Chapter 22
Have Faith

A darker and even drearier sky greeted Link upon his entering into Hyrule Field. Tell-tale signs of a massive fire in the distance were visible. Things were definitely not looking too good…

Nevertheless, Link traversed along at a steady walking pace…that is until Vera berated down upon him quite snappishly, "You air head! It's quite clear where the problem is, I suggest you put those boots into action and get a move on." Link winked at her and then in the next instant, he was gone. Vera turned as red as a cherry and screamed out indignantly, "That doesn't mean you can leave me behi---…" a hand suddenly snatched her right out of the air from what seemed like nowhere, catching her completely unawares as she was carried along. The hand belonged to none other than Link and in no time at all, he had them both swept off to a stop in front of the Kakariko Village stairs.

Vera rested there on Link's open palm in a daze, "You…heartless…jerk…" she forced out bitterly between each deep breath she took.

"I try," Link said with a grin despite the hard times that lay ahead. "Although you've got to admit, I've already gotten pretty good with these things."

"Don't get too cocky now, any empty-headed moron who puts those on can charge across an open field like that," Vera countered.

"You're no fun…" Link muttered.

"If that is suppose to make me feel bad…it doesn't."

"Just do me a favor and shut up…" Link paused for a moment before quickly adding, "Unless of course you have something important to say that is."

"Well, unless you want to just stand here while there are probably people burning alive, feel free to continue being annoyed by me…" This time Vera was able to give out a short-lived scream before Link shot off again with her in his grasp.

The village was indeed on fire. Not just a few houses, but the actual village…for the most part at least. There were few people standing in a safety zone. Much to Link's surprise, one of those horror-stricken people just standing there was none other than the King of Hyrule. No longer high and mighty in appearance, the king was covered head to toe in soot and his clothes were torn and ragged.

"Get a move on…" Vera mumbled.

"That's what I intend to do," Link swiftly replied and pulled out the Ocarina of Time, putting it to his mouth.

"What the heck are you doing?" Vera exclaimed loudly enough to draw attention to them. Link ignored her and blew into the small blue instrument, moving his finger with the simple little tune of the Song of Storms.

Rain burst forth in heavy torrents from the dark clouds, and battered everything down below. It wasn't long at all before the magically summoned rain extinguished the fire to mere embers before it came to an abrupt stop.

"That's what I was doing," Link jibed at Vera who had darted under a nearby tree the moment the rain had come.

Out of nowhere, several large 'rocks' came rolling down towards the people, 'rocks' that had come from Death Mountain. Of course these were none other than the Gorons. Despite the fresh arrival of the Gorons, the king and the other people hurried towards him of all people.

Link didn't hesitate, he was out of there in a flash leaving behind bewildered people and an agitated fairy who zipped off after him, muttering dark things to herself about how he had left her behind like that. When she eventually caught up to him, Link had stopped out in Hyrule Field again…

"Why'd you just run off like that?" Vera questioned; her annoyance all too obvious.

Link didn't reply however, he was too lost in thought to have even noticed her presence.

Less than half the population of Kakariko Village had been standing there in safety from the fire; that much he was sure of. Within that mix of survivors, there were soldiers of the Royal Guard, standing there helplessly…not doing a thing to bring down the fire or help those around them who were in tears. As for the actual village itself, it had been totaled. Every building that had once stood proudly was now a smoldering pile of ashes…who knew how many people had been burned down with it all?

The Gorons had surely not been attacked, and the Gerudos even. Who knew about the Kokiri and the Dekus? The Zoras had more than likely not been harmed by Zen, but Anguis. Why were Hylians Zen's main target?

Link had run away from that pitifully small crowd because he hated attention, that evening at the castle had been a total nightmare. He only wanted to do what was right and avoid fame or being seen as an outstanding individual. The Gorons had arrived and they could help…what more could they have expected from him any way?

"Zen is at the castle, waiting for you…" Vera said, breaking through his train of thought.

"How would you know that?" Link asked her suspiciously.

"If you look at the sky, you'll see that the clouds are darker and circling above Hyrule Castle," Vera stated bluntly.

This statement certainly hadn't answered everything Link wanted to know, but he shrugged it off…maybe he just needed to accept that fairies had their own way of gaining knowledge like that.

"Well, are you gonna go there or not?" Vera pried impatiently as she darted into the safety of his hat, just incase he was planning on taking off again.

Link rolled his eyes and then he sped off in the direction of Hyrule Castle. He had to leap over the broken drawbridge, but such a simple obstacle was no problem to get pass. The market had been completely destroyed, Link breezed on through this anyways, and did not stop until he reached the black iron gates that were…open? Did that mean Zen really was waiting for him like Vera had said?

No… Without the chance of a sneak attack…Link didn't have any advantage…at least the way he saw it. Zen was powerful…nothing would ever erase how he had been slammed against a wall with just a flick of Zen's hand…

All of the courage and what little faith he had had in himself seemed to suddenly drain out of him. He felt no stronger than when he had first started his quest…he couldn't beat Zen. Sure he had some new weapons…but what good were weapons against a god that had unimaginable powers he could stimulate into use with just a simple flick of a hand?

"Have faith in yourself…" came a sudden voice. "You can and you will defeat Zen…"

"V-Vera?" Link stammered, it didn't sound like her…but no one else was around.

"I am not that sorry excuse for a fairy; do you not recognize my voice?"

Link thought for a second and then finally recognized the voice that spoke to him, "Din?"

"Indeed," she replied.

"We're not even supposed to do this, so be grateful," came Nayru's voice.

Link nodded as Din spoke again, "Each weapon you gained is in your possession for a reason, if you tap into its power, then will you reach your full potential."

"The Master Sword…blade of evil's bane…use it well," Nayru said.

"The Power Gauntlets can give you strength to match Zen's…you must unlock this hidden strength," now Din spoke and the two began alternating line after line.

"The shield I gave you can do much more than serve as a petty boomerang."

"Having been one, you have been gifting with the cunning of a wolf."

"The poison in the snake bite you received has strengthened your endurance."

"But--…poison?" Link cut in, but he was ignored.

"With the Golden Arrows, you must cast a light into Zen's dark heart."

"Your speed is matched evenly with Zen when unleashing the full capability of the Pegasus Boots."

"These gifts have been bestowed upon you, it is your duty to use them wisely and destroy the menace that threatens your beloved land."

"Even though Farore gives you no support, you have two goddesses cheering you on."

Oh yes…I so need a cheerleader right now…

"That is all we can do, now travel onward into the castle and don't look back! Your destiny lies before you and nothing can change it!" Din exclaimed, having read his mind… "Good luck."

And then Link somehow sensed they had left him.

With a sigh, Link began heading towards the large main doors of the castle. Had Vera heard the voices? If so, why was she still hiding under his hat? And why had the goddesses said all these things to him?

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Din and Nayru cast reassuring glances at each other, as they hoped they had not sent the Hero to his death…

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Proofreading through that made me realize how much I hate this chapter…but it's simply leading up to a big event so I'll just have to deal with it I suppose…I'll try to have another chapter up soon, but as updates seem to be coming, I wouldn't expect one 'til sometime next weekend.

Don't forget to check out reviewer replies if you reviewed the last chapter!

-blondie91

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Zen and all the other made up people, places, plot, etc. in this fanfic are mine though.