The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

The Voice
27 - Rule with an Iron Fist

The darkness giving way to light, Link was left blinking in confusion, trying to regain his bearings. The stone platform was solid under his feet, a gentle breeze caressing his face as the forest around him was filled with the sounds of fauna. He looked down at the Master Sword, held firmly in both hands, blade glinting like it had just been polished.

It was lighter than he'd expected, than he could remember, but not too light. In fact, it was perfectly balanced, and he couldn't resist giving it a few swings. It whistled as it cleaved through the air.

Perfect.

There really was no other way to describe the feel of wielding the Master Sword. It was like...like it was an extension of his arms, like it was that little extra part of him that had been missing this entire time. It felt...right, to have it in his hands once more. He felt relieved, but still despaired. He had no choice now.

"Told you he could do it," Sheik said in a smug tone that in no way covered up the slightly-higher-than-normal pitch to his voice, betraying his worry. "I do believe that means I win."

"Hmph," the Deku Tree grunted. "Not even instruments of Divine Will are immune to repeatedly making the same mistakes, it seems. While it pains me to admit defeat, I will not have it said about me that I renege on my agreements."

"So...our deal?" Sheik needled.

Link considered asking what sort of agreement he'd managed to force the Tree to agree to in the brief moment he'd been gone, but he had a feeling that nothing but insanity waited down that particular line of questioning, so he continued testing the Master Sword, satisfied to find that she appeared to be honouring their new contract. He'd leave her behind in a heartbeat if she didn't.

The Tree grimaced, like it was causing it great pain to admit defeat to a Sheikah in a slate. "Yes, yes, little Sheikah, the deal still stands. I will let the little ones know."

"Good," Sheik said, still radiating smugness, the screen pulsating in a pleased fashion. "It'd be a shame not to take advantage of such an opportunity, after all. Makes me wonder why you didn't think of it...unless you have done it all this time, and just didn't see fit to inform us. If so, bad Ugly Tree, bad!"

Goddess, why me, Link wanted to know, his intention to bury his face in his hands impeded by the longsword in his hands (or was it a bastard sword? The length and balance suggested the latter...). Only Sheik would find it appropriate to continually antagonising an already grouchy and reluctant ally.

"Link, you okay?" Sheik asked. "You're groaning very loudly."

"J-Just f-fine," he forced out between gritted teeth, looking up at the Deku Tree. "I c-convinced her," he said, glancing pointedly down at the Sword.

"So you did," the Tree replied, frowning. "I'm surprised you bothered. Her rejection was your way out; an excuse to veer off the Champion's path and striking out on your own. Surely you would have jumped at such an opportunity a mere week ago?"

Link wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel insulted by that—the Tree's tone certainly suggested he should—but he was too tired to argue at this point, merely shaking his head.

"I n-never wanted th-this burden," he said. "But it's s-still m-mine to bear."

"There could be others," the Tree suggested. "Others more...suited for the task. More than willing to relieve you of the weight of your responsibility."

"D-Do you know any?" Link asked pointedly.

"Not off the top of my head, no, but—"the Tree began.

"Th-Then I w-will bear it," Link interrupted, trying to steel his gaze as much as he could...which was harder than one would think. Sheik would probably have been able to do it with no effort. Sidon too, probably. He fought the urge not to smile at the thought of the exuberant Zora prince. Link could daydream about him later. "I w-will p-prove to you her ch-choice w-wasn't a m-mistake."

The Tree looked ready to argue, but remained silent for a long moment as its eyes met Link's, apparently searching for something.

"I look forward to being proven wrong, Link," it finally said.

"Oooh, he used your name," Sheik drawled. "That's how you know he's serious!"

"Does he ever stop talking?" the Tree asked. "Or does he always insist on ruining every moment with his chatter?"

"I'll let y-you kn-know if he d-does," Link said, deciding to be magnanimous and commiserate with a tree that had been nothing but rude and obnoxious so far. It wasn't all that different from his few weeks with Sheik, actually.

And speaking of Sheik...

"Y-You said his v-voice sounded f-familiar," he said, looking up at the Tree. "Sh-Sheik's, I mean. How so?"

"Yeah," Sheik said slowly. "You did say that. What'd you mean by that, twig?"

The Deku Tree was silent for a long moment, its eyes closed. "Nothing in particular, only that your voice sounds familiar to one I heard a long time ago. A Sheikah boy, whose demeanour was just as unpleasant as yours, if not worse because unlike you, he did not have a switch to silence him. Disobedient, too, and a commander's worst nightmare."

"I like the sound of this one," Sheik muttered.

Link wondered what the chances of the boy the Tree described being the same one on which Sheik's thought patterns and general behaviour was modelled on were. Knowing his luck, they were one and the same, and Sheik wouldn't shut up about it for weeks. But Sheik being unbearable wasn't a reason not to dig a little further into this.

"Wh-What happened t-to him?" he asked, holding the slate up to look at its screen, giving it a little nod. "Th-The Sheikah?"

"I do not know," the Tree said, sounding a little regretful. "His visit here was brief, little more than a night's rest for him and his group before they moved on to the next battlefield. He never returned to the forest; more than that I cannot tell you."

"I bet you have some sort of idea, though," Sheik said. "I can hear it in your voice."

"One can only assume he perished, either on that battlefield or another," the Deku Tree said. "That particular war took a heavy toll on the Sheikah as a people, and their numbers never quite recovered. The schism between them and the group that would later become known as the Yiga, and the subsequent hostilities, only further reduced their presence in Hyrule. It is no wonder they eventually chose isolation, in the face of the suspicion with which the Hylians regarded them. Had they not, I fear it would have ended in bloodshed...and the loss of an entire culture."

"Wh-Why?" Link asked. "Wh-Why w-would they...?"

"Fear is a powerful motivator, Link," the Tree said. "You should know that better than most. The Sheikah's understanding of and expertise with ancient technology, much of which could easily lay waste to Hyrule and the rest of the world—a mere fraction of which we saw a hundred years ago—made everyone else nervous. Despite being allies, the Hylians regarded the Sheikah with suspicion, fearing what they might do once they gained full control of the mechanical army.

"Luckily, the Sheikah realised what was happening before it was too late, and withdrew into the mountains, maintaining only a nominal diplomatic relationship with Hyrule, and even then only directly with the royal family. I daresay it was the best decision they had made in a long time. It certainly kept them out of the troubles that affected the rest of the kingdom."

"We were allies," Sheik said quietly, his screen dimming. "We just wanted to help..."

"That would never be enough, for some."

Link's brow furrowed. Sure, he could see being afraid of something would make one somewhat hostile...but he couldn't see solving an issue like that with violence being a good idea...or even an option in the first place. Politics wasn't really something he understood, or even wanted to engage in, but surely there had to be someone in charge who could alleviate the tension between the two peoples at the time.

"Typical," Sheik snorted. "We fought and bled for Hyrule for ages, and we're rewarded with self-imposed exile for our own safety. Well, we certainly saw who laughed last, didn't we?"

"I don't quite see the humour, but I understand the sentiment," the Tree said. "And yet, here you are, Sheikah, once more fighting to free Hyrule from the yoke of oppression and certain doom. What should we make of that?"

"Nothing at all," was the answer to that, Sheik's screen brightening sharply. "I'm not fighting—for a given value of the word—for Hyrule, or the Hylians. I'm fighting for Link, and my clan."

Link cleared his throat.

"...and the Zora...or one Zora in particular, I guess. Sharky's lucky, like that," he added. "Speaking of whom, we should probably let them know of our status, Link."

"...dare I ask which Zora is honoured with that particular moniker?"

"None of your business, twig."

"I don't know what I expected."

"You're the one with the spy network, aren't you? Figure it out for yourself."

"You dare—"

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

"Enough!" Link scowled at the pair of them. "Enough arguing. W-We're supposed to b-be allies, aren't w-we?"

Never mind that arguing seemed to be Sheik's default solution to everything. Link was tired. He'd just spent a day lugging through the forest doing a bunch of tasks he strongly suspected the Deku Tree gave him just to screw with him, then gotten locked inside his own head arguing with a damn sword for the right to wield it! The last thing he needed right now was more shouting, especially when he was caught in the middle!

He looked down at the Master Sword, still clutched in his hand. "S-Same goes for y-you!" he added, glaring at the blade and the presence within. "Wh-What's our next m-move?" he asked.

"Next Divine Beast?" Sheik suggested, sounding a little chastised. Just a little, though. He was clearly under the impression he'd won the verbal spar (such as it was) with the Deku Tree. "We shouldn't be too far from Rito territory—I'm willing to bet we'll find the next Beast there, causing the people no small amount of trouble, just like the other two."

"I can confirm this," the Deku Tree added. "The Koroks in the area have reported the Divine Beast Vah Medo has taken to the skies above Rito Village, terrorising the inhabitants. The Rito have tried to fight back, but every assault of theirs has been repelled so far."

"Th-Then th-that is where we will g-go," Link said, nodding. He paused, realising what the Tree had said. "You have th-the Koroks s-spying for you?" he asked.

"He does," Sheik confirmed. "In fact, that was what our bet was about. I win, he agreed to share the information gathered by the Koroks with us. To make up for the stupid puzzles they've made us go through so far, and to, you know, just be fucking helpful for once. All we have to do is find one, and ask. Not sure how twig communicates with them over such distances, but I'm guessing fucking magic."

"You assume correctly, boy. It is, indeed, 'fucking magic' I use to direct my grandchildren."

Why me, Link wondered in despair. Why is it always me?

It was too late to set out that night, so Link had accepted the Deku Tree's generous offer to spend another night beneath his roots, in the small sleeping chamber dug out there. Sheik hadn't been able to stop talking about how creepy it was for at least an hour.

"I mean, if we equate the twig's anatomy to that of a humanoid, aren't we technically right underneath his gigantic b—"

"S-Stop talking!"

"I'm just saying—"

"I d-don't care!"

"Given what you and Sharky got up to that night, you're surprisingly prudish, you know?"

"And y-you're v-vulgar!"

"Guilty as charged, and not ashamed of it! So, anyway, as I said, we're directly underneath his—"

"I can hear you, you know."

Link screamed into his pillow.

For all the grief they'd given him out in the fields of Hyrule, the Koroks in the forest had all been friendly and hospitable during Link's stay there. He was almost sad to leave...and they were sad to see him go, judging by the large crowd of them gathered near the Deku Tree the next morning.

"My grandchildren would like to say goodbye to you, Hero," the Deku Tree said as he approached them, not a hint of irony in his voice when speaking the title. Link was too tired to bother asking if he was being genuine or just putting on a show in front of the Koroks, who were definitely honest with their adoration of their "Mr. Hero".

There was a roar of assorted goodbyes and well-wishes. Some industrious Koroks had even taken the liberty of filling his pack with fresh supplies and food. If that had Link's eyes moisten a little, no one saw fit to comment. Not even Sheik...but that might be because he was too busy screaming at a pair of younger Koroks to stop touching him with their grubby little mitts. As with most children, that only spurred them on further.

"Mr. hero!"

Link looked up and smiled at Hestu, who was holding something out to him. Purple and gilded leather, the Triforce symbol carved into the material and filled in with what appeared to be actual gold. The scabbard certainly looked like it had in his memory. He took it and slid the Master Sword into it, tying it across his shoulders so he carried the sword on his back. The Sword was a little too long for him to effectively draw it when carried like that, especially if caught by surprise, but that was what he had the shorter Sheikah blade at his hip for.

"Th-Thanks, Hestu," he said.

"Shalaka! Most welcome, Mr. Hero!"

Link patted the large Korok's arm in gratitude, thanking as many of the Koroks as he could.

"Link," the Deku Tree said, drawing everyone's attention. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey. With the Sword, I believe you will find it easier to overcome Ganon and his vile forces."

"Th-Thank you," Link said once more, inclining his head a little. He still wasn't sure if the Tree was putting on an act for the Koroks, but it was still better than the tongue-lashing he'd gotten from the moment they'd met. A thought then struck him, a question lingering on the edges of his mind that he'd been too busy to ask. "How d-did the S-Sword end up h-here?"

"Hm?" the Tree's massive mouth frowned for a moment, then said, "Why, the princess, of course. A sad sight they were, her and the Sword both, when they came here. Told me of the Calamity, and her plan to stall it until both you and the Sword had recovered enough fight once more. She had the utmost faith that you would return one day...and I am glad to see it was not misplaced, even though my doubts were many and great."

Zelda. Of course she had come here after whatever event had left him more or less dead on the battlefield. Leaving him in Purah's hands, who'd taken him to the Shrine of Resurrection, Zelda had taken the Master Sword here, for safekeeping. And then she'd gone to face Ganon alone...with nothing but faith that he'd return one day.

And I forgot you, and everyone else who sacrificed themselves. I won't let it be in vain, he vowed to her.

"Now, you should be off," the Tree said. "Time is wasting, and the Rito is waiting for a Champion to deliver them. Go make yourself useful."

"Why don't you go and—"

Link muted Sheik before he could deliver another insult. Sheik would let him have it for that later, but for once Link wanted to actually get underway in a timely manner. "I w-will," he told the Deku Tree. "Th-Thank y—"

"Don't thank me yet, boy," the Tree said, none of the usual bite in his tone. "You've still a long way to go, and I imagine you will soon wish I'd driven you away from your task. If you wish to thank me, then save Hyrule. That will be enough."

Why don't you ask me to pull the moon out of the sky while I'm at it? Link thought, grinning like he considered it a joke all the while and turning to walk away before the Tree reduced him to an anxious, crying mess.

...an even bigger one, that is.

He was nearly at the edge of the clearing when he spotted a familiar little Korok, jumping up and down in an excited way, twirling little sticks like batons. He grinned and kneeled down to look Oaki better in the face. "It w-was n-nice to m-meet you, Oaki," he said. "K-Keep trying, y-yeah?"

"Keep trying, Mr. Hero!" Oaki piped back, practically vibrating with excitement.

Link briefly wondered how much trouble he would be in if he stole Oaki and brought him along.

Probably a lot.

"Well, that's it, then," Sheik said later that night as they camped out under the stars, well on their way towards the Rito and what would surely be another terrifying disaster involving a Divine Beast. "It's too late, now."

"F-For what?" Link asked, carefully watching the cooking pan with trepidation and careful optimism.

The ingredients hadn't caught fire yet, which was encouraging, but knowing his luck and complete lack of skill in the culinary arts, it was only a matter of time until they did. Or exploded. Either was usually a safe bet when frying something was involved. So far so good, however, and perhaps this would be his moment of triumph?

"To abandon the quest," Sheik elaborated, sounding a little...tired? Disappointed, maybe? "Now that you have the Sword again, there is no other option but to keep at it, is there?"

Link cast a glance at the Master Sword, sheathed in its scabbard and resting against his pack, just within reach. It—she—hadn't spoken to him again after their...discussion. Maybe there wasn't anything else to say, or maybe she was waiting until he actually tried using her against Ganon's minions. He was almost hesitant to, afraid he'd hear her judgemental voice commenting on his skill or worthiness as he fought.

"Wh-What other ch-choice w-would I have had?" Link asked with a shrug.

"Plenty," Sheik said matter-of-factly. "And none of them involve throwing yourself headfirst into danger. You could have gone back to Hateno, established a home there—no one knows who you are, after all. Lived out your life. Or you could have become a miner up on Death Mountain with the Gorons...or, my personal favourite, gone back to Zora's Domain, married Sharky, and ruled the Zora with an iron fist!"

Link stared at the slate, his face heating up. "Th-There are s-so many th-things w-wrong w-with th-that plan I d-don't even know where t-to start!" he exclaimed.

"Name one thing wrong with that plan," Sheik challenged.

"Other th-than all of it?!"

"Yeah!"

Link wasn't sure if he actually liked the idea or not—it was just too absurd to contemplate. So he went with the most obviously glaring flaw among many.

"Hylians and Z-Zora c-can't marry! Moreover, we're b-both men!"

"Pfft, like Sharky would care about that," Sheik said dismissively. "He certainly didn't when he gave you the ride of a lifetime—"

"S-Stop!"

"And he'd probably say yes, too, the crazy bastard," Sheik said with a cackle. "Pancake Head would die of shock, and the king would go along with it because Sharky's his last surviving child and therefore cannot say no to him. The older Zora might still be a little sceptical, but the younger generations freaking adore you, so they'll happily support such a union. It'll be good for politics, too, since it'd bridge the gap between the Zora and Hylians! It's perfect!"

Link stared hopelessly at the cooking fire, horrified at how thought Sheik had put into this...and hating himself a little for admitting that Sidon possibly would accept a proposal, if his enthusiasm for the Hylian Champion was anything to judge by. And that night had been quite nice...

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" Sheik asked, screen flashing, and Link could easily imagine a smug, shit-eating grin on the Sheikah's face by now.

"H-How'd you kn-know?" Link asked.

"Because your face is the colour of a tomato...and your veggies just burst into flame."

Link blinked, and looked back into the pan, where the vegetables he'd been frying were, indeed, burning quite merrily and turning into charcoal.

His anguished scream could be heard for miles around.

He couldn't sleep. The sky was completely clear, and an uncountable number of stars were visible, the moon's pale face glaring down at him. He glared back, annoyed with himself. Or, rather, annoyed with his brain, which wouldn't stop replaying the memory of the day he was chosen as Champion.

More specifically, he couldn't stop thinking about his father, and wondering what fate befell him and the rest of his family. Sir Kerran had mentioned Link's mother, but had there been anyone else? Brothers? Sisters? Aunts and uncles? Cousins? If there were, had they all perished during Ganon's attack, or had some gotten away and survived?

Could there possibly be relatives of him walking around in Hyrule or elsewhere in the world right now, unaware that one of their ancestors had returned from certain death? What would they think of him, if there were? Would they be thrilled? Disappointed? Angry?

"What are you thinking about now?" Sheik asked, making him jump. "Your readings are going a little haywire, here."

"S-Sorry," Link muttered. "J-Just th-thinking about my f-family."

"Oh?" Sheik asked. "You've remembered something?"

"Th-The S-Sword," Link said, sitting up in his bedroll and gesturing to the Master Sword. "She showed m-me the d-day I w-was chosen. Or I r-remembered...I d-don't know."

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Sheik said. "The important thing is you've regained a little more of what you've lost. So...care to share?"

He haltingly told the story, right up until it ended with his father carrying him home.

"You know, the Sword sounds like a real piece of shit, the more I hear about it," Sheik said once Link was finished. "I mean, sure, picking a wielder in a potentially humiliating ceremony is one thing, but a kid?! That's just...abominable. Sounds like it could have picked your dad, and been just as happy for it."

Link glanced at the Sword. It did not seem interested in defending its choices. "Wh-What's d-done is d-done," he said.

"Yeah, well, fuck it anyway," Sheik said. "Yeah, you hear me?" he said a little louder, directed at the Master Sword. "I said fuck you!"

Nothing.

"Ah, selective hearing is such a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Sheik said. "So...what was your father like?"

"D-Don't remember m-much," Link said, thinking back to the face that had gazed down at him with such kindness and love in his eyes. It had been Link's face...or very similar to his, anyway. Same eyes, definitely. "B-But...he l-loved me. And I l-loved him."

"That's good," Sheik said a little distantly. "I don't remember anything about my family...or, the real Sheik's family. Line could have ended with him, for all I know. Did anyone mourn him, do you think?"

"I h-hope so..."

"Mmm..." Sheik's screen dimmed. "Do you think anyone mourned your supposed passing?"

"D-Don't know...n-not sure if I w-want anyone to have. M-Means th-there c-could be f-family out th-there...and if th-they l-learn about m-me...th-that th-they will judge m-me..."

"If by some miracle your family survived, and their descendants learn of you...I'm sure they will be nothing but proud and welcoming. And if they're not...well, you've got the Zora, right? Practically a prince there. And the Sheikah, come to that. Hell, I'll ask Impa to adopt you into the clan—she'll definitely say yes."

Link laughed a little. Impa did have a slightly deranged, grandmotherly look to her, didn't she? She had promised he would always be welcome, hadn't she? Not to mention given him a set of armour that, apparently, only Sheikah were allowed to wear. The same armour he was wearing right now, in fact, the warm scarf protecting him from the chill of the night. He had yet to put on the Champion's tunic.

"Point being," Sheik continued, "regardless of the status of your blood family, there are plenty of others also willing to consider you such. Hence why it doesn't do you any good to wonder about it—for the time being, at least. Once Ganon is gone for good, then you can go hog-crazy doing genealogical research. I'm sure Purah and...eugh, Robbie...will be happy to help. The former more than the latter, but I'll kick his ass to Death Mountain and back until he goes along with it."

That made Link laugh even more, and he grinned gratefully at the slate, which flashed in return. "Y-You're optimistic t-tonight," he noted.

"Eh, part of a new routine I'm trying out," Sheik deflected. "Figured I'd give positivity a go for once. I don't like it much, though—it feels weird. But at least I made you laugh, right?"

"Y-You did," Link nodded.

"Then I'm satisfied with my attempt," Sheik said. "You should probably get some sleep, though. It's a long hike to Rito Village, and you're really unpleasant when you're cranky."

"Th-Them's f-fighting words," Link warned. "And h-hypocritical."

"I'll have you know I'm a delight to be around. You're just not sophisticated enough to understand me."

"N-Not even c-close to true," Link said with a grunt as he laid down on the bedroll and closed his eyes, fatigue having snuck up on him during the conversation. "G'night, Sh-Sheik."

"Good night, Link."

Sleep came a lot easier this time.

The cave housing the Shrine of Resurrection was bathed in sickly purple light, the hum of the machinery finally dying down as the process finished, the basin's lid popping loose with a hiss, releasing steam and purple miasma as it opened wide. The life-giving, healing liquid, once a brilliant blue, was now a tainted, corrupted purple-red, like everything that the Malice touched. It spilled over the edge as something moved beneath the surface, struggling to move its new, unfamiliar limbs.

A hand burst from the depths, waving frantically around until its fingers, shaking from exhaustion, found the edge of the basin and gripped it tightly, muscles twitching as the attached arm attempted to pull the rest of it from the bottom of the basin.

The new life's head broke the surface next, gasping with strange and unfamiliar lungs, each breath painful and desperate. It coughed, expelling more of the corrupted liquid clogging its trachea. Hauling itself over the side, it spilled from the basin and landed painfully on the cold, metallic floor, shivering as much from cold as the pain of being born.

What was it? Where was it? What was its purpose?

A voice as old as time was in its head, but its words and thoughts were difficult to make out, hard to make sense of. Some it could glean, however, through the sheer noise of it all.

HatepainkilldestroystopdiehuntkillkillkillKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL

Taking another shaking, painful breath, the new life hauled its creaking, unfinished body to its feet, and, with its sole purpose now revealed, opened its eyes.

Hah, so much for having this finished within a few months, huh?