Altered States
A Legend Of Zelda Fanfiction
By OJR
Part 7
The two combatants glared at
each other across the field. Jamie's
eyes narrowed as hi opponent stood ready, a cocky half-smile on his face. Well, he may not be experienced but now he
had real power and he was going to have to learn how to use it. He was as useful as a chocolate fireguard if
he couldn't fight. However, he knew
deep inside that he was in for an uphill struggle.
"Now, Jamie, hit me…if you
can." Link smiled, safe in the
knowledge that right now the boy opposite him posed very little threat. Jamie dug his toes into the ground and
charged, sword blazing in the midday sun. The clash of metal on metal resonated as the swords connected. The Master Sword seemed to chime with the
strike, while Jamie felt the vibrations resonate through his bones. He'd put too much force into his initial
charge and decided to turn his, now, overbalancing body into a shoulder
barge. He jumped up to smash his
shoulder into Links head but instead found himself leaping up, with the
connected swords as a fulcrum, somersaulting him over his opponent. He landed, surprise evident in his eyes and
was so shocked he barely brought his weapon up to deflect the vicious back swing
from Link. He leapt back a few feet and
regarded the situation.
"You're not too bad Jamie,
I'm impressed. But you've got a long
way to go." Link finished the sentence
and mounted his own assault. Even
without his strength giving gauntlets he was surprisingly powerful. Jamie deflected blow after blow, tiring more
and more as Link slashed, stabbed and parried his way through most of Jamie's
sword fighting knowledge. He noticed
that Link was also looking weary and knew that his best bet was to rely on his
stamina. He changed his stance slightly,
making his body a smaller target to defend, but he wouldn't be able to attack
very effectively this way. Unfortunately, Jamie had underestimated Links reserves of energy and was
surprised as a fresh volley of blows rained down on him, threatening to snap
his sword or rip his arms off. With a
decisive swing, Link parried Jamie's sword away, causing the fatigued boy to
drop his weapon. Jamie was almost
relieved for it to be over but paled as he saw Link bring the sword round for
the killer blow. He brought the razor
edge down upon Jamie's head, and didn't even have time to wince as the blade
stopped right on his scalp. Link
laughed quietly at the cowering boy.
"Heh, you are indeed
skilful, but you lack some control. Although what you lack in skill you more than make up for in
stamina." Link collapsed into a sitting
position and began to suck in huge lungfuls of air. He obviously wasn't as used to the close, smoggy atmosphere of
Earth.
"Dude, you are entirely too
good at this." Jamie put his head
between his knees. He had recovered but
his heart still pounded.
"Well, what can I say, it's
my job." Link smiled weakly. It was only then they saw Zelda and Navi
clapping and approaching the two.
"Very impressive, I feel
better about this fight already." Zelda
beamed at them. However, Jamie was
apprehensive, he knew she meant the comment sincerely but she'd been very
withdrawn after the prophecy the previous day. There was always something in her eyes that showed foreboding. And no matter how many jokes he cracked, or
how much affection Link showed her there was always that doubt in those
shimmering turquoise pools.
"Wow, you two really got it
on! The was so amazing!" Navi was jumping about like a loon. She was now normally attired and looking rather
cute in her dungarees and cap.
"And now, class, I'm going
to pass you over to Zelda for you first magic lesson." Link addressed his class of one. Zelda stepped up and clasped Jamie's hands
in hers.
"Now, feel me…" She closed
her eyes.
"Huh? You want me to…" He didn't finish his sentence as his mind shook with a sensation
not unlike taking your brain and turning it inside out while running 40,000
volts through it. His eyes shot open
and the world collapsed in on him. The
blue sky turned to white, then to black. The haze cleared and he found himself still hand in hand with
Zelda. She let him go and he fell
backward, landing heavily on nothing at all. He looked down to see the dizzying, stomach wrenching drop below him.
"Shit…!" He shot back to his feet, standing on the
same invisible floor.
"Relax, you are perfectly
safe." Zelda smiled warmly at him to
reassure him that he was in no danger of plummeting to an adrenaline filled, if
eventually squishy, death.
"I have taken your spirit
and my own into a non-corporeal plain. Your body is several thousand feet below us, guarded by Link. I decided to show you the power of magic
first hand to give you a unique perspective. Now, look inside yourself, what do you see?" This was, to say the least, cryptic. Jamie took a moment to reorient himself to his non-corporeal
predicament. He closed his non-existent
eyes, took an imaginary lungful of air that would defy breath normally. He did feel strange, like a power coursed
through him, as if his blood had been replaced by rocket fuel. Zelda smiled.
"You feel it, don't
you? Just as Link did, you feel the
power that you have bestowed on you. I'll take us back to our bodies and show you how you can use your
power." This was, of course,
incorrect. They had never left their
bodies, just used astral projection to have an out-of-body experience, which
was about as close to being dead Jamie wanted to be for the foreseeable
future. The laws of physics kicked back
in with a thump, leaving Jamie with the feeling of having just woken up from a
"falling" dream. Zelda immediately
started about her lesson, standing behind Jamie and beginning a lesson-like
explanation.
"There are three spells you
will be able to cast without special training. They are channelled through a charm crystal. They can't be copied but you must learn how to use them as they
may save your life." She took three
crystals from Link and held the first up. It was stunningly beautiful, like a tetrahedral cut diamond with an orb
of orange glowing energy at its centre.
"This" she said "is Din's
Fire. It is destructively powerful, as
you know, having seen Link use it yesterday." She looked very solemn.
"Yeah, I saw it all
right. It was like he was a living
napalm bomb!" Zelda was slightly puzzled
by the statement but let it pass. She
put it in his hand and he clasped it, feeling its warmth and power. Zelda sat a bag of flour next to Jamie.
"Now, I want you to destroy
the bag using Din's Fire." She stood at
a safe distance and began to call out instructions.
"Concentrate on the stone,
let your power flow! Feel the energy
course into the stone!" Zelda hoped he
could 'see' the power flow to the jewel. Jamie wasn't having much luck. He concentrated his mind on the stone but found it difficult to even
make it glow brightly. Link decided to
step in.
"Jamie! Listen to me! The bag is your enemy! It
must be destroyed!" Jamie nodded and
concentrated on the thought of incinerating the bag. He felt the twinge in his hand as the jewel glowed fiercely.
"Who is your enemy?!"
"The bag is my enemy!"
"What must you do to your
enemy?!"
"Destroy it!"
Link began to bark the
mantra again.
"WHO IS YOUR ENEMY?!"
"The bag is my enemy!"
"WHAT MUST YOU DO?!"
"Destroy it!"
"WHO IS YOUR ENEMY?!"
"THE BAG!"
"WHAT MUST YOU DO?!"
"DESTROY!!" And with that Jamie cried out, letting a
massive amount of power flow into the jewel in his hand. He slammed his fist into the floor and the
hemisphere of burning light exploded around him in a brilliant shockwave. The bag was lifted by the force and was
completely blown apart. The particles
of flour inside ignited in a cloud of fire. The impressive display died down and left Jamie on one knee feeling a
little drained in a five meter radius of charred ground.
"Wow…that was intense." Link stepped up and slapped him on the back.
"Well done! I'd almost think you were a hero." Jamie laughed weakly at the joke as he'd
used a lot of power for the spell and felt he needed a rest. Zelda seemed to read his mind or, more
accurately, actually did read his mind.
"Come on you two, when
you're quite finished being macho heroes we can go back to Jamie's and rest,
we'll continue tomorrow." Zelda started
to walk off.
"Wow, she's some kind of
lady…" Jamie gazed after her.
"Indeed, the best kind." Link also gazed, growing a small silly
grin. They followed Zelda into the
trees and home.
She turned, tears forming in
her eyes. This was, to understate
greatly, very bad. Her little boy was
embarking on something huge. What, she
didn't know. All she knew was that she
had to let him do it, she didn't know why as it defied all her maternal
instincts. But if the display of power
today had been any indication, he would be well prepared to take on whatever task
he had been set. She wiped the final
tear away and chuckled lightly, cycling double-time to get back home first.
The troupe of heroes entered
the house wearily, fatigue evident on their faces. Jamie trudged through to the kitchen and saw his mum drinking
some tea. She seemed to be in thought
and her eyes were puffy. He gently put
his hands on her shoulders.
"Hi mum, what's wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh nothing…I just saw something odd on my
way home from the shops."
"Is it ok?"
"I hope so love, I hope
so. Just promise me something ok?"
"Of course, anything."
"Don't take any un-necessary
risks, ok?"
"Ummm, sure…" Jamie backed off, slightly worried. She was on edge and he had a feeling
why. However, he dismissed the thought
and tried to be flippant.
"No prob mom, it's not like
I'm gonna run off to save the world or anything." She smiled as if to say "of course not". But keeping a secret is hard, especially if
the secret doesn't want to stay kept.
Authors note: I thought that was quite nice :) But tell me what you think. I'm loving you all for your support. This one goes out to Ian Gainsbourgh and
dragon gurl. I'll do a dedications page
and acknowledgements at the end.
