she was here, helpless.
But perhaps worse was not knowing why. Why they were gone, what had taken them. If it was as simple as a magic fluke, or if it was something else. Someone else.
Zelda wrung her hands, clenching them so tight that Hazen's wolf pin cut into her palm. He wouldn't. He would not take her son from her. The burning came back, and this time she couldn't stop it.
Hands pulled her away, and she sucked in a breath. "It's not him," Link whispered in her ear. She opened her eyes, but she didn't see her husband. Instead, she saw white fields stained crimson and corpses, she saw violet clouds and red lightning and the flash of the Master Sword. She saw her friends lying still, their eyes closed, their weapons failures in their hands.
Zelda breathed, but instead of cool forest breezes she choked on blood-soaked air, felt cold metal cutting into her chest.
"Zelda!"
She gasped as Link shook her, and suddenly there he was, his bright blue eyes brimming with tears and anger. But it wasn't for her. "Listen to me," he whispered, wiping her tears. "It's not him. Ganondorf is dead, Zelda. We killed him eighteen years ago. He can't hurt us anymore. He can't take anything more. He can't hurt you."
He pulled her close, his voice searing away the images, repeating those words like a balm. Zelda buried her face in his chest, trying like her life depended on it to believe him, her fists clenching in his uniform.
It was so hard. So hard to make herself believe it. She knew it had to be true, but some part, buried deep within the darkest parts of her, fought against it, roaring and screaming and crying that it wasn't over, it would never be over as long as that scar crossed her chest. And with every day that passed, and her child wasn't found, the voice grew louder.
Zelda breathed deep, as deep as she could. She had to ignore that voice. She had to. Because if she didn't, her fury would be too much to control anymore, and the empire would suffer for it.
"Empress? Zellie?"
Zelda turned to see Purah, and behind her--"
"Tetra," Zelda said, shocked. "What--"
"Zel, look at this," Tetra said, rushing forward. "Zelda, look. Saria and I found this in the library."
She pulled Zelda to a table and scraped the missing persons posters and disappointing reports aside. She slammed a book down at the same time that Saria raced up the stairs, several familiar faces in tow. "Zelda!"
She slammed into her with the force of an angry cucco and pulled back, her eyes shining. "I brought help."
"I can see that," Zelda said, feeling a smile creep up. "It's so good to see you all."
Impa smiled, embracing her. "Family will always come before anything," she said, and Zelda felt tears of a different kind burning.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Oh, little sister!" a voice called, and Zelda laughed for the first time since her son had vanished. "Dark!"
Link's brother wrapped her up and spun her. "We didn't find them in the Fortress," he said, "but there are so many other places to check, and we'll search them all if we have to."
His words warmed her, thawing the coldness in her heart. "Saval is so lucky to have you," she said, and meant it with everything she had. Dark's eyes glittered with pain and love, and he promised her, "We'll find them."
Zelda nodded, and raised her head to see the other sages gathering on the balcony. "We're here for you," Ruto said, and Darunia slammed his fist into his chest. "Always, Zelda."
Zelda felt hope fluttering in her chest. "Everyone--"
"Ahem," Tetra called out, and the group sheepishly turned to see her with a hand on her hip, testily saying, "If you're finished, can we get back to finding our children?"
Guilt spawned in Zelda's heart. She returned to the table, holding Tetra's gaze, and got back to business. The others were a bit less enthusiastic as the reality of their reunion settled in, but their energy was something everyone sorely needed. After two months of nothing, morale had been running low.
"All right," Zelda said, leaning over the book. "What did you guys find?"
"Saria and I were looking through the library on old legends in Hyrule. We were almost through the book when we found this," Tetra said, shoving the book towards Zelda. She leaned in, squinting. The page was torn, and the writing was faded nearly to invisibility, leaving only a scrap of writing left. "What does it say?"
"We don't know what it means," Saria said, her green eyes fixed on the page. "It's written in Ancient Hylian, in a dialect we haven't seen before. But this word here--look."
She pointed to the last word. Link leaned in close, sharing a glance with Zelda. "It's an old version of the word 'moon'," Tetra said. "We ran it through several generations, trying to find a dialect that matches it. The closest one is from almost the beginning of Hyrule itself. We--Link?"
Zelda looked at Link and felt her heart drop. "Link. What is it?"
His face was bone white, and he had that look in his eyes that said he was communing with the heroes. "Stay here," he managed, and then ran off at a dead sprint, disappearing into the trees.
Zelda blinked, glancing at Saria and Tetra, but they were just as lost. Shaking herself, Zelda said, "The heroes must have a clue. Link will be fine--let's focus on trying to decipher more of this. If we can translate it, we might be able to connect more of this to whatever the heroes know, and where the kids are."
It took a long time, and at one point Saria rode back to the castle to gather an expert on ancient languages. Even then, it was dark when they had to quit, and they'd barely translated anything else. Saria went to talk to Dark, and while they spoke quietly, Zelda closed the book, looking to where Tetra stood at the balcony.
Sighing, Zelda went to join her. She wouldn't get any sleep tonight, and she knew Tetra wouldn't either. Neither spoke for a long time, but when Tetra did, it was in the thick voice that said she was about to cry. "I keep thinking that maybe I missed something," she whispered, staring out over the trees. "Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention. Maybe if I had, then he would still be here."
Zelda blinked. "Tetra, none of us could have seen this coming," she said, but in her heart, she had wondered the same thing. Perhaps if she had just spent more time with Hazen, she might have caught something, some clue. She swallowed hard.
Tears streaked down Tetra's face. "He's my baby," she whispered, voice breaking. "My baby boy. The thought of him out there, scared, alone--"
"He's not alone," Zelda breathed, warmth falling down her own cheeks. "He has Hazen, and Saval. They'll be all right."
Tetra shook her head. It was a few moments before she could speak again. "He's lived through so much. Most of the war, the entire reconstruction efforts. He's so strong. And whenever he needed help, or someone, I--" She broke off, swallowing. "And now that I can't be there, I can't--"
Her words ended in a sob. Without a word, Zelda pulled her in tight, stifling her own cries in Tetra's shoulder. Her words had woken up Zelda's own fears, and in the dark woods, standing where their children had vanished, the fear was all she could feel.
They sank down to the ground and cried together, unable to keep it in any longer. She didn't know how long, but when the sounds of a horse crashing through the woods broke through their sobs, the two raised their heads.
Link rode into view, and with a sharp breath Zelda pulled her friend to her feet and they rushed to the balcony, meeting Link there.
"What happened? What did they tell you?" Zelda demanded.
"I know what took them," Link breathed. He dragged them by the hands to the table, shouting, "Wake up! Everyone, wake up!"
Within moments everyone was scrambling out of their tents, bleary from half-sleep. "What happened?" Ruto asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I know what took the kids." Link raised his voice so everyone could hear, and soon the balcony and clearing below were filled with murmuring. "What was it, Link?" Zelda asked, her heart pounding.
"Do you remember that story I tell the kids before they go to bed?" Link asked randomly.
"Wha--yes, but why?" Zelda asked, bewildered. "The one about the mask, right?"
Link nodded. He flipped through the book again till he found the ripped page. "This was about it. The mask--Majora's Mask. The excerpt about the moon talks about Moonfall in Termina."
"But I thought that was just a story," Zelda argued, watching as Link took out a sketch from his pocket and placed it over the missing page.
"What is Majora's Mask, and what does it have to do with the kids?" Tetra demanded.
"This is Majora's Mask," Link answered, and stepped back.
Goddesses. Zelda shook her head, meeting Tetra's wide gaze. "Link, what is this thing?" she asked, trying to shake the cold that creeped up her arms.
"It's a demon mask from Ancient Hyrule," he said, making sure everyone was listening. They were riveted. "When you mentioned the moon earlier, Time realized something. He told me to look back at the destruction in the woods--to look for scorch marks."
"Scorch marks?" Darunia said, brows lowering. "Can this thing control fire?"
"Time says yes," Link said. "After I found the scorch marks, he sent me to Termina to look at their ancient folklore. That's where I found scrolls, telling a story about masks and someone called 'the Happy Mask Salesman'."
"Who?" Saria scrunched her brows. Link waved a hand. "He doesn't matter, at least not now. But everything about Majora itself was destroyed, ripped up, burned."
He met Zelda's gaze, finding his growing horror reflected in her eyes. "The scrolls said that in Ancient Termina, a mask had descended from the sky and cast a curse on the land, dooming the moon to fall and destroy it."
"So that's this mask?" Zelda laid a hand on his sketch, engraving it in her mind. Link nodded.
"And it's somehow dragged the kids to Termina?" Ruto asked.
"Well, I'm not sure what exactly it's done with the kids," Link answered. "But this is what attacked them."
Silence met his words. Zelda took a deep breath, sitting in one of the chairs. "So . . ." Her voice failed. "So," she tried again, "how can we find them?"
Link's eyes were helpless. "I don't know. I just know it had something to do with the Doors of Time."
All eyes turned to the Doors, as silent and dark as ever. Sighing deeply, Zelda held her face in her hands before standing. Her hand scraped along a wood sliver on the table, drawing blood. She hissed, shaking her hand. "Thank you Link. At least now we have an idea of what our children are dealing with."
He nodded, but the frustration in his gaze was all too familiar. He swallowed. "I want my son back," he whispered, and Zelda saw the vulnerability there, shining in his eyes. She nodded, putting her hand on the top of the Doors. "We will," she promised. "We will find him. All of them," she added, meeting Tetra and Dark's gazes.
But they weren't looking at her. They stared at the Doors, and as Zelda cocked her head, Purah pushed through, her eyes wide.
"Zellie . . . don't move your hand."
"Why."
Purah didn't answer, just dragged Robbie forward, muttering under her breath. The two scientists circled the Doors, scribbling in their notebooks, and that's when Zelda looked over.
It was a measure of will to not rip her hand away. Her first thought was that she was feeling the effects of no sleep, and her second was that whatever was happening could lead them to the children. That thought alone was enough to keep her hand firmly planted on the Doors.
"Amazing," Link whispered, approaching slowly. "Why are they glowing like that?"
At the sound of his voice, Purah and Robbie froze. They exchanged a glance, then pointed at Link. "Be ready to cut your hand."
He and Zelda shared a bewildered glance. "Could it be in their blood?" Saria asked, watching closely, as the scientists around started running like madmen. The sages crowded forward, and even Tetra and Dark came closer.
"It must be, nothing else has triggered the Doors before," Purah answered, scribbling wildly in her notebook. "Link, ask the heroes what they know of this."
"Hmm." Link closed his eyes.
"It's probably because we share blood with them, the Hero of Twilight in particular," Zelda murmured. "Do you think they'll open with more blood?"
"It's a possibility, but we need to test this." Robbie sat himself in front of the Doors, sketching the scene.
Link breathed in deep. "Twilight says nothing like this has ever happened, and none of the others have any memory of it either. But Time says you're probably right about the blood part."
Purah snapped her fingers, and Link rolled up his sleeve and cut his palm with a dagger. As soon as he laid it on the stone of the Doors, the glowing intensified. "Will this help us find the kids?" Tetra asked.
"Well, we need to run a few tests, but possibly, yes," Purah said, hesitantly.
Tetra and the others continued to ask questions, how they could help, but Zelda wasn't really listening. Her mind had gone back the last two months to a conversation between Link and Hazen, right at their kitchen table. And when she looked at Link, she knew he was remembering it too.
"Purah," Zelda said, her heart beginning to race. "We need to ask you something."
"Try it now."
Saval threw her weight into the door, cursing as her feet slid on the floor. The rock pressed painfully into her arm and shoulder, and she pulled away with a sigh. "It's not moving."
Tessen cursed colorfully, rising from his crouch. He wrenched his sword from the crack between the wall and door and glared at it. "Stupid fucking mask," he muttered, rolling his shoulder. "Next time we see it I'll drown it in the bay."
Saval didn't answer, simply stared at the door without seeing it. Tessen wanted to say something to her, anything, but what? It had been hours since Majora and Skull Kid had trapped them down here, and they'd been trying to escape that whole time. He didn't want to bring up the engagement, but the silence was agonizing.
Without a word, Saval turned from the door and looked around the cavern, brows scrunched. Tessen watched her run her hands along the stone, lift her head and stare at the ceiling, lost in darkness, and sigh through her nose.
"Do we have any bombs?"
Tessen jerked. "No?"
He walked to where she stood, towards a crack in the stone. "I wouldn't recommend it, anyway," he added. "This place, the whole Hall, is underwater. If we blasted a hole through the wall, the pressure could kill us."
"Couldn't we stay afloat long enough for the cavern to flood, though?" Saval pressed.
Tessen shrugged. "Maybe. But those fish are still out there, I think. And the water could slam us into the stone and knock us out, too."
Saval cursed softly. "So what, then?" she asked, looking into Tessen's eyes. "Just wait until the air runs out?"
The despair growing in her eyes was almost too much. "Let's try and get the door open again," Tessen suggested. "Maybe we'll think of something."
Saval turned back to the door under his guiding hand, though by the look in her eyes, she didn't have much hope. Tessen followed her, his stomach crowded with fear. He didn't say what they were both thinking: they were running out of time.
"Irene!"
She didn't answer. "Goddesses' blood," Hazen swore. The wind tore the words as soon as he said them, and in the gathering darkness, he could hardly see Irene anymore.
He didn't know how long they'd been falling. It could only have been minutes, at most, but the longer it went on, the more Hazen began to think they'd already hit the ground and died.
But no. Of course not. That would have been too easy.
He could almost hear Skull Kid's laugh as he kept falling, could almost imagine Majora's eyes glaring at him from the endless shadows around him. The sound of running water came and rushed past, with more of Hazen's hope.
"Irene!" he tried again, raising his voice as loud as possible. There was no answer.
He could barely see her--just a lump of slightly lighter shadows, fluttering a few feet to his left. Swearing, Hazen tried to maneuver himself in the air. The wind tore at his hair and clothes, making unclasping his cloak more difficult. He accidently cut himself on the clasp and cursed, and with a single flash the clasp broke off and spun away into darkness.
Finally Hazen got his cloak into order. But as soon as he did, it was ripped from his hands, fluttering behind him with another impish laugh.
Gone was the anger, now, gone with his cloak. Hazen felt despair gathering in the pit of his stomach, clawing up his throat, and almost in answer, the endless shadows ahead of him began to lighten. The ground was approaching. He was almost there.
Hazen closed his eyes, missing the faint light glowing to his left, and could almost feel the ground reach up to meet him. Wind rushed past even faster than before, and though he didn't hear them, hoarse words were spoken quickly before he slammed into a hard surface, then another.
Hazen went sprawling, rolling once, twice, three, four times before coming to a painful stop. He had enough lingering consciousness to feel an errant, slow breeze brush his face, before that too faded away.
It must have been hours.
Hours since they'd spoken, at least. Hours since they'd stopped trying. Air was precious, they'd agreed, and should be conserved as much as possible. So they didn't speak, and didn't exert more energy than necessary. All that they did now was think.
How long would it be, Tessen wondered, until their Zora guards realized that they were nowhere to be found? Would they care? Perhaps they would contact Link. Even more outlandish was the idea that they knew about the cavern beneath the Hall, and that Tessen and Saval would be saved soon.
Unlikely, Tessen thought. They hadn't seen Skull Kid again; he supposed he should have counted that as a blessing, but he'd rather have an outlet for his anger other than simply swearing and shouting. Perhaps Majora would make another appearance still--not that Tessen would put up much of a fight, at this point.
He turned his head to look at Saval, where she leaned her head against the cavern wall. She, like him, had fallen asleep, and that had been several hours ago. Now they just sat against the walls, and waited for the air to run out.
So yes, it had been many hours indeed. Tessen heaved a breath, little more than a gasp, before closing his eyes.
Almost two days later, they'd gotten it to work.
Robbie and Purah had kept the connection by keeping Link and Zelda in constant contact with the Doors, which had in turn begun glowing day and night. No one had slept since the discovery, kept awake with adrenaline and cuccos, the loudest Dark could find. Instead of resting, they pored over books and studied ancient legends surrounding the Doors, and of the princesses and heroes of old. Zelda and Link even leafed through their own tomes, helping one another turn the page when they couldn't reach. They'd done so for almost two days, their eyes burning from lack of rest but unable to look away--every moment could be the one they'd find something.
And it was in one of those moments that Zelda lifted her head. "Link. Do you remember--Ow!"
She jerked away from the Doors, clutching her head. "Zelda!"
She panted for breath, but managed, "Don't lose contact! I--I felt him!"
Link's shock was a split-second affair--his hand was back on the Doors almost before she'd finished speaking, and the surrounding flurry of activity had Zelda lifting her head, already speaking.
"I don't know what it was, but--but I felt him. Hazen," she clarified, and Purah's pen flew across her notepad. "I think it was because--"
"Of your blood," Ruto gasped, looking wide-eyed at Saria. "It--it's her blood."
"Zelda," Saria darted in close. "You said Link and Hazen talked about blood primacy, and dilution of Ancient Hylian blood."
"Right, but--"
"And you're Ancient Hylian! At least, you have that blood. So by extension, so does Hazen, right?"
"Yes . . ." Zelda trailed off, not entirely sure where Saria was going with this, but sensing something was coming. She looked at Purah, and sure enough, the doctor's face had lit with the light of a new discovery.
"Zelda's hand was bleeding when she first touched the Doors," she said, waving impatiently at all the doctors, even Robbie, to write down what she said. "And just now, she said she felt Hazen--didn't you?"
She looked sharply at Zelda, who nodded, now sure she knew where they were going with this. "Then since Hazen and I share blood, it wouldn't be outrageous to assume I could . . . could--track him, somehow."
"At the very least, you could feel where he is," Purah breathed. "Just now, you jerked forward as if in pain--"
Link's head shot up, worry making his eyes sharp. "Does that mean he's injured?"
"It could," Tetra said, suddenly there, exchanging glances with Ruto.
"But the connection was made with just a few drops of blood," Zelda said loudly, capturing everyone's attention. "With more, could we go deeper? Could we find them?"
"And not just yours," Dark said, coming forward. Midna stepped closer resolutely. "If it means finding our children, I will give every last drop of my blood," she said, and there were tears in her eyes. "Ancient Hylian or not." Tetra nodded, rolling her sleeve up. As one, they all looked at the doctors present.
"Why don't we find out?" Purah said, holding up a needle.
Hazen felt like he should have been dead.
He sat up and found it hurt more than lying still, so he did just that. His body was on fire. Within seconds he was unconscious again.
He didn't know how long he stayed that way, but by the time he opened his eyes, the sun was on its way down.
A curse slipped through, and he tried to rise. It was only a little less painful than the first time, and when he moved his leg, spears of pain shot through to his side and back down to his hip. He shouted out, gasping for breath through ground teeth, until the pain subsided. Slightly.
When he could see without black spots, he tried speaking.
"Irene," he croaked. She didn't answer.
He tried again, bracing himself to roll. It sent agony down to his hip, which he figured now was probably broken. I'm lucky to be alive right now, he thought. And the only reason I am is either unconscious, or--
Hazen shut his eyes. Don't think about that.
He focused instead on searching their surroundings, keeping an eye out for blue hair or yellow eyes, and eventually found one.
"Irene," he called, and this time she answered.
Her head came up, blue eyes searching the semi-darkness until they found his. "Do you see that?" she mumbled.
Hazen could barely see beyond all the black spots in his vision, but he settled on, "See what?"
Irene merely pointed, her gaze already back on . . . something. Hazen had finally crawled close enough to see blood leaking from a deep slice in her temple, and her eyes had that unfocused look of one with a concussion. His heart sank.
Though, when he followed her gaze, he wondered if he might also be suffering with a head wound. Across the pit they'd fallen into--Hazen's memories were hazy, but he recalled at least being shoved into the pit--was a glowing white ball of . . . energy? Light? He couldn't tell.
Breathing hard, he flopped down and closed his eyes, giving in.
Tessen must have been hallucinating.
Something was pulling on him, but when he cracked his eyes open, there was nothing there.
He shut them again, taking a too-shallow breath, and was almost able to forget the hunger tearing at his stomach when the pulling started again.
This time, when his eyes opened, they could barely manage a blink before falling closed again. Keeping them opened meant expending more energy, and it wasn't like he had that in spades. He couldn't even breathe anymore.
But the pulling was still there.
An errant thought crossed his mind: What if it's a way out? With a monumental effort, Tessen raised his head, but again, there was nothing. Nothing but dust motes and shadows and a flicker of white, seeming to get farther away the longer he looked.
He didn't know why he focused on that white flicker. It was small and weak, blinking in and out of life, but it stayed--and he couldn't say for certain, but . . . he thought that the longer he looked at it, the more stable it became.
How odd, he thought. He ought to ask Saval.
Saval.
Tessen tried to speak, but only managed a weak cough. His voice was hoarse, unused for almost two days. It took several tries to get it working, but . . . "Saval."
She didn't move.
"Saval."
Nothing.
Wild fear erupted in Tessen's heart, enough to make him move for the first time in many hours. It took his breath away, what little he'd had, but he moved--and continued calling her name.
Please answer, he begged, staggering to his feet. He couldn't stay up and fell, but--but she wasn't moving. Please.
Tessen wasn't above crawling. Digging his fingers in, he made it to her, finally, throwing a glance to see if that white thing was still there.
It was.
And it had gotten bigger.
Tessen turned to Saval, who'd lain on her side until now. He shook her, softly at first, then harder, raising his voice as high as he could. He managed a hoarse shout.
"Saval!"
Her eyes opened.
Relief nearly sent him to the ground--but no. He had to stay awake. The longer he was conscious, the more he remembered. He had to stay awake--and so did she.
Saval groaned, turning away, but Tessen grabbed her, fighting for every breath, every movement. "No," he mumbled. "Stay up."
"Why?" she whined, voice nearly gone. Tessen found he couldn't speak anymore, so he just took her hand and pointed. Tired amber eyes followed their hands, landing on the white blob, and widened.
"I can feel them," Tetra gritted out, eyes closed in concentration. "They're weak. They need more!"
Robbie rushed forward and drew more blood, letting it run from Tetra's free hand and over the stones. Purah kept her hand pressed to Tetra's other, firmly planted on the Doors, and turned to Zelda and Link. "How about you two? Any luck?"
Blood slipped down Zelda's arms, alongside Link, and she felt lightheaded. But she--she could--
"I feel him."
The rumbling woke him.
Hazen jerked awake, setting his skull splitting. He ground his teeth, breathing through it, until the worst passed. He raised up on his elbows, slowly this time, and turned over onto his stomach.
The rumbling came again, dangerously loud, and he dared to look up.
That was a mistake.
The Moon was so close he could see the cracks in the teeth. "Goddesses," Hazen gasped. He turned his gaze to Irene, who was lying on her side. "Irene," he called, desperation raising his voice.
They had minutes. Minutes before they were crushed. He dragged himself to her side, ignoring the pain in his hip as much as he could. He grabbed her and shook her hard. "Irene! Get up now!"
Her eyes flew open, and she jerked upwards. "Ah!"
She clutched her head, nearly tipping over, but Hazen seized her and held her still. "No," he said, and she met his gaze through blurry vision. "Not yet," he whispered. "Come on."
He couldn't walk. She could barely see straight. But that light was just ahead, and Hazen's mind had cleared enough that he remembered that light, that shape, that familiar pulse in the air as if it were a call.
So they crawled along the cavern floor, stone raining down around them, the ground cracking under them, the Moon's garish face looming closer with every rumble. It sent a chunk of stone down to smash right next to Hazen's head, sending shards of rock to scratch his face--
--and he winced away, gripping Saval's hand as tightly as possible. I'm not leaving her here, Tessen thought, his face screwed into an expression of defiance. The cavern crumbled around them, water spewed in from cracks in the walls, and yet with every step that white light loomed--
--"closer! They're getting closer!" Link shouted, panting. Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose. The Grove was silent, the moon overhead oblivious to the tension, the fear, the palpable excitement.
Zelda gasped against the Doors, tears scalding in her eyes. "Bring them home to me," she whispered, her breath stolen--
--from her lungs as she stumbled, but Hazen had her, and they went down together, an arm stretched out. So close--just a few feet away, so close they could feel it like they felt the heat of the earth shattering around them, so close they could touch it--
--white light surging outward as the cavern erupted in a wall of water, but Saval couldn't feel it, and she was weightless--
--thrown back to the dirt, left to watch as the glow from the Doors faded into nothing, its heat drying the blood on her arms, the tears on her face. Zelda stared, watched the Doors simply . . . darken, with no hint they'd ever been as bright as a star at all. Emotions whirled through her, flitted across her face, and yet she could settle on none of them, because she'd had a chance, and it was gone, they were gone--
Tetra fell to her knees, her sobs breaking through the storm in Zelda. She let her breath loose, accepted Link's hand that pulled her up, and met his gaze. It only solidified what she felt.
She stared at the Doors, dark as the night they stood in. "You will not take them from me," she said, and they were less words than a threat, an oath, a promise.
I will find you.
And that's it! Let me know what you thought of that bit with the blood and the doors; reading back I'm a little unsure, but I like it and I don't feel like changing it *shrugs* unless y'all don't feel like it flows, then I'm honor-bound to edit it. So let me know!
So! Review replies:
To StJames1: absolutely. Irene spittin facts over here. And hmmm. I mean, I wouldn't say so, but like, it's up to interpretation at this point. Speaking of which, does this chapter make you feel better or worse about that??? HAHA.
To Queen Emily the Diligent:I cant tell if you're saying that she already knew beforehand (which is entirely possible, the amount of things I've forgotten that I've written is frankly embarrassing) or if you're saying it in a more surprised tone of voice so I'll go with the latter haha. yes, she knows! Finally baha, the story is revealed. As for if she already knew, well, I may have drank a little too much Dumb Bitch Juice this morning, and it's Monday, so...I'm not at my brightest lmfao! Anyway, I hopeyou're still enjoying the story despite little slip ups like that haha.
Okay everyone! That is it, pls don't be too mad at me, I promise it gets better. I'll see you next Monday, and although I constantly forget to say it, thank so you much for reviewing! I appreciate it, I just suck at articulating that hahaha. Bye!