Chapter 6 – The Cards are Dealt
Demise looked through the eyes of his latest host with satisfaction out towards the scene which lay before him. The sky above him was dark with black clouds that rolled and crashed into each other, but never parted. This was a bleak, sunless land where only foul things grew and flourished. The only rivers nearby were those of volcanic rock and lava glowing orange and yellow as they flowed by. Hundreds of years before he came, another like himself once ruled here, but he had been foolish and sloppy. Demise would not make the same mistakes which brought down the one they had called "the Great Eye."
Flames licked the eyes of his host as he surveyed the army on the training field in front of him, far below the ancient tower which he had occupied and rebuilt upon his entrance in this world. They called themselves "Uruks", their name in the common speech of this world was orcs. These creatures weren't so different from the bokoblins and trolls he used against Hyrule so many times before, but they were stronger and more disciplined, and more importantly, there were tens of thousands of them just waiting for someone strong enough to lead them. Someone like him.
Technically, his host was one of them, but taller, more muscular, and far more vicious than any of them. His gray black skin glistened with foul smelling sweat under the leather and iron armor he wore. A massive sword, too large for any Hylian or "human" to wield hung heavy on his back. Jet black hair was tied back in a thick braid. Sharp yellow fangs were visible as thin lips were pulled back in a grin. The only traces of what this creature and his fellow orcs once had been were the ears which ended in a sharp point, but the elf which he had been had died long ago only to be replaced by the orc. The orc warrior was already the leader of his people, the thousands of orcs below him, but he wanted more. He had wanted the human and elf lands beyond his homeland of Mordor. He had built this army long before Demise had invaded his soul and taken control. None of the orc's people had noticed the difference.
The sages believed that Demise was still caged by the Master Sword, and in part they were right. Most of his essence was still trapped in the Temple of Time within Hyrule. He would not be able to fully manifest in the physical world, any physical world, until the Sword was removed from the pedestal. But it would only be a matter of time. He was certain of that. He had planned and plotted this for hundreds of years, since the last time his host had been killed and he had been fully caged. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would be able to work part of himself free and take possession of some like-minded soul. It was always just a matter of time. It amazed him that the mortal fools who guarded him didn't seem to understand that, although Hylia in her incarnate form never seemed to forget.
It was only by a stroke of fortune that he was able to work his essence free at a time when the doorway was open. It had been a very long time, but he remembered the doorway and that there were other worlds beyond Hyrule. It had been eons, but he remembered where they first came from. He only had to slip through unseen while the fool hero boy hesitated. He didn't bother to listen why the boy had been called there. They would meet eventually. They always did. They always would until he defeated the boy and destroyed his spirit once and for all.
That was why he was here, in the world called "Middle-Earth," in a land called "Mordor." It changed the rules of the game they played. The boy had held him back for thousands of years, but could never keep him from returning. It was a stalemate of sorts which would continue indefinitely until the rules which governed the game changed. He had finally succeeded in seeing to it that they did.
There were Others here in this world. He could feel them, and he knew they could feel him. He was only one, and they were many, yet they kept their distance and left him alone. Typical, he thought, though he considered himself strangely fortunate again that they did so.
He could feel the belief of the orcs on the field flow into his being, building his power as they surrendered their will to his own. He savored it as a sweet wine. When he was done with them, their devotion to him would be absolute, and Hyrule would not know what hit it. It only required that the boy and the cursed sages believe that he had escaped and pull the sword from its pedestal. That was only a matter of time, he was convinced of it. A matter of time and patience and his strategy would bear fruit.
The return through the portal was instantaneous and met with mixed reactions as Zelda, Link, six strange men and a horse stepped through the gateway. Instantly all the sages began talking at once. The men from Earth were overwhelmed at the sight in front of them. They had never before encountered people as different from themselves as the many races of Hyrule represented there in that holy place outside of time. They proceeded down the steps from the gateway and it closed behind them, sinking down into the floor from where it had emerged.
Impa held up her hand and called for quiet, then she said, "you have returned to us successful, young Link." She then motioned towards the men and said, "and you have brought strangers with you? What is the meaning of this?"
Link made to answer her, and then Zelda placed her hand on his arm to stop him, "I can answer that, your grace." Zelda said, glancing quickly at Link, who seemed somewhat relieved he didn't have to do the talking. The men from earth asked her a question, and she gave a quick explanation in their language. The sages took note of that, and whispered to each other knowingly.
Impa raised her eyebrows, and then hastily genuflected, "Of course, my Lady, forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive, faithful Impa." Zelda said as she gently touched her shoulder and bid her rise. "These men have come to us from another world, another reality, to help us defeat the Demon King once and for all."
"Forgive me, my Lady," a large Goron, a mountain of rock in the shape of a man, spoke up, "but that is not possible. You of all people know that. We can only keep him imprisoned, but not even you and all the gods of Hyrule could fully destroy him. The balance, the cycle, must continue and go on."
One of the strange men who seemed to be a leader asked Zelda a question, and she responded. He then said something and she then spoke again, "Colonel Shepherd here is the leader of these men. He comes from a world called Earth, where I was transported to. He and his men have brought the means to the Demon King's final destruction." Turning to the Goron, she said, "You are right, your grace, that all the good powers of Hyrule could not, nor ever can, defeat the Demon King. He was too powerful for that in the beginning, and with his attachment to the Triforce of Power it became an impossibility for any of us." Then she turned to address the rest of the sages around her, "It is my belief this is why the gods took me to Earth."
The sages were quiet as she spoke. She stood tall and regal for a ten year old, and her voice betrayed an authority which went beyond royalty. "Earth, Terra in a language so ancient that we have forgotten what it even sounded like. I remember it as the world we all first came from eons before. Din, Nayru, Farore, Demise, and the others of us who first traveled here to transform this world into a garden paradise where we could be at peace, before we ascended and became this world's protectors, and before Demise and his followers betrayed all of us. I still don't know for certain which of my sisters brought me there, although I have my suspicions. She took me there to find an end to this unending cycle which continues to destroy our world, leaves our survival on a razor's edge, and keeps our people from progressing in wisdom and understanding. And there I found these good people who have been untouched by the cycle of legend."
"These people have fought many like him," She continued, "If the cycle was only influenced by our world then it would continue indefinitely. But the Demon King has altered that balance. At least part of his essence has escaped into another world. His ambitions no longer lie with just Hyrule. Many worlds are now threatened, including the world of these men. Colonel Shepherd bids me tell you that they will help bring him down."
"How is this possible, my Lady?" Another sage, a small girl with green hair but ancient eyes spoke up.
"They have a jewel that, when fixed to the Master Sword, will destroy any demon or god the Sword strikes, permanently." Zelda replied.
The sages all began talking at once again.
It was the weirdest experience of Colonel Shepherd's life. This was saying a lot. He had experienced a lot of truly strange things in his years with the Atlantis expedition. Nothing, however, had prepared him to step inside what was essentially a video game come to life. He stood there as stoically as he could taking it all in. McKay stood next to him fidgeting. The other men kept their weapons ready though Shepherd didn't think it would do any good with this particular group.
He wanted to interrupt and talk to these people directly, but he found himself spellbound by the voice and bearing of the young girl in front of him which went far beyond her one decade of life, or his many decades. Her voice exuded a power which he didn't dare interfere with. It was commanding, yet soothing, regal yet practical. He listened to Zelda talk, and talk, and talk some more, and then the whole place went into an uproar again.
"Uh, what's going on?" He asked Zelda when she had stopped talking.
"The sages are debating about whether what you have claimed could even be possible, or advisable." Zelda responded.
"Why wouldn't it be advisable?" Shepherd asked.
"The legend of Zelda has continued in the same way for many thousands of years. They don't know what will happen if the cycle is broken for good." She told him.
"Is there any way I can talk to them directly? Any magic or something you can do?" He asked her.
Zelda thought about it, trying to remember something. She then placed her palm on his head and closed her eyes in concentration. She mouthed some words, but he couldn't make them out.
Shepherd became light headed, and then he began hearing intelligible words from the myriad of beings around him.
"No, it's not possible! … It must be a trick! … Demise wants us to release him again!" He heard this coming from different directions. "How can it be a trick?" Others were saying, "This has never happened before." Still others were saying, "The princess spoke with the voice of Hylia and you dare to speak against her wishes?"
"Hey!" He shouted. All went quiet very quickly. "That's better." He said.
Impa stared at him intently, not sure what to make of this young man. "Do you have something to add?" She asked.
"Look," he began, "we didn't come here to trick you or cause trouble." He said. "We know your story, some of it anyway, in our world. Don't ask me how, it would take too long to explain, and I'm not even sure I understand it myself. We know this guy keeps coming back, and we know it ruins your world every time it happens. We came here to help you put an end to it. Now, our guys have come up with a weapon we've used against bad guys just like your Demon King before, and they're all dead now and it didn't cause anyone's world to end. Now, we want to work with you on this, we really do. But this guy's threatening Earth, so he's no longer just your problem, but he's our problem now as well. We're going to take him down one way or the other, whether you help us or not."
He finished speaking, and there was silence in the chamber for some time.
"Very well, stranger." Impa finally broke the silence. "But the Hero must be the one to wield the sword. The sword will recognize no other. No one else will be able to handle it. The Hero must deliver the death blow, you cannot interfere. Do you understand this?"
"He's a just a ten year old kid." Shepherd responded. Link, who had been silent this entire time, glared at Shepherd, who then added, "A brave ten year old kid, don't get me wrong."
"So he has been many times before, so he may be again if your jewel does not work." Impa replied. "He was chosen by Farore herself, and holds the Triforce of Courage within him. Only he can deliver the fatal blow."
"Your graces," Zelda began again, "In order for this to work, we must draw the Master Sword and mount the jewel to it. We may not have much time left."
"Time is a luxury we can afford in this place, my Lady." Impa responded. "There is still much for us to discuss and to plan. We cannot decide this in haste."
"What does she mean?" Shepherd asked in a whisper..
"The Temple of Time sits outside of normal time." Zelda replied, "All the sages you see gathered here are all the sages of Hyrule past and present. Time does not pass in this place, this is why the Master Sword is kept here even when the Temple is in ruins in normal time." She said. "They will take as long of a time as they need because no time passes for them or us in our normal times while we are here."
"So we're going to be here for a while?" Shepherd asked.
"Yes." Zelda responded.
Doctor McKay who had been unusually silent this whole time turned to Shepherd and asked, "what's going on now?" Shepherd then did his best to explain everything he had just been told. "So what, we're in some kind of a time dilation field?" Shepherd shrugged his shoulders and mouthed "I don't know, Rodney." McKay ignored it, "but time dilation wouldn't explain all of it, hmm."
The talking amongst the sages went on and the party of six from Earth, tired of standing found places to sit either on benches or up against walls. Zelda remained standing among the sages as she listened intently to all the conversations and debate which was happening at once. Link led Epona over to a corner of the chamber away from the loud voices which were beginning to upset her. Shepherd went to talk to him.
"Hey, no hard feelings about what I said earlier, I hope." Shepherd said to him.
"No." Link responded. "You were right... and wrong." He said as he stroked Epona thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.
"I am just a ten year old boy, but I have the memories of many lifetimes. It's not just memories. I can feel having been places and done things... I've never been outside of my village until recently, and yet I know that I've fought armies almost single handed, I've explored ancient temples, and fought creatures you would only see in your worst nightmares. I've never used the sword I carry in actual fighting, but my arms and muscles remember using swords like it against hundreds of enemies, all trying to kill me. I've never seen the Demon King's face, and yet I can see it clearly, every incarnation of it, in my mind's eye." Link told him. There was a haunted look in his eyes.
Shepherd was silent for a minute, then he said sympathetically, "wow, it must be tough."
Link nodded. "I didn't choose this, it was chosen for me. It is always chosen for me."
"Well, maybe we can make so so you don't get chosen again. I mean so no one else gets chosen like this again. You know what I mean." Shepherd responded.
Link nodded again.
"Colonel Shepherd?" Zelda called to him. The debating and loud voices had ceased.
He left Link to his horse and went back over to where the sages and Zelda stood. The look on Zelda's face was pensive at best. He really didn't like that look. It had bad news written all over it.
"We have debated the matter thoroughly, Colonel Shepherd. We cannot allow the Hero to draw the Master Sword yet." Impa told him.
"So what does that mean? Not yet?" He asked.
"It took a great deal of power to send the Hero to your world, and we are still not recovered from that. We no longer have the power to open the gateway back to your world to be able to reach wherever he has gone to. If what you say is true, the Demon King is not in Hyrule, and he is not at full strength. If we keep the Master Sword in place here, he may not regain strength enough to be a threat for several years. When that time comes, then we will consider your plan. As for you and your people, we are sorry, we cannot yet send you home." Impa told him.
Shepherd took a minute to take in what she just said, and then responded with "what?!"
"We will eventually be able to open to gateway again and return you home, but it may take years. Travel through time, even suspending time, takes relatively very little power, so you see the Temple around us. Travel to other realities is another matter entirely. It is an enormous drain on us. We will return all of you to the time this Hero and the Princess are from. We will contact you when we are able to do more."
McKay asked what was going on, and Shepherd told him. His response was less than pleasant. The four soldiers who came with them weren't pleased either.