Part One – Chapter 4

"O-kaaaay… Thaaaaat's disgusting…" Link clarified as he watched the sticky substance that clung to his boot and the ground stretch beyond his leg's limit. The skulltula had instantly fled from Link as if sensing its imminent death approaching, and so it was a wild cuccoo chase to catch up with the thing just to get his revenge, although he regretted on deciding to squish it with his foot, as its insides now refused to let go. Talk about karma.

When he finally scrapped the remnants off on a nearby tree root, he continued on his way in the direction of loud noises.

Several monkeys swung about in the branches overhead, chattering away in…fear…? They seemed pretty spooked about something, but then again, in a place full of massive Dragons, there was a pretty good reason to be.

Link came to a small patch in the forest where the foliage thickened heavily. The grass beneath him was covered in small yellow flowers, and the space above him was engulfed in vines covered with menacing thorns. He thought it was a pretty strange contrast, but judging from the Dragon he encountered earlier, he could only guess that the forest was becoming a jungle. Ferns and other plants with incredibly large leaves adorned the ground as well, some with beautiful orange and pink flowers blooming atop them. Sunlight still filtered through the treetops, causing glorious golden rays to streak downwards onto the ground. The amount of colour that this area produced was blinding. Literally blinding. The sunlight was no aid in navigating through the greenery, and Link wound up bumping into a strangely thin tree trunk. He rubbed his nose from the contact and brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the annoying light.

Since when were tree trunks green and spikey? he thought, mentally slapping himself for his stupidity a few seconds later. Wait… Link's eyes widened as the object he'd bumped into shifted slightly, followed by a low growl. Din have mercy… He sidestepped out of the sun's ray so he could see better, and he looked up to meet the annoyed glare of a frighteningly terrifying Dragon.

Its main colouration was a dull leaf-green, and a brilliant yellow claimed its underbelly, wings, and chilling snake-like eyes. Its head and neck were thick and bulky, and its body was toned with muscle. Two large fangs protruded from its top lip and guarded its chin threateningly. The snout had three small brown horns positioned in a straight line, and were curved back slightly. Atop the back of its head sat two longer horns of the same colour, and a second pair of these were situated just behind its jawbone. Above its shoulders was yet another pair of horns, except these curved forwards around its neck, much like warthog tusks. Trailing along down its back, starting from the top of its head all the way down to its tail, were a set of the same colour brown spikes that curved just like the small horns atop the snout. The tip of the tail had a large, leaf-like shape that was also coloured yellow, and the edges of it were surrounded by small spikes.

The Dragon was currently sitting on its haunches, the legs themselves thin but sturdy, and were what Link bumped into. At this height, it was as tall as three full-grown men standing on each other's shoulders, and if it stood normally, even its body was still taller than Link.

The blonde-haired boy hoped that this would be like the previous encounter, but this appeared to be the total opposite, as the Dragon immediately started growling and baring its off-white razors. It turned completely around to face him properly, and it spread its wings to make it appear even bigger than it already was. The young Hylian chuckled nervously.

"Uhm, hi…?"

The Dragon responded by letting out an earth-shattering roar that forced Link to cover his ears, and he wasted no time in bolting away from the enraged reptile. The thorny Dragon chased after him in hot pursuit, despite having the disadvantage of foliage in its way. Link felt his heart working extra hard to pump blood around his adrenaline-filled body, and his legs began to burn immensely. Great. This is what I get for pointlessly chasing a skulltula around, he thought as he leaped over a log and splashed into a small puddle. He used the thin trees that he was passing as leverage to push himself forward and gain a little more acceleration. He didn't dare look back, already knowing how close the Dragon was due to the loud crashes that took place behind him. A flurry of leaves swirled around him as he ran, and even more collected in front of him as the beast thundered though the trees. The soles of his feet felt like they were on fire from the rate that they were pounding against the ground as he tried desperately to escape death. He wouldn't regret coming here so long as he remained in one piece.

He heard a snap and a thud directly behind him as the Dragon's jaws tried again and again to take a messy chunk out of him – or just rip his torso from his legs. He looked upwards at an approaching mass of grey that he recognized as a humongous rock wall. Had he reached the other end of the Sanctuary already? His gaze landed upon the tunnel that was barely visible through the plant-life. To his dismay, it was large enough for the stampeding Dragon to follow. He dashed inside anyway, using the lack of obstacles as an opportunity to sprint as fast as he could. The tunnel was surprisingly long, but it came to an end nonetheless, although it certainly didn't lead back to the safety of Earth Realm. The tunnel opened out to a large clearing that looked more like a forest again, with a towering waterfall off to the right. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he saw the monstrosity that stood before him.

The Dragon that was chasing him shrieked in surprise at its victim coming to a sudden stop, and only just managed to avoid flattening the boy. It growled and glared down at him, but stopped when it followed Link's horrified gaze.

There, standing taller than any creature imaginable and blotting out the sun, was an impossibly large Dragon that made the two individuals feel like ants. Its scales were jet black and had a lavender underbelly. The wings, back spikes, and eyes were blood-red, and a dark purple pattern traced down its back and spiraled up its left foreleg. Its wings were tattered and torn – the wings of a Dragon who had fought many fights. The end of its tail adopted a lavender triangle with four grey spikes attached. The four grey horns on its head were curved forward and angled down slightly like a bull's.

"I don't know about you, but t-that thing looks like it b-belongs in the Shadow Realm…" stuttered Link to the Dragon beside him. Said reptile grunted back in agreement. "Let's just…back away…slowly…" The two of them gradually began walking backwards, their eyes locked onto the figure looming way above them. However, it had already noticed them by now, and it lowered its monstrous head down to their level. It growled and bared its teeth for a few seconds, the tension practically killing the two victims already. It finally threw its head back and bellowed a petrifying roar that shook the ground and caused several rocks to fall nearby. There was no doubting that the whole Earth Realm heard that.

Link glanced at the Dragon that had been chasing him. Just a few minutes ago it had held a look of fierce intimidation, but now it was replaced by pure fear. Its eyes widened even more before taking off back through the tunnel.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Link cried, no longer caring that he would be following his former attacker.

The young Hylian finally caught up to the green Dragon, the both of them panting frantically. Link looked back and, to his horror, found the gargantuan Dragon climbing over the rock wall they had just escaped from. It wouldn't be long before it would be on top of them. Why it was bothering with them, he didn't know. He just wanted to get out of there.

The Dragon that was running alongside him was in sheer panic mode, something it had probably never experience before. The monster of a reptile was now not too far away, and was catching up faster than Link wanted. The thorny lizard spread open its magnificent wings, preparing for a take-off escape.

"W-wait! You're not gonna leave me, are you?" Link pleaded, searching the Dragon's eyes for any sign of remorse. It glanced at him for a second or two before looking away and taking to the skies, leaving Link to scramble away on foot. This distracted the boy for too long, and he tripped over a root that arched out of the soil, trapping his ankle. His fearful eyes looked back to find the jet black Dragon seconds away from reaching him, provoking him to rush in a desperate attempt to free his foot before his world went dark. He tugged and tugged until he eventually ripped one end of the root out of the ground. No hesitation was present as he instantly sprang back up and continued to run. However, it was far too late, for the massive jaws of death were already launching themselves at the fleeing boy. Link stopped and turned around. He closed his eyes and brought his arms in front of his face, accepting his fate. This was it. He was going to die.

The breath was knocked out of him as his chest was gripped tightly and he was ripped from the ground. He dared not open his eyes for fear of seeing something he regretted. A dash of cold air whipped him in the face and he felt light-headed. Blood gushed around his body in a mad adrenaline rush as he felt himself being tossed about, flipping over and over. His face then suddenly hit something hard, as did the rest of his body a second later.

Ow… Sweet Nayru's love; what in Din's name is going on? Link thought as he finally decided to open his eyes. "What the…?!"

The sight before him was the last thing he expected.

He found himself placed directly on the back of the green Dragon that was his former attacker. And they were in the air. Flying. Escaping. Together.

Confusion was the only thing that engulfed Link's mind as he hesitantly gripped the tusk-like horns in front of him. They acted as pretty good handles, so a saddle was probably never necessary – if Link was ever to ride this Dragon again, which was unlikely. His legs fit nicely in between the wings and the horns, and there was a bare gap in the back spikes where he sat, so thankfully he could ride comfortably without attaining any injuries.

He looked behind him and gazed upon the horrific sight of the giant of all Giant Dragons gaining on them. Its humongous red wings beat in a slow, steady pace as if it wasn't even trying. Teeth that made swords look like twigs stuck out triumphantly from its jaws, gleaming in the sunlight, ready to pierce anything that came close to the mouth.

Link quickly looked away towards the head of his mount. Its eyes were focused and were strained on the space in front of them, keeping a close watch for anything that they might collide with. Link finally decided to address the Dragon just to make sure that he was safe.

"…Why did you save me?"

The reptile only responded by giving Link a quick backwards glance before looking ahead again.

Link wished he could enjoy this, but not only was there a giant monstrosity following them, there was also the fact that being in the air only forced memories of Druid to flood back into his mind. He told himself that he wouldn't let that happen again, that he wouldn't let another Dragon die because of him, but right now he was at the mercy of not one, but two Giant Dragons, so control over his actions was out of the question.

The smaller Dragon suddenly let out a shriek as a blast from the other's mouth zoomed past them and collided with the cliff-face that they were passing. A huge chunk spilt away from the rock and came plummeting down, pulling several other bits of debris with it. Link seemed to be the only one to notice this, and he let out a horrified scream as the only thing visible in front of his eyes was Druid's last moments alive.

The green serpent was instantly alerted of the lethal projectile that was seconds away from crashing on top of them. Tucking its wings as close to its body as possible, it dipped its snout downwards and dove for the river below them. This sudden change of direction jerked Link back into the real world, and he allowed himself to focus on what was currently happening.

Just as they were about to plunge into the water, the Dragon twisted in the air and then scaled directly upwards away from the falling mass. The rock landed with a colossal splash and sent a spray of water shooting through the air, of which the pursuing Dragon burst through with a loud and aggravated roar.

Link held on for dear life as his ride banked heavily to the right, entering a long and narrow valley. Cliffs rose up on either side and the trees all grew to the same height. In the far distance, the river that they were following ended abruptly and fell over another towering cliff that opened up to a whole other section of the Giants' Sanctuary. Link held his mouth agape as he realized just how vast the Sanctuaries were. He also realized that there wasn't much space to maneuver in such a tight valley, and right now they were as vulnerable as a lone cuccoo in an open field. He was forced to place his full trust in this Dragon who had (for some unknown reason) saved his life.

It seemed to know what it was doing however, and it swiftly dodged incoming attacks with ease. A dive here, a mid-air corkscrew there, frantic flapping everywhere – all Link had to do was just not fall.

They were fast approaching the end of the valley and they were still pulling through unscathed. Although Link didn't think that that would last for much longer, since the dark Dragon was right on their tails and would be able to snap them up in one bite with just a few more wingbeats. His heart was thumping like a herd of fleeing horses and his breathing was a hurricane through his lungs as he gazed upon his death-bringer. Its ghastly jaws opened to once more reveal its gaping throat – the place that the duo was headed if they didn't make like Farore and hurry up.

"Oh the Goddesses…" Link exclaimed as he watched the top jaw appear above them, encasing them in the shadow it created.

All of a sudden, Link's Dragon snapped to the left and out of harm's way just as the jaws clamped shut, and before Link could even comprehend what just happened, they proceeded to dash down a cavern that was formed in the cliff-face. It was just big enough to allow the Dragon to fly smoothly, but nowhere near enough to allow any part of the enemy to follow. Said enemy's roars and growls of frustration unnervingly echoed behind them, finally fading into nothing as the tunnels gradually opened out.

The thorny reptile landed carefully on the soft grass near one of the exits back into the Earth Realm. Link hesitated before sliding off, thankful to be back on steady ground. An awkward tension was placed between Hylian and Dragon, even after the boy broke the silence.

"Sooo… Truce?" he said, giving the predator a sheepish smile. It stared at him for a few seconds as if silently agreeing with him, and then it simply turned around and headed for the Sanctuary. It had to climb a small rock pile in order to do so, and when it reached the top, it looked back at the blonde, uncertain of letting him go like this. Link stared back with a blank expression and stood stock-still while he waited for it to do something. The Dragon's eyes flickered to the ground for a moment, and then at last disappeared amongst the foliage, not looking back again. Link too lowered his gaze and sighed, eventually bringing himself to turn away and head back.

He couldn't believe it. He was actually going to miss that Dragon.

Link had definitely not expected to find his village running around in a blind panic. Had his disappearance caused that much of a disturbance?

I gotta find Zel and tell her what I saw, he thought as he darted towards the Great Tree which was bustling with guards. Man, she must have been worried sick about me…

He found her pacing about her room, one hand under her chin and the other wrapped around her torso. The dying sunlight was gently filling up the room, highlighting her glorious golden hair. Come on, no time to admire her! Snap out of it! He shook his head vigorously and finally approached her.

"Hey, Zelda, I'm b-WHA!" he cried as she flung herself onto him in an instant. She wasted no time in sobbing into his shoulder and shouting how much he had made her worry.

"WHERE DID YOU GO?! I'VE SEARCHED THE WHOLE EARTH REALM LOOKING FOR YOU AND I WAS ALMOST ABOUT TO GO DIVING INTO THE GIANTS' SANCTUARY MYSELF!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm fine, okay?" On second thought, maybe I shouldn't tell her everything…

He gently lifted her chin with his index finger so he could look at her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her face was twisted with hurt. She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest, her voice softening as she spoke.

"I thought you were dead…"

Link's eyes widened. He never intended to allow her to think that. He calmly stroked her head and kept her as close as possible.

"But I'm not, and I'm here now. I'm sorry I scared you, Zel," he said, his voice lowering to almost a whisper.

They stood there in silence for a long while, not ever breaking apart. Link promised himself that he would never venture anywhere anymore without telling Zelda first. Clearly she needed to know where he was at all times so she wouldn't break down, and he hated seeing her cry over him.

Link was finally able to lead her over to her bed so the both of them could sit down comfortably. Zelda's tears had now ceased and only slight sniffles remained. Link pondered on how to begin, but found that Zelda started for him.

"You went to the Giants' Sanctuary, didn't you…?"

The Hylian boy sighed and didn't hesitate to tell her the truth. "…Yes, I did. It was stupid and I shouldn't have. But Rayan ran into me earlier and…just pushed me over the edge." Zelda scoffed at the mention of the Fire Realm boy. "So yeah, I only wanted to see how close I could get to a Giant so I would have a story to tell to that smug idiot."

Zelda seemed to search his face before replying. "So, what did happen? And even more than that, how are you still alive?"

Link took a deep breath. "Well, a lot happened, so I'll keep it brief. When I entered, I wandered around for a bit before sliding down a steep slope, bringing two Guardians with me." He chuckled at the memory. "After that, I came across the first Giant. It was only a fruit-eater though, so I had nothing to worry about apart from the skulltula that crawled onto my foot."

"Oh, Nayru knows how well you handled that. For a guy who loves animals, I can't believe you hate bugs so much."

The blonde boy laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I kinda freaked out and flailed all over the place." He couldn't help but subtly blush at the sweet giggle that left Zelda's mouth. Over the years of knowing her, he had learned not to be afraid of being clumsy. She had actually told him once that she found it cute, although he still wanted to maintain some level of manliness. "But I wasn't going to let it get away with that, so I squished it."

"Eww."

"Yup. Anyway, there weren't any more Giant Dragons for a long time. It was really weird, you know? I mean, I would have expected to see loads, but there were hardly any."

"Well, the Giants' Sanctuaries are huge, so you were probably still just on the outskirts."

"Yeah, I think I was. But I soon ran into another Giant a little later, and boy was this thing deadly-looking." Zelda physically gulped. "It was freakishly tall and covered in horns, and it made no hesitation in attacking me."

Zelda's head fell back in frustration. "Please tell me you brought something to defend yourself with!"

Link only grinned sheepishly and hunched his shoulders, resulting in the girl face-palming herself with a pained look.

"So, long story short, I ran away from it and kept a good distance until-"

Link paused, unsure of how to end his story without mentioning the dark monstrosity.

"Until…?"

"I, uh…ran into a cave that was too small for it to enter. I kept a low profile from then on while I searched for the nearest exit back into the Earth Realm."

"Ooo-kay…?"

Way to go, Link. There's no way she believed that, Link thought, mentally slapping himself. It was then he suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask her. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Why the village is in such a panic?"

"…I swear you have mind-reading abilities."

The two laughed before Zelda answered, and her face fell serious.

"I probably wouldn't have worried about you as much had the entire Earth Realm not heard a vicious roar coming from the Giants' Sanctuary." Link's expression beheld pure shock and Zelda's voice wavered in fear as she continued. "It happened while I was visiting Llilat to see if her Dragon had found you. The whole ground shook, and the noise alone drowned out anything else that should have been heard. No one has any idea what it was, not even Llilat. The only thing that's been confirmed was the fact that it came from the Giants' Sanctuary." She paused for a moment, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "Are you sure you didn't see anything else while you were there? Nothing…suspicious?"

"Nope…!"

"You're a really bad liar, Link."

The boy sighed. "I know." Silence once again fell over them and they refused to make eye-contact. They found the bedsheets particularly interesting all of a sudden.

When Link finally opened his mouth again to speak, a horrified scream followed by angry shouts of protest came from below them, causing the two teenagers to exchange frightened glances before dashing off to see what the problem was.

The first thing that the two of them saw was blood. The second thing that they saw was something that should never have been possible.

A young Hylian girl, probably at the age of six, was being savagely assaulted by three angry Guardians. Zelda screamed upon the sight, but before she could latch onto Link's arm, he raced forward in an attempt to pry the small Dragons' jaws away from the girl. They were furiously intent on killing her, and he was determined to find out why. He grabbed the first one by the neck which caused it to let go immediately. He flung it into the air and it hastily flew off in defeat. He then moved onto the second one ready to do the same thing, but it had other ideas. Its target immediately changed from the girl's leg to Link's, resulting in him screaming in pain. His eyes widened when he recognized it as the history teacher's Shoulder Dragon; that thing was NEVER hostile. There had to be a reason that these Dragons were suddenly attacking. It just wasn't like them.

At last, someone else joined Link in order to help him. He looked up into the concerned yet rage-filled eyes of Zelda's father, whose first move was to rid Link's leg of the Dragon. With a grip like iron, he wrapped one burly hand around the Guardian and tossed it away with ease.

"Are you okay, Link?" he asked. Link nodded and went back to the girl. The remaining Guardian now realized that it was outnumbered, and so it flew off without a moment's hesitation. The girl was still alive, but had passed out from lack of blood. "Fetch a nurse, now!" Zelda's father barked, and a young woman quickly scurried away to find someone who could tend to the girl's wounds.

Link turned around to see if Zelda was okay. Her hands were clamed to her mouth and her eyes were once again filled with tears. No one had ever seen Guardian Shoulder Dragons attack a person like a school of hungry piranhas, which was probably why the girl hadn't received help until Link came along. Everyone was simply too stunned.

The blonde boy had only taken one step towards the trembling female when an even bigger threat sounded behind him.

An angry hiss emitted from the throat of a Soul Dragon that had been watching the horror unfold, and there came a heavy thud as it landed just in front of the unconscious girl. Link turned sharply back around, as did Zelda's father. The both of them prepared to rush the Dragon as its head slowly dipped towards the girl's body, drool pouring from its mouth.

All of a sudden, its advance stopped and its eyes widened as if realizing something. The already narrow slit-like pupils of its eyes almost disappeared within the Dragon's irises. The reptile's gaze was brought back up and rested on something in front of it.

That something was Zelda.

Without warning, the mysteriously enraged Soul Dragon lunged forward and knocked Zelda to the ground.

"LIIINK!" she screamed in fright as its teeth came dangerously close to her face.

Hearing her call his name snapped the boy straight into protection mode. He sprinted forward and gripped the Dragon by its horns. With all his might, he gradually wrenched the seething predator back and away from his crush. However, the Dragon was persistent and obviously didn't want to give up until it saw the Hylian girl dead. With yet another growl, it thrashed its head about in order to throw Link off. The boy was whacked in the torso by its bulky head and he was sent flying backwards.

Link groaned in pain as he lifted himself from the ground, pleased to see that Zelda had been moved from the spot. The Dragon roared in frustration and proceeded to attack everything within range. A chain reaction seemed to spark within Dragons from all around the Great Tree, and before long, people were being dive-bombed, set alight, and downright shredded to pieces.

Zelda's father charged the Soul Dragon that had attacked his daughter so as to hold it back from anyone still left in the vicinity. He turned to Link while he wrestled with its head.

"LINK! FIND ZELDA AND GET HER TO SOMEWHERE SAFE! GO! I'LL BE FINE!"

The teen garbed in green nodded and raced down the tree.

Link found Zelda backed up against a wall, a blood-thirsty Dragon slowly creeping up to her. She looked as though fear had eaten her alive and was now feeding off the scraps, although that was what the Dragon was about to do if Link didn't act fast. He bolted straight for the Dragon's back and ran straight up its spine. Before it even noticed him, he sprung into the air and came crashing down on its neck, causing its skull to bash on the ground and temporarily stun it.

"Zelda! Come on!" he cried, grabbing her arm and yanking her towards the exit. She yelped at Link's sudden strength, but allowed him to pull her nonetheless.

Outside, they were met with utter chaos. While not every Dragon was attacking, a majority of them certainly were. Houses were lit on fire as well as the foliage around them, and even the occasional resident was running around encased in flames, screaming their lungs off as they slowly died. Zelda huddled close to Link as they looked around for a safe path to take – it seemed like everywhere was occupied by one or two of the ravenous carnivores. The dark blue-grey sky above was filled with the flying reptiles, their bursts of flame casting eerie shades of orange among the ground. Screams of horror and roars of rage practically burst the two teens' ears. The smoke-filled air clogged their noses as they struggled to breathe, and it wasn't long before they were coughing and wheezing. The grey substance seemed to be trailing out from behind them – straight from the base of the Great Tree.

Link made no haste as he pushed Zelda out of the way of the hyper-active flames that suddenly erupted from the large opening. The heat blasted them in the face and the sheer potency of it forced them to shield their heads with their arms. Zelda suddenly looked upwards at the tree to see more than half of it alight with bursts of bright orange. Her eyes watered as the flames themselves seemed to cackle and mock her.

"FATHER!" she cried, about to dash forward. Link stopped her and spun her around to face him.

"Listen, your father is the captain of the Earth Realm Guard for a reason. Not all of the tree is on fire, so I'm sure that he's gone to the top to find his Dragon," he reassured her.

"Do you even see what is happening around us?! What if his Dragon has turned hostile too?! What if he can't get out?!" she snapped, stomping her foot down in protest.

"Hey! Thinking like that is only going to make things worse. I can find us a – LOOK OUT!"

Link wrapped his arms around her and tumbled to the ground, proceeding to roll them both out of the way of a falling flame-covered branch. It hit the ground and just barely missed them, sending small amber-coloured ashes in all directions.

Link found himself crouching over Zelda and just about managed to suppress the pink heat rising in his cheeks. Now was NOT the time.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern shrouding his eyes. Zelda nodded in response and the two of them got back up.

Link's shout had unwillingly caught the attention of three Soul Dragons off to their left, their faces splotched with burns and blood and their snouts curved in an angry snarl. Several moments of agonizing tension passed as predator stared at prey, neither one moving a single muscle. Beads of sweat ran down Link's face as he gritted his teeth and held Zelda's hand tightly.

One of the Dragons then made an abrupt dash at the two, causing the others to follow suite.

"RUN!" Link yelled, making sure that Zelda was in front. The Hylian girl didn't need to be told twice, and she sped along as fast as her legs could carry her.

Fiery debris fell from the treetops above them and other rampaging Dragons blocked their pathways, forcing the teens to change direction every so often. One of the three Soul Dragons that were chasing them was crushed by a falling tree as it ran, and its body proceeded to catch on fire a few seconds later.

"Well, that takes care of one!" Zelda huffed, slowly beginning to lose stamina. Link noticed this and looked behind him, desperately trying to think of a way to lose the carnivores. The one closest to him was almost within biting range, so he had to think of something fast. He had to make sure that Zelda stayed in front of him, but if she slowed down any more, Link would become Dragon chow. It was then he spotted the lake not too far away. He rushed forward and picked Zelda up bridal-style, earning a surprised yelp from her. Now that he could run as fast as he wanted, he could make up for lost ground and get a little ahead of the Dragons before they figured out what he was up to.

He was coming up to one of the fishing shacks that was still intact, or least it was a few moments ago before a non-hostile Dragon suddenly burst out through the wooden walls. Link misplaced his footing as he tried to avoid running into it with Zelda in his arms, and so tripped and fell somewhat lopsided.

The two ravenous Dragons were unable to stop however, and they crashed headfirst into the reptilian obstacle. Link saw his opportunity to get away. He picked Zelda up again, apologized for the small graze she had attained on her elbow, and made a mad dash for the lake.

"Hold your breath!" he warned as he leaped off the edge of the dock and into the freezing water.

The two teenagers soon came bursting up for air, sending water droplets everywhere as they gasped for breath, especially after running so much. Zelda grasped onto Link and squeezed her eyes shut, praying to the Goddesses for safety. The blonde boy, after shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water, looked past the bank of the lake to see what had become of the other three Dragons. Judging from how the first two were ripping apart the newcomer, non-hostiles weren't welcome in this new war between man and Dragon.

Link looked down at Zelda, who was still clinging onto him for dear life.

"…Are you okay?" he asked. Zelda only shook her head in return. He hoped that only meant that she was still shaken by everything going on around them. "Come on, we need to at least find a better place to hide than the water." The girl nodded and paddled alongside him to the other edge of the lake. He helped her climb out and did his best to counter her complaints of wearing wet clothes. He then gently grabbed her hand and led her to a more remote part of the Earth Realm.

Link and Zelda sat underneath a nearby bush, hoping to regain some lost energy. There wasn't as much action in the area that they currently resided, so such a rest was safe so long as they kept a low profile. Zelda was still in a pretty bad state with tears slowly flowing down her cheeks and silent sobs emitting from her trembling body every now and then. Link had one arm wrapped around her as he tried to reassure her. Everything was so overwhelming; no one had expected this to happen. But then again, Link thought back to what Zelda had told him before everything went down. He knew that the Earth Realm had all heard the roar of what he saw in the Giants' Sanctuary, and he really didn't want to think that it was somehow connected to all this. That thing was WAY too giant to be a normal Dragon.

After a few more minutes, Link beckoned Zelda to her feet, and they proceeded to dart to more nearby cover. They were beginning to near the border of the Water Realm because of all the telltale rivers and lakes that dotted this part of the Earth Realm. Wooden docks and bridges adorned the bodies of water and small shacks were set along the edges of some. A few Hylians and Zoras were in the area too, some trying to stay calm and some just downright panicking like a herd of frightened deer.

The two young Hylians looked back to the flaming Great Tree that still towered over them even from this distance. Dragons still flew about killing everything and anything that wasn't on their side. Link tugged Zelda's arm, letting her know that they needed to keep moving. However, she wouldn't budge. Her eyes were fixed on something in the sky, and it wasn't until Link saw the group of at least thirty Dragons heading their way did he pick Zelda up again and make a break for it. She soon snapped out of her trance though, and she begged Link to put her down. He quickly complied and led her by the hand again.

Dragons landed around them in all directions, beginning to wreak havoc on anything that wasn't dead or destroyed yet.

"NO! LILYPAD, PLEASE, IT'S ME!" cried a Zora who was victimized by his own Soul Dragon. He was down on the ground and had his hand held out in front of him, trying to reason with the Dragon that had clearly lost its mind. His desperate cries and pleas did nothing for him, and Zelda had to cover her eyes as the poor Zora was eaten alive.

"We need to get out of here before we attract unwanted attention," Link ordered, Zelda nodding in agreement.

They navigated through the once again raging chaos, looking for any way out of this mess. Link quickly looked behind him to see how Zelda was doing. She was keeping up well and appeared to be getting used to the current events, as she was no longer crying. Link mustered a small smile at this, but just as he was about to look forward again, he promptly bumped into what felt like a tree. Zelda proceeded to crash into his back, causing him to bash himself against the tree again.

"Sorry," she said with a small smile. That smile soon faded when she looked up. Link followed her gaze, and was shockingly met with those same yellow snake-like eyes of the Dragon that had both chased and saved him in the Giants' Sanctuary.

The green Giant turned its head to see what had annoyingly run into its leg, and its eyes widened when it saw the Hylian boy.

Zelda screamed and turned tail in the direction they just came from, but stopped when she noticed that Link wasn't following her. He was still standing directly in front of the Giant Dragon, completely frozen in place.

"LINK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? RUN!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes once again as she feared for Link's safety. He made no response and just continued to stand there.

"…Well, this scene is familiar," he said at last with a nervous chuckle. A few sounds emitted from the Dragon's throat as if replying.

Silence endured as nothing else happened between them – Link wasn't sure if neither of them knew what to do or if the Dragon was pondering whether to end their little truce. He hoped it was the former.

The awkward silence was broken as an earth-shattering roar broke out from near the Great Tree, followed by the sound of a rockslide. The three of them turned sharply to the noise, recognizing it immediately. To their horror, their suspicions were confirmed.

Zelda gasped as she witnessed the Dragon that was entering the Earth Realm. The humongous black mass slithered out of a cascade of rocks that had been crumbled by its weight. Its tattered blood-red wings were raised in a threatening manner and its tail thrashed about in all directions, destroying and killing everything that it hit.

As far as Zelda was concerned, something like that shouldn't have even existed. Her hands shook like a leaf and her knees felt weak beneath her weight. She was almost about ready to collapse at the mere sight of the creature.

Link, however, saw this coming. He knew that as soon as he saw that beast in the Sanctuary that something was definitely going to go wrong.

The Giant Dragon behind them snarled as it recalled the events from earlier that day. It let out a small growl to grab Link's attention. Said boy looked the Dragon in the eye, unsure of what it wanted. However, he soon got the message when it bent down, moved its wing aside and motioned with its head to climb aboard. Link gave a nod of understanding and swiftly clambered onto the scaly back. He then looked over to where Zelda was standing. Her gaze was still locked onto the impossibly large Dragon, so he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to her.

"Zelda!" She flinched as she snapped back into reality and turned to the direction of Link's voice. Her hands flew to her mouth as she witnessed the boy sitting comfortably on the back of this killer Dragon. His expression was stern and his eyes closed for a moment before reopening them. "…Time to go."

Zelda held tightly onto Link's torso, not daring to ever loosen her grip for fear of her life. It had taken a while, but she had eventually gotten the courage to approach the Giant Dragon and situate herself behind Link. They were now in the air and flying to a safe destination. Link wasn't sure where that was, but he had no choice but to place his trust in this Dragon like he had done before.

Few reptiles were present in their current area, so avoiding them was easy. Besides, not one would even dare to attack a Giant.

The Hylian girl finally allowed herself to relax a little, and thus found her voice again. She decided that now was a good time to question Link and his story.

"So…would you mind telling me exactly what happened, Link?" she asked, looking over the boy's shoulder to glance at him. He nodded and opened his mouth to speak.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you earlier, before we were…uh…rudely interrupted, so to speak," he replied with his usual sarcasm to lighten the mood.

"Go on then."

Link sighed. "When I was running away in the Giants' Sanctuary, I sort of half-lied about the whole cave escape thing. So yes, I did find one and enter it, but this guy here was still able to follow me." He patted the Dragon's neck for further emphasis. It gave a short bark in response.

"But…how did you get away then?"

"I think you already know the answer."

Zelda paused and stared at the air in front of her while she pondered this. "You came across that…thing…and you worked together in order to escape…" she concluded, letting out a small gasp of awe. "Wow, Link…"

"Yeah. Lucky coincidence, huh?"

Zelda smiled and rested her head on his back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"And I'm glad that we're okay. I can imagine that not many people are going to come out of the Earth Realm alive now."

Zelda squeezed his body a little more upon hearing that, both out of relief that she was with him and out of remorse for her home.

A few more moments passed before anything else was said.

"Do you remember what we promised each other yesterday?" Zelda asked.

"About staying by each other's side no matter what?" Link replied, his eyes widening slightly.

Zelda nodded. "Looks like it's time for us to keep that promise." She looked at him and smiled, her eyes full of hope. Link removed one of his hands from the horns in front of him and placed it onto hers that was resting on his stomach, returning the smile. Partially blushing, Zelda looked away for a brief moment while she continued. "Link, I just want you to know that – AHH!"

The two teenagers screamed as their ride suddenly jerked downwards into a dive. Once they leveled out, Link's face twisted in anger and raised a clenched fist in the air.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" he yelled at the Dragon.

"Link! Above us!" Zelda cried, shaking his shoulder.

Another large group of Soul Dragons had appeared out of nowhere, following the lead of an elegant-looking blue Giant Dragon.

Link growled and lowered his fist, finally realizing the thorny Dragon's strange behaviour. "I'll bet my bottom rupee that that thing came from the Water Realm," he stated, returning a firm grip on the tusk-like horn-handles. "Think you can get us out of here?" he then said to the green serpent. It nodded and swiftly turned back the way they came from.

A roar and a few growls came from the Water Realm Giant, obviously giving orders to the inferior Dragons that were following it. Many different pitched screeches sounded in reply, and they split into two groups. One began flying directly above the trio, the other flew directly below, and the Water Giant stayed behind them. The groups suddenly merged to form a large circle so the only direction that the green Giant could go was forward. Zelda clutched Link's body even tighter if it was possible, and the boy's head flickered from all directions trying to look for a way out. His Dragon almost constantly growled at everything the other Dragons did. It flapped its wings as fast and hard as it could, but the others had the lightweight advantage.

"Great. We travelled all that way for nothing," Link scoffed as they neared the centre of the Earth Realm yet again. The Great Tree was still alight with flames, and the jet black monstrosity of a Dragon was still wreaking havoc. The pursing Dragons were beginning to fall back slightly, but the Earth Giant had decided that enough was enough. It grunted in annoyance and dove straight down into the Soul Dragons, earning some surprised and terrified shrieks from them. Now that it had gotten more speed, it was finally able to lose the attackers amongst the continuous flurry that still raged in the sky.

Zelda gasped out of nowhere, catching the attention of the boy and the Dragon. She pointed towards the Great Tree so the two could follow her gaze.

"Link, it's my father! And look – Llilat's with him!"

Indeed, the captain of the Earth Realm Guard was bravely defending the Dragon Whisperer from a Dragon none other than his own. Fire surrounded them on all sides and they were on the highest branch of the tree. Judging from their positions, Zelda's father appeared to be losing.

"Don't worry, Zelda, I hear you," Link said, urging their ride down towards the fiery fight.

"Daddy!" Zelda called, immediately catching his attention. The attacking Dragon and Llilat also looked up to see what was coming their way.

"Zelda?! What in Din's name-" the father cried, his eyes widening upon the sight of his daughter riding a Dragon.

"Hang on!" cried another voice that he instantly recognized as Link's. The boy's Giant thrust itself forward straight into the Soul Dragon, completely knocking it off the tree. Zelda's father held his mouth agape in awe at the sight before him.

"A-a Giant Dragon! Link, how did you…?!"

"Impossible…" Llilat muttered.

"No time to explain; I have to get you out of here!" Link ordered atop his Dragon.

Zelda's father nodded and looked to the Dragon Whisperer, who was already mounting a Dragon that had come to her rescue.

"Don't worry, captain. I'll be fine from here on out," she said, not letting him reply as her Dragon took off.

Zelda's father only took one step when a loud crack was heard from beneath them. Silence came over the four as they made absolutely no movements whatsoever. A small fissure began forming in the wood almost immediately, right in between Zelda's father and the other three.

"Daddy…?" Zelda spoke softly, uncertainty clearly evident in her voice.

"Uh, it's okay! Just make your way over here slowly until you can reach this guy's tail," Link suggested, trying to calm Zelda down. The Giant nodded and lifted its tail over to the captain as far as it would go without moving its feet. However, the father did not budge.

"Zelda, I need you to listen to me," he began, the crack now bigger than before. "No matter what happens, don't give up. You're a smart girl, my daughter, and I know that you won't let anything falter you." He paused for a brief moment. "I love you dearly, my beautiful Zelda."

"Wait, what are you saying?!" the girl cried, tears streaking down her cheeks again for the umpteenth time that day.

Her father then turned to Link. "Link, my boy, I know that I do not need to ask you to protect my daughter, and I know you'll do it well. However, you won't get far without a weapon. Here." He tossed a fine-looking bow and a quiver full of arrows at the blonde boy who caught them with ease. Link's expression was solemn and almost tearful as he examined the arrow-slinger before lifting his gaze back to the captain. "That bow is my best. Use it wisely." Link nodded and slung the quiver over his head and partway down his body. He then did the same with the bow.

It was a beautiful shade of mahogany with intricate silver patterns that resembled Dragons snaking along the wood. The ends of the bow each held a glorious curved blade for melee attacking, and the spots on either side of the handle adopted metal plating, with the green Earth Realm symbol carved and painted onto them.

Zelda's father continued.

"You have a fire in your eyes, Link. A fire that can never be extinguished. You are the new hope for the people of the Earth Realm – they need an eternal flame like yours to keep going." The four looked down as the crack gave way, causing the branch to break away and slant slightly. "I know you'll both do me proud. Farewell, my children."

"No, daddy, NO!" Zelda cried as the branch completely snapped and her father's side plummeted to the ground along with him. She jumped off the back of the green serpent and raced over to the edge, forcing Link to follow suite to hold her back.

"Zelda, it's too late! We can't do anything for him now…" he said, grabbing her shoulders. Zelda said nothing in response as she flung herself onto Link and sobbed profusely. He gently rubbed her back and held her close, letting loose a few small tears himself.

Now they were both parentless.

Once the trio was back in the air, it seemed that every single Dragon was now targeting them. The Earth Giant had to constantly duck and weave its way through the overwhelming number of attackers of which included both Soul AND Giant Dragons. Link's new bow was proving quite useful, as his Dragon was unable to attack from all sides. He hated having to slaughter Dragons because of something that most likely wasn't their fault, but right now it was a matter of survival of the fittest.

"Geeze! How many of these things are there?" Link said, shooting down yet another reptile. His Dragon growled and fired a jet of flame at an incoming attacker from above them, which made it flail uselessly around in the air as the flames consumed it. Link suddenly spotted a small opening in the wave of enemies, and so he called out to the green Giant his plan. "Up there! We might be able to gain some advantage!" The Dragon followed his finger and didn't hesitate to head upwards.

They burst out through the hostile fire-breathers and twisted in the air to level back out – only to find a colossal plume of dark purple flame aimed directly at them. Zelda screamed as the Dragon spun out of control in order to avoid getting seared. With one last final effort, it managed to regain control of its wings and soar back upwards to see what had just happened.

Their previous attacker had been none other than the jet black Giant. It seemed to recognize Link and his Dragon, and so it was now back to being intent on killing them.

Raising up on its haunches, the Dragon's head lunged forward at the three and opened its jaws, ready to snap them up. The green Earth Giant stretched open its wings as far as they could go and made its whole body jerk to a sudden stop to prevent them from flying any further. Once the opposing Giant's jaws closed, the thorny Dragon proceeded to dive to gain lost momentum, and it soon began circling the monstrosity.

It was then that Link spotted something odd just beyond the killer Dragon.

Standing upon the cliff-face of the entrance to the Giants' Sanctuary was a lone figure, who was calmly watching the whole thing unfold. He appeared to be wearing thick armour and a flowing cape, and his build was fairly large and threatening. Link couldn't see his facial features from where he was, but the boy was sure that the figure meant bad news. He was so caught up in the mysterious silhouette that he didn't see the Dragon that was diving down straight for them.

It gave a shriek of triumph as it snatched Zelda straight off the Giant, and since she was previously clutching onto Link, he too was almost brought off with her; it was only because he held onto the Earth Giant's horns that he managed to avoid being carried off. However, once he scrambled back into his original position, Zelda was already too far away to catch up to her.

"LINK!" she cried, reaching a hand out towards the boy.

"ZELDA!" Link cried back, mimicking her hand. He could do nothing but watch as the Dragon brought her over to the lone figure and hover directly in front of him. After he gave a slight wave of his hand, the Dragon then flew down towards the dark Giant and dropped her upon its back. The devilish creature then roared and beat is massive wings, taking to the sky. Every other bloodthirsty Dragon followed, leaving only a few non-hostiles behind that had managed to stay alive.

Link felt helpless as he was unable to do anything. There were too many Dragons surrounding Zelda to rescue her – it would be suicide to try and do so. His eyes were wide with horror and his mouth hung open, his hand ever so slowly dropping back to his side. He bent his head down in shame before throwing it back and screaming to the heavens.

"ZELDAAAA!"