Author's Note: I do not claim the characters in the following story as my own. The rights belong to Nintendo and I did not create them. However, the following short story is original, except for the background from The Ocarina of Time. Please enjoy. I do appreciate your comments, since this is my first short story to ever be shown publicly. Thank- you. Robin-











Link and the Gate of Darkness

By Robin Wright



The day was bright and peaceful. The sun shone and illuminated the green grass in Hyrule Field. I, Link, was out riding my horse, Epona. I took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air, glad that Ganondorf was locked away forever in the Sacred Realm. All the things that had taken place were now, to me, but a memory. I had defeated my evil foe with help from the sages seven years ago to that day. It had been seven years of wonderful freedom. Seven years of being a normal Hylian boy. I hadn't seen much of Princess Zelda since than, but that didn't really bother me.

As I was riding Epona on that day, however, a sudden, powerful gust of wind kicked up, and the ground began to rumble. Epona panicked and bucked. I yelled for her to stop, to calm down, but she threw me and ran away. I stood, but the quaking beneath my feet grew more and more violent. I lost my balance and fell to my knees. I looked over toward Hyrule Castle. As I did, an explosion of cataclysmic proportions resounded, and I was thrown flat on the ground by the shockwave. It was so forceful that I was knocked out cold.

When I opened my eyes, (how much later I do not know) all was no longer sunny and bright. Dark, dense clouds billowed over head. I stood and looked about me to find that the grass was brown, the trees black. In the distance, I saw that Hyrule Castle was no more. I ran across the field to where it had been. A threatening, swirling mass of clouds hung over a deep pit. Lightening flashed within them. No castle, no town, no people. Bits of fire burned here and there, and all I could hear was a low rumble. The sound was coming from the pit. Rain began to fall in angry torrents. I looked up, and before me loomed a huge, black stone gate. I had helped to save Hyrule before. Perhaps I would have to do it again. I wanted to know what was going on, who had caused this chaos. I had the feeling that the answers I was seeking lay beyond that forbidding gate of darkness, down in that terrible pit.

Slowly, I walked up to the dark gate. Each door on it was carved with the symbol of the Triforce. One triangle was painted red, the Triforce of Power, and the other two had been left black. I reached out to pull one of the doors open, but they both swung apart on their own, as if they had been waiting for me. The gate led to a stairway that descended so far into the pit, that I could not see where they ended. I unsheathed my sword, readied my shield, and started down. With each step I took, the rumbling softened, until I reached the last step, and all I could hear were my own tense breaths. Darkness was all around me. I could see nothing. Despite this, I continued walking. My footsteps echoed down what must have been a stone hall. I almost tripped over something on the floor, and I could hear the sound of stone scraping. Torches immediately blazed on the walls. I was in a small room. The scraping continued. I looked up. The ceiling was moving to meet the floor; and crush me in the process.

I turned to run back into the dark hallway, but a stone panel had slid shut, trapping me inside. I searched for any possible escape. The floor, the walls, the entire room was solid, unyielding stone. The ceiling moved closer, closer! By now I was beginning to reach frantic. I pounded on the wall with my fists, scraping at the cracks with my nails. I realized it was to no avail. The ceiling was quite low by this time. I dropped to my knees and put aside my sword and shield. To myself I said, "If I am to die, I will die without tears. I will go with courage." I held my left arm vertical, and crossed my right arm horizontal to it. A bright glow filled the room. A small triangle emitted a green light in the back of my left hand. It was the Triforce of Courage. The piece from seven years ago was still in me. The scraping stopped. The light grew brighter, brighter! Now it was blinding and I closed my eyes. The room rumbled in terrible violence, and I heard stone crumbling. I opened my eyes. The room was gone, except for the floor. Piles of stone lay in smoldering heaps about me.

At that point, I was faced with three options. Another flight of stairs in front of me led even further down into the unwelcoming dark. Two paths went to unknown places on my right and left. I didn't want to risk becoming a flat version of Link again, so I dismissed the stairs off hand. Two possibilities to go: left or right? I pondered for a moment, then decisively dug into the pouch hanging on my waist. I pulled out a five-rupee Hylan, (I have heard it called a nickel elsewhere) and flipped it. Heads, left, tails, right. I didn't try to catch it, since I was never good at that sort of thing, and the coin clattered on the stone floor. I bent down and squinted at it. (There was a little light where I was, by the way.) Tails. I picked up my sword and shield. Cautiously, I stepped onto the path at my right. I began walking. It seemed solid enough, at first, but after I had gone about thirty meters, I heard dust and pebbles falling. I felt like I was... sinking? The stones beneath my feet began to rock and shudder. I turned and ran back in the direction I came from. When I looked behind me, I saw that the path was falling out not inches behind my heels. The last blocks gave way just as I reached the room. I thrust out my arms and barely caught myself against the stone remains.

I hung there for a moment, then looked down. An abyss was all I saw. I hadn't even heard the stones from the path hit bottom when they had fallen. Grunting, and with much effort, I pulled myself up. (Okay, so I was a bit out of shape. It had been seven years.) "Why do I always have to save Hyrule?" I grumbled to myself. "Why not someone else, like Zelda? She's got more power in her little finger than I've got in my whole body." I sighed. "No volunteers?" I said to no one. Looked like I was still alone in this one. The path to my left remained. I didn't want to possibly fall again, so I picked up one of the black rocks in the rubble. It was rather large and heavy, but I lobbed it onto the path. This one didn't give way, but I heard something set like a trigger after the rock landed. There was a sudden "whoosh!" and hundreds of spears flew out of the walls on both sides of the path. They were so fast and sharp, that they stuck into the stone floor and walls. Even into the rock I'd thrown. A frigid shiver ran down my back. I could've been like the rock. I turned. All that was left was the staircase.

I really didn't want to go down those steps. I wanted to go home, to catch cuckoos, anything but this! However, who knew if my home still existed anymore? Were there even cuckoos left to catch? I turned back to the cold, dark stairs. I guess the cuckoos will have to wait. I thought to myself. Against my own wishes, I descended the stairs. Each time I touched a step with my foot, a torch illuminated simultaneously. I was feeling jittery, and the torches only served to make me more nervous. After about a hundred steps, I finally reached the end. A door stood before me. I had no idea what, or who lay behind it. With sweating palms I grabbed the ring-handle and pulled. The door creaked open. Two floor torches were lit inside. It was a round, stone room with a high ceiling. A thin figure with long hair stood between the torches with its back to me. Slowly, it turned. I took a surprised step back. Before me stood none other than Princess Zelda.

"By Nayru's Love!" I exclaimed, "It's you!" She said nothing. "Zelda! It's me, Link!" I said. Still she gave no reply. Her eyes glowed red. If my memory served me right, they had been blue before, and they certainly didn't glow. Something was rottenly wrong. Out of nowhere, a deafeningly loud voice echoed, "Zelda, destroy him!" Immediately, Zelda put her arms over her head, palms together. She summoned her power in a ball of burning blue light and thrust it in my direction. I yelled and ran out of the way. It hit a wall, and the wall disintegrated.

"Zelda, stop! You don't know what you're doing!" I hollered. She summoned another deadly ball. I dodged that one too, and a second wall disappeared into nothing. This went on until we ran out of walls and the ceiling was also consumed. (What can I say, she's always had a bad aim.) Finally, I drew my sword, which I had put away when I originally saw her. She heaved another death ball, and I swung at it. The blade of my sword evaporated and I was knocked back by the force. There was nothing left of it but the hilt in my sweaty hand. When I looked up, she was about to form another of her fun toys. I had no time to think. I leapt up and rushed her. She and I landed on the floor.

"Snap out of it, Zelda!" I slapped her hard across the face. Her eyes still burned red and she began to summon her power yet again. Out of fear, I crossed my arms like I had in the room before. The green light of courage returned, and I heard Zelda shriek inhumanly. The light faded and I looked upon her. She lie motionless on the ground. Her eyes were closed. I pulled one of her eyelids open. Her pupils no longer glowed red. They were blue as before. A blue triangle glowed in the back of her left hand, the Triforce of Wisdom, so I knew she was not dead. The green triangle on my hand glowed too. Once again, the Triforce parts were activating. That meant that the third part was very, very near by. The Triforce of Power, the piece that Ganondorf possessed. Zelda's eyes flickered open.

"Link, is it you?"

"Zelda, are you alright?" She nodded and I helped her up.

"What's going on here?" I asked. "Is Ganondorf behind this?" She opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by a booming, demonic laugh. The ground began to shake again. "I will destroy both of you!" The voice screamed. A tunnel appeared in front of us. There was a red light at the end. I turned to face Zelda. "I'm going to go down there. You hurry back up to the surface! Save yourself!" I started toward the foreboding tunnel. She grabbed my hand. "No! Link, I'm coming with you!"

"Suit yourself." I answered. We ran, hand in hand toward the light. I was not shocked by what I saw at the end of the tunnel. We were in a huge, torch lit room. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, were coloured blood-red. A maniacal laugh resounded throughout the chamber. On a platform, sitting on a gaudy throne carved with skulls and frightful images, was Ganondorf. A red triangle glowed on the back of his left hand.

"This will not last, Ganondorf!" I yelled. He shrieked with evil guffaws. He sounded even more insane than he had before. He stood, his heavy, blood-dipped, velvet cape draped over his shoulders and onto the floor.

"I swore seven years ago to this day that I would kill you, Link. I swore that your descendants would suffer. But you will have no descendants, for I will kill both you and Princess Zelda today!"

"How did you escape?!" Zelda said before I could stop her. Ganondorf snorted.

"Those weak sages could not hold me! I am all powerful! I summoned my dark power to an all consuming force, and blasted away your pathetic Sacred Realm! Now I am King of the Underworld! I rule the Gate of Darkness you unwittingly passed through, and all that lay beyond it! When I am done with you, I will destroy Hyrule, and all of its inhabitants will be my eternal slaves!" He laughed uncontrollably. What an idiot. I thought. His piercing laugh abated.

"Now to finish it!" He yelled. Out of the darkness stepped twenty Stalfos. They encircled Zelda and me. My sword was still gone, and there was no way I had enough arrows to finish all of them.

"Link, what do we do?!" Zelda cried. I grabbed her waist and pulled her down to the floor with me as the circle enclosed around us.

"Link! This isn't the time for-"

"Shut up and do as I do!" I said. The Stalfos began hacking and slicing at each other. We crawled out between their bony legs. Soon, they had chopped themselves to pieces and lie in a confused pile of bones on the floor. Ganondorf was dancing around in a white rage. I ran over and pulled a large sword from the pile of bones. It would do the trick.

"I'll have to kill you myself!" Ganondorf exclaimed. He raised his hand to summon a red ball of power, but Zelda interrupted him.

"Not this time Ganondorf!" She held a huge ball of blue light over her head. I could see the strain of it on her face. With a loud "Heyah!" she sailed the ball at our enemy. It hit with an immense explosion, and I could hear electricity crackling and popping. I imagine Ganondorf was screaming in the middle of it. When the blast died down, we rushed to where he lie. He was a black and charred mess. A strained sound came from his form. "I... swear... I... will..."

Zelda and I looked at each other. I pulled out the Stalfos sword.

"Not today Ganondorf." I said, and swiftly stabbed him in the heart. (If he even had one.) He stopped speaking. A sudden wind whipped through, and everything began to blow away in a fierce sandstorm. I grabbed Zelda's hand and we ran back down the now vanishing tunnel. We ran up all of the stairs, past where I battled Zelda, up the stairs past where I was almost crushed, and up the last flight to the surface. At the top, the black Gate of Darkness was falling apart. Another explosion went off, and I dove on top of Zelda. The shockwave passed, and the roiling clouds parted, then dissipated. The sun came out, the sky was once again blue and bright.

"Well, it looks like we saved the world again, Zelda."

"Yes, Link. We have. But will Ganondorf return yet again?" I looked toward the deep, smouldering pit where Hyrule Castle had once been.

"I don't know, Zelda. I don't know..."



The End