(A/N: Thank you for reading this story of mine. This story is one I've been designing for many years, and I am glad that I had the chance to write it. I might do some more Zelda stuff in the future, but, if / when I get to it, I won't be writing about Zak for a little while. Please enjoy my final chapter of Warrior of the Mask.)
Chapter 30: Warrior Mask.
The sky cracked, splintering like glass. Zak's surroundings exploded, raining shards of space and time all around him. He shielded his eyes instinctively until the roaring sound subsided. When Zak looked up, he found himself in a gigantic stone box. In front of him floating high in the air was a light-skinned man with half of his face painted a deep purple. He wore a simple brown robe and held a staff in his left hand. His eyes shined with a menacing yellow light. Zak gripped onto his sword's hilt.
"Ah, yes," the man breathed in deeply, "Welcome back, my time traveling friend."
Zak narrowed his eyes, "Interloper. I'm going to stop you for sure, this time."
Interloper cackled, "Oh, my my. Someone seems incredibly confident today. Is it because of that girl? What's her name again... Romani?"
"Shut up!" Zak snapped back, "I made her a promise."
He shook his head, disappointed, "You're such a fool, kid. I am much more powerful than you can imagine. You'll never stop me. This dimension is mine, and I will use it to destroy the gods who have forsaken us. It is inevitable. You and that foolish goddess can keep trying to stop me for as long as you can manage, but I will eventually become free of this prison."
Zak unsheathed his sword, "Don't count on it, Interloper. Today is the day you die."
Interloper spun the tip of his staff around lazily. Hundreds of gilded swords filled the air. They dropped down towards Zak in waves. He hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding the swords stabbing into the stone floor. He bolted, running as fast as he could. Interloper followed him with the tip of his staff, the swords flying at him. Zak pressed his back against the wall. The swords stabbed at him one at a time. He managed to dodge a few, but they eventually stuck his clothes to the wall. With another lazy wave of his staff, a Great Fairy Sword materialized in front of Zak's face. Interloper pulled back, and the sword followed his gesture. He lunged forwards, the sword launching towards him. Panicked, Zak grabbed the mask with his free hand and held it between the Interloper's sword and his face. Interloper stopped, tilting his head to the side out of curiosity.
"What's that?" Interloper floated down to Zak, snatching the mask out of his hands, "Interesting. I've never seen this before." The skin on his hands touching the mask started to smoke. He arched his eyebrow. The gilded swords pinning Zak to the wall withdrew and clattered to the floor. He absentmindedly tossed the mask at Zak's feet. "Put that on, kid. I want to see what it's capable of."
Zak picked it up with shaky hands, "W-why are you letting me?"
Interloper sighed, "The way I see it, I have all the time in the universe. Make my time here interesting, Zak." Zak put the wolfish mask to his face. It fastened itself to his skin, and pain shot through his entire body. A sickly sound reverberated through the air. Zak doubled over, involuntarily grimacing in pain. He threw his head back, and a canine-like howl echoed through the air. A bright flash of white light shined out, forcing Interloper to cover his eyes. As the light died down, a humanoid wolf monster stood in the spot where Zak was just moments before. His black tunic was replaced by gibdo wrapping, long dark red hair sprouting from his head that flowed with a bizarre magic, his face elongated into a wolf's snout, and his sword replaced with the claws on his hands and feet. Zak clenched his fur-covered fists together in front of him. He had never felt such immense magical power before. He threw his head back and howled. Green wind magic radiated around him, forcing Interloper back.
Interloper grinned menacingly, "Now that's what I'm talking about. That's a mask! C'mon, kid. Don't die too quickly, now." Swords filled the air, all of them pointed at Zak. He bounded towards Interloper, running on all fours. The swords dove down at him. With a growl, Zak summoned dozens of flat blue triangles which deflected the swords. Fire magic erupted out of his mouth and rocketed towards Interloper. Shocked, Interloper zoomed to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. The torrential of fire followed Interloper, who flew around the room to avoid it. Zak stopped the fire and howled again. He surrounded himself in the green wind, which lifted him off of the ground. He flung himself with immense speed at Interloper, who summoned a wall of hero shields to defend himself. Zak slashed at the shields with his claws, slicing through them with his might. Interloper, cackling like mad, spun his staff around him as Zak struck him with the other claw. Magical fire erupted from him, blasting the two of them apart. Interloper slowed to a stop in midair, while Zak slammed hard into the far wall.
"C'mon," he taunted, "Here, boy." Zak pulled himself out of the wall, growling. He slashed at the air, sending five waves of fire at Interloper. The waves filled up most of the room, but Interloper batted them away with his staff effortlessly. He summoned a plethora of tempered Deku sticks, which spun as they flew towards Zak. Zak summoned the blue shielding magic again, the attack shoving him into the ground. He let out a howl, the green magic flinging the sticks away. With a flick of his wrist, Interloper turned the sticks into hookshots, which all fired at Zak. Zak jumped up, using the green winds to teleport in an attempt to dodge the chains. The hookshot chains stabbed into the walls, creating a maze of chains. Zak launched more fire at Interloper, but the chains caught it and heated up to a red hot. Zak fell to the ground, and Interloper filled the entire ceiling with Great Fairy Swords.
"Die!" he roared, dropping them all at once. Zak got a running start and jumped high into the air at the dropping ceiling of descending swords, which pass right through the Interloper. With a quick look at Interloper, he summoned the power of Farore's Wind, and warped behind him, narrowly missing the tips of the swords plunging into him. Zak reappeared behind the Interloper, and bit hard into his neck. The Interloper froze, stunned by the attack. Using his opportunity, Zak ripped into him; slashing, clawing, and kicking like mad. The Interloper called out in pain, his blood spilling out of him. Zak felt the full fury of the mask take over, and he continued to gore his opponent, losing himself in the carnage.
The Zora Spear pierced Zak's abdomen. Zak released his grip on the Interloper. He looked down to see his own spear sticking through his abdomen. The Interloper vanished, and Zak's Giant's Toothpick sword stabbed him through the side. He reappeared, holding it. Interloper vanished and reappeared, stabbing Zak with the Gilded Sword from the other side. He stabbed him with the Great Fairy Sword from above, and Daku's Giant's Knife from below. Interloper appeared in front of Zak, absentmindedly twirling his staff.
"That was fun," he said, grinning despite his face covered in blood, "You actually hurt me pretty good this time. Too bad for you that it's not enough." Interloper sent Zak to the floor with a crash. Zak's blood erupted out of his snout, as well as his wounds. His consciousness flickered, his vision blurring. Interloper grabbed his red mane with his free hand.
"See you next time, son," he cackled. Zak's life faded away into death.
Zak's eyes snapped open. He coughed violently, struggling to strike out against the Interloper with his bare fists. To his surprise, he found himself floating in a white void. A small, silver fairy floated in front of him. It drifted back and forth, its wings moving in a slow up and down motion.
"I'm a failure," Zak said solemnly, "That mask was the strongest power I could've ever found, and it wasn't enough."
"My child," the fairy spoke to his mind, "There is more than one way to secure a victory. You sent the girl through the exit with the Hero of Time. She is the last remaining survivor of Termina."
He blinked, "I don't understand why you made me send all of those people back with Link. Once time resets, they are always back where they were, with no memory of me."
The fairy drifted to and fro, "You have done well. Better than even I could have hoped. Those who are innocent have been spared of a cruel fate. A fate that you and I must now share."
Zak sighed, "I wish I could've saved you, too. I would've gladly stayed here alone to fight the Interloper and his masks for all of time."
The fairy twirled about, "Not to worry, Zakku. You have spared me... a version of me, at least. Now, I must do what needs to be done, and sever the entrance of this dimension. With the two of us here, the Interloper will never again reach his brethren with his newfound power."
"I understand my fate," Zak resigned, "But I wish that I wasn't doomed to this eternal struggle. I wanted to save my home of Hyrule, too. There's a war coming, and I-"
"Say no more," the fairy responded warmly, "The goddesses are kind to those who are heroes. Now's not the time to dwell. You and I have work to do."
Zak grabbed the mask attached to his belt and looked at it, "I suppose you're right. Let's go back." A bright flash of white light blinded him.
Zak found himself in a square house, completely devoid of life. He kicked the remains of the wall out of his way and headed towards the door. His eyes burned, and he squinted against the sheer brightness of the sun.
Link stepped out into the Lost Woods. Romani stirred in his arms, her eyes slowly opening. She looked up at him, bewildered. "Grasshopper? What's going on?"
Link sighed, "Not to worry. Everything will be okay, now."
She blinked, "I don't understand. Where's Zak?"
He arched an eyebrow, "Wait, you know Zak? That's not possible." Romani shoved herself out of his grasp and rushed towards the tree. As she approached the entrance to Termina, the opening faded, leaving behind nothing but a hollowed out tree. Desperate, Romani clawed at the trunk, tears flowing from her eyes.
"No!" she shouted, pounding her fists against the wood, "He and I were supposed to escape together! He promised me that he would save Termina. Zak had to save Termina! He needs me, Link. He's a terrible shot with a bow and arrow." Link placed a hand onto her shoulder, at a loss for words. She sobbed into her hands.
"Listen," Link spoke up after several minutes, "This area isn't safe. There's a village hidden in the forest that we've built for refugees of Termina. Follow me." He grabbed her arm, but Romani yanked it out of his grasp.
"Leave me alone," she cried, "I'm going to wait for him, okay? He's coming out. He'll be out any minute, now." Link swallowed his grief and headed off, whistling for his horse, Epona. He climbed up onto her and looked back towards the hollow tree containing the sobbing girl. Sighing, Link struck Epona's hindquarters, edging her to a trot. She galloped away into the Lost Woods.
Romani, tired from crying, wiped her eyes and set her slingshot down in the tree. Part of her wished that she had a photo; anything to remember him by. She stood up, adjusting the bow on her back, and turned around to leave the Lost Woods. As she turned, she spooked a young boy of ten years who had approached her. In surprise, he dropped the sword, shield, and spear he was barely able to carry as he fell onto his butt.
"Oh, goodness," Romani helped him up, barely containing her laughter. The boy stood up and gathered his weapons, adjusting his black tunic from the weight.
"Sorry, miss," he said, trying to be brave, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm on official business to save the world."
Romani bent down, "Oh, is that right? Well, if you're looking for a magical portal, someone must've beaten you to it."
The boy groaned, "Are you serious? Master Link is going to kill me. Well, I guess I'd better go home, then."
"Hold on a minute," Romani inspected the spear in his hand, "If you're not busy, kiddo, I could use a little help. I came here to meet a friend, but we got separated. You wouldn't mind walking me out of here, would you?"
He nodded, "Leave it to me!" The two of them started walking, following the tracks left behind by Link's horse. "Hey," he said, marveling at the bow strapped to her back, "That's so cool! I've never seen a bow like that before."
She smiled, "Thanks. A friend got it for me. If you want, I can teach you how to shoot it properly."
The boy laughed, "I'm pretty bad with bows, but I'll try my best."
As the two of them left the hollowed-out tree, a silver-tinted fairy drifted out from its hiding spot above the tree. It spun around the tree, sprinkling it with its silver fairy dust. The tree shrank, turning into nothing more than a tiny sprout. Satisfied, the silver fairy drifted high up into the air, unassisted by its wings.