Definitive Moment
'I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!' I'm sorry! I'm-
"Sorry..." Her own voice startled her into awareness. She opened her eyes wide only to be met with a pressing darkness. She was painfully reminded of when she had been buried alive and fought hard to hold down her rising panic.
She could not remember what had caused this purest of blackness to surround her. The last thing she remembered was a blue glow, and then a bright white light. Her head felt heavy, useless. Her thoughts were non-sequential, swimming through her mind as she tried to piece them together. She recalled finding Vaati and Link. What were they doing? She couldn't think as clearly as she wanted. Had she hit her head?
Something caught her attention; a small glowing orb within the blackness that made her heart trill. She concentrated on it and then calmed. It was a floating, faintly glowing eye that she recognized. She gave a nervous, breathy chuckle which made her head ache slightly.
"You're glowing again," she teased. She watched as the eye scowled towards the sound of her voice. He couldn't see her.
"I do that," he said dryly. Something moved underneath her and she gasped in surprise. "You are lying on my legs," Vaati said. In the dark, he couldn't see, but her eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. She sat up quickly, ignoring the head rush she got. There was some shuffling and Vaati's eye levitated upward a few feet. Then he turned his head and the eye disappeared for a moment.
"I cannot see anything," he said.
"Yeah, there was at least a little light above. Now it's just black." Vaati 'Oh-ed' at her statement and there were some more shuffling noises. Then something flickered into life; a blinding light after her eyes had adjusted. She shielded her face and when Vaati noticed her discomfort, he held a hand over the light to dim it a little. They could see each others' faces clearly.
Once Marickiya was used to the brightness, she decided to get a better look at the thing in Vaati's hand. It was a small corked glass bottle that fit snugly in his palm. It looked like the thing was filled to the brim with an unknown sloshing, shimmering liquid.
"What is that?" She asked curiously. Vaati held it out to her and she took it. It was unsurprisingly warm to the touch.
"It is starlight." She cocked her head inquisitively at this. "An experiment," he said as he held his hand out expectantly. She gazed at it for a second longer then handed it back to him.
"What did you need it for?"
"Just to identify certain qualities. What it might be made of. What it can be used for." He said offhandedly as he looked around at the new environment.
"What did you find out?" Marickiya asked as he held up the light to make it shine upward.
"Well," Vaati said as he looked up, "it is extremely explosive," he stated and promptly threw the cask high into the air. Marickiya let out a surprised yelp. It flew high up, then made its graceful decent toward the stone floor beneath them. As it came down, she awaited the inevitable crash of glass and then who knew what else, but no such thing was forthcoming. She watched the glass slow itself down before coming to rest right-side-up on the ground. She let out a breath and shot a glare at the mage who flashed her a mischievous toothy grin.
"There is a cushioning spell on the bottle." Marickiya had nothing to say. "I could not see anything up there from where we came. I would have to fly up to see." He brought his gaze back to the girl still sitting on the ground. "Or, since this seems to be the only way forward anyway, we could follow this tunnel. See where it leads." Marickiya looked down both deep ends of the cavern.
"Which way would we go?" She asked.
"I am not entirely sure. I truly hate to say this," and he looked the part, "But we should wait for Aine to tell us which is the correct direction." Marickiya wanted to giggle, but her head started throbbing again.
"Waiting is fine." Was all she could say in response.
"I will get a message up to Link to let him know we are alive." She nodded her agreement, but quickly stopped, while holding her head. She decided to move to sit against the cave's wall since they would have to await the others arrival. Vaati was making a gesture with his hands when she looked up. He then pressed his hands together and held them out. She was interested in what he was about to do, seeing as it was obviously magic. His hands formed a ball, as if they were cupping something. Then his left hand fell away, revealing a pretty white bird that he'd conjured from nothing. Her headache forgotten, she gazed dreamily at Vaati who was whispering to the tiny bird. He looked like a child, talking to a tiny animal with a mischievous little grin on his face. She was sure it understood him, from the way it hopped happily in the center of his palm. After giving it the message he wanted, he sent the bird flying up to where the others were, its long tail splitting into a 'V' shape as it went.
"Are you alright?" Vaati asked of her. She knew she must have looked pretty dazed, staring at him the way she was and she had still been holding her head in her hand.
"Yes, I'm fine!" She said quickly. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her head. Her face heated up from the contact.
"You are a bit warm." She felt herself go even more red.
"It's nothing!"
He ignored her and used his light to start checking her over, starting with the back of her head. He put a light amount of pressure in different places.
"Tell me if anything hurts."
"Okay," she said meekly.
He took a few minutes poking around. There was only one tender spot which he inspected closely and deemed it non-threatening.
"I apologize for the rough landing." He said.
"It's alright." She mumbled back. He took a seat beside her while they waited for the others. It wasn't any use trying to see them on the stairs.
"Why were you apologizing?" he asked her. She looked up at him and her eyes grew wide.
"Oh," she looked back down at the floor, a little ashamed. "I think I used magic. After you told me not to."
"You think you did?" Whatever had caused that white light had destroyed the Golem. It would make sense that she had accidentally tapped into her power when she feared for her life.
"I don't really remember it this time." She said.
That wasn't a good thing. He didn't want to say it aloud and worry her. When one loses cognitive function while using magic, the output of power is not restricted. There's no way to control it. It was no wonder that she had a headache.
"You did well." Was what he decided to tell her. "We will work on your ring when we get done here. Do not worry about it."
She nodded abjectly.
0000
Link delved into his side pouch, instinctively feeling for Din's Fire. It was easily recognizable by its warmth and he grabbed at it when his fingers brushed against the distinct edges of the gem. With it out and nestled in his palm, he gave it a light squeeze, willing only a small portion of the flame to arise. He held his hand up so that he could see before walking out into the room.
He wasn't too worried about Vaati and Marickiya. He trusted the mage in a situation like this, especially after the Trials the two of them went through to get this far. He was carefully making his way over to Aine who seemed to be stuck behind the same obstruction that had kept them from getting into the room.
When he was closer, he could see Aine had a terrified look. He was worried about the other two, having seen everything that happened. Link was more concerned with getting the wall down so that Aine could get through. At that moment, he could feel the extra power Vaati had given to his sword starting to fade.
He held up a hand and motioned for the boy to back away. He did so and Link struck the barrier. It was a clean slice and the same crackling energy sprouted from the contact. Then the force field fell, along with the remainder of Vaati's magic, leaving his blade a little lighter.
"I'm sorry!" Aine cried. "We were walking and I was separated from her and-"
"Woah, hold on there." Link sheathed his sword and held up the hand that wasn't holding the light. What else could he say? He couldn't very well say everything was fine. What were they going to do now? How would they contact them? "We're going to stay calm and try to find a safe way down to where they are." Aine gave him a nod, but held his reserved expression.
"There should be entrances to two sets of stairs. One over there," he pointed across the room, in between the two door ways they had come, "And there." He pointed to a place directly opposite the other entrance. Both sides were buried under rocks.
"Alright. Let's find out which one will be easy to get to."
They skirted around the large hole in the center of the room, being careful of the debris. When they approached the first pile of rubble Aine gestured to, he knelt down.
"Here," he said, motioning for Link to look at a small part of the floor. He crouched beside him and Aine cleared away some of the stones that were scattered there. He could see what looked like the corner of a trap door.
"Okay, let's get this mess cleared off of it."
It took a lot of work and sweat, but they managed to shift the larger rocks out of the way, revealing a portal to the set of stairs they needed to get to. A new problem presented itself then.
"It's locked?" Aine said, aggravation lacing his tones. There was an aged looking padlock keeping the hatch from being opened. "Should we try the other side?" He asked of Link who had set down Din's Fire and was unsheathing his sword again.
"Not after all that work," he grunted as he jammed the tip of his blade into the lock. With a bit of wiggling, he forced the ancient lock to break apart into several pieces. Aine breathed out a happy sigh then cleared away the remnants and pulled open the trapdoor. Below, more stairs could be seen spiraling along the wall into the unknown. Link picked up the flame and let it shine on the steps. Now or never.
"What's that?" Aine said as Link was about to begin the descent. He saw him pointing into the darkness and peered over the edge until a tiny white dot was visible. He watched as it flew up to them, and he was able to discern wings and a long tail. Vaati's totem glided up to him and perched on his shoulder.
"We are uninjured. It appears this was the way we were going anyway so we will wait for you to join us. I could see stairs from down here. That's your way down." Link could breath easier. He must have been more worried than he thought. He was about to turn back and converse with Aine, thinking the message was over. "Also, you should warn that intolerably half-witted child that if he slips up again, I will personally see to it that he does not leave this temple." With its message delivered, the bird hopped off of his shoulder and dove back to where it came from. Link swallowed hard and slowly turned to Aine who had a blank look.
"What is it?" he asked. Link raised his eyebrows.
"You... didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
Link almost laughed out loud. Vaati had only intended for him to hear the bird's words. He didn't think his warning was anything more than an idle threat, but he knew the mage was quite irritated.
"Nothing. That bird was Vaati telling me that they're okay. Come on, they're waiting for us." Aine visibly brightened and Link didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. He probably did need to tell him to give Vaati some space. He would wait on that for the moment.
The spiraling steps were in surprisingly good condition. Perhaps they weren't used often. It made getting down them a fairly easy trip, despite how far they were going. The only thing that Link could complain about was the absence of any kind of railing to protect people from falling. He was hugging the wall for this reason. They trudged on in silence.
When they had nearly reached the bottom, Link spotted a light.
"That must be them," he muttered to Aine. They picked up their pace a bit. When Link's foot hit even ground, he jumped as a shout resounded from behind him.
"Marickiya!" Aine bypassed Link and was sprinting toward the others. They both stood and Vaati was standing in front of Marickiya, blocking Aine from getting closer. He came to a halt right before them. Link ran to catch up with him and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from Vaati. He was intent on speaking to the Gerudo, however.
"Marickiya, I'm really sorry," he called to her. She poked her head out from behind Vaati.
"It's okay, Aine." Vaati was keen on keeping them apart.
"It is not okay." He turned from glaring at the Sheikah to Link. "You did not tell him."
"I'll handle it," Link said, giving him a meaningful look. The mage turned his back on the two of them. He lowered his voice when he spoke to the boy. "Aine, you should stick by me." He was looking downtrodden.
"He's really mad at me, isn't he." Aine said while he was wringing his hands.
"Don't worry about that for now." Link said. "We need to keep our focus on why we're here. Do you know where to go now?" Aine immediately perked up.
"'Left, left, right, right,'" He recited, eliciting a mystified look from Link.
"I'm sorry?" He said. Aine cleared his throat.
"It's how I learned which way to go. The Sheikah in training are not allowed to go down any other halls, so we were taught 'left, left, right, right,' which means whichever staircase you took, left or right from the hallway Marickiya and I came out of, you go the same direction at the bottom." Link wasn't following as well as he thought he should have.
"So that means..." Aine pointed down the hallway Vaati and Marickiya were standing in.
"We go that way." Marickiya was listening to their conversation and whispered something to Vaati. Without conferring with anyone, he started making his way down the hall Aine had indicated. She followed him, glancing back at the others.
"I guess we're leaving." Link said under his breath. He waved for Aine to keep up.
"It's not that much farther. The statue we've been looking for is just ahead." Aine said quietly to Link. He nodded. That had been some pretty uplifting news. They were almost done. He was sure all of them were very much ready to get out of this place. After a few more hundred steps, Marickiya began to jump up and down excitedly.
"There it is! I see it!"
It was indeed straight ahead, the statue depicting the Great Fairy of Spirit that they were searching for. The three men let out a sigh of relief while Marickiya ran to the statue. Soon, the four of them were gathered beneath the one-story-tall bust.
"What now?" Link was the first to say out loud what most of them were thinking. Marickiya was the only this thought had not occurred to. Her excitement fell and she started to look around, searching for something. She walked around the statue a few times. Each time she made a round, she grew more worrisome. Aine started to walk around the whole room, to see if he could be a little helpful. Vaati remained at the foot of the statue, taking in the tiny details. The most interesting thing about it was the lucid flower the deity held. It reflected the light from his starlight bottle beautifully. He also sensed an otherworldly presence from it. He thought about bringing that up to Marickiya.
"Aine, was there anything else you learned about this place?" Link asked of the Sheikah. He shook his head solemnly. He didn't want to say it out loud and further upset Marickiya, but she wasn't paying much attention. She had sidled up to Vaati who had been lost in his staring.
"I want to get a closer look of that flower." She said suddenly. Vaati took a step back and blinked.
"Wha-?" It took him a second to fully understand what she was saying, not because of the irregularity of the statement, but because it came literally from nowhere. "Why do you say that?"
"I'm not sure. But you can feel it too, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "There is something strange about it."
He could agree with that. He looked back up. It was a bit of a climb to get to the thing she wanted. He hummed. Maybe he could fly her up there.
"Give me a boost," Marickiya was already beginning her climb. He knew what little she could manage must have been difficult, what with her inability to utilize one of her hands. He sighed and decided to let her do what she wanted. He lowered himself to one knee and interlocked his fingers for her. She stepped up and started making her way up the stonework. She was doing rather well and he smiled at her progress. The flower was almost within her reach.
"Nearly there," she muttered aloud. He watched her stretch out her fingers.
Link and Aine had reappeared then, both talking about what else there could be to investigate. He glanced in their direction for a second then went to look back at Marickiya. His stomach churned.
"Where did Mari go?" Link asked casually. He noticed something was wrong by the way Vaati was whipping his head around.
"I don't know," he responded fearfully, continuing to look everywhere for her. She had disappeared.
"You don't know?" Link rushed over and joined him in his search. "Where was she before you lost track of her?"
"She was trying to touch the flower." Vaati pointed up at the said flower nestled in the hands of the illustrated deity.
"Mari!" Aine called semi-quietly into the dim cavern. Silence was the only answer to his call.
The chamber didn't have any other way out except for the one they'd come. There was no way she would have traversed that way, especially in the split second he had looked away. The only thing he could think of was that she had vanished not of her own volition.
He sensed movement apart from Aine or Link. Turning to face the darkness Aine had called out to he listened hard for anything, any sign of their missing friend.
He strayed away from the others, trying his best to push his senses. There were no traces of life from the darkness behind them, but he definitely was hearing shuffling sounds. There was also another noise that accompanied it. Something that sounded a lot like grinding teeth. He swallowed.
"Marickiya?" He whispered with uncertainty.
The shuffling stopped. Everything was gravely silent. Anxiety overtook him in waves, causing him to break out in cold sweat. Every rational thought in his mind was screaming at him that whatever he was hearing was most certainly not Marickiya.
A pair of sickly yellow dots swam into view and his breath hitched. His limbs betrayed his strong desire to run away from what could only be the eyes of some creature. A creature that held no life and stared deeply into him. He could only stand there, helplessly trapped inside the mind of a frightened child.
A horrific screech broke the silence like shattering glass. Rapid thumping met his ears meaning that something was heading in his direction at a very fast rate. He didn't have the time to move before it was already on top of him. He only saw a slim dark figure to go along with those reflective eyes before he tumbled to the ground on his back.
He was vaguely aware of his name being called somewhere behind him, too preoccupied with the struggle to get back up. His starlight bottle slipped from his grasp and it illuminated the beast that attacked him. It made a strange noise, clearly in discomfort from the brightness of his light. He thought to take that chance to get away, but it moved before he could try to throw it off of him.
It sunk its rotting teeth into his arm that he held in front of him and he screamed out in pain. Its jaw clamped down fiercely and was jerking its head around, tearing his arm up badly. For its scrawny body, it was incredibly strong. He couldn't throw it off.
"Vaati!" Link appeared in his vision. "Hold still!" He did the best he could to comply. Link made a great swing with his sword and the creature was cut cleanly in half. He felt the legs that were entangled with his kicking and writhing. The mouth gnawing on his forearm was bubbling with blood as it wailed but it still didn't let go.
"What the-?" he heard Link exclaim.
A black ooze was seeping out of the two halves and all over Vaati. There was stinging at first then a boiling hot pain. The undead beast's blood was corroding his skin and he screamed out again. Blinded by pain and panic, his magic responded by bringing a bright light to his free hands' finger tips. It was the same power he'd used earlier to get rid of the spirit being from his leg and Link's sword. He grabbed the thing by the head and it shrieked out, finally letting him go. He held his own grip firm until he felt what he was sure were bones cracking. It was starting to go limp and he was able to throw it away. Link leaned over him and made to grab the legs that were also beginning to still.
"Be careful of it's blood," Vaati managed to grunt out. Link then decided to use his boot to nudge the legs off of him and he was finally free. He took his bloodied arm to his chest and grasped it.
"Aine!" Link called. The boy came to them and they hooked theirs arms under Vaati's and dragged him back to the base of the statue. Link knelt beside him and was checking him over.
"I'm fine," he tried to say but he winced as blood poured relentlessly from him mangled arm. "I can heal myself, remember?"
"Not if you pass out from blood loss first," Link said. So he did remember that little flaw about his magic.
"I'll be fine once I stop the bleeding, then." He seethed.
It wasn't simply that, Link could see the black blood from the monster was still eating away at his skin. He needed help fast, but they were leagues below the surface of civilization and missing one of their number.
Before Link could make the sarcastic remark that was on his tongue, matters became inexplicably worse. A cacophony of screeches that matched the one they heard before Vaati was attacked came from the direction of the exit. Link swallowed hard.
"Aine, what are those things?" Link demanded, adopting the same irritated voice Vaati had been using lately.
"I think they're Redeads." He replied anxiously. Link had his sword at the ready to face the oncoming threat.
"You think they are?" Link asked scathingly. "That wasn't like any Redead I've ever seen."
It was then that Vaati slumped over.
"Woah," Aine caught him and sat him upright again. The mage's eyes were fluttering a bit and Aine bit his lip. He had to stay calm. He could help. Breathing deeply and focusing on his training, he thought about what needed to be done. The blood flow needed to be stopped first.
He ripped the wrappings off of his right arm and quickly wound them around the open wound, making sure they were tight enough. Just as he finished, the first wave of Redeads had arrived and Link was fending them off.
Next, he needed to wake up Vaati. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a glass bottle. He unstopped it and thrust the liquid under his nose. Its effect was immediate. Vaati groaned and his eyes were wide.
"Ugh!" he weakly pushed away the bottle.
"We need to get your shirt off," Aine said, noticing the black blood was still sizzling, but only affecting the skin. He made to grab at it, but Vaati slapped his hand away.
"No, I like this shirt." He stated adamantly. Aine couldn't tell if he was serious or delirious. Then the mage lit his hand as he had seen him do before and held it over his abdomen. The sizzling stopped and the substance was lifting away as if it had never been there. Blue sparks flickered across the area where the blood had covered him and around the bandages on his arm. Color was returning to his face. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Go help Link, I'll be up in a minute."
Aine gave him a nod, stood, then ran to Link's side. He balled his hands into fists and blades sprouted from the knuckle part of his gloves.
They were prepared to fight, but the weight of finding Marickiya in the process was definitely on all of their minds.
0000
Marickiya wasn't sure what to think of this new change in scenery. If she were asked to describe it, she'd say she were standing in the sky at dusk. There was no ground that she could see, though she seemed to be standing just fine. Pink and golden clouds drifted by lazily. She reached out to touch one but it was just out of her grasp. She didn't want to move her feet for fear of breaking the spell that held her aloft.
Just as she was thinking that the colorful clouds were the only interesting thing in this realm, she caught sight of something new. At first it looked as if it were ducking in and out of the clouds, like a kid playing a hiding game. Then she realized it was simply making its way towards her and the clouds danced all around it. It was another few moments of staring before she realized it was a woman who was walking towards her. She gasped lightly and nearly took a step back before remembering why she didn't want to do that. Her eyes remained transfixed on the approaching woman.
She was very regal looking, with a white and gold cloak and long black hair. She wasn't like any other she'd ever seen.
"Hello." The woman greeted her.
Marickiya wasn't sure about what to do next. She thought she might have been dreaming, what with the whole floating-in-the-sky thing. The woman seemed to notice her hesitation.
"I have been expecting you for a long while."
She used the same formal voice that Vaati used a lot of the time, except with a little more vigor. She looked genuinely happy to see her.
"Hello." It was the only thing she could think to say. Then she took a second to take in the woman's second statement. "You were expecting me?"
"Yes!" She said excitedly, clasping her hands together. Marickiya really didn't know how to react.
"Have... have we met before?"
"Oh, no! Definitely not!"
Marickiya was quite perplexed. She could remember clearly the events that led up to her getting here. She had been inside the Shadow Temple with her three other friends. Then they had arrived at the statue of the Deity of Souls. She told Vaati that she wanted to touch the statue's flower. And then...
They were there to try and find more information about the Phoenix from a mysterious hand written message within her book she had been translating. Could this woman be the one who wrote it?
"I should introduce myself," the woman said cheerily. She looked all too happy to be conversing with someone. How long had she been waiting here for her? "My name is Eyela, and in my time, I was chosen by the goddesses to become The Vessel, or as I like to call it, the Phoenix."
So it had been her who wrote the message! So many questions swirled around Marickiya's head.
"My name is Marickiya."
"It is very nice to finally meet you, Marickiya." Finally? More questions were added to the growing pile.
"You know who I am?" she asked.
"I have no idea who you are." She replied with a sweet smile. Marickiya raised an eyebrow. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder. "Could I ask you to tell me about yourself?"
"Um," the question was a little off the cuff, but she thought cooperating would get them discussing the Phoenix faster, "Like what?"
"Where are you from?" Eyela said giddily. Marickiya got the feeling she was prolonging her stay. She decided to humor her for the time being.
"I am from the desert. I was born in the Gerudo Fortress." Eyela gasped animatedly.
"How wonderful!" Then she caught herself. "Oh, but I'm sure it wasn't that wonderful for you. Growing up under Ganondorf's rule must have been difficult."
"You know about Ganondorf?" Marickiya realized too late how stupid that question was. Eyela scoffed.
"Of course I know. I was the one chosen to be his downfall after all." She suddenly became very somber, her expression dark. "I knew him..." She kept using the past tense. Her next question sprung to her lips before she could stop it.
"Knew? Did something happen between the two of you?" It was an insensitive question, and when she got an answer, she felt her stomach twisting in knots.
"He killed me."
So this woman also had a bloody past with the King of Evil, as she was sure most did.
"I'm sorry." Marickiya offered softly. Seeing the sadness in her face, Eyela waved her hand in the air.
"That's all over and done with." She said in her cheery tone again. "What matters now is telling you what you need to know about defeating him."
This is what she was waiting for. Finally, they were on their way to ridding Hyrule of the tyrant king.
"First, I'd like to share a small part of my story with you."
Marickiya felt her shoulders sag, wondering how long this would take. She couldn't say she wasn't interested in what the former Phoenix had to say. She was just ready to get back to her companions and share what she was about to find out.
"Alright," she gave Eyela a nod and received another smile.
"When I was born, a man named Rauru came to my family. From the beginning, I knew what I was; The Vessel." Marickiya interrupted.
"Wait, Rauru? As in the Sage of Light, Rauru?" She said disbelievingly. Eyela looked glad that she had known that.
"Correct!" She clapped her hands elatedly. "He told them what I was and me and my family were taken in by the Sheikah to hide this secret.
"I was raised and trained with them and told of my powers. I knew what I had to do and I embraced it.
"When I came of age, the leader of the Sheikah went to the King of Hyrule proposing a preemptive strike against the Gerudo, for that was where the Dark One was reincarnated.
"The King rejected this plan and criticized the leader. But the Sheikah knew what had to be done and decided to take their warriors to the desert. I went with them, as I was the only one who could truly defeat Ganondorf.
"The King of Hyrule was informed of the plan and sent his own armies to stop us. It was a gruesome battle.
"I was told by our leader to go on ahead and try to carry out our plan by myself. I snuck into the Fortress and Ganondorf's chambers and confronted him. For one as young as him, he was more powerful than I ever imagined. I didn't stand a chance..."
She paused in her story telling, a grim expression completely taking over her features.
It was already a lot to take in. Marickiya felt really sorry for her that she had to go through all she did. She was more eager to hear the rest of the story.
"So he killed you right then?" Eyela's head snapped up at the sound of her voice.
"Not quite," she continued like she hadn't paused, "I managed to escape, but I was gravely injured, and the only place I could go was the storming desert. It should come as no surprise that I did not make it very far.
"I lay there, dying as the sand slowly buried my body, knowing I was a failure. Not only had I not succeeded in defeating Ganondorf, but I also revealed what I was; an agent sent by the goddesses to make him mortal." Marickiya gasped.
"He knows about the Phoenix?" She exclaimed with disappointment in her voice. Eyela nodded sadly.
"I can only hope that he thinks my ability died with me. It is solely my fault that he found out what I was trying to do."
She was clearly really torn about all that happened in the past. Marickiya thought it wasn't completely her fault though.
"That's not true. It sounded to me that the leader of the Sheikah made a lot of hasty decisions." She tried to cheer her up. Eyela smiled but Marickiya could tell from her previous behavior that she was anything but happy.
"Your words are kind, but I must say this story is only a small part of what happened so long ago."
Marickiya nodded and waited for her to finish her tale.
"When the one who has been chosen to be The Vessel passes on, the responsibility is passed on to another individual. I knew I had to warn the next one born with the task of taking down the Dark One about what I had done. I had kept a diary, something I carried with me everywhere, even to my death. I wrote everything I learned from the Sheikah inside this diary, and my own story, the one I am telling you now.
"On the last page I wrote in, I scribbled a message. Then, I did something I was told to never do. I used the sealed power that resided within me."
"Why were you told to never use the power?" Marickiya was so absorbed in Eyela's words, she'd almost forgotten the reason she was there.
"The Sheikah feared that Ganondorf would recognize his own lost power and try to regain it. That was part of the reason I was kept hidden for most of my life."
"Did you try to save yourself?" Marickiya asked. Eyela shook her head.
"I already knew I was finished. First, I used the power to bid my diary to find and guide you to me. Then I warped myself to the statue of the Deity of Souls. With my last breath, I transferred a bit of myself into the crystal flower of the statue, all so that when my book led you there, I would be able to talk to you.
"Now, here we are."
It was an amazing story. It answered a lot of Marickiya's questions, but not all. The one that begged to be answered the most was the next one she asked.
"But why me? You said we had never met before." She asked curiously. Eyela looked puzzled by her question.
"You truly have not figure it out yet?"
It was Marickiya's turn for a puzzled look. What had she not figure out? Was it obvious? Eyela sure made it seem like it was. For the life of her, she couldn't put all the pieces together.
"My dear," she said to the Gerudo girl with a hint of sorrow behind her words, "You were chosen to meet me here because I bid my diary to find the next Vessel and guide them to me."
She let the words wash over her for a moment. Then the meaning behind them finally hit her. Hard.
She found the book that no one else could read. She found out she could use some sort of magic that was previously unknown to her. Everything else that had happened to her since fleeing the Gerudo was falling into place. Rauru's strange interest in her when they first met. She was overwhelmed.
"I..." She couldn't put any of her thoughts into words.
She was the one they had been looking for. She was the Phoenix.
"I realize this must be a lot for you. There is more I must tell you before I send you back."
Marickiya was barely listening. Her thoughts were already coming up with ideas about their fight with Ganondorf. Between Vaati's powerful magic, Link's Master Sword, and her ability to render a god mortal, they would be unstoppable. They wouldn't need to wait around anymore for him to resurface. They could take the fight to him. The thrill of it was sending chills down her spine. They could do it. They could win.
She realized Eyela was waiting expectantly for her and she cleared her throat.
"Sorry. What else do you need to tell me?" She said politely though she was more eager than ever to get back to her group.
"As I told you," Eyela said, "My mistakes made Ganondorf aware of the Phoenix and what threat it posed to him. This puts you at a disadvantage."
"I'm not too worried about that. This time, I won't be alone." Marickiya said enthusiastically. Eyela looked grim again.
"You should not underestimate the Dark One. You will need more than a little help to defeat him for good."
"Alright, then. We'll prepare an army." Eyela eyed her disbelievingly.
"Do you really hold that much influence?" she asked. Marickiya shook her head.
"I don't. But the Hero of Time does." She hadn't used his title in a while and it was usually only in jest. His name was just as revered as she guessed it might have been. Eyela looked shocked.
"The Hero of Time has awakened?" She almost looked a little frightened. "But that would mean..." she said quietly to herself. Then she straightened up. "Please, tell me everything that has happened in the last sixteen years."
Marickiya was taken aback by her request. Was that how long she had been down here waiting for her?
"Well, nothing happened until about eight years ago. That was when Ganondorf attacked Hyrule under the guise of swearing fealty to the King..."
She repeated the story that Link told her a while back during their training at Lon Lon, about him rescuing the seven Sages and sealing Ganondorf. Then, once the story caught up to where she entered in, she became more detailed; how Ganondorf escaped from his prison in the Sacred Realm and the attacks he was already waging on them. She looked incredibly disheartened by this news.
"I am sorry. All of this could have been avoided if I had not failed." Eyela bowed her head. Marickiya felt guilty for telling her, even though she had asked. She really had no idea about the King of Evil's reign and now she felt responsible. The only thing to do then was to make it right.
"How do I turn Ganondorf mortal?" Eyela slowly raised her eyes to meet Marickiya's. All the cheeriness she showed at first was gone.
"You have a power within you. This power allows you to weld your soul to anything you choose. An object, a force, or another soul for example. You must use it to destroy Ganondorf."
That was an interesting method. She never would have guessed it involved her own soul. She just thought it was some extra ability she had, sort of like the magic sealed within her.
"How do I do it?" she asked.
"You must be in contact with him." Was all she replied with. Was that really it? Would the power just activate on its own? It was too simple.
"I don't need to say or do anything?" Eyela shook her head and Marickiya pushed her hair out of her face. "I don't really understand."
"You will." Eyela stated vaguely. "Just know that you shouldn't use the sealed magic against him. All would be lost if he realizes that you hold his power within you."
"Okay..." Marickiya trailed off uncertainly.
"There is one more thing you should know." Marickiya thought their conversation was done. She waited for her to finish. Eyela grew solemn. "Taking the power of a god would be a great strain on a mortal body and soul.
"In order for you to conquer the Dark One, you must surrender your life."
With one sentence, all the ideas and excitement that had previously flooded her were draining just as quickly. Her insides started squirming uncomfortably.
"Wait, what?" She shook her head violently. "No. That... that can't be the only way!" She tried desperately racking her brain for any possible alternative.
"If you do not do this, the Dark One will only get stronger and possibly regain his sealed power from you." The other woman declared solemnly.
"I know that... But-" Fear had its icy grip on her. She could feel herself beginning to tremble. The former Phoenix smiled sadly as she approached.
"When the time comes, you will know what you must do." Eyela's face was becoming blurry. Everything was fading and the clouds became exceptionally dense.
Then there was no ground beneath her and she felt like she was falling as blackness engulfed her.
0000
The fight was raging on harder than ever. Vaati couldn't take the time he needed to fully recover and ended up joining the battle with blood still seeping from his arm. That suited him just fine, though. His blood was the source of his magic. His hands were both covered in the thick red liquid and it amplified his magical attacks. It was still difficult keeping the Redeads at bay. The three men fought hard and were starting to tire out.
"We can't keep this up for long," Vaati shouted to the others. Link agreed but didn't have any other ideas.
"Any suggestions?" Link shouted back as he removed the head of one Redead with his sword.
"Leave Marickiya and try to escape?" Vaati offered. Link scowled at him.
"That's not funny. You aren't being serious, are you?"
"Of course I'm not!" Vaati yelled. Their irateness was an added bonus of getting worn out.
Vaati used his magic to summon a pillar of fire and sent it careening at the horde of Redeads. The ones that he didn't get with the flames scrambled away from the offending light. The fire wall pushed all the way through the enemies, lighting up the area as it went. Link gulped. There were hundreds of them.
"I kinda wish you hadn't done that." The Hylian said weakly. "Where did they all come from?"
Recovering from Vaati's attack, the Redeads continued their advance.
"The walls are wider." Vaati said. Link wasn't catching on to what he meant by that. He 'tsk'ed. "They came from the walls. Remember how it looked like packed in dirt before?"
"No."
"He's right." Aine added.
It didn't matter if Vaati was right or not. They were going to lose this fight soon.
From behind them, the statue of the Deity suddenly gave off a brilliant light. The Redeads were tumbling backwards and screeching in agony. Anxiety rippled through the three men.
"What now?" Link mumbled. With the immediate threat momentarily retreating, they were given the chance to turn their attention to the commotion behind them.
There was a sharp gasp from Aine. All three pairs of eyes fell on Marickiya who was laying prone at the base of the statue.
Link and Vaati both made steps for her, but the groaning of the Redeads returned and they were forced to deal with the situation at hand. Vaati faced the incoming enemies.
"Link, I can hold them back." He offered. Link watched in hesitance for a tick to make sure Vaati had it under control before rushing to his half sister.
"Mari?" He jostled her lightly and spoke softly. She opened her eyes and he gave a small sigh of relief. "Can you stand?" She nodded and he pulled her up to her feet. She wasn't up long before her knees buckled and she was shaking her head.
"Link!" His name was shouted by the mage. He looked up to see Vaati standing with his hands stretched out in front of him and his feet planted firmly apart to stabilize himself. He was holding everything back with a barrier that spanned the entire length of the room. The only reason he could see it at all was because every time a Redead crashed into it, it caused the space to ripple. The Redeads were piling on top of each other trying to get through. "Get your crystal ready!"
His crystal? He was talking about Farore's Wind! He ripped open the pouch on his belt and grabbed it.
"Aine!" He called to the Sheikah who had been transfixed by Vaati's display of power. He jogged over to them. "Take Mari's hand and hold on." Once he saw that Aine had a good grasp on Marickiya, he was ready.
"Vaati!" He signaled. Vaati turned his head and gave him a nod.
He took one step back and it was nerve-racking to see the barrier flicker. He took another step, getting into a position to run. The barrier was weakening rapidly then. He dropped his hands and there was no longer anything holding the Redeads back. He was too quick for them though and he brought his hands towards his chest, then threw them outward, causing a huge gust of wind to send the decrepit bodies flying away from him. Without looking back, he took off.
Link held up his Farore's Wind gem and the brilliant green light returned. Vaati took the last few steps to lunge at the Hylian and grab his wrist before everything was enveloped in that green light...
They all experienced a brief sensation of floating before being dropped suddenly. Without the awareness of how far down the ground was below them, only Vaati and Link managed to land on their feet. Aine fell awkwardly and fell to his knees. Marickiya went face first into the floor.
"Are we back at the beginning of the temple?" Aine asked in awe.
They were indeed back in the small circular room that branched off into the two separate paths both groups had taken earlier.
"Mari, are you okay?" Link asked softly of her. He helped her sit up and she nodded her head blearily. The others joined them. "What happened back there?"
She took a breath before explaining.
"I spoke with a woman. She told me who the Phoenix is." Link's eyes lit up with triumph.
"Who did she say?"
"She said…" She looked around at each pair of eyes looking intently at her waiting for an answer. She felt suffocated. Her gaze lingered on Vaati's face for a moment longer than the others and she could feel her resolve slipping. She knew that the pain and fear she felt had flashed across her eyes and Vaati had been the only one to see it. She took a small breath as her mind began to numb. "I am the Phoenix."
The other three held the same surprised looks at first, but then had varying reactions. Link was looking excited and Aine couldn't help but smile at the Hylian's fervor. Vaati was the only one who shared Marickiya's less than happy disposition.
"This is great!" She heard Link say, but could barely comprehend anything else he said after. Her head was swimming with Eyela's last words to her. It was only when Link nudged her in her shoulder before she was brought back to the present. She looked up at him with a glazed look. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Just really tired." She replied without missing a beat.
It wasn't hard at all, not telling him. At that moment, all she wanted to focus on was getting back to the loft and laying down. She held onto that notion to hold herself steady.
"Alright," he had a fleetingly concerned look before she had replied. "We'll get back home so we can rest." She nodded listlessly and didn't object to him and Aine aligning on either side of her. They pulled her up and were carefully guiding her out. No one was paying attention as Vaati lagged behind.
His mind was frozen. His planning, the reason he was there, their discovery in the temple... Nothing made sense anymore. She can't be. It just couldn't be. He was so utterly convinced that it couldn't be her. Not her, please.
'Vaati,' a voice rang out in his head and his storm of emotion ceased, ready to accept any distraction. He whipped his head, looking around aimlessly.
"Vaati, are you coming?" Link called back to him from the chamber's entrance. Vaati didn't respond immediately. Then...
"We have a new development," he made a sour expression. "Lana has just contacted me." Marickiya looked back. She had a fiery look as she turned and held onto Aine. This was something she could be reasonably angry at, and by golly she was going to take advantage of it.
"What does she want?" She asked in a quiet voice, but it was firm, cold. There was a pregnant pause.
"She is asking for help," he replied with a mild tone of surprise. Before anyone could question him further, he went on. "She says Ganon has her locked up."
"Good. Keep her there. Why does she think we would we help her?" Marickiya asked venomously, posing the question that was also on Vaati's mind. Another pause. Then Vaati paled.
"Because if we don't, she will tell Ganondorf we are looking for the Phoenix."
Silence dropped like a bomb. None of them had the words to describe how demoralizing this new information was.
"What should we do?" Link asked of Marickiya, who's head was bowed. Aine, who didn't have prior knowledge of Lana or why Marickiya was acting so fiercely, looked between the two bemusedly.
"Leave her." She said resolutely and attempted to keep making her way out of the accursed temple. Link looked beaten down.
"But-" he was going to try to reason with her but she snapped quickly.
"Leave her there!" Marickiya yelled. "Why should it matter? They don't know it's me," tears were welling up in her eyes. "You agree, right Vaati?" She called to him. When he didn't respond right away, she looked weak. "Vaati?"
"I can't." He looked incredibly defeated. "I have to go." Marickiya was stunned.
"Why?" Was all she managed to get out.
"Because my mission is defeating Ganondorf." He looked across the room to her with hurt in his eyes. "I can't let one of the only means we have be jeopardized."
That was it. He wasn't doing this to protect her, but because of what she was to him now. A weapon to be used against the enemy.
She didn't say anything more. She just turned around so that no one could see her face.
"Fine." Her voice quivered.
He wanted to reach out, to go after her. But he wouldn't. He bit his tongue hard.
A breeze entered the cave and she knew he had gone.