Prologue
The trees opened into a wide path as Link ran out of the forest. With nothing but his shield and sword to protect him, he came to realize that this pursuing foe would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to defeat.
As Link cleared the last of the trees, he glanced back into the forest. In the darkness the sound of gale force winds grew intensely louder. Branches first began to sway, then abruptly snap off. Trees altogether started rocking, and then inevitably fell over or even became uprooted as the winds increased in strength. In the darkness of the remaining trees, a shadow began to define itself, growing in size as it neared the clearing.
The sun's rays reflected off the metallic surface of the object as it came hovering onto the plain. Its armor encasing was the color of night. Link glanced up to see 6 meter tall torso of a knight holding a matte black blade twice his size. Attached to its waist was what looked like the body of a metallic horse, but where there should have been strong, muscular legs were gaping holes spewing jets of air, keeping it afloat. Its armor enclosed head swiveled around, as if looking for prey, and finally stopping dead on Link, it began to slowly advance with the chase once more.
Link backed up and began running again, trying to figure out just how he would defeat this mechanical monster. He remembered relaxing in Kokiri forest with his fairy, Navi. While sitting by a pond, this strange robotic centaur appeared seemingly from the shadows themselves. Link unleashed a flurry of arrows only to have them bounce harmlessly off of the knight's chest. He then set off his bombs, the explosions creating a cloud of smoke and dust around the centaur. The dust settled, revealing it to be unscarred. Not even his Deku, Goron, nor Zora transformation masks were of any use to him. Even Navi could not do anything to help Link. After realizing that he would need something more powerful…even more godlike, he would have to find a clearing in order to achieve such a feat.
As he ran through the fields, he spotted Epona, his faithful horse, standing loyally where he left her. Her ears pricked up as he whistled to her, recognizing her master's call. She galloped toward him, when suddenly an explosion in between them knocked her back, leaving her unconscious. Fearing for her safety and angry over this uncalled for violence, Link abruptly stopped running and turned around. He never liked doing this, but he feared he had no other alternative.
***
Navi remained by Links side as he pulled put the mask that could possibly save them. The Fierce Deity was not a normal mask. Its power alone simple handedly took out the haunted spirit of Majora, an evil entity that tried to crash the moon onto an innocent town. But there was a darker side to this mask. Navi remembered how it drained Link each time he wore it, and how he always wore a demonic expression because of it.
Be careful, Link, she whispered to him, Don't let it ruin you.
Link looked at her with a grim expression and nodded silently. He then slowly slipped the mask over his face. She could feel his pain as its spirit took over his body, morphing him into that of a godlike Link. Explosions of power released from his body as he grew into that of the adult Oni Link. Red and blue stripes streaked across his face. His golden hair went completely white and the eyes that Navi always thought were adorable were strewn into a milky color. She shuddered at the sight of those soulless eyes. She wondered if Link was even Link anymore as the transformation completed. His form looked so pure, yet so dark.
The centaur knight stopped, seemingly hesitating at this new prey in front of it, and then with immediate confidence, continued its advance. Oni Link then pulled from a sheath behind his back a long sword composing of two intertwining blades. The blade glowed with an aura of power as he held it with both hands, too big to wield with just one. At the same time, the centaur stopped a few meters away gripping tightly to his own sword.
The jet blasts from the centaur's engines did nothing more than blow around Oni Link's hair, as normal Link would have been blown away. The soulless monsters stared at each other, both not moving. Navi, could sense death pouring from the two.
It was the centaur that made the first move. Kicking its air jets into overdrive, it rushed forward at Oni Link with its sword raised. Just as it was about to cleave the hero into two, Link rolled out of the way and slashed upward at the centaur knight's sword wielding hand. The knight quickly blocked and brought down his blade in a circling motion. The parrying move quickly knocked Oni Link's sword out of his hands, spinning it straight into the ground meters away.
Link jumped high over the knight's blade and ran to retrieve his sword- his only defense. It was then that Navi sensed his mistake.
Link, NO!
Before Oni Link could turn around, the centaur unleashed a shadow energy mass. The dark electricity arced toward Link, striking him straight in the chest. He was thrown back several meters before finally hitting the ground in convulsions. Black electricity writhed around Oni Link's body.
Struggling to stand, Link shook off the remaining energy, gathering his strength. Mentally calling for his sword, the blade shook out of the ground and flew into his awaiting hands. Just in time. He lifted it to block the centaur's rushing attack over him. Oni Link's blade began to glow with a blue aura, then in an exploding release, the energy from it sent the knight reeling. Reeling one meter.
Surprised, but quickly recovered, Link rushed at his foe, slashing energy beams at it. Before the attacks could reach it, the knight lifted his sword, allowing it to absorb them all. Its blade glowed with a dark violet as the centaur unleashed the absorbed energy in a mass sum back at Oni Link. This time Link was prepared.
He tightened his grip and dug his heels into the ground. The energy wave swept at him, and he swung his sword, flinging the blast back to the knight at greater speeds. The knight hesitated. With full force, the energy hit it directly in the chest. Sparks and fires erupted from the torso. With a twitch and a mechanical screech, the monster machine shut down. Without the air propulsion, it crashed to the ground with a THUD.
Oni Link blew out a long sigh and fell to his knees in exhaustion. He pulled off the mask, reverting back to his regular Link self. He looked up to Navi with an expression of sadness, grief, and relief. Feeling sympathetic, she flew over to him to comfort the boy.
You did what you had to, Link. Now, let's get back to the princess so we can warn--
She and Link were blown back from sudden, harsh, gusts of hot air. The centaur rose, from the ground, its sword pulsating with life, powering up once again. The torso folded over as if it were doubling over with pain, but cackles of energy rose and jumped around its body. Pieces of shattered magnetically rose from the ground and reattached themselves onto the knight. Cracked metal remolded into the black defenses they were. It seemed that all the energy the knight lost, it gained back twice over.
Sighing from both pain and surprise, Link reached for the Fierce Deity's mask once again. As he was about to attach it to him, a blast from the knight sent it flying out of his hand. The centaur would not allow the same mistake to happen twice.
Navi, still recovering from the blow, looked up to see the mask 30 meters away from Link.
How-how could it have recovered like that? Its just a machine…isn't it?
Link struggled to get up, and found that he could not. He has spent all of his energy as Oni Link. He tried raising his shield, knowing there wasn't anything else he could do.
The mechanical centaur cocked its head to one side, then did what seemed to be a robotic laugh. It raised its sword and from it, spewed to be masses of shadows. The rolling blanket swept with speed over the plain, covering everything with darkness. The only things left in the light were Link, Navi, and the shadowed glowing of the centaur's sword and eyes.
Link! What's happening here? Somehow he trapped us within some sort of dark void…LINK, LOOK OUT!
Link looked up to see a glowing sword raised above him. He lifted his shield, expecting it to be a final blow, but instead the sword released flowing waves of hypnotic energy down upon Link. Feeling weak, Link dropped his shield. His eyes grew heavy and he slowly slumped over to one side, drifting off into unconsciousness. The centaur stopped the energy flow and lowered his sword. He slowly, almost gently, advanced toward the sleeping Link.
With either courage or stupidity, Navi couldn't remember which, she dived between the knight and her fallen friend.
You won't hurt him! I will NOT let you! Navi threatened.
Without even looking at her, the centaur swatted Navi, sending her sailing across the void. She tumbled away and could not regain her momentum. All she remembered before blacking out was the centaur opening a hole in its underside and Link floating into it in a beam of light…
***
Navi awoke in the fields of Hyrule, where she and Link were last. Shaken, she tried to find Link. Suddenly remembering what had happened, she frantically looked around for him.
Link! LINK! Where are you? LIIINK!
She flew aimlessly, searching for her friend. She stopped abruptly when she spotted something on the ground. She flew cautiously over to it. There, strewn in the grass, was Link's pointed cap and his shield.
Oh, Link…
She was quiet for a moment, trying to string the puzzle together. "What could that…THING want with Link?" she thought. Summoning the courage that hadn't been with her in the fight, she decided she would find her Link at all costs.
She turned around and saw the mighty castle of Hyrule in the distance. "But if I'm going to do so, I'll need some help…"
Navi flew towards the castle at top speed. What she hadn't noticed was that the Fierce Deity mask was missing as well.