A Journey Worth the Soul
Chapter 13
Can Only End in Death Part II
It was there in an instant: uncontrollable rage. She had felt it before, when these same beasts slaughtered her father, her last living relative. She felt her pounding fiercely in her chest, the sudden feeling of anger causing almost a type of nausea within her. Her eyes passed from where Shiida lay to where the monster was, her anger building within her, quenching any sympathy she might have had left for him. The brute was laughing as if life was a simple game to him, as if it was commonplace to murder at will. Her fists shook in anger as tears trickled down her face. She had now lost two people she had loved to this same monster, and she had to repay him for his brutality. For Shiida…and for her father.
-O-
"Father!"
"Run Malon, run! I'll keep these rapscallions at bay for ya."
"Father!"
She turned to run, to obey her father's orders, to flee for her life from the monsters attacking their home. Her eyes returned to where her father was holding several of the creatures at bay with a pitchfork, stabbing at them whenever they came close.
I have to get to Link and Zelda, Malon thought as her feet carried her towards the pastures where their horses were running around frantically as monsters tried to encircle them. She bolted past one of the green skinned beasts, surprising it slightly as she leapt over the short fence surrounding the pasture; her feet carried her towards her favorite horse.
"Ordona!"
A bay colored mare towards the center of the pasture pricked up her ears, bolting towards the sound of her master as the redhead jumped into the saddle as she had been riding only minutes earlier; before the quiet sanctity of the ranch had been utterly destroyed.
"Get me to the castle," Malon whispered as the mare bolted towards the entrance of the ranch, knocking over several bokoblins in her path. Malon's horse knew the path instinctively, as they traveled it almost every day for their deliveries into town."I'll be back for you, father!" she yelled as the horse bolted past the heavyset man as he literally crushed a bokoblin with his girth by falling backwards onto it. The creature squealed in pain before disappearing in a plume of black soot and smoke.
"I'm countin' on ya, too!" he yelled back as his daughter disappeared down the trail, heading towards Hyrule Castle.
-O-
Slowly, as the cackling from Bulblin continued, Malon pushed herself from the floor, her arms trembling as she tried to control her anger and contempt for the creature in front of her. Because of him, she never made it to the castle. He had been waiting for anyone to leave the ranch, and she had literally run into him. Because of him…she had been dragged back to the ranch…because of him, she had watched her father die.
"Malon, don't do anything hasty," Zelda breathed as the Hylian watched the farm girl stride towards a line of drawers that had not yet been destroyed in the melee. "You'll get yourself killed."
"Link and Zelda from my time asked me to come and see what I could do to help you out," Malon said, her voice neutral as she turned towards the princess, her eyes abnormally calm for how she felt on the inside. "They asked me to try and keep you safe…to make sure their friends were doing well," she continued as she slowly pulled open a drawer marked with a large skull that had a large "X" drawn through it. She picked out several small syringes out of a container in a drawer, moving it up to eye level to see if it was full. Her eyes again fell upon Princess Zelda, as she closed the drawers after picking out several more syringes. "Keep him busy."
Zelda kept her panicked scream inside as the redhead skirted around the edge of the room, hiding in the shadows while trying to get around the massive behemoth in the middle of the room. The giant finally stopped laughing as he turned back around to face a panicking princess and a horrified prince.
"Well, it looks like it's just me and you two now," Bulblin gurgled as he took a thunderous step forward. "The brat's gone," Bulblin cackled as he pointed towards the broken window. "After you two I'm going to see if that winged pest can fly with his wings torn off," he again spoke, pointing towards the young angel who was groaning in pain in the center of the smashed cabinets. "And little Miss Bluehair seems to have finally found a bit of peace…in the afterlife!" His cackling turned to horrendous sounding laughter as the king of the bokoblin held onto his massive stomach as it rolled along with the raucous sound. "So, it looks like it will just be me and you two now."
"You're wrong, pig," Marth spat, Bulblin's words about Shiida waking him up from his horror induced trance. "It's only going to be Zelda and me once I get done with you."
"Pig? Pig? Is that the best you can come up with?" The beast's laughter again echoed through the room, this time, shaking things off the walls and onto the floor with its intensity. "You're going to have to come up with something better than that, bluey."
"How about a semi-conscious, portly pile of feces exacerbated by his own uncontrollable stench?"
Bulblin's and Marth's gaze shifted to Zelda. The princess glared angrily toward the towering beast in front of her, her eyes neglecting to hide the hatred within.
"Zelda, let me handle this. He attacked Shiida; let me take him on. I can't have you getting hurt as well." The prince of Altea's eyes were pleading with the Hylian as he gripped tightly onto his sword, Falchion, which he had found laying on the ground near him.
"Marth, do you trust me?" Zelda hissed quietly.
"Of course," Marth replied instantly, causing Bulblin to cast awkward glances between the two people in front of him.
"Then let me just take care of this," she whispered again as she began to stand, her legs quavering under the pain and stress of her injuries.
"But Zelda, I…"
"Just let me do this."
The determination in her eyes silenced him in an instant, as the prince of Altea slowly sheathed his sword. "Alright…just remember, if he does anything to you, I'll run him through faster than you can blink."
"Got it."
Zelda's eyes refocused again on the monster in front of her as Marth continued to watch both him and her carefully. She knew she needed as much time as she could grant for Malon to get what she needed done, and Zelda knew that in the state they were in…they wouldn't be able to give her enough time at all.
Please let your plan work Malon…please.
-O-
Samus felt the mercenaries hand close more tightly around her neck as the room began to fade before her eyes. In panic she tried thrashing her legs about, grabbing wildly at whatever she could. Eventually, her muscles began to respond less and less, until she could barely even feel anything besides her pounding heart. She gripped onto Liquid's arm, trying to cause him enough pain to let go with her weakened strength, but to no avail. Her grip became more and more loose, until she was eventually suspended, unmoving in mid-air. Here she was, one of the original smashers, one of the most feared bounty hunters in the entire galaxy; soon, she would be joining the family she had never known. Her eyes glared into his once more before his grip tightened around her throat. Dots of light began floating through the air in front of her as she felt her mind starting to shut down as the last of her air was used up.
And here it comes…, she thought as the room began growing darker and darker before her eyes.
Liquid chuckled as the blonde bounty hunter's head tipped forward while her body started to go limp in his grasp. He dropped the woman to the floor, satisfied at his most recent victory.
"Well, Snake, seems like you are again on the wrong side," Liquid chuckled as he heard the dull thud of Samus' body hitting the floor. Snake's eyes wandered down to Samus's prone form laying limply on the floor…and saw her chest rising and falling slightly.
So she's still kicking, Snake thought as Liquid pulled a cigarette out of a pocket on his vest.
"Seems like all of those energy boosts that boss gave me really did the job didn't they?" Liquid laughed as he struck up the cigarette, the flash of light from his lighter temporarily destroying their night vision. "They allowed me to take on you, who have always foiled my plots in the past; the smasher who up until now have been the most feared fighters in the galaxy because of your strength and tenacity! And yet, you failed miserably, in what will be, my finest hour." He raised his hands above his head as he chuckled softly, the smoke from his cigarette forming a hazy cloud around his head. "And it has given me the chance to redeem myself to my new boss."
"Who exactly would that be?" Snake grunted as he glanced around in the darkness.
"My dear Snake," Liquid chided languidly as he walked over to where Snake lay propped up against the wall. "That would take all of the fun out of this now, wouldn't it?" The mercenary jabbed his cigarette into Snake's cheek, relishing in the painful cry that came afterwards. "There are too many witnesses here," Liquid continued as he pushed himself away from where Snake lay. "I mean, I can't have this poor, innocent little boy going off to tattle on me now," Liquid said as he quickly snatched a frightened Ness who was trying to sneak past him and up the stairs. The boy yelped out in fright as he was pulled into the air by his shirt collar, his feet dangling several feet above the ground.
A loud boom suddenly shook the room, causing all three of them to look towards the ceiling as another crashing sound quickly followed, then another. The noises soon turned into a constant reverberation as dust came floating lazily down from the ceiling.
"What is going on now?" Liquid muttered as he glanced up the stairwell, trying to figure out if the sound was coming from up there.
It was all the time Snake needed.
"Ness! It's showtime!"
Liquid's gaze jolted back towards the boy he was holding, only to stare directly into a large glowing orb of light as it connected directly into his face. The mercenary screamed in pain, dropping the boy to the floor as he himself fell to his knees. A roar bellowed directly in front of him, stopping his frantic efforts to clean out his eyes. All he saw coming down the stairwell towards him was a pair of fearsome yellow eyes, a flash of a gun, a stream of fire coming towards him, and a yell that struck fear into the heart of most people.
"Falcon….!"
"Link, Link! Try to stop him!"
Link opened his eyes, then opened them further as he saw the laser now inches above his nose. He turned towards his captor in confusion, wondering what was going on.
"It's me you dolt! Not him, now try to stop him before it is too late!"
"What's too late?" Link blurted aloud, utterly confused at what was going on. His captor turned from his desk, raising his goggles telepathically as he stared bemusedly at Link.
"What did you say?" Link felt in his mind.
"Ignore him, try to distract him."
"Too many voices!" Link cried out, screaming at the top of his lungs. "One of you please, stop talking!"
"You're going to give me away you dolt, now knock it off."
"Well excuse me for wanting to get these voices out of my head.
Link's captor glared for several moments at the Hylian before shaking his head.
"Pathetic humans…"
"Link, I didn't save you from leaving this tournament just for you to be…"
"Would you knock it off! Please, just take turns!"
Again, Link's outburst caused his captor to turn away from his desk.
"If you insist on moving about and shouting like you are doing, it will only create particle layering, dissolving you much more painfully than need be."
By this point, tears were started to bud from Link's eyes.
"I don't care about whatever science you are using to kill me, just either of you…talk out loud and stop confusing me on who's who!"
"What are you babbling about now?" his captor asked as he raised his hand towards a large switchboard, allowing his psychic powers to lower the levers. "And if you would find it easier, just call me Soul." The laser above Link's head slowly retracted, the laser itself powering down as semi-distraught young man was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Soul hovered over to where the Hylian was strapped to the bed, leaning down so his eyes were directly above Link's.
"Who are you talking to…?" Soul whispered as Link felt the creature's mind feverishly searching probing into his own, looking into every nook and cranny.
"Hey! That was private," Link roared as he strained against the abrasive search of his mind. "It seems like everybody likes looking in my mind nowadays, even if there isn't much there."
"On the contrary," Soul retorted as he began releasing his mental grip on the youth's mind. "Your mind is filled with all sorts of delicious facts and knowledge about certain…powers, which my boss desires. Once I retrieve that information…" Soul chuckled. "There won't be any more need of you now, will there? Besides, I'm always interested in who my subjects love. It usually allows me to use them next."
Link struggled against his bindings, his eyes blazing in anger.
"Don't you dare even think of touching her. I will kill you if you even try."
"My, my, aren't we angry now?" The creature chuckled softly as his eyes wandered back towards his computer screens. "And for some reason, I don't believe you are in any position to threaten me, as you are the one who is going to be feeling the worst pain of his life."
"Death isn't the worst pain in the world," Link said as he pushed against his restraints. "I've known far worse."
"Ask him about that knowledge he was talking about, and this time stop complaining about me being in your mind!"
Link fell silent as soon as the voice entered his mind. He glared over towards Soul who was again powering up his machine.
"Wait…" Soul turned slightly so one eye could stare into Link's. "I thought you were going to kill me, but, if you kill me you can't get that knowledge you are looking for?"
"You are correct in your assumption."
"Then why would you kill me if you need the knowledge that I have?"
Soul stopped momentarily, pondering the question.
"I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request."
"Say what?"
"It means no."
"Oh. Does that still mean you need to kill me?"
"Yes."
"Well that stinks for you then.."
Soul glanced over towards Link and actually gave him a quick smile.
"Actually, it will only stink for you, as I will gain a much needed respite from your bipolar attitude."
"If you could talk normally, that would really help me out." Bulblin's eyes were starting to gloss over as his mind went into overdrive.
"If a lacking preponderance of words by you is reciprocated, then my decision cannot be irrevocably changed."
"Now you're even starting to confuse me," Marth added as he even had to think about what the princess was saying. Zelda took a few steps towards Marth, taking advantage of the large Bulblin's confusion.
"I'm just trying to distract him while Malon sneaks around him. I don't exactly know what she planning, but, just try to go with it."
"Agreed." Marth glanced over towards Bulblin as the beast took a lumbering step towards them.
"So," Marth began in his most chivalrous sounded voice possible under the circumstances as the behemoth took another step forward. "How could such a well-concocted plan formulated and perpetuated by yourself have its progress be irrevocably arrested and such a grandiose scheme be broken asunder?"
Marth and Zelda cringed slightly as King Bulblin issued a guttural roar: "Quit with the yapping, its time for some killing!"
The massive monster grabbed a gigantic axe that had been dropped by an iron knuckle and started towards the two smashers. Zelda took a tense step backwards, only to bump into Marth who placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt him gently pull her behind him, placing himself directly into the oncoming path of Bulblin. He quickly glanced towards her, giving her a reassuring smile and a quick remark.
"I really hope Malon comes through for us." Both Altean and Hylian smiled as they looked towards the creature striding towards them.
"I'm going enjoy this," Bulblin sneered as he raised the massive blade as Zelda felt Marth pushing her farther backwards, trying to get her out of harms range. She whispered a quiet 'thanks' as the blade began its downward swing.
"Time for you two to…for you, two…to"
Both watched in utter confusion as Bulblin began stumbling around like a drunken fool, the sword harmlessly clattering to the ground as he pointed a wobbly arm at the duo.
"I'm…going to get…you two…" the creature muttered as he sunk to his knees, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "You two…are so…dead."
Zelda watched in quiet satisfaction as Bulblin finally collapsed onto the ground. A painful flash filled the room, causing all three people to cover their eyes as the overhead lights burst on, showering the room with their brilliance.
"No, not yet! The machine…it isn't done yet!"
Soul was rushing around his computer displays, trying to find the source of the problem. Staring at one screen, his body suddenly started shaking from the anger boiling up inside of him.
"Curse that idiotic mercenary. I knew that Master was making a deadly flaw for having him guard my power source." A television to his left burst into life as a hooded figure in a dark room appeared on its screen.
"Soul, I need you to report back to base immediately." Soul immediately bowed, only raising his head after being told to do so.
"But, Master…Just a few more minutes and I will have him completely under our control. I have only partially…."
"It is enough for now. I need you back at the base before we lose anyone else in this escapade. We've gotten what we came for," the hooded figure added, coughing slightly, "although it seems we have added salt into our recipe rather than sugar. Stop the device and bring what you can back to base. We will see what we can do with what we have."
The screen fizzled back into silence as Soul stared over towards the Hylian in the middle of the room. Shaking his head, he telepathically pulled down on a lever at the opposite end of his computer station, sighing as the eerie aquamarine light surrounding Link began to fade away into darkness. The Hylian's body stiffened for a moment as a scream tore through the air. His eyes flashed open and his back arched upwards, only to collapse a second later onto the tabletop and into silence.
Soul walked over to a small vial filled with a dark substance at the other end of the machine, his head shaking as he quickly snatched it away from its place.
"And I was so close too…"
"Lyn, help Doctor Mario put those bandages around that wound," the blonde woman began to turn, then abruptly stopped. "And make sure they are tight and that the Doctor doesn't collapse again."
"Will do."
"Falco, get a bed ready and over here quickly for Shiida."
"Your order is my command," the fighter pilot said as he rushed towards an overturned bed.
Coming from out of the window, Zelda heard a faint plopping sound as a small pink blob suddenly appeared, bobbing through the destroyed window. Kirby landed on the ground with a soft plop, his small body several times larger than usual. Zelda walked stiffly towards him, then bent down on her good leg to stare into the pink blob's eyes. "Did you find Toon?" she asked quickly, eliciting a quick nod by Kirby. The pink blob opened his mouth wide, tipping his body forward as a small, but very angry boy, tumbled out. Zelda shook her head in a mix of bewilderment and bemusement as Toon Link began a lengthy tirade to Kirby about how disgusting Kirby's mouth was. He criticized the poor poyo about how he should brush more often and use some sort of mouthwash before swallowing people, then added how they need to do it again sometime since it was so cool. Zelda laughed softly, her inner turmoil stopping her mirth quickly as she inspected Toon Link's arm. The boy winced in pain as she moved her hand down across a large tear in his tunic, feeling what must be several painful fractures along his upper right arm.
"You're going to need that looked at," Zelda said as she grabbed several broken pieces of wood and began wrapping it around the young boy's injury.
The boy suddenly looked entirely deflated. "Do I have to…?" he whined, trying to pull away from Zelda's grasp, only to yelp in pain as his arm pushed against hers.
"Yes, you do need to see Doctor Mario after he finishes up with Shiida."
"Fine…"
Zelda painfully pushed herself up, biting back a scowl as she again surveyed the room. It was a complete disaster. Over near the opposite side, Metaknight was administering some painkillers to Pit as he tried setting the young angel's wing in a makeshift splint. Falco had finally gotten a moveable bed fixed and was busily running it over to where Lyn, Malon and Doctor Mario were trying to save Shiida's life. Marth stood over the whole scene, his face calm; Zelda knew he was anything but on the inside. And to top it all off, she still didn't have a clue where Master Hand had gone after that blast hit him. She closed her eyes as she began to focus, trying to use a technique that the older Zelda had taught her on how to find someone. The older Zelda had used it to find Link when she was in hiding as Sheik, so maybe…just maybe, it might work now.
"Do you think it was a bit much?"
"No, do you see what he has done? I think he deserved it."
"I should have toasted him a bit less though; he really reeks…"
The three smashers were in various places across the room from the sizzling, unconscious form of Liquid and trying to help out their friends scattered around the room.
"Found Mario," Bowser roared as he lifted up a large bookcase, revealing a very miffed plumber underneath it.
"Thank-a you Bowser."
"Don't, I thought it was someone else…" Bowser growled as he dropped the case back to the ground, nearly smashing the plumber underneath of it again. Mario leapt out from underneath just in time as the bookcase hit the floor. "Drat, I missed."
"Samus should be ok," Snake yelled over the noise of Bowser stomping over to where Liquid lay.
Mario turned and saw Lucas and Snake next to the bounty hunter, checking for a pulse on both her neck and her wrist.
"That is a good-a news," Mario said as he made his way over to Fox who was busily tending to Ike. "How is-a Ike a doing?"
"Not really that well," Fox replied as he ripped off a large section of the Crimean's shirt, revealing a large patch of metal and blood. "Looks like he tried to protect himself by encasing himself in metal when he was shot, but…it only covered part of him." Fox pointed towards a slight dip in the metal covering over part of Ike's chest, dangerously near to where his lung was. "It clogged and stopped the bleeding," Fox continued, holding Ike's wrist in one hand while trying to clean off most of the blood with the torn piece of fabric. "However, if we don't get him medical attention soon, he probably won't make it. The metal only covered him partly, not fully, so the time it covers him will decrease more rapidly than if it had covered him entirely."
"Then let's-a go then," Mario yelled. "Bowser, rip apart that-a bookcase so we can get a stretcher for Ike-a." Bowser grunted as he stomped over to the bookcase, ripping a side off of it like it was Christmas present wrapping. The koopa king chucked the piece of wood towards Mario, almost nailing him in the head before heading back over to watch Liquid. Mario and Fox carefully lifted Ike onto the makeshift stretcher, then carefully made their way up the stairs with Mario in the lead. "Lucas, help-a Snake and Samus. Bowser, grab Liquid."
The Koopa grumbled at the plumbers request while the young boy simply nodded. Mario and Fox continued their semi-hurried climb up the stairs carrying the injured Ike. Snake lifted Samus up to her feet, helping her as she slowly began waking up.
"What's…what's going on…."
"You'll be alright, Samus," Snake grumbled as he helped her stumble up the stairs. "You've just gotten the air knocked out of you and almost died, but, you'll be ok."
Her eyes fluttered open momentarily as she stumbled her way forward.
"Thank…you, Snake…thanks."
"No problem."
"And of course I get stuck with the idiot who caused all this mess," Bowser grumbled, shooting a small spout of flame from his nostrils as he dragged Liquid up the stairs by one leg. The man's head knocked against each stair, causing a slight pop and a groan on each step the koopa took. Bowser turned and glared at the man as Liquid groaned again. "Oh knock it off, sheesh, why do I have to get stuck with this loser while Snake gets the girl….?"
"What do you mean you know where he is?"
"It's…complicated to explain."
Malon was staring incredulously at Zelda, her mouth semi-open as Zelda went began into the explanation of how she had found him. After less than a minute, Malon waved her hands in front of her and demanded the princess to stop before her mind melted. Malon turned and walked towards the door, massaging her temples as Zelda walked towards the bed that on which Shiida was lying.
"Will she be alright?" she asked Dr Mario tentatively, listening to the shallow and raspy breaths coming from the young pegasus knight.
"Hopefully, if we can get-a her stabilized, then be should be ok."
"Will you be ok for a few minutes up here with Metaknight and Kirby? I believe I know where Link might be, so we will be heading out to look for him."
"You really shouldn't be-a doing anything, princess," Dr Mario scolded as he pointed towards her bandaged left leg. "That wound is still fresh, and could-a reopen at any time."
Zelda rubbed her hands pensively together, trying to avoid thinking about the nasty gash on her leg. The pain was a constant reminder of her foolishness, and in her mind, Doctor Mario was right. "It will be fine," she finally lied, feeling a twinge of pain as she took a small step forward. She reached down, touching the red smear beginning to appear on her dress while a bright bluish glow began filling her hands. In a moment, the light disappeared into the red blotch, causing it to disappear in a matter of seconds. "I can just keep healing it for now," she muttered as she again tested how much weight she could put on her injury. "Besides, right now, Link is more important than my own well-being."
"Then I'll go with you."
Both people turned, staring at Marth who was standing next to Shiida's bed.
"But what about-a Shiida?"
"Doctor, I can't do anything to help her right now," he responded blankly. "You are the only one who can help her at this point. I don't know a thing about medicine, but…I do need to protect somebody since I failed…" His eyes dropped to his friend lying on the bed, his hand tenderly caressing her shoulder. "I need to pay her back for my failure in…protecting her." His slowly turned back to face Zelda and the Doctor, his eyes shining a little as a single tear fell down his cheek. "I need to go. I wouldn't be able to stand here, knowing that others are putting their lives at risk when I so selfishly have preserved my own at the cost of my best friend.
Zelda's eyes met his, and she slowly nodded. "I understand how you are feeling right now, Marth and I know how difficult this decision has been for you to make. I would love to have your support for this venture, as I do not know what lies ahead." Marth nodded as he took one last glance towards Shiida as Zelda began walking towards the door. He straigtened a few strands of her hair, smiling softly as he bent over and placed a single kiss upon her forehead.
"Please get well," he whispered. With a last glance into her eyes, the Altean turned and followed after Zelda.
Hope all of you are liking you this story, even though it is taking a temporary darker turn. This story is starting to pick up speed, so I hope you hang on while I continue with this story.
