21: Termina

Following his heightened sense, Link led his companions through the dense forest with little trouble, save for the odd complain from Yumn. Abia remained quiet, only ever asking him if they were getting close. Link knew that they were already close, even after a few hours' travel. Time had already began to flow more slowly. That much he could feel. It was an odd sensation that he noticed more easily than before as a human, now, as a wolf, he could practically feel it.

"Master," Epona's voice drifted to him as his companion trotted up alongside him, "Won't you turn back into a human? You're making Dusk and Mira nervous."

Link huffed out a laugh, "I'm sorry, old friend, but I can't just yet." He told the mare, "It won't be long. I'm starting to recognize this forest."

The mare bobbed her head, "Yes, I remember this area well. It is where the Skullkid knocked you from my back and stole me away from you." She said in distaste, shaking her mane, "I do not like that memory."

Link chuckled. If there was one thing that he enjoyed about his new found form, it was speaking with Epona. Surprisingly, the mare had much to say. She was fairly eager to get back to the desert, for she enjoyed the Gerudo's attention.

But she was also looking forward to seeing Termina again. She liked Romani, and her sister. They were kind, and gave her lots of apples when Link wasn't looking.

Link let a wolfish smirk run across his muzzle, making sure to let Romani have as much time with the mare as she wanted. Suddenly, he felt the air shift. he hurriedly shifted back, startling Abia's horse, Mira, and drawing a snort from Dusk and Epona.

"Link, would you please warn us before you do that?!" Abia snapped, "You spooked poor Mira!"

Link smiled and petted the mare's nose in apology, "Sorry about that, Mira." He said, letting the horse have some of the sugar cubes he kept for Epona in his tunic, "I'm still getting used to this wolf business."

Yumn reigned in her mount, "Are we close?"

"We're here," Link nodded, pointing ahead of them, "Just beyond these trees we'll come out into the fields."

Abia spurred her mare into movement, "Let's get going then, we're wasting time." But the mare snorted and pawed the ground agitatedly, "What's wrong?"

Link moved forward and halted her, "She got wind of something she doesn't like." He said, and walked up to his mare, "Epona, is there danger ahead?" He asked, knowing the horse could understand him. She shook her head, a no. "Can't we go on?"

To answer this, Epona craned her neck, and gave her master a shove forward, but stayed back.

"What's that supposed to me?" Abia asked, her brow raised.

Link sighed, and looked back at the woman, bracing himself, "It means I can move on...but I don't think you can."

"What?!" Abia lept off her mount and strode forward, barging past Link, and into the trees. Link wanted to stop her, but he knew that was a bad idea. She disappeared into the brush...only to come crashing out again only a moment later, and looked stunned to see that she was going back the way she came, "But. . .How did I - That's impossible!"

"Magic," Link sighed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"What do we do, then," Yumn asked, "Turn back?"

Link sighed once more and strode into the forest, "Yumn, you ride back to the Kokiri village and wait for me there, and take the horses. Abia will have to stay here and wait for me." He said, much to Abia's ire.

"You're not going alone!" Abia snapped, "Every time I let you out of my sight, something horrible happens!"

Yumn reached for Mira's and Epona's reigns, "I'll just be going...Epona can lead me back, right?" To this, Epona snorted and took the lead, "Wait up!" Yumn cried after the mare.

Abia ignored her departure, and marched right up the young man, "You will find a way to take me with you!"

"I don't have the time," Link growled, "It's been three days, and we're on a deadline for King Daphnes to meet with your new king; Me as Oni!"

"Well think of something then!" Abia growled back, "Put me in that magic pouch of yours for all I care, but I will not let you out of my sight again!" She stamped her foot, "And why in the name of Din did you send the horses away!?"

Link scrubbed his face in exasperation, "I can't put people in a pouch that carries weapons, I tried once, and it didn't work! And to why I sent them away, once I'm done, if I'm still alive, I've got a faster way to travel!"

"If you're still alive?!"

Link groaned and strode passed her, "Abia, we don't have time for this nonsense!" He said, "I've got to get moving!"

Abia whirled and raced after him, "You can't!"

"I can!" Link yelled, and started running. Abia kept running, knowing full well that she could easily out pace the Hylian. But for some reason, Link kept getting farther and farther away.

"Link, wait!" Abia shouted, but he gave no sign that he had heard her, "Don't go! You can't go by yourself!" She ran faster, faster than she had ever run in her life, "Please! Don't leave me behind!" Link's silhouette began to fade, and Abia came crashing out of the brush...back where she had started. There were the fresh horse tracks, and footprints made only moments ago.

Abia sank to her knees, her chest heaving as a sob escaped her. "Link, why can't I stay with you?"

=x=

Link bumbled out of the brush nearly tripping over himself as he stumbled to a stop. The fields around Termina were just the same as he remembered. A smile crept to his face as he smelled the familiar scents of the market in Clock Town. He could almost see the bombers running down the streets as children, playing together as they had when he was young.

As he made his way across the field, he found there were very little monsters in the field. And just a little South would be the Romani Ranch. He chuckled, having missed the little spitfire, Romani. He wondered if he could see her at least once before he left again as he entered the town. No one took notice of him as he made his way toward the clock tower. It seemed as though no one was paying attention to him. Though it didn't come as a surprise. It had been seven years.

The faces had changed a great deal. No one would recognize him unless it was someone like Kafei or Anju that looked at him, and Romani, of course.

He reached the clock tower, and, sighing, began his climb. The doors on the clock face swung open as if welcoming him, smiling as he ascended the stairs, he came out on top..and found nothing.

"Wha - ?" Link yelped, before his vision began to swim.

"Well, it's about time you got here, Cub." Laughed a gruff voice, "Seven years is a long time to keep a god waiting." Link blinked his eyes to clear them, and found himself back in the forest

Sitting by a large campfire, a gourd bottle in hand, was a massive ogre. His skin was dark grey. His arms and legs as think as tree branches from the larger oak trees back in the Kokiri forest. His ears, like most Hylians, were long, and tapered off into a sharp point. Two red marking adorned his face, along with a blue triangle shape atop his brow.

"Oni?" Link breathed out.

"Aye," Oni grinned, showing off his fangs, "Been a while, hasn't it, Cub?"

Unable to believe it, Link sank down to the ground by the fire across from the ogre, an almost friendly air about him. Oni tipped his gourd back, draining whatever the contents were and wiped his lips, "Well, Cub? Are you going to explain why you haven't called on me in so many years?"

"I didn't know I still possessed you," Link said truthfully, hoping he wouldn't offend the deity, "When I left Termina, all I had acquired there seemed to disappear."

"Hmph," said Oni, "You really are a cub. I was bonded to your soul the moment you placed my mask upon your face. As with the deku shrub, Goron, and Zoran masks." He raised a clawed finger and pointed at him, "We are all apart of you, Link."

"I don't understand," Link shook his head, "If you're all still with me, then where did you all go?" He reached for his fairy pouch, "I looked for all the items I won in Termina, but they were all gone!"

Oni chuckled, "Cub, many things will be explained if you let me speak." The god waited to see if Link would try to speak again, smiling when the young man didn't, "Alright, then, I shall try to explain this so that you will understand." He lifted his gourd up for another drink, "Termina, and Hyrule are mirror worlds divided the dimensional barrier you passed through. That same barrier pushed my power, and the power of the other masks away from you once you passed through it again. I stayed awake since my power is still too great to be suppressed by such things, though I still couldn't break free."

Link found himself nodding, "And my weapons?"

"Same thing," said Oni with a wave of his hand, "But thanks to that spirit guide of your's, you've managed to tap into my part of your soul." Oni chuckled when Link's face paled, "Oh, don't worry, Cub, neither I nor the other masks can cause any real harm unless bayed to do so by you. Embarrassing as it is for me to admit, you have the power to shut me out if you wanted to."

"Right now I need to know how to summon you, and the others if I need it," Link sighed, "I could do so much more good for Hyrule if I- "

Oni tossed the gourd to him, which Link caught awkwardly to his surprise, "Listen, Cub, I know why you've come, and before we get down to that, you need to understand something. Termina, as it is, is dying." Link looked at the ogre sharply, "Yes, you heard me right. It's as I said, this is a mirror world of Hyrule; none of it's people are real, but mirror images of people you've met before."

Link gripped the bottle tightly, threatening the crack it, "You're telling me...that none of the people I've come to care for here are alive?"

Oni shook his head, "That's not what I'm saying. It may seem that way, but it's not." The ogre said, "Each person here has a piece of the person's soul they are copied from. You're friends couldn't pass through the barrier because they had copies here, while you don't. If they had managed to cross, everything here would have crumbled away to nothing, whereas you can put things right."

"I can help them, then?" Link asked hopefully, but the deity shook his head, "Why?!"

"It's a long story." Oni said, sighing, "But Time flows differently here, so I would say we have plenty of it." He said, "I'm like my mother in many ways, but to a male, that is not such a good thing! Ha!" Oni slapped his knee, "My mother was Hylia, mother of all, and giver of love beyond love! But my father," Oni grinned in a feral manner, "My father was the one that made me into the warrior god you see before you. My father was the mighty lord of war and death, Demise!"

"What does that have to do with - "

"I'm not finished," Oni wagged a finger at him with a grin, "My mother loved the children she and the other goddesses created so much that she often walked among them. Demise, being my mother's lover, grew jealous of this and attempted to destroy them. But my sisters and mother attacked him first. My case is similar to both of them. I loved walking among mortals and leading them. And, true to my father's nature, I had the urge to conquer.

"I raised two mighty peoples; the Gerudo and the Twili," Oni smiled, gaining a far-off look, "They were my pride and joy. The Gerudo were the finest warriors the land had ever seen, on foot or horseback, and the Twili were mages without rival, not even your Zelda could match them!"

"And you moved to concur Hyrule?" Link asked.

Oni nodded, "I did. But before I could, my sisters stepped in and imprisoned me inside that blasted mask!" Oni snorted, crossing his arms, "I'm not evil as you might think, I simply wanted what's best for my two families. Now, the Twili lie banished in the Twilight realm, twisted by its magic, and unable to step into the light of day ever again. And now the Gerudo are close extinction."

"These Twili," Link asked, "What were they like compared to the Gerudo?"

"Just the opposite, actually," Oni said, "Where the Gerudo are ruled by women, the Twili are ruled by male mystics, until the rare female with powerful magic is born, and raised as the queen without question. Much like how Gerudo look for a male heir to take their throne."

Link nodded, "I see, and it is unfortunate, Lord Oni, but - "

"If you're going to say that I had to be stopped," Oni sat back on his fallen log, gazing up at the sky, "Then you had better think about it, Cub. What I was doing was close to what Ganondorf had in mind, but under my rule, I was a benevolent king. My people would be united, treated fairly, and with compassion only a god could give. Ganondorf was more like my father. He simply wanted blood and power."

"And being the king of the Gerudo?"

Oni smiled, "The Gerudo were once a mighty race, mightier than all the Hylains could hope to be. I sired many children from willing women, but no sons came." He looked up at Link, "I promised them a male child to be their king in my place."

"And now they think I am you," Link said, to which Oni nodded.

"They have it right, Cub," Oni smiled as Link too a drink from the gourd, finally, and coughed from the bitterness of the wine, "I know you think that you are a Hylian, but you are no longer as such."

"What do you mean?" Link wheezed before passing back the gourd.

"The Hero, the first one," Oni held up a finger, "was from a floating island in the sky where the Hylians later descended from. When my father tried to rise from his seal, Hylia, bound in human form after imprisoning him, led him on a journey to forge a blade that repelled all evil."

"The Master Sword?!" Link shouted.

"The same," nodded Oni, "On this journey, he was required to do something no one has done since then, or dared to even attempt, and bonded with all three Triforces. Wisdom, Courage, and Power flowed into him, making him a demigod of sorts, the only thing that stood a chance against Demise. The Master Sword was necessary to oppose his weapon. It was a mighty blade with the same blessings as the Master Sword, but it repelled no evil, and brought about destruction."

"Does it still exist?" Link asked fearfully.

Oni chuckled, "There you go, wanting to ride off, find this blade and destroy it before some moron tries to wield it!" He clapped his hands together, "What an excellent guard dog you must be! No wonder the princess keeps you around!"

"Can we please stay on topic," Link grumbled, though more often than naught, he did feel like Hyrule's watch dog, if not Zelda's.

"Yes, to answer both questions," Oni grinned, "The sword lies in a wild place where the Master sword once rested before Hylians came to Hyrule. That temple crashed to the ground centuries ago. If anyone of my mother's descent got hold of it, his malice would pour into them, and he would be reborn anew as Demise re-incarnated. Ganondorf was one of them...you are another."

"Me?!" Link yelped, "Why me?"

Oni shook his head, "You are slow. Think about it. The Triforce was once housed in one body. Then the Hero married Hylia's incarnation, the first, true Princess Zelda, then, going down the lines, the Triforce was divided among three descendants."

"You mean - "

"You," Oni pointed to him with at grin, "Ganondorf, and Zelda, though the lines have become clouded."

Link scrubbed his face, "I'm...related to Ganondorf and Zelda?"

"More to Ganondorf," Oni said, smiling, "You've heard of my people's prophecy of a child being born unto them that would either be a savior, or a demon." Link nodded, and the ogre continued, "Well, the prophecy was blurred somewhat, for you see, it was actually two children. But unfortunately, the demon, Ganondorf, was born before the savior, you." He pointed his clawed finger at the knight, "You are half Gerudo warrior, Link."

Link looked on in disbelief, "But I don't even look it?"

"Does Malon look it?" Oni asked, surprising him by referring to his friend. "No, she doesn't, but she is, and so are you." He said, "When Ganondorf found out about you, he made to have you killed at birth, but your parents stole you away, and birthed you in Hyrule. He then staged a raid by Moblins, and chased your mother and father into the Lost Woods. He killed your father and injured your mother, but he couldn't get to her in time to stop her from entering the forest where the Great Deku Tree protected her."

Link sat somberly for a moment, taking in what he'd heard. "I'd always thought I'd just been abandoned."

"Never," Oni smiled at the boy, "And let me tell you something else." Link looked at him, and the deity smiled greatly, "Your mother loved you with all of her heart." Link blinked back tears upon hearing this, "When she found out she was with child, you became the center of your parents' whole world. And they'd be proud of what you've done in this life."

Link smiled as his tears fell, "Thank you."

"You are welcome," Oni smiled, "Ah, back to the story I suppose? Where was I?"

"You were going to explain why I can't help the people here," Link supplied.

"Right," the deity sighed, scratching the back of his neck, "After I was sealed, my sisters created a dimensional rift, and sealed my mask away through that rift, so no one would find me. Unfortunately, my father's curse had leaked into that dimension. From your first life, Demise had taken Hylia's soul and split it in half, more or less, creating Princess Hilda, of Termina, and many many more. Some you know, some you don't."

"So," Link sighed, taking it all in, "The people I know here are the same ones I know back home?"

"That's right," Oni nodded, "Take Romani and her sister, I'm sure you can guess who she is part of?"

"Romani...she's part of Malon's soul?" Link said, not really asking the question. "But Malon doesn't have a sister."

"She does," Oni nodded, smiling, "Gelbooru is her older sister, taken from her mother by Bulbins, and taken back by her own people. They didn't know what happened so they raised Gelbooru as their own until she could take care of herself."

It made sense, the two did resemble each other greatly. Link thought.

Oni snaped his large fingers for the young man's attention, "Link, I know you care for Romani, quite a bit actually, but you need to know. Malon, and two other women in your life will play a vital role...which is what leads me to say this...Termina needs to fade away."

"Fade away..." Link's eyes widened at what the ogre had said, "You mean...they have to die?!" He rose to his feet in anger, "I'd never let that - "

"CALM YOURSELF!" Oni thundered angrily, "Speak not to a god of old in such a manner! Avatar or not, I will not stand for it!"

Link fell back on his rump, stunned.

"Good, now allow me to elaborate," the deity said, "They wouldn't die, Link. They would rejoin with the original soul. Malon would gain every memory that Romani has of you, as would Gelbooru would with Cremia. Hilda is another matter," the ogre said, "She is the other half of Zelda, which needs to be with her other half to succeed in this. Hylia's strength and love gave your first incarnation such power that you wielded the True Master Sword like a god, but that power has long since faded, and with it, the power to save the Twili, and your homeland. Termina needs to rejoin with Hyrule so that you can begin to right the world that Demise wronged."

"What about that sword you mentioned?" Link asked, hoping to change the subject for a time.

"Ah, ever the hero," Oni sighed, "Alright then, Cub, listen up. The blade is called Ghirahim, and it's just as powerful as the Master Sword, if not more powerful. When you wielded the sword, you only unlocked a small portion of the power inside it. These two blades are practically siblings, each one possessing a sentient being inside. Fi, the spirit of your sword, was a noble creature that saw the world the way my mother did, and loved everything, including the hero."

"Was?" Link asked.

"Was," Oni nodded, "Fi's consciousness faded after the battle, and she later became your little Navi, so she could guide you once again."

Link looked at him in shock, "Then why did she leave?!"

"Because her work was done, I suppose." Oni shrugged, "She's always waiting for the next hero so she can help him in his quests. Now, back to the swords. After Demise was destroyed, his sword was sealed into the lands of Ordon, far to the West of here, which is where the Master Sword originally rested. But after a time, Hylians began moving further South, taking one sword a leaving the other. Had they left both, Girahim's power would have remained sealed, but the fools removed the Master Sword, and broke the seal."

"And Ganondorf wanted this sword because it was just the opposite of mine," Link nodded and sighed, scrubbing his face again. Why could it not ever be easy for his life? But it explained a lot. Ganondorf was one of the most powerful wizards in the land, and he had summoned Ganon to his side after their battle as a last ditch effort to succeed. For a Demon Lord, such a feet would be easy.

Oni sighed, "Link, I know this is hard for you to do," he said, "But take heart. Romani will live on, and she will love you as much as she did before, and as much as Malon does now."

Link sat for a time, contemplating, before he let out a tired sigh, "What do I need to do?"

Oni smiled sadly, and reached behind him, "You have never seen this, but you know what it is from your deepest memories," he said, pulling out a beautifully shaped golden harp.

Link took the instrument, "This...Zelda played this...a long time ago."

"It is the Goddess's Harp." Oni said, "The current royal family has a replica, but this one? It's the real deal, made from celestial gold, and blessed by the gods of old. In your hands, the songs will still be with you. To bring this world back together with Hyrule, simple play the Ballad of the Goddess."

Link sat the harp down in his lap, "Would it be alright to say good-bye to her?"

Oni shook his head, "I cannot deny you that." The deity said, "Go."

The surrounding forest began to fade, "Thank you, Oni."

=x=

Romani sighed tiredly as she finished with her chores for the day, using her pitchfork to lean on, the sun already sinking low over the mountains. The cattle were fed, the chickens were all off to the coop, and the milk was stored. She now respected her sister much more than she once did, what with Cremia being away due to business, Romani was left with the chores around the farm.

Her thoughts often wandered to a certain boy she knew in her early years. Link hadn't come back like he said he would. And she missed him dearly. Much more than she ever let on to her sister, who teased her mercilessly about her "Grasshopper".

"Romani will never see him again," she sighed to herself, moving toward the house, "If Grasshopper cared, then he would come back and see Romani."

"If Grasshopper didn't care, he wouldn't be here," said a deep, familiar voice from behind her. She whirled around to see familiar green clothing, and a crooked smile that she knew all too well. "Hey there." Link raised his hand in greeting.

The pitchfork tumbled from her grasp. "G-Grasshopper?"

Back into the fire. Will Link be able to do Oni has asked?

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