"The Destiny Stone"
Disclaimer: I don't own itplease put that spoon away now, thanks.
*****
Author's Note: Chapter 5, but it's really Chapter 6 cause of the prologuewow I'm confusing myselfI saw Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets yesterday! Good movie! Good movie! Ahem, rants asideI'm venturing into unknown territory nowsince now, I've a basically general idea of how the plot was gonna move alongI have the general idea for the next big thingbut I'm going to be totally ad libbing how those two points connect. Might seem like a crazy thing to do, but it worked out pretty well in An Act to Follow. But hey, if anyone wants to see something happen, don't hesitate to leave it in a review! I just might go and write it in
*****
"The Destiny Stone" – Chapter 5: Bane's Blade
The two that made up the entirety of Twinrova sat across from each other, each staring intensely into the other's eyes. They were identical, except for the hair, and the jewels set into their foreheads. Koume sighed.
"Well, we're in a picklement and a half, aren't we?"
Kotake nodded. They both had a very intrinsic sense of magic, being sorceresses. However, normally their senses of the on goings of magic were rather dulled, as most common folk used magic of a weak sort. These small influxes of power were like mere droplets of rain in an ocean. But something had just occurred that worried both of them. Late the night before, both had suddenly sensed a sudden violent fluxuation of magic power, coming from the vicinity of the Lost Woods. Cuddles, apparently, had been defeated.
"PerhapsssPerhapsss we sssshould insssissst on larger sssearch partiessss?" Kotake said slowly. She swallowed nervously.
"Maybe," Koume murmured. "Though perhaps it was foolish of me to send that Moblin into those infernal Woods alone. Next time, I shall not make such a mistake."
"The Wolfosss have the ssscent now, I presssume?" The Ice Witch blinked.
"Should hope they sensed that flux," Koume grumbled. "Now, if only they would stay still and be killed like good little protagonists."
Kotake rolled her eyes. "If they had sssufficient meansss to dessstroyand ssstill be in good working order, then I doubt they will remain in one place for long. It only ssseeemsss possssible that they would deduce that more foesss are on the way."
"True, true" Koume smiled grimly. "This is going to turn into one giant chase, isn't it?"
Kotake nodded in agreement. "Yesss, I belive ssso. Hopefully, Ganondorf will not catch the ssccent himssself."
"Are you still on about that?" Koume rolled her eyes. "I still don't see why you're making such a big deal about not telling our son about this."
"One lessss worry for him," Kotake said.
"And two more for us," Koume growled.
"Better usss than him, I sssay. He isss the King, after all, and our ssson."
"You know, this'll be all over soon, and you and I will be laughing about this later." The Fire Witch snapped her gnarled fingers, and her broomstick materialized in her fist. Jumping astride it nimbly, she slowly hovered about the room.
"Look, I'll sssshow you!" Kotake's broom similarly appeared, and she flew off in the direction of the huge domed room that housed the silver sphere. Her sister sped after her, the two witches twisting and whiling around each other as they raced.
They wound through dozens of maze-like hallways, clipping minions left and right. Several Redeads were knocked askew, and they ploughed through a crowd of Gibdos like twin bowling balls. The minions were quite used to such abuse, being undead, they could take such hits with little less than a groan here and there. Besides, it gave the witches something to do other than screech at them. Suddenly, with a loud whoosh, Koume and Kotake exploded into the domed chamber. Koume cackled, flying upside down crazily in a kind of victory dance.
"I won!"
"No you didn't," Kotake said irritably. "We weren't racing. Bessssidesss, if we had been, I would have won, not you."
"Liar," Koume muttered, her broom carrying her over to the silver sphere.
Her sister stared at her, then down at the sphere. It was glowing sedately. "Now look. Ssssee?" The Ice Witch pointed, and the sphere responded. Since it was daytime, a huge projection onto the dome would have been too hard to see. Therefore the sphere responded with a small hologram-like projection the size of a beach ball, tiny constellations playing across its spherical surface. Three constellations were lit up.
"Canis, the Warrior, and the Maiden," Koume said. "That's three. Last time there were just two."
"Exactly," Kotake said, snapping her fingers. "A third hassss broken away from the ssspell."
Koume's eyes widened. "You mean, since those two were unaffected-"
"They do remember what hassss occurred, and therefore will now mossst certainly work to reverssse the effectsss we have causssed. Thissss isss why they are dangeroussss. Ganondorf himssself is unaware of them, but they will sssoon be aware of him. Hissss influence in their abssssence will be quite noticeable."
"So you are saying they have left the Lost Woods, then." Kotake nodded, and Koume turned her overlarge nose towards the silver sphere. "Very well then. If they're gone from there, where are they now?" As Koume spoke, the small constellation map lit up two tiny constellations.
"Hmmthe Altar, and the Clock. Well, that'sss easssy enough. They will ssoon be headed for the Temple of Time. Perhapsss they think the Massster Sssword will aid them."
Koume swore aloud, and her flame hair seemed to blaze more furiously for a moment before she calmed herself. "This is exactly why we need to tell him!"
"No," said Kotake, in a much calmer tone. "Quite the opposssite, ssssissster. If he isss told of their emergence, he will actively hunt them down. That issss our job, to make sssure that hisss rule is not compromisssed, even when he himsssself issss absssent."
"Your logic fails to make an impression," Koume muttered darkly. "However, I think we both agree that the searches must continue." As she spoke, the silver sphere decided to respond with a constellation, despite the fact it had not been asked a question.
"The Archer?" Koume twisted her ugly face into a quizzical expression.
"Indeed," Kotake hissed. "The hidden arrow, the concealed knifedeception. And one of the eight conssstellationsss we sssaw before us not too long ago."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Koume snapped.
"Allow me to offer a compromisssse. Sssince I do not wisssh to alert our sssson, but you wisssh to alert him"
"Yes?"
"What if we alerted sssomeone elssse in hisss place? The lassst perssson they would expect to be their enemy."
"What are you saying, Kotake?" Koume twitched. "You sound dubious."
Kotake grinned. "Perhapsss, it isss time we alerted ourand hissssssspecial unitssss?"
"At Hyrule Castle?" Koume smirked. "Sister, are we getting ruthless in our old age? That lot will tear them both to pieces." They both reflected on this a moment, and nearly fell off their brooms cackling. "Of course, they'll have to find them first" Koume muttered, sobering.
"But we know that they'll be sssoon making an appearance in Hyrule Cassstle Town, yesss?" The Ice Witch giggled. "It is jussst a matter of being ready. Besssidesss, to make it to the Town from the Lossst Woodss meansss they will firssst have to crosss Hyrule Plain."
"So if the Wolfos don't get them on the way, our trump card surely will after they arrive." Koume squirmed in anticipation. "Excellent. We shall alert him tomorrow. I daresay thisit is just so deliciously ironicthat the Heroes of Time will be defeated by one of their own."
Kotake chuckled. "Ssssee, I told you it wasss profitable to keep him around, dessspite hisss former betrayal" The silver sphere darkened as its constellation map faded. The Ice Witch caught the dropping relic easily in one hand. "After all, it isss asss if he never betrayed usss to begin with, thanksss to usss."
Koume giggled. "Yes, it's a good thing he won't recognize them, otherwise he might feel awfully guilty afterwards. Almost makes me sad when I think about it."
The two witches stared at each other. "Almost!" Then they both nearly fell over backwards, somersaulting in midair as the air rang with their dark and shiver-inspiring cackling.
*****
When Sond and Link had re-emerged from the treehouse, Sond stared forward resolutely. Link, too, looked strangely subdued. Link had explained how they had come by the forest, and all about the Destiny Stone that had sealed them away. Sond had similarly filled in the Hylian, and Link was shocked to find nearly a decade had passed since he'd picked up the Destiny Stone as a child. As he backed down the ladder, he thought aloud about this.
"Good grief, that means I'm going on twenty years old"
Timbre, who was dozing nearby, blinked and looked up. He winced, and put a gloved hand on his bare chest, which was tightly wrapped, hiding several nasty bruises. One didn't break ribs cleanly, after all. He groaned. "She awake?"
"Timbre!" Sond hurried over and kneeled down next to the injured youth and noticing his questioning look. "I remember everything nowhow's your ribs doing?"
"They're doing" He groaned and pulled himself into a sit, wincing. "Supposedly I've got a healing draught on the way" Feeling a bit modest with no shirt on, Timbre pulled on his trenchcoat, which he had been using as a pillow folded up. He poked at his bandaged chest and winced a little. "As soon as I'm healedI think we should move on, Link."
"Why's that?" Link looked puzzled.
"'Cause, it stands to reason. Moblins the size of that one don't simply appear in the Lost Woods normally, am I right, Sond?"
Sond nodded sedately.
"So, what are the chances one of them just happens to show up right after we do?" Timbre stared at the grassy ground between his boots.
"What're you saying?" Link raised an eyebrow as he sat down with the other two.
"Something sent that thing." With a flash, the Destiny Stone about Link's neck turned green. Sond looked slightly startled.
"Is that a quartz stone?" The stone turned a cloudy red in disagreement. Sond blinked. "Guess not."
Link examined it, letting it rest in the palm of his hand. "Er, it's called a Destiny Stone. When I picked it up ten years ago-"
Timbre blinked, flinching. Even that had made him twinge. "Ten years?! We've been away that long?"
Link nodded slowly. "When I picked it up, it froze us. It was protecting us from the storm, and that's why we remembered everyone. Now it just kind of answers questions and offers clues. See, it turns green for yes,' and red for no.'"
Sond smiled. "Its pretty."
The Stone became warm turned a slight rose in response.
Timbre snickered. "I think you've flattered it, Sond."
"Well, anyone would be flattered if a pretty girl complimented them," Link said.
Sond giggled, and Timbre smirked, watching his friend fluster.
"Anyhow," Link said, turning a bit pink himself, "It's agreed that somebody sent the Moblin. Alright thenwhoever sent the Moblinwere they also responsible for the storm?" The stone turned green again.
"Aha," Timbre said. "Okay, who do we know that would be powerful enough to do such a thing? Maybe Majora?"
The stone turned red.
"No," Link said. "We're in HyruleI don't think Majora would be here" He thought. "Well, maybe Ganondorf"
The stone remained red. "Not Ganondorf either?" Link looked puzzled. "Well, I guess we can rule them both out."
"Wait." Sond said, thinking. "Maybe it is not them specifically. Perhaps it is an agent working in Ganondorf or Majora's name." The stone turned green.
"Which one, though?" Timbre said aloud. "Majora?"
Red stone.
"Then Ganondorf it is," Link sighed as the green stone affirmed this. "Wonderful."
"He'd have taken over Hyrule by now," Sond said quietly. "If we aren't there to stop him, there's no saying what he's done to it" The Stone turned green, but a more sickly hue than normal.
Timbre looked worried, and pained. He'd twisted the wrong way again. "Alright, so we're dealing with the Gerudo King again. Well, as resident Heroes, I'm assuming we're going to have to stop him. We'll just do what we did last time, and get the Master Sword. Seems appropriate, though I'd hate to think of the state of Hyrule if he's been in charge of it for a while."
Link nodded. "So I'm assuming our next stop is the Temple of Time."
Timbre nodded, and winced.
"As soon as your bones knit," Link smirked.
As if on cue, Saria hopskipped over, with a steaming stone goblet. "It's still hot," she warned, handing it to the injured Timbre. "But it should work. The Twins think it might take an hour or so to work on you, cause usually the potions are attuned to a human body's systems, and well, you're not-"
"Er, I get the point." Timbre nodded, and eyed the concoction. It looked crimson enough. He sniffed once, and wrinkled his nose in distaste. It smelled strongly of medicine. "What exactly is in this?"
Saria cast a patronizing glance at them all. It was easier for her to do so at the moment as the three of them were sitting down. "That's a very well-kept secret. Mostly different kinds of herbs and roots from the Lost Woods. The forest has a lot of things growing in it that have wonderful healing properties. That, and a tiny pinch of healing fairy magic to make it work faster."
Timbre shrugged, and took a careful sip. "Ugh"
It was bitter. Very bitter. But that was how some red potions tasted, especially when warm. Other potions, depending on who made them, tasted sickly sweet. Apparently many of the herbs the Twins worked with were bitter, thus the bitter taste. The potion also left a bit of a gritty residue on the roof of his mouth, and he ran his tongue over it with a grimace.
Link snickered. "Potion-face. Well, I'd rather have a bad taste in my mouth for a while than a badly knit ribcage, myself."
Timbre nodded, and took another gulp. The warm bitter liquid tingled slightly as it went down, sending shivers down his arms and legs. But already the draught seemed to be having an effect, because his chest didn't ache every time he breathed deeply.
"Finish all of it," Saria ordered sternly, then walked back towards her house, presumably on other business. Her fairy bobbed obediently behind her.
Sond's own fairy Cyrus was now seated comfortably beside Sond, leaning against her coffee cup. Link glanced down at the blue fairy and sighed. "Sond, is Tatl around?"
Sond looked surprised as she answered. "No, I haven't seen her since the storm. Then again, I did forget about her too." She blinked at Link's crestfallen face. "She didn't get frozen with you?"
"No," Link said. "Last time I remember her, she was hovering up higher than us, and was a bit away from us. So I guess she was out of range when we were zapped. It must've been horrible for her to suddenly find us like that"
"She was in a state of shock when she came to warn us," Sond agreed.
"What about Obol?" Timbre asked, taking another swallow of potion.
Sond shrugged. "Haven't seen him, or any of the other fairies around at all. Just Cyrus. I think he managed to hang on to me during the storm or something."
Timbre twisted to the side a little bit, and didn't wince this time. "I think this stuff's working" He slipped out of his coat again, and started picking away at the bindings around his chest. He prodded at his side, and noticed the larger bruises diminishing at an unnatural rate. "Yeah, it is working."
Sond however, began prodding at Timbre's right arm. "Good grief, Tim! You're skin and bones," she said, pinching the bicep. "I mean, there's a lot of muscle there, but not much else."
"Well, I haven't exactly had much to eat in ten years, you know. It's a wonder Link and I aren't completely wasted away," Timbre pulled his arm away grumpily from Sond's prodding. "I guess we should be going soon," he said, changing the subject.
"At least eat something first," Sond ordered.
Link snickered. "He'll have no problems doing that."
They did eat; all of them. The Kokiri really didn't need any tangible reason to celebrate, other than the fact that their home had narrowly avoided disaster. It was with this state of mind that they all ate, as the sun ran in its daylong journey across the sky.
After lunch, Sond and Link started playing a random duet, she on her flute, and he on his old ocarina. Timbre just kind of smiled vaguely and listened in. It was what their entire group had dubbed jam sessions,' just playing for no real reason other than relaxation and fun. It made him happy in that it was a familiar thing in this new world, but made him slightly sad in how much it had changed. Without all the others playing, the melody seemed kind of superficial. Not that it wasn't pretty, it was justlacking, to one who had known the whole song.
The Kokiri, however, were all taken by the music, and sat and listened to it with eyes wide in enjoyment. A few poked Timbre.
"'Ow come you aren't playing, mister?" they asked.
Timbre shrugged, still unused to being called mister.' "I don't play a musical instrument. Ising."
"How come you aren't singing?" a girl asked him.
"Well, for one thing, I don't want to hurt myself, and anotherwell, the song they're playing right now doesn't really have words to it."
"Oh. You should make some up, or maybe you could just hum."
"Yeah," Sond said, taking a breather. "At least try humming."
Timbre shrugged, as if to say, why not?' He cleared his throat, humming quietly to himself to test out his voice. The potion had just about finished its job, and he experienced no aches as he tentatively took a few deep breaths. He hadn't tried singing since he'd been revived, and was pleased to find that while his voice had deepened, he hadn't lost any tonal quality. The Kokiri oohed and aahed appropriately. Apparently they liked the sound of his voice as well.
"Guess you're more of a bass than a tenor now," Link commented, perking an ear to Timbre's voice.
Timbre nodded. He was alright with that, as long as his singing didn't suffer. One of the things he'd always liked was his singing voice, which he unfortunately used very sparingly. The results tended to surprise people when they suddenly heard such a wonderful sound coming from the otherwise rather surly boy.
They all spent a few more happy hours in Kokiri Village, the sun reaching its pinnacle and slowly traveling to the west as they did so. They'd finished the rest of the fish, but were supplied with a good healthy supply of fruit and nuts for their journey. The Twins also parted with two of their medicine bottles, both filled with more of their healing potion. Link smirked, watching the Kokiri play with Timbre, who was showing them all his wolf form one last time. He'd never known that Timbre could be so patient with kids.
Sond smiled, sitting down next to the Hylian in the soft grass. "I'm glad you came back," she commented.
"Yeah, so am I." Link said suddenly. "Well, er, otherwise, how'd we save the world, right?" He corrected himself, and grinned nervously.
"Yeah." Sond stared forward, her eyes slightly sad. "Too bad we're gonna have to leave each other again so soon."
"What're you talking about?" Link said, looking at her with an expression of alarm. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"
"I can't." Sond blinked, pulling at the hem of her dress. "If I leave, then there will be nobody to defend the Kokiri and the forest. If that Moblin is an indication of what is to come-"
"But-"
"What if another one comes by? Or worse, what if a whole group of them does?" Sond looked practically angry. "We were hard pressed to defeat just the one. If a monster or two like that came into Kokiri Villagewithout the Deku Tree protecting them anymore, those children are absolutely defenseless. It would be a massacre."
"This isn't fair!" Link said, sounding much more like the ten-year-old boy than the twenty-year-old man.
Sond half-bristled, breathing heavily. "Hey, ask the Stone, will ya, if you don't believe me! It'll have the same answer."
Link stared down at the Destiny Stone as it turned green, perfectly matching the hue of his tunic. He sighed. "You're right of courseman this isn't fair. All that we've been through and stuff, and we're just going to leave."
"Sometimes obligations rise above what we want," Sond said, her voice lowering as her temper subsided. "This is the only home I've known. I can't just let it be destroyed."
Link didn't say anything, but he stared long and steadily at the ground, as if thinking of something to say.
Sond smiled sadly, watching the Kokiri swarming over Timbre, who looked bravely compliant with his chin on the ground. "Hey, soon as you kick Ganondorf's butt, everything'll be back to normal, and I'll be able to stand down here. And while you're in the outside world, you can look for everyone else. After this is over, we'll all be together again."
Link brightened slightly at this. "That's trueBut why does it have to be this way?"
"I think there's a reason that Stone picked you two," Sond said. Timbre was now flopped over on his side with his eyes closed. He looked rather content, and Sond noticed that one of the Kokiri girls was scratching him behind the ears. "I'm not sure why, but there must have been a reason that only you two were frozen. My role is to stay here. Kokiri Village might just be one of the last places in this world not touched by Ganondorf's rule. And I aim to keep it that way."
Link took one look into his friend's determined face, her blue eyes glittering brightly with inner flame, and realized that nobody had ever spoken more truly.
*****
Benz and Aka finally emerged into the midst of Kokiri Village several hours later, both looking rather battered and droopy-eyed. The Skull Kid irritably pulled half a dozen loose twigs, which had entangled themselves in his raggedy clothing. Benz squeaked in annoyance, realizing just how many trails of dead leaves were stuck to his cape.
"Ugh!" Benz said, turning to pick leaves off of the fabric. "Are we *squeak* there yet?"
"Mm, judging by the Neverland atmosphere, I'd say yes."
"The what?"
"The Neve- ohnever mind." Aka looked around at the treehouses in the clearing. There were several children about, but none of them had yet noticed that there was currently a Skull Kid and Deku Scrub inside their village. Aka motioned to change that. "Hallo!"
Several Kokiri turned their heads at the visitors.
"Aaah! Skull Kid! And a Deku!" One of the girls yelled, and several more Kokiri heads poked themselves out of treehouse doors. Soon, the duo found themselves the subject of much suspicious peering. Half a dozen pairs of bright eyes stared at them from cracks in doorways and windows. Fairies were also giving the two looks of complete scrutiny.
"I think they're *squeak* scared," Benz muttered to his companion. "We must be *squeak* imposing figures to them."
"'S alright!" Aka said, holding up both his gloved hands in a peaceful gesture. "We jus' came to warn you guys."
"Warn us? About what?" Mido suddenly arrived on the scene, putting on his tough guy act.' His fairy bobbed over his shoulder with a similar scowl as he strode aggressively over to the robbers. His lower jaw was set at a grim angle. "You might be tryin' to trick us."
"We're not, honest!" Aka said disarmingly.
Mido squinted. "Could swear I know you from somewhereyou ever been here before?"
"Us? Well-ow!" Aka winced as Benz kicked him hard in the shin. "No, I don't think we have, anyway" Aka winced, standing on one leg.
The Deku swallowed nervously. If he wasn't too mistaken, Aka was currently talking to the Kokiri's whose home they'd explored' not too long ago.
"Hmm." Mido's eyebrow raised half an inch. "What do you want?" He growled finally.
Benz had decided to let Aka speak. People tended to find his high-pitched Deku squeak (which his race considered quite an attractive trait) rather aggravating, and the last thing he wanted was a dozen people annoyed at him. Especially when they were taller than him. So he shoved Aka forward, muttering, "This was your idea. You talk."
Aka laughed nervously. He and Mido were about the same height, so they stared eye to eye. "Look," Aka mumbled. "We saw a big Moblin in there," He pointed back towards the Lost Woods entrance. "It looked like it were headed this way. So we thought you should be warned, that's all."
"Too late," Mido said haughtily. "It's already been defeated."
"What?" Aka said. "But this thing was huge! How could a bunch of little-"
"Th' grownups cut it up, nasty thing!" One of the other Kokiri boys spoke up.
"Grownups?!" Benz suddenly squeaked. A couple giggles from the Kokiri answered his exclamation. He poked Aka and stepped forward. "Where are the *squeak* grownups' now?"
Mido blinked. "They left," he said, a little vaguely, yawning.
The Deku pulled his companion aside and muttered, "Those must've been *squeak* the thieves that stole from us. Find out where they *squeak* went, we'll track em down now!"
"Um, ahem" The Skull Kid cleared his throat importantly as he addressed the Boss of the Kokiri. "Which way did they go?"
"They wen' to the outside world," Mido said proudly. "They're going to go save the world, or something."
Aka's brain was buzzing now, and he could hardly stop his dance of glee. Save the world?! Aka thought about the two living' statues. They were famous heroes after all! "Wow, thanks!" he said to Mido, meaning it too.
The Kokiri all watched in complete silence as the two strode back the way they'd come, all with raised eyebrows.
As he stepped back into the forest fringe, the Skull Kid turned to Benz and started shaking him in excitement. "Squeaks! Do you know what this means?!" Aka's voice was quivering with exhilaration.
Benz squeaked. "Stoppit! *squeak* Put me down!" The Deku cleared his throat importantly as his friend complied. "Yes, I'm perfectly aware of what this means, Aka. It means we're going to have to chase after *squeak* them, no matter where they go!" The Deku blinked. "So, therefore, we must *squeak* get to the exit with much haste!"
"Yeah!" Aka said enthusiastically. "We're gonna go help them go save the world!"
The Deku gave his friend an expression that one would give a talking mime. "Ercan you teleport us to the entrance?"
Aka grinned. "'Course I can! I can teleport us just about anywhere in the Lost Woods, and the entrance is part of th' Lost Woods technically, as is Kokiri Forest, an' the Sacred Forest Meadow."
"Great. Jus' *squeak* try to get us as close to the entrance as *squeak* possible." The Skull Kid was about to comply when Benz spoke up again. "Wait a secondyou can get us anywhere in the *squeak* Lost Woods?"
"Yep."
"Then why didn't you *squeak* tell me this when we first saw that Moblin?! We could've teleported straight here!" The Deku pointed at the ground. "We didn' *squeak* need to wander around looking for Kokiri Forest, you could've snapped your fingers and brought us here in a moment! We could've warned them before those thieves got to the Moblin and maybe been rewarded for our troubles!"
Aka looked blankly at his fingers for a full thirty seconds. "Hey, you're right!" He said finally, looking up. He giggled childishly, scratching the back of his head. "Fancy that. It's kind of funny, when you think about it, heheheh."
"Simpletons *squeak* think everything is funny," the Scrub muttered.
"What was that?" Aka blinked innocently.
"Nuthin. Just *squeak* zap us to the entrance, the sooner we catch up to those *squeak* thieves, the better."
"Yeah, th' world isn't about to save itself, is it?" Aka grinned widely at Benz, who just whimpered.
"Why me?" The next moment the Skull Kid snapped his fingers, and they both vanished with a small pop.
*****
Timbre looked around. "Wow, Hyrule Plain sure ain't what it used to be." He was right, too. The formerly lush green grass had become limpid, flaxen and brownish-yellow, as if it had simply given up trying to grow. It rustled listlessly like dry hay as they walked, their boots turned towards the northwest, in the direction of Hyrule Castle Town, and the Temple of Time.
Link seemed quieter than usual. "Yeah." He was still a little disappointed that they had to leave Sond alone in the Kokiri Forest. She'd gone with them as far as the entrance of the Lost Woods. But as it became time for them to move on, she'd been forced to turn back, though not before crushing them both in a death-hug. It was safe to say that there were a few tears shed as well during that parting. Now the numbness of the field only seemed to magnify that melancholy.
"It's likeeverything stopped living," Timbre murmured, looking around with eyebrows angled in worry.
The Hylian nodded in agreement. "Even the birds aren't singing. It's awful."
The high warm sun beat down on them mercilessly, even though the afternoon was dragging on. There was no wind, just still hot air. "Think we'll make the town by nightfall?" Timbre looked nervous. The Castle Town's huge gate closed at sundown, and remained firmly closed until the next dawn. Anyone caught outside its gates after nightfall was forced to wait for the sun to rise. And many nasty things used to roam the Field, even when they were young. But nowthings were bound to be worse.
"If we hurry, we might," Link observed. "I'd rather not have to spend the night out in the open. Who knows what other beasties might decide to show up."
Timbre shifted uneasily, giving his ribs a squeeze. "Don't remind me," he groaned, grimacing. "Those potions taste horrible."
Link laughed, and they walked on. The afternoon dragged on, and even though they began to feel tired and worn out, they kept walking. Part of what kept them going was the fact that the entire stillness of the field had risen to such a creepy level that they both wanted nothing more than to be done with it. As they passed Lon Lon Ranch, Link had a thought.
"We could always stay there for the night"
Timbre made a neutral sound that betrayed the fact he'd rather not.
"We'd be able to rest easyand I could visit Epona." Link smirked as a flicker of fear crossed his friend's face. Timbre, for reasons unexplained, had a potent fear of horses. Maybe it was just Epona, but equines in general seemed to dislike Timbre. Maybe they could tell he wasn't what he appeared to be. Either way, Timbre avoided horses whenever he could.
"Let's keep moving," Timbre said finally. "Besides, we don't know if the farm is safe. It might be controlled by Ganondorf."
"And you don't think the Castle Town won't be?" Link said stubbornly as they walked on anyway. "For all we know the place could be a ruin, crawling with Redeads."
Timbre shuddered. Nobody liked battling the undead, after all. "Well, at least if we're forced to fight there, we're somewhere near the Temple of Time," he said finally. "If we're stuck at the Ranch, we'll be sidetracked."
Link nodded. "Guess so"
Another hour passed, and soon a spire or two and some peaked roofs came into view in the far distance. They were silhouetted black against the waning light of the sky, dark and jagged, like daggers. But nevertheless, they were a welcome sight after the dead monotony of the field.
"Looks like we're home free," Link smirked.
Timbre, however, raised an eyebrow, and halted suddenly. "No."
"What do you mean, no?" The Hylian asked, stopping as well.
"What I mean is, we're not home free. For one thing, it's still a long walk to those gates. And for another, I think we're being tracked."
"What? You mean like, followed? But there's nobody here!" Link shrugged, gesturing around him. He seemed pretty confident, as there wasn't much around except for grasses, shrubs, and the occasional tree.
Timbre glanced around nervously. He'd been getting prickles up and down his spine for a while now, although he'd tried to stop it. And his gut instinct usually didn't steer him wrong. "I'd draw your weapon if I were you," he said quietly, slipping out of his trenchcoat at the same time.
Link did so, and the metallic scraping sound seemed to be swallowed up by the sky, which was rapidly turning from fiery orange-rose to a more subdued blue-black. Link stared into the gloom skeptically.
There was no real warning, just a sudden explosion of howls that erupted from every angle. Link had luckily pulled out his shield, as the next moment something huge and furry crashed against it, talons clacking against the metal guard with a high pitched squeal. Sparks flew in every direction like scattered fireflies. Yelling, Link struck out at his assailant, only to find his attack blocked by a flash of silver claws.
"Wolfos!" Link yelled out. The Wolfos bristled, and leapt for him again; though this time the Hylian was prepared. He jumped back, and lashed out quickly with a heavy forward thrust. The Wolfos howled loudly as it suddenly found itself cut from shoulder to ear. Circling, the infuriated beast attempted to flank the swordsman, lashing out as it ran by.
Link yelled out loudly as the silver claws tore a four-way slash through his tunic, narrowly missing his torso. More out of instinct than of thought, he back slashed, and caught the unlucky monster in the side. The Wolfos reeled, stiffened in shock, fell, then expired with a choking noise.
The Hylian caught his breath, but could still hear the sounds of battle nearby. Although it had seemed like a massive melee, in reality there had only been three Wolfos in the attack, one of which he had already disposed of. The remaining two were currently facing down the wolf Timbre.
If the situation weren't so dire, Link might have been interested in comparing the two different, yet oddly similar species. The Wolfos were both huge and shaggy, a medium gray color, except for the lighter colored fur on their chests and underbellies. They were both rawboned, slavering and mangy, and looked ravenous, even for Wolfos. Both were visibly larger in frame than Timbre, with broader, knobbier shoulders and thicker snouts. Their talon-like claws too were longer, glinting silver in the waning sunlight. Timbre cut a brave frame, even though he wasn't as bulky as these two hulking lupines. Timbre's fur was black and white, and he looked considerably more well kept than his opponents. Timbre was slightly less massive, but he was also sleeker, faster, and most fortunately, smarter than his foes. While the Wolfos's red eyes glowed widely with hunger-driven madness, the wolf's eyes were instead narrowed to cold, if not calculating green slits.
Link rarely saw Timbre in full battle anger, which was probably fortunate, as he looked slightly alarming at the moment with his hackles raised, teeth bared, and ears forward. The two Wolfos were circling him slowly, pacing hungrily around Timbre as they searched for an opening. They were both growling in a manner made Link imagine them as jeering.
If the Hylian understood lupine, the situation might have made more sense, as the Wolfos were jeering, in a sense. They spoke in turn to Timbre, as if their words were coming from a single entity.
"What is this?" The one on his right snarled.
"Siding with humans, are we?" said the other. "Pitiful." Timbre sidestepped lightly as one of the Wolfos rushed him. Glaring daggers at the attempt to distract him, he laughed coldly.
"I'd say the ones who deserve pity are you," he said disdainfully (though all Link heard was an odd kind of growl). "What did Ganondorf promise you this time? Meals for a week?"
"Twinrova has promised us great rewards for destroying the Heroes of Time!" The Wolfos who had attacked snapped his jaws, and leapt again. Timbre had to duck again. He'd be hard pressed taking even one on, in their crazed condition. He'd rather not risk the claws of two at once. If there was one thing a wolf avoided, it was the silver claws of their lesser kin. Silver had an ill effect on all form changers, stopping them in whatever shape they happened to be in the moment it touched them.
"Twinrova?" Timbre muttered, more to himself. He was backing up slowly, but one of the attackers soon circled him, closing him off from escaping.
"Yesssss," it hissed, baring yellowed teeth. "You are the Heroes of Time. You, and that human. You have the scent. Arrooo!!" This time it leapt with claws ready, and Timbre stood his ground. He did not meet the attack head on, however. He feinted forward, only to twist sharply at the last second. Before he could clearly think, Timbre's toothy muzzle clamped tightly around the skin and bones right foreleg of the Wolfos His jaws contracted sharply.
The sound of the bone audibly snapping made Timbre almost feel sick to the point of retching, but he fought back his revulsion, drawing back sharply and releasing his hold as the injured Wolfos swiped at his face. Unfortunately, the second Wolfos had been expecting a retreat, and charged the wolf's unprotected back, jaws open wide-
Only to be cut open in midair by a furious blade uppercut by Link, who'd seen the attack coming. There was an inhuman scream from the mortally wounded monster, but the Wolfos was dead before it hit the ground.
The remaining Wolfos lost its nerve at the sight of its dead packmate. Backing away on three legs, it panted, tongue lolling out as its breaths came in short gasps of pain. "We're not finished with you yet, wolf." It growled. "There's more Wolfos, and only two of you!"
Timbre lowered his head and made as if to charge the Wolfos. It quickly skittered away on three legs into the darkness, and was soon lost to view, though its howls of pain persisted. But even then that sound was swallowed up, and Timbre relaxed. His ears flickered back, his head raised, and his hackles lowered.
Link looked over at his friend, concerned. "You alright?"
"Didn't even touch me," Timbre grinned as he changed form and stood up carefully. He wiped his mouth distastefully, spitting out loose fur. "Good grief, that was nasty. Didn't know I was capable of stuff like that"
"Can't be any worse than that time you bit Kas," Link said.
"Please don't remind me about that," Timbre groaned, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. "That was a mistake. And besides, that was just his ankle. This was a big hairy claw."
"And what about that Moblin?"
"I only slashed him," Timbre said. "Oh, okay, so I did take a bite when he was squeezing the life out of me, but even thenthat was instinctual."
Link had wiped his blade clean, and resheathed it. He picked up Timbre's discarded trenchcoat and threw it to him. "Look on the bright side. We were lucky that time. If those things had caught us by surprisethey were rather starved, weren't they? Good thing you picked up on them."
"Yeah" Timbre murmured.
"Were theysaying anything through all that snarling and growling?" Link looked questioningly at his shield, which now bore several more dents and scratches.
"Actually, yeah they did-ack!"
Link looked up sharply. "What?"
"The sun's nearly set!" Timbre said suddenly, looking up at the sky. "And Castle Town shuts at sundown! We're gonna miss the gate!"
The Hylian leapt up, buckled the shield to his back, and sprinted towards Hyrule Castle Town as if there were a pack of Stalfos chasing him. "Aaah! We'd better hurry up then!"
Timbre stumbled upright, and sprinted after the Hylian, trying not to glance at the twilight-ridden sky, in which the stars were slowly becoming more and more visible. Off in the distance, he could hear the howling of the Wolfos that preceded every sunset. They were running out of time. Quickly.
The howl also reached the pointed ears of the Gate Guard at Hyrule Castle Town. Staggering upright, he signaled down to two men, who were leaning idly against the crank for the huge wooden drawbridge that closed Castle Town's Gates off to the field when closed. At the moment, the drawbridge was open. But not for much longer.
"Alright yew tewbring er oop! Taihm t' turn in f'tonight."
The two men nodded vigorously, and threw their muscular frames against the crank, staggering under the strain. The drawbridge creaked several times, jerked, and slowly began moving upwards as the men sweated and grunted, pulling up the crank.
The Gate Guard, sitting on his perch at the top of the wall, yawned. Sentry duty was rough work, but luckily, once the gate was shut, his job was done for the evening. All he knew was that Ganondorf ordered the gate shut every evening, specifically restricting it from being opened to anyone during the nighttime hours. He wasn't sure if it was more to keep the monsters out, or the people in.
Or maybe to keep certain people out, like those two fellows running for the drawbridge, which was now about ten feet off the ground.
"Wot th-" The Gate Guard blinked in amazement as the closer of the two men, a sturdy blonde fellow dressed in green, gave a yell and jumped impossibly for the lifting gate. His gauntleted fingers hooked around the edge of the wooden drawbridge, and he began riding the gate up as it lifted higher and higher. The green man turned his head back, yelling something to his companion, who was dark haired and clothed in an odd sort of coat.
"Ee'll never make it," the Gate Guard grumbled. "Mebbe th' green guy made eet in toime, but th' other guy's too far way t' make th' jump." The Gate Guard smirked. From the way that other guy was charging, he certainly was going to try anyhow. If he missed, the Guard mused, he'd end up straight in the moat. That would be kind of funny.
"Oop, thurr ee goes," The Guard smirked as the youth reached the edge of the moat and jumped, screaming something unintelligible.
He missed the gate, as it was too far to reach, but he did manage to catch a hold of the green man's left boot. The green man yelled in discomfort, and began hauling himself over the edge of the gate, dragging his friend with him. By now the gate was twenty-five feet off the ground. The green man gritted his teeth, and with a monumental effort, managed to tumble over the side of the drawbridge, hauling the other with him.
The Gate Guard stared, jaw slack as he turned towards the inside of the wall. He watched as the two young men fell, sliding down the increasing slope of the bridge on their backs, feet first. They landed in an ungainly tangled heap just as the gate closed behind them with an almighty BANG. The Guard blinked, staring down at the two men, who were groaning and slowly disentangling themselves. A few passersby stopped and stared as the green man and his friend staggered upright, nursing quite a few burns and bruises.
"Never oulda guessed eet possible," the Gate Guard said, still in a state of shock. "But they made it, alroight."
Down below, Link and Timbre struggled upright, both of them wheezing and panting. Despite being slightly cut and bruised, they seemed otherwise okay. Timbre brushed himself off, his knees still a bit weak. That had been a very close call.
"Well," Link gasped as he got up from a kneel. "We made it."
"Yeah," Timbre said, looking around. "But to what?"
He had a point. There were several passersby who were eyeing them nervously. All of them were haggard looking, eyes pale and slightly sunken. They looked as if they hadn't eaten well in a long time. The various folk were dressed in patched old tunics and robes, each shabbier than the last. This made Link start. Hyrule Castle Town had always been a very wealthy city, he'd never seen people here, even at twilight, that looked quite this shabby. The streets were glum, though they didn't appear to be haunted. The Hylian breathed a sigh of relief. Last time he'd seen the future, Castle Town had been a veritable graveyard, complete with undead. A poor but living community was slightly preferred to a community of death.
But barely. It wasn't pleasant to see people suffering, and in such a hard condition. The few witnesses to their spectacular entrance shrugged slowly and began ambling away down the weed-infested cobblestone, heads down.
Timbre wrinkled his nose. "How could a place become so"
"Hard on luck?" Link offered, and Timbre nodded. "WellWe'll try and figure it out as we walk. Come on. Stay incognito for now, just in case this place decides to be unfriendly."
They walked on carefully, feeling very out of place in the quickly deserting street. They edged along walls, and glanced hastily around corners before turning them, as if expecting robbers or thieves at every turn. Timbre glanced around. Everything just seemed sodim. It wasn't just the fact that it was slowly becoming dark, either. It was like someone had painted the town with a coat of dull gray. Even the lights that shone from some windows seemed sub par, as if everything was caught in a haze.
"For Castle Town to become so poor," Link murmured, "Must be Ganondorf's influence. Zelda's father was a just ruler, maybe not too involved or present, but he knew how to keep his country affluent. This way." Link pointed in the direction of the Temple of Time.
"Yeah, Ganondorf's sucking the very vitality out of the land," Timbre said as he followed. "He doesn't care about the consequences. He just wants power, and if that means destroying Hyrule-" He swallowed. Even though Hyrule wasn't his native homeland, it still made him sick to think that any living person could be so cruel as to completely disregard others in this way. He ground his teeth together. "He has to be stopped."
"Right. That's why were here to collect my old weapon." Link said. The Temple of Time came into view as they turned a last corner. It looked like it was in horrible disrepair. Link sighed as he mounted the steps of the Temple, clucking distastefully at the cracked stone, and the mold and weeds that were thrusting themselves out of every crevasse. "The Blade of Evil's Bane was the only thing that stopped him last time. You just can't take on the holder of the Triforce of Power without it."
There were eerie echoes abounding as they entered the dark archway. It was very gloomy inside the Temple of Time. There were very small windows in the Temple of Time, but of course there was no light now for the sun had set. The entire place had an air about it that spoke of years of neglect. The aisle they walked down was very dark and cold, as if the very stones of the Temple radiated chill.
Link shivered. "It's sodead in here."
Timbre agreed, listening to his voice echo in the hollow gloom. "Let's just get the sword and get out of here quickly." Even if it wasn't hostile in the Temple of Time, it certainly was creepy. And it was just too dark, without a light (even a fairy would've been better than nothing).
"Problem," Link said suddenly, pointing towards the back of the temple sanctuary as they slowly approached. A dusty altar, cracked clean in two, lay crazily askew. The three Spiritual Stones were noticeably missing, either destroyed, or stolen long ago. "Someone's been here before us. And the Door of Time's closed."
"How's it gonna open without those Stones, though?" Timbre asked, slumping. "Did we come all this way for nothing?"
The Destiny Stone, which hadn't done a thing since they'd left the Lost Woods, suddenly flared to life. It glowed a deep crimson, almost angrily as it answered Timbre's question. At the same time, Link gave a funny sort of yelp, grabbing at his left hand with a grimace. "Ouch!"
Timbre squinted as Link cradled his left arm, which was throbbing. On the back of his left hand, as if it had been tattooed there in light, was the golden Triforce symbol. "Woah, it hasn't done that in a long time, has it?" Timbre said, staring at it in awe.
Link gritted his teeth. "Yeah. Ouch." He often forgot that he did possess the Triforce of Courage, although Courage really had been more of a title than an actual benefit. It hadn't actually revealed itself like this in a long time, not since before he'd traveled to Termina, actually. It chose instead to lie completely inert, as if it weren't really there. He massaged his hand until it stopped aching, but the mark remained. The triangle had become a dark black, as opposed to gold, which he was slightly thankful for. "But what help's the Triforce of Courage gonna be?" He yelled out loud. "We need the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time to open the seal, and we don't have either."
But even as he spoke, the Triforce symbol above the Door of Time started glowing. Then, with an almighty groan, the huge stone door opened, revealing the chamber that held the Master Sword. It flared brilliantly in the gloom of the darkened sanctuary, and Timbre and Link had to shield their eyes as they stepped towards the entrance.
The tomblike chamber that awaited them was lit from above by an unknown blue light source, even in the darkness of the night. The light shone brightly upon the pedestal, and dust motes flew about, stirred by their entrance. Here was the resting place of the Sword of Evil's Bane.
Both of them stared forwards, a pit growing in their stomachs. This was the absolute last thing they'd expected, as they stared wide-eyed in shock at what they saw before them. Finally, Timbre spoke, and his broken voice seemed to speak exactly what both of them were thinking.
"This can't be good."
*****
Yes. I'm stopping there. *ducks as people throw things at her* Ack! I apologize for such an evil, horrible, nasty, awful, not-very-nice cliffhanger. But it's necessary. It just kind of pounds in the direness of the situation. This chapter's probably left you with a lot of questions. Well, I say this: They will be answered in coming chapters, yes. And those chapters might come along a LITTLE bit sooner if you reviewno, I'm not blackmailing yougood grief no, I'm not mean like thatthis thing will be updated, don't you worry a bit! ^_^ In the meantime, I drew some more stuff:
http://www.side7.com/cgi-bin/S7SDB/DisplayImg.pl?INO=225702 Older Timbre. And a sword. Yeah, he looks like he could do some damage, but honestly, he's more likely to just drop it again. :P
http://www.side7.com/cgi-bin/S7SDB/DisplayImg.pl?INO=225703 Finally managed to draw Aka, with his adorably clueless expression. Benz I will be drawing as soon as I remember how to draw Dekus.
That's it for now, no go review, or read Tyhinolove's story. It's all about Sond and her (supposed) vacation. And it's funny, and she'd love some feedback. Heck, I'd like some feedback tooconstructive criticism is always much appreciated. Thanks!