A loud pounding on his door roused him from a deep, heavy sleep. Link had no idea how long he had been asleep, only that he felt he wasn't fully awake as he blearily looked around the room. Midna sat on the writing desk in the corner as usual, reading a book and ignoring the door entirely. Golden light shone through the window, indicating that he had managed to sleep far enough into the morning that the sun came over the canyon wall. Groggily, he stood up and crossed the room, and then yanked the door open to see who would wake him up so abruptly. Was there an emergency?

Shad stood there, his eyes wide and excited. "Link! Why didn't you tell me about them?!"

Link stared at him stupidly with half-opened eyes, his blonde hair sticking up from sleep. He was only wearing his underwear and a confused expression. "Uh?"

"Oh dear, you aren't quite awake yet, are you?" The other man's excitement was temporarily dampened when he realized he was talking to somebody with only half a brain at the moment.

Link rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "Kinda. What do you want, Shad?"

The scholar's face lit up again and he looked like he was going to burst with excitement. "The Oocca! You never told me about the Oocca!" He gesticulated enthusiastically as he began to speak rapidly. "I went into the Sanctuary after breakfast this morning to continue work, and there they were! Reading a book, of all things! The adult told me that you had brought them there from the Temple of Time, and had helped them out."

"Oh. Ooccoo." This was not an emergency, and he was starting to feel grumpy about being woke for such a reason.

"Yes, as she likes to be called, although her name is actually-" He said something in the weird gibbering language that Link had heard Ooccoo speak before. "Although it's very hard for us Hylians to pronounce it, so Ooccoo works nicely." Noticing something, he glanced down at Link's chest and pointed at it. "That's a new one, isn't it?"

He looked down and saw a fresh purple bruise across his sternum from where Rusl had slashed him the night before. Many of the bruise marks were in the shape of the links of his chain mail, just as they had been for the ones he earned in the desert. "Oh, yeah. Another one for the collection." He looked back up at Shad. "What time is it?"

The scholar pulled out his silver pocket watch and checked it. "About a quarter past nine. You were missed at breakfast, but we assumed that you came in quite late. I didn't wake you too soon, did I?"

He wanted to be angry with Shad, but even in his sleepy state Link realized that the man wasn't intentionally irritating. He was excited about something that interested him, which was understandable considering there hadn't been much in Kakariko for the man to do, other than examine the ruins. Link opened his mouth to speak, but at that point Telma walked past with a basket full of linens, on her way to the back stairs in order to get to the rear yard. She turned her head to glance at him as she went by, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Whoops. Naked man." Then she was gone.

Link felt himself turn pink after Telma walked by and saw him in his drawers. He gave a small frustrated sigh and focused on what they had been talking about. "Where are the Oocca now? Are they still in the Sanctuary?"

"No, they were hungry so I brought them here. I tried to hurry so none of the refugees would spot them."

That was reasonable. Link hadn't thought about feeding the bird people when he had put them to bed in the Sanctuary last night. He mostly had thoughts about getting to bed...and of Ilia, of course. He scratched at his hair, which he knew was standing up in all sorts of directions after touching his head. Today might be one of those days where a comb was ineffective. "Give me a bit. I'll get dressed and come downstairs." He didn't wait for Shad to respond, and shut the door in the man's face.

After Shad's footfalls retreated down the hall, Midna lowered her book to look at him with her round, red eye. "He had no idea you were grumpy, did he?" She snorted. "Scholars. They always get fixated on things like that."

Link stretched his muscles and found that he had a few sore spots, as always. Even when he didn't get hit, he still had aches. Some of them were older pains from the Lanmola. It wasn't as if he had much by way of breaks in-between going from place to place and fighting. He looked at his bed longingly, and sighed. It was time to get up.

The Oocca were eating bits of sliced apple and bread when he came downstairs a bit later. They sat in the middle of the common table, surrounded by the inn's current "customers". Shad was there, and Auru sat next to him. Auren sat on the opposite side of Shad, smiling down at junior, who was sitting close to where her arms were folded on the table. Renado, Colin and Luda sat on the same side as her, and Ashei had her usual spot leaning on the wall near the fireplace, standing in her armor with her sword belted at her waist. There were no signs of the other children, or of Telma, Shelly, Petyr or Ilia. Ilia was one in particular Link was hoping to see, although being near so many people meant that he couldn't have the talk with her they both wanted.

Shad was speaking in an animated manner, still excited. So far the man had seemed calm when speaking about things he knew about, so it was quite the change in him. "It was my father's life work." he was speaking to Renado as Link descended the stairs. "Now it's mine. In fact, my need to research the Oocca was what led me to offer my services at Hyrule Castle. Well...one of the reasons. He shook his head, still smiling. "I never thought I would actually meet an Oocca, and one of their historians at that."

Ashei met Link's eyes as he approached the table. "What, no sock hat today?" He was getting sick of her comments on it, and had intentionally left it behind in his room, as well as his gear. He didn't need the Master Sword to eat breakfast.

"If you keep making comments, I'll never teach you another song ever again." He sat down next to Shad, who was directly in front of Ooccoo.

The female warrior shrugged with a faint smile. "It's a risk I'll have to take. Somebody needs to put you in your place."

He knew that she was joking around, but he was still a bit tired and had to make an effort to not be grumpy. "Whatever did I do to be 'put in my place'? I've been nothing but nice to you and everyone else."

Ooccoo reached for the plate of thin apple slices next to her with a clawed wing-hand. "Well, you did happen to sing the notes of a command song in the Sacred Realm without understanding what you were doing, and almost woke a bunch of golems at once."

That made Auru burst out laughing. Of course he would laugh about one of Link's magical blunders. "Did he really do that?"

"Oh goodness, yes. While he certainly has magical aptitude, he lacks the discipline to control it very well. He doesn't constructively cast spells, and instead reacts with them." She delicately nibbled on a slice of apple.

"Funny, that sounds like something I've said before." Midna said in his ears, her tone amused. He scowled a bit, unable to reply to her with Colin present. Auru took his expression as a response to Ooccoo, and laughed again. Oh, well. At least the man wasn't laughing at one of his own jokes, which were borderline bullying.

At that point Ilia came out of the kitchen with a tray and started setting food out in front of Link. There was barley porridge with raisins, some of the sausages he had found last night, bread, and a mug of tea. He hadn't asked her to do that, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Oh, good. Now she can mother you for a while." Ashei said with a smirk, and she and Ilia exchanged an amused look.

"I have to take care of someone. Petyr's caring for Shelly now, and the children don't need me for much in the daytime." She set the tray on the table in front of her and took the spot on the bench next to Link. He glanced sidelong over at her, but she gave no indication of the kiss they had shared last night, and acted as she always did. That was fine. The two of them didn't need to be making bedroom eyes at one another with the rest of the group around.

Link picked up the spoon after noticing Ilia's clothing. She was wearing the belted robe that she had been wearing when he met her in Telma's bar. He recognized the style, having seen it quite a bit in Kasuto. "That's a Sheikah outfit, isn't it?"

Ilia looked down at the striped turquoise and dark blue robe that she wore, and put her hand to the silken sleeve. "Is it? I had no idea. I still don't know where I got it from." She breathed a little sigh. "Another one of those things I wish I could remember."

"Speaking of Sheikah, I have a question." Shad said, causing Link to turn away from Ilia to listen. "I noticed you had a necklace the other day in the bath, but didn't think much of it. I got a better look at it this morning when I woke you up. It's Sheikah, isn't it?"

He paused eating and set his spoon down, and reached inside his gambeson to pull out the pendant. "Yeah, it is. I happened to find it when I visited Kasuto, in what was left of my old house. It was my grandmother's."

The others craned their necks to see it better, including Telma, who had just entered the room. Shad examined the pendant closely from his spot directly to the left of Link. "Ah, now that I'm looking at it I remember that's the emblem of one of the sub-houses of Sheikah. Eclipse, I believe? Perhaps when the castle is freed I can find some information about them in the library. I assume that you would like to learn about more about your family history."

He did, but Ooccoo spoke up before he had a chance to reply. "He's part Sheikah? That would explain a few things. He does have their magical strength, although he doesn't have the red eyes. I would have known if he did."

"I'm only one-quarter Sheikah." he told the bird-woman, picking up his spoon to resume eating. "My mother was half and she still had the red eyes. Her hair was the same color as mine, and not white." He shrugged. "Since it's less than half, I'm considered a Hylian."

"Link?" Ilia had been leaning forward to look at the pendant, but now was looking at his chest. "What happened to your tunic?"

He touched at the tear where Rusl's blade had caught him. "I was fighting some things yesterday, and I had a close shave."

"Yes, he has a lovely bruise in that spot too." Shad said.

"I saw." Telma put her hands on her hips. "As if you hadn't gone and gotten yourself a bunch of bruises not that long ago. You really take a beating sometimes, don't you honey?"

He didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. "Sometimes, yeah. It's part of fighting. I think I did pretty well yesterday, since this was it."

"He did." the female Oocca said, using a small teaspoon to put a glob of jam on a piece of bread. It was strange, seeing the creature eat in a way that was so human, although she did have two fingers and a thumb to grasp the spoon well enough. "He is quite the adept fighter. Both he and Rusl went through the Temple of Time without a scratch...other than that one bruise." She did not mention that Rusl was the one who did it, nor did she mention his broken hand. Link wanted to thank her for that later.

"Take it off." Ilia said suddenly.

Link turned to her. "Excuse me?"

"Take that shirt off." She rose from where she sat. There was a wave of laughter from the people seated nearby. Oh come on Ilia, don't make this uncomfortable in front of everyone.

"Can't it wait until I'm done eating?" He was holding a spoonful of porridge. Ilia gave him a stern look, and he sighed. Link set the spoon down and stood up. He began to remove his belt as Ilia walked from the room into the Eld Inn's office.

"I think she's got you whipped." Midna was clearly enjoying this. He really wished he could tell the imp to be quiet.

He had just pulled the green tunic over his head with Ilia returned with a lidded basket in hand. She set it on the table and opened it up, revealing sewing supplies. Ah, that made sense. She could have been a little more polite about it, though. Just because she had gotten a kiss from him didn't mean that she could order him around. He'd have to discuss that with her at some point.

She took the garment from his hand and sat down to get to work, leaving him standing there in his unbelted chain shirt and gambeson. There was no stopping Ilia when she had decided to do something. Her stubborn nature was the one thing about her that was the most noticeable as she recovered from her amnesia, although it wasn't her best trait.

"Pretty." a small voice said across the table. Junior was up on Auren's shoulder, leaning on her face to look at her eyes, just as he had done to Link the day before. The little creature had to find human eyes beautiful. Then again, the Gerudo did have beautiful amber eyes, with long red-brown lashes. Auren smiled at him, and the boy giggled. "Orange!" Then he tapped at his own face, near his eye. "Orange."

This made Auren laugh a little. "Yes, we have the same eye color, don't we?" She patted the boy on his bald head. "This little one is so sweet."

Ooccoo smiled, finished with her meal. The bird creature sat on the table with her legs tucked beneath her, like a cucco. "He's an awful lot like his father." Her expression fell, and she looked saddened. "I need to get home to him. He likely thinks that we're dead."

Link sat back down to finish eating. "We'll get to that teleporter soon, don't worry. We have the Dominion Rod already, so that's one piece of the-"

"Wait!" Ilia interrupted him with the exclamation. She sat with her hand to her mouth and her eyes wide, the sewing still on her lap. "I remember!"

"You remember something, honey?" Telma leaned forward on the table with one hand to look at the young woman's face. "What is it?"

"I…" She creased her brow and stared at the green tunic she was halfway done repairing. "I remember this. Sewing. It's strange because I've made clothing while here but...but repairing this made me remember. It wasn't me who was sewing though, it was someone else." Her eyes widened. "It was an old Sheikah woman!" She started speaking rapidly, the words tumbling from her mouth as a sudden wave of memories crashed in her mind. "Yes, that was it. She was sewing something for me, and I was watching her. She was altering this robe I'm wearing right now. The shoulders weren't wide enough for me…" Ilia stood as a sudden revelation hit her, while clutching the green tunic tightly in her hands. "The Ordonians! I know where they are!"

Ashei's aloof expression dropped, and she stood up straight and uncrossed her arms. "Are you certain?"

Ilia nodded. "It isn't just the Ordonians, either. It was regular humans, the kind with rounded ears, like me. Hundreds of them, even more than the people in Kakariko right now. The Bulblins brought us all to a town that was hidden in between some mountains, in a valley. Or maybe it was a canyon. I remember the rocks were kind of red, like they are around here." She closed her eyes, sorting through the resurfaced memories. "I don't remember how yet, but I escaped. I must have been going west, because the sun rose behind me as a I ran. I kept running no matter how tired I was. I didn't want to get caught, but I knew that I had to find help, even if I couldn't remember why at the time."

She opened her green eyes and fixed them on Telma. "I remember crossing a big river and leaving the mountains behind to run through farmland. I eventually could see Hyrule Castle, and I was northeast of it. It had to be northeast, since it was ahead and on my left, and I knew I was still heading west." She put a hand to her head and shut her eyes again. "I thought I could go there to get help but...but I heard something. I heard boars. I had to hide, and I hid beneath a cart." She shivered, experiencing the fear she had at the time of the memory.

"It's all right. Don't force it." Link put a hand to her back, not caring how it looked in front of the others.

"No, I need to remember this. It's the cart that I woke up under but...but I can't remember what happened after I climbed under it, only that I woke up at around dawn in the same spot, which was many hours later. I know I didn't fall asleep because I was too scared." She opened her eyes. "Did I black out? That might have been the first time I had one of my attacks."

"If you were knocked out for hours, then maybe." He smiled at her. "But, Ilia! You know where they are! That's good news."

Ashei nodded. "If she was surrounded by red mountains and went west over a river and into farmland, then she went from Eldin to Lanayru. That would mean that this town is somewhere in northern Eldin. The only problem is you and I rode through there and back recently, and we didn't see any villages in the mountains. Nobody's in those mountains other than a few shepherds."

"Are you so sure of that?" Auru asked. "Younger people don't realize it, but this is not the first Kakariko. It was known as "New Kakariko", as a reference to the previous Sheikah village farther north in the mountains. The Sheikah are gone, their villages across Hyrule abandoned...I'm not quite sure of the reason. But their old home became forgotten, and this town simply became known as 'Kakariko'."

Link wanted to know why the Sheikah left since some like his mother remained, and tucked that thought away for now. "There was an old Death Mountain with an old Goron City on top of it, before the Gorons moved to the current volcano. There always has been a Kakariko at the foot of Death Mountain, hasn't there? Even when Death Mountain moved." He recalled the abandoned path leading south that he and Ashei had ridden past, not thinking much of it at the time. "I think I remember where the road is that leads there."

"We should prepare to go there, then." Ashei said. "If there are people being held captive, we must save them. Ilia, do you remember how many Bulblins were there in the town? Were there any Shadow Beasts?"

Ilia sat back down and resumed sewing, determined to finish what she had started despite her sudden flood of memories. "No, no Shadow Beasts. Only Bulblins." She knotted the final stitch and bit off the thread. "I can't be sure because we were forced to stay inside, but there were probably a few hundred. I remember the trip there from Central Hyrule, and how they tied me and another woman down to a boar. There had to be at least that many at that time."

"A few hundred shouldn't be a problem, not after the battle in the desert." Auren said as she stood. She gently took Junior from her shoulder and set him on the table. "I need to leave a few warriors here to protect Kakariko, but we will still have about thirty. I know it's not much, but mother and Sumati have most of our warriors, since Kakariko's easier to defend." She looked down the table at Link with a smirk. "We'll need others to help a certain blue-eyed scoundrel free those people. I doubt even he could do it on his own."

That comment made him laugh. "I'll take any help I can get. Go gather your warriors, Auren. They'll come in handy. Each Gerudo is worth five Hylian warriors."

Auren smiled fondly at him. "And you are worth five Gerudo warriors. I have no doubts of our success." The slender Gerudo stood and walked out of the inn to prepare.

Link took the green tunic back from Ilia and pulled it over his head. The tear was repaired neatly, and while he could tell that it had been mended, it probably wouldn't be noticeable to others. "Right." he said, putting his belt back on. "We'll leave Petyr's men here to protect Kakariko with whatever Gerudo Auren orders to stay. We wouldn't have enough horses for the Hylians in any case, but I what we do have are Goron warriors that can roll just as fast as a horse can gallop. I don't know how many warriors are up in Goron City but the place was pretty big, and there are probably tens of thousands of Gorons up there. I'm sure Darbus will help us out." He shifted his belt, making sure that the chain shirt and padded undershirt were cinched comfortably around his waist. "Let's get ready."

Gor Coron himself was the one who rolled up the Death Mountain trail to tell his son of the captured humans and the plans being made to save them. The old Goron still had the energy of a much younger one, and moved swiftly despite the incline. It wasn't too long before a regiment of armored Goron warriors rolled down the mountain and into the canyon at the edge of Kakariko, a hundred strong. Darbus himself led the group, wearing thick steel armor and studded metal knuckles.

"I couldn't sit this one out." the Goron patriarch said once Link had come to meet him. "I need to be there, brother. We were unable to protect the humans of this town, so perhaps we can at least help others."

Link understood. Darbus felt guilty that his people weren't there to prevent the Shadow Beasts and Bulblins from taking away the people of Kakariko, and he wanted to make amends. It was quite something for the proud Goron to admit a mistake in front of his troops. "I appreciate it, Darbus. Your warriors will be able to keep up with our horses, right? It's quite the distance there, most of a day's ride, and we're running out of morning."

Darbus nodded confidently. "We will keep up, trust me. Where are we going?"

"The Sheikah village at the base of the old Death Mountain." he said.

The Goron leader put a metal-clad hand to his square chin. "I don't know about any villages there, but I do know where the old Death Mountain is. You are indeed correct, it's most of a day's travel from here, by roll or horse. We will need to rest there for the night."

"I expected to. There's no way we could expect the people there to walk all the way back here tonight, anyway." Since the Gorons were ready and the Gerudo were preparing their large black mounts, all that was left was for he and Ashei to get their horses. Petyr had opted to remain behind with his wife, for which Link couldn't blame him. Shelly's pregnancy had been making her feel unwell. "We'll be leaving soon. Be ready."

He turned and made his way to the stables, geared up and wearing his brown cloak and long hat again. Ashei had been waiting in the road, and fell into step beside him. "Do you think our numbers will be fine?" she asked. "They'll have the advantage of the buildings and either hills or canyon walls. I know they're just Bulblins, but we'll only have around one hundred thirty."

Link recalled the battle in the desert. "Fighting in a town is confusing, but fighting a Goron in close quarters is dangerous. I'm sure the Gerudo will do well, too. We had about one hundred eighty when we took back Gerudo City from the Bulblins, and they had about three hundred in the city and then another two hundred or so outside, with about seventy Shadow Beasts. Midna and I took care of those entirely by ourselves. There were only three casualties on our side, one of them being a Gerudo that was transformed into a Shadow Beast."

She turned her head towards him and examined his face with her brown eyes thoughtfully. He had just admitted that he had killed a transformed Gerudo, but she didn't say anything about it. "Link, we don't want any casualties."

"I realize that, but this isn't a little fight that you and I can handle ourselves; this is a battle, with two armies. To expect to come out of it without anyone being hurt or killed isn't being realistic." He stepped into the much darker stable, blinking a bit as his eyes adjusted from the bright Kakariko morning. Ashei moved down the row to retrieve Spirit, since she had already put his tack and saddle on, and Link went to Epona's stall since he hadn't done so yet. He started to hum the song to the horse, but then saw that Epona was already in her saddle and bridle.

There was a familiar pair of legs wearing blue silk and a pair of soft boots on the other side of the mare. He wasn't surprised when he stepped around the horse and found Ilia there, waiting for him. She smiled when she lay eyes on him. "I thought I'd get her ready for you, since you weren't able to come here with Ashei."

"And just maybe see me off again?" He crossed his arms. "We really need to stop saying goodbye like this all the time. It's getting old."

She laughed. Her laugh was so beautiful to him, and he wouldn't be able to hear it since he was leaving once again. "You need to fix Hyrule so you won't have to leave all the time, then."

"I know I have to go again. I'm sorry." He dropped his arms to his sides and took a step closer. Could he say something without Ashei hearing? She knew about him and Ilia, but even then the things he wanted to say were quite personal. As close as he had become with her, he didn't think she needed to hear private conversations between him and Ilia.

"It's all right. You always come back to Kakariko." She took his hand in both of hers, as she did at the spring yesterday, and ran her fingers across his knuckles. The touch gave him goose bumps. "So be sure to come back again. We can always talk more after that." She managed to convey everything he wanted to without sounding too affectionate. He looked forward to the "talk" they would have in the future.

There was a steady clopping as Ashei led Spirit out of the stable, leaving the two of them alone. Once she was gone, Ilia stepped forward, slid her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I hate it every time. I know you'll be back tomorrow and I know you'll be fine in the big fight but that doesn't stop me from feeling miserable. I miss you."

He sighed and put his arms around her, pulling her closer. "I'm sorry." he said quietly. "You know I have responsibilities."

"I understand. At least you can always come back to me, like you want to." Wait...did he actually say the quiet part out loud the other day? It didn't matter at this point, but that was certainly a big slip-up on his part. She raised her head to put her face near his and began to lean in, but he put a hand up to stop her, just as she had done to him weeks ago.

"Midna's with me right now." he told her. And damn her for being there, because he was very interested in where this was going.

"Sorry to ruin your fun, lovebirds." the Twili said, sounding slightly amused. "I'm with him an awful lot, so I wouldn't be putting any moves on him if I were you." When Ilia turned red, Midna laughed lightly. "It's all right. I promise I'll give you some free time with him soon. Maybe you two can have another date in the apple orchard."

"That wasn't a date." Link objected.

"That was totally a date." Ilia said, still close. "It was for me, anyway." She softly sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek instead. "Come back safe."

He put a hand to the side of her face. "Yeah, I will." Then he reluctantly stepped back and led Epona out into the midday sun. Ashei was already mounted on Spirit, waiting for him.

She fixed him with the kind of look that let him know that she was about to make fun of him again. "I had to get out of there. If I had to listen to any more of that, I was going to puke."

Link climbed up into the saddle and gave her a flat look. "Come on, it wasn't bad. We were subtle."

"It's not subtle if you can understand all the subtext." Ashei said. "You're a romantic goof, but I think she's worse than you."

He opened his mouth and started to speak, but Midna spoke over him to Ashei. "If you think that's bad, I ought to tell you about when he got in late last night.

Link felt his face turn hot. "Don't you dare!"

The two women laughed at him as they made their way out of Kakariko.

The weather was good as they rode and rolled north across the plains of Eldin, no signs of the rain that had plagued Link and Ashei the last time they passed through. Link led the small makeshift army at a gallop at the start, and the Gorons managed to keep up just as Darbus said they would. He didn't plan to ride the horses hard for all the trip, but figured that they could save time by picking up speed for the long, straight route across the flat plains to the Bridge of Eldin. He didn't know where in the foothills Old Kakariko was, but he did remember where the path south to it was. It was about a five hour trip at a canter, so they would make it there before dark.

They dropped their speed for a bit to let the horses and Gorons rest at a walk for a while, before picking up the pace once they neared the Bridge of Eldin. Link recalled how he had ridden here all by myself, chasing Bulblins with a rage burning in his belly. He had killed over twenty, closer to thirty that day; shooting every arrow until his quiver was empty, taking the Bulblins out with his sword and even chasing them down when they turned tail and ran. One person had eliminated an entire raiding party by himself, and he had done it while injured.

Then there was the repeat in the desert, where he knew that he and Midna were the only thing protecting the Gerudo from being transformed. That need had driven him to fight hard, and in the end he had killed about forty Shadow Beasts. He had been broken-hearted over the transformed people that he had to kill, focusing on the fact that they were human just like him, but the number itself was high. Then the next day he went in and took care of nearly three hundred zombies all by himself, even though he was terrified.

No wonder Rusl thought people would fear him.

He hoped that wouldn't be the case this time when rescuing the Ordonians. The beast hadn't risen in him when he fought outside Gerudo City, but it had when he cleared out the Arbiter's Grounds. If he could tap into that anger that always lay below the surface, the anger that he had been learning to suppress over the past few years, his kill count would probably be even higher. Perhaps even more than what he did in the desert. The thought bothered him, that he had the potential to kill even more efficiently.

You are deadly whether you are in control if your emotions or not. the Master Sword informed him in its emotionless voice. The time we have spent together has greatly increased your skill, and while it may be true that you have the potential to defeat enemies faster while you are in the rage, this thing you consider a "beast", that does not discount your capability when you operate with a clear mind. You are strong, Master Link...in many ways.

The Master Sword did have a point; he was still good at what he did, even if he hated it. However what it said also added more weight to what Rusl had said in the Temple of Time, that people very well could see what he was capable of and fear him.

People fear what they do not understand, or what they are not capable of doing. Rusl's concern for you was not incorrect, and at some point you will do something that frightens others. I know that this bothers you, so it is my recommendation that you focus your mind on other things.

Easy for you to say. he thought glumly at the sword. You don't have fears or emotions.

I cannot help what I am, Master. the sword said. Neither can you.

That statement gave him some more thought fodder for the trip.

They left the Bridge of Eldin behind and started to move through the lower slopes of the old Death Mountain. The red volcanic rocks reflected back the golden late afternoon light as the sun started to dip towards the horizon, about three hours away from setting. The party rode into that bright sun at times while the trail through the dead volcanic peaks meandered, their vision hindered until it had moved behind another group of rocks.

Link decided to stop momentarily at the spring where he and Ashei had watered their horses days before, only this time it wasn't just the horses that needed water, the Gorons needed to drink as well. It was strange that the Gorons ate rocks and ores, yet needed to drink water like anyone else. They were made of flesh and alive despite their immunity to intense heat, and so they needed water.

The humans used this opportunity to eat something, having missed the midday meal while on the road. The Gerudo scattered around to eat their rations of dried meat and soda bread, and Link and Ashei sat on the yellowed grass of the extinct volcano with them. During this time, he decided to have Midna do some scouting.

"I need you to look for this village." he told her after he had called her out. None of the Gerudo or Gorons were surprised at her sudden appearance. Even if some of them had never seen her, they at least knew of her. "I know you normally float near the ground, but you can fly up high, right?"

Midna raised her face to look up at the brilliant blue sky. "I never tried, to be honest. You're not asking me to go up near cloud level, are you?"

"No, of course not. But if you go up a couple hundred feet or so, you'll be able to see past these hills and rocks and can get a look around. See if you can spot this village, or any Bulblin patrols that are nearby. I know the sun's kind of in your way to the west, but what we're looking for is likely in that direction." He gestured at the large dead volcano that loomed nearby. "We're partway up the slopes of what used to be Death Mountain, so what we're looking for is downhill. I remember the path heading south off this road once it turns west, so if you can find that, you'll find the village."

"If only we had Shad's spyglass." Ashei lamented. "She'd be able to see things a lot easier."

"Hey now, don't count my own vision out." Midna tapped at her face near the one red eye that wasn't hidden by her helmet. "These peepers can see pretty far." She turned to Link. "I'll look around for a few minutes. If I can't see anything, I'll come back down right away." Then she shot up into the air, a formless mass of shadows, dark even in the daylight.

The Twili was quite far up when she reformed into an imp shape. She was nothing but a black speck against the azure backdrop of the late afternoon sky. Every few seconds she would flit about, dashing this way and that. Link could barely see her as he stood with his hands on his hips and eyes raised to the sky. He couldn't judge how long she was up there, but after a bit she shot back down in a jerky manner, descending as a collection of shadowy orbs before reforming as the little creature at regular intervals. Her last jump brought her next to Link. "Well, I have some good news and some bad news." she said.

"Of course. Can't have one without the other. What did you see?" He asked her.

"The good news first: there's a town there. It's in a dead-end canyon that has a lot of trees and fields surrounding it, and there's a road coming from the top of that canyon and headed up the side of Death Mountain, so I think it used to come from the town before something made it a dead-end. I can't tell how many Bulblins or humans there are, but there's movement in that own. At first blush, I'd say that it's about as populated as our current Kakariko, but Ilia did mention that a lot of people were made to stay indoors. There wasn't a lot of activity at the back side of the town. I swear the back half of it is almost all cemetery, with some woods past that. If it wasn't at the dead-end, I'd say we approach from that direction."

She crossed her legs in mid-air, assuming a seated position as she so often did. "Now for the bad news: there's been a landslide. The way in has been blocked off….the way we're headed to, specifically."

"That shouldn't be difficult for us." Darbus said, having listened to the conversation as he sat nearby. "We Gorons can easily pound our way through landslides. We do it all the time. The only problem with that is they'll know we're coming when we start smashing stones."

Midna shook her head. "They'd notice us coming anyway. They have a bunch of archer towers built, a lot like the ones they did around Gerudo City. There's a lot on the roofs too. The whole thing makes me think of a prison, actually. It's a walled-in space with a bunch of guard towers." She shrugged. "I don't get why the Bulbis would bother. They weren't after the normal humans anyway, just Hylians. Are they still guarding these people because they don't know what else to do with them?"

"No." Link said grimly. "They're backup units. The Shadow Beasts haven't been shy about transforming Zoras, Gorons and Gerudo. If Ganondorf ever needed more numbers for his army, he'd have them easily. That's probably why he hasn't taken over Kakariko, Ordon and Lakeside. He could get thousands more if he did, but he isn't bothering. He has a specific plan in mind, and that doesn't include turning every last person in Hyrule into a monster."

"Do you really know how he thinks?" Auren asked. "You've only heard things about him."

"History taught us how he thinks, or at least it taught us Hylians." Link said. "He's intelligent and calculating. He's more than willing to use others to meet his goals, like he did with Zant and the Bulblins. Ganondorf has been after the same thing for over two hundred years now, and I doubt that's changed."

"Revenge?" the Gerudo asked.

"Partially, but no. It's the golden power, the Triforce. He tried to get the entire Triforce a long time ago but only got Power, and after coming back to Hyrule after two hundred years, he had no idea where Wisdom and Courage were. He figured it out and already has Wisdom." Link brought up his left hand and turned its back towards them, clenching his fingers into a fist. Courage glowed softly through the brown leather of his glove. "Now he only needs the last one, the one I have: Courage." He let the golden mark wink out and lowered his hand. "After that, I don't know. All I know is that if he has the complete Triforce, it'll send the world into ruin. It's not supposed to be used by somebody cruel."

"Well, ain't that cheery." Darbus looked grim, not having known that information until now. Link figured it was fine to tell him, since he was the leader of the Gorons. "I had no idea you had that thing in you. I guess that's why you're the hero, huh?"

"One of the reasons." Link looked at them one by one as he spoke. "We should continue on. Even if the Bulblins know we're coming, we'll have to clear that landslide. Let's go." He turned and started to walk towards Epona, and Midna floated close behind him.

"Link, there was something else." she said. He stopped and turned to listen to her. "There was a horse near the side of the road heading south, up past the landslide. The owner of that horse wasn't by it, they were up on the side of the canyon wall, hiding behind the trees. It was a human, not a Zora or anything. Somebody is spying on them, somebody wearing metal. I could see the sun shining off something they had on them. Maybe a weapon."

"Somebody else knows about the village, then. Who knows, they may be from one of the human towns scattered around Hyrule and are trying to figure out how to free their friends." He mounted Epona. "We'll have to speak to whomever it is when we get there. They might know something we don't." Link patted his chest. "Come on and get in. We need to move."

It wasn't too far to the south road, and they slowed their pace to a walk once they reached it. The sun was still nearly two hours from setting, but with all the digging the Gorons would have to do, there was no way to get into the village to free it before dark. Still, it seemed wise to move at a slower pace and let the Gorons rest.

The rocks along the sides of the road started to form into cliffs, and before long they were in a wide canyon, the only trees being the occasional group of pines scattered next to the road. They came across the horse then, a red piebald gelding tied off to one of the pines, pulling up mouthfuls of grass while his owner was off spying on the Bulblins.

Ashei looked up at the horse critically as they approached it, and then her eyes widened slightly. "Risotto."

"I'm sorry?" Link didn't see the connection between food and what was happening.

She pointed ahead at the brown and white horse. "The horse is named Risotto."

He was about to ask who it belonged to, but then the owner himself was walking around the bend in the narrow canyon ahead.

It was Max. The young warrior had his twin blades belted at his waist, and was wearing the same green and brown outfit with a gray cloak, which Link remembered from the last time he saw his cousin. It looked as if he had a bow slung over his shoulder, like like Ashei and Link had done. Even though they couldn't see his facial expression from so far away, Link could still read the man's body language, and he seemed genuinely surprised that a hundred Gorons and thirty Gerudo were there on the road. Link raised his arm to call for a halt not too far from where Risotto was tethered, and the small army waited for the warrior to approach. Max got close enough to recognize Link and Ashei and raised his hand in greeting, but did not call out.

"This is the last thing I'd expect to find on this road." the redhead said with a surprised grin, once he had come within speaking range. He still had two black eyes, and the past few days had started to make the purple smudges turn yellow.

"So are you." Ashei quipped. "Why are you here? Weren't you going to search Lanayru for farms?"

Max walked right up to Spirit and patted the stallion's nose. The horse leaned into it; he seemed to like him. "I did, and I found one that was full of yams and barley, already harvested and stored. Nobody was there, and I can't carry all that food myself so I thought I'd do like Link suggested and ask the Gorons for help."

"Friend of yours?" Darbus asked Link, looking up at him from where he stood next to Epona.

"He's actually my cousin. We got into a fistfight not long after we met and became friends."

This made the Goron patriarch laugh. "Making friends with fists is a fine thing to do! I had wondered what happened to your lip, but after seeing this guy's black eyes, I don't have to wonder any longer." He took a few steps towards the warrior. "You require Goron aid? I am Darbus, patriarch of the Goron people. If you are searching for food, I'm going to guess that your people are in trouble."

Max bowed politely, just as Brent had bowed to the Yeti. "My name is Maxwell Bannen and I come from the town of Mido, in the Snow Peaks. We had a freak snowstorm recently and most of our crops are ruined, and we need to prepare for winter immediately since it comes early for us. Link had told me that if we needed help transporting food, that I could count on Goron merchants to help. You can take every rupee I have, just as long as my people can survive the winter."

"Payment can be decided on another time." Darbus said. "Our merchants have been bringing food in to Kakariko already. Even though the Snow Peaks are pretty far, it's not outside of our range. We can discuss that later. As you can see, we've got an army here."

"I can see that, and somehow I'm not surprised that Link's sitting in front of it." He looked at the tall warriors on their black horses that sat mixed in with the Gorons. "You even have Gerudo with you. Gorons and Gerudo in an army together. The world's become a strange place."

"And it just becomes stranger with time." Link said with a faint smile. "Max, Midna said she saw you spying on the village that's past the landslide. What did you see in there?"

"Some very hungry humans being guarded by some very bored Bulblins. Those are Bulblins, right? Green skin, horns, always cover their faces?"

Link nodded. "Sounds like Bulblins. Do you have an estimate on how many there are in there?"

Max rubbed at the back of his neck while thinking. He currently had his shoulder-length hair pulled into a tail at the back of his head. "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe a little over two hundred, closer to two fifty? It's hard to tell. There are a lot of archers around, so I couldn't get too close. As for the number of humans...hundreds. Probably close to a thousand. I could see them packed into the buildings through the windows. Some of them are stuffed into stables, or cucco coops. There are no cuccos, though. There aren't any kinds of animals, not like you'd expect in a town. There even aren't any stray cats. I don't know how long that landslide's been there, but it seems like they're running out of things to eat. I watched a group of humans under guard go around to some orchards to pick fruit, but it didn't seem like a lot. The Bulblins have started eating their own boars, so it isn't just the humans that are low on food."

"How did you find this place, Max?" Ashei asked. "This is a little out of the way, if you were headed to Eldin to ask the Gorons for help."

He continued to pat her horse and looked up at her with his blue eyes. "I came across this road and decided to check it out, just in case there were more farms in this direction. I found the landslide and wondered what had happened here. It wasn't too hard to climb these cliffs, so I went up there and saw the town. I could tell that something was wrong, so I moved closer and watched them for a few hours. I had figured that it was some kind of prison from how the Bulblins were behaving, but I doubt that the rocks in the canyon were planned. I was about to go to my horse and ride to the Zoras to ask for help. They're pretty noble, and they wouldn't ignore a town full of captive people. Then you showed up."

"We're here to free these people." Link twisted in the saddle to look back at the Gorons and Gerudo behind him, then turned back to Max. "These warriors were what I could scrounge up at a moment's notice. If we had more time, I'd say asking the Zoras for help is a good plan, but it sounds like people are starving in there and need to be rescued immediately. There is one warrior I can ask for help, however. Max, will you join us?"

The redheaded took a few steps to Epona's side and extended his left hand up to him. Link raised an eyebrow, since days ago he had made an effort to shake right-handed, even thought it wasn't his dominant hand. "I know you shook my right hand the other day, but I didn't forget that you're a lefty. I couldn't with how many times you hit me with that left hand for yours." Max said. This made Link laugh, and he extended his left hand down to shake Max's. The warrior smiled, and then nodded once. "I'd be honored. Let's take care of these green bastards."

"Thanks. Go get your horse and sit tight. These Gorons have a landslide to take care of." After the Mido warrior went back to get his gelding, Link turned to Darbus. "I don't know much about moving rocks, but I'm sure you know what you're doing. What's your plan?"

The large Goron smashed his fists together, knuckle to knuckle. "Goron efficiency, that's the plan! Don't you worry, brother. We'll get in to that town in no time." He raised one long arm and waved his warriors forward, and the large group of Gorons ran into the canyon.

The process was very efficient, just as the Goron leader said it would be. Darbus and some of the larger, stronger Gorons were at the front, using their armored fists to pulverize the rock. The rest would scoop up an armful of loose stone, roll into a ball, and head back out of the canyon to deposit the load along the left side of the road. If it seemed like the top rocks were beginning to fall, the group near them would curl into balls until the pile stopped moving, their armored stone backs protecting them. Then they'd stand up and burst out of it, and continue on as if nothing happened. Gorons were ridiculously strong and resilient, and here Link had pretended to throw them around Death Mountain with his bare hands. Maybe these balls of muscle and stone weren't actually fooled into thinking that a single Hylian had the strength to toss them around. Maybe they had respect for somebody who not only found a way to chuck Gorons around, but had the gall to do so in the first place.

One of the Goron warriors rolled up to the group mounted on their horses and addressed Link. "Hey there, boss. Big boss says it feels like they're almost through. This ain't a normal landslide either. Somebody blew the top of the canyon walls with bombs and all that stone fell in. Big boss thought you should know and come on up with your weapons, just in case." He then rolled back to join the rest of his group.

Ashei looked over at Link from where Spirit stood between Epona and Risotto. "Somebody blew up the canyon to intentionally seal it? The plot thickens."

It didn't make sense. Why would the Bulblins blow up the canyon wall to seal themselves in? Link hadn't noticed that the green race were as dumb as Bokoblins, in fact they seemed as intelligent as Hylians or Gorons. "It makes me wonder too, but we'll figure it out eventually." he said. "Right now, we might want to think about some archery. Midna said there were a lot of Bulblins on towers and rooftops."

"Good." Auren said from the right side of him. "There wasn't enough for me to shoot in the desert."

Link had to smile at that. He couldn't blame Auren for her hatred of the Bulblins. He moved Epona into a walk and entered the narrower part of the canyon, leading the rest of the warriors forward. Then there was a shout ahead, and he instinctively drew his sword. He spurred Epona into a canter, assuming that they had broke through and were already fighting Bulblins. As soon as he came around the bend, he saw that there were still fallen rocks blocking the path, but the Gorons were carefully moving rocks off of something instead of their usual efficient method. Link sheathed his weapon and reined in his mare when he got close. She shied back a bit nervously, noticing something that he didn't at first.

Under the rocks was a woman, her body covered in brown dust and dried blood. Link dismounted and hurried over, but he could tell that she was dead as soon as he stood next to her. Her head was crushed in one one side. He had no idea what the age of the woman was, or even what her hair or skin color were, she was so coated in dirt and blood.

"Here's another!" came a cry, and the Gorons quickly moved more rocks to reveal the body of a man. He wasn't as badly crushed as the woman, but there was the stench of death after he was unearthed. Darbus bent down and put a thick finger to the man's neck to check for a pulse anyway, and then shook his head. "They've been dead for a while. At least a week, if not longer."

The rest of the riders caught up, and Link turned around to look up to them. "I guess the mystery of the landslide makes sense now. Ilia managed to escape, and probably other people got away too. They probably blew up the canyon to stop them, and not everybody made it out."

"That's really stupid." Darbus said with a sour grunt. "The Bulblins sealed themselves in there too."

"I never said it made sense to us, but they were probably desperate." Link looked down at the bodies. "Let's lay them out back a ways, by those pine trees. Once we free the people, we can see if anybody recognizes them." He went to help carry one of the bodies himself, grabbing the woman's shattered arms while a Goron lifted her feet. Midna spoke in his ears.

"You don't need to do that." she said. "You always jump to try to do things on your own. Let the Gorons handle it."

This time he didn't care if people heard him speaking to her. "I feel like I should. These were people, Midna. They deserve some respect."

She sighed in a frustrated manner, and the Goron helping him carry the dead woman looked at him curiously. This time Midna appeared next to Link so she could make eye contact when speaking. The Goron's eyes were no longer confused when she spoke. "What I mean is you don't have to put your hands into everything that's going on. If something happens or goes wrong, you want to personally take care of it. You weren't the one responsible for these people, but you're here carrying a corpse anyway." She frowned at him. "I don't know if I'm explaining it clearly. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I get it, but this is how I am. I'm not changing just because you'd do things differently. We've had this discussion before, and I'm not interested in having it again." His tone became irritated with that last sentence. While Midna's attitude about helping others had gradually warmed on their journey, she still didn't seem to understand the basic desire to want to help people. It was as if she helped others because it was expected, and he helped others because it was his core personality. She was from the Twilight Realm, and for all he knew everyone there was like her and didn't help others just because.

Midna floated alongside him as he walked backwards towards the pine trees where Max's horse had been tethered, looking a bit annoyed that he didn't listen. "An important guy like you shouldn't get his hands dirty doing little things." She snorted. "Fine. I'm going to look past the landslide to see if anything is waiting there." She shot forward and down the road like an arrow, and then out of sight.

The Goron, who Link recognized as the one who had told the humans to ride up to the landslide, spoke. "Don't worry about it, boss. I get it. I can't look away either."

"Gorons are an awful like Ordonians. We both work hard and help others in need. I'm pretty sure Twili aren't like that, if she's saying that carrying a dead woman is beneath me. Honestly, what does she think I am? She's been with me for a month." He crouched down with Goron to lay the woman out in the shade of the pines so her body wouldn't be out in the open. "I guess I'm not going to worry about what she thinks." Link stood and dusted the brown dirt from his hands, and started walking back to Epona. The eyes of the Gerudo were on him as he walked past; from what he knew of the race, they likely agreed with the Goron more than Midna.

She was hovering in the air next to Darbus when he got there. The entire canyon was in shadow now, the sun having dipped low near the horizon and out of view. Her aqua runes glowed ever so softly in the dimmer light. "The Bulblins heard what was going on. There's a whole group of them, mounted on pigs, right on the other side of these rocks."

That was expected. The problem was as soon as the two groups could see the other, they would start taking potshots at one another, shooting arrows as the Gorons were trying to clear the rocks enough for the horses to pass through. Link looked up at the canyon walls on either side of them, which were twenty feet high. The top half was jagged from the rocks that had fell down. "Darbus, do you think more bombs would cause more landslides?"

The large Goron furrowed his shaggy brow. "What, do you plan on chucking some bombs down at them?"

"Not quite. I'm going to shoot explosive arrows at them." He still had about nine or so of the arrows left, and five of them were in the quiver.

Darbus threw his head back and laughed. "I heard about those! The Barnes Special Editions, right? I think it should be fine if you're shooting at the road and not the canyon walls. How is your aim?"

Link crossed his arms and raised his face slightly to look down his nose at the Goron. "My aim is just fine. I shot the lenses out of a bunch of your beamos in the mines, you know." And that crystal on your head when you were transformed, he thought. He wasn't going to mention that. Link turned back to Midna. "Did you see any archers in that group?"

"Yeah, the ones that ride behind the guys with swords and clubs, like always. Bulblins are predictable. Did you need me to carry you up there?" the Twili offered.

"I should be fine. Max climbed up there, after all. I want you to be ready to catch me if I need to jump down." He began to examine the walls of the canyon, considering where he could climb up.

"Wait." Auren dismounted and walked over to him. She had both her normal bow and the monstrous long bow strapped to her back. "I think I'd be better off up there, too. This other bow of mine can shoot quite the distance. If I can hide in the trees, I can snipe some of those Bulblins that are on the rooftops and towers."

"Good call. Do any of the other Gerudo have those big bows?" Link looked past her at the other Gerudo, but he couldn't tell.

"The ones who do are back at Kakariko. It's just me." The tan-skinned archer looked up at the canyon wall, just as he had a moment ago. "Should I climb up here?"

"No." Minda told her. "They'll see you. The two of you should go back a ways so you can sneak up."

The two of them eventually found appropriate places to climb up, with Auren on the right side of the canyon and Link on the left. The right side offered far more cover, so Link opted to lay flat on his belly on the rock and gravel while holding his bow, waiting until Midna told him that the Gorons broke through. He watched as Auren made her way along the back side of the trees, slinking low to the ground while wrapped in her sand-colored Gerudo cloak. He hoped that the red of her outfit wouldn't stand out and reveal her position, but it would be dark soon. The enemy would most likely never see the Gerudo sniper.

Midna had melded with the shadows of the canyon wall to watch, leaving Link by himself. He lay there listening to the pounding and grinding sounds of the remaining stone being removed. As frustrating as the waiting was, he understood what needed to be done, and there was no other way to do it. Then he heard a Goron shout, and not too far away the gibbering language of the Bulblins accompanied by the sounds of arrows being fired.

Midna was suddenly up there with him, speaking into his ears. "It's time."

Link rose to kneel on one knee and reached behind himself into his quiver to feel around for Barnes' arrows. He selected two; shooting any more would probably alert them to his position, and he didn't want the Bulblins to think that they could be archers up on the canyon walls. There was a group of about twenty or so boars that were approximately thirty feet back from their side of the landslide. He removed the safety from the first arrow and nocked it, aiming right at the middle of the first group of Bulblins.

He fired and there was a flash in the dark canyon and an explosion of smoke and gore. Darbus shouted an amazed "Wow!", and both boars and Bulblins screamed in terror and agony. Link quickly removed the safety of his second arrow and set it on his bow, aiming farther back to where confused pigs and their riders were starting to turn to retreat. He fired and there was another satisfying flash and a bang, and more Bulblin screams.

He shouldered his bow and started running back to the edge of the canyon wall, near where Epona stood waiting. The large chestnut mare was dancing her feet nervously, alarmed at the explosions that weren't too far away. He knew that once he was on the horse, she'd calm down and focus in battle just like he did.

"Now!" Link called to Midna as he leaped off the canyon wall, trusting her to catch him. The Twili formed out of his shadows, surrounded him with her orange hair and caught him gently. She carefully set him down on his feet next to Epona. He turned his head to give her a wide grin, pleased with yet another instance where their teamwork went flawlessly, and then climbed up into the saddle. He drew the Master Sword and set his shield on his right arm while looking ahead. The arrows flying through the widening gap had paused, and four Gorons along with Darbus were forcing their way through the rest of the rubble by rolling into it. They managed to push it over within seconds, and their momentum carried them beyond the rocks and into the scattered boars and Bulblins that were attempting to retreat. A few arrows flew out of the dust and smoke left by the explosions, but bounced off the armor and stony hides of the Gorons and did not slow their advance.

Link kicked his heels into Epona's sides and the horse rushed forward, leaping over the last of the rubble as she led the charge. The canyon didn't provide much room for mounted fighting, but being the first horse there meant that Epona was able to drive her left shoulder into one of the boars and send it stumbling back. Link thrust with his sword as his horse collided, and impaled the Bulblin that sat in the front spot on the boar. He briefly saw Spirit close in and Ashei attack with her sword, but between the two of them and the Gorons, there was little space for the rest of the warriors behind them.

The Bulblins were forced back, dropping one at a time as the Gorons pulled them from their mounts, or the two human riders hacked them out of their saddles. A frightened boar and its two passengers were trampled under Spirit's hooves, the large stallion rearing up as he pushed his way forward. The canyon walls widened, and Max joined them along with two Gerudo at the front line. He had only drawn his right sword, and had the reins clutched in his left hand as he helped force the Bulblins back.

Then they were out into the open with the worn gates of the town ahead of them. With more room to fight, the Bulblins that were previously retreating turned and fanned out to try to surround the group. Gerudo warriors and Gorons met them, not allowing them to have any advantage. Link risked a quick glance up into the town and saw at least six archer's roosts scattered among the buildings, as well as movement up along the rooftops of nearby buildings. Bulblin horns were blaring in alarm, calling all available warriors to the fight. An arrow flew from one of the roosts and hit a Goron next to him in the upper arm, just below his armored shoulder. The Goron ripped out the arrow with a grunt and threw it angrily at the Bulblin ahead of him, taking the injury quite personally. Blood seeped from the wound, just as red as a human's blood. He knew that Gorons were flesh and blood, but it was still odd to see one of the rock people bleed.

More arrows rained down on them and Link ducked behind his shield, deflecting two that would have otherwise hit him. A few of the Gerudo archers drew their bows and answered with their own shots, dropping Bulblins from the nearby roosts and a few from the rooftops. Good. While Link, Ashei and Max had bows, being in the front meant that they couldn't sheathe their swords to use them. It was better to let the Gerudo handle the ranged fighting.

Up ahead was a larger Bulblin with longer horns, one of the lesser leaders beneath King Bulblin. Link pushed Epona in that direction, knowing that the nearby Bulblins would lose their nerve once one of their commanders fell. He smashed his shield into one of them and knocked it to the ground, where Darbus slammed his metal-clad fists into it. Link cut down two more to his left in a wide, backhanded swing, felling both an archer and one wielding a curved sword. He was getting closer to his target, but then a deep whistling pierced the air and a long arrow buried itself in the large Bulblin's chest. Link did not have to guess where that arrow came from; Auren was fighting with them as well, from her spot high up. He did not try to figure out where her position was at the moment. The sun had set and twilight was starting to set in, so she was likely well-hidden.

The surrounding Bulblins started to shout and scream in their own language, panicked now that they no longer had directions to follow. The strange hierarchy made little sense to Link. He was technically in charge, but he wasn't constantly shouting orders to his warriors. He trusted them to do as they deemed fit, and trusted them to continue to fight even if he was injured. The Bulblins had this strange single-mindedness about the weaker following the stronger, and when the stronger were no longer there, the weaker lost their will.

He heard the large bow loose another arrow, and one of the archers in a roost farther back in the town fell. Auren would remove archers as long as she had arrows to shoot, and probably would clear all of the towers. That would make the fight on the ground far easier.

Golden light shone from the town's streets ahead, like the Bulblins had just lit a light source. He was hoping to use the low light to his advantage, but this was fine. The half of a moon was bright above, and would light the place well enough once it grew fully dark anyway. As it was, Max's estimate of around two hundred fifty Bulblins seemed to be correct. It was a manageable number, even if his own small army was outnumbered nearly two to one. A Gerudo was worth five Hylian warriors, as he had said, and both Ashei and Max were worth ten, having watched her fight. The redheaded warrior had drawn both his weapons and steered his gelding with his knees, quite effectively cutting off heads and deflecting blows. He had the skill that Link had expected, and it reminded him a bit of Hida.

The town itself had two major paths; there was a main street that went down the center, and a second road that curved around the back side of a group of buildings to the right, presumably to more buildings. It was larger than New Kakariko, with more space in its canyon for homes, businesses and even windmills. Another longbow arrow sung as it flew, and another strangled cry announced that Auren was continuing to pick off the archers. Link opted to move Epona in that direction, figuring that if the mounted warriors were closer to the sniper, she would have a better chance of covering them. The Gorons could easily avoid arrows by simply rolling into a ball, but Link was the only human warrior who had the protection of a shield.

It was a good choice, as more Bulblins rode around the corner to meet them, with another large commander in their midst. This one held a crossbow, much like others Link had seen. There were more Bulblins behind the boars that were on foot, pouring around the corner with weapons in hand. This time Ashei met the Bulblin charge first, her blade dark with with blood as she advanced. Spirit turned to smash his weight into boars, and the female warrior immediately started running enemies through with her sword.

Another long arrow flew and hit its target as Auren methodically cleared the towers. Link caught a glimpse of her then, standing next to a pine not too far from the edge, legs planted apart as she held the longbow in front of her with her left hand. Her golden jewelry and the rings braided into her hair glinted in the moonlight.

Link caught up with Ashei, knocking more Bulblins from their saddles with his shield for the Gorons to pummel. He brought his shield up just in time to deflect a crossbow bolt that was aimed at Max. That Bulblin with the crossbow was trouble. Link decided to force his way towards the Bulblin commander, knowing that due to his shield he would be the best one to handle it. He continued to slay Bulblins and knock them down with the flat of his blade, his shield held in front of him while he slowly advanced.

Another longbow arrow flew, and Link glanced up at Auren again. The Gerudo had stepped up to the edge of the canyon wall, trying to increase her range and improve her aim as she went for the towers in the back. She pulled another long arrow from its quiver and set it, and used her Gerudo strength to pull back the string of the heavy longbow. The Bulblin commander looked at Link, and followed his eyes up to where the archer stood on the nearby canyon wall. He twisted in his saddle and aimed his crossbow as Auren loosed her next arrow. The crossbow in his fat green hands fired and the bolt it hit its mark, and the Gerudo cried out in pain, and the longbow fell from her hands as she began to bend double.

Link's heart fluttered in fear and panic as he saw Auren keel over and fall from the canyon wall. There was no way he could reach her in time.

Then Midna was there, a shadowy form rocketing away from him faster than he had ever seen her move. The Twili caught Auren with her orange hair, wrapping it around her and stopping her fall just a few feet above the ground. Midna gently set Auren down and leaned her against the stone wall of the canyon. In the yellow light cast from the town, Link could see a dark stain on the Gerudo's cloak and blouse. She clutched at her shoulder with her face contorted in pain.

The beast awoke.

Fury bubbled forth unbidden, burning in his gut and spreading along his veins like fire. His breaths came more quickly, and he hopped up to plant his feet on the saddle without thinking. Link launched himself at the Bulblin commander with an enraged cry, leaving Epona and the others behind, and landed on the large boar's shoulders. Courage lit up on his sword hand, giving him the balance he needed as he landed and impaled the Bulblin with the Master Sword. He kicked the body from his blade and crouched in the saddle of the boar, and swung his sword in wide arcs, slicing through multiple Bulblins at once with enhanced strength. He cut through flesh and bone alike as if they were nothing with the keen edge of the Master Sword. Terrified of the maddened Hylian, the Bulblins turned their mounts and fled, some trampling the ground troops behind them.

Their flight did little. Ashei and Max rode after them, leaving Link and the others to handle the rest. He jumped from the back of the terrified boar and landed in front of the group of Bulblins on the ground, some of which were beginning to back away now that they realized what was happening. It didn't matter. It never mattered. He would kill every last one.

Link ran at them with a yell, swinging the Master Sword in mighty sweeps, cutting them down like how a scythe cuts grain. Some tried to fight back, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered now that the beast was fighting, its teeth bared. He either sent their swords and cudgels flying or simply ran them through, moving far faster than they could respond, his senses and physical ability heightened by Courage's power. They shrieked in terror or cried out in death, but the sounds did not slow him. He chased them down, growling in frustration when a Goron or Gerudo would take his kill, his eyes blazing with the fury that fueled his mad advance.

He was around the corner on another street then, cutting down Bulblins that attempted to escape since he ran far faster than they did. Ashei and Max were taking care of what was left of the mounted Bulblins, taking advantage of the confusion and felling them easily. They were at the end of a cul-de-sac lit by three torches in sconces on the front of buildings, and the road ended in a small square surrounding a well. Frightened boars squeezed through the buildings to escape, some still carrying Bulblins, most not. Link caught up with some of them and dragged riders from their saddles, killing them with quick, expert jabs through their hearts. Trapped in the dead end between two mounted warriors and an enraged one on foot, the Bulblins had no choice but to turn to face Link. They would have had an easier time fighting the two Mido warriors on their horses.

He swung his sword in big arcs again, almost spinning around as he swung it, cutting through everything indiscriminately. Courage continued to glow on his hand as the last of them fell, and he looked around to see if there was anything left to fight. His eyes fell on Ashei, and she was staring right at him, her eyes wide.

There was a look of fear in her eyes. She had never seen the beast fight, and she was frightened of him.

A shout went up from a Gerudo on the main street. "Shadow Beasts! Fall back!" Link didn't hesitate and sprinted towards the sound, through the narrow gap between two buildings. He came out next to a few mounted Bulblins that were fighting Gerudo, and beyond that were about a dozen or so Shadow Beasts ambling towards them, with more dropping from a portal in the sky beyond. Torches lit the main street, the source of most of the light in the town. The light flickered over the Shadow Beasts as they approached, and Link ran to meet them. He couldn't let them get to the Gerudo or Gorons. They were human once, but it didn't matter. It still didn't matter. They had to die.

He had no idea how many he faced. He hadn't counted the Bulblins, and he wasn't counting the Shadow Beasts. All he knew was that he had to to hold them back from his spot in the middle of the main road to protect the others. None would pass him. The beast would not let them.

The world became a blur of blade and blood, of large black forms dropping to the ground in death, of the shattering cries of the Shadow Beasts and his own grunts of effort. Courage continued to burn on his hand, the three triangles blazing like a small sun in the flickering light at the center of town. The Master Sword glowed with a faint silvery light in the presence of true evil, despite its reduced power. He was dimly aware of the portal turning aqua and the flow of Shadow Beasts from it stopping, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. He was death itself.

Then it was done. He stood with his sword held low at his side, shield still clenched in his right hand, his chest heaving as he panted from the effort of it all. Courage grew dim and then went out. The beast craved more, but there was nothing else to fight. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around, raising the Master Sword with his blue eyes burning with anger, and then stopped when he saw Darbus there. The Goron leader held up one of his armored arms to protect himself, but did not back away.

"It's all right, brother. It's finished." Darbus said in a quiet, reassuring tone. "You can relax now." He reached out and gently lowered Link's sword arm, taking care not to touch the Master Sword itself.

The street was quiet except for the groans of the dying Bulblins and Link's own labored breathing. He lowered his eyes to the ground, ashamed that he had almost attacked Darbus, and nodded. The Master Sword seared away the blood and he sheathed it slowly, not willing to look at the others gathered behind Darbus, unable to meet their eyes. He knew what he would see there.

Rusl was right. Damn it all, Rusl was right.

Midna came in front of his face and put her hands to his cheeks. She must have been close by, if she had captured the portal. "Are you yourself now?" He raised his eyes to look at her, and nodded faintly in response. "Is any of this blood yours?" she asked in concern. He realized that he was splattered with it, but he knew that he was not injured. Link shook his head, and Midna relaxed. "You lost yourself again." she said softly.

"I know." he replied, his voice quiet. Tired. He felt weary; his use of Courage had drained his physical strength. "I let it happen."

"This has happened before?" Darbus asked, genuinely concerned.

"At least three times that I've seen." Midna told the Goron. "It happens whenever something important to Link is in danger. This time, it was because his friend was wounded."

Link raised his head suddenly in alarm. "Auren!" He tried to run but stumbled on his weak, rubbery legs. Darbus reached out and caught him.

"Take it easy, brother." the Goron said while helping Link stand up again. "You're exhausted after what you just did. We can walk back to see if your friend is all right."

"She's fine." a voice said from the group of Gorons and mounted warriors. Max had spoken, watching Link with wary eyes. "Ashei is with her right now. It doesn't look like the bolt hit anything vital."

Link let go of Darbus' arm and took a few steps forward to look up at the mounted warrior. Some of the Gorons backed away, as did the Gerudo. Even the Gerudo didn't trust him, the same Gerudo that had bowed to him in respect. What had he done, letting the beast take control of him? He swallowed hard, his throat tightening at the thought of scaring his allies, the people that were supposed to be counting on him. He had even frightened Ashei.

Max continued to stare down at him, not acting frightened, but his eyes were not friendly either. "I had no idea you were like that." he said quietly. "The warrior's rage? And here I fought you once when you were angry. You could have killed me."

Link took another step forward and held out his hands imploringly to his cousin. "No! No...I would never do that. I know it's scary to look at, but I get like that to protect the things that are important. I would never in my life hurt anyone." Guilt lurked in the pit of his stomach, bitter and heavy. "Please, Max. Trust me."

"Trust you? You almost attacked Darbus! You had the same look on your face as you did when you killed Bulblins." Max spit out the words angrily, accusing him, and having the right of it. "Do you have any idea of what else you've done? How many things you've killed?" the warrior said intensely, still staring at him with his blue eyes, the blue eyes that were so much like his own. "Look around you, Link! There had to be at least fifty of those Shadow Beasts, and you killed even more Bulblins than that. Maybe twice as many." He shook his head. "No normal person can do that. Not by himself."

"Enough." Darbus said, coming to stand next to Link. He gently put a large hand on his shoulder. "He isn't a normal person. After all the things he has done for us, this shouldn't have come as a surprise. He's been chosen by the gods themselves. He is our current hero." Darbus' words were meant to be kind, but they stung. He isn't a normal person. He's the hero. He wanted to seem human to them, to be someone like them, but he wasn't. He wasn't like them. Even though he was numb and exhausted, he still felt like weeping.

"Is that Link?" a cautious voice asked, coming from a nearby doorway. Other voices joined in, as the captive people began to venture outside. Link recognized some of the Ordonians, and knew he couldn't face them now. Not now, when he was covered in blood, feeling close to tears.

He turned to Darbus. "Please take over here." he said quietly.

Darbus looked into his eyes, and nodded. He must have seen pain there, because he spoke kindly. "It will be all right." the patriarch said in an equally quiet tone. "I am still honored to call you 'brother'." He nodded in the direction of the entrance to town. "Go on."

Link walked from the center of town, where more humans were starting to come out to gawk at the corpses of the Shadow Beasts and Bulblins. He couldn't talk to them, not yet. Some of them may have been watching, and may have seen what had happened. He pushed his way through the crowd of horses, Gorons and Gerudo, but none of them backed away in fear this time. A few of the Gerudo crossed their arms over their chests and bowed as he went past in respect. It didn't help how he felt.

Sword? He had to ask. Did any of the previous heroes have this fighting ability? Or am I different?

Not many did. The only one that I can recall was the Ancient Hero himself, the one who helped me become the holy sword that I am today. He was so powerful that he fought and defeated a demon that Hylia could not. The Master Sword paused, as if considering on whether to continue. However, he did not have a piece of the Triforce bound to his soul. Because of that, some of your abilities are stronger than his. The sword was silent as it sensed his emotional response, at the dread and frustration over being so powerful, yet not wanting to be. Please, Master. Do not let it trouble you. There are those who still trust and love you.

He appreciated the sword's attempt to comfort him. It didn't understand human emotions, yet it somehow knew how strongly they could affect people. Link walked to where he last saw Auren, and found her still seated and leaning up against the canyon wall with Ashei seated next to her. The warrior had cut off Auren's cloak from around the crossbow bolt, and was using a piece of it to press up against the wound. The wooden shaft was sticking out of the Gerudo's left shoulder, just below her collarbone and angled slightly upward. Her red blouse had dark blood stains on it, but the pressure that Ashei was applying seemed to have stopped the bleeding for now. She had somehow found a lantern, and Link realized by looking at the cracked glass that it was his. It had fallen from his belt without him noticing. He quickly patted his gear and found nothing else missing, so he knelt down next to the Gerudo.

"Are you all right?" he asked in concern. Seeing her shot brought back terrifying memories of Ilia being shot, and of his mother. That only fed his worry. He didn't want to lose Auren like he did his mother.

"You're covered in blood." Auren said, not answering his question. Her face was lined with pain, but she was still concerned for his well-being.

"It's not mine. The blood on you is yours, though." He took her right hand in his, and his voice trembled a little when he spoke. "I'm asking you again, are you all right?"

She examined his face, her amber eyes considering his emotional reaction. "I'll be fine. Someone among my people probably can clean and stitch this wound. I plan on waiting here until then." The Gerudo's expression softened, even though she was still in pain. "You're all worked up over this, aren't you?"

He opened his mouth and tried to think of how he could explain, still feeling too keyed up from seeing her shot, yet too tired to cry about it. "My mother was killed by an arrow." he told her. Ashei knew about it, but Auren didn't. "And Ilia was wounded by one."

Auren took her bloodstained right hand from his and put it to the side of his face. "I'm not going to die. I know that you have a bad record with arrows and the women in your life, but this is one woman that will be completely fine. I need to be, if I'm going to kick your butt in wind stones tomorrow." When he didn't smile in response, she brushed back some of the messy hair from his face and tucked it behind one of his long ears. "Not only am I fine, I feel really special right now. I saw how you fought for me."

"I'd rather not talk about that." He hoped that she hadn't seen too much from where she lay. She had seen him kill forty Shadow Beasts before, but it was done over time, with Midna's help. He didn't want her to have seen him kill fifty in minutes.

"Why? If you're worried about the rage, don't be. I already told you back in the Arbiter's Grounds that I'm not afraid of you when you're like that." She put her hand to his cheek again. "You're still my friend and I still care about you, just as much as I did before. You're the same person to me, no matter what."

He put his hand over hers and shut his eyes, feeling relieved. At least Auren was still not afraid of him, even after everything she had seen him do. She had also had not mentioned anything about how she really felt about him in front of Ashei, nor had she at all since she came to Kakariko. He wondered if "I still care about you" had a double-meaning.

"It bothers you." her heard Ashei say, and he opened his eyes to look at her. "You know you just did something impossible, and it scares you, yeah?"

He lowered his eyes and let Auren withdraw her hand. Ashei had hit it on the nose with her blunt question. He knew that he was willing to reveal how he felt to these two women, since they were both his friends, friends that he grew close to even though they hadn't been together long. "Yeah. It does. Rusl saw me fight yesterday, and while he wasn't scared, he told me that others would be. He didn't see me like that, though. He didn't see me when I get enraged." What would Rusl have said then? Link raised his eyes up to Ashei and watched as she checked Auren's wound to see if the bleeding had finally stopped. "Ashei, I saw your face. You were frightened."

"Yes, I was." she admitted, satisfied that the wound was stable. "But it isn't what you think. I've heard of the warrior's rage before, and I know that people under its spell have problems distinguishing friend from foe. I had no idea if you would be like that." She removed the wadded-up piece of blood-soaked cloak and set it down, then turned towards him to look him in the eye. "I was afraid that I would have to fight you. I knew if that happened, I wouldn't survive."

Link stared at her in horror. It wasn't only that she had feared for her life, but she was afraid that he would be the one to take it from her. He shook his head. "No. No, I would never do that. I can't hurt you or anyone else I care about." Hurting Rusl yesterday was bad enough, even though it was unavoidable. He didn't want to imagine how he would be if he had hurt Ashei or Auren.

He must have been letting too much of his inner emotions show on his face, because Ashei clicked her tongue and leaned forward to put her arms around him. "You poor fool. I'm fine now. I know how you are, Link. You love everyone too much to be a threat to us."

He hadn't been expecting her to embrace him, but he accepted it and the comfort she was offering. "You're not a hugger." he pointed out.

"No, but you are, and somebody needs to hug you. Auren can't do it, so that leaves me." She laughed a breathy chuckle. "I'm starting to get used to it anyway. I guess you can be on the short list of men that are allowed to touch me."

"Just don't fall in love with him." Auren warned with a pained laugh. "A lot of ladies back home learned not do to that the hard way." He had no idea if Ashei realized that Auren was speaking about herself.

"No danger of that." Ashei said as she let him hold her more than she was holding him. He really did need to hug somebody when he was upset. For some reason, being close to someone calmed him down. She knew him well. "I don't feel that way about anyone now, and I don't plan on starting when I have important things to do. Besides, I wouldn't want to upset Ilia. She's as sweet and as strong as he is."

The Gerudo smiled at him, although there was the faintest hint of jealousy in her eyes. "She is. He's lucky, and so is she."

After he sighed and let her go, Ashei sat back and smiled at him. "You don't have to worry about your friends. We both understand that you can do some things that nobody else can, but that's how it's supposed to be. History's told us so, yeah? Like Auren said, you're still the same person to me. I trust you."

"Max doesn't. He looked like he was afraid of me." The man's tone had been accusatory, as if Link had done something wrong. The fact that Max was his only living relative made it sting all the more.

"He'll get over it. So will everyone else. The Gorons and the Gerudo respect strength, so I think everyone is just a little shocked right now." She turned to look someone to her left, and Link turned his head to see who it was. A few of the freed humans were approaching, along with Darbus, Midna and one other person. The last person was small and shrunken with age, but Link recognized the style of her clothing, and then her red eyes as she stood before him.

"I recognize the Sword of Evil's Bane." said the last Sheikah in Old Kakariko, and perhaps all of Hyrule. "The hero has returned."