Memories and Moments:LoZ:Ch.22

Chapter 22: The Path that Lies Ahead…

"Alright. We're ready." Dark said, stopping in his tracks and looking at the sinister-looking heavens.

"So we should be able to get to Gufuu now?" asked Link, who was curious in the slightest sense.

"Yes…" Dark said as he nodded. "Actually, we could be able to access that place where he may be hidden from the very beginning…"

It was only by that time that the other three heroes came to where the trio was thanks to Dark's pet rock. They all had a little reunion as Vio told Link about the strange jar containing the even stranger contents. Link and Vaati shuddered at this, but Dark was left with no response and instead closed his eyes.

Dark continued, "As I said, we could have accessed it from the very beginning, but I wanted all of us to be prepared for what is about to befall us… and now, the time has come for us to go to that place…"

They all felt their bodies become lighter as the dark and sinister background turned white little by little. It all felt strange… what was going on?

After a little while, they found themselves before a grand but old-fashioned castle, its bricked walls and majestic flags fading with time. Its towers reached up very high to the point that its upper parts were covered by mist. As everyone else awed in the magnificent feat, Dark did nothing but to proceed to its grand doors and push them aside.

Seeing that Dark was so focused at this, the other five followed him inside…

It was strange though... when they examined themselves, they found that Dark had already reverted their colors back to normal. And so, they saw no use to wear accessories anymore, no matter how much Red begged to wear HIS accessory.

It looked like the castle was lit inside by torches at every pillar you could ever possibly spot. Just like its external appearance, the internal castle was also old-fashioned and faded with age. Needless to say, it was full of dust.

"Drat." said Dark. He came from a nearby segment from where they stood. They stayed in what seems to be a lobby of the castle. "It seems that he anticipated us very well… he already sealed off the mirror paths I may have taken to get to him easier…"

He then went to the stairs. "Come on. There's no time to waste."

The others followed him. They passed through many of the castle's cold walls as it was just next to the spiral staircase they took.

Vio could not help but get curious. "Dark… just where are we? This doesn't seem to be part of the Shadow Realm anymore…"

"So you noticed…" Dark said, not looking back. "This is my true place… a place created by my will; a place where my memories and moments have stayed. It's still a bit hard to explain it fully, but that's how much I can explain it…"

The other Links were listening to him as well. They all shuddered looking at all the old portraits that were posted there, their eerie expressions looking at them as they passed by. Dark proceeded to a room they found not long after… and being their guide to a foreign realm, they followed him inside.

As they went inside, the room was completely dark… but wait, what is this?

There were four luminous vertical rectangles before them. Upon closer inspection, they seem to be four doors.

"Red…" said Red, looking at the glowing red door with painted hearts and other cute motifs.

"Blue…" said Blue, looking at the tough-looking bright blue door with motifs that represented spikes and weapons.

"Violet…" said Vio, looking at the luminous violet door with elegant motifs.

"Green…" said Link, looking at the calm-looking green door with bamboo and other plant motifs.

They were arranged accordingly, with a wide gap between the blue and violet doors. The four stared at the four doors with their respective colors…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!"

"W-who was that?!"

It was then that the wall torches were suddenly mysteriously lit. The five Links were there, intact, looking at each other and checking if everyone else is alright.

"Then that must've been…." Link began to search the room frantically. "Wh-where's Vaati?!"

The other three Links of the Four Sword helped him search the room, although they could not find any other place where Vaati could have been. Dark was left staring at the gap between the blue and violet doors.

Or at least, the gap that had been between the mentioned doors.

When the other four Links came to a realization there was no trace of Vaati anywhere, they looked at the direction where Dark was looking at…

"A-a door…?" Link uttered.

There was an extra door between the blue and the violet doors. Looking at it alone was a bit chilling, seeing that it was all black, which was enough reason for it to be invisible in the dark. Just like all the other doors, it had a motif on it.

It made it even more chilling.

The motif on it was in vivid red… splattered all across the door. It made the appearance of what appears to be blood smeared on the pure black door.

"It should be pretty obvious… that we need to go through these doors to proceed." Dark said.

"Meh, but do we need to go according to our respective colors? That'd be boring!" Blue complained. "I wanna go to another door!" 'But which one…? Wait… yeah, maybe if I go to the green door, I'll come out as the real hero Link! Yeah, I'll show Green!' "I say I take the green door!"

The angsty hero approached the mentioned door and found that it was all blank inside… nothing but a barren corridor lied before him.

"Here I come!" Blue said as he-

"GAHK!"

The blue hero appeared to have bumped to a wall, although there was none anywhere before him. Is this some kind of an invisible wall?

"Wait, let me try it." Link said as he bravely went to the green door. "Maybe I could figure something out."

The blue hero grumbled as the green hero once again seemed to take the spotlight away from him.

As Link tried to step inside, nothing bad happened. Although, they did notice that he disappeared as he went further inside his door. It's almost as if he just went through some sort of a portal.

"W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!" Blue cried in utter disbelief. "WHAT THE HECK?!"

"That… that must mean that the door is truly for him." Vio concluded. "Then…" he looked at the violet door.

All at the same time, the other remaining Links looked at their respective doors and moved forward to them.

"I wish you luck, guys." Vio said before he looked at the path before him. It was as desolate as Link's own path.

"Aaaah! My leg's gone! Oh, no it isn't now. AH! IT'S GONE AGAIN!!!" Red squealed, swinging his leg in the doorway to and fro.

"So I guess I get to the coolest door." Blue bragged, looking up.

"Coolest door? That's miiiiine~!"

"Meh."

"Alright. As I said, no time to waste." Dark said, interrupting the two. "Let's go."

The two stopped their little bickering and looked at their own paths instead. After taking a deep breath, they all bravely stepped in their doors and vanished.

***

Red was walking through a very dimly lit corridor which was barely enough for him to see properly. The silence was almost unbearable… all he could hear was his footsteps and his breathing. His mind was already being filled by different thoughts.

'What if I never make it…? Where is this leading…? What if… if there's… a GHOST?!"

Now his eyes began to wander restlessly. The last thing he would ever want to see was a ghost.

Then, he heard something that lessened the deafening silence a bit…

'W-what was that…?!'

It was faint, but he swore he could hear a voice in the distance… a singing voice. Although scared, he felt mesmerized by it as he followed the gentle voice.

It was eerie to hear a voice in such a cold and stagnant place, but he felt somehow relieved hearing the voice for some reason. He just had to find out where it was coming from.

The silence grew weaker as the tone grew louder with each step he took, an indication that he must be getting nearer.

He could swear he was following a path which leads to an end filled with glowing light.

"Sleep now…" said the faint voice which seemed to come from the passage's end.

Hearing that made him more determined to find out what was ahead of him.

***

"W-what th…?!"

Blue found himself in a room which appears to be a study room. He looked around to get himself familiarized with the place, though he really can't recall that he had ever been in such a place.

It had a study table just beside the window which illuminated the dim room with its moonlight. The whole room seemed to be made of concrete and tiles, along with tapestry and lacy curtains to add to its elegance. There were roses just beside its elegant bed, draped over with lace. He could make out that someone was resting in there.

He then heard the door creak.

That was enough for him to be aware that he was indeed in a world of reality. He turned around to see who it could possibly be.

Right there, before him, was a shadow Link with a different hairstyle. His usual hair was relatively the same, but it covered most of his right cerulean eye. And unlike before, this particular shadow Link looked mild yet sad. He had a fixed solemn look on his face as he approached the luxurious bed where Blue stood.

"Who are you?" said the shadow Link, fixing his gaze on Blue.

"Ah… aaaah…" Blue stuttered. He could not believe that this was all real. "I-I… I…"

"What are you doing in Master's room? Are you perhaps… an intruder?!" said the shadow, making a stance.

"N-no! I'm not…"

"… You look just like me…" said the shadow sadly.

The two Links stared at each other for a moment. A deep silence befell them…

Before someone broke the silence. "So… what are you doing here? Are you here to foil our plans?"

The blue hero angrily looked at the shadow. "W-what?! Why I oughta…! You're going to cause us trouble again, aren't you?!"

"Please forgive my comrades… they don't know what they're doing… I do not even know why Master is doing this."

"Who is your master, anyway?"

The purple-haired youth looked at the young hero directly in the eyes. Oddly, as tough as the blue hero was, he felt the melancholic pain of the shadow, though the shadow never said anything about it.

"Master… Master Gufuu…" said the shadow, almost in a whisper.

"Master Gufuu…" repeated the hero, realizing what state he is in.

***

Vio felt the cold, chilling winds as he passed through the corridor. He felt that the place was utterly dry and abandoned, as he caught the stale scent of the place. Familiarizing himself with the place, he found that it seemed to be the Tower of Winds.

It looked like a dungeon with bricked walls, its golden hue fading with age. Grime and dust grew on the walls and the dusty floors as a sign of being untouched in what seems to be eons. He decided to continue treading through the corridors.

There, he spotted doors… but it didn't look like the doors of a dungeon… they looked more like doors of an old-fashioned laboratory, made of wood with a vertical rectangular hole in the center which was covered by a see-through glass, so that one may peer in the room without disturbing whatever was taking place in there, may it be an experiment or a research.

He felt the air grow colder as he proceeded, which made him hug himself. He passed by rooms of what seemed to be laboratories, supplies rooms, and the like. He also found that he was now walking in a narrow corridor which led to only one door in the end.

He turned the door's knob by instinct, but not much to his surprise, it was locked. He was afraid he doesn't have a key or anything to unlock it with.

And the stale scent continues to linger throughout the place…

***

"I…I'm back in the city…"

Green, or Link, moved his eyes around to confirm his thoughts. He was indeed back in his hometown.

"The town… back when it was on its way to become a city…"

He saw that the town looked like it was undergoing changes. Fastfood chains here and there were built, posters and signs were everywhere saying that the newest mall will be seen in a matter of months…

"But wait… where are the others, then?"

He decided to ask the townspeople some questions. Everyone was minding their own business as they always did.

'Well, it wouldn't really hurt to talk with them for a while…'

He went to the mailman, on his daily routine to deliver all the letters safely to their respective receivers…

"Mr. Mailman, have you seen the… others…?"

He felt ignored as the mailman just passed by him, not even giving him a single glance.

'Ah, well… I guess he's really fully booked with all those letters to be given to everyone in a single day… who gives letters that much to people in this town, anyway??'

He then decided to approach someone else… and now he knows just who he could talk to… of course! His childhood friend in the playground… who else?

"Zelda!!!" called Link to his friend sitting on one of the swings.

"Princess, His Majesty's calling you!" called out a young trainee guard, his uniform different than that of a real palace guard on duty.

"Oh, pooh…" uttered Zelda with a frown.

Zelda went with the guard instead of Link… and seemed not to hear him call out her name.

This time, Link really got pissed off… just what was going on? That was rude of the mailman to ignore him like that, even during his daily rounds… that was painful for Zelda to ignore him like that, considering that they were very close with each other, and just follow the guard instead.

He decided that it was best just to go home and tell everything to his grandfather who will understand and make him feel better.

And so, upon arriving home, his eyes began to wander for his grandpa who was not in the living room to welcome him. In that small while, he finally reminisced how simple their lives were before modernization took place... their house was a lot smaller, and some rooms were cramped up all in one... such as the dining room and the living room all cramped up in one space upon entering the house. He even shared a room with his grandfather back then... but now, they both have their own rooms, and even an extra guest room for whoever may visit them... like Vaati. Things sure had changed for them.

As a reflex action, he shook his head when he heard something...

"KLING! KLANG!"

Upon hearing that, he immediately figured out where Smith was…

Link went to Smith in the forging room where he forged the finest swords of Hyrule. He was gazing at his masterpiece, holding it high in the air, examining its brilliant sparkles of perfection.

"Grandpa!" he called out.

Smith did not seem content of his work, so he forged some more…

"Grandpa, I'm home! I have a lot of things to tell you…"

It was only then that Smith stopped forging and laid the sword down. He wiped his sweat with his folded sleeve and looked towards Link's direction. He began to walk towards his grandson.

"Grandpa, you know what? I had the worst experience with the town folks… they kept on ignoring me, and…"

Link stopped in his words as he realized that something was wrong… his grandfather kept on walking until he went through him! That's right, Link felt his grandfather go pass through him as if it were only the blowing wind!

Link felt his knees grow weak. "W-what's going on…?"