Inspirations: "First Knight" with Richard Gere and Sean Connery, the "amakakeru ryu no hirameki" from Ruroni Kenshin, and the seven skills of Link from The Hero's Shade in "Twilight Princess".
Original Shout Outs: Opportunity Only & Vivi.
New Shout Out: Shioran Toushin thanks for reading new reader.
Author Note: Reddited 4/21/2013: Thank you all for reading. Only one more to go! ~ZR~.
The Engagement Party: Part 2
Chapter 23
Zelda froze in her seat, terrified with fear, as she stared into Zant's eyes. The three pieced Fused Shadow swirled through the air in a deadly aerial cadence before it came forcefully back down towards Zant. The armor attached itself to Zant's body, and a golden brown light iridized around him when the transformation was complete. I quickly got in front of the princess and initiated my battle stance. I looked past Zant searching for the captain of the guard, needing him desperately to start evacuating the citizens. However, I found Daphnes coming up the stairs instead. I was uncertain with that.
What is he planning to do? I wondered impatiently. Now is not the time for anymore surprises.
Daphnes was holding his Estramacon and pointing it at Zant. My eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of that.
Don't be presumptuous Daphnes, I thought, this involves more than just you.
"This ends today you belated vagrant," the king said to Zant.
Zant turned his attention away briefly from Zelda and me, and looked at the king. "Well, well, well if it isn't my treacherous old nephew," he said with a smile.
Zant's words immediately got a reaction from the crowd. The room began droning with auspicious muttering.
"Nephew?" one man whispered to another. "What in the world is he talking about?"
"How is that even possible?" the other replied. "This man isn't even Hylian. He isn't any race that I've ever seen before."
"This... this thing is obviously mad," a woman whispered to her friend, "it absolutely makes no sense."
Zant merely smirked at the murmuring. It seemed to be pleasing to him.
The more discord the better, I couldn't help but think, this is going to get ugly fast.
"'Thing' huh?" I heard Zant mutter to himself. The mask was covering his face, so I couldn't get a read on his expression.
I looked beyond the intended usurper to find the captain. I wished beyond anything to get the citizens out of the hall. Zant was going to be merciless.
Where in the hell is he? I wondered slightly upset. This is no time for hiding!
It was no use, I couldn't see him anywhere.
"Looks like you've kept your people in the dark to the truth," Zant was saying to the king, shaking his head.
Daphnes narrowed his eyes at the Twili.
"The people of Hyrule are keen individuals, and can see through treachery," Daphnes replied.
I raised my eyebrows furtively when Daphnes said that. I had to give the king credit, that was a clever way to turn the tables on the truth, the real truth. With the way he worded that statement, he made it seem like Zant was the only crazy deviant between the two of them.
Daphnes you are an adroit bastard, I thought with an unorthodox sense of admiration, I guess it takes that to be the king of Hyrule.
Even still, it was my job to protect the royal family. There was no way I was going to stand there and let the king fight when his safety was my priority.
"Sire," I said, wanting to segue in, already knowing Zant's fighting style, "allow me."
However, Daphnes shook his head no.
"Not this time," he said to me seriously.
I looked at Daphnes surprised.
This is no time for vendettas and altruistic heroics, I thought, Zant will kill you Daphnes.
I couldn't let that slide.
"Sire I must protest, this is no-" I tried.
"Silence!" Daphnes interrupted me, giving me a look of warning.
The king wasn't kidding.
Damn it! I thought angrily. How in the hell can he defend against Zant's Gatotsu? He fences for Hylia's sake!
I stood down at Daphnes' wishes and scanned the crowd for the captain once more. There was still no sign of him.
Where the hell is he? I thought.
I scanned the crowd twice and didn't find him.
Now is not the time for hide and goddamn seek! I thought in irritation.
Meanwhile, Daphnes raised his sword initiating his guard stance, and surprisingly so did Zant. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I didn't want the citizens to see their king fight and possibly be killed. However, as I studied Zant's stance I was abruptly taken aback and quickly went to protect Zelda. The Twili wasn't initiating the Gatotsou, his battle stance was the same as the king's. The usurper was engaged in the style of fencing.
He's going to beat Daphnes using his own technique, I thought, hating having to doubt the king at such a pivotal moment.
I sighed as I pulled Zelda close to me, realizing there was more than one royal to protect. I took her and hid her behind the thrones.
How many fighting styles does Zant know? I thought in mild disbelief.
Zelda clung to me in fear. "What is that thing he's using?" she asked.
I took in a deep breath.
"Something called the Fused Shadow," I said, "I don't know how much stronger he'll be with it, he was already strong without it."
I saw the concern cross Zelda's face when I uttered that.
"You think father is way in over his head, don't you?" she asked.
Yes, I thought, but didn't share my thoughts.
"Your father knows his craft well, " I stated, "but I don't plan on letting him fight this psychopath alone."
Zelda searched my face hopefully just then.
"Link, there's something I need to tell you about why father insisted on the crowd, he told me this morning that-" she tried, but I interrupted her, at that moment I didn't care.
"I want you to make a run for the counsel room as soon as you get the opportunity," I ordered, "your safety is too important."
Zelda stared into my eyes for a moment.
"Link please..." she trailed.
I didn't have time to worry on that, whatever it was was going to have to be privy to me later.
Not now Zelda, I thought.
"I need for you to go," I insisted, "you're too precious to the country."
Zelda pursed her lips together and nodded finally.
"Alright," she said, "but in the end I hope you truly understand my father's actions. I too thought it was madness, but he really does love his people. I'll try and take some of the citizens with me as I go."
Right now, I couldn't see what she was seeing, especially with the erroneous actions of Daphnes of late. Even still, I was going to keep an open mind. Zelda wasn't a treacherous person to put people's lives endanger. If she said she knew the truth about her father's actions, then I believed her. There was no sense in doubting her now.
I nodded at her words.
"Try to be inconspicuous," I said to her, "stealth reconnaissance must be a priority. Think back to your Sheik days. If you can't take anyone with you, don't. I'll alert the guards to evacuate the people."
Zelda tried to smirk and nodded again.
"Okay," she said, swallowing hard, "thank you so much for still caring."
I stared into her eyes, took her in my arms, and gave her a tight secure hug.
"It's going to be okay," I reassured, "Zant won't win, you and I both are going to live through this."
Zelda hugged me back, then pulled away to stare into my eyes once more.
"I know," she replied, then impulsively came close and kissed my mouth.
I let her, I knew it was comforting to her.
"I love you," she whispered when she pulled away.
I tried to smile and nodded.
"I know," I said.
"Please be careful," she said with a slightly broken voice.
I nodded again
"I will," I said, "now go."
Zelda obeyed, and I watched as she crawl to the north entrance doors. I nodded towards one of the guards in the vicinity who was alerted to the sudden disturbance. He knew exactly what to do when he opened the door, and readied himself to protect the princess.
That's one problem rectified, I thought.
Once the princess was safely out of harm's way, I stood back up and went back around to see Daphnes and Zant already engaged in combat. I stayed my ground like Daphnes wanted, but if I saw him begin to lose, I was going to intervene whether he wanted me to or not.
I'm not going to let the citizens of this country watch their king be killed due to his own beguiled arrogance, I thought, no matter how much he may deserve it.
"It looks like you've been practicing nephew," Zant said, as he tried striking Daphnes in his guard stance.
Daphnes narrowed his eyes at the Twili.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time Zant," he replied.
Zant side stepped twice and lunged at the king. Daphnes momentarily lost his stance but quickly stood up and reengaged him.
"Not nearly as long as I have," Zant said, losing some of the nuance in his voice, then lunged at the king again.
Daphnes lost his footing again and nearly fell.
Oh crap, I thought.
It took everything in me not to intervene.
"Sire!" I heard a man cry out.
Come on Daphnes, I thought, I know you have more in you than that.
"Your majesty!" another woman cried out worried.
I swallowed hard, feeling sweat seed at my brow. The pressure was incredible. I didn't know how much longer I could just stand there and watch.
Just don't teleport, I begged in my head, seeing that Zant clearly had the upper hand in this fight, just teleport over to me and fight me you Twili bastard.
As if knowing my thoughts, Zant quickly vanished out of the way of Daphnes' passing strike attack. I looked around the area quickly for him.
Damn! I thought, placing my hand on the tanged butt of my sword. Where is he?
Zant reappeared behind the king, and that was when I knew he was going to try and kill him. I immediately jumped behind Daphnes and countered Zant's attack. Sparks of light emitted from my sword when it came in contact with his, and when I parried and pierced Zant's flesh, his skin started to disappear.
"Ahhh!" he screamed in pain. Zant stumbled back and looked at me bewildered for a moment. "What in the...?" he trailed bewildered by my sword's mechanism.
So, it does work, I thought, reinitiating my battle stance.
Daphnes quickly reengaged his stance as well.
Not now Daphnes, I thought, just stand back.
"Where the hell did you find that?" I heard Zant mutter of my blade.
Daphnes was breathing hard, but still held up his sword. He was in no condition to fight.
Stand down Daphnes, I thought with growing impatience, this is no place for a rusty swordsman.
"I've got this your majesty," I said to the king, seriously wanting him to stop his engagement.
Daphnes glared at me for a moment.
"I told you not to interfere," he growled at me keeping his voice low.
I took in a deep breath.
Let your arrogance go Daphnes, I thought.
"I'm afraid I can't do that sire," I said, "you know as well I do that I'm the only one who can defeat him."
Daphnes narrowed his eyes at me slightly. "Not the only one master Link," he said more to himself than to me, "but you indeed are the most important one."
I was slightly puzzled by that, but didn't let it show.
What is he talking about? I thought.
Zant narrowed his eyes at me when he heard me say that. "Oh really?" he threatened.
"Yes," I replied, gripping my blade, "really."
My words seemed to upset him.
"You really are an arrogant leech!" Zant seethed to me angrily.
The crowd was watching my and Zant's every move. This would have been the perfect time for the citizens to break free, but the people seemed frozen with fear. The tension in the air was palpable. The reverberations from that intensity could have imploded the room. I scanned the room once more in my periphery. I saw some of the soldiers, breaking rank and commencing with evacuation measures. They were trying to be discreet so as not to garner Zant's attention. I finally caught sight of the captain. He was using four men to slowly gather people and direct them towards the basement. There was no telling when he was going to open the portals and summon his Shadow Beast army.
I took in a small sigh of relief.
It's about time, I thought, I have to keep his attention diverted.
In the meantime, a little girl about several feet away began crying from the tension being exerted off everyone.
"Mommy I want to go home!" she cried out suddenly.
The little girl's mother quickly went to comfort her child. In all honesty, the child's cry was probably the worst thing that could happen right now.
That's what he wants, I thought, wishing I could silence her, to feed off their fear.
"Shh… I know honey," her mother soothed, "I know."
She caressed a hand through her daughter's hair and held her close to her. Zant turned his head slightly at the sight and smirked at the people's over all terror. I knew he was planning to use that to his advantage. It seemed that Zant reasoned that since he knew he couldn't attack me head on, he would have to count on using the people as a bargaining chip. He was stalling, trying to find a segue.
This is why I wanted to avoid having civilians here, I thought frustrated, not being able to see what Daphnes or Zelda meant.
"Did you hear that sir knight?" Zant asked me all of a sudden. "Did you hear the little girl's cry for help?"
I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't answer. I knew he was trying to distract me, but it wasn't going to work. Whatever he had planning was based off the methods of lunacy. He was using his inquiries to buy time, but for what was the question.
What is he waiting for? I wondered suddenly. Where are all those ruffians I saw at the tavern? Zant didn't just create all those portals simply for decoration, and I know whatever it is he has planned he only has limited time to execute it.
The two hour time frame was well into its initiation.
"Don't involve any of them," I said to him, "this is between you and me."
Zant scoffed and shook his head, then abruptly teleported from in front of me. It took me a moment to realize where he had gone, until I saw him in the crowd at ground level. A zone of demarcation was quickly made as the people hurried to scramble away from him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the captain evacuate several more people.
He's doing the best that he can, I thought.
"You and your silly white knight heroics," Zant said, getting my attention once more.
I felt my eyes widen when I saw Zant had taken capture of the little girl who cried out from her mother.
Dear Farore, I thought.
"Mommy!" the little girl screeched in terror.
"Lena!" her mother screamed back, trying to pry her child from Zant's grip. "Please! Let her go!"
Zant back handed the woman to the floor and pulled out a dagger, he then pressed the blade against the little girl's throat. Everyone in the crowd gasped and backed away.
Now he's using underhanded hostage tricks, I thought.
"Ah, ah, ah mommy dearest," Zant threatened in a twisted undertone, "if you value your daughter's life you'll back off and listen to what I have to say."
The woman was staring at Zant in sheer horror and began to tremble.
"L-Lena!" the mother stuttered terrified.
Zant raised his eyebrows and gave her a direct look.
"Did you hear what I said?" he asked the woman again.
The woman nodded immediately.
"A-anything," she stammered, "just don't h-hurt my b-baby!"
My breath accelerated when I saw the child's capture and quickly went after her. Zant smirked at the woman, then turned to me, seeing me hurry down the steps towards him.
"Careful now sir knight," he said to me pressing the blade firmly against the girl's throat, "we wouldn't want a repeat of Lake Hylia."
I slowed my advance when he said that. I knew he would kill her if I came any closer. I was only a few feet in front of him when I stopped in my tracks. I swallowed hard when I realized the apt danger his hostage was under.
"Let her go Zant," I said, trying to reason with him, "you don't want to hurt an innocent child."
Zant looked at me surprised.
"I don't?" he said, pretending to be confused, then turned the child around to face him.
The little girl stared at Zant with a tear stricken face.
"What's your name little girl?" he asked her quietly.
The little girl trembled at his voice.
"L-Lena," she replied in a broken voice.
Zant smiled at the child.
"Are you scared Lena?" he asked in a low voice.
The child swallowed hard and nodded.
Zant narrowed his eyes and smirked.
"Do you think someone is going to hurt you?" he asked the little girl.
It took everything in me to remain calm.
This sick bastard, I thought repulsed.
I took a step toward Zant, trying to be subtle with my actions.
Zant saw that and darted his eyes towards me.
"Watch… your… feet," he threatened, "you might make me slip and cut this child's throat.
When the little girl heard that, her little body began to quake with fear. I stopped moving and felt my heart accelerate even faster now. I had to remain calm for the sake of the child.
Don't be presumptuous, I told myself, if you do she will die.
Zant returned his attention back to his hostage.
"Now, I'm going to ask you again without any interruptions," he said to the little girl, but then looked at her mother then to me, "right?"
The child's mother quickly nodded.
Zant shot his eyes in my direction.
I looked at the terrified little girl.
"You have my word," I said.
This deviant, I thought.
Zant grinned at my answer, then turned his attention back to the little girl. "Do you think someone is going to hurt you?"
The little girl's lips quivered and she nodded her reply.
Zant smiled at her.
"Who do you think would hurt you?" he asked menacingly.
The child started hyperventilating.
"Y-you!" she cried out in fear.
Zant stared in the little girl's eyes.
"Yes," he whispered to her, "yes my dear, I would. I would punish you... severely."
The little girl's eyes filled with tears. Her mother couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"Please," the mother begged, "take me instead!"
Zant averted his eyes back to the woman.
"If you interfere one more time, I promise you I'll kill her," he warned the woman.
The woman's breath seemed to be caught in her throat, but she nodded her obedience.
I swallowed hard and spotted the captain trying to calm some people down by the south gate. He cleared out a considerable number of people to the basement, while at the same time circumventing soldiers from the outside back in. He was keeping this maneuvers as low profile as he could.
He must've gone over all these secondary plans with Daphnes, I thought relieved.
When the captain caught my eye, I nodded for him to see that I recognized what he was doing. He nodded back and immediately went to alerted the others of his team that I was in the know.
"You see," Zant continued to Lena, "the great knight you all have so much respect for needs to be taught a lesson. Do you know what that lesson is Lena?"
The little girl quickly shook her head no. "I don't know what you mean."
Zant stared into her eyes. "Yes, you do."
The little girl swallowed hard and said, "But Sir Link is a good man."
Zant narrowed his eyes and smirked at her response.
"Yes, my dear Lena," he replied, "you are right he is a good man, but he's also an arrogant man. He's a deceitful man."
I raised an eyebrow when he said that.
What the hell is he talking about? I wondered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Prince Tidus conferring with Prince Leonhart.
Whatever it is they're planning, I hope they make it subtle, I thought.
"You see," Zant went on, "he just alerted his guard to evacuate all these people, and didn't think I would notice."
Damn it! I thought. I shouldn't have looked at him.
The little girl tried to be stoic, but she immediately broke into tears.
"W-what's wrong with that?" she sobbed helplessly.
Zant suddenly dropped the smile from his face, and tightly gripped the collar of the little girl's dress.
"I'll tell you what's wrong with that!" he yelled at the child suddenly, then began shaking her in a violent manner. "It means that bastard doesn't value your life!"
Everyone in the crowd collectively gasped at Zant's actions. The little girl screamed and her mother lunged for her. I quickly sprung to action at the raising of Zant's voice. Zant quickly teleported with the child and ended up behind her mother. He then plunged the dagger into the woman's back.
"Ah!" the woman cried out in pain.
"Mommy!" the little girl screamed in terror.
"I told you there would be consequences if you made another move!" Zant whispered to the woman as she collapsed to the floor.
I jumped for Zant while his attention was averted and went to strike his hand to release the little girl. Unfortunately, his grip was pretty tight and he strong armed me off him. I stumbled back and looked at him slightly confused.
It's just as I thought, I pondered, that Fused Shadow makes him stronger.
Zant narrowed his eyes at me and put the bloody dagger back to the girl's throat. The child was inconsolable, she was more worried about her mother's welfare than her own.
"Mommy! Mommy!" she screamed repeatedly.
Zant turned the child around to face him.
"Shut up!" he screamed in her face.
The young girl's mother turned her head around and looked at her terrified daughter. She tried to reassure her she was okay.
"It's okay Lena," she said to her, "mommy's alright."
I could see that the woman was bleeding profusely.
You won't be if you don't get some medical attention soon, I thought.
"Let me get this woman out of here Zant," I said, trying to bargain. "You and I will duke it out, but she needs a doctor now."
The crowd was watching in quiet disbelief, until finally one man spoke out.
"I'm an orthopedic surgeon," he said, pushing his way through the crowd and making his appearance to the clearing. "Let me patch this woman up, she is innocent in this affair."
I looked over at the doctor, then back to Zant.
"Do it Zant," I said, "these people have nothing to do with this."
Zant took in a deep auspicious breath and growled irritably.
"You see that is where you Hylians have it all wrong," he said upset, now taking the little girl by the neck and choking her, "you think everything is based off of guilt or innocence."
My eyes widened in shock when I saw what he was doing. The child was gasping for air and her face was turning blue.
"Zant!" I said in panic. "Stop this madness!"
"Do you think I care about this child's innocence?" he snapped at me angrily, he then turned to the doctor. "Do you think I give a damn about this woman's innocence?"
He's going to kill her! I thought.
All of a sudden, I saw some rustling movement in the crowd behind Zant, and then a flash of yellow and red flip over him. A young woman with green hair and a clown's body suit struck Zant's arm releasing the little girl he had in his capture.
It was Saria.
Zant stumbled and lost his center of gravity for a moment, and when he saw, Saria he narrowed his eyes angrily.
"You!" he growled.
Saria got into her fighting stance with the dagger she stole from Zant's grip. She was quick.
"Yeah," she replied to him, "me."
Oddly enough, Zant smiled slyly when he saw her.
"I'm actually glad you're here," Zant said to her, "you were just who I was waiting for. I still have a use for you!"
Oh no! I thought, feeling my heart accelerate.
I turned to Saria immediately.
"Get out of here!" I warned. "Now!"
Saria looked at me confused. "What?"
I had no time to explain.
The mother quickly grabbed her daughter and scrambled into the arms of the doctor, who was gesturing for her to come to him. In the mean time, the rest of the crowd was looking in bewilderment at who Saria was.
"Isn't that one of the acrobats?" a man asked his wife from the crowd.
"I think so," she replied, "what happened to her black hair?"
"Wait a minute…" another woman trailed, "isn't that the seamstress that used to live in Kakariko Village?"
"Dear goddesses, I think that is her," another woman confirmed, "she joined the circus?"
"Hey, don't knock it," a man stated, "times are hard."
"I didn't know she could fight," another man said.
There are a lot of things about this woman you people don't know, I thought.
I swallowed hard and immediately got into my battle stance. I stood in front of Saria.
"I'll take it from here," I said to Saria, wanting her to seriously get away from there, "I want you to leave."
Please don't fight me on this one Sar, I begged in my head, he will kill you if he gets the opportunity.
Saria didn't budge.
"With all due respect Sir Link," she said to me, "Zant and I have a score to settle."
I turned my head to look at her in my periphery.
"I said get out of here!" I replied, not in the mood to fight. "Now!"
Before she could reply, Zant raised his fist in the air and suddenly Saria's voice got caught in her throat; she couldn't speak.
I felt my eyes widen.
What the-? I thought in panic.
"Saria?" I demanded, wanting to know what was wrong.
Saria's body suddenly levitated above the crowd, until her body was almost touching the ceiling.
"Oh dear Hylia!" a woman cried out. "That poor girl!"
No! I thought, feeling my panic swell inside me. No!
I looked back over at Zant and narrowed my eyes at him.
"Let her go," I said in warning.
Zant smiled at me with a knowing wicked grin.
"Would you honestly want me to do that with her floating in the air like that?" he asked me with mordant logic. "Unless... you want her to die."
"You know what I mean you perverted deviant!" I snapped angrily. "Release her from your spell!"
Zant smirked at me with inconsequential defiance.
"That's right, you are in love with this woman aren't you?" he divulged in apt aberrance.
There was another collective gasp from the audience when Zant revealed that.
"What is he talking about?" I heard a woman whisper to another.
"I have no idea," the other replied.
"But… but he's engaged to the princess," I heard a little boy say, "isn't he?"
"Yes," his mother replied, "that madman is only saying that to get to Sir Link."
"I don't know…" another man trailed cynically, suddenly, "that is the seamstress, and there were those rumors about the two of them..."
The crowd continued to drone with confusion and speculation.
I ignored all the chatter.
"Let her go," I repeated to Zant.
Zant tightened his grip in his fist.
"Why should I?" he asked me. "She betrayed me and was nothing but a mere spy. Why should I let her go?"
I gripped my blade and stared him straight in his eyes.
"Because your fight is with me!" I replied, wanting desperately to get Saria out of there.
Zant smiled smugly at me.
"There you go again with your clichéd lines and your silly sense of justice," Zant said to me, then initiated the stance of aku soku zan. "You want to know what real justice is sir knight?"
However, strangely enough, Zant didn't get into his Gatotsu formation.
What the hell is he doing? I thought.
"There's only one sense of justice," Zant continued levitating Saria's body higher, until she was literally touching the ceiling.
I broke from my formation slightly and looked up at her body. Her eyes were closed and her head was hanging low.
Just hang in there, I thought, trying to stay calm, don't die on me.
"And that justice must be administered swiftly," Zant went on squeezing his fist tighter, "Aku."
Saria all of a sudden cried out in pain.
"Ah!" she screamed.
What the-? I thought.
"Quickly," Zant went on calmly and squeezed his fist again, "Soku."
Saria screamed louder, but her body began to cast iridized golden brown light.
What the hell? I thought, looking at the light. That's twilight coming out of her body!
"And without mercy," Zant concluded, squeezing his fist even tighter, "Zan."
Saria screamed in agony once more.
"Ahhh!" her voice careened through the hall like a tortured tekkite.
He's taking all the composited energy out of her body! I thought. That's why he stalled! He was waiting for her to make her appearance to create another portal in this room! If this keeps up she could die!
A huge diffraction of light quanta particles protruded from Saria's now limp body before gravity took its toll.
"You wanted me to let her go sir knight," Zant said, looking me straight in the eyes, "so now I've let her go."
She's going to die if I don't catch her! I thought in slight panic, getting out of my stance and readying myself to catch her.
However, before I had a chance to react Prince Leonhart ran into a jump off Prince Tidus's shoulders and went up to catch Saria. He caught her and landed into a roll with her safely in tow.
"I've got her Sir Link!" Prince Leonhart reassured.
I took in a deep breath and nodded over at him thankfully.
Prince Leonhart put his head to her chest to check for her heart beat. He looked to me relieved.
"She's alive," he said to me.
I couldn't let it show, but I felt a huge weight of worry lift off me.
Thank Hylia, I thought.
"Thank you," I replied to him, turning my attention back to Zant, "get her out of here along with the rest of these people."
Prince Leonhart nodded at me, and took Saria in his arms and hurried for the basement staircase. A crowd of people immediately began following after him. Zant smirked at my serious facial expression.
"You think I'm going to make it that easy for you?" Zant asked me with open cynicism.
No, I thought, I know why you did that. You're going to unleash hell right here and you're going to use Saria's composited energy to do it.
I didn't answer I just watched as people nervously funneled past Zant and I. Zant looked at one of the young boys going by and made a threatening pose towards him. The little boy jumped and Zant laughed.
Why is he waiting? I thought a little confused. Why is he allowing the people to go to the basement without so much as a warning?
"All these people," he said absently as they went by, "resting their hopes in you."
I wasn't going to let him deter me, that was what he wanted.
"It's better than resting their hopes on delusions of grandeur," I replied.
Zant gave me a long once over.
I shouldn't have asked, but I did anyway.
"What's so funny?" I asked, not deviating from my stance.
"You," he replied, then repeated to himself, "hmph, delusions of grandeur."
I didn't reply to that, then suddenly Zant narrowed his eyes at me.
What the hell is that look all about? I wondered. Why is he continuing to stall? He must have something else up his sleeve.
"Did the dark maiden ever tell you about the time I ravaged her?" Zant asked me out of nowhere.
I almost didn't hear him right. I looked at Zant shocked.
"You what?" I asked in an almost inaudible whisper.
Zant raised a brow.
"Did she tell you about the... time... I... raped... her?" he repeated with sick clarity.
I felt like ice just entered my veins. I felt my eyes grow wide and my heart beat accelerate.
Saria said he never- I stopped my thoughts as my anger was starting to overwhelm me.
"W-what?" I said, trying not to show how off guard that caught me.
Zant was staring straight into my eyes, I tried to shake his gaze.
"Take out your sword and fight!" I said, not relieving myself of my stance.
Zant narrowed his eyes again and smirked at me.
"From the look on your face I'm going to guess that's a no," he went on quietly. "Yeah... she likes to put up a fight. Apparently she likes it rough, and that's exactly how I gave it to her."
I was trying to keep my temper in check.
I'm going to kill this bastard, I thought suddenly.
"Take... out... your... sword..." I said, slowly trying to maintain some self-control, as I rapidly felt it leaving me.
Zant continued staring at me.
"But once she's been... tamed, she'll do whatever you want her to," he went on in his own twisted perversion, "and I mean whatever you want her to."
I'm going to kill this son of a bitch, I thought again, feeling my anger boil.
"Be ready to defend yourself you twisted bastard!" I said, trying to detract the subject.
It was like Zant hadn't heard me.
"But you already know that, don't you sir knight?" Zant continued not letting up, seeing his words were having an effect on me. "You already know what it feels like to be inside that rock hard maiden, don't you?"
I felt my breath quicken.
"Shut up!" I snapped, quickly losing the last remaining temperament I had left.
"She begged for me to stop," Zant went on relentlessly, "but the begging is what really drove me crazy, so I just kept going, and going, and going until I knew she was in a lot of pain. She promised me the entire royal family if I'd just take it out!"
That was it.
I lost it.
"You twisted son of a bitch!" I retorted and lunged at him.
He parried my strike in expectation of it with one of his own.
"That's right!" Zant said to me excited. "Get angry first knight! Get angry like I've been angry for the last one hundred years!"
I clenched my teeth and looked into his eyes.
"If you touched her I swear to you I'll-" I started angrily.
"After I'm done with you, I'm going to kill her, slowly," Zant interrupted me, now initiating his Gatotsu stance, "but I think before we 'duke it out' as you so elegantly put it earlier, we need some company first."
I was so heated I almost didn't realize what he was talking about, but then I had to remember why he took the energy out of Saria's body in the first place.
The portal! I thought.
Zant lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, and instantly a fractal portal sequenced itself in the displaced energy. The citizens still inside the hall saw the sequence and immediately rushed for the basement stairs.
"What is that thing?" a woman cried out fearfully.
"I don't know," a man replied, hurrying past me, "but it looks just like the one outside!"
That's right, I thought abruptly, those portals are all over Hyrule.
There was a bright light that flashed across the room as the fractal shifted, and a loud screeching noise precluded the air. The stairwell was being bomb rushed, but was immediately halted when the citizens turned to see what that horrible sound was coming out of the hole.
"What the hell is that?" a man asked in alarm.
A moment later, a group of Twili warriors had teleported through, and fell to the marble ground, crushing some of the tiles underneath them. They hastily started screeching and ran after anyone within sight. There was no twilight that filtered with it, how the shadow beasts were able to be substantiated in the world of light without the mechanism of the twilight was beyond. Zant no doubt found a way to manipulate the time shift stones so that the shadow beast wouldn't be effected by the light of Hyrule.
That has to be why the condition of the portal is two hours, I reasoned.
The insanity had ensued. That was when all hell broke loose.
"AHHH!" people screamed in terror and started trampling towards the staircase.
It was becoming increasingly dangerous near the entrance to the basement. The guard trying to stop the stampede fell to the ground and was being stepped on.
Oh no, I thought as I saw more Twili warriors fall through the space and hit the ground, this is quickly turning into bedlam.
"What the hell is that?" a soldier said in puzzlement of the strange looking combatants.
"Never mind that!" the captain of the guard voiced. "Help the citizens!"
I looked up and back flipped as one shadow beast tried to strike me. I slashed through the beast and it disappeared. Another tried to attack me from the side and I struck that one down as well. I looked back over at Zant and narrowed my eyes at him.
Hell has finally been unleashed on Hyrule, I thought, looking around incredulously. Just like this bastard wanted.
I looked out the window to see if shadow beasts were falling from the portal in the garden, but was surprised to find it undisturbed. The only portal where they were coming from was the one made inside the hall.
The others were used as diversions! I thought, signaling the captain in a hurry to bring the rest of the military back to the south gates. He had no intention of using the other portals! That would take too much energy away collectively, and his efforts have always been on revenge on the royal family.
The captain ordered to soldiers to open the gates to let the other fighters inside. In the mean time, women were screaming as they scrambled to get out of the way of the shadow beasts attacks. The crowd quickly dispersed into chaos: people were running everywhere, guards were trying to defend and direct at the same time, and the Twili beasts were chasing after anyone within their reach. Through it all, I could see Zant's hateful stare.
"The encroachment is here," Zant said, stating the obvious.
"No shit," I muttered to myself angrily.
I made another quick scan of the crowd, many of the people were steadily being funneled downstairs to the underground basement.
Thank Hylia, I thought when I saw the hall getting sparse.
However, the Twili warriors were relentless with their long arms and incredible reach. I saw a couple of people being tossed to the side with mere swipes of the hand. I heard the cracking of bones breaking when they landed, knowing they were about to suffer before they died. Others I saw getting their necks snapped, or beaten to a pulp. It was mayhem.
And Daphnes says the people are here for a reason? I thought in disbelief.
I abandoned my stance when I saw a shadow beast rushing for a little boy. I hurried and took the little boy into my arms, I then rolled the little boy out of the way.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
The little boy was terrified and quickly shook his head no.
"I'm looking for my daddy!" he said to me in a trembling voice.
Oh no, I thought.
"We'll find your father young one," I tried to reassure.
I looked around for another soldier, then motioned for him to come to me.
"Yes sir?" the soldier saluted me.
"Take this child to the basement!" I ordered. "Hurry!"
Coming up behind the soldier was another Twili warrior. I had to quickly get up and defend against it with my sword. I thrust my sword in its belly and the Twili quickly screeched before disappearing into oblivion.
"Get going!" I said, turning to the soldier.
The soldier merely nodded and took the child and headed for the basement.
I tried to take a moment for a breather, and quickly realized that was a mistake. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw Zant suddenly appear in front of me.
What in the-? I wondered having to quickly change my stance and guard.
"Gatotsu ishiki style!" he exclaimed out of nowhere.
He's initiating his Gatotsu now? I thought bewildered.
I quickly dodged his attack, and parried his thrust.
"You forget I've seen your Gatotsu before Zant!" I said to him in my defense stance.
Zant ignored me and initiated the second attack. He lunged at me into his jump attack.
"Gatotsu nishiki style!" he said with a war cry.
I set my feet and dodged his attack with a roll to the left. His mid-aerial range attack was predictable, perhaps too predictable.
Is he doing this on purpose? I thought suddenly. He knows I know how to defend his Gatotsu.
Zant initiated his Gatotsu again for his third attack.
He is doing this on purpose, I realized, why is he counting down his Gatotsu so quickly?
"Gatotsu sanshiki style!" Zant declared.
He teleported ported like he did before, truncated the attack underneath me, and I maneuvered away from him. However, before I could reengage my battle stance Zant teleported... again.
I was truly thrown off by this.
What is he doing? I thought flummoxed.
It took me a minute to see where he teleported to, and that was when I saw he was right in front of king Daphnes at the thrones where Zelda and I were sitting during the party.
Oh no! I thought in panic, racing for the staircase. He's going to kill the king!
"Gatotsu zeroshiki style!" I heard Zant say before he plunged the sword into Daphnes chest.
I stopped for a moment and watched in pure horror, but not just me, every Hylian soldier in the room sans the ones fighting the Twili soldiers.
That's why Zant went through his Gatotsu so quickly, I thought abruptly, he was getting me off guard so he could kill the king.
"Oh my goddess!" I heard myself mutter, almost losing my footing from my legs wanting to give way.
"Sire!" several guards said in unison, hurrying for the staircase.
Daphnes staggered back, but kept himself standing. He held up his sword at Zant, he was breathing hard as blood soaked the shirt of his chest. Zant merely stared at the king in cold contempt.
"How does it feel?" Zant asked him in an icy undertone. "How does it feel to know your life is nothing but a pawn on a great big chess board?"
Daphnes just stared back at Zant, not giving him the satisfaction of begging for his life.
"I wouldn't know you deviant," Daphnes replied defiantly, not showing any sign of remorse, "I was never illegitimate."
Zant just grinned at the subtle dig.
"Touche," Zant said to him quietly, "that is true, but I'm having the last laugh great king of Hyrule."
Daphnes stared him for just a moment, and strangely a queer smile crept his lips. "Are you?"
I was too far away to hear their conversation and too upset to even care. I hurried to the aide of the fallen king as I came up behind Zant and past him. For whatever reason the would be usurper didn't engage in attacking me. Zant let me be as I stared down at Daphnes, probably wanting me to take in what he had done. I wasn't going to lie I still in shock. I took a step towards Daphnes, but he held up his hand to stop me.
"There's no need for that," he grunted.
Daphnes then looked around and saw everyone staring at him, all the fighting had stopped. Zant held up his hand to motion for his warriors to momentarily cease combat as well. I didn't understand why, but I had a feeling Zant's revenge was more about making Hyrule's royal pay, rather than the senseless killing of Hylian soldiers. In the meantime, the king lifted up his sword and reengaged his fighting stance, even though it was painful for him to do so.
"Why have you stopped defending yourselves?" Daphnes demanded of his men. "You're men of Hyrule!"
Zant looked around, then back at Daphnes.
"They're shocked you old fool," Zant replied simply, "you still don't get it, even after all this time."
Daphnes ignored him, and turned his attention to his people.
"Soldiers of Hyrule," Daphnes said in a strong voice, trying to ignore the dizziness overcoming his natural defenses, "fight! Never give up! Never surrender! Do you hear me!"
Daphnes stood up and blindly went to strike Zant, who merely dodged the attack. The king stumbled, and I tried to help him up, but he pushed me away.
"There is a collective resolve in you as there is with every Hylian," he said to me with a vague encryption in his words, "rally the men and utilize it!"
I had no idea what he was talking about. The men stood frozen, still horrified from seeing their king being pierced through.
"Sire..." a soldier trailed faintly.
Daphnes looked around again and tried to invigorate his men once more. He lifted his sword in the air with his last bit of strength.
"Even when all hope seems lost, fight! Fight for Hyrule!" the king declared, his voice was becoming labored. "Fight for your families! For your loved ones! For your country! Fight!"
Even still, no one moved, not even me.
"Sire..." I trailed, coming up the stairs, kneeling down and trying to help the king, "we have to get you out of here. You're bleeding and-"
Daphnes pushed me away from him again.
"Get off me you damn fool!" Daphnes interrupted me ardently, then addressed the crowd again. "I don't need your help! I need your resolve! You must fight!"
I swallowed hard, seeing the seriousness of his plight.
He's going to die... he knows he's going to die and he's right, I thought for a moment, he's absolutely right. He needs our resolve now, not our pity.
I looked at the king and cleared my throat. I knew he was trying to be strong. He knew what was happening to him.
I can't let his death be in vain, I thought, I can't...
"Yes sire!" I replied, then stood up. "You have our resolve."
Daphnes stared at me as a cool sweat seeded his forehead, he merely nodded at me as he placed himself on the ground. I turned around and looked at Zant venomous narrowed eyes. There was no way I was about to let him leave with what he had just done.
He's shown no mercy, I thought, and none will be shown to him.
"You heard your king!" I called out to the other soldiers. "We fight, we live, we die for Hyrule! Do you understand?"
The men were staring at me and listening, but they still seemed felled. I had to get them to see what his majesty wanted them to see.
"Do you hear me men of Hyrule?" I declared once more. "This villain came into our land to over throw it! He tried to usurp our freedom by means of his vendettas! We won't allow it! We fight, we live, we die for Hyrule!"
I put my sword in the air and looked Zant straight in his eyes.
"We fight! We live! We die for Hyrule!" I repeated in a louder voice with more conviction.
Out of my periphery, I saw the other soldiers starting to nod with my rant.
"We fight! We live! We die for Hyrule!" the soldiers started chanting with me.
We repeated the pronouncement, when all of sudden small beacons of light substantiated from the men and gathered together upon itself. The energy came into the air and rose to the fixtures of the ceiling. However, a moment later another large pulse of energized light came from the basement staircase and gathered with the light already there.
This is what Daphnes and Zelda meant, I thought, finally understanding, he knew at his death the collective energy of the people would be released the same way the Twili king released the energy in the crystals when he was killed.
This was his last act as the protector of Hyrule.
I reinitiated my battle stance and had my eyes set on Zant.
"Men of Hyrule... attaaaaaaack!" I commanded finally, then ran for Zant to strike him.
There was suddenly a huge epic war cry from all the soldiers.
The rallying seemed to be working because suddenly the men were more tenacious and the tide of the onslaught began to turn. The soldiers were more apt in their fighting, less terrified and fought with more verve.
Zant's eye's narrowed contemptibly at Daphnes and then me when he saw what his words had done to the soldier's morale.
Zant teleported and went to strike Daphnes down, but I quickly went to guard the king. I parried Zant's attack and pushed him down the stairs away from the king. Zant stumbled and fell onto his back. He looked up at me angrily.
I quickly went after him with a jump attack into an ending blow, but he maneuvered out of the way before my sword could plunge into him. I quickly pulled the crystal blade out of the marble flooring, and went after Zant.
I was not going to play the position of defense. I was going on the offensive whether Zant was ready for it or not. I went into my guard stance and Zant tried to strike, I shield butted his attack out of the way and struck his belly. A strange visceral cascade of light came through when my sword struck his skin.
Zant stepped back and growled in anger, he then teleported and tried to knife me from behind. I side stepped twice, rolled into an attack and sliced his back.
"Ah!" he cried out in pain, but then quickly reengaged himself.
Zant wasn't attacking in any real formation at this point, his attacking had become desperate and uncoordinated. I jumped over his head and did an aerial flip, slicing the helm of his head. Blood gushed from his cranium as he turned to look at me with severe violence in his eyes.
"You Hylian bastard!" he screamed at me. "I'm going to bathe in your blood!"
After saying that Zant came and ran at me. I stood my ground and set my feet. When he was close enough I pulled out my blade and sliced across his chest in an attack known as the mortal draw. Zant stumbled backwards and grabbed at his chest in pain. He looked at me in pure shock.
There was no remorse in my eyes.
Several other Twili soldiers had become alerted to their master's predicament and came racing towards me. There were about five of them in total.
I saw them in my periphery and readied myself. I ran into a jump attack, but then slammed my sword into the ground and upgraded the attack from a jump attack to a jump strike. The blowback sent the Twili soldiers flying out of my strike zone.
Zant flew back as well, but immediately jumped up and came at me with a complete infernal rage in his eyes.
I stood back and readied the stance of the amakakeru ryu no hirameki for my final attack.
I'm done with this sick bastard, I thought holding the sheath of my sword in my hand.
When Zant came close enough I pulled out my sword and spun a great spin and then thrust my blade into his innards and did not pull it out. The energy in the crystal sword began to release and turn in on itself.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Zant screamed as he tried to pull the sword out of his gut but it burned his hand trying to do so.
I took a step back and watched as Zant fell down on his knees and his body began to displace. He looked up at me with pure hatred in his eyes.
The hall began to shift and suddenly a vacuum force whipped through the air sucking all the Twili fighters to the fractal sequence in the air.
Zant narrowed his eyes at me as his body began to disintegrate.
"You think this is the last your people will see of me white knight of Hyrule?" Zant asked me knowingly, and shook his head. "I will find a way back to this realm. Your descendants will be my new enemies, whether they are with the treacherous royal family or the deprave innards of that beguiled green haired witch! I will have my vengeance and I will be more powerful than ever!"
I just stared at him as he continued his spiel.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night you crazy bastard," I said to him and watched as his body slowly shifted back into the fractal space along with the rest of his brethren.
A bright light flashed as the hall shifted once more, and the sequence suddenly dispersed.
Zant and all his minions were gone.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath when it was finally over, but then quickly alerted myself to the king's plight. I ran up to the throne and took the king in my arms and tried to shake him to consciousness.
"Sire!" I said worried. "Sire!"
Daphnes slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. Oddly enough, he smiled at me. I tried to smile back, but the knot in my throat wouldn't allow it.
"Sire, let me have a doctor look at you," I said, trying to be optimistic. "I'm sure he could-"
Daphnes silenced me.
"Enough of that," he interrupted me with a labored breath, "you know there is nothing a doctor can do."
I shook my head defiantly.
"A blue potion will-" I tried.
"I'm ready to die Link," Daphnes interrupted me seriously, "I'm ready... you don't have to sugar coat it for me."
I quickly got quiet when he said that and blinked back the sting that was hitting my eyes.
"You can't die sire," I said trying to reason with him, "you're the king of Hyrule."
Daphnes stared into my eyes seriously for a moment.
"I leave that responsibility to you now lad," he said with his breath getting weaker, "you told me if I left, Hyrule would be in good hands. That wasn't a lie, was it?"
I merely shook my head no.
"No sire..." I trailed, not knowing what else to say.
Daphnes gripped his Estramacon and then took my hand and put it over the tang of the blade.
"Protect her Link," he said to me, "protect Hyrule."
I swallowed hard and nodded.
"Yes sire," I replied.
"There really is no more honorable a man in my kingdom than you Sir Link," he whispered to me as his vitality was slowly fading from him. "Please forgive me for what I put you through, and tell your green haired friend that I didn't mean to use her, I just didn't know what else to do."
I had to look away because I was becoming emotional.
"I will sire," I said feeling a lone tear run down my cheek.
Daphnes' stare was becoming glassy.
"Please take care of Zelda," he said finally having to swallow hard to get the words out, "she loves you so much. More than you'll ever..."
Daphnes never finished his last sentence.
I stared at him in shock.
He can't be dead! I thought. He can't be!
"Sire!" I shook him when a little panic came over me. "Sire!"
One of the other soldiers had to come up and stop me from shaking him.
"Sir Link... he's gone," the soldier said touching my shoulder.
I didn't want to believe it, but it was true.
Daphnes stared back at me with lifeless eyes.
The king of Hyrule was dead.
Please write a review and tell me what you think. The last chapter is coming soon!