Day VII

A dream.

"Can you see me, Ganondorf?

Don't you know my secret?"

Spoke Ganondorf's reoccurring dream…or was it a reoccurring nightmare? It had visited him more often in the past few weeks. Kaysho hovered above him, so close that his snout nearly touching Ganondorf's face.

"The day will come.

I shall…"

Ganondorf woke from his dream with a shout, and frantically looked around the room. Kaysho was nowhere to be seen. 'That horrible dream…' Ganondorf thought, and shuddered. He was sick of having that dream…sick of the scarier-version Kaysho. 'It isn't true…so why won't that dream just leave me alone?'

"Master!"

Ganondorf's jumped slightly, but recognized the voice. He looked down, and to his relief, Kaysho stood by the side of his bed, with a concerned look on his face.

"Master," He repeated, "are you alright?"

Ganondorf sighed heavily, and ran a hand through his hair. He looked down at Kaysho, and replied, "…Just a bad dream."

Kaysho tilted his head, and looked at Ganondorf. "…It you say it, then it is so." He said, in full trust. Kaysho smiled, and hoped up onto the bed, "But now that you're awake…up, up, up!"

"No way," Ganondorf said, and tossed a pillow at Kaysho, "I was up late last night."

"Oh, where you? I wonder why… Kaysho started to tease.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" Ganondorf gave in, and stood up, "And I was studying, Kaysho."

He grinned a harmless keaton grin, "I know that."

"The day will come."

Over and over again, that dream-manipulated Kaysho repeated his words, over and over in Ganondorf's head. 'What day?' Ganondorf had strayed fare enough from reality to think about, 'Day for what?' He wandered deeper into the Abyss of Curiosity, as he slowly wandered down the hallways, making sure to keep quiet when he passed by his room, because he didn't want to wake his friend.

Inside the room, Kaysho lie by a flickering fireplace, it's embers dimly burning. He was curled up on a blood red rug, fast asleep. Un-plagued by bad dreams or spirits.

'Day…what day…?' Ganondorf continued to ponder, and soon he was lost in the abyss. He wandered the halls of the temple, running his hand along the walls. 'What…will happen on this 'day'?' That question stood out from the others. As he wondered about these things, Ganondorf didn't seem to notice as the walls and air around him grew darker.

Dark, dark, and darker furthermore, and slowly, he focused back into reality. But truly, was it reality? Mist filled the room, covering his feet, then his torso, then it consumed all of him within the thick fog. The walls seemed to shift, then, to evaporate entirely. Around him, pueblo turned to the blackest of stone, and light to dark. All within a short moment.

'…What?!' Ganondorf took a step back, as his scared eyes darted into the Mists of Confusion. "What…a dream…a dream!" He proclaimed, "It's a dream, it's…not…real…" But surely, the cold floor beneath his feet felt real. Surely, the solitary bead of sweat on his brow felt real. Surely…his fear felt real.

"Ganondorf…"

"That voice…" Within the darkness, Ganondorf's fiery eyes shone with fear. He took another step backwards.

"Can you see me, Ganondorf?

Why do you ignore me?"

The voice stung Ganondorf's mind, especially when it spoke his name. It was the dream exploitation of Kaysho. 'The dream Kaysho…the other him…no! The fake him! Fake! Fake!' Ganondorf kept telling himself over and over, as he groped through the blackness until his hands found one of the walls. But he suddenly stopped, and stood perfectly still, listening. 'The fake him!' The only noise that came from him was the pounding of his heart, and heavy breathing…the Sound of Trepidation.

"No, dearest Ganondorf. I'm the real thing."

His heart stopped. Over his deep pant, Ganondorf could hear a sound. The most frightful sound he had ever heard.

"Heh…"

"S-ss-top it-t…." Ganondorf pleaded. The voice, the other Kaysho, was snickering. An evil, yet joyful voice. A voice who found innocence and serenity within it's own vile indulgence. The dream Kaysho's snicker turned to a laugh. "S-s-top it!" Ganondorf cried out again, now with his back against the wall. The voice was toying with his mind like it were as simple as a grain of sand.

"He-he….What a foolish boy!"

Ganondorf's heavy breaths stopped. The mist around him suddenly started to move, on it's own, move away from him. "Over…please let it be over…" He prayed, his voice a dry whisper. Ganondorf turned to face the wall, and leaned his weight against it; his legs felt as if they'd been enclosed in a sarcophagus for decades. But it wasn't over, but in fact far from.

All pieces of sanity that were left in the room drifted away from Ganondorf, and formed a mass on the other side of the room. It formed a familiar outline…the outline of Kaysho.

"See? Here I am."

Ganondorf broke down. The voice, the images, it burned his mind…

'Kaysho…Kaysho Kay-sho….I've heard that somewhere before…'

"STOP IT!" Ganondorf screamed out. He screamed, cried, pulled at his hair, prayed to forgotten Gods of long ago. "You're not real! Y-you….you're a lie! A LIE!" He shouted at the figure, "Lies! A lie…" trembling, he blacked into the corner what was left of the room.

The figure looked at him oddly, as a person would when they raised their eyebrows at another. It suddenly smirked, showing off canine fangs.

"A lie?

I tell no lies.

The day is coming…."

"D-d-day…?" Ganondorf asked with a unsteady voice. "You're lying! You're not Kaysho! YOU'RE NOT KAYSHO!!"

"But I am…"

"NO! You're not Kaysho! My Kaysho…"

"Silence!"

Ganondorf held his tougne, in fear, and fell to the ground. The dream Kaysho lowered it's pitch, and the image lowered it's head.

"I am he, the one called Kaysho."

I am the Morning and the Evening Star.

I am Elohim.

I am the Hidden Phoenix.

I am Zion.

My day is coming…

The day will come…"

"You're not…" Ganondorf whispered to himself. Kaysho's Twin Star walked over to him. Ganondorf tried to pull away, but alas, he was backed into the corner of the room. "Stop it! Demon!" Ganondorf cried out, in a cold sweat.

Kaysho's Twin Star grinned, and placed his face against Ganondorf's, and whispered into his ear.

"I shall destroy the world."

It vanished. Everything vanished. In the blink of an eye, Ganondorf was back in the reality that he recognized. He was in the corner of a room, an empty room. Empty except for him. He nervously looked around, and slumped to the ground. "A dream…a dream…" he told himself over and over again, as he wrapped his arms around his legs uneasily.

"…Master?"

A noise of fear escaped Ganondorf's throat, as he looked up to see who called him. In the doorway of the room stood Kaysho. Normal, small, fragile, concerned Kaysho.

"Master?" He repeated, "I heard you…" Kaysho made a face of worry. He had never seen Ganondorf so afraid in all the years he had known him. Kaysho started to walked over to him…just as his Twin Star had done.

Ganondorf looked up at him, unsure whether to fear or embrace the keaton that stood in front of him.

Kaysho sat down in front of Ganondorf. "…Don't be afraid." He said quietly.

Ganondorf looked up, "…what?"

"Don't be afraid." Kaysho repeated, "…Because I'm here to share the fear with you."

Ganondorf trembled, "Oh, Kaysho…" He wrapped his arms around Kaysho, and started to cry.

Kaysho rested his head on his master's shoulder, and let him weep, and weep still, for as long as he wanted.

"O, Kaysho…" Ganondorf managed to whisper, in-between his shivering and tears, "Make it go away…"

Shout aloud, O Kaysho! Child of Zion!