Chapter II

The Sword of Evil's Bane

Link had been in that cell for eight long hard years, he hadn't picked up a sword in that long, he hadn't even been able to go more than five paces except to his occasional beatings in a cell right next to his, where a whip had more freedom to move.

Except for that once Gannon grinded his teeth at the memory. The Hero had tricked an old, pathetic, and weak Moblin, and escaped. He ran for two straight miles after sitting in a cell for five months and only eating twice a week. When he was captured, he was beaten with a three-pronged whip thirty-eight times before loosing consciousness. It was a feat that no normal man could accomplish. Gannon whipped Link himself; it usually took four strikes before even the strongest of men lost themselves to the unimaginable strength of Gannon, King of Hyrule. But during all thirty-eight whips, he stared at Gannon's eyes, letting out only a shutter when the whip camp down across his back and stomach, and even a few times his face. Link still had the scars, like blood red veins, wrapping themselves across his pale white body. It would be a day that neither of them would forget.

"And I trust you why, Hero. You're obviously hiding something from me, and after that last escapade of yours, I shouldn't even grant that forked tongue of yours the gift to talk." Gannon almost yelled it. But Link merely shrugged as if they were talking about something two schoolboys might talk about after school.

"I give you my oath as King, Gannon, a hero and as a Hylian. I can give you nothing more, you have my Kingdom, and all my possessions, my life, and all that I stand for is in your hands."

"Yes, yes it is, and you would do well to remember that. All I have to say is a few words, and all of Hyrule will be burnt to dust." Gannon smiled at the power he held. Link nodded his head; it was a fact he never forgot. One of the many reasons he was becoming this desperate just to have one last fight with Gannon. If he killed Gannon, Hyrule would be free, and he and Zelda would take their rightful spot at the throne in Hyrule castle.

Zelda, the name shot the pain of grief and longing through his body. It had been so long since he had seen her last. He knew she was alive of course, if she was dead, the Tri-force would have told him. But, he didn't know where she was, or if she was in trouble or pain. For all he knew, Zelda could be in the cell next to his.

"We fight in fifteen days time. Until then, you will be fed everyday, and even given your precious sword to practice with. The last thing I want is a boring battle with Link, Hero of Time. This battle will be read in history books for millenniums to come!" There was a maniac gleam in Gannon's eyes. There was nothing he loved more than power, he would give his soul and body for just a little power, and had already given his heart. But imagining generations from now, when he was dead, and his sons were in power, and people still having fear leaping up in their throats at just the mention of his name, because of a battle that he won against the Hero of Time. That was true power.

Gannon laughed and with out saying a word, walked slowly down the hall. With each step his laugh grew louder until he reached the very end of the hall. Link heard a door open, and then shut. The laugh was finally gone. Link fell backwards onto the bale of hay that he had called bed for the last eight years.

What am I going to do now? And with that, The Hero of Time fell swiftly into a nightmarish sleep full of battles and blood, none of which was Gannon's, all of which was his.

Link woke up the next morning, assuming it was morning, to footsteps. This time there was three pairs of feet taking light and short steps, one of which was limping. When the ugly piggish Moblins came into view, Link clenched his fist, but said nothing.

Two of the Moblins were very large, especially compared to the ones Link used to fight when he was free. One of the larger Moblins had had dark blue skin, and was obviously a runner. Link smiled at the precaution Gannon was taking. The other, largest Moblin, was jet black, and could probably lift a full-grown Ox if he chose too. They both carried swords on their backs.

They grunted something in their language, and the one with the limp pulled out a key. Link recognized this one; it was the same one he had tricked to let him out. Back then; he was pitch black, healthy and strong, much like the creature standing next to him right now. Now his right leg and left arm was broken, his skin seemed more gray than black, and he had scars on every inch of his body, more than even Link had, which was saying more than just about anybody else in Hyrule could claim

Tega, Link remembered the former head Moblins name, gave the key to the black Moblin, who quickly snatched the key, and then pushed Tega to the floor, just for kicks. He snorted, and the dark blue Moblin to his left took a step backwards. He obviously received the same treatment as Tega, Link realized, when he started to rub a bruise on his arm and then a bump on the back of his head.

The black Moblin put the key into the keyhole and turned it six times before a clicking nose was heard. He grabbed the big black bars, and pushed them inwards.

An open door it was something link hadn't seen, save for his occasional beatings, in over eight years. He stood up, and the two larger Moblins took a few steps back, while Tega continued to rub a sore spot on his bum from when he was pushed down.

"You know that's not very nice to push down a wounded comrade." The black Moblin took a step forward, growled a very piggish sounding growl, and lifted a fist to challenge Link. Link just smiled, and the Moblins face turned to one of shock and fear, but did not back down. Link took a few steps forward, and was out of the cell. The Moblin took a few steps back; he was pinned against the wall now.

"Well, if you're not going to lead the way, then I suppose one of you will." Link traded glanced with Tega and the dark blue Moblin.

"I sure do hope that Gannon will forgive you for not doing your duty." The dark blue Moblin was walking towards the door at the end of the hall and Link followed, though he wasn't sure if the Moblin was trying to sneak away from the verbal battle, or lead him to wherever they were going.

The excitement and fear was almost too much to hold back, but he was able to keep a perfectly emotionless face by imagining a Sheikah, and copying the face as best he could. It was considerably harder than he would have thought. Especially with so many emotions shooting though him like arrows that had lost their way. Fear, excitement, freedom, confusion, every emotion possible, along with every question was passing so fast, he barely had time to realize which emotion he was feeling, and no where close to enough time to think about his own questions.

The blue Moblin opened the door, and light poured through. Link's hands shot up to his eyes, and blocked the light. He had forgotten that the real world could be so bright. When his eyes adjusted a little, he continued to walk through the door and found himself in a large blank room with only four doors and a rack with keys next to the door they just came out of.

The blue Moblin continued on to lead Link, but the black Moblin came out of nowhere and pushed him to the ground, and became leader again. They went through door after door until finally they came to a room with no more doors, and stopped. The room was huge; it would take a full minute to sprint from end to the other. The black Moblin made a grunt, and pointed to a corner where a pile of stuff tossed carelessly on the ground lay.

A green tunic, shield, bow and arrows, a hook shot, some bombs, a boomerang, his gloves and even a healing potion were there. But even if none of that was there, it wouldn't have mattered, for among everything else, lay his sword. His most cherished and prized possession. With it, he could Kill Gannon with a well-placed slash. With out it, he could maybe cut his check.

The Sword of Evils Bane it had been so long since it had been used in battle. Link could tell it was eager to shed blood, or maybe it was just links own feelings. Link took off the dirty clothes he was wearing, and put on his old green tunic, with out ever taking his eyes off his sword. He then hung his bow on his back, and then hung his shield over that. He continued to find spots for all of his items, and when it finally came to picking up his sword, he stood there. If it wasn't for that sword, he would not have lost eight years of his life, and spend four years before that, just trying to stay out of here. But for some reason, he loves that sword more than his life, cause well, it was his life, and much more. With out that sword, he was nothing, he wouldn't be a hero or a king, he would never of met Zelda, he wouldn't have his tri-force piece…with out it, he would be a poor farmer, losing half of all the rupees he made to Gannon.

Link kneeled down, and reached his hand down. As his hand got closer to the sword, his hand tingled, and slowly moved up his arm, and the sword started to glow the color of time. An indescribable color, that was more blue than anything else, but yet, blue just didn't quite explain the color.

By now Links whole body was tingling, the feeling was so comforting, that link felt like is he could just live like this forever, he would never want again. His hand finally reached the sword and he picked it up. A burst of gold and the indescribable color of time burst out of the sword and surrounded links body along with a strong gust of wind that lifted his feet of the ground. The wind was so intense that Link had to close his eyes as it slowly became stronger. It felt like a million flaming hot needles were piercing his body, but as time progressed, they were more like swords than needles. Link let out a pain filled scream.

What's happening? Link thought as he lost consciousness. Suddenly there was an explosion of white-hot light out of his body, and when the light was gone, so was The Hero of Time.

AN: Thank you Nomad Soldier and Moonlit-snow! Until now, I didn't know what it felt like to get reviews. And it feels good. Anyway, I tried to make this chapter at least a little bit longer. Too short still? It's only two and a half pages. Anyway, hopefully this chapter is as good as my first, I've been known to do good first chapters, and not so good on the second.