Prolouge ( where we left off)



The Sorceress raised her hands in the air and in a instant Ganondorf found himself in a land of pure blackness. The crystal began to shine with a radiant light and Ganondorf soon found the rest of the group not far away. They were milling about dazed and confused. When Ganondorf showed up Jim approached him.

" Where are we and what happened?"

" I will explain on the way. We need to find Link, he is in mortal danger."

Jim nodded and rounded the group. Soon they were off to find the lair of the Evil one, with Ganondorf leading the way by the light of the crystal.

Chapter 24



The group travelee for many hours in total silence. Not only was there no light save the light from the crystal, ther was no sound. No echo, no wind..nothing. It was as if they ahd been drawn into a black hole where nothing truly exisits. No one spoke very much, and when they did it was a eerily flat kind of sound. After several hours of traveling they stopped to rest. Ganondorf tried to start a fire but tehre was no wood or fuel to burn, so they setteled to putting the crystal in the center and ldt taht be the fire. They ate seom dried food and some of them fell asleep. Zelda, Impa, and Jim did not. They came over to Ganondorf and asked him what ahppened with the Sorceress and how they got to where they were.

"Well first of all I want to ask you all something. When you faced the Sorceress what did she do to you?"

" Well I don't remeber much" started Jim. " I know that she showed me something I did not like and then asked me to wish it all away. When I did she sceramed and then all went black."

The rest of the group nodded that what Jim said was pretty clsoe to waht happened to them. Ganondorf sighed.

" What I am aobut to tel you then may upset you."

Ganondorf took a large breath and then began to tell them all that happened with the Sorceress.

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Link awoke to the sound of screaming. He found himself in a dark room all by himself. He was tied to a chair and he felt very weak and injured. He could hear screaming coming from down the way. Somewhere off in the distance. Link tried to listen to see who it was. It sounded so horrible though, whoever it was, was in a extreme amount of pain. Link shut his eyes to a bright light that was shone in his face.

" No sssssleeping now. The massster wantssss to ssspeak with you."

Link tried to see who it was, or what it was that was speaking to him, but the light prevented it. Link tried to look up, but he was so exhausted he could not. He noticed out of the corner of his eye a form move into the room. As it did the light went out instantly. A voice immediately field the room. Link knew it, he knew that voice, it was Him. The Evil thing he was trying to destroy.

" Hello Link, so after much time we finally meet face to face. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you. I have awaited your arrival for so long. As you must know by now I have been watching you every step of the way. I saw you surpass even my expectations. Now we meet at last. I know that my welcome has been less then hospitable, but let me assure you I hold you highest in my little book. See, believe it or not I have a little book that I keep. Each time I break someone, or destroy someone I put that down in my book. I have Kings and Queens. Mortals and Gods in this book. Each one of them begged for their life before I destroyed them. None of them however will have given me as much satisfaction as when I hear you beg for your own life at my hands. I will hear you beg before me and then I will end your miserable little life. Don't look so down Link. If it will make your feel better, out of my respect for you I will kill you quickly. I will not let it linger like I did with your friends. Oh, yes I am afraid I have already ended their lives. I found it strange though that out of all of them, it was the girl Malon who gave me the hardest time. She never cried out or begged for her life. She sat their and smiled. When I asked her why she was smiling she would just look at me and say " he will save me and kill you". Well I found that very funny and..oops if I didn't slip and cut of her head, clumsy me. Why do you look so sad, is that a tear I see forming in your eye. What could make you greave so? Oh I see, I forgot, you had feelings for this Malon girl. She was your, what is the word, sweetheart. Does it pain you to hear about her? Huh? Does it? Yes..Yes I believe it does. I must go now, but think of this while I am away, the pain you are feeling right now is nothing to the horror that is in store for you."

Link heard the deep booming laugh of the creature as it walked out of the room. Link heard the screaming start up again, and this time Link tried even harder to hear who it was. Link listened even deeper and then it hit him, OH MY GOD..IT WAS HIM! How could it be him, he was awake and there was no one left in the room. Then it hit him, those screames msut be the echos from before, still ringing in the hallways, perpetuated by some evil magic. Link began to weep very unashamedly for Malon. It had been a trap, a trick set up by the Evil thing. They lured him away from his freinds and now they were all dead. Link began to sob again when he remeber something. All that had jsut occured, it ahd happened before. It was his dream. The dream was really a vsion of the future after all. Link wanted to jsut give up, he didn't want to live this life anymore. Why should he, all of his freinds were dead, he was trapped and there was no hope left for anyone. He began to accept defeat.

" If they come to kill me I will not resist. NO more."

Link sat his head hung, waiting for the end that would surely come to him.

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Miko was pacing back and forth in his room. He was told to wait by his master for him. IT had been a few days now sense his master had taken on a caporial form and began to dweel with him. He was currently trying to break the will of Link. Miko did not know how successful his master would be, or why he was bothering to do this at all. Why bother keeping him alive when they could jsut as easily kill him. Miko was thinking of all the ways they could kill Link when the doors to his room flew open and his master entered.

" Did you succeed in berking his will my master."

" Not yet, but soon...very soon."

" Tell me again why smut we keep him alive?"

" You fool, have you forgotten the plan already? When a person has his will broke he will no longer ahve the desire to live. Once taht happens he is very susceptiable to suggestions. If we can break the spirit of this Link, then we can use him to capture and kill his friends."

" How?"

" Easy. Once his will is broken and he wishes death, I will brainwash him. He will not know who he is or who any of his freinds are. Once they get here trying to rescue him, I will plant the idea in his mind that death will come to him if he dystroys these beings. His desire to die will overpower anything they will say. To him they will be phantoms, that are no longer real. His friends will naturally wish to do no harm to thier beloved Link. They will be defenseless and soon all my opposition will be gone. Then I shall rule this world."

" Excellent paln my master. I canot imagine how I forgot a paln such as yours. It is pure evil genius."

" Yes...I know. Come his friends draw close, we must dely their arrival until he is ready."

Miko grabbed his sword and left the chamber. " This is going to be fun" he thought to himslef.

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No one said anything for a very liong time after Ganondorf was done telling them waht ahd happened. Some where reliving what happened to them. Otehrs were ashamed of their failure. Zelda was finding her connection to Ganondorf hard to belive. What she found even more ahrd to belive was that Ganondorf had saved them all. This man, the man she spent most of her childhood trying to stop. The man she banished with the help of the sages to the sacred realm. She up to this point did not trust him still. She was convinced that he was still evil, now she ahd to continplate that he was not the monster she still thought he was. She was still wrestling with the idea when Jim fianlly spoke up.

" So what do we do now? You said that the sorceress, or whatever she was, showed you Link being tortured in a sort of lair/palace thing. You told us that the place we are at is the land that this place exists on. If she truly wanted us to find Link quickly would she not ahve palced us very clsoe to the lair? IF so then why ahve we not found it yet?"

" I don't know. All I know is that we msut find Link quickly and give him the sword. Then Link and myself msut face the Evil thing ALONE. He msut hit it with the sword and then I smut entrap it within the truth that is contanied in this crystal. I jsut hope that we find Link before the creature dystroys him, if we lose him..all is lost."

The mood was very somber and no one slpet well that night. Ganondorf sat up msot of the night with his own thoughts, of his life and what he ahd become. He knew that if they were to stop this thing, he msut come to terms with who he truly was. That was going to take some time. Ganondorf was deep in thougt when a loud nosie pulled him from his daydream. He looked around the camp, and noticed Mason trashing aobut. The Zora was having a nightmare. That was another thing that puzzled him. If everyone was trapped by the counter part to the evil being and all had failed, then how did Mason escape the first time. Ganondorf head Mason saying something in his sleep. He moved closer to listen to waht it was.

" Itha tohaph locaniph echawa echawa din lowlish naru lowlish faroe lowlish coplinsih"

Ganondorf was taken aback. He was speaking in a language not spoken in a thousand yars or more. IT was the origianl language of the Shiekah, the guardians of Hyrule. Mason stated to awake and Ganondorf quickly moved bak to the crystal fire. When Mason awoke he moved around and got some food and sat by the magical light of the crystal. He ate in silnce, never once looking up at Ganondorf who sat across from him. He was startled when Ganondorf adressed him.

" Got enoguht there, we ahve more if you need it."

" No thnk you I am fine." he repiled quickly. There was a moment of pause.

" I ehard you trashing around. Were you having a nightmare?"

" What? Oh yes..yes I was..."

" Was it aobut the sorceress?"

" As a matter of fact it was."

" Ah, I see. Horrible thing that was, wasn't it?"

" Yes horrible." The was another awkward pause.

" You know, you never did tell us how you got away the first time."

" I told you I don't remeber. I jsut remeber being tehr and then waking up."

" Yes so you say, but what I can't figure out is why she would have allowed you to leave."

" I don't understand it myself, I was jsut lucky i guess."

" I guess."

Ganondorf started to speak to Mason in the old language of the Shiekahs.

" Homted yelawah logash mittu imho imho." ( translation: If you do not tell me the truth I shall cut your belly like a pig).

Ganondorf watchd as Masons eyes grew wide.

" I knew it, you do know what I am saying don't you. Tlel me the truth, you are not what you say you are, are you?"

Before his eyes Ganondorf watched as Mason turned into a totally different person. There was no hint of fear or cowardice.

" I cannot tell you yet my friend. Rest assured, when the time comes you will find out. In the emans time there are to many ears here and I need to keep my disguise."

Even thuogh he did not understand Ganondorf nooded his consent and watched mason go back to bed. Ganondorf sat for many more hours staring into the glow of the crystal, this was yet one more thing he thoguht aobut until sleep fianlly took over.

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Miko was getting frustrated. He was sick of waiting for Ganondorf and the rest to get there. He wanted to jsut go out and kill them now. He hated this. He had asked his master a while ago...

" Why do we have to wait my master, we could easliy kill them now. They are defenseless without their leader. Let me go kill them and be done with it."

" Do not underestimate thier abilites my apprentice. The man Ganondorf is more powerful the you belive. The boy they call Jim is a great fighter and he could easily take out most of the worriors here by himself. There is also something else. I don't know what it is. I sense a energy comming from one of them that is very powerful, it is masked very well, but tit is there. We need to handicapp them as much as possible. That is why we wait. They will be defenseless aginst thier own frined and companion Link."

Miko uderstood why his master ddi not want him to attack, but it did not alleviate the boredom. Miko tried to keep himself busy by barking orders to the guards in the palace, and checking supplies over and over again. After many days of this he started to get stir crazy, he needed to do something. Miko decided that he would set up and orginize a tournament. The guards could fight themselves, and the winner would fight him. Miko began to orginize it immediatly. He felt a sense of exeleration.

" I am going to get to do something at last."

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Ganondorf and the rest were starting to lose hope. By thier estimation it had been over two weeks sense they had come into this blackness and they still had yet to find the palace. All were starting to get disheartend. They set up camp once again taht night ( or day, you couldn't tell in the eternal blackness.) None slept to well. Ganondorf was trying to figure out how it could be taking this long. They should ahve been tehre by now. He didn't understand it. He laid down and tried to fall asleep. After a few hours slumber did come to him.

Ganondorf awoke with a start. He heard a nosie nearby. He looekd al around and saw where the nosie had come from. Someone was goign through his pack. Ganondorf quietly drew his sword and advance on the burglar. When he was alsmost there the thief spun around and drew his word in a instant. IT was Jim. The two of them loekd at each other, not one making a move or speaking. Fianlly Ganondorf broke the silence.

" What are you doing in my bag?"

" If you will put your sword down I will expalin ti to you."

Ganondorf gave Jim a grim look but consedeted to his request.

" Now then. When i fel asleep i ahd a vision. In my vision I saw a sword that glowed a pure white light. IT illuminated everything in the area. When it did so I saw the enternce to the palce we seek. Before I awoke I saw your bag as if it were in there. I got up and looked in there to see if it was really a dream or not."

Ganondorf was furious withhimslef. He ahd ben using the crystal the Sorceres gave him the whole time and had forgotten aobu the sword. He quickly ran to his bag and puled out the sword. He held it up, but nothing happened. He consintrated, but still nothing happened. Ji asked if he could try. Ganondorf did not see any reason why not so he gave the sword to Jim. At first nothing happened. Jim disappointed was going to give it back, when the sword started to vibrate in his hands. Jim aomst dropped it he was so shocked. Then he and Ganodnorf noticed the sword beggiging to glow. At first it was faint and almsot innoticable. Then all at once it blasted a brillait white light that covered the whole land. Ganondorf and Jim ahd to shield thier eyes it was so bright. When they came accustomed to the light they looekd around. There right before them, covering as far as the eye could se both up and down and along the horizon was the palace of the Evil thing. They knew that they had passed that way once or twice. How had they not bumped into it they ddin't know. In fact as they looked around, the land in which they were was no bigger then that of a small medow. Had they been walking in total circles this whole time. Then it hit Ganondorf. This sword revels the truth. It breaks all ilusions or falshoods. The truth was that they were in a space no bigger then a meadow, the falsehod came rom them thinkign it was bigger becasue they could not see. The crystal, while although another instarment that deals with truth, was made to contain, not revel. With the trhuth obsured they passed though the land over and over again. They ahd not been going tin circile, they ahd been going in the same direction for weeks. Only now that they could see the truth would they finally get to the palace of the Evil thing. Ganondorf awkoe the rest of the group and they all set off for the apalce with renewed courage and faith. Soon this would al be over...one way or another.