Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction / Starcraft Fan Fiction / Batman Beyond Fan Fiction ❯ Tassadar's Legacy: Rebirth ❯ The Unimaginable Swamp of the Dead ( Chapter 7 )

The next few minutes for me were filled with darkness and the sound of crunching rock and dirt. I feel like I'm being squeezed in a vise, but I don't dare complain. No one would hear me, and I'd be wasting precious air. Suddenly water splashed onto my face and I shut my eyes and felt suddenly glad I'd held my breath. My face broke the surface only seconds later and the vines untwisted from my body and sank back into the mucky ground. I stood knee deep in murky water and as soon as I took a gasping breath I felt simultaneous relief and immediately gagged over the stench in the air. I can't even begin to describe the smell. It's THAT bad.

 

The next second later I spotted Sheik rushing towards me. He grabbed me and dragged me from the clearing and into the brush and pulled me down till my face practically sat in the water. Sheik's seriousness took its toll on me and I stayed quiet. A few seconds later I felt glad I did when I heard a mumbling moaning noise and a sloshing sound. Sheik put his finger to his lips and put my hand against his waist and mouthed `Hold on and don't let go.' I nodded and he took a deep breath. My eyes widened and I did as well. He sank below the water and I closed my eyes and sank too.

 

I felt grateful for the handhold I had on Sheik or I would've been instantly lost and possibly become lunch for the Redeads I'd heard back in that clearing. We kept going and I felt like my lungs would burst when we finally broke the surface of the water. I took a great gasping breath and Sheik immediately slapped his hand over my mouth. I could still breath though, so I took the hint and tried to catch my breath as silently as I could. When I'd finally gotten enough air, Sheik took another deep breath. I grabbed hold and took a deep breath and we sank below the surface again.

 

It felt like we were under longer this time and when we came up, not only were my lungs burning, but I felt like throwing up as I spotted a bone floating in the water nearby. Sheik put his hands on my the sides of my head and made me look in his eyes. Having everything blocked out but Sheik like that calmed me a little. Taking deep breaths, despite the stench, I finally nodded. He nodded back and let go. He held up one finger and took a deep breath. I guessed he meant we'd only need to submerge only one more time, so I felt a little better for taking a deep breath and following his lead through the murky slushy water with contents I didn't really want to think about.

 

When we resurface, my lungs burned again, but I did a better job of keeping control of my breathing. When I finally could catch my breath, I noticed that the water is a lot more shallow and looking up, I spotted an old brown building with spires and vines covering it. It also looks like it's been through a war or two with all the gauges in it. Sheik put his finger to his lips and moved silently through the water. I tried to emulate his movements, but I ended up making a small sloshing noise anyway for my trouble.

 

We finally made it to the front of the temple and stepped out of the water onto its crumbly front steps. I made sure to step where Sheik did so I didn't make a noise like crushing the stairs the rest of the way. We made it up the five steps onto the landing in front of a large plain brown stone door. Sheik rubbed it, revealing it to not be so plain, but just worn. He traced a few symbols and muttered something I didn't quite catch, and the door groaned and slid open.

 

After walking and traveling in near silence but for the occasional sound of a bug, the sound of the door creaking open sounded like nails on a chalkboard in the silence. All at once, the surrounding area erupted in the sound of screeches and moans. Startled and scared out of my wits, I didn't wait for the door to open fully and shoved under the partially open entrance. Sheik took a leaf from my book and followed suit. He immediately turned around and traced a few symbols and muttered something and the door groaned shut.

 

It shut just in time too as the muffled sound of nails and thuds hit the door. But before it could even start it died off. I suddenly realized what had caused all the gouges in the sides of the temple. Why would they try so hard to get in here though? Sitting up, I turned around only to notice I could see nothing but blackness outside a few feet from the door. Sheik stood next to me and eyed the shadows as well. I looked over at Sheik and opened my mouth, but immediately Sheik clamped a hand over it, and held a finger to his lips. I nodded and watched as Sheik slipped into the shadows. I noticed how creepy it looked, as if the shadows were actually a black fog that had embraced Sheik. I shivered and stood rooted to the spot, praying for Sheik to come back.

I don't know how long I stood there, trembling as the silence pressed in on me far more than those noises and groans outside ever could. I wonder if Sheik is ok. Can he see through this darkness? It almost looks… alive. I quietly pulled my sword out of its sheathe and, keeping mind that Sheik could return at any moment, I slashed at the darkness and to my surprise, the darkness recoiled from my blade. It had to be the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. I don't know how I could see that my blade cut the darkness, seeing as it made no sense logically, nor how I could see the darkness knit itself back together after the blade had followed through. I took a step forward to slash again and felt even more surprised when the darkness retreated from me. I looked behind myself and noticed that some darkness had crept closer to the door.

 

Perplexed, I took a step backwards and watched as the darkness advanced in my wake, but turning around I could see that the darkness in the direction I'd stepped had retreated further. What is this? Is this what Sheik sees when he went into the darkness? I just saw him slip through. Keeping close to the wall, I walked along. I hit the first corner and turned, keeping close to the wall. Something appeared to my left and I jumped and held my sword up to it. It was just a pillar though.

 

Mentally berating myself, I continued along, passing six other pillars until I reached another corner. Turning again, I continued to quietly slink along the wall and wondering where Sheik had gone. I hadn't gone nearly 5 steps when my hand brushed against something on the previously smooth wall. Several things then happened at once. A series of mechanical clicking noises started emanating from the wall, which sounded like a bomb going off in the silence that had previously reigned. I jumped a foot in the air at both the sound and when a circle in the wall started glowing, chasing away all the darkness in the room, revealing Sheik, who seemed frozen in place crouched near one of the pillars on the opposite side of the room, staring at me.

 

Staring back at the circle, I stepped back to look at it and watched as a bunch of symbols etched within the bluish white circle started lighting up in sequence like a ball spinning on a circular track. Each time the light went around, a different symbol lit up. This happened seven times as the entire temple shook, then with a bright flash, the center of the circle exploded in a bright light. When my eyes adjusted, I stared in amazement at a glowing circle of water rippling in the wall. I must've stared at it for hours, though it may have only been minutes. Sheik dropped his hand on my shoulder and I started, looking up at him.

 

Sheik looked at me, then turned back to the circle and asked, “Do you know what this is?” I shook my head. Sheik replied, “This is a gateway. It could lead to anywhere… how did you open it?” I stared wide eyed at the gateway and stuttered, “I- I don't know! I was just feeling along the wall, exploring and trying to find you, when my hand brushed something on the wall, and then this happened!” Sheik looked thoughtful then turned to me and asked, “Do you want to go through?” I stared at him blankly. He wants ME to decide if we walk into a swirling pool of water that transports us who knows where!? “Wh-what?” I asked.

 

Sheik continued to look at me and said, “You were the one who opened this gateway. It must have opened for a reason. You opened it, so you have to decide if you want to go through it. I'll be right behind you to take you back just in case.” I pursed my lips and thought. Did I really want to go through with this? Questions flooded my mind as I remembered everything that had happened. Maybe… just maybe this would hold the answers? I want answers.

 

Decided, I slowly stepped forward towards the gateway. I stopped just before the ripples and looked back at Sheik, who stayed right by my side. He laid a hand on my shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. I smiled back at him and looking back at the shimmering blue pool of light before me, I took a deep breath, and stepped through, with Sheik at my side.

 

What happened next felt incredible. I felt like I wasn't there and bright lights like stars rushed past me. Or am I rushing past them? Looking ahead with eyes I didn't have, I noticed a star rushing right at us. I held up my hands to ward off the blow and closed my eyes, and abruptly I am myself again.

 

I fell down onto a hard stone floor and immediately felt ill. I think I liked the kind of floating, no body experience better. Clutching my stomach, I waited and the ill feeling went away surprisingly fast. I looked over at Sheik and felt glad to see he's alright. He is staring ahead of us in shock though. Curious, I looked up in front of us and I imagine I felt more surprised than Sheik.

 

Rubbing my eyes, I felt my eyes go as wide as saucers as I stared… and the room full of Protoss stared right back.