Disclaimer: *has bandages all over her* Ok the shield obviously didn't work well...I don't own Zelda or anything related to it...still...*touches bandages* ...ouch...

A/N: Heh...boy there was a lot of Ganondorf bashing in the reviews ^^; I guess I have to warn you all about something then. If you thought Ganondorf was mean in the last chapter, just you wait until the final battle...oh boy, you will definitely hate him more then. Ok enough chatter...on with the next chapter!

Chapter 15: The Truth is Revealed

----------------------------------------------------

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A horrifying scream broke through the dark abyss of the eternal void. The sound of someone panting and gasping for breath could be heard from every direction, the source being nowhere in sight. Everything was just too dark and empty to see a trace of anything, and no source of light was visible, which made it even more difficult to see.

"No! Go away! Please!" the female voice cried.

Somewhere in the mists of this empty void, a young girl in an elegant dress came running from a random direction, panting and heaving as if she was low on air. Behind her, the faded outlines of numerous monsters were visible, each bearing blood red eyes with a look of death clearly seen in them. They roared and snarled with the most spine-tingling noise the girl had ever heard.

"Leave me alone!" Princess Zelda shouted in a frighten tone. Without slowing her sprint, she looked back over her shoulder to see how close or how far the creatures were behind her.

The beady red eyes of the evil beasts were right behind her, quickly closing the gap between themselves and the fleeing girl in front of them. Spears, swords, and any other weapon you could think of sliced through the air as the shadowed creatures held up their weapons as if they were in a war.

Princess Zelda quickly turned her head and picked up the pace. She didn't know where she was or where those horrible creatures came from...but one thing was for certain; they weren't friendly and from the look in their eyes, they were going to stop at nothing until they had her in their grasp.

Closing her eyes tightly, she ran as fast as she could, further into the endless black of night that surrounded her and the pursuing creatures. She didn't care where she ended up; just as long as she could stay away from these horrible creatures chasing her!

For what seemed like forever, she kept running and running, all the while gasping for breath like she was being deprived of the very air in her lungs. The monsters didn't slow their pace either, and only kept getting closer and closer to the tiring girl.

When Zelda finally opened her eyes back up, she saw nothing but black in front of her, which wasn't really a surprise. But her eyes could tell that something different was ahead of her, and without hesitation, she ran even faster to reach what she thought could be a possible exit from this empty abyss.

When she got close enough however, she had to force herself to stop dead in her tracks.

Though it wasn't very visible, Zelda could vaguely make out the darker outlines of a crack in the black ground in front of her. It wasn't a small crack however...more like a sudden drop off into an even darker pit that looked like it had no bottom to it!

Gasping at her sudden predicament, the princess spun around to face the oncoming creatures that were chasing her.

Seeing how the girl had cornered herself, the monsters lowered their weapons and slowed their pace, forming a blockade so she didn't have no where to run.

Zelda stepped back a few feet, holding her hands out in front of her in an attempt to keep them away from her. The sound of her heavy breathing along with growls and snarls from the monsters was all that could be heard as they stared at one another.

After staring at the girl for a bit, the beasts that stood only a few feet away from Zelda held out the pointy end of their weapons and slowly started to walk toward her.

Seeing the monsters starting to advance, the young princess slowly started to step backwards while still facing the armed creatures. She had nowhere to run to and had no choice but to inch herself even closer to the cliffs edge...unless she wanted to be skewered by a bunch of sharp weapons.

The monsters didn't show signs of halting their approach and Zelda soon felt the edge of the cliff underneath her heels. She halted her retreat and looked over her shoulder down into the endless pit below.

She suddenly had to make a horrible decision. Allow herself to be skewered by the beasts spears and swords...or fall into the dark pit behind her and hope she survives...

Princess Zelda didn't like either choice...but the monsters were only a few feet away from her and their weapons were practically touching her throat. She had to think of something quick or else she would be killed!

That was easier said than done of course...

"I can't get out of this by myself!" she thought quickly. "I need help!" She looked around anxiously to try and find someone or something that would help her. But nothing of the sort was visible.

"Help!" she hollered in the featureless void. "Someone! Anyone! Please help me!"

Before she could even get a reply from anything, she suddenly felt the sharp point of a large spear poke her arm.

"No! Get away from me!" she cried, swatting at the weapon in an effort to keep it away from her.

Her suddenly motion against the weapon was not a very good maneuver however...

Before she knew it, Zelda suddenly felt her body become more heavy, and she start to fall backwards!

The poor girl screamed as she plummeted over the edge from lose of balance, falling down into the endless pit of darkness. The resulting wind whipped her hair and clothes around like mad as she twisted and turned through the invisible air, trying to find a way to halt her fall!

She saw nothing however, and found the only thing she could do was let herself fall helplessly until she either hit the bottom or fell unconscious from the fall...

Zelda kept her eyes tightly shut as she continued to fall into the dark abyss. In a last effort to call for help, she stretched her head out and let out one last scream.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Suddenly a bright light came out from below her and engulfed her dark vision, temporarily blinding her for a brief moment before she was bathed in darkness.

...then...everything went completely silent...

~ ~ ~

A vast blue ocean...

That's all that you could see instead of there being nothing everywhere. A large body of water that stretched out in all directions under a pale orange sky had replaced the darkness; and it seemed to have come out of nowhere. No land could be seen for miles and the waters surface remained completely featureless, except for the small outlines of the waves.

There was one exception however to all this empty surface...

Stranded out in the middle of the endless ocean was a very small patch of sandy earth that vaguely peeked above the waters surface.

And sprawled on the shore of this small island...was Princess Zelda, who looked like she had washed up on shore by accident. She wasn't moving...and appeared to be unconscious.

Small waves splashed against Zelda's lower half that was partially submerged in the shallow water, playing with her dress and at the same time getting it completely soaked. Now and then, a bigger wave would wash up to catch her face, which when it happened enough, started to bring the girl back to life.

Slowly, Princess Zelda began to open her eyes. She blinked a couple of times to get her vision straight, and once it did, she began to prop herself up.

"Ooooh..." she moaned, rubbing the back of her head and touching the jeweled tiara on her forehead. "What...what happened...?" she questioned herself out loud even though she knew she didn't know the answer.

Once the throbbing in her head finally stopped, the princess started to take in her surroundings.

"Where...am I?" she questioned again. The ocean surrounding her was a baffling site to see at this particular time. But she didn't get just confusion out of it. At the same time, she somehow felt relieved to see such a large featureless sea.

"It...looks just like the Great Sea." Zelda said quietly. She didn't realize how much she wanted to see the ocean until now. It's calm surface was giving her a sense of peace, and it was reminding her of the good times that she had during her life on such an ocean.

Staring out into the orange horizon, the young princess of Hyrule couldn't help but remember the life she had as a pirate. It was certainly different from being a royal princess, that was for sure. But she also realized how uncomfortable she was with being such a royal being. She certainly wasn't use to it, and probably never would get use to it...being a princess was only giving her more problems than she could handle.

Zelda slowly got to her feet, keeping her eyes locked on the color- changing horizon. She all of a sudden realized how much she missed the life of a pirate. She also missed her silly, but lovable crew. But most of all...she missed the bold and somewhat courageous side of her personality from when she was Tetra.

Upon remembering how she acted when she was the fearless captain, a sense of longing welled up inside her, and caused her to hang her head in dismay. She wondered if she was ever going to go back to her normal life and live the way her mother wanted her to. The life of a princess certainly wasn't meant for her...

...was it?

"Tetra..."

Zelda perked her head up. Did she just hear someone call her by her previous name?

"Tetra..."

She blinked and looked around, confused. Someone WAS calling her. But
who?

"Who...who are you?" she called while spinning in all directions. She couldn't see anyone, anywhere; not even on her tiny island.

The voice called her yet again by her old name.

"Tetra..."

By now, Zelda was starting to think the voice sounded a little familiar. It was muffled quite a bit and wasn't very clear. The only thing she could tell about it was that it was...

...female.

"Mother? Is that you?!" she called. "Where are you?" she added while trying to spot her.

The voice replied.

"Yes. It is me, my daughter." it said. "I'm sorry, but unfortunately I cannot show myself. Ganondorf has put you under a cursed sleep, blocking my attempts to reach you in your dream. My voice is the only thing that can get through while you're in this state."

Zelda gazed up in the sky with a lost look.

"I'm...dreaming?"

"Yes. I managed to get you out of your situation before, but because I did, I can now only communicate to you by sound."

The young princess didn't change her expression as another question came into her head.

"How...how did you recognize me...?" she called, remembering how she didn't even recognize her own reflection.

Her mother's voice seemed to hold back a small laugh.

"Why wouldn't I recognize my own daughter?" She replied.

Zelda hung her head.

"I...I'm sorry, Mother..." she said quietly. "... but I've changed...I'm no longer the girl you knew as Tetra..." She seemed to try and hold back a shutter. "...I'm now a princess...Princess Zelda...of Hyrule kingdom."

Her mother didn't reply for a brief moment, until finally she
answered.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing..." She said, making Zelda look up into the now pink sky. "I should have told you that you were the heir of the ancient kingdom of Hyrule..."

"Why didn't you?" the princess questioned with wondering eyes.

Her mother paused a little before she started to explain.

"I wanted to wait until you were ready to become who you are now. But as you can see, Ganondorf ruined that plan and took me away from you before I had a chance. I was forced to let fate make the decision on when you would be revealed your true identity."

Her voice halted again, but then continued.

"When Ganondorf left to search for you, even in my death, I knew that when he did, you would finally know your destiny as a princess. I knew you were still not ready...but their was nothing I could have done to prevent him from going after my only daughter and I had no way of delaying it either..." She paused again before adding. "...I'm sorry. This isn't the way I wanted your life as a princess to be..."

Princess Zelda was in awe. Her explanation was a big relief in someway, but now that she knew she wasn't ready to be a princess...what was her fate now?

Her mother continued.

"Because I knew I had no choice but to let fate play itself out, before I died I made a prayer. I prayed that Ganondorf would never find my one and only daughter. But shortly after I made this wish, I realized that would be like requesting time to freeze forever...so I made a second prayer. Since I couldn't be there to protect you myself, I wished for the gods to send someone else in my place...someone who would be there for you and help you when you needed it most."

After a brief pause, the woman's voice added.

"...it wasn't until shortly after you became a princess did I realize who the gods had sent."

Young Zelda made a small gasp.

"You mean..."

"Yes. At first I couldn't believe they would send such a person...but after seeing the events you had gone through ever since you were captured by Ganon's minion, I knew that he was the one they had chosen."

Her mother quickly added. "The gods made a fine choice of choosing Link, the new hero, to go in my steed."

Zelda was completely silent for the longest time. She had no idea Link was an answer to one of her mothers final prayers. It did explain why the boy showed so much friendship toward her. But why didn't he tell her? Did he even know he was suppose to second as her mother's replacement and at the same time be a hero? It seemed a little much for such a young boy to handle.

"Does...Link know?" Zelda questioned.

"No." the woman replied. "The gods knew he would have too much to worry about if he knew he was the new hero and at the same time had to protect you. So to solve this, they made it so that when you two met, he would feel implied to help you if you needed it."

Zelda was slightly puzzled.

"But...if he doesn't know why he feels this way, wouldn't he be confused as to why he has such feelings?"

Though Zelda couldn't see it, she somehow knew her mother made a
smile.

"The gods would not have chosen a person who couldn't handle it." Her mother said. "Link is a strong boy in more ways than one, and he hasn't shown any sign of questioning why he has a sense to defend you."

"Now that I think about it..." she mentioned after a brief pause. "...he's done more for you than I thought he would."

Zelda couldn't help but suddenly feel a little bashful. Her mother was making it sound like Link had stronger feelings for her. She wondered if this was true or not, but she didn't have enough time to piece together an answer.

"My daughter..." her mother began. "...I know I shouldn't request this when you already have enough troubles...but..." she made a long halt in her sentence before saying. "...will you promise me that you will do whatever you can to aid the young hero in ridding the world of Ganondorf?"

Princess Zelda didn't answer for a while as she stared up into the partially clouded sky. She then hung her head and looked to the sandy ground at her feet before she answered.

"I wish I could..." she said slowly. "...I don't want to disappoint you, mother...but ever since I became Princess Zelda, I've felt so innocent and helpless, like there was nothing I could do to help anyone, not even myself. I have the will...but I no longer have the bravery to carry out anything..."

Pausing briefly, she added. "I'm sorry..."

The sound of her mother's voice was not heard for a short while, making Zelda think her mother was disappointed with her. It wasn't until the woman replied that made her think otherwise.

"But you haven't changed." She said sincerely. "I know you went through a totally new transformation both physical and mentally...but you are still my daughter and nothing can change that...not even destiny. The power to do what you set your mind to is still inside you." In a sweet and somewhat serious tone, she quickly added. "...you just have to find it."

Her words really did make Zelda think. From what her mother just said, she had the power and will to do anything she set her mind to all along. All she had to do...was find it...?

"Whatever happens, I want you to remember one thing..." her mother said in a loving tone. "...no matter what goes on from here on, whether it be good or bad...you will always be my little princess."

Once her heartfelt words ended, another moment of silence ensued that seemed to last a little longer than the previous one. The light breeze that floated through the sea air blew gently, as the last bit of the falling sun slipped under the horizon

Just then, Zelda heard a faint sound rumble in the distance, catching her attention and making her try to look for its source. It sounded a bit like thunder.

As if to confirm her suspicion, the sky suddenly got very cloudy and she felt a single drop of water hit her forehead and cascade down her face. Another drop quickly followed, and before she knew it, it started to rain down on her and her little patch of earth along with the rest of the endless ocean.

"What's going on?" Zelda questioned out loud, wondering why the rain and clouds came as quick as they did.

Her mother replied calmly.

"Ganon's spell is wearing off." She explained. "With his curse on you disappearing, it won't be long now before you become conscious and fully awake."

Zelda looked around her little sandy island in awe. Halfway through her observing, she soon found herself start to feel sleepy and tired. She felt her legs become weak and slowly got down on her knees, sitting on the now wet sand and suddenly feeling her eyelids start to get heavy.

"Mother..." she whispered, sounding exhausted.

Her mother's voice echoed through the air as she made her last few words to Zelda.

"Remember...what I told you...my princess...

...I love you."

Zelda suddenly felt her body fall limp. She managed to halt her fall sideways and carefully lowered herself until she lay on her side to keep from hurting herself. Slowly, she looked back into the rain above.

"I love you too...mother." she managed to say before she closed her eyes and let her head rest on the wet sand.

Then...her vision went black again...

~ ~ ~

The sound of rain was the first thing young Zelda awoke to. Her hearing was the first to get fully restored and the soft splashes of raindrops hitting the ground was a soothing melody for her to wake up to. But almost immediately after hearing the rain though, she heard something else that didn't exactly sound welcoming.

It was the sound of maniacal laughing.

Upon hearing the eerie sound, all of Zelda's senses rushed back into motion and she quickly opened her eyes. Immediately she saw that she was lying on stone flooring that was getting poured on somehow by rain. It wasn't until she slowly sat up did she realize that she was outside of the chamber that she last remembered being in.

In fact, she wasn't even close. She wasn't sure where exactly, but wherever she was, it was definitely not inside the castle.

Almost to confirm her suspicion, her blue eyes trailed to her left. They then went wide with awe when she saw that the place she was at was a thick stone tower that stood not too far from Hyrule Castle. It wasn't the height that awed her though. It was the huge columns of water that were seeping out of the watery sky that got her attention!

"Hyrule kingdom! It's..." she trailed in her mind. "...it's being buried back underwater!" Why the kingdom was being flooded however, she had no idea.

As she gawked at the slowly flooding land below her, Zelda's attention shifted to the eerie laughter that was still lingering and becoming more loud and insane sounding. Her expression changed to being half frightened and half disgusted, knowing only one person who could make such insane laughter.

She once again confirmed her suspicion, when she stood up and turned to look toward the middle of the large circular field.

Standing almost in the center of the large stony area with his head thrown back in laughter...was Ganondorf.

Why he was laughing though, Zelda wasn't sure. But she got an idea why, when she took a closer look at who was standing behind the evil man.

"Link!" she called happily.

Unfortunately, the boy didn't hear her. The relentless rain was enough to drown out her voice low enough so he couldn't pick it up, even with his long ears and good hearing.

Zelda's expression shifted to that of worry though, when she saw what he was doing.

Link was gripping his left arm with his right hand and was hunched forward slightly as if he was injured in some way. He looked like he was about to fall flat on his face in agony, though he merely just stood there, his back to her and his front facing Ganondorf's back.

Other than his apparent condition, Zelda suddenly noticed something else that didn't look quite right.

He didn't have the Master Sword...

Before she allowed panic to get the best of her, she quickly took a closer look at Ganondorf to see if he regrettably had it. When all she saw was the back of his clothing, she took a few steps forward and squinted through the rain to get a better look.

As she did so, she accidentally bumped into something, and whatever it was, fell to the floor with a clank. She looked down and there laying at her feet...was the Master Sword. It no longer looked like an ordinary sword either...it's blade was glowing with an iridescent light that couldn't have been nothing else but the surging power to repel evil!

"He did it!" she thought proudly, knowing Link must have succeeded in restoring the legendary blade's power.

Zelda reached down and firmly grasped it's hilt with one hand. She then had to use two hands to hold it up, quickly realizing how heavy the weapon was. She wondered how Link could even swing it without losing his balance, but she put that thought aside and started to slowly pace her way over to Link. The princess was still a little tired from the spell that was put on her, but eventually she got close enough so that both Link and Ganondorf were in hearing distance.

By now, Ganondorf had halted his insane laughter, and remained quiet until he muttered something that Zelda couldn't make out. She was relieved he stopped his laughing since it was beginning to drive her nuts. Without even considering what she was doing, she opened her mouth and started to speak in a voice loud enough so the two men could hear her.

"What the heck are you laughing at, Ganondorf?" she called while making a small laugh.

The dark man didn't reply, or even move an inch, though she knew he had heard her question.

Link, on the other hand, turned around as quick as his arm would let him, and he looked back to see her slowly approaching his side with his fallen blade.

"Zelda!" he exclaimed, a relieved expression replacing his slightly tired one as he smiled to her. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she replied with a playful smile as she stopped right next to him.

Link's smile widened a little upon hearing her tone of voice. She no longer sounded like the lost and quiet princess he had left behind back in the small chamber, and he could tell that she had somehow taken another turn in personality...this time for the better.

Before the young hero could say anything else, Princess Zelda got a slightly dim but cheery expression and spoke.

"I think it's time to say good-bye to this place." She stated half- hardily. She might have only been in Hyrule for a couple of days it seemed, but during that time she had somehow grown attached to the kingdom that she was destined to rule.

But there was another world that she had a much better attachment
with...

"There's nothing left for us here." Zelda stated. "We must return to the world above. Back to our ocean!" She made another small smile at Link and held out the Master Sword to him as she added. "What say you?"

Through his slightly squinted eyes, Link replied with a thankful smile
of his own.

"Yes..." he answered quietly. "...lets."

Looking down at the legendary blade, he took his hand off his arm and reached out to reclaim his fallen blade from the young princess. As he grasped the blue hilt with both his hands, Zelda released her grip on it and looked back up at him from her own gaze on the sword.

Holding the Master Sword in front of him, Link quickly looked back at Zelda and his eyes locked on to hers. His tired expression came back, but his smile remained as he stared into her blue eyes.

"I'm glad you're ok." He whispered quietly, suddenly remembering how worried he was about her when he found out she was kidnapped.

Zelda was a little speechless. For a while she stared back at him, unable to respond as she gazed into his dark green eyes. Eventually she snapped into it and spoke up.

"You too..." she whispered.

During this entire time, Ganondorf had remained eerily quiet, not even budging from his stand not too far away from the two youngsters. His silent period ended however, when he suddenly began to speak in a deep icy voice.

"So...it's happening again..." he muttered.

Upon hearing his sudden deep voice, Link and Zelda quickly straightened up and looked his direction, both somewhat baffled by his words.

"Again...I am confronted by the two wielders of Wisdom and Courage." He stated, loud enough for both of them to hear. "Again...the fate of the world is resting on the outcome of one battle." He slowly looked to one side, hinting his intentions to have the next sentence be directed at the hero and princess without actually looking at them.

"Unlike them, however..." he said coldly. "...you will not succeed in defeating me."

Link and Zelda exchanged confused but slightly nervous glances for a brief moment before Link mustered up enough guts to turn and reply.

"You must be blind, Ganondorf!" he stated sarcastically, lifting the shimmering Master Sword in front of him. "We have the one thing that can defeat you, if you haven't noticed."

Ganon made a small humph.

"You both really are fools." He mumbled, his back still turned. "If you think just a legendary sword will win you this fight..." he paused, before finishing. "...you are bigger idiots than I thought!"

His comment angered the hero and princess a little for a short while, but the boy resisted the urge to charge at him, while Zelda just tried to ignore his comment.

Ganondorf straightened his gaze forward before speaking up again.

"If both of you are wishing for an early demise however..." he questioned with a little delight. "... far be it for me to stand in your way."

From the view they had of his back, Link and Zelda now saw that the dark man was slowly lifting both of his heavily clothed arms, suspending his hands out to his side.

"Allow me to show you...your future..." he said quietly, but loud enough so they could hear him.

Link immediately tensed up. Gripping the Master Swords hilt even tighter, he slowly faced the evil man and placed himself in front of Zelda, a look of determination burning in his young eyes.

With a quick motion of his hands, two long swords appeared in Ganondorf's extended palms, one in each hand.

"...yes...allow me to show you...just what hope you have..." he continued, still keeping his back to them.

Link planted his feet and readied his sword, sensing the anger the man was keeping in starting to build.

With a brief yell of either anger or delight or maybe even both, Ganondorf quickly spun around to face the hero and princess, an evil smile mixed with fury shown clearly on his dark face.

His evil smile widened upon seeing the two behind him ready for battle, and he quickly shouted in the most angry voice he could muster.

"See how much your precious Triforce is worth!"