Disclaimer: In a recent news update, I do not own Legend of Zelda.
A/N: I upped the rating to PG-13, due to fairly descriptive violence and death.
Link charged the first Gerudo, swinging his sword diagonally at the woman's head. She parried with her left sword and swiped at Link's feet with the other, meeting only air as Link leapt back. The second Gerudo charged from Link's left, slicing at his side. Link brought his sword around to block just in time, but the Gerudo used her momentum, flipped over his head, and swung at him with her right sword. Link ducked just below the blow and rolled around to the side. He leapt out of the roll and swiped upwards with his sword as he did so, hoping to slash his assailant across the back. The skilled Gerudo stuck her sword behind her back, managing to deflect the blow.
Link landed in a crouch, sword in front of him as his mind raced. Six swords against one wasn't working very well… His thoughts were interrupted as the third Gerudo charged and leapt, both swords slashing at the Hylian. Link brought his sword up and held the end of the blade with one hand and the hilt with the other, taking both Gerudo blades on his. The force of the blow knocked him onto his back, but he planted his feet in the Gerudo's stomach and flipped her over his head. She hit the ground and rolled up as Link whirled to face her. His Hylian ears pricked up as he heard footsteps behind him, and he quickly rolled backwards through the Gerudo's legs as both her swords swiped through the air above him. Link came to his feet and stabbed the Gerudo cleanly through the back. Her scream echoed as he shoved the guard at the third, whose charge was interrupted by her fallen comrade.
Link turned from that scene to find the second guard almost upon him. He parried a blow aimed at his head, then shifted the angle of his blade and forced the Gerudo's sword into the ground. He then quickly parried her other blade as she cut at his legs, then kicked the guard in the stomach. She doubled over in pain, and Link slammed the hilt of his sword on her head, knocking the Gerudo out cold. Link then turned just as the other guard swiped both swords at him. With no time to react, Link leapt into a cartwheel, his body becoming horizontal just as the scimitars sliced above and below him. Link landed on his hands and rolled forwards, spinning to parry as the Gerudo whirled and sliced at his head. The Gerudo then unleashed a furious series of blows, striking at Link's head, left side, right shoulder, feet, and left shoulder. All were parried by the Hylian swordsman. The Gerudo snarled and took a step back, then thrust with her right sword. Link dodged to his right, only to find the Gerudo's second sword slicing into his side. He twisted towards the Gerudo, but still took a gash along his side. Crying out in pain, he kicked the Gerudo's feet out from under her, and retreated backwards, holding his side.
The Gerudo climbed to her feet, then chuckled when she saw her wounded adversary. Link grimaced, then backed into a crouch, sword held horizontally in front of him. He technically hadn't done this before, but he remembered how to do it. The Gerudo warrior walked towards him as the spirits around Link were drawn into his sword, causing it to glow blue. By the time the Gerudo realized what was happening, Link went into a fierce spin, releasing all the energy in his sword. The leafy sword disintegrated from the effort, but the wave of energy hit the Gerudo head on, flipping her head over heels to slam into the fallen tree behind her.
Link sank to his knees, clutching his side as he crawled over to Saria. She lay quietly on the ground, seeming to be sleeping peacefully. Link was amazed at the raw power Saria had shown. She had taken out five Gerudo guards, while Link himself had barely managed three. Then he remembered Ganondorf. He needed to help the Deku Tree!
Link got to his feet, wincing as pain shot up his right side. He would need to have that looked at. He staggered through the village, picking through the remains of houses, Kokiri, and Gerudo. Stumbling through the river that now ran red with blood, he heard voices as he approached the meadow.
"Deku Tree, you shall give me the emerald, NOW!" a booming voice demanded.
As Link rounded the corner, he saw Ganondorf standing, his hood down, in front of the Great Deku Tree, flanked by two Gerudo guards. Link crawled behind a rock, realizing both that he was in no shape to fight and that he didn't have a sword to fight with. He listened in fear as the Great Deku Tree answered.
"Thou shall not have it, vile sorcerer," the deity replied. Suddenly, vines shot up from the ground, impaling both Gerudo guards. Similar vines attacked Ganondorf, but they merely withered into a smoldering pile of ash around him.
"Your power is no match for mine," Ganondorf smirked. "Now give me the emerald, or your precious forest is mine."
"Thou mayest destroy myself, Ganon," the Deku Tree boomed, "but thou shalt be defeated. The Sages remember as well, and they shall be thy downfall."
"Enough!" Ganondorf screamed, and threw smoldering balls of shadow at the base of the Deku Tree. The shadow crept up the Deku Tree's trunk in a web, and the deity shook in obvious pain.
"The Hero of Time and Seven Sages shalt defeat thee, Ganon! The Triforce shalt not be thine!" he thundered as the shadowy web enveloped him.
"Be gone, you fool," Ganondorf said, motioning with his hand. With that motion, the Great Deku Tree exploded. Link fell back in shock and horror as pieces of the deity flew through the air, landing all through the meadow. Ganondorf laughed evilly and strode towards the smoldering crater where the guardian once stood. Link stood, tears streaming down his face, and went to charge the evil man. But a huge piece of the Deku Tree slammed into him, knocking him down. Link's last thought before the blackness took him was for Saria's safety.
* * * * * * * * * * *
A massive jolt awoke Saria from her slumber. All of the forest had cried out in pain, and Saria immediately sensed the absence of a large presence from the forest. Something had happened to the Great Deku Tree!
Saria clambered to her feet, then fell to one knee. Her power was all but exhausted, and she was still very weak from the fight. Looking around, she saw the bodies of three Gerudo guards. Apparently Link had been successful in his fight, but where was he? And what had happened to the Deku Tree?
Suddenly, the tree trunk that had been blocking the path started to melt away. Saria quickly crawled to a hiding place in the foliage, and watched as the tree melted away to permit passage. Ganondorf strode through the gap, muttering to himself. While Saria couldn't understand what the Gerudo King was saying, she did see the Kokiri Emerald clutched in his right hand. She prepared to attack the evil sorcerer, but thought better of it. Her power was too weak, even at full strength, and she needed to find out what had happened to the Hero of Time… and the Great Deku Tree.
Once Ganondorf had left the forest, Saria crawled out from her hiding place and stood unsteadily. She made her way towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow, then stopped when she saw a trail of red leading in that direction. She gasped, then started to run in fear. Perhaps Link hadn't been as lucky as she had thought!
When she reached the meadow, Saria stood still in shock. The remains of the Deku Tree were scattered all over the meadow. She stood still, not knowing how to react, not noticing the tears streaming down her face. Ganondorf had killed the Great Deku Tree, had killed the forest deity simply as a stepping-stone in his quest for power. Her rage and anguish overtook her and she screamed, sinking to her knees amid the wreckage. Her entire home had been destroyed in a day; everyone who was dear to her was dead.
Except Link. What had happened to Link? The blood trail – she hoped it wasn't his! – the blood trail had led here, but it had been obliterated by the dust that permeated the meadow. She began picking through the wreckage, looking for any signs of life. She found two Gerudo guards, dead. A grim smile came to her tear-stained face. She continued her search, looking for any sign of her old friend, when she finally saw a green cap wedged between a rock and a large hunk of wood. Her heart leapt as she ran towards the cap and looked under the debris. There was Link, lying unconscious, underneath the wreckage. The tree had been propped against the rock, so that Link was lying in the small space between them, spared from being crushed. Saria grabbed Link's arm and pulled. He was wedged in there fairly tightly, but Saria eventually managed to drag him out.
When she saw the wound on his stomach, she turned her head away. The gash ran from just below his ribs and around to his right side. Dust and grass had gotten into the open wound, and Link's face was pale from a loss of blood. Saria knew she had to do something or she'd soon lose her last friend. Biting back fresh tears, Saria peeled back Link's tunic. She had to get that wound cleaned before she could heal it at all. She slipped her arms beneath Link's unmoving form and half-lifted, half-dragged him towards the village and the river.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Link woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned, and slowly rolled over, trying to get his bearings. He saw the bubbling river and realized that he was still in Kokiri Village. He also realized he didn't have a shirt on, which he thought was quite odd. He looked down at his side, but instead of seeing a large gash he saw a long white line from just below his ribs to around his right side. Still disoriented, Link tried to sit up, only to have a small hand push him back down.
"You're in no shape to be sitting up right now," a voice said, and Link fuzzily focused on the figure of Saria. She was sitting next to him, her face dirty and tear-stained and her eyes red.
"Saria…" Link said. His head throbbed. "Ow."
"I did the best I could with your gash, but my power was pretty low as it was. You'll have a scar there for a long time." Her cool hand touch Link's forehead. "I had to leave you with your headache."
"Thanks, Saria." Link smiled. Then he remembered… Ganondorf, the attack. He tried to sit up, but again Saria shoved him down.
"Sit still, already! You might reopen that gash of yours," she admonished.
"But… what about Ganondorf, the Gerudo…"
"They're gone, Link. We're…we're the only ones here left alive," Saria said softly, blinking back tears.
Link sank back to the ground, stunned. "Everyone…"
Saria nodded, a single tear falling down her cheek. "Even the Deku Tree."
Link slammed his fist into the ground. "Ganondorf! I should have tried to stop him."
"You weren't in any shape to take him on," Saria said. "Neither was I."
"You saw him?"
"He was leaving as I woke up. He had the Kokiri Emerald with him," Saria said. "He must have taken it from… the Deku Tree…"
Saria started crying, her head falling into her hands. Gut-wrenching sobs shook her body as the emotion of the day finally overwhelmed her. Link grabbed her hand and held it gently, then sat up and gave his friend a hug. Saria buried her head in his shoulder and cried, her emotion bleeding out. Link fought back angry tears as he stroked her green, matted hair. His entire life had been destroyed by that power-hungry scoundrel, and he would see that he paid for his crimes.
"It'll be all right, Saria," Link whispered.
"I… I couldn't save… them…the forest…" she managed between sobs. "I couldn't… couldn't stop him. I…failed…in my duty."
Link blinked in surprise. "Saria, you know that's not true," he said, tightening his hug. "You did everything you could to stop them. You fought unbelievably…"
Saria jerked back at that. "I killed people, Link. I felt their life force disappear as I attacked them. I became this… this monster who delighted in their deaths." She looked down at her hands, dirty and smudged. "These hands killed people."
"Saria, you did what you had to. Those people were threatening what was dear to you, and you had to fight back."
"You don't understand!" Saria screamed. "These hands killed people!" And she collapsed into a new round of sobbing.
Link looked at his friend, tears running down his face. He, too, had killed people, but he'd done it before, in the other timeline. Saria was understandably shocked and appalled, but he didn't know how he could help her. At a loss, he touched her shoulder softly. Her head came up slowly, and she looked at him, expression unreadable. Then she threw herself into his arms. Link fell onto his back from the force, but cradled Saria's head in his arms as best he could. She continued to sob, and Link rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Those hands may have killed, Saria," he started. He felt her tense and squeezed her tighter. "But those hands also saved my life. You may not have saved the forest, but you saved me. And I won't forget that."
For a long while, there was no reply. Then Saria simply squeezed Link tightly, still sobbing. Link wrapped one arm around her waist and stroked her hair with his free hand. Soon, the night had passed them by.
A/N: Even though they haven't appeared on the site due to ff.net's little hiccup, I've got some review responses here:
Computer dunce: I'm glad you like my idea. I really like this story, so I'm going to stick with it and see where it takes me. I'm not sure I have that much of an audience to disappoint, though. Thanks for the encouragement!
Crab Apple Fairy: I do believe I have some grasp of grammar without your heavenly intervention ;). Thanks, though.
Next chapter, the quest begins!
-AE