Chapter 20

 

Zelda and I sit in dead silence amongst the carnage. Fi has hidden herself in the sword. I can feel she's crying. I freed Maltzar only to lose him again. I am furious with him. He is so selfish! And yet he joined Demise for Fi. And as much as I don't want to admit it, I would have done the same for Zelda.

"What do we do?" I ask her. She swallows, her expression dead.

"We look for the Four Sword." She sighs.

"For Vaati?" I fill in. She nods.

"And the mirror shield. I'm sure the Twin Rova wouldn't miss out on a fight."

"What about Maltzar?" I say.

"I'm going to free him." she looks at me. "Even if it costs me my life."

"Which it won't!" I interject. She smiles sadly.

"Let's go."

***

We travel to the Shrine of Four Seasons: the ruins of the Forest Temple, the place marked on Bruta's map. As we approach it I get the feeling it's watching me.

"Wait!" Zelda holds out her hand. She narrows her eyes at the structure. A yellow gem lodged in the stone suddenly blinks. A ripple effect runs across its surface as many more do the same. They are eyes.

"LOOK OUT!" Fi yells as purple tentacles shoot out from every window and door shattering wood and glass everywhere. We duck and charge in. The structure heaves, as its plague fights to keep us at bay. Eyes are watching everywhere. Even the tentacles have gaze at us.

"Bellum." I hiss. I'm cleared off my feet and smashed into a tree.

"He's too strong!" Zelda gasps. The building growls as its tentacles curl in like spider legs.

I hide behind the tree and look through my pack. My hands are shaking. There is a sharp pain in my lung- I think a rib is fractured. I'm so tired of this. I pull out the Zora mask and hand it to Zelda. She looks at me flatly and I shrug.

"Sometimes it's better not to be human." I say and I put on the Goron mask. Both of different races, we go in again. Zelda's fins crackle with electricity as she deflects and slices. I punch and pulverize every bit of rubbery flesh that comes at me.

One wraps around my body but I stab it hilt deep. Zelda draws her bow and starts shooting out the eyes. Soon we have blinded the creature. Like a poison he seeps out of the shrine and oozes toward us. It's a squid. It lashes out at me but Zelda pushes me out of the way. The scarred and dripping appendages curl around her tightly. The squid latches onto her back.

"NO!" I shout. Zelda's eyes flare yellow and her expression goes dead. She is now Bellum's puppet. An exoskeleton forms over her body making her one with the beast. She draws her bow and aims at me. I dodge and circle her, trying to get at Bellum's last eye which in her back. I know this game, I know how bring him down without hurting her. With a sword made of jagged barnacles she swings at me. I block. The teeth of her blade catches mine and she parries. I stumble back. She heaves again and I roll. Her blade imbeds in the nearest tree. I take the opportunity to attack the eye. It shrieks from the hit. Zelda spin-attacks. I duck but fall on my ass.  I roll away from her kick. My rock body twist and bends as I evade her strikes. Anger burns in me like a brush fire, building with every second. How dare he taint my Zelda!

Finally I get my chance! I skid around a tree, trapping her blade in its bark. I come around from behind and stab Bellum's eye. The fiend dissolves into golden dust: made of the hopes and dreams of his victims. Zelda falls into my arms.

"Zelda, Zelda?!" I hold her, brushing hair out of her face, listening for her heart. She is cold and quiet as if sleeping. I breathe into her mouth. She chokes. "Zelda!"

"What are you doing?" She coughs. "Treating me like a princess?"

"...You are a princess."

She shoves my face away.

"Oh get off." She growls, struggling to rise. She is weak. I offer to help her but she pushes me away.

"What did I do?" I ask resignedly.

"Nothing, I'm just mad!" she snaps.

***

The shrine is moss covered and green on the inside. Four alters with gems each the colour of the Singing Stones surround a pedestal where the Four Sword lies. I approach it, I draw the Master Sword. I look at it then the Four Sword and back.

"Master," Fi appears. "If I remember correctly the Four Sword will split you into four versions of yourself- each representing the four seasons of your character."

I eye it an idea sparking within me. I draw the Four sword, still holding the Master Sword. I feel a shimmer run down my skin and I fall to the ground.

***

"Link, wake up! Link." calls Zelda's voice. But that's not my name. I open my eyes. I hear groaning voices, all sounding the same- my voice. I sit up making sure all of my brothers are okay.

"Link, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The four of us answer in unison.

"She was talking to me." Snaps the one in the red tunic.

"Really?" Asks the blue, "Cause she was looking at me." he laughs.

"Do we have to fight?" The purple one sighs.

"Together we are, Link." I say to a very confused looking Zelda. "But separately we are only parts of him."

"Whatever," The red one scoffs moodily.

"HEY! I have two swords!!!" The one dressed in blue says with ecstatic glee.

"I'm called Jade." I say, ignoring him hugging the Master Sword.

"This is Garnet," I point to the red one who salutes sharply. "Lapis Lazuli," The blue one waves.

"Call me Zuli!" he says.

"And this is Charoitte." I gesture to the one clad in purple. "Also known as Char." He nods shyly.

Zelda looks between all of us. We are identical despite our clothes.

"Fascinating!" she breathes. Fi appears above us all. Her clothes now mimic the four seasons in a colourful swirl around her body. Green vines of summer, red rosebuds of spring, fading leaves of autumn and frost patterns of winter. Zuli gasps with starry-eyed aw.

"Masters." She says. "I am at your service. Work together as a team and nothing will get in our way." she bows.

"Don't worry, Fi. We won't let you down." Char says.

***

The desert is harsh and dry as ever. We return to the ruins of Zant's Palace. It was build over top of the Desert Colossus- the Mirror shield was said to have been placed there last.

"I'm thirsty!" Whines Zuli.

"We know!" Garnet snaps.

"This way!" I beckon them all into the darkness of the structure. We travel quickly, delving deeper and deeper into the underground passages.

"Aw it's a rat!" Zuli runs over to scoop it up.

"Zuli!" I sigh.

"But it's so cute!!!!"

"Put it down!" Garnet snaps. "We've got work to do."

"I'm going to name her Navi! What do you think?"

"It's a girl?" Garnet asks.

"Well yeah, there's no dick that I can see." Zuli says looking between its legs as it struggles to bite him.

"Shhh!" Zelda hushes us.

I listen carefully. I hear it: a distant cackling echoing down the tunnels.

"We're not alone." I say.

"Obviously!" Garnet scoffs.

"Everyone stay together!" I gather my team.

"Go on, Navi, run for your life!" Zuli puts the rat down which skitters off desperately.

"Where's Char?" Zelda asks as we put our backs together. The laughing is getting closer.

"I don't know!" I gasp. "CHAR!" I call.

"Don't look at me I didn't see him!" Garnet snaps.

Then quiet suddenly the laughter swoops into corridor: A pair of witches on brooms. The Twin Rova.

"Aw look at them! Little mice in a cage!" Cackles one.

"Ooooh so easy to crush!"

"You're one to talk, you decrepit old bat!" Garnet snaps angrily.

"Well then, shall we teach them some manners, sister?"

"With pleasure!" A blast of ice shoots at us. We scatter.

"ZULI! GET DOWN!" I yell as a fire ball comes his way.

"Yike!" He falls back and beats out the flames on his pants.

"Quick RUN!" Zelda yells.

"Oh no you don't!" Kotake blocks our way with ice. Garnet swears as some of it traps his leg. We are cornered.

"Hmmmm, which one first?" Koume muses cruelly.

"I vote him!" Zuli points at Garnet. He punches him.

"No let's go with the green one. So many bad memories I'd like to snuff out." Kotake says, readying her wand.

"Or you can face me." Char steps around the corner, hands behind his back. They both laugh at the sight.

"You? The timid one challenging us? The mother and aunt of Lord Dagmire? you must be joking."

"Tell me." Char says calmly. "Is is that your nose is too massive for your withered face or is your face too shrivelled for your big fat nose?"

"You dare make fun of my nose!" Koume fumes. "Here let me burn yours off!" She send a jet of fire at Char. He whips out the mirror shield and deflects it at Kotake. She shrieks as her robes catch fire.

"Adda boy, Char!" Zuli cheers, pinching his bleeding nose. The two witches begin to squabble at each other's clumsiness. Out of anger Kotake shoots ices and Char leaps over and reflects it at Koume.

"Oh you want to play it dirty, eh?" she glares, as her fingers turning black with frost bite. The two witches circle in close to each other and in a flash are infused into one very young and sexy woman.

"Let's see how you handle me." she says in a smooth flirtatious voice. Twinrova. Char readies his shield. With her two wands she turns and comes at us.

"Here!" Char throws the Mirror shield to me. I catch it and deflect the fire and ice. Twinrova hovers and twirls, spinning frosty webs and breathing flames like a gipsy. We duck and doge mostly, passing the shield, trying to get a decent shot at this temptress.

Finally Zelda aims a ball of flame right into her face, coupled with a blow of ice. Twinrova falls. Zelda grabs her red hair and looks her sharply in the eyes.

"Where is Demise? Where is he? Tell me now!" She demands.

"No need." she splutters, her mangled face twisting into a smile. "He'll find you."

Zelda throws her down. Before she can recover all four of us, drive our eight swords into her body.

"Game Over!" Garnet snarls. She falls down dead.

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