Part 11

“Stand back.” Kor walked forward, against the voice of darkness. He didn’t fear anything dark, he lived in eternal darkness. Both women followed him regardless, terrified beyond belief at the specter before them. Ne Ella’s hands trembled, barely able to hold onto her guns. Hailey’s fur stood on edge, she was hissing frantically. Kor levered the staff in front of him, assuming a defensive stance against the unseen threat that had emerged from the Yea Medallion. He tapped the ground with his feet, the vibrations giving him a decent amount of knowledge about the room, and the figure before them.

It was tall, about as big as he was. The magical aura around it made it dark in his mind’s eye, like everything else, only even more noticeable. In one hand, a small katana hung limply in his fingers, detectable through the wind currents it made as the figure swished it. Other than that, Kor had no idea what stood before him, waiting for his attack.

Hailey and Ne Ella, on the other hand, saw its hooded body, the white-and-black tunic it wore, and the shrouded hood that covered its head, leaving only the grinning mouth exposed. The teeth flashed, and the warrior within the talisman chuckled, the voice echoing in Kor’s mind, vibrating inside his cranium.

-Son of Madra- the voice commanded. -Why have you summoned me-

“I am here for that Medallion,” Kor answered, though he was slightly confused. The Medallion spirit had just named him a Son of Madra, something he was not. He was a child of Earth, just like Tobias. “And there’s no Madra here, just Kor Hawkeye.”

-Nonsense- it whispered. -I know Madra scent when I smell it, though yours is tainted with something…is that Shana- The grin increased in size. -Ah, it doesn’t matter. Only a descendant of Madra can summon me, so that must mean you need my precious Yea Medallion…-

Kor nodded. “I need it to return a friend from Hyrule. And you’re not going to stop me.” He heard the figure laugh, but did not lower his walking cane. “Relinquish the Medallion to me.” The specter continued to laugh, taking a step forward.

-Tell you what, Son of Madra- the specter said, its voice growing louder in Kor’s mind. -If you can defeat me, blind as you are, you can have it-

“Deal,” Kor answered, crouching into his normal stance, preparing for combat. He hadn’t fought since Tobias had left, but he still remembered how to battle. The blind man summoned his strange senses together, the balance that was due his blindness. His scent picked up the blade’s steel, his hearing perked with each step and motion. He even felt every movement in the air. He didn’t call his blindness a skill, but it sure came in handy in facing the unknown. At least he never knew what it looked like.

“Kor!” The blind man turned around to Ne Ella, and smiled.

“I handled myself before you guys came,” he said softly, so she would understand. “I can do it again if I have to.” He didn’t know if that would make her less protective of him, but was fairly certain that she would understand. He brushed Ne Ella out of his mind, his ears searching once more for presence, for the specter that had emerged from the Yea Medallion. Kor’s arm blurred.

The katana clanged against the walking cane, just at the precise moment when the blade spun down. Kor relaxed, it was just another sparing session with Tobias. The katana was the metal pipe, the museum room was the Academy’s training center, and the feeling in the pit of his stomach was nothing more than the thrill of battle. Kor parried, then delivered a kick to the windpipe of his opponent. The shade was thrown back, flipping calmly onto its feet.

-Not bad, Son of Madra-

Kor ducked immediately, sending a build up of magical energy. He bent himself backwards, just as something went whizzing over his chest, slamming into the wall behind him. Kor snarled, rushing in the direction of the blast, and felt the katana against his staff, vibration jarring him. With his fist, the specter was grabbed by the hood it wore, and was pulled back, flipped onto its back and slammed against the ground. Kor hammered the stick down hard against its chest.

“Surrender,” Kor commanded, lifting the butt over where he heard the specter’s head. “I do not like fighting, but I will if you force me.”

-Never-

“Ne Ella! Colts!” Kor dodged, twisting his way out of the specter’s reach as it came up from behind him, the breeze it generated warning the blind man. On his order, two metal items whirled into the air, landing firmly in Kor’s arms. Cocking both guns, Tobias parried the katana edge with one of the handguns, and fired the second where he thought the stomach was, blasting a hole through the shade as he did so. Kor didn’t miss a beat, but neither did the shade, and both continued, blocking and striking with their respective weapons. Both shade and man lunged, Kor holding the upper hand only by a small inch.

That was when the shade really kicked in, stabbing through the blind man’s shoulder in an attempt to disable him. Kor grunted, and Ne Ella shouted in protest, but he kept going, tossing one of the used guns away to the Hylian, and picking up the staff against. Kor dropkicked his opponent, blood flowing freely from his shoulder. The sting was annoying him, something he didn’t need. The pain he could take, the distraction in his senses he could not.

Ne Ella, who could take it no longer, watched as the blind man battled, growing all the more tired as the battled continued. The wound from his shoulder looked bad, cutting deep into his flesh. Kor moved a second too late, and his weak shoulder caved in against the power of the shade. He fell, just as the specter raised its hand upwards, the katana slicing downwards.

Ne Ella rushed forwards, her gun reloaded.

Word Count- 1020

__________________

Signature by the Sinfully Delicious Lady Knives