Zelda sat beside her father, staring into his face, trying to find answers behind it. As usual, all she found was pain, hers and his.
"How could things have come to this?" she thought. Her country was on the verge of a war that they would most likely lose. She had been too slow in realizing the plans of her enemies, and as such had unleashed the terror that would cause that destruction.
"What am I to do, father?" she said out loud. "I'm not ready for this. I'm not as strong as you. I can't do this."
"Yes, you can." Impa appeared beside her, materializing from the shadows. The older woman placed a strong, reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Everyone realizes this, including Ganon. He is hoping you will doubt yourself. Planning it, even. Because if you are incapacitated in such a way, he knows that you have no chance of beating him. He is as scared of you as he is of Link. Both you and Link are strong. That strength just shows in different forms and situations. Like your father and mother."
This caused Zelda to pause. She looked up at her old nurse and oldest friend, the woman who had herself been like Zelda's mother. "Impa, why didn't you ever tell me I had a brother? You've been with my family since before I was born. You must have known."
Impa looked away uncomfortably. "I did not know," she said. "You were born during the War of Unification, and I was away in Kakiriko, leading the battle there. My mentor, Upla, was assigned to your mother during her pregnancy. It wasn't until after the war that I heard of your birth. Upla had apparently died delivering you to your father's arms, the queen's last wish before she fled to the east. She died before she could explain how you were separated from your mother."
"My father knew," Zelda replied, as much to herself as to Impa. "When he awoke for that brief moment, he told me he couldn't save 'them'. He must have known. Why didn't he tell me?"
"We can ask him when he awakens." Impa gave Zelda's shoulder a comforting squeeze, and Zelda covered the hand with her own. Suddenly—as so many things seemed to be lately—Nabooru rushed into the room.
"Zelda! Impa! Come to the throne room immediately. Rolondrof and Skorn are there, awaiting you. I suggest you hurry, before Darunia tears them apart."
* * *
Indeed, when the three of them arrived, they were greeted by a palace guard flying into the wall beside them as they entered. A dozen other guards were straining to hold the Goron chief at bay as he made his way to the two men standing less than a five meters away from him. Rolondrof's grin was firmly in place, though Zelda noted with smug satisfaction that there was fear hiding behind his eyes. Skorn stood stiffly at his side, the face a stone mask. Zelda noted the gauntlets on his arms and understood his more relaxed stance. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice icy.
"The same thing we want every time we have these nice little chats, your highness," Rolondrof said, taking the chance to move away from the cursing Goron. "We want to offer you a way out of this predicament you've all gotten yourselves into."
"We do not bargain with criminals and murders who would hide behind their brothers," Ruto said defiantly.
"Lord Ganon does not hide," Skorn said. "Our brother merely seeks to bring unity to this land, and to reclaim the honor that was stolen from our family."
"Honor?" Darunia roared. He stopped struggling against the guards, who promptly fell to their knees. Even at rest, he was shaking with fury. "Is it honorable to attack a helpless creature like Jabu-Jabu? Is it honorable to kill a race not through combat but through plague? Is it honorable to burn children?" He gestured at Saria, who had stepped in front of him, her own childlike face clouded with anger.
"It is no less honorable than using a boy and casting magic from the shadows," Skorn retorted.
"If we can please end this meaningless debate," Rolondrof interjected, his smile even wider. "What we have come to offer, your highness, is a momentary truce."
"A what?" Nabooru almost yelled, utterly shocked.
"A truce." Rolondrof could hardly contain his mirth. "Our brother wishes to meet with the princess, in order to discuss a way to end this messy business without any more bloodshed. If she would hear him out, he proposes the gates of Lon Lon Ranch as a suitable neutral zone. Just the two of you, of course, though he would have preferred Link to be there too…"
"He won't fail." Rolondrof stopped when he heard Saria's small voice. He turned to look at her, the smile momentarily fading. She stared up at the man with no fear.
"Why little girl, I never said he would fail."
"I know," Saria replied, still defiant. "But you were going to. And I just wanted to give you ample warning for his return. He survived everything you threw at him. He passed all your trials. He has beaten Ganon before, and he will do so again. Just thought you should know. It's the 'honorable' thing to do." This last she said with a glance at Skorn.
The smile was completely gone now, as Rolondrof stared down at her. The other Sages watched with shocked appreciation for the little Kokiri's courage. They stared at each other for a moment longer before he averted his smile. He had lost all joy in the moment. Emboldened by Saria's courage, Zelda stepped forward. "Tell the tyrant that I will meet with him, but not to negotiate our surrender. I'll be there to negotiate his."
Rolondrof just nodded. "Sundown, tomorrow. Come alone." And with that he left in flourish of dark robes. Skorn nodded once to Saria, a warrior's sign of respect, and left with his brother. When they were gone, Kaepora hopped over to Saria's side.
"Well said, Saria. Well said."
"Yes indeed!" Darunia bellowed, his mood slightly improved. "If you and Link are any sign of the Kokiri's strength, then Ganon is indeed lucky they cannot leave their forest."
"What have I been telling you?" Nabooru laughed. "Our little sister is all grown up!"
Ruto turned to Zelda. "What will you do now?"
"What I said I would do," Hyrule's leader said. "I will meet with our enemy, and do my best to avoid any more bloodshed, though I doubt that will happen. Instead I will show him our strength. The strength of our spirits, of our hearts, and of our people. And may whatever gods he worship help him."
* * *
"Well," Malon said, after a few moments, "At least it's a fair likeness."
The statement did little to lighten the situation. The six companions continued to stare up at the marble statue. Their avatars were sculpted in proud and heroic poses with their weapons drawn, like a memorial. They stared up at it, not knowing what to say, what to feel.
Link brought the light lower and looked at the base of the statue. On it was a metal plaque, framed in gold. Link leaned closer and read it aloud. "It says, 'In Honor of The Chosen: Link of the Kokiri, Malon Lon, Mattalla of the Gorons, Zora King Zakro, Shrike of the Sheikah, Numaru of the Gerudo. For Our World, They Gave Their All'. Established…established a year from now?"
"What?" Zakro looked with him. "That can't be right! What's going on?"
"Hey," Numaru called out from beside them. "Cast more light over here, Link." Link obliged, and threw two more balls of Din's Fire in her direction to hover over her shoulder. The warrior gasped. "Everyone, come here!"
They followed her voice and stood by her side, and were equally as breathless as Numaru.
They were staring at Malon's tombstone.
"What in Din's name is this?" Malon cursed, her voice rising in fear. "What's going on?"
"Malon," Link said, putting an arm around her shoulders to calm her down. "It's okay. Well, it's not okay, but…look at the dates. There's a blank where the date of death should be."
"Here's mine," Shrike pointed out, a few feet to the right. "The date of death is blank here, too."
The others all spread out through the room, looking for their own tombstones. One by one, they called out, confirming the absence of dates on the markers. All except Link.
"Link?" Malon called. "Is everything all right?" There was still no answer. Shrike stepped over to where Link stood, the light casting shadows over his cloaked form. He went stiff when he saw what Link was staring at. The others, anxious and slightly unnerved by the silence, quickly followed. When she saw it, Malon's heart leapt to her throat. Link's tombstone was there, just like everyone else, except for one small difference.
There were two dates on the stone.
"That's…" Mattalla stammered. "That's this year…"
"It doesn't mean anything," Shrike quickly pointed out. "Nothing at all."
"Exactly. Probably just one of those vermin having a little fun." Zakro's voice didn't sound as confident as he would have liked. Link just stood there, his face expressionless. None of them could think of anything to say to make things at least seem better.
Instead, they heard a loud roar thunder through the walls, snapping them back into reality. A moment later they heard another, followed by thunderous footsteps. They instinctively drew their weapons, and Link immediately took charge.
"Everyone!" he called, "We need to find a door out of here. Spread out, look for a door, a passage, a trapdoor, anything! Quickly!" The others obeyed instantly, and Link caused the fire to flare, illuminating the room as clear as day. He took a moment to notice that the large stone room was empty save for the statue and the row of tombstones before he joined in the search.
"Here!" Shrike hollered. He stood before a large double doorway, and was frantically trying to pick the lock. Another roar shook the chamber, this time almost on top of them, and by the time the others arrived, Shrike had the door open and was leading them through it. Mattalla and Numaru took flanking positions, he with his hammer, she with her bow. Malon and Zakro took the middle, and Link covered their rear.
No sooner had the stepped through the door than the wall behind them exploded in a hail of debris. Link looked back and was struck breathless by what he saw. The creature had the general shape of a Goron, but was so big it had to bend over just to fit in the twenty-foot high room. It's hide was rocky and cracked, spires of stone and ice jutting from it. It's head was relatively small for it's body, but the jaws were still wide enough to swallow a man whole. A blue mist steamed from the beast's nostrils and mouth, like breath being seen on a cold day. It's next roar confirmed this suspicion, as Link felt the temperature in the room decrease significantly.
"Run!" he ordered, and they were quick to follow. They charged out of the chamber and down a tall corridor. Paintings and drawings adorned the wall, and as they raced by Link caught sight of some in his peripheral vision. They did nothing to ease his feelings on the whole scenario. He saw paintings of himself, of his battle with Ganon, his time in Termina, and any number of the other adventures he had been on. He saw images depicting the accomplishments of Zelda and the Sages, along with those of his companions. There was something terribly wrong with this castle, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The chill on his back and the thunderous footsteps of the beast quickly drew his attention back to fleeing. The company sprinted ahead, following the tunnel as it steadily ascended, sometimes twisting and turning. They would occasionally glance back to gauge their pursuer's progress. It was never more than two dozen yards behind them, the blue mist sometimes spreading and causing the walls to frost over.
Suddenly, Shrike stopped short, and the others nearly bowled him over. "What's wrong?" Mattalla asked.
"There's a door here," Shrike said, already working at the lock. "I'll need a few moments to get it open." Mattalla paid no heed to this and merely swung his hammer at the obstacle. The wooden door shattered on impact, and they continued their flight.
The brief halt had given the monster time to catch up to them. It loomed into sight, and with a bellow of rage blue fire erupted from it's mouth. Link instantly brought up a piece of the broken door to slow the attack, and dropped it almost instantly as the fire froze the shield in seconds. Link looked back at his companions. They were a few yards ahead of him, unaware of what had happened. They had entered onto a long metal catwalk spanning a wide, sculpted gulf. On the other side they could see the end of the tunnel, a small portal of light shining through the darkness.
Link ran towards them, the monster still in pursuit, occasionally blowing it's freezing fire at him, turning patches of metal into sheer ice. "We're not going to make it," Link thought. "We can only run so long, and this thing doesn't seem to be losing any strength. I've got to slow it down!" An idea came to him. Still running, he took his bow from his shoulder and fitted an arrow. He stopped and turned, pumping magic into the shaft, setting it aflame. He fired the arrow at the creature's gullet, hoping to get it down the beast's throat. His shot was true, and the monster swallowed the arrow. It stopped short and seemed to gasp, and Link thought that he might have succeeded in killing the beast. But instead, it simply coughed once and raised it rocky head, bellowing in anger. The ice-fire sprang from it's throat, freezing a piece of the ceiling above them. It collapsed, and Link had to roll forward, towards the monster, to avoid being crushed. The debris smashed through the bridge, creating a wide gulf between ends. Link was trapped.
* * *
"No!" Malon screamed. The others had turned back once they had made it across, only to see Link single handedly facing down the hellish creature. They saw as part of the bridge gave way, stranding Link on the wrong side. Malon's cry echoed through the chamber. "We have to help him! We can't just leave him!" With that, she started back across the bridge.
Mattalla grabbed a hold of her, pulling her back. "No Malon! You can't do anything for him!"
"Don't you get it?" she cried in protest. "His tombstone said he would die! Ours didn't! We can save him!"
"All that means is that we have as good a chance of dying today as dying fifty years from now!" Zakro argued.
Malon wanted to argue back, to prove that there must be a way to save Link's life, but she could find nothing to say that would convince them otherwise. The thought of leaving Link behind pained all of them just as much as it did her, but they knew there was no chance of saving him. Instinctively, she looked to Shrike, hoping he might be able to help her.
The Sheikah stood there, watching as Link faced down the monster. "We'll wait," he said, as if hearing Malon's silent plea. "Until we have no other choice. There must be a way…"
* * *
The creature took it's time approaching Link, knowing that it's prey was trapped, and Link was hard pressed to disagree. He looked around for any way in which he might escape, or at the very least slow the thing enough to buy his friends time to escape. He looked over to where they were standing, watching the standoff. "Run!" he yelled across the expanse. If they heard, they weren't listening.
He turned back to face the creature, which had halted a few yards in front of him, it bright yellow eyes flaring in pleasure, it's craggy face widening in a primal grin of satisfaction. Link's mind raced. He had survived countless dangers that would have killed any normal man in an instant. There must be a way to defeat this thing; everything could be defeated. He just needed to find a weakness. He needed…
"Fire, Link! More fire!"
Link's head snapped up, and he looked around. The voice in his head…he knew that voice. It was…
"Navi?"
A sound of inhaling breath snapped him back to attention. The creature was drawing in breath, preparing for the killing blow. Link widened his stance, his arms hanging loose between his legs, cloaking billowing around him. He clenched his fists, and halos of red fire encircled them. He drew deep from within himself, drawing whatever power had been granted him. The fire encircled his fists, ran up his arms, down his torso and legs. He might not survive this; the strain might kill him.
But at least he wouldn't die alone.
* * *
"What's he doing?" Malon asked frantically. "Why isn't he trying to get away?"
"He's buying us time, the idiot." Zakro's scolding didn't hold as much bite as it could have.
"Time we should take," Numaru said, glancing behind them to the exit. She placed a hand on Shrike's shoulder. "Shrike, we must go before we run into another unwelcome guest."
Shrike ignored her. He just stood there, watching. "Come on, Link," he silently pleaded behind his mask. "Come on…"
* * *
Link was lost in a haze of fire and ice. The creature had almost finished gathering it's breath, and was lowering it's head to Link's level. Link stood there, face set, eyes filled with determination. He couldn't help but picture his tombstone, of the date carved into it. He was mature enough to know that everyone died someday, even loved ones that seemed immortal, and Link knew that someday he would die as well. He had accepted this as the logic conclusion, both because the goddesses had created Hylians as such and also because of the lifestyle he led.
He had told Saria that he despised the weapon he had become since he had first ventured out of the Kokiri Village eight years ago. He hated the circumstances that had awakened the magic within him, hated the ease with which he learned methods of warfare. But he had also told her that he would never regret the lives he had saved because of them. He would never trade those lives for his own peace of mind. Which was why he did not look away when the beast's massive head stopped only a few feet from where he stood. He did not flinch when it opened it's mouth, preparing to unleash the flame that would freeze him in place. He saved lives, no matter what the cost.
No matter what he had to do.
* * *
The five companions on the other side of the expanse watched in horror as Link released the magic fire he had gathered around himself into the monster's gullet. For a moment, both Link and the monster were shrouded in flame, lost from sight. Suddenly, the creature rose above the flame, roaring in pain. It's skin bubbled and cracked, as if it was melting from the inside out. It staggered for a moment, and toppled over the side of the steel catwalk. As it fell into the inky darkness, it lashed out one last time and grabbed the catwalk in one massive hand. Already bent from a combination of heat, cold, and weight, the structure began to collapse. There was still no sign of Link.
And then he was there, charging out of the flames, heading towards the gap. As the catwalk gave way and fell, he leapt into the air, longshot in hand. Shrike saw what he was planning, and instantly saw that the chances of it succeeding were very slim. "Everyone, fall back!" he ordered, bracing himself. Link fired the longshot, yelling something Shrike could not hear, but undoubtedly telling him to get out of the way. He intended to hook the longshot into the stone of the passage and reel himself in. It could work, but Shrike didn't want to take the chance of it failing.
He watched the hook come towards him, straight at his chest. At the last moment, he twisted his torso out of the way and shot his arm forward, grabbing the chain as it flew past, stopping it in mid-air. He instantly flipped onto his back, coiling the chain around his arm and digging his heels into the ground. The longshot instantly began to reel itself in, and Shrike began to slide forwards as gravity took hold of Link, pulling him down. He slid on his back towards the edge, but then Shrike felt Mattalla's strong arms grab him and steady him. With the Goron's help, he hauled Link up onto the catwalk. Link didn't waste any time and was already on his feet. "Backdraft!" he yelled. "Run, run, run!" Indeed, the fire was beginning to follow them down the tunnel. Link had unleashed too much magic, and the flame was lashing out in every possible direction. They ran down the tunnel, the light getting ever closer. They could now see trees on the other side of the exit.
The six of them leapt through the hole, diving to the ground as the fire erupted from the tunnel behind them moments later. It abated quickly, before any of the surrounding foliage had a chance to catch fire. The companions sat up, shocked and amazed at what they—at what Link—had just accomplished. "Never a moment's peace in this place," Zakro commented wryly.
"Which is why we had better find a safe place to take advantage of what little we get." The Gerudo woman was already on her feet.
Malon crawled over to wear Link had fallen. "Link," she called, her voice momentarily touched with panic. "Link?"
"He's fine," Shrike gasped between breaths. "He's just tired from using so much magic on top of all the fighting he did in the castle. Let him rest." With that, Mattalla lifted the prone young man into his arms, and the company went searching for a suitable place to recover from the horrors they had faced in the castle