Chapter 26: Standing Together
Zelda frowned as she glanced down at the still-bleeding gash the Interlopers had left in her left arm almost soon as they brought her, Sheik and Fi down to their stronghold a few hours ago. They hadn't given any reason as to why they inflicted the cut, but the girl could only assume it was simply for the purpose of making her suffer, just as her hero was, only his pain was most likely amplified a thousand fold. Thankfully, the wound in her arm wasn't too deep, but since the rebels had stolen her sailcloth for some reason, there was nothing she could do to staunch the flow of blood. Before they took it away however, they rubbed the white cloth up against the bleeding cut until it was covered with the red liquid, much to Zelda's confusion. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the chance to convene with Sheik or Fi on the Interlopers' strange actions, even though both of them were bound by the wrists just as she was and were walking along right behind her as a group of Interloper guards led their three newest captives down the dark corridors of their fortress. This was all part of the girl's plan though; silence between the three of them and temporary compliance towards their captors were key to ensuring that they would not be found out before things even came to fruition.
Carefully observing both her surroundings and her enemies, Zelda searched for a sign that would tell her just the right moment to put her plan into action. As Sheik had said yesterday, their purpose in infiltrating the stronghold was twofold: first and foremost they were there to rescue Link, but this was also an opportunity for them to learn more about the Fused Shadow, and, it they were lucky enough, destroy it before it could cause any more damage. But if her plan failed, the girl knew that it cost them all so much more than their lives. The surface rested in solely the hands of all four of them, and if they were defeated, the Interlopers wouldn't hesitate to conquer it along with the Triforce.
As they were guided along at a continuous, monotonous pace, the girl's ears suddenly started to pick up on the same subtle noise she had heard when she had been wandering the halls of the Interlopers' fortress the first time, the feeling of a dark presence that had guided her to the Fused Shadow. Her eyes widened as she realized that they certainly must have been close to it, since she could hear its odd, low hum as clear as a bell. She stifled a sly grin as she realized that she had just found her sign.
Moving inconspicuously, Zelda casually glanced back at Sheik and Fi and gave a small nod, signaling that it was time to put their plan in motion. The sword spirit, who was at the end of their surrounded line, nodded back in silent confirmation and slowly raised her tied hands, staring intently at the Interloper who stood towards the front of the line, carrying all of their weapons that had been taken from them. Fi flexed her hand out and concentrated, using her powers of telepathy to communicate with one of her rapiers and summon it towards her. She waited for just the right moment and, when she saw that the rebels' guards were down, she called out to Sheik and Zelda. "Now!" the sword spirit shouted as the girl and the Sheikah leader ducked in unison, allowing Fi to call her blade back to her and use it to cut the ropes around her wrists before the Interlopers could even react. The guards were suddenly thrown into confusion and chaos over what had just happened, and in the midst of this tumult, Sheik took the opportunity to deliver a low kick to knock the Interlopers who surrounded her on both sides to the ground, including the one who held their weapons. After letting Fi free them from their ropes, Zelda and Sheik reclaimed their own weapons and used them to fend off the already attacking rebels. Fortunately, they only had to deal with about ten of them, which they were able to make relatively quick work of by working together. Much to their great fortune, Zelda's plan had been a complete success.
"Alright, where to now?" Sheik asked Zelda as the trio regrouped and started booking down one of the narrow passageways.
"This way!" the girl said as she led the way in the direction of the dark presence. "The Fused Shadow is close. I can feel it!"
"But what about Master Link?" Fi asked, and that question alone made Zelda stop in her tracks. The close proximity of the dark relic had distracted her from the true reason why they had come to this treacherous place to begin with: to save the hero from extreme pain and torture. But if they had the possibly to get rid of the source of the Interlopers' great evil power at the same time, then wouldn't it be worth the risk to do it? Zelda knew that they would really only have time to do one or the other before the rebels overpowered them and she knew that this choice rested solely on her shoulders. On one hand, she had no idea where Veress was even keeping Link and she knew with near certainty where the Fused Shadow was located. The destruction of the dark relic would effectively mean the end of the Dark Interlopers and their wickedness once and for all. Yet on the other hand, the hero was no doubt gravely injured or worse, even if he was incapable of dying, and the girl's heart cried out to be near him again. But even so, she found that it was impossible to make such a choice in the heat of the moment, and so she merely shook her head as her former calm began to fade away.
"I… I don't know!" the girl exclaimed fretfully, but thankfully Sheik stepped in just in time with a plan.
"Then we'll spit up," she said succinctly, turning to Fi. "You go find the Fused Shadow and Zelda and I will go look for Link. All four of us will meet up somewhere before getting out of here. Got it?"
Zelda and Fi both nodded in agreement with this plan as they parted ways. The sword spirit hurried off in the direction that the girl indicated, hoping that it would lead her to the dark relic quickly. And, though they had no idea where to even begin to look for the hero in this labyrinth, Zelda and Sheik rushed off, hoping that they could make it to him before it was too late.
What the girl, the sword spirit and the Sheikah leader could have never known however, was that the Interloper leader had known of their escape from the very moment it happened. Veress scowled with displeasure as she stood in her quarters and used her dark powers to sense the three of them running around her fortress completely unrestrained. She knew what they had come there for, and she had no intention of letting them ruin her meticulous plans so easily. When she had first heard that her followers had managed to capture Zelda, Sheik and Fi, she had been wickedly overjoyed, especially when she had found a way to use this news, mingled with a little lying, against the hero. But now, the three of them were poised to rip her ambitions apart by the seams with their constant meddling. And Veress simply wasn't going to allow it.
The Interloper leader growled with frustration as she rubbed her temples, trying to think of a way through this situation. Her followers, as plentiful as they were, simply weren't going to cut it this time. Veress knew that she would have to take matters into her own hands if she wanted to come out of this round the winner. She hadn't lost yet and she had no intention of losing this game now, when she was so close to winning it. And so, she decided to adapt her strategy once more. She knew it would require some level of sacrifice on her part, but there was one thing that she absolutely could not let them take away from her if she ever hoped to win in the end and that was her Fused Shadow, the dark relic that she had put so much time and energy into creating and the key that she was certain would lead to her success in the end.
Despite the fact that things weren't going exactly according to her original plan, Veress grinned cunningly nonetheless as she began to saunter out of her room and head down the hall, alighting her hand with her dark magic nonetheless as she cast a simple enchantment over the entire fortress, shifting its various corridors in different ways to meet her needs. If the goddess thought that she was so clever, then the Interloper leader knew she was a thousand times more so. She would not let herself be defeated or outdone. She refused to be beaten by those she viewed as weaker than her. She was going to win this war, no matter what it took.
Link held onto the tattered sailcloth tightly as he tried to suppress another oncoming sob, but failed. The hero wasn't the kind of person who openly cried very often, but this time it was understandable, since the news of Zelda's death had torn his heart to shreds and left nothing but a bitter, hollow loneliness in its place. Merely thinking that the girl he loved more than anyone else in the world was gone forever reminded him that all his hope had died along with her and it would never be revived again. He had lost the sole reason why he had pressed on for so long and for so hard, the one purpose he had always believed was worth fighting for. Her death alone had rendered his selfless sacrifice completely worthless. He had given himself up to save her, but in the end, nothing could have. With her gone, he felt as though his very reason for living had vanished, as did all of his willingness to live in a world that she would not be a part of. For the first time ever, the hero stopped caring if corruption overtook him forever, knowing that anything would be better than having to endure this lingering misery and emptiness any longer.
However, before Link could resign himself to an eternity of corruption, the door slid open to reveal the Interloper leader herself, bereft of any of her followers. The hero only glanced up at her for a second before locking his gaze onto the sailcloth once more and saying nothing, for there was nothing he really could say at this moment. Now more than ever, he couldn't have cared less about what Veress intended to do to him. Part of him wished that she actually was capable of killing him, just so he could finally be put out of his misery, inside and out.
For a moment or two, Veress said nothing to Link as she slowly walked over to the wall of weapons and picked out a few fine knives and daggers, strapping them all to her back before finally turning to him with a dark grin on her face. Wordlessly, she marched over to the heartbroken hero and placed her hand under his chin, forcing him to look up at her. She silently relished the look of complete and utter hopelessness on his face, which was still wet with tears though he had managed to quell their flow somehow.
"Still grieving, I see…" she said coldly. "How pathetic. Do you intend to cry over her for the rest of your short existence?"
Link said nothing as he pulled himself out of her grasp and averted her gaze once more, refusing to let her see him break down lest he appear even weaker to her. Despite his unending grief, he still wanted to maintain dignity in the face of the ones who had so heartlessly murdered his wife.
Veress frowned upon seeing his lack of a response, but on the inside, she was brimming with wicked excitement. She knew that with one more nudge over the edge, she'd break him once and for all. "Now don't be like that…" she patronized mockingly. "After all, I'm finally going to let you out of this stuffy little chamber for a while, so you should be happy. Especially when you see just where I plan on taking you…"
Though the hero was admittedly confused, he didn't question the Interloper leader, mostly because he had nothing to say to the one responsible for the girl's death. Veress's dark grin deepened as she took note of his continued silence, knowing that had managed to land a heavy blow upon him that mere physical pain could have never done. "But first…" she said, snapping her fingers to shorten the chains that still bound the hero their original lengths, restricting his movements once more. "I think I want to have a little more fun with you, hero…" With a wicked laugh, the rebel leader backed away from him and pulled out several of her knives, holding onto multiple ones with each hand. Link simply kept his gaze fixated on the ground below him, showing no signs of resistance or anxiousness. It didn't matter to him in the least how much torture Veress planned to inflict upon him now, since no physical pain could compare to the crushing despair that he was feeling on the inside.
The Interloper leader clutched all of her blades save for one in her left hand and stood several feet away from the hero as she prepared to throw the first knife at him. With a bloodthirsty grin, she thrust her hand forward and freed the blade, watching with cruel delight as it hit its mark in his raised left forearm. Link let out a brief, involuntary gasp of pain as the deep wound started to bleed, but he could do nothing to remove the blade from his already battered flesh as Veress continued. Her next knife buried itself deep into his right leg and was immediately followed by one that hit his abdomen, a wound that finally elicited a cry of immense pain from the hero and certainly would be fatal if he was able to die. The next dagger lodged into his shoulder, followed by one that struck him in the chest, and as a whole new wave of unbearable pain washed over him, Link was unable to keep quiet any longer.
"Stop!" he shouted in agony in between heavy, pained gasps of breath.
"Oh, well it looks like someone has finally learned how to beg," Veress said coyly as she casually lifted her final knife up into the air. "What's the matter, hero? Does it all hurt too much? Well that's simply too bad, because I think you're getting exactly what's coming to you! What does it feel like to have everything ripped right out of your hands!?" The Interloper leader's tone took a hint of hatred mingled with something that sounded like hurt as she continued, the volume of her voice rising as she went on. "What's it like to know that your destiny has been taken from you and you'll never have a chance at getting it back ever again?! I'll tell you exactly how it feels: wretched, hopeless, and most of all, empty. I know because that's exactly how I felt when I found out that you had done what I should have led my former tribe to do in your place: defeat the demon king. You and your little goddess took all that I could have been right out of my hands! And when you did, I felt shamed, disgraced and weak. Well, look who the weak one is now!"
With a cry of bitter fury of her own personal vendetta, the Interloper leader let her final knife fly at the hero wildly and without calculation. It almost missed him entirely, but unfortunately, its sharp tip just managed to catch onto his forehead, leaving a deep gash just above his left eye as it tore across his skin and clattered to the ground. Link was unable to suppress a sharp cry of pain as pain seemed to pervade his every sense. Though he wouldn't admit it, Veress had been right in her last statement: the hero certainly felt weaker than he ever had in his entire life, physically, mentally and emotionally. There was no part of him that was not writhing in agony and he had grown so accustomed to the sensation of pain that he had forgotten what it felt like to not be in it. He knew that this kind of pain he would never be able to heal from. Even if he were to somehow be freed from the Interlopers' grip now, the sorrow that filled the hero every time he thought of his beloved wife dying for his sake would weigh him down, drowning him in endless grief until corruption finally consumed him once and for all.
After forcing Link to endure the agony of having all of the knives pulled out of his heavily bleeding wounds, Veress slowly moved to stand behind him, drawing the final knife she had with her, one of her prized golden blades. The long, almost delicate-looking weapon carried a scarlet glow, indicating that it had been enhanced with a dark enchantment, intentionally cursed with some of the most vile, forbidden magic that the Interlopers' practiced. The Interloper leader smirked wickedly once more as she wordlessly plunged her knife into the hero's back all the way to its hilt, causing him to cry out in immense pain. The strange magic laced within the metal of the blade began its work on him immediately, sedating his movements to keep him from resisting, but greatly intensifying the pain of his many wounds. Veress's grin deepened as she slowly and torturously ran dug the knife down Link's back, taking sadistic delight in hearing his broken cries of agony. By the time she finally slipped the blade out of his skin, the unbearable pain he was experiencing had rendered him semi-conscious, which was exactly what the rebel leader wanted. With a simple snap of the fingers, she released him from the chains that bound him completely and watched as he collapsed helplessly to the ground in a pool of white blood, before she grasped him by the arm tightly and smiled victoriously at him. "Come along hero," she hissed darkly as she began to roughly drag him along out of the room after her. "There's someone who I know is just dying to see you…"
Zelda and Sheik raced down the maze-like corridors of the Interlopers' stronghold, keeping their guard up for any of the rebels and trying to stay oriented within the dark, confusing hallways. They dared not pause to rest for even a moment, since the hero whom they both harbored love for was their ultimate goal and they were determined to find him above all else. After they did that, they could only hope that everything else would follow.
As they ran, both of them soon noticed that the number of alternative paths for them to take was steadily decreasing, leaving them with only one route to go along to some unknown location. Sheik frowned as she ran alongside the girl, suddenly realizing exactly what was happening. "I think we're heading right into a trap," she called out to Zelda in between her short breaths. "Maybe we should turn back and-"
"No!" Zelda said, a certain desperation filling her tone. "We can't! I don't care if we are heading for a trap. I'm not leaving until we find him!"
Sheik sighed as she remembered just how determined the girl was in repaying her debt to the hero by freeing him from the same bondage she had been in weeks earlier. But the Sheikah leader knew that, despite her former level-headedness and charge of the situation, Zelda was starting to let her emotions get to her and Sheik knew that there was a good chance that could lead them both into grave danger. Even though she wanted to save Link just as much as Zelda did, Sheik knew that letting their emotions flow forth at such a time as this would be the worst thing they could do. So, she resolved to remain calm, no matter what her and the girl were about to be faced with, and be strong for both of them, even if the goddess and her hero could not be.
After running for what seemed like ages, the girls finally were met with a dead end, their only option being the large stone doors that stood in front of them. They exchanged a brief glance before nodding in agreement and pushing them open, only to find something that neither of them had been expecting.
The door opened to reveal the large, main meeting hall of the Interlopers, the place where Zelda had first discovered the Fused Shadow upon her initial captivity in the stronghold. The wide room was empty and lofty as Sheik and Zelda entered in through the doors in the back, looking towards the raised platform directly in front of them with confusion. Fi, who had already made it to this room quite some time ago and stood before the Fused Shadow itself, beating upon it mercilessly with both her blades, stopped when she caught sight of the two of them and frowned, equally as bewildered.
"What are you doing here?" she called out across the distance of the room and the girl and the Sheikah leader started to hurry towards her. "I thought you were searching for Master Link."
"We were, but we ended up here somehow," Sheik said, crossing her arms as her and Zelda joined Fi on the platform. "I knew it. Veress had us heading into a trap this whole time."
"But why would she lead us right to the Fused Shadow and leave it unguarded if it's so important to her and her followers?" Zelda asked, nervousness starting to overtake her as she did her best to ignore the pounding headache her close proximity to the dark relic caused her. Certainly, the Interloper leader's strange plans clearly had something to do with it, but what?
"That much, I do not know," Fi said in her calculating manner. "But I do have something to report, your grace. I have carefully analyzed the nature of the Fused Shadow and I have come to the conclusion that its solid structure is composed of a strange form of dark energy, unlike any that I have previously encountered. However, I have reached the conclusion that it will not wield under most forms of physical pressure or mass. The only thing that can sever this dark power is pure light."
Zelda gasped as she remembered something that Hylia had said to her. "The light to banish darkness…" she whispered in awe as she glanced back to the shimmering bow on her back. "The Bow of Light!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Certainly that will be able to break it, right?"
"I estimate that there is a 70% chance that it could," the sword spirit reported.
"It's worth a try," Sheik said with a shrug. "If it doesn't work, then we lose nothing and if it does work, then that will only make things easier."
"Alright," the girl said as she prepared her bow, praying and hoping that it would be powerful enough to shatter the dark power of the Interlopers once and for all. "Here goes…" She raised the sacred weapon and formed a light arrow with care, putting as much pure energy into as she could. With a deep breath, she drew the arrow and aimed it right at the Fused Shadow, but before she could let it fly, all three of them were startled by the sudden sound of the nearby back door to the hall suddenly sliding open.
"Well, well, well," Veress's cold voice said as she stood obscured by the shadows of the doorframe, several feet away from the three women. "Look who we have here… I have to say, I should commend all three of you for making it this far. And now that you're here, let me guess: you want to destroy our Fused Shadow, hm? Are you really sure that you want to let that arrow go though, Zelda? I'm sure if you think about it for a moment, you'll realize just why that's such a bad idea…"
A burst of hot fury began to burn through Zelda as she kept her arrow trained on the dark relic, though she dared not let it go after hearing this. "If you've hurt him, then I swear that I'll let this arrow fly right now," she said rigidly between clenched teeth. "And then, all your dark power will be gone forever."
"Well then, I suppose it's already too late for that," the Interloper leader said with a dark grin. "So go ahead and let it loose. But before you do… I think there's something you should see first…" Veress's grin deepened as she turned and slipped back into the hallway for a brief moment and when she returned, she carried the listless hero in tow behind her, dragging him along by the collar as he struggled to simply remain conscious. Before Zelda, Sheik or Fi could even tell who she had in her grasp, she roughly shoved his limp form forward into the light of the room, allowing him to land on the ground in plain sight of all three of them.
"Link!" Zelda screamed in heartbreak the moment she saw his bloodied, broken body. His eyes were shut in an expression of pain and he didn't so much as even stir at the sound of his name, mostly because he had hardly heard it. Sheik gasped in shock when she saw him, her hand already on the hilt of her knife as she stared at him with wide eyes, trying hard to fight back tears. Fi gripped the handles of her twin swords tightly as she looked upon her master, badly injured and barely alive, and she cast a quick glare at the rebel leader responsible for causing him so much pain.
For a long moment, Zelda stood completely still as she tentatively lowered her bow and let her arrow vanish away, keeping her eyes locked on Link and thinking of nothing else but how bad off he looked. He had too many wounds to count, all of them bleeding pearl white instead of red, which only made her worry more. His skin was so deathly pale that he looked like he was barely alive and she could tell by the slight rise and fall of his chest that he was barely breathing. Over the course of the two days that he had been in the Interlopers' custody, it was clear to see that the corruption had taken its toll on him physically, as he bore so much semblance to the Fierce Deity now that he hardly even resembled his former self. But as the girl looked upon her beloved hero, tears already starting to pour from her eyes heavily, she wanted nothing more than to rush to his side, hold him in her arms, whisper words of healing to him, and kiss him lovingly. And, as her senses returned to her, she realized that there was nothing stopping her.
With a deep breath, Zelda started to race towards Link, but she stopped dead in her tracks when Veress quickly stepped in between her and the battered hero, grasping him firmly by both wrists and pulling him up. Link let out a quiet moan of misery, one that made Zelda's heart move with pity for him, but the Interloper leader ignored it as she placed the side of her deadly knife against his neck and held it there as she turned her attention back to the girl, whose eyes had grown wide at the sight of this. But nonetheless, she replaced her shock and sorrow with anger and hatred for the wicked woman who had hurt her husband so much without even a second thought, and with a burning glare, Zelda raised her bow and formed another arrow, aiming right for Veress and having every intention of letting it fly.
"Before you think about doing something stupid, your grace, I think you should know something first," the Interloper leader said with a harsh scowl. "I'm well aware that I can't actually kill your hero, as much as I want to. But that doesn't mean that I can't make him endure such suffering that no man has ever lived through before. And don't you even think for a moment that I'm bluffing. After all, you can see for yourself what I've done already… So if you want to keep your beloved little hero from going through any more pain, I suggest you do as I say and drop that bow. Unless you're like me and enjoy seeing him bleed…"
The girl glared relentlessly at the rebel leader, knowing that once again she was using Link as leverage against her, just as she had during their first encounter in the field. And this time, the stakes were every bit as high as they had been back then. If she relinquished her weapon, Zelda knew that not only would she lose her means of destroying the Fused Shadow, she would also be giving up her defense against any attacks Veress intended to throw at her. But if she didn't, then she would indirectly be causing her hero even more agony than what had already gone through. And more than anything else, she wanted to simply see the suffering that he had willingly gone through for her sake finally end.
But as Zelda prepared to lower her bow, a sudden, reckless desire rushed through her, one that filled her with passionate, righteous fury. She was tired of seeing the wicked Interloper leader get everything she wanted. She had succeeded in tearing the girl and the hero apart twice now, destroyed their former home, and had won the ultimate victory in this war so far by reducing Link to such a poor state. And the more she thought about it, the more Zelda knew that she couldn't let Veress win this time.
The girl's harsh gaze tightened as did the grip on her bow as she cast a subtle glance to Sheik, who, along with Fi, had moved to stand at her sides to defend her if necessary. The Sheikah leader met her glance and nodded, understanding almost instantly what her intention was. A brief moment later, without any warning or sign, Sheik leapt forward at Veress, her knife poised high and in a movement so quick that the Interloper leader could have never reacted to it, she tore her blade across her arm, forcing her to relinquish her grip on the hero. Zelda took advantage of the brief moment she had and let her arrow fly right at Veress, watching with satisfaction as its glowing tip managed to scrape against her cheek and leave a thorough burn. The Interloper leader growled in pain and fury as she tried to grasp onto Link once more, but it was already too late. Fi and Zelda were already rushing towards him as Sheik skillfully swung her knife at Veress once more, narrowly missing her neck. Seeing that the ransom that she had in the hero was now gone, the rebel leader drew both her knives as she turned to face her former best friend, a look of sheer hatred showing on her face for her ruined plan.
"I'll make you pay for this, Sheik!" Veress hissed as her blades clashed against the loyal Sheikah leader's.
"What's the matter, Veress?" Sheik asked triumphantly, already having the upper hand in this skirmish. "Upset that things aren't going your way for once? Well maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to betray us!"
"Please!" the Interloper leader scoffed as she dodged one of the Sheikah leader's thrusts. "Don't think for a minute that I regret what I did. Unlike you, Sheik, I have no shame."
"I don't have any either," Sheik said as she attempted get another slash in. "Because I know that I'm fighting for the right side! A side that isn't consumed in hatred, jealousy and greed! A side that doesn't give up on its morals even when things seem impossible! And do you know why, Veress? Because of loyalty. Because of honor. Because of justice. Because… because of love!"
"A lot of good your pathetic 'love' is going to do you when you're all dead!" Veress screeched wildly as she backed off after a failed strike.
As the battle of both words and blades between the two Sheikah women was raging on however, the girl and the sword spirit made it to the fallen hero. Fi knelt close by as Zelda gently placed his head in her lap and stroked aside some of his whitened hair, gingerly using the ruined sailcloth that he was grasping onto tightly to try and staunch the blood flowing from the cut on his forehead. "Link?" the girl whispered softly to him as she tried to ease him back into consciousness. "Link, wake up… Please…"
With a quiet groan, the hero's eyes fluttered open, but he had a hard time focusing his vision due to the sense-diminishing magic the Interloper leader's blade had been enchanted with. When he finally realized that he was looking up into Zelda's face, he didn't know how to react, though he was much too weak to really do anything at all. His only guess as to how he could be seeing the girl he knew to be dead was that the corruption had finally let him slip off into death's grip for some reason, and he had joined her wife in whatever came after it. And so, he simply gave her a small, contented smile, despite the fact that every part of his body was still burning with pain. "Zelda…" he sighed quietly as he let his eyes shut again, resigning himself to the peaceful rest he craved so much.
The tears fell from Zelda's eyes harder than ever when she heard him say her name. With a small, yet sad smile, she placed her hand against his cheek and kept it there as she leaned in close to him and gave him a kiss. "Shh… Everything's ok now…" she whispered comfortingly to him. "We're going to get you out of here and you'll be alright… I promise…"
Link let out a calm breath as he listened to her gentle words, his mind slightly numbed by the still-immense pain he was in. "But… I'm already… fine…" he muttered somewhat incoherently. The girl raised an eyebrow at him, having no idea about what he had been told by the Interloper leader. "As long… as I'm with you… I'll be… ok…"
"No," Zelda frowned and shook her head as she grasped onto his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, trying hard not to panic for his sake. Though she knew he was most likely not all there at the moment, she wasn't going to let him give up like this. "Link, you're badly hurt and we need to get you away from here. Sheik, Fi and I are going to take you back to the village and we'll fix you right up. And I promise that I won't let them hurt you again…"
The hero simply sighed in relaxation once more, not really listening to what she was saying as he slowly lifted his hand up to caress her face. "Zelda…" he said with a soft smile, simply overjoyed to be with her again, even if he was sure it was in death. "I love you…"
The girl gave him a look of pity as she put her hand over his and lowered it, knowing that now was not the time for this. But before she could say another word to him, she suddenly heard Sheik cry out in pain as she crashed into the nearby wall thanks to a blast of Veress's dark magic. The Sheikah leader wasn't badly hurt, but the blast had stunned her as she sat against the wall in disorientation for several minutes. With a sharp gasp, Zelda turned her head to see that the Interloper leader was panting in exertion, having spent much of her energy in her battle with Sheik, but she was now clearly provoked as she started slowly making her way towards the girl and the hero, the two current targets of her hatred. Though Zelda had her bow sitting right beside her, she wasn't about to leave Link alone at a moment like this and so she stayed in her place as she watched Fi counter the rebel leader before she could even make it close to the couple. The girl bit her lip as she watched the two of them duel, knowing that Fi wouldn't be able to hold out forever, as Veress was pouring as much dark magic into her fighting as she could. And so, she hesitantly laid the hero down on the ground, taking care not to agitate his many injuries and picked up her bow once more as she prepared to take care of the threat the Interloper leader posed to all of them. Upon realizing that she was leaving him, Link let out a soft, pleading groan as he raised his hand towards her, but Zelda simply shook her head sadly and grasped onto it for only a moment. "I'll be right back," she said with a small smile. "I promise."
Just as Veress used a strong wave of magic to push Fi back, Zelda raised her bow and crafted an arrow, aiming it right for the Interloper leader as she stood a few feet away. The Interloper leader grinned darkly, casting a brief glance at the dazed hero before addressing the girl. "You know, Hylia, your hero was quite fun to play with," she cooed twistedly. "If only you could have seen him writhe in agony and beg for mercy… How pathetic. Of course, he did come here on his own accord. He went through so much pain and suffering just to save you… But his sacrifice will become completely and utterly worthless the moment I finally kill you…"
Zelda took in a deep breath as she scowled at the Interloper leader, determined not to let her cruel words get to her. At the same time, unbeknownst to Veress or Zelda, Link had managed to catch onto what the rebel leader had said as he began to break through the muddled spell she had placed his mind under. And as he heard her say that she planned on killing Zelda, two things occurred to him: the first was that, much to his excitement and relief, Veress had lied to him yet again. Zelda was alive and well, and so were Sheik and Fi. A warm rush of hope filled the hero as did a rush of determination. Because secondly, despite the fact that he was still in great physical agony, his desire to protect the girl was stronger than ever. He had let her fight alone long enough.
Veress continued to go on to Zelda as the two of them stood at a stalemate. The Interloper leader recounted in excruciating detail just what levels of pain she had forced the hero to go through, physically and mentally and as much as the girl didn't want to hear this, she found that she was unable to ignore her cruel words. Simply hearing about the torture that Link had to endure made her want to burst into tears, but she was resolved to not let her enemy see her cry. At the same time, neither of them noticed the hero as he slowly eased himself up into a sitting position, forcing himself to ignore the heavy anguish his body went through with even the slightest movement. Fi stared at him with worry as she recovered from Veress's blast of magic, but she did not say a word lest she reveal him to the Interloper leader. It took some doing, but after a moment or two, Link managed to weakly rise to his feet, though he struggled to maintain his balance amidst the wounds in his legs. By now, Sheik had caught sight of him as she regained her own senses and quietly moved to his side to help support him, placing an arm around his shoulder as she kept him steady.
"What are you doing?" she whispered admonishingly, taking a brief glance at the deep cut running down his back. "You need to stay down. You're in no condition to fight."
"I won't let Zelda get hurt for my sake," Link said firmly as he kept his gaze trained on the Interloper leader and the girl, preparing for the moment that he might have to leap in to help her.
"She can take care of herself," Sheik implored, desperate to not see him get hurt anymore. "Right now, you need to rest and let someone else take care of you for once."
"No," the hero said stubbornly, noticing that Veress was finishing up her tirade. "Not until I'm sure she's safe."
"Link, stop," the Sheikah leader scolded harshly, frustrated at his resistance. "You can't keep doing this. You're killing yourself trying to save her and it's no use. I know you can't die, but what you're putting yourself through for her is so much worse than death. I understand that all you want is to keep her safe, but you don't see that you're being selfish. You aren't thinking about how much grief she went through upon finding out you were gone. You aren't thinking about how much she was willing to go through to bring you back to safety. You aren't thinking about the rest of us, about how all three of us are trying to do everything we can to keepyou safe, but you just keep throwing yourself back into danger. And I just don't get it."
Link took in a deep breath, finding some truth in her earnest plea. Perhaps he had not been thinking about how much it could have hurt Zelda upon his disappearance, but at the moment, he could only really think of one thing, especially when he saw Veress use a cheap shot to knock the Bow of Light out of the girl's grasp and knock her to the ground. And it was that thought that forced him to rip Sheik's knife out of her grip and race towards the girl without a moment's doubt, searing pain mounting his every step.
With a wicked laugh of triumph, Veress raised her knife high into the air, intending to plunge it into Zelda's chest, but as she brought it down, something neither of them could have ever expected happened. Despite the protests that Sheik and Fi were both sending him, Link leapt in between the girl and the Interloper leader, armed only with the Sheikah leader's knife and used it to block Veress's attack and protect Zelda once again. Using all of his wavering strength, the hero managed to push the rebel leader away from the girl and continued to defend her despite the fact that he could hardly even stand. Zelda stared up at him in shock, amazed that even though he was going through untold physical pain, his only concern was still keeping her safe.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Link shouted in raw fury to the Interloper leader, beyond enraged with her for all she had done to both of them and refusing to let her wickedness go on any longer.
Veress scowled at the hero for a moment, before turning it into a dark, mysterious smile. "Well, look who finally figured out the truth," she said, referring to the fact that the girl was still alive. "Took you enough pitiful crying to do it."
Link glared relentlessly at her, his grip on the knife tightening as he poised it to attack. "You lied to me again," he said rigidly. "You told me she was dead, but the truth was that you couldn't kill her. You can't kill any of us and that's why you're not going to win this time."
"You're such a fool, hero," the Interloper leader said as her smile faded. "All of you are fools. You all hold onto such senseless hope, the hope that you can protect this land and everyone in it but in the end nothing will be able to stop its destruction." As Veress continued, Zelda rose to stand up behind Link, raising her bow to fight right alongside him if need be. The two of them only exchanged a brief glance, despite the fact that they wanted to fall into each other's arms and end the separation that had been between them for so long. "The two of you never had a chance," the rebel leader scoffed at the two of them, holding her two blades aloft as she prepared to attack them both. "And do you know why? Because you're both weak. And that's why I'm going to put an end to both of you right here, right now. Once and for all."
Link and Zelda both stood firm and unyielding as Veress began to rush towards them, hoping to strike the injured hero down first so she could kill the girl with ease. But before she could even reach the two of them, Sheik and Fi both raced forward with their weapons raised and joined the couple in standing together against their common foe, all four of them determined to not let her have the victory this time.
Veress stopped in her tracks when she saw the four of them resolutely opposing her and she knew she was outnumbered. None of her followers would make it to her in time to aid her and so, with a burning glare to her adversaries, she lowered her blades and backed off, hating all of them for their unbridled courage and determination.
"Fools!" she hissed bitterly. "You think that you've won? You think that you have me beat? Never! You will all fall to my might and this land will be devoured by darkness forever!"
"No," Link declared firmly, showing no sign of hesitation or fear. "We will never let this land fall into your hands. Face it, Veress. It's over. You've lost."
"I never lose," the Interloper leader said as a small, malicious grin crossed her lips. "And I have no intentions of losing now. So I think we'll just call this one a draw. I'll let the four of you out of here with your lives for now, but the next time we meet, we'll end this once and for all."
Link, Zelda, Sheik and Fi all exchanged a glance with one another and tersely nodded in agreement with this, knowing that the key to defeating Veress would be to destroy her Fused Shadow first. The four of them began to back away, just as the Interloper leader did, but before they could exit the room and start to head back to the surface, Veress called out to them once more.
"Oh, wait just a moment, hero," she said to Link with an ominous grin. "I should be fair and warn you about the curse…"
The hero, who was starting to grow very weak from both his wounds and the exertion he had placed upon them, gave her a look of confusion as he struggled to remain standing. "What curse?" he asked warily as both Zelda and Sheik put their arms around his shoulders to help support him.
"Now if I were to just tell you all about it, were would the fun be in that?" Veress asked coyly. "No, I'm sure you'll find out about it all on your own in due time… It truly has been a pleasure 'working' with you, hero… I only wish you could have stayed with us longer…"
With a cold laugh, the Interloper leader disappeared in a burst of dark magic, taking the Fused Shadow away with her. As she vanished, the hero's legs finally gave out and he collapsed into the girl's arms, falling into semi-consciousness once more. "Link!" Zelda cried out worriedly, but he did not respond to her whatsoever as severe anguish of his injuries began to overtake him and pull him into the void of rest. The last thing he heard before he slipped away into cold unconsciousness was the comforting, harmonious sound of his wife's voice as she whispered three simple words that set him at ease more than anything else could have: "I love you…"