Chapter 16: The Execution

Bridge of Eldin, Minutes Before Sunset

"The accused, man, Grateau, known by no other name, is here to answer for his crimes against the Kingdom," shouted Chrom. "The only sentence for such an act, is execution."

Chrom stopped, and Frederick took over. "The method of execution shall be beheading by the very blade he wielded, and then forgotten in the abyss that lies under the Bridge of Eldin," Frederick stated.

"The crimes against this interloper will now be listed: Raising an army with malicious intent. Kidnapping the residents of Ordon Village, and performing dark hexes on them. Invading and capturing the Sacred Grove. Attempting to capture Kakariko Village, and its neighboring Goron territory, Death Mountain. Destroying established property of the kingdom. Enacting an insurrection against the throne, and usurping control over Castle Town," listed the Hyrulean general. "Does the accused have any last thoughts, that they perhaps want to say?"

"Its a bit barbaric, this execution. But know that it was you, who is bringing this demise that will befall upon all of you," Grateau said. "But, I have accomplished what I set to do."

"It doesn't seem so, considering you're about to be executed," said Chrom.

"Oh, what it would take for me to elaborate," said Grateau. "Through a tear in time, you pulled pockets of people. The tear was small, but then you brought an entire army through, and ripped it wider. But it needed something to cut that final string. And that is when the Three Blades touch in unison. When the Twilight Sword, the Master Sword, and Falchion collide, they shall make the cut that brings the worlds together. The merge. No, not the merge. The collision. By bringing an army to save Hyrule, you set it on a collision course with your world."

"..." (Link). Link watched from afar, and listened in on his words. And he had no words to respond to Grateau. He did not know if he was lying, just to spite them. But part of him felt that it was true.

Chrom knew inside that Grateau was right. Naga warned him and Robin, about how pulling the army through could be cataclysmic. He had to keep the horrible feeling of knowing that his enemy was right, and that they, the army that saved Hyrule, probably just doomed it completely. But Chrom didn't stiffen up. He kept his tall posture, and asked if Grateau had anything more to say.

"You know I'm right. And these be my last words," said Grateau.

"He has spoken his last words. The executioner shall now step forward, with the Twilight Sword in hand," yelled Frederick.

The executioner, clad in Hylian armor, stepped forward, wielding the Twilight Sword. He raised it high. Everyone in the crowd waited as he held it in the air.

He sliced diagonally, cutting off Grateau's head. It landed on the bridge, and rolled off into the abyss. His kneeling, lifeless body collapsed to the floor of the bridge. The executioner went and pushed it with his foot, and the headless corpse fell off the edge, following Grateau's head. As they fell, their departure was cheered on by the screams of soldiers, and pushed down further by smug satisfaction of the executioner.

Hyrule Field

"And from whence are the origins of this sword?" asked Zelda.

"It is definitely of Interloper design. Few of these have been forged, and even fewer have survived to this day. But I do not know its power," answered Midna. "It'd be best that I take this away, and store it in the Twilight Realm for the time being, until we can find out its capabilities."

"And what of what Grateau said about the collision that would unfold?" Zelda questioned.

"..." (Link). He felt that Grateau was speaking the truth, and such a thing was possible.

"But was that his plan all along? To bring our realms to a cataclysmic end?" said Midna.

"The cunning intellect to think of something such as that would be prophetic, in a way," Zelda replied.

"..." (Link). As he thought, and tried to put pieces together, one name rang when he put everything into perspective.

Zant. Zant was a shade to Grateau. In the realm of the dead, shades were able to see snippets of the future. And it could have been written down into a book. Could Zant have told Grateau what would happen in the future, and have him cause it to change into what they experienced? And what was the original timeline? Was it better or worse? Or was it just vengeance on Zant's behalf?

"Hello, Hyrule to Link?" exclaimed Midna, waving her hand in his face.

Link snapped out of his thought, and refocused on Midna and Zelda.

"What were you thinking about?" Midna inquired.

"..." (Link). He replied nothing, and said that they should get going, since everyone else was beginning to leave back to Castle Town.

"Whatever you say," Midna responded.

They joined the rest of the soldiers marching back to Castle Town. The usual mass of guards that surrounded Zelda was absent, since they were back in Castle Town, having been recently freed from the dungeons. Only a royal scribe, the executioner, and high ranking members were allowed to view executions. Then again, Link, Chrom, Frederick, Robin, and other Shepherd militia were protection enough.

Link continued to ponder whether or not Grateau's prophecy for the end of the world was true. Though at this point, it isn't a question of will it happen. Now it was when and how it will happen. He could only to turn to one person for this.

Castle Town

The barren streets of Castle Town gave off an eerie tone to those who entered back. The usual clamor was gone, when all of the citizens were relocated to the southern exit of Castle Town. The Shepherds that didn't go to the execution remained with the citizens, encamped outside. The entirety of the field outside of the stone stairways and platforms of the southern entrance was filled with citizens, hoping that they could go home. They knew the battle was over, but the a significant part of the population was missing. The Hylian Army was rounded up by the Interlopers, and tossed in the dungeons below. Anyone who conspired or spoke against the Interloper was seized, and thrown into a the poorly maintained dungeon as well. A good number of civilians were imprisoned, and it was quite a surprise when they were finally freed from the dungeons, but no one was in Castle Town.

Before they were allowed to find their friends and family at the southern exit, the healers, led by Libra, wanted to treat the prisoners. Some of them were severely malnourished, in desperate need of food and water. As far has the Libra knew, none of them had actually died in the dungeons, but a few were only inches away from passing out.

Awaiting at the gates of the castle were none other than Zelda, Link, Midna, Chrom, Robin, Frederick, and everyone else who attended the execution. The deed was done. Grateau was dead, and his head and body were down in the abyss under Eldin Bridge. All that's left to do is rebuild and go home.

"Chrom!" shouted Libra. "Has it been done?"

"Yes. He will never bring terror upon this kingdom again," Chrom solemnly said. "How are the prisoners?"

"They're all fine. A bit malnourished, but they'll survive," he answered.

"That's good to hear," Chrom answered.

Somewhere in the mass of soldiers, one shouted "'Tis the queen and the general!"

The soldiers that were standing kneeled down to them. The general said "As you were!" and they stood back up. A soldier approached the general and stated "General, how long until we can see our families again? The citizens?"

"When the queen and the other Lord over there agree to do so. We need to make sure there you're all fine, and don't have any hexes or dark magic latched on to you," answered the General.

"We've checked all of them, and they're all healthy," stated Libra.

"Let them do so. And send word to let the citizens back in," ordered Zelda.

"Right away, your highness," the General responded.

?, Hyrule Castle

Link, Chrom, Robin, and Midna didn't know where Zelda was taking them. Or why Link had to carry Ren'kir's body. They'd went into the armory, and she pulled a brick out, which caused a door to open in the wall in the far right corner. They then descended through that new door, down into a dark, musty, cold, crypt. But at least there weren't any spiderwebs. The torches seemed to be freshly lit as well.

"This is the tomb of Hyrule's Greatest Warriors," said Zelda. "For extraordinary heroes who have fought to protect Hyrule."

She led them to the end of the hall, and made a left, and then pulled out an ornate marble tomb. Link laid Ren's body in the tomb, and they said their final words to him.

"I did not know him for long, but he used his own Twilight power well to fight for Hyrule. For that, I give him a royal blessing," Zelda said.

"He took a sword swing by the hands of Grateau that was supposed to kill me. He sacrificed himself for me. For that, I give my greatest thanks, and hope he resides with Naga," said Chrom.

"Though not an ally at first, he became a crucial asset to our militia. Something that is one of a kind," said Robin.

"When I first saw him, I grabbed him and drained the Twilight out of him. But he was still enough of a Twili being to keep some of his powers. And he rallied an army of Gorons to help fight. Truly a soldier," said Midna.

"..." (Link). Link said that Ren was a crucial aspect to their fight against Grateau. He quickly turned against Grateau, and was one of the four that saved the Ordanian villagers. That would be a debt that could never be paid.

"Goodbye, Ren," Link said.

Zelda pushed the coffin into its slot in the wall. They watched, and then started to walk back, out of the crypt. As they were, Link couldn't help but divert his attention the hall opposite to the one that Ren's body was in. Incoherent whispers went back and forth through his head when he got closer to it. He turned and approached the particular hall. It was just as musty and dark as the rest of the crypt, but something was calling to him. He stopped at the grave nearest the intersection, and scrubbed the stone particles off of the gold plate. It looked as if it was there for centuries. It was probably was there for centuries. He took out his lantern, and lit it. He held it close to the gold plate, and it read "Link, Hero of Time, Father of Saren, Husband of Malon."

He was taken aback, and let out a feint gasp. He just looked at his distant grandfather's tombstone. But if this was the Hero of Time's tomb, who else was in the hall? Link went to the tomb in the far back. As he went back, he noted that there were three tombs, including the Hero of Time's. The first tomb's plate read "Hero of Legend." The second one read "Hero of Minish." After reading all three of them, the whispers came back. They whispered at a fast speed, but then they slowed down so that Link could understand what they were saying. It sounded as if three voices were talking.

They said to him, "Link. Link! What have you done?"

Link dropped the lantern, and pressed his hand against his head. He wanted it to stop. The voices continued, and then a fourth voice entered the mix.

"Link!" shouted the fourth voice.

He darted his head to the intersection, and saw Zelda, holding a bright torch. Her calling out to him caused him to regain focus, and the voices left. He bent down and picked up the lantern, and walked back.

"That was the Hall of Courage. It's said that the bodies of the past heroes have been placed in there. But who knows. They could just be empty tombs, serving as only placeholders," explained Zelda.

"..." (Link). He said that they should go back. He didn't want to be in the crypt any longer.

Kakariko Village, The Next Day

Link set out on horseback in the morning, leaving only a note to explain his absence. He trekked through the streets out the eastern exit, and then he called out Epona with his horse call. He mounted on to her, and rode to Kakariko Village, with only a few citizens bearing witness to his departure.

He entered the open gate, and rode the to the sanctuary. There, he dismounted and opened its creaky doors. A few people turned their heads, and they immediately rushed towards Link, extending out their arms to hug him. After being nearly tackled, Link saw Renado, Ashei, and Shad.

"Link! You're alive! That means you guys won!" said Ashei, as she pulled him in.

"I am grateful to see you well, Link," said Renado. "And what of the Gorons? And your fellow allies from the other kingdom?"

"..." (Link). He explained that the Gorons were fine, and were assisting in rebuilding Castle Town. The Shepherds from Ylisse were fine as well, except for one.

"Oh no, who died?" asked Shad.

"..." (Link). Ren was killed by Grateau. He tricked Grateau into thinking that he was killing Chrom, but he actually impaled Ren.

"Oh, he..." Ashei said. She was at a loss of words.

"No, he went through all the effort to rally the Gorons, and..." Shad stated. "Tell me that you killed Grateau and that he's dead."

"..." (Link). Executed and thrown off the Bridge of Eldin.

"Good," said Ashei. "It's really over now."

"..." Not necessarily. Link needed to see the book that they stole from Grateau when they first went to his cavern.

"That book? Yeah, I have it here. What do you need it for?" questioned Shad.

Link needed information about the merge.

"Let's see. Ah here. 'The merge shall occur once the a tear large enough to fit a country is made, and once the Three Blades have touched. From there, two worlds shall be brought closer than ever before, and after three days, they shall collide in a spectacular array." Shad read.

Three days. The first day after was Grateau's execution. Today was the second day. They only had today and tomorrow to live.

"Link, you seem a bit spooked," said Shad.

"..." (Link). He said he needed to borrow the book.

"Oh uh, sure, I guess I'm done with it," Shad said.

Link took the red book and hurried out the door. He mounted on to Epona and rode out the northern exit of Kakariko Village, back to Hyrule. This was what Zant envisioned from the dead, and he passed it on to Grateau. And if this was true, and they were set on this course, then their worlds would end the next day. And he had to break the news to Chrom, Zelda, Midna, and everyone else.

Hyrule Castle, The Throne Room

Link sprinted up the stairs, and across the entire span of the throne room to reach Zelda, Midna, Chrom, and Frederick.

"Link, what's with the urgent sprinting?" asked Chrom.

"..." (Link). He opened the book to the section about "The Merge," and showed it to them. The stuff that Grateau was rambling about before he died was true.

"Still, even if it's written in the book that they used, how can we be so sure that he isn't just lying?" questioned Chrom.

"..." Link explained how he had a Shade, a mentor, that occasionally comes to this world from the realm of the dead, and teaches Link. Grateau had a similar Shade, except his was Zant. In the world of the dead, Shades were able to see possible timelines that could occur. Zant must have found a timeline that would lead to their worlds colliding, and told Grateau how to set the worlds into this timeline.

"...That bastard. Even when he's dead, we can't escape his petulant schemes," said Midna. "But according to that book, we only have until tomorrow to live."

"And there's no way to stop it?" Chrom questioned.

"There must be," said Frederick.

"On such short notice, I don't think there's anything we can do," said Zelda.

"What about the Shade? Maybe he knows?" asked Midna.

"..." Link replied about how he wouldn't tell them if he did. The Shade warned Link about this, and he didn't listen.

"Naga warned me and Robin personally as well," said Chrom.

"Wait, you were warned about this and you still went through with it?" Midna sternly questioned.

"What choice did we have. Do nothing and let Hyrule be captured by Grateau?" Chrom answered.

"He does have a point. Personally, I'd rather our worlds end under peaceful reign and tranquility, rather than live on longer ruled by another Zant," said Zelda. "I'd rather die knowing he has been defeated, rather than having failed the kingdom. Wouldn't you?"

Later, After Nightfall

Robin and Say'ri strolled through the courtyard, admiring the variety of plant life. Every color one could imagine was in it, whether it was a tree, a flower, or a bush. Say'ri walked toward a particular tree, which resembled that of a cherry blossom tree from Chon'sin. But the petal-like leaves didn't have a pink color. Instead it was a maroon color.

"That tree looks so close to a cherry blossom tree, even down to the color of the bark," she said.

"I can't wait to see one those when we get back to Chon'sin," said Robin.

"When will that be?" she asked.

"We leave tomorrow morning, and leave for Chon'sin three days after."

They spotted a bench, and walked toward it. Say'ri sat down, and as Robin was about to, he heard a male voice call out his name.

"Robin, a word if you have a moment!" shouted the voice.

He looked back and saw Frederick and Chrom waiting at the other end of the winding stone trail, at the wide arch of the courtyard.

"I'll be back," he said to Say'ri.

He trekked through the courtyard to the arch, and met with Chrom and Frederick. They had stoic faces on, and the nudged him to move to the side, out of sight and against the wall. Frederick and Chrom positioned themselves to corner Robin, to his confusion.

"This is of a, dire, matter, so to speak," said Frederick.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Link told us that when him, Grateau, and I fought, and our three swords touched, we set something in motion. Something Grateau was planning," Chrom answered. "The end of the world. We also set it in motion when I used the radiating stone to make a portal big enough to bring an army through."

"What, how could that...?" Robin responded.

Robin broke eye contact and looked down, processing what he was just told. It came as a huge shock, because they effectively doomed the world while trying to save it. Although, the shock was also due to him and Chrom being warned by Naga. Yet they chose to ignore her and take that risk.

"Who knows?" Robin asked.

"Aside from us and Link, the only other people are Midna and Zelda," Chrom replied.

Robin sighed, and said "How long? Maybe we can stop it."

"We only have until tomorrow. Not enough time," Chrom answered.

"Then what do we do?!" he yelled.

"Sh, lower your voice," Chrom said. "We don't think there's anything we can do."

"Then, we're just gonna let the world end?" Robin quietly exclaimed in an exaggerated whisper.

"It appears so," said Frederick.

"But...but..." Robin stammered.

"I'm sorry Robin. But we can't find a way out of this," said Chrom.

Robin lifted his head back up and said "Who else can know?"

Chrom pondered for a few moments, and responded with "The rest of the Shepherds can know. Though, it's imperative that none of the citizens know. They would panic, and chaos would ensue before the actual chaos."

"If that's how it must be, then..." Robin said. He moved around Frederick and Chrom and began to move back into the courtyard. As he went, Frederick said something to him.

"We leave for Ylisse tomorrow, nine hours after," he shouted.

"Alright," Robin yelled back in a neutral manner, masking any feelings he had inside.

Frederick and Chrom departed down the hall, and Robin walked back to the bench and Say'ri. He spaced out in her sitting there. She seemed so at peace, admiring the tree next to the bench, something they wanted to do when the war with Grima was over. But after Grima's defeat, there was the long process of rebuilding parts of Ylisse, ravaged by the war. Both of them had to tend to their respective countries, and separated for the time. But, five months later, after the relief process was completed, Robin got on a boat to Chon'sin, and reunited with Say'ri. The next two months were filled with bliss. They made plans to have Robin become the Emperor of Chon'sin, and Say'ri the Empress. And though they did marry in secret, the plans for a formal coronation were halted when Robin received a letter from Ylisse, stating that Exalt Chrom needed his master tactician. And then they happened to come across a man in green garbs, in a kingdom called Hyrule.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"...Where do I start?" Robin responded.