Chapter 14

They ran.

They had little choice not to. As soon as the prisoners poured out of their cells, the digger-soldiers were alerted to their presence, their heads raising from their tasks, eyes growing wide as they realised something was amiss. Chaos followed. The sheer, seething mass of soldiers smashed into the rush of oncoming prisoners, fists flying, axes flashing in the twinkling light. Zelda, Navi and Link took advantage of the din, ducking into the artificial passageways that crisscrossed the cavern, built deep into the mineral encrusted rock. Their sloping path took one jagged turn after the other, their boots splashing in the murky water leaking onto the floor. Steam flew out of fissures in the wall, mixing with the glowing mineral to spray the trio with droplets of sparkling rain, like a mist of incandescent stars.

Zelda stumbled and slid on the uneven path, her chest tight, her breath run ragged. Daggers of rock sprouted from the ground, making it difficult for her to keep balance. She'd already slipped twice, her ankle swollen as a result. The world bounced in her line of sight, and the only thing she could do to keep up with her two friends was to keep her eyes fixed firmly on Navi's floating glow of light. They took another corner, another blast of heat smothering her face as steam hissed, then yet another corner. A pair of wet snaps brought the group to a halt. The darkness above them flickered, then, as though pouring out of the ceiling like dark liquid, two men – from the same race as Peotr and the soldiers, Zelda noticed - dropped to the ground in a crouch, faces half-covered with scarlet bandanas, swords at the ready.

The Princess saw Link tense beside her. She reached out, her fingers brushing against his wrist. He inclined his head slightly, his still eyes still on the newcomers. "Remember," she whispered under her breath. "A peaceful resolution is often always the best."

One of the newcomers stepped forward, his grey eyes hard. Steam hissed in the darkness behind him, echoing through the cavern like a deep sigh. "Shmalt! Shou shmalt vot parsht xshept von shain of zeth!"

A flicker of a frown crossed the Shadow Lord's face. "I'm sorry?"

The man's eyes thinned. "I shed – Shmalt! Shou smalt vot parsht xshept von shain of zeth!"

"It might help," Zelda began, a little uncertain, "if you'd remove the cloth over your mouth." She smiled, then stopped, thinking better of it.

Blinking, the man looked from the Princess to the Hero, his chest beginning to heave. Finally, with a snort of pure exasperation, he tore the bandana from his face. "I said," he licked his lips, "Halt! Thou shalt not pass, except on pain of death."Letting out a breath he stepped back, relief flooding his face.

"See, that's a lot better now, innit, mate?" the Shadow Lord said. "I mean, what were you thinking? – you're indoors and you're wearing a mask. How did you expect to breathe? Forward planning, mate. Learn to appreciate it."

"Yes…well." The man had the distinct look of someone who knew that control was slipping fast from his fingers. "Halt! Thou shalt not pass, except on pain of death!" Then he added for good measure, "It means you're going to die."

"I'd really rather we didn't, mate, if it's all the same to you. Things to do, cities to liberate, you know how it is." Link smiled, nodding. "Thanks."

Zelda could see the man's pulse throbbing in both his neck and temple. All of a sudden, he looked rather pale. He spoke again, his voice betraying the hint of a tremor. "Listen, we can let you go," he nodded at the Shadow Lord, "if you'd just let us take the woman."

The Princess felt something sour curdle in the pit of her stomach. The muscles in her face stiffened as her eyes thinned to slits, anger smouldering in her heart. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Link coolly scan the area ahead of him, his face creased in thought, then he quickly threw a surreptitious glance over his shoulder, calculating once again. Cast-iron certainty took root in Zelda's heart – her Hero was planning their escape. She grinned in anticipation.

The Shadow Lord stepped forward, grin firmly in place. "Alright, mates," he said with a short nod. "She's all yours."

Zelda joy evaporated, her mouth dropping open. "What?"

Flinching from her reaction, Link stared back at her, genuine hurt etched on his face. "You said I should go for the most peaceful resolution!"

She seethed, her hands balling into fists. "But not at my expense!"

"Ah ha!" he crowed, pointing. "So you admit it! You do do things for selfish reasons."

Zelda's jaws worked, but she was still too stunned to let her tongue form the words rolling around her mind. "I thought we'd –" She stopped, turned to their two attackers, and flashed them a sweet smile. "Excuse us one moment." The two men glanced at each other uncertainly as Zelda stepped around to face Link, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I thought we'd come to an understanding."

Link looked surprised. "We did?"

"Yes," she whispered. "That's why I've been treating you a lot better."

Link looked even more surprised. "You have?"

A feral growl burst from the Princess' lips. "Link!"

Holding up his hands, the Shadow Lord stepped past her. "Alright, love." Sighing theatrically, Link smiled at the two men. "Gentlemen, it looks like we're going to have to settle this man-to-man, blade-to-blade after all. No doubt, the losing party will be sent back home in various pieces, their loved ones' hearts shattered from the knowledge that they suffered such meaningless deaths due to the – wait, why are you doing this?"

"We're raiders, friend," the man growled. His hand gripped his sword, his knuckles turning white. "We stalk these here passageways, preying on the unwary traveller."

Raising an eyebrow, Link asked, "Get an awful lot of a people strolling down these paths, do you?"

The raider shifted uncomfortably. "Well…"

"Exactly how much booty have you looted since you started this spirited enterprise of yours?"

A muscle in the man's cheek twitched. He mumbled his reply.

Link tilted his head to one side. "Didn't quite catch that, mate."

The raider let out a breath through pursed lips. "You're actually the first ones."

"I admire the pioneering fire in your heart," said Link, "even if I'm not quite partial to your methods, and I hate to repeat myself but: preplanning is your friend."

"Enough of this nonsense!" the raider snarled, bringing his blade to bear. "It's time you had that babbling tongue of yours cut straight from your mouth."

No one had a chance to respond, though, as the ground shook slightly, a rhythmic hollow clanking ringing in the air. Link glanced at Zelda and Navi, confusion creasing their features. The two raiders trembled, their eyes enlarging. "It's the boss!" they whispered.

A horrific voice, like rusted gears grinding against each other, boomed out from the shadows. "Let me handle this."

Link shifted his footing, Peotr's sword swinging into position, a line of reflected light running down the edge of the blade. He peered ahead, trying to make out the shape of the newcomer. When he did reveal himself, the Shadow Lord's eyes flared, liquid steel flowing through his veins. "You!" he spat. "Murderer!"

The raiders scattered as the Darknut dragged itself into the light. With a resounding clang, a blade slid out from a compartment on the creature's armour.

"You and me, mate," Link hissed. "Let's finish it here. Now. Your reign of terror's about to end, sunshine, and if you'd just permit me to be a tad melodramatic, you're about to feel my vengeful wrath."

The Darknut chuckled. "For the Darkness."

Link chopped air as he twirled his sword. "For the Hat."

With a roar, the Darknut sliced the air in a surprisingly swift arc, his joints whirring and clicking. One foot jammed into the ground for balance, the Shadow Lord spun his sword up to meet the attack. Sparks exploded as the two blades crashed into the other. Link rocked back on his heel, sliding his sword free, then whirled around, the sharp edge of his blade tearing towards the Darknut's flank. The creature was too quick – a far cry from their first encounter – parrying easily. Riding with the momentum, the wind chilling the sweat on his skin, the Shadow Lord spun completely around on his foot, his sword flying around for another slice. More sparks, fiery drops of crimson fire, illuminated the passageway as the Darknut blocked again.

Link went high; the creature parried. Grit flying from under his boots, the Shadow Lord dropped to his knees and sliced low. His sword flashed momentarily as it caught the light from the twinkling minerals, his mouth flooding with salty expectation as he saw the sharp line of the blade scream in towards the Darknut's legs. The creature ploughed his weapon into the ground to block, steel clanging against steel, a fountain of spinning sparks pluming out from the blow.

"Hey!" Navi called as she shot up to the ceiling. "Listen! The Darknut is covered in armour, but some parts are exposed – those are his weak points!"

"Navi, love," Link called, his throat tight as he flipped away from a dangerous thrust. "You're a wonderful girl and everything, but telling me the obvious during a battle isn't really helping much."

The Darknut went on the attack again, slicing in towards Link's head. The Shadow Lord ducked, felt the breath of slit air on his neck, then saw the creature's blade careen into the wall, sending splinters of rock flying. Link stumbled back, noticing that the Darknut was momentarily stuck. With a tug, the creature pulled itself free, but in that moment, the Shadow Lord's eyes narrowed, a grin slowly forming on his lips.

"Mate," he called, swaggering as he readied his limbs. "You're not even trying!"

It worked. Snarling, the Darknut swung again, an exact replica of his last attack, and once again Link ducked, watching the creature's sword jam itself into the wall. In that heartbeat of silence, the Shadow Lord moved. He leapt, landed on the Darknut's stuck arm, then leapt again, landing on the other side. Spinning around, Link brought his sword to bear, then thrust it straight through the Darknut's back.

An otherworldly howl exploded from the Darknut's mouth. Energy crackled and spat, a waterfall of sparks running down the length of the creature's body. Its eyes flared red, then vanished into darkness as it slumped to ground.

"Just a machine," Link mumbled as he walked up to it and pulled his sword free. "Wasn't even alive." He kicked it. "That's for my hat." He kicked it again. "And that's for causing me deep distress." He stepped back, thought things through, then ploughed his blade into the Darknut's twitching corpse once again. "And that's for my hat again!"

"Link," Zelda said softly. "I think he's dead."

"Can't be too careful, love," the Shadow Lord replied. "You never know when a completely and utterly defeated enemy will resurrect itself into a pig-like creature in the most coincidental of manners." He glanced around, sniffing. "Where are the others?"

"Hey!" Navi said. "They ran for it! Cowards."

"Indeed," the Shadow Lord said, looking up at the floating fairy. "Thanks for your advice, love. It helped. No, it did. No, really. Don't know what I would have done without you. No, really."

The fairy, arms crossed, spun around in mid-air with a decisive, "Hmph!"

The Princess wrapped her arms around herself. "Now where do we –"

The floor vanished beneath them.

Screaming, the three friends tumbled down a darkened shaft, the air howling past their ears. With an cold splash that shocked their skin, they landed in an underground stream, the current instantly pulling them downriver, under stalactite arches, through narrow lime encrusted passageways, until finally they were dumped in a large lake, frothy with foam, enclosed in an immense artificial chamber. They dragged themselves from the water, their clothes heavy with damp, their hair dripping.

Zelda rubbed the moisture from her eyes as she stood. There was a mirror in the room, framed in a light that apparently had no source, the crystal like reflective surface glinting. Her eyes caught the hint of movement, and she saw a small creature perched in the shadows. As Link and Navi drew level with her, she frowned, then asked, "Who's there?"

Beside her she heard Link start to mutter to himself. "Please-not-the-owl…please-not-the-owl…please-not-the-owl."

There was a flap of wings and Kaepora Gaebora swooped into sight, his plump form fluttering.

"Awww, mate," Link moaned quietly, wincing. "Why the owl?"

Zelda stepped forward, head bowed, hand on her chest. "Greetings, Sage," she said.

Kaepora landed in front of them, cocking his head to one side. The reflected waves of the lake shimmered on his wizened face. "Greetings to you, Sage of Wisdom."

The Shadow Lord was still busy holding a quiet conversation with himself. "Isn't anyone going to ask how he managed to get here? Isn't anyone wondering why an owl is living in an underground cavern? Can anyone hear me? Hello? Hello?"

Zelda smiled. "It's so refreshing to meet a familiar face."

"I am sure," Kaepora replied, his long ears twitching. "You've managed to find yourself in the most strangest of lands, haven't you?"

"So has he!" Link whispered. "Am I the only one who sees this? Why am I talking to myself?"

The Princess nodded. "It's true…the place seems so familiar, and yet so different." She smiled again. "I hope you can enlighten us."

"Indeed I can," Kaepora replied, turning to the mirror. "I have with me the secrets of all things."

"Ooooh 'indeed I can.'" Link muttered under his breath. "'The secrets to all things.' Pompous little bird. Has all these secrets, but didn't see him going off to fight Ganondorf now, did we? Noooo…he sits on his perch, licking his feathers and thinking he sounds oh-so-mysterious by hooting like a demented duck on Red Potion."

Kaepora stretched his wings. "Behold!" The reflection in the mirror shimmered, the light whirling. "There is not just one world with a Link and a Zelda, you see. Not just one world with one Kaepora Gaebora. No…in reality there a million different worlds, each with a Link and a Zelda. Each with a Kaepora Gaebora. A millions Links. A million Zeldas." He flicked a knowing glance towards the Hero of Time. "A million Kaeporas."

"Just give me my sword and stab me now," the Shadow Lord mumbled.

"This is one such world," the Sage went on. "Where things are paralleled, but not exactly the same. You entered through the portal – each world has its own. You must travel through the portals until you reach home."

Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "We don't have time to search for these portals, let alone travel through them all. Our friends in danger."

"Worry not," Kaepora replied. "When you return it will be at the exact moment that you left. The passage of time will not have moved an inch. Then, you and the Hero can set things to right in your world. Is that not right, Hero?"

They all turned to Link. The Shadow Lord was deep in thought, rubbing his chin as he ruminated in a soft voice. "If I could just a slip a cucco into the owl's nest when he's not-" He looked up, startled. "I'm terribly sorry, you were saying?"

The Princess turned back to the Sage. "Are all these worlds similar?"

Nodding, Kaepora said, "To a degree. For example, in one world, the Gate to the Sacred Realm can only be opened by the slaughter of the Key, a female born to do destiny's bidding. The cataclysm can be stopped, though, by the sacrifice of the Counter-Key - your friend Malon. In that same world, some five hundred years later, it is revealed that Cycle of good and evil can only be undone with the death of that world's Zelda, and only at Link's hands."

"If I had the misfortune to be a woman in that world," the Shadow Lord said, speaking normally. "I'd be constantly looking over me shoulder. Someone either wants to sacrifice me to destroy the world, or wants to kill me to save it."

Zelda gave him an odd look. "If you were a woman, Link, I'd be worried."

The Hero scowled. "You are worried."

"Why?" the Princess retorted, a thin smile growing to match her narrowed eyes. "Because you are a woman?"

The Shadow Lord opened his mouth to reply, frowned, then snapped his jaws shut, scowling once more.

"That's not all," Kaepora said, his expression grave. "Behold!"

They peered into the mirror, the swirling light forming into the familiar shapes of Link and Zelda – only this time they were from another world. They sat on a field, flowers sprouting around their feet, gazing at each other.

"Oh, darling," the other Zelda cooed. "Never leave me again. Your life is the very water of life that I feed upon. Without it, my existence is a meaningless hole, my days filled with sighs eternal."

The other Link smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. "Never fear, my beloved. I would willingly sacrifice my life, the life of the people of Hyrule – nay, the very stuff of life itself, just to see you smile."

The other Zelda blushed, glancing away coyly. "It seems that, though we only spent scant hours together, that we've known each other all our lives. What a waste my life was before you entered – verily, I was better off dead. But, Link! There's something awful I must reveal to you now."

Tension tightened the lines around the other Link's eyes. "Speak it, my love. Together we shall banish whatever fears haunt your precious life. I shall slay them with the sword of my love, made manifest due to the sheer purity of our feelings."

"Oh!" the other Zelda gasped. "It is my father! He is trying to marry me off to a foreign prince I've known for barely an hour – that's five less than I've known you! How can he expect love to bloom? And yet…this prince is verily hot. And now I am truly torn."

The other Link's face dropped, tears now rolling freely. "I do not know the meaning of this term 'hot.' And yet…now my heart has sunk to the depths of despair that only the return of Ganondorf himself could summon. I feel that, rather than fight for your hand, I must depart, and wallow in my misery, perhaps only re-entering your life at the opportune moment. That being the day of your wedding."

"Oh!" the other Zelda moaned. "I await that day with barely controlled lust – erm, longing. How am I to spend my days now? Verily, I must curse my fate and forever compare this prince to you, counting down the days until-"

The Shadow Lord, shock blossoming on his face, staggered back as the image faded, his hand clutching his chest. "Egad!" He slapped his forehead with the palm of his other hand. "What manner of foul place was that, mate" Instantly, he stood up straight, brandishing his sword. "Sage," he said, his voice grim, his face fixed with determination. "Send me to this world now." He tapped his blade. "I promise they won't feel a thing." Stepping back again, he came close to the lake - and slipped, his head cracking against the rocks.

"Link!" the Princess cried, her hand going straight to her mouth. "Are you hurt?"

The Shadow Lord sat up, a dazed expression on his face. He blinked as he tried to focus. The water lapped quietly against the shore as they all waited.

Kaepora stepped forward. "Hero. Speak to us."

Link blinked again, then stared straight at the Sage. A slow smile crossed his lips. "Look. Itsh a torking owl."

Zelda and Kaepora exchanged glances. "It appears the Hero is lost to us now," the Sage said. "I'm sure the condition is only temporary and he will return to his normal self shortly."

"Twhooo! Twhooo!" Link said, in what Zelda guessed was his imitation of a hooting owl.

"So," the Princess said. "The portal is our priority. Our only route back home."

"Twhooo!"

"Indeed," Kaepora replied. "But be warned, there's no way of knowing to which world it will take you. Usually, though, since the portals were constructed by sentient beings, it tries to take you to the closest possible point to the place you wish to go. It may not always succeed, however, and-"

"Twhooo!"

"- you know, I find that highly offensive." Kaepora stared at Link. The Shadow Lord stared back. The air between them seemed to burn. They held each other's gazes, not even blinking, until Link finally said, "Poor likkle owl."

The Princess stepped in. "So I take it," she said, "we'll have to traverse over dangerous territory, fight off vicious enemies, and risk life and limb just to find this first portal that may or may not take us home?"

"No," replied the Sage. "It's right over there." He gestured with one wing and, with a crack and a hiss, a wall opened to reveal the glowing waves of light of an interdimensional portal. "Fare thee well, Princess," he nodded at her, "Fairy," he motioned at Navi, "Hero," and here they all turned to Link.

"I luv you, owl," the Shadow Lord said. "I jusht wanted you to know that."

The Princess set her eyes on the portal. This was going to be a long voyage home. "Navi, Link," she called. "It's time to go."