Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART

Chapter Twenty Nine - Acceptance

Zelda and Cole had been thrown in a separate cell from the others; chained back to back on a little up turned box, they were upset and irritable; Cole showed it more however, constantly grumbling and snarling under his breath phrases like: 'They can't do this…' or 'They're idiots, they harm who they are meant to help…' Zelda meanwhile had tried to think of a plan; she knew Link would be, heck, he would have worked out a way to get out in seconds with a musical number and fireworks to follow. She felt like an idiot; and there were lots of questions why Pippa had run off, she was the type to protect Link against anything; anything from dangerous danger to jealousy regardless on the consequences. She had to say…she missed her…

"You said you would tell me later, it's now later, tell me what's going on between you and Aurora." Zelda sighed leaning back on her brother

Cole considered his words and shuffled a little in his seat "Aurora is an immortal being; she was sent here for two reasons, one of business and the other of personal. Link being involved in both. She knows the past and the present and the world like the back of her hand; she's seen it for herself."

"But what does she have to do with Link?" Zelda asked keeping her voice down

"Link has powers between mortal and immortal; though Aurora is not clear on where in the scale, she believes that he is the only cure for our world, the only proper cure that is. She says he would be able to rid a town of the illness with his power alone now, when at full power; he could rid the entire of Hyrule in one swoop, though she didn't say how."

"So, Link is…a god?"

"No, remember what the Sheikah said? Earth Mage. Link can do one of two things; he can give life…or he can take it away. Link can be your worst enemy or your best friend."

Zelda flinched "Does this mean he would kill us?"

Cole weaved a hand through the chains and held Zelda's "Don't let this change how you view him, Link would never harm us and he's too weak to. If he uses his shield for more than a few moments, it drains him; he needs a lot of fire to be able to cast one. I've watched him create one."

Zelda said nothing for a short while. "Does he know what he can do?"

Cole could not answer. Link was a kind soul who would never harm anyone unless he had to and even then it would be a last resort. Question was; why would they just want the Earth Mage? What good would half do?

"HOLY MOTHER OF FARORE!" Tempus shrieked as Sky landed on Goron Mountain; his razor blade wings almost slicing him in half upon landing.

"Try eating me now, you half-baked hero!" Sky screamed opening his beak to squawk, said squawk being so strong that when he stopped, Tempus's hair was firmly blown back into a new hairstyle…and it stayed like that. Impa covered her mouth to stop the giggles from escaping. Though Tempus would love having a laugh with you; he had seen so much in his six bodies and because of this; it was hard to scare and shock him.

"I wasn't going to, I was joking. You are so easy to tease!" Tempus smirked brushing his hair back into its normal place with some difficulty. "Why are you that size anyway?"

"I'm going to fly us to Termina, my way." Sky spoke, puffing out his chest

"You can fly there, but not me." Ezekiel whispered turning around to walk back inside the mountain. Impa slid off Sky's back and ran up to him, grabbing the fabric of his shoulder

"They are already as good as dead without you." she said, rubbing his shoulder "I know you're scared to face them but one of your children will die in the morning if you don't show yourself; do you want to burden them further?"

"I know what Link and Rosie are, now more than ever, but there is nothing I can do." Ezekiel sniffed, a crystal tear rolling down his cheeks "I can't save them now."

Impa turned him around and smiled at him for a moment. "You can. What happened to my little rebel little brother, huh? The one who cared for neither consequences nor sanctions? Link and Rosie have followed in your footsteps without even knowing; Rosie is as smart as a Sheikah scholar and about as grumpy too in the mornings, she can read the book you left her. And what about Link? He can hit a target from almost every direction, he works and trains as hard as a Sheikah teen and has gained the friendship of the royals. They would make honourable Sheikah Guardian if given the chance, possibly even more."

"What are you saying?" Ezekiel asked, lowing his shoulders

"The Myth of the Twin Gods." Impa whispered in his ear "Mortal gods that were born together with opposite powers; born in an act of innocent rebellion…"

"One who can give life and the other who can take it away; should they work against each other, they would be at a stalemate. But together; they can be an unstoppable force…" Tempus joined in

"Should one perish, the other will lose their power and vanish into nothing. Humble and brave they use the powers of the ground and sky to become who they are, fighting only for the side they see fit..." Sky added

"The world is no playground and before the mortal gods are born, one would have already been harmed so the other could live to the full." Ezekiel ended, throwing his arms down "Yes, yes, I am fully aware of the myth; I left to hide them, you know that!"

Impa clicked her fingers and shuffled to the side as Ezekiel was pinned down by one of Sky's claws

"Either you get on Sky's back on your terms or mine!" Impa snapped as he struggled under Sky's weight. Tempus tightened his belt; Sky had never offered him a ride before.

The cell door opened; Cole and Zelda screwed their eyes shut as the morning sunlight shone through onto them. "Have you made your decision?" the woman from before asked, her tattoos pulsing on her face

Zelda squeezed Cole's hand in fear "We can't tell you."

"Very well, you have decided their fate." she spoke sternly; clicking her fingers for two people to release them and bring them to the show.

They could hardly watch as Link and Rosie were tied together on a post in the middle of a red circle in an oval, Rosie kept glaring at Zelda as the Sheikah fought to put a blindfold over her face; Link seemed to be asleep, he had been thrown around and had accepted the blindfold and gag without any incidents. Huge piles of branches and straw were thrown around them, filling the inside of the oval including the red mark and strange blue powder was scattered on half of the wood; turning a rich shade of green. Aurora had been pulled out of her cell to watch also, but there was a rope around her neck preventing her from moving like a dog. Cole swallowed hard when he saw Link's hand travel to his sister's and squeeze it; he seemed very calm. Perhaps too calm.

"The Half-Shadow do not belong to our tribes, nor our world; we offer these sacrifices to you, the mutations on two perfect races!" a voice howled, not sure on where they were coming from. The logs were lit sending red fire and ash at one end and blue fire and smoke at the other. Cole saw Rosie shift as much as her binding would let her but Link did nothing. Still nothing. He just held Rosie's hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb; his head slowly rose up and even though there was a gag and blindfold on his face, he seemed to be smiling.

Cole reached for Zelda and covered her eyes as the fire around Link and Rosie began to almost lean in his direction before the whole lot was snuffed out and flew towards Link's closed hands. Two neon blue lights could be seen though the blindfold and the bindings around them began to rip and come apart as a blue diamond formed around Link; his ears pricked up as he heard bow strings be pulled back and daggers be drawn; though he could not see them, he raised himself up off the floor and took his sister's hand as he did so; pulling her into the safety of the shield and hugged her tightly as arrows and the odd spear bounced off it; Rosie clung onto Link for dear life and untied their blindfolds

"Link, what's happening?" she squealed looking into his crystalline eyes and got no reaction; he kept a tight grip on her; holding her around the waist and back with his flame covered fingers; though they did not burn or singe her clothes.

He brought them down softly when the arrows had stopped firing at them and allowed Rosie to leave the safety of the shield; the bottom of the diamond broke through the thin layer of melting snow and stony ground below creating sparks and throwing small chunks of rock around. He lifted his arms up from his sides and dispelled the shield; the fire around his fingers changed from their eerie blue tinge to a beautiful green. His ears and eyes travelled across the terrified crowds as if to search for something before lowering his arms with a sigh; he blinked a few times and offered a hand to Rosie; she hesitated for a few moments before taking it; trusting her brother fully once more he brought her in for a hug, her face hidden in his chest as each ill Sheikah began to yowl; screaming in pain as purple smoke and bubbles rose from their chests and shoulders; Link outstretched and arm and roared as a figure appeared high in the sky. Just a figure without face or voice but had a humanesque body.

It faced him; the part that was its head was gazing at the parts that were its hands, flexing the fingers a few times unsurely it walked forward, starting to show a pair of blank white eyes that were mere holes. It thrust an arm out; they could hear Link beginning to choke on his breath as his clothes got tighter around his neck. Rosie turned her head as Link's grasp on her back got loose. She screamed, the very sound of her voice entering a pitch so high that the figure moaned and held the place where their ears would be; losing its hold on Link's breath.

Aurora let out a shout that made Link turn his head as his bow and quiver were thrown at his feet; the powerful arrows slipped out from within their points facing the figure. Link raised an eyebrow and picked them up in his hands; letting them float above his green palms before creating the diamond shield once more. The figure followed him up into the air arms outstretched in an effort to grab him; Link dispelled the shield and stabbed both the fire arrow and ice arrow into the figure's chest; forcing his weight onto the figure, the arrows pierced through the figures body with a scream. Link was thrown to the floor rolling across a roof of a building leaving everyone else to watch the figure roar and scream in pain as it disappeared in a wispy line of smoke.

Rosie rushed into the building and moved some of the rubble to get to her unconscious brother underneath

"Link? Link, can you hear me?!" she shouted feeling for his pulse as a shadow cast over them from the doorway, it was a man of a decent build with a thick crop of dark brown hair, eyes that were blood red and soft towards them; scars crossed his face from tattoos that had once been there and wore a thin red tunic build for the humans and Hylians that ventured into the hottest sections of the Goron Mountain. He looked a little spellbound and a little shy to come closer but slowly made his way forward and started shifting bricks near Link's face.

"Don't touch him!" Rosie spat, her words almost as venomous as the spit that touched his cheeks; how dare they try and help now, not after how they were treated. The man spoke no words and pushed some red tiles away from Link's face and slotted his hands underneath Link's underarms to gently pull him forward; that's when Rosie spotted how their hair looked similar and their faces almost identical. The man rested Link's head on a dusty pillow in the next room and took a step back as Rosie dusted her brother's back free of pieces of tile and wood; her gaze kept meeting the man. Had she mistaken him or was this the man that Link had hoped to find, who their mother had told them of? It made her sick to her stomach knowing that he had vanished from their lives only to expect to be allowed back in like nothing had happened and assume the role of their father. He had never been there, he had not even tried to show his face, Mother had not even told them about him till this day and even then she had been the last to know. She stood up from Link's body and made fists. The man tilted his head to the side like Link did when he was confused, she flinched slightly "Don't do that." she snarled glaring at him

"I'm sorry, Rosie." the man whispered, Rosie let out a scream and slammed her fists into the man's chest pushing him over with a force that half winded him. He rolled over as she tried to strike again and stood back up; catching her wrists as she tried to wallop his chest again. Time seemed to stop for a few seconds as they stared into each others eyes; Rosie gave that dagger glare that meant 'I don't like you.'

"Let go of me!" Rosie snarled, growling like a dog, the man took a firm grip of her chin in his fingers and raised his eyebrows to soften his glare

"Are you finished?" he asked his voice low, almost like a warning

"Not even close!" Rosie roared "I imagine Link would have something to say to you, but since he can't, I'll have to say it for both-" she did not get the chance to complete her threat before her face was brought to into a hard chest and a hard chin rested in her whitening hair. She could hear his heart beat like a war drum of the Gorons, it eased her slightly but she still struggled as strong arms held her close; she took in his scent, a concentrated smell of blood and sweat and fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her face began to feel wet, her aim to choke him "You'll never be my father…!"

"Doesn't mean I can't try to mean something to you-" Ezekiel whispered loosening his grip slightly but not letting go of his very angry daughter; how beautiful she looked, even with the illness, she showed so much of his late wife, how he missed her, how he had missed his children over these long years.

"You mean nothing to me-us-you're a stranger!" Rosie howled shuffling back towards Link's body

Ezekiel looked hurt and chewed his lip "Rosie, I know that it's asking a lot and I'm sorry that I left it as late as this; I regret leaving you two and your mother alone like that, but surely she must have told you, isn't this why you came out?"

Rosie shook her brother's shoulders "This is why he came out. As far as I'm concerned, I have no father!"

"Why did you come then? You could have stayed in Hyrule."

"I wanted to help Link. He can't talk. He never has been able to."

"I know and I know why. He sacrificed his voice; a luxury that many people forget about to give you your life."

Rosie stood up slowly, her arms glued to her sides. "Why did you leave us?"

"The Sheikah had found us when you were two. I'm so sorry, Rosie, but know that I ran so that you could live in peace. A life on the run is no life worth living for a child." Ezekiel whispered turning around to take his leave. Something took his hand

"When you hugged me, I felt something on your chest; what is it?" Rosie asked holding his hand tightly; Ezekiel pulled out a chain and pendent from around his neck the shape of a heart and clicked it open. Inside were a bunch of tiny gears all ticking away to show the time and two pictographs, one of their late mother smiling on horseback and the other was of two babies, one fast asleep while the other was giggling with their knees raised; though the pictograph was in black-and-white, the one awake had thick dark hair while the other was much lighter and longer.

"It's the only thing I have to remind me of the life I had." Ezekiel mumbled wiping a tear away and closing the pendent "Your mother gave me this when I left. I have treasured it since then."

Rosie let out a whimper and ran into Ezekiel's chest; holding the fabric of his tunic in her hands, crying. Ezekiel hugged her, allowing her to shed her angry and sad tears and to trickle some of his own too.

He had missed them.

He had missed them so much.

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THAT ENDING! OMG! I don't have many questions about this chapter for you, but I bet you do. Did Ezekiel know what Link and Rosie were? Or...was he guessing? Tempus's hair...just imagine it after being screamed at by Sky; anyone know who Sky is?
Till next chapter folks