Ria's Writing Corner
Earthbound Millennium : Moon Saga
Chapter 20: Nocturne of Shadow
Running, the gang made it to their destination in record time. Link shivered a moment as he remembered what happened at this place sometime ago. His hand touched a statue infront of him. Thoughts haunted him...
Zaterl looked at the ceiling. The place frightened her. It was too dark and cold. Razz held his arms against his chest for warmth. Reeses kept a stright face and her eyes darted to every corner. "So... this is it?" She sounded uninterested. Then as if on cue, a man jumped out a near by gap. As the person walked, hands popped out of the ground and slipped back in. Link took out his sword in defense. "Who are you?" He demanded. The guy stopped. "Who am I?" He repeated. "Why...I'm..." He ripped whatever article of clothing he was wearing and screeched in a high pitched tone. "Shinute!" What seemed like hundreds of arms then popped out of what could be called his back. Zaterl grabbed on to Razz in fear which made Razz turn red. "Leave us alone!" Link snarled and narrowed his eyes. "Sorry. I can't do that!" Shinute rushed at Link. Link rose his sword high in the air and swung it down at a fast speed. The sword missed Shinute by a few inches. "Ha!" He laughed and one of the hands that surrounded him punched Link square in the jaw. Link rubbed his chin and tried to counter attack.
He failed again. "Damn!" Link yelled as he fell on his face. "You can't defeat me!" Shinute smiled a yellow toothy smile. "Just give -" He stopped mid sentence as one of his hands flew across his sight. "What the fuck!" He turned his head and saw Reeses just casually slashing at his limbs. "Bitch!" He roared and motioned a hand to attack. Reeses turned and felt a cold stinging sensation across her back. "Ayyiii!" She cried and dropped to her knees. "Ree!" Link tried to get up. "Time Frame!" Zaterl shouted and a purple burst of light flooded the room. "Ha!" Shinute chuckled. "Weak!" He yelled in triumph. "Wha-?" Zaterl was shocked. The attack worked before.
Shinute took a moment to survey the surroundings. Reeses was just now recovering from his attack and Link was helping her. Razz had no weapon to use and... and... Zaterl was only a few inches away from the large gap in the floor. Shinute chuckled to himself and motioned one of the hands to move towards Zaterl. The hand moved at Zaterl at an amazing speed and the pushed her over the edge. "NO!" Razz cried out and ran to her. "NO!" He cried again and tried to grab her hand. No such luck. Zaterl, too shocked to do anything, let herself fall. "Zaterl!" Razz yelled. Shinute laughed loudly. "Times of need..." Farore's words rung in Razz's head. He nodded and took a look at his hand. "Please work..." Razz gave a small movement and a green tornado swirled around Zaterl. "!" She was two feet above the ground. Razz moved his hand again. Zaterl felt herself lift up and gently landed on the above platform. "Your okay!" Razz sighed in relief. "Uh, yeah.." Zaterl just blinked. Link gasped along with Reeses. "What ..was that?" Link stepped closer to Razz.
"Farore's Wind..." Razz looked at his hands. Reeses stopped fighting long enough to hear what had happened. Long exactly a good idea that was. Shinute took this oppurtunity to attack back. He rose his hand in the air and one of the corpse hands shot of the ground. Another motion of his hand, the corpse hand curled around Reeses's neck, choking her. "Ack!" She hissed and tried to pry the hand off her neck. "Reeses!" Link gasped in horror. "Nnngh!" Reeses choked as she continued trying to get the hand off. No matter what she did, the hand's grip just got tighter. "Let go of her!" Link yelled and sliced at Shinute. "Hahaha!" Shinute cackled and smacked Link with one of the hands that surrounded him. Shinute grinned and narrowed his eyes. "You care about her don'tcha'?" Link turned red. "Yeah, so?" He grumbled. "That makes her death so much better!" Shinute laughed.
Reeses screamed in pain as the hand closed in tighter on her neck. "Let her go!" Link slashed at Shinute again, tearing apart one of the arms. Reeses gasped for breath as the ability to breathe became a hard task. The area around her started to get blurry and she had trouble keeping her eyes open. "Ree!" Link cried out and attacked all the hands around him. Zaterl started to attack again but Razz stopped her. "He can handle this." Razz looked at Link with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Reeses!" Link called and let his sword slide around wildly, reddish green blood splashing on his body. "Rarrgh!" He yelled and threw his sword in front of him and another round of blood splashed in his face. "Ah.." Reeses spoke softly and fell limply to the ground. "Oh.." Link wiped some blood away from his eyes. Shinute growled in defeat. Not having a closing speech, Shinute quitey slinked into the darkness and soon, gone.
Well, he's gone." Razz grinned. "Yeah." Zaterl nodded. "We need to find Impa." Link bent down and picked Reeses up. "Oh! You guys are here!" Impa limped in sight. "Impa!" The group smiled. "Zelda will be glad to know your okay!" Link noted. "I don't think I'll be okay for long." Impa stared lifelessy at Link. "This enemy seems to have a new recruit." She coughed. "She didn't send Shirah?" Razz held his chin and gave a serious look. "Guess not. This guy also created the guy you just saw..." Impa explained. "This guy has the power to raise the dead!" Zaterl cried out in fear. The ability to raise the dead was forbidden among Hyrulian Sorcerers. The punishment was usually instant death or a lifetime of a disability. No one would try such a thing... "C'mon. Your losing blood fast." Link motioned Razz to help Impa. Razz quickly agreed and he lifted Impa's hand over his shoulders and held her up by her waist. "Let's get out of here." Link started to walk towards the door. A man stood in Link's way. "You're staying here." The newcomer pushed the group back. "No way I'm going back to CabMantha empty handed." He chuckled. With a snap of his fingers all the exits were blocked. Even the hole in the floor. "Now excuse me. I have something to get." Ikari loomed over Impa's battered body.
Zaterl drew in her breath. The man in front of them looked familar. She knew him from somewhere. Somewhere...
"!" She exclaimed and pointed at Ikari. "You were in my dream!" She yelped. Ikari gave a grin. "How sweet! I'm in your dreams?" He then walked over to Zaterl and held her hands. Razz snarled at Ikari's actions, not liking them one bit. Zaterl forced him away from her. "Get over yourself!" Zaterl became enraged. "Aww. How adorable. I might let you live..." Ikari held Zaterl's chin and made her look at him. "Leave her alone!" Razz's voice screamed and echoed across the room. Ikari smiled broadly.
"Nnngh..." Reeses grunted. Link put her down. "My neck hurts..." Reeses tried to get up. "Ree!" Link offered his help. "What?" Reeses gave Link a mystified expression. "Are you okay?" Link asked, looking into her eyes. "Oh, enough!" Ikari bellowed and walked away from Zaterl. He stood with his hands at his sides, the palms facing upwards. He smirked and a sudden burst of fire surrounded his hands. "Fire!" Ikari lifted his hands and a wall of fire roared at the group. "Watch out!" Link grabbed Reeses and pushed her away from the fire. The two rolled on the floor and Link landed on top of her. The two stared at one another for a few moments. Reeses was the first to react. "Oh, jeez Link! Think with the head on your neck!" Reeses shoved him off of her. "S-sorry!" Link laughed embarrassingly. "Haha! You think a wall of fire can stop us?"
Razz chuckled. "Razz.." Zaterl whispered to him. "Don't worry Zaterl. This bastard won't flirt with you anymore!" Razz watched Ikari's movements like a hawk. Every step he took. Every hand movement. Nothing escaped his eyes. Ikari nodded and rose his hands in the air. A swirl of fire surrounded his arms. "Ring of Fire!" Ikari screamed and spun, sending flame rings towards the golden eyed watcher.
"Farore's Wind!" Razz called out and a gust of green wind shot out of his hands. The wind sent the fire straight back at Ikari, who breathed in most of it. "Oh shit!" He hacked and fell to the ground holding his neck. Ikari coughed and coughed. "I can't believe this!" He rolled around trying to find some air. "Might as well finish the job." Link bounced his sword in his palm and rushed at the weak man before him. Link's navy blue eyes reflected the horrified expression on Ikari's face before Link sunk his sword in his back. Ikari spat out a mouthful of blood. He gave a cold smile. Link shivered when he saw the expression.
"You think you've won? Oh, this is just the beginning." He laughed and shut his eyes. "Uh.." Zaterl held her arms and shivered. Reeses stood up. "Let's get out of here before anything else happens." Link agreed and helped Impa walked.
"Good. He's dead. Now I can't be replaced." Shirah chuckled as she checked Ikari's pulse. Reeses's eyes narroed as she spotted the brown skinned female. She never felt well when Shirah was near and this time was no different. A stinging sensation welled up in her arms and legs and she almost fell to her knees. Shirah slowly stepped forward. Her yellow eyes glowing in the dim light. The small group was ready. Impa removed herself from Link and stood between the two oppossing forces. Impa breathed heavily as she darted her eyes from one person to another. "Stop!" She yelled and spread her arms. "I command you all to cease! I'll take care of things." She looked at Link with the color in her eyes fading. "You guys are wonderful. You keep up the good work, okay?" Reeses gasped. "Impa!" She called. "Don't worry! Just protect Gabrielle at all costs! Protect her!" Impa shut her eyes and purple sparkles appeared at her chest. "Impa! No!" Link yelled, holding back tears that started to form. "You mustn't! You have someone waiting for you!" Zaterl also started to cry. Razz and Reeses just watched, too shocked to even speak. "Impaa!" Link's agonizing wait echoed around the room and Impa's medallion appeared in front of her. Impa's body fell limp on the floor.
Shirah grinned and started to grab for the precious item. "Farore's Wind!" Razz growled and a burst of green wind wrapped around the medallion and brought it over to Razz. Shirah snapped her fingers. "You'll be giving me that eventually! Whether you want to or not!" Shirah gave a sly grin and took Impa's limp body. "That power belongs to my mistress. She will have it!" With that, Shirah vanish in a flash leaving the group alone. "Zelda's gonna' be depressed for weeks..." Link sighed and started to leave. "What about...?" Reeses pointed to Ikari's body. "Leave it." Link answered. The rest of the group then started to leave but Reeses couldn't help but feel like someone else was there. She turned and Ikari was gone. "!" She gasped silently and payed no mind. The group walked back the castle in silence.
The girl sat in the dirt building. The sweltering heat made beads of sweat appear on her forehead. The girl's crimson red shined in the sunlight. Ever since the appearance of the new Sages she stayed here. Not wanting to be the next victim, she hardly ventured out of the house. "Nabooru, it's been weeks! Please come out!" Her friends would plead. She ignored them. Nabooru's dark skin had also gotten a bit lighter in this time. Nabooru sat down and started to sharpen her most prized sword. She growled as she did this, knowing another friend had gone. The situation at hand was sickening and she needed to stop it.