The boy walked through those smooth corridors
That sand had long been packed down, ground into the place where it would probably be forever
A boy, at least that was how he felt
Or how he felt that he should feel
No more than twenty four hours ago
He had been that boy again
That ten year old boy
He still felt different, like he always had
Maybe he always would feel that way
For years he had been a Hylian living among the Kokiri
Then he had been a Kokiri among the Hylians
Then he had been a child masquerading as an adult
But being an adult within the mind of a child, that was something that he could never get used to
Something that nobody should be able to get used to
That nobody should need to get used to
But he wasn't here to think about how different he had always been
He wasn't here to think about himself at all
He was here to honor a promise
He had made the promise many years ago, to someone that he barely knew
But he saw in her eyes that she trusted him to carry through with the promise
Those years, they had passed for him in seconds
Link had no idea what had happened to her during those years
He ran up a spiraling staircase two steps at a time, stopping only to dispatch a skulltula that had hidden itself above him
After consulting his map, he stuffed it back into his backpack and ran off down the correct hallway
Link hoped that he wasn't too late
He dropped to the floor, falling from the longshot's grip on the wall
A door was ahead of him
A large door, heavily decorated and armored
Almost positive that she was there, Link went to the door
He fitted the key in the lock, loosing the chains from the door
They dropped to the floor with a loud clang
The sound echoed through the large cavern
He pushed the door open
He stepped through
He was trapped
As if by some magic, the door faded away from where it had been
It disappeared, leaving only a blank expanse of wall
"It seems there is someone here…"
That voice moved through the air in a way that Link could only describe as a shiver
Then it was accompanied by a second voice
"It seems that you are correct…"
Link brandished his weapons, looking around the room for the sources of the ominous voices
"What a pesky intruder…"
He took a step forward
"And he thinks he has a chance…"
The voices were coming from just a few feet ahead
Link could almost feel it
"Maybe we should have some fun with him first…"
There was something there
He knew it, but he could see nothing except open air
"Maybe we should feed him to the pet…"
A bead of sweat trickled down the back of Link's neck
"Yes, that is an excellent idea…"
Even as the words faded from Link's ears, he watched as a metallic form materialized before his eyes
Shimmering, shining even in the dim lamplight, a monstrous entity stood before him
In its right hand it brandished a large axe that easily weighed more than Link
The blade in Link's own hand seemed small in comparison
Suddenly the axe was flying through the air, arcing toward Link
He barely dodged the swing, jumping backwards and losing his balance
It seemed to sense his weakness and took the chance to pounce again
Dropping to the floor and rolling, Link evaded a vertical swing
Then Link was on the offensive
He dove toward the silvery figure, jabbing his sword between the plated leg armor
His sword slid beneath the armor, but seemed to slip off of something unseen
The plate was ripped from the main body and fell clattering to the floor
Through the empty spot, Link saw nothing but infinite blackness
He completed his dive with a roll, and ended up behind the menacing being
Taking his chance, Link struck at the plated armor again
His sword slipped off of the silvery plate with a shriek
Before Link could adjust himself, the silvery menace had spun around and landed a left handed punch on his shoulder
Time slowed for a moment as the fist made contact with his chest
The air whooshed out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath
The force propelled him through the air and into a thick sandstone column
The column cracked and crumbled beneath Link and left him sprawling on the floor
He moaned as he listened to the individually booming footsteps of the ironclad giant
He rolled onto his stomach slowly and pulled himself to his feet
He found himself staring into the eyeholes of the giant
Deep within the darkness of the helmet, Link saw a pair of golden eyes
They reminded him of Nabooru's
They had seemed so odd to him the first time he had seen them
Now he wished he could see them again, because that would mean she was safe
And then he could keep his promise
He could kill Ganondorf
Link jumped away from the giant just as the large axe fell toward where he had been
The blade dug deep into the ground and stuck fast to the stone
Link took his chance and attacked the armor, wrenching various plates off with his sword
As he ripped off a strip of the giant's forearm brace, Link realized exactly what he was fighting
Beneath the armor there was the dark skin of a Gerudo
Link dodged another strike from the newly freed axe, then he pulled out the longshot
Taking quick and careful aim, Link used the longshot to ratchet the helmet off of the giant
Revealing the face beneath
Golden eyes stared out from a dark face
Red hair
Nabooru herself was imprisoned within the suit of armor
Even as he watched, the armor began to fall away
She fell to the floor amidst a pile of now scuffed armor
"What-"She murmured. "What happened?"
Then she looked up at Link and said, "Is that, is that you? Link?"
Link nodded, but before he could do anything else, cold and hollow laughter filled the room
"She seems to be free…"
"Yes she does…"
"What should we do with her now…"
"I say we imprison them both…"
"Or maybe, we take them both to Ganondorf…"
Suddenly two beams of light shot from two indistinct places
Acting on instinct, Link raised his shield
He could feel the energy buzzing on the surface of his shield
After a moment, the barrage concluded
He stood and looked around, but Nabooru was nowhere to be seen
"It seems we've left one behind…"
"We will see about that…"
Link readied himself to fight.
Nabooru had been recaptured
Link needed to re-free her
