Here it is, sooner than you guys expected. Here's where the shit hits the fan. Enjoy!

Geddy

Chapter 16

Images began to fade slightly. The blurred vision of Zelda spun around like a high-powered fan. Hate, love, pain, agony…

Link finally began to come around. Pain surged through his right arm and his face burned like a bonfire. Clenching his teeth to rid himself of the pain, he very slowly opened his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar place.

"Link…"

Link could hear someone's voice echoing in his head. He began to realize that his whole body was in the worst pain of his life. What had happened?

"Link… Link!"

Link's eyes finally shot open, a bright light broke into his eyes like knives. His head stirred a bit, trying to focus and adapt. He was able to make out the blurred figure of Mido and Kafei. His hangover still pounded his head like a hammer…

"Link!"

"Yeah..."Link managed to softly murmur.

"Finally man. You've been out for like four hours," Kafei stated.

"What… What happened?" Link stuttered.

"Well, it's a long story kind of. To cut it down, you slept with Zelda and Serj shoved you out of a window that was two stories up. I think that's about it," Mido informed, almost sarcastically.

"Yeah man. I don't suppose you remember to much of anything, do you?" Kafei asked.

"N-No. I don't even remember getting into the hotel room…"

"Didn't think so. Well, Serj did a number on you," Kafei replied.

"Yeah he did. Sheesh Link, you should see yourself," Mido agreed.

"That bad?" Link asked, his eyes closed to block the light that hurt so bad.

"Well, you have a broken wrist, arm, leg… Your face is torn to shreds from the glass from the window. And I hate to say it buddy, but the doc said that your sight may not return to normal. And the moral of the story is?"

"Don't sleep with your best friend's sister," Kafei stated.

"I don't even remember it. I was too drunk," Link explained.

"Good excuse, but try passing that one by Serj. I thought he was going to kill me and Kafei. He's pretty pissed. I'm sure he's back at the hotel room giving Zelda the butt chewing of a life time," Mido informed.

"Ugh… What did I do?" Link sadly asked himself.

"And how many times did you do it?" Mido muttered to no one in particular.

"Well, one thing is for sure Link: You won't be enjoying the next few days of your vacation. And the plane ride home is going to be not only uncomfortable, but… rather awkward…"

Kafei was more than right. Link did NOT enjoy the rest of Christmas break. It was most annoying that he was going to be stuck in some hospital bed until he had to leave to go back home, but the thought that he would have to go back home all messed up was all the worse. To top everything off, he most likely lost Zelda, and his band was for sure done. Without Serj, they were lost. It was true that he could be replaced, but who would take the slot? Link wouldn't take a slug, and everyone knew that. It takes a lot of talent to play guitar and do the kind of vocals that they were going to need, and Serj for sure was backing out of the band.

The most amusing yet sad part of the whole thing was that he didn't even remember if Zelda was good in bed or not. He didn't even know if they had sex in all honesty. Everything was a blur. And if they did do it, there was no way that Link would have remembered protection, so the chances of her being pregnant were… rather high, to say the least.

Link's vision did return over the next few days. He was rather happy about that, but his leg and arm and hand being broken was a huge damper. He couldn't drive like that, and he was going to be on crutches for about a month before he could get a boot for his foot.

Damn! If Serj was going to break a hand and arm, why couldn't he have just picked his left? At least he could write with his right hand, not with his left! School was bound to suck ass…

Kafei was right again, as the plane ride home was difficult. Link hobbled his way through the terminal with his crutches all day, Mido and Kafei at his side. They were great friends to stick with him like that, but Link knew they were mostly there to be Link's body guards against Serj.

"Ah! Damn it!" Link growled.

It was more difficult than he thought it would be trying to squeeze into the small seats on the plane. Mido forced Link to sit by the window… They all knew it wouldn't be a good idea for Link to be on the end where he could easily be smacked with a spiked club from Serj.

Link still hadn't seen Serj yet, which he was not at all upset about. But he hadn't seen even the slightest sign of Zelda, and that did upset him. All of his classmates murmured and gossiped about what happened that night. Some were on Link's side, but most just didn't care. The only reason they were upset was because Prototype was over, and everyone knew it. It was so sad too… They really could have gone somewhere.

Link didn't even have the desire to continue on anymore. He had done what he had set out to do, and he was in enough pain to where he didn't care about anything…

Link sat in coach with Mido at his side and Kafei behind them in the row of seats. Link had plugged in Hemispheres from Rush for the plane ride. That album usually soothed him and calmed his nerves, but it wasn't working well this time. Link pulled his headphones out of his ears just before he caught sight of Serj.

Serj was making his way down the plane to the restrooms, Zelda tailing him like a shadow. Mido and Kafei tensed up, ready for a fight, but nothing happened. Serj stared daggers at Link. He glare was filled with so much macabre that Link could feel his face twitch. Though Link had gotten the shit beat of him, he wasn't prepared to back down. He glared icily back at his once best friend.

Zelda sheepishly followed behind him, her eyes full of terror. She didn't even look at anything, save the floor. Her head was low and her eyes fixed on her brother's feet. They passed by, and Link could feel the tension in the air thin out as he drew out of sight.

"Damn, that's pretty bad…" Kafei muttered.

"When I heal, I swear to god I'm going to beat the living hell out of that guy…" Link stated.

"Dude, can you really blame him? You screwed his sister," Mido began.

"Don't tell me you're taking his side!" Link growled.

"No way man, I'm just saying… He kind of has a right to be mad."

"That's true, but turning me into road kill when it wasn't even a fair fight was a little too much if I may say so," Link grunted.

"Yeah. That's true…"

Link stared out the window the rest of the way home, mostly so he wouldn't notice if Serj was around or not. What was he supposed to do? He lost his band, his best friend and… He almost hated to admit, but he loved Zelda more than anything.

The plane touched down after a flight that seemed to last forever. The snow that he had begun to adapt to was gone, and the sun shown bright. The air was bone chilling, but by no stretch nearly as cold as New York had been.

Mido and Kafei grabbed Link's backpack and helped him out of the plane. As he made his way through the terminal, he began to feel the everything really settle with him. Now that he was home, he…

"Oof!"

Link's face smashed into the floor. It felt as though his crutch had been ripped out from under him. He looked up from the ground and noticed Serj hurrying with Zelda behind him. She looked back at him with a look of sadness in her eyes before Serj grabbed her arm and ripped her away.

"What an asshole," Mido stated as he helped Link to his feet.

He had already done enough damage. Kicking his crutch out from his feet was just downright wrong now. Link shook it off and headed out with his friends. There was no way he could drive, so Mido drive him and his luggage home. After helping Link get all of his stuff upstairs and into his apartment, he turned to leave.

"Say… I'll see you at school in a couple days, right?" Mido asked.

"Don't count on it," Link muttered.

"Right… Well, if you need any help with anything, feel free to call me, alright man?" Mido offered.

"Will do."

Mido nodded to him and shut the door on his way out. Link sat on his couch staring at the blank TV screen. He almost felt like he was swallowed by the darkness that was beginning to creep into his house from the night.

He wanted to play his guitar, but that would be pretty hard with only one hand. Although, he was good enough where he could play stuff with just his left hand. Well, mostly…

Two days quickly passed by and it was time for school. He didn't bother calling anyone for a ride. He wouldn't be returning for a while… If at all. Link just sat on the couch at home, staring at the TV almost the whole time.

Going back to school would be the most difficult thing he had ever done. Link knew that he was only going to be sitting around collecting dust until the spring came around. He began to feel like he was in hibernation.

Mido brought food to him and was even cool enough to rent movies for him here and there. The days passed by slowly and dismally. Mido had taken him to the nearby hospital after a couple months to begin removing everything that was wrong with him.

"Argh…"

Link scratched his arm vigorously after they took the cast off. His hand was itching like crazy too… While he scratched on his arm, they took off the boot to see if he was ready to walk again. After taking some x-rays, they decided he was good to go again.

"Wow, it took you forever to heal," Mido stated.

"Shut up," Link muttered as he limped after Mido, scratching his arm the whole way.

"What's the matter Link? Not used to walking normal any more?" Mido joshed.

"Hey fuck you man. I haven't washed my leg or my arm in a long ass time, so shut up."

"And that has something to do with you not being able to walk… how?"

"Fuck you…"

Mido drove him home, and finally his arm stopped itching. They were on spring break at the time, so Link still had a few more days to get ready to go back to hell, I mean school.

He walked up the stairs to his apartment and opened the door. Eager to play his guitar once more, he hooked up his amp and effects box. He was amazed at how bad he sucked now. His left hand was still primed, but his right hand had lost all the speed and accuracy it once had. He was more than frustrated, but he had to get as good as he had been before.

After about five straight hours of practice, he finally set his guitar down. He felt comfortable with his skills again. At least one thing was going good.

The day crept on and before Link knew it, it was one in the morning. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was on the TV, so he decided to sit down and groove on that for a while. He loved Bill and Ted… In a way, it kind of reminded him of how things were before he fucked up.

He was a little startled when his cell phone went off. Who the hell could be calling him at this time? He glanced at the caller ID, but whoever it was apparently was blocking his call. He shrugged and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello!"

"Hi…"

"Zelda! Oh my god…"

"Mido told me that you're healed now," she began.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Except for the scars on my face… But how are you?" he asked, excited to be able to talk to her again.

"I guess I'm ok. Things have been hard lately," she began.

"I can imagine. What happened with Serj?" he asked.

"He basically just chewed me out and now he watches me like a hawk. He always keeps the car keys in his pocket so I can never leave unless I want to walk. But lately, I haven't really even cared, you know?" she recanted.

"Yeah, I know that feeling all too well…"

"Well, I'm guessing you'll be coming back to school pretty soon now, won't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I am…"

"That's good. Serj is still livid though, so watch out," she warned.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, I'll see you in a couple days."

"Alright then."

"Bye."

Link heard the phone click and the line went dead. He clicked his phone shut. Why the hell was she calling him after he was fine? Why didn't she call when he really needed her?

Link knew that Serj had gotten to her somehow. He was still trying to decide whether or not he wanted to whip his ass or not. He shook his head and headed to his bed. It was going to be pretty rough from here on in…

The last two days of spring break blew by quickly, and soon Link was packing his books back into his backpack. Luckily for him, Mido had gone out of his way to explain to all the teacher's that Link was very "sick", and wasn't going to be to school for a while. As a result, the teacher's waved it and just had Mido give Link all of his homework so he didn't get behind at all. How Mido managed to swing that off? You don't want to know…

Link threw his backpack into the backseat of his car and slid himself in. The air was cool and thick with dew and a light fog. He turned the ignition over and shut his door. As he drove to his high school, he began to have a really bad feeling about something. It wasn't about Serj though… It was about Zelda.

Link pushed it into the back of his mind as he pulled into the parking lot for a new season of school. Well, for him it was a new season at least. Everyone else just saw it as a shitty day back to school.

Mido awaited him at the front doors of the massive school. Link could see from very far away that Mido was smiling. Kafei was standing not too far away from him, which came as no surprise.

Link was wearing his usual pair of ole shabby jeans and a tight black sure that he had tucked into his pants secured by a black belt. His shaggy blonde hair swayed with him as he walked.

"Good to see you on your feet," Mido joshed.

"Funny… very funny…"

"Feels weird, don't it?" Kafei asked as they shoved the doors open and headed inside.

"Just a little," Link said sarcastically with a furl of his eyebrow.

Link's head began to hurt as the echoes of seemingly endless voices echoed through the huge gray halls. He had been trapped in his apartment for so long that he had almost forgotten how loud the students were.

Link's first period teacher greeted him with a very warm welcome. Link only gave a wry smile before sitting down. He knew it was only a matter of time before he and Serj were to run into each other. Link tried to shake the thought from his head, but his brain was stuck on one track.

"I'll beat the shit out of him if he tries anything…" he thought to himself.

He heard a loud snapped and looked down. A couple students stared at him as he tossed the broken pencil he was once held into the trash can. He looked down at his desk and began thinking again. He was mostly confused more than anything. He didn't know whether to hate Serj or to respect him.

Link's brain began to heard thinking about it. Massaging his forehead, he glanced at the clock.

"Both! There, that was easy…" he thought.

Surely both hating him and respecting him was the easiest, right? Well, at least he thought. He'd find out sooner or later.

He jumped from his desk when the bell went off and shot out the door like a rocket. Not only had he forgotten how loud everyone was, he had also forgotten how boring classes were. School sucks…

Lunch rolled around soon and passed by just as fast. Though the classes were incredibly boring, they seemed to zoom by like the speed of light. Link knew it was because he wasn't even attempting to pay attention, but just kept thinking about everything that was going on. Zelda…

School was soon over and Link had no desire to be there any longer. His head to the floor, he ignored all the people that attempted to greet him. He knew they were only trying to comfort him on his return, but he didn't care. He just wanted to go home.

The sun shone bright as he pushed through the huge doors and made his way down the steps that led to the parking lot. His black car gleamed in the light brilliantly as he made his way to it.

"Link…"

"Damn it!" he thought as he turned at the sound of a girl's voice.

Zelda stood before him, looking just as she did before… except… her eyes seemed different. Like they had a thick sheet of darkness over them; it sent a bone chilling vibe up Link's spine.

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed and took a step towards her.

"Don't!" she shouted suddenly.

"W-what?" Link stuttered, absolutely shocked.

"This is the only time I'm allowed to talk to you, and it's strictly business," she explained.

"Permission? Last time I checked you were a person, not a slave," Link retorted.

"Look, my brother wants the keys to the warehouse so he can get his amps and stuff out. I don't think they need to be there anymore," she explained like a scared puppy, her books tightly pressed against her chest with her hands.

"What! Are you kidding me!" Link growled.

"Well…"

"Some fucken nerve that little piss ant has! He doesn't have the balls to talk to me when I'm sober!" Link yelled.

"Link, please…"

"And you! What the fuck is wrong with you? You're like his bitch or something now!"

"Well, I mean…"

"No, he can't have the keys until he gets the guts to talk to me himself. And you're a stupid little bitch for acting like this. He doesn't control you. You are your own person, so knock this shit off!" Link shouted again.

"Link, I have to do what he tells me…"

"You're a fucking drone Zelda, piss off," Link snarled before hurling his bag into the car and tearing off.

Dust flew into Zelda's face as she watched him go. The dirt stuck to her face as the tears began to flow. What had happened to her Link?

She turned and walked back to the school, her head low and her tears dried. She knew this was only the beginning of the end…