Back to Link's POV.

COUNTING STARS

Chapter 23: Recruit

Fires burn all around. A band of survivors scream as they run from their monstrous pursuers. Skyscrapers crumble, the academy has been razed, and Hyrule Castle lies trapped in a brutal siege.

Where am I, you ask, throughout all this chaos? Well, I am sound asleep. I know that much. And I'm pretty confident that this is another stupid dream, meant to explain my destiny to me. Well. If you—whoever is sending me these cliché prophecies, you—just flat-out told me what to do, then maybe I could actually go about fulfilling my oh-so-important destiny, instead of trying unsuccessfully for hours to decipher the meanings behind these unnecessary visions. Seriously, it's like you have no practicality in all this.

My chosen son…

What the—? Did the sky just talk? I turn my virtual head, searching for the speaker, but find nothing.

You must channel your frustration toward the real enemy…

I frown. Obviously, genius. You wanna give me some helpful information now?

Soft, precious tones of music fill the chaotic air of the crumbling city. I find my agitation dissolving into a relaxed stupor, a familiar one that I'd found myself transfixed in during my blissful days spent with a certain special someone. I look down the long street and into the face of destruction; there, suspended in a beam of golden light, is a girl, plucking at the strings of a magnificent instrument with peacefully-closed eyes. As I recognize her, grief clutches at my chest. How fate loves to torture emotions.

"Zelda," I say aloud, my voice echoing loudly in this anarchic void.

Yes…

"Who are you?!" I demand, agitation and sorrow lacing my tones. "What do you want?!"

You must go to her…

I blink through my confusion. "…N-no!" I shout, hands balling into fists. "I can't! I won't!"

If you value her life, and everyone else's… you will…

I scowl, my eyes wet. "You know why I won't! She could die!"

She must find her blessing, like you have found yours… or she will die along with everyone else…

Realization grasps me, my chest compressing. The goddesses are attempting to choose Zelda as well. Like they've chosen me and Ganondorf. I wouldn't wish that selection upon anybody—especially not Zelda. "What damn blessing?!" I choke out, pain evident in my shouts. "It's a curse and you know it!"

Silence ensues, and I stand their in tremors, waiting. Then, the voice returns:

Go to her.

It was strong that time. Not wispy and elusive. It was an order, a powerful one, emanating divine authority.

After remaining there in silence for another moment, I defiantly will myself awake, watching the surrounding chaos dissolve into nothingness.

Friday, December 14th

My eyes snap open, and I stare up at the aged ceiling. A broken projector dangles from its hinges, its body cracked and scalded. That thing looks familiar. Didn't I break that?

"Ah. You're awake."

I bolt upright, startled, then find myself losing my balance and falling off of the desk I've been lying on. The floor meets my face quite eagerly, but I am not too thrilled to make its acquaintance. Grumbling in pain, I shuffle to my feet, holding my hurt nose in my hands.

Watching with subdued amusement, Rauru sits at his desk, hands clasped at his lap. "I'm glad you've finally gotten some sleep, Link. I can tell you have been avoiding it."

Rubbing my eyes, I frown. "How long was I—?"

"Nineteen hours," he states, grinning at my baffled reaction. Rauru gestures toward the digital clock on the wall, where it reads eleven PM in bright red figures. "Now that it's winter break, I allowed you to sleep over in my classroom to recover. You weren't doing so well. And a great lot has happened since."

Chest tightening, I sputter, "What? What happened?" Part of the reason why I don't allow myself to sleep for regular amounts of time is that I'm frightened to see what's changed when I awaken. What if something bad has happened? Could I have prevented it?

"I will show you. But, Link," he says, stopping to send me a look of concern after turning toward his laptop, "you will not like it."

"Show me anyway."

Rauru hesitates, then spins his laptop around to show me the screen, pressing the space bar to start a video embedded in a news website.

"We are on top of breaking news this morning in Castle Town, as a catastrophic terror attack has brought the city to its knees," announces a female anchor. "Be warned, as the scenes displayed next will be graphic."

I watch in horror as an aerial view of a massive army is displayed onscreen, a tall, clown-like man leading the charge toward a band of policemen. The footage shifts to the camera of a cop car, where I can see, with great clarity, the determined face of Yuga. An unlucky cop gets beaten down by one of his henchmen, and it is then that I realize that the army is solely comprised of monsters.

Monsters! Before the public's eyes! This is certain to instill a collective feeling of terror.

"Police and SWAT teams were unsuccessful in stopping the terrorist, who publicly announced himself as Yuga," the anchor continues, in stride, as Yuga is shown shooting an officer with his chrome pistol. "The casualty rates were off the charts for a single incident, numbering at just under two hundred. And as for the army—nobody has ever seen anything like this before. Monsters, as one surviving policeman described them, follow Yuga like he is their master."

I flick my eyes up to meet Rauru's steady gaze, which I notice has been focused on me, grimly, as if studying my reaction. Feeling ill, I continue watching.

The anchor proceeds, "After halting his army, Yuga took an injured officer's megaphone, and proceeded to offer this chilling message to the world..."

The image shifts to a close up of Yuga as he climbs onto the hood of a police car. "Peasants! I am Yuga." A maniacal grin splays out across red-painted lips. Policemen, citizens, and monsters all gaze up at him, displaying disdain, fear, and mirthlessness, respectively. "I am King of the Dark World, and this city now belongs to me," continues the king. "My breed of servants will patrol these streets and enforce my laws. Anything I or my subjects want will be ours. A city-wide curfew will restrict leaving your homes before noon and after six PM. Feel free to break my rules as you please, but remember—my monsters do need food." A lizalfos licks its scaly chops with a forked tongue, vouching for his leader's threat.

Then, to my ultimate heartbreak, another figure steps onto the hood of the car, standing dutifully beside his tall master. His red eyes gaze down coldly upon the crowd, his assault rifle pointed skyward.

"Dark," I choke out, voice just above a whisper.

Yuga looks briefly toward his slave, whose body is encased entirely in shadow. He then scowls down at the fearful crowd, and shouts into the megaphone, "What are you waiting for? It's before noon!"

On cue, Dark fires multiple rounds into the sky, and the crowd disperses in a matter of seconds. Citizens trip over citizens, over cops, and an unlucky few lie knocked out from impacts with the ground. Policemen try to stay and fight the advancing army that chases down the fleeing crowd, but are vastly outnumbered, securing their ill fates.

Rauru closes the laptop, leaning forward on his elbows. "Yuga then went on to set his monsters loose throughout the city and block off all of Castle Town's exits. The citizens are trapped here."

My eyes wet, I drop my gaze. This is my fault. By weakening Ganondorf, I put Yuga in the position to take over the city. As much as I hate to say it, maybe I'd rather have Ganondorf be alive now.

"Link," says Rauru, an intrigued frown creasing his forehead, "I noticed you said something when that boy in shadow appeared. He looked an awful lot like you. Could you explain for me?"

"He was my doppelganger—my best friend," I admit, the words spilling out. "Yuga brainwashed him, hypnotized him or something."

"When did this occur?"

"Last night. When Yuga killed Gan—" I clamp my mouth shut, careful not to expose my secret affairs to the suspicious professor.

"Killed Ganondorf," Rauru finishes for me anyway. "That fugitive and your uncle's murderer. That little detail was mentioned next in the news video. I was not sure if I should have shown it, in case it would upset you." He sighs. "I know how much you wanted justice to be served. Yuga's bullet provided him the easy way out."

My heart thuds in my chest, and I don't answer. I'm on thin ice with Rauru right now; if he finds out I was there, I'm certainly exposed as Hero, unless I can talk my way out of it. But here's hoping he won't even question my moderate slip-up.

"But you speak as if you've experienced that incident first-hand." He strokes his mustache, gazing pointedly at me.

So much for that hope.

"W-well," I stammer, fumbling for words, "my detective told me that Ganondorf's gang was weak, and I saw him one night, so I followed him, and, and Yuga showed up and—"

"You do not have to explain, Link," Rauru says, as if already knowing every truth regarding the matter.

I can feel the ice cracking below my feet. If I'm exposed, can I trust Rauru to keep my secret? Or will he blab to the Headmaster, who will have me expelled, or to Chief Auru, who will eagerly have me arrested? It is not a risk I'm willing to take.

"I-I don't want the police to think I was involved," I add meekly, sprinkling on another half-lie upon my mountain of untruths.

"Nonsense. The police are practically irrelevant now, considering…" He trails off, leaving his tacit conclusion unsaid.

Considering Yuga's takeover.

Hopelessness creeps into my tones. "What can we do?"

"We can begin with you, Link, and the destiny you've been ignoring."

I frown, once again put on the defensive. But now, with the stakes this high and the city this low, what's the point? He's right, anyway. He's always been right. The only thing left is a confession—that I am Hero, and the bearer of Courage—and then he can do whatever he has always wanted to do with that information. But, I suppose, that confession can wait until another day.

I rise to my feet and turn to exit, telling him weakly, "…I have stuff to do."

"I'm afraid we cannot leave," chimes Rauru at my back. "It's past curfew."

"He doesn't scare me," I toss adamantly over the shoulder, and at that, I detect the slightest hint of an intrigued smile upon Rauru's lips.

"Of course not. But please, Link, before you go," implores the professor, rising to his feet in a withholding gesture. When I stop, the old man heaves a sigh. "That Ganondorf… did Yuga perchance address him as the King of Evil?"

I tongue a tooth, considering his query. Oh, King of Evil... you forever belong in the world of light. You had no business to dabble in the dark arts. "Yes, he did, actually," I answer. Seeing Rauru's eyes widen, strangely, I quickly add, "But whatever that means, I'm certain it isn't true."

"Hm." Rauru sighs, then turns his back. "Well, I'd hope not. Because the only way to kill the evil king is with the Master Sword. Goodbye now, Link, and be safe."

The cold walk from the main academy building to the boys' dorm is a frightening one, albeit completely safe. Not the image I expected. I pictured demons prying limbs from innocent bodies at every turn. Ah, art.

I begin to wonder if the vastness of his army is a fabricated claim to instill fear—but that is when I hear footsteps in the crunchy snow behind me. I freeze—ha, weather joke—in my tracks and whirl around.

Lavender. Just the color I wanted to punch.

"Ow!" Vaati whines, holding a hand to his sore cheek. "Easy, Hero! I come in peace!"

"And you'll leave in pieces," I retort, lunging forward to land another strike.

Vaati dodges my swing, hopping backward. "Hear me out, Hero!" he yells, and I slowly relax, but remain poised.

This guy was supposed to be my ally. So was his gang, in fact, but Vaati had much more of my trust. That washed away with Cia's betrayal and Yuga's abrupt appearance.

"I still wish to be your ally," he says, hands raised in defense.

Teeth clenched, I shorten the distance between us, furiously staring down at him. "You lied to me!"

"By omission!" he counters, stepping back. "I still refuse to tell Yuga you live here. We're enemies, but still allies. Understand?"

I don't answer, simply looking his way with boiling anger.

Vaati breathes slowly, carefully choosing his words. "I'll only try to kill you if I'm ordered to, Hero. But even then I will fake effort, as long as you grant me mercy when you best me."

I ponder that, and it seems respectable. But something isn't right. "How do I know you haven't come here under Yuga's orders?" I demand. "How can I trust you?"

Vaati raises a finger, then digs into his pocket. "Yuga wants the Triforce of Wisdom," he says, fishing out a few folded and crumpled pieces of paper. "These maps show where it is. You and Dark left them in Volga's getaway van that night you took down Agahnim." He hands them my way. "I'm letting you take them."

I frown at his outstretched hand, then up at him. Given the circumstances, I am reluctant to re-offer him my trust. But giving me the maps—which could be handed over to Yuga and subsequently assure his domination—is a true symbol of his sincerity.

"…Why?" I ask him out of plain curiosity.

Vaati sighs, shrugging. "This is no life to live. I was only in it for the money. Did you see the carnage in the city? That was never my motive."

I slowly reach out and take the maps, telling him, "With no world, there will be no money."

Vaati nods. "Kill that damned clown for me."

I grin. "Gladly."

"Monsters everywhere! A killer clown!" Sheik shrieks, hands on my shoulders while shaking me back and forth. "I just saw the movie 'It' last night—please tell me this is just a nightmare!"

"It isn't," I tell the blonde, his scarlet eyes rendered hopeless.

Sheik releases his grip on me, covering his face with his hands and falling back onto his bed. "Ohhmygodss…" his muffled voice murmurs.

I stare at him, a heap of despair atop the dirty garments adorning his comforter. "Are you going to answer my question?" I ask pointedly, ignoring his moping.

"Whaquestion…" he grunts almost incoherently.

I inhale sharply, then say, "I want to know where Zelda is."

Sheik pulls his hands away and sits up to look at me, expression reflecting incredulity. "Don't you think we have bigger problems than romance right now, Link?"

"Romance—" I frown. "Sheik, this has nothing to do with that. I need to talk to her for reasons you don't understand. Just tell me where she is."

Muddled, Sheik squints. "So every reason you had for dumping her is just gonna be thrown out the window?"

"What?"

"You said you don't want to put her in danger. Look outside. It's more dangerous now than ever."

He has assumed the role of the protective brother. "You doubt me," I mutter, offended.

"Trouble follows you, Link. And all of us know you've been hiding something this whole time." He stands up now to look me in the eye. "I heard your uncle's killer is dead. So you don't have a single excuse for your expeditions anymore."

I close my eyes, huffing. "Actually, I've got one excuse left," I say, turning to leave.

Sheik's gaze follows me as I reach the door. "You don't mean…"

I stop, looking back with raised eyebrows to see his red eyes widen.

"…No," he says, shaking his head. He makes his way toward me, his voice elevating. "You are not going after Yuga!"

I peer at him calmly. "I don't think that's up to you."

"Link—why?!" he yells. "That is suicide! And there's no way I'm letting you drag my sister into this!"

"You don't understand, Sheik," I snap. "You never have."

"Enlighten me, then!" he shouts, frustration boiling over.

At that, my mouth instinctively clamps shut. I cannot tell him about Hero, about my visions, about my "destiny," because Sheik is too meddlesome. I can't have even more people put in harm's way. It breaks my heart that I must do so with Zelda, but what would be the consequences if I ignore the godesses' prophecies? We will all die, fatefully. Undoubtedly. Rauru happened to be the one who made me realize I must carry out the gods' orders, and I resent him for that, but in the end, he was right.

"…You won't tell me." Sheik bites his lip and briefly shuts his eyes. "Link. I can help you if you just let me," he says. "Come on, dude. You're like Sherlock, and I can be your Watson."

I snort. "More like Twatson."

He frowns. "Link."

"…You can help me by telling me where Zelda is," I say.

That was clearly not a satisfying answer for him, and it shows. But, with a sigh, he concedes. "She left before Yuga's curfew for our mother's house in Lakeside."

"Lakeside…" I murmur. Then, frantically, I grab his shoulders. "Sheik, Yuga blocked off all the exits!"

The blonde narrows his eyes, confused. "What does that mean?"

"He has monsters all along the borders, and Zelda tried to leave!" I shout. "She could've been hurt, or captured, or k—"

"Link, I'll call her, okay?" he says, whipping out his phone and dialing hastily. "Just calm down. And don't you dare leave this late; I can hear the demons from here."

"Yeah, whatever," I say, walking toward the window.

"Link!" he protests, and I stop to look at him. "Say it. Say you promise you won't leave."

I sigh, reluctant. As he puts the phone to his ear, I say, "I promise I won't leave."

So I left.

The ground hits hard against my joints, and I break off into an eastward sprint. If I have to run to that border, I will. My legs carry me across the slushy pavement, and the bitter wind feels even colder on this snowy night. I remain so focused on finding Zelda that I fail to notice something being pulled tight across my path.

Rope.

And I trip. And I fall. And I get a mouthful of hopefully-not-yellow snow.

Footsteps rush toward me, crunching in the snow. Dazed, I attempt to stand up, but slip and fall again, groaning. If a monster is about to kill me, then damn, what a lame way to go out.

"Link?" calls a strikingly familiar voice from directly above me.

I snap my head upward, groaning, the image of a pretty face distorted from my dizziness.

"Link, I—I thought you were another monster," breathes the girl, and my vision focuses in on a shiny object in her gloved hand. A small knife. Then I look up, and there she is.

"I was… looking for you," admits Zelda, pale face devoid of detectable emotion.

"Zelda," I murmur, scrambling awkwardly to my feet.

We stand across from each other, a good three yards away, as the icy wind whirls past us. Zelda folds her arms across her chest, tucking her meager weapon away, and gazes my way expectantly.

I simply cannot find the words. We stand here, all of our tension reaching its tipping point. My relief upon seeing her, and her surprise upon seeing me. Our mutual reluctance to be near one another again. What could I possibly say to her? Wisely, I stay silent.

"I need to talk to you," she begins slowly, "about something… important."

"Yeah," I say in soft tones, now noting the hurt in her eyes. "Yeah, me too."

But what exactly does she need to tell me about? Perhaps she already knows of her destiny—that isn't entirely likely. Though not proud of it, given the circumstances, I find my selfish heart yearning for her to consider rekindling our relationship. That is even less likely, and I'm ashamed to have even thought of it.

I'm so captivated by her intriguing eyes that I barely catch the signs of motion from just behind her. My eyes widen as the creature, a red bokoblin, lifts its arm in preparation to swing.

Quickly, I raise my hand and fire off a bolt of energy; it collides with the monster's chest, piercing the heart, and the bokoblin goes down with a whine.

Zelda yelps, whirling around to see the dead creature behind her disappear into a plume of purple smoke. She turns back to me, bewildered, relief—and perhaps even… awe?—reflecting within her sea-green eyes.

I nod my head back toward the academy. She nods at me in agreement, and we walk.

"This is going to sound completely insane," begins Zelda, walking through the doorway to her father's house.

"Can't be crazier than what I have to say," I assure her, closing the door behind me.

Zelda squints, curious, then shakes her head. "But the thing I'm gonna tell you will actually make no sense."

Frowning, wondering what she could possibly be alluding to, I say, "Neither will mine."

"You know what—we'll say them at the same time," Zelda offers, taking off her knitted hat and revealing her golden locks.

"Same time?" I repeat, trying not to get too distracted. "Alright."

"On three," Zelda says, and counts.

"The goddesses contacted me in a dream—"

Both of us stop, shocked, having both by some crazy coincidence said the exact same thing.

"Wait," I say slowly. "Did you say…"

Zelda opens her mouth to speak, but halts upon seeing her father walk into the room.

"Zelda, why are you not in bed—" Headmaster Gaepora Harkinian stops, his gaze locked on me. "Link," he says, surprised. "I haven't seen you in awhile. What are you doing here?"

Panicking, I look to Zelda. "He didn't hear about the Yuga incident," she quickly answers for me, "so I brought him here to keep him away from those… things."

The headmaster doesn't seem to display any ill will toward me. Perhaps Zelda hadn't told him of our little breakup. "Ah," he muses, believing his daughter's small lie. "I'm truly sorry our city has come to this, Link." He gazes at me ruefully, lowering his head. "At this point it seems you would be better off living in your hometown of Ordonia."

I'm responsible for more than he knows. I should be the one apologizing. "It isn't your fault, Mr. Harkinian," I say weakly. "You couldn't have controlled this. But maybe I can find a way to fix this city."

"I suppose we all can." The headmaster nods at me, a renewed hope surfacing in his demeanor. "I know we've all had our disagreements, but the city could sure use that Hero fellow right now."

"Father," Zelda says abruptly, "could you head upstairs? Link and I have some things to talk about."

Nodding, the headmaster turns to leave. "Alright, Zelda. I'm just glad you're both safe."

The city could sure use that Hero fellow right now, he'd said. I stare down at my feet, woeful yet inspired. The people need me.

"Now…" Zelda begins when her father is out of earshot. "Did we really have the same dream?"

I look at her, almost longingly. Cheeks nipped rosy by the cold, hair falling down her back, neck and torso wrapped warmly in a scarf and sweater, eyebrows knitted, soft lips set in a mere line. Strictly business, I assess with slight disappointment. "Well," I begin, forcing myself into the right mindset, "if you had a dream of a ruined city and talking about some blessing, then yes. We did."

Zelda tightens her jaw, expression unreadable. Then, she reaches out and grabs my right hand, pulling off the glove I've been wearing for the past while.

I move to grab it back. "What are you—"

"That," Zelda says, holding my glove out of reach and pointing to the Triforce on the back of my hand. "That was in my dream. The golden triangle thing." She meets my eyes now, racked from confusion. "You called it your power source a while ago. They called it my blessing."

I frown, grunting, "You think you're taking this from me? It's called the Triforce. This isn't your blessing. There are two more, and one belongs to you."

Zelda slowly backs away. "So… you believe them to be true," she says hauntingly. "These prophecies, and such."

"Sadly, yeah."

"Well then…" Zelda meets my eyes. "I want to help the people," she asserts with a confident nod. "And I'll go to find my Triforce."

My protective sirens instinctively blare before I can stop them. "Zelda—" I start.

"Don't even try to dictate my own choices again, Link," she interrupts, glaring coldly.

Oh. That rings a bell.

"Something tells me you know where it is." She folds her arms across her chest.

"I do," I say. "I planned on bringing it to you."

"As if I'm so incapable." She huffs. "I took care of myself perfectly fine during curfew hours."

"It was just how I interpreted my duty from the goddesses' message," I tell her, hands raised in a pacifying gesture.

"How I interpreted my message—" Zelda steps forward until we stand only a foot apart, pointing at herself with her thumb. "—was that we combine our efforts."

I narrow my eyes, saying slowly, "You want… to work with me."

"Two people fighting for the same goals doesn't mean they're working with one another."

She's frustrating. This plan will be a significant threat to her safety. And it would be much easier to argue with her if she weren't so attractive. "Indirectly, it does."

Zelda frowns. "I don't care. What matters is that we're doing what the goddesses tell us." At that, she turns and walks, leaving me alone in the living room. Irritated, I exit the house and begin the frigid trek back to my dorm.

She must hate me. It's understandable, really. Yet here we are, reluctant partners in search for the Triforce of Wisdom. Not the type of reunion I'd have wished for.

Well, it's a start.