Author's Note: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.

Don't get it?

When the chicken crosses the road, it gets ran over and dies. When it dies, it goes to the "other side".

I blew my aunt and cousin's minds with that yesterday. Just thought I'd share it with you guys.

I'd like to thank ninjiibaseball, co0ldo0d, and Pure Cookies (awesome name) for following the story and Demon War God and weyoun for both following the story and adding it to their Favorites List.

Also, Fire Emblem Warriors, YAAAAAY! *cough* Confirm Lyn already. *cough*

Now the reviews.

Cyberleader2000: Well, it didn't go quite the way you wanted, but at least he's dead, right?

Majin-kun: Link having the Triforce of Power is not only a crazy idea, but, for this story, it would have been a GREAT idea. And honestly... I've been beating myself over not having thought of that first... And I'm glad you like Linkle! She's pretty challenging the write for without making her a crybaby.

Majin-kun(2): "Surprised she hasn't broken down yet." Don't speak too soon. Heh, heh, heh.

Cyberleader2000(2): And there are more good things to come! ...Don't hold your breath, though...

ultimateCCC: I know, right?

ultimateCCC(2): Define "free".


Resistance Arc


Chapter 8: Duty


Linkle rolled to her side and stared into the opening the tent, where moonlight flooded in, illuminating her surroundings. She had been unable to get any sleep since she last spoke with Lana; every time she closed her eyes it seemed like she relived the events of that day in just that instant. The fear... the fire... and then Oliver...

What exactly are those people fighting for anyway? They may have saved her from Oliver, but she wasn't free. She was still imprisoned by her memories; tormented without rest. It's always been that way... And it always will be...

...Unless...

Linkle made her leave of the tent she had been given to rest in. There was nothing outside but her and her thoughts. She started walking. There was a small body of water she saw on the way to the camp. After a few minutes of walking, she spotted it. She paused just behind a large rock as the water began to glow a strange, light-blue color.

What was happening?

"Hey!" she heard.

Linkle peered over the rock.

No one...

"Down here!"

Linkle obliged.

"Hey!" Lana waved with a smile.

"BWAH!"

Linkle fell onto her bottom.

Lana burst into laughter. "What's the matter?" she chuckled, climbing into the rock to look at Linkle.

"I wasn't expect- oh!" Linkle covered her eyes.

"Oh, calm down. We're both girls."

"Um..."

"...Fine."

Linkle heard a splash as Lana dropped back into the water. She opened her eyes.

"So have you thought about whether or not you wanted to join us?"

No answer...

"You don't still think Princess Zelda's a bad person, do you?"

No answer...

"...I know what you came here to do. And I'm not letting you do it."

"...Why not?" Linkle finally spoke.

"Princess Zelda has ordered me to watch over you. You're the only survivor of your plantation, so it's understandable that she'd be worried about you."

"...You don't understand; there's nothing left for me to live for. Even with a saved country, I'll still be tortured by memories of those horrible years, and I'll have no one to help me deal with them. That's no way to live... I can't go on like this... I won't go on like this. I'm hurting, and I just want it to stop. So please... let me find peace."

Lana stared into the glowing water, her expression softening into a serious one. She climbed out of the water and put on raggedy outfit of a simple shirt, littered in holes, and shorts with sign of forced tearing at the bottom.

Linkle watched on. Strangely, Lana didn't appear to be wet after having just gotten out of the water. After several strange gestures, what looked like a glowing bright blue orb appeared in her hands.

"I wasn't planning on showing you this until later, but here. Take a look.

Linkle gasped out loud.

"...Brother?"

Lana smiled, "I didn't know for sure, but you look a lot like him. I guess I was right in assuming you two are related. Here - take a closer look."

With trembling hands, Linkle took the ball and stared into it, her eyes wide.

"...He's not dead, is he?" she asked.

"No!" Lana giggled, "He's just sleeping."

Linkle ran her hand across the orb's smooth surface, "So you can see him through this?"

Lana nodded.

"How's he been? Is he okay?"

Lana's smile vanished. She decided to change the subject.

"With this orb, I can see what he's doing, but I don't know where, exactly, he is. I tried to go see him a few years ago, but it looks like his old master traded him away."

"C-Can he hear me through this?"

Lana shook her head, "No. Sorry."

A moment of silence.

"So," Lana continued, "What're you gonna do now?"

Linkle handed back the orb, "...I still have to think about it."

"I understand. Sooo, off to bed?"

Linkle nodded.

Lana chuckled, "That's more like it!"

Linkle turned to return to camp, when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She looked at Lana.

"One last thing." Lana began, "Don't tell anyone about this. Don't even say your brother's name out loud in camp."

"...Why?"

"Princess Zelda might hear it, or someone else may hear it and go tell her. You see, the Princess is extremely busy, and she has too many things on her plate right now. She doesn't need any distractions."

Before Linkle could speak a single word more, Lana moved ahead of her, proceeding toward camp.

Linkle furrowed her brows in confusion. Why would knowledge of her brother distract someone who didn't even know he existed? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time for such thoughts; her brother was alive, and she desperately needed to see him. She needed to be by his side and protect him, just as he's protected her. With her resolve replenished, she knew what she needed to do...


Zelda straightened the saddle on her horse as she prepared to return to the castle.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called.

As Zelda climbed onto her horse, she caught the sight of Lana approaching.

"You're leaving already?" the girl asked.

Zelda nodded, "The only reason I was able to join you yesterday was because Ganondorf had left the castle. I need to be sure to return before him."

"Aren't you gonna wait for that girl from yesterday to answer your question?"

Zelda shook her head, "If she's anything like most of the others we've rescued, she'd have been raised to hate me. I'm no fool; I know whe-..."

Lana sensed her, too. "Well, it looks we're gonna have our answer pretty soon."

Linkle panted as she approached the Princess.

"I take it you've come with an answer?"

Linkle nodded, "Yes. I want to fight with you!"

Zelda's eyes widened a bit, surprised, "I must say, I wasn't expecting this answer from you. What led you to this answer if I may ask?"

Linkle glanced at Lana. Zelda took note of this.

"She doesn't need any distractions."

"I've found something to fight for." she answered.

"What is it?" Zelda asked suddenly.

"*AHEM!*" Lana cut in, "Princess! Don't you need to get going? You don't wanna be late, do you?"

"...Yes, you are correct. Have her see Impa; I place command on her shoulders until I return."

As Zelda rode away, Lana gave a relieved sigh.

"Who's Impa?" Linkle asked.

"Second in command. Well, third technically, but Princess Zelda usually puts her in charge when she's gone. She's the one who all the new recruits see." Lana smiled, "She's nice, but she can be a bit of a downer sometimes. C'mon - let's go meet her!"


Once, she approached Castle Town, Zelda put on her hooded robe. That, along with shade from the afternoon sun, was sure to hide her face. The Princess made sure to enter the castle from the rear entrance in order to avoid suspicion. This was a common practice for whenever Zelda had the chance to leave the castle. Admittedly, she had gotten quite good at it. There was only one problem, however.

"Hello, Princess."

Before she even entered the castle, Zelda could see Cia, a witch who worked directly under Ganondorf, as well as one of Zelda's superiors, walking towards her. For some reason, she seemed to hate her; the witch had always suspected her of leaving the castle to provide aid for Ganondorf's enemies, but she's never been able to provide any proof. Zelda's made sure of that.

"How goes your day?" Cia asked.

Silence...

"Ignoring me? How rude. You wound me, Princess."

More silence as Zelda moved to walk around Cia.

The witch extended an arm, baring the Princess access into the castle.

Zelda paused, "Milady, would you kindly step aside?" she asked, refusing Cia the courtesy of eye contact.

Cia chuckled, "Not today, Your Highness. You see, you've been summoned by Lord Ganondorf."

What?! Ganondorf?! He's returned already?!

Zelda made sure to hide her shock from the witch, who towered over her, searching for a hint.

"Very well." Zelda responded.

Cia finally moved out of the way, granting Zelda passage. The Princess's ear twitched at the sound of Cia's footsteps just behind her. She was following her.

...This did not bode well.

Zelda, though an expert in the art of hiding emotions, allowed her annoyance to be displayed by way of her body language.

Cia wasn't the only one who worked for Ganondorf; there were others who, along with her, were promised anything they wished for in exchange for their allegiance. First, there was Zant, the Usurper King, whom Zelda only saw on special occasions. In exchange for his services, Zant was given his very own kingdom to rule. Zelda had no knowledge of where this kingdom was, nor did she care. As long as his endeavors kept him too busy to interfere with her designs.

Then, there was Ghirahim, the Demon Lord. Ghirahim was, perhaps, his closest ally. He was also one of two individuals working directly under Ganondorf for free. He was another one Zelda rarely saw. If he wasn't doing a job for Ganondorf, he was usually wandering the country. Perhaps he was looking for something.

...Or someone.

There were also two who worked for Cia. One was Wizzro, the Twisted Wizzard; he was the second individual working under Ganondorf for free. When it came to Cia, his loyalty knew almost no bounds.

The second individual who worked for Cia was Volga, the infamous Dragon Knight. Volga was actually the General of Ganondorf's army, promised powerful opponents in exchange for his service. Sometimes, Volga would even challenge Zelda, herself. The Princess would always turn him down, however.

And finally, there was Cia, the Black Witch. Zelda had no knowledge of what she was promised in exchange for her services.

Ganondorf, the one Zelda worked for, went by several other names including the King of Theives, the Dark Lord, the Prince of Darkness, the Demon King, and even the King of Evil. However, all knew him as the ruler of this country. A year ago, he told Zelda he haad no further use for her, and attempted to sell her to the highest bidder. Zelda, however, stated that, since she was the Princess, she should be given more control over her fate. The two came to an agreemet that anyone who wishes to own her must defeat her in combat. Slaves owners from around the entire country, most of which being male, to either face her themselves, or have a representative battle in their stead. The Princess was not allowed to kill any Humans, but was allowed to kill the representatives if as long as they happened to be from other races. Representatives , if they didn't include Humans, included monsters, all of which Zelda did kill, or slaves, who were forced to fight their Princess as punishment. At that point, the slaves' masters would decide whether or not Zelda would kill them after losing. If the slaves owners wanted them dead, she'd be forced to kill them, or risk suspicion by Ganondorf. By winning these battles, not only was Zelda able to keep what little freedom she had, but it kept her close to Ganondorf;a valuable position to have if one wished to gather information about him and those who worked for him.

Inside the throne room, Zelda noted that Ganondorf had, indeed, returned before her. Zelda could feel his gaze on her as she paused just before the short flight of stairs that led to the throne. Through the corner of her eye, she could see a man with a tall helmet enter the room from a side door.

Zant...

The masked individual turned to Ganondorf, "You summoned me, sire?"

"Yes." Ganondorf answered, "It seems one of the plantations near the northern mountains have been attacked. No doubt that puny sorceress and her colleagues were behind it. They couldn't have gotten too far, considering it happened just last night. I want you to find them, and report back to me. Do not return unless you've completed your task."

Zant lowered to a knee, "As you command, sire. It shall be done."

Zelda watched as Zant walked by her. He paused just beside the Princess.

"Hey." he spoke, "Girl. If you keep looking at me like that..."

He turned to her.

"I'll kill you..."

Zelda faced forward, struggling to hold in her anger, "My apologies, milord."

"Hmph. 'Princess'... What exactly are you the princess of, anyway? If it were up to me, I'd have given you a slow, painful death."

"...I understand, milord."

He turned and walked away.

"...Useless wretch..."

Zelda ignored Zant's insults, and proceeded toward the short flight of stairs before the throne. She paused.

"You summoned me, sire?"

"As you've just heard, a plantation in the north was attacked, with no one, Human or slave, making it out alive. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

"No, sire."

"Oh, really?" Cia cut in, "Then why were you absent from the castle the entire time Ganondorf was gone?!"

"With all due respect, milady, have you not considered the possibility that you just haven't seen me?"

"Don't try to play that. I've been inside the castle the entire time Ganondorf was gone; how come the first time I see you, you're outside, with a hooded cloak to keep yourself hidden, no less?"

Zelda could feel her heartbeat quicken as she felt Ganondorf's eyes rest on her once Cia's sentence concluded. She had to think fast.

"When you saw me outside, I was simply taking a stroll through the castle gardens for fresh air. I had been in my quarters for the past day, which explains why you haven't seen me during our King's absence. I brought my hooded cloak with me to help avoid detection from the Humans. I'm sure you know why. My plan obviously worked, seeing that you failed to notice until you spotted me outside."

"Rrgh..." Cia growled.

"Will that be all, milady?"

Cia smirked, "No... In fact..."

Snap!

A side door opened, with two Bokoblins dragging a man along with them, his arms tied behind his back. Behind him was a woman and a child.

"Please!" the woman, begged, "He's done nothing wrong!"

"I was supposed to execute this man today." Cia began, "But I have a date today, so I don't feel like getting my hands dirty today, you see."

Zelda watched as the monsters tossed the long-eared man toward Zelda's feet.

...She knew this man...

"And so," the witch continued, "I wanted to know if you'd do me a favor and take this chore off my hands."

Zelda turned to Cia, "May I ask what this man has done to deserve such a punishment, milady?"

Cia chuckled, "Simple; I just don't like him."

"With all due respect, milady, this man has committed no crime; your distaste for him does not qualify him for execution. If you'll excuse me."

The witch could her anger rise with every step Zelda took away from her. Why that pompous little...

"STOP!"

Zelda obliged.

"As your superior, I order you to execute this man, NOW!"

Zelda could do naught but stand there, her dilemma freezing her in place. She knew exactly what Cia was doing, but she couldn't afford to disobey her now; she's come too far for that...

"Oh, come now." Cia began as her returning smirk creeped across her face. "Spilling a little blood shouldn't be that much trouble; you are one of us, right?"

"...Right..."

The Princess turned and drew her Rapier as she approached the man.

"P-... Princess... you aren't really going to... k-kill me are you?"

Zelda ignored the man as she paused in front of him.

"Princess, please! I've been a friend to the Royal Family for years! M-My wife helped deliver you; we were there when you were born!"

Zelda watched as the man teared up. She felt horrible for what she was about to do, but she mustn't show any emotion. She must do all she can to keep so much as a hint from being displayed on her face or even her body language. She answered the man's plea with a cold, emotionless stare.

"Lower your head." Zelda ordered, "I wish to get this over with quickly."

"No... you can't-"

"Do as I command; face your death with dignity. Or do you wish for your family to remember a coward instead of a father?"

After a moment of silence and disbelief, the man lowered his head.

"Mark my words." he began, "You will live to regret what you've done today. This regret will tear you apart. Even so, the the gods' themselves will still have no sympathy or mercy for you. You shall pay for this, and for all the others you've executed for the remainder of your life. But even that will be nothing compared to what you'll experience in the next world."

Zelda remained emotionless. She had to make this convincing.

"Are you done wasting my time?" the Princess spoke.

Silence...

"...Very well."

SLISH!

Blood sprayed across the throne room floor as the sounds of the woman and her daughter's screams filled the air.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" the woman cried, "After all he said, how could you still kill him?!"

"I have completed the execution." said Zelda to Cia, "I ask you again: will that be all?"

Cia chuckled again, "Yes, that will be all."

The Princess turned to leave, when the voice of the woman stopped her in her tracks.

"I didn't want to believe the others... But now I see they were right. You're a MONSTER! A BLACK-HEARTED DEMON! *sob!* YOUR MOTHER WOULD ASHAMED OF YOU! ASHAMED!"

"A slave?" Cia continued, "Bad-mouthing the princess?" she chuckled once again, "I believe that deserves another execution. Princess, if you'd please?"

It was getting increasingly difficult for the Princess to hide her emotions. She obliged, however, turning to move toward the woman, her Rapier in hand.

"Oh, and the little girl may end up growing up with ambitions of revenge. Better execute her, too."

Zelda froze, again.

"Enough." Ganondorf finally intervened, "The Princess has shown her dedication." he turned to the Bokoblins, "Return them to their master."

After several crazed screeches, the Bokoblins led the slaves out of the throne room.

"Very well." Cia sighed, "That's enough excitement for one day." She bagan a walk toward the front entrance to the room, tapping Zelda on the shoulder as she walked by.

"Good job, Princess." she spoke, "You truly are one of us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll spread the word that, after what happened in the north, that sorceress and her little troupe have taken the lives of both Humans and slaves. Ta-ta!"


After finally locking her quarters, Zelda collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow.

"And so..."

The Princess balled two fists full of the pillow.

"...I, Princess Zelda, hereby vow that I will not shed a single tear more until the day I reclaim my kingdom!"

The Princess rose to sit on the edge of her bed. She glanced to the nightstand to her right. An all-too-familiar outfit consisting of a green tunic, blue scarf, among others lay on top, neatly folded. She grabbed the folded pile and held it against her chest, arms wrapped around its cloth. She sighed. Whenever she faced intense hardships like today, whenever she began to question what she was doing, she would wrap her arms around that tunic. It gave her hope, it gave her strength, it reminded her of her feelings fo-...

No... that would have to wait until after her kingdom was saved.

Knock, knock, knock...

Zelda put the outfit back on her nightstand, "State your purpose."

"It is I." a deep, familiar voice answered.

"Come in."

Emerging from behind the opening door, Zelda's father shut the door back as he entered the room.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, "I heard what happened today."

"Yes, Father." Zelda answered, avoiding eye contact.

"Are you sure?"

"...Yes, Father."

"...Very well. Just remember: if anything is troubling, anything at all, you can tell me."

"...I'll keep that in mind, Father."

The King of Hyrule turned and made his leave of the room.

Zelda sighed. The only time her father ever seemed to speak with her nowadays was when he was asking her about something that had happened that day or the day before. She never told him the truth, however. Especially considering the way he's changed since after her mother died. It was...

It was as if he wasn't the same person as before...


Linkle stood outside a large, blue tent for what felt like hours. Lana talked her ear off almost the entire time, likely trying to take her mind off the boredom, but she failed to keep her from being nervous. Surely there had to be some type of initiation. She worried about whether these people would find her worthy of joining them.

The past few days had certainly been stressful for Linkle. Just twenty-four hours ago, she was a slave expecting... whatever Oliver was going to do to her, and now, after finding out her brother was alive, was anxious for a way to get to him.

Suddenly, Lana retreated around the corner of the tent with leaping steps.

"Shh..." she warned with a finger on her lips.

Linkle stared, confused, until she saw someone emerge from inside the tent.

"HAA!" Lana shouted, jumping out from around the corner.

The individual sighed, "What is it, Lana?"

"Don't be such a downer, Impa. *AHEM*! Anyway," She extended an introducing arm toward Linkle. She paused before looking at her, "Hey, I never caught your name."

"...It's Linkle..."

"Linkle." Impa cut in, "I don't suppose you're thinking of joining us, are you?"

Linkle's eyes fell to her feet. This woman was very intimidating. She nodded.

Impa's expression softened into a smile, "That is very fortunate; not many of the slaves we rescue ask to join us. Have you any combat experience?"

"Um... A little."

Impa took a step closer, "Good. What exactly have you done to gain that experience?"

"U-Um..."

"Impa!" Lana interrupted, "You're scaring her, you dummy!"

"No," Linkle cut in, "it's okay." She forced herself to look Impa in the eye. If she allowed a potential ally to scare her, she'd have no hope of saving her brother.

"My brother taught me how to use a sword. I'm... not very good at it, but I'm sure if I practice-"

"You don't have to worry about that." said Impa, "As long as you're willing, we can train you if you aren't comfortable with your own abilities. Finding someone to train you in the art of swordplay, however, would be a problem. The only ones with any kind of expertise in swordplay are myself and Princess Zelda. The Princess is rarely around, and I have to return to the castle."

"That's okay!" Lana said as she put an arm around Linkle, "I'll train you. After all, Princess Zelda told me to watch over you, right?"

Impa scratched her head, "Hmm... Linkle, what it? I wish you luck. You'll need it."

"This'll be a bla-! Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Impa chuckled, "Lana, you're in charge until the Princess returns. We're to relocate to the eastern border to the desert. You must get going by sunset; the Princess reported that an enemy is one their way, and they'll be here by tomorrow morning."

"Right. We'll pack up as soon as I introduce Linkle to everyone."

Princess Zelda was capable of telepathic comminication, and telepathic perception. When asked about it by Impa and Lana, she told them she picked up the ability after a strange dream she had one night. Lana didn't question this claim, but Impa was admittedly skeptical until Lana talked to her about it. Impa and Lana are the only two Zelda uses this method of communication on; she trusted no one else with knowledge of this ability, and forced her two companions to promise to keep their knowledge to themselves. Zelda has yet to master the ability due to her rare usage of it, however. If she uses it for even a short amount of time nonstop without long periods of rest, she'll get excruciating headaches.

As Impa vanished after a flash produced by a Deku Nut, Lana led Linkle into the tent.

"Now that you'll be fighting with us," she explained, "we'll need to introduce you to everyone. Most of the people with us are slaves we rescued from other plantations who're traveling with us until we can get them to safety. You're actually the only former slave fighting with us right now."

Linkle froze as she entered the tent, and saw the people inside.

One looked like a large, brownish-orange rock with blue eyes.

One looked like a tall fish-person.

One looked like a short imp.

And, finally the last one appeared to be an actual person, but something was... off about her.

Lana spun around toward Linkle, "There are-"

She paused after catching a glance Linkle's dumbfounded expression.

"Oh!" the strange girl spoke, "And who might this be? A new friend, perhaps?"

Lana grabbed Linkle's wrist, "Uh, heh, heh. Let's get on with the introductions, shall we?"

The two approached the rock.

"This is Darunia, he's the leader of the Goron Tribe in his time."

Linkle blinked, confused, "...'His time'?"

"I'll explain that later." Lana reassured her.

Darunia folded his arms, "Apparently, the Gorons of this time are being forced to work in the northern mountains, mining resources used to make jewelry. I'm here to make sure my descendants never have to suffer such a fate one day more."

Lana took a few steps past Darunia with Linkle's wrist in hand, gesturing toward the fish-person.

"This is Ruto, Princess of the Zora's"

"...'Zoras'?"

"Yes." Ruto spoke, "You may not know of because... in this time, the Zoras have gone extinct."

"...How?"

"It happened after the Humans took over." Lana began, "They considered everyone here before them animals. They enslaved us, along with the Gorons, and hunted the Zoras for food."

"That's right." Ruto balled two fists, "Those savage beasts will pay for what they've done to my people! I'll make sure of that."

Lana led Linkle to the imp.

"This is Midna. She looks like this because she was cursed by one of our enemies."

"Oh," Midna sighed, "It's not all bad. As unfortunate as it is to say it, I've gotten pretty used to this form."

"Midna was once the Princess of the Twilight Realm. Another one of our enemies usurped the throne from her, and rules the realm to this day."

Lana led Linkle to the girl.

"This is Agitha. She's, uh..."

"The Princess of the Insect Kingdom." the girl finished.

"So that means you're a bug?" asked Linkle.

Agitha giggled, "No, silly! I just rule over them."

"...Oh. Okay..."

Lana released Linkle's wrist.

"A few years back, Zelda, Impa and I went back in time to recruit these four."

"How did you get them to trust you?" asked Linkle.

"We agreed after we found out who Lana was." said Darunia, "Well, all of us except for Agitha, anyway. After watching over the balance of the-"

"DARUNIA!"

"Oh! Sorry. After we found who Lana was, he couldn't refuse; we owed her too much."

Lana turned to Linkle again, "These four will help me train you until they set off on another mission. Unfortunately, they won't be much help since they don't use swords, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we need to pack up and leave before we're discovered."

As it turns out, there were only seven people who fought for this group, Zelda, Lana, and Impa included. Literally everyone else was a former slave waiting to be dropped off somewhere they can be safe. Linkle would make this number eight with her eventually inclusion. Yes, she was definitely nervous over being amongst their ranks; such a small number of individuals had to be extremely powerful and extremely skilled in order to free an entire plantation in just a few hours. She couldn't let this stop her though. Now that it was known her brother was alive, she would stop at nothing to see his face again.

To be Continued!


The seeds, of the future will soon be sown. It won't be long now, when a single event will trigger a chain more...

...and nothing will ever be the same again.

Next Chapter: Into Motion


Author's Note: Can't wait to get started on the next few chapters. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! And with, I'll see you all next updae!