Well, I'm back again! Any-hoo before I start I'd like to mention that this chapter will be extremely long. Took me longer to write then I expected actually (I really had planned to get this up sometime in July…) Anyway this time reviewer comments will be at the bottom and I guess all I have to say is that I'm sorry this took me so long to update! Hope ya like!
Disclaimer- Awww, do I have to? =gets hit with a bottle= Fine. I don't own Zelda, it's characters, rights, and all that other stuff
Read on and enjoy! :)
Chapter Seven: Tears and Tragedy
Malon sat on a stool by her mirror while slowly combing through her hair. It was usually so soft and silky but tonight the tangles in it were almost driving her mad! That wasn't the worst of her problems, though, she thought setting down the comb on her dresser. The worst of her problems was the fact that Chronos and Zero were after her, that Link had left her and that from now on she'd be living in the same house as Maku and Zuku, since they were, surprise, surprise, her protectors.
It was just so strange all of this. She still wasn't sure she believed all of it. Whenever she thought about it all, it felt as if her head was spinning from confusion. She just wished she had someone to talk to about this… and she couldn't help but wonder… if perhaps her mother had something to do with this… or maybe her father knew about this or… ack! Or maybe, or maybe. There were so many maybes, what ifs and other questions that piled sky high in her head.
She sighed, taking off her clothes and putting on a light navy blue nightgown. It was odd. Just a few days ago she had thought that she was just a normal girl with a normal and boring life, yet now she was some huge… thing that these psychos were after just so they could fulfill their own selfish wishes. She always wanted her life to be full of adventure and way more exciting than it was, but now that she finally had all she wished for… she wasn't quite sure she wanted it anymore.
As she gazed out her window she began to sing softly into the night. It was a slow song. A song of courage. A song that her mother had taught her when she was just a young girl. The words to it were slow and lyrical and seemed to make the moon in the sky shine brighter and the tiny stars that weren't showing at the time come out. She stopped singing and could feel a small tear well up in the corner of her eye, thinking of how her mother used to sing that song so well, but she quickly brushed it away and turned once she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Come in." She said quietly.
The door knob turned to reveal a very disturbed looking Talon who, for a moment, just stood there before coming in.
"Yes dad?" She said sitting on the bed and motioning for him to come sit next to her. He sat down.
"Um… Malon, do you by any chance know those two boys down there who are eating our food? Are they friends of yours perhaps?" Malon was silent and looked away for a moment.
"They're… just some boys I found on the streets. They'll be staying with us for a while since they have no where else to go, so just make due with them." Talon looked slightly suspicious but still said nothing. He then noticed that Malon's face held a sad expression and decided to address her about it.
"Malon, what's wrong sweetie?"
She quickly turned away from him so he wouldn't notice the small tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "There's nothing wrong dad." He wouldn't buy it.
"I don't think you'd be in tears if there was nothing wrong." Damn he was good
"I-It's nothing dad." She said, her voice beginning to get shaky. He still wasn't going to let it pass.
"Malon, you know you can tell me anything. I don't know if I'll be able to help as well as your mother was or give you a good answer or whatever, but still could you please tell me what's bothering you?" Malon sighed in defeat. At first she was quiet but decided to ask him a question instead of telling him straight out what the problem was.
"Have you ever been in a situation where… so many strange things are happening to you and you just can't seem to sort them all out because it's just too… confusing? And then before you know it, you can't even seem to figure out who you are? Or what you're supposed to do because you're just… lost? And you feel so alone, like there's no one who understands you anymore..." She trailed. Talon was silent as he looked into his daughter's deep azure eyes. She looked so desperate and distant, he felt sorry for her.
"I can't say that I've ever been in a situation like that myself, but if I was I'd probably stay away from people for a while, just to have some time to myself to think. Perhaps it wouldn't be all too bad if you could just figure out who you were first. That's the most important thing I think."
Malon was silent for a while, thinking about her father's words. Finally a question stirred up in her mind. "But how could you figure out who you are again?"
"I'm sure you can figure that one out." Talon said, getting back up. "Now get some sleep. See you in the morning. Oh and think you could uh… tell those two boys to stop eating all of our food." Malon sighed and nodded sleepily. Her father smiled and walked out of the room quietly. She yawned and slowly climbed into bed, hoping to have a peaceful sleep.
--
Zero had gotten to the ranch just in time to hear Maku and Zuku telling Malon about everything. He was too late, he concluded with a sneer. Now he'd have to wait until both idiots mistakenly left her alone, so they wouldn't get in his way as they tried to 'protect' her while he attacked. They were more annoying than anyone he had ever met. He sat down in the tallest tree he could find and put a hand under his chin, waiting. He was bored. He could go off and have a bit of fun destroying some people or things, but he just wasn't up to it. His main focus was Malon.
"Damnit." He whispered. If his idiot of a brother Chronos had done what he was supposed to in the first place, then they may have been halfway through the resurrection ceremony by now. The ceremony itself did indeed take a long time to do. Almost two days. However, even if Chronos had done as he was told, there wasn't a guarantee that the ceremony would be going on. If she wasn't the one they needed then all their work would have gone to waste. All she would have been was a sacrifice. That would still be all right, though, considering the fact that she would help extend their lives. But then again they would have to go out and search once more for 'the one'. He found it amusing to think, that when they had captured her mother all those years ago, she had already had a daughter. Back then they had been too inexperienced to think that maybe the daughter could have been the one they were looking for. So instead they had taken the mom only and she had ended up as a sacrifice.
It was only a few years ago, when they were once again looking for their next target that they both realized their mistake. Maybe since the mother had been part of the tribe, and the girl was her offspring… maybe this meant that the girl could be it! And now here they were, chasing after her with most clues pointing to the fact that she probably was the one. Zero felt a sudden joy spring forth within him. Finally, after all their work they would know the answer. There was also something else to help them find out what they wanted to know. The pill Chronos had given her. If she was the one, then when they fought her later on as he planned to do, once he started winning and she started losing, as he was sure would happen, a certain marking would appear on her head, which would tell him that she was it. Then he would take her away and everything would work out for the best. If none of that did happen though, then when she was close to death he would take her away, she'd end up as a sacrifice and… they'd once again start their search for the next target. He groaned at that and got up.
This was too boring. He wanted to go destroy something now. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a whole flock of birds fly up into the air. He smirked and flew after them, ready to roast some birdies.
--
Link looked up from the rock he sat on to the ranch, and then at the rose he held in his hand (which by the way was almost dead) and sighed. It was too late to see Malon now so he'd have to wait until morning to do so. Well, at least he still had a little time to think about what he was going to say. Just saying sorry and handing her this rose wasn't gonna cut it. He knew Malon better than that. If he simply did that then he was sure she'd never forgive him. But then again… if he went straight out and really apologized to her would she forgive him then? He shook his heads. Of course she would… yeah, she was his best friend. She would have to forgive him…
Link looked up at the moon in the sky, wondering what she was doing…
--
Meanwhile, as she lye awake in bed Malon couldn't help but think of Link. Where was he right now? She knew she shouldn't have but… she was almost expecting him to come and see her today. She was actually surprised when he didn't… but then again she had seen him in the market when she went to do errands for her father, walking to the castle. This shocked her a little bit too. And she couldn't help but feel like he had betrayed her. After all, what could he have been doing there? She really didn't want to think about it.
She turned to her side to try and get some sleep, shoving all the thoughts of Link out of her mind.
--
Malon awoke in the middle of the night gasping. What was wrong with her? She couldn't breathe! Gasping for air she rushed out of her room and into the bathroom, where she finally began to retrieve her breath. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she was soaking wt. Her hair was a mess and beads of sweat had begun to make their way down her forehead. She took a step back, suddenly racing to the toilet and vomiting into it. After that she flushed it and decided to go down to the kitchen to get a drink and try and recall on what had waken her up like this and what was happening. She looked down the hallway and began to shakily walk down it, almost stumbling and falling to the ground as she approached the stairway. She crept down it as quietly as possible as not to wake Maku and Zuku who were sleeping peacefully on the couch.
The kitchen was illuminated by the moon's light as it shined through the window. Malon quickly walked to the sink and filled the cup she had with water. She hesitated before drinking it, though. Strange, what was going on? Why couldn't she remember? And then it hit her. She had been having a nightmare. She remembered she was just falling. To where she didn't know but as she did fall she remembered being stabbed. Over and over again by people. People she knew. People she loved. And finally she had stopped falling and had been caught. By him. By Link. She remembered the exact words he had said when he caught her. '"It's all right. No one's going to hurt you anymore. I'll never hurt you anymore. Never."' She had smiled and stared at him, thinking all he had said was true, but of course it wasn't. He had then taken out a knife and stabbed her over and over, without ever stopping.
Suddenly she screamed and didn't even what she had done until she saw Maku and Zuku hurry up to her from the couch they were at and stare at her, wondering why she had screamed.
"Malon are you alright? Why'd you scream?" Zuku asked curiously.
"I-I feel… dizzy." She responded lifting her hand to her head and holding it there for a moment. Both boys looked at her and cocked their heads to the side until Maku's eyes grew wide and he pointed at her side, a worried expression creeping over his face.
"Malon what happened to you!?" Feeling the side where Maku was pointing, she felt a sudden aching and it felt as if her hand was being run through some kind of liquid. She quickly looked at her hand and gasped. Blood. Her blood. The two brothers were screaming questions at her but she heard none. The world was becoming… blurry. Everything kept getting bigger and bigger and then… too big. She fainted.
--
'W-where am I? And… what happened? Urg! My… my side hurts… Am I in a bed? Ah, now I remember what happened… I had a nightmare… then I came down to the kitchen and there was blood on me… and then… and then what? I can't remember…' Malon slowly opened her eyes to meet the big ones of Maku and Zuku. Surprised to see them both she shrieked, startling the two boys, and sending them both back a few inches. Her eyes scanned the area she was in again and again. She was in… her room. Suddenly she touched her side, trying to feel the blood that had once been there, but there was none.
"What happened to me? I thought I was going to bleed to death!" She said shaking.
"Malon relax," Zuku said comfortingly, "We cleaned it all up after you fainted." Malon looked shocked.
"I-I fainted? Now I remember. Everything kept getting bigger and bigger, and then it all went black." Maku and Zuku exchanged glances with each other and finally Zuku asked her, "Do you know what happened to you? How'd you manage to start bleeding?" Malon shook her head.
"To tell you the truth not even I know. All I remember was I woke up in the middle of the night from my nightmare. In it I was just falling and I kept being stabbed by people I knew and loved. And then I stopped falling and I was caught in the arms of Link. He said that he'd never hurt me again. Then straight after that he… he stabbed me and next thing I knew I was wake, gasping for air in the middle of the night. You pretty much know the rest."
Zuku looked perplexed. None of this made since. How had she started bleeding that had? There had to be some reasonable answer, but right now he could think of none. "Are you sure you didn't trip or fall or anything to cause the bleeding? Like when you were going down the stairs?" Maku asked. Malon shook her head as Zuku rolled his eyes.
"Even if she had fallen, Maku, she wouldn't have hurt herself badly enough to start bleeding like that. We would've heard it anyway." Maku just shrugged. Malon sighed tired of lying down and sat up in the bed, immediately noticing Maku and Zuku start to blush. She looked at them questioningly and followed their gaze downwards. She shrieked and quickly pulled up a blanket to cover her bare chest.
"Erm… sorry about that but it was the only way to get the bandages on." Maku explained sheepishly as he sweat-dropped. Malon blushed and desperate to change the subject asked, "How long have I been out?"
"Just a couple of hours." Zuku replied, observing the room absentmindedly. After a few moments of silence Zuku turned back to her, a serious expression falling over his face. "Malon I… I think I may know how this happened to you…" He paused for a moment, "Perhaps... it's Chronos and Zero that are doing this to you—"
"Zuku that's impossible," Maku interrupted, "If it were Chronos and Zero doing this we would have known by now!"
"I know that, Maku, just let me finish," Zuku snapped back at him, "As I was saying, I think it's possible that they could be doing this to you through your dreams. It may sound weird but it's just a theory. Chronos… I found out that he has gotten a new power that has something to do with dreams. Perhaps through them he is able to harm people and change the dreams around, so that if one person was supposed to have a pleasant dream he could make then have a frightening disturbing one. I think this may just be it, unless you can think or another possible answer." He paused, waiting for her response.
Malon looked up for a moment, trying to debate on whether or not this could be true or not. Doing this through her dreams? How? It just made no sense. But then again she did remember something. The Link from her dreams. She had looked into his eyes and there was something peculiar about them. They weren't blue. They were an odd whitish-silver color. No, more like gray…
"That's sounds reasonable enough for me, Zuku. It's still strange though, you know how they can do this through my dreams… If they could hurt me like that… doesn't that mean that they could possibly kill me like that too?" Malon asked.
Zuku shook his head and was quick to answer. "Don't worry; they wouldn't kill you if you could be of some important use to them. Most likely their trying to weaken you or warn you. Something along those lines. Either way, we're going to figure out a way to stop this, right Maku?"
"Uh, huh…" Maku said yawning. He then grabbed Zuku by the arm and began dragging him out of the room, "Well now that we've cleared up things here, it's off to bed with us. Come on Zuku. Just don't have anymore nightmares, Malon, and don't worry 'cause we'll be on full alert if anything happens." He said before exiting the room with Zuku in tow. Malon blinked twice then shrugged and lye down on her pillow to go to sleep. Hoping to have a peaceful one this time.
--
Link tiredly wiped her eyes as he woke up to the morning's first rays of light the next day. He had camped out on 'his' rock last night and now it was time to go to the ranch and finally greet, well apologize to Malon. He got up uneasily and spent a few moments looking at the ranch. He groaned. No he wouldn't go now. He knew how moody Malon was when she first woke up and most likely if he went now… He shivered, not wanting to think about it. His eyes wondered for a moment and his gaze suddenly fell on the direction of the Zakiri Forest. He cringed as he remembered Maku and Zuku, not wanting to go there at the moment. But it would probably be best if he went to check up on the two right now...
He quickly took out his ocarina, playing the Epona song, and reminding himself of Epona once more. He sighed. He truly was hopeless. As Epona came running by he swiftly mounted on her and rode off to the Zakiri forest.
--
Link looked around the Zakiri Forest feeling alone and utterly confused. Where were they? Maku and Zuku couldn't have run off to trouble could they? No, Zuku was way too smart to let Maku drag them into any dangers. He would've stayed here with Maku and kept him out of trouble. But if that was so then where were they?! Link groaned. "I feel like I'm their babysitter! Why can't those two just stay put for once?"
He looked around once more but he knew they weren't just going to pop out of nowhere… yet it was impossible to just vanish into thin air too, right? He sighed again then mounted Epona, whom was waiting patiently for him just beside the tent.
"Let's go girl. I think we'll go see Malon and then, if by the time we get back, Maku and Zuku aren't here we'll go look for them." Epona neighed as if to agree and slowly exited the clearing with Link on her back.
--
As soon as she felt the hot sun on her back Malon groaned and of bed, nearly falling back down as she felt the aching in her side. She scowled this time, got up and kicked the bed for no apparent reason, then started jumping up and down as the pain of her poor, abused toe started kicking in. Fate really wasn't being nice to her today. All ready she was feeling extremely moody. After recovering from her painful awakening, Malon got up putting on a blue shirt and white skirt then expertly putting her hair up into a messy bun. She walked downstairs and was greeted warmly by Maku and Zuku, but said nothing since her moodiness was obviously beginning to kick in. Just as she suspected she was followed closely by them.
"Wait, Malon! Aren't you going to eat breakfast? And where are you going?" Maku asked.
She turned around and glared at him. "I'm not hungry and I'm just going out to do my chores. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to jump off a bridge or something." She then turned on her heels and proceeded in walking down to the stables.
"Jeez, what's eating her butt today?" Maku wondered aloud and was with a smack to his head, compliments of Zuku. He glared at Zuku who just rolled his eyes. "Well then what are we supposed to do Zuku? It's not like we can follow her every minute of her life you know." Zuku thought about this for a moment then shrugged.
"I dunno, we just wait here I suppose, although that does remind me of something…" Maku gave him a questioning look, "We did kind of just ditch Link you know. He might be worried about us or even mad…" Maku looked thoughtful; for a moment then his eyes got wide.
"That's right! Oh what do we do? He's going to kill us! Oh no, no, no, no, no!"
"Maku calm down. We simply explain to him our situation and he'll understand… maybe even help us." Zuku said coolly. Maku hesitantly agreed and both took the time they had to observe the ranch, well, the animals really. All the horses here seemed to be so happy and were strong and fast, yet none looked as gentle or smart as Epona. The cows were wise, old and calm, however all the cuckoos seemed to have a scary evilness about them. Maku just chose to stay away from them for the time being… After standing there in silence for a while Maku sighed, declaring that he was going back inside to get something to eat, when they both went on full alarm as they heard the sounds of a horse entering the ranch. Without a second thought they ran to the entrance and immediately turned back and ran to where they had been before, shrinking back behind two pots. They looked over the pots once more to gaze at the person that rode the horse. Link.
"What's he doing here? Maku whispered.
"I don't know! He probably wants to talk to Malon." Zuku whispered back.
"But if he spots us he'll want an explanation and might want to take us back!"
"Relax, we just tell him everything like it is if that happens. Like I said earlier if you were listening."
Okay but in that case why are we hiding behind these pots?"
"Um… well…"
Luckily for Zuku Maku had turned his attention away from his brother and was now looking at Link who was, apparently, looking for Malon. They watched as he rode past them, not once gazing in their direction and went on to where all the horses were running free. His eyes scanned the area for a while and he sighed when he didn't see her. Maku and Zuku took this chance to run off and hide behind two larger pots that they were sure he wouldn't see them behind. Link looked behind him for a moment and then shrugged it off as he steered Epona towards the tower (A/N- You know that big gray tower thing with the cows and hay. Sorry I really don't know what it's called -.-; ) He stared at it for a moment and was about to leave when the door flew open and he finally saw who he had been searching for all this time. Malon.
--
Malon and Link stared at each other for what seemed like the longest humanly stare, both too shocked to say anything and then,
SLAM!!
Immediately Malon shut the door in Link's face and leaned back up against it, eyes still wide in shock. Great. He had finally come back. What the hell was she supposed to do now? As she thought about this she suddenly began to hyperventilate, or something like that. She tried her hardest to calm herself by taking deep breaths, which was hard to do in the first place. Looking over her shoulder at the closed door she wondered why she was so suddenly acting this way. After all it was only Link… Besides she had wanted to see him… hadn't she?
From the other side she heard Link dismounting Epona and sighing as he leaned up against the door, as if he was expecting her to do just that… what was he doing here anyway? She had thought he had left her life forever… with her back leaned up against the door she slowly slid down to the floor and could feel some tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she thought about when he had left her. She shook her head to get away from the memory and yelled, "Go away! Leave me alone!" She knew she really didn't want him to leave but something in her head just told her that this was the right choice.
"Malon… could we just talk… please?"
"No." Malon replied suddenly feeling a wave of tears begin to develop in her eyes.
"Malon, come on. Will you at least listen to what I have to say?"
"No Link, save it. I don't want to hear a word from you… you've hurt me too many times before and I don't want it to happen again! Just leave."
"I'm not going anywhere. Will you please hear me out on this one? I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."
Slowly a tear drop rolled down Malon's face and she sniveled, "Link if what you have to say is an apology then I really don't care. I don't want to hear it." She couldn't believe she was saying this, or hearing this. Link really wanted to talk with her and yet she just kept on pushing him away. One side of her mind was screaming at her to stop this and the other side urged her to go on.
"Will you just give me one more chance Malon. I'm really sorry and I—"
"No and no! I said already that I don't want to hear it!" She interrupted him. She heard him sigh from the inside. Or was that a groan? 'No, please don't leave Link… please. Stop this now Malon! Don't go through with this! You're making the wrong choice!' There it was. The other side of her mind was practically begging her not to do this, but she couldn't listen to it. 'Good, just keep on doing what you're doing. He'll leave sooner or later. It'll all work out for the best, I promise.' And then there was the side she was listening to. "I just have to make him go. It'll work out for the best…" She whispered to herself.
"Please Malon, just give me a chance to at least tell you how I feel." Link said from the other side of the door. Link said from the other side of the door, clearly getting desperate and a bit irritated.
From the inside she shook her head even though Malon knew he couldn't see her. He just wasn't giving up. There was… one thing she could say that would make him leave but… no. No buts. She had to say it.
"Link, just go away. I'm through with you and I don't feel like talking. If you haven't gotten my point yet I'm saying that I… I hate you and I just want you to go away!" There was a long silence and Malon could feel her heart beating faster and faster. Was he going to leave or stay? She put her ear closer to the door, trying to listen to what he was doing. She soon heard him mounting Epona and slowly starting to ride off. He was… gone.
As the realization began to click in she suddenly wanted to open the door and run to him, begging him to come back. But through her shock all she could do was sit there. She gazed at the floor for a moment until she could feel a bunch of tears start to well up in her eyes. At first she tried to wipe them away but when she did they just came back in full force. Moments later she couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed on the floor and cried. It was all too clear to her now. She had made the wrong choice.
--
Once Maku and Zuku saw Link exiting the ranch with his head hanging down in sadness, both knew that something had gone terribly wrong. The atmosphere of the ranch had turned from soft and peaceful to gloomy and melancholy. As soon as they were sure Link wouldn't be able to see them they ran to the tower where Malon had been and burst through the doors only to find her on the floor crying miserably. Maku and Zuku just stood there too shocked to say anything. Eventually Zuku pulled up all the courage he had and was able to ask, "M-Malon? What happened?" She made no move tell him and just kept crying as if he wasn't even there. After a mild silence Maku walked over to her and touched her shoulder gently, to try and calm her a bit. He was quiet and the turned to Zuku with a serious expression on his face.
"Zuku I think she needs someone, fast. Why don't you go get Link and I'll stay here for the time being."
Zuku blinked at his brother's orders and stood there for a moment, "How do you know what she needs. It's supposed to be me giving the orders anyway."
Maku rolled his eyes. "Bossy, bossy. Look Zuku I know you may be the leader and all but I think I know how to handle this situation. Obviously when Link came here something bad happened to the both of them. I figure that if we can convince him to come back and explain what happened, and then if they talk to each other we can clear up the confusion or whatever's going on." Zuku frowned for a moment then sighed in defeat. He had to admit his brother's plan was pretty good, and Maku was actually acting smart for once. Maybe if he did this now and praised him for thinking up a good plan (if it worked that was) then in the future Maku would actually gain some intelligence and be good at this kind of stuff.
"I suppose you're right. I'll go get Link and you stay here with Malon. I don't think anything's going to happen but keep a watchful eye if something does. Try and calm Malon down for now and get her to tell you what happened." Maku nodded and Zuku left the two alone. Not suspecting in the least that anything would happen
--
"Hm? Has the time finally come?" Zero gazed down from the tall tree he sat in, watching as Zuku exited the ranch without Maku. Or Malon. "Ah, I believe it really has." He grinned. Although he had been counting on both boys to leave, Maku was the younger and weaker one. He'd have no trouble getting past him.
Finally he could go and claim his 'prize.' Now let's see. How would he like to make his entrance when he went to retrieve the girl? Sure it was a silly and probably useless thing to think about but since this would be really quick he'd like to make the most of it. A villain is allowed to have a little fun once in a while isn't he? Now let's see. A surprise attack would be nice. If he could them it would make it much easier to get past Maku and things would go much smoother. He smiled. Yes, a surprise attack was just what he needed.
"Prepare yourself Malon, as of today everything in your life changes."
--
Maku sighed. He had finally gotten Malon to stop crying but she wouldn't tell him anything. As a matter of fact she just sat there, staring at the wall with a far away look in his eyes. He sighed again, going over to her to try and get her to talk.
"Malon come on. You know, sometimes if you don't feel well and you talk to another person about what's getting you down then it can make things a lot better." That was something Zuku had told him one day. He honestly didn't believe a word of it but it was worth a shot, right?
"There's nothing to talk about. I don't… you wouldn't understand anyway." Well that was a start. At least he had got her to start talking.
"How do you know that? Besides if you talk with him maybe we can work things out for the better. Come on give it a shot." Malon looked to the ground and said quietly,
"You expect me to talk with him? After I just told him that I practically hate his guts?! He'd never forgive me or even care about anything I have to say. If Zuku does go out and find him he's not going to listen. He's never going to come back, ever. Would you expect the one you love to come back for you after you told them you hate them?!" Malon was yelling now. Maku remained quiet for a moment then a small smile managed to develop on his face, "So you're saying that you do love him?" Malon blushed and turned away.
"Wha-what? Where'd you get that idea?"
"Mm, oh I don't know maybe from when you said 'would you expect the one you love to come back after you told them that you hate them?'" Malon blushed furiously and looked to the ground, "Just get off my back okay." He nodded then turned serious again.
"So... care to explain why you wanted him to leave in the first place?"
"I don't know… It's just seemed like the only choice I had. My mind was just so confused and then... that voice…" She trailed off and Maku urged her to continue, "This one strange voice inside my head kept telling me to make him go. I just couldn't escape it. Even if I did resist it just kept coming back and telling me what to do. It felt as if I were being controlled or something."
"Controlled…" Maku mouthed then perked up a bit. He was silent for a moment and then walked to the door and put his ear to it. Without further warning he turned back to Malon and gazed into her azure eyes. "Someone's out there."
Malon shrugged. "Of course, it's probably just my dad or Ingo." Maku shook his head.
"No it's not. Wait here." She nodded and Maku exited the tower. How odd. He was certain he had felt the presence of either Chronos or Zero out her yet he saw… no one. 'He must be hiding.'
"Come out you coward! I know you're here somewhere!" Silence. He looked around himself, still seeing nothing. Then it was clear to him. He backed far enough so he could see atop the tower. And sure enough there he was. Zero.
"Aw, shame on you Maku. You ruined my surprise." Zero quickly jumped down from the tower, landing in front of Maku and looking around for any sign of Malon
"What do you want Zero?" Maku said, trying to sound as brave as he could. Zero shot him a menacing glare.
"Are you really that naïve or are you just dumb? I've come to claim my prize of course. So where is she?"
"Do you really think I'd actually tell you? I think you're the one that's dumb around here."
Zero, completely ignoring that remark, looked over to the closed tower door and stared at it for a long time. "She's in there isn't she?" Without waiting for Maku's answer he walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough there she was. He grinned widely, leaning up against the door-way as he stared at her.
"We meet at last."
Malon stared at this man. Who was he? He had long blonde hair, unnatural gray eyes, wore a dark yellow tunic covered by a brown cloak. Though she couldn't see it she knew there was a sword in the sheath that was almost completely hidden by his cloak. Somehow Malon felt as if she had met him somewhere. Then a name came to her almost immediately.
"You are… Zero…"
"Ah, then you're not as dumb as the one over there." He said pointing a finger over his shoulder at Maku. He stopped grinning now. "Come over here now girl." At first she just stared at him until again, the same voice that had controlled her earlier made her start to advance towards him.
"Stop it Malon!" She stopped abruptly at the sound of Maku's voice. Zero groaned and turned around. "And I thought you were just going to give up. I don't see why you have to interfere. I'm much stronger than you Maku. Without your brother there are few useful attacks you can do. Face it Maku, you're powerless." Maku growled at him through clenched teeth.
"Even if that may be so there's no way I'll let you take her, not without a fight anyway." Zero took a step towards him and crossed his arms. "That sound like a challenge to me."
"Then a challenge it is." Maku said ready to fight this jerk whether he wanted to or not. 'I have to do it for Malon. It's what Zuku would want… it's what I want. I don't want to fail my duty again…' As soon as Maku's words were spoken Zero was off his feet and headed toward him faster then Maku could react. Zero's hard blow sent the young boy crashing into the dirt. Maku then got up on his feet and wiped the dirt from his face. As fast as he could he managed to conjure up a quick magic spell the Zuku had taught him and aimed it towards Zero. Unfortunately it missed, going off into the distance. Zero shook his head, looking after it, then ran back up to Maku and kicked him to the ground again. He kept his foot on the boy's back pressing harder and harder. He chuckled.
"Please, this is way too easy. I'm going to have fun killing you." Maku picked his head up from the dirt.
"We'll see if you get that far."
"Wimp." Zero then proceeded in crushing Maku into the ground. Maku clenched his teeth and fists, trying to withstand all of the pain that flowed throughout his body.
"Maku!" The pain on his back lessened shortly and he looked up to see a terrified looking Malon staring at him. Before he was crushed back into the earth he managed to spit out, "Malon… run… now…get away… quick!" Malon was almost in tears once again.
"No! I'm not going to leave you Maku!" Zero grinned.
"You'd best listen to him girl. When he's finished you're up next."
Malon looked up at Zero and glared. "You monster! Let him go! Do what you want with me but please just let him go!" Zero laughed at her.
"Don't you worry. I WILL do what I want with you but he's going to suffer here and now." Zero looked down at Maku to see he wasn't moving. With a final, and hard, stomp he took his foot off Maku and turned to Malon. "Your turn." He took one step towards her but was suddenly knocked to the ground when a sudden blast collided with his back. He scowled and looked over his shoulder to see Maku standing up. Maku quickly looked at Malon to make sure she was okay, and sighed a breath of relief when he saw that she was unharmed.
"I said to get out of here Malon! I'll hold him off as long as I can just run!
"But I—"
"Leave!" With a last glance at Maku Malon quickly took off, running as fast as she could. Zero got up and growled at him. "Fool! You should've just played dead. Now I'm really going to have to kill you and the girl won't be doing too well either."
"Heh, we'll see about that." They both ran towards each other and once again went into battle.
--
Malon's legs felt as if they would fall off any minute now. Despite the pain, though, she kept on running as if her life depended on it. 'Maku… please be all right. I don't want to lose you…' It was all she could think about. She really hadn't wanted to leave him behind, but she had heard the desperateness in his voice when he told her to go. If she had been there he would have been more concerned about her and not have been able to fight well. She would have only been in the way. She brought her hand up to her face and flicked away a tear beginning to fall from her eye. No, she wouldn't cry. She couldn't be such a wimp anymore. She'd have to be stronger from now on. She looked around and saw a large tree with a rock under it. Slowing down she walked there and sat on the rock. She was sure Zero wouldn't find her here. Putting her face in her hands she began to think about her current situation. What had she done? All of this, every single thing was her fault. If she had not made Link go away then Zuku wouldn't have had to gone looking for him, and she and Maku wouldn't have had to be alone, she wouldn't have had to run away and Maku wouldn't have had to fight Zero…
"My gosh, I'm such an idiot. I wish I could just die and solve everybody's problems. And mine. Link could go off with Zelda, Maku and Zuku could stop worrying about me and live a normal life, and Chronos and Zero could just give up. It's because of my very existence that all this is happening. If only I could do something to make this all stop…" She looked up at the sky for a moment and noticed that the clouds were growing dark. It was going to rain soon. She stood up and walked over to the tree, placing one hand on it and stroking it gently. Then, without further warning, a hand from behind suddenly grabbed her and pulled her close, covering her mouth with their hand. After a moment of shock and struggling, her captor finally threw her down and chuckled lightly. Malon slowly turned back around hoping this wasn't who she thought it was. As she looked into the eyes of the person she saw that they were gray. 'No… how could he find me here.'
"Z-Zero…" He chuckled again.
"Don't sound so surprised. You should've known I was going to find you sooner or later." Malon hurriedly stood up and began to back away from him, looking around to see if there was anyone or anything to help her. There was nothing.
"You're not thinking about running are you? That would be a very unwise decision you know." Zero said, noticing her actions. Malon didn't answered. Turning her back on him she immediately began to run as fast as she could, trying to look for a safe place to hide where he wouldn't find her… wait a minute… maybe if she went to the Kokiri Forest where Link was probably at then he could… she instantly stopped and fell to her knees as she felt a sharp object suddenly dig into her back. She slowly managed to look behind her and saw a knife sticking out of her back. She gasped and tried getting back up, only to be kicked back down to the ground by a powerful force. She looked behind her once more and saw Zero glaring down on her with a highly annoyed look on his face. He then reached down and yanked the knife out of her back, causing her to yell out in pain. "Didn't I tell you not to run off. Wherever you go Malon, just know that I'll always be able to find you." She moaned in pain and got up on her hands and knees, ignoring the pain in her back. "I thought that you weren't going to kill me…" He shook his head. "I don't intend to kill you. Only to rough you up a bit." He then reached down and grabbed her hair pulling her up. She struggled to get free but he grabbed her arm and kept a tight grip on it. "Your struggling will do you no good. I suggest that you just accept your fate and give up."
Ignoring him Malon tried even harder to get away, but to no avail. There was nothing more that she could do… she would just have to go through with this. When he saw that she had finally given up Zero smiled and pushed her back down once more, sending her sprawling to the ground a few inches away from him. He then went over and began kicking her over and over, ignoring her constant screams. One he stopped for a moment, she tried getting back on her hands and knees but he kicked her back down. Stepping on her already bleeding wound. Once again she cried out in pain and collapsed back on the ground. He laughed bitterly and took his foot off her back, once again grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up. He then noticed that he had knocked her unconscious and smiled dropping her back down. Right now would be the opportune moment to take her away but… he hadn't seen the symbol yet. That could mean… no she was it he was sure of it. Perhaps he just had to try something new so he could be sure. Reaching down he quickly lifted her up by her neck and began chocking her. Now he could see it. Finally. He looked under her bangs at her forehead and there it was, glowing a deep purple color. The symbol he had been wanting to see all this time. He smirked, and slowly loosened his grip on her neck, staring at it for a moment. And then it happened.
Once he stopped staring at the symbol he noticed a strange red energy beginning to travel up and down her body. As it reached her neck it stopped and made a turn, flowing up and down his arm several times before stopping just at his hand. "What the hell…" He mumbled, obviously dumbfounded. The light now traveled back to her neck and started blinking rapidly. In an instant in went back to his hand and started blinking again. Suddenly he dropped her as he felt his hand becoming weak. Shocked he stared at his hand and noticed that it had… burn marks in it. Freshly made burn marks. He looked down at Malon then back at his hand. This was… so strange… what was happening. Oh well, whatever it was gone now. He could figure it out later. He reached down for her once more, but just as he touched her arm a strange shock began to travel throughout his body. He flinched and looked at his arm. His arm was… bleeding. There were even more burn marks in his arm and it… hurt. He looked at Malon once more. He did not know what was happening but at the moment there was one thing that was clear to him. He could not touch this girl.
While clinging to his arm to try and stop the pain, Zero began to slowly back away. This was so… so strange. For the first time in his life he felt pain. He had never experienced anything like it. And now here it was suddenly all dumped on him. He hated it. It made him feel weak and vulnerable. Strange enough it was all caused by this girl. This weak little human. He wanted to do something about it. Was so mad he could've killed her right then and there. But he had to get away from her. Now. It was the only way to stop the pain. He was sure of it. And there was also nothing else he could really do now… he couldn't touch her even… He glared at her unconscious body. Once the resurrection ceremony was over she was going to pay dearly for this. She would pay with her life. He turned and began to walk away. Only looking back once before he flew off.
Malon's unconscious body just lye there in the grass. The wound in her stomach had opened up once more and allowed blood to freely pour from her stomach. What had she done? What had she done to deserve such a horrible fate? Her body lye here unmoving. Unknown to the world. All she knew, all she could think about was that she was going to die. Yes, that was it. No matter how much Link, Maku, Zuku, Chronos or Zero wanted here alive, they had no choice. Right now, in this place, she was going to die.
--
Chel: =dies from writing that long a chapter=
Garnet: Nope, you can't die now. You have to continue writing
Chel: =Is revived by Garnet= Aw! You revived me! That must mean you do love me :D
Garnet: =sweat-drop= No, you just have to do the author's notes, and reviewer comments, baka. Then you can die.
Chel: Humph. Meanie. Ahem, anyway I'd like to apologize for the length of this chapter. I hope it was worth your time. I know I didn't like it but still maybe you do. Hehe, did you guys like my ever so dark ending? Poor, poor Malon what shall happen to her? Do I know? Yes I do, and I'm not telling! Hahahahaha! xD Woo, now that that's outta the way I'd like to announce that I may, or may not, get a chapter up in late Aug./ early Sept. it depends 'cause you know what's starting again for me? School. Bun, bun, bun. Bleh, oh well. Um what else to say… ah, well say hello to my three new muses. Felix, Picard, and Alex
Felix: …
Picard: Tee hee
Alex: =cackles evilly= I control your mind! Hehehehe
Chel: =sweat-drop= Uh huh…
Garnet: Stop babbling on and get to the comments you baka
Chel: -,-' Jeez.. Fine miss bossy
DougS- Aw, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks a lot! Your review was one of the many that kept me going on. I'm glad you like it, hope you liked this chapter as well! Thx again for the review! :D
Flaming red dragon- Hehe, glad you like it! Don't expect many fast updates with me though. I'm one of those sloooow people that take forever to update stories. Heh, well thanks for the review! :)
Starlighter S-14- Tee hee, glad you like the whole thing with "the one" I was going to make there be a certain name for it but I became brain dead (which really isn't unusual…) and just decided to do that. Any-hoo thanks for the review! :)
Anna-Elena: Starlight Chaos- Ha! You may want to make your chapters longer but I want to make mine shorter 'cause after a while I feel like I'll die from all the typing xD Well anyway thanks again for the review!
JoJo10- Aw thanks :) I always love reading your reviews 'cause they always make me smile. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thanks for the review!
musicstar918- I bet everyone grows impatient with how long I keep them waiting for an update :P Thanks for the review!
RayJay88- Aw, sorry this isn't your favorite pairing but thanks for the review anyway. But hey, hey I think you might like the next story I'm going to post up (if I can…) because it's a Zelink. Thanks again for the review!
Cherry6124- Thx so much! I'm so glad you find my story interesting. However your stories definitely kick mine's ass xD Thanks again for the review!
Chel: Woo, and there ya go! Next chapter: Is Malon really gone? What happened to Maku? Will Link and Zuku ever find Malon? Well you'll find out in the next chappie, so I guess this means bye for now! Ja ne!
Alex: Great now you're speaking Spanish
Felix: You mean Japanese you baka
Alex: Right, French
Felix: O.o
Picard: Review and I, err, you get cookies :D
--Chelsea--