Chapter 54

Shiek made his way back to the hideout. He was anxious to report to Impa and tell her what he had witnessed. He stopped into Lon Lon Ranch and had a short visit with Malon and Ingo and then used the hidden entrance to report in. As soon as he was back in the fort, he looked around for Impa. All around the fort, Kokiri and Gorons alike were exercising and talking to no end. After carefully avoiding the crowds of resistance members, he made his way into the fort. Impa and Ralph were sitting around a table glancing at an old map of Hyrule. Upon hearing his arrival, they looked up and smiled warmly at him. Impa walked over to him.

"Well met, Shiek. I assume you are here to report in? Well, how was it? Did you follow Link and the others to make sure they were alright?"

He nodded.

"I did. They are doing well on their own. They were rather saddened at the condition of Lake Hylia."

Impa frowned.

"I know exactly how they feel. I went down to my knees and cried when I first saw that catastrophe. I used to go to Lake Hylia quite often to meditate."

Shiek nodded.

"I know. I used to lose track of you often. That is until you invited me along with you. That was at least four years ago wasn't it?"

Impa nodded.

"That's right. That was back when Ganondorf's evil power was just beginning to spread. Lake Hylia was still full of clean pure water back then. But enough about that. Did Link and the others get into the Water Temple?"

Shiek nodded.

"Yes. They got into the temple. Wait until I explain how they got in."

Impa cocked her head to one side.

"What do you mean? They obviously swam down into the temple, correct?"

Shiek nodded.

"Yes, but not as human beings. Brad's fairy Izzy turned them into zoras."

Impa and Ralph gasped in shock. Ralph shook his head.

"Wow. So that's what Her and Brad were hiding. I never imagined that kind of power actually existed."

Impa sat down on a nearby chair.

"Either did I. I will have to talk to Brad and Izzy about that if I get the chance. I never imagined one tiny fairy could hold such incredible power. Good job, Shiek. Ralph, would you please leave us? We need to talk in private."

Ralph nodded and left the room and walked out of the fort. Impa turned to Shiek.

"So, do you think Link has any idea about your true identity yet?"

Shiek shook his head.

"No I don't believe so. He was a little suspicious of me when we first met, but I don't think he suspects anything now. He believes that I am who I said I was."

Impa smiled.

"That's good. I don't believe anybody knows of your true identity. It appears that even Ganondorf is too busy to look into it. When do you want to tell Link?"

Shiek puts his hands on his chin.

"I don't want to tell him unless it's absolutely necessary."

Impa frowned.

"You do realize you will eventually have to tell him if we want to have any hope of getting rid of Ganondorf, right?"

Shiek groaned.

"Impa! I realize that, but I don't want to talk about that right now. We will deal with that when the time comes, okay?"

Impa sighed and nodded.

"Okay, Shiek. Have it your way."

Onox was sitting with Ganondorf in his tent. He was con fused. Why did his brother want to go after a bunch of zoras? Surly stopping his creation was more important? Onox grinned. He didn't care too much. He was just happy that he managed to fool his brother into giving him leadership over the gerudo army. The fool had some knowledge of magic, but he didn't come close to his own mastery of magic and the dark arts. He looked at Ganondorf.

"So, we are going to Lake Hylia to stop some zoras? That sounds very boring, brother. Why don't we go and stop your creation instead? The way you described her to me, she sounds like a more worthy adversary."

Ganondorf glared at him.

"Didn't I already tell you who one of those zoras are? The Hero of Time is among them and I want to put a stop to his efforts. He is cleansing the temples of evil one by one so far. He also has Dark Link and those annoying fairies to help him along."

Onox grinned at him.

"I still can't believe you haven't been able to stop them permanently. You touched the triforce! That must have given you some measure of power. Though I doubt it would even compare to my own power anyway."

Ganondorf gritted his teeth angrily.

"You are not going to put me into a bad mood today, brother. Those fairies have been giving him extra strength and abilities. We have to stop them now! As for my power, I have been unable to focus it properly. You don't have to insult me like that."

Onox smiled.

"Relax, brother. I can help you with that as well. As long as you listen to me and don't disobey me. I wouldn't want to be forced to hurt you. You've made your point though. Let's go to that temple at Lake Hylia. Do you have a plan once we're inside?"

Ganondorf frowned.

"Hmm. There was this one room where I was planning on sending Dark Link quite a while ago. I could teleport us into there. That way, we will be undetected by those fools."

Onox nodded.

Good work, Commander. You can actually come with up with good ideas. We will go there in one moment. I just want to talk to General Saska. I'm going to leave her in charge of the army until we get back."

Onox stood up and walked out of the tent. Saska was standing guard outside. Upon seeing him, she saluted smartly.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

Onox smiled.

"I am leaving with my brother. We are going to the Water Temple and I am leaving you in charge until we get back."

Saska swelled with pride. Ganondorf would never do a thing like that!

"Thank you very much, sir! I won't disappoint you!"

Onox smiled at her.

"I just want to make one thing clear before I go. If you mess anything up or try to plan anything behind my back, I will have you executed. I've seen the way you and the other gerudo look at me and I will not have disloyal soldiers! Is that clear?"

Saska's legs were shaking like jelly. She saluted clumsily.

"Y-y-yes sir!"

Saska was starting to become afraid of Ganondorf's brother. He was a lot more strict than his brother and she was beginning to think that it was a big mistake letting him lead the army. She watched as him and Ganondorf teleported away. She walked over to inform the gerudo soldiers about her temporary position as leader. Suddenly, she heard someone calling her.

"General Saska! I need to have a word with you!"

She looked towards the tents and there was a gerudo soldier waving her over. She walked over to see what she wanted.

"What is it, soldier? I have a lot on my mind right now."

She shrugged.

"Not much. I just wanted to talk. Onox made quite the display before don't you agree?"

Saska nodded suspiciously.

"Uh, yes I guess he did. What's this all about?"

The gerudo smiled.

"How nice of you to ask. My name is Jasmine and me and some of the other gerudo soldiers are planning a rebellion. Me and the other gerudos don't like Onox and the way he threatened us with his power. I was the one you were talking to earlier and I told you this would happen. We are going to see how many people we can get to join the rebellion. We need to know which side your going to be on before I make the announcement."

Saska couldn't believe her ears. Her own soldiers were planning a rebellion! She looked into Jasmine's eyes and were as cold as steel. She was unsure what to do, so she decided to take a different approach and try and reason with her.

"Look Jasmine, he just took over as leader. We have to at least give him a chance to show that he cares about us, don't we?"

Jasmine smiled and shook her head.

"Nice try, but no way. He's crazy. I was within hearing range when he issued orders to you. He threatened to kill you! Why are you sticking up for him? Make your choice quickly, general. I didn't kill you earlier and I don't want to kill you now. You're a good leader. You've made sure that every soldier got a bite to eat and had a warm bed to sleep in for years now. I know you're smart enough to pick the right side."

Saska sighed and she spent a few minutes thinking things over. If she managed to survive the attacks from Jasmine and the other rebels, surly Onox would kill her when he returned. If not, Ganondorf would for sure. She sighed and stared into Jasmines green eyes and nodded in approval.

"Fine. I'll join you and your rebellion."

Jasmine smiled and patted her on the back.

"I knew you would make the right decision. I thought you weren't going to join us. What made you change your mind?"

Saska grinned.

"That's easy. Do you think I want to stick around when Onox and Ganondorf return? They would kill me for sure! I'm also starting to realize what you mean about Onox. He doesn't care about us at all."

Gerudos behind Jasmine cheered for their general. Jasmine began to cheer with them.

"That's the spirit! Now, I need you to protect me while I make my announcement. I think there will be some that won't agree with what I say."

Saska grinned.

"Not to worry. I will tell any soldiers that join this rebellion to fight anyone that cause trouble. That will discourage anyone from fighting."

Jasmine laughed.

"That's a great idea! This is going to be so perfect!"

There was one issue that was beginning to bother Saska. She decided to find out about it.

"Hey Jasmine? Where are we going once we get our rebels? It would be crazy to stay here."

She snorted.

"Of course we're not staying here! This is the best part of my plan. We are going to march back to Veran with a lot of rebels and we will tell her how we were held prisoner and how we managed to escape while Ganondorf and Onox were away. It's brilliant! I know I said earlier that I'd rather be here with Ganondorf than back with Veran, but she has to be better than Onox."

Saska scratched her chin.

"Yeah I guess you're right. So, let's get this started!"

Jasmine nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Gather up all of the soldiers and let's see how they react to the news."

Saska walked over in front of Ganondorf's tent and tried her best to get everyone's attention.

"Attention, everyone! I need every soldier to stop what they doing and listen to me now!"

Within a few short minutes, she had all seven hundred and fifty gerudo soldiers gathered around her. She looked at everyone and smiled.

"Thank you for listening, troops. My good friend Jasmine has something to tell you all."

Jasmine stepped forward and spread her arms wide.

"I am offering you all a chance to get away from here and away from that maniac Onox. Join my rebellion. We will get away from Onox's reach by joining forces with Veran. She is a skilled sorceress and she will surly help us. Who's with me? Who wants to escape Onox's wrath? I don't know about all of you, but I don't want to be killed by that maniac!"

There was a lot of angry grumbling and a lot of cheering. Saska walked far away from Ganondorf's tent where there were no soldiers standing. She shouted as loud as she could at the soldiers.

"Any soldier who is willing to join the rebellion, come over in front of me and form a crowd!"

About half of the army crowded around Saska. She wiped a tear from her eye. She couldn't believe so many of the soldiers she commanded had joined the rebellion. Jasmine walked over to Saska. She had a worried look to her face.

"I don't like this, general. Those soldiers that didn't join the rebellion don't look very happy. "

Saska stood to one side of the crowd of soldiers and looked over at the other group. All of them were glaring angrily at her. One soldier stepped forward. Saska recognized her immediately. This was the same gerudo that stopped her earlier and brought her to Ganondorf for questioning. She was a lot older than most gerudo women and she had bright yellow eyes. She pointed at her.

"You! I knew you couldn't be trusted. Ganondorf was a fool to ever put his trust in you ever again! Don't think you're going to leave this desert without a fight!"

Jasmine started to curse angrily.

"Darn it! If we stay here and fight, our losses will be very heavy. Can't you do something, general?"

She nodded.

"I was the one that taught Ganondorf the teleport spell. But with this many people, I'm going to need to concentrate a lot. Try to stall them for me while I try to concentrate."

Jasmine nodded. She looked over at the old gerudo.

"You are an old fool. Do you know that? Onox is going to crush this army under his heel. Can't you and the rest of the soldiers realize that?"

She shook her head sadly.

"You are a fool. Onox is Ganondorf's brother! He's here to help us, not hurt us. If you were a true gerudo soldier, you would see that."

Jasmine laughed.

"Yeah right. He put Saska in charge and then threatened to kill her afterwards. How is that helping? Let's not forget about that display when he first got here. He turned into a dragon and nearly scared all of us half to death!"

Saska had enough power built up. She whispered at Jasmine.

"I think I can teleport all of us now. We will end up outside of Gerudo Valley near that old ranch."

She nodded and smiled at the old gerudo.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, but we've got to go now. Have fun dealing with Onox when he returns. Okay, Saska. Do it now!"

Saska held up her hands and released a burst of green light. Within seconds, it covered Jasmine, Saska and all of the Gerudos of the rebellion. The other gerudos shielded their eyes. When the glowing cleared, the gerudos opened their eyes and gasped in shock. The other crowd of gerudos were gone without a trace. The old gerudo smiled in admiration.

"A teleport spell. Very clever. If I ever get my hands on you two, I'll have your heads on a pike!"

Author's notes.

There we are! I finally managed to finish this. I'm not about to reveal any spoilers about Shiek, so please don't ask. This stupid heat is a major pain. My next chapter will focus on the water temple. Tomorrow marks one year since I started writing this story so huzzah to me.