VI. Revelations of an Unwanted Kind

'So, are you ready to leave?'

It's her again. Zelda. The Princes. I don't want her to see me. I don't want anyone to see me. And I don't want to see anyone. Can you believe them? Hey, Link: we're on the verge of chaos. It's Cataclysm's Eve! And, hey, guess what? You have the memories of the greatest heroes of Hyrule! Maybe you can save the world! Rubbish. Hyrule is lost. It was lost way back, long ago. When the war began…

I can still hear the screams. They never leave you, you know? Excruciating experiences have a more lasting effect on kids than on adults. War is like this. For an adult, seeing a cadaver is like carving something in water: it goes away. But the kid's soul is just not like water. It's like wax. You see a dead man, and you never stop seeing him. And his empty suffering eyes…

We can't win. I've been having my revenge for years, now. And how many have I killed? A dozen? And I've killed regulars: infantry and some Red. Not even one of the weather-controlling freaks. I'm not good enough to kill them all. I can't defeat an army full of those monsters. And I fear their leader, that accursed scar-face general. I hate him. General Kane, I will have your head. Sigh. I cannot fool myself. He's way out of my league.

But these girls will just not believe it. According to them, Hyrule has three days, before the enemy begins to siege the castle. And guess what? They want me to save Hyrule. They think I can do it in three days. Tough luck, girls. Not even a Phantom can do that.

'Sure, I'm ready to go there and bring 'em pendants to you. Certainly. Definitely, in no doubt: anytime. How many do you want? Eight? A dozen? Three hundred?'

Zel frowns, and guess what? I don't care. Oh, did I mention that? They want me to get Pendants. They want me to get the Three Magical Pendants of Virtue. The Honorable Pendant of Courage of the Hylian Knights, the Advantageous Pendant of Wisdom of the Wise Men of Hyrule, and the Potent Pendant of Power from the Rulers of the World. Crap.

So, this is the plan: Kal will take us to Sheikah City, or whatever. There we are supposed to find the location of the Pendants. Someone there must know, according to her. Then we are supposed to find these millennially-unattended stones. Then I'm supposed to find the Master Sword. Apparently, if I'm good enough to find three pendants that were lost some hundred years ago, it should be just a piece of cake to find a Sword that was lost thousands of years ago. Give or take some centuries.

'It's not funny, Link. Without those Pendants - Hyrule is lost…' Zel tells me. She looks sad. But I don't care. I'm angered.

'And how are those things supposed to help us, Princess? Given that we actually find them first. Given they actually exist! Hyrule's lost! That's not really news, is it? We've known that for years now!'

'We have to find them. Link, don't you understand?' My face obviously shows a great negative, because she frowns. 'These… visions you're having, Link, they're not normal. And the fact that they belong to other Links, who happen to be Heroes of Hyrule, doesn't look like a coincidence to me. You must be able to get this Pendants, which will prove you are the Hero, and then you'll be able to get the Master Sword…'

'Wow, wow, wow, wait a minute. Who said anything about heroes? I'm not a hero, and I'll never be one. You're just dreaming, Princess. '

'I've told you, Link, it is no coincidence…' Ok, she has a point in there. Really: I'm having memories of the deeds of the Hero of Time and of the Cataclysm Hero. Both were Links. I'm a Link. Hyrule is again facing darkness. Then, am I supposed to be a Hero, too? This is way too heavy. I don't know anything about being a Hero. I'm just a Phantom.

I'm just a Phantom. I mean: the fact that I'm named Link is just a coincidence, right? I mean, just think about it: there are a lot of Links. Why, I heard of one who… uhm… okay, no, that would be the guy with Navi. But there's this other Link who… fought Agahnim. You know what? I think I'm losing here.

But then why me? Ok, there are not so many Links out there. I actually only know of me and the Heroes. But is that it? Is it everything just a matter of sharing a name? I frankly believe it's ridiculous. What if my father was named Link? Would he be the Hero then? What if they chose to call me Dobb instead of Link? Er— right, that would really be disgusting.

Sigh. Imagine: I actually miss Dobb. He was fat and ugly (okay, conceded, not all of us are gifted) but he was funny… sometimes. Why can't he still be here? Why can't he be the hero? Why must it be me? Is it because I'm Link and I was saved from the end of the town out of casualty? Is it because I found the Book of Mudora and the Ocarina of Time? Is it because I rescued the Princess? Is it because I learned how to fight on my own?

Does that mean that I am actually the Link? Is there only one Link, spawned again and again all over throughout history? That really doesn't sound good. It would mean… Hell, I don't know what it'd mean. It'd mean that my existence is not actually an existence, but rather it is a repetition of existences. Does that make sense? Is that the meaning of destiny?

Is this so because of destiny? Is there even such a thing as destiny? I don't know. I don't get it. Maybe there is. Everything seems to suggest that. But I don't want it. I mean, according to destiny, things would go like this: I have a lot of… luck and gifts, and now I'm supposed to use them to save Hyrule. But that only takes us back to the old rocks and swords. Can they really be found? I insist: they're crap. They must be. Maybe the Goddesses are just no good at making these kinds of decisions.

Maybe I'm destined to be another kind of Hero. Or maybe all this hero things are senseless.

But then again, what about the visions?

It makes me shudder just by thinking about it.

'…them, please?'

'Pardon me?' Zelda is angry again. Maybe I should begin listening to her.

……………………………..

'Could you pass me the water, please?'

'Of course I can, Princess. But I don't think it is really a yes or no question. I bet it's my destiny, right?'

'Oh, come on already!' the Princess tiredly says. 'Can't you stop that destiny thing of yours?'

'No, I can't! Because every time I want to claim my life, here you come again, with my destiny behind you. It's not "my destiny thing", but yours. I was so very happy just hiding and having fun, and then you came around saying it's my destiny to win or die trying to save Hyrule from an unstoppable force. Is that what I am? Destiny's pawn?'

'No, of course you're not that. You know it. And you know they're not unstoppable.'

'So I am free to give you the water on my own? No goddesses ruling this action?'

'Yeah, no, whatever,' she exclaims, defeated, her head between her hands.

I pass her the bottle, grinning happily. 'Help yourself, your Majesticityness.'

But then she lowers her hand just somewhat, and there's an unexpected glint there in her eyes. She looks at me, and there she goes looking sad again. 'The true Hero would not despair.'

I look at her. I don't really know what to say. Have I any hope left? Right away I'd tell you that I don't. There's no hope left. But let's not go so fast. I've dedicated my entire existence to kill those guys. Why do I do that if I'm hopeless? Maybe there's no hope, but I can hear it, deep down: it's an urge. There's an urge inside of me to continue, no matter what. It's an aggressive spirit, some kind of voice, and it's always yelling me: don't stop, don't you ever stop.

«NO! I cant' move. He must have done something to me. I can just watch in awe as Zelda disappears in a blast of light. No, no, no, no, no! I've come all this way and now… NO!

It's too late. Curses! How could I be late? Then I look at him. My face must be spreading out anger, irradiating it, but he just looks at me and smiles. Curse you, Agahnim. I will get you for this.

'Ho ho ho...,' the beast is laughing! 'With this, the seal of the seven wise men is at last broken. It is only a matter of time before evil power covers this land... After all, the legendary Hero cannot defeat us, the tribe of evil, when we are armed with the Power of Gold. Ho ho ho... Now, I must go!'

And he disappears. Now I am really angry.

Maybe he's right. They have the Triforce after all. What can I do? What am I? I'm nobody, I'm just a kid. And I'm here just because I didn't listen to my uncle…

But I won't loose. It doesn't matter if I'm a Hero or if I'm legendary. None of that matters. There's only one thing that matters: Zelda. I will bring her back. I will save her. Hero or not, Sorcerer or not, I have the Master Sword. And it's time Agahnim feasts his eyes on it.

I charge after him. The wall is a trick. Behind it there's another room, a bigger one. He is in there. He looks a little startled to see me. He turns and I can see his eyes. They're empty. They're looking towards the infinite, like those of a madman. But I have the strange feeling that they're also looking at me. Urgh.

'Oh so?... You mean to say you would like to be totally destroyed? Well, I can make your wish come true!'

Just some days ago, I would be afraid of him. Just some days ago, I would fear his empty eyes and cruel voice and imposing figure. Right now, it doesn't matter. I unsheathe the Master Sword and stand ready. He eyes it suspiciously. Yes, look at it, you miserable rat; look at this blade, for it will be your Bane. I'm not afraid anymore. I won't stop. I don't care if the greatest sorcerer ever threatens me, I have this Sword and I will break him.

Agahnim takes a step backwards, and begins chanting. I'm not going to wait, though. Raising the Sword, I rush forward screaming a battlecry…»

Wow… that was… unexpected. Ow! Zelda is slapping my face!

'…me, Link? Are you? Link!'

'Stop it! Okay, okay! I'm here; you don't have to hit me!'

'I'm sorry,' she says, 'but your eyes went white and you… you started muttering incoherent phrases.'

'Really?' I'm intrigued: I didn't know I spoke during those visions. 'What did I say?'

'Things like: No, she's gone, and, He's going to pay, and then you just started to grin smugly and move your hands as if you were lifting something, and all you would say is: The Master Sword… Link, you saw the Master Sword!'

'Yeah, I saw it, I think.' There's something going on inside me. I saw the Master Sword. And I felt the Master Sword. These visions are increasingly becoming a greater part of me. I want that Sword. But it doesn't exist! Or does it? It does. It does exist. I know it… I think.

'I need to clear my head,' I manage to say. Zel is looking at me, worried, I think. Why is she worried? It's not like… Hey! Zelda. A brief vision of Him comes to my head, and I moan. But he mentioned a woman… Is She already with you? Could it be Zelda?

'Hey, Princess, you're a Zelda!'

Her face turns from worrying to paling, to frowning. 'Yes, I'm a Princess, and I'm Zelda. We knew that. I don't understand anything of being a Zelda, though.'

'But can't you see?' I say, 'Every Link has a Zelda to protect, to defend. Somehow, Zelda and Link are always connected. Link has to save Hyrule, and he can only do that, in some way or another, through Zelda. So I'm——' er, suddenly, the cosmic implication of what I'm saying hits me, 'That is, if any of this is more than just rubbish.'

She just grins at me. Damn. I like it when she grins.

'Ok, stop that now, your Princessfullness.' Her grin broadens. 'Look, I'll do it, okay? I'll go with this and do whatever you want. Just leave me alone.'

I get up from the "table" (more like a piece of old wood that, like everything else in this cave, seems… dead, I guess) and begin pacing around the room. Kal is in a corner, chewing an apple or something, her knife at her side. She's looking at me sarcastically, as if I was a little kid that's just learning his way around nobility. Nobility. That word is so funny, when you think of it, but I don't think this is the time. Finally, I can't take her look anymore, so I just sigh and move close to her, sitting in the ground.

'So, what's the plan again?' Crazy Sheikah, she's still looking at me like I was some sort of Kiki monkey. An ironic smile is barely contained in her lips as she chews on the apple.

'So now you're ready to go, then?'

'Well,' I frown now, a bit irritated, 'if I ask you what's the plan to move out of here, I believe you can assume I am considerably willing to give it a try.'

'Good,' she says. Se throws away whatever she was eating and looks at me with her business face again. 'We move out as soon as the sun goes down, so we have about two hours or more. I would advise you to rest. I've been checking the tunnels around this cave and most of them are useless, and the others turn around so much it would take us days to get to the place I'm heading for. So, this is the plan: we move out to find another tunnel that's closer to old Kakariko village, and we continue to the undergrounds from there. I am assuming,' she goes on, her eyes getting narrower, 'that you can be trusted, and you will not reveal any of our positions to anybody, right?'

I laugh, and she's startled. 'Yeah right,' I said, 'like I have anyone to talk about these things with. Sure, I know a couple of weirdoes here and there, but I don't really trust them. A whole army of freaks is looking for me, after all. I wouldn't want anybody to know too much about me. It's too dangerous. Besides,' I finished with a grin, 'I saved your life and you saved mine. That sort of connects us in an honor way, doesn't it?'

Kal is looking at me so seriously I am getting a little bit nervous. Then, all of a sudden, she stands up, and I have to do the same.

'You are the Cataclysm Hero,' she says in a tone so solemn I feel quite weird. 'Now I can see it. And I, Kallendera, Impa of the Sheikah, Protector of the Royal Family of Hyrule, forever swear you the aid and the life of my people. May we always aid your quest, be it by our life or dead.' And then she bows.

What the hell is going on? And, to make matters worst, no memory flashbacks this time. This was absolutely new. I don't now what is happening. But then Zel comes forward, after seeing this display. She looks quite serious too. She comes close to me and mutters in my ear, 'You have to answer her. Solemnly. And use your title.' I tried to ask her what she meant, but she was already too far away for a whisper, and I felt embarrassed to ask out loud. So I sighed again.

'And I, er, Link of Hyrule,' I look at Zel and… she's mouthing the word "hero". I frown, but there's nothing else I can do except go on, 'I, Link of Hyrule, Hero of Time and Winds and Cataclysm Hero,' these words came out of me without my intention, 'accept the allegiance of the Sheikah, of whom I am proud to be worthy of honor.'

Then Zelda, to my surprise, started talking. 'And I, Zelda, the Princess of Gold of Hyrule and a member of the Royal Family, witness and accept these allegiances between the Sheikahs, Protectors of the Royal Family, and the Hero of Hyrule.'

Kal straightens back up and looks at me. There was a new way in her look, like she suddenly expects me to start giving her commands, or something. It is really queer.

'Well, Sir?' Kal asks.

'Huh?' is all I manage to say.

Zel looked like she was going to burst out laughing at any moment. 'Link,' she says, 'Kal, the Queen of the Sheikahs has officially accepted your lead. Given that you are the Hero of Hyrule, we're both positive you outrank her. She has swore an oath to protect me, but, er, so have you, sort of. So now she has to follow your lead. Did you get anything I just said?' she asked, looking at my clueless face.

'Uhm,' I tried, 'a little, I guess. So, she is the Queen of the Sheikahs? You never said that before.'

'We are Sheikahs. We are secretive,' Kal said. 'We don't just run around telling everyone who our King or Queen is, making him, or her, an easy target.'

'Oh, ok. And what do you mean I swore to protect you?'

Zelda blushes fiercely. And hey, I like that. 'Well, as Hero of Hyrule, one of your sworn duties is to protect the Royal Family, which has been chosen by the goddesses.'

'But just wait here. Who said I was the Hero of Hyrule?'

'You did,' said Zelda. 'You just sealed a sacred oath in which you accepted to be the Hero of legend.'

I just knew my mouth was hanging open. I don't know how I managed to get it closed, but the same thoughts were still on my mind even after we went out of the cave and slowly, cunningly, made our way to the old remains of the village.

Kal was leading and I was taking the rear.

'I'm trying!' Zelda whispered angrily as I asked her for the umpteenth time to please stop making so much noise. Right, she's trying. I don't understand why she even insists on wearing that sheikah costume. Even a dumb cuckoo would guess she is a clumsy Hylian. A beautiful clumsy Hylian Princess, that is. A beautiful, charming, blue-eyed, astonishing…

'We're here,' Kal says, breaking my sweet line of thoughts. I mean… Damn, Link! You're the Phantom! You didn't even realize we were there! We're at war! You can't drop vigilance!

Right, right. So I look up quickly and take up my surroundings. We are deep into the forest, so full of trees sunlight hardly comes through. Zelda is resting sitting on the ground, her back on a tree. She is looking up, but her eyes are closed, deep in concentration… or, er, maybe just exhausted. Kal is crouching, looking around. And sniffing. Don't ask me, she seems to do that a lot. I notice there are ruins all over the place. My instincts immediately take over. I choke a yelp shutting Zelda's mouth with my hand as I shove her behind a tree and crouch along her.

'When your guide is doing some field recon, you stay hidden.' She looks at me indignantly but manages to nod.

'And where are you going?' she whispers as I start to get up. I smile at her.

'I am going to help her.'

She stares in amazement as I effortlessly climb to the top of the tree. Which is nothing, really: the tree is so full of branches I believe even fat Dobb could climb it. Maybe she's just impressed because I'm being so fast. The thought brings out a new type of scorching mirth inside me. I hope she thinks I'm fast. I hope she thinks I'm cool. I hope she—

'Eeeeeeek!' I scream waving my arms as I fall down. I missed a branch! And I wryly and almost absentmindedly notice that I'm screaming like a girl.

'Link!' that's Zel.

'Fool,' that's Kal.

I don't know how I could hear them, but I did. And I landed very roughly on the floor.

'Link, are you okay?' Zel asks as she rushes over to where I fell and cradles my head in her lap. As I slowly open my eyes and look at her worried face, I cannot help to feature a stupid smile in my face.

'Are you okay, Link?' she asks again, only to be stopped with a gasp. I suddenly feel it too: dread starts building up inside me and I jump up again with a fright. Zelda is still on the floor, shaking her head with her arms. I look around frantically, and I see them. They are three and they are coming at us from a thick line of trees East of us. They are hideous, rotten corpses walking. Their eye sockets are empty, and they sound of their breathing freezes me to the bone.

Kal has immediately stepped before me and Zelda, covering us, and for a moment I can feel the effect of the zombies' fear diminish.

'You cannot pass,' Kal says in a commanding voice. 'I am the Impa of the Shadows and these two are under my protection. You must go back to the shadows now. Protect the graveyard, protect the Shadows. Forth, you cannot pass.'

The zombies stopped abruptly, and stood still, as if considering the situation. One of them slowly raised a decrepit hand and I let out a scream as I am suddenly ripped of my sanity. I am breathless. I am nauseated. Everything feels suddenly cold, and the sunlight seems to die until only mere glimpses of light can be seen through the thick tree canopy. Kal seems paralyzed, and is anxiously trying to speak, achieving only muffled noises. Zelda seems to have fainted.

Desperately I try to stop the screams in my head: screams that take me back to that horrible day of fire and dead, the day I stopped being a boy, the day I became so enraged that my life turned upside down and I became a Phantom. Rage gives me strength, I think, and suddenly the effect of the zombies calms down. I am infuriated. I hate them. I hate those memories and those dark riders that destroyed my home. I hate the way my life has gone. I hate these creatures. With a maddened yell I charge forward, and my sword comes out in a flash. A strong blow falls on the head of the first zombie, and he hits the floor with a sickening thump.

I turn around to face the one on my left and swing my blade above my head. With another scream I let it flow in a deadly arc across his chest, but he is fast and avoids it with a sort of back flip. Momentum takes my arms as I desperately try to stop my sword. The other zombie takes advantage of this and jumps on me. I can smell his rotting hands and decaying breath as his mouth searches its way to my throat. If he bites me, I know, I may become one of them. I don't know.

I won't wait to find out. His move having enraged me even more, with a swift crouch I throw him off me. He falls to the floor off balance, and I take benefit of my position to stab him on the ground. With repulsive easiness my sword cuts through him and he moves no more. Out of the corner of my eye I notice the other one making his way towards me, and speedily stand up, sword at ready.

He stops for a moment. It is a moment too long. Just as he is planning on what to do, I throw my sword with al my strength at him. It skillfully strikes his chest, sending him flying backwards, and impaling him to the ground.

They stop moving. Sunlight strikes again to the trees, and as it hits them, their bodies start burning with a sickening hiss. Flames rage over them as they disappear. I fall on my knees and lower my head trying to recover my breath.

'Are you alright?' Zel asks worriedly as I feel my hand on her shoulder. I look at her and she gives a step backward, scared of my blazing eyes, full of hatred. I hate her… or do I? At her frightened factions all my hate seems to vanish.

'Are you okay? I manage.

'Yes, it's just you looked so…'

'They killed my family. Kakariko is now full of them too. My own family and friends may have become like them,' I say sadly, and I cannot stop my tears flowing. 'I hate them. I will stop them, Zel. For Hyrule. For your family. For you.'

She smiles softly and embraces me, and I start sobbing on her shoulder. Life, sometimes, is just hell.