Another chapter for you guys. I'm mighty proud of this one, with how Link is portrayed and the action sequences. Enjoy!
-Jooostan
A Terminian and the Twilight of Danger
Chapter 8: Far More or Far Less
Dusk fell on Hyrule once again, but this time, there was no looming threat of the Thunderbird. Everything was alright for the time being, at least for most. No one was aware of any other creature that challenged the freedom of the kingdom.
A certain Terminian woman, however, didn't feel so at ease. She managed to hide her unsteady breathing from her son for most of the night, but now that he was asleep, her hands wouldn't stop fidgeting. She couldn't shake the image she saw back in Kakariko. It was like looking in a mirror, but the person she saw, she didn't recognize. Not in the slightest.
"Anju?" Kafei asked, standing in the doorway.
"Hmm?" Anju replied, not turning her head. Kafei just sighed. For almost an hour, his wife had been gazing out the window, towards Kakariko Village. He knew exactly what was on her mind.
"Honey, please don't keep thinking about that woman." Kafei pleaded. He sat on the edge of the bed.
"How can I not, Kafei?" Anju's voice rose slightly. "I can't get the feeling out of my head!"
"What do you mean?"
"About... if I'm just..." Anju stopped. She refrained from letting herself choke up in front of her husband. The existentialism she felt was unimaginable. "If I'm just a copy of someone else. If that's all I am."
"Honey, come here." Kafei rose and took Anju's hand. She reluctantly stood from the stool she had placed herself on and followed him back to the bed. "You remember what we taught Link, right? About how your story is about who you choose to be?"
Anju nodded hesitantly. That night Link came home, and she confronted him in the kitchen of the Stock Pot Inn. How could she forget that night? It was when she truly felt like she earned being Link's mother. It always held a special place in her heart, right alongside her husband and her surrogate son.
"It doesn't matter if you're a version of that woman in the village. What does matter is your story." Anju looked into Kafei's eyes, and he got lost in them. Something like that happened often. "You've done so much for a lot of people. It's what you chose to do."
Anju didn't say anything. She just kissed Kafei on the cheek and nuzzled close to him. "Thank you, dear. I'm sorry, it was just so much to think about..."
"At least you don't have to worry about this feeling." Anju smiled weakly.
Kafei chuckled. He didn't want to admit it, but it had been all he thought about for the past few hours. But it wasn't his copy. It was the lack of one. His mood lowered significantly in a matter if moments.
"Well, I don't know. The fact that- I don't have one... makes me feel..." Kafei's words halted and his mind grew clouded.
Anju grew worried immediately.
"Like I don't matter-"
"Oh, Kafei..."
"A-Am... I not worthy? Am I too different?" Kafei started to stare out into space, almost losing his grip on reality for a moment. Luckily, Anju brought him back down to earth.
"Now you look at me." Kafei did as he was told. "Don't you dare go getting me out of a bad mood and then go into one yourself. I think you're just too special to have a version in Hyrule."
Anju's playful smirk brought him fully out of his brief funk. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her.
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"Useless!"
Another blast of energy struck Bellum, and it was slammed once again into the wall of the temple. Rubble fell from the ceiling. The one on the ground formed a shield to protect against the falling stone and continued to torture the dream demon. After a while, a groan from above was heard.
"Will you stop?! Your screaming is hard to ignore!" The figure above Bellum barked. She didn't even grant the dream demon a passing glance. For once, it felt afraid. It wanted the hero it knew to put it out of its misery with the Phantom Sword.
"It's hardly my fault that this... thing is so foolish!" The one on the ground zapped Bellum once more with her magic. The darkness that enveloped it receded for a moment, before covering it once more like a parasitic fungus.
"It was only meant to frighten the boy, not give him a clue on what we have planned!"
"Why did you even explain the extent of our plan to it anyways?" The one on the ground grew flustered at the other's question. She purposefully ignored it to keep on complaining.
"Now he may get suspicious!" Magic was cast once again, and Bellum reeled back in pain. The sickening look in its captors' eyes had instilled true fear into the once maniacal demon. It used to yearn for power, now it only yearned for freedom from this bizarre nightmare.
For a long while, the demon continued to be attacked by the figure. Again and again it was brought to the floor, causing the ground to quake. The skin of its tentacles was sliced apart, its eye was stabbed, and soon its entire body was constricted by a lasso made of plasma. Everything sent Bellum's way was only meant to prolong its pain, each second of agony lasting what felt like hours.
Such magic could've only been obtained by hexing rituals, curses, and knowledge of the dark arts. At least it provided some explanation as to why the mysterious captors seemed so eager to destroy and cause pain. Bellum was given some perspective on the pain it itself caused in the era which it was plucked from.
"Perhaps we should resort to our contingency for now until this creature knows its place..." The lower one grumbled, growing tired of casting magic senselessly.
"Those reptilian puppets? Doesn't seem like the greatest idea, as usual." The one above mused out loud.
"S-Silence!"
The only thing heard was a sinister cackle from the platform. Then things went quiet for a minute while she thought of something.
"Let Bellum invade the thoughts of the soldiers in the valley. Maybe there it will learn how to mess with the strong..." She ordered. The one below was about to interject, but it was almost perfect.
"Very well!"
All Bellum heard next was the cackle. It had gotten used to it by now, much to its dismay. Its eye was fully surrounded by darkness, and it became a shadow once more. The yellow became a sinister red and it was unleashed into the desert, and it soon found its way into the minds of the valley residents. Creeping along the ground, the infected the dreams of everyone it could.
There, it got out all its anger at the torture it had to endure, and the result were the most mentally damaging nightmares the Gerudo ever experienced. From that, it would learn how to manipulate dreams to lower morale far more significantly.
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The next three days were mostly uneventful for Castle Town. Link hadn't felt like it was time yet to leave Hyrule. Although the weekend was coming up soon, so he would want to make a short visit to Termina. He thought about if anyone had missed him.
Link felt the wind flow through his hair as Epona galloped. Lately he felt the need to go on patrol through Hyrule field. Finishing his third lap around the entire perimeter of the field, Epona was exhausted. She trotted towards Zora River to take a drink, and her rider dismounted.
"Sorry for making you work so hard." Link said sweetly, rubbing Epona's mane. She nickered happily and took another sip.
Link surveyed the area. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and everything seemed calm. For the longest time, the boy thought he'd never see this place again. Now that he was back, his own opinion changed. He actually kind of missed it all.
"Epona?" Link turned to his steed. He had no real idea if she could actually understand him, but he talked to her on occasion.
"Have you missed Hyrule?" Link asked. For a second, Epona just stared into the distance. Trotting over to her rider, Epona gave Link a gentle nudge.
"Yeah, I'm not sure yet either..." Link replied to her, even if she said nothing. He could kind of tell that she had something to say. Actions did speak far louder than words.
Epona started to lick Link's face.
"Oh! Ah! Hey, stop that!" Link said playfully, carefully patting his horse on the cheek. It was mostly fruitless. She just enjoyed the company of her old friend.
"Alright, alright! Stop it! You know that doesn't wash out easily." Link gently stopped Epona from continuing. She just huffed in retaliation and blew air into his face.
All Link could do was smile and he wiped off some of the spit that had gotten onto his tunic. Epona was a serious horse. Experienced and hardworking, but she still had her moments of carefree fun. It was one of the few things Link still appreciated about how life in Hyrule conditioned him and his friend. The teen decided to lean on Epona, staring out into the field, enjoying the scene.
Unfortunately, the tranquility was broken by a familiar screech. Swinging his head around, Link's senses went into overdrive. He knew that call. He first heard it in Dodongo's cavern. Lizalfos.
Surely enough, there was a pack of Lizalfos by a nearby grotto. Five of them. They hadn't seemed to have noticed Link yet. It looked like they were too preoccupied with arguing with each other over something.
Link's mind went into "hero mode" again. He carefully scanned the positions, how much they seemed aware, and the weapons each Lizalfos held. Bows. How on earth did they get bows? He told himself it didn't matter. If they knew how to use them, he'd be in for a bad time.
If he took them on alone, he may not return home in the best of shape. The last thing he wanted as for Anju, Kafei, Romani, or anyone else to worry about him now. Taking the chance to head back to town, Link hopped onto Epona and took off.
Galloping as fast as she could, Epona sped towards the drawbridge. Riding into Castle Town, Link hopped off his steed and barged through the door to the house.
"Guys, we have a problem!" Link shouted. His words caught the attention of Jim, Skull Kid, and Romani. They emerged from the stairs, kitchen, and room adjacent to the kitchen respectively.
"What is it?" Jim asked.
Link explained what he saw in Hyrule Field to his friends, and their concern soon matched his.
"Are you sure you saw five?" Skull Kid asked, thinking about if they all could take them on in such short notice.
"Positive." Link reassured him.
"Well, what are we waiting for? We need to make sure they don't get into town!" Jim's spunky attitude made Link smile.
"Yeah! Those lizards can't be as good with bows as Romani is!" Romani beamed with pride.
The group prepared to leave, but where stopped by Navi and Tatl.
"You mind telling us where you guys are going?" Tatl barked, hands on her hips.
"Link spotted some Lizalfos out in the field. We're going to make sure they are taken care of!" Jim replied happily. The two fairies gave each other a look and turned back to the group.
"And you didn't ask us to go with you?" Navi asked, a stern expression on her face.
"W-Well... would you want to?" Link asked meekly. The second he was done his sentence the two were already at his side. The teens just chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."
A minute later, Epona left town, Link and Romani riding, Skull Kid and Jim following close behind. All shared glances of determination as they passed the drawbridge and started searching for the pack of Lizalfos.
"This is where I spotted them." Link said as they neared Zora River. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, no sign of the lizards yet. He did however see the grotto.
"There." Link pointed to the hole in the ground. Bringing Epona by the grotto, he and Romani dismounted, and the group gathered around the spot.
"You sure they'll be in there, Grasshopper?" Romani asked, peering into the hole, unable to see a thing due to the heavy shadow that encompassed it.
"I'm not sure where else they'd be." Link said. He drew his sword, and Jim followed suit with his own. Skull Kid readied his staff and Romani held her bow. "Let's go..."
Jumping down into the grotto, Link was surprised to see it a lot larger than he remembered. Instead of a few patches of grass, a Gossip Stone, and an open chest, it was hollowed out quite a bit more. The Gossip Stone has been dislodged from the ground and laid on its side a few feet away, and all the grass had been torn from the roots. Pieces of wood that were presumably from the old chest were now scattered across the room.
However, all that mattered was their targets. Six Lizalfos stood in a huddle on the other side of the room. They all turned to be met with the group that just made their way inside.
"Six?!" Skull Kid was shocked, but he kept his voice down.
For a second, it was silent. Both factions waited, unsure which one would make the first move. Then, the closest Lizalfos screeched and readied its bow, shooting an arrow at Link.
The teen in green defended with his shield and it clanked on the metal, falling to the ground. Link charged, followed by his friends.
The fight began. More arrows were fired, and Link got closer and closer to the group of lizards. Romani carefully aimed her weapon and shot one Lizalfos in the head, bringing it to the floor. As Link grew even closer, the lead Lizalfos put away its bow and drew its short sword. Both blades met momentarily, and a small flash of sparks emitted from their impact.
Jim wasn't far behind Link. His sword met with another one of the Lizalfos's weapons and both boys engaged in a fight.
Knocking his opponent back, Jim looked over to Skull Kid and gave him a smirk. The imp knew exactly what he was thinking. Jim squatted down and Skull Kid dashed over to him. Carefully stepping onto Jim's back, Skull Kid leaped into the air and brought his staff down onto one of the Lizalfos.
Romani kept loosing arrows at the lizards but didn't notice the sound of feet landing behind her. Suddenly, she was kicked to the ground, and was met with a group of three more Lizalfos.
"Hey!" Link hollered. He slammed his shield into his opponent's stomach and ran to help Romani. Protecting his girlfriend, she got up as the lizards swatted at his shield. When she was up and back in action, he ducked and let her fire an arrow at the head Lizalfos.
"Gotcha!" Romani said triumphantly. Link smirked and swung his leg across the ground, making the other two lizards' trip and fall.
"Link! Jim needs some help!" Tatl yelled from across the room. Link looked back and saw Jim getting nearly overwhelmed by two Lizalfos at once. Skull Kid was too busy slamming his staff into another to help.
Link, without even thinking, hopped into the air and brought his shield to his feet. Somehow, on instinct, he started to surf atop the shield along the small hill of sand, riding right into the duo that were bothering Jim.
"How did you do that?" Jim asked with wonder.
"I have no idea!" Link said with a wide smile, picking up the mirror shield.
"Watch out!" Navi warned Romani. She didn't even know what she was being warned about, but she hit the deck and dodged an arrow that flew in from behind her.
"Thanks Navi!" Romani gave Navi a thumbs up, and the fairy beamed with pride.
Only six Lizalfos were left, but Romani saw three jump up into the light from above, leaving the grotto.
"Grasshopper! They're getting away!" Romani called. Link turned just in time to see the distinct armor of the last enemy going through the hole.
"Go! We can take the last three!" Skull Kid yelped, decommissioning another lizard with a bonk to the head via his staff.
"Are you sure?!" Link yelled.
"Yeah! We've got this! Make sure they don't hurt anyone! People's lives are worth a lot more than ours!" Jim selflessness impacted Link a lot. How little he thought of himself was almost too similar to how Link felt about himself.
"Hey! You guys are a worth a lot to me!" Link shouted. Jim, Romani, Skull Kid, Tatl, and Navi all looked at him.
Link did nothing but smirk. He sheathed his sword and ran to the exit, getting beamed up and out of the grotto. His heart sank when he couldn't find Epona. Hoof marks dotted the grass, and he soon spotted her in the distance bolting back to town. There were scratches on her right side. The sight made Link feel some semblance of rage.
He had faith that his friends would be able to finish off the rest of the Lizalfos. He needed to track down those last three. No creature would hurt his horse and walk free.
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The sun was shining all throughout Zora's River. Birds chirped repeatedly as they flew about the sky. The sound of the running river was all that could be heard in the area. All until a stray arrow soared through the sky and hit the ground, causing the birds to scatter.
The trio of Lizalfos wielding bows dashed down the trial to Zora's Domain, and Link wasn't far behind. He couldn't let them get to Zora's Domain. He didn't want to imagine what they'd do if he didn't stop them.
Firing another arrow, Link chased the trio of lizards up the trial, and his worry grew even more when they neared the Sleepless Waterfall. The three stopped and turned to the hero as he approached. The teen stopped a few meters away, waiting for them to make the first move. If he shot another arrow, they'd likely leap through the entrance to get away.
Link waited. The Lizalfos waited. A long stretch of silence was finally broken when one of them hopped through the waterfall and into Zora's Domain.
"No!" Link hollered. He couldn't stop the second Lizalfos from jumping in, so he tackled the third and pinned it down just in the entrance.
The Lizalfos rose to its feet and screeched in Link's face. He wiped the spit from his cheek and decked it, bringing it back to the ground. Taking a bundle of Deku Sticks, Link shoved the creature to the wall and plunged the wooden poles into the stone just around it's limbs, keeping it trapped against the rock.
Link stepped backwards, making sure the thing wouldn't break free. When it finally gave up its effort to escape, the teen pointed at it with a smirk.
"Stick around." Link said coldly, before running into the cavern that housed Zora's Domain.
Entering the Domain, Link stood in horror as he watched the two remaining Lizalfos chase around the Zoras. Arrows flew around as they terrorized the poor residents, and Link drew his bow to carefully anticipate where one would be.
Link knew he had to at least stop one of them, so he took an ice arrow and aimed. Waiting for the lizard to hop again, he loosed it. It hit the beast, and in a flash of blue light, the Lizalfos was incased within ice. The statue of the creature stood just under the waterfall.
Now with only one target to take down, Link looked around. Frantically searching for where the last lizard went, he caught a glimpse of a green tail heading into the Zora Shop. He scowled and ran down the small incline and towards the shop, hoping he wasn't too late.
Link caught the Lizalfos pointing its small sword at the shopkeeper, hissing. Hiding just outside the shop, Link surveyed his options. He couldn't wait much longer. The shopkeeper could be killed. Hardly any time to think, he grabbed his shield and turned the corner, cocking his arm back. He threw the mirror shield and it connected right into the lizard's back, knocking it over.
Drawing the Gilded Sword, Link stood in a defensive position just in the light, waiting for the creature to get up. It snarled as it shakily got to its feet. Turning from the terrified shopkeeper, the lizard looked at the shield on the floor before spotting Link.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store." Link told the Lizalfos when it met his gaze.
The Lizalfos responded with a high-pitched roar and jumped at Link. The teen parried with his sword and backed away. Leaving the shop, the pair exchanged blows with their weapons as they ascended up the ramp towards King Zora's chamber, exactly where Link didn't want to be.
The swordfighters kept connecting their blades, the Lizalfos forcing its adversary up the staircase towards the king. When they entered the King's chamber, Link dodged to the swipe and stepped sideways. He kicked the beast down and when it got up, he started to push back.
Slowly making their way down the tunnel to the waterfall, the Lizalfos swung its tail and make Link trip. Pouncing on top of the hero, their weapons clattered to the ground, and they engaged in a fist fight.
While on the ground, Link punched the Lizalfos in the face and brought his boot up to kick it in the stomach. When it recoiled backwards, Link jumped up and prepared to kick it again, but it latched onto his foot. Dragging him right back to the floor, the lizard scrambled to grab the hero. Once it had a grip on the back of the boy's head, it slammed him face first into the right wall.
It brought Link's head back to see the damage. It snickered as blood now dripped from his nose. Taking advantage of the creature's pride, Link headbutted the beast and pushed against the wall, ramming his upper body into the Lizalfos. He then took hold of its arm and brought his back to its chest. Moving forward, he pulled on its arm, and it was thrown into the air, over his head, and right onto the ground with a thud.
It laid there for a moment, the wind escaping its lungs involuntarily. While it was disoriented, Link grabbed his sword.
The hero rose his blade into the air and was about to strike the Lizalfos down, but it leaped up and grabbed his arm. The two struggled for a moment before they realized they were on the edge of the cliff. The rushing water made the traction of Link's boots degrade.
The creature squawked and tried to fight against the way they were moving. Link, seeing only one way to win, moved backwards and off the edge, bringing the lizard with him.
During their brief fall, Link shoved the Lizalfos, and had it break his fall, which happened to be right on the frozen Lizalfos that he had dispatched earlier. The ice shattered and the lizard that had been encased in ice fell into the water, the other quickly recovering from the impact.
Without a second to lose, Link grabbed his bow and prepared to finish his enemy off. Before he could take aim, the item was knocked from his hands via a tail swipe and splashed in the water a few feet away.
Turning back to his attacker, Link tackled the Lizalfos, getting into an all-out brawl in the waist-deep pool. Water was flung about as Link knocked the creature back with his fists. He made sure to pull his punches, however he wasn't immune to getting hit as well. The unruly beast took furious jabs at the hero, and they could only be parried by the leather gauntlets he wore.
He took care in not stepping on his bow that floated in the water. Stomping his foot down, the water flew into the air and blinded his enemy, giving himself some time.
Taking out a Deku Stick, Link slammed it into the Lizalfos's torso and pinned it down by the neck. Now surrounded by just ankle-deep water, he started to strangle it with the pole. Pushing down with all his strength, he had his arm clawed at repeatedly. It struggled for a good minute before it finally stopped breathing, its body going limp.
Breathing heavily, Link slowly stood above the lifeless body of the Lizalfos. He looked down at his hands for a moment, waiting for the shaking to stop. He never had to strangle the life out of an enemy before. He inwardly apologized for what he had to do. Wiping the blood from his nose, his breathing calmed.
For a moment, he thought it was over, but the feeling went away when his ears twitched. They picked up some footsteps in the water across from him. He knew he was being watched, but he didn't know if he had time to act.
Bending down to grab his bow, he held it in his hands and kept the action of pulling out an arrow a secret. He heard the faint sound of a string being pulled behind him, and he knew he was the target of something. Turning ninety degrees, Link faced the left and casually walked forward, peering at his enemy out of the corner of his eye.
The Lizalfos was almost about to fire. It aimed for Link's head and watched as the teen walked. Its eye was trained on him, the only other thing in its line of sight was the bow in front of its face and the waterfall to the left of Link.
It fired but didn't hit its target.
Link turned to face the last Lizalfos and got down on one knee in a flash. The frills of his tunic were flung about from the action, adding a little more flair to his already smooth movement. The arrow flew past his head as he lowered himself, and he quickly fired his own weapon. The image the Lizalfos had of the hero became covered with a slow downpour of blood, only the dark silhouette of him in the position of proposing visible. Then everything for the creature went dark, and it toppled onto the ground.
Now Link had won.
The teen fell to the ground on his behind. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he felt far too exhausted to leave Zora's Domain just yet. Putting one arm on his knee, he leaned back with his other arm holding him up.
"Th-Thank you, hero!" A Zora emerged from hiding and shouted to Link.
The boy turned his gaze to meet the Zora, and he waved, wearing a smile. More Zoras appeared and thanked him, and all he thought about was getting some rest.
"I think I'll definitely be heading back to Termina for the weekend..." Link muttered, thinking about home.