Chapter 24: Gyorg's Remains.
Link walked in front of Zak, casually whistling to himself. While Zak walked, a feeling of impending doom washed over him. His eyes caught a flash of something near Clock Town. Link continued on, not mentioning anything. Zak clenched his jaw, growing more and more antsy. Link looked over his shoulder.
"We destroyed that monster, right? Now, will you please tell me what's going on?" he asked.
Zak blinked, "Sorry, could you repeat that?"
Link stopped walking, "I mean it. What's going on here?"
Zak sighed, "It's really complicated, to be honest."
He narrowed his eyes, "Uncomplicated it."
"There was a bigger threat here than you guys thought there was," Zak confessed, "And I've kind of been caught up in it."
Link crossed his arms, "Should we be worried?"
Zak sighed, "It wouldn't do you any good. I'll take care of it. I'm the only one who can."
He arched an eyebrow, "Says who?"
"Actually," Zak shook his head, "It hasn't really gone that well for me, so far. Don't worry, I'll figure it out. I need you to head towards Snowhead right now. Something really bad is about to happen."
Link stared at him, "You're kidding. We don't even get a break?"
"You don't want me to answer that," Zak managed a smile, "Just go towards Snowhead. You'll come across what you need to when you get there. Run fast, okay?"
Without another word, Link took off running towards Snowhead. Zak bolted, heading towards Clock Town. He rushed through the town, weaving through scores of people, until he arrived at the West Clock Town exit. A soft blue light pillar glowed outside. With a grunt, Zak sprinted towards it and dove inside. Dozens of blue hands grabbed at him, and he shoved them out of the way, until he found himself in a blue smoky place with smoke pouring down in pillars out of the sky. Zak floated, nearly weightless in the air, as if he was submerged in water. He breathed in and out, testing the bizarre surroundings.
"Ah, Zak," a voice greeted him, "It's been a long time, eh?"
Zak unsheathed his spear, "Funny. Feels like yesterday to me."
"Why do you fight against me? You'll never succeed, you know. It's inevitable. Just let me go, and this nightmare will all be over for you."
"So you're saying that you're not having fun, then," Zak said with a smirk.
"We'll see how much fun I'll be having after my creation tears you in half." A colossal fish monster swam above Zak. Hundreds of bony fish skeletons burst from it, diving down towards Zak. He quickly swam away, avoiding their gaping maws. As Zak swam, the fish monster encircled him, spilling out more and more bony fish. Zak gripped his spear and waited for them to get close. He swung it wildly around him, forcing the ones fast enough to dodge him back. The fish monster swam around and lunged at Zak. As Zak dodged, countless bony fish bit down onto any part of him they could find. Zak struggled, desperately trying to pull them off of him. The fish monster grabbed him around the waist and thrashed about. Zak yelled out in pain. He desperately stabbed at the fish monster with his spear, barely able to poke it.
The fish monster released him. Blood clouded the air around Zak, who could only meekly use his arms to right himself. The bony fish darted towards him, and Zak pulled his fist back. Red light shined in the palm of his hand, and he punched it straight down. A sphere of fire encircled him, burning up the bony fish close enough to get hit. The sphere flew off of him, catching enough to give Zak a break. The fish monster lunged at him again, and Zak stabbed the spear expertly at it. The fish's mouth, jagged with sharp teeth, chomped down on his spear and continued swimming. Thrown by the sheer force of the fish monster, Zak's spear was forced out of his hand.
As the fish swam away, it chomped on his spear. Zak pulled out his hookshot and aimed it at the fish monster. It turned, still chewing on the spear, and charged at him again. Zak fired the hookshot, which stuck into the monster's jaw. It tagged him with its fin as it passed, slicing another deep gash into his torso. Zak held on tightly as he could as it flew past. The fish monster dragged him along behind it, nearly yanking his arm out of socket. As Zak held onto the hookshot, he managed to reach up with one of his thumbs and flick the retraction switch. The hookshot slowly reeled in, bringing him closer and closer to the fish monster. It thrashed about wildly, desperate to try and throw Zak off. He clung to the hookshot, even as one of his arms popped and crunched from the force, until he arrived at the fish's gill. He gripped onto the gill with his hands, letting go of the hookshot. The fish monster thrashed and bucked, but Zak managed to hold on. He reached in through the monster's gill and gripped his spear's shaft. It flew up and dove down, straight towards the ground below. Zak managed to pull the spear down further into the fish, and, when the last of the shaft cleared the fish monster's mouth, he stabbed the spear around wildly. Blood bloomed out of its gill, and the fish slowed down. Zak continued stabbing until the fish stopped moving.
Zak pulled out his piece of grass and played Zak's song. The fish monster's body grayed and bubbled away, leaving nothing behind but a grotesque purple fish mask filled with teeth. Now holding his spear free from the restraints of the monster's body, Zak spun it around before slicing the mask in half. A white light drifted out of the mask before dissipating. The magic faded, and Zak landed on his feet, affected by gravity.
"No matter how many times I watch you do that," the voice remarked, impressed, "It always gives me chills. When did you figure that out, again?"
"Shut up," Zak snapped, sheathing his tooth-marked spear, "I'm coming for you, next."
"Not if you can't escape, you're not," the voice cackled.