Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.
Twilight stumbled out of the portal. His heart was still beating fast. His newfound fear had yet to fade. Time caught him, keeping him from falling. "Well? What happened in there?"
"I…" Twilight began, then shook his head. "Remember my Triforce mark?"
Everyone nodded.
Twilight showed off the back of his left hand. And the lack of the aforementioned mark.
Time sucked in a deep breath. "That thing got your Triforce? How?"
"Forget that, are you okay?" Sky asked gently. "You look terrible."
"He's terrified," Time stated. "Without his Triforce...he's completely terrified."
"I'll be fine," Twilight insisted. "I'll...I'll be fine."
"Why did it take it?" Wild asked.
"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "But my guess is he wants to complete the Triforce."
"What if he wants all five Triforces?" Wind asked. "What if he's coming for our pieces too?"
"I thought you said you lost yours, kid," Twilight said, cocking his head. He was shaking but trying hard not to show it. "You know, when the king drowned Hyrule and stuff."
"Me too," Wind agreed. "But while we were at your house, I checked again and…" he showed off the Triforce mark on the back of his left hand. "It came back, I guess."
"The Triforce goes to those who most prominently display its trait," Time explained. "Just because it was used doesn't change the fact that you're still the bearer of the Triforce of Courage."
"Really?" Sky asked, pulling off his right bracer. He gasped. "Look! Mine's there too!"
"I have one too," Wild breathed, staring at his own mark.
"That thing's coming for them," Twilight stated. "I know it."
"How do we stop it?" Wind asked.
"That's the problem," Twilight sighed. "I have no idea."
"It has to have a source of power somewhere," Time said. "All power comes from somewhere."
"Still not helpful," Wild muttered. "Seeing as we have no idea how to find it."
"Wait…" Sky began, thinking hard. "I might have an idea."
"Well, go on!" Twilight exclaimed. "Spill it!"
"The nothing," Sky said.
"The nothing," Time repeated skeptically. "How could that be a source of anything? It's...well, nothing."
"Think about it!" Sky exclaimed. "The monster can control it. It seems to connect our worlds. And the monster seems to have powers that come from our worlds."
"Like the wind," Wind agreed.
"And the Twili magic," Twilight breathed.
"What about possessions?" Time asked.
"That's you, Time...or you know…" Sky trailed off, staring at the ground again.
"My mask," Time sighed.
Sky nodded. "Yeah. The mask."
"So, assuming the nothing is his power source," Wild began.
"Oh, come on, Mr. Negative!" Twilight groaned. "Why you always have to go and rip up our ideas?"
"I am simply asking the questions no one else is bothering to," Wild replied calmly. "As I was saying, if the nothing is his source of power, how do we destroy it?"
"We need a Triforce," Wind said.
Time swore.
"Time!" Twilight cried. "In front of the kid?"
"Brilliant!" Time went on, oblivious to Wind's stunned expression. "Just brilliant! And just how are we going to get our hands on a Triforce?"
"We bargain," Wild suggested.
"That won't work," Sky sighed. "That thing wants all the Triforces for itself. No, that won't work. We need to avoid that thing at all costs. If it finds us again, it'll have the advantage. It will threaten someone we love, and we all know what decision we'll make."
There was a collective nodding of heads from everyone in the group.
"So, what are you proposing?" Time asked.
"We need to find our Zeldas," Sky began. "Now more than ever. Wherever it's keeping them, that's got to be where its keeping the Triforces of Wisdom and Power."
"And my Triforce," Twilight realized.
"I bet it's lair in the nothing," Wind said gravely. "We just have to find it."
"Well," Twilight began nervously. "Looks like we've got a plan."
"Looks like we do," Time agreed.
"You going to be okay, Twilight?" Sky asked gently.
"I'll be fine," Twilight muttered. "Come on. The closest portal is in Hyrule Castle."
The group set off at a brisk pace. They walked across the desert as quickly as possible, but it still took several hours. It took several more hours to get from the bridge to Hyrule Castle Town. The heroes paid no mind to the crowd of people gathered inside the town, demanding answers to countless questions they didn't have the answer to. Twilight commanded the guards at Hyrule Castle's walls to let them through. Recognizing their hero, the guards complied quickly. Twilight led them all to the ballroom, where it had all begun.
"Alright," Time began, "that thing should have no idea what we're doing. It's probably waiting for us in another world. We need to grab the Triforce pieces as quickly as possible and get out."
Everyone nodded.
"Great," Time said with a tired smile. "Twilight. Do your thing."
Twilight nodded, even though the idea of transforming was suddenly horrifying. He forced himself to ignore the feeling and open up his locket. He started shaking again, holding the open locket in his palm.
"You can do it, Twilight," Sky whispered. "The Triforce chose you for a reason. You still have that courage. It's just not as easy to find."
Twilight smiled sadly. "Thanks for the pep talk." With that, he turned the locket over, spilling the crystal into his hand. He shuddered as he transformed, but he didn't let his fear stop him. He called upon the Master Sword and returned to his Hylian form. The world cracked open.
"We should hold hands this time," Wind said.
"Scared, kid?" Twilight asked, staring at the crack with a pale face. He forced himself to give Wind a hollow smirk.
"What? No?" Wind exclaimed. "You're one to talk!"
Twilight took a step back. "I-I was just kidding. I'm sorry…"
"No…no..." Wind sighed. "I'm sorry. That was mean. But I still think we should hold hands. It will help us stay together in the nothing."
"Wind's right," Sky agreed. "No one's getting lost this time." He held out his hand to Wild. Wild took it, albeit rather reluctantly. Time grabbed Sky's other hand. All five heroes formed one long line, and they stepped into the crack together.
Now that they were holding hands, the nothing wasn't as consuming. Sky looked around, a smile on his face. Nothing surrounded them all, but it seemed they all were still awake. Well...all except Twilight. He was still holding on tight to Wind's hand, but his eyes were closed.
"He couldn't handle it," Time sighed.
"Doesn't matter," Sky sighed. "We'll drag him along. Hopefully he'll wake up eventually."
"That will slow us down," Wild argued.
"We're not leaving him!" Sky exclaimed.
"We don't have time," Wild stated. "Let him go."
"What's your deal?" Sky demanded. "This whole adventure, you've hardly spoken. The only times you have were to remind us to quit wasting time."
"I failed the princess once before," Wild stated. "It took me 100 years to make up for it. I'm not doing that again."
"Well, I'm not leaving Twilight behind," Sky said stubbornly. "He's doing his best."
"Without his Triforce he's worthless to us," Wild said. His tone remained infuriatingly calm.
"He gave up his Triforce to save the woman he loves!" Sky cried. "You act like that's a sin!"
"Clearly I know nothing about love," Wild observed. "Good thing I don't feel that way about anyone…"
"You have no one?" Wind asked, breathless. "No one you'd lay down your life for?"
"I'd lay down my life for the princess," Wild answered. "Because that is my job as her personal knight. There is nothing more to it than that."
"Somehow I doubt that," Time said. "But we better get going. And we're bringing Twilight. End of discussion."
Wild scowled but said nothing more.
"So, what are we looking for here?" Sky asked, looking around for anything besides nothing.
"An evil lair!" Wind cried excitedly. "A big, black castle with blood red curtains!"
"Not helping, Wind," Sky sighed.
"Maybe if we just focus," Time suggested. "That's how we've gotten out of the nothing before. We focused and waited for the light."
"Yeah," Sky agreed. "But what do we focus on now? Before we focused on ourselves."
"How about clearing away the nothing?" Wind guessed. "So, we can see what's around us."
"Worth a shot," Time shrugged. Everyone closed their eyes, focusing on washing the nothing away. The familiar light began approaching. But this time, as it washed over the heroes, it did not force them out of the crack in the world. Instead it tore the nothing away as though pulling a blindfold off the heroes' eyes. The light revealed a whole new world.
Everything was either white or black. There was no color to be found anywhere. The group found themselves in a grassy field, with a castle a little way up the road. The grass was white. The brick path they were all standing on was black. The castle was a fascinating blend of white and black. The colors swirled around each other as though in an intricate dance. But the strangest part about this new world was that even though it was filled with black and white, there was no gray. The white and black never mixed.
From behind the heroes, someone took a deep breath. They all whirled around, but it was only Twilight. "Did I miss something?" he asked in awe, his eyes taking in the strange, new world.
"Not really," Wild replied.
Sky shot him a glare.
"I'm going to assume I don't want to know what I missed," Twilight decided.
"Good decision," Time agreed.
"Let's get going," Wild said. "The castle must be what we're looking for." He began walking towards the castle.
"I swear," Sky grumbled. "He's got issues."
"Well, he's not wrong," Twilight admitted. "It has to be the castle. Now come on. We don't want him dying, do we?"
"That's debatable," Time sighed. Nonetheless, he and everyone else began hurrying after Wild. They caught up to him at the castle's gates. He pushed open one of the doors silently. He turned around and gestured for everyone to be quiet. They all nodded. They tiptoed through the castle's corridors, looking for anything that could provide a clue as to the Triforce's whereabouts. But there was nothing. However, the inside of the castle was quite interesting, nonetheless. It appeared as though there had been a fight. Furniture was upturned or broken. White and black ashes littered the floor. Broken glass was everywhere, and there were many windows that lacked their panes.
"This place is too big, we need to split up," Wild suggested.
"That would be suicide!" Sky hissed. "No, we're staying together."
"We should check the dungeon," Time said. "If not the Triforce...our Zeldas should be there."
"Good idea," Twilight agreed. "Look. Stairs that lead down." The group headed down the stairs. As they descended there was less and less white. And more and more black. When they exited the stairwell, there was no white at all. Everything was black.
Yet they had found what they were looking for. The dungeon was not really a dungeon. It was more of a sick trophy room. There were pedestals. Fifteen pedestals. All big enough to fit a person, except one that was enormous. And ten of them were occupied. On each occupied pedestal was either one of the captured Zeldas or a villain that one of the present heroes had already defeated. And they were all turned to stone.
"No…" Sky breathed, seeing his Zelda. He raced towards the pedestal, almost tripping over himself in his haste. She had been petrified while she was being attacked. Her arm was raised defensively, a look of terror in her eyes. Floating above her head was her piece of the Triforce. "Not again...don't leave me again…"
"Okay…" Twilight said, feeling his heart beginning to tighten up with fear. "Who here can turn things to stone?"
"I-I can…" Wind stammered, staring at Tetra. She had her sword unsheathed and a fierce snarl upon her face. Her Triforce piece also floated above her. "That's how I defeated Ganondorf." He turned to face his villain's pedestal. He was on his knees. The Master Sword was still stuck in his head. His Triforce was floating above him.
Every villain and every Zelda had their Triforce floating above them. One of the empty pedestals had a Triforce floating over it. "Those other pedestals," Twilight began. "They're meant for us. That's my Triforce of Courage!"
"There's no way to get to it," Time sighed. "I'm sorry. Not even my Longshot can reach up that high."
Twilight nodded sadly. "Then how are we going to get any of the other pieces?"
"I'll get them," Wild volunteered. "I can climb anything."
"Hurry," Sky said.
Wild nodded. He began climbing up Calamity Ganon's pedestal. The other heroes could only watch as Wild grabbed the Triforce of Power, then the Triforce of Wisdom, and finally summoned the Triforce of Courage from the back of his own hand. "Now what do we do?" he asked, staring at the completed Triforce before them.
"Make a wish," Wind replied. "You get one wish. Whatever you want."
"Whatever I want?" Wild repeated.
"Don't we want to destroy the nothing?" Time questioned.
"Yes," Wild agreed quickly. "Yes, of course." He rested a hand on the Triforce.
"I just realized," Twilight breathed. "If we do this...we'll all die."
"Who cares?" Wind shrugged. "We're saving the world!"
"But so do our Zeldas!" Twilight insisted.
Wild lifted his hand off the golden relic.
"Easy fix," Time began. "Don't destroy the nothing. Destroy the monster!"
Wild smirked. He placed his hand back on the Triforce and opened his mouth to speak.
"Or on second thought...maybe don't do that," the voice snickered.