Art Credit to Kumalieur12 of Fiverr. Link in Artist Credits

You're going to die today.

Trevor's lungs shriveled up from a lack of air. A relentless pair of arms held him underwater. One hand pressed down on his shoulders-the other clutched his throat.

Whenever Trevor tried to fight back, one of the hands swiped away at his feeble attacks. Whenever he tried to scream, silence came out instead. Whenever he tried to take a desperate gulp of air, bubbles rose and nothing more happened.

This was when the boy realized he was helpless in the water.

This is who you are. Weak. Stupid. In over your head. What kind of idiot are you? You disgust me.

Trevor reached up again without opening his eyes. What was the point of seeing his own doom, of seeing what was going to take him out of this world?

He didn't want to face what harmed him. He wanted it to stop. All of it to just stop, for God's sake. Just—

Quit fighting it. Just allow me to win. It's easier for you, buddy. And everyone else, too.

Trevor finally recognized the voice. It stopped whispering, hiding behind its rasps. Instead, the voice boasted out in the open. It sounded distant yet close. Worst of all, it was a voice Trevor knew all too well.

Are you actually trying to fight me?

Trevor was. He reached up and clawed the wrist attached to the arm that harbored five cruel fingers that tore into Trevor's scalp. Pain seared into the skin, bearing down on the skull as Trevor drew closer to losing himself. Bit by bit, the boy was slipping away.

Cute. You're trying to fight me...

Trevor finally had to do it. He opened his eyes and gave out one last futile cry. It was more of the same—silence, struggles, weakness, nothing else. His captor had the upper hand.

Trevor Berenson, the world's biggest failure. Are you planning on challenging me? You won't be able to. And when you do, I'll only make you fall even further than you already have. Won't that be the loveliest thing?

Trevor looked up at the surface. His captor was above water. The captor grinned down on him, their smile crueler than anything Trevor had ever known.

Bullies at school were saints in comparison. This, however, was different.

He couldn't take this.

Trevor knew the face of the one who held him down. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Enjoy your last day. Trevor.

Trevor woke up and barely snatched the scream in his throat. He wiped cold sweat from his brow. His skin felt slick. Trevor couldn't grasp himself. Everything felt unreal. He wondered if the dream was real, or may have even brought itself into the waking world.

Of course, he already knew the answer. Trevor didn't want to think about it.

He searched his surroundings. Zora's domain was dark and quiet. The room he shared with Link, Jerome and Sheila was frigid and lonely.

Darkness defined the time, save for peculiar glimmers of water from the domain's aquifers. Otherwise, all Trevor saw was shadows.

"That was more than just a nightmare."

Another light in the dark. Navi was a foot away from Trevor. She had genuine worry on her face, looking at Trevor with a glimmer in her stare.

"What happened?" she asked. "Can you let us help you?"

Trevor looked down at his lap, just to avoid eye contact. The shadows around him felt unbearable, suddenly. He didn't want to admit how much he adored Navi's light.

He felt alarmed at sudden footsteps. Then, he saw that it was Link, still wearing his tunic, but without his belt and hat, his hair messy from sleep.

"It was...just a bad dream," Trevor said.

"No. As I said, there's more to it than that." Navi flew close to Trevor's face, making him feel more peaceful and on edge, all at the same time. "You know, I...hear you when you sleep."

"That's creepy. Thanks."

"Trevor, come on. Be serious."

"Sorry."

"You...you have a lot of bad dreams. Even for a kid with an imagination, that's just too much. You've been through a lot and we know it. What happened? Does it have to do with your powers?"

"Please leave me alone."

"No. Talk to us. Let us in and stop running from this."

"I said leave me alone. You...you can't help me. I don't want it. Maybe I can just go and Link can do what he's been doing. Playing hero. Like he always does. He's good at it, honestly. I...I just want to save that princess, get the whale back in the fountain, get the magic stone and go home. Don't you want to go home too?"

Trevor saw Link turn away from him. "I want to keep everyone safe," he said. "This is how we can do it. By talking. It's not fair to us to push us away when we care about you."

"None of this is fair for us!" Trevor said, keeping his voice low. He didn't want to wake up his friends. "At least Hyrule's your home. And you have a place to go back to whether or not you save Hyrule. Us? We have to wait until it's all over to get back. I don't know when we will. We may never go back home. Or if we can...everything is riding on this. It's all a nightmare. So there, that's the bad dream. Hyrule. Everything I had to show everyone...why do we have to do so much when we have no idea what's happening?"

Trevor didn't want to speak anymore. When Navi and Link realized this, they went back to bed. The talk was done.

It took Trevor a long time to fall back asleep. He didn't want to dream again. The nightmares grew worse, feeling more real with every occurrence.

He was thankful when a Zora sentry came by and shouted into the children's room to wake up and prepare for the battle ahead...then, the fear of thatsank in. Regardless, Trevor rose and walked out, having to face the day ahead...

On The Day The Four Left...

When Trevor saw the golden light in the cavern, he tried to run.

A great wind spread across the chamber where the children stood. Then, none of them were standing. They all began to rise, like leaves or small pebbles.

They could have been feathers with the way they floated and soared. One by one, the golden light brought them in, absorbing them into its center.

Trevor tried to grab onto something, anything at all. A rock stuck out the ground. His fingertips grazed its rigid surface. They couldn't clutch it and suddenly, Trevor was gone.

The golden light took him in. As he plummeted into the unknown, memories flashed before him.

Trevor saw his parents. They delighted in him in this image, reaching out to a younger version of himself. His small arms and hands reached out to them and he yearned for them to pick him up, to show him affection, to remind him how wonderful home was.

He remembered seeing Jerome on the first day of school in second grade. Trevor remembered the pain of a recess bully's punch and kick, only for it to be soothed by Jerome standing up for him and helping him to his feet. Their friendship endured for years after that, and hopefully would forever.

He remembered quiet Sheila with her sunglasses. They helped her cover up the strangeness of her eyes. Once, he saw them when they fell from her face and he had question about why the irises were red. There were secrets she knew, secrets she couldn't tell, secrets waiting to be unraveled by the truth...would he ever see the truth of anything after this?

Rebecca. Trevor saw Rebecca. He saw her goofy smile at the sight of him. He heard her grating voice when she teased him in Spanish, refusing to reveal whatever playful insult she had in her arsenal. Later on, he'd find out and be annoyed, especially at the swear words she used on him.

He remembered this one time when they held hands by accident, in the middle of an assembly at school. Trevor started falling asleep and cupped his hand over hers while they sat on the dusty floor of Oak Shire Elementary School's gym, which doubled as an auditorium with a stage along the one of the basketball court's sidelines.

Some speaker talked about this book the class read (Trevor remembers that they were the author, but he didn't really remember the writer or the story they wrote). Everything got boring and Trevor slumped towards Rebecca, who sat cross legged beside him.

Then, he felt a hard slap on the back of his hand and punch in his right arm that stung. He looks at Rebecca, who's glaring and blushing and seems to be fighting a smile. It was all so weird because it looked like she was trying to be mad as well.

"Perro!" she hissed. "You...don't touch me."

Somehow, they became friends after this. Every day on the playground went like this; Trevor would be playing a game with Jerome, and sometimes even Sheila when she was up for it. He'd always find himself far too happy to notice his surroundings.

Then, Rebecca would give him a playful shove. She always seemed careful about it so he wouldn't fall. At the times Trevor did, Rebecca always stopped and offered a hand.

"Don't tell the teacher," she said. "It was just a joke, honest! Sorry, amigo..."

When Rebecca helped him up, she always held onto his hand a little longer than she needed to. She'd look him right in the eyes and Trevor would look back until he felt warm in the face. Then, Rebecca pulled her hand away like his touch was made of fire.

"What's that about?" Rebecca asked Trevor, as if he started it. "Don't look at me like that...it's weird. Idiota..."

And so, Trevor thought of his friends while floating through a terrible void of light. He kept floating by until everything turned dark, as if the world lost its light.

Now

"We don't have much time to waste," said Claudius in the domain. He was on a flat rock shore within the settlement's main chamber, addressing his warriors as well as the group of volunteer warriors. Every man stood to attention, holding their weapons while donning their uniforms. Trevor and Link were dressed in Zora armor and had their own weapons on hand. Jerome and Sheila stood nearby in their own gear, but weren't going to be part of the underwater containment group.

"Jabu-Jabu's state is growing wilder," said Claudius. "None of the casualties are deaths, but some men are going to have long breaks from our army. It breaks their hearts to not be of any assistance. Let's do them justice by containing Jabu-Jabu, shall we?"

The sentries nodded their heads in agreement. Trevor's stomach flipped as he searched for courage within himself.

A lump swelled in his throat. If his insides were a place, his feelings were the hurricane that destroyed it. He was surprised he could still stand straight.

"Let's get to work quickly," said Claudius. "Half the battalion will take rolling rafts to Lake Hylia via Zora's River. Ration out the water so you don't dry up on the countryside. The rest shall go with me into the warp tunnel. Two ensigns will be with that group as well." He nodded towards Trevor and Link. "We need to start the detainment of Lord Jabu-Jabu as soon as possible. No harm must befall him. After all...Ruto is likely trapped in his belly with no way of getting out. Is this understood?"

The men all replied in unison. Their shouts carried, then echoed. Even Link let out a meek, confident "Yes sir," along with Navi. Trevor searched for words.

"When I say 'go'," continued Claudius. "Dive in side-by-side. Enter the warp tunnel and go with the pathway's flow. You'll fare just fine. Move it along, brave ones. Best of luck to you. Link and Trevor, a moment of your time. Please."

Link, Trevor and Navi went off to the side with Claudius. The Zora General was dressed in bronze armor.

He donned a helmet with glyphs carved into the surface. His expression was stony and calm.

"Are you two up for it?" he asked. "The task at hand? Your abilities are latent, but...you're very young. Not that we haven't enlisted young warriors before...but you're out of your natural element. It's a high order."

"I broke a curse in my own guardian and helped slay a big dinosaur," said Link. "I'm pretty much ready for anything."

Trevor looked at Claudius as soon as the commander turned his attention to him. He hated that he had to make eye contact with the general.

They had their spats and Claudius openly had some doubts. At this moment, he didn't seem keen on backing down in using Trevor for the mission. What else was Trevor supposed to do?

"Sure," Trevor said. "As long as we can get ourselves out of this mess. I'm ready to just be done with it."

Claudius seemed to sense Trevor's true feelings, but cast them aside. "Fine. We're heading off now. It's time to use your talents to help the Zora people. Your friends will be on the rolling rafts, no doubt kept safe by my men. Follow my lead, both of you."

The four of them went back to the waiting army. Claudius faced the sentries and raised a hand to earn their attention back.

"Now is the time!" said Claudius. "Get to your stations! Board the rafts! For the Zora people, let us save our guardian and future queen! For the river people!"

"For the river people!" the men shouted.

Everyone scattered about. Link, Navi and Trevor said their goodbyes to Sheila and Jerome. The two of them looked back at the others with worry, having to get nudged toward rolling rafts by Zoras. Trevor felt like the illest child alive. He turned back toward the shore, inching toward the water where the warp tunnel rested.

Claudius turned toward the water as well. He got into a diver's stance, leaning forward until he had to press down on the ground with both hands. After lifting himself up, Claudius seemed ready. He was still as a statue, steady and patient.

"On my mark," he said. "Ready..."

Trevor didn't see anyone around him. He only gazed at the ground. When it was time to go, would he move? Would he know what to do? Where was he supposed to be?

"Set..."

He was trembling. Oh God, Trevor was trembling so badly. He couldn't hold himself up, there was no way he could do this. He had to get away, he had to get away, he had to get away, he had to get away. Get away, get away, get away...

"GO!"

Trevor moved. His nerves were still there, but they spread out to every muscle in his body. From head to toe, Trevor was compelled to dash forward. He felt the water's serenity and wanted to take it with him. He wanted to float in there and never have to come out.

Trevor could afford it. Running was what he was best at sometimes, more than anything. What was one more time to him? However, the water's peace went away as soon as the army dove into the water. Trevor swam toward the warp tunnel. Link was up ahead. He was on the forest boy's heels. It took Trevor a moment to wonder about Navi, but he was certain her powers as a fairy had something to do with it. She would be by Link's side no matter what, helping him along.

For Trevor, he was alone. His friends were there and Link would lead him into battle. The kid was always good at that, the very best at it. After all, he was Hyrule's fabled hero, right? A chosen kid, somebody who was supposed to save the day when it came down to it.

What was Trevor supposed to be? Who was he? Trevor wasn't sure. He wanted to sit still in the water, doing nothing at all. That wasn't going to be allowed. Instead, he would have to deal with the current picking up, taking away the last of its own peace while dragging an army into a war it was yet to know anything about.

The warp was jarring. It rattled Trevor's bones, disrupting every trace of his body as he was taken through a tunnel known to shift souls around the world. He barely kept his eyes on Link and Navi, who were both getting used to the tunnel as well. Trevor waited for the warp to be over as soon as possible.

At the end of the warp, Trevor's body grew still. He was fully immersed in an even larger body of water, sensing its vast nature on all sides. This was Lake Hylia. He sensed a structure somewhere in the distance. It was in the water's depths as well, rooted to the floor, built into the core of an island with layers. He wondered what the place was, but his attention was soon directed elsewhere.

There was a new presence that was living. It was a gigantic shape that barreled in the lake, making a low sound. When Trevor realized it was a roar of sorts, he knew this was the rabid Lord Jabu-Jabu. His heart raced more than ever before.

The bokoblins were better than this encounter. They weren't otherworldly. They could be defeated, washed away by the river waters and put to permanent rest. Jabu-Jabu was like a god—it was unstoppable, immovable and incapable of being changed. Trevor didn't wonder how the Zoras could stop the whale—it just wasn't going to happen.

I don't think you'll stop it either.

Trevor looked around. He tried to find the voice's source in the currents. No one was around except for Zora sentries. Trevor recognized the voice but couldn't pinpoint it amongst the masses that rushed Jabu-Jabu.

He hesitated, but went after the guardian. His body strained against the water. It was strange. It was as if something held him back. A force yanked on his body, clawing at him as he pressed onward.

I bet the girl they're all talking about is dead. If she isn't, she will be soon. After all, you almost killed the other girl. Remember her, Trevor? You were so stupid on that day.

Shut up.

Trevor found himself talking back. He was sure he lost his mind. The voice—if it was what he thought it was—had to be his imagination. Being in Hyrule messed with him. Everything that happened until this moment was still beyond belief. Everytime Trevor closed his eyes, he waited to open them so he could be in the waking world.

Oh-oh-oooo. You have balls now, Berenson! Good for you! That's what I want. A fight.

The Zoras surrounded Lord Jabu-Jabu. Each held a grappling hook in their hands, swinging them around, defying physics to get a good rotation above their armored heads. Trevor took his own out and started swinging the hook above his head. He saw Link doing the same, watching the forest boy spin the tool with ease. Trevor's arms burned as he rotated his wrist, trying to ignore how grand the threat before him was.

No. No, no, no. I don't think you're going to save a princess today.

A great pain coursed through Trevor's body. It was like a hand reached into his chest and started to remove the heart from it. The fingers choked it, wanting to tear it out without mercy. Then, an actual hand emerged out of nowhere. Soon, it became an arm. Then, there was a torso. The arm gained a twin, followed by legs beneath the torso's waist.

A cruel face grinned at Trevor. Flashing red eyes widened in a grim glee at the terrified boy, who stopped spinning his grappling hook. A shadow hovered in front of him, looking ghoulish. When Trevor stared at the face before him, he couldn't believe it. It was like looking into a mirror. This was the figure from his nightmare, the captor who tried to drown him.

The shadow in the lake looked just like Trevor. He was an exact replica of him from head-to-toe.

"Hey there," said the Shadow. "Nice to meet you. Officially, I mean." He was able to speak underwater, much to Trevor's surprise.

How is this possible?

The Shadow sighed, much to Trevor's alarm. "Berenson. You're in a world of magic, moving elements, talking fish people, rock-eating goblins and fairies. How do you not believe in living shadows? God, you're freaking stupid, dude. Stupider than you were back home."

Trevor stared but couldn't speak due to the water. He could only express thoughts. You're not real. You can't be.

"Ooooh, but I am. And you know it. But if you don't think I'm real now...well, let's change the story and give it the happy ending it deserves."

The shadow grabbed Trevor by the throat. The cold grip pinched the skin, sinking its sharp touch into the airway. Trevor's breath was cut off—such a danger could happen regardless of his powers. The Shadow pushed Trevor away from the sentries and Jabu-Jabu. Trevor was in no control of the situation. He was helpless in the struggle, where he could only watch his fate.

Jabu-Jabu let out a cry once more. It was ugly and terrifying. For the first time since Trevor entered Lake Hylia, he saw an eerie glow in Jabu-Jabu's eyes. There was a red hue to its gaze. It was just like the shadow's stare—crimson like blood, as if violence was all it knew.

Jabu-Jabu shifted the waters. The disruption rattled Trevor again. His body convulsed as Lake Hylia's state was threatened. The lake gained tides which rose and fell, splashing against shores that were no longer peaceful. Every Zora Sentry scattered. They were never able to control Jabu-Jabu and Trevor wasn't sure if they would ever get another chance.

He was too busy losing his life.

The Shadow started to steal the rest of his breath. Trevor clutched the Shadow's wrist, hoping to pry its grip away from his neck. He seemed to have no such luck. HIs new foe snickered as he tightened his hold on Trevor. Everything started to turn black. The grip Trevor had on the skin loosened...

He stopped trying to breathe.

Go away...

Trevor didn't know what overcame him. He was trying to use the water as a last resort, but that didn't seem to work either. However, at the same time, something compelled his body to stay awake. It used both hands on the arm that held Trevor by the throat. This time, after a powerful thrust, Trevor was able to be free. Air filled his lungs and anger came in with it.

He tussled with the Shadow, circling around Lake Hylia's depths. The tides were still chaotic, shaking Trevor's concentration. He tried to keep a good focus on his enemy but couldn't see him clearly within the blur that obscured how it looked.

Trevor returned the favor. He found the exact spot The Shadow had attacked him and just squeezed. The Shadow looked alarmed. It was actually full of fear. The twisted expression of horror must have been what Trevor felt. Good. The freak would get a taste of its own medicine and Trevor wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Then, the grin came back.

"Balls, Berenson. It's so exciting to see you be a warrior for once, you know? Admirable."

The Shadow shook off Trevor's assault. It dove headfirst into Trevor's gut, sending him backwards. Trevor fought to stay awake again, pounding down on the Shadow with his fists. Every attack seemed to hurt, though Trevor didn't think the blows had an effect on him. It just took that much strength to win the battle, to beat the enemy he didn't understand or see coming. He tried to keep the fight going as the tides took over, consuming the lake like whatever overcame Jabu-Jabu.

Trevor wasn't sure how the battle would end. He just remembered that after a while, his body didn't feel anything at all. The Shadow came back up again, reaching at him with its hands. This time, it looked more furious than amused or in pleasure. Then, without the loss of air or fingers wringing his neck, everything finally turned dark, as if the world lost all its light.