A/N: Thanks to RoseWing, Kirkysaurus, Kick-Aft, alwaysingirl and (NEW REVIEWERS! FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE TWO!) Fanfiction Ninja and TheoneandonlyKaorin for their reviews! Thanks to you guys we broke 50, and the 50th review goes to none other than Fanfiction Ninja! Thanks so much!
Yep, TheoneandonlyKaorin, you're right about that Chapter 10, on both points :P But I'm used to the difference now :)
Couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt when reading your review, Kirkysaurus ;_; I think I went through a bit of a block when it came to ideas and for some reason stopped altogether. Don't worry, I'm not going to give up any time soon, you can bet on that! Really sorry again.
Oh, and thanks for the kudos in your fic, alwaysingirl! :3
What's happening to Kakariko? Let's find out.
Chapter 22 - Demon
The acrid stench of smoke filled Zelda's nose as she got to the bottom of the staircase. The stench would get worse every step she took up to this point, and as the smoke thickened Zelda would get more and more angry. She breathed in the smoke, causing her to react and cough violently. As she climbed up the stairs she held her breath, only breathing in small gulps of air.
When she got to the top, the first thing she saw was the guard, writhing on the floor next to the gate. He was twitching slightly, a steady stream of blood coming from a wound in his arm. He was muttering to himself, and as Zelda got closer she found he was saying a prayer to the Goddesses, to both heal himself and Kakariko.
'Hey, what happened!' Zelda shouted at the guard. The guard jumped, apparently unaware that she entered the village.
'Hngh,' he muttered, lifting himself to a sitting postion. 'Monsters... they've come to... Kakariko.'
Zelda decided she couldn't leave him there to bleed to death, however drastic the situation was. She reached into her pouch for some spare bandages and held them to the guard's arm.
'Hold out your arm,' she commanded. The guard nodded weakly and lifted his wounded arm. Slowly, like every inch further increased the pain. When he lifted it to a reasonable angle, Zelda placed the centre of the bandage on the wound, causing the guard to wince. Zelda ignored him and wrapped the bandage tight around his arm. After she had run out, she tied the loose ends together. The bandage was soaked in blood, but the flow seemed to be lessening.
The guard looked down at Zelda's handiwork, then lowered his arm. 'Tha...' was all he managed to say, before his head drooped and he fell unconscious. Zelda judged that now the blood had stopped flowing, he should be alright. Standing up, she continued through the gate.
What she saw instilled within her mixed feelings of anger and shock. Almost all of the buildings were on fire, the heat eating away at the roof's foundations, cracking and burning. People were running from buildings, congregating with relatives and friends, swatting out nonexistent fires on their sleeves. Some of these were Daisy, Enyd and the other people from the care house.
Zelda ran up, 'Hey, what's happening?' She tried to hide the anger in her voice with concern.
Daisy appeared from behind a villager. 'Oh, you're back!' she exclaimed, gripping Zelda in a death hug. Zelda sighed. Trust Daisy to be all huggy at a crisis.
She wriggled out of Daisy's grip and fell on her feet. 'What's going on?' she asked her, more concerned than angry now.
'Disgusting. These monsters came in and torched everything.'
'What did these monsters look like?'
'I don't know. Nobody saw them. But I overheard one talking. He had a sort of gravelly voice.' She adjusted her mouth to imitate the creature's speech pattern, '"If anyone gets out, kill them. We can't have any interruptions." That's what he said.'
Zelda scowled as soon as she heard the 'gravelly voice'. That spelt out Drazzil, of course. He and his cronies are trying to awaken the spirit of the well, 'under Ganondorf's orders', like Rauru said. And they were willing to kill the innocent villagers to do it!
'Where are these monsters?' she almost roared at Daisy. Daisy almost flew backwards.
'They're at the well right now. Doing something. Maybe it's a ritual.'
'Right,' Zelda growled, pushing past the crowd. The well was only a couple of minute's walk away.
'Wait, Shiek!' Daisy's voice. Zelda turned.
'Don't! They'll kill you!'
Zelda didn't budge. 'If they have just five more minutes, they'll kill everyone!'
Daisy pondered her decision. If she makes Sheik stay, the creatures will let out the spirit, and everyone will indeed be reduced to ash. On the other hand, Sheik can risk her life and still triumph, saving everyone and herself in the process. Daisy gave a defeated sigh. Stubborn as always, Sheik is.
'Okay. But be careful!'
Zelda nodded and turned again, running toward the well. The crowd gave shouts of encouragement, rallying Zelda on to victory. Daisy's voice was not heard.
Zelda ran up, anger blinding her to the smoke rising from the surrounding buildings. The first Lizalfos could be seen, about 50 metres away. Zelda roared savagely. The Lizalfos turned, only to be greeted with Zelda's foot. It fell to the ground, and Zelda wasted no time. She picked it up from the arm, and threw it back down, hard. It cried out in pain, alerting the other Lizalfoses. She quickly kicked it in the neck to shut it up. It was too late, however, and the others turned. There were now twelve, rather than the five from 7 years ago, and they all had torches and weapons in their hands. Drazzil was in front.
'Well, well. If it isn't the little savage herself. Come to stop us have you?' he sneered. The other Lizalfoses readied for battle.
'Yes, actually,' Zelda answered curtly. Drazzil's grin dipped.
'I'm sure. But you will be too late. Another five minutes and the ritual shall be complete! The mighty Ganondorf will be most pleased.' He paused. 'Of course, there is the small problem of a annoying little bug getting in my way.'
He shifted into combat mode, taking out a dagger.
'I don't care if he wants you alive. Now, this is personal!'
A/N: Whoa. Hehe, sorry for the cliff, but it builds tension, y'know? Thanks again for all your reviews! :3