Chapter II

My Name is Zelda

You're the last one…

The girl awoke with a start and gasped for breath. She felt that her entire body was plunged under water and begging for air. She heard the little star sigh in his sleep and looked over to see Rosalina studying the star chart on her wall.

"You'll be getting a lot of nightmares from now on," Rosalina said. The girl pulled herself out of bed and opened her wardrobe. She saw her outfit was the exact same design except in different colors… she picked out the blue one and changed quickly before walking over towards Rosalina. Rosalina wore a red dress that fell past her feet and created a small pool of fabric on the ground. Her hair was white blond and made several curls stick out. Her small tiara was silver with blue and red jewels circling around it. In her hand was a silver wand with a gold star on top.

"Are nightmares past memories?" The girl asked.

"They could be anything. If you defeat a Challenger, your reward is nightmares for a month. Since it was your first night, it's your mind trying to figure out what the hell is going on here," Rosalina replied. A loud snore came from Samus and Rosalina grabbed her Luma from its small bed before making her way out. "If you're going to Section 3 with Ike and Link you should head out now. The gates will open in 10 minutes." The girl quickly grabbed her bow and arrow bag before following Rosalina. She made her way to the front near the gate where three men stood before it.

"Care for a muffin? Peach made them herself this morning for our trip," Mario said and the girl took one and bit into it. The taste of peaches made her taste buds melt when combined with butter and sugar. She heard the sounds of the gate creaking and Link stood back as the humming from the gate decreased. The double gate unlocked and pulled apart before hitting the hard stone wall.

"Weapons at the ready!" Ike shouted. Link took out his sword and Mario pulled on his gloves. The girl pulled out an arrow and placed it on the bow. Ike ran into the maze first, then Link, the girl and finally Mario. She heard birds sing above them and she looked up to see a large black bird fly out from the ivy covering the top of the wall.

"Blackbirds… they warn us about oncoming Challengers," Link said to her. Ike looked around every corner before making his way through the hallways of the maze. They seemed to have run for hours before they approached a large metal gate that read Section 3 on a rusty sign. Ike pushed the gate open and the four of them entered the section before he closed them. Mario and Link quickly checked for any hiding Challengers while the girl looked around.

The section was made to look like a fallen temple. A large triangular shape cut into three smaller triangles was sitting above the rubble gleaming from the sunlight. The whispers started to fill her thoughts again and she shook her head.

"That's the triforce over there. If what Link dreamed about is true, you should be the final keeper of the triforce," Ike said. The three of them stared at her as she walked through the temple's rubble and stood in front of the triforce.

Created by three goddesses.

Whoever touches the triforce shall be granted their most desired wish…

The entire maze was silent as the girl reached and lightly touched the bottom triangle with her fingertips. Her mind erupted.

"They're coming!"

"Princess what shall we do!"

"They're going to take you, Zelda!" The girl screamed out in pain as screams echoed through her brain and cried out for help. She fell to her knees and the triforce glittered and exploded into the three separate triangles. Her hand began to burn as the triforce began to appear on her right hand. The triforce vanished and the rubble creaked as the standing pillars started to crack and fall all around the girl.

"GRAB HER!" Ike quickly dropped his sword and picked up the girl. "We need to leave! This section is going to seal itself!" Ike shouted and Link tossed his sword as Ike opened up the gate. Mario and Link quickly exited and made their way back to Section 7, Ike close at their heels with the girl in his arms.

Be brave, Zelda… be brave.

The girl woke up in a room covered in all white. Mario looked up and quickly walked over to her bed.

"Nasty thing of them to do, send you to the triforce the day after you arrive…" He hissed as he poured out something from a vile and handed the glass to her.

"You were there… you should've seen what happened…" The girl replied. She took the glass and gulped the potion down.

"I wasn't there at all! I'm Doctor Mario, or Mario's cousin. We look exactly alike but we're not the same person. Nope I'm just your average doctor here."

"What happened?"

"According to Ike, you touched the triforce and the entire temple fell and sealed off Section 3. They should be back any moment now," Dr. Mario replied. The girl pulled off the sheets and ran out of the room. "Hey! He told me you couldn't leave!"

The girl took the stairs two at a time and sprinted over to the gate. She had to tell Ike. She had to tell him what she dreamed about. The sun started to set and she heard shouts from inside the maze. Rosalina rushed through from the corner and pulled in Link and Mario. Rosalina held onto a large white paper, her Luma floating above her.

"You look cherry, sunshine," Rosalina said to the girl. Ike stumbled past the girl and stabbed the ground with his sword. "That takes care of one challenger for right now. Tell Falco his challenger is dead and Section 3 is officially gone from the maze," Ike said to Rosalina.

"Will do, boss," Rosalina replied and she walked back to the castle. Ike turned and glared at the girl.

"I gave specific orders to keep you in bed. I think next time you're injured we're going to restrain you. Rule number one, girl. Never EVER go into the maze without an explorer or qualified Challenger fighter with you. The Challengers stick around the gate at sunset because they know we're on our way back," Ike said.

"I remember, Ike. I remember who I am and why I'm here," The girl said. Link looked up and stared at Zelda.

"Well go on then, tell us."

"My name is Princess Zelda. I'm-" A siren blared over the entire section. People rushed out of the castle and looked over at the Cage.

"What the…" Ike whispered. The gate closed behind Zelda and she heard the hum once again.

"Ike… what is it?" Mario asked. Ike opened the Cage and hopped inside.

"It's a letter and some more supplies. Dear Heroes, The past ten years have truly been experimental as we watched you work together to create a community. However, the time has come to end this once and for all. Three more cages will be sent within three weeks and Princess Zelda is the last one. Good luck and may the odds stay on your side. Sincerely, The Watchers," Ike read out. A few screams erupted from the group and Ike pulled himself out as Mario and few others started to unpack the Cage.

"ALRIGHT! None of us are going to die! They're going to stop sending us people and supplies. We have enough of that as it is already! Calm down you ighits. You, come with me," Ike called out to Zelda. She followed him to the tree where he stood underneath it. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"I only know that the end is coming… we have to act fast if you want to keep these people alive. Section 3 was just the beginning," Zelda said.

"From now on, any nightmares that you get, you tell me about them. Got it?" Ike asked her. She nodded and he clapped an arm on her shoulder. "We killed one Challenger today. We took him by surprise but something is indeed going on here. The other guardians of the triforce did not see the end of the maze but yet you have. Anything else you want to tell me?"

Zelda grabbed her arm and bit her lip. "I dreamt about you. You saved me from something. I don't know what it was but was an outline of something… it looked like a person but it was dark purple and black…"

"A Challenger… you could be seeing the future… Link said you could before you ended up here. We need to unlock more of your memories."

"How?"

"By looking into your nightmares of course."