A/N: An entire chapter with the maze xD I hope you have fun
Comments are my lifeblood
Sova took off, leaving a flurry of wind and snowflakes in her wake.
"Does that mean we get to join you?" Sidon asked, surprised the owl goddess hadn't forbidden the Zora from entering the maze.
Link grinned and nodded.
"Well, she didn't say no," Ganondorf said, glancing at the maze.
Having extra brains would help them.
Leaving the horses just outside the maze, the group entered, glancing around when they came to a few paths split off to either side.
"We should go left," Zelda said at the same time Ganondorf suggested, "Let's go to the right."
The two glanced at each other and Link rolled his eyes.
Why don't we do a vote? He said before the two could argue.
"All in favor of going left," Ganondorf said, "raise your hand."
Zelda, Mipha and Bazz raised their hands.
"What a predicament," Sidon murmured. "Split in half."
Should we split up then? Link asked, tilting his head.
"Yes," Zelda said immediately.
Ganondorf gave a heavy sigh. "We don't know what's in this maze. Splitting up could be dangerous."
"He is right," Bazz said. "There could be monsters."
"Or guardians of some kind," Sidon agreed.
"Well, we have to go some way," Zelda said in frustration, putting her hands on her hips. "What do you suggest we do then, Gan?"
Before Ganondorf could give his answer, the ground rumbled.
The walls suddenly shifted, sliding to the side to change positions, cutting the group in half.
Ganondorf pulled Link and Sidon back to avoid the walls sliding towards them.
After a few seconds, everything fell silent.
"What was that?" Sidon asked, looking at the hallway they now stood in.
"The maze….changed shape…" Ganondorf murmured, staring up at the high walls surrounding them.
What about the others? Link asked.
"Ah….Zelda!" Ganondorf called, cupping his hands around his mouth so he could be heard better. "Are you guys all right?!"
"Y-yeah, we're fine!" Zelda replied. "Just startled. What happened?"
"Looks like this is the test!" Ganondorf pushed on the walls to test their strength, finding them immovable. "The walls will shift every few minutes, I imagine, as we go through the maze!"
"How do we find the center then?" Bazz asked, glancing at Zelda. "If the walls create a new route every few minutes, we'll be wandering forever.""
"We keep going," Zelda said before calling to Ganondorf, "We'll meet at the center! Be careful!"
"You too!" Ganondorf sighed, shaking his head as he dropped his arms. "Okay, let's get moving."
Sidon and Link nodded, following after Ganondorf as he walked forward.
When a fork in the road came up, Ganondorf went left.
"Why are we going this way?" Sidon asked, glancing back at the other path.
"We're trying to reach the venter so the easiest way is to go up."
Sidon glanced at Link who shrugged.
They kept along the path for a while, turning left or right. So far, they hadn't run into a dead end.
The ground rumbled and Ganondorf paused, looking at the walls.
"Are they moving again?" Sidon asked, glancing at the walls anxiously.
"It's too soon," Ganondorf murmured.
Link stared at the ground before withdrawing his sword.
Ganondorf heard the blade being drawn and grabbed his own swords.
The snow burst up in front of them, revealing the black head of a centipede, jaws snapping open and closed.
"A centipede monster. Just great."
A Moldorm, Link said, staring at the monster warily as it sized them up.
The Moldorm suddenly twisted behind it and dove back into the ground, burrowing away.
Sidon blinked at the retreating monster. "Did we scare it away?"
"I highly doubt it."
We can't even warn the others, Link sighed, frowning at where the monster had gone.
"They can handle themselves," Ganondorf mumbled, sheathing his swords as he walked forward. "We need to keep moving in case it comes back."
Sidon nodded, following after Ganondorf.
Just as Link trailed after the Zora, the walls grumbled and began to shift once more.
"They're moving again!" Sidon said.
Ganondorf could see that and he took advantage to slip between a few openings in the walls. "Follow me!"
Link and Sidon tried to follow after the redhead, but the moving walls separated them to different sides, blocking them from Ganondorf.
As the walls settled again, Ganondorf glanced around to see that Sidon and Link were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey! Where did you guys go?!"
The walls must have separated them.
So much for going in groups, Ganondorf thought as he moved forward, deciding it best to not stay in one spot.
They would be fine. He knew they could handle themselves.
The Moldorm emerged from the ground in front of Ganondorf with a shriek, jaws open wide as it lunged.
Ganondorf quickly drew his swords, using them to block the beast's attack.
As the two struggled to overpower each other, Ganondorf twisted his swords to the side sharply, sending the Moldorm crashing into the nearest wall.
The Moldorm gave a whining squeal as it shook its head before screeching at Ganondorf, lunging over him to dive into the ground behind the redhead.
Ganondorf watched the Moldorm disappear beneath the ground and sighed, relaxing his stance.
"Doesn't that power feel good?"
Ganondorf quickly raised his swords, narrowing his eyes when a shadowy form appeared several feet away from him.
The figure had golden eyes with slit pupils. Its form appeared similar to Ganondorf.
A trick? Ganondorf wondered as he watched the shade warily. Is this a test of the maze?
"Don't deny the power that thrums within you. You need it if you're to help your friends."
Ganondorf didn't answer. It was a trick by the Malice, perhaps. Tempting him into giving into its wishes.
"You're too weak on your own, Ganondorf. You always have been. That's why dominion is your only option. Everyone will take you seriously with power on your side."
The shade held out a hand. "What do you say? Absolute power is nearly within your grasp."
Ganondorf grit his teeth, gripping the handles of his swords in both hands tighter. "Give into absolute power at the cost of losing my mind? I don't think that's much of a fair trade."
The shade's eyes widened as Ganondorf crouched down slightly.
"I have power, but it's the power of my friends that give me strength. And the belief that they're strong enough even without me to handle whatever life throws at them!"
With a fierce roar, Ganondorf launched himself at the shade, driving his blades through it then swiping them to the side to slice it in half.
The shade wavered then dissipated.
Ganondorf sighed as he straightened, sheathing his blades. He turned down another hallway.
Mipha glanced around nervously as she turned down another hallway.
One minute she had been walking with Zelda and Bazz and before she knew it, she had been alone. The shifting walls had separated them.
What made matters even worse was the monster that lurked beneath the maze.
As if being summoned, the Moldorm emerged from the ground behind Mipha, lunging at her.
She ducked under the attack then swiped out with her trident, slicing off a few of its legs.
The Moldorm screeched, wriggling back into the ground and scurrying off.
Mipha turned around a few times to make sure it wouldn't return.
When it didn't come back up, Mipha continued to walk, searching for a route that she could follow.
"Mipha…"
At the familiar voice, Mipha perked up, turning to see Bazz standing several feet away. "Bazz!"
She ran towards the black Zora, but as she got closer, she saw that something about him was off.
He wasn't solid, but ethereal and translucent with green ghostly flames surrounding him. She could see what appeared to be injuries covering his bare chest and neck, leaking green fluid.
Mipha slowed to a stop several feet away from Bazz, staring at him nervously.
"Bazz…?"
That was Bazz, right?
"I gave up my life for you. You should be more grateful. I did my duty; unto death, all for the crown!"
Mipha took a step back, gripping her trident tighter.
That wasn't Bazz.
An illusion? She wondered.
How did she make it go away?
"Don't back away from me, Princess! This is what you wanted, isn't it? The captain of the guard giving up his life for the future of the Zorana family!"
His words burned and ached like a bee sting.
She didn't want Bazz to give up his life to protect her, to throw his life away like he didn't matter. He did matter.
"I don't want you to believe that your life is insignificant," Mipha murmured softly, staring at the ghost Bazz evenly. "That you were just brought into this world to throw your life away at a command. I want you to live for yourself, not because you have a duty as the guard captain. Your life and your actions and your thoughts are your own. Not mine or anyone else's."
Bazz blinked, head tilted slightly before he vanished.
Mipha glanced around, searching for any sign of him, before she sighed.
Link kicked at a pebble as he walked, searching for another hallway he could go down.
He hated the Moldorm and he hated the maze. It was all stupid.
Link was halted in his thoughts as the Moldorm burst up from the ground in front of him. He ducked to the side when it lunged, thrusting out his sword and managing to pierce a hole through its thick exoskeleton.
The Moldorm shrieked and lashed out, forked tail catching Link in the chest and slamming him into a wall.
As Link rubbed his back from the blow, slowly standing up, the Moldorm returned beneath the ground.
He stuck his tongue out after it.
When the walls shifted again, Link slipped between as many as he could, trying to get to the maze's center. As he passed through the last wall, Link came face to face with a skeleton donned in full armor.
Link jumped back, hitting the wall behind him.
The skeleton watched him with a single red eye.
As Link stared, he realized he recognized the skeleton from a different era.
Hero's Shade? He asked, relaxing his stance a bit.
What was he doing there? Hadn't he moved on?
"You are not strong. Not like your past selves."
Link's eyes widened at the Hero's Shade's statement.
"You're no hero. You're just a farm boy wielding a fancy toy."
Link scowled, withdrawing the Master Sword.
The blade gleamed brightly as Link brandished it at the Hero's Shade.
"You will not defeat me in a battle. You don't have the courage."
Link lunged at the Hero's Shade.
His strike was blocked and Link was pushed backward easily. Link caught his balance quickly, lunging at the Hero's Shade once again.
The Hero's Shade remained still as he deflected each of Link's strikes but did not return them.
After a few minutes of this, Link began to tire and stumbled backward, breathing heavily.
"I told you. You are not strong enough. You'll never be able to defend Hyrule."
Link grit his teeth then glanced down at the Master Sword. He sheathed it, scowling at the Hero's Shade.
You may not think I'm worthy, but the Master Sword does. If I wasn't worthy, it wouldn't have allowed me to pull it from the pedestal. The Master Sword believes in me. So do my friends.
"Heroes do not need friends."
Yes, we do. They lend us strength when we don't have anymore. I'm not strong on my own, but with my friends by my side, we're a force to be reckoned with.
The Hero's Shade remained silent before he appeared to smile, sheathing his blade.
"Good answer," he murmured before disappearing.
Link glanced around, wondering where the spirit had gone to.
Bazz turned down a hallway, searching for signs of the others.
He had to find them. That monster could pop up at any moment.
As he turned another corner, the Moldorm reemerged from the ground and charged at Bazz.
Bazz leaped over the attack, landing on the Moldorm's head then ran along its segmented body to avoid being thrown off as it kept moving. He jumped off when a hallway came into view, turning and stabbing one of its many legs.
The Moldorm shrieked as it disappeared.
Bazz turned in a circle, spear raised, as he searched for wherever the monster would be likely to reemerge. As he made another rotation, Bazz halted when he saw Mipha standing several feet away.
Something about her set his scales on edge, his headfin prickling.
Mipha smiled, tilting her head to the side. "You weren't strong enough to protect me, Bazz. Because of you, I'm dead."
Bazz had no time to raise his spear to defend himself as the strange not-Mipha charged at him, phasing though him.
"How dare you call yourself Demon Sergeant Seggin's son! You're no better than a newborn tadpole!"
Bazz turned in a circle, searching for the specter, but could only hear her voice.
"You'll never be strong enough to do your job. You couldn't even protect me like you said you would!"
Bazz grit his teeth before shaking his head. "You're an illusion…"
Right?
Bazz took off at a run to find Mipha.
Sidon felt like he was going in circles.
With the walls shifting to a new position every few minutes, he couldn't tell where he had gone and where he had been.
"This is going nowhere…" he sighed.
Perhaps he should attempt to scale the walls. But that would just cause unnecessary injury.
As he was debating on what he could do, the Moldorm rushed out from a corner.
Sidon sensed its movement and pressed himself against a nearby wall as it passed. He pierced its eye with his spear and it shrieked, turning down another hall and disappearing.
The Moldorm didn't help with anything.
Setting his spear back across his shoulders, Sidon resumed walking only to stop when he nearly ran into someone.
"F-father?" he asked, gaping up at Dorephan.
How had his father gotten into the maze?
"I'm disappointed in you, Sidon," Dorephan rumbled. "Your wanderlust has caused grief for our people."
"Wh-what—"
"Because you were not in the Domain, Mipha was killed. Your absence has cost us our jewel. Your people need you now, Sidon, and you cannot be free any longer."
Sidon took a step back, headtail flicking.
He just wanted to go on an adventure. See the world and all it had to offer. He hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt.
"You need to return home now. And you are not allowed outside the Domain ever again."
As Dorephan held out his hand, Sidon was about to lift his own hand when a small blur launched itself at Dorephan, gleaming blade tearing through him.
Dorephan disappeared in a scattering of blue flames and Sidon blinked to see Link standing, sheathing the Master Sword.
"L-Link? My friend, what—"
That was an illusion! Link signed at Sidon. The maze feeds off our fears. We need to find the others.
An illusion? That sort of made sense.
Sidon nodded and followed after Link.
Zelda sighed as she turned down another dead end.
How long had she been at it? It felt like days.
"I wonder if I'm close to the center," Zelda mumbled to herself as she went down a hallway.
This maze was exhausting and she was hungry. She hoped the others were doing all right.
"Zelda Adeena Hyrule!"
Zelda froze at the sharp tone, glancing behind her to see Rhoam standing several feet away.
"What do you think you're playing at? You're a princess. You're not meant to be outside the castle walls, playing at some sort of hero. You aren't even capable of defending yourself in battle; you need others to fight for you."
Zelda took a few steps back at her father's words.
"You're completely useless. A damsel in distress!"
"I-I can fight…!" Zelda shook her head, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. "I'm doing everything I can…"
"You haven't even tapped into your power. You aren't meant to wield the Triforce. You bring shame to the Zelda name and all you'll be is the heir to a throne of nothing but failure."
Zelda gripped her hands tightly, pressing them against her chest as she choked back tears.
The words stung and burned like a hot iron, but they were true.
"Zelda!"
Zelda glanced behind her to see Ganondorf running towards her.
"It's not real, Zelda! It's an illusion!"
An illusion?
Zelda looked back at Rhoam. Before she could do anything, Ganondorf rushed past her, driving his sword through Rhoam's chest.
Seconds after Rhoam vanished, the Moldorm reared up from the ground with a shriek, Ganondorf's sword driven through its head.
The Moldorm! Zelda thought.
It had been creating the illusions.
Ganondorf kept a tight hold on his sword as the Moldorm thrashed around, body slamming into the walls.
Zelda threw a few of her knives at the Moldorm, the tips piercing its exoskeleton.
"Zelda!" Mipha called when she saw the blonde and then the Moldorm still trying to dislodge Ganondorf. She ran at the Moldorm and leaped up, driving her trident into the monster's head.
The Moldorm screeched and shook its head to try and shove off the two.
Link grabbed Zelda's arm to show her he was there. Are you okay?
Zelda nodded. "Yes. We need to beat the Moldorm!"
Sidon flashed a grin. "Of course! All of us will be able to dispatch it easily."
The two ran at the Moldorm with their weapons drawn.
"Mipha!" Bazz called when he saw Mipha on the Moldorm's head.
Mipha glanced down to see Bazz running towards the Moldorm.
Zelda summoned a Light Arrow to her hand. She gripped it tightly, steeling herself before she charged at the Moldorm and leaped up.
Ganondorf and Mipha both yanked their weapons out seconds before Zelda sank the Light Arrow into the Moldorm's head.
The Moldorm shrieked, writhing at the arrow's bite, before dropping to the ground.
It disappeared in a cloud of black dust.
Link sighed. That was easy.
"It was," Sidon laughed. "I hope that's the only one."
"Don't jinx it," Ganondorf grunted. "I'm already sick of this maze."
"Do we even know if we're near the center?" Mipha asked, glancing around them.
"I think so," Zelda murmured, heading down a hallway. "This way."
Ganondorf followed after her with the others close behind.
Bazz glanced at Mipha but said nothing. He wanted to touch her to make sure she was real but resisted.
After a few minutes of following Zelda, the group came to a small pedestal where a dull bow rested.
"A bow?" Ganondorf asked. "That's it? We did all this for a stupid bow?"
"It's not just any bow," Zelda said, picking the bow up. "It's the Light Bow."
"Light Bow?" Mipha asked.
"It's a complement to my Light Arrows," Zelda said. "But…something seems off. It doesn't look the same."
Ganondorf touched the bow then pulled back, staring at his hand. "Hm…it's lost its power. No burning."
What do we do to restore its power? Link asked.
Zelda sighed, shaking her head as the bow vanished. "Not sure. We'll figure it out eventually I'm sure."
"I bet the Deku Tree would know," Ganondorf said. "We should visit him when we get the chance."
Zelda nodded.
If they passed the Korok Forest again, she supposed it couldn't hurt.
"Are we done with the maze?" Bazz asked.
"I believe so," Ganondorf said.
Let's go back to the stable, Link suggested. I'm starving.
"That's an excellent plan!" Sidon said.
"I am hungry as well," Zelda murmured.
As the group left the maze, Ganondorf glanced back at its imposing walls.
He wondered what the other two mazes were like. Hopefully they weren't as difficult as this one.
