"Huh..." Link stepped back from two giant marble gates leading into Faron Woods, "This is new..." The gates were bolted tight and creaked with a heavy burden as if they tried desperately to hold something back.
"How do we find Faron now?" You asked.
Link turned back in the direction of the forest temple, "I guess we'll just ask the old lady. Maybe she knows how we can get around it..."
Jogging to catch up, you skipped down the moss covered, worn steps of the temple. As you opened the doors, expecting a warm welcome, you were greeted with something most unpleasant. The earth shook violently beneath you, much more than the previous times, knocking away loose stones from the temple ceiling, and you knew what was happening.
Groose charged over to you, covering his head as rubble fell, "Bad news! That beast looks like it's about to break free again!"
Link started running towards the pit with you and Groose beside him, "Well then, let's teach him another lesson, shall we?!" He drew his sword and braced his shield as he looked down upon the emerging behemoth, who decidedly grew a tail.
Tightening his gloves, Groose grinned, "Hang tight! Try not to get in the way of my shots, OK!" He placed one giant bomb into his catapult.
Link's warrior instincts kicked in like lightening and he flung himself into the pit and charged the beast's toes again. You were about to draw your sword, and join in Link's fight, but something sparked your imagination. It'd be much quicker to defeat this beast if you could just drive that spike back into it's head without the complication of getting squished. Running along the side of the cliff, you tried to get right above the imprisoned. Link and Groose had felled it once already as it writhed back to its feet. Perfect! You thought as you prepared to jump down on its head.
To your surprise and utter horror, a flaming black and red ring formed behind its neck and the imprisoned slowly began to rise. You could hear Groose's surprise in the form of a curse, "When did it learn how to fly?!" He began to bombard it with numerous explosions.
The imprisoned bellowed with anger and increased his speed. You could see Link trying desperately to keep up with it, taking the gusts of wind up behind it. Taking your last chance, you sucked in a deep breath and jumped down from the ledge and landed on its scaly head. Furious, the beast thrashed his head back, trying to throw you off, but you managed to grab hold of the sealing spike. The smooth scales made it difficult to stand as ball of fire exploded around you, and the marble spike started to slowly slip out of your grasp. Pulling yourself back up, you pounded down on the spike with all your strength multiple times, driving it into its thick skull.
In pain, the imprisoned threw its head back and the ring disappeared behind its neck. In the chaos you lost your grip on the spike and slowly tumbled down its back and down towards the center of the pit with the beast falling above you. Landing hard on your side, you heard a sharp *crack* beneath your chest and felt the jagged edge dig through your flesh. There was no time to scream in pain, but in terror as you saw the mass of scales plummeting on top of you. Squeezing your eyes shut, you prepared yourself for impact.
The earth vibrated and crumbled around you as it landed, covering you in dust and debris. All the light vanished and you could feel its hard scales scraping your sides, but no bone crushing force...? Coughing as you inhaled dirt, you opened your eyes in the dark to see the blank features of Fi. She had thrown herself between you and the brute, and held him away from you, "Do not worry, Mistress ___. You are safe." Her flowing cape protected you from the weight.
Still in shock you almost forgot the pain, even when the imprisoned rolled off you and started to rise with another roar. "Tha...Thank..." You tried to thank her, but she had already disappeared into the air. Among the chaos, Link cried out your name, Groose swore at the top of his lungs about not having anymore bombs, and your heart pounded in your head. The shadow of the imprisoned blanketed you, moving ever closer to the forest temple. A gust of wind flowed freely from a geyser beside you, shooting far above the tree tops.
Clutching your side, you limped into the breeze and exploded from the ground, climbing higher into the tower of wind. You passed up the imprisoned and started to slowly descend upon him. The hard landing tested your tolerance for pain, and you used the last of your strength to drive the stake into its head. Hit after hit, your hands became bruised and bloody, staining the spike crimson. A black goo slowly crept from the puncture wound you were making in its head, and finally the beast gave a cry of defeat and tossed you aside.
Tumbling to the edge of the temple you lay there, numbed with agony. The only satisfaction you had was the scream of anger from the beast imploding. Knowing your friends were safe, and you had Fi to thank for your life. Or what was left of it. Now you were left with time to ponder your injuries. Trying to lift your head to see what the damage was, you felt paralyzed. You slowly passed your hand over your side, feeling the familiar warm liquid drench your clothing and run down your fingers.
It pooled beneath you, raising your temperature. You sucked in a painful shriek when you felt something hard and jagged in your side, not your armor. Its smooth surface gave away its identity, and you spilled tears when you realized it was part of your ribcage. It had cracked in the fall, and speared through your flesh like a knife. Your tears blinded you as Groose appeared at your side, "____! Oh goddess no..."
In an instant, Link was tossing aside his weapons and caressing your head, "___, can you hear me?! Please speak to me!"
Opening your mouth and trying to reply, you panicked when you couldn't take a deep breath. Warm salty liquid filled the back of your throat, and as you coughed to get rid of it, your side was thrown into agony. You could no longer understand their words as they scrambled to save you. A trail of crimson leaked out of the corner of your mouth, and mixed with your tears. The horror could never have been so strong as you fought to gain air. Then slowly the pain began to fade, and black ants crawled into your sight.
You relaxed in Link's arms, taking in one last glance of his heroic, tear-stained features. Closing your eyes, you welcomed sleep and death had never felt more like a friend. You didn't fear it, yet you cried at the thought of never seeing your beloved again. You had failed in your promise to Zelda. Or had you? You did all you could to keep Link safe from your now bitter end. At least you spent your last in his arms, fading away into nothingness...
Link
I ran over to her side as quick as I could. It was horrible, I propped her head against my lap and tried to get her to stay awake! Then she started coughing up blood! Her broken rib must've punctured her lung... *struggling not to cry* She lay there in my arms going limp with this calm smile on her face,... like she was trying to tell me it was going to be ok. *Choking on tears* I guess I was too hysterical to do anything but cling to her, 'cause Groose picked her up gently and hurried into the temple... When I regain my senses I followed close beside her, never letting go of her hand. It was that moment when Groose set her down on a bed in the back of the temple, and the old woman shooed us away, that I realized... I know now who I truly love. I was struggling between Zelda and ___, when all along I knew where my affections lay. If I have to say good bye to her...After all we've been through. My spirit would die with her.
Pipit
___'s loftwing is healing nicely, and for once I learned I really enjoy taking care of our birds. I've always had a fascination for them, our dearest friends. I've got nothing else to do anyway... My suspension keeps me out of guard duty because of my... incident at the tavern. I can't wait 'till ___ get's back and present her bird back to her. I'm really worried about her though... I felt a strange twinge in my heart earlier, like I was suddenly afraid for her life. What she goes up against on the surface troubles me... I hope she's OK.
Groose
NO! I could see the blood pooling beneath her, and the bone... It stuck out of her like a knife. For the horror I felt, I couldn't believe how calm I was. She looked at me with those wild eyes of hers, and I nearly broke. It was like looking into the desperate eyes of a lofting when you could do nothing to help. It was torture to see her suffer and struggle to breath. Blood was everywhere, and Link was hysterical. I've never seen him like this... I shook myself out of it and knew we had to get her to the old woman, or she would surely die. I took her from Link and rushed as smoothly as I could into the temple. Spending all my time in this place, I've finally created my own home I guess you could say. I placed her on my bed as gently as I could, I didn't want to wound her further. Link and I were asked to leave, and I... we used to be such good friends. ___'s always had a better heart than me. That's why she didn't follow me into the gang I guess... I just wish I had the guts to tell her how I really feel before...
Ghirahim
NO!!!!! I could see everything! Every little detail. The pain, the terror... And I couldn't do anything about it! If I appeared and came to her side before they did, I'd have to fight them for her, and by then... It would've been too late. So I stayed back. In the shadows like I always am. They feel deeply for her as I do... I could see it as they caressed her. There was no jealousy this time... Thoughts spun furiously in my head as I tried to think of a way to help her live. My heart is pounding in my head. At least I can stay by her side as the old woman tries to save her... They can't do this without me! Her wounds are too intense. I'll place an enchantment over her! She gave me my life! The least I could do is try to save her!