Chapter Twenty Five

Rebellion

As the escaped prisoners emerged from the tunnel, a green missile slammed into Link's midriff…again.

"Saria!" Link wheezed. "Stop doing that!"

"Sorry! I'm just happy to see you're alright!" The grinning Kokiri said, detaching herself from him, rather reluctantly. "Oh Zelda!" She cried, spotting the weary princess. Careful not to bowl her over, Saria gave her a much less enthusiastic but still genuine hug. The rest of the sages were in the room (yet another storeroom) as well as some additional prisoners, Hylian soldiers for the most part. Ruto appeared to be fawning over the dehydrated Zora that Malon had seen dangling just out of reach of water.

Seeing Zelda, Ruto stood up and determinedly walked up to Zelda, who was sitting on a crate, exhausted. Expecting trouble, Link tensed, ready to pry the Zora off his fiancée if she decided to 'put her out of the way'. To his surprise, Ruto did nothing of the sort. Instead, she looked down at her finned feet and in a shameful voice, spoke. "I'm sorry…"

"I know…" Zelda replied softly, a small comforting smile on her weary face. The two princesses hugged, making up for their past arguments.

"Link, Zelda, I would like you to meet Quin." Malon spoke up, introducing them to the boy that had helped them escape. Link noticed that she appeared to holding onto the shiekah's arm. The boy silently nodded in acknowledgement. "And these are Doran, Garius, Nomarion, Frakson, and Jorus." She continued, pointing at each of the Hylian soldiers.

"Pleased to meet you." Link replied, holding out his right hand while keeping the left around Zelda.

"And you, Sir Link." They each replied with a salute. Link chuckled softly to himself; it had been awhile since anyone had acknowledged his knighthood and called him "sir."

"Now that the introductions are done…" King Harkanian of Hyrule grumbled. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Find them! And bring them to me! Alive!" King Stalfosokor roared at the warriors picking themselves off the floor. "General Stalakor! How did that boy escape under your watch!" He spat venomously at the tall black haired man that had walked into the room, wearing the golden breastplate of the Stalfos's head general.

"I was rather distracted by the unexpected return of flesh." Stalakor drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The Stal-King's red eyes glared at the contemptuous warrior. "You got your stupid little Triforce. My part of the deal is done. Now may you go to hell…" He finished with a cruel smile. With a flick of his wrist, diamond shards shot at the Obsidian Sphere. The sharp crystals cracked the smooth surface, rendering the artifact useless. "I don't want you following me."

"You fool…" The monarch seethed. "You treacherous FOOL!" In a rage, the Stal-King blasted the general with a massive surge of power from the power bracelet he had set on his arm so many days ago. The force of the bracelet combined with the full power of the Triforce hit the general, slamming the ex-skeleton against the black wall.

"AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Pain! Horrible twisting burning shocking pain! A cry of pain so loud and yet so quiet that his mind didn't even fathom the act. Grotesque waves of pure pain ripped through his new flesh as the power of the blow stripped it away. After what seemed like hours, the pain finally ended.

"That is why you should never cross me…" Stalfosokor smirked at the charred remains of the familiar skeleton of his former general. With a swish of his robes, the King stormed out of the room.

After the heavy doors slammed shut, the scorched skeleton stirred. Lifting his skull with difficulty, the blackened Stalfos glared at the door with burned out eye-sockets. With a guttural chuckle, he began to get up, an unnatural glow replacing his eyes.

You are the fool, King. Your arrogance has made me more powerful than ever before!

The skeleton stood up jerkily and threw back its skull as a maniacal laugh escaped its jaws.

"After Impa and Quin incapacitate the guards, the rest of us shall charge into the throne room, taking the stalfos by surprise." The King of Hyrule explained as he drew attack plans on a crude blueprint of the tower in the dirt.

"Won't he see us coming, sire?" One of the soldiers asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't been able to find us yet here, though it seemed like he could spot a mosquito in Hyrule Field before." Link spoke up, musing.

"We'll charge in and hope to take the stalfos by surprise." The King reiterated, rolling his eyes.

"Good enough." Rauru spoke. The sages all nodded in approval. "Then what?"

"Link and Zelda, you said that the Stal-King took your Triforce pieces by using some sort of crystal?" They nodded.

"Yes sir." Link paused for a moment, the notion of the idea hitting him full force. "Wait, do you think we could use it on him? Are we even sure it will affect the full Triforce?"

"No harm in trying." The King shrugged.

"No harm except for the stalfos to blast us out of existence if it doesn't work." Impa commented dryly.

"Yes well…" The King mumbled off trying to think of a solution to that kink.

"I'll do it." Zelda said, standing up. "I'll get the crystal."

"Zelda…" Link began. She cut him off with a fierce stare.

"I am going to do it. I'm sick of the people I love getting hurt at my expense. The crystal is my responsibility. It's my kingdom and I'm not going to let that skeleton bastard torture my people any longer!" Zelda finished her speech, breathing slightly harder than usual. She still had the ferocious gleam in her eyes, destroying any retaliatory comment that Link had in his throat.

"What if it doesn't work?" Saria spoke softly.

"Then we won't have much of a chance will we?" Zelda replied coolly. "If the crystal doesn't work, then nothing will!"