Hero of Time Chronicles: True Darkness

by Marickiya of the Desert

The story of the True Force. Since returning to Hyrule from his 7 year journey, Link has been met with nothing but grief and strife. The worst part, he's been told the Sages may have made a mistake in sealing Ganon inside the Sacred Realm. After everything he's done, he is forced to take up his role as Hero again, but this time, he may be getting help from unexpected sources.

22. Chapter 22

Last Call

"There you go," Link said through his teeth as he hefted Lana onto what had previously been Vaati's cot. It had been a challenge getting over the broken bridge, but Link managed to half drag the elderly Lana back to their home. She was as listless as when they left the field, but he could see the sorrow in her eyes starting to take over. He could feel that same melancholy threatening to envelop him from the edges of his subconscious. He wouldn't allow it to take him yet, though. He had to stay focused.

The sorcerer had undoubtedly been one of their strongest allies, and Ganondorf had made easy work of him. It was hard to swallow. It was as if Ganondorf had suddenly become more than just a sworn enemy at that point. Link had defeated him once, but something was different this time. He had lost a few friends in his lifetime, but never in such a brutal way. Link internally berated himself for his overconfidence.

The Evil King didn't take many lives during his seven year reign. All those that he had captured before Link awoke as the Hero of Time were only spared because he had a use for them. He himself had been spared for a long time but he chalked that up to the man underestimating him. It seemed Ganondorf wouldn't take that chance with Vaati. They had all fallen deeply into his trap of darkness, lured by comfort and security at his absence. A deceptive reprieve.

It had been a long time indeed since he had last felt this. Helpless.

"I-" his voice fought him, he cleared his sore throat, "I'm going back for Mari." He stared at the wall as he stood and turned to leave, the movement causing him to sway, lightheaded. Then Lana spoke her first words in her weak and old voice.

"I'm in the way." It rattled with defeat. He forced his gaze to her eyes, resisting the pull of her anguish. It was useless and he felt it in waves as it crashed behind his mask of solidarity. His brow knitted together and he knelt in front of her and took her hand.

"No, you're not." He still could not make his words sound normal enough. Tears poured down her face, she didn't accept his statement.

"I won't stay here and burden you." Her frail chest heaved as she took a steadying breath. "He knows I left him for you. He'll only try to use me against you. You know this."

A part of him knew this. He was beginning to see the threat that was Ganondorf in a new light. His own experiences had been tame compared to what others had been through. Lana, Marickiya, his parents… Vaati…

"I'll go to Lon Lon." Lana was wiping away at her eyes, resolve setting in. There wasn't much she could do, but she could remove herself from Link's protection and thereby protect him in turn. His head fell.

"Alright." He stood once more. "When I come back with Mari, we'll head out."

He gave her a hard look when it appeared like she would protest to him accompanying her. There was no way he would allow her to cross the field alone and on foot and he wouldn't give her the chance to slip out in the night. Her defeated expression returned and her shoulders sagged. Then she gave a small nod. Link turned and retreated through the door closing it softly behind him.

The tightness in his chest was becoming unbearable as the night air played across his sweat ridden forehead. The feeling of being alive and breathing meant next to nothing to him. He had seen death in many forms. This wasn't one he wanted to be acquainted with. Without the need to be strong for Lana's sake, the flood that had been beating against his barricades was too much. He grit his teeth and fell gently against the door to his home. He lifted his arm, burying his face into the crook of it, while he used the other to try and remain standing. He was miserable and frustrated and dejected and so many other things he couldn't put a name to. The Hero of Time had lost a friend.

"How did this happen?" He whispered as the tears finally broke out, streaming freely down to his chin and onto the dark grass below.

0000

"Master!"

The dark skinned woman scrambled to reach the hunched over figure that had just reappeared through a black clouded portal. When she reached him he leaned heavily into her as she led him to a large brickwork throne. He sagged into it, breathing hard.

"Remove… arrows." He demanded of her. She nodded her understanding and set her sights on the shaft nearest her. She placed her calloused hands on it and pulled straight up. She felt her master stiffen beneath her touch, knowing that he was in a large amount of pain, but refused to show it. She scowled.

"Who did this?" She breathed as she moved on to the next arrow. He grunted out his next word.

"Hero." Between his teeth, the word sounded harsh, disgusted. Her scowl deepened.

Once the last arrow was done away with, she hurried to grab a bowl of warm water and a soft cloth for cleansing his wounds. She had readied these just as her master had left in a hurry with a manic look on his face, muttering something about 'easy targets'. She wasn't entirely sure what he was going on about but he disappeared in that black cloud he was using to get around before she could ask about it. Whenever he left her lately, he would always come back injured in some way or another. Once with a nasty cut across his face and shoulder that she had a hard time abating the flow of blood. The time before this, she had found him nearly unconscious upon the stone floor of the Temple of the Sand Goddess, in a cold sweat. He would not say what ailed him then. It was difficult getting him to come around. She feared he may have over-used his magics. Now…

"Give me an order, Master." She said as she finished cleansing the holes left by those arrows. Those magic arrows. She could see they had caused him great discomfort when they were in contact with him. Since they were removed, he had a relieved look about him. He was sitting straight and had a glint in his eye.

"You are quite faithful, my love."

She allowed a small smile through her glower at what had been done to her master. She awaited his next words patiently.

"Are the Gilded ready to move?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously, then she grinned in triumph.

"At your command, my Lord."

He sat back with a contented look.

"Send them to Kakariko. Bring the Hero," he spat the word out again, "To our esteemed Fortress and make sure he receives the warmest of welcomes. Do not kill him," he added almost as an afterthought, "I will make a personal visit."

The woman's face lit up at the meaning of his statement. This would be the first time since his unjust imprisonment that he would return to his Fortress. He would see first-hand all that she had done for him. The women would be revitalized in their faith of him, though she was sure none were so faithful as her. Excitement danced within her as she stood and bowed reverently.

"We await your return, my King."

0000

She was vaguely aware that Link had acquiesced to her desire to not move. She thought that maybe he was feeling the same way she did and that he understood. Then again, he hadn't heard what Ganondorf had said, so quietly only she would hear.

She had been used.

All of this… It was her fault entirely.

She had alerted their enemy by transferring her Triforce piece. She should have listened when he wanted to get back to the others more quickly. She could not even think his name without the nausea setting in. She wasn't strong enough, not quick enough, not smart enough…

And somehow, Ganondorf knew that he would do this one thing for her. He knew that he would put himself between her and death. How could he know?

She sat upon her legs until they were numb, replaying those scenes, willing different outcomes than what had transpired until they were almost reality for her. Then the hard truth would wash over her in the form of this bitter loneliness. It was well into the night by the time she heard the galloping of hooves nearing her. She didn't have the strength nor any inclination to look up at who approached her...

"Marickiya," Link said her name firmly from atop his horse. After getting no response, as he expected, he dismounted and walked over to her.

She still had that glassy look he had left her with. She was in more shock than any of them. He felt that demoralizing depression tugging at his heart again when he peered at her. He pushed it away and took a seat in an identical position to hers. She had yet acknowledged his presence.

He tried to think of what to say. Nothing seemed right. He wanted to know where she and Vaati had been that afternoon but he was most certainly not going to bring that up just then. He knew there was nothing he could do or say to console her. Even a reaffirmation that they definitely would beat the one who had caused this was out of place. So he just sat there and stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on her head, but nothing in her eyes showed she felt anything at all.

Ganondorf had taken one friend and broken another. The tears came back in full force.

As much as he wanted to be angry, wanted to hate the man for his unforgivable deeds, he couldn't get past the ache in his whole body. He wanted to sleep. He was sure sleep would help them both. He gingerly got back to his feet and knelt in front of Marickiya. He looked her in the eyes and took her hands in his. She didn't protest. He gazed at her and slowly pulled her up. He thanked the goddesses that she did not fall back down. Then he led her over to Epona and helped her up into the saddle. When she was seated to where she would not fall, he looked up into her face again. Her eyes had fallen. They were no longer blank, but glazed over with tears that silently fell into her lap. His own barrage threatened another attack, but he continued to haul himself into the saddle with her. She leaned against his back when he was situated.

"Mari," he breathed, then pulled halfheartedly at the reigns and started back towards Kakariko, just as downtrodden as she looked.

She never spoke a word during the ride. The night was equally as quiet, as if holding a moment of silence. The trip was as uneventful as a long day at the Lake Hylia fishing hole. The both of them were absorbed in their own inner musings and it was somewhat of a surprise when Epona had arrived at the new stables in the village. Link roused himself and hopped off of his mare and took Marickiya's hand to help her do the same. She alighted to the ground fairly easily but still would not walk anywhere without guidance. So he led her around the town and up the steps to their house.

When he opened the door, the room was only dimly lit by the lanterns on the first floor. He suspected that those were the only ones Lana could reach in her weakened state. His lips formed a thin line at the thought.

"You need to rest." He muttered to Marickiya. "Here," he led her to his bed as it was much easier to get to and possibly more comfortable than her pallet up in the loft. He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for making her stay up there since she had moved in, despite her never complaining about it. Once he felt that she was tucked in enough, though she still showed nothing other than her desolate demeanor, he stood back and observed his handiwork before announcing-

"I'm taking Lana to Lon Lon Ranch." She made no move to respond. He soldiered on however. "I'll be back before dawn." That time he didn't wait for a reply he knew he would not receive. He helped the old woman to her feet and they made their exit.

Marickiya was alone…

Alone…

She hated this. She hated that she was born into such a strife-ridden life. She hated that so many people wanted her dead and then the others wanted to use her. She hated that she would have something nice happen to her, any happiness that she felt, all the friends that she met, anything she accomplished, was smothered by conflict and grief. She hated that bad things happened to those around her.

She hated being alone.

She couldn't stand it.

And there was so little she could do about it.

She hated that the most.

What could she do about these things?

It was all too much. Sure she had her friends to help her through the bad times. Nalyra helped her escape an unfair death sentence. She had her half brother to cheer her up with the most inane of actions. She had had him…

The uneasiness made her entire being quiver. Everyone around her met with terrible fates. She couldn't understand why. Perhaps it was the will of the goddesses to make her want to die to spare the suffering of those she loved…

That was wrong. Making anyone feel that way was just so wrong. Why would the divines want her to feel miserable?

Maybe her sin was as simple as being born from the Dark One. Then again, she was also born from the line of Heroes who were supposed to be revered. It was all so messed up. She had no idea what to think.

She didn't want to think anymore. She was ready for it all to be over.

She finally wanted the chance to end it the right way.

It was some time later, when she was completely encompassed by these notions of finality, that she heard it. It didn't quite make that much sense to her at first. The frantic horse whinnies. But then there was a loud pounding on the front door of Link's house and she started to come to.

The door burst open, it never had a reason to be locked anyway, and a plump woman entered unannounced.

"Link!"

He's not here, she thought to herself. She took in the woman's face and recognized her as the mother of the little girl the three of them had rescued so many weeks before. The two of them now…

"Miss!" She had addressed her then. Did she not know her name? She supposed she wasn't as renowned as the Hero of Time, but still.

What is it? She couldn't bring herself to say the words. She just stared at the woman intruding in her and Link's and Vaati's home…

Vaati…

"Wait, what?" The woman had sputtered a hurried sentence that she couldn't quite comprehend, but the urgency behind her voice was evident.

"The red mare that belongs to Link!" She shouted again. "She's in the middle of the village making quite a scene! Do you know if something happened to Link?"

Something happened to Link? He had gone to Lon Lon to escort Lana there. That was the last thing he told her, she was beginning to remember.

Link was never without Epona.

Something clicked into place inside her head. She flung the sheets off her and sprung out of Link's bed.

"Take me to her."

...

She raced after the woman towards the middle of the village. When they rounded the last house, there was quite a crowd milling around for the time of night it was. She could see Epona's white mane bobbing over the heads of those that had come to see what the noise was all about. No longer needing her guide, she pushed her way through the people towards the red horse that was kicking up a fuss.

"Epona!" She called to her, and held up her hands. There were two stable hands attempting to subdue her but every time they managed to grab hold of her flailing reigns, Epona would yank it from their grasp and almost cause them to topple over. "Epona!" She called again and leaping in front of her trying hard to get her attention.

The auburn mare finally took notice and recognition flashed within her big brown eyes. She stopped her thrashing but continued to paw the ground nervously. Marickiya waved the stable hands off before they dove for her reigns again and further agitate her.

She patted the horse's snout in a calming manner but she was still as skittish as ever.

"What's going on girl? Where's Link?" She asked softly.

At the mention of her rider's name, Epona bayed dolefully and stamped at the ground with the both of her front hooves. That was when Marickiya knew for sure.

She used her good hand to pull herself up into Epona's saddle and wound her reigns tightly to her bad one. The crowd parted away from the horses entrance and she lightly tapped her heals to Epona's side. She was more than ready to go however and took off for the path at a much faster pace than Marickiya initially wanted. Though if Epona was this anxious, something serious had happened and she wasn't about to slow her down.

She held on tight as Epona whipped through the bends of the path and Hyrule field opened up before them. It wasn't too long after clearing the walls that hid the village when Epona started to slow down. Marickiya kept her eyes wide, searching in the dark for a sign of their quarry. She came to a stop on her own by a lone tree that stood in the clearing between the original entrance of Kakariko and the river. She strained her ears for any telling sounds when the horse stopped pawing the ground.

It was soft, but she managed to hear a weak gurgled cough very near to them. She located the source as a lump at the base of the tree. Someone was leaned up against it and they sounded like they were in pain.

Fear surged through her as she removed the wrapped reigns from her arm and clamored off of Epona's back. She rushed over to them, but pulled up short as the moonlight illuminated the grayed curly hair on top of the person's head.

"Lana," she whispered. She knelt down beside her and saw that the old woman was barely conscious. She placed a hand on her shoulder which roused her immediately, pale orbs wide with fright. When she focused on Marickiya's face she breathed out that gurgled sound again, this time in moderate relief.

"It's you… Good."

"What happened?" She asked urgently as Lana looked like she would pass out again at any second. She took a deep breath, then…

"We were attacked."

As obvious as that was, Marickiya elected not to comment on it. She urged her to continue.

"By who?"

"Gerudo."

Her blood ran cold. She gulped down the panic that was rising within her.

"Where's Link?" He couldn't be dead. Please don't be dead.

"...They took him."

She wasn't sure that news was any better.

"Did you see where?"

"...W-west."

As if she had any doubt of it before, she didn't have to guess where they were headed. The Fortress lay in the west. Link was being taken to the Gerudo Fortress, and presumably, to Ganondorf himself.

For a moment, Marickiya was lost again. The Gerudo that took Link were probably half way to their destination already and she needed time to figure out how she would help him. If she could help him. Link didn't have the time for her to prepare. She didn't know what she was going to do and if she didn't do something soon, she was going to lose Link too.

And like a bolt of lightning, the thought of losing both of the people she loved the most in the same night sparked something within her. Her heartbeat evened out and she started to think clearly for the fist time in weeks. Emotions were pushed aside and pure purpose drove her. She would get to Link in time. Nothing else mattered.

She would need help, though. What better person to help her, a former Gerudo prisoner, than the former leader of the Gerudo? Ideas started sprouting in her head. But then she was brought back to the moment by another rattling breath from the old woman in front of her. First she had to get Lana back inside the village. Then she would head for Lon Lon Ranch to where she hoped Nabooru would be. If she wasn't, she would think of something on her own and head west. Her mind was made up.

"Come on, let's get you back inside Kakariko." Marickiya stood, a determined scowl firmly set into her features. She bent down to grab hold of Lana's arm, but stopped abruptly when the woman let out a pained cry. She stood and stared at her, a little annoyed that she wasn't cooperating.

"I'm afraid that's no longer an option for me." Lana said in a breathy voice. Marickiya was about to argue, but then she saw it.

In the dim light, she spotted a dark stain quickly spreading from the hand that she just noticed that Lana had been holding to her abdomen. On the ground beside her leg was an arrow, shining with blood up to the fletching. Marickiya pursed her lips, unsure of how to feel about this. She needed to start making her way to Lon Lon at the earliest opportunity. Could she really leave this old woman here to die?

"Go." Lana said forcefully in spite of her dying state. Both of Marickiya's eyebrows rose. "He needs you more than I do now. Even if you drag me back, it won't make a difference." Marickiya steeled herself.

"Alright." She said, then turned to remount Epona.

"I want to tell y-you something," Lana muttered as she hooked her foot in the stirrup. Still fighting the annoyance, she went back to the dying woman and waited.

"Ganondorf," she took a laboring breath before going on, "He… did something."

"What do you mean?" She asked, impatiently.

"I saw it, when he took his power back. He's weak. He..." she was slipping, her eyes momentarily slitted from pain and delirium. Marickiya bent closer. "He used his magic to do something he shouldn't have. Messed with something. And now he's weak." It was pretty vague.

"What did he do?" Lana breathed in and she could clearly hear the blood that was clogging her windpipe.

"I… I don't know," Was all she had to say in response. Marickiya straightened once more.

"Thank you for that information." She stated, trying to make her words sound resolute and finite. Lana, however, didn't get the message and kept going.

"I'm sure Link's… told you by now," her voice was more faint then, "But I wanted to tell you my… myself."

Marickiya didn't know what she was talking about. She hadn't really spoken to Link much in the last few weeks and so wasn't entirely prepared to hear what she said next.

"I'm sorry." She paused and her face scrunched up in pain, "F-for everything. All… that I did to you. And Link. And Vaati," her heart skipped a beat at the name, but she was listening too intently to this woman, someone she detested not long ago, as she she spilled over her dying words. "You were so nice… Even after it all. You-"

She stopped. She stopped everything. Talking, breathing, being. Lana was finished in the world.

And she was wrong. Her? Nice? She didn't even want Vaati to go and rescue her at the cost of her secret. Lana had known nothing but the cruelty of a master when all she wanted was the freedom that Marickiya herself thirsted for. Her mind blanked for a second.

She reared her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs in absolute fury. Completely overwhelmed, she struck the nearest inanimate thing to her, the tree, with her right hand. She had forgotten that she couldn't form a fist with her severed tendons and her fingers crumpled against the knotted bark in a mangled mess.

She stood there for a moment as the rage slowly subsided, and her stinging, bloodied fingers and knuckles became numb. There were no tears to join her rampant hostility.

This was going to end. Death, damnation, suffering, all of it. She was going to end it.

She stiffly walked back to Epona and hoisted herself up, urging her onward as she twisted her marred hand into the reigns. One thought, repeated a thousand times as they made their way to the ranch, drove her.

'You'll not have them both.'

0000

Lon Lon was quiet without the vendors and shoppers lining the streets formed by massive tents and worn down dirt from the traffic it received. That suited her just fine as she pushed Epona to the point of exhaustion to the main house. The strong willed mare allowed herself to be pushed, wanting nothing more than to save Link just as much as Marickiya did. She didn't even wait for Epona to come to a full stop before jumping down and running for the front door of Malon's house where the Sages had been holed up.

Bursting through it, she was surprised, and a little dismayed, to find no one on the bottom floor of the house. Where were the Lon Lon's? She shook her head. Link first. She bounded up the steps to the meeting room and wrenched the door open.

Only to find a masked violet-clad Gerudo brandishing a sharp glaive in her face. She blinked a few times in surprise and looked at the face of the woman threatening her. She also had an almost stunned look.

"Nab?" She asked hesitantly. The woman seemed to regain her bearings and stood back, removing the weapon from it's offensive position. She pulled her mask down.

"Yes, it's me, honey. You startled me!" She said as she picked up the chair that had been knocked over in her frenzy. Then she collapsed into it.

"Why are you wearing that?" Marickiya asked. Nabooru opened her mouth to answer, but Marickiya spoke over her when she remembered why she was there. "Nabooru! Link's been-"

"Captured and taken to the Fortress." The other woman finished for her. She let out the air from her lungs she was going to use to exclaim that and eyed her superior questioningly. "I saw it happen." She propped her weapon against the circular table and motioned for Marickiya to join her. "I have some things I need to tell you..."

For the last few months, Nabooru had been overseeing things at the Fortress. Someone had started stirring up trouble and she was investigating. For the most part since Ganondorf's absence, the clan of thieves believed their King to be dead. They had no idea of knowing whether his crusade for Hyrule's throne was successful or not. He didn't include them in any of his plots before. They simply carried on their duties of training the young ones and protecting their gates when he left.

Recently, a group of them, growing larger each day, had been trying to rally the others into searching for their King to aid him. There had been many fights breaking out between those who no longer wished to follow Ganondorf and those who still declared loyalty to him. They split into two factions constantly warring against the other. Those who still considered Ganondorf their leader, changed their colors to Orange. There were still Purple guards, but most of the Reds converted to Orange. The Greens, who previously reported to Nabooru, quickly became outnumbered and had been branded White, had their hair cut, and imprisoned. The most recent development was that she had been replaced. There was a new leader adorned in pink and the Orange followed her exclusively.

"When I was on my way out, I almost ran smack into the scouting party that had been sent to attack Link. I'm sorry to say that I was only able to hide myself and watch them drag him into the Fortress." Nabooru finished her quick retelling in a hurried breath.

That was a lot to drink in. Her former home had become even more savage than when she had left, and they were trying to have her killed back then, too. How would she be able to rescue Link? She was sure Nabooru would help her, but just the two of them wouldn't be enough.

On top of all of that, it sounded like Nalyra, a Green and her best friend she left behind, was also in trouble. She would not have taken the insurrection sitting down. Marickiya swallowed a lump in her throat.

"We need help." She stated. Nabooru leaned her elbows onto her knees, intertwining her fingers in front of her mouth, and her face became dark.

"I've been trying to contact Impa since I left, but she won't answer. I'm sure Darunia and Ruto would be more than willing to help, but gathering their forces would take too much time. That, and launching a haphazard attack on the Gerudo on their own turf would be dicey." She peered up at the girl in front of her from behind her hands. "Looks like it's just us."

'Just us.' The words rebounded in her thoughts. Other words like 'impossible' and 'hopeless' were trying to squeeze their way in as well, but Marickiya was dead set on getting Link back. The only thing for it was to think of some way the two of them could sneak in. She was at a loss as to where to start planning though.

"Any ideas, then?" She asked the Sage of Spirit. Nabooru sat up straighter, her old authority showing through. She appeared as determined to save the Hero of Time as she was.

"A few. Only one that I think would actually work, though." She sat back and placed a finger to her chin.

"Let's hear it."

"I take you in as my prisoner."

She said it so casually, Marickiya was sure she had misheard her.

"Your… prisoner?" She repeated. Nabooru nodded, not hearing the uneasiness in her voice.

"Yes. They will have taken Link to the high security cell in the cliff face," she stated frankly, "I'll throw you in with him. We'll hide some rope on you and you get him out."

Marickiya slumped in her chair. It was a pretty straightforward plan. She could think of several things that could go wrong with it, but at least regrouping with Link was a good place to start.

"That is an idea, I guess." She said, mulling over how difficult it would be to fool the Gerudo into thinking this wasn't a ruse.

"The only thing is I'm not sure how the new Pink will react to you being thrown into the same cell as Link." Nabooru added as an afterthought. Her tone made Marickiya think she actually hadn't thought of that before giving her idea.

"Do you know who the new Pink is?" Marickiya asked. She didn't expect Nabooru not to answer right away. She would have said if she didn't know.

Her hesitation meant she did know, and Marickiya wasn't going to like what she would say.

"Who is it, Nab?"

"…It is Vinaya."

In the weeks that they roomed together at Lon Lon, Marickiya had told her a little about how she left the Fortress. She had told her Vinaya had been the one that had finally gotten the others to ostracize her, and that Nalyra had gotten her out of trouble again. She couldn't come to tell her all of it then.

"Impossible." Marickiya uttered, her vision reddening. "Vinaya is dead?"

"She's dead?" Nabooru said skeptically. "How could she be dead? I saw her."

"She's dead because I killed her." Marickiya said darkly. Nabooru's shocked expression brought her back to herself.

"You killed her?" There was accusation in her tone and those nearly forgotten icicles of guilt were piercing her, overtaking the anger.

"It- it was an accident," her voice lost its edge and she was shrinking back.

"How?"

Marickiya looked fearful under Nabooru's glare. A flash of a memory danced behind her eyes. What Vaati had done for her, what he said to her. She had to accept it. Just as she had to accept his death…

She would not dwell on that. She couldn't. There was something she had to do.

She explained what really happened that day, almost a year ago. How she tried to escape with the help of Nalyra and how Vinaya had fallen to her death in the canyon. When she finished, there was a pressing silence.

"We have to accept the possibility that she survived her fall." Marickiya could only nod meekly.

The other woman had taken notice of how reluctant Marickiya was to tell her this. It wasn't a pleasant memory. She thought she had killed someone. As bad as she felt for her, she wouldn't try to comfort her. From what she heard, Marickiya wasn't at fault for Vinaya's choice. Nabooru couldn't just tell her that, she had to believe it on her own. She could see that she had progressed with her coping since the last time they had talked about it. She remembered the little girl she had tutored at the Fortress so many years ago wanting nothing else but to leave the harsh desert. Then she remembered the beaten down teenager who she reunited with after finally getting that wish, if not in the way she expected. She was a mess the first time she finally decided to let Nabooru in on what caused her to leave, and she had left the part of Vinaya's death out. This little girl had been through a lot and she still had a ways to go before she would get over it. For now, it was time to rescue a kid with a knack for getting himself into the worst kind of trouble. She stood from her chair and snatched up her glaive.

"Alright, enough talk. It's time to take a trip to the desert."

0000

It was not an hour later that they were halfway to the desert through Hyrule's fields. Much to Epona's dismay, they were riding upon the back of a black mare, much like the string the Gerudo used. She was reminded of Trysting, and her stomach twisted when Nabooru had first started saddling it. She did not blame her horse for bolting during Ganondorf's attack. She only hoped he was safe now. She wished she knew if he was or not…

But that was in the past. Nothing she could do about it now. She would only aim her attention at things she had the ability to change. Like Link.

The irony of having to save the Hero of Time was lost on her. She didn't care how dangerous or impossible the mission seemed. He was the first and last of her family she would ever have. She would do whatever was necessary to get him back.

Going over the plan in her head, she took mental stock of her minimal arsenal. They had to downgrade her equipment to make it look like Nabooru was bringing her in unarmed. The thin but strong rope Marickiya would use to get her and her brother out was wrapped around her torso under her clothes. Most of her weapons were removed, leaving empty sheathes and pockets as a show that Nabooru had done her frisking job well. Her two daggers were wrapped in with the rope to hide them as she would not go without them. Other than those items, she had only her clothes, made to look more torn and beaten than usual, and a set of lock picks. Those were set into a small contraption, concealed in her mouth and attached to her upper teeth, of Nabooru's invention. They were for the occasion that she or Link were locked up. With a jolt, Marickiya realized one fatal flaw in their plan.

She could not use her right hand.

They had already crossed into the red earth that preceded the desert. She began to sweat and wanted to kick and scream at herself. How did she not think of that sooner? It wasn't like they could switch places either, even if Nabooru was as wanted as she was. Her hair was cut, a disguise as a purple wouldn't work. Both of her hands were needed for this daring escape.

A small idea sprouted in the back of her head. It took a second for it to get through the anger and fear of failure. Then it had to go through a memory of Eyela, warning her not to do this. There was a chance that Ganondorf would know… But there was also a chance he wouldn't. It would be something small, she reasoned with herself. It was the only way she could think of.

She pulled her arm from being wrapped around Nabooru as they rode and stared sharply at it. This would work, she told herself. Searching within her, she tried pulling at that dark abyss inside her. The Dark One's sleeping power. She willed with the magic to move her fingers.

Nothing was happening.

Her heart fluttered for a second with disappointment, but she pushed it away. She would make this work.

Once again, she called on the power. It was almost as if, having been dormant for so long, it was crying with joy at being needed. Her second attempt caused the skin on her right arm to glow a coppery color and a thrill of excitement coursed through her. She took a deep breath…

And wiggled her fingers.

For as upset as she was at forgetting her handicap during their planning, she was equally just as amazed and giddy at being able to accomplish this feat. She had only been able to do a bit of small movements, but she wasn't worried about it. She would keep pushing to move them until her hand worked as it did before. It was relieving to know she wasn't completely useless after all.

A glint of silver shined in the bright moonlight up at her from her hand. Her eyes widened and her throat became tight as she turned her hand over, already knowing what it was. An orange stone gave a shimmer from the ring Vaati had bought for her. The air in her lungs froze and a stinging cold stabbed at her. Vaati's second to last gift to her…

It was too difficult to hold it in. Tears leaked on their own despite how hard she tried to keep them from doing so. Nabooru noticed her tighter grip around her waist and muffled sniffles. She slowed their horse to an even trot after crossing the bridge over the ravine and inclined her head to look back at the girl.

"Mari?" She asked. She watched her wipe at her cheeks, only to have them wet themselves again instantly. The young girl met her gaze and though the crying didn't cease, she saw a change in her.

"Nabooru," she recognized the spirit returning to her just with saying her name. Whether it was for her resolve to save Link, or something else entirely, she couldn't be sure of. It was obvious some other things were going on that she wasn't privy to, but she was glad to see the fire relighting within her.

"What's up?"

"I want to ask you to hold on to something for me, until we make it out." She covered her right hand and pulled off a small and simple ring to hand to her. Nabooru took it and inspected it in the minimal light. She couldn't see what the reason for having her keep it for a bit, besides the fact that the other Gerudo might covet it as they did with most jewelry. She didn't want someone taking it from her.

"Alright. Why, though?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. Marickiya was quiet.

"It is a precious gift."

She should have guessed. It was enough of an explanation. She placed the almost too tiny ornament on her smallest finger, then took hold of the reigns again. They passed beneath the giant stone arch that stood as the entrance to the Fortress. The both of them steeled themselves.

"We're here." Nabooru breathed.

After dismounting, they tied Marickiya's hands in front of her in a trick knot that she could easily get out of when the time came. The stage was set. Getting inside wasn't the hard part. The hard part was convincing the other guards that she needed to be imprisoned in the same high security cell as Link. That involved revealing Marickiya for who she was. She was a little worried that they might simply attempt to kill her on the spot. If Vinaya was really alive, she would want her killed as soon as possible. She probably would want to do it herself after missing the chance to do so a year ago. So convincing the Gerudo to imprison her rather than kill her was definitely going to be difficult. The hardest part would be escaping without having a savage group of woman right on their tails.

They had an excuse ready, a flimsy one in her opinion. That they would turn her over to the 'Great Ganondorf' when he returned and allow him the honor of killing a dissenter. They hoped the Gerudo would like the idea of a public execution. Of course, it would never come to that. They would either be dead by the end of the night, fighting to the end, or they would be successful in breaking Link out.

Her heart was beating fast within her as they ascended the steps that would take them to whatever fate was waiting for them. They were spotted almost immediately.

"Halt!"

A Gerudo dressed in orange- 'Oh crap,' Marickiya thought, - was trudging up to them. Nabooru's grip tightened around her upper arm almost painfully. For all the ardor she showed while making this plan and getting up to this point, just then she seemed as scared as Marickiya was. They didn't have the luxury of showing that fear now. There was no running. This was it.

"What is this?" The Orange guard demanded of the two of them. When they were near enough, Marickiya was able to recognize her, though she couldn't recall a name just then. She was one of Vinaya's old followers. Right into the thick of it already.

"I'm glad you're here," Nabooru had recovered and took on a serious facade. "I found this lurking just outside the fortress." She thrust Marickiya forward at her inflection. "It is the deserter, Marickiya."

That was what they were calling her these days? It was a weird title. It made her sound like she had abandoned them, which wasn't the case at all. She glared up at the Orange who was scrutinizing her. She took a step back in astonishment when the recognition set in.

"By the Goddess… It is her," she reached out quickly and snatched Marickiya's chin, squeezing it uncomfortably as she took in her face full of old and new scars.

"You're a sorry sight." She said, scathing and condescending. Marickiya was careful to snarl with the side of her mouth that didn't hide the lock picks.

"Just sorry I got caught." She said through her teeth.

The other woman laughed heartlessly.

"What should we do with her?" Nabooru began. "I was think-" But the other woman cut her off before she could make her suggestion.

"Vin has ordered that if she ever showed her face here again, we would report directly to her. She will ultimately get to decide what happens to her."

Well, that wasn't entirely good. She had been right that Vinaya would want to deal with her personally. Things were starting to get complicated. If this woman took them straight to Vinaya, would they be able to overpower her and get away? Would they have to kill her? Nabooru hummed in thought.

"I wonder if she would like the idea of a public execution. Perhaps when the King returns, it would reaffirm our loyalty to him and what we do to those that oppose him."

Marickiya decided to drive the point home by putting on a little act of her own.

"Curse Ganondorf. He is no King of mine." She spat on the ground in between the three of them. The Orange looked enraged and took a threatening step forward. Nabooru already had a hold of her, so she got to her first and jerked her arm around to make them face each other, nose to nose.

"If we didn't want to give our King the pleasure, we would take you down right where you stand for that little display." A cloaked warning. Don't take it too far. The detestable woman was laughing again.

"I like you're attitude! Keep it up and you'll be promoted in no time. What's your name again?"

Uh oh. This was her first time actually interacting with a rogue, she hadn't had the need of an alias before then. She didn't have one. Marickiya thought fast while trepidation was evident on Nabooru's face. She gritted her teeth. Time to be a distraction.

"Oh! Uh… It's-" Nabooru was cut off by Marickiya slamming her body into her and scrambling up to try and make a fake break for it. She pretended to stumble so that the Orange would have the time to grab her before she could get far. It turned out she didn't need to give the woman the advantage after all. The Orange grabbed hold of the back of her torn clothes and yanked her hard, throwing her to the ground unceremoniously. Then she was on top of her the next instant with her elbow held against Marickiya's throat and a knife digging into her cheek.

"You're a bit feistier than you used to be." She grunted while Marickiya fought to breathe beneath her. The jostling was causing the blade against her face to make several cuts. Nothing deep, but the stinging and the inability to breathe were making her eyes water. She saw Nabooru stand behind the woman, looking alarmed and ready to wrestle the Orange off of her. She managed to give her a warning look before she did anything. 'Don't.'

Nabooru hesitated. Instead of doing what she thought she was going to, she jogged over to the other side of her and grabbed her arm again.

"I've got her," she attempted to force anger and indignity into her voice. The Orange glanced up, then back to Marickiya, and scoffed while picking herself up. She sheathed her weapon and dusted her clothes of the sand that got on them during the scuffle.

"As eager as I am to find out what kind of death Vin has in store for her," she stated as Nabooru dragged Marickiya back to her feet. "She has traversed into the desert and probably will not return until tomorrow." The two ex-Gerudo stopped moving and stared at the rogue. Had they heard correctly? Nabooru recovered first.

"What should we do with her in the mean time?" She asked, shaking Marickiya's arm to gesture at her.

"We'll have to lock her up." This was going much better than either of them could have hoped for.

"Seeing as she's already escaped a regular cell before, may I suggest the Cliff?" Nabooru added. Would their luck run out here?

"You make a good point..."

A few minutes later, they were heading through the maze of the Fortress towards the cell that Link was being held in. The Orange leader had decided that two high profile prisoners in one cell wasn't a bad idea after all. They would both be presented to their King at the same time. Thankfully, there weren't many Gerudo still awake, so they met few people that would know she was there. Getting out would be a little easier without everyone on alert. No one seemed to bat an eyelash at them, like they didn't realize who she was. Also helpful. They did pass by one Purple in the room just before the ascending hallway that led to the cliff. Marickiya noted that she was riffling through a pile of familiar objects, too busy to notice them. The hilt of the Master sword glistened in the firelight that lit the room. She squinted at her as they passed and she saw the side of her face. She was another she recognized, but hadn't cared to remember her name. She would need to get Link's possessions back, especially the Master Sword. She didn't have to know how important it was. It was Link's, not hers. She threw around some ideas as they arrived at the hallway.

The climb up to the cliff side cell was steeper than she remembered it. Though it had been a long time, she didn't have much reason to visit this place before. With all the prisons, constantly armed guards, and the barbarous women that roamed freely, she was having a hard time recalling why she had called this place 'home' at one point. She decided she had always despised the Fortress and its inhabitants. Besides Nalyra, that is. There was a twisting in her core at the memory of her best friend and what she was probably going through. If it weren't more important to get Link out safely, she would take the risk and try and free her as well. But she had no idea where she was. She didn't have an almost half-decent plan for her. There was a good chance they wouldn't even be able to do what they came here to do. Link was her home now, though, and she was taking that chance on him.

They crested the top of the sloped, torch-lit hallway, her heart hammering loudly in her chest as she set her sight on the dark spot in the floor of the room they entered. The cliff cell's entrance. That was where she would find her home. Just beyond the darkness. She had to tell herself not to look too eager to go in there and so started to futilely struggle against her bonds and Nabooru. Nabooru took that as her cue.

"Not so eager to be dropped in the scary hole, huh?"

Dropped? Oh. She had forgotten that that was the only way in. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Not entirely, no." Marickiya said, a half truth. The Orange grinned from the other side of them.

"Well, that's just too bad." Then she nodded at Nabooru.

She swung her around and pushed her, front first into the welcoming blackness. The stone floor of the upper room rose up around her as she fell. She could just make out the floor below as it came rushing up to her. Adrenaline flushed into her veins and she hurriedly worked the slip-knot of her bindings to try and get her hands free to prepare to roll. She just hoped she wasn't too close to the opposite wall and smack into it when she did. The ropes were loose enough just as the balls of her feet slammed into the unyielding stone and she clumsily rolled forward, but ended up landing on her side, her breath knocked out of her. Distantly, she heard the laughter from that abhorrent woman above. Laying still for a moment, she listened to the fading voices and laughter from her captors. She grumbled as she pushed herself up off the ground.

As annoyed as she was at Nabooru's less than friendly treatment, she knew the rogue Gerudo would have done much worse. She couldn't fault her for putting on what she hoped was a convincing enough show without actually harming her. She caught her breath and looked around, thankful for the perpetual cloudless skies of the desert. She was able to see the inside of the cell quite clearly in the bright moonlight.

Then, there he was. She stared, awestruck. The one thing she had been completely, intensely fixated on. Link.

A distressed whimper passed her lips as she sprung to her feet and hurried over to him. He appeared to be unconscious and was bound to the wall by his hands with a long metal bracket.

"Ooh," she made the noise again as she placed a shaking hand to his face. His skin was like ice and slick with sweat. "Link," she called to him. He did not stir. That frightened her more than anything else had that night. It meant she might have been too late.

She refused to accept that. She put her ear next to his mouth and held her breath, trying hard to listen for any sign of his.

'Don't do this, Link.'

She was still for several seconds.

'Please.'

Then it was there, warm against her cheek. It was shallow, but it was a breath. He was alive. What had happened to him? He didn't appear to have many injuries besides a few minor cuts across his face. She needed to look him over to find out what was wrong.

"Link?" She cupped his face again and lightly patted it. "Can you hear me?" Still he did not answer her. She continued jostling and saying his name repeatedly. She was worried about how long it was taking to wake him. The more time they spent here would complicate the plan. She needed Link to be awake.

"Link, please." She tried to be as quiet as she could but loud enough to rouse him. "Link, I need you." An almost inaudible groan escaped him and she gasped.

"Link?" She asked again happily. He lifted his head! Partially closed eyes looked into her elated ones.

"Mari?" He choked on her name, but he was speaking and that was good enough.

"Yes, it's me." She reached a finger into her mouth and pulled the lock pick case free from her teeth. She set to work immediately, wiggling the pins into the lock bar holding him to the wall. "I'll have you down in a second," she reassured him, though it was unnecessary. As soon as she finished her sentence, the lock clicked and she swung the bar away.

She didn't expect Link to not be able to stand on his own once freed and so when his limp body fell forward, she was brought down with him. She let out a small strangled cry of alarm before they hit the floor, Link strewn on top of her. Giving a groan of her own, she propped herself up on her elbows and saw Link's face was screwed up in pain. She felt extremely stupid for that.

"I'm sorry," she said in a high-pitched voice as she pulled herself all the way up and heaved him with great effort into a sitting position against the wall. Through the endeavor, she felt his clothes had been torn quite a bit, something she didn't notice in the moonlight alone, especially around his back. The skin she could feel radiated with heat. Then, when she pulled her hand away, she found it to be fairly wet.

The two of her most traumatic memories surged forth. The painful, torturous events that she would never forget. Of all the punishment she went through growing up in this forsaken place, those would stick with her for the rest of her life, however short that might be. She blanched at her hand that was covered in a dark glistening substance. It felt as if someone had slammed a hammer into her chest. To be sure, she pulled Link forward, to shine what little light there was onto his back.

Deep welts aligned with the tears in his tunic. A dark ooze seeped from them and the light would occasionally illuminate a bit of white amidst the wounds. Her vision became hazy for a moment.

"How… how dare-" she gasped out, but couldn't finish her declaration. She was enraged beyond words and her sight was becoming white around the edges.

They had whipped him. Vinaya had him whipped, just as she had done to her. The cruelest of suffering was used against her brother. Then they had left him down here. She had nothing to clean or bind his injuries. Her voice found its way to her throat without much forethought.

"Link," she said gruffly. "You still awake?" He gave a weak nod. She steadied her shaking hands. "Tell me who did this to you."

Perhaps he could feel the anger in her, because he looked up then, more alert than when he had first come to. The pain was still there. A different kind of pain intermingled with it. He knew the answer she sought.

"An older Gerudo. Wearing guard clothes." He admitted, the utterance feeble and distant.

"Did you hear a name?" She pressed. He squeezed his eyes closed. He didn't want to answer. "Link." She said his name, not in worry or fear this time. She said it with a hard and cold tone...

He didn't want her to see just how hurt he was.

He didn't want to relive those moments, hear the words of the one who had done this to him.

But part of him was just as angry at his mistreatment as she was. Before he could stop himself, the name she repeated with every crack of the whip so that he could never forget, came spilling out of his mouth.

"Giani."

She knew who Giani was and that she was going through Link's equipment in the other room. She also knew why she didn't remember her name. She had only ever called her 'teacher'. Marickiya began to take off her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Link asked her, a little off-put by her actions. But then he spotted the rope she was uncoiling from around her torso and the two daggers that were hidden beneath it. She threw her daggers into their sheaths at her belt and then began tying a noose.

"Getting us out of here." She replied curtly. Once the knot was tight enough for her liking, she got into position under the hole in the top of the cell where she knew a picketed fence resided above. Then she started the annoying process of trying to loop her rope onto one of the pickets. "I'll be right back."

"Where-" he grunted in pain when he tried standing up.

"Don't get up yet." She said in between a few unsuccessful tosses. "I'm getting your stuff back. This will be easier with your hookshot." Another toss. "No climbing involved for you."

"Marickiya," he said through an exhale of breath. She didn't respond, only kept trying to create a way up. "What are you going to do?" She hummed in annoyance at her failure thus far to loop the rope up.

"I just told you," she said, not looking at him. Then, she gave her throw a little extra force, and that time it didn't fall back down. She tugged at it. It would hold.

"Marickiya," Link said again, this time more frail sounding. She turned to him. "Wait." She pressed her lips into a thin line, then turned away, unable to hold his gaze.

"Everything's alright. Nabooru is here to help." She gripped the cord with both hands tightly, reveling in the restored use of her dominant one. She braced herself. "Be back in a minute."

He called once more to her, but she ignored him. He wasn't strong enough to try and stop her. He could barely talk, even.

She wanted to do this on her own. Besides the fact that dragging her injured brother around would be a liability, she didn't want Link to hold her back. She didn't want to give him the chance to talk her down. It was obvious he could sense her intentions. It was one thing doing that to her as a child. It was entirely another thing for them to inflict that pain on him. Anger spilled from her in waves.

At the entrance to the pit, she peered over the edge to make sure no one was around. Since the appearance of a rope flying up out of the cell hadn't made any kind of scene in the first place, she wasn't worried, but checked all the same. No moving shadows around or in the branching hallway. Good. She pulled herself all the way up and glanced back down to where she left Link. It was too dark to make anything out down below.

She imagined a conversation with Link. What he might have said to her before she left.

"Marickiya, don't lower yourself to their level." He would say, trying to guilt her. She would reply back indifferently.

"I'm not lowering myself to anything. They deserve it."

"This isn't like you. You don't need revenge." It was a reasonable argument. She could easily walk away from this, like she did so long ago. She could, but she wouldn't. It was so much more personal now. She never felt the desire to defend herself, but by the goddesses above, she would fight to the death for those she loved.

Dismissing the fantasy from her thoughts, she quietly crept down the path towards the light at the end. To the room where she had seen her 'teacher'. She flattened herself against the wall just before the entrance and peered slowly around the corner.

Down below, she could hear two of the Gerudo laughing and chatting. When the contents of the conversation became apparent, her blood began boiling over again.

"Two of them in one day! Enjoying your promotion?" Another Orange was talking to who she knew to be her former instructor.

"Definitely!" Giani replied enthusiastically. "Though that first one kind of took a lot out of me. I feel like the Hero's beating wasn't up to the Great Ganondorf's standards."

'Thanks for confirming that for me.' Marickiya ground her teeth, not even caring if it was loud enough for the two below to hear. She was going through many ideas of how to get down to them without being detected long enough to incapacitate the both of them at the same time.

"Have you heard? That girls' not doing great. You really did a number on her. She might not make it through the night." Giani's eyes widened in mild shock.

"Really?" The other, younger girl's face split into a bloodthirsty grin as she nodded vigorously.

"No one thinks any less of your performance with the Hero," it was as if they had a taste of poison on their lips when they mentioned Link's title, "Our Lord will ultimately have his way with him. You were magnificent with the betrayers. They need to be put down."

Marickiya's insides burned uncomfortably at this talk. This other Orange, she wasn't much younger than herself. Yet, she was completely on board with tormenting those that didn't align with Ganondorf. She had thought that the Fortress was turning from the evil man. They had even allowed Link safe passage under Nalyra's order before all of this 'betrayer' nonsense started happening. It was like the shift in ideals had happened over night.

Or perhaps these women were born with such ill intent and merely waited for the opportunity to act on it. They were all children of Ganondorf.

Then again, so was she. Her inner fire dimmed the slightest bit with that thought.

She blinked away the slip in her resolve as the younger girl said something she couldn't make out and promptly left the chamber. That left Giani to head back to Link's pile of equipment at the main table, her back to the place where Marickiya was hiding. Perfect.

She waited for a moment longer to make sure the other was completely gone and Giani was enveloped in her work, trying to find out what each object was useful for. Compelled by fury alone, she didn't have much of a plan when she dropped to the floor behind the woman she detested the most in that second. Giani did not notice her immediate presence. Many scenarios flew through her mind in that short amount of time. She could have said something to surprise her into turning around. She could have knocked her out instantly. But, no.

She grabbed her shoulder aggressively, and threw her around to face her, to make sure that she recognized who her assailant was, and that she wouldn't have the time to react appropriately. Then she grabbed her two daggers from their sheaths at her sides, quicker than a Dodongo could spin, bent her backwards over the table, and drove them through each of her 'elders' palms all the way into the wood. In the second and a half of her assault, the purple clad woman was so in shock she didn't make any sound until the blades had already pierced her. Before anything above a gurgled cry of pain escaped her, Marickiya released one of her weapons and jabbed her elbow into her victim's neck to block her windpipe. They stared at one another, Marickiya with malice, Giani with horror as she gasped for breath.

"Scream, and you'll die." Marickiya said in a dangerously low monotone. After another agonizing second, the woman blinked her acknowledgment.

Marickiya swiftly extricated herself from the downed Gerudo and moved past her to begin gathering up Link's equipment. Unsure of their rightful pouches, she took a little longer than she wanted trying to get them all to fit. How did he carry all this stuff around with him all the time? They way he pulled out just the right weapon when the time arose was baffling to her with how cramped everything was. She shifted those thoughts away once she jammed the last item that would fit, prioritizing the hookshot for later use, on top and tied the belt to her too small waist. The last of it was Link's mahogany bow and quiver and the Master sword. As she was belting the quiver on, she noticed a simpering sound coming from Giani. She threw a cursory glance in her direction and saw the old woman was quietly sobbing, big wet tears constantly rolling into her hair. Marickiya sneered and a harsh breath of annoyance expelled from her lips.

She hated her. In that moment she hated her more than anything, anyone. Even his majesty the King. She could serve the punishment, but couldn't herself take it. With the fear of death, she was nothing more than another weak and useless being. No taunts, no scathing remarks. Not when she was on the receiving end of the pain. She was finally getting a small taste of the torment Marickiya went through all of her life there at the Fortress, by her hands even, but was already falling apart. She was disgusted by the sight.

She swung the bow over her shoulder and grabbed the Master Sword's hilt to lift it, but stopped. Her eyes widened with mild shock. What was this? She wrapped her fingers tighter around the Sword and felt all her muscles strain to pick up the weapon. It was heavy. How was it so heavy? It looked like any other forged blade. With both hands, she couldn't even lift the tip above the level of her knees. This was so weird. She had to resort to carefully taking the sharp edge of the steel into her other hand to hook it onto Link's belt. Was it this heavy for Link? He swung it around like it wasn't. After pondering that for another wasteful second, she made sure everything was situated on her person, then slowly approached Giani. The woman saw this and stopped crying instantly, her eyes wide.

"W-wait!" She whispered, keeping to her non-spoken word of silence. "Don't kill me, please..."

She was begging! Marickiya almost laughed out loud, it was too good. She thought better of it, though, as she stood a foot from the table. Then Giani got the nerve to speak again.

"Who are you?" Marickiya scrutinized her frightened face for a moment.

"You do not know?" Had she not recognized her when she was brought to the dungeon before? She got a pretty good look at her snarling face when she was on top of her. Had she changed that much in just a year?

Marickiya slowly approached the downed Gerudo and looked her in the eyes again, her countenance more disdainful rather than loathsome. Giani was quiet as she studied her, flitting over the details of her face. Then her eyes were the widest they had been in her presence.

"Mari?" She gasped a little too loudly. In another burst of rage, Marickiya grabbed the front of her shirt and waylaid her, hitting her head repeatedly, possibly breaking bones, until she was out cold. She stood, breathing ragged, and recollected herself. Then she let go and the woman slumped beneath her, held up by the two daggers embedded in her palms. When her breathing steadied again, she made to retrieve her weapons. She grabbed both hilts and yanked. The force of pulling them from the bone and sinew sprayed blood across her face, some landing upon her bottom lip. Her tongue instinctively lapped it up and she grit her teeth. The taste was metallic, but there was also a sourness to it she couldn't stomach. She turned away and spat it back out and wiped at her mouth. She composed herself once again and glared at the limp figure on the ground below her.

"You don't call me that."

Then she turned and headed back to the stairs and away from the mess she'd created.

…

Link's head popped up at the sound of Marickiya dropping down from her escape rope. She started unstrapping his belt and removed his sword and sheath, placing it all quietly on the floor. She got closer to him and felt his face, a passive expression firmly settled on her features. She looked into his eyes and saw he was more alert than when she left him and nodded.

"Are you good enough to stand?" She asked him quietly.

He studied her for a moment longer, taking in everything that had changed in the past half day that they'd been separated. The skin under her eyes was darker, something he could tell even in the dark. It reminded him of the time she'd been on the verge of death from being unconscious for four days. She was too distant now. He let out a shaky breath.

"Give me a minute," he mumbled back to her. She gave him another nod and pulled his equipment closer.

"I'll take whatever you can't carry." He took the Master Sword first and struggled to pull the sheath over his shoulder and heavily injured back. It stung, but the weight of his old friend was comforting in a way. Marickiya saw this and repacked everything else back onto herself.

"Mari," Link breathed as she removed the hookshot from a pouch, "There's blood."

She paused, an unnerving silence spilling between them, and kept her head turned away from him.

"I am not hurt."

She couldn't bare to see what kind of look he was giving her, though she knew it was probably a disapproving one. The were still for a long time. Then Link said something else she wasn't prepared to answer completely.

"Did you find Lana?"

It was like the room became infinitely colder and the skin of her face became tight with wrinkles. She bowed her head before giving a response she knew he wasn't looking for.

"Yes."

She had to stay focused. She would not let anything else get in the way of getting them out of there alive. Not Ganondorf. Not Vinaya. Not Lana. All were mental enemies trying to scare and intimidate her into giving in to her unstable emotions. That could not happen. She heard Link shuffling from his position in the floor. He used the wall to get himself to stand, little grunts revealing the pain of his effort. Once upright, he looked sternly at Marickiya who finally got the courage to look back.

It wasn't disappointment or sadness like she expected. It wasn't anger or fear either. They peered at one another, no words passing between them. There was only quiet resilience.

They were not defeated yet.

Marickiya took that as her cue to bustle over to her half-brother, pulled his arm over her back and wrapped hers about his muscular body tightly. Then aimed the hookshot at the rafter over the only window to their shared cell. There was a whir of the mechanism and a clunk signaling she'd struck true, and she released the latch to send them up to the sill. They landed deftly at the rather large opening and planted their feet. Marickiya made sure Link was alright to stand on his own before letting the hookshot recoil and placed it back into its pouch. They knelt down and peered at the dark sands below.

"That wasn't terrible," he gave her a tired, yet sly grin.

"Hush, you." She said mockingly, but returned the smile anyway. They had not been this familiar with each other for several weeks, that being mostly her fault, and she was glad for it. He was her family. She once again took solace in that thought.

"What's the plan from here?" Link asked her.

"Meet up with Nabooru, then get out." She stated simply, looking out over her former homeland.

"Do you know where she is?" He said, beginning to raise an eyebrow at her vagueness and hesitation at her next words.

"...No." She knew where the next part of the conversation was headed.

"What about the guards down there?" She let out an annoyed breath. He shook his head. "You're terrible at making plans." He teased.

"Hey, I got this far, didn't I?" She gestured at their window. He chuckled quietly, then returned to gazing out at the desert below them.

"Let's sit tight for a bit, figure out the paths the guards take, sneak around, and hopefully meet Nabooru at the entrance." He summed up.

"That works," she mumbled. Back in charge already. Heh.

They sat down on the ledge, the cover of night enough to hide them from plain view, and watched. The darkly clad guard patrolling just below them would walk several paces north of them, then retrace back to the base of the cliff. That one was easy enough to get around. They also had to be careful not to run into any of the others once they got past her. There was an Orange making a half circle path around the flagged rock in the center of the compound. Those were really the only two of significance with the route they were planning on taking. They just needed to make sure that they wouldn't accidentally catch the attention of any of the other guards roaming about. Link, at one point, made note that there might be a guard at the base of the gates to the desert. They would have to cross that bridge when they came to it as they could not tell from their position if there was indeed someone over there keeping watch. They waited a little longer for the their two targets to sync their paths in a way that would benefit them. Marickiya's mind wandered while they sat in the silent darkness.

"Hey," she mumbled after a few moments, "Link." He hummed to show he heard her, though he still continued his lookout over the Fortress. Her brow furrowed as she took another second to put her jumbled thoughts to words.

"Have you… thought about leaving Hyrule?"

The question made him slowly bring his attentive stare to her. He studied her face as she explained her question further.

"Not for good. Just, kind of like, a break? From being the hero all the time." He remained in quiet contemplation of her and she sighed when she wasn't receiving any kind of reaction. "I feel like… we both need… deserve… some time to, you know… recover."

He understood her. Apart from the feeling of guilt it would give him, for leaving the people of Hyrule to fend for themselves, he had definitely mulled over the idea of 'taking a break from being the hero,' as his half sister so eloquently put it. It goes without saying that being solely chosen for the task of protecting an entire kingdom was an overwhelming responsibility. At first he was daunted by the thought of being a 'Child of Destiny' when he heard about it from the Great Deku Tree so many years before then. Along the road though, he came to accept it as his fate. It was what he was meant to do, what he was made to do. It became easier the more he accomplished. Lately, however, those inklings of uncertainty were resurfacing. More often he kept entertaining the notion of escaping this reality, however way he could. He considered it his one weakness as the Hero of Time.

"Marickiya," he stated, a sad tone in his words, "Even if we wanted to do that, we can't leave. There's the barrier Ganondorf made. It's impossible to leave without taking him down first." He knew she knew this. It probably wasn't even part of what she was asking him. She seemed like she was just curious about what he was feeling. No one had ever asked him that question and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to reveal how vulnerable he really felt. Then Marickiya posed something he hadn't considered.

"It might not be impossible." She had an idea. His breath was stuck in his throat.

"What do you mean?" He was entirely interested in what she might say. It was difficult to hide any amount of excitement from his hasty reply. It might be possible. Why was this so appealing to him all of a sudden. He nearly hated himself for it.

"I may be able to counteract Ganondorf's magic with his own magic. The magic I have within me now."

It was grasping at straws. She wasn't sure she'd be able to do it. But there was a chance and that was something. His thoughts were a gale of possibilities. They could maybe take down the barrier and get all of Hyrule's inhabitants to safety. They would be able to regroup and get a better understanding of how to take on such an intimidating foe. He didn't want to get too ahead of himself though.

"You have been hesitant to use that power lately. Don't think I haven't noticed." He gave her a grim nod when it appeared she would protest. "There's a downside." She pressed her mouth into a thin line and did not offer any explanation. "My guess is that using it could possibly alert Ganondorf that you are using his own power." She scoffed in mock aggravation.

"You're too smart." They took another few moments of silent scouting, each contemplating the words they spoke. "Aside from that," Marickiya said, "What do you think?"

Link breathed out deeply, gathering his thoughts, feelings. He decided to be honest, but still realistic.

"I'll admit," he began, "It has crossed my mind. Leaving, that is." His sister watched him, waiting, a glimmer in her moonlit eyes. "Your idea… It's a good one." He saw her sit up a little straighter. "But," Then her shoulders sagged just the smallest bit, "We will need to consider other options first." A frown appeared then.

"Well, that's pretty vague." There was a hint of annoyance in her tone. She opened her mouth, intending to say more, but then thought better to not have an argument about it just then. In her mind, she was protesting that they've been waiting for months to do anything. The only other option available to them was to confront Ganondorf and use her ability to mortalize him, and she was not so fond of that plan. She had to swallow her distaste for the sake of their current situation. "How about we talk more when we get out of here?" Link gave her a relieved nod.

"Sounds good." He pointed to the Gerudo directly below them. "When she is far enough, we'll jump to that building," He moved his finger to gesture at the roof below and to the left of their window. "And wait for the right moment to get past the rock." He lastly pointed at the flagged stone monument. Marickiya nodded, then gave him a sidelong look.

"Are you sure you're up for that?" She asked with concern. He gave her a look back.

"Any other ideas?" He asked as he pulled himself to his feet. She shook her head.

"Point taken." Joining him, they squinted through the darkness and followed the tiny figure of the Purple making her path, and then turning back the other way. When she was halfway, Marickiya started to feel a tingling in her body from excitement and anxiety for what was about to happen.

"Ready?" Link whispered. She moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Ready."

Before the guard could turn around and see them falling from the cliff, they leapt into the air. Angling themselves so that they would land on their feet. Between all the equipment they held between them, Marickiya was sure they would be heard once they landed hard on the stonework. But, just as they touched down, Link leaned them forward with the momentum of the fall. Sensing what he was doing, she reached out a hand in tandem with him and they ducked into a roll. They came to a stop at the nearest wall and rested against it, taking deep, quiet breaths to make sure they weren't spotted. No alarms went off. No shouting. Safe for the moment.

Her breath evening out, she turned her head against the brick work to see how Link was faring. It almost startled her to see wetness glistening on Link's face, his eyes shut tight and small gasps passed between his teeth. She placed a hand on his and he returned her a pained look. Helplessness and heartbreak nearly caused tears of her own to leak from her. Along with everything else, she pushed it down.

"Almost done." She said to him quietly. He closed his eyes again. "I'll keep a lookout until you're ready to go."

She left him there and edged past the wall to get an overview of the desert sands below. Trying not to focus on how bad of shape Link was in, her face was stony as she surveyed the guards they needed to bypass.

Not long into her sweeps, she heard shouting from somewhere out of her line of vision. Sweat broke out over her brow as the fear of being found out seeped into her. The commotion grew noisier and to her astonishment, every one of the guards abandoned their posts and were making their way to what was happening. She chanced poking her head out around the corner and found them all piling into the center courtyard.

"Well, this is lucky." She felt Link kneel down beside her. He had appeared there after hearing the shouting.

"Maybe not. If it's not us, it might be Nab." She whispered back. "I hope she's okay..."

"Let's get a better look."

They readied themselves for the next jump and held on to each other, the sand being a much softer landing than the stone they'd just left. As quick as they could with Link's stumbling, they made their way around the monument and hopped up the steps that led to the center of the Fortress, keeping their heads low. They were again not noticed. From their position, they could see light spilling from the middle passage of the courtyard. The shouting continued and they could make out some of what was going on. Lines like, 'Find her!' and, 'That traitor won't escape us,' were some of the things being shouted. It seemed Nabooru had been revealed.

"What do we do? We can't leave Nab out here."

A hand grabbed her by the shoulder roughly and turned her around. There was no way Link could have made such a strong move and the hand was much more slender. When she was facing back the way down the stairs where they had come, she realized a third figure had joined them. Her hand reached for one of her weapons before she realized who it was.

"Goddesses! Nab! What the hell?" She whispered shrilly.

Nabooru was looking quite ragged, sporting a blackened eye and many scrapes and bruises. Her expression was nervous and dark.

"I messed up." Was all she uttered in explanation. "But I see you've done your part well enough," she gave Link a nod. "It's time to go." Getting over her initial shock, Marickiya also nodded.

"Right." They turned and rushed down the steps. That was when Marickiya noticed the arrow protruding through one of Nabooru's ankles. "Nab! How are you walking on that?" She moved toward her Gerudo elder and made to help her walk, but the woman shouldered out of her grip.

"I'm tougher than you take me for."

They returned to the place where they had previously left their ride and found the horse to be missing. Marickiya let out an angry snarl.

"Stupid creatures." She exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter, keep going." Nabooru grunted.

It was painfully slow going with Nabooru's injury and Marickiya having to drag Link along, but they made it out into the valley. As they were making it to the bridge, the noise of the upset Gerudo could be heard rounding the entrance to the Fortress. All three looked back, knowing they would not be able to outrun the angry women through to Hyrule field. Once over the canyon, Marickiya stopped. The other two stopped as well.

"What are you doing?" Nabooru shouted at her. "We're kind of in the middle of escaping here."

"Go!" Marickiya said back to her. She put all her anger and ferocity into the word, making Nabooru stop in her tracks to retrieve her. "Go and I'll be right behind you."

She turned her intense gaze to Link and he seemed to understand. He grabbed Nabooru's hand and tried leading her away. Nabooru groaned, completely beside herself, and threw Link's hand over her shoulder and they limped together towards the path to Hyrule Field.

Once satisfied that they were making their way to safety, she pulled out a knife and lunged at the ropes holding the bridge up. She didn't dare look at the oncoming Gerudo, just worked as fast as she could.

Just as she snapped the ropes on one side, she heard a whizzing sound. Knowing she was under attack, she could only think to throw herself to the other side of the bridge to get to the last of the tethers keeping it up. Just as she moved, an arrow thudded into the rock face of the canyon, the path of it had been right where her head had been not half a second before. Anxiety flooded her at the near death experience, though that wasn't her only problem. The instability of the bridge was worsened by her jump to the side, and she had to dig her heels into the unraveling rope to keep from falling. As she hung there, the Gerudo women had caught up and were lining up at their side of the canyon, bows trained on her, shouts of disbelief and anger directed at her. They would not risk setting foot on the near broken bridge, though, and she ignored them. They weren't shooting at her yet, as they awaited the inevitability of her falling to a watery death.

In the next few seconds she had, she could only think of one thing to do. Destroy the rest of the bridge. Too bad her knife had fallen with her hasty movement to avoid getting shot. Her eyes quickly raced from the ropes she needed cut, to her remaining blade sheathed at her side, and then to the looming Gerudo. Then she quickly withdrew her second knife and with the aid of her magic, tore right through the other ropes that she had jumped toward. The bridge was falling apart with her on it and the Gerudo simply watched as she started descending into the abyss.

She was scared, but she knew Link and Nab had made it and that mattered more to her. For the second time in her life, she was readily accepting of a death to save those she loved. There would be no one to rescue her this time as there was no possibility of either of her comrades making it back to her in time. This would be it. No one would ever risk themselves for her ever again.

A glint of silver at the free side of the canyon was the last thing she expected to see above her. Then, a figure of someone reaching out their hand toward her also entered her visage. Had Link and Nab come back, she thought wildly. Her mind froze with the fear that she was going to get someone else hurt. Then she realized who the figure was.

"Va-" She couldn't finish his name. Something took over her mind and she utilized the magic to summon a great gust of wind from below her and she flew to the top of the canyon. The Gerudo watched in confusion at what they were seeing. The wind had blown her back to her feet and onto the path to freedom. Realizing this, she took off. The Gerudo regained their wits and were trying to shoot at her again but by that time, she was already out of their range.

She couldn't help it. She laughed. She was laughing so hard she was more out of breath from it than the hard running. There was no way that had really been him. She accepted that. Merely the memory of him was making her stronger. She was laughing because she had made it. Because she had successfully rescued the Hero of Time. It had almost been easy. Sure they were all a bit on the injured side, but they had escaped and temporarily stranded the Gerudo in their base.

She rounded the few bends in the canyon walls and saw Link and Nab standing, waiting for her. She waved to them, calmed down from her giggling fit, but still smiling widely. They smiled back to her and the elation returned. 'We made it!' she repeated happily to herself. She felt invincible.

That feeling did not last long.

The sun was threatening to rise. The early morning light was casting its bluish glow onto the red earth. Marickiya was quite a distance from where the others waited for her, the both of them turned to watch her approach. They would not see what she saw coming up behind them.

The hair prickled on the back of her neck. The smile dropped from her completely.

And she watched Ganondorf suddenly step out from behind the rock pillar that Link and Nabooru were propped against.

She screamed a warning. They would not react in time to it. She tried putting on a burst of speed, not knowing what else to do.

She couldn't get to them fast enough. Sprinting still, she watched, horrified. The Evil King grabbed Nabooru first. Link, seeing too late what was happening, was kicked to the ground some feet away where he lay, dazed. Marickiya screamed again, only able to watch it all unfold.

Nabooru was kicking and flailing in a futile attempt to get out of Ganondorf's grasp. He simply grinned. Then, there was a flash of magic, and Nabooru was engulfed in flames.

Her screams were piercing. Link was trying to pick himself up off the ground, but was having a hard time shaking off his delirium. Marickiya was getting closer, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Ganondorf's eyes glowered with malice in the firelight.

The screaming was cut off. The flames died as Marickiya finally arrived at the scene, winded and devastated. She fell to her hands and knees and sobbed openly.

Ganondorf tossed the charred corpse aside and took air in through his flared nostrils, then exhaled satisfactorily. The smell of burning flesh was too prevalent. Nab was gone. Marickiya was lost in her grief…

"Well, here we all are," the King, terrifyingly dauntless, clapped his hands to rid himself of Nabooru's ashes. "The three holders of the Triforce." He looked gleefully between the two of them. "The Goddesses seem to be smiling down on me this day. I am fortunate enough to have the last defenses of the Sacred Relic torn down before me." He opened his arms and guffawed heartlessly at the sky. Marickiya wasn't in any state of mind to comprehend his words. There was just too much she couldn't handle. She was broken. Ganondorf finished his last gloat. It was his time.

"I'll be taking back what's mine!" He shouted and brought a fist high into the air.

A golden light filled the rocky land, the Triforce piece of Power revealing itself on the back of his raised hand. Link's body began to glow in conjunction with the show of the Relic, his Courage also appearing on his left hand...

It was then that the man realized something was not going his way. His gaze was torn from above. Courage was resonating, but Wisdom was not responding in kind. Why would this happen?

He let Power die and his arm fell limply beside him. He had missed something. He gripped his head in his hands.

"You don't have it anymore," He growled in anger at this new revelation. He fumed for a few moments while he made the connections. "That mage..." he whispered to himself. Where he was previously wild with rage, he abruptly was overtaken by cynical laughter. "You handed it over to him, and I killed him." He giggled maddeningly for another few moments while he digested this new information.

He knew that without any offspring, the piece would have been brought back to the Sacred Realm. He knew that the sorcerer did not originate from this realm. The piece would have no one to pass off to. Link didn't have any offspring either.

Yes. This could work. He could work with this. He had broken into the Sacred Realm before. It was a minor setback. Just a little more waiting. As he had already established, he was a patient man. All that was left to do was to dispatch the Hero. Turning his crazed eyes on him, he saw that the boy could barely even stand up.

Yes. This would work...

Link's gurgled cry of pain snapped Marickiya into awareness. Her head shot up to witness a gruesome sight. Ganondorf had him around the neck and was lifting him off the ground. Her last bond to this cruel world was going to be taken from her.

Her resolve finally kicked back into her. She was the only one able to do anything to save her brother. She had to use her magic or she would lose Link too. She had to do something! The sound of Link's life being choked out of him was making her frantic. There had to be a way! She had the power to help. Her mind seized with that thought. She had the power to help. With that ringing loud and clear within her, she knew what she had to do.

"Wait!" She cried desperately. She scrambled to her feet and took a few steps toward Ganondorf and her brother. "Wait, please! Don't kill him." She kept her voice even, afraid he wasn't going to listen.

He surprised her by loosening his grip and emitting a low chuckle.

"Do you truly believe I won't kill him if you simply begged me not to?" He then was laughing quite loudly. She took a deep breath.

"No, I don't." She said resiliently. This just caused him to laugh more boisterously.

"Then perhaps you have something to trade? Something I would cherish more than taking the life of my sworn enemy with my own hands?" He leered.

"I do." She had surprised him with her words and he had been foolish enough to show it. Then he scowled at her.

"If you think your life for his would be enough, you would certainly be wrong."

"I have within me your sealed power." She swallowed, hoping this would work. "I would like to trade it for Link's life." He stared at her in disbelief.

"Sealed power?" He said with a falter.

"Yes. Your power that the Goddesses took from you and created the Triforce to keep you from getting it back." Her words spilled from her. She knew he would believe her. There would be no other explanation as to why she would have this kind of information. Why she came to have such a strong magic within her he hadn't been able to sense before.

"Mari," Link grunted from within Ganondorf's grasp, "What are you doing?" Ganondorf seemed to come to his senses, and flung Link from him and he crumpled to the ground. He stalked menacingly toward Marickiya. She remained where she was, unflinching.

"If you know what those gods did to me centuries ago, then you know what will happen when I regain this power." He sneered at her with a malicious grin.

"I do," she said, holding her gaze steady. He chuckled.

"You are quite naive, then."

He reached out a hand, anticipation painted all over his features. He was taking the bait.

Once there was contact, she could feel the powering beginning to drain from her. She could see the King of All Evil becoming excited. He was achieving something it had taken him a millennium to get. He would finally be a fully realized God again.

Marickiya closed her eyes once she was sure she was ready.

She couldn't tell if Ganondorf realized what she was doing immediately, but she could feel the sudden reversal of the flow of magic. It was flooding her quite quickly. She expected it to hurt, but she was starting to feel a little fuzzy and warm. She supposed this was a better way to die than in agony.

Ganondorf recognized the feeling. She was taking his power back into her. She was taking it from him. He was lost in shock for half a moment before he tried removing his grip on her. He was again stunned to find he was unable to move the hand he held to the girl's chest. He was enchained by her power. Panic set in him then, a feeling he had only experienced once in his semi-mortal life.

He screamed savagely and started to pummel the girl, punching, kicking, anything. Apparently, her power kept him from laying even a finger on her. In his fury, he summoned the magic still left to him and aimed it at her, but that too was absorbed. He could feel himself weakening…

Ganondorf hunched over, looking defeated. Marickiya was at peace. Link watched on, bewildered.

Then Ganondorf was laughing hysterically again.

"Do not think you can best me so easily!" He screamed. He removed a hidden knife, large and deadly just like everything else about him, from his chest plate. and imbued some strange green magic into it.

Then he placed the jagged edge under his arm and severed it.

The clash of energies erupted between them and they were both thrown away from the other. Marickiya propped herself up on her elbow, confused. Then she saw Ganondorf's maimed appendage sitting in front of her, pooling its dark liquid all around it, and she heaved onto the ground.

She felt sick, and it wasn't simply because of the rancid blood that covered her. Her head was swimming with strange whispers and an intent to kill. What was happening? What had he done!?

Labored breathing echoed throughout the crimson gulley. The Evil King Ganondorf was having trouble staying on his feet as he clutched at the stump that used to be his right arm. The blood that seeped through his fingers was already congealing into thick clumps. Through all of that, he still managed a low, grumbling cackle. Link and Marickiya stared from their places on the ground, unmoving and utterly unnerved.

"Heh, you almost... got me..." He gulped between his words. Though he appeared weak, the two downed siblings were no fools. They were both frozen by the worst fear. The unknown. There was no way to know just how powerful a god was, let alone one on the brink of destruction. Ganondorf was still taking ragged breaths, but then a murky black sludge started to envelope his body. The two gave in to their urges to back away as quickly as they could. A strong blast from Ganondorf's mounting energy pushed them back even faster.

"YOU WRIGGLING MORTALS HAVE NO HOPE TO TAKE ON ME!"

The dark substance surrounding him became a blinding light and Ganondorf rose in the air to hover far above them. They shielded their eyes from the brightness, but dared not let their guard down. This was the most dangerous of circumstances to be caught unawares. The Hero of Time knew what was coming, but Marickiya would be seeing this transformation for the first time.

Before their eyes, Ganondorf's form grew about five times its normal size, which says a lot considering the man wasn't exactly of short stature to begin with. He grew large fangs from his mouth and talons from his fingertips. Fur sprouted out of his skin, matted and mangy. Great tusks protruded out of his temples, curling up and around his head. His severed arm was beginning to regenerate itself. His eyes lost their pupils leaving empty orange glowing globes in their place. A booming roar filled the area, instilling yet more fear into those who were there to hear it...

The roar they thought they were hearing… It didn't sound right. Not roaring… Groaning. As frightened as he was, Link's morbid curiosity got the better of him. He dropped his hands from his face and looked directly at the dazzling display. As he gaped, the groaning became more and more like cries of pain.

Then a loud 'Crack' ripped through the air and echoed around the high rock walls surrounding them. He jumped at the suddenness of the earsplitting sound, but kept his focus on what was happening to Ganondorf. The unasked question of the origin of the crack was answered as one of the curved horns atop the beast's head fell away from him and crumbled to the ground.

Eructations of the magical energy that encompassed the partially transformed Ganon blasted out in all directions, leaving craters of wreckage where they struck. All of this missed the two siblings still staring in awe at what they were witnessing.

Ganon fell heavily back to the earth on his feet, sizzling and smoking. The cries were more pronounced without the cackling of electricity. It was the only sound that filled the still dark world of the morning coming upon them.

Then Ganon could no longer remain standing. His large body sunk downward and his knees dug into the grass and dirt with another thunderous 'Thud'. The sizzling noise was increasing and more of the smoke was lifting off of him. The black sludge returned and was oozing from every part of him.

The next thing to fall from the giant monster was the reconstructed arm. It fell lamely onto the grass next to him, then fizzled out of existence.

The transformation was receding, Ganondorf's previous form returning. The larger masses were coming away from him in chunks and following the same example as his arm, disintegrating with whispered hisses. Soon, all that was left was Ganondorf, kneeling in front of them, gurgled gasping escaping him.

He could not transform. Through Marickiya's searing headache, a memory from a few hours before surfaced.

"He used his magic to do something he shouldn't have. Messed with something. And now he's weak."

Lana…

Link was standing up. It still appeared to be a struggle for him, but he was not in as bad a shape as the King. At an easy pace, he walked over to stand anterior to his Goddesses sworn enemy. He pulled his Master Sword from its ornate sheath. He stood there, staring at the forlorn expression on Ganondorf's face. Then Ganondorf spoke.

"My belief," he struggled to say from his knees, "Was balance." His gaze lifted up and he watched the sky in its change of colors. The sun was finally making its ascent. He had a tired look on his face, the look of defeat. "Those Goddesses shunned me simply because they saw things differently from my belief." He gave a halfhearted angry snarl and brought his head down to face the Hylian towering defiantly above him. "Tell me, boy. What would this world be without that balance?" Link was quiet for a moment.

"I have no answer." He sneered at his response.

"Then you are as ignorant as the gods." Link scowled aggressively.

"Not so ignorant to know that what you have planned for the world is chaos and destruction." He took a step forward. "I won't allow that."

"Then end this."

His last battle cry to end the war of all wars would be felt by all of Hyrule. Every one of her inhabitants felt within them a sense of finality, though none would know why just yet.

All across the land's borders, the magic that once barred all entry was failing. Never once during their entrapment did anyone realize the diminished sky's appearance, but in that moment, the sun shone more brightly and more vigorously than it had in nearly a year, over the hills and towns full of awakening citizens, glistening upon the lake and streams, and finally upon the Hero of Time and his greatest foe. The Master Sword was stuck at an angle out of the ground where it had fallen from its swung path with shaking hands still holding its hilt.

Overexerted, over exhausted, in the worst of pain of his life, Link stood triumphantly over the conquered Ganondorf's body. All was finished. The final chapter to this harsh tale.

Link stumbled from his stance, but caught himself. The edges of his vision were whitening and he grabbed at his head. He wanted to fight the urge, but within him he wondered why he should do that. He had done it. He had beaten him. Surely he could sleep now.

But something roused him from his disorientation. It took him a moment to understand what it was he was hearing. Then his sister's voice filled all of his senses.

She was screaming.

He struggled to face her. When he was able to get a full view of what was going on, he was filled with dread. Marickiya was encircled in a pillar of golden power and was having some kind of fit, screaming and holding her head in her hands.

"Maric-" he was reaching out to her when the world started spinning around him. He stumbled again, but outright refused the lure of unconsciousness.

"No," he gritted out, taking one more step. "Stay awake," he tried to willing himself, "Stay... Awake…"

But then he was falling towards the blood soaked grass as he watched the light fade from his sister. He saw one last sight of her hunched over and hugging herself tightly.

Stay awake...

It was useless. He fell to the darkness...

- End of Part 1 -

(Author's notes: Woah, that last chapter took a while to get the way I wanted it. I apologize for the delay, this was one of the big things to happen and it was also the end of the first part. The two chapters before this one were actually one chapter at first, but I had to split it up for being too long. That was why they were released at the same time and also took a while to come out.

For this story, I originally had it divided into three different stories, but I felt it all needed to be together. It will be longer than I had intended, but I think it will work better.

The other thing that made me take so long with this chapter is that I was mapping out how I wanted all of part 2 to happen. I'm not entirely sure how many more chapters there will be, but I'm going to try and keep it below 20. It's been a trip figuring out if I wanted to make a new story for part 2 like I was going to, or just continue posting on this one, but I finally came to decide on making it one big story.

I just wanted to say that I truly appreciate all the follows, favs, and reviews everyone has been giving my story. There were some I couldn't reply to because they were anonymous but I have read them and I do take the advice. I'm going to keep updating, but I'm also going to go back chapter by chapter and rework some mistakes I made and clear up discrepancies. Also, I don't know if anyone has noticed/cared, but anything you think is a reference, it is.

Thank you for reading my story!)

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(Second Author's note: Everything's been re-edited. It's still far from perfect, but I didn't want to change things too much. I have been working on the this story a lot longer than the four years it's been on this website. I'm all set up to start on part 2 now and I've started the next chapter. It took me a little while to figure out where I wanted to start after this semi-finale. I can't promise any kind of time frames for upcoming chapters. I'm working on buying a house and that takes a lot of time, money, and effort.

I love writing on this story and have no intention of stopping until its finished. This isn't the only story I'm working on, but I will finish this one before uploading any more. Thank you all for reading!)