Link's Awakening

Chapter Thirty One: One Last Nightmare

I can still remember the feeling of shock as Agahnim announced his plan to trap the Wind Fish in eternal slumber… the owl had been correct, my best friend in the whole world had tricked me. Somehow he must have learned about the great beast's true nature and relationship with the owl… how, you ask? Hell, I don't know, maybe the nightmares told him, or maybe he just figured it out on his own… it didn't really matter much. What did matter at that moment was that he was about to use a very powerful spell… one that would trap both of us on Koholint Island forever if he was successful.

"Agahnim, stop!" Link ordered, drawing his sword. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"No, you're the one who doesn't know." The wizard replied, releasing more green energy into the stone carving. "Get it through your head, Junior; this whole place is a dream, and if the Wind Fish wakes up, then it all goes away."

Up above them, the owl could be heard calling for help, even though it's voice became more fatigued and weaker each time Agahnim released more energy. Dream or not, the young man's mother had described the spell he was using in great detail, and how it brought nothing but pain and suffering down the centuries, until his father was able to break it. Link didn't want to fight his best friend, but the Wind Fish was a real being, and he wasn't about to let the wizard condemn it like what happened to Zelda.

Intending only to scare Agahnim into breaking his concentration, the young man advanced at him while swinging the blade sideways, but in reaction the wizard avoided it by spinning around… and then slamming the heel of his boot into Link's chest. The good news was that the spell had been halted, with the platform coming to a stop as the blue and green lights now began to kind of swirl around as if engaged in their own battle. The spell was still there, though, and even though that kick had dropped him to his hands and knees, the young man was determined to stop it.

"Agahnim, don't make me do this." Link said as he got back up. "We have to let the Wind Fish wake up so we can go home… damn it, I don't want to be trapped on this island forever, and I don't think you do, either."

"Koholint Island gave me everything I ever wanted." Agahnim replied, drawing his own sword from under his robe. "A wife, a family, a land where the people love me… I'll die before I give that up. But look at it this way, Junior… you've finally got the adventure you always wanted, and I… I guess I'm your arch-enemy."

The wizard gave him another chance to back down and just let the Wind Fish go back to sleep, but Link wouldn't budge either, and that was how the battle began. It quickly became obvious from the green light around his hands, that all of Agahnim's magic was dedicated to casting that spell, and this was great since it meant no fireballs or vanishing… but apparently his friend had picked up a few new skills over the past twelve years, because Agahnim was handling the blade like an expert. He deflected each of the young man's attacks, before shoving him backwards and making an attack of his own that would have cut Link's arm if not for the small shield… but that shield didn't do much to stop the kick to the stomach that followed.

Each time that the young man engaged him in battle the platform would stop, only to resume its downward course every time there was a break in the action, for instance when Link found himself falling down… which was a lot. In addition to his swordsmanship, the wizard kept attacking with other parts of his body each time the young man's blade was busy somewhere else. He kicked Link, punched him, head butted him, and even went so far as to loop their arms together so that Agahnim could hip-sling the young man down onto the platform… each time making it a little harder for him to get up.

"You're going to thank me eventually, Junior." The wizard said as the platform moved down again. "In a few years when you and Marin are married with children of your own, you're going to feel pretty foolish about what you're doing right now."

"No, Agahnim… you'll be a victim of your own curse, like my mother was." The young man groaned as he tried to get up. "Stop this now, before it's too late."

Coming at him again with his sword, Link stabbed at his friend before trying to ram him backwards with the small shield, but Agahnim dropped down and rolled forward, making the young man fall on his face yet again when his legs were knocked out from under him. But then something strange happened… suddenly the green light vanished from around the wizard's hands, fading from the platform as it started moving up again, at first making Link breathe out a sigh of relief. However, that relief quickly became terror when a ball of flame appeared in the wizard's hand.

Jumping back to avoid the flame when it was tossed at his feet, the young man had just realized that Agahnim had stopped the curse in order to be able to use his magic again, when his friend vanished from sight. Reappearing behind him an instant later, Link cried out when the tip of the wizard's sword slid across his back, and then Agahnim vanished again, this time bringing a cut across the young man's chest when he reappeared in front of him. This kept happening; the wizard would vanish and cut him, only to vanish again before Link could defend himself, and before he knew it the shield had been painfully cut from his arm.

"You were right, Junior." The wizard said while the young man clutched his deeply cut arm. "Stopping the curse for a moment makes things much easier."

Agahnim stayed visible long enough to smack him across the face with the shield before casually tossing it over the edge of the platform, where it fell into the darkness. The vanishing attack resumed an instant later, with Link swinging the sword around in the hopes of hitting something, but only getting a cut across the back of the legs for his trouble. Dropping to his knees, another cut across the other arm caused the young man to drop his sword, which Agahnim was kind enough to pick up… before tossing it over the edge of the platform like the shield.

The wizard appeared right in front of Link again, but this time instead of attacking with the sword, his friend tossed a fireball right into the young man's face, sending him falling backwards as the flames disbursed. The force of the fireball was enough to send Link sliding a short distance across the platform, and he was about to reach up and touch his burned face, when Agahnim reappeared standing over him… with his sword raised. In a quick movement, the wizard brought the blade down, stabbing it right into the palm of Link's open hand so hard that the tip of the sword embedded itself into the platform below, and the young man was just starting to scream in pain, when his friend kicked him in the mouth.

"That's enough out of you." Agahnim said, turning away while the green light gathered around his hands. "Now… where were we?"

Just about all the way back up to where they had started, the platform stopped and began slowly going back down as soon as the wizard resumed the spell. Over at the carving, the owl looked like it had been almost fully recovered, only to scream again when it was surrounded by that green energy, and Link was stuck where he was. With the blade of Agahnim's sword pinning his hand to the platform, the only thing he would do was grab his friend by the leg and try to distract him from performing the curse.

All this did was annoy the wizard, causing him to kick the young man in the mouth without looking back, and then Agahnim just kept stomping him on the head and chest while the platform just kept going down. What would happen if it reached the bottom, he wondered? Was that going to somehow symbolize the curse's completion? Whatever the case, there wasn't a lot that Link could do about it, since the kicks just kept coming… until one of them very painfully kicked the sword out of place.

Both the young man and Agahnim froze at the same time, as if needing a moment to realize what just happened as the sword fell over, and they reacted at the same time, too. Reaching for the sword, the wizard might have been healthier, but Link was a lot closer to the weapon, so he grabbed it and blindly stabbed while getting up… causing his friend to groan as the blade was plunged into his mid-section. Agahnim punched the young man in the face before grabbing the blade and defensively stepping back… but they had already been at the edge of the platform.

"Agahnim!" Link called weakly, kneeling at the edge and looking down. "Agahnim!"

But there was no reply, and all the young man could see was darkness below the platform, which was rapidly turning a blue color again. Link expected for the wizard to appear next to him at any time, but it didn't happen, and once the last of the green energy was gone, the platform went all the way back up to where the owl was recovering on top of the heavily cracked carving of the flying fish. More bright colors were showing through now, and pretty soon he hoped that it would all be over.

"Thank you, Link." The owl said. "I know I gave you a hard time before, but… without your brave efforts, the Wind Fish would have never been able to awaken."

"Tell me the truth… please." Link coughed, wishing he hadn't lost the vials of Tracy's medicine on Eagle Tower. "Can I leave the island? Can I… can I take Marin with me back to Hyrule?"

Instead of speaking, the owl just shook its head as more of the carving fell apart, meaning… meaning what? The animal was starting to become transparent now, as if fading away, maybe into the Wind Fish itself? But it was able to tell him, in a strained voice, that yes Link would be able to leave the island, but the island… Marin… everything was nothing but a dream. A dream of the imprisoned Wind Fish, and now just like all dreams… it was time for it to come to an end.

"What?! No!" The young man yelled, struggling to stand as a new sound came from below. "Marin can't be a dream! She can't! Please, let me take her with me! Please, I'll do anything you want!"

"Too late… the dream is ending." The owl said as it vanished completely. "Come Link… let us… wake up… together."

With that, the owl was gone, and then the last piece of stone fell from the carving just as a powerful geyser of water shot up from below. The young man fought against it, trying to get back down just to see Marin one last time, just for a moment, but even if he had been at full strength, there would have been no way for him to resist the current that shot him up… and up… and up toward an intensely bright light that was now overtaking him.