"So you didn't find my dad?" Malon asked after she saw the Eds and Link return from the castle grounds.
"I'm afraid not." Edd said. "He must be beyond the entrance gate, and the guard won't allow unofficial visitors to pass."
"But don't worry. We found a way to get in." Link said. "We just have to wait until tomorrow morning."
"Until then, we're just gonna kick it around here." Eddy said.
"Kick what around?" Malon asked.
"What Eddy means is that we will be looking around until morning comes." Double D said.
"Okay. Well, I have to return to the ranch." Malon said before handing Link something inside a brown cloth. "While you're waiting, would you mind keeping that warm? It will help you wake my lazy father."
"What is it?" Link asked.
"It's an egg. Bye now." she said before walking away. The Eds and Link looked at the brown cloth before Link carefully moved the cloth to see an egg with straw around it.
"Let me see!" Ed said.
"NO!" Eddy and Edd yelled as they pulled it away from Ed's reach.
"You broke the last egg we got!" Eddy yelled.
"I agree." Edd said. "Besides, it may not be long before it'll hatch. I can feel it moving inside."
"Will it be a chicken?!" Ed asked in excitement.
"We don't know. Until then, I'll be holding onto it." Edd said.
"Awww! I love chickens Double D!" Ed whined.
"I know." Edd said.
"Forget the egg. What exactly are we going to do until tomorrow morning?" Eddy asked.
"There are a few shops around. And we did pick up a few more rupees on the way here." Link said. "Why don't we see what there is to do around here?"
"Eh, sure. I'm game." Eddy said.
"The only question now is where should we start?" Edd said.
"Let's try that one." Ed said as he pointing at a door with a giant target and arrow above it. The group walked into the shop to see that it was a shooting gallery.
"Hey kids!" called the owner, a large woman with big lips. "You kids here to shoot? If so, it's 10 rupees for one try. If not, don't block the way for the customers. Please note that we do not provide weapons to use."
"Why don't you try it out Eddy?" Link suggested.
"What do we get if we win?" Ed asked.
"If you get less then 8 hits, you lose. If you get 8 or 9, you get a retry. If you hit all ten targets, you get a grand prize." explained the owner.
"Alright." Eddy said as he reluctantly handed her the 10 rupees and took aim at the designated spot.
"Here are the rules. When the target appears, you shoot it. You only get 15 shots. Ready? GO!" A few moments of shooting fake rupees later, Eddy walked away after nailing all ten targets. "PERFECT! WE GOT A WINNER HERE!"
"So, what do I win?" Eddy asked with a grin.
"Here's your prize! A Deku Seed Bullet Bag!" she said as she handed him a bigger pouch full of Deku Seeds. Eddy stared at the bag with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Wanna try again?" Eddy looked ready to snap at winning what he felt was a useless prize before she continued. "Since that was the last one, all I can give out are purple rupees."
"How much are those?" Edd asked.
"50 green rupees." she said.
-3 minutes later-
Eddy and his friends were walking out of the shooting gallery, with Eddy holding two big purple ruppes in his hands.
"Bravo Eddy. That's the most money I've seen you acquire legally." Edd said.
"All these rupees just for hitting ten targets!" he said while laughing. "I'm rich!"
"I don't know about rich, but you've earned them." Link said.
"Where to next? Where to next?" Ed asked while hopping in place.
"Calm down Burrhead." Eddy laughed. "We've got a whole town to explore." The four spent the next couple of hours wandering around and checking out the sights.
-Night-
The group was tired after spending all day in the town market and were now looking for a place to rest. The problem was that the inns were full, leaving them out in the cold.
"I told you an hour ago-"
"We know Sockhead." Eddy interrupted, not wanting to hear him nag at them for not reserving a place to sleep at night.
"Ed is pooped." Ed said with his eyes half open.
"Maybe we can find an empty storehouse to sleep for the night." Link suggested when they arrived at the drawbridge that was up. "Can't go back to the forest."
"We'd miss our chance to slip into the castle if we did that." Edd said.
"Hey guys. How about here?" Eddy suggested as he walked inside a nearby door.
"Eddy!" Edd whispered as he and the others walked in after him. "It's rude to just barge in! This could be someone's house!"
"Looks like a storage room for pottery." Link said as he looked at all the pots littered about.
"Who are you?" asked the guard before he yawned, which was followed by the others.
"Hey, mind if we crash here?" Eddy asked.
"Kill the giant spider and you can." said the guard.
"What spider?" Edd asked.
"The big golden one that I managed to trap inside that crate next to you." said the guard. Everyone looked to the crate in the corner of the room that the guard was pointing at.
"Golden?" Eddy said before smacking Ed with a grin. "Ed! Smash the crate!"
"Okay!" Ed said before running to it and smashing his head into it, busting the crate instantly.
"Did you get it Ed?" Eddy laughed as Ed stood up and faced them.
"I believe he has Eddy." Edd said as he gazed at the token stuck inside Ed's nose. The group then tried to get the token out of his nose while the guard quietly watched.
'And here I thought guarding this dumb warehouse would be boring.' he thought as they began wrecking the pottery as they fought to remove the token.
-Hours later-
The group was sleeping soundly on a cleared part of the floor, with the guard sleeping while sitting on another crate.
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO
Everyone jolted at the sound of a chicken crowing. Their eyes shot everywhere before they and the guard remembered where they were before yawning and stretching.
"CHICKEN!" Ed yelled as he hugged the freshly hatched Pocket Cucco.
"It seems to have hatched from the egg we were taking care off." Edd said as he looked at the straw and brown covering on the ground.
"That thing's loud." Eddy said as he picked his ears.
"Hey. Morning you four." said the guard with a yawn.
"Good morning." Edd said before his eyes widened. "Morning?! OH NO! WE MAY HAVE OVERSLEPT!"
"Quick! Let's run!" Link said before the four of them left the storage room and raced for the castle gate.
"Bout time you four showed up." said the guard as the four of them stopped to catch their breath.
"Are we too late?" Eddy asked.
"No, but you may want to hide." said the guard. The group did so as they hid in the tall grass next to the tree some distance away from the entrance.
"Now what?" Eddy asked.
"We wait." was all Link said.
-One hour later-
Link was watching the path up to the castle like a hawk as they hid in the bushes while the others occupied themselves. Edd was looking at a few insects, Eddy was polishing his purple rupees, and Ed was petting the Pocket Cucco with a big smile.
"He's coming!" Link whispered when he saw a figure in black armor riding up the path on horseback. The Eds silently peeked through the bushes as the man passed them and rode up to the entrance. "Alright guys. When he opens the gate and the man goes through, run!" They nodded as they all stood into crouching positions as the gates creaked open, letting the man in black armor ride through. "Go!" Link said. The four of them jumped from the bushes and ran as fast as they could for the gate as it started to close. They ran until they got through just as the gate closed.
"Remember, if you get caught, you're on your own." said the guard.
"Right. And thank you." Edd said as they began to walk up the path.
"Good luck kids." said the guard before turning back to the path. The four of them silently made their around the castle grounds, ducking into shrubs and flower beds, sneaking past guards, until they finally got past the gate.
"Now what do we do?" Eddy asked when the threat of being seen by the guards outside passed. "Go up to the front door and knock?"
"Let's look around. There's got to be a way in." Link said.
"I do hope we find one before we run into...where's Ed?" Edd asked. The other two looked around before panic started to set in.
"That dope! He disappears at a time like this?!" Eddy whispered.
"Calm down." Link said. "We just gotta find him before one of the guards-"
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO
"WHAT IN TARNATION?! CAN'T A PERSON GET A LITTLE SHUT-EYE?!"
"Too late!" Edd yelped as they ran to the source of the noise to find Ed standing next to a fat man with a red shirt, blue overalls, and brown shoes who was yawning.
"Ed, you idiot!" Eddy yelled. "We were supposed to sneak in!"
"I was just talking to the sleepy man until the little chicken woke him up." Ed said.
"My name's Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch." said Talon. "Who are you kids?"
"Please don't rat us out." Link begged.
"Wait. Did you say Lon Lon Ranch?" Edd asked.
"That's right. I was making a milk delivery, but I decided to take a quick nap." he said.
"Your quick nap was hours ago." Eddy said. "Your kid asked us to find you."
"Malon?! Oh no! I left her all alone! She's really gonna let me have it!" he said before running away at an incredible speed.
"Wow, he sure runs fast for a fat guy." Eddy said.
"Over here!" Navi said, calling their attention to a tiny stream of water coming out of a small opened grate. "I found our way in."
"Even if we could fit in their, how would we get over the water?" Edd asked.
"We stack those milk crates and use them to jump to it." Link said.
"But won't that break the milk bottles inside?" Edd said.
"What matters more? Milk, or all our lives?" Eddy asked.
"Point taken." Edd said before Ed began pushing them with ease where they needed to go.
"After me." Eddy said as he took a few steps back before running and jumping to the grate. "Hey guys. It's big enough for all of us."
-Inside-
Edd was slowly crawling through the hole before joining his friends inside.
"We're in." Eddy said.
"Now we must find the Princess of Destiny." Ed said.
"Indeed. But where would she be?" Edd asked.
"Stay here." Navi said before flying off. They waited about two minutes before she came back. "I found her. Follow me."
"You heard her." Eddy said. The four of them began to follow her while silently slipping past the guards. There were a few close calls, but they slipped on by before coming to a beautiful garden in the middle of the castle. "Is that her?" Eddy asked. They all looked to see someone staring into a window with their back turned.
"Only one way to find out." Link said as they all slowly approached her.
"She doesn't look that much older than us?" Eddy whispered.
"It is possible that the Princess we must meet is quite young." Edd said.
"HIYA PRINCESS!" Ed blurted out.
"Ed!" they whispered as the princess turned around.
"Wha?" she asked in a startled voice. "Who are you? How did you get past the guards?" The four were looking nervous before she stared at Navi. "Wait. Is that...a fairy? Then, are you from the forest?" she asked while looking straight at Link.
"Yes. I am." Link said as Edd and Eddy dragged Ed back a few steps. A hopeful look crossed her face as she continued.
"Then, would you happen to have a green stone? The Spiritual Stone of the Forest?" she asked. Link blinked before digging through his items to bring out the Kokiri Emerald. "Just as I thought!" she said with a smile before continuing. "I had a dream." she said. "In my dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule. But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground. The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy."
"That sounds like...um..." Ed said before he forgot.
"It sounds like Link." Eddy said.
"I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest. Yes. I thought you might be the one." she continued as she looked at Link before she lightly gasped. "Oh! Forgive me. I got carried away with my story and haven't properly introduced myself. I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. And what are your names?"
"My name is Link."
"Link. Strange...that name sounds somewhat...familiar." she said.
"I'm Eddy."
"I'm Ed."
"My name is Edd, but with two Ds."
"You three have the same name." she said with a smile. "Are you brothers?"
"Just a couple of friends who happened to have the same name, your majesty." Edd said.
"Okay then. Link. Ed. Edd. Eddy. I will tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm passed down through the Royal Family of Hyrule. Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Tell who what now?" Ed said.
"We won't tell a soul." Edd said.
"My lips are sealed." Eddy said.
"We'll keep it a secret." Link said. Zelda smiled before telling them that the Triforce, which held the power of the gods, was somewhere in Hyrule. The power to grant the wish of someone who holds the Triforce in their hands. If someone with a good heart makes a wish, it would lead Hyrule into a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind made a wish, all of Hyrule would be consumed by evil. The ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to hide the Triforce from evil ones. "The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world."
"Amazing." Edd said.
"The power to make any wish come true. Yeah, a lot of people would want that." Eddy said, his mind filling with many thoughts of what he would wish for if he got the Triforce.
"Won't the forces of evil just need to walk in and take the Triforce?" Ed said.
"There is a stone wall called the Door of Time protecting it. And the only way to open it is to collect three Spiritual Stones and the treasure that the Royal Family of Hyrule has protected along with the ancient legend. The Ocarina of Time."
"Sounds like something's happening past the window." Eddy said.
"That's right. I was spying through the window. The other element of my dream, the dark clouds, I believe that they symbolize that man in there." Zelda said as she moved so they could peek. They all felt a chill of fright go down their spines when they saw that it was a red haired man in black armor and evil eyes kneeling. "That man's name is Ganondorf. He rules over the Gerudos that hail far in the desert to the west. He says that he swears allegiance to my father, but I fear he has other plans. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream...They must symbolize that man." They watched him before he turned and looked straight at them, making them jump and leave the window. "What happened?"
"I think he saw us!" Link said.
"Don't worry. He has no clue as to what we are planning yet." Zelda said.
"Maybe you should tell your father about all this." Edd suggested.
"I have, but he does not believe that it was prophecy." Zelda said. "I'm afraid that we five are the only ones who can save Hyrule. Will you all help me?"
"Of course we will!" Link said.
"Death to the evil!" Ed said.
"I'll lend my aid any way I can." Edd said.
"Yeah, I'm in." Eddy said.
"Really?" Edd asked with a smile. "Isn't this usually when you hide?"
"Yeah, but I also know that that Ganondorf guy means business just from looking at him. He gets that Triforce thingy, then there won't be any place to hide." Eddy said.
"Thank you all!" Zelda said. "The truth is, I'm frightened. Ganondorf's goal is to rule Hyrule- No, the entire world! We must get the Triforce before he does. I'll keep the Ocarina of Time safe with all my power. He shall not have it! You four go and gather the other two Spiritual Stones. Let us find the Triforce and defeat him! Here, take this letter with you." she said as she began writing a letter. "I'm sure it will help you on your journey." She then handed Link the letter while footsteps approached. "My attendant will see you safely out of the castle." They turned to see a woman with silver hair in a bun standing behind them.
"My name is Impa of the Sheikahs. I've been entrusted to protect Princess Zelda. Everything is as the Princess has foretold. You are all courageous young boys. You are heading out on an adventure to save us all. My role in the princess's dream is to teach a melody to the one from the forest. It is an ancient melody passed down by the Royal Family. I have played this song to the princess when she was just a little baby. Now, memorize this song." said Impa. She then began to whistle a simple, yet soothing melody for them. Link took his ocarina and copied Zelda's Lullaby while the Eds eithered hummed or swayed with the song. "If you are caught by the guards, there will be trouble." she said as she walked to a wall and pressed a stone, revealing a secret route. "Follow me." The group followed Impa all the way until they walked up a staircase from the ground in a back alley in Hyrule Town. "Listen carefully. When you leave via the drawbridge, turn left. You'll see a staircase that leads to the village I was born and raised in, Kakariko. It lies at the foot of Death Mountain, home of the Gorons. They hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire. The song I have taught you has some mysterious power. It is a song only the Royal Family of Hyrule know. It will prove your connection to the Royal Family. Be brave and prepare well young ones. Return when you have found the other Spiritual Stones. We're counting on you." She then stepped back, letting the stone entrance to the stairs slam shut.
"So we got to find two more stones, then come back and help Princess Zelda find the Triforce and stop this Ganondorf guy from taking over everything?" Eddy summed up.
"That's right." Link said. "Let's go."