Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
Once again I have to thank my regular reviewers, Ani1 and Ruby-sama 4.5, as well as some new reviewers: Sareth and Ri2. Everyone's input is tremendously appreciated, and it helps me to know what things about my writing to change and stuff. This chapter is basically the second half of the last chapter, so it was done pretty quickly.
I've gotta celebrate now because my review count is in the triple digits. That's awesome. I'm gonna be ecstatic when/if I ever hit triple digits. Then there's those few stories like 'Eternal Ark' that hit quadruple digits. I doubt I'll ever get that many, but it's something to shoot for.
Remember: EVERYONE PLEASE REVIEW!
New Note(10/30/03): I just finished editing this chapter and now I've updated it. I decided that I better go through and edit all my chapters after I found a lot of mistakes in the first chapter. From now on, I'll edit before I upload a new chapter, and my apologies to those of you who had to suffer through the many mistakes in the first few chapters.
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 5: Sacrifice
Nabooru, having barely dodged the phantos, surveyed the destruction around her. The massive beast had destroyed the platform she had been seated on, and a number of merchants' booths on its rampage of destruction. Many of the royal guards and a few of the townspeople were littering the nearby dirt. She greatly hoped they had all survived.
The Gerudo then saw the princess and her guardian, Impa, also amazed at the carnage the monster had created. Attempting to make her way to the two through the debris, Nabooru stumbled over a boulder. Letting out a quiet curse, the woman turned to see what a large boulder was doing stuck halfway in the dirt. As she looked, she realized that the object was no boulder, but rather a Goron curled up in a sphere.
"Darunia!" the Gerudo yelled, kicking the Goron lightly. The Goron uncurled himself into a standing position.
"You don't have to kick, Nabooru," Darunia said in a deep voice, "it was bad enough being trampled by that monstrosity. I had to curl up like that because I wasn't fast enough. My back's sure gonna ache in the morning!" Darunia finished with a laugh as he and Nabooru reached the princess and the Sheikah.
"Are you two okay?" Zelda asked as they neared.
"Yeah," Darunia boomed, "it takes more than an overgrown pet to trample a Goron into dust."
"I should have been more wary of that creature from the start," Impa said from beside the princess, "I did not know that the beast could be so violent. I was told they were docile by the performance group."
"Never believe anything you hear. That madman probably manipulated the entire group," Nabooru said, "and he appears to be totally controlling the creature."
"Has anyone seen Link?" Zelda asked suddenly, "he was up there with the rider, but I never saw him come down."
"Link's still trying to stop that guy," Diggs said, emerging from the shelter of some trees with Malon, "he told me to take the girl and get her to safety. When we got off, the beast went crazy and Link fell off. The last I saw he was dangling from the saddle strap as the creature headed towards town."
"We have to stop that monster before it reaches Castletown," Zelda said, "many of the people retreated to their homes when the beast first began the rampage."
Nabooru nodded. "I will do all that I can to catch it," she said to the princess, "but I think you should stay here. No matter how much you tried to hide it, I know defeating that man's magic has taken its toll on you, Princess."
"I can't hide anything from you," Zelda said smiling, "all right, go."
"I will accompany you," Darunia said to the Gerudo, curling up into a ball once again. Darunia shot off, rolling down the path at top speed. Nabooru leapt off the ground into a still upright merchant's cart, starting the cart rolling as she did so. The path to the town was a steep incline, and the cart picked up speed as it rolled downhill. Nabooru smiled as she caught up to Darunia and as she saw the beast up ahead on the path.
"Let's take this thing down, Nabooru," Darunia said, his face hidden within his balled up form.
Nabooru nodded, although Darunia could not see her, and waited for the cart to get close enough to the beast to strike. When the cart was roughly ten feet from the creature on its right side, Nabooru leapt off of the cart and grabbed onto a cloth extending from the back of the creature's saddle. She briefly looked down to see Link being dragged along the ground and to see her cart break down and fall apart.
"Not a moment to soon," she thought, looking at the cart wreckage, and then at Link, "That's got to really hurt." The Gerudo shook her thoughts from her head, knowing that Link could take care of himself, and climbed her way up the red cloth. When she was on top of the saddle and in standing position, Nabooru saw the crazed man near the head of the phantos.
"YES!" the man screamed, "I HAVE WON! THE CITY WILL FALL!"
"Pity you won't be around to see it," Nabooru said, drawing her twin scimitars.
"More interference?" the man said, turning around, "I have dealt with all other opposition; I will deal with you just as easily."
"You're out of magic, fool," the Gerudo responded, "and you're no fighter. I suggest you give up now."
"Foolish thief," Mahoch said, "I have more tricks up my sleeves then you could possibly imagine."
"We'll see," Nabooru said, ignoring the insult. The man then took a small vial out from a hidden pocket in his over-elaborate clothing. He threw the vial at Nabooru's feet, but the skilled warrior easily dodged and the vial exploded releasing a green mist. Before the Gerudo could retaliate, the mist surrounded her and she found her entire body bound by barbed vines. The pain from the spikes was almost unbearable, but Nabooru showed no outward sign of pain to her opponent, masking her emotions perfectly.
"How does it feel to have poisonous barbs digging into your skin?" Mahoch taunted.
"Poisonous?" the Gerudo thought, "I wonder how long it takes to work." Ignoring the pain, Nabooru flexed every muscle in her body as much as she possibly could, snapping the thin vines easily. As the vines fell away, Nabooru could see that the points at which the barbs had stabbed into her skin were beginning to turn a slight shade of green.
"It's a fast acting poison," Mahoch said, almost reading her thoughts, "and it will imminently lead to a very painful death. You are no match for me, Gerudo scum."
The man then removed another vial from his inner pocket as Nabooru prepared to charge. He lifted his hand to throw the vial point blank at the Gerudo, but Nabooru tricked him and increased her speed dramatically. With a swipe of her scimitars, Nabooru cut a deep, long gash in Mahoch's forearm, causing the man to drop the vial off the side of the phantos and clutch his arm in pain.
"You will pay for that!" the enraged man shouted, "You cannot defeat me!"
Nabooru held her scimitar to the man's throat. "You will surrender and stop this beast if you value your-" the Gerudo's words were cut short as the poison began to take effect and overwhelming pain flowed throughout her body. Nabooru fell over, the pain unbearable even for one as hardened as her, while Mahoch removed her scimitars from her hands and stood over her, laughing.
"I could kill you now," the crazed man said, "but I think I will let you suffer a long and agonizing death to repay you for the pain you caused me." Mahoch then kicked the Gerudo in the side, sending her careening off of the phantos. The Gerudo hit the ground hard, rolled for a while, and then lay still.
Mahoch was still celebrating his victory when the phantos' speed suddenly decreased dramatically, causing the man to lose his footing and fall on his face. Looking over the left side of the beast, he saw Darunia holding onto a saddle strap tightly and digging his heels into the ground.
"You want to die too, Goron!?" Mahoch shouted, amazed at how Darunia could be strong enough to slow down the powerful phantos. Mahoch pulled more of the strange magic vials from his tunic and looked at them. The vials were very small, about an inch long, and the color of each showed what kind of magic was in them. Mahoch decided to use the flame vials, and picked out five crimson capsules before shoving the rest in his tunic.
"Let's see how well you rocks really do stand up to fire!" the man shouted, throwing the first of the vials straight down into the Goron. The glass case exploded on contact, and Darunia was immediately engulfed in raging flames. Mahoch could feel the heat from his perch atop the phantos, but the Goron did not relent. Another vial impacted Darunia, again sending intense flames scattering across his rock body.
"Gorons can stand a lot of heat," Darunia thought, "but this is intense. I don't know how much longer I can last."
Mahoch threw another vial, even before the flames from the second died out. This time Darunia screamed in pain as the flames began to char his hard skin.
"Had enough?" Mahoch asked, mockingly, but Darunia still would not let go. Growing angry, Mahoch threw the last two vials at the same time. Both impacted Darunia and the fire combined, forming the most intense flames the Goron had ever felt. Again, Darunia yelled in pain, the heat burning his entire body. The flames reached the Goron's hands and Darunia could hold on no longer. Mahoch watched in satisfaction as the charred body of the Goron lay on the dirt and the phantos was able to run at a faster speed once again. A smile spread across the face of the crazed man as the distance to the town began to decrease dramatically.
***
Link ignored the excruciating pain that shot through his entire body as the phantos dragged him through the dirt. The boy felt his grip on the strap slipping as he barely avoided being smashed into the ground by the beast's enormous feet.
But the Hero of Time refused to give up.
The boy then saw Nabooru fall off the creature out of the corner of his eye. Craning his neck, Link saw the still form of the woman lying on the road behind him, and the balled form of a Goron racing to keep up with the beast. Link wondered how a skilled Gerudo had been defeated by Mahoch, a mere performer.
Still, Link would not let go.
"He must still have some magic he's using up there," Link thought as another jagged rock dug into his side. The boy's tunic was nearly ripped to bloody shreds from all the rocks, and scratches covered his body.
The hero continued to hold on.
Link saw Darunia finally manage to grab a saddle strap. The big Goron then shoved his heels into the rocky ground and pulled back with all his might. The beast slowed greatly, and Link heard Mahoch cursing Darunia from atop the phantos. Not wasting this opportunity, Link willed his muscles to have strength enough to pull him up the strap. Using as much energy as the boy could muster, Link slowly pulled himself up, hand over hand, until he was no longer dragging on the ground. Finally relieved of the pain, Link looked towards to Darunia, who was now covered in flames. The Goron continued to slow the beast down until a multitude of flames engulfed his body.
"What kind of magic is that?" Link thought as Darunia finally gave out and the beast picked up speed. Looking forward, Link could see the town less than a mile away. Finding new strength, the boy pulled himself up the strap and onto the saddle. Mahoch was staring triumphantly at the approaching town.
"I wouldn't be celebrating just yet," Link said, reaching over for his sword before he realized he still didn't have it back.
"YOU!" Mahoch screamed, whirling to face Link, "Why won't you DIE!" The man took some strange looking vials from his tunic and showed them to Link.
"You thought I had no magic left!" Mahoch yelled at the boy, "But you underestimated me. That man also gave me these, and I used them to defeat your friends, who are currently lying dead up the road."
"You lie," Link said, bravely facing the crazed man, "they would not let themselves be destroyed by a failure like you."
"When you experience my power, you will see why they fell," Mahoch said, holding a blue colored vial in his right hand. The man threw the capsule at Link's feet, and it exploded, releasing freezing cold gases into the air around the boy. Mahoch smiled as the gas formed a blue haze around the boy, certain that Link would be frozen solid. His joy was cut short, however, as the mist cleared and no ice had formed on the saddle. Before he could react, Link sprang up onto the saddle after hanging onto the tail of the creature. The boy punched Mahoch in the face, sending him nearly rolling off of the beast. The man managed to grab onto a groove in the saddle, though, and hung from the creature with one hand.
"You will not win!" Mahoch said, removing a black vial from his tunic. As the man prepared to throw it at the approaching boy, the phantos hit a large boulder and stumbled. Although the monster stayed on its feet, the vial fell from Mahoch's hand as he struggled to hold onto the saddle. It exploded, and black mist poured out from it. The entire beast was shrouded in darkness, sending it into a state of panic. The phantos began thrashing about as Link and Mahoch waited for the effects of the mist. The darkness was suddenly lit with purple bolts of electricity. The phantos began screeching in pain, and Mahoch fell from the beast after being hit by a tremendous bolt of magic. The man hit the ground and was caught up underneath the beast's feet as it thrashed and ran about. Link heard one final cry of agony as Mahoch breathed his last.
Forgetting about the now dead performer, Link concentrated on the magic that was bent on destroying him. A bolt of magic shot straight towards him, and Link thought his life was over. Instinctively, he held up his hand. The magic slammed into the back of his left hand and there was an intense light. As Link looked on, the mark of the Triforce of Courage glowed, and brilliant light shot out of the boy's body. The mist of darkness was dissolved in the air, and Link could see where the out of control phantos was heading.
The beast had veered off of the path to the town, and had been running up a hill for the length of time that the darkness lasted. The town was far behind now, and Link realized the phantos must have been running at incredible speed. The creature was now heading for a cliff that looked out over a branch of the Gerudo canyon. Link desperately grabbed the reigns of the animal and pulled back, trying to stop it from going over the cliff.
The phantos would not stop. The animal had been driven mad by the darkness and the pain it had been put through. Link tried to leap off of the beast, only to find his leg tangled in one of the reigns. The boy frantically tried to free his leg, to no avail, as the beast flew into the air off of the cliff ledge.
***
"It's a good thing that assassin took the long way around," Zelda said to her Sheikah guardian. After Nabooru and Darunia had left, Impa and the princess had found two of the horses that had bolted after the phantos attack. The two had followed the path of the beast on the horses after telling some of the conscious guards to tend to the injured.
"I still can't see anyone," the princess said, her long hair billowing in the wind, "Do you think that beast is already in the town?"
"I doubt it," Impa answered, "the city would be in chaos if they were there. It looks calm from here. They could be over this next hill." As Zelda and her bodyguard reached the top of the small hill, both gasped as they laid eyes on Nabooru's dust-covered body.
"Nabooru!" Zelda yelled, urging her steed onwards. She bent over the still form of the Gerudo after dismounting, Impa following close behind her.
"This is bad," the Sheikah said, examining the large green spots on Nabooru's body, "it looks like some kind of fast acting poison. Judging by these marks, she should be dead by now. But as far as I can tell, she's still alive. We need to get her to the castle, Princess."
"Yes, we do," Zelda agreed, "but Link and Darunia could also be hurt. We have to see if we can find them."
Impa lifted Nabooru onto the front of her horse. "We'll be back as soon as we can, but she doesn't have much time left," the Sheikah said gently, "Let's go." Zelda reluctantly lifted herself onto the horse before noticing another figure on the ground ahead.
"Impa!" Zelda shouted, alarmed, "I think that's Darunia up there." The princess wasted no time in riding to the unconscious Goron.
"What kind of magic could do this?" Zelda wondered silently as she looked at the charred, blackened form of Darunia.
"He's just as bad as Nabooru," Impa said, joining Zelda, "you're going to have to use some magic to at least hold off death. I know a few healing spells, so I'll tend to Nabooru." Zelda quickly laid her hands over the Goron and watched as golden light began to pass through her body into Darunia's. Although Darunia was not healed completely, his heart beat returned to normal and he came into a stable condition. Impa used a healing spell to slow the poison down, and the large green blotches faded a small amount.
"I hate to do this," Impa said to the princess when the healing was done, "but I have to leave you to look for Link. I will take these two to the castle to get medical attention, and you must see if you can help the boy. I know you can protect yourself. Don't let your guard down." With that, the Sheikah woman pulled Darunia onto her back with incredible strength and began to walk away, leading the horse carrying Nabooru.
Zelda got on the 'borrowed' horse and continued down the path at a much faster pace than before. As the princess neared the town, she could see no signs that the phantos had been there. The city was calm, and people were walking freely in the marketplace. It was then that Zelda noticed that the grass on one side of the road was flattened as if something had stomped heavily over it.
The princess turned away from the city and followed the path of broken trees and displaced grass. Zelda assumed that she was following the phantos tracks, but was confused because the tracks were so far from the city. Urging her horse onwards, the princess was able to see where the tracks led.
"Link!" Zelda yelled as she dismounted at the edge of the cliff. The princess laid flat on her stomach and peered over the rocky edge. She gasped when she saw a battered Link hanging from a jutting rock about a quarter of the way down the cliff. The boy was suspended over the deep canyon with one hand, and was barely able to look up at Zelda.
"Zelda," Link began, his a voice a whisper to the princess, "The threat's gone. Goodbye." The rock supporting the Hylian's weight then broke away from the wall of the cliff and Link plummeted to the ground.
***
Link was glad he could see Zelda before he died, and he took comfort in the knowledge that he had saved many lives by sacrificing his own. The hero knew that death was only a few seconds away and he looked up into the sky, wondering where he would go when he died, only to see Zelda rocketing down towards him. Before Link could figure out what she was doing, the princess was beside him. Zelda wrapped her hands around the boy's waist as the ground came closer and closer.
"Farore's Wind!" the princess shouted as green light formed around both plummeting bodies. In a flash of light, the ground inches away from Link's face disappeared, and the boy was blinded for a moment. He opened his eyes to see the beautiful sky, dotted with white clouds and illuminated with the light of the sun. The hero shakily stood to his feet, every inch of his body screaming in pain, and looked around him. Zelda was lying next to him, motionless.
"Zelda!" Link yelled, kneeling beside her unconscious form. The boy quickly checked to see if she was alive, and was relieved when he felt a pulse. After trying to wake the princess several more times, Link picked up her body in his arms, ignoring the protests of each muscle in his body, and began the long walk back to the town, realizing Zelda's horse had run off.
***
Impa had left Darunia and Nabooru in the care of the castle doctors and had immediately left to find Zelda. She had been riding her horse at top speed for some time, and the animal showed signs of growing tired. Slowing the pace a bit, the Sheikah soon saw the rear entrance to Castletown.
"The beast's not here," the Sheikah thought, searching the area for any signs that might reveal Zelda's location. She needed no signs, however, as the woman saw Link, carrying the princess in his arms, emerge onto the dirt covered road from out of the trees. Impa leapt off the horse and ran to the boy.
"What happened!" the woman yelled, looking at the unconscious form of Princess Zelda.
"She used too much magic," Link replied as Impa took the princess from the tired boy's arms.
"We have to get both of you to the castle," Impa said, looking at Link's many wounds, "but this horse can't carry three people." As she was saying this, Malon rode towards them on another horse.
"Link!" Malon shouted, worry evident in her voice.
"Link, ride with Malon back to the castle," Impa said, "I'll put Zelda on this beast. It shouldn't be too tired to carry a single person. Don't let her out of your sight."
Link nodded before seating himself behind Malon. The farm girl grabbed the reigns of Zelda's horse, and both took off up the road. Link looked over at Zelda, laying atop the other horse, before the world went dark and Link drifted into unconsciousness.
***
"Where am I?" Link thought as he opened his eyes and saw darkness, "I wonder if I'm dead. Wouldn't that be a sad death for the Hero of Time? Being trampled by an overgrown fur ball and then falling of a cliff because my foot gets stuck. Although I survive both of those incidents, I die by falling off a stupid horse. I'm going to be laughed at for generations. My name will become a common insult. People will think of the Hero of Time and say 'he saves the day from an evil pig but can't take a madman on a stupid phantos'. Well, maybe I'm overreacting." Link then heard a noise to his left and turned, noticing his head was resting on something soft in the process. The Hylian peered through the darkness and saw the shape of a bed about five feet from his left side. He then noticed he was also on a different bed.
"This is weird," Link thought as he looked around, "I'm in some kind of room, and I'm actually tired. Dead people shouldn't get tired. Oh well, maybe I'll figure it out in the morning-unless it's always dark here. Whatever." The Hylian boy then laid his head back on the pillow and fell asleep.
***
Link opened his eyes again, this time seeing bright light. The boy covered his eyes quickly and looked around. He was in a large room, and sunlight was streaming in from many rectangular windows. Link saw another bed on the opposite side of the room, across from where he lay, and recognized that it was Nabooru who lay atop it. Confused, Link looked at a large Goron sleeping on a mat on the floor.
"Darunia? Nabooru? They didn't die, did they?" the boy thought before remembering the bed to his left. Link turned and saw Zelda lying motionless on the small bed.
"Zelda!" Link said, leaping out of his bed only to discover that his legs forgot how to support his body weight. The boy crashed to the stone floor, confused. Link once again tried to stand and he succeeded, his body gradually getting accustomed to being used again. Link reached Zelda's bedside and looked at the still form of the princess. Once again, he was relieved to find a pulse.
"It's been almost a week," a voice said from behind the boy, "Five days to be exact." Link whirled and saw Zelda's Sheikah guardian standing before him.
"We've been out for five days?" Link asked, receiving a nod from Impa. Link once again looked at Zelda. "She still hasn't waken up?" the boy asked sadly. Impa shook her head.
"Darunia and Nabooru have woken a few times," the Sheikah said, "They were able to get some food and water. We had to force water down your two's throats when you wouldn't wake up."
"She hasn't shown any signs of progress?" Link asked, again looking at Zelda.
"No," the Sheikah said, and Link could pick out a hint of sadness or despair in the woman's voice. A minute passed in silence. "I think you should have something to eat," Impa said finally, "come with me." Link realized he was hungry and took one last look at the sleeping Zelda before exiting the room.