The Legend of Zelda: The Dream Walker
Chapter 16
"Death and insanity"
By MEGAMANX411
Meia's expression was grim. She looked pained to even speak with Link on this matter. She fidgeted around a bit, trying her best to express the message calmly.
"Come with me, Link," she whispered.
Link was getting increasingly curious and worried at this turn of events. Something had to be seriously wrong if it bothered Meia this badly.
"Why?" he asked. "What's going on?" he added, his voice now containing evident traces of worry.
Meia sighed sadly, dropping her head slightly. Her hair slowly billowed down to accompany her slight head movement.
"There's something you should see...at the cemetery," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
Link's eyes widened at the mention of the graveyard.
"At....at the cemetery?" he repeated in disbelief.
Link follwed Meia, and they both headed towards the graveyard. Meia suddenly stopped. Link wasn't sure what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Link asked.
Her tried his best to see, and tried looking over her shoulder. He saw something on the ground. But what was it? Link walked around Meia, and tried to get a closer look at what this thing was. A body was laid to rest on the ground, lifeless. It was an old man, a resident of Inoa. Link knew who it was. He didn't want to believe it. He rushed over.
"Jess...?" Link began, almost in shock at what appeared before him.
It was Jess..but it couldn't be. Link couldn't believe it.
"That can't be..." Link muttered. "Jess, no!" he shouted, clenching his fist.
Link bowed his head down in silence for a moment. After mouthing a prayer and a vow, he then pulled his head back up, with tears streaming down.
"JESS!!!" he screamed.
Meia reached out a sympathetic hand.
"Link..." she muttered, trying to comfort him.
Link quickly wiped his face with his arm, and then looked forward with hardened eyes.
"Jess....I know who did this..." he muttered, sounding incredibly angry.
Link took notice of the townspeople that had gathered there, some of which had come because they heard Link screaming. But the main person Link took notice of was Ronan. Link slowly turned his head, and gave an angry stare at Ronan. Fire was in his eyes. He silently mouthed, "you'll pay for this!", and clenched his fists in rage. Link punched the ground hard, trying to relieve at least some of his anguish. He slowly got back to his feet, heaving breaths, still in sheer disbelief at why or how this happened.
Soon after, they prepared for the funeral. Jess was placed in the casket, and they had dug him a grave. Link stood by the tombstone. The townsfolk of Inoa walked by to pay their respects, and also gave a word to Link as well. Ronan was the first. He smirked evily.
"First Sybil, now Jess...who's next Link??" he asked, with obvious sarcasm in his voice.
Link merely returned his sentiment with a hostile gaze. He couldn't believe that Ronan could actually be enjoying this. He would pay for his sins, and Link would see to that.
"Ronan....." he muttered.
The priest chose not to stay and chat, and then walked off, leaving Link with obvious rage. Lutas walked up next, and placed a hand on Link's shoulder.
"Hello Link," he began. "Jess was a good man. He saw you as the son he never had, and he was proud of you, I'm sure of it. You're a good person Link, and Jess knew that."
Link tried to force a smile, but it was difficult under the circumstances.
"Thanks Lutas," he replied.
Septimus walked up next, and obviously had to pay his respects being Link's friend.
"Hello Link...it's a terrible loss. Jess was a kindhearted man, and everyone loved him. He could see the good in everyone. I know there is little I can say to make you feel better at the events that transpired, but just remember Jess always knew you were brave, despite other townsfolk thinking otherwise. And also, there's something Jess left for you back at his house. I'm sure he'd want to have it," he added.
Link nodded slowly, retaining his composure.
"OK, thanks Septimus," he replied.
The day dragged on for almost an eternity for Link. And the solemn occasion brought little besides anger and sadness to Link, for he had not only lost Sybill, but now Jess in his quest to defeat the evil Melzas. At the end of the day, he and Meia went back to Jess' house, and saw Septimus waiting there.
"Here Link," Septimus began, extending an open hand.
In it was a key. It appeared rather old, yet it seemed as though it was well taken care off. By the looks of it, it was something important. The signs weren't painfully obvious, but Link could feel it.
"Jess wanted you to have this. I'll leave you to rest for tonight. Come on Meia, we should leave Link to gather his thoughts..." he added, gesturing to Meia that Link needed some time alone.
Link nodded, gesturing to them that he'd seem the later, and he then focused his gaze on the key.
"Thank you guys, I'll be fine," he replied.
Septimus and Meia walked off, leaving Link alone. He eyed the key curiously, wondering what it could be for. Link noticed a small blue chest in the back room of Jess' workshop. He had seen it on numerous occasions, but he had given little thought to what was in it. He walked over to it.
"I wonder if this is what he meant," Link muttered, looking at the look on the chest.
He slowly put the key in, and turned it. The chest opened, and inside was a letter, and some armor.
The letter read:
"Well, Link, I guess if you're reading this, that means I've expired. This is not good, you know what I am saying? Anyway, I took notice of what you did and said, and I felt that Ronan was up to no good. That man didn't seem holy at all, you know what I am saying? So, I wanted to help. I felt I had to. I wanted to protect you. But, I'm still frightened. My hand quivers as I write. But, I will face Ronan, for you. Link, you are like a son to me, and I couldn't be more proud of you. You are a hero."
Farewell, Jess.
Link bowed his head for a minute after he read the letter.
"Jess..." he muttered.
Link headed upstairs for some sleep after one of the longest days he had ever had. Thoughts of sorrow and vengeance filled his mind, as he couldn't forget about Jess and Sybill. That night, Link dreamed of all his acquaintances with Jess. When they first met. When Jess expressed his worries after Link's adventures. It was a long night to end a long day.
The next morning, Link awoke to the sound of a door knock. Link yawned loudly and stretched, quickly putting on his clothes.
"Who could want to see me this early in the morning??" he muttered, noting that the sun had barely risen.
Link headed downstairs, and he saw a man standing there, apparently an unfamilar face from Inoa. Link tried to greet his guest with a smile.Jess may be gone, but he wouldn't let that reduce him to a bitter person full of vengeance.
"Hello," Link began, "can I help you with something?" he asked.
"Your name is Link, is it not?" the man replied.
"Yes, it is. What of it?" Link asked.
"Please, I need your help. My name is Gustav," he replied.
Link had remembered hearing rumors of Gustav from some of the other townsfolk. They had said he was a raging drunk, and his daughter, Elene, had gone insane. Gustav was clearly in distressed, looking frail and weak.
"Please Link, save my daughter!" he cried, flailing his arms around. "She's got one of them nightmares, and she can't wake up! Please Link, save her! I promise I won't ever drink again if you do!" he shouted.
Link nodded quickly, and tried to get the man to stop his ranting.
"OK, I'll do it, I'll do it," Link replied.
Link followed Gustav to his home, and noticed that Septimus was already there. Link waved to the scholar.
"Hello Septimus," he began. "So what's going on?"
Septimus had a serious look on his face, and had many books stacked beside him. He held one in his hand, apparently trying to find something about Elene's illness in it.
"This isn't good Link. Gustav's daughter is suffering from a nightmare, but it's not the same as before," he observed.
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
"Elene has split personalities, so she has multiple sides to her dream," Septimus added. "Four, to be exact, each with a different nightmare," he added.
Link took note of how dire the situation was. Elene's apparent mental instability would make things much more difficult.
"That doesn't sound good...is Meia here?" he asked.
Septimus nodded, and pointed to Elene's bedside.Meia was already there, andherbody appeared slack. Anothervillager was on hand to steady her as she was in the dream world.
"She's already entered Elene's dream," he began. "She could really use your help Link, it'll be impossible to do this alone."
Link nodded back, and began to make his way over to Elene's bedside.
"Don't worry, I'll help too," he replied. "I'm going in!"
Link stood beside Elene andclaspedher other hand. His breathing slowed down, and his vision began to blur. He could feel his body becoming weak as his mind was sucked intoElene's consciousness. Link soon awoke inElene's nightmare, and began to search around for Meia.
He came to a floating platform in the middle of a blue sky. The dream was seemingly barren, having only one platform in what seemed to be an endless sky. On the platform, there were four crystals at each corner of the room. Meia was standing by one of them, apparently trying to think things through.
"Meia!" Link shouted, his eyes widening. "You're here!"
A wave of relief washed over Meia as she saw help arrive.
"Link!" she replied happily. "I could really use your help!" she added.
Link slowly walked up to her,and double-checked the items in his pack.He was goingtoneedthem for this dream by the looks of it.
"It looks like we have to go through all four nightmares to help Elene. I suggest we go together," he offered.
Meia nodded. She did appear cold to Link at first, but that really wasn't her nature.She just wasn't really interested.Now that she knew she needed his help, she would be willing to accept his aid and in return assist him. She had to defeat the evil that plagued this place...
"That sounds like a good idea. Lead the way?" she asked, gesturing for Link to choose the path.
Link smirked, and thought of this as an opportunity to demonstrate to Meia his adventuring skills and prowess.
"Glad to," he replied.
Link walked over to the nearest crystal, which happened to be the one in the upper right-hand corner from where Link was transported in the room. Link slowly reached out to touch it.
"Are you sure about this?" Meia asked.
"Well, unless we want to see what happens by jumping off this platform," Link replied.
"I guess you have a point," Meia muttered.
Link placed a hand on the crystal, and he could feel his hand submerging into it as if it were made of liquid.All of the sudden, he seemed to be pulled into it at a quick rate. Meia rushed over to pull Link out, but she too was absorbed into it. Link and Meia both blacked out, and awoke soon after in what seemed to be a completely different area.
In reality, they were then transported them to another room. In this particular room, there were two sides, divided by a thin wall. Each side had some switches. Link pointed out the obstacles on each side.
"Maybe these switches have to be activated simultaneously?" he noted. "They couldn't have been placed in arrangement just for the heck of it."
Meia nodded, and took some time to give the room a look over.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I've got the left," she added.
"I guess that means I've got the right," Link replied.
Meia and Link both turned to each other and smirked.
"Try to keep up!" they both shouted.
Meia and Link rushed to either side, and leaped from switch to switch, activating them all in unison in perfect form, and at great speed. They were about equal in that respect. Link and Meia each reached their next respective switch in perfect form and fashion. They reached the end shortly. Link smirked when he saw Meia land on the last platform at the same time as he did.
"Not bad Meia!" he teased.
Meia smiled back at Link, and just decided to accept his compliment and return one of her own.
"You're pretty good yourself Link!" she replied, teasing him back.
Meia smiled, and Link did so back. Link then turned his head in response to a noise he heard, which apparently was a door that opened thanks to activating the switches in the room.
"Well, it looks like this is the way to go next,"Meia observed.
Link gestured for Meia to enter first.
"Ladies first," he teased.
Meia giggled in response.Link assumed it was just from the fact that he teased her, but he didn't take the time to ponder what other intentions she may have had.
"Very funny Link...who knew you could act like a gentleman!" she replied.
She walked in first, leaving Link a bit confused. Link stood there for a moment, his expression blank.
"Huh?" he muttered.
Link didn't exactly understand Meia's implication, so he shrugged, and walked on. In the next room, a hideous creature was present to greet him. It was a gelatinous monstrousity, similar to that of the creature that plagued Wendell's consciousness. Meia shot a glance over to Link.
"Watch out Link!" she warned.
The creature formed a fist out of its gelatinous body, and threatend to strike. Link immediately took note of Meia' warning, and dove out of the way of the creature's impact. "
Thanks for the heads up," Link replied, giving a quick glance to Meia.
However, their little skirmish was interrupted when they saw Elene.
"How DARE you invade my castle? Guards!" she shouted, not sounding entirely well.
Link took note of her erratic behavior, and decided that this must not be the real Elene. If she did have multiple personalities like Septimus had said, maybe it was possible each of them were represented in the dream world.
"If it's true that Elene has split personalities, then is it possible that there are four versions of herself in her dreams?" he asked.
Meia nodded back, obviously being pretty knowledgable about the subject.
"Yes, this is but one facet to Elene's existence, meaning that her supposed true self must be in another corridor of her mind," she replied.
Link was dumbfounded at the response. He knew Meia was rather experienced in this respect, but he never expected her to come out with an answer like that.
"Wow, you sound just like Septimus..." he noted.
Meia smirked, showing a bit of pride in the fact that she managed to impress Link on the matter.
"No time to dwell on that. We'll have to track down the real Elene, but first I think we need to take care of this thing. I don't think it will let us leave quietly," she added.
Link nodded back, and readied his fighting stance.
"I'm ready whenever you are," he replied.
The creature spit off a piece of goo which it hurled at Meia. Link dove at her, and got her out of harm's way.
"I guess it's my turn to thank you," Meia replied.
"Think nothing of it," Link teased, as he unsheathed his Master Sword.
Meia readied her blade as well. Link charged in, and started hacking away. The creature tried to crush Link, but Meia managed to get Link out of the way this time.
"Thanks Meia," he muttered.
"Anytime," she replied.
Link's eyed widened when he noticed something rather odd about this creature.
"Meia," he began. "Look in the middle of that monster's body," he added.
Meia narrowed her eyes, and she eventually saw a rather large eye!
"Huh...there's....an eye!" she gasped.
"Meia, distract it for a little while," Link ordered. "I'll ready a shot to take out that eye. I get the feeling that will take it down."
"You sure?" she asked.
Link shrugged.
"You don't trust me?" he teased.
Meia simply shrugged her shoulders, and rushed at the monster with her blade flying. The creature tried to bat her away, but she proved far too agile, and even though none of her attack proved to be fatal, they agitated the creature nonetheless. Link was aiming his bow, trying to pull the string back far enough so it would penetrate the creature's gelatinous body and strike the eye.
"Aiming..aiming....there!!" he shouted.
Link let loose the arrow from his bow, which pierced the creature's eye. The creature reeled back in pain as its eyes was bleeding severely, and it spilled backwards. The exposed eye made it an easy target for a finishing blow by Meia. The monster fell apart, and oozed over the floor in a puddle, which began to evaporate. Meia gave Link a thumbs-up.
"Looks like you were right," she muttered.
"You did great Meia!" Link shouted, congatulating her.
Meia just shrugged.
"You're the one who took it down," she replied.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without your help."
Meia nodded back, and just decided to get down to business.
"So, let's investigate the other personalities. We'll have to come to the real Elene sooner or later."