Chapter Fifteen – Once a Dream Always a Dream

"Daddy!" Malon exclaimed, rushing out to hug her father. Talon swooped her up and laughed while Link introduced Sheik to Marin.

"The Dream Shrine? It's been sealed up for years. I'm sure you'd have no trouble getting in, though," Marin commented, looking at Link.

Link nodded. He turned toward the west as Tarin came running up to them.

"There's a boat waiting for you'uns to use at the harbor," Tarin said, out of breath. "Ready whenever you are."

Link turned toward Malon and Talon. "Whenever Tarin recovers from his nice little jog, I want you two to follow him to the boat. I doubt it'll be too hard to get going, so set a course for Hyrule, a bit southeast of here, okay?"

Malon looked over at Link anxiously. "If we take the boat, how will you get home?"

Link chuckled. "Trust me, I have more than one way of getting home."

"You'll be okay, right?"

"Of course I will be. I'm the Hero of Time, after all."

Malon nodded. She stepped up in front of Link. "Promise me that you'll come back safe. Be careful, and please, please, don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"I'll be careful, Malon. Don't worry. You go on and make sure the Ranch is okay. And watch Epona for me until I get back, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." Turning back to Talon, they went into Marin and Tarin's house, followed by the still-tired Tarin.

Marin glanced over at Link. "You're not really going to send them back on the boat without you, are you?"

"Yes, I am. I don't want them here, just in case everything doesn't go as planned. I'd much rather you and Tarin go, too, but you two live here."

"The Dream Shrine, right?" Link nodded. "Well, if you don't come out in a day or so, I'm coming in after you, so I expect you to hurry."

Link nodded. "Don't worry, I will."

Marin started to turn and walk away, but she instead spun around and grabbed Link in a hug. "Don't do anything too out of your league. You're no fun when you're in pieces."

Link returned the embrace and after a second, Marin stepped back. "Okay?"

"Okay," Link replied solemnly.

Marin started to say something else, but headed into the house quickly.

Sheik turned toward the Dream Shrine. "Come on, Link."

Link nodded and they walked the short distance to the Dream Shrine. Link shoved a large rock out of the way and they entered.

Inside the Shrine was a plain bed. Richard glanced over at Link and Sheik and walked over to it. He plopped down on top of it and promptly fell asleep. As he slept, he faded until neither Link nor Sheik could see him.

Silently, Sheik followed Richard's example, falling asleep and vanishing as well. Link, too. climbed into the bed and fell asleep as well, feeling a rather large dream enveloping him.

--

Link opened his eyes to see a long corridor stretching in front of him. Just as he started walking down it, a figure materialized next to him.

Link turned, only to almost slam into the Princess Zelda.

"Zelda!" he exclaimed.

She nodded. "It seems that the Dream Shrine blocks the magic of the Triforce."

"So you can't change into Sheik?"

Zelda shook her head. "Afraid not."

Just then, Richard appeared behind the two of them. He nodded toward Link, but froze when he saw Zelda. "P-princess! Wh-what're you doing here?"

Zelda giggled. "You can't tell anyone, but Sheik's really me. The secrets out here, anyway."

Richard blinked. "So, you mean to say that when Sheik…"

"When Sheik threatened you, that was me scaring off any suitors."

"Oh. So, the Princess of Hyrule threatened to decapitate me. That's tone better than a random ninja."

"Sheikan warrior," Zelda instantly corrected.

"Okay, Sheikan warrior."

Zelda giggled again. "Okay. Let's get going. Ganondorf has got to be in here somewhere."

Link started walking. He had no plans to let Zelda fight in the upcoming battles, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Unfortunately, the Dream Shrine was just as easy as it had been when Link had dreamed about it. One, two, three right turns down four long hallways ended in a staircase leading up. Link, Richard, and Zelda easily scaled them.

However, when they arrived, Link discovered that instead of a small platform with a treasure chest on it, it was a large open area with a single person standing there."Talon!" Link exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Talon slowly turned to face Link. He smiled, and walked forward, toward the three. Suddenly, a large blast of energy hit Talon and sent him flying backwards.

"Link!"

Link spun around. "Kaigara!"

Kaigara floated down, staring at Talon. "That is not your friend. That is Dethl, the evil Siren that almost caused our doom."

Seven lights floated down around the disguised Dethl. Kaigara herself became a light and floated toward the stunned Dethl. The eight balls of light spun around him so fast that they seemed to blur together. Dethl shouted in pain and exploded, knocking the lights back.

The smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing a man about a foot taller than Link. He looked old, but not in a bad way. He had a majestic and wise air that only age could give. His torso and legs were covered in blue-gray feathers and instead of feet, he had fierce talons that looked like they could rip a man in two. From his back sprouted two wings covered in the same blue-gray feathers, but they were folded back.

"Well, Link, we meet again. And this time, you've brought a few friends." Dethl's voice was hypnotic, but Link was strong enough to easily shrug it off.

Link drew his sword. "That's right. And you seemed to have gotten weaker since the last time we fought."

Dethl walked forward slowly, his talons clicking on the rock floor. "Untrue. This time, Link, I will defeat you."

Richard, too, drew his sword. "Stop right there. You will go no farther."

Dethl laughed. "Two pathetic warriors against me?"

Zelda stepped next to Link, drawing a slender blade that Link never remembered seeing. "Make it three."

Link glanced over at Zelda. "You sure about this?"

She nodded, never taking her eyes off of Dethl. "Positive."

Link turned back to Dethl. "Give up yet?"

"Never!" he screeched. He suddenly started to change. In mere moments, he had become a gigantic suit of armor with one eye and two giant flails.

Link glanced to Zelda, then to Richard. "Okay, let's go!"

The three rushed forward to meet the creature Dethl in battle.