Chapter 44
Everyone was following the two gorons Drexxel and Aurdain as they led them in the direction of the prison cells where the rest of the gorons were being held captive. There was a hidden passage apart from the maze the fairies had failed to spot. Argus, Charlie and Brad had no problems keeping up with the two gorons. Link however was lagging behind. Navi was flying above Charlie's head. She noticed the absence of her companion and she glanced behind and saw Link far behind the rest of the group. She nudged Valerie and Izzy.
"Hey guys! Link is having a hard time keeping up with everybody. I'm going back to see if he's alright."
They nodded silently as she flew back to check on Link. He was panting and sweating. She flew in front of him.
"Are you okay? Is there something wrong with your leg?"
He shook his head.
"Not my leg. My chest hurts where Charlie blasted me. He may have not meant to hurt me, but he did."
Navi face was full of concern and worry for her companion.
"Just sit down here and wait. I'll get everyone to stop."
She flew off and landed on Brad's shoulder. He turned to her.
"What is it, Navi? Is something wrong?"
She nodded.
"Yes there is. It's Link. I think Charlie may have really hurt him!"
Brad cursed in anger.
"I knew it! I knew that was a bad idea from the start. I'm going to have a talk with Charlie!"
He stormed up ahead of the group. Charlie was walking just ahead of Argus. He watched him walk ahead of him and scratched his head in confusion.
"What's wrong with Brad? He seems mad about something."
Brad was walking beside Charlie glaring at him. Charlie waved at him.
"Hi, Brad. How are you doing?"
Brad pointed a finger at him.
"I told you that shooting Link was a bad idea. Now he's at the back of the group in pain! You're going to pay for that!"
He jumped at Charlie and knocked him down. He started to hit him in the chest with his fist.
"This is for hitting your own friend with magic in the first place!"
Charlie gasped in pain. He was starting to get angry, but he didn't want to seriously injure Brad with his powers. Argus noticed what was happening and tried to pull them apart. Upon hearing the commotion, Drexxel, Aurdain, Valerie and Izzy turned around. Drexxel and Aurdain ran up to where the fighting was happening. Drexxel scratched his head in confusion.
"Why are those two fighting?"
Argus glared at him.
"Does it matter? Help me separate these two before they kill each other!"
Drexxel nodded and grabbed a hold of Brad's legs and pulled him clear. Charlie stood up, his eyes glowing bright red in anger.
"If he wants a fight, I'll give him one to remember!"
Charlie's hands started to glow red. He was forming balls of energy, planning to throw them at Brad. Argus grabbed him by the neck and held his other hand close to his face. It was clenched into a fist.
"Stand down! Or you will get my fist into your face! Don't think I won't do it!"
Charlie glared at him.
"Ugh...So be it. But if he tries that again, I won't be stopped and I won't hesitate!"
His hands stopped glowing and Argus released him. He then walked over and picked Brad up and turned him around, so they were face to face.
"What was that all about? Why did you attack Charlie? He has new powers and he could've seriously hurt you if I didn't intervene!"
Brad glared at him. He pointed behind Argus at Link struggling to catch up with everybody.
"He injured Link when he tossed magic at him before! Navi told me Link was still hurting from that."
Argus remained silent and walked over to where Link was standing. Navi was perched on his shoulder still concerned for his health. Argus picked him up and set him up on his shoulders.
"Come with me. I'm going to take you and set you down on the ground and we'll see if we can make you feel any better."
Argus walked over and put him on the ground in front of everyone. He was groaning and clutching his chest. Charlie covered his eyes.
"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have shot him with my magic earlier."
Brad glared at him angrily but remained silent.
Argus held up his hand.
Silence! We aren't here to lay blame. We need to heal Link's wound somehow. Anybody have any ideas?"
Navi looked at Valerie and Izzy and they both nodded. They all flew over to Link. They were still glowing orange from the heat resistance spell. Valerie's eyes glowed green and a wave of energy hit both Navi and Izzy. Seconds later, the heat proof spell was removed and they were normal color. Valerie cleared her throat.
"We should be able to create a heal spell. We've done it in the past. With our combined powers, we should be able to do it again."
Argus nodded.
"Very well. Give it your best shot."
Valerie, Navi and Izzy held hands and concentrated. Within seconds, their eyes began to glow bright white. Suddenly, a bright white ball of energy began to form in front of them. Valerie giggled happily.
"We almost got it! Just a little more!"
Suddenly, the white ball vanished. Argus grunted in confusion.
"What happened? Did the spell fail?"
Valerie groaned.
"I'm afraid so. We weren't concentrating hard enough, and the ball of energy disappeared."
She looked at Navi and Izzy.
"Come on you two. We can do this. We MUST do this for Link's sake."
They both nodded as all three fairies began to concentrate once more. Once again, a white ball began to form in front of them. Still concentrating, Valerie shouted out at the other two.
"Now! Cast it at Link before we lose it again!"
Suddenly, the white ball moved towards Link at an incredible rate of speed. It hit him in a blinding flash of white light. Link was suddenly lifted up into the air and the white light surrounded him and kept circling him. This happened for about three minutes. Shortly after, he was dropped onto the ground. He got up onto his feet and looked around. Argus walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"How do you feel, Link? Is the pain gone?"
Link nodded.
"Yeah, I think so. I don't have a pain in my chest anymore."
Brad walked over and started to cheer.
"Alright! That's great news, buddy. You're going to be okay!"
Charlie walked over and held out his hand.
"Link, please accept my most sincere apologies. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened."
Link grabbed his hand and shook it.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I'm okay. Can you do me a favor?"
Charlie nodded.
"Sure. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it for you."
Link smiled.
"That's perfect. I want you and Brad to shake hands and make up. I don't like seeing my friends fight."
Charlie sighed. He wasn't the one that started the fight, but Link was right. He walked over to Brad and held out his hand.
"Sorry about everything that happened. Can we be friends again?"
Brad smiled.
"I would like nothing better. I'm sorry I attacked you."
Brad reached up and grabbed his hand and shook it. Argus smiled at Link.
"That was a great idea, Link. Hopefully they won't fight like that anymore."
Link watched Brad and Charlie talking to each other and laughing. He nodded in agreement.
"I hope they don't either, Argus. I'm going to need those two to cooperate when we end up battling Ganondorf's minions."
Drexxel and Aurdain walked over to where Link and Argus were standing. Drexxel tapped Argus on the shoulder.
"Are we ready to get moving again, chief?"
Argus nodded.
"Yes, I believe so. Link is feeling better, and Charlie and Brad seemed to have shook hands and made up. Thanks for helping me separate those two earlier."
Drexxel smiled and patted Argus on the back.
"No problem. I was glad to help."
He turned to everybody and made an announcement.
"I need everyone to listen! We are nearing the next room on our way to the prison cells. Now, I want everyone to be very careful. Me and Aurdain didn't roll through this next room for a good reason. It's because there is a narrow path to walk on. There are big holes in the rest of the floor that lead straight down to the first floor where the big lava pits are."
Everyone gasped in shock. Drexxel continued his speech.
"Now, the only advice I can give to you guys is this: Watch where you step and whatever you do, don't look down! Does everybody understand?"
Argus, Link, Charlie and Brad nodded in agreement. Drexxel looked up at the fairies.
"I know you three don't have to worry about that, but if you see anybody having trouble, try to help them out somehow."
The three fairies nodded in agreement. Drexxel Walked ahead, with everybody else following closely behind.
Back in his castle, Ganondorf was training Veran to use her powers properly. So far, it was a huge success! She had some of the very same powers Ganondorf had. She even knew how to use telekinesis. Ganondorf turned to her.
"Okay, Veran! Try to send me flying again with your telekinetic abilities!"
Veran gasped.
"Are you sure, master? I don't want to hurt you."
Ganondorf smiled. He was touched by how she was so concerned for his well-being.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Give me everything you've got!"
Veran nodded. Her eyes glowed bright blue and suddenly, Ganondorf was raised up into the air and then thrown hard against a nearby wall. He grunted in pain. Her power was incredible! It had taken him years to master even the basics of telekinesis. Yet she had mastered the basics in a few short hours of training. She ran over to Ganondorf.
"Are you okay, master? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
He shook his head.
"That hurt, but I'm okay. You don't have to call me master. Call me by my name Ganondorf."
Veran smiled.
"Okay, Ganondorf. What do you want me to do now?"
Ganondorf stood in front of her.
"We'll train some more. Then I'm going to send you out into Hyrule to hunt down Vaati and Dark Link. Now, toss one of your shadow balls at me."
Veran closed her eyes and concentrated. Within seconds, she had a shadow ball formed. She released it and sent it flying towards him. When it hit him, it sent him flying. He then teleported and appeared in front of her. She gasped with shock.
"You startled me! You okay?"
Ganondorf cursed in anger. At first, he didn't care. But now, it was beginning to bother him. She wasn't evil at all! She had incredible powers, but she wasn't ruthless at all! He glared at her.
"What's with you? You are a shadow being, yet you don't seem to be very evil. I think I need to have a chat with Saska! Come with me!"
Veran nodded and shrugged.
"I'm sorry. I don't feel very evil. What's going to happen to me?"
Ganondorf glared at her.
"I'm going to ask Saska to try her hand at shadow molding once more. Your body is fine, but I need you to be eviler."
Ganondorf grabbed her hand and teleported out of his castle.
Back in the desert, Saska was just waking up. She nudged jaska to wake her up.
"Wake up, sister! Time to wake up the troops!"
Jaska groaned and got up out of her bed.
"Okay I'm up. Are you okay after last night?"
Saska nodded.
"Yeah, I think so. That shadow molding took a lot of energy, but I'm feeling better today."
Suddenly, Ganondorf walked into their tent, with Veran following closely behind. Saska and Jaska gasped and bowed their heads. Ganondorf glared at Saska.
"On your feet, Saksa! I need your help again!"
Saska stood up and saluted.
"What can I do for you?"
Ganondorf pushed Veran forward.
"You can help me by making her actually evil. She's far too nice. She will never be able to hurt anyone the way she is!"
Saska nodded.
"Very well. I can help you with that. But first, Can I send Jaska to wake up the troops?"
He nodded. Saska looked over at Jaska.
"Go wake up the troops and see to it that they get fed."
Jaska nodded and ran off to do her bidding. She then turned her attention to the matter at hand.
"I'm sorry, sir. I think a big part of this magic is trial and error. I will take away her life and replace it with something better."
Veran backed away.
"You're going to do what? I don't want to die! Why do you have to end my life?"
Saska sighed.
"Sorry, Veran. It's necessary. In order to make you eviler, I need to work with your body more."
She turned around and started to run away. Saska held up her hand and stopped her in her tracks. Saska walked up to Veran.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Saska closed her eyes and began to concentrate. A black ball of energy began to from in her hand. She threw it at Veran. She screamed in agony and fell down onto the ground in a heap. Suddenly, she turned black. Saska hesitated. She turned to Ganondorf.
"Before I continue, are you sure you want me to do this? I'll make her eviler, but she won't be the same."
He nodded.
"I need someone evil like me. Keep going."
Saska nodded. She reached into Veran's body and brought forth her life force. It was a glowing white ball of pure energy. Saska concentrated and added a lot of dark power to it. Suddenly, it began to glow dark black. She nodded in satisfaction.
"That should be it. Now, when I put this back in her, she will come to life again once I cast the shadow molding spell. I think she will moody and unpredictable, so watch what you say. She will also remember whatever you may have taught her."
Ganondorf nodded as Saska placed her life force back into her body. She then cast the shadow molding spell on her. She returned to normal. She opened her red eyes and glared at Ganondorf.
"So, am I better yet?"
Ganondorf nodded.
"I'm hoping so. How do you feel?"
Veran grinned.
"I feel very powerful. I also feel like hurting somebody."
Ganondorf decided to administer a test to see if she was evil or just pretending.
"Veran, my arm hurts from earlier."
Veran smiled.
"What do I care if your arm hurts? Don't make me angry or will have more than just a sore arm!"
Ganondorf smiled.
"I am your master, Veran."
Veran glared at him with hatred. He said the wrong thing. She concentrated and formed a shadow ball and threw it at Ganondorf. It hit him and sent him flying. Veran rose into the air and was floating above him.
"I am nobody's servant! You will do well to remember that! Next time you say that I'll send you flying with my telekinesis!"
Ganondorf rose. Saska expected Ganondorf to attack her. Instead, he laughed aloud.
"Yes! That's more like it. You're actually evil now! You are not my servant, Veran. I apologize."
Veran nodded.
"You'd better be sorry!"
Ganondorf grinned.
"Now, I need you to help me with something. I want you to rough up a few people for me. The first person is that deserter Vaati. He may be hard to find, but he won't be hard to spot. He has black hair and he's wearing black armor like me! The second person is that traitor Dark Link! I believe his friends call him Charlie now. The last person is the most important person of all. His name is Link. He wears green clothes and he's followed by a fairy named Navi. If you can, try to rough him up and then capture him. I'll be watching your progress from my castle. Before you go, I want to make you look less threatening."
Veran looked at him in confusion.
"How are you planning on doing that?"
Ganondorf smiled.
"I'm not going to do anything. You're going to do a little shape shifting. First, give yourself a normal color on your skin and then turn your eyes blue."
Veran sighed.
"This sounds stupid, but whatever."
She turned black. When she turned back, her skin was a normal color and she had beautiful blue eyes. Ganondorf nodded.
"That's better. I don't think your purple robe will rouse any suspicion. Now go and find those people for me, Veran, and make me proud!"
Veran sighed and disappeared. Ganondorf turned around and faced Saska.
"Thanks for your help once again. Now, I'm going back to my castle. Keep up the good work!"
Suddenly, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke. A few minutes later, Jaska walked in. She looked around the tent.
"Where is Ganondorf? Is he still here?"
Saska shook his head.
"No. He just left. Are the troops awake and eating?"
She nodded.
"Yes. They woke up without too much trouble or grumbling this morning."
Saska didn't answer. Jaska noticed that she seemed distracted.
"What's wrong, sister? Is something bothering you?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. Ganondorf made me give Veran a new personality. She is eviler now. She even attacked Ganondorf after he called himself her master."
Jaska nodded.
"Okay. It's too bad he was attacked, but what's the problem?"
Saska sighed.
"He never told us the full story of what happened between him and Vaati. He just said he was betrayed by him. I have a feeling Ganondorf drove Vaati away."
Jaska nodded.
"While that may be, what exactly are you getting at?"
Saska sighed.
"What if Ganondorf does the same thing to Veran? With her strong powers, she might end up really hurting him."
Jaska smirked.
"I don't think he would do something like that."
Saska nodded.
"Maybe you're right. I really hope he doesn't though. I'm not sure, but I think adding all that dark power to Veran was a mistake. If he ends up making her mad, he'd better be ready for a fight!"