Dawns Dusk
It had taken all day to walk through the blinding hot desert. Midna had been able to warp Link to and from the desert. But the only way out Link had ever found was to complete the Cave of Ordeals. The Great Fairy had been nice enough to let Link warp to any fairy spring and he had nearly died several times the 1st time he got through cave, but now it was easier to go through the cave because Zelda could shoot enemies before Link could even see them. Still, it wasn't easy to win, but it was easier.
After beating the final 3 Darknuts, they chose to go to Kariko because the children were there, and Ilia.
"Renado, can you get a wagon to get everyone back to Ordon?"
"Yes, but does this mean you defeated the evil plaguing Hyrule?"
Link turned his head down a little bit, "Yes, but at great cost. And thePrincess helped save my life, and shot Ganon."
Zelda blushed, and turned away a little bit. "I told you, don't call me "Princess"." she said.
Link led as point guard to the wagon with his sword drawn, and Zelda with an arrow knocked in Links bow. The Spirits of Light had only granted their power to Zelda for the fight against Ganon. It took over an hour to ride through the smaller field in the Eldin Province to the 1st pass that Link remembered had held many bokoblins and kargoroks, though they had seen several of them before they got to the pass, warned of them by Talo, who Link had been kind enough to lend him the Hawks Eye so he could warn them. Zelda, it turned out to be, was a better sniper than Link, had been able to hit them in the neck with only a single shot. Link could do this, but he usually missed by a little bit and it had slowed down, then was able to shoot it in the neck. In the pass Talo, didn't even need to warn them about the monsters. Zelda had shot the 1st 2, Link getting the 3rd by stabbing it in the chest and riding ahead to kill the rest. "Hey, Zelda, hold Epona here while I go and have some fun." Link said with a joyful smile on his face.
He dismounted Epona and ran through the path looking for monsters to slay. "Ooo, #1! Hey, stupid, over here!" The purple bokoblins ran towards him, pulling its heavy mace over its head, charging a swing. Unfortunately for it, Link had learned a deadly move that nobody really thought of. He drew the Master Sword right as it got near enough for him to swing it into its gut and chest. 2 more came running through the cliffs and saw him, after hearing their friend give a warning cry. Link ran towards them and jumped and flipped over their heads and stabbed his sword into one of their heads and drew the Ordon sword with his right hand (I got the Gamecube version, he's left handed there) and slashed the other one as he landed. His metal shield had been destroyed by Fyrus' chain and his wooden shield had been burned off. He retrieved his other sword and put the Ordon sword away. He saw another sleeping and decided to wake it up. He punched it in the face and broke its nose. It woke up hitting the cliff and in a lot of pain. Fortunately for it, Link stabbed it in its head, which caused it to die instantly. Unfortunately for Link, he didn't notice one jumping down from the cliffs at him. Until it whacked him in his back. He fell to the ground, in serious pain that made it so he couldn't get back up. "Dammit!" he yelled in pain, and his sword out of reach. However he still had the horse call. He pulled it to his mouth and rolled away, blowing it. He had rolled right as the club fell where he was lying, but then it fell over, an arrow in its back. "You should be more careful." Zelda said as she got off Eponas back. "You really did kill a lot before I joined Midnas heart."
"Yeah. Thanks." Link said this slowly as he got up and his voice said he was in pain. "Let's go back to the others and get them back to Ordon." They got back on Epona and turned her around to get the wagon. The rest of the trip was uneventful, except Link killing another bokoblins by slashing it across the neck and it spurting blood.
It was night when they got to Ordon. When everyone saw Link, and the children arriving, everyone cheered. They decided to hold a festival for their return.
The finest boar and the best of the harvest were put on the plates before everyone in the village. Zelda had been offered a seat of honor, because of her position, but tonight, she just wanted to be another person at the festival. Link sat in the middle of the large table, where everyone sat for the feast. Zelda sat on Links left, and Ilia sat facing him.
The mayor got up, to say a few words about what had happened over the last few weeks, and called Link up to say what had happened. He looked at Ilia, who motioned him to go up. He looked down for a moment, in sorrow. He wasn't good at talking to groups. But he got up anyway and stepped up to where the mayor was. Everyone was looking at him. "Ummmm, well, I found the children 1st, and then the monsters that took them showed up. So I went, and killed them all, so this wouldn't happen again. I knocked the leader of the Great Eldin Bridge, and found Ilia, and got her memory back, and here we are." He sat down quickly, because he didn't want anyone asking him any questions. After that, everyone broke into talking, and laughing during the feast. It had been a long time since that had happened.
After the feast, it turned out the mayor had bought fireworks from Barnes for this occasion. Everyone hurried to the ranch. When everyone got there, he lit them off, 1 by 1. After that was done, everyone went back to the village. Zelda had decided to stay in the village fro a day or 2, to see what things were like. And that's when the guards came.
"We have orders to arrest Link of Ordon and Princess Zelda. You are both under arrest for treason against the Royal family of Hyrule, the destruction of its castle, and the murder of Shad, Aura, Aeshi, and Rusl, and murder of the leader of Holodrum, Queen Estar the 7th. You will be hung in 3 days, and the Princess will face life imprisonment." The guard said this in a commanding voice, while guards came around and bound Link and Zeldas hands with ropes.
"We didn't do that, you bastard! And Ganon blew up the castle, not us! Do you know how many tons of explosives it would take to blow up the castle?! That was Ganon and Midna trying to kill each other! And you can't arrest me, I'm your boss!" Zelda yelled at the guard.
"Yeah, and why would we blow up the castle anyway? And Zelda was dead at the time you say I bombed the castle! We didn't no none not do that!" Link yelled at the guard.
The guards looked at each other, as if saying "Yeah, their crazy".
Unnoticed by Link and Zelda, a woman wearing a hood came up behind the guards. Her face was a mix of purple, yellow, green, and red tattooed stripes. "I saw them both going to and from Kariko village and the castle, both with armfuls, of bags, presumably with the explosives in question. And I saw the victims going into the castle shortly before the explosion. Put them in the remains of the dungeon."
Zelda was about to ask who she was, when she heard a guard say "Yes, captain." Before she could say anything, she felt a sharp pain to the back of her head, and then faded from consciousness. The same happened to Link.
They had been brought to the gallows. The entire city seemed to be there that night. They both had ropes around their necks and were a few minutes from death.
"How do you plead to you're crimes?" the "captain" of the guards asked.
"We're innocent! Link doesn't even know where Holodrum is!" Zelda shouted.
"But it was you're sword found in their queens' body, not Links. I find you guilty of treason against the kingdom of Hyrule! Execute them!"
"Wait!" everyone looked to where the voice had come from. It was Ilia! "How can you put Link on trial? He is no murderer and he saved all your lives! You can't kill him!" Unfortunately for Ilia, guards came from behind her and dragged her away, clamping a hand over her mouth.
"Ilia!" Link shouted. However, he didn't have time to wonder where they had taken her, as the rope was about to be dropped.
However, the hangman suddenly had an arrow in his forehead. Then Link and Zelda felt their bonds being cut and the ropes over their heads being destroyed. "What's going on here?" However the captain couldn't orders to her guards before Link punched her in the face as hard as he could knock her off the 1 story into the crowd, who dispersed, leaving her to fall on cold, hard cement. "Catch, Link!" Someone called and Link turned to see his sword coming hilt 1st to him and caught it just in time to parry a guards attack. He then kicked him in the gut and saw Zelda shoot a guard in the neck, knocking him off the deck. The other person threw a bomb at the stairs just as more guards came running up to help their fallen comrades. It blew several off the deck and destroyed the top of the stairs, and he threw another on the 1st part of the stairs. Unfortunately, for the guards they couldn't jump off because there was a railing in the way. It killed or either seriously wounded the rest of the guards. Link killed the guard in front of him, and back flipped another guards, attack, but not before he drew a line of blood from Links stomach, staining his shirt.
"You want to find out who framed you? You should trust me then. And I know where to start looking. Come." Shadow turned away and walked up the stairs, with Link following, and Zelda in back. She didn't say anything, but she thought he might be a traitor. But she and Link where supposed to executed the next day. Still, he had saved them from death.
When they got to the top of the stairs, there were 4 guards sitting at a table, playing poker. Links stuff was also on the table. The guards noticed them and got up. "Hey, how'd you get out of you're cell?" the 1st one asked. Before waiting for an answer, the guards rushed them and grabbed Zeldas arms. Another went after Shadow, but he side-stepped and kicked him in the back of the guards' knee and he went down and was viciously kicked in the side so bad, he rolled into a wall, with Shadow running up and kicking him in the head, knocking that guard out. They decided to run away and were about to jump off, when they saw fire engulfing the sides of the wooden deck, probably from the bombs. It quickly engulfed all sides. "Come on!" the person said. He had opened the lever down to the spot where people were hung. He jumped down, not waiting for Link and Zelda. They didn't wait, either. They jumped through the hole and ran as fast as they could, trying to escape before the entire deck fell on them.
They reached the other side just as it fell, sending sparks everywhere and saw the ruins of Hyrule castle. They saw Zeldas tower collapsed right in front of them, the main door crumbling, the sides of the collapsed bridges, and other pieces of the castle in the waster. And then they saw Rusls body, along with Shads bodies. "Hey, my book is here!" Link said excitedly as he retrieved the Skybook. "Serves you right, you stupid thief!" Link yelled at Shads lifeless body. "Thank you, for saving us. Who are you?" Zelda asked.
"You might not like who I am." The figure was cloaked. He took off his hood to reveal 2 ruby red eyes and a face resembling Links. "I am Shadow Link, but since Link is right here, Shadow will do. I was the only one to realize Ganon was a monster who did not care about his army. I had the pleasure of serving as his general, and still, he thought I was nothing. He thought he could replace me, so I lead the wielder of the 4 Sword straight to his domain. I could not kill him, for he had the Dark Mirror. Anyway, the one who framed you left here and I know where that is. I also gathered you're most useful items and brought them here. I didn't get your giant top, or wrecking ball, or your bottles, rod, 2 bomb bags, iron boots, or slingshot. Zelda, you should have the Dominion Rod and Ordon sword and give Link back his bow. He will have his clawshots and, horse call, bomb bag, and bow. I hope you don't mind if I keep the gale Boomerang?"
"Sure. But why did you help us?" Link asked.
"The real killer is very powerful, and I have no magical powers. I know where to start looking, and how to clear your names. But you just have to trust me. I hope you can." Shadow said.
They began to walk through the maze of rumble to find the entrance to the town. While Link was in front of them, Shadow asked Zelda," Are you sure this is the guy that killed Ganon and someone else that looks like him?" Zelda just sighed.
After what seemed like hours, they finally managed to escape the castle ruins. Okay, now where are we supposed to go to find the guy that tried to have us killed?" Link asked.
"They shouldn't have found out about you 2 escaping yet, so we should take the fastest route to Faron forest. The entrance to the Lost Woods is there, and there lies the gate to the location of the murderer. Guards! Hide!" he said and they all ducked behind a stone wall. Shadow was on the opposite side of the gate. "Hey, I think I heard something over there." 1 guard said and they went over to where Shadow was. He was a good fighter, but not that good against 2 people at once when he was disarmed. However it was night and he could blend in perfectly. He got up, but the only visible part of him was his eyes. "Do you really want to face death today? Or, do you want to live? If so, run now, or die!" His glowing red eyes got closer and closer to the guards and he threw the Gale boomerang to extinguish the light from their torches.
They dropped their spears and ran away, screaming about the demon of "wind and darkness". Link and Zelda got out from behind their side of the gate. "Shall we go?" Shadow asked.
"Uh, yeah." Link said. Shadow took point position to extinguish any torches in the city, and to get rid of the guards. When they reached the south gate, Shadow went up West Street to give the guards a fake lead. When they got out, Link called Epona. They also stole a guards horse So they could all travel easier. Zelda rode on Epona and Link and Shadow sat on the stolen horse. It took about 100 minutes before they reached the forest, which was bigger than the field itself.
Shadow took the lead position again, but it wasn't easy to follow because Link didn't have his lantern anymore. Shadow kept turning around every few trees. To Zelda, it seemed like a complex maze of never-ending trees. "So many trees", she thought. How did Link ever make it out of this place? It definitely wasn't the same way they had traveled a day ago when they were escorting the children back to Ordon.
They had been traveling for about 3 hours before she noticed the trees were getting much taller than all the other trees she had passed so far. They were even blocking out what little moonlight there was. "Shadow, how much farther?" she asked. No reply. "Link?" again, no reply. "Anyone?" Still, no reply. She cursed herself for being so stupid. She the remembered Shadow saying the forest had been home to a lot of monsters, and Link agreed. She drew her sword in case something happened. She opened her pack to look for anything that could help her find the others. "Lets see: I have a sword, a rod, a crown, and the Triforce of Wisdom. All I have to do is concentrate on the piece, and I get my answer." Zelda concentrated on it and she thought she heard a voice in her head telling her to use the Dominion Rod. She pulled it out and held it up over her head. It began to give off a yellow light. She could see much easier now.
"Stop. Someone is coming." Shadow said to Link. Link stopped and looked around. "Hey, where's-"Shadow raised a hand to quiet him. He saw a light in the distance, coming to them. He ran behind a tree, waiting for the light to get to him. Shadow did the same. When the light got to the trees, Shadow leaped behind the person and tackled them to the ground and held the persons arms down with his left hand and the head down with the other. while Link ran around and put his blade to the persons throat. "Who are you?!" Link asked in an angry voice. "It's me you idiot!" Zelda yelled after bringing her head up from Shadows grasp. Shadow let her up and apologized. "I was about to ask him where you were when I saw the light, but he wouldn't let me finish." Link said.
"You were the one who realized I was gone and not Shadow?" Zelda asked in amazement.
"Where did you get that light?" Shadow asked. Zelda remembered the rod and went to look for it. "Ah, here it is." Zelda held up the Dominion Rod and its light turned on.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I just remember controlling statues with that by throwing the light." Link said. Zelda put her head in her hand in amazement.
They were able to move at a faster pace now that they could see easier. It took another 2 ½ hours before they got to a clearing surrounded by huge trees and 1 tree much bigger than all the others. There were also several stumps leading up to it so someone could jump over to it and enter. Shadow stopped and looked at a tree stump. It had a faded white drawing that was difficult to make out, but if someone looked hard enough, they could see 2 waving figures and some other figures in the background.
"How did you know to come here, Shadow? You took so many turns without stopping to get here and you didn't even need a light for part of the way."
"I have been following Heroes for a while now. The 5th, the Hero of Time, came this way in search of Navi, his fairy. He was ambushed here and his equipment and his horse were stolen. That was only journey I did not follow, until now, and I only found out about you because I saw the wanted posters in town." He noticed their faces were filled with misunderstanding, as he realized they knew something he didn't. "I was looking around Holodrum, for the one who killed the queen. All I found was a trace leading to Termina. Anyway, I started following where I thought he would go and I found this area. However, when I tried to follow him to the gateway, it rejected me and threw me out. I waited for 3 days before I decided to try again and I was thrown back again. It was 2 years before I found any trace of him. He was in Hyrule castle, telling that Princess Zelda about his journey through Termina. Apparently, I was rejected because of time manipulation, in which he kept going back in time 3 days to try to change their worlds apocalyptic end. Eventually, he was able to destroy source of the problem, a being known as Majoras Mask. He was also able to help everyone's lives who lived there that had been affected by Majora. However, after defeating its physical form, Majoras spirit wasn't killed. And the Mask remains in that world to this day." Shadow said.
Without waiting, he climbed up the 1st stump and jumped to the next, and then the last one. He turned back to regard them, but they just stared at him. Zelda realized he was waiting for them, and proceeded to climb the stumps, and Link finally realized he had to follow them after a few minutes.
Shadow jumped through the hollow, then Zelda, and last, Link. As Zelda fell, she heard strange music, and saw many figures of light, in odd shapes, like clocks, zoras, strange people that looked like half human-half birds, and masks, with spikes. The music stopped, and she was thrown out of the tunnel she had been falling through.