Chap 19: Less than Nothing
(A/N) Hello everyone! This is the third chapter in a mini-trilogy of the events leading to the climax. Unfortunately, you know what that means: I'm Sorry's coming to a close! But it's okay! We've hit over 32,000 words, and it's all because of you, dear reader. You are the reason I still do this, the reason I started in the first place, and the reason it will be finished. Thank you for all your continued support, even if your silent about it. But please, I beg you, review. It is the only way I know people care what I write, and it is why I kept it going in the first place all those months ago. Also, the story's almost a year old! YAY!
Italics means thoughts, someone is speaking sharply, or someone has spoken Hylian. It can also mean a flashback or thought. 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 was bedridden, having contracted a new form of the Hylian Avian Flu, something that has been known to kill people with bad immune systems. Link was one such person. Symptoms included coughing, fever, sweating, chills, congestion, and irritability. Currently, all of Link's friends thought him to be particularly irritable. Or is it annoying? Perhaps it's an unhealthy mix of both. Regardless, Link was sick with a disease there was no known cure to. Because of how annoying he was being, they all left him to his own devices, not knowing of the small coffer beneath Link's bed. Within said coffer was a being of terrible power, one Link was considering using. It had been a week since Link made his plans to attack Dimesia. There was just one week left.
"Link…," Saria's voice whispered.
I know it's you, Fierce Deity, Link thought. He and the mask had a sort of telepathic link.
"Ah, you're no fun! Couldn't you have gone along with the joke; the sick, demented, terrible, awful, black joke?"
SARIA IS NOT A JOKE! Link shouted internally.
"Okay, easy killer," Fierce said.
I will destroy you some day. I will send you to the Hell you belong in.
"You will NEVER be strong enough to banish me and you know that."
One day, Infieres. One day…
"How did you figure out my name?!"
It was simple: you're a God of War, and what's more war-like than fire?
"I WILL DESTROY YOU! I WILL RIP YOU APART AT YOUR HIP!"
No, you will be a mask. That is all you are and, until you are released, that is all you will ever be. I will make sure you are never released, and you will be a mask forever.
"And you will be nothing. Dirt, dust in the wind, where I am a boulder crashing down a mountain!"
You are currently a pebble going into a lake. When we're finished, I will dig a deeper hole into the lake so that you never escape. You will rot in that hole for all eternity.
"Might I ask a question?"
Will it matter if I say no?
"Why do you still live? You've nothing left. Your best friend is a shadow who hates you; your girlfriend is dead-,"
Wife.
"-and all of your friends are irresponsible soldiers who have nothing left but each other. You have nothing. You are nothing. No, you're less than nothing. You… are… worthless…"
Link was stricken dumb. He had nothing to say, or think, or listen to. Infieres left his mind. Link was, for the first time in quite a while, completely alone. And that was too much for him. He broke down in an episode of sobbing, then cursing, then hating, then sobbing again. If he could stand, he might've thrown himself out his window and dove headfirst into the ground. Luckily, he lacked the strength to even move.
Farore, please hear my voice. Saria, my wife. I want to know, is she safe? Is she with you in the Sacred Land?
"Yes, my child. Saria is safe in my room. She's been crying for days on end about how she misses you. I don't know what Infieres said to you, but it's wrong. If he said something about Saria being dead, he's wrong. Saria is, in spirit, very much alive and well-ish."
Well-ish?
"Well, she's obviously quite depressed about her dying and leaving you behind. Mainly about leaving you behind, but also quite about the dying. Dying usually does that to people."
Understandable. Is there anything I should know before I strike at Dimesia?
"Yes, one of you won't make it back. It is indeterminable who, but one of your circle of friends will fall in battle."
Once more, Link was stricken dumb. Knowing one of them would die put an incredible burden on his shoulders.
"You mustn't tell them. None of them can know that one of them will join us."
Understood, mother.
"Link, I am not your mother. I am the mother of all things, but your mother loved you far more than you could understand in three lives."
Alright. I think I deserve some rest.
"You do, Link. Now, do me a favor and wake up."
WHAT? Link internally questioned.
"WAKE UP!" Isaac shouted.
"Wh-what happened? Why can't I move?" Link asked.
"You've been asleep for three days! We thought you were dead!" Rex exclaimed.
"And if you were dead, we'd have no chance!" Dom finished.
"Wait, so there's only four days to the siege?" Link asked.
"Aye, sir."
"We have to train. I have special techniques that I can teach you, but you must allow me to help. You will all be battered, bruised, and exhausted by the ends of every day, but your combat skill will improve dramatically. Will you all allow me to train you? Dark can help."
"Yessir!" Dom, Rex, and Isaac all shouted in unison (finally).
"EXCELLENT! Now, help me to my feet. I feel like shit and need to take a walk," Link requested. They helped him up and helped him walk about for a few minutes before he shook them off to walk on his own.
They spent the next three days training from 6 AM to 8 PM. On the fourth they rested and drank, something they all desperately needed. They bid each other goodnight that night, and Link slept restlessly, knowing tomorrow, one of them would die.
So, it's finally time. It's finally the day that Link, Isaac, Dom, and Dark Link go off to fight Dimesia. One of them will die, but whom? I haven't decided yet, so don't bother asking! Anyway, 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.