Shattered Soul

Upon entering the final room, Zelda and Peach found it to be a massive chamber. The walls and ceiling were covered in ancient writings and hieroglyphics. There were five platforms around the room, with the center one being the widest by far. It was very dark, except for the eerie light being given off by the souls circling over the center platform. It was too high for the two women to see what they were funneling into, though they could easily guess it was Nabooru the Spirit Sage. The same wind from outside the temple blew through the room. They could hear and see electricity crackling about the platform. Zelda motioned for Peach to climb the central platform with her since there were climbable ridges in the platform.

As they climbed, they suddenly heard a clang and the sound of a heavy, male voice groaning and growling. "Raaaggghh! More…Need more souls!" It sounded like a standard Iron Knuckle. Zelda and Peach reached the top and found an Iron Knuckle kneeling beneath the circle of souls. It seemed almost in pain as its fist trembled in the air.

"What did you do with Nabooru?" Zelda demanded.

"I am Nabooru," the knight spoke. "Those cursed witches did this to me…but their souls belong to me, now. I'm surprised you showed your wretched face here."

"Let me guess," Zelda said sardonically. "You think I put them up to it? Or maybe you think I was planning to…You know what? I don't really care. Just return those souls to their bodies."

"Should I revive Dark Link for you?" Nabooru suggested, standing up as more souls went into her.

"…How did you know?"

"Fool. Everyone in Hyrule could hear a banshee like you," she replied. Zelda was angrily at a loss for words.

"Why are you taking people's souls?" Peach asked.

"I…" she began with difficulty. "I need them…"

"Why?"

"…I must become stronger…to defeat Ganondorf."

"But you're stealing them!"

"She is a thief," Zelda added. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to give them up."

"No you don't," Nabooru said bitterly. "You simply want your friend back… You couldn't care less about the others."

"If you don't give up now, I will kill you," Zelda warned, stepping forward.

"Zelda…" Peach said, but Zelda signaled her to be quiet.

"You have a strong soul…" Nabooru said, summoning a battle axe into her gauntlets. "Give it to me…"

"Wrong answer," Zelda said, firing her Shining Ray. Nabooru, in what appeared to be heavy armor, easily hopped to the side.

"Don't make me kill you…" Nabooru warned.

"Impossible…" Zelda gaped. "But I'll take you down anyway!" She ran at Nabooru, who merely stood there. Zelda lunged at her and her sword clanged off of her armor. Zelda struck repeatedly, but Nabooru merely stood there unaffected.

"Why won't your soul come out?" Nabooru asked forebodingly. Zelda backed away, having no idea what sort of armor could completely withstand solid steel.

"I knew that armor was tough, but Iron Knuckles aren't that tough…" Zelda said in frustration.

"It's not iron," both Peach and Nabooru said.

"Steel?" Zelda said.

"Enough talk," Nabooru said, readying her axe. "I will have your soul…" Then, she seemed to wince and added, "…even if I have to kill you."

"We don't want to fight!" Peach said. "Please…stop stealing souls…"

"There's no point in reasoning with her. She's just like the others. I'll find a crevice to hurt you somewhere." Zelda ran at her and aimed for one of the holes in her visor. The Spirit Sage spin-kicked and smashed the sword to pieces. While Zelda was caught off guard, Nabooru hit her in the face with the hilt and seemed ready to slice her up the middle. Zelda pushed her away with her telekinesis at the last moment. Nabooru seemed to be absorbing her energy because of that.

"Give it to me!" Nabooru demanded. Zelda ran at her and attempted to slash with her wrist. Nabooru stepped to the side and punched her in the back. While Zelda was arched over, she was immediately punched in the stomach and held in the air by an unseen force as Nabooru drained her directly.

"Yes! This is it!" Nabooru said euphorically. Suddenly, Zelda fell still.

"Zelda!" Peach screamed.

"…No…That can't be it! Raaagh! Useless!" She then flung Zelda behind her.

"Why not help us instead of hurting us?" Peach asked desperately. "Just put everything back the way it was and we can fight Ganondorf together."

Nabooru stared at her and looked at the floor. "There's no turning back…"

"I don't want to fight…"

"I can sense an even stronger soul within you…I won't even need the others if I have you."

"I heard you were an honorable person," Peach said. Nabooru made no comment and her helmet and visor made it impossible to see her facial expression. Despite this, Peach could sense her discomfort. "…I'll make a deal with you. We duel one on one. If you win…there's no one left to stop you…"

"And if you win?"

"You have to put back every soul you took," Peach said sternly. "Even the dead ones."

"Why should I…" Nabooru suddenly seemed to have difficulty speaking again. "…No…I will accept your challenge. What is your name?"

"Peach."

"Very well, Peach," she rasped. "But you have no chance while I wear this strange armor, though cursed it may be."

"We'll see," Peach said, producing a bomb in her hand. "Here, catch." She lobbed the bomb at Nabooru, who held out her hand to catch it. It landed in her armored glove, as the fuse went down.

"That's all? Disappointing…" Nabooru said, tilting her head to the side.

"Psych!" Peach yelled, as her hair flared up. She focused her energy and the bomb created a massive explosion. As soon as the fired died and turned to smoke, Peach charged into the smog. There was a second, though much smaller explosion, and the armored knight was flung out of the smoke and slid along the platform a short distance.

"What the…!" Nabooru exclaimed, actually feeling pain. Peach did not give her a chance to get up and leapt above her to do a ground pound. The explosive force of it put cracks in the floor beneath Nabooru. "Aaah!" Peach repeated once again. "Aaah!" Her armor was actually denting.

"I may have a peach," Peach said, repeating. "But it's a Peach Bomber!" Nabooru rolled out of the way and recovered her axe. She spun it and swung. Peach blocked with her gloves, but was knocked back by the sheer force of the wing. It also made her arms hurt, even though the strike had given off sparks. Nabooru leapt at her with a wide vertical slash. Peach hopped to the side and attempted another posterior attack. Nabooru sidestepped and swung high. Peach ducked and smacked her. Nabooru had to catch her balance, so Peach took her chance.

"Aah!" Nabooru said, falling back as her chest plate pinged on the floor.

"It must be titanium, since it's so light and strong," Peach noted. "Ready to give up?"

"…I never give up," Nabooru said, standing up. She raised her arms and the armor burnt into purple flames. She was shorter now, but she looked more maneuverable. She wore pink pants and a white tube top. She had the most jewelry Peach had ever seen on a Gerudo. She had a gold choker, a jewel on her forehead, fancy earrings, and several bracelets and rings.

"So, this is the real you," Peach said.

"I should thank you for freeing me," Nabooru said in her real voice, reaching behind herself and revealing her twin swords. "But we have a duel to finish. I'd suggest that you draw a weapon." Peach frowned and took out one of the swords. She had never learned how to use two at once.

"Fine." Nabooru raised her swords and arched back. She suddenly leapt forward in a spinning slash. Peach blunted most of the attack but received a small cut along her shoulder. She did not dare look at it and simply counterattacked. "That's an interesting attack."

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Nabooru smirked, back-flipping. She repeated her stance and leapt forward. This time, however, her swords became covered in flame and she spun in midair at a 45° angle. As her swords grinded into the floor, sparks flew everywhere while Peach slowly backed away so as she would not have to block. Unfortunately, Nabooru was moving too fast. The final slash overpowered Peach and knocked her down. Nabooru stopped spinning and leapt into the air. Peach rolled out of the way just as the swords dug into the ground where she had stood.

"Whoa, are you trying to kill me?" Peach said, getting to her feet.

Nabooru winced again. A few more souls from above went into her and she spoke "…A duel is a duel. Now, show me your soul!" Her swords burst into flame again and she arched back. Peachh ran and hopped onto one of the other platforms. Nabooru suddenly blasted across the room like a drilling bullet, spinning with her swords forward.

Peach moved out of the way, and Nabooru skidded to a halt on this outer platform. She swiped at Peach. Peach parried and blocked the other sword. She kicked and Nabooru back-flipped away, followed by a roll to the side and a rising spin attack. Peach blocked but was knocked off the platform. She floated back to the main platform. Nabooru flipped through the air and struck. Peach was tired of being on the defense, but had to block Nabooru's skilled attacks.

"Take this!" Peach rolled back and pulled one of the green things she had seen outside out of the floor and tossed it at Nabooru.

"A Leever!" Nabooru exclaimed as the thing smashed into her. Peach continued pulling things out of the ground and tossing them. There were a few inactive Leevers Nabooru had to knock away as well as a few rocks. However, she was caught off guard when Peach began pulling out and throwing bomb flowers. Nabooru was burned by several explosions and knocked on her back.

"These are much better than turnips!" Peach said, continuing to pull things out. "Watch out," she warned politely as she added one of her Psych Bombs to the mix. Nabooru was blown across the platform and almost over the edge. "Are you okay?"

"…Your resistance is pointless," Nabooru said, getting up and shaking off the pain. "I won't lose to someone like you." She ran at Peach once again and continued to force her to defend. "You'll tire out eventually." As she swept low, Peach began floating and spun her sword at Nabooru. Peach made quick attacks that were only meant to put her on the defense. Eventually, she pushed Nabooru to the edge, on her feet by now. When Nabooru attempted to jump over her, Peach swung high and cut her down to the floor. Peach hopped down and ground pounded on her stomach.

"Oooh!" Nabooru coughed. Before Peach could do anymore, Nabooru lay back and wrapped her legs around Peach's neck. Peach was pulled back, but as Nabooru sat up to stab her in the stomach, Peach kicked her in the face repeatedly. The Gerudo let go and moved away.

"It looks like I'm winning," Peach said, getting up. Even though Nabooru had been on the offense most of the time, Peach had made her attacks count. Nabooru leaned on one sword tiredly.

"Souls, give me strength!" Nabooru called out. Several more souls surged into her and she glowed slightly. She leapt forward with increased speed and another spin slash, but Peach ducked out of the way and slashed her along the back. Nabooru spun around quickly and cut her stomach. Peach retaliated by doing a quick spin slash and a stab. The Gerudo was cut along her side but kneed Peach in the stomach. Peach crumpled over and fell to the ground. Nabooru raised her sword to finish her, but hesitated, grunting as she felt her head throb. Peach moved away and could see that Nabooru was fighting inside herself about something.

"You're still cursed," Peach said in a pitying voice.

"Shut up!" Nabooru screamed. "I will not lose to a joke like you!"

"Joke?"

"I am the Sage of Spirit! This is my domain! Your soul…is mine!" More souls flew into her and she flew at Peach, knocking her up high with a slash. Nabooru zoomed up in a blur and cut her back down. As Peach healed herself, Nabooru stabbed her at least a dozen times in a split second. Peach kept healing herself as she was knocked against the wall of a platform.

"Souls, come unto me!" Nabooru yelled, summoning the remainder of the stream into her. An orange aura overtook her as her swords glowed with spiritual energy.

"Stars, come unto me!" Peach yelled. She became enveloped in a yellow aura.

"What!" Nabooru exclaimed. The Spirit Sage blurred into the air and drilled downward with her swords, but Peach moved away, leaving Nabooru to send sparks flying everywhere as she grinded into the floor.

"Sprites, come unto me!" Peach yelled. Her aura became golden. Peach's eyes flared and she took out her other sword. Nabooru, growling, leapt high into the air and slammed down onto Peach's blocking sword. By pure instinct, Peach used her other sword to pierce Nabooru through the stomach and slammed her against the wall.

"Uagh…" Nabooru coughed, sliding down the wall. She slumped over at the bottom.

"Oh my goodness!" Peach yelped. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"Finish me…" Nabooru spoke dejectedly. "Free me from this curse and I will release the souls of Hyrule…"

"Why did you do it?" Peach asked. "You're supposed to work with the good guys, not fight them."

"Arrgh!" Nabooru growled, getting up, despite still having a sword in her stomach. "I MUST HAVE YOUR SOUL!" Peach backed away.

"You're hurt," Peach whimpered as Nabooru ripped the sword out of her stomach. "I may regret this…but it's better than seeing you bleed like that." She raised her hand and healed Nabooru.

"Aaaggh!" Nabooru screamed in pain. "Your soul! Your soul! Your…ugh…" She collapsed with a thud.

"What! It's not supposed to do that!" Peach said, kneeling at her side and lifting her head up. "Nabooru, are you okay?"

"Erm…ugh…Peach?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," she sighed. "I think you broke the curse…"

"I did?"

"I don't have the urge to kill you anymore," Nabooru smiled. "You freed me!"

"That's great!" Peach cheered. "Now, would you mind?"

"I'm a woman of my word," Nabooru nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Sheik says hello."

"Oh," Peach blushed as a flurry of souls exited Nabooru and flew out of the temple. They heard shuffling on the central platform and Zelda looked over the edge.

"You won?" she said in surprise.

Nabooru smiled and said, "Your friend is a competent swordswoman."

"You never told me you could use a sword!"

"You never asked," Peach shrugged. "Besides, you should have seen me fighting Dark Link."

"So, Nabooru isn't trying to take our souls?" Zelda asked, hopping down.

"Nope," Peach smiled. "I broke the curse. She's normal now." Zelda took a close look at Nabooru.

"You know, I must have bad luck being cursed this many times," Nabooru said. "Link came back for me a year or two ago and now I get caught again."

"You seem to be normal," Zelda said. "But why were you the only Sage I sensed any evil from."

"The witches cast as spell that locked me in that armor. I don't know why I was acting so strangely even after it came off, though"

"You were affected by the same thing that affected the others," Zelda said. Suddenly, there was quake. "What was that?" There was another quake.

"…It's coming from outside!" Nabooru said, getting up. She sprinted to the door as the temple rumbled about once a second. Peach and Zelda followed as best as they could, but the Gerudo was a much better runner. Peach in particular was lagging behind. All of the Armos statues and the Iron Knuckle had come to life and were wandering about their room, though everyone passed them by. Zelda and Peach caught up to her in the dark room immediately behind the statue's face.

"I'll take care of it," Zelda said, charging her Shining Ray. Then, it fizzled out. "…Did you…?"

"I gave back everything I took," Nabooru said. "This is my temple, so I'll take care of it." The rocks suddenly floated out of the way and Nabooru hopped out and slid down the front of the statue, landing in its lap.

"Wait up!" Peach panted as Zelda hopped out next. Peach caught her breath and floated down as Zelda followed Nabooru through the door. Peach lagged behind and saw them fall through the hole to the entrance room. She eventually met them just outside the entrance. They were staring out into the distance at something.

"Oh my Goddesses…" Zelda whispered.

"What is it?" Peach said, bending over to catch her breath.

"You said that metal I was in was titanium, right?" Nabooru said, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah…" Peach panted.

"Well, I guess this would be a Titanium Knuckle," Nabooru said blankly.

"More like a Big Titanium Knuckle," Zelda corrected. Peach looked to see what all the fuss was about.

There was indeed a large silhouette of the Big Knuckle slowly marching into the territory of the Great Colossus. Slowly, it came into the morning sunlight and was in shining silver armor. What was so frightening about it, though, was it's sheer size. It had to be at least 30 stories high, almost as high at the Spirit Temple itself.

"If that gets here, it'll destroy the temple!" Nabooru said.

"But how do we stop it?" Zelda asked. "We're all out of energy… Even if we had energy, I'm not sure what we could do… Can you steal its soul?"

"Zelda!" Peach whined.

"This is an emergency, Peach!"

"…It doesn't have a soul…" a disillusioned Nabooru said. "I don't know how that thing could move without something running it…"

"It's a machine…" Peach said.

"Like those giant metal Bowsers in Birabuto?" Zelda asked.

"Exactly like those…" Peach said worriedly. "But this one is completely computerized…Bowser must have finally gotten word that we're here."

"At least I can use a song to warp us out of here," Zelda said, taking out her lyre.

"No!" Nabooru exclaimed. "I can't let it destroy the Spirit Temple. This place is my home, my place of worship…"

"It can't be helped," Zelda said. "It'll be here in only a few minutes."

"I have to try something," Nabooru said solemnly. She sat down in place and began to meditate. "I'd appreciate any help."

"You wouldn't be able to beat that thing even if you still had all the souls in Hyrule," Zelda said.

"Let her try," Peach said. "Be ready to get us out of here though…"

"Ancient spirits…" Nabooru muttered as the behemoth's footsteps became closer. "Help me defend these sacred grounds. Great Colossus, I call upon your power!" The temple rumbled more, even without the Big Knuckle. Rocks fell all around them.

"The statue…" Peach said, looking up. "It's moving."

"What?" Zelda exclaimed, looking up as well.

Slowly, the sun baked Great Colossus, which had been seated on the outside of the temple slid off the rock wall. Unlike the one inside the temple, this one was devoid of paint and erosion had taken away much of its detail. Beyond cosmetic appearances and its former sitting position, it was exactly the same. Its feet crashed into the sand, shaking the entire area. While Peach and Zelda moved for cover, Nabooru sat in place with her eyes closed. The Great Colossus was nearly as tall as the Big Knuckle. It marched forward and confronted the Big Knuckle. The robot responded by swinging its axe. The Colossus braced itself and caught the axe. Excess dust and sand fell off of the ancient statue from the sheer force of the blow, but the statue pulled it away and tossed it aside. It punched the Big Knuckle, but the machine merely continued forward. The Big Knuckle continued to march, even as the Colossus pushed against it.

"It's not strong enough!" Peach said.

"We should leave while we still can," Zelda suggested.

"I can do this," Nabooru grunted. "I just need help…"

Peach kneeled next to her and closed her eyes to pray. "Shining Star, please help the ancient spirits defeat this infernal machine!" The Shining Star rose out of her and flew beneath the sand. There was more rumbling in the distance. Suddenly a second Colossus rose from the sand, where the pieces of rock had been sticking out, behind the Big Knuckle. It was in a similar condition to the already active one in that it lacked much detail beyond the body and face. However, it seemed to not have any clothing chiseled into it at all.

First, it grabbed onto the Big Knuckle's feet, stopping it briefly. Then, the robot shook its feet loose and continued to march. The second Colossus leapt onto its back and continued to try to hold it still, wrapping its arms around the robot's neck. With two Colossi against it, the Big Knuckle had been slowed quite a bit, but it still managed to move forward. It punched the first Colossus, cracking its face, and got more leeway. The Colossus grabbed its waist and continued its attempt to impede the machine.

"We just need one more!" Nabooru grunted.

"Zelda…" Peach said, also concentrating.

"My telekinesis can't do all that!" Zelda balked.

"Just have faith…" Peach said. "Use the power within."

"The last Colossus is still tainted," Nabooru said with difficulty. "It's of the dark element now."

"Darkness…" Zelda sighed, taking a seat next to them. "You've had your way with me before, but now it's time for you to work for me."

"You can do better!" Nabooru said urgently as the shadow of the giants came over them.

"Ancient spirits, please protect us…" Still nothing happened. "If you don't act now, the temple will be destroyed!"

"Calm yourself," Nabooru said. "Move with the wind, not against it."

"…Please, I beg of you; help us," Zelda sighed, knowing that the giants were right in front of them. The Big Knuckle grabbed the two Colossi by their heads and tossed the statues to opposite sides of itself. As it leaned forward to look down at the three humans, it raised its foot over them. "Fuck!" Zelda screamed, completely throwing Peach out of her concentration. At the same moment, a stone arm burst through the temple wall and grabbed the Big Knuckle's face. The Big Knuckle stumbled and attempted to release itself, but the hand crushed its head in its fist, making the entire machine go still. It fell backward and crashed into the ground thunderously.

"It worked!" Zelda cheered, as a cloud of dust and sand washed over them.

"Watch your language!" Peach scolded her, covering her face.

"Thanks for the help," Nabooru said. "Now, let's try to put the statues back where they were, okay?"

"I don't know if I can do that so easily again," Zelda panted.

"I'm pretty tired," Peach said, also panting. "I've been awake since yesterday…"

"Just give it a try," Nabooru said.

"Hmm…" Zelda thought. Then, she suddenly screamed, "Shit!"

"Zelda!" Peach balked, startled. The arm sticking out of the temple retracted back inside.

"Hey, it worked!" Zelda said, pleasantly surprised.

"That it did," Nabooru commented.

"Still…," Peach said sleepily. "You shouldn't…you shouldn't…" She fell back against the ground asleep.

"We should probably head to the fortress," Nabooru said, ignoring Peach.

"I'm a little tired," Zelda said.

Nabooru smiled as she picked up Peach. "I'll carry Peach. All you have to do is walk."

A/N: You might be wondering: "Since when could Peach use a sword?" My laziness inclines me to say, "Since I decided to put in a plothole." But in true reasoning, I would say that she either took up fencing, kendo, or even just baton throwing (modifying the technique for a sword). Or you could just say that she picked it up in one of Mario's crazy parties. If they can have a gunfight (duel)in a Mario game, why not a sword fight?