-1Hey! I'm back with another chapter.

A Hero's Creed

Chapter Ten: Decisions

Ike left the castle grounds. His eyes were filled with fury. With each step he took, his heart felt heavy. He wouldn't have cared much about what people thought of him…but when it was someone he knew and cared about, it was very heartbreaking. What really got to him was the fact that he thought she loved him or even cared a tiny bit about him. She never cared about me, he thought. I guess it was all part of the services. Everything…was part of the service.

Before Ike left the Hyrule Castle Town Market, he purchased a view vitals that he would need on his trip back with the rupies he had in pocket. Just before he finished purchasing vitals, he noticed the bottles of Lon Lon Milk. Upon seeing the milk, he remembered Malon. I have to at least say good bye to her, he thought. Ike walked out from the town and towards the ranch.

Once he reached the ranch, he smiled a bit. He remembered the last time he came to Malon's ranch. It was about two weeks ago. The place was made on a large hill. The yellow house was built on the side of the hill. Across from the house was the stables where horses and cows resided. Outside, under the tree were a flock of chickens which ran around freely. Ike was quite tempted to take one with him the first time he came to the ranch, but had to restrain himself from doing so.

The blue haired mercenary entered the stable in hopes of finding Malon. Luckily for him, the red headed ranch girl was busy cleaning the stables. She turned around to see Ike. Malon smiled widely as she placed the pitchfork down. "Ike!" she let out. "Good to see you! I didn't know you were coming to visit! Its so nice of you to come!"

"Nice to see you too, Malon," Ike replied. "I actually came here to say something to you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I came to say good bye to you."

"Good bye?" Malon repeated. Her smile slowly faded. "What do you mean?"

"I'm…leaving Hyrule now. I'm going home to Crimea."

"Wh-why? Why are you leaving?"

"I was only going to stay here for about a year. Now that my training is done, there is no need for me to stay here. I need to go home and report all this to my father. Besides…the princess does not require my services anymore."

"She fired you?" Malon asked in a shocking voice. "But…I thought the both of you were really good friends."

"I thought so too…" Ike replied as he looked away. Even though he was looking at the horse next to him, Malon knew that his mind was elsewhere."

"What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"Let's just say…I saw a side of Zelda I didn't think was possible. I guess one doesn't know someone until their true colors show. Anyway…Zelda's to marry some prince in a far off kingdom and he'll help her with her Ganondorf problems. Everyone was right…I have no business here. I'm not a native of this land nor do I have any Hylian blood in me. All my family is back home along with all my friends."

"That's…so sad…I didn't know any of this."

"It's alright…besides, I need to go home. If I am to take over my father's mercenary group one day, I have to go back home. Now I can finally do missions with him. I'm not a boy anymore!"

"Um…before you go," Malon said. "I have a gift for you. I was kinda hoping to give this to you on your birthday…but since you're leaving I guess I should give it to you anyway. Let me get it from the house! Wait here!"

Malon quickly ran out from the stables and into her house. She was careful not to step on the chickens that were inside of the house and dashed up the stairs into her bedroom. She searched through her end table and found a golden trinket. She quickly ran out from her house and back to the stables. She leaned over and let out a slight huff. She extended her hand to Ike and dropped the golden trinket into his hand. "I wanted you to have this," she said. "This is my lucky charm. I've had it ever since I was very little. It has always brought me a lot of luck. I want you to have it…as a symbol of luck for your future as the head of a mercenary group."

"Malon…" Ike said as he examined the small trinket. It had the face of a dragon on it and was very detailed. "You don't have to give me something."

"I wanted you to have it. Please take it…so you'll have something to remember me by."

Ike placed the golden trinket into his pocket and smiled as he pulled out a goddess icon. He gave it to the ranch girl. "I want you to have this. I found it on the way over here," Ike said. "It was the first thing I found when I left my home. It brought me some luck. This should be something you should have."

Malon took the small statue from Ike and smiled. "Will you come back one day?" she asked innocently.

Ike looked away from the red head. He didn't know what to tell her. Part of him wanted to come back to see his friends, but the other part of him wanted to avoid the object of his heartbreak. He let out a sigh before he smiled serenely at his companion. "I'll come back and visit at least you one day," he replied. "I'll be sure to one day come back and see you."

Malon giggled as she hugged Ike tightly. "I'm sorry…" she replied. "If she hurt your feelings."

"Don't apologize," he replied. "You did nothing wrong."

"If its any consolation prize, I really thought you two were cute together. I had never seen the princess smile…until you came. It wasn't often you got to see the princess laugh, even during the festivities. She hardly left the castle, and she hardly spoke with anyone. When I first saw you…you were so rough around the edges. Now…it seems like you're a bit softer. I thought you two really did help each other."

"I thought that too…" Ike walked towards the door of the stable. "Anyway, thanks for being my first friend when I arrived at Hyrule. You're a wonderful person."

"Thanks. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Take care of yourself….good bye, Malon."

"Good bye, Ike…and good luck."

Ike left the ranch and walked out to the southeast, where the road will lead him to Tellius. The blue haired mercenary looked at the sky and noticed that it was now the afternoon. "If I hurry, I'll reach the edge of the forest before night," he said to himself. "Which is good since I don't like walking through the Lost Woods. The Kokiri Forest is alright…even though those children are a bit rude."

"It seems heading to the forest is the last of your worries," spoke a deep voice.

Ike stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around to face the Black Knight. The dark armored man had an enormous sword in hand. He chuckled deeply through his helmet as he pointed the blade at Ike. "You are very troublesome," he said in a deep voice. "You are going to see Greil…aren't you? Then I will come with you. If you defy me…I will kill you where you stand."

"I rather fight than take you to my father!" Ike shouted as he pulled out the Regal Sword. "I don't know what you want to with me…but I know it can't be good."

"Very well…if death is what you wish…then I shall bring it. I'll just take your head to your father as a gift."

The light afternoon sky began to darken. Ike looked at the sky as dark clouds were moving overhead. Tiny drops of water fell upon his heated skin as he gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. He glared at the Black Knight as he charged at full speed.

Through the entire afternoon, Zelda had been busy dressing herself into her bridal dress. The snowy white gown was puffy below her strapped waist. Her back was shown from her spaghetti strap dress. On her hands were long white gloves which reached beyond her elbows. She situated a silver tiara on her forehead which had the veil connected to it. She covered her face with the veil to hide not only her being a bride, but her sorrow.

Impa came into her room. The Sheikah nanny approached the princess and placed her hands on her bare shoulders. Upon doing so, Zelda turned her head over to Impa and began to cry. Impa caressed her head as she allowed the princess to cry on her shoulder. "There, there," Impa said. "You need to calm down. A beautiful bride should not be so sorrowful."

"I may be a beautiful bride…" Zelda whimpered, "but I will not be happy…"

"Zelda…I have known you ever since you were a baby. I've watched both you and Sheik grow up together. You are almost like a second child to me. I know this will be hard…but it is for your kingdom. I knew that you were in love with that young man…but…when you think about it…what would you have done?"

Zelda sniffed a bit. "For the sake of the kingdom…" Zelda said, "he was to remain as my guard…just…my guard. What upset me the most…is that I told him all those lies. I hurt his feelings because father wanted me to. Now…he hates me. I don't know what to do…he's never going to come back, is he? Because of me…" Tears began to reform in the princess' blue eyes. "I'd give anything just to apologize…to tell him that all of that was a ruse."

Before Impa could reply to that, a messenger approached the doorway. "I'm sorry," the messenger said. "The coach is waiting for the princess. I trust that you are ready."

"We'll be ready in a bit," Impa replied.

"Very well! The king would like to see you before you leave." The messenger left the women.

Impa hugged Zelda tightly one more time. "Don't cry," she said softly. Impa closed her eyes as she slowly hummed Zelda's lullaby to calm her down. The lullaby managed to stop the princess from crying as she slowly started to calm down. Once Zelda had stopped shaking, Impa pulled the princess away. "I know that you are a strong woman you can do anything. You have a choice…I know you'll make the right one."

"Thank you…Impa," Zelda replied.

"No problem…darling child."

Zelda hugged Impa once more before the two of them left Zelda's room and walked over to the castle gate. While Zelda had been preparing to leave, Sheik sat down on the ground of the courtyard in a furious manner. "This sucks!" she said. "First Ike leaves and now Zelda! What's going on?!"

"Zelda is leaving because she's to marry some guy," Lyn said. "As for Ike…I don't know. I saw him this morning. He was smiling and was off to see Zelda. After they spoke, I never saw him after that."

"Oh! I don't know why Zelda has to marry some prince! Why would Ike leave? Because Zelda's gone? Is that why?"

"Maybe…this is just me…maybe he was in love with her and couldn't bare the thought of having her leave so he decided to leave instead. Usually people of complete different races are forbidden romances. My parents had that. My father was a Sacean warrior…as for my mother…she was a Lycian noble."

"Wait!" Sheik said. "You're a noble?"

"You could say…I'm a princess…twice fold. I'm the daughter of the Lorca chieftain and the daughter of a duchess. Both are from completely different worlds. Mother was quite awkward living in the plains, but she adjusted. However…I can tell a lot of Saceans were uneasy about having a half breed like me lead…especially since I am a woman. Besides the point…I was just saying…perhaps Ike felt uneasy."

"That's not fair! Ike was definitely infatuated with Zelda and so it worked the other way as well. I don't see why they couldn't…Zelda was so happy! I've always been around Zelda. You could say we are like sisters. Never did I see her so bright and happy until Ike came into her life. I have to admit…I didn't think much of him…but now…I could tell he would do anything for her…even if money wasn't involved. Its not fair to take away her happiness from her! She deserves to be happy."

"What can you do?" Lucario asked. "Human laws prevent such happiness from coming to her. If its for the good of the nation, then she must abide by those rules. She is, after all, a princess and needs to think of her people first than anyone else."

"I…I know…but….its still unfair."

"Life is unfair," Lucario said. "Everyone has to deal with that fact no matter what. So what can you do except just grin and bare it."

Sheik remained quiet. Her anger was really rising up. She didn't want to explode in front of everyone, but it was getting really hard not to.

Pit looked up at the sky. He noticed that dark clouds were forming up ahead. "Looks like its going to rain," he said softly. "Pit should go with Princess Zelda. Pit has to make sure that she's okay."

"Yeah…" Sheik replied. "I think at least one of us has to go. I really want to go with her…just to make sure that she's okay."

"I am not too sure about that," Impa said as she walked into the courtyard. "For some strange reason, the guards told me not to follow Zelda to the carriage. I don't know why…"

"What do you think that is?" Sheik asked.

"I don't know…but I don't like it. Pit," Impa said as she looked at the tiny angel. "We need you to watch over the princess. You need to hover as high above as you can. Hide within the clouds so you can follow them without being detected."

"Pit understand," Pit replied as he took for the skies. "Something is wrong…"

"Sheik," Impa said, "I need you to stick to the carriage on the ground. If you can keep an eye on the princess…everything will be fine."

"Got it!" Sheik responded as she disappeared.

"As for us," Impa said as she turned her attention to Lyn and Lucario, "we're going to split up. I'm going off to Ganondorf's fortress. Something very suspicious is going on over there and I need to figure out what. Lucario…Lyn, I need both of you to look for Ike. I…we all need him."

"What if he doesn't want to come back?" Lyn asked.

"I'm sure you two can think of something. We need him back. Something tells me that the princess might be in danger and we'll need him."

"Gotcha! We'll search all over for him!" Lyn said. "Let's go, Lucario."

Lucario replied with a grunt before he took a hold of Lyn's waist and closed his eyes. Lucario used Foresight to slow down time tremendously and run on the roof and out of the castle grounds. During that time, Zelda had been walking down the dark hallways in her wedding gown. Zelda tried not to show any signs of emotion as she walked towards her destiny. "It was bound to happen," Zelda said to herself. "It was all bound to happen."

Just then, the princess saw the king standing by the castle gate. He walked over to the princess and hugged her tightly. "My dearest Zelda," he said in a soft tone. "…run away! It's a trap."

"What?" Zelda replied.

"Listen to me…once you get on the carriage…they are going to take you to Ganondorf's fortress. They told me to make you chase away Ike so that the Black Knight could kill him."

"No…" Zelda shuddered. "Ike…"

"Listen dearest, as soon as they are the edge of the Gerudo Desert, escape! I'm pretty sure your guardians will be there for you. Someone very spiteful is in that carriage right now…so be careful."

"I…understand….thank you, Father," Zelda replied as she hugged her father tightly. "Don't worry about me, Father. I can escape without any help."

Zelda and the king hugged once more before they released each other. Zelda walked down the hallway with a new look on her face. Outside, a small carriage had been waiting for her. The footman opened the carriage door and allowed the princess to climb in. Inside the carriage was a hooded figure in front of her. Once the door closed, Zelda glared at the hooded figure and started to strangle him when the carriage moved. The hooded figure managed to push Zelda off from him as he coughed violently.

"You monster!" Zelda shouted.

"Easy," Link replied as he took off his hood. "I'm here to help you."

"Save your breath! I won't listen to your lies anymore!"

"This isn't a lie! Everything I've done was for you! I left Hyrule so I can infiltrate Ganondorf's lair. I didn't tell you because I know you'd follow me."

"I…" Zelda stopped for a moment. He was right on the fact. If she knew, she would have wanted to follow him. "You should have told me something instead of keeping this to yourself for a year."

"I would have told you earlier if you let me take you to Ganondorf."

"Why?"

"Reason being…so he could trust me. He wasn't going to do anything to you for a while…so I would have had total access to the entire fortress. Then once I freed the angels and found out what he was truly up to, I would have rescued you and brought you back to the castle. Then I would have gone back and fought him. It took me months to get into the rank I'm in right now."

"I…I didn't know."

"Yeah…" Link replied. "That's what I was planning to do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you any sooner."

"You…you're not lying to me. You are being sincere."

"Of course, princess…I'd never lie to you. But you…replaced me…with him."

"Ike?" Zelda said.

"Yes…Ike. It seems that everyone replaced me with him. Sheik, Malon, Impa…even you. You replaced me with him…in both my job and your heart."

"That's not true! I'd never replace you. Link…I…"

"That's alright…" Link replied as he looked away. "I can see that he is important to you. I can tell that both of you are infatuated with the other. I guess I got replaced that way as well."

"Link…"

"Anyway…what do you plan to do, princess?" Link asked as he crossed his arm.

Zelda bit her lip. She had two options at the moment. She could be taken hostage by Link and brought to Ganondorf's lair. Or she could do what her father told her and run away as soon as she entered the edge of the desert. Either way, Link was the biggest obstacle in the whole equation. She didn't know if she should trust Link's word or not.

The princess looked out the window and noticed the heavy rain that was pouring down. The scenery around her was changing slightly. She was running out of time. The blond woman bit her lip slightly as she tried to think of a conclusion. From the corner of her blue eyes, she could see the edge of the desert. The carriage neared the desert every second that passed.

Zelda hand her hand on the handle of the carriage while Link had his hand behind his back. Zelda didn't doubt that it was on his sword handle. The carriage touched the edge of the desert and Zelda slowly placed her hand on her lap. "So…what do you want me to do?" Zelda asked softly while Link let out a soft smile.

Ike let out a grunt as he clutched his chest. He looked at his hand and saw the blood on his hands. Ike spat the blood from his mouth as he grasped the Regal Blade with both hands and shouted as he ran towards the Black Knight. The Black Knight chuckled lightly as he parried all of Ike's blows. The knight managed to slash at Ike's side, cutting him deeply. The blue haired mercenary shouted as he dropped to the ground.

Ike touched his side and groaned as he coughed out even more blood. The rain started to pour heavily on both warriors. The rain managed to wash away some of Ike's blood. However, Ike was still covered in blood and was now drenched in rainwater and mud. The Black Knight let out a sigh as he walked over to Ike. "You really aren't much of a challenge to me, boy," the Black Knight said as he raised his sword over his head. "Its such a pity that the son of Greil can't live up to his father's name. No matter…I'll be sure your father will get the message soon. After I'm through with you, I'll take care of your precious family. Starting with your dear sister."

Ike's eyes widen as he heard those words come from the Black Knight's mouth. In one swift movement, Ike moved the Regal Sword in front of him and blocked the Black Knight's attack. Ike used all of his might to stand up from the ground. He snarled through his teeth. "You…will NOT touch Mist!" Ike shouted as he started move forward. "I swear I will never let you do anything to them! They are my dearest friends and I rather die than let someone like you hurt them!"

"That can be arranged," the Black Knight said as he pulled his sword away. He moved his blade away from Ike. He smirked underneath his helmet as he stabbed Ike through his gut. Ike gasp as his body felt weak. Blood trailed down from the tip of the blade to the grass below. Ike glared at the Black Knight before he swung his sword at the knight. Upon the blade making contact against the black armor, the sword reverted from the armor and fell out of Ike's hand. The Black Knight kicked Ike from his sword. The blue haired mercenary fell on the ground as he looked up at the sky. His eyes were beginning to lose sight. He was beginning to lose all sense from his body. I'm sorry…everyone, he thought. Father…Mist…Soren…

As Ike was slowly closing his eyes, he heard a faint voice. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. A strange light appeared through his eyes. He saw the figure of a young woman with lovely violet locks of hair. Her soft violet colored eyes shined softly as she smiled sweetly at the mercenary. "Ike…" she said softly. "My…how you've grown. It amazes me how strong you are. Ike…be strong. Ike…Ike…"

"…Ike!" came another female voice.

Ike slowly opened his eyes. Ike was outside in the rain. Hovering above him was Lyn. The green haired maiden had tears falling down from her eyes. "Ike! You're alive!" Lyn shouted. "Oh! Thank Mother Earth and Father Sky! Lucario! He's alive!"

Lucario snarled as he avoided the Black Knight's attacks. He looked over at Lyn for a moment. "Lyn!" Lucario shouted. "Pick up Ike and let's go! We can't stay here long!"

"You're the beast that escaped the fortress," The Black Knight said. "I can't let you leave…not as long as you have those three Angelus Crystals with you."

Lucario merely snarled as he jumped back from the Black Knight. He landed near Lyn and Ike. "Grab onto me, Lyn and hold onto Ike," Lucario said. "I'm going to take us to safety!" Lyn grabbed Ike, then she took a hold of Lucario's arm. Lucario did another Foresight, then bolted away from the Black Knight. The fighting Pokemon didn't stop running until he reached Kakariko Village. "He wouldn't suspect us coming here," he said softly.

"Ike!" Lyn shouted as she shook Ike. "He's heavily wounded…and he's fading away. He…can't die. Ike…please answer me!"

Ike let out a soft breath before he closed his eyes and slowly felt limp. Lucario narrowed his eyes before he placed a paw on Ike's wound. "Lyn! Step back!" Lucario shouted as he gathered energy. "I'm going to transfer some of my aura to him. It will keep him alive, but he will need medicine. Go get some from the medicine woman!"

"Got it!" Lyn said as she ran off towards the potion shop.

Meanwhile, Lucario let out a growl as blue aura appeared from his paw. The blue aura soon completely surrounded Ike. Lucario grunt as he continued to transfer aura to Ike. Minutes seemed like hours and Ike had not moved an inch since he was on the ground. Lyn returned with a blue potion in hand. She knelt down next to Ike and watched with a heavy heart as Lucario tried his best to resurrect Ike. "It's…is it not working?" Lucario asked. "Am I…too late?"

"No…" Lyn whimpered.

Pit followed the carriage as he flew through the clouds. The angel was careful to avoid the thunder and lighting that was emitted from the clouds. He had to make sure that he did not lose the carriage. He let out a gasp as he saw where the carriage was heading for. "It's going for the Gerudo Desert," he said. "Oh…Zelda is in trouble!" Pit looked down at the carriage and noticed that Sheik was holding onto the carriage's backside.

Pit skydived through the air and swooped close by to where Sheik is. "Sheik…" he whispered softly. "The carriage is going to the desert."

"I figured that," Sheik replied. "The thing is…why hasn't the princess done anything by now?"

"What do we do?"

"…I'm sure that Auntie Impa should be heading over to the fortress soon. I'll go and meet up with her. I need you to go find Ike! Find Ike and the others and tell them that we need help."

"Will you be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine! I can take care of myself! Zelda will need all the support she can handle at the moment. Go now before someone sees you!"

"Got it!" Pit nodded before he took off to the skies once more. Unaware that Pit had been spotted by a Gerudo guard. The woman snarled as she took out a bow and arrow and aimed at the angel. She smirked as she released the arrow. The arrow flew through the air and managed to hit Pit. The tiny angel fell from the sky. Sheik let out a yell which alarmed Zelda, Link, and the driver. Sheik quickly covered her mouth as she tried to calm down.

Pit winced as landed on the ground. He slowly got up and began to whimper. The arrow was now stuck on his right leg. "Oww…" Pit whimpered. "That hurt!" Tears were threatening to come down from his eyes. He shook off the pain and continued to fly. "Pit needs to find Ike…only Ike can save Zelda! But…where is Ike? Oh! Pit can't go on…unless Pit finds Great Fairy fountain. Only the Great Fairy can heal Pit's wounds. Hmm…Pit thinks that there might be a fairy fountain in the graveyard." Pit began to fly over into the direction of Kakariko Village.

Lucario hissed through his fangs as he continued to channel aura through his paws. Ike managed to stir a bit as he opened his eyes. Lyn smiled as she wiped a tear away from her face. "Oh Ike!" Lyn squealed. "I'm so glad that you're alive! I thought you were gone for sure."

"Ugh…I feel terrible," Ike groaned. "Lyn…Lucario…you saved me?"

"Yeah…I'm glad you're okay."

Ike grunted as he tried to sit up. Lyn tried to keep him on the ground, but Ike refused. Lucario stopped transferring aura. The fighting Pokemon let out a sigh and wheeze as he fell on the ground, exhausted over the entire aura transfer. "I…" Lucario let out. "I need to rest…"

"Take a rest, Lucario," Lyn said. "You deserve it. Now Ike…I need you to drink this potion! It will rejuvenate you!"

"Thanks…Lyn," Ike replied as he took the blue potion from Lyn and drank it as fast as he could. "I can't thank you guys enough for going through all this trouble to save me."

"Think nothing of it. You could have done the same for us. Anyway…where were you going in such a hurry?"

Ike looked away from Lyn. His smile vanished and a scowl appeared on his face. "It was nothing," Ike replied. "I had to leave for home. I'm needed there."

"What about us?" Lyn asked. "Zelda still needs you."

"No she doesn't. She told me that directly at me…she doesn't need my services any longer. She's going to marry some prince and his kingdom will take care of the entire problem."

"Ike!" Pit shouted as he flew over to the trio. "Ike! Pit's so glad to see you right now."

"Pit, what happened to you?!" Lyn shouted as she saw the arrow sticking out from Pit's leg.

"Pit got hurt!" Pit cried. "Mean desert lady shot Pit with arrow."

"I'll get it out!" Lyn said as she placed Pit down on the ground. "On the count of three…I'll pull it out."

"Wait!" Pit shouted. "First Pit needs to deliver a message to Ike. Ike…Zelda is in trouble! She is being taken to Ganondorf's lair. It was all a set up to take her there. We have to go save her! Come on, Ike!" Pit took a hold of Ike's hand and tugged on it. Ike didn't even bother to budge.

"I'm not going…" Ike replied.

"What?!" Was the reply that came out from Lyn, Pit, and Lucario's voice.

"I am not going to save her. If Zelda's in trouble…I won't do it! I will not save her this time! She told she didn't need my help! My contract is done. Besides…she told me she didn't need me."

"Regardless…she needs our help!" Lyn let out. "Zelda will need all the help she can get!"

"…I'm sorry…"

"But Ike…" Pit whined. "Zelda needs…"

"Zelda doesn't need me! She told me that herself!"

Lucario slowly sat up from the ground. "Listen to me then," he said. "If you won't do it for the princess…then do it so that you can assure that you did a job well done. If Ganondorf is gone…then your services have truly ended and you will show to your father that you can get the job well done."

Ike remained silent as he thought about this. He growled through his teeth. "Fine!" he said. "But once Ganondorf is dead…I'm leaving! Now…let's go save Zelda!"

"Ike! Watch out!" Mist shouted as she got up from her bed. The young brunette quivered a bit. Just then the door to her room opened. Titania walked inside and sat down beside Mist.

"Mist, are you alright?" Titania asked.

"Titania…" Mist whimpered as she held onto the red headed warrior. "I… had a bad dream."

"About Ike again?"

Mist nodded.

"Oh Mist…you know that your brother should be arriving here soon."

"But Titania…I've had dreams. I keep having the same dream over and over again! Each time I have that dream, my medallion glows brightly. I dream about Ike and he's out in this field. Suddenly a black cloud surrounds him and two other lights…one is green and the other is blue. The dark clouds engulf all three of them and all I hear is screaming…all I feel…is emptiness. I don't want Ike to die!"

"He isn't going to die…I can assure you this…"

"I also see a lady in my dream. She's a princess…who has a golden treasure. It's a triangle…actually three triangles that take the form of one. I don't know what it means…but it means something. Please…Titania…I don't want to have this dream again! I want to see Ike."

"I need to inform the commander about this…"

"No need, Titania," Greil said as he leaned against the doorway. Soren stood right next to the commander with a book in his hands. "It is strange…but this golden treasure that Mist talks about…is something interesting."

"I barely purchased this book two days ago," Soren spoke. "It says that the golden treasure that Mist talked about is known as the Triforce. It is split into three pieces: Wisdom, Power, and Courage. It resides in the land of Hyrule…but its merely a legend."

"But I saw it in my dream! Ike…is fighting alongside this woman! A very pretty woman!"

"The woman you talk about…or at least described the other day is none other than the current Princess Zelda. Many think of her as a prophet…others see her as a witch. Either way…it does sound bizarre. Some say that she is able to emit prophecies to others. Perhaps…this is just a bizarre event…perhaps Ike is…in Hyrule?"

"He has yet to arrive," Greil spoke. "I have to admit…I'm rather worried. Perhaps…if it will make Mist feel better…that we all depart for Hyrule together. After all…we do have to escort that strange mask merchant to Hyrule."

"Oh! You're taking all of us to Hyrule?" Mist let out. "Thank you, Father! I'm sure Ike is there! If my dream tells me he's there!"

"That way, you at least can't say that I'm not a good father. Then its settled. All of us will depart to Hyrule. I have hired a mercenary named Mia to watch over the base while we're gone. I'm sure she will do an excellent job at watching over the place."

End of chapter!

Chapter Eleven: Showdown

- "For my tribe…I will avenge them all! Even if I die…I will take you with me, Marth!"