Zelda 3: Cycle Of The Triforce

by Magus523

When the wizard Agahnim gives the nearly forgotten Ganon a way back into Hyrule after thousands of years, disaster threatens once again... Novelization.

5. Chapter 4: Finding Power

Chapter 4: Finding Power

The southern portion of Hyrule was dominated by three separate areas, each with its own distinct ecosystem. In the east was the massive Lake Hylia, in the center the marshy wetlands, and in the west the Great Desert. At the moment, one young man was passing through the narrow valley that marked the transition from the second to the third of the aforementioned.

"Some days, I hate birds." Link muttered, pegging the circling vulture overhead with an arrow. Normally, he had no ornithological grudges, but the vultures of the Great Desert would attack the moment your back was turned. Croaking, the black-feathered brute expired, and Link continued on, turning north as soon as he entered the desert proper. While shooting down another vulture, he nearly tripped over a cactus. Grumbling, he advanced further to a crack in the walls of the high cliffs surrounding the desert, barely wide enough to admit a man. "This doesn't look promising, but it's all there is here. Hey, mister Aginah! You here?"

"I am indeed." Another old man called from the depths of the cave. "Enter."

"Charming place you've got out here." Link commented as he walked inside. "Nothing personal, but when the fauna AND the flora are BOTH trying to kill you… well, it kind of says something."

"Hmph… it suits me." Aginah shrugged with only the barest hint of a smile appearing between moustache and beard. The old man of the desert looked quite similar to Sahasrala, though his skin was darker, his beard shorter and his moustache longer. His orange robe had an emblem on the front as well; two ghostly wisps circling each other. "You knew my name… then you must be Link, nephew of Albert. I am indeed Aginah, descendant of the Sage of Spirit." Link was unsurprised to see another image appear in his head; a beautiful, dark-skinned woman with long orange hair bound back in a huge ponytail. She was somewhat scantily clad, but her eyes were wild and completely unafraid of anything.
"Yeah… Sahasrala told me about you." Link shook his head to clear it of the vision. "Said you could help me with the Desert Palace."

"He did, did he…" Aginah smirked. "Sahasrala is still, as always, overconfident… eager. You may have proven yourself to him… but I remain as of yet not entirely convinced." Link stared at him for a moment, then pulled the Pendant of Courage out and dangled it between their faces.

"You see this Pendant? See it?"

"Indeed I do." Aginah confirmed calmly. "However, that is hardly total proof. The Eastern Palace is the easiest of the three trials, and it is possible to make it through entirely on will and courage, which I understand you did. This IS an accomplishment, mind you; however, it is not enough. Not enough for the man who would draw the Master Sword… who would strike down Agahnim."

"…Heh." Link chuckled after a moment's thought. "I get it. This is another test… just like with Sahasrala. Well, fair enough, old man. What do I have to do?"

"Well, being able to get into the palace would be a good start." Aginah suggested wryly. "It's not like the Eastern Palace… you can't just waltz in. Go to the library in Kakariko and get the Book of Mudora… you'll need it."

"The Book of Mudora… right." Link sighed. "Man, I wish I had known this before I came here… now I have to go all the way back to Kakariko and then come back here tomorrow."

"Be glad that's all you have to do in times like these." The old man snorted. "The Great Cataclysm is approaching, and you complain about a little more walking? Heh, some hero."

"If you start talking about kids these days, I'm going to get all the vultures I've pegged here and leaving them on your doorstep." Link grumbled as he turned to leave. Aginah cackled.

"Get out of here, youngster! If you want to be the next hero, go get that book already!"

Grumbling all the way, Link made his way back north to Kakariko, where he immediately located the library. The building hadn't had a proper librarian since old Mr. Cedric had died twelve years before; the people of Kakariko took turns coming in to make sure the place was kept clean and orderly.
"At least there won't be any Knights here… probably." Link hoped as he cautiously entered the library. "Now then, Book of Mudora… M, M… here we go. Majora, Mario… further… Mole Mania-what the heck-Mudora. Bingo." It was a somewhat thin green book that Link easily lifted with one hand. "Let's see here… huh?" It appeared to be some kind of guide to translation, from common Hylian to some other, bizarre written language, all swirls and loops and zigzags. "Bizarre… hey, wait a second, this is the same stuff on the Altar of the Master Sword! So, this book translates that…" He closed it and slipped it into his pack. "Well, I suppose this could certainly be good to have-eh?" A noise behind him made him turn just in time to see a flash of red bolt through the door, leaving it swinging. "Hey! Somebody was in here… running to the guards? Time to try out my fancy new footwear…" Kicking up a thin layer of dust, Link blasted out the door at a clip that the average horse would have been hard-pressed to match. Up ahead, he saw the eavesdropper; a young man with dirty blond hair, wearing a fanciful red hat and cloak. "Benny… damn. He was always the fastest of us…" Link measured the space between them and smiled. "But not any more, it seems! YAH!" Lunging forward, he tackled Benny and brought him down.

"Link!" The young man gasped. "Get off of me!"

"That's right, I'm Link!" Link growled. "The same Link you grew up with! The same Link who you explored the Lost Woods side by side with! The same Link who was in the Great Cucco Disaster with you! Remember?" Benny looked downward.

"Well, yes…"

"Good." Link stood up. "Come on, Benny. You're smarter than this. Are you really buying into what Agahnim's selling?"

"Well…" Benny looked down. "I don't know… Sally and Jessica are…"

"And I'm sorry about them doing so, but that doesn't mean you have to as well." Link told him firmly. "You know me, Benny. You know I wouldn't do anything bad… and you know what Agahnim really is."

"Yeah, I suppose." Benny slowly smiled. "All right, I won't tell any of the Knights I saw you. You sure have gotten faster."

"It's these boots." Link shrugged. "Chief Sahasrala gave them to me."

"No kidding?" Benny looked impressed. "I'll bet they make it real easy to get the jump on your enemies… just run up and ram 'em with your sword before they know it's coming." Link blinked.

"Hey… that might just work, you know. Cool idea. Thanks, Benny."

"No charge." The youth grinned. "I'll bet with that speed it was real easy to kidnap Zelda… joking, joking!" He ran off, laughing, and Link shook his head.

"Might as well head for the hideout… I'll want to get an early start tomorrow."

"And back to the desert I go." Link sighed, walking through the valley. Something caught his eye, and he turned to see a man who could only be described as "nondescript" lying quietly on the ground. Height, weight, hair, eyes… all of them were as average as possible. Next to him was a signboard. "Eh?" Frowning, Link read it.

Pay no attention to the average middle-aged man by this sign. Leave him alone.

"Oo… kay." Link shook his head. "Well, whatever." He turned around and yelled as a vulture which had been sneaking up dove at his face. He jumped aside, and the bird smashed into the ground behind him. Growling, Link turned and slashed angrily, killing the scavenger… and the man's sign, as well. "Uh… oops. Sorry?" The man showed no signs of noticing. "Um… sorry about that. I'll… just go." Link turned and walked on, into the desert. "Strange guy… hey, wait a second here. My pocket feels… HEY!" Checking his pocket, Link swore; his wallet was gone. Turning around, he saw the man calmly tossing it in one palm.

"Couple hundred rupees here. This should do nicely."

"All right, very funny, mister." Link growled, drawing his sword. "Now give it back."

"Hm…" The man thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I'll be doing that. You should pay closer attention to warning signs, youngster. They're usually there for your own good."

"WARNING signs?" Link sputtered. "That tears it! Come here, you!" He charged, and the man dodged away nimbly.

"Just try it, youngster!"
"Oh, you'd better believe I will…" Link lunged again, jumping over a cactus… and then something beneath his feet exploded, sending him flying. "WHOA!"

"Watch your step, kid!" The man chuckled. "There's a crazy old man out here who puts out traps!"

"A crazy old man, hm…" A third voice repeated. "Thank you for that compliment, Roger." The man instantly froze.

"Oh… uh… hi, Aginah."

"Aginah." Link got to his feet. "Mind explaining why you lay LAND MINES around here?"

"For the Knights, of course." Aginah shrugged. "Did you get the book?"

"Of course." Link echoed. "And I was heading back here when I ran afoul of THIS guy… you said his name was Roger?"

"Bronze Roger… a lazy, unprincipled, good-for-nothing who probably has a criminal record if I could be bothered to check." Aginah rattled off. Roger bowed flamboyantly.

"That's me, all right."

"Give him his wallet back, Roger." Aginah instructed him. "He's got more important things to do than play around with you."

"Oh, all right." Bronze Roger tossed the wallet back to Link. "Where's he going, anyways?"

"The Desert Palace." Link shrugged, putting his wallet away.

"The Desert Palace?" Roger's eyes widened. "You're joking, right? Even I've never been able to bust into that place!" Aginah snorted.

"I should hope not. And yet…" The old man's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you would be a useful companion to Link… and then I wouldn't have to bother to tag along."

"What!" Link stared at him. "You've got to be kidding!"

"No, I think that is how we'll do this." Aginah decided. "Roger, go along with Link… he'll get you in, and you'll have the run of the palace. Just as long as you don't take two things…" He whispered something, and Roger nodded. "Keep an eye on him, and don't get in his way."

"Hey, don't I have any say in this?" Link complained.

"No." Both men said simultaneously. Aginah smirked. "Now, take out the book."

"Slaggin' fraggin'…" Muttering to himself, Link reached into his pack and pulled out the book. As he did, the rod from the Ice Cave fell out as well. "Huh? Oh yeah, forgot I had that thing… something wrong, old man?" Aginah was staring at the rod.

"The Ice Rod… you have THAT?"

"Yeah, I found it in some cave." Link shrugged, picking it up. "Haven't figured out how to make it work… you know?"
"Hm…" Aginah pondered. "You haven't had any magic training, then… this is an artifact of magic, Link."

"No kidding… hm." Link frowned. "A witch I met said something about those… can anybody use them?"

"Oh, sure." Bronze Roger nimbly nabbed the Rod. "Watch me. Hey, presto!" He pointed the Ice Rod at a vulture perched on a cactus, glaring at them. A cloud of blue sparkles shot out, hit the bird, and instantly turned it into a frozen statue.

"WELL, now." Link grabbed it. "Let me try that. Poof!" He froze another vulture. "Cool!"

"Just don't use that too carelessly." Aginah advised. "If you use it too much you'll grow exhausted mentally, and have to rest before you can use any more magic."

"Aah." Link nodded. "All right. Now, about this book…"

"Yes, yes." Aginah flipped it open. "The instructions for how to get in are in front of the palace."

"Yeah, they're in some funky language. Hey, is that book a translator?" Bronze Roger chipped in. "That explains how you're getting in!"

"Yes, Roger." Aginah sighed. "All right, both of you get going. I'll see you when you're done."

"Yeah, yeah…" Link set off to the east, grumbling, with Bronze Roger trailing placidly behind. Before long, they reached the Palace entrance. "Well. This is… different." A sheer cliff face stretched twenty feet up into the air. Atop it were three huge gargoyle heads, mouths gaping wide. The only way up was a staircase that led into the largest head, the central one. The stairs led down to the desert floor where three more gargoyle heads, these ones as solid as boulders, blocked the way. And in front of them, a square green pillar rose from the sand, with a plaque on the front.

"Don't try climbing over them." Bronze Roger advised. "I knew a guy once who did. Me and the rest of his buddies had a whip-around and gave him a splendid funeral."

"That's a cheerful thought to take into this place." Link muttered as, completely unsurprised, he looked upon a different Desert Palace, long ago… a gigantic monolith built into the hundred-foot cliff, with a massive stone statue of a Gerudo woman sitting at the front. Shaking the image off, he opened the Book of Mudora. "All right, let's see here… hm. To open… the… clam? No. The… way. Forward. Fillet your… wrong. Bake your… wrong again. MAKE your… wish here and… snail… no. And… will it… to… space cucco mafia? HELL no. To… come true."

"Wait, you just have to make a wish?" Bronze Roger blinked. "Is that all? Sheesh! Ahem… I wish the way would open, so that I may plunder!" Nothing happened. "Hmph… you must have mistranslated. Maybe it WAS space cucco mafia."

"Oh, shut up." Link put away the book. "Let me try." He closed his eyes. Whatever it is that's supposed to hear this… it's me. The last descendant of the Hero of Time. I know he sealed this place up to keep people from getting inside… but now it's time for it to open again. Hyrule needs the Master Sword… that's our only hope. And for that, I need the Pendant of Power. Let me in… or else everything will be lost. A rumbling caused him to open his eyes and watch as the three blocker heads shifted and moved out of the way.

"Ha ha! Not bad, kid!" Bronze Roger scampered up the stairs. "Meet up with you later… time to loot, loot, loot!"

"Argh…" Link shook his head as he walked up more sedately. "Why Aginah paired me up with him, I'll never know. Maybe the old guy's gone senile." Walking into the center gargoyle's maw, he took the stairs inside down and looked around. Immediately, he saw that the Desert Palace had a far different layout from the Eastern Palace; the largest room was right at the front, with many side passages snaking off throughout the palace. The floor was still gritty sand, from which tunneling Leever sand insects rose, moved about and then sunk again. Already, Bronze Roger had vanished. Selecting a passage at random, Link moved toward it, then stopped. A new type of statue guardian was waiting by the passages; this one was solid metal throughout. "Damn… my sword won't be able to cut that no matter what I do. Same with my arrows." The statue's design was simple; above a solid base, a huge spherical eye slowly rotated. As it saw him, the pupil narrowed, and Link raised his shield just in time to block a searing laser. "WHOA!" Unconcerned, the eye kept going on its cycle, and Link wisely decided to duck away down a side passage before it got around to him again. The passage led him a small room… with another Beamos statue, as Link decided to dub them, in it. Far in the back of the room was a giant chest, like the one that had held his bow and arrows.

"Huh… another treasure? Well, can't get it now…" Choosing another passage, he followed it to the end, where he found a tightly locked door. "Huh… going to be trickier this time, I see… eh?" He frowned; from the other side of the door, he heard a sound repeating itself every second. A sound like cannon fire. "THAT doesn't sound good… well, no point worrying about it until I actually have to deal with it." A third passage, this one on the far right, led him to stairs that took him up to the rightmost gargoyle head, where he quickly discovered there was nothing for him but a twenty-foot drop. "All right… so the one on the far left will probably take me to the other exit. I forget if that one's right on the edge of the cliff too or not, but either way, I don't want to go up there just yet. That just leaves one…" Walking down it, he found a small room with a high pillar in the center. Bronze Roger was staring up at the top.

"Hey, kid." The thief greeted him without even looking. "Find much?"

"Not really… just questions." Link shrugged, joining him.

"Probably because I've got a lot of it already… a couple hundred Rupees. Not too bad." Bronze Roger pointed up. "There's something up there. I'm just figuring out the correct way to get it down." Link thought for a moment, then used his Pegasus boots and shoulder charged the pillar, using his shield to protect himself from the impact. The pillar shook, and a small metal key dropped down. "That works… hey, think that goes to that locked door?"

"Probably." Link nodded. "Let's go check it out, shall we?" Bronze Roger shrugged and tagged along. Opening the door, Link went on through and confirmed his worst suspicions. It was a long hall, and on either side of it, a cannon was attached to the wall, moving back and forth and firing shots at holes on the other wall. At the far end, another key dangled on the wall. Bronze Roger stared.

"Now THAT's what I call security. Sheez… and all for a key? How're you going to manage that, kid? At least I assume you're planning to try?"

"You got it." Link nodded. "As for how… look closely. The shots aren't random… they can't be, or they'd hit each other. There's a set pattern… one I can slip through."

"Still…" Bronze Roger shook his head. "Going in there takes a lot of guts, kid."

"Oh, I've got THAT down already." Link assured him with a cocky smirk before running forward. As he had predicted, he made it through the cannonballs, and grabbed the key. On his way back, though, right when he was almost through, a shot clipped him on the shoulder and sent him to the ground. Bronze Roger leaped in and pulled him to safety.

"Whoa, you okay, kid?"

"I'm… fine." Link grunted, getting up. "Only brushed me."

"If you insist…" Roger shrugged. "So, now where?"

"This'll unlock that one huge chest, I'll bet." Link guessed. "Let's go grab it." They slipped past the Beamos in the room easily enough; Bronze Roger had discovered that their eyes had a radius of ten feet. And when they opened the chest, Link pulled out a pair of bright, shining silver gauntlets.

"WELL, now." Bronze Roger stared at them. "Those like even nicer than old man Aginah said they would… pity they're one of the two things he said I had to let you take. Oh well."

"One of them, eh?" Link slipped the gauntlets on. "And what was the other?"

"A pendant… a blue one." The thief shrugged. "Haven't seen that anywhere, though, and I've pretty much been through all the rooms… this map I found is a bit strange, though. Look…" Unfurling said map, he showed Link a cluster of rooms that were in the back, unconnected to the rest of the palace. "How do you suppose we get there, hm?"

"Well…" Link thought for a moment. "Let's go try this…" They walked out through the left exit, and as Link had guessed, found that this gargoyle was further back on the cliff top, allowing them to walk out onto it… and behind the main entrance, where they found a pile of rocks against another wall. Above the rocks, three metal spheres and four metal blades were set to look like eyes and fangs.

"None of us ever knew this was back here…" Bronze Roger murmured as Link, on a hunch, grabbed a heavy-looking rock and managed to hoist it easily. "You think the real big treasure's back here?"

"That's my guess. These gauntlets are great." Link continued shifting the rocks. "These rocks must weigh at least a hundred pounds, but I'm moving them like they're nothing." Soon, the way was clear, and the two men walked inside. The room they came to, unlike the others, was tiled; the tiles were each perfectly square, a foot across. As soon as they entered, a steel shutter slammed across the door behind them. "Hey! What gives?"

"Oh-oh… I've heard about this sort of thing. Get in a corner, kid, and keep your sword ready." Bronze Roger instructed, drawing an evil-looking dirk. Mystified, Link did so, and after a moment he realized why. The floor tiles themselves were rising off the floor, spinning in place for a moment, and then launching themselves at the intruders. Fortunately, they were clay and easily shattered by either blade. After about twenty or so attacks, the tiles stopped; they had formed the shape of a skull and crossbones on the floor. "Man… some people just REALLY don't play fair with their security." The door behind them opened again, but they went on ahead instead. The next room was L-shaped, turning left; after the turn, a red Rocklops sat between four cement furnaces. Disposing of the guardian with a few arrows, Link examined the furnaces.

"Hm… no door onward… or so it seems." Taking out his lantern, he flipped the switch that lit it, then used the flame inside to light all four furnaces. As the fourth took light, the back wall began to rumble, and then shifted back, revealing the next door. "Hey, check that out." Link pointed above it. The skull of some insectoid beast was mounted on the wall; a circular, fang-ringed maw dominated the front, with several eye sockets along the sides.

"Lanmola…" Bronze Roger whistled. "Giant worms that used to dominate this desert. They were a terror… good thing they all died out, eh, kid."

"Yeah… good thing…" Link muttered, remembering the last room of the Eastern Palace. "Let's go on in…"

"All right." Bronze Roger nodded, and they did so. The room beyond was sand again, and the only door was the one they had entered through, which slammed behind them. "Hey! What gives?"

"You might want to get down." Link advised him. "This promises to be nasty." There was a rumbling from deep below, in the sand… a stirring of the earth in one spot… and then a huge, segmented green sandworm launched itself up, arcing over them both.

"A Lanmola…" Bronze Roger whispered, face turning white. More rumbles followed, as two more of the beasts surfaced as well. "Three of them! We're dead!"

"Not if I can help it!" Link growled, slashing at the side of one of them. His sword bounced off. "Gah!"

"Look, the only vulnerable spot is the head, but we've got no chance here!" Bronze Roger yelled.

"Better than just lying down and dying, isn't it?" Link ran up the length of the creature, but it was too late; the Lanmola was already burrowing again, as were the other two. Link waited for another mound of sand, and when the Lanmola burst forth again, he sliced at its head and was rewarded with a pained squeal. He pressed his advantage, only to be hit in the back with something small at high velocity. He stumbled and turned to see the maw of another Lanmola roaring towards him. He sliced at it with his sword as he dove away, but it kept going forward mindlessly before burrowing, and he had to scramble to avoid the third as it came for him as well.

"They're group hunters…" Bronze Roger muttered. "Attack one, and the others will take your back."

"Is that so…" Link thought for a moment. "Did you see what hit me?"

"Piece of stone shrapnel." Bronze Roger shrugged. "They spew them when they come up."

"Lovely… probably no way to stop that… just have to endure it!" Link ran over to the mound of dirt, and when the Lanmola emerged, he hit it once, then held his blade at the ready. When the shrapnel hit him again, he did not turn, but instead unleashed the Whirling Blade Strike technique that he had used on the final Armos Knights… hitting the Lanmola in front of him, turning and slamming the one behind him, and then hitting the one in front again. As soon as it was completed, he dived away from the surfacing third sandworm and watched all three disappear. "Now if they learn, I'm screwed, but they don't look all that bright…" He waited, and when the Lanmolas surfaced once more, he repeated the same defense… and they fell for it the exact same way. As the final strike hit the first Lanmola, it groaned and collapsed limply on the sand oozing ichor. Link was so elated about the defeat that he forgot about the third Lanmola. Hissing, the sandworm lunged, and Link barely managed to avoid a fatal bite, spinning so that all the beast did was slam him. Which still hurt like heck. Slowly getting to his feet, Link wavered. "Uh… hurts…" Taking out the bottle of red medicine, he drank it. "Whoo… quite a kick, this stuff. Made the right move getting another bottle on my way back from Sahasrala's. There we go, I'm healed up… but I dunno if I can take the other two down…" If I really get in a bind… will my ancestor help me out again? Maybe… but… I don't want him to. This time… I want to do it myself. He glanced at Bronze Roger. "Hey! What do you know about these things?"

"Entirely too much…" Roger shuddered.

"Well, tell me all of it!" Link yelled. "Anything that could help!" He dodged the remaining two Lanmolas, not attacking yet.

"The Lanmolas are omnivorous, and will commonly attack and devour cacti as well as other animals." The thief rattled off as if from a textbook. "Even the sharp needles will not deter their appetite. They can feel footsteps of prey above them from as deep down as two miles. They are entirely diurnal; the cold nights of the desert above are deadly to them…" Link smiled at this.

"They don't like cold, huh?" He drew the Ice Rod with his left hand. "Let's give that a shot, then!" One of the beasts surfaced, and Link blasted it in the head with the frigid magic. The entire Lanmola was, for a moment, encased in ice before breaking free with a pained shriek. "Ha… got you!" He fired again, and this time before it could shatter the ice, he brought his sword down on it with a mighty overhead slash that broke both ice and skull, killing it.

"Behind you!" Bronze Roger yelled, too late, as a veritable hail of shrapnel slammed into Link's back, knocking him on his face. He groaned and turned to see the last Lanmola only inches away, and reacted in the only way he could; thrusting his hand with the Ice Rod forward. The magic activated even as the fangs closed painfully on his arm; Link froze, and froze, and froze it again, using every scrap of will he had left…. A remembrance, of two gigantic sandworms, identical save for coloration, bizarrely wearing humongous masks… "No. No, I don't need this…" One of them already dead, the other wrapped tightly around him, and his sword, squeezing, killing… "Leave me! Leave my head ALONE!" The only way to live… to slash, and slash, and slash some more, and then… And then, with the last of his strength, Link brought his sword up and hacked at the head, praying that it would not unfreeze. It did not. Not even when he removed the head entirely and pulled his bleeding arm away.

"You…" Bronze Roger's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Kid… who the hell ARE you?"

"I'm Link… last descendant of the Hero of Time." Link looked upward. "And I WILL draw the Master Sword… and use it to slay Agahnim." He reached out his hand, and caught the Pendant of Power as it dropped; a sapphire gemstone, looking almost entirely the same as the Pendant of Courage save for the color. "I've passed this test as well, then… one more to go. Come on… let's get back to Aginah."

"Ah, good." Aginah looked up from a book he was reading as Link and Bronze Roger entered his cave. "I see you're still alive. That just leaves the question of if you passed or just decided to hell with it." In response, Link held up the Pendant of Power. "Well, that answers THAT. I should have known, I suppose… didn't think you looked the type to give up."

"Just the opposite, believe me." Bronze Roger agreed fervently. "There were three Lanmolas there, and I thought we were worm chow, but this kid took 'em all on without flinching. I don't impress easily, but you got guts, Link."

"Thanks." Link smirked. "By the way… you're a thief named Bronze Roger, right? Any relation to the Bronze Hands of the Lost Woods?" Roger was silent for a moment, then began to chuckle.

"All right, you got me. Yeah, I used to be the boss of those goofs… but after a while, it all got boring. Place like this kingdom, there's not really much for a gang of thieves to do except for the occasional light mugging and some pickpocketing… unless we wanted to go off the deep end like the Black Eye Gang, and THEY ended up mysteriously disappearing, every one of 'em. So I retired and came out here." He looked out at the desert. "It's been nice… but even duller than it was as a thief. Maybe I should head back to the guys… plus, even out here I've heard about this Agahnim, and I don't like him one bit. Seems to me doing some jobs on the Knights and the castle right about now wouldn't be frowned upon."

"I know I wouldn't complain." Link grinned. "Anything to piss Agahnim off."

"I'll think about it, anyways… for now, though, I'm going to catch some sleep again." The thief grinned back. "I won't even charge you for my sign. See you around, kid… old man." He walked out, and Link turned back to Aginah.

"All right. Two pendants down… that leaves the Tower of Hera, right?"

"Correct… and this time you'll be on your own." Aginah set down the book. "Neither me nor Sahasrala are suited for mountain climbing at our age. You'll have to scale Death Mountain by yourself… the Tower of Hera, and the Pendant of Wisdom, await you at the top."

"I'll manage." Link shrugged. "Like old Roger said, I beat three Lanmolas… though I'll admit it was very close."

"I know." Aginah admitted calmly. "I was watching… as was Sahasrala."

"Maybe I should start charging rent in my head." Link rolled his eyes. "What with you two and my ancestor… at least I managed to do fine on my own without much from HIM this time around. Still, yeesh."

"At least I can tell you I won't be doing it when you go get the third." Aginah assured him. "I've seen enough… I trust your skills. No promises on Sahasrala, though… he's a nosy old coot."

"Har… no arguments on that here." Link frowned. "About that, though… at the end… my ancestor was in there again, wasn't he? Did I beat the last Lanmola by myself, or did he help?"

"I'm afraid he had to aid you again, Link." Aginah admitted. The young warrior sighed.

"Ah well… at least I did better by myself this time. And I WILL defeat the third guardian by myself. For now, though, mind if I sack out here tonight? It's pretty late…"
"No problem." Aginah indicated the back. "There's a spare cot there."

"Thanks. I'll be off in the morning." Link headed back, and was soon fast asleep. The day after, he left without waking Aginah and set out immediately. As he passed the spot where he had met Bronze Roger, he saw the thief lying out again with a new, identical sign. "What, does he have a stockpile of those or something?" Chuckling, Link went on. He was not, however, greeted by the princess, but by a wide-eyed Father Brian.

"Link! Thank the Godesses you're back!"

"What's wrong!" Link yelled, a thousand scenarios running through his mind, each worse than the last. "Has something happened to Zelda?"

"She's run off!" The old priest gave him a note. "I found this on the altar this morning!"

Father, I'm going out for just a bit. I'm sorry, but I can't stand just being in here for any longer. I need to see the outside world, just for a short time. I'll be back soon, and don't worry, I'll be VERY careful. Zelda.

"That idiot…" Link crumpled the note in his fist. "Right, you stay here, your worship. I'll go look for her." Leaving the Sanctuary, he forced himself to pull his thoughts together. "Think, Link. Where would she go, out of all the places in Hyrule? Not the castle, she's not THAT stupid… I hope. Where else…" He looked to the west, and a few minutes later, was walking into the Lost Woods, headed straight for the grove of the Master Sword. Remembering its location, he found it much faster than he had on his first trip, and sure enough, Zelda was standing right in front of it, gazing upon it.

"Hello, Link." She greeted him without turning around. "I imagine you're irritated at me for coming out here."

"Irritated doesn't even began to describe it." Link growled. "What in Hyrule possessed you to come up with the idea to just sneak off, when so many people are looking for you, and NOT for nice reasons?"

"Like I wrote in the note, it's only for a short time… and you certainly told me enough about avoiding the Knights." Zelda shrugged. "None of them ever even saw me. And once I was here… here, of all places, do you think they could get me?"

"Yes." Link disagreed bluntly. "Agahnim may be evil, but he's incredibly powerful, too… maybe he couldn't touch the sword or the altar, but he could probably enter the grove. As for the Knights, maybe they couldn't, but they could look in, see you and call the boss man."

"All right, point." Zelda sighed. "I'm sorry. Let's go, then."

"All… wait, as long as I'm here…" Link drew out the Book of Mudora. "I want to see just what it says on this altar."

"A book that translates from ancient Hylian?" Zelda looked impressed. "Cool… what DOES it say?"

"The Hero's… trout? No. Triumph. On cataclysm's… mother-in-law? I think NOT. On cataclysm's EVE, that's better…wins three Pendants of Virtue. The Master Sword he will then… eat? Uh-UH. Retrieve. Keeping the Knights'… Happy Mask? No. Knights' line… true."

"Ancient Hylian was a very confusing language, I see." Zelda was struggling to keep a straight face. "Interesting mural, though… although it doesn't really tell us much we didn't already know."

"Yeah, it did." Link slammed the book shut and put it away. "It tells us that whoever carved this knew this day would come… and somehow, I think, Hyrule knows it too… if that makes any sense."

"Oddly enough, it does." Zelda nodded. "Let's get back, then."

"Yeah." Link frowned again as they walked out of the Grove. "This really was a bad move, princess. It was far too risky and foolhardy."

"Yeah, well, it's all right for you." Zelda muttered. "You get to charge around everywhere in Hyrule, finding Pendants, while I'm stuck in the Sanctuary."

"I'M not the one Agahnim needs to ruin Hyrule." Link retorted. "He only wants me dead because I'm a pain in his ass, but if he gets YOU, it's goodbye to everyone and everything. You've got a duty not to let that happen, Princess Zelda. Not just to yourself, but to your people, and your Kingdom."

"All right, all right." She threw her hands up in surrender. "Enough, already. I won't do this any more. Just hurry up and get the third Pendant so you can draw that Sword back there and send Agahnim packing… you did get the Pendant of Power, right?"

"Yeah." Link took it out and tossed it to her. "Just one to go."

"All right, kids." A familiar voice said from behind them. "Hands up, turn around, and let's see what's in those wallets, hm?"

"Hey, buddy. It's me." Link turned around, smirking. "Guy with a sword, remember?"

"Aw, not again!" The Bronze Hand thief groaned. "All right, sorry, pal-" His eyes widened as Zelda turned around too, smirking even wider. "Ah… ah! I'm sorry, miss! I didn't recognize you, miss! I'll leave you two alone now, miss!" He practically tripped over himself running away. Link stared.

"…You know that guy? What did you DO?"

"I showed him what would happen if he actually attacked me." Zelda shrugged. "He jumped me while I was heading to the Grove. Regretted it. Here." She gave Link the Pendant back.

"Yeesh… well, whatever." Link put it away. "So… had any more visions?"

"A few." Zelda admitted. "When I was leaving the Temple-sorry, the Sanctuary-I had this bizarre urge to dress up in some kind of ninja suit and lug around a harp and some daggers."

"Weird." Link shook his head. "Anything else?"

"The nightmare about being trapped in crystal…" Zelda shuddered, then paused. "And once… also while sleeping…" She flushed. "I was… kissing you. Well, your ancestor really, but…"

"Well, now…" Link murmured. "Did he really look that much like me?"

"Very much…" Zelda nodded, stopping and turning to look at him. "A little taller… hair a little lighter… but aside from that…"

"Now that's the kind of dream I could be happy with being on the other end of." Link smiled slightly, stopping and turning as well. "You know… we don't REALLY need to get back to the Sanctuary that quickly."

"We could take a few minutes here…" Zelda agreed hesitantly. "And talk… or something…"

"Or something." Link repeated quietly. They moved closer, eyes on each others' faces, arms outstretched… and then a Cucco exploded out of a nearby bush, startling them both. They jumped back, eyes wide.

"On second thought, we really should go as soon as possible to make sure Father Brian's all right." Zelda said quickly.

"Yeah." Link nodded. "We should. Let's go, then." The two of them turned, and walked away once more, now silent… but both of their thoughts were racing loudly and vibrantly about the other as they left the Lost Woods behind.