The Waters of Nayru
Chapter 51: Mind Games
By, Frank Hunter

RIGO

The sinking feeling came as Rigo dropped backward into himself. It was a sensation he hoped he'd never have to get used to, and one he thought he couldn't even if he did this a million times. The invisible tether that connected his mind to the Silver Gauntlets through Nabooru pulled him at the speed of starlight, and a flicker of a moment later he was floating in a space where he by all rights shouldn't have been. He could see himself in the distance, and was watching a fist that aimed to squash a certain green-clad Hero who was getting slower, more tired, and less nimble by the minute.

It took Rigo a second to cognize that it wasn't his fist in motion, and that he couldn't stop it from moving if he tried. It was, of course, Tydus's. He was beside the Colonel once again.

As he oriented himself, he caught from the corner of his eye (well, not his eye) a Gerudo dart out from behind the stairwell. It was his own body, under the control of another mind. Nabooru was making use of it, drawing on strength, but goddess knew from where. She was moving as though the body were fresh, new, uninjured, which Rigo of course knew was not the case. He could not have moved like she did, and he had no idea how she was managing it.

Another one of the light arrows plunged from Nabooru's bow into Tydus's leg. Tydus turned in time to see Nabooru sprint up along his flank. Her hand held an axe, who knew where she had gotten it. She swung and connected it with flesh as she passed. It did nothing but crack in two as it hit, the head clattering uselessly to the floor. But she had provided a brief distraction, long enough for link to drive the Master Sword in for a kidney shot. Rigo recognized the sting of the blade, if he didn't quite feel it himself. Tydus stiffened.

Rigo figured this was as good a time as any to make his introduction.

You know, he thought-spoke as clearly and articulately as he could, I could keep this up all day.

In a reflex action, Tydus whirled around and swung an open hand in the direction that he had last seen Rigo's body move. But his body wasn't there, was, in fact, back along the wall as Nabooru moved away, searching the ground for some new weapon. Tydus had never yet heard the mind-speak of a disembodied spirit.

Swing and a miss, huh big guy? Rigo teased. That's OK. Nobody's keeping score.

The monster whipped his head around, looking now for something new that wasn't there, some source of the voice that now echoed through his mind. But there was nothing to see.

"What new trick is this?" he asked out loud. Link hesitated a moment, confused, but Rigo could see even from this distance the smirk on his own face, on Nabooru's face, as she heard him and realized the ploy was beginning. She picked up a rock, twisting her momentum into a graceful roll, and winged it at Tydus's head. The man ducked, and in anger grabbed two indistinct items he found within reach and pummeled them back in Nabooru's general direction. Rigo didn't get a great look at what they'd been, but tried not to think the bodies they likely were.

If you were hoping that would shut me up, I'm sorry to say you've got another thing coming.

Tydus growled, now actively chasing after Nabooru, disregarding Link as entirely as he could while still avoiding the painful, enchanted blade.

I think you understand what's going on, don't you? I'm in your mind, Colonel. Loud and untouchable and very, very much real.

"I'll show you untouchable!"

The battle went on outside, but Rigo made an effort not to watch or worry. Nabooru would either keep him safe, or he would die within the next few minutes. One or the other, and there was nothing he could do about it from here but to follow through with the crazy plan and get to the only conclusion he could allow. And in order to do that, he had to be as obnoxious and distracting as he possibly could.

You do that, Rigo said. While you're busy though, I think I'm gonna go rooting around in here. Tell me, you got any skeletons in your closet, Colonel? Anything dirty for me to see? Nah, better yet, don't tell me. I'd rather find the dirt myself.

As far as he knew, there was no way to access the man's thoughts or memories. That probably was the case, or Nabooru would never have bothered asking him questions at all. But Tydus didn't need to know that. And Rigo did have one nerve he was curious to poke at. He had been for some time.

Oh, Tydus, he ventured. The poor, poor warden. Back at the Stockade? What did you do to him?

"Shut up…"

He tried to think back on a conversation Nabooru had eavesdropped on for him years ago. To dredge up the details in his memory. They came.

Cynthia must have been heartbroken, Rigo said remembering the name, the threat Tydus had made back then. Did you go and console her? You know, after you murdered him?

"Shut up!" Tydus was shouting now. "Get out!" His movements were becoming more frantic. It was working. He was convinced that Rigo was in his head, reading his memory. And he was scared. This posed a threat to him. A threat, not to his body, but to his mind. And fear was precisely what they needed to take a small edge.

And that's just the tip of the dune, isn't it? You've got a whole bloody history going on in here. Blackmail. Violence. He paused for a moment for dramatic effect before going on to his grand accusation. Murderer.

I thought everything you did was to protect your people, Tydus. That's what you said, wasn't it? But didn't your victims qualify for protection, too? Weren't they your people? And all the men you got killed just to come here, to take the power of the Waters. You planning to visit the wife of that poor man whose arm you ripped off? Gonna tell her how he died in service of a greater cause?

Tydus screamed and sent a fist flailing backward in an unexpected and desperate attack. And Rigo felt the impact. Finally, a punch connected. And a glance outward showed him what had happened. The punch had connected with Link. The Hero lost his grip on the Master Sword and was sent flying backward across the chamber at full speed. His body hit the wall. Rigo could see little spiderweb cracks in the plaster where his head had connected. Link went down for the count.

Nabooru didn't miss a beat. She ran, slid across the dust-settled floor, and grabbed the hilt of the Sword. It thrummed in her hand, agreement, it seemed, with its new wielder. But Master Sword or not, this wasn't gonna last much longer. Rigo could see his own body beginning to slow down. It was time to deliver the punch line.

Just you and me now, huh? A fair fight? He scoffed. Doesn't really look like it.

"You're beaten, whelp," Tydus said. "Stop your sorcery and give in. I will kill you swiftly and painlessly."

Rigo heard Nabooru laugh out loud, and he echoed it in Tydus's mind. Is that what you think? he asked. I just roll over and die, and that's the end of it? Rigo just kept on laughing, long enough for Tydus to move on Nabooru again. And as he did, Rigo decided it was time to plant the seed.

I'm inside your head now, Colonel. I've already found my way in. If you kill my body, then I guess I'll just have to stay here. What the hell? It is cozy. And nice. And warm. I could get very, very comfortable here.

Tydus's fear was becoming palpable now. Rigo felt it ripple through his body and didn't bother suppressing another laugh. The thought of living the rest of his life with Rigo as a passenger in his brain was unbearable, huh? Well, Rigo guessed his company was a little trying. But still, that kinda hurt.

I do like my own body, though, he went on. It's more spacious. It smells better. Maybe I ought to just level the playing field a bit, make it so I'm the one that survives. I think I'll start shutting this place down from the inside. Your legs. Your lungs. Your heart. How long you think you can keep going once I turn that off?

The monster was losing momentum now, unsure of himself. After all, Rigo had already "proven" that he could read his mind. He had summoned an army of deadly ghosts. He had "corrupted" the Hero of Time. What reason did Tydus have to doubt that Rigo could also do anything else he said he could?

Why don't we find out? Rigo asked.

"No!" Tydus cried in utter panic. "Get out! GET OUT! THE POWER OF THE GODDESSES FLOWS THROUGH ME! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME! GET OUT OF MY MIND!"

And so Rigo did.

He let go, allowing the tether to pull himself back to his own body, and before he even got there he was shouting to Nabooru. Now, Nabooru! Now! Go!

Without a word from her, he was once again in control of himself. The spirit of Nabooru was immediately gone, and Rigo's mind became a quiet place. His body, on the other hand, was shouting. Pain from everywhere slammed into him all at once. Nabooru had run him down until he had nothing left to give, and he wished that he had nothing more to do but collapse to the floor and fall into sweet peaceful sleep.

But no, not yet. There was still one last part to play. And besides, he would want to be awake for this.

NABOORU

Now, Nabooru! Now! Go!

The words rang clear as a bell, and the spirit took her cue, dropping from the conductor's seat and grabbing onto the tether back into the item of her binding, into the Silver Gauntlet, which, in turn, was connected to the big man.

The kid had done alright. The big guy was flipping out, anyway, and that had been the goal. Now it was in her hands.

She was proud. Proud of Rigo, who had taken her lesson so well and conceived of a plan so tricky and backhanded that it was the farthest thing from a fair victory she'd ever taken part in. But she'd warned him before that real world opponents wouldn't fight fair. She'd warned him that real world opponents could have powers he'd never imagined were possible. The proof was in the pudding. Right here in this very crusty, stale slab of man-shaped pudding.

It was a little surprising, though. This wasn't really what she'd been led to believe the Waters of Nayru would do for a person. As a sage, the Sage of Spirit, she'd been partly responsible for the protection of the Fountain, and indeed this place as a whole. The Fountain was always considered something of a backup plan for Hyrule, assuming they could ever locate the whereabouts of the Chalice. It was a source of power that could be used to give strength under the direst circumstances. It wasn't supposed to turn the drinkers of the Waters into giant, statuesque beasts.

Of course, drinkers weren't supposed to guzzle horns full of the stuff. The ritual called for just a sip from the Chalice, and that probably factored into the degree of the transformation. She wondered how far it could be pushed if you drank much, much more of it.

Oh well. No point worrying about that now. The Fountain was gone. And besides, Tydus had drunk enough of the stuff to turn himself into something impressive enough. This would suffice.

Nabooru waited for the kid to go forward with the plan, but she didn't have to wait long. She couldn't help but smirk as she watched Rigo take control of his body again. She saw it in his eyes when the pain hit him. She'd run him pretty hard. But she'd had several lifetimes, and even a death to learn to tolerate physical pain. It didn't bother her like it did the living.

Before Tydus could take any further action, Rigo played out his part in this charade. His hands came up, slowly. They clutched at his throat as though he couldn't breathe. He made choking sounds. Gagging sounds. He fell to his knees. His mouth opened gasping for air.

What a ham, she thought to herself. The kid sure did love being in the spotlight. But that was a good thing. Between his cleverness, his showmanship, and his compassion, he had the makings of a good king. Her people, their people, might come out of this alright after all.

As Rigo's body collapsed on the floor, Tydus seemed to come to the realization that he wasn't in any sort of immediate danger from whatever the kid had threatened him with. "What is this?" he demanded out loud. "What did you do!?"

That was her cue.

She got herself into the right mindset, tried to put the right degree of a pompous and haughty tone into her voice, and went ahead and made contact with the good Colonel.

Dear Drinker of the Waters, she said, drawing the words out to a length that indicated a sense of importance. Good Servant of Hyrule. Hear my voice.

"Who is that!?"

I am the unspoken voice of the land and its peoples. I am the voice of the living and the dead. I am the voice of spirit itself, and guardian of the power you have claimed for yourself.

It wasn't really a lie, per se. It was grossly poetic and flowery and nonsensical and very misleading, but what did that matter? She wasn't about to debate herself now on the intricacies of morality. Particularly in war. Just let the blowhard come to the conclusion on his own, and she'll have gotten around the magical taboos on impersonating another entity without ever having spoken a mistruth.

A moment passed while the gears in Tydus's head turned, as he contemplated the Waters and who they actually belonged to, and when he got there his eyes went wide. That'a boy.

"Goddess Nayru?" he ventured.

There it was.

It is I, Nabooru answered, her answer implicit, but not overtly agreeing or disagreeing with him.

The creature before you has deigned to threaten you and the power you have taken into yourself. Rigo's body had now gone still on the tile before them. He was feigning death, and doing a damn fine job of it. Nabooru wondered if he had really passed out.

This is unacceptable, she went on. It is a threat on the very heart of this land, and so necessitated a swift end.

Tydus's breathing became slow and nervous. He fell to his knees with a ground-shaking crash. "You've punished him, Goddess? You've…killed him? Is he dead?"

My power is great, Nabooru said vaguely, And his treachery boundless. I've done what I am able to do. And it is now finished. Yeah. Still saying nothing.

My compassion falls to all the creatures of this land. There is a dark force on the horizon, a horror that threatens to consume all. While the Hero of Time has fallen before it, there is only one other who yet stands. This one has chosen the path of my wisdom. Made use of my power. This one stands on the edge of granting himself allowance to the range of my powers and strength. He has but to ask, and such will be laid bare before him.

Tydus's eyes fell on Rigo's body. "You could grant me powers like this? To act with nothing but a thought?"

My powers are many, and I would grant thee, dear Drinker of the Waters, all that I can, to be thine as thee quests forward to cleanse the land of Hyrule and restore the glory of thy people. My spirit shall become one with thy own, and mine power exercised through thy body, with but a simple request.

Jeez, if she fucked with him any harder, she was gonna need a smoke. But Rigo had been right. He was power-hungry and single-minded, and she was telling him everything he wanted to hear. She had him. It was almost hers.

Dost thou wish to take what power I have to give? she asked cryptically.

Tydus had carried himself forward, already tasting the power of a deep alliance with one of the old goddesses. He had come this far with the Chalice and the Waters. Why stop now?

"Yes, Goddess. Please, give me the power I need to cleanse this land. To rule this land!"

Dost thou swear service to the Kingdom of Hyrule and to the deities who so oversee it?

"I do."

And dost thou swear to become vassal to this spirit, whom thou shalt take within thee and nurture within thy body and thy soul?

"Yes, Goddess! I so swear!"

That was it.