Within The Moon

"CLANG!"

Link put a hand to his heart and forehead, pretending to faint. "Oh my, I am sooooo scared by the closing of the door. Like it has not been done before."

"Really, Link? For someone deemed as the Hero of Legend, you act so very...childish."

Link sighed, swiping away his annoying fairy. "I am not the next hero, Spryte. I am just a boy from Ordon who found the Pendant of Courage."

Spryte turned bright red, and zipped to Tael. "Zelda?"

The blonde, who had already came to the conclusion that Link was indeed the Hero of Hyrule reborn or whatever, strayed away from the arguing trio, and examined the dark room. She decided to not answer Spryte's question directly, "Time will tell if Link is truly the Hero or just the son of a knight mistakenly thought to be the one."

Link caught on to what Zelda meant, and angrily folded his arms. "Which part of 'I am not the Hero of Legend' don't you guys get?"

Zelda strolled back to Link, and gripped the Pendant of Courage. "The part where you keep denying the fact that there is a very high chance you are! This pendant only glows in your hands because it has chosen you, Link. Farore has chosen you!"

"Well, I don't want to be the Hero!"

"You did when you was a kid!"

"It was just a dream! Yes, I believed the legends, which you didn't, and yes, I wanted to defeat dangerous monsters, brave these dungeons, and rescue fair maidens, but I grew out of it. I am not that boy anymore, but a man, and men don't fantasize such crazy notions."

"Grrr…"

Hearing the low rumble in the room, Spryte flew quickly to Link's size, pulling on his blue shirt. "Umm… Link…"

Spryte's call was ignored, as Zelda continued their argument. "You, a man? Save yourself, Jonah, from the whale you put yourself in. Men don't run from their calling, they take it up, whether they like it or not. A twelve year old kid took up the mantle 30 years ago, and so did his predecessors, whether it was their choice, or because it was their duty." Zelda turned away from Link, folding her arms. "Rusl would be disappointed in you."

"Grrr… Boom… Boom…"

Spryte turned grey in color, and began to tug on her respective human's clothes. "HEY!" Link was the first to mentally snap out of the argumentative state, and began to heed the noise of the growls and the booming footsteps. Color drained from his face, and he began to drown out whatever Zelda was saying.

"He taught you that men should be honorable, and right now, you are on the opposite side of that spectrum! Why, Link, are you doing this?"

The footsteps stopped, and Link raised a shaking finger, and pointed behind his friend. "Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zelda…"

"What? What are you pointing at? You think I am playing with you?" She sighed, and proceeded to turn around. "There is clearly nothing...behind...me…" Her eyes were marred with the sight of a huge, brown scaled lizard, similar in physique to a triceratops, with horns sticking from its scaly exterior all over its body, the largest of them above its nostrils. Its jaws opened, and revealed several rows of teeth followed by a large hole leading to its esophagus.

"RAAAAAAAAAAARRRRHHHH!" Spit flew from the monster's mouth, battering the Ordonians and the fairies. They moved slowly back as the monster finished its battle cry.

"Spryte, what the hell is this?"

Spryte, who hid herself in Link's hood of his cloak, cried out, "That's the Infernal Dinosaur, King Dodongo!" Said King Dodongo rose up on its hind legs, and the fairy, who had had enough scary moments to fill her entire life, screamed, "RUN!" Link and Zelda felt their legs guide them to the right side of the room, running for dear life as King Dodongo balled up and began rolling behind them, threatening to grind the young ones under its weight. Despite its size, they were able to keep ahead of the rolling beast, until it came to to a complete stop in the upper center part of the room. It uncurled, and faced the humans in the room's direct center with its deadly yellow eyes anticipating dinner.

Link finally drew his sword and shield, and stepped in front of Zelda. "That's all you got, Your Majesty?"

If the dinosaur was offended by Link's taunt, it responded very violently. Opening it jaws again, it began to suck in the air in the room, much like a very powerful vacuum. It was so strong Link and Zelda were moving towards the beast, causing the boy to fall on his face and slid expeditiously towards the Dodongo. "Zelda, do something!"

"'Zelda, do something!'" Zelda, who was using her magic to steady herself, watched as a glowing ball began to form within the vacuum. It had grown big enough it almost fitted in the mouth, and if Zelda knew what it was going to do, she didn't like it. "Oh no!" Quickly summoning Nayru's Love, she shielded herself against the fireball that was fired seconds later, and was sent skidding to the lower center of the room, by the sealed door they had entered in. Dissipating the barrier, she and Spryte watched as Link rolled away from a stomp from the Dodongo, but was still unable to return to his feet. "Spryte, anything will help…"

"Okay, okay, okay, okay… Wait, remember the words etched on the wall in that room?"

"Yeah, it was… 'Dodongo hates smoke,' right? But we don't have any smoke, or anything that could…" Thinking quickly, Zelda held her hand out, and shot several fireballs into the face of the Dodongo. It reeled back and roared in confusion, just giving Link enough time to recover and run away from the beast. She kept firing as quickly as she could, covering her vision of the Dodongo with smoke and fire, and could hear what was either the sounds of pain or anger from behind the veil.

She stopped firing once Link her and Sprtye, and all three looked over at the clearing smoke. Despite her attack, the 'smoke' Zelda thought the monster would dislike probably did absolutely nothing but piss it off, as they could hear it growling behind the smoke. Link lowered his weapons, feeling helpless. "Zel, what was your plan?"

"Remember the writing on the wall? Dodongos don't like smoke."

Link rubbed the back of his head, before an idea came into his head. "You thought like a mage, Zelda, but the Hero of Hyrule wasn't one. Only the items he had with him were magical, like the boomerang we found earlier. In these dungeons, you have to think like him."

"Then what do we do?"

Link began to search his pouch. "Well, if your attacks and his anger is any indication, you did manage to stun him, but even then, the fire was harmless. If he doesn't dislike smoke from the outside," Link raised his arm in the air, holding a spherical blue object in the air, "then we'll do it from the inside."

Spryte rolled her eyes. "But he's not the Hero of Hyrule, he says…"

King Dodongo burst forward from the smoke, his mouth immediately vacuuming the area. Our heroes managed to keep their footing, but were slowly being pulled towards the beast's mouth and the rapidly forming fireball inside. Grinning, Link winded up his arm, and cocked it back. "Bombs away!" He threw the unlit bomb towards the fireball, and watched it be consumed by its target. The Dodongo ceased its attack, began to snack on the item, and swallowed. Link, Zelda, and the fairies all had awestruck faces as they waited for any indication that the bomb was even ignited. "Uhh…"

Boom!

King Dodongo collapsed onto its side after the walled sound of the boom exploding was heard, exposing the soft underbelly, but the incoming Link saw a different target to attack. "Zellie, boost me up onto its leg."

"Ok…" Zelda waved her hand forward, using wind magic to give Link some airtime, as he leaped from the ground to the Dodongo's knee, then bounced again, driving his sword into the Dodongo's neck...to no avail, as the sword barely made a denture into the monster's tough exterior. Just as Link was going for a second attempt, King Dodongo began its revival, and made a move to stand up on all fours.

"Whoa there!" Link hopped off just in time to see King Dodongo rear its huge head at him, and did the same with one of its sharp claws, sending it towards Link. Link was able to raise his shield up, protecting his body from physical harm but not from the sheer force of the attack. "AAAAHHH!" The boy hero was sent off his feet, collided with the ground, and rolled until he hit the side wall.

"Link! Not again." Using her fireball attack once more, Zelda drew the monsters attention away from her friend to her. "Spryte, check on Link, and get me a bomb."

"Will do!" The fairy zipped to the boy in blue and khaki, while Zelda continued to hold off King Dodongo. The lizard snarled and hissed as fire plummeted its face, although the velocity of the attacks began to slow down as Zelda began to lose energy from performing the art. Looking right, she could see Sprytel returning back to her, a bomb in tow. Taking the bomb, Zelda stopped her attack and waited for the desired opening. The smoke cleared, and this time, Zelda could see ash marking the scales of the king's face, like face paint on a warrior. Angered, the beast opened its mouth, sucking everything towards its chompers, and Zelda intentionally caught the gale, riding it until she was just a few feet of the Dodongo and its growing fireball. "Take this!" The bomb flew from Zelda's grasp to the throat of the beast, and its mouth closed. The faint sound of the bomb exploded rang within the Dodongo, and it wallowed in pain as it shook and shivered before balling up and rolling left (Link's on the right side of the room) towards the wall before turning and collapsing in the center on its back, vaporized by a bright light.

Zelda fell to her knees, worn out by the excessive use of her magic, and turned to the fairy and a sort-of-revived Link. Making her way over, she sat beside him, ruffling his already disarrayed hair. "You alright?"

"Cannot wait...to bomb...a Dodongo…" Link rubbed his head, and opened his eyes, disappointed to find the beast already defeated. "Ugh, you have got to stop saving me Zelda. That's my job."

"Your job to save yourself? Good work."

"No, to save you. That's how it is supposed to be, like when we were kids. Now, it is the other way around. I'm getting the beat downs, and you're my mage with a huge ass robe."

Zelda smiled as she stood up, and offered a hand to Link. "Yea, I might be your hero for now, but… You are also one, a much bigger hero than I am, Link."

Sensing where the conversation was headed, Link looked to his knees. "Zelda...For the last time, I am not-."

Before Zelda could question Link, Spryte zipped towards the pair impatiently. "Hey! Come on." Link sighed and followed his fairy. Zelda followed closely behind, and stood in front of her companion as they came to a stop within the chamber the Pendant of Wisdom rested. Knowing that it was her time, Zelda stepped forward and looked down on the pendant. It was blue in color, and like how Courage had the symbol of Farore, Wisdom had Nayru' symbol marked upon it. Wrapping the metal chain holding the pendant around her neck, Zelda looked up as a golden light blinded her. Once more, words were scripted on the wall.

Accipite, consequi tamen non credunt. Quattuor deos quos elegistis, quattuor terra vocat. Puer viro, puella regia, rebellem puellae, et pueri furem. Ubi turres maxime sortis movebuntur. Et lux in tenebris, in pugna aspectu. "'Receive, achieve, but still disbelieve. Four the gods have chosen, four the land calls forth. A boy hero, a girl royal, a girl rebel, and a boy thief. Where time towers above all, destiny shall move. For the dark and the light, a fight is in sight.'" Zelda shrugged and walked back toward her friends. "Where time towers above all…"

Link folded his arms. "Any idea what that, or any of what that text means?"

"There's a fourth. Legend has always spoken of three though." Zelda glanced back at the words as she cupped her chin. "Is there a fourth Pendant?"

"No, the stories of the Hero of Legend speak of three. There is always three. Three goddesses, three chosen by those goddesses, the legendary Triforce is three pieces made into one… Wait, what about the third pendant?"

"It said nothing about that, but it speaks of four people. 'A boy hero' - you, Link, - 'a girl royal, a girl rebel, and a boy thief.' I must be the girl rebel."

"Wait." Zelda turned to Link, who faced Zelda analytically. "Zelda… Our nameless friend said that queens were named Zelda as well, and… Wisdom is the defining trait of the chosen of Nayru, always a princess. Hyrule's princess." Link looked down to his own pendant, and held it to Zelda. "I… I believe it was just a coincidence that we were obtaining the pendants, but now that you have one...and I have one…" Link turned around, his face switching from curiosity to fury. He vanished into the light, and in hurry to see what Link was up to, Zelda and Spryte followed after him.

Zelda and Spryte caught Link in a most precarious position. He had his sword drawn, pointed towards the man in the green robe, who stood facing Link as if he was having an everyday conversation. Confused as to why Link would do such a thing, Zelda ran towards the pair. "Link!"

"Stay away, Zelda." Zelda kept her distance, close enough for her to intervene should Link do anything crazy but far away Link's request is satisfied. Link didn't seem to care either way. His attention was on the other end of his blade. "Tell us the truth."

"What truth do you want that I haven't told?" Feeling that the man's calmness was to mock Link, the boy stepped forward, having the literal tip of the sword at the man's chin.

"Stop playing games, whoever you are. I want the truth. Why are we picking up these pendants? How did you find us? And who the hell are you?"

The man lowered his head, taking a few moments to be silent (which only irritated Link more), then move Link's sword away from him. Gesturing for Zelda and Spryte to come closer, the man placed both his hands on his cane and looked to the afternoon sky. "To answer your first question, I have to answer your second. I didn't expect to meet you at Ordon, as I was there visiting an old friend… Your father, Link."

Link frowned, dropping his sword to the ground. "My father?"

"Yes. Rusl Koroks. He, too, I unexpectedly ran into. I… I had always thought that I was the last Hyrule Warrior around, even thought Impa was dead as well. I should have known better to count the Sheikah out, but after seeing Rusl, I… I…" The man looked down, wiping his eyes as he began to pace. " I had spent 18 years of my life in hiding, living with my regret. I thought everyone I knew, that I loved, that I would love was gone. The life I built in Calatia since then was also threatened, so... After all I had did in the names of Nayru, Farore, and Din, they cursed me afterwards. All I waited for was death, and they never gave it to me. So I decided that I was going to leave this part of the world altogether. So I went into Ordon to fetch supplies, and went to the smithy to renew my sword. I handed a man my sword, and once I recognized who it was… It was the man I called my brother. I learned everything that day. That you, Link, were alive and well, and so was Impa. I also learned about my other friends who heads the Resistance. As we were talking, the attack happened, and… I hadn't held a sword in years until a few days prior, so I was lucky to fight the Bokoblins off. Rusl and I fought side by side, and it felt like the old days. Of course, villagers fell around us, and at times, I thought it was the two of us versus the world."

"How did he die?" The man paused to see Link's wet face, "How did my father die?"

"Like the Knight of Hyrule he was...because of me. We figured out that the monsters were coming from the west woods, where you two were, and in Rusl's panic, we raced for the entrance. There was a Moblin in our way, and I was going to sacrifice myself so that Rusl would have a chance of finding you, but… That's when he told me the ultimate truth."

"What truth?" Zelda asked.

The man looked to Zelda. "I wouldn't tell you earlier because Impa never did, and it is her right to reveal to you what i am going to say, but… I told you earlier than the name 'Zelda' is of the royal family, and Impa was a friend of your mother… Sheikah are also known to be the protectors of the royal family, and protected you she has."

Link turned back to Zelda, and looked to her pendant. "You're...a princess. The Princess of Hyrule."

Zelda dropped her jaw in shock, turning from Link to the man with the bit of hope that he would declare Link wrong. Instead, he nodded. Zelda took a step back, shaking her head to dodge the claim. "No, that's...that's impossible!"

"How is it that you were so accepting of me being the Hero, yet when it is by the same 'proof' that you're the Princess?"

"I mean, it makes sense… But at the same time it doesn't."

Have you never questioned," the man said, "why Impa trained your vigorously in the art of magic more than physical combat like Link? Your bloodline, the lineage of the mortal goddess, is half of your being. As for the other half… It's usually diluted at this point, but you are the offspring of the Hero of Hyrule as well." The man turned around, facing the woods, dropping his hood. "When he left the castle, the Hero not only left the title, but the woman he loved and the child he beget. But he thought both mother and child were lost, and for 18 years, he wished that, even if Her Majesty had died, his child could have made it. So it was two days ago that, when facing a Moblin, that one father who knew that his son was in danger, told another father, who had thought his child long dead, 'Go, and save my son...and your daughter.'"

Link and Zelda stood in stupor, for different reasons. One, because his hero was right before him, the other, because a lost parent was found. "You're...the Hero of Hyrule?"

"And my father?"

"Yes, to you Zelda. No, to you Link. The Hero of Hyrule died when Hyrule lost the light. I am but a shade of that courageous man. Shade… an appropriate name."

Link shook his head. "You're-"

"I am Shade. You are Link. The name of many heroes before, and the one of the name now." Shade turned around, and looked at both Link and Zelda. "I know how it is to have a destiny as big as being the chosen two is, I get it. But don't deny destiny. Be the Hero that cuts the darkness, and the princess that shines the light. I don't ask this of you, because of who I am." Shade dropped to a knee, and bowed his head. "I beg of you, because of who I was, who she was, what your father was, what Impa was, and what all of Hyrule, that you become the heroes Hyrule needs and deserves."

"So be it." Shade looked up to see Zelda kneeling before him, smiling. "Then to Clock Town we go, but I have one question." Both stood up, and Shade brushed his legs.

"Hit me."

"The dungeon told us to head to Clock Town, and possibly that where the Pendant of Power is. But one part was confusing. Do you know of a fourth chosen?"

Shade frowned, and looked at Zelda quizzically. "A what?"