𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐑- a zelink fanfic

baby blue

Once they had made it to Kakariko, they immediately sprinted up the creaky brown stairs to Impa's house. They burst through the doors and Paya jumped up, startled. Impa looked up at them, not phased in the slightest. Her face was wrinkled, as usual, and she looked extremely tired. Her eyes were smaller than regular and they creased especially around the undereye. It was amazing how Impa was not even questioning why there was a child, bird, fish, Princess and knight in her living room right now. Zelda had always looked up to her. But Zelda was caught off guard. She had not seen Impa in 100 years. She didn't even recognize her at first. She grabbed her chest and stumbled back, taking in the scene. She felt herself begin to break down, but Link's hand on her shoulder prevented this and she recollected herself, hoping no one had noticed.

"Ah, yes, dear. I am old, I'm aware." Impa chuckled. Zelda sighed in relief and grinned as she gave Impa a gentle hug, hands patting her shoulder blades which she could feel so vividly under the skin. For some reason, the feeling in the room was- off.

Maybe it was the air. Or the temperature. Or the queasy feeling in her stomach now that she had realized she had missed so much while she was gone. Or the faint bead of sweat breaking out on Paya's forehead. How stiff Paya seemed. Or the way Impa's cushions had been slightly shuffled. Or the water stained on Paya's cheek. But something was off.

Zelda shook this feeling off and shook her head, closing her eyes. She watched the subtle unsettled look on Link's face. He must've felt it too. But the others seemed fine- surely it was nothing. "So, how has your adventure been so far?"

"Oh, it's been great! We've gathered up Sidon, Teba, Yunobo and Riju to help us along the way. Most being descendants of the Champions, we figured their strength levels would be abnormal. In a good way." Zelda said a little awkwardly, taking a few steps closer toward Link.

"Oh yes! I'm sure Teba, Sidon, Yonubu and Riju will be a great help. Here, have a seat on the chairs at the sides." Impa croaked. But no one responded. The silence in the room was ear-splittingly loud. The creaks in the wood beneath their feet seemed to be louder as everyone processed what she had said. Finally, Link broke the silence, a rupturing blow in the ripple-less lake of sound between them.

"Impa..." Link's eyes darkened. "Can you repeat those names?" Link said. Impa had pronounced Yunobo's name incorrectly. Then, they spotted it. Impa lifted her head a bit more, and beneath the edge of her hat revealed the eye painted on her head- not its usual baby blue, but a maroon and the eye was...

The eye was upside down.

The inverted eye.

"Ah, boy. Stupid boy." Impa said, her voice turning frighteningly deep. "Figured it out, have you?" Impa turned into a cloud of purple dust and Zelda covered her mouth with her hands, stumbling backward. Link caught her and quickly unsheathed his sword. Standing on the cushions, was a Yiga. Paya burst into tears, the tears she had been holding in for the past few minutes. It all fell into place for Link.

The Yiga were holding Impa hostage up in Paya's room, knowing the gang was going to arrive soo enough. That was the scuffling he had heard while entering earlier. The noise was what had startled Paya, not their grand entrance. They used Paya as a pawn and shapeshifted into Impa as they heard them coming up the steps. Posing as Impa, the Yiga had forgotten Yunobo's name, as he had only heard it once. Paya had been crying. She was sweating. Stiff. The cushions that were always beneath Impa were out of place from the conflict. This is what had felt so off. Link used his panic to be logical. He turned to Sidon and Teba.

"You two! Sidon has blades, Teba has arrows. Go up there and fight the Yiga guarding Impa. Get her safe. There should only be one of the Yiga up there." They nodded and rushed up the stairs. He turned to Riju. "Get Paya out of here, you hear me?" He ordered, placing a hand on Riju's shoulder. Amongst all of the bravery she was trying to hide her true emotions with, Link could see tears sparking in her green eyes. He tapped her shoulder for reassurance as Riju took Paya's hand and quickly lead her out of the building. Link then turned to Zelda.

"Zel, you have to get out of here. Go!" He said, shooing her as tears streamed down her face and she held her hands clutched into a fist in front of her stomach.

"No! No, I'm not leaving you! Not again!" Zelda was now crying hysterically. Link turned to Yunobo and gave him a hopeful look. The large orange man saluted and picked up Zelda, carrying the sobbing princess out. Sidon ran back down the stairs, blood splattered on his rubbery leg.

"Yeah, we got him. Teba has got Lady Impa, he'll be down in a minute. But what about everyone else in the village? Surely you're going to need more than this tiny room for a battlefield." Sidon pointed out as the Yiga began to get to his feet. Link snapped and pointed at Sidon. 

"Get them out of here. Now go!" He said this as Teba, carrying Impa, ran down the stairs and out of the building. Link gave a small laugh. "You seem a little obsessed with me, you know that? Following my every move just to kill me..." The Yiga grunted, struggling to get used to his much larger and muscular body, much unlike Impa's tiny and bony one.

"I am not obsessed with you... I'm obsessed with your undeniable, unfortunate fate which will arrive to you today." The Yiga said, cracking his neck.

"I mean, come on, stalking me to get here? Do you even remember what I did wrong?" Link hissed. "Because I don't. Go on, it wasn't theoretical. Do you remember? Or are you following the unfulfilled, meaningless, empty orders of your dead leader?" The Yiga stopped, surprised at those words. Perhaps Link had a point. "Give up. You have no one to help you. No army. Give up." Link said through gritted teeth. But Link's words only seemed to enrage the Yiga even more. He lunged at Link with his sword. Link backflipped away from it and threw open the front door. "Now, tell me your name and this will be easier for you." Link said. Knowing he would only use it to antagonize him even more, the Yiga didn't give him. He lunged out at Link.

"I will not give up any informati-AGH!" The Yiga realized Link had jumped to the side, but it was too late. His sword had plunged into the fence just behind Link, and Link had now sliced open his arm.

"Say it."

"M-Mogwai."

"Ah, Mogwai. Don't you have something better to be doing? A family?" Link kicked Mogwai from below his stomach, turning him over onto his back as he hit the ground. He groaned. Link placed a boot on his chest and lowered his face so close to his that the whisper was chilling. "Do you have a family."

"N-NO! I don't have a god damn family!"

"And why is that? Did you ever think it may be because you waste your life hating someone who only attacks you in self defense? You bastards started this. And you, who were probably an innocent man before this-" He replaced his boot on his chest with the tip of his sword, spinning it teasingly. "Chose to get wrapped up in it. And because of that, you threw your life away. Literally. So, I might as well just end your suffering here..." He pressed the sword a little and Mogwai yelped.

"You stupid, lovestruck boy..." Now Link was the one surprised by Mogwai's words. Mogwai began to laugh hysterically as he fingered his sword, grabbing it swiftly and used it to take out Link's feet, his leather boots crashing to the ground. Link almost began to tumble down the stairs, but caught himself and carefully backed away as Mogwai moved closer, backing him up to the bottom of the stairs. Once Mogwai had gotten to the bottom, Link ran in the opposite direction and used the trunk of a tree to jump into the air, about to do his signature slow-motion shot. He pulled out his bow and an arrow, pulling it back and aiming it dead on at his target. The arrow flew from the bow.

And Link instantly regretted it.