Ghosts of the Past
by tir-synni
A/N: (whistles) Wow, I’ve had this story done for a while! I just haven’t been on to update. :) It probably needs to be revised, but I’m going to finish posting it. Then I’ll revise.
Review always!
Chapter VI: Let Me Be
The flame tames honer.
Where dancing heroes play.
The dawn delivers me life.
New skins in which to hide.
My hands reach daily,
new life in me remain.
Let me be let me be, let me be, let me be
yeah, hey. Let me be!
Sheik walked away from the Faery Fountain, jaw clenched. He heard the Sages pop up behind him, but he didn't turn around. His eyes were on the town before him. He had never seen it so empty. The queen had evidently emptied the town.
"Sheik, what's wrong with you?" Ruto exploded behind him. The young princess ran beside the Sheikah. He never turned around.
"My lover is possessed by a warrior god," Sheik snarled. He stared resolutely forward. "He is now off to free the King of Evil. Then he's going to be in under full control of the deity. Besides that, not a damned thing."
Ruto faltered in mid-step before jogging again. "That might do it."
"What do you mean, 'free the King of Evil'?" Zelda demanded. More than anyone else, Ganondorf haunted her. She had known of Ganondorf's evil before them all. It had terrorized her, knowing that her father would not heed her warnings. Again and again, Ganondorf aimed for her in his attack, as the Queen of Hyrule and the possesser of one of the Triforces.
The other Sages followed Sheik as he led them through the town square. He was walking towards the Temple of Time.
"Seven years ago, a strange imp stole Epona from Link and ran off. Link followed him to the strange land of Termina, a type of parallel world of Hyrule. The imp had been possessed by a demonic mask called Majora's Mask. Majora summoned the moon to destroy Termina, and the only way Link could stop that from happening was to follow Majora to a fight on the moon. There, Link acquired a mask called the Fierce Deity. Wearing it, he was able to defeat Majora. However, towards the end of the fight, he felt the Fierce Deity trying to get a stronger grip on him. As Majora's fighting arena fell apart, Link tore off the mask and flung it into the abyss. The Fierce Deity's power stayed in Link, but lacked the stability the mask provided."
As Sheik paused to take a breath, Nabooru nodded solemnly. "So he carried the power with him all this time, but because the Fierce Deity did not have the mask to fall back on, it couldn't get a grip. I get it."
"But how did it do it now?" Saria demanded. Darunia carried her easily on his gigantic shoulders.
Impa answered, her voice grim. "The realm in which Majora had his fighting arena was connected to the Sacred Realm, wasn't it?"
Sheik nodded, still not looking back at them. Zelda continued for them. "And Link had just banished Ganondorf to the Sacred Realm once again."
"Ganondorf has possession of the Fierce Deity Mask," Rauru said aloud. "That is why the Fierce Deity reacted. And now Link will go to Ganondorf to reclaim the Mask."
"Ganondorf is in over his head," Ruto whispered, recalling the awesome power she had felt.
"So is the Fierce Deity," Sheik growled. No one replied.
The group traveled through the eerily empty town. The young queen could see her people peeking out from shuttered windows, eyes wide and startled. No one was scared yet. They didn't realize that they should be. Zelda clenched her fists. She would protect her people.
The soft radiance of the Temple of Time was gone, replaced by a startling, vivid glow. The tense pace was shattered as Sheik took off a run. He sprinted forward, while the Sages teleported to the entrance of the temple. The bright white light almost blinded them.
"Link!" Sheik howled, darting forward. The protective wall was shattered. The way to the main chamber was clear. The light only grew in intensity, but Sheik didn't care. He could see his lover, silhouetted above the Master Sword. Slim, strong hands surrounded the Master Sword, never touching the mystical blade. The sword crackled and flashed, and Sheik flinched. "Link!"
The possessed warrior didn't seem to hear him. All of his attention was focused solely on the key to the Sacred Realm. The glow faltered, before increasing. Sheik had no choice but to cover his eyes.
"He's doing it!" Saria breathed. "He's opening the Sacred Realm!"
"Of course," Nabooru growled. "He's still technically the Hero."
Zelda grabbed Sheik's arm to hold him still, Impa going to his other side. The young man didn't move between them. Body shuddering and eyes intense, the young Sheikah couldn't tear his eyes from his lover.
The light around the sword exploded in a wild rainbow, swirling around Link's stiff form. It expanded around the room, and before anyone could stop him, Sheik tore from the Sages' grasp and threw himself forward. He grabbed Link's arm, and before the stifled Sages could move, they vanished.
~~~~~
Sheik blinked as vision slowly returned. All around him, he could see nothing but misty fog. Endless grey greeted him, and Sheik blinked again. This...this...was the Sacred Realm?!
He turned his head to see Link walking off. He scrambled up to what he thought was his feet. He could see nothing, but Link apparently knew where he was going. He never faltered. Link simply walked forward, white eyes glowing chillingly in the shadows. With every step he took, Sheik could feel the power within Link growing.
"Link," he whispered, "I know you're in there somewhere...."
The Fierce Deity did not acknowledge him. Sheik was no longer expecting him to.
Something tall and dark loomed in the shadows before them. Sheik tensed, knowing what it was.
Ganondorf.
Ganondorf laughed as the Fierce Deity stepped towards him. "So this is how it ends, Hero," he mocked. Sheik shivered. Whenever he had seen Ganondorf before, the male Gerudo had chilled him to the bone. Dark to the core and possessing the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf had seemed so great. Sheik stared at the smirking King, and he closed his eyes. He could not watch this slaughter.
In Ganondorf's hand, the Fierce Deity Mask dangled. Pupil-less eyes stared unwavering at the being who dared to steal Its mask. Ganondorf grinned and shook the Mask.
"For so long," he hissed, "I had imagined this. But I had always imagined the Hero's eyes flashing at me, blazing with self-righteousness. I will miss that, but now, Hyrule will be--"
The Fierce Deity's hand at his throat silenced Ganondorf. Ganondorf had never seen It move. An emotionless face stared in his, and for the first time, the truth dawned on the Evil King.
It was too late.
Never opening his eyes, Sheik instead heard Ganondorf attempting to summon the Power of his Triforce. He heard the Evil King sputtering obsencities and threats. He heard the man die. Blood splashed, but in the endlessness, it never landed. Sheik shuddered.
The power exploded all around him, and Sheik buried his face in his hands. Bracing himself, Sheik looked up, and this time, not even Link's face was there to reassure him.
There was only the Fierce Deity.
Soulless eyes stared at the youth from the Fierce Deity's marked face. Sheik shuddered. Instead of the Master Sword or the Biggoron's Sword, the warrior gripped a figure-eight sword. The strange creature was the same size of his lover, but that was the only similarity. The form was of the Fierce Deity alone.
"Link...." Sheik breathed.
There was no joy that It was whole once more, nor sorrow for the being It had so mercilessly slaughtered. No expression flitted across the strangely beautiful face. Then the creature raised Its hands, and Sheik realized that It was returning to Hyrule. He lunged forward and grabbed the Fierce Deity's arm. To the Deity, one who had not Link's warrior skill nor the Sages' magic was like a fly. The Deity never turned towards Sheik as he returned them to the Temple of Time.
The Hero of Time had lost.
The King of Evil was dead.
The Fierce Deity remained standing.