a lesson in betrayal (pant pant)

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"NO!!!"

Link looked over to the location of the protest. From it ran a small girl, dressed all in green. Tears were streaming from her face. "Please don’t harm the Great Deku Tree!" Link knew who it was. It was Saria.

"Saria!" Link yelled, "Get away! You don’t know what…!"

The yellow and orange chains exploded into a fury, wrapping around Link’s head to cover his mouth, gagging him with their energy.

"Silence you!" Stebos angrily yelled. "We will have no more of your needless meddling in affairs where you have already caused enough destruction!" Stebos’ voice made him seem like he was on the verge of totally losing it. He refocused his attention on Saria.

"And what do you think you can do to stop me, little girl?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Are you going to try and appeal to my sensitive side?" Stebos laughed.

"No, simply stalling for time," Saria said, looking down as if ashamed of her words.

"What?!" Stebos exclaimed. From nowhere, a green flash whipped by, moving faster than anything Link had ever seen. The chains on his body loosened, then fell apart, the intense energy sizzling and burning away into nothingness.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The knights were different this time… They were the same size as any other meridian knights Sommers had faced before, but they were somehow darker, more menacing. Ranks upon ranks of them slowly marched forward towards the combined forces of Gailins and Kerah. The allied troops maintained their ground, watching the walking onslaught of power creep closer and closer.

Off to the side, Lauren looked up to Sommers, watching his reaction.

Sommers was staring at the oncoming ranks of knights, trying to count all of them. While doing so, he caught Lauren’s look in his peripheral vision. He turned to see the boy’s questioning eyes asking him: what do we do now? Sommers didn’t have an answer. He looked the other way and was startled at the sight. Both the Kerahian and Gailian troops were looking at him with the same expression as Lauren.

Sommers was one of the highest ranking in power in the hierarchy of Kerah, being one of the elite royal guardsmen. But wait…Roe was dead now, making him the last remaining guardsman. Looking to the ground, he saw Nikkole, tying his arm up in a sling made from his flowing yellow cape. Noticing Sommers staring, he looked up.

"That’s right," Nikkole winced, tightening the cloth on his arm. "They are waiting for you. Lead them to victory."

Startled, Sommers looked back along the ranks of troops; his troops. Each one looked back at him, loyally waiting for his command. I am the last leader left he thought to himself in amazement. Well then, I suppose I shouldn’t disappoint them now, should I? Sommers raised his blade to the oncoming wall of knights.

He used his loudest, most commanding voice.

"Attack!!!"

And they did.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Without the energy chains holding him up, Link fell to the ground hard. Zelda rushed to his aid, but Jenove was there to stop her again. Instead of merely holding her back, this time, he struck her across the face with the back of his fist. The blow threw Zelda to the ground, where she didn’t move.

"You are gonna pay for that!" Link growled. Bringing himself up on all fours, Link attempted to get up, but before he could lift his head, Jenove’s foot smashed into his face. The attack lifted him from the ground, causing him to flip over and over to land on the ground, this time on his back.

From this position, Link could still see Stebos. He was holding his arm, grimacing in pain. Blood flew profusely from a giant wound on his shoulder. Jenove approached Link, his sword drawn and pointed at Link’s throat.

"You will stay down if you know what is good for you," he commented. "I would kill you right now, but Stebos has reserved that right for himself, so we will just wait and watch as he picks your little friends apart with his new powers!" Link, not that he had any other choice, looked on in horror.

"You will pay for that you insolent twerp!" Stebos roared. The little green blur came to rest on a stump ten meters in front of Stebos. Even though the stump added to his stature by about a meter, the figure was still not even half as tall as Stebos.

"Right, Meikyle, just like last time."

That voice! Link thought. It couldn’t be…

Standing atop the stump was an old "friend" of Link’s. He hadn’t changed a bit since Link had last seen him. Mido proudly stood tall, challenging Stebos with his tiny sword.

"Mido! What do you think you are doing?" Link exclaimed, only to have Jenove’s sword pressed further up against his neck. The cold metal tip could be felt on his skin.

"Be silent and watch," Jenove demanded, "or I will silence you." Link complied.

Mido totally ignored Link’s outburst. "You finally have come back to us, Meikyle, but I am sure it is not to apologize for your misdeeds. I see you have the crystals from Gailins and Kerah both. You have come better prepared than last time, but I see your friend Marcus is not with you this time. What happened to him?"

Stebos growled. "You killed him."

"Oh yeah, I did," Mido laughed. "So I see you haven’t learned anything from our last encounter then, have you?"

"Fight me, and find out," Stebos invited. Gripping his wounded shoulder, a green light started glowing from beneath his hand. When he removed his hand, the wound was completely healed. "I learned that one from my travels. You will see that I am full of surprises that you cannot even comprehend."

Mido, the cocky, short little Kokiri child Link had grown up with, stood proud with his tiny Kokiri sword glowing a deadly green. Link could feel the power emanating from the short Kokiri. Where did Mido get that power? he wondered. Link looked over to the side where Stebos was. Stebos’ sword also glowed, but instead of there being a steady aurora of color surrounding it like Link had seen from the warriors in Gailins and Kerah, yellow and orange lightening skipped menacingly over its surface.

After a moment of staring each other down, the battle began. Without warning, Mido attacked, barreling down on Stebos.

The two swords connected and there was a brilliant flash of light and energy. Link was temporarily blinded from the exchange of blows. With white spots dancing in his vision, he picked out that Stebos was still standing, unfazed from the attack. Mido hadn’t faired as well. He still stood, about ten meters back, but his clothes had energy burns on them, and he had a large cut running across the left side of his face. You don’t know what you are doing, Mido! Link thought. You may have the heart, but you don’t know what this man is capable of!

"Very good," Mido laughed. "Your skill has improved greatly since our last battle."

What is he talking about?!? Link shouted in his head. How does Mido know this guy anyhow?

"I told you I would be full of surprises," Stebos laughed, "But you will pay for what you have done, Hero of the Forest!"

Link couldn’t contain his surprise any longer. "WHAT?!?" he exclaimed out loud. This caused pain in his throat, so he refrained from saying anything else.

"That’s right, Link!" Mido shouted. "I am the Hero of the Forest!" Mido laughed. "I guess you can now see why I was so irked when the Great Deku Tree called on you to save Hyrule. I thought I was the Hero! You were just an outcast! I couldn’t figure why the Deku Tree would call on you before me…but I guess we both know why we didn’t get along that well. It’s almost funny now that I look back on it…I was so immature those days, being angry at you, chasing after Saria…"

"Enough talking!" Stebos demanded. "Fight me so I can destroy you and then destroy this worthless tree of yours too! Once I take your crystal, the world will tremble in my fist!"

Not looking as confident as before, Mido laughed. "You know I cannot let you do that, Meikyle."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

His whole body screamed in protest. That last attack had been like running into a stone wall ten times. Those crystals he acquired have really made him stronger…I don’t have a chance. "I will not allow you to take our tree or our crystal, Meikyle," Mido proclaimed.

"You are in no position to tell me what to do!" Stebos shouted in rage. "And do not call me by that name anymore! He died when your worthless tree abandoned him to Masresume!"

"Right," Mido laughed, "and it is his fault that you decided to turn to a life of evil and destruction. I’m sorry, Meikyle, but I’ve heard your story one too many times. Remember, during the last time you were here, I whooped you and your friends’ butts!"

"And you will pay for that one!" Stebos yelled in rage. He attacked with all his power, slashing back and forth at Mido with his menacing black blade.

Mido did manage to block many of the attacks, but was not fast enough to dodge the rest - the attacks were coming in too fast. Though he was quick with the sword and nimble on his feet, he was still not swift enough, and was sent to the ground by a gauntlet smashing into his face. As he impacted the hard earth, he heard some very disconcerting cracks from his bones. He lay there, unable to move.

Stebos laughed. "See little man!?! You may have been stronger than me the last time we met, but this time I have you!" Stebos raised his sword high into the air to land the final blow.

"NO!!!" From the far right, Saria ran and dove over Mido, protecting him. Stebos’ sword screeched to a halt, barely stopping in time. The blade rested up against Saria’s trembling green hair. Link struggled some more, but Jenove’s blade held him down. Zelda still hadn’t moved from her place on the ground.

"Out of the way, Saria!" Stebos bellowed. "I do not want to kill you, but if you persist to do this every time we meet, I will be forced to!"

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"You wouldn’t!" Saria exclaimed, in her small scared voice.

"Watch me!" Stebos yelled, madness growing in his voice. He drew his sword back up into the air."

"Saria," Mido moaned, "please get away…escape. There is not need to try to defend me anymore. I am lost…"

"Not on my watch you aren’t!" With all her strength, Saria formed a shimmering orb of green energy. With both arms, she launched it directly into Stebos’ face, as his hands were drawn back for the final strike. The blast smashed into Stebos’ helmet. The helmet deflected some of the attack, but the blast was too intense. Groaning in protest, the mask shattered into a million glittering pieces and scattered across the meadow floor. Finally, Link got to see Stebos’ face.

From under the helmet was a mess of green hair. Green hair and a face that looked very familiar. Link couldn’t quite put his finger on what it reminded him of.

"It is time for me to remind you of exactly where you come from, Meikyle! Even if it kills both of us!" Saria yelled.

"No!!!" Stebos cried in agony. "Get out of my head!"

Saria was attacking Stebos in no way any other warrior could; attacking his mind and his heart.


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


It was night, and all the Kokiri were huddled in their houses in fear. All but three. A great battle had been being waged between an unknown wizard and the Great Deku Tree for many hours.

"Come on, Saria," Mido said in hushed voice. "Hurry up, you do want to see what’s happening, right?"

"No," she answered truthfully, "I’m only going because he is." She pointed to the third figure that was further up.

"Right," Mido acknowledged under his breath. "So you didn’t come just because I was going…?"

"No," answered Saria, oblivious at what Mido was hinting at.

"Hey, hush up you two," the leader called back. "They’re right here, but it looks like they are just talking now."

Saria crawled up to the ridge of the meadow where the Great Deku Tree stood. The Great Deku Tree had scars and burn marks all over its trunk, and a large limb from somewhere near the top of the tree had been broken off, and now rested on the ground. The mysterious wizard didn’t look much better though, hunched over and leaning on his magical staff for support, his orange robe burnt and tattered. The three Kokiri could barely hear the words they were exchanging.

"You will not get what you seek," the Great Deku Tree spoke. "Your powers are impressive, but in this land you do not stand a chance. Go back to home, for the crystal of Kokiri will never be yours."

"I admit that you have caught me at a disadvantage," the wizard spoke. "If I had known that traveling so far for Kerah would have had diminished my power so much, I would have reconsidered stealing the crystal of Gailins first… However, you, old tree, are missing one thing…" Behind his back, the wizard began forming an energy ball. "The fact that I, Masresume, have never been defeated in battle, and I do not…"

‘LOOK OUT GREAT DEKU TREE!!! IT’S A TRAP!!!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed Masresume. He turned to see a small boy galloping down the far hill, screaming and waving his arms. He turned back to release his blast at the tree, but it was too late. A giant wave of green energy erupted from the Great Deku Tree, smashing into him like a ton of bricks.

He lost his grip on the energy ball as well. It flew wildly through the air, landing on the ground right next to the boy who had foiled him. In the gigantic explosion, the boy was lifted up and thrown high into the air to land a few meters short of where Masresume laid. That boy! My defenses are gone after that blast! I must retreat!

"If I cannot take your crystal, Great Deku Tree, then I will take one of your children instead!" Picking himself up from the ground, Masresume grabbed the small Kokiri child by his shirt. "Farewell until I return to claim what is mine!" he called out as he blasted off from the earth, flying back to Kerah with his new slave.


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


Stebos fell to the meadow floor, still holding his head in agony. Saria sat weeping next to Mido. Regaining his composure somewhat, Stebos attempted to stand up, but wobbled and quickly fell over. Jenove moved to help his master, but Stebos held up his hand. Jenove stopped, his sword still resting lightly on Link’s throat.

"That is what you may remember, Saria," Stebos choked, "but you didn’t have to live through years of living with that monster. You didn’t have to do his every bidding, simply because that damn tree pissed him off! That tree didn’t save me from him, so I had to save myself.

"Right, after years of loyal service, he noticed that my Kokiri powers worked very well in Kerah. You see, his land and our land are the same, just run by different powers. My being a green earth adept increased my abilities in their world ten fold. He used this to complete his wishes. You see, this wizard was an outcast, angry and bent on destroying Gailins and Kerah. He was slightly insane, always babbling about getting the three crystals, but he was powerful as well.

"To reap his vengeance on Gailins and Kerah, he needed the three crystals, but since he couldn’t obtain it the Kokiri crystal, he used me instead. And you know what? I was happy to do his bidding after that. We were both outcasts from a place that didn’t want us.

However, this wizard was blinded by his hate. He tried once again to steal the crystal of Kerah, but this time, he was stopped and killed. I had looked up to that man for thirteen years. In my time away from the Kokiri forest, I had grown into a man. A man who had only seen failure in the weakness of others."

"What do you mean?" Saria asked.

"The Great Deku Tree. We all looked up to it. It protected us. For that, we worshiped it. However, when things got serious, it couldn’t even protect me. Neither could your worthless Hero of the Forest, who had not even attempted to save that damned tree and left me to do it alone.

Masresume was the most powerful person I had ever met. Again and again he would defeat the kingdoms of Gailins and Kerah in battle with his dark magic. However, even he fell, and the man who was my captor turned savior, was dead. I depended on him. Now I will finish his task and reap my revenge on all who wronged me in the past, starting with this damned tree!"

With those words, Stebos let loose a blast of epic proportions, one so large and so powerful, the air shook around it. It streamed to its intended target, the Great Deku Tree. The Great Deku Tree saw it coming, and prepared. A giant barrier of green light erected itself in front of the oncoming blast. The blast connected with, and shattered the green shield. The remaining power of the blast ripped through the bark of the Great Deku Tree, and cut deeply into its trunk. However, right as the blast seared its mark on the tree, Stebos fell to the ground, withering in agony. Saria also slumped onto her side, and lay motionless.

"Ha ha!" Jenove cried. "Just as I thought!" Moving his sword from Link’s neck, he proceeded to kick Link in the stomach. Link’s body flew high into the air and landed in a heap next to Zelda’s side. There he rested, barely being able to breathe from the pain. "You fool, Stebos!" Walking over to his master, Jenove knelt down to Stebos’ side. "You thought you could reap your revenge on the entity who created you? Killing the Great Deku Tree will kill you too my friend, for you and him are one and the same! All these pathetic Kokiri are."

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

The battle was intense. Sommers stuck as close as he could to Lauren the entire time. He felt sort of an obligation to the boy now. He had gone through so much at a young age. Then, after almost ruining Link and Hyrule’s standing in the boy’s eyes by making a hasty judgement, Sommers felt a responsibility to him; a responsibility to all the soldiers who now followed his charge in battle.

However, his plans were fading fast, with the meridian knights putting up more resistance than it seemed the two combined armies would be able to overcome. The meridian knights fell to the ground, burning up and evaporating into the air, but many more of the soldiers of flesh and blood were falling. Still, Sommers battled on. He attacked with all his strength, with the months of furry that had built up inside him. He was unstoppable in the battle. Even though they were on Hylian ground, he never felt stronger. The meridian knights would move to defend against his attacks, but his sword would find its mark, if an energy blast didn’t drop the knight first.

However, no matter what he did, there was always a figure one step next to him, pacing Sommers’ movements with equal, or perhaps, even greater power. It was Lauren.

Lauren’s eyes glowed fiercely, his sword enveloped in a sheath of orange light. On numerous occasions, Lauren’s attacks had managed to sever an attacking meridian knights’ blade in two. Sommers couldn’t believe what he saw.

Not that it mattered. Even with the two super warriors leading the charge, there were simply too many meridian knights to deal with. Sommers looked to the side. There, a Gailian soldier’s sword was being held at bay by a meridian’s gauntlet. The meridian drew its sword back to strike, but never had the chance. A glowing orange blade flew through the air, severing the meridian’s arm from its shoulder. The rescuing Kerahian soldier extended his had down to lift the Gailian warrior to his feet. In doing so, they didn’t notice the two knights approaching from the east until it was too late. They covered their faces with their arms in defense. However, a streak of orange and a streak of yellow flew to their aid. A burning orange arrow and glowing yellow dagger stuck out of the chest plates of the two would-be slayers.

Good Sommers thought at least we are working together. Even so, there were still too many knights. From his side, he heard a cry. Lauren’s sword had been knocked from his hand. The meridian knight’s blade was already on its speeding path to cut Lauren down, and Sommers knew he couldn’t do anything to stop it…

Then, from out of no where, a giant cut formed in the meridian knight’s side. The meridian knight stopped, looking at the cut that had mysteriously appeared in its armor. Sommers was amazed to look around and see that all of the knights had similar cuts in their sides. With a groan, all the knights imploded, disappearing from the battlefield in a show of black energy.

Lauren had already found his way to his feet, picking up his sword and sliding it back into its sheath at his side. "What now?" he asked Sommers innocently.


~*~*~*~*~*~


Stebos lay on his side, looking at the giant cut that scarred the Great Deku Tree’s massive bulk. His hasty attack had been his downfall, a downfall that could have been prevented if Jenove had told him what repercussions his attack would cause.

"If you knew that attacking the Great Deku Tree would do this," Stebos gasped through waves of pain, "then why didn’t you tell me?"

"Oh, because I trust you just as much as you trusted me," Jenove cynically stated. "Remember the last time we were here, in this same position? Marcus was still alive, but you let him die at the hands of this little brat here." Jenove pointed his sword at Mido. "But I know what you did after the battle.

"You had been so convinced that you could get the Kokiri crystal without fighting, so Marcus and I let you have your little fun, going back to the forest to see all your little friends. I know you had fun too, pretending to be one of them again, amazing their small minds with how big you had gotten and with your stories of adventure. However, when it came to this one," Jenove pointed to Saria, "you almost gave in, didn’t you?

"I remember, you coming back on that final day saying that we would have to fight for the crystal because your plan to get them to turn it over to you wasn’t working. How stupid could you have been? First you are taken away by a wizard who demanded the crystal, and then you come back playing all nicey-nice, but wanting the crystal too? That was really smart I tell you, great plan.

"Marcus and I both knew that you were trying to protect them from your past, but we knew that you would fail." Jenove laughed and stood up, pacing around Stebos’ withering body. "But the greatest part was the look on her face when you attacked. Can you say ‘ultimate betrayal?’" Jenove laughed louder. "Well of course you can! Look what I am doing to you right now!" Jenove stopped his pacing, and knelt back down next to Stebos again

"But the part that really got to me was not your stupidity or shortsightedness, it was your lack of loyalty. Loyalty to Marcus and I, and loyalty to the mission. I saw it in your eyes that you wished nothing more to just go back to the forest and become one of them again. A child without a care in the world. However, we all knew that could never happen. You had seen too much and done too much to ever regain your innocence as a child.

"So we fought, and we lost. You lost your chance at the crystal, but I lost much more than that. I lost a brother. You could have stopped it, but you decided to save your own worthless hide instead of helping him. So when I spent the next day burying my brother, you went back to see her. I followed you, and I was so delighted to see your pain. That day, a hero came into the woods. He replaced you are Saria’s side, and you still can’t live it down! From that point on, I knew you were worthless." Jenove stood up again. "Well, worthless as the warrior you needed to be at least. You let your emotions cloud your judgement, and that cost me my brother.

"Only due to the fact that you were stronger than I was, I waited on the sidelines, letting you do all the dirty work, stealing the crystals with ease whereas I would have been hard pressed to succeed. However, since that day, I have been using you, planning my move to strike you when you were weak!" Jenove laughed to himself. You are always rambling on and on about how this world owes you debts all the time!" Speaking in a louder voice and pointing at Stebos, he continued. "You killed my brother, so I suppose I shall have to even our little debt out by killing your sister!" With that, Jenove lunged at Saria, sword drawn.

"NO!" cried Stebos. Using all his strength, he threw himself at Jenove. Jenove easily knocked him back to the ground.

"You did this to yourself!" Jenove laughed. "You taught me well, Stebos! Now that you are no good to me, I will have to eliminate you and step up to the challenge!" Stebos tried to make it back onto his feet, his body shaking from the racking pain. Swinging hard, Jenove smashed his fist into Stebos’ face, sending him to the ground once again. "I will take great pleasure in killing your sister while you watch. Then I will kill the Hero of Time, for I know that has been your dream ever since Saria replaced you with him. Lastly, Stebos, you will die. You will die, betrayed and alone in a world where everybody hates you."

"Hey smart one," someone called over from the sidelines. "You will have to go through us first."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Link and Zelda stood off to the side where they once laid motionless.

"What?" cried Jenove. "How are you still able to stand?"

Link laughed. "I think you underestimated our abilities."

"What?" a small voice cried out, only loud enough for Link and Zelda to hear. "That was all my ability healing you guys! Hmph! That’s the last time I go out of my way to help you!"

"Hush up, Navi," Link shushed. "Thank you for healing us. We couldn’t have done it without you."

"That’s all I needed to hear. Just some appreciation for my work," Navi proudly exclaimed.

"Yeah, after all the help you gave me when I was fighting Ganondorf in OoT, you owed me big time," Link muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Navi shrieked.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"Nothing!" Zelda snapped. "Now scram, we don’t want you getting hurt here." Jenove laughed at the two determined adversaries.

"Do you really think you can match my power?" Jenove howled. "You are about to be proven so wrong, you are going to wish you have never been born!" Jenove rushed Link and Zelda, not moving as fast as Stebos could have if he were well, but still, fast enough that it made the two worried.

"So Zel," Link whispered. "Do you think we can take this guy down?"

"Shut up and fight, Link!" she yelled.

"Yes ma’am!" he called back. The battle exploded.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You really came back to see me?" Saria managed over her pain. It felt like something was cutting into her very being. The pain was excruciating, however, she absolutely had to know.

"What do you mean?" Stebos said through clenched teeth.

"I mean, after the battle, you came back to see me?"

Stebos shuddered in pain. "Not only that time, but I made regular journeys to check up on you. The time we spent together, even if it only was me just trying to get the crystal from you, that time was the best I ever had." Stebos winced.

"I wish I could go back, Saria, I wish I could have made things better, but I was consumed for my thirst for power. I needed to be independent of everything - to be my own ruler - to never let what happened to me so many times before happen again." Stebos let out a deep sigh. "But I see now that that can not be done. All I have done is live a life of betrayal. I even betrayed myself, and now look at what it has gotten me…"

"If you had come back so many times, why didn’t you tell me?" Saria asked, tears running down her face. She was deeply hurt. "You know I still loved you then, and I love you now…"

Stebos groaned in pain. "Because every time I came back, you were always with him. The Hero of Time. You even let him into our secret place deep in the forest, and taught him our song. I couldn’t believe you had forgotten me so quickly…"

"Now that’s not fair!" Saria demanded with authority. "Link and I were just friends. You were my brother, Meikyle, my brother!"

"But…" Stebos began.

Saria didn’t allow him another word. "And exactly what did you expect me to do anyway?" she questioned. "I lose you once, and then you come back, only to betray me! The day you left for the second time, I thought I had lost you forever.

"However, in your wake, came a baby - Link. Immediately, there was a bond created between us. He had lost his mother, and I had lost my brother, just hours apart from each other. I thought that if I could become close with him, maybe we could help each other…"

"I see now," Stebos painfully admitted. "It was selfish of me to leave you like that… And now, look at what I have done…again…"

Saria offered her hand out to him, even though they were lying on the ground. "At least we still have each other," she said. When he reached out to that hand, and grasped it firmly in his palm, from that moment forward, he was no longer Stebos, the dark, traitorous warrior of Kerah. He became Meikyle, the scared little Kokiri boy without a home.

He also knew what had to be done.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You two are impressive fighters, but your raw power and talent are still missing something," Jenove chided.

"Like what?" Link asked, breathing hard.

"Conditioning," Jenove said. "I can see that you are both skilled, but you fight out of pure necessity. I fight for my reasons, but one is strictly for the love of battle. You two are optimistic pacifists who try to solve your problems with words. The only real way to obtain results is through battle."

"You know what," Link muttered, "you are absolutely right."

Link charged up his sword, blasting at Jenove with multiple attacks. Zelda also opened up fire with shock wave eruptions. Jenove blocked them with his heavy gauntlet and shield, sending the attacks skipping through the air like speeding fireflies.

"Ha ha!" exclaimed Jenove, "you will have to do much better than that if you think you even have a chance of beating me!"

Link charged in. Something about this man drove him into a fury. It was his purely evil intents. A sadistic murderer with no purpose in life but the thirst for chaos and destruction, the kind of person Link had sworn to eliminate. Link had spent enough time in battle to know when he was out gunned, and it clearly looked this way right now. However, that never kept him from leaping into battle before, so why should it now?

Furiously, he drove at Jenove with his sword. He attacked high right and slammed it down towards Jenove’s neck. Jenove simply batted the sword away with his gauntlet. Again, Link struck on the rebound, this time from the low right. Shifting his weight, Jenove caught the blow on his armored shin. Not giving up, Link spun around and, with all his weight thrown into the attack, smashed his sword into Jenove’s unguarded right arm. This time, Jenove didn’t even move from his position. The sword smashed into Jenove’s armor, not even leaving a dent. Jenove looked Link directly in the eye with a dark glare.

"Like I said, you are going to have to do better than that."

"But don’t say you didn’t ask for it then!" Zelda proclaimed from behind him. Jenove whipped around with lightning reflexes, but it was too late. Zelda’s blast smashed into his chest plate, sending him flying through the air to skid to a halt in the grass. Moaning, he managed to pick himself up, a gaping hole in the armor he wore.

"I suppose I have no room to complain for that one," he growled, recovering and picking himself up, "but it is going to cost you!" He drew tore off his damaged armor and threw it aside, drawing his sword up to a mid-vertical position with the blade between his eyes. "You work well as a team, but so do I!" Glowing with an orange light, a shock wave of energy exploded from his body.

Link shielded his face from the blast. Wind and light flew from Jenove’s position, blowing leaves and sticks outward in a vortex of dust. When the blast cleared, in his place stood two of him…two Jenoves, each wearing a deadly grin on his face.

"Though Stebos may be a fool," they said in synchronized voices, "he was an excellent teacher!" The two Jenoves split up and attacked Link and Zelda one on one.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zelda was quite a warrior, as far as being a princess went, but nothing had prepared her for this adversary. Also, she lacked a weapon, and had to rely on her energy blade spell. From each hand grew a shimmering blade of energy, each one about the length and size of a Gerudo warrior’s blade. Usually, she could slice through about anything she needed with the blades with no resistance. They were the best at slicing up carrots and other things when cooking. However, she stopped using them after chopping through a number of cutting boards.

Jenove powered up his sword as well, making it glow an eerie orange. Time to see if these ham slicers can take out a glowing sword… With all her strength, she launched herself at Jenove, ham slicers first. Her right scythe was thrown off by Jenove’s intimidating blade, and the left one was knocked aside by his armored gauntlet, which was also had developed an orange glow. However, proving he was not finished, Jenove lifted his right knee to catch Zelda in her midsection, knocking the wind out of her. Carried by her inertia, Zelda hit the ground hard, but managed to roll out of the hall and regain her balance.

This was going to take a little more effort than her kitchen utensils could cook up. Hey Link, she thought to herself remember when we needed to cut down that tree by the east wall? Placing her hands together, she interlocked her fingers. The blade grew, the separate beams twisting around each other in a spiral of power. The blade was now almost two meters long, and twice as thick as the previous ones. It hummed with audible power. Jenove stood back, sizing her up.

"Oh yeah," Zelda said, "you mess with the cooking queen, and prepare to be turned into mincemeat."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Link’s blade quivered from the last blow, but its edge remained sharp. His shield had taken and sustained many harsh blows, yet hadn’t obtained a dent. However, Link was not faring as well as his weapons. His left shoulder was strained from swinging his sword so hard, and his right cried out in pain from putting his weight into his shield to block Jenove’s attacks. His midsection cried out in pain every time he moved from a low drop kick he had received early in the duel.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take he thought. Jenove moved forward again, attacking from the high right. Link blocked the attack with both his sword and shield braced against each other. Swiftly, Jenove drew his gauntlet back and punched Link’s barrier with full force. Link was thrown backward to land on his back. The ground was hard and unforgiving. He cried out in protest from the impact, at the same time, losing his grip on his shield. It was thrown from his arm and bounced across the grass out of reach.

Looking back up, Link saw Jenove’s blade coming from the sky, aimed right at his heart. With all the strength he had left, Link brought up his sword to defend. He caught the approaching blade and stopped it centimeters from his chest. Looking up, he stared directly into Jenove’s eyes. Jenove looked back and laughed, pressing harder and harder down. Link cried out in agony.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Along with the pain, Link’s strength was slowly leaving him. Jenove’s sword crept closer and closer, until Link could feel its pressure against his chest, the cold, razor sharp metal. Sweat beaded on Link’s forehead. The more he resisted, the more the pain in his arms and back grew. If he lessened the pressure of his defense any further, Jenove’s sword would run him through.

Jenove smiled, "You cannot match my power, so why not just give up?"

"Never!" Link yelled. His cry of defiance earned him a kick to the side.

"That’s what I thought," Jenove replied, applying more pressure to his attack. Link could feel a fire growing in his chest.

"You big loaf! Stop hurting my Linkie!" Navi zoomed into view. "You’ve asked for it!" With that, Navi shot fairy dust into Jenove’s eyes.

"What the?!?" Jenove yelled. The pressure on Link’s chest finally subsided and Link took advantage of the opportunity. Using the rest of his strength, Link threw off Jenove’s sword and flipped it up. Pivoting his body, he skillfully kicked the flat edge of Jenove’s sword, smacking it out of his grip. Jumping to his feet, Link brought his sword up and struck full force. However, even with his eyes closed, Jenove still sensed the attack. Bringing up his gauntlet, he smashed the sword from Link’s already weakened grip. His eyes clearing, Jenove advanced to punch Link’s face. Link faded to the right and countered, smashing his left hand into Jenove’s face. Jenove staggered back, holding his cheek where Link struck him.

I didn’t hit him that hard Link thought. As Jenove lowered his hands, it became clear. An impression of a triangle had burned itself onto deeply into Jenove’s right cheek. Link looked down at his fist. The TriForce of courage was glowing brightly on his hand. Jenove looked at the glowing triangle, then to Link, and fell back.

Placing his sword back into his sheath, Jenove’s image flickered, and then vanished. Link heard a cry of surprise. He turned to see that the Zelda’s adversary had also had vanished.

"I feel I will need to use my full power on you now," a voice said.

Standing back where he had originally split into two stood Jenove, whole once again.

"Not so confident anymore, are you," Zelda asked, still holding her shimmering blade up in a defensive position.

"No," Jenove answered bluntly. "I just wanted to see what you could do – to give you a taste of hope before I crush you!!!" Powering up, Jenove’s entire body began glowing orange. Link and Zelda knew what he was doing. Focusing all the energy he had, Jenove let loose a bloodcurdling scream as he sent a final blast at Link and Zelda – an attack to end it all. The two targets looked at each other knowingly. There was nothing they could do to stop it.

"I guess this is it, Princess," Link gave. Zelda didn’t respond.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

And, amazingly, it worked. Holding the crystal in his hand, he projected a screen that intercepted the gargantuan blast. The resulting collision between the energies exploded into a furry of fire and electricity. Skillfully, the barrier of energy was manipulated so it deflected the residue energy high into the sky. A giant beacon of power erupted into the atmosphere, lighting up the land for all to see. "What!?" Jenove shouted, not believing what he was looking at. Link and Zelda were equally stunned.

"I cannot let you hurt them," Lauren stated. The crystal of Gailins rested in his right hand glowing fiercely. "This war has taken my mother, my father, my brother, my mentor, and my king. Now you are trying to take the only friends I have left. I cannot allow it."

"And who is going to stop me? You, little boy?" Lauren’s face grew red with anger.

"Yes, me."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jenove jumped high into the air, flying directly towards Lauren. Lauren held his ground, lifting the Gailian crystal high to track Jenove’s flight. He closed one eye, aiming carefully.

Wait for it, wait for it…NOW! Lauren let loose all the power he felt he could muster. The blast flew into the air: one giant beam of light.

It homed in on Jenove’s position, heading at incredible speed. Right when the two were going to make contact, Jenove disappeared from sight.

"Where did he go?!?" Lauren shouted.

"Lauren!" Link yelled at the top of his lungs. "Quick! Behind you!"

"Whaaa?" Lauren moved to turn around, but Link could already see it was too late…

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He looked up, and Jenove was right next to him. "It is too late for you, little one," he heard Jenove say. Not if I can stop you!

With his last remaining strength, Meikyle launched himself on an intercept course to Jenove’s blast. Everything went in slow motion from there. Meikyle watched as the energy grew from Jenove’s fingertips. Looking the other way, he could see the expression of terror burned on the young boy’s face as he turned. Meikyle saw the drops of sweat on the boy’s hair fall slowly to the ground.

When it hit him, it felt like fire. Meikyle welcomed the pain…the pain he had felt for so long but hadn’t let himself realize. It ran through his body like magma in his veins. He turned his head, hoping to get one last glance at her.

Saria lay on the grass, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Thank you he thought gratefully, for everything. He saw her nod, as if she had heard his thoughts. The ground came up fast and hard.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Nooooo!!" Lauren spun around to see Stebos leap up from the ground and take the hit for him. Jenove had a look of amazement on his face at the turn in events. He moved to redirect his attack, but was too late. Lauren brought the crystal up and blasted Jenove directly in the chest. He was thrown back, deep into the forest. Lauren cringed, as he could hear the sound of breaking tree limbs echo through the woods. From deep in the forest, Jenove blasted through the trees high into the air.

"You haven’t seen the last of me!" he bellowed as he rocketed through the air overhead. "You will never be able to defeat the alazarns of Old Kerah!" With that, he flew through the stratosphere and vanished over the horizon.

"Good work, kid," Sommers congratulated, patting Lauren on the shoulder. "That got him good." Lauren looked up at Sommers and gave him a glare.

"What?" he proclaimed innocently. Then he burst out laughing. "Fine, I’ll stop calling you ‘kid,’ but what else am I supposed to call you now?"

Lauren looked him dead in the eye. "You could start by calling me Lauren," he suggested. This evoked another laugh from Sommers.

"You got what it takes, Lauren," he stated, holding the crystal of Kerah in his palm. Lauren smiled. Both of them turned and looked over to Link and Zelda.

Link slowly gave Lauren a nod, and Zelda simply smiled. This caused Lauren’s smile to erupt into a goofy grin that consumed his whole face. Not only had he found a whole bunch of new friends, but also, they had finally done it, even if it was only temporary: they had won.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Please hold on! Please!" Saria cried, holding her brother in her lap, brushing back the green hair on his head that was so much like hers. "Don’t worry, brother. I can heal you. I just need to go out into the forest to get the right herbs! It will only take a…" she began to move to gather them, but Meikyle grabbed her wrist, keeping her there.

"It is too late, Saria," he groaned. "I am too far gone now, and even if you could save me, I do not deserve it after the life I have lived."

Saria was sobbing now, tears running freely down her cheeks. "No, I won’t believe it," she cried, "I can save you. I can…"

"Saria, don’t you see?" Meikyle gasped. "You have already saved me…but I must go now. The other world calls my name and…and I can no longer fight it…I love you sister…I…"

Meikyle’s eyes closed, and his body went limp.

"No!" Saria cried, tears flowing from her eyes. "I can’t lose you again…you can’t go! Not when I just got you back! No!…no…" Her cries turned into sobs. She sat there on the meadow floor, rocking back and forth, cradling him in her arms. Zelda, Link, Lauren, and Sommers looked back from their celebration of victory, and became solemn.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"Oh Meikyle," Saria sobbed. "My little Meikyle…"

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

whew...that was tiring and saddening

[The Ultimate Creaseifyier]

Okay, I didn't read it. WAY TOO f**kING LONG!

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

only if u have time cortez it took me 3 months to write so yes i know its long

[The Ultimate Creaseifyier]

Let me say thet you have no life.