Chapter 22: The King of Evil

Chapter 23: The God of Evil

A pink crystal floated down from the empty dark grey sky and shattered as it touched the tower top.
“Zelda!” Link cried in relief. “How are you?”
“I’m quite fine,” said the princess, sounding quite different from the ninja he had become used to. “It’s good that pitiful man is dead…”
“Well, now, Sheik, I think you have some explaining to do,” returned the Hylian, grinning. The princess smiled back. “Gosh, I’m tired. So glad that’s over. What are you going to do now? What’s the first thing you’re going to do?”
“Let me see…” Zelda thought.
Link cupped his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. “Well, for me, first of all, I think I’m going to spend some time in the Zora and Goron lands and get to know my friends better. Then I’m going to build a slightly larger house in Kokiri Forest, if the Deku Tree allows it, and…”
“Get married?” finished Zelda.
“Yes,” Link grinned, blushing a bit.
“I see… I’m going to get the Sages to help me rebuild Hyrule Castle. It won’t be exactly the way it used to be, but it will be even better.”
“Ah, the innocence of youth,” joked Link.
“I mean it,” Zelda smiled. She was lovely when she smiled. “It will be better. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to plan it, but I’ve only just started thinking about it, thanks to you. What are you going to do now that you don’t have to be a hero?” Continue reading →

Chapter 21: To Find Tranquillity     Chapter 23: The God of Evil

Chapter 22: The King of Evil

A pink crystal was forming around the princess. She cast several spells, some of which Link had never seen before, but the crystal’s surface hardened into an impenetrable shell. Link felt the shell, tapping it cautiously, and then slamming his fist into it with all his strength. He cast Nayru’s Love and drew the Master Sword, but even the legendary Evil’s Bane merely bounced off the caging spell.
A deep voice boomed through the Temple. “You foolish little bugs… you are no match for me! I commend you for eluding me for so long. At last, I have found the princess, and now Hyrule will truly be mine!” The cage began to rise and spin. Link tried one last futile time to shatter it, but failed.
“That was Ganondorf,” Navi said in a low voice. “The Triforce. Its strength gave him power to resist even the Master Sword.”
“I see,” Link said grimly, running out of the Temple.
“Rana! We need to go really fast! Ganondorf’s got Zelda!”
“What? How?”
“I have the Light Arrows!” Link hadn’t heard her startled shout.
The two Hylians tore up the hill to Ganondorf’s castle.
A giant, irregular block of stone supporting a huge tower built of black rock hovered over a lake of lava. Link skidded to a halt on the closest bit of solid ground, staring hopelessly at the distant, wide open gate. It was too far even for his hookshot.
“Don’t despair,” Saria’s voice sounded in his head. “We’re here.”
Light, unrolling like a carpet, many coloured, blossomed from the ground at Link’s feet and stretched in a wide arc to the gate.
He smiled at Rana and stretched out his hand. “Come on, kitten. We’re facing this one together, like we used to.”
Rana smiled broadly back at him and took his hand. Continue reading →

Chapter 20: The Broken Laugh     Chapter 22: The King of Evil

Chapter 21: To Find Tranquility

Rana’s brilliant green eyes slowly moved, shifting up near his face, then darting back to make sure his hands hadn’t moved.
Her gaze met his.
Abruptly, she fell over, clutching her stomach. Her face was crumpled up.
“Rana?”
She sat up slowly.
“Do you know what you are doing to me?” Her words were unsteady. “The memory… the pain… … your eyes… … your eyes… They are the same! I did know you… and I liked you, too! But the… remembering is the equivalent…”She mimed stabbing herself. “I… I…” She began to weep, tears pouring from her eyes now.
“Rana, I’m sorry… I will take you away from this. I’ll teach you yourself again.” He put his hand on her shoulder, and she did not flinch or slap it away; instead she took it with her own and held on with a tight grip.
“I must get you out of here,” Link said again after a while. Rana nodded and sat up, almost straight.
He picked her up and carried her to where Epona was waiting, with only a brief stop – Rana wanted her ocarina, and she knew where it was. Then he rode to Lon Lon Ranch. Continue reading →

Chapter 19: The Land of Sand     Chapter 21: To Find Tranquillity

Chapter 20: The Broken Laugh

“Nabooru?!?” Link cried in shock and disbelief. She didn’t seem to be hurt, although he had struck the hulking Ironknuckle in the torso more than once; perhaps the massive padding under the armour had protected her.
She raised herself to her knees. “Who… who are you…”
He knelt beside her, trying to help her stand. “My name’s Link. I met you seven years ago. Do you remember?”
Two swirls appeared in the corner of the room, condensing into witches; one with red and black robes, the other with blue and black.
“Oh, look, Koume, she’s woken up again.”
“Oh dear, Kotake, you’re right. What should we do with her?”
Nabooru sprang to her feet, keeping a wary eye on both of them, growling like a wolf.
“Let’s lock her up again,” said Koume. Both witches now held glowing balls of light in their colours.
“Run, Nabooru!” Link shouted, jumping in front of her. The Gerudo woman didn’t need telling twice. She was out the door before the old crones could fire their spells.
Instead, they fired them at Link, who blocked them both with the Mirror shield.
“We’ll wait for them in the big room, right, Kotake?” cackled Koume.
“We will, Koume,” screeched Kotake. With a swirl, they both disappeared. Continue reading →

Chapter 18: Held by Bandits     Chapter 20: The Broken Laugh

Chapter 19: The Land of Sand

There was a huge stone in the distance, much closer now. Link staggered towards it.
“Want some more water?” Navi asked.
“I’ll hang on for a bit, thanks.”
As they got closer, Link could see the stone more clearly. There was an ancient, broken statue of a woman sitting crosslegged with her hands palm upwards that was carved directly into the face of the rock. In front of her was a rough stone arch, rising out of the desert.
There also was a Triforce pad.
Link walked past the pad and over to the entrance under the statue’s feet. He stood looking around a bit.
“Isn’t Sheik supposed to meet me here?” he asked Navi. He turned around to scan the desert.
Sheik was there, smirking. At least, Link thought it was a smirk. He couldn’t tell. The other youth’s collar was too high for him to see.
Link clutched his chest, pretending to have a heart attack. “Goodness, Sheik, where did you come from?” Continue reading →

Chapter 17: The Most Frightening Place in Hyrule     Chapter 19: The Land of Sand

Chapter 18: Held by Bandits

He was standing on the centre of a giant drum. Two huge, corpse-like hands were drumming around the edge, and in the shadows… yes, he could see it… a diseased, flower-like head with a single red eye. It reminded him of the giant spider under the Deku Tree. It vanished.
“Navi! Show me where it is!” He could hardly keep his feet with all the bouncing. He was launched into the air every fourth beat, and landed uncertainly each time. With the Lens of Truth, he could see the creature. Link grabbed his bow, slipped, hopped up again, shot, and landed unsteadily. The head was too heavily armoured, so he shot a hand, and it began shaking like it had been burned. The other whizzed at him, intent on doing him bodily harm, so quick as thought, he shot it, too. Both hands clenched, the eye in the body opened, and rushed him. He shot that, and it collapsed, very like the spider.
Putting away his bow and drawing his sword, he charged, stabbing as fast as he could. The cuts brought it out of its stupor and it reared up and away from him, closing the eye again.
Although the drumming threw him off violently, he managed to do the same thing several more times, before his magic power was drained from using the Lens.
He was still hitting it when he realized he had struck its death blow. It shook violently, and then dissolved into a black, gooey puddle that evaporated.
Waiting while the blood stopped rushing in his ears, he walked slowly towards the warp that appeared. Continue reading →

Chapter 16: The Magic Eye     Chapter 18: Held by Bandits

Chapter 17: The Most Frightening Place in Hyrule

Inside, his senses were assailed by a cold wind, distant howls, moans, and cackles, dim but steady lighting, and a horrible smell. The floor was smooth and even, but stopped after the first bend. Beyond was a terrible chasm. Navi flew forward, and pointed out a place where the hookshot might catch to reach the tunnel beyond.
“Might is a pretty awful word in this spot,” Link said to himself, but fired. It carried him safely across the pit, and he pulled himself out with great relief. Then he scolded himself.
“Only around the first bend and you’re uneasy. Snap out of it. Get yourself together. You need to save Hyrule. Saria and Zelda and Sheik are relying on you. And Ruto and Darunia and Malon and Talon. And perhaps Rana…” But there words failed him, because the idea he could not finish was the thought that Rana might be imprisoned here in this dreadful place.
In the chamber ahead, a tall statue of an eagle, surrounded by a dozen skulls on poles, sat accusingly. Another chasm separated the eagle from the door further on, shaped like a snake head with open mouth.
“Find the skull of truth, and those with sacred feet may pass,” Navi said.
“The what?”
“That’s what they said,” Navi insisted. Link shivered and gave his fairy the Lens of Truth. Then he looked at the statue. It seemed important. One majestic wing was outstretched, and the brooding beak pointed in the same direction. Link pushed it gently, and it gave a little.
“There’s a false wall here,” said Navi. “And this skull is the only real one.”
“The Lens is a far better way of determining that than touching it, isn’t it,” commented Link, revolving the statue to face the skull Navi pointed out. As the two objects moved into conjunction, the door in the snake’s mouth opened invitingly.
“You can’t jump that gap,” Navi said hastily, speeding in front of Link’s face to forestall any foolhardy attempts.
“I know I can’t. I just want a look.” The look was unpromising. After one disappointed glance, he turned back to go through the false wall. Continue reading →

Chapter 15: The Deathful Water and Avoiding Marriage     Chapter 17: The Most Frightening Place in Hyrule

Chapter 16: The Magic Eye

A few minutes later, he heard two anxious voices calling him – the light voice of his fairy, and an alto voice… was it a girl? Maybe Malon?
“Link, will you wake up already!” Navi yelled in his ear. Someone gently shook him.
Link groaned and tried to sit up, shaking his dizzy head. “You know, Navi, I appreciate the shaking more than the yelling.”
Navi half-smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. I was worried.”
“Okay, that’s okay then. Sheik?”
“Yes, it’s me. Did you forget what happened?”
“No, I didn’t forget… it’s just for a minute your voice made me think of Malon. Nothing against you or her… just my messed up head.” He rubbed it. “Ow. So, what was that thing? Why aren’t any of the buildings on fire? Where did the shadow go? Can I fight it?”
Sheik stared stupefied at the Hylian as Navi burst into laughter. “You’re not supposed to know about that!” he exclaimed indignantly.
“About what? My memory didn’t blank out, and you asked if I forgot what happened. Answer my questions, will you?”
Sheik patted his shoulder comfortingly, face serious. “That thing is an ancient shadow that Ganondorf has been trying to free for some time now. This morning, obviously, he succeeded. The burning buildings are all an illusion caused by the shadow; it’s haunting the town now. It’s gone to the Shadow Temple. Will you fight that one next?”
“Yes. I don’t want Kakariko bothered more than necessary by Ganondorf.” Continue reading →

Chapter 14: The Desperate Battle     Chapter 16: The Magic Eye

Chapter 15: The Deathful Water and Avoiding Marriage

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that his back hurt. He had been sleeping on his scabbard.
The second thing he noticed was that all his cuts and other injuries were very painful.
The third thing he noticed was that he felt adequately rested to continue adventuring for some time now, even energetically. He was about to get up and find his scattered gear when he noticed a fourth thing: Navi was asleep on his chest.
She looked sweet, as he peered down at her; a little ball of light with folded butterfly wings. Gently he stirred, and she woke and flew up.
“Good morning,” he said to her.
“Hello!” she chirped back. “Is it time to go?”
“Yes. I feel much better.”
He sheathed his sword and slung his shield on his back and turned to the door closest to him. It was the wrong one, but he soon corrected that, and discovered a little room with only a treasure chest and a trap door. In the chest was a familiar looking weapon – another Hookshot.
“It’s different,” Navi said immediately.
“It is?”
“This one’s longer. Look at the chain!”
“Oh.”
He kept the other one with him anyway, perhaps to give to Ruto. He opened the trap door and saw darkness below, and heard and smelt loudly rushing water.
Carefully, he let himself down over the edge, but his feet touched nothing. There was nothing in the room that he could attach the hookshot to, so trusting in his ears, he let himself go.
His boots smacked hard into rock and he fell on his face, scraping his cheek. “Ow!”
“Sorry,” Navi said, trying to light up the tunnel. Water rushed past him and away down natural winding tubes.
“It’s not your fault.”
He was on a ledge beside the wide river, plunging from a height in an impressive waterfall. The air was freezing. He saw whirlpools in rapids a little further down, and made a note to avoid those. There was no way off the ledge; no where to go except downstream. He jumped in the water. Continue reading →

Chapter 13: The Realm of Silence     Chapter 15: The Deathful Water and Avoiding Marriage

Chapter 14: The Desperate Battle

The interior of the Water Temple was rich and gorgeous. Carved intricately from blue marble and inlaid with bronze and gold, the walls reflected the water’s reflection of torchlight. A massive pillar took up a great deal of the space of the main chamber, which was almost completely filled with water; yet the room had the impression of vast space, though the top of the hill was only a few meters above their heads.
Link stared around in wonder, a smile passing over his face. Navi flew forward into the open space and turned back.
“It’s very pretty. Rana would love it. Ruto, too…”
“I think so,” Link answered, and dove in headfirst. Swimming down to the bottom of the chamber, where he immediately planned to start, was out of the question, so with a bubbly sigh he asked Navi for his heavy boots.
As he sank, he caught glimpses of corridors and walkways, submerged but probably very convenient for a Zora. Down on the bottom, he clunked around slowly, seeing the many doors and yet more corridors branching off from the main room.
He picked the closest entrance, but the door was locked. So was the next one, and Link stopped to rest his legs for a few moments before going to the next one.
That hallway was not blocked by anything at first, but eventually he came to an empty room behind a door at the end of it. He was going to turn around when Navi tapped his ear.
“Look up!” she chirped. Link did so, and saw he could still keep going. It must have been obvious for a Zora, but a Zora he was not, though he was still going to do his best.
As he pulled himself out of a well-like vertical passage, he heard a squeal and his eyes widened. He straightened up just in time for a tall, slim, lovely Princess Ruto to fling herself bodily into him and knock them both back into the water. Continue reading →