Chapter 34: Kakariko Village

Maiku and Zelda ran side by side across Hyrule Field towards the village of Kakariko. Maiku's eyes caught sight of a faint disturbance in the sky above the village. "Zelda, look!" he yelled out, motioning his head towards the entrance.

"What?!" said Zelda as she looked in his direction and saw the glowing smoke of uncontrollable fires n the horizon, "No!!" Her speed increased and her heartbeat began to race even faster than it had when he told her he would be on her side now. She couldn't believe his words when he uttered them and even now they still echoed in her mind, "Please… believe me, princess Zelda. You believed in me to save Hyrule seven years ago, let me redeem myself to you and Link by helping the cause of restoring Hyrule's former prosperity by destroying the Evil King and by sealing him away in the Sacred Realm!!!" She closed her eyes, He couldn't have been lying, she thought to herself, His life was at stake, why would he lie with such high stakes against himself?

"Zelda?" his voice cut through her thoughts, "Hey, snap out of it!!"

"Huh?" she felt him tug her arm towards him, "What are you doing?" She stopped running, as did he, "Why did you grab my arm like that?"

"You were about to fall into Zora's River now a rushing rapid that, if you are not careful, could lead you to your destruction. It was formed by me five years ago… rather, two years after my beloved Ruto's death."

"What? Ruto…? Princess Ruto?"

He nodded, "Yes." His eyes showed a deep sadness through the eye holes of his mask, "I was married to her… temporarily…" He went down onto his knees, "I… knew love before I became what I am now and am becoming."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth was open behind the cloth of her hooded mask of the identity known as Sheik, "Married?"

"Yes, I was married to her after I received the Spiritual Stone of Water those seven years ago. But she was killed after the ceremony by Ganondorf, and I was nearly killed… which I actually wanted to happen. But Link saved me and said I was the only survivor in Zora's Domain… I was not really grateful for his help; I had already suffered too much back then."

"Maiku…. You poor, lost, and confused thing…" she kneeled beside him and put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically, "I truly feel sorry for you, but… what happened in the past cannot lead up to the events unfolding now."

"Zelda, I never knew that any of the things that I did would come to pass… nor did I know that I was going to…"

"What? What were you going to do?"

"N-nothing… forget about it, okay?"

"I'll try to forget it…. But it would be close to impossible, knowing of what you are…"

"Zelda… thank you…." He slowly stood back up and ran to the gate, "C'mon, let's see what's happening!!!"

Zelda followed him into town, slightly know what to expect. Most likely the townspeople thinking Maiku's still the enemy…she thought to herself, …if any are still around, that is…

"Zelda? Are you still thinking about my sudden change of heart?"

"No..." she lied and ran past him.

True blond, He thought to himself and continued to run, how and why was she endowed with the Triforce? Oh well, whatever…

The sounds of the towns people screaming from the destruction of Kakariko Village filled his ears, along with the sounds of darkness that his ears had become accustomed to over the years; it sounded like echoes of the dead all talking at once mixed in with their agonized moans and groans of their painful afterlife of being a part of an evil being. He knew he didn't have any of the souls of the dead on him, he made sure of that years ago, but for the first year or so of being allied with Ganondorf he was actually afraid of the darkness that embraced him closely; but over the years he had become accustomed to it and actually welcomed it with open arms.

His heart skipped a beat when he ran into the town and found that it was a scene of absolute destruction on a much grander scale than he had ever performed in his years of being in service to Ganondorf. Kakariko Village was almost a complete loss; the building were on fire and some were already burned down to the ground while some where in the process of doing so. He scanned the area for any signs of life but it was no use, the only people in his sights were either dead or dying.

Further behind himself, he heard the soft bell-like voice of Navi which meant that Link was not too far away, Damn! He thought to himself, If Link and Navi see me, they'll get the wrong idea and think that I was responsible. They were getting closer by each passing moment and the only thing that was going through his mind was to stand beside Zelda and try to face whatever the well had sealed in its depths. He ran towards the disguised princess of Hyrule and glanced down into the well, "Zelda…" he whispered.

"What?" she whispered back

"Link and Navi are here…"

"Just stay calm and try to help me if the Shadow Spirit attacks, got it?"

He nodded slightly, "Yes…"

"Maiku, you seem… nervous about Link's presense…"

"….."

"Lighten up…"

"…. He won't understand…." He glanced behind his back saw that Link was already helping out with lining the bodies in a non-flammable area but widened his eyes as he noticed Link pointing his head in his direction, "Fuck…!"

"Excuse me?"

"He saw me…"

"So?"

"So…"

*                                  *                                  *

"Maiku!!!!!" Link yelled out as he drew the Master Sword from it scabbard.

"Get back, Link!!" Sheik yelled.

"Sheik?" he said, "I didn't notice that you were…"

"Hey!!!" Navi screamed, "What are you doing here, Maiku?!"

"You caused this," Link accused him, "didn't you?! When will your thirsts for death and destruction cease?!"

"Damn it, Link!!!" Maiku said as he turned to face him, "I didn't do this, you idiot!!!"

"That's enough, you two!!!" Sheik yelled at them, "This is no time for your ridiculous differences right now; we've got bigger troubles right now!!!!"

The ground rumbled beneath their feet, "Earthquake?" said Link.

"No…!" said Maiku, "It's something bigger!!!" The well exploded into thousands of pieces and the wooden bucket rack blew out of the ground like it was a top on a bottle of champagne blown off from an enormous amount of pressure from the bottle. "Damn!"

"Maiku, Link!!! Help!" Sheik said as she was grasped by something invisible and big

"Sheikah!!!" Maiku called out, "Sheik!!" Link yelled

Maiku grabbed onto the invisible thing but was bucked off as Sheik was tossed away; their screams filled the night sky. Sheik landed on her back and Maiku landed on his stomach. Link watched as the Shadow Spirit materialized and headed towards him, only to wish that he didn't die as he waited for the hit.