Free to Love - A Zelda x Link Fanfiction

LXV: Last Words

Link's Perspective:

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Nothing. Nobody. Nobody was in this room. Was I wrong? Was there really no puppeteer here? No. My gut churned. This wasn't right. This was a trick.

I barely managed to duck in time. I heard the air whistle over my head as the sickle slashed through nothing, singing sharply as I turned on my heel to stare at the man behind the Yiga organization. My hands were already on my sword.

He laughed breathlessly and the candlelight flickered across his mask. His outfit was more extravagant than the others'. He had extra layers and armor, thick gloves over his palms that connected to his index finger and thumb with golden bands. He had a collar, a white one that was flipped up to make him look more royal, golden necklaces attaching it to his shoulders. Even through the thick layers, I could see his muscles bulging.

"I'd expect nothing less from the famed Princess's appointed guard," the man hissed. His voice was low and deadly. He held his sickle in one hand, still before lowering it slowly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Master Kohga." He paused. I didn't respond. "Not much of a talker, huh? I'd expect you to be more formal or something."

"Formal?" I hissed. I didn't intend to speak, but the word slipped out. "I would never show any kind of formality to scum like you. Not after what you've put me through. Not after what you've put Zelda through."

I began to circle, watching his movements carefully. His long dark braid swung as he side-stepped as well, cautious to avoid any advancements I could make.

"What I've put you through?" he asked, guffawing slightly. "No, no. We don't have any personal vendetta against you. Not you or your princess. We just have a problem with her power."

I snarled and slashed forward with my sword with deadly precision. The blade was aiming for his throat, to make him stop talking, but he danced away with annoying ease. He didn't let my attack stop his monologue.

"We want Ganon to rise. We've sworn allegiance to him. And your princess -- your beloved -- poses a threat to that."

I snarled when he brought Zelda into it. I was both unsurprised but mildly infuriated to know he had been spying on our romance life. I couldn't go in with a straight in attack, he was expecting that. I dove forward, sliding on my knees through the sand and slashing at his feet. He simply jumped over my sword and continued talking.

"We used to be normal, you know," Kohga added. "Normal citizens. But we got tired of the boring day-to-day life. We began to question Ganon, what he was after. When we voiced our opinions, you know what happened? We were shunned."

I hissed. I feigned left, watching the Yiga dodge, and dove the other way. I managed to duck under the sickle again as he anticipated my movement. Fuck.

"Ganon wouldn't treat us like this. He promised we could live in peace in the new world he created."

"And you believed that?" I asked in disbelief. I couldn't prevent the venom from creeping into my voice. This was the first time I had heard any emotion other than snideness in Kohga's voice.

"Of course," he growled. "What reason would he have to lie?"

"Why wouldn't he lie?" I said. "If he were to win, this deal wouldn't mean shit. His promise wouldn't mean anything. He could just kill you. He just wants you to deplete Zelda's forces to make his takeover easier."

"And why would he kill us?" Kohga snarled. His voice was getting deeper and angrier. This time he made the first move, lunging forward with a slice aimed for my abdomen. I ducked under and barely managed to slice my blade across his leg. He grunted. The cut wasn't very deep, but it was something.

"He's an agent of chaos, Kohga," I responded. I almost pitied his naivete. "He wants absolute power and absolute misery. He'd either kill you, enslave you, or torture you. He doesn't actually give a shit about you living under him. He doesn't want there to be anyone living. He just wants the end of the world."

"Lies," he growled. His voice grew louder. "Lies! You're lying!" He dove forward again, slashing madly at my body. I dodged, kicking out his leg as I passed, then slashing across his forearm. He shouted in pain, dropping the sickle momentarily, before grabbing it with his other hand and standing again.

"I'm not lying," I murmured. He screamed angrily, moving towards me again. This slice I could tell was aimed for my throat. Luckily for me, he was clumsy, his strike slow and I just had to side-step the move, slicing quickly across his chest with a shallow cut. It wasn't deep, but he collapsed to his knees, trying to scramble to his feet.

I kicked him in the back and he landed on his stomach. It was low for me to do, but I kicked him in the ribs sharply. He groaned and rolled over, arm cradled to his bleeding chest. I cut deep this time, not incredibly deep, but deep enough to cause significant bleeding from his abdomen.

"I hope you see the truth before you die," I said coldly, standing over him. He coughed sharply, blood rising to his lips, dripping down his graying face.

"W-wait," he managed to choke out. "You... kn-know this doesn't matter... right?" That made me pause.

"How so?" I asked slowly. I felt my blood turn cold.

"He... r-rises, Link. And you... c-can't stop Him."