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Description
Chapter 6: A New Threat

   The abomination was nearly as tall as the single story structures in the dead-end of the alley, insectoid in nature like some overgrown centipede. Its many legs were in the likeness of human arms, each one clutching mindlessly at the air. The "tail" was like two long, twisted human legs with the feet merging into a deadly stinger. A hard, dark brown shell covered its back, pale yellowish skin on the underside of the beast. With its back to Danielle, she couldn't make out its head and face immediately, but the disgust and shock on Cale's face as he clutched his bleeding left arm hinted at the horror of it.

   The fear that clutched her heart brought forth a desire to just turn and flee as fast as she could, but she did her best to swallow that fear and steady her trembling legs. Only once before had she faced a monstrosity on the level of this, and that had been years ago when darkness had malformed her brother into an abomination. This was different, though. For some reason, the mere sight of the back of this monster sapped every ounce of willpower. What was this thing? Had dark magic brought it forth?

   Get a grip!!

   Danielle held the sword in both hands, the blade quivering slightly. Where was she even supposed to start on fighting? Her mind rushed to compose some semblance of a plan before she rushed in to take advantage of the monster's distractedness. The blade flashed in the sunlight as it cleaved through one of the many legs, a hissing squeal filling the air while a vicious purple fluid jetted from the severed stump. A bit stunned by how easy the limb was to dismember, she didn't move as the creature's head snapped to face her. It was then she realized just why Cale appeared so appalled.

   The head of the creature was the upper torso of the young girl.

   Frozen in shock and her stomach churning, Danielle could only stare in horror before Cale's shout of warning snapped her out of her daze. Its tail darted out, stinger aimed for her chest. Her body operated on instinct as she sidestepped, the rush of air past her making her realize just how close she had come to being impaled. Both hands wrapped firmly around her sword's hilt, she grunted and brought the blade down with as much force as the weakened youth could manage. It wasn't a clean slice through the appendage like with the arm, but it did bring forth spurts of that purple blood. The tail thrashed about in response, slamming into her and sending her rolling along the ground to Cale's feet.

   A strong hand gripped her under her shoulder, Cale helping to pull her up with his good arm despite getting blood on her white shirt. "You okay?"

   "That blow really hurt… but I think I'll be okay. What about you?" She had flinched as he helped her up, relieved that the blow hadn't been any worse. A quick glance at the beast showed that it was whipping its tail behind it in irritation and splattering droplets of blood around. Drool dripped from the malformed mouth of the girl, her unnatural purple eyes glaring at them.

   Cale nodded and took up his longsword with both hands now despite the obvious pain he was in. "It just managed to bite me, but nothing serious. Glad you came when you did, but I honestly wonder why you were still outside to hear when I told you to go to Telma's."

   "Does that even matter?" Dropping the chatter as the beast hissed and moved forward slowly on its multiple hands, Danielle gulped and scanned their surroundings. Their backs were to the wall, and the beast knew they were cornered. "Should we try to sprint by it?"

   "Maybe. That's how it bit me last time even with my armor. It's got a pretty tough body, too. Its joints and limbs aren't too tough, but with all the arms it has, taking those out may not do much at all." He now glanced sideways at her, a serious expression on his face. For once he seemed uncertain and… afraid? "Follow my lead and be careful."

   Despite his fear, she was relieved that his take-charge attitude was showing through. A nod of affirmation was her response, and she followed him in a strike at the abomination. Cale took the left side, her own strike aimed for one of its right hands. A screeching hiss caused her to wince and cover her ears as best as she could; despite its wounds, the beast curled about to face her while she was stunned and delivered its counter-attack. It rammed its whole body at her, tossing her away as easily as a child flinging a doll. Pain wracked her body, the stunned youth unable to move away as ice cold hands grasped her wrists and ankles to pin her down. The humanoid torso was leaned directly over her, the girl's eyes filled with malice. The beauty she once had was completely gone, the one beautiful blonde hair dirtied and falling around her face. Her jaw was split into four mandibles with an inner set of human-like teeth, thick drool dripping from her maw onto Danielle's chest. Their faces were inches apart, the rancid breath of the abomination making her gag and retch.

   "Human… the time of the Tiaminati has come…" the half-human, half-bestial voice hissed as the human hands of the torso grasped her face. Danielle wanted to just scream, but the fear rushing through her left her paralyzed. Those slim fingers felt like they belonged to a corpse.

   "H-help! Cale!!" she screamed now, beginning to struggle futilely against the monster as the reality of her impending demise kicked in. She could hear him trying to get past the whipping tail that held him back, but she couldn't tear her gaze from that malformed face as the four mandibles latched onto her neck. Small but sharp fangs dug into the skin at the sides of her neck, the human teeth grasping the flesh as it prepared to rip her throat out…

   "Get away from my sister!!" Cale bellowed, gauntleted hands grasping the skull of the girl and tearing her away. Danielle gasped in pain and relief, one hand going to her neck. It had to have been by the grace of the goddesses that the damage wasn't fatal and the artery torn through. That would have meant a quick death for sure. As the beast snapped viciously at Cale with its head in his grip, the knight-commander growled a curse and jerked the head sideways with a dull snap. It slumped to the ground with a meaty smack, Danielle quickly pushing herself up on her elbows and staring at the corpse that had nearly fallen on her. Her brother panted heavily as he glared down at the slain foe, now turning to crouch in front of her and check her injuries. "I'm sorry… I tried to get to you as fast as I could," he mumbled, ashamed that he had nearly let her get killed.

   Shaking her head, she wrapped both her arms tightly around his neck, letting out a shuddering breath. "You did before it was too late. That's all that matters." She pulled away, smiling weakly at him until he did the same. But that was when she noticed the beast rising up once again behind him. "Ah…?! Watch out!" Her shouted warning came too late as the hands of the abomination latched onto the knight's wrists the moment he turned around. Danielle desperately searched for her blade, which had landed a few feet away when she was rammed. Why hadn't she held onto it better? Her feet scrambled against the cobblestone as she crawled across the ground to snatch up the weapon, but the instant that she laid a finger on it she felt the tail of the beast wrap around her neck. On instinct she pulled at the thick appendage with both hands but to no avail as it began to lift her into the air. She couldn't breathe, couldn't get free, and all she could do was watch as her brother was raised up several feet in the air in front of the beast's head. There was a sickening crack as it straightened its head, the jaws clicking together and opening in excitement as it prepared to take Cale's life and devour him. And when he was gone, she would be next, and no one was around to help them.

   Suddenly, its hissing screech of pain assaulted her ears once more, a throwing knife impaled into the side of its face. It dropped Cale roughly, his armor making a crash when he slammed into the ground on his side. The tail around Danielle's neck tightened in retaliation despite being nearly dismembered by her and Cale's attacks, threatening to crush her throat while her lungs burned for air. A dagger sliced through the rest of the tail, completely cutting it off and releasing her from its constricting grasp. Her legs buckled out from under her as soon as they hit the ground, Danielle gasping and coughing viciously as she rubbed her neck. How close had she come yet again to being killed in this fight? It was a frightening thought that slipped to the back of her mind as powerful hands grasped her under her shoulders and pulled her carefully to her feet, Cale leaning her against him now to support her. Confusion filled Danielle's face while her eyes darted about, spotting a stranger standing nearby. His left hand deftly drew another small dagger and flung it straight at the abomination's face. Purple fluid dripped from its face while it squealed in pain and crawled past them as fast as it could, its body shrinking and returning to the form of a little girl. The daggers clattered to the ground while her bare feet pattered across the stone. Those hate-filled purple eyes locking onto them briefly one last time before she vanished around the corner.

   Their rescuer wore a slight frown on his face, strands of his messy black hair falling in front of his blue eyes. He was a handsome young Hylian man in his early twenties, clad in commoner's garb with a white jacket over his long-sleeved cloth shirt and rugged brown leggings. Flicking the dagger to fling off the majority of the blood, he now glanced back at the tired and injured siblings. "It seems I came in the nick of time," he commented in a humble tone, sheathing the weapon in a hidden holder beneath his clothes as if he hadn't really saved their lives from a demonic creature. "I heard the commotion and ran as quickly as I could. Are you two okay?"

   Danielle took a few more deep breaths before she managed to get her nerves under control, although weariness still engulfed her body. Honestly, she could just lie down and sleep for days on end right now. Her brother was the one to respond, still helping her to stand as her support. "I think we're okay for the most part. You saved our lives, sir, and so we are in your debt."

   "Just call me Dras," he responded pleasantly with a kind smile. If soon fell away however when he crouched to examine the purple blood that splattered the stone. "I've never seen such a strange manner of beast that could change from monster to human like that, and I've traveled extensively across this world. You're very fortunate I live nearby."

   "Fortunate indeed." Cale met Danielle's gaze, gently rubbing the side of her shoulder. "We should get back to the castle, Danielle. You can barely stand."

   Nodding in agreement, she peered now at Dras. He had come at the best possible time, but she was still intrigued by the sheer coincidence of that timing. Not only that, but she was still edgy and anxious from her encounter with that Veras woman near Telma's place. She didn't want to mention that to Cale right now in front of Dras, even if he had saved their lives. "That… sounds really good right about now. It was just too soon to try and fight like that, I guess."

   Dras lifted his head at the mention of Hyrule Castle, turned to face them as he stood up straight. "Might I escort you to the castle? Neither of you seem to be in much shape to fight right now in case that thing comes back."

   Cale's expression was one of hesitancy before he finally relented. "That might be for the best, but I'm sure you're well aware they won't let you in once we reach the gates."

   "Of course, of course. I'd be more concerned if they did invite me in. That would be quite a failure of security considering past events."

   The young man began to walk off now, leading the way through the strangely empty streets. Still cautious of their sudden savior, Cale helped Danielle along back to the castle, his eyes drifting between watching their surroundings and keeping his attention on the Hylian's movements. Reflecting on both the words of Veras and the shape-shifting monster, she was unable to suppress a shudder. What was going on in Hyrule went far deeper than just Aremas wrestling control of the throne from Zelda. Something evil had crept into Hyrule, and with the war brewing, it threatened to blindside them all.

Description
Chapter 6: A New Threat

   The abomination was nearly as tall as the single story structures in the dead-end of the alley, insectoid in nature like some overgrown centipede. Its many legs were in the likeness of human arms, each one clutching mindlessly at the air. The "tail" was like two long, twisted human legs with the feet merging into a deadly stinger. A hard, dark brown shell covered its back, pale yellowish skin on the underside of the beast. With its back to Danielle, she couldn't make out its head and face immediately, but the disgust and shock on Cale's face as he clutched his bleeding left arm hinted at the horror of it.

   The fear that clutched her heart brought forth a desire to just turn and flee as fast as she could, but she did her best to swallow that fear and steady her trembling legs. Only once before had she faced a monstrosity on the level of this, and that had been years ago when darkness had malformed her brother into an abomination. This was different, though. For some reason, the mere sight of the back of this monster sapped every ounce of willpower. What was this thing? Had dark magic brought it forth?

   Get a grip!!

   Danielle held the sword in both hands, the blade quivering slightly. Where was she even supposed to start on fighting? Her mind rushed to compose some semblance of a plan before she rushed in to take advantage of the monster's distractedness. The blade flashed in the sunlight as it cleaved through one of the many legs, a hissing squeal filling the air while a vicious purple fluid jetted from the severed stump. A bit stunned by how easy the limb was to dismember, she didn't move as the creature's head snapped to face her. It was then she realized just why Cale appeared so appalled.

   The head of the creature was the upper torso of the young girl.

   Frozen in shock and her stomach churning, Danielle could only stare in horror before Cale's shout of warning snapped her out of her daze. Its tail darted out, stinger aimed for her chest. Her body operated on instinct as she sidestepped, the rush of air past her making her realize just how close she had come to being impaled. Both hands wrapped firmly around her sword's hilt, she grunted and brought the blade down with as much force as the weakened youth could manage. It wasn't a clean slice through the appendage like with the arm, but it did bring forth spurts of that purple blood. The tail thrashed about in response, slamming into her and sending her rolling along the ground to Cale's feet.

   A strong hand gripped her under her shoulder, Cale helping to pull her up with his good arm despite getting blood on her white shirt. "You okay?"

   "That blow really hurt… but I think I'll be okay. What about you?" She had flinched as he helped her up, relieved that the blow hadn't been any worse. A quick glance at the beast showed that it was whipping its tail behind it in irritation and splattering droplets of blood around. Drool dripped from the malformed mouth of the girl, her unnatural purple eyes glaring at them.

   Cale nodded and took up his longsword with both hands now despite the obvious pain he was in. "It just managed to bite me, but nothing serious. Glad you came when you did, but I honestly wonder why you were still outside to hear when I told you to go to Telma's."

   "Does that even matter?" Dropping the chatter as the beast hissed and moved forward slowly on its multiple hands, Danielle gulped and scanned their surroundings. Their backs were to the wall, and the beast knew they were cornered. "Should we try to sprint by it?"

   "Maybe. That's how it bit me last time even with my armor. It's got a pretty tough body, too. Its joints and limbs aren't too tough, but with all the arms it has, taking those out may not do much at all." He now glanced sideways at her, a serious expression on his face. For once he seemed uncertain and… afraid? "Follow my lead and be careful."

   Despite his fear, she was relieved that his take-charge attitude was showing through. A nod of affirmation was her response, and she followed him in a strike at the abomination. Cale took the left side, her own strike aimed for one of its right hands. A screeching hiss caused her to wince and cover her ears as best as she could; despite its wounds, the beast curled about to face her while she was stunned and delivered its counter-attack. It rammed its whole body at her, tossing her away as easily as a child flinging a doll. Pain wracked her body, the stunned youth unable to move away as ice cold hands grasped her wrists and ankles to pin her down. The humanoid torso was leaned directly over her, the girl's eyes filled with malice. The beauty she once had was completely gone, the one beautiful blonde hair dirtied and falling around her face. Her jaw was split into four mandibles with an inner set of human-like teeth, thick drool dripping from her maw onto Danielle's chest. Their faces were inches apart, the rancid breath of the abomination making her gag and retch.

   "Human… the time of the Tiaminati has come…" the half-human, half-bestial voice hissed as the human hands of the torso grasped her face. Danielle wanted to just scream, but the fear rushing through her left her paralyzed. Those slim fingers felt like they belonged to a corpse.

   "H-help! Cale!!" she screamed now, beginning to struggle futilely against the monster as the reality of her impending demise kicked in. She could hear him trying to get past the whipping tail that held him back, but she couldn't tear her gaze from that malformed face as the four mandibles latched onto her neck. Small but sharp fangs dug into the skin at the sides of her neck, the human teeth grasping the flesh as it prepared to rip her throat out…

   "Get away from my sister!!" Cale bellowed, gauntleted hands grasping the skull of the girl and tearing her away. Danielle gasped in pain and relief, one hand going to her neck. It had to have been by the grace of the goddesses that the damage wasn't fatal and the artery torn through. That would have meant a quick death for sure. As the beast snapped viciously at Cale with its head in his grip, the knight-commander growled a curse and jerked the head sideways with a dull snap. It slumped to the ground with a meaty smack, Danielle quickly pushing herself up on her elbows and staring at the corpse that had nearly fallen on her. Her brother panted heavily as he glared down at the slain foe, now turning to crouch in front of her and check her injuries. "I'm sorry… I tried to get to you as fast as I could," he mumbled, ashamed that he had nearly let her get killed.

   Shaking her head, she wrapped both her arms tightly around his neck, letting out a shuddering breath. "You did before it was too late. That's all that matters." She pulled away, smiling weakly at him until he did the same. But that was when she noticed the beast rising up once again behind him. "Ah…?! Watch out!" Her shouted warning came too late as the hands of the abomination latched onto the knight's wrists the moment he turned around. Danielle desperately searched for her blade, which had landed a few feet away when she was rammed. Why hadn't she held onto it better? Her feet scrambled against the cobblestone as she crawled across the ground to snatch up the weapon, but the instant that she laid a finger on it she felt the tail of the beast wrap around her neck. On instinct she pulled at the thick appendage with both hands but to no avail as it began to lift her into the air. She couldn't breathe, couldn't get free, and all she could do was watch as her brother was raised up several feet in the air in front of the beast's head. There was a sickening crack as it straightened its head, the jaws clicking together and opening in excitement as it prepared to take Cale's life and devour him. And when he was gone, she would be next, and no one was around to help them.

   Suddenly, its hissing screech of pain assaulted her ears once more, a throwing knife impaled into the side of its face. It dropped Cale roughly, his armor making a crash when he slammed into the ground on his side. The tail around Danielle's neck tightened in retaliation despite being nearly dismembered by her and Cale's attacks, threatening to crush her throat while her lungs burned for air. A dagger sliced through the rest of the tail, completely cutting it off and releasing her from its constricting grasp. Her legs buckled out from under her as soon as they hit the ground, Danielle gasping and coughing viciously as she rubbed her neck. How close had she come yet again to being killed in this fight? It was a frightening thought that slipped to the back of her mind as powerful hands grasped her under her shoulders and pulled her carefully to her feet, Cale leaning her against him now to support her. Confusion filled Danielle's face while her eyes darted about, spotting a stranger standing nearby. His left hand deftly drew another small dagger and flung it straight at the abomination's face. Purple fluid dripped from its face while it squealed in pain and crawled past them as fast as it could, its body shrinking and returning to the form of a little girl. The daggers clattered to the ground while her bare feet pattered across the stone. Those hate-filled purple eyes locking onto them briefly one last time before she vanished around the corner.

   Their rescuer wore a slight frown on his face, strands of his messy black hair falling in front of his blue eyes. He was a handsome young Hylian man in his early twenties, clad in commoner's garb with a white jacket over his long-sleeved cloth shirt and rugged brown leggings. Flicking the dagger to fling off the majority of the blood, he now glanced back at the tired and injured siblings. "It seems I came in the nick of time," he commented in a humble tone, sheathing the weapon in a hidden holder beneath his clothes as if he hadn't really saved their lives from a demonic creature. "I heard the commotion and ran as quickly as I could. Are you two okay?"

   Danielle took a few more deep breaths before she managed to get her nerves under control, although weariness still engulfed her body. Honestly, she could just lie down and sleep for days on end right now. Her brother was the one to respond, still helping her to stand as her support. "I think we're okay for the most part. You saved our lives, sir, and so we are in your debt."

   "Just call me Dras," he responded pleasantly with a kind smile. If soon fell away however when he crouched to examine the purple blood that splattered the stone. "I've never seen such a strange manner of beast that could change from monster to human like that, and I've traveled extensively across this world. You're very fortunate I live nearby."

   "Fortunate indeed." Cale met Danielle's gaze, gently rubbing the side of her shoulder. "We should get back to the castle, Danielle. You can barely stand."

   Nodding in agreement, she peered now at Dras. He had come at the best possible time, but she was still intrigued by the sheer coincidence of that timing. Not only that, but she was still edgy and anxious from her encounter with that Veras woman near Telma's place. She didn't want to mention that to Cale right now in front of Dras, even if he had saved their lives. "That… sounds really good right about now. It was just too soon to try and fight like that, I guess."

   Dras lifted his head at the mention of Hyrule Castle, turned to face them as he stood up straight. "Might I escort you to the castle? Neither of you seem to be in much shape to fight right now in case that thing comes back."

   Cale's expression was one of hesitancy before he finally relented. "That might be for the best, but I'm sure you're well aware they won't let you in once we reach the gates."

   "Of course, of course. I'd be more concerned if they did invite me in. That would be quite a failure of security considering past events."

   The young man began to walk off now, leading the way through the strangely empty streets. Still cautious of their sudden savior, Cale helped Danielle along back to the castle, his eyes drifting between watching their surroundings and keeping his attention on the Hylian's movements. Reflecting on both the words of Veras and the shape-shifting monster, she was unable to suppress a shudder. What was going on in Hyrule went far deeper than just Aremas wrestling control of the throne from Zelda. Something evil had crept into Hyrule, and with the war brewing, it threatened to blindside them all.