- CHAPTER 16: Evil Becomes Known -
A door. Curious. What hides behind? The compulsion to know is strong. Hand on doorknob. No! All-enshrouding shadow! It must remain contained! So why do I open it? It must be conquered.
The stairs. Exhaustion. Why do I run? This monotony is as pointless as it is tiring. Legs begin to slow. Wait! I run for a reason. I remember not what it is, but I know it is too important to stop. I will conquer.
A light. Inviting. Is this my goal? A warmth emits from this doorway. I approach my destination. Stop! It's a trap! The light is aired with darkness! My body freezes in fear. Fear is meant to be conquered.
The figure. Evil. How can such a being exist? My eyes tear at the corruption before me. I call his name. Ganon! He does not turn, but I see his face. He smiles. "Do you really expect to conquer?"
-flash-
A disfigured Moblin howls at the moon.
-flash-
A black gauntleted fist crushes a blade.
-flash-
A shadow watches a burning forest.
-flash-
A dark figure gazes upon an ocean emptying above him and laughs maniacally.
-flash-
A darkness walks out the door, leaving behind a young girl huddled in a corner crying.
-flash-
Innumerable spiders scurry towards...
"Link! I said get behind me!"
...a man who raises his head to the dark sky and spreads his arms as the scurrying spiders cover his body.
-flash-flash-flash-
Face after face. All grinning, laughing, howling. All dark, shadowed, evil.
"Link! You must listen to me! Overcome the compulsion! Your time will come!"
He mocks me. He destroys all that is good, all that I fight for. And laughs in my face.
"Link!"
I will conquer!
- - - - -
Link jumped to his feet and blurted "What are you?! You cannot be allowed to live!"
Link! No!
The great shadow bellowed heartily.
Link gripped tight his staff and lunged at the figure before him. Before he was even aware of his actions he found himself looking at the caverns dark ceiling gasping for breath as cold meaty fingers wrapped around his throat. The huge hand wrapped all the way around to the back of his head and a single finger pushed his head downward to meet his captor. Link threw tightly his eyes shut afraid of what he was about to see.
"Are you afraid?" came the amused voice.
Link didn't answer.
"This is your hero, Oracle?"
The Hero. Mine, and all of Hyrule's. And he will be your end.
The villain laughed. "You don't say?"
Link gurgled as the fists tightened.
Stop!
"Stop? The Great Hero. My End. Can he not defend himself?" he mocked.
Flo'ondia didn't respond.
The shadow smirked. "And this 'Great Hero,' the famed 'Bearer of the Triforce of Courage' He won't even look his opponent in the face. Come boy, will you not honor me. I wish to gaze into the eyes of my end before he brings upon me my final fall.
Link gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes tighter.
"No? You refuse my request?"
Link's face grew purple and tears dripped down his cheeks as the foe squeezed tighter yet.
I said stop!
Flo'ondia's right eyed flashed a bright blue lighting up the entire room for a moment. The cloaked being suddenly released his grip dropping Link to the floor. He pressed his palms against his head in pain and fell to his knees. Lifting his head upward he let out a horrible scream. As the scream continued it began to break up and steadily turned into a clear insane laughter.
Link jumped to his feet and scurried behind Flo'ondia.
The shadow rocked back off his knees to sit down and slapped his knee as he continued to laugh uncontrollably. "Oh, Great Hero! Your legendary courage! How it makes me tremble!"
You've gone mad! This boy does indeed posses the Triforce of Courage. And thru the ages without fail he has brought you down!
The figure sighed "But Great Oracle, knower of all, surely you must admit circumstances are different this time around."
It matters not. This Link is more in tune than any other I have ever met. The Triforce of Courage dominates his subconscious, and soon he will awaken as the greatest Hero of Courage of this Age.
"Yes...this age...which remind me 'surely you must admit circumstances are different this time around.'"
You will not succeed.
The fiend finally picked himself back up to his feet. "So be it." And began to walk off. His heavy boots echoing thru the tunnels. Well out of visage but within hearing range he stopped.
"Have him bring them to me. It's what I want. Bring them all to me!"
- - - - -
"Who is he?" Link said displaying no emotion.
You know.
"Ganon."
"This is bigger than just an illness that plagues the Hylians?" It was a statement; Link knew it was, the implied question was what exactly that entailed?
I already told you, all you need to concern yourself with right now is bringing your people here.
"It's what he wants, he said that's what he wants."
There are things you don't understand, but you don't need to yet. All you need to conc...
"Shut up! I'm so sick of this you-don't-need-to-know bull! Obviously it's my 'destiny' to 'save the world.' I deserve to know what I'm up against! I need to know what I'm up against!
"Well!?"
I can't tell you.
"Bull! Do you have any idea what I've been thru! The Gerudo still dance in the back of my head! Every second of the day they torment me! Every time I close my eyes I see them...smiling, laughing, taunting me...My head hurts so much! ...and then...him..." At that moment Link broke into tears.
I understand it's a lot to place on you. That's why I only want to give you so much at a time, little pieces, easier to handle.
"And I'm just supposed to follow blindly as you lead me to Him?! I can't do that! I can't face him without knowing why!"
And you won't until you do. Right now you just need to focus on saving your people.
"But I can't leave yet."
Not till the full moon.
Link glanced at one of the dead Shadow Spiders that were thrown about the floor. "And what about them?"
Ganon got his message across. I don't think they'll attack again.
"Because they listen to him...and he wants me to bring my people here too...Why should I trust you when you want the same thing from me as he does and you won't tell me anything!"
Listen. People are healthy here. You have already witnessed this. Trust me or not, if you want to save your people this is your only choice. And I know you, I've know you for several millennia. You always do what is right for your people, no matter what sacrifice it means for you.
"...I'd rather them die as they are then bring them to be tortured at His hands."
You'll do it. You can't give up. You can't resign to that fate. You'll be determined to end Ganon's reign. It may be a trap, I may be in on it, but bringing your people here is your only option. I'll see you here again the evening before the full moon.
- - - - -
"I'll see you here again the evening before the full moon." The words echoed in his head as he stumbled thru the dark tunnels only now really noticing the sharp pains that shot from his ankle all the way up to his hip from the bite from the shadow spider as he was escaping out the window.
She's right...screw her for being right...but she is...I'll be back...Link reached stairs and limped back to the castle floors wincing at the pain and at the same time in utterly dumbfounded as to how the pain could have escaped him until now. Leaning heavily on the wall and head hung in exhaustion Link reached the door and pushed it open. Boots.
Oh, I'm just not up for this.
"Excuse me!" Colba boomed, and Link realized he had spoken aloud without intending to.
"Tomorrow, please, can we just deal with this tomorrow. I'm too tired right now."
"I think not! You use the attack of the Gerudo as a distraction to sneak into the tunnels, clearly off-limits, get caught..." Colba paused as his eyes trailed backwards along a dotted path of blood that lead from the castle entrance, down the hallway, and into the staircase, "...and have the audacity to ask to be let free! Do you have any idea the chaos that has been going on outside?"
Link absentmindedly shook his head, not hearing a word that Colba had said but instinctively knew how to respond to the tone of the question. He looked down to see a second trail of blood coming up from the pitch black below him and pooling just below his ankle and then gave the blurry figure of a man crossing his arms across his chest a once over before he passed out from loss of blood.
- - - - -
Link's eyes blinked open as he moaned slightly.
"Oh good, your up." Came the familiar soft tone of Withrow. "You've been having some nightmares- tossing and turning and talking in your sleep…you even fell out of bed once. You woke up, but you were so out of it I doubt you remember."
Link shot up and looked directly at Withrow. "I talked in my sleep? What did I say?"
Withrow raised a brow at the sudden intensity Link portrayed. "Uh, well, mostly just mumbling actually, I couldn't make much out... Is there anything going on – anything I should know about. Colba brought you back late last night and ordered me to watch you and tend to your wounds. He was not in a good mood. I just wrote it off as being upset after the whole Mindripper attack, it took a heavy toll on a lot of us."
"Withrow...just... it's not important...don't worry about it."
"Ok, just know that you can tell me anything."
"Well, that sure is a nasty cut on your ankle. I wrapped it up, didn't really know what else to do, you should be fine tho, just stay off it for a while."
"...how...h-how many people..." Link started.
"Died." Withrow finished for the stumbling boy. "...We've only been told of three, several others are still in the hospital in critical condition. ...I was never fond of the Gerudo, but they've never been so...aggressive, I don't know what's gotten into them, usually they keep to themselves...and how they got in here...Nobody, not even Colba, has been able to answer that one. The castle doors were broken open, apparently from the inside...some people think somehow...but that's ridiculous, and Colba flat out denied the possibility."
"The kids..." Link said to himself, remembering that they were with him when they first heard the Mindrippers down in the catacombs. But Withrow, picking up on almost anything, heard.
"The kids?"
"...Oh, just...my friends...uh, are they all ok?" Link quickly covered himself.
"None of them were hurt very badly...but...Sage, he lost his father. He's all alone now, his mother died on his town's pilgrimage to Fenykes."
"Oh..."
There was a long awkward pause before Link broke the silence.
"So, the courtyard, is it safe to go outside now?"
"Colba insists that people stay inside as much as possible and that anybody who must go outside make it as quick as possible. The air is still cleansing. It could take weeks before were allowed to live life like normal again. My guess is that the next full moon will do the trick."
Link sighed, even with all that had happened, making Link less confident in the safety of Fenykes, the next full moon couldn't come quick enough.
Withrow noticed the longing on his face. "You still plan on going don't you. I'd try to convince you otherwise, but like I said before, I was in the same position you were, and nobody could talk me out of it...I'm coming with you."
"But..."
"No! I've decided, you can't change my mind."
"You could die out there!"
"And you couldn't? You've got spunk kid, but don't you think it a little audacious to assume that you stand a better chance out there than me!"
"It's not that..."
"Yes, I know, I apologize. You just couldn't ask anybody to commit to something so dangerous for. Well you didn't ask, I decided this myself."
Link paused, wanting to tell Withrow everything, not quite sure why he didn't.
"Listen..." Link paused. "My left hand, have you ever noticed anything...strange about it."
Withrow cocked an eyebrow.
Link looked at the mark of the Triforce of Courage on his hand. It had dimmed some over the years, but it was still noticeable. And everybody knew the legend of the Triforce and it's three bearers. People, anybody, should have noticed by now. He shouldn't have been able to gone so long without raising any questions. This realization just now began to hit Link as he wondered exactly what that might mean.
Link whipped the back of his hand up and placed it directly in front of Withrow's eyes.
"You don't see anything?"
"No!" Withrow said in shock, "No, I do! The mark of the Triforce of Courage! And it's glowing!"
Link furrowed his brow, not sure where to go with this. "But you didn't notice it before..."
"Before? How long ago did it happen? I mean I must say I was pretty pre-occupied when the Gerudo attacked, and since then, I've only seen you in bed covered by sheets..."
"The whole time Withrow. I've had this mark since I was born."
"What?! That's ridiculous, I would have noticed it; it's very obvious."
"That's what I thought. Listen you have to believe me. People just never notice, I don't know why."
"Give it up, it's some sort of trick isn't it?"
"Listen! My name is Link! You know Link from the Legends?! I came to Fenykes healthy, A bit rattled from the Gerudo attack maybe, but completely unaffected by the plague that kills everyone outside these walls. The Spiders just now started acting strangely, right after I moved in, and who do they attack when they finally reveal that they could get in to the fortress? Me! That's who! I'm telling you the truth! My father possessed the Triforce of Courage before me and his father before him!"
"What could...Do you know...This is remarkable! I thought it was just a myth!"
"No! It's all recorded right there in the history books. I remember stories from my father: just a generation ago people knew the Triforce to be true just as surely as they knew they had ten fingers. It's like everything's being forgotten or something." Link remembered His strange visit with a Shiekah who barely noticed the mark on His hand. He didn't think much of it then, but now that just added more to his questions.
Withrow sat in thought; it was a lot to take in.
"Anyways, you understand now, why I have to go alone. I'm the only one immune to the plague, tho I don't know why, and I can't risk taking anybody else."
"No!" Withrow burst, "You must take me, you don't understand." And then he burst into tears.
Link looked on with a sympathetic albeit confused expression.
Between sobs Withrow explained, "I was telling the truth when I said I went back to get my people, but when I said I waited out the next month and then returned and everything turned out allright...I lied. I did save people...many people...but..." Withrow began to sob more heavily and it took a while till he regained his composure. "...Pretain, my son, I was too late for him. And my wife, Jackie, she refused to leave. Delirious, she thought Pretain was just asleep, and when she wouldn't come until she could finally wake him. All I wanted to do was stay with her, comfort her, but I had a duty. There were too many people still alive. I calculated it out, waited as long as I thought it was safe to make it to the desert on a full moon as I tried to convince Jackie the truth. But in the end I had no choice. I left her, and I've never been able to live it down. I need this Link, please. I don't know exactly what I think it's going to prove, but I need this."
Link paused. He wanted to say no. He didn't want to put anybody else in danger. "...OK, you can come."
- CHAPTER CLOSER -
Oh sweet irony. Ok, actually I doubt any of you've been keeping updated on my bio, but I just recently posted my reason for not updating and that I wouldn't be updating for a good while yet. Obviously this is an update, albeit very short. Let me explain. I do have computer access, but none are my own. I'll be getting a laptop in 5-6 weeks, but until then I can't save anything. But Eureka! I can save it on ! So I'm putting this up now. I'll update and put up more later (probably tomorrow). When I feel I have a decently long chapter, I'll start on the next. Now I know you don't get notices for chapter updates, and I don't expect you to check the story everyday to keep up. Just know that, by the time you get the next chapter notice this chapter might be longer and you might want to check over it before you go to the next chapter.
Edit: hmm...I just realized I can save this on without posting it first. But yeah, I was already set on posting it, and I'm going to. I would say it's a matter of pride – sticking to my decision. That's a pretty bad reason, but, truth is, my honest reason is even more selfish: I miss the reviews. :/ Sorry for teasing you. Let me know how much you hate me. Anything. Just review. :)
Edit2: Ok, I think that's good enough. If your reading this then know you've read the whole chapter, the next update will be a new chapter. Sorry for any confusion.
- ACHKNOWLEDGEMENTS -
Thag- Thag, you have no idea how good your review made me feel. Seriously, I was all giddy the rest of the day. And then, after I pulled my biggest cliffy, I unsympathetically make you wait. Hopefully this little chapter-bit is seen more of a "hold-over" than a "teaser"
Fati...err...ehem...Rose of the Moon- uh oh, I sure hope the Ganon you smacked across the head wasn't my Ganondorf, because my Ganon is a psycho! Oh just you wait, -wink-wink-nudge-nudge-
Dark Cross- Hey no problem, I've definitely been bad at reviewing myself lately. I'm glad you liked the chapter, it's probably my personal favorite.