Chapter Ten
"Now listen," Saria said. Two days had gone by since Link demolished the scarecrow and finally he, Zelda, and Midori were leaving Kokiri to continue their journey of finding the Sages. Saria was trying to talk them out of a plan they had come up with. "Going to close to New Hyrule Castle is a one way ticket to Vidoreh and you are by no means ready to face him." These last words were directed at Link, who shrugged.
Zelda and Midori had made a quick stop the day before to Zora's Domain in Old Hyrule and found that Ruto was in the Lake Bed Temple in New Hyrule. They had gotten two Zora tunics for both Link and Zelda. Midori said she didn't need one because hiding in shadows is an automatic prevention against drowning. Link had then tested his tunic by crouching in the deep part of the stream that ran through Kokiri Forest and waiting for at least half an hour before Mido passed by. The Kokiri was still peeved at the fact that he had not noticed Link in the water until the Hero jumped out at him and scared him so badly that he had nearly fainted while Link collapsed on the ground with laughter.
But they, meaning Zelda, Midori, and Link, had soon come up with a plan. By studying the map and using Link's extensive knowledge of the past taken from his scholarly studies, they found that the Lake Bed Temple was just a jump away from the Hyrule Field next to Castle Town in New Hyrule. Everyone agreed that this would be the best plan to get there faster...except Saria.
"Saria, I've studied the map," Link said now. "There is no other way to go to the lake without getting close to the castle. They're right next to each other!"
Saria huffed. She drew herself up to her tallest height, looked Link in the eye and said, "If you get yourself killed, Hyrule is doomed. Take every precaution, got it?"
Link took a step back. He had never seen Saria so...serious. He nodded, as did the others.
Soon, they were on their way, through Ordon, and Faron woods, leaving the horses at Faron since they would have no need of them until they were on dry ground. They headed across the Hyrule Field, following the path that led straight to another section of Hyrule Field where the shortcut to Lake Hylia was. As they entered the small section, they noticed two people near the entrance to Castle Town. Link stopped dead, recognizing both. Zelda gasped. "Perhaps we should have listened to Saria?" she whispered, then glanced back the way they had come. "We can still make a run for it."
Before they could decide, however, the two people noticed them. Link drew his sword as the familiar translucent barriers came crashing down, blocking their escape.
Kaldari warped away from her master, reappearing in front of them, only to be tackled by Midori, who jumped out of Zelda's shadow. The two Twili scuffled on the ground for a moment until Kaldari, getting the upper hand, blasted Midori with an orb of raw magic, leaving the Twilight Princess sprawled on the ground. Kaldari aimed another orb of magic at Link and Zelda, but Link blocked it with his shield and it dissipated into nothing.
When he lowered his shield, Midori and Kaldari were fighting again. "Run, you fools!" Midori shouted as she blocked off another one of her sister's attempts at getting past her. But Link and Zelda were frozen to the spot...a low hum filled the air. Vidoreh was approaching and the three Triforce pieces – Courage, Wisdom, and Power – were acting as if they were magnets to each other. Link immediately understood. Deep down, an instinct told him that the Triforce longed to be together again, it longed to leave Vidoreh and join together. It considered the tyrant unworthy of holding a third of it, but it had had no choice in the matter of who got Power...the only choice was who got Wisdom and Courage.
Vidoreh stopped in front of Link and Zelda, narrowing his eyes, drawn sword in hand. "So you're the new Hero of Time who threatens my reign," he stated, his voice full of venom. "You're just that fool of a man's son..."
"Don't you DARE insult my father!" Link shouted, raising his sword. Vidoreh merely laughed and shook his head. Clearly he wasn't fazed. But neither was Link. The young hero felt a rage he had never felt before, a rage directed toward the man standing in front of him.
"And, I suppose now that he is dead, that you have taken in his footsteps and become the Protector?" The man laughed a short hollow laugh as Link glared even more darkly at him. "What is there to protect, you foolish child? You, of all people should know that!" He glanced down at Link's glowing hand.
Suddenly, there was a shout coming from the fighting Twili and Kaldari was sent flying full force into Vidoreh. The two lost their balance and fell to the ground. Midori, taking advantage of the distraction, ushered Link and Zelda toward the cliff overhanging Lake Hylia. Link glanced back at the villain. "Look out!" he shouted, shoving Midori to the side. He raised his shield just in time to block Vidoreh's swinging sword. The impact made Link's arm go numb, and a jolt of fear ran through him. The tyrant was powerful and strong. How on earth was he supposed to defeat him when the time came?
Midori, sensing Link's fear, whipped up a force field, separating the two. "Jump," she said, looking at Link and Zelda. "There's no time, just jump."
Zelda and Link went to the edge of the cliff and peered over. "It is much farther than I thought it would be," Zelda said. Link nodded.
There was a large cracking sound. They both turned and found that Midori's shield was being shattered.
With a loud noise like shattering glass the force field was broken. Midori ran towards Link and Zelda and pushed them before jumping over the cliff.
In a matter of seconds, Link had managed to sheath the Master Sword and to pull Zelda closer. They braced themselves for the impact of hitting the water...but it never came. Instead, there was the odd sensation of being warped before they landed hard on the ground. Link opened his eyes to the glaring sun. A sharp wind was blowing and sand fell on his face.
"Are you both okay?" Midori asked, her tall form blocking the sun. Link and Zelda sat up, dazed.
"Where are we?" Zelda asked.
"The Mirror Chamber," Midori replied, glancing away from them. Link followed her gaze. There, in the center of the circular arena, stood a platform with a shiny round mirror projecting strange white patterns onto a black rectangular rock. Link stood, brushing sand off his tunic. He glanced back at Midori, who gave a wistful sigh.
"That's home for you, isn't it?" he asked. Midori nodded.
"I just hope everyone's okay," she said. "Kaldari made a mess before she left and hurt quite a few people."
Link felt a pang of sympathy. Obviously, Midori cared for her people...her tribe. "It must have been tough to leave them," he said.
"Well...that's the thing. My boyfriend, Rodezant, one of the ones who got hurt by my treacherous sister, told me to go and find her. He didn't care how long it would take or even the fact that I would not be able to be there for him. He only wanted me to stop Kaldari before she did something worse." Midori slowly walked over to the platform, looking longingly at the black rock. "Don't get me wrong, it was hard to leave, but I promised I would help...and it turned out that stopping my sister was the way that I could do so."
They were silent. All that could be heard was the shimmering noises coming from the Mirror of Twilight and the whistling of the wind as it blew through. Zelda stood after a moment. "Did not Saria say that the Arbiter's Grounds were below the Mirror Chamber?"
"Yeah, she did," Link replied. "Why?"
"Well...Papa said something about how Impa is supposed to be in the Arbiter's Grounds. So, why not get through with this desert right now instead of waiting to find Ruto and then come back?"
Link nodded. "Perfect," he said. "Only, how do we get into the Arbiter's Grounds?"
"There must be a path somewhere..." Zelda said, looking around. "This way."
She took off at a run, followed by Link. Midori watched them for a moment. "Hey, wait up!" she called, dashing after them.
Zelda had been right: there was a path, and it led straight into a large, dark, circular room. It took them a moment for their eyes to adjust, but once they did, they were able to see much more of the room, which was in the shape of a cylinder. There was a drop down to a sandy strip and then another cylindrical platform rose up, level with the outer circle on which Link, Zelda, and Midori stood. The walls of the outer circle had a set of strange tracks that went nowhere but in a circle. The inner walls on the cylindrical platform spiraled upwards. And in the very center of this room, hovering a few feet above the sandy stone, was the Sage of Shadow Impa.
There was only one way to get across the gorge: a worn stone bridge. "It is...too easy," Zelda stated. "There has got to be something to stop us..."
Link heeded her advice and, drawing his sword and manning his shield, crept out across the bridge.
He was halfway across when there was a deafening screech. A large black sword came out of nowhere and slammed down in front of him, sending bits of rock flying in all directions. Link scrambled backwards to safe ground as the sword swung itself again, barely missing the top of the Hero's head.
"I knew there was something," Zelda said.
Link nodded, staring hard at the sword. It couldn't be wielding itself, could it? The answer came to him. He transformed into his wolf form and stared harder at it, trying to use his senses to see what could be wielding the sword.
And he did see it. It was a large monster garbed in a smoky black robe. Its head and hands were the only things visible. Its fingers looked like gray sticks, and its head was pointed into a gray muzzle. It had two pointed horns and red eyes. It glared and swung its sword. Link jumped at it the second the sword crashed down on the stone. He dug his claws into it and attacked. To his companions, however, they only saw him hanging in midair until the monster decided to reveal itself fully. It flung Link off and became visible before circling them slowly, its head cocked at an awkward angle.
Link backed closer to his friends and waited for the right moment. Just then, the monster lunged, but an opening appeared. Link dashed as well, attacking the monster and clinging to it with his claws. After a few minutes the monster dived into the crevice with Link still holding on tight. Zelda and Midori ran to the edge as a loud shriek filled the air.
The monster was killed, but where was Link?
Zelda spotted him down below, clinging to one of the tracks. He had transformed and was holding on for dear life.
"A little help?" he called, straining to keep his hold. If he fell, he might get hurt.
A second later, Midori warped him back to safe ground. He sighed and rubbed his hands. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
Link stood and, once more, cautiously attempted to cross the bridge. This time, nothing happened so he walked up to the glowing purple orb and reached out with his left hand.
The second he came in contact with the Sage, the orb grew brighter. Link took a step back as the Sage took form.
"I have been waiting for you, young hero," she said. As with Nabooru, Link could see what Impa had looked like, except she glowed with a purple light. "And for you as well Zelda-Aurea and you Princess Midori." Impa's gaze fell on the other two who were on the outer circle. She looked back at Link. "You must hurry. Saria, Darunia, and Nabooru have been sending out constant messages, though I have not been able to respond. All are very urgent. Vidoreh is massing his forces because of what you have been doing to save Hyrule. He will not stop until all three of you are dead."
Link nodded and glanced back at Zelda and Midori.
"Do not be disheartened," Impa said. "Ruto and Rauru will be easy to find. You know where Ruto is, and Rauru is definitely in the Chamber of the Sages in the Sacred Realm."
"We'll find them as fast as we can," Link said.
Impa nodded with the usual briskness of a Sheikah. She focused once more on Zelda and spoke in a language neither Link nor Midori understood. But Zelda did – it was the language of the Sheikah. She smiled softly and nodded with a reply in the same language.
Suddenly, Impa was a glowing orb again. There was a flash of light and the trio found themselves standing on the sandy shore of Lake Hylia. A bright purple light flew overhead in the direction of the Kokiri Forest. Link sighed. Four sages down, two to go...
Author's note: So, how'd you like the chapter? I fugured, since Death Sword - or whatever that creepy thing's name is - turns into bats when you defeat him, he wasn't really dead. Well, now, thanks to this Link right here, he is!
So, no one reviewed the last chapter...so I hope you guys like this one enough to review! No one gets thanked. Is it weird for me to thank the people who review? DO you guys not like it? Tell me! In a review!
Til next time! ~TwiliRupee