A big thanks to gman and Nabooru'sapprentice for reviewing! It really makes my day to see I have reviews, so thanks!

And now... on with the chapter!

Chapter 25

An Archaeological Expedition

When Link awoke, he was no longer in his cell. A dim light was hitting his face from somewhere, though as his eyes roamed about the large hospital room he found himself in he couldn't spot any light bulbs or other sources of light anywhere. The light was just there.

"Hiya, Link!" the voice of Orca drifted over to him.

Link quickly looked to his side and noticed the man sitting on a chair by his bed. When had he gotten there? "Geez, Orca, you trying to give me a heart attack?" Link asked as he sat up, letting the thin sheets fall off of him.

"How you feeling?"

"Fine." Link frowned. "Great, actually." He rolled his shoulder and found the movement to be completely painless. Tugging at his shirt, he saw that there was no sign that he had once been shot there. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"...How did I get here?"

"Oh. That's a boring story. You know what's a better story?"

Link looked back to his friend and noticed he was staring at him expectantly. "What?"

"How you and Zelda met! Remember?"

Once again, Link frowned. "Are you... ok? You're acting kind of funny."

Orca laughed, but it wasn't quite his laugh. "I'm fine, man. You're too high strung."

It certainly sounded like Orca; the right words were all there, and all his little ways of moving, but the voice was different somehow. It lacked... something, though Link couldn't place what. He started to search the room again. There were several rows of other beds around him, but they were all empty. Letting his eyes trail up one of the rows of empty beds, he observed that the room continued to keep stretching out, almost as if it went on forever. He couldn't see the far wall at all, just more and more beds that faded into the distance.

"Hey," Orca said impatiently, and his fingers were suddenly snapping themselves under Link's nose.

"What?" Link asked impatiently, looking back to his friend.

"How did you meet Zelda? Did you know it was her right away, or did she give you a fake name?"

"I... what? Where are we?"

"The hospital," Orca said with a roll of his eyes, gesturing around the room.

"It's... it's over? I'm out?" Link asked quietly, barely daring to believe it.

"Yeah, man. You're ok now."

Link looked back down the rows of beds again, and noticed that the room had shrunken immensely since his last examination of it. The far wall was now visible, and there weren't nearly as many beds as before. There were even a few ceiling lights now, swinging above him as if they had always been there.

Link carefully slipped his legs off of the bed, letting them hang over the side as he faced the room. "There's something weird going on here."

"Hey!" Orca pressed, even more impatiently than before. "I asked you a question, remember?"

Twisting around to face his friend, he tried to recall what the question had been. His mind felt fuzzy, and he found himself wondering what sort of drugs the hospital had given him to make him feel so off.

"Don't you want to tell your buddy about your adventures with Zelda?"

Link frowned. Did he? Why not? Orca was his friend, right? But something wasn't right. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. "I think we should get out of here," Link said quietly, sliding off of the bed so his bare feet landed on the cold floor. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the leg that had been shot along with his shoulder was just as pain free.

"Nah," Orca said with a wave of his hand. "It's fine here."

"But..." Link nervously scratched at the back of his left hand, which had begun to itch in a rather irritating way. His scratchings didn't alleviate anything, and he finally glanced down to see if there was an IV stuck in it or something. He felt his heart skip a beat. The symbol of the Triforce was gone.

"Where is it?" Link asked breathlessly, his pupils contracting.

"You gave it up, buddy," Orca said carelessly. "To Ganondorf. Remember?"

Link was shaking his head repeatedly. "No. No, I didn't." He looked back up at Orca with a pleading expression. "I didn't!"

Orca stood, his face twisted with a sneer. "Oh but you did. And now everyone you care for is dying. There's only one way to save them!" His entire form suddenly changed; Link watched as the face of his friend transformed into that of Ganondorf's. His body began to stretch, growing so tall that he towered over Link and nearly touched the ceiling with the tips of his bright orange hair. "Tell me where Zelda is!"

Then Link was falling. A cold darkness quickly surrounded him, and all he could feel was the air as it rushed past him. It was rushing past him far too quickly. It slapped against his face before moving on, and he felt that he didn't have any time at all to pull even a single bit of it into his quickly starving lungs.

Finally the darkness disappeared, and Link found himself lying in a shallow pool of icy water. He yanked in a lungful of air in a painful gasp, sitting up at the same time to get away from the freezing water.

"Damn," a woman's voice grumbled from behind him. "It must be the Triforce helping him to resist."

"What," Link coughed out; he tried to climb out of the tub he was in, but the walls were a slippery metal and his hands were still stuck behind him. His damp clothes clutched at him tightly, making him feel heavier than he actually was, and his panicked attempt to move out of the water ended in failure.

"Get him out," the woman's voice continued.

Two pairs of darkly tanned hands reached down, grabbed his arms, and pulled him out. He was soon standing back on dry ground, stuck between two Gerudo and shivering as air just as cold as the water surrounded him; water dripped from his hair and clothes, leaving a shallow puddle that soaked into his already flooded boots.

"Take him back to his cell for now," another Gerudo said, stepping in front of Link and shining a bright light into his eyes.

"What was that?!" Link shouted at her, bucking his head away from the light.

The Gerudo flicked off the light and waved at the other two Gerudo, telling them without any words to take him away. "We'll try this again later," she said, just as Link was dragged from the small room.

As soon as morning broke, the rebellion let out a collective sigh. They had survived the night, and now that there was more light it was easier to keep a lookout. Zelda stood on the roof along with Linebeck and a few other Hylians, gazing across the school grounds towards the city.

"Still no sign of movement," a woman next to Zelda said quietly.

"It won't stay like that forever," Zelda replied. "But Impata should be here soon with those explosives he told us about, and then we'll have a more secure perimeter and a better chance at holding this place. I also want some of those crystals on the roof. If they try to land up here I want something to slow them down, and the damage done to the roof won't be too bad."

"Look, over there!" the woman suddenly said, pointing towards the road.

Zelda quickly spotted Impata along with a few others, one of whom looked suspiciously like Arlene as the figure hobbled along next to the tall man. Her suspicions were confirmed when Linebeck suddenly clapped his hands together and raced off, quickly disappearing down the stairs.

"Let's go let them in," Zelda said, following Linebeck towards the Main Hall.

Once Zelda entered the large room she discovered that Linebeck had already beaten them to it. The doors lay wide open, allowing Impata, Arlene, and a few other rebels to enter. Hadiya was also there, much to Zelda's annoyance. One glance from Arlene kept her from saying anything to the Gerudo.

"Welcome," Zelda greeted them all instead, nodding at Impata when he showed her a large bag that was strapped over his shoulder. "Take that out back, I have a group waiting for you to lay down the crystals."

"Yes, ma'am."

Arlene approached Zelda, Linebeck gripping her by the arm to help her, a large smile on his face. "I suppose a congratulations are in order, General," Arlene said brightly, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in months.

Hadiya hung back, but her distance didn't keep her from speaking to Zelda. "Any prisoners?"

Zelda shook her head. "No." Ignoring the suspicious glare on the Gerudo's face, Zelda turned back to Arlene. "Now that we have the schools secured, we need to prepare for Ganondorf's counter strike."

"I've brought the records from the register," Arlene replied, handing a thin monitor to Linebeck. "We should be able to identify all the students with it and start sending them all home."

Hadiya tilted her head. "Is that safe?"

Zelda wanted to ask if she actually cared, but she decided to distract herself instead by taking the computer from Linebeck and scrolling through the list of names. "I take it you sent this to the other schools as well?"

"Yes, yes," Arlene said with a wave of her hand. "My receptionist is delivering the others. And yes," Arlene added, turning to look at Hadiya. "It is safe. Relatively speaking, anyway. Ganondorf won't bother with getting the students back until after he's managed to take back the schools."

Zelda frowned. "You talk like it's an inevitability."

Arlene smiled. "Don't mind me dear; I'm too old to tip-toe around things and try to find the right words to describe a very possible possibility. He's probably received word by now about your success." A flicker of worry passed over her face. "I hope you're ready."

"We are. We'll hold these buildings."

"You'd better, because we're going to need them."

Zelda frowned. "Why do I get the feeling you want these buildings for more than just a base?"

Arlene chuckled and she reached up to pat Zelda on the cheek, as if she were a well behaved child and not the middle aged leader of the rebellion. "You know me so well, dear. ...I think you've been spending too much time with me."

"What is it?" Zelda asked wearily.

Arlene glanced at Hadiya, and the two seemed to suddenly be in their own private conversation. Finally the older woman turned back to Zelda. "There's a reason Ganondorf had these schools built where they were."

Zelda gestured impatiently when she didn't continue.

Once again Arlene glanced over at Hadiya and then back to Zelda. "Follow us. It'll be easier to just show you."

Pushing away her feelings of impatience for the time being, Zelda quickly followed after Arlene, Linebeck, and Hadiya. They went straight for the headmistress' room, and as soon as they were in, Hadiya quickly closed the doors. Zelda was instantly reminded of Ganondorf's throne room as she looked about; the same decadence covered the room, with jewels sparkling from the walls and the floor so well polished she could easily see her reflection.

Arlene cleared her throat, bringing Zelda's attention back to her. "You are aware of the Spirit Tracks, are you not?"

Zelda glanced over at Hadiya and Linebeck, who were digging around in the headmistress' desk. "Of course," she said finally. "Train tracks. They used to be New Hyrule's main mode of transportation."

"Yes. When Ganondorf took over he had them buried, and most of the stations were destroyed along with the trains they housed."

"To keep us from escaping," Zelda added bitterly.

Arlene nodded.

"So what?"

Arlene seated herself on the edge of the large canopy bed, letting herself bounce around on the mattress for a while like a child. "So, recently Hadiya and I have discovered the existence of one of the old train stations. Four, to be exact."

Zelda glanced back at Hadiya. "Wait... are you saying this school is hiding one of the stations?"

"We're right above it," Arlene said with an excited spark in her eyes.

"How did you..." Zelda struggled to sort through all the questions rushing through her mind, organizing them by level of importance; right then, knowing how the two women had found all this out ended up very low on that list. "Why would Ganondorf leave some intact?"

Arlene shrugged. "Who knows! Just in case?"

"You said there were four still in existence..."

"That we know of, at any rate. This one," Arlene said, gesturing towards her feet. "Another underneath the girl's worker's school, and yet another hidden under the scholar's school."

"And the fourth?"

"Right where Hyrule Castle used to be."

Zelda's eyes widened. "You're telling me... there's a train station right underneath Ganondorf's palace?"

"Yes. And if we're very lucky, and I'm feeling very lucky today, the tracks between these four stations will still be intact. We might just be able to use them to get back inside that palace."

Zelda nodded in amazement. "I'm shocked the Gerudo didn't have more security here. Then again, I suppose they never expected us to try and attack them here with so few numbers."

"They weren't counting on good old fashioned Hylian ingenuity," Arlene said, smiling proudly over at her grandson.

"Here!" Hadiya suddenly said, pulling from one of the desk drawers a small remote control. Her face flushing with excitement, the Gerudo quickly pressed one of the buttons. Instantly a small piece of the floor just under Zelda's feet slid to the side. With an annoyed shout, Zelda disappeared into the hole below her. Hadiya looked at Arlene with wide eyes. "Oops."

"You alright down there, dear?" Arlene shouted down the hole, straining her eyes into the darkness.

"There's something wet down here," Zelda shouted back up. "I think it's... not water. It smells awful, and it's slimy."

"Most likely it is some type of mold," Hadiya called down.

"Yes," Zelda snapped, "thank you, Hadiya." There was a moment of silence. "Is anyone going to send me a light down here!?"

A few minutes later found the hole in the floor with a ladder protruding from it, and bright lights shining up from it. Through the hole was a long, wide passageway underground; the walls and roof were mostly stone, with dirt and roots breaking through in some places and pieces of crumbled stone lying on the dirt floor. Along the very center of this passageway, and stretching off in both directions before disappearing in the darkness, was a set of train tracks.

"No train," Hadiya said with disappointment as she climbed down the ladder. Linebeck and Arlene were already down there, along with Zelda, who was toweling off her damp hair with a disgruntled expression on her face. Hadiya quickly leaped from the last rung of the ladder, easily avoiding the small, thick looking puddle of bacterial growth beneath her. She suddenly giggled. "You landed in literally the only puddle here."

Zelda glared at Hadiya before turning her back on her to study the tracks. "These walls... When we were digging our own tunnels a few years back, I remember we ran into something like this. Impal said they were the sewers and should be avoided... so did quite a few others."

Arlene sighed. "You were right outside this place, probably."

The general gave an annoyed snort. "Alright, we're going to need some explosives down here, and-"

"Are you insane!?" Arlene snapped. "You put explosives down here, you could collapse the entire tunnel system!"

"Look," Zelda snapped. "We don't even know if this tunnel is even still connected to the other stations! And I am not going to risk the lives of my people over the very slim chance that they are."

"General," Arlene growled. "This could very well be our only chance to get Link out of there."

"Yes, I realize that. I also realize this could probably be our best shot at getting inside Ganondorf's palace, rescue mission or no. What you don't seem to realize is that Ganondorf knows these places exist, too. You really think he's going to let them go to waste if he thinks we don't know about them?"

Hadiya suddenly stepped into Zelda's line of sight. "We should dig another passage way."

"...What?"

"Dig something small, easy to hide, that goes out a bit and then comes back in a few miles or so down. Then you could just collapse part of this tunnel, while still being able to use it when you need it."

Arlene frowned. "A detour? If we collapse this tunnel we won't be able to get a train through."

Zelda, however, was staring at Hadiya with an expression akin to shock. "No, that's a good idea. There's no train here anyway, and besides, we're used to walking a lot. And if we collapse the tunnel ourselves, Ganondorf will think he doesn't have to worry about us using them." She frowned, as if upset with herself for agreeing with Hadiya. Finally she turned sharply and headed back to the ladder. "Impata!" she shouted up.

"Ma'am?" came Impata's voice from above them.

"Have you finished planting the explosives?"

"We're about halfway through."

"Bring them back in. I want whatever you have left down here."

Zelda spent the next hour organizing all her teams. Most were tasked with digging, but she also insisted on keeping a few just on standby, incase they were attacked before they were done. Finally she turned to Impata. "I want you to take some of those crystals and someone else down the tunnel, far from where we'll be digging our detour's entrance. Collapse it as soon as you think you're far enough away from the school. We don't want it collapsing on top of us."

Impata nodded. "Understood."

"Also, find two others to make sure the other end of the tunnel is collapsed now, just in case Ganondorf knows of a way to sneak around. Sturgeon did give you a way to detonate these things from a distance, right?"

"...Yes."

"Well?"

"He told us to throw some rocks at them, ma'am."

Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. As long as it works. Get to it."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Zelda nodded and then left to join the digging teams. By the time she arrived back in the tunnel she found most were already at work. She was surprised to see that Arlene was also there, a shovel in hand as she helped Linebeck and Hadiya to clear out the piles of stone that the diggers were chipping away at.

"Should you be working this hard?" Zelda asked, observing the thin sheen of sweat that already covered the older woman's face.

"Back off, dear," Arlene replied lightly. "I haven't felt this great in years!" She looked at Zelda, her eyes alight with a happiness that Zelda had never seen in her before. "Digging around old stuff is what I do."

Zelda smiled - sometimes she forgot that Arlene had once been something other than a sage, an archaeologist, from an entire family of people who explored ancient sights - and then grabbed a pickax of her own. Soon the tunnel was filled with the methodical ringing of metal hitting stone. A few minutes later the ground beneath them shook, and a few of their lights fell to their sides before cracking and shutting off. Pausing, Zelda waited a heartbeat before the ground shook again. A small cloud of dust blew past them, stinging at Zelda's eyes.

Hadiya stood next to her. "Now we just have to go around all that rubble those explosions undoubtedly created."

Zelda nodded before swinging her pickax again. For the first time in a long time she began to feel a flicker of hope growing in her. These tunnels may very well be the thing to help them finally end this war. All they had to do was make certain their detour wasn't discovered once it was finished. As her body continued to chip away at the stone walls, Zelda tasked her brain with working on the best way to actually do that.

Ganondorf reclined into his throne with a contented sigh. The fact that General Impa and her rebellion had managed to take over his schools didn't really bother him; he had already sent several Gerudo to deal with the matter. It wasn't until a large part of his army returned that he started to feel a flicker of doubt.

"What are you doing back so soon?" he asked, noting the thick layer of dust and dirt that covered the heavily armored women.

"Milord, the tunnels you ordered us through... they collapsed before we could get to the schools."

Ganondorf straightened. "What!?"

"I think the rebels discovered them and somehow made them collapse."

He leaned back into his chair, considering this. A smile began to twitch at the corners of his mouth. "So they're now useless to the both of us, General. Very well, have it your way."

"...Milord? What are your orders? The rest of the troops will be arriving at the schools soon, they will be expecting us to already be there..."

Ganondorf sighed; he had forgotten his army was still there. "We'll just do this the old fashioned way then. I want you to take some vans and land on the rooftops. And if you see General Impa, make sure to take her alive. I still suspect she knows where Zelda is."

"Yes, sir!"

"Oh, and one more thing, Captain Lucine."

One of the Gerudo, an older woman with hints of grey in her otherwise dark red hair, turned back sharply. "Yes?"

"Make sure the first few vans that land are empty except for the drivers. Our friends will most likely have something prepared for such an attack, so fish whatever their plan is out first, and then send in the real troops. Also, if you see my daughter there make sure you kill her."

The woman looked taken aback for only a moment before she quickly recovered, schooling her features in a perfect expression of neutrality. "Yes, sir!"

"Impal!" Ganondorf shouted as the last few Gerudo troops marched out of the room.

The Sheikah quietly appeared at his side. "Sire?"

"Increase security at our train station."

"But... the tunnels can't be used anymore, sire, and-"

"Silence, fool! She's up to something, I can feel it. That general doesn't have my level of intelligence, but she's not an idiot; she would never give up such an obvious strategic advantage. No, this is more than just the stalemate it appears to be, now do as I say!"

"Immediately, sire."

Ganondorf scowled at the man's back as he retreated from the room. "And somebody bring me some pie!" he finally shouted.

Mmmm, pie.

Thanks for reading!