A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.
-Act IV-
Convergence
9
Link looked up at the castle's exterior, he jaw dropping in horror. "Goddesses," he whispered. "I don't believe it."
Kate couldn't speak. The sheer horror she felt upon gazing at the castle's war-torn exterior closed her throat and made her want to weep. She choked out a single sentence. "He did this in a month?" she asked faintly, and there was no asking which 'he' she meant.
Link nodded, at a loss for wards.
"My word," John murmured.
Hyrule Castle, which had once been a shining, granite fortress of safety and warmth, was not even a former shell of itself. The towers and turrets were scared by strafed marks of black, craters pockmarked over every surface, and a portion of the main wall was caved in, making the castle look even more bleak than it had at first glance. Link stared up at it, letting the image of a ruined Hyrule sink into his mind, to harden his resolve into a diamond-strength wall. There was no way Link was going to let that monster get away with ruining his home.
Ganondorf would pay.
Soon.
"If you want to wait here, you can," he said quietly.
Kate just shook her head. "Don't be silly," she said firmly. "We're not going to ditch you now."
John nodded. "What she said," he said simply. "Forget about it, Link. We're the ones who wanted to come."
Kate laughed, looking around at the foreboding landscape. "Silly us," she muttered sourly. "Besides, I'd rather be there with you and that sword, where there is some degree of protection-"
"No matter how small, since there's two of us and one of you," John interrupted.
"Than out here where only god knows what has a free shot at a Madison for lunch," Kate grinned at Link after shooting her partner a look. "We're going with."
"If you're so bent on it," Link said, "then we had better get going. He's probably picked up my presence by now, because I can definitely tell that he's in there." Link tried to avoid, whenever possible, speaking of Ganondorf by name. It just made Link mad. "We've always been able to tell when the other is nearby."
Kate nodded.
"Lead the way," John replied.
Nodding, Link started toward the castle, sword clenched tightly in his left hand.
Within the castle, things were just as bleak as had been outside. Blast marks here and there showed that Ganondorf had used less-than-controlled bursts of his power to subdue the Hylian guardsmen. This was also evidenced by the bodies littering the hallways. Link's face grew harder and harder with every step, and he seemed to be withdrawing into a shell of fury. Kate was almost afraid to speak to him. "Where are we going first?" she asked, barely audible. Afraid to be heard, and afraid to break the awful blanket of silence that coated everything.
Link pointed toward one doorway to a set of stairs that wound down and out of sight. "The dungeons," he said shortly. "We never had to use them, but I'll bet you anything he's got them full to the rafters."
Kate nodded. "All right."
Keeping watch for any of Ganondorf's forces, the trio made their way silently down the stairway. At the bottom, Link opened a door slowly and heard voices on the other side. He motioned for John and Kate to get back by the wall, and then he crept forward, sword at the ready, in case of anything unsavory that might jump out and want him for lunch. The voices got louder as he progressed through the dungeon, with his two friends following closely behind. Link's eyes suddenly widened and he slipped his sword silently back in its sheath as a wide grin split his face.
"What?" Kate whispered.
"Just a minute, and I'll introduce you," Link said cryptically.
He walked calmly over to one of the large cells and stuck a long, thin piece of wire in the lock. He worked the wire around inside the lock, and smiled when it opened with a satisfying click.
"Who's there?" a voice asked sharply, and the murmured sounds of conversation ceased instantly.
Link opened the door. "Who else?" he asked blandly.
"Why, you sneaky, good for nothing, son of a-"
"Hey, now, remember," Link said quickly, "I just helped you escape. If you don't be nice, Kiron, I might just put you back in there and let your men out." He grinned.
"All right, all right, nevermind," the voice growled, and a man with dark hair that was peppered with grey stepped out from the cell and clasped hands with Link. "Where in the worlds have you been?" he asked.
Link made a face. "It's a long story. Needless to say, it was also Ganondorf's fault."
"Ol' Pigface?" Kiron asked. He shrugged. "I figured as much. Come on out, guys," he waved a hand to the others who were inside, and a group of men in military uniform came out of the cell. He jerked his head toward John and Kate, who were standing near the back of the room trying to look unobtrusive. "Who's your friends?" he asked.
"John, Kate, this is General Kiron, the commanding officer of Hyrule's armed forces. Kiron, these two are actually responsible for the fact that I'm still breathing," Link said dryly. "They saved my life."
Kate tried to wave it off.
Kiron squinted at Link. "Speaking of which," he said, "where in the name of every hell ever imagined have you been for the past month? Everybody was convinced you were either dead or switched sides."
Link sighed. "Don't tell me," he said wearily, "he brought back that stupid double of mine with him, didn't he?"
Kiron made a wry face. "That he did, my friend. And it's been wreaking havoc all over the countryside, tarnishing your good name and making the lives of the people miserable."
Link shook his head. "I need to have a little talk with that one," he said through clenched teeth.
Kate was shaking her head in disbelief. "So…" she said, "what does all of this mean?"
"If it means what I think it means," John said, cracking a wry grin, "our boy here has an evil twin."
Kate grinned. "I don't think it's as benign as a soap opera plot, Johnny boy," she remarked.
Link just stared at them, his expression blank. Kate grinned. Then, shaking it off, he nodded. "Basically, yeah. It's almost as if it's a…reflection, somehow. I've never understood how it came to be, but…" he shrugged. "There it is." He got grim. "And now it's going to pay. Big. Nobody screws around with Hyrule without answering to me."
-Act IV-
Convergence
9
Link looked up at the castle's exterior, he jaw dropping in horror. "Goddesses," he whispered. "I don't believe it."
Kate couldn't speak. The sheer horror she felt upon gazing at the castle's war-torn exterior closed her throat and made her want to weep. She choked out a single sentence. "He did this in a month?" she asked faintly, and there was no asking which 'he' she meant.
Link nodded, at a loss for wards.
"My word," John murmured.
Hyrule Castle, which had once been a shining, granite fortress of safety and warmth, was not even a former shell of itself. The towers and turrets were scared by strafed marks of black, craters pockmarked over every surface, and a portion of the main wall was caved in, making the castle look even more bleak than it had at first glance. Link stared up at it, letting the image of a ruined Hyrule sink into his mind, to harden his resolve into a diamond-strength wall. There was no way Link was going to let that monster get away with ruining his home.
Ganondorf would pay.
Soon.
"If you want to wait here, you can," he said quietly.
Kate just shook her head. "Don't be silly," she said firmly. "We're not going to ditch you now."
John nodded. "What she said," he said simply. "Forget about it, Link. We're the ones who wanted to come."
Kate laughed, looking around at the foreboding landscape. "Silly us," she muttered sourly. "Besides, I'd rather be there with you and that sword, where there is some degree of protection-"
"No matter how small, since there's two of us and one of you," John interrupted.
"Than out here where only god knows what has a free shot at a Madison for lunch," Kate grinned at Link after shooting her partner a look. "We're going with."
"If you're so bent on it," Link said, "then we had better get going. He's probably picked up my presence by now, because I can definitely tell that he's in there." Link tried to avoid, whenever possible, speaking of Ganondorf by name. It just made Link mad. "We've always been able to tell when the other is nearby."
Kate nodded.
"Lead the way," John replied.
Nodding, Link started toward the castle, sword clenched tightly in his left hand.
Within the castle, things were just as bleak as had been outside. Blast marks here and there showed that Ganondorf had used less-than-controlled bursts of his power to subdue the Hylian guardsmen. This was also evidenced by the bodies littering the hallways. Link's face grew harder and harder with every step, and he seemed to be withdrawing into a shell of fury. Kate was almost afraid to speak to him. "Where are we going first?" she asked, barely audible. Afraid to be heard, and afraid to break the awful blanket of silence that coated everything.
Link pointed toward one doorway to a set of stairs that wound down and out of sight. "The dungeons," he said shortly. "We never had to use them, but I'll bet you anything he's got them full to the rafters."
Kate nodded. "All right."
Keeping watch for any of Ganondorf's forces, the trio made their way silently down the stairway. At the bottom, Link opened a door slowly and heard voices on the other side. He motioned for John and Kate to get back by the wall, and then he crept forward, sword at the ready, in case of anything unsavory that might jump out and want him for lunch. The voices got louder as he progressed through the dungeon, with his two friends following closely behind. Link's eyes suddenly widened and he slipped his sword silently back in its sheath as a wide grin split his face.
"What?" Kate whispered.
"Just a minute, and I'll introduce you," Link said cryptically.
He walked calmly over to one of the large cells and stuck a long, thin piece of wire in the lock. He worked the wire around inside the lock, and smiled when it opened with a satisfying click.
"Who's there?" a voice asked sharply, and the murmured sounds of conversation ceased instantly.
Link opened the door. "Who else?" he asked blandly.
"Why, you sneaky, good for nothing, son of a-"
"Hey, now, remember," Link said quickly, "I just helped you escape. If you don't be nice, Kiron, I might just put you back in there and let your men out." He grinned.
"All right, all right, nevermind," the voice growled, and a man with dark hair that was peppered with grey stepped out from the cell and clasped hands with Link. "Where in the worlds have you been?" he asked.
Link made a face. "It's a long story. Needless to say, it was also Ganondorf's fault."
"Ol' Pigface?" Kiron asked. He shrugged. "I figured as much. Come on out, guys," he waved a hand to the others who were inside, and a group of men in military uniform came out of the cell. He jerked his head toward John and Kate, who were standing near the back of the room trying to look unobtrusive. "Who's your friends?" he asked.
"John, Kate, this is General Kiron, the commanding officer of Hyrule's armed forces. Kiron, these two are actually responsible for the fact that I'm still breathing," Link said dryly. "They saved my life."
Kate tried to wave it off.
Kiron squinted at Link. "Speaking of which," he said, "where in the name of every hell ever imagined have you been for the past month? Everybody was convinced you were either dead or switched sides."
Link sighed. "Don't tell me," he said wearily, "he brought back that stupid double of mine with him, didn't he?"
Kiron made a wry face. "That he did, my friend. And it's been wreaking havoc all over the countryside, tarnishing your good name and making the lives of the people miserable."
Link shook his head. "I need to have a little talk with that one," he said through clenched teeth.
Kate was shaking her head in disbelief. "So…" she said, "what does all of this mean?"
"If it means what I think it means," John said, cracking a wry grin, "our boy here has an evil twin."
Kate grinned. "I don't think it's as benign as a soap opera plot, Johnny boy," she remarked.
Link just stared at them, his expression blank. Kate grinned. Then, shaking it off, he nodded. "Basically, yeah. It's almost as if it's a…reflection, somehow. I've never understood how it came to be, but…" he shrugged. "There it is." He got grim. "And now it's going to pay. Big. Nobody screws around with Hyrule without answering to me."