A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Pair of Time
Chapter 9- Light of Slumber
Kakariko Village; Night
"Number 7!" Malon says as she holds up a Golden Skulltula token.
Malon and Link manages to find a Golden Skulltula in the incomplete building, due to the fact that Golden Skulltulas prefer night over day. It's interesting how these giant critters leave behind a token.
"Okay! Let's go the Graveyard!" Malon says after stashing the token.
"Are you sure you won't wet yourself again?"
She exaggeratedly gasps. "How in the world do you dare ask such a question!"
"Okay, okay! Just checking! Because it'll be bad if that dress and underwear of yours get wet again."
Luckily, Malon's white dress and undergarment managed to dry off before night came. The orange dress is nice, but it is just a little too large for her. Still, there's an arguable fact that it has softer fabric, and that due to its large size (and with no undergarment on), it feels breezier to where she would cuddle herself to the ground from the feel of it.
"Ugh!" Malon lets out disgustedly. "You are a sick boy!"
"What?"
"Never mind. Let's hurry it up."
Graveyard
The Graveyard is spooky by day, but horribly nerve wrecking at night. With almost no light to see from, it's impossible to see anything that's barely more than 12 feet away from someone. Not to mention that sounds can come from anywhere…
"I wish we brought a lamp," Link says after trying to look beyond the 12 feet range, "then we would see better."
"Um… yeah… I wish we did. Sure is dark…"
Hey, Navi! Come on out and give us some light. Link mentally calls to her.
The fairy flies out, lighting up a good radius around them.
"Is that better?" Navi asks.
"Yeah. Thanks. If you just stay out here for a while…"
"Fine…"
Sacrificing the comfort of a mind to the physical needs of her owner, Navi sighs and becomes stuck as the living lamp.
Malon and Link pass by the carved stone by the entrance, but they couldn't find the gravekeeper anywhere.
"That's strange." Malon looks around. "The sign said 18:00 to 21:00. Where's Mr. Dampe?"
"Maybe he's still in his hut?"
"Maybe. Let's see then."
Link knocks on the hut's door. No response. Link then does the next thing when nobody responds. He tries the knob and finds it unlocked.
"Hey, the gravekeeper didn't lock it." Link turns the door and opens it.
"Is this what you do when nobody answers? Just open the door?"
"Yeah."
"But, haven't you ever thought that nobody really wants to have people over?"
"I don't know. Every time I don't get an answer, I open the door and find out that the person's not home."
"Oh, whatever…"
The hut inside looks larger than it does outside, but all there is in there is an old bed that looks like mold has begun calling it theirs, a wooden chair missing its arms, and a table with a book full of musty, yellow pages.
"What's this?" Link walks over to the book.
"It looks like… the gravekeeper's diary?"
"Hmm…"
Malon picks the book off the table and starts shuffling through the pages.
"Nothing interesting here… Just entries of having new bodies to bury… Here's something. 'Today, the Poes and I have begun a truce, after all those years of them yelling and trying to scare me, that I shouldn't wander around the Graveyard at night and dig up stuff. It seems good; they haven't sprung out of their graves and start attacking ever since. I guess all they want is that nobody should pull open their graves. Oh, well. At least more people are coming at night for the Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour I keep on having. More Rupees for me, I suppose.'"
Malon turns her attention back up to Link, who's wearing the same confused expression as she is.
"'The Poes and I have begun a truce?'" Malon repeats.
"Is that even possible?"
Link remembers an encounter with a Poe once in the forest. It wasn't exactly the best first impression he ever saw of a Poe.
"I guess so… I mean, if you're a gravekeeper, and you keep doing this dig every night…"
"Yeah, I think it would come to that."
Malon again skims through the page, flipping the entries of those who would be buried. She stops for a moment when her mother becomes one of those, then continues flipping. Again, she stops, this time for a while.
"What did you find?" Link asks when he sees this stop.
"Something… very interesting. It's the latest entry. 'When I dug a hole, I found a treasure that stretches--BOING! And shinks--BOING! It's so fun, I'll never give it to anybody.'"
Again, Malon looks up with the same result as before.
"Something that stretches and shrinks? Weird."
"I don't know…" Link has a smirk on his face. "It does sound fun to me."
"How would something that stretches and shrinks be fun?"
"I don't know. It just is."
Malon dismisses the idea with a sigh. "Boys…"
Malon puts back the diary on the table, then follows Link to the door. Link turns the knob, seeing how there's no problem entering and exiting somebody's house when they're not home. It's not like they're going to steal or damag-
"RRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Both Malon and Link scream.
"What are you two doing in my hut!"
A hunched back man in overalls with an almost deformed face stares dangerously at Malon and Link, holding a shovel pointed them.
Malon and Link take a deep breath. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"What? What are you two screaming for!"
Again, they take in some more air. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"QUIET! You two are giving me a headache!"
Repeat and scream. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
The man clamps both of Link and Malon's mouth shut, preventing even air from coming out.
"If you two don't shut your yaps, I WILL use this shovel on you! Got it?"
With the option of screaming cut off, both of them nod.
"Okay, then." the man still kept their mouths closed, just in case. "Now, what's so scary that made you two scream like that?"
The moment the question's over, both of Malon and Link's fingers point at him.
"What, me? I didn't scare you that much, did I?"
The fingers emphasize the pointing, directly at…
"My face? My face scared you two THAT much?"
The two nod to the question. The man shrugs.
"Eh, I guess a trip to a facial make-over wouldn't hurt nowadays."
He lets go of their mouths, certain that they won't go back to their brain-piercing screaming.
"Okay, you two. What are you doing in my hut?"
"Your hut? So, you must be Dampe the gravekeeper, right?" Link asks.
"Yep."
"Oh, sorry, Mister!" Malon apologizes. "We were just looking for you! We thought you were still here!"
"Ah, I was just behind a grave. Mustn't seen you two, then. So, are both of you here for the Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour of mine?"
"Yes, Mister."
"Well, let's go on outside, then."
They head out of the hut and onto the path going through the Graveyard.
"All right, kids. Remember one thing out here. Don't mess around with the graves. You do, and those Poes will be after ya."
"Oh, we wouldn't really do such a thing. Right, Link?"
"Well…"
"Oh, come on, Link! You really think we would pull open those graves and have Poes chasing after us?"
"Ah-hem! If you two are done…" Dampe interrupts, "I'll tell you what my side business is…"
Both Malon and Link silences themselves to this.
"Okay, what this tour is, is that I'll dig up a dirt mound for ya."
"That's it?" Malon said.
"Yep." Dampe nods, then puts on a dark, excited face. "What's gonna come out? What's gonna come out? When I start digging, we'll find out!"
The two blinks to this, apparently not scared by Dampe's rather poor work.
"Ah, you two don't know the scary of rhyming. All right. We're standing over a dirt mound. Do you want me to dig here? 10 Rupees for one hole."
"Gee, isn't that a bit expensive?" Malon questions.
"Hey, it's your choice. This is my fee."
"Sure." Link hands out 10 Rupees. "Couldn't hurt just to pay 10 for a hole."
"Thanks." Dampe receives his fee. "Okay, here goes."
Dampe drives his shovel into the dirt mound, thrusting it in more with his foot. With a grunt, he unearths the mound, revealing a Piece of Heart.
"Here you go! Your prize."
"Wow! A Piece of Heart!" Malon picks it up. "How lucky is that?"
"So, you two want me to shovel anywhere else?"
"No, thanks, sir." Link shakes his head. "We're okay."
"If you two ever want to try it again, I'll be around the Graveyard until 21:00. Then, you two will be by yourself."
Dampe walks, or rather plods forward, following the path.
"Well, we've tried the Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour out," Malon said. "Now, I think we should head back and- Link! What are you doing!"
Link is pulling open one of the graves nearby.
"Just curious," is all the answer Link gives.
"Just curious? Are you crazy? I mean, fine, when you brought me here and all that, but THIS?"
"C'mon. Don't you want to know what's underneath?"
If Link has any idea what's underneath. Luckily, instead of a mound with a skeleton in it (and probably a Poe), there is a hole where it should be.
"See? A hole! Let's see what's inside!"
THIS BOY IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE! Malon's thought cries out loud. I AM NOT FOLLOWING HIM!
Next thing she knows, both Link and her jump in the hole. A crypt is underneath, with skeletons of its owners lying around.
HOW IN THE WORLD DID THIS HAPPEN?
"It's a bit cold in here, isn't it?" Link's breath becomes a white puff.
"Uh… Yes… I-It's cold here."
"Hey, a treasure chest!" Link points ahead.
A treasure chest is found between two torches, with a rocky wall behind it. Link runs down and up the steps to it.
"Fairy boy, wait! Are you sure it's okay to take that?"
"They're not going to need it, right?"
"Yes…"
Malon walks up to Link, having second thoughts about this. Link opens the treasure chest, reaches inside, and pulls out…
"A Hylian Shield?" Malon sees the great shield in Link's hands. "Who in the world would put something as valuable as this in here?"
"I don't know. But it's still something, right? I could use it!"
"Uh, hello, Mr. Wise Guy! It's too big for you to use it!"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so…" Link rechecks the size, "and am I that wise?"
"Ugh! Let's just get out of here."
Taking the light portal, they reappear outside the grave. Link wears a smug smile while holding his new shield. But, as it's too big for him, the smile is gone as fast as it came.
"C'mon, let's head back to that Miss's place."
"Don't you want to explore some more of this graveyard, Malon? I think there's still some cool stuff around."
"No, I don't, Link."
"Okay, then. I'll explore by myself, if you're too scared."
"I'm not scared!" Malon lies. "If you're going to explore by yourself, fine. I'll heading back for dinner!"
"Okay. I'll see you later," Link said, then walks off.
"Fine, then."
Malon is about to turn when her mind tells her to freeze. She doesn't want to be scared, or worse. But, she doesn't want to go back without Link. These two thoughts argue with each other bitterly. In the end, she sighs and turns around. If she's coming along, she better step up to her fear and face it.
"Fairy boy, wait!"
Malon catches up to Link standing in front of the largest tombstone in the Graveyard. Two other graves stand side by side it like guardians.
CRACK! Lightning breaks across the sky, sending rain down on Malon and Link.
Oh, great. Malon feels even more regretful. Rain…
Link seems surprised at this. He looks around, seeing a downpour on the Graveyard.
"Huh? Malon!" Link sees her running up to him. "So, you changed your mind?"
"… Yeah, I've changed it," Malon said regrettably. "This rain. Why did it have to come now!"
"I know… Hey, look at this. I think it says, 'Royal Family's Tomb.' This seems like the biggest tombstone here."
"Hmm. Yeah. And these two next to it are kinda big, too."
Malon walks over to the left one and reads it. On it bears,
'Royal Composer Bros.
Sharp the Elder
R.I.P.'
"Sharp the Elder…?" Malon reads off the inscription. "That name sounds familiar… AAAHHH!"
A Poe appears in front of its grave. This Poe is wearing a hat with a crest of the sun on it, and the symbol of the Royal Family is on its brooch.
"Look out!" Link pulls out his Fairy Slingshot.
WHAM! A Deku Seed hits the Poe. It flies away, but not until it's stop by another Deku Seed, fired from Malon. It tries to flies away again, but is met with two more shots, defeating it. It disintegrates, dropping its lantern and revealing its remain. Malon and Link slowly walks up to it, seeing a green face with a… smile?
"GYAAAAH! YOU KILLED ME… Unbelievable!" it screams.
"Um, aren't you already dead to begin with?" Malon points out.
"Oh, what? You're not one of Ganondorf's men, are you?"
"No," Link answers. "We, uh… have something to deal with him now."
"Oh. Then, I'm sorry for attacking you two, and then asking you that. Because of my role as a ghost, I had to act like that. I apologize."
"That's okay."
"Now then, let me introduce myself. Ahem… I am one of the ghostly composer brothers of Kakariko Village."
"Oh, you're one of those famous composer brothers of the Royal Family!" Malon realizes. "I knew I heard that name somewhere."
"Yes, that is correct. Now, to continue. All the people in this village are born to serve the Royal Family of Hyrule. We brothers also served the Royal Family, as you said, and were assigned to study the hereditary mystic powers of the family."
The face goes into a sad frown.
"Though we never could figure out the power of the Triforce…"
The face goes back into a smile.
"We had almost completed our study of controlling time with the tones of ocarinas and voices of Hylians."
"Tones of ocarinas and voices of Hylians? Controlling time?" Link imagines his Fairy Ocarina sending him back in time, allowing him to change his fate.
"And you and your brother almost completed your study?" Malon gapes at him, seeing a life-changing discovery barely close to reaching its destination.
"Uh, I mean…" the face's smile grows wider, along with a mix of surprise. "Actually, we did complete that study!"
"Then, why haven't we heard of it?"
"Oh, that." the smile turns upside down. "We would have been famous, if that hateful Ganondorf had not tried to steal our results."
Link groans to another scheme of the Gerudo. "Ganondorf…" Link has a repulsive look. "What isn't he trying to get?"
"Heh, I know. We, my brother and I, could never let him reap the fruits of our research! That's why we gave our lives to protect the secret." the smile reappears again. "I don't know what you two have against him, but if you don't like him, I can trust you two."
"Thanks, Mr. Sharp." Malon smiles back.
"Just call me Sharp. Or Sharp the Elder. Which, by the way… If you want to know more about this secret, um, 'ask' my younger brother over there."
The Poe disappears with laughter. Malon looks at the grave on the other side, belonging to Sharp's brother. She turns her gaze at Link, who is looking at the grave, also.
"Don't tell me." Malon puts together. "You want to know more, right?"
A nod, a reading of the grave bearing,
'Royal Composer Bros.
Flat the Younger
R.I.P.'
a Poe appearing with younger looks and a moon crest where the sun crest should be, then four more shots from slingshots, leading to another green, smiling remain of the Poe.
"GYAAAH! I'M DEAD AGAIN! What? You two?"
"Er, do you know us?" Link asks.
"You don't think that whoever my elder brother's talking to, I don't hear what's going on between them?"
Link shrugs.
"Somehow, you two remind me of… Princess Zelda…"
"This is coming from a Poe?" Malon rolls her eyes.
"Hmm… Since you two may have some connection with the Royal Family, I will tell you a little more of our tale." Flat starts off with a sigh. "Back then, people called us great composers because of the many musical masterpieces we wrote."
"Yeah…" Malon says heavenly, "you wrote some good music."
A memory hidden inside Malon surfaces, sending her into a state of question.
"Hey… Did you two brothers meet my mother?"
"Hmm?"
"My mother. The lady from Lon Lon Ranch."
"The lady from Lon Lon Ranch…? Oh, her… Oh, yes, we did meet your mother. Sweet woman. She's a good composer, always singing her songs like a pure deity."
"I'm Malon."
"Well, Malon, I'm glad to meet you." Flat pauses for a moment. "You do look like her, amazingly like looking at a mirror. I bet you have her voice, and her singing talent, too."
"Yes… A lot of people say I do."
"That's good of you, to have your mother's talent. That's something to be glad of. Though, I have to say, meeting your mother here after her unfortunate… passing away is a bit sad for me and my brother."
"Oh… Yes…"
"Now… I shouldn't be talking about that. I should get back to my tale. Ah-hem… My brother and I were composers, yes. But, were not just that. We had a mission to analyze the mysterious powers of Hyrule's Royal Family. Our names would be a part of Hyrule's history if we could complete our research!"
"But, you and your brother did complete it, right?" Link reminds.
"Er, yes, that's right… We kept our study extremely secret until we completed it. I guess too secret to where we don't know how far it went."
"The study…" Malon said. "It's still about controlling time, right?"
"Somewhat of controlling time. To tell the truth, each of us was studying a different song, one to summon the sun and another to summon the moon."
"Summoning the sun and the moon? Making it daytime or nighttime instantly or something?"
"Well, in simple terms, yes."
"Is that what you mean by controlling time?" Link tries to put it together.
"I guess it is if you want to go forward in time, or want day or night quickly."
"But… wouldn't that mess everything up if you do that? Just make it day or night just like that?" Malon snaps her fingers to demonstrate. "People are going to be confused when the time they should sleep is when they should get up…"
"I don't know. We were simply doing what we were told. We didn't know what the Royal Family would use such a power for."
"Could you tell us what you found in your result?" Link asks.
"Well… That's the hard part. I can't… here. See, if you're really one of Ganondorf's men…"
"We're not! In fact, I've been sent by a member of the Royal Family."
"Really? If you were really sent by a member of the Royal Family, I will tell you about the results of our study."
"Then, the results…?"
"Oh, not yet. I'm still not sure if you two are lying or not."
"Oh, come on, Flat!" Malon pleads. "You could trust us!"
"See, if you really want to know… My brother and I inscribed it on the royal tombstone."
"That?" Link points at the large tombstone at the end of the Graveyard.
"Oh, not that… There's another one. That's the one we place it on."
"Where?"
"I'm not going to tell you that much more unless you prove yourself. As messengers of the Royal Family, you should show your Royal credentials on top of the Triforce mark…"
"Triforce mark? Where?"
"Right over there, between the graves of I and my brother. That's all I'm revealing. So, farewell, unless you have some questions about the tale. Or some questions about the results after you get them…"
The Poe disappears the same way as his brother, laughing. Malon immediately sees the mark on the ground, the three triangles forming a larger one.
"Here's the Triforce mark." Malon points at it. "Now, how do we show our 'Royal credentials' like he said?"
"Hmm. Show something that connects us to the Royal Family…" Link thinks for a moment.
Well, Zelda's Letter isn't going to help… Maybe her song? Link thought.
"I think we should play Zelda's Lullaby here," Link suggests.
"Well, it's worth a try…"
Link pulls out his Fairy Ocarina, Malon taking a deep breath. Fortunately, Link taught her Zelda's Lullaby before going to the Graveyard. He figures the more both of them know something, the better prepared they will be. A note is heard, then it's led to a higher one, then back down, to complete the mythical song. Repeated once more, the two plays Zelda's Lullaby in harmony, resonating throughout the Graveyard. The storm overhead grows stronger to each note, rain's pouring unstopped, lightning crackles in a strange, fearful light show, and the wind nearly strong enough to push Malon and Link off their feet.
"Great. Just great," Malon comments. "It's getting more worse out here."
"Well, it can't get any worse than this."
The clouds gather to an immense volume to where it literally blocks out the moon and sky. Now, there really is no way to see what's in front of them. Only the terrifying lightning does little to help the situation.
"Link? Where are you! I can't see you!"
"I'm right here! Here, let me find your hand…"
Malon's hand is grasped by something warm, chasing away the cold of the rain, and melting away her fear of what's happening. If something's going to happen, Link is right there, beside her…
Thanks, fairy boy…
CRACK! Lightning strikes the Royal Family's Tombstone and shatters it to pieces, sending Link and Malon backward with a scream. Link shakes his head, looking at the wreckage. Where the tombstone should be is now a hole…
"Hey, look at this, Malon," Link points after Malon regains consciousness. "Another hole under a tombstone."
"Oh, yay," Malon groans. "How lucky is that…"
"Well, time to find those results of the composer brothers."
Link jumps in the hole, leaving Malon behind for a moment.
Why do I get myself involve in things like this? Is it because of Link?
Royal Family's Tomb
Jumping in, she finds another crypt, much larger than the last one she visited.
"Link, look out!" Navi flies over to a bat on the wall of the tunnel. "That's a Keese! Take it out quickly before it decides to fly into you!"
Link nods and ends the Keese's life with a Deku Seed. Malon runs up to him.
"Wow. What a big tomb this is." Malon sees the skeletons lying around the room at the end of the tunnel. "Sure is, uh, welcome-y."
"Look!" Link points at the end of the room. "There's a door. But, it's barred shut."
"I think you should take care of all the Keeses in this room first," Navi suggests after scanning around the room. "It may trigger something."
"No problem then."
Taking out the last three Keeses in the room, the door unbars itself afterwards.
"Okay, it's done," Malon said while putting away her slingshot.
"Hey! Check this out!" Navi yells out, hovering over a skull to their left. "This skull…"
"What about this skull?" Link looks at it when he comes up close to it.
"I think it whispering…" Navi explains. "I think I can hear it… It says, 'Shine light on the living dead…'"
"'Shine light on the living dead?'" Malon scratches her head. "Wha…?"
"I don't know," Navi said. "That skeleton over there… I think it's whispering, too."
She flies over and hovers around the skeleton, hearing its whisper.
"This skeleton says, 'Those who break into the Royal Tomb will be obstructed by the lurkers of the dark.'"
"Okay… This is starting to get creepy here…" Malon's fear is rising again. "'Lurkers of the dark?'"
"Does it mean the 'living dead' the skull was talking about?" Link asks Navi.
"Maybe. It sounds like the composer brothers' results are being protected by them."
"We got this far, didn't we? I'm not going back without knowing the results."
Link runs up to the door, on top of an encrypted block.
"C'mon, Malon." he stretches his hand out. "I'll pull you up."
Malon grabs it and got herself level up with to Link. Up to the door, they can feel a strange energy emitting from it. A strange energy that invokes a feeling that yells out, "AH! DON'T DO IT!"
"Maybe we should rethink about this…" Malon tries to take a step back.
"C'mon. I'm not going back without those results."
Malon sighs with yet more regret. "Fine. Let's just get it over with, with these lurkers of the dark beyond this door. Probably some more Keeses…"
A horrible, hair-raising moaning is heard once the door opens. It sends even shivers down Link's back. Whoever these lurkers of the dark are, he's not going to like it…
"What's that green stuff there?" Malon points at the pools of liquid on the floor with fumes rising from it.
"Probably something we shouldn't step in… Do you hear-"
"The moaning?" Malon's face goes into horror. "I was hoping that it was just my imagination…"
Slowly edging their way into the center, the horror goes berserk. Malon starts to breathe uncontrollably.
"Oh… my… goddess! Zombies!"
She screams out, attracting the unwanted attention from the lurkers of the dark. The bare bodies of dead men start to turn their attention on her.
"Malon!" Link dives his hand over her mouth.
"These are ReDeads!" Navi silently yells out to them. "Its gaze will paralyze you!"
Brown, rotting skin, bloody moaning, the face paper-thin that shows the skull. The description of the dying heart horror before them.
"Paraly- Malon…" Link feels a sudden physical change of her. "You're… growing cold… And… awfully still…"
Needless to say, Malon has three ReDeads staring down at her. She can't move; all she feels is fear wrapping itself around her and easily holding her still.
"Malon! Snap out of it! C'mo- Ugh!"
Link! Malon sees an even worse sight.
Slow as these ReDeads may be, they sure can cover a good distance over a short amount of time. One already grabs Link and wraps itself around him, then, it slowly, slowly… what it's doing is unexplainable…
"Link!" Malon frees herself from the paralysis.
Without thinking, she runs and dives herself toward the ReDead, pushing it off and letting it fall into the green liquid. Link is on the ground, hideous marks on him.
"Link! Link! Stand up! Please, c'm-"
Another paralysis from the ReDeads cut off the last of Malon's sentence. She may not see it, but she could feel them coming, closer… closer… A hand is starting to wrap around her… holding her… And… throwing her across the room?
THUD! Link had managed to grab hold of Malon and with all his strength sent her flying to the other side of the room. Now, he just has to run over there, but not on the floor, where the ReDeads are crossing over. The only choice is to cross the green liquid. It isn't that deep; the ReDead that fell into it only has its feet underneath surface. Link urges his feet to move, sending them plunging into the fuming, green-
"Argh!" Link yells out sickeningly, follow by heavy breathing.
A gasp of dread escapes Malon's mouth. "Link! Link, what's wrong!"
"Link! That green stuff is decaying your body!" Navi screams her high-pitched voice out. "Get out of there!"
His energy is being dramatically sapped away as his body is still touching the green liquid. Link heaves himself out to the other side of the decaying matter. Now, he just has to run across one more pool of green liquid, and they'll be safe… well, while in the tomb.
"Ah!" Link cries as he goes across the second pool.
Malon looks on in with an aghast face to these pains of Link. The green liquid is decaying him, decaying him like that. Link feels his skin close to coming off his flesh. With his body nearly depleted of energy, his vision blurs, see a mix of green and blue, and a hint of red in front of him; coldness is gripping him as the warmth is bleeding away; he's almost there… just a bit more…
"Link! You're okay? Speak to me! C'mon, fairy boy!" a warm, familiar voice meets his ears as his feet leave the pool.
"… Yeah… I'm… a-okay…" Though, his face turning pale tells the truth.
Malon's little relief isn't over as the ReDeads realizes their to-be victims are on the other side. They slowly turn their bodies, determined to use their gaze of paralysis. Malon, taking matter into her own hands, grabs underneath Link's shoulders and drags him into the next room, praying to the goddesses that it's safe in there. Like a miracle, the room is cleared of any ReDeads, just has the decaying liquid on either side, with an inscription on the far end of the room.
"Link… Um, where's your bottle of Lon Lon Milk…?" Malon says as she kneels, searching through his pack. She's determined to say calm. Panicking would not help anybody.
"It's in there… somewhere…" His eyes are closed, a sign of weakness.
"Somewhere is not going to help…"
She finds the gleaming bottle of white liquid far in the back. She pulls it out, then uncaps it.
"Here… drink this."
"I…"
"Shh… Just drink it."
"Could you… bring it to my… mouth?"
Malon brings the bottle's rim to his lips. She tips it over, seeing the content drain as Link swallows the tasty drink. When it is halfway filled, Malon pulls the bottle away, capping it and putting it back into Link's pack.
"How are you feeling?" Malon's voice still has worry despite the healthy drink.
Link takes a deep breath, feeling his energy come back from the milk. Malon sees the paleness turn into Link's skin color, his breathing warm on her face. Link's vision takes a turn toward clearness, seeing Malon's face turning from worry to relief. He shakes his head, then sits up.
"I'm… feeling better." Link sees a grin on her face. "Thanks."
"You welcome, fairy boy." She stands up. "Well, that's something… scary to remember for a while."
"Hey, you did want adventure."
"Yeah, but not to where it gets all scary like this."
"Mmm." Link sees the inscription behind her. "Hey, that must be the results!"
Quickly, Link stands up and walks toward the writing.
"'This poem is dedicated to the memory of the dearly departed members of the Royal Family,'" Malon reads.
"Why would someone write a poem to the dead?"
"Oh, fairy boy. It's to remember them, like it says right here."
"Well, let's see this poem, then…"
A short paragraph follows the sentence,
'The rising sun will eventually set,
A newborn's life will fade.
From sun to moon, moon to sun…
Give peaceful rest to
the living dead.'
"Interesting… huh?" Link notices something else.
"What?"
"Something else is inscribed on the tombstone…"
A staff with notes on it is on the lower-left corner of the poem.
"It's the secret melody of the Composer Brothers!" Malon figures it out.
"This is the result? A song?"
"Hey, they did study about the songs to summon the sun and moon, right?"
"I guess."
"So?"
"Let's learn it, then."
A low note, to a lower one, then a high strike. They repeat the three notes, feeling the peace of rest coming from it. The song is heard throughout the grave, soothing the souls of the undead. Rest goes over them, as they accept it with content.
"Keep the Sun's Song in your hearts." a voice whispers through the notes. "Restless souls wander where they don't belong, bring them calm with the Sun's Song."
Graveyard; Day
It feels as if the sun has shined through the night and lit up Malon and Link's heart. Light pierces the darkness, providing amenity and safety. Next thing they know when they open their eyes, they are outside, on the Triforce mark next to the entrance of the Royal Family's Tomb. And it's daytime, the sun trying its best to shine through the stormy clouds.
"Hey, we're outside! In daytime!" Malon look on in amazement.
"I know that's great and all, but that means I won't have dinner… or any sleep at all…" Link groans.