Curse of Charanatos

Chapter 20: Unfriendly kindred

The great dragon touched down and removed the mask to reveal Link just after Zelda, dressed in the Sheikah garb, dropped to the ground. When they entered the forest, a terrible sight beheld them.

The Kokiri were lying on the ground with something greenish-blue on them.

“Link, look at that. It’s horrible!” Zelda told him.

“Who’s done this to these innocent children? This is unforgivable.” Link said in discouragement, “I just hope Saria’s okay.”

He went up to a young Kokiri and inspected the stuff on her. He touched the stuff and it came off on his finger. It was a kind of liquid and it seemed to expand on his finger. Link rubbed it off and figured that the liquid was actually some form of parasite. The longer it stayed on the Kokiri, the more it would expand until it completely consumed its host. Link looked at some stuff that didn't rub off on his finger and dipped it in water. The minute the water touched the stuff, the goo bubbled until it disintegrated into an unrecognizable bubble of smoke.

“Zelda, get as many Kokiri as you can and get them in the river.” Link advised.

Zelda grabbed a few and Link grabbed a few and slung them over his shoulder. Link decided to test the water on the parasite. Link then dipped a few Kokiri in the water and the parasites were instantly washed away. The Kokiri moaned as they came to and the young girl instantly recognized Link.

"I...knew you would come for us." The girl said, very tired but still alive.

Link sighed in relief as he saw the family he knew for years turn out okay. But he realized that one of the Kokiri was missing.

"Where's Saria?" Link asked all of them.

"I think I know." answered the boy at the entrance of the forest, "A stranger came here. We knew it was a Kokiri from the style of his clothing. I remember him grabbing Saria and headed off. I gave chase, but he got us with this stuff...the rest is a blur."

"Do you know where he is?" Zelda asked with an easily distinguishable tone of worry.

"Yeah," A little girl answered, "The attacker took her into the Lost Woods and we have reason to believe he took her to the Forest Temple."

"This had better not be what I think it is..." Link said to himself as he stood up, "Thank you for your kindness."

Link then sprinted away to the entrance to the Lost Woods with Zelda, surprisingly, keeping up with him.

Link searched the entire maze of the woods with Zelda by his side. Once or twice, he thought he went past the same place twice. Eventually they found the Forest Temple and went inside. It was a trip down memory lane for Link, but fortunately, he didn't have to face Phantom Ganon again. All they had to do was take the elevator down and open the door. When Link gripped the handle of the door, they heard a cry for help and then it muffled. However, Link had just enough time to register who it was.

"SARIA!" Link said, bolting through the door and rushing into the circular room.

He found Saria bound in ropes and gagged. Link, fearing the worst, hurried over to her and removed the cloth that covered her mouth. Link was expecting comforting words and to hear her voice again. Well, he heard her voice, but not saying what he expected.

“LINK! It’s a trap!” She screamed.

Before Link even had time to turn his head, the gate closed behind him. Link got out his sword and prepared himself for anything. He saw a green-clad young man with a sword easily the size of the Gilded Sword in his hand flip out of a painting.

“I see you’ve arrived, Link. Now I'll have the pleasure of taking out the Hero of Time and the Forest Sage.” The person said.

“And I thought Veron had a big ego.” Link said to himself.

The green clad-person was wearing a copy of the Fierce Deity’s Mask so Link couldn’t identify him. However, he couldn't have been much older than Saria, who was now fifteen, judging by the boy's voice.

The boy took his sword and put it so close to Link's face, Link could have kissed it.

"We will fight. Winner earns Saria's freedom and right for her." The boy challenged, obviously not giving Link a choice.

"Please, I've beaten Zygor, Albach, and Veron and they're much bigger and stronger than you." Link said, pulling out his own sword.

The boy scoffed and said, "I've seen you talk. Let's see you do."

“You will meet your demise on the Fierce Deity's magic. I cast the Curse of Charanatos!” He declared.

As, what Zelda called "the freaky light-show", occurred, Link glanced at the blade of the Master sword. It was glowing and so was the orb that Chakashi gave him before his death.

"Huh? What's that?" Link asked as he eyed his weapons.

Link barely pulled out of his little trance when the masked man charged with his sword out. Link quickly performed a horizontal slash, but his stroke hadn't even finished when the boy leapt right over the blade and caught Link on the arm. Link marveled at his speed; this boy was as agile as a monkey and fast too. Link got out of his wincing and took another swing at his opponent only to miss by a mile. Link didn't even turn around when the strange warrior kicked him in the back. Then, an idea struck Link. Just when he slashed at his opponent, he quickly turned and put up his sword to parry and turn it into an attack. Just when he blocked the attack, he moved his blade ever so slightly to put a gash in this man's shoulder. The man grunted in surprise, but if you could see under the mask, you could tell he was smiling.

“Huh, not bad for a fairy-less boy." The boy said as he chuckled.

Link stared at his opponent, completely dumbstruck.

"Mido?" He asked.

The guy simply scoffed and almost laughed at this remark.

"You're surprisingly predictable.” The man asked.

From outside, Saria and Zelda just stared at this person. Could this be Mido?

“The reason is you chose to leave the forest to be with him. I hated you because of that. Oh, I forgot something before I called you 'fairy-less'.” The young man said as he grabbed his mask.

He removed it and everyone winced at the sight. Behind that mask wasn't Mido, but he was indeed a Kokiri. He did bear resemblance to Mido, but it wasn't him. Then, Link recognized him. It took a little jogging of the memory, but he eventually remembered.

“Wait...” Link shouted, “You're that mean Kokiri who accompanied Mido in teasing me as a boy. You disappeared five years ago. You're Ardos.” Link said as he regained his memory.

“You're a smart one, I'll give you that." Ardos said as Link finally realized who he was.

"But where's Mido? I looked through all the Kokiri and he didn't even show up." Zelda asked as she fidgeted with the ropes binding Saria.

"That ex-boss of mine was no use to me anymore. I took his soul to help Vaati regain Charanatos' strength. Allow me to explain why he's my master now. I went mad when you took Saria away, so I went to Vaati and he trained me in the deadly arts for five years. I may be mad now, but I'll be sane once I get rid of YOU and then Saria will be all mine!” Ardos informed.

“What are you talking about? You won’t earn Saria’s interest by killing me in front of her.” Link asked.

“Sorry, but Vaati has shown me the truth. You two obviously ditched me!” Ardos shouted.

The angry Kokiri ran at Link with his sword out and lashed out at the hero of time. Link barely ducked to the left and tried to strike with his own sword, but Ardos dodged it as well. Link was getting worried. His opponent wasn't just fast; he was very skilled. It showed because he leapt into the air like a Gerudo warrior and spun like a saw blade. Link put up his shield and blocked all attacks, but when Ardos landed, he dropped down and made to slash at Link's feet. Link hopped like a frog to avoid the attack and made a horizontal slash as he came down. However, Ardos ducked and got a good distance from Link so he could have a better head start. Link had just charged when Ardos ducked down low and sliced Link's thigh and Link fell to the ground. Ardos slowly walked over to Link and looked at him, his nose held high.

"How does it feel, you pathetic excuse for a Kokiri?" Ardos asked through clenched teeth, "You, being bested by someone you thought was unpopular? I should have just killed Saria painlessly, but now that you've REALLY ticked me off, I'm going to finish you off nice and slow."

Link growled in anger as he pounded the ground with his fist. Link thought for a while and then an idea struck. As if it were instinct, Link grabbed the Spell of Purification, concentrated, and focused on a way for it to help him. When Link had concentrated on the thought, something happened.

A bluish-silver circle came down onto the Curse of Charanatos and encircled both of them. It looked like the curse it came down on, but instead of the Fierce Deity Mask, it had the symbol of the Triforce on it. Link closed his eyes and his wound healed as he rose to his feet. Ardos couldn't BELIEVE what was happening. There Link was with a very serious wound in his thigh, but he recovered as if it had never happened. For a minute, Link thought he shared some of the Curse’s power. However, Link didn’t feel the intense anger nor did he feel like Ganondorf. In fact, he looked about as calm and courageous as Chakashi, the man that died for him. Then, Link opened his eyes which were now brighter blue than they had originally been and the Triforce of Courage was now glowing bright on his left hand.

“Ardos, you will soon realize what you’ve just done. You have done an evil thing and I will save you at all costs” Link said in a tone that Zelda normally spoke.

Ardos scoffed and simply said, "So you have your own magic, big deal. Nothing can match Vaati's Magic!"

Ardos charged and began a series of complex sword strikes, but Link blocked each one without even moving his feet. When Ardos finished his combo, he was stunned that Link had actually done this without leaving his ground. Link looked up at his opponent and spoke again.

"You were saying?"

Ardos began slashing at Link multiple times again, but Link simply blocked them with his sword so much that his shield was virtually forgotten in battle. Ardos was clearly irritated now and his sword attacks halted when he got a good twenty feet from his opponent.

"COWARD! Fight me for once!" Ardos snarled.

Link didn't even flinch from this and simply said, "If that's what you want..."

Link sprang from the spot so suddenly, he seemingly vanished, and landed with a vertical strike. Ardos barely had time to dodge or intercept his attack and it showed: his blade touched his shoulder as he blocked. Back outside the circle, Zelda was amazed. She knew Link was a good fighter, but he had never seen him fight like this. Normally Link was a blur of green and steel when he fought. That blur was now faster.

The two were swinging their blades with amazing speed and agility. Ardos was relentlessly swinging his blades aimlessly while Link was moving gracefully and aiming his attacks carefully. The two circled each other, attacking and defending while they did so, as though they were in a deadly dance. Ardos had one last trick up his sleeve, one that probably wouldn't work a second time in this match. Ardos swung and their blades intercepted as they pushed against each other.

"You, the hero of time, gave up everything just to have a taste of that curse? I never thought I'd see the day. You should have stayed in exile. It suits you so well, and..." Ardos began, but Link cut him off before he could finish.

"I've left that behind me. Zygor tried that same trick, but it didn't work. What makes you so sure you can do the same thing?" Link asked, an eyebrow cocked.

Ardos paused for a while and he regretted it. Because in one second, he got a nasty gash on his leg and a second one appeared on his sword arm another second later. Ardos knelt down, clutching his bleeding arm, and couldn't get up thanks to his injury. He had been beaten, and glared Link and then at Saria, who was outside. Strangely, neither of them looked like they were mad at him like Zygor, Albach, or Veron. In fact, they looked sad to see he was going. Ardos was about to wonder why when he felt some strange energy in him. He started realizing his wrongs and felt sorry for himself. It was then that he realized that he wasn't obligated to love Saria and that she had a free will of her own. He also realized that Vaati didn't comfort his pain; he simply increased his anger and his hate. looked up at Saria and spoke, but in a completely different voice.

"Saria...I'm sorry."

The curse took the Kokiri and he slumped to the ground. Saria went up to the fallen Kokiri, grasped his hand, and shed a single tear. Link then put a hand on his best friend's shoulder and spoke to her.

“Saria, he may be gone. But I have some important news.” Link said, causing Saria to turn to him, “The spell I used is from the same lineage as the Curse of Charantanatah, but it’s composed of good magic. While the Curse makes you angry, this spell makes you calm. The soul of whoever’s taken is purified of all dark magic.”

Saria's eyes widened in shock as she looked down at this boy. If the mission did turn to success, then this boy wouldn't be angry anymore. He would be good and his heart would be pure once again.

“Thank you, Link.” Saria said.

She embraced Link and let it out. Link patted her shoulder and said “There, there.”

After a good cry, Saria calmed down.

Link looked down at the white orb in his hand, thought for a while, and wondered, “If this thing worked on Mido, will it work on Malon?”

Link was struck by inspiration and suddenly rose to his feet to leave. Saria didn't know what Link was going to do and Zelda was easily just as stumped.

"Link, where are you going?" Zelda asked as she caught up with Link.

“I’m going after Malon.” He said sternly.

Just those words were enough to cause both of the girls to gasp in surprise.

“What?! After she killed those Gerudos? You can’t!” Zelda pleaded.

"We have to find this Vaati guy. If we do, there might be a way to save her. Why can't we do that?" Saria asked, fearing Link's life.

“I have to. She's Vaati's right hand person and she'll be there whenever he calls. If we purify her, then Vaati will have no protection left." Link answered as he continued to walk out of the Forest Temple.

"I'm going with you." Zelda said, fingering a knife strapped to her thigh.

Link suddenly turned with a stern look in his eyes. This look would often scare almost anyone, but Zelda wasn't just anyone. However, Link's look was enough to make her stop fingering the knife.

"No. If she finds me, she’ll kill all of you and painfully. I have to do this alone.” Link replied.

Saria simply looked down in sadness and then looked back up at him.

"Link, if anything bad happens to you, I just want to let you know that I'm happy to have you as my friend." She said in a very worried tone.

Link was stunned, but finally managed to get out the word "Thanks".

Link exited the temple and was about to put on the Dragon Mask when he remembered something. He turned to Zelda, who had also exited the temple.

"Zelda, I want you to to look after the other sages. If my mission fails, I'm leaving them in your hands." Link told her.

"I will. Oh, and Link? Be careful." Zelda said in a half-whisper.

Link put on the mask and, within seconds, he took off. He was going to break Vaati's hold on Malon and he was willing to die in order to do so.

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