Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
This is another really long chapter in just 2 days. I guess this is what happens when you don't have much homework. Well, I hope everyone likes this chapter, and once again I thank my two reviewers, Ruby-sama 4.5 and Ani1. And to let everyone know, I decided not to be a hypocrite and went and reviewed some of the many stories I've written. So, no I can say this guilt-free: EVERYONE PLEASE REVIEW. And to remind everyone, I NOW ACCEPT ANONYMOUS reviews. For me and probably other writers, getting a new review is like seeing my favorite stories ('Legend of Zelda: Eternal Ark' by Fierce Deity or 'Legend of Zelda: Rebel Assassin' by Split Infinitive) get a chapter update. Reading a new review is as exciting, albeit shorter, than reading a new chapter in one of those awesome stories.
New Note(10/29/03): I just finished editing this chapter and now I've updated it. I decided that I better go through and edit all my chapters after I found a lot of mistakes in the first chapter. From now on, I'll edit before I upload a new chapter, and my apologies to those of you who had to suffer through the many mistakes in the first few chapters.
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 4: Rampage
"Link!" Malon said in a whisper, "You're going to get us killed!"
"This is not life-threatening, Malon," Link said calmly.
"You don't think anything's life-threatening," the farm girl responded quietly, sighing.
The two had been sitting in a large crate for the past hour. After the assassination attempt, the evening had continued on as planned, though everyone was shaken up. The princess especially had been jumpy; disturbed that someone had come so close to taking her life. After her father had left to examine the prisoner with a number of the royal guards, everyone sat down to watch the performance done by the traveling group. Zelda tried to enjoy the performance, as did Impa and the number of royal guards flanking her, but they were all continuously on edge. Malon had managed enjoyed herself despite the circumstances, but Link had been lost in thought. When Malon asked what he was thinking about, the boy had told her that the leader of the group had said something disturbing at the beginning of the performance. The 'Master of Ceremonies' had told the crowd that they would not be able to see the 'ninja' act tonight because their ninja had mysteriously disappeared. Link had realized immediately that the assassin had used the mysterious ninja style of fighting, and had been worried that the rest of the performance group may have been involved in the assassination attempt. He then made the mistake of telling Malon that he was going to sneak into the performers' camp and try to find something related to the assassination attempt. The farm girl had insisted on coming with Link, and they had both infiltrated the camp after the performance had ended. Deciding that they would have to wait until most of the performers retired for the night, Link had found an exceptionally large wooden crate that the two had snuck into. The box was at least ten feet wide on every side, and this fact had made the act of sitting in a dirty crate for an hour more bearable.
"This is so boring," Malon complained, "couldn't you have picked a more interesting spot, Fairy Boy?"
"If you would rather hide in the wolfos cage," the boy started, "then yes, I could have."
"What exactly are you hoping to find?" Malon asked.
"Well, anything related to the crime, I guess," Link responded, "I have a feeling that one of these guys is linked with that assassin. Maybe we'll overhear them talking about it or something."
"Oh, yeah," Malon said sarcastically, "because these people are stupid enough to discuss their attempts to overthrow the Hylian monarchy out in the open."
"Good point," Link said, feeling foolish, "but I'm still going to see what I can find."
"Link," Malon said in a whiney tone, "the rest of these guys aren't fighters. You saw the different acts. How are a bunch of tight-rope walkers and jugglers going to assassinate anybody?"
Link ignored her, and continued to peer out of a small slit in the crate. "It finally looks like they're going to settle down for the night," the boy said as lanterns and campfires were extinguished, "We should be able to move soon."
"Good," Malon said, "I'm starting to get pretty sore."
"Your attitude has been sore for the past hour," Link said, smiling, and receiving a small kick from the girl in response.
"Shut up," the farm girl said as she crossed her arms and glared at the floor.
***
"Link, wake up!" Malon whispered, albeit loudly into the boy's ear, "Link, it's past midnight, and this was your idea, so get up!"
Link woke groggily and stared at the girl.
"Malon?" Link said, confused, before remembering what he was doing. "Oh," the boy said sheepishly, "I guess I'm still pretty tired."
"Don't feel bad," Malon said, "I fell asleep too, but I am never sleeping in a crate ever again."
Link stretched out, his body sore from his strange sleeping position.
"Well," the blonde boy said, sliding the lid of the crate to the side, "let's go."
Link and Malon climbed out of the large crate as quietly as possible, although Malon fell over the edge of the box as she tried to climb over it.
"Smooth," Link commented as the girl picked herself up off the dirt.
"Oh, shut up," Malon said, brushing herself off.
"I heard one of the performers mentioning that the ninja guy's tent was over there," the girl said, gesturing to a tent on the outskirts of the camp, "I think the ninja's name is Siluk."
The two companions quietly made their way to the tent under the peaceful night sky. Malon looked up at the stars and the clear skies. There was no moon on this particular night, making the stars stand out far more than usual. The farm girl found herself awestruck by the sight of the dark sky.
"It's beautiful," Malon said quietly, gazing at the stars, "this kind of night doesn't occur very often."
Link looked up at the sky briefly. "Yeah," the boy started, "but you won't ever see it again if we're dead."
"I thought you said this wasn't dangerous!" Malon snapped, glaring at the young Hylian.
"Hey, I told you not to come," Link replied, "it was your choice, need I remind you."
"Shut up," Malon said once again as Link turned and entered the small tent. The tent was mostly barren, with a few pouches lying in the corner, a folded ninja suit on the ground, and a mat rolled out across the dirt. Link shook the cot, looking for any sort of a clue, and searched the area under the bags. Not finding anything, the boy opened a pouch and emptied the contents onto the floor.
"Aren't those the things he threw at Zelda?" Malon asked, entering the tent. She had pointed to the metal stars that had been dumped onto the ground.
"Yeah," Link responded, "I guess we know it was definitely this guy behind the assassination attempt. But more of these 'performers' could be involved. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all just using this 'traveling performer' stuff as a cover."
"You're very untrusting," Malon observed as she picked up one of the stars to examine it.
"I've learned," Link replied, pouring the contents of the second pouch onto the dirt floor. The pouch contained an immense amount of purple and orange rupees, causing both Malon and Link to gasp.
"Wow," Malon said, when she could breathe again, "that's the most money I've ever seen in my life."
"I'm guessing somebody paid him extremely well for this job," Link said, looking at the incredibly rare crystal pieces, "I can't believe he just left these in here."
"He didn't," a voice said from behind the boy, causing Malon to jump and Link to turn and instinctively whip out his longsword. He came face to face with the man Link recognized as having rode the phantos in the large parade. The man was wearing an elaborate tunic and violet pants, both in bright colors, and a large headdress adorned his head. The headdress was littered with expensive jewels, as was the rest of the man's attire.
"Who are you," Link asked cautiously.
"You are the ones invading my territory," the man answered, "So; it is I who should be asking you."
"This is not your territory," Malon said from behind Link, "you don't belong in Hyrule if you had any connection with the assassination attempt."
"Do not worry, child," the man responded, "for I was not involved in the first assassination attempt." Malon visibly relaxed, while Link took a battle stance after hearing the man's last comment.
"You said first," Link said menacingly, "and I must say if you plan on attempting another assassination, I will destroy you before you get the chance."
"Foolish child," the man said, "you cannot hurt me, for I have recently been given a power far greater than yours. You see, a strange man clothed in shadow came to me after Siluk failed to kill the princess, and he was probably the same man that gave the ninja the money you see there. He told me that Siluk had failed, and that he would give me a great power as well as the money that he had given Siluk if I would complete the assassination. I was unsure at first, but the man then handed me a strange ball of light. Upon touching it, it was absorbed into me, and I felt a power unlike anything I have felt before. So, needless to say, I eagerly took up the job, and I accidentally left the money in this tent where I conferred with the strange man."
"Why are you telling us this," Malon asked cautiously, as Link remained battle-poised.
"I merely thought that you would die happier if you knew the whole story," the man responded. Link immediately charged towards the man and attempted to swing his sword, but the man held his hand up and both Link and Malon were frozen in place. Upon looking down, Link saw his body was bound with strange violet energy rings. The boy tried to break the bonds, but to no avail, and they were far too tight to squeeze out of. The man looked down at them and smiled.
"But do not fear," he said, "for you two shall not die yet. I want you to be around to witness the death of the princess and the overthrow of the Hylian monarchy. It should be quite a show."
***
Malon woke to find her arms and legs chained to a cold wall. She shook her head, trying to clear her senses, and remembered the man who had so easily bounded them and knocked them out. As the girl's vision adjusted, she could see that she was locked in some sort of large iron cell, and the straw and dirt covered ground gave the impression that animals were kept in here.
"He must have locked me in a spare cucco cage," Malon thought, since the cucco cages most often have no bars, but are just a plain wooden cell, "but where's Link." Malon found an answer as she craned her neck sideways to look around her. Link was next to her, chained against the wall as she was, but he was still unconscious, slumped down on the floor of the cell.
"Link!" Malon called in a whisper, "Link! Wake up, Fairy Boy!" When the boy did not wake, Malon reached over and kicked him lightly, causing the unconscious Link to stir.
"Link!" Malon said once again, this time louder. After a few minutes had passed and Malon was ready to give up, Link woke and grunted something undecipherable.
"Where are we," the boy muttered when he looked to his right and saw Malon staring at him.
"We're in some kind of old cucco cage," Malon replied, "and we're probably still in the performer's camp."
"What kind of cage has no bars to let light in?" Link asked.
"You can't put cuccos in normal cages or else they squeeze out through the bars," Malon said, "and stop asking questions. We need to figure out a way out of here."
"I know," Link replied before hearing a rustling sound to his left. Link and Malon both looked in that direction and could make out another figure chained to the wall at Link's left.
"Diggs!?" Link asked, surprised, "Is that you Diggs?"
"Sure is kid," the figure, now identified as Diggs, replied, "You two were out cold and didn't seem to be recovering too fast, so I decided to get some sleep."
"How did you get in here?" Link asked, still confused.
"Well," Diggs started, "it was probably about two days ago, but I'm not sure since it's kind of hard to keep track of time in here. I was just checking things out around the castle, and decided to go wander around in the performer's camp and make sure there was no trouble over there. I don't know why, I just had this feeling that I should go over there. Well, it was late at night, and I overheard some guy talking to someone about an assassination on the princess. I tried to get a closer look, but could only see that phantos rider and some other guy who seemed nothing more than a shadow. Anyway, the phantos guy saw me, used some weird magic on me, and threw me in here. End of story."
"So you weren't even home at all last night," Link concluded, "I figured that you just had to work late and get up early or something." Silence then fell over the group as Malon and Link tried to process the new information.
"Wait," Link said, thinking, "if that man threw you in here two days ago, and the assassination attempt was just earlier today, then this guy knew Siluk would fail in advance. Which means that the man who hired both of these assassins knew that Siluk would fail, but he hired him anyways. That seems kind of pointless."
"Who's Siluk?" Diggs asked, receiving confused stares from Link and Malon.
"Oh," Malon said to Link, "he's not exactly up to date on what's happened." Link sighed and proceeded to tell Diggs the events of the last day. After Diggs understood everything, Link continued.
"So this new assassin didn't even stop Siluk from attempting the assassination," the Hylian boy said, "he just basically let him fail. I'm starting to like this guy less and less."
"But Siluk isn't dead," Malon said to Link, "you didn't kill him, did you?"
"No, I didn't," the boy started, "but my guess is that this seemingly powerful guy who hired these assassins has disposed of him already. I doubt he would let a failure escape with just life in prison."
"This is very odd, indeed," Diggs added.
"Yeah, well," Link started, "enough philosophizing. We need to get out of here and save Zelda."
"Yeah," Diggs said to the boy, "you're right. Then when this is over you'll get the punishment you deserve for sneaking into this camp and dragging poor Malon with you."
"Hey!" Link argued, "I told her not to come! It was her idea."
"Yeah, but you told me it wouldn't be dangerous," Malon retorted. Before anyone could reply, a door in the roof slid open and the phantos rider dropped down into the cage.
"I see you're all awake," the man said, "that is very good. The time for the assassination draws closer."
"Just what kind of a moron are you?" Link asked, "Why are you telling us this? You know we're just going to get out of here and stop you, so why inform us of your plans?"
"You give yourself far too much credit," the man said, chuckling, "for you are currently bound in magical restraints. There is no way out of them unless I release you."
"There's always a way out," Link said coldly, "and it's just a matter of time until I figure it out."
"Ah, but you have no time to spare," the man said back, "for today is the last day of the festival, and a perfect opportunity to cause as much damage to Hyrule as possible."
"You overestimate yourself, moron," Link said back, "I have seen your 'power' as you call it, and I must say; it is rather pathetic."
"How dare you!" the man yelled, feeling rage well up inside of him, "I, Mahoch the Controller of Phantos, am now unstoppable. I am-"
"-a maniac who couldn't touch the Hylian monarchy if Ganon himself gave his powers to you," Link finished, smiling. Mahoch, as the man called himself, screamed loudly and walked over to Link, slapping him across the face.
"You will say no more!" Mahoch yelled in the Hylian's face.
"I think Zelda slaps harder than you," Link said, spitting in the man's face. The man once again let loose a gurgling scream and wiped his face off frantically. He then grabbed Link's neck and squeezed as hard as his muscles would let him.
"That's the best you got?" Link asked, the smile never leaving his face. The boy then thrust his head forwards and slammed his forehead into the taller man's chin. Mahoch reared back from the hit and Link brought his knee up into the man's stomach. The phantos rider doubled over, and Link slammed his other knee into Mahoch's face. The man then crawled away from Link, clutching his bloody face.
"You will pay for that!" Mahoch shouted as a green light began to form around his fists.
"I hope that messed up nose of yours doesn't scare away the crowds," Link said, smirking, "Once your assassin business falls through, performing will be all you have left."
"Do not insult my beautiful face!" Mahoch screamed, causing the sound to reverberate throughout the cell.
"I'm sorry to tell you this," Link started, delighted he hit a sensitive spot, "but I think I'd rather look at that phantos' face than at yours." Mahoch screamed once again, and the magic forming around his fists flew from his fingertips, impacting the wall and the ceiling of the cage. The magic left holes more than a foot wide in the wood.
"Um," Link started, still smiling, "I think you missed me. Maybe now that you've let some light in you can better your aim."
"I'LL KILLYOU!" Mahoch screeched, as he prepared to gather magic once again. The crazed man gathered two orbs of magical energy and directed them towards Link. The first one had been aimed for the boy's head, and Link easily dodged it by tilting his head to the side. The other orb was heading for his midsection, and Link simply pulled one of the magical chains at his arms in front of his chest. The orb impacted the chains, causing a small flash of light before dissipating. The first orb had left a large hole in the wall behind Link's head, and the second had weakened one of the magical chains holding the boy to the wall. Mahoch let out an even louder scream, and proceeded to gather more magic in his hands once again.
"Lord Mahoch," a voice called from outside the cell, "the show is beginning. Are you alright?"
"Yes!" Mahoch screamed, letting the energy around his hands disappear. "You're lucky I have to go," he said, turning to Link, "but remember your life rests in my hands."
"After what happened just now," Link said with a smile, "I'd say you're the one who got off lucky." The enraged man screamed once more before climbing out of the cell and slamming the overhead door.
"Well that was fun," Link said calmly, while Malon and Diggs stared at him, dumbfounded. Malon was the first to yell.
"Link!" the girl shouted, "You could have gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking!?"
"Malon," Link responded, "would you mind not yelling. My ear drums are kind of sore after that man's screeching."
"Link," Diggs started in his parenting tone, "as much as I enjoyed that, I think you should be more careful from now on. Don't let your sarcastic nature get the best of you."
"You guys worry to much," Link said, looking from Malon to Diggs, "that guy's pathetic, and I think I know how we'll get out of here. That madman's gonna let us out so we can witness the assassination of the princess. He's letting his ego get the best of him, and he thinks he can easily control us. We should be able to escape without a problem once we're out, chains or no chains."
"I guess that makes sense," Malon said, "but if this guy's so weak, how did he manage to trap you the first time we met."
"I've figured that out, too," Link said, obviously quite proud of himself, "The one who hired him gave him a small amount of magic so that he could get the job done. What that moron doesn't realize is that his magic power decreases every time he uses it. Before he lost any power, he had a relatively good chance of killing Zelda. Now, his chances don't exist. You'll notice that the hole his magic made in the wood behind me is significantly smaller than the two in the roof and the wall." Malon and Diggs both looked, and nodded.
"And the reason his magic didn't destroy these chains is because when he made the chains, his magic was much stronger," the boy finished, smiling.
"When did you get this smart?" Diggs asked, realizing the logic behind Link's argument. The boy merely shrugged, causing the two other prisoners to laugh quietly.
***
An infuriated Mahoch stomped his way to his tent to prepare for the show. "How dare he!" the performer yelled to himself, "I'll destroy that insolent child if it kills me!" The enraged phantos rider threw his belongings about the room angrily. After causing a mess and destroying the small desk in his room, Mahoch was finally ready for the performance, dressed in the outfit he used when riding his phantos. He had decided to make his move near the end of the performance, and so he still had about an hour until the assassination. Mahoch had decided that he would release the prisoners from the cage and bind them tightly, then bring them with him to witness the death of the princess. When the princess was dead, he would then destroy the boy that had angered him so.
"A perfect plan," Mahoch said to himself, letting his pride overtake him like a vicious tornado.
***
Link, Malon, and Diggs looked up once again to see Mahoch descending into the cold 'prison'. "It is now time for you to witness the death of your beloved princess," the man told the group, controlling his anger. He then waved his hand and released the bonds that held the trio up against the wall. Malon immediately fell to the ground, her legs giving way after standing for so long. Link and Diggs, providing Mahoch with no satisfaction, remained standing despite their throbbing limbs. Mahoch then bound them immediately with new magical chains, though he did not attach them to the wall. The prisoners were bound around their hands and feet, and Mahoch securely tied a gag around each of their mouths. Then, using more magic, the phantos rider lifted the three up into the air and out of the cell. He raised them up onto the beast known as the phantos, and tied them to the back of the large saddle with ordinary ropes.
"From here you will behold the death of Princess Zelda of Hyrule," the man said, also sitting atop the phantos, "enjoy the show."
The beast began lumbering along towards the festival grounds with a command from Mahoch, and even Link had to take a second to admire the view from twenty feet in the air. As the boy looked on, the festival came into view, and the crowd stared up in awe at the massive beast. Of course, Link and the others had been positioned on the enormous saddle so that they were not visible to the crowd below, so nobody would see them and realize something was wrong.
"I really hope this works," Link thought, "I'm sure letting a lot ride on this guy's stupidity. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to Zelda."
Mahoch drove the phantos on until they arrived at the performance area. The area consisted of a large stage which most of the performers used, several towers with thin wire ropes connecting one tower to the next, and a large circular area, decorated with just dirt. The stage was for most of the acts, the towers were used for the rope walking, and the circle, Link discovered, was for the phantos act. He also knew that the people had been looking forward to this act, the idea of seeing an immense beast performing various tricks overwhelming their love for the other acts. The crowd assembled around the area as the phantos entered the ring, and Link could see Zelda and the leaders of the various peoples sitting on a slightly raised platform overlooking the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mahoch boomed from atop the phantos, "Let the act begin!" The crowd immediately cheered as the large beast frolicked around the ring. The phantos leapt high into the air, clearing the long metal poles that had been raised up horizontally on tall platforms, and landing on its front legs. The creature then traveled a lap around the ring on its front legs before switching to his hind legs. While standing on its rear limbs, the beast flailed its front legs wildly, pleasing the crowd immensely. The act continued in this fashion for a while, the phantos performing various difficult tricks, until Mahoch halted the creature and turned it to face the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mahoch said once again.
"This is it," Link thought nervously.
"This will be the final trick for this evening!" the crazed man yelled, "For you have the privilege to witness an event never before heard of until this day…"
"Here it goes," Link thought, sweat beginning to form on his brow.
"You will witness the destruction of the Hylian monarchy!" Mahoch boomed to the crowd. The people gasped, and Mahoch began gathering magic above his head. Link heard Impa shouting at the royal guards and at least twenty arrows were flying towards the phantos rider. Mahoch had been prepared however, as a magical violet shield deflected the many projectiles.
"Your attempts are futile!" Mahoch yelled to the guards as he formed a ten foot, purple, magic orb above his head, "Princess, your time on this earth is over!" Mahoch then sent the orb flying towards Zelda. Link watched intently, now sweating considerably, and hoped Zelda would be able to defend herself. Link would have smiled if he wasn't gagged as he watched the princess calmly rise from her seat. Holding up a single petite hand, Zelda stopped the orb's progress and dissipated the magic.
"What!" Mahoch yelled, enraged, "How could you! I have been given incredible power!" The man tried to form the magic orb once again as Zelda smiled up at the sight. Mahoch was distraught when the orb reached a diameter of half a foot before it disappeared. Mahoch then felt the magic leave his body, the energy given to him by the strange shadow figure nearly useless.
"You knew this would happen!" the furious man said to Link, who was laughing at the situation, "This is not over yet! My magical barrier still holds! I will kill you, boy, before they can get to me!" The man began to walk over to Link when he heard a voice from down below.
"Still refuse to quit?" Zelda shouted up at the rider, shaking her head. The princess then took a bow and a quiver from the nearest archer, fitted the bow with an arrow, infused the projectile with magic, and fired at the magical shield. The light arrow struck the shield, and destroyed it in a brilliant flash of light. Mahoch watched in disbelief as his last defense fell, completely draining the power that had been given to him. The three prisoners felt their bonds disappear, and Link tore himself out of the rope, having worked on untying the knot for the whole of the journey. The boy removed his gag, quickly freed Malon, and finished loosing Diggs' knot, the soldier also having had nearly untied it.
"Diggs, get Malon out of here," Link said to his good friend. Diggs complied, knowing that Link could easily handle the broken man. The soldier climbed down the side of the saddle as far as he could go, Malon clinging to his back, and dropped the remainder of the distance down, hitting the ground hard but suffering no injury. Diggs and Malon immediately ran out of the phantos ring, not wanting to be so close to the massive beast. Link turned to look at Mahoch when the two had reached safety.
"It's over," Link said decisively, "you've failed just like Siluk, and will probably be destroyed by the same man who hired you. There is nothing I can do to stop this."
"This…this…is your fault!" Mahoch shouted, his voice cracking, "You knew I had limited power, and you tricked me into using too much of it! You will die, if I have to kill the both of us to do it!" With that, Mahoch shouted a command to the phantos and the creature began thrashing about.
"Oh, man!" Link said as he was thrown from the back of the beast. The boy barely managed to grab onto one of the saddle straps hanging down around the phantos' side. Link gripped the leather strap with all his strength as the beast bucked about the ring. Link heard Mahoch shout another command and the phantos turned towards the massive crowd, or, more specifically, the princess. The beast then charged at incredible speed towards the crowd, and Link was relieved when Zelda leapt quickly out of the way. A few of the guards, however, did not possess the speed to dodge the attack, and were sent careening through the air by a kick from the phantos. The massive beast continued to charge through the crowd, throwing the people into a state of hysteria. Link then noticed Mahoch looking down at him.
"Ah," Mahoch said in a crazed voice, "so the hero is reduced to watching the people as they are trampled to death. I should have though of this idea in the first place. Now, it is time for me to say farewell." Mahoch removed a dagger from a hidden sheath and cut the strap that Link was tightly clinging to. The boy plummeted, still gripping the rough leather, waiting to hit the ground. The strap was still connected on the opposite side of the saddle, however, and Link was flung underneath the belly of the phantos. He hit the ground on the opposite side of the beast, the strap now being too long to hold him above the dirt. Link was still gripping the strap with all his might, refusing to let the madman atop the beast escape. Between hitting rocks and bumps in the dirt road and attempting to climb up the strap, Link realized where the path led. Mahoch was driving the beast towards Castletown.
Author's Notes:
I decided to end this chapter with a cliff-hanger. The chapter was getting really long, and it was going to be probably over 6000 words if I finished it, so what was going to be the end of this chapter will be the beginning of the next chapter and the whole rampaging elephant thing will finish up. And since I've already started on the next chapter, it should be up soon.