The Legend of Zelda: The Return
A Brief Interlude
Hunter dropped into a crouch by Zelda's blankets and poked her. She muttered something and promptly rolled over.
"Come on, Zelda," he said, poking her again. "It's your turn! I wanna sleep!"
"No," she moaned, pulling her blankets up over her head. "No . . . it's Link's turn . . ."
"It is not," Hunter said. "Link's after you. Come on! Get up! Don't make me shake you!"
"You wouldn't."
He did.
"Okay! Okay, okay, okay!" She cried, forcing herself out of his grip and into a sitting position. She glared at him from underneath her hair. "You have no respect." He grinned at her.
"Nope," he said. "Not an ounce. Now get out of your blankets. I'm borrowing them."
"Why?" She demanded, getting up and stretching, trying to wake herself up. "What's wrong with yours?"
"They're cold," he said, crawling into hers. "Yours are warm."
"How come you just assume I'd be okay with that?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
"How come you assume I'd care?" He responded, rubbing his eyes. She frowned at him.
"You're spending too much time with Link," she grumbled.
"I'm actually enjoying his company," Hunter muttered, settling down and closing his eyes. "He's not half so bossy as you are. A little high strung sometimes, but I suppose given all he's been through I can't really blame him." Zelda humphed and looked over at where the Hero of Time was sleeping uneasily – his blankets twisted all around him from his tossing and turning. She blinked in surprise.
"Is he all right?" She asked. No answer. She looked back over at the Sheikah. "Hunter! Wake up for a minute!" He groaned and opened one eye to glare at her.
"What?" He demanded. "I'm trying to sleep!"
"Is he all right?" She asked again, gesturing at Link.
"Give him a minute," Hunter mumbled sleepily. "He'll settle back down. He always does that."
"Must be some nightmare," Zelda murmured, frowning at Link's sweat covered face.
"They always are," Hunter said, his voice almost intelligible. "He never talks about them though. For someone who complains so much about other people's secrets he's sure got enough of his own."
"Everyone has secrets," Zelda said. "Some more than others." Hunter gave a disgruntled sigh.
"Zelda, I love you dearly, and I mean absolutely no offence by this," he said. "But for love of the Three Goddesses shut up! Maybe you can operate without sleep, but I'm likely as not going to fall off my horse tomorrow if you don't let me get some shut-eye! Forgive me if I don't want to walk into Gerudo's Fortress at anything less than the top of my game."
"They're not going to hurt you, Hunter," Zelda said. "Sheikah or no. Link, Neesha and I are with you. You'll be fine."
"Fine. You and Link and Neesha will protect me. Will you shut up now? You can't stand watch if you're busy talking." Zelda silently stuck her tongue out at him but didn't say anything else. She turned her attention back to Link's moon-bathed form.
He looked so unhappy . . .
xxx
I'm trembling.
Because of the cold? Because of the pain? Because of the fear?
I don't understand . . .
I'm surrounded by whiteness, cold and blank. I spin around, searching desperately for some familiar sight. Some sign that I'm still . . . I don't know, alive?
Alive or not, there's nothing here. Nothing but me and this whiteness. Suddenly, however, I see something, out of the corner of my eye. I turn and look, hope rising up in my chest, then dying still born when I see it. It looks almost like a ripple. A huge, dark, ripple in the whiteness. I swallow hard and take several steps back as the ripple advances, picking up speed as it comes. Some buried alive instinct thumps deep in my chest . . .
"This is going to hurt."
I gasp in surprise and turn to see who's speaking. My eyes widen.
"Dad?" I ask in surprise. Brayden of the Sheikah stares back at me, his face grim.
"This is going to hurt you," he says. "It's coming."
"What?" I cry in confusion, starting towards him. "What's going to hurt me? What's going on?"
"I'm sorry," Brayden says. "Run Link! Don't let it get you! I can't stop it! Run!"
I whirl around in an attempt to run from the ripple, but I've take no more than two steps before it reaches me. My father is swallowed into the darkness and I'm knocked back against a stone altar. I'm pressed up against the smooth stone, uncomfortably aware of the three dents in it. Pain sears through me. Every inch of me burns with a pain unlike anything I've ever felt before . . .
Or have I?
Blurred images run through my mind. A tall, imposing man – Ganondorf – with ember eyes glaring at me with a venomous look. I see him raising his hands . . .
Another, earlier memory . . . another tall man . . . with crimson eyes . . . not like Ganondorf's, but close . . . it's Detsu . . . he raises his hands as well . . . but he's not aiming for me . . .
I scream as the pain increases.
"Hero of Time . . ." A voice whispers. Gritting my teeth I force my eyes open, peering around me. The whiteness is gone, replaced with an absolute dark.
"Who's there?" I cry around the pain. I press a hand tightly to my stomach and work my way into a sitting position. "Dad? Where are you? Who's there?" Before I even finish the question I know the answer. I know who it is.
It's Psycho Me.
It's Dark Link.
"HERO OF TIME!" Screams a voice from behind me. I whirl around just in time to see an ebony figure lunging at me, out of the darkness, three feet of black steel gleaming in his hand.
"Wha . . ." Without wasting any more time on half formed words, I try to roll off the altar and onto my feet. The pain abruptly increases however and I cry out and crumple back on the cold, smooth surface.
"HERO OF TIME!" The figure screams again.
"Link . . ." Whispers another voice. Dark Link leaps at me again and I struggle to roll out of the way, but I'm not fast enough. His black blade slides through my stomach, impaling me, pinning me to the altar as my blood runs down the sides of it, filling the gaps in it. I gasp and my eyes go wide, even as my hands clutch at the blade inside of me. Dark Link smiles wolfishly down at me. My blood coats his hands.
His face blurs and shifts . . .
He looks . . . like . . .
"Dad?" I whisper, unable to understand what's going on. "Dad . . . why?"
"Stupid kid," Dark Link hisses, a sadistic smile on his face. His eyes gleam as red as the blood that's flowing out of me. "Dad's dead."
"No," I whisper, my head falling to the side. "No . . . he's not . . . he . . . he can't be . . ."
"Your blood," Dark Link hisses, his face so close to mine that all I can see is the red of his eyes, "will open the seal . . ."
xxx
My eyes snap open and for a moment all I can do is clutch my stomach and tremble.
Dammit . . .
They're getting worse . . .
I close my eyes tightly and try and force myself to breathe evenly. I focus all my attention on that for a moment and try and forget the disturbing images from my dream. The images stay with me but at least I can breathe again. I open my eyes to find Zelda staring at me in concern. I shake my head and push myself into a seated position, rubbing my face with my hand and then running it through my tangled hair.
"How long have you been standing there?" I ask.
"Two seconds," she answers. "I was walking around the camp to keep myself awake." I breathe a sigh of relief as she takes a seat across from me. "But I was watching you toss and turn for about a half-hour before that." The sigh of relief becomes a disgruntled groan.
"Sorry," I say, crossing my arms behind my head and laying back down.
"Are you all right?" She asks. I don't answer for a moment, then finally shake my head.
"No," I say. "I'm not all right." There's another pause.
"Anything I can do to help?" She asks. I shake my head and focus on the stars above me.
"Not really," I say with a sigh. "Unless you've got some kind of magic sleeping potion hidden in that dress of yours."
"Sorry," she says. "Fresh out of sleeping potion." I roll over with a groan and push myself to my feet.
"You might as well go back to sleep," I say, walking over to her and sitting down beside her. "I'm not going back to sleep tonight. No sense in both of us falling off of our horses tomorrow." She gives me a funny look.
"You and Hunter are definitely spending too much time together," she says. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"Well," I say, "if you'd rather share a room with me at night you could do something about . . ." I freeze and blush. "Uh . . . I didn't mean that the way it sounded." Zelda laughs a bit and rubs the back of her head.
"No," she says. "I, uh . . . I didn't think you did."
"Oh," I say, looking away. "Good."
"Yes," she agrees. "Definitely good." There's a moment of awkward silence. "I, uh . . . I guess I'll go to bed." She says. "My bed," she adds hastily, the pauses. "Well, actually . . . can I sleep in your bed?" I stare at her in surprise.
"What?" I gasp. Her face turns beat red.
"Not like that!" She says hastily. "By myself! It's just . . . Hunter stole my blankets . . . and you're not using yours . . . so . . ."
"Oh," I say, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. "Sure, go ahead."
"Right," she says, hurriedly getting to her feet and moving over to my blankets. "Thanks."
"Anytime," I say as she settles herself in. She closes her eyes and I shake my head, turning my attention back to the stars.
We got up early this morning and left Zora's Domain. Acqul saw us off with an affirmative answer in regards to whether or not the Zora's would follow us to Castletown to take back Hyrule. He had given me a funny look as he shook my hand, and said:
"We're counting on you Link. All of us. If ever we needed a Hero . . . it's now." I had smiled and nodded like I was expected to, but . . . his words troubled me. Still do.
They're counting on me . . .
Suddenly, I've become much more aware of what, exactly, I've gotten myself into.
And what I've dragged everyone else into with me . . .
I exhale loudly.
"Problems?" Asks a familiar tinkling voice. Blue light suddenly infuses my sight as Navi peers into my eyes.
"Always," I answer. She settles herself into a seated position on the tip of my nose and nestles her cheek on her palm, her elbow balanced on her knee.
"So talk," she says. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"Why is it that no one seems to think me capable of solving my own problems, hmm?" I ask.
"Because you're dumb as a fence post," she responds without cracking so much as a smile. "And even if you weren't, some problems just can't be solved alone." She frowns at me. "You're not alone, Link. You've never been alone. You've always just been too stupid to realize it." I scrunch up my face and jostle her.
"And what if that is one of the problems?" I ask. "That I'm not alone." Navi rights herself and frowns at me.
"What?" She demands. "Link, I've listened to you complain, time and time again, about being alone. Why is it suddenly a problem?"
"Because I'm rushing headlong into what is most likely painful, agonizing, death," I answer. "And I don't want to drag the people I care about into it as well."
"Oh," Navi says. "I suppose that is a problem." I watch her expectantly and she raises and eyebrow at me. "What?" She demands.
"No advice?" I ask. "No comments? No mocking? No biting sarcasm?"
"Nope," she says with a shrug of her shoulders. I frown at her, the movement knocking her a bit off balance.
"Nothing?" I ask.
"Nope," she repeats. "Why? What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know," I say in frustration. "Say something! Make me feel better!" She blinks at me.
"What?" She says in surprise. I cross my arms and try and glare at her, only succeeding in making myself cross-eyed.
"You always make me feel better," I say. "How come you're not this time?" She looks at me and shakes her head, her blue mane dancing with the movement.
"How?" She asks. "Link, I can't make you feel better because I can't change the fact that what you say is true. You are, probably, heading towards a painful agonizing death. And the people you care for are rushing towards the same thing right along with you." I stare at her blankly. "I'm sorry, Link, but that's the way it is."
"But . . ."
"Look, Link," Navi says impatiently, cutting me off with a wave, "there isn't one person here who wouldn't rather see you run away from this than towards it. But deep down, we all know that you can't do that. We all know that you're running the right way. It's our fears that keep us telling you to run. We're afraid of losing you. We don't want that to happen. But you keep ignoring us, as you always do, and doing exactly what you think you have to do with the same stubborn obliviousness that's become more or less your trademark of late. The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter what way you run. In the end, we're going to run with you. And there's nothing you can say about it." She flutters her wings and hovers just above my face. "And personally I find it quite arrogant of you to just assume you can 'drag' us anywhere we don't want to go, so there!" She sticks her tongue out at me and flutters over to my hat and drops into it like she owns it. I smile ruefully.
I suppose she does.
"Thanks Navi," I say quietly.
I feel better.
xxx
I yawn widely, pushing my jaw to its limits, and stretch.
Man I'm tired.
"Well," Neesha says. "If you had of woke me up for my turn at watch . . ." I roll my eyes.
"I told you, Neesha," I say, "I wasn't going to sleep at all anyway and I didn't see much point in waking you up so that I could lie down and still be awake." She frowns at me but lets it go.
She's been letting a lot go since I told her about my mother.
I'm not entirely sure I like it. I kind of miss fighting with her.
I almost regret telling her. She's been acting oddly every since. Like she doesn't know what to make of me . . . or how to act around me . . .
I mean, it's not like I'm a different person, right?
"Remind me again why we had to take the long way?" I ask. "We could have saved ourselves half a day if we'd just cut right across Hyrule Field."
"Brilliant plan, Link," Zelda says, rolling her eyes. "That way we'd stick out like sore thumbs so there'd be no chance Dark Link's spies could miss us!" I frown at her.
"You're assuming he uses spies," I point out. "I don't think he's got the attention span to use spies. If he's tracking us, he's doing it on his own. He's not exactly a people person you know."
"Still," Zelda says stubbornly. "There's no point risking it."
"So instead we'll waste half a day, by going around?" I ask, frowning at her.
"It's no biggie, Link," Hunter says, trying to break up the fight. "Just half a day. We'll make it." I frown at him.
"I hope you're right," I mutter, casting a dark look around at the woods we're in. Epona nickers in silent agreement with my unease.
"What's wrong?" Hunter demands. "You've been wigged out ever since we entered this place." I shrug my shoulders.
"I don't know," I say with a frown. "I just . . . I don't like these woods. They don't feel friendly . . ."
"This from the one who grew up in the Lost Woods," Zelda says with a roll of her eyes. I grin at her.
"Hey, the Lost Woods are friendly, even protective, of anyone who's allowed to be there," I say. "It's just everyone else they're dangerous for."
"Well . . . maybe it's just because the Great Deku Tree doesn't have a presence here," Hunter suggests. "There's no controlling force."
"No," I say, shaking my head. "It's not that . . . there's just something . . . not right. Something doesn't want us here."
"Link's right," Navi says, fluttering nervously around my head. "Something's unhappy with us being here." Zelda, Neesha, and Hunter all frown and cast paranoid looks around.
"Maybe . . . this wasn't such a good idea," Zelda says quietly. Hunter opens his mouth to respond, but whatever he says is drowned out in the sudden shout that echoes through my head:
HERO OF TIME!
"Farore!" I cry, pulling Epona up short and turning her around and casting a wide-eyed look around. Where is he?
"What is it?" Zelda demands.
"Link?" Hunter asks. Neesha frowns at me.
"Dark Link," I say. "He's here." Their eyes widen. I pull Epona around again. "We have to go. Now."
HERO OF TIME!
A blue of black out of the corner of my eye is the only warning I get before it slams into me from nowhere and sends me tumbling off of Epona and onto the ground. The horses panic. Neesha goes flying from her mount, Zelda just manages to hold on, and Hunter leaps off.
"That's Dark Link?" He demands, flying towards me. Dark Link laughs and gets to his feet, pulling me with him. I reach for my sword but he grabs my wrist and twists my arm viciously behind my back. I gasp in pain and struggle to get out of his grip. Hunter freezes.
No.
No!
This can't be happening!
Not again!
Images of Detsu holding me at knifepoint to get to my parents flash before my eyes.
I struggle harder, ignoring the pain it causes my arm as I do so.
I don't care if he breaks it, so long as he doesn't use me against my friends.
Dark Link laughs again and throws me at Hunter. Both of us go down in a heap.
Stupid kid, he hisses, the same psychotic grin on his face. He whirls around and leaps onto Epona's back. Catch me if you can. He drives his heels brutally into her flanks and Epona lets out an angry neigh. Dark Link frowns. Stupid horse. He mutters. He pulls out his sword.
"Epona! Go!" I cry, disentangling myself from Hunter. "Do what he says!" Dark Link laughs and digs his heels in again. This time she leaps forward, her eyes wide with fury at being ridden by someone who's not a friend. "Dammit!" I swear and run after them.
"Link! Don't!" Zelda cries.
"It's just a horse!" Neesha shouts furiously.
"She's not just a horse!" I shout back, and then I'm lost to their sight in the trees.
I race as fast as I can go, leaping over fallen trees, ducking under low branches, and running through spider webs, frantically following the sound of Epona's angry whinnies.
"Please be okay," I whisper.
I don't think I could stand losing another friend.
The trees suddenly disappear and I skid to a halt at one end of a large, circular glade, panting for breath. On the other side of the odd looking forest floor stands Dark Link beside Epona, his sword out and at the ready.
"Don't hurt her!" I shout at him, clenching my fists. "Don't you dare!" He smirks at me.
Catch me if you can. He repeats.
I start towards him, almost entirely focused on him and Epona except for that tiny little voice in the back of my head, and that tiny little voice that lives under my hat, screaming at me that something is wrong. It takes me a moment to realize what it is.
The forest floor is odd here for a very good reason.
I'm standing on the center of an oversized spiderweb. My eyes widen.
"Skulltulla," I whisper.
"You idiot!" Navi cries.
Dark Link laughs and holds out a match.
Stupid kid, he says.
"Damn!" I cry, making a futile bid for the other side and solid ground. Dark Link throws the match and the web goes up in flames. Epona whinnies as I suddenly find myself tumbling head over heels into the darkness below. I land with a painful thud on the hard ground below. The only sound I can hear is the eerie chh-chh-chh-chh-chh that Skulltulla's make.
This is bad.
No wonder this forest didn't feel friendly.
It's one big goddess damned Skulltulla nest.
I get slowly to my feet and the chh-chhsound grows louder and suddenly I'm surrounded by a ring of Big Skulltullas. The skull face that decorates their backs glare angrily out at me.
Now . . . normally Skulltullas are not that hard to beat. At least not the big ones. I mean, they're big, ugly, and mean, but they're not exactly bright. They've probably got a collective IQ of about -10. However, when you're surrounded by them . . . and there's more in the darkness that you can't see . . .
I reach slowly over my shoulder and draw my sword.
The only way to kill a Skulltulla with a sword is to hit it's underside, where there is no armor.
And the only way to get them to turn around . . .
"Look out!" I shout, pointing behind one of the Skulltulla's. It immediately whips around to see what I was pointing at and I leap at it, bringing my sword down it's underside, ignoring the scream of pain my arm emits as I do so. Dark Link twisted it good. It falls with a scream and I leap over its body to make good my escape.
Chh-chh-chh-chh . . .
"Agghhh!" Another Big Skulltulla comes flying down out of nowhere and sends me flying backwards. I never hit the ground. Just before I crash into another Skulltulla they all begin to crackle with blue energy and start spinning themselves around. I fly off one and hit another, then fly off it and hit another, over and over again, before finally, mercifully, I finally hit the ground and skid to a halt.
"Link!" Navi shrieks, zipping around and through the Skulltulla to land at my side. "Link! Speak to me!"
"Sweet merciful Din," I manage with a cough. "That hurt more than I thought it would."
"Get up!" Navi says, pulling on my sleeve with everything she's got. "You have to get up! Dark Link followed you down!"
"What?" I gasp, struggling to push myself to my feet while taking a mental count of all my internal organs and making sure none of them blew up during the battering I took.
"Come on," Navi urges. "We've got to find a way out of here."
Hero of Time . . .
"Too late," I whisper, turning around to face Dark Link as he separates himself from the darkness. I can hardly make him out. If it weren't for his eyes . . .
He grins widely at me.
Caught you, he says. I take a step back but the ominous chh-chh-chh is all the warning I need not to go any further. I can't run. I can't see the Skulltullas. They'll take me out in no time flat if I'm not careful.
But so will Dark Link . . . whether or not I'm careful.
I'm not liking my options.
"Where's my sword?" I hiss at Navi. Like I'd be able to use it. As if my arm wasn't hurt enough before the Skulltulla's beat the living daylights out of me.
"I don't know," she hisses back.
"What do you want?" I demand of Dark Link. "Leave me alone."
Your blood, it hisses at me, advancing slowly. I roll my eyes and take another step back.
"Surprise, surprise," I mutter.
Your hurt, it hisses, still advancing. I take yet another step back and blink at him.
"Excuse me?" I ask.
Your pain, it hisses. I stare at it in surprise.
"Wow," I say. "You've learned some new words. How nice for you. How about you go practice them on something else, hmm? I don't really feel like playing with you right now." It laughs. A harsh, abrasive sound that gives me an instantaneous headache.
Play? It asks. Let's play.
"Uh . . . no," I say. "Let's not. My parents always told me not to play with strangers."
"And they don't get much stranger than you," Navi chimes in with perfect timing, despite only being able to hear my half off the conversation.
Stupid kid, Dark Link hisses, a sadistic smile on his face. His eyes gleam as red as the blood that's flowing out of me. Dad's dead. I freeze, shocked momentarily at the word for word quote from my dream. Dark Link takes advantage of my surprise and lunges at me. His fists closes around my throat and his momentum carries us backward faster than the Skulltulla can fall. I slam into a wall with a strangled cry. I struggle to raise my arm but it won't move. It hurts too much. I can hardly breathe around the grip he's got on my throat.
"Link!" Navi shrieks. "Link! No! Let him go!" She attacks Dark Link furiously but he bats her away easily.
She lies, Dark Link hisses at me, the sadistic grin on his face never fading. She lies still . . .
"What . . ." I manage. "What . . . are . . . you talking about?" I try and get some grip on something. He cocks his head to one side and peers at me, still grinning.
You love her, he says. My eyes widen.
"What?" I gasp.
You love her, he repeats. But . . . you don't remember . . .
"Wh . . . who?" I demand. "Wh . . . what are you . . . talking about . . . you . . . you twisted . . . son of a . . ." Dark Link tightens his grip on my throat and I wince.
Shut up, he hisses. Remember. Hurt.
"What are you . . ."
Hurt . . . He hisses, his eyes flashing with some kind of magic.
"No . . ."
Remember . . .
"Come on!" I shout at her, dragging her along behind me. "We're almost out!"
Hyrule's GoldenPalace used to be one of the most breathtaking sights in Hyrule. The first time I saw it I stopped to gape for so long I almost got caught sneaking into it. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I can live it in my head like it was today. Sneaking past the guards to meet some mysterious princess . . . and crazy though she may have been, I can't help but wonder if I didn't fall for her the moment she turned away from the window with that small gasp and looked at me . . . and looked in me . . . I was too young then to realize what the feelings she stirred in me were, but there's no mistaking them now. I've gone through Hell and back for this woman, and she's gone through Hell and back for me, and now, even though we're both back in Hell, at least we're together.
And somehow, that makes it all right.
The chunks of flaming stone falling from the roof above us, the Moblins howling all around us, the terrifying rumbling we're trying so hard to escape . . .
It's all right.
It'll all be all right.
As long as I get her out of here.
That's all that matters right now.
"Not that way!" Zelda gasps, pulling urgently on my hand. Now she's dragging me. "This way's faster!"
"Faster is good," I say, somehow managing to crack a grin at her. The grin fades however, as a chunk of stone grazes my back as it falls and Zelda and I suddenly lose the grip we had on each other. She skids to a stop a few feet in front of me.
"Link!" She gasps, starting towards me. However a ring of fire suddenly flares into existence around her. She cries out in surprise and shields her face from the heat. "Link!" She cries again.
"Zelda! No!" I shout as two Stalfos suddenly lunge out from behind some of the rubble and charge me.
Sweet merciful Din.
I never realized how far a few feet could seem.
"Zelda! Hang on!" I call again as I meet the charge of the Stalfos head on.
I am NOT going to lose her now!
Dark Link slams me back against the wall again, breaking the flashback's hold on me. I'd shake my head if I could but his grip on my throat's too tight. I struggle again to raise my arm. It goes a little further this time.
"What . . . what are you . . ."
Hurt . . . It hisses with a wide grin. Remember . . .
We're out!
We did it!
We made it!
Zelda and I stumble as fast as we can away from the castle as it collapses in on itself, sending multiple shockwaves through the ground.
"Zelda . . . " I say, turning to her, forcing a smile. "Are you all right?" She smiles back.
She's really pretty when she smiles . . .
Maybe she'll be able to smile more now that this is over and Ganondorf is dead.
"I'm fine," she says.
"Good," I say as my legs finally give out and I collapse.
"Link!" Zelda gasps, dropping to her knees. "Link! Are you all right?" She pulls my head into her lap and stares down me, her eyes wide with fear and pain and something else . . . concern . . .? Affection . . .?
Love . . .?
You know what?
I think I could die here like this . . .
I think . . . if there was ever a time to die . . . this is it.
I can die happy right now . . .
Complete . . .
Not alone anymore . . .
"Link!" Navi says weakly, struggling to stick her head out from under my hat. "Link! You have a fairy spirit . . ."
"Where?" Zelda says urgently. "Link! Where's your fairy spirit!"
For a moment . .. I don't want to tell her.
Even though I'm lying here, probably dying, I'm happy . . .
And any time I somehow manage to acquire even a tiny part of happiness . . . someone takes it away from me . . .
I don't want that to happen . . .
Maybe if I die now . . .
There's something wet on my cheek . . .
Is it raining?
No . . . no . . . Zelda's crying . . .
"Link," she whispers. "Link . . . please . . . say something . . . speak to me . . . where's your fairy spirit?"
I push myself back from the lunatic rants of the dying for just a moment . . .
I don't want her to cry . . .
I want her to be happy . . .
I cough weakly . . .
"Pouch," I manage. "My pouch . . ." I reach weakly into my pouch, trying to find it. My hand closes around something smooth and warm. I pull it out. It's the fairy spirit in my bottle. Zelda grabs it hurriedly and smashes it. The fairy spirit zips out and flies around me.
I feel a surge of warmth as the fairy spirit heals my wounds and makes me better . . . not completely, but better. I groan and rub my head.
"Did you have to smash it?" I ask. "You have no idea what Anju put me through to get that bottle . . ."
"Oh Link," Zelda says, hugging me fiercely suddenly.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I gasp. "Still hurt!" She gasps an apology and lets go. I frown at her. "Hey . . . I didn't say let go . . . just be gentle." She gives a sad laugh and leans over, kissing my forehead gently. Yet another surge of warmth, but this time it's got nothing to do with a fairy.
It's got everything to do with a certain crazy princess . . .
The moment is broken by the sound of something falling. We both gasp and straighten, looking at the pile of rubble in the center of what used to be the palace.
"What was that?" Zelda asks in a whisper. I force myself to my feet.
"Probably just the rubble settling," I say, wondering why I'm not satisfied with that answer. I pull my hat off and gently take Navi off my head, handing her to Zelda. I put my hat back on and draw my sword. "But we'd better just be sure . . ."
I take no more than five steps before a wall of fire springs up between Zelda and I. The pile of rubble in front of me explodes and something flies out of it . . .
It's Ganondorf . . .
He's not dead . . .
Damn.
"Stop!" I gasp, closing my eyes tightly against the memories. Unfortunately I can't just close my eyes against the feelings they're reviving inside of me. My hand's almost at his arm. "Stop it!"
Dark Link laughs.
Remember . . . He hisses, grinning maniacally at me. Hurt! Hundreds of flashbacks scream through my head. Temples and monsters I defeated, friends I made, people I helped and things I hurt. I remember all of them. One by one . . . until finally . . .
"Thank you Link," Zelda says, smiling brightly at me. The expression is marred, however, by the sad look in her eyes. She's doing it again. She knows something I don't. She's planning something. "Thanks to you Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm! Thus peace will once again reign in this world . . . for a time anyway."
"Peace is good," I say, peering into her eyes, trying to decipher what's going on behind her dark lashes.
"I . . . I suppose I should apologize," she says. "All the tragedy that has befallen Hyrule was my doing . . . I was so young . . . I couldn't comprehend the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm. I dragged you into it too. I'm sorry, Link." I frown at her.
"Hey," I say, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "It wasn't your fault. Well," I correct myself, "it was. But anyone in your place would have done the same thing. Like you said, you were young. And besides, it wasn't you who let Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm, it was me. I was the one who wasn't careful. But, like you, I was young. We were trying to help, that's all. And in the end, it seems to have turned out for the best, right?" I cross my arms and smirk at her. "Besides," I say, "you didn't drag me into anything. I went of my own free will. I could have just told you no and gone back to the Forest. It would have been easy. I did it, Zelda, not because you told me to. Not because Navi told me to. Not because the Great Deku Tree told me to. I did it, because somehow I knew . . . it's what I was supposed to do. It's what I wanted to do." I shake my head. "In the end, it's what I do. That's my job isn't it?" She smiles sadly at me.
"I suppose it is," she says. "But maybe it's time for you to retire." I blink at her in surprise.
"What?" I ask.
"Now I have to make up for my mistakes," she says, avoiding my gaze, "You must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time."
"But . . . won't that close the road between Times?" I ask, trying to get her to look at me.
"Yes," she says with a nod. "And . . . and you'll go back. Link, give me the Ocarina." Now she does look at me, and she has her princess face on. The one that says do what I say, and do it now or face the consequences. Unfortunately for her I've always had this little authority problem.
"No," I say, crossing my arms stubbornly.
"Link, please," she says, holding out her hand. "As a Sage I can return you to your original time with it. Peace has returned to Hyrule, Link." Her voice cracks. "It's time for us to say good-bye."
"No!" I say again, pulling out the Ocarina of Time and clutching it tightly. "I don't want to say good-bye."
"Link . . ."
"And I don't think you do either," I say, feeling my temper start to get the better of me.
"Link . . . please . . . don't make this harder than it already is . . ."
"Don't talk to me about hard," I say angrily, clenching my fist around the Ocarina. "You know what's hard? Beating Ganondorf. That was hard. You know what was harder? How about beating Ganon. This isn't hard, Zelda, it's easy. You're taking the easy way out."
"Link, stop it!"
"No!" I shout. "No I won't stop it! No one told me when I signed up for this that I'd have to go back in Time at the end of it. No one told me I'd have to say good-bye. That wasn't part of the deal."
"Link . . ."
"Why are you doing this, Zelda?" I demand. "Why?"
"Be–because," she says. "You have to go home . . . you need to regain your lost time . . ." I roll my eyes at her.
"Zelda, I'm the Hero of Time," I say angrily. "Time doesn't mean anything to me. I am home. I'm with you." Her eyes start to shimmer with unshed tears.
"Link, don't say that," she whispers.
"Why not?" I demand. "It's true. And you know it. Don't pretend you don't. Don't make this out to be nothing Zelda. Don't!"
"Link, please!"
"One kiss," I say flatly. She blinks at me in surprise, the action causing a few tears to slip down her cheeks.
"What?" She asks.
"Kiss me once," I say. "And if you can still tell me I have to go back in time . . . if you can still send me there . . . then I'll give you the Ocarina." She stares at me in surprise for a moment and I move towards her. I cup her face in my hand and lean down towards her. In her eyes I can see a combination of fear and desire and panic. She knows. She knows she won't be able to do it . . .
"I'm sorry, Link!" She gasps, grabbing the Ocarina of Time and taking it from me.
"Zelda, don't!" I cry. I'm too late. She fits it to her lips and begins to play.
"Go home, Link," her voice whispers in my mind. "Home . . . where you are supposed to be . . . the way you are supposed to be . . ."
"Zelda stop!" I cry, staring at her furiously, fighting the urge to cry. "Don't do this!"
"I'm sorry Link . . . thank you . . ."
"Zelda!" I cry as the world blurs out in a rush of blue.
"Good-bye . . ."
"No more," I whisper weakly. "Please! No more! I don't want to see anymore!"
You hurt . . . It hisses.
"YES I HURT!" I shout at it, surprised at the amount of air I can get into my lungs.
Good, it hisses. Good.
"Let me go," I hiss. "Let me go!" I finally manage to make my hand work and I grip his arm tightly with it.
His crimson eyes widen suddenly and the grin disappears, replaced by a look of shock. Another flashback slams into my head.
"He said if I wanted you to be proud of me I had to go in there . . ." My hands clench into fists so tight I can feel my nails digging into my palms and I grin my teeth together. That son of a bitch. That unbelievable son of a bitch! He tried to kill my son! He shrinks back into his mother's arms. "I'm sorry . . ." He says in a tiny voice. I blink. He thinks I'm mad at him. She nudges me with her foot and I force myself to calm down a bit.
"Oh Link," I say, taking him into my arms again and looking at him seriously. "Detsu lied to you. I am proud of you. I'm always proud of you. I will always be proud of you. Nothing can change that. Ever. But you have to promise me . . . promise me you'll never go into that place again." He nods once. "Say it, Link," I say sternly. This kid's weaseled himself out of one too many promises. "No tricks on this one. I mean it."
"I promise," he whispers, burying his face in my neck. I tighten my grip on him. Poor kid's probably going to have nightmares. Maybe we should let him sleep with us tonight.
I pause.
No. We're not going to be sleeping here tonight.
"Hey," I say after a moment. "Do you want to go visit Hunter? Bruiser says he's been asking when you're going to come to play with him next . . ."
"Really?" He asks me brightly, looking up at me hopefully. "You mean it!"
"Sure!" I say, glancing at his mother. "You can stay there while your mother and I . . . take care of some things . . ." She gives a grim nod once and we turn and head towards Bruiser's rooms.
Link and Hunter immediately stumble off to play once we get there and I take Bruiser to the side.
"You're leaving?" He asks me in surprise. "What happened?"
"Link's only had that Triforce piece for a short time and already Detsu's tried to kill him," I say. "He's still Ganondorf's man."
"We'll come with you," Bruiser says immediately, his face dark.
"No," I say. "Bruiser, you just lost Aeria. You can't put Hunter at risk too." A flash of pain crosses his face at the mention of his late wife's name. He looks back over at where Link and Hunter are playing and frowns.
"I'll take them for a walk," he says. "We'll be waiting for you at the bridge. Get what you have to get and then come and get Link."
"Thank you," I say in relief, turning away to where Nat's waiting for me.
"Wait," Bruiser says, grabbing my arm. "Brayden, don't be stupid. Don't go after Detsu." I blink at him in surprise.
Dammit.
Why can he always read my mind like that?
"I mean it, Bray," he says darkly. "Let Detsu be. Don't waste your time or your life. If you're going to run you have to do it now. Don't go near Detsu." I glare defiantly at him for a moment then sigh and shake out of his grip.
"Fine," I say. "I won't touch Detsu."
"Keep Natalia away from him too!" Bruiser shouts at me as we leave. "You're not weaseling out of this promise that way!"
Hmm . . .
I guess Link gets it from me.
"Come on, Nat," I say. "Let's get our stuff and go. Bruiser will take the boys to the bridge."
"Where will we go?" She asks. "Brayden, this is the second home we've been chased out of!"
"I don't know," I say, shaking my head. "Kokiri's Forest maybe. That's still safe . . ." Natalia shakes her head.
"Nowhere's safe," she says with a frown. "Nowhere."
The flashback ends as suddenly as it began and all I can do is stare at Dark Link in shock. He stares back with the exact same expression on his face.
That wasn't my memory.
That wasn't me . . .
That was . . . that was Brayden . . .
But how?
How can . . . how can Dark Link have my dad's memories?
Stu–stupid . . . kid, Dark Link hisses, shaking his head as though in the grip of something. Dad's . . . dead . . . DEAD! He gives an inhuman scream and throws me violently to the side. My bad arm strikes the ground and I cry out in pain.
"Link!" Someone shouts. "Link! Hang on!" Dark Link ignores them and stares at me, crimson eyes narrowed with some kind of internal struggle.
Dad's . . . dead . . . He repeats. Stupid . . . kid . . . Dad's . . . dead . . .
"Link!" Zelda cries, as Neesha slashes through a Big Skulltulla. They run towards me. Zelda drops to her knees beside me but I pull myself away from her and glare at her. She stares at me in surprise. "Link . . . what . . ."
Hurt, Dark Link hisses. You hurt . . .
"No!" I shout, turning to face him. "No! You hurt! You're going to hurt! What did you do to him?" I force myself to my feet and take a step towards him.
"Link! Catch!" Hunter comes out of nowhere and throws me my sword. I catch it with my left hand and continue to glare at Dark Link, who takes a confused step backwards.
"What did you do to him?" I hiss angrily, clutching my sword tightly. "Where is he?" Dark Link takes another step back. He looks like he's in pain suddenly.
Dead! He cries. Dead! I scream in anger and frustration and throw myself at him, he just manages to get his sword out in time, but he doesn't attack me with it. More than once I think he's about to but he always stops and just blocks instead.
Why won't he fight me?
I want him to fight me!
"Where did he learn to fight like that?" I hear Neesha gasp in disbelief behind me. "And with his left hand!"
"He remembers," Zelda whispers. I almost don't hear it over the constant chh-chh-chh-chh of the Skulltullas and the clang of Dark Link and my swords. "He remembers . . ."
She doesn't know the half of it.
I remember everything.
And I remember who made me forget.
I leap back and away from Dark Link and hold my sword out behind me focusing my energy.
"You want to play," I hiss. "Fine. We'll play." The Master Sword flashes blue, and then red.
"Everybody duck!" Zelda shouts. My friends throw themselves onto the ground and I unleash the energy, the sheer force of it sending me spinning in a circle. Dark Link cries out and smashes against the wall. He picks himself up and narrows his eyes at me.
Stupid kid, he hisses. Dad's dead. And he vanishes. I collapse onto one knee, using the sword for balance. I can hardly breathe. My arm and ribs and everything else is killing, my throat's bruised, and I am once again a whirlwind of out of control emotions.
"Link . . ." Zelda says hesitantly, moving to lay her hand on my shoulder. I pull away from her again.
"Don't touch me," I say harshly.
"Link," she says. "I'm . . . I'm sorry . . ." I shake my head.
"I don't even know what to be mad at you for right now," I say in a low, uneven voice. "I don't know whether to be mad at you for keeping it from me when I didn't remember . . . or for keeping me from remembering . . ."
"Link . . . I . . . I . . ." I push myself to my feet and glare at her. She shrinks back under the glare.
It's funny.
I'm so mad at her right now I could pick her up and throw her to the Skulltulla.
But underneath the anger . . . underneath the rage . . . it's still there.
The love.
How could she do this to me?
How could she do this?
"You had no right!" I cry angrily, appalled at the fact that my voice cracks as I do so. "You had no right, Zelda!"
Zelda looks stricken.
I can't believe this is happening.
It can't be happening!
I turn around and stalk away, leaving Hunter and Neesha to stare after me in surprise, as Zelda falls to her knees and buries her face in her hands.
What am I gonna tell Malon?