Disclaimer: Zelda series=Nintendo Story=mine
Link and Keith reached the side entrance to the castle when they met their first obstacle. "It's locked." Link said as he jiggled the handle. "Oh well, we tried. Let's go." He continued, the bad feeling he had still present. "Relax, I anticipated this so I came prepared." Keith replied as he reached into the pockets of his sweatjacket. "What, do you have the key or something?"
"Nope, I've got something better." Keith's hand came out to reveal, "Paper clips? How are they going to help?" "Watch." He started undoing the bends in the clips making one as straight as can be and the other one only half unbent. Holding them up to Link's face, Keith answered his question. "A crude, but effective lockpick."
Keith immediately set to work picking the lock on the door. "We can be lucky that the doors are replaced every once in a while or I wouldn't be able to do this." "Can't we get in trouble for doing this?" The door made an audible click as the lock fell open. "Yeah, but who cares? No one ever comes around here anymore." Pocketing the lockpick, Keith opened the door and they stepped inside.
Turning on his maglite, Link scanned the beam around. "Wow. This place really is old!" "What do you expect? Hyrule was once a monarchy." Keith said as he relocked the door. "Why'd you do that?" "Just in case a cop comes by or something. Let's go look around." Link was visibly uneasy about not having a quick escape in case something went wrong.
'Come on Link. This isn't like you at all. Like Keith said, it's just and old building.' He told himself. It didn't work however, as the ominous feeling grew with every step. "Would you look at that." Keith said as he saw something. "What?" Link replied as he searched for Keith's source of wonder. "That symbol up there."
Link looked at what Keith's maglite was pointing at. "Three triangles. Do you have any idea what they mean?" "Not a clue." Keith moved on, but Link stared at the symbol for a little longer. Shaking his head, he caught up to Keith. They walked through the open pathways, their maglites the only source of illumination. "Look at these hedges! They must haven't been cut for at least seventy years!"
Link wasn't paying attention, his mind troubled. "Leave….." He looked around for the source of the sound. "Keith, did you hear that?" "Hear what?" "A voice. It said 'leave'." "I didn't hear a thing." Link looked around, fear gnawing at his soul. "Leave this place." 'There it is again.' The hedges stopped as they came to window that had long been covered with dust and spray paint.
"Hey, look. A private garden." Keith pointed out as he looked to their left. But Link wasn't paying attention. He had a headache that began as a slight bit of pressure, but quickly escalated to a strong throb. "Keith, I don't feel so good." He said as he clutched his now burning stomach. "Link, what's wrong? Tell me!" Keith forgot all about the castle, his friend taking priority. Link could barely hear him, let alone answer. "Link? LIIINNNNKKK!?!" He passed out.
When Link next opened his eyes, they were met with the bright sun of midday. His headache and stomach ache were gone. 'How long have I been out?' He thought as he got up. He leaned against the wall as he gathered his wits. 'Wait a minute, where's the layer of dust?' Running his finger over the wall, he saw that it was dust free. 'Not only that, but it looks like brand new. Well, compared to before.'
The sound of footsteps behind caught his attention. Whirling around, he saw a small figure run by. "Hey, you!" Link called out. He then got a good look at the figure who had ran by him. 'Where in the world did that kid get those clothes?' The kid was wearing a green tunic, brown leather boots, a green hat on his head, and a piece of wood strapped to his back. Link watched as the kid looked around in amazement at the garden.
Looking around himself, Link was stunned at the sight that beheld his eyes. "I'm… I've gone back to the time of the monarchy!" He saw another kid, one dressed long, regal looking robes. The green clothed kid walked up behind the other one and opened his mouth. "Uhhh, excuse me." The robed kid turned around at the sound of his voice.
Link's jaw dropped as he saw the other kid. 'If Zelda was a kid, that's what she'd look like.' He walked over and stood behind the first kid as he eavesdropped on their conversation. Link watched and listened as the girl started going into a dream. 'Fairies, green stones, dark clouds?!? This kid should be institutionalized.' He shook his head at her rambling.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I got so caught up in my story, I didn't properly introduce myself." The girls expression changed as she put on an air of authority. "I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule." Again, Link's jaw dropped. 'Her name is also Zelda? This is getting a little freaky.' "What's your name?" The kid hesitated, then gave in. "I'm Link."
Link got so stunned by what he heard, that he fell backwards off of the stairs. 'His name is also Link!?!?!' Getting back up, he went over and looked at 'Link's' face. "AHHHHHHH!" Once again he was so stunned that he fell, but this time into the small stream. 'He look's just like me when I was ten! What the hell is going on here?' Getting up, Link was surprised to find himself still dry.
Putting his arms on the platform at the top of the steps, Link listened as 'Zelda' told a story about the creation of the world. His mind was rejecting everything he heard. 'Oh come on, there is no such thing as goddesses, or the triforce. The world was created in a swirl of dust that came together at just the right way.' Part of him accepted the religious angle however, as he had never fully believed the scientific reason.
'Zelda' finished the story and invited 'Link' to look in the window that she was. Link got out of the stream and looked also. He watched as a dark skinned man, who 'Zelda' called Ganondorf bowed before who must be the king. He looked over at where the three of them were standing and Link felt a shiver run down his spine. 'This is getting too weird. That guy seems familiar.'
Link followed his younger self as he left the garden. He was cut off by a tall, muscular looking woman standing in the way. 'Hey, her hair is the same color as Keith's.' Link listened as the woman introduced herself as Impa, the caretaker of the princess. She then whistled a song to 'Link' who promptly played it on his ocarina. Link also played an ocarina and was able to memorize the song. Then there was a flash of light and Link was unconscious again.
Keith was nervously pacing back and forth. When Link had passed out, he propped him up against the wall. 'We should have never come here. I'm going to get us in big trouble when we get home. Link then groaned and started to stir. Running over, Keith went to help him to his feet. "Link! Are you alright?" Pushing away his hands, Link replied. "Yeah I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" "I said I was fine!" Keith was taken back the anger in his friend's voice. "What's gotten into you? Ever since this morning, you've been acting strange." All Link did was laugh. "Strange? I'll tell you strange! As a matter of fact, I'll go beyond that to just plain fucked up!" He then began to tell Keith his entire experience of in the past.
When he was finished, Keith had the idea to knock Link out and drag him to the hospital. "Link, have you been feeling well lately? Any undue stress that I'm not aware of?" Link then simply sighed. "Alright, so you think I'm going nuts. Okay, fine. Hell, if I was in your position I'd think the same thing." An awkward silence fell between them. "So, what do we do?" "Let's keep going. If we show up at home early, our parents will know we were lying and we'd probably get grounded for the weekend."
Picking up their maglites, they continued exploring the garden. "Okay Link, if you really did see the past, where does this window lead to?" asked Keith as he motioned to the window above the stairs. "I think that leads to the throne room. I'm not sure totally sure though." Casting a wary look at Link, Keith pulled himself through the empty hole in the wall. When he got through, he looked to the right and was surprised to find the royal throne sitting there.
"This is really weird." "Told you so." Link said as he got inside. "Well, come on. We still got tons of time left and it's a huge castle. I was out for, what, ten minutes?" Now getting a weird feeling of his own, Keith became quiet and followed Link through the palace.
A hour later, after having explored only a small part of the castle, Link looked at his watch. "Shit! We gotta go! The bus for home leaves in forty minutes." "Well, let's find a map and get going." Twenty minutes later, they were out and on their way to the bus stop by the old drawbridge. Suddenly the headache and stomachache that had hit Link before hit him and Keith again. "Augh. Damn, Link. Whatever bug you have is contagious!" They both fell unconscious, unaware of the storm brewing.
Keith opened his eyes to see Link was lying on the ground unconscious next to him. "Hey Link, wake up." He said as he pushed him. "I'm up. I'm up." Link got up and looked around. "What the hell? The drawbridge is closed!" "What? That's impossible." Keith looked to see that not only was it closed, but it was during the day and torches blazed on either side.
"Hey! Open up!" Keith shouted at whoever was doing this. A cold wind started to blow and dark clouds began to gather at the bridge. A crack of thunder was heard and it started to pour. Walking over to Keith, his sneakers splashing in the puddles, Link looked up at the sky. "Well, it can't any worse than this."
The sound of boots running through water brought their attention behind them. Keith was stunned to find a ten year old version of Link standing behind them, dressed exactly the same way as he was described. "Oh, no. Not again." Link said mildly. The sound of chains creaking turned them around. Looking, they could vaguely make out the shapes of people running and some of them doing it while fighting.
"What the hell is going on?" "Don't ask me. It wasn't like this before." The stampeding of hoofs came from inside the drawbridge as a white horse appeared, bearing two passengers. "Whoa!" Link, Keith, and 'Link' moved out of the way of the beast. "Hey, Princess Zelda was on that thing along with Impa!" 'Link' exclaimed as he looked after them. A gasp was barely heard as 'Zelda' twisted herself around and threw an object towards them.
"She's got one hell of a good arm!" "Yeah. She'd even put quite a few NFL players to shame." The object landed in the moat with a plunk. The sound of a horse stopping pulled Link's and Keith's attention to it. Their eyes widened in fear as they beheld the rider on the black stead. "Link, this is just a guess a guess, but is that who you called Ganondorf?" "Uh huh." Was the only thing Link was able to say.
"Damn, I missed them." He said. Looking down, he noticed 'Link' standing there. "You there! Little Kid! Which way did the white horse go? Answer me!" 'Link' took a step back into a defensive position. "I'm not going to tell you!" "So, you think that you can protect them huh? You've got guts kid." 'Link's' only response was arm himself. Link watched as he held the piece of wood on his right hand like a shield and drew a sword with his left. "Yea, good for you!" he cheered.
"Heh… Heh… Heh… So, you want a piece of me? Very funny! I like your attitude!" Ganondorf raised left hand and charged up a ball of black magic. "No!" Link jumped in the path of the ball when he shot, but it was useless. It passed right through him and hit his younger self straight in the chest. They both hit the mud at the same time. "Link!" Keith rushed over to help his friend up off of the ground.
"Fool! Do you realize who you're dealing with? I am Ganondorf, and soon I shall rule the world!" With that, he reared his horse and continued his pursuit. The three of them simply watched as the storm succumbed and the rain cease. "The Ocarina of Time!" Link watched as his younger self dove into the moat after the object 'Zelda' had thrown. Walking over, Link and Keith watched as he came up out of the water and pulled himself onto the ground.
Their vision clouded as they beheld a recording of sorts. They listened as 'Zelda' explained a few things and then played a tune called the 'Song of Time'. They heard 'Link' play the same tune, which Link also memorized. The last thing they heard before seeing the bright light was, "Play the Song of Time before the altar…"
Keith opened his eyes to find himself lying face up in the rain. 'Man, what just happened?' A nearby groan signaled Link's return to consciousness. "Are we back?" "Yeah, we're back. What did we just see?" "I'm guessing it was the past." Getting off of the ground, they retrieved their maglites and pocketed them. Keith than took the moment to bring up a very important subject.
"Link, why is it raining?" "How should I know? I don't control the weather." "I know. It's just that in the 'vision', or whatever you want to call it, it was raining." Noticing that himself, Link also began to wonder. "Well this day's been weird enough, so why not this." Keith pulled his hood over his head in a vain attempt to shield it from the pounding rain.
After they had been standing there for five minutes, the bus pulled up and opened its doors. "Where to kids?" "Lake Hylia suburbs." "Sorry, the road to there is all flooded. Closest I can get you his Lon Lon Ranch." Link turned to Keith. "What do we do now, walk?" "Are you crazy? It'll take all night to get there. We should go to the ranch and call home from there.
"Last chance." Link shrugged his shoulders. "Well, they're the only place in this city with a hotel, so why not?" Climbing on board, they paid the fare and took their seats. They could feel the other passengers stare at the two mud stained and rain soaked boys. 'I feel like shit.'
After a bumpy ride over Hyrule field, the bus pulled up at the entrance to the ranch. Link, Keith, and a few other passengers got off. The rest of the people went to what was either their home or building of employment as Link and Keith ran to the hotel. Lon Lon Ranch was the oldest ranch in all of Hyrule and had been in the hands of the Lon family for all time. Besides sporting a four star hotel, it had a few other buildings that served various purposes. But it still was primarily a farm complete with a grazing area that was fenced in.
As soon as they stepped inside, Link went over to the pay phones and Keith looked for the bathroom. Putting in the proper change he dialed his phone number. 'I hope someone's home and not out doing road work.' The other end picked up and his Dad's voice spoke.
"Hello?" "Hi dad, it's me." "Link, you're safe. When the storm hit, we got worried that the bus got into an accident. Is Keith with you? His parents are worried as well." "Yeah, he's with me. Listen dad, I've got some bad news." "What?" "According to what the bus driver told us, the road home is flooded. Right now, we're at the ranch." "Oh great. Well, looks like you're going to have to spend the night there. I'll give you my credit card number, but you're only allowed a basic two bed package. No room service WHATSOEVER." "Yes Dad." Link's dad gave him his number and he hung up.
Keith walked over to where Link was standing. "So, what's the scoop?" "We're staying here for the night. My dad gave me his credit card number." "Sweeeet." Keith said, idea's forming in his head. "I wish. He said that we can't get any extras." "Dammit." They walked over to the counter and got the room.
Ten minutes later, Link and Keith were in their room, wet clothes drying by the heater, bathrobes covering their bodies. Sitting on their beds, Link was idly flipping the channels on their TV. "I wish you had got us one premium channel. Your dad wouldn't have minded that." "Hey, better safe than sorry." "Yeah, yeah. Well, turn on the weather channel. Maybe they have an explanation for this storm."
Link turned it on just in time to catch the beginning of the special on the storm. A goron anchorman sat at his desk with papers in hand. "Meteorologists continue to be puzzled by this freak storm, deemed one of the worst in Hyrule's long history. We go now to our spotter in the field." The screen changed to show a Zora standing in the middle of Hyrule Field, wind blowing at the umbrella he had over his head. "Conditions continue to worsen as winds pass the 25 mph mark and Lake Hylia is reported to be experiencing some slight flooding. At this time, residents of Hyrule City are urged to remain indoors."
Link pressed the power button on the remote. "Well, so much for science." "Let's hit the sack, I'm beat from this afternoon." Following Keith's example, Link turned out the light and soon fell asleep.
That night, three individuals shared a nightmare. They saw all of Hyrule in ruins, the sky permanently dark from the never dispersing storm clouds. The armies of the world fought in vain to hold back unearthly demons. They saw the governmental district of Hyrule City littered with crows as they fed upon the never ending supply of corpses. The once proud castle was gone, replaced by a towering black spire that floated over molten lava. The silhouette of a man appeared in a window at the top of the tower. They heard the man laugh, long, victoriously, evil laughter.