Here is the season finale of Link's Quest to Find Zelda...ok, ok...not season finale...buuuut it is the final chapter! I am going to write another fic some time in the near future that takes up where this leaves off...but that won't be for a while yet. Okay I won't bore you with a big huge author's note at the beginning...HEEERE WE GO!
Part Nine: Chaos: The Traitor Sage
Impa smiled to herself. It had been so easy to get Zelda to believe her. Year by year she could feel Ganondorf growing stronger, and year by year she got more anxious. Finally, a month after that pathetic fool Link set off to try and find Zelda, he was free.
They had gone around Hyrule spreading chaos; destroying one target at a time. Today's targets had been the ranch and that wretched girl Malon. Their first target had been the King of Hyrule. Now that he was dead, and Zelda gone forever, Hyrule was desperately looking for a leader. Tomorrow the High Council would hold a meeting, at the end of which the new king or queen would be crowned. There were four nominees; herself included. None of the High Council knew of her betrayal; all they saw when they looked at her was a strong shiekah woman, and a close friend of the Princess's.
Soon the clueless fools would make her queen.
(Perspective change)
Zelda came rushing back up the stairs, clutching some herbs tightly in her panicked hands. Link heard her coming and slowly undid the piece of tunic that he had wrapped around Malon's wrist. It was dark with blood; saturated. But at least it had helped. The gash was still bleeding freely, but at least it wasn't as bad as before. Presently Zelda entered the room, dashing over to Malon. Link tore off another piece of his tunic, and wrapped it back around Malon's wrist after Zelda had placed the herbs there. Then he got out the water bottle and slowly poured some of the cold water onto his wounded friend's forehead.
"Link!" Zelda suddenly exclaimed. "Link...I sense...Malon...she has the power in her to be a Sage!" She mumbled a few words in the unconscious Malon's ear. "Now all we need is to summon the rest of the Sages here...except Impa, of course, and we can awaken her as a Sage. Then all you have to do is-" tears suddenly appeared in her eyes-"de...destroy...Impa."
"I can take care of that," Link replied grimly. "You stay here and summon the Sages. I'll go tell your father you've returned."
**********************************************************************
"Your Majesty!" Link called as he walked towards the King's chamber. "Your Majes-" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw the High Council sitting in the chamber rather than the king. "What's going on here?" he demanded.
"Link," one of the elders began, "while you were gone...actually it was just two days ago...the king died. Right now we are trying to decide who the new ruler will be."
"That's easy! Why do you need some huge meeting to crown Zelda? She's back, you know."
There were murmurs of disbelief among the Council. Only one member was silent. Impa. Link stared at her; a cold, hateful, warning stare, met with her own gaze filled with rage. After a moment, however, she was forced to avert her eyes. His cold, cold blue eyes...she knew they saw her for what she was.
Behind his back Link had secretly nocked an arrow to his bow. "Do you know," he began," who is responsible for Ganon's return?" The mention of the evil monstrosity brought an uncomfortable silence to the room. Link continued. "Turn your attention towards Impa. She is a vile traitor. A disgrace to the land of Hyrule, and to the Sages." With that he pulled out his readied bow and loosed the arrow before anyone could move.
"YOU WILL SUFFER...FOR...THIS....MY MASTER WILL DESTROY YOU....ALLLLL!" With that, the traitor Sage dropped lifeless to the floor. The High Council suddenly burst into applause for Link...not at all what he had expected. He had expected something more along the lines of a death sentence. At the demand for news, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played one of the first songs he learned: Saria's Song.
~Link?~ came Saria's voice, seemingly out of nowhere. ~Is Impa dead?~
"Yes."
~Good. We are all here at the ranch. In about an hour we will be able to awaken Malon as the Sage of Shadow.~
"What do we do until then?"
~Be patient. High Council, be ready to crown Zelda once she gets back. Link, you had better come back to the ranch.~ After she finished, Link felt the connection betwen them close.
"Goodbye, Council. May the Goddesses always lead you down the path of righteousness."
"Farewell, Link," the elder said, not knowing whether to be fearful or joyous.
Link walked out of the chamber, mounted Epona, and set off at top speed towards Lon Lon Ranch.
**********************************************************************
Link walked into the room just in time to see six of the Sages each channeling a different color light into Malon. Rauru's was white, Saria's green, Ruto's blue, Darunia's red, Nabooru's orange, and Zelda's pink. After a moment Malon seemed to be returning the light, or rejecting it rather, with her own deep purple. Suddenly all of the light went out, and the Sages stood back. Malon slowly opened her eyes and stood.
She looked just the same as she always did, Link noted. Then he met her eyes. 'No,' he thought, 'she's different now. There's knowledge and wisdom there that wasn't before.'
"Ganon's next target is Kakariko," she said. "Since I got some of Impa's power and knowledge...oh my gosh...this is terrible! I have some of her memories, too! It's horrible!"
Suddenly there was a flash of purple light, and Malon stopped screaming. "There," she said calmly, "I had to get rid of those memories. But I can tell you Impa's whole story. I didn't get rid of ALL her old knowledge and memories. She was on the good side until Link pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Then Ganondorf found her and started talking to her in dreams, promising power and glory if she served him. Sometimes she went over to his way of thinking, and sometimes had the power to resist him. She resisted enough to help the rest of the Sages seal him in the Sacred Realm- actually by then it was the Evil Realm- but she had already ensured his victory for later on.
"She put ideas into Zelda's head while Link was off in the temples. Once Ganon was imprisoned Zelda fled to another world for fear of releasing the evil king. Little did she know that by fleeing, she was aiding Impa and Ganon in their evil plot against the world.
"Three days ago Ganondorf escaped. All he has had time to do is destroy my ranch and murder the King of Hyrule. Like I said before, his next target is Kakariko village."
"This time I'll kill him," Link promised, eyes flashing with rage.
"But before you do Link," Rauru began, "I think you should go and get the Master Sword back. Since Ganon has escaped there's no need for it to remain where it is."
"I'll do that. But I need the spiritual stones back."
"Here's the Goron's Ruby, brother," Darunia announced as he gave Link the Spiritual Stone of Fire.
"And the Kokiri Emerald," Saria said, handing over the Spiritual Stone of the Forest.
"And finally the Zora's Sapphire," Ruto proclaimed, tossing Link the Spiritual Stone of Water.
"Thank you," Link said, and whipped out his Ocarina. Without a second thought he began the Prelude of Light. A momet later he disappeared in a flash of white light.
*****************************************************************
Walking over to the small patch of red carpet that lay before the Door of Time, Link onve again put his Ocarina to his lips. Slowly he played the Song of Time. As he finished he felt a strange sensation; like something opening within hin, and then the three Spiritual Stones floated magically to their places. Link watched as, for the second time, the great Door of Time slid gracefully open.
Slowly he walked through the doorway. He froze again when he saw his old blade, the legendary Master Sword. It seemed to cry out, wanting to be pulled out of the pedestal in which it rested. He walked up the steps, and put his hands around the hilt. He had forgotten how the handle seemed to fit his hand so perfectly. Taking a deep breath, he pulled.
This time there was no flash of blue light. He was old enough to be the Hero of Time now. Taking his other sword, seemingly identical to the Master Sword, he laid it down next to the Pedestal of Time. He put the Master Sword back where he had always kept it before; in the sheath on his back.
Feeling complete and confident, he walked out of the Temple of Time, through the market, across the drawbridge, and towards Kakariko village. He had time on his hands. As he walked he focused once more on the white globe of light. He would make Ganondorf pay for returning to Hyrule; for the chaos he had caused. This time, he would not let Ganondorf escape alive.
**~~** And so ends Part Nine, and the "Link's Quest to Find Zelda" series **~~**
Hope you enjoyed it! Be on the lookout for my next fics! Thanks to all who reviewed for your support and your time. Also special thanks to (: Goddess of the Smileys :) for helping me get a few ideas straight while this fic was still in its beginning stages. Goodbye for now, everyone.
-TempleMaster14
Part Nine: Chaos: The Traitor Sage
Impa smiled to herself. It had been so easy to get Zelda to believe her. Year by year she could feel Ganondorf growing stronger, and year by year she got more anxious. Finally, a month after that pathetic fool Link set off to try and find Zelda, he was free.
They had gone around Hyrule spreading chaos; destroying one target at a time. Today's targets had been the ranch and that wretched girl Malon. Their first target had been the King of Hyrule. Now that he was dead, and Zelda gone forever, Hyrule was desperately looking for a leader. Tomorrow the High Council would hold a meeting, at the end of which the new king or queen would be crowned. There were four nominees; herself included. None of the High Council knew of her betrayal; all they saw when they looked at her was a strong shiekah woman, and a close friend of the Princess's.
Soon the clueless fools would make her queen.
(Perspective change)
Zelda came rushing back up the stairs, clutching some herbs tightly in her panicked hands. Link heard her coming and slowly undid the piece of tunic that he had wrapped around Malon's wrist. It was dark with blood; saturated. But at least it had helped. The gash was still bleeding freely, but at least it wasn't as bad as before. Presently Zelda entered the room, dashing over to Malon. Link tore off another piece of his tunic, and wrapped it back around Malon's wrist after Zelda had placed the herbs there. Then he got out the water bottle and slowly poured some of the cold water onto his wounded friend's forehead.
"Link!" Zelda suddenly exclaimed. "Link...I sense...Malon...she has the power in her to be a Sage!" She mumbled a few words in the unconscious Malon's ear. "Now all we need is to summon the rest of the Sages here...except Impa, of course, and we can awaken her as a Sage. Then all you have to do is-" tears suddenly appeared in her eyes-"de...destroy...Impa."
"I can take care of that," Link replied grimly. "You stay here and summon the Sages. I'll go tell your father you've returned."
**********************************************************************
"Your Majesty!" Link called as he walked towards the King's chamber. "Your Majes-" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw the High Council sitting in the chamber rather than the king. "What's going on here?" he demanded.
"Link," one of the elders began, "while you were gone...actually it was just two days ago...the king died. Right now we are trying to decide who the new ruler will be."
"That's easy! Why do you need some huge meeting to crown Zelda? She's back, you know."
There were murmurs of disbelief among the Council. Only one member was silent. Impa. Link stared at her; a cold, hateful, warning stare, met with her own gaze filled with rage. After a moment, however, she was forced to avert her eyes. His cold, cold blue eyes...she knew they saw her for what she was.
Behind his back Link had secretly nocked an arrow to his bow. "Do you know," he began," who is responsible for Ganon's return?" The mention of the evil monstrosity brought an uncomfortable silence to the room. Link continued. "Turn your attention towards Impa. She is a vile traitor. A disgrace to the land of Hyrule, and to the Sages." With that he pulled out his readied bow and loosed the arrow before anyone could move.
"YOU WILL SUFFER...FOR...THIS....MY MASTER WILL DESTROY YOU....ALLLLL!" With that, the traitor Sage dropped lifeless to the floor. The High Council suddenly burst into applause for Link...not at all what he had expected. He had expected something more along the lines of a death sentence. At the demand for news, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played one of the first songs he learned: Saria's Song.
~Link?~ came Saria's voice, seemingly out of nowhere. ~Is Impa dead?~
"Yes."
~Good. We are all here at the ranch. In about an hour we will be able to awaken Malon as the Sage of Shadow.~
"What do we do until then?"
~Be patient. High Council, be ready to crown Zelda once she gets back. Link, you had better come back to the ranch.~ After she finished, Link felt the connection betwen them close.
"Goodbye, Council. May the Goddesses always lead you down the path of righteousness."
"Farewell, Link," the elder said, not knowing whether to be fearful or joyous.
Link walked out of the chamber, mounted Epona, and set off at top speed towards Lon Lon Ranch.
**********************************************************************
Link walked into the room just in time to see six of the Sages each channeling a different color light into Malon. Rauru's was white, Saria's green, Ruto's blue, Darunia's red, Nabooru's orange, and Zelda's pink. After a moment Malon seemed to be returning the light, or rejecting it rather, with her own deep purple. Suddenly all of the light went out, and the Sages stood back. Malon slowly opened her eyes and stood.
She looked just the same as she always did, Link noted. Then he met her eyes. 'No,' he thought, 'she's different now. There's knowledge and wisdom there that wasn't before.'
"Ganon's next target is Kakariko," she said. "Since I got some of Impa's power and knowledge...oh my gosh...this is terrible! I have some of her memories, too! It's horrible!"
Suddenly there was a flash of purple light, and Malon stopped screaming. "There," she said calmly, "I had to get rid of those memories. But I can tell you Impa's whole story. I didn't get rid of ALL her old knowledge and memories. She was on the good side until Link pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Then Ganondorf found her and started talking to her in dreams, promising power and glory if she served him. Sometimes she went over to his way of thinking, and sometimes had the power to resist him. She resisted enough to help the rest of the Sages seal him in the Sacred Realm- actually by then it was the Evil Realm- but she had already ensured his victory for later on.
"She put ideas into Zelda's head while Link was off in the temples. Once Ganon was imprisoned Zelda fled to another world for fear of releasing the evil king. Little did she know that by fleeing, she was aiding Impa and Ganon in their evil plot against the world.
"Three days ago Ganondorf escaped. All he has had time to do is destroy my ranch and murder the King of Hyrule. Like I said before, his next target is Kakariko village."
"This time I'll kill him," Link promised, eyes flashing with rage.
"But before you do Link," Rauru began, "I think you should go and get the Master Sword back. Since Ganon has escaped there's no need for it to remain where it is."
"I'll do that. But I need the spiritual stones back."
"Here's the Goron's Ruby, brother," Darunia announced as he gave Link the Spiritual Stone of Fire.
"And the Kokiri Emerald," Saria said, handing over the Spiritual Stone of the Forest.
"And finally the Zora's Sapphire," Ruto proclaimed, tossing Link the Spiritual Stone of Water.
"Thank you," Link said, and whipped out his Ocarina. Without a second thought he began the Prelude of Light. A momet later he disappeared in a flash of white light.
*****************************************************************
Walking over to the small patch of red carpet that lay before the Door of Time, Link onve again put his Ocarina to his lips. Slowly he played the Song of Time. As he finished he felt a strange sensation; like something opening within hin, and then the three Spiritual Stones floated magically to their places. Link watched as, for the second time, the great Door of Time slid gracefully open.
Slowly he walked through the doorway. He froze again when he saw his old blade, the legendary Master Sword. It seemed to cry out, wanting to be pulled out of the pedestal in which it rested. He walked up the steps, and put his hands around the hilt. He had forgotten how the handle seemed to fit his hand so perfectly. Taking a deep breath, he pulled.
This time there was no flash of blue light. He was old enough to be the Hero of Time now. Taking his other sword, seemingly identical to the Master Sword, he laid it down next to the Pedestal of Time. He put the Master Sword back where he had always kept it before; in the sheath on his back.
Feeling complete and confident, he walked out of the Temple of Time, through the market, across the drawbridge, and towards Kakariko village. He had time on his hands. As he walked he focused once more on the white globe of light. He would make Ganondorf pay for returning to Hyrule; for the chaos he had caused. This time, he would not let Ganondorf escape alive.
**~~** And so ends Part Nine, and the "Link's Quest to Find Zelda" series **~~**
Hope you enjoyed it! Be on the lookout for my next fics! Thanks to all who reviewed for your support and your time. Also special thanks to (: Goddess of the Smileys :) for helping me get a few ideas straight while this fic was still in its beginning stages. Goodbye for now, everyone.
-TempleMaster14