Author's notes: For those of you getting impatient for the Gala, well, the wait is over. Enjoy!


Night of Destiny

I climb off my bike and take off running towards the museum, not even bothering to take off my helmet. It's cold out here this evening! The falling snow doesn't help that any.

It makes the museum look gorgeous, though. Long chains of white lights are wrapped around the massive columns and dangling like icicles from the archway at the entrance. It makes the building look like it's covered in stars, especially with all the lights sparkling off the snow. I don't spend much time admiring the view, however; I'm much more interested in running over to the entrance to the research wing and digging my keybadge out.

The cardreader beeps quietly and the door opens. I duck inside and kick the snow off my boots before pulling off my helmet. I'm going to have to redo my ponytail before I head out, but I can deal with that. That's why I'm here a little early, after all.

I open the door to Vael's office. Vael is sitting at his desk, leaning forward towards a small mirror and fighting with his tie.

"Need some help with that?" I ask, setting my helmet down on an empty chair. I don't really know why I'm offering, considering how long it took me to get my own looking symmetrical. I don't like bow ties.

"I'm getting it. I'm just not good with these things." He looks over at me and grins. "So I'm not the only one who is technically breaking dress code tonight. That's good to know."

"Yeah, he can gripe at both of us if he wants to, but... I don't see anything wrong with a little bit of color. Besides, it's not like I'm horribly violating it." And I'm not. The department dress code is a black suit, black tie, and a white dress shirt. And black dress shoes. Well, I've got the suit and tie, but my dress shoes are really my riding boots -- when they're polished up, like they are right now, they look perfectly formal -- and my shirt is a dark green, because I like green.

Vael's wearing a purple shirt, not that I'm surprised. He likes the color.

"Finally!" He falls back in his chair, his tie neatly tied. "Have I ever said how much I hate ties? No? Well, I'm saying it now." He tosses his hair over his shoulder and starts cleaning his glasses.

I borrow the mirror and fix my ponytail. I need to be certain I look presentable; the princess wants to talk to me tonight.

The pendant around my neck feels strangely heavy tonight, making me aware that it's hanging there. I take a slow breath and reach up, tracing the outline through my shirt. It feels like there's a weight looming over me: not enough to hurt, but weighing down on me just the same. Am I just that worried about tonight?

"Well, should we go check our display?"

I nod. "Yeah, let's go."

For the moment, the museum is empty aside from its own personnel and the city guardsmen serving as extra security. I've heard that many of the guests tonight are going to be accompanied by knights and their personal bodyguards, and after what happened at the festival, I can't say I blame anyone for wanting some extra guards around.

Chambers is, unsurprisingly, not here. He's no doubt waiting by the entrance so he can show people towards our section. I can't blame him, I suppose; this vase is a huge find. I should be enjoying that fact, shouldn't I? It's physical proof of something from legend.

...I should be more excited by this. This is... This is what I've been looking for. This is like the Master Sword, only I can tell people about the vase. Now if I can just shake the feeling that something is going to go very wrong very soon, maybe I can enjoy myself a bit.

"Hey, Link, would you look at something for me?" Vael says; he's pressed against the wall, trying to peer in through the back of the case.

"What is it?"

"It looks like there's something on the back of the vase, like chalk or something."

I mirror his position on the other side of the case. There is. It's hard to tell what it is, as it's small and near the bottom of the vase on the part that faces the wall, but it looks like a little gray mark. I'm not sure if it's chalk or not. Chalk would make sense, though -- there are little chalk marks all over the inside and outside of the case that I can see when I look for them. The mages put them there as part of the wards.

"It's probably just part of the ward," I say, standing up and making sure I don't have anything on my jacket.

"I don't know... I don't see why anyone would need to mark directly on the vase." He sighs and adjusts his glasses. "Maybe they didn't mean to; it might have just rubbed off... but I don't know. It looks almost deliberate."

I shrug. "I'm not sure. We'll just have to make sure that, however it got there, that chalk gets cleaned up when we take it back to storage." It doesn't need to be on the vase, but there's nothing we can do now. We can't open the case without the key, and Chambers has the key, wherever he is. At least the mark is small and in an out-of-the-way place; hopefully no one else will see it.

"Yeah. I think I'm worrying too much about this thing. Well," he says, his voice nervous, "we did it, didn't we? This is either something the hero sealed away, or it's something that inspired the legend. Either way..."

"This is connected to the legendary hero," I finish. "It's just... In some ways, I wish this was connected to one of the more recent legends, one of the ones that is still intact. All I've got is an image; I don't even have a partial legend to connect this to."

I have a few memories, though. A howling wind, Princess Zelda turned to stone, a sinister laugh, and the image of a magical blade lying broken on a stone walkway. They're not enough to tell the story, but they're enough to tell that Vaati caused a lot of trouble for Hyrule once, long ago.

Behind me, I hear voices; people are starting to arrive. The Gala is about to start. "Time to go, Vael," I say, turning back to him.

Vael has his glasses off, staring at the vase. He looks older without his glasses, older and determined. He says something I can't make out; I see his lips moving. And then he slides his glasses on and turns towards me with a nod.

"Yeah, let's go."

The Gala starts off with a trio of fancy speeches by one of the royal ministers, the head of the museum, and Chambers. I have to admit I'm not really listening; Chambers isn't saying anything I don't already know, and the other two speeches are more ceremonial than anything else.

There are a lot of people here, although a fair portion of the group -- a rough estimate says between a quarter and a third -- consists of various guards, and another portion, much smaller but still here, appears to be the press corps. Royalty, aristocracy, security, and a throng of reporters, what a crowd.

I take the first chance I get to head back to our display and lean against the wall. I may as well make myself available for questions, because at least this way I can talk to these people without feeling like an idiot. Several other Project members are weaving their way through the crowd; I think I see Garrimed talking to one of the guards.

I just don't like talking to aristocrats. I always feel like I'm saying something wrong, like I'm being scrutinized for any possible mistake just because I'm not one of them. It's not a problem normally; I'm just another historian in a building full of scholars. But nights like this... I'm not exactly comfortable.

Oh, well. I wasn't selected for the Royal History Project for my conversation skills.

I spend more of the next hour or so talking than I thought I would; it seems the vase is drawing plenty of attention, and quite a few people want to hear about it and the sketch behind it. At one point, a reporter even wanders by and asks me a few questions.

After he heads off to see the rest of the exhibits, I turn towards the case and look at the sketch on the wall. The image isn't quite the same one Dark found; one of the other Project members filled in the gaps with what he thought belonged there. But his additions don't fit, not really, and it's jarring to me. It's not that he did a bad job; it's more than my mind is so accustomed to seeing the image with all the gaps and holes in it that it looks wrong to see it intact.

That, and the additions include making one of the four heroes right handed. I favor my left hand, and I'm certain that I always have, so I know that in the original all four of the heroes had swords in their left hands. I reach up and massage my temples. It's such a trivial thing, yet that one tiny little detail is just wrong.

"It certainly looks more intimidating from this angle," a woman says beside me. "I find it a bit odd that it sits up so high."

"We wanted to give the specimen the best possible viewing angle," I reply, turning towards her. It isn't up that high; the vase sits at roughly the same level as my chest.

The woman is Princess Zelda, wearing a blue and white dress. "I see. I suppose it serves its purpose; it is only fitting that a vase holding an evil presence should look sinister."

"It does most of that on its own, Princess. All we did was set it on the shelf."

She laughs, her voice soft and warm. "It still seems strange that something like this has been sitting in the vault and no one has noticed it until now."

"Well, it was probably in there for safekeeping. It was found during an inventory of the entire castle; apparently someone finally checked whatever dark corner it was hiding in."

For a moment, she doesn't answer; she just stares at the vase. Finally, she turns to me. "I must admit, my knowledge of legend is a bit lacking. The display says that this legend has been lost, so I'm certain you can't tell me much, but... Historian Chambers has told me that you are quite knowledgeable about the legends of the hero. What is your opinion about what this image shows?"

"Well, we know very little about anything depicted in this image, except that the four men are apparently the legendary hero," I point towards the Triforce hovering over the four men. "The Triforce is drawn over all four of them as a group, yet the hero is always a single man."

"That seems to be a contradiction."

I nod. "It isn't necessarily literal, of course. And that's the problem. Maybe it's a way of showing that the hero had the strength or skill of four men." That's very possible, except I know that isn't why. I'm just trying to come up with an alternate explanation, because I'm not supposed to know the answer. "Or perhaps it's the result of some enchantment. One of the details that seems to come up in the legends over and over again is the fact that the hero always has magical assistance in his quest.

"It's possible, therefore, that the four men are the same man in four bodies." I force myself to chuckle. "But then again, it is also possible that the hero of that legend was really four men acting together. Without a corresponding story, it's a bit difficult to tell."

She nods politely; she's watching me.

"The story at its core is that the winged eye, whoever or whatever it may be, threatened Hyrule and the hero or heroes rose up and struck it down. Sometime after that, the eye's evil presence appears to have been sealed inside the vase. My belief is that the power of the hero's sword is at least part of the seal on the vase. I'm not sure if you can see it through the case, but the swords in the image are stylistically the same as the swords on the vase. The swords all have an unusual design that our weapons expert has never seen before. Of course, it is a much older style, but this design seems too formal and elegant to be just a normal sword."

"I see. I do remember hearing the Hero's Blade sealing evil away; do you think this is similar?"

"It could be. Holy power is the best thing to seal evil, after all."

"Very true. That reminds me; there is something I would --" She looks at something behind me. "Good evening, Historian Chambers."

"Ah, good evening, your Highness. I see you've found Historian Masters."

She smiles. "Yes, I have. He has been telling me about your vase. It seems to have a rather fascinating history behind it."

Chambers grins as he stops next to us. "Yes, it does, doesn't it? And to think it has been sitting in the vault gathering dust for centuries. It makes me wonder what other treasures may have been found in the inventory."

I don't think there are any, unless there's some other great sealed evil hidden in a forgotten dark corner. Then again, there may be some things that were forgotten but have now been found, although I doubt any of them will be of any interest to the Project. I'm mostly just worried about what else could be down there.

Things aren't generally forgotten without a reason, and a big reason is that the thing, whatever it may be, loses its relevance. For a while after the great wars and conflicts in Hyrule's history, what later became the legends was a very important thing. People lived it; it was more than just repeated stories -- it was a way to document the terror they'd seen and to remember those who died. However, each generation grew further and further from the memory of that war, and so the histories faded into legend, and then the legends themselves started to fade.

Likewise, the people of Hyrule forgot about the threat that Vaati once posed; once that had happened, there was no point in remembering that he was sealed inside a vase. Now, it has been so long since he was sealed away that Hyrule has forgotten his name, as well as his very existence.

I can sympathize with Vaati, in a way. Hyrule doesn't remember the hero's name either.

"Isn't that right, Link?" Chambers asks. He and the princess both look at me.

I don't have context. "I'm sorry," I stammer, trying not to seem too flustered. "What was the question again?"

Chambers chuckles. "I was just telling the princess about how you found the sketch for the display, and how it seems to be a legend that we know nothing about. Isn't that right?"

"Ah, yes, it is. I found the sketch in a book of ancient Hylian art; sadly, there isn't any context for it, and while the source sketch is several hundred years old, the carving it was based on was much, much older and damaged. I say "was", because it is highly unlikely that said carving still exists at all."

The princess shakes her head slowly; the blue gems on her circlet flash in the light with the motion. "It is such a shame that we know so little about it, and even more so that there is no way to learn more."

"That is the peril of history, Highness. It is easily changed, mis-remembered, or forgotten," Chambers says with a sigh. He looks around the room and nods, as if to himself. "I must apologize; I need to tend to something across the way. Perhaps we can continue this discussion later?"

She smiles. "Of course. I wouldn't wish to keep you from your duties."

I shake my head and sigh as he walks off. That's just like Chambers, always trying to do a dozen things at the same time. Oh, well; tonight is the one night all year he gets to show our research off to the kingdom at large.

Some man in a fancy suit walks up and starts talking to the princess, completely ignoring me. He starts to lead her across the room, and she turns to me long enough to politely excuse herself. And then I'm alone again. I move back over to the wall. The room seems quieter now than it did a few minutes ago -- that's a bit odd.

"I knew I'd find you here," Vael says, leaning against the wall next to me almost before I know he's there. "I think I should have stayed over here, too."

"What happened?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "Well, when I'm not getting barraged with questions about the magics on the vase -- which I've no problem explaining, so that's not a bad thing -- I keep getting asked questions about all the other displays. And one older gentleman wants to know how we ward our cases... because of course I know and am willing to describe it in detail to someone I don't know." He leans back against the wall. "Your night going any easier?"

"I got to talk with Princess Zelda a little, and Chambers came by for a minute. Nothing too interesting. You were just over by the podium; is someone giving a speech soon?"

"No, I think they're done with the speeches tonight, at least until the Gala's over."

Damn. My one explanation for why the crowd seems quieter, gone. "I thought maybe someone was, since it's not as loud in here as it was a while ago."

"Maybe you're just getting used to all the noise in here."

"You're probably right," I say with a nod before digging my watch out of my pocket and flipping it open. It's been longer than I thought; the Gala's almost over now. I flip my watch closed and put it away. "So, Vael. What are you doing after this?"

"Getting out of this suit. Besides that, I haven't decided yet. I may just head home and get some rest. You?"

"I'll probably just go get some sleep. I'd like to go ride around, but if it's been snowing the whole time, I think I want to get home before the roads get too bad."

Vael chuckles. "See, this is why the bus is a good thing. You should give it a try sometime. No need to drive, and the bus is usually nice and warm, unlike your bike."

The air seems to cool off rapidly, the chill slicing easily through my clothing. I tense. What in the world is this? Not just the chill -- the air is throbbing now, a dissonant hum that seems to reverberate in my bones. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

"Link... Something's wrong. Tell me you sense this." Vael looks as startled as I feel.

"I'm not sure; I sense something. What is it?"

"I don't know -- it's like the world is holding its breath or something. Magic is building." He takes a couple of steps forward, glancing around.

I look around myself. No one else seems to notice. How? The vibration is making me feel dizzy. No, someone else notices -- Princess Zelda is not too far away, glancing quickly back and forth with a worried look on her face. She feels this, too.

"What kind of magic, Vael?" The sound, the vibration is changing from a hum to a harsher buzz. It's getting stronger. It's getting closer.

"I don't know, but it's nothing good." He looks half sick now.

The magic is still building; it's going to happen soon, whatever it is. I stride over and gently take the princess' arm. "Are you all right?"

"For the moment," she replies, letting me move her back towards the wall.

The windows start rattling, quietly at first, but quickly increasing until the glass is practically ringing in its frames. A few people near the windows finally seem to notice something's happening; they're moving away, moving further into the room. Yet somehow, most of the people still don't notice.

The buzz is ringing in my ears and pounding down from the air and up from the floor, and if I let my mind focus on the sound and vibration too much, the room starts getting darker. This... I've felt this before. I grab the princess and shove her towards the wall, moving to stand between her and the rattling windows --

This is dark magic!

-- and the massive windows on the opposite wall explode inward. Shards of glass fly everywhere; I feel them strike my back and slice at my ears. People are screaming; people are running.

And someone is laughing a loud, cold, maniacal laugh.

"Greetings, people of Hyrule! I truly hope you've enjoyed this evening, as it will be your last! Go, my minions: destroy them all!"

The doors bang open; the sound seems far too loud. There are more screams, then, echoing off the walls and ceiling along with something else: snorting and the movement of many large things and guttural voices... and the telltale signs of a struggle.

We have to get out of here.

"Link, we've got to go!" Vael hisses, grabbing my arm.

"Where? All the doors..." the princess says; she looks terrified.

My mind reels. All the exits are packed right now, even if I don't consider the fact that there are some kind of monsters fighting their way in here! There isn't a quick way out -- wait, the research wing! The cardreader is a barrier to most people, but not to us! We'll leave the same way we came in.

"This way!" I grab them both by the arms and start towards the research wing door, taking care to stay near the wall. I'm trying not to focus on the people who run past us and the panicked looks on their faces. I... I have to get Princess Zelda out of here. The only way to rescue everyone is to kill whatever that man's minions are and probably him as well. And I don't have a weapon, nor am I really in any condition for a fight like that.

All I can do is do what I can. I try to ignore how much that thought hurts. I have to protect the princess; I have to protect her! I round the final corner in the hall to the door -- and immediately dive back around it. There's something there, something big, and it's trying to break down the door! It towers over us; I'm not sure how we could get past it.

"Wh...what is that thing?" Princess Zelda asks, softly, tightening her grip on my arm.

I shouldn't know, but I do. "It's... It's called a Moblin," I say. "It's not very smart, but it's really strong and really tough."

"Do you think we could fight it?" Vael asks.

I shake my head. "One, probably. But where there's one, there's a least a dozen more. Judging by all the screams, probably more than that. I don't think we can handle more than one, really." We don't have weapons, and even Vael is only capable of so many spells before he has to rest. Besides, we have to focus on getting the princess out of here. She's in danger, but her guard is nowhere to be seen; I have to keep her safe.

Footsteps approach from the other direction, and then two guttural voices yell back and forth in a language I don't know, accompanied by loud banging. Damn it; now there're two of them!

"Are they trying to break down the door?" Vael asks, narrowing his eyes. "Why would they want to do that?"

I wish I knew, but I've got a suspicion. "They're looking for something."

"What could they possibly be looking for, Link? There's nothing back there --"

"Except our research." I look over at Vael.

He sucks in a quick breath. "Shit. Well, if we can't fight this out, what do we do? We can't just stay here forever."

All the exits are blocked... on this floor. "We go up."

"Up? Link, what good is that going to do?"

I take a deep breath and shake my head. "I don't know; jump out a window if we have to! Do you have a better idea?"

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "No, no, I don't."

"All right, then. We go up. Come on." I don't wait for an answer; I start down the hallway towards the stairs. The stairwells are locked for the night, but there is the grand staircase on the edge of the great room. They can't lock that.

I lean around a corner and peek into the great room. The room is every bit as chaotic as it was before, only now the Moblins are gleefully smashing open the display cases! One of them shatters a spear as I watch. I flinch. Focus, Link; focus! The great staircase is blocked from view by a giant curtain of lights; the strings of lights are still hanging in neat rows. Good, the second story should be safe -- there's no way a Moblin would pass through something like that and not leave some sign of doing so.

It's not that far to the stairs, but we'll be in view of anything looking this way. There's only one Moblin that is what I would call close, so maybe...

"I don't suppose you know any invisibility magic, Princess?" Vael asks.

She shakes her head. "No, I don't."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

I slide my jacket off and drape it over the princess' shoulders; she looks up at me, worried. We're going to need to distract that Moblin. "Here, your Highness," I say softly. "You'll be a bit harder to see. Get ready, both of you. When I say go, run for the stairs and don't stop running until you get to the top."

She bites her lip but nods. "What of you?"

"I'll catch up." Farore, I hope I can. My pendant seems even heavier now, like a small weight tied around my neck. I take a slow, deep breath to try and calm myself and pick a piece of rubble up off the floor.

"Link," Vael starts, "what are you --?"

"Vael, please. Just do this." I have to distract that Moblin. I have to. This isn't supposed to be happening -- none of this! -- but I can't think about that. The Moblin is walking closer, and now it's turning its back to us...

"Go," I hiss. As they move, I step out into the great room in the opposite direction and whistle a sharp note. The Moblin starts to turn. That's when I hurl the rock in my hand at its head; I strike it in front of one ear. It snorts loudly, and then it charges me, raising a spear that I didn't notice it had before.

I really need to learn to think things through!

I dodge the first thrust, barely. But as I start to dodge the second, my boots slide on the rubble, and I fall onto my back hard. The Moblin laughs and swings his spear downwards.

All I can think to do is try to block, so I kick my feet up and somehow thankfully catch the spear with my feet. It's just as well that I wore my boots tonight! The Moblin growls and pushes down; I grit my teeth and push up. The spear slides off of my boots and slams into the floor next to me, slicing close enough to tear through my shirt and cut a thin, shallow line along the outside of my shoulder.

The Moblin laughs and raises its spear again -- and I kick it square in the snout. It grunts and staggers back, loosening its grip on the spear. I lash out at the spear and send it clattering to the floor, and then I give the Moblin another boot to the face to keep it stunned while I grab the weapon and clamber to my feet.

And then we stare at each other. I've got a weapon now, and it's unarmed, but somehow, I don't feel any safer. The Moblin grins, showing a mouth full of sharp and jagged teeth. I tighten my grip on the spear.

It's probably looking for any sign of weakness, isn't it? I let myself slump down, moving the spear so that it can help support my weight. The Moblin sneers and lunges. Now! I rock my weight to the side and then forward, grabbing the spear and thrusting it upwards and forwards as hard as I can.

The spearhead sinks into the Moblin's chest, black blood pouring out. It grunts and tries to pull itself free. I let go and jump back, because it's trying to grab me! It's not dead; why isn't it dead? It's got a spear in its chest!

But it's still alive, grunting and squealing and it just keeps getting louder! I have to do something before something hears it. I don't have any weapons... just my magic. I really want to save my strength as much as I can, but I don't have a choice -- the Moblin is forcing my hand.

I dodge another swing; it's getting weaker, but not fast enough. It tries to grab me again, but I step around behind it, press my hands against its back, and focus.

"Spark!"

Now it's dead. I flex my hands to try and get the feeling back into them -- not as bad as the one at the Great Palace, but that still hurts -- and head for the stairs, trying to ignore the sickly-sweet smell of fried Moblin.

"Link!" Princess Zelda! Is something wrong upstairs? Was I --?

"Well, well, well," the sinister voice says; it's close. "What do we have here? It seems this boy has some fight in him. Interesting. Why not just give up, boy? Tell me what I want to know, and maybe I'll let you live." Walking out of the chaos across the room is a man in a long, black hooded cloak. I can't see his face, but what I can see of his clothing looks a lot like a suit. Does this mean he's one of the guests at the Gala?

"I'm not telling you anything!" I yell back, tensing. And I'm not. I don't care what he offers me!

"Oh? You would throw your life away so easily?" He chuckles. "Tell me, boy. Where is the Hero's Blade?"

He's after the Hero's Blade? That's why the Moblins are trying to break into the research wing! They're after the Project's notes! But how does he know about this... and how much does he know?

"What makes you think I know?"

He laughs at that. "Boy, I know you. I know what you're good at. And I believe you have some vague idea about where this legendary sword is."

I narrow my eyes and glare. Yeah, I do. It's on my desk at home, you son of a bitch. You'll never find it. You'll never have it! "I don't know what you're talking about!" I snap. "I don't know where that sword is!"

"Oh? That's a shame, Historian. Because if you don't know, you're of no use to me."

Magic gathers again. There's not a chance I can get out of range in time. Nor is there anything to hide behind, and if I run for the stairs, he'll follow me. But I don't stand a chance of withstanding whatever he throws at me, not if he's as strong as he seems to be!

Farore, there has to be something I can do! But, no -- all the magic I know is useless. Not even my spark can help me; he's too far away, and I know he's not going to let me get close.

"And if you're of no use to me," he continues, "then there's no reason for me to let you live." He raises his hands.

A word echoes in my head, over and over, louder and louder. It sounds magical, but what is it? It's not any spell I know. No, it doesn't matter; I have to try something, anything! Even a magic word that randomly appears in my head!

He thrusts his hands towards me -- and I do the same to him, screaming the strange word.

The world explodes into a brilliant flash of white light; the air splits open with a loud, thunderous BOOM that shakes the ground and nearly knocks me over. Glass shatters. An alarm goes off. People and Moblins alike scream. He screams, too.

When the world fades back into focus, he's on his knees on the floor, his hands covering his face. His clothing looks singed, and his hands are covered in burns! There's something else, too, a circular pattern of jagged lines radiating out from me, their presence scorched into the floor and onto the walls.

What did I just do?!

"I want him captured alive!" the hooded man shrieks. "I'll make you beg to die, boy! I'll make you beg!"

I run for the stairs, taking them three at a time. So much for trying to buy us time!

Vael and Princess Zelda are standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at me in shock. "What was that spell?" he gasps.

"I don't know; just run!"

Princess Zelda lets out a small gasp as I grab her arm and start running. "Where are we going, Link?"

"There's a fire escape; maybe it's not blocked!"

Oh, it's blocked all right. A small mob of Moblins is fanning out from the escape, destroying every case... and every weapon they come across.

It's happening. My vision is becoming reality, and there's not a damned thing I can do to stop it! This... this isn't fair!

I reach up and put a hand on my chest, feeling the outline of my pendant through my shirt and the rapid pounding of my heart. I don't know where that spell came from -- did one of the earlier Links know that? Is that why it just popped into my head like that? Never mind; I can figure this out later.

We run in the opposite direction and end up in a long hallway with a large window at the end. Outside is a patch of snow-covered ground, and then the equally snowy sidewalk and parking lot. I stare out. Could we jump and not get hurt? I don't know. I slam a fist against the window, rattling the glass. Even if we get out, where are we going to go? I can see people running across the parking lot and being cut down by the Moblins' spears.

They're dying, and I can't help them. What kind of hero can't save people?

"What do we do now?" Vael asks, his voice soft.

I lean against the window. I just... I feel so defeated. "I don't know. We can break this window, but I'm not sure how we're going to get down... or how we're getting away once we get down."

"You rode your bike, right?"

I nod. "I don't think all three of us can fit on it, Vael."

He makes a soft strangled noise. "That's right. Damn it. If only you had your roommate's truck..."

"There's nothing we can do about it now."

"So..." Princess Zelda says. "What are we going to do?"

Smashing the window won't be hard. I can throw something through it, or Vael can shatter it with a spell. That's the easy part. The hard part is figuring out how to get us down a story without getting hurt. Then again, the snow should help break our falls... but then we'll need to run. Where?

Everyone wants away from the museum, so I think that all of them are heading towards the main streets. Campus, on the other hand, is a lot less open, which means more hiding spots. Yeah, we could run for campus, hide between the buildings or something... find a way to contact the princess' guards and get her somewhere safe.

The building quakes in a burst of magic. I turn around and end up catching the princess as she stumbles toward me. Vael falls against the wall.

"What was that? Is he trying to bring the building down on top of us?" I gasp.

Vael shakes his head. "That magic feels much older than what he used earlier; I don't think it's him!"

"Who else could it be?" No time for this! I help the princess to her feet and turn back to the window; it's cracked but still intact. "Worry about that later! Vael, help me break this window!"

He just nods and whispers a quick word, and a sudden blast of wind shatters the window and sends glass shards flying out into the night. "Done."

"Do you think you can use that wind to cushion our fall?"

"I... might be able to."

Princess Zelda tugs at my sleeve. "Link, something's coming."

"Moblins?" No, not Moblins. This sounds mechanical -- like an engine. There's nothing in here that has an engine; where's it coming from? It's getting closer, getting familiar.

"That's the sound of an Epona..." I say, taking a step towards where another hallway meets this one.

And that's when he rounds the corner and skids to a halt. It's Dark, and he's on my bike! He grins at me as he jumps off.

"Thought you could use some help."

"Thanks... Did you fight your way up here?"

He holds up what looks like an oversized golden coin between two fingers. It's magical, but I don't know what it does. "A few Moblins aren't that much of a problem. I just outran them."

"Meaning they're coming this way!" Vael snaps. "You led them to us!"

"Shut up! I'm here to save your ass, and all you can do is complain? Oh, Link, catch!" Dark tosses the Master Sword to me.

I breathe a sigh of relief. See, madman? I have it! "Thanks." And I buckle the baldric on so the Master Sword hangs behind my left shoulder. I don't think I'm going to be using it, but I have it with me. I know exactly where it is.

"All right," Vael says, irritated. "If you're here to help, how are we getting out of here?"

"Through the window, of course. We'll jump out on the bikes."

Wait, bikes? I turn towards him; he's sitting on his bike. What did he just do, call it up from the shadow of mine or something? Maybe that's how he does it...

"Where'd that come from?"

I shake my head and climb onto my bike, wishing I hadn't left my helmet in Vael's office. "We'll explain later, Vael. For now, let's just get moving. We don't have long. Here, Princess, you can ride with me."

She nods; I help her onto the bike. Several guttural voices echo down the connecting hallway.

"All right!" Dark calls to me as Vael climbs on behind him. "Listen up, Link! I'm going to use some magic to slow them down. The first chance you get, put the pedal down and get out that window. I'm guessing you've got a plan, so I'll follow you. Got it?"

Magic? What kind of magic? "Got it."

Princess Zelda wraps her arms around my waist and buries her face in my back. I don't blame her. I'm scared, too. This is just a jump, I think. This isn't that different from all those times we jumped ramps back at Kakariko Canyon. Never mind that last time I tried a jump I crashed and broke my arm... I've done this before. I can do it again. I nod, more to myself than anything.

"I call upon your power," Dark says softly, holding the coin against his sword and raising both. The Moblins are getting closer; I can hear them.

And then Dark smirks and yells, "Ether!"

A bitterly cold wind swirls out, lashing down the hall and freezing the first few Moblins solid. There's more to the effect, I'm sure, but I take my chance and stomp on the accelerator. My bike speeds forward, towards the window; the princess tightens her grip...

And there's the briefest feeling of weightlessness as we fly out the window.

My bike hits the ground hard and almost falls onto its side; I wrestle with the handlebars and slam one foot onto the snow for stability and only just manage to keep it upright, but I can't keep it from skidding out onto the parking lot. By the time I regain control, I can see Dark nearby, Vael clinging to him for dear life.

Dark nods at me. I nod back. Then I turn my bike towards campus and speed off. A few Moblins try to give chase, but it's the Road of Death all over again; they just can't keep up with an Epona. Thank the Goddesses for that!

Things quiet down quickly once we get onto campus. I find one of the courtyards mostly hidden between buildings and pull into it, parking and turning off my bike. Nothing can hear us; nothing can see us. We can wait here as long as we need to, and there's an emergency phone on a pole nearby we can use to call for help.

Dark pulls up beside me and parks his bike before climbing off and stretching. "That was kinda fun."

"Fun?" Vael snaps. "That wasn't fun! We could have died!"

"We didn't."

"We aren't out of the woods yet, Dark," I reply, helping the princess off my bike. "We're just away from the museum. We still aren't really safe."

"Yeah, yeah. We'll be fine. Anything else comes by, I'll hit him with a blast from this." He twirls the coin between his fingers -- no, this is a different one; it has a different symbol -- letter? sigil? -- engraved into it.

I shake my head. "All right, then. You keep an eye out while we go call for help."

With that, I escort the princess over to the emergency phone, keeping an eye out for anything unusual while she calls to get help. After a couple of tense minutes, she hangs the phone up and nods to me.

"Can I ask one more favor of you, Historian Masters?"

I laugh nervously. "Just call me Link, okay? And sure. What do you need me to do?"

She smiles. "It will be a bit of a wait before someone can get over here to pick us up, but there is a safe house set up near here. I just ask that you either stay with me until the guards arrive or take me there."

"I can take you there if you're willing to get back on my bike."

"Link! Get over here!" Dark yells.

When we get back to the courtyard, Vael is on his knees on the snowy ground, his hands clamped over his ears and his eyes tightly shut. "No, no, no! I'm not! That's not who I am anymore!"

"Vael? Are you all right?" I put a hand on his shoulder -- and I'm shoved back by a strong blast of wind. "Vael, what are you doing?"

He starts laughing, a cold, sinister laugh that sends a chill down my spine. "I don't have to explain myself to you." He stands up, his hair swaying in a breeze that seems to wrap around him. Then he opens his eyes -- his red, red eyes -- and stares at me.

That's... He isn't Vael anymore. He's -- he's -- how is this happening?

The wind swirls violently around him; I move to shield the princess from the flying snow. When the wind calms down to more of a breeze, I turn back towards him. He doesn't look like the same person anymore; he looks evil. And I've seen those eyes before.

"Vaati!" I force out. Why? Where's Vael?

"Ah," he says with a smirk. "So you know who I am? Good, then you know who you are dealing with." He starts walking towards me, those cold red eyes piercing straight through me. "Now, tell me: where is the Four Sword?"

"I don't know!" And I don't; I can dimly remember using it, but I don't know where I put it. And even if I did, after this many centuries, would it even still be there?

He starts walking towards me, sneering. "Oh, you don't? I shouldn't expect you to know. What of you, Princess? You must know: where is the Four Sword?"

"I do not even know what that is," Princess Zelda replies before ducking further behind me.

Vaati narrows his eyes. "You mean to say that the Princess of Hyrule does not know where the Four Sword is? You expect me to believe that?" He stops just out of my reach. "I refuse to believe you know nothing about such a powerful weapon. Now where is it?"

I narrow my eyes. "She says she doesn't know, so stop asking!" Behind him, I can see Dark sneaking in close; what is Dark planning to do, attack him?

Vaati laughs. "I'm going to find it, with or without your help. All you're doing is slowing down my search. And I warn you -- both of you -- that the longer my search takes, the less discretion I will use. So it is in your best interest to tell me now." He raises his hand.

And that's when Dark slams the flat of his sword into the side of Vaati's head. Vaati whirls around, snarling, as Dark jumps back and raises the sword.

"You!"

"Get her out of here, Link!"

I don't want to leave, but... Dark is much better with a sword than I am; I'm only going to be in the way. "This way, Princess."

We don't get far before we hear triumphant laughter, and it isn't Dark. I run back towards the small courtyard, only to see Dark laying on the ground in a crumpled heap, his head bent at an unnatural angle.

"Dark!"

Vaati turns towards me with a sadistic grin on his face. "I thought you were running?" He raises his hand and a blast of wind slams into me and nearly knocks me over. I hear Princess Zelda scream my name.

He keeps laughing as the wind seems to wrap around me; I can't breathe! He's going to kill me! The wind is crushing tighter and tighter against me until it's tearing at my skin. I think I'm bleeding, but I'm not sure where or how badly; I'm too numb. I'm going to die...

The Master Sword is the blade of evil's bane. Can it help me? I reach back with numb fingers and grab the hilt. It takes all the strength I have left to pull it free of the sheath. The sword flashes brightly; Vaati screams. The wind dissipates almost instantly. I suck in a quick breath and fall to one knee, holding the Mater Sword up high as it flares, glowing brilliant blue-white.

And then, Vaati is gone, his screams of pain echoing away between the buildings. I don't know where he went, but I don't care. I scramble over to where Dark lies on the snow, screaming his name.

He isn't breathing. He just lays there, his half-open eyes staring out at nothing, a thin line of blood running from the corner of his mouth. He's... he's dead. He died trying to keep us safe. This is all my fault, isn't it?

I couldn't even save my shadow...

I fall on top of him, clutching the Master Sword to my chest. I'm too dizzy to even sit up now. This has to be some kind of nightmare, right? Some kind of terrible dream. I'm going to wake up, and he's going to laugh at me for being so jumpy. Right?

Right?

This is wrong, I think as the world starts to fade away. Everything about this is wrong...