Chapter 8
Link ran out of the castle to the Temple of Time. He had already retrieved the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time from the castle vault. Standing in front of the Door of Time, Link played the all-to-familiar Song of Time. He had thought he would never play that tune again. To play that song meant that there was an incredible evil lurking over the land. As the Door of Time slowly opened, Link laid his eyes on the weapon that would combat that evil and rid the land of danger. The Master Sword. Link was still marveled at its beauty. He remembered back to when he had first pulled it from the Pedestal of Time. He fell in love with the Sword, but knew that he would not wield it for his entire life. He only wished that he didn't have to pull it now. But it was his only choice.
He slowly walked up to the Pedestal and grabbed the hilt of the Sword with his left hand. As he pulled it out of the Pedestal, he closed his eyes. The last time he pulled it, he was locked away in a deep sleep for seven years. He hoped nothing like that would happen again. When the Sword was totally free of the Pedestal, Link had reopened his eyes, and immediately realized that he had made a mistake. From the tip of the blade came bolts of electricity. The bolts weren't there to harm him, but were the remnants of the Seal where the Sword had been placed.
This was one of the keys to the Seal! Link thought to himself. His face was overcome with an expression of disappointment at what he had done. Damn it! If only I kept it in place, the Seal would still hold some of Ganon's powers back. Oh well, too late now! He put the Master Sword into his sheath and ran back to the castle.
As Aaron and William rode through the drawbridge leading into Hyrule Castle Town, they noticed that the entire place seemed to be in a rush for some reason. The two turned to look at each other, then, without saying a word, they both had their horses in a gallop to the castle. On their way over, they spotted Link running toward the castle as well. William was the first to him.
"Link! What the hell is going on?"
"We're going to the Desert!"
"Why? What's happened?" Aaron had a look of concern on his face.
"Ian captured the last two Sages. When we tried to stop his plan, a pack of moblins and keese stormed the castle. Their numbers were far too great and we were forced to deal with them. By the time I was able to get away, Ian had taken Zelda and stepped through a portal!"
Aaron was so shocked that his words showed no emotion. "Damn."
"So what can we do to help?" William was intent on helping his friend save the day.
"You come with us to the Desert and help us attack the Spirit Temple. It will be dangerous, though. Ian seems to be getting help from… Ganon."
"Ganon!" The two mounted knights shouted in unison.
"Yeah, Ganon. No more time to talk! We must ride to the Desert now!" Link, Aaron, and William joined the rest of the "army" at the castle walls. In all, there were only less than a hundred men, but they were very well trained. Link rode to the front of the group and stated their mission.
"Today, we go to the Spirit Temple in the Gerudo Desert. It is there that our beloved Princess Zelda is being held captive, as well as the six Sages, by the man known as Ian. He is on the side of evil, even worse, he is aiding in the release of Ganon. We must stop this man at all costs! Let's go!"
And with that, the Hylian soldiers headed for the Gerudo Desert.
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"Let me go, you coward!" Zelda was squirming, trying to get free of the chains that were binding her. She was inside the boss room in the Spirit Temple. Ian was not far away, but he would not dare get any closer to the Princess. She was very feisty.
"I think not, my dear Princess," Ian said smugly. "I need you to break the Seal and release Ganon."
"I will never do such a thing!"
"Oh, but you will. Not on your own free will, of course. Knowing your husband, he has already pulled the Master Sword from its Pedestal. Now all that stands in the way is getting you into this here Diamond." Ian lifted up the gem for Zelda to see.
"Then why don't you get it over with?" Zelda asked, trying to buy time for her Hero.
"Because, my dear Princess, I have been given orders to place you in the gem when your beloved husband, that nuisance you call Link, is here to watch it, unable to help you. Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Ian was getting excited over the prospect of causing more pain to the Hero than Ganon ever could.
"Link will come, and he will be able to help me! He's this land Destined Hero and you can't stop him! You will never succeed! He's probably already on his way here!"
"That's exactly what we're counting on. He should already be on his way. But don't worry, he won't be able to help you. I have an army of Ganon's waiting for him at the entrance to the Desert Colossus. He won't stand a chance!" He started to laugh evilly.
I recognize that laugh… Zelda thought. No! It's… "Ganondorf!" Once she yelled out his name, Ganondorf laughed even harder and even more evilly, if that was possible. The sound sent chills down Zelda's spine. I must contact Link! Zelda closed her eyes and focused all her powers to do one thing: contact Link telepathically. Link! Link! Can you hear me?
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Somewhere over in Hyrule Field, Link felt like something was calling him. He remembered that he and Zelda were experimenting with telepathy, but he wasn't sure if it would actually work. He made the effort and called back. Zelda… I can hear you… Are you alright?
Yes, but you must be careful. Ian set a trap up at the entrance to the Desert Colossus!
That's not a problem. I've got a small army with me, as well as Aaron, William, Nick, and Charles. Hang on, we'll be there soon. Then, the connection was lost. Link looked back at his men and ordered them to move faster. They would be at the Gerudo Fortress in no time.
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"Hey!" Zelda was beckoned out of her trance by Ian. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." She tried to act as coolly as she could. She couldn't let this man know that Link had an army.
"Oh, really? Am I supposed to believe that? Perhaps you were able to warn Link of my trap… In any case, he won't get by! But just in case… Guards! Double the security now! We mustn't let the Hero of Time reach this room!" Two moblins that were standing nearby made an indistinguishable noise and ran off. "So much for your warning, Princess."
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When they reached the Gerudo Fortress, the sun had long since gone down and the moon was high in the sky. Charles ran up to the front and rode beside Link. He had remembered some of the tales that Link had told him about his quest against Ganondorf. Link had mentioned something about quicksand and a desert in which many souls were lost.
"Hey Link," he said to get the Hero's attention. "Are we going to be able to cross the desert?"
"Luckily, in the time of peace, the defenses to the Desert Colossus were no longer necessary. We will be able to cross the Haunted Wasteland very easily. The problem will be when we get to the Colossus. There, Ganon's troops will be ready to attack me. But since I have an army, we should easily defeat them. But for now, we must rest. Tell the men we strike in the morning."
"Yes, Sir." Charles rode back to the rest of the army and gave them their instructions.
As the small army set up camp, Link stayed out by the entrance to the Haunted Wasteland. He so eagerly wanted to go rescue Zelda then and there, but he knew that was foolish. He couldn't help but feel anger for her kidnapping, especially by Ian, who he had personally (as well as others) cared for. But there was still something about him that seemed to make Link not to want to seriously hurt the man. Why, Ian? We rescued you from death and this is how you repay us? You can't be that evil, can you? I guess only time will tell… Link felt his eyelids growing heavy, but he tried desperately to stay awake. Slowly, underneath the starlight sky, he fell asleep, thinking of Zelda…
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He found himself in the middle of Hyrule Field again. The evil tower was still where Lon Lon Ranch should be. As he looked around, he could see many Hylians dead on the ground, apparently while fighting some epic battle. He slowly walked through the sea of dead toward the tower, but then something caught his eye. Someone was still alive. He walked over to the body and noticed the long, blonde hair and beautiful attire. As he reached down to turn the girl over, he feared the worst. Before he could grab the person, however, she spoke to him. "Link… how could you fail us… you left us to die… I hate you… you coward…" The words stung his heart as he recognized the voice, but, still needing confirmation, he slowly rolled the body over and sure enough, it was Zelda. He began to cry as he saw the hateful look in her eyes, which were cold and lifeless now. Blood stained his clothes as he hugged her close, crying to the heavens. And then, without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his back, which quickly spread to his chest. Dropping Zelda onto the ground, he looked down and saw the blade sticking right through him. All that he could hear was the twisted laugh of Ganondorf…
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Link awoke with a start, still sitting on the ground near the Haunted Wasteland. He was covered in a cold sweat and was beginning to get worried. These dreams were scaring him more than he had ever been scared before, and he didn't know what to do. Lost in thought, he never realized that the sun had broken over the horizon. He remained where he was, remembered the pain, the sorrow, the guilt that he felt in his dream. I failed them? Coward? Surely, the dream was mistaken… then again, they were never wrong before.
Nick, Charles, Aaron, and William each got out of their camps and walked over to where Link was. When they got there, he was still staring into nothingness. Aaron looked over at Charles in confusion, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders. Nick reached down and grabbed Link on the arm.
"Come on, Link. We have to go and save the kingdom." Link finally blinked and looked around him, disoriented.
"Huh? What? It's dawn already?" Nick was getting worried.
Charles stood in front of Link, looking directly into his eyes. "Yeah, it's dawn. Are you alright, Link?"
"Uh, yeah… I'm fine. Just zoned out there for a while."
"I'll say," Aaron whispered under his breath to William. He simply nodded.
"You sure you'll be fine?" Nick had never seen his friend like this before.
"Yeah. Let's just get this over with. I don't want Ganon getting back out." Everyone agreed, naturally.
Satisfied that they were off his case, Link laid out the battle plan. "We will split into five groups. Each one of us will lead one. I want Nick on my right, Charles on my left. William, you go on Nick's right, and Aaron, you go on Charles' left. Let's take these guys out!" The army split up into five groups and headed out across the Haunted Wasteland. As they began to cross, the skies turned black and rain began to come down. Link glanced up at the sky and was not surprised. You'll have to do better than that Ganondorf! Your Evil Rain will not stop us! He beckoned for the army to move faster, all the while the rain came down harder and harder. Unnatural lightning flashed throughout the sky, followed by a booming thunder that none of the men had ever heard before. However, rain in the desert was the least of their worries.