3/31/03

ME: Happy Holidays everybody. Here's the next chapter of Save the Past. I don't want you to keep waiting, plus I got a complaint of the length (and style[?]) of these author notes, so I'll just start ranting later.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Legend of Zelda. It's pretty obvious since I'm writing this disclaimer instead of swimming in a pool full of money.

Key

"blah" = speech

'italics' = thought

"*italics*" = exaggeration

-------- = scene change

~*~*~ = time/ p.o.v change (3rd person perspective)

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The Legend of Zelda: Save The Past

Chapter 9: The Rescue - Part 2

Link and Zelda did not make a sound as they walked into the throne room. The only noise was that of the clanking of the guard's armor as he led them to the center of the room. There, sitting in the throne in the back of the room, was Ganondorf. An evil smirk was spread across his face. It gave the two kids the shivers just looking at him.

'Heh, this is almost too easy,' thought Ganondorf as the trio stopped in the center of the room. The guard then stepped aside, leaving nothing between our heroes and the king of evil. He then got off his throne and spoke.

"Welcome, young friends," he greeted. Link and Zelda both scoffed at his remark. What made him think they saw him as even an acquaintance?

"Where's Malon?" Link asked as politely as he could. In reality, he just wanted to take his sword and shove it down Ganondorf's throat, but he knew that wouldn't be smart.

For one thing, Ganondorf was twice his height.

"Ah, you want to see you friends?"

Link only glared at Ganondorf, who saw the whole situation as rather amusing.

"Ok then." Ganondorf then turned around and held his arms out. The guard held a staff in front of Link and Zelda, apparently to prevent them from attacking Ganondorf with his back turned. He stayed relatively beside them, though. That was ok with Link. Now wasn't the time to make their move anyway. He held his arm back and made a movement signaling anybody behind them to enter.

~*~*~

"Saria, now," Navi whispered. Immediately Saria bolted through the doorway and behind a nearby statue. She prayed that nobody saw her.

"Guys!" Sky whispered loudly. Saria had sent her out after Navi to look for the Spiritual Stones. "I found them."

"Are you sure?" asked Saria.

"Yes. I can sense the power of the Kokiri Emerald coming from a bag on top of a table near Ganondorf."

Before she could continue, the trio noticed the room began to glow a soft pink color. Saria carefully peeked around the statue and gasped.

~*~*~

Link and Zelda both stared wide-eyed as they saw something appear through the wall. Link recognized it immediately. It was the same kind of crystal Ganondorf sealed Zelda in during the alternate timeline. Malon and Talon were both inside the crystal unconscious. Ganondorf lowered the crystal onto the ground and had it disappear, dumping the two ranchers onto the ground. It was then that Link and Zelda saw the two glowing rings around the father's and daughter's necks.

"As you see, your friends are safe. Now, let's get back to business," said Ganondorf as he turned back to the two kids. Zelda, who got a weird feeling down her spine after seeing the crystal Ganondorf made, just stared at the two unconscious farmers. Link glared at Ganondorf for a second before taking a deep breath and regaining his composure.

"What are those around their necks?" asked Zelda, who spoke for the first time since they entered the throne room.

"Ah, my dear Zelda. Let's just call them 'insurance'. If you try to fool me in any way, one little motion of my wrist, and their windpipes will collapse."

"You monster…" growled Link. Ganondorf ignored him.

"Now, shall we start?"

"Fine, we'll make a trade. Just so we're both sure we don't fool each other, we'll do it one at a time."

"Ok by me," said Ganondorf. He was confident that the boy wouldn't try anything now that the fate of his friends hung in the balance.

Oh how wrong he was.

"I'll first take the Ocarina, and will trade you the man in return."

"Fine," said Link. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ocarina of Time. He waited as Ganon floated Talon to the two children. Once the adult was safely on the ground, Link laid the ocarina on the ground and slid it to Ganondorf. The king of evil stopped it with his foot and picked it up. Immediately, he could feel the power coursing through it. It was without a doubt the real one. Smiling to himself, he placed it on the table next to him. (The same one with the bag.)

"Now for the final trade," said Ganondorf. He didn't need to say what the two subjects were going to be, Link already knew.

Malon and Zelda.

Zelda's fear grew worse after Ganondorf said those 5 words. This was the moment she feared the most. Her body began to shake slightly, and she could barely keep her head up.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned towards Link, who was giving her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you as long as I can help it," whispered Link. Zelda immediately felt most of her worries go away. She gave him a small smile and then turned back to Ganondorf, who already had Malon in the air.

"We'll send them at the same time," said Ganondorf.

"How do I know you won't just take Malon as soon as Zelda reaches you?" asked Link.

"Please kid. I have no use for your little friend here. Now, I'll give the princess till the count of three to start walking. One…"

Zelda gulped. What if Ganondorf won? What will happen to Hyrule to Hyrule? To her? To…Link?

"Two…"

No! She had to do this. If she didn't, then the consequences would be worse. Besides, she had to trust Link and his plan.

"Thr…" Ganondorf started, but stopped when he saw the princess walking towards him. 'Perfect.'

As Zelda walked towards Ganondorf, she kept her face to the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Overhead, Malon's unconscious form slowly floated the other way. With each step, Zelda's heart beat grew faster and faster. Before she knew it, she felt herself pulled violently and heard the crackle of Ganondorf's laugh.

"Hahaha! You are a fool boy! Thanks to you, the world shall be mine!" Ganondorf roared as he laughed in triumph. He didn't pay attention to Link, thus he didn't notice him reach into one of his pockets.

"Oh my! What an idiot I am!" Link sarcastically said as he stomped his foot. What Ganondorf didn't know was that stomp had a purpose.

~*~*~

"Saria, the signal!" yelled Sky as she and Navi flew back around the statue and covered their eyes with their hands. Saria did the same.

~*~*~

Zelda watched as Link gave his sarcastic speech and stomped the ground.

'This is it,' she thought as she covered her eyes with her free hand.

Ganondorf barely saw Zelda close her eyes. Before he knew what was happening, Link pulled his hand out of his pocket and threw a bunch of little… things as he covered his eyes with his free hand. As soon as they hit the ground, the little objects identified themselves… Deku Nuts!

"GAAHH!!!" screamed Ganondorf and the guard as the blinding light filled the room and burned their eyes. A couple of seconds passed and the light disappeared, but they were unable to see.

Zelda opened her eyes and noticed Ganondorf rubbing his eyes with his free hand. 'It worked!' she cheered to herself. She wasted not time and pulled a dagger out of a hidden pocket in her dress. She quickly stabbed an exposed area on Ganondorf's arm as far as she could. Ganondorf yelled in pain as he released his grip on her hand, and Zelda pulled the dagger out. She may need it later. Now free, she ran over to Malon and Talon, while Link did his own part.

~*~At the same time~*~

Link opened his eyes after the Deku Nuts went off. He was glad to see Ganondorf and the guard clutching their eyes in pain. He wasted no time as he pulled out his boomerang and turned to the guard. One quick throw at the face, and the guard was on the ground unconscious. As soon as he turned around he saw Zelda stab Ganondorf's arm and get her arm free. He knew she would be safe, so he took off to the table.

~*~Same time still~*~

The light dimmed as Saria and the two fairies opened their eyes. She peeked around the corner, and saw Link and Zelda doing their initial attacks on the bad guys.

"All right, he did it! I better hurry.'

Saria rushed to the table. As soon as she reached it, she saw Link finishing up his task.

"I guess you can actually do things right, Link," she said sarcastically. Link just stuck his tongue at her and ran back to Zelda and the others, who were now accompanied with the two fairies.

'Great, now all we need is for Saria to finish,' thought Link as he kneeled next to Zelda.

"You ok?" he asked her, pulling Nayru's Wind out of his pocket.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I can't get these off though. Maybe Impa can," she said pointing to the rings still around Malon's and Talon's necks.

"Ok, let's go," Saria said running up to them, the hood of the cloak off her head due to how hot she was getting wearing it. Link then threw down Nayru's wind, and the group disappeared just as Ganondorf's vision began to return.

'Shit! Where did he go?!' Ganondorf thought frantically as he looked around the room. The kids were gone, and his guard was unconscious on the ground. He looked at the table, fearing they had taken the sacred items. But the bag and ocarina were still there. 'Those fools! They left the ocarina and stones?!'

Ganondorf grinned as he hurried to the table. He immediately roared in triumph and picked up the bag. That's when he noticed something wrong.

'Wait a minute, this used to be heavier.' He thought as he opened the bag. He yelled in anger as he saw the contents in the bag.

Rupees. One red, one blue, and one green, as if to toy with him. He threw the bag out the window.

Ganondorf then turned his attention to the ocarina. He grabbed it and held it in his hand.

Nothing. No power, no feelings, nothing. Ganondorf crushed the instrument in his hand and saw what it was made of: wood.

"Fuck you kid! I warned you what would happen if you crossed me!" he yelled as he held out his hand, palm facing up. Then, he quickly closed it. Usually, he would've felt a slight resistance, symbolizing the crushing of the windpipes. However, he didn't feel that this time.

"NO! IT CAN'T BE!!!"

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"Whew, that was a close one," sighed Impa as she pulled back her hands from Malon's unconscious form. Zelda was correct in thinking that Impa had a few Sheiken tricks up her sleeves. She knew the rings as a strong, ancient magic. Growing up with an ancient race, she luckily knew how to dispel it. And not a second too soon. As she was dispelling the ring around Malon, since Talon was already ok, she felt the presence of Ganondorf about to finish the job. She barely got rid of the ring in time.

"So they're going to be ok?" asked Saria, who was standing next to Impa, no longer in the cloak.

"Yep. They'll be out for a little while more, though." Impa then turned around towards the alter. Link was quickly placing the jewels in the slots, while Zelda pulled out the Ocarina of Time. The other 3 sages were standing around the room. Finally, the last jewel was in place.

"Ok Zelda," Link said giving her a thumb up. Soon afterwards, the hall was filled with music as Zelda played the Song of Time. Each note flowed from the instrument as if it was coming from the Goddesses themselves. As she lost herself in the music, the Door of Time noisily slid open, revealing the chamber with the Master Sword.

The Sages all admired the chamber as they entered. The platform in the center of the room was made of smooth marble. It was two steps high, the center which held the Master Sword and a lower ring surrounding it. Symbols of the 6 sages were engraved in the outer ring.

Finally, Zelda played the final notes of the Song. Opening her eyes, she saw Link standing in front of her.

"That was really good," he said. Zelda smiled a little.

"It wasn't all that special," she replied. "You probably could do just as good."

"No way, I'd just butcher it, like most other songs. Just ask Saria." The two chuckled a little. They just stood there for a couple of moments, but felt like forever to them. They just stared at each other. Suddenly, the mood was broken by the crash of lighting that sent a shiver down both their spines. Zelda gave Link a worried look.

"Ganondorf?"

"No doubt. We've got to get going." Link then grabbed Zelda's hand and lead her into the sword chamber. The sages were all on their respective symbols. Malon, who was carried by Impa, and Talon, who Darunia carried, were lying near the center.

Link and Zelda stopped in the centermost ring, next to the sword. Link clutched the sword, but seemed to think for a second. Then, he signaled Zelda to take a hold too. She at first hesitated, but slowly reached out and held the remaining handle under Link's hands.

"On the count of three," Link said to Zelda. "One… two…"

"THREE!" They yelled together as the sword slid out of the stone platform. Immediately, a strong gust of wind blew upward as they whole platform (including the outer ring) was surrounded by a bright, blue light. Suddenly, everything went white, then black.

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As he rode towards the Temple of Time, Ganondorf yelled so many curses under his breath that this story's rating would definitely jump to R. He couldn't believe a couple of kids outsmarted him! When he found that boy, he would make sure he suffered for what he did to him.

"What the…" he mumbled when he noticed a beam of light appeared in the sky. Suddenly, a vortex appeared over the temple, at the end of the beam.

"NO! They beat me to it. But…" Ganondorf thought as he walked into the temple. As expected, it was empty. However, the Door of Time was open, as was the path to the Sacred Realm. "Those kids saved me a lot of trouble. Boy, you will die!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

ME: Finally, another chapter done. A few weeks ago marked the 1 year anniversary for this story! 1 year- 10 chapters. It's been fun.

Link: Maybe for you.

ME: Oh yea. You've had one heck of a year for a 10 year old. Well, nobody said life was easy. Anyway, sad as it may be, Save the Past is almost over. But we're in the beginning of one of the biggest arcs of the story.

Zelda: What do you mean?

ME: Remember a while ago, when I said that this story will go into a place never before visited. At least not in the game.

Zelda: Yea, and…. Oh I get it!

Link: I don't. What are you talking about?

ME: You'll see next chapter, Link.

Link: And with your current writing style, that means 3 months correct.

ME: Remind me to hurt you later. ¬_¬

*Stay cool and see ya later*

*TimeSage*

P.S.: Just to clear up some things: Link and Saria switched the Spiritual Stones and Ocarina of Time. The reason they both did it was so if something happened to one of them, the other could still prevent Ganondorf from conquering the world (remember- without one item, the other is useless).