The Legend of Zelda: The Return
Hey all!
First things first, or so the order goes, sorry for the delay between chapters lately. I know it's an especially bad time in the story for me to be leaving you guys hanging, however, April is not exactly a month conducive to writing, what with essays, exams, interviews, appointments, and all sorts of neat little real life things that tend to interfere with what I would much rather be doing . . .
Second, if there is any weird formatting in this chapter, I apologize. I recently upgraded from Word 97 to Word 2000, and it's doing funky things with my HTML . . . 's taking a fit. I've tried to fix what I could and I just hope it works!
Other than that, enjoy!
Lady Rose
xxx
A Brief Interlude
Hunter stared down at the letter with uncomprehending eyes and a hand trembling so bad Malon had to take the letter away so she could finish it, her eyes wide.
"Hunter . . ." She breathed. As though her voice had snapped him out of a trance, he bolted to his feet, fighting his way out of the blanket he'd been wrapped in and ran for the door to the stairs, just as it burst open.
"Neesha!" He cried as Neesha flew in through the door, swearing a blue streak.
"Stupid jerk took off!" She cried furiously, nearly crashing into Hunter. "I knew he was up to something! I knew it!" She threw her fist into her palm and scowled. "I should have followed him! Stupid jerk! I'm going to kill him! Stupid . . . stupid . . . jerk!"
"Where did he go?" Hunter demanded. "Where's he gone? We can still catch up to him!"
"I don't know," the Gerudo replied throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "He transported himself with his stupid flute. Wherever it is, it's not in the castle." Hunter resisted the almost overpowering urge to pull at his hair in frustration.
"I bet you any money he's gone to the Temple of Time," he growled. "Any money."
"So what do we do?" Malon demanded, coming up beside him and handing the letter over to Neesha to read. Navi fluttered furiously by her shoulder, having been woken up and filled in by the Hylian girl.
"I can't believe he didn't take me!" She fumed, looking angry and hurt at the same time. "We're supposed to be partners!" The sound of paper ripping caused them all to look at Neesha as she tore up the letter furiously.
"Just in case," she hissed. "How dare he! How dare he say goodbye!" She looked up at them, eyes flashing. "I'm going after him. And when I find him . . ."
"We can't go after him," Hunter said, rubbing his face. "We're trapped here at the palace. There's Moblins all over the place outside, we'd never make it. We can't leave the palace grounds. He's trapped us here," he added softly, more to himself than to the others. "He knew we couldn't follow him, so he made sure to wait until we were trapped inside . . . that bastard . . ."
"Maybe," Malon suggested hesitantly, "we should tell the Sages . . ."
"We can't do that!" Neesha argued, glaring at her. "It's one thing to fight Link about what he's doing, but it's another thing entirely to betray his secrets. If we tell them about Dark Link being his dad . . ."
"We don't have to tell them that," Navi said. "We can just tell them that he's gone to fight Dark Link, maybe they'll know a way to –"
"Won't work," Hunter said darkly. "If we just tell them that, then they'll let him go, and won't let us interfere. They'll think he's actually fighting Dark Link and trying to kill him like he should be."
"Maybe they'd go and help him," Malon suggested. "And we don't really know that he's not going to try and kill Dark Link . . ."
"Malon," Hunter said darkly, "at this point I'm pretty sure he'd let Dark Link run him through if he thought that's what it would take to free Brayden."
"So what do we do, then?" Neesha demanded. "We have to make a choice. We can't waste our time arguing over it. If we're going to do something we need to it now and the first step is deciding whether or not we tell the sages. Either we do or we don't, which is it?"
"I vote," said a soft voice from behind them, "for option number one." All four of them gave a guilty start and turned to face Impa and Nabooru, both of whom had an eyebrow arched. Nabooru placed a hand on her hip and shifted her weight.
"Start talking," she said flatly.
xxx
Chapter 37
The golden light fades and I'm standing on the octagonal stone at the entrance of the Temple of Time. The unseen choir that resides here continue their never-ending chant of the Song of Time, their voices low and melodic and comforting. The moon is bright enough outside that it lights up the inside of the Temple with a blue-gray mockery of daylight. The marble reflects it back softly and everything seems to glow with it.
It would be breathtaking if I had any breath left to take.
But it more or less abandoned me when my eyes fell on the altar.
Zelda lies on the cold piece of stone that could very well wind up her funeral bier, her hands bound behind her back, her dress draped over the altar, her face turned towards me, her mouth gagged and her eyes wide.
Like cheese in a mousetrap.
And Din, am I hungry . . .
I take a step towards her, but that little voice in the back of my mind that tells me when I'm being stupid is flipping right out – not unlike the day I first met Zelda again for the second time and I pinned her up against the wall to demand what she knew about the Moblin attack that had set the Market to burning . . .
There's Zelda, it's saying, but where's Psycho Me? Come on Link, don't lose it now, too much is riding on this . . .
I force myself to take a page from Rue's book and put my heart on the backburner. As much as I'd like to run over there, pick her up, and get her out again, I can't. That will get us, and everyone else, killed.
You've come . . . Hisses an oh-so-familiar voice. One way or another, after tonight I'll never have to hear that voice again.
I've got that at least.
"I've come," I agree, turning around slowly, sword out and shield ready, trying to locate him in the shadows. "I've come to take back the things you stole from me. Give them up now if you want to live." Laughter, cold and hollow and empty echoes around in my head.
You can't kill me . . . He hisses sibilantly. You can't do it . . . dad's dead, remember? I feel a thin line of sweat trickle down my back. As much as that sentence made no sense he got his point across better than I would have liked.
"I'll do what I have to do," I answer, tightening my grip on the Master Sword. "I'll do what I always do," I add quietly to myself. I glare around at the shadows, impatient suddenly. "Come on out and face me! You're the one who called me here! You're the one who wants me! If you want me come and get me! I'm waiting!" For a moment, silence is my only answer, then:
HERO OF TIME! But this time, the mental shout is accompanied with a physical sound and I whirl around at it, bringing my shield up in time to block Dark Link's ebony blade. I bare my teeth at him in a grin, horribly relieved that I finally know where he is.
"Hey ugly," I greet him glibly, "where my Dad?"
DEAD! He shrieks, pulling his sword away from shield and coming at me again. I block with my sword this time and attempt to swing my shield around and at his side. He twists out of the way, however and blocks my shield with his own.
"He's not dead!" I cry, leaping at him, sword extended. "Where is he? Give him BACK!" He ducks under my swing and counters with one of his own. I bring my shield up in time to block it and thrust at him with my sword. He blocks and counters. I block and counter. He blocks and counters . . . and neither one of us seem able to land a hit.
It's going to be one of those fights . . .
xxx
A Brief Interlude
"And that's the whole story," Hunter finished in a rush. He cast an uncertain glance around at the Sages, all of whom had by then gathered. The expressions ranged from troubled to utterly at a loss on their faces. Hunter took a deep breath and tried to shake off the feeling that he'd just betrayed his best friend.
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner, Neesha?" Nabooru demanded, turning a stern look on the young Gerudo, who struggled to keep her expression respectful.
"He all but asked us not to tell anyone about this . . ." she said uneasily. "My word is my oath, spoken or not. And . . . he is the King."
"Yes," the Sage of Spirit mused, rubbing her face tiredly. "He is, isn't he? He couldn't have been obedient and malleable, now could he? No . . . I had to get the obstinate King. Farore!" Hunter was pretty sure the last part was supposed to have been under her breath, but Nabooru hadn't quite succeeded.
"So what do we do?" He asked, looking from one Sage to the other. "Are you going after him now?" The Sages exchanged a glance as one (a glance that neither Hunter, Neesha, Malon nor Navi liked), and as one they shook their heads.
"No," rumbled Darunia. "As much as it pains me to leave him to his battle that is exactly what we must do."
"What?" Neesha cried, starting to her feet. She stared unbelievingly at the Sages. "You're just going to leave him?"
"Neesha!" Nabooru said reprovingly, but Neesha ignored her.
"We just told you everything we promised him we'd never tell anyone, and all because we thought that maybe if you knew you'd help him, and now you're just telling us that you're not going to do anything? You're just going to let him go to his death like it doesn't matter?"
"We feel the same as you do," Impa said calmly. "But you are neglecting to think of the fact that there is still a battle to fight right where we are. If what you tell us is true, we need to take the rest of the castle tonight. In case . . . things go wrong. And it will take all of us to do so. Our powers are more useful here, to Hyrule, than they are to Link. Yet –"
"But you're the Sages!" Neesha cried, interrupting her, balling her hands into fists at her side and glaring at them. "I thought you were his partners! His friends! How can you just abandon him like this?"
"Neesha!" Nabooru snapped, frowning darkly. "Mind your tone! This is no way for a woman of the Red to act!"
"Don't tell her how to act!" Hunter cried, on his feet now too. "At least she's not willing to abandon the people she cares about! If that's what she's got to do to deserve that uniform than she'd sure as hell better take it off because it's not worth it! Not in the least!"
"Hunter!" Impa cried disapprovingly.
"How can you just abandon him like this?" Hunter cried furiously, glaring at the leader of his people. "He's one of us, Impa! He's a blood! He's Brayden's son!" He was trembling furiously. "We failed Brayden!" He turned his glare on Nabooru. "And we failed Natalia! And now you're telling us that we're just going to sit here on our asses and wait for their son to die? I won't do it! I won't! He can't do this alone! What don't you understand about that? He'll die! He needs your help!"
"I think you both need to calm down," Ruto said with an unimpressed frown. "You both know the situation we're in. We can't simply abandon our peoples now to rush over to the Temple of Time for a single battle that is ultimately Link's and Link's alone to begin with! The best way we can help him is to take the Castle back and pray."
"Do you honestly think he'd ever forgive us if we ran to his side now and saved him, but lost Hyrule as a result?" Saria asked, wringing her hands nervously as she looked from Hunter to Neesha and back again. "We can't leave Hyrule undefended now, when it's at it's most vulnerable. Link has his fight, and we have ours."
"But that's not fair," Malon said, hugging her knees tightly. "That's not fair at all! How come he has to fight alone?"
"You, and everyone else, all of you, will be fighting one battle. You'll be fighting to free Castletown and the rest of Hyrule from the Moblins. You'll be fighting because you don't want to live under Ganondorf's heel. You'll be fighting because if you don't, you'll die. And no one wants to die. You'll be fighting for life, Neesha, and that's the only thing worth fighting for." She wished he'd stop saying that. She was starting to believe it.
"So will you," she said, still not following him.
"No," he said. "While you're fighting that battle, I'll be fighting my own. Against Dark Link – maybe even against Ganondorf himself if something goes wrong. But I won't be fighting them for the same reasons you guys will be fighting the Moblins." She shook her head and frowned at him.
"Then why?" His face hardened into an expression of such grim determination it was almost frightening: his answer not much better . . .
"Because it's what he does," Neesha answered before anyone else could, surprising them all. Her expression was distinctly unhappy. "Because in the end that's what he's always done." She ignored the looks everyone gave her and sank back onto the ground, all the fight going out of her. "He told me that," she said miserably. "He told me that . . . he knew this would happen . . . "
"Do you understand then?" Nabooru asked. "We have our own fight here, and he has his fight there. We'd all rather it a different way, but it's a rare thing when we get what we want. There's nothing for it but to carry on with what we were doing and finish the job."
"I . . . I can't," Hunter whispered. "I can't leave him like that! I can't leave him to fight alone! I don't care what he said, I don't care what you say! He's my best friend! He's my cousin! For love of Nayru, he might as well be my goddess damned brother! I can't let him fight alone! I can't! What kind of a brother would that make me?"
"You always did have listening problems, didn't you Hunter?" Impa asked wryly. "At what point, exactly, did we say we'd leave him to fight alone?"
"What?" Hunter asked weakly. "But . . . you said . . ."
"We said that we could not go to him. That our place was here, with the people of Hyrule, doing what we can to take back what is ours. It was you, as a matter of fact, who interrupted me before I could finish." Malon and Neesha climbed back to your feet.
"What are you saying?" Navi demanded. "This isn't the time for riddles, Impa!"
"I'm saying," the Sage of Shadow replied, "that if Link had friends who were desperate to aid him at this time, they might, perhaps, appreciate the knowledge that if one pushes the throne of Hyrule to the side, one would find a passage designed for just such an emergency that leads straight to the Temple of Time." She raised an eyebrow at them. "I don't know if Link has any friends willing to take that path, but if he does they would be wise to find their way out of the dungeons and to the throne room before we begin rousing everyone and start the fighting anew." Hunter, Malon, Neesha and Navi all stared at her with wide eyes, unwilling to believe what they were hearing. Nabooru smirked and leaned forward.
"That means go," she whispered in a conspiratorial whisper. "We'll come as soon as we can."
"We owe you all apologies," Hunter breathed. "Thank you!"
"Move, dammit!" Neesha cried, grabbing the back of his uniform and hauling him off, Malon and Navi on their heels. The Sages watched them go.
"Are you sure that was wise?" Ruto asked, looking at Impa uncertainly. "They're placing themselves in a large amount of danger, and they're only children . . ." Impa sighed.
"No," she answered, "I'm not sure it was wise, but what other choice do we have? We can't go ourselves, our powers are needed here more than there, and I honestly can't think of a better defense for him than the people who care about him the most."
"They may all die tonight, Impa," Saria said seriously.
"We may all die tonight, little one," Impa replied. "They've fought with Link this far, they deserve the opportunity to die doing the same. As for us, we have a duty to fulfill. Hyrule needs us. It's high-time we saw to her needs." The Sages exchanged a glance and nodded as one. Darunia drew in his breath.
"ARISE HYRULE!" He cried, jarring the sleeping soldiers out of their sleep and calling the ones on guard down the stairs. "THE TIME FOR SLEEP IS OVER! TAKE UP YOUR ARMS! TAKE UP THE FIGHT! TO BATTLE!"
Impa cast one last, uncertain look after the people she'd once thought of as children before turning to her people to rally them.
It was time to reclaim the Golden Palace.
xxx
Chapter 37 (cont.)
I can't keep this up much longer . . .
With my memories back I can match Dark Link blow for blow . . .
But I'm still no shade from the Dark Realm. I haven't got unlimited stamina . . .
I'm tiring and he's not . . .
And he knows it.
I frantically dodge another blow and raise my shield to deflect the next, trying to buy myself some time.
I have never, in my life, been this torn. It's like there are two voices in my head, each screaming different things at me.
Kill him! Shouts one. KILL HIM! YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM!
DON'T! Shrieks the other. He's your father! You can't! You can't give up on him! You can save him! Don't give up!
He's going to kill you! You can't let that happen! If you die, Zelda dies! If you die, Hyrule dies! If you die, Ganondorf comes back! You have to kill him first! Kill him! Kill him!
You can't! You can't give up on him! You've never given up on anything in your life, don't start now! You can't kill him!
You have to!
You can't!
You have to!
You can't!
Zelda watches our fight with wide eyes, struggling against her bonds. She can see I'm tiring as well as Dark Link can.
I have to make a choice . . .
Kill him!
Don't!
I haven't got much time left! If I don't do something soon I'll lose everything!
You have to!
You can't!
I don't dodge the next slash fast enough and Dark Link's ebon blade slides across my shoulder. I hiss in pain and slash my own violently at him, returning the favor and slashing his. He growls at me and we both fall away from each other for a moment, me panting, him grinning insanely.
What's wrong, Hero? He asks sardonically. Tiring? Hurting? Weakening? I glare at him furiously.
"Shut up," I hiss.
Abandoned? He asks. Where's your friends? Spy? Thief? Rider? Fairy?
"I said SHUT UP!" I cry. "I left them behind! I don't need them for this! I don't need you to take them too!" Dark Link laughs as though something about this whole thing is funny.
They're not your friends, he says flatly, his grin never fading. No friends. You have no friends. You're abandoned. Betrayed. Forsaken.
"SHUT UP!" I throw myself at him again, gathering my strength and thrusting my blade at him. "You don't know anything!" He continues to laugh as we fight, blocking, but not parrying. He's playing with me now.
Hurting, Hero? Forsaken hurts.
"I'm not the forsaken," I hiss at him as we fight, spinning and whirling in flashes of steel and fury. "I'm the one who did the forsaking. And do you know why I did that? Do you know why I left my friends behind and came here alone?" Dark Link blocks my slash with his sword and pushes me backwards violently with his shield. I stumble backwards, just managing to hold my balance. Dark Link doesn't follow up, but instead rests his sword on his shoulder and grins.
Dad, he answers. For Dad. But Dad's dead.
"He's not," I hiss at him. "Don't even try and pretend it. We both know he's alive in you . . . or maybe it's the other way around. And we both know what it would take to free him . . . and to free you . . ." The grin vanishes from Dark Link's face as he stares at me hungrily.
Your blood . . . He answers.
"Yes," I reply. "My blood. You need my blood to be free."
KILL HIM!
YOU CAN'T!
"But more than that . . . you can't just kill me. You tried that once, in the pedestal room, and it didn't work, did it?" I can feel something trickling down my back. Might be sweat, might be blood. My shoulder hurts like a bitch. "You need to kill me on the altar. If you want to free Ganondorf and be free yourself you need to kill me on the altar." He frowns at me.
So? He demands.
"So I'm not saying I'll just give myself up," I answer, "but I'd like to know how you plan on killing me on the altar if Zelda's there?" I raise an eyebrow at him. "You're going to have to force me on that thing if you want me there, and that will be a lot harder with Zelda there." It's desperate I know, but what else can I do? He grins at me again.
Let her go? He asks.
KILL HIM!
YOU CAN'T!
"Yes," I say. "Let her go." He thinks about it.
No, he says.
"Why?" I demand.
She'll interfere, he answers. Seventh Sage. Powers. She stays.
KILL HIM!
YOU CAN'T!
You give up, he suggests, his grin never fading, I let her go. My face hardens.
"No," I answer. "I can't do that and we both know it. Besides, you think I'd trust you to let her go?"
You want her, then, he says, a cruel grin twisting his features, kill me. Kill dad. Enough talk. He shifts his stance and points his sword at me. Fight, Hero! Fight me! Kill me! Or I'll kill you. He leaps at me, making good on his threat. I raise my shield to block his attack and counter and we continue our dance. But there's no way I can continue at this pace. Not with half a heart. Two halves, actually. Each fighting the other with all the ferocity of Dark Link and I.
DO IT!
DON'T!
YOU HAVE TO!
YOU CAN'T!
Dark Link lashes out with his foot and this time I'm not fast enough to counter. His heel catches me in the stomach and drives back and to my knees. He laughs insanely as he lifts his sword, grip reversed on it. That's the same way Detsu held his sword when he captured my father . . . when he gave him to Ganondorf to turn him into this . . .
On the upside, Ganondorf needs me dead to bring himself back. There's no eternity spent trapped with a shade for me . . .
You lose! He crows. I gather my strength and try and bring my shield up, but I'll never make it in time. He's too fast. The fight's over. I've failed . . .
"LINK!" A blur of red hair and clothes is suddenly over me and I hear the sound of steel on steel as Dark Link's sword meets the resistance of two, curved scimitars. I gasp and look up as Neesha throws herself at Dark Link in a fury, scimitars flashing as she drives him back, catching him by surprise.
"Neesha?" Strong hands are suddenly grabbing me and hauling me to my feet.
"Link!" Hunter gasps, checking me over hurriedly. "Sweet merciful Din, Link! Are you all right? For a half a second there I thought we were too late! When I saw him with the sword . . .!"
"Hunter!" I gasp. "How . . ."
"Secret passage. I'll explain later," he says. "Hey, I . . . uh . . . read your note – which, by the way, I will personally kick your ass for if we make it out of this alive – and . . . I know it's a little premature to be making up, what with Dark Link still alive, and everything, but . . . I wanted to say apology accepted. And . . . I'm sorry too." He cracks a crooked grin. "Just in case, right?" I grin slowly back at him.
"Just in case," I agree.
"Cool," he says, exhaling loudly with relief. "Now come on! Neesha needs help!"
"Wait! What about Zelda?"
"Malon's got her!" Navi shouts, streaking over to Dark Link, sparkling above his head with yellow light. I risk a glance over my shoulder as we run towards Dark Link. Malon's hurriedly trying to untie Zelda's bonds. I turn back to the fight at hand.
She's almost safe . . .
If she can just get out of here . . .
Neesha's suddenly thrown violently back by Dark Link. She hits the floor hard and skids across the floor to slam into the wall on the other side of the room with a sharp cry but before the shade can take advantage of her, Hunter and I are on him. HunterHunHuntThe instant I slash at him again, the two parts of me immediately start up their argument, harder than ever.
KILL HIM!
YOU CAN'T!
Hunter and I lay into Dark Link furiously, offering no quarter as Malon and Zelda rush over to Neesha's side. The shade twists and writhes frantically, his sword and shield moving in a blur as he tries to block both of our attacks, but Hunter and I work in tandem and he's having trouble keeping up – even with one of us tired. Hunter's more than making up for my end. He may not be my equal when it comes to fighting skill, but he's had a hate on for Dark Link ever since he killed Jinni and Ket, and it's showing now. There's no doubt in his mind as to what has to be done.
My mind, on the other hand, screams at me in a panic.
YES GO! YOU'VE GOT HIM!
STOP! YOU'LL KILL HIM!
And suddenly, there's an opening.
Dark Link turns to block Hunter and for a half a second leaves his back wide open.
Time slows down.
This is my chance . . .
Dark Link raises his shield against Hunter's sword.
KILL HIM!
This is my opportunity to end this . . .
Hunter's sword clangs against the shield and Dark Link brings his sword up to counter.
DON'T!
I raise my sword over his prone back . . .
. . . but I can't make myself bring it down . . .
My father's in there somewhere! I can't kill him!
I have to kill him! Unless I want to lose everyone else too, I HAVE to kill him!
I can't! I can't do it!
I have to!
Time suddenly speeds back up again as Dark Link finishes blocking Hunter's attack and whirls around violently to block mine, only to find me unprepared for an attack of his own. He takes full advantage and stabs at me, purposely avoiding running me through, I'm no good to him dead on the floor, but savaging my side. I cry out and fall backwards, dropping my shield to clutch at the wound.
"LINK!" Hunter cries. Dark Link doesn't waste his distraction. He whirls around and away from me and attacks Hunter, who's nowhere near ready for him. Hunter cries out as Dark Link brings his hilt down on the Sheikah's hand, knocking his sword from his grip. My psychotic clone drops his shield and grabs Hunter's throat, lifting him into the air.
"Hunter!" I gasp, gritting my teeth and forcing myself to my feet, clinging to the Master Sword desperately. Dark Link whirls around to face me, grinning maniacally. I freeze, unable to attack. He has Hunter . . . Goddess DAMMIT he's got Hunter!
I shouldn't have hesitated!
If he dies . . .
But he doesn't. Dark Link is feeling the press of Time in around us as well as I am. He needs me dead and he needs me dead soon and hasn't got time to be messing around with my friends. He hurls Hunter over at the altar, like a child discarding a toy in a temper. Hunter strikes the ground and the altar hard, but immediately forces himself, wincing, back to his hands and knees, clutching his chest. Over in the corner, Zelda's and Malon's eyes widen.
"Hunter!" Malon cries.
"Stay with Neesha!" Zelda snaps. "I'll get him." She rushes over to him, dropping to her knees beside him.
"Forget me," Hunter growls. "It's Link who needs help!" They both turn to look at me, suddenly, panicked that Dark Link has attacked me again while I was distracted by Hunter.
But he hasn't.
He's staring at me with the same grin that got him the nickname Psycho Me, and I'm staring back in horror.
I know what he's planning . . .
I know what he's going to do . . .
And he knows I know.
"STOP!" I cry, moving towards him, but he's faster than I am right now, and he whirls around, sword out, and lunges at Zelda and Hunter.
In the instant he moves my options become clear.
There's only one way to save them . . .
There's only one way to keep Dark Link from slaughtering them both . . .
Decision made. No more hesitating.
Time slows down as I skid into a sharp turn, changing directions in mid-step, lunging for Hunter and Zelda now instead of for Dark Link. My only choice is to get there before he does. Dark Link is fast, but I'm closer. He won't have them. I won't let him have them!
Zelda and Hunter realize what's happening a split second too late and their eyes widen as they start to move away from the altar, but they won't make it. Dark Link's almost on them.
I gather in my strength and throw myself in front of them, raising my shield arm, only I haven't got my shield.
Dark Link buries his sword up to its hilt in my stomach.
Time speeds up again.
Everything goes quiet as eyes go wide all around the room. For a moment that feels like an eternity all anyone, myself and Dark Link included, can do is stare in disbelief at the sword in my gut.
I cough once, the coppery taste blood in my mouth. Neesha screams somewhere off to the side but it sounds farther away than that. Crimson blood flows out of my wound and onto Dark Link's hands. We stare at each other in surprise for a moment and then a slow, triumphant grin spreads across his face. Zelda says something from somewhere beside me but I can't make it out. Everything sounds like its underwater . . .. Dark Link rips his sword out of me and without its support I fall backwards onto the altar, the blood from my wound filling up the indents in it, and spilling over the sides, my strength bleeding from me as well.
Someone – I don't know who, everything's blurry – cries my name, but I can't answer them . . .
It's over . . .
I lost.
My hand loosens its grip on the Master Sword, no longer having the strength to hold it up and the Sword of Evil's Bane falls from its wielder's grip to strike the ground with a hollow, empty sound that echoes oddly in my head.
I look up and through the haze that's obscuring my vision I can just make out a pair of deep, green eyes . . .
Green . . . like the secret places . . . in the Lost Woods . . .
I lost . . .
But . . .
At least I . . . saved him . . .
Mom . . . would be proud . . .
I died . . . a Gerudo's . . . death . . .
My eyes fall shut, and blackness takes me.