Lost Innocence

Zelda was relieved to see Saria relatively safe and sound. Even though she looked ruffled, the slight smile on her face was enough for Zelda. Peach stood to the side, studying the Kokiri girl. She had not expected a sage to be a ten year old. It was a little creepy to find such a young girl in a place like this, but she was glad Saria was safe.

"Saria, I'm glad you're okay," Zelda said warmly. The vines lowered Phantom Ganon, who was completely immobilized and silenced, to the floor. He was in the very center of the room, between Zelda and Saria.

Saria's smile faded as the hanging phantom struggled and blocked her view of Zelda. "Yes, I'm okay." Her voice was low and quiet. It had the sound of hidden anguish. "No thanks to the monster before me. It's tormented me night and day for months. I couldn't even sleep because of it. Hope was the only thing that kept me going. But now that I see you, Zelda, I know that though my pain will never disappear, it will be eased by my tormentor's destruction. The land will be one step closer to being cleansed of darkness and returned to the light."

"I'm so sorry for the pain you've suffered," Zelda said in a pitying tone. "But you've grown stronger. The plant you grew upstairs helped us the entire way. It also appears that your plant is the victor over the evil within this temple."

"It is not the victor yet," Saria said, arching her eyebrows slightly. "Not until the evil is slain."

"Excuse me," Peach said. "How did you get a Piranha Plant?"

"From the Dark World…" Saria replied, looking down. The moment was silent except for the rustling of Phantom Ganon.

"Well," Zelda sighed, looking at the phantom, "There's no use in standing around here, feeling sorry all day. We must destroy this monster and move on." She raised her sword and prepared to strike.

"Wait," Saria said, looking up. "I will be the one to destroy my tormentor. It has cost me something I can never regain…Watch closely, for my tormentor will experience true suffering, just as I did…"

"But you shouldn't…" Peach began, before Zelda stopped her.

"Let her be," Zelda said. "This monster must be destroyed. This is not in Saria's character, but she has been through so much. You saw what she had her plant do to Ganondorf's minions outside. It is her right to make the final blow…"

"If it's too much for you, Wanderer," Saria spoke, looking at the monster before her, "simply look away. However, Zelda…we've known each other for a few years. You know me. Witness what the monster has made me become." Peach decided to take her advice and look away. Zelda nodded to Saria.

She had the vines raise Phantom Ganon back into the air, still holding him by his limbs, face, and waist. Suddenly, a spiky vine thrust out of the wall and impaled him through his chest like a pike. Its tip was covered in light green blood. Phantom Ganon let out a muffled scream.

"It's done," Zelda sighed.

"Not yet," Saria said, moving her arm around to control the vine. The vine wrapped around him once and impaled his stomach. More spiky vines reached out of the walls followed the same pattern of impaling, wrapping, and impaling once again. Peach began to breath harder as she heard the mushy yet occasionally bone-crunching sounds as well as his muffled screams, which were decreasing in number. Zelda watched in shock as Saria continued this until most of his body was covered in thorny vines. At this point, he was not moving at all and made no noise. As Saria closed her raised hand into a fist, the vines crushed him until green blood oozed out. When they could not squeeze any tighter, Saria made a clawing slash with her hand. The spiky vines began to zip back into the walls, spinning their thorns into him and ripping his flesh. When all the vines had fully returned into the walls, the bloody carcass dropped to the floor with a mushy thud and burned with purple flames until it was nothing more than a pile of ashes. Not even the puddle of green blood remained.

"Saria…" Zelda said, almost unable to speak. She looked at the ashes and then at Saria, wondering if this little girl had actually done what she just saw happen. A somewhat shaken Peach peeked and saw that it was over.

A smile came onto Saria's face and her blue eyes twinkled. "Now, that the demonstration is over, let's move on to the real thing."

"What?" Zelda asked. "Is Ganondorf really here?"

"Oh, he's not the monster. He isn't the one who caused…causes me so much pain." Saria looked Zelda straight in the eye and frowned. "It's you."

"Saria, you can't mean that…" Zelda nearly whispered.

"But I do," Saria said, as more vines crept into the room.

"I couldn't have possibly done anything to you in the past few months!" Zelda cried. "Don't you remember what happened?"

"I remember very well," she growled. "I saved you from the Dark World…saved you from Ganondorf… Meanwhile, I was sent to Hell with the others. I saw Link only briefly. As Ganondorf attempted to absorb our power, I saw something horrible… I saw your thoughts."

"My thoughts?"

"I saw how much you desired Link," Saria said disgustedly. "That alone was cause for jealousy, but I could hardly blame anyone for liking him… Then, I saw how you lusted for him. I saw each and every sick thought you had about him. I had already known what Hylians do when they're in love, but seeing you…what you wanted to do with him and how you wished you could please him."

"Saria…I don't understand," Zelda said, beginning to have tears in her eyes.

"Then, let me make it blaringly clear for you," Saria said angrily. "I'm sure you've had a certain dream…one that you would almost never talk about in public. It involved you and Link…on a beach…and you had a body that you wish you had."

"No," Zelda whispered, stepping back.

"Do you remember how you betrayed your friends?" Saria asked. "You made love to Link, while your friends were being hunted down by monstrous creatures. You saw Malon being viciously beaten, yet you did nothing. You murdered Princess Ruto when she attempted to get Link's attention. And then, when I ran to you to escape my pursuers, you murdered me."

"No!" Zelda cried, clasping her ears. "It was just a dream!"

"And yet your other dreams were very similar," Saria said, narrowing her eyes. "In every one of them, you either killed me or watched shamelessly and heartlessly as I was killed." Tears gathered into Saria's eyes. "Those were not dreams. Those were prophecies. Some of them even showed you laughing at me as I was tortured, while you whored yourself to Link. Even after I escaped to this place for peace, the images and sounds persisted. I could not return home because of so much torture…"

"You couldn't return home because Ganondorf trapped you here," Zelda insisted.

"Ganondorf is nothing to me!" Saria yelled, looking unusually menacing for such a young-looking person. "Do you know how much pain you caused me? Seeing you and Link over and over and OVER! You screaming and laughing in lust and joy all at once, while I am cut or burned or stabbed or disemboweled to death! Do you know what it's like to have your mind assaulted in such a way?"

"Saria, I…"

"It's like being raped…And you don't know what it's like to be raped…to feel so violated and ravaged, as everything you ever dreamed is dashed to bits…to feel as if my simple, innocent moments with Link were meaningless…to feel the sword of your treachery thrust itself into my womb, while you vocalize your sadistic ecstasy… That is why I lost my innocence, Zelda…Your lust for Link at the cost of myself and others has made me this way… You raped me."

"No!"

"And now his life is in danger," Saria said. "Had you not tainted my soul, I would have helped him long ago. But I must have control again. And to take that control away from my tormentor, I must destroy you."

"This can't be!" Zelda said in horror. "Ganondorof must have planted those images."

Peach stepped forward and said pleadingly, "Please, don't hurt Zelda. You're her friend. She would never do those things to you."

"Stay out of this, Wanderer," Saria warned. "I don't have a problem with you. Leave if you must. Nothing will stand in my way."

"I'm not the Wanderer," Peach said, removing her hood. "My name is Peach."

Saria took a moment to study her face. Turning back to Zelda, she stated, "You were a victim as well. Now, stand aside." A smooth vine reached out of the wall and pushed Peach away. The other, spiky vines stiffened and pointed toward Zelda. "Hold still."

When the vines shot out to Zelda, she ran and stumbled out of the way, leaving them to pierce the ground in her wake. More vines burst through walls to run her through, but she ducked and hopped over them.

"Saria, don't do this!" Zelda called out. Saria merely stared back at her, directing more vines to come out. Zelda used her sword to deflect strikes that could not be dodged, but they were still close enough to scratch and cut her shoulders from near misses.

"Please, stop!" Peach cried. "I don't want to see anymore blood!"

Zelda took a chance and transformed into the much more agile Sheik. Almost instantly, all the vines paused where they were, while remaining rigid.

"Have you changed your mind?" Sheik asked, with both blades drawn.

"You must be Sheik," Saria said thoughtfully. "Link told me all about you. I feel sorry for you, having to share a body with that witch."

"It has its uses," Sheik said, narrowing his eyes. "I'll thank you not to prejudge her.'

"Return Zelda," Saria said sternly.

"Excuse me?"

"There's no point in killing her if the coward isn't here to feel it," Saria frowned. "Return her."

"That's not going to happen," Sheik replied. "You won't catch me with those vines. I'm sure I can take you down easier than she can."

"Sheik!" Peach exclaimed.

"She's dangerous like this, Peach. I'm sorry to say that it's a good thing she wanted to confront Zelda here. She's the source of this maleficent energy. If she were to escape the forest, those massive briar patches would cover all of Hyrule."

"I see I'll have to take matters into my own hands again," Saria said, glaring at Sheik. The vines went back into motion and Sheik nimbly dodged them. The room rumbled when he started to cut away at the vines with his dagger. He was dodging too well for Saria's liking. She kneeled and placed her hand on the ground, causing roots to jut out at Sheik as well. When it became too crowded for him, he speedily bent over backwards, spun around on his back while cutting away roots and vines, and dived out of the foliage. He ran for Saria with his sword raised, but she suddenly tossed a multitude of leaves at him.

"Ah!" he grunted as the razor-sharp leaves cut the edges of his arms. His flinching gave the vines enough to time to surround him and cut into him further. Then, one vine scraped across his chest and made a grinding noise.

"Just as I thought," Saria said. One of the vines wrapped around his wrist and he had to stop to cut it. Another wrapped around his stomach and ripped away the cloth there, leaving a bare stomach covered in small cuts. Another vine slashed across his back and the cloth fell off there. Three vines shot out toward his head from different directions and he moved enough not to get hit. However, they ripped the cloth off his head, letting his hair hang out. The head wrap had contained most of the hair, making it appear short, but now it was loose.

He realized what she was trying to do, but with so many vines striking at him from all directions, there was not much he could do. Several struck him directly in the chest, while others slashed across his chest. Eventually, the cloth fell off there, too. There was indeed a metal plate strapped over his upper torso to give it a male appearance.

"The face is all that's left," Saria said. He was smacked down by another vine. Exhausted from moving around and bleeding so much, it was relatively easy for the vines to wrap around his limbs and lift him up. Suddenly, he reverted back to Zelda.

"I'll won't let Sheik take the deathblow," Zelda said sadly. The thorny vines on her limbs tightened and blood began to ooze out as she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, dropping her sword.

"Suffer," Saria growled as she prepared to impale her.

"No!" Peach screamed, running up to Saria and slapping her. It was hard enough to knock Saria off her feet. Peach grabbed the sword and cut away the vines. "C'mon, Zelda! Let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Saria yelled, holding her cheek. "Now, you both get to die!" The room rumbled and vines shot up around the room, trapping everyone in the center. A large Piranha Plant burst through the wall and snapped away. Saria summoned vines that drilled through the walls and ceiling.

"Saria, stop this!" Zelda cried. "None of this has to happen! Prophecy isn't absolute!"

"It's too late!" Saria screamed, calling up a whirlwind of leaves that blew around the room.

"Aaaaaah!" Peach shrieked when she saw a bloody cut along her arm. The Piranha Plant lunged out of the wall at them, but they dived to the side where Saria was.

"I suppose I'll have to do this personally," Saria said, growing a thorny stick out of the ground and grabbing onto the smooth end. She raised the weapon above them and savored her imminent victory. Unexpectedly, Zelda grabbed back her sword and stabbed Saria in the stomach. She dropped the stick instantly and grasped her stomach, backing away toward the snapping Piranha Plant.

"Forgive me!" Zelda cried, running forward and pushing Saria into the plant's jaws. It quickly latched onto the dumbstruck little girl and gulped her down. Everything suddenly stopped. The leaves disintegrated; the vines all fell limp; the Piranha Plant collapsed. There was loud thud from the upper floor.

Everything became quiet once again, except for Zelda and Peach's panting. Zelda fell to her knees and felt her temples. "What have I done? My friend…Link's best friend…I killed her…just like she said I would…"

"No, Zelda," Peach panted, watching a drop of her blood drip onto the ground. "It wasn't the same. You didn't do those horrible things."

"But I killed her!" Zelda cried. "The Sage of Forest is dead because of me!"

"Let's just…calm down," Peach said, taking her hand and making her face her. "My magic should ease your pain." Soon, all of their physical injuries were gone. "There. Doesn't that feel better?"

Zelda was slightly calmer, yet she still felt helpless. Peach suddenly grasped her in a hug. All was quiet. It seemed Saria's Song would never play again.