A/N: Bleh, now that I think of it, maybe I should have made the last chapter longer and…ah, no one wants to hear me complain about mistakes. Hopefully this chapter won't be bad. I'm still not sure if I'm too good at fight scenes, since it's easy to write them repetitively and blandly.
Chapter Three: THE SHADOW'S FIRST STRIKE
Night finally fell, and the ranch was enveloped in the light of a full moon. The knights, who had come dangerously close to finding their prey, had only been gone for a few moments before Malon smacked her hand alongside her visitor's head, shouting "What were you thinking?"
While Link rubbed the spot on his head, Talon came over speaking before the boy could answer for himself, "Malon, don't be too hard on him; Link didn't know that anyone was here."
"No, I'm sorry," Link sighed, "I've been here for less than a day and I have already caused you two too much trouble." Since the cucco stampede had created more than a few holes in his borrowed clothing, he now wore his tunic and normal clothes, although he left his weapons and equipment in the barn.
As she rolled her eyes, Malon stepped in front of Link, "Stop feeling so sorry all of the time. The knights are gone and I'm sure you're safe now. Besides," she added, "We don't mind you staying here a bit. Isn't that right, Poppa?"
Talon nodded, "Yup," He smiled, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."
A grin crossed the boy's face, "Thank you both, but…" he sighed as he looked to Navi who wore a grim expression, then returned his gaze to the father and daughter before him, "I'm not going to stay here for long. I need to find Zelda."
"Of course. The gallant knight rescuing the damsel in distress." This made Link grin more, and Talon spoke, this time looking at the night sky, "I suppose it's time to sleep."
"You woke up two hours ago!" Malon said.
"I know, but I'm sleepy."
"You're hopeless," Malon laughed and Talon grinned. Link watched on as the family laughed together. Family…something I've never had…he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of horses entered his ears, making his heart jump. Turning his head towards the entrance of the ranch, he saw that the five knights atop their horses had returned. Once Malon noticed what Link was looking at, she gasped, and Talon turned, mouth hanging open.
The lead knight slid off of his horse and onto his feet, much more agilely than one would expect someone so clad in armor and carrying a sword and shield could be. The large man walked until he was about twenty feet away from the fugitive boy and the farmers, and even from that distance he seemed to loom over them. "We have returned for the boy there and for Talon. Lying to Hylian Knights is not something to be taken lightly."
With teeth clenched, Link stared at the knight from behind Malon and Talon. "I do not want to fight them," he whispered.
"I know, Link," Navi spoke form his shoulder, "But, if you had to, could you win?"
After a second of looking the knights over, the swordsman answered, "I really don't know and I don't want to find out. Running away is one thing, but attacking a squad of knights isn't exactly gonna make my reputation any better."
The large knight took a step forward, brandishing his broadsword to show the seriousness of the situation. A shout from his companions and the screechy neighs from their horses, brought him to a stop. "What is the problem? Get a hold of your steeds!"
"We cannot!" one of the knights exclaimed, "It seems as if something has spooked them!"
"What could possibly scare horses such as those?" the knight looked around, "I see nothing!" One of the horses bucked, sending its rider onto the ground.
"Something is coming, Link," Navi's tiny voice dripped with worry.
With his head moving back and forth in search of any danger, but not finding any, Link began to get frustrated, "I know, but where could it be?"
Suddenly, the leg of one horse disappeared underneath the soil, as if something had pulled it under. Its rider fell onto his back and before him, rising from the ground, appeared his attacker. The musty, gray bones of the creature reeked of death and decay. The crimson sword it held was stained from countless battles.
With a swift slash of the sword, the creature silenced the screaming horse, then turned its attention to its rider. The knight reached for dropped weapon, but before he was able to strike, his attacker plunged his own blade into the knight's neck, one of the few openings on the armor clad warriors.
The lead knight swore, "What kind of creature is this? It appears to be a Stalchild, but they do not wield weapons nor are they ever that large!" Around the knights, all still on horseback, five more creatures, all identical to the first, rose from the earth.
"Stalfos!" Link shouted. "Malon, get my sword! Talon, get my shield!" The two nodded at the boy's command and soon were gone into the barn.
"Knights, destroy these abominations!" the commander shouted as he rushed at a nearby Stalfos. Their swords clashed against each other, both pressing all their strength and weight in an attempt to topple one another.
Link picked up a large rock and threw it at one of the skeleton warriors that had knocked a knight from his horse. The rock smashed into the creature's head, knocking it off. The knight stood up and, after reequipping his sword, brought it down to cut the sword-wielding arm of the headless Stalfos. The boy quickly picked up the dropped sword out of the bony grip, and spun, launching it into the spine of another Stalfos that was battling with a knight.
"Link!" Malon shouted from behind him. She carried his sword and Talon, beside her, carried the much heavier shield. Running over, Link quickly grabbed the weapons and shouted, "Get into the house!" Talon agreed and grabbed his daughter's hand and dragged her into the building with him, while Link ran alongside, in case a Stalfos attacked. None did, since they were preoccupied with the knights.
After strapping the sheath of his sword along his back, Link pulled the gilded sword out, and with his newly acquired shield, made a path into the fight. Two knights were killed, but three Stalfos—the two he had helped against, and the one that had fought the commanding knight—had been destroyed.
Bursting from the ground came four more of the skeletal fighters, but the Hero alone dashed to meet them. Link easy beat one from behind, severing it in half from shoulder to hip with a jumping downward slash. The three companions of the felled Stalfos were not as easily surprised, though.
The one to his left brought its sword down in attempt to split his skull, but Link side stepped the blow. By doing so, though, he walked into the attack of the one to his right. He rolled under the horizontal slice, bringing the gilded blade up and into the groin of the Stalfos, severing the hip in half. It tumbled over, and the third monster, stepping atop his fallen comrade to get closer to Link, crushed its body to dust.
Instead of using its sword, the Stalfos swung its shield to knock Link in the head. The boy took a quick step back out his opponent's reach, but almost tumbled over in the process. The other monster stabbed at him, but that was easily blocked with his shield. The Stalfos roared, and was about to plunge his blade into the belly of the boy, but stopped and swatted at a bright light that had suddenly flown into his face.
Taking the time that Navi had given him while she distracted the enemy, Link let out a cry as he stabbed his sword into the Stalfos's ribs and pulled his sword down, taking the entire ribcage with it. After placing his shield onto his back and making his right hand into a fist, sent an uppercut into the bottom of the Stalfos's jaw, launching the wounded creature into the air. Once it fell, its body shattered against the ground.
Link, taking no time to revel in his victories, tried to intercept the last Stalfos, but his legs did not move. Looking down, he saw the hands of a skeleton reaching out of the ground, its pasty white claws gripping his lower legs. The swordsman brought his weapon up so that he could thrust it into the ground in a strike against submerged warrior, but another hand gripped his wrist.
The survivor of the first group of four Stalfos that Link intercepted had grabbed onto both of the boy's wrists. The one under the ground rose, the two Stalfos dangled the struggling form of the Hero between them. His squirming did nothing but make himself drop the gilded sword onto the ground. "Let me go!" He shouted, but his captors ignored him as they carried him towards the entrance of the ranch. What's going on? Since when do Stalfos take captives?
The scream of a battle cry punctured Link's ears, and he heard a sword sever through the body of the rear Stalfos. The other dropped him and unsheathed its sword to deal with the attacker. The commanding knight, his armor covered with dents and slash marks, yelled and, in his rage, tackled the creature. He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and brought the weapon's pommel down into the face of the Stalfos, making it yelp as its face shattered. He continued to smash the bones until it did not move at all.
After standing and letting out a few long coughs, Link reclaimed his sword and sheathed it. Looking around at the sight before him, he suddenly noticed that, although each and every Stalfos, about fourteen, had been destroyed, none of the horses or knights, other than the leader, had survived.
The remnants of the Stalfos had been cleaned up in a short amount of time, but it was still late into the night until Link, Talon and Malon awaited to see what the last knight would do. The armor clad man, that had seemed so large before but Link realized was only a foot taller than himself, stood before the three, appearing more as a statue than a living being.
Link was first to speak, stepping forward and standing straight up, looking into the iron-covered face that seemed so emotionless. "I suppose that I'll be coming with you now."
The knight did not respond. He looked back to his fallen fellow knights, who had been moved to the entrance of the ranch by both himself and Link, each laying next to each other, then, a few moments later, returned his gaze to the boy before him. Link's mouth fell open as the knight, instead of grabbing his quarry and tying him up to bring to Hyrule Castle, reached up and gripped his helmet. After a tug, it slid off, revealing a blue-haired young man, about Link's age behind the mask.
The knight placed the helmet under his arm and stared at Link. "I am Gerald, a squad commander in the Hylian Knights. Rather, I once was; after this defeat, I know not what I will be by tomorrow.
"To rush into battle alongside those who meant to capture you against your will, to aid them instead of fleeing for your own freedom speaks well of you…Link. I see now that Princess Zelda's words of your courage and honor were not unfounded. During the training of a knight, Her Highness would make many visits to recognize her unwavering gratitude for our services, and when she would do so, many times would she speak of you, always with a word upon your bravery or your superior sword skills.
"I see, now, that she spoke the truth. I must thank you for your help in the fight."
"Not that it did much good," Link said with a tone of failure.
The knight shook his head, "My companions died an honorable death against a worthy foe of darkness. They would not wish for any to feel remorse for their sacrifice. I see now that you are deserving of Her Highness's praises, which made many a soldier or guard work ever so much more diligently to become a knight to surpass you…" he hesitated before adding, "Including myself.
"But, that is impossible. Your skills, your bravery, and your spirit are unmatched; this I, being trained in asserting one's fighting skill, can plainly see," Gerald added, "I also believe now that…you are not only innocent, but you are the only one who will be capable of saving Princess Zelda from whatever fate she currently faces."
"What are you talking about?" Link asked curiously.
A slight smile crossed the blue-haired man's face, "What if…I was to return to the castle, returning from this horrible battle, only to be empty handed? What if…my prey had escaped during the aftermath of the battle?"
Link grinned as he understood what Gerald meant, "Thank you. I guess that means we should get moving."
"We?"
"Yup. Me and Navi," as he spoke, his tiny fairy friend flew out to the knight.
"A…fairy. In all my life I never thought I would ever cross paths with one. Remarkable…" Navi grinned happily at Gerald's praise.
"Don't encourage her." Navi glared at Link. He gave his good-byes and thanks to Talon and Malon, receiving a rough hug from the red-head. "I'm going to leave Epona here, Malon. She'll be happier here than she could be traveling around with me."
The girl was about to argue, but instead she nodded in understanding. The knight bowed, and Link returned it. The blonde-boy's glance turned to the bodies near the entrance of the ranch.
"Do not worry, Talon has graciously offered to help bring their bodies to the castle with his wagon," Gerald said, answering Link's unanswered question.
"Where are we going to go, Link?" Navi spoke as she fluttered around his head. "We obviously can't stay here."
"Yeah, I know that. We need to go talk to one of the sages," he nodded as he spoke, "If anyone knows how and why Stalfos are wandering around Hyrule, they should."
"And of course you're going to see the Sage of Forest as the first choice?"
"How'd you guess?" the boy laughed, and stepped away from the three others near him, who watched the conversation between him and the fairy with interest. After pulling out the Ocarina of Time, the shining blue present given to him by Zelda herself, Link waved good-bye, again.
Putting the instrument to his lips, Link closed his eyes and played the Minuet of Forest. Much to the surprise of the people watching him, Link turned into a bunch of bright lights, and flew off in the direction of the Lost Woods.
"Amazing," Gerald spoke in awe, "He commands such power and courageousness, and yet he still possesses the untainted spirit of a child. Remarkable."
"I expected no less!" the laugh of the shadowy masked figure echoed in the large ornate room that he stood within, looking into his mirror that had suddenly changed from a view of the ranch to one of trees and a think forest. "The Stalfos failed miserably in front of him, the Hero!"
"Heh, but don't grow comfortable; my next strike will be much more forceful. Escape that and you may earn my admiration." His gaze turned away from the mirror and towards something behind him. Far from where he was, in another area within the great temple he sheltered himself with, something grabbed his attention.
"Ah, so…she has finally awakened. Hehe. This may be amusing…"
Deep within the Lost Woods, the lush grasses and trees of the Sacred Forest Meadow shimmered in the bright moonlight. The faint sound of an ocarina floated along with the breeze, coming from the direction of the Forest Temple. In front of the ancient temple, sitting atop a small stump, was the figure of a child.
A child in only appearance, for she was as old as the Hero and had powers that even he did not understand. The Sage of Forest, Saria of the Kokiri, sat on a stump, surrounded by her favorite area within the forest, playing her tiny ocarina while her fairy companion floated around her head.
Behind her, Saria felt a presence float in that she had been waiting for. Silencing her instrument, she spun around to look at her visitor. "About time!" Standing in front of her on the pedestal with the symbol of the Forest Medallion carved into it, was Link with Navi floating around him.
"Hi, Saria…" he said unsurely.
"I've been waiting forever for you to say hello to me! What did you do, forget about your best friend over the last seven years?"
"No! I just thought that with everyone scared of me…and what Mido said…"
"Ugh, Mido…" Saria sighed and stood up, "I know you didn't do what they're all blaming you for! Stop being silly." A relieved grin crossed Link's face and Saria hurried over to him, clinging to his waist. He returned the greeting by ruffling the girl's hair. "Hey!" the girl fixed her green hair, "Don't treat me like a kid! I'm as old as you and I'm a Sage!" she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Right, how could I have forgotten?" he laughed.
After talking for a while longer about some of Link's adventures, including his run in with the mask of Majora and how close he came to being squished by a moon, the friends decided that it was time to get serious.
While Navi spoke with Saria's own fairy, Link frowned and sighed. "Saria, tell me, do you have any idea who it was that attacked the castle and took Zelda?"
The girl, who sat on her stump again, shook her head sadly, "I have no clue. All I know is that it wasn't you, since I could feel that you were far from Hyrule when it happened. As for the Stalfos…I really hate to say it, but…I didn't even know they were there."
The swordsman frowned, "But you should have been able to sense something that evil and dark wandering around Hyrule Field, shouldn't you?"
"That's what I mean. Who ever is commanding them is powerful and obviously dangerous."
Link's heart seemed to speed up as his worst fear entered his mind, "Could it be…is there any way that it could be him? Could her have escaped"
Saria's first response was to bite her lip and look away; She knew exactly who he was speaking of. "I pray everyday to each Goddess in hopes that would never happen…and if it did, I see no reason why one of the Sages wouldn't have felt his presence or the failure of the barrier," a sigh escaped her lips and she kicked her legs a little, "But, we can't really ignore that idea. I really, really doubt it's happened at this time, but if Ganondorf has returned then there is only one person that could be sure."
"The only person that we trust that knows him better than anyone else…" Link nodded, "I guess we're going to Gerudo Valley now." He stood up from the ground and patted the dirt and grass off of the back of his tunic. "Navi! We're leaving now."
The tiny fairy said good-bye to her friend and flew over to Link. A tiny, sad smile grew on Saria's face, "I guess you'll never be spending much time in the forest anymore."
Link looked down at his gloomy friend, but smiled and scooped her up. "I'll be back as soon as I get all this junk sorted out, ok?"
"You better…or I'll hate you."
The boy placed Saria back onto her feet and smirked, "I think that's probably scarier than having Ganondorf free again."
"You're such a dummy," the Sage laughed, "Now get going before I change my mind about letting you leave."
The boy nodded and turned his head to Navi, "Since warping to the Desert Colossus won't do us any good, we're going to have to walk to the Valley."
"You mean you'll have to walk," Navi reminded him, "I'll fly there, as always, thank you very much."
As he rolled his eyes at his fairy, he said "You know what I meant." The two of them said their last good-byes to Saria and her fairy, and the boy and his fairy began another journey, leaving their home of the forest and their friend in search of something that a part of them did not want to find.
A/N: I….guess that wasn't too bad. I'm still not too sure about the Stalfos scenes, though. At least this chapter was a bit longer than that other one. Oh, and I'm glad so many people enjoyed the cucco rampage from the last chapter.
Response…Thingers:
Allhail'tallica13: I'm glad that the cucco thing was amusing. Leaving out the cuccos in a Zelda fic just seems wrong.
Luna-Kitsune-Blu: Holy crap! You were logged in! –smacks Blu over the head- Oh, yeah, you're telling me to be nicer to my main characters, specifically Link? Okay, so who was it that killed him off in one fic and made him commit suicide in a different one? Hmm? –hugs- Thank you for the review!
Magnet-Rose: I'm glad that you're here for the trip to the Zelda-verse, Miss Rose, it's strange enough for me. I'm glad that you liked the cucco thing, just…don't laugh too loud in a library. That's not always a good thing.
Rockie-Chan: See, Talon and Malon did not die! Unless I…die or something, this story should be finished eventually.
Bvv: Well, thank you! For me, that last chapter was a short, compared to some in my other stories, at least.
Fpg: Thank you for the two reviews! Yes, the cuccos are the best, are they not? Maybe it is Ganon…maybe it's not…
Atchika: All stories, Zelda or otherwise, should have tiny angry chickens maul the hero. It's just so useful.
Osiris: Well, it's not going to be Link/Malon, since the girl is kinda out of the picture for now. I'm not one to stress over pairings too much and they're not usually an important part of my stories. Just because they hugged a couple times and Malon helped him with his wounds doesn't mean they have to like each other in a pairing type of way, right? Of course not.
Jade04: I'm glad that I could make you laugh! I am trying my best to make Link interesting, since he has no defined personality in the games.
Blowfish the Monkey Tamer: I'm glad that you liked his lie. I'm glad that it and the cucco attack didn't seem like they didn't fit into it, since they were both so…silly.
Mastah Classah: Ah, so many people guessing the shadowy figure person…I'll probably write a GS fic soon, but I have no clue when. If I ever can, I'll try to get around to reading yours.