AN: I do not own any of the Zelda characters in this story, they are trademark of Nintendo, and Nintendo only. This is simply a story that came out of my crazed mind.

Ice Dagger: Really, the poe was awe inspiring? Wasn't really expecting that sort of reaction, although I did put a lot of thought into that quick little opening fight. Yes, formal English is tough to write … this chapter will be no exception. There's a lot more of it, since there is lots of dialogue involved. And getting the character reactions was slightly easier to write, since this isn't the first time I've had Link return home to Hyrule after several years thanks for your review.

Bulbafreak9000: My descriptiveness is something that can get on my nerves, sometimes. I start writing … then I keep writing … then I find that I can't stop, and then more and more thoughts on how to describe something keep running themselves through my head and out my fingers. Like what I just did there oO thanks for your review, I hope to hear more from you soon.


A Friendly Welcome pt 2

"… and I shot one more in the head with an arrow, and just barely beat them out of Lake Hylia. Then I took refuge at Lon Lon Ranch last night and left this morning … and here I am."

Done telling his story, Link leans back on a couch in Zelda's Quarters and sighs, releasing the tension from his bones. It has taken him two long hours to tell what has happened to him since he left for Termina to Zelda. The princess seems to have listened throughout the entire thing, raptly sucking in every detail from the story. While Link has been progressing through his story, he has noticed that he is starting to lose himself in her eyes … so much like he had done after defeating Ganondorf. He has found himself periodically stopping in mid-sentence and just staring at her beautiful face. But he quickly shakes himself out of it, knowing that staring is impolite … especially to a crown princess of Hyrule.

"Oh, Link, so much that has happened," whispers Zelda, awestruck by his story retelling. "You have faced more dangers than I have ever known … some more dangerous than Ganondorf himself. And yet you return here to me unscathed, and ready to help with this mysterious band of goons trying to deny you entrance to your homeland!"

"As I have said before, I feel it is my job to help out those less fortunate than myself," replies Link. "Ganondorf was one incident. A more serious and deadly incident, but just one more thing that I felt was my duty to rid Hyrule of."

"That was not just duty … it was your destiny, and you have embraced it so openly that it is stunning to see you here without a touch of insanity," says Zelda in wonder. "Most would try to run away, but you face it without fear … you truly do represent Courage, in all of its aspects. The goddesses have chosen you to stand on one side of the Triforce, and you do it without cause for anger, worry, or wonder of profit in it for yourself. You are truly stunning; a physical icon for this day and time."

Link is surprised to hear this praise from Zelda. He finds it strange … they have spent so little time together, yet he finds himself unable to stop thinking about her. The changes and abnormalities that they have faced together seem to have drawn them together closer than any person Link has ever known. He feels bound to her, knowing that whatever fate she is to befall, it will be the same as his own.

"I just do what I am here to do," replies Link, shrugging off all of the appraisal. "Majora's Mask may have been more powerful than Ganondorf, but it seems like yet another part of my destiny … fulfilled like all the other parts. However, returning to this place, I feel that my destiny is not yet fully complete … like there is a missing piece … like my work is not finished yet. And it seems to be emanating from the men who tried to deny me entrance last night. I have rolled this over several times already in my mind, and have come to the conclusion that the slaughtered horses at Lon Lon Ranch are tied to them."

"Lon Lon Ranch has been attacked?" gasps Zelda in astonishment. Link chides himself, remembering the fact that he had not informed Zelda of the goings-on at Malon's home. So he simply nods.

Zelda lays back next to him, and puts her arms around him. Link tenses up, unprepared for such a move, but quickly relaxes. He does not mind … he puts his arms around her as well, drawing her close to him. He cannot stop himself, and once again softly breaths in her rose scent.

"Something is happening in Hyrule," whispers Zelda quietly so only he can hear. He rubs her arms softly, trying to comfort her in some small way. "Something inexplicable, yet I or my family should be informed about it … but we are not."

"That is what Malon said," replies Link. "And I do believe that as well. Although, of course, I cannot explain just what it is or why it is happening. Those men must have a master that they respond to … no group just runs about without someone to confide in and give them orders. Our top priority must be to find this master, and unveil him. I have a feeling that whatever is happening here in secret from the Royal Family is not something good. And with that in mind, I must search for whoever it is who guides those men."

"But how will you find … whoever it is?" questions Zelda, secretly hoping that he will stay with her. "I mean you just returned to Hyrule after seven years of absence … surely you could take one day off and take a rest from your labor?"

Link shakes his lead stubbornly. "Not if it is a matter this serious. It must be dealt with immediately. If I can find whoever leads those men, I can put and end to this before it grows beyond our control … and if that is possible, the chance must be seized."

Zelda nods reluctantly. "I suppose you are right," she sighs regretfully. "But is there no way that I could help you?"

"What you can do for me right now is stay here at the castle," replies Link, although he gets a twinge of guilt saying it; he feels as if he is giving an order. "While I go and investigate. If all goes well, I will be back by sundown. If all does not go well … then you will know."

The princess, not liking the sound of his words, hugs him tighter. "I lost you for seven years," she whispers passionately. "I am not going to lose you now, when you have finally returned here. I have missed you more than I could possibly express these past years, and now that you are here … I cannot bare to have you die."

"I will not die," says Link with confidence. "I am simply searching for the man –"

"Or woman," Zelda adds.

"Or woman," Link agrees, "who is responsible for whatever is going on with denying travelers entrance. No matter what happens, I will return to you, princess."

Link strokes her cheek with a finger tenderly, then stands up. Zelda looks at him sadly, and says "be careful. Even if it is only minor, I want you back here without a scratch on you."

She says it in an orderly manner, and Link smiles, knowing she is joking. "I will," he says simply, then turns, and strides out of Zelda's Quarters, shutting the door behind him.


Epona's hooves thud across the drawbridge heavily, making a noise slightly irritating; Link is glad when they land on the soft grass of Hyrule Field again. The sun is high in the sky, shining glorious daylight down upon the wondrous, lush plains in front of him. The Hero of Time takes in the scene with reverence, before turning, and trotting slowly north, toward the stream, and Kakariko Village. He has decided to start there.

As Epona gallops, however, steadily faster, Link's head subconsciously turns toward the outer marble walls of Hylia City around twenty yards away. As his eyes skate its shining surface in the dazzlingly bright light, he notices an oddly colored patch of ground nearly right under foot of the wall. Curious, he steers Epona around and trots closer to it. More patches catch his eye, all in clusters. They are about two feet in length, and in height as well, with upturned, dark soil laid down thickly along it, though carelessly, as though it had been done in a hurry. He hops off of his faithful companion, gives her a swift, distracted pat, then rushes over to the upturned ground, and examines it closely. From what he can deduce, it does not look to be dug either by shovel, or hand.

Magic made … he quickly decides. But for what purpose had they been dug? Was it a hole of some sort? And if so, how far down did it reach? He sifts a hand through the wet earth, his brow furrowed. This is a very strange finding for him, and he begins to get an ominous feeling for the spots before him.

A few minutes later after staring and lightly moving his hand over the circles, he returns to Epona and they gallop off for Kakariko Village.


"Evening, Tarnag," says Link to the owner as he strides into the small, smoky bar within Kakariko, past tiny tables where drunken elves glare suspiciously at him, as though searching for any trinkets on him. Tarnag, the zora behind the bar at the very end of the room, glances up, and his eyes widen in shock.

"Link? Din's Fire, where have you been? It's been seven years!" he murmurs in astonishment, his strange accent echoing off the walls in a familiar sort of way. He offers him a seat directly in front of him, and pours him a free mug of milk. Link takes the seat gladly and drinks heartily from the mug, refreshing his system from the day's previous ventures. The man beside him glares at him for getting a free alcoholic milk drink, but Tarnag snaps a fin roughly, and says "shoot one more look like tha' and yeh're out of here fer good! Now get back to yer drink and don't look at me friend again, filth."

The man looks as though he would dearly like to slit Tarnag's throat at the moment, but simply goes back to his mug, chugging it deeply. He then slams it down hard on the counter, cracking the base slightly. Tarnag frowns. They both watch him slowly slide off his stool and collapse onto the floor of the bar, spittle leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"Anyway," says Tarnag, ignoring the man, "where in the goddesses names 'ave you been, Link? You were me favorite customer! Where 'ave you gotten to, aye?"

Link gives a quick summary of his exploits, mentioning Termina, and the numerous other lands he has journeyed to, but not the evil mask he had been forced to confront those many years ago … that would have raised more questions, and he has more pressing matters to deal with instead of dwelling on the past, no matter how painful it was.

"Well, glad yeh're back 'ere, anyway!" the zora grins broadly. "I've missed you, I 'ave! You always had the most fascinating tales to tell me! Anyway, wha' brings you 'ere on this fine morning?"

"Investigations," replies Link, trying to make his voice deep and full of reason. "Suspicions, guesswork, all such things. A group of men tried to stop me from entering Hyrule last night when I arrived at Lake Hylia dock, and I had to kill two of them before I escaped. They wore dark cloaks and had rather well made swords, and looked pretty tough. It looked like they would kill me as soon as look at me."

"Argh, no doubt," mutters Tarnag with his eyes narrowed. "Yeh know, strange folk've been comin' in 'ere lately … well, stranger folk than normal, I mean. All dark and suspicious they are, wi' swords like yeh told me about. They jus' order a drink're two, then they be on their way. Don' like the looks of 'em, if yeh ask me. Up to no good … wha' you jus' said proves it, don' it? Somethin' be up that doesn't smell right. Argh, King Zora's getting' a bit flustered as well, what with his daughter gone missin' …"

"What?" yells Link without warning. Several men from around the bar turn at him with surprised, and drunken looks on their unshaven faces. He lowers his voice hastily. "I mean, what do you mean, gone missing?"

"Jus' wha' I said!" answers the zora with quiet sorrow. "Bin missin' for 'bout a bloody fortnight, now. Yeh wouldn't believe the ruckus it's caused, 'ow many searches they got out right now. Not really sure they'll find a sack 'a dung, in my opinion. Never 'ave. Ruto be kidnapped, mark my words."

Link leaves the bar a few minutes later, feeling even more uncertain, if that were possible at the moment. He hurries over to the stables and leads Epona out onto the main road of Kakariko, prepared to ride out of the village and back to Hylia City to report his findings to the princess. However, as he mounts her and she begins to trot toward the exit, his eyes swivel to the left, and he sees multiple spots of churned, circular ground … the same as he saw at the outside of Hylia City's walls.

His nervousness increases tenfold.


"I saw the same holes when I left Kakariko! Princess, something is going on, and I know that the men, Ruto's disappearance, and those holes are all linked in some way. I ruddy well know it!" says Link to Zelda, once back in her quarters a half hour later.

"Yes, I believe that also, but without further information we cannot make any well conceived guesses. And call me Zelda for the last time!" she replies. She again leans into him for comfort, and he automatically puts his arms around her.

They sit there for several minutes, until Zelda whispers softly, "I need to go see the chief knight of the guard. He's also an advisor of mine, maybe he'll know something about the holes in the ground, or Ruto's disappearance. Come, let us go speak to him.

Zelda's advisor, and the chief knight of the Hylia Guard's office is in one of the underground levels of the castle, the gloomier parts. When Zelda and Link arrive there and open the door to the small, cluttered office, the man behind the desk stacked high with papers and portfolio's jumps in surprise, looking flustered.

"Princess Zelda!" he said, calming down slightly, and clutching his chest, as if his heart was skipping beats too rapidly for his comfort. "For what reason do I owe the pleasure?"

"Roosta," says Zelda, "do you know anything about the princess of the zora's going missing? Princess Ruto?"

Roosta raises an eyebrow, and delves a hand into the biggest pile of papers to his left, sifting his hand through the scattered parchment. "Files on the races of Hyrule," he explains. A few more seconds transpire, then Roosta yanks out a yellow folder with a satisfied look on his face. He opens the file and fishes the papers out, then quickly sifts through them, tossing them down one by one onto the folder, his eyes whizzing back and forth like lightning. Finally, the last of the papers are thrown out of his hands, and he looked rather surprised, looking at his hands in confusion, as if not expecting them to be empty.

"I am afraid not, your highness," he says shakily. "There are no files on Princess Ruto disappearing."

Zelda shoots a look to Link, who shrugs, which clearly means Tarnag is right, they just must not know about it yet.

"Fine. What about churned, circular holes in the ground?" Zelda persists.

Another furious minute of papers flying through the air ensues, until at last, there is success. Roosta throws down all the paper around him, some fluttering into the air, but he ignores them, and reads out triumphantly, as though all of their problems are solved, "unknown churned ground in the shape of ovals have appeared in numerous places around Hyrule, the only places that are empty of them being Gerudo Valley and Kokiri Forest. Thousands continue to appear each day, their origins and purposes remaining anonymous. Attempts have been made to cover up the holes, but each participant attempting to rid the earth of the holes has not been able to do a thing to them. Many are guessing that there is magic cast around the holes, and these rumors have made many races uneasy."

"Well, at least we know that other people know," snorts Link. Zelda looks disapprovingly at the hero, then snatches the paper from a startled Roosta's hand.

"Find out more about the holes, and if possible, gather at least some information about Ruto's disappearance," orders Zelda. Roosta nods hastily, then dives once more into the mountains of paper, his quill already in his hand, and scrawling furiously across parchment. Link and Zelda depart back to her quarters, both with the same thoughts on their minds.


Twilight descends upon Hyrule Castle, the sun slowly sinking below the horizon. The castle is shrouded in a deep shadow, and the guards look up to see this, some with looks of relief on their face, others with looks of pure boredom. Slowly, they all turn in a slow formation and file back into the front castle entrance over the moat bridge. There will be a five minute period where not a single guard will be on the front grounds of the castle.

Once the last of the guards is inside the castle, a tall, shadowy figure detaches itself from the surrounding forest, leaving his black horse there, and quietly slinks across the open ground, a well crafted longsword in his hand. The elf crouches low and scuttles like an animal over to the front of the castle, a grim smirk on his face.

"Fools," he murmurs to himself, then dashes full tilt into the castle, his sword high above his head.


"They can't be clueless, it just doesn't work that way!" protests Zelda to Link, as they sit together yet again in her quarters on the second floor. "Either Tarnag got it wrong, or the zora are keeping the news quiet!"

"Tarnag was not wrong, he's never wrong," says Link stubbornly, remembering quite clearly the hundreds of times that Tarnag has warned him about certain dangers roaming Hyrule in numerous places, and every time when he went to investigate, he had been right. Link grasps her hands, as if trying to inject some of his own sense into her through his hands. "Tarnag knows what's going on, he's like an inside man! Er … zora. The fact is, he is one of the few who most likely has to know about it. He is in close contact with the King, he used to be his personal executive, like Roosta. He knows what goes on, and if he says Ruto has gone missing, then she has."

"Of course," Zelda replies. "I already knew that. Tarnag was not wrong. What I'm saying is, Roosta really did not know about it … the zora must be keeping it a secret for some reason … but why they are eludes me."

"Aye," says Link with a grimace. "I agree with that as well. Maybe tomorrow I'll go to Zora's Domain and see if I could––"

The door to Zelda's Quarters bursts open with a slam, and a guard stumbles inside, covered with blood and one of his arms sliced very deeply. "Princess!" he gasps. "Intruder in the castle! We must transport you to safer ground!"

"Fulst?" says Zelda in surprise, and she helps support him to his feet. "Don't worry about me! I can control my magic, I'll be just fine. What does the intruder want?"

"BLOOD!" screams Fulst with a rather insane air about him. "He wants us all dead! He's slaughtering everyone on ground floor! Someone's gotta stop––"

But Link is already sprinting out of the Quarters, across the long hallway, and down the stairs to the ground level, hoping that Zelda will stay where she is. He is horrified by what lays before him––

Bodies. Everywhere, there are just bodies. Many are cut deeply in the chest and face, laying in pools of their own blood, others with sword inflicted holes in their stomachs and chests, laying against the wall with wide, blank eyes, their blood still slowly dripping down their skin.

A trail of bloody footprints leads into a room to Link's right. He throws himself down the stairs and runs as hard as he can after the footprints … into total carnage.

The room appears to be a lounging place for the guards, with furniture, a fireplace, even a copy of Hyrule Weekly on a desktop or two. It is now in complete disarray, guards are running everywhere, screaming to each other. In the midst of all the chaos, Link glimpses an elf with dark skin whipping his sword about faster than he had ever seen someone swing, cutting down the guards as if they were paper. Crimson droplets sprayed everywhere whenever his sword flew down, and guards toppled to the ground, crying out in pain, their own blood blinding the elf's next victim and bringing about their own death.

Link dives into the fray immediately, pushing guards aside to get to the mad elf. Most guards seem keen to get away from him, and look at him like his is crazy for wanting to get near him … he quickly emerges into an open area as the guards quickly retreat, shouting orders to each other. The room clears.

Link and the elf stand in a sea of bodies, staring each other down. The Hero of Time's sword rasps as it leaves its sheath, and his shield slips onto his other arm. They say not a word to each other, only stare.

They slowly pace around each other, Link stepping over bodies, the elf stepping on them. His eyes are glowing purple, his dark skin radiating in the light of the fireplace. Link glares angrily at him. There must be thirty victims underfoot … all clearly dead.

Then the elf mutters something in a strange tongue … a half second later, Link realizes too late that it is the ancient language … a heavy pain bursts to life in his head, and he collapses, screaming in agony, clutching at his skull, as if trying to rip in from his shoulders. The dark magic that the elf has just performed on the Hero of Time makes him thrash harder as the pain increases … for a full five seconds the pain is totally unbearable, then it recedes, and Link's eyes crack open, tears rolling down his face.

The elf is sprinting toward the exit.

"No!" cries Link, wrenching himself up, the Hylian Guard's blood splattering his green tunic, but he makes no move to wipe it away.

Link chases him all the way out to the grounds, running as hard as he can possibly muster with the pain still fresh in his head. He sets his sword and shield onto his back once more, knowing it will be no use unless he catches him. The dark elf every once in a while turns and fires balls of what appear to be green fire at him, which Link dodges angrily. Cheap shots!

Ten feet away, the elf heaves himself up onto his horse, and kicks it in the sides. It rears up, whinnying loudly, then takes off at full speed. Not losing his chance for information, Link goes full horizontal, diving through the air further than he has ever done, and catches on to the horses tail. He is dragged roughly down the main road, and through the market, which was quietly emptying itself of people. The few remaining turned and gasped as they saw the elf being dragged across the ground, his tunic and skin tearing up from the rocks and bumps in the ground. He is oblivious to the pain, however, and concentrates on getting himself up onto the horse.

Then he hears the sound.

A slow, metallic creaking, and wood turning … lots of wood. The drawbridge! He won't make it outside the city! Link thinks with glee.

But the elf does not slow his horse's hectic pace. He continues hard toward the bridge, and is soon galloping along it as it slowly turns upward. The hero feels the force of gravity turning against him, and grips the tail harder, fear jolting through him … the smooth wood underneath him is getting harder to slide along. Link looks around the horses kicking feet, trying his best to dodge the flying hooves, and yells in fright … the bridge is nearly all the way closed, they are high above the ground …

Then the elf's horse makes a gigantic leap, clearing the bridge just as it slams shut loudly through the night air. They are over fifty feet in the air, rapidly descending. Link still clutches the horses tail, and his feet rise into the air behind him.

The elf is chanting in the ancient language again … and their descent slows down quite a bit. They are lowered safely to the ground, and as soon as they touch the soft grass of Hyrule Field, they take off again. Link growls in anger, and for the first time, the elf looks back. He sees the hero clutching at his horses tail, and yells in fury, punching out at him. Link dodges the flying fists, growing angrier and angrier as he does.

Then, with all the strength he can muster at the moment, with all of his fury and Triforce power, he yanks himself up off the ground, flies up for a nanosecond, then lands down on the horses back, behind the elf. Immediately both spring into action. The dark elf goes for his sword, but Link seizes his wrist and twists it sharply. The elf aims a punch for his face, which unluckily makes contact. Link's head jerks back, but he shakes away the pain, and wraps his arms around the elf, yanking him hard, trying to throw him off the rampaging livestock. The elf remains resilient, however, and merely elbows Link hard in the ribs. The air flies out from between Link's parted lips, and he feels a sword skin across the front of his tunic. He slowly tilts back, then feels one final fist smote upon his chest, and he flies off the back of the animal, landing hard on his back. All his remaining air leaves his lungs, and he gasps, panting hard.

Blood cakes his tunic. His head is pounding with pain. He feels his own warm blood dripping from the cut in his chest he has received just moments before. His weariness creeps into him at last as he looks up at the starry night sky, and he quietly lies back on his shield, and everything goes dark.


"Damn," says someone's voice far away. "You took a pretty big whacking."

Link's eyes flutter, and pain rushes through every inch of his body. He groans, and opens his eyes all the way, but does not sit up. Red hair floats into his vision, and a smiling face. "Hello, Malon," he rasps weakly.

"Welcome back," she whispers quietly into his ear. "Here, take this."

His vision still blurry, Link feels a colt mug pressed into his palm, and slowly brings it to his lips. He feels cold, refreshing Lon Lon milk rush down his throat, soothing his irritated throat.

Feeling a bit stronger, the Hero of Time opens his eyes, and his vision clears. It is indeed Malon, and he is laying on the couch he slept on just one night ago, a blanket draped over his injured body. He moves slightly, and feels odd fabric. He realizes his blood soaked tunic must have been washed. He thanks Malon profusely, then tries to pull himself up. A hand flies out, and pushes him back down, but he does not need it, pain still flares in his body.

"You are staying here," the farm girl orders. "No way are you taking a beating like that, then getting up and trying to hurt yourself again!"

"I must speak with Zelda," he protests, but Malon pushes him back down again. "No," she orders.

Link sighs in annoyance, but does not glare at her. She is only trying to help him, he realizes. He moves slightly to his left, ignoring the fiery pain in his body, and relaxes, his muscles aching. "How did you find me?" he asks her, as she goes to refill his milk glass.

"I was leading my horse, Whitefire back into the ranch for the night, and I just saw someone laying out on the field," she replies, sounding sad. "What in the world happened to you?"

"Long story," he says, not wanting to go into it, for he doesn't feel he has the energy to tell stories. "I would just like to rest for the time being."

"Okay," she says kindly, setting the milk down on the table beside the couch. "Well, if you need me, just give me a call."

She retreats upstairs to her bedroom.

Link groans in pain, but keeps his voice quiet. He wishes that he could be back at Hyrule Castle to help Zelda clean up the mess and discuss the attacker with her, but knows in his mind that he could not even muster the courage to get up. And even if he could, there was no way he could get past the now tightly shut bridge leading into Hylia City.

So he rests himself back down, resigning himself to a quiet, but mystery filled night.

Moments later, he is sound asleep.