Author's Note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Mihaele Rose, Ides of Diamonds, and everybody who read and/or reviewed my first fic. This is the second part of my epic fic and I hope you all enjoy it. And I'd like to give credit to any author whose characters or excerpts from their stories (No, I don't believe I'll be using one) that I used. I can't stress enough how much I'd like everyone to READ AND REVIEW, because I feel this may be something special.


Chapter 20

It was something Link hoped he wouldn't have to experience again. He and Sodo were thrown, literally, into a cell somewhere in the Gerudo Fortress. This was just like last time Link came. The guards had immediately stopped him and threw him in a cell. But what got Link worse was that they had taken Malon and Zelda somewhere else. Link looked everywhere for a way out.

"This is JUST GREAT!" Link shouted. "I can't believe we've been captured. This is just my luck!"

Link noticed that Sodo was casually leaning against a wall. He didn't seem to be too shaken by this.

"Come on, Link," Sodo said. "It's dark. It's too late to do anything now. Can't this wait until morning?"

Link continued searching for a way out. He couldn't even find a window.

"Link, you're starting to panic," Sodo said calmly. "Just like last time."

Link looked at the Kokiri boy curiously. "What do you mean 'like last time'?"

Sodo smiled. "You mean you forgot? I can't believe you forgot that day we were stuck together. I know I haven't forgotten…"

Sodo was sitting near the tunnel to the vastness. It was his usual post. As much as he wanted to do something else, Mido had ordered Sodo to watch the vastness everyday. Sodo could have sworn he lost track of how long he had been doing this. That's when he noticed that Mido began walking up to him. To Sodo's surprise he had young six-year old Link in tow.

"Hey, Mido," Sodo greeted the Kokiri 'boss'.

Mido glared at Sodo with his trademark 'evil eye'. "I know you've been looking forward to watching the bridge today. But I've got something else for you to do."

"What's that?" Sodo asked.

"I need you to watch this freak here for the rest of the day," Mido said referring to Link. "Keep him occupied."

Sodo was curious. Link was never just left alone like this. He was always seen with Saria. "What about Saria? Where is she?"

"Saria went out to the Sacred Forest Meadow," Mido answered. "She said something about wanting to be alone and she wanted me to watch the freak."

"Well, why don't you?" Sodo asked.

"I don't think I could put up with him the whole day," Mido responded. "I figure, being the boss of this village, it'd be easier to pawn him off on you."

"But what do you want me to do with him?"

"Take him sightseeing. Throw him in a hole for a few hours. Or take him to the Lost Woods. I don't care what you do with him," Mido answered. "If you REALLY have a problem with it, I suggest you take it up with Saria. In fact, I'll escort you to the Sacred Forest Meadow. You can talk to Saria there."

"Uh, gee thanks Mido," Sodo said. Then Sodo did something he wanted to do for a long time. He was actually walking away from the tunnel.


Chapter 21

Sodo, Mido, and young Link were walking into the Sacred Forest Meadow. It was actually the first time Sodo had ever been there. But he knew it was Saria's favorite place to be alone. Suddenly, Mido stopped walking.

"Why'd we stop, Mido?" Sodo asked.

"We're almost there," Mido answered. "Just turn around really quick. You too, freak."

Sodo and Link turned around. Suddenly, they were pushed down by Mido and were now falling into a hidden grotto. Sodo had fallen on his face and managed to pull himself up in time to see Mido above the hole.

"Now you be sure to watch the freak in there, Sodo!" Mido shouted from above. "I'll come back for you later."

"Hey!" Sodo cried out. "What am I supposed to do in here?"

"Just watch him and make sure nothing happens to him." Mido wore a sarcastic grin. "You know how much it would pain me to see something happen to Link."

Mido walked off, leaving Sodo screaming. He couldn't believe that Mido used him as a pawn. He finally stopped after a while and looked over at Link. The young boy had been silent the whole trip, but he seemed to be shaking in fear as well.

"Well, you haven't said much today," Sodo said. "Not in the mood for talking?"

Young Link looked at him indignantly. "I just got pushed into a hole. And there might be wild creatures here ready to eat me. Do I look like I'm in the mood for talking?"

"I guess I can't argue with that," Sodo conceded.

Link kicked a rock. "I don't get it. Why couldn't Sissy just take me with her? Why did she leave with that mean old Mido?"

Sodo smiled. For some reason, Link loved to refer to Saria as 'Sissy'. Of course, Saria didn't enjoy it as much as Link did.

"Well, I guess she just wants to be by herself," Sodo tried answering.

"Why?" Link asked. "Doesn't she like me?"

"No, no, it's not that she doesn't like you but…" Sodo seemed stuck. "How do I put this? You'd know about this. Are there days when everybody just teases you, Link?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Or days when they even hurt you?"

"Y-Yeah."

Sodo was going somewhere with this. "And on those days, don't you ever just want to run out and be by yourself?"

"I-I guess so."

"Does it mean that you don't like Sa…uh…Sissy?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what are you worried about? Sissy's just doing the same thing. She wants to run out and be by herself."

Link tried to smile, but he didn't. "Yeah. You're right. There are days when I just want to be by myself. Because everyone hurts me and treats me like a freak. Guys like Mido, Dore, Dila, Sofa, Miso, always tease me." Link looked up at Sodo. "Actually, all the boys tease me…except you. Why?"

"It's just something they do, I guess..."

"No, silly," Link interrupted. "I mean why don't YOU tease me?"

Sodo wasn't expecting that question. He had been the subject of teasing himself for not helping to pester Link. It wasn't that he liked Link, he was a freak. It was true. There was something different about him. But there were reasons that Sodo didn't bother Link. One of those being that it simply wasn't the peaceful boy's nature. The other was because of Saria. Sodo had a crush on Saria and he wouldn't get in her good graces if he started tormenting Link.

"Well, I guess I'm not like the other boys," Sodo finally answered. "I'm just different. They like to tease you and call you names and…I don't."

"Sodo?" Link asked. "Do you think I'm a freak?"

Sodo didn't know how to react. He wanted to say no, but he would be lying if he did. He saw the sad look on Link's face and didn't know how he would answer. But the peaceful boy realized that the only ones there were himself and Link. Who else would find out?

"No…I don't think you're a freak," Sodo answered. "I just think you're…well…different."

Link began to hang his head down sadly.

"No, wait," Sodo quickly said. "Not different…you're special. That's it. You're special."

"You really mean that?" Link asked.

"Yeah. You're special, Link. Don't ever believe those guys when they call you a freak. You just remember that you're special."

Link smiled brightly. Sodo began to smile too. He really wished that Saria was there to hear his encouraging speech, she would have loved him for it. It might make it easier to confess his feelings. But then Sodo heard something growling. Link and Sodo both froze.

"W-W-W-What was that?" Link asked in utter fear.

"I don't know…" Sodo whispered. "It came from over there."

Sodo walked over to the shadows. He actually didn't know what was dwelling in this grotto. When he got to the dark part of the grotto, he was ambushed by a Mad Deku Scrub.

The Mad Deku Scrub began to pick away at Sodo. Link only looked on in fear.

"AAAHHH!!!" Sodo screamed. "GET IT OFF ME!!"

Link ran over to grab a rock. He then chucked it at the Mad Deku Scrub, but it was still attacking Sodo. Link continued to throw rocks at the Mad Deku Scrub, until it finally stopped its assault on Sodo…and looked at Link. The Mad Deku Scrub began to growl and slowly make its way to Link. Sodo wished he could do something, but he was badly beaten. He could imagine having to tell Saria that Link was killed under his watch, while Mido looked on with a wicked smile. That's when he heard someone from above the grotto. It was as if something were approaching.

Sodo looked up and saw a huge rock being pushed towards the hole. The rock fell into the grotto and literally crushed the Mad Deku Scrub. Link poked it with a stick and saw no movement. It was dead. The shock left Link silent.

"W-Who did that?" Sodo asked.

"I did!"

Sodo looked up above the grotto and saw the unmistakable head of Saria. She had somehow found them in the grotto. She lowered a rope.

"Grab on to the rope and start climbing!" Saria shouted.

Link climbed up while Sodo struggled to his feet. He was in no shape to climb. The Mad Deku Scrub had ravaged his tunic and he was left with a bad cut on his forehead. But Sodo managed to climb the rope. He was glad to be out of the grotto and immediately fell to one knee. He saw a look of concern on the face of Saria.

"Are you ok?" she asked warmly.

Sodo thought she was talking about him. That's why it hurt him emotionally when Saria ran past him and ran up to Link.

"Link, are you hurt?" Saria asked.

"I'm fine, Sissy," Link answered. "But I don't know about Sodo."

Saria had finally noticed Sodo. She ran over to the now fallen boy and kneeled over him. "Sodo, Sodo, speak to me! Say something!"

Sodo was too beaten to say anything. He was too tired to talk. He just decided it would better to just slip into unconsciousness.


Chapter 22

Link saw a frown cross onto Sodo's face.

"You know something," Sodo said. "Now that I think of it, maybe it's better some memories STAY forgotten."

Link smiled. Sodo didn't exactly make the point he had in mind, but the story served its purpose. The impromptu story did take Link's mind off their predicament for a little while. And he noticed the sun begin to rise.

"Look at that," Sodo pointed out. "It's morning."

"Good. Then it's time for us to get out of here," Link said.

Link saw the opening above their cell. It would be easy enough to escape using his hookshot. But before he shot it, he heard Sodo begin to cough violently. He vomited some green liquid, before he took the red potion. After drinking the whole bottle, the coughing stopped.

"That's the risk I take," Sodo said.

Link aimed his hookshot at the opening. He grabbed on to Sodo. They managed to grab on to the roof and escape. Link looked down at the ground from the roof. He motioned for Sodo to jump down first. He skillfully jumped down and landed on his feet. Link tried jumping down, but tripped and landed on his back.

Sodo looked down at the fallen Link. "Jeez, Link. That looked like it hurt."

"Didn't hurt," Link groaned. "Trust me, I do it all the time."

Link got to his feet. He and Sodo quickly hid behind a couple of crates. The Gerudo guards were passing back and forth keeping watch for any intruders. When Link got an open opportunity, he clobbered each guard from behind with a huge rock. Link went on to knock out about six guards until he finally saw the entrance to the Thieves' Hideout. Link and Sodo were about to pass through when Link heard a familiar voice.

"We're just trying to pass by. I don't see what the problem is."

It was Malon. Link took Sodo and decided to rush in. When he got in, he saw Malon and Zelda sitting down on a table with two Gerudo thieves. It looked like they were having breakfast. Four more Gerudo guards ran in and pointed their spears at Link and Sodo, who promptly put up their hands.

Link couldn't believe it. He looked at Malon and Zelda indignantly. "Ok, so let me get this straight. We're out there rotting in the jail and getting spears pointed at us and you two are in here having BREAKFAST with these Gerudo? Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that?!"

"They don't have any problem with me and Malon," Zelda answered. "They just threw you two in jail as a precaution."

"As a precaution?" Link repeated. "What do you mean 'a precaution'?"

One of the Gerudo thieves who were dining with Zelda and Malon answered. "We've had an incident an the Spirit Temple. As a precaution, all males are to be arrested on sight."

Link shook his head. This was sexist, but he would wait until AFTER they stopped pointing the spears at him to point that out. "What incident? What happened?"

"When I went to the Spirit Temple the other day, I was attacked." The other thief said.

"She was talking to a guard she had never seen before," Malon continued for her. "Then when she wasn't looking, she was struck from behind by a rock. She thinks it was by the three Lizalfos, COMBAT."

"What makes you think that?" Sodo asked.

"They shouted 'BONK ON THE HEAD' before they hit me," the thief said.

Link shook his head. "That's them all right. They aren't exactly the brightest foes I've ever faced. Anyway, is there anything I can do to get out of here? I really need to get on my way."

"Only those who are Gerudo or honorary Gerudo may pass," the first thief said.

Link was ready to kick himself. He did get an honorary membership card, but it was under his bed back at the ranch. "Can't you make an exception for me?"

"NO!" the second thief shouted. "Why should we trust you?"

Link looked at Zelda. "Haven't you introduced yourself yet, PRINCESS?"

Zelda looked sternly at Link. "For your information, I DID introduce myself. But they're suspicious of anybody right now. They don't want to risk the life of Nabooru."

"You don't have to worry about me," Link assured the guards. "Nabooru and I are friends."

"We don't know that!" the first thief shouted. "We've never seen you around before."

Link tried desperately to think of something. "Come on, you guys remember me. You gave me that Gerudo Membership Card."

"Oh, yeah?" the second thief asked. "Then where is it?"

"I…don't have it with me, right now," Link confessed. "It's under my bed."

Malon then pulled something out. "Under your bed? You mean this?" Much to Link's surprise, she had pulled out his Gerudo Membership Card.

"Yes!" Link said relieved. "That's my membership card!" He turned his head to Malon curiously. "Why do you have my card?"

Malon smiled smugly. "I had to clean that mess under your bed. And I didn't want to misplace anything, so I put the card in my pocket."

The two Gerudo thieves grabbed the membership card and began to investigate it. They looked at Link and back at the card.

"Hmm, I guess your ok," the first thief finally said. "Girls, lay down your arms."

The Gerudo warriors finally put down their spears and Link and Sodo were finally able to put their hands down.

"Thank you," Link said in relief. "Can we please go now? We've got to get going."

"Of course," the first thief. "We offer our deepest apologies. We just tend not to trust males. Men are such scum."

Link couldn't help but feel a bit insulted. These Gerudo were all about 'girl power' and basically spit on the male gender.

The first thief approached Malon and Zelda. "Ladies, we enjoyed your company very much. I hope we'll be able to trade stories again soon."

"We enjoyed being here," Zelda said.

"Yeah, thanks for your hospitality," Malon added. "If you're ever in Lon Lon Ranch, be sure to stop by. We'd love to have you as a guest."

Link shook his head. He shuddered at the thought of having these Gerudo stay in his home.

"Can we go now?!" Link asked impatiently.

"I hate men with no patience!" the second thief said. She turned towards Malon and Zelda. "But he's right, girls. You need to be on your way. If you want to see the exalted Nabooru, then it must be important."

Malon and Zelda waved farewell to their new 'friends'. Link knew they weren't HIS friends, nor would he want them to be. The Gerudo patrolling the exit to the Haunted Wasteland opened the gate. They all walked into the Haunted Wasteland, ready to blaze through sandstorms.


Conclusion

They had managed to survive the heat in the Haunted Wasteland. And now Link, Zelda, Malon, and Sodo were in the Desert Colossus. The first thing Link noticed about it was, obviously, it was hot. As he walked towards the enormous Spirit Temple and noticed that Sodo soon began coughing again. The disease of the vastness refused to let up and Link sincerely hoped that they wouldn't run out of red potion. Then Link stopped in front of the huge Spirit Temple. He had nearly forgotten how big it really was.

"Wow," Sodo marveled. "It sure is a lot…bigger than the Forest Temple."

"I didn't think that the temples came this big," Malon added.

"It is pretty big," Link agreed. "But I know exactly where to find Nabooru."

They all walked into the Spirit Temple. They walked up and stopped in the center of the room in front of a rising platform. When they stepped onto the platform, they were taken to the second floor of the temple. They walked up to a door and opened it to reveal a large stone statue. It had to be several stories tall. Having never seen anything like this, Malon, Zelda, and Sodo began to talk about how amazing it is to be able to fit such a huge statue in this temple. Link had something else in mind. He shot his hookshot up towards a huge chained platform in front of the statue's face. He shot himself up and then brought up the others.

"If this is the same Nabooru I know, then she'll be in there," Link said.

"In where?" Malon asked.

"In there." Link pointed at the door within the statue's face. They each jumped to the door and walked in. When they walked into the next room, it brought back memories for Link. He remembered fighting an Iron Knuckle in that room. But it wasn't really an Iron Knuckle, it was actually Nabooru. She was under the spell of the witches, Twinrova. Link knew that she would be in the next room. They walked in and there was Nabooru, all right. But she was down on the ground. It looked like she had just regained consciousness, but she was tied up.

Link ran over to her and untied her. "Nabooru, are you ok?"

Nabooru scowled. "I feel like I've been hit by a stampede. Do I look like I'm ok?!"

Link knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Who did this to you?"

"It was that evil fiend who called himself 'Meyson'," the Gerudo leader answered. "He came in and knocked me out, but not before leaving with a huge Iron Knuckle."

Link frowned. "That's…sort of what we need to talk about. Nabooru was that the Iron Knuckle I thought it was? Was it the Iron Knuckle of legend?"

"It sure was," Nabooru answered. "It's the Iron Knuckle, Titanos. Meyson came in, did some magic, and walked away with it."

"But how can that be?" Zelda asked. "I thought Titanos was just a legend."

"It IS just a legend," the Spirit Sage responded. "I should know. I'm the one who made it up."

Link was dumbfounded. "YOU made up the legend of Titanos?"

"Yeah, it was me," Nabooru began. "When I began coming into this room I noticed a huge statue of an Iron Knuckle on the far side of the room. With dozens of Gerudo coming in and out of the temple, they began to ask about it. So I thought I would make up a legend about a giant Iron Knuckle called Titanos."

Sodo looked confused. "I've never heard the legend of Titanos. What is it?"

Nabooru braced herself to explain the whole thing. "The legend goes that there was once a giant Iron Knuckle called Titanos. He would serve Ganondorf during the Imprisonment War and would be put in charge of all the lesser Iron Knuckles. As the personal Iron Knuckle of Ganondorf, he would be given more power and stronger armor than the average Iron Knuckle. He was also the most skilled fighter among the other metal beasts. Anyway, one day Ganondorf was defeated by the Hero of Time."

Link stood cocky. "Now THAT is no legend."

"Shut up!" Nabooru shouted. "I'm not finished!"

"Sorry," Link said sheepishly.

"Anyway, the Hero of Time beat Ganondorf and sent him to the Sacred Realm," Nabooru continued. "The other Iron Knuckles were each exterminated. The only one who remained was Titanos. Once he figured out that there would no one to carry out Ganondorf's evil will, he went back to the Spirit Temple. He stood alone at the far end of this very room and legend has it he was turned into stone until someone evil came back to terrorize Hyrule."

"That's some story," Malon said.

Nabooru smiled. "Isn't it though. I can't believe I came up with it myself."

"Then that means the story of Titanos isn't true?" Zelda asked.

"Of course not," Nabooru said. "When I told that legend, I was lying through my teeth."

Link stood confused. "Then how is it I was attacked by a colossal Iron Knuckle, called Titanos, who hit like a ton of bricks?"

"There's only one possible answer I can have for that," Nabooru admitted. "I'll bet Meyson KNEW the legend wasn't true. But possessing magic of that magnitude, Meyson probably decided to MAKE it true. He used his powers to bring the legend to life."

Link cringed. If Meyson had the power to bring life to an inanimate statue, what else was he capable of?

Zelda took a step forward. "Nabooru, do you have any idea how we can stop Titanos?"

Nabooru pondered. "I don't think I ever came up with a way to stop him. Next time, I'd better not think of an unbeatable legend. There's only one solution I can think of. To stop the legend, you must defeat the one that released the legend. You have to beat Meyson."

"But we don't even know where Meyson is," Malon said. "What do we do now?"

Link didn't know either. He could only make one suggestion. "I guess we go back to Hyrule Castle and think of something there."

"Great," Nabooru said. "When do we leave?"

Link's anger began to rise again. "Excuse me? Who said anything about 'we'?"

"You can't suggest you're leaving without me, are you?" Nabooru asked. "I have a feeling you might just need me."

"Wait a minute," Link said quickly. "I thought sages couldn't leave their temples."

"Boy, do you even know why that rule's there in the first place?" Nabooru argued. "Sages can't leave their temple, because then the Sacred Realm might be in danger of tampering. The seal on Ganondorf would be in danger of being broken. But don't you think, by now, that someone's already trying to tamper with the Sacred Realm? And isn't the seal already in danger of being broken?"

"Well…uh…"

"Look, if you want to fight Meyson, those three lizards, and Titanos by yourself, by all means go ahead," Nabooru said. "But you don't know what else Meyson could have in store. And I seriously doubt that even the Hero of Time could withstand a huge assault by a sudden emergence of the Meyson army. I'm the best chance you have. Especially since I don't think you'll be getting much help from a sissy princess, a dumb farm girl, and a shrimpy Kokiri."

Link's party seemingly took offense to those words.

"Sissy princess?!"

"Dumb farm girl?!"

"Shrimpy Kokiri?!"

"Well, no offense," Nabooru smiled at them. She must have tried to apologize in her unique way. "You'll need a warrior on your side, Link. Whether you want to admit it or not, I'm the best chance you have. Now what do you say?"

Link figured that there was no use arguing. He never won these arguments. He might as well give in now. "Fine, you can come."

Nabooru smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way. Then we leave immediately."

Link couldn't believe it. His party had now increased to five. As they all left the Spirit Temple together, he could only wonder what would happen next. What was Meyson planning? What did he want with Saria? And could Link stop him in time, before he released Ganondorf?


Author's Note: I've enjoyed writing this story so much, but it is almost over. The final parts of Meyson's plan are about to come together. Can Link stop him? The third and final installment of this trilogy is coming.


Comments? Then you should review below or mail me at HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com.