Epona carried Link swiftly across the field towards Clock Town, which was now burning. Link tried to summon the mysterious owl wings that would transport him to the center of the town, but they never came. He guessed that the statue had been destroyed. Therefore, he played another tune on his ocarina. Epona came as fast as she could, feeling her master's urgency. One of the sages could have brought Link quicker. But the Hero of Time was afraid for their safety, not knowing the strength of the enemy. And the sages' powers were greatly reduced, being so far from their land.
"Go back to your respected realms and ready your armies for battle." Link said, "They are not going to stop at Clock Town." And with that he sped off.
As he drew nearer, he could see many Black Warriors surrounding the town, launching arrows of fire, bearing large swords, axes and maces. Some of Clock Towns soldiers managed to get their weapons in time. But Teri's description of the beasts seemed to fit; the resistance quickly fell.
"There's no way I can take them all on." Link said to himself. He reached into his pocket and found something he had not used in a long time. Returning the item to its original size, Link saw that it was the fierce deity mask that he received years ago when the moon was going to crash onto Clock Town.
"This might help." Link said. He put the mask on. Instantly his body stiffened. Then it began to expand rapidly. Link's body tripled in size. He was as big as Ganondorf. His blond hair turned white, his eyes went from blue to white. Red and blue strips covered his white face.
All his weapons went through a transformation as well. The Master Sword grew to twice its length and added another blade. The two blades twisted and crossed each other twice, ending in a point. His shield grew in proportion to his body. So did his bow, but the string was wound very tightly, adding a lot of power to each arrow.
But the most astounding transformation was that of Epona. Link had never put the mask on when he rode. He was never in a hurry. But now that he was touching her, the mask was able to work its magic on her. Her red hair became black. So did her mane. She grew in size and in strength. Indeed, when the transformation was complete, even the evil Ganondorf would have trembled.
Which is why Link was troubled when the Black Warriors came charging at him as soon as they spotted him. Either they knew no fear or they knew nothing of what was coming at them. Four Black Warriors raced towards Link as Epona, with new speed, charged them. The gap between them closed quickly. But Link never gestured towards his sword. He ploughed through the four warriors. One of them was unfortunate enough to fall beneath Epona's hooves. Link heard the crunch of bones. He smiled.
As he drew near the town, he readied his bow. He put three arrows on the string. He turned his bow so that it was parallel to the ground and released. Each arrow hit one of the Black Warriors that was guarding the Southern door. Epona leapt over them and that's when Link drew his sword.
The sight that he beheld though filled him with despair. Man, woman and child had been hewed and burned. Most of the survivors were women, which the Black Warriors were raping. The entire town was on fire. Link was filled with great sorrow. That sorrow fueled his wrath. He jumped off of Epona.
"Die!" he yelled as he hit the ground. The combination of his bulk hitting the ground and his fear-inspiring cry caused everything, from the air to even the bravest of the Black Warriors, to tremble.
They were indeed troubled at first but them they looked around. He was one man. They were at least fifty. How could he possibly win? They began to move in on him. When they started to move, Link swung his sword horizontally. It emitted a blue wave of energy. It sliced a dozen of the monsters, enraging the others. They ran at him. Link clashed swords and took the lives of many of the beasts. But they were beginning to overwhelm him. When all seemed hopeless, Link remembered a spell one of the Great Fairies of Hyrule had taught him.
"Nayru's Love!" he cried. Instantaneously, a blue diamond-shaped box covered Link. No matter how much they tried, the Black Warriors could not pierce through the spell. When they were starting to get annoyed, Link raised his hand high in the air. The Black Warriors stopped, wondering what the giant would do next. Link closed his hand into a fist and punched the ground. A wave of fire escaped from his body, incinerating most of the creatures. Those that did not die immediately screamed horribly for a few seconds before their hearts stopped from the shock and they silently to the ground.
Link surveyed the area. Only a few Black Warriors managed to escape Din's Fire. They were now fleeing through the North Gate. Once he was sure he was safe, Link removed his mask. His body and face returned to normal. Epona regained her red hair and her white mane. She was quite happy.
As he looked for survivors, storm clouds grew overhead and wept. It rained heavily, dousing the fires. Link looked up, wondering if this was Ruto's doing. There had not been a cloud in the sky before.
"I do believe it is your friend that is doing this." A voice said. It sounded light and polite. But Link could sense the evil within this man.
"Count Secras." Link said, spotting the white-haired man clad in black robes.
"I see ye have met Captain Goy." Secras said, walking towards Link.
"Yes," Link said, "She told me your favorite color was black, despite your upbringing." Secras laugh.
"I believe black suits my nature now." Secras said, stepping over one his warriors.
"Black is usually associated with evil." Link said grimily.
"From where ye stand," Secras said, walking around Link, "I see ye as the evil one."
"I tried to save innocent lives." Link said, pointing his sword at Secras, "You took them."
"There is bound to be loss of innocent life in a war." Secras said, waving his hand carelessly.
"We were never part of your war."
"Oh but ye are," Secras stopped, looking into Link's eyes, "Ever since ye decided to house those scoundrels, ye became my enemy as well."
"I know what you're after," Link said suddenly, "You're not getting it back," he raised his shield and tightened his body, "And you'll be giving back the other orbs."
"Unfortunately I left the orbs in the temple of the Shadow back in Hesra." Secras said, "I'm afraid I can't them to ye."
And Link said, "Then I'll just kill you." He swiped at the Count, but he had already disappeared.
"Even with your mask on, you will find it quite difficult to touch me, let alone defeat me." Secras said. He was now floating ten feet above Link's head.
"Your friends have taken the remaining sailors to a castle in the other land," Secras said, "Ye should join, once ye regain all your possessions."
"What do you mean by that?" Link asked. In answer, Secras waved his hand. Link's sword and shield flew from his hand. His bow and quiver came off his back. Everything he had in his pockets was taken out. Everything he used in combat was floating above him. With another wave of his hand, Secras sent all of Link's items far over the walls of Clock Town.
"And now for ye." He waved his hand again. Link yelped as he was lifted off the ground. And with a flick of Secras hand, Link found he was flying towards Ikana canyon. As he came close to the canyon, his head clipped one of the walls. He passed out.
When Link finally awoke, he was at the entrance of Stone Temple. He looked down and saw the hundred foot drop. Link figured this was part of Count Secras game but he wondered how he was going to get down. The ocarina of time was lost as his longshot. He thought of using a bow and shoot an arrow with a rope attached to it, but he had lost that too. He was weaponless and therefore, powerless.
"I'm going to be stuck here for a long time." Link thought.
Three years ago, he found a secret passageway underneath Hyrule castle. He found after falling through a rotted part of the floor. Exploring the passageway, he found a small room with many scrolls. Many spoke of future events. One scroll was entirely dedicated to Link. It spoke of a great power hidden within him. The scroll described how the Hero of Time was able to control time and space with the power of his mind. And since he was in league with the sages, Link was supposed to share some of their powers as well. But Link never discovered those powers and never really searched for them, thinking he would never have any use of them. He sorely regretted that decision now.
Link sat down on the ground, pulled his knees close and buried his head in them. He began to weep. He had never felt so helpless and alone, even when he confronted Ganondorf as a child. But now, all his power was gone. And Count Secras was heading towards Hyrule Castle. That was where Zelda's powers were strongest but Count Secras would probably too much for her. Link felt the power surge within the wizard. It did not take even a fraction of the Count's power to do this to him.
After a while, Link stopped weeping. He wiped the tears from his face and stood. He decided that perhaps the giant within Stone Temple would be able to hear him if he yelled loud enough. He walked through the entrance.
Link was standing in a great room. It was immense, with stone walls enclosing it. Images of past battles, beasts and persons, were engraved in the stone. There were two doors in the room, leading further into the temple. In the middle of the room, too high to reach for Link, two beams of wood met, leading to other doors, which were upside down. Link looked up and saw a red sky. The sun was setting.
Link moved to the center of the room. He hoped the giant would be able to hear him from her. Before he called, he remembered that the giants spoke in a strange language. Tatl, his fairy friend in Termina, had to translate for him. But Link was desperate.
"Hello!" Link yelled at the top of his lungs, "Giant of the West, Guardian of Stone Temple. I need your help to get back down. I know this a rather stupid thing to ask of you, but I'm out of options. I have lost everything that could have possibly helped me back down is lost. And I'm in a hurry; an evil force is about to attack the castle of my land. This is the same enemy that destroyed Clock Town." Upon these words, Link heard a strange cry. It lasted for a long time and Link could hear the sadness in the voice. He also felt the fury hidden beneath.
A shadow fell on Link. He looked up and saw a hand fall upon him. It gently scooped him up and the hand rose high into the air. There was the giant, standing outside of the temple. Link looked at the head of the giant, which was the entire body. He had no chest or neck. His legs joined at the back of the head. His arms sprouted from its cheeks. The giant's skin was orange while his hair was white. A thick mustache grew under his large nose. He had a long beard, longer than the last time Link had seen him. Right now, Link was focused on the black eyes staring at, which were small compared to the rest of the giant.
Link could not turn away from those eyes. His voice refused to utter any sound. It was as if the eyes commanded him not to move or speak. After a few minutes of staring, Link's body warmed up. A strange energy stirred within Link's spirit. He continued to look into the giant's eyes. The energy grew stronger, but Link was not disturbed by it. He barely felt. Then a weight of some sort was lifted off his shoulders. The world seemed brighter. He could hear whispers from all over Termina. He felt as if he were a part of everything and everything was a part of him. When the giant finally broke the bond and set Link down, the Hero of Time had truly been awakened. Link thanked the giant and left the temple.
He ran towards the edge of the cliff. Without thinking twice about what he was doing, he dove into the air. He kept his pointed straight at the ground. When he was twenty feet from the ground, the wind began to blow. It blew so hard that it slowed Link's descent. He landed softly on his feet and exited Stone Tower.
Outside, he started to run. Rockville had begun to be populated again once the evil had been lifted. The townsfolk saw the blurred image of a man run through their town. Two seconds later, a gust of wind shook Rockville. Link reached the cliff and jumped off again. This time he hit the ground running. Later, people wondered who could have possibly made such a deep footprint.
Seconds later, Link was running across the open fields of Termina. As he ran, Epona came to his side. Though he never voiced it, Epona had heard the call of her master. Link jumped on and Epona pressed on at a speed that had never been seen before. Link guided Epona towards Woodfall. He entered the woods and headed for the river. There was a witch sitting up in a hut by the river. She was astounded to see a horse run on water. Link soon came to the Deku Palace.
To the left of the entrance, there were three monkeys, looking at something. It was the Master Sword. They heard Link approach and turned their gaze towards him. Link turned Epona and started to ride away. But just before he disappeared, Link stretched his hand out. The sword shook first, scaring the monkeys away, and then shot out of the ground. It flew straight into Link's hand.
Using his newly found powers, Link stretched out his mind's eye and searched for his shield. All he needed before encountering Secras again was his sword and shield. He scanned all of Termina and could not find it anywhere. He found this odd and searched for it in Hyrule. He quickly found it. Five hundred Black warriors were marching towards Hyrule Castle. They had not passed the drawbridge yet. Floating above this host was Count Secras. And attached to one arm was Link's shield.
"Of course," Link thought, "My shield is the only thing that can reflect Zelda's attacks. The others also use energy attacks, but they are weak compared to Zelda's." Epona had already ridden into Termina field, but Link feared that by slowing down time more would tire the both of them. And Link would need all his strength to fight Count Secras. And he still did not know how to teleport. That was not included in the package. Most of the abilities that the sages possessed, Link did not know. With time, he would learn them. But now, Link made Epona continue to run at the same pace. He hoped that not too many lives would be lost.