Chapter One
Link's POV
Everything that surrounded me was enveloped my the red sky. Ash and debris fell from all sides, crashing and scorching the very ground that I stood on. We were told not to come back without information, but there was no other choice for us; they had seen us and all we could do was flee. I could barely see my two partners ahead of me through the blanket of burning rocks that continued to fall everywhere.
Through the sounds of cracking and rumbling that filled the air, I couldn't help hearing a crashing thud, and a horrible pain suddenly shot through me. I fell forward and my attempts to ignore the pain and bring myself back to my feet failed. Something was keeping me down. I tried to focus on the source of the burning sensation, and found myself turning to my right leg. I was being held down by a flaming boulder, which covered my leg from the knee down. Even if I could manage to pull myself from it then, the fire was penetrating my skin and I doubted that I would be able to stand. I took in quavering breaths of the smoking air, but it did me no good to calm down; all I could do was panic. I didn't think that I'd make it back to the base alive.
I was losing the feeling in my leg. I knew they'd be coming soon. They set all of this off to stop us, and that's exactly what they'd done to me. I could see a figure coming toward me through the crimson air. The outline looked human. Ganondorf? A churning started in my stomach when I thought of him... Being taken by the hands of my nemesis. But I began to recognize the person... It wasn't Ganondorf...
"What's wrong?" Roy screamed through the overbearing howls of stones collapsing around us.
I looked up at my ally, while struggling to keep a decent breathing pace. "I... I can't move," I called back to him. He came closer to me, seeing the boulder that restrained me. Apparently not concerned with the temperature of the rock, he immediately began to push it from my leg. I knew it was pointless, however, because I wouldn't be able to walk on it. If he was to help me, it would only burden him, and neither of us would make it back. "Don't bother, I won't make it back," I turned my head to him. He now had the rock off of me, but I still couldn't feel anything different.
"I'm not going to leave you here!"
"Please, Roy! Nothing can be done--"
"Look at me," he shouted. I did as he said. I tried to focus on him through the tainted air, and I could see that he was looking me straight in the eye. "Have you forgotten what you're fighting for?"
A sensation pierced through my heart with that. Those simple words reminded me of exactly what I was doing. I would never be one to quit, but I didn't want to endanger him along the way. Still he persisted; he refused to leave me. His life was at stake, but all he saw was that I was in need. He knew what he was fighting for. But what could I say to that?
He never took his eyes of me as he continued. "Everyone back at the base is waiting for us, and I am not going back there to tell them that you didn't make it!"
He wasn't going to back down. There was nothing I could say to make him change his mind, and that was what I admired about him. He fought for brotherhood; he'd never put his needs above another's. These thoughts ended quickly when another voice came about.
"What's going on?" my other partner called, running to the two of us.
"He got hit; it looks pretty bad," Roy responded.
The teal-haired warrior knelt down to examine my leg. "Oh, God," was the only comment I heard from him. I could see that he was touching my leg, but still no feeling came. My breath quickened as the wound came into my view. Blood traveled from the cuts in the affected area, covering my right boot as well. I shut my eyes and tried not to let the image engrave into my mind.
The noise around the three of us grew sharply louder than it had been, but it quickly faded the debris suddenly began to clear. We all looked up to what seemed to be the source of the noise, and I saw the sickeningly familiar man before us. Ganondorf smirked upon seeing my injury. Roy rose to his feet and stood between me and the King of evil.
"Back off, boy," the man hissed to him. "It's not you that I want."
In response, Roy unsheathed his sword. "You aren't getting to him," he held his blade in front of him.
Ganondorf let out a bitter laugh. "Well, I see the eruption hasn't affected you. But I'm sure we could do something about that, if you're going to be stubborn."
I examined Roy's face as he positioned his sword over his shoulder, beginning the charge of his lethal Flare Blade. His view was planted firmly on Ganondorf, and a mix of anger and determination could be seen through his eyes. I had never seen him like that before. "Marth, get Link out of here!"
"But--" Marth began to protest.
"He needs to get back, and so do you! Go, now!"
"What about you?" I continued what my partner had started.
"Go," he shouted over the high whining of the blade as it's glowing increased.
I felt Marth lift my arms over his shoulders, then turned back in the direction that led to the base. With one final glance at Roy, I wondered if he would make it out of that situation.
Once we had gotten a good distance away from the battle area, the sky began to clear up into a gray. We were, however, still close enough to hear the explosion that broke through the air. The sound was similar to what we had heard when Ganondorf first appeared. It didn't take me long to put it together, and it didn't take Marth much longer. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, giving both of us view to the purple light that filled the horizon. "Oh, no..." Marth whispered.
I felt a terrible ache inside of me. We both knew that purple glow, and we had only seen it from any one of Ganondorf's most powerful attacks. I closed my eyes to fight back tears. I was never going to see my friend again.
Link's POV
Everything that surrounded me was enveloped my the red sky. Ash and debris fell from all sides, crashing and scorching the very ground that I stood on. We were told not to come back without information, but there was no other choice for us; they had seen us and all we could do was flee. I could barely see my two partners ahead of me through the blanket of burning rocks that continued to fall everywhere.
Through the sounds of cracking and rumbling that filled the air, I couldn't help hearing a crashing thud, and a horrible pain suddenly shot through me. I fell forward and my attempts to ignore the pain and bring myself back to my feet failed. Something was keeping me down. I tried to focus on the source of the burning sensation, and found myself turning to my right leg. I was being held down by a flaming boulder, which covered my leg from the knee down. Even if I could manage to pull myself from it then, the fire was penetrating my skin and I doubted that I would be able to stand. I took in quavering breaths of the smoking air, but it did me no good to calm down; all I could do was panic. I didn't think that I'd make it back to the base alive.
I was losing the feeling in my leg. I knew they'd be coming soon. They set all of this off to stop us, and that's exactly what they'd done to me. I could see a figure coming toward me through the crimson air. The outline looked human. Ganondorf? A churning started in my stomach when I thought of him... Being taken by the hands of my nemesis. But I began to recognize the person... It wasn't Ganondorf...
"What's wrong?" Roy screamed through the overbearing howls of stones collapsing around us.
I looked up at my ally, while struggling to keep a decent breathing pace. "I... I can't move," I called back to him. He came closer to me, seeing the boulder that restrained me. Apparently not concerned with the temperature of the rock, he immediately began to push it from my leg. I knew it was pointless, however, because I wouldn't be able to walk on it. If he was to help me, it would only burden him, and neither of us would make it back. "Don't bother, I won't make it back," I turned my head to him. He now had the rock off of me, but I still couldn't feel anything different.
"I'm not going to leave you here!"
"Please, Roy! Nothing can be done--"
"Look at me," he shouted. I did as he said. I tried to focus on him through the tainted air, and I could see that he was looking me straight in the eye. "Have you forgotten what you're fighting for?"
A sensation pierced through my heart with that. Those simple words reminded me of exactly what I was doing. I would never be one to quit, but I didn't want to endanger him along the way. Still he persisted; he refused to leave me. His life was at stake, but all he saw was that I was in need. He knew what he was fighting for. But what could I say to that?
He never took his eyes of me as he continued. "Everyone back at the base is waiting for us, and I am not going back there to tell them that you didn't make it!"
He wasn't going to back down. There was nothing I could say to make him change his mind, and that was what I admired about him. He fought for brotherhood; he'd never put his needs above another's. These thoughts ended quickly when another voice came about.
"What's going on?" my other partner called, running to the two of us.
"He got hit; it looks pretty bad," Roy responded.
The teal-haired warrior knelt down to examine my leg. "Oh, God," was the only comment I heard from him. I could see that he was touching my leg, but still no feeling came. My breath quickened as the wound came into my view. Blood traveled from the cuts in the affected area, covering my right boot as well. I shut my eyes and tried not to let the image engrave into my mind.
The noise around the three of us grew sharply louder than it had been, but it quickly faded the debris suddenly began to clear. We all looked up to what seemed to be the source of the noise, and I saw the sickeningly familiar man before us. Ganondorf smirked upon seeing my injury. Roy rose to his feet and stood between me and the King of evil.
"Back off, boy," the man hissed to him. "It's not you that I want."
In response, Roy unsheathed his sword. "You aren't getting to him," he held his blade in front of him.
Ganondorf let out a bitter laugh. "Well, I see the eruption hasn't affected you. But I'm sure we could do something about that, if you're going to be stubborn."
I examined Roy's face as he positioned his sword over his shoulder, beginning the charge of his lethal Flare Blade. His view was planted firmly on Ganondorf, and a mix of anger and determination could be seen through his eyes. I had never seen him like that before. "Marth, get Link out of here!"
"But--" Marth began to protest.
"He needs to get back, and so do you! Go, now!"
"What about you?" I continued what my partner had started.
"Go," he shouted over the high whining of the blade as it's glowing increased.
I felt Marth lift my arms over his shoulders, then turned back in the direction that led to the base. With one final glance at Roy, I wondered if he would make it out of that situation.
Once we had gotten a good distance away from the battle area, the sky began to clear up into a gray. We were, however, still close enough to hear the explosion that broke through the air. The sound was similar to what we had heard when Ganondorf first appeared. It didn't take me long to put it together, and it didn't take Marth much longer. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, giving both of us view to the purple light that filled the horizon. "Oh, no..." Marth whispered.
I felt a terrible ache inside of me. We both knew that purple glow, and we had only seen it from any one of Ganondorf's most powerful attacks. I closed my eyes to fight back tears. I was never going to see my friend again.