The Bleeding Effect
Chapter VII
Link approaches the darknut slowly, tightening his grip on the Master Sword. He must crane his neck to stare up at its faceless black helmet.
"Be careful," Midna cautions. "I have no idea what to do against these knight things! Just try using the sword techniques you know, Link!"
The silver blade of his weapon wavers slightly in the air. Link takes a long breath to center himself. Without further ado the darknut charges, sword arching downward to cleave his head in two. Link parries, but staggers a few steps, the sheer power of the monster's attack jarring him. Before he has firmly regained his footing, the darknut swings at him again. Link jumps to the right, feels a rush of air on his left, the darknut's sword imbedding itself mere inches from where he stands. Link thrusts the Master Sword toward the monster, only to be ferociously blocked by the darknut's shield. He tries again and again with the same technique, and is always rebuffed. The first block was no fluke; the darknut's defenses are impenetrable from the front. But what about its back?
Link attempts to dart around his foe, but the other warrior is too sly to permit him such an edge. The darknut slashes horizontally, and Link automatically folds into a roll, lest his head be lopped off. He rises, breaths coming in gasps as he is forced to immediately defend against another barrage. Link has never fought an enemy so remarkably relentless. Sweat trickles from the nape of his neck, down the back of his mail. Panic buds in his chest as the fight continues to drag on. He's been worn down from the seven rooms that preceded this one, both physically and mentally. The gohmas that infest the temple make his insides squirm, each stringy web, each skittering sound a piercing reminder of his inability to save the Great Deku Tree from their queen. The darknut, on the contrary, is well rested, its mind as sound as servant of darkness' mind can be. Yet another of Link's attacks glances off of the darknut's shield. Link executes a few spin attacks, but they only serve to make his head swim, the darknut effortlessly deflecting each one.
"Is that all you have to offer, boy?" The darknut taunts, its voice deep and dark beneath its visor.
Link lashes out again and again, each failed strike clanging harmlessly off of the monster's shield and armor.
"You disappoint me."
The darknut surges forward, bashing its shield against Link's. The hero is knocked to the floor, all the air in his lungs wrenched away with one pained gasp. Stunned, Link cannot stop the monster from kicking away the Master Sword. The blade skids across the stone and comes to a rest too far for Link to even hope to reach. The hero draws his shield to his chest in a feeble defense. A large hand reaches down and jerks the Hylian shield from his arm, tossing it to the side. Link can do nothing to stop the heavy boot from crunching down onto his shoulder. His cry intermingles with the darknut's laugh. Suddenly, a small hand paws at his pouch—Midna? What is she—and then the darknut draws back its sword in preparation for the final blow. Link tries to twist away, but the monster's foot pins him to the floor. Link claws uselessly at the boot as the sword falls and—
He's abruptly back in the first room of the temple. Link lies on the floor, still breathing hard, both from exertion and the rush of fear from when the darknut's weapon was making its descent. Tears sting at the corners of his eyes. He scrubs them away. When he drops his hands, Midna is hovering above him, fuming.
"What was that?" She spits, and Link cuts his eyes away from hers as he slowly props himself up into a sitting position. His right arm—his shield arm—throbs, burns. He prods at it warily, praying that it's only bruised, at most. "Hey, I'm talking to you here!"
Ooccoo Jr. surreptitiously tucks himself back into Link's pouch, having no desire to get in the middle of their spat.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it. Answer my question. What kind of swordplay was that?"
"I was trying my best!" Link protests.
"That was your best? Don't you know any more types of moves? Can't you do anything besides a thrust, slash, or spin attack? What about a helm splitter? Ending blow? Shield attack? Back splice?"
Link shakes his head, crestfallen. "I've never even heard of any of those moves, let alone know how to execute them."
"What? But you're the one who—" She falls silent. She cannot exactly say that an older version of him was the one to teach all these skills and more to her Link.
Link regards her suspiciously. "I'm the one who what?"
"It's nothing! Drop it, Link!" She snaps, but feels instantly guilty as Link shrinks away from her. "Would you stop that already?"
"I'm sorry."
"And stop apologizing!"
"I'm sorry!" Link bites his lip. "I-I mean, I'm sorry I said—" He groans in exasperation with himself.
"Why do you feel the need to constantly apologize?"
"I, well, you know…"
"No, I don't know." She says testily. "You see, when someone asks a question, chances are, it's because they do not know the answer."
Link shifts his weight. He takes off his cap; the exposed brown-blonde hair is mussed and damp with sweat. He fiddles with the hat for a time. Midna is just about to demand an answer from him again when the boy finally speaks.
"I'm…scared."
Midna waits a few beats for Link to elaborate, but when no further explanation is forthcoming, she is eventually forced to urge him on.
"What are you afraid of?"
Link's thumbs rub against the seams of the green material rhythmically, repeatedly. A crutch for his emotions, Midna realizes. Like a stressed child with a stuffed toy.
"Link," She urges. "You can trust me. You know that, right? We're friends."
Link clenches the cloth hard, his fists starting to shake a little. He bows his head, bangs obscuring his face.
"They all say that. They all do. The Great Deku Tree. Saria. Sheik. Navi. They say they're my friends, that they'll always be with me, by my side, no matter what. But where are they now?" Link sniffles. He rubs at his cheeks, which are enflamed with embarrassment. Midna places a tiny hand on his shoulder, and Link melts into the touch.
"I don't want you to get mad at me, so I apologize, but apologies make you madder, but I don't know what to do. I don't want you to leave too."
"Link, no, no. I'm not mad at you."
"But…I lost the duel. I would have been slain if not for you and the ooccas. I don't know enough. I'm not good enough to be the hero, I'm sorry, I—"
"Stop it! I was short with you not because I was mad with you, but because I was worried about you. I miscalculated the darknut's strength; I expected it to be a challenge, yes, but nothing so life-threatening. Seeing you so close to death scared me. That's what I'm afraid of. Losing you. So don't you see? You don't need to be frightened of driving me away, because I'm frightened of losing you."
Link turns away from her. "You're just saying this because you need me to find the mirror shards."
Midna flies in front of him. She tugs his face up to meet her eyes. "Why is this so hard for you to understand? I value you, Link. Yes, for your skills on the battlefield." Link's glance falls away, but Midna pushes on. "But I also care for you because you are my friend. You're not just a hero, you're a person, a person I enjoy spending my time with. There's no one I'd rather be with on this quest, even if they knew better sword techniques. Trust me, Link."
At last, Link nods. The imp's hands slide from his face.
"I trust you." Link meets her eyes. "I trust you, Midna."
He rises, brushing off his tunic. He grimaces at the futility of it; the green fabric is splotched with bloodstains and grime.
"It was foolish of us to attack the darknut without forethought." Midna admits. "There's a fine line between courage and stupidity, and we crossed it. Before we go back down there and reclaim your sword and shield, we're going to need a plan."
Link lifts Ooccoo Jr. from his pouch. The small oocca flutters around them, happy now that the arguing has finished. "I've got one. And I'm going to need your help to do it, friend." He smiles at her.
Link breaths deeply. He stands just outside the darknut's arena, staring at the metal work of the door. He knows that the monster waiting for him retracted the grate that sealed the room shut. Nothing is stopping him from entering the room now, except himself. Midna is by his side. He can do this.
Squaring his shoulders, Link enters the room. The darknut has returned to its position in the middle of the room in his absence. Off on the side, Link's blade and shield remain scattered about on the floor. The impure being could not touch the blade, and what use had it for a second shield?
The darknut raises its sword and shield, readying for an attack.
"You're more stupid than I believed you to be, boy. Not even two hours have passed after your first defeat at my hand, and you've already come crawling back for another thrashing. Are you that eager to meet your fate? Or, perhaps," Its dark voice drips with disdain. "will you show your cowardly nature again, and run away before the final blow can be dealt?"
"I'm not running away. Not anymore. Midna, now!"
The princess presses the shadow crystal against Link's neck, and the transformation is almost instantaneous this time, to his relief. Perhaps his body just needed to acclimate to the idea of shifting.
The darknut lowers its sword ever so slightly, bemused at the sight of the wolf before it. Link seizes this chance. With a tremendous burst of speed from his hind legs, he is upon the darknut before it can register anything more than a golden blur. Link's teeth shred the leather fasteners connecting the armor covering the darknut's shoulder to the armor protecting its torso as if they were poorly spun bed sheets. The armor clangs to the floor as Link retreats a few paces. The darknut claps the hand holding its shield to his now-exposed shoulder. It reforms its attacking stance with renewed vigor, and charges towards Link with a battle cry. As it nears the wolf, the darknut hauls its massive blade behind its back in preparation for a swing.
At this time, Midna, who had up until this point clung rather unobtrusively to Link's back, springs into action. Her orange hair forms into a gigantic glowing hand. It shoots forwards, fingers burying themselves in the darknut's vulnerable shoulder. With a shout, the darknut drops its weapon.
Link jumps back on the offensive, methodically snapping off bits and pieces of the darknut's armor. He feels wonderful. This battle is going so much easier for him than their previous bout. Being a wolf capable of intelligent thought has given him boundless advantages. He is able to use the heightened senses and strengths of an animal while still retaining his ability to think like a human being. The haze of bloodlust from his first fight in this form against the moblins has all but ebbed. He can win this. With Midna by his side, there's nothing he can't do!
"I should thank you, boy, for peeling away that annoying armor." The darknut draws a second blade, this one comparatively slimmer, but by no stretch of the imagination shorter. "Now the true fight can finally begin."
With unexpected speed the darknut is upon Link, bashing its shield into his snout hard enough for blood to trickle from one nostril. The darknut does not keep its grip on the shield, allowing it to fall to the ground like his many pieces of armor, like the hero's own Hylian one. At this point in their battle, using the bulky, heavy shield will only slow it down. Link growls, low and furious, and lunges for the darknut's jugular. The monster throws up its sword arm as a substitute for its neck, but just as Link's teeth pierce through the chain mail, the darknut delivers a kick to Link's side.
Yelping, Link releases his hold, sliding to the floor. He scrambles away quickly, claws scraping on the marble. The darknut's heavy boot lands where the hero's head had rested mere breaths ago.
The darknut stabs at the wolf, blade like a silver streak of lightning. Link is able to avoid being impaled or skewered, but he hasn't enough time between each dodge to retaliate.
Until Midna involves herself in the fray, that is. Her hair forms a fist that buries itself in the darknut's stomach. The darknut doesn't flinch. It wrenches at Midna's hair, uprooting her from her seat atop Link. It tosses her against the wall. She cries out once, sags to the floor, and does not get up again. Her hair drains of its vibrancy, receding back to the top of her head.
Link yearns to attend to Midna, but it must wait until after he finishes off the darknut. Midna's attack didn't cause pain, but instead served a secondary purpose; giving Link a window of time to attack the monster while it was otherwise distracted. He won't let his friend's pain be for nothing.
Again, the golden wolf aims for the darknut's throat. This time, he succeeds. Caught off guard, Link's once-formidable foe barely twitches as it's dealt the fatal bite, lifeblood dissolving into curling smoke as the darknut's body blackens with defeat.
The hero doesn't watch as the darknut crumbles away; rather, he's sprinting to Midna's side. He noses her cheek, a smear of his blood remaining on the cold flesh. Still she does not stir. Whimpering, he nudges her again and again. He doesn't know what else he can do for her in this state. His tail twitches with his anxiety.
"Down, boy." Midna shuffles upright, combing a hand through her hair. "Your nose is far too cold." She winces as she finds a lump. "You standing over me suggests that we've won. Have we?"
Link barks.
"Right, right. Bend down, come closer." When Link acquiesces, Midna plucks the stone from where she tangled it in his fur.
"Are you alright?" Are the first words from his human mouth.
"I think so, yes. The blow dazed me, but nothing more. There's not even any blood, see?" She wiggles her fingers in front of his face. "Now come on, let's go see what the darknut was guarding."
After reclaiming the Master Sword and his Hylian shield, Link walks to the far side of the room. The statue waits above him, and below it, in a chest, he finds a strange staff.
"Midna, do you know what this is?" He traces its silver swirling patterns.
"Erm, young man!" Ooccoo interjects, peeping out from his item pouch. "That's the artifact of my people I was speaking of earlier, gracious yes! That's the Dominion Rod!"
"What does it command?" Link swings it once.
A yellow ball of energy hums to life at the top of the rod. "Aim it at the statue up there." Ooccoo instructs, before sinking back inside the bag.
The hero does so, and to his and Midna's astonishment, the energy is drawn to a hollow in the statue's chest. The statue bursts into life, following Link's directions across the room. Pain suddenly spasms in his sword arm; with a hiss, Link drops the rod. The statue freezes instantly, lifeless once again.
"Your shoulder. You injured it when you first fought the darknut. How could I forget?"
"It's not that bad."
Midna quirks an eyebrow and folds her arms. "Link, if you cannot even hold the Dominion Rod, you can't hope to defeat whatever monster is lying in wait behind the main door. You need to rest first."
Link glances between Midna and the item on the floor. His hands curl into fists.
"There's no sense in getting frustrated. Now, let's get a look at that shoulder."
Several hours and one red potion later, Link stands before the boss's lair, heavy key in hand. Midna peers at him from his shadow. Looking at him now, she never would've pinned down his insecurities; his shoulders are broad, his hands steady as he turns the key. And yet, something still seems off to her. If questioned, she could not pinpoint the cause of her unease, but it lingers nonetheless, coiling in her stomach as they enter the final room of the temple.
The room is massive, ten times the arena Link faced the darknut in. Giant replicas of the statue he controlled earlier circle the room, dormant, waiting. He searches the dark room for his enemy, shield up, sword ready. A sudden scuttling on the ceiling draws his attention. His gaze shoots upwards, and what he sees enflames his blood. An enormous arachnid stares back with a large orange eye in its center. Link points his sword at it.
"Vile creature. Speak, if you can! Do you know Queen Gohma who infested Kokiri? The one responsible for injecting her poison through the Great Deku Tree, draining away his life-force?"
"My Queen," The armagohma laments, voice threaded with bitterness. "Slain. Slain by a Hylian meatsack years ago. I remember. I will never forget my Queen, my mother."
Link's knuckles turn milk-white on his sword's hilt. "You will soon join her."
The armagohma sprays a beam of hot acid, scorching the ground near the hero, illuminating the room. As he dodges the spew, he sheaths his blade, and retrieves his bow from his pouch. The attack soon tapers off; she's unable to keep up such a strong attack for long. He files this away for later use if he needs it. Before the room has the chance to darken again, Link nocks an arrow, and shoots it towards the monster's eye while it's still in plain sight.
The armagohma squeals as it falls far and hard to the stone floor, eight legs curling. It's an enormous creature, greater in size than even Queen Gohma had been. Link does not quail; his every limb feels on fire and alive, humming with hate. He eyes the statue it has landed in front of before whipping out his newly acquired Dominion Rod. Once the statue has been enlivened, Link raises his arm, the statue raising its hammer. He throws his arm down, the statue flattening the spider in his stead. Again. Again. Three of its legs fall from the body, still spasming with the memory of pain. Again. Again. And again, until the monster slips from its own skin. No. Link looks closer. The eye, it was no eye at all! Nothing more than a simple gohma, disguising itself as something greater than it was. As the gohma scuttles across the floor, multiple baby gohmas emerge from the armagohma's body, scurrying after their mother.
"Posturing? Your mother was a Queen. Look at you. Pathetic. No better than one of her underlings. Come back here, coward!" He pursues the fleeing gohma and its children, soon cornering it. The gohma draws its children close, tries to press itself into the wall. As if such as thing could ever be possible.
Now, Midna can pin down her unease, though it defining it hardly dismisses it; indeed, at this point in the battle, her discomfort has quadrupled. Link loathes the spiders, he's made that clear from the very first gohma they encountered. And if their queen truly destroyed the Great Deku Tree, as he says, then in Midna's opinion, his drive for vengeance is entirely valid. Still, such concentrated malice in one that is supposed to be the hero sets her on edge. Justification does not make something right. Still, what can she say at this point to shake him from this spiraling madness?
Link skewers one of the babies, its gurgles fading to silence as it dissolves into ash. One by one, he begins to pick off the children. The haze of hate leaves him deaf to their cries.
"My babies!" The gohma shrieks. "My babies!"
With a savage yell, Link goes to bring his sword down to kill another. Only to be halted by a glowing hand. Link squints at the sudden, intense bright light emanating from the stranger. It's an outline of a man, one entirely of light, but he has no physical features to speak of.
"Who are—"
"Murdering children in front of their mother is not very courageous." The figure has no mouth, and yet its stern voice rumbles around the room. Link is too worked up to be cowed.
"And murdering a father in front of his children is acceptable?"
"You despise the Queen of old. Do not become her in your anger."
Link tries to wrest his sword away, but the stranger does not so much as tighten his grip as he steps closer to the hero. Link's eyes are wide, his breaths coming in gasps. "How? How can you bear to touch it?"
The figure places his pointer finger upon Link's forehead. Instantly, the Hylian becomes boneless, lost in unconsciousness. The man catches him before he can fall too far. Midna, who had emerged from Link's shadow the moment the stranger arrived, looks on, stunned.
"Princess Midna," The figure dips his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Take Link from this place, outside, to your time. The fresh air shall revitalize him."
"What have you done to him? Who are you?" Midna bares her teeth, but her hands tremble. The figure knocked Link unconscious with a single touch.
The figure lays Link on the floor with care, straitening his cap, brushing off stray crumbs of dirt. "I have purged his memory of the wealth of this incident. When he awakens again, he shall recall that he defeated the armagohma, but that is all. His bloodlust, his cruelty—it will never have existed. You must guide him with greater precision, Princess. He cannot lose the purity of his spirit. He must not."
The being stands, and makes as if to leave, but is stopped by Midna stamping her foot. "You have not yet answered my second question. Who are you?"
"I am Roark, the God of Time."
Midna laughs uneasily. "Why are you posturing as a God? All of Hyrule knows that there are but three Goddesses."
The room floods with light. Roark grows and grows, his towering form spiking fear in Midna's heart. His presence is more powerful than Zant, more powerful than Link or Zelda or anyone she has ever known. By Nayru, Roark is more powerful than everyone she has ever known combined, even multiplied. This is unbelievable, impossible. She cannot blink, breathe. Her heart has frozen in fear.
"I am Roark, the God of Time."
He is. Midna bows her head. Slowly, the room returns to as it had been. Roark stands before her again, not diminished, but suppressed; the hum of his being chatters her teeth.
Stumbling over her words, Midna forces out: "How can you manipulate Link's memory if you control time?"
"Does time not reveal the truth of matters?" Roark leans down and pats Midna's shoulder. His touch is negligible, like the brush of a feather. He places a shard of the mirror in her hands, procured as if from nothing. "Do not fret over such questions at this moment, dear Midna. Focus on your quest."
"The two heroes switching bodies. That wasn't a freak accident, was it? It was you!"
"You need not worry about the Hero of Twilight. He is faring well in the past, though he misses you deeply. I do not believe he has stopped arguing with Sheik since he got there." In spite of the situation, a smile tugs at Midna's lips at that. "You are very fond of him." Midna sputters, but cannot deny a thing. Roark turns to the other hero, who is blissfully asleep and unaware. "You are fond of this boy as well. But it is a different fondness. Remember what I have said. We shall meet once more before it is all over."
Just as suddenly as he appeared, Roark vanishes.
Midna sags to the floor. She cradles her face in her hands. Tears leak from her eyes.
"Have I gone mad?"
"Do you hear that?"
Midna starts at Link's question. She brought him to the Sacred Grove an hour ago, and only now has he stirred. She studies him. His cheeks are flushed, eyes bright. His being entirely clean of the thick malevolence she had witnessed in the armagohma's lair. Roark had truly done it.
"Hear what?"
"That, that right there! Music. It sounds like…a horn! And…and they're playing Saria's song! Maybe they know Saria! Maybe Saria's here!" His voice climbs higher with his excitement.
"I don't hear anything." Now that he brings it up, she can pick out the faintest prick of an instrument amidst the chittering wildlife. But the sooner they leave this place, the better. Midna pulls on his sleeve. "Let's go now. Take the shadow crystal from your pouch. Come on."
"No, no, someone's definitely playing music over there."
"Wait!" Midna demands, but Link pays her no mind. He walks towards the sound, away from the crumbling ruins and further into the woods. He heaves himself on top of a block of stone, which allows him to reach a grassy overhang. Deeper and deeper he goes, and reaches a second clearing, decorated with a different set of ruins. Midna trails behind him with great reluctance.
The distorted laugh of a child rings throughout the clearing. Link whirls around in circles, looking for the owner of the voice. "I know that laugh. It's a skull kid!"
"You'll never be able to draw him out; he always stays in the treetops. Let's go, Link. Please." A new fear is driving her. She cannot allow them to meet; there's no telling what the skull kid might say. Roark's warning sears her mind.
"No, hold on, I know how to get him to come closer. I've done it before, I just need…here!" Link holds up the horse-calling reed, slightly crumpled from its stay in his pouch.
He is right. No more than four bars of Epona's song have come whistling out before a scarecrowish child lands on a stump but several feet away. He squints at Link curiously, sniffs the air a few times. Link continues to play, an air of harmlessness around him. Gradually, the skull kid relaxes. He lifts his horn, and after a few measures more the two are playing a marvelous duet. Midna tugs at Link's ear several times, knowing how sensitive it is, but he only shrugs her off with a glare of annoyance. Link works the reed hard, forcing alterations of the melody, but there's only so much someone can do with a plant. Eventually, their song peters out.
"I wish I had an ocarina. We could play for much longer if I still had it."
"Long time since we've played together. Thought you forgot about me."
"Forget you?" Link is adamant. "I could never. I play with you at least once a year, right? I haven't broken that promise yet!"
The skull kid opens his mouth, and Midna yanks on Link's tunic insistently. "Link, we don't have time for this right now! We need to go seek out the next mirror shard right this instant!"
Link looks hurt. "Midna, why are you acting so strangely? I just want to talk with my friend for a few minutes. You understand, right?"
The skull kid mumbles.
"What was that?"
"You broke your promise. I haven't played with you in over…" He ticks off all the fingers on his one hand, and four on the other. "…ninety years."
"What?" Link's voice is a croak.
"He's lying!" Midna blurts, too loudly. Link's eyes darken with suspicion. He steps away from her. The skull kid winces at the noise.
"The skull kid is my friend."
"I'm your friend! Link, remember our talk in the Temple of Time? You can trust me!"
The skull kid skulks into the bushes and away, uncomfortable with raised voices and confrontations. Link hardly notices, instead fixated on Midna's words.
"You said it wasn't the Temple of Time." Midna blanches. "When we entered the temple, you insisted it was a different temple. You're a liar, you've always been a liar!"
"Link, please, it was for your own good, I couldn't tell you—"
"Who are you to decide what's good for me and what's not?"
Midna cannot reply. Tears in his eyes, Link turns and bolts.
"Wait, Link! Stop! Where are you going?"
"Don't follow me!" He shouts, without looking back.
She pursues him, but he is more familiar with the forest than she is, not to mention the unfortunate proportionate different in their leg heights. Soon enough, she's lost him in the woods.
She is alone.
-TBC-