Chapter 3
Link stared out over the railing at the tall spires of the floating city and the deep blue ocean beyond it. Colonel Shepherd had brought him to eat lunch on the outside terrace of the mess hall which held one of the most stunning views he had ever laid eyes on. The ocean of Earth was so vast it made him feel small and insignificant. He remembered the oceans of Hyrule from his past lives, and his own personal visits in his youth with Dr. McKay; always looking for the linking book that turned out to be right under their noses the whole time. Link smiled and chuckled at the memory of McKay's face when he found out.
"So your two boys," Shepherd began to ask as he joined him, two trays of food in his hands, "what are their names?" The trays were slid carefully on to the small table.
Link turned from the expansive scene to face him, and smiled, "Talon and John."
Shepherd grinned widely upon hearing the boys' names, and said, "Good names!" He then asked as he sat down, "Do they look like you or Zelda?"
A horrified and embarrassed look spread over Link's face, "Her highness isn't their mother!" He said hurriedly.
"What?" Shepherd said in confusion, shrugging his shoulders and gesturing with his metal silverware. "I thought that was how it was supposed to work. You save the princess, the two of you get married, and you live happily ever after in a big castle. Until the next time." He then added, "I used to live in the castle too. It was pretty big."
Link sat down opposite him, and said, "I'm sorry." He said apologetically. "No, it didn't happen that way. Not this time. Maybe it's because I never actually saved her personally from anything. No, Zelda and I never got together, and never got married. My wife's name is Malon."
Shepherd snapped his fingers trying to remember a face with the name. "Malon, Malon... Hey, wasn't that the name of the farm girl with the red hair out at Lon Lon Ranch? She was what, fifteen the last time I saw her? She was pretty cute as I remember, and worked miracles with some of the toughest horses I've seen."
"You know her?" Link asked in disbelief.
"I'd met her a couple of times. Really nice kid. You remember for six years I had your job, and had to go out there to settle things for the cavalry horses with Talon." Shepherd explained. "You were out roaming the countryside getting yourself into trouble with Rodney." He reminded Link. "Talon was a good man, but Malon really ran things for him. It was pretty obvious."
Link smiled, "She still does," he joked, "at least in our family."
"You did well, buddy." Shepherd said. He then asked, "So Hyrule's doing well then? I mean besides the whole thing with the sword?" Shepherd asked.
"Hyrule has grown and thrived. We now have a train system connecting all the parts of the kingdom, and were looking to expand it further to other friendly lands to open up further trade. Our men are as well trained and disciplined as they've ever been. The land is at peace except for a few border skirmishes with rogue Bokoblin tribes. Zelda is to be crowned queen upon my return. All is going very well."
"Queen? What happened to King Gaepora?" Shepherd asked.
"He passed away from a long illness a month past." Link responded.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Shepherd said sincerely. "Gaepora was a good man, and good ruler."
"Yes, he was." Link agreed.
"But Zelda's sharp as a tack. She'll take care of business the right way. She always has." Shepherd said.
"No one doubts that." Link agreed. "So how long do you think it will take Dr. McKay to give us an answer?" He asked.
"Not long, I hope. It all depends on whether or not anything about the sword is in the city's database, and if it is, how long it takes to find it." Shepherd said. "But, we've got the time, as you said, so let's not worry about it just yet. You just got here, and it's been two years for me and nine for you."
And so they relaxed together as two old friends, and talked about their lives, their mutual friends, and became reacquainted. Neither of them paid any attention to the strange looks different Atlantis team members gave Link as they saw him from within the mess hall.
One little boy who was there with his mother, a scientist assigned to Atlantis, pulled on his mother's hand and said loudly, "Mommy! Is that..." She turned around to look before he could finish his sentence to see the green clad, pointed eared young man having lunch with Atlantis' military base commander. "No, Tyler," she said, unsure of her own answer, "It's probably just some friend of the Colonel's from off world." The little boy continued to stare as his mother made him move on. For the mother's part, the large eyed, elfin eared young man hadn't been the strangest visitor she'd ever seen on the base.
"The Ancients called it the lamna clavia." Rodney explained to Shepherd, Link, and Woolsey as they met in Woolsey's office the next day. "Roughly translated, it means, 'the key blade.'"
Link had been offered his own guest quarters in the city, but on the Colonel's invitation chose to sleep on Shepherd's couch that night. It worked out well as Shepherd introduced him to watching a broadcast of the sport of American football that he had told him about so many years before.
"The ancestors called the Master Sword, 'the key blade?'" Link asked.
"Yeah. It took a little bit of digging, but Bill had the idea from another game called 'Kingdom Hearts,'" Rodney began to explain. Upon which Shepherd piped up, "played it. Decent game."
"If I may continue?" Rodney said impatiently.
"Sure." Shepherd said, gesturing back to Rodney.
"It's about some kid named Sora who who runs around with a sword shaped like a key. He fights bad guys with a bunch of Disney characters." Rodney continued.
Shepherd took a sideways glance at Link, and then shuddered at the idea of having to run ops alongside Mickey Mouse. "No thanks." He remarked.
"Anyways," Rodney said, annoyed, "there's this sword in that game that's used to open up portals from one realm to another, and it's called a key blade. So, since that kind of sounded like one of the important functions of the Master Sword we tried running a search term through Atlantis's database using the ancient phrase 'lamna clavia' and presto! It came up with specifications, blueprints, everything we need. Turns out, it wasn't that hard to find really. We just had to know what we were looking for." Rodney explained.
"Okay, the key blade, so it was originally made here then? On Atlantis?" Woolsey asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, it was, believe it or not." Rodney responded excitedly. "It turns out the ancients made several of these key blades tailored to allow access to specific realities through very specific gates so that only the right person or people could or would be allowed to pass through. They were all controlled by the key blades A.I. which in Master Sword's case was Fi. There's even a complete copy of her original program in the database. I mean, it's all there. Everything we need to rebuild it."
"Really, you can reforge the sword?" Link asked, not fully believing his good fortune.
"Absolutely." Rodney said with glee. "Also, I know why it shattered in the first place."
"By all means, tell us." Woolsey said.
"The blade itself exploded." Rodney said.
"Okay, we knew that, Rodney." Shepherd said, a little perturbed.
"Yeah, but now I know why there was an explosion." The scientist said with some glee.
"Why?" Link asked.
"Bill and I analyzed the shard of the blade that was still left in the hilt. Want to know what it was composed of?" McKay asked.
"What?" Shepherd asked impatiently. "Get to the point, Rodney."
Rodney overemphasized the word, "Naquida." He then continued, "It was a composite of specially programmed trinium nanites joined together into a really complex neural network of circuits like cells in a body. These nanites were the bonded and embedded into a naquida base. The circuits for Fi and for some of its other more amazing abilities drew their power from the slow degradation of the naquida. And, the naquida could absorb, store, and release energy like a capacitor. Extra energy absorbed by the blade, if it wasn't released should have strengthened the nuclear bonds between the nanites. The truth is, nothing, I mean nothing should have been able to shatter it."
"I thought you said you knew what caused it to explode." Woolsey said.
"Yeah, I do. The sangraal jewel we attached to it." Rodney said.
"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.
"The blade was meant to absorb energy, while the sangraal jewel was meant to disrupt it and cancel out the energy waves of ascended beings. When Link activated it and used it to kill Demise and his host, the blade couldn't handle the conflicting energy pulses and overloaded instead, causing a tiny nuclear explosion localized to Demise's host." Rodney explained further.
"Well then how did Link and the hilt survive a nuclear blast?" Woolsey asked in disbelief.
"Nayru's love." Link said. "It was the remnants of Nayru's love covering me and the hilt of the sword."
"Nayru's love?" Woolsey asked, not understanding. "Who's Nayru?"
"Nayru's love is a shield spell the Hylians use, kind of like those Ancient personal shields we've found around the city." Shepherd explained. "Except it doesn't last more than a few minutes of combat."
"I see." Woolsey rubbed his face in his hands, trying to process what he was hearing. "So doctor, let me get this straight. The Master Sword, this key blade, exploded because of the modification we made to it in order to kill Demise, does that about sum it up?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Rodney said.
"It's our fault." Shepherd said quietly, angry at himself. "We put Hyrule in danger trying to do a good deed. Dammit, after this many years you'd think we'd have learned by now to not try and upset the balance of things we know nothing about."
"But, you can reforge it. We still have time to save my world? Right?" Link asked.
"Yeah, absolutely. We've got all the materials right here on Atlantis, and it wouldn't take much." Rodney responded with confidence.
"And you can restore Fi?" Link asked.
"Yeah, I believe so. The circuitry's pretty complex, and the main circuits in the hilt took a pretty bad beating, but yeah, I think so. I don't know if she'll have all of the memories of the Fi you knew, but the base program should be the same." Rodney replied. "But she'll be able to open the portals anyways."
"Good enough." Shepherd said.
"How long?" Link asked.
"Uh, let me think. We just have to get the replicator table back up and running again, and load the specs into the system... uh.. time to get the materials and everything into place... time to write the program to make it all come together again... and a couple of days tops? I think. I didn't think we were in a super big hurry on our end."
"A couple of days?" Link thought about it. "That should be perfect. I just wish I could get a message to Impa and let her know."
"No, can't try that yet. I looked at the gate coordinate she wrote down. Even for us at full power, that's a three zed p.m. connection. If we hadn't found the zero point module factory I wouldn't have even tried to dial it up." Rodney explained. "It's a one shot deal. I don't know how she got the power to send you here for that matter."
"She used the Triforce of Power." Link reminded him.
"Oh. Well then it should have been no problem for her." Rodney said sheepishly.
"Okay, so Link spends a few days on Atlantis, we fix the sword, he takes it back and heals the Sacred Realm, and everything's kosher right?" Shepherd asked. "Did I leave anything out?"
No one had anything to add.
"Good, then we have a plan. Let's get to it gentlemen. Supreme Commander," Woolsey addressed Link with his formal title, "as a formal dignitary of the Kingdom of Hyrule, I invite you to be our welcome guest and to enjoy your stay here on Atlantis. Please let me know if I can do anything to make your stay here more comfortable."
"Thank you Mr. Woolsey." Link responded in kind.
The day was beautiful around Hyrule Castle as the sun rose and everyone prepared for the crowning of their new queen. Guests from all over their world, Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, representatives from Labrynia and Paladrum from across the sea, the Mayor of Clock Town and his retinue from Termina, and the honored guests, his majesty King Eldarion the second of the United Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor and his royal council and their retinue from Middle Earth had gathered to pay their respects and tribute to the newly crowned queen whose generous support had saved their world from catastrophe. The preparations for the coronation festival in Castle Town were in place and everyone was in a festive mood.
The clock tower tolled the hour before noon, and the ceremony had begun in earnest as all the guests who were able and invited to filled the royal great hall of Hyrule Castle to witness Zelda's coronation before the throne of her father. Around the perimeter of the hall and up in the balconies stood the gray uniformed Castle Guard watching the crowd intently rifles at the ready, each an expert marksman, though none of them expected any serious threats. The Princess was much loved by everyone in the crowd, and the whole of Hyrule's professional standing army, over two thousand, well trained and disciplined men, all had been assigned in and around the castle, castle town, and the surrounding region in a pattern of concentric circles on Link's orders to prevent anything from ruining the most important day of the Princess's life.
As the ceremony began, trumpets blared in unison announcing the arrival of the Princess to the throne room. What the people in the crowd did not expect was the red haired woman dressed in an identical silver, gold, and pink gown to Zelda's displaying the Hylian royal family's crest accompanying her onto the dais. They were flanked by Sir William and Sir Portant, Link's generals and second in rank only to himself. He insisted on trusting the immediate security of Zelda, and unknownst to him, Malon, to no one else.
"My people," Zelda's voice rang out loud, and clear, and strong. "Thank you for coming to share this very special day with me. Hyrule has gone through many changes over the eons of her history. We now enter a new age which none of us could have imagined. An age where we will be free to progress and grow as the goddesses always intended us to. If you will let me, by the will of the goddesses I will lead you into this new age."
A great cheer rose up from the crowd, and applause that was deafening. All eyes, including the castle guards' eyes were on the Princess.
"As many of you know, the burden of leadership is a heavy one, and no one lives forever. Up until now I myself have had no heirs to carry on this work of bringing Hyrule into this new age should anything happen to me." She continued, and the crowd was enthralled. What was the Princess up to? Many of them wondered.
Then Princess Zelda did something that stunned the crowd. She carefully removed the silver tiara which had been upon her head and placed it upon the head of the red headed young woman standing next to her, smiling as she did so. She then proclaimed to the crowd, "So I here today, in the sight of the goddesses and all the people of Hyrule adopt the Lady Malon, daughter of Talon, wife of Link, the Hero of Hyrule, and her two sons Talon and John, sons of Link as my rightful heirs to the throne, and my true and lawful sister!"
A murmur passed through the crowd. Such a thing had never been done before? Many in the crowd knew and loved the Lady Malon and her family, but adoption into the Royal Family of a one time milk maid? Could that be done?
A clear strong, masculine voice rang out from the crowd, "All hail the Princess Malon!" Soon another voice carried the call, and then another, and another and the ceremonial guard picked it up as well until the entire hall was filled with the adulation, "All hail the Princess Malon!"
The young woman's face turned beet red as she stood next to the Princess Zelda at her right hand facing the crowd. She knew the voice which had started the cry. It belonged to her father, Talon. She wondered if somehow he had known all along, or if he was just supporting her the best way he could; the way he always had.
Zelda turned to her and smiled, giving her a full embrace as her sister in front of the whole of Hyrule. She then whispered into her ear, "Now, no one can question who you are. Today, I return to you your rightful heritage and inheritance my sister." She then kissed Malon on the cheek, and withdrew from her.
She then motioned to the crowd to quiet down and the trumpets sounded again. She faced the throne as the Sage of Light, Rauro, an old and wise man ascended the steps of the dais, the red robes of his office emblazoned with the emblem of light in bright gold thread. In his hands he held the royal crown of Hyrule, the very same crown which had graced the brow of Zelda's beloved father, Gaepora. She looked at it sadly and nodded her head as Rauru came to stand between her and the throne. She then turned around to face the crowd and knelt in her gown with both knees on the dais under the great carved marble relief of the Triforce and the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore who created it and their land.
The Sage of Light held the great crown over her head and a hush fell over the audience as they all strained to hear what was to take place.
He began the ancient rite, "Do you, Zelda, daughter of Gaepora, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom, so solemnly swear in the presence of the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore, and the people of the Kingdom of Hyrule to rule and guide our people with Power, Wisdom, and Courage for the benefit of all the people and races of the Kingdom of Hyrule, forsaking your own will, desires, and even your very life as a living sacrifice according to the laws and traditions of this blessed land?"
Zelda responded clearly and loudly so all could hear her, "I so solemnly swear."
Rauru continued, "Then I crown you..." He never got the chance to finish as the crown toppled from his grasp and he fell to the ground. A huge black arrow pierced through his midsection. Someone screamed and Zelda realized it had been her as she also collapsed to the ground, a bright red stain spreading from a great hole in her chest where the same arrow had pierced through with such force that it continued on towards her friend and mentor.
From there things seemed to happen in slow motion around them as Sir William dove to get Malon under cover, shielding her with his own body, and Sir Portant dove to cover his not yet crowned queen, her blood staining his otherwise immaculate gray uniform. Malon couldn't see what was happening, until her eyes found her newly discovered sister, the life draining out of her. Sir Portant seemed to be screaming for something, and she heard the sounds of rifles going off all around her overhead. She didn't know where they were shooting at or who they were trying to shoot.
She barely heard Sir Portant's words, "I need Red Potion, or a fairy now! Right now! Stay with me Princess, stay with me! RED POTION, NOW! RIGHT NOW!"
"Malon..." Zelda's weak voice, she could hear it somehow. "My sister..." Malon pushed herself away from Sir William and went to Zelda's side while Sir William tried to move with her to keep her from harm. "Zelda, I'm here, my sister I'm here." Malon said, tears flowing. "Take care of Hyrule for me..." Zelda said. "I go to rejoin my sisters... no longer bound to this mortal form... can't stay with you any longer, have to let go of my burdens." Then she breathed her last, and her eyes stared lifelessly into nothingness.
Time seemed to stand still for Malon then even though it was a whirl of motion and sound around her. "My sister..." She whispered softly, gently stroking Zelda's hair in a way she had never dared do before. "My sister..." She repeated again as Sir William began to tug on her, trying to pull her away. And then, in an eternal instant, Zelda's peaceful, lifeless form began to melt away into a glow of pure white light and her bloodied clothes were suddenly emptied as the pure, white energy of light rose and Malon's eyes followed it. And in the middle of it she would later swear that she could see Zelda's face smiling down on her and whispering, "I'm free." And then the light ascended into the air and into the space in front of the carving of the Triforce and the goddesses, and for a brief moment it appeared to light all three sacred triangles with a golden glow, and then it rose through the ceiling of the hall and she was gone.
"... got to get you out of here, your highness!" Sir William was pleading with her she heard as she found him tugging on her arm. Time sped up and all the events that were happening around her came crashing down upon her. "Come your highness, please, we've got to get you someplace safe!" She nodded and finally allowed him to take her from the nightmare around her.
Sir William and Sir Portant flanked Malon on either side, grasping both of her arms as seven more Castle Guards surrounded the three of them closely. They whisked her away quickly and into a side room with a table and some comfortable plush chairs. In better times, the Princess had entertained casual guests there. She and Malon had even had tea in that room before, sitting in the very same chairs.
The Castle guards took up positions at the door of the room while Sir Portant asked her urgently, "Are you hurt your highness? Are you injured?"
What a question. Had she been injured that day? In how many ways? But she answered, "No. I'm... I'm alright."
"What are your orders your highness?" Sir William asked her, waiting for instructions.
"My orders?" Malon asked in confusion. Why are they asking me what to do?
"With her highness Zelda dead, you are now in command as monarch of Hyrule, your highness." Sir William responded.
Malon sat stunned. "I'm in charge?" She asked again.
"Yes, your highness." Sir William responded. Then, after a second had passed he drew his sword from its scabbard and dropped to one knee in front of her, placing the point of the blade on the floor, and holding the hilt with both hands. Sir Portant joined him on the floor on his knees, and so did the Castle Guards who were not immediately watching the door. "We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to serve your highness, Princess Malon, Monarch of Hyrule." Sir William intoned, and the others repeated immediately as they swore fealty to their new sovereign.
Something inside of her then took charge and her tears stopped flowing. She was a king's daughter. She had only learned of it this morning, but it would forever define who she was from then on. She had to start acting like one. Malon straightened herself up in her chair and stood over them as regally and with as much dignity as she could. These people didn't need a weepy milk maid now. They needed the power, wisdom, and courage only their Princess could give them. And she would be that for them. She owed her sister no less.
"I accept your fealty sir knights. Rise." She said with authority.
"Your orders, your highness?" Sir William asked again.
"Ensure the safety of the guests. Bring my sons here. Secure the Castle. Bring me the head of the assassin. Go." She said flatly. She hoped it was what Zelda would have said.
"At once it will be done, your highness. I swear it." Sir William said, relieved. He then moved to give the commands to carry out her wishes, calling on the guards nearby to relay her orders. No one questioned her right to give them.
"Hylia give me wisdom, help me to rule our people as you would have... my sister." Malon prayed silently. She wanted so much to collapse back into the plush chair and sob, but she refused to allow herself the luxury. She would remain standing and in charge of herself until she knew her people were safe.
Somewhere overhead, as she saw the chaos that had erupted and moved to gently guide the terrified people below with gentle reassuring nudges, ensuring that no one else was harmed that day, a being of pure energy heard the quiet prayer being offered to her, and knew that her kingdom would be in good hands, just as she had foreseen.
She couldn't have explained to anyone what she knew or how she knew it. But she knew she would never be crowned Hyrule's queen. That wasn't her destiny. Her time in mortal form had passed. She was glad she and her mortal sister had found each other, even if they only discovered their true relationship hours before her having to shed the flesh and blood she had inhabited for so long.
Far below her she could see the orcs who were responsible clearly. They appeared to her like dark beacons amidst a sea of good and generous people. She saw that the Castle Guard had also spotted them, even if it was too late and began shooting. They were expert marksmen, but they were reacting in shock, anger, and panic as it looked like they were shooting into the crowd. She made sure no stray bullets hit any of the innocent people in the line of fire. The orcs received no such mercy from her.
There were three, as she could see. Two of them, the archers, fell within seconds of the guards' shots. They remained where they fell as the crowd struggled to get away from the black cloaked, grotesque monstrosities. The massive, black crossbow they used lay broken on the floor next to them, torn apart by the large number of bullets that found their targets with, and without, her aid.
The third was different, she could sense. A mage or sorcerer of some kind with powers not unlike the great temple sages themselves. This creature with the burnt right hand was dangerous and had to be stopped, she knew. But then she could hear her sisters calling her, letting her know that he would be, by the Hero's hand. So she let him go.
She then turned her attention to the dais where she could see clearly, glowing like a beacon in the night, the sacred triangle of the Triforce of Wisdom which once had been housed in her mortal frame. She focused her attention on that, descending again into the chaos and gathering it to herself. She then stole away to the Temple of Time, where she knew the Hero would have need of it soon.