This chapter took longer than expected due to minor writer's block and dealing with a few other things, but everything should be back on track. On the bright side, this is one of the longer chapters so far.

Things continue to wind down after the most recent defeat of Kneph...or maybe...they're winding up? Link will have to make a difficult choice about his future.

Chapter 15 – A Moment of Respite

Haunting wails filled the skies over Death Mountain, breaking the serenity of the sunset. A black, ragged cloak billowed through the wind on a course for the upper end of the mountain.

Sitting with his legs dangling over a cliff was a child in green overalls, his sight trained on the phenomenon.

The Hylian child watched the entity hit the mountain wall behind him and take on the battered form of Kneph. The demon breathed heavily – he didn't actually need air, but the gesture was a testament to his anger and frustration. His eyeless sockets quickly turned onto the boy.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kneph screeched indignantly.

A grin far more wicked than any child should know drew across the boy's lips. "Link is back and you've failed to defeat them. Again."

"And this amuses you?"

"Father will not be pleased," the boy responded. "Well, he was already displeased with you, so I wonder if this will be your curtain call."

"Such condescending speech from one whose deceptive ways have accomplished little!" Kneph hissed suddenly, closing the distance between the two so that his rancid breath was upon the boy.

"Hypocrite. You were assigned to Hyrule with one task: destroy those that possessed Champion Souls. In all the years of indiscriminate rampages, you've only killed Link, so it's pretty obvious that you don't know where to search. And to top it off, he's back. You've been sent back to square one! At this rate, their numbers will swell."

"You speak as if this doesn't affect you!"

The child leaned back, propping himself up with both hands against the hard ground. "At the moment, it doesn't. My task isn't to kill them."

"They are still a threat."

"Which is entirely your fault," the boy replied with a chuckle. "I always knew your reckless and barbaric ways would catch up to you eventually. Bravo."

Kneph's fuse had already been shortened by his humiliating defeat. A threatening gust of wind surged from the demon. "I'm older than you, Mardek!" he declared, infuriated.

Mardek responded in tandem, unleashing a swampy black aura that blocked the wind like a wall. "Is that supposed to excuse your incompetence?" the boy murmured with nonchalance.

A tense silence ensued, letting the pulsating powers of the two evil entities speak for themselves as they threatened to consume one another. In an instant, Mardek's power receded, and Kneph slowly scaled back his winds in response.

"You know, word of your failure will reach Father eventually, even if I have to bring it to him myself," Mardek admitted more solemnly. "But I'd really hate to lose another brother because of them, and I don't see any way for you to get out of this...besides actually succeeding in your mission."

"I have no intention of failing," Kneph replied stoically.

"But you know this is most likely your final act if Father has any say."

"...I'll summon the Tempest when I'm able."

"You fool; you'll be more vulnerable than ever!" Mardek warned, but it was too late. Kneph already took off towards the top of the mountain.

The wraith hovered above Death Mountain and clasped his bony hands together, entering a trance.

Mardek stood up and rolled his eyes. "I guess either side could win," he murmured, starting back down the trail of the mountain. "And regardless of which side does, the show must go on..."

Neal slowly shut the door to his son's room and leaned his back against the adjacent wall. The hallway was dimly lit by the light orb from the living room, but he could still see the figure of his wife exiting their own bedroom.

"Is he finally asleep?" Tia asked.

Neal slowly nodded.

Tia narrowed her eyes and fixated them on Neal's face. He knew she was trying to read his expression and it annoyed him a bit.

"What?"

"Do you believe everything he said?"

Was this a trap for an argument? He already got lectured once today.

"Do you believe everything he said?" he retorted.

"I asked you first."

Neal sighed and closed his eyes. "I believe he believes that everything he said happened."

"That's a copout," Tia said with a smirk.

"Not really. You heard him describe it all. He was downright adamant. So either he's lost his mind or it really happened. He seems perfectly fine to me."

"Is this your way of admitting it might have happened?"

"What's with the skeptic smirk? You're always telling me to be more open."

"I meant personality-wise...but being open-minded isn't a bad thing either."

Neal led his wife out of the darkened confines of the hallways and into the living room, sitting on the posh couch. The seat was never to his liking, but after all, he wasn't the one that bought it.

"Well, there's a lot we don't really understand about our universe, and I'm pretty sure some of that is because certain people in power don't think we should know," Neal said, his gaze on the empty TV screen. "So let's look at Derwin's story and set aside all our disbelief, and assume for just a moment that everything he said was the absolute, unadulterated truth."

Tia smiled excitedly. "You're starting to sound like me now. Okay, so now what?"

"Link went to another world with a mysterious pokemon and his parents are absolutely distraught. What would you do about it?"

"I'd get proof but there isn't any."

"None that the boys knew of. This Lucario guy sounds like he comes and goes as he pleases. I don't think it's the first time he's made a trip to Centropolis. Someone has to know something about this. Maybe a specialist that studies things like that..."

"Wait...you're not talking about..."

"Yep."

"But I thought he was just joking about working in the 5th Department."

"That's what he wanted you to think." Neal fished his cellphone from his pocket. "It's late but he's usually up all night. I'm going to call him and see if he can help us."

Link leaned against the wall of a house, watching the spirited Ordonians surrounding the bonfire; some danced while others held the first casual conversations in ages. The celebration was thrown in Link's honor, and the food was already devoured, but Link eventually found himself observing his fellow Ordonians.

There was a sense of community he didn't realize he missed. Centropolis was such a gargantuan city; you made a couple of friends and you kept them close. But in Ordon, everyone knew each other. It was an extended family and the village thrived on that connection. Despite the changes in his absence, Link still felt that familiarity. Everyone welcomed him back with open arms. Well, almost everyone...

Ilia's face was brightly lit by the flames as she held a conversation with Roy. Link sighed thinking about their 'reunion.' He knew the girl was impetuous, and he could only imagine how his death ravaged her, but he was hoping for a more friendly response. It made him wonder the point in reviving his old life if those he cared about the most rejected him for it.

Those thoughts instantly vanished when the girl looked at him over her shoulder and smiled. She started heading his way and he began to fret; what would he say? His view was suddenly blocked by Peach.

"Hellooooo!" she said cheerily, holding on to her white parasol.

"Oh...hi princess," Link murmured.

"Princess? We are a team now, you should call me Peach," she said with a wink.

"Okay, Peach."

"I've heard about your deeds in the past here in Hyrule. You are so revered and loved by everyone; I just had to wonder how you are readjusting to this life."

Link was almost taken aback. Roy made Peach out to be a flake, but she was the first one to ask him how he felt about all of this.

"To tell you the truth, there hasn't been any time to do any readjusting," he admitted. "Today's been so crazy...I woke up this morning to get ready for school, now I'm being celebrated for fending off a demon."

Link let out a short yawn as the long day wore down on him. He realized that Hyrule and Centropolis were on two different time axes. When he left the city, it was mid-afternoon, but still morning in Hyrule. If he were in his apartment, he'd be asleep by now.

"Maybe this is a little sudden and premature for me to ask, but what are you going to do when it's over?"

"I want to go back to Centropolis and let my parents know what's going on. They're completely in the dark. Then I guess we get prepared to take down Azazel."

"Oh, no. I mean, when the war is won. You've got two lives to live now, have you made any decisions?"

Link froze. It never occurred to him. Awakening created such a massive fork in his future that he wasn't sure why he never pondered it in the slightest. There was Link from Ordon and Link from Volesdale, now one entity. He couldn't live both lives at once. It was simply impossible – and maybe a little selfish to even entertain the notion.

And yet, how could he not? Hyrule's hero was cut down before his time while trying to protect the people of the land. It was unfair for someone with such a bright future to lose it like that, and he had already started reconnecting with everyone. Could he leave them again so suddenly?

But Link Jensen was a teenager still in the beginning stages of his life. He had parents that were raising him and were waiting on his return, and friends he was still in the process of growing up with. He was essentially still a child with so much to live for.

"I don't know..." Link whispered.

Peach backed off. "I...I'm sorry. I can't imagine the turmoil you must be going through. I can be so dense sometimes..."

"No, it's okay. I should have thought about this way before you brought it up."

The saddened look upon the princess's face displayed just how regretful she was.

"Link?" Ilia murmured as she approached. His pained expression concerned her.

"I...I'll talk to you later," Peach said, making herself scarce.

"What did she say to you?" Ilia cautiously inquired.

"It's nothing you need to worry about right now," Link replied, finding himself still trying to instinctively protect her.

Ilia didn't like that reply but chose not to dwell on it. "I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier."

"It's understandable."

"No! After what you've been through, my reaction was unacceptable." She found it hard to keep eye contact with him. "I don't know what came over me."

"Then let's put that behind us."

"You're right. Let's start over and pretend that this is our first reunion."

It was a silly suggestion, but Link played along. He cleared his throat and said, "Hi, Ilia."

Link nearly lost his balance when Ilia dove in and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Link," she whispered. She broke away and said, "You have to tell me everything you've been through."

"You too," Link responded. "The village looks the way it was the last time I was here, but everyone seems a little...different."

"Then we'll officially catch up...but, let's do that tomorrow. It's late and I know you've had a busy day."

Link watched Ilia walk to her home. He leaned against the wall with a smile. For once, it seemed that all was right in the world. Or at least that was true for Hyrule. He wondered about his parents back in Centropolis and how they were taking the news of his departure, if they even accepted what his friends told them. He wouldn't sleep easy tonight thinking about their lack of sleep.

He spotted Lucario away from the festivities and it gave him an idea.

"Lucario!"

The pokemon only marginally acknowledged Link with a glance when he approached. Link had a quick urge to ask him about his anti-social behavior but went with his original question.

"Maybe tomorrow morning we can go back to Centropolis for an hour or two so I can tell my friends and parents what's going on?"

"No."

Link frowned. Lucario didn't even take a second to think about it. "Why not?"

"What if Kneph strikes while we are away?"

"We messed him up pretty good. Would he come back so soon?"

Lucario let out a cynical chuckle and said, "Demons have pride issues. He may be more desperate than ever at this point."

"Yeah, but the rest of us can hold down the fort," Roy interjected, suddenly appearing behind them. He received a glare from Lucario for his efforts.

"You should know better than to underestimate them. It's possible one of the other demons could step in for Kneph."

Morbid curiosity struck Link. "Wait, just how many demons are we talking about?"

Roy and Lucario traded glances. Link didn't like that at all.

"Ten of varying power," Roy murmured. "Some of them dwarf Kneph."

"You've got to be joking!"

"Nine," Lucario clarified, "I already took care of one."

"But nine is still more than I expected," Link thought aloud. "You guys could have told me that before I signed up for this."

"Are you backing out?"

"No, of course not! But I don't think that detail needed to be hidden."

"It was never hidden. You simply never asked, so I felt no urgency in relaying that information."

Lucario abruptly walked off, away from the light of the bonfire and into the darkest regions of the village. Link had no idea where he was going and pondered if some part of their conversation offended him. It was also possible that he simply wanted to be alone, and pestering him about going back to Centropolis didn't help.

"I really don't get him," Link finally said.

"I've known him for years and even I don't get him!" Roy admitted, amused by the prospect. "But don't worry too much about the demons. They're spread out across the worlds so it's not like we're going to get attacked by all nine of them at once. If we take out Azazel we may not even have to worry about them."

"Wouldn't killing their 'father' just make them angrier?"

"The way Lucario explained it, the demons were spawned from Azazel's body and are kinda like detached, independent limbs that still have a connection to their host. Any severe injuries they receive, Azazel can feel to some extent."

Those words instilled a strange new hope within Link. In some way, Azazel had already felt the sting of the Master Sword. It brought vulnerability to an impervious force he had heard only by name.

"If we destroy Azazel, then the demons die with him. But that's just a theory," Roy noted quickly, not wanting to get Link's hopes up too high. "At the very least, they'll be less dangerous without someone to organize and command their assaults. They'll have no purpose."

"I don't know. It feels like Kneph has a vendetta against me."

"Hopefully we take him out before we get to Azazel." Roy turned around and began walking back towards the bonfire before saying, "This is your first night as a Smash Brother, so I'm going to give you some advice: sleep light. You never know when training will begin..."

"Training? What kind of training?" Link questioned, but Roy had already left.

I can say that we are beyond the halfway point of the story. From here on out we should be getting into the final stretches. What exactly is Kneph summoning? Who is Neal contacting? And what training is Roy alluding to? A climax is approaching!