Chapter Two: The Royal Rescue

After he and Kelli dismounted their horses at the all but destroyed drawbridge and entered Hyrule Castle Town, Link nearly stopped dead in his tracks upon looking at the state of his surroundings. Where once there was a thriving city jammed to the gills with merchants and their patrons, games and their players, windows alit with candles and children and dogs chasing each other down crowded cobblestone streets was now a mausoleum. Houses, shops and Goddesses know what else had been torn asunder, rubble littering the cracked and soot covered cobblestones. Well, it wasn't just soot but Link tried not to imagine what else he was standing on. Much of the damage looked to be caused by fires, several of which were still burning, that had been allowed to rage uncontrolled in the city. The air was thick with ashes and flies which danced amidst the smoky air and fog while maggots squirmed about the cobblestones.

This many flies and maggots meant only one thing: dead bodies, and plenty of them. Link was a hardened adventurer, stoic and impossible to frighten in even the most terrible situations, but he suddenly felt dizzy when he contemplated whether or not any of the friends he was searching for might be amongst this carnage.

Had he spotted the mummy-like creatures with golden eyes which haunted the town square a moment later, he might've added himself to it. Link ducked behind what used to be someone's front door and watched the ghouls as they continued to lurch and shuffle about, seemingly paying no attention to him and Kelli at all. Link guessed that they were Gibdos, but as with the Lizalfos and Wolfos from before, he'd never seen any with golden eyes. Nor, for that matter, had Link ever seen this many in one place. Though, from what he'd seen of the ruined city, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised to see undead in what must've been an abundant feeding ground. Kelli, however, eyed them suspiciously for a few seconds, but remained silent. She appeared to be thinking it was rather odd that the creatures were even there at all, probably because this feeding ground looked to be picked clean. Suspecting Kelli knew more about the current situation than he had given her credit for, Link hoped he could inquire about it when they completed their mission.

As Link and Kelli made their way through the fog and into the castle grounds, they quietly crept about so as not to be spotted by any monsters possibly patrolling the area. Whether or not these strange Gibdos still had the ability to paralyze the living with their stare, Link did not care to find out. It didn't help that the fog seemed to grow heavier as they neared the castle either. Still, they pressed on, struggling to figure out their exact location. After mere minutes of wandering through the castle grounds, the fog had become so thick and heavy, Link could not see where he was going and soon found his nearly trembling feet stepping out onto emptiness. Almost producing a scream, Link felt a hand grab the back of his tunic as he was about to fall.

"Whoa! Link, look out!" Kelli gripped the fabric of the tunic as hard as she could, despite that Link was obviously heavier than she was. She quickly pulled Link back up to aid him in regaining his balance and said, "You nearly walked right over a cliff!" Link stood there trying to get a hold of himself as his body turned shaky.

"Good F-Farore," he trembled. "Th-Thanks a lot, Kel. I don't even want to think about what might have happened had you not been here with me." Kelli couldn't agree more. She, too, was having much difficulty making out what was ahead of her in the now dangerous fog. Just the trip to the castle gates was going to be tougher than she anticipated, to say nothing of freeing Daphnes and escorting him safely back to Kakariko.

"I don't blame you," Kelli replied. "This fog has gotten annoying. At least the enemies shouldn't be able to see us either, given that it's both foggy and dark out." Link didn't hesitate to nod, noticing the darkness of the night sky. However, instead of clear, starry skies like in Hyrule Field, the sky above the castle was overcastted by blackened clouds.

As they carefully walked along the edge of the cliff, Link and Kelli finally spotted the castle door several minutes later and managed to get a glimpse of the castle itself, if only faintly. More evil power was radiating from it than it did when Ganondorf had taken over, and the highest towers were completely obscured by the dark clouds. The castle walls had been colored a blood red and obsidian black, giving the castle a foreboding appearance. Many of the windows were either shattered or cracked and then left in place, probably to provide a fatal temptation to any overeager, and unintelligent, intruders. The castle was not alone in this new fashion either, as the area around it had become the home of dead plants and trees wherever they could be seen in the heavy fog, causing the entire area to radiate pure malevolence and the unmistakable promise of death.

However, neither Link nor Kelli had been able to see that there was no bridge leading them to the castle's main gate. The two warriors found their path blocked by a sea of lava, which the cliff surrounded. The rocky island that the castle was sitting on was nestled inside this boiling hot terror, and it left Link and Kelli clueless about how to reach their endangered king. They frantically circled the area for another possible entrance even though the existence of such an area was unlikely. The fog continued its refusal to lift and prevented them from discovering a new path until a light wind began to clear some of it away several minutes later. Revealed was a path sloping down towards the underside of the island and directly beneath the castle. Kelli's eyes widened slightly as she eyed the newly revealed slope, and then brought a hand to her chin.

"You're on to something, aren't you?" Link anticipated.

"Indeed. I think I know exactly where we are," Kelli confirmed with a smile. "You see, Zelda once showed me a secret passage into the dungeon in case we ever needed to use it. I have a hunch this path may be part of it, but I'm not sure."

"Perhaps," Link replied. "Let's find out." The two eagerly began down the sloping path, keeping their footsteps careful due to the lava on either side. Due to the possibility of the fog returning and hindering their sight yet again, they moved as quickly as they could. When the pair finally approached the base, the rock revealed a downward sloping staircase carved into it, leading to the interior below. Was this what Kelli was talking about? If so, why would it go underground instead of straight up to the castle dungeon? Link turned his attention to Kelli hoping she'd have the answers he sought.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm positive Zelda never mentioned this part," Kelli quickly defended herself, sensing Link's thoughts. "I guess we have no choice but to go in though."

Deciding perhaps it was yet another change to the castle's design, Link followed Kelli down the dark staircase and into a dimly lit corridor. Kelli immediately scrutinized her surroundings when the two reached the base of the stairs, as if to expect someone to appear at any minute. Link guessed she was trying to determne if the area was familiar, but her continued silence indicated that it was new to her. All they could see were rugged walls lined with small torches forming a straight corridor, with yet another staircase carved at the end of it. Link and Kelli rushed through as quickly as their feet would carry them, but just before they could set foot on the next staircase, several high pitched shrieks echoed off the walls and within seconds, bat-like creatures launched themselves from the ceiling to swoop down upon two warriors.

"GAH! What the—?" Link exclaimed, a feeling of shock running through his body as the bat creatures continued to attack him.

"Ugh, Keese and their terrible timing!" Kelli complained as Keese after Keese sank their tiny fangs into her as well. "Ouch! Link, you know the Spin Attack, don't you? If we stand back to back, we can double our attack by pointing our blades in opposite directions!"

"Seriously? Let's do it!"

With that, the two immediately joined their backs with one another's and latched their free arms together to perform Kelli's technique. The attack clove through every Keese in range within seconds as the pair spun several times. With the creatures out of the way, Kelli and Link scrambled up the next staircase in hopes that they would at last reach their destination. To their pleasure, the next chamber they ended up in was different than the corridor they had come from, bearing smooth stone walls and torches far more ornamental than those of the corridor. The only odd difference was that a few of the torches were not burning, rendering the light even dimmer than before. What's more, what was expected to be another door in this new chamber was merely a stone wall creating an abrupt end to the path.

"…Oh, this is just swell," Kelli groused after a few moments, bringing her hands to her hips. "Got any ideas?"

"Nope," Link replied after thinking for the next few minutes. "…Well, this stinks."

"Agreed. We can't just go back, though…"

"You said this was a secret passage, right?" Link recalled, and Kelli nodded in response. "Maybe one of these walls is a false wall? Only one way to find out."

With that, Link began running back and forth along the length of the corridor striking his sword against seemingly every stone in every wall until, several minutes and more than a few remarks from Kelli about wasting time, he found one section of the wall which gave a hollow echo.

"It's got to be this one," Link surmised, stepping back to examine the whole section of wall. "But, I kinda doubt a simple bomb could blow this open."

"Maybe you're not supposed to," Kelli suggested. "If this was an escape passage, it would make for them to be able to close it back up so they couldn't be followed. There must be a lever or a switch or a pulley or something to open it."

"I'm just hoping it's on this side of the door, otherwise we're stuck."

"I guess all we can do is nose around for a switch or something that opens the wall."

"Good idea. …Hey, there's a torch here on the ground," Link noted, pointing to a brown hand torch lying at his feet. "I'll add some more light in here." With that, Link plucked the torch from the floor and began using it to ignite one unlit torch after another along the wall. Just as the final one had its fire reignited, however, the ground rumbled beneath the feet of the two warriors. Link quickly leaned against the wall with the torch still in his hand. Kelli attempted to follow his example, but found herself on the ground after losing her balance.

"Ugh, what did you do now?" she complained, clinging to the wall next to her.

"No idea," Link replied, nearly losing his footing himself. "Wait, look!" He pointed to the opposite wall, a portion of which was slowly opening to reveal a fairly large pull switch protruding from the hidden interior behind it.

"Well, now there's something you don't see every day," Link opined, his eyebrows arching straight to his hairline. Kelli merely chuckled.

"Hehe, leave it to the Hero of Time to light the way forward," she teased with a smile. "That switch looks really heavy though. It'll probably take both of us to pull it."

"Heh, I'll say. This thing is huge for a switch," Link pointed out. Kelli nodded as the two immediately reached for the switch, which was fortunately large enough for both of them to grasp with two hands. Although Link was undeniably stronger than Kelli, the two pulled as hard as their combined strength would allow them. Unfortunately, the switch would not budge even an inch. Suddenly, as the pair attempted to increase the strength of their pull, the switch shot outward at blinding speed and sent the two flying backwards due to the momentum they'd gathered.

"WHOA!" Link bellowed as he soared into the wall behind him back first. "Augh!" Kelli ended up stacked on top of him. Seconds later, the stone wall Link had discovered to be hollow slowly slid open.

"Ow…" Kelli groaned. "Sorry." She scrambled off of Link immediately afterward.

"I'm fine, don't worry. But holy cuccos, what was that all about?" Link asked, scratching the back of his head.

"No idea. At least we can press on."

"True."

With that, the two young warriors proceeded through the newly opened passage and found themselves in a large chamber filled with more corridors. Prison cells lined the walls on either side of them, which no doubt indicated that this was the castle dungeon. More torches on the walls were the only source of light in the room; however this time there were more of them, rendering this area brighter than the previous tunnels Link and Kelli had gone through. The pair remained as quiet and hidden as possible in case of guards patrolling the corridors. What's more, the entire dungeon was so big, there was no way it would be easy to find where Daphnes was being held.

"Pretty tricky," Kelli commented, drawing a raised eyebrow from Link. "That passage we just came through was planted there to throw us off. It was only supposed to look like a dead end in case anybody found the tunnel and tried to sneak in."

"What? Oh, yeah. That would explain why it appeared to lead us below the dungeon instead of right to it," Link added.

"Exactly. I suggest we split up and cover more ground in here," Kelli proposed. "We'll find his majesty quicker that way. I'll take the left side."

"Good plan. I'll head in the opposite direction then." However, just when the pair was about to separate, Kelli suddenly gasped.

"Wait, get back here!" she urged and pulled Link back into the previous room by the back of his tunic.

"Wah!"

"Shush!"

"Geez," Link said quietly. "Cut that out! What are you trying to do, choke me?"

"No, listen. I heard footsteps coming from my direction," Kelli explained. "…And look!" Staying completely out of sight by retreating into the previous room, they watched as two Dinolfos guards, or so it appeared on first glance, marched past them seemingly on patrol. Closer inspection revealed more armor and lances instead of swords clutched in the dinosaur-like creatures' hands. Link's eyebrow arched once more as he watched the guards disappear around a corner.

"Those can't be Dinolfos, can they?" Link inquired once he was sure he wouldn't be heard by the enemy.

"No, they aren't. These are Armosaurs. They're like Dinolfos, only armored and basically better equipped," Kelli explained. "And, of course, they're smarter."

"That's bad news," Link quickly replied, his eyes widening slightly. "All the more reason to split up then. But hold on a second, I just noticed. You've been hearing and seeing things that I can't. What is with that?" Kelli paused and allowed her eyes to close once more before answering.

"Let's just say the power I wield allows me to easily detect the creatures we've met. I'll explain to you in greater detail later on. Right now we have a more important issue to deal with."

"Fair enough. Let's just get going before anymore of these guys show up."

With that, the two immediately separated and headed down different corridors. Link carefully, quietly, and cautiously walked about, keeping an eye and ear out for anymore guards as well as Daphnes. However, getting around wasn't the least bit easy. Armosaur and Dinolfos guards seemed to be around every corner. Soon enough, Link recalled how he used to incapacitate the Gerudo guards at their fortress with a bow in order to get past them and rescue a group of carpenters during his adventure as the Hero of Time. Shooting through the gaps in the Armosaurs' armor might prove to be a challenge, but Link decided to try it anyway. Taking out his old Hero's Bow from Termina, he quietly notched an arrow to the string and shot any guards he saw to death, allowing him to roam freely through the corridors. No cell, however, seemed to contain Daphnes and the longer it took, the more difficult the search would probably become.

Sooner or later, somebody was going to notice the dead guards had stopped making their rounds and would send someone to investigate. Link considered trying to hide the bodies, but he quickly dismissed the notion. The Armosaurs and Dinolfos bodies were too heavy to lug around and there simply was not place to conceal them. Their only chance was to work fast.

Meanwhile, Kelli had decided on the same tactic and used her own bow to take out guards in the corridors she was exploring. However, she was unable to find any sign of Daphnes as well, and was beginning to consider rejoining Link in hopes he'd found something. Just before she could make her decision, however, she came upon a door instead of the usual turns and walls of the castle dungeon. Out of curiosity, she quietly turned the knob, opened the door, and peeked inside. From the small size and various locks, cuffs, and other dungeon supplies, it was obviously just a storage room, but something out of the ordinary lay on a small table that stood against the left wall. It was a dirt-stained, partially torn envelope with another sheet of parchment poking out of it. Immediately picking it up, it didn't take long for Kelli to notice her name was written on it.

"Hey…could this possibly be…?" she wondered. She plucked the parchment out of the envelope, and from her widening eyes as she read the words written on it, it had indeed been what she'd guessed. The letter read:

To the best friend I ever had,

Kelli, where are you? I've been waiting a long time to see you again. After hearing that you came back home, I thought if I wrote you a letter, you'd not forget to come find me. I figure it wouldn't be easy with what I've been doing these days, so this letter should help make it less difficult for you. Remember our special place back in Kakariko? You know, that area next to the windmill that overlooks the cucco pen and the house behind it. Wouldn't it be awesome if we met there? I hope you will come when we both get the chance. I'm afraid I can't make it for awhile, though, because I—

The letter cut off there due to a portion of it having been ripped off. However, the bottom of the sheet of parchment was still there, and another name was the only legible word written there. It read Judo. When Kelli laid eyes upon this, she couldn't help but let tears build up in her eyes. Whether she was happy or sad, she could not decide, gripped the letter hard enough to crinkle it, and dropped to her knees.

"Oh…Judo…" Kelli muttered as tears trailed down her face. "I'm so sorry… I miss you…"

Her closest friend in childhood, Judo, had been waiting for her. Clearly, he hadn't been able to send his letter, so where was he now? Was he safe at this moment or even alive with the danger that had pervaded the kingdom? Wishing she could answer those questions, Kelli's trance was broken when she heard more footsteps coming her way. She quickly dove under the table with the letter and envelope still in her hands and watched another pair of Armosaur guards amble on by. Afterwards, Kelli immediately departed the storage room and put the letter away in a satchel attached to her belt for safe-keeping.

Suddenly, as Kelli was passing by a corridor to her left, another pair of footsteps came bolting down the same area and Link eventually slammed chest first into her. As a result, Kelli was pushed backwards and stubbed the back of her foot over a loose cobblestone in the floor. Kelli screamed in pain as her heel made contact with the hard stone floor. She and Link tumbled to the floor as Kelli's voice echoed throughout the area, most likely alerting the remaining patrol guards. Within seconds, Link was lying on top of Kelli this time around.

"Link!" Kelli beamed after she and Link hit the floor. "What in blazes are you doing?"

"Sorry," Link replied. "I was running because I thought one of those monsters was after me." Before Kelli could make her reply, the two were suddenly grabbed fiercely by their arms and dragged away. Link and Kelli looked around to find that four Dinolfos and Armosaur guards had discovered them and were now taking them to their own cell. The two attempted to break free, but with their hands and arms firmly in their captors' grip, they could do nothing except give in. Within the next few minutes, Link and Kelli were both tossed into one fairly large cell together and locked up. Having been thrown to the floor, they stood up and brushed themselves off.

"Great! Now look what's happened!" Kelli fumed with a grimace and pointed an angry finger. "This is all your fault, Link!"

"What? My fault? You were the one who had to scream so loud the whole castle could probably hear you!" Link retorted angrily.

"Well if you hadn't made me stub my foot, I wouldn't have had to scream in the first place!"

"Oh give me a break! It couldn't have hurt that bad!"

"Well it did! Thanks a lot!" Link was about to make his reply when another voice nearby spoke up instead.

"What in the world? How did you two get in there?" the voice wondered, the tone drowsy as if he'd just been awoken from a fitful slumber. It was a deep male voice, and by the sound of it, it was no doubt Daphnes.

"Huh?" Link replied, wondering where the voice was. Kelli looked around and soon spotted none other than Daphnes himself locked up in the cell across from them.

"Oh what luck. Your majesty, I'm glad you're safe," Kelli replied in relief.

"Indeed. I'm relieved that you've brought Link. I suppose one of the guards at Kakariko told you I was here?"

"Yes, sire. I'm sorry we've let ourselves get captured like this," Kelli apologized. "But you know your castle well. Do you know how we can escape?"

"Unfortunately, I don't. This castle has changed so much that even I don't know where some things are anymore," Daphnes replied sadly. "All I know is that the only path to the first floor has been completely barricaded."

"Well, that sure won't help us…"

"Unfortunately. Now what happened?" Daphnes wondered. Kelli spoke up and began explaining the incident in the corridor before Link could utter a word.

"After I left the storage room, Link here had to come and mess things up by slamming into me and causing me to trip!" she finished.

"I did not!" Link snapped back. "You didn't need to scream so loud and alert all the monsters! And what's the big idea taking all this anger out on me? Before, you were calm and serious, now you're screaming your lungs at me for a little incident in the corridor!"

"Both of you, come now, this is no time to argue," Daphnes interrupted in. "And Kelli, you do seem to be quite out of sorts. In fact, you look like you could burst into tears at any second."

"Well, I…" Kelli began, but wasn't able to prevent more tears from interrupting her and dropped to her knees again. "I'm sorry…"

"And now you're crying for no reason," Link grunted and leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "You really are a weirdo."

"Shut up!" Kelli retorted in a grimace. "I have a very good reason to be upset!" She then pulled Judo's Letter from her satchel and held it out in front of her where both Link and Daphnes could see it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Daphnes inquired, his eyes growing wide. "A letter from young Judo?"

"You…you know him, your majesty?" Kelli blurted in confusion, some of her grief vanishing.

"I certainly do. Let me see the letter."

Kelli made no hesitation to hand the letter over to Daphnes through the bars of her cell. Daphnes immediately began looking over it worriedly, as if he were expecting to see something in it. Did Daphnes know something about Judo's whereabouts? Or was he unsure of where the young man was as well and hoped the letter would provide at least a clue? Link spied Kelli wringing her hands as Daphnes squinted at the letter, and suddenly found himself wondering just how much she had been hiding from him.

"Hmm…very unfortunate that this message is incomplete," Daphnes commented. "Judo told me about your friendship with him, Kelli, and—wait, what's this?" With that, he turned the letter over and allowed his eyes to widen even more.

"What's wrong?" Link quickly said, hoping it was nothing bad.

"There's a map of the whole castle on the back of this. Well, a map of what it looked like before it became this evil infested place, that is," Daphnes replied. "I guess Judo didn't have anything else to write his letter on. However, fortunately for us, the section showing the dungeon is still on here."

"Oh, wonderful. Does it show a way out of here?" Kelli inquired.

"As a matter of fact, it does. There's a secret passage right behind your cell. There isn't any way for me to escape though. I designed this dungeon myself and ensured there were many places where the keys could be safely hidden. Never thought I'd be sorry for doing something too well."

"Don't worry, we'll figure out something ," Link assured him. With that, he and Kelli began scrutinizing their entire cell for a switch or something of the sort to open the hidden passage. It was hard to do so in the dark, but with the sense of touch, the two had no trouble feeling their way around the rocky walls of the cell they were in. It took only minutes for Kelli to finally touch a portion of rock that moved slightly into the wall. The imprisoned trio then heard the grinding sound of rock moving against rock and turned to see the back wall of the cell slowly creak open to reveal another dark passageway.

"Bingo," she opined with pleasure. "Time to ditch this creepy cell."

"Here, take this letter back so you can find your way here again," Daphnes advised. Kelli nodded and stuffed Judo's Letter back into her satchel. She and Link immediately started into the hidden passage and quickly followed it back into the main chamber of the dungeon. It led them close to the area where they'd first split up, and once arriving at the end and opening the second secret door, Kelli pulled Judo's Letter from her bag and looked at the map of the dungeon on it. Daphnes was only a few corridors down, and upon quickly heading there, the king of Hyrule was relieved to see the two young warriors return so soon. Before any of the three could say something, however, several noises sounded forth from the other end of the corridor.

"Footsteps!" Daphnes gasped. "The guards are coming this way!"

"Oh no, they're not taking us this time!" Kelli assured. On that note, Kelli drew her blade, followed by Link drawing his own. A trio of two Dinolfos and one Armosaur had come bolting down the corridor with glares on their faces. The battle commenced when Kelli's blade clashed with that of the Armosaur while Link blocked the attacks of the Dinolfos, one with his sword and the other with his shield. Kelli smiled when she noticed the navy eye color of the Armosaur and quickly raised her blade behind her, gripping it with two hands. All of a sudden, a yellow sun-shaped emblem appeared on her forehead while her sword was enveloped in a golden glow. Kelli's irises became a bright golden as well as she leaped into the air and launched what appeared to be some sort of charged jump attack. Once Kelli's blade made contact, the creature crashed to the floor in defeat, the sound of shattering metal and breaking bones echoing deafeningly in the corridor. Link, meanwhile, had used a spin attack to strike the two Dinolfos. However, he was soon distracted by Kelli's technique and didn't notice one of the Dinolfos strike him in the head with its clawed hand, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Augh!"

Link rolled onto his back to see the Dinolfos towering above him and was about to launch himself to his feet when an arrow shot into his line of sight and buried itself in the creature's neck. The dead, bleeding creature inevitably landed on Link and it took some minutes to shove the stinking, dead reptile off of the now equally smelly Link.

"It's gonna take days to get this smell out of my tunic," Link complained, feeling the wound on his head. "That thing got it's claws into me, but it wasn't deep. Some red potion should do the trick."

"Link, you idiot! This is no time to be daydreaming!" Kelli fumed, irritatingly. "And good Goddesses, that smell on you is terrible!"

"I know, I screwed up again…" Link admitted. "I'm so sorry. What you did to that Armosaur amazed me. But hey, they dropped a cell key."

"That's a relief," Daphnes replied with a sigh. "And I don't blame you, Link. Kelli possesses power that isn't easy to explain. Not even I completely understand it."

"I don't completely understand it either, to be honest," Kelli added. "While I know more than enough to use it properly, there are still questions I have about it that are yet to be answered."

"Well, perhaps stopping whoever has invaded Hyrule will provide the answers," Link suggested and plucked the cell key from the floor. "For now though, we should focus on what's most important at the moment. Somebody will have heard that commotion, so we should be going."

"I agree and my thanks to both of you. Now we must escape immediately before more of these creatures decide to show up," Daphnes advised. With that, Link quickly unlocked the king's cell, but before anyone could go anywhere, Kelli raised a firm hand.

"Hang on one second," Kelli interrupted. She then allowed the sun emblem to reappear on her forehead once more and her irises to glow golden. Her hair slightly stood on end for a second until the glow and emblem vanished. Link shook his head in shock once more, feeling that this girl grew more mysterious every minute.

"Alright, we're clear," Kelli continued. "We defeated all the guards, so it's safe to escape."

"Good. We shouldn't run into anymore trouble then," Daphnes commented, apparently satisfied with Kelli's assurances. With that, the trio quickly headed back into the hidden underground passage leading outside. While they evaded further detection on the castle grounds as carefully as possible, Kelli explained her theory about the secret dungeon entrance having been altered to throw intruders off as well as the incident that had occurred before she and Link even arrived in Hyrule. Although these events worried Daphnes and he certainly did not want the problem to spread to any other inhabited areas outside Hyrule, he knew what he needed to be more concerned about. Whatever manner of evil had overtaken Hyrule had conquered its castle and capital with ease and captured its sovereign deftly; even if they didn't leave the kingdom to spread their foul presence to other lands, their presence in Hyrule could be catastrophic. Within minutes, they were all racing through what was left of the town and re-entering Hyrule Field.

Along the way, Link suddenly recalled something Kelli had said before they had gone to Kakariko. She claimed to know someone who could tell him the whereabouts of his friends and whether or not they were safe. If she was referring to Daphnes, Link knew it was as good a time as any to inquire about it. Sure enough, the chance came as they were forced to stop in Hyrule Field; Daphnes' captors had not been kind to him and the adventurers decided they would have to tend his wounds as best they could.

"Your majesty, do you know anything about what's going on in other parts of the kingdom? I need to know if my friends are alright."

Kelli eyed Link in a less-than-friendly manner as she pulled open what was left of Daphnes' robes and rubbed red and blue potion over what looked like whip scars.

"Well, Link, I'm afraid to say that the entire land has been attacked," Daphnes grimly replied, wincing at the burning sensation of the disinfectant struck him. "I can't speak for every Goron, Kokiri, Gerudo, Hylian, and Zora out there, nor can I speak for Lon Lon Ranch, but if you're referring to the Sages and my daughter…"

"…They've been captured, haven't they?" Link guessed from the reluctant expression on the king's face.

"I wish I could say no," Daphnes confirmed. "I'm not sure where the Sages are, but Impa vanished without a trace during the attack on the castle, and the rest of them were reported missing in their respective homes. As for my poor Zelda…"

The King's voice took on the cadence of a broken man, and not just from the harsh treatment his captors had given him. His eyes seemed lightless and his face pinched with age far beyond his many years. His shoulders sagged and his arms and hands seemed to tremble like leaves in an autumn wind.

"Perhaps I can explain that," Kelli stepped in, sensing Daphnes was in no condition to speak. "I know how hard this is for you, sire. Link, I believe the princess is being held somewhere within that dark castle. I may not have detected anymore monsters in the dungeon, but above us, I could easily pick up tremendous amounts of the same power they wield. They're probably guarding something and considering that Zelda holds a piece of the Triforce, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the princess herself."

"Blast! Everything we did to prevent the dark future Ganondorf brought…" Link fumed angrily. "I won't stand for this! I must rescue them!"

"And I would like to entrust you with the task of finding the Sages again," Daphnes agreed. "However, you'll need Kelli's help. She's the only one who knows anything about the monsters that are responsible."

"And I will," Kelli added. "But… Your majesty… Can't you tell me anything about Judo's whereabouts? I need to see him again…"

"I understand. From what the young man has told me, the friendship you two shared as children was beautiful and unbreakable," Daphnes recalled, the barest hint of a smile on his forlorn features. "However, the last time I spoke to him, he told me he was planning on a journey of sorts and that he wanted to write to you before leaving. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since. Besides that, I'm pretty sure he can explain everything to you in better words than I."

"Oh…" Kelli replied, staring at the ground in disappointment. "Well then, I'm going to find him. I was the one who left him seven years ago and I'll be the one to return to him. It's only fair and I'm sure he really misses me."

"Then it's best if you return to Kakariko with me," Daphnes proposed. "Judo was born and raised there, if I remember correctly, so it's the best place to begin looking for clues. And fortunately for everyone else, you can also keep an eye out for anymore monsters."

"Yes, I'll certainly do my best," Kelli agreed. "Link, since we'll be apart for awhile, I'll teach this to you so I can still aid you. This song was given to me a long time ago to enable my friends and allies to easily request my assistance. I feel you will need to use it as well."

"A song that lets me talk to you? Definitely," Link replied and raised the Ocarina of Time to his lips, the memories of Saria and her own telepathic melody returning to him. Kelli immediately hummed several notes two times over to ensure Link would easily memorize and repeat it. The melody was not only beautiful, but it also possessed a mysterious aura, just as Kelli herself seemed to.

"Ah yes, excellent idea," Daphnes agreed. "Now we must take our leave. I wish both of you luck in your searches." After thanking the king, Link mounted Epona and began riding across Hyrule Field. Knowing he definitely wanted to find Saria first, Link made his first destination the Kokiri Forest. Still, he was now highly curious about Kelli and her power as well as the monsters he had recently encountered. What was the connection between the two that allowed the girl to detect them so easily? Figuring the answers would come to him in due time, Link shifted his focus on his original home, the Kokiri Forest. He could only hope that this new evil had not done worse to it than Ganondorf had.