AN: Hee hee, sorry about that little cliffie… Couldn't help myself, I usually wrap my chapters up nicely. It was fun… anyway, have a dose of sweet, sweet relief.
Responses:
Spiritual Stone: yeah, Link got a bit vicious there… but in his defense, his friends were put into a pretty harsh situation. Thanks for the review!
ZombieDragon: Again, couldn't help it. It was so tempting… I figured you'd like that chapter, finally some ass kicking. And don't worry about my computer, we got it covered, but again thanks for the offer. And of course, thanks for the review!
Dark Raku: Do you really think I would kill Link? Read on… and thanks for the review.
Anime Wildfire: yeah, that cliffhanger was a bit harsh, so I tried to get this out there quickly so my readers wouldn't form a lynch mob or something… Thanks for the review!
Link watched the blade come down towards his chest with resignation. He was beaten, but at least his job was done. Suddenly someone came flying out of the barn and slammed into the Gerudo, who in turn slammed into the wall of the house. Both figures tumbled to the ground. Link staggered to his feet, and saw Malon on the ground, grappling with the Gerudo who was slowly but surely bringing her scimitar closer to Malon's neck. Link dashed forward, and kicked the Gerudo in the head. He kicked her again, and again, and again, then picked her up and threw her into the wall. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Link collapsed to his knees. He fell on his side, breathing hard. Malon ran over.
"Are you alright?" She asked, worried. Link nodded, sitting up.
"I'll be right back." She said, dashing into the house. She came back out a few minutes later with a bottle of Lon-Lon Milk, and handed it to Link. He took it gratefully, and drained it all in one go. He felt some of his energy return to him, and got to his feet, scooping up and sheathing his sword.
"I knew you would come, Link." Malon said.
Link smiled, and began to walk to where he had seen Talon and Ingo run. He saw they had managed to kill the Gerudos, although Ingo was bleeding quite a bit from a nasty wound on his head and Talon was limping slightly.
"Pretty good timing, son!" Talon shouted, jovial as ever despite the limp.
Ingo didn't say much, but he shook Link's hand briefly. Link looked out at all the bodies, sighing. Hyrule was crumbling. He saw that now. They were on the verge of civil war, Jarmania was pressuring them from the outside, and his dream showed ill omens. All the while, they were unassisted by the goddesses because their temples were controlled by evil, and Link couldn't even find the temples never mind free them.
They cremated the bodies. A giant fire outside the ranch, every Gerudo burned. Link took off his hat, and bowed in respect. He stared into the fire, and he felt his mind drift. He saw a shape in the fire, a map, showing him someplace in the ocean. He felt himself pull out his map of Hyrule and mark it down, but he didn't seem to be doing it consciously…
"Link! Link, wake up!"
He awoke with a start. He was on the ground, and Malon was standing over him. The fire had burned down to almost nothing.
"What happened?" Link asked, getting up.
"I don't know! You just collapsed suddenly. Are you feeling OK?" Malon asked, concerned.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I have to get going." Link said.
"Already? But you hardly ever visit anymore!" Malon protested.
"I've been busy. And this is really important. Say good bye to your dad for me." Link said, calling Epona.
"Well… alright Link. Thank you so much. For everything." Malon said.
Link nodded, hopping on Epona. He rode off, twisting around to wave. He knew that the goddesses had helped him again, showing him Nayru's Temple. It was on an island out in the ocean that borders on eastern Hyrule. That was where that waterfall over Zora's Domain gets fed from.
He stopped at Kakiriko first, to stock up. He filled his quiver with ninety arrows, and bought a green potion and a red potion. He visited a Great Fairy's fountain and filled his other two bottles with fairies, as well as have his magic restored. The little fairies could heal him as long as he didn't die instantly from anything. So beheadings were out. He bought a few more bombs and three bombchus to replace the ones he had used. Overall, he spent about three hundred rupees, but money had never been an issue. It was all over for people to find, if you explored often.
He rode Epona along Hyrule River towards Zora's Domain. He dismounted, and trekked along the riverbank until he saw Zora's Domain. Instead of entering the waterfall, He began to climb the rocky face beside it. Hyrule was actually below sea level, sunken into the ground a bit. He reached the top, and ended up on the sandy beach, with the entire ocean out ahead of him. He had only been here once before, simple so he could have seen every part of Hyrule.
He strode along the beach towards the ocean. Using his map, he found a spot of land fairly close to this island he had to find. It was out a ways, and most people would be worried about being lost. But Link was going to use the Zora Mask, and Zoras never got lost at sea. They could sense every vibration in the water, the subtle shifts in the current, and finding shore would be no problem.
He slipped on the mask, feeling the Zora's friendly presence. He knew he wouldn't be able to breathe in the salt water, but Zoras could hold their breath for half an hour, with no trouble. HE dove in the water, feeling that weightlessness that must be like flight. He flipped, and took off, gliding through the water as if it wasn't there. The Zora's mask was his favourite by far. Rolling around as a Goron was all well and good, but you couldn't beat this kind of swimming.
He swam by some fish, which were not at all afraid of him. For the fun of it, he jumped out of the water, feeling his stomach drop, and plunged back into the calm coolness of the water. He stopped a little bit in, surfacing and checking his waterproof map. He dove back down, and continued on. About a half an hour in, he felt slight shifts in the current that suggested land. He shifted to the left, feeling the water propelling him towards the island. He leapt out of the water, and landed in the shallow stuff, rolling to his feet.
It was a fairly big island, empty except for a few trees. It was probably about a kilometer around. It seemed to be the right island, although out at sea with few landmarks it could be hard to tell. Only one way to be sure. He pulled out his Ocarina, and set the stone tablet down on the ground. He began to play, a slow, haunting tune that was very similar to Zelda's Lullaby. There were a few variations, but it had the same sort of tune.
As soon as the last note rang out into space, the island rumbled. A blue, glowing sphere appeared in the middle of the island. It suddenly shot out beams of blue, the intercrossed, arcing up above and branching out. It formed a blue spider web shape floating in the air. Link approached it, and the strings of glowing blue expanded to create a solid looking portal. He threw a rock into it, and the portal flashed brightly for a second, and the rock vanished.
Deciding to leave his fate in the hands of Nayru, he leapt through the portal, and vanished from the world of light.
He appeared in a place that was vastly different, yet the same. He was on an island the exact same shape, but this time it was not empty. There was a giant Temple occupying most of it. Broken statues of Nayru lay scattered around. The temple itself looked to be in good shape.
That wasn't the only difference. The sky was a bright yellow colour, both chilling and beautiful. The ocean reflected that, creating a very surreal environment.
A line from an ancient Hylian myth came to mind. In a land beyond sight, the sky shines gold, not blue. He knew where he was right then, and the glowing on his left hand confirmed it. He was in the former land of the Triforce, the Sacred Realm. The goddesses had sent the temples here to protect the world of light from their evil influence. Instead of bringing the temple to Link, they had brought Link to the temple.
Suddenly a creature ran out of the temple with amazing speed. It looked like some kind of lizalfos, but so dark a green that it appeared black. It was unarmed, and leapt at Link, claws outstretched. Link raised his shield, and it grabbed hold. Before it bowled him over, Link thrust his shield arm up, fling the creature behind him. He spun and jumped into the air, coming down at it with his sword aiming down. He stabbed it in the chest, and back flipped off.
He turned back to the temple. That hadn't been an ordinary lizalfos. It was faster, and he could feel the strength in its arms as it had grabbed hold of his shield. If he hadn't acted so quickly…
Without giving it more thought, he entered the temple. He was in the main hall, full of more broken statues, and several skeletons. Humans and Lizalfos. He began to walk forward looking around to admire the intricate, although often broken, columns. There was a sudden roar, and Link whipped his head back to face the front. Another dark coloured lizalfos was charging out of the main hall and headed for him, this one a very dark purple. Link crouched into a fighting stance. The lizalfo pounced, and Link ducked suddenly. He plunged his sword up and skewered the lizalfos stomach. It screamed in agony, and its momentum kept it moving, flying off of Link's sword and onto the ground behind Link, twitching.
Link continued walking, and entered the main hall. This one was full of mirrors, giant ones as big as him. It was also chock full of those dark coloured lizalfos, greens, purples and blues. Some were sleeping, some were pacing, and Link saw some feeding off of another lizalfos, while it was alive. They all stopped at once, and looked at him. A door slammed shut behind him, and laughter rang out through the room, a very familiar laugh… and he realized the danger of being in the sacred realm. Before he could give it much thought, several lizalfos charged at him.
He used Din's fire, igniting several of them and fending off more. One dropped down from above, and he rolled forward to avoid it. He rose with a spin attack, cleaving more. More were circling around him, sizing him up. He drew his bow, and put an arrow right between the eyes of one of them. The rest, enraged, charged. He put on Nayru's Love, and they slammed into him, knocking him down but leaving him unharmed. He got to his feet, bow still drawn. He dropped one, two, and three before they knocked him down again. This time he got his sword ready. One charged and he countered by thrusting his sword forwards, piercing its neck and spilling its blue blood. He spun, slashing diagonally down another's chest. Without turning, he twirled his sword and stabbed backwards, through another's gut. His diamond of protection began to fade as he was knocked down again. It vanished as he got up.
He jumped to the side and rolled around behind another lizalfos, jumping into the air with a spin attack. It left several gashes along its back, and it fell to the ground. He landed, and smacked another with his shield, following it up with a stab.
Pretty soon he had killed them all, although by the end he was panting. They were quick and strong. He then turned his attention to the locked door, as the ancient Hylians had. It was pretty obvious to him, it happened all the time in the sage's temples. He had to solve a puzzle to open it. There was a sun pattern above the door, which he knew he had to shine strong light onto. There was a single beam of light shining down through the roof. He examined each mirror. They were all on a square base and in a track. They could be moved along the track, but they couldn't be turned.
He set to work, finding a position for each mirror. The sun was reflected from mirror to mirror, and after some trial and error he was able to make the light beam close. It actually faced the opposite way then the sun symbol, but that was ok. He pulled out his mirror shield, and set that up, carefully aiming the light. A familiar chime rang out, and the door opened. Suddenly a soft, female voice rang out, saying "You have proven your wisdom… your final challenge is down the stairs, hero."
Link stepped through the door. It was a small room, with a spiral staircase leading down. He walked down the stairs and into a giant room, bigger than the rest of the temple. The walls and floor were all light brown. There was a large statue of Nayru in the middle, holding her arms out over a decorative altar. Link stepped towards it, and suddenly the stairs behind him smoothed out, becoming a slippery slide that he could not climb up. A shadow descended, covering the altar in a shifting black veil that appeared to be both liquid and gaseous.
A roar sounded, and the shadow began to grow. It took form as well, growing legs. It grew and grew, filling most of the chamber. Legs sprouted, and it resembled a giant spider. A single, large eye opened up, red with a catlike slit for a pupil. A mouth opened and it roared, shaking the chamber and making Link wince.
"You would challenge Gohma's shadow?" The same voice that had laughed roared from everywhere and nowhere. Link knew the voice. Ganondorf. He had been safely tucked away in the sacred realm where he could cause no harm… except that that was where Link was now.
AN: Heh heh, sorry about that. Little cliffhanger, but nothing as bad as last time right? I still haven't planned the fight, and this chapter was getting to my usual length, so I decided to wrap it up. Please review!