Chapter 8: Link's Worst Nightmare

As Link's mind remained fixed in the world of dreams, he felt that he would not awaken for a long time. It was not as if he were afraid –afraid of what he would see once he awoke, nor that he thought himself too weak and too unprepared to rise and face the Phantom again. It was something else entirely that preventing him from awaking. He remembered everything that happened. He remembered his blunder, allowing the Phantom to claim his most prized possession. Link was tired. He had thought that after all these years, after Ganondorf's destruction and the founding of his next home, he would finally get his rest. Link clung to the sleep that overcame him now, but it would not be enough to sustain him for long. He had so much left to accomplish. So many people were counting on him. As if to remind him, a voice broke through the darkness of Link's sleep, a remnant of the past, a harbinger of what was to come.

"Hello, Link." Because he was asleep, Link could not move. He could not even see, much less know who spoke to him. "What's the matter? You mean you don't recognize me?" The voice chuckled slightly. "Oh, Link. This is just like you, trying to put the past behind you –trying to look only forward. You narrow-minded fool. You will never learn that what is done is never finished. You will never learn that what you turn your back on is always the first to surprise you."

"Who are you?" Link asked, still puzzled.

"You mean you still haven't figured it out?" The voice laughed again. "After all we've been through, after our fates collided and you attempted to get rid of me once and for all, thinking that what is done can never be undone."

"Ganondorf."

"At last you understand. Listen to me Link: I am still trapped within the prison you put upon me, but there are ways of escape. I have been defeated before only to rise years later, and I will do it again. Nothing you people do to me is ever permanent. The Triforce, the holy object you always depend on, ironically promises my inevitable return. And when I do, the first person I will come after is you. I don't care where you are, or what your goal is. I will find you, and I will complete the Triforce. Then and only then will I gain my wish, my revenge. I will be waiting for you, Link. I have always been waiting for you. Now awaken, Link, only to discover that you have been asleep your entire life."


When Link awoke, the first thing he saw, as bright as the sun, was Tetra, sleeping snugly under the covers of a bed beside his. Her hair was braided together, her skin as light as a pink rose, her ears slanted. Link turned and rose from his bed, his eyes meeting Elsa's. She had sat beside him for hours, waiting anxiously for his eyes to open again.

"What happened?" Link asked. Elsa smiled, glad that Link had finally awoken.

"You are hurt, Link. We recovered you and brought you here after your battle with the Phantom. He was too strong…too much power…" She trailed off in her words, embarrassed that her previous confidence in Link had been for nothing, and that the prophesized Hero had fallen.

"I remember," Link said, allowing her to stop. "What happened to Tetra? She is different now. When did this happen?"

"Not long after the Phantom left," Elsa answered. "When we brought you here, we noticed the transformation. She looks just like the Princess Zelda of legend now. It startled me at first, but it makes sense in a way. After all, Zelda's blood must run in her veins, for she is the maiden promised to accompany you."

Link nodded, standing up. He immediately felt intense aches about his body. He looked upon himself, noticing the beating he had taken. There were cuts and bruises on his body, caused by the Phantom's merciless thrashing he had given him.

"And what of the Phantom?" Link asked. "What happened to him?"

"After your…fall…the Phantom and his minions, after destroying much of our village, promptly left. He kept saying that we were putting our trust in a false Hero –that you have grown weak as the winds have blown. But do not worry, Link. I know you will find a way to save us. I know that you will defeat the Phantom."

Link sat back down, but then noticed that there was one other presence in the room. He turned around and laid eyes upon a beautiful blonde-haired woman clothed in a red robe.

"Hello Link," she said, her voice warm and alluring. A golden light emanated from her body. "I am Farore, Oracle of Secrets."