Chap 11: The Decision
(A/N) Hello everyone! Last chapter left Link in quite the moral quandary. He could save Dark, the more powerful ally with Link on his hit list, or Saria, his girlfriend for years and the only one he's ever opened up to. Which one does he choose? This chapter features all three characters at once. All sections will be from their point of view. For the record, Dimesia only knows one way to create cells, so Saria's and Dark's are virtually identical.
Italics means thoughts or someone is speaking sharply, or it means someone has spoken Hylian. It can also mean a flashback. Bold means an author's note or some sort of text, which I will seldom use. Underlined text implies importance. I am unlikely to remember that. Have fun!
Oh, and I don't own any piece of The Legend of Zelda. I own, literally, more air than Zelda.
Link
I sit on the ground, dumbstruck, shocked, angered, sad, and everything in between. I stand strong, refusing to let myself break now. If I was going to break, I would've done it by now. The way I see it, it's either Dark or Saria. That part I understood. But I don't get why Dimesia would execute the one I didn't save in front of me. Why? "WHY?!" I scream so loud Mina could hear me from her cell. Suddenly the anger I've held for so long, bottled up every time I was summoned by the Goddesses, every time Dark berated me, every time Saria made fun of me or something I did, every time Mina shot me down, every time Mido beat me, every time I was nearly blown to pieces, or crushed by some boulder rolling precariously down a mountain. Every. Single. Time. I rip my sword out and begin to run straight to Lake Hylia. All of the adrenaline in my veins stops me from feeling even the slightest notion of fatigue.
That lasts for about an hour. I'm nearly at Lake Hylia by the time I finally stop moving and collapse, out of breath. I'm very close to passing out, but my desire to save one of my friends (as I've yet to decide who I'll save) keeps me conscious.
"Link, a great evil will soon swallow up the land of Hyrule. The name of this evil is Dimesia, demigoddess of insanity, daughter of the Void Master and a Hylian whore. You may ask why it is that I, Kaepora Gaebora, appear to you now. She will be at this very spot very soon. If you don't gear up now and begin fighting, she will kill everyone, even Saria. With Zelda gone, you're the only one who could possibly help. I implore you assist the land of Hyrule soon. Would you like to hear that again?"
"No, for the love of Farore, no."
I sat right up when I realized what he was talking about. My eyes were wide; I couldn't believe that I, Link, the Hero of Time according to the Trinity, was stupid enough to miss something so massively important. "Dammit!" I shout. I jump to my feet and sprint the final mile between me and Lake Hylia.
I'm there in about seven minutes. It's now 2:34 PM, mid-autumn. The cold has begun taking its toll everywhere except Death Mountain. The crops the Scarecrow Man used to protect have wilted and died. The ice has dropped to bone chilling temperatures. The scientist who lived in the house on the hill has died, though some youths in Hyrule Castle Town say that his ghost haunts the house still. The air reeks of death. I make my way to the lake, not stopping for any tektites, any grass, any guays. Nothing. I dive into the water, merely brushing off the freezing water. I throw my Zora Tunic over myself, though it doesn't do as much as it would've were I to actually put it on. I put the iron boots on as well, happy to sink to the lake bed below me.
I walk forward for a few minutes once I touch down. I look for the spot where I buried the chest, my treasure, my ace in the hole. A cocky smile graces my face once I see it. I crouch down and begin to dig. I'm glad to see the intricately designed chest. I open it with perhaps a bit too much force, and half of the lid breaks off. I frown when I see what lies inside. I hoped I'd never have to use this again, but I have no choice. She's far too powerful, and I'll need this to fight my way to the one I choose. I take the cursed mask in my hand and remove the iron boots. I don't care that I leave them at the bottom of the lake. I don't expect to survive this. Once I breach, I swim to the beach and sit a while, pondering the decision I must now make. Love? Or the safety of Hyrule? Even if we save Hyrule, we could still fail. And, with nobody to wield the blade that can strike down Dimesia, Hyrule will surely fall. Either way, Hyrule will probably die. Do I save the beautiful, sacred land of Hyrule? Or do I forsake it for a few more moments with my love? I know I must choose, but I find it more and more difficult with each passing second. Finally, twenty minutes later, I stand up. I know what I'll do. I just hope it works.
Dark Link
I sit on my cell bed, gently massaging my broken leg. I gasp in pain as I touch a sensitive spot of the break. "Dammit," I whisper. She's right and I know it. I should've been more wary. I shouldn't have been careless. And I certainly should've seen that hole in the ground coming from the second I basically gutted that snake. I haven't stopped thinking about him. His blonde hair, his piercing blue eyes, his sword, the way people actually would care if he died. Since I realized my intense hatred for Link, I also began realizing I desire his life more than anything. I want to be him, but I know I could never be Link. He is Link, and I am Dark Link, the physical manifestation of his dark side, a monster in the eyes of people who fail to realize that I have emotions. No one seems to realize that I have emotions. No one seems to notice ME.
In truth, someone does notice me: Ruto. She's the only one who has noticed me in the past few years. She's certainly the only one who cares about my opinion. If I were to die, she would be one of two people to know it, the other would be Link. When Dark clones die, their Light counterpart takes on the Dark clones emotions. Whereas Link is usually nice and kind-hearted, I'm cold and bitter. He'd become cold and bitter. In a way, the best revenge on him for being who he is.
I can't believe this happened to me! I'm the analytical, cold, observing part of Link! That goddamn hole should've been obvious to me long before I entered the room! He should be here! He should be the one in this fucking cell! I punch my wall, my adrenaline keeping me from feeling the pain shooting from my shin to my brain at light speed. A piece of the wall breaks off, some turns to powder, and a fist sized indention can now be seen in the wall, assuming it's still standing. "LIIINK!" I scream with the hopes that he can hear me from wherever he is.
I hope he's alright.
Saria
I stand up from my cell bed, my long, green hair falling off my shoulder gracelessly. It makes sense; it's been about a week since I last washed it. It's been nearly that long since I last saw Link. I don't know if he's still alive. Believe me, I know he's tough. I know he's strong enough to survive whatever she throws at him. I just don't know if he's got enough self-control to save himself. If he died trying to save me, I'd never forgive myself. I'm in a canyon, so I could just jump off a cliff.
Oh, who am I kidding? Link would never approve of that.
"Life is a gift. To take it away is to buy someone's life for free, and to take your own is to sell it for nothing. If you live life like you understand that it is finite, you'll live a happy life. If you actively seek immortality, you'll die unhappy. I don't want you to die unhappy," he once said. He then took my hand in his. I smiled and looked at him, and I knew what I wanted to wish for (This is just after his Termina adventure, mind you. Saria has yet to become mortal). I put my hand on his left hand and said:
"Goddesses, I wish to spend my days with Link. I wish to shed my immortality to live a happy life with the one I love." Link looked at me with surprise in his eyes. He certainly looked pleased with what I said. We were both then enveloped within a bright, pure white light and when it dissipated, I lost the slight green tint my skin had up until now(Now she's mortal).
"Saria, do you love me?" he asked. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, producing a childish chuckle from him.
"Link, though I appear young, I am over 200 years old. I understand well the concept of love. I do, sincerely, love you." I couldn't have guessed the next thing Link would do. He pulled me to him, bent down slightly, and kissed me. It was the best time of my life.
I miss the fairy fountain. I don't know how she found me, why she was after me, or why she did what she did, and I don't think I ever will. I don't understand why the Goddesses refuse to speak to me. I don't understand an awful lot about this whole situation. I wish Link would come help me.
I hope he's alright.
Link
I run through the traps, for my Lens of Truth reveals all. The (un)locked door, the whirlpool room, the snake. Oddly enough, the snake appeared to have a large, long stab wound along it's stomach. I wonder what did that, though I believe I know the answer. I jump over the hole in the ground and sprint to the door. Once inside, my Lens of Truth stops working. "Dammit!" I exclaim. I throw it away; I don't expect to need it.
"Link, use me. We can defeat her, I'm sure of it!" the Fierce Deity says.
"Let me make this perfectly clear: you are my last resort, my fallback option. If I feel like I am about to die, I'll put you on. Until then, you stay where you belong. Clear?"
"Clear. I'm only going to be cooperative for so long, though, Link."
I begin scanning the room: it appears to have a spiral staircase going up and down. I decide to go up first. After about five minutes of walking up I arrive at a room that's exactly like the one I entered in. "What the hell?" I ask no one. I continue ascending the stairs. "What the hell?!" I shout when I enter a room exactly like the last two. By now my face is crimson red with frustration. I go up once more, thinking "Maybe this'll be different." Nope. "Gods fucking dammit!" I scream. After a few minutes of deep breathing and relaxation I decide to go downstairs. To my shock and anger the room is actually different. There are blood markings on the walls and ceiling and I have an overwhelming feeling of being watched.
I decide to begin moving once I'm used to the unnerving sensation. I take a few steps and freeze to look down. Shadow, increasing in size. "Shit!" I shout as I dive to the ground, with the wallmaster landing directly behind me. I jump to my feet and pull out the Gilded Sword. I slice at it and it separates, prompting me to seek and destroy all of its parts. Once that was done, I put my sword back in its sheath and continued down the hall. Eventually a door presented itself by materializing right in front of me before I ran head-first into it. "Gah!" I shouted at the sight of it. I backed up and extended my arm to see if it was really there, or if it was another trick. It was there.
Through the door was a long hall of cells. One one side of the hall were creatures I had never imagined, and certainly never thought I'd see. Sometimes you see things you don't imagine. This wasn't one of those times. This was one of the times when creatures of nightmares were brought into the physical world. This was a time when your fears were used against you.
This was a time of terror.
I kept walking, looking left and right every few seconds so I could find the one I was looking for, the one who was with me through it all, thick and thin, trouble and triumph, worry and elation. Eventually I came upon a cell, so dark nearly no figure could be made out, sitting on their bed, offering prayers for my safety. Eventually they looked up, hearing my muffled gasps and sobs.
Saria
"Link?" I ask.
Dark Link
"Link?" I ask.
Longest chapter yet! For the record, the FD speaks Hylian. And only speaks in Links mind. Let's talk about that ending. First of all, WHAT?! Link saved both of them? How did he pull that off? I honestly couldn't decide who I wanted him to save, so I just flipped a coin. When I wasn't happy with that result, I made this up. Please review, it lets me know whether or not I suck. It also lets me know if I rule, which I'd love to hear about. Until then, if there are no questions, I'm out. Peace.