#soty16

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 16

When he came to, it was not without a splitting headache. He couldn’t even bring himself to open his eyes, but as his mind slowly came into focus, he listened to the sounds around him. It was very quiet, but not silent. From above him, there was the distinct hum of a light fixture. The air on his skin was cool. Damp, even. He shivered slightly, then opened his eyes. He was staring down at his feet, and he noticed then how stiff his neck felt. He wiggled his fingers, and his wrists ached. His gaze moved to his arms and noticed then that they were strapped down, along with his ankles. He lifted his head, fighting against the vertigo for a moment, and looked around the room.

It was dimly lit, very large, and very empty. He sat in one corner of the room, directly across from the door, but he was hardly centered in the room. He had half expected a single light bulb to be dangling above him in the center of the room. Wasn’t that how villains liked to torture their captives in the movies? Why should he be an exception to that cliche?

He knew, without a doubt in his mind, that he was likely somewhere in the Yiga hideout, where ever that was. Unless, of course, they prefered to keep their captives in other locations, to keep the secret hidden, of course. Yes, that seemed very likely. But one thing was for sure; the Yiga Clan had him, Mipha, and Aryll in their clutches, and that was very, very bad news.

He cursed silently. Damn it, Kit and Revali were right all along. He shouldn’t have doubted them for a second. He shouldn’t have listened to his father. Why didn’t he just take care of them ten years ago? There were so many thoughts rushing through his head, but the one that kept coming back was whether or not Dorian had anything to do with the situation he was in. He swore on Hylia he would kill the traitor himself as soon as he got the chance. And the entire Yiga Clan, too, while he was at it.

The door opened then, bringing him out of his thoughts. His chin jolted up and his gaze fell on a man that could have only been Kohga himself, leader of the Yiga Clan. Kohga stood in the doorway, grinning stupidly as he met Link’s gaze.

“My, my,” he said as he stepped into the room and toward Link. “It took longer than I planned, but I finally have Hyrule's Chosen Hero in my hideout. I'll try not to gush, but,” He leaned in close to Link's face, “I'm such a fan.” He grinned, then stepped away and crossed the room towards the table where various tools were laid out.

“I should tell you,” he said as his fingers ran along the table and the tools. “A lot of people died to protect you. You'd have no way to know that, of course, so I felt it only right to tell you.” He turned to regard Link over his shoulder, but Link kept his eyes on the ground, though listening intently.

“Your father included,” he continued. He selected a large, sharp looking knife and turned it in the light, inspecting it. “All the torturing in the world wouldn't get him to talk. But it didn't matter; I would find you one way or another, and low and behold, I did.” He turned with the knife in hand, smiling wickedly. “King Roham has a way with keeping those details a secret, though, doesn't he? Killed in action, I'm sure he said. How conveniently vague.” He laughed lightly. “And you were none the wiser. Seems interesting that all these secrets would be kept from you, doesn't it?” He rubbed his chin, then shook his head. “Makes me wonder; are they trying to protect you? Or perhaps there's... something else they're trying to protect?”

Link continued to stare at his feet, avoiding his gaze. Surely he was just trying to get into his head, but it was working. His mind was racing, trying to decipher all the Yiga Clan leader was telling him. Had Impa and Roham really been keeping things from him? And for what purpose? It didn't matter in that moment, though. Mipha and Aryll were missing, and he was stuck in that damned chair, waiting for Kohga to choose his weapon.

“I had such joy seeing your father come to his end, after all these years,” he continued. “And I will have even greater pleasure ending your life. I'll make it just as slow and painful as it was for your father. In fact.” He turned around, putting the knife down and instead picking up a long syringe. “Let's get right to it. I'm anxious to see how this will work with you, the boy with the spirit of the hero.”

He approached Link, bending down to get into his face once more. He held the syringe before him, grinning. “A little something I've put together. Are you curious about it?” He didn't wait for Link to answer. “Of course you are. And I will tell you. I'm quite proud of this. And you'll be interested to know what is happening to you.” He straightened and moved to Link's side, prepping his equipment. “It has worked quite well on our other... subjects. In fact, we'll be using this on Ganondorf himself as well. A little dark magic, so to speak.” With the needle filled, he flicked the tip. “We've had great success using this in,” he raised his brows excitedly, “raising the dead, so to speak. We're preparing an entire army of undeads, pumped full of this little dark magic. With you, we suspect it will darken that little Triforce inside of you. This will allow us to not only raise Ganondorf from his seal, but once we get our hands on Zelda as well, the Triforce will become complete, and without the purity of its power, allow Ganondorf to use its full power without it shattering.”

He pressed the needle into Link's arm. Link stiffened, but unable to move, he could do nothing to prevent anything from happening to him. He waited with clenched teeth until the needle was finally removed, and almost immediately, the room began to spin.

“It will take a few doses of this before it really starts to take effect,” he continued, moving back towards the table. “You may even be feeling it right now as it flows through your body.” He looked over as Link slouched in the chair and smiled. “You will have a variety of reactions to it,” he said. “Sickness, nightmares, hallucinations. In high doses, it will kill you. But not to worry; I've perfected it for our purposes with you. You'll only want to die. But once you completely succumb to the power, Hyrule's Hero will be dead, and you will begin your new life, fighting for Ganondorf.”

“You think this plan of yours will work?” Link muttered. He gasped as a sickening pain washed through him.

Kohga laughed. “Don't be a fool,” he said. “The tough guy front will get you nowhere, now. You and your friends and all of Hyrule are finished.” He made his way towards the door. “I'll be back in a couple of hours for another dose.” He smiled. “We'll have such a good time together.” And with that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Link alone to his thoughts in the dark room.

Link’s eyes darted around as they adjusted to the darkness, though he still couldn’t see worth a damn. He desperately replayed Kohga’s cliched monologue in his head. He had watched enough movies to know that Kohga - the villain of his own story - was likely fucking with him, but he couldn’t help but to believe every word of it. And the more he thought about it, the more it all made sense. Even his father had said so himself; the Yiga Clan had been, as he put it, ‘a thorn in their side for years.’ He didn’t doubt for a second that his father under exaggerated that a great deal. And then there was the speculation his friends had about Dorian and the beef between the Sheikah and his father. There were secrets between the two men who once called themselves close friends. Could it be that Dorian had something to do with the Yiga Clan? But Zelda was so quick to shut down that suspicion as well, after his father had apparently died in a tragic attack.

Perhaps, then, it was so much more. It became clear to Link, now, how deep the war was. So deep, in fact, that even though Ganondorf had been defeated, the threat still remained. For years, Hyrule battled silently, behind his - the hero’s - back, without his knowledge, sending in their own soldiers to their deaths. Soldiers like his father. A man who was thrust so deep into the secrecy of war, that he died at the very hands of the people they were trying to defeat. He died to protect the only secret he held so dearly to him; the whereabouts of the man whom the Yiga could use against Hyrule. Link’s whereabouts.

No. He didn’t merely die. He was murdered. Murdered by people who had once sworn to protect the royal family and all of Hyrule. Murdered by traitors. Link let the rage was through him as he shouted into the empty room. He struggled against the restraints, but unless he had Daruk’s strength, there was no way he would be able to break out. But then again, it was likely that they were well prepared for anything Hyrule’s Champions could throw at them. Perhaps even Daruk would have been rendered useless in the restraints. They didn’t stand a damn chance against the Yiga Clan.

Still, Link continued to struggle desperately. He had to get out of there. He had to save Aryll and Mipha. He had to kill Kohga and destroy the Yiga Clan. He wanted nothing more than the taste of revenge for everything they had done. But as he struggled, he found himself growing unexplainably more and more exhausted by the second. His head felt clouded and darkness crept in at the corners of his vision, quickly disorienting him. Nausea moved through him as his head started to spin. His body shivered, yet sweat dripped off of him. And then, he lost consciousness all together.

*****

He blinked in the bright light, letting his eyes adjust. He stood in the doorway into the kitchen. The room seemed inexplicably bright for a moment, but then it settled to something more bearable. Link could hear the faint sound of a woman humming a familiar tune. His eyes moved to the blonde woman that stood at the counter, her back turned to him, and his breath caught in his throat. Sensing his presence, the woman turned, her piercing blue gaze meeting his, and she smiled.

Her voice was kind and comforting when she spoke “Hey,” she said. “Are you just gonna stand there?” She let out a light giggle, her head cocking to the side slightly.

Link ran to her. His mother wrapped her arms around him, then moved her fingers to brush through his hair as he buried his face against her.

“You can’t stay here,” she said softly.

He knew this all too well, but he did not move away from her. She hugged him tighter as he cried against her.

“I’m sorry, Link,” she said. Her voice sounded distant. “I never wanted this for you.”

He wanted to tell her he understood. That he didn’t blame her. Or his father. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he couldn’t find his voice. He pulled away and watched as his mother seemed to fade away right before his eyes.

“I love you,” she said. “Don’t give up.”

Link reached desperately for her, but as he did so, he felt a strange snap in his body, in his mind, as if shutting off his connection with her completely, plunging him in darkness.

Link gasped for breath. The world was still dark, and it took him a moment before he realized he was still secured in the Yiga Clan hideout. He struggled against the restraints, but still, he could not break free of them. He ceased struggling for a moment, his breathing heavy as he fought to catch his breath. His lashes were wet and he quickly blinked away his leftover tears.

At that moment, the door opened and light pooled through. Kohga stood in the doorway with a look of absolute pleasure on his face. He stepped into the room, watching Link with an eager grin, and the dim lights turned on with a faint buzzing sound. He stopped before Link and looked down at him.

“It won’t be long before you can no longer discern your dreams from reality,” he said. “And both will only get worse with time. You will soon beg for death, and I will happily oblige.” He moved to the table to retrieve another syringe. “I guess that makes me rather kind, doesn’t it?” he said. “The Chosen Hero will die and begin his new life. It’s really quiet poetic.”

The syringe plunged into his skin, but this time, Link hardly noticed it. He didn’t move as he accepted his fate. He could practically feel the dark energy pulsing through him, and once more, it caused his head to spin sickeningly. His fingers curled into his palms as the pain rushed through him, cutting deep into his skin and causing his hands to bleed.

“This will be our routine for the next few days,” Kohga said as he stepped away. “Settle in. It’s gonna be a wild ride.” He dropped the empty syringe carelessly onto the table, and without another word, left Link alone.

Once more, Link fell into unconsciousness, more quickly than he had the first time.

*****

When he came to, he seemed to still be within the walls of the Yiga Clan hideout. However, he was no longer restrained. He sat up on the cold, hard floor and looked around him. Several dark cloaked figures circled around him. He got to his feet cautiously, prepared to defend himself, but they did not move. From among them, only one man stepped forward and out of the shadows.

Rusl approached his son, holding his gaze on him as he grabbed his left wrist and pulled Link towards him. He inspected his hand for a moment, and the Triforce began to pulse. However, it was not the same soft, golden light that it once emit. It was dark and wicked, and Link could feel the power of it pull through his body, as if threatening to leave him.

Rusl smiled. He let go when Link pulled his wrist out of his father’s grip. Link sneered up at him, his heart racing.

“Why are you doing this?”

“The Triforce belongs to Demise,” his father said, his voice strong. “It has since the dawn of time. We’re here to return it to its rightful owner.”

Link stared blankly at him for a moment, then narrowed his gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“Hylia has covered this truth throughout the ages. That’s why Sheikah have abandoned the royal family. That’s why the Yiga Clan exists; to bring back the truths of this world.”

Link searched his father’s gaze desperately. “You can’t be serious…”

“The Goddesses thought they sensed evil intent in Demise, so they took the Triforce from him and entrusted it with Hylia instead. They wrongly accused him and sealed him away. That’s why Hyrule has fallen to his supposed curse. That’s why Hyrule belongs to Demise.”

“You… you’re working with them. You have been all along.”

“The Yiga Clan are not the enemy, Link. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

“Then why are they intent on killing me?”

“You possess a piece of it. That piece does not belong to you. You must give it up so Demise can return to power.”

“And then?”

“And then you will die.”

“You knew this all along,” Link said softly as he came to the realization. His entire life was a lie. His family was a lie. He was a lie. “You’re lying!”

Rusl turned his back on his son. He stepped back into the darkness, uttering his only command to the cloaked figures. “Take it and kill him.”