Chapter Ten
What Happened to Zane and the Shattered Hourglass
"Who wrote this?" Link asked turning the note over in his hand,
"Maybe it was Skyward Link" Zelph suggested
"It was not" Skyward Link called before jumping back out of the sword, "He found Colin in the ring and went to him; if you want to know what's happened or where he is now hold the gem to the ring" He added
Link held the ring and Zelph held the gem up to it and Zane' last moments unfolded before their very eyes.
Zane appeared at the edge of the mine cart track from the desert, once a vast ocean, far below on the Surface.
Zane could see Colin tied to the track and could hear the laughter of his father just behind the bars where the carts were kept,
"I can't believe Colin thought he could stop us, I have his mother already in the hourglass, you can add to it whenever you want, and as for that other dumb Sheika Bathilda, well she deserved that curse from the Great One, not that we want him here, he'll only get in the way, too many people have got in the way lately" Zane had started to cross the track, which was dangerous now as he'd used too much power to get here. Suddenly he was spotted, "Hey! Navi! You're just where I want you both now!"
To Zane' horror a cart started to roll out, slow at first as it was all up hill. Zane actually cried as he climbed, the sound of the cart getting closer and closer and the laughter of Colin' father ringing in his ears,
"Colin...I have to save him!" Zane told himself firmly and onward he faught. On the downward slopes Zane dropped down and used the rails like monkey bars but he was only able to do this because the cart was on it's way back down, having lost momentum half way. Zane pulled himself back up and continued along the track until he reached Colin and started untying him "We've got this"
By now the cart was on a collision course with them.
"I have the Phantom Hourglass" Colin told him, "Did I do well?"
"Yeah!" Zane laughed, but then disaster struck, the cart caught up to them and where as Colin was able to jump in and alter it's direction it knocked Zane, "Colin!" He cried
Zane was then captured by the twilight bird after Colin and dropped into the quicksand below,
"No!" Colin cried
Back into his line of sight came Skyloft as Link dropped the gem and crashed to the ground,
"Link, it wasn't Colin' fault" Zelph said
"I don't blame Colin but we need to get that Phantom Hourglass off him before anyone else gets hurt" Link said,
"We need a Loft Wing" Zelph said
"I need Skyward Link' Loft Wing" Link replied, "He's the only one to have ventured down to the Surface"
Link whistled but instead of Skyward' Loftwing appearing Aeolius did,
"You used that whistle to wake me so that whistle became my command, you can summon me anytime you wish because it's you, do you need me right now?" Aeolius asked
"Yes" Link sobbed
He hugged the Rito and the Rito hugged him back,
"What's wrong?" He asked
"We lost Zane" Link sobbed
"You didn't lose him at all, he just lost his body" Aeolius told Link
Link looked at him,
"Huh?"
"Navi left Shade too for a time you know but then returned to his Grandson in the form of Midna, Skyward Link had Fi, you'll know Zane when you see him" Aeolius told him reasuringly
"We need to follow Colin and stop his father, he has the Phantom Hourglass" Link said
"In that case climb aboard, Zelda, you're father wants you home now" Aeolius told her before leaving her on Skyloft when he and Link warped out using the ability the Great Fairy gave him.
Zelph looked around,
"How would he like me to do that?" Her Loftwing landed beside her, "Can you get me home?" She asked, stroking it
The bird gave an affectionate noise and took off with her as she sat on his back.
Link and Aeolius appeared by the window of a tower with a track leading into it,
Link jumped through the window to where Colin was lying, crying and hugging the Phantom Hourglass,
Meanwhile Aeolius flapped his wings to create a draughed strong enough to frighten Colin' father and a minion, both in a cart, making their way up to Colin.
"Aeolius!" Link cried as his hand went through Colin, "There's a time lapse he's not here"
Aeolius looked back as Colin' father warped out, leaving the minion in the cart to crash into a wall and get flung into the quicksand far below.
Link looked at the ring,
"No, forget their next point, you want the one after"
Link watched a Colin being chased through walls and across canyons in one of several parts of Hyrule he had at present only ventured in a game, that of Link between Worlds. He thought he was the only one with this power but quickly realised that with the key Colin had stolen it would have enabled him to reach all areasd,
It was hard to watch, he could see from the desperation in his face that Colin hadn't wanted any of this, he'd been tricked and was trying so hard to put things right. Link also had the most uneasy feeling that Colin was about to fail spectacularly by not having faith in Link.
Colin was grabbed by the ankle but shook this off and warped out.
"He's on his way to Outet Island!" Link cried
Link climbed onto Aeolius' back and the two warped to Hyrule 3 and Outset Island,
Link used his arrows to distract Colin' parents as they landed on the path leading up to the forest atop of the cliff,
"We're not being quick enough Link, we need to reach Colin' desired destiation before he does so we can retrieve the hourglass" Aeolius said in a panic
"I know, you need to fly me close to Colin" Link said
"How close?"
Colin screamed when Aeolius flew to just an inch above his head, knocking Colin' father off the cliff and into the sea far below,
"Got it Aeolius?" Link asked as his sword started flashing
"Got it and you know what else you've got?" He asked as they warped out, "Zane"
"Fi...she came from the sword itself, he just went back to the sword" Link realised, then he realsied where they were, "Oh Colin you idiot, don't you realise what you've done?"
They were in Termina...the three Godnesses never ventured into Termina, it was a dark alternative,
"Oh no, the glass will surely smash if he...Link we have to stop him!" Aeolius screeched,
"How?!"
At that moment Zelph arrived on her Loftwing,
"I thought I told you, you were to go home" Aeolius said
"Aeolius listen, we can't stop that glass from breaking now but we can save an importan componant"
At that moment Colin arrived,
He tried to run but realised he was stuck in one spot,
As Colin' father arrived, so did the four Gods of Termina,
To Colin, Zelph, Link and Aeolius' horror one of the God' took the Phantom Hourglass, crushed it and sprinkled it's dust into the wind and tossed it's componant miles off,
"Who dares to bring Hyrule' troubles down here!?" They boombed, "Was it the Skull Kid?!"
"No...I, I stole the key to gain entry to the Twilight after dad stole the Phantom Hourglass, he had help but it wasn't from me" Colin said terrified, "I opened the door and Bathilda escaped, she told me my kindness would be repaid, I didn't do it for her...it was the only time dad has ever told me he was proud of me, I was so happy, I couldn't tell him why I was really there. To stop him"
"You will be punished!" The God' yelled
"I think he's been punished enough" Link said calmly, then to Colin he added, "Colin, who did your father have help from?"
"A Garudo woman with the Fierce Diety Mask, she needed mum' help getting the Phantom Hourglass and thought she'd made a friend in my father. She used the power in the Firece Diet' sword to break the seal on the door temporarily...you know the rest" Colin said,
"Here is something you didn't know Colin, he put your mother in that glass" Zelph told him
"What?" Colin said in tears
The four Gods of Termina took pity on Colin now and created a wind and a vortex to blast the dust from the Phantom Hourglass from the place and retrieved the componant Zelph said they'd need,
"As for you" They said to Colin' father, "A new face to match your black heart"
They turned Colin' father into a Twilight Bird and banished him too.
Then just as Link, Zelph, Aeolious and Colin were wondering what to do now they heard a laugh that chilled them to the bone,
"Ganondolf!" Link cried
The End