Work Text:
Link had been traveling with the others for a while now. He enjoyed his time with them, he really did, but he just wished that they could kill the Shadow already. It was so annoying! It even had the audacity to shove him! Seriously, was this thing underestimating him too? Come on!
Maybe that could be used to his advantage, though. Link would have to see about that.
Well, anyway, they had just encountered the Shadow again, and, in typical fashion, it fled through a portal. Coward. That didn't matter, though. What mattered was the portal that was left behind.
"When do you think we'll end up?" Link asked, looking at the swirling black and purple in curiosity.
"Anyone's guess, really," Smithy replied. "I do hope it's a peaceful era, though. No offense, Traveler, but yours isn't exactly kind." Link couldn't help but agree. The monsters here were ruthless, and that was even before factoring in the occasional black blood!
At least the villagers were pleasant. That was the one redeeming quality of the Traveler's era.
Well, Link guessed that it was pretty too, but there wasn't much sea, so that didn't count.
The Traveler in question just nodded. There wasn't much he could say to argue against that, and he knew it.
"If everyone's done," the Captain spoke up, "We should probably go through it now." There were sounds of agreement, and people began gathering their gear.
Link himself didn't have much to gather. He already had his sword (twenty-five minutes of Sand left— he never did break the habit of checking how much Sand he had left, even though it didn't— couldn't deplete anymore) and shield ready, and almost everything else was in his bag. Before long, he, alongside Sky, walked through.
The moment he stepped out, something felt wrong. Link couldn't explain it, but something was off. The others seemed to think the same, judging by their expressions.
The place looked familiar too, with an old, moss covered stone floor and broken pillars, but this couldn't be it. It was impossible to get back into the Ocean King's World. He'd know— he'd tried before, just out of curiosity!
Worrying, he checked his sword. The sword had the Hourglass attached, so surely—
…It was running out. The Hourglass was depleting, even though it hadn't done that in years. It shouldn't have been doing that? How was it doing that? Was this really the Temple of the Ocean King? But that made no sense! So why were the Sands of Hours depleting? How was it doing that?
Before Link could think about it more, he heard a yelp.
"Are those human bones?!" The Traveler asked, pointing his sword at the bones in question.
Link's stomach sank. This had to be the Temple of the Ocean King. There wasn't another explanation. But how? Link thought that the portals could only take them to times in Hyrule! This wasn't Hyrule! Technically, the Great Sea wasn't Hyrule either, but he was more willing to forgive the Shadow for that than this.
"But how did they get here?" The Veteran asked, an analyzing look on his face.
"Maybe a monster?" Smithy suggested. "They probably died a while ago; this place is old…"
"Stay on your guard, everyone," the Captain instructed. "Who knows what's here?" Well, Link knew, but he wasn't sure how to explain that right now, and he was too busy worrying about the curse.
Anyway, the others could act all they wanted, but Link could see the way their skin was paling. The way their words were slower. The way they grew weaker and weaker with each passing moment. That was this place's curse, after all, even if it should be gone.
Should be gone… How was it here to begin with, actually? The curse shouldn't be here. It shouldn't! Maybe it was the Shadow?
That didn't matter, though. What did matter was that they were in a cursed temple, and Link was the only one with any protection!
Like he had read his mind, Sky asked something. "Does… anyone else feel like they're being drained?"
The Ranchhand frowned. "So it's not just me?"
Ok, Link wasn't letting them do this any longer! They had to get to a Safe Zone quickly, or they'd die! Before long, they'd become nothing more than bones on the floor, and the mere thought of that made Link queasy.
"Guys!" Link yelled. "You have to get into the purple areas now, or—"
Sky promptly collapsed. Crap, crap crap! This wasn't the time for that! Was it Link, or could he already see part of Sky's bones? That wasn't reassuring, either way. Now Link was really determined to get the others to safety.
Fortunately, there was no need to do anything, because the others caught on to what Link was saying, and although they were confused, had the sense to listen; especially after seeing Sky collapse.
"Sailor," the Captain asked, "what's happening?"
"I'll explain in a bit," Link promised, "just come on!"
Once everyone was secure in the Safe Zone, Link was felt his breathing settle. No one was in danger. For now, anyway.
Link himself was in the Safe Zone, too. Sure, he still had twenty-three minutes and forty seconds left, but he wasn't about to waste any time. He'd learned long ago that spending more time than necessary outside of the Safe Zones was never a good idea, after all.
He knelt down next to Sky, trying to see the latter's condition. Right now, he looked… ok. No worse than he had before entering the Safe Zone, anyway. In his condition, though? Link would prefer it if Sky stayed behind. The curse had just gotten to him too much for it to be safe otherwise. Too much time outside a Safe Zone, and, well… Suffice to say, the bones at the beginning of this place weren't there for no reason.
"Is he ok?" The Veteran asked. "He's not dead, is he?"
Link shook his head. "No, he's alive. He just can't leave the Safe Zone. Not until we have a way to circumvent the curse."
"What curse?" The Hero of Time asked. "Sailor, is this by any chance important?"
A nod. Yes. Of course it was important! Why would it not be?
"This place has a weird curse," Link explained, feeling the solid stone beneath his palm. "If you spend too long in here, then, well…" He trailed off, but his gaze wandering towards the bones told everyone all they needed to know.
"It drains the life out of you…" The Champion realized, to which Link nodded.
"Hold on," Veteran spoke up. "You said the curse drains our life, right?"
Link nodded, frowning. Where was Veteran going with this?
"Then how are you unaffected? I and the others began getting drained immediately, but you're just fine. How?"
Smithy frowned, pointing to Link's sword. "The sand in your hourglass has lessened, too. Is there any reason for that?"
Oh, that!
He nodded. "During my adventure here, I got this thing called the Phantom Hourglass. It really didn't seem special at first, if I'm being honest."
Traveler tilted his head. "Then why mention it?"
"Because it's the only thing that gets past the curse. As long as it has sand in it, I'm safe. It's attached to my sword now, but it still works like a charm."
"How much do you have left, though?" Champion asked.
"About twenty-four minutes." Link replied, glancing down at his sword again to make sure he was right. He was, so he continued. "I would offer to clear the dungeon myself, but…"
"We're not letting you go through this dungeon alone," The Ranchhand cut in.
"It's not that; I can handle myself anyway. I just don't want to leave you guys alone when you could be dead by the time I finish!"
"Don't the Safe Zones prevent the curse from affecting us, though?" The Champion asked. "None of us have gotten worse since stepping in here."
Link paused. Well, the Champion was right— they would be safe as long as they remained in the Safe Zone. Although, Link couldn't help but worry, especially since…
"Yeah, but isn't the Shadow here?" He asked. "There could be black-blooded monsters and maybe even Phantoms here too!"
Perhaps Link was worrying too much. He knew that most monsters didn't appear in the Temple of the Ocean King, after all. But he already wasn't supposed to be here, and neither were the others. Besides, if the Shadow was behind this (which it was! The whole group had seen that coward retreat into that stupid portal of its), then who knows? Maybe it got other monsters to come in. It did that with other eras' monsters, after all. Like when they'd fought the Great Sea's bokoblins in the Hero of Time's era. The Hero of Time's! They definitely weren't supposed to be there, so something like the Traveler's moblins would just make sense.
"Phantoms?" The Ranchhand asked, frowning. "What are those?"
"Bellum's minions," Link explained. "They're pretty strong, and if they're black-blooded…"
"I see," The Hero of Time replied. "It'd be wise to take someone with you, then."
"Uh, Old Man," The Veteran said, frowning, "did you forget what he said? This place's curse will just suck the life right out of us if we're not careful."
Then, his eyes widened like he'd gotten an idea. Turning to face Link, he asked, "Say, Sailor, do you think red potions can help heal us if we're affected?"
Link frowned, thinking back on his visits to this place. From what he remembered, yes, the potions could work, but you had to be in a Safe Zone. Otherwise, you would just get sapped right back to your state from before you took the potion.
He nodded. "They should. They did for me when I didn't have the Hourglass."
The Veteran nodded, kneeling down next to Sky and making him drink a red potion. As Sky's skin gained more color (and looked less bone-y), the Veteran visibly untensed. Huh, not what Link expected.
Afterwards, he looked up at Link, cocking his head. "So, in theory, if someone was quick enough and had enough resources, they could make it through the dungeon without the proper equipment, right?"
Link had to think about that. It was… possible, in theory. But that was just that— a theory. With how fast-acting the curse was, Link wasn't even sure if anyone could be quick enough to avoid it. It just didn't seem likely.
"I mean," he began, "maybe, but I don't think anyone can be quick enough."
The Veteran raised a doubting eyebrow, scoffing. "Well, I'm not the veteran for no reason, am I? With one of the Cook's elixirs, I'm sure I'll be fine."
Oh, right! The Champion's speed elixirs! They could definitely help, but… Link still really doubted that that would make anyone fast enough to get through the temple without the Phantom Hourglass. He really, really did.
It's not that he didn't trust the Veteran! It was that Link didn't want to take the chance of the Veteran falling to the curse. What would Link tell his roommate? What could he say, when there was nothing but bones and equipment to prove that the Veteran had existed?
His panic must've been made clear on his face, because the Veteran's features softened, and he sighed.
"Look, I get that you're worried that something might happen, but trust me, I have an item for this." He glanced down at his boots, and Link suddenly felt very, very dumb. Of course the Vet was prepared for this! Of course! Link had seen those boots in action, so how did he forget about them?
The Captain frowned. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
The Veteran rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am. As long as we're quick, we should be fine."
He looked at Link. "Right?"
Link nodded. "Yeah…"
Smithy's eyes lit up, having caught on to the plan. "I have Pegasus Boots as well. If it's not too much trouble, I can come with."
Pegasus Boots…? Link wasn't sure that he'd heard of those before, but if Smithy and the Veteran thought they would help, then he was willing to give them a try!
Although… he wasn't exactly eager for the Smithy to come along. They still hadn't fully made up after that argument over the Ranchhand's crystal, and in a place like this? That was a bad thing. Link could only hope that the Smithy wouldn't act too rashly, if they ended up encountering something.
The Captain nodded, putting a hand on his hip. "That's a good idea. Now, does anyone else have anything that'd allow them to navigate this place?"
The silence was far too telling.
The Captain just sighed. "…right. Champion, give the Veteran some elixirs. Old Man, give some of your red potions to them."
The Hero of Time nodded, taking four red potions out from his bag and handing them over to the Veteran, who nodded in thanks before pocketing them.
"I think we'll need more than that," Link spoke up, catching the attention of everyone. "Sure, they're short, but this place has thirteen floors— not even counting this one! I think a few more would be useful, especially since it's not just Veteran that's going."
Said Veteran groaned when he heard how many floors there were. "Fourteen floors? Seriously? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"I didn't even realize it was possible for dungeons to have so many floors," The Ranchhand admitted.
"Well, the most I've seen is twelve," the Veteran said in reply, "so I guess it's not that big of a stretch. It's still annoying as hell to traverse through, though."
"Whatever the case," the Hero of Time interrupted, "if the Sailor's right, we should get more potions. Who has some left?"
The Veteran frowned. "I have two red, one green, not counting what you gave me."
"I have a red potion left too," Smithy admitted. "Do we think that'll be enough?" That question was directed to Link.
"That depends on how fast you guys are," Link replied after thinking for a bit. "If you're quick enough, that should be more than what we need."
The Veteran raised an eyebrow. "And the boss?"
Link froze. He… hadn't thought about that. Why would he have? This place's boss was Bellum, and Bellum was pretty dead. It would make sense though. It'd explain why the curse was back, wouldn't it?
Again, he really hoped the Smithy wouldn't have to encounter Bellum.
Link took a deep breath. "If it's who I think it is, I'll handle him myself, and you two aren't allowed to get in the way. Got it?" He couldn't have Bellum do anything to his friends. He couldn't. Lineback had been bad enough…
Smithy frowned, but nodded. The Veteran nodded as well, looking confused, but content to accept Link's answer. Good.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The Ranchhand asked. "Don't get me wrong: it's not that I don't trust y'all to handle yourselves. I'm more worried about the curse."
"That's what we have the potions for," The Veteran explained with an annoyed note in his voice. "Besides, I and the Smith have Pegasus Boots. We'll be fine, Rancher."
The Ranchhand still seemed uncertain (rude. Link hadn't gone through this place five different times just to get doubted!), but he nodded in acceptance. "If you're sure."
"Then let's go." Link said, walking over to the edge of the Safe Zone and waiting for the Veteran and Smithy.
The two didn't take long to walk over to him, and Link smiled, then looking at the exit.
"Please tell me you have a map…" The Veteran mumbled, and Link nodded.
"I've been through this place five times; of course I have a map!"
"Five times?" Smithy asked. "That's impressive."
"Probably tiring, too," the Veteran agreed.
"It was," Link admitted, "but at least I know this place inside out now!"
The Veteran shrugged. "I guess that's true."
With that, the three stepped out of the Safe Zone.
Floor one, the ground floor. It really wasn't that interesting— Link had cleared anything out long ago. Fortunately, although the portal had disappeared (much to Link's dismay), the door to the second floor remained open. Running ahead of Smithy and the Veteran, Link went in.
The second floor wasn't too bad either. Fortunately, the boomerang puzzle had already been solved, and the Red Phantom (Link decided that he wasn't going to worry about how it was here right now. He had to focus on getting the others out safely) was decently far from the trio. It was perfect, in Link's eyes. He didn't see any way it couldn't be.
"Run to the Safe Zone!" Link instructed. "I'll take care of this guy."
"But—" The Veteran sighed. He was growing pale, and it seemed that the Veteran knew that he'd be useless against these enemies. Especially with the active threat that was the curse. "Fine. Just be careful."
With that, he grabbed Smithy's arm and dragged him to the Safe Zone.
Huh, was it Link, or did the Veteran have his Power Bracelets on? Oh well, not his business. What mattered now was dealing with the Phantom. He'd have to check if there were any yellow pots in this room as well…
With them out of the way, Link was able to turn his attention to the Phantom. Quietly sneaking up, Link brought his sword up, and, before the Phantom could notice, stabbed it in the back. Unfortunately, when he pulled his sword back, it was covered in black.
…he didn't even know that Phantoms had blood.
Looking up, the Veteran's face of concern was the very first thing Link saw. Arrows. Link needed the Veteran to shoot arrows! That'd stun this thing, but how could Link convey that?
Hoping that his message was clear, Link attempted to mime nocking a bow. Maybe if the Veteran could catch on to that, then Link would be fine.
He didn't have time to worry about that, though. Turning around to face Link, the Phantom was going after him, and Link didn't exactly want to die. He got into a stance, and charged.
Was it a bad idea? Probably. Phantoms were really tough opponents, after all. But what else was Link meant to do? He was still on a timer. He still had to keep the others safe. Even then, he'd fought a million Phantoms before. He could do this.
He couldn't stop moving. If he stopped, the Phantom would probably get him. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. Phantoms were heavy. They were slow. That was an advantage! Well, maybe not as much with these ones. They were quick(er). It'd be far too easy to get overpowered here. Not to mention, one hit, and sand would get taken from the Hourglass!
That didn't matter though. he had to focus on the battle at hand.
The Phantom swinged its sword in a wide arc. Too wide. Link was only just barely to get himself out of the way.
Once again, Link contemplated using his bow. He decided not to, though. He just didn't have the time to draw it.
Really, right now, Link's main goal was to dodge. If he could get behind the Phantom, that'd change, but for now, he had to continue this.
He kept fighting, trading blows with the Phantom. The black blood didn't do Link any favors, and before long, Link was running out of breath. He couldn't keep this up for much longer, and he knew it.
True to this thought, a well-timed thrust managed to catch Link off-guard, and he stumbled back. Crap. He managed to avoid getting hit (thank goodness), but who knew how long that would be true?
Fortunately, at that moment, an arrow shot the Phantom, freezing it right in place. Had the Veteran gotten Link's message? There wasn't really another idea that made sense…
No matter! Link took this time to sneak up and stab the Phantom again. After a bit more of this song and dance, Link managed to finally defeat the thing, watching it evaporate into nothing.
He took deep breaths, looking at his Hourglass. Well, sword, really, but the Hourglass was important, too.
He had 18 minutes and twenty seconds left. That was good. Definitely more than enough to get to the Safe Zone Smithy and the Veteran were in, as well as the nearest yellow pot.
He came over to the Safe Zone, panting. Smithy's concerned eyes looked over Link, and Smithy frowned.
"Are you ok? That looked pretty tough."
No kidding! Link thought. That was a black-blooded Phantom!
He, however, generously didn't say that. "I'm fine. Just exhausted, really."
The Veteran nodded, sighing. "Well, in that case, I guess we can rest here for a bit."
Smithy looked over at Veteran, confused. "Are you sure? We shouldn't waste any time, not with the elixirs…"
The Veteran shook his head. "Nope. Staying here is our best bet. It'd be stupid to try and navigate this place without our guide, after all."
"But—" Link began, only to get interrupted by the Veteran.
"The others can wait a little longer. Besides, the Rancher would have your head if you attempted to go on in this state. I say we rest. End of discussion."
"…fine." Link crossed his arms and sat down. After all, as much as he hated to admit it, the Veteran did have a point.
"Good."
After some time spent waiting for Link to cover his breath, the group continued on. In the interest of saving time, the trio agreed that all enemies should be ignored.
Second floor. Nothing too challenging, although, one of the Veteran's bokoblins was there. A few arrows took care of it, though, so it hardly mattered. The puzzles weren't too big of a deal, either.
Third floor. Not too challenging either. Just some stealth was needed, and apparently, the Veteran had an item for that! Who would've guessed? Not that Link was going to complain, though. The Smithy was sneaky was well, although nowhere near as good as Link was.
Most of the floors weren't too bad, honestly. They were much better than Link expected, really. Although, he wasn't going to say that. No need to tempt fate, right?
Well, ok, it wasn't all smooth sailing. On a few floors, they were almost too slow. On some floors, as much as everyone involved hated it, they had to fight. And, on one floor, well…
"Just drink the potion, idiot!"
"We only have a few left though, and you guys need it for the next two floors! I'll be fine!"
A hand on his hip, Smithy asked, "didn't you say that the floors were all pretty short? We're only three floors away from the final one, in any case, so you really should just drink the potion."
"But—"
"I'm not against forcing you to if I have to. Please, Sailor, can you just drink the potion?"
In the end, Link had given in and had drunk the potion. Only part of it, though. He wasn't taking any chances. Especially not with the curse.
The biggest issue, however, was the thirteenth floor. It always was. So many Phantoms, and some were black-blooded, too! Sure, Link had gone through this area once before, but he had gotten very, very lucky.
This time, though, he wasn't alone. The Veteran and Smithy, even if they couldn't defeat the Phantoms themselves, were still very helpful. Shooting arrows and using other items, the first three Phantoms went down without so much as a hitch.
Thee Red Phantoms came next. Staying in the Safe Zone, Link readied his hammer, watching as the Phantoms drew near. It'd be hard to get their backs turned now… perhaps, with a distraction-?
Link must've made his idea obvious. That, or the Veteran was thinking the same thing as Link, because right as that thought went through his head, the Veteran said, "we're gonna need a distraction. Smithy, do you think you're up for it?"
The Smithy in question snorted. "You know it."
So the two got to work, using their arrows and hammers to try and lure the Phantoms towards them, rather than Link. It worked, too! Barring the black-blooded monsters (which, hah, still couldn't get past the Safe Zones!), it was… actually pretty easy. No more scares like on that first floor. It was a nice change of pace, especially since this floor had given him plenty of trouble the first time around. Second time, technically, but, well, the point remained.
Once the Phantoms were dealt with, the door opened, and the three ran through it. Twenty-three minutes and seven seconds left. That was probably (hopefully) enough time to defeat the boss.
"Say," Smithy asked, "what is the boss of this dungeon, anyway? You mentioned someone named Bellum earlier, but I don't think we know who that is."
Link didn't know what to say to that. Should he explain the whole truth? But with how worried Smithy had been about the Rancher's crystal… it was probably best to just give as little information as possible.
"Bellum's the person (did he count as a person? Probably not…) I had to fight at the end of my second adventure." Link explained, walking towards where the boss likely was. "He's really powerful, and only the Phantom Sword can defeat him."
"In other words," the Veteran said, "he's like this place's Ganon?"
"I guess?" Link replied, frowning. "The sword doesn't seal him, though— it just defeats him."
"Sounds convenient," Smithy mused. Then, smiling, "it's a good thing we have our Sailor here. You can take him, right?"
Link nodded, smiling. "You know I can!"
At this point, the group had crossed the bridge in the final room. However, unlike the last time Link had done this, a portal didn't appear. He frowned.
Noticing this, the Veteran tensed. "Something wrong?"
Link shook his head. The yellow portal hadn't been at the entrance, after all, so Link guesses that it was pretty silly to expect the blue one to be there as well. It was probably just the Shadow messing with things though, right?
(Link didn't have much confidence in that theory anymore. Why would pretty much every Phantom in the temple be back if the Shadow was behind it? But how would Bellum be back to begin with?)
"If you're sure," Smithy replied, looking at the set of stairs in front of the three and taking a sip of a red potion. So close. They were so close.
Something still felt wrong, though. Link knew it. It put him on-edge and made him tense, even though there was no active threat. It made him feel dread, fearful of what might lie just up those stairs, where the boss surely was.
…maybe paying close attention to Smithy wouldn't hurt.
"Lead the way, Sailor." The Vetran said, grip on his sword handle tightening as Link began ascending the stairs.
When they arrived at the top, nothing was there. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Smithy looked around cautiously. "Where's the boss? Shouldn't it be here?"
The Veteran narrowed his eyes. "Maybe it's hiding somewhere. We should—"
Then, as if the universe was mocking Link for what he'd already suspected, Bellum emerged, creepy as ever. Link didn't even have time to warn the others to try and be careful when Smithy charged, no doubt aiming for an eye.
Unfortunately, Bellum had learned from before, so it seemed. A tentacle was wrapped around the Smithy, whose eyes widened in shock as he tried to squirm free.
The Veteran nocked an arrow, no doubt aiming to release Bellum's grip on Smithy, but it was probably not going to work. At least, not as far as Link was concerned. But they had to act soon, or—
No. It wasn't going to come down to that. Not if Link and the Veteran had anything to say about it.
Link wondered, though: why had Smithy just… charged, despite Link's warning at the beginning of the dungeon?
Then, he remembered the argument. They'd mostly gotten over it now, but…
"How would you know?!" The Veteran yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the Smithy. "You've never used the Master Sword!"
Link could agree with that. He didn't have the most care or belief in the world for the sword, but he did wonder how Smithy was so certain, even though he'd never wielded it. At least Link had experiences to base his assumption on…
"I don't have to!" Smithy snapped back. "I know how dangerous dark items can be."
A bit of silence, leaving Link to contemplate what exactly Smithy meant, despite how annoyed Link was at the moment. Then, Smithy continued:
"I've seen how far one can fall," His tone of voice made it clear that he was remembering something. Something significant. It sounded pained, knowing. Like someone who had seen another's terrible fate, and was now faced with the threat of it happening to someone else.
Link wouldn't wonder until later what that "something" was.
It was made all too clear at that moment. Smithy was attacking Bellum because he reminded Smithy of that something Link had noted that day. But what could he do it about it? Nothing. Nothing at all.
Meanwhile, the Veteran had drawn his bow and fired. It hit its mark— Bellum's tentacle— and he immediately began nocking a second arrow. In doing this, however, the Veteran turned away from Bellum for just a brief moment.
That moment— when Link was helpless to do anything and the Veteran was busy— was all Bellum needed to do what Link had feared most.
Bellum latched onto the Smithy's back, wrapping his slimey, slimey tentacles around Smithy to keep him contained. Link was pretty sure there was some shouting involved too, but he couldn't tell. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't even here, right now.
"WHOA! Ugh… WHAT?!" Lineback exclaimed, struggling against the restraints that were Bellum's tentacles.
His breathing was far too heavy as Link pointed the Phantom Sword at Bellum.
"Let go of me, monster!" Lineback's face look scared. He was practically petrified, it seemed. Line back had said that he was a coward, after all… Link just wished that it weren't so true.
Bellum stared at Link with his eye, and even though Bellum had no mouth, Link could tell that he was gleeful right now.
Link couldn't respond though. His limbs felt like they were made of ice, or were encased in it. A metaphorical ReDead had screamed, and Link was now experiencing the effects of that.
His body unable to hold up against whatever Bellum was doing, Lineback began shaking. It was subtle, at first, but it slowly got worse, and Lineback eventually fell to the floor. Bellum continued what he was doing though, his "mouth" shaking and expanding like a plant.
Lineback screamed, and a dark tornado enveloped him. Link so badly wanted to cry out, to ask if Lineback was ok, but he didn't get the chance to.
When the tornado disappeared, Bellum had fully latched himself onto Lineback, and—
Covered in that flanky armor Bellumbeck had worn, the Smithy wasn't him anymore, and that hurt so, so much. Link didn't want to fight another ally. If it was for his brother, though, then he could do this.
He just had to get Bellum out of Smithy's body.
"What the-?!" The Veteran wondered, staring at Smithy Bellum. "I didn't realize that this guy could—"
"Fall back," Link asked, "please! I can handle him, but—"
The Veteran scoffed. "And leave you to deal with the Smithy alone? I think not."
A loud clang! interrupted the two, and looking at the source of the noise, Bellum (not Smithy. This wasn't the Smith. This wasn't their group blacksmith) had dropped the Four Sword.
Link felt… just a bit mad. That was Four's prized possession! He'd forged that thing with his own two hands, and to see such a beloved thing face such disrespect… it was horrible.
The Veteran's eyes widened, but after a bit, his eyebrows furrowed. "That's odd. The sword didn't seem to like him, did it?"
Come to think of it…
"You're right! But why…?"
"I don't know," The Veteran admitted, already in a battle stance. "I just think that that's worth checking out. Now, we aim for the eye, right?"
"Yeah," Link confirmed.
In response, the Veteran just nodded, charging at Bellum. Link wanted to stop him, but the Veteran was the Veteran. He could probably handle himself, and even then, Link was pretty sure the Veteran had been clear: Link should retrieve the Four Sword. Well, that was something he could do, at least.
Leaving the Veteran and Bellum to it, Link ran over to the Four Sword. In this light, it almost looked… multi-colored. The Four Sword had always reflected light weirdly, though, so maybe it was nothing.
He grabbed the handle, feeling the texture in his hands. It was nice. Smithy really had made a good blade.
Taking a deep breath, Link turned and rushed towards Bellum, ready to fight. He had to be. He may not have had any Phantom Spheres on hand, but with the Veteran by his side, he wasn't sure that that would matter. They would figure something out. That was what Heroes did, after all, wasn't it?
So, Link aimed to strike. It would be ineffective, sure, but anything to distract Bellum was useful right now.
In doing so, however, he didn't realize that he'd both forgotten to use the Phantom Sword instead and had aimed the Four Sword skyward. Not until there was a brief mess of color, and he was four instead of one.
All things considered, this was probably the best thing that could've happened if they wanted a chance of beating Bellum. Sure, Link had beaten him before, and knew that the chances of losing here were… probably low (especially considering that this wasn't really Smithy, and just someone possessing him), but still. Any help he could get was nice!
Although, internally, he couldn't really help but wonder: why had Bellum dropped the Four Sword? Wasn't any weapon you could get an advantage? Surely, Bellum was just not thinking, right?
Well, whatever. If Bellum was really just dropping it, then it'd probably be easy enough to win. Sure, he didn't have Phantom Spheres, but with so many people? Link wasn't sure that that mattered. He may not have understood how those people had gotten there, nor why they looked like him so much, but he'd take what he could get.
It was at that moment that he became aware of the Veteran's eyes on him, and Bellum's apparent shock. The former's eyes were widened, no doubt having not expected this in any way, shape, or form.
"How— What—" The Veteran sighed and shook his head. "Actually, questions later. Just help me for now."
Well, that was something he could do. Nodding, Link once again attacked, not noticing the oddity in gem that rested in the Four Sword's pommel being blue, rather than grey. All he cared about right now was defeating Bellum, anyway.
Hang on Smithy, we've got you.
Sure, he was a bit scared, but he was going to save Smithy. No matter what it took.
When he saw the three other people, Link wasn't sure how to feel exactly, but he did feel one thing: hope. This wasn't really hopeless, after all! Of course, thinking it was hopeless was a bit silly, since Bellum wasn't exactly what Link considered a "tough opponent" with so many people on his side, but it was definitely helpful when it came to actually defeating Bellum. Well, Link wasn't sure if the main goal was defeating Bellum so much as it was freeing Smithy from the possession.
"Do you guys need help?" He decided to ask, sword at the ready.
"We can probably handle ourselves," his blue doppelganger replied, moving out of the way of one of Bellum's blows, "but yes please! The more of us, the better."
The Veteran nodded, but didn't reply, too busy trying to find an opening to stab Bellum's eye in.
So Link joined them. Bellum was only one person, after all, and couldn't focus on all of them at once.
How are we going to beat him without the ability to stop time, though? Link wondered. He just couldn't see a solution. Maybe the Veteran knew of way to do something, with his many items and all? He'd just have to hope, it seemed.
"C'mon guys," a red doppelganger said, apparently having decided to join the trio, "we can do this!"
"But we don't have any Phantom Spheres," Link replied. "How do we beat Bellum without them?"
"We'll just have to try," the blue one replied. "The Four Sword's clearly not ordinary; we'll make do."
That was something it seemed all of them agreed on, as no one objected.
At that moment, Bellum's eye opened, and the Veteran and the blue doppelganger (the closest) moved to stab it. Their swords were embedded in Bellum's eye for a bit, but the two pulled it out quickly, not wanting to waste any time when they could get more hits in.
"That actually worked?" The red doppelganger asked, looking at his own sword in confusion.
"I thought that only the Phantom Sword could defeat Bellum…" Link admitted. He didn't know how the doppelgangers knew this information, but they were currently helping, so it was… probably fine.
"These swords are clearly special, though." The blue doppelganger replied, dodging another one of Bellum's swings. "Maybe they were made for a similar purpose?"
The Veteran only shrugged. "Maybe. It doesn't matter, though. What matters is beating this guy." Link couldn't help but agree with that.
As he and the red doppelganger worked on trying to get Bellum's attention (which was shockingly easy, although that was probably just due to Link having the Phantom Sword), Link felt hope take root in his chest once more. Maybe they would be ok, after all.
Distracting Bellum wasn't too fun of a task, but there were worse fates, Link supposed. Besides, doing it alongside someone who clearly was similar to him was nice, too.
The Veteran and the blue doppelganger (as Link had decided to call him) were apparently trying to pry Bellum's eye open, which was… interesting, to say that least. Link elected not to think about it for the sake of his sanity.
"I'm sure they've almost got it," he informed the green doppelganger. "We just have to hold out a little longer, alright?"
The doppelganger nodded. "Yeah. Although, Smithy will be ok, right?"
"I really hope so," was all Link could find himself able to reply with.
"We got it!" The blue doppelganger suddenly announced. "We managed to open his eye!"
Not the grossest thing Link had seen, so he nodded. This was going great, so far, in all honesty. It was way, way easier than the fight against Bellumbeck, so that probably helped.
A purple doppelganger had apparently joined up at some point, seeing as he was assisting the other two in the back. Based on his facial expression, Link could tell that he was determined to see this through.
Most of the battle (which was a pretty generous way of describing it, if Link had to be honest) was a blur, since most of it, at least on Link's end, was just running around and avoiding getting hit, but it worked! After enough of this song and dance, someone finally managed to get a good hit in, and Bellum released his hold on the Smithy, who looked quite dazed.
Well, all's well that ends well, Link guessed.
Link breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that Smithy was ok. Or at least, no longer possessed. He was ok. Making sure to ignore Bellum, he approached Smithy.
"Are you alright?" Link asked, offering a hand.
"Ugh…" Smithy groaned. "Yeah, I think I—" he paused once he noticed Link's tunic, then looking around to see the other three doppelgangers. "…oh."
Crossing his arms, the Veteran sighed. "I don't assume you know what's happening?"
"I do." the Smith confirmed, taking Link's hand and nodding in thanks. "I just didn't realize that the Sailor had…" he sighed.
"What is it?" Link asked, curious.
"Simply put: you're split. The Four Sword's name is literal— it splits the user into the four most prominent parts of themselves. Everything about them is put on display." The worried note in Smithy's voice was hard to miss.
"How do we fix it?" The green one asked, concerned.
"Put your swords away— all of you."
The four looked at each other, and those who had their swords out did just that. Before long, it was just Link again. He stared.
"I didn't realize…"
Smithy shrugged, rubbing his head. "It's fine. Just don't touch my stuff again, please."
The Veteran rolled hie eyes. "Well, we didn't exactly have a choice there."
Smithy raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"Bellum dropped your sword! We weren't about to risk anything happening to it!"
"It's not like Bellum could've done anything with it, though," Smithy explained. "The sword doesn't allow those who aren't pure of heart to wield it, so if Bellum attempted to, well…" The rest of that sentence was clear.
"So it's like the Master Sword?" The Veteran asked. "That would've been nice to know."
"I guess it is," Smithy replied. "Also, what happened?"
Both Link and the Veteran didn't reply. How could they explain? Thanks to experience (and sheer luck), it hadn't been that hard to fight, but there still wasn't a good way to explain what had happened. Link didn't want to talk about it much, anyway. Not when he was still remembering Bellumbeck in the back of his mind. Sure, he'd pushed away the emotions earlier, but now that they were safe…
"…right." Smithy eventually said, looking around. "Well, we should get back to the others, if we're done here-?"
The Veteran nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Come on."
So the trio began trying to find their way back to the others, and if Link kept close to the Smithy for some time after that? Well, that was no one's business but Link's and the Veteran's.