WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
By Katt006
Katt006@hotmail.com
April 15th 2004:
Again I return from the dead to bring you the next chapter of this epic! This time however will be my last as I have written the final two chapters together. (The final chapter is rather short, more of an epilogue than anything else.) Finally! After 4 years it's over! There was a fair bit of heartache over this chapter. I had to write it twice. (I accidentally saved over the first one, it was a bit longer too. Since I made it all up as I was typing rather than first writing it in my notebook, I was not happy…)
Well after almost giving up on this fic (on several occasions.) I have finally drilled my way to its completion. ^^ I know the plot moved a little slowly to begin with and my writing style/quality did change from time to time, but I knew I had to prove to myself that I could finish what I started, no matter how long and grueling the process was. (This fanfiction really boosted my self-dicipline as I need this kind of outlook for my animation. ^^;) Now I can finally concentrate on my short anime movie due at the end of the year!
Please R/R!
Katt006
(Saga #3 The gods.)
CHAPTER 19:
Malon and Trunks exited the temple and halted as they noticed the looks of horror upon their friend's faces. Malon dared to follow their gaze and she too gasped in disgust at the sight before her. The mountains in the distance lay decrepit and tattered. A mighty rift was torn between the two largest mountains, spewing a dark purple mist the other side… Hyrule.
Zelda fell to her knees, eyes wide with horror. "It terrible… This feeling…"
Link knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong Zelda?! What is it?"
The princess looked up, eyes dilated. "It's him… it's all him!"
"Gannondorf?"
She slowly nodded. "He seeks more to consume. Hyrule must be…" She stopped, unable to continue.
Link's grip on her shoulder tightened. "It'll all be ok. I promise you!" He instantly regretted saying this, deep down he knew they were in real trouble. Now they didn't have the time to seek the last god of destruction… How had things turned so bad so quickly?
"We will be able to face him with what we have." Charie said with confidence, walking up to stand beside Link. "Do not worry." She showed a small smile of reassurance. Link looked up at her and was instantly calm. There was just something about her…
Impa clapped her hands together. "Well! Nothing will get done with us just standing here! Lets head towards Hyrule."
"How long do you think it will take to walk?" Malon asked quietly.
Impa squinted into the distance. "This is just a guess… but it looks like we'll be there by tomorrow morning. We really should leave now though. The longer we procrastinate, the worse it'll be."
Everyone knew Impa was right. This was it, and it seemed to have come over them so unexpectedly. Hopefully it'll be the last time.
* * *
They had been travelling for hours into the night before Impa called for a break. She made a small fire with some supplies they had picked up from the town they had just departed. The group sat around in silence, the reality of the situation sinking in. The land had grown so much colder since they entered the temple. Evil and malice sat thick and heavy in the chilly air around them.
Zelda sat rigid against a tree away from the others, her face a sickly pale. Link looked over at her with worry before opting to join her. "You don't look so good." He said as he approached and sat close beside her. "Did you want to stay back?"
The princess' eyes widened in shock, "N… no! I couldn't possibly! My kingdom needs me… I'm not afraid, it's just that Hyrule is probably destroyed already. I dread to face the destruction waiting for me on the other side of that mountain range, but I know I must. We must all be strong."
Link held his breath and slowly eased his arm around the royal's shoulders, he expected a slap or at least a scornful look but to his surprise the royal leant into him. "I'll protect you." He said quietly.
Zelda sighed and closed her eyes. "It's happening too fast. It's all happening much too fast. We should have been quicker… I fear it is already too late to save Hyrule." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "What will we do?"
Link didn't know. Deep down, something also told him they were too late to save Hyrule. But they couldn't give up. Not now. They were so close. Even if Hyrule was lost, this land would be next. There would be no end to Gannondorfs destruction until everything was gone and Link simply could not allow that.
"Link…" The princess said quietly. "I--" She was cut off abruptly as Link pushed his lips to hers. The princess' eyes went wide and her whole body went stiff with the unexpected contact. However it wasn't unpleasant… He eventually pulled away and averted his eyes. "B… but…why?" Zelda choked.
A small mischievous smile crept onto the warriors face. "I just thought this might be the last opportunity I have to do it."
Zelda looked into his eyes for a fleeting moment and returned the smile.
"Hey lovebirds!" Impa yelled from the fire. "We're making a move!"
Zelda blushed furiously and scrambled to her feet. Link laughed and rose to join her. "I did enjoy it." She managed to whisper into his ear as they began walking. Link smiled and playfully tapped her on the nose, trying to ignore the knot of dread tugging at the back of his mind.
* * *
As Impa predicted, they reached the foot of the mountain early the next morning. The purple mist had been swirling around them for several hours now as they approached. It was thick and humid. The world around them seemed completely silent.
The whole mountain had a huge gaping hole in it which had now formed a deep gorge. The group trod with caution upon entering. Trunks suddenly felt a vibration against his leg. The black sword hummed to life and he felt himself unsheathing it, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. "Something's here!" He exclaimed, sensing it through the supernatural sword.
A wraith-like figure appeared above them all and cackled. The group simultaneously unsheathed their weapons, readying themselves for what lay ahead.
The wraith held two daggers and was bear-like in shape. It's weapons and eyes were the only solid body parts, it's hollow dark orbs shone menacingly down at its first target. The enemy instantly dropped down towards Zelda, both blades lifted. The princess reacted quickly and shielded herself with a purple force field. The weapons collided with the emitted magic and shattered, falling harmlessly to the floor in pieces.
The wraith squealed and gripped at the force field. It sank its long fingers into the barrier wall and began to forcefully penetrate it. Zelda felt the clash of power. 'It's using black magic to get in!' The princess thought desperately.
Malon had set herself up and was aiming at the wraith's eyes with her bow and arrow. She let one go and it hit the beast straight in the right eye. It let out a scream of pain and flailed it's arms helplessly, the arrow still wedged in it's head before it began to shrink and vanish into nothingness.
Everyone gave a collective sigh. "What was that?" Navi asked. I couldn't lock onto or analyse it!"
"It was composed entirely of black magic." Charie informed. "Obviously it draws it's power from the mist around us. No doubt we'll be seeing many more of them. Be alert."
Trunks felt another enemy through his weapon. "Incoming!" He called.
"It's there!" Malon pointed straight ahead where a feint dark form hovered.
"Ah! Another above us!" Impa yelled.
"And behind." Trunks added.
Before they realised, the group was surrounded by a myriad of the wraiths. All hovered in perfect formation around them, allowing no escape. Charie cursed under her breath. "This looks bad."
Slowly, the beasts began to close in. The mist around them grew thicker, heavier and much more forbidding. The group quickly formed a circular protective battle formation. "Ugh… the air is so thick!" Malon exclaimed, finding it hard to breathe.
Trunks grabbed one of Malon's arrows from her back and laced it in position onto her bow. "We need long-range weapons. You and Zelda use your arrows and boomerang." He turned her around and softly pushed her away. "Now get back!" A blue Ki ball formed at his fingertips, drawing in the dark mist around it. The air around them grew clearer and the wraiths became easier to see.
"Attack the eyes!" Charie commanded.
Everyone, long range and short began hacking at the countless beasts. Trunks continued to draw in the darkness. He gritted his teeth at the burning sensation that ripped through him, feeling the poisoning black energy attacking every tissue in his body.
Zelda caught her boomerang from a recent assault and spun around, sensing Trunks' intention. "Trunks don't!" She yelled. "It's far too dangerous to absorb it into yourself!" When she had finished speaking she realised that it really was the only chance they had. The mist was the source of the wraiths strength. Without it, they grew slow and weak.
Predictably, the sayian ignored her and returned to the painstaking task at hand.
Impa spun her sword in a fluid arc, taking out two wraiths in one swing. "Ugh! There are so many of them!"
"I'm almost out of arrows!" The farm girl cried in distress.
"This is bad. There is seemingly no end to them." Link looked around and noticed the group had wandered. "We've wandered! Re-form!"
They huddled back together and stood silently, tensely. The wraiths had abruptly ceased motion. A monstrously strong wind suddenly whipped through the gully. It swirled around them in a protective semi-circle before expanding outward. As the wind-shield made contact with the beasts, they instantly disintegrated. Soon the whole abyss was clear of monsters and the mists had been pushed far to either side. Trunks instantly ceased his mist spell and fell to his knees, dark circles of exhaustion and poisoning ringing his eyes.
Link looked around with wide unbelieving eyes. "What was that all about?"
"Dark energy." Zelda whispered. "Their power was used against them."
Impa's mouth became a grim line. She knew that magic. 'Kodas.'
Trunks had sensed the dark mage too. Craning his head, he spied a black-clad figure looking down at them from high upon the cliff-face. Kodas clapped his hands in amusement. "Well well well. If it isn't the prodigal son!" He called down. "I must commend you Trunks. I thought you were only fluent with your sayian powers but it appears I'm mistaken--"
Impa's eye twitched. "What do you want!?" She screamed up the chasm, interrupting.
"Hey! That's rude babe!" He retorted. "Wait your turn!"
In a quick movement the mage leapt from his perch and landed softly before the band of warriors. He was dressed in usual black attire, black shirt, trousers and long black cape. As with Impa, his face was decorated with a series of tribal-like markings. Everyone was quick to react, weapons were drawn and aimed at him. Impa leapt forward and placed the tip of her sword to Kodas' throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you." She seethed.
"Bloodshead will not help us here." He said coolly. "I'm here to help."
Something stirred within Impa as she recalled the dream she recently experienced in Hobs' Temple. The ice melted from her eyes and she lowered her weapon. "I'm listening…"
A high-pitched and bloodcurdling screech echoed down the gully from the far end.
"What… is that?!" Navi cried.
"It's not safe here!" Kodas grabbed Impa's wrist and pulled her forward. "Follow me." The woman dug her feet into the unsettled soil in protest but the mage was too strong and continued to move her with ease.
Malon looked frantically at the others. "What choice do we have?!"
"It'll be fine." Trunks walked past and patted her on the head. "Kodas may have been cruel and selfish in his acts. But he would never wish for the destruction of Hyrule."
Zelda followed. "I sense it too. I've looked into him and he appears genuine…"
Link and Malon shared an uneasy glance. Charie just shrugged before opting to follow.
* * *
They huddled in a small crack that overlooked what was left of Hyrule. Dark mists covered the land like an impenetrable blanket.
"Do you sense that?" Kodas whispered to Trunks and Zelda.
The princess closed her eyes with deep concentration. Several heartbeats later they flung wide open, horrified. "Nothing… I sense nothing out there!"
Trunks had felt it too and he took an uneasy step back. "It's like Hyrule and everyone in it has vanished."
Kodas plonked himself roughly on the cave floor. "Gannondorf rapidly became far too much for me or anyone else to handle. He had become considerably more powerful after being cooped up in exile for so long. He eventually manifested himself into the air and created the mists, which seeped into everyone and everything. Their spirits now wander aimlessly and corrupted over Hyrule.
"The wraiths…" Zelda gasped. Link walked up to her and placed a steady hand onto her shoulder as she looked about to feint.
Kodas nodded. A large tremor suddenly interrupted their conversations. Debris began falling from the roof. "He knows we're here! Everybody head down the mountain!" Kodas yelled. As the group ran outside Zelda reacted quickly and placed up a bright purple shield to prevent any large boulders falling on them. The rocks tumbled unforgivingly down the hill and collided heavily with the royal's magic.
Kodas noted the struggling princess and cast a spell of his own. A black field, similar to her own, expanded from his hand till it encompassed everyone. Link was running in the lead. As he rounded the bend, the warrior abruptly halted in his tracks, mouth agape at the sight before him.
A behemoth of epic proportions roamed in the clearing beyond the mountain. Its body and legs were thick, strong and muscular, like a bear. A long snout protruded from its head, countless rows of teeth gleamed in the dim light. It had four massive arms that eerily resembled thick tree trunks, its branched fingers were a forest of thin intertwining blades. Behind swung five tails, each with a serpent head spitting and squirming at the end.
Zelda caught up with him and gasped at the monster. "Oh my…" She whispered with dread, letting her shield accidentally falter slightly.
Kodas ran past them and ushered them along. "We have no time for this move your legs!"
Link began to run, noticing how sluggish and uncooperative his legs were. He had a very bad gut feeling about this…
A short while later they reached the bottom of the mountain. Before them stood the massive nightmare.
"So this must be Gannondorf's physical manifestation." Impa unsheathed her sword. "Well this is it ladies!" She said in a surprisingly strong voice. Her eyes narrowed and darted to Kodas standing beside her. "I'll be watching you."
"Oh I'm hurt."
'It's you!' Gannondorf's voice echoed from every direction around them. 'My 'hero of time' He seems to have a lot of company for once!'
Link completely ignored the taunt and went for the first strike. He stilled before the creature, sword glowing bright red. In a powerful sweep, an arc of fire leapt out from the sword and struck the monster. It's belly fell open easily, a large mass of slimy black tentacles writhed and squirmed from the opening.
"Uk! What is that?" Malon said, muffled as she cupped her hand over her mouth in disgust. Catching everyone off guard, several of the tentacles thrust out and grabbed the nearest person around the torso. Trunks yelled in pain as the sticky substance began to burn his flash and tighten about him. Frantically he tried to power up but every time his power lever surged, the tentacles would squeeze the breath from him.
Malon released a volley of arrows at the creature in an attempt to make it release Trunks. The pointed sticks sunk deep into its flesh but did little to deter it. It only seemed to open up smaller holes, which sported the same wriggling toxic mass. The tentacles around Trunks began to retract into the open wound, attempting to pull the sayian in.
"It's planning to… absorb him??" Link frowned with worry. He ran up to where the alien was struggling and grabbed at his arm. The tendrils quickly grabbed at him too and he yelped at the horrible burning sensation. An orange object spun through the air and sliced Link's captor. The severed tentacle squirmed on the ground for a little before going limp and disappearing. The warrior looked up as Zelda caught her boomerang.
Trunks had now lost his right arm in the mass of moving sludge, panicking as he realised her had lost all feeling of it. Charie leapt to his side and tried desperately to cut the tentacles off the sayian but it was to no avail. The substance was hard to get a hold of and it heeded to the sharp blade as if welcoming it.
"Stand back!" Trunks yelled to her.
Charie hesitated for a moment before moving away. Yellow particles appeared in the air around them. They swirled and gathered around the sayian before surging into a golden power storm that soon engulfed the whole clearing. The monster reeled back in surprise.
'What is this power???' Gannondorf's voice boomed.
An enormous explosion erupted and Gannondorf lost all grip on the super sayian. Trunks stood before him, hair glowing a brilliant gold. Black patched remained on his body from where the tentacles had poisoned him. Within the blink of an eye the sayian leapt up, unsheathed his pulsating black sword and promptly be-headed the monster. It's appendages flailed around a bit before it regained composure. More tentacles thrashed about upon its neck. It seemed as though the whole creature was composed of this troublesome and seemingly invincible substance.
Trunks gathered a potent ki ball in his fist and hurled it at one of Gannondorfs arms. It instantly disintegrated.
"That's how we do it!" Impa cried with triumph as she struggled with one of it's many serpent-headed tails. "Now to—Ak!" She suddenly stopped mid-sentence as she turned to find the severed head moving towards her at breakneck speed, being propelled by the thousands of small tentacles protruding from where it had joined the neck. She turned to run be soon realised the futility of it. The woman faced the head once more and drew her sword. 'Go for the eyes Impa.' She told herself as she readied to attack. When it reached her, she spun out of its way and lodged her weapon firmly into the right eye.
The head halted for a split second before spewing out more foul tentacles from the new hole. They sped forward and wrapped firmly around Impa's leg. She gritted her teeth as she felt her flesh being seared. "Help!" She yelled, using her sword to stab blindly at the tentacles around her leg in panic.
"Ice!" A strong male voice yelled from her left.
Impa shut her eyes as a painfully cold wind bellowed over her. When she looked up the head was frozen solid, tentacles trapped in mid-squirm. Kodas' hand appeared before her in offering. The woman ignored it and broke herself free from the icy grip. Blood dripped from the multiple stab wounds she had caused herself trying to cut free.
Kodas raised an eyebrow. "Did you do them?"
Impa's eyes narrowed once more and she averted her eyes.
"Nice…"
She finally accepted his hand and managed to stand, surveying the battle. The main body was left with only two arms and one tail. Charie and Zelda Worked on toppling the beast by destroying its legs and Malon faught with the remaining serpent head. Trunks and Link worked together in burning away it's flesh. "I have to go." She said, feeling helpless. "So me of us have a world to save you know."
"Not like that!" Kodas protested, noting her serious limp. He roughly grabbed her from under the arms and placed her on the ground out of the way. "It's been a very long time since I last did this." He admitted as he knelt next to her. The mage's palms glowed a feint white as he attempted to heal Impa's wound.
Impa squirmed uncomfortably as memories came rushing back from their childhood together. However there wasn't time to dwell on such things. The mist around her suddenly grew thick again. It swirled about and gathered around the beast.
'I've had enough of playing with you weaklings!' Gannondorf boomed. 'It ends now.'
The mist wafting about the beast solidified and instantly it re-gained all its appendages.
"This is no use!" Navi cried in defeat.
The creature had rapidly gained in speed. It disappeared and re-materialised on top of the sayian. It struck one of its stump-like arms and slammed Trunks into the ground. He tried to burst out but as soon as he powered up, all the energy was sapped out of him.
Dread knotted in the princess' stomach. "It's absorbing his power!" Reacting quickly, Zelda ran out to the sayian. "You must stop being a super sayian! He's absorbing your power and making himself stronger." An enormous arm swung out, she tried quickly to shield herself but it moved too fast. Zelda was cast away on the ground like a rag doll.
Seeing no other alternative, Trunks quickly powered down and instantly felt the poison kick in. The monster released him from its grip and tossed him as he did with Zelda.
'You have been troublesome…' Gannondof screeched, going after Trunks. One of its serpent-like tails wrapped its thick body around the sayian's torso and lifted him high into the air. Malon and Zelda tried desperately to attack the appendage but the other four serpents shielded it. Trunks hung suspended and motionless. His vision was blurred and it was growing hard to breathe. 'Malon… I have to be there for malon…' He though desperately.
In one horridly swift movement, Gannondorf thrust its many bladed talons through the alien. Trunks seemed instantly torn to pieces as the creature uneventfully dropped him to the ground in a bloodied heap.
Malon was screaming, she knew it, but she couldn't hear anything. The world had gone silent.
Link dropped his sword in disbelief. "No…" He choked. "It just can't be…"
The creature began to advance on the injured Zelda next. "Ice!" Yelled Kodas from across the battlefield. The bottom half of its torso was frozen solid. Link Tried desperately to get around to rescue the princess but the many gnashing serpents blocked his path.
Charie walked up to Link and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Link," she said firmly, "If I were to ask you to sacrifice your life and those of all your comrades in order to defeat this demon, would you? If you had to let go of everything, Hyrule… this world… lose everything and everyone?"
Link had no idea what she was aiming for at a time like this but again he didn't hesitate in his reply. "Yes."
Charie cracked a smile. "Then lets end this all shall we?" She began to glow a light pink and levitated slightly. Everyone around looked up at the power radiating from Charie. "Congratulations Link. I am Cerble, the final goddess of destruction. I have witnessed your courage and that of your friends through out this journey. Now you all may rest… Leave this to us." She began to shrink until she became a glowing pink glass orb on the ground. Link bent over and picked it up, noticing that the triforce on the back of his palm was glowing. 'Courage…'
As soon as he made contact, the other two orbs materialised beside it, they shattered and ribbons of green, blue and pink wove about in the air before Link before launching into the sky and erupting in a shower of white.
The whole land shook violently, cracked appeared in the ground beneath everyone's feet and widened, to form deep crevices that bore into the planet's crust. Impa screamed and instinctively grabbed Kodas' arm. "What's happening?!" The sky overhead had massive black cracks in it, showing a black empty void beyond. The mountains around them had begun to crumble as though they were mere sandcastles.
Navi looked up "The sky is falling!" She shrieked. Link craned his head to see that the sky was a like a shattered pane of glass. Massive pieces of blue fell towards them like deadly shards. It was so unfathomable and surreal…
"It's the end of the world…" Zelda whispered, slowly approaching Link from behind and leaning against his back for support. "Did we fail? Hyrule is gone… We should have been more prepared…" She erupted into tears of defeat. Link turned and embraced her tightly. The only thing he could do…
Malon sat on the ground in a foetal position. Debris and rocks were falling all around her. 'How could this happen?' She thought to herself, her mind still numb with shock. 'It's all over now. Sorry Trunks… I wish we had more time…'
She slowly closed her teary eyes, waiting for it all the finish. Suddenly everything seemed quieter. No more rumbling or screaming, just silence…
Dead silence.
TBC…
Well it's now 2:30am… second time writing this. I hope you all like the ending I have chosen! (Some of my stories have been showing some very odd spacing as of late when I convert them into HTMLs on the FF.net. Please bear with me. I don't know how it happens! ^^;)