-To Save Or Kill The One You Love-

Rinku winced a bit before he turned his head and saw Link. The young hero gave Rinku a small smile. Rinku gave him one in return before his eyes landed on a familiar face.

"Rusl? What are you doing here?" Then he looked at Zeruda as well. "Actually, how are you both here? I don't understand."

"To be honest, that is a mystery to us as well," Rusl whispered. "I'm not sure how she arrived, but I went to the Sacred Meadow and went to the area where the master sword normally is." Link and Sheik were listening. "I saw an outline of it, but not the sword itself. I placed my hand on where the hilt was and felt a strange sensation and then I was here."

Zeruda bit her lip. "That happened to me as well. And that means we caused a rift in time." She appeared shocked. "It also means that Ganondorf..."

Rinku bowed his head. "The one here is the one from our timeline. Link and I fought the same Ganondorf." Rusl, Zeruda, Sheik, and Link looked at him with horror. "He was and is planning on using me to kill Link and destroy our future. He told me that."

"How can he do that, if you've broken free?" Link asked, speaking for the first time.

"I might have, but Dark Rinku is still out there and with this dark energy inside of me that Ganondorf put there, it'll be easy for him to do it again." He placed a hand over his chest, feeling that dark energy. Everyone's eyes widened, seeing Rinku close his eyes and the dark energy is seen encasing his body. He pulled himself away from them, as he moaned.

"Rinku!" Rusl and Zeruda got to their feet, as Sheik helped Link to his.

The young man glanced at Link, "Kill me, it's too late to stop it!" Everyone looked at Link, who could only shake his head.

"No Rinku, I will not kill you," Link exclaimed. Navi came out of his hat, listening to everything.

"I don't want to kill you," Rinku said looking up at him. "If I kill you, I'll die anyways," he explained. "You are my ancestor, Link! Kill me! You cannot die!"

Sheik, Zeruda, and Rusl saw Link shake his head again, he wasn't going to kill Rinku. Rinku closed his eyes, knowing Link was too pure, too innocent to carry out such a task. Rinku withdrew his blade and was about to stab himself when he felt the blade stop. He opened his eyes and saw Link had grabbed the blade, which dug into his skin, drawing blood.

"Why are you stopping me? Link, are you crazy?"

"I said no," Link whispered in a mature-sounding tone. "Rinku." The teen looked at Link, who had brought forward his sword. "Touch it!"

The Blade of Evil's Bane.

Rinku gazed at it for a moment, the evil in him was resisting and Link could tell. The closer the blade got, the further the evil pulled away. Rusl grabbed Rinku's arm, who gasped in shock and his hand hit the blade. The scream that came next scared them all. Rinku had his eyes shut, as a scream of agony came from him. Rusl's wide-eyed expression was bewildered, as he pulled Rinku into his arms and held him, keeping his hand on the blade. Then he felt Rinku's body pull away, as the dark energy poured out of him disappearing into the blade itself. The unconscious teen was caught by Rusl, as Link, Sheik, Zeruda, and Navi all waited to see if he was alright.

Rusl was down on his knees in a flash, as Zeruda and Link were literally by his side. Navi landed on Sheik's shoulder, as she stood behind Link. Rinku's face was a little pale, but considering what they just experienced, none of them were really surprised. After a few minutes, his fingers twitched a bit, and his eyes scrunched a bit. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times.

"Rinku, are you okay?" The voice was Rusl's, the only one heard, as the others waited with breaths held.

"Yes...I think I'm okay," Rinku whispered, gazing up at Rusl.

The man felt tears, as he pulled Rinku up into a hug. Rinku accepted it and the others appeared relieved. Zeruda smiled at Sheik, Link, and Navi, who returned their own set of smiles. He sat up with help from Rusl and looked at them all. Link and Rinku's eyes caught each other and within seconds, Link threw his arms around Rinku, catching him off-guard. Rinku laughed a bit, throwing his arms around the blond hero, and the two gave each other a much-needed hug.

"I would never want you to pull a stunt like that again," Link whispered into Rinku's ear. "I will do anything to save those I love and that includes you, Rinku." The teen only nodded, as he pulled away gently, smiling at the blond. He returned with one of his own, before looking at the others. "Let us finish this temple so that we can save Hyrule." They all nodded, raising to their feet. The misty room began to fade into a square room, with about a foot of water. They made their way over to a door. After opening it, they came across a chest.

Link opened it, and retrieved the longshot. Rinku bent down and retrieved the clawshot. "Nice to know most of my weapons were also hidden in these chests."

"How did Ganondorf know you were even here? You appeared to Navi and me at the Temple of Time just before I pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal. That was before we were forced into a 7-year slumber," Link explained.

Sheik stepped forward. "Once you three were sealed in the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf had 7 years to hide all those items, which most likely included your items as well, Rinku," she whispered. It shocked most that she called him by his name.

"Did you call me by my name, Sheik?" Rinku grinned a bit and the blond turned red.

She turned away and crossed her arms. "I did..."

Zeruda had a small smirk.

"Let's keep going," Link replied, with a smile tugging at his lips.

Rusl walked beside Rinku, who remained by Link. Navi floated above them giving off a little blue light. Using the long shot, Link could complete the dungeon much faster, as they stood in front of the door for the boss. Rinku glanced at Link, who smiled at him, as the group entered the room.

Link and Rinku stood side by side, carefully watching the enemy. "Giant Aquatic Amoeba, Morpha. If her tentacles grab you, she can squeeze the life out of you."

Rinku rolled out of the way, as tentacle attempted to grab him. Unfortunately, Link wasn't fast enough, as the tentacle wrapped around his foot.

"Ahhh!" Link screamed as the monster wrapped a tentacle around him, starting to squeeze him. The master sword fell from his grip, as he tried to pry the tentacle that was wrapping around his neck. "Ahh.." he felt the tentacle tighten around his neck, as Sheik screamed.

"Link!" Sheik and Zeruda yelled, watching as the tentacle started to swing, holding the hero tight. Rinku jumped over a tentacle coming for him, as Rusl moved to the side. The girls managed to get into a corner where the tentacles couldn't reach them. Rinku felt the tentacle wrap around his waist before he used his clawshot and hit the monster, causing it to drop him in the pool.

'I can't breathe...am I going to die here?' Link couldn't keep his eyes open, as the lack of air was getting to him.

Suddenly, the tentacle released him, and Rusl dove to catch Link before he came slamming down. In the middle of the pool, Rinku used his clawshot and removed Morpha from the water. Carefully and slowly he got out of the water and had her stuck in a corner. Link coughed slightly, trying to get air back into his lungs, before he got to his feet, grabbed the sword, and made his way over.

"Move," he yelled, as Rinku did at the last second. With the master sword, Link sliced the monster in half, as Link delivered a second verticle slice, effectively ending the monster's life.

"Are you alright?" Rinku asked, looking at Link. He nodded before glancing at him. "I tried to cut a tentacle until I realized she was only controlling the water, I used my clawshot and pulled her away, that was the only way to get her to let go."

"If you didn't do that, I'd be dead," Link whispered, as Sheik bit her lip. "I am sorry. You had to help me."

Rinku placed on hand on the blond hero's shoulders. "Now you listen to me. You saved me because you didn't want me to die and you love me. I saved you because I love you. You are one of the most important people in my life, now let's get out of here."

A blue crystal engulfed them all, as they appeared in the Sacred Realm, with Ruto waiting.

"Ruto..." Link was speechless, realizing she was the Sage of Water.

"I have to guard the Water Temple as the Sage of Water... And you... You're searching for the princess, Zelda? Hah! You can't hide anything from me!" Ruto teased, as Link looked down. She raised her hands as the brought the water medallion and it landed on Link's plan, It was a bit cold and he knew it was because of the water. "Thank you, Link...Save Hyrule..." her voice faded, as they landed on the platform. They all watched in silence as the water in Lake Hylia was restored.

Sheik looked at the group. "Let us return to Kakariko Village, I'm sure Impa is waiting for us to return." The group nodded softly, as they left Lake Hylia, as Rusl took in all the sights. The kingdom of Hyrule was a beautiful sight to behold. His eyes landed on Rinku and Link as the two heroes were walking side by side, talking to one another. He felt proud, knowing Rinku was directly related to this hero and he was finally getting to know him. The laughter from Rinku brought a smile to the older man's face.

The laughter soon disappeared, as Rinku and Link saw the smoke coming over the mountains in the distance. The others looked in the direction the boys did and noticed it as well.

"Is that where Kakariko Village is located?" Link asked, looking at Sheik. She gave a solemn nod, looking at the smoke.

Author's Note: N/A

XYukiNoHanaX
03|07|2023
20:06 [8:06 PM]
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