Author's Note: The last chapter didn't come out quite as dramatic as I'd hoped. You kind of have to imagine Link's voice at the end, when he's saying "Please don't. Please, Zelda, no…" Anyway, I'm sorry this took so long. Got caught up on a tricky part of the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. Period.
Chapter 10: Madness
Link held his hands outward in a futile gesture of warding off a blow. "Zelda, no, please don't. Please, Zelda, no." Zelda released the spell, and all the world was enveloped in white.
"Please, don't. Please, Zelda, no…"
"Please, Zelda, no…"
"Zelda, no…"
* * *
All Zelda could see was infinite darkness. There was the faint sensation of a bump on her head, but it seemed muted, as if it was very far away. There was no acknowledgement of temperature, if there was such a thing. It was hard to tell, there was only the dark for sure. That was it.
No, that was not it…The last thing Zelda had heard was repeating itself over and over in her brain, trying to banish the soothing darkness and bring her back to a world of harsh, painful light. The darkness was soothing, muting all pain. Unfortunately, it also hampered her ability to think. What had she heard?
"Please, don't. Please, Zelda, no…"
Link…she had heard Link…crying out against something…but what? Crying out against…against…her. Against something she was going to do. What had she done? A spell…she had cast a spell…Zelda fought against the mist that obscured her reasoning. It was of no use. Nothing she could do would bring that spell to mind. Someone…or something…had told her to use it, but did not teach her how to use it.
(Wait.) Zelda strung her clouded and disjointed thoughts together. She tried to put the strange line of events leading up to her current situation in order. (Something was wrong with Link. He tried to excape the castle. I cast some sort of spell. Link cried out against it. Why? What did he know that I didn't? What did I do?)
A stifled groan brought Zelda back to herself. She thought the owner of the noise was Malon, but she couldn't be sure. Zelda opened her eyes…
And quickly shut them again. The light was painful to her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Zelda reopened her eyes, this time only a sliver, so as to adjust to the brightness. Opening her eyes to the fullest, Zelda cautiously sat up. She noticed her impromptu teammates doing the same. Impa seemed the most alert, but there was no hiding the disorientation in her eyes. Darunia was rubbing his head with his large hand, and Nabooru appeared to be massaging her temples with her gloved fingers. Malon was sitting up, looking more than a bit dazed.
Zelda remembered the other person caught in the blast of the spell. Turning her head a bit too quickly, Zelda felt the world around start to go gray…but she fought it off. Moving with more caution, Zelda forced herself to her knees, then to her feet. Her legs proved to be unstable, dropping out from under her. Fortunately, Impa had already gained her footing and moved over to where she was. Impa's arm closed about Zelda's own, steadying her. Silently thanking the mindful attendant, Zelda leaned against the wall, letting Impa pull the others to their feet. When all five colleagues were on their feet and steadied, they collectively turned to face Link.
He was getting up off the floor. Stumbling a bit at first, he shook off his dizziness and faced the anxious onlookers. Zelda studied his features carefully, searching for any signs of…whatever was wrong with him. He seemed fine. His hair had even changed back to normal. Not a speck of that eerie white remained. Just that beautiful sun gold hair, that clear, smooth skin, the bottomless blue eyes.
With a happy cry, Zelda rushed forward, embracing Link before he could react. "Oh, Link, I was so worried! We all were!" Link seemed surprised at Zelda's sudden display of affection, but he took it very well. Once she had released him, he spoke calmly and soothingly. "I'm all right now, Zelda. You don't need to worry about me."
Impa hung back as the excitable Darunia and the ecstatic Nabooru moved forward to greet their friend. She had felt a pang of warning when she heard Link's voice. In the previous times she had conversed with the boy, she remembered he had certain traits to his speech. In the company of strangers, his voice was very quiet. The person he spoke to would often repeat his words just to clarify what he had said. This had the effect of making the person seem to be holding a one-sided conversation with a child, probably a mute. In the presence of friends, his voice was still quiet, but had an undeniable energy and childish innocence to it. But now, as she listened to Link assuring his friends that he was fine, Impa saw that both these traits were absent. He spoke clearly, and with a calm collectiveness that gave the impression he was detached from the world. Impa found it unsettling.
Malon had stayed back as well, although her first instinct was to run up to the Fairy Boy and give him a great big hug. A nagging doubt that she could not explain kept her from moving. She just stood there, looking at Link with an odd puzzled/worried look on her face.
It has been said that some people could see the truth. This requires years of training and an inherent knack as well. Old myths claim that children, with the innocence and purity that is lost with adulthood, can see the truth without even trying. This is a highly debated fact among people who study myth, legend, and philosophy alike. Malon was about to put that debate to rest.
"Who are you?"
Everyone, including Impa, turned to regard the farmer girl after that remark. She paid no attention, only continued looking at Link with an expression of distant but strangely piercing curiosity. Zelda was the first to respond. "What do you mean by that?"
Either Malon didn't hear her, or she ignored her. "You aren't Link, so who are you and why are you in his body?"
The others murmured something to Malon on weather or not she had hit her head, but not Link or Impa. Impa stood, gazing at Malon in shocked revelation. She knew there was something wrong with Link still, but could not express it. Doubt remained, however. After all, someone in Link's body? It just sounded so unreal. Later she would realize that it had seemed too unreal to be anything but the truth. Impa quickly looked back at Link.
Following Malon's unorthodox question, Link's demeanor changed instantly. The detached look had fled, vanished as if it had never been. In its place was an expression of connectiveness, leaving nothing unseen or unnoticed. His features were cold and hard, unrelenting as he stared at Malon. Malon had a stubborn streak that could stare down anything, but she felt herself wavering as she met those eyes.
Even as Link replied, Impa knew Malon was right. This was not Link. Any doubt that might have remained in Impa's mind were dispelled when she looked, not at Link, but behind him. His shadow was not that of a boy, but some larger being. She wondered why she had not noticed it before. Of course, she realized, because he, it, had not wanted her to. Impa was so absorbed in the shadow that she missed part of what Link, or whatever, was saying.
"-than I had thought. It is a pity that I am not in my own body, but this will do." Darunia, Nabooru, and Zelda had all begun backing away from the thing in Link's shell. The voice was the same, but at the same time it was not. Malon, pressing her back against the wall as if to separate her from Link as much as possible, spoke in a clear but fearful voice. "W-w-who are…no…what are you?" The thing in Link laughed without mirth. "You are correct to ask what and not who. My name is not important. I am the Fierce Deity, and that is all you need to know." Impa felt the name strike at something in her memory, but she could not recall what.
Link, now the Fierce Deity, continued to speak. "I would thank you for letting me in charge of this body…"
Especially you, Princess. Zelda gasped when she heard the now-familiar voice in her thoughts.
"…but I would have taken over eventually. You were merely a means to the end. Unfortunately for you, I cannot leave any witnesses…" There was a stunned silence as the portent of those words sunk in. The Fierce Deity nodded as if following the collective train of thought. "Indeed. Goodbye." He unsheathed his sword.
That broke the paralysis that had invaded their bones. Darunia scooped up Malon, shouting "RUN!" His advice was taken, and not a moment too soon. The Fierce Deity lunged at them, performing a brutal jump-swipe with Link's sword. He missed, but only barely. The group fled down the hall, running as fast as they were able. Zelda was in Impa's arm, and Malon in Darunia's. Link was fast, but the Fierce Deity was still adapting to Link's body, and they had a short head start.
Still, Gorons are not the fastest thing on legs by any stretch of the imagination, and Nabooru almost tripped on the clothes she was wearing. She despised the formal diplomatic tresses, and wished fervently she had abandoned protocol and worn her Gerudo pants instead.
The Fierce Deity was catching up. He moved to the side, pulling up on their right. They, subsequently, turned left. This continued for a while, the Fierce Deity getting close but never within striking range. As the group turned right, Impa realized why. He was herding them. At this point, they had nowhere else to flee except the courtyard. They would be trapped. Which was exactly what he wanted.
Apparently Nabooru noticed this too. "That bloody bast-" Nabooru's curse was cut short as the five entered the courtyard.
They slowed down, finally stopping when they neared the window on top of the stone stairs. The Fierce Deity leaned arrogantly against the doorframe, taking his time. He had no reason to hurry. Darunia and Impa put down their respective passengers. The three adults moved into a fighting formation. They didn't intend to go down without a fight.
Malon and Zelda were thrust to the back of the group. Malon looked about with wide, frightened eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. Zelda, on the other hand, seemed lost in thought.
She could hear a voice. It sounded like the Fierce Deity again, and she mistrusted it at first. But as she listened, she knew this could not be the same. The Fierce Deity had left her feeling…tainted…somehow. This voice was different. Where the other was dark and cold, this was filled with light and warmth. She listened.
Zelda, listen to me. You must undo what you have done.
How? Link had started forward, closing in.
To reverse the effects, you must use the opposite.
I don't know what I cast, much less the opposite of it! Link was almost there. Impa, Darunia, and Nabooru were frozen by his glare.
Then let me show you. A bit of that wonderful light filled her mind, and she knew. There was no doubt she would forget it as she did the other spell, but there was no use worrying. Zelda raised her hand.
Perhaps the Fierce Deity knew what Zelda was doing, perhaps not, but at that moment he struck. With a snarl, he lunged, the sword making a ringing noise as it sliced the air. Zelda released the spell.
This time there was no light. The light was swallowed by the darkness. The world followed the light, falling without a bang, without even a whimper.
Silence reigned, the dark absolute.