Chapter Eighteen
Arrival
The town that had once been Barsmill stood deserted. Ashes from bonfires, discarded weapons, and pools of blood littered the streets and homes. The smell of smoke and death filled the night sky. It was a smell Skorn drank in like mother's milk. He walked over to where his brother was standing at the edge of the town. "All the men have departed for the west, as ordered, brother."
"Thank you, Skorn," Rolondrof smiled at his huge twin. "The faithful are already congregating at the Temple of Time. The time is upon us, Skorn. Our brother returns tomorrow night."
Skorn nodded. "'And the world shall no My name, and learn to fear and honor it's power. I have risen from the prison through the hands of the Hero, and My might shall cleanse the land of all that would oppose me.'"
Rolondrof chuckled at the quote. "The Dragmire speaks true brother, though I sometimes wonder if you follow it too closely. You know what is to happen in the coming weeks. Does it not bother you that the Dragmire and the faithful are all tools in Lord Ganon's plan?"
"No," Skorn answered. "Lying and trickery is honorable when it is used to uphold family honor and call penance from the trickery and deception of another. Link, though a worthy and honorable adversary, he disgraced and dishonored our family. He must be made to repent."
Rolondrof laughed. "My brother, though the skies may crumble and the waters may boil, you will always remain the same. And of that I am glad. But come," he threw his hood over his head. "We must leave now if we are to arrive before the boy. This is one party we don't want to miss."
* * *
Link, Malon, and Saria arrived at the city the afternoon after they had set out. Epona had once again rode hard without rest, and Link swore to her that she would get all the hay and oats she could eat in the palace stable once they got there. However, Malon didn't seem to think the horse minded.
It was a cloudy day, and the sun was having troubles breaking through the barrier. Link led Epona through the crowded streets towards the castle. "Have you ever been to the palace before?" Saria asked Malon. Over the past evening they had been talking a lot, and had become fairly good friends.
"No," the farm-girl replied. "I've met King Jax and Princess Zelda before, though. They sometimes come to Lon Lon Ranch for a 'official inspection', though I think they really just like looking at the horses."
"If they're anything like Epona, I can see why." The horse whinnied, and nipped at Saria's head affectionately.
They were now at the northern edge of the city, and to their right, they could see the Temple of Time rising from the trees of the Millennial Park. Link paused as they walked past. "Do you feel that, Saria?"
Saria paused and closed her eyes in concentration. "I feel something, but I don't know what. What do you think?"
Malon looked at them, completely lost. "Feel what?"
"Something's…" Link started, "…wrong." He handed Epona's reins to Malon. "Keep going to the castle," he said. "Bring Zelda here as soon as possible."
Saria frowned in concern. "I don't know Link. This doesn't feel right. Come with us, and we'll get Zelda together…"
"There's no time," he interrupted. "Something's going on. Go, now."
Malon had absolutely no idea what was going on, but nonetheless, she lifted Saria onto Epona's back and mounted behind her. "We'll be back as soon as we can," she promised, and she spurred Epona on the path to the castle. Link watched them go, and then he turned and headed towards the Temple. He couldn't explain what he felt, but it was strangely familiar and inviting, but at the same time foreboding and evil. He walked through the park, the feelings getting stronger with every step. Soon he was mounting the steps to the Temple. The large double doors were open, and he could see into the front foyer.
It was dark in the building, the only light coming from a few scattered torches on the wall. Link didn't so much walk towards the main room as he was dragged. A sudden chill ran down his back. He pushed open the doors to the main room, and was shocked at what he saw. Hundreds of people were gathered in the aisles and pews, praying and chanting and preaching. The banners hanging from posts held in the hands of a few showed the same insignia Link had seen on those of the Church of Ganon. Indeed, he saw the scruffy leader of the group of to one side, preaching to a group of people who had gathered around him. "His time has come," he said, spreading his arms as if to enfold all of them. "We the faithful and the righteous have been chosen! He is coming, and He shall save us! Pray and be thankful, brothers and sisters; our Lord Ganon has come!" Link didn't know what to think. His mind was sluggish, hardly functioning for some reason.
"Halt!"
Link and the followers looked to the front of the room, where the Pedestal of Time stood, the three Spiritual Stones floating above it. Link saw Skorn standing in front of the Door of Time with a smaller man with wild fiery hair, who could only be Rolondrof. But that didn't surprise half as much as what he saw behind them.
The Door of Time was open.
"That's impossible…" he thought. "I still have the ocarina…"
"There he is!" yelled Rolondrof. "He is the one that would stop the coming of our Lord Ganon! Stop him, stop him!" And with that, three hundred fanatical Hylians charged Link.
* * *
Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru, Impa, and Shrike all looked in surprise as Zelda cried out. She had fallen from her chair in the war room where Shrike was sharing his latest report, crying out in pain. Impa was immediately at her side. "Your highness, what is it?"
"Can't…can't you feel it?" Zelda stammered. "It's happening…it's happening now! Quickly, everyone to the Temple, we must…"
"Your highness," a page interrupted, walking into the room. "There are two girls named Saria and Malon at the gates, claiming they must speak with you about someone named Link. They say it is of the utmost importance."
Zelda's eyes widened as everything fell into place.
"My brother shall be released regardless, through means that will cause you to most certainly regret any inaction now…
"…he will suffer far, far more than you are now…"
"It cannot help you, do not take it…"
The Temple of Time lying in ruins…
"Oh no…" she gasped. "Link! We have to stop him!" She struggled to her feet and ran out of the room, the others following frantically.
* * *
Fifty of the fanatics lay unconscious on the floor of the Temple of Time as Link battled his way towards the Door. He would not draw his sword on innocents, so his fists and feet had been busy. Still, he was battered, and there were still over two hundred people to go through. He inched his way step by step through the sea of followers, fists striking faces, feet taking out legs, even as he was pummeled in his face, stomach and ribs.
Eventually he made it to the Pedestal, leapt over it, and ran through the Door. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, it fell shut behind him. He looked back in surprise. Trapped. He looked forward into the hall. There it was; the Master Sword, resting in it's pedestal. It had been eight years since he had seen it, and he could feel it calling out to him.
"Take me…use me…"
He walked into the chamber, dim light streaming through the window Navi had used to depart from his life. Hanging beneath that window, seven feet off the floor, was a great owl, crucified by hooks through it's wings. Link sucked in breath. "Kaepora!" He hurried over to the owl, past the sword, drowning out it's call. He lifted the bird from the hooks and gently settled it on the ground. "Don't worry Kaepora," he assured. "I'll get you out of here."
"L—Link," the bird croaked. "Don't give in…"
"To what? What?"
"To us."
Link turned to see Skorn and Rolondrof standing on the opposite side of the Sword. Rolondrof was grinning like a wolf, and Skorn was cracking his knuckles. Link saw that he was indeed wearing his Golden Gauntlets. "How did you get in here?" Link demanded, drawing his sword. "What do you hope to accomplish?"
"I thought it was obvious," Rolondrof laughed stopping before the Sword. "We are here to free our brother. You remember; Ganon, the man who brought Hyrule to it's knees before you managed to cheat him out of victory."
"He was insane," Link circled the pair, even as Skorn drew his own massive sword. "In that future, chances are you would just as dead as everyone else."
"Liar!" Skorn swung his sword in a mighty downward thrust. Link leapt out of the way as the sword dug itself a foot deep into the stone floor.
"'Thou shall not take My name in vain, else thou be punished by lightning and steel'." Rolondrof raised his hands, and bolts of blue lightning sprung from his fingers. Link couldn't get out of the way in time, and the dark magic enveloped him in a grip of pain. Rolondrof swung his arms towards a wall, and the lightning picked Link up and slammed him into it. The dark mage repeated this several times, until he finally let Link fall to the floor, bloodied and bruised. He struggled to his feet, even as Skorn swung his sword at his head. He ducked and raised his own blade to block, but the force of Skorn's blow shattered the Goron blade in half. Link's arm went numb. Skorn calmly sheathed his sword and picked Link up by the front of his shirt. He punched him once in the ribs, and Link heard several of the bones crack. If Skorn had used his full strength, the fist would have skewered him.
The giant threw Link at the Master Sword at Rolondrof's feet. The man smiled down at him. "You cannot win," he mocked. Link looked up at the blade before him.
"I…I need it…"
"It cannot help you," Skorn said. "Do not take it."
Link started to raise his good arm. "Help me…I need you…"
Rolondrof glared down at Link, smiling.
"I need it…"
* * *
Zelda and the others met Malon and Saria at the gates. "Saria! Miss Lon!" Zelda said, riding past them on her horse. "Hurry, we have no time to waste!" Darunia rolled by a moment later, followed by Ruto, Nabooru, and Impa on their own steeds. Malon and Saria wasted a second to look at each other, and then Malon turned Epona to follow.
They sprinted down the path into the city and through Millennial Park. They had no sooner cleared the last row of trees when a blinding flash erupted through the roof of the Temple. The cloudy afternoon sky blazed with the light. Zelda and the Sages grabbed their heads in pain. The mark of the Triforce blazed to life on the back of Zelda's right hand, and the temple symbols of all the Sages blazed on the left palms of the Sages. Zelda looked at the Temple of Time as the roof caved in and the light receded. "Goddesses help us," she whispered. "We're too late."
* * *
Link felt himself being lifted from the rubble by a strong hand. He couldn't open his eyes, but he felt the hilt of a sword in his hand. The Master Sword. A voice drifted into his head. A voice he had not heard in eight years, but still as familiar as his own.
"Thank-you, boy. I can't be sure what's going through your head right now, so let me give you some things to think about. First of all, let me congratulate you; you passed all my tests. Confusion: the messenger my brothers sent into the Forest was meant to cloud your rationality, cause you to lose your focus. It didn't. The physical test: you bested my dragon, a feat accomplished by only a very few, of which even fewer survived. Psychological: you defeated the double from the Mirror of Orgamus and kept your sanity at the same time. Emotional: your home was burned to the ground, yet you saved the inhabitants and managed to make it all the way here. Again I congratulate you.
"For eight years I have awaited this moment; the moment when I would once again look you in your face. Only this time it would not be in defeat. No, this time I thank you, Link. Without you none of this would have been possible. We both know the Master Sword was the key to the Sacred Realm. But did you know that it was also the key out of it? I bet you didn't, which is why this is so ironic. The very boy and the very sword that imprisoned me were also the keys to my salvation. You see, your drawing of the Master Sword, combined with the spirits of three hundred willing sacrifices, were all I needed to escape. It took me eight years and vast amounts of magic, but it is done.
"So I want you to think on this: three hundred people lie dead in the hall of the most sacred site in all Hyrule because you drew the Master Sword one more time. I will wage war on this land, and kill a thousand people for every year I was imprisoned. And when that's over, I will kill everyone else. Just. Because. I. Can. All because of you." Link slipped into unconsciousness, but before the voice imparted it's final words.
"The beginning is over, Link. The end is here."
END PART ONE
TO BE CONTINUED