All was darkness.
No sight, no sound, no touch, nothing.
Then light, firelight.
Ranik's eyes flickered open, though he couldn't remember when he had closed them. He was standing in the middle of a circular room; a ring of torches surrounding him. The light danced on the smooth walls, making the paintings of Shiekah legend seem to move. Underneath him the emblem of his people, the crying eye, was carved into the stone floor.
Ranik, son of Menkar, descendent of Impa the Shadow Sage… Your judgement begins now.
The vampire's eyes grew wide and the fire on the torches turned silver. Translucent appeared outside the ring. Each one he recognized from his family records. He avoided their cold stares in shame.
"H-how…" He began.
"This room transcends time," A calm and comforting voice made him look up.
Before him stood Impa, silver armor glittering in the firelight. Her eyes were strong and wise. The other spirits fidgeted.
"Great Sage, why do you look that creature in the eye," A gruff old man growled, "He's not even fit to be in the same room as you."
"I will decide than myself Argus," Impa looked at the man coldly, then turned back to Ranik, who averted his gaze, "Young one, look at me," Reluctantly he obeyed, "Do you know why you were able to walk the mountain path?"
Ranik Blinked, the path? Dark Link's words came back to him.
"Most sacred places ward away creatures like me."
But he was a creature akin to the shadow, how had he crossed the barrier? He looked back up at Impa, a confused look in his eyes. The Sage smiled.
"Your Shiekah blood permitted you to pass, sacred places will not harm you."
"Lady Impa!" A red-haired woman spoke up, "Is it wise to tell him this? Now he can defile other sacred grounds without worry."
"Miren is right!" The old man howled, "We should dispose of him, lock him up before he can cause harm!"
A murmur of agreement ran through the other spirits in the room. Ranik clenched his fists, their whispers planting fear and pain in his heart.
"He's a monster!"
"An abomination!"
"He brings shame to our clan!"
A merry giggle silenced them. Ranik spun around to see a young man dressed in blue armor and rags appear.
"It's good to see the council's still a bunch of stubborn old fools."
The old man glowered, "Shiek… what is the meaning of this?"
Shiek's eyes sparkled, "I'm here to make sure you don't do something stupid."
"You have no say in this! You're not even a real Shiekah!"
A green-haired young man sighed, "Here we go again…"
"Really?" Shiek grew serious, "I was taught the Shiekah arts since I was born. I took on the Shiekah creed when I went into hiding; I even took the rite of passage. My blood should not matter. I should even have more say than you, since I bear the Triforce of Wisdom."
"Bore."
"Whatever."
Impa sighed, "Kindred… Shiek has been here longer than most of you, and he's as wise as any of you. Shiek… what are you truly here for?"
"Thank you Impa," Shiek grinned and stepped up to Ranik, "You all think this is about punishment for this man… It disturbs me how blind you are… no, not blind," He smirked, "Scared. Scared to admit the truth. Marinal is our enemy; many of us have died trying to kill her. It has occurred to all of you that we may be doing this wrong… It crossed your mind at a certain instant, when one of our own almost succeeded. But, oh! You had already shunned her."
"Yillan," Ranik breathed.
Shiek looked at him and laughed, "Good, you understand me."
"That woman's name is not to be spoken here!" The old man shouted.
"Would you be quiet Argus!" Shiek snapped, "You see! That's your problem, you make yourselves blind! This," He gestured to Ranik, "This is our only hope. If you people would just look you'd see his soul has not changed! Shed your foolish pride and see that the only one of us who ever got close to killing that vampire… was a vampire!"
"Shiek," Impa said sternly, "You have made your point. And I agree."
The green-haired boy took a step forward, "But Yillan was not able to defeat Marinal, she was too weak."
"Yes Kire, do you have a suggestion?"
He nodded, "Give him our collective energies, that should give him the strength."
"An excellent idea," Impa looked about at the other spirits, "Are we in agreement?"
"W-why him!" Argus growled.
"Because he is a vampire, and he's the last of his line."
Ranik froze at this statement, "W-what!"
The room grew silent. He stared at them, disbelief in his eyes.
"B-but, my clan… m-my family!"
"Marinal hasn't told you?" A quiet voice spoke behind him.
Ranik whirled around. A young woman in a long gray dress stood there, her blue hair hanging down to her waist. The vampire swallowed a lump in his throat.
"N-Nenya…."
She smiled, "Hello big brother… It's been a while."
Ranik sank to his knees, "When… when did this happen?"
"Just after Marinal took you… everyone was killed…."
He bit his lip, another hole being torn in his heart, bigger than any Marinal could make. Slumping, he placed his head in his hands. Shiek turned to Impa, concern on his face.
"Last?" He whispered, "But I thought… isn't there one left?"
"We are not certain if the child survived."
Ranik bolted up and turned to them, "What child?"
Impa considered answering him for a moment, "A child was born on that day… a child of your blood…."
"Lyra…" Ranik said quietly, "She was expecting… I was going to take time off to see her…."
"She was able to hide the child before Marinal's soldiers took her away. But the child's whereabouts are unknown now…."
Kire flicked some of the hair out of his eyes impatiently, "Lady Sage, shall lend him our power or not?"
Impa looked to the crowd as the majority nodded, "Yes… we will…" Turning her gaze back to Ranik she held out her hand, "You will be knocked unconscious during the transfer and you will wake up back with your companions. Is there anything you would like to know first?"
He looked up at her, eyes determined, "What is the child's gender?"
Impa closed her eyes as her hand began to glow, "Female."
xxxxxxx
Link felt as if he was floating, floating in an endless golden void.
At least it wasn't darkness.
All around him figures began to appear. Boys, all dressed in green. Soon there was enough green to rival a forest.
"Where…?"
Five figures appeared in a circle around him. One of them, a young looking boy, smiled at him.
"Welcome to the golden realm of spirits. When a Hero dies his spirit comes here."
Link looked around at the masses of spirits, most seeming to range from eight to eighteen years old, "So… you're all…."
"Links, yes," An older one, about eighteen, spoke. Link stared at him, he wasn't much for history, but this one's face he knew well, "I am Link of the Ocarina of Time, most commonly known as the Hero of Time."
The young one who spoke earlier grinned widely, "I'm Link, Master of the Windwaker!"
Another young one waved, "I'm the partner of Ezlo, also known as the Minish cap."
One brushed a strand of his long hair behind his ear, "I am the protector of the Oracles."
Link turned to the last one and froze. This one was about as old as Ocarina, dressed in the usual green, but also golden chain mail. His sharp eyes were like those of a wolf's. The sight of him sent a shiver down Link's spine.
"I am Link of the Twilight," Even the boy's voice had the growl of a wolf.
Link turned to Ocarina, eager to break eye contact with the unnerving Hero, "What the hell am I doing here?"
"You touched the Sword of Destiny, it was forged by our spirits for the one who would one day wield it."
"Why me? Isn't there already a Link here!"
"He was not destined to use it."
Link paused for a moment, "Okay, wait… could you guys clear something up for me? We are all supposedly born to fight evil, right?"
Windwaker tilted his head, "Pretty much."
"Then why the fuck did the Link here die! From what I've heard he didn't do much fighting!"
The younger Heros shifted nervously, looking to Ocarina and Twilight for the answer. Ocarina ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.
"The goddesses gave him a gift… the gift to choose his own destiny. They warned him of the evil, he chose to stand his ground and fight knowing well it would end his life."
"Choose his own destiny? How many of you have gotten this 'gift'?"
Ocarina's eyes looked pained, "Not many…."
A snort drew their attention to Twilight, "You mean none. He should have gone through his trials like the rest of us. Plenty of us have hidden before."
"We cannot argue with the will of the goddesses," Ocarina said.
Twilight growled. The three younger ones looked to each other with worry.
"Oh no…"
"This is not a good time!"
"Please don't do this!"
"You follow them too blindly Ocarina," Twilight spat.
Ocarina's eyes narrowed, "I have no reason to doubt them, and neither do you."
"It is not your place to judge my reasons."
"It is not yours to question the goddesses."
"I'll question them all I like! You have no seniority here!"
"I said nothing of seniority!"
The two Heros looked ready to jump each other, but Link quickly slipped in-between them.
"Uh, yo… guys? You can continue this little argument when I'm outta here."
Oracle nodded, "This is a more pressing matter than your disagreements!"
"We need to tell him about the blade!" Minish chimed in.
"Of course," Ocarina backed off, "Forgive Twilight's rudeness."
Twilight glared at him, but he ignored it.
Windwaker sighed in relief, "As we were saying, this blade is a collaboration of both the goddesses and all of us. Our spirits give it the strength to vanquish evil forces."
Link scratched his head, "Wasn't there another sword like that? The… Expert… Blade… or something?"
"Yes," Ocarina said, "But the evil has evolved and with it, so must the weapon."
"It should give you the strength you need to defeat Marinal!" Minish added.
"Oh… okay…" Link looked about at all the Heros hovering about, "Is that it? Anything else I need to know?"
"Uh…" Windwaker counted off absentmindedly on his fingers, "Don't fight Marinal in this time, trust in your courage, your friends will help you on the way… and…" He blinked, "Uh-yeah, that's it."
Ocarina's head snapped up as if he just had a thought, "That creature… our shadow… is he anywhere near this place?"
"Yeah, he's waiting for us back at the entrance to the path."
Whispers coursed through the group. Twilight growled in frustration.
"I told you we should have made the ward bigger!"
link looked at Ocarina questioningly, "What's wrong?"
The Hero bit his lip, "The powers that reside in this place, ours and the Goddesses', have made a… slight complication…."
A feeling of dread began to grow in the pit of Link's stomach, "What would that be?"
Minish shifted uncomfortably, "The moment you touched the sword…."
"Windwaker bit his knuckle, "Several wards were released… causing a sort of shockwave…"
Oracle tugged on a strand of his hair, "The goddesses warned us that if the shadow was anywhere near…"
Twilight rubbed his temples, "His soul would be knocked out of him…"
Ocarina closed his eyes, "Turning him into the mindless monster he would have been if Ganondorf had not given him a soul in the first place."
"Wh-what!" Link's eyes grew wide, "But… Zelda's kid is with him!"
Every Hero present paled.
"The what the hell are you still doing here!" Twilight yelled, just as frantic looking as the rest of them, "Take the sword and run!"
"Huh?" Link looked confused.
Ocarina stared him straight in the eyes, "Wake up and run!"
Link blinked, he was back in the cavern, hand still barely touching the hilt of the sword. It took him a moment to recall what was happening. Then, yanking the sword from the pedestal he bolted back through the tunnel, ignoring the sensations it created.
How long have I been out? … Goddess… I hope I'm not too late.
Opia: XD M'kay... here's another one nice and quick. Don't expect the next one quite as fast. Anyway, this is one of my favorite chapters, mostly because I got to have a little fun with the Links. Twilight Princess Link is there on a whim. Why is he all bitchy? I thought it'd be fun. And it was. Is it a good thing if you start getting really sad as you type your story? Ranik's part always makes me sniffle.
Cari: Please review if you get a chance, we like reviews.