Hi everyone!
It's been a bit more then a month since chapter 12, but it's better than waiting three months like last time, right? (Nervous laughter)
This is an important chapter in the story, but far from the last, I think. The story will go on for longer then I had first anticipated...which I hope in your opinion is a good thing.
Lastly, a warning: there's a scene in this chapter which I think people will find disturbing (I know I did, writing it), but I really hope you still find this chapter exciting to read (can you tell I'm nervous about it? Heh.).
Moonlight shone down on the solitary tree in the valley, which stood still in the quiet air. An unnatural silence had descended upon the area, as if the world stood poised in expectance of some event. Then, from over a rise in the valley, a dark silhouette of a figure emerged, and heavy boots stamped down grass as the tall man strode forward towards the tree.
As the man took in the tree, his gaze fell down on the black puddles of blood that surrounded its base, and then finally his eyes settled on the mess of a figure that hung like a rag doll, pinned-no, skewered- to the bark of the tree by a sword that cut right through the middle of the person. Next to the hilt of the sword, the tail end of an arrow also stood out from the figure's chest.
The man frowned, but his outward appearance remained calm. Still, the sight of the witch's corpse in front of him caused a ripple of mild alarm to course through his body. He had come here expecting to find a corpse or two, yes, but not that of Eliza's.
Leaning forward, Ganondorf raised Eliza's sagging head with one hand, so that he could peer into her dead eyes. He smirked cruelly, and whispered, "Stupid girl. Come back to your master. I command you."
He let go of her head and stood back just before a stroke of lightning hammered down into the tree, appearing from nowhere. The witch's body jerked and jumped against the base of the tree as electricity coursed through it, and then slumped forward once again as the lightning fizzled out. Within the witch's body, her heart began to beat.
Suddenly, Eliza's body gasped in air, the blood bubbling in her throat, and her eyes shot open. Coughing and retching, she leaned forward, still stuck to the tree by the sword, and vomited blood.
After several seconds of spluttering and gasping, Eliza recovered enough to lift her head slightly, and saw Ganondorf standing calmly in front of her for the first time.
She licked her lips, struggling to speak.
"M-my Lord," she gasped. "Help me!"
Ganondorf's gaze was hard. "You want my help? Even though you know what I think of people who fail me?"
Eliza struggled to stay conscious, while her body tried to cope with wounds no normal person could survive. She tried to speak, but her strength failed her, and she could only shake her head helplessly.
Ganondorf leaned forward so that he stood eye-to-eye with the witch. "You belong to me, Eliza, and have served me well. That is why I evoked the dark spirits, and asked them to return your soul to your body. There is a price you have to pay for that, as you know. But now I wonder if it's even worth me keeping you around, when you can't even kill a teenager for me." Ganondorf's words came out in a whisper, and Eliza had to strain her ears to catch them.
"My Lord..." she breathed. "I got c-careless. It won't happen a-again. Please..."
Her head sank again, her strength failing her. Ganondorf appeared to think for a moment, and then with a cruel, sudden wrench he yanked clean the sword which pinned Eliza, causing her to scream out in agony and fall forward onto the dirt.
Tossing the sword aside, Ganondorf whistled shrilly and stood patiently as a dark steed thundered towards him down a wall of the valley. Eliza moaned and writhed on the ground, pain consuming her.
The steed halted next to Ganondorf and pawed the ground, its red eyes regarding its master. Leaping up onto the saddle, Ganondorf turned and snapped, "Get on, then. You will prove your worth to me, or I will kill you again myself."
Eliza somehow managed to get to her feet, and then clumsily climbed onto the horse, sitting behind her master. As Ganondorf spurred the horse into a gallop, the witch took a deep breath and pulled the arrow that was embedded in her chest free, clenching her teeth against the pain. She threw the arrow onto the ground as the horse climbed the valley, and finally another emotion cut through the pain-that of anger.
He killed me. She thought woozily, bitterly. That brat actually killed me. She clung to Ganondorf's back as dizziness swarmed over her once more.
When I catch up with him I'll make him pay, she swore to herself, but could think no more as she finally lost consciousness, her body sagging against Ganondorf's.
This can't be happening. Not again. I thought it was over. Please no.
Malon's mind was spinning, and she struggled to remain calm. In front of her, Eliza stood cockily in front of a few hundred Redead, and she couldn't decide what she feared more; all the Redead, or the fact that Eliza was somehow alive.
"You're dead. I killed you." Link said woodenly, standing next to her.
Malon glanced at him. He looked awful, and was swaying slightly on his feet; probably from the numerous cuts he had on his body, she figured.
The young witch smirked. "Feeling a bit under the weather, Link?" She teased. "And where have you come from, Malon? I didn't think you were in this town."
Malon remained silent, and gripped Link's hand in her own, trying to show him that, whatever was going to happen, she was with him.
Eliza seemed to be waiting for a response, but when none came she rolled her eyes, putting a hand on her hip.
"You two bore me. I mean, yes, I was dead-technically-but I'm also a witch. We deal with forces which you two could not comprehend, and in some cases certain...people may be called upon to grant someone a second chance of life." Eliza said.
Malon brushed her her wet hair away from her eyes, her hand trembling. She nudged Link, turning to him and whispering, "What can we do now?"
To her dismay however, Link was staring forward into nothingness, his eyes cloudy.
"Link!" She cried, shaking him. What's wrong with you? Stay with me! I can't do this on my own.
Angrily, he brushed her away from him. "Renna, I'm trying to think! We need to rescue the prisoners somehow."
Malon stared at Link open-mouthed, her heart beating faster. "Link! It's me, Malon! Snap out of it!"
She turned back to Eliza to see that the witch was watching the scene with amusement.
"Oh, this is classic," Eliza cackled. "It seems that the idiot somehow picked up a bit of the dungeon's interrogation substance!"
Link shook his head, appearing to come out of his spell. "What was that? I picked up what?" He demanded.
Eliza was still grinning. "The jailor of the dungeon uses a substance on whoever he's interrogating that makes his subject experience moments of unreality and forces them to experience moments of their past as if they are reliving them. It's quite useful for getting prisoners to blab on without them realizing it."
"I didn't take anything when I was in the dungeon!" Link said angrily.
"Oh dear boy, you don't drink this stuff. Normally it's applied to weapons or instruments of torture. That way it can be cut directly into the blood stream, like a poison." Eliza said mockingly.
Malon watched Link freeze. He turned to her, his expression horrified.
"When I was...fighting the jailor, I was thrown onto a table of instruments...they must have been coated with that stuff," he said gloomily, glancing down at his bleeding arms.
Malon bit her lip. "Link...I don't know what to do. Help me." She begged him.
Link gave her hand a squeeze. "It's okay. I'm scared too. But we can get through this, okay, Navi?"
Malon's heart sank as she realized that Link's eyes had that far-away look about them again. He was reliving the past once more.
"Oh my, looks like he can't even stay focused on the present." Eliza gloated. "Killing him now would be far too easy. Not that you'll hear me complaining." She said, and began striding towards Malon and Link. The Redead all remained where they were, drooling and growling.
I'm on my own, Malon realized with dread. She slowly placed a hand behind her back and took hold of the crossbow she had clipped to her belt, the one she had carried with her since leaving her ruined farm. Briefly she wondered where Sheik was at the moment-she had left his company just outside the drawbridge leading into the town, for he had not wanted to enter the town.
She forced herself to concentrate, as Eliza approached Link and her. Even if she managed to shoot down the witch, there was still the matter of the hundreds of awaiting Redead to contend with. She assumed that, once Eliza fell, the Redead would all attack, but could think of no way to save herself and Link from them.
"Time to die!" Eliza sang gleefully, now right in front of them.
Malon shrugged, unclipped the crossbow and brought it around to her front, and fired.
Two bolts sprang forward, heading straight towards the suddenly startled witch...and then in mid-flight, just before hitting the witch, both bolts ricocheted away, as if they had hit a force field which surrounded Eliza. Small bolts of lightning flickered in the air around the witch, who's expression went from stunned to triumphant.
Malon could only stare, dumb-struck, as Eliza laughed.
"Sneaky!" She howled, laughing."I wasn't expecting a crossbow! However, after our last encounter, I decided to take some measures to protect myself from any projectiles. I'm surrounded by a field of lighting, which should protect me from anything you can throw at me."
Taking quick strides forward suddenly, Eliza reached Malon before she could react and back-handed her roughly across the face, throwing her to the ground.
Malon lay dazed in the mud, her face aching, and stared up helplessly at Eliza.
"Stupid girl. I'm going to fry you with lightning until you explode." She snarled down at Malon, her eyes dancing with malice.
Suddenly, Link's hand closed around Eliza's arm roughly, going through the invisible layer of lightning and causing both himself and the witch to be zapped slightly.
"Ow! Unhand me, you drugged-up idiot!" Eliza snapped, sounding more annoyed then worried.
"I am so sick of Ganondorf's filth coming after me," Link yelled at the witch, causing her to recoil from the force of his words.
"I don't really care if you think you're like me, because you're not. When I kill, it's to protect people. You seem to get pleasure out of killing for fun-that soldier you shot was twice the man you are. And tonight, I will avenge his death." Link hissed, and Malon, watching him from the ground, noticed that he seemed to be looking through Eliza at something else-something from his past, no doubt.
She felt a sad sense of defeat; there was no way for them to get out of this one. Not with her crossbow being useless, and Link being not quite there.
She looked up at Link again, who still had Eliza's arm in his grip, and she realized that he was furious, so much so that his body was shaking with anger.
What was he remembering?
Link tried to sort his cloudy mind out, tried to regain a sense of reality, but it was so hard. He kept flashing between locations; he would be moving through a dungeon with Navi at one moment, and the next he might be diving from the top of a waterfall, and then he would find himself standing in the rain, the witch Eliza in front of him, surrounded by Redead.
But what was the real reality? Where was he right now? He wished he could stop and gather his thoughts, but everything was happening so fast.
Now, he was standing on a roof, shaking with rage and looking down at his clone, Dark Link, who just before had shot Scray with an arrow. Or was he staring at Eliza...what was real?
There was no time to hesitate, for Dark Link had rolled to his feet, and was circling him, his sword drawn and ready. And at the same time, Eliza shook off his hand, took a step back, and began drawing lightning out of the air around her, causing bolts to crackle between her fingers.
Link dimly heard Malon cry out a warning, but he couldn't decide which of the two enemies he was facing was the illusion, couldn't make sense of anything.
With a flash, Eliza appeared in front of him again, and sent a stream of lightning from her fingers towards him suddenly. With a cry he rolled to the right, and the lightning thudded into the ground next to him, the sparks jumping several feet along the ground.
Another flash, and Dark Link was charging at him now, bringing his sword down in a sweeping arc. Link tried to raise his sword to block the un-coming attack, but he was too slow, and he braced himself as the sword cut into him, waiting for the pain...only to feel nothing.
Dark Link's not here! So where am I? He thought wildly, spinning around to see Eliza once again, and now the witch was preparing another lightning bolt.
He charged at her, seeing no other course of action, and the witch released the lightning. It streaked towards him, and he swung his sword at it, hoping for the best. Lightning and sword connected, and Link was forced to let go of his weapon as a shocking sensation traveled up his arms.
Eliza laughed triumphantly, seeing him disarmed, and Link could do nothing but groggily sink to his knees on the floor. He naively hoped that this was just a dream and he would wake up unharmed, but he didn't think that was going to be the case, somehow.
Didn't I kill Eliza, anyway? He thought groggily, as the witch prepared the killing lightning bolt. Oh well, not that it matters; nothing here is making much sense.
A movement slightly behind him caught his eye, and he turned his head idly to see Dark Link come running at him once more, sword-in-hand. He's not real, he had to remind himself.
Dark Link reached him, Eliza let fly the lightning stream, and Link, his face already drawn into a wince, waited for a lot of pain. That's why he was surprised when Dark Link side-stepped in front of him, a silver shield raised, and blocked the bolt of lightning, which fizzled out upon hitting the shield.
Link looked up in confusion as Dark Link stood over him protectively, glaring at Eliza with feral intensity in his eyes.
Okay, now this is crazy.
Malon had watched helplessly as Eliza began to hurl lightning strikes at the disoriented Link. Climbing to her feet, she wanted to go to Link's aid somehow...but between the lightning crackling everywhere, and Link himself stabbing wildly with his sword, rolling and dodging, she couldn't see anyway to help Link without getting herself killed.
But then she was forced to act, as she watched as Link was disarmed and rendered helpless by a lightning bolt. Running towards her fallen friend, she could think of no other option to protect Link from another lightning attack, then to leap in front of his body, using her body as a shield in order to save him. She would die, but Link was far more important to Hyrule than she was.
She was almost alongside Link when she was surprised by the sight of someone else running next to her, and about to over-take her. She got a glimpse of black clothes before the person shoved her backwards, away from Link, causing her to fall back into the mud. She looked up in shock as the stranger jumped in front of Link, a shield at the ready, just in time to save him from the lightning Eliza had released.
The stranger turned his head towards Malon, and it was all she could do to stop herself gasping aloud in shock; the person looked exactly like Link! The only differences were that he had black hair instead of blonde, and red eyes instead of blue, and he was clad all in black.
Link's dead-ringer smirked at her, but his eyes also held a hint of apprehension.
"If I were you, girl, I'd get out of here." He advised her dryly.
As stunned as she was, it took her a few seconds to find any words. "I'm not leaving him." She finally said. She also wanted to ask him who-or what-he was, but thought better of it: now wasn't really the time for a conversation.
At her words, Link's look-a-like rolled his eyes in disgust. "Ugh, why are people always so damn loyal to him? Makes me sick."
Then why did you help him? What's going on? Malon's mind screamed, but she was prevented from voicing her questions as Eliza began to scream at Link's rescuer.
"What the hell are you doing? Move aside, you stupid servant, and let me finish him off!" She roared, turning red in the face.
The teenager did not budge. Meanwhile, Malon could see that Link was watching the scene unfold around him with a quizzical expression on his face.
"I was created to kill Link." The teenager spoke slowly. "That is my one and only purpose in life. Thus, I will not stand by and watch some lowly witch do my job for me."
That doesn't sound good, Malon thought. Obviously this guy doesn't have Link's best interest in mind. She looked around her, and saw that her crossbow was lying but a few feet away in the mud. She snatched it up, seeing that she only had a couple of bolts left. She readied the weapon, in case Link's "rescuer" suddenly turned on Link.
Eliza turned ever redder in the face. "What?!" She screamed, but then instead of flying into an even greater rage, she seemed to calm herself.
"Fine," she relented. "I won't kill him. I'm sure Ganondorf will still reward me appropriately if I allow you to finish off the brat. Go ahead, Dark Link." She sneered nastily.
Dark Link turned and examined Link, his eyes taking in the state of his body.
"Finish him off, like this?" He said, his lip curling up. He turned to Eliza. "Look at him. His body is torn, and his mind wanders. Killing him now would rob me of any sense of justified revenge. No. When I finally kill him, it will be after I take him down in a fair fight. That way I will prove my worth, my strength."
Malon could see that Eliza was struggling to keep herself from exploding. "You worthless-"she spluttered, and then stopped herself, shaking her head. "Okay, whatever. I won't kill him now, but you will hand him over to me. I'll throw him in the dungeon, and you can wait until the substance that is affecting his mind wears off, and then you can have your fight."
Dark Link barked out a laugh. "Where's the fun in that? Kill a cornered rat in a dungeon? I refuse. You will let Link go free today, and I will hunt him down for you and bring you his corpse."
Eliza's patience ran out. "You're insane!" She accused. She turned to face the waiting hordes of Redead. "All of you, attack the Hero and his friend! And kill the traitor along with them!"
As a group, the Redead sprang forward, moaning and drooling in blood-lust.
Malon scrambled to her feet, her crossbow in one hand, and with the other she pulled Link up from the ground.
Link groggily picked up the Master Sword, his eyes on the massing Redead.
"Too many," he said decisively. "Saria, I think I'll need all four bottles filled with fairies, thank you."
Poor Link, Malon thought sadly. We're going to die, and he won't even be able to understand what's happening.
Just then, Dark Link held up a hand. "Stop!" He commanded the monsters, and to Malon's amazement they all halted immediately.
"Don't listen to him! Kill them!" Eliza shrieked.
"This quarry is mine alone! You won't touch him!" Dark Link yelled, and the Redead all remained rooted to the spot, mumbling to themselves in confusion.
Eliza advanced on the three teenagers, quivering with rage. "I'll kill you myself, you reject of a spell!" She roared.
"Now you're talking!" Dark Link shot back defiantly.
Turning to Malon, he twirled his sword in one hand and hefted his shield up. "Girl, take pretty-boy here and get out while you can. I won't be able to hold her-or the Redead- back for long."
Malon nodded numbly, and grabbed Link by his free hand.
"Don't let him die! I will collect his soul myself!" Dark Link shouted after her, as she ran into the town, away from the clearing.
Before they were out of eye-shot, Malon turned her head to look behind her, and saw Dark Link running at Eliza, screaming a battle cry. Lightning, combatants and sword collided, but then the scene was lost to her as she rounded a building and concentrated on running.
"Why are we running?" Link asked her, panting as she dragged him along through the abandoned streets.
"Never you mind, just keep up!" She told him, trying to find the fastest route back to the entrance of the town.
A howling noise shook the air, and she turned around to see that a group of Redead were already hot on their pursuit, and were moving faster than the speed Redead normally moved at.
"Run! Faster!" She urged link, picking up her speed. She guessed that Dark Link wouldn't be able to control the Redead while fighting Eliza, and supposed that it wouldn't be long before all of the hundreds of Redead were pouring through the town.
Where there survivors left in the town? She thought. If there were, the Redead would massacre them all. But she hadn't seen a living soul on her way through the town when she first arrived, and she couldn't waste any time searching the ruined buildings for anyone.
The howling noise sounded again, and she looked over her shoulder to see with a shock that several Redead were only a few meters behind her and Link.
They're too fast! She thought wildly, and in her panic the hand holding Link's slipped, and Link suddenly turned left down a side street. The Redead all turned and went after Link.
"Link! Come back!" Malon screamed after him, but he kept running away, unhurriedly.
She was about to go after him when another Redead, coming out of the shadows, grabbed her arm, and a mouth full of teeth loomed towards her neck.
She screamed and jammed her crossbow into the creature's leathery neck, squeezing the trigger. The remaining bolts thudded into its skin, and the creature let go off her arm and reeled back with a horrifying scream that was echoed by other Redead near-by.
Malon turned right and ran down the nearest street, going blind in her terror. Behind her she could hear the sound of more Redead giving chase. At her side she carried the crossbow, now depleted of ammo.
Where do I run? What do I do? She thought desperately, her feet sliding in the mud as she ran.
"Link!" She cried out, close to tears. "Help me! Link!" She knew that, even if Link somehow did hear her, he was in no position to do anything to help her, and he was probably in greater danger than she was. But she just didn't know what else do to.
"Help!!"
At first Link was almost sure he was running to get to the Great Deku Tree, but now he suspected that wasn't the case. He found himself instead running down a narrow street, the rain thudding into the top of his head, and Redead were jumping out at him from every shadowy nook and cranny. He swung his sword left and right, cutting down two Redead which were leaping for his neck.
Stumbling around a corner, he failed to see another Redead coming for him, and the impact from the creature sent him falling through an open door and into a dark, dusty shop. The creature pinned him to the floor and sought to take a chunk out of his arm, but Link managed to slice off the top of its head before it could latch on to him.
The Redead fell back off him, and he scrambled up and threw the front door of the shop closed before any more monsters had the chance to run through the door-way. He slumped down on the floor with his back to the door, panting and gasping.
That was when he heard the voice cry out. "Help!!"
Malon! She was still out there, wasn't she?
He was about to make himself get up and run outside to help, when his mind threatened to drag him back into his past yet again.
He held his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. No! Stay here! Focus!
But it was useless, and in a few seconds his mind had drifted away again. He slumped forward onto the floor of the shop (he could see that it was a shop because of all the empty bottles stacked on shelves), and soon forgot about anything that was happening outside.
"This is a pretty nice swimming hole isn't it, Navi?" He spoke dreamily to the empty shop.
Outside, Redead hammered against the door and windows, growing in numbers as more and more joined in and added their weight to the attack.
"Look!" Navi said to him, floating over to a bottle half-full of a blue liquid which was lying next to the lake Link was swimming in.
Link shrugged his shoulders at the fairy. "So? Someone must have left that here." He said idly, trying to relax in the water.
"No, look Link!" Navi repeated, circling the bottle.
He frowned. "Navi, cut it out. I don't care."
Now the fairy rolled the bottle towards him. "Drink it, Link!" She commanded in her high-pitched, occasionally annoying voice.
"Drink that?" He mumbled into the floorboards of the shop. "No way, there's no telling what that could be."
The bottle rolled to a stop right next to his cheek.
"Please, Link. For me?" Navi pleaded.
She's acting weird today, Link thought, perplexed. The sounds of glass and wood breaking behind him went un-noticed.
He shrugged once more, taking the small bottle in his hand.
"Okay, okay. If it'll shut you up..." He groaned, and downed the liquid in one swallow.
He smacked his lips, staring at the bottle in his hand. There was writing on the side of the bottle: "Elixir". A cure-all.
"Hey, Navi, this is-" He began, looking up. But Navi wasn't there. Instead, he found himself in a darkened shop. Outside, the sound of rain and animal moans mingled together.
Navi had never been there, he realized. He had been hallucinating. He looked back down at the bottle. But my mind is clear now, he thought miraculously.
Strength returned to his body, as he finally found he could think straight once more. Picking up his sword, he stood slowly to face the door to the shop, which was splintering and bucking under the force of the Redead's assault.
The door burst open, and Redead swarmed into the shop. The first monster that rushed at Link was divided into two halves as the Master Sword swung through the air. The other Redead didn't fare much better.
The group of Redead all dealt with, Link walked to the exit of the house, carefully stepping over the bodies of the monsters, all sprawled over the floor.
Emerging from the desolate shop and back into the rain, Link turned and quickly examined the building. It was a potion shop, as he had expected.
That meant that the elixir he had drank must have been left behind by the owner of the shop accidentally.
He shook his head in wonderment. How lucky had he been to realize that he had to drink the potion to cure himself?
But it wasn't my idea to drink the potion, he answered himself. It was Navi's.
And that just raised more questions: had his subconscious been telling him to drink the potion, or had he just been extremely lucky that, in his delirium, he just happened to get the idea to drink it himself?
Or...(and here he shivered, and not because of the rain) had something more spiritual occurred? Navi was a fairy, after all. Was she somehow still watching over him, even in death? He shook his head again, shaking himself mentally. He wasn't sure where Navi was, or even if she was alive or dead. He just knew that what happened to Navi was his fault, and that he didn't want to think about it. Besides, this was hardly the time or the place...
A scream shook the air, causing his head to come up.
That sounded like Malon!
He took off at once, heading in the direction that the scream had come from.
"Malon!" He shouted, skidding around a corner and into an open plaza. "I'm coming!"
He spotted a bunch of Redead near a ruined fountain, and ran over to them, his sword at the ready. They all seemed pre-occupied with something, and were kneeling over something on the ground, biting and fighting each other for room to...
...feed...
As Link came closer to the scene his mind seemed to freeze, and the world moved into slow motion as he saw what the Redead were eating.
It only took a second for him to recognize Malon's crossbow lying in the mud next to the still figure of a person that the Redead were feeding on.
No
An overwhelming sickness filled his body, and he staggered in his step, coming closer to the carnage.
No no please no
He lifted the sword as one of the Redead turned its blood-stained mouth to him and shrieked in alarm.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" He screamed, his voice barely human.
He fell in among the creatures, swinging his sword wildly, cutting at anything he could reach.
A red mist enveloped his vision, and as more and more Redead fell by his sword, a couple of the creatures, shrieking in terror, actually started to run away from him in blind panic.
Link let them go, and fell to his knees next to the bloody corpse the Redead had left behind.
Maybe it's not her. Not Malon
He prayed that he had been mistaken in recognizing her body. Perhaps she had only dropped her crossbow here, and the Redead had been eating a large dog, or maybe even one of their own.
But it's human
He could tell, glancing at the body. He forced himself to look at the face, but it was mangled beyond any recognition.
It's a girl, oh no oh god it's a girl
Bile rose in his throat, and he scrambled away from the body on hands and knees quickly. Several meters away from the body he threw up explosively, retching and gagging. His throat burned painfully, and tears streamed now down his face.
After several minutes of sobbing and retching, he finally made himself wipe the throw-up from the corners of his mouth, and he rolled onto his back in the rain, his body exhausted from crying.
A body splashed into the mud next to him, gasping and reaching for him.
He cursed and sprang up to his hands and knees, scrambling forward in the mud towards his sword.
More Redead, well you'll pay. You filthy murderers
He heard more gasping, mixed with some other noise, and then the Redead was on his back, pulling him away from his sword.
"You'll die I'll kill you KILL YOU kill you" he shouted unintelligibly, straining forward against the weight of his attacker, even though he had spent most of his strength during his berserk attack against the Redead.
He suddenly realized that the other noise the Redead was making were from it sobbing.
Redead don't cry. He thought, confused.
He turned around quickly, and the Redead slid off his back to kneel before him in the mud.
Only, of course, it wasn't a Redead. He saw red hair, a round face wet with tears, and large blue eyes which held his own in them.
Malon?
"M-no, I-" he stammered, almost refusing to believe his eyes. What if he was seeing things again, and Malon was still dead? He couldn't deal with that added pain.
She threw her arms around him, pulled him in close, clutching him almost painfully tight.
"I'm here, Link." She whispered.
He clutched her back, a wonderful, impossible sense of relief filling his body.
I thought you were gone, he was about to say to her, when she spoke first.
"I'm sorry, Link. I'm so sorry, I couldn't do anything." Malon wailed, sobbing out of control.
Link's body froze. What was she saying?
"What?" He asked her stupidly, the sense of dread returning like a cold blanket over his body, chilling his bones.
Malon pulled away from him and placed her hands on both sides of his face, her eyes locked onto his.
"Listen to me, Link. Are you here, with me? Or are you still hallucinating?" She asked him, her voice imploring.
"I-I'm fine now," he managed to say. "What do you want to tell me? Who's body is that over there?"
Fresh tears spilled down Malon's cheeks.
"I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to me. She said she knew you, and wanted to find you and save you from the Redead...she ran away from me, Link! I ran after her, but then the Redead attacked us. I had no weapon! I got away, but she-" Malon broke down, sobbing hysterically.
Against his will, Link turned his head to look back at the body, lying in the rain and mud.
She had been eaten alive
He was in shock. He tried to shut out the image of the Redead feeding, but it kept returning fresh to his mind.
Malon tried to speak again, gulping noisily.
"She said...her name...Renna..." she sobbed, telling Link what he already knew.
Who else would have returned for him? He thought woodenly, staring into the distance as Malon cried loudly.
Anger filled him again. Why had she been so stupid? Why hadn't she stayed with the other villagers?
Because she wanted to save me. Malon must have told them what state I was in, so she wanted to bring me back herself.
He stood up quickly, startling Malon. Picking up the Master Sword, he wordlessly turned to face Hyrule Castle.
Malon scrambled up next to him.
"No, Link. Don't! She's gone. If you go back there, you'll die, do you hear me?" She shouted at him.
He remained expressionless.
She whirled him around with her hands roughly so he faced her.
"Listen! She died trying to save you. Don't throw that away! I know it hurts...I can hardly breathe myself. But we need to get to the drawbridge, now. The villagers are all there, and they can't get out, Link! They need you! I need you!" Malon cried, her tears flowing.
Before another word could be spoken, they both heard the cacophony of moans, and spinning around, they saw a huge group of Redead shuffle into the courtyard.
"We need to go, Link." Malon whispered to him. "Come on."
Link's eyes went back to Renna's husk of a body.
"I can't leave her like this. They'll eat her. She...deserves a burial, Malon..." He whispered painfully.
The Redead spotted the two of them, and sprang forward.
Malon placed her hand in Link's.
"There's n-no time. You know we wouldn't be able to carry her all the way back to the drawbridge and still be able to out-run those things...please...Link..." Malon begged him, not looking him in the eyes.
The only thing that persuaded Link to leave was the thought that he couldn't risk Malon's life for a
-a body-
he could barely even think the word.
Wordlessly he and Malon left the plaza at a run, hand-in-hand, and the only thing keeping them going was each other.
When they reached the area that lay just before the drawbridge, Link was surprised to see a group of wagons, all harnessed with horses, gathered around. The villagers-numbering far more now that the ex-prisoners had joined the Resistance-were all waiting nervously around.
"There you are!" A voice boomed out, making Link start.
Rupert jumped down from a wagon and jogged over to Malon and him, a nervous grin on his bearded face.
"We were starting to get really worried," Rupert admitted. "For your safety, of course, but also because-well, take a look at that." He said, indicating the exit to the town.
Link looked, and saw the reason why the villagers couldn't simply drive out of the town: even while the drawbridge was down and the way was technically clear, there was also a shimmering, mostly transparent red field of energy blocking the way.
"A barrier?" Link guessed. His voice still felt raw and scratchy from crying, and he was also feeling very confused from Rupert's behaviour. The man, while looking anxious, seemed otherwise fine.
But shouldn't he be asking where Renna was? Didn't he see her when she led the prisoners to the Resistance? He would have been shocked to find that she was alive, and now should have been worried to see that she hadn't returned from the town.
"Yep, that's exactly what it is." Rupert answered, breaking through his thoughts. "I guess Ganondorf and his men don't want us going anywhere. We've tried everything we can think of, but we can't get through. Heck, we can't even dent it. That's why I was sort of waiting on your return, hoping you had some way to get us out."
Link nodded, feeling numb. He licked his lips nervously.
"I'll get on it. Give me a second, though." He muttered.
Rupert gave him a concerned look. "That's fine," he said. "But you might want to hurry, because at the moment we're trapped between that barrier and the on-coming Redead."
Link nodded again, and then turned and took Malon to one side, away from Rupert's hearing.
"Why isn't he worried about Renna?" He asked her. "He's her father! When you came here, did she say anything about meeting with him or anything?"
Malon shook her head firmly. "Link, I never got as far as this. When I met that girl she was already coming back through the town, looking for you."
Link frowned, the huge sadness returning. I guess she didn't see her father when she led the prisoners here. He thought. But, after how things turned out, maybe it was better that she hadn't seen him. He obviously doesn't know that she had still been alive, so he's been spared the pain of losing her again.
From the town, near-by, he heard the terribly cry of the Redead. The villagers all started talking loudly, sobbing and panicking.
"Come on," he told Malon, taking her hand and leading her into the middle of the wagons. Rupert followed them, nervously looking behind his shoulder at the shadowy buildings of the town.
"Make sure all the wagons and villagers are ready to go," Link warned Rupert. "I don't know if I'll be able to get through the barrier: all I can think of is to try attacking it with the Master Sword. If I can't get though...then I don't know what will happen."
Rupert nodded, and issued commands to the villagers.
Suddenly Link remembered something important, his heart jumping wildly.
"Wait! I've forgotten Epona! My horse!" He cried in despair. The last time he saw her, she had been in a stable in the town.
Rupert chuckled. "Don't worry, we got her. She's leading a wagon over there," he said, indicating to his right.
Link almost fainted with relief.
"Oh, what about Scray?" He asked worriedly. "He was unconscious when I last saw him..."
Rupert nodded his head. "Yeah, we had to carry him out here. He's in the back of the same wagon that Epona is leading, so don't worry."
Link turned to Malon. "You have to get in a wagon-Epona's wagon, if you want-because we need to be ready to bolt as soon as that barrier goes down."
If it goes down, he thought miserably to himself.
The sound of the Redead coming closer filled his ears, so Malon didn't argue with him. She just nodded, hugged him, and ran off to the wagon.
Link turned and ran at the barrier blocking the exit, and at the same time behind him he heard the sounds of the Redead catching up to the wagons. People started to scream shrilly, and the horses kicked and reared.
If this doesn't work, we're all dead. Link thought, bringing the Master Sword down in a sweeping arc against the barrier.
The barrier held, and the screams behind Link intensified.
Defeat gripped him. He had failed everyone.
He couldn't turn around. He didn't have the courage to watch the massacre.
Futilely, he used all his remaining strength to slam the sword into the barrier again...and it shattered.
He turned, exalted, and screamed, "It's down! GO!"
He didn't have to repeat himself.
Whips were cracked in unison, and the horses sprang forward in terror, pulling the wagons behind them, the villagers all holding on for their lives.
Link quickly realized he had a problem: he was standing directly in the path of the on-coming wagons.
With a cry he rolled to the side as the first of the wagons thundered past him. He stood shakily to one side as the rest of the wagons-they numbered around ten-rushed past him, and then turned to make sure that everyone had left the clearing.
Only, when he looked back, there wasn't really a clearing left. The whole area was swarming with Redead, and with a shock he realized that they were all heading towards him, the only one left.
"Link!" He heard Malon scream frantically.
Turning, he ran through the exit of the town and across the drawbridge, panting and gasping from the effort. Behind him, hordes of Redead wailed after him hungrily, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
Ahead of him, one of the wagons had braked and was waiting for him. He could see Malon in the back under the covered tarp, holding out a hand to him and calling his name.
At the last moment he almost fell, but fear kept him going, and suddenly he found himself within an arm's reach of Malon. He reached out his hand, grabbed hers, and jumped up into the back of the wagon, the high tarp above him covering him from the rain.
"Go!" Malon screamed at whoever was driving the wagon, and they leapt forward, just before the Redead could grab a hold of the back of the carriage and pull themselves up.
Link sank onto the floor of the wagon, his breath coming out in painful wheezes, as their wagon thundered down the cobblestone path, away from what was left of Hyrule Castle Town.
Eliza could hardly believe her ears when a scout reported that, inexplicably, all of the Resistance and the prisoners, along with Link, had escaped the town.
"Th-The barrier just wasn't built to withstand an attack from the Master Sword," the scout said, trembling before the witch's fury.
"Is Ganondorf still away from the castle?" She asked the soldier, her eyes closed.
"Yes mistress."
"Good. He is not to hear of this, understood? Order your men to keep their mouths shut. In the mean-time, I shall rectify the mistake and bring Link back to the castle, alive or dead."
The soldier saluted and hurried away, and Eliza, gritting her teeth, held a hand over a nasty cut in her upper arm.
Dark Link had gotten off some good attacks, the stupid dead fool. She only wished she could have been there to see the Redead tear him to pieces.
Sweeping her cape behind her, she turned to walk back to the castle and begin preparations to go after Link again herself.
In the wagon, Link struggled to keep his mind off Renna; the pain was too great.
Near the front of the driver's carriage, which was hidden from his view by the tarp that covered the back of the wagon, lay Scray, stretched out on a make-shift bed.
The young soldier was breathing easily, and a healthy glow had returned to his cheeks, he was relieved to see.
"Link?" Malon asked, tentatively.
"Hmm?" Link said, but didn't look at her.
"You can let go of your sword now." She said softly.
He looked down and realized that his hand was still curled tightly around the hilt of the sword.
"Oh. Sorry." He mumbled, but didn't let go of the sword.
Malon eased his fingers off the hilt with her hand, setting the sword down on the floor of the wagon next to him.
She moved close to him and began to softly kiss his cheek, his forehead, his mouth.
After a minute she stopped, and gently eased his body into a lying position. She lay next to him and put her arm around his body, and lay still.
Link was glad. The kisses had felt wonderful, but his mind was a mess. He wouldn't have been able to return her affections; not right now.
"I'm here for you, okay Link?" Malon whispered. "As a friend, or as...whatever. I need you now, and I'm not leaving you to suffer through this alone."
They lay in silence, and Link listened to the soft rumbling of the wagon's wheels as they traveled over a grassy area.
"Thank you, Malon." He finally whispered.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the warmth and protection of Malon's body next to his. Somehow, he began to drift away to sleep, even with Renna's image in his mind.
Dark Link lay motionless, struggling to breathe. He could feel that his wounds were severe-Eliza had fought with animal intensity, and he had barely been able to escape from her at the end. He could swear that his hair was standing on end, from all the lightning that bitch had managed to throw at him.
He needed to scratch his nose so badly, but with his face almost entirely covered with bandages, it was hard to scratch the itch.
Next to him, a middle-aged woman held his hand reassuringly, smiling down at him.
"It's okay now, dear. We'll soon be safe again!" She breathed happily.
He forced himself to smile up at her, the skin around his eyes crinkling slightly.
"Praise the goddess!" He sang. "We are truly blessed."
The woman nodded happily, and turned away from him to talk to another villager.
The smile instantly vanished from his face.
Stupid woman.
After the battle with Eliza he had been chased through the town by the Redead, who were beyond his control in his weakened state. He had thought he was done for, when miraculously he had stumbled upon the Resistance members...and the waiting wagons.
After that it was just a matter of disguising his face and pulling himself up into the back of one of the wagons. Of course, no-one noticed the addition to their ranks, and no-one ever saw his face.
He fingered the edge of his sword which he had hidden underneath his body. Thanks for getting me out of that mess, Link. He thought. I knew you could do it. But I think you'll be very surprised when you feel my blade against your throat in a few days' time. The thought made him grin.
Now, if only this damn woman would leave me be, he thought grumpily.
His body rocked as the wagon headed towards Kakariko Village, situated in the middle of the line of wagons in the night, slowly heading towards safety.
So much happened in this chapter, and it was particularly gloomy, I suppose you could say. I would definitely label this particular chapter as a "horror" bit to the story.
I tried to include a few mildly funny parts, to offset the death. When Link is delirious, I made a joke about him needing "all his bottles filled with fairies". Anyone who has played the games should know what this means: the fairies bring you back to life in the game, obviously.
Also, the reason I don't have fairies in bottles in the actual story is that it would be a bit...unfair to have Link carry around life-insurance with him, and it would take away part of the suspense. If Link could just use a fairy whenever he wanted, no-one would ever die!
I even had him mention "Saria", and I hope I got the spelling for her name right. I'm pretty sure I do, but am too lazy to check.
I really enjoyed writing the parts where Link was hallucinating, and it was nice to write about Navi some more. Some people have asked if I will ever explain what happened to Navi, and the answer is, of course I will.
What I didn't enjoy was writing about Renna's death. It wasn't a pleasant part of the story, and I hope I didn't upset or put off any of my readers.
Oh yeah, and I should also mention that I broke away from conventional sentence structure for some parts of the chapter, particularly when Link sees the body. I wanted to portray the way Link's mind was working as the scene unfolded...any writing that is in "italics", as most people should know, usually indicates someone's thoughts.
Writing the scene, I thought that a lot of readers would automatically think "oh, that's not going to be Malon's body-just because her crossbow is there it doesn't mean that it's her", and then you would expect the body to belong to some minor character and it be a huge relief to Link...then I wanted to hit Link with the fact that it wasn't Malon's body, but-and almost just as bad-it was Renna. So the relief was quickly followed with just as much dread.
Phew.
In the reviews, a few people have pointed out that Link is left-handed. I think I forgot that fact when I started writing this story, so in earlier chapters there will be some mistakes about that. But now, when Link is fighting, you should assume that he is using his left hand mostly. I kind of picture Link as ambidextrous, anyway.
I can't predict when the next chapter will be up, because of the holidays and stuff, but I will say I will get it up as soon as I can, and that it will be a lot lighter then this one was. I hate to leave you guys for the holiday season with such a gloomy chapter! Oh well.
Finally, thanks to everyone who reads this story, who leaves reviews, who encourages me to continue writing it. I haven't been replying personally to the reviews lately because of my busy schedule, but I read them all closely, and some of your comments are really insightful! So keep them coming, especially for this chapter. I want to know what you think of it especially...
Anyway, I'm off. As always, sorry for rambling so much. Happy holidays!