Chapter 9: Time Slipping Away
Princess Zelda's POV
My rest was short as the beast Ridley was wise not to trust me. He woke me from my trace-like sleep and demanded we continue. Just as I promised him I led him to Samus's flying fortress. He seemed delighted, or whatever awful unhylian emotions he could express. However, the lack of Samus caused him quite a bit of anger and frustration I assume as he flew back breathing fire in every direction. With the field and forest well ablaze he forced me to examine the fortress. There was no sign of Samus, but there appeared to be the remains of some large camp. It had perhaps only be abandoned yesterday. I pondered this curious thought.
"Samus Aran!" Ridley cursed the sky before starting to tear at her fortress with his claws. He rolled it over for good measure as if the destruction of it would cause her to magically appear. When she failed to he turned back to me. Without the slightest warning his claws came down on me. My blood spattered the ground as I fell back. The fall seemed slowed by time. I watched as each drop of blood left my body. They hung in mid-air as perfect orbs before splashing onto the thirsty dirt below. I continue to fall even as I knew I must hit the ground. I fell into darkness. A golden light suddenly surrounded me as I felt the Triforce take hold. I wasn't dead but I was far from living. I had entered the Sacred Relam.
Samus Aran's POV
After leaving the alien temple I headed north as the voice suggested. What a load of help that was. I couldn't see anything for miles around. I even pulled up my scanners to see if there were any other temples nearby in any direction. Nothing. I sighed as my scans brought up nothing for the third time. I was beginning to lose hope as I sat down on a crumbling rock in the nearby woods.
"Wait, why am I even bothering to bring these stupid rocks to life? I have to find Ridley and then -" I couldn't answer that. How would fighting Ridley this time make any difference? I had the same weapons, he probably had newer ones, even if I did kill him he wouldn't stay dead. He had already proven he was quite adapt to returning from the dead whenever her chose. Perhaps that new weapon I sought, the Tri-force could be the new weapon I defeated him with this time? I still didn't know where it was. Perhaps the those "enchanted" doors back in that one temple held a clue or hint to the thing. Fog was starting to roll in. An overwhelming depression suddenly overcame me. One as thick as the fog itself.
"Maybe I should just leave. Ridley will never be gone for permanently so why try anymore? It's just a waste of time. Those bastards back at the Galactic Federation only sent me on this stupid mission to distract me from the-" The cracking of a branch behind me interrupted my monologue. I looked around quickly and thought I saw a child. I stood up and heard more noises. A strange melody began to play and I saw more shadows dart by. I prepared my cannon and continued glancing around rapidly. I heard footsteps behind my and spun around to the terrifying sight of a faceless child. I stumbled back in fright and disgust as it began clawing at where it's face should have been. It managed to tear a hole wear a mouth should have been and the most unholy laughter poured out of it with a rather large company of blood. I backed up further only to bump into another faceless child. It had already carved out to crud holes for eyes and a lopsided mouth. Blood was dripping from it's eye holes as it cried. Freaked the hell out I tried to run but was surrounded by more of the horrify abominations.
"What the hell are you!" I yelped as their little bloody hands reached toward me.
"We are children who were lost in the woods." They said in unison or more over the ones that had mouth holes. Several where still faceless. I couldn't decide which was more disturbing. The faceless or the ones that had carved or clawed faces for themselves. Several questions ran through my head at this point. Was this really happening or was I losing it? Their little hands tugged at my tunic, leaving bloody hand prints.
"What do you want?" I said trying to break free of their ranks.
"You will save us." They cried as more rushed forwards. Their hands and arms looked twig-like, they were deathly skeletal. I leapt back, too creeped out by all of this but I couldn't escape. They were everywhere.
"What do you mean save?" I said I look for any way out of this situation.
"You are the hero of legend. You will make us Kokiri again." Some were wailing now. A fights appeared to break out between those trying to get closest to me. I watched paralyzed as one of the demon children ripped the arm off another.
"I can't save you! You have to let me leave." I started but they became angry.
"Only you can save us! Change us back!" The screamed. One picked up the arm that was torn off one of the children and pelted me with it. Some began tearing away parts of where their face should have been and threw the gory chunks of flesh at me. It was like living in a nightmare.
"I'll find someone who will! I swear, just leave me!" I pleaded. Those pale little hands began clawing at my arms. Their nails ripped off as they tried to scratch the chain mail shirt.
"You must change us!" They screamed again. I began shaking violently as I felt the little chunks of flesh roll off my skin. What the shit was I supposed to do? What could I do? I felt like I had somehow managed to fall into hell on my way looking for the next temple. Maybe I had finally died. I could have died without even knowing it. I closed my eyes tightly just so I wouldn't have to bare the sight of the little demons. For a moment I could have sworn a golden light pierced my eyelids, forcing them back open. A sudden gut feeling let my hand to the bag on my belt. I slipped my hand inside and felt something polished and cold. I drew it out slowly to see that it was - What the frak! A musical instrument. How was this supposed to help me? I continued to hear the strange melody and instinctively drew the instrument to my lips. I took a breath and tried to imitate the notes I heard. As soon as I played it correctly the children backed away and became silent.
I kept playing and they turned away and began to wander back into the fog. The fog slowly lifted and I was once again alone. As I played the last note I looked at the curious instrument in my hands. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It had holes like a flute but was almost egg shaped and appeared to be made out of some sort of clay material. As soon as the last of the demon children were out of sight the ground began to shake. A stone entrance erupted from the earth, spraying the surrounding area with rock and other debris. The voice from earlier echoed out of the newly formed tunnel.
"You have broken the spell surrounding the temple. You may now enter and face the test that awaits you." It called. My eyes narrowed sharply. So what, demon children weren't enough of a test? If I had to go through all of that just to enter the temple what the hell kind of test awaited me? I closed my eyes and took several slow breaths, trying to prepare myself for whatever was in store. As I opened them again, I let all of the anxiety drain out of me. I had mentally turned off. Much they way I often do when facing unknown dangers and fears in my line of work.
I slowly descended the flight of steps leading down into the temple. A faint red light deeper inside the tunnel was the only light. I focused what needed to be done. Whatever the test was, I had to succeed. Failure probably meant being torn apart by faceless demons in the shape of children. Each step I took sounded quieter than the last, as if I were becoming nothing more than a shadow. Though I appeared to be walking nearer to the red light it began to grow much darker in the tunnel. After a long while of continuing down the now pitch dark stairs I reached the bottom. I let my powersuit crawl down only to my left hand and raised it. A weak beam of light tried feebly to cut through the dark. I could only see about a foot in front of me in either direction. The floor appeared nonexistent.
Suddenly I was surrounded by light. I fell to the ground shielding my eyes. As soon as my eyes had adjusted I hesitantly stood up. What I saw before me made me feel as if I had died. I appeared to be standing right back on K-2L, my home before the attack. I took off my gloves and reached down to touch the earth beneath me. It felt solid and real. It was exactly as I remembered it. I was nowhere close to being mentally prepared for this. For the first time in many long years I actually felt tears roll down my cheeks. As I entered the colony and saw all of the familiar faces of friends and family, I broke down completely. I sobbed hysterically until I was fell to the ground in the middle of the city. I would have continued this for several hours had I not heard a familiar voice. I looked up to see a blonde haired girl whip through the crowd. I stood up and began to follow. My pace increased as the girl began to run. A moment later I too was running but unable to catch a glimpse of that hair whip out of sight. I pushed passed the people who seemed oblivious to my presence.
I was in a panic now. I feared I knew what horrible tragedy was about to happen next. The girl ran out of the city following a dark star as it fell from the sky. I kept running but the girl was too fast. I couldn't keep up no matter how I tried. I started to yell after her but it was too late. She had reached the dark star. Wings erupted from the dark mass and two great yellow eyes fixed on the little girl. She foolishly attempted to befriend the giant beast. It's eyes were fixed coldly on her. She began to lead it back to the colony -
"NO!" I screamed as I tried to stop her. They were almost at the colony when the girl finally turned to face me. She smiled wickedly as Ridley took to the sky and began destroying her world. Screams shattered the red sky and the stench of burned corpses filled the air. I ran back through the colony. The other space pirates had joined Ridley. I ran toward the horrible sight I knew awaited me, for it had never left my mind since. I appeared just in time to see Ridley tear my mother in half and swallow her head and torso. He spat out her legs and began ripping my father's intestines out while he was still alive and screaming on the ground below. It was more than I could handle. Ridley finally returned to the little girl who deserved a death worse than any. Death, at this point was the only mercy that could save her now.
Unfortunately the girl received no such mercy as the native alien race appeared and reused the little girl, saving her from Ridley's wrath. The little girl, the only survivor of her colony. Me. I clutched my head in such unbearable anguish I could never recover. I was the reason everyone was slaughtered. I was nothing short of the most horrid murderer of my own race. And why? I was stupid enough to believe there was good in everything. I couldn't even give my parents a proper burial as Ridley had eaten half of them, dooming them to a life in purgatory by the religion's standards. What would become of I? The messenger of death to an entire colony. Nothing remained for me to live for. I activated my powersuit and placed my cannon right under my chin. I was going to end it all, right here and right now. As the blast charged I felt the cannon grow hot and begin to burn my chin and neck.
Princess Zelda's POV
Luckily I had not been a second too late in my reappearance. The mystery of the Sacred Realm had taken me back to the world of the living after healing my wounds. After seeking counsel from the sages at the Temple of Time I quested for Samus. From what I had heard, she had made it to the temple in the north. Knowing the power that lay in the temple I hurried. Luckily I reached her as she was about to take her own life. I shot a powerful spell at her with the Triforce, sending her flying backwards and her cannon to discharge in a safe direction. She cursed loudly and began to scream in the darkness. The temple must truly be testing her sanity as she continued screaming in her native tongue and lashing out at everything around her. What inner demons tormented her so? I stood back and continued to watch her, as I could not help her defeat the test, but merely prevent her from injuring herself too much in the process. She was blindly trapped in her own mind. I frowned at the misfortune of this situation.
The sages knew that thousands had died in this temple in the futile attempt to pass the impossible test. They were all trapped inside their heads and would either wander the temple forever, prisoner to their own mind, or commit suicide in a desperate attempt to escape. If they truly believed her to be the next hero why would they dare risk imprisoning her in this temple? I grew angry. I could not pull her out of the temple, lest she loss her mind forever. Nor could I help her pass the test. She had to do it all on her own. Curse the cruelty of the goddesses! I summoned the power of the Triforce of Wisdom to gain a small window into what terrors haunted the foreign knight. I began to see things I wish I hadn't. The dreadful memories only continued. One in particular kept repeating and caused her to hurt herself each time it played.
If only she could snap out of it long enough to play the song of Healing there might be a chance. Seeing as this would be hoping for a miracle I conjured a small harp and began to play it softy, in the hope she might hear and regain some control. Though it seemed to have no effect I continued to play. For several hours she ran around, reenacting her nightmare and only stopping long enough to curl up and sob before repeating the whole process. During one of her fits of sobs I walked over to her and knelt down.
"You've met a terrible fate haven't you?" I said as I ran my fingers through her hair. I felt those rounded ears again. I understood now why her eyes had gone cold. That beast had ripped a part of her soul out. It seemed foolish to wait around the temple much longer. She appeared long gone. Not even the strongest of men could survive such a test. I stood up. I prepared to leave the temple with it prize of a new victim. As I reappeared above ground I was very much aware of several skullkids watching me. When I shot looks at them they retreated into the darkness. Feeling wretched for leaving Samus alone in the temple, but knowing I could do nothing for her prepared to leave in search of my people.
Samus Aran's POV
The most utter depression and desperation filled me as I failed again and again at killing myself. Every time I tried, something would stop me. Fate was just a cruel being. Eventually I gave up for the time being and curled up next to the remains of my parents. As I wept I felt something tickle my ear. I looked up once the sensation left to find a small metroid floating above me. I rubbed my eyes in surprise. I didn't recall finding metroids until many years after the attack. I examined it more closely to find that it was the baby. The same metroid that had saved me from mother brain. I stuck out my hand and it landed on it happily. I broke a small smile.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" I grinned as I poked it. It jiggled happily, almost purring in a strange way. I frowned slightly, "But you're dead." I said finally. I half expected the baby to explode or disappear but it remained. I narrowed my eyes and thought hard. They had possibly found metorid life on a dead satellite. There was hope for metroids after all. The baby began purring even louder and shaking violently until the very ground shook and fell to pieces. The horrible memories shattered and the destruction and death around myself and the baby vanished. A blue light pierced the darkness and reached for it. For a second I felt as if I had turned into light itself. Then I reappeared outside the temple entrance in the foggy woods. One of the gems in my pocket grew very hot. I pulled it out to see the emerald glow brightly and hoover slightly above my hand.
"You have passed the test in the Temple of Hope." Came a familiar voice. Just as I was about to curse something fierce I felt the strange sensation of arms around my neck. It was the princess, hugging me tightly. I allowed the hug a few seconds longer before pushing her back.
"That fraking temple is the god damn temple of hope! What the fraking hell is wrong with you people!" I cursed, "That was a hell and you dare to call it hope?"
"Well, yes, in that the only way to escape the temple is through the feeling of true hope." She replied. I considered her for a moment. My undying hope that metroids could still exist somewhere had somehow shattered the painful memories surrounding me, "I'm curious," Continued the princess, "What hope was so strong as to free you from those awful memories?"