Chapter Fourteen: Freeze

Link and the others all jumped in surprise when, behind Anjean, a figure entered from the tower stair. He was extremely tall, more that twice as tall as Blue, and much wider.

"Anjean!" Link shouted. "There's a figure behind you!" He noticed in fright that the figure had a huge gauntlet on one arm. An opponent to be feared

"Not to worry," she said with a smile. "Despite his menacing appearance, he is on our side."

"Greetings, heroes," he said to the now relieved heroes. "I am Byrne."

"One of Malladus' servants from the past?" came Zelda's voice quietly. She was obviously stirring. Link looked nervously at her to see that she was now around the physical age of three.

"Yes," Anjean replied. "However, if you remember correctly, Byrne switched sides back to the good sides where he remains to this day. There is nothing to fear from Byrne."

"Go to sleep, Zelda," Link soothed. "We made it to the Tower. You'll be okay, now."

"So that's why you're here," Anjean seemed to understand now. "You're here to try to help the princess."
"Yes," Link replied. "After all, that has been my duty in all my lifetimes. Also, Anjean, I have something to talk to you about that's… private."

"Midna!" called Anjean. "Vaati!"

Midna and Vaati entered from the long tower stairway. Midna gasped in shock when she saw how battered the Links appeared.

"Take Red, Blue, and the princess with you. Byrne, you go, too."

Vaati gently took Zelda from Link and walked out first, while Red and Blue followed behind the floating Midna.

"Now, Link, what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.

"It's Zelda," he replied. "Can you reverse the curse on her?"

"Vaati will try to undo the curse on her," she said. "What happened?"
"Vio happened," Link growled. Anjean could see the anger flaring in his eyes, now. "Vio hit her with an arrow!"

"Vio?" she gasped. "Don't you mean Shadow Link?"

"As far as he's told me, their the same person," he replied. "But anyway, he cursed the arrow to curse her to age backwards. I have no clue how long it will go, but I want it reversed. And don't worry about revenge. I'm going to take care of it. Next time I see our shadowed friend, I'm going to kill him!"

"You are acting with an anger uncharacteristic to Link," she spoke with severity. "Why? Does Zelda really mean this much to you?"

"Yes," he replied." You won't understand."

Suddenly, Vaati and the others sprinted back in, gasping for breath.

"Hyrule's freezing!" he shouted. "Thankfully, it's taking Zelda with it. She'll be frozen at age 0." Link noticed that Vaati was still holding the bundle, though now it was far smaller and wrapped more tightly.

"She's…" Link was shocked.

"Yeah," Vaati replied. "She's physically the age of a newborn. I'm sorry that it had to get to this, but if she'd frozen even a second later, there'd be nothing left."

"The last possible thing to rescue her," Red breathed in relief and sadness. He cared about her far less than Link did, but even so, he was worried about her.

"Can you restore her to her original age, Anjean?" Link asked, dreading the answer.

"Unfortunately, the most I can do is erase her memory to ease the pain," she said sadly.

"What?" shrieked Link. "What'll that do to help her?"

"I'll be storing the memories elsewhere, so when she's ready to reawaken as the princess, she'll have her old personality back."

"But what will that do to help her?" Link was still upset.

"It will make sure that the loss of the princess, as is inevitable at the beginning of the 5000 year freeze, will not be permanent," she replied.

"So, how will she be returned to her original age?" Vaati asked, trying to change the tone of the conversation a little.

"I'm afraid that she'll just have to grow up all over again, here in the tower," Anjean prepared for another outburst from Link. However, none came.

"And what will the rest of us do until then?" Link asked quietly.

"Not age until she returns to her original age. I shall put a spell on us when the time comes," she replied.

"Until the time comes?" Link asked. Just then, Midna gave a scream and froze in place. She seemed to be stone, Red observed.

"Midna!" they all cried in worry.

"The freeze has entered the tower," Anjean continued quietly. "All those without endowment of the evil powers of Ganondorf are now frozen, except inside this tower."

Just then, Byrne froze.

"Yeah," Link mumbled. "I guess he was good."

Vaati suddenly levitated little Zelda into Link's arms.

"'Tis fitting that she is kept safe by you until she reawakens," he said gently. Just then, he froze as well. Only the Links and Anjean were unfrozen now.

"Link, control your care for Zelda," cautioned Anjean. "Your overwhelming longing to protect her is clouding your decision-making."

"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Link. "Even if I did, I wouldn't care. I'm killing Vio/Shadow Link no matter what you say." To prove his point, he pulled the small Zelda into an even closer embrace. Just as he was doing so, he froze. Red gasped in worry and raced over to his clone, but there was nothing he could do.

"Blue," Anjean was talking to him now. "You're next for the freezing." She crossed to speak to him. "You have been blessed with incredible physical fortitude, and a large hammer. It's up to you protect Shadow Link. Or Vio, whoever you choose to think of him as."

"I'll try to keep Link in check," Blue responded and shifted his hammer threateningly. Just as he pulled it out, he froze as well.

"Red," Anjean finally turned to the red Link.

"I don't understand Link's longing to murder our clone," Red gasped. "He's supposed to be merciful."

"Ah, that's where it departs from the usual pattern," Anjean smiled slightly. "Though he doesn't know it yet, he's different from most Links past."

"Why?" Red asked.

"Link loves Zelda, though he is oblivious to that fact," she replied.

Silence as Red tried to absorb this fact.

"It's a sweet idea, sort of," Red said after a minute.

"Yes," came another voice. "However, it would cease to be if I were killed."

Red jumped around with a shout, ready to face Shadow Link. Who else could be speaking, after all? However, he was quite surprised by what he saw. Yes, it was Shadow Link physically, but his voice wasn't harsh and high, but rather, lower and calmer. He was walking on the ground, not hovering slightly. But most of all, Red could see that his eyes weren't glinting with madness. As a matter of fact, they were more grayish-purple now.

"Red, I don't have much time," he said urgently. "I, Vio, managed to take control for long enough to visit here for a moment.

"Vio," Red gasped. "Link's planning on killing you, or whatever you are."

"I know," Vio replied sadly. "I heard it all. He doesn't understand what I'm going through."

"What, exactly?" Red asked. "What are you going through?"

"Perhaps I should show you," Vio answered quietly. "Anjean?" he asked. She smiled and charged a ball of light in her hands. Suddenly, she let it loose, so that it was floating in front of Red and Vio. Red began to see shapes moving vaguely inside of it. He looked more closely, and even as he did so, he seemed to be swallowed into the ball of light.

Anjean, meanwhile, turned to see Vio's eyes were darkening.

"I'm sorry that you will have to be awake for these 5000 years of darkness," she said sadly. "That is all I can say. Shadow Link is coming back. Run!"

For all he was worth, Vio ran for the lives of Anjean and Red. He was in no danger. Rather, the danger would've come from him.

Red was shocked by what he saw in this vision. It was the four sword sanctuary. From the looks of it, Link had just pulled out the four sword.

Four figures were sprawled on the ground. Most obviously was Link himself. Another one, whom Red recognized with a shock as himself, was sleeping as well. Yet another whom Red recognized as Blue was stirring slightly. However, it was the last one, whom Red could tell was straight out of those paintings he'd seen, who was closest to reawakening.

Vio…

All of a sudden, the room went dark. Vio opened his eyes for an instant to suddenly see that there was some sort of evil energy entering the room. Red could see that it was a Twili from the symbols on its arms. Red knew instantly that this was Zant.

"COLE!" he shouted excitedly. "I, the king of the Twili, have discovered that Vio is waking up!"

Cole entered, looking bored.

"Honestly, Zant, which personality is it now?"

"The bossy one!" Zant shouted. All of a sudden, he shouted "Shut up, Helpful!"

"Who are you and why are you here?" came Vio's voice.

"We're here to kidnap you!" laughed Cole.

"Well, there's two of you, but neither of you are armed, so we're even," Vio reasoned.

"There are a lot more of us than you think!" came Zant's voice.

"You mean your multi-personalities?" asked Cole in the same bored voice.

"Yes!" Zant shouted. "No!" he shouted a second later. After that, he appeared to have a fight with himself.

"Anyways, little hero, there are more of us than you think!" Cole laughed. "Bellum, now!"

All of a sudden, Vio felt a tentacle grab him around his midsection and whirled around to see Bellum, a monstrous octopus-like creature with a huge, yellow body and purple tentacles.

Vio gasped in horror when Bellum pulled another tentacle forward. Only this one was full already. With…

"Dark Link," Vio gasped. "You're alive?"

Dark Link turned around to face him as best as he could with Bellum's tentacle wrapped around him.

"How is it that you remember me?"
Vio felt slight confusion, then it hit him.

"I'm good with knowledge, so I remember Link's past life as the last hero of the four sword. I'll bet you anything that Blue remembers how to wield his weapons better than the others. Red and Link, now, I don't know…"

"Quiet!" Bellum spat. Just then, he pulled his prisoners to their feet and pinned them to the wall. While they tried to struggle, Cole tied them in a back-to-back formation and smirked at his handiwork.

"Nice, work, old chap," Bellum smirked. "Now out of the way!" Cole leapt aside as Bellum charged a sphere in his tentacle and let it hit the two.

They screamed in one voice as black goo covered them first, then suddenly a tornado erupted.

"Behold, my greatest creation with veil power!" laughed Bellum as the tornado continued. "A Link with the powers of both Links combined, with the intellect of Vio, the driving instinct of Dark Link, and my great evil!"

Just then, the tornado stopped. Bellum laughed and floated forward a little. Lying on the ground now was someone who looked almost identical to Vio, but he was writing around in pain.

"Stop it!" he screamed. "Veil us back to our normal state! Please!"

"No," Bellum laughed harder. "Listen to your evil!"

The Link that Red now knew to be Shadow Link opened his maddened eyes.

"Okay," he began laughing as well. "The pain keeps my other sides at bay as well!"

Red was sent out of the vision with a scream, feeling for an instant the agony Shadow Link was feeling.

"Poor Vio…" he whimpered.

"It's okay," soothed Anjean. "Hopefully we'll find a way to undo it."

"I'll protect him from Link," Red swore. "But I'm scared of the freeze," he added. Just then, he froze in place.

Now, Anjean was the only one awake in the tower. As a matter of fact, she was the only one who wasn't a creature of darkness that was awake in the entire Hyrule.

"Ah, my heroes," she said gently. "When the world begins to stir, how we'll need you."

Shadow Link was walking next to a stream that now gushed darkness.

He was tired of listening to that stupid Zant. He was tired of obeying that stupid Ganondorf. But most of all, he was tired of having an inner fight between his three parts: evil, intellect, instinct. Why did it have to be him? Why would he have to watch the nightmare of the 5000 years unfold, utterly alone except for Ganondorf's minions.

What could be worse? What had he done to garner this attention?

Author's note: Review and let me know if you want anything to focus on the 5000-year freeze, or if you want me to just skip to where Link, Red, Blue, and the others wake up!

Also, I will be on vacation for the duration of next week, but don't hesitate to review anyway. When I get back, I'll answer all questions!