interlude dream; nought can deform the human race

[tapferkeit]

WARNING for some gore! May talk about brainwashing in the comments, so if that makes you uneasy, proceed with caution.

Also placeholding! Tags will come later. I just wanted to get this up.

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[heavyheels]

"... Link?"

Chie had been running, she'd been in Inaba, and suddenly, she wasn't there anymore. Now, she finds herself here, at this scene of carnage, eyes wide to take in the blood-soaked scene in front of her.

"Link, what's going on?"

[tapferkeit]

The dream ripples. Link looks over his shoulder at Chie. For a moment - just a brief moment, Link's form flickers, and he's in a blood soaked trenchcoat, holding a glaive in his hand. But then it changes, and he's the Link she'd know from Demeleier. Older, more at ease in his body.

And he's standing just a little in front of her, arm held out as if to stop her going further. His eyes are fixed on the approaching Iron Knuckle.

"They're brainwashed Gerudo. The spell won't break until they die." His hands are still soaked with the blood of the first one. "Be careful - they're really tough..."

[heavyheels]

That quick flash of transformation was still long enough to make Chie gasp. She'd never forget that first encounter with Link - the battle by the well, after Adachi had scampered off - she'd never forget the menacing sight of Link's metamorphosis into a replica of Adachi's Persona. She stumbles backward, equally horrified at the bloodshed and Link's momentary conversion into that more sinister form.

"You ... you can't just kill them!" They were people too, weren't they?

[tapferkeit]

Link looks at her like he’s been slapped in the face, his eyes wide. Hearing that same reaction he’d had is disconcerting. And said as though he’s a villain here…

He shakes his head, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture. All the while, he’s very conscious of that Iron Knuckle coming closer and closer. “Chie - you have to. They’ve been cursed - and the only way to break it is to - you saw!” And he’s surprised to find his voice shaking. His own guardian, the Great Deku tree… he’d died because of Ganondorf’s curse. What chance did Gerudo have? They were just people - casualties of war. If a Guardian spirit had no chance…

He hears those footsteps stop for a moment, but then they start up again. He looks over at them.

“Chie, if you don’t, they’ll just keep going. They’re not people like that. You need to help them - and the only way to do that is -” He looks away from her, back over to the monster. Evil. It’s one of the small evils of Ganondorf’s reign. Small, but no less horrible.

[heavyheels]

"You can't save people by killing them, Link!" She's angry, as well as horrified, hands clenched into fists at her side. "It's - it's just wrong!"

Why did nobody else seem to understand this? Chie looks up at him in hurt disbelief.

"What kind of a hero are you?"

[tapferkeit]

[He just stares at her, hurt painted over his face. He opens his mouth as if to speak...

... And the Iron Knuckle swings its axe, catching him across the chest. The spray of blood is red and hot, and the force of the blow sends him crashing into Chie. He gives a cry of pain as they stumble to the floor.

But he's soon hauling himself back up, looking down at her, determination shining in his eyes.]

The kind that... does the... horrible things no one tells you heroes have to do. [He hauls up, readying his sword again. Around them, the dream pulses and shivers. The black stone walls are soon slashed with bones and dirt, and a cold, blue werelight fills the room. Whispers begin to start at the edge of his hearing - and at Chie's too, but likely different. The transition from Ganon's Castle to Shadow Temple is a smooth one, leaving no trace but for the slowly clanking Iron Knuckle.]

What kind of hero are you?

Hey, rookie!

Kid!

Draw you down... into

infinite

darkness...

[heavyheels]

Ngh, what ... what happened? [chie shakes her head, stunned by the impact, and slowly pulls herself to her feet. she dusts off her skirt and cocks her head to the side, listening - there's whispering, but she can't quite make out what's being said yet.] ... Link?

[tapferkeit]

Be careful! [He dodges a blow from the axe.] Don't trust everything you see here!

[heavyheels]

What do you mean? Is it - [oh, but link's hurt. chie gasps.]

Link! You're bleeding!

[tapferkeit]

[He shakes his head and leaps in to slash at the Iron Knuckle's armour straps.] It doesn't matter now!

[The ground begins to rumble around their feet.]

[heavyheels]

[chie stumbles, caught off guard by the ground's sudden instability. everything's happening too fast, and it's too unfamiliar.]

Link, what is this place?