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Author's note: Amazingly I'm still writing this – I did wonder if I'd actually get this far. Ah well, still big plans for the future. Thanks if you bothered to read even at least this far in this one chapter. Anyway…
Story so far: -
Tai, a gerudo, summoned the power of her god Nura and used the power to free Ganondorf Dragmire. Ganon captured Nura's power and used it to destroy Hyrule. However, Zelda and Link awake in the alternate dimension of Nurai, the land that Nura created, and also the homeland of the gerudos.
Tai also wakes up in Nurai, but discovers that Ganon who she always supposed to be her king, is actually not that role any more. He has not been for the last 17 years. Instead she decides to join a group of incredibly skilled warriors called the Xi, who may be able to tell her where the real gerudo king is. However, instead she finds that she no longer cares about the Gerudo king and just wants to learn about the Xi ways from her teacher Bren. While completing her second task she finds that for a brief moment that her body seems to control itself without her input.
Zelda is told that before the Nuran church will help her find other survivors from Hyrule she must do an undercover mission for them, and join up in Lain Tarn's crew as a pirate. She is given the new name of Hail as a joke, as Hail is the name of a mythical pirate queen who will come before the end of the world. However, after she saves the ship, the crew starts a mutiny and makes her captain. She finds that she can no longer remember about Zelda or anything that happened before she was Hail. She is given by a man some of the explosive material ever discovered, Calalite.
But others are conspiring against her, and in particular Oliver Black is planning to lead a massive coalition of the other pirates against her to stop he ever growing domination of the sea. After a meeting (during which he especially manages to impress them by killing an actor he had hired to pretend to be an assassin sent from the Actor's Guild) he manages to recruit enough comrades to set his ideas in motion.
Link is awakened by a priest of the Nuran church who is called Nala. However, while Link is still confined to bed a Kalen (a mysterious group who all the Nuran people seem to hate) breaks in a gives Link a mysterious broach.
Nala reveals that Link's coming and also the emergence of a mysterious pirate queen called Hail are all part of a prophecy. This prophecy predicts that the world will come to an end in a time called the Distile. The only chance Link has to stop it is to find the six sages who are somewhere in Nura. Hoping to recruit more help Link and Nala travel to Nurai's capital Asreal where they are due to meet in the Glass Temple. Link meets an Xi calling herself Tanya and the two become uneasy friends.
Nurai's history is revealed to Link in a meeting inside the Glass Temple, however half way through an earthquake (one of the prophesied signs of the Distile) strikes. While trying to evacuate the building a huge D'Ran knife that long ago had been used in sacrifices falls to the floor. To the horror of Nala and Tanya it falls on Link and kills him. Link finds himself in a place beyond death, where those that call themselves gods live. He learns here that his infinite chances have run out, and he has only one left. Here all knowledge is stored and much of it flows into his head. He learns of an old man called Rein who was struck by lightning while being attacked by a wolf, and also of Hail's plans to defend herself against Black.
Black's forces are now approaching Hail although he decides to leave them before the battle begins after learning their position from his spy on board Hail's ship – Lain Tarn.
When Link returns once again into the real world he has lost all his memories, although a witch manages to restore them through Nala at least far back as the two met. He continues to dream of Rein, who became after he was struck by the lightning, a wondering spirit who inhabited people's bodies until they died.
He awakes after one of these dreams to be told by Tanya that her real and original name was Tai…
Eleven
The sun dawned on the city of Asreal, and so gradually its people began to awake. The long quiet night was over and soon noise rang through the streets again as people prepared for the day's work. The sound of a ball being kicked from one child to another was heard, and two girls whispering and then laughing quietly in a corner.
It seemed like the perfect summer's day, and the city seemed to have forgotten the great shape of the half-collapsed Glass Temple that cast its long shadow over it. The children jumped over the rubble of other casualties, and continued in their play. For them the ground's shaking had almost been forgotten.
The week that had gone by had healed many wounds, reflected Bren, as he walked along the city wall. He was high above the houses, shops and taverns, slowly considering life while he idly played with a ball in his pocket.
The date for their departure had been set; the rescue groups would leave early next week. The church had commissioned two groups of guards to rescue the sages, and all Bren had to do was decide which he would join. Or rather, which group Tai would join.
There had been something different about her in the last few days, yet Bren could not quite put his finger on it. She had seemed happier, but exactly why Bren was not sure. He had seen less and less of her, but from the progress she was obviously making he knew that she was not slacking on her exercises. She spent most of her time with Link, the supposed boy from another world. For some reason she had even abandoned the Xi name that had so forcefully made sure she was called before then.
He was still not quite sure about the stranger, still not sure if he was what the priest Nala said and what the others hoped. He remembered back to just before the earthquake, when Tai had pointed him just after the two of them had fallen down the building. Then he had judged there to be subtle strength in those muscles – and experience in those eyes. And yet something was bothering him, and for a moment he wondered whether it was something else entirely.
Perhaps it was that feeling of jealousy of a trainee that he had once been stronger than, as Tai increased in her skills daily. Bren knew that it would not be very long before she would be stronger than him. All Xi women were. That was the reason the men became the Xi Masters, as they were not deemed strong enough to do anything but teach. It was rather an insult and a compliment at the same time, he thought.
But there was something else different about her. Something very, very subtle. Yet very familiar. And yet, for now, he had absolutely no idea what it was. Neither could he pick a specific moment when he had noticed it. He looked through his memory again, but he still couldn't pull out anything specific.
It was a mystery, he thought, but a mystery that he hopefully had plenty of time to solve.
And so he thought about something different.
*-*
It had been the morning when the first rocket had flung itself into the air and showered the fleet with sparks. At once every man and woman was tense, many of them not knowing the meaning of it but sensing it all the same. They crowded to their normal stations, and were ready the following commands to move came. Black's navy was on the move.
All day it sailed, so long that just before lunch many were wondering if they would ever sight their prey. But those with experience of the sea just waited, content to wallow in the peace for as long as they could.
It was the 'Yellow Swift' who first saw them, their captain peering out of a spyglass at the blank horizon. Then they saw the swiftly moving brown dot and they knew, and soon the shout was going from deck to deck. At once all tiredness or weariness was forgotten, the thrill of the chase surging through them.
To an impartial observer it might have seemed have a long pause while the two collections of ships moved closer together, but those who were knew the truth and the instant that it seemed at the time. All of them in their heads (or some discussing) were working out the two important times. The length until they would meet and the length until they would be range of each other.
On Hail's flagship, commonly known as 'Lain's Pride' or now in it's more infamous days more simply just the 'Pride', the mood was slightly more sombre. They had all heard of Black's legendary brigand by now, and if they had not already been part of so many amazing victories they would have already abandoned the ships.
Dayla was slowly polishing her swords, getting ready for her part in the battle. She was quiet nowadays, put back slightly by the way that Hail now seemed to ignore her. Part of her said that Hail was too busy for friends among the junior ranks anymore, but that was never enough to quieten it's opposite half. She was still worried about her former friend, the nervous girl she had once known being completely disappeared. And she wasn't too happy by its seemingly inhuman replacement.
When her swords were as good as she would get them she climbed up and out onto the deck. There were some pirates there, doing the normal sailing tasks or just watching but the majority were still huddled down below. Lain Tarn was at the very end of the ship, peering out through her small brown instrument at the coming attackers.
Gradually the rest of the pirates moved onto the deck and started to watch the now more visible than ever fleet. It seemed like a gigantic black plague washing over the sea, no end to it in sight. Calm the members on Hail's ship, some may have called it too calm as they silently watch the Swift come closer.
Lain's head nodded ever so slightly but every hand on deck caught the movement. In an instant they moved to their personal positions, and the soon the deck had changed from an unruly rabble to an organised war machine. Still the pirates waited; still none of them smiled, even though they were so close to the glory of battle.
The first cannon ball crashed into the sea on the right of the Pride and that was all the signal that was needed. A terrifyingly vivid shout swept over the deck and now it was the turn of the Swift's crew to be slightly weary. The shock seemed to hold them still for just that second too long. And then the cannons roared – from every deck a roaring ball of hope was flung out.
The Swift was battered, hit on every side and soon enough was sinking down into the depths ocean, now just a perilous obstacle to the crowd behind that was trying to get through. The attack was begun and the first victory was Hail's.
*-*
"Please... We must be able to come to some kind of agreement."
Harsh faces, frozen eyes, unwavering glares. Previous friends crowding around him and revealing their true colours. He knew it was no good begging, he'd been begging for mercy for the last ten months and nothing had come of it. Every day they had become more determined, and more stuck in their cruel outdated ways.
"You must leave the child," they would say, "with you he will never gain his mastership."
Which would only start Rein's mind arguing again as it endlessly tried to decide what was right. Part of it knew that he could not hinder the boy; that it was against his and the world's nature. But then there was that side that was constantly nagging against him, the side that he sometimes wandered if it was an infection of the Xi.
"I'm sorry Rein," the supposed well-wisher would always start. "But you can't guarantee us that it won't happen again and well... Well you know we can't allow that."
Guarantee? Guarantee! Did they think that he had wanted to let that wolf grasp control for that moment? Did they think that since then he hadn't put greater watch on it than ever? Of course they didn't, they just thought of distant and bleak possibilities. But then, should he blame them for being frightened of what still haunted him?
That summer day, now so long ago yet still fresh, came back from his memory. The pleasant gentle sun tickling the back of the boy's neck worming its way into his consciousness. Pleasant it had been maybe, but still distracting, as the boy tried to balance the two tall staffs on his hands. He was confident now, confident enough to practise by the river and not worry about dropping them in. Rein didn't think that the confidence was misplaced either – the boy was getting better every day.
In fact for a few days then, Rein had started to be drawing back. The boy of course resisted the strength and experience being pulled back from his hands, but Rein needed to make sure the boy could perform his skills without Rein's help. But it had to be slow, slow and gradual so that he became used to standing on his own.
So this day Rein had started to pull away, before rushing back to stable the boy's hands as they shook with nervousness. Finally he left the boy completely on his own for a moment before he came back. Pleasingly, the boy responded well and seemed almost not to notice. Encouraged, Rein drew back and counted to five. It was hard to ignore the boy's almost whimpering for help but he was used to it. Two, three, four...
And then the wolf took its chance and rushed in to take over. The boy gasped for a moment at the intruder, and then intrigued, entertained him for a while. Shocked, Rein realised what a mistake hesitating for even a moment had been. He tried to fight back for control, but it was already too late.
The staff crashed into the water, but that was the least of anyone's worries. The wolf was not used to a human body and its normal instincts cruelly treated the form. The boy's bones tore against each other and scratched his skin while his blood was pumped too fast and too hard. Red lines in a painful system were appearing over his body and the pupils in his eyes almost seemed to be springing apart.
"Sir!"
No... No... Rein cursed with every fibre as he saw the young servant appear. Sheff had been with them but a few short weeks. In his hands was carried a tray covered with refreshments. That was the first thing to go clattering onto the floor. But the servant was too terrified to run.
With a bound the wolf spirit launched itself up at the waiting victim and eagerly began. Already now claw–like fingernails were tearing against Sheff's soft flesh and the mouth was also coming in close. First it bit off an ear whole, but the flesh only seemed to enrage rather than calm. The fingers dug further and further into the eyes while the mouth began working ever downward. To Rein it all seemed to blur into nothing.
"Leave!"
Rein knew not how many minutes later it was before the so lovely command came. But he made sure he did not waste the moment of shock it gave the wolf, and he made sure that it was enough. Then his eyes travelled for a moment to the white face that had given him the opportunity to grasp back control. There was shock and disgust in it but still some power. But whether it was for him or whether it was for the boy himself, he had to turn to face the corpse one last time. And only then did he allow their body to fall down into a welcome faint.
Yes, in the months that followed the Xi did try to get rid of the wolf alone, but even their wisdom could find no way to separate him and it. Worse they realised that Rein had entered this boy too young, far too young. Their minds were growing too close, and soon there would be no way of separating them.
And so now as they tried to push him out they were surrounding him, still trying to reassure him that this was the only way to ensure safety for the future. Their eyes were closed, their minds concentrating on what they needed to do but there was no way he could escape. He was busy calming the boy, calming him as the boy shook so hard. Rein had not felt him like this since he had recovered from the injuries the wolf had done. The boy was more scared than Rein had ever known him. None of the Xi had bothered to ask the boy whether he wanted to be separated.
"Have you no respect for the one who taught you all?" he asked them, but they made no sign of hearing. Instead they chanted quicker, and louder, and then Rein finally felt some effect. At the moment it was just slight nausea, but it was growing, and it was growing quickly until he began to wonder if it would ever end.
"Go," Darius finally commanded.
And Rein finally did want to go. He longed to go, he wished to go, his whole being screamed to go. But still the nausea built up and still his torture continued. He tried every thing he could think of, but nothing would let him go. And then he realised, the boy was still holding unto him – holding onto him with a grip that would never end. But Rein couldn't return the favour any longer.
"Bren," he said quietly, except his speaking was silent to anyone else. But the boy would hear him, as he had done since he was three years of age.
"Bren."
Again, quietly and softly he asked while his whole body felt like it was being wretched apart. For a moment the boy let go but then he quickly changed his mind and tried to hold on again. Yet it was too late for changing his mind, and in that instant he let go Rein was torn from him and hurled again into the oblivion of nothingness.
And then Link woke up.
*-*
Another ship from Black's navy swung near to Hail's ship and fired off several cannon rounds. Dayla just smiled as its attacks inevitably hit the water instead of them. Their sister ship, the 'Red Flame' came quickly to their defence and fired out its own cannons at the opposing ship. Not that the Pride wasn't already giving out as good as it got.
2 cannon balls had hit the 'Red Flame' so far, but already on its first sweep ten of its shots had hit the enemy ship and in several places the ship was up in flames. Fire is any sailor's worst enemy and already the enemy was trying to put out the flames. Many of the people normally manning the cannons had to leave their places to help.
A young pirate on Dayla's left fired off her shot directly into a crowd of people as they swarmed towards a fire. He was made of stronger stuff than her, and kept his gaze firm as their enemies died. And for an added bonus they soon found out why they had been trying to defend that area: it must have been their gunpowder store. The resulting explosion left the ship a black hulk and the surrounding area a mess of litter. Score another to Hail.
The Flame turned to take 3 ships that were charging in from the west. The Pride on their right had already got a few of their own. Behind her, Dayla heard the legions of Xi that Hail had hired preparing for battle. As Dayla helped to send another ship to a watery grave one legion of Xi dived into the water and swam towards a fleet of ten ships that was still a way off.
"Day!" shouted the cocky Gerudo on the left, "I think I've found their store!"
Dayla turned her cannon and spotted where the Gerudo was aiming. Letting her crew load the cannon she quickly began to judge the right angle. When the moment was ready she let loose and to her amazement hit the ship in the exactly the right place. She didn't have time to see it explode.
The Pride was already charging across to help the Flame, which was having a hard time with a giant black ship. Together they easily saw it off. As Dayla was cheering over their victory over the 'Dark Night' another crashing boom came over the horizon. A huge mushroom cloud came from the crowd of 10 ships that the Xi had decided to visit. Obviously the sabotage plan was working.
But she had no time to celebrate that victory. The main crowd of 30 ships was still charging toward them with Black's ship at their head. The Pride and Flame decided to meet them halfway. Dayla waited until her cannons were in range and then helped the others load her cannon herself. They had to try to get as many of these ships down quickly as possible. The Gerudo on her left succeeded in giving terrible damage to two ships and Day herself helped. But she had always known that soon she would have to give up her cannon and a nearby red rocket from the Flame only confirmed it to her. She was about to follow the Xi's example.
Grabbing her two swords and throwing them into their sheathes she ran over to the side off the ship. For a moment she looked back at her old homes and friends – but then she was diving down into the deep ocean below. The battle was about to get a lot more personal.
*-*
Link looked out of the window and sighed happily. He still felt strange but life was a precious thing indeed. He may not remember anything before he had first spoken to Nala but he could still appreciate so much more. He knew so little about himself that it was extraordinary. And yet he knew that all those facts were still somewhere in his memory. Every night he would dream through new memories and new lives, and every morning he would have enough to consider to last him a whole day.
He heard a slight rustle of clothing behind him and he spun quickly around on his left foot. A figure in black was behind him, and it was brandishing two large swords. Link drew his own and blocked as the laughing figure thrust its two swords down towards him.
The figure pulled up the swords again and did a quick spin with them. Link blocked one and ducked the other.
'It' leaped in a somersault over him and again thrust one of its swords, this time from behind. Link again dodged, but at the same time thrust his hand forward and grabbed one of It's wrists. In reaction It jumped and pulled it's feet up towards Link's head. Link, once again ducked and dodged under them and then used the handle of his sword to flip it's body down flat onto the floor. The black cover which was hiding 'it's' face fell off to reveal Tai's smiling, still laughing face.
"Not good enough," taunted Link, smiling himself.
Getting to her feet, Tai replied, "You were lucky."
"Besides," she added, "you can't touch me in my strong point."
"Which is?" enquired Link.
"Archery," answered Tai, drawing a bow and firing an arrow through the window to prove it. The arrow hit the centre of an Imperial Trade Centre flag on the opposite wall.
"Vandalism! Whatever next," Link jokingly reproached.
Tai glared at him, and then challenged, "Try to match that!"
Silently, Link lifted his own bow and quickly fired off three arrows. When they had all connected with the flag they formed a perfect triangle around Tai's own.
Tai glared at him again, and then shot out another four arrows quickly into the flag. When Link saw where they had hit, and more importantly what shape they had formed he was speechless for a few seconds.
"How... How..." he started, "Did you know what the Triforce looked like?"
She was silent herself. She had been aiming to form a rough square around Link's triangle. But at the last moment something had made her aim her arrows in a slightly different direction. She was shocked, and then said for some reason which later she was not sure about, "What's the Triforce?"
As Link stared sharply at her she continued hurriedly, "I mean... it's just that shape on your shield isn't it?"
Link still didn't look quite convinced, but she thought that he was convinced enough. And then she became rapidly horrified; she had always made it a personal point of honour that she never lied.
Link suddenly looked sharply at her again. He was remembering something from a dream a few nights ago...
"Get out of there!" he suddenly shouted.
"Go!" he almost screamed.
"What?" She stared at him.
"Just go..." he paused trying to remember a name...
"...Rein, just go!"
A laugh echoed from Tai's lips and she found to her horror that they were forming words and yet it was not she that was controlling them.
"Well done!" echoed the voice. "How did you figure me out?"
Link paused, breathing heavily, trying to draw all his senses together. "You... you effect how people look and behave... only slightly... but..."
"Oh," said Rein's voice realising, "and I suppose you must have dreamt through one of my memories because of your death. I wonder how many other secrets you know..."
"Why don't you just die!" shouted Link angrily, "you've lived a thousand years longer than everyone else, isn't that enough!"
"Believe it or not," replied Rein coolly, "I have not actually discovered any way of being killed yet. I am pure spirit. I do not even have the power of making myself solid like other ghosts seem able to. And so no solid or mortal or even real weapon can kill me. I am (as you must know) to all extents and purposes, immortal. Thankfully for you I've had enough experience of life not to be offended quickly."
"How..." started Link.
"...did I get in this body?" finished Rein. "A fairly long story but to put it simply the Xi wanted to get rid of me too eventually. They wanted to pass my Xi Master's powers down to someone else. And so they tricked me into the body of a bird, used all their powers to keep the bird alive so I could not escape and then they locked me into the room in which your friend found me. I can't leave this girl without killing her."
Link was taken aback. "Then why did you draw the Triforce?"
"Because it is the answer," said Bren loudly as he entered the room. "As much as we have tried to hide it the truth soon became obvious that somehow the Xi's power comes from Hyrule. And thus the Triforce can control any Xi in any way possible, even only spirit Xi. And for some reason he thinks you know where the Triforce is."
"Very clever," complemented Rein, "I am glad to see that you have not deteriorated in brain power since I left you."
Link looked at Bren questioningly.
"He was my former master," admitted Bren. "Now Link, command him to be gone and maybe he will."
Link took a deep breath and stated, "I, Link, Hero of Time, command you Rein to leave that innocent body."
Nothing happened. Link tried again, and this time the words seemed to kind of flow out of him by themselves.
"I, Link of Hyrule, by the power of the Triforce of Courage, command thee Rein, former Master of the Xiam Kalendium to leave that entrapped body and to let the innocent spirit be free."
As soon as he had started Link felt the power building up in his body and when he stretched out his hand he could feel the power leaking out of it. Then a small ever-changing shape, which could only be seen, by the way it made the air shimmer left Tai's body and flew out through the air.
Directly into Bren. Link dropped his hand, shocked for an instant.
"Do not bother trying to separate us," called out Rein's voice, this time from Bren's body, "we were once bonded before and trying to separate us again will be impossible.
Bren sadly agreed. "It took all the remaining Xis to separate us before and many of them have sadly departed. We will be together till my death. I am afraid even now our spirits have mixed so strongly that if he left I would be dragged with him."
Link nodded, dumbfounded for a second, and then spotting Tai collapsed on the floor he ran over to where Rein had left her. Silently Bren and Rein, together once more, left the room.
*-*
Dayla always stayed underwater as she swam; it was the only way not to venture into the line of fire. For now she was following a person she recognised as from her own group who was steadily moving on in front of her. She saw the girl reach a rope on the side of a ship and clamber onto it and so she quickly increased the rate of her strokes to catch up.
When she broke the surface of the water she risked a glance around her, and stared in bewilderment at the countless people doing the same as her and climbing up enemy ship's sides. She reached the top, swung over the wall and drew her sword at the same time. An old man looking in the opposite direction nearby. She ran over to him before anyone else could reach her and with one quick swipe of the sword killed him. She turned to see her next victim only to see that there was no one left on the deck. Then she spotted the girl from her team once more diving over the side of the ship and back into the sea.
Dayla followed her, and soon was breaking into the cool water herself. For a moment she just treaded water and let her breath calm down. Then the next ship beckoned and she was off under the water once more.
The water was safe, but above the battle continued to rage.