CHAPTER 11
Emily slowly opened her eyes. "What happened?" She whispered. Shaking her head, she remembered the fall. "Oh yeah, how could I forget that?" It was dark, but she could make out the Sage's body on the ground near her. He was lying on his stomach, face turned away from her. Wincing in pain as she stood up, she walked over to him, moving her arm to make sure it wasn't broken.
When she got near him, Emily asked, shaking him gently. "Sage...Sage, are you all right?"
"Uh, hu...aye, I'm fine." He said placing his hand on his head. After a moment to clear up his thoughts, Sage continued, "C'mon, let's gae wake the others."
Nodding her head in agreement, she went over to rouse Zelda, while Sage went over to Link. After staggering a moment, Link went over to wake Perrin up.
"Hey, Perrin, wake up." When Perrin didn't respond, Link placed his foot on Perrin's chest and moved it back and forth. "Helllooooo, Perrin, anybody in there?" When Link shook him, his head swayed back and forth too easily.
Zelda realized what had happened. Poor, poor Perrin, a broken neck had shattered all hopes of a new hero for Hyrule. With tears welling in her pale blue eyes, she tried breaking the news to Link. "L-Link, he's-"
"Don't." Turning his head around, tears streaking down his face, Link choked out. "Just don't even say it!" The two women and Sage looked down sadly with tears in their eyes at Link, crying into Perrin's golden brown locks, rocking back and forth.
After a few minutes, Sage put his hand on Link's slumped shoulder. "I ken how hard it is lad, but we need tae be gaun noo." Link shook his head, not wanting or caring about leaving.
"Link, he's gone. We've got tae leave noo before Gannon's forces show up." Sage said comfortingly, but firm. While Sage was trying to pull Link up, he swiped away Sage's hand.
"This is all your fault, you stupid Scottish bastard!" Link screamed. "If you hadn't run away, Perrin would still be alive right now! I should kill you where you stand!"
The three were taken aback from Link's sudden outburst. "Link don't blame Sa-" Zelda began.
"No, Zelda its alright." Sage interrupted, "So Link if ye hate me sae much, then gae ahead." Sage held up his arms at his sides, and looked right into Link's eyes. Link was about to tear into Sage when Zelda shouted.
"Link! Don't you even think about it! Don't you realize what is going on? This is Ganon's fault, not Sage's." Zelda's voice kept a remarkably smooth tone. "Remember, you were the one who wanted to go and free Sage!" Pointing to Sage she continued, "Yes, he did run away, but it was to protect us, not himself."
Sage still had the look of stone on his face, waiting for Link to go off on him. Emily was beside him with worry on her face, her hands clasped at her mouth.
Looking down, Link said. "Alright." After a slight pause, he looked over at the still body of Perrin. "Let's go."
******
After walking for what seemed like forever, they came to a fork in the path of the dungeon-like caves in Ganon's domain.
Looking at the black dimly lit passageways ahead of him, Sage asked. "So, which way now?"
"Gee, Sage." Link said snidely, looking over at him. "You seem to be the best at everything, why don't you pick?"
"By Nayru's Love Link, would you please stop!" Zelda stomped her foot down on the hard, rocky floor. A tiny tuft of dust stirred by the force. "You're acting like a little child!"
Putting up his hand to silence Zelda Sage closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Zel, it's all right. I'll choose."
Opening his wide eyes he turned to Emily. "Em, could ye sae kindly shine some light oan the situation." He asked nodding his head once at the left tunnel.
Emily nodded at him with a sure smile, then focusing some energy into a ball, she threw it down the tunnel. After a few seconds, Link broke the questioning silence when he said. "Well Sage, it looks like you can do some things right."
As soon as Link completed his rude comment, a huge explosion came deep from the tunnel blasting dirt and debris at the remaining heroes. "I guess I spoke to soon!" Link corrected himself, covering Zelda's face as her mid-thigh dress flapped in waves from the shockwaves resulting from the blast. Sage threw himself on Emilt to protect her, knocking to the ground. After the commotion subsided, Sage looked down into Emily's eyes. "Um, hi." He said smiling.
Emily giggled and said, "Over doing it a little, Sage? Not that I didn't enjoy it." She tossed Sage playfully off of her. Sage landed on the ground and gave a fake "Ouch." with a toothy grin.
"If you two are finished," Link said coldly as he stepped over a large boulder in the entrance to the tunnel, "I'd like to get going."
Turning to the now standing couple, Zelda sighed. "He gets like this when Ganon is the cause of his...problems."
"And I take it that it happens often as well?" Sage asked.
"Yes," Zelda said apologetically. "I'm afraid that we all have to put up with it for a while."
Nodding in reseignful agreement, they followed the angry Link down the tunnel.
******
As they continued down the tunnel, the light started to take on a reddish tinge. The air was getting hotter, as well as the tension between Link and Sage.
"Uh, Link?" Sage asked hesitantly, "Ye hae in been Ganon's realm before, right? I mean, ye dae ken where yer gaun, don't ye?"
Link kept on walking, seemingly ignoring Sage.
"Link?..." Sage began, raising his voice a little.
Link whirled around and shoved Sage onto the rough cavern wall, pinning his shoulders. Emily let out a startled yelp and Zelda held her back from rushing over to get Link off of Sage.
"Now you listen, and you listen good." Link hissed. "I've beaten Ganon more times than I care to remember! Even though I've been down these passage ways numerous times, there are just too many of them to remember exactly which one leads where. So get off my-" Link suddenly tensed up and fell silent. He narrowed his eyes and turning his head, looked down further into the tunnel.
"Link, what's wrong, what do you hear?" Zelda asked nervously. Soft scratches like digging came to his ears.
"Shh, listen..." Link said as he began to finger the master sword's pommel. The soft scratches started getting closer to them.
"I hear it," Emily said uncertainly. "but, what is it?"
A bony hand erupted from the ground as if to answer Emily's question. Then another, and another, and another.
After waiting for a very tense few minutes, bony bodies in armor burst from the ground. When the air cleared of the dust flown up from the surfacing stalfos knights, they found themselves surrounded.
Drawing his claymore, Sage smiled. "Alright, I was wondering when I could hae some fun!"
The stalfos' eyes glowed like red and yellow stars in the night sky. Their red swords gleamed evilly in the dim light. Zelda make a sound of repugnance. "Don't these things ever bathe?" She asked covering her nose and mouth.
"Ganon will not be stopped." A stalfos with an eye patch said, his voice rasped. "He will have his revenge on Link and Zelda and use the dress-man as his second in command!"
"I don't think so! The only one Sage will be serving is me!" Emily said as she hit the eye patched stalfos with a wave of energy shattering him as it slammed into the wall.
"Thanks love." Sage said as he winked at Emily.
Emily blew him a kiss. "Your welcome, now let's kick these bags of bones!"
"I think that Sage is starting to rub off on you." Zelda said teasingly to Emily.
"Aye, ain't it cool?" Emily responded using Sage's accent.
Link and Sage jumped into the mass of stalfos slashing and hacking away at them with their blades, while Zelda and Emily stood back to back hitting the living skeletons with their magic.
Link was having the most luck, after all he had the most experience fighting the armored dead. Not to mention he had a sword and shield. Sage had to concentrate more since it took both hands to wield his claymore, but seemed to be doing all right as he slashed a stalfos from shoulder to hip.
"Sage, behind you!" Link yelled.
Sage swung the claymore over his head and stopped the stalfos' blade from decapitating him. Sage brought his sword up and cut it from ribcage to skull.
"Thanks!" Sage said as he slashed at another stalfos.
Link grunted a response. He started concentrating and the master sword started to glow blue and then red. Spinning around, the energy from the sword cut down three stalfos.
The weaves of magic around Zelda and Emily glowed gold. Emily shot out a beam around a small group of the skeletons, surrounding them with it. She closed her fist and shouted at her adversaries. "Let's see how you like this one, boys! Stone Circle Crush!" The golden circle changed into huge rocks and slammed into the stalfos, obliterating them into a thousand little bone fragments.
Zelda was shooting out waves of psychic energy, slamming them in waves against the wall. Her brow gleaming with sweat from the tremendous strain put on her body by the huge amount of energy being used to defend herself from the constant barrage of enemies attacking her.
The fight was taking it toll on all of them, however. The auras of power from the women were starting to fade, and Sage's arms were burning from the extra strain they were forced to endure from the pounding against the stalfos' shields and the prolonged strain of the weight of his claymore. Soon they found themselves back to back with each other, the stalfos moving in on them.
"Any ideas are welcome." Link said gravely, slicing at air to keep a stalfos at bey.
"I do," Emily was breathing heavily and her hair was matted down from sweat. "but I-I've never tried it, and I don't know what will happen if I do."
"We really dinnae hae a choice, Em." Sage said hurriedly. "Dae what ye hae tae dae."
"Okay," Emily said with uncertainly. Her aura turned blue and the floor started to bead with water. "Wave Of Torrent, Smash!" Funnels of water burst from the floor, slamming into the stalfos and sweeping them all away.
"Great idea, Em!" Zelda said holding her hands in hers. "I wonder why I didn't think of it before."
Sage walked up to the upper half of a stalfos and picked it up from the spine. Looking down into it's chest armor, Sage wondered aloud, squinting one eye. "Ye ken, I've always wondered how these things talked." Then moving his arm up and down he made the stalfos' jaw open and close saying in a mocking high pitched voice. "Serve Ganon." Then he tossed it to the side, shattering the brittle bones.
There was applause from Zelda and Emily and Sage made an over done bow. Link almost cracked a smile at Sage's antics but straitened up. "C'mon, we need to keep going."
"Nae."
Turning around to look at Sage, Link asked in a threatening note. "What did you say?"
"I said nae." Sage stated steadily. "We're all tae tired tae gae oan, we need rest. Even ye."
Noticing that he was leaning on the master sword, Link quickly sheathed it, with an awkward huff. "Fine." He sighed walking over to where Zelda had sat down.
Sage and Emily went over to the wall opposite of where Link and Zelda were. Emily put her head on Sage's aching shoulder and quickly fell asleep with Sage's arm around her shoulder.
"They make such a wonderful pair." Zelda said wistfully looking at the sleeping couple and sighing.
"Huh, yeah, nice." Link said, his mind else where.
Looking over at Link, Zelda asked. "Remember when we first met?"
Link's eyes lit up. "Heh, how could I forget! I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you in the courtyard fifteen years ago." Wiping a bit of hair from Zelda's wide eyes he continued. "And I always will." He then kissed her forehead. "Now, let's get some sleep."
******
Ganon growled. "So close, grrrr. I hope you enjoy you rest, Link." Ganon smirked. "The fun has just begun."
Emily slowly opened her eyes. "What happened?" She whispered. Shaking her head, she remembered the fall. "Oh yeah, how could I forget that?" It was dark, but she could make out the Sage's body on the ground near her. He was lying on his stomach, face turned away from her. Wincing in pain as she stood up, she walked over to him, moving her arm to make sure it wasn't broken.
When she got near him, Emily asked, shaking him gently. "Sage...Sage, are you all right?"
"Uh, hu...aye, I'm fine." He said placing his hand on his head. After a moment to clear up his thoughts, Sage continued, "C'mon, let's gae wake the others."
Nodding her head in agreement, she went over to rouse Zelda, while Sage went over to Link. After staggering a moment, Link went over to wake Perrin up.
"Hey, Perrin, wake up." When Perrin didn't respond, Link placed his foot on Perrin's chest and moved it back and forth. "Helllooooo, Perrin, anybody in there?" When Link shook him, his head swayed back and forth too easily.
Zelda realized what had happened. Poor, poor Perrin, a broken neck had shattered all hopes of a new hero for Hyrule. With tears welling in her pale blue eyes, she tried breaking the news to Link. "L-Link, he's-"
"Don't." Turning his head around, tears streaking down his face, Link choked out. "Just don't even say it!" The two women and Sage looked down sadly with tears in their eyes at Link, crying into Perrin's golden brown locks, rocking back and forth.
After a few minutes, Sage put his hand on Link's slumped shoulder. "I ken how hard it is lad, but we need tae be gaun noo." Link shook his head, not wanting or caring about leaving.
"Link, he's gone. We've got tae leave noo before Gannon's forces show up." Sage said comfortingly, but firm. While Sage was trying to pull Link up, he swiped away Sage's hand.
"This is all your fault, you stupid Scottish bastard!" Link screamed. "If you hadn't run away, Perrin would still be alive right now! I should kill you where you stand!"
The three were taken aback from Link's sudden outburst. "Link don't blame Sa-" Zelda began.
"No, Zelda its alright." Sage interrupted, "So Link if ye hate me sae much, then gae ahead." Sage held up his arms at his sides, and looked right into Link's eyes. Link was about to tear into Sage when Zelda shouted.
"Link! Don't you even think about it! Don't you realize what is going on? This is Ganon's fault, not Sage's." Zelda's voice kept a remarkably smooth tone. "Remember, you were the one who wanted to go and free Sage!" Pointing to Sage she continued, "Yes, he did run away, but it was to protect us, not himself."
Sage still had the look of stone on his face, waiting for Link to go off on him. Emily was beside him with worry on her face, her hands clasped at her mouth.
Looking down, Link said. "Alright." After a slight pause, he looked over at the still body of Perrin. "Let's go."
******
After walking for what seemed like forever, they came to a fork in the path of the dungeon-like caves in Ganon's domain.
Looking at the black dimly lit passageways ahead of him, Sage asked. "So, which way now?"
"Gee, Sage." Link said snidely, looking over at him. "You seem to be the best at everything, why don't you pick?"
"By Nayru's Love Link, would you please stop!" Zelda stomped her foot down on the hard, rocky floor. A tiny tuft of dust stirred by the force. "You're acting like a little child!"
Putting up his hand to silence Zelda Sage closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Zel, it's all right. I'll choose."
Opening his wide eyes he turned to Emily. "Em, could ye sae kindly shine some light oan the situation." He asked nodding his head once at the left tunnel.
Emily nodded at him with a sure smile, then focusing some energy into a ball, she threw it down the tunnel. After a few seconds, Link broke the questioning silence when he said. "Well Sage, it looks like you can do some things right."
As soon as Link completed his rude comment, a huge explosion came deep from the tunnel blasting dirt and debris at the remaining heroes. "I guess I spoke to soon!" Link corrected himself, covering Zelda's face as her mid-thigh dress flapped in waves from the shockwaves resulting from the blast. Sage threw himself on Emilt to protect her, knocking to the ground. After the commotion subsided, Sage looked down into Emily's eyes. "Um, hi." He said smiling.
Emily giggled and said, "Over doing it a little, Sage? Not that I didn't enjoy it." She tossed Sage playfully off of her. Sage landed on the ground and gave a fake "Ouch." with a toothy grin.
"If you two are finished," Link said coldly as he stepped over a large boulder in the entrance to the tunnel, "I'd like to get going."
Turning to the now standing couple, Zelda sighed. "He gets like this when Ganon is the cause of his...problems."
"And I take it that it happens often as well?" Sage asked.
"Yes," Zelda said apologetically. "I'm afraid that we all have to put up with it for a while."
Nodding in reseignful agreement, they followed the angry Link down the tunnel.
******
As they continued down the tunnel, the light started to take on a reddish tinge. The air was getting hotter, as well as the tension between Link and Sage.
"Uh, Link?" Sage asked hesitantly, "Ye hae in been Ganon's realm before, right? I mean, ye dae ken where yer gaun, don't ye?"
Link kept on walking, seemingly ignoring Sage.
"Link?..." Sage began, raising his voice a little.
Link whirled around and shoved Sage onto the rough cavern wall, pinning his shoulders. Emily let out a startled yelp and Zelda held her back from rushing over to get Link off of Sage.
"Now you listen, and you listen good." Link hissed. "I've beaten Ganon more times than I care to remember! Even though I've been down these passage ways numerous times, there are just too many of them to remember exactly which one leads where. So get off my-" Link suddenly tensed up and fell silent. He narrowed his eyes and turning his head, looked down further into the tunnel.
"Link, what's wrong, what do you hear?" Zelda asked nervously. Soft scratches like digging came to his ears.
"Shh, listen..." Link said as he began to finger the master sword's pommel. The soft scratches started getting closer to them.
"I hear it," Emily said uncertainly. "but, what is it?"
A bony hand erupted from the ground as if to answer Emily's question. Then another, and another, and another.
After waiting for a very tense few minutes, bony bodies in armor burst from the ground. When the air cleared of the dust flown up from the surfacing stalfos knights, they found themselves surrounded.
Drawing his claymore, Sage smiled. "Alright, I was wondering when I could hae some fun!"
The stalfos' eyes glowed like red and yellow stars in the night sky. Their red swords gleamed evilly in the dim light. Zelda make a sound of repugnance. "Don't these things ever bathe?" She asked covering her nose and mouth.
"Ganon will not be stopped." A stalfos with an eye patch said, his voice rasped. "He will have his revenge on Link and Zelda and use the dress-man as his second in command!"
"I don't think so! The only one Sage will be serving is me!" Emily said as she hit the eye patched stalfos with a wave of energy shattering him as it slammed into the wall.
"Thanks love." Sage said as he winked at Emily.
Emily blew him a kiss. "Your welcome, now let's kick these bags of bones!"
"I think that Sage is starting to rub off on you." Zelda said teasingly to Emily.
"Aye, ain't it cool?" Emily responded using Sage's accent.
Link and Sage jumped into the mass of stalfos slashing and hacking away at them with their blades, while Zelda and Emily stood back to back hitting the living skeletons with their magic.
Link was having the most luck, after all he had the most experience fighting the armored dead. Not to mention he had a sword and shield. Sage had to concentrate more since it took both hands to wield his claymore, but seemed to be doing all right as he slashed a stalfos from shoulder to hip.
"Sage, behind you!" Link yelled.
Sage swung the claymore over his head and stopped the stalfos' blade from decapitating him. Sage brought his sword up and cut it from ribcage to skull.
"Thanks!" Sage said as he slashed at another stalfos.
Link grunted a response. He started concentrating and the master sword started to glow blue and then red. Spinning around, the energy from the sword cut down three stalfos.
The weaves of magic around Zelda and Emily glowed gold. Emily shot out a beam around a small group of the skeletons, surrounding them with it. She closed her fist and shouted at her adversaries. "Let's see how you like this one, boys! Stone Circle Crush!" The golden circle changed into huge rocks and slammed into the stalfos, obliterating them into a thousand little bone fragments.
Zelda was shooting out waves of psychic energy, slamming them in waves against the wall. Her brow gleaming with sweat from the tremendous strain put on her body by the huge amount of energy being used to defend herself from the constant barrage of enemies attacking her.
The fight was taking it toll on all of them, however. The auras of power from the women were starting to fade, and Sage's arms were burning from the extra strain they were forced to endure from the pounding against the stalfos' shields and the prolonged strain of the weight of his claymore. Soon they found themselves back to back with each other, the stalfos moving in on them.
"Any ideas are welcome." Link said gravely, slicing at air to keep a stalfos at bey.
"I do," Emily was breathing heavily and her hair was matted down from sweat. "but I-I've never tried it, and I don't know what will happen if I do."
"We really dinnae hae a choice, Em." Sage said hurriedly. "Dae what ye hae tae dae."
"Okay," Emily said with uncertainly. Her aura turned blue and the floor started to bead with water. "Wave Of Torrent, Smash!" Funnels of water burst from the floor, slamming into the stalfos and sweeping them all away.
"Great idea, Em!" Zelda said holding her hands in hers. "I wonder why I didn't think of it before."
Sage walked up to the upper half of a stalfos and picked it up from the spine. Looking down into it's chest armor, Sage wondered aloud, squinting one eye. "Ye ken, I've always wondered how these things talked." Then moving his arm up and down he made the stalfos' jaw open and close saying in a mocking high pitched voice. "Serve Ganon." Then he tossed it to the side, shattering the brittle bones.
There was applause from Zelda and Emily and Sage made an over done bow. Link almost cracked a smile at Sage's antics but straitened up. "C'mon, we need to keep going."
"Nae."
Turning around to look at Sage, Link asked in a threatening note. "What did you say?"
"I said nae." Sage stated steadily. "We're all tae tired tae gae oan, we need rest. Even ye."
Noticing that he was leaning on the master sword, Link quickly sheathed it, with an awkward huff. "Fine." He sighed walking over to where Zelda had sat down.
Sage and Emily went over to the wall opposite of where Link and Zelda were. Emily put her head on Sage's aching shoulder and quickly fell asleep with Sage's arm around her shoulder.
"They make such a wonderful pair." Zelda said wistfully looking at the sleeping couple and sighing.
"Huh, yeah, nice." Link said, his mind else where.
Looking over at Link, Zelda asked. "Remember when we first met?"
Link's eyes lit up. "Heh, how could I forget! I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you in the courtyard fifteen years ago." Wiping a bit of hair from Zelda's wide eyes he continued. "And I always will." He then kissed her forehead. "Now, let's get some sleep."
******
Ganon growled. "So close, grrrr. I hope you enjoy you rest, Link." Ganon smirked. "The fun has just begun."
