 
### TRIFORCE WARRIORS

Based on "Legend of Zelda"

Noah Kamper

Published by JLB Creatives Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Noah Kamper

All rights reserved.

Thank you for uploading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

About the Author

Ch.1.

Link woke to the smell of bacon wafting throughout his house. He rolled off of his straw bed and placed his legs firmly on the floor.

He stood up and stretched his arms, yawning loudly as he did so. He pulled a pair of brown leather boots on and followed the bacon smell. He entered his kitchen and snuck up behind the figure with the long blue hair, light blue pajama tights, and slightly translucent blue lingerie shirt. He moved his hands to hug her from behind and wrapped his hands around her, nuzzling her neck with his nose. "Morning sweeting," he mumbled through her shoulder.

"Morning, luv," she said and turned her head and kissed his mop of straw hair.

He lifted his head and kissed her on the lips, softly.

She turned completely to face him, and he put his hands on her now watermelon-sized belly. He kissed her belly, he moved his mouth up her stomach to her chest, up her neck, and he put his right hand behind her head and kissed her on her lips again. She pulled back and smiled her pristine white smile. Her violet eyes with black lashes flickering off them, her thin, blue eyebrows, fair complexion, dainty nose, and small, pink mouth which held so much love, didn't appeal to some, but it was the only face Link would ever love, because it was Lana's face.

He kissed her again and snaked his hand behind her. He reached into the pan and snatched a few pieces of the bacon that was sizzling.

"Oh!" he cried out, dropping the scorching hot bacon. He held his hand and kicked the table behind him. "Da-"

"Sweetheart!" Lana snapped, and grabbed his hand. There were bloody blisters forming on his fingers. She dragged him to the sink, and pumped a thin stream of water. She stuck his hand into the water and stepped back, going in the direction of their room. "Stay there, and don't touch the bacon!" She skittered off to her room and appeared a moment later with a thin white box in her hand. She pushed him onto a chair at the table and set the box on it. She grabbed his hand and pushed his face in a different direction.

"Don't watch," she ordered, and popped the box open. Link felt a ticklish sensation in his fingers, and the pain disappeared. He turned his head, and she was closing the box. She smiled at him and kissed his fingers, sending a jolt through his hand. He kissed her.

"Thank you," he whispered and leapt up from his chair. "So, can we eat?"

She smiled at him. "Link I love you with all my heart, I really do, so that's why I must say this: you're an idiot."

He smirked and popped a drawer open. He grabbed a steel fork and stabbed a piece of bacon. He blew on it and put in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and went to work on the other pieces.

"Hold it!" Lana snapped and swatted his hand from going for a fourth piece. "I'm eating for two, so save some. And you can wait, so set the table, and I'll put my stuff away." She grabbed her box and skittered back off to her room while Link snuck another piece. He grabbed two plates, another fork, two knifes, and then two cups from the various drawers and cupboards.

"Thank you Link," Lana said, as he finished setting the table. She dished food out onto each plate, and he poured cold milk into each cup. Link prayed for the meal, asking for blessings from the three goddesses.

"So Lana," Link said as they started eating, "how's life at home while I'm gone?"

"Terrible. I'm glad you're home for the next few months."

"I'll be summoned to the castle now and then you know?"

"Yes, but you won't be hundreds of miles away risking your life."

"Without me, Hyrule would have been conquered."

"No way! Hyrule hasn't been invaded for a hundred years!"

"That may be so, but the lands we have conquered might have risen against us in the future."

"Still, I wish I got more time with you."

"I do too hon...You know what, let's not talk about then, let's talk about now. Have you named it?" He said, and chomped down on a piece of toast.

"No...but in my defense, it is hard trying to name a baby you don't know is a girl or a boy."

"I'm hoping for girl."

"Really? Why would Hyrules' general want a girl?" She dropped her fork down on her plate. "Oh...yeah, I guess I understand that now."

"Yes, after her we can have a boy, but for now...I hope to Din it's a girl."

"I hope so too."

***

Link walked from his home, a sword on his belt and a grin on his face. He only kept the sword for two reasons: besides guards on duty, generals were the only ones allowed to have a sword on civilian grounds, and he always liked to have one in case of an emergency.

He walked down the thin road to the gate of the interior wall. Hyrule town was separated into five chunks: the farthest out was the farming region, which circled the exterior walls, providing a slight distraction in case of invasion. The exterior wall separated the Civilian region and farming region. The civilian's homes were next, then the market region—all shops were in this part of town. The noble region was separated from the market by the interior wall. Nobles and guests of the crown were most commonly found living in the noble region, but generals and commanders lived there too. Link happened to be one of the two. Then, lastly, the castle; a twenty-foot deep moat surrounded the castle, and only the royal family and the soldiers in the barracks were allowed to stay here.

He patted the sword at his side when he arrived at the gate, and the gate was opened by the guards stationed there. Link strode over to the market, tipping his head and waving to passing civilians. He stopped at a blacksmith to check out the new arms, entering through the cherry-wood door.

"Hey Angie," he called out to the cashier.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey, General, how's your wife doing so far?"

"She's doing well; she handles the pregnancy really well."

"When is she due?"

"The doctors say about two months, and I have the next few months off-duty, so I'll be helping take care of her and the baby."

"I bet you're excited," she said, rolling her eyes and smirking.

"I will be, if it's a girl."

"Right, that would be tragic if it were male..."

"I heard you guys got new arms." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

She perked up. "Yes! They are in..." she flipped through a book on the counter, "...display number eight." She walked around the counter and across the room to a display case taller than Link. It was made of oak and had purple velvet cushioning the weapons, which were deadly looking.

The first weapon he noticed was a pike. Its handle was woven with ash and steel and had leather hand grips. The wood was stained bright red, and the pummel was adorned with a ruby as big as Link's fist. It was carried by a steel crown. The head was forged with firestone. There was a circle of wood and steel binding it to the top of the pole. The tag on it said it was over his price range, pricing at 640 rupees.

The next one was a silver ring with a cobalt blue gem sitting snug inside it. It must be enchanted Link thought as he saw the price of 780 rupees.

The next was a sword with a cerulean steel hilt that had gold woven through it. The pummel was cerulean steel also. The cross guard was winged with yet more cerulean steel. The blade was white steel with cerulean marking going along the flat of the blade. Price: 460 rupees. That one he could afford.

He liked the cerulean blade, and it was in his price range. Though he was a general, he wasn't given another sword, so he was stuck with the same kind of sword every other soldier had. He had gotten paid last night before he left the barracks. He had a few thousand at home, and he had half-a-thousand with him. He would browse some more.

The next weapon he saw was a Naginata. It had a pole as tall as Link and was made of blue-stained wood. The cross guard was made of gold. The blade was simple steel. The Naginata was 654 rupees. Yeesh.

He fancied the next weapon he saw. It was brutal. It was heavy. It was awesome. There were two silver gauntlets with red and blue gems embedded into it. A chain connected the left gauntlet to a ball of silver and steel with spikes covering it. The ball was five times the size of Link's head, and it looked heavy. It was priced at 820 rupees.

The next weapon aroused much curiosity from him. It was a simple pair of Gauntlets with a tiny sliding mechanism on the wrist. "Can I try these on?" He asked.

Angie nodded and walked behind the counter to find the key.

He looked at the final weapon while he waited. It wasn't anything impressive. It was a metal rod sticking out of something similar to a crossbow. It was about four feet long. Under the barrel was a small triangle. It looked like a crossbow trigger. It was 950 rupees.

Angie came back with a key and opened the case. Link pulled the gauntlets on, still shocked by the price of the club.

"Flick your wrist," Angie ordered, and Link obeyed.

A blade extended half a foot from the box on the wrist. "Whoa!" Link cried out and flicked his wrist again. The blades slid back in. "These would go perfect with stealth ops."

"Yeah," Angie said. "I heard the Hyrulian army ordered hundreds of these and the rifles." She motioned to the clubs, "And they are crafting them now too."

"Rifles?" Link asked, and pulled the gloves off. He placed them back in the display case.

"Yes, they were just invented a few weeks ago, and we barely got them."

"What is it?"

"Let me show you," She said, and picked up the rifle. She motioned for Link to follow her and walked out the back door to the battle grounds. The shop had the battle grounds in the back so customers could test a weapon before buying it. She knelt down on one knee and placed the barrel of the rifle on a rock. She closed one eye and pushed the trigger with her finger. As the trigger was pushed a metal thing lifted up and slammed down.

BOOM!

Link dived to the ground and looked up at Angie. Smoke was pouring from the rifle, and she was grinning. He looked across the yard at the target she'd been aiming at, and his jaw dropped. The once unscarred dummy, never having been hit by anything, was obliterated.

Angie pulled a lead ball from her belt pouch and dropped it into the barrel. She then proceeded to put gunpowder in the part connecting the barrel and the shoulder rest.

"It's like an arrow, but a bomb!" Link said and snatched the rifle from Angie's hands. He knelt down and aimed at a different target. He pressed the trigger, and the explosion rang through the air again. The target was now in pieces, and smoke was starting to fill Link's lungs. He stood up and stepped back. Angie grabbed the rifle from Link's hand and shook her head.

"Everyone reacts that way. It is pretty incredible. I practice at night."

They started to walk back in. "Is that what those explosions were?" he inquired. The night before he had been awakened several times to loud explosions ringing throughout the city.

"Most likely. Sorry General."

"That's okay," he said, and she placed the rifle back in the case, closing and locking it in the process.

"So will you be buying anything?"

"How much are those gauntlets?"

"The hidden blades? 130 rupees, but you need not worry, I am giving you a pair of the hidden blades, and a rifle, for free. Along with ammunition for the rifle."

"Oh, no," Link said, waving his hand in front of him. "Those are too much; you would lose so much money!"

"No, we got those free, and we have two more pairs of hidden blades, along with fifty crates of ammo and ninety rifles."

"You got all of that free?"

"Yeah, the place we bought them from said they would sell us all of it if we took a free trial run, so we did. We liked 'em, so we took the deal."

"How much was it all?"

"Oh...the rifles and blades, it was close to five million, but that was easy. We just sold a crap load of things to this redhead dude. He bought our Dragon-bone Pike, and the blue ring. The ones in the case are for décor; they won't be sold to anyone. They are fake. The glass is impenetrable too. Only thing getting them is this key. Okay, do you want your weapons now?"

"Uh, sure, why not?"

"Okay." She turned, and entered a room behind the counter. She pulled two boxes down and brought them to the counter.

"Well, thank you," he said.

"You're welcome General. Anything else?"

"No, I have enough to try out tonight. Is there ammo here?"

"Oh, yeah, you could probably shoot forty times."

"Mmk, well, thank you," he said, and walked to the door. He spun around and set the boxes on the counter. "Can I pick these up later?"

"Sure. When you coming?"

"Ten minutes maybe. I just don't want to carry this stuff all over town."

"Okay, I understand that."

"Thanks," he said and walked to the door. He glimpsed the White sword, and headed out.

***

Link strolled out the door of his home; Lana was visiting a friend living in the farming region, so it was just him for the walk along the town. Before he could step ten meters from his house, though, he saw a figure running towards him in the distance.

"General!" A soldier clad in blue, white, and gray armor, and panting like an animal, rushed up to Link and saluted.

"Yes soldier?" Link asked, curious about the soldier's disposition.

"There are hordes of monsters in the farming region!"

"Hordes?" Link asked, eyes widening.

"Yes, there are tens of thousands of monsters in the farming region!"

"Go tell the guard to be alert, and sound the bell!" Link ordered and rushed into his house.
Ch.2.

Link pulled on a full coat of chainmail armor and slipped a thin gray tunic over that. He then proceeded to put on his general's armor. The general's armor had silver spaulders. The torso was made of indigo steel and had silver ripples on the front and back. The sides were silver. A silver Triforce was engraved into the chest. The arms had silver spikes to fights off attackers without weapons. Link wouldn't be using his general's gauntlets anymore; he now used the hidden blade gauntlets. He slipped those on and then put on his greaves. The greaves were indigo steel as well, with silver spikes and ripples covering them. The boots were also made of silver.

He strapped his rifle to his back and loaded his belt pouch with ammunition. He hooked two silver knives to his belt, and then his sword. His sword had a silver blade and an indigo steel cross guard and hilt. The pummel was a big sapphire. Maybe his sword was a little different than the others.

He pulled on his silver helmet and rushed out the door.

Link arrived at the exterior gate fifteen minutes later. It wasn't too hard to run in the armor; it was quite light, as it had been enchanted to be light. He noticed other soldiers carrying rifles as well, some on the wall firing at the monsters. He climbed the stairs to the top of the hundred-foot wall and looked toward the hordes. Thousands of monsters were ravaging the farms, and hundreds were trying to climb the north gate, where Link was.

B-B-BOOM!

Several cannons went off, sending their balls of death to the hordes.

"General!" Link turned to his right, to find Impa, the commander of the army. "What are we to do?"

"There are so many of them. Just keep firing, and when we run out of ammunition, we'll fight them with our blades."

"We'll never make it, General. They will have scaled our walls by then!"

"Are the spikes out?"

"Yes, but they are using them to help climb."

"Pour the oil, then."

Impa nodded, and screamed out to the army, "POUR THE OIL!"

The soldiers agreed, and hundreds of buckets of hot oil slid down the wall, coating the spikes. Every monster that came in touch shrieked in pain, as Link had earlier that day due to the bacon.

More monsters came. They just kept climbing, and the Hyrulian soldiers just kept shooting their rifles, cannons, crossbows, and bows.

"Are they being summoned?" Link asked.

"No. The ones here were, but by whom, I do not know. This is it; we kill these, we live through this battle, no more being summoned...for now."

"Good, keep mowing them down, then. They can't touch us yet, so when they can, they'll be smaller in numbers. We might win this battle."

Impa grunted and picked up a rifle that was propped against the corrugated wall. She aimed at the blob of evil climbing the wall and started firing.

Link pulled out his rifle and fired at the Moblin in the distance. The lead ball hit home, obliterating the Moblin's head. He started aiming for large things, like Moblins, or Lizalfos, instead of Bokoblins.

Link noticed a flame in the distance. Another. Another, this time closer, closer, closer... He dived to the ground, before the dragon burst into the air, shedding fire around Link. The dragon circled back, and landed on the wall in front of the general.

Link hooked his rifle onto his back and drew his sword. The dragon head became distorted, and it began to shrink. The once huge dragon was now a man, standing a foot or so taller than Link, with red armor covering his body. His helmet resembled a demon head and was made of silver. He had a long mane of glowing red hair that ran to his waist. The man pulled a pike from his back and spun it in front of him. He smashed it into the ground, sending soldiers flying as flames burst from the ground, only to disappear. Link looked closer and realized that this Pike was the one he had seen at the Weapons shop. Link brought his sword up and held it in front of him with both hands.

"I am Volga!" The dragon-man said and waved his pike in front of him, sending a plume of flame toward Link. Link swung his enchanted sword, and a barrier of water spread in front of him blocking the flame.

Volga rushed toward him and leapt into the air, swinging his pike at Link. Link deflected the blow and spun around to face Volga. Link slashed his blade at him, and Volga pushed it away. Link soon realized that the offensive post would be a challenge, and he brought his sword closer to his body and assumed a defensive stance.

Volga leapt into the air and transformed for a split second, whipping Link to the ground with his tail, and landed back down as a human. Link scrambled to his feet and nearly slid off of the wall, but he managed to gain his footing. He rushed Volga, swinging his blade furiously at the dragon-man. Red began to fill Link's eyesight, and Volga began to fall back against his blows.

Volga flipped backwards and reared his head back, breathing in a huge gasp of air. He swung his head forward, blasting a pillar of flame from his mouth toward Link. Link reached for his shield but realized he'd forgotten it. The flame came closer, and Link tried to create a water barrier, but the flame hit him hard, engulfing him in the red-hot fury of Volga.

Volga transformed, cackling as he did so, and his scales glowed red.

Impa and the other soldiers shrieked and charged the dragon. The flame still burned high, and Impa couldn't see Link. The dragon flew into the air and swatted several soldiers over the wall with its tail. The flames died down, and Link stood, his blade in front of him. He wasn't hurt; the flames hadn't even touched him. Link put his sword down, and Impa stared at his left hand. On it, a golden Triforce glowed brightly. Could it be?

The dragon swooped back down and knocked Impa, Link, and several awed soldiers to the ground. Link leapt up and charged at the dragon, which was now flying at him at high speed. "Go to your posts!" Link shouted and leapt off the wall into the air. The dragon flew at him and caught him with its claws. It carried him into the air, spinning him until his sword flew from his hand in the direction of the wall. It tossed him into the air and opened its mouth. Link pulled a pinch of gunpowder from his pouch and threw it down as the dragon breathed.

BOOM!

The dragon exploded, fire, blood, and scales going everywhere, leaving Link to freefall to the ground.

***

Link woke on the battle field the next morning. His head thumped, his leg was twisted, and his wrists were burning with pain. He turned his head and gazed at the carnage. He heard groans from monsters that were lying on the battlefield. Arrows, gunpowder, monster remains, and blood littered the field. He attempted to roll over, but the one finger that would move willingly with limited pain did him no good. He tried lifting his head up, but to no avail. His neck was twisted slightly, probably not broken, but majorly cracked. He was lucky the fall hadn't killed him, but the pain and his slight paralysis made him wish the fall would have killed him. He tried moaning, but his throat burned with pain, and it was drier than the Lanayru sands. He closed his eyes and tried to remember where his sword was. It was gone...the dragon had caused him to fling it away. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky. It was light blue, similar to Lana's hair...

Lana. She had run away from their home. His eyes managed to draw enough liquid to drop a single tear down his cheek. He prayed silently to the goddesses that morning that Lana was safe and that the monsters hadn't invaded the city.

He flicked his eyes toward the wall and found that the gate was intact and the wall un-breached. He smiled meekly and let loose a sigh of relief. He furrowed his brow and looked closer at the gate. It was opening! Two figures sprinted from the gate toward Link. As they neared he could see that one of them was Impa, but the other he didn't know. She had a tight white, blue, and black tunic that covered her whole body. She had a pair of the hidden blades on her hands, and her face was covered in a white linen cloth. She had braided her hair with white cloth, but what he could see of it was blue. The front of her tunic was covered in ornate designs. There was a silver eye with a Triforce above it, as if it were looking up at it. She had a kunai strapped to her belt and a short sword hooked to her back.

They arrived next to him, and the mysterious figure knelt down while Impa checked his breathing. The mysterious figure placed her hand on Link's chest and pushed it down, sending a shock of life throughout his body. His leg untwisted, his wrists no longer hurt, his head wasn't thumping, and all other injuries felt completely better.

Link sat up. "Who are you?" he asked the mysterious figure and turned to Impa. "And what happened after the battle with the dragon?"

The mysterious figure answered first; "My name is Sheik."

Impa answered quickly before Link could question Sheik anymore. "After the dragon was defeated, the monsters started to slack in their siege. We quickly dispatched the hordes scaling the walls, and then we sent our foot soldiers to the outskirts to take care of the rest."

"Is Lana safe?"

"I don't know, Link. We sent scouts through the city to check for monsters, and the guards are cleaning the walls now. We've seen so far that the casualties for our army didn't even go into the triple digits, and no deceased civilians have been found. I will search tonight for your wife."

"I guess I will help," Sheik said and stood up, brushing the dirt off her knees.

Impa stood and helped Link up. There was no pain left in his body, and standing was easy. Impa unhooked a sheath from her back and handed it to Link. It was his general's sword. He pulled the blade out and, after a few inches, the blade stopped. Link dropped his jaw. He shook the sheath and pointed it to the ground. The rest of the blade fell out, plopping down onto the bloody dirt.

"What happened?" Link asked. He waved the now short blade around and tossed it to the ground.

"It was hit by a rifle blast when it was flung from your hold, and the blade snapped. I'm sorry, Link."

"It isn't your fault, Impa. It is just a sword."

"Still, I..."

"No!" Link interrupted.

Impa picked the blade up and tucked it into the sheath. She then took the hilt and place it in the sheath. She handed the sheath to Link. "Maybe you can get it bound together."

"No," Sheik said. "It was enchanted, and one rule for enchanted weapons is that it's not worth the risk of binding the fragments of the blade."

"Risk?"

"Yes. Enchanted weapons' spells are very fragile. When one is broken the fragility comes into play. The enchantment will be released, obliterating anything in its path. In this case, I can guess that it let loose about thirty gallons of water."

"Yes," Impa confirmed and motioned for Link and Sheik to follow her as she walked back to the city.

"Wow," Sheik said, and she pushed aside a squirming Bokoblin with an arrow in its neck.

***

Link had thrown his general's sword into the rubbish pile that the soldiers were building up. It was useless, as he had explained to Sheik earlier. Who was that woman anyway? He shook his head and entered his home. His rifle was still on his back, undamaged, and his hidden blades were fine, as well. He walked to his armor room and shed his general's armor. After he had taken it off, he removed his clothing and headed to his bathroom.

Link drew a warm bath from the faucet and set himself down in the tub as the water rose. Why had those monsters come now? Why would they suddenly attack now? Link then remembered what Impa had told him. The army had been summoned. By whom, though, was the question. Who were they? Why did they attack Hyrule, of all places, and where did they learn the ability to summon an army that massive? Link sighed and closed his eyes trying to focus on non-worrisome things.

***

Link entered the room, Lana at his side. He stepped evenly with her to the front of the room through a thin walkway. Lana took a seat to their left. Link turned to face the princess, Zelda.

She smiled and began the ceremony. "Commander Link, of Hyrule, do you swear to the goddesses who forged this land that you will lead our armies to your greatest ability, no matter the cost?"

"I do," he replied, trying not to show emotion.

She turned around and lifted her golden rapier from its pedestal. "Then by the power vested in me by the goddess Hylia, I dub thee, commander Link, General of Hyrule."

The crowd erupted in applause, and Link smiled at the princess.

Later that evening...

Link pulled Lana out of the party, to the balcony viewing Hyrule Field. It was nippy that night, and the hair on his arms stood up with anticipation of the next moment.

"Link," she said giggling lightly, "what are you up to?"

He kissed her neck and then knelt down on one knee. He pulled a tiny box from his belt pouch and opened it up, revealing a silver ring with a golden gem resting on it.

"Will you, Lana, marry me?"

She smiled hugely, and a tear rolled from her eye. "Yes, Link, I will marry you."

Link pulled the ring from its box and slipped it onto her left ring finger. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

***

Link put on a light blue tunic and pulled on his leather boots. He strapped a knife to his side and headed outside to help clean up. He closed the door behind him and was confronted by a soldier waiting outside his door.

"General! You are needed in the war room!" The soldier turned and ran to the castle.

Link frowned and jogged on over to the castle. He pushed through the doors to the war room and stepped into the center of the room. He stood next to Impa as the other soldiers finished gathering.

"All right!" Impa shouted. "We were attacked last night by a sorcerer, and we don't know who, or why, but that is why we are here. This person is obviously very talented but is also very stupid."

"What?" Link asked, confusion spanning across his face.

"They attacked Hyrule, the strongest kingdom created, and though we may not have the biggest army, we have the most skilled! We gather here today to declare our intentions of war!" Impa pointed to a map of Hyrule in front of her. "We are here," she said and pointed to the castle with her Naginata. "We are traveling through the mountains of Eldin, through the volcano, through Faron Woods, across Lake Hylia, through the Lanayru mines, through the Lanayru desert, and then to the valley of Seers, where our oracle has foreseen as our enemies' hiding place."

"Commander, that would take over seven months!" a soldier exclaimed.

"Yes, it will, but that is a better option than sitting here and letting our kingdom get destroyed."

"I agree with the commander," Link said, his hand cupping his chin. "It would be our best option, unless..." He looked at the map once more. "We could travel through the Wastelands of Death; it would cut out Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru. We could be at the Valley of Seers within the month."

Impa turned to him, "Link, the Wastelands of Death are called that for a reason. We'll be dead before we step two feet into them."

"Commander, our army can't endure that long of a journey. The longest we've been gone while conquering was for two months, not seven."

"Link, you must have confidence that your army can do this. If you cannot, I will have to-"

"No! I am your superior," Link snapped, "You will follow MY orders and you will salute me."

She saluted him. Then she walked from the room.

***

Three weeks later...

The guards outside the Princess's door stepped to the side, allowing Link to step inside. He heard the princess on her balcony, playing her harp. She sang beautifully:

When the Chosen hero locked away the prince of darkness, Hyrule was left in peace.

But a day will come when they both shall rise, both evil and divine!

When this time has come we shall adorn him in the garment of the hero.

He shall draw the blade of evil's bane and banish the darkness.

The hero will use the Triforce to hold the prince down.

He will take him and defeat him, and then we will have peace.

"Nice singing," Link said, softly, as she finished.

She turned around, and smiled when she saw the face of her general. She came in, set her harp on the mantle, and rushed Link.

"Link!" She hugged him tightly and sat down in her chair. "I haven't spoken to you since the party celebrating your victory!"

"Your commander had more to do with our victory than I."

"No, she told me about the dragon-man's power on the monster hordes. You defeated that beast, and by doing so, you lifted an enchantment on the hordes."

"I still think I don't deserve much credit."

"You deserve plenty. Just try not to screw yourself over next time."

"What?"

"She told me you fell."

"Ohhhh," he said and plopped down on one of the cushions that decorated her room.

"So what is it you need, General?"

"Well, we plan on marching to the Valley of Seers."

"I understand that, but what about it?"

"Well, Impa suggests we take the long way, through Eldin, Faron, Lanayru, and then to the Valley. I suggest we go the short way, through the Wastelands of Death."

"Link, I have been meaning to tell you this, and I'm sure Impa wanted to as well. We need to go the long way."

"Why?"

"I know the dark sorceress. Her name is Cia. She is beautiful, seductive, powerful, and stunningly gorgeous. She seeks one thing, and one thing only."

"What?"

"You, Link."
Ch.3.

"Me?" Link said, a look of disbelief covering his face.

"Yes," Zelda said. "She lusts after your soul."

"Why me?"

"Link, I don't know if you have noticed, but the mark on your left hand is not a birthmark. That is the Triforce of courage inside you."

"What?" Link gasped.

"Yes, Sheik holds the Triforce of Wisdom. Yours have not been unlocked yet, so the full potential of the two pieces will not be unlocked till they are exposed to the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage."

"Wh-N-No," Link stuttered. I can't have the Triforce. I can't have war. I have a baby due in a month."

"Link, do not worry about Lana. She will be fine, and to be honest, I know she is safe, as I just spoke to her recently."

"What? Why didn't you tell me? Why hasn't she spoken to me? Wh-"

"Link, all will be revealed to you soon, but we saw that you weren't ready. As for the war, if you do not seize this opportunity to strike down Cia when you have the chance and end this threat before it destroys us, you and your family will die. We need you Link."

"What does this have to do with Cia?"

"If we gain the complete Triforce by exposing three people worthy of the power of each piece, the full Triforce will be made, and we can use it to defeat this threat. You must hurry though. Our scouts reported an army of Cia's marching towards us. They think we have a three-month period between now and the time they reach us."

"Why do we have to go through the long way then?"

/"In each province is a temple with a unique gem. You need this gem to unlock the other temples in these provinces that have the Triforce inside them. So at Eldin Mountain you need to go through the Fire Temple and, using the Gem inside, this case being the Fire Ruby, you unlock the door to the Temple of Power, with the Triforce of Power hiding within. In Faron you will need to go through the Forest Temple in order to get the Forest Emerald to unlock the temple of Courage, where you will receive the true Triforce of Courage. You will then venture across Lake Hylia to Lanayru, where you will go through the Sand temple to get the Water Sapphire and use it to unlock the Temple of Wisdom, where the Triforce of Wisdom will be waiting. Then with the complete Triforce, you will travel through the dimension portal in the Temple of Souls to the Valley of Seers, where you will defeat Cia. After you defeat Cia, you will step through the portal at her fortress, and when you are back in this world, you will teleport yourselves to the castle using the Triforce."

"So she wishes to own the complete Triforce?"

"Yes, but only so she can get you."

"Why does she want me?"

"You are the reincarnation of the Chosen Hero. You are the Hero of Legend; you will lead us away from evil, as the Hero of Legend always does. Cia has been watching your soul and has become infatuated with it."

"Why?"

"Never mind that. For now you just need to make sure you and your troops are ready for the trip. Okay?"

"As you wish, your highness," Link said. He left the room.

***

Link knocked on the Commander's door, and she opened it quickly. "General, please, come in," she said, waving him inside. "Commander, I would like to inform you that we will be taking the long way through. The princess just explained everything to me."

"That is good; do you plan to set out on our journey soon?"

"Yes, I would like to leave within the week."

"Would you like me to inform the soldiers?"

"Yes, that would be generous of you, Commander."

"I will do that now, " she said and grabbed her Naginata. She then walked from her home, Link not far behind her.

***

Cia thrust her scepter into the ground, spreading a void of darkness.

"Rise!" She hissed, "Become alive once more, Dragon Knight. Your soul is the only thing binding you to death. Let it go and become alive once more!"

Volga body floated out of the void, empty of life. Cia waved her scepter, and a translucent white glob pulled itself from Volga's chest and sank into the void. Cia waved her scepter again, and the void closed, leaving Volga to plop down on the ground. His eyes opened, slowly, and he pushed himself up. He looked to his right and found his master, who had just revived him.

Cia was a foot-and-a-half shorter than Volga. She had a mask covering her face that resembled a crow's beak. She was wearing a strange dress that left the front of her legs barely clothed, with golden armor covering the tops of her legs. The actual dress covered her back and went down to her ankles. The left of her waist was also covered in thin golden armor that went up to her breast and continued down her arm. Her right waist was clothed in the same material as the dress; it went up to her right breast and continued to her wrist. Both wrists had golden bracelets on them. The center of her torso was bare, only covered on the sides.

She walked over to him and helped him stand. "Volga, I have traded your soul for eternal life. Use this gift well." Cia took her scepter and tapped him on the chest, pushing him back, and making him convulse and shake. His body began to glow red, and then the shaking stopped. He growled deeply and reared his head back, blowing a column of flame into the air. Cia stepped back and held her hand out.

"I require the blue ring," she said.

Volga nodded and pulled out the ring he had bought at the blacksmith. He put it in her hand and then summoned his dragon-bone pike.

"Thank you. Now, prepare for your journey. You will intercept the Hyrulians on their journey to Eldin, and with Wizzro at your side, you and your army will obliterate them. I do wish that you leave the Hero of Legend and the two Sheikah alive; I need them in order to win the Hero of Legend's affection."

"Yes, my master," he said, and vanished from her sight.

Cia tossed the ring onto the ground and waved her scepter, bringing a shadow from the ring. The shadow began to morph and was soon wearing a purple robe. It was spherical and had two arms, each wearing two blue and red rings. The hood of the robe revealed two red eyes and large red lips.

"Thank you, Master," he hissed. "I have been waiting a long time for you."

"I understand this, Wizzro. Did you happen to hear the conversation between Volga and me?"

"Yes, Master. I know I am to go to Eldin with Volga, and using our armies, we will defeat the Hyrulians, sparing only the chosen three."

"Good. Now, leave my sight," she ordered, and he disappeared.

She turned and waved her scepter, creating a window through the dimensions, and gazed at the Hero of Legend, who had not the slightest clue she was watching him. She slammed her scepter down, and darkness rose from the ground next to her.

"You will be mine, Hero."

***

Impa entered the chamber of the goddess and walked down the dimly lit path. She arrived at a pedestal; a folded green tunic lay on it. She lifted it carefully and turned to leave.

The Hero was ready.

***

Link answered the door to find Impa standing with a folded green tunic in her hands.

"This is for you, Hero."

He took the tunic and looked up at her. "Thank you Impa." She entered his house and sat at his couch in the common area. She unhooked a cerulean and white sheath from her back and set it down on the table in the middle of the area.

Link walked to his room and changed into the tunic. It was forest green with two silver shoulder pads on his right. The gloves were brown, leaving the fingers open. The pants were white-brown and went to his feet. A blue scarf with the Hylian crest at the end hung behind his back, and a green cap rested on his head, leaving the front of his messy blonde hair showing. The belt was brown and had a gold buckle. He pulled on his brown leather boots and entered the common area.

"It suits you," Impa said.

"Yes, I suppose it does...What's with the sword?"

"You need one since your general's blade broke, so I purchased one for you."

Link picked up the sheath and pulled out the blade. It was the white sword he had viewed at the blacksmith's.

"Thank you, Impa," He said, and set the sheath down. He swung the blade in front of him, and put it back in its sheath. He hooked it on his back.

"You're welcome, general," Impa said, and left his house.

***

Five days later...

Link looked to the army massed in front of him. To his side, mounted on their steeds, Impa and Sheik waited for his command.

"Soldiers of Hyrule!" Link cried out. "We have been viciously attacked! We have been shown disrespect! The kingdom of Hyrule has been disgraced! Dishonored! And we will show the ones who have disrespected us what it means to be a target! The target of Hyrule! We ride today to show the world that Hyrule is not to be tampered with!"

Link pulled back the reins of his horse and moved to the side, turning himself from the army. He drew his sword, and the army of Hyrule set out on their journey to determine Hyrule's destiny.
Ch.4.

Link's pep talk was wearing off. His soldiers were weary and moping in the cold. He wasn't doing so well either; His nose was red, his cheeks stung in the cold, and his fingers were numb. He looked to his left, and saw Impa struggling too. She clung to her horse tightly, and he could see her shivering. No wonder why, though. She had no coat, just her chest binds, her tights, and her thin Sheikah tunic. She did have a tiny black scarf covering her neck, but nothing else to protect from the cold.

Link looked at the snowy ground. It was covered in the thick, white coldness that went to the horses' knees. Who knew that this side of Eldin Mountain was covered in snow? Link looked forward and saw nothing but white. He hoped they would make it out of this blizzard.

They had left the calm fields of Hyrule the day before and were still adjusting to the cold and the snow. Snow only came in the darkest part of winter, and Hyrule never sent armies in the winter, so the soldiers, who were used to traveling through forests and deserts, were dealing poorly with the cold.

The snow was coming down fast and hard. Link had seen that several soldiers had blue fingers and faces, clear signs of frostbite. Link gritted his teeth and urged his horse on...

***

Link was about ready to give up when a soldier shouted through the thick snowfall. "General!" The soldier ran as fast as he could through the snow to Link. "General!" When he arrived near Link, he bent over slightly for a second to catch his breath.

"Yes, soldier?" Link asked, and the soldier stood up straight again.

"I saw something," the soldier said, and Link stopped his horse.

"What did you see?"

"I don't know. It was a flash of white, and maybe a red eye."

Link took a deep breath and said, with a hint of condescension, "You realize that we are on a mountain where there are animals, and the color white is abundant?"

"Yes, General, I do know this, but this wasn't an ordinary animal!"

"What do you think it was, then?"

"I'm not entirely sure...maybe a wolf? And wolves travel in packs..."

"...so there are bound to be more!" Link finished and looked around the army, almost immediately detecting a flash of red and white, and another, and another, until he heard a howl come from behind the army.

"Run!" Link cried out through the wind to his army, and he heard cries from the back of the army and saw soldiers being brought down by white Wolfos.

The Army picked up the pace, adrenaline running through their veins, and a soldier shouted through the wind to the army. "CAVE!"

Without Link having to give the order, the army ran into the cave, which turned out to be almost as big as the Noble District.

The soldiers in the back of the army that entered the cave turned and drew their weapons, fighting off the Wolfos, till the threat had dissipated.

Link sighed, relief flowing through him, and he hopped off his horse. He pulled a blanket from the horse's back and draped it over himself like a cape.

"Take a rest!" he called out to his army. "We camp here tonight!"

***

Link awoke to the sound of Impa sharpening her Naginata.

"Ahh," she spoke, "the Hero finally awakes." She stood and hooked her Naginata on her back.

She helped Link stand, and he straightened his green cap.

"General," she said, "I sense the Triforce of power, and if my instincts serve me correctly, I would suggest we search this cave for the entrance to the Fire Temple."

"I agree," Link said. "Has Sheik been healing the army?"

"Yes. She works very diligently. She has a passion for her craft, and she knows how to use her craft, too."

"She does. She kind of reminds me of Lana, but Sheik is a Sheikah and wields magic."

"Lana does seem similar to her..."

Sheik soon joined them. Link could slightly see Sheik's eyes through the cloth covering her face, and she showed no emotion except for some yawning.

"Are you ready to search for the Fire Temple?" Sheik asked.

"Yes, but how will we get our army through the temple?"

"That won't be a problem, Chosen hero." The Trio spun around and found a barrier of fire between them and the army. Volga stood in front of the flames, glowing red and clearly alive. Behind the fire was a huge army of bBkoblins and Stalchildren. Link cringed. The Hyrulian army was worn out from their journey so far, and they wouldn't stand a chance against an army that size. Volga neared the Trio, and Link stepped forward, drawing the white sword from its sheath on his back. He pulled his shield from his back, too. It was similar to the Hylian Shield the Hero of Legend used, but it was a steel shield with the edges made of white steel, and the center made of cerulean steel. A silver Hylian crest was painted on the center very precisely, and surrounding the crest were ornate designs. He held his sword in his left hand and slipped his right arm through the shield strap.

"You must be wondering how I live," Volga said, and the two began to circle each other.

"No, I've seen some crazy stuff, and you living doesn't surprise me even slightly." He was lying; of course, he was bewildered at the fact that the dragon knight lived, but he didn't show his confusion. He wasn't scared though; he had defeated the dragon knight before, and he could certainly do it again.

"No?" Volga said, and chuckled violently, "Oh, Hero of Legend, you continue to amaze me. Just yield and surrender. Your kingdom might survive.

"We will never surrender," Link said, and charged Volga. He swung his blade heavily, locking himself against Volga's pike, and bashed Volga in the side with his shield. Volga stepped back, dangerously close to the fire barrier, and swung his pike at Link, who intercepted the blow with his shield and let out a series of furious slashes on Volga, but each blow was deflected. They continued to clash blades until Volga broke his pattern of attack and leapt straight into the air, dodging Link's slash, and smashed his pike down on Link's head.

The Hero fell to his knees, and Volga kicked him in the chest, launching him to the wall of the cave. Impa stepped up, and Sheik checked Link for injuries. Impa drew her Naginata, and she and Volga swung and bashed their weapons against each other's, always failing to sneak in a blow that would wound the opponent.

Impa was beginning to tire, and she flipped backwards, avoiding one of Volga's swings. She spun her Naginata, and flame began to flicker in front of it. She kept spinning her Naginata until the flame was twice the size of a toddler. She smashed it into the ground, launching the flame toward Volga. He chuckled as it neared him, and he put his hand up to show the Trio his new power.

Volga caught the flame when it neared him and tossed it into the air. He dragon-kicked the flame, and it flew toward Impa, who stabbed the flame with her Naginata. She thrust her Naginata, and the flame shot toward Volga. He brought up his Dragon bone pike and deflected the flame.

Link and Sheik's eyes darted between the two warriors as they launched the flame back and forth, each hit making it bigger. Across the flame barrier the army of Hyrule struggled against the massiveness of the monsters fighting them. Link's injuries were healed, and Sheik was waiting for an opening to join the fight against Volga.

Impa's speed was slowing, and each strike left her more vulnerable, while the dragon knight was empowered by the flame.

Link saw it coming, and he moved to help, but the flame had gone too close.

"Impa!" He cried out, and dashed toward her, but the now boulder-sized ball of flame smashed into Impa, hurling her back into the wall behind her. Her Naginata absorbed most of the flame, but her chest and arms were scorched by the flame.

Link brought his sword up and leapt to the dragon knight, who was glowing brighter than hot lava.

"So the Hero returns," Volga said as they locked weapons. He pushed Link over, landing him on his back. "The Hero who stands no chance against the might of the dragon knight..."

***

Lieutenant Wesley struggled against the mass of his opponents' army. He slashed his broadsword at every monster near him, killing everything in its path, but the monsters kept coming. He could see that the army contained only Bokoblins and Stalchildren, very weak opponents, but the size of their army was the factor contributing to the looming defeat. He was getting cornered when a shadow burst from the ground, spiraling as it came down. It was wearing a purple robe and had grotesque arms that were wrinkled and brownish black. It swung its hand through the air, sending a blast of darkness through his soldiers. The soldiers who came in contact slowly morphed—skin falling off, revealing bones, eyes turning red—and all let out a howl. The soldiers turned Stalfos began hacking away at the Hylian soldiers.

Wesley's broadsword continued to cut the Stalfos and Stalchildren down until a blast of darkness swept through his heart and instantly began decaying his skin. Wesley, with a fraction of his life left, pulled a knife from his belt and slit his throat, blurring his vision, and dropping him into darkness.

***

Link scrambled to his feet and lifted his sword. He knew that Volga wouldn't be taken down so easily, and fear now entered his mind. He glanced behind him, and saw Sheik tending to Impa's wounds. Volga prepared to strike, and Link thrust his sword beneath Volga's pike. The blade slipped through the dragon knight's armor and passed through his gut. Volga convulsed and pulled back, falling off Link's blade.

Link stared at his sword covered in hot glowing red blood. How in Hylian's name did he just do that? Volga pulled back, clutching his wound with his free hand.

"You really are the Hero of Legend" Volga said. Then he vanished, along with the barrier and the monster army. Link looked at his army, or the remains of it. There were probably less than a hundred soldiers remaining. No deceased bodies could be seen, as all of the remains had morphed into Stalfos.

Link turned to find Impa nodding in approval toward him. For what, though? He had led his army into a trap, and now only a fifth of his army remained! He shook his head at her; he had failed as general. He took off down the cavern, sword and shield on his back.

Sheik looked at Impa to ensure she was okay then ran after the Hero.

Link sprinted down the narrow paths of the cavern, nearing the ominous sound of lava. His eyes bulged, and his face reddened. Hundreds of lives had been lost because he chose to give up for the day. He slowed and put his hands on his knees, trying to gain his breath. He felt his chest; his right rib felt too...squishy. He slipped off his tunic and found two punctures in his chest. He gasped for breath, and blood squirted through the wounds. He put his fist to his mouth, gagging. Oh crap, he thought. A punctured lung wouldn't do him good right now. He turned to his left and found Sheik sprinting toward him, her light feet pattering silently against the heated cave paths.

She stopped when she got to him, and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Link!" she exclaimed and knelt down to examine his wounds. She put her hand on the two wounds and muttered a few words.

Link instantly felt his skin seal together and his right lung close its wounds. He looked down at her and smiled. Her blue braid looked similar to Lana's...

"You know," he said as she stood back up, "you really remind me of my wife, Lana."

"Is that so?" she said, smiling under her clothed face. Link picked up his tunic and slipped it back on, making sure the scarf was arranged right.

"Yes, she was always a good healer, except she used physical aid, not magical aid."

"Really? She sounds like my type, maybe when this is..."

"Sheik," Link said, interrupting her.

"Yes Link?"

"Look straight in front of you." She did and saw what he was talking about. Directly parallel to them a golden Triforce was implanted in the wall.

"It's the entrance to the..."

"...Fire Temple!" Sheik leapt to her feet and yanked Link up. She sprinted back toward the cave where the army was lingering, and Link followed.

The soldiers edged carefully in single file to the entrance, the Trio at the front.

"So, you think I can unlock the entrance?" Impa asked the two.

"Yes," they said simultaneously.

They arrived at the entrance, and Impa leapt between the two ledges, bracing herself by holding her hands on the wall, her right hand in the middle of the Triforce. The Triforce on her hand glowed, and the Triforce on the wall spun. The cave wall split revealing a stairway down to the Fire Temple. Impa looked at the army behind her; she walked down the path. As she stepped on the first tread, a long slab of stone slid out from one of the ledges, connecting each other. Link, Sheik, and their army followed, entering the Fire Temple.
Ch. 5.

Link, Sheik, Impa, and their army walked down the dimly lit staircase. Is it ever going to end? They had been walking for hours, and they were becoming exhausted. Link was sweating thoroughly, and Sheik was tempted to pull her mask down to breathe easier. Impa seemed fine. She was actually enjoying the heat. Ever since Volga had hit her with that flame, the heat didn't seem to bother her. This would probably come in handy when they entered the actual temple...if they ever got there.

"So Link," Sheik said, choking on her breath, "how is it...being general...of Hyrule?"

"It's um...it's good...I guess..."

"Stressful?"

"Oh...yeah...Managing paperwork is...a big part...of the job...It's not all...battles and conquests..."

"That...sounds like...It would be...pretty boring...sometimes..."

"Yeah..." Link gasped, and they didn't speak for the rest of the walk.

"General?" Impa asked.

"Yes...Commander?"

"Do you think I should progress alone? It is the Fire Temple, and it houses the Fire Ruby, which is my Triforce gem."

"That may be...a good idea...It might end...this hellishly long...staircase..."

"True."

Link raised his hand in a fist, and the army stopped, leaving Impa to progress down the stairway alone. They waited a few minutes, and they heard her yell to them, "It worked! I'm going to move on. If you guys want to try and come down, you can, but I would stay put for now!"

Link followed her recommendation and sat down on the step he was standing on. The rest of his army sat down and took a drink from their canteens. It was a good idea for them to rest; he was just worried about Impa.

***

Impa stopped at a river of lava. She looked up and saw a bridge hanging only by ropes. She raised her Naginata and swirled it through the air, gathering flames. She then thrust the Naginata at each rope, scorching and burning them.

CLANG!

The bridge fell down to a level that allowed Impa to cross. She looked around, and found herself in the center of a very large stone circle. Lava surrounded it. One bridge led from each the left and the right of the circle, and one led forward, parallel to the bridge she had come from. The bridge leading forward led upwards to a balcony of a stone castle. The entrance on the balcony consisted of two huge doors with a small indentation the size of her fist in the center of each, binding them together. She decided to go right and crossed the bridge.

She opened the door, and entered. She found herself in a large chasm with bridges, lava spouts, and a slew of monsters wandering about. She crossed the first bridge and, with her Naginata, cut down the Bokoblin that was guarding it. She then stood on a circular platform with two sections made of hardened molten rock that floated on lava spouts, one on each side of her. On the other side of each spout was a platform that, when the lava spout was up, was of equal height to the rock. The platform on the right had a door with a chain across it, a lock keeping the chain together. She went left, hopping onto the rock when the spout came down. She waited for it to rise and then leapt up to the platform. She opened the unlocked door there and entered the room.

She stood on a rim of a very large crater. The ground was made of the molten rock, so she continued with caution. At the bottom of the pit was a small chest. She went down and opened it, finding a small silver key, most likely fitting into the door on the right platform across the chasm from this room. She began to walk up the crater sides; the rock started to melt. A chain dropped from the ceiling dangling above the chest. Impa climbed onto the chest and leapt up, grabbing the chain. It began pulling her up as the rock melted completely. She gritted her teeth and started swinging to the rim; it melted, too. A large blob of lava burst from the pool and morphed into the shape of a Bokoblin. It climbed up after her, and more lava Bokoblins burst from the lava and started climbing up. Impa soon reached the top of the chain, the nearest Bokoblin only a few yards from her.

She held onto the chain with one hand and wrapped her legs around it. She pulled her Naginata from her back and pointed it at the nearest lava Bokoblin. She swirled it, and the Bokoblin started to lose its shape, turning again into a mere puddle of lava. It fell from the chain into the pool at the bottom of the room, and Impa kept melting the Bokoblins when they neared her. When they were all gone, the pool hardened, and Impa climbed down the chain. When she reached the bottom, she dropped onto the ground, and headed for the door.

She entered the chasm, and skipped over the rock to the center platform. She hopped up to the rock on the other side of the room and then leapt up to the platform when the spout rose. She placed the key in the lock, and turned it. The lock clicked apart, and the chains fell down. She entered the room.

This room was small, probably only eight meters in diameter. It was built unlike the other rooms. The floor was paved with gold bricks, columns lined the edges of the room, and the ceiling had a hole in the center. She stepped closer to the center of the room, and a large Dinolfos dropped from the hole. It bared its fangs and leapt at her, swinging its machete back and forth. Impa backed up and pulled her Naginata from her back. She thrust it at the Dinolfos, stabbing it in the gut. Dark green ooze seeped around its fingers. It reared back and leapt straight for her, clamping its jaws on her shoulder. She cried out in pain and bashed it away. A chunk of flesh was pulled from her shoulder, letting loose a waterfall of blood. She dropped her Naginata and held her shoulder with her now un-armed hand. She fell to her knees and lowered her head for the final blow. The Dinolfos lifted its machete, and Impa spun, sticking her leg out and tripping the Dinolfos. She rolled over and picked up her Naginata with her free hand. She stood up, trying to avoid the pain in her right shoulder; she was already dazed from blood loss. The Dinolfos leapt up and hacked at Impa with its machete. She deflected the attack with her Naginata and spun it in the air, creating a circle of flame around the Dinolfos. It tried leaping over the circle, but the flames grew higher, and it scorched itself as it passed through. It squirmed on the ground, slowly charring. Impa stopped spinning her Naginata and thrust it into the gut of the Dinolfos. It vaporized, and a chest fell into the center of the room.

She opened the chest and found a bottle with red potion inside, along with short golden cane about a foot long with a red gem on the end. She gulped the potion, and her shoulder began to heal. Within the minute it was as if she hadn't been attacked. She then examined the cane. She remembered tales of the gods creating something like this. It was called the Cane of Pacci, and the gods enchanted it to flip anything its magic beam came in touch with. She swung the cane at the chest, and a red beam of magic shot out of it, flipping the chest over. She hooked the cane on her belt and left the room. She hopped over the rocks to the center platform and walked back to the main room. She now walked down the bridge on the left and entered the next room.

It was a very large room. It had a bridge spanning the entire length, with hot lava bubbling beneath it. Each wall had several small balconies lining them. Bokoblin archers stood on each balcony, ready to snipe down any passers. The bridge was blocked in the middle by a huge molten mass of rock. Impa pulled out the cane and swung it toward the closest Bokoblin. The beam of magic shot out and smashed into the Bokoblin, flipping it into the lava. She walked further down the bridge, flipping Bokoblins when she neared them before they could shoot her. She stopped at the rock. She pulled the cane back behind her shoulder and whipped it forward, sending a huge beam toward the rock and flipping it into the air. Impa sprinted across the uncovered section of the bridge before it came back down, crushing the middle of the bridge. When she reached the end of the bridge the door opened and a flood of lava rushed out, coming toward her. She turned back, and found herself blocked by the rock. She swung the cane toward the lava, sending it into the air and then splashing down into the lava below. She walked carefully over the steaming bridge, which was free of lava, and walked through the open door.

The room, filled with lava, had a bridge curving and turning up to a circular platform at the top of the room. She dashed up the bridge, stopping to catch her breath when she arrived at the platform. It was long! At the center of the platform was a pedestal with a small gold sphere the size of her fist. She picked the sphere up walked down the bridge. A boulder crashed from the ceiling, crushing the pedestal. Impa glanced over her shoulder and saw that the boulder had begun to roll toward her. Her eyes widened, and she sprinted down the bridge. She made it down and continued to sprint into the next room until the rock was in her way. She turned around and whipped out the Cane of Pacci as the boulder crashed through the walls and continued down the bridge toward her. She swung the cane at it, and it flipped over her head and slammed down onto the rock, pushing it down into the lava and letting Impa cross the bridge. She sighed in relief and hooked the cane on her belt.

She entered the main room and walked up the steep bridge. She arrived at the balcony and placed the sphere in the hole in the door. It fit perfectly, and the doors melted apart. Impa took a deep breath, and opened the doors.

***

"What?" Cia shrieked, as she paced around Volga and Wizzro. "How could they defeat you? I brought you from the dead!" she snapped and pointed her scepter at Volga. "Maybe I should have left you there to save me some time...and you!" She pointed now to Wizzro. "You are a shadow! You live in the fear of people's minds! How in death's name did you not defeat that pitiful army?"

"We were close," he hissed, "until Volga was beaten by the puny Hero..."

"I don't want excuses! I want results! SO GIVE ME RESULTS!"

"Yes Master!" they both whimpered. "We will most certainly get you results."

"Good! Volga, I believe you will, as your power has only begun to grow. Wizzro, your armies of monsters shall aid him in his fight against the heroes. Now leave my presence. I have a fight to watch."

Volga and Wizzro vanished from her sight, and she opened up the portal to view the commander of the army.

***

Impa entered a circular room, about twice the size of the one where she had received the Cane of Pacci. It was dark, and Impa couldn't see anything. She turned to open the doors behind her, but the doors wouldn't budge. The room lit, and she spun around to see a chamber lined with gold and silver. Torches hung on the walls, every one now lit with a red hot flame. She stepped to the center of the room, and a rock fell from the ceiling. She picked it up to find that it was a ruby laced with gold. It must be the Fire Ruby! She placed it in her pouch and headed for the doors. She tried opening them again, but they still wouldn't open. She turned; there was Volga standing across the room from her. She went for her Naginata, and he waved his hand.

"That won't be needed, Commander. See, I have learned my lesson from you Heroes. I will not be fighting you today. My power still grows, though. I will kill you soon and claim the Triforce of power from you. But not today, no, not today. I do have something to give you that will certainly blow you away." Volga slammed his pike into the ground, sending a ripple of energy throughout the floor. "Till we meet again..." Volga vanished, and Impa pulled her Naginata from her back.

The energy from Volga's pike rippled back to the center of the room and came out of the ground, morphing into a giant dragon. It was wingless and was covered in red and orange scales. Its head was covered in a huge red and orange mask. The dragon burrowed into the ground, and Impa felt the ground rumble under her feet as the dragon moved around beneath her. The ground she was standing on suddenly cracked and began to separate. Impa dived away from her spot and rolled on her shoulder. She turned to see the dragon lift from the ground she had only seconds ago been standing on. Though wingless, the dragon flew through the air, whipping its tail back and forth and smashing it into the ceiling and walls, causing huge chunks of rock to fall from the ceiling. Impa rolled out of the way of each one, careful not to get crushed. The dragon slammed back to the ground and slithered toward her.

"I AM VOLVAGIA!" it hissed and lunged at Impa. She stepped to the side and whipped the Cane of Pacci from her belt. She swung it at the chunks of rock lying on the floor, and they flipped into the air then crashed down on Volvagia, pinning him down. Impa ran to the dragon and stabbed continually at its mask with her Naginata, cracking it every time she struck it. Volvagia started to wriggle and squirm, and the rock pinning him down fell off his back. He burrowed into the ground, tail whipping Impa into the wall as he did so. Impa leapt to her feet and ran away from the place where she had been standing before Volvagia could come out of it. He flew around the air and came down on Impa, breathing fire as he did so. Impa pointed her Naginata at the dragon's flames, creating a barrier between the two. Volvagia smashed through the barrier, and Impa rolled out of the way. She swung the cane again, causing another chunk of rock to fly at Volvagia. It knocked him from the air and pinned him against a wall when he came down. Impa dashed over to him and stabbed his mask again, over and over. After a few strikes the mask shattered causing Volvagia to shriek in pain. He flipped the rock off his back and flew into the air. Then he smashed down onto the ground and came at Impa, who pointed her Naginata right at Volvagia. He lunged at her, and she stabbed his mouth, impaling the dragon with her Naginata blade; it went through his mouth and out of the top of his head. He wriggled for a second, then burst into ash.

Impa sighed and fell against the wall. She took a moment to catch her breath before standing back up. She rushed to the door and found that it would now open. She dashed down the bridge and back to the Fire Temple entrance. The Triforce of Power was waiting for her.
Ch.6.

"So you lost a chunk of your shoulder," Link said, eyeing Impa's shoulder. She had returned to the entrance and found them waiting at the top of the stairway. They were continuing down the cave path, hoping to find an exit to the non-snow-covered side of the mountain.

"Yes, the Dinolfos just tore it off," Impa said. Sheik was walking beside them, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Then why is your shoulder intact and...well...complete?"

"When I killed the Dinolfos, a chest fell from the ceiling, and in it was a bottle with a red potion, which I hastily drank, healing my shoulde. There was also a golden cane." She pulled the Cane of Pacci from her belt, and Link took it from her hands.

"What does it do?" Link asked, running his hand along the sides of it.

"It flips stuff over," she said, and pointed to a large rock that soldiers were forced to step around. Link swung the cane, and the rock flipped over.

"Hmm...Pretty useful, I guess," Link said as he handed the cane back to Impa. She hooked it on her belt, and they continued down the cave path.

***

Cia swung her scepter, knocking Volga over. "You let her go?" she screamed.

"I-I had no choice Master...She was too powerful for me..."

"You could have tried!"

"I-I did. I left th-the dragon!"

"No! No you didn't try! If you had tried, she would be dead! I brought you back to life so you could kill them!"

"I thought we needed them alive!"

"No! You kill them, claim the Triforce, and be done with it!"

"What about the Hero of Legend?"

"Was he there to kill?"

"No, but..."

"So you should have killed her!"

"Master, she was too powerful!"

"I don't care! You could have at least tried to wound her!"

"Mas..."

Cia swung her scepter again, and Volga was thrown backwards. She walked over to him, and pointed her scepter at his chest. He tried looking at her face, but it was hard with her being so close, with her legs open, and her chest...

"I'm going to give you one more chance!" She threatened, "If you fail me one more time, you will be the one blown away!"

"Yes Master. I will confront them at the Temple of Power, and I will have Wizzro weaken their army at the volcano!"

"Good! Remember, Volga, if you fail me, you will only have failed yourself." Volga nodded and vanished. Cia turned, and once again watched the Heroes' progress.

***

Link, Impa, Sheik, and the army could see a glowing red light in the distance. They all knew that the mountain's exit was near. They were thankful, too. They had been walking for quite a while, and Link planned on having the army stop and rest after they exited the mountain. On their walk Impa had described in vivid detail every second of her experience in the Fire Temple, right down to using a foot-long cane to flip a rock the size of Link's house.

When they reached the exit Link waited there while the army passed through. Sheik and Impa hopped out of the mountain after the army passed, and Link soon followed. When he landed he struggled to gain his footing. Two soldiers had already rolled down the steep mountainside. When he finally braced himself, he inspected the area they were in. He could see for miles, and the lava didn't seem to get far from the volcano. Little lava poured down the side, and the foot of the mountain was all hills and plains un-scorched by the earth's heat. The only threats he could see were monsters roaming the plains—they could be dispatched easily—and small pools of lava which they would have to avoid.

They started their descent down the mountain. Link's feet continued to trip over rocks and scatter pebbles down the mountainside. He could now see that the soldiers who h had falledn had dispatched a small group of Bokoblins and were now struggling against a Lizalfos. A few soldiers were brave enough to dash down the mountain—or even slide—to save their comrades, but the majority were too scared or clumsy to go down that fast. When they finally reached the bottom Link and Impa dispatched the monsters terrorizing the soldiers, and Sheik helped heal the wounded.

Link and Impa sheathed their weapons and headed over to the army. "Take a rest!" Link shouted, and the soldiers quickly sat down. Link sat down on a huge rock, and Sheik and Impa joined him. He pulled a canteen from his belt and took a swig of it. Impa and Sheik both took a sip from theirs, and they waited for Link's command.

"So how do you think we'll approach the Fire Temple?" Link asked.

Impa twisted her mouth in decisiveness. "I think..." She took a swig from her canteen."...you guys should be able to come in with me, but I may be wrong."

"I just hope we don't have to walk down another staircase like the Fire Temple," Sheik said and took a drink from her canteen. She twisted the cap back on and hooked it on her belt. She stood and stretched.

Link turned his head from her and toward the plains in front of them. He hoped they didn't have trouble crossing them and didn't have trouble with the lava pools. He waited a few moments longer, and Sheik finished her stretching. He put the cap back on his canteen and twisted his back to relieve some of the tension. He stood and shouted out to his army. "Alright! That's long enough for a break! We're moving out!" He started walking down the plain, and Impa and Sheik followed suit. Link avoided lava pools, and when needed, took out stray Bokoblins.

They came to a stop at a cliff edge. Link hadn't noticed the drop which, at a rough estimate, was probably a few hundred feet. He turned to face his army. He could see a few boulders not too far from the cliff edge, and an idea came to mind. "I want those boulders moved to the cliff edge!" he shouted to his army, and they dispersed, each group heading to a different boulder. He waved a few soldiers over to him, and they jogged to his side.

"Yes general?" they all asked.

"Do you have any rope?"

Each soldier nodded. They pulled a line of ten or so feet from their backs and held it out for the general. "We keep it with us at all times in case this kind of situation happens."

"Good," Link said, and pointed to the boulders that were already rolled up to the edge. "I want you to have every soldier tie their ropes together in lengths of one hundred feet."

"How many ropes do you want, General?" one of the soldiers asked.

"One for each boulder," he ordered. Then he turned to the cliff edge.

Impa looked at him. "I'm impressed, General," she said. "Your ability to lead your army continues to amaze me, and so does your innovation."

He often took advice from her, as she had more experience. She had been the general before him, but when Zelda's father decreed that women couldn't hold a post that high in their military, Link had to step up. When the king died and Zelda took rule, she changed that law, but she let Link stay in his place as general. He had done very good things in that post, and Impa wanted her to keep a commander. She had already had suspicions that Link could be the Hero of Legend, and she wanted to keep him in command, just in case. Lana had been so delighted when he received the news of his promotion. He proposed to her the night of his dubbing. He missed her; he missed her long blue hair, her petite curves, her sapphire smile, her light footing, her violet eyes, her personality, but he missed her soothing presence the most, and her love.

"General!" A soldier was at Link's side. "The ropes have been tied together and have been looped around the boulders. We suspected that was your intention."

"Yes," he said, nodding quickly, "it was. Start the descent down the cliff, if you would."

The soldier dashed off to the boulders, and soldiers at the other boulders began sliding down the ropes. Link hoped they had gloves on; rope burns were very painful. When all the soldiers had descended, Link, Sheik, and Impa slid down. Link landed gently on the ground and wiped his hands off, brushing off the sticky residue from the ropes. He turned to his soldiers.

"I want those boulders down!" he shouted out, and about twelve soldiers went to each rope and started pulling. One group had bad luck, as the rope fell apart, but all the others were successful, and the boulders crashed down to the scree of the cliff. The soldiers were quick to get out of the way, though, so they weren't crushed by the massive stones.

"Get those ropes off, and let's move out," Link ordered, and the soldiers started untying the ropes, handing them to random soldiers. When the ropes were removed the army headed out, and Link felt a tingle in his spine. He spun around, drawing his sword in the process, and slashed the air behind him, cutting down a Stalchild.

Impa stepped back, and pulled her Naginata from her back. More Stalchildren appeared, and Link shouted to his soldiers. "Ambush!" The soldiers quickly drew their weapons, and began hacking down Stalchildren. Link slashed and stabbed his way through several of them and found himself at the center of his army, which was growing smaller as more Stalchildren came. Sweat poured from his brow, and he was soon surrounded by Stalchildren. He did not give in, but he could see that his numbers were dwindling. If he wanted to survive, he would have to get out of this mass of bones and find the summoner of these monsters. He spun his blade around, cutting down a few Stalchildren, and thrust his blade into the ground, sending a shockwave through it. The Stalchildren near him either vaporized or flew away from him. He dashed from his position and spotted a large purple robe fighting Impa. He furrowed his brow, and sprinted over to them.

He leapt into the air and brought his blade down on the robe from behind, but his blade passed through it. It vanished, and then it appeared next to him. He looked at it from the front and saw that it had two large red eyes, a huge pair of red lips, and long brownish black arms with two blue and red rings on each hand. Impa lunged at it, and Link slashed his blade at it. It held its hands up, and a protective shield arose between them. Link continued to hack at the shield until the robe-wearing shadow shot out a blast of energy that penetrated the shield and slammed into Link. Link's body twisted and contorted, and he dropped his weapons. His body began to morph, and soon shadows filled his blood and breathed through his lungs. His skin grayed, and his clothes blackened. He snapped his fingers, and a large black broadsword appeared in his hands. He let out a roar and lunged at Impa.

Impa deflected the attack and swept her feet under Shadow-Link's, tripping him to the ground. Sheik turned when she heard the roar and dashed over to them, cutting down Stalchildren in her way. She jumped into the air as Shadow-Link stood back up. She kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and swung his broadsword at Sheik, who blocked the attack with her Kunai. She twirled around his sword and leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, choking him. When he fell back, she leapt into the air and landed lightly on her feet. She sheathed her Kunai and picked up the White Sword. She thrust it into Link's chest, and he shrieked, causing the robe-wearing shadow and its army to disappear. His body returned to normal, and his chest remained unharmed. He panted for breath, and Sheik stepped off of his chest. She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.

"Link? Link, are you okay?"

He nodded and collapsed to his knees. He took a deep breath, and Sheik handed him his sword, which he sheathed. He picked up his shield and hooked it to his sheath. He looked up at Sheik and Impa, who had intense looks of concern on their faces.

"What happened?" he asked.

Sheik sat down and crossed her knees. She turned her head and looked at him curiously. "Link, you turned into something else. When that shadow hit you, you transformed into a monster, a monster we all have locked inside us. Fortunately, your monster—or shadow—was defeated easily."

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"I stabbed you in the chest with the White Sword."

"Then why am I not bleeding out?"

"Because your shadow is a different person. You didn't get stabbed; your shadow did. When I stabbed you the White Sword killed that monster, using the gift of light."

"Is it gone for good?"

"No, it could be revived easily by a bolt of dark magic."

"Like the one I was shot with?"

"Yes."

"Okay...It makes a little sense now." He stood and looked at his army, or what was left of it. He put his hand to his mouth and silently counted the remaining soldiers. Seventeen. He didn't shout this time. "Okay guys," he said to the group of soldiers, and Impa and Sheik. "We were just ambushed. We learned new things about our enemy. It may look grim right now, but we can make it through this journey."

"I am sending a request for reinforcements," Impa said. "There is a small army at Lake Hylia, and we can rendezvous with them at Faron Woods."

"If we get there," a soldier muttered.

"I heard that!" Sheik snapped. "Now, as my comrade was saying, things may look grim, for now. We will be receiving reinforcements." She waved her hand to Impa, "And Impa will be claiming the Triforce of Power soon, so our quest will be one-third complete!"

The soldiers sighed and sheathed their weapons.

"Look," Impa said, and pointed forward to a cliff. On it was a huge temple made of gold and rubies. "The Temple of Power!"

Link and Sheik smiled. They were close.

***

Volga watched from the roof of the temple as the heroes talked, and then one pointed toward him. He froze, fearing they had seen him, but the Hero of Legend pumped his fist and started talking to his pitiful group of soldiers. Volga didn't think they could see him. He vanished into the temple where he would continue to wait.

***

Cia finally smiled. "Good," she said to Wizzro. "You succeeded, for once."

"Yes," Wizzro hissed, trying not to be annoyed with Cia. "I shrunk their armies' numbers and showed them their weakness."

"You did, and they know they are close to the Temple of Power. You know, Wizzro, if Volga fails, it will be up to you to stop the heroes at Faron Woods."

"Yes. I do think that Volga will be powerful enough to stop them by then, though."

"He may be, but he has failed me several times already."

"Yes, he has, hasn't he?" Wizzro said, and vanished form Cia's sight. She turned and cackled. The hero would be hers any time now.
Ch.7.

Link, Sheik, Impa, and their tiny group of soldiers dragged their feet against the dust as they headed toward the Temple of Power. They all felt tired. Sheik's pep talk was wearing off, and they were about to collapse when the ground started to rumble, snapping them into focus. They looked toward the mountain and saw it start to rupture, and they turned to look at one another with looks of concern before turning back to the volcano. Lava was pouring out the top, and the sides began blowing out huge chunks of rock. Before they could run, it exploded.

BOOOOOOOM!

The entire volcano flew into the air in the form of gigantic chunks of molten rock and lava. Ash filled the sky and started to fill the Hero's lungs. Lava was raining down, and a soldier cried out in pain as a glop of molten lava fell on his head, instantly melting his skull and dissolving his head. The group ran, each trying hard not to get hit by glops of lava or chunks of rock. Link glanced over his shoulder and saw that lava was racing toward the cliff edge at alarming speed. Soon the cliff became a waterfall of lava and continued its trek toward the group. Link was wishing now that they had their horses, which they had left behind in the caves. Link looked upwards as a screaming burst of wind went through his ear, only to see a chunk of rock fly down on him.

***

Cia bit her nails as she watched the Hero fall. If he died here, it was over and she would never have her love with the Hero of Legend. She thought for a second and then put her palms together. They grew apart as a sphere of purple energy grew in her hands. She tossed it through the dimension portal and watched it consume the Hero. She looked over at the others, who were struggling to avoid the lava and rock. The mysterious one, Sheik, stopped and shrieked when she saw Link consumed by the darkness. The other one, Impa, grabbed Sheik's arm and pulled her along.

Cia heard a thump behind her and turned around. The Hero was lying before her, unconscious. She knelt next to him and caressed his cheek lightly; she kissed his forehead and considered waking him. NO! It wasn't the correct time. She needed the Triforce, and the man had it right here for her to take, but it couldn't be taken unless she killed him. She would wait until he awakened at the Temple of Courage, then she could take it from him without killing him. Yes. She would have to wait. She gritted her teeth and snapped her fingers, healing the Hero's injuries and sending him back to his dimension.

***

Link woke on a very large rock. He rolled onto his stomach and viewed the area. Boy, is it hot! The entire area was filled with lava, so much so that the cliff that the Temple of Power was sitting on was equal to the level of the lava. He looked for Sheik and Impa but saw no sign of them. He pursed his lips and stood up. He looked all around, and still no sign of the two. The rock he was standing on was next to a bridge of hardened lava. He jumped onto the bridge, hoping it would stay solid, and ran down the bridge to the Temple of Power. Maybe they were there. He hopped onto the cliff and dashed over to the entrance to the Temple of Power. He looked behind him and then hurried down the stairs to the Temple.

***

Two hours before...

Impa hopped over the stones to the cliff. She landed roughly, kicking her feet out and dragging her hands in the dirt, scraping her hands and skittering dust and rocks down off the cliff and into the lake of Lava that had formed a little while after the eruption. The air wasn't completely clear yet, but the levels of lava and ash in the air had dropped significantly. She stood up and wiped the dirt from her hands. She was lucky she hadn't been buried by ash, and if Sheik hadn't raised that protective barrier, they would have been melted by lava and then buried by ash. Lucky for them, though, Sheik had put her hands up raising a bubble of protection around them. The ash had coated the exterior of the barrier, and the chunks of molten rock bounced off like an arrow bouncing off of a shield.

Sheik had stayed behind to search for Link, and Impa had gone forward to the Temple of Power.

Impa didn't see any sign of their army, and she wasn't liking their odds. The army that Impa had sent for wouldn't be rendezvousing till they arrived at Faron Woods. If they got there...

Impa entered the Temple of Power and jogged down the stairs.

***

Sheik looked frantically around the area, scanning for any sign of life. She prayed so hard to the goddesses to keep Link safe...if the general died and the Triforce of Courage was lost, Hyrule's hope of defending itself was lost. She leapt from the stone she was standing on and landed gently on her feet, hopping over the rocks to the cliff. There was no point in waiting here;i Impa needed help in the Temple of Power.

Shiek jogged over to the entrance and headed down into the Temple of Power.

***

Impa reached the bottom of the stairs; they weren't nearly as long as the ones in the Fire Temple. She jogged over to a door that was parallel to the stairs. She pushed the door, but it wouldn't budge. She frowned and looked around the room. If there aren't any switches in the room, how can I open the door? She put her hand on a huge rock and tried pushing it. The switch may be underneath it. It wouldn't budge. She kicked the rock and paced around the room. She smacked her hands against her belt, and her hand brushed against the Cane of Pacci. She perked up and whipped it from her belt. She swung it hastily at the rock, and the beam of magic that shot from it smashed into the rock, lifting it into the air and away from the switch it concealed. Impa smiled lightly and hooked the cane back on her belt.

She stood on the switch and heard a 'click' in the doors. She walked over to the doors, and pushed them open, finding success this time. She was in a chamber the size of the room before this. She explored the area, looking around for a clue as to what to do. The only thing she found was a big stone that was attached to the ground, preventing the Cane of Pacci from being able to flip it. She heard the doors open behind her, and she whirled, pulling her Naginata from her back. Sheik stood in the doorway.

"Good of you to show up," Impa said. She turned back toward the room. She heaved herself against the stone, and it started to crack away from the ground. She pushed harder, and the stone disconnected from the earth. She looked up and saw three panels open up in the walls. The one to her left, parallel to Sheik's position, was out of the question for now. It was massive—about ten feet tall—and each door was about five feet wide. The door was made of gold, like the others, but it was covered by four golden chains that came together at the center of the door in a huge lock the size of Impa's head. The one in front of Impa, to the left of Sheik, was unlocked, and so was the door parallel to it.

"Should we split up?" Sheik asked.

"Yes, that may help us get through here faster," Impa said, and went through the door on the left. Sheik went right.

Impa found herself in a long room. She was standing on a balcony-like platform, viewing the room. If she hopped down, she would find herself at a bridge covered in spikes. After the spike-bridge was a square platform, which had two bridges extending from it. The doors to the left and right were open. There was a large gear attached to each corner of the platform; they were each facing the left or right, and thick cables locked the gears up. The cables went across the length of the bridges and through the walls into the next room. Impa hopped down off of the platform and pulled the Cane of Pacci from her belt. She swung it at the bridge, and it flipped over, revealing a smooth path to walk across. She hooked the cane on her belt and walked to the right bridge. She crossed and entered the room.

The cables continued down this room and stopped at a gear on each side of the room. There were bomb flowers at the platform across the room from her, and she could see that she would probably be able use them to destroy the gears attached to the platform. For now, though, she tried to focus on the task at hand. In front of her was a row of flames shooting from two pipes hooked onto the platform edge. She waited for the flames to dissipate, then she passed through this obstacle. She found herself at the foot of a large column. There was a switch on top, and the sides of the column were too smooth for her to climb.

She looked around and found three levers to her right. She pulled the first one, and two metal rods extended from the column. She grabbed the one that was above her head and pulled herself up. The top of the column was still too far from her reach. She gritted her teeth. If she left and pulled another lever... She dropped down from her perch and pulled the second lever. Two more rods extended, but the one that she had just used pulled back in. She pulled the third lever, and one more rod extended out, pulling two more rods in. She pushed the first lever forward, and all rods extended out, creating a path for her to walk up and then pull herself up to the top. She carefully hopped form rod to rod, and when she reached the last one, the top of the column was in her reach. She pulled herself up and pressed the switch. A bridge extended from the platform the column was on and attached itself to the platform with the gears. She leapt off the column and walked across the bridge. She pulled one of the bomb flowers and set it down next to the gear on the right. She then picked another flower and set it down next to the other gear. She raced away from that platform, and the bombs exploded, turning the gears to shrapnel. The cables snapped, and she could hear a screeching sound from the main room. She ran from the room she was in and found that the right gears in the main room were no longer attached to the cables; they were free to move. She went to the left bridge and pushed the doors open. She was greeted by a blast of heat. The cables in this room spiked upwards to a platform near the ceiling. The two gears were attached to that platform. The platform was held up by metal beams fifty feet high that were sticking out of a lava pool. She stood on the edge of the pool and had no way to get to the gears. She suddenly perked up, and pulled her Naginata from her back. She swirled it in the air, and flames gathered in front of it. She thrust the Naginata at the metal beams. The flame surrounded the beams and begun to heat them. Impa kept swirling her Naginata, and kept it pointed at the beams, after the first had reached the color of tomatoes.

She spotted a bomb flower on the other side of the pool. She dashed over to the flower and picked it up, its fuse lighting as she yanked it from the plant. She dashed back over to the beam and chucked the bomb at the red-hot steel. It exploded, destroying the first beam and causing a groan to echo through the room as the metal shifted under the weight of the platform it was holding. Impa repeated the heating process of the steel with another beam and chucked another bomb flower at the beam, blowing the beam apart and causing the other two beams to bend. The Platform was now within throwing reach. She grabbed a bomb flower and waited till the bomb began to super-heat before she threw it at the platform, blowing the gears to shrapnel and snapping the cables.

She left this room, and went back to the main room. She found that a lever had risen from the center of the gear platform. She walked over to it and pulled it, causing the gears to groan, as they raised the platform to the ceiling.

***

Sheik walked through the door on the right, and stepped onto nothing. She fell through the air, flailing her arms and shrieking. She could see when she was facing the ground that she would plunge into Lava. She tried creating a barrier, but it wouldn't stick. She was only feet from the lava when she was caught in mid-air. Her body dangled limply in the arms of the stranger. But when she turned her head, she saw that it was Link.

"Hey, General," she said, trying to mask her relief. "Nice of you to catch me. Hey, um, where were you? And what exactly is holding you up?"

"Oh, I don't have a clue where I went, but I do know that I am attached to a rope," he said, tugging a rope that was slightly constricting his chest. He started kicking his legs, and Sheik copied his movements. Soon they were able to get a full swing going, and Link pulled a knife from his belt.

"Sheik, when I cut this rope, I need you to create a barrier between us and the lava."

"Okay, General," she said, and faced the palms of her hands toward the lava. A translucent blue shield appeared on the surface of the lava, and Link slashed the rope, dropping them onto the translucent blue shield. Sheik was pretty uncomfortable with their fall, as Link fell on top of her.

"Ummm...Link?" She asked, her cheeks reddening under her mask.

"Yes, Sheik?" He asked, and rolled off of her.

"Yeah, um, please think of something else next time."

"Some other way to fall? Okay, I guess I could. We should probably get off of this lava," he said, motioning toward a door in the distance. "Do you think you can stretch your shield so we can walk over there?"

"Yeah, I think I should be able to," she said and clenched her hands together, then she swung them apart, causing the translucent blue shield to stretch. Link placed his feet carefully and walked to the door. He pushed it open and stepped inside. He turned and grabbed Sheik's hand and yanked her in, causing the shield to disappear.

They found themselves in a room with walls made from pure ruby, and the floor was paved with gold. Across from them was a golden gate, which kept them from entering a small alcove containing a golden chest adorned with rubies. They each took a step forward and were thrown back by an invisible force. They crashed into the door behind them, causing the door to lock shut, and the invisible force became clear. Standing before them was a Darknut with armor made purely of gold. They scrambled to their feet, and they readied their weapons, Link drawing his sword and shield, and Sheik pulling her two Kunai from her belt. The Darknut drew its sword, a gigantic golden Flamberge and its shield, which was round and made of gold, like its sword. Link lunged at the Darknut, slashing his sword upwards, knocking it off balance, and Sheik jumped in, flipped over its head, flinging her Kunai at the gaps in between its shoulder plates. Link brought his sword down on its shield, cracking it easily. He spun to dodge its sword strike, and Link clashed blades with the Darknut. Link began to get pushed back, and the Darknut knocked his sword from his hand, sending it flying across the room. It slashed its sword at Link with a downward chop, and Link rolled out of the way. Sheik picked up Link's sword and threw it at the Darknut like a javelin; it penetrated the armor straps on its back. It impaled itself in the monsters back, and the Darknut turned to dust, armor clattering to the ground. Sheik picked up her Kunai and handed Link the White Sword. They sheathed their weapons, and the gate opened.

Link approached the chest and cracked it open. In it were two golden gauntlets with three claws extending from the glove where the finger should be. Link handed one to Sheik, and they both slipped one of their hidden blade gauntlets off. Link put his on and closed his fingers, causing the claws to extend forth on a chain and reel back in when they hit the wall of the room.

"Whoa," Sheik said, and slipped hers on. She activated hers, and the claw shot out on the chain and reeled back in after it contacted the wall.

"It looks pretty cool," Link said. "But what is it for?"

"I don't know," Sheik said. "Maybe we could use it as a weapon?"

"That could be. These claws do look pretty nasty." Link said, and he perked up. He ran to the door and found that it was open. He opened it, and he aimed the claw upwards, toward the door they had come from. He activated the claw, and it shot out and hooked onto the doorknob, and before he knew it, he was being yanked through the air to the door. He slammed into it, and the door pushed open. He let up his grip, and the claw let go of the door. He hung his legs over the side, and yelled to Sheik. "Come on!"

She aimed her claw at the doorknob and fired it off. The claw missed its mark by a little bit, and she tried again after the chain reeled back in. That time the claw hooked to the doorknob, and Link rolled backwards. A moment later Sheik was hanging on the door. Link walked over to her and pulled her up. She let the claw go, and she pulled the gauntlet off.

"This is really useful," Sheik said, and handed it to Link.

He shook his head. "No, we should each have one in case we get stuck like that again."

"Okay, but after we leave here..."

"You are going to keep it on," he ordered, and she rolled her eyes. She turned and found Impa at the other door.

"Ready?" Impa asked.

"Ready," the two answered.

They walked to the door, and Impa pulled a big golden key from her belt. She stuck it into the lock of the golden door and twisted it. The lock fell apart, and the chains fell limp. The three entered the chamber.

***

Twelve minutes before...

Impa stood on the rising platform, her hand on her Naginata, in case she needed to grab it from her back on a moment's notice. The platform stopped, and the lever sunk back down into it. Impa looked around. She was in a circular chamber made of gold and ruby. At the wall in front of her, a golden gate blocked the path to a chest that was made of gold and adorned in rubies. She heard a thump behind her and turned to see what it was.

It was a Darknut, with armor made of gold and holding a round shield made of gold. It had a Flamberge made of gold, and the edges looked deadly sharp. It stepped forward, and Impa pulled her Naginata from her back. She rushed the Darknut, and they clashed their weapons, sparks flying everywhere. Impa ducked under the Darknut's legs, and stabbed it in the back with her Naginata. Its armor fell from it back, and it whirled around, swinging its sword in the process. Impa rolled out of the way and lunged forward, leaping over the Darknut and stabbing it dead center in the chest. It fell back as she landed, and she pulled the Naginata from its chest. She hooked it on her back, and the Darknut turned to dust. The gate opened, and Impa cracked the chest to see its treasure. She pulled a golden key from it; a ruby was imbedded in the handle. She turned, and the lever still hadn't risen from the platform. She frowned, and hooked the key to her belt. She walked to the center of the room and realized now why the lever hadn't risen; four Dinolfos now surrounded her, and the odds weren't looking good.

***

Cia shook with anticipation as she watched the Heroes enter the chamber.

She felt a presence behind her. She turned, and saw Wizzro.

"Master," he hissed, "the plans are going well. The monster is ready, and Volga and I are ready to defeat these so-called 'Heroes'."

"Good," Cia said. "Then there is no reason for you to be here. Go now, and defeat these Heroes, Wizzro."

He vanished from her sight, and she looked back at the Heroes.

***

Seven minutes before...

Impa pulled her Naginata from her back once again and prepared for a brutal fight. The first Dinolfos lunged, and Impa side-stepped and impaled the monster. She pushed it off her blade, and it turned to dust. She then spun the Naginata, slicing the heads off two of the monsters; that left one, and the one who hadn't moved. Impa charged it, and her Naginata blade bounced right off of its leathery skin, which was tougher than the other monster's skin. The monster contorted and grew triple its normal size. It yelped and lunged at Impa, who rolled underneath its legs. She tossed her Naginata, and it pinned the tail down to the floor. Impa, keen to take this chance, dashed up the back of the monster and pulled her dagger out. It was a two-foot-long steel blade with a leather-bound hilt. She wrapped her arms around the head of the monster and shoved the knife up through the bottom of its mouth. It wriggled for a moment and tossed her off. It reached for her, eyes menacing, and vaporized.

Impa collected her Naginata and dagger, and the lever rose from the platform. She pulled the lever, and the platform sank down to the lower level. She sprinted back to the main room to meet with Sheik and opened the door as Link barreled through their door.

***

The Trio entered the chamber and found that it was a simple thing, really. It was the size of the room where they had gotten the Claw Gloves. Two levers were attached to the ceiling.

Impa rolled her shoulders and went to jump, but Link put his hand on her shoulder.

"We got this," he assured her, and he and Sheik activated their Claw Gloves, which pulled the lever down, opening up a hole in the center of the room. Link and Sheik let the claw go, and the chain reeled in.

"Whoa," Impa said. "Those gloves—they are the Clawshots! The Chosen Hero used them before passing them down before he died. They have amazing uses."

Link and Sheik nodded, "Yeah," they both said. "We know."

Link hopped into the hole, and Sheik and Impa followed him.

They dropped down into a chamber a little bigger than the one in which Impa had fought Volvagia. Standing in the center of the room was Volga. His eyes glowed red, his mouth breathed out hot flames when he exhaled, and Wizzro floated along next to him.

"It seems," Volga began, "that the Heroes have finally arrived."

"We are here to claim the Triforce of Power, Volga," Impa said. "We have no need to fight you. Just let us go without a fight."

"Not a chance. See, when you defeated my dragon at the Fire Temple, I realized that I needed something more powerful than a pitiful beast. I needed a monster, a monster so fierce, even the most courageous..." He looked at Link "...among us would cower in fear, so I present unto you..." He stepped to the side, and Wizzro snapped his fingers, spawning a Demon.

The Demon stood three times the height of Volga. And Link did cower. The Demon was clothed in black and purple robes and had four arms, each hand endowed with a unique weapon of torture. A shadow axe the size of Link, talons, each as big as Link, a Shadow Sword that resembled the ones the Darknuts used but much bigger, and it was black, and a void of darkness. The head of the Demon was covered in a mask with spikes, and horns grew where ears should.

"...Death Sword!" Volga said, and whipped his pike form his back. He lunged at Impa, who whipped out her Naginata and blocked his attack. Link and Sheik went for the Demon, and Wizzro vanished from sight. Volga twirled his pike in front of him and shot a pillar of flame at Impa. She absorbed the flame with her Naginata, and they clashed weapons again.

Link slashed the Demon's robe, and it howled in pain. It spun and grabbed Link with its talons. It picked him up and tossed him across the room. He slammed into the wall and fell on his back. Sheik jumped to avoid the Shadow Axe when the Demon tried to attack her. She spun and weaved her way through the mish-mash of the Demon's hands and flicked darts at the Demon at every opportunity. She sliced it with her Kunai, and the Demon spun, leaving its back vulnerable to Link, who was on his feet now and running toward it. Link leapt into the air and plunged his sword into the back of the Demon's robes. He slid down off of the Demon, slicing its robes even more. He spun his blade and slashed the robe of the Demon.

It roared and spun, whacking Link to the ground. Link scrambled to his feet, and the Demon brought his sword down on Link, who put his sword up in a futile attempt to protect himself. However, Link held the Demon off for a moment and then slashed the sword away from him. He ran and jumped up the Demon's arm. He flipped off, slicing off the arm of the Demon as he did so. He landed roughly, rolled to his feet. Sheik was doing fine cutting down the talon arm. Before Link could get back to the battle, the Demon howled again as another arm was severed. The Demon slammed his axe into the ground and raised his other hand into the air, summoning a sphere of darkness. He swung it toward Link, who rolled out of the way, and the sphere exploded upon impact with the wall, sending cursed Bokoblins everywhere. They all crawled to their feet and then dragged slowly over to Link, who was busy cutting down other cursed Bokoblins. Link slashed the Bokoblins away and ran back to Death Sword.

Sheik flipped up onto the Demon's axe arm and slashed it with her Kunai. She then dashed up to its head and flipped off of its shoulder to the ground, throwing her Kunai into the eye of the monster while she dropped. She landed lightly and aimed her Clawshot at the Demon's left horn. Link rushed up and shot his at the right horn. The claws hooked on, and the two Heroes pulled down with all their might. The mask of Death Sword fell off revealing a contorted skull with squishy purple ooze leaking out of it. Link leapt up on Death Sword's axe hand and severed it as he passed it. He then leapt into the air and slammed his sword into the Demon's skull, cracking it open and pouring the purple ooze everywhere. Death Sword howled once more and vaporized, dropping Link to the ground. He landed in a pile of ooze and rolled out of the sticky stuff. The ooze began crawling toward his head, and soon Link's whole head was covered in a ball of the ooze. He shrieked, and Sheik came over and tried pulling the ooze off, but it only latched onto her hands. It crawled up her arms and snaked through her mask into her head.

Both Link and Sheik morphed into demonic versions of themselves, like Link had done at the plains.

Impa, meanwhile, was holding off Volga. He smacked her Naginata from her hands, and she was left weaponless and unallied, as Link and Sheik lunged at her. She put her hands up to protect herself, and her Triforce glowed, creating a barrier between her and them. She held her hand to the sky, and a golden beam shot from out of the center of the room. It reflected off the ceiling and shot into Impa's hand.

She had claimed the Triforce of Power.

Impa slammed her hand to the ground, smashing the three enemies down, and thrust her hand toward Link. A golden beam shot from it and hit him full-on in the chest, knocking him back and killing the darkness in him. She then shot Sheik with the beam, curing her of the darkness. She whirled to face Volga, who held his pike in front of him defensively. She clapped her hands together, and a golden sword appeared in her hand. She lunged at Volga, and he stepped back.

"I do not think so," he said, and morphed into his dragon version of himself. He flew into the air and dived at Impa, who held her blade forward. Volga flew into her, knocking her against the wall and impaling himself on her golden sword. He fell back and morphed back into his normal form.

A hole gaped wide open in his chest and his eyes widened before he vaporized.

Impa sighed. The battle was over...for now.
Ch.8.

The wind howled through the plains that connected Faron and Eldin, deafening the Trio. They had departed from The Temple of Power the day before and were struggling to make it through the windy plain. There was nothing to stop the wind in front of them for miles. Link gasped for air and tried speaking through the wind to Impa.

"How long..." He gasped. "...do you think..." Another gasp. "...we will be..." Gasp. "...till we get out of here?"

"I think it will be a while before we get out of the plains," she shouted to him. She didn't have that much trouble speaking in the wind. Ever since she had claimed the Triforce of Power, she didn't have trouble breathing or using abysmal amounts of strength whenever needed. She wasn't at all exhausted from their walking and hadn't slept the night before. She kept walking, and Link struggled to keep up with her. He put his hand on his cap and secured it in place on his scalp to ensure the wind didn't blow it off.

"How long...Do you think a while is?" he gasped.

"It may be an hour or so till we see anything to break the wind," she shouted to him. He was only feet from her, but one thing that her power couldn't control was their hearing through this wind.

She sighed as Link persisted with his questions.

***

Cia took a deep breath, facing her portal as she did so. She turned and found Wizzro floating above the blood-stained stone of her Fortress. She gritted her teeth, and the master of darkness and fear cowered.

"OH MY GODDESSES!" She shrieked, and Wizzro wrung his hands together, fearing his punishment. "HOW IN THE HELL DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THE TRIFORCE OF POWER?" She shrieked again and swung her scepter in front of her, pointing it at Wizzro, sending a giant purple shadow hand toward him, lifting him up, and squeezing him.

"Master..." he hissed, struggling to breathe. "I had created the perfect monster to kill them."

"Then how did they kill it? And how did they kill Volga?"

"Volga failed to keep the first Triforce guardian at bay. She obtained the Triforce of Power, and killed Volga with it. And the monster was supposed to die, but the Triforce guardian converted the other two guardians!"

"I'm disappointed, Wizzro," she said, releasing her magic hold on him. The hand disappeared back into her scepter, and Wizzro fell to the ground. He rolled over and then floated back into the air.

"I'm sorry Master. You do know that I will defeat them at the Temple of Courage."

"I suppose you may, and that is the most important place. It is where the Hero will claim the Triforce of Courage, and then I can take it from him and the other two..."

"Yes, and then you will have the Hero to yourself, and I will..." he hissed.

"You will what?" Cia asked

"Did you not say that if I helped you I would have the dark world to myself?"

"No! This is MY land. Your payment is me not melting that ring you live in," she snapped, motioning the ring on his belt.

He shivered and disappeared. If he wanted to be ready for the Trio of Heroes, he would have to prepare his biggest spell yet.

***

Link, Sheik, and Impa walked through the wickedly strong winds. Link was ready to give in when, in the distance, maybe two or three miles away, was the answer to their immediate problems—a town. It was square-shaped and was surrounded in palisade walls to block out the fierce wind.

They sped their pace up, and they arrived at the gates within the hour.

Link breathed a sigh of relief when they received a break from the wind. He took a sip from his canteen, and Impa stepped up to the gate and knocked.

They waited a moment, and they heard a voice from above them. They looked up and saw two palisade towers, one on each side of the gate. Standing on each tower, armed with a short sword and a bow with a large quiver that was stuffed with arrows, was a Rito guard.

Link's eyes widened. The Rito were an incredibly endangered species. He had only seen one in his life, and it was only a quick glimpse, as the Rito was departing the castle.

"Who goes there?" one of the Rito guards shouted to them.

"Travelers from Hyrule!" Impa replied.

"What business do you have coming through here?" the guard shouted back.

"Royal business!" Impa cried out. "Business that, if you do not let us take care of, life as we know it will certainly end!"

"Bull!" The guard snapped. "Hiko!" he cried to the other guard. "Retrieve the chief's advisor!"

"Yessir," Hiko replied, and hopped out of sight behind the gate.

"Can you not see that we need aid?" Impa asked the guard while they waited for the Chief's advisor. "We are parched, our canteens need filling, our bellies are empty, and we desperately seek shelter from this dreadful gale!"

"We cannot trust any 'travelers on imperative business,' and there is no changing my mind, so lay off!"

Impa sighed and rested her back against the tall, heavy palisade walling. Link gritted his teeth and began to pace. Lana was now on his mind, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Cia may take his honor from Lana if she were to succeed in her quest. He shuddered, and Sheik put her hand on his shoulder the way Lana used to do.

"Something wrong, Link?"

"I miss my wife, and I can't shake this blasted feeling that she is...gone."

"Why do you think that?"

"She went missing the night of the attack. What if she had ventured outside the city gates? She couldn't defend herself against the hordes of monsters that attacked..."

"Maybe she just went to an inn?"

"No, she doesn't drink; it screws with her head."

"You know a lot about her; you must love her..."

"Of course I do! She is my wife! I love her, and if something happened..." He pulled away from Sheik and cupped his face with his hands. "I can't live without her, Sheik. I love her too much."

"What would you do?"

"What would I do? Oh, what would I do...I don't know! Sheik...I just...I can't think about that now. Right now I need to be thinking about what we will do if we aren't accepted by the Rito. I know Lana would want me to."

"I'm sure she would," Sheik said, consolingly.

"Aye! You three!" The guard shouted down to them, waving his arms.

"Are you letting us in?" Link asked.

"That ain't for me to decide! That decision be for the Chief's advisor. Hiko!" he called out to the other guard, who had now resumed his post. "Let 'em in so the Chief's 'visor can 'ave a look at 'em."

The gargantuan gates fell into the Earth, into a hidden slot that was dug specifically for holding the gate whilst it was closed. The Trio stepped through and viewed the Rito, who was assumingly the Chief's advisor, both by the clothing that adorned the figure and the fact that he was the only Rito standing in the area, thus making him the only one able to be the Chief's advisor, unless the guards had lied about him being there.

"Hello Hylians," the Rito said. "I am Girotiho, Chief's advisor. What business do you seek here? And why are my guards so fidgety?"

"We need to talk with your Chief," Impa said, and the advisor folded his arms, irritation dawning on his face.

"You will tell me what you have to say to my Chief."

"It is long, and your Chief may as well be there when you hear it, okay?"

"Alright then." He put his hand up to the guards as they began to step down. "I won't be needing a guard. Stay at your post, and do shut that gate. This gale is beginning to chill my bones."

The Trio followed Girotiho as he walked through the streets, and Link opted for conversation between him and the Rito, but he was shot down immediately by Impa's glare. He finally gave up and then leaned over to Sheik. "Seems kind of hostile, huh?" he whispered to her, and she chuckled softly.

"Yes, it seems so. And why aren't there any people out on the streets?" she asked, pointing out to Link that the streets were barren, empty but of the sounds of their footsteps and two tiny voices.

"I wondered that myself." Link muttered, and Girotiho spoke up, thus breaking his silence.

"We have set a curfew of 10:00 p.m. to ensure no one is out in case of...problems that may arise."

Link looked up at the sky and found the moon high up, peaking above their heads. It was probably around midnight by now.

"What kind of 'problems' might arise?" Link inquired.

The Rito remained silent as they passed through the streets. He glanced behind his shoulder. "You will discuss the matter with the Chief, if he accepts you into his bed-chambers."

"Yeesh," Link muttered, and continued to walk down the roads that snaked through the village.

They soon arrived at the Town Hall; Girotiho led them through its oak doors.

Immediately Link noticed the heavy sound of their feet thumping against the hardwood flooring. The ceiling of the building stood around thirty feet high, and the building was around sixty or so feet wide. The room they stood in now was about the size of his living area back home, where Lana might be waiting...

To their left was a hallway, where Link could hear heavy amounts of snoring. To the right he could smell the scents of meat drying. Directly in front of him was a door with a golden frame with Rito writing engraved into it; that was filled in with gold, to make the writing more clear.

Girotiho led them to the golden door and pulled a key from his belt. He inserted the key into the doorknob's lock and twisted. Link heard a faint 'click' and Girotiho pushed the door open. He motioned for them to follow, and they entered a long hallway with rooms branching off from left to right. At the end of the hall was another door framed in gold with more golden engraving on it. They walked to the end of the hall, and Girotiho pulled another key from his belt. He slipped this one into the lock quietly as a door mouse, put his finger up to the Trio, motioning for them to stay put, and then slipped through into the Chief's room. He closed the door behind him, and the Trio waited outside the door.

They heard muffled conversation through the door, and then a loud grumbling. The door soon opened, and Girotiho waved them inside. He closed the door behind them, and then whispered for them to take a seat at the table that stood in the corner of the room. Across the room from them, sitting upright in his bed; was the Rito Chief.

"Why," The chief immediately began, "are you intruding upon my sleep in the middle of the night?"

"Chief," Impa began, "We are travelers from Hyrule, we seek food, and shelter. This is all we ask for the moment, so we can move along to Faron Woods."

"What do you seek in Faron?" The chief asked, a doubtful smile creeping up on his face.

"What we seek is business between me and my companions, and Princess Zelda, your ruler."

"Just who do you think you are?"

"I," Link began, agitation growing in his voice, "am the general of the Hyrulian army."

"Where, General, is your army?"

"We were ambushed passing through Eldin, and if you didn't notice, the volcano erupted directly afterwards, wiping out the remainder of our army and stranding us on cliff plateaus. We made our way to the plains and have traveled here. We need food, water, and shelter, and we will be gone the morning after tomorrow."

"How do I know you aren't bandits who have brought Moblins to my village?" the chief asked.

"Moblins? There are no Moblins here...that I know of. I didn't even know any Rito still lived in Hyrule," Link said.

"Exactly how should you know about the troubles...that trouble us, when you don't even know we exist?"

"If I may interject," Impa spoke up, pulling a scroll from her belt, "This is a letter from the Princess, stating our business, and giving us passage anywhere throughout the kingdom."

The Chief snatched it from her hands, and read through it hastily.

"Ah fine," he muttered. "I want to talk to you three in the morning, but for now, Girotiho will show you your rooms, and he will bring you food to eat and water to drink, and he will have warm bathes drawn for all of you."

"Yes chief," Girotiho said, and he rushed from the room to find his servants.

"Thank you for your graciousness, chief," Impa said, and the Trio left the room, closing the door behind them.

They found Girotiho in the hall, servants behind him.

"Bathes are being drawn for you as we speak," He told the Trio, "when you are done with your bath, your rooms and refreshments will be ready, will you be dining in your rooms? Or will you dine in the dining hall?"

"Our rooms will be fine," Link answered, and checked quickly with the Trio to ensure they agreed with his decision.

"Alright, then," Girotiho said, and waved for the Trio to follow him, as the servants behind Girotiho went into three of the rooms branching off of the hall they were in, to clean, and prepare for the guests.

Girotiho pushed one of the doors open, and exposed a set of stairs, which he then proceeded to walk up.

The Trio followed him up the stairs and into another hallway. Link felt a burst of heat when he stepped in, and realized that the rooms branching out off of the hallway were bathing rooms.

Girotiho pushed open one of the doors, and a huge cloud of steam rolled out into the hallway, washing over the Trio. The steam from the baths licked at their wounds, and seemed to soften the stinging that echoed around their bodies.

"This bath is for you, General Link," Girotiho said, waving him into the room. Link stepped in, and looked around. The room was circular, and consisted only of a bath built into the floor. The water was boiling, bubbles bursting and hissing, and steam came out of the water in waves. Two servants were kneeling over the water, one of which was pouring soap into the water, and the other stirring the water with a big paddle.

"Are you sure this bath is meant to be...comfortable?" Link asked them.

"Yes," The servant with the paddle said, "The water is cooling as we speak."

The servant who was pouring soap stood up, and walked over to the wall, and lifted open a trapdoor. He pulled a rope up that was attached to the bottom of the trapdoor, and heaved a large bucket onto the floor. He carried it over to the bath, and poured its contents-five pounds of ice-into the water.

Link stepped back, as the water screeched from the ice rapidly cooling it.

"Wouldn't that be too much ice?" Link asked the servants.

"No."

"Oh, well, thanks for drawing my bath, but um, I can take it from here," he said, and the servants left the room.

Link pulled his armor off, easing his muscles as he did so, and then pulled off his tunic. He dropped his pants to his feet, and removed his undergarments. He slipped into the bathtub, and instantly his body was relieved of the pain that plagued him. He leaned his head back, and closed his eyes, letting him drift off into a distant memory.

***

Link walked down the narrow path to the market. He passed a few people he knew on the way. He stopped at the bakery. He pushed the door open, and headed inside. The baker, Arnold, was standing over a lump of dough at the front counter.

"Hey Arn!" Link exclaimed, and the baker looked up. He smiled broadly and walked around the counter to Link. He picked him up in a bear hug and set him back down.

"Where 'ave you been," Arnold asked Link.

"I just got back from another siege," Link said.

"Is that right? What were you doing?"

"We were simply taking down Bokoblin outposts around Hyrule, not much."

"It sounds exciting. I would join the army, but I'm too fat to move with you lot!" he said chuckling heartily. It was true, he was over a hundred pounds more than Link and didn't have the agility of any young man.

"Well, Hyrule needs you here Arn," Link said.

"I suppose it does, and me wife needs me 'ere too."

"Yeah," Link said, nodding in agreement.

"By the way, 'ave you met a nice lass yet?"

"No, not yet Arnold."

"You need one, cause before you know it, you'll be old and fat like me, but wifeless! Get one now while you're still a good sight."

"Yup, who knows, I might even meet her today!" Link said, laughing.

"Oh, then you might need a little something to get 'er attention besides that mop of 'air, so why don't I make you a...Strawberry pastry, light on the cream and 'eavy on the fruit?"

"You know how I love 'em Arn," Link said, "I'll be back to pick up my pastries when I'm done shopping, okay Arn?"

"You bet, Link," he said, and Link went out the door. He headed down to the market and heard a commotion coming from one of the vendors. Link rushed over and found a rugged-looking man with shaggy brown hair and a long beard. He was shaking a knife at the vendor and shouting at him.

The vendor handed over a few fruits, and the thief turned and ran down the path toward Link. Link rushed toward the thief and tackled him to the ground, knocking the knife from his hands. The thief elbowed Link in his face, and shoved him over. Link didn't have a sword at his side, as his rank didn't allow it. The thief grabbed his knife and leapt down on Link. He plunged his knife into Link's shoulder, and Link yelped in pain. Link kicked his knee up, slamming it into the thief's waist. The thief cringed, and Link shoved him off his chest.

By now, three guards had arrived at the scene and had drawn their weapons.

Link yanked the knife from his shoulder, letting blood flow from the wound, and the thief stood back up. Link waved them away. "Stay back, I have this!" Link called out to the guards. Link walked closer to the thief and slashed his blade at him. The thief jumped back and then lunged at Link. Link swept the knife up, burying it in the thief's stomach. He let go of the knife, and the thief's body fell to the ground.

The thief lolled his head back and moaned. Link stepped back, clutching his shoulder with one hand, as the three guards closed in on the thief.

One of the guards put his finger to the now unconscious thief. "He lives," the guard proclaimed, and the other two guards hefted the thief up by his arms and legs and carried him in the direction of the prison.

The third guard turned to Link. "Lieutenant," he said, "would you like me to aid you to an apothecary?"

"No," Link replied, "I can get to one by myself, but thank you for the offer." Link turned and headed off in the direction of the nearest apothecary.

He found the small wooden building with green and blue smoke drifting out of the front window. He walked up the thin steps to the door and pushed it open. He entered a light room with shelves crammed on the walls, all packed with potions and herbs. Kneeling at the counter was a thin woman with light-blue hair done in a ponytail. She was wearing a thin skirt that was about three inches above her knees, had gray tights that went to her feet, which were covered in thin blue and gray shoes. Her belly and the small of her back were exposed, and she was wearing a thin shirt that covered only her chest and the top of her back. She had two silver bracelets on each wrist.

"Um, hello?" Link said quietly, and the woman turned her neck to look at Link.

Her eyes widened, and she stood up, wiping her pants off when she did. "Lieutenant!" she said, "um, what uh, what can I help you with today?"

He removed his hand from his shoulder and revealed the stab wound.

"Oh!" she cried out. "Oh what happened?" she said and rushed over to him.

"I uh, got stabbed," not sure what to say.

"Obviously. How'd it happen?"

"Thief."

"A thief? Did someone try to break into your home?"

"No, not really. I saw a vendor being robbed, and I stepped in."

"Did he get away? The thief?"

"No, he got stabbed in the process, as did I, and I had two of the guards take him to the prison."

"Oh wow. Uh, I should probably take care of this," she said and rushed behind the counter. "Oh, and by the way, my name is Lana," she said, and gave him a short wink before going.

***

Link awoke with a start, the door to the bath creaking open. He turned his head to look and saw Impa's braid through the crack between the door and the wall. "Uh, do you need something, Commander?" he asked groggily.

"No," Impa replied, "I-I was just wondering if you had fallen asleep. Did you?"

"I might have drifted off there, yes," he replied. "Why? Have I been in long?"

"Yes, it's been an hour and a half, General."

"Oh, I should uh, probably get out then," he said and started to stand, but stopped himself.

"I'll be in my room, if you need me," Impa said to him, and closed the door.

He stood up and found a towel in place of his tunic. He walked over to the towel and found a card on it. On the card, scribbled in bad Hylian writing, was a note explaining that his clothes were being washed at the moment. There was also an explanation of how to get to his room. He shrugged and grabbed the towel from the ground. He dried his body and wrapped the towel around his waist. He walked from the bath area and to his room, using the card as a guide.

In his room, on the bed that was tucked into the corner, was a set of sleep ware: a thin green shirt embodied on the edges with gold, an undergarment, and a pair of thin green pants. On the floor next to the bed, was a pair of thin brown shoes. Link changed into the clothes and lay down on the bed, pulling the comforter over his chest and to his neck. He fell asleep softly, and the memories once again caught up with him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Link awoke to a short Rito child poking him insistently. He opened one eye at the child, and glared at him.

The child jumped back, giggling, and ran out of his room. Link grumbled and swung his feet down to the floor. He stood and found his tunic and armor on the end table that sat neatly next to his bed. He changed into the tunic, leaving the armor off, and departed for the smell of food coming from the kitchen. He headed toward it and entered. He found Impa and Sheik sitting at one of the oak tables in the kitchen, along with a few Rito, including the child that had so rudely awakened him.

He sat down next to the two. Impa and Sheik were wearing their Sheikah tunics, and Sheik was also wearing her mask. She sat at the table, not daring to touch her plate, which Link found to be empty.

She must have eaten while I was sleeping, Link thought. She must really not want me to know who she is.

Impa was busy clearing her plate, only for her to refill it. She needed all the strength she could get, even with the Triforce of Power.

Link found himself a plate and piled it high with smoked sausage, toasty, buttery hotcakes, runny fried eggs, and crispy bacon, which could only remind him of the last morning he had had with Lana. He quickly cleared his plate, not stopping to talk, and turned his head to Impa. "The chief said last night that he wanted to talk to us," he said to Impa, who was busy taking the last of the sausage.

"Yes," she replied through a full mouth. "So?"

"Well, shouldn't we go to him?"

"Girotiho said to wait till noon; that is the chief's morning."

"Hmm, seems like he wouldn't make a good chief, sleeping in like that."

"Well, the Rito do-" She swallowed, "-not really depend on the chief; he is just there as a source of false leadership. Without him the tribe would fall apart, even if he does not do anything."

"Hmm, so what are we going to do in the meantime?" Link asked.

Link's question was answered by the ringing of the town bell. Several guards rushed out of the building, the others rushing to the chief's room. The Trio of Heroes leapt to their feet and scattered to the front doors of the town hall. They emerged into the wind and heard constant clatters of Rito soldiers heading to the north wall. Link rushed back inside and to his room, as did the other two Heroes. When he arrived, he quickly put on his armor and strapped his sheath and rifle, which he found on his bed, to his back. He threw his shield, which was next to his sheath, onto his back as well, and then rushed back outside where he found Sheik and Impa waiting.

They both glared at him, tapping their feet impatiently.

"What?" Link exclaimed. "It takes a while to put that armor on!"

They both shook their heads, turned, and ran to the north wall. Link sighed and followed after them. The Trio arrived at the north gate and found the gate to be closed. A watchtower was built on both sides of the gate. Link ran to the left gate, and Sheik and Impa ran to the right.

Link pulled open the door to the tower and entered. The only purpose the interior of the tower served was that of holding a staircase inside. He ran up the stairs. When he reached the top, he pushed open the trapdoor to the roof and hauled himself up. He found two guards standing there facing the plains. The roofs of the towers had fences on the sides to keep the guards from being blown off by the powerful gusts. Link looked out to the plains and saw the reason for the alarm: twenty-three Moblins were marching through the wind toward the gate. They all stood—nine feet of pure muscle and blubber, all armed to the teeth with maces, javelins, war axes, battle hammers, and broad swords longer than Link was tall.

Link looked toward the tower on the right and saw Impa and Sheik standing next to a guard. Link heard a chorus of wings flapping behind him and saw ten or so Rito soldiers flying to the plain. He stood there, on the tower, stunned by the sight of them. Link cleared his thoughts and turned back to the Moblins. The Rito soldiers flew closer to the ground and began circling the Moblins. The soldiers each pulled a bow from his back, and then an arrow. Each strung his bow and aimed toward the Moblins. The guards on the towers followed suit by pulling their bows out and stringing them up.

"FIRE!" the guard standing with Impa and Sheik shouted, and a volley of arrows was unleashed upon the Moblins.

None fell. The arrows simply buried themselves in the Moblins' blubber, and they continued marching.

Link pulled his rifle from his back and loaded it. He aimed it toward the Moblin that seemed to be leading the charge. The Rito next to him turned his head.

"What are you doing with that club?" the Rito asked.

"Hang on," Link said. "And it's a rifle." He pulled the trigger, sending the bullet spiraling toward the Moblin. Smoke filled the tower, and Link could practically hear the Rito's jaw drop.

Link began reloading the rifle and aimed at the hoard of Moblins once more. The smoke cleared, and he found that he had indeed hit the Moblin, which was now face-down in the grass, the wind beating against its dead body.

He fired once more, and the Rito fired their bows again, for the fifth time now, and three Moblins went down. "These raids aren't so bad!" Link called out, but too early did he say this, as a Moblin carrying a giant battle hammer ran past the ranks and toward the gate. The Moblin stopped at the gate and began pounding down on the gate with its hammer.

Link slung his rifle over his back and looked over the edge of the tower to see the Moblin smash through the gate, letting the remaining monsters into the town. Link exhaled, and climbed down the watchtower, unsheathing his sword and readying his shield on the way. As soon as he opened the door he realized his mistake.

He was alone.

Impa, Sheik, and all the Rito had remained to fight from a distance, but Link had charged into the fray without thinking. Too late to go back! He ran after a Moblin and leapt onto its back, plunging his sword deep into its fat. The monster fell to the ground. Link hopped off the monster's body, only to be launched through the air by a Mace.

Luckily, Link had been hit by the stick and not the head of the mace. It still hurt, though. His armored body crashed into a Rito house, easily sending him through the walls into the common area. He leapt to his feet, and found his sword a few feet from him. His shield was still strapped to his arm.

He ran to the Moblin that had unknowingly clubbed him, and dodged its knowing strike via mace. He slid under its legs, swinging his sword horizontally above his head as he did so, slicing the Moblins fat, stubby legs, and sending it to the ground. Link leapt to his feet, and sunk his sword down into the Moblin. He turned to face more, but found only three left, which were battering the watchtowers with their hammers.

He saw Impa and Sheik leap to the ground as the tower they were standing on collapsed. They performed a quick, clean roll, saving them pain and broken bones. Sheik pulled her Kunai from her belt and darted over to one of the Moblins. She slashed the Moblin several times, each slice cutting its back open before the Moblin felt the thin pain from its back. It whipped around as fast as it could and swept Sheik to the side with its hammer; she flew into the tower Link had been standing on.

Link heard fire behind him and turned to see Impa roasting a Moblin with her Naginata. The Moblin eventually turned to ash, leaving one more Moblin, and eight Rito soldiers. The Rito soldiers flew to the ground and landed lightly on their feet behind the Trio. Sheik and Link, along with Impa, formed a semi-circle around the Moblin.

The Moblin roared, and thrust its Javelin into the ground, sending a dust cloud into the air, blinding the Heroes. The Moblin then pulled a broadsword from its back and knocked the Heroes aside. It ran to the Rito and cut them down before they could see again. Link rubbed his eyes once more, but to no avail. He needed water.

Sheik seemed to realize this, so she pulled a small, thin blue and gray harp from her belt. It had ripples designed to look like waves, and it glowed with a dark blue light. She strummed a few notes and then performed a quick spell using the harp. As soon as the last note of the spell was played, a wave of water washed over the Trio, its source unknown. Link shook his head, spraying water everywhere.

"Thanks Sheik," he yelled, "But where did the Moblin go?"

"Here!" Impa yelled, pointing at its large, fat footprints in the dirt. "We'll follow the prints!"

It didn't take them long to see the Moblin charging out of the Town Hall, the Chief tied to its back. It pulled its broadsword and stopped at the Trio.

Link stepped forward. "Let me handle this," he said to his comrades, and he braced for the fight. He ran toward the Moblin and swung his sword quickly at it. The Moblin easily parried the strike and brought its sword down on Link, who blocked it with his shield and leaving a huge dent in it. He muttered under his breath, sweat coming from his brow, as the Moblin's sword came down again and again, harder and harder. Link knew he couldn't last much longer, and he didn't. His strength gave out, and he fell on his back. His sword fell away from him, his shield broke in half, and he lay sprawled on the dirt. Sheik stepped forward, but Impa put her Naginata in front of her.

"No," She snapped, as the Moblin plunged its sword down on Link, sending him into darkness.
Ch.9.

Link's eyes flickered dully, and he pulled his arms back, sitting up straight and propping himself against the headboard, ignoring the immense pain in his ribs for the moment. He looked around and found that he was in the room he had been staying in at the Rito tribe Town Hall.

He reeled through the memory of the night before—or however long ago the village had been attacked. The village was raided by Moblins...and the Rito came close to winning the skirmish, but a Moblin... He frowned as the end of the memory faded; he struggled to come up with an ending. What the Hell happened? He thought angrily, nostrils flaring. He tapped his finger against his leg and remained in thought.

the door to his room opened, revealing Impa and Sheik. "Hey!" He said to them, and they chuckled lightly as they entered, both greeting him as well. Impa closed the door behind her and propped her back against it, still standing.

Sheik took the chair next to Link's bed. "So I assume you have questions for us."

"Yes," Link said. "firstly, what in Hylia's name happened to me?"

Impa and Sheik exchanged worried glances, and looked back at him. "You don't remember anything?" Sheik asked, softly.

"Well, I remember that the village was attacked, and we were winning, but something happened, and I don't remember what it was."

"A Moblin managed to capture the Rito leader and attacked you. It easily defeated you, 'finishing you off' with a stab from his broadsword," Impa stated.

Link pulled his blanket from his bare chest, revealing toned muscles that made Sheik shiver slightly. Several bruises and a bandaged wound were evident on his left side. "Whoa," he simply stated. "How deep did the blade go?"

"It didn't get through. That wound is from when we were carrying you into safety, well, 'safety'," Sheik said, making finger quotes. "A fire was spreading quickly through the village, and while it was doused almost immediately and the damage to the village wasn't too bad, the building we had brought you into collapsed. It was near the wall and caught fire quickly."

"So how did I get this?" he asked again.

"Oh, well, I took your armor off to inspect the wound, and the building totally collapsed. A splinter of wood impaled you through your side."

"All the way through?"

"No, just two-three inches. I pulled it out and managed to bandage you up, but I can't do anything about your broken rib."

He lifted his eyebrow in curiosity. That answered the question of why his ribs hurt, but only raised more questions. "Did the Moblin's blade even make it through my armor?" he asked.

"No," Impa replied.

"So, it just bruised me?"

"Yeah, the Blade wasn't too strong; it shattered on impact."

"So I'm fine?" he asked, "Just a puncture in my side? Nothing too big, I guess."

"Actually," Sheik said, "you aren't fine."

Link looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I can't heal you, Link," she said, biting her lip.

"What?"

"When the Moblin stabbed you, the Quake Bracelet sent a jolt through your body and disrupted your heart beat. you don't feel it, but your body won't be performing as well as it should."

"Oh," he said simply. "Well, hang on; you didn't say why you couldn't heal me. Seriously, what's wrong?"

"I'm getting to that," she said. "My magic is rough, as I'm still mastering the 'healing branch. No sorceress—not even Cia—has mastered this craft. The only beings that could heal you, would be the Great Fairies of Eldin, Farore, or Lanayru. The Triforce of Courage could also heal you."

"Hm. Simple...we just need to find the Fairy in Farore. We are only a few kilometers from there anyway."

"Not that simple, Link," Impa said. "The Fairies haven't been seen since the Second Hero's journey, which was hundreds upon hundreds of years ago."

"True," he said, grinding his teeth.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

Sheik sighed. "Well, unless we find the Fairies, which is most likely not going to happen, we need the Triforce of Courage."

"I'm the only person who can get us into the Temple, though," he said, "What are we gonna do?"

"You are going to have to take it easy, and if the Rito decide to send us as aid on the mission to free the Rito elder, you are going to stay," Sheik said.

"Two things," Link said, irritated. "First, I'm definitely going with you, no arguments. And secondly, have they already decided to go?"

"Well, no, we just assume that they will. It will be decided at the meeting the Rito are having tonight."

"They need to go; they can't just abandon the elder. Why do they even want him? A ransom, maybe?"

"Also going to be disclosed to us at the meeting."

"So how hard can I push myself?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I wouldn't go too hard...no sprinting or heavy lifting. I would say no to most stuff, unless your life or others' are on the line."

"I have a feeling that's going to happen," he said.

"Most likely, but let's try to make sure it doesn't. You need to get some more sleep before the meeting tonight, so, rest up, and we'll be back in a few hours."

"Mmk," he said, and pulled his blanket up to his neck as the two women left the room.

***

Link Stepped into the apothecary and found Lana in a similar outfit she had worn three weeks before when he had been stabbed. Instead of blue, it was white and purple—a skirt and top. She was knelt over a book at her counter, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, a few strands dangling down.

"Hey, I'm back," he said, quietly, and she lifted her head, and smiled.

"Lieutenant!" She said, rushing around the counter to meet him. "What brings you here? Another thief?"

"No, you told me to come back in three weeks so you could take a look at my wound. Sooo, I'm here."

"Oh yeah!" she said, giggling lightly as she remembered.

"It isn't too bad, but I do probably need to have it checked by you," he said and removed his tunic, revealing his strong, toned chest.

Lana paid very little attention; what was important to her at the moment was his shoulder. "I'm glad you came back," she said, as she inspected his shoulder. "The wound is full of pus."

Link wrinkled his nose at the thought of the disgusting stuff and turned his head as she squeezed the wound and wiped the ooze away, repeating this until more pus came out.

"Good news is, not much blood came out," she said, as she applied the bandage.

"Yay?" He said, with a meek smile on his face.

She smiled at him brightly and stood up. She went to her back room to put her kit , and when she walked back into the main area, Link stood up, pulling his tunic back over his head. He ruffled his straw-colored hair with his hand and smiled at her again.

She held out a small package of herbs., "These are to prevent any more infection, and if anything goes wrong, come back here as soon as you can."

"Will do," he said charmingly as he took the packet.

He walked out the door, but he turned quickly. "Lana?" He remembered the words Arnold had spoken to him a few weeks before.

She stood and turned toward him. "Yes Link?"

"Do you want to get dinner with me tomorrow night?"

***

Sheik said, "Link? Link. Link!"

His eyes snapped open, and he sat upright, only to fall on his back.

"Is the meeting soon?" he asked, and she nodded, throwing his tunic at him as she did so.

"Yes, so get dressed, and meet me in the lobby." She walked out the door, and Link sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. After a few tries he stood up. He stretched his arms, and pulled on his tunic. He grabbed his weapons, then he walked through the open door, closing it behind him.

***

Link and Sheik sat down, side by side, around the circular table in the meeting hall. Impa was sitting on the opposite side of the table and had her arms folded, her eyes flickering dully as she waited for the meeting to start. A Rito clad in armor stood behind his chair, and Link recognized him as the Rito who had let them into the village. Girotiho was sitting on Sheik's right, and four other Rito, whom Link assumed were council members, sat around the table. Only one seat was empty...the Chief's seat.

Girotiho cleared his throat, and all eyes turned toward him.

"As we all know, the Chief has been captured by the Moblins, and we have few alternatives to respond to this situation."

"The answer is obvious," the guard said, "We need to send a task force to rescue the Chief. The Moblins aren't goin' to 'and him over, and I won't stand for abandonin' the Chief."

"Hito, sit down," Girotiho said. "No one is saying that we should abandon the Chief, and we need to take a vote before we do anything rash."

"So, a vote?" one of the council members asked.

"Well, yes," Girotiho answered. "Those for sending an attack force to rescue the chief..."

All members of the meeting raised their hands, including Girotiho.

"That settles it then. But who should we send on this mission?" Girotiho asked.

"I say we send everything we 'ave," Hito said.

"No," Link said, shaking his head. "What if the Moblins attack again? Who will defend the village?"

"You three defended it fine last time, so I say you can do it again."

"We had help from your soldiers." Sheik paused. "We are going with you."

"Most certainly not. We can't except outsiders into our army, and how will you get there? You don't have wings to fly."

"We can walk," Sheik said.

"No, no. You would slow us down too much."

"Why do you even need to fly?" Link asked.

"The Goron caverns lay between us and the Moblins."

"So?"

"The Rito and the Gorons have never been on good terms with each other," Impa said.

Girotiho nodded.

"The Gorons would never let a whole force of armed Rito into their Caverns. We are already at war with the Moblins; we don't need the Gorons against us too."

"Then we can walk through the caverns, and you can fly over and await us on the other side."

"It isn't a bad idea," Girotiho said.

"It would give your soldiers time to rest after the long flight."

"It could work," Hito said.

"So it's settled?" Link asked, and Hito nodded.

"I'll let you come along, but I'll send you packin' if you cause us any trouble."

"Alright, when do you leave?" one of the council members asked.

"Tomorrow mornin'?" Hito asked, and Link, Impa, and Sheik nodded.

"It's settled then," Girotiho said. "I'd get packing if I were you!"

***

Link straightened the black scarf on his neck and let it hang over the buttons of his dark gray tunic. He smiled into his mirror and nodded in approval at his appearance; he had let his straw hair remain tousled, but he had made sure his scarf and tunic were perfect. He was wearing his leather boots, which went well with his tunic; the muddy brown melding together with the darks created a mystifying look about him. His tousled hair, though, gave him a friendly appearance.

"Fantastic," Link said to himself. He walked out his door, blowing out the candle on his coffee table on his way. And using a handy spell, he caused all the other lights to distinguish, leaving the house dark.

He walked through the streets with ease. He hadn't bothered to bring his knife, the only weapon he was permitted to carry. It gave him a dangerous and unfriendly look, which spoiled the impression his hair set.

He found the small café he and Lana had agreed on—Piper's Piping Hot Pastries. It was Arnold's other bakery, which also served as a café. His sister enjoyed the cooking aspect of the culinary arts more than baking, so she partnered with him and opened a café, which served freshly-baked pastries sent over from Arnolds bakery. That way she could focus her cooks on beverages and lunches. They both enjoyed the work and loved seeing Link when he came in to eat at one of the two places.

He walked into the café, a small bell tinkling above his head. He saw Lana sitting in a booth to his left and walked over to her. She had turned her head at the sound of the bell, and she smiled at Link—he took this as a good sign; it showed that she had warmly anticipated his arrival.

"Hi...Lieutenant."

Link smiled. "Don't call me Lieutenant. Please. It's Link." He sat down, holding two fingers up, and a waitress hurried over to their table with two sets of silverware in hand.

"Hello," she said cheerily, "Do you two know what you will be having?"

Link looked over at Lana, and they both nodded.

"Two cups of hot cocoa, light on the cream," the two said and laughed at their identical orders.

"Very well," the waitress said, chuckling as she walked away.

After a couple of seconds Link asked, "So what's your story?"

"My...life story?" Lana asked, and he nodded. She sat for a second then started, "I grew up in Kakiriko village, south of Castletown. You know of it?" Link nodded. "So I spent most of my time with my mother at her apothecary, and I was very talented with the trait, so when I was of age, I moved to Castletown and bought a building that was being advertised at Kakiriko. My mother had considered buying it but decided against it when I told her my plans. She gave me a healthy supply of herbs and such things to help me start out while I was figuring things out on my own and trying to find a supplier. My mother grew her own things, and I followed suit, but I rely on other businesses occasionally for some things."

"I had a twin sister growing up, but we didn't get along toward our coming of age; I haven't seen her since we were eighteen." Link sighed and grimaced. "I never had any sort of childhood sweetheart at Kakiriko," and Link turned his head in astonishment. "My father, bless his resting soul, forbade me from courting until I was of age. Silly, but most fathers send their daughters off and have them courted prior to age, and as soon as they come of it, they marry. Not my father, though. I haven't had much time to court. My apothecary is struggling; I need people to work for me so I can have a day off."

Link took this in. "Wow," he said softly, and was about to launch into his tale when the waitress came, two cups of hot cocoa in hand.

"There you go," she said, "Are you eating tonight?" She asked, and they both nodded. They gave their order, and chatted on for a while longer, sipping hot cocoa as they waited for their meal.

***

The Trio of Heroes walked silently through the violent wind. The Rito warriors planned to leave a day-and-a-half after the Trio to give them time to walk, and, if the Rito were right, sort out any issues with the Gorons.

Link wasn't enjoying the wind, no one was, and to keep tufts of ripped-up grass from going in his mouth, he wrapped his scarf around his neck, covering his face tightly. They had been walking for two days, and according to the Rito, they should be arriving at the Goron Caverns soon, hopefully before noon. They would leave the plains and enter the mercifully still caves.

A rock formation came into view. "This is the entrance to the Goron Caverns!" Impa shouted, and followed through with a fit of coughing as she tried to spit out the grass that had entered her mouth.

They rushed to the entrance where they rested for a moment, the wind howling outside. "We should go," Link said quickly, and they resumed walking. The cave descended about ten meters before it evened out, so they took care not to slip down the steep slope as they walked. The wind wasn't roaring behind them anymore, and the one sound they could hear was their feet coming down on the warm rock.

They each lit a torch and walked for a hundred meters or so before the cave widened from its three-meter width to a booming dome-like cavern. There wasn't an exit out of the cavern, they found, after a few minutes of searching.

"What now?" Link asked.

Impa shrugged. "I'm not sure, General," she said, and simply sat down, folded her legs, and started meditating. Link turned his head in confusion at her actions and decided to take a break and eat while they figured something out.

Sheik and Link each pulled a sandwich out of their pouches. As always, Sheik walked to the far side of the cavern to eat. Link sighed and sat down, propping his back against the stone wall. He looked around the cavern, and something caught his eye; he stood and walked over to it. Shiek and Impa appeared to be oblivious to him, as both were now meditating. He looked closer at the object. It was a small sphere pushed into an indentation in the ground. He stepped on it. Nothing happened. He frowned and stepped on it again, putting more weight into it this time. Still nothing. He then tried jumping on it. It shifted; he was onto something. It took him a bit of time, but he eventually heard a click, a low thump, and a bit of whirring, and the ground shook.

Impa and Sheik vaulted to their feet and glared at Link. "What did you do?" Impa demanded.

Link put his hands up defensively. "I figured it out," he said, and seconds later, the rumbling grew louder. The walls started to shake. Fragments of rock fell from the wall, and parts of the walls began to shrink back, leaving meter high gaps that were a meter-and-a-half deep. They looked at the gaps spiraling up from the ground, wrapping all around the room, and disappearing into an exit in the ceiling.

"They must be for the Gorons to roll up," Impa said, and Link nodded in agreement. Sheik leaned over and began to walk up the path. Link and Impa followed. They found themselves in a large corridor, and a big sphere rested in the wall to Link's right. He pushed it hard with his hand, and it sunk into its indentation. The path disappeared, and the cavern returned to normal.

They walked down the corridor until they reached a stone door. Link opened it, and they found themselves in a cavern ten times the size of the one they had been in before. It had different levels, the Trio being on the top level. Gorons were milling about, some rolling. Torches lit the lower half of the cavern while the top of the cavern opened up to the sky, letting the afternoon light in. The wind must have howled far above them, but it was pleasant in this cavern.

They started to walk down a path, not knowing where they were going, when two Gorons rolled up to them and sprung up, pulling a defensive stance as they did.

"What business do you have here, intruders?" one of them said in a deep but friendly voice. "And how did you come through the secret passage?"

Impa stepped forward and unraveled the scroll permitting passage, signed by Zelda. She read it, and the Gorons instantly bowed. "Please forgive us General. We did not recognize you. Welcome to the Goron caves! We will lead you to our chief." Link stepped back as they snapped up from their bow and began to walk, inviting The Trio to follow, smiling hugely as they did. They seemed friendly enough, Link decided, and returned the smile.

They walked through the cavern and arrived at the chief's room. One of the Gorons put his hand on the door to the room and pushed it up, locking it into place above their heads.

The chief, Koro, was sitting on his throne, and he immediately perked up at the sight of Link. Impa had the letter ready, but the Chief hopped off his throne and ran to Link, sending tremors through the ground. He stopped a meter from Link and, to their surprise, bowed.

"You have returned!" the chief said in an ecstatic voice.

"Um, what?" Link asked, and the chief turned to the wall and pointed to the paintings that were caked on it. One of the paintings depicted a teenager in a green tunic wielding a blue-hilted sword fighting a demon-like figure. A Triforce hung above the two figures, and Link recognized it as a depiction of the chosen hero fighting Demise. He turned to the chief.

"You are the chosen Hero, right?" The chief said, and Link nodded. The chief smiled, and turned to the two Gorons who had escorted them to the Chief. "Escort the travelers to a spring," the chief said, "and have a feast prepared. We shall celebrate the return of the chosen Hero!"

The two Gorons turned, but Impa intervened, "Hang on, chief? We apologize, but we cannot stay long, we must depart within the hour. We are on a mission."

"Very well," he said, and turned to the two Gorons. "Never mind. Go back to your post." The two Gorons shrugged and walked away.

"So," the chief said, "if you don't mind, could you possibly tell me about this mission of yours? And have a seat." He waved to a set of cushioned chairs to the side of the room, which the Trio promptly pulled out, while the chief sat in his throne.

Impa spoke up when they sat down. "We are travelling north to the Moblin fortress. The Rito chief has been captured, and the Rito tribe promised us compensation for our efforts."

The chief frowned. "The Rito will not keep their promise to you. The Goron tribe is trustworthy, so to ensure you do get something out of this quest, I will reward you, though not out of pure charity."

The Trio was all too confused.

"You see," the chief said, "the Moblins almost always leave us alone. But a fortnight ago, Biggoron, our blacksmith, went missing. He always sits in the middle of the cavern, forging or carving whatever he desires; he is quite childish. But he gets things done, so when one morning he wasn't there, we were very confused until a scout of ours reported that Biggoron was walking to the Moblin fortress. The scout was careful not to be seen, but he heard Biggoron muttering something about stealing his knife. So we checked his forge, and sure enough, the "knife" he was working on—which is a sword to you and me, as Biggoron is quite huge—was missing."

"And you think the Moblins took it?" Link asked, "and that they lured Biggoron back to their fortress?"

"Exactly," the chief said, a grimace on his face.

"So," Impa said, "what would we get in return for bringing Biggoron and his knife back?"

"Biggoron will decide that. I'm sure one of you needs a weapon, and he can forge a powerful one for you."

"We'll do what we can to bring him back, Chief," Link said, a determined look on his face.

"Thank you, Hero. What may I call you?"

"My name is Link."

"It's good to have you back, Link. We need a hero at this time, and the gods have sent us one. Now," he said, clapping his hands together, "you need to be going if you wish to be departed by the end of the hour. So is there is any immediate assistance we can provide?"

"Just directions out of the cavern," Impa said, and the chief nodded. He clapped his hands together again, and a Goron appeared in the doorway seconds later.

"Escort the Heroes to the canyon exit, would you?"

The heroes followed the Goron through the cavern's winding paths until they arrived at a tunnel, which had an occasional torch lit on a wall. "This path will lead you to the canyon. Good luck with your travels, Heroes," and the Goron bowed as the Trio walked down the tunnel.
Ch.10.

Link smiled as Lana laughed. She was adorable when she laughed; she always flashed her two tiny dimples brightly, which caused Link to smile even brighter. They were on their second date.

After their meal, they strolled on top of the outer wall, which was open to walk on during certain parts of the day. They would be forced to leave in half an hour or so, so Link was wary of his closing gate of time before his second precious date with Lana ended.

"So what is your goal?" Lana asked, somewhat randomly.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Your goal in life, the biggest thing you want to have achieved before you die."

"Oh, uh, well, I'd like to hold the position of a Hylian general at some point in my life, and I'd like to marry a beautiful woman who makes me happy. And I want to have kids—a girl and boy—girl first, of course."

"Why the girl first?"

"Well, if I'm a general and my firstborn is a boy, he must serve in the Hylian army; its tradition."

"Don't you want your son to honor his father by serving?"

"No, that is the last thing I want for him. After seeing hundreds of good men slaughtered in battle, I wouldn't want my son to be endangered."

"Oh, that makes sense..." she said, and they walked a ways before she spoke again. "Does it haunt you?"

Link turned his head. "Does it haunt me?"

"Yes...the soldiers you have seen die. And the people you have had to kill. It'd haunt me."

"I don't know why, but knowing that I'm protecting my kingdom and my future family from harm...It keeps me sane."

"You really want the best for your family, whoever they may be."

"Yes, I...I do."

She smiled at him, and for a brief second he saw something flash in her eyes: a thought, a wish... He looked at her. She was stunningly cute in her outfit, and the way the moonlight lit her up...

He smiled at her, and without thinking, leaned in and touched her lips with his, softly. He put his hands behind her head and waist, pulling her in closer, and she wrapped her arms around him.

He would never forget the first time he kissed her, and the courage it took.

***

They found the Rito soldiers waiting for them when they reached the tunnel's exit. They found themselves in a sprawling canyon with a cliff behind them, blocking the wind.

"Were we too long?" Impa asked, and Hito shook his head.

"No, we needed the rest, flyin' through the wind is terrible."

"Do you need more time to rest?" Impa asked, "or are you and your soldiers ready to get moving?"

"We're fine," Hito said, and clapped his hands together, causing all the sitting Rito to snap to their feet.

"We leave in five," Hito said to his soldiers, and the Rito put out their fire and stretched their legs and arms.

"So, 'owd it go with the Gorons?" Hito asked.

"It went well." Link answered, "They offered us a feast, and they didn't harm us in any way, so...yeah...I'd say well."

"Good," Hito said, "Did you say anythin' about our mission?"

"Yeah, we told them the whole scoop, and they asked if we could bring back a kidnapped Goron and a blade, for compensation, of course."

"Are you walking with us?" Sheik asked, and Hito nodded.

"We won't be flyin'. Not anymore. Not for a day or so, at least. The damn winds 'ave picked up even worse. We couldn't fly through this even if we 'ad all our strength."

"Right then," Impa said. "Let's get moving."

They all walked slowly down the small path to the expanse of the canyon and silently stepped over its cold stone floor.

***

The walk was long and boring. It was at least three hours before they saw anything but stone. It was a lake, and Link turned his head in confusion. "Uh, what?" He was even more confused when he saw a huge wooden bridge that led to the heart of the lake where an island sat, and on the island, sitting in its entirety, was the Moblin fortress, a twenty-meter high, solid iron-walled death trap, with a daunting gatehouse that accepted the wooden bridge. The walls weren't crenelated, but each corner of the fortress housed a tower with a bastion at its peak and a catapult sitting there. Beside it, a huge pile of boulders waited to be launched.

"It's an island?" Link asked stupidly.

"Course," Hito said, "'What'd you think it was?"

"Um, a small camp with some defenses...on land. Not a floating death trap!"

"Oh, you be in fer' a right good treat!" Hito said, chuckling. "Last time we tried stormin' it we got wiped out. We 'ave an advantage now, though; we 'ave you three, and twice as many soldiers!"

Link's eyes widened as he scanned through the Rito who were accompanying them. There were eleven, counting Hito.

"You tried attacking this with five soldiers?" Link asked, skeptical of their stupidity.

"Those were the days when I was just a new soldier, no longer part of the guard. I alone survived."

Link grimaced, and Impa decided to step in.

"So what's your plan?" Impa asked.

Hito pulled a map from his belt. He unrolled it and set it down on a stone, placing two of his arrows on the sides to keep it from rolling back up. The map was covered in markings. The Moblin Fortress was depicted in the center, and movements were drawn out with small lines. Hito pulled an arrow from his quiver and pointed it toward the map. "We planned on flyin' directly into the fortress, landin' on the prison, as is sensible. 'owever, with you three, we are goin' to 'ave to be a bit stealthier as we fly in, and we need to make sure we don't drop you." Hito laughed.

"Hang on," Link said. "You plan on carrying us into the fortress? While you are flying?"

"Course, why? You scared?"

"What? Oh, um, no...just, can you carry us?"

He got his answer by the Rito bursting into laughter.

"Back to the plan," Hito said after a few moments of chuckles. "We'll 'ave to 'ave two of us carry the Goron out, and one can carry the blade out."

"So we just fly in, get the chief, Biggoron and his blade, and leave?" Impa asked, "Shouldn't we destroy the fortress?"

"Our priority is getting' the chief out. If we 'ad more soldiers, we'd attempt to destroy it, but we wouldn't attempt somethin' so foolish with just fourteen warriors."

Impa grunted in disapproval.

Hito continued. "When we land, I want four soldiers to disperse to the four towers, to disarm the catapults. I want three soldiers watchin' from the skies, bows drawn and ready to fire, and I want you three," he pointed to Impa, Link, and Sheik, "to come with me and four soldiers to the prison. I want one soldier standin' guard at the entrance of the prison, and at every turn we take, I want one soldier to stop and stand guard there. We grab the prisoners and get the 'ell out of there! We leave none behind!"

One of the Rito walked up to Link. "I'll carry you in," he said, and lifted off into the air, flapping for a second before he lowered and offered Link a hand. Link lifted his arm, and the Rito lifted him into an embrace. Impa and Sheik were soon in the air, along with the rest of the Rito.

A thought came to Link's mind on the flight to the fortress. "Hey, didn't Hito say you couldn't fly?"

The Rito chuckled as he flapped his wings. "He meant for extensive distances, like flying to the Moblin Fortress from the Goron Caverns."

In no time they were over the Fortress, and all but seven of the soldiers landed, four each going to a tower, and three staying in the sky. The Rito effortlessly flew down to the ground, dropping the Trio quite unceremoniously. Link then heard the quiet but familiar sound of an arrow sinking into Bokoblin flesh. He reached for his blade, but Sheik stopped him, pointing a finger to one of the towers where he could see a Rito slicing the throat of one of the Bokoblins, unlike the others, who preferred to launch an arrow into their monstrous enemies.

Hito motioned for them to follow, and they all hopped off the prison roof, rolling silently on the cobblestone ground. Two more arrows flew through the air, sliding effortlessly into two Moblins' skulls. Impa darted over to the guards and caught the bodies with her hands, her strength radiating as she pushed them up and set them on the ground. Hito tried opening the door to the prison, but he couldn't budge the handle without making too much noise.

Sheik slipped up next to him. "I got this," she whispered and crouched down, pulling two pins from her belt. She twitched them around the lock for a second, and the lock clicked. She twisted the knob slightly and pushed the door open. She held the entrance while Link, Hito, Impa, and four soldiers slipped into the poorly lit corridor. She let the door close and hurried after the group. They turned two corners before they saw a guard dozing—a Bokoblin. One of the soldiers fired an arrow into its brain, squirting unappetizing liquids to the floor. They walked a few more steps and heard a rustling sound from one of the cells. Link peered inside. It was a monstrous cell, probably four meters high and wide. Inside was a Goron three times Koro's size; he was clutching a rough blade that was more than half Link's height long.

"Biggoron?" Link whispered, and the Goron nodded. "We're gonna take you back to your village."

Biggoron smiled brightly and lifted one hand, forming a fist with it. Link's eyes widened and rolled out of the way, as Biggoron thrust his fist through the cell door, collapsing it, but also sending a horrific noise throughout the fortress.

Hito's eyes lit with rage. "What the 'ell!?" He whipped around to face the rest of his soldiers. "You and me are gonna get the Chief." He turned to the Trio and Biggoron. "You clean up this mess. With a brute like 'im," he motioned to Biggoron, which caused the innocent giant to both smile and frown, "you can take care of yourselves for a few minutes. We leave as soon as I get into the air, got it?" Everyone nodded.

Link led his party to the prison exit, taking the posted corner guards with him as he went. When he exited, the scene he saw was horrific. At least four Moblin corpses were lifeless, along with a few Bokoblins...and Rito. There were no longer guards in the sky or on the towers. Two remained and were struggling against the might of the Moblins and Bokoblins.

The Trio darted into the conflict, drawing their blades, as the Rito they had brought with them drew their bows. The Moblins were soon lifeless, like the others, but so were the two Rito they found fighting.

Link plunged his sword into a gap between two stones and wiped his brow. He looked at Sheik, who was frantically flopping every Moblin's wrist around. "What are you doing?" Link asked, and was awarded a glare.

"I'm looking for the Quake Bracelet," she said, and an arrow zipped by Link's face, sinking into a nearby Moblin corpse.

Link plucked his sword from the ground and swung his shield to block another arrow. He searched the towers for any Bokoblins.

"There!" Sheik said and pointed to the north tower. A Bokoblin was firing its third arrow at Link, who sidestepped it and hooked his sword in its scabbard. He reached onto his belt and pulled his claw shot onto his hand. He flexed it for a second and fired it toward the Bokoblin, narrowly missing its head, but startling it enough to give him time to fire it again. This time it latched onto the Bokoblin's shoulder, and when the chain reeled back, the tendons and bone tore, flinging the Bokoblin off the tower and hitting Link with a disgusting piece of Bokoblin flesh.

Link released the claws, dropping the dismembered arm, and fired once again, this time for the south tower where the claw latched into the cobblestone, yanking Link through the air onto the tower. He placed the claw shot on his bel, and slipped his hidden blade gauntlet back on. He drew his sword and hurried down the wall path to, if the map was right, the throne room.

The rest of his party soon followed, save for Biggoron.

"Where's Biggoron?" Link asked.

"The chief was released, and he and Biggoron are escaping. Hito and a few of the soldiers are fighting off a few strays."

Link glanced over to the southern mountains and saw Biggoron rolling toward them, the chief soaring not far above him. He nodded, and they entered a small hallway, where a lone Bokoblin was standing. Link cut it down as he made his way forward and found himself overseeing the throne room. The leader of the Moblins was sitting on his throne, armor-clad, behind a small horde of twenty or so Bokoblins. On the Moblin leader's wrist was the Quake Bracelet.

A Rito moved to shoot him, but the front entrance burst opened, Hito alone firing his bow into the crowd of Moblins. The Trio immediately jumped over the balcony's edge and engaged the horde while the other Rito fired their dwindling supply of arrows from the balcony. Link could see that Hito was mortally wounded, but he was still fighting strong until a Bokoblin cleaved off Hito's right forearm. The Bokoblin was met with death by Link's sword, but Hito still collapsed to his knees, clutching the stump of his arm, ignoring the several arrows impaled in his back.

Link defended him from oncoming Bokoblins, and soon the horde was defeated; only the leader remained. The Rito on the balcony had been crushed when the Moblin leader destroyed the balcony supports and then used his mallet to pulverize them. Link stepped back from the creature in horror and then rushed forward, a sudden surge of adrenaline surging in his veins. He rolled forward and plunged his blade toward the leaders' torso, but his blade was deflected by a steel cuirass. The monster flung Link away with its free hand, and Link was dazed by a blow to the head on his landing.

The Bokoblin advanced toward Impa. She deflected a few blows before she was tossed aside, clutching a possible broken leg.

Sheik alone remained. She breathed deeply and, when the Bokoblin struck, Shiek flipped over him flicking her wrist out and sending a kunai into the gap between the back of his cuirass and his helmet. He stood for a second, then he collapsed to the ground. Dead.

Shiek rushed forward and slipped off the Quake Bracelet before going to Link's aid.

He shook his head at her when she slid to her knees at his side, and she pulled him up. "Help Hito," he moaned. He looked into her eyes for a moment and moved his lips, but nothing came out. His head lolled back.

She grimaced, quickly whispering a spell to his head, healing it, before stepping over to the dying Rito. She sighed, and bit her lip under her mask. She muttered a spell to Impa's leg, and the bone mended.

"You fought well," Impa said.

Sheik shook her head. "If I fought well, more than three would have survived," and Sheik clutched her stomach. Impa frowned

"I can't do it much longer," Sheik said.

Impa nodded. "Soon," she said. "Just another day or so, you'll be fine."

Link staggered over to them. "Let's get out of here," he muttered, and the other two Heroes nodded.
Ch.11.

The Trio found a warm welcome at the Goron village, where they were honored with a feast for returning their beloved blacksmith. The only edible thing for the Trio was the Dodongo meat. Afterwards, when they set out to return to the Rito village, they were awarded with a sword, which was made of silver alloy and forged by Biggoron.

"Is this the blade you had when we rescued you?" Impa asked, and Biggoron nodded. Its hilt was made from one of the hand grips from Impa's naginata, which was sadly shattered in the Moblin fortress. The edge of the blade was ridged to make deadlier cuts. "Thank you," she said, swinging it experimentally. "It's like it was made to for me. Was it?"

"Yes," Chief Koro said, "He began forging it a few weeks ago, in preparation for the Hero, but, to be frank, you are the Hero he forged it for, not Link."

"Hang on," Link said, "You knew we were coming?"

"Oh, yes. We received a message from the goddesses that the Hero was coming, and they were right," he said.

Link breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't be good if all of Hyrule knew that the army was marching through their land. The element of surprise would be void.

"Thank you for your hospitality...and the blade," Impa said

The Trio bowed.

"It was a great honor for you to come here," Koro said, and Link smiled. "Please do give the Rito tribe our condolences, and apologies."

"Will do," Link said, and the Trio turned and walked away.

***

The Trio was still aching after the return to the Rito village and was enjoying the breakfast prepared for them in celebration of their success. The funeral for the fallen Rito would be held once the bodies were recovered, which would be done by a retrieval squad prepared for that task alone. Later that evening the Rito would be honoring the Trio in front of the village.

"I'm wondering how far it is between here and Faron," Link said.

Impa swallowed a bite of her food. "It's only a few kilometers from here; we should see it within an hour of leaving."

"Speaking of leaving," Sheik said, "when are we going?"

"I was thinking tomorrow morning," Link said, "but I'm hoping the Rito give us our compensation first; otherwise, we will have to delay out departure."

"The Gorons gave us the giant's knife," Impa said, "and they let me keep the Quake Bracelet." She motioned to the bracelet on her arm.

Link furrowed his brows. "Ok, just to clarify, that is the bracelet that caused my heart to go nuts, right?"

Sheik nodded. "I thought Impa could put it to use. The Quake Bracelet, along with the Triforce of Power...I think that would be enough to collapse a temple-sized building."

"Hm," Link said and glanced at it once more before returning to his meal.

***

The Trio stood beside the chief in front of the amassed village. The chief stepped back, having just finished reading off the list of fallen Rito, ending with Hito. He pulled a large book from his podium and set it down. He opened it and pulled a conductor's baton from the folds of his cloak. It was short, about half a foot long, and had intricate designs on its handle. The entire baton was made of a silvery material. He placed the baton on the open pages of the book.

"Sheik, please step forward," the chief said. She did, raising a brow in curiosity. "This baton is named the Wind Waker," he said, waving his hand gently to the baton on the book. "It was handed down to the newly evolved Rito by the sky god Levias, before he passed. It holds the power to control the winds that blow across the land. With it, we have cloaked our plains in a powerful gust to protect ourselves. However, you have vanquished the threat of the Moblins, so we see no reason to keep the plains a hostile place. We have also decided to hand down the baton to you, as the sky god commanded of us. So please, put your hand on the baton so I may pass it's power to you."

She placed her hand on the baton, and the chief began to speak in the Rito tongue: "Levias ui jeongsin ! geudeul-ui-yeohaeng eul wihae pil-yohan i sidaeui yeong-ung i mabeob-ui seonmul-eul jeondal ! bojwagwan geudeul ! geudeulgwa hamkke ! ulineun seonmul , Levias eul gamsa hago juui gip-eun nun ."

A small gust blew around Shiek, and a piercing wind shot through her, sending a ringing through her ears. She shuddered, and the wind went still.

"The sky god Levias has granted our wish!" the chief shouted, and the amassed village cheered. He turned to Sheik, and she lifted the baton, her fingers somehow in the correct position.

"I want you to imitate my movements," the chief said, and she nodded. He moved his hand up, to his left, and to his right. She followed the movement gracefully, and a jet of air rushed through the village and struck the baton without moving it in any way.

"Now, to move the wind in the direction and speed you desire, you must only think it."

Sheik closed her eyes, and the faint whistling of wind overhead stopped.

The village clapped, along with the chief, Link, and Impa.

"Thank you," Sheik said, after the applause died down.

The chief smiled. "Thank you, Hero," he said, "We are very grateful for your contribution. Now depart, save this land, and may the goddesses be with you."

The Trio said a few farewells and was escorted to the east gate.

They turned back to the village once more after leaving the towering palisade walls and made their final departure.

***

Link flashed his blade forward, gouging a wound across the soldier's chest plate, dropping him to the ground. He spun, parrying a strike to his back and flicking his blade up, clashing the steel together, bringing his sword down quickly and his leg up, kicking the sword from his adversary's hand. He thrust his sword through the soldier's chest and glanced around the courtyard, his Hylian commander robes swishing across the grass, their protective armor glinting in the light. He looked up at the courtyard balcony where one of three archers was firing at him. He swiped his blade forward, casting the arrow aside, and set his mind to the balcony. He couldn't see any unfelled enemy troops that weren't engaged in battle, so he strode forward, sheathing his blade, and headed toward the short wall. A small group of now combat-free soldiers followed him as he dashed up the wall, dodging a falling archer, and hooked his hands on the balcony, one of which landed on an archer's foot. He took this opportunity to latch his fingers into the laces, and yank, pulling the archer to his rear.

Link heaved himself up the railing and vaulted over and onto the archers' stomach, sending a dagger into his gut. He stood up and blocked a blow to his arm by one of the marksman, and slipped his dagger down, slicing off the archer's finger and disarming him. Link shoved the dagger into the archer's throat and kicked his chest, sending him over the railing and to the grass below. The other soldiers had made it to the balcony, their arrival much less graceful than Link's. He glanced back toward the courtyard below, seeing a scene of carnage before him. He shouted the order to guard all exits to the castle, and he waved for the soldiers that were with him to follow.

He pushed open the wood-framed door to the castle interior and found himself in an extensive hallway with two soldiers patrolling, one for each half of the hall. He quickly shied into a small nook while the soldiers' backs were to him. The rest of the soldiers with him followed suit. He ducked his head out after a second and saw the back of the soldier patrolling their half. He waited till the guard has completed his turn and once again had his back to them. He motioned for the soldiers with him to stop, then he snuck out of the nook and slipped up to the soldier, burying his dagger in the soldier's neck. He set the body down slowly and ran up the other guard, this time flinging his dagger at the guard's throat as the guard turned to face the thumping sound of Link's running.

Link whispered an order to his soldiers after he pulled the dagger from the soldier's bleeding throat, and they came out of the nook and followed Link to the next door. He pushed it open to find a stone staircase. He immediately went up, quickly and noisily running, as his soldiers did the same. After ascending three flights of stairs he entered a door, arriving in another hallway. This time three soldiers stood guard, one of which was defending the other door, one with a bow drawn standing in the hallway, and the third directly in front of Link. His dagger did little to parry the strike of the soldier, and his blade was knocked from his hand. The soldier swung again, this time causing Link to move to his left rear, allowing the archer's now fired arrow to sink into the stone behind him. A soldier he had brought with him stepped forward and jabbed his lance forward. The guarding soldier couldn't step far back enough, and the lance impaled his gut, going straight through. Link stepped back, withdrawing the lance, as the guard from the other side of the hallway ran forward. The archer stepped back and drew another arrow, this time aiming for the lance-bearing soldier. He sidestepped the arrow, and the archer drew another arrow, lowering his bow this time, and allowing the other guard to engage.

Link ran forward, his sword now drawn, and faked a swing to the soldier's right shoulder. The guard halted, swinging his shoulder away, and Link flashed his blade to the guard's left side, gouging the blade deep into the soldier's armor, and, as blood was leaking from the wound, body.

The archer now fired his bow haphazardly, missing Link by half a meter, turning, and running to the other door. Link pursued, drawing his dagger and flailing it to the archer's back. It missed his back and, instead, sank into the guards poplit. The guard let out a grunt as he fell; his landing was quite loud, his body crumpling to the lightly carpeted stone, sending out a clang-like thud. Link ran to the archer and pulled his dagger from his poplit, sending it into his throat next, ending his noisy groans of pain.

Link wiped the blood from the dagger on the carpet and stepped up to the door, sheathing the dagger as he did so. He suspected this to be the throne room, as its guarding was a bit more meticulous than the other hallways. And according to their scouting, this was the general area where the throne room lay.

He waved his soldiers over and explained his thoughts to them. They all nodded in agreement, and Link drew his blade. One of his soldiers picked the fallen archer's bow from the ground. He tugged the strings a little, and pulled the quiver from the archer's body, slinging it across his back.

Link carefully opened the doo, and found himself in the wrong spot. He was on one of three balconies. The one he wished to be on was to his left, directly behind the prince's throne. He quickly stabbed the balcony guard and had his archer snipe the other two.

Only seconds later, the door of the balcony adjacent to his opened, and General Impa and her soldiers slipped onto the balcony. Impa saw Link across the way from her, and her own position. She gave Link a look of frustration, and he shrugged. Their plan had been to emerge on the balcony behind the prince so they could jump onto his two royal guards, taking out his prime defense. Then Link could keep the prince on his throne as the rest of their soldiers jumped. They could clean up the remaining throne room guards and seize the castle from the prince's grasp.

Link motioned to the guards underneath the balconies, and Impa nodded, understanding his new plan, which was to take out what they planned on being the remaining guards. He readied himself on the balcony rail, and his soldiers did the same. Impa's group readied themselves, and Link counted off three seconds with his hands and leapt off the balcony, rolling as he landed and driving his sword into a guard's back. The guards were cleaned out in mere seconds, and the group turned to the prince. His royal guards, clad in gold and black armor and brandishing great two-handed claymores in hand, were standing in front of the prince, defensive positions struck.

Link and Impa waved off their troops, and the guards engaged the two leaders.

Link sidestepped the first strike and then jabbed his blade to the guard's cuirass. But, to his avail, the blade merely stopped at the cuirass and left Link vulnerable for a second, which is all the guard needed. The guard left his blade in one hand and used his other gauntleted hand to punch Link square in the jaw, knocking Link onto his back. Link kept a grip on his sword and rolled away when the guard brought his claymore to the ground. He got to his feet, one hand on his jaw, and saw that, a few meters away, Impa was pulling her longsword from the guard's throat.

Impa dashed up to the throne, and the prince snapped to his feet, drawing a sword of his own—an elegant silver longsword with a jewel-encrusted hilt. Impa flashed her blade forward, beginning the duel.

The guard continued to push Link to the wall until Link saw a brief moment of opportunity; he jumped back against the stone wall and leapt off, dived at the guard through the air, and tackled him over. The guard lost his grip on his claymore, and Link rolled over, trying to reach his blade, which he had dropped. The guard, however, abandoned his claymore and stood up, kicking Link in the side, causing him to double up, clenching his stomach in pain. Link's soldiers couldn't stand to see him risk dying, and they rushed forward, avoiding stepping on their commander, who was now attempting to stand. The soldiers attacked the guard viciously, and he fell after several blows to the head by axe.

Link stood and muttered his thanks to his soldiers. One grabbed Link's sword and handed it to him.

Meanwhile, Impa was still dueling the obviously experienced prince. He was doing well at parrying her powerful strike, and still getting chances to strike of his own accord. She was beginning to gain ground, though, and when he began to feel trapped, his strikes were less precise, and she could feel him starting to tire from blocking every strike instead of parrying it and dispelling the energy from the force of the strike. His last mistake was trying to strike while she was striking. His blow was too slow, and she imbedded her blade in his leg, dropping him to the floor. She stepped back, and he muttered a few words she couldn't recognize.

"Hm?" Impa asked.

"I surrender," he muttered, more audibly this time.

Impa looked over at Link, who gave her a thumbs up.

She turned back to the prince. "Shall we begin negotiations for a treaty?" she asked, grinning lightly.

***

The Trio stood in front of a large wood, also known as Faron Woods. The walk had been muct faster than their previous journeys through the plains, and less tedious as well. Link took the first step into the woods that housed the Triforce of Courage. It was dark—very, very dark. The first few steps were illuminated by the sun, but when he was a few meters in, Link was forced to light a torch, and his comrades followed his actions.

They walked for an hour or so before they came to a clearing where the brush had blocked off any sort of path they could use. The vegetation had completely blocked off the clearing, save for their entrance. Link shrugged and drew his sword. He hacked at a segment of brush, his blade cutting through smoothly. He made a few more cuts and pushed the brush out of his way. He sheathed his blade. A small puff of air flew down the side of his head and distinguished his torch. He whipped his head up to find the source of the air and found two golden eyes staring down at him.

He threw himself back into the clearing, landing on his rear as the golden-eyed creature dropped from its perch and entered the clearing. It looked like a wolf. Its fur was mottled gray-black, and on each paw it had two claws the size of Link's hand.

Link pushed himself to his feet as his comrades drew their weapons, and the 'wolf' stood. It held itself like a hunched human. It snarled violently and shook its head, spit flying in every direction. Then it howled. The ground was filled with thumps, and the brush around the clearing burst open in places. Many of these creatures entered the clearing.

The Trio back-pedaled till they were back to back, facing each direction, each facing many teeth-crammed jaws. "You guys know what these are?" Link asked.

Sheik furrowed her brows for a moment. "I think they are Wolfos!" she said, and Link groaned. "Doesn't matter. They're going to eat us whether we can identify them or not." She threw her free hand in the air, and a flame shot up and hung over the clearing, providing a light so they could drop their torches, which they did. The Wolfos all snarled and leapt forward. The Trio exploded away from each other, swinging their blades, small and large, toward the beasts.

A spray of blood and fur spread out onto the grass, and Link found himself on the ground, two very violent pains in his right shoulder. He jumped to his fee, and found another Wolfos bounding up to him. He stepped back, preparing to parry the Wolfos' strike, but his foot sank into the ribcage of one of the Wolfos he had felled, just as the advancing Wolfos pounced. He couldn't balance himself or unhook his foot from the bones, so down he went as the Wolfos sailed over his body, and into the brush behind him.

His head hit the grass hard, and his vision fogged for a moment He could see blurs of movement from his fellow Heroes as they spun and clashed against the Wolfos. He saw a smaller blur leap over a larger one, slicing its skull open as it did, and landing gracefully. It turned to him, and rushed over. The other blur, which was much bigger, didn't move gracefully; its movements were rough and powerful. It sliced and ripped the beasts apart, only taking one glance from a beast, which was subsequently slain by the behemoth warrior.

His view of the carnage was then replaced by a foot, the foot of the small blur—Sheik. She moved forward, and he felt something land on his leg. She knelt down, and moved a head, which held a pair of glazing eyes. Sheik muttered a spell under her breath, and Link's body felt lighter in her hands. She moved him over a little and found a large rock under where his head had been. She looked back at Link, whose eyes were now flickering. She stood up as Impa felled the last Wolfos, her blade sinking deep into its torso.

Impa looked over at Sheik as the brush behind her cleared and another Wolfos leapt out from the darkness. Sheik moved to her right just in time, and the Wolfos, before standing, twisted its body. It began to shake and shudder violently, and it shrunk slightly, but its legs became more buff-colored. Its mouth opened revealing not-so-threatening teeth, and an agitated deep voice came from it. "Put the chosen Hero onto my back," it ordered.

"What?" Sheik said, in disbelief, "Who are you? No, what are you? What do you want with Link? I'm not putting him on your...".

"Do it," the voice interrupted. "The Hero has just died; my words are true. Now put the hero on my back."

Sheik's heart stopped for a moment as she took in the beast's words. She turned, and both she and Impa knew at that moment, from his still eyes and chest, that their Hero was gone. She knelt down next to him, and steeled herself.

***

Cia sighed in relief as Link's body was placed on the wolfs' back. She fell to her knees and put her hand to her breast. What had the wolf said? She hadn't paid attention...she was...so...the Hero was dead. She looked up at the portal and saw the wolf bounding through the woods. What was the wolf doing? Where was he...the Hero...Link...her...only...

Cia collapsed onto her side, her skin cold against the stone. Warm tears flowed down the side of her face and splashed onto the surface of the Valley of Souls. She sniffled, and another onslaught of tears poured out, her weeping heard echoing throughout the valley.
Ch.12.

The Wolf was bounding hard through the woods, each step thundering into the grass as it carried the fallen chosen Hero.

Meanwhile, the other two Heroes strode along the grass, following not too far behind. Impa had launched into a fury of verbal beating at Sheik after the wolf had left. "You listened to the wolf, and your only defense was a feeling in yourself telling you to obey the Wolf?"

The two remained silent to avoid further argument. They simply followed the wolf's beaten path through the wood. The walk was eerily silent, considering the carnage they had just witnessed, and they could hear only the soft touching of their boots to the grass and the crackle of their torches.

It was half an hour or so before the trail stopped at a wall, a stone wall that spanned into the darkness on either side. The two heroes looked at their feet and saw footprints from the Wolf leading up to the wall. Impa put her hand on the wall. "I wonder if my power will trigger something."

The wall stayed still, but something felt different after she touched it. Her senses blurred, and she fell to her knees. She saw Sheik doing the same. She tried to stay up, but both of them fell to their sides. Impa blurred into unconsciousness.

"Impa? Sheik?" A voice stirred inside the minds of the Heroes, and a vision of a beautiful woman appeared before them. She stood tall, her hair being the only thing covering her body save for some leaves and little vines. Her hair was the color of ivy, like the 'garments' she wore. Her eyes were jade green, and her skin was pearly and white. What really set her apart from anything the two had seen was the cloud of golden fog around her, which was hiding multiple Sprites.

Impa blinked her mental eyes, and stared at the woman. "Farore?" she asked, "Is it you?"

The woman shook her head and smiled. "I am known as..."

"...the Great Fairy of Faron," Sheik cut in and bowed mentally. Impa followed, and the woman waved her hand, dismissing the bow. Sheik moved as if to speak again, but the Fairy held her hand up, shushing her.

"Be silent, child. The chosen Hero is safe with me inside my cave. He is currently resting in my fountain while we speak." Impa and Sheik sighed. "His wounds are being healed, and yes, Sheik, his heart is healing as well. He will be at his physical prime when he emerges. That is, if you fail in your quest, that is. If you do not, the Triforce will put him in a state of strength he has and will never know other than then."

"Is that your wolf?" Sheik asked.

"No, and Yes," the Fairy answered. "It was a monster prowling the forest, and sot to eat you all, but I reached out and touched its mind and body. It turned into the servant it now is."

"Where is the Temple of Courage?" Impa asked, and the Fairy laughed gently.

"You don't need to know this, child. Until your chosen Hero has healed, and passed through the Forest Temple with the Forest Emerald in hand, you need not know. So do not trouble your mind, young one."

"Why didn't you let us into your cave?" Impa asked, "Why enter our minds?"

"I didn't see a need to bring you into the cave, and touching the mind of a mortal is always a pleasant experience."

"Oh," Impa simply said.

"Where shall we go to await Link's exit of the Forest Temple?" Sheik asked.

"Follow your heart. It will not lead you astray."

"When will we return to the physical world?" Impa asked.

"When your Hero is finished healing, which will happen in four seconds. Farewell, children."

The image of the Fairy faded from their view and was replaced by grass. The two lifted themselves from the ground. Impa looked at Sheik, and she started walking along the left side of the wall. Impa shrugged and followed her, taking one last glimpse of the Fairy's cave.

***

Forty-two minutes earlier...

The wolf didn't break its stride as it neared the wall; it simply bound through it into the Fairy's beautiful cave. The stone was cleaned by fountain water, not covered in grime. The actual fountain was filled with Fairy water, and inside, resting in the Fountain, was the Great Fairy of Faron. The wolf stopped when it reached the water. It stood atop the royal crest adorned chiseled stone just out of the water.

The Fairy stood up, water dripping from her body as she exited the fountain. She breathed in slightly heavier than normal, and a breeze blew around her body, drying the water and wrapping leaves and vines around necessary areas. She moved toward the wolf and lifted Link's body from the wolf's back. She breathed out, and a breeze blew through Link. His garments and weapons fell into the air, dissipating into nothing. The wolf nodded toward the Fairy, and a breeze blew through it, turning it to dust and carrying it out into the forest.

The Fairy walked into the water and kissed Link's forehead, spreading warmth through his body. She set him in the water, submerging him completely, and his body immediately began to heal: skin growing, heart starting fresh and normal, veins connecting, and blood reappearing. His body was at a state of prime in moments.

The Fairy smiled and lifted his body into the air. She breathed out, and his garments and weapons reappeared on his body, cleansed and stitched into correct patterns. His eyes began to flicker, and the Fairy used a soft hand to stroke them lightly, keeping them shut. She then set his body onto the chiseled block near the fountain, directly onto the royal crest.

Link's eyes opened. He blinked them a few times and saw nothing but black. His body felt amazing, though. His chest didn't feel weird, his throat was intact, and all of his scars had disappeared. He blinked again and realized he was floating in the blackness. There, in front of him, a woman stood. He had seen pictures of her from books he had read about Hyrule's history. She had few differences than the sketch; same eyes, same hair, same figure...Lana would probably be jealous, he thought for a second, and a frown set on his face. A tear threatened to form at the thought of his wife, and he cleared his throat and looked the woman in the eye.

She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry that you miss your wife, Link," she said, and Link recognized her then. This was the Great Fairy of Faron!

"Yes," she said softly, "I am, and you are the chosen Hero. I have healed your wounds. From your scars to your heart problem, it is all pristine."

"Thank you," Link said, managing a smile.

"I am about to send an image of myself to your comrades to inform them of the circumstances."

"Oh, um, do you want me to..." Link trailed off.

"I want only for you, when you wake on the royal crest in my fountain, to dip your head in the water. This will cleanse your mind of its stress and fear, which you will need to keep at bay with your upcoming challenges. Farewell, Hero."

***

Link smiled as he stepped through the gate into Hyrule Town. After four months away in Labrynna, helping stamp out a revolt, it was good to be home. The soldiers traipsed along behind him, and Impa, who was on horseback. He greeted the occasional civilian who walked by, smiling and waving a hello, and Impa just nodded her head in recognition, remaining silent.

"C'mon, Impa, loosen up," Link said. "Say hello to some of these people. After all...Oh hello, Olivia," he said to a passing woman who responded with a smile and a wave. "Say Hi to Brock." Olivia nodded, smiling still, and Link turned to Impa. "Sorry, General. What was I saying? Oh, yes...you should greet the people. They look up to you as their chief protector, save for the Princess. But still, they don't need a silent general who will only give up a begrudging nod. They will think you look down on them. Lana has noticed your silent manner as well."

"How is she?" Impa asked, breaking her silence, "How, uh, how long have you been with her?"

"Seven months, three of which I wasn't here, but you would know that, I guess. We've gone on...twenty-three dates, I think, and that's not counting my visits to her apothecary, either for injury, or...withdrawal injury," he chuckled, and Impa smiled.

"How is her apothecary doing? I remember you mentioned it wasn't going so great when you met."

"Well, you see, after a few weeks I began to post up papers in the barracks offering a discount at her apothecary, paid by me." He waved to a friend and exchanged a few words as they passe. Then he returned to Impa. "Um, I had already started recommending it to soldiers I saw, but it wasn't going as well as I had wished, so I started the discount system."

"Did she oblige? Or did she ask you to remove it?"

"She was fine with it, and it really helped her out." He waved again.

"Are you two...clicking well?"

"Clicking where?" Link asked, a smirk on his face, and Impa grimaced, but a grin came to her face.

"I see that to mean a 'yes'?"

"Of course. She's special. I'm definitely gonna try and hold on to her."

"I'm glad to hear that," Impa said, and they passed through the gate to the Noble District.

"General, do you mind if I have someone take my horse to the stable so I can meet with Lana? After all, I haven't seen her in almost two months."

"Is she in your house?" Impa asked, as they stopped at the crossroads, one leading to Link's street, one to the barracks and stable entrance.

"Yes. I had a messenger run ahead and send a note to her when we reached the four kilometer outpost."

"Ah, go ahead, Commander. But I would like to see you tomorrow at the recap."

"Of course," he said, smiling.

The army began walking, and Link dismounted his horse. He waved to a passing soldier. "Oi!" he said, and the soldier walked over to him. "Take this horse to the stables and see to it that she gets cared for."

"Yessir," the soldier said as he took the reins. He walked it with army toward the castle.

Link turned and, not able to contain his excitement, ran to his home. He arrived at his door and waited for his breathing to alter slightly to its normal rate. He pushed the door open and entered coolly. His first encounter was the scent of roasting beef. He looked around but couldn't see anything. He checked his kitchen and found the remnants of cooking. He saw that his oven was being used. He smiled as he remembered the most obvious place for her. He walked to his room, and pushed the door open, revealing a lounging Lana. She was laid out on the bed and was adorned with Link's favorite blue sleepwear. He smiled and removed his cap as she stood herself up.

"I've missed you," she said into his chest as he embraced her.

He tilted her head back and kissed her softly, "I've missed you, too," he said when their lips parted. "Been waiting to kiss you for what seems like forever."

"Oh, Link," she said, a joyful smile on her face. "I love you."

"I love you too, Lana," he said. He kissed her again. Then she smiled at him in a manner which he knew could mean only one thing. She patted his chest and left the room, a devilish grin spreading on her dainty face. He turned, confusion in his mind, and followed her to the kitchen, where she opened the oven and pulled out a pan carrying a delightful smelling roast. She set it on the counter to her right, and began sprinkling salt over the meat. She then pulled another pan from the oven, this one carrying a load of varied vegetables. She sprinkled salt on them, too, and then pulled a glass quart of milk from Link's frost-enchanted food storage. She grabbed two glasses from his cupboards and poured milk into them before returning the milk to its place. She handed the glasses to Link, who still looked confused.

"Put these on the table, Hon, and set it, too," she added, as she pulled a pot from the stovetop and scooped mashed up potatoes into a bowl. She brought the food out to the table while Link gathered the silverware and plates.

"Um, Luv?" he called out from the dining room to the kitchen, and she turned her head around the corner to look at him, her blue braid swinging down in front of her face.

"Yes?"

"Weren't we...you know...but now...food...um...we'll be...eating?"

"I cooked this so you could fill up on a delicious meal," she said as she moved to the dining room. "After all, you haven't had one for almost two months."

"Ha-ha," Link said dryly. "But, what about, you know..." He pointed off toward his room.

She turned her head and looked at him innocently, though her face sported a sly smile. "Whatever do you mean, Link?"

"I mean, us, you know...haven't been together for...two months almost...you know...reuniting?"

"You continue to confound me," she said.

He threw his hands into the air. "Fine, let's eat." He sat down and asked for a blessing for the food, then they dug into Lana's delicious masterpiece. Though, what seemed like seconds into the meal, Lana began to traipse her hand over Link's arm and held his right hand while they ate. He looked at her, and she smiled.

"Fine," she said, but finish what you have on your plate, and I'll put it away when...you know..."

He smiled and tore through his food. Within two minutes he and Lana were in a passionate embrace on his bed.

***

Link awoke on the stone and blinked a few times. He stood easily and stretched his limbs. He looked around and observed the Fairy fountain. He stopped when his eyes trailed at the water and remembered his instructions. He walked to the water and dipped his head down into it. Immediately his mind felt...clean. He felt no worry of death. He felt completely courageous. He smiled brightly, and the Great Fairy reappeared before him in the air, smiling right back at him.

"Link," she spoke," I wish you good travels and good blessings from the goddesses. Please take care of yourself."

"I promise to," Link said.

The Great Fairy smiled even brighter then tilted her head back and lowered herself into the water, her garments melting into nothingness as she relaxed. She smiled again at Link, and he felt his body begin to lighten, and he felt himself disappearing...

***

Link found himself standing in the Forest by himself. Several torches lit the area. He looked around and saw small structures through the trees. He felt his left hand tingle and glanced at it; through his gauntlet the Golden image of the Triforce shone. He looked back up at his surroundings. He knew where he was. He stepped forward and pulled a torch from a bracket near him. He held it up as he walked forward into the Forest Temple.
Ch.13.

Link cut a bit of brush away from the doorway to the nearest structure, and entered. He found that this was the only shack in the surroundings, the other "shacks" he'd seen were actually only walls.

When he stepped forward his boot squished into something, and felt a crawling sensation race across his foot. He looked down and saw hundreds of fist-sized spiders racing across the floor...towards Link. He bolted out of the structure, flinging the spiders as he went. He looked back and down at the ground and saw no spiders. He had faced many a spider in his days, but never so many at once. He shivered lightly and knew he might have to go back there. But unless it was absolutely necessary, there was no chance.

He looked around and found that, unless he were to break the walls down, he couldn't go anywhere. He inevitably delayed the search of the shack for a minute while he mulled over his options: if this was bad, the Temple of Courage is going to be awful. He steeled himself and groaned as he walked near it. He prepared to step in when the brush above his head caught fire from his torch. He pulled the brush out and batted the fire out, an idea forming in his head. He tossed his torch into the shack.

He didn't think about the result of his action. The spiders that weren't burned scuttled out of the shack and headed to the edge of the brush. Link stepped back even when a few spiders headed in his direction but then skewed off. He waited a minute or so, grabbing a new torch, then ran into the shack. He saw a smoldering floor but no spiders. He searched around and, in the corner of the shack, found an iron ladder blackened on the bottom rung. Link looked up, and saw a weak roof made of woven moss and branches. He lifted his torch to the roof, and it lit quickly. He exited the shack while the fire burned and the embers fell to the floor. When it cleared he re-entered the shack and inspected the empty space where the roof had been. It was clear, so he went ahead and climbed the ladder, his gloves protecting his skin from the now cooling iron.

After an extraordinarily long climb, he finally he hoisted himself onto the new floor and found himself in a stone hallway. He walked down it and through the door at the other end. He was in a large cave-like room, twenty-or-so meters high, roundish, probably half the height in its width. The thing that made him curious, though, was the large sphere in the center of the room. It was suspended by what appeared to be spider silk. It was strung to the walls from both Link's left and right, and an attached thread dangled from the ceiling as well. To Link's left and right were doors, and parallel to him, on the other side of the room, was another door. He stepped forward onto the mossy stone and inspected the ground below the sphere. It was simple stone with some overgrown moss on it. He stamped his foot down hard and heard a strange sound coming from below the floor.

He got down onto his stomach and pulled his shield from his back. He knocked against the floor with it and placed his ear against the stone. He knocked again, and the sound still echoed from beneath the floor. "Hang on," he muttered. He knocked again, and the echoing rang out from below. "If that is echoing, this must be hollow," he said. Then stood up, placing his shield on his back. He looked up at the sphere. It appeared to be of considerable weight, so maybe... If I can cut the thread, I can drop the sphere, and it might break through into the area below. The thread would be hard to cut, if he could even try. It appeared to go into the wall, so he could possibly go into the side rooms and try to find the thread.

He headed toward the room to the left of his entrance. He pulled the door open, and his instincts told him to duck behind the door, and duck behind the door he did. A ball of green bubbly acid spewed past him and landed on the ground behind him, fizzling on the stone and creating a small indentation in the floor.

Link gulped and peeked around the side to get a look at his attacker. It was a spider, freakishly large, about two-thirds of a meter across, and Link estimated it weighed about twenty kilograms. It was gray with brown fur lining the chinks in its armor-like skin. It hissed and spat out another glob of acid toward Link. This glob hit the door, and Link stepped back. The center of the door melted under the effects of the acid, and Link sidestepped another blast that went right through the gaping hole in the door. He gathered his nerves and ran into the room.

The spider spat at him, and Link jumped over the flying glob and landed a meter from the spider. He pulled his sword from his back and jumped over the spider. Before it turned, it received a blade to its innards. Link withdrew his blade and pulled a cloth from his belt. He wiped the blood and bits off of the blade and stuck it in its scabbard.

He looked around, now that he had the chance, and saw a staircase to his left; there was nothing else but a column toward the door. He climbed up the stairs and arrived at the second floor. He figured he would be seeing the thread, which he did. It was connected to a large metal column—the one from the lower floor. He walked over to the thread and saw that it trailed along through the wall and into the room with the sphere where it would hold the sphere up. He pulled out his sword and chopped it down hard on the thread; this action only caused his muscles to tense. He almost dropped his sword in astonishment. The thread must be of some adapted form of spider, because this was nothing typical, not even of a Skulltula. He tried cutting it again and failed.

He spent the next few minutes hacking away at the thread, but his efforts were in vain. He finally gave up, resigning his effort, and sheathed his sword. He sat down next to the column and stared at the wall adjacent to him. His eyes flickered for a second, and he closed them. His head lay back on the stone for a minute, his mind figuring this out, while he regained his energy.

Unknown to him, a small creature with the shape of a lizard loomed in the darkness above. The creature crawled down the wall, away from its ceiling perch, and sat silently, contemplating Link's movements, which were nonexistent save for the moving of his chest. The creature smiled, baring its fangs, and stretched its short stubby legs. It began to twist and disfigure as its body grew to Link's size. It flexed its lean muscles as it became used to its present form, and it approached Link. It kneeled over and prepared to sink its teeth into Link's throat when Link's left hand flew up, his wrist flicking his hidden blade directly into the creature's skull, straight through its eye. It screeched and flung itself backwards, landing on the ground as it began to morph back into its small form. Link locked the blade back into place on his wrist and pulled his rifle from his back as the creature began to scuttle toward the wall. Link quickly loaded the weapon as the creature began to climb. He rested the butt of the rifle against his shoulder and took aim, following the creature up the wall. He stopped his sights a distance away from the creature, but in its direct path.

He pulled the trigger, and it kicked back as the small explosion occurred inside the rifle, propelling the bullet out the barrel and through the air, spiraling toward the creature, when it stopped and leapt off the wall, dodging the bullet entirely. It fell through the air, and instead of splattering on the ground, it simply raced to its feet and ran away from Link down the stairs.

Link followed it, balancing running and putting his rifle on his back as he bounded after it. He ran around the column and through the door, which was open slightly. He flung it open further and looked around, trying to find the creature. He couldn't see anything until the door adjacent to him opened and shut within a second. He barely caught a flash of the creature moving through the doorway.

He ran across the room and flung the door open, not remembering what had happened in the previous room. He had to fling himself sideways in the split second that he remembered the acidic spider, and a spread of spikes flew into the door where he been only a fraction of a second before. He rolled over on his shoulder and pulled his sword out as he stood. In front of him was not the creature that had tried to assassinate him, but an armored Dynalfos. It pivoted toward Link, slinging its tail forward and sending another volley of spikes in Link's direction. Link sidestepped the spikes and saw that the Dynalfos' tail was capped with a steel mace head adorned with spikes, some of which were missing, having been slung at Link.

He pulled his shield from his back, and the Dynalfos raised its arm, which had a large gauntlet built to be a multi-use shield. It spun a mid-sized dagger into its hand, and clutched it tightly. It charged after him, and he leapt forward, surging his blade straight out. Their blades clashed, and Link slipped his sword over the Dynalfos' dagger and into its torso. His blade pushed the Dynalfos back, and it stumbled for a second, which is all Link needed to thrust his blade into a chink in the waist of its armor. His blade sunk in, and he yanked it out as the monster fell to the ground, dead.

Link looked around the room; it was identical to the room on the other side of the sphere room. He climbed up its stairs and found the shape-shifting creature waiting for him. It stood at his height. It wasn't wearing any armor, only a brown hood that concealed its face. A leather tunic covered its torso and legs. Its forearms, hands, and feet were exposed, leaving Link to see its mottled grey-green skin. Its feet were webbed, and its hands held onto a steel short sword. It hissed and flipped its hood back, revealing its face, which was the kind of face Link would imagine a humanoid lizard to have. Its head was bald, covered in scale-like skin like the rest of its body, and some of its teeth crept out of its mouth, pressing against the sides of its snout. Its left eye was missing, replaced by an eye patch, and Link's wandering gaze found a suspicious-looking acid green ball on the floor a few meters away. It hissed loudly at Link.

He nearly jumped at its next action.

"You took my eye!" It snarled loudly, and Link could tell it was male. "You tricked me! You wanted me to think you were asleep! Damn you!" It started walking toward him, spinning its short sword, and Link gulped and drew his sword from its scabbard.

The creature then changed its gait. Link anticipated its next move and brought his blade up just as the creature swung its blade forward. Their swords clashed, and Link pushed down on the creature's blade and began to gain ground. The creature fell backwards, sliding to its left to avoid Link's oncoming blade. It slashed at Link as it stumbled and barely glanced Link's shield. Link turned, righting himself, and slashed toward the creature. It hopped backwards, and thrust its blade at Link. Link blocked the attack with his shield, and the creature began to beat down on Link, forcing him back and tiring Link's shield arm.

Link turned his head as the creature launched another blow and saw the railing behind him. He had to get away from the creature before he was pinned against the rail. Link blocked another blow from the creature and spun, his left arm forward, while the creature prepared for another strike. Link's sword slashed directly underneath the creature's, cutting its side open, spilling blood on the ground and causing the creature to keel over. Link took his chance and struck his blade at the creature's neck. He heard a satisfying thud as the creature's head rolled and his body fell limp to the floor.

Link wiped his blade on the creature's hood and sheathed it, sliding it easily into its scabbard. He looked around and saw a replica of the other room, save for the corpse. He found a big chest with a dagger inside. A pair of boots were strewn near it, and a pair of gloves were sitting under the dagger. He figured the creature hadn't finished putting on its armor when Link arrived.

Finding nothing else inside the chest, Link walked over to the thread. It was no different than the other thread, and he didn't even bother trying to cut it. He thought for a second and blinked, looking to his left. He caught a glint of something on the other side of the column. He walked to it and found a small wooden chest with cheap iron framing its sides. He kneeled down, inspected the lock, and saw that it was quite shabby. He stood and kicked it hard, busting it. He opened the chest and found a small glass bottle with a blue flame sitting inside. Link held the bottle away from himself and uncorked it.

The flame shot out of the bottle's opening and away from Link. It flew over the massive thread; then it stopped and caught onto the thread, spreading wildly. The flame burned away the thread. Link dropped the bottle, and it shattered, the rest of the flame spreading around his feet. He dived away, rolling over his shoulder. The last of the thread burned to wisps of string.

Link walked to the hole in the wall where the thread went through; he could see into the sphere room. The thread had burned all the way to the sphere, which now dangled from the thread adjacent to Link and the thread connected to the ceiling.

He jumped out of the hole, landing a few meters below with a smooth roll. He entered the adjoining room, climbing the stairs in a hurry, and searched the column on all sides, but he found nothing. "Damn," he muttered, and kicked the column, succeeding only in stubbing his toe. "Damn."

He walked back down the stairs and to the sphere room. He glanced at the door to his left, which he assumed was the way to the ceiling thread. He pushed through the door and found himself in a room identical to the previous rooms. Nothing was there waiting to kill him, though. He climbed the stairs, which were leading him even further up than before, and found himself in a large cavern with doors on the left and right sides of the cavern, one of which had a lock. Link walked toward the door to his left and opened it easily.

The room he was now in was a large dome. The sides of the dome were embedded with stairs that led near the top of the dome where a set of bars hung on the ceiling, allowing access to the platform hanging by chains hooked to the ceiling.

He walked to the stairs and heard a 'click' as his foot landed on the first step. A stone panel fell in front of the door he had come through, and it melded into the doorway, sealing it off. He heard the clacking sounds of gates opening, and he looked around but found none. He then heard a pouring sound, and his eyes shot to the floor. The floor was parting, revealing a pool of acid green liquid. The walls of the pool were lined with the gates Link had heard opening, and they were spewing out acid. Link stepped a few stairs up and estimated, from the pouring speed, that he had about a minute till the pool rose to the height of the ceiling platform.

He jogged up the stairs, away from the pool. When he was about fifteen stairs up, he heard another 'click' from the step, and the pool began to rumble. He stopped jogging and looked down at the pool, which was only at the bottom step. It rumbled for a few seconds, and a monstrous moth shot from the pool. It reared its head back and spat a glob of acid toward Link. He dodged out of the way and ran up the stairs again, away from the rising pool. The moth fired another glob of acid, but this time not at Link but to the stair in front of him. The acid plastered itself to the stairs, and they began to dissolve. Link leapt over the gap and continued running.

The next blast hit directly in front of Link, and he stopped quickly, his momentum almost carrying him into the acid. He stepped back, leapt over the puddle, and kept running.

Another blast was followed up almost immediately by yet another, which created a gap too long for Link to cross. He stopped at the puddle and ducked as the moth fired a glob directly at him, but it missed and flew into the wall behind him. He shielded his face with his arm as it splattered. He shook the driblets off before they ate his arm and looked for something he could use to get across. An idea formed in his head as he noticed the short height of each step.

He pulled his clawshot from his belt and fired it across the way from him, the chain carrying its load upward to the stairs. It latched on firmly, and Link was yanked through the air. He used his other hand to grab hold of the stair, and he pulled himself up. He unhooked his claw from the stair and hooked the gauntlet on his belt.

He started running up the stairs again, reaching the ceiling after dodging a few more globs of acid. He didn't stop to think when he reached the last stair, he just leapt off, latching his hands onto the bars attached to the ceiling.

He quickly climbed to the platform and jumped to it, and the platform rattled and shook as it absorbed his landing. He steadied himself and looked up at the ceiling; a hole had opened up, leading Link to another room. He tried jumping to grab hold of the ledge, but his fingers fell short by a few inches. He saw a grate embedded in the ceiling. He pulled out his clawshot and fired it up to the ceiling. It latched on, and Link soared up. He shifted his weight as he looked around. He found himself in a small circular room.

He swung his body, building up momentum, and unhooked the clawshot from the grate. His body carried itself onto the floor of the room, and Link looked for a switch of sorts to close the hole. He found a small button on the wall near a frail-looking door. A stone slid into place on the floor, and it sealed itself into the hole, closing the room off. The wall across from him rumbled slightly; it began to crumble, revealing a small wooden chest like the one in which he had found the blue fire.

He walked over to the chest and kicked it hard, busting the lock. He cracked the lid open; there was a key. He pocketed the key and opened the door, but he failed to check in front of him and found himself falling to the ground. He landed hard on his right shoulder, the impact jarring him greatly. He shifted a little and probed his shoulder; it seemed to be out of place. "Damn," Link muttered, as he used his other arm to push himself up. He looked around and realized he was in the room he had been in prior to the acid room. He looked over his hurt shoulder and saw that the door to that room was holding tight, not dissolving.

He walked to the door on his left and inserted the key, finding it wouldn't budge the lock. He wrinkled his nose, and headed over to the door adjacent to where he had fallen. He inserted the key into that door, twisting it slightly. He pushed the door open and found an eerily quiet dome room. The room was illuminated by a few torches that hung on the walls. They cast dim firelight onto the soft grass which carpeted the room's floor.

He walked forward and looked around, the scent of burning wood and sweet grass filling his nose. Bits of the floor were cast in lightless shadows, and as Link neared the center of the room, the flames dancing upon the torches began flicker lightly. Soon the light was all gone save for the torch hanging above the door he from which he had entered. Link looked around, his left hand creeping toward his sword. He stood in the center of the room for a moment.

The darkness seemed to whisper to him, the tendrils of his shadows rising from the ground and filling his head with fright. He shifted uncomfortably on the grass and looked over his shoulder to the door. He advanced toward the door, turning around and withdrawing his hand from the hilt of his sword. He placed his hands on the door to push it open. It held in place, despite it being unlocked. He took a sharp breath and whipped around. His shadow was crawling from the ground, stretching to the sky, taking eerily real shapes. He placed his hand on his sword's hilt again and watched the shadows form into an identical figure of Link, but like the form he had seen in the Temple of Power.

Link drew his sword, and Shadow Link followed the action, drawing his own blade, which was identical to Link's. Link stepped forward, and Shadow Link copied his actions again, placing them only a sword swing away from each other.

Link tested Shadow Link, moving his arm up, slightly, and Shadow Link did the exact same movements, even copying the slight tremble that was ripping through his arm. Link put up his guard and advanced half a step before feinting left and slashing to the right. His blade connected with Shadow Link's, and he stepped back before sending out a flurry of strikes that would only be mirrored by the strange foe.

He circled around the room, continuously looking for ways to slip past the impenetrable defense of his enemy. He began to tire and, to his dismay, realized this was a plot he had found out too late. Shadow Link changed his gait bolt-like and, had Link not noticed the slight change, Shadow Link's sword would have run him through. Link stepped back, bringing his sword up to deflect Shadow Link's next unexpected blow, which sought Link's neck.

Shadow Link flashed his blade expertly, now creating gaps in Link's attempts at defense. A small slice here or there in his arm or leg left Link sore within a few minutes, and he began to retreat from his foe, desperately trying to think of some way to fight him off. Link was about to lose a battle of locked blades when he remembered his hidden blades. He pushed his foot back into the grass, helping support his aching right shoulder, and pushed hard against Shadow Link, only causing the shadow to push harder, and forcing Link to bend back to push Shadow Link's blade away.

Link let his foot slide from beneath him, and Shadow Link fell forward onto Link's hidden blade. Link slid it around his gut and pulled it out of Shadow Link's back, leaving a three inch gash wrapped around the right side of his body. Link locked the hidden blade into place before Shadow Link collapsed, and thrust his sword into shadow's back; it sank into the grass below, impaling Link's foe completely.

Shadow Link began to drip black blood onto the grass, but it evaporated into normal shadow as it touched the pure object. The body around Link's blade began to evaporate too, and after a few seconds Shadow Link had disappeared, leaving no traces of his existance save for Link's wounds.

Link stepped back, and the room began to lighten as the torches re-lit. Link grimaced and turned to leave when the grass at the center of the room began to push away from itself, creating a hole in the center of the room. Link peered into it and found a chest slightly bigger than the one in which he had found the key. He judged it to be of the same binding strength, so he merely kicked it, which broke open its locks. He lifted its lid and found a small rod with a bit of heft to it. It was encased with rubies and gold, and its pummel was a dim red sphere. He swung it experimentally, and the top of the rod sprang open revealing an extension which held a small flame that was reaching for the world outside of the rod's interior.

He swung the rod again, and the flame shot from the rod, twirling around him and flowing freely. It scorched the ground around him. He noticed the sphere that made up the pommel was glowing furiously, small flames fighting within. He swung it again, and the flame stopped its spinning and snapped into a straight line, flying directly into the wall. He wielded the rod for a few minutes, getting the feel of it, before figuring out that clasping his hand on the pommel would extinguish its flame and close the rod into a smaller form, which he then placed on his belt.

He moved to kick the chest back into the hole before seeing a small glass bottle inside. He reached down and picked it up; a red potion was inside. He uncorked the bottle and gulped down its contents. Within moments his wounds had healed, and his shoulder clicked painfully into place.

Link kicked the chest back into the hole from whence it came and turned back to the door. He tried pushing it open again, and this time, succeeded. He headed to his left, down the stairs and back to the sphere room. He walked to his right, to the room with the thread he couldn't burn. He pushed through the damaged door and climbed the stairs. Then he pulled the fire rod from his belt as he neared the undamaged thread. He whipped the rod lightly, and it extended, shooting a small gust of flame forward. He whipped more heavily, and the flame followed his thought. It whipped around the thread, spinning engulfing it in a blazing inferno.

As the last bit burned away from the sphere, Link saw a small object fall from the thread and onto the floor. He closed the rod and hooked it back on his belt. He jumped through the hole, rolling on his healed shoulder as he landed. He walked over to the object. He bent over and scooped it up, inspecting it in his gloved hand. It was a key, which he assumed was for the unlocked door that lay in his future.

He looked up at the final thread with a confident glare and headed for the locked door. He climbed the stairs hurriedly and rushed to the locked door. He pushed in the key and was relieved to find that it fit. He twisted it and pushed the door open, finding himself at the foot of a winding staircase. He walked up the stairs, a sense of déjà vu in head, and after the long flight of stairs he found yet another door at the top.

He pushed through it and saw the last thread going through the floor, connecting with the ceiling of the dome room. He walked forward, pulling the fire rod from his belt again; he extended it, raising his arm as he walked to it, and flung his arm straight out, shooting the flame forward. It wrapped around the thread and started eating away at it. The thread burned away, and he could hear the sphere falling down, smashing the floor to bits, falling to whatever was below. He peered into the hole and saw nothing but black.

He looked up, and saw a small grate that was concealed by the thread. He pulled out his clawshot and fired it onto the grate. It pulled him over to it, and he lowered himself down with the chain until he was hanging a small distance above the pit where the sphere had broken through. He looked up and found that his chain was extended to its full length.

He began to swing his legs and create momentum when the grate to which he was hooked began to shift under his weight. He felt the shift, and before he could try to swing forward, the grate ripped from the ceiling. Link fell into the pit.

He landed roughly in the dark, but fortunately a bedding of web was underneath him. He coiled the chain back into the clawshot and slid the grate off of himself. He got to his feet and hooked his clawshot onto his belt. He looked around. Strangely, the room was dimly illuminated by the green moss that clung to the walls.

Something was missing.

"Where in Din..." His voice drifted off as he realized the sphere had disappeared.

He looked through the room, not finding anything, and he glanced to the ceiling, steeling himself for what he may see. Clinging to the ceiling was the sphere. It had shed its metallic skin to reveal the skin of a massive Gohma. It had unfurled its many legs and was using them to crawl along the ceiling.

Link inched his hand toward his sword and took a deep, slow breath as he drew it. He held his sword aloft as he waited for the Gohma to move. It continued to crawl for a while, giving Link time to look for a weakness. The only thing he could find was a small chink in the armor on its back: the Gohma's eye.

Link grew tired of waiting and sheathed his sword. He pulled his rifle from his back and loaded it, keeping one eye on the Gohma. It stayed still mostly, and Link hoisted the butt of the rifle against his shoulder. He aimed his shot to the eye of the Gohma and placed his finger on the trigger. He held his breath, and kept the rifle steady, then squeezed.

The sequence of explosions rang out inside the gun, and the bullet spewed out and toward the Gohma. It struck dead on, sinking straight through, and causing the Gohma to writhe momentarily, wailing as it fell from the ceiling, landing on its back.

Link ran across the room to the Gohma, hooking the rifle on his back and drawing his sword as he ran. The Gohma squirmed and struggled to flop over, managing to flip Link end over end with one of its legs. Link landed hard on his back. He pushed himself to his feet, dodging the Gohma's legs this time, and slashed his sword toward the nearest leg. It fell right off when the blade contacted it, the slice clean and easy. Link grabbed the stump of the leg with his free arm and leapt onto the Gohma's stomach.

He steadied himself as the Gohma wriggled again, and he flipped his sword point toward the Gohma and raised it above his head, pushing the blade down and into the Gohma's flesh. He withdrew the blade as the Gohma shook. He balanced his footing, but, to his dismay, he lost it in a second and fell off the Gohma.

The Gohma righted itself and flicked Link across the room with its leg. Link's sword was flung from his hand as he crashed against the adjacent wall, falling to the ground. The Gohma, bearing its fangs, crawled toward him, and Link looked frantically for his sword as it neared. Realizing his sword was out of reach, he pulled his fire rod and extended it. A blast of flame hit the Gohma but dissipated against the Gohma's armor. He fired another, this time to the Gohma's mouth. The flame flew through its mouth, but it kept scrambling to Link, not fazed at all by the flame.

Link waved the rod toward the Gohma again, and a flame shot from it, continuously spewing forth until a wall of blazing fire had put itself between Link and the Gohma. The Gohma stopped at the flame, poking at it with one of its legs, withdrawing it quickly and hissing from the jet of pain. It stood, waiting as the flame continued to burn.

Link sighed in relief, and retrieved his sword. He swapped the fire rod to his right hand, picked up the sword with his dominant left hand, and walked back to the the Gohma, which turned, put its front legs on the wall, and climbed slowly until it was hanging over Link. It dropped from the ceiling, forcing Link to dive away from the impact area. But the flame found his clothes; Link was on fire.

He flicked his right hand, and the flame wall was sucked from the air into the fire rod, extinguishing Link's clothing. The Gohma crashed to the floor. It pushed itself up and walked forward a few steps. Then it charged forward, crashing through the cavern toward Link.

Link ran toward the Gohma, dodging through its legs, slashing his sword up into the Gohma's gut. The Gohma lost its balance as it ran forward, blood spilling from the open wound Link had created, and crashed to the floor. Link whipped around, and ran to the fallen Gohma. Before it could stand back up, he slashed his sword through the first leg he got to, cutting through it cleanly. He flicked his blade around again, slicing another leg off, leaving the Gohma unable to walk.

The Gohma used its remaining legs to flip itself over, and Link climbed up onto its stomach. He further ripped open the wound in the Gohma with his sword and plunged the fire rod into the wound. The Gohma squirmed under the gusts of flame that filled it.

The Gohma stilled. Link pulled the fire rod from the wound and hopped down to the floor of the cavern. He compacted the rod abd put it in his belt. Then he walked to the Gohma's head as it curled its legs up, leaving it's back exposed. He raised his sword and thrust it sword through the eye. He twisted the blade hard, and withdrew it. The eye shriveled up and began to disintegrate. The ash sifted itself around inside of the eye socket and revealed a small jade emerald laced with gold.

Link sighed in relief. He reached his hand into the socket and picked up the emerald. It was definitely the Forest Emerald. He pocketed the gem and stepped back. Now that I have the Emerald...where am I to go?

He looked around, and, to his dismay, the only exit from the cavernous room was the hole the Gohma had crashed through. Link sheathed his sword and walked to the center of the room. He stared straight up into the room above him and wondered how long he would be here before he made it out...or died of thirst.

He pulled his clawshot from his belt, and fit it on his hand, hoping the chain would reach. He fired it up, and it fell short by a few meters. He stepped back as the chain fell to the ground. He coiled it back into the glove, put it back on his belt, and swore loudly. He began to pace around the room, kicking the Gohma's furled-up corpse a few times as he went.

The answer hit him when he hit the wall. He looked over at the Gohma and back to the wall. He backed up a few meters and pulled his clawshot out again. He fired it up diagonally as far as it would go, and it latched onto the wall. His body was lurched up, and he slammed into the mossy surface. He used his free hand to dig his fingers into the moss, and he kicked his boots hard against it.

This would be easier with the other clawshot, he thought and quickly unlatched the claws from the wall. As his body began to rip away the small amount of moss his fingers were dug into, he angled the clawshot to the hole in the ceiling. He fired it moments before he would have fallen, and he was carried to the opening. He swung his arm up over the edge and unlatched the clawshot before pushing himself up. He sat for a second, legs dangling into the pit, while he caught his breath. He turned his body and stood up. He put the clawshot onto his belt and headed for the entrance.

***

Thirteen hours earlier...

Impa and Sheik walked through the wood, keeping their thoughts to themselves. They had been walking for a couple of hours and had taken only a few breaks to stop and rest for a minute or so.

Sheik was wanting to stop again when Impa spoke up. "Let's break for a few minutes, you look like you need it," Impa said, and Sheik realized she was breathing heavily and sweating quite profusely.

"Uh, sure," Sheik said, and she sat down on a large stone that was jutting out from the ground. Impa sat down likewise and glanced over at Sheik while she pulled her rations pouch out.

Sheik had her hands on her knees and was clenching her stomach.

"I can't do it any longer," Sheik cried out. "Ah, dammit Impa, I have to do it now!"

Impa stood back up, nodding.

"I'll take you out of the woods; Faron Port is not far from where we are."

Sheik groaned. "What...about Link? Who...will go into the...Temple of...ohhh...Courage with him?"

"I will leave you once you are in capable hands," Impa said, "and search for Link and the Temple."

"Fine...just...let's go." Sheik's knees buckled, and she tumbled head forward into Impa's arms.

"Can you try to cast another small extension spell?" Impa asked, and Sheik nodded. She waved her fingers and muttered something, and her pain alleviated slightly. She stood up but began to fall over again. Impa caught her and hefted her up over her shoulder. Impa shifted her shoulder a little and set off at a brisk jog to the south and, hopefully, Faron Port.

***

Link slashed his sword down, cutting through a bit of brush, and stepped out of the woods. He was on a cliff side. He walked to its edge and realized that, at the bottom of the cliff, lay Port Faron. He looked at the small trail and saw a set of footprints in the grass that led down to the Port.

He grinned as he saw a figure walking back up the trail—Impa. Link's grin faded when she reached the top. "Where is Sheik?" he asked.

"She is resting in the Port. She will be with us shortly."

"Oh. Is she hurt?"

"No, but she is exhausted. She needed care, and I couldn't provide it in the Forest."

Link looked around and out to Faron Sea, which sprawled forth throughout the land. The sun was setting, and the light was glinting off the water. It was a moment before he noticed the monstrous stone building at the cliff edge. "I would assume that is the Temple of Courage," he said.

Impa nodded. "At least the entrance," Impa said, and Link nodded. "I think you should go down to the village and rest for a while."

"Yeah," he said, and he started walking down the trail.

Impa followed him. "Want to fill me in on what happened?" she asked. "You did get the Forest Emerald...right?"

"Yeah," Link said, and delved into his tale...
Ch.14.

The path Link and Impa were walking on had few people walking it. There were three other paths, two of which were major roads that led to the main road into Port Faron. Link and Impa walked through the palisade gate and entered the port, and immediately they were in a swathing crowd of people. "Whoa," Link said over the noises that filled the air, "There are a lot more people here than I thought." He was shoved lightly, and out of instinct his hand flew to his sword grip but let it rest.

"Yes," Impa simply said. "The port is full of traders from other provinces and even countries. The fishing industry built this town, and the families of the fishermen grew to huge sizes to accommodate job requirement. Now the population is too large for the required work, and the alleys deep in the port, away from the guard patrol, is full of criminal gangs and rogue thugs." She turned left, and Link struggled to keep near her as the crowds swarmed by. Link followed her down the street and to the right, then she took an abrupt left into an empty alley.

Link could see a small crowd of people in the street across the alleyway and didn't bother getting used to the elbow-room. "Where is Sheik?"

"She is in an apothecary a few streets away," Impa said as they entered the street. To Link's liking, the street was not bustling like the entrance road.

The two continued down the street and turned twice before Impa stopped. She walked into a building to the left, and Link followed. He stepped through the door into the building and was blasted by an intoxicating mixture of fragrances that combined to make his head woozy. He rested his hand on the doorway, and once he regained his balance, he stepped forward and saw Impa disappearing through a curtain of sheets into a makeshift room. He followed suit and found Sheik lying in a bed, facedown and unconscious. The apothecary was sitting beside the bed, and Impa was standing at the foot, lips pursed.

"Uh, wanna explain something to me, Impa?" Link asked, slightly agitated.

"You mean what happened to put her here?"

Link nodded.

"She fell faint in the wood, and I carried her here. She was glanced by one of the Wolfos, and her wound became infected."

The apothecary raised her eyebrow at these statements, and Impa raised a finger to her, hushing her.

"Is she going to be okay?" Link asked.

The apothecary nodded. "The wound..." the apothecary began, "...well, she was able to make a swift recovery after some treatment from me."

"Will she be coming with us into the Temple?" Link asked.

Impa nodded.

"We will bunk in the port tonight, and in the morning we'll climb back up to the Temple, Sheik following along, of course."

"And you..." Link said to the apothecary. "...you think she will be okay by the morning? Okay enough to fight?"

The apothecary said, "Yes. She needs to sleep though, and I believe she may be stirring. I'm going to give her another sedative."

"Okay then," Impa said, and put her hand to Link's shoulder. "Let's find an inn for tonight."

"Yeah..." Link said, hesitating slightly. He knew Shiek was not wearing her mask, and he wanted to see her face.

Impa grasped his shoulder lightly and pushed him along out of the makeshift room. "No lingering, Link, you're married. You shouldn't want to look upon other women like that."

"What? Oh, no," Link said, slightly amused. "I still do not know who that woman is, and I would like to actually see her face."

"Well, you don't get to, especially since she is nude. Now, let us find a bunking place...for the third time!" She smacked Link on the head beside his ear, and he followed her sheepishly out of the apothecary and into the street.

***

Link and Impa sat near a comforting fireplace at the Kilfensen Inn, both sipping on a mug of rum, which happened to be the only beverage on tap at that time of night.

Impa set her drink down, and pushed her chair back. "I'm heading up to my room, Link. Will you be turing in anytime soon?"

"Maybe. I don't wish to be ridden with drowsiness or a headache in the morning, so I should head in within the hour."

"Right," Impa said as she stood. "We need to be at our best tomorrow."

"Yeah. Well, good night, Commander."

"Good night, General," Impa said and walked over to the staircase, only to be blocked by a sordid crewman, probably celebrating his first night on land in a while. No kindness from Impa, though, as he put his grime-slathered hands on her shoulders and pushed her against the wall, forcing his tongue down her throat.

"Oh, Hell!" He cried out, after Impa's knee collided with the man's crotch. The room quieted, and all eyes gazed upon the two.

"The bloody whore!" the man spat, and Link stood up, his chair tilting back and crashing to the floor.

"You are speaking to Hyrule's Commander of the army!" Link snapped and pointed his hand to the door. "You will leave this tavern now and not return!"

The man scoffed as he recovered from his temporary pain. He raised his fists. "If you can put me out!"

Link grimaced as Impa remained silent. "You now speak to the General of the Hylian army. If that doesn't process in your weak state of mind, I'll try this; I am the second most powerful person in this kingdom!" he spat, and the man grinned.

"It'll just go to show my feats for the night," the man said. "Hyrule's General and a damn whore that I'll soon take for my own!"

Link stepped forward, sliding the table away from him. He wasn't wearing his armor, just the tunic of the Hero, and his dagger. His sword was with the rest of his things in his room. "Right then," Link said, and the drunken man flung his fist forward, connecting with Link's jaw. Link crashed backwards, over the table he had shoved away, and onto the floor. He groaned, his left hand cupping his jaw, and leapt up to his feet. "Ugh," he muttered and looked at the man who was preparing for his next blow. Link ducked under the man's fist and grabbed the man's shoulder. He twisted it roughly, and it snapped, sending the man shrieking to his knees.

Link kicked him in the jaw, and the man fell to his side. "It'll take more than a punch to the jaw to take down the Hylian General."

Link turned to a few on-looking drunkards. "Well, get him out of here!" he barked, and they scrambled to the downed drunk, who was moaning as he clutched his torn shoulder.

Link turned to Impa, who was stone-faced. "Thank you, Link," she said, and Link smiled in return.

"You're welcome, Impa," he said. "We should both turn in, I think." He looked at the rest of the room. A few actual whores were batting their eyelashes at him, and he raised his left hand, which was adorned with a silver ring with the golden Hylian Crest encrusted upon it—his wedding band.

***

Link opened the door as he finished strapping on his sheath. Impa walked past him; she appeared to be ready to head out, as was Link.

"Your jaw is bruised up pretty badly, Link," she said, as she looked around his room. "Do you need anything on it?"

"Heh? No," Link said coolly. "I'm fine."

"I had a bit of breakfast prepared for us," Impa said, and Link nodded.

"Yeah, thank you. We should probably eat."

Link swept his eyes across the room quickly and looked out the shabby window, which didn't do any good to keep from being washed with cold drafts off the sea. The Temple of Courage hung eerily over the port, and Link took a small breath and whispered a small prayer to Faron that she would guide him safely through her temple as he went through.

"Ready now?' Impa asked.

Link nodded. "Yeah, sure, let's go," he said, and they exited the room and went down to the first floor. They sat down and ate their breakfast of fish, potato cakes, and eggs. Link kept his head down, trying not to pay attention to the glances of the patrons from the night before.

Link finished his breakfast, satisfied, and walked up to the bar. He pulled out his wallet and plopped it down. The salt-and-pepper-haired innkeeper looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, no," the innkeeper said. "The leaders of Hyrule's army need not pay."

"Heh?" Link said. "No, no." He opened up the wallet. "For the trouble we caused last night, at least."

"Agh, they had it coming, but if you insist, the tab was 30 rupees."

Link pulled a red and a yellow rupee from his wallet and placed it on the bar in front of the innkeeper. He thought for a second, and set a blue rupee out too, for a tip.

"Thank you," the innkeeper said. "Remember, you are always welcome here, General."

"Thank you," Link said, smiling, and he returned to the table. Impa shoveled down the rest of her breakfast, and they headed out. The two made their way quickly to the apothecary, and Link waited—albeit against his will—outside the makeshift room while Sheik equipped herself.

The two women exited the room.

"Morning, General," Sheik said.

"Morning. You rested up enough?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I feel fine. I don't think I'll have any trouble."

"Good. I faced death many times in the Forest Temple, and I think we may face even greater threats in the Temple of Courage, so I need you at your best."

"Yeah, I'll have your back just fine, Link," Sheik said.

"Good to hear," Link said. "We should head out. Maybe we can make it back here before dusk."

"Yeah," Impa said. "That'd be nice, but we don't want to be reckless. We need to be more careful than last time, so taking our time might be the better option."

"Of course," Link said, as they left the apothecary.

They reached the gate quickly enough and started ascending the mountainside to the Temple of Courage.
Ch.15.

Link pulled the Forest Emerald from his pouch and placed it into the golden door. It sat for a second before beginning to glow. Link turned to Impa, "Did this happen when you opened up the Temple of Power?"

"Yeah," Impa said, nodding. The door shook a little and fell slowly, leaving a doorway for the Trio to walk through. The three all glanced toward one another, and without any further words, they entered the temple.

They kept walking down a short hallway which opened up over a covered chasm. A wooden bridge led over the chasm. There was a circular platform in the middle of the bridge. The Trio walked to the platform and found the center of the platform to be empty. The Trio peered down into the hole; it led straight down to the bottom of the chasm.

"Um, what?" Link asked, slightly confused. He looked toward the other end of the bridge: no door.

"Is this it?" Sheik asked. "I wonder if the temple continues from down there."

"Maybe," Impa said. "It's possible that the doors are not visible from here, because...well...I don't see any from here."

"I wonder what's waiting for us down there," Link said, and his comrades looked at him strangely. "What? There's obviously something down there, and we probably need to kill it."

"Link," Impa said, pained-like. "The first problem is that the fall has to be more than fifteen meters."

"I don't know how you plan on getting down there," Sheik said to Link. "The clawshots will not reach from the ceiling to the floor."

Link glanced upwards and saw the ceiling to be only three or four meters from them, but the fifteen-plus meters down would be too much by itself. "Hang on," he said and looked down through the hole, something coming to mind. "I can jump it," Link said.

"What?" Impa and Sheik both were astounded by Link's claim.

"I have to," Link said. "This is the Temple of Courage. I need to prove to Farore that I have the courage to do this."

"What about us?" Impa asked, "We don't need to, and we won't be jumping that anytime soon."

"I'll go it alone," Link said, and Impa shook her head.

"No," Sheik said. "Link, it's too far, we can't afford for you to kill yourself."

"I don't see any other option," Link said and turned to the hole.

"Link?" Sheik said.

"Yeah?"

"Take this," she said. She handed him another clawshot. "You might need it."

"Yeah, thanks," he said, placing the clawshot on his belt.

"Good luck," Impa said. "We will wait here."

"Yeah," Link said and turned to the hole once more. He took a deep breath and launched himself over the edge, through the hole, as his comrades held each other tightly. They waited for his crushing descent.

He spread his limbs, slowing his fall, and as he neared the ground, his body began to glow. And as he prepared to roll when he landed, his body became encased in a transparent gold shield. The shield shattered upon landing but made his roll like he had cleared a fence post, not a fifteen-meter leap.

He looked at his hand as he stood, and as suspected, his left hand glowed with the Triforce.

"That was all I had to do!" Link said excitedly. "I just had to brave the jump, and it came to me!" He celebrated to himself for a while and then realized he had no way of getting out of the chasm.

He looked up at the bridge and saw Impa and Sheik smiling.

"Incredible!" Impa called down. "It was so simple all along! But you need to get back up here!"

"I know!" Link yelled back up. "I'm not sure how!"

He started to speak again, and the floor began to rumble.

"Oh...crud," he muttered, not surprised at all as the ground began to crack, the stone splitting open, letting massive vines shoot forth from the ground. One of the vines, ten times the length of Link swung by him, catapulting him across the chasm. Another vine swung up and crashed through the bridge, breaking it apart and sending it down to the bottom of the chasm, along with Impa and Sheik.

Link tried standing up before he was launched again. Impa and Sheik grasped onto a passing vine as they fell, sliding down to the ground, only to be smacked away by a another vine.

Link drew his sword as he stood up and slashed a vine swinging towards him, dropping it to the ground. He ducked as another vine swung past him, and he ran to the center of the mass of vines. Impa and Sheik continued to be smacked around. Link leapt forward over a passing vine but was vaulted away, his sword flying from his grasp and his body smashing into the wall of the chasm. He picked himself up and looked around for his sword as his head cleared. He found it lodged in the wall of the chasm, three or so meters above the ground.

"Damn," Link cursed as he ducked under a vine, and his hand brushed past the fire rod. "Oh, thanks Farore," Link muttered as he pulled the rod from his belt, extending it quickly. He swept the rod forward, pointing it toward the mass of writhing vines, and a jet of flame fired from the rod, whirling around each vine until the entire mass was covered in flame. A series of pops let out as the vines burned, exploding bits apart, sending them flying around the chasm.

Link rushed over to Impa and Sheik, both of whom were showing heavy exertion. That explains the several severed vines that lay strewn about near them.

"Well done again, Link," Impa said, catching her breath.

"What now?" Sheik asked.

Link shrugged. "I guess we wait for the fire to settle, then we can get out of here."

Link used the clawshot to pull his sword from the chasm wall while he waited. The fire settled after a few more minutes of ferocious burning, and soon only ashes remained.

"I'm surprised this was it," Link said, "but I'm not complaining."

"Yeah, we could do for an easy run-through right now," Impa said. "But for now we need to get out of here."

"What about the clawshots?" Link asked. "The walls are soft enough for the claws to dig into. We could climb up the walls with them and climb back into the hall where we came from."

"Yeah," Impa said. "That could work."

Link pulled his clawshots from his belt and started climbing the walls. He tossed them down the chasm when he reached the hall, and Sheik started climbing. Sheik then tossed them down to Impa for her to climb. Impa handed the clawshots to Link, and the Trio walked from the temple.

"To Lanayru," Link said.

"Yeah," Sheik said. "Just me, now..."

###

Noah Kamper

Born and raised in the Pure state of Michigan; Noah Kamper attends school at Pickford High in-you guessed it-Pickford, Michigan. He currently is in the 9th grade. His true vice would be his dog, Twinkie.
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won't you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

Thanks,

Noah Kamper
