-Link-

We walk into the castle's backyard. There were a few Spinuts walking around, but Alfonzo quickly gets rid of them with his rapier. It was a bit weird to see him in action, since he was usually relaxed and reserved. Still, his strength as a soldier certainly paid off here.

I inspect the area a little for the secret passage, but there was nothing to be seen, leaving only one possibility. "I think the passage is behind a part of the rock. That bomb flower-" Why the heck is a bomb flower even in this place? If anything it just makes it easier to get in or even destroy Hyrule Castle! "-will help us find it."

Zelda asks me, "But how are we going to find the spot? Are just going to throw the bomb flower at the cliff until we find it?"

"No, that's really dangerous and stupid." I ignore the glare that Zelda gives me and press my ear against a part of the wall. "If the passage is here, then a part of the wall will sound hollow. We just keep knocking our knuckles on the rock until we hear an echo."

She gasps in awe. "Oooooh! That's really smart of you!"

"Eh, it's not that big of a deal." Which is kind of the problem I have with people.

The three of us rap our knuckles against the rock for a few minutes. We eventually find the spot, which was on the top level of the rocks. I then grab the bomb flower and blow the wall up, which sure enough leads to the passage we were looking for. It was pretty weird how the bottom of the ground was fine even after the explosion, but Zelda and Alfonzo rush into the cave, forcing me to abandon my thoughts and run after them.

Inside of the cave was a big door, along with a switch and a block of steel. After testing the switch, we discover that it actually lowers the door. The only problem was that the door only stayed open as long as there was something on the switch, which meant we would be leaving someone behind to keep the door open. I knew that Alfonzo had to stay with us, as he was the only brawn we had, but I didn't feel comfortable staying behind in case there was some kind of obstacle that required logic to get through. Knowing these two, they'd just come back to get me.

As I think about how to get past the door, Zelda points out, "Why don't we use that block over there?"

"That?!" I shout. "It's made out of steel!"

She eagerly nods her head. "Yeah! It's perfect for weighing down the switch!"

You're missing the point here princess… I walk up to the block, a bit daunted by the task at hand. Well, I CAN lift boulders twice the size of me and throw it hard enough to turn it into dust, even though I'm still barely a kid. Maybe I can move this block. I bend my knees and place both of my hands on the block. Still, this IS steel we're talking about, and it's the size of me, maybe even bigger. It's probably going to take both me and Alfonzo to even have a chance of-

*Sound of the block moving easily*

"..." I push the block again to see if it was a fluke. It wasn't. In less than a minute I push the BLOCK THE SAME SIZE AS ME MADE ENTIRELY OF STEEL onto the switch.

Zelda shouts, "Great, the door's open! Let's continue on!"

The two start walking towards the door when Alfonzo notices that I wasn't moving. He asks me, "Link? Are you all right?"

"...Alfonzo."

"Yeah Link?"

"I'm not so sure if I'm actually human anymore."

-Man wearing bandanna-

"Bah!" Cole cries out. "What's taking those pests so long?! It's been almost twenty minutes, yet the brat's train is STILL at Hyrule Town!"

I sigh at his tantrum. "Why don't you just make the spirit tracks disappear early? Then we can go corner Zelda in her not-as-secret-as-she-thinks-it-is-chamber and-"

"No, you fool! It HAS to be when they're on the tracks! What else is better than making the spirit tracks disappear while there's a train on it? Nothing I tell you, it's PERFECT!" He starts to laugh maniacally, proud of his plan.

If he wasn't the only way to revive Malladus, I would have sent him back to the shadows a looooong time ago.

Still, I had to acknowledge that Cole was right about Zelda and Link being late. Well, assuming that his plan actually worked the way it was suppose to. "Are you sure that Zelda told Link about her suspicions?"

"Yes, I'm positive that she did!"

"Even though we have no clear way of knowing that Zelda somehow met with Link, and if she did then it would be in private, so we still wouldn't know that for sure-"

"I told you already, yes! I'm sure of it!"

I sigh, and I feel a migraine starting to form. "Well, is there any other way that they could get to the tower without using a train?"

"What? No that's impossib-" Cole's eyes suddenly widens, and his mouth drops open. "...Oh crap."

-Link-

The secret passage, for some odd reason, led about twenty feet outside the Spirit Tower instead of inside it, which kinda ruined the point of the passage being safe and secure. Still, it was close enough for us to get there on foot. "C'mon," I say to Alfonzo and Zelda, "We're almost at the tower. Let's hurry before something bad happens!"

As soon as I finish that sentence, the train tracks that led from Hyrule to the tower disappears right before our eyes. I wasn't surprised honestly, considering the obvious foreshadow that the chancellor unknowittingly gave me, neither was I surprised when Cole suddenly appears out of nowhere cackling like crazy.

I was, however, surprised when a tall man with a bandanna over his mouth walked to us, shaking his head with every step. Seriously, we were in an open field and he just walks over to us as if he just came out of a door.

"Cole," the strange man said, "You're making us look stupid."

Cole scowls at the other guy and shouts, "Shut up, Bryn!" He said the name particularly loud for some reason as well.

"Wow, sure, give our enemies my name. That can only help us in the long run."

"I said to zip it!" Cole then turns back to us. "...*Ahem!* I seemed to have underestimated you, brat. You pulled a fast one on me, I'll give you that. However, this is as far as you will get to the Tower of Spirits! Bryn and I will make sure of that! Bwahahahaha!"

Bryn shakes his head again, and for a moment I wonder if he was really Cole's ally.

Even so, I was starting to get a bit worried. Although Cole is an idiot, he looks like he can control magic. On top of that, the guy next to him seems to know what he's doing, and looks about as beefy as Alfonzo. Alfonzo is the only one that has a weapon as well, which leaves him outnumbered…

"Link."

Alfonzo cuts off my thoughts. I look at him and see that he's starting to walk towards Bryn. "I'll take care of these two. You take the princess to the tower."

"What?! Alfonzo, I know you were part of Zelda's royale guard once, but this is just-"

Alfonzo cuts me off again, "Right now, the most important thing is Zelda's safety. If she gets kidnapped, then all of Hyrule will be in danger." Alfonzo pulls out his rapier out of his sheath. He holds the blade upwards, inches away from his face as he takes a fighting stance. "I cannot allow these foul beings to do that! I will stop them, here and now!"

"A-Alfonzo…." I bite my lip in frustration. For once, he's right. The bigger picture here is to get Zelda to the tower of spirits. After mustering up all of my guts, I grab Zelda's hand and start to pull her towards the tower. "Come on, we have to go!"

"What?!" She looks back to my friend standing off against Bryn. "B-but Alfonzo-"

"I'm worried about him too Zelda, but he's putting himself at risk for us to get away! We can't just waste this chance like-"

All of a sudden, my body collides into something. I tumble to the ground, wondering what I just ran into when I see some sort of magical-wall in front of me.

"Nice try..." I turn around and see Bryn with his right arm extended towards me and Zelda. "...But did you really think I would let you get away? If I wanted, you'd already be dead."

I hear Alfonzo growl in frustration. I was also pretty pissed at Bryn, but I knew that the only thing I could do now was trust my friend to make it back alive.

After a few moments of intense silence, Alfonzo charges towards Bryn. He swings his sword with such power and speed that I wondered if he was the same Alfonzo I knew. His expression was blazing with determination, and I could feel his will to protect us emanating from his body.

Bryn, however, was easily keeping up with him. He parries all of Alfonzo's slices with his metal arm, and he looks unimpressed from Alfonzo's effort.

After a couple of more attacks, Alfonzo lunged towards Bryn. Bryn moves to the sidesteps his attack and counter-punches Alfonzo in the face. The strength of his punch was massive, as Alfonzo flies past me and lands roughly on the ground.

I cry out, "ALFONZO!"

"Don't worry kid," Bryn calls out to me, "He's still alive. No point in killing someone who's too weak to lay a scratch on me." He then holds his mechanical arm out and beckons with his index finger. "Now then… Give us the princess, and you can walk away without a beatdown."

Alfonzo... Weak?

Give you the princess?

I curl my fists, my heart burning with rage and my teeth grinding together. "You'll be lucky to still have your teeth when I'm done with you!"

Bryn's eyes widen in surprise. After a few moments, he sighs and says, "Have it your way. Don't say I didn't warn you." He then charges towards me, leaving me with very little time to think.

Okay, so he used his left arm throughout the entire fight. That means he'll most likely attack me the same way!

I watch his left hand, which he sure enough uses. I duck just in time, and then drive my fist into his stomach as hard as I can. His eyes widens, and he staggers a bit.

Bryn looks at me, a baffled expression on his face, before straightening his posture. "Not bad, kid. I didn't think you could throw a punch like that. But there's a distinct difference between us."

Before I can even blink, I feel something in my stomach.

Pain.

"I have the power to kill you. You don't."

My vision suddenly grows bleak, and I find myself unable to breath. Bryn removes his fist from me, allowing my body to fall to the ground.

Z-Zelda… Alfonzo…

I try to push myself up, only to collapse onto the ground. My bones felt weaker than chu-jelly, and I felt like hurling.

The last thing that I see is Cole approaching Zelda maliciously, and Zelda's scream fades into my subconscious.

-Bryn-

"MWAHAHAHAHA! Excellent work Bryn!"

"Yeah, no kidding. I was the one who handled everything."

Cole glares at me for that, but calms down rather quickly. "No matter. We have Zelda's body, and are now ready to start the revival of Malladus. Let's go to the top of the Spirit Tower, posthaste!"

I grab Zelda's body and start following Cole. However, there were some doubts in my mind. Zelda's spirit just flew away. Cole is too much of an idiot to know this, but Zelda can still walk and talk as anybody else can. While it shouldn't matter, if someone can see her, then it might become a problem, especially if she talks to Anjean or the other Lokomos.

As I think to myself, I find myself right next to the unconscious bodies of the two men protecting Zelda. Although the brute wasn't anything special, the kid was pretty smart. And pretty strong. Unlike most people, it seems that he can actually use his head. With a person like him around, there's no telling what kind of ruckus he may cause. The most logical answer to this is to kill him right now, just to be sure...

Cole notices that I had stopped walking, and he shouts to me, "Bryn? What're you slouching around for?"

...

I shake my head and reply, "It's nothing." Cole and I then continue to keep walking with Cole to the tower.

On the way to the tower, I kick myself internally. I was plenty aware that the kid could be a potential problem against reviving Malladus, as his analytical skills exceeded most others. Even so, I didn't have the guts to do it. While I was ensuring humanity's destruction by reviving Malladus, I never actually killed a person before. Maybe sparing the boy was my way of trying to justify myself. Or maybe I was still too weak.

Either way, my goal was to obtain the power that I so-craved for years, nothing more, nothing less. I could spare to let a kid live a little bit longer.