-- CHAPTER 15: Waiting --

Link laid in his bed shaking under the covers. Curled up in a ball clutching his head he screamed, "Get out of my head! Just leave me alone!" A taunting laugh echoed in his head. You can't hide in there forever precious Hero of Time. You have a destiny to fulfill. We know this, and we can wait. ...that is...if we don't find a way in first... Another laugh screeched thru tearing an intense migraine in its wake as it seemed to vibrate his entire skull. Link sobbed heavily, his eyes long since dried of tears. Fifteen nights and counting, the same thing from dusk to dawn, the Mindrippers left him with sleepless nights.

He had gone back to the tunnels once, but everything felt so...different. It was like he wasn't welcome. It was so damp and dark and scary. He stood there for half an hour at the bottom of the staircase unable to take a step forward before he turned back around. He didn't feel safe in the tunnels, the entire castle was aired with a déjà vu feeling of dread, there was no place for him to go so he stayed in his room drenching his sheets with sweat and tears

"Flo'ondia!" he cried out, "I know your trying to keep me away...for whatever reason, hiding something I guess. But please, just let me sleep at the bottom of the tunnels. I can't take this anymore!"

Nothing.

- - - - -

Link stumbled out his door and slowly shuffled towards the center of the fortress to help Withrow set up his tent at the market, his head hung and arms hanging loosely to the sides. He was only awake by the loosest sense of the word.

"Morning," Withrow greeted him unenthusiastically; the Shadow Spiders incessant howling every night was getting to everyone.

Link didn't bother to look up as he mumbled something undistinguishable, it would have to do as an acknowledgement.

"You know," Withrow said rubbing his eyes, "I think the Gerudo are getting to you more than most others."

Link harrumphed, Withrow had no idea.

"I don't know what's up. I swear they didn't start acting like this until after you showed up. It doesn't make any sense."

Link puttered and shrugged his shoulders even tho he knew very well the answer.

Withrow sighed, "Oh you just look awful. Listen, I couldn't in good conscience work such a young kid who was as tired as you. None of the other kids your age have too."

Link meant to say, "You don't have me do much as it is," but it came out closer to "mehrrmle..."

"That's it, you've done more than enough. Here's breakfast, then I want you to go back to your room and get some rest."

"thngs..."

Withrow turned around to the table to pick up Links plate and then turned back to hand it to him only to find Link slumped over slowly making his way back to his room. Withrow laughed under his breath, "He's a good kid."

- - - - -

!KRACK!

There was a loud explosion that shattered the wall guarding Castle Town and sent Link crashing into a nearby building, rubble crumbling on top of him. He let out a scream as a heavy chunk of stone crushed every bone in his legs from the knee caps down.

A fireball whizzed past his head connecting with the wall of a house spraying more rubble everywhere.

"HAHAHA! Has the Great Defender of Hyrule really fallen so easily?" A voice mocked behind him.

Trapped under the heavy weight of broken stone wall. Link lifted up his upper body as best he could and twisted his torso to face the offender. His eyes lifted from the ground up to first show the reddish-brown legs of a strong stallion and then the darkly tanned upper torso of a muscular man. His fists were glowing red-hot and steam was rolling so thick that the hand became distorted, waving back and forth. The air swirling about his hand was so hot that flames began to suddenly combust from nowhere amassing into a condensed sphere of white explosive fire.

"I'll admit, I never expected this honor, but at the same time, the glory of being known as the one who slew Link will be bittersweet, seeing you squirm helplessly crushed under a small pile of rocks. It's pathetic, really. I expected mo..."

The centaurs arms flailed up to clutch his throat where the arrow had penetrated clean thru to the other side.

"Me? Fallen? Ridiculous."

Link smirked despite his pain as his arms collapsed to the ground, bow in hand.

"Beezwack!" cried a fellow centaur to his felled comrade. Then, fireball ready, he whipped his head towards Link. "You!" He brought his enflamed hand high above his head. There was a loud neigh, and just as he let loose smoldering ball a horse body-checked him, sending the centaur to the ground and the fireball wide off course.

"Anopé, you think for once you could show up to these battles earlier? I know the dramatic effect is much greater when you come in at the last second to save me from certain death, but it gets old quick, you know what I'm saying?

Anopé neighed playfully as he stuck his head under another of the band of centaurs and, rearing it's head up, flipped it to its side on the ground.

Link brought down several more centaurs with his bow and arrow as Anopé continued run about knocking others down. But for every one centaur they brought down ten more seemed to emerge from dusty smoke that billowed about at the centaur-made entrance.

Guh? They never attack with such numbers! They always just go on spontaneous little rampages whenever they feel like a good pillage or particularly destructive. But they never band together like this. What gives? "'Ey Anopé! Come help me up over here!"

The gorgeous brown stallion replied as she galloped over to Link. Link grabbed a hold of her leg. "Now pull me out."

Anopé tugged in the other direction quickly pulling Link out of the rubble, his legs dragged along the ground limply scraping a trail of blood in their wake. Link pulled himself up on Anopé's back and unsheathed his sword. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Giddy up!"

Now ridding such a swift stead Link dashed throughout the sea of centaurs cutting them down left and right, as he easily dodged the onslaught of explosions hailing from every direction. And in the middle of the raging battle Link heard a shrill scream of one of the curious bystanders peering cautiously through their window. A chill shot down his spine as he sensed the evil coming. Slowly turning Link grimaced as a tall dark-clad Gerudo cockily strode into Hyrule from the Castle end. "Ganonthack." Link muttered under his breath.

"Well boys," he began with a smooth arrogance, "I got done what I came here to do. Thanks for the distraction. You may go now."

"But boss! You promised us a great pillage!" One of the centaurs chirped up from the crowd.

"Fine," said Ganonthack matter-of-factly, "Do what you will, I don't care, but I'm leaving."

Ganonthack continued to stroll over to the other end of the Castle Town Square and was met halfway by a towering black stallion, eyes glowing red. He gracefully mounted his horse and rode off out of the town. The vast majority of the centaurs that had seemed more content to stand at the outer edge of the battle and watch, some even still outside the castle walls, turned to follow Ganonthack. Then a few of the centaurs more mixed up in the battle grumbled to themselves and grudgingly followed with the rest of their kin. Slowly the centaurs filed out of the town until the last few left were forced to realize they were outmatched and retreat.

With the last of them gone Link fell off the horse and crashed unconsciously to the ground.

- - - - -

The warm sun crept over Link's face thru the window. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. But quickly through his sheets over his head and squirmed deeper into his bed, he was too cozy to wake up now...but, he had obligations. Withrow had been so good to him so far, for which he wasn't about to act ungrateful. With another yawn, Link reluctantly got out of bed, got dressed and headed out the door.

"Link! Good morning!" Withrow cheerfully rang out as he saw Link nearing his cucco stand.

Link smiled and called back "Good morning!"

As Link walked up next to him Withrow commented, "So I take it you slept the rest of the day and all night? I knew you were tired! What did I tell you? A young man like yourself needs his sleep."

Link thought for a moment, "Yeah, I suppose I did..." scratching his head sleepily with a sly smile across his lips.

"OH!" Withrow suddenly burst, "TODAY IS SUCH A GOOD DAY!"

"Wow, you seem particularly happy today, and for you – that's saying a lot!"

"Heh...You didn't realize it did you?"

Link cocked his eyebrow and hung his head to the side inquisitively. "hmm?"

"The Gerudo finally left us alone. I haven't slept so well in...well since they started screeching every night I guess...So it hasn't really been that long when you think about, but it sure does seem like it doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Link said not entirely convinced, "I suppose your right."

"Well then, I expect today to be very busy so, if you wouldn't mind, could you fetch me whatever eggs the cuccos laid last night?"

Link scowled over-dramatically, "Eggs...yuck, you know the meat's the good stuff!"

Withrow laughed, "We've been over this before, The food is rather limited here so we need to be conservative. Just think, if Timbroe had killed his cows we wouldn't have any milk!"

The mood the rest of the day was light. The day was particularly beautiful and everybody was in good humor from getting a full night's rest. Happy crowds milled about the market excitedly chatting and ready to splurge to celebrate their good fortune, but what caught Link's wandering eye most often was the band of kids mischievously running about and generally misbehaving. Link sighed; it'd been a long time since he had acted his age. Ever observant Withrow noticed Link's absent minded meanderings and insisted that Link go have some fun.

"But you just gave me yesterday off!"

"It's called weekends - you work for 5 days and then take 2 off. It's how us adults do it. Now you've worked for two strait weeks, indeed I should be giving you more days off."

"You've worked everyday I have!"

"Well I certainly didn't work that much when I was your age, now shu!"

Link gave him a long hard stare and then his face burst into a giant smile, "Thank you!"

"Think nothing of it; you have a good time now, ya here?"

But Link was already running off to make some new friends.

As the day went on, Link found himself in the middle of a contest to prove which boy had the biggest balls. One boy snuck into the Wintergreen household and emerged minutes later sprinting out the door with a purse in his hands and a young girl hot on his heels. Another boy climbed Old man Timbroe's fence and tipped over one of his cows. It was amidst this childish competition that Link lost his wit. Up until now, it seemed inherently obvious to keep as much a secret of who he was and what he's done as possible. But Link's boyish competitiveness got the better of him as he told of how he crossed the great Hyrule field by himself and of his great destiny. When the boys laughed at him he suddenly felt the urge to show them the tunnels under the castle.

And so, the group of fearless hoodlums dashed off towards the castle. They found the door to be locked so they hid in the nearby bushes and waited. Their struggled patience paid off when a young servant woman finally exited the front doors with two empty pails in her hands. The boy just behind Link, Sage, quickly broke a stick off the bush and threw it at the slowly shutting door. It landed on the ground just right as to keep the door from completely closing.

"Nice shot!" Link exclaimed.

"Thanks," was the big-smiled return.

Followed by Link, the gang 'inconspicuously' crept into the castle and down to the door that led to the catacombs. Upon grabbing the door handle Link felt a sense of uneasiness at the back of his mind but quickly pushed it aside for the sake of his pride. He opened the door and peered down the staircase, with a dozen young eyes peering over his shoulder.

"It's dark down there isn't it?"

"Yeah, well, we'll just walk down to the bottom of the stairs." Link said, currently without his staff. "It's easy enough to get lost when you have a light."

Holding on to each other's shirts the gang slowly descended the staircase with Link as the guide. As they neared the bottom, Link felt the previous uneasy feeling rushing back at him more and more incessantly until, just steps from the bottom Link stopped.

"Hey come on! You promised to take us all the way down."

But Link didn't hear him, his mind was preoccupied. He had experienced an unwelcome feeling before, but this was different. Before it a slight uneasy feeling. Now everything so felt wrong.

"Flo'ondia!" he suddenly cried, much to the surprise of the surrounding kids who had no idea who he was talking to, "Flo'ondia, are you even still here?!"

There was a long pause.

"Flo'ondia!!!" His cry more desperate.

Flee child! Leave this place at once!

"Flo'ondia?" Link gasped. Her voice sounded tired and desperate, not the gentle soothing voice he had known before, "What's wrong?!"

And then, as if in answer to his question, an all too familiar screech echoed thru the dark underground halls.

"NO!" Link screamed.

All six boys grew wide-eyed, and one asked what all were thinking!

"They live down here?! Why did you bring us here? Were you trying to get us eaten!?"

Link turned to face them though he could barely make out their outlines in the near perfect darkness. "Run! Get out!"

The boys didn't need to be told twice as they quickly clamored up the stairs. A few steps up Sage realized that Link wasn't following behind. "Link? What are you doing? Let's go!"

"No!" Link said resolutely, "You go! I have to help her."

"What are you talking about?! Link, we have to go!"

Just then another shadowy cry tore thru the cave and sent Link crashing to his knees and then rolling down the rest of the stairs.

"Link!" Sage cried hearing the fall. Sage stumbled back down to find him. Fumbling around in the darkness at the bottom Sage finally found Link. He couldn't tell but Link looked up at him tears in his eyes.

"Come on." He said, lifting Link up and placing Link's arm over his shoulder. Propping Link up, Sage half carried Link all the way back up to the castle. Exiting the staircase the two noticed five pairs of regretful young eyes staring back at them like they had just be cau...

"Link!" came the scolding from just off to the side. Then, stepping into view, Colba lashed, "I am very disappointed in you. I would never have taken you down there if I even remotely expected...this! What in Hyrule got into you?!"

Link stared at the ground tears still dripping off his face, "s-sorry sir."

Colba mistook Links tears as more apologetic then fearful, and their severity threw him slightly off guard.

"Yes...well...let this be a lesson to you...now be off..."

The seven children bashfully left the castle. When they were a ways off Sage finally asked, "Hey, what's the matter. It's all ok, were all fine. Butch didn't really mean it when he accused you of knowing the Shadow Spiders were down there." Then throwing Butch a glare, "Did you?"

"n-no"

"Right then, see, nothing to worry about."

"...it's not that..."

"Not what?"

"I failed her, she needed me."

"'her' again? What are you talking about."

Link looked up at Sage, but stopped himself from saying anything, turned around, and ran off to his room where huddled in his bed till his busy scared mind finally allowed him to fall asleep."

- - - - -

"It's no use, Link. He's too powerful. Leave why you still can. I've prepared a boat for you just outside. Perhaps you'll be so lucky as to see tomorrow"

"Get out of my way. You do not what of which you speak."

"I know that you can't win! I know if you go up there and face him you will die ... or worse...end up like me. He's inside me, inside my head, always there. I feel his evil presence. I feel his tug. I fight so hard, but sometimes I get so tired of fighting... Link just don't go up there... please..."

"There is no tomorrow for me! And if Ganon survives the night there is no tomorrow for anybody! I have no choice!"

With that Link sprinted past the objectioner in his way and up the stairs.

As he continued spiraling upward, it became increasingly obvious that this staircase was leading much higher than it should judging from how tall the fortress was from the outside.

Mind games. Link thought as he continued to climb. I won't give up. I won't give in.

Link soon lost track of how long he'd been running. Minutes? Hours? Days? Years? Link found himself to be at a complete loss. Suddenly he couldn't remember anything but running. It was all he knew. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he climbed ever onward.

A wicked laugh broke the monotony and this disgusting figure of a Shadow Spider stepped forward from behind the bend in front of him. Link gasped and jumped back he turned to flee but thousands of Gerudo came rushing up the stairs behind him. Suddenly he was in the dark endlessly open field that these cursed nightmares always brought him to. The thousands of Gerudo surrounded him from all sides swarms of smaller skulltullas scurrying beneath their feet and smaller spiders still scurry beneath the skulltullas. A skulltulla reached him first and leapt straight at his face.

Wake up! Echoed a bodiless voice.

Time stopped, the spider froze inches away from his face.

"Flo'ondia?"

You must wake up!

"I'm so scared Flo'ondia."

Wake up now!

- - - - -

Link's eyes shot open though, instinctively, he kept himself from moving or making any sounds.

He heard the pitter-pattering of feet trying to quietly scramble about, and soft hissing back and forth. Link began to silently cry again. They were there, he could feel them, inside his room.

Get out now!

Link let out a quick gasp then immediately silenced himself. The room was quite, no sound, they had heard him.

A loud screech broke the silence causing Link to scream and tumble out of his bed. He found himself paralyzed from fear, as if he didn't move the Mindrippers might not find him.

Have courage, young Link! It's very essence flows through you!

"I can't! I just can't! I couldn't before and I can't now!"

You are afraid, I know. But courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to face it!

A grinning Gerudo wobbled up to Link forcing him to shuffle backwards, then, in the blink of an eye, it was on top of him. It was too dark to see anything in great detail but still, the distorted face of the Shadow spider was imprinted in his head in greater detail then he had ever seen anything before. He saw the venomous drool before it splashed over his face, and he saw the spider cock it's head to the side and smile widely bearing it's thousands of unevenly spaced teeth of all shapes and sizes. It reared it's head back to strike before it was stopped by a loud hiss from another Gerudo.

Link's arms desperately flopped around as Flo'ondia's voice continued to echo in the back of his head, 'take courage, take courage, take courage.'"

The Shadow Spider atop Link turned to face its challenger and hissed back.

Link's hand amazingly landed over his Deku-staff.

The opposing Shadow Spider snapped at the one hovering above Link and received an aggressive snap back.

Link's fingers curled around the staff, his sweaty hands making a tight grip difficult.

The challenger backed off and left the first Shadow Spider to Link who turned back to face Link with its familiar toothy grin.

!SMACK!

The Mindripper's head whipped to the side as it was struck with all of Link's might. It stutter-stepped backwards and Link quickly rose to his feet striking the staff to the ground and shoving the now-glowing end into the cursed creatures face. The Mindripper wailed and backed off temporarily blinded. Link felt another Gerudo coming up behind him and whipped around the sudden bright light sending yet another Shadow Spider into a shadowy corner. Link nervously spun around every which way holding the staff out warding off what must have been at least two dozen disfigured beasts, far more than he realized. Fear began to grip him all the more as he notice the repulsive figures slowly starting to close back in on him as they adjusted to the light. His arms began to tremble and he spun around all the more rapidly. A Gerudo came into staff's length and Link stabbed at it. Immediately a spider leapt at him from behind Link feel to the floor and whipped his staff up at the underside of the wretched thing sending it soaring just over him. In the next moment a dozen drooling faces leaned over their helpless prey.

!CRACK!

The door to Link's room broke open with Withrow crashing thru.

"LINK!" he scream skillfully zipping an arrow thru the air that landed just to the side of Link, enough to make the spiders flinch backwards.

"IN HERE!" Withrow called outside and was immediately the sound of rushing feet could be heard making their way to the doorway.

Men halted to a stop just behind Withrow and more arrows were fired. The Shadow Spiders swarmed towards their attackers screeching loudly causing many to drop their weapons. But not all as Link became painfully aware when a set of sharp teeth sunk into his arm. A volley of arrows shot thru the air and struck the Shadow Spider in the face causing him to wail loudly and release his grip.

"GET OUT OF THERE! THRU THE WINDOW!"

Link didn't have to be told twice. Luckily the window was open as nights were usually fairly hot. Link dove thru but was whipped to a stop as the same Gerudo that bit his arm bit down on his nearly escaped foot. Link's belly smacked onto the window sill and momentum carried the upper half of his body into the other side of the wall. Dazed, Link whipped back up and stabbed the spider in the eye with the under - and much narrower - side of his staff. The spider cried and stumbled to the ground giving Link the chance to scramble out of the room.

Outside a furious battle raged on. Men continued to poor out from all ends of the fortress and women stood just outside their rooms holding their crying children behind their arms.

The Gerudo continued to fight on viscously even with dozens of arrows sticking out of their body's, some even had legs hacked off or giant deep gashes from the swordsmen that had entered the mix and still fought back with strength. Men seemed to randomly drop and start to seizure as one by one they succumbed to the spiders' mind games. Link watched on terrified, as the men fought bravely on.

With horror Link noticed Withrow drop to the ground and a heavily bleeding Shadow Spider limp up to him.

"NO!" cried Link as he ran over throwing his body into the spider. Both the spider and Link quickly scrambled to their feet and faced one another. The spider screeched, but Link just shut his eyes in pain, stepped backwards to steady himself from falling, and shook his head. Looking back up at the spider he smiled victoriously and struck at the Mindripper with a fierce blow. The beast retaliated by snatching the staff with it's teeth and ripping it out of Link's hands. The Gerudo reared back and pounced, but fell to the ground off course as two rapid fired arrows met it mid-air. A man with a sword came up from behind the spider, severed its head, and ran off to continue his fight.

Link whipped around to see the shaken figure of Withrow on the ground propped slightly up with a bow ready in his hands. Link threw himself on top of him.

"Oh Withrow"

Withrow struggled to his feet with Link still clinging to him, patted him on the head and ,looking into Link's eyes, said with a smile, "Thank you" then gentle pushed him away, eyes focused sternly on the battle before him. Bodies of men and spiders were strewn about the bloody field as the many left fought on beaten and exhausted. Withrow reached into his quiver, pulled out and fired his remaining three arrows, then unsheathed his previously unused sword and charged into the thick of battle.

The fight continued and the spiders seemed to gain more and more the advantage as they overcame the numbers with seemingly inexhaustible energy. The men fought on bravely tho they became sloppier and much slower. Just as the tides had seemed to irreversibly change in favor of the Gerudo Colba emerged, his arms stretched towards the sky. He chanted loudly something untranslatable that caused the disgusting creatures to stop suddenly and flee towards the fortress gates. The twin doors flung open allowing the spiders to escape. The thick cursed winds rolled into the fortress as the men left standing rushed over to the gates and, with there combined might barely managed to reshut the doors.

"Gather your wounded, and take them inside! This place must be purified!"

Colba cried out for all to hear. Crying mothers rushed out to tend to their wounded husbands or lovers or brothers. Many anguished cries could be heard as women found their men dead. Nobody noticed Link tear off towards the castle.

"Flo'ondia," he muttered under his breath, "what's going on?"

He ran thru the broken open doors to the castle, down the broken open door to the tunnels and strait to Flo'ondia without thinking where he was going. Entering Flo'ondia's room he gasped and jumped back when he saw at least a dozen more dead Shadow Spiders strewn about the floor.

I tried to stop them, but I couldn't get them all. There were too many, and I wasn't strong enough. I am so sorry. Her voice was trembling and exhausted.

"Flo'ondia...what happened he..." Link stopped short as an emotion of pure dread washed over him.

Link began to breath heavily and sweat built up in large beads ran heavily down his face.

"W-w-w-wha-what?"

Get behind me child, you are not yet ready for this fight.

"And what makes you think you are Oracle?" A tall muscular man stepped thru the shadows clad completely in black, a large pointed nose extruded from his green-tinted face, bushy orange eyebrows dipped to conform to his sinister grin. "I am God."

Link did not remember his dreams yet still, with a wave of déjà vu, Link knew he recognized this man.

-- CHAPTER CLOSER --

Phew! -wipes sweaty forehead- There's a little more action for you. As well as one of those much hated cliffies. Sorry, it's already my longest chapter yet, I had to stop it somewhere ;). Well, what'd ya think? Please review! I love reviews. Even nasty reviews if you feel it necessary.

- - - - -

Thag – Flow-own-dee-uh. Flo'ondia. I actually came up with the name after watching LoTR and it's a direct rip off of Galandria (or however you spell her name). And I wanted something more 'watery' So I was like "Hmm...flow" And yeah, that's the story.

Fatima – Glad to hear things are going better, and just in attempt to help keep those spirits high I added in an extra dose of spiders into this chappie! :p Hope you like!

Dark Cross – Good, I'm always worried that the slower chapters will get too boring. Glad to hear you still found it interesting.