The Day the Universes Collided

Chapter Twelve

Skulltula Mansion

Gallera

Time: 1650 hours

The Links dove out of the way as the Giant Skulltula charged at them. Maverick stood at the end of the room, laughing and enjoying the show. The spider screeched and turned around, legs scrambling to keep up with the many elves around it. Link was searching it carefully for weak points as he raced to avoid its barrage of webbing. Dark Link ran to a corner and leaned into the shadows for cover, hand pressed tightly over the gash in his left arm. Unable to help fight, he could only try to stay out of the group's way and hope that the spider didn't go after him.

He didn't hope enough.

"Get out of the way, Dark Link!" Allstar yelled as the Giant Skulltula spun and fired another blast of web fluid. Dark Link flinched and braced himself, crying only after the force of the webbing's impact slammed him against the wall and pinned him there. "Dark Link!"

"Don't worry about me! I can't do anything to help you with my arm hurt and the override program in effect!" he called back, "Just find a way to kill that thing!"

"You don't stand a chance against my army of Skulltulas. Just give yourselves up. My pets don't like to eat tough meat." Maverick and the Master Skulltula boasted and laughed again.

"Maverick! You're not helping any by letting that thing control you!" Elfin shouted as he fired on the huge spider. The bullet ricocheted off the shell on its back as it pulled in its legs and pressed its belly against the floor. Glitter flew up to the spider and bobbed about on it.

"Look! See how it's protecting its underside?! I bet it couldn't take a blow to its belly! Come on, Link! Flip it over like a hamburger patty and deep fat fry it with a Fire Arrow!" she chattered. Elfin growled under his breath as Waker blinked in recognition.

"It's protecting the belly?" he echoed and shook his head, glaring over at Maverick as he lashed out with his sword, "Maverick! Fight whatever spell that spider has on you! You're stronger than he is, Maverick!"

For a moment, Maverick's face shifted, looking tormented and pained. Then he shook his head and resumed his cruel expression, grinning at the Hero of Winds.

"Nice try, Elf-boy, but the kid's mine. And soon the city will be mine as well, once I have you all devoured and there is no one to rise against my army!" Master Skulltula laughed through the captain's mouth. The Giant Skulltula suddenly screamed in pain and he looked to see what had happened.

The Giant Skulltula was waving a gory stump of a leg in the air, the rest of its legs supporting it, while Allstar stood nearby. His sword had blood on it and the front of his tunic was torn open, a long cut bleeding on his chest. He was glaring up at the spider angrily.

"You lousy excuse for a minion! This tunic is the property of Nintendo Corporation! They're gonna take the damages out of my paycheck!" he shrieked in a fury, "And the damn thing's dry clean only! How the hell am I gonna get blood out of this fabric?!"

"Cut off its legs! Cut off its legs so it can't move and you can flip it over with your swords and kill it!" Glitter tittered, zipping around Elfin's head. He waved his hand at her, annoyed, and jumped at the spider, slashing at another leg with his own normal sword. The Giant Skulltula shrieked again. Maverick narrowed his eyes. The fight wasn't as entertaining as it was before.

"Perhaps I should take matters into my own hands." he growled and pulled out the little gun Maverick had hidden on him. He cocked it and aimed at Allstar, who cut off yet another leg when the Giant Skulltula's gore landed on his head.

"No!" Waker yelled and grabbed his Delivery Bag. He swung it around and slammed it into Maverick's stomach, knocking him off the pedestal. He jumped after him and started pounding on the captain with his fists. "Whatever you are, let him free! Let him go! Maverick! Snap out of it!" he screamed at him.

"Cut off its legs!" Link translated, slashing at the Giant Skulltula with the Gilded Sword. Dark Link watched from his vantage point as the three remaining Links attacked the spider's legs, weaving in and out in between them to confuse it. He winced as the cut on his own chest appeared and began to sting. The Connection had been delayed in copying the injury onto him, but it finally opened the wound. Dark Link sighed; being a mirror image of his twin sucked. Meanwhile, the Giant Skulltula screamed again and spit a stream of acid around itself. Elfin jerked back to avoid it and stumbled into a glop of web fluid.

"Hey!" he exclaimed and started to pull on his leg to free his boot, "Stupid lousy spiders! I should have brought a can of Raid!" Link jumped back from the battle and tried to help him. "Don't call attention to me, stupid! Get back there and fight!" Elfin snapped at him and stared up at the spider in shock as it broke away from Allstar with injured legs and reached for him instead. Link pulled out another arrow to fire on it but Elfin shoved him aside, leaving himself open to be grabbed by the Giant Skulltula's pincers.

"Elfin! Stab him in the head!" Dark Link shouted out as the spider lifted the officer into the air, the pincers clamped tight around his waist.

"Well, why didn't I think of that sooner?! Hmm, maybe because if I did that, this thing would bite me in two?!" Elfin shrieked back, struggling to pry open the spider's teeth. Allstar frowned and spun the Master Sword in his hand.

"Screw this! I'm tired of sword-fighting and not getting paid for it!" he yelled and darted in under the spider. He spun the sword once more and drove it straight up into the soft underbelly of the Giant Skulltula. It shrieked in pain and dropped the agent onto the floor. Elfin landed and rolled away, grimacing once as he rubbed the injured right leg.

Meanwhile, Waker was still pounding on Maverick. The captain fought back and kicked him off, jumping to his feet in a rage. Waker tumbled back and looked up at him with the same furious look.

"Prepare to die now, little hero!" Master Skulltula hissed, then blinked and jerked back. "What?! What...is...hap-pen-ing?!" he struggled to say as he lifted his hands up in shock. They twitched and his body jerked again. Maverick was fighting to get free! He opened his mouth and screamed in pain, then doubled over, holding his head.

"What's happening?!" Link called back, unable to tear his eyes away from Allstar's stabbing of the Giant Skulltula that shook above him in agony.

"I'm Peachy!" a perfect copy of Princess Toadstool's voice cried from Maverick's mouth, "Yoshi!" It was followed by a replica of Yoshi's voice. More voices flowed from Maverick's mouth as he jerked and convulsed on his feet. "Time to duel! I am the ultimate life form! Samus Aran reporting for duty! Kirby, Kirby! Pikachu!" each phrase was spoken in the voice of the game star it belonged to, from Yugi Motuo and Shadow the Hedgehog, to Kirby and Pikachu, and they all tumbled from Maverick's lips.

"Has he gone crazy?!" Elfin cried, unsure whether he meant Allstar still gutting open the Giant Skulltula that was on the verge of collapsing in death, or the young captain of the Elfin Phoenix who was mimicking the voices of thousands of game stars as he shook and jerked.

"Hyaaaaah!" Maverick suddenly screamed and reached back behind him, grabbing hold of something that was under his cloak. There was a shrill shriek of pain and a crack. In the next moment, Maverick hurled a Golden Skulltula over his head and slammed it onto the floor. "Stay out of my head!!" he screamed and collapsed in exhaustion. The golden spider clacked the broken pincers and scurried after Waker, jumping up suddenly at him. Waker cried in fright and backed up, screaming when the spider suddenly exploded in front of him.

Elfin pointed his gun at the space where the Golden Skulltula had been, smoke drifting slightly from the end of the barrel. He frowned.

"God I hate those things. I'm definitely putting in an order for some Raid at the office." he grumbled and jumped in surprise when the Giant Skulltula finally crumpled, giving Allstar barely enough time to dive out of the way and get to safety. Dark Link sighed and yelled out at the group.

"Hey! Yeah! Remember me?! Get me down from here!" he shouted. Allstar ran over and pulled at the webbing, tearing it off so his brother could drop down safely. "Hey, Bro, you okay? That's some gash." Dark Link added worriedly, leaning forward to inspect the cut on his twin.

"I must be if you're still standing. It's not that bad, but if it leaves a scar, Mario will hand me my ass on a platter." Allstar sighed, "Who came up with that rule where the Millennium Links can't have blemishes and flawed skin?"

"Shigeru probably. It should be healed once we get home." Dark Link muttered and shrugged. They looked over at Maverick and took on worried expressions. "But him, I'm not sure. He was yammering on with the others' personalities." he added.

"I thought that the personalities would be erased once the NBS took effect." Allstar murmured as they joined the other Links in surrounding the crumpled figure. "Why does Maverick still have the backups of the Nintendo characters?"

Waker poured a bottle of water onto Maverick's face and watched intently as the captain stirred a bit and opened his eyes halfway. He sat up and looked around in a daze.

"Allstar Link? I had a bad dream. I dreamed that everybody died and I was all alone and I had to save the Game Realm and Nintendo lied to me about everything." Maverick murmured in a soft voice, sounding more like a true child Link than he did before. He looked up at the group and blinked slowly, confused. "Uncle Dark, when did we let FanFics tour the base?" he asked and then saw Elfin walking up with the remnants of the Golden Skulltula. Maverick shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Get away from me and forget everything I just said." Maverick hissed at the group and jumped away from them. "A moment of weakness. I'll be sure to meditate on it when I get back to my base of operations." he added under his breath. The Links stood and sighed in exasperation, then noticed the mess in Elfin's hands.

"What was that?" Waker asked in curiosity. Link frowned as he peered at it.

"This used to be a Gold Skulltula. They would curse people and turn them into spiders. To break the curse you had to kill the spider that cursed them, grind the token it leaves with a bottle of red potion and a bottle of green potion, then cook it until it left a cream. The cream would lift the curse from the person." he replied.

"In the game I had to kill a hundred of these and take the tokens to lift the curse from a family in Kakariko." Allstar added and grinned. "Heh, heh. Money, money, money, money!"

"This must have been Master Skulltula. It was attached to Maverick's back and used its venom to take over his mind. Normally, you can't fight against Gold Skulltula venom without some good meds since it makes your mind lie dormant." Elfin put in and looked at Maverick, "So how did you force it out of your head, Maverick?"

"That thing was up against an army of minds within me. It took time for them to rise and overpower him." Maverick answered in a dark voice, "The memories and programs of all the Nintendo characters that were online when Nintendo Home Base was destroyed are still in me. I refuse to let them vanish into nothing."

"You're creeping me out, Maverick." Allstar muttered, turning slightly green, "You've got me inside you, as well as Dark Link and all the rest of the Zelda crew."

"Our job's done! Should we go on to the next world then?" Link asked brightly. Elfin shook his head.

"Let me tend to my wife and kids first. Then we can go." he told them and led the way out of the house.

*****

Outer Inn

Gallera

Time: 1740 hours

"You're going where?!" Chief Roku snapped at Elfin as the other Links watched from their position outside of the inn. The police chief was a rather short, round figure, with a scruffy mustache and a tendency to turn bright red when angry.

"To another dimension. It's only for a few days." Elfin replied calmly.

"And you want this to be counted as a paid vacation?!"

"More like a special assignment. I get overtime for this."

"You'd better not come back in pieces, Elfin, or I'll charge you so much on your funeral your great-grandkids will be working for me to pay it off!"

"I didn't know you cared so much, Chief. I'll bring you a t-shirt when I get back."

"Here you are. Fresh clothes and your other supplies are packed up in this knapsack." Leslie told her husband as she handed him the bag. Elfin kissed her on the cheek and thanked her.

"Are you sure you don't want to see Dr. West about the cuts?" he asked her, worried about the bandages she sported on her arms and legs. The violet-haired woman smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine, Link! It'll take more than an army of super-intelligent spiders to take out Tiger's Paw, Queen of the Tiger's Claw Pirates!" she declared with a laugh.

"She looks like the girl in the Bombchu Bowling Alley in Ocarina of Time." Allstar muttered. Elfin pulled on the pack and kissed her again, then kissed each of his children on the head.

"Bye, Linda, take care. See ya, Lerou, be good. I'll see you all in a few days." he told them. The kids nodded and sighed, wishing silently to one day go on a quest of their own. Elfin stepped back and glanced at the badge on his tunic. The gold shield would help to separate him from the other Links. Glitter still stayed with him, sleeping under his hat. He put on his sunglasses and grinned, waving to them before placing his hand on Allstar's shoulder. Dark Link placed a hand on his car and Waker held up the IDG.

"Onwards! To the next world!" he cried and the group vanished in a flash of white light. Linda looked stunned and laughed.

"Hey, that's cool! I bet we can recreate that with our special effects guy down at Miss Zelda Royale's concert hall!" she exclaimed. Leslie winced.

"I knew I forgot to tell him something. He didn't tell Zelda he was taking the week off." she muttered. Lerou looked surprised and then sighed.

"Daddy's gonna get it from her big time when he gets back." he agreed. Linda turned to the garage.

"I'll get the first aid kit ready. Zelda knows Tae Kwan Do and you know Dad won't hit a girl." she called back over her shoulder. Leslie looked back at the empty space as Chief Roku threw down his hat and spat on the grass, covering up his worried thoughts.

"Come home safely, Link." Leslie murmured.