Disclaimer:
Guess what, genius? That's right. I STILL don't
own Zelda. I wouldn't mind owning an enchanted
Zora mask, however. Zoras rock!

-

---------Author's Note:
----I'm just going to keep this short. I know one Gerudo male is born every century,
making Garland's presence an anamoly. I truly don't care; call it a genetic fluke,
or perhaps the whole 'one male every century' is bull crap. Honestly, if they have
the average lifespan of a human, they'd have to be one hundred years old upon
conception of the next son, making it virtually impossible to survive as a race,
because the male would have died at some point before conception of a new male.
No one's immortal, natural means or otherwise.
----I forget what else I was going to say now, except Document Manager bites.
I STILL can't get anything to upload right without using this format, and I'm on 56k,
so I can't download a 90+Mb piece of crap just to make Document Manager happy.
Though I doubt it'd be any different even then. Apologies for long overdue updates
as always, it's taken me FOREVER to work out the plotholes in where I want this
story to go. That, and I've had countless distractions. Just keep at heart that if you
like the action scenes, you'll be getting a lot of them in future chapters, and there's going
to be quite a lot of sub romances, some more unexpected than others...
I must say, the song Mad World by Tears for Fears inspired several future scenes.
Final warning: No time lapse this chapter, even more confusion, and over the next few
chapters, things may get a little dark, and this chapter will be a little gross.
If you know anything about the miracle of life, you'll know why already, though I'm
not going to get overly graphic.
On to the show.

-

-

()Symphony of Apocalypse()
Chapter Four: Birth of the Future

-

------The clouds parted slightly to reveal beams of moonlight raining down over Hyrule, most of the
country sleeping peacefully despite the chaos happening around them. One particular Hylian, however, was
currently wide awake, slinking through the halls of Hyrule Castle, his body clothed in a tunic as dark as the
shadows around him. His crimson eyes shone brightly through the darkness, a slight chill filling the castle. As he
rounded the corner, however, he suddenly ran into one of the Hylian guards...
------"Halt! Who goes there!?" the guard shouted, pointing his blade at the dark one's throat.
------"Hey hey hey, watch where you're pointing that thing, you could poke someone's eye out!" Shadow Link
said, pushing the blade away from his neck. "Honestly, I expected the Captain of the guards to be a little more
observant..."
------"Oh, it's just you Shadow." the Captain said with relief as he sheathed his sword. "You should be more
careful... you don't exactly look like a royal guard, you know."
------"How about I just follow you around then so you won't be surprised any further?" Shadow suggested.
------"Yeah, alright. These night patrols get lonely from time to time." the guard said as the two started patrolling
the same path together.
------"Yes, well, don't get any ideas." Shadow Link said coldly. "I know I'm not the most trusted figure in Hyrule,
but why were my employers so hesitant in hiring a new guard today? You were missing quite a few.."
------"The Princess is finally returning from her seclusion now that Ganondorf has been eliminated." the captain said.
"Haven't you heard?"
------"Princess Zelda?!" Shadow Link exclaimed. "Man, oh man, is she going to be mad at Link." he added with
a bit of a cackle.
------"Yes, she has already been informed of Ruto's marriage." the captain said. "... and she didn't take it well at all,
I could tell, but you know her, she's not going to let anyone know she's upset."
------"I can imagine. Honestly, my brother is an imbecile." Shadow Link said with a snicker.
------"Well, we'd rather have your 'brother' here, honestly. And with the Princess coming, we can't trust anyone,
not even you." They walked in silence for a few moments, passing by the exit to the courtyard, a chilling breeze
gusting past them.

------"I wonder where this cold front came from?" the Captain said with a shiver.
------"It's not natural, I can assure you of that." Shadow said. "There's something evil being spawned somewhere...
the creature controlling the cloaked ones must be responsible. Honestly, bringing a princess back during these
chaotic times..."
------"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." said the captain. "You see, we've heard rumors - Only rumors,
of coarse, no fact whatsoever - that Ganondorf lives on. Regardless of whether this is true or not, there are plenty of
his followers still free to roam Hyrule, and someone's doubtlessly going to try to take Zelda. We need an ace up our
sleeve, someone who's had experience fighting the dark lord."
------"And I thought you couldn't trust me." Shadow Link said with a smirk.
------"I can't. That's why you'll be surrounded by fellow guards in her protectorate." the captain said. "If you can pull
this off, you'll have earned our trust. But if you do anything stupid, I can guarentee you won't leave Hyrule alive."

------Shadow Link cackled madly for a moment at these words. "My good man, if I wanted to, I could make the entire
Hylian race extinct."
------"Is that a threat!?"
------"No, it's reality." Shadow Link said with a smirk. "But I'm a nice guy. And I'd have to deal with my brother if I
did anything foolish. Not a headache I wish to handle right now."

------The two walked in silence for a few more moments, stopping to look out onto the great field once again.
"What has your brother been up to lately, anyway?" the Captain asked.
------"Enjoying the good life." Shadow Link said in a tone of disgust. "We're sitting here freezing our butts off, and he's
probably lazing around in the Zoran Domain, being waited on hand and foot..."

-

-

-

------"OW!" Link yelled as he stumped his toe on yet another rock he hadn't noticed, hopping on one foot for a few
steps until the pain subsided a bit. His tunic was quite filthy, and he had little cuts and bruises all over his body, continuing
to hold the lightning rod up as a source of light. There were countless dead parasites everywhere, but he couldn't see any
of them moving as he walked through one of the countless identical caverns. "Atleast the queen dying seems to have killed
off these things..." Link said, kicking one of the slimy little parasites out of his path as he walked. "Man... there's got to be
an exit around here somewhere..."
------"There isn't one." said a familiar, almost eerie voice. Link held the rod up to illuminate further down the passage he
was walking through, revealing the back of the man with long spiderlike legs sticking out of his back as well as a long, boney tail.
Link stopped dead in his tracks, taking a step backwards as he remembered this creature.
------"... your heart races, and you've halted. Surely the hero of Hyrule isn't afraid of me." the spiderlike man said.
------"What would you expect? You tried to kill me." Link replied.
------"The Oracle tried to kill you through my wretched body." the man explained. He turned around to look at Link, his
eyes looking dark and quite strange from this distance in this poor lighting. "I am free of her grasp now. And I believe you
could help us both, if I took you to the exit."
------"But.. you just said there was no exit." Link said, starting to walk towards the exiled minion.
------"And so there is not." the man said, chuckling as Link drew closer, the Hylian able to clearly see now that instead of
eyes, the strange man had two empty sockets as black as the shadows around them where his eyes once were. "A cave-in
has trapped us both in here. And while I am weakened, I smell gunpowder on you... I assume you have bombs?"
------"Lots of'em, actually." Link said with a nervous grin, not sure whether or not he should trust this disturbing
monstrosity.
------"You see, I could lead you to the exit, and you could clear the way. Even though I have no will to live among those
who will probably scorn my outward appearance, there are important matters I must attend to. Without me, all who
follow the Oracle are lost."
------"But I stopped her evil plan, what could she do now?" Link said. "And who are you, anyway?"
------"Follow me. I'll explain along the way." the man said, wrapping his long, spiderlike legs around himself as he started
walking down the passageway. Link stood still for a moment, before shrugging and following the strange man, figuring he
could draw his swords quick enough if need be...

------"My name is Jack, and I foolishly became a follower of the Oracle because she said she would change the world
with the best interest of everyone in it. I found out later it was nothing more than a mindless cult worshipping a woman
who sought to enslave the world with the power of the Tri-Force..."
------"But... she can't get ahold of it. It's been divided." Link said. "And what does that have to do with the parasites?"
------"It's very confusing, I'm afraid. It always is." Jack sighed. "As one of the very few minions who have seen the light, it
vexes me beyond reasoning the way she manipulates everyone without their knowing, always manages to stay two steps
ahead of everyone... No matter how hard you try to stop her, you realise all you've done is played your part in her twisted
scheme. She's a very dangerous woman, she's willing and able to perfectly plan every detail of what will happen in the
coarse of several years, and patient enough to wait for her plans to fall together."

------The two of them turned to begin going another path while they continued talking about the sinister villainess.
"But I thought I just foiled her evil plan." Link said, a bit confused.
------"You see, that is what makes her so dangerous. No one can predict what exactly her plans are, except for her
ultimate goal of power through the Tri-Force. I still have no clue how she could possibly attain that, but I would like to
know I have your assistance when the time comes."
------"I'll do what I can, but I'd like to know what the heck is going on here. Why were these parasites even here?"
------"At first glance, they looked like an easy way to manipulate those without her Mark, but anyone who knew her
would know she wouldn't be that blatantly obvious. Then, we had all thought she started this colony of the parasite
for the sole purpose of killing you. A simple goal, but overkill enough to be believable of her. Of coarse, after I came
here with the full intention of killing the queen, I came to understand their true purpose."
------"So they weren't meant to kill me?" Link asked.
------"Oh, no. You see, this is what gives me faith that the Oracle can be stopped, that she truly is mortal. The parasite's
blood has a special healing property, it can remove scars from the flesh and cure most wounds, even undo the curse that
is the Mark of the Oracle." the man said, holding his right wrist up to show a red area where the deep scar had once been
seared into his flesh. "The parasite wasn't planned to kill you. In fact, you were meant to kill the queen and give an easy
source of the antidote. It was my purpose to destroy you all along, then I would be left to starve to death as punishment
for my rebellion. Needless to say, the Oracle has failed in both, and every parasite that was bound to the queen of this
hive will stay in there and die."
------"Well... why does she need the mark removed, if she put it there in the first place?" Link asked, confused, as they
reached a dead end at last.
------"Because upon the ritual, all who bear the cursed mark will be granted all the powers of the Tri-Force, not just her."
Jack explained. "By then, she no longer needs to have control of their bodies through the curse, because they'll all be
foolishly loyal to her, and she'll have the power to defend herself. Now, draw your bombs, hero, this is where you shall
escape from." he finished.
------"Alright... when will the Oracle attempt to do this ritual? You were hers earlier, so you should know." Link said,
pulling out a large, round, black bomb and lighting the fuse, setting it at the wall of rocks before getting a safe distance
away from it, Jack following him.
------"No one is sure when she will decide the time is right. That is why I must move quickly to turn her minions against
her in secrecy." Jack continued, being interrupted as the bomb exploded, taking out the wall of rocks, moonlight pouring
through the newly reopened exit after the dust cleared. "This is all you need to know. I am the messenger in this war, and
I will come to you and everyone else whom I require the aid of when the time is right."
------"How will the Oracle not suspect you of betraying her if she's so all-seeing?" Link asked as they walked out
of the cavern at last, both of them taking in a deep breath of fresh night air.
------"We have no guarentees. All we can do is hope, now that we know she truly has no power. There isn't much she
will be able to do once we awaken enough of her followers to our cause." the eyeless one said. "I've heard interesting news
about you as well. Do you realize that upon the conception of a Zoran egg, it will be laid much sooner than a mammal's
pregnancy would last?"
------"Um... how soon?" Link asked.
------"There is no exact time, but usually they'll feel quite sick, sometimes so soon as a day before they release the egg."
Jack said. Link's eyes widened a bit. "Well, don't just stand there and stare, hero! It won't hatch immediately, but
husband of a Zoran should be there upon the creation of the egg."

------Link nodded quickly, turning to run across the great fields of Hyrule towards the Zora's River. Jack laughed a
bit as he heard Link vanish in the distance, before he began quickly striding towards Gerudo Valley in the opposite
direction on his long, spiderlike legs.

-

-

-

------Around that time, back in the underground, ebony ruins the Oracle called home, a fallen king lie in his cold, dark
prison cell, awaiting death. The son of Ganondorf lie on the hard, chily floor, his black armor feeling as if it weighed
ten times more than it normally did, as his muscles were severely weakened from torture. His lip busted, his pride
shattered, and only having until dawn to live, all he could do was wallow in his despair for falling right into the Oracle's
twisted schemes, as everyone else seemed to be doing. He sighed, fruitlessly struggling to break the chains that bound
his form. "I was so close... So close to stopping her once and for all..." he muttered, quite aggitated not only because
he had failed in redeeming himself, but also due to his hands being bound behind his back in somewhat of a cuccoon of chains.
"It can't end like this... I made mistakes in the past, but surely the Trinity has seen my efforts to make up for my sins..." he said
to himself. "After all I've sacrificed to ensure peace in Hyrule, must I now die in obscurity...?"
------"You won't be dying anytime soon, your highness." he heard an eerie voice whispering to him. Garland looked up,
slightly startled as he stared into the eyeless face of the spiderlike man standing in the corner of his jail cell, nearly invisible
due to the uniform dark claok he stole on the way to the cell.
------"How'd you manage to get in here?" Garland asked. "And what happened to you?"
------"I have my ways." the exiled minion said. "And this is the price I paid for seeing the truth. You, however, still have
your entire life ahead of you. You shouldn't have to be caught up in this war with the Oracle."
------"None of us should, but considering each of us were foolish enough to believe her lies, it's our duty to rectify our
mistakes and destroy her, no matter what it takes." Garland said.
------"And you have helped us greatly, Garland. Through your wisdom, we have opened the eyes of every minion,
whether they chose to defy the Oracle or to live in fear. But you have duties as the King of the Gerudo that must be
fulfilled. I will handle the rebellion from here." said Jack.
------"What good am I to the Gerudo if I don't stay and fight?"
------"What good are you to them dead?! You're being executed in hours, Garland, or have you forgotten?" Jack responded sharply,
leaving Garland in silence for a few moments. The blind one slid one of his long spiderlike appendages underneath the chains, straining
a bit from the effort as he cut through them. Garland weakly sat up as the chains fell. "Hold still. This may hurt a bit." Jack said,
reaching into his cloak to pull out a beaker of thick, yellow liquid, popping the cork off of it.
------"What is it..?" Garland asked as Jack took his scarred wrist, pouring the contents of the beaker onto the marking. The Gerudo
king grunted in pain for a few moments, his wrist hissing as it let out a small cloud of steam, the strange yellow liquid slowly evaporating,
taking the scar with it.
------"Take a few guards with you and go into hiding once you escape." Jack advised. "You'll get the chance to fight if you wish, but you
need to find a safe place to heal your wounds first."

------Garland shook his head as he looked down at his wrist, the last of the liquid burned away, leaving his skin free of the scarred marking
he once bore. "I can't-"
------"There is no time to argue, Garland." Jack interrupted. "You're a smart man. Don't let your pride get in the way of that.
Leave this place now, find a safe place, and I'll come when the time is right."

-

------They sat there in silence for a few moments longer, before Garland sighed and nodded. "Fine... Be careful, Jack. I could
use an advisor like you once this mess is all over."
------"I would be honored, sire." Jack replied, reaching his hand out to point towards the darkest shadows in the corner of
the ebony jail cell. "If you crawl there, you'll find an easy exit. Remember, get out of here fast, and don't look back."

------With those last words, Jack slid over to the cell door, one of his four long spiderlike appendages moving to work on
picking the lock as Garland vanished into the dark corner to make his escape. "Tonight I'll figure out exactly what you're planning,
Oracle..." he muttered to himself as the cell door popped open, Jack retreating his appendage and swiftly darting out of the
jail cell as silently as possible, crawling up the wall and along the cieling to avoid detection from the guards.

-

-

-

------Link dashed up the canyon leading to Zora's Domain as fast as he could, ignoring the pain he felt as the cold night
air pierced his lungs like a thousand needles with each breath. The sky was completely black, except for one small patch of
light where the clouds parted beneath the moon, a single ray of light shining down over the mountain containing the Domain
as if to welcome the birth of the Hero of Time's child. He leapt over the gap between a large archway and the cavernous
entrance hidden behind the waterfall, landing on the other side, only to feel something trip his leg, causing him to land on his face
upon the hard rock floor.

------"Oh, sorry, thought you were an intruder." he heard a mocking voice say. Link turned to look up at a fairly short Zoran, covered
in burns, bruises and wearing an eyepatch, smirking down at him. Link stood up and brushed himself off with an aggrivated
grunt, only to be shoved down again by the same Zoran guard. "What's the rush, blondie?"
------"Look, I don't have time for this. If you have a problem with me, we'll talk about it later." Link said as he got up again, only
to choke as he felt the collar of his tunic being grabbed from behind the moment he took off running.
------"You may have tricked the Queen to gain her trust, but I know what you really are, kid." the fairly short Zoran man said.
"You're nothing but a common criminal with the devil's luc-- AGH!"

------Link grabbed one of the Zoran's hands and quickly threw him over his shoulder and onto the stone. "Sorry about that.
Didn't have much of a choice!" Link said with a sheepish grin to the fallen Zora, before leaping into the center pool. The guard
sat up with a growl from the pain of his burns and bruises hitting the cold ground once more, walking over to his post and picking
up a mug of coffee, taking a long sip of it. "One of these days, kid.. One of these days..."

-

-

------Link swam deep into the large pool, the collar of his blue tunic tightening against his neck and acting as gills. The young
Hylian man swam as fast as he could through the underwater passageway, which seemed strangely illuminated from an unearthly
light in the distant exit to the tunnel. After what felt like an eternity of swimming, Link emerged onto the shore of a small island
in a cave whose walls were lined with shining crystals, one brilliant prism in the center of the island reflecting the pale moon
light, bathing the entire sanctuary in a calm, unearthly glow. He looked over to see Ruto lying nearby in the edge of the water,
the flowing silky blue fins on her arms making her resemble an angel in the unusual lighting, water glistening off her form, although
her face looked far from angelic at the moment.
-----"It's.. about time..!" she said in a strained voice.
-----"Sorry! I thought it was going to happen for another nine months.." Link said
-----"Where'd you get... THAT crazy idea..!?" Ruto exclaimed, as Link walked up to her, noticing for the first time she had
suddenly grown a little bulge in her belly that was slowly moving down.
-----"How are you feeling?" Link said, taking her hand in his, only to have it nearly crushed in her iron grip, feeling her claws
nearly pierce his skin.
-----"I'm trying to push.. a large, hard egg... out of my body... How do you THINK I feel..!?" exclaimed Ruto between
breaths, before letting out a cry as the Zora egg got closer to emerging, a thin crimson cloud filling the waters between her
legs. Link cringed as he felt five claws penetrate his hand a little, feeling as if his hand was about to break, though before
Ruto got the chance, Link felt her grip soften as she panted for air, a large round egg about the size of a basketball floating to
the surface of the water. Ruto slid into the water a bit and sat up, cradling the egg gently as it floated in the water, Link sliding
to sit next to her with his arm around her waist. "I love you Link..." she said softly, turning to look into his azure eyes,
"... but if you ever ... put me through this again... I'm going to kill you..."

-

-

-

------Jack rushed through the dark hallways of the Oracle's home, moving swiftly yet as silently as a ghost, feeling the warmth from
torches come and go from both sides. He took several sharp turns along different corridors, continuing to crawl among the shadows of
the ceilings to avoid detection. Then, finally, he emerged into a grand library, dropping onto the floor as he entered and slamming the
door shut, locking it.
------"Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" he heard the familiar voice of the keeper of the archives - the only sound Jack
needed to hear to pounce on the man in an instant, pinning him to the ground. The man stared up in horror at the monstrosity on top
of him, gazing into his empty eye sockets and monsterous face, his heart racing as he trembled beneath the beast.
------"I'm here for the final pieces to the puzzle." Jack said calmly.
------"I-I've already told you... everything I know.. I'm already in hot water, Jack... she's getting suspicious..." the man said
nervously. Jack sighed as he slowly raised one of his long, bladed appendages.
------"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this."
------"G.. Go ahead, k-kill me.. I'd rather d-die than face the Oracle's wrath..." the man said.
------Jack sighed, as he remembered being that fearful of the witch once, and withdrew his talon. "Look, Joe. I've already freed King
Garland from the Oracle's grasp. As soon as I return to the cavern and take more of the antidote, I'll free you and whoever else isn't
foolishly loyal to Her will. All I need is some information to relay to the real heroes... in case we're found out prematurely."
------"... you.. you can really remove the Mark?" the man asked. Jack pulled up his sleeves to reveal the lack of any marking
whatsoever. "So it's true... Those who regret joining this fool cult can finally be free... Why didn't you bring enough for everyone
the first time, Jack?"
------"I was rushed. We did have a King dying at dawn, remember?" said Jack. "The main thing I need to know is this prophecy
of hers that's inspired her to do all of this."
------"It'd be a lot easier on me if you'd just read it youself..." Joe said without thinking.
------"Yes, well, unless it's in Braille, that could take a while." Jack said, reaching up to put a finger inside one of his empty eye
sockets, causing his friend to flinch a bit.
------"Right... Let me just find that book.." the man said, Jack helping him up before he strode into the archives, browsing through
various books and scrolls, ignoring most of them. "You know, she really is a remarkable woman, even without that cursed Mark."
------"The only power she was blessed with is clairvoyance, and she never once worked on perfecting it. All she learned in her
years of studying witchcraft was flight and teleportation. The rest of her powers came from the ritual of the Mark of the Goddess." Jack
said.
------"I tell her everytime she comes here to leave everything in order... is it so much to ask!?" Joe yelled in in exhasperation, kicking
one of the stone bookshelves. "How do you know so much about her, anyway?"
------"I've done my research, found a few of the diary pages she hid in here." Jack answered with a smirk. "Malevolent since
childhood, that one."
------"Books on reincarnation, transmogrification... These aren't supposed to be mixed in with ancient mythology..." grumbled the
archivist. "Disorderly witch... Here it is!" he exclaimed at last, pulling out a thick, old book, flipping through its pages. "Let's see
here... Dieties.. who names a god 'Lord Jabu-Jabu'? .. ah, right, the Zorans... Majora... that page is folded back for some reason...
hm... Minish mythology... Ah, here we are, she had this page marked as well.. Oh, my, it's in an ancient text..."
------"Can you still read it?"
------"Of coarse I can still read it. It just... isn't easy." he said with a sigh, pushing the pair of spectacles on his nose up a bit.
"... Hmm... Oh, dear, this sounds bad..."
------"What can you make out?" Jack asked.

------"The Chosen One, tainted by darkness and infautuated with the incarnation of an ancient evil, will take the power of the
Trinity, revive a powerful evil, and forever change the world..."

------Both of them turned around to see a pale woman in a black cloak standing behind them, her emerald eyes glaring at the
pair of meddlers as she slowly held her hand towards the two. "I knew you were up to something, you pitiful worm.." she said
coldly as she clenched her fist, green electricity surging through the archivist's body, paralyzing him as he fell to the ground,
writhing in agony. She glared at Jack as the other man's body began smoking, Jack smirking at her as he bared his four
bladed appendages.
------"Let's see how your magic fares against someone who isn't bound to you, Mistress." Jack said as he prepared to
end this war tonight...

-

-

End Chapter

(A/N: I was planning on finishing the fight scene this chapter, but I figure it'll be a good cliffhanger,
and I was in dire need of an update, so you people can stop hating me. ; )