paixaorpg | The Hero & the Berserker

Link had seen better days, it was true. The white creatures which had dragged him in had been none too careful in his handling, with the result that he now sported several bruises - and his journal had been taken. His one link with the outside world, gone.

His almond eyes fixed this blue-haired man with a flinty glare, the thousand-yard-stare of a seasoned warrior which would have been comical were it not for the hard resolve behind those youthful eyes.

"What do you want with me?" he asked through gritted teeth, calling all his defenses to mind - he didn't have many, honestly. A few spells, some contortions that could perhaps regain him the use of his legs, if not his arms, and basically nothing else. Not even a deku nut...

Saïx just smiled at the glare sent his way - a smile that was, needless to say, none too pleasant. It looked like things were off to a good start.

"Only a moment of your time," he answered. "Doubtless you have some to spare."

Link gritted his teeth, wanting to lash out but unable. His eyes still boring holes into Saix's, he let his silence speak volumes.

All he was really waiting for now was an opening. Just a single, small opening...

If Saïx was at all bothered by the display of anger, he showed absolutely no sign of it - rather he seemed to be almost amused.

"Impressive, I must admit. However, that will hardly help should you wish to be rid of me."

Link subsided only slightly, though if he were to have his way this blue-haired stranger would even now have the fletched shaft of a faerie arrow sticking from his chest. "And what torture do you wish to exact upon me? I've seen what has been done to the others. Do your worst, you'll not have the pleasure of hearing me scream."

Link had been hurt by experts; Stalfos knights, monsters beyond imagining, the cruelty of the Gerudo King himself, and even the undead. It was unlikely that this stranger would be able to break him...

At Link's words, his smile only grew. It was far too often that a chance like that came up after all.

"Are you so certain of that? Heroes, even caged ones, must know defeat sooner or later, whether that defeat is physical or mental." He took a slow step closer to the unfortunate Hylian. "And we know quite well how to injure a heart."

Link's eyes held a challenge; this man, whoever he was, thought he could break him, and Link was all too willing to let him try.

Which only goes to prove that elves aren't the wise people they're cracked up to be.

"What would you know of a hero's heart? You, who stand there so glibly deriding that which you can never comprehend. You're brave enough when your foes stand in chains. Give me my sword and I'll show you your heart." This was, to be honest, quite impossible. The Master Sword would sooner rust to dust than be held by one so obviously evil as this. In that, he held complete faith.

"What do I know of a hero's heart?" he asked, as his smile begin to border on a smirk. "More than you might know or think." A brief pause before he continued. "And perhaps chains are fitting for a hero who unwittingly let the darkness overrun his world while he slept."

And if he thought that Saïx would so easily hand him his sword, he had better think again - even if his heart was not so easily found.

"You know less than you let on. If you knew as much as you said, you'd know that that very darkness is what I was fighting, was precisely the reason I had to sleep those years. Nice try, but you're not going to break me that easily, scum."

He knew Saix wasn't going to hand over the enchanted blade, simply because Saix could not handle it without some... extremely unpleasant consequences. Like the forceful removal of his hand.

Link had other weapons at his disposal, much more subtle ones...

"As I am aware." What exactly the comment was referring was unclear - but he'd intended it that way. "To fight the darkness, to wield that sword of yours, you had to sleep seven years. But in those long years, how much changed? How much was stripped away? Tell me, do you know what happened to your princess of light in all those long years?"

It was in that question that Saix held Link's downfall. He did not know. How could he? The last he had seen, Zelda had been riding behind her guardian. But what had become of either of them? He'd heard nothing of either in his journeys. Surely Ganondorf had hunted them...

But even at that, how could this stranger know? He didn't bear the marks of the Gerudo, nor was he a monster of the kind he'd seen in Hyrule. Link drew a breath to calm himself - he'd already shown more weakness than he liked. "No, I don't. But do you?"

There. That was what he had been looking for - that all too human frailty.

"And if I did? What would you give to know that?"

With all the bravado of a person who knows he's in absolute control of the situation, Link met the blue-haired man's eyes. "I'll spare your life."

Something hard and unreasoning flared behind Link's eyes - a cold fire that could not be denied. The magic was awakening in him; already he could feel its warm pulse, which had always been the precursor to the globe of divine flames...

Saïx just smirked - unaware of what might be in store for him. "Brave words from a 'hero' bound such as you are."

Link's lips spread in a grin, and the room burst into flame. The ties that bound his hands either burned or melted away. "Funny. I'd thought you'd be more aware than that. I guess you're not so powerful as you make yourself out to be."

Link was still at a very distinct tactical disadvantage, and he knew it. He had no weapons to speak of, aside from his magic, and that wouldn't last long. But he would be damned if he'd let it be said that they'd broken him without a fight...

Already Din's Fire was fading, leaving the room in a more or less unharmed state - papers had been charred to ash, it was true, but the main focus of the blaze had been the blue-haired man...

(OOC: Sorry to double post like this, but I felt I should pass along this note. Din's Fire is the only 'attack' spell in Ocarina of Time - and it isn't much of one. Saix can probably shrug it off easily, considering what he's demonstrated capable of in KH2. The effects are up to you, though.)

To say that Saïx had weathered the blast unscathed would only have been half true - he would, most likely, be feeling the pain for a while yet - but pain was no stranger to him. He had dealt with it before and he would deal with it now; it was hardly an excuse to not finish what he had started.

At Link's words, a flash of anger crossed his face - although one quickly buried under the facade of calmness.

"You would do well to mind your tongue. There is more than one type of power in this world."

"Is there, now? Then why don't you show me this 'power' of yours. All you've done so far is talk."

Link was doing his best to goad this man on. Whatever else he had in mind, he would likely forget in rage - and rage was something Link could deal with, unlike this unsettling calm. He'd seen a spark of that rage moments ago; all he had to do was kindle it, nurture it.

He might be hurt in the process, but it was unlikely to be worse than what this man had in mind for him anyway...

"Perhaps. But words can be power as well. Power to give; power to take."

Although some part of him wished to give in to the rage already beginning to flow through his veins, he refused to let himself give in to it. To do so would be to let his opponent take advantage of him, which was something he would not do, at least not yet.

Link watched the man's movements, hoping for another hint of that rage, but none was forthcoming. Slightly disappointed, he took another tack.

"Yes, words are powerful. The right word can fell a kingdom, or raise one from the abyss. The problem lies in finding the right word - something I doubt you're capable of," he added as a sneering afterthought. He knew this man's type. He was, in essence, much like Link himself; a warrior, one who was more at home with a sword in his hand than in this cramped room doing the work of a sorcerer or interrogator. One who would rather be -doing-.

Well, that was alright with Link. He'd rather be doing, too. And right now, what he was doing was trying to make this person mad.

A scowl settled in on Saïx's face at that - especially the last sentence.

"And what would you know of it? You know less than nothing of what I have said or done - only what has gone on here."

To any who knew him, the fact that his normally expresionless guise was beginning to falter would have been enough to warn of the growing rage, although as of yet it was still easy enough to hold it in check.

"I know enough to say what I have said. Your kind are always like that. All lengthy speeches before the battle, only to fall by the wayside. I've fought enough of your kind before to know. And as you can see, I've lived through all of them."

It was true enough; Link had fought this man's kind before, and he'd always emerged the victor. "And if I know less than nothing of your past, I know what I have seen. And what I've seen isn't impressive at all."

The scowl turned into a displeased glare at that. Fine. If he wished a fight at such a disadvantage, a fight he'd get.

In a matter of seconds, he'd summoned his sword, bringing it in to rest just against Link's neck - the once-hidden rage now quite clear in those odd yellow eyes.

"Words are rarely so."

Link smirked as his plan came to fruition. Finally, this was getting into territory he could handle. The blade against his throat was nothing new; the Gerudo had marched him to his cell with their swords at his throat, after all.

A simple backflip - a maneuver he'd worked at for so long now that it was second nature - got him out of the sword's range long enough to cast his second spell. Nayru's Love would keep him going long enough to figure out a plan of action, after observing his foe...

A defensive spell was it? Well, no matter. He could, and would, wait until it faded before doing anything further. Such things rarely lasted forever, after all, and to strike at it would doubtless be useless.

But in the meantime... A slight twist of the sword handle and a flash of moon-pale light as the sword grew sharper yet.

It wasn't as if Link intended to give him that chance, however. With a yell that would have done a goron proud, he rushed Saix, fully intending at the least to disarm him and hoping to steal away his weapon. Given the way that he had summoned it to start with, he doubtless had others; this was simply in hopes that he could somehow even out this extremely lopsided playing field.

His opening maneuver was a body check, aimed at Saix's midriff. He doubted it would work, but still, it was the thought that counted. Right?

The maneuver might have worked, had Saïx not been expecting something of the sort - sidestepping Link's charge, although just barely.

He struck out with the hilt of sword as Link passed, the blow intended to strike him from behind. It was of course most likely not going to have much effect what with that damnable spell, but perhaps it would wear off before the blow hit home. And if it didn't, well, it wasn't like it would do much harm to his sword. Hopefully.

That had gone about as expected. Link felt the impact of the man's sword against his back and was sent sprawling - the shield protected him from injury, but not from embarrassment. Ah well. Time for plan B.

Reaching down to his boot, he plucked out the knife hidden there - the Kokiri sword. It looked more like a dagger in his hand now, but that was alright. It was a weapon, at least. Better than nothing.

(OOC: Fair warning, I will be fudging most of this fight. I don't expect Link to win, but he's going to make Saix know he was in a fight. That okay with you?)

Well, that was unexpected. Unexpected, and a little worrying - they'd managed to take all hiis weapons, and yet leave behind a knife? He'd have to have words with someone later.

But at least it meant he needn't worry quite so much about pulling his blows. Not if his opponent could block them.

This time, he struck first, sword swinging in low - at about waist-height.

Link jumped easily over the blade, using its broad flat surface to tap off into a second jump. This one carried him in a flip over Saix's head, even as the blade of his knife began to glow an ominous blue.

Landing in a crouch facing away from Saix, Link rolled forward to escape the reach of the blue-haired man's sword. His blade now glowed red, and flames danced around its surface - a sign that the magic was set. With a battle yell, Link broke the first law of bladed combat and threw his knife at Saix. He hoped the man would try to parry it.

If he did, he was in for a fiery surprise, for the corona of energy would explode on contact with anything...

Rather unsurprisingly, Saïx did indeed block the incoming blade, quite unaware of what was in store. Naturally, the resultant explosion took him rather by surprise.

Not long thereafter, however, he was once again heading back into the fray, rage glinting dangerously in his eyes as his sword swung in once again.

Now it was Link's turn to feel pain. There was no way he could avoid the incoming blade, his spell had worn off, and he was weaponless again - the Kokiri sword was beyond his reach. Unless he could somehow wrest control of the man's weapon from him, he was on the desperately slippery slope to losing more than this battle.

A backward leap brought him painfully up against the wall. Painfully and unexpectedly; he felt the bite of the razor-keen blade, followed by a numbness that bespoke either enchantment or poison. Not good. Cursing himself, he called on the goddess Nayru again, hoping at least to avoid further injury. But there came nothing but a growing sense of dread as he realized that he did not have the strength for the spell.

As had often happened before when Link was injured, he lost himself in the rhythm of the battle. Injuries could be healed later; all that mattered was the here, the now. His foe with icy steel in hand, his weapon lying beyond his reach, his reserves of mystical energy waning. This was a desperate situation indeed - and in the midst of it all, Link smiled a cold smile of satisfaction. This was better than talking.

Link burst forward suddenly, ducking into a forward roll that would not quite carry him past Saix. That was okay; his goal was much closer than the glorified knife lying in its charred little crater. And much, much bigger.

Link had dealt with this type of sword before, himself; large, unwieldy, but powerful. Easy to overbalance and overreach with, and difficult to fight with close-in unless you knew how to use the pommel as well as the blade itself. Therefore, Link's whole intent was to wrest control of this weapon from its wielder long enough to put it to his own uses. Escape was no option, as there seemed to be no doors; that was fine with him. It made the situation seem just that much more familiar, as he moved to grasp Saix's wrists.

Likewise a (rather feral) grin was spreading across Saïx's face - and not just due to the fact that he had landed the first hit. It had been far too long since he had had a decent challenge, and with the rage humming its way through his very being, he could no longer feel the pain, although he would most certainly be doing so after the battle's end.

As Link reached out for his wrists, he struck out not with the sword or its hilt, but rather with his foot, in a move intended at the very least to unbalance his foe - if not trip him outright.

The berserker's feral fury caught Link off guard, as did the leg sweep. Sent sprawling by the kick, he managed a quick kippup - which was probably a bad move. He was still weaponless, his dagger far out of reach, and nothing else at hand he could improvise with.

But Link was no quitter.

He could not call on Nayru again, it was true - but Din's Fire was less taxing. Once more the entirety of the room was engulfed in flames, burning hotter than before.

This time there was only the briefest of pauses between the moment the flames hit and the moment that Saïx stepped back into the battle, for as far as he was concerned at this moment the flames were merely a mild irritation.

But if his opponent was determined to to use attack of this sort, he would have to turn to different tactics. True, it wasn't his greatest strength, but perhaps it would serve well enough.

Slamming the point of his sword at the ground he sent a blast of dark energy heading straight at Link, moving in just behind it, sword at the ready, in case the blast either missed or Link dodged it.

Link had been expecting it to have a little more effect than... well, apparently nothing. He'd never fought a berserker before, a person whose fury negates all sensations of pain, and so he was completely unprepared for the wave of dark power that slammed into him full force.

Which meant, in short, that Link went out like a light. Completely at Saix's mercy, he could only comfort himself with the knowledge that he'd made certain the stranger would know he had been in a fight when it was all said and done.

Saïx nodded to himself as his foe went down. Although the fight had hardly been what he might have hoped for in terms of a challenge, it had nonetheless given him what he had been looking for.

"Was that your worst?" he asked, unaware - and not caring in the least - if Link could hear him or not. "Pathetic, but what else could one expect from a hero who let his world be over-run by darkness; who does not even know the whereabout of the one he cares for most."

With that he summoned up a portal of darkness, leaving the Dusks to return Link to his cell - but not before picking up the blade, still laying in its little crater. Wouldn't do to leave sch a thing lying about where he might be able to regain access to it, after all.

The Hero & the Berserker

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