AN: Sorry it took so long, I'm a lazy jerk, forgive me. I saw The Simpsons movie! 'Twas hilarious. I'll have no one deny its awesomeness.
Link and Naito reappeared outside of the temple, on the sandy shores. Naito and Link quickly dragged the boat into the water, and hopped in. Naito hoisted the sail and glanced back at Link briefly. He blinked and did a double take when he saw him.
"Wait, what… I thought you lost your hat!?" Naito exclaimed.
"I did." Link said, adjusting the hat that was now clearly visible on his head.
"So, where did you get that one?" Naito asked, confused.
"Well, I carry spares, don't I? Not the first hat I've lost." Link said, as if it were obvious.
Naito shook his head in amusement before setting sail toward the Tower of the Gods at the king's urging. The sky was clear, and the water calm. Naito finally got a good look at Link's face, which had at least stopped bleeding.
"Wow… you look pretty rough." He commented. While Link had cleaned off the blood in the water, there were still numerous small cuts on his face, mostly on the right side. His tunic was ragged and tattered, although Naito had to admit the new hat was in good shape.
"I'm fine." Link said shortly, scanning the water around them.
The trip was easy. At one point they spotted one of Ganon's ships on the port side, but it didn't pursue them. Naito asked Link about that.
"Not sure… but if I had to guess, I'd say Ganon wants us to show up. I hope we aren't just playing into his hands…" Link answered absently.
"Why would he want to face us?" Naito asked.
Link shrugged, and said no more on the subject. They sailed on, and arrived at the tower as the sun began to set, casting a brilliant reddish orange glow over the water. They cruised slowly through an archway and inside the outer wall. As they approached the centre, Link felt his left hand heat up slightly, and knew it was glowing underneath his gauntlet. Ahead, a golden ring of light appeared in the water.
"Stop." Link said before they entered it. Naito angled the sail and the boat cruised to a stop, rocking gently on the water.
Link took off his gauntlet, and the triforce mark was indeed glowing brightly. Naito's eyes widened as he saw it, and his shocked eyes rose to Link's face.
"I think it's time you told me who you really are." He said calmly and with total seriousness.
Link nodded. "You're right. I probably should have told you earlier… either way, you have to know before we face Ganondorf. I am Link, as I have told you… and hundreds of years ago I faced Ganon with the sword you now wield. I defeated him, although only thanks to the help of others. Ten years later… or maybe three, I don't know, there's time travel involved… Ganon's vast army attacked, unified by some part of his spirit that escaped the sacred realm where he was sealed. I tried to fight… but I guess the goddesses decided it was a losing battle. They sunk Hyrule, and created a vast ocean overtop where people could continue to exist. Hyrule itself was frozen in time, me included. I was in the room above where you got the Master Sword, with those monsters. Anyway, one day a couple weeks ago I was released, brought to the surface and picked up by tetra's pirate ship. Tetra was kidnapped by the giant bird and brought to your island. I guess you know what happened from there." Link explained solemnly, while Naito listened carefully.
"That's… that's a lot to swallow." Naito said shakily.
"But do you believe it?" Link asked.
"After seeing the things I've seen, how could I not? But if that's who you are, shouldn't you take the sword?" Naito asked, reaching for it.
"No." Link said firmly. "It isn't coincidence that you got involved in this, and it sure isn't coincidence that you could draw the sword. I believe you are the true hero of this era… I don't know why I am here, but since I am, I will help you when I can. Nothing more. In fact… this is the real reason I stopped us."
As he said that, he reached out and grabbed Naito's left hand in his, as if shaking his hand. His eyes locked with Naito's, and they sat like that for a short time before the mark on Link's hand began to glow brighter. Link closed his eyes and threw his head back as there was a bright flash of light, and Naito was thrown to the front of the boat.
Naito sat up cautiously, studying his hand. A dark, triangle mark had been burned into the back, and as he stared it began to glow a dim gold.
"What… what if you're wrong, and I'm not the hero?" Naito asked.
"I would've done that anyway. Ganon wants the triforce, and he'll be able to feel it when it's close to him, but hopefully he won't be able to tell that it no longer exists in me. It'll help keep it safe… but it might put you in danger." Link explained.
"No problem. I'll hide it." Naito said, and he quickly began wrapping his hand in bandages from his pocket.
"I didn't know you had bandages! You should have told me!" Link gasped.
"It was more fun watching you use pieces of your tunic." Naito admitted, and then held his hand up and asked, "How do I look?"
"Like a mummy. Now let's get going." Link said as they cruised forward into the ring of light, and were drawn back down into Hyrule.
They left the boat wordlessly. Link kept it to himself, but he was starting to get a bad feeling, and every instinct in his body was screaming at him to check on Tetra. He forced himself to walk slowly, remembering that he had been wrong before.
They entered the castle, and Link's worst fears were confirmed. The giant statue of him on the pedestal had been bisected; the legs were all that remained. The torso was lying nearby, broken in several places. The pedestal no longer covered the entrance.
Naito was looking at the broken statue of Link. "If that statue was of me, I'd take it as a very bad omen." He said.
"Come on." Link said, dashing down the stairs and already expecting not to see anything…
But he was wrong. Tetra, or Zelda, was standing on the platform where they had left her, apparently looking at the stained glass windows opposite them. Something still felt off, and Link began to slowly approach the platform. He figured as long as they were careful, it wouldn't matter if it was a trap.
"Tetra!" Naito shouted from behind him, dashing past Link and toward the platform.
"Damn." Link said flatly, racing after him. The minute they were both on the platform, Tetra vanished. Both Links stopped short, spinning around. A ring of flame burst up around the platform, trapping them. Laughter echoed through the room.
"I'm disappointed… I didn't think you'd fall for this. Zelda is gone; I will claim what's mine from her soon. I need something from you too, Link… I'll take it from your corpse. And yes; I'll make sure I see your body first." Ganon's voice proclaimed mockingly.
"Wait… how did he know what I said?" Link asked, worried.
"Does it matter? Worry about what's happening right now!" Naito exclaimed as three darknuts in black armour appeared with a loud CRACK sound. One of the darknut's armour was trimmed in red, and all three looked far more dangerous than most darknuts.
Naito and Link drew their weapons simultaneously, automatically standing back to back. The darknuts slowly closed in, raising their giant swords and grunting menacingly. One of them swung down at Link, who raised his blade and blocked it, struggling under the darknut's strength. Naito dove forward as the other two slashed at him, rolling to relative safety and getting to his feet quickly. Link stepped to the side away from the blade, slashed at the Darknut's armour before back flipping out of range of a counter-attack.
He saw the two others closing in on Naito at the other side of the platform, and leapt into action. He dashed forward and jumped, landing firmly on one of the darknuts shoulders and bouncing forward with a quick hundred and eighty degree turn, landing beside Naito and facing the darknuts. The three darknuts had lined up and were advancing again, leaving them no opening to dodge. As one, the three darknuts swung their swords down at Link and Naito.
AN: You know what I'm gonna say here. Now do it! All I ask is thirty seconds of your time… Oh yeah, and I apologize for how short it was.