Musterion (A Zelda AU)

Wake Up - Chapter 15

"Gan-Man! Yo!" Link calls out from the lab. I come inside, my hair still somewhat wet and not put up. "Purah said she had spare clothes you could have, so she didn't have to make you any. Here," Link tosses a stack of clothing at me.

I catch the clothes, nodding. "Thanks, man."

"No problem. Ali's waiting for you still, by the way. She won't let anyone else up there until you're up there."

Go figure. Still not admitting defeat. I find a private place to change before heading upstairs. "Okay, I'm back."

"Now lay with me...!" Ali huffs, reaching out to me, her arms shaky. 

"Chill out, I'm getting there, Ali." I pull a chair away from the bed, climbing into the sheets next to her. Pulling her into my arms, I put an arm around her waist and the other by her head. Ali sighs, content now. She pushes up my cloak, resting her head on my chest, her face hotter than I had initially expected. 

"What's... with the... new outfit?"

"My old one is kind of... ruined." It was. When I had set them aside to bathe, Purah had barged in to tell me off for wearing ripped clothing everywhere. Ali's clothing was also ruined with the amount of stains from blood on her top and bottoms. I knew they were her favorite clothes, but I could buy her a new set, probably.

Ali gently leads my hand on her waist up to her cheek. She smiles as I rub her cheek with my thumb. For the first time since I had seen her here, I realized her hair was no longer up in a braid, and instead cut short. She had kept her bangs and sideburns, though. I glance down at her bandage dressing, seeing it had already turned a shade of dark red. I contemplate calling for Zelda, but I feel something inside me say otherwise. I could fix this myself, fix the problem entirely.

Ali would be mine. 

Wait- be mine? No, I don't own anyone- but I can feel my hand moving on its own. It starts pulling off the bandages, and I can't stop it. My body is detached from my mind.

"Ganon?" Purah's voice makes me jump, my hand pulling back. "What are you doing?"

"Purah! I- was just-"

"He was... helping me change my dressing..." Ali mumbles, her voice muffled. She still has her face buried in my chest.

"Let me see," Purah demands, coming over. She sees the discoloration and nods. "You should've at least called for me or Zelda first, but I can see why you were doing it."

"Purah! I need help!" Zelda's voice can be heard from downstairs.

"Okay, I'm coming!" She calls back, glancing at me. "Just rewrap it. That's it."

Purah heads back downstairs before my hand was already finishing the job. Ali sighs, pulling herself back.

"Can't you... control yourself?"

"What are you talking about, Ali?"

"You think... I can't... tell... when you've got those thoughts... your ancestors had...?"

"What?" My heart stops for a moment. They didn't have anyone, did they? 

Ali gently puts my hand in hers before turning my hand over. She points to the black substance forming on my fingers. Was that there a few seconds ago? I could've sworn it wasn't! What even was it? It would probably hurt her. I pull my hand back out of sheer horror.

"Look- I- I don't know what that is, okay? I just had this feeling I could help you and my hand- it started moving on its own, and-"

"It's... okay. I trust you..." Ali smiles, closing her eyes. "At this point... I'm going to die either way... so..."

"Cut it out, Ali-" I grab her shoulders, feeling fear grasp me. I could still see Ali's face in my dream. "You aren't gonna die, you hear me? I'm gonna make you better."

Tears drop on Ali's cheek, but I don't recall when I started crying. Was I? Or was it the world, crying at the possible loss of such a ray of sunshine? I feel for a pulse, glad she still had one, but it was slow. My panic rising causes me to just rip off the rest of the bandages as my hand glues itself to her side.

I reach down with my free hand, cupping her cheek and kissing her. "You aren't gonna die... wake up, Ali!" Tears blind me as I push the hair out of her eyes. She opens them a bit, her eyes dull, devoid of the light she always carried around in them. "You won't die... don't give up so easily, please... please, just stay awake..."

"Your eyes... they don't... usually glow like that... do they?" Ali tilts her head, lifting a weak hand up to my face. She wipes away my tears, smiling.

"Ali just stay awake, please," I mutter, pushing her head against my chest. 

Ali's hand slips off of my face as she grows heavier in my grip. "I... just need a nap..."

"No, no, you don't."

"I'm so tired..."

"Alibi'eh I'm begging you don't!" It gets harder to breathe as my anxiety gets stronger by the second. What feels like minutes, but are really truly seconds, pass as I feel her full weight slump in my arm.

-

"Gan-Man? You up there? It's been a while, so I thought I'd step in to che-" Link stops mid-sentence, not continuing his question. I wonder why, but then again, I am currently holding the 100% not dead and just sleeping body of my girlfriend, so why should I care? She'll wake up soon, and that's all I care about.

"Ganon...?" Link steps closer, putting a hand on my back. "Are... you two okay?"

My voice gets caught in my throat. It's so hard to speak, it feels like I'm being strangled. By what? Grief? I shouldn't be. She's going to wake up.

"Ganon?"

"I.. sorry... yeah... we... we're fine," I mutter, hearing my own voice break with each word.

"Do... you want me to leave you alone?"

I take a moment to try and regain myself. "Yeah."

"Okay," he says softly, patting my back before going down the ladder, pulling the cover over it. 

Silence fills the room once more as I finally feel my body give out. How long had I been kneeling on the bed, gripping Ali? It didn't matter anymore, really. I'd lost the one person I still had. But she's alive, right? So I haven't lost her. She might not wake up right now, but she will. She will. Ali doesn't admit defeat. So neither will I.