Chapter 24:

I'm really thankful Navi's with me.

The room inside is dark, as though underground. Thanks to Navi's light, I can manage to see about a two foot radius around me, but it doesn't help me too much. I take a couple of hesitant steps forward, very, very slowly creeping so as not to make a sound. My senses are fully alert. Rydin could be anywhere in here.

A hand falls on my shoulder, and my heartbeat explodes, but I manage to hold back the scream threatening to rip from my throat.

"It's me," Christian growls in a low, rough voice. His hand entwines itself within mine, gripping it tightly. "I said not to come in here," he says irritably. "Now stay close."

Believe me, that's fine with me. Place is giving me the creeps.

I follow him carefully, treading as noiselessly across the floor as I can.

Suddenly the entire room becomes filled with light - the chandelier above us is suddenly engulfed by flames, as are the torches along the walls, significantly brightening the area. Christian and I stand in the center of the circular room, and as we try to absorb our surrounding, the two doors on either side of the room are suddenly locked by iron bars.

Rydin stands near the door on the far side of the room, a grin across his face. An unconscious form lies crumpled at his feet.

John!

"What'd you do to him?!" I demand. I start to move towards him, but Christian pulls me back, his eyes wary. Rydin's lips curl even further as he begins to circle us.

"Smart move," he says to Christian, who clenches his jaw as he's addressed. "You've learned since last time. I'll be honest, I was surprised you let her out of your sight again after what happened at the Castle." Christian breathes deeply, and I watch as Rydin's eyes flicker to his blackened eye. "Clever, and yet risky to go against yourself and send her away without knowledge of where she was going. I suppose it's been your protection that's kept her alive all this long while."

Sure, give him all the credit.

My eyes narrow, and it doesn't escape his notice. "And of course, you my dear," he adds, acknowledging me directly. "You're what it's all about, aren't you? Strange, mysterious, brave little girl with a title to her name already. So young...so much potential..." He chuckles to himself as he continues to stride around us. "Just as beautiful as your mother."

My heart stops dead.

Christian's hand automatically tightens on mine. My throat constricts, making it harder for me to speak. "What do you know about my mother?" I demand, my voice quavering with anger and uncertainty.

Rydin continues to laugh under his breath, ignoring my question. "Isn't it funny that you shouldn't remember anything, still don't know anything, not even about the people around you," My heart begins to thump unevenly. "10 long years before Impa told you what that was on your hand, wasn't it? I should've suspected it earlier - a burn scar, how absurd - and yet, because you didn't know better, neither did I. She lied to you once, for your protection. What's to stop her from lying again?"

"Shut up," I growl. This only amuses him further.

"And your situation too. How ironic, that you should have the same upbringing as the last Hero of Time. Being raised as a child under the protection of Kokiri Forest, growing up as a Kokiri without a fairy, and then leaving the forest at the same age with none but the exact same fairy as your companion!"

My mind blanks. Navi can't be...

Rydin absorbs my expression almost immediately. "She didn't tell you that, did she?" he asks, even more amused. "An entire lifetime of experience as guardian over a Hero of Time that you didn't know about!"

My eyes rise to where Navi's hovering.

She glares at Rydin with an expression of utmost loathing, shaking in the air as she flutters.

Could he be telling the truth? Then again, should I trust this man at all?

"Don't listen to him," Christian growls under his breath. "He's trying to turn you against them. It doesn't matter what happened before, she's always been there for you."

That's not an answer.

Unsettled as my mind is, I try and put it behind me.

"And you, voice of wisdom," Rydin adds, practically exploding with malicious glee. "We've been keeping tabs on you for a long while. Who do you think intercepted your letter before it reached Impa?" He takes a moment to let that information sink in before continuing. "So tell me, how does it feel to be replaced by her before even your first day on the job?"

I hear Christian's breath catch, and it's the last straw.

"Don't you dare speak to him that way!" I shout furiously, and without thinking I hurl one of my throwing stars towards him.

To my utter shock he catches it between his fingers.

"Very brave," he says in a low voice. "But very foolish."

I barely see his hand flick, and the throwing star go flying through the air, embedding itself in Christian's shoulder. My heart skips a beat, and he groans on impact.

My hand finds his arm and clutches it tightly as I watch him with worry. He simply grits his teeth and grabs the weapon, giving it a huge heave and ripping it from his skin. It lands with a metallic clunk on the floor.

"I'm sure it must be very hard for you, having to watch all the people you care about get hurt," Rydin says calmly. "Watching the people around you die. I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement for their protection...a trade, perhaps? You come with me willingly, and I might be able to let your friends go. It would probably also make your experience less painful."

"You won't touch her!" Christian suddenly snarls. The corners of Rydin's lips twitch into a broad, evil grin.

"I don't need to."

And then, two tiny, glowing black orbs appear in the palms of his hands, growing rapidly and sparking with white lightning. We watch, completely stunned, they coalesce, and all of a sudden, the giant ball of energy comes hurtling towards me.

I couldn't have dodged it if I'd tried.

It hits me square in the chest, and I let out a cry of pain as I slam backwards onto the ground. Christian's at my side in seconds, trying to help sit me up. I wince as I realize that the sizzling sound I hear are my clothes burning from the heat of the spell.

"You see," Rydin laughs, "At first, when I discovered Twinrova in the Shadow Temple, I thought nothing of it. I realized that her power might have been so strong that it kept her here as a ghost, and the Shadow Temple is, naturally, the residence of such beings. When I realized exactly who you were in the Caverns, my first instinct was to have you destroyed. But luckily, you escaped me, and ran straight into the Shadow Temple to Twinrova. It gave me an idea."

My fingers grip the Master Sword tightly as he speaks. Christian carefully drapes his arm over my shoulder for support, glaring at Rydin all the while.

"I worked with Twinrova, promising that I would let you live and try and get you to heal her, in exchange for power. The witches are like I am - they follow no one. Their bargains are made of their own accord, and unless there is something they need, they aren't the kind to make deals. But I had leverage, and I used it. When they came back, I was given the power of the dark arts, more power than even I could have dreamed of."

That's why he was so strong back at the Castle. That's why Nabooru wanted us to get out. She didn't know about Rydin until she was captured. And once she found out, she knew we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves.

Looks like she was right.

"So now, I believe we are at what is called the finale," he concludes. "Decisions, decisions...should I kill you first and get it over with, or should I make you watch him die, do you think?"

I snarl in rage and charge forward with my sword held high, but pain suddenly explodes in my head and I scream in pain once more as the world suddenly fades from my vision...

"Momma... I'm scared..."

I'm just a little girl, snuggled atop a woman's skirts from atop of a large canopy bed. My mother.

I can hear the shouts outside the Castle, and the sounds of metal colliding. I don't know who they are or what they want, but I know that they're coming.

"It's all right, Aeria. Everything's going to be okay," my mother assures me, stroking my hair. But even as she does so, her other hand begins to clench itself into a fist. I look up to read her expression, but I can't make out her face...it's just a blur...

"Where's Dad?" I ask, my voice trembling.

"He's calling the Sages for help," she answers me gently. "You remember Impa, Nabooru, Ruto, Saria, and Darunia right?" I nod. "He's bringing them here to make sure nothing happens to anyone."

There's a giant thud against the Castle walls, and the screaming gets louder. I bury my face in my mother's chest, hiding in the shelter of her arms. "I want it to go away," I whimper.

She holds me closer, tightening her embrace. "I know, sweetheart," she says with a sigh, unable to hide all of her own worry. "I know..."

I can't open my eyes to see as I first come back to reality. The only thing I can hear are a pair of boots hitting the ground.

When my eyes do finally open, the first thing I see are pair of bright red eyes.

My heart stops dead.

It's the man from the Temple of Time.

My hand flies to my scar of its own accord, and I scramble back away from him as fast as I can, focusing on trying to breathe.

"It hurts, doesn't it," Rydin sneers. "Remembering. All those memories, locked up inside you."

"Leave her alone!" Christian shouts as I pull myself shakily back to my feet, at my side once more.

My entire body is trembling.

My mom...

My mom and my dad both...we knew the Sages...we were in the Castle...

If I knew the Sages, why don't they remember me?

"Curious..." Rydin muses to himself. "Very curious..."

Christian glares at him expectantly. My eyes flicker back and forth between Rydin and the man with the red eyes.

I don't understand the feelings processing in my mind right now. I can't understand what it is.

But I know him.

Not just from the Temple of Time. Not from my dreams. From somewhere else, hidden deep in the recesses of my mind...

How do I know him?

"How strange indeed," Rydin says once more. "There's a very strong wall around your mind, and yet, instead of strengthening that wall, the presence of my friend here seems to weaken its defenses drastically. Your mind has been blocked, keeping such traumatic memories of your past in from you, shut behind closed doors...yet my friend helps you to unlock these."

My eyes study the red-eyed man once more, in depth. He's still hidden mostly by his cloak, but I can make out some details. He's dressed entirely in black, and his skin is dark, as though permanently a shadow. I remember his face; the twisted grin, the dark bangs falling into his deep crimson eyes. I know that face...

His grip tightens ever-so-slightly on his ebony sword, and that's when I see it.

It's the Master Sword.

An identical copy, only it's all black.

My mind suddenly jerks into awareness.

"Link," I blurt, my eyes wide with confusion and fear.

His head suddenly snaps up, and his expression becomes murderous. His lips curl to reveal his teeth, bared in a snarl. Christian stares at me with a furrowed brow, before looking towards him, and then back to me.

Rydin looks like he's about to say something, but the red-eyed man's sword suddenly flies out to the side, right in front of him. His mouth hastily falls shut as the red-eyed man makes his way towards us, slowly and purposefully.

Christian pulls me back ever-so-slightly behind him. He holds his sword carefully, his expression very tense. I shift my own sword nervously in my grip.

He stops within two feet of us, his sword pointed towards me. He does not strike, but Christian remains wary even so.

"You," he addresses me, his voice as rough and cruel as I remember it. He growls as he finishes. "You will not call me by that name."

This time, there's no rush of pain in my head. The only warning I'm given is a sudden wave of light-headedness before I slip out of consciousness once more.

"You have to take her and run. There's no other choice."

It's a man's voice. A very familiar voice. I can't see his face...I don't see anything but black...but I know that voice. Where do I know that voice from...?

"What's going on?" My mother...she sounds so worried...

"It's him," he says, letting out a groan of frustration. "They want Ganondorf back. You know as well as I do, the seal's gotten weaker every day...they're breaking through, I don't know how, but they are, and now they're looking for the final key to setting him free."

"They won't be able to. You've taken him before. You've beaten them all before. They have to kill you to break it, and they need more than that. They need us both. We can take them together, they won't be able to win!"

His voice is grave.

"They don't need us anymore. They can get both of what they need from us from one person. Someone much smaller, much younger...and much easier to take than us."

I hear my mother's breath catch in horror.

"They...they can't possibly...how would they...but we've kept her hidden..."

"I don't know," he says in a low voice. "But we can't let them find her."

"His name is Dark Link." I awaken to Rydin's voice, barely supported by Christian. His teeth are gritted in pain, and as I feel a warm droplet of blood land on my arm, I realize he's holding me with his injured arm. I right myself immediately, hoping to ease the strain on his shoulder. He lets out a small sigh of relief.

Rydin's expression is grave now, neither filled with cruel amusement nor hatred. Dark Link now stands at his side once more. "You know him well, I suppose," he says in a neutral tone. "After he tracked the Prince down at the Castle and headed you off at the Temple of Time. But perhaps," he continues, his expression becoming that of mock-innocence, "That's not the only reason he's so familiar to you."

He knows something.

Dammit, what the hell does he know?!

"But I believe that we still have business to take care of."

The smirk comes back. My fingers grip my sword tightly in my hand, ready to strike at any inclination.

Christian notices, and attempts to push me further behind him, but I hold my ground. He gives me a warning glance, his eyes smoldering.

"I'll give you one last chance," Rydin says diplomatically, though I can see excitement sparking in his coal black eyes. "Come with me now, and you won't suffer nearly as greatly. I'll spare you the sight of watching him die."

Blood pounds through my veins as I feel myself being consumed by fury. My hand's started shaking, but I don't bother controlling it.

Christian's expression is alarmed now, and his hand slips from mine to take a more controlling hold of my wrist. "No," he whispers anxiously.

"I'd listen to your little friend," Rydin jeers. "You aren't able to take care of yourself on your own. You never have been." His eyes dance even more, and his slanted grin broadens. "Otherwise you might still be with your mommy and daddy, now, wouldn't you?"

That does it.

I break out from Christian's grasp and throw myself at Rydin with a feral snarl that I'd never dreamed myself capable of.

His sword meets mine as though expecting my attack. I don't notice Dark Link coming down on me from behind until Christian's there, blocking his blow.

"Fool boy," Dark Link hisses.

"I've got a little marking on my hand proving the opposite," Christian retaliates, before driving him back and drawing him into battle.

As they fight, I draw my own sword back, hurling it towards Rydin with all my might. He blocks it once more, his face inches from mine between the blades.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you that it won't be long before you see them again?" he grins evilly.

My blood boils under my skin.

"You unbelievable son of a bitch!" I yell, balling up my other fist and smashing it into the side of his face. He stumbles back slightly, blood now streaming from the side of his forehead, but he doesn't stop grinning. He charges me, slamming his blade into mine, and then kicking me in the gut while I'm open. The air in my lungs is forced out as I slam into the floor.

Christian's faring about as well as I am. Dark Link slams him into the doors opposite of those we came in, breaking them open. They both vanish into the other room. As Navi comes to hover near Rydin once more, I shake my head. "Help him," I order her - and for once, she doesn't argue.

"Bet you wish Sheik was back to bail you out again, don't you?" Rydin laughs, stabbing forward. I roll over just in time to dodge his blade, practically launching myself onto my feet. I duck as he swipes at my head.

Sheik. I could practically laugh. He wouldn't be so quick to taunt if he only knew.

And seeing as this is the end for one of us, I don't see anything wrong in telling him.

"What makes you so sure he isn't?" I retort with a grin of my own, focusing on the idea of Sheik as much as I can without transforming. Rydin's expression is caught off-guard for once. Then, when I feel the triforce symbol on the back of my hand begin to burn as my eyes flash red, I watch as his own eyes become filled with shock, and then fury.

"You..."

He comes at me with a loud cry of anger, his blade suddenly sparking with white lightning. Enraged, he attacks relentlessly, and I'm driven to the defensive. As I block his sword with mine, his fist comes flying into my gut, slamming me all the way into a column across the room.

He is stronger.

Maybe taunting him back wasn't such a good idea.

I grimace as I pull myself upright again, and as he comes towards me at an impossibly fast speed, I barely manage to throw up my sword in time to block his. I kick at his sword hand and quickly dart behind him, slamming the hilt of my sword into the back side of the joint at his elbow.

I hear the crack just before he lets out a howl of pain and wheels around to punch me across the face with his good hand. I go flying into the air, landing in a sprawled position on the floor once more.

I look up at him through the blood leaking from my a cut on my forehead, grabbing my sword and attempting to pull myself to my feet, but he kicks me in the side before I can manage. I cry out in pain as I hit another column, causing it to crumble and break into rubble.

"You know, I'm actually glad it's you," he says suddenly, a maniacle hint coming to his bloodied grin. I struggle to get to my feet once more, but he raises his good hand and lightning shoots from his fingertips. I give another cry as it wraps itself around me, and he lifts me into the air. The pain doesn't stop as I hover.

Farore, it hurts!

"You see," he says amusedly, coming closer as I writhe in pain. "Even all you've taken from me can't amount to what I've taken from you."

I glare at him.

I don't have a clue what he's talking about, but even so, I don't think I could ever hate someone as much as I hate this man right now.

I'll kill him. I swear to Din, Nayru, and Farore, I will kill him.

And then I'm flying.

I go soaring through the air into the other room, crashing against the cold stone floor.

I hear the sound of swords clanging once more before I hear a shout of pain. When I open my eyes, all I see is Christian.

"He disappeared," he says breathlessly as he helps me to my feet. "I got him, and he just vanished...he's gone..."

"Gone, yes," Navi says as she flies towards us, her voice a warning. "But dead...not nearly."

The large doors of the main room suddenly explode outwards, showering us with pieces of splintered wood and metal. Rydin stands in the doorway, now holding his sword in his good hand.

"Good," he laughs cruelly. "Then I have you all to myself."

I take a couple steps backwards, raising my sword and preparing myself, when the back of my heel hits something and I almost trip over my own feet.

Tripping to my own death. That's a way to be remembered. I groan inwardly, looking down towards the source of my almost embarrassing doom.

A pedestal.

Just like the one in the Temple of Time.

Are there supposed to be two pedestals?

I look up towards Christian, searching for answers, but his eyes are filled with just as much doubt as I'm feeling.

"You've noticed our little development, I see," Rydin says. "The Dark Lord is a brilliant man. Here - the very place he hails from, where no one would ever suspect what he was doing - he built a copy of the Pedestal of Time." His eyes flash. "An exact copy."

I don't care how brilliant the Dark Lord is. I don't care what's been built.

This man knows about my parents, knows something I don't. This man threatened my friends.

This man is going to pay.

I charge forward once more, this time with Christian at my heels.

Rydin blocks with his sword and kicks me to the side easily, before hitting Christian full-on with another ball of dark energy, sending him flying across the room. I spring up once more, meeting his blade with mine.

"A door between the two realms," he continues in a rough voice, licking the blood from his lips. "And every door has its key."

Suddenly, the Master Sword is wrenched from my grasp, surrounded by the same sort of white lightning that carried me into this room. I watch as it goes flying through the air, landing neatly in the pedestal.

Determined, I ball up my fists and attack Rydin with everything I've got, but he wrenches my arm behind my back. Hard.

I hear the pop before I feel it.

"You know, I was thinking I'd just kill you," he growls in my ear as I scream. "What the Dark Lord doesn't know won't hurt him - it's only a few drops I need - but I think this will be more fun."

I struggle, but his blade rises to my throat.

"Ah ah ah," he chides. I watch as Christian attempts to get to his feet, very shakily. His eyes rise to meet mine, and are suddenly filled with horror. "You don't want me to change my mind."

"Get your hands off of me," I growl. This seems to amuse him even further.

"I thought you'd like to know before you die," he says, voice dripping with malice.

I relent, though I can't help but become more and more furious.

"Your father fought very bravely," he whispers. "I can't say it wasn't expected of him, but he did. And your mother, what a brilliant woman...were it not for her one oversight, I would never have guessed it was you."

"What are you talking about," I hiss, struggling once more, but he stops me roughly.

"They didn't know," he chuckles softly. Christian advances towards us, sword raised cautiously, not wanting to send Rydin over the edge. "Her last gift to you, the protection you carried for the last several years, didn't affect me. I remembered your name. I remembered who you were. I simply believed you were dead, along with the others." He laughs once more. "Why do you think I'm the only one who remembers?"

I growl ferociously before I go flying across the room, landing just beside the pedestal.

Rydin begins to laugh even louder. "Why do you think you don't remember?"

My eyes widen.

It wasn't a bump on the head that did it.

It was him.

"I'll kill you!" I scream.

The Master Sword is right there...

Christian throws himself at Rydin, attacking him with all his might.

"What are you waiting for?" Rydin cackles, throwing Christian back. Christian launches back up to his feet, assaulting him with renewed passion.

What am I waiting for?

That bastard stole my past from me!

I throw myself at the Master Sword, clenching both my hands around the hilt tightly.

"Aeria, no!" comes Navi's voice as I wrench the sword out of the Pedestal with all my might.

Suddenly the world becomes filled with blue light.

A trick.

I should have known!

"Well now," Rydin's laughter rings in my ears, the last thing I hear as the world starts to vanish in the pure blue light. "She'll get to see for herself."