Chap. 5

The Prisoner

The desert winds swirled around the Temple. Its stone goddesses' hands stretched forward, as though trying to cup the sand within them. It seemed quiet and peaceful, unaware of the evil that now existed within. A circular disk jutted out of the sand, marked with the sigil of the Spirit Sage. It was here that the silence broke. As the light began to swirl up from the base of the disk, the band of heroes that had now crossed over from Earth appeared.

Of course, for most of them it had not been an easy journey. Unaccustomed to traveling the roads of magic, the Titans and B.R.A.T.S were dizzy and disoriented. Even Brett was stunned, having never traveled by this route before. As he shook his head and tried to clear his mind, he said, "Now I know why you learned those tunes one at a time. Get 'em all at once and you probably would've puked on every single marker you got to." As if to prove this, Heatstrike and Beast Boy did puke, though they managed to do it on the sand. Pulling up her hood in an attempt to block the sunlight, Raven looked around and asked, "Where are we?" "The land of Hyrule, our home." Zelda answered. "I thought Link said his home was a forest." a queasy Bartman replied. "The Forest in only a part of Hyrule; the land divided into many different sections." The Hero replied. "This is the Western Desert, home of the Spirit Temple." Pointing behind them, Link showed his new friends the structure. The heroes turned around in wonder. The Temple was a huge building, which jutted out from the sand, yet at the same time seemed to be a part of it. The front of it had been carved into the image of a woman from the waist up. Her arms were outstretched with open palms, as though she held a treasure in each hand.

"It's incredible." Robin breathed, stunned by the Temple's beauty. Neuron however, took a more analytical route. "The architecture is most unusual. Who designed it?" "The Gerudos." Link answered. "They live back in the canyons that lead here." "What about that statue there in front of the entrance? What does it mean" the speedster asked. Indeed, it was a strange piece of sculpture. Built out of gray stone, it appeared to be a man, clothed in an Egyptian-esq. suit of armor. In his right hand, he held a long staff, topped by a dreamcatcher with several feathers hanging down from it. His other hand was curled at his side, a helmet in his grasp. But it was the face that was most curious. Instead of the face of a man, the statue had the head of a wolf. Its teeth were bared, yet it did not seem to be a threat to them. "Weird. What kind of people are these Gerudos anyway?" asked Cyborg. "Yeah, I don't know what that's supposed to be." agreed Whimpernel. "I'll remember that the next time I see him." Brett replied, pointing at the statue. "You know who that is?" asked Starfire. "Of course. That's Sandshifter, my brother. He represents Nabooru, the Sage that resides in this Temple. In this world, they know about the Elemental Knights, and they honor us." "So do you have a statue somewhere then?" The bat nodded. "Hey let's get a closer look." said Beast Boy. He began to run forward, but suddenly, he bean to lift off the ground. Turning around, he saw Zelda, her glowing hand outstretched, shaking her head. "That would not be a good idea. This Temple, like the others, has been corrupted. This is the closest any beings of good can come to it without its demon guardian attacking." Sheepishly, Beast Boy replied, "Oh, uh, good move then. Can you put me down now?" Zelda lowered her hand, causing Beast Boy to do the same.

"So what do we do now?" asked Robin. "First we got our ride." said Link, as a threesome of horses suddenly appeared in the distance. Two of them carried wagons and were ridden by women dressed in purple Arabic tunics. The center horse had no rider, though it was saddled. They stopped in front of the heroes, though the center horse walked up to Link. It nuzzled the Hero's head, as he patted it gently. "Good job, Epona, you still remember the way." Speaking to the two women, he asked, "Have all the preparations been made?" "Everything has been done as you asked, Link." The one on the left replied. Then, noticing the Titans and B.R.A.T.S, she asked, "Where are the other Knights?" "They've separated, but they'll do." He replied. At that, more then a few eyebrows were raised, but Link paid it no mind. Leaping up onto his horse, Link spoke, "The Gerudos will take us to their camp. From there, I'll tell you my plan."

The heroes quickly loaded onto the wagons, except for Zelda who rode with Link. Once everyone was on board, Link tugged the reins, and Epona shot off. The two wagons followed suit, though it was difficult to keep up. Of course, the unstable desert sands made it hard as well. The heat also became an issue, as the B.R.A.T.S shifted back to normal and out of their thick suits. However, it did give the group plenty of time to talk, although the conversation took an interesting turn after Cyborg and Beast Boy attempted to win over the Gerudo driver.

"Uh, guys, that's kind of a bad idea." said Brett. "Whadda ya mean?" asked Beast Boy. The bat leaned over and gently tapped the driver on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he began. "but my friends haven't been here before and they don't know anything about your culture. Could you give me a hand so they won't get killed at your camp?" The Gerudo nodded. Putting the reins in one hand, she gestured out with the other. Brett reached into his pocket and drew out a small steel ball. "Where's you get that?" asked Starfire. "Oh I always keep them around for occasions like this." the bat replied. Placing it in the driver's hand, he said, "This is how they react when men hit on them." The driver squeezed her hand for approximately ten seconds. Then she opened it, and a stream of gray dust fell onto the side. "Any other questions?" he asked, as Beast Boy and Cyborg stared in fear and their hands reflexively went to their groins.

Suddenly the wagon came to a halt. Looking around the group saw they were now surrounded by canyon walls. "This is it?" asked Ralph. "No, that's it." said Link, as he motioned towards a large stone fortress, carved out of the canyon wall. It's square towers stretched up almost out of the canyon. The hours of carving and sun had turned it a pure stone white. "Whoa." Martin said, as they exited the wagons. "You guys do good work." The Gerudo nodded, but gave little other indication she'd heard. Martin snorted in response, but Link quickly came to the side. "Okay Link, now how are supposed to do this?" Robin asked. "I've worked this plan out with the Sages. Now, since Majora is an artifact of Termina, and possibly it's most evil one, we believe that the only way to send him back is to use an artifact from Hyrule of equal power, but of a good nature. Even so, we still have to destroy the Temple demons, in order to weaken him." "This artifact…. Do you plan to use the Triforce Pieces?" asked Brett. "No, our parts are not powerful enough." Zelda replied. "But we have managed to capture someone who might be able to help us." "Capture?" Nelson said, his eyes narrowing. "He is…. loathe to help us." Link said in response. "The Gerudos have agreed to keep him here until we needed him." "Then let's get him." said Bart. The group began to head for the entrance, but a pair of Gerudo guards blocked their path. "Only Link and the Princess may see the prisoner." They said. Sighing, Link said, "We've been through this, Rula. You agreed." The guard seemed to hold for a moment, then said, "Fine." and pointing to Raven and Starfire, said, "Those two may go." Link was about to press the matter further, but Zelda laid her hand on his shoulder. "All right." He muttered, and motioned for the girls to come up. But Brett stepped up with them. Looking Rula dead in the eye, he said, "I am the Knight-representative of the Sage you call Impa. I demand right to see the prisoner." Rula's eyes widened and she quickly stepped aside. They began to walk into the camp, but Milhouse yelled "Hey, what about us?" Link turned and explained, "They have very strict rules about these things. There's nothing I can do." "It'll be ok." said Brett. "Just don't do anything stupid, and they won't hurt you… I think."

"That was comforting." Raven remarked, as Rula lead them down the long corridors of the building. "Hey, if Link couldn't get them in, I didn't think I would have much chance." The bat replied. "But why would they not let our friends in?" Starfire questioned. Brett gave a smile and replied, "Have you seen any men around here?" "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Raven. "Everything. You didn't see any men because aside from the others, myself, and Link there aren't any. The Gerudo are the Amazonian ideal; a race comprised entirely of women." "But how is that possible?" "They don't even know. But because of it, they distrust all men, except Link." "Why?" asked Starfire. "Well technically, he's one of them." Seeing the confused expressions on his friends' faces, Brett explained. "You see, the Gerudo's home makes it very hard for them to live off the land. So they, well, have to live off other people's land." "You mean they're…" began Raven, but Brett clapped his hand over her mouth before she could finish. "Yes," he whispered. "But they're honorable. They never steal more then what they need, they only take from those who can afford to lose it, they only take what they need to survive, and they never hurt the innocent." Removing his hand from her mouth, he continued, "But a lot of that was Link's doing. Before he came, they had a … looser code. Anyway, one day four men from Karikio Village to the east of here, decided to join. But at that time, the Gerudo hated men. So they locked them up in cells around the fortress. The town fathers asked Link to free them. Never wanting to let the innocent suffer, Link snuck inside and one by one, freed the men and defeated the guards. The Gerudo were impressed; no man had ever navigated their home before. In respect, they made Link an honorary Gerudo. He's the only person they've ever honored in that way. Even so, they still refuse to completely trust men, even now. It's mainly due to the fact that most of Hyrule won't trade with them because of their past, so they still have to resort to old ways. But they have too much respect for Link to ever dishonor him, so they follow the rules he set down."

"Okay, but what about you?" Starfire asked. "The Sage of Spirit was once the leader of the Gerudo. Because of that, they will not insult any Sage openly, and refusing their Knight is a pretty big insult." Before the girls could ask anymore questions, Link and Zelda came to a halt. In front of them was a huge stone door. Rula drew forth a key from her belt and began to place it in the keyhole. But Zelda's touch caused to hold. Link turned back to the others and said, "We haven't been completely honest with you. The being in this cell… he's not much better then Majora, but we need his strength." But Brett just held up his hand. "Link, war makes strange bedfellows." "Besides," interjected Starfire. "we haven't come this far trusting you to stop just yet." Link gave a weak smile, and motioned for Rula to unlock the door. The Gerudo turned the key and with a clang, it swung open. The group peered inside. Inside, a man stood, chained to the wall. Head slumped forward, he slept, unconscious to the world. His skin was a dark green, his hair bright orange. A yellow gem was encrusted onto his forehead. His clothes were dark, yet appeared to be made of the same fabric that the Gerudo's clothes were made off. A torn brown cape hung from his back. The Titans were confused. "This is what's going to help us?" Raven said caustically. "He is… not what I expected." said Starfire. But Brett gave no reaction. He stared at the man, his eyes growing wider and wider, as he slowly backed away. Keeping his hand pointed directly at the unconscious figure, he sputtered out, "That's the Gerudo King. Why is he here?" "We had no choice..." Link began, but at that moment, Brett broke. "No choice? Link what were you thinking? Do you know what you've done? You've let out Gannondorf!"

Dun Dun Dun, DUN DUN! Now it gets interesting! Please, review, all Titans and Zelda fans, review!