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"The Dark Foe"The Dark FoeBy: Silent StalkerChapter One: Disappearance Dragoncloud awoke and stretched. What time is it? he thought. So he looked at the miniature Gossip stone on his wrist and flicked it. It was one of his inventions, and he had sold it around the castle. The stone shook for a second before dutifully replying, "Bong, bong! The time is now 9:37 AM." Time to get up, Cloud thought. Now time to see if Link and Zelda were up yet. He stretched once more before putting on his armor. Since his Mithral suit was very light, he could wear this for days. The guards at the Link and Zelda's doors were strangely light-headed. "Weeeeell fine sahr, what does you want here at Zink and Lelda's doooooor?" one of the guards asked dreamily. Cloud couldn't believe his eyes "Have you been drinking?!" he screamed. "They could both be dead by now, you fools!!!" "Nooooooooooo. I'm as sober as a loon, Mack!" "Mack?" What in the world was going on here? Cloud smelled the guard's breath, but smelled no brandy or wine, but he did smell a faint odor that he didn't recognize. "Let me in there, now!" Cloud commanded. "Don't yew trushht our woork?" "No! Now let me in there!" "Noooooooooo thank ya!" Cloud decided to resort to more drastic measures, so he pulled his swords. They began to glow a angry red. He released their energy with a mental command. Then he blew to door open. Leaping over the splinters and boards, he rushed into Link's room first. He saw nothing in the living room. "Link!!" he bellowed. "Link, Where are you??!!" But there was no response. Cursing himself for not checking for unusual activity, Cloud destroyed the other door, but found the same conclusion in Zelda's room. Only on the job a week, he thought, and they're both gone already.. Luck had it that he spied a note on one of the chairs in the room. He snatched it up and read it. Dear Fool, Your probably wondering just how Ganondorf pulled this off , and what's wrong with the guards. Well, they'll be fine in a few days, unlike the ones you are currently guarding. Ganondorf can have those two, but I want you. In three days, Link and Zelda will be dead, unless you surrender yourself, then they will be set free. I haven't told Ganondorf about this, for he'd probably disagree, but do not worry. I will keep my promise, because the truth is I HATE Ganondorf, but he offered me the chance to kill you, so how could I refuse? You'd better hurry, because you must also find the place in which I am hidden. Oh, by the way, there is something else. I hadn't originally intended for this to happen, you may not believe me, but this is the honest truth. Sarah discovered me as I was helping my men get the captives under control, so I took her too to add to your speed. Well, I wish you quick hunting. With hatred, Black Dragon.
Cloud stared in horror at the signature. He did survive, but how? he thought. Then he felt his rage rising to the surface. Time to cause some casualties. Then he stopped. That wasn't right. Mindless
killing couldn't be forgiven. After a minute he got his anger under control.
I
have to find Black Dragon, and he must have left a clue here.So he
searched the room, and noticed some strange pinkish fog floating in the
bedroom. He didn't recognize it, so he put it in a bottle and began off
to the Magic Hag's Potion shop near Clock Town.
When Link awoke, the light-headed feeling was gone. He was in a cold cell, and was alone. "Zelda?" he called quietly. "Link? Link, is that you?" "Yes, are you okay?" "Aside from not knowing if we're going to die or not, I'm fine." "I wonder where Cloud is." "Beats me." Then a new voice spoke up. "He's coming, don't worry." "Sarah? How do you know what Cloud is doing?" asked Link. He was not in a good mood. "I just know,"
she replied "I just know."
A figure in green
peered into Ganondorf's Fortress, now located in Death Mountain. The Dark
One had some how drilled in to the volcano's side without causing it to
erupt. "Oh dear. Cloud's going to need this," he said, waving a paper and
still bobbing up and down. Then he flew off into the distance.
When Cloud arrived at his destination, he didn't bother with the ladder, he simply flew up to the door. Flying for long periods of time was very tiring, but he was in too much of a hurry to bother with a ladder. Then he burst through the door. "You!" he yelled at the sleeping Kotake," Wake up and identify this fog!" Kotake grunted once and muttered, "All right, all right. Keep your Mithral armor on. Sheesh, kids today.." Then she uncorked the bottle and took a tentative sniff. "Whoa! This is rare stuff! It's polarian fog! I'll give you 500 rupees for this!" "This is no time for business, tell me what it does, and where it came from!" "Oh, fine. On humans, it has the same effect as wine, and it comes from Death Mountain. Now can I buy it?" "Sure." He had no need for it anyway. Cloud left the now happy hag's shop, thinking hard. Death Mountain. That narrows it down some, but where on the mountain? "Oh, by the way, the fog is usually located in the crater!" Kotake yelled. Cloud was amazed at this piece of luck. Better... but where in the crater? Then a figure in green came flying down, and Cloud recognized him as the spy he had stationed here. "Cloud! Cloud, look at this!" the man yelled before he even touched the ground. He was waving a paper. "Yes? What is it?" called Cloud. "A map! I brought you a map to guide you to the Royal couple!" the man said as he touched down. "Good!" "Heh, always glad to be of help!" the man smiled. Cloud looked at the map. "Listen, I need you to back me up in the torture chamber. Wait for my signal, then make your attack." "Hee hee! Very well! I'll see you there!" The man rubbed his hands together with anticipation. "This is going
to be one heck of a fight!" Then he flew off, bobbing up and down. Great!
Now I know where the base is, what to do, and how to get in! But I need
a disguise. And he had just the form to use..
Chapter Three: Infiltration How do these things walk? Cloud wondered as he shuffled towards a door in the side of the volcano in Death Mountain's Crater. Stalfos are good soldiers in this heat. I don't feel a thing! The peculiar gait of the Stalfos slowly advanced him towards the door. When he got there, he walked in the door and looked at the map. Hmm, going left, then left, then right, then left, right, right should get me to them the fastest. But as he neared the dungeon, another Stalfos stopped him. "You there," it grunted. Cloud was surprised that he could understand the strange grunting. "Take the prisoners to the torture chamber." "Uh, sure!" Cloud responded. What prisoners? thought Cloud as he followed the other Stalfos. The Stalfos then unlocked a door. "Those are the prisoners. Take them now. The Master wants them soon." Cloud nearly did a happy dance of triumph. He was supposed to escort Link, Zelda, and Sarah! He was very lucky today. "Fine! Uh, where did you say I should take them? "Torture chamber." "Right."
Link looked up and saw two Stalfos talking just outside his cell. What do they want with us now? he thought. One of the Stalfos turned and unlocked his door, did the same to the rest of the cells, then left. Link, Zelda, and Sarah walked out of the cells, and the remaining Stalfos chained them together. After he looked closer, the monster seemed to have a resemblance to Cloud. The creature led them towards a room with evil-looking tools hanging above the doorway. Link shuddered just thinking about their purpose. The Stalfos shoved them in, and stood just outside the door. They were all chained to the wall to the right of the door, and Link finally got a good look at the chamber. Lava pits dotted the ground, and large rocks were scattered about the room. The ceiling was slanted with stalactites clinging to it, and far, far above him, he could see the opening of Death Mountain. "Well! If it isn't
the Hero of Time!" A mocking voice sneered. Ganondorf sat on a large throne
which was placed in a straight line from the door Link had been shoved
through, and a dark figure stood next to the throne. "Not so tough without
your sword, huh?" taunted Ganondorf. Link felt anger rising to the surface.
"Now time to see just how tough you are!" He rose from his throne and crossed
to a table full of evil looking implements. "Now, which to use first...."
Cloud waited until the others were out of sight before changing back to his real form, but forgot that he was still in a well traveled place. A hand tapped him on the shoulder. Cloud spun and found himself looking at the fixed grin of a Stalfos. "Unt unt uuunt," it advised him. "Uh, hi! I'm the, uh, volcano inspector, and I must say, this is a top notch volcano! You should be proud!" He turned and started in to the chamber, but the Stalfos stopped him again. Oh well. he thought. He had tried, but he'd underestimated the thing's intellegence. He destroyed the Stalfos, crept into the room, and hid behind a large rock. He could hear Ganondorf talking, so he peered over the boulder and watched as Ganondorf picked up a whip with long, sharp spikes placed in a spiral pattern up the rope, and a hook pointed knife. "These are my
personal favorites," Ganondorf told them. Then he looked at the prisoners.
"Who to torture first, such a question. Well, since I want to cause Link
the most pain, I'll start with Zelda." The Dark King walked over to the
princess.
Black Dragon looked
about nervously. Ganondorf's torture methods could sometimes be fatal,
and Cloud would not be happy if Black Dragon couldn't keep up his end of
the deal. Come on, Cloud. Get here, quick!
"I'll really enjoy this." Ganondorf said smugly. But someone made the mistake of not chaining Zelda's legs to the wall. She kicked him squarely in the chest. Ganondorf cried out in pain. Zelda was strong for her size. "Insolent witch!" he exclaimed, slapped her across the face, then made a fatal mistake. He raised the whip. A bellow of horrible anger came from behind him.. When Ganondorf hit Zelda, the rage that had been boiling up ever since Cloud had first read the letter finally broke free. Put simply, Cloud snapped. Roaring with rage, he leapt from behind the boulder and had both swords out before he hit the ground. Cloud decided to show Ganondorf why he had been given the name Dragoncloud. He drew in a deep breath, and exhaled a huge cloud of fire and smoke. The whip was gone in an instant, and the flame didn't do Ganondorf's cape much good either. It caught on fire, and The Dark King began running about. He might have been able to put out the flames with a spell, but it's very hard to concentrate when you're on fire. He then turned to look at Black Dragon. "How did you survive?" Cloud snarled. "I had both my swords in your chest." While he was talking, Cloud surreptitiously slipped both his swords behind his back. "I'm tougher than you think!" smirked Cloud's nemesis, then he pulled a large axe out. Link had noticed that Cloud's swords were beginning to glow a cherry red, as if they had just been taken out of a forge. "Time to end this here and now." Cloud said solemly. Then he pulled the swords out from behind his back. Black Dragon's eyes widened when he saw the swords, and his own axe began to emit a dull green glow, but it was far too late. A bright red beam shot from Cloud's weapons, Black Dragon caught it full in the chest, and was thrown into a wall. "Moblins!" cried Ganondorf. "Kill the intruder!" Three Moblins rushed through the doorway and charged Cloud, intending to run him through with their long spears. But he had other ideas. Cloud leapt over one and kicked behind him with all his strength. The monster fell over and cracked his head against the floor. Then Cloud engaged the other two. Black Dragon shook his head to clear it. I should have seen that coming, he thought. Then he looked up to see Cloud fighting with two of Ganondorf's Moblins. My chance of revenge is here.. He groped for his axe. He would sneak up behind Cloud, and cut right through that armor, killing Cloud. This is too good to be true.. He grabbed his weapon from off the floor, got up, and began advancing. "I need more Moblins!" yelled Ganondorf. Five more came to confront Cloud, and he was getting tired. But that didn't matter. He decided to use something else. Both of his swords began to glow, but this time the glow was white. "Cover your eyes!" he screamed at Link, Zelda, and Sarah. Did he say something? Black Dragon asked himself. But it didn't matter. Soon, Cloud's life would be over. Black Dragon raised his axe.. Cloud shut his eyes and released the energy of the swords. A bright flash erupted from each one, temporarily blinding everyone who didn't have their eyes shut. The Moblins screamed in pain as the light cut through their eyes like knives. Black Dragon had done it again. Great. Now I can't see! That's twice I've underestimated that blasted Dragoncloud. Black Dragon stumbled backwards and heard running footsteps behind him. I've got you now! He swung his axe and a cry of pain came from his victim. "Stop it, you fool! I'm Ganondorf!!" "Sorry." Today
was simply not a good day for Black Dragon. He knew there was only one
thing he could do to escape Dragoncloud.
Cloud was starting to get tired. This fight was one of the toughest ones he could remember, and it wasn't showing any signs of letting up. It was time to call for backup. "Now!" he screamed. "Huh?" said Ganondorf. "What?" asked Black Dragon, his eyes finally clear again. "Look up heeereeee!" called a new voice in a sing-song tone. A figure in green came floating towards the ground. "No way!" exclaimed Link. "I don't believe it!" cried Ganondorf. "It can't be!" yelled Black Dragon. "Is that who I think it is?" Zelda asked Link, recalling the images she had formed in her mind about Clock Town's inhabitants. "Yes! It's." "Tingle?!" they all cried in unison. "Tingle," said Cloud with a smug smile. "The eccentric map salesman from Clock Town. He's my top spy, with remarkable powers." "I'll show him 'remarkable powers'!" sneered Ganondorf. "Me too!" agreed Black Dragon. He had been ready to pull out his trump card, but this annoying fly had angered him. Ganondorf pulled a ball of black energy out of the air, and Black Dragon quickly formed a green energy ball. They both hurled their spheres at Tingle. But Tingle deflected
both of the attacks. "Nice try, but here's how you do it!" Then Tingle
began throwing blue balls of power at all the Moblins in the room. The
creatures began falling as each shot went right trough them, burning large
holes in them. No! It can't end like this! thought Black Dragon.
Being
beat up by a crazy man flying on a balloon. Time to show my greatest power.
Link stared in horror at dark figure that Cloud apparently knew. The man had dropped to one knee and had begun to grow. "Cloud!! Look out behind you!!" Cloud turned to see Black Dragon beginning to transform. Black Dragon's legs fused together and enlongated to form a long, lashing tail. Three layers of skin attached to thick bone extended from his back. His torso grew green scales, and his fingers obtained razor like claws. "Achranitz!" swore Cloud in a language Link didn't recognize. "He turned himself into a snake dragon!" "Die! Die!" screamed the now gruesome Black Dragon. "Tingle!! Get out of here!" Cloud yelled. "But-" "But nothing! Go!!" Tingle flew through the top off Death Mountain. Then Cloud turned to the three captives. First he turned to Link and saluted sharply. "Been fun, huh kid?" he smiled, then turned to Zelda. "Don't let Link get stolen away by someone else before you're married," he grinned. Lastly, he turned to Sarah. "Listen, I wrote a letter to you on the sign that I'm going to teleport you to. Read it, but stop if the volcano erupts while I'm here. This is the last wish of a probably dead man." The three disappeared from the wall. Black Dragon had turned on Ganondorf, and was trying to break down a wall that Link's nemesis had conjured over himself. Man, thought Cloud, that snake dragon was a bad choice for Black Dragon. It will destroy anything it sets it's eyes on. Cloud looked at Ganondorf, who was definitely weakening. Well, he's sort of human too. I guess I've got to save him. Cloud fired an energy ball out of his hand at the green back of the snake dragon. Sparks flew from the explosion. Black Dragon roared in pain. Where is he? thought Tingle. he had been waiting for Cloud to exit through this door. Then he heard a distant sound. "Time to finish it," said Dragoncloud. "I cannot be destroyed!" roared Black Dragon. "Yes you can!" replied Dragoncloud. Then he drew in another deep breath, but this time is was not fire that came out. It was sound. A sonic wave rippled down towards the center of the volcano. Cracks appeared in the rock and great pressure which had been sealed up for many years, and lava began to escape. Death Mountain was erupting. "Time for me to leave," said Cloud. Then, as tired as he was, he put all his remaining strength into flying out the top of the volcano. "Nooooooo!!!"
cried Black Dragon. Then he looked around for Ganondorf. He could at least
kill him. But Ganon had teleported right after Cloud had distracted Black
Dragon. Howling in fury, he disappeared from the volcano.
Link looked around. They were no longer in the mountain, but standing next to a sign. "Sarah! Here's his letter." Sarah rushed over and began reading it out loud. "If your reading this, I'm probably dead or near there. I knew that the odds were against me living so I placed this sign here. I simply wanted you to know that-" Sarah stopped reading. A distant rumble signified something she had been dreading. "No.he didn't.erupt the volcano?" "Yes! We've got
to get out of here!" yelled Zelda. And the trio began down the mountain.
"Oh no!" cried
Tingle. "The volcano! I must go up there and save Cloud!" And he flew off
towards the top of the mountain.
Cloud had never
been so tired, and he was only halfway up. He was going so fast that even
if he did need to breathe, he couldn't. And to make matters worse, he could
hear the magma rumbling down below him. He was slowly making progress.
Finally he was out. But he realized that now he must go down the mountain.
Too
tired. he thought. He couldn't even make an effort. He collided with
the mountain's side, cracking several ribs. But he hardly felt it. Many
bones, though he had on Mithral armor on, and had worn many other forms
of armor also, broke on impact. He looked down, and saw a ledge.
It
will all be over soon..
Tingle looked up
to see a body rolling down the hill right for a cliff. "Oh no! Cloud!"
He flew with all his speed and just managed to grab Cloud's arm. But now
he was slowly being dragged down. Also, his grip was slipping. He had to
find a place for Cloud to land! Tingle looked about wildly and saw a small
slanted path. It was the best he could do on short notice. He was just
over the path when his grip failed him. Cloud plummeted down. "Look out
below!"
"Where is he?" asked Sarah frantically. "Where's Cloud?!" "I sure hope he's all right," replied Zelda. The eruption had been minor, and was over now. "Look out below!" called a new voice. Cloud's battered body landed in front of them and began rolling down the mountain. "Cloud!! " screamed Sarah. Link began running down the mountain. He looked ahead and saw a cliff at the end of the path. He had to reach Cloud's body soon. Just as Cloud went off the cliff, Link grabbed his hand. Link was amazed by the weight put on his arm. "Get.help!" he croaked. "Tingle's already on his way," replied Zelda, then she and Sarah lay down and tried to help pull Cloud up. Sarah was too stunned to be sad. This couldn't be happening. Zelda was the first to hear it. Thud! Thud thud thud thud! She turned to see a boulder rolling right at them! It came down at an alarming rate, and hit a small ramp in the path. Zelda waited to be crushed by it's weight. But it uncurled. "Darunia! " she cried. "I sure am happy to see you!" "Stand back, Sworn Brother!" Darunia said in his gruff voice. Then he reached down and pulled Cloud up. Just then Tingle flew in. He landed next to Cloud, prodded him a few times and said, "Well, he broke a lot of bones, but he'll be alright. Now we must get him back to the castle. I'll have the Dimension Z doctors fix him up," he said. Then he patted Sarah's shoulder. "Don't worry.
He'll be fine."
Epilogue One week after the fight in Death Mountain, Cloud was still bedridden, and Sarah refused to leave his side until he was awake. Cloud was reading a book on the history of Hyrule when Link walked in. "Hi, Cloud. How are you?" he asked. Cloud smiled. "Doing better." Then he looked at Link. "What is it you wanted to ask me?" Link was startled. "How did you know I had a question?" Link said. "I can read expressions. Well? You never answered my question." "Well," Link began, " you once said that someday you'd tell me why you're metal. I'd like to hear the story." Cloud smiled again. "I guess I do need to tell you." Then Cloud began to answer Link's question. "To make a long story short, let's just say that I was in a large explosion. It fairly ripped my body apart, I was a mess. "But to save my life, the doctors removed my brain and placed it in a robot's body. They added the necessary organs for me to live, only they were metal, so they would never weaken. Then they attached hinged iron armor to my body to defend my inside mechanisms. "Then they added this," he said disgustedly and pointed to one hand. "Looks like skin to me." remarked Link. Cloud shook his head. "It's fake. It may look real, it may even feel real, but I'll always know I'm nothing but a freak." Link's eyes opened as he finally understood. "And that's why you've ignored all of Sarah's advances." Cloud nodded. "Well, this may be changing the subject, but this could be just the thing to cheer you up," Link said. "Listen, can you transform into animals too?" Cloud considered it. "Most likely. I've never really had motivation to try it though." Link smiled. "Could you turn into, oh say, a gigantic spider?" "Yesssss," Cloud replied cautiously. "Why would I want to?" Link looked a little sheepish. "You see, Saria is an arachnaphobic, and.well." Cloud stared at him for a long time before shaking his
head and smiling, "You're a child at heart, Link." Then he looked up suddenly
with a thoughtful frown on his face. "But I guess we all are to some extent."
Cloud looked about conspiratorially. "What do you have in mind?" |