Fight or Flight
Run.
Link gasped between breaths, each more difficult than the last. Darkness swelled around him, obscuring his vision completely. Each turn he took was blindly taken. The only sound that rang in his ears was the clean clink of his boots on the floor. He feared what would happen if he stumbled in this terrifying beast.
His lungs screamed for air as he ran, a painful ache in his side almost slowed his pace. Link felt as though he could never have enough air to run any longer. His mouth had gone dry for a while now and he thirsted for water. However, he knew it would be nowhere to be seen in this dark, hot, dry place.
The urge to stop and take a breath pulled at him more but he still urged himself to wildly race as fast as he could. It certainly did not help that he was in Goron which was the hottest place in the world. His clothes clung to his body, his feet felt as they would never go fast enough, and the danger grew closer every second.
Link knew if he turned back, it would waste precious seconds that he needed desperately. He wondered if he could duck into the darkness without a blink of an eye, and it wouldn't find him. At least he hoped so.
He snuck a quick glance back.
Nope!
Link pushed his heart and nerve and sinew to stretch to his limits. It was definitely on his tail, like a hound it didn't stumble or trip. It was a strange thing resembling the beast on Vah Medoh. Big, scary, and redheaded. Except this time, it dragged a flaming sword along the floor that must have been bigger than Daruk.
Its glowing blue eyes stared ominously through the dark searching for him. It scuttled rapidly across the floor. A rip in its body had disgusting black substance studded with tiny tan rocks pouring out of its body. Dragging itself with its long black clawed nails, the substance dripped onto the shiny tan floor. The digging of nails into the floor left Link cringing. It moved slowly, wounded it was, but it was relentlessly staring coldly into Link's soul.
If only Daruk had swiped at it a few more times…
If only…a boiling surge of anger leapt into Link's chest.
IF ONLY ARNEN AND MISKO HADN'T RUN OFF!
Link let a scoff pass his lips. Of course, they had to leave. Scuttling off back into their hole where they could live happily ever after in everlasting darkness. Gone, gone, gone and now he was the one stuck with this homicidal demon crawling after him. Too smooth were those promises of assistance. The second the group had encountered trouble those good for nothing scoundrels ran off. Link knew he shouldn't have even given them a little trust, yet he had, stupidly. Well, they did help slightly but not much, certainly not enough to get all of them off this beast alive.
And Daruk…Daruk at least had fought valiantly. Striking a few good blows until the monster turned its attention to Link. Now he was being chased with only his wits to protect himself. Daruk, Arnen, Misko and Zelda… all gone.
Link was alone.
How frightening it was to be alone. Though alone had been his whole life in a way, hadn't it? A distant mother, a dead father, and not many friends. How different could this be?
Link ducked into the shadows. His hand found the smooth surface of a pillar that stretched towards the ceiling as far as he could see. He scooted behind it.
His breath sounded too loud, his heartbeat too fast. Link sucked in a quick breath and held it. Darkness pressed against his crumpled figure. Fatigue caught up to him now. He felt the heavy weight in his bones. He supposed that all the adrenaline had muted his weariness while he ran but now standing still it ebbed away. All he wanted to do was to sleep but he knew he mustn't. He must continue for there is there is a time to run and a time to rest. Now, was a time to run.
The sound of claws digging into the floor made his hair stand on end. Then it gouged its nails again, much closer this time. He could feel its stare even through the pillar, its electrifying blue eyes dilating. Its hand glowed with flame ready to burn him to smithereens.
Link gulped, his back pressed against the pillar fruitlessly attempting to make himself smaller. His legs shook, too wobbly for comfort.
What can I do? WHAT CAN I DO? I have to stop it. Somehow. But how?
Link's eyes widened as a slithering long slender dark hand curled around the pillar. A shriek of delight pierced Link's ears. Link yelled in pain at the horrible noise and slowly turned his head to meet the horrid electrifying blue of the monster. Despite the darkness he could imagined its lip curling in a snarl of delight.
Its hand extended towards Link. Link's heart surged with fear. Though desperate to live, he was frozen in its cold stare. He took off running again however it was a little too late. As he spun to sprint away he felt its slender fingers close around his wrist.
Link felt pain, anger, fear, and cold, rush through his body. His mind plummeted into fear, his blood boiling with anger, his soul withered with pain and his heart froze over with ice. A surge of pain…emotional, physical, verbal…everything.
"…Where is he? Mother? Mother!"
"…On January 7th our beloved King Odysseus was killed in battle rescuing his wife and our Queen Zelda the 99th. We are all heartbroken over this lost to our kingdom. We stand proud that our King sacrificed his life for his wife and the many others who were at stake. It will not be forgotten, our dear hero…"
"…Mother, are you okay? I want to help you, please! Impa and I are out here waiting? What's wrong? Mother?"
"…I'm the failure? I've tried my best to satisfy your standards of a respectful prince. And look what's happened to the Queen of Hyrule. You're one to talk about failures!"
"… You neglected me all my childhood! Did you think that's okay? To shut yourself down and let your son fade away into a heap of depression?"
"…What would father say if he saw you now? If he weren't dead because of you! He died for you! Though now I think that he died for nothing!"
"…I'm so done! I'm so sick and tired of you! You're wrong! You're wrong about everything! Always so wrapped up in yourself you forget about your son, your husband, your subjects! Did you even care when father died? I cried for him, he told me he would come back, and he never did! All because of you!"
Link sucked in breath, his shoulders seizing up and his mind screaming. Pain it all was, terrible pain of words and of actions. A slam of a door, his mother's face, a gravestone under a willow, his balcony casted in shadows, a bright light on a back of a hand and a sword slammed into a silhouette's gut.
Link shook his head bringing himself back to the present. A cackle rang through the beast echoing throughout every hall and every room. Link turned again to meet the monster's face. He could barely move, couldn't speak. All of his words left him speechless, immobile. The memories of such anger, pain, grief all in one second was too much to take for any soul.
His hand moved to the belt on his waist where a certain tablet was securely clipped. The clever yet clumsy prince didn't need to see the Sheikah slate to know exactly what command he was executing. He was desperate, he had done it before but now was when he needed it the most he prayed to Hylia that his fingers would not betray him. Finally, all of his pitiful hours of researching technology and pouring over books might pay off.
'Tilt'
The beast obeyed without a falter and the floor did tilt at his command. There was one thing that he hadn't considered. Last time he had pulled a stunt like this, he had an annoying Rito holding him with his talons away from danger. Now…there was nothing stopping Link from tumbling down with the monster.
Uh oh.
Link looked down at the sloping floor. He let out a yell that blended with the protesting roars of the monster as it felt the floor tip. The monster still gripped Link's wrist tightly and shrieked loudly as it fell. Even the monster could not top Link's screams. The high pitched, "ahhh," was a unique scream that only Link could procure.
The fact that they would most surely turn into a pile of scrambled eggs when they would hit the 'bottom' of the beast was quite a terrifying thought.
I guess this is how I will die. Here lies Prince Link, who died of stupidity.
Link wanted to slap himself on the forehead too! He had just told Zelda not even an hour ago that she should trust him! Now, look where it had gotten him! Dead! Though what would be the difference anyways he'd be dead and there would be no going back!
Trust is a funny thing, isn't it?
Did Link also feel ready he was about to die? Nope, in fact he didn't, he really did not. Was he ready to see Hylia? Not yet, he still had to live! He is only seventeen! That's too young to die, way too young!
Link sighed.
No one is going to come to save you. Save yourself.
Link had his eyes closed tight, too scared to meet his fate but now they fluttered open. A window far ahead was coming up fast, the lava lapped at it hungrily. Now, he would for sure die of becoming a scrambled egg and be burned. Wonderful. No! He reminded himself he had no intention of becoming either.
No one can trust you until you trust yourself.
Trust yourself to save yourself.
He stared down at the Sheikah Slate, the miniature version of Vah Rudania casted a blue glow upon his clammy face. The hand of the monster clung onto him. His nerves were so battered with pain Link was becoming numb to it. His hands flew over the keys faster than the speed of light. The world seemed to slow as each screen flipped rapidly one after the other. His inner world became peaceful in his mind while the real world screamed around him. The shrieks of the monster muted. The rushing air was but a breeze and the world was still.
He heard a sudden jolt of the gears within the beast. The slope came rearing back to its original angle.
He and the beast were still locked together, their momentum still hurtling them towards the window. It would be too late before they slowed to a halt. The window opened onto a pit of lava. He would either fly through the window into the lava or slam into the wall. It would either be the impact or burning that would kill him. Neither were appealing.
A smooth tan pillar shimmered in the lava's eerie light. Though it wasn't upright as before, it was slowly reverting from being turned over sideways. Link got an idea. A terrible one it certainly was but it was better than nothing.
He glanced sideways at the monster who still clung to his hand tightly. It turned its fearful eyes away from the lava to coolly gaze at him. Link shook off his firm grip with much effort within the few seconds to spare and the monster did nothing to stop him for it believed that they both would both share the same fate.
"Well, someone is going to miss you. But it's not going to be me!" Link chirped, with a little salute with his hand. The monster stared at him puzzled but Link was already gone.
Link knew he was not the most athletic and that there was big chance for failure, but he took his chance. It was either certain death or maybe death. Maybe death compared to certain death would always win.
The pillar was almost out of reach but at the last moment Link was able to cling onto it. He watched the monster burst out of the window into the hungry lava. Link gently slid down the pillar as the floor evened out. It was quite uncomfortable but at least he survived.
Now what?
What was he to do now? Arnen and Misko had run off. Supposedly Daruk had followed them to figure out what was going on…it was very likely.
Zelda.
Link needed to regroup with her, they still had much to do. All that was left to tame the beast, Link had dealt with the monster and Zelda was probably dealing with another of Ganondorf's henchmen.
Wandering around the beast hoping to find her would take too long. An idea struck him….the Sheikah Slate. He remembered using it last time in Vah Medoh and it had shown Zelda's location. Perhaps this would work again.
And after all, work smarter not harder!
As darkness closed around him more tightly, he craved to reach light. He wasn't sure how much more of creepy darkness he could take before truly losing it.
After clicking around on the Sheikah Slate for a few minutes, he found the function which displayed Zelda's location. He noted another little dot on the screen within the proximity of Zelda. Neither were moving. Link had an odd sensation like something crawling up his spine. Whatever was occurring between Zelda and this other living being gave him a sense of dread.
They weren't fighting or chasing each other. He could tell that from their standstill positions. The two of them must be talking…about what? Who or what was worth stopping to talk to in this terrible place?
Link sped towards the location of the immobile dots with only the Sheikah Slate as his guide. He ran through halls, rooms, more halls, more rooms, up staircases, down staircases, down tunnels, up tunnels. Link skidded to a stop bathed in the crimson light of the lavafalls as he laid his eyes on her.
She was alone now without another soul in sight. Despite her ragged appearance she still had an aura of beauty veiled around her. Her Master Sword gleamed a steely white with a cherry red stain. She stared mildly into the lava that lapped at the edge. Her eyes were soft in the warm light yet looked oddly cold at the same time. As though she knew something…something she wished she hadn't.
"There must be another way. There has to be." She murmured loud enough for Link to hear, "I can't do that. I won't."
Link tilted his head and scratched the back of his neck.
What can't she do?
He tread lightly towards her. Zelda stared oddly into the distance as though she were in a trace. Any noise or sound wouldn't faze her it seemed. Link wondered what had brought her to this strange state.
Is she okay?
Link was scared suddenly. Had that person he saw standing near her on the Sheikah slate done something to her? Did they hurt her, curse her?
By now he had reached her side. She hadn't noted his presence though didn't seem to be ignoring him. She stared down into the lava.
"Zelda?" he patted her gently on the back, "Are you okay?"
Zelda snapped out of her daze and her eyes slanted to him quickly. Before she had been bent over with hands resting on slightly bent knees but now she stood up and straightened easily into a soldier's stance.
"Oh…yeah. Yes, I'm fine." Zelda answered quickly, brushing the ashes off her pants, not looking Link in the eyes.
Then, Link had an urge. An urge that lasted only a second but long enough to act. Perhaps, it was too soon but at least it would not be too late.
Link flung his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. Zelda was caught by surprise. She was not sure what to do. Her arms hung limply at her sides, frozen in place.
Link felt a surge of warmth spread throughout himself. A feeling he hadn't felt before, one that no one had ever given him. Zelda was a very special person to Link. And a special person tended to give things that no one else ever could.
"Are you sure you're, okay?" Link asked again. He knew what her answer would be but he needed to be absolutely sure.
"Yes, of course." Zelda gave a small smile. She finally unfroze herself and wrapped her arms around him.
"That person didn't hurt you, right?" Link looked up at her.
"Erm…" Zelda gulped and hesitated, "No, they didn't. Just you know, I got some…information…from them."
"What kind of information," Link raised an eyebrow "And also where are they?"
"I'll tell you later and they're…gone. They got away…" Zelda looked away and then turned back.
Link decided to change the subject, "You know, I don't think I've been hugged in a long time…a really long time…"
Link felt a twinge of sadness nibble at his overwhelming happiness. He hadn't been truly hugged like this since his father had left. That last night his father hugged him before he left to his fate. But at least he had Zelda.
"Me neither…at least I have-" Zelda began before an insufferable voice rang out
"Oh, well I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Misko's voice rang loud and shrill, shattering the heartful moment both the heroine and the prince were sharing.
Link and Zelda sprang apart. Both of their faces flushed a deep red, deeper than the color of the lava that flowed from Death Mountain.
"What are you doing here?!" Link shouted, "I thought you left us for dead!"
"We did but we're back!" Arnen chimed in and strode in to stand at Misko's side appearing seemingly out of thin air. Both of them had a gleam in their eye.
They must want something.
"So, where were you guys?" asked Zelda. Her eyes narrowed, "Oh, so I guess it did come to 'Plan B'."
"Precisely! But anyways, we pitied you guys and… well we came back," Misko looked around. "But it seems like you already cleaned up pretty good…Hey, are you going to tame this thing or not?"
Why, of course. You idiot. What do think was the point of all of this!
"I don't like to be told what I'm already going to do." Link snapped as he strode to the pedestal to tame this beast once and for all.
"Well, Prince Link and I will be off to Lurelin after he finishes up-" Zelda began but to her great fury was cut off by Misko.
"Lurelin did you say?" Misko leaned towards her, his cutlass shimmered in the lava's glow.
Lurelin? What about the beasts?
Link wasn't entirely against Lurelin but what about the other Divine Beasts that still had to be tamed? He wondered what Zelda thought was in Lurelin that was been more important than the beasts.
"Yes, I did." Zelda stared at him blankly and crossed her arms.
"I can take you there."
"No thanks. Prince Link and I have no need of 'pirate-wanna-be' chaperons. And why would you want to help us. Let's remember that I did choke your little friend over there Arnen-" Zelda scoffed and was cut off once again but not by Misko this time.
"And don't forget that he left me…and us for dead! Both of those peasants left right in the middle of the battle with that giant monster. I almost DIED!" Link shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the notorious bandits. Link turned back to the pedestal with a huff to resume taming the beast.
Zelda sighed. "How would you even help?"
"Well, we have a ship."
"A ship? Or one of your pathetic rafts that you propel with a Koruk leaf? What exactly is a pile of wood going to do for us? We can find one ourselves. Or walk. And why do you want us so badly to come with you?" Zelda raised her eyebrows and her eyes swept over the two of them trying to detect any trickery.
"You see…we know you guys are in a rush." Misko used exaggerating hand motions, "to stop an ancient evil from taking over the world! And also walking is tiring and those jungles down there can be vicious. Sailing with a Koruk leaf is much harder than it looks and we know you are a soldier, not a sailor. And the prince… well, we doubt he can sail either. Also, well, we don't really want Hyrule to be taken over." Misko shrugged.
"Is that really why?" Zelda demanded arching an eyebrow in disbelief.
"And…well because Daruk told us to do so…" Arnen added, begrudgingly.
"So, Daruk finally saw through your little act, huh? The demons behind the mask. How the tables have turned," snorted Zelda.
Arnen and Misko scoffed together.
Speaking of Daruk, where is he ?
Zelda narrowed her eyes at them, "We will come with you. But you must also do me a favor."
"Why, of course anything!" Misko beamed a smile at them with his somewhat crystal teeth.
"You must guide us through the seedy underbelly of Lurelin to find Ganondorf once we get there." Zelda smirked, her arms firmly crossed, and her foot tapped on the smooth tan floors.
Oh, well that makes sense. So…I guess we are going to go after Ganondorf…now? Better than nothing, I suppose.
"I don't think-" Misko began but Zelda mirthfully cut him off.
"If you'd want to stop an ancient evil from taking over this kingdom, I think you'd be far more enthusiastic to do so. Being a tour guide for a day won't surely kill you, will it?"
"Uh…well…I'm sure it won't-" Misko faltered and then was cut off once more, his face was becoming redder with frustration by the second.
"Then its settled. You'll take us to Lurelin, show us around the seedy parts of Lurelin, and then we will find Ganondorf." Zelda chirped merrily, her words were mocking and all of them knew it. Misko and Arnen nodded their assent to her demand.
Something is not right here.
Surely Zelda must have sensed it too. These bandits were being too helpful and appeared right after danger had passed. They seem too agreeable to chasing down Ganondorf of all people. These bandits left him for dead and were now agreeing to perform a helpful then a dangerous task. Link sensed something was wrong…very wrong but he couldn't give the matter his full attention as he was working on taming the beast which required skill and concentration.
With an exhale of relief, Link finished taming the beast. The beast's violent red glow flickered into a serene blue. The blue hue matched the ocean that they were about to become more familiar with in the next few days.
The group walked along in pairs with Arnen and Misko in front speaking in low whispers. Zelda and Link trudged along behind them. As fatigue set in they hoped Misko's ship had a sleeping quarter. Link knew that Zelda would insist that they take shifts on sleeping to keep an eye on the bandits. Link didn't blame her, he didn't trust them either, but he still knew it was going to be very tedious process. He also knew that as his appointed knight, Zelda would make him sleep first and force herself to stay awake the first ship no matter how tired she was.
To help the time pass as they walked, Zelda and he talked of the small things in life. Though many would think they were planning they're 'big' attack on Ganondorf, they weren't. No, they needed a small break from stress and the little things in life provided a small respite. They spoke of the weather or books for those things brought no true toil and no true pain. Not like the big things in life at least.
Before long they reached the bottom of Death Mountain. They craned their necks staring at something almost unbelievable. Floating above the waves of lava was a ship, it was withstanding lava. It seemed impossible but it seemed these bandits were smarter than they looked.
"Impressive, isn't it? That ancient stuff or whatever that is for sure is tough." Arnen grinned as he stroked the proud ship gently in all its glory. Its black sails billowed in the wind and a typical pearly skull and cross bones was proudly displayed on the sails. This was no simple raft of logs lashed together, this was an impressive structure that soared above their heads.
"Where did you get that ancient stuff?" Link deadpanned, with very little amusement on his face.
"Oh, we just chipped it off the shrine up in Goron City and put it on the bottom of the ship. Works like magic. Pretty easy, surprisingly easy to remove that ancient stuff." Misko answered, with as much smugness as he could muster.
"YOU VANDALIZED A SACRED LANDMARK?!" Link shouted and lunged at Misko. Zelda pinned Link's arms behind his back before he could advance toward Misko and Arnen.
"Yup. We sure did. With 'The Boulder Breaker' it took no time at all. Besides, who's going to miss this material anyways. It's been sitting there for 10,000 years and no one is going to use it," Misko rolled his eyes, carelessly. "It's a waste of materials if you ask me."
"ITS SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR A FUTURE HERO!" Link shouted again, trying to break Zelda's hold. "ITS NOT A WASTE!"
"Ah, well…screw the heroes." Misko scoffed. Zelda let her grip on Link loosen. If Misko was going to insult heroes such as herself then let him deal with the resulting fisticuffs. Misko turned around and walked on board the ship. Link clamored after him. Arnen simply walked calmly on board without going after Link or Misko.
"Look, prince, this is my ship, the "Fallen Angel". My opinions are allowed on my ship. If you don't like them you can go ahead and walk the plank." Misko stared at Link blankly. Link was about to raise a fist but instead put it by his side.
"Just know, who's saving the world out there, bandit." Link spat back and then calmed himself. He straightened up regally and asked, "During this journey, where are Zelda and I sleeping? I'd like to rest my princely body as soon as possible."
"Back there." Misko seemed unfazed as he pointed to the other side of the ship. Link's eyes followed Misko's finger to the other side of the ship to set of stairs that led underneath the main deck near the steering wheel. "There are 6 bunks in there. The ones with mine and Arnen's names carved into the headboard are ours just to get things clear. The others you can pick and choose where to rest your princely body." Misko waved his hand lazily in that direction.
"But let me just tell you something…" Misko leaned into Link's ear, "We haven't cleaned the sheets in seven years."
Night fell. The night provided little respite from the sweltering heat as so much stemmed from the lava, not the sun. The air hung heavy with heat and discomfort. Lava lapped at the sides of the ship, precariously close to the edge of the deck which made Link incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention that he had been seasick at least 10 times over the span of 5 hours and therefore had to go close to the edge of the deck to lean over the railing.
Zelda, Link, Arnen and Misko tried to settle in for the night but each was very unsettled in their state of mind. Each pair did not trust the other. They stooped to clear the doorway of the cramped same dingy bunkroom. Awkward glances at one another abounded.
"I don't know if I can do this." Link stared at his bed with wide eyes. A dilemma plagued him. He could try to have a good night's sleep in a dirty bed or a likely worse night sleeping on a much less dirty floor.
Link could see the soot that had changed the white bed sheets to gray. The gray was interspersed with weird stains of all colors… green, blue, brown gleamed in the lantern light. None of the beds looked at all safe or appealing. Link could handle the relative spartan feel of stable beds compared to his luxury beds back at the castles but this…this was pushing it way too far.
And they haven't been cleaned in seven years…
Zelda saw the look of horror on his face but knew they desperately needed sleep and she couldn't let him refuse to try to sleep altogether. "Oh, come on Link! You haven't even had a bath in…" Zelda counted the days on her fingers, "…a week…maybe a little over that!"
"But this is different! We're talking about seven years. I haven't had a bath in a week!" Link hissed. Now he was seriously considering the hard floorboards. At least they cleaned those occasionally by mopping them!
Link couldn't understand how Zelda could prepare to sleep in this filth. Link didn't care if the bandits could hear him whining. All cramped in one room together so it would be a reasonable thing to assume. Begrudgingly he agreed to try to sleep for the sake of the mission and his aching, tired body. The fact that Zelda had agreed to sleep at the same time as him instead of in shifts was an indication that she was extraordinarily fatigued.
Zelda and Link took the starboard side of the room. They both selected lower bunks, near each other in case they had to make a quick getaway. Arnen and Misko shared a bunk on the right side of the room.
"Link…just pretend that its not a disgusting bed-" Zelda whispered but was cut off by Link.
"BUT IT IS! I CAN'T JUST IGNORE IT! IT IS!" Link shouted. His hands extended outwards in an exasperated fashion.
"I'm done. I've tried. I'm going to sleep" Zelda grumbled and turned on her side.
"But-" Link began.
"SHUT UP!" Zelda, Arnen and Misko yelled in unison.