Legend of Zelda: The Return

by Rose Zemlya

Takes place after OoT with the assumption that Link lost all of his memories of the events in the game when Zelda sent him back in time. COMPLETE

37. Interludes and Chapter 36

The Legend of Zelda: The Return

A Brief Interlude

"GORONS TO THE FRONT!" Hunter screamed over the sound of battle cries, and of weapons ricocheting off of one another, gesturing frantically at the gate he knew was just around the corner. "GORONS! TO THE FRONT! GERUDO! UP THE WALLS! BACK THEM UP! NOW!" He scrambled up the wall as the Gerudo began scaling the almost vertical stone wall to either side of the little pathway leading to the palace's gates. The Gorons finally rolled by them, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Hunter struggled to pull himself up the last couple of inches up the wall, his energy quickly running out. The distance between the market and the gate had never seemed so far before.

Then again, they'd never had to fight their way through the Moblins and Stalfos and everything else that was raining painfully down on them from every side to get there before either. The sun had set a little under an hour ago and the mad dash for the castle gates had begun. The Moblins, as expected, had closed ranks around them, the only weak point in the tight circle of troops they formed being the area between the market and the palace – the way they hadn't expected Hyrule's forces to run.

And run they had.

I hope Malon's okay, Hunter thought to himself. She hadn't been happy at all about leaving, but it's not like she would have been able to handle this kind of fighting. This wasn't training in a stupid ring, drawn in the dirt, by a teacher who'd barely paid attention to his own lessons. This was real. This was life and death.

Mostly death . . . He couldn't help but add grimly to himself. Mostly death. A twinge of pain ran through the arm Dark Link had stabbed and he almost lost his grip, but a hand wrapped itself in the back of his uniform and Rue pulled him up onto the ledge with her. Just beyond her, the other Gerudo had rushed the Moblins stationed along the raised ledges and were busily trying to take them out with their scimitars, so they could use their arrows on the ones attacking the Gorons down below.

"You all right?" Rue demanded, frowning at him.

"Fine," Hunter said shortly, not about to show any weakness in front of her. He scrambled to his feet and to the edge of the ledge, rubbing his arm despite himself. Rue frowned at him for only a moment more then jogged off towards her people.

"GORONS!" He screamed. "THROUGH THE GATE! BREAK IT DOWN! SHEIKAH! ZORA! GET IN THERE AND BACK THEM UP!" The Sheikah came racing around the corner on horses in rows of four by four as Hunter had instructed them. The passage was too narrow to have them all just rush in. They'd wind up jammed in place, and that would mean death. The Zoras ran in as well, flitting between the Sheikan horses and fighters, and slashing at Moblins as they went, pulling the enemy's attention away from the Gorons, who were throwing themselves at and into the gates. Hunter whirled around. The Gerudo had managed to take control of the ledges, but the top of the gate itself was still held by Moblins and they were firing sheets of arrows into the fray, not caring if they hit their own men. "RUE!" Hunter screamed, pointing. "TAKE THEM OUT!"

"FIRE!" Rue screamed as well, pointing at the gate. Suddenly a sheet of Gerudo arrows choked the air and the Moblins began screaming as some of them toppled off the gate. "AGAIN!" Rue shouted. "FIRE!"

Hunter turned his attention back to the battle below as the Gorons finally managed to break down the gates with an earth-shattering wrenching sound and barreled through. And excited whinny separated itself from the cacophony, followed by a "YAH!" as Link, on Epona, leapt forward and pulled himself out of the crowd of fighters. Through the blood and mud and gore splattered carelessly across the Hero of Time's face and hair, Hunter could make out his expression; the usual single-mindedness was there, and the determination and stubbornness, like always, but just beneath that – or perhaps even over it – was a focus that he wasn't used to seeing there, evident in every line of his body, right down to the grin on his face.

Hunter would have thought it odd to grin at a time like this . . .

But somehow, it made sense that Link was grinning . . .

It suited him.

The Gerudo all froze for a split-second and watched him, some of them seeing, for perhaps the first time, their King in Link. The hesitation lasted only a second, however, and then they were right back at it.

xxx

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Thomas held up his lantern and looked over at Mel, who kept casting nervous glances back at the pile of Moblin bodies they'd stacked in the corner. He hoped he looked more confident than he felt.

"Of course it is!" He said. "All my ideas are good."

"Ha!" Said Bel. "What about the time you thought you could actually beat Ketari in a fight?"

"Or the time after the rockslide when you said we should just chuck the rocks over the side of the mountain and you smashed that poor farmers cart?" Mel demanded.

"Or how about the time you told us to drop that net on Hunter and –"

"Okay, okay," Thomas said, glaring at them in irritation. "So not all of my ideas are good ones. But this one is. I've yet to hear either of you two smart asses come up with any problems with it."

"You mean besides the fact it could get us all seriously hurt?" Mel demanded.

"Or captured if we screw up and get caught?"

"Or better yet, killed?"

Thomas crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.

"Anyone who wants to go home, go," he said flatly. "I'm going through with it."

"We never said we wanted to go home," Bel said, frowning at him.

"Jeez. Relax, Thomas. We never would have volunteered to take point with you like this if we doubted you. We're just pointing it out, is all," Mel added. Bel smirked at him.

"I think he's just tense because this is finally his shot to prove he's at least as capable as Ketari at something and he knows he's gonna screw it up." Thomas growled at her and Mel laughed, then covered her mouth with her hand when the other two frantically gestured for her to shush.

"Sorry," she whispered. There was a pause, and then Bel cleared her throat.

"Not that I want to rush this," she said, "but the sun's about to set, and the others are waiting. Where's . . ." She was cut off by a soft rumbling. They all jumped and turned to look, apprehension in their faces. They relaxed when the rolling blur of brown came racing around the corner. It de-balled and Link, Little Brother of the Gorons, stood in front of them.

"Is everyone else in place?" Thomas asked. Goron-Link gave a grim nod.

"All the Sheikah and Gorons left behind are in their stations," he reported. "We've spread out all over, except the entrances the Moblins found and are guarding. All you have to do is get the Moblins down here and into the Caverns. We'll take care of the rest."

"Didn't see this one coming," Thomas muttered under his breath as he stared up at the ladder. "The fate of our home rests on a bunch of kids." Goron-Link curled up and rolled off again, heading for his own station. Thomas shook himself and grabbed his cloak and pulled it on over the large, oddly shaped bundle on his back, the others following his example, pulling their cloaks on over their own bundles. "Here we go," he said, taking the ladder in one hand. "Time to meet our destinies."

"Or our agonizing deaths," Bel and Mel said together.

"Are you two going to get happy any time soon?" Thomas demanded. "You're not helping here." The three friends stared at each other for a long moment.

"Man I wish Sheik and Hunter were here," Bel said. Mel nodded.

"They were better at this kind of stuff than us."

"Well . . . we'll just have to tell them about all the fun they missed when we see them again," Thomas said. Bel bit her tongue but everyone knew what she'd been about to say.

If they saw them again.

It was entirely possible that they'd both already been killed.

It was entirely possible that Thomas, Bel and Mel would soon be killed.

Thomas shook his head.

"We'll be all right," he said firmly, turning around and grabbing a rung on the ladder. "This'll all work out, you'll see. Everyone is fine. Everyone will be fine." He started up the ladder, wondering if they believed him any more than he believed himself. Bel and Mel started silently up after him. Thomas reached up and slowly lifted the trap door just far enough that he could peer out at the back of the windmill. He cast a quick glance around before lifting it the rest of the way and crawling out, holding it up so Bel and Mel could do the same, then setting the door shut again silently. It blended in invisibly once more with the grass on the hill. The three straightened and looked at each other.

"All right," Thomas whispered. "This is what we've been training for our whole lives, guys. You know what to do? Get to your areas and find your contacts. Are you ready?"

"I don't know, we've only been over it a hundred times," Bel responded. "Maybe we should go over it again."

"Relax, Thomas, we can handle it," Mel said. They both raised identical eyebrows at him. There was too much at stake to bother even frowning at them. Thomas hesitated for only a moment, then impetuously hugged them both tightly, one after another. They blinked in surprise.

"Be careful," he whispered. They nodded.

"You too," they said simultaneously. They all raised their hands in a wave and then split up, moving around the windmill and blending into the long shadows cast by the twilight.

Thomas pressed himself back against the cool brick of the windmill, watching a couple of Moblins walk past underneath him, grunting and snorting at each other. He frowned. It was hard to believe something that sounded that ugly could actually be a language.

They had been working on this plan for nearly a month – ever since Hunter, Link and Malon had left Goron City. Thomas had been the one who had originally come up with it. Though what he had come up with hadn't exactly looked like what it did now. He had just decided that waiting in Goron City for things to happen was boring and he was going to go nuts if he didn't start doing something (besides, he hardly thought it fair that Hunter and Link got to fight for Hyrule just because they'd both gone into the Quisrol. Okay, so maybe Link had completed it, and he was the Hero of Time, so he supposed they couldn't really hold him back. But technically they'd both cheated on the Quisros, and Hunter hadn't even completed the thing, and besides, Thomas was the same age as them. If they were allowed, he should have been allowed. Unfortunately for him his mother had disagreed. Loudly. She hadn't even wanted Ketari to go, but Ketari was a fair deal older than Thomas, and had legitimately completed her Quisros, so there hadn't been much she could do about that. He couldn't wait to tell Ketari about their plan and how they'd pulled it off without a hitch – and without her help. He just hoped they managed to pull it off . . . ).

It had taken four of them – Bel, Mel, Thomas and the Goron Link – with the odd bit of help from the other Sheikah and Gorons left behind (of which those particular four were among the oldest, all the adults having gone off with the army) to come up with the final version. Bel and Mel and a few others had been taking shifts on reconnaissance, while Thomas, Goron-Link and the rest had been scrambling around the Sheikah Caverns and gathering what weapons and ammunition they could. At it's most basic level the plan consisted of arming those held as slaves to the teeth, then drawing as many Moblins as possible down into the Caverns. The Hylians could take care of those that didn't follow up in Kakariko. That was their turf. But the Caverns . . . they belonged to the Sheikah, and they had every intention of reminding the Moblins of that. All the Sheikah and Gorons save Bel, Mel, and Thomas had situated themselves in strategic positions throughout the Caverns, waiting for the Moblins. Bel, Mel, and Thomas' job was to get to the slaves, tell them about the weapons (some of which each of them carried in the package on their backs, the rest of which were crammed in boxes at specific entrances to the Caverns that the Moblins hadn't found. The slaves themselves were divided into three groups at night – presumably to keep them from gathering any kind of a resistance. Bel would take the ones kept in the Carpenter's place, Mel would take the ones locked in at Impa's, and Thomas was headed for those locked into the kitchens at night), and then draw what Moblins they could away from them and into the Caverns.

Two weeks ago Thomas had snuck into Kakariko and found Bruiser, filling him in on the plan. Bruiser had told the rest of the slaves to be ready.

Thomas steeled his courage once the Moblins rounded the corner and lowered himself down over the edge of the wall, dropping to the ground and immediately pressing himself back into the shadows again. He crept stealthily along the wall, keeping to the edges of buildings where he was hidden by the growing dark, leaving the shadows only when absolutely necessary, and slowly made his way towards the long row of houses in which the Moblins had knocked out the walls and turned into a make-shift kitchen. Thomas paused and surveyed the building. The windows were dim, but not completely dark. A couple of the stoves were still on and they gave the room inside a red kind of glow. Two Moblins were posted at the each of the two doors (one at front, one at back) and four others ambled around the building in pairs in a kind of lazy patrol. Thomas bit his lip. They'd doubled the guard. He hadn't been expecting that. Maybe they'd gotten word of trouble at Castletown . . .

There was no help for it though. It was too late to call it off.

It was too late to call anything off . . .

xxx

Chapter 36

Epona smashes her way through the Moblin in front of us as I slash my sword across the one trying to jump up at me and rip me out of her saddle. All around me the Elite hack and slash their way through the ranks of Moblins spilling out of the newly ruined gate at us - some on horses, some no longer on horses, but a force to be reckoned with regardless. Ahead of us roll the Gorons, clearing us a semi-path through the enemy, flitting about between us are the Sheikah, stealthy and silent even in the middle of war, and flanking us are the Zoras, fin blades and other weapons flying and flashing in a deadly storm.

I am smack-dab in the middle of the cacophonic harmony that is war, surrounded by blood and death and violence (not to mention bloody, violent death), enemies everywhere I look, allies fighting and falling around me, abandoned by my friends, and facing the prospect of failing everyone and everything I care about . . .

And I can't stop grinning.

How could I?

I finally have it. All of it.

I have the answers to my questions. I have the remedies for my pains. I have the inspiration for my art.

I am untouchable.

I am invulnerable.

I am invincible.

"YAH!" I shout, urging Epona on. She whinnies excitedly and leaps forward, an extra burst of speed and power sending us racing out of the middle of the group and towards the front. You wouldn't think she was a war-horse to look at her, but if she could have an expression right now, she'd be grinning wider than me.

I throw myself into the battle with renewed vigor, oblivious to the grand scale of the battle we're fighting. All that matters right now is whatever enemy decides to throw himself in my way.

For this, precise moment, I know who I am and what I have to do.

And no one's going to stop me.

Something finally pierces my focus, however. A shrill, frightened, scream from behind me. I'm immediately ripped out of the zone I'd been fighting in and twist around in my saddle, searching for the source of the scream.

I know that scream . . .

Goddess, why do I know that scream . . .?

She's not supposed to be here . . .

I spot her then, a frantic whirl of red hair, pressing herself against the rock wall of the narrow path to the gate, dressed in what is most likely a stolen Gerudo uniform, Navi sparking with yellow light above the head of the Moblin lunging at her, wickedly curved sword aimed right at her chest.

"MALON!" I scream, wrenching on Epona's reigns, trying to get her to turn around.

It's no use, I'll never make it in time! There's too many people between us.

Epona speeds towards Malon, Moblins and allies both diving out of our way, but I know we're too late. The Moblin's almost on top of her . . .

"MALON!" I cry again, but this time the shout's echoed by someone else and a blur of blue and white falls on the Moblin from above, his sword knocking the Moblin back. Hunter picks himself up and lunges at the Moblin again, but the Moblin recovers it's balance, ripping off its severely dented helmet and leaping at Hunter.

"GO EPONA!" I shout, reaching over my back and grabbing one of my arrows. I stand up in the saddle and nock it to my bow, taking aim as the Moblin falls over on Hunter.

All the time I spent messing around at the Archery Shop and practicing at the training run behind the Gerudo Fortress has finally paid off.

My arrow strikes the Moblin's now vulnerable head and penetrates. Hunter spins out of the way as the Moblin stumbles a couple of steps and falls, lying still, my arrow still protruding from the back of its head. Hunter turns around to try and see who fired the arrow, sword still up against any other who might try and attack them, but Malon suddenly grabs him from behind and spins him around, hugging him fiercely. He returns her embrace and kisses her quickly but fiercely, the last vestiges of panic evident in his stance, then draws back and moves as though to scold her. She, however, has spotted me and her mouth suddenly opens in surprise (in an expression not unlike my own) as guilt swirls into her eyes. Hunter blinks and turns to look, spotting me with my bow in hand as I take aim and fire at a Moblin who's getting too close to me. The Elite suddenly close in around me, interpreting where I want to go and clearing me a path. I ride up to Malon and Hunter and jump off Epona as the battle continues on around us – the flow of it kept away from us for the most part by the Elite.

I close my jaw and raise an eyebrow at them as I slip my bow back onto my back.

When, exactly, did that happen?

Apparently there wasn't a whole lot of sword fighting going on during sword fighting lessons.

I feel a pang of hurt (added on to all the other pangs that have plagued me since this whole thing started) at the fact that they never told me about it . . .

Hunter freezes, looking trapped and afraid suddenly, but his face suddenly goes defiant as I jog up to them, as though daring me to say something about it. We look at each other stiffly, neither one of us saying anything. He frowns and points at the Moblin.

"Were you the one who . . ." I ignore him and shove Epona's reigns into Malon's hands.

"You're not supposed to be here," I growl at her. "You could have been killed Malon. I can't believe you'd be this stupid. Do you want to die?" I turn back to Hunter. "Get on Epona with her and keep her with you. We can't send her back, she'll never make it. The Moblins have closed up behind us." He frowns darkly at me, trying to interpret my words and tone.

"Aren't you going to say anything about - "

"About what?" I demand. "What's there to say? Look, I have a job to do," I say flatly. "Whenever you decide you want to talk to me again, we can talk about it then, but either way it'll have to wait. Just take care of her all right?" I turn around and draw the Master Sword and head towards the gate again, intent on rejoining the battle that has moved on past us.

"LINK WAIT!" Shouts a tinkling voice from behind me. I turn around as Malon and Hunter climb up on Epona, Malon taking the reigns. I look up and Navi floats over to hover in front of my face. She meets my gaze apprehensively. "Link . . ." She says hesitantly. "I . . . I'm not apologizing or anything. I don't want you to think that. I still think Hunter's right and you're being stupid, but . . ." Her lower lip trembles slightly. "But . . . I won't fail in my duty as your Guardian Fairy. I'm going to fight with you, whether you want me to or not."

I should tell her no. I should tell her I don't want her help. She'd deserve it – taking their side like that. She's going to interfere between me and Dark Link, I know it. I can't afford interference. I know she'll try and stop me . . .

I should tell her no . . .

"Look out!" She shouts suddenly, zipping over my head and sparking with yellow light above a Moblin lunging at me out of the crowd. I rip the Master Sword out of its sheath and slam it into the Moblin, ripping it out again as it falls.

She meets my hesitant gaze pleadingly.

"Come on then," I shout at her, as I break into a run for the rest of the group.

I should have told her no . . .

But I can't . . .

Lonely hurts.

Together Navi and I slam into the Moblins with all the fury of a Kokiri and his Fairy Partner . . .

xxx

A Brief Interlude

"OVER THE GATE!" Rue screamed at her archers. "GO!" The rain of death on the Moblins below suddenly ceased as the Gerudo bolted as one for the other side of the gate. Below them, the barricade that had been hastily constructed before the frantic running battle had begun, was being moved into place by the Sheikah as the Gorons and Zoras continued pressing on ahead, the Elite and the King among them as they attempted to tear through the palace's defenses and take over some of the palace grounds. "TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!" Rue shouted as the archers set themselves up on the other side of the gate – far fewer of them than she'd started with. "FIRE!" Another stream of arrows rained down on the Moblins that had finally started arriving of the group that had closed up behind them. Between the Gerudo arrows and Sheikah fighters the first wave of Moblins fell fast and hard, but this was a momentary calm only. They'd hit the eye of the storm and it was about to get violent.

She had never, in her 75 years, done anything as desperate as what they were doing right now.

It was next to hopeless. They were horribly outnumbered. Their foes just kept coming.

She bared her teeth in a wolfish grin as she called forth the power for a spell and it seared through her body, streaking from her fingers and igniting in the middle of the next wave of Moblins.

This was a Gerudo's War.

It was too bad Jinni couldn't be there. She would have been in her element.

"FIRE!" She screamed again as some of the Moblins drew into range and almost immediately fell as the Gerudo arrows rained down on them.

"SHEIKAH RETREAT!" Hunter's voice ricocheted off the narrow walls of the path as he shouted orders from somewhere behind the gate. "GET BEHIND THE GATE! RETREAT!" At his shout the Sheikah retreated, taking advantage of the sudden lull in Moblins to run behind the barricade before it could be sealed. Rue turned as well and ran across the ledge, leaping off of it onto the other side of the gate. She winced slightly as she landed.

She really was getting too old for this.

Behind her the barricade slammed into place with a an odd sort of ominous certainty. For better or worse, they were sealed into the palace. Rue moved as though to brush her hands off, content that this part of the plan at least had gone well, when a panicked shout arose from the Sheikah.

"Dune's still out there!"

xxx

Bel smirked to herself as she slipped past the two fighting Moblins and into the building they were supposed to be guarding. She loved Moblins. They were so stupid. All she'd had to do was throw a rock at one, and it had automatically assumed the other had done it.

No sweat, she congratulated herself, meeting the anxious stares of the people in the room with a broad grin.

"Sorry I'm late," She whispered glibly. "Nothing like being fashionably late for a bust-out. Now. Who here can use a sword?" One of the carpenters – Jiro – took a step forwards, eyeing the bag she'd set on the ground with an odd look.

"Do you have any hammers?" He asked. She looked up at him.

"Is your arm better?" She asked. "I heard it got slashed up pretty bad." He held it up and flexed his fingers.

"It's stiff," he said. "But it's fine." Bel untied the package and revealed the weapons inside it.

"Well what do you know," she said with a grin. "A War Hammer." She gestured for Jiro to take it, then turned back to the crowd.

"Anyone who knows how to use one of these, come and take it, only if you know how to use it. We don't have many right now. There are more at the bottom of the tunnel leading from the hill behind the windmill." She scanned the crowd for a Sheikah, then pointed delightedly. "Dad!" She cried. "You're all right! Perfect! You know the entrance I'm talking about right?" Her father stepped forward, frowning darkly as he picked up a rapier with a nod. "Good. Show them where it is. Once you're down there bust open the crates and everyone who doesn't have a weapon can take one. Make your way into the Caverns, there are people there waiting for you."

"Why can't you show them?" He demanded. "And where's your sister?"

"She's freeing the others," Bel answered, frowning at him. "And Mom's gone to fight in Castletown. And I can't show them because I have something else to do. Don't fight me on this one Dad."

"The Windmill?" Someone to the side of the crowd demanded, interrupting them. "It's too far! There's too many of us! We'll be caught for sure!"

"Should you tell 'em, Jiro, or should I?" Bel asked, turning to the carpenter. Jiro gestured and two of his brothers separated themselves from the crowd, moving to the back corner of the room where the heavy cabinet stood – its glass windows smashed in by the Moblins, but the wood still intact – and lifted it, shifting it quietly to the side, revealing underneath it a wooden trapdoor. A hint of his old sheepishness seeped through the stony mask he'd been wearing since Vicea had almost severed his arm.

"We built it when we built the house," he said by way of explanation to those who didn't know. "So we could escape when Boss came looking for us and we didn't feel like working. It leads straight into the Windmill."

"It's the closest entrance that the Moblins don't know about," Bel added. "You've actually got the easiest run of all the groups." She reached for the last thing left in her package – a deku stick. "Anyone who wants to stay here can feel free, but personally, I'd rather not be here to find when the Moblins realize what I'm about to do." She looked around and held out her stick. "Anyone got a light?"

xxx

"All right," Mel said, looking around at the faces around the room – some frightened, some determined, some blank, "I need five volunteers. We're going to lead the Moblins away from the building and down into the caverns by busting out of here and killing as many as we can then bolting like a scalded rabbit for the Graveyard Entrance." She waited as the crowd milled around for a moment, and then slowly five people stepped forward and moved over to her. "Good," she said. "The rest of you, bolt for Impa's house – stay low, try not to be seen. The longer we can go without them realizing what we're doing the better. There's a trapdoor in her cellar that leads into the Caverns. You'll find a couple crates of weapons down there. Everyone who doesn't have one can take one, and then move further into the Caverns. Our people will find you and from there you can help with the ambushes, or head up to Goron City. Your choice." She looked around at the five who'd volunteered to help her.

"Now we just wait for the signal."

"What signal?" One of them asked as Mel jogged over to the window. The windows of the carpenters place were dark.

Come on Bel . . . let's go . . . She thought without answering. What was taking her so long?

xxx

"That's the last of them," said Jiro as one of his brothers and Bel's father (who had flat-out refused to let his daughter do what she was planning alone) struggled to move the heavy cabinet back over the trapdoor. It mightn't keep the Moblins from realizing where they'd gone, but it would buy them some time.

"All right," Bel said, turning to look at the five slaves who'd opted to stay with her rather than go with the rest. "We'll give them a few minutes head start, before we go, just to be sure." The Goron who had also volunteered to stay behind crossed his arms in the tense silence that followed and looked at Jiro.

"Jiro," he rumbled. "If this trapdoor has been here the whole time . . . why didn't you tell us so we could use it to escape?" Jiro shook his head.

"We thought about it," he said. "But my brothers and I discussed it. We never would have made it. There were too many of us, and without the kind of destruction these kids have planned we would have been caught for sure."

"You could have at least told us about it," grumbled one of the Hylian men who'd stayed behind.

"Why?" Jiro asked blankly. "So someone could get the fool idea to try and use it on their own and reveal it to the Moblins? Safer for us to keep it to ourselves until the time came when it might actually be useful."

"All right," said Bel, cutting them off. "That should be enough time. It's time for us to tear it up." She grinned wickedly and held out the Deku Stick towards the torch. "And burn it down." She watched as the stick caught fire and began to burn.

I hope the other two are ready . . .

xxx

Thomas quickly considered his options. He was sure he could take the two at the front door out silently, but he would only have a couple seconds before one of the moving pairs found them and that wasn't nearly long enough. There was no way he could take all eight out silently – if he could take them out at all. He could try going in through the window on the side, but he wouldn't have enough time, and someone might hear him. He'd have to find another way in.

What would Ket do . . .? He wondered silently to himself. Something stupid I bet . . .. At the same time as the thought crossed his mind his eyes alighted on the multiple chimneys on the roof. His eyes lit up. That was his way in. Waiting until the Moblin patrol had their backs to him, he moved again, creeping around the side of the building he was pressed against and taking a roundabout route towards the house next to the kitchens. Waiting until there was no one in sight, he bolted over to it, slipping into the shadows once more and peering carefully into the windows. The house was trashed – things broken and ripped and smashed – but it looked deserted. The Moblins hadn't taken it like they had some of the others, they'd just looted it. Perfect! He thought gleefully. He moved around to the back door of the house, out of sight of the Moblin patrols and slipped in through the broken door. Doing his best to avoid stepping on anything he made his way towards the stairs, creeping up them silently. He dropped to his hands and knees when he hit the top of the stairs and crawled towards one of the rooms at the back of the house. He didn't want to be seen through the windows.

He stopped, however, at the door and wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of a strong, foul smell. He blinked and felt his face go pale. He immediately tried to back up, but he wasn't fast enough. The door to the room opened and a startled looking Moblin stared down at him. It's piggish eyes suddenly narrowed into thin slits. Thomas whirled around and scrambled to his feet, bolting for the stairs. The Moblin tore after him, reaching him before he made it. It wrapped its huge fist around his arm and hauled him back, baring its teeth at him and going for its sword. Thomas tried with no avail to break its grip.

The Moblin thrust its blade at him.

I'm dead . . .

xxx

Chapter 36 (cont.)

I hit the ground hard, a jolt of pain trembling its way up my tailbone as the Moblin who threw me lunges down towards me, wickedly jagged blade shimmering in the light of the torches and the moon. Before I can even process my usual instant assumption that I'm dead, however, (though not before Navi can scream in horror) two aqua blades whip just over my head and slice into the Moblin, cutting through it as though it was water then spin back behind me.

"Come on Link!" Shouts a familiar voice as Acqul hauls me to my feet. "What kind of a general fights sitting down?"

"A grateful one!" I shout back at him over the din as I grab my sword and attack the Stalfos in front of me. He flashes me a blood-covered smile and then throws himself back into the fray as well. He's the last of the generals left with me. Karun's somewhere out of the reach of the Moblins (hopefully), Rue stayed behind to help the Gerudo archers keep the other Moblins out of our hair, and Dune . . .

I frown as I finally manage to find a hole in the Stalfos' blocks and slash my sword through its bones, cutting it in half and stepping over the pile. Where is Dune? I risk a glance around, unable to hear her voice over the din or see her if she's here. Her Sheikah are . . .

I force my mind back to the fight and ignore the icy chill of doubt that's snaked its way around my gut. Dune's fine. I'm sure she is. I duck under the next blade that swings at me and move against my attacker's (a moblin to judge by the smell) body, countering with an upward slash that sends a wave of heat and blood into my face as the moblin topples. I lunge past him, taking advantage of a momentary clearing in the fight to sprint forward as far as I can before I'm jumped again. Just ahead I can see the moat to the palace. The drawbridge, naturally, is up.

"LINK!" Acqul shouts. I glance over, keeping one ear on Navi's shouted warnings and advice and the Zora points at the drawbridge. I block the next attack with my shield, grunting at the impact. I'm starting to tire . . .

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" I shout, then whistle sharply. All the remaining Elite (fewer and fewer of them as the fight goes on) almost immediately rally around me.

"What do you need?" One of them asks.

"A clear shot at the roof," I answer.

"Done," she replies, gesturing with her hand. The Elite move out in a fan shape in front of me and slam their way through the Moblins approaching us, clearing me a path at record-breaking speed. I sheathe my sword and rip my hookshot out of my pouch.

"Hold on, Navi," I call, and she grabs onto my hair as the hook flies from the weapon, embedding itself in the palace roof. I release the catch once, and then again halfway to the roof. The momentum sends me spinning towards the first floor of the palace wall, aiming for the window I know leads to the control room, praying fervently it's the window I hit and not the wall – the goddesses are apparently with me today, because I slam into the glass feet first, nailing the Moblin standing there in the face and sending us both tumbling to the ground. Ignoring the multiple little cuts I can feel stinging all over my face and any other part of me not covered, I stab the Moblin under me before he can get his breath back, ripping the blade out and slashing the shin of the second one running at me. It goes down with a cry, stumbling into the third Moblin coming up behind me and knocking it over. I whirl to my feet and drive the Master Sword into the one on top, impaling them both. I leave the sword there for a moment and hurry over to the lever that controls the drawbridge, slamming my foot into it and sending the bridge crashing down into place (crushing two Moblins not fast enough to move out of the way. I jog back over to the Moblins and rip my sword out, whirling around as the door suddenly bursts open and more Moblins rush in, intent on finding out their compatriots have let the bridge down . . . they blink at me in surprise and I leap at them, ignoring my bodies please to take a break and rest. I can't. Rest right now would mean death – and not just mine.

"And we're off!" Navi cries.

xxx

A Brief Interlude

I'm dead . . .

Even as he thought it he reacted, throwing himself to the side. The Moblin blade missed him by less than an inch. Growling angrily the Moblin thrust again, and again Thomas threw his weight out of the way, still frantically trying to break the Moblin's grip on his arm. The Moblin snarled something at him and released his arm. Thomas blinked in surprise, but before he could react further than that, the Moblin had wrapped its hand around his throat and lifted him into the air, twisting around so his back was to the room and he was facing the staircase. Thomas looked longingly down the stairs as it laughed and drew back its sword arm, intent on finishing him off, once and for all.

The Moblin, however, caught sight of something behind Thomas and its eyes widened. Its grip slackened every so slightly in its surprise and Thomas took advantage of its hesitation. He drew his knees up to his chest and put all his strength behind them as he drove them into the Moblins chest. The Moblin gasped and instinctively let go of him as it stumbled backwards, trying to regain its balance. Thomas hit the floor hard and scrambled to his feet, kicking the still off-balance Moblin again, sending it back towards the staircase. It teetered uncertainly for a moment, then put its foot back to balance itself, only to find the ground gone from under him. It cried out and fell backwards, crashing down the steps, to land on the bottom – still as stone, its head twisted in a way it shouldn't have been. Thomas made a face, then panicked at the sound of the front door slamming open and someone crashing through the living room. The noise from the fight must have attracted attention. He gasped and dove into the room, skidding to a stop and holding himself still. He heard two Moblins downstairs, grunting at each other excitedly. They'd found the body. One of them said something, and the other laughed.

Thomas held his breath as the sound of them dragging the body away drifted up the stairs to him.

He couldn't believe his luck.

They'd probably assumed it had fallen down the stairs on its own!

He offered up a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddesses and jumped to his feet, turning to look out the window and see what had attracted the Moblin's attention in the first place. He blinked.

The Carpenter's place was on fire.

Already.

"Damn," he hissed, running to the window and wrenching it open. He cast a glance around outside, but all the Moblins he could see were busy rushing towards the blaze. He climbed out the window and reached up, grabbing hold of the roof ledge and hauling himself up with an effort. He would have liked nothing better than to collapse right there and catch his breath and let his frantic heart slow down, but he didn't have time. From his vantage point he could see Bel, running out of the burning building, a few others on her heels, and tearing into the first Moblin she met. On the other side of the town he could see the tiny figure of Mel and her own Volunteers leap out of their house while the Moblins were distracted pointing at the fire and rip into them.

He should have been busting out of the kitchens by then. He tore across the roof and without waiting to see if anyone was watching (no time) he leapt the short distance between the house he was on and the kitchens. He bolted over to the first chimney that didn't have smoke coming out of it and pulled his package off of his back, shoving it down – praying it wouldn't get stuck. Bruiser would know what to do with it. In the mean time . . . He ran over to the corner of the roof and grabbed the drainpipe there.

Please let it hold my weight, he prayed, wrapping his legs around it and shimmying down it. Half way there, however, he heard several guttural shouts. He winced and looked down. Three Moblins had spotted him and were rushing over. Crap . . . have to jump . . . Closing his eyes and holding his breath he pushed himself away from the wall and landed hard on the ground, falling to his hands and knees. He didn't stay there long, however. Without wasting a moment he pushed himself forward and to his feet, ripping his daggers from their sheaths on the inside of his arms. He leapt at the first Moblin, pushing himself in close to it – too close for the other two to risk slashing at him – and immediately began looking for chinks in its armor – to no avail.

A startled shout from beside him was immediately followed by a heavy crash as someone – he was too busy trying to keep his head attached to his body to see who – tore through one of the other Moblins, and leapt at the one he was fighting. The tip of a long sword suddenly protruded through the Moblins neck. It's eyes went wide as the sword was ripped out and it fell to the ground.

"FARORE Thomas!" Bruiser cried angrily, shoving the sword into his hands. He had another in his other hand. "Sheathe those stupid knives and take this! You fight Gerudo with daggers, not Moblins! And I thought you were supposed to come down with the weapons!"

"Plans change," Thomas said, face burning as he sheathed the daggers. "And I didn't have any other weapons."

"Worry about it later," Bruiser said, jumping the last Moblin and finishing it off with two blows, moving with a speed belied by his size. "I'm assuming you want us to head towards the Mountain Path entrance."

"That's the one," Thomas said as they took off at a dead run. The doors to the kitchen were open and the slaves from in there were pouring out, most of them armed.

"HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAIN PATH!" Bruiser bellowed. Panicked shouts could be heard from all over Kakariko now as the Moblins slowly began to realize what was going on. They had forgotten that close to half of their slaves were actually well-trained, battle-hardened warriors – who once again found themselves armed – and their slaves were giving them a painful reminder of that.

The Kitchen slaves – the largest of the three groups – broke through the ranks of Moblins lining up to stop them like a flood, those with weapons at the front and back of the large group.

"Go, go, go, go, go . . ." Thomas hissed, willing the group to run faster as he ducked under the swing of the Moblin who'd charged him and slashed at the unprotected back of its knees as he spun around it. It went down with a yell. He continued his run, but his eyes widened.

"BRUISER!" He shouted, pointing. "The Gate! It's shut!"

"Leave it to me, kid," he said, changing direction abruptly. The group came to a halt next to the gate, whirling around to face the Moblins chasing them. There weren't many now, but more were coming. Thomas threw himself at the closest one, frantically trying to kill it before it could kill him. Bruiser lived up to his name as he tore into the Moblins between him and the controls for the gate. He twisted past them and swung his sword with all his strength (no time for finesse), striking the mechanism and smashing it, sending the gate plummeting down back into it's base in the ground. The ex-slaves of Kakariko surged over it, harrying any Moblins who came too close to them.

"RUN FOOL!" Bruiser shouted as two Moblins jumped at him. Thomas didn't move. The tone of Bruiser's voice defied even defiance. The part of him that was still a kid (and it was a large part of him) begged him to listen to Bruiser and do as he was told. Now was not the time to act out. Now was the time for obedience . . . blind, childlike, obedience.

But Thomas had been through a lot in the past month. Too much for that part of him to be the only part. There was another part of him now, that spoke in calmer, cooler tones. Oddly enough, it sounded like his sister. It told him that the time for childlike obedience was done. Now was the time to rise up and act like the man he should be. The man he would be.

The man he was.

He lifted his sword over his head, screamed a battle cry, and threw himself towards Bruiser's attackers.

"THOMAS GO!" Bruiser cried as more Moblins ran up behind them. "GO!"

"NO!" He shouted back, killing one of the Moblins as Bruiser took out the other. He moved to his side and turned with him to face the oncoming rush. "Hunter would never forgive me if I let you fight alone." Bruiser looked as though he might argue, Thomas even went so far as to steel himself against it, but in the end, Bruiser simply laughed, suddenly seeing Hunter in Thomas.

"Fine," he said. "I could use a good man at my side." He threw himself at the Moblins, Thomas right on his heels, even the cooler part of him reeling at the unexpected praise.

xxx

Dune blocked the thrust of the Moblin in front of her and skillfully spun herself into an attack that ended the Moblins life. Behind her she could hear Hunter's surprisingly commanding voice shout for the Sheikah to retreat behind the gate so they could put up the barricade. The soldier in her stirred at the note of authority in the boy's voice and urged her to turn and run, but the mother in her balked.

She stayed right where she was, head raised, mouth pressed into a tight line, feet set in a haphazard stance and waited for the next Moblin to rush her. Above her the cover fire from the Gerudo suddenly ceased as the desert thieves bolted for the area behind the gate.

Though perhaps it wasn't fair to refer to them as thieves anymore. Granted that's what they were, but somehow they'd become more.

Somehow they weren't really the enemy anymore.

As she stabbed the next Moblin to rush her through the throat her mind took her back momentarily to the Great War. Then it hadn't just been Moblins she'd been killing. Then, when she'd just been a young girl, not much older than Ketari was, only a few years past her Quisros. She'd been killing Gerudo too. And she'd hated the red-haired women as much as she hated the Moblins a few days ago. Hate was such an easy thing to fall into, and almost impossible to climb out of.

Now, however, she didn't feel hate. She didn't really feel much of anything anymore.

Behind her the barricade slammed into place and a ragged cheer erupted from the people behind it. She was alone now. She continued to fight, uncaring.

War was something she'd hoped to all three Goddesses neither of her children would experience. The Great War had ended – partly in thanks to the King of Hyrule, and partly due to the fact that everyone was simply to tired to fight anymore – and things were peaceful, and they should have stayed that way. It had looked like they would have stayed that way. Thomas and Ketari should have grown up in a peaceful world, free of the all encompassing hate that war created. Free of the pain and fear inflicted upon a soldier during it. Free of inflicting that pain and fear on others.

But they hadn't.

And now Ketari wouldn't experience anything ever again, be it fear and pain or love and happiness. She'd never get married. She'd never have children. She'd never laugh again, or cry again, or scream again. She'd never fight again. Ketari had loved fighting . . . had loved it since she was a little girl. Not the all out-battles, but the spars. The competition. She'd thrived on it. It was little wonder she'd taken so well to that Gerudo woman. Who would have thought it . . . a Sheikah and a Gerudo . . . after twenty long years . . . friends.

And now they were dead.

A Moblin blade slid across her shoulder. She saw the move coming but opted to thrust instead of block, killing the Moblin. Her shoulder bled freely but she didn't care.

The part of her that wasn't lost in her memories and regrets screamed at her to pay attention to what was going on around her. It tried to tell her that she was quickly being pressed back against the barricade as the Moblins pressed in, too many of them for her to even dream of taking. She'd take a few more before she died, true enough, but she would die, and soon.

Dune grinned a skeleton's grin and prepared herself to welcome death with open arms.

There was a thud beside her and suddenly a figure spun out in front of her. The moonlight glinted off of the curved steel blades of two Gerudo scimitars. Short hair the same color as the blades whirled around the wrinkled face of the Gerudo who fought against the Moblins as she spun, her white uniform twisting and rippling around her.

"Coward," the figure – Rue, Dune realized – spat at her. "Deserter. Fool!" She slipped easily around a Moblin attack and took two of them out at once with a dual thrust. For a split second the Moblins fell back, confused at the sudden resistance, and the denial of what they'd hoped would be an easy kill. Rue whirled around, swords clenched in a white-knuckled grip, face pale with fury. "You foolish, foolish child!" She snapped. "Do you think I don't know what you're doing?" Before she could say anything the old Gerudo grabbed her and propelled her backwards into the corner of the steep rock wall and the stone of the gate. It would be easier to defend themselves from there. The Moblins couldn't come more than one or two at a time at them.

"Rue? What are you doing out here?" Dune demanded, finally finding her voice. "You're supposed to be behind the barricade!"

"So are you!" Rue snarled, meeting the oncoming attack of the Moblins, who had recovered from their surprise. She spun around in a deadly whirl, blades flashing. Dune's eyes widened as a second Moblin jumped at the Gerudo's back and leapt forward, her sword in a grip stronger than it had been before. She struck the Moblin down from behind and glared at Rue.

"Get back behind the gate!" She shouted. "You're going to die out here!"

"What's the matter?" Rue demanded spitefully, her eyes narrowed. "Afraid I'll ruin your spectacular death? Afraid I'll steal the spotlight from your heroic last stand?" She cut down the Moblin in front of her. "Or are you just afraid that I won't let you die?" Dune's face paled at the accusation inherent in Rue's comment.

"Are you suggesting that I –"

"I'm not suggesting anything," Rue snapped as she met the charge of the next Moblin. "I'm stating what is as plain as the sun in the sky. I've watched you slide downhill since your little one died. I've watched you all throughout this battle. You've been taking risks you shouldn't. You've been missing blocks you shouldn't. Your thrusts are clumsy as a child's and your eyes are never on your enemies but off in the distance. I know the signs, Dune. I know them quite well. It may not be suicide, but it's close enough to damn you just as fast."

"What do you know?" She knew it sounded sullen, but there was no help for it. Rue's words struck a chord of truthfulness inside of her that she'd been denying, and now that it had been struck it hurt. She glared at Rue as she struck halfheartedly at the Moblin in front of her. "You've never had a child, Rue. You've never lost a child. You don't know what this feels like. You don't know me, you didn't know her, you don't know anything!" She shook her head. "What do you know?" She repeated, fumbling a block she should have managed. She hoped that would end it. She hoped the Moblin would take her out, but Rue got there first, killing the Moblin, sheathing her sword, and landing a vicious right hook on the side of Dune's face, sending the younger woman sprawling back into the wall and sliding down onto the ground before the stars faded from in front of her eyes and she could catch herself. Dune stared up at her in shock and Rue glared down at her, then turned to continue fighting the Moblins.

"I know plenty," she hissed. "I know that every girl born in our fortress since I was 16 has felt like my child, and I bore no few of them myself. I know that every girl we've ever lost has killed a little part of me, and believe me, Dune, we've lost a few. I know that I would never, ever consider what you're doing. I know it's cowardly, and selfish, and traitorous."

"Traitor–" Dune couldn't finish her gasp. Rue interrupted her mercilessly, the speed of her rant belying the fact that she was fighting for her life – and Dune's.

"You heard me," she snapped. "Traitorous. To your people. They need you, Dune. You're their leader, like it or not, and you can't just shirk that responsibility because your child died. She wasn't a child, Dune, she was a woman like the rest of us, and she died as one. Courageously. Not like this. She'd be ashamed of you if she could see you now. Shamed to call you mother."

"How dare you! You didn't know–"

"I don't need to know your daughter," she growled. "I know Jinni. I know the kind Jinni liked and the kind she would consider as a friend. They're few and far between but your daughter must have been one if Jinni was willing to consider her as a Sister. And besides," she added, wincing as a Moblin blade struck her flesh. "I see your face. You know what you're doing is wrong, and you know what she'd think about it."

"Shut up!" Dune cried, pushing herself back into the fight, wishing her stinging cheek would quit arguing with her. "Just shut up, Rue! You don't know anything! How can you? You don't know what you're talking about!" Rue glared flatly ahead, taking in the stubborn set to Dune's face, and the grief and pain echoed in the woman's eyes out of the corner of her eye. The woman meant to die out here. It was all she could think about. The Gerudo teetered on the edge of giving up. She was tiring. She couldn't keep this pace up and she had maybe two more minutes before both she and Dune died. There were too many Moblins. Too many of them. She had done her best to save the foolish woman. She had done what she could and it hadn't worked. If the Sheikah really wanted to die that bad, then who was she to argue? Let the fool die and save yourself. She had been foolish to come down here in the first place. She whirled around and slashed at the Moblin behind her. That was what happened when one gave in to her emotions. She got foolish. She took foolish risks. There was only one thing to do now.

She would leave Dune there and try and get back behind the gate. There was all she could do. It was a shame really. She liked Dune, but she had been foolish to even attempt to save the Sheikah. If she was going to survive this war she would have to keep her head and not give in to her feelings. That was just the way it was. That was the way of the Gerudo.

"Leave now, Rue," Dune said flatly, her voice echoing the Gerudo's own thoughts. Rue gave a guilty start. "There's no sense in both of us dying. Go back to your people. Don't be a fool. If you'd use your head you'd see that –" But the rest of what the Sheikah was trying to say was lost in a flashback. Without warning, Rue pictured Link's face, covered in sweat from the effort of their training session, his blue eyes belying the strain on his body, looking almost as though he was about to laugh and draw her into that laughter. His words came back to her, unbidden:

Fine, maybe, in a controlled fight, in a controlled setting, fighting with your head is a better idea. But take away that control. Pretend for just a second that we're backed into a corner. Our escape is blocked. There's no where for us to run. If we're lucky we might still have a weapon, but chances are we're not lucky. And there's our enemy, more than willing to finally finish us off. You're fighting with your head. I'm fighting with my heart. Which one of us do you think is going to survive?

"Both of us," she whispered to herself, then blinked when Dune suddenly jumped in front of her to fend off the Moblin that attacked the momentarily distracted Gerudo.

"What?" Dune demanded.

"I said shut your mouth, Sheikah," Rue replied, jumping back into the fray. "I'm not going anywhere. I didn't come out here just to leave you behind now. Did you even stop to think that maybe the rest of us might need you? Farore, woman. Your people are counting on you! You're their leader, at least until Impa is freed. Act like it."

"They don't need me that badly," Dune replied, glaring at Rue. "They're perfectly capable of finding themselves another leader who would do just as well, if not better than I have."

"And what about your son?" Rue demanded. "You have a little boy, do you not? Perhaps the King's age? A little younger?" She raised a silver eyebrow. "Would you be so quick to orphan him? Maybe your people could find another leader, but could he find himself another mother?" Dune stared at her with an expression not unlike the one she'd worn when Rue had slapped her.

"Thomas . . ." She whispered. Rue met her gaze through the battle and held it. In that gaze Dune met nothing but steel, hard and unforgiving and relentless, but there was warmth there too. In that gaze Dune found a choice.

And in that gaze she found the challenge. The dare. Rue's eyes flashed.

"Make your choice," she said flatly.

xxx

"Acqul!" The Zora general blinked and looked up, peering at the flickering blue fairy above him. "Link needs to talk to you!"

"Where is he?" Acqul cried up.

"Follow me!" She flitted off before he could say anything else and he followed her as fast as he could, cutting a path through the Moblins. Link grabbed him when he was close enough and pulled him against the wall, out of the battle. The Elite moved around them, and ever-present human shield. "Listen," he said. "You take the Zoras the Sheikah and the Gorons. The dungeons are down that way and towards the back. Get down there and secure them. Free the Sages and then wait for me down there."

"Where are you going?" Acqul demanded.

"I'm going to take the Gerudo and we're going to take the Throne Room," Link answered. "We'll secure it and the entrance hallway. With that much held plus the basement we can rest up for a couple of hours."

"Rest?" Acqul asked with a raised eyebrow. "Link, if we stop without taking the whole damn palace the Moblins will fall on us and slit our throats."

"No they won't," Link answered. His voice and gaze held such conviction that Acqul found himself at a loss for argument. He looked up at Navi and she shrugged.

"How do you know?" He asked. "And you should take the Gorons with you. There aren't nearly enough Gerudo for you to take anything without some kind of help."

"No," Link replied. "I'm just taking the Gerudo. You need everyone else."

"Link–"

"Look, Acqul, please . . . just . . . trust me." His blue eyes met Acqul's own green ones pleadingly. "The Gerudo and I can handle it. I honestly don't think we're going to meet much more than a token resistance in there. And I swear to all three Goddesses that we'll be allowed to rest up until morning if we can just take the dungeons. Just . . . trust me on this." Acqul hesitated. Link stared at him and despite the plea in his eyes Acqul saw something else there quite plainly. Regardless of whether or not the Zora trusted him, the young King planned on doing exactly what he'd just said anyway.

"Is this about what you and Hunter and the rest of your friends were fighting about?" Acqul asked. "Something about your father?" Link hesitated, then:

"Yes," he answered truthfully. "It is."

"What if Dark Link is in the Throne Room?"

"He's not."

"Is he in the dungeon?"

"No."

"Do you know where he is?" Another hesitation.

"Yes."

"But you're not going to tell me."

"No."

"Are you going to come down to the dungeons after you take the Throne Room?" Another hesitation.

"I don't know yet."

"Is what you're planning your only option?" Acqul met his gaze evenly. "Is it the right thing to do?"

"Yes," Link answered, with no trace of hesitation this time. "Do you trust me, Acqul?" Link continued to hold the Zora's considering gaze.

"Yes," he finally sighed. "Goddesses help me, I do." Link flashed him a smile that was at once a mixture of relief and happiness that looked surprisingly boyish on the blood-covered face. "But I still want you to take someone else as well."

"Fine," he said, "I'll take the Gorons then. Thanks Acqul," he added, clapping the Zora on the shoulder. "Now . . . go free the Sages." He grinned crookedly. "Tell 'em I said hi." He turned around before Acqul could reconsider and whistled sharply. He ran back towards the battle, sword in his hand. "GERUDO TO ME! GORONS TO ME!" At once women in uniforms of varying colors peeled themselves away from the crowd and flocked to their young king and Gorons rolling around came out of their balls and jogged over to him. Acqul turned as well.

"ZORAS! SHEIKAH TO ME!" He cried. "THE SAGES ARE WAITING!" A ragged cheer arose from the Hyrulian force as they surged as one (minus the Gorons and Gerudo) to follow on Acqul's footsteps as he raced towards the dungeons.

xxx

"THE SAGES ARE WAITING!"

Neesha ignored Acqul's voice and moved off towards her people, but a hand caught her shoulder and pulled her back. She wrenched herself out of the grip and whirled around, prepared to kill whatever moblin had touched her, and only just managed to stop herself when she recognized the blue eyes and blonde hair on the figure who jumped back from her scimitar.

"Highness!" She gasped. Link winced visibly at her use of his title and she instantly regretted using it, but she wasn't about to take it back. "What –"

"Listen," he said quickly, "Neesha I need you to go with Acqul and the others." Neesha balked instantly, her face setting.

"Why?" She demanded flatly. "Look, just because you're mad at me is no reason to –"

"Dammit, Neesha! This has nothing to do with that!" He cried, his temper flaring at her instant accusation. "Farore! I don't care about that right now!"

"Then why don't you want me to fight with you?" Neesha cried back. "If it's not because you –"

"Would you let me finish?" Link demanded. "Neesha, someone has to go down with them to explain everything to Nabooru, and it should be a Gerudo who does it. Sage or not, this'll be hard enough for her to take in coming from a Gerudo, let alone a Sheikah or a Goron or a Zora. Could you just do it? Please? The battle in the Throne Room isn't going to be a battle, all right? You won't be missing anything, I swear. The real fight will be downstairs. Assuming there's even a fight downstairs, and I'm starting to doubt that as well." She frowned at him.

"You're not ordering me," she noted. He glared at her, his temper flaring again.

"You expected me to?" He demanded. "Since when have I ever ordered you to do anything, Neesha?"

"You ordered Hunter to plan this attack," she pointed out.

"I was angry and so was he," Link countered. "And we didn't have any time for him to lose confidence in himself. I didn't so much order him as push him when he needed to be pushed. Maybe there would have been a better way to do that, but at the time I didn't much care, now did I?" He shook his head suddenly. "Look, our time is no better now. Are you going or not?" She frowned.

"Fine," she said. "I'll go."

"Good," Link said. "Thank you. Now hurry up or you'll lose them."

"Ha," Neesha snorted. "They went in a straight line, Link. I don't think I'm going to lose them." But Link was already gone, running off towards the Throne Room, the rest of the Gerudo who weren't back at the gates holding them running after him. She watched him go for a minute, wondered if he really had sent her because he was mad at her, then turned around and ran after the others.

She frowned as she ran. It seemed like there weren't enough Moblin bodies on the ground. Granted they'd trapped about three quarters of the Moblin force outside the palace gates, but there still should have been more Moblins in the palace itself. It almost reminded her of the battle for the Market that had gotten them into this jam in the first place.

Was that what this was?

A trap?

Another elaborate ambush?

Or had the Moblins just drawn back to regroup, reconnoiter and then launch another attack?

Not my place to wonder, she thought to herself, catching up with the main group as the surged down the stairs to the dungeon. She waited at the back of the group as they milled around and waited for those in front of them to move down the narrow stairway. She kept a nervous eye behind them but no one came after them. No Moblins appeared in the hallway they'd come from to attack them from behind. No Moblins ran at them from the other side to harry them over there. And despite the fact it wasn't her place to wonder, she did.

Had Link been there, he could have told her what was going on.

He could have told her there that Dark Link had let them into the palace. That Dark Link had then called off most of the Moblins. That Dark Link was the one holding his own forces back.

Had she asked why, Link could have told her: because he's waiting. He's waiting for me and he wants to be sure that nothing gets in my way.

But Link wasn't there, and so she continued to wonder until wondering got on her nerves. She turned around and roughly began shoving her way to the front. She pushed her way past the last Zora in her way (ignoring the glares of the Sheikah she jostled to get there) and jogged down the stairs in the middle of the flow of soldiers. The scene in the dungeon wasn't unlike the one above. Their group had met a resistance of Moblins, big enough to take a chunk out of them, but not big enough to even hope of stopping them, and by the time Neesha got down there, the last few Moblins were already being taken care of. She frowned and once again wondered.

Something was up . . .

But her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling for a someone else to find the keys for the locks to the cells and Acqul yelling at everyone to spread out and watch all the exits for Moblins. Neesha pushed her way forward some more and managed to make her way to the front of the crowd of soldiers as someone tossed Acqul one set of keys. Most of the cells had already been busted open (their locks no longer even really resembling locks) and the Hylian (and a few other races as well) slaves spilled out into the crowd, making the large-but-not-large-enough dungeons even more crowded (though it was getting better now that people were sorting themselves out and filing out of the one room and into the others to clear them out and secure them as well. Neesha rushed forward before she could get lost in the crowd (she was easily the smallest person in the room) and moved to Acqul's side. The Zora blinked down at her as he unlocked the last of the Sage's cells.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Link?" He demanded, but any answer she might have made was lost when a blur of blue came bolting out of the cage to throw her arms around Acqul's neck, forcing the Zora general to stagger backwards and almost lose his balance (he only regained it by wrapping his arms around Ruto and forcing her to stay kind of still). His face flushed at her embrace and he suddenly found he couldn't speak clearly. Neesha rolled her eyes and turned away, looking around for Nabooru. She felt a small hand grab her own and pull her away from the crowd and into the cell. She blinked and looked down at the green-haired little girl that pulled her into the cell.

"You're . . . Saria?" She asked. The little girl grinned up at her and nodded.

"And you," she said, "are Link's friend." Neesha blinked.

"How do you –"

"You've got the Ocarina I gave to him," she said simply. "He wouldn't let anyone but a friend use it." Neesha briefly considered telling her that she'd simply stolen it yet again, but then Saria shoved her towards Nabooru. "I'm going to assume you're looking for her," she said, the grin never leaving her face. "You'll have an easier time talking to her in here than out there. Goodness, it's crowded!" Neesha smiled down at her but the little Kokiri had already moved off towards Darunia, who, having just heard the news about Karun's injury, looked as though he could use some comforting.

"So," said a cool, but not unfriendly voice to her right, "I suppose you're here to explain why there's only one Gerudo in that whole pack of people?" Neesha blinked and turned to face her leader. Nabooru sat in her (now kind of dirty) white uniform, one leg lazily folded up under the other, and staring at her expectantly. Neesha dropped to one knee like she was supposed to and bowed her head, trying to find a place to start.

"A lot has happened since you left, Nabooru . . ."

xxx

The instant the barricade went up, Hunter jumped off of Epona (who was more or less antsy because not only was there a battle going on that she wasn't part of, and she'd been carrying someone who wasn't Link, but she didn't know where Link was. Her rider had disappeared and that always made her antsy. He'd been disappearing far too much for the past couple months and she was starting to feel neglected) and pulled Malon down after him. Then he kissed her fiercely she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Hunter, I –"

"Dammit, Malon!" He cried, his voice hoarse from all the other shouting he'd been doing. He pulled away and glared down at her. "You were almost killed! What are you doing here? Why did you come back? You're supposed to be safe and sound with Karun and the others!" Malon teetered for a moment between quailing under his anger and responding in kind. She decided on the latter and let her temper flare. She shoved him roughly, pushing him back and away from her.

"I'm not your slave, Hunter," she snapped, "or one of your soldiers, and this is as much my fight as yours! It may be your people fighting, but it's my people they're trying to save! My father, and Ingo, and all of my friends are still trapped in there and I'll be damned if I let you shove me off to the side to watch from safety while you risk your neck in here! If you're going to risk yours, I get to risk mine too."

"Malon –" Hunter growled.

"Besides," she added, "I had Navi with me. She kept me out of trouble for the most part. There was just too many Moblins at the last part and I slipped up."

"Why?" Hunter demanded. "What possessed you to come back?"

"I already told you," she said. "And . . ." she paused, then pointed to the small bundle on her back. "I . . . brought Link's clothes with me. His green ones." Hunter frowned at her in puzzlement.

"His clothes?" He asked. "Why?" She shrugged uncomfortably.

"I'm not exactly sure. It's just . . . I was thinking . . . if . . . if he's going to face Dark Link – and mark my words, Hunter, you and Neesha can say what you want, but I've only seen that expression on his face a few times, there's no stopping him when he gets it – then he should face Dark Link in his real clothes. Besides," she added almost as an afterthought, "I'm not used to seeing him without his hat." Hunter stared at her for a moment and then grinned crookedly despite himself.

"He does look kind of odd without it," he agreed. "But you still shouldn't have come out here."

"Should or shouldn't, I did," she answered flatly. "And you know you can't send me back so, ha." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine," he said. "You're here, and I suppose it's good to see you, regardless, but do me a favor and get out of that Gerudo uniform."

"Why?" She asked, frowning at him. "Don't you like it?"

"Oh I have no problems with it," he assured her, grinning. "It looks positively amazing on you. But it's very distracting. And besides, if a real Gerudo catches you in it they'll flay you."

"Hmm," she says. "Maybe I will at that." She paused then and frowned at him slightly. "You didn't tell Link about us, did you?" She asked. "I saw his face. He had no idea. You told me you would tell him!" Hunter stared at her, feeling at once angry and guilty and hurt all over again.

"Well when the Hell was I supposed to tell him?" He demanded angrily, though more at himself than at her or Link. "Between me accusing him of ignoring his duty and him accusing me of not caring about Jinni and Ket? Or maybe right after I told him I'd kill his father. It just wasn't a good time, Malon. I'm starting to think it'll never be a good time . . . I'll be lucky at this rate if he ever speaks to me again as it is."

"Well," Malon said with a sigh, "he knows now, one way or another." Hunter opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a panicked shout from above them.

"Hunter!" He blinked and looked up. Marcus stared down at him from the top of the gate, his face panicked. "Dune and the Gerudo general are both out there!"

"What?" Hunter gasped. He spun away from Malon and sprinted over to the ladder on the wall, scrambling up it. He practically threw himself at the edge of the gate and peered down into the fray. Backed into the corner he could just make out Rue's white uniform and Dune's blue and red one through the Moblins attacking them. He scowled. What the Hell were they doing?

"What do we do?" Marcus demanded. "Open the barricade?"

"No," Hunter said quickly. "We can't, the Moblins will overrun us." He tensed as one of the Moblins cut across Rue's side. The Gerudo didn't slow her spin as she took the Moblin out but she wasn't quite as fast getting to the next one. Dune, as well was bleeding in no few places. He whirled around.

"MAL–" His shout ended when he realized she was right behind him.

"Way ahead of you, lover," she said, holding out the thick rope she held in her hands.

"Thank the goddesses," he whispered, accepting the rope, grabbing Marcus and hightailing it over to the other end of the wall and onto the cliff. "GERUDO!" He screamed. All of the archers below blinked and looked up at him. "GET ON THE WALL! I WANT COVER FIRE NOW!" They scrambled to their positions and rushed to nock their bows. "DON'T WAIT FOR MY COMMAND JUST FIRE! FIRE AT ANYTHING THAT ISN'T RUE AND DUNE!" The Gerudo didn't need to be told twice. All at once the Moblins began falling back from the gate and from Rue and Dune as the arrows descended on them. The two generals looked up in surprise. Hunter was surprised to see tears on Dune's cheeks (one of which was swollen and looked as though it would bruise). "Grab the end," he grunted, tossing it to Marcus. "Secure it on something. Marcus stared at him.

"Hunter there's nothing up here . . ."

"Then secure it to yourself!" Hunter cried, tossing the other end over. "Just find somewhere to secure it!" Marcus hurriedly tied the rope around his waist and set his feet. Rue and Dune looked up at the rope. Rue turned to Dune and said something to her that Hunter couldn't make out. He frowned. What were they waiting for.

"Grab the rope!" He shouted. Rue finally turned and grabbed the rope, Hunter set his feet as well at the added weight as Rue scrambled up the rope as fast as her wounds would allow. Hunter let go of the rope with one hand to offer it to her to help her up.

"What's going on?" He demanded as he pulled her up. "Why were you down there? What's wrong with Dune? Is she all right?" Rue limped away from the edge of the cliff.

"She's . . . hurting," she answered. "And she's been forced to make a choice. I don't know what she'll choose." Hunter looked back down at where Dune stared at the rope, almost as though she didn't understand it. Behind her the Moblins came again, only to be cut down by the Gerudo arrows.

"Dune!" He called desperately. "Take the rope! Take it!" She looked up at him, tears still running down her face. The struggle on her face disturbed him. He'd never seen her this way . . . it made him feel three years old and helpless again. "Dune . . . please . . . take the rope . . ." He whispered it but it was as though she had heard him. She reached out with an unsteady hand that stilled almost immediately when it touched the rope. She grabbed it firmly with her other hand and began to pull herself up.

Without fully knowing why, Hunter felt intense relief swell up in him at the fact that she'd grabbed the rope.

He didn't know what choice Rue had forced her to make, but he had a feeling she'd made the right one . . .

xxx

Chapter 36 (cont.)

My greatest fear . . . my worst nightmare . . . was that you wouldn't live to see your fourth birthday. Or your fifth, or your tenth, or your eighteenth . . . that fear has been hanging over me since we ran from the Sheikah Caverns. But now . . . I know. I know that you'll live. I know you'll be miserable, and happy, and angry, and afraid, and sad, and alive. And as much as I want to be there to see that . . . as much as I want to be miserable, and happy, and angry, and afraid and sad with you . . . I'm happy just knowing that you'll get to be those things. With or without me.

I stare at the Throne of Hyrule and try and think straight around the lump in my throat. I can feel my little necklace against my chest; I can feel the Sheikan symbol on it. The one he gave me.

Toln ara mas karo, maes nest ara mas relsin. Mel ara firae us tol – You are my son, but no longer my child. I am proud of you . . .

I know on the chain there's a second Sheikan symbol. Sheik – Zelda – gave me that one. I remember the feeling of her lying beside me at the Temple of Time. The feeling of her head on my chest . . . my arm around her . . .

He'll kill her.

Of that I have no doubt. The only thing keeping her alive right now is the fact that he needs her to get to me. But the instant he has me . . .

He'll kill me. And then he'll kill her. And then Ganondorf will be freed, with an army of Moblins already conveniently set up just outside the palace gates, and all of his enemies conveniently holed up inside his dungeons of their own accord.

Unless . . . unless I do what I told Hunter I couldn't . . . unless I kill him first. I know I can. I might very well be the only one who can. I know I have that much power at least.

I shake my head. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.

But there's another option . . .

There's always another option . . .

I can save him. I know how . . . I can save him.

But . . .

In order to do it . . .

Meet me at the Temple, Hero . . . or it will be she on the altar, and not you . . .

Mel ara firae us tol . . .

"Highness?" An uncertain voice to my left snaps me out of it and I blink and look over at the Elite standing there. Aliza I think her name is. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I answer, looking back at the throne. So many people have sat in that throne. People I've never heard of. Someday Zelda will sit there. Her father should be there now, but he's not even in Hyrule. According to Zelda he'd gone on a diplomatic visit to some country on the other side of the mountains. Probably for the best. I don't think the Moblins would have let him live. Maybe, when he gets back, we'll be able to give him back his seat.

Or maybe we'll all be dead.

One way or another things won't be quite the way he left them.

I rub my head. Now that the fighting's stopped my headache's finally caught up with me and all of my wounds are simultaneously crying for my attention. I'm so tired. I'd like nothing more than to run straight to the Temple of Time and put this whole thing to rest for once and for all . . . but I can't. Not yet. I need rest, even a little, and maybe a healing potion if they're not in too short supply. And besides . . . there are still some things I need to do first . . .

"Link are you sure you're all right?" Navi asks in concern from my shoulder. I don't answer her, and instead reach in to my pouch and touch the cool surface of the Ocarina of Time.

I'm coming, I tell him mentally. I've no idea if he can hear me or not, but I throw out the thought anyway. I'm coming for you. And I swear to all three Goddesses this is the last time for both of us . . .

xxx

Not more than an hour later I'm sitting in the dungeons in the palace basement, lying on my back on my blankets and staring up at the ceiling instead of sleeping. Someone managed to scrounge up a healing potion for me (I've no doubt some Gerudo girl who really, really needed it gave it up willingly for me, but I took it anyway. If I'm going to even attempt what I'm planning I need to be at the top of my game) and my wounds have settled down. I should sleep but I can't. It's a hopeless endeavor so instead I lie here and think.

My time's almost up. All around me I can hear those who aren't on watch settling down for a quick rest themselves before we have to be up again to take out the rest of the Moblins and take back the whole palace instead of just the section of it we've secured for ourselves. The part Dark Link let us have.

The instant I stepped into the dungeons I was jumped by the Sages. Darunia thumping me on the back like always, Ruto (hand in hand with Acqul I couldn't help but notice) staring at me expectantly, Saria hugging me fiercely, Impa just watching me, and Nabooru ripping me away from everyone to throw me in a corner and demand I repeat everything Neesha told her as though she wasn't sure she'd heard it right the first time. By the time I was done she was bowing (which started a chain reaction of the rest of the Gerudo bowing) that had me blushing and freaking the hell out. Rue and Dune hobbled into the room right about then, leaning on each other for support, and Rue had pointed at me, looked at Nabooru and gone: "He's yours now. I'm officially retired."

Maybe a half hour ago Malon (after finding her father and Ingo and bursting into tears while hugging them fiercely, then introducing an uncertain Hunter) and Neesha both somehow managed to work up the guts to come over to me, bringing with them my green tunic and hat in what looked suspiciously like a peace offering. If it was I accepted it, and we talked for a while as though nothing had happened, but neither one of us mentioned Dark Link or my father. Nothing's solved really, but I felt better just the same. At least I know they don't hate me.

Hunter, on the other hand, refused to come over. Refused to talk to me. He still won't look at me. I don't want to fight with him anymore, but I can't go over and talk to him. It won't help anything, it'll just make it worse. He won't accept anything short of my promise to kill Dark Link, and I won't accept anything short of his promise to stay out of it when the time comes. We'll just yell at each other some more . . . it wouldn't do any good.

But it hurts just the same.

A tall Zora walks into the room and pokes one of the Gerudo awake. She blinks blearily and gets to her feet, rousing her companions. It's the Gerudo's turn on watch. I look around, taking stock of where everyone else is. Hunter and Malon are over in the corner beside Talon and Ingo, wrapped up in the same blanket asleep. Neesha's being woken up by the Gerudo to take her turn on watch with them. The Sages are all over the place with their own people, some talking in low voices, some asleep. I look back up at the ceiling. Neesha might be a problem, but it's now or never.

"Navi?" I whisper in a low voice. Navi blinks sleepily up at me from out of my hat.

"Hmmm?" She says. I reach into my pouch and pull out the letter I wrote, I hand it to her.

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask. "Can you give this to Hunter for me?"

"Now?" She demands. "Link . . ."

"Please?" I ask. "I can't give it to him myself. It's really important." I give her my most pleading expression.

"Fine," she grumbles, taking the letter and fluttering up out of my hat. She frowns when I get up, grabbing my hat and pulling it on. Feels ridiculously good to have my head covered again. "Where are you going?"

"I'm a Gerudo, aren't I?" I ask. "I'm going to take my turn on watch." She sighs and shakes her head then flutters over to Hunter. I shake my head and leave quietly, moving over to the stairs and climbing slowly up them. When I reach the top Neesha blinks at me in surprise.

"What are you doing up?" She demands.

"I can't sleep," I say. "I need to stretch my legs a bit." She frowns and moves to follow me but I hold up a hand to stop her. "I need to think, too, Neesha. I . . . I need to be by myself for a bit." She frowns doubtfully.

"Relax," I tell her. "I'll stay within shouting distance of the watch." She looks like she wants to argue, but she's afraid of breaking our tenuous truce so she settles for grunting disapprovingly at me and staying where she is. "Bye, Neesha," I say as I walk around the corner.

"Bye," she responds, confused. As soon as I'm out of sight of anyone I lean up against the wall and stare out the window. The moon's just over its zenith. It's probably maybe one in the morning.

Huh.

I've been eighteen for an hour.

No birthday party this year. No Bruiser waking me up at an ungodly hour to jam a present in my face. No Sheik showing up at a random point in time and sticking around until supper (the biggest, best supper of the whole damn year. Bruiser always made all of my favorites . . .). No visit from Malon and a kiss for my birthday. No day off work. No big grins, and pats on the back, and happy birthdays.

Just me, my psychotic clone, and the fate of the world.

Suddenly I wish I was ten years old again.

But the nostalgia fades.

I have a job to do.

No more stalling.

I reach into my pouch and pull out my Ocarina, the moonlight glinting off of its cool surface. I fit it to my lips and play quietly. As the notes of the Prelude to Light drift gently up in the quiet corridor I can feel the Master Sword buzz in its sheath and my heart starts beating faster.

As the world disappears in a flash of golden light, one, single thought runs through my mind:

It's time.