You Will Die
"What?" Link asked.
"Oh, I think you heard me," the dark voice laughed.
Link slammed the phone down. That was it. He needed to stop shooting heroin. Things were getting too weird.
Yet, he couldn't get his mind off what that stranger had told him.
He wasn't going to die. How stupid a thought. He was in the Smash Mansion, with top of the line security. Nobody was getting in. Even if they did, the mansion was filled with the strongest warriors and deadliest fighters from across the whole system. Many of them were his own close friends. Hell, Master and Crazy Hand were even there for protection.
Nobody messed with Master Hand. That was the rule. There were no other hard rules. All the other rules were subject to change at any time, at the whims of Master Hand and Crazy Hand. There was no way they were going to allow one of their prized fighters to be taken down by some random stranger over the phone.
Hell, why was he even worried about this? It was some stupid prank call! Some stupid kid was probably on the other side, doing his best badass impersonation, and giggling about it to his stupid friends.
It didn't sound like an impersonation.
That voice had resonated within his very soul. That deep dark raspy voice shook him to the core. He felt his very bones vibrating to the frequency of that mysterious stranger. No way was that some kid on the other line.
Who was it?
The phone rang a second time.
Who was it?
There was no way some kid would be calling for a second time. He felt his very bones shiver, all the way to his core. As he reached for the phone a voice seemed to jump out from within his very soul. It was screaming no; screaming for him not to take the call; screaming for him to just go to bed.
He couldn't just go to bed. He had to take the call. Inner voice be damned. He had to know.
"Hello?" Link asked, hands shaking as he pulled the phone to his ear.
"Hey Link, what's up. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out at the bar tonight." Ike asked. "We've got a whole group going."
Link sighed. Ike's voice was a refreshing change of pace. He didn't want to be alone in his room tonight. The more friends he could be with the better.
Link had planned on going to sleep early. He had planned to go fishing with Zelda early the next morning. Oh well. Plans change, and Zelda would just have to deal with it.
He knew she would blame his addiction. He didn't know how exactly he would counter that argument. As he agreed to meet the group down in the Grand Hall in ten minutes, he thought how stupid it would sound to cancel his plans because some strange man on the phone had spooked him. The only other option was to act like he just wanted to go out with the guys tonight.
Sound like an addict, sound like a madman, or sound like an insensitive jerk? Those were some great options.
Link made sure he had a switchblade tucked into the back of his boot, on the off-chance that there was credibility to this threat. He strapped his sword to his back, and made sure he had his bag of rupies tied to his belt. Once he was ready, he headed out of his room.
On the way he bumped into Roy, also leaving his room.
"Hey Roy. You going to the bar with the guys?" Link asked.
"Yeah," Roy said.
Link looked Roy in the eyes. They seemed angry. Their narrow focus seemed to pierce right into his soul. It was as though fiery vengeance was screaming to be let loose. What in the world was wrong with his eyes?
How was he supposed to ask that question anyway? Say he thought Roy's eyes were crazy? Oh hi Roy, your eyes look crazy, what's up with that? No, that was ridiculous.
They walked downstairs in silence.
Link and Roy made it to the Grand Hall. A small group was forming.
"Hey Link! Hey Roy! Glad you could make it!" Ike called over, waving for them to join the circle.
Link looked around. Fox, Falco, Mario, and Captain Falcon were all there. Everything seemed strangely quiet. There were a lot of people here, why wasn't anybody talking?
He turned and looked back at Ike. Ike was staring right at him. His eyes wide, as though they were trying to scream at him. Hatred and fury almost seemed to be welling up in his eyes, trying to burst free. How long had Ike been looking at him like that?
No. He didn't feel safe down here. The Grand Hall was too spacious, too alien. These people were acting too different. He would feel much safer in his room. His room was small. He could keep his light on in his room, and see everything. His room was familiar.
"Um, sorry guys, but I actually just remembered I had planned to take Zelda fishing tomorrow!" Link said, laughing nervously. "So um, rain check?"
There was a bit of a pause. It felt like hours while they all stared.
"Oh sure, suure!" Ike said, the others nodding. "No problem man!"
"Yeah, it's no problem!" Captain Falcon smiled. That was the most forced smile he thought he had ever seen.
"Yeah," Roy said.
Link backed up a little bit, as they all simply nodded and smiled.
He quickly turned and sprinted flat out up to his room. He blasted his way through the doorway. He jumped every other step, launching himself up the stairs. He kicked the wall as he made the turn down his hallway. He dodged clear of Ganondorf, and then rolled back into full stride. He slammed his body into his door, tumbling through and slamming it behind him.
Safe. He was safe. He was in familiar territory. Now he just had to keep the light on, and maintain a sharp focus.
The lights went out.
A power outage? The mansion had a backup generator. That would be kicking in any moment.
It didn't.
Holy shit.
Link jerked his door open and ran back out into the hallway. He nearly jumped down the full staircase in one go, as he flew back towards the Grand Hall.
That was when he noticed the lights were on. They were on out here, but did they come back on in his room?
Maybe he should go stay with Zelda tonight.
He walked his way up to the top floor, and over to Zelda's room. He knocked on the door.
No response.
He knocked again, this time more frantically. He looked around, watching for any shadows. So far things seemed fine.
Still no response.
He started banging on the door with a desperate fury.
"Wha- Link? What is it?" Zelda asked, her eyes were bloodshot. She spoke like a drone. She seemed out of it. Her room seemed pitch black.
"I'm, I'm not really sure," Link said.
"Link, I'm trying to get some sleep. You know you're going to be taking me fishing tomorrow, right?" Zelda asked, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Listen, Zelda. I don't know if I'm going to be able to take you fishing tomorrow," Link sighed. "I don't know if it's a good time for me right now."
Zelda's eyes flashed with rage.
"Oh really?" Zelda asked. "Are you high?"
"N-no! Zelda! Really! It's not that!" Link cried.
"How dare you?" Zelda yelled. "I thought you were trying to fix this! I can't believe you would cancel our date just to go get high! You're such a loser!"
"Zelda! Let me explain! It's-"
Zelda slammed the door in Link's face.
He walked quickly back downstairs and to his room. He put his ear to the door, listening for anything strange. Hearing nothing, he slowly cracked his door.
The room was still dark. No, it was darker than dark. It was pitch black. Not the kind of dark that happens at night. This room seemed as though no light could penetrate it. It was the shade of a shadow. It was perdition. Aw hell, it was just really freaking dark!
He slammed the door shut and went sprinting back down the stairs. He was noticeably sweaty at this point. He had been running flat out up and down stairs harder than he ever did during the training sessions. He might have even beaten one of Captain Falcon's records in all his running.
He went to the Grand Hall. The group had already left. Good, he didn't want to be around that group right now anyway. They were acting too strange tonight.
He walked over to the back door and looked out the windows there. The moonlight seemed to give the lawn an eerie glow, as the fog of darkness blurred out any details farther away.
At times like this, he wished he hadn't sold Epona for drug money.
He turned and looked up the main staircase. A near blinding light shone down from the library. He never went in there, but he knew they kept the light up there bright at all times. They also kept things quiet. Ness tended to be at the library all the way into the early morning, so he wouldn't be entirely alone either. He didn't know if that comforted him or terrified him.
He walked up and immediately noticed Ness and Lucas playing chess at one of the tables. It wasn't really that late yet. The sun had only just gone down. Still, Link had to wonder when Lucas normally went to sleep. Wasn't Lucas a morning person?
Link walked over to the game. They turned to look at him. Both of them seemed annoyed. No, more than annoyed. They both seemed almost ready to tackle him.
"Um, hey, guys?" Link was shaking. Why the hell was he shaking? They were a couple of kids!
"What?" Ness spat.
"I just, I kind of just thought I'd hang out up here and watch your game," Link said dumbly, scratching his head. "You know, if you don't mind."
"Whatever," Ness said, and turned back to look at his board. He moved his bishop, nearly breaking it against the table as he slammed it down.
Link started to relax as he watched the two move their pieces. Nobody would be looking for him here, and while Ness seemed to be moving his pieces forcefully, it wasn't exactly freaking him out or anything. Sure, he was almost breaking the pieces every time he moved them. Sure, maybe it wasn't legal to move a bishop forward instead of diagonally.
Wait, what?
Link paid closer attention to Ness's moves. Link wasn't exactly a chess expert, but he was pretty sure pawns couldn't be picked up and placed any random place on the board. He was also pretty sure players didn't tend to move the same bishop back and forth between the same forward position and it's starting position. Who slams pieces down onto the table with such a reckless abandon anyway? It was as if they didn't actually care where the pieces landed. It was as if they weren't actually playing.
Link looked up from the pieces at the two kids. Both of them were staring straight at him. They didn't even look at the board as they moved their pieces around the table. Their eyes seemed to look at him, past him, straight through the fabric of his body and into his soul. Their eyes burned with the fiery rage of a thousand burning suns.
They might just be two similar looking kids with giant heads and psionic powers, but...
Actually, no buts about it, damn this whole library to hell, he needed to get out of there.
Link sprung off his chair and kicked it to the side. He jumped clear over the chess board and rolled to the stairs. Up or down? Up. Hell, he needed to see Master Hand. He needed to tell him what was going on.
What was going on?
He climbed the stairs. The kids didn't seem to be chasing him. That was a plus. He didn't know what he would tell Master Hand when he got up there. Hi, Master Hand, some guy on the phone spooked me and I'm worried a couple of kids are going to kill in the library?
Link made it up the Master Hand's floor: the top floor of the mansion. Everything up here was larger than life. The doors were as wide as barn doors, and just as high. The hallway was almost as wide as the Grand Hall. It was dimly lit with torches along the sides of the walls. Master Hand always seemed like the kind of guy who tried to keep an iron grasp on everything that went on. Link walked down to the end of the hall and turned to knock on the giant door.
Each knock seemed to echo with a loud metallic clang. The silence that followed his knock was deafening. A chill seemed to go right to Link's spine, and Master Hand's voice could be heard, booming throughout the floor.
"Who dares request entry to my lair?"
"Um, Master Hand? It's me, Link," Link said weakly.
"What is it you want, Link?" Master Hand boomed.
"I was just, um, worried, and hoping you could help me out?" Link shivered.
"Why are you worried, Link?" Master Hand asked, opening his door. "Do you not see the walls that blanket these grounds? Do you not know of the multitudes of servants who work night and day to safeguard you? Are you not friends with many powerful Smashers in this mansion? Do you not understand the powers I contain, and how I use them to shield you?"
"Yes, yes I do, Master Hand" Link said, bowing his head. "But, none of the Smashers around here seem to be their normal selves! Everybody is acting weird!"
"Link?" Master Hand asked. "Are you high?"
"No!" Link yelled. "I'm not high! I was earlier, but I'm completely sober right now! Damn it! The light in my room went out! My friends were looking at me like they wanted to kill me! Ness wasn't even playing chess right!"
"You need sleep Link," Master Hand boomed. "Now leave me be!"
The door was slammed shut, a gust of wind howled through the hallway, causing the torches on the walls to flicker. Link felt that shiver in his spine again, and turned to walk away.
He didn't want to go back through that library. As he reached the second floor, he leaned through the doorway and looked into the library main room.
Ness and Lucas were still slamming pieces against that table. Their eyes were still firmly directed at Link.
"What the hell!" Link yelled. "Why are you looking at me that way?"
Ness and Lucas both stood up, baseball bats in hand. They didn't have baseball bats earlier. Where did they get baseball bats?
"Guys, what is this?" Link asked.
Their eyes flashed red as they began to run at Link.
Link immediately turned and ran downstairs, into the Grand Hall.
It was there he saw the group that had gone to the bar. It hadn't even been an hour yet, what were they doing back?
They all had baseball bats. Their eyes were all red. They were all running at Link.
Link went to run out the back door, only to see Zelda. Her eyes were red, a baseball bat in hand. She held the doors shut and grinned wickedly.
Link turned into the last open doorway, and ran up the stairs towards his room. He might not be able to take them all in a wide open space, but he could lock his door and brace it with something. He went flying into his dark room and locked the door behind him.
"Didn't I tell you?" The dark voice laughed. "You didn't listen!"
"Who are you?" Link screamed, drawing his sword.
Red eyes flashed in front of Link. He felt blunt crack against his wrist, and he dropped his sword. The strikes continued against his side and his legs.
Link groaned against the floor, reaching for the knife in his boot.
"Now Link, I hope you don't expect to do much with that little thing!" The voice laughed again. His door was soon unlocked, and a flood of red eyed Smashers came in and smashed him with their bats. He felt the dull thuds against his skull, his arms, his ribs, his guts, and his legs. The pain shot through his entire body. The Smashers were all grinning with wide red eyes. The red in their eyes seemed to glow stronger with each hit. The red seemed to pour down all of reality. The red faded to black. The pain faded to numbness.
All that was left was a mob beating on a broken corpse.
What the hell did I just write?
Why don't you send a review and tell me?